A Crockett woman who already has charges going to a grand jury in July has been arrested again on new felonies while out on bond.

Lee Ann Brackens, 33, was charged with felony child abuse or neglect (two counts), felony drug possession, misdemeanor marijuana possession, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (two counts) on May 21 after Deputy Z.T. Puckett executed a search warrant at her 362 Scenic Trail residence and reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia.

In a search warrant application, Puckett said he went to the residence on May 19 to serve a warrant and smelled marijuana as he approached the front door.

I asked her (Brackens) if the person I was looking for was there, Puckett wrote. She stated he was not. I then asked her how much marijuana was in the residence due to the strong odor of marijuana and visual smoke inside the residence.

She stated she had just got done smoking some.

Puckett collected two glass smoking devices, digital scales, baggies and suspected marijuana during his May 21 search.

Being represented by the public defenders office, Brackens has Aug. 1 and Sept 21 preliminary hearings set on the new charges.

She was also arrested last November and charged with two counts of felony drug possession. A grand jury will consider those charges on July 17.

Saying that she was waiting to start a new job at the time of her most recent arrest, Brackens works as a certified nursing assistant, according to court records.

Because she was already awaiting trial on felony charges, a magistrate denied her bond after the May 21 arrest. A General District Court judge, though, granted her a $5,000 bond Wednesday on the drug charges. She has a bond hearing on the other charges set for Thursday in Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Brackens is in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin.
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A synthetic marijuana package obtained from an Upstate University Hospital patient.

(Provided)

Article by Syracuse.com's Samantha House and James T. Mulder

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Rescue Mission staff tried to keep track of the flood of people overdosing near the Syracuse shelter Wednesday.

But after 15 overdoses, the shelter started to lose count, a mission official said.

A surge of overdoses struck Syracuse on Wednesday, inundating emergency responders and emergency rooms with a rash of drug-sick patients, according to hospital officials and emergency responders. The culprit was synthetic marijuana -- a drug better known as "spike," they said.

There were so many overdoses that American Medical Response sent out seven extra ambulances to deal with the deluge of calls, an AMR official said.

In one day, Syracuse hospitals told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard they treated 18 overdoses:

Upstate University Hospital: 11

Crouse Hospital: 6

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center: 1

Typically, the hospitals reported they could go a week without seeing any synthetic drug overdoses.

At least one hospital reported seeing more overdoses on Thursday.

Many of the overdose calls on Wednesday happened near the Rescue Mission's Dickerson Street campus.

The shelter typically deals with one or two spike users a month, said Corey Kociela, the Rescue Mission's chief operations officer. On Wednesday, he said there were about 15 to 20 people who overdosed on the synthetic drug.

"It was pretty significant yesterday, more than I've seen," Kociela said.

Many of the sickened users weren't even Rescue Mission clients, Kociela said. They appeared to overdose while passing through the campus -- which Kociela said is targeted by drug dealers who prey on the shelter's vulnerable clients.

Most of the people who overdosed were "spaced out" and walking like zombies, Kociela said. One man thrashed violently on the ground, he said.

The batch of the drug responsible for the overdoses is going by the street moniker "Dopey."

Troy Hogue, regional director of American Medical Response, said "Dopey" is a new version of synthetic marijuana.

Many of the people who overdosed Thursday were in the Dickerson Street area, Hogue said. Some were combative, some unconscious and others had seizures, breathing problems, increased heart rates and memory issues, he said.

"No two cases are exactly alike," Hogue said.

Crouse Hospital's emergency room, which normally sees one or two synthetic drug overdoses a week, received six cases Wednesday from the Rescue Mission, said Bob Allen, a hospital vice president.

Syracuse police were dispatched to 15 overdose calls in 24 hours, said Sgt. Richard Helterline, a police spokesman. In some cases, multiple people called about a single overdose. In others, police could not find patients when they arrived on scene.

This is not the first time the city has had a problem with synthetic drugs.

A large percentage of calls are related to synthetic marijuana at Syracuse Fire Station #1 in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, September 18, 2015. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

Syracuse experienced a surge of synthetic drug overdoses in 2012 and 2015. Users became violent after abusing the drug known as "bath salts" in 2012. In 2015, officers encountered spike users who were foaming at the mouth or tried to box with cars.

Dr. Ross Sullivan, an emergency medicine doctor and toxicologist at Upstate, said synthetic drugs never went away, even though they have not been receiving as much attention in the news media.

"Users got smarter with their doses and brands, and manufacturers changed their formulations," he said.

When people start overdosing, it can be a sign there's a new batch of synthetic drugs with a different potency circulating in the community, he said. Synthetic drugs are often sold now on the street as single cigarettes for $1 or $2 each, he said.

Sullivan said it's too soon to know if this is an isolated situation or the beginning of another sustained wave of synthetic drug overdoses like Central New York saw in 2015 and 2012.

Upstate University Hospital saw another three or four more suspected synthetic drug overdoses cases today, according to Sullivan.

"It's worrisome," he said.

The Rescue Mission staff is also worried about the string of synthetic marijuana overdoses. Kocielo said staff will continue to push drugs away from the shelter.

"We're just concerned for the people we serve, and we're doing as much as possible to keep the drug dealers away," he said. "We know it's a community problem, and we're in it with everyone."
David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

10 drive-in movie theaters to visit in and around Central New York

Sure, the sound system at the local megaplex probably sounds better than your car radio and you're not going to find the latest release in 3-D, but where else can you snuggle up with a blanket in the bed of a pickup truck and watch a double- or triple-feature for less than the cost of one movie at most traditional theaters?

Here's a look at the drive-in movie theaters in Central New York, as well as a few that are not too far away.

Pictured: The projector beams over the cars at the Midway Drive-In Theatre in Minetto.

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David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Finger Lakes Drive-In

Location: 1064 Clark Street Road, Auburn, N.Y.

Showings: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Ticket prices: $8 for adults; $4 for children ages 5 to 11; free for kids 4 and younger.

Features: Opened on July 15, 1947, the Finger Lakes Drive-In is the oldest operating drive-in theater in New York. One screen. The snack bar offers car-side delivery and new FM transmitters.

More info: www.fingerlakesdrivein.com or (315) 252-3969

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David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Midway Drive-In Theatre

Location: 2475 Route 48, Minetto N.Y.

Showings: 2017 opening delayed following the death of owner John Nagelschmidt V. Otherwise, weekends in spring and fall; seven nights a week in summer.

Ticket prices: $8 for adults; $3 for children ages 7 to 11; free for kids 6 and under.

Features: One screen. Audio on FM radio and speaker poles; triple features on weekends; snack bar; "regular's card" for free pizza, T-shirts or hats; Barco 32B digital projector; open captions on Sundays.

More info: www.midwaydrivein.com or (315) 343-0211.

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Outside Central New York

If you don't mind a bit of a drive, there are several other drive-in theaters within two hours of Syracuse.

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Valley Brook Drive-In

Location: Burdick's Crossing Road, Grieg.

Showings: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Ticket prices: $6 for adults; $2 for children ages 7 to 11, free for kids under 7.

Features: One Screen. Concession stand; pets allowed; audio on AM/FM radio and traditional pole speakers. Opened in 1952.

More info: Facebook or (315) 348-6315

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Black River Drive-In

Location: 28035 State Route 3, Watertown, N.Y.

Showings: Weekends in spring and fall; seven nights a week in summer.

Ticket prices: $8 for adults; $3 for children ages 7-11; kids 6 and younger free. Active military: $6.

Features: Barco 32B digital projector; open captions on Sundays. The theater was opened in 1950, but closed in the mid 1980s. It reopened in 2005.

More info: www.blackriverdrivein.com or (315) 773-8604

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Vintage Drive In

Location: 1520 W. Henrietta Road, Avon, N.Y.

Showings: Seven nights a week in summer, weekends only during spring and fall.

Ticket prices: $9 for adults; $5 for children ages 4 to 10; free for kids 3 and under.

Features: Four screens; retro movies on Tuesdays; East Avon Flea Market open on Sundays; pets allowed; can bring own food and drink for $5 permit.

More info: www.vintagedrivein.com or 585-226-9290

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Unadilla Drive-In

Location: 1706 State Highway 7, Unadilla, N.Y.

Showings: Friday and Saturday nights in spring and fall. Five nights a week in summer (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). Opened May 19.

Ticket prices: $8 for adults; $6 for seniors; $4 for children under 12.

Features: One screen; new projector system; renovated snack bar and bathrooms; weekly contests for free tickets and concessions. Free battery jump-start service.

More info: www.drive-in.ws or (607) 369-2000

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Gary Walts | gwalts@nyup.com

Bay Drive-In Theatre

Location: State Route 26, Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

Showings: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Ticket prices: $6.50 for adults; $5.50 for active military; $5.50 for seniors; $2 for children ages 7 to 11; free for kids 6 and under.

Features: Two screens, with crossover allowed from one screen to the other in between the double feature. Indoor viewing area for up to 60 people; audio on both traditional window speakers and radio broadcasts. '50s-themed cafe with full menu and view of cinema 1.

More info: www.baydrivein.com or (315) 482-3874

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El Rancho Drive-In Theatre

Location: 6070 Route 5, Palatine Bridge, N.Y.

Showings: Weekends in spring and fall; seven nights a week in summer.

Ticket prices: $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 3 to 11, free for children under 3.

Features: One screen, concession stand; audio on FM radio. Opened in 1952.

More info: ozoner29elranchodriveins.com/ or 518-883-5735

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Ozoner 29 Drive In

Location: 6070 Route 5, Palatine Bridge, N.Y.

Showings: Weekends in spring and fall; seven nights a week in summer.

Ticket prices: $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 3 to 11, free for children under 3.

Features: One screen, concession stand; audio on FM radio. Opened in 1952.

More info: ozoner29elranchodriveins.com/ or 518-883-5735

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Heather Ainsworth | The Post-Standard

Elmira Drive-In

Location: 2431 Route 352, Elmira, N.Y.

Showings: Weekends in spring and fall; seven nights a week in summer.

Ticket prices: $9 for adults, $4 for children ages 4 to 11, children 4 and younger free.

Features: The two-screen drive-in (second screen added in 2000) opened in 1949. Other features include Dolby Stereo Surround Sound and snack bar. Double- and triple-features.

More info: www.elmiradrivein.com or 607-734-8599

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Staff | NYup.com

Saratoga Springs in a day: 10 fun things to do on a trip to this Upstate NY city

A trip to Saratoga is the perfect summer day trip. See our 10 picks for the best way to enjoy your day.
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David Kimball

(Provided photo)

ROME, NY - An 18-year-old Rome man has been charged after police said he sent a nude male photo to a female under age 17.

David Kimball was charged with first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors, a felony, on Wednesday.

Police said Kimball, after sending the photo by computer, asked the girl to engage in a sexual performance and sexual conduct.

He was arraigned and remanded to jail on $5,000 bail. An order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim, police said.
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U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. John J. Rounds, 22, of Deloit, Iowa, was killed March 7, 1945, when his B-24 crashed into a mountain in Balete Pass in northern Luzon, Philippines. His body has never been recovered.

(Courtesy of Lois Spencer)

DeWitt, N.Y. -- Lois Spencer is 84, but she hasn't forgotten the day in 1945 when, as a 9-year-old girl growing up in Deloit, Iowa, she learned that her brother, a gunner on a B-24, had been killed on a bombing run against Japanese forces in World War II.

"We lived in a small, rural town," she said. "I got home from school that day. My parents were distraught. By that time, the telegram had been delivered. There are no words to describe this. It was something that never comes to an end."

Her brother, Staff Sgt. John J. Rounds, 22, and the 10 other crew members aboard the B-24 died when the bomber slammed into the side of a mountain in Balete Pass (also known as Dalton Pass) in northern Luzon, Philippines, on March 7, 1945.

The plane was flying low because cloud cover made it difficult to spot the Japanese forces fighting American troops in the heavily forested valley below. It was that same forest cover, combined with the remoteness of the area, that made it impossible for American forces to find the wreckage or any human remains from the crash.

Lois Spencer, right, and her daughter, Jill Spencer-Garcia, attend a conference in DeWitt on May 20, 2017, with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Spencer's brother, John Rounds, was killed in the Philippines during World War II. His body was never recovered.

Spencer's parents, John and Nora Rounds, died in the 1960s, never having had the opportunity to bury their son.

"My poor parents," said Spencer, who now lives in northern Virginia. "My mother never wanted to move because she was afraid if he came back, he wouldn't find us."

The grief has never ended for Spencer, either. She and her daughter, Jill Spencer-Garcia, traveled to DeWitt on Saturday to learn what the U.S. government is doing to resolve the cases of 82,543 service members unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War.

They were among approximately 120 family members from throughout the East who attended an information session with representatives of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the U.S. government agency charged with finding the remains of soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines reported missing in action. It was one of several meetings the agency holds around the country each year with the families of missing service members.

At the all-day session at the Double Tree hotel, experts described how the agency sends teams to the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Europe and elsewhere to search for remains, often in remote locations. The teams hire up to 100 locals to assist with excavations.

The majority of missing service members, 73,059, are from World War II. Of those, 5,811 are from New York.

There are 7,747 service members (516 from New York) still missing from the Korean War, 1,611 (105 from New York) from the Vietnam War and 126 (nine from New York) from the Cold War, according to the agency.

When remains are found, the agency uses medical records and dental and chest x-rays and, when possible, DNA to make positive identifications.

Dr. Timothy McMahon, of the Armed Force Medical Examiner System, said the agency has developed techniques to extract DNA from even chemically damaged bones and match it up with that of family members. At the event Saturday, the agency took DNA samples from family members of missing service members to add to its database.

In fiscal year 2016, the agency accounted for 164 missing service members. In fiscal year 2017, it has accounted for 65.

Millions of Americans will head to cemeteries this Memorial Day to pay respects to their departed loved ones. Spencer is hoping she will one day be able to do the same for her brother.

"The pain never goes away," she said. "If you bury somebody in the cemetery, you know where they are. But when you lose somebody like this, you have no idea where they are. There's no ending to this."

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Syracuse, N.Y. -- One in 10 students in the Syracuse City School District were homeless in 2016.

The district had 2,464 homeless students -- more than any school district in the state, except New York City, according to state data. That's slightly more than 10 percent of the student population of 21,000.

Most of these homeless children, more than 1,500 of them during a recent count, are not homeless in the way most of us imagine. They don't live in shelters or on the streets. They are "doubled up," crashing with someone else and without a permanent home. For some reason, most often eviction, their families lost their apartment or house. The kids live in a series of cobbled together arrangements, shuffling from one borrowed couch or bed to the next, waiting until the welcome runs out. Home may change from week to week.

"This is a reflection of our community," said Debra Montroy, a district administrator in charge of counting the homeless kids for the city school district and making sure that they are enrolled in school. In a city where more than 50 percent of the kids live in poverty, where some of the neighborhoods are among the poorest in the nation, families living in tenuous arrangements is simply a mirror of that intense poverty.

Search for the number of homeless students public school districts in NY

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The definition of homeless for schools, set by the U.S. Department of Education, is different than it is for other programs. Here, homeless means you have no permanent residence. It could be worst case scenario - living in a car on the street. But the majority are kids who are living with someone else, who have a roof and a place to sleep, today. But not guarantee for tomorrow.

During a snapshot count in January, the homeless kids in the Syracuse City School District were living like this: 1,584 were "doubled up," staying with a relative or friend in some nonpermanent arrangement, like crashing on grandma's couch. The rest looked like this: 83 kids living in a hotel or motel; 303 living in a shelter; 22 unaccompanied (runaways); 38 waiting for foster care; 54 in transitional housing.

More than 8,300 students lived in poverty in 2015, according to U.S. Census data. That's nearly 40 percent of the student population.

Montroy is not surprised by the numbers. She hears the stories.

Mom lost her job. Then her apartment. Next comes a succession of couches, the goodwill of family and friends that often runs out after a few weeks, leading to the next couch and the stress that comes with that, Montroy recounts. Sometimes, families leave Syracuse for work, only to have that work dry up and return home with no money and no place to live. Other times, the cause is a family fleeing domestic violence, Montroy said.

While on paper the district's numbers seem to have increased exponentially since 2005, when the number of homeless kids was 98, Montroy said the number then was just the number of homeless kids at one shelter, Booth House. It was a sliver of the district's homeless population. Since then, the district has focused more resources and attention on identifying and counting homeless families, Montroy said.

The Syracuse school district's role under federal law is narrow: enroll homeless kids, get them to school, and ensure they have free breakfast, lunch and snack (which Syracuse kids get, regardless, because of the district's poverty level). Families are often reluctant to say they are homeless, Montroy said. District workers try to hook families up with services, but they never force. And they don't call social services to report how someone is living. They help the family fill out forms and give backpacks for each child, full of school supplies, that have been provided to the school through a donation.

What does that really mean for kids? Step into Danforth Middle School. The school is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of the poorest cities in the nation. The front door is hard to find until you see a line of students ringing the bell to get in late. In the main office, a boy, angry about something, throws a pen in the direction of the office staff. The other kids sitting nearby do no look up.

These are not bad kids. Or kids from bad families, says Dani Perkins, the school social worker. She pulls out a yellow folder with pages of names and addresses. Those are her homeless kids. The number is always around 50 out of the 400 kids at Danforth.

"A lot of times, it's really out of the family's control," Perkins says. "The previous owners have bedbugs - they were displaced." That is one she hears a lot. Domestic violence and eviction are also common reasons families end up couch surfing or in shelters.

It's often one more problem in a neighborhood where kids see shootings, drug busts and violent fights as part of daily life. That day at Danforth, the school was on lockdown before 9 a.m.

A boy walks into Perkins' office. Her eyes smile behind her round glasses. The boy, 13, shifts uncomfortably in his shirt. Is it too small, he asks. I don't think so; I think it looks nice, Perkins says, standing back and appraising. Earlier in the morning, he came to Perkins' office to get the shirt. He decides rolling up the sleeves makes it seem a little less small.

Perkins keeps a small clothing rack stocked with donations, not just for the homeless kids, but for all the kids. Whether they have a permanent home or not, most of them come from families that are struggling. The kids are doing things many grownups would never imagine - like the teen who misses school regularly to babysit an infant sibling.

There is a beanbag chair set aside in a quiet corner, the place for some desperately needed adolescent naps. When home is not yours, and not stable, a good night's sleep can be hard to get. Perkins recalled a recent time when a girl asked to take a nap in her office. The girl couldn't keep her eyes open long enough to tell her why she needed the sleep.

How can you be ready to learn if you haven't slept, Perkins asked.

Next to clothing rack is a cabinet that holds underwear, socks, shampoo, soap, hats and gloves. Kids know where to come if they need something. There's still enough, but early in the year the shelves were stuffed. There's more clothes downstairs in the room staffed by social workers from Contact Community Services. Less than an hour into the day, a girl came into Perkins' office asking for some socks.

Black or white, Perkins asks. It doesn't matter, the girl says. I just need some socks. Perkins retrieves some from the shelf, reminding the girl that she was welcome to help herself, too.

The stream of kids who need something continues steadily - from shirts and socks to a hug and conflict resolution. Perkins' door was always opening.

They all really need someone to tell them they are important, she says. She does. With just an ear to the hallway, she can hear someone saying something they shouldn't. She calls out the girl's name and reminds her to watch her language. Firmly but kindly.

Perkins looks through her list of homeless families. In the weeks left in the school year, she will visit all of the addresses. Last year, she often picked up two kids on her way to work so they could get to school while the district worked on getting them on the bus. When a family lost their home in a fire, the school staff took up a collection to help out.

Perkins is careful to make it clear that the students and their families are not victims to be pitied.

"I feel like our families are strong in the face of a system that works against them," she says. "A lot of elements are outside of their control. And they persist."

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246
Michael Hunter.jpg

Michael Hunter, of Helen Street in Syracuse, is suing the school district for paying the teachers union president's salary while she does union work. Hunter, who worked on Ted Cruz's presidential campaign, said he sees the agreement as an example of government waste that goes against his conservative values.

(Provided Photo)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- An outraged taxpayer is suing the Syracuse City School District for paying the teachers union president's salary while she does union work.

Helen Street resident Michael Hunter filed a lawsuit against the district and Syracuse Teachers Association earlier this month.

He is critical of a part of the district's collective bargaining agreement with the union, in which it agrees to pay the union president's salary.

These types of agreements are relatively common in large school districts. Presidents of teachers and police unions are often "released" from their contractual duties to handle union business full-time.

In many places, the union then reimburses the district for the president's salary.

Not so in Syracuse.

"It's a waste of taxpayer money basically," Hunter said. "If I don't come forward everyone just turns a blind eye to it. It's not a lot of money over one year, but over time it adds up."

In his claim, Hunter and his lawyers estimate the cost to taxpayers since 2008 is about $1.1 million. That's around $100,000 each year.

District and union officials declined to comment on how the agreement was set up or why. Neither defendant has filed a response in court at this time.

In a statement, the district said it not yet been served the lawsuit, but takes all litigation matters seriously.

STA President Megan Root, a former Corcoran High School teacher, said she declined to comment at the advice of the union attorney and parent union NYSUT.

Hunter is represented by Cameron Mcdonald, of the Government Justice Center. Mcdonald said the center is a relatively new non-profit firm focused on government fraud and waste. It represents clients pro bono.

Mcdonald said Syracuse schools started to pay the teachers union president salary around 2008.

He argued the practice is unconstitutional and violates New York state's "gift clause," that prevents municipalities from giving or loaning money to private associations.

In court papers, Hunter argued that "release time" does not advance a public purpose; If anything, the lawsuit says, union activities "are often directly opposed to the interests of District taxpayers."

Taxpayers have made similar arguments in lawsuits around the country. State legislatures, including those in Michigan and Tennessee, have looked into banning the practice.

Mcdonald's firm is handling another lawsuit involving a Long Island first responders' union, he said.

A very similar suit is pending in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Two taxpayers there sued the teachers union on the same grounds in 2016.

Mcdonald said he not aware of any cases where the plaintiff has succeeded with the claim in court.

Unions have argued in other cases that the teachers union president serves an important function in large districts.

In Syracuse, the president's duties include resolving disputes between staff and administration, and serving on various committees. She represents about 3,000 employees in a district of 21,000 students.

For his part, Hunter is asking a judge to void the agreement and permanently bar the district from paying for union work. He has not requested monetary damages.

Hunter is an active member of the Conservative Party. He is the party chair for city of Syracuse and worked on Ted Cruz's presidential campaign.

He attended city schools and has a daughter at the Institute of Technology at Central High School.

He said his frustration does not stem from his personal experiences with the schools, but from overall waste in city government.

"It's kind of been bubbling up over the years," he said. "This is just one piece of the puzzle."

Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Ride-booking apps like Uber and Lyft will soon be able to pick up and drop off passengers at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

Airport executive director Christina Callahan said the airport and Lyft are working on a contract that they hope will be resolved by June 29, which is the earliest the apps can operate in Upstate New York. Uber hasn't yet reached out about its own operation at the airport, she said.

A local taxi company, Syracuse Regional Taxi Company, currently has the sole contract to pick up passengers as they come off planes at the airport. Other taxi companies can pick up passengers if they arrange a ride beforehand.

Local taxi drivers have said they think the apps' arrival in Syracuse could badly hurt their businesses. The apps allow passengers to bypass taxis by hitching rides with private vehicle owners who drive for the app.

Callahan said she did not know what the impact might be on the taxi company with the airport contract. The company's owner, Mark Ilacqua, declined to comment.

The apps were authorized to operate in Upstate when the state budget was passed in April. At the moment, New York City is the only place in New York where the apps can be used.

Callahan said the airport and Lyft are putting together a contract that governs the apps' behavior at the airport, including where drivers can wait for passengers and the type of software they use to record their activities.

The contract will also establish the fees the apps will pay the airport for operating there. The apps will pay a flat fee at the beginning of the contract and then a per-ride fee, she said.

The amount the apps will pay the airport hasn't been decided yet, Callahan said. The apps paid airports in in California flat fees ranging from $240 in Bakersfield to $74,000 at LAX, in addition to per-ride fees between $1.25 and $4, according to a document Callahan provided Syracuse.com.

Callahan said the airport doesn't have the authority to ban the apps from operating there outright but can "regulate" them through the airport's ground transportation regulations.

The state budget authorized Uber and Lyft to come to Upstate by July 9, but state legislators in both chambers have passed a bill that would allow them to come here by June 29.

That bill speeding up the apps' arrival has been sent to Cuomo's desk. He hasn't signed it yet but a spokesman told the Albany Times Union the governor is "inclined to" sign it.

The law allows counties and cities over 100,000 population to prohibit the apps from operating within their borders. Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has said she wants the apps to operate in Syracuse.
Donald Trump, Pope Francis

President Donald Trump stands with Pope Francis during a meeting, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at the Vatican. Trump is on his first overseas trip as president. His approval ratings have continued to decline in Upstate New York, a region he won in the November election.

(Evan Vucci | AP)

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's approval rating in Upstate New York has plummeted to a post-election low in a region he won convincingly in November, according to a new Siena College poll.

Trump is now viewed favorably by only 33 percent of Upstate voters, with 63 percent holding an unfavorable view of the president, according to the results of a Siena poll released Thursday.

The poll represents a dramatic reversal since December, when more Upstate New York voters (48 percent) viewed Trump favorably that those (43 percent) who had unfavorable views.

Trump, who has repeatedly boasted about his popularity in Upstate New York, easily won the region by more than 100,000 votes in November's election -- winning all but a handful of counties.

Despite his popularity Upstate, the Manhattan resident lost the overall vote in his home state to Democrat Hillary Clinton, 58-37 percent. Democrats outnumber Republicans about two-to-one in New York state.

Now Trump's ratings Upstate are almost identical to those held by voters statewide, where Trump is viewed favorably by 30 percent of New Yorkers and unfavorably by 65 percent.

Steve Greenberg, a spokesman for the Siena College Research Institute, said the results of the poll conducted May 15 through May 21 were consistent across the state and most demographic groups.

"New York doesn't like Donald Trump," Greenberg said in an interview. "It has been essentially a slow but steady straight line down for Trump since the election. It has reached the point where the only demographic groups where Donald Trump has a positive favorability rating is Republicans and conservatives."

Statewide, only 27 percent of New Yorkers gave Trump a positive job performance rating, while 71 percent rated his performance negatively.

As bad as the ratings were for Trump, New Yorkers had an even lower opinion of members of Congress. Democrats in Congress were rated negatively by 77 percent of voters. Republicans were rated negatively by 81 percent when asked about their job performance in Congress.

Trump's ratings were likely hurt by the ongoing investigations into possible collusion by his campaign with Russia to alter the outcome of the 2016 presidential race, the poll found.

New York voters are concerned (68-31 percent) that Russia attempted to sway the election, and voters said they support (68-30 percent) a thorough investigation into potential Russian meddling in the election.

New Yorkers also supported the appointment of a special prosecutor (72-26 percent) to investigate Russian involvement in the election, and opposed Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, 60-28 percent.

The poll of registered New York voters, conducted via landline and cell phones, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Blog_Patrick.Madden.JPG

Patrick Madden, 50, of Vestal, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 22nd Congressional District. The computer scientist at SUNY Binghamton is making his first run for public office.

(Provided photo)

WASHINGTON -- A SUNY Binghamton scientist who wants to challenge U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney in the 2018 election didn't hold back any of his feelings in an interview explaining why he's running for Congress.

"Why am I doing this? My God, we're totally f---ed," Democrat Patrick Madden told the website Vice. "I probably shouldn't say that. Actually, wait a minute. Yeah, we're totally f---ed."

Madden, 50, of Vestal, a computer scientist, launched his campaign May 15 for the Democratic nomination in the 22nd Congressional District.

The first-time candidate said he decided to run for Congress with the encouragement and backing of 314 action, a nonprofit (named after the mathematic ratio for pi) that wants to elect more scientists to public office.

He was featured in an April 21 Vice Motherboard article that interviewed some of the scientists considering a campaign for Congress.

Asked Wednesday about his comments, Madden told Syracuse.com that his F-bombs were a reference to a similar line in the 2011 science fiction novel "The Martian" by Andy Weir.

"I had read it recently so it sort of popped out of my head," Madden said, adding it reflected his feelings about Donald Trump's rise to the presidency and the support he has received from Republicans such as Tenney.

"I'm a facts-based guy and during the election there were just gollups of fake news rolling in over the internet," Madden said. "I think the Republicans either encouraged it or looked the other way. That sort of metastasized into this fake news universe. What we really threw me about Trump is I saw him riding this fake news wave of deception."

Madden said he realized his profanity may offend some people.

"Oh man, that's going to get me in trouble," he said when asked Wednesday about his choice of words. "It was the end of the day so I really went off."

In the Vice interview, Madden also had harsh words for Tenney. "She's a Trumper, she's anti-science, gun nutty, rah rah rah kill all the people, supportive of the Muslim ban, bad on net neutrality, all the wrong things," Madden said.

On Wednesday, Madden said he wanted to make it clear that he supports Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. But he's concerned by some policies backed by the National Rifle Association, including one that would allow college students to carry concealed guns on campus.

"I'm supportive of responsible gun ownership," Madden said. "But there has been a push to bring guns on campus. The idea of having lots of guns on campus terrifies me. And I see Tenney being supportive of some of the very extreme ideas of the NRA."

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
For an area that measures snow in hundreds of inches and sees less sunshine than most cities nationwide, any chance to dine under blue skies and in warm weather is welcomed. Plenty of area restaurants offer outdoor dining, but few offer a scene as picturesque as the Blue Water Grill in Skaneateles.

The covered patio and elevated deck at the rear of the restaurant peer out at the cobalt blue waters of Skaneateles Lake and the estates on its shores. Those tables, though, come at the premium of waiting and every al fresco seat was spoken for with diners and reservations during our recent Saturday evening visit. Even inside, early on a Saturday, there was a wait: Every table in the restaurant and the adjacent Blue Goose bar was occupied. A peek at the lengthy reservation list at the hostess station showed no relief for staff.

Blue Water Grill has three distinct seating areas: the aforementioned outdoor area, the main dining area of about 15 tables, and a smaller connecting walkway between the Blue Water and Blue Goose. We were seated in the walkway facing French doors that looked out at the area where West Genesee and Jordan Streets meet in the village of Skaneateles.

The kitchen and wait staff excelled on this evening, turning tables over at a rapid rate to keep the line at the door short. The waitresses, servers and runners moved through the restaurant swiftly, indicating to us that they were a veteran crew or well-trained. Or both.

Blue Water Grill's menu is wide in its scope. Typical bar and grill fare like burgers, sandwiches and steaks are available. So is sushi. A few Mexican-inspired dishes round out the menu.

Seafood is well-represented in each area, including in both of the starters we chose. A towering cylinder of lobster salad was perched upon mango salsa in the lobster Napoleon ($16). Set on a bed of cucumber and topped with avocado slices and microgreens, the cool, creamy lobster salad complemented the salsa nicely. Forkfuls of the tower mixed in nicely with the spicy mayo swirls on the plate, adding a sharp bite to contrast the gentler flavors of the lobster and fruit. It's large enough to serve three to four as a starter or one person looking for a light dinner.

The sushi menu is not particularly complicated. Nigiri and sashimi are available in two-piece orders from $4.50 to $6. Maki rolls, where the rice is inside the seaweed wrapper, range in price from $7.50 to $12. The spider roll ($12) takes its name from the deep-fried softshell crab that is rolled with scallions and spicy mayo. The fish was nicely prepared, but the rice was bland and not all that sticky. Additionally, the assembly was sloppy and it was not tightly rolled, leading to one or two pieces coming undone and falling apart. It was the only low spot of the meal.

While the restaurant does not offer raw oysters on the half shell, a Bloody Caesar oyster shot ($3) is available. Served in a large shot glass, the oyster meat floats in a combination of citrus vodka, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomato juice and clam juice. The shot goes back smoothly with a spicy finish.

It seems as if every waterside restaurant offers crabcakes on their menu and Blue Water Grill is no different. Restaurant crabcakes are often dry or loaded with too much filler, but that's not the case here. The two pan-roasted cakes ($17.95) were loaded with crab and featured just enough filling to bind them together. In lieu of remoulade sauce, they were served over a beurre blanc, which imparted a buttery richness. The crabcakes were served with sauteed spinach and rice pilaf.

The menu offers three types of tacos for $12.95: grilled swordfish, pork and shredded chicken. A fourth option, octopus, was available as a special during our visit for $14.95. Three flour tortillas were packed with grilled octopus, cotija cheese, cabbage and salsa verde. The octopus was cooked just right, snapping when bitten and not chewy. The cabbage added crunch, while the blend of jalapeno, cilantro and tomatillo in the salsa verde added a manageable spice. A side of black beans served over rice pilaf were an odd combination in both flavor and concept, and went largely untouched.

We underestimated the portion sizes of the starters and entrees and skipped dessert. Fresh strawberry shortcake, key lime pie and cheesecake were available.

The Blue Water Grill cannot take credit for the lake or street views, but it certainly earned its reputation for quality food and service. Next time, we will remember to make a reservation for one of the outdoor tables.

The Details

The Restaurant: Blue Water Grill, 11 W. Genesee St., Skaneateles, N.Y. 13152; 315-685-6600.

Reservations? Yes

Access to Disabled? The restaurant is at street level.

Credit Cards? Yes

Vegetarian Options Available? Yes

Allergy Information: There are no notations on the menu for dairy, nut, or gluten free.

Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Cost: Two people could enjoy dinner for between $30 to $40. For our review, we ordered as much food as was reasonable to showcase the menu. Dinner for two with starters, entrees, beverages, tax and 20 percent tip was $90.97.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The high school at 227 Magnolia St. in Syracuse has been a cultural melting pot for 41 years.

The school held its annual multicultural festival today, a month before the last class prepares to graduate from Fowler High School before it fully transitions to the Public Service Leadership Academy.

Teachers said students from 42 countries attend school at Fowler.

Those cultures were on full display at the festival's opening ceremony.

Immigrant and American-born students alike raised flags celebrating their ethnicities as they entered Fowler's gymnasium. Students, dressed in traditional garb, sang and danced during the lively ceremony to kick off the day-long celebration.

Fowler High School has celebrated its multiculturalism for decades in Syracuse.This photo, provided by a former teacher, dates to the festival in 1995.

For the senior class, this year's celebration was particularly poignant.

Under an order from New York state, the seniors were informed their freshman year they would be the last group to graduate from Fowler.

The state directed the Syracuse City School District to come up with a plan to close the school. Officials opted to "phase out" Fowler over four years.

Each year, incoming classes "phased in" the Public Service Service Leadership Academy, a school where students apply to a variety of service-focused career programs, such as firefighting and cybersecurity.

Seniors said diversity is what Fowler will be remembered for in years to come.

It's what they said they'd miss most about their school.

"What makes Fowler so special is diversity," said senior Blessing Saw. "We open our arms to everyone here. I think that's the one that makes us unique and different from other schools."

Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
Shenendehowa High School.JPG

Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park.

(Video still | WRGB)

Shenendehowa High School, the largest school district in Saratoga County, will set aside two classroms for Muslim students to pray during the month of Ramadan.

CBS 6 Albany reports the decision was made after the high school principal met with the leader of a local mosque in an attempt to improve the school's cultural proficiency.

The school spokesperson says they cannot deny a student's request to leave class for prayer, therefore, the space allows Muslim students to return to class quickly after praying, according to CBS 6 Albany. The school says it would honor a request like this for any religion.

While some parents support the decision, others believe religion should be separate from school grounds.

Ramadan starts Friday and ends June 24. It is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims when they fast daily from sunrise to sunset and pray more than five times each day.

CBS 6 Albany spoke to legal analyst Paul DerOhannesian about the legal implications of prayer in schools.

DerOhannesian says the school hasn't broken any rules.

"There have been cases before where the Supreme Court has said that a school should make its facilities available to all groups including religious groups, if it makes it available to others for certain activities, for example the Boy Scouts," DerOhannesian told the station.

Schools can make facilities available as long as they offer equal access without promoting a religion or requiring students to be involved in religious activities, according to DerOhannesian.
A Queensbury High School student has been suspended for causing much panic Tuesday when he released 10 mice into the hallway.

"Unfortunately, when you have panicked students and panicked mice, some of the mice were trampled," said high school Principal Damian Switzer told The Post Star.

Some mice were rescued by students and became household pets while others died in the incident.

Mice trampled at Queensbury High School https://t.co/7wvp6XcvlN  NEWS10 ABC (@WTEN) May 24, 2017

The senior student released the animals during passing period when it was crowded in the halls. He has not been named due to the school's confidentiality policy.

However, the student is 18, and the Sheriff's Office has been contacted in case of animal cruelty charges, according to Switzer.

No charges have been filed yet. The student's presence at graduation is also in jeopardy.

Parents and students expressed their outrage on social media by condemning such a cruel act towards helpless animals, according to News10 ABC.
West Brandywine, Pa. -- Two counselors at an addiction facility in Pennsylvania died this week after overdosing on opioids.

First responders were called Monday to the facility in West Brandywine, about an hour outside Philadelphia. Two live-in counselors were found unresponsive in separate rooms, according to CNN.

The counselors were found with used needles and small baggies for heroin near their bodies, CNN said.

The facility, Freedom Ridge Recovery Lodge, is a group home and halfway house for addicts. Six recovering addicts who live at the lodge found the counselors and called medics after attempting to revive one of them with naloxone.

Both counselors were pronounced dead at the scene, according to CNN.

"If anybody is wondering how bad the opioid epidemic has become, this case is a frightening example," Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said, according to CNN. "The staff members in charge of supervising recovering addicts succumbed to their own addiction and died of opioid overdoses. Opioids are a monster that is slowly consuming our population."

The counselors' names haven't been released yet.

The counselors' duties included organizing daily activities for residents of the facility and monitoring their medications, according to USA Today.

The materials found near the bodies tested positive for heroin and fentanyl, the paper said.

Hogan said the drugs are likely to kill anyone who uses them, according to USA Today.

The paper noted that the U.S. has been a major increase in overdose deaths in recent years. They have more than doubled since 1999.

Communities across the country, including in Central New York, are dealing with the effects of opioid addiction. The challenges include new, especially strong combinations of drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six-Muslim majority countries on Thursday, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican's administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Trump's administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory wrote.

Trump will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A central question in the case is whether courts should consider Trump's past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country.

The federal judge in Maryland who blocked the travel ban cited comments made by Trump and his aides during the campaign and after the election as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trump's administration argued that the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesn't mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration says.

Some of the 13 judges on the appeals court that heard arguments earlier this month seemed skeptical of the administration's argument.

"Don't we get to consider what was actually said here and said very explicitly?" said Judge James Wynn Jr., who was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Other judges worried about using a candidate's word to evaluate a policy's motive.

"Can we look at his college speeches? How about his speeches to businessmen 20 years ago?" said Judge Paul Niemeyer, who was tapped by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued the warrant for Bikram Choudhury and set bail at $8 million.

Authorities told ABC that they believe that Choudhury hid his assets and left the U.S. for Mexico. The warrant will allow authorities to arrest him if he returns to the U.S.

No lawyers appeared for Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt.

The award was won by Minakshi "Micki" Jafa-Bodden, who claimed Choudhury fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation.

Her attorney, Carla Minnard, says they've tracked luxury vehicles and other property that Choudhury moved out of state and have court orders in Nevada and Florida preventing him from moving property from warehouses.

Jafa-Bodden worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013, when she said she was abruptly fired from her six-figure position.

Jafa-Bodden also said Choudhury sexually harassed and inappropriately touched her, and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite.

She called it a "great day for women" when she was awarded a victory over Choudhury.

Choudhury has built an empire around Bikram yoga, a rigorous, 90-minute routine performed in a room that can reach more than 100 degrees. The technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide and has drawn devoted followers.

He faces sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse Choudhury of raping them. One of those lawsuits is in the process of being settled while the rest are set for trial later this year.

His attorneys have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him, pointing out that prosecutors had declined to bring charges in the cases.
150th Memorial Day Anniversary Parade in Waterloo, NY

There will be some rain showers to dodge this weekend while celebrating Memorial Day in Central New York, but there should also be periodst of sunny, dry weather with mild temperatures.

(Gary Walts | gwalts@newyorkupstate.com)

Syracuse- A complex weather pattern will set up for the long Memorial Day weekend across Central New York.

There will be two main weather makers to watch this weekend. The first will be a small system that will track from the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. Next, a two-part system will move in from the west on Sunday and Monday.

The first system will likely be well south of Central New York and will have limited direct impacts on our region. A few showers may develop as a more indirect result of this system's development and subsequent track into the Mid-Atlantic.

Should these showers even actually develop, they would likely be quite light, rather scattered, and mostly limited to the morning hours on Saturday. Increasing amounts of sun are expected for the afternoon hours with light winds and a high in the upper 60s.

The second system is much more complex and, as a result, much less certain. This system will be the result of two areas low pressure interacting and then merging. One of those lows will track from the Ohio Valley northeast towards Lake Ontario by Sunday evening, then back to the northwest for Monday where the second piece will be dropping down from Canada.

The speed with which that first low moves towards Central New York will be key in the weather later Sunday. After what should be a mostly dry and sunny morning, if the system moves in quick enough, late afternoon showers and thunderstorms would be likely in Central New York, some of which could be strong. If the system is slower, rain will mostly hold off until after dark and the severe threat will be substantially less.

Regardless, before any rain arrives, a sunny first part of the day and an increasing south wind will help push temperatures at least into the mid 70s Sunday afternoon.

Monday's forecast is also a bit tricky. As the two low pressures merge over the Upper Great Lakes, they may push a cold front through Central New York late in the day. Showers will be possible during the morning with some thunderstorms by the afternoon.

There are at least some indications that Memorial Day may not end up as rainy, though, which could result in a rather nice, mostly dry Memorial Day with highs comfortably in the low 70s.

The weather Saturday will slowly improve after a few early showers, while Sunday and Monday may have some late day rain and thunder.

Here is a look at each day's forecast details:

Saturday

Morning Lows: Low 50s

Afternoon Highs: Upper 60s

Cloud cover: Variable cloudiness. More sun late.

Precipitation: A few scattered showers, mostly in the morning.

Winds: Light and Variable

Confidence: Slightly Above Average



Sunday

Morning Lows: Low 50s

Afternoon Highs: Mid 70s

Cloud cover: Partly cloudy.

Precipitation: Late afternoon showers and thunderstorms possible.

Winds: South 5-10 mph, gusting to 20 mph.

Confidence: Below Average

Monday

Morning Lows: Mid 50s

Afternoon Highs: Low 70s

Cloud cover: Partly cloudy.

Precipitation: Showers and thunderstorms possible, but not an absolute.

Winds: West 7-12 mph, gusting to 25 mph.

Confidence: Below Average
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New Delhi, May 25 (IBNS) : Uzma, the Indian woman, who had accused a Pakistani man of forcing her to marry him at gunpoint, returned to India on Thursday being accompanied by the Indian High Commission officials, media reports said.

She was staying at the Indian mission in Pakistan after lodging the complaint. Her family in India had sought the Government help to bring her back home.

Welcoming her, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted : " "Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through,"

Uzma, who hails from Delhi, travelled to Pakistan in early May where she was forced to marry Tahir Ali, the man she had come to know in Malayasia.

She alleged in a Pakistan court on May 12 that Tahir had married her at gunpoint and taken away her travel papers to force her to stay there.

Uzma also alleged that she had been intimidated, severely beaten and physically and mentally tortured to sign the nikahnama.

The Islamabad court on Wednesday allowed her to return to India and ordered that she be given police protection up to the Wagah border.
Sony has confirmed that it'll soon be pulling its Premium Standard range of smartphones from its portfolio in an effort to focus primarily on better-selling flagship-class models.

The news came down during Sony's 2017 Investor Day according to the gang over on the Xperia Blog.

Devices launched under the Premium Standard tier include 2016's Xperia X and Xperia X Compact - respectable handsets but not quite traditional mid-range or flagship level. The Xperia X, for example, was no slouch with a 5-inch, 1080p display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 hexa-core CPU alongside 3GB of RAM but apparently they simply didn't resonate with buyers outside of Japan.

The publication notes that Premium Standard phones hit 85 percent of their intended volumes locally but that figure fell to just 31 percent in other territories. Globally, it averaged out to Sony hitting only 43 percent of its target in the segment.

Flagship models like the Xperia X Performance and the Xperia XZ, meanwhile, reached 104 percent in Japan alone and 88 percent globally.

The shift in strategy is likely a good idea, especially considering how cluttered Sony's lineup currently is. More well-defined product tiers should make matters less confusing for consumers and hopefully help Sony come closer to hitting its sales targets.

Sony will also focus its efforts on markets where it can leverage its brand strength like East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, just to name a few. North America is said to be an important target as well although the company conceded that a huge investment will be needed in this region to make a noticeable impact.
In February 2015, Nancy Carlson  a lawyer from Chicago  bought a bag which was marked "Lunar Sample Return" at a Texas auction for $995. Little did she know that the same bag was of historical significance. It was in this bag that Neil Armstrong placed rocks from the moon's surface during the Apollo 11 landing.

This bag will now go up for auction once again and is expected to fetch upward of $4 million.

The Moon Dust Bag Auction

The auction for the lunar dust bag is scheduled to be held by Sotheby's on July 20, which is the 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Bids will be taken through phone, online, and in person.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. This transcends space exploration. It's a relic of one of the most historic achievements of humanity," Cassandra Hatton, Vice President of Sotheby's, said.

The moon dust bag auction was also announced through the firm's official Twitter handle.



Carlson revealed that a part of the proceeds will go toward charities, in the form of donations. The charities which will benefit from the auction include Immune Deficiency Foundation and Bay Cliff Health Camp. The owner of the lunar dust bag also plans to start a scholarship for speech pathology at the Northern Michigan University.

The History Of The Lunar Dust Bag

Carlson discovered grains of dust and rocks inside the bag after she bought it at the auction in 2015. She decided to send it over to NASA for testing. The space agency's tests revealed that the bag indeed contained dust and sediments from the moon's surface.

NASA said that the sample was mistakenly sold off and confiscated it claiming it was federal property. This led Carlson to file a federal complaint demanding the lunar dust bag back and a legal battle ensued between the two parties. However, In December 2016, a U.S. District Court decided that the lunar dust bag rightfully belonged to Carlson and not NASA.

It is believed that after the astronauts returned from the Apollo 11 mission and stored the material inside the vaults in the Johnson Space Center, some lunar elements were given to foreign nations and dignitaries as gifts.

This particular lunar dust bag landed up in the possession of Max Ary, who ran the Kansas Cosmosphere Museum. He was later accused and convicted of stealing and selling space items. Government officials sold off some of his items for restitution and among them was the bag containing the lunar dust.

After the court's decision to grant ownership of the bag and its contents to Carlson, NASA officials expressed their regret over the decision.

NASA spokesperson Warren Jeffs shared that the lunar dust bag "represents the culmination of a massive national effort involving a generation of Americans, including the astronauts who risked their lives in an effort to accomplish the most significant act humankind has ever achieved."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It has been reported that Zack Snyder will step down from Justice League in the wake of his daughter's death. He has tapped Joss Whedon to finish the movie which is currently in post-production.

The movie was already in post-production when Snyder's daughter killed herself, but the director felt he needed to step away from the movie to spend time with his family.

Snyder: 'I'm Having A Hard Time'

Snyder initially hoped that he would be able to use his work as a coping mechanism, but eventually felt that he needed to step away from the project in order to spend time with his family.

"I've decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me," Snyder told the Hollywood Reporter. They are all having a hard time. I'm having a hard time."

Warner Bros. offered to allow push back the movie's release date, but Snyder and his wife Deborah, who co-produces the movie, said they did not want to do that. Snyder wanted to add a couple of scenes to the movie but felt he wouldn't be able to do the job justice in his current state. Whedon has agreed to add those scenes himself.

Despite Snyder's departure from Justice League, Warner Bros. has been adamant that Whedon's role is limited and that the project still adheres to Snyder's vision. Warner Bros. President Toby Emmerich said that despite Snyder's departure, he is confident that the movie will be a success.

Not Concerned With Public Response

Given the passion that many fans have for DC Comics and Snyder's somewhat controversial take on the DC universe, Snyder said that he expects fans to be disappointed by this decision. However, he also stated that he currently is not concerned with the internet's response to his decision.

"When it became obvious that I need to take a break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They'll do what they do. The truth is ... I'm past caring about that kind of thing now."

Justice League will be released on Nov. 17.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facebook has rolled out two new features for Facebook Live that will further improve user experience for the social network's live streaming platform.

Facebook announced the two new features for Facebook Live through a Facebook Newsroom post, where it stated that Facebook Live videos receive 10 times more comments compared to regular videos uploaded on the social network.

Live Chat With Friends Feature

Reading through the comments of a Facebook Live video is part of its appeal, but sometimes users only want to interact with their friends during a live broadcast of an event. To meet this need, Facebook is rolling out the Live Chat With Friends feature.

Through this new feature, users will be able to invite their friends to a private chat without leaving a Facebook Live broadcast. Users can invite friends who are already watching the video or friends who may be interested in tuning in.

The feature, which is being tested in several countries and expected to be released widely in the summer, will still allow users to jump back into the public comments section of a Facebook Live video at any time. Users may also continue their private chats with their friends through Messenger after the Facebook Live broadcast ends.

Live With Feature

Last year, Facebook started testing a feature that allows public figures to broadcast on Facebook Live with a guest. The social network is now rolling out the feature for the Profiles and Pages sections of the iOS version of the app as Live With, which will allow users to invite their friends as a guest into their Facebook Live broadcasts.

To invite a guest, users can simply select one of the viewers in their Facebook Live stream. Invited users, if they choose to accept the invitation, will then show up in the video. If the Facebook Live video is in landscape mode, the streamer and the guest will appear side by side in a split-screen, and if the video is in portrait mode, the guest will appear with a picture-in-picture interface.

Users on the Android version of the app could be invited to broadcasts as a guests but are currently not allowed to invite guests during their own Facebook Live streams. The feature will arrive for Android over the coming months. Desktop users, meanwhile, will not be able to enjoy Live With, as the feature is specifically created for mobile devices.

Facebook Live Controversy

The new features come as Facebook continues to grapple with the controversial videos that are being broadcast through Facebook Live.

Last month, reports surfaced that Chicago police are searching for the people behind an incident of rape that was broadcast on Facebook Live on March 19. About 40 people watched the stream, but none of them called 911 to report the sexual assault. The victim was a minor, and as many as six young men participated in the crime.

A couple of weeks after, a murder in Cleveland was streamed through Facebook Live, showing 37-year-old Steve Stephens approaching 74-year-old Robert Goodwin Sr. and then killing him. After the incident, Facebook admitted that it needed to do better at preventing such videos from propagating through the social network but disputed allegations that it took too long to respond.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a path breaking feat in medical history, a team of doctors from the Tygerberg Academic Hospital and the Stellenbosch University performed a successful penis transplant. This is the first medical center in the world to perform the rare medical procedure successfully, twice in a row.

The operation lasted for nine and a half hours and was conducted on April 21 at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Stellenbosch University's professor Andre Van der Merwe headed the surgery, which was performed on a 40-year-old male. The patient lost his penis 17 years back because of a traditional circumcision going wrong. The patient's identity is being protected for ethical reasons.

"He is doing remarkably well. There are no signs of rejection and all the reconnected structures seem to be healing well," Van der Merwe noted.

The doctors and surgeons expect the patient to regain sexual and urinary functions using the newly-transplanted organ within the next six months.

However, the transplanted penis' does not match the recipient's skin color. To correct this issue, the doctors will resort to medical tattooing six to eight months after the surgery. It is likely that over one session will be required.

Doctors Perform Successful Second Penis Transplant

The South African medical team that performed the penis transplant included Stellenbosch University's Van der Merwe and Alexander Zuhlke, who is the head of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the university's FMHS. Tyberg Hospital's Dr Zamira Keyser and FMHS' Rafique Moosa and Amir Zarrabi also assisted in the surgery.

The team of surgeons were helped by anesthetists, nurses, transplant coordinators, an ethicist, a psychologist, and other support staff. The same team is credited with performing the world's first penis transplant in December 2014. After over two years, the doctors say that the patient is doing "extremely well, both physically and mentally."

Western Cape's health minister Nomafrench Mbombo congratulated the team of surgeons and staff of Tygerberg Hospital for making this feat possible. He also admitted that traditional circumcision led to the death of quite a few young South Africans.

What Is Medical Tattooing?

While people would be familiar with traditional tattooing, the process is also used in the medical field thanks to technological advancements. Basically, reconstructive medical tattooing uses micro-dermal pigments to enhance the look of an individual's medical-related imperfections.

One of the most common and well-known medical tattooing applications is areola and nipple reconstruction post mastectomy. This process aids the patient in regaining confidence and boost's their self-esteem post the surgery.

Another benefit of medical tattooing is that it camouflage's unsightly scars that occur post a burn wound, surgery, or accident. Medical tattooing can also be used for camouflaging white skin patches or vitiligo. This is done with the aid of pigments that are skin colored. The technique is also used in the restoration of hair that one loses because of diseases such as alopecia or cancer.

According to the doctors who performed the procedure on the 40-year-old man, medical tattooing can be used for penis transplant as well. It can be used if a color difference exists between the recipient's skin and the donated penis  as in the case of the latest surgery. However, doctors caution that only a tattoo artist specializing in medical tattooing should perform the procedure.

Penile Mutilation In Africa

Penile mutilation is a common traditional practice in South Africa. It is not that common in any other part of the world due to the complications associated with the practice. In penile mutilation, the penis of young men undergoes circumcision as a traditional rite of passage in some cultures.

Currently, no official record on the number of penile mutilations conducted in Africa exists. However, a study states that there are roughly 55 cases of traditional penile mutilation in the country's Eastern Cape alone. Experts believe that approximately 250 total and partial penile amputations are carried out in the country each year.

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The fiscal 2018 budget request of the Trump administration allots $19.1 billion for NASA. This is a $561 million drop over formerly enacted levels, one that would diminish the number of Earth science missions as well as remove the education office.

NASAs acting administrator Robert Lightfoot, however, chooses positivity.

Lightfoot On Proposed NASA Budget

In a May 23 speech on the agencys recently released 2018 budget estimate, Lightfoot carried a hopeful tone and said that he considers the proposed budget a sign of general support for their office.

We just cant do everything we want to do. But we can do a lot, said Lightfoot in a speech webcast live on NASA TV, adding that there were hard choices NASA had to always make.

He considered the budget reflective of Trumps and the administrations confidence in NASA, and lauded the agency for getting such confidence amid overall pressures on the national budget and the country.

He also praised the work of NASA employees and contractors, along with NASA missions that are now underway across the different divisions of the U.S. space agency.

What this budget tells us to do is to keep going, Lightfoot added.

At a March 30 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council, Lightfoot acknowledged the planned budget cuts but veered away from discussing their potential effects.

Overall, Id say science funding was stable at the topline, although some missions in development will clearly not go forward in the Earth science arena, he said.

2018 NASA Budget: Winners And Losers

The budget is close enough to the administrations blueprint released back in March. The acting administrator believes that the budget renders the nations space program still healthy and experiencing relatively modest cuts versus other federal agencies.

The NASA budget sustains support for programs needed to achieve its ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars, Lightfoot said. Such programs include the continuing development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch Systems (SLS) rocket. Moving closer to their completion, both will have a decreased budget in 2018 compared to 2017.

Robust support also remains for the $8.6 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope. The same is expected for two robotic Mars landers, two asteroid probes, and a mission to investigate Jupiter's moon Europa from orbit.

On the downside, cuts will be given to multiple Earth science missions such as the PACE satellite, the OCO-3 experiment, CLARREO Pathfinder, and the 2015-launched observatory DSCOVR. A NASA statement noted that 18 Earth-observing space missions and airborne missions will stay as significant Earth science efforts.

NASAs education office, too, will be reduced from $100 million to $37 million, which is sufficient enough to close down operations. Lightfoot guaranteed, however, that they will keep inspiring the next generation through their varying missions.

The International Space Station (ISS), on the other hand, will still be fully funded along with commercially acquired cargo missions launched by companies Space X and Orbital ATK.

Budget for continually developing commercial crew ships built by SpaceX and Boeing for ferrying astronauts back and forth is slashed, but the space firms are expected to be near flight readiness.

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Two controversial new studies featured this week in the journal PLOS ONE have sparked an exciting debate among archaeologists regarding humanity's true origin and who is in fact our oldest ancestor.

The star of the show, as they say, is Graecopithecus freybergi, a 7.2-million-year-old ape-like hominid who has taken the scientific community by storm.

The two complimentary studies, both published May 22, analyzed two known (and quite famous) fossils belonging to Graecopithecus  a lower jawbone discovered in Greece during World War II, and an upper premolar found in Bulgaria  and came up with surprising conclusions.

Is Graecopithecus Our Oldest Human Ancestor?

The first study examined the fossilized jawbone and uncovered the pre-human remains were more than 7 million years old and exhibited undisputable human characteristics.

CT scans showed the Graecopithecus lower jaw, nicknamed "El Graeco" by the scientists, had very short canine roots, as well as simplified molar roots which were widely fused  both characteristics found only in members of human lineage.

The second study analyzed the internal structure of both fossils and revealed they belonged not to an ape, but to a hominin.

"While great apes typically have two or three separate and diverging roots, the roots of Graecopithecus converge and are partially fused  a feature that is characteristic of modern humans, early humans and several pre-humans including Ardipithecus [the most ancient and ape-like hominids discovered thus far] and Australopithecus [hominids that lived before the Homo genus first emerged]," said Madelaine Bohme, from the University of Tubingen in Germany, who was involved in both studies.

The researchers also dated the sedimentary sequence of the sites in Greece and Bulgaria where the fossils were unearthed and managed to obtain a nearly synchronous age for both pre-human remains.

The analysis placed the upper premolar 7.24 million years ago, while the jawbone was found to be 7.18 million years old.

This makes Graecopithecus several hundred thousand years older than the oldest potential pre-human from Africa, the 6- to 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus tchadensis found in Chad.

These discoveries led researchers to believe Graecopithecus was in fact part of the pre-human lineage, and quite possibly humanity's oldest ancestor.

Homo Sapiens May Have Originated In Europe

Due to the age of Graecopithecus freybergi, who was until now considered to be an ape rather than a hominin, the researchers hypothesize the humans' split from primates occurred much earlier than previously believed.

In fact, their discoveries seem to suggest early humans and chimpanzees split from their last common ancestor several hundred thousand years before the general consensus formerly indicated.

Moreover, the scientists argue the split took place in Europe, not Africa, thereby contradicting the African origin theory of Homo sapiens evolution.

"Our discovery outlines a new scenario for the beginning of human history  the findings allow us to move the human-chimpanzee split into the Mediterranean area," said David Begun, a paleoanthropologist from the University of Toronto, Canada, who co-authored one of the studies.

Sediment analysis of the two sites where the fossils were unearthed revealed the climate of the period in which Graecopithecus roamed the Earth was quite similar to the dry savannahs known to have encouraged the shift to walking upright, which marked early hominin evolution.

According to geologic evidence, North Africa and the Mediterranean were undergoing rapid environmental changes that may have fueled the emergence of the earliest hominids. Sediment analysis suggests as deserts spread across much of northern Africa, and as the Mediterranean dried, savannah was spreading across southern Europe.

"The incipient formation of a desert in North Africa more than seven million years ago and the spread of savannahs in Southern Europe may have played a central role in the splitting of the human and chimpanzee lineages," explained Bohme.

The age of the fossils places Graecopithecus "at the beginning of the Messinian, an age that ends with the complete desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea," according to Bohme.

"David Begun has repeatedly proposed that the African ape and human clade arose in Europe and that gorillas, chimps and humans arose from an early European member of this group that migrated into Africa," noted Jay Kelley, a paleontologist at Arizona State University's Institute of Human Origins.

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Google has never been shy about implementing new systems that allow it to track people's online habits, whether its online searches or frequented websites. Its newest feature, though, will be able to see how offline spending relates to online ad campaigns.

Whatcha' Buyin'?

First reported by CNN, the new feature Google is implementing will be able to track offline credit or debit card purchases to see if online ads that were clicked on in Google led to the in-store purchase. The new system is meant to help advertisers see if ad campaigns are working. This is big for Google, who has been working to win back advertisers after several pulled support for Youtube ads due to "extreme and offensive" content that ads were allowed to run in front of.

The way the new system works is through Google's partnerships with credit and debit card companies. The two will scan purchases on cards to see how they line up with online activity. The card companies Google partners with account to over 70 percent of all card purchases done in the states. Basically, the card company will supply Google with recent purchases, which Google then compares to someone's online activity on the website. This information would then get passed to advertisers to see what is working and what isn't, allowing it to adjust and "personalize" more to the person.

This wasn't the only new system Google announced, as Youtube will also get an update to work, somewhat, in tandem with the new system. To get more people to brick-and-mortar stores, Youtube ads will begin to feature the directions and hours to local stores that fit one's online profile and location history.

Any Privacy Left?

This new system does have to raise questions about how little privacy is left in the company. Google has worked to implement systems that can track and form a profile for anyone using the site  tracking searches and ad activity to "personalize" the experience to said person. However, it does start to get a bit alarming when Google says it will use its card partnerships to help ad companies and campaigns.

Now, it isn't completely bad for people concerned with their purchase histories being open season. The system will be able to see where someone made a card purchase, but won't be able to see said person's name or what was purchased. And aside from using cash, people can also sign out of their Google accounts before doing any searches or turn off/clear search history so the site can't save that information. Still, this is still a bit alarming and continues to raise questions about personal privacy, especially with major corporate entities.

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As anyone who's spent any time on Facebook knows, 360-degree videos are becoming more popular. Samsung is making it easier than ever to shoot those videos yourself with the new Gear 360.

Price

The Gear 360 will retail for $229. The previous generation of the Gear 360 originally retailed for about $350 so this model, despite being a bit more powerful, offers a substantial price drop. The previous model can now be found online for much cheaper, but this new version does offer slightly improved specs and a smaller frame, which makes it a more portable device.

Samsung's decision to lower the price by more than $100 seems to be a smart move. Despite the popularity of 360-degree videos, the cameras designed for shooting them aren't generating a lot of hype. It remains to be seen whether or not the Samsung Gear 360 will be a success.

Based on what we know, it appears to be a good 360-degree camera, but it is unclear whether or not there is a big enough market for such devices.

Specs

The newest version of the Gear 360 is a bit of a mixed bag. There are several improvements, but also a few steps back.

The Gear 360 is equipped with two CMOS 8.4-megapixel fish-eye cameras. The device shoots MP4 (H.265) videos with a 4,096 x 2,048 resolution at 24 fps. The video quality has gone from "near 4K" to "true 4K," though live-streaming is locked at 2K. Still photographs remain at 15 megapixels.

In terms of memory, the Gear 360 will support microSD cards up to 256 GB so storage shouldn't be a problem.

Given the device's portable nature, durability is an important fact to consider. While we don't know how drop-resistant the Gear 360 is, we can confirm that it is IP53 certified as dust and water resistant. Keep in mind that this does not mean it is waterproof. If you drop this in a lake or swimming pool then it will be toast, but it can survive light spray.

One thing that we can't complain about is the Gear 360's connectivity. In addition to the expected Wi-Fi and USB Type-C support, the camera will also feature Bluetooth connectivity.

Alas, there is one area where the new Gear 360 is outclassed by its predecessor and that is the battery. The 2016 model featured a 1,350 mAh battery whereas the new version will come with a 1,160 mAh battery. This was likely done in the name of portability, but it does mean the 2016 model lasts longer before needing a charge.

It is in the area of design that we see the real difference between these two cameras. The 2016 model was a large ball that sat on three legs. While this design was stable, it was also difficult to hold or fit into your pocket. The new model features a handle that makes it much easier to hold and slip into a pocket.

The previous version of the Gear 360 was only compatible with Samsung's smartphones, but the newest model will also work on the iPhone.

Availability

The Gear 360 will launch on May 25 in the United States and will be available from most major retailers as well as online outlets.

If you're interested in the both the Gear 360 and Galaxy S8 or S8+ then Samsung is offering a nice deal where you can get the Gear 360 for $49. In order to qualify for that deal, you'll need to buy both the phone and the camera within the promo period of May 25 to June 19.

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New Delhi, May 25 (IBNS) : In a development that may stir up political speculations, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Thursday, a day before her pre-scheduled parleys with opposition parties to decide on a candidate for the Presidential elections.

According to media reports, Banerjee's sudden appointment with the PM has been fixed at a very short notice. It will take place at 3 30 pm.

Banerjee's initial schedule was to meet opposition leaders, including Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The Trinamool Congress supremo, who often fires salvo at Modi over various issues, particularly the BJP's political ambition in West Bengal and the CBI actions in the Saradha and Rose Valley scam cases, told reporters before leaving for Delhi on Wednesday that she would meet the PM over the problem of Ganga erosion and the problems about money due to the state.

In reply to a question on the upcoming Presidential poll, she said, "We want a consensus candidate.".

Banerjee was in Delhi last week for a meeting with Sonia Gandhi, who has taken the lead to bring together the opposition and find a candidate to be pitted against the NDA nominee.

President Pranab Mukherjee's term comes to an end in July. The opposition likes to see him for a second term though the BJP stand on him is not yet known.
From 3G to 4G, people want their smartphones to have better and faster connectivity, and they want it now. Apple may be taking the next step, with 5G network tests to start in California.

Improved Connectivity

As reported in Business Insider, Apple applied for a license to use millimeter wave, an experimental, wireless network technology. This would be the basis for a future 5G network Apple would employ to improve iPhone internet connectivity.

For clarity, though, "5G" is a general moniker for any tech that could potentially replace the current LTE networks in use by most major cell companies. There is no definitive path to get there, or what it will be, so this is something that will be determined by the companies in question.

"Apple Inc. seeks to assess cellular link performance in direct path and multipath environments between base station transmitters and receivers using this spectrum ... These assessments will provide engineering data relevant to the operation of devices on wireless carriers' future 5G networks," states the application, according to Business Insider.

To make this a reality, Apple will begin testing the new millimeter wave technology in two California locations. One is on Mariani Avenue, where Apple's original headquarters was located before it was moved to 1 Infinite Loop. The other location is an Apple-owned facility in Milpitas, on Yosemite Drive. The signal will run between these two facilities, testing the speed and strength of this new network tech over the course of a year.

Another goal of this test is to see if Apple can get the wave tech up to a workable state, because it currently has problems keeping a signal over long distances and through multiple materials.

Next Steps

This news comes nearly a month after cellular service providers, like AT&T and Verizon, began testing upgraded 4G LTE networks. These tests and upgrades would ideally serve as the basis for any future 5G networks, with the first 5G zones possibly being ready for launch by the end of the year.

The timing of this application also comes at an interesting point, with Apple embroiled in a legal battle with chipmaker Qualcomm over license fees.

Qualcomm is one of the chip companies also looking to prep 5G-ready tech, though given the legal battle, it's unlikely that Apple would use Qualcomm's chips. Apple could turn to Intel, which could develop proprietary tech to replace the Qualcomm chips, though this is purely speculative.

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The White House has proposed new rules prompting Congress to authorize law enforcement to track and shoot down drones if necessary.

The Trump administration wants government agencies to be able to track unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and, if they deem appropriate, to shoot down the threatening drone. Police would have a green light to intercept the wireless signals reaching the drone and if they consider it a threat, they would be able to disable, redirect, confiscate, or simply destroy the drone.

Green Light To Track, Hack, And Destroy Drones

"The Trump administration is asking Congress to give the federal government sweeping powers to track, hack and destroy any type of drone over domestic soil with a new exception to laws governing surveillance, computer privacy and aircraft protection," the New York Times reports, revealing the summary and draft of legislation it obtained.

As drones have risen in popularity, the number of personal drones has also increased and various concerns surfaced regarding safety, privacy, and security. Frequent concerns included the potential for people to carry bombs or smuggle drugs and small weapons into secure areas.

Under the proposed rules, law enforcement officers would still have to respect privacy and civil rights, but would have far more leeway for handling what they perceive to be a threatening drone.

Trump Administration Calls For Changes In Legislation

The legislation would make an exception not only in Federal Aviation Administration aircraft regulations, but also in U.S. laws regarding hacking and surveillance. As the law currently stands, intercepting the wireless signals to UASs could be on par with accessing a protected PC or wiretapping, while disabling it could well be aircraft sabotage. The legislation would change this so that government agencies can disable drones without the operation raising any legal red flags. Such operations would be beyond the courts' jurisdiction.

The draft of the legislation highlights that the rules currently in place are from a time when drones were not an issue as they weren't even anticipated. The new rules would adapt to current times and supersede the old legislation.

The Problem With Drones

The Trump administration further points out that drones are commercially available to virtually anyone who can afford them and they can pose serious threats. Not only could drones carry illegal or harmful loads, but they could also engage in surveillance without setting off any regular ground security measures.

Since the current laws, dating from before the drones existed, would deem illegal what law enforcement would have to do to detect and disable drones, a change in legislation is paramount, the proposed legislation indicates.

The draft legislation further claims that the changes would increase public safety and help fight terrorism, allowing law enforcement to counter drones carrying dangerous payloads or drones that interfere with rescue operations, police investigations, or other such operations.

The White House and Congress will reportedly ponder on this legislation draft, but nothing is public just yet. The White House wants to pass the draft as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, the NYT further reveals.

The Problem With This Proposal

At the same time, however, such changes in legislation could also have negative effects. For one, it would allow law enforcement to disable drones with no legal authorization and no court to answer to. Police could also block drone recording, which has proven to be a valuable resource for journalists.

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"Light" or filtered cigarettes are typically seen as a healthier choice for smokers.

Yet a new review featured in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute revealed them to actually be more dangerous than the traditional, unfiltered version, particularly because of the ventilation holes in the filters.

Contrary to popular belief, filtered cigarettes don't offer smokers any health benefits, attests the study, which examined more than 3,284 published scientific literature on tobacco, as well as internal research documents provided by tobacco companies.

What is more, the research shows there is a causal relationship between cigarette filters and a specific form of lung cancer called adenocarcinoma, which typically arises in the periphery or farther reaches of the lung and is difficult to treat.

Cigarette Filters Linked To Higher Adenocarcinoma Rates

The research, conducted by the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ohio State University, investigated why the number of adenocarcinoma cases has increased in the United States, in spite of the continuous decline in overall lung cancer rates.

"Adenocarcinoma, which is today the most common type of lung cancer, is continuing to increase," said Dr. Peter Shields, the center's deputy director and senior study author, in a news release.

"There is mounting evidence that tiny holes found near the filter of certain cigarettes are largely to blame," he added.

These ventilation holes were introduced in the mid-1960s with the purpose of making cigarettes taste smoother and putting a safer spin on smoking.

Tobacco companies adopted filter ventilation in the idea that ventilation holes allegedly reduce the tar intake, thus allowing smokers to breathe in more fresh air and making the inhaled smoke less harmful.

Yet the researchers note an increase in adenocarcinoma rates in the past 50 years.

"Filter ventilation was adopted in the mid-1960s and was initially equated with making a cigarette safer. Since then, lung adenocarcinoma rates paradoxically increased relative to other lung cancer subtypes," write the authors in their paper, published May 22.

Why Cigarette Filters Are Harmful

The ventilation holes in cigarette filters allow the cigarette to burn slower and at a lower temperature.

This leads to more smoldering and more incomplete combustions. As a direct result of the slowed combustion, higher amount of toxic chemicals are produced.

Filtered cigarettes can also make smokers take in more puffs. Since users inhale more smoke, which is diluted with air, more toxic chemicals are forced deeper into the lungs.

"The filter ventilation holes change how the tobacco is burned, producing more carcinogens, which then also allows the smoke to reach the deeper parts of the lung where adenocarcinomas more frequently occur," explains Shields.

His team argues filtered cigarettes are far more dangerous than unfiltered ones for four main reasons. Their research shows filter ventilation:

- Increases the risk of lung adenocarcinoma.

- Alters tobacco combustion, increasing the amount of inhaled toxic chemicals.

- Makes smokers inhale more smoke to maintain their nicotine intake.

- Popularize a false perception of lower health risk from "light" cigarettes.

In view of their results, the scientists urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten regulations on "light" cigarettes.

"The analysis strongly suggests that filter ventilation has contributed to the rise in lung adenocarcinomas among smokers. Thus, the FDA should consider regulating its use, up to and including a ban," concludes the study.

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Over the last few years, net neutrality has been one of the more hotly debated matters for government agencies and businesses. The latest news sees Comcast against a pro-net neutrality group over its website, which Comcast says bears a name that is similar to its trademark.

Comcast vs. The Internet

Comcast sent a cease and desist order to pro-net neutrality group Fight for the Future over a website owned and operated by the group. The website in question, Comcastroturf.com, has been flagged by Comcast as having a "confusingly similar" name, violating the company's intellectual property.

"[I]t sounds the same, looks the same, and is spelled similarly to Comcast," the letter points out.

Fight for the Future set up the website to help identify anti-net neutrality posts on the Federal Communications Commission website that, as the group claims, are fraudulent posts to try and bump up support for the FCC and chairman Ajit Pai's recent changes to net neutrality rules. These claims have already been proven true, with many posts flagged as spam or were posted under accounts without the permission of said person.

The letter requesting Fight for the Future to address the issue was sent through a third-party group, LookingGlass Cyber Security Center. Comcast said it has no plans of pursuing legal action at the moment.

"Like most major brand owners, Comcast protects our company and brand names from being used improperly on the internet by third parties ... After reviewing the site further, we do not plan additional action at this time," Comcast said in a statement issued to the Daily Dot.

In a counter-statement, Evan Greer, the pro-neutrality group's campaign director, went after Comcast, implying that it was part of several companies involved with the aforementioned comment spamming.

"If companies like Comcast are funding this type of illegal activity, their customers and the general public deserve to know about it," Greer said. "If they're not funding it, they should condemn these fake comments and tell the FCC to disregard them."

The Issue Of Net Neutrality

Fight for the Future is one of the more prominent protest groups that have been challenging Ajit Pai's efforts to overturn current rules and practices on net neutrality.

The rules in question came about as part of the FCC's 2015 order that reclassified internet providers, like Comcast, so that data was delivered at equal speeds and without censoring. Pai has been looking to overturn this decision, which has been met with support from internet providers, like Comcast.

The general fear is that, if the ruling was overturned and these companies didn't have a standard they had to meet, customers and users would suffer. The companies wouldn't have to provide an equal level of internet access to anyone paying for their service, instead internet speed could become part of packages used to sell.

More importantly, it would give these companies the ability to censor websites like Comcastroturf, essentially controlling what people could see and have access to when online. This, as one could imagine, hasn't been met with the most positive reception, and the debate doesn't look to be settled anytime soon.

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A bag that was used by astronauts on the Apollo 11 moon mission is expected to bring millions at auction.

When Neil Armstrong returned from the moon, he brought with him a bag containing samples of lunar rocks and dust. However, that bag was misplaced and eventually ended up in a private collection before being auctioned off for a little under $1,000. The man behind the original auction, Max Ary, was eventually arrested and subjected to heavy fines.

The bag was eventually bought by Nancy Carlson at an auction held by the U.S. Marshals Service. However, once Carlson had verified that the bag was, in fact, used by Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, NASA sought to have the sale reversed and the bag returned to the agency.

NASA argued that it had never authorized the transfer of the bag, but Carlson disagreed and after a lengthy legal battle, the courts ruled in ruled her favor. However, the courts did note that NASA did nothing wrong and was the victim in this case.

The Auction

The bag will be auctioned off by Sotheby's where it is expected to go for as high as $4 million.

"Still containing traces of the moon dust, the artifact gives a collector the chance to not only own some of the first lunar material ever collected," Sotheby's said, "but also the chance to own an exceptionally rare relic of humanity's greatest achievement - landing a man on the moon."

For her part, Carlson has said that she intends to donate some of the proceeds to charitable organizations.

The auction will be held on July 2 in New York City. The moon rock bag will be put on display prior to the auction.

NASA's Response

Understandably, NASA is not supportive of this auction. The Apollo 11 program represented the United States' greatest achievement in the space race and NASA representatives have said that they believe the bag should be in a museum rather than a private collection.

"This artifact, we believe, belongs to the American people and should be on display for the public, which is where it was before all of these unfortunate events occurred," said a NASA spokesperson.

Despite NASA's statement, Carlson's reluctance to return the bag is understandable given its value and the fact that she did the work to verify it. That being said, it is a piece of American history so it would be nice if a compromise could be reached.

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After over 30 years from the release of Top Gun, Tom Cruise confirmed that the classic film's sequel is finally happening.

Cruise is heading back to the danger zone with familiar faces, drumming up excitement for Top Gun 2.

Cruise Confirms 'Top Gun 2'

In an interview with Australian morning program Sunrise, Cruise confirmed that Top Gun 2 is in the works, with the movie to start filming in the next year.

"You're the first people I've said it to, you asked me and so I'm telling you," Cruise said to the stunned hosts, adding that the long-awaited sequel is "definitely happening."

Cruise revealed no further details regarding Top Gun 2, which has long been a goal for Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The original movie was the highest-grossing film in 1986 and has since earned over $300 million.

A report from September 2014 said that Top Gun 2 will see Cruise reprise his role as hotshot pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, though in an unfamiliar environment. The film is said to focus on the relevance of human pilots in modern warfare, which is dominated by advanced technology such as drones. The plot on the return of Maverick against drones was further confirmed in June 2015.

Other 'Top Gun 2' Details

The director of Top Gun, Tony Scott, died in 2012 from an apparent suicide, leaving the role wide open for Top Gun 2.

However, sources told Variety that Joseph Kosinski, the director of 2013 science-fiction film Oblivion, which also started Cruise, is the frontrunner to helm Top Gun 2. There is currently no offer yet for Kosinski, but sources expect it to come anytime soon.

Cruise reportedly met with potential directors for Top Gun 2 before and during the filming of Mission Impossible 6 in London. Cruise's experience with Kosinski in Oblivion is not the sole factor in his claiming of the role to direct Top Gun 2, though, as his vision on the sequel officially landed him the job.

Meanwhile, Val Kilmer, who played Maverick's rival Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in Top Gun, has gone on record that he received an offer to reprise his role for Top Gun 2. Kilmer recently suffered through several health issues, but it appears that he is well on his way to recovery. What better way to return to the big screen than to bring Maverick and Iceman together again?

Hollywood Bringing Back The Old Franchises

Cruise's confirmation of Top Gun 2 continues a rising trend in Hollywood of reviving franchises from the decades ago.

The critically acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road, released in 2015, was an Academy Award-winning masterpiece that was based on the post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise that started in 1979. The original film starred Mel Gibson, but the latest installment featured Tom Hardy as Mad Max and Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.

Ghostbusters received the same treatment when the franchise that started in 1984 was rebooted in 2016 with an all-female cast. The decision was first met with disdain, but the movie proved doubters wrong when it was released.

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The recent outbreak of botulism from a batch of tainted liquid nacho cheese at a gas station in Northern California took an unfortunate turn on Wednesday, May 24, when the disease claimed its first victim.

State health officials now confirm a second botulism-related death in California, which was diagnosed a month ago. Napa County officials affirmed that this death is not related to the nacho cheese botulism cases.

For the uninitiated, 10 people were infected with the deadly disease after consuming the tainted cheese sold at the Valley Oaks Food and Fuel. Wisconsin-based Gehl Foods manufactures the cheese and is yet to issue a recall for the product.

What Is Botulism?

For the unfamiliar, botulism is a type of food poisoning and is caused from the toxins the Clostridium botulinum bacteria release. This toxin causes paralysis and in some cases can even cause death. Paralysis first affects the victim's face and then gradually spreads through the body. If the patient's lungs are paralyzed, breathing problems may arise which could lead to death.

The infection generally occurs from food or through an open wound. Before the onset of paralysis, victims usually suffer double vision, slurred speech, and facial weakness. Botulism cases are not a common occurrence as the CDC reports only around 200 cases of the infection each year in the United States.

First Northern California Botulism-Related Death Due To Nacho Cheese

Authorities identified the first botulism victim as 37-year old Martin Galindo-Larious Jr., who passed away after doctors decided to take him off life support. Due to the infection, he was unable to breathe without assistance and died just hours after being unplugged from life support On May 18.

The latest botulism infection of the nacho cheese appears to have occurred due to improper handling of the product during manufacturing. However, Gehl Foods released a statement asserting that its manufacturing process is safe. Health officials have removed the cheese products from the gas station and are investigating the matter.

Out of the remaining nine victims from the tainted nacho cheese, one remains in critical condition. A 33-year-old woman named Lavinia Kelly suffered paralysis and is being kept on respirators, without which she cannot breathe.

Can Botulism Be Cured?

The Northern California botulism outbreak created panic among residents, who are worried about the infection spreading. However, doctors said that in case of food-borne botulism, the infection can usually be cured with antitoxin injections. However, if the infection arises from a wound, then surgery is performed to remove the tissue surrounding the wound.

However, health officials stated that it may be more difficult to cure botulism if it spreads to the lungs and causes paralysis. Antitoxins are unable to reverse any paralysis, which has already occurred.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In north India, there is a much-talked about in-vitro fertilization clinic specializing in fertility treatments for women over the age of 50.

While those treatments have become more commonplace in different parts of the world, they are a sensitive topic in India, where women are often defined in terms of their ability to be a wife and mother. Over the past decade, IVF clinics have emerged by tens of thousands around the country.

Meet Dr. Bishnoi, IVF Doctor For Grandmothers

An Associated Press report centers on Dr. Anurag Bishnoi, who leads the National Fertility and Test Tube Baby Centre in the town of Hisar. His website is filled with images of patients carrying babies at ages that most other doctors would likely find inexcusable: 50s, 60s, and at least two patients giving birth at 70.

Bishnoi has been called many names, but to Manjeet Kaur he is a lifesaver. Kaur, after four decades of being childless, gave birth to baby at age 58 with the doctors help.

You have no idea how I suffered. The pain I lived with. I used to work all day, but my nights were spent in tears, she said, recalling trying IVF twice in her 40s at two separate clinics before finding success under Bishnois watch.

Doctor sahib was like a god to us, she added.

IVF treatments in India cost relatively low, although families usually have to pay out of their own pockets. A single cycle of IVF at Dr. Bishnois clinic is priced at about $1,700, versus the estimated $12,000 in the United States.

Bishnoi likened the treatment costs to getting a buffalo, referencing the farming background of many of his patients.

Word Of Caution From Other Experts

Bishnoi has been accused of making money off desperate, aged women who want their last chance at childbearing.

Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, heading a group of Indian gynecologists and obstetricians, dubbed him a rogue doctor for supposedly ignoring the principles that guide fertility specialists.

Dr. Narendra Malhotra of the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction put it simply: We dont endorse making mothers out of grandmothers. He highlighted the risks for the age group, such as their bodies not designed for childbearing once they hit 50.

The countrys Indian Medical Council sets 45 years old as the recommended cut-off for childbearing, while most other guidelines in the world set the limit at 45 to 50 for treatments such as IVF.

Once in a while, someone like a 64-year-old woman from Burgos, Spain, successfully gives birth to a healthy baby (twins in the Spanish womans case).

According to Bishnoi, he is careful in choosing who to recommend for pregnancy after a series of medical tests. Age, he asserted, doesnt matter as long as the woman is of sound physical, emotional, and financial status.

Bishnoi also claimed to never having a patient die.

Recently, a 100-year-old fertility technique that involves flushing fallopian tubes with water or iodized poppy seed oil made headlines for helping get women pregnant without IVF.

The IVF alternative is known as hysterosalpingography or HSG, and it involves a dye test conducted under X-ray, which is used to examine a woman's fallopian tubes and uterus. The pregnancy rate in infertile females who underwent the HSG test was seen to drastically improve in the last century.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
OnePlus Makes An Interesting Confirmation About OnePlus 5 | TechTree.com

After witnessing many rumours and leaks about the upcoming smartphone, the OnePlus 5, it looks like the Chinese company has finally decided to confirm something interesting.

OnePlus recently made an announcement on its official forum that the upcoming OnePlus 5 would be featuring the latest octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor, which is being touted to keep the device powerful and smooth, thereby enhancing its performance efficiency.

To recall, previous rumours about the device did point out at the Snapdragon 835 SoC, though we werent sure as the company had not made any confirmation on the same. However, the time has changed. We have an official update now. But, the company still has not made all the technical specification details official yet. It seems like OnePlus is revealing one by one through its official forum.

However, going by what we know so far after considering recent rumours as well, it looks like the OnePlus 5 comes with a .55 inch QHD display and runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The device would most probably be featuring either a 6 GB or 8 GB RAM. Also, we have seen renders showing that the smartphone would be featuring a dual-rear camera setup which most probably would be boasting two 12 MP sensors, and additionally, the smartphone is likely to spend an 8 MP selfie-shooter.

via

TAGS: OnePlus
Latur, Maharashtra, May 25 (IBNS) : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had a providential escape when his helicopter crash landed at Latur on Thursday afternoon after getting entangled in wires.

Fadnavis and his companions remained unhurt even as the chopper was badly damaged.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry," Fadnavis tweeted.

The chief minister, speaking to NDTV, said there were four people in the chopper when the crash happened. Fortunately, I have the blessings of more than 11 crore people of Maharashtra so I have escaped without any injuries, he said. He also said that his vitals have been checked and that he is stable.

"When the helicopter took off, there was an emergency landing, an accident, but we are safe. No one is injured. We are safe with the blessings of god and Maharashtra," he told NDTV.
Kolkata, May 25 (IBNS): Days after journalists were beaten by Kolkata Police unprovoked while covering Lefts' march to Nabanna, the city police on Thursday provided special jackets to distinguish them from agitators during BJP's law violation programmes.

Before they started covering BJP's rally to KP headquarter at Lalbazar on Thursday afternoon, city-based scribes, lens men and videographers were given those jackets.

Police wrote 'PRESS' on the jackets of eye-catchy colours in bold letters.

On Monday, policemen, led by two IPS officials, Aparajita Rai and Murali Dhar Sharma, lathicharged media persons twice without any reason, while reporters were covering the Left's protest march to state secretariat Nabanna at Mayo Road and Dufferin Road in near Esplanade.

At least 12 senior and junior journalists, photojournalists and videographers, including a correspondent from IBNS, were injured in the sudden strike and four of them were admitted to hospital as their injuries were serious.

Calling the incident unfortunate and undesired, senior officials of city police have said they will look into the matter and take action against the accused cops.

Journalists of the city took out two protest rallies on Tuesday and Wednesday and demanded punishment of the erring policemen.

Before the BJP's law violation programme on Thursday, a senior police officer suggested that journalists covering the event wear yellow jackets to be provided by the police so that they can be distinguished and spared from any action against law violators.

No reaction to the assault of journalists has been received from state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee so far.



(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha, Image by Subhodeep Sardar/IBNS)
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BJP activists clash with Kolkata police, march to Lalbazar turns violent India Blooms News Service | | #BJP, # Kolkatapolice, # marchtoLalbazarturnsviolent

Kolkata, May 25 (IBNS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) march in Kolkata towards police headquarters Lalbazar to demand arrest of TMC corrupt leaders turned violent today as the activists and the cops clashed on Thursday. Many BJP leaders and activists were injured while they also set on fire to police vehicles. Police used teargas shells, water canons besides batons to disperse the mobs. Bombs also went off in the march. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly said her party workers were marching towards city Police headquarter to submit a deputation peacefully when they were attacked. BJP central leader and national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was also in the march.
Kolkata, May 25 (IBNS): Arson, bombing and violent clashes between police and the opposition BJP marked the day in Kolkata as the saffron party took out a march to city police headquarters Lalbazar on Thursday to protest several issues, including demanding an immediate arrest of sacked controversial Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Mosque- Maulana Barkati.

Police used teargas shells, water canons besides batons to disperse the mobs. Bombs also went off in the march. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly said her party workers were marching towards city Police headquarter to submit a deputation peacefully when they were attacked. BJP central leader and national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was also in the march.

At least three massive rallies, led by several BJP leaders, started from College Square and Esplanade area in Kolkata and Howrah station area in its twin city Howrah in the afternoon. Setting up barricades, police stopped the rallies at Phears Lane, Bentinck Street-Ganesh Chandra Avenue crossing and Tea Board areas respectively.

BJP supporters engaged in a scuffle with the police force at Bentinck Street and police restored to lathicharge to disperse protesters.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha and party's Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly fell sick due to the skirmish with police and later they were arrested.

Clashes broke out in College Square and Tea Board areas too. Each area turned into a battlezone with police resorting to lathis and mobs throwing stones.

Meanwhile, few journalists were beaten up by police today again, even after wearing safety jackets, provided by the city police.

Police alleged that BJP agitators threw crude bombs aiming at police force.

Due to the rally, traffic in central and north parts of the city was partly disrupted for hours.

BJP leaders claimed that over 50 of their supporters were injured in the clash while over 50 agitators, including party's top leaders, have been detained by the police here.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha, Images by Avishek Mitra)
New Delhi, May 25 (IBNS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday, according to media reports.

It was widely speculated that the upcoming Presidential election may be a part of the discussion.

However, Banerjee said that they discussed about various ongoing development projects in the state.

Speaking to the media, she said that at the meeting with the PM, political issues or the President's election were not discussed.

Later she discussed with the media about the BJP's rally in Kolkata on Thursday, which turned violent after the protesters were stopped by the police at several points.

The state BJP had undertaken a march to the city police headquarters (popularly known as Lalbazar) to protest against various issues, including demanding an immediate arrest of sacked controversial Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Mosque- Maulana Barkati.

The rally turned violent after police lathi-charged to disperse the crowd, who retaliated with charging at the police personnel and setting fire to police vehicles.

Mamata Banerjee even showed the media personnel some picture of the violence that took place on Monday (during the Left party's march to the administrative headquarters Nabanna) and again on Thursday.

She blamed the Left parties and the BJP of spreading violence in the state just to prove who is ahead of whom in the race to power.
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The public debate over the fate of the officer who fatally shot Alton Sterling escalated Thursday as the Baton Rouge Union of Police criticized Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's call for his immediate termination, saying her recommendation would short-circuit the legal process and suggesting she was dividing the community.

"It is confusing to us that the Mayor-President would call for the termination of our Officers before the legal process has concluded, thus preventing their due process," Sgt. C. Bryan Taylor, president of the police union, said in a statement. "For us to be a truly unified city, our leaders MUST not divide us."

Attorneys for Sterling's children had sent a letter Wednesday afternoon calling on Broome and Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie to fire police officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. Broome followed suit later that day.

She had released a statement saying she would hand-deliver a letter to Dabadie, calling on him to terminate Salamoni, who is on paid administrative leave while his involvement in Sterling's death continues to be investigated.

Broome delivered the letter Thursday, according to her spokeswoman, Janene Tate. Dabadie received her letter late Thursday and he will respond directly to Broome, said police spokesman Lt. Jonny Dunnam.

Neither the Mayor-President's Office nor the Police Department would release the contents of Broome's letter. The Advocate has sent public records requests to both agencies for the document.

Dunnam, meanwhile, confirmed Thursday that the internal affairs investigation into the two officers involved in Sterling's death has concluded. Under civil service law, internal investigations cannot take more than 60 days, unless there is an agreement for a 60-day extension, which was decided in this case, Dunnam said.

The internal affairs investigation began around the same time as the federal investigation into the shooting, which means it would have wrapped up in early November, 120 days later.

The Police Department usually waits until parallel criminal investigations are concluded before the chief decides how or whether to discipline an officer accused of a crime, said Dunnam, who spent a number of years working in the internal affairs division. He also said a criminal investigation is more thorough than a departmental internal investigation, and Dabadie would want to have the criminal investigation alongside the internal probe to make any disciplinary decision.

Julie Cherry, chairwoman of the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board, said that has routinely been the protocol, and that it makes the most sense.

If officers do end up responsible criminally, then it eliminates their opportunity to appeal the disciplinary action to the civil service board, Cherry said. Proceeding at the department level before the criminal level can lead to unnecessary appeal hearings or short-circuited proceedings.

After the U.S. Department of Justice decided in late March not to charge Salamoni and Lake on civil rights violations in the death of Sterling, the case was handed to the state Attorney General's Office for an investigation into possible criminal charges.

On Wednesday, Broome said she understood and respected "the need for fairness and due process, but the process has gotten us here." She called the videos of Sterling's death disturbing and reprehensible, saying she understood the outrage felt by his family and the community.

The calls for Salamoni's immediate firing began in earnest by a number of local political leaders, pastors, activists, and others after Department of Justice officials told some residents in a March closed-door meeting that the officer pointed a gun at Sterling's head and used expletives while threatening to kill him before they scuffled in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Mart on July 5.

Adding to the back-and-forth between City Hall and the Police Department, Councilwoman Donna Collins-Lewis signalled her intention late Thursday to ask the Metro Council to request an update from Dabadie regarding the investigation of Salamoni and Lake.

As the first five months of her administration have ticked by, Broome has become more public in her disagreements with Dabadie. Though she vowed to replace him while she was campaigning for office, she encountered state civil service laws that protect him from being fired without just cause.

In the first few months on the job, Broome insisted that she and Dabadie were having positive conversations. She went as far as to say they were on the same page in determining changes the Police Department needed.

Broome's call for Salamoni to be fired, however, is the second time this week she has publicly disagreed with Dabadie. Earlier this week, she announced she wanted a police officer to be fired after he texted other officers a racially charged image while Sterling protests were happening. Dabadie suspended the officer while the department investigates the incident. Broome called the text message indicative of the need for top-down change at the Police Department.
Patna, May 25 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): Five Maoists have been awarded death sentence for killing two CRPF jawans during the last 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The death sentence was handed out by the Munger district court on Thursday.



Soon after the court announced its judgment, angry relatives of the convicts created ruckus in the court premises, media reports said.

As per reports, a police team had gone on patrolling in the Jamui LS constituency during the 2014 polls when their vehicle was attacked by rebels.



Subsequently, two jawans died in the incident while seven others sustained injuries.

http://thebiharpost.com/IBNS
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A former Ascension Parish man once on the run from Gonzales police over an August shooting but jailed in Colorado since November over a slaying in Denver faces a second murder accusation in that state, Colorado law enforcement authorities said.

Mikhail Anthony Purpera, 29, formerly of Gonzales, is suspected of shooting a 33-year-old Englewood man Nov. 12, police in Englewood, Colorado, said Wednesday.

Arapahoe County prosecutors filed first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and other counts against Purpera on May 19 over the shooting. Denver-area news organizations first reported the announcement from Englewood Police on Wednesday morning.

The dead man, Patrick Steven Murphy, had been reported missing since Nov. 11 by his father, Englewood police said in an affidavit for arrest. Murphys body was found Feb. 11 in a mostly drained city park duck pond by someone walking along a bike path, the arrest report says.

Purpera, formerly of 10165 Lake Park Ave., Gonzales, was already in a Denver jail over a Nov. 5 slaying and a shoplifting count when Englewood police and county prosecutors brought the new murder case forward.

That earlier shooting in Denver happened a week before the Nov. 12 shooting of Murphy in Englewood and two blocks away from the duck pond where his body was found, Englewood Police said.

Gonzales man on the run from August shooting in Ascension charged in Colorado slaying GONZALES  A Gonzales man wanted in an Ascension Parish shooting in August that injured one 

In Gonzales, Purpera faces two counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of felony car theft from the August shooting, city police have said.

Purpera rammed and shot up a Chevy Trailblazer the morning of Aug. 22 after he stole a car and followed a female acquaintance who had been picked up from her apartment complex by a male friend, Gonzales police said.

The male friend, who was driving, was shot in the abdomen but survived, police said.

After the shooting, Purpera was able to avoid Gonzales Police for months as they chased down tips he had fled to Mississippi and Mexico.

Gonzales police, at the time, questioned how Purpera was able to stay on the run with no known means of support, but it appears Purpera was in Colorado less than two weeks after the Gonzales shootings.

In mid-November, when Englewood police initially arrested Purpera on suspicion of shoplifting, they found Greyhound bus tickets in Purpera's back pack showing he arrived in Denver on Aug. 31.

The arrest report in Murphy's slaying details witnesses who describe Purpera's time in the Denver area as one on the fringes of society and among the transient community's drug scene. Witnesses said Purpera also discussed making a visit to Western Union, a business that allows people to wire or receive cash to and from distant locations.

Some witnesses also told Englewood police that Purpera bragged about the two slayings for which he has been charged and apparently others, even displaying spent shell casings from purported shootings and what Purpera claimed was Murphy's bloody trucker-style cap, the arrest report says.

Im getting a rush off it, a witness said Purpera told him about Murphys slaying after throwing down the cap. Murphy was shot in the head, police said.

In the Denver slaying, a witness had told Denver police that Purpera displayed the bullet casings purportedly from that shooting, which he considered trophies. In his back pack, Englwood police found the identification of and other papers for several people, including Murphy, the arrest report says.

Sgt. Chad Read, Englewood Police spokesman, said Thursday that Purpera is not being investigated for any other known slayings. On the two alleged slayings witnesses claimed Purpera bragged about, police later proved those stories to be false, Read added.

Purpera has been held in the Denver County Sheriff's Downtown Detention Center since last year with no bail.

Denver police said in December that Purpera killed and robbed a transient man who lived in a squatter's camp site near the South Platte River in Denver County. Wayland Busby, 54, was found shot in his tent in a pool of blood, police said.

Denver prosecutors brought first-degree murder and aggravated robbery charges against Purpera Nov. 29 in Busby's slaying, an affidavit of probable cause says.

Despite the close timing of the two slayings that Colorado authorities now tie to Purpera, his connection to Murphy's slaying didn't fully come to light until months after the fact.

Police had received a tip Nov. 18 that someone had been murdered at what's known as the duck pond, but cold and snowy weather hindered searches, the arrest report says.

Subsequent searches in November didn't find evidence of a slaying around the duck pond, Englewood police said. The pond was mostly drained in February for a regular clean-out. That revealed Murphy's body and showed it was probably submerged under as much as 12 feet of water back in November.

Vikki Migoya, spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office, said Purpera's first court appearance in Murphy's slaying is set for June 2.

The case in the Denver County is still pending. Purpera's next court appearance in that case is set for June 26. Under that state's speedy trial laws, Purpera must have a trial by Nov. 20, said Ken Lane, spokesman for the Denver County District Attorney's Office.

At the time of the Gonzales shootings in August, Purpera had been out of state prison for four months after finishing a five-year sentence for second-degree battery and other charges from prior convictions, Louisiana corrections officials have said.

Editor's note: This story was updated on May 24, 2017, to add details about disproved allegations of other slayings.
Vice President Mike Pence made a quick jaunt to Louisiana to build support for the administration's embattled health care and budget plans on Wednesday, while President Donald Trump continues his first overseas trip since taking office.

"President Trump and I will never stop fighting for the issues that matter most to the American people," Pence told a cheering crowd of workers and business people gathered at an invitation-only speech at Cajun Industries in Port Allen. "To borrow a phrase, we will make America great again."

It was the vice president's third trip to Louisiana, and the nearly four hours he spent in the Baton Rouge area were mostly among supportive crowds. He took no questions from reporters but held a round-table discussion with more than a dozen local business leaders, including executives from Cajun Industries, Raisin' Cane's Chicken Fingers, Tin Roof Brewery and other various small businesses.

And special thanks to the Morgan family for welcoming me back to their home. Truly inspiring to be there & see their rebuilt house. #VPinLa pic.twitter.com/wjX8P8TcuD  Vice President Pence (@VP) May 24, 2017

Pence didn't directly address the criticism that some of the administration's plans have faced in Louisiana, including concerns about the budget proposal's hit in oil revenue dollars designated for Louisiana's coastline.

He also didn't directly address concerns that the health care bill would threaten coverage for the more than 428,000 Louisiana residents who have signed up for Medicaid under expanded criteria over the past year.

"The Obamacare nightmare is about to end," Pence said of efforts to repeal the federal health care law and replace it with a GOP-backed plan. "Every day Obamacare survives is another day that the Louisiana economy and families struggle."

+2 Mike Pence's surprise visit to flood victims in Baton Rouge: photos, video Vice President Mike Pence has made a visit to a pair of Louisiana flood victims he met last year.

The U.S. House swiftly approved the American Health Care Act, with all of Louisiana's Republican congressmen voting in favor.

The U.S. Senate has so far held off on a vote. Pence urged the crowd to reach out to Republican U.S. Sens. John N. Kennedy and Bill Cassidy to urge them to support it. "We need Louisiana's help to get it across the finish line," he said.

Cassidy, a physician, is pushing his own health care overhaul legislation.

Pence's trip was billed as being business focused, but before the meeting at Cajun Industries, Pence worked in a surprise detour to Denham Springs to visit a couple he met during a visit in August following last year's historic floods.

"This is astounding," Pence said as he surveyed the renovated home of Jimmy and Olive Morgan, a couple whose flood-ravaged home he and Trump toured last year. The Morgans, who had to be rescued from the roof of their flooded home, only moved back into their house on May 5. Pence's return was a surprise, and the couple hugged him upon arrival.

Jimmy Morgan, tearing up at one point, recounted that when Trump asked if they planned to rebuild, he didn't know the answer at the time. Pence pointed out a spot on the wall as being where he remembered the water mark falling the last time he was in the same living room.

He said he had spoken to Trump as the president traveled from the Vatican to Brussels and told him he planned to meet with the Morgans in their new home.

"He asked me to tell you hello and to congratulate you," Pence told the couple.

Pence was joined by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma, who worked as a health care consultant for the state of Indiana while Pence was governor.

Gov. John Bel Edwards and Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, both Democrats, greeted Pence and his guests as he arrived at the Baton Rouge airport.

Edwards passed along a letter to Pence, expressing his concerns about the administration's health care and budget proposals.

"To put it simply, the budget proposal presented this week, and the pending health care reform legislation in its current form, would set Louisiana back decades," Edwards wrote in the letter.

Edwards, Pence, Graves and Broome carried on an extended conversation at the bottom of the Air Force Two staircase.

"I shared my concerns with the Vice President about the administrations budget proposal, and I promised to work with him and President Trump to craft a plan that doesnt unfairly target our state, but achieves our shared goal of fiscal responsibility," Edwards said.

During the round-table discussion later that day, several Louisiana business leaders voiced concern with the current health care law implemented under Barack Obama.

Milton Graugnard, executive vice president of Cajun Industries, said the Louisiana-based specialty construction company has seen health care costs increase more than 50 percent in the past three years.

"We've had to whittle away at benefits," he said.

The company used to offer free vision care and regular check-ups, he noted to Pence as examples, but because of rising costs, Graugnard said employees now have to pay extra for those services.

"Not only are the costs rising, the benefits are being decreased," Graugnard said.

Dave Roberts, president and CEO of Baton Rouge-based Excel Contracting, told Pence a similar story.

He said that prescription drug prices are growing at an alarming rate, threatening employee benefits. "We're going to get to a point where we can't offer it as a benefit," he said.

Throughout the meeting, Pence scribbled notes and asked follow up questions.

"Obamacare has failed," Pence told the group of business owners. " We're not going to quit until we repeal and replace it."
On a second go-around the Louisiana House late Wednesday approved legislation to ensure the free speech of controversial speakers on state college campuses and to penalize students who disrupt it.

Rep. Lance Harris, who sponsored House Bill 269, shut down debate and asked for a vote without giving a closing statement. The House approved HB269 on a vote of 66 to 29 within minutes.

The House had been in session for about six hours and still had much on the days agenda left when Harris called his bill from the calendar.

The Alexandria Republican and House Majority Leader said the measure had been thoroughly debated last week when it was defeated 46 to 34. No further discussion was needed, he said.

Bill to penalize students who disrupt campus speech falls short in state House Legislation touted as a way to prevent controversial speakers from being shouted down at Lou

House rules allow members to seek another vote if their measure has majority of votes but fails to reach the number necessary for passage  53 in the cases of bills like this one.

The legislation would direct colleges and university management boards to spell out policies that would prevent students, outside speakers or others from being shouted down because of unpopular views.

Those policies would have to make clear that "it is not the proper role of an institution to shield individuals from speech protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution ... including without limitation ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable or even deeply offensive," according to the bill.

Similar bills are being sponsored by conservative legislators in other states.

No disruptions of free speech have been reported on Louisianas public school campuses. But Harris pointed to instances in which controversial conservatives have not been allowed to speak, such as happened recently at the University of California at Berkeley.

Amid national controversy, House panel endorses bill touted as way to ensure open debate on campuses A bill aimed at ensuring free speech on Louisiana campuses, and penalizing students who disr

The measure now goes to the state Senate for consideration. The legislative session must adjourn on June 8.
Kolkata, May 25 (IBNS): Hours after Kolkata witnessed massive violence as clashes erupted between police and the opposition BJP with the saffron party taking out a march to city police headquarters Lalbazar on Thursday to protest several issues, Supratim Sarkar- Joint CP (Headquarters), Kolkata Police said that that rally created a chaos in "planned way" which left over 21 policemen, including few female cops and over 50 protesters injured.

"When BJP took permission to hold the rally, they told us that it would be peaceful. But what we noticed today, they created chaos in a planned way and went on rampage at Tea Board and Phears Lane areas," Sarkar said at a media briefing.

"They (BJP) threw bricks and stones indiscriminately in an unprovoked attack. They hurled a patrol bomb aiming at cops at Tea Board, we have seized that. Few BJP activists, gathered in front of its party office at Central Avenue had suddenly started brick batting aiming at us," said he.

Arson, bombing and violent clashes marked the day as BJP took out a raaly to protest several issues, including demanding an immediate arrest of sacked controversial Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Mosque- Maulana Barkati.

Sarkar said, "Car of Armhers Street PS's OC was burnt at Phears Lane and at least three other government vehicles were ransacked by the agitators. Several properties of Central Metro Station were damaged as well."

Police used teargas shells, water canons besides batons to disperse the mobs. Bombs also went off in the march. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly said her party workers were marching towards city Police headquarter to submit a deputation peacefully when they were attacked. BJP central leader and national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was also in the march.

At least three massive rallies, led by several BJP leaders, started from College Square and Esplanade area in Kolkata and Howrah station area in its twin city Howrah in the afternoon. Setting up barricades, police stopped the rallies at Phears Lane, Bentinck Street-Ganesh Chandra Avenue crossing and Tea Board areas respectively.

BJP supporters engaged in a scuffle with the police force at Bentinck Street and police restored to lathicharge to disperse protesters.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha and party's Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly fell sick due to the skirmish with police and later they were arrested.

Clashes broke out in College Square and Tea Board areas too. Each area turned into a battlezone with police resorting to lathis and mobs throwing stones.

Sarkar informed that police booked 141 BJP activists and leaders, including Kailash Vijayvargiya, Dilip Ghosh, Rahul Sinha, Roopa Ganguly, Locket Chatterjee and Jayprakash Majumder, for their involvement in the clash.

"We are examining clash's footage and our review/screening process is underway. We will lodge non-bailable cases against those who were directly involved in the massacre," he said.

"Cases will be lodged at Bowbazar, Jorasanko, Burrabazar and Hare Street Police Stations," the joint CP announced.

Few journalists were also beaten up by police today again, even after wearing safety jackets, provided by the city police.

Police alleged that BJP agitators threw crude bombs aiming at police force.

Due to the rally, traffic in central and north parts of the city was partly disrupted for hours.

BJP leaders claimed that over 50 of their supporters were injured in the clash while over 50 agitators, including party's top leaders, have been detained by the police here.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)
Speaker Taylor Barras conceded that the Louisiana House will not raise enough revenue before the ongoing regular session ends in two weeks to fill a looming budget deficit.

This will force legislators to return in a special session to solve the problem, he acknowledged.

It sounds like thats where were heading, Barras, R-New Iberia, said in an interview with three reporters after the session ended late Wednesday night.

The coming budget deficit will be caused by the expiration of $1.3 billion in temporary taxes on July 1, 2018. Inside the State Capitol its known as the fiscal cliff. Legislators have a year to stave off the cliff, but not doing it now will mean a special session since they cannot raise taxes during next years regular session.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has been predicting that lawmakers wont find a way to solve the problem during the current regular session.

Barras said that any plans to generate more revenue now face too much resistance from the public.

Outside this building, he said, referring to the State Capitol, no one wants a tax passed," adding that the resistance is getting stronger and stronger. He noted that most local tax measures on the ballot recently were defeated.

I dont see any large revenue-raising bills left, Barras said, referring to what remains on the House legislative calendar. I dont see votes for that.

Barras also said he believes that any solution to the fiscal cliff will include a renewal of all or a portion of the 1-cent sales tax that lawmakers approved a year ago. That approval came with the proviso that it vanish on July 1 next year.

The Advocate reported four weeks ago that more and more lawmakers were concluding that keeping at least a portion of that increase was likely. The extra penny generates about $880 million per year, which would be a big chunk of the money needed to address the $1.3 billion fiscal cliff.

The news article also reported that the 1-cent increase has generated few complaints from constituents for legislators, even though it gives Louisiana the highest combined local-state sales tax rate at an average 10 percent.

I dont think you can get around sales taxes, Barras said Wednesday night.

Check back with The Advocate later today for updates.
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President Donald Trump, right, and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
After a month of headlines across the country and world chronicling the removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans, the spotlight has now narrowed to focus on Mayor Mitch Landrieus Friday address laying out the reasons for the decision in starkly moral terms and addressing issues of race and history head-on.

The speech  given before a small invited audience at Gallier Hall as crews were preparing to lift the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from its pedestal a few blocks away at Lee Circle  has received glowing accolades from columnists and editors at The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The Chicago Tribune.

It also has exploded on social media and on blogs, with many commenters praising its elegance and pointing readers to a transcript or video of the whole speech.

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Not seeing the video below? Click here.

To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in our most prominent places of honor is an inaccurate recitation of our full past, it is an affront to our present, and it is a bad prescription for our future," Landrieu said in the address, going on to ask how to explain to a black child why a Confederate general occupied one of the most prominent spaces in the city.

Can you look into that young girls eyes and convince her that Robert E. Lee is there to encourage her? he said, in a widely quoted portion of the address.

While the removal of monuments to Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, Jefferson Davis and a Reconstruction-era uprising known as the Battle of Liberty Place remains a hotly contested issue in Louisiana, the response from liberal commentators elsewhere has been unanimously positive. The attention may provide valuable for Landrieu should he continue to be mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate.

New Orleans completes removal of Confederate monuments with take down of Robert E. Lee statue After more than nine hours of labor, workers successfully removed the statue of Robert E. Lee from his pedestal at Lee Circle on Friday...

Landrieu declared with astonishing moral and historical clarity that these were not monuments to some bygone way of Southern life implied by believers in the Lost Cause, Jack Holmes wrote on Esquire's website. They were symbols of white supremacy, and of the systemic oppression of human beings.

At the same time, some of the local activists who long called for the monuments to come down insist that while the speech was well done, more remains to be done to purge symbols of the Confederacy from New Orleans and that more credit should be given to those who worked on the issue for decades, not just to Landrieu.

In a column titled Mitch Landrieu reminds us that eloquence still exists, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni described the speech as addressing matters that are forever tripping us up  race, history, healing  better than anything Ive heard or read in a long time. It was the masterpiece we needed at the moment we needed it, and I fear that it was lost in the brutal whirl of news these days.

Brunis column contrasted the empathy of Landrieus speech with the outrage and rants he argued Democrats have stooped to since the election of President Donald Trump.

At the Washington Post, Janell Ross, who covers race, posted a transcript of the speech and praised the direct but poetic manner in which Landrieu described the ideas that have provided a comforting but incomplete and inaccurate understanding of the countrys past, facilitating anger about social and political change in the present.

In the Chicago Tribune, columnist Mary Schmich wrote that she hadnt planned on reading the speech.

Who reads a whole speech? By a mayor, any mayor, anywhere? Schmich wrote.

Can't see the video below? Click here.

But after the accolades kept floating past on social media  'stunning,' 'moving,' 'must-read'  I clicked on the speech out of curiosity, she wrote. I've been thinking about its eloquence, power and humility ever since.

The speech has also been positively compared to presidential candidate Barack Obamas 2008 speech on race and President Lyndon B. Johnsons commencement address at Howard University in 1965, considered a landmark moment in the civil rights struggle.

Moving, powerful, truthful, fearless. Every American should read this speech. 100 years from now they'll study it, Paul Begala, who was an adviser to former President Bill Clinton and is a contributor to CNN, said on Twitter.

Particularly during his second and final term, Landrieu has maintained a surprisingly large presence on the national political scene for a mayor of a city that doesnt even crack the top 50 in terms of population.

In part thats been driven by the attention New Orleans has received during its recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the national media blitz that accompanied the floods 10th anniversary in 2015, and by his appearances, speeches and op-eds for national publications and think tanks.

But that attention has not been as focused on Landrieu himself until the past few days.

The reaction may result, in part, from the unusual nature of the speech.

Its rare for any politician, let alone a white mayor in the South, to devote an entire speech to race. Even more rare is a speech that directly confronts racism in moral terms, admits to personal blind spots and acknowledges the problematic history of the politicians own city.

The moment in the spotlight comes at a time when Landrieu's name has begun to be included in lists of possible Democratic presidential contenders in 2020.

Landrieu got a lot of mileage over his handling of the Confederate statues. It could help him a lot in the party, particularly with African-American voters and Southern moderates, said Charlie Cook, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report.

However, all the attention to the speech has rubbed some of the activists who have long worked toward removing Confederate symbols in the city the wrong way.

Malcolm Suber, the organizer of Take 'Em Down NOLA, described it as a wonderful speech, absolutely right in its conclusion." But pointing to a list of more than 100 other statues and street names he believes support white supremacy in the city, Suber added, The question is: Does the mayor believe the words he spoke? If he really believed what he said, he would be on our side in taking down all the Confederate monuments.

Suber  who was at the Lee statue when the speech was given  also said Landrieu is taking credit for a movement that started long before he realized two years ago that the statues were a problem for many New Orleanians. Members of the black community have been working for decades to get the monuments removed.

He chose to move to the front of the parade and be the drum major, so he wants all the attention to himself, Suber said. We are convinced if we had not pushed and pressed and pushed hard on this thing, those statues would still be standing.
Mathieu-Pierre Macintosh, who was last seen by his father in September 2013, abducted by his mother who is believed to be in France or Belgium. He was last seen by his father when he was nine. An aged-progressed photograph shows what he would look like now at 13. Mr Macintosh said despite not seeing his son for nearly four years and last speaking to him on the phone almost three years ago, he was sure they would be reunited. "I'm actually very hopeful that I'll find him. I think it's just a matter of time," he said. An age-progressed image of how Thomas Speath might look now. The now seven-year-old went missing from Brisbane in 2014 with his older sister Serena. They are believed to be with their mother. "In this day and age, there's a lot of technology that can help. You can't run forever. You just hope nothing untoward happens to him."

On International Missing Children's Day, age-progressed images have been released of six missing Australian children, all of whom have been abducted by their mother or gone missing with their mother. An age-progressed image of how Serena Speath might look now. The now eight-year-old went missing from Brisbane in 2014 with her brother Thomas. They are believed to be with their mother. They are Queensland siblings Serena and Thomas Speath, last seen in 2014; Queensland twins, Isabella and Bronte Watter, also missing since 2014 and Leela McDougall, who was just six when she went missing with her mother in Western Australia almost a decade ago. Leading forensic artists from the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children were commissioned to create the age-progressed images to illustrate what the children may look like today. An aged-progressed image of Bronte Watter who, with twin sister, Isabella, went missing from Townsville in 2014. They would now be aged 10 and are believed to be with their mother.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Debbie Platz, National Manager Crime Operations, said it was hoped the images would spark interest in the children's cases and ignite a global effort to bring them home. The day was launched in Canberra on Thursday by Murray Cook, a former member of The Wiggles. An aged-progressed image of Isabella Watter who, with twin sister, Bronte, went missing from Townsville in 2014. They would now be aged 10 and are believed to be with their mother. Assistant Commissioner Platz said about 38,000 people were reported missing in Australia each year and of those, about 20,000 were aged under 18. "Most of them are actually found within the first couple of days so that consists of children who might run away or fail to tell their parents where they are or they're abducted by one of the parents and then they're located quite quickly," she said.

An aged-progressed image of what Leela McDougall might look like now. The then six-year-old went missing with her mother in Western Australia almost a decade ago. She would now be aged 15. The AFP received 400 recovery orders each year from the Family Court for children missing with, or abducted by, a parent, with each order possibly relating to multiple children. On average, there 141 applications to have children returned to Australia via the Hague Convention after being abducted overseas by a parent. Assistant Commissioner Platz said there were genuine cases of parents fleeing situations of domestic violence but abducting children and breaking the law was not the answer. "I've seen that when children are returned, as they get older, they will often turn on the parent who has abducted them. That parent will then lose contact with that child themselves," she said.

"So you're causing them trauma all through their life because they don't have friends or family surrounding them - and they're often highly mobile so they don't have time to make friends. "They might also change their names and characteristics and that can also cause a lot of emotional abuse on the child." Mr Macintosh said his ex-wife fabricated stories of abuse as a tactic to keep her child. "Little stupid things. Like taking photos of Matt in the bathtub, she went to the local police station and made a report that I was abusing him," he said. "That's a typical retort in these kinds of cases."

Mr Macintosh said he last spoke to his son in July 2014 in a rushed phone call. There had been no contact since. He has never remarried or had other children. "Matt was my first and only child," he said. "They say time heals everything. I think there are some things time can't heal. "Initially, there is anguish, pain, frustration, frustration at the world, really. Gradually you fall into a bit of acceptance. "I realise I've done what I can do and I'm still hopeful I can find him. If I can just get the message out to the average man on the street the significance of stealing or taking a child.
Carlton and St Kilda players involved in melees during their spiteful round eight AFL fixture have earned their clubs $10,000 fines.

The Saints' win on May 13 was underscored by a fracas late in the third term, with tensions between the two sides fuelled by highly-personal sledges directed towards Blues skipper Marc Murphy.

Murphy was incensed at the Saints' sledging - understood to be aimed at his wife - during the match, and directed words at Jake Carlisle while the opposition defender was injured on the ground.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson and captain Jarryn Geary both later called Murphy and admitted the remarks had overstepped the mark.
The Swans need Kurt Tippett to prove his worth. Credit:Getty Images Unlike Buddy, Tippett hasn't delivered anywhere near as much on the club's investment in him, even if there are reasons for that. Or excuses, depending on how you look at it. Tippett hasn't had a great run at playing regular footy because of injury. Already this year he's missed four games with hip and ankle problems; last year he missed nine. Even when he returned late last season, Tippett struggled and in the grand final he was overshadowed by a player who has had his own share of critics, the Western Bulldogs' Tom Boyd. Overall, Tippett is a more complete player than Boyd, but unlike Boyd, he hasn't stood up on the biggest of stages.

For Sydney to do what the Bulldogs did last year  and make a run at the premiership from the bottom half of the eight  Tippett must find consistency. At 202 centimetres and 105 kilograms, he's a giant of a man. He's an unbelievable-looking athlete, who, when he's on, can have a profound influence on his team and that's something I don't say about ruckmen often. In that ruck-forward position, he needs to provide a target around the ground, while also pushing forward and kicking goals. It's a role he's already proved he can fill. Just two years ago, he played 22 of 24 possible matches.

In his last five games of that season, including two finals, he averaged 18 disposals, eight marks, three goals and 15 hit-outs. How many other ruck-forwards can boast those stats? If Tippett can recapture that type of form, there's no doubt Sydney can be a force once more and that's why he's such a crucial weapon. While you could argue Buddy is more important to the Swans, they don't rely on him like they once did. They've been spreading the load much better, and even last week against St Kilda had 12 different goalkickers. That's been the real positive in their indifferent start to the year. The club's spate of injuries has allowed it to uncover young guys such as Oliver Florent and Will Hayward, while Zak Jones has also got a lot more opportunity.

Sam Reid is finally stringing a few games together and, like Tippett, just needs some clear air with his body. In his first game back against the Saints, Tippett didn't put up massive numbers, but showed enough to say he can still contribute enormously. You would certainly hope he builds on that performance against Hawthorn on Friday night. Even though Tippett slotted a nice goal from near the boundary, he also gave one off despite being only 40-45 metres out. That's the type of kick he needs to be taking responsibility for. Let Callum Sinclair do the grunt work in the ruck, so he can have an impact on the scoreboard. Tippett should have the belief that he can do that.
Image: www.i.ytimg.com

Patna, May 25 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): At least eight people were charred to death after a passenger bus caught fire midway through the journey in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Thursday evening, an official report said on Thursday.

Reports said the bus was on way to Sheikhpura from Patna when it caught fire in Harnaut areas of Nalanda district. The victims included one child.



Unconfirmed reports however put the toll at 20. Some 50 passengers were aboard the bus.



The exaction reason behind the incident is not known but media reports said the bus apparently caught fire owing to some inflammable material loaded in the bus, which caught fire owing to excessive heat.



The fire spread so fast that the victims didnt get time to come out as they charred to death.



Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar while expressing shock over the incident has announced a compensation of Rs 400,000 to each victim family.

thebiharpost.com
After 112-years of Australian ownership Ansell will sell its condom business to a Chinese consortium for $800 million.

Ansell says the time is right to exit the fluctuating sexual wellness market and focus on rubber gloves.

Ansell's history dates back to 1905, when Eric Norman Ansell bought a condom machine from his employer, the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia, and started his own business.
The owner of Tarocash, yd., Rockwear and other apparel chains will be sold to a South African retailer in a deal that values the Australian company at $302.5 million.

The Foschini Group said on Thursday that it would buy 100 per cent of Retail Apparel Group, which will become a fully-owned subsidiary by the third quarter of this calendar year.

Tarocash's owner has been sold.

RAG has 400 stores across its portfolio of brands, which also includes Connor and Johnny Bigg.
NSW Business Chamber chief executive officer Stephen Cartwright said the new survey identified a need to give employers support with the costly and time-consuming business of training workers. It also highlighted the need to give employers more support in hiring and retaining training workers. "The administrative burden is a real deterrent, with employers finding it difficult to navigate the system and find the right information despite the wealth of material available," Mr Cartwright said. The survey found that 63.3 per cent of 108 manufacturing businesses and 41.3 per cent of retail and wholesale businesses reported their perception of a skills shortage. Regional skills shortages as high as 70.6 per cent were reported by the 50 businesses surveyed in Western NSW. In Sydney, 52.9 per cent of the 280 businesses surveyed said they had skills shortages.

Mr Cartwright said hundreds of cranes dotting the skyline in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong meant a construction boom was underway. "This record infrastructure pipeline presents an 'unmissable' opportunity to upskill the next generation, making it alarming that more than two-thirds of construction businesses responding to our survey reported a shortfall in skills," he said. "At a time when high youth unemployment has reached crisis levels in some areas of NSW, it is also troubling to see indications of a mismatch between what employers expect from their staff and what our education system is currently producing." Mr Cartwright urged the NSW Government to use the state budget to invest in employability programs, kick-start incentives for employers and pilot innovative new apprenticeship models. "Governments should see these results as a call to action," he said.

Professor John Buchanan, chair of business analytics at the University of Sydney Business School, said the retail industry had difficulty attracting the skills it needed because of the relatively low wages it offered. "It's a skills shortage at that rate of pay," Professor Buchanan said. "These are employer perceptions about what they want at their going rate of pay." Professor Buchanan said barriers identified to engaging apprentices indicated a reluctance by employers to want to train workers.

"That is buttressed by them not having a budget to train and finding they are so understaffed they don't have the wherewithal to train," he said. "If there are skills shortages then employers have to look at their own practices and habits. "Some employers are stepping up and becoming self-reliant. The dairy sector put a levy on themselves to figure out creative ways of meeting the challenge." Employment relations expert Dr Chris F Wright from the University of Sydney business school and his colleague Dr Andreea Constantin have found in their research that employers were using 457 visas in the hospitality industry to overcome recruitment difficulties, which are not the same as skills shortages. Dr Wright said this was especially the case in accommodation and food services. The three main occupations are cooks, cafe and restaurant managers and chefs.

For a skills shortage to exist as distinct from a recruitment difficulty, Wright says it has to be across the labour market and not specific to a particular employer. And it has to be persistent. Employers can respond to a skills shortage by setting higher wages, providing better career opportunities or training workers. But in a tough business environment only 1 per cent of 1600 employers using 457 visas were prepared to address a job vacancy by increasing wages. They were more likely to recruit labour from overseas. Dr Wright said his research shows that employers in hospitality were 13 times more likely to prefer 457 visa holders over similar Australian workers. "The scheme is designed to address shortfalls of qualified workers, but hospitality employers were just as likely to recruit 457 visa workers because they were perceived as being harder working or more loyal," Dr Wright said.
Two of the more extraordinary documents floating around NSW politics in the past seven years are the memoranda of understanding struck between registered clubs and the Coalition government.

First signed up to by then opposition leader Barry O'Farrell in 2010, the initial MOU committed a Coalition government to a range of reforms benefiting the clubs industry  most obviously sizeable tax cuts on their poker machine profits.

The Baird government repeated the exercise in a fresh MOU before the 2015 election by guaranteeing tax rates would be frozen for the following four years.

So far these two decisions to benefit clubs are forecast to cost the NSW taxpayer more than $500 million in forgone tax revenue by 2019.
In the aftermath of yet another bombing, it seems to me we need to change the language we use when referring to the perpetrators. Calling them terrorists or extremists gives them too much credit and kudos. I do not really care why they do it. We need to call them what they are: mass murderers and cowards. Jacqueline Lademann, Ringwood The media's Ango-Saxon/European focus The Age devoted seven pages to the Manchester attack on Wednesday and four pages on Thursday. This was a terrible event and demanded coverage. But why do similar events that occur from Syria across to Pakistan almost every week receive little more than a paragraph, if that? I think it as an expression of the Anglo-Saxon/European focus of our media. This is a focus that cannot understand why (deranged?) individuals engage in asymmetrical warfare when their own countries, or that of their ancestors, have been invaded by Western forces. Nor can I understand why there has not been more negative comment on Donald Trump's trumpeting of American arms sales to Saudi Arabia. That country is known for supporting ideologically, and financially, some groups that contribute to the outrages represented by the Manchester bombing. We are not necessarily living in an era of fake news, but one that continues the practice of refusing to look at contradictions when they are staring you in the face.

Greg Bailey, St Andrews Terrorists are driven by hatred and fear It is not poverty, hunger or slavery that drives people to become murderous terrorists, Usman Mahmood (Letters,25/5). It is hatred and fear that creates the fanatics who commit these barbaric atrocities. Henry Herzog, St Kilda East THE FORUM

Attacks on 'have nots' Malcolm Turnbull condemns the Manchester massacre as an "attack on innocence". However, what else is his government doing to the refugees in illegal detention centres, the refugees who have been trying to apply for citizenship for years but have been prevented from doing so by red tape, and the poor people being harassed by Centrelink? These immoral, illegal efforts to harass the "have nots" make it more likely that some will try to get their own back on the hypocrites who are subjecting them to this torture, purely to attract the votes of right-wing rednecks. If Mr Turnbull had any common sense, let alone the "Christian principles" he professes to uphold, he would do everything in his power to help these people fit into Australian society so they can make the contribution. Roger Riordan, Brighton East Why so much shock?

Why such an outcry at the death of these children in Manchester? It (the bombing) was only a response to the hundreds of Syrian children who have been killed by Coalition air strikes. What else can we expect? David Bond, Portarlington Too much information I am concerned at the disclosure of security arrangements, or lack thereof, at major sporting venues, concerts, schools etc in Victoria on various radio talkback programs. This intelligence has been broadcast to the community, which almost certainly includes supporters of Islamic terrorism. They, no doubt, will be grateful for the information. It is the height of irresponsibility. Might I recommend that more circumspection be shown in this area in the interest of public safety. Michael Gamble, Belmont

In a dark, dank corner I am bewildered that after the appalling murders in Manchester, anybody could suggest the only thing wrong with the bombing was that it was not conducted at the ABC studio in Ultimo. That this vile suggestion came from the online editor of the journal Quadrant only makes it more incomprehensible. At least it has shone a laser into the dark corners of the right-wing, that it has an agenda of hate-mongering. Let us hope Roger Franklin's career in right-wing politics is finished. Dean Wotherspoon, Northcote Selective outrage Yassmin Abdel-Magied makes an innocuous comment about Anzac Day and Senator Eric Abetz and friends whip themselves into confected outrage. One of their own suggests that bombing the national broadcaster and killing Australians might be a good thing and, from the right, silence.

Jenny Herbert, Metung The value of Aunty The Coalition accuses the ABC of being "leftist" because it does not always agree with Coalition policies and comments. This is exactly why we need the ABC, a broadcaster that questions and discusses topics, instead of adopting a meek obeisance. Mary Linnestad, Corryong Gays fleeing in terror

The gay Muslims from the Middle East and Banda Aceh in Indonesia are being persecuted right now, today. They are fleeing from Islamic State in Syria and Iraq into Lebanon in fear of their lives. They would certainly have been killed. Aceh has brought in strict anti-gay laws: gay sex is punishable by 100 strokes of the cane ("Crowd roars as men flogged for prohibited gay sex", World, 24/5). This is under strict Sharia law. Australia should be taking these people in with open arms and protecting their lives, human rights and freedoms. We need to offer them refuge, now. Anna Borzekowska, Melbourne Wonders of hindsight New South Wales Coroner Michael Barnes has found that the police waited too long before storming the Lindt Cafe and rescuing hostages from gunman Man Haron Monis in December 2014 (The Age, 25/5). I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to be in the shoes of a policeman in a situation like that. I wonder what the coroner would have decided if the police had stormed the cafe much sooner, only to find that Monis had a bomb, which he then triggered, killing many hostages and police officers. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and decisions are always easier to make after the event. John Cummings, Anglesea

Too fast, too slow The police, both state and federal have been criticised in many coronial inquests for intervening in critical situations too early. The tactic of "cordon and contain" is born of coroners court recommendations. Immediate intervention in critical situations has been chided by state coroners on numerous occasions. Now a lack of swift intervention is criticised. Perhaps as part of the Coroners Court Act, findings should be influenced by relevant coronial findings and the reasons behind them. That would allow more clarity for law enforcement organisations and inform them better in making immediate, tactical decisions. This would help intervening police officers, their commanders, the survivors and the families of victims to properly understand the findings of coroners. Jim O'Neill, Watsonia Too much cringe

Judith Ireland (Comment, 25/5), I once read we should be grateful to Canada that we have the second worst national anthem. I wonder about this. Surely none is worse than ours. Nobody sings it. Some people mouth it. A total embarrassment. The Japanese and Russians got it right with their anthems' stirring music, though I can offer no comment about the lyrics. Robert McDowell, Albert Park Anthem Bjorn again Judith Ireland is spot on. I was brought up on God Save the Queen, which was sung with gusto and pride everywhere. Its replacement, Advance Australia Fair, has been an embarrassment  heads down, mumbling a tuneless air that nobody seems to know. And "girt"? (Is that Gert down at the beach?) A new anthem? Abba's songs come to mind. Jimmy Barnes could come up with a nice adaptation of Dancing Queen. At least we would be awake and in tune. Margaret Skeen, Point Lonsdale

Power of learning While I understand Ross Gittins' notion that it is easier to feel sorry for the jobless than university students facing fee increases (Comment, 24/5), I do not see why we have to "ration" our sympathies. My heart bleeds for a country whose government is so contemptuous of higher education that it reduces university funding while at the same time imposing stricter repayment measures on graduates. Universities are not just places where privileged kids from wealthy homes go to indulge their selfish whims, or even ensure they grab the best jobs. Our future doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, thinkers and philosophers etc mostly come out of them. A country with a higher percentage of educated people does better on any measure, including economic, of international or national success. Maybe if fees were lowered, or even (heaven forbid) abolished, some of the unemployed would have a chance to go to university too. Cheryl Day, Beaumaris Show L-platers respect

Many young people have to work hard to acquire their L-plates: memorise the road rules, commit to online practice tests and sit a stressful test. Despite this, other drivers do not appreciate our efforts and knowledge of the rules. L-platers such as myself are honked at, glared at and treated badly due to unspoken "rules" which many mature drivers have made, such as "it's OK to verbally abuse a young person for driving anywhere but the left lane, for any period of time". Learner drivers have rights too and are entitled to just as much respect as probationary and mature drivers. Something needs to change, and soon. Daisy-May Creighton, Huntingdale Bank on this If the government is serious about doing something about the banks, can I suggest, a) give Australia Post a banking licence and allow it to compete against the major banks, or b) cancel or change the conditions for a government guarantee and make the banks more accountable. Clay Joel, East Malvern

Neglected for too long I welcome the prospect of elevated rail for the Upfield line (The Age, 24/5). We desperately need more open space for the Brunswick/Coburg area, and this will only get worse with the predicated rising population along the corridor. For years the Upfield line has been neglected. With a comprehensive level crossing program, with the removal of 10 more crossings, we can upgrade our line to the standard it should hold. Transport Minister Jacinta Allan should seriously consider the expanded proposal. Tim Hoffmann, Brunswick Cry for me, please Yes, funerals are expensive (The Age, 23/4) I don't follow the television advice to make my "passing easier for family". I want widespread gloom and suffering. A question though: when cremations occur, are coffins reused, resold or used as coffee tables?

Ian Foote, Hawthorn AND ANOTHER THING Politics A frightening future if "faking" politicians trump truth-seeking journalism.

Patricia Bish, Gisborne If Pauline Hanson is fretting about Tony Jones' salary, he must be doing something right. Anne McClelland, Birchip Bill Shorten's inability to show moral leadership on the refugee issue tells me that it's time Anthony elbowed him aside. Brian Derum, North Fitzroy

Good job, Peter Dutton. Hold fast and don't listen to the whining. Barrie Dempster, Balwyn It's goodbye, reef. The federal government and opposition, and the Queensland government, have moved on. Next problem, please. George Neale, Brunswick East World

Put them in stocks in a town square, starting with Manchester. Descending to their level? You bet. Barbara Abell, Ringwood North If I were God, I would have thrown in the towel by now. John Rawson, Mernda The floggings in Aceh: the worst of the worst of primitive behaviour.

Reg Murray, Glen Iris Furthermore Incompetence by police at the Lindt Cafe siege is too kind a description. Their conduct was desultory, unintelligent and led to failure. Des Files, Brunswick The police should have gone in earlier. We watched it on television and were on edge, wondering why there was a lack of communication.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has called for a purge of ABC personalities in the wake of the broadcaster's decision to axe Yassmin Abdel-Magied's program, which he welcomed as "a good start".

"One down, many to go," Mr Dutton told 2GB radio's Ray Hadley during their regular Thursday morning interview, in comments that were repudiated by Labor.

Mr Dutton reserved particular opprobrium for the Q&A program and its host, senior ABC journalist Tony Jones, which he said exemplified a cultural problem at the public broadcaster.
A third of the time! Possibly even two thirds of the time, given an additional third of the couples are still together. And this analysis assumes these people even want to get married.

Even factoring in the results from the show's sister program, The Bachelorette Australia, (after her Bachelor betrayal, Sam Frost returned as the Bachelorette and dated Sasha Mielczarak for 18 months before an amicable split; Georgia Love and Lee Elliott from last year's season are still together), people are still getting engaged a third of the time.

But, still! A ratio of two engagements to one love rat and one "presumably still a thing" is pretty good. Certainly better than your average stint on Tinder.

While, season four's Richie Strahan and Alex Nation have faced rumours of a split, nothing has been confirmed, and the pair attended the Logies together in April.

The fact is, five sixths of these people (by which I do, of course, mean the show's central characters: your odds are much less promising if you're a mere contestant, fighting with a couple of dozen others for someone's attention at a fake cocktail party) are finding themselves in okay-seeming long-term relationships after going on the show. There is a 100 per cent success rate for finding a long-term relationship if we exclude the 2014 debacle as a statistical outlier (or include it and instead classify Blake and Louise as the successful couple emerging from the show).

Looking at these stats, going on The Bachelor actually seems like a completely legitimate dating tool for telegenic people looking for a lifelong partner and a decade of invites to a Melbourne Cup marquee. A good tool, even.

Of course, there is room for improvement in our study: there have only been six seasons of the show in Australia and larger sample sizes in other countries reveal lower rates of success.

In the US, where the show's season finale often ends in a proposal, 21 seasons of The Bachelor has produced only two still intact marriages. One other couple, the successful partnering from the show's 21st season, which finished airing in March, are still together.

Although everyone on The Bachelorette in the US has become engaged during the show's finale (weird), the rate of those who go through with is not super high, although also nothing to be scoffed at: three marriages (two of which were packaged into national television specials, naturally) and two live engagements from 12 seasons.
Staff resignations more than doubled to nearly 20 per cent at the pesticides authority as a controversial push to move it from Canberra built momentum.

The figures emerged at an estimates hearing on Thursday as senators heard the beleaguered Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority struggled through May with a 15 per cent staff vacancy rate as it dealt with an influx of work.

Its rate of departing staff surged to 19 per cent in 2015-16 from 9 per cent the previous year as the Nationals promised leader Barnaby Joyce's New England electorate it would host the APVMA if it re-elected them at the 2016 federal poll.

Agriculture Department deputy secretary David Williamson confirmed that other towns had not been considered when deciding where to relocate the APVMA as the department was tasked with delivering on the Nationals' election promise - driven by Mr Joyce - that it would move to Armidale.
The family of a toddler who died in Brisbane overnight were known to Child Safety but were not being investigated at the time of the incident, according to the department.

Paramedics were called to a Northgate property about 3.30pm Thursday after a two-year-old girl had gone into cardiac arrest.

Paramedics attempted to revive the unconscious girl for half an hour before she was rushed to Lady Cilento Hospital, according to Nine News.

The young girl died in hospital overnight.
Mumbai, May 25 (IBNS): South Asiaas biggest and Indiaas only mainstream LGBTQ film festival a KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival a 8th Edition, opened on Wednesday with Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor gracing the festival along with Nisaba Godrej, Executive Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products.

The star studded opening at Liberty Cinema had stylist and founder and creative director of Bblunt Adhuna Bhabani, filmmakers Shonali Bose and Arunaraje Patil, theatre actor Dolly Thakore, and eminent KASHISH 2017 jury of Screenwriter Anjum Rajabali, actor Lubna Salim, TV Producer and writer Vinta Nanda, editor Jabeen Merchant, Roy Wadia of Wadia Movietone and writer Aseem Chhabra walk the red carpet.

"I am happy to be part of a festival like Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival as it brings together cinema from all over the globe for a relevant, important cause. The LGBTQ community needs a voice and support, and cinema is the most powerful medium to reach out to people. I think they have put together a fabulous line up of films," said Arjun Kapoor.

Arjun Kapoor and Nisaba Godrej along with Festival Director Sridhar Rangayan and gay activist and Humsafar Trust chairperson Ashok Row Kavi lit the ceremonial lamp.

Nisaba Godrej said: "We are so very proud to partner the 8th KASHISH festival. Movies are one of the best mediums to tell stories, touch hearts and open our minds. We at Godrej believe that we are all equal and building a diverse and inclusive workforce is of utmost importance to us. We love and support the LGBTQ community not just because it is the right thing to do. Great talent is the key to our success and our individual capabilities are only determined by our attitude and hard work not by our gender, caste or sexuality."

This years programming is unique and diverse, encompassing LGBTQ diversity from across the world as well as racial and ethnic diversity in the films that are being screened, said an elated Sridhar Rangayan, festival director.

Several new countries debut in this years KASHISH, including films from Armenia, Nigeria, Kosovo, Rwanda, UAE, Trinidad & Tobago and Aruba! Being South Asias biggest LGBT Film Festival we have made a concerted effort to program films from Asia, South Asia and Asia Pacific.

We hope to live up to this years theme, Diverse, One bridging all barriers and making it one of the most memorable events of Mumbai, said Rangayan. This year the festival will also screen an increased number of feature-length narrative films, more than any other year.

The Festival will screen 147 films from 45 countries, that reflect the diversity of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, at two venues in South Mumbai  the citys iconic art deco theatre Liberty Cinema and Alliance de Francaise. This years festival theme is Diverse, One and explores the diversity of the LGBTQ communities.

Skybags and Godrej Industries are Principal Partners of the festival. IBM, Whistling Woods International and the Canada Consul General are Supporting Partners. Of the 147 films, 51 films will compete at KASHISH 2017 for South Asias largest cash prize for an LGBTQ film festival totaling Rs 2.25 lakhs. The top cash awards sponsored by Anupam Khers Actor Prepares, K F Patil Charitable Trust, Whistling Woods International, Wadia Movietone and Lotus Visual.

KASHISH MIQFF was the first LGBTQ film fest in India to receive clearance from the Indias Information and Broadcasting Ministry, when it debuted in 2010. Skybags and Godrej Industries are Principal Partners for the festival, while supporting partners are IBM, Consulate General of Canada and Whistling Woods International.

Commenting on the association, Radhika Piramal, Vice Chairperson  V.I.P Industries Ltd had said We are happy to associate with KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival; its a great initiative that spreads much needed awareness about the LGBT community. Films are a powerful medium to influence and bring about a positive change in the society. We are happy to lend our support to this initiative as it not just a festival but its a place to learn and become more aware. As an out lesbian, I am proud to be part of the LGBT community in India and support greater visibility of our community through this important film festival.

The opening ceremony was followed by the screening of the opening film Signature Move, directed by Jennifer Reed and starring Shabana Azmi. Acclaimed Indian gay road drama LOEV will be the closing film on May 28, 2017.
The jury in the murder trial of Vincent O'Dempsey, which has begun deliberating the verdict, has been sent home for the night.

O'Dempsey has pleaded not guilty to murdering Barbara McCulkin and her daughters Vicki and Leanne, aged 13 and 11, who disappeared from their Highgate Hill home on the night of January 16, 1974.

Barbara McCulkin with one of her daughters.

The jurors, who had been deliberating for more than four hours, asked Justice Applegarth on Thursday afternoon when a true crime book O'Dempsey allegedly bragged about to his then-fiancee Kerri Scully was published.

Ms Scully had told the Brisbane Supreme Court that O'Dempsey asked her in 2010 or 2011 to buy a copy of the book Shotgun and Standover from the local Big W.
Police swarmed the streets around a Melbourne shopping centre after a driver allegedly tried to run down an officer on Thursday afternoon.

A Holden sedan was spotted by police on Heaths Road, near Werribee Plaza, just after 3pm.

Police at the scene in Hoppers Crossing. Credit:Twitter/@7NewsMelb

The car was stopped on Snipe Court in Werribee, before the driver allegedly reversed at police officers and hit their vehicle.

A police spokeswoman said "a single shot" was fired by police during the incident, but no one was injured.
Chinese Victorians have received a formal apology from Premier Daniel Andrews for a racist gold rush-era policy that forced many Chinese migrants to walk from South Australia to the goldfields.

The apology came after a group of walkers re-enacted the journey starting in Robe, South Australia, and arriving in Melbourne on Thursday after a 20-day trek.

Premier Daniel Andrews with one of the walk organisers, Charles Zhang, after the apology. Credit:Justin McManus

During the gold rush, Chinese migrants were subject to a tax for entering a port in Victoria. It meant many were forced to make the journey to the goldfields by foot, walking hundreds of kilometres from South Australia.

Mr Andrews described the former policy as a shameful injustice of the past.
A fledgling couture label run by a mother-daughter team in Kalgoorlie has been handpicked for showcasing at one of the world's biggest industry events: New York Fashion Week.

Bel Cappello  Italian for 'beautiful hat'  is run out-of-hours by mining engineer Holly Kiely and her mother, lawyer Jennine Kiely.

All photographs from Bel Cappello's 2017 collection. Credit:Bel Cappello

Each custom racewear-inspired dress takes around 25 hours to complete.

The business launched in October 2015 and launched its first collection in April 2016, making its mark at the Melbourne Cup Carnival in 2016.
A man accused of indecently dealing with two girls as they were doing gymnastics at a Baldivis park will fight the charges.

Stuart Bugeja pleaded not guilty in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday to five counts of indecently dealing with a child under 13.

Stuart Bugeja pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police will allege the 34-year-old man approached two girls, aged 11 and 12, as they played together at the grandstand at Arpentuer Park around midday on January 24, during school holidays.

"A man with a small scruffy grey haired dog approached them and engaged them in conversation before he indecently dealt with them," a police spokeswoman said at the time.
While having a beer and yarn with one of his mates, property developer Steve Buljan stumbled on an idea that he hopes could revive the spirit of the backyard shed in Perth.

"We were just looking around the room and saying wouldn't it be great to have a mezzanine and more space to do things in," Mr Buljan said.

"So I started looking into man caves and found out about developments over in Melbourne and the east coast where they're taking things a step further, and creating tailored spaces for people."

The man cave is a modern concept that's come into focus in recent years as the number of backyard sheds decline in Australia; something often linked to rising rates of depression in men.
The father of a pearl diver who died off Western Australia's north coast has accused his employer of "extreme negligence driven by arrogance", saying the company should be punished more.

Jarrod Hampton was an experienced scuba diver but had only completed one full day of drift diving for Paspaley Pearling Company on April 14, 2012 when he got into trouble off Eighty Mile Beach and drowned.

Jarrod Hampton died while working as a pearl diver off Broome. Credit:Facebook.

Tony Hampton, who travelled to Perth from Victoria with his family to attend the inquest into Jarrod's death, said the directors of Paspaley had failed to meet their duty of care.

"The company had nothing in place to effect a simple rescue," an emotional Mr Hampton told the WA Coroner's Court on Thursday.
WA's public service union has signalled it's willing to hold back from pressuring for higher pay rises if the state government "ensured" public servants were "assured" of keeping their jobs.

The state's public servants are worried about job security, with recently elected Labor Premier Mark McGowan outlining plans to slash the sector and reduce the number of departments by 40 per cent to save $750 million over four years, requiring significant job losses.

WA's public servants fear for their jobs amid Mark McGowan's $750 million savings plan.

The government is trying to get a bill through parliament this week to borrow another $11 billion before it runs out of money to pay public servants' wages and other basics as it tries to deal with WA's record high debt and deficit.

The government has also signalled it will reduce the pay rise the previous Liberal National government was offering ahead of a flurry of EBA negotiations this year from 1.5 per cent a year to a flat $1,000 a year.
Police forensic investigators search the property of Salmon Abedi in connection with the Manchester attack. Credit:PA The latest leak followed US officials telling reporters the name of the bomber at a stage when police had asked the media not to report the name so they could arrest his associates without tipping them off. Britain's National Police Chiefs' Council said the series of unauthorised disclosures were a breach of trust that potentially undermined a major counter-terrorism investigation. A woman looks at the floral tributes and messages left for the victims of Monday's concert blast. Credit:PA British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to raise concerns about the leaks with US President Donald Trump at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

She was also expected to urge a NATO meeting, including Mr Trump, to fully join the fight against IS and tackle "poisonous" online material that radicalises young Muslims. An armed soldier and a police officer patrol outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Credit:Getty Images Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said he had complained to the US ambassador about the leaks. "We cannot have information being put in the public domain that's not in the direct control of the British police and security services," he said. PM Theresa May was expected to raise concerns about the info leaks with US President Donald Trump in Brussels. Credit:Bloomberg

On Monday night Abedi died after a bomb he was carrying exploded at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, killing 22 concertgoers and relatives. On Wednesday afternoon Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins said in relation to the suicide bomber: "It's very clear that this is a network we are investigating." Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, died in the Manchester blast. Credit:Facebook British and other security officials are still worried a professional bombmaker may be at large, according to media reports. Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that Abedi rented a flat where he stayed for several days leading up to the concert.

Olivia Campbell, 15, died in the Manchester Arena explosion. Credit:Facebook Sources told the Telegraph there had been two separate bomb factories, with Abedi using the address for mixing the chemicals but the bomb being assembled elsewhere. On Thursday morning Manchester police searched a home and arrested two men, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight. They carried out a controlled explosion at one property. A woman who had been arrested on Wednesday evening was released without charge. Police said the arrests they have made so far "are significant".

In a brief update at midday on Thursday local time, Ian Hopkins, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police said he wanted to reassure the families of victims that they were making progress after an "intense three days" of work. Police were conducting searches of premises linked to those arrests, he said. "Initial searches have revealed items we believe are very important to the investigation," he said. However he also asked for patience, saying the searches would take several more days to complete. He said he would not comment on intelligence sharing with the US. However he said the publication of forensic intelligence leaked to The New York Times had caused "understandable distress and upset" to the families of those who died in the attack - families who were "already suffering".

Attention has shifted to Abedi's family, as security forces in Libya arrested both his father Ramadan and his younger brother Hashem. Hashem, 20, was said to have some involvement or foreknowledge of his brother's plan. An official told The Washington Post that Hashem had admitted being involved in planning the attack in Manchester, and had himself been planning an attack in Tripoli. A spokesman for Tripoli's anti-terror Special Deterrent Force (SDF) told the BBC that Abedi and his brother Hashem were both members of IS.

Abedi had gone to Tripoli in mid-April and stayed for two to three weeks, and Hashem "thought he would do something like bombing or attack" on his return to Manchester, the SDF spokesman said. His father Ramadan was also arrested in Libya. Ramadan was reportedly a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which fought against the Gaddafi regime, and was listed as a terrorist organisation in Britain and the US because elements of the group were linked to al-Qaeda. Authorities were warned about the danger that Abedi posed at least five times in the five years before the attack, the Telegraph reported. Abedi's friends twice called an anti-terror hotline, five years ago and again last year, after he had told them "being a suicide bomber was OK". And a local community leader said people in the community had reported him two years ago "because he thought he was involved in extremism and terrorism"  but had not heard back from police or authorities.

Abedi's mosque had also banned Abedi and reported him to the Home Office's anti-radicalisation program after he had confronted the imam over an anti-extremist sermon. According to one report, a member of Abedi's own family had also contacted police saying he was dangerous. One friend told the Washington Post that Salman and his brother Hashem had "changed" a year ago when an 18-year-old Manchester resident of Libyan descent they knew was stabbed in the neck and killed - an attack they saw as an anti-Muslim hate crime. Abedi's sister Jomana Abedi told the Wall Street Journal she had been surprised by her brother's actions. "I think he saw children - Muslim children - dying everywhere, and wanted revenge. He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge," she said.

Abedi's older brother Ismail, who was arrested in Manchester on Tuesday, was once reported to a counter-terrorism unit after concerns were raised by members of the Muslim community, the Daily Mail reported. Abedi's father Ramadan told the Associated Press his son had "sounded normal" the last time they spoke. However according to some reports the parents briefly confiscated Salman's passport when he arrived in Libya. They returned it when he told them he wanted to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. On Thursday morning the UK's National Health Service said 23 people were still in critical care with injuries from the bombing. In total, 116 people had received inpatient care and 75 had been admitted to eight hospitals across the city after the attack.

More victims of the attack have been named. Teenage sweethearts Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, had "wanted to be together forever and now they are", their families said. "They were perfect in every way for each other  beautiful inside and out to ourselves and our families, and they were inseparable." And the family of 14 year-old Scottish girl Eilidh MacLeod said "words cannot express how we feel" at losing their daughter. Eilidh had been "vivacious and full of fun" and loved all music, they said.

At a vigil for victims on Wednesday night, the mother of a murdered girl gave a passionate plea for unity and strength. "I ask of friends, strangers, relatives... please stay together, don't let this beat any of us, please, don't let my daughter be a victim," Charlotte Campbell said. Olivia Campbell, 15, died in the Manchester Arena attack. Loading The British general election campaign is due to resume today, with the UK Independence Party launching a manifesto which it said would be "uncompromising" in an attempt to recapture its evaporating support in the electorate.
Members of the public are escorted from the Manchester Arena after the suicide bombing attack. Credit:Getty Images In other developments: It emerged that security services were examining links between Abedi and an expert bomb-maker who had lived in the same street in Manchester.

Leaked pictures last night emerged in the United States of fragments of the bomb, prompting a diplomatic row between Downing Street and the American security services.

Britain was placed on security lockdown with soldiers on the streets and several high-profile events cancelled, as well as events this weekend - including the FA Cup final - having their security reviewed.

The General Election campaign will resume with Ukip launching its manifesto today.

A minute's silence will be held at 11am today in memory of the victims.

A female police officer was revealed as one of the bomb victims, as further identities were confirmed. The missed opportunities to catch Abedi were beginning to mount up. The Telegraph has spoken to a community leader who said that Abedi was reported two years ago "because he thought he was involved in extremism and terrorism". Armed police officers patrol a police cordon near the Manchester Arena. Credit:AP

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "People in the community expressed concerns about the way this man was behaving and reported it in the right way using the right channels. "They did not hear anything since." Two friends of Abedi also became so worried they separately telephoned the police counter-terrorism hotline five years ago and again last year. "They had been worried that 'he was supporting terrorism' and had said that 'being a suicide bomber was OK'," a source told the BBC. Akram Ramadan, 49, part of the close-knit Libyan community in south Manchester, said Abedi had been banned from Didsbury mosque after he had confronted the Imam who was delivering an anti-extremist sermon.

Mr Ramadan said he understood that Abedi had been placed on a "watch list" because the mosque reported him to the authorities for his extremist views. A well-placed source at Didsbury mosque confirmed it had contacted the Home Office's Prevent anti-radicalisation programme as a result. A US official also briefed that members of Abedi's own family had contacted British police saying that he was "dangerous", but again the information does not appear to have been acted upon. Abedi's own family background might also have been a red flag to authorities. His father was a member of the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

Yet Abedi was able to travel frequently between the UK and Libya, where it is feared he trained in bombmaking and possibly travelled to Syria. His youngest brother, Hisham - who is photographed on social media wielding an automatic rifle, was yesterday arrested by the Libyans who suspect him of knowing about the Manchester plot in advance and plotting his own attack in Tripoli. US authorities said Abedi was known to them prior to the atrocity while France's interior minister said the 22-year-old had "proven" links with Isil and that both the British and French intelligence services had information that the attacker had been in Syria. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, disclosed that the intelligence services had been aware of Abedi, who had only in the past few weeks returned to the UK after visiting Libya. Ms Rudd told Sky News: "We do know that he was known up to a point to the intelligence services."

Home Secretary Amber Rudd (left) with Prime Minister Theresa May in Manchester. Credit:Getty Images Ramadan Abedi, the suicide bomber's father, who now lives in Tripoli, gave a series of interviews to the media yesterday in which he denied his son was to blame. Mr Abedi told Bloomberg: "I was really shocked when I saw the news, I still don't believe it. "He was always against those attacks, saying there's no religious justification for them. "I don't understand how he'd have become involved in an attack that led to the killing of children."

But a friend of the family said Abedi's parents had become so concerned about his behaviour they had ordered him to leave the UK and live with them in Libya. Adel Elghrani said: "The father was so concerned he confiscated his passport. But then Salman went to his mother and said that he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and she gave him his passport back and he came to England instead." Abedi flew back to Britain and carried out his deadly attack a few weeks later. Counter-terrorism officers now believe that Abedi rented a flat through Airbnb in the days before the attack and stayed there until around 7pm on the night of the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. A statement from Airbnb denied the bomber stayed in a company-linked property prior to the attack.

He carried the bomb to the music venue's foyer in a rucksack and detonated it at just after 10.30pm as the American pop star was completing her last song. Sources said that there were two separate bomb factories, with the chemicals mixed in the rented flat in Granby Row before the bomb itself was assembled elsewhere. It was not clear if the second flat had been discovered. The photographs of the bomb fragments were leaked to the New York Times hours after Ms Rudd had said leaks of intelligence shared with the US authorities had to stop. It prompted an outcry in Whitehall, with Ms Rudd and Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General, understood to be among officials who phoned their American counterparts to demand answers.
Key Findings:

91% respondents prefer booking tickets online.

59% travelers focus on deals over brand loyalty towards any Hotel or Airline.

61% respondents compare prices on more than 3-4 sites before making a booking.

Travel websites are being preferred by cost-conscious consumers to avail deals and discounts.

Throughout a travellers decision making journey, what are the moments that help make the final purchase choice? CashKaro.com, Largest Cashback & Coupons site in India analyzed responses from 2000 customers through its travel survey and what it found may surprise you.

Owing to the online travel sector that constitutes more than 50% of the e-commerce industry, 91% respondents preferred booking tickets online instead of choosing travel agencies. This may be because online ticket booking portals give users access to deals, discounts and the freedom to review and select trip details such as specific airplane seats and hotel rooms. Plus, they can save more by availing discounts and Cashback deals while booking tickets online.

CashKaro.com wanted to find out why a consumer chooses one travel website over others. To that end, respondents were first asked how many websites they compare before booking their tickets. It was learnt that 61% respondents browse over 3-4 websites before taking a decision.

When it comes to the top online flight booking websites, the most popular was MakeMyTrip (56%) followed by Goibibo, Paytm and Yatra.

As far as hotel bookings are concerned, the top pick was MakeMyTrip(37%) closely followed by Oyo Rooms and Goibibo.

Adding to that, 49% respondents said that lower prices of tickets and hotels is the main factor that they consider when deciding which travel website to book at; while 43% mentioned that in addition to the price, they considered all the other ongoing deals and offers on a particular website when making their decision on which site to book at.

These results clearly point towards the fact that apart from reliability, price and discount factors play a major part in travel website selection.

59% respondents also admitted that they would repeat a hotel or flight booking only considering the travel deals offered by them while only 41% would do so due to brand loyalty.

When asked to choose between the kinds of offers that travellers like, travel site credits, bank offers and Cashback were included as options. 46% respondents revealed they are always on the lookout for extra Cashback from websites like CashKaro.com which are available on top of all ongoing discounts. While Travel site credits are considered attractive, their limited redemption options reduce their overall popularity.

On the survey Swati Bhargava, Co-Founder, CashKaro.com said While the online travel sector constitutes more than 50% of the e-commerce industry, its critical that we keep a finger on the pulse of our customers  and deeply understand what travellers need, expect and value. While price has been one of the most important considerations since long, we are glad to see that customers are savvy on using cashback and online deals sites for their planning. With our lucrative and wide variety of travel offers, and the findings of this survey, we are aiming to effectively tap savvy travellers and offer great value for money.

Todays smart consumer leaves no stone unturned in a bid to save as much as possiblewhenever they book flights or hotels online. Moreover, 69% respondents said they book tickets during off-season in order to get lower prices.

Finally, keeping in mind the cashless movement in India, participants were asked about their preferred payment methods and 95% respondents claimed they prefer paying with credit/debit cards as these methods allow them to get more deals and discounts in addition to convenience.

The above mentioned findings all point towards the fact that discounts and savings are top priority for travel site users. With more and more websites offering discounts and offers, the online travel sector is set to witness some tough competition. On the upside this will make ticket bookings more economical for consumers.

The survey sample of 2,000 respondents comprised majorly of people betweenthe age group of 25-30 years, residing in metro cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru etc.
A mobile phone has been credited with saving the life of a woman who was seriously injured when a suicide bomber attacked concertgoers as they left Manchester Arena this week.

Lisa Bridgett had attended the Ariana Grande concert with her daughter and her daughter's friend, and was in the arena's foyer talking on her mobile phone when the bomber, Salman Abedi, detonated a powerful explosive that had been packed with metal nuts and screws.

Ms Bridgett's husband, Steve, said a metal nut first struck his wife's finger, then her phone, before piercing her cheek and lodging in her nose.

Ms Bridgett lost her middle finger in the blast and suffered a range of other injuries, including a large shrapnel wound to her thigh and a broken ankle.
Beijing: China has slammed the United States' first freedom of navigation (FON) exercise in the South China Sea since President Donald Trump took office.

A US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, an artificial island claimed by China in the South China Sea on Wednesday.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the US missile destroyer USS Dewey "without permission from the Chinese government trespassed into waters near the relevant island".

The Chinese navy warned the US naval vessel to leave, said the spokesman.
New York, May 25(Just Earth News): The United Nations envoy for conflict-torn Yemen on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the attack on his convoy while traveling from the airport to the UN compound on Monday.

It is the responsibility of the local authorities to ensure the safety of all UN personnel in the country and urged them to investigate the incident, hold those responsible to account, and prevent any such incidents in the future, said Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, according to a note issued by the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General.

Concluding a three-day visit to the countrys capital, Sanaa, the Special Envoy indicated that the incident increased his determination to continue with his efforts to find a negotiated political settlement that serves the best interests of the Yemeni people.

Prior to Sanaa, he visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he met with government officials as part of his efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Yemen.

In Sanaa, he met with political leaders from AnsarAllah and the General Peoples Congress and Representatives of other political parties, the note said, adding that the talks focused on possible agreements which would prevent the spread of military activities to Hudeidah and practical ways to ensure the resumption of salaries to all Yemeni civil servants nationwide.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed also met with members of the Yemeni Womens Pact for Peace and Security and representatives of civil society organizations to discuss current political challenges and security concerns in addition to the economic crisis and recent outbreak of cholera, the note said.

In a meeting with Yemeni youth, the Special Envoy discussed mechanisms for greater youth contribution to international efforts to reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict, in addition to possible solutions to reopen Sanaa International Airport and prevent further deterioration of the economic and humanitarian situation.

He also met with senior World Bank officials in order to support the World Bank-UN collaboration to address the growing food insecurity and economic crisis in Yemen, the note added.

UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre

Source: www.justearthnews.com
POET Founder, Chairman and CEO Jeff Broin to Receive 2017 BIO George Washington Carver Award

WASHINGTON - May 25, 2017: The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today announced that POET Founder, Chairman and CEO Jeff Broin will receive the 10th annual George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology. The award will be presented on Monday July 24, 2017, during a morning plenary session of the 2017 BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. The worlds largest industrial biotechnology and partnering event will be held July 23-26, 2017 at the Palais des congres de Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

It is an honor to receive this award. George Washington Carver was a true visionary, recognizing the enormous potential of agriculture to meet all of our worlds needs, Broin said. At POET we follow that vision, seeking new ways to produce biofuels from both starch and cellulose as well as developing additional products and bioprocesses to replace petroleum-based products. We believe that the agricultural potential of the world is virtually untapped. The world is beginning to learn that we need to return to the sun, the soil and the seed.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIOs Industrial & Environmental Section, added, Jeff Broin is one of the great innovators and entrepreneurs in the industrial biotechnology sector. He ranks among the most influential leaders in agriculture as well. Biofuels have created new markets for agricultural products and rejuvenated rural America. Jeff Broin has positioned POET at the forefront of developing cellulosic ethanol and improving the economics of biofuel production.

The George Washington Carver Award is also sponsored by the Iowa Biotechnology Association. Joe Hrdlicka, executive director of the Iowa Biotechnology Association, said, Jeff Broin has created an environment at POET where new ideas thrive throughout the value chain of new economic opportunities for American agricultural producers and rural communities. His business model truly reflects the ideas and passion spawned by George Washington Carver a century ago.

Jeff Broin led the growth of POET from a small 1-million-gallon facility 30 years ago to the current POET network of 28 biorefineries in 7 states with 1,800 team members. The network annually generates revenues of about $6.5 billion by producing:

1.8 billion gallons of ethanol;

10 billion pounds of distillers grain; and

600 million pounds of corn oil.

Each biorefinery contributes an average of $200 million annually to its local community, and POET purchases over 600 million bushels of grain each year from more than 20,000 farmers. POET has achieved 800 percent growth since 2000.

POETs contributions to the industrial biotechnology sector include:

Patented BPX process. The process uses enzymes to reduce heat in the production process and drastically lowers the plants energy needs. POET worked with biotech partners to incorporate additional enzyme developments that enable greater process efficiencies.

Branded distillers grain (DDGs). Broins focus on maintaining product consistency and his efforts in marketing POETs Dakota Gold turned by-products into co-products. Today, these co-products improve economics at biofuel plants and improve nutrition for livestock producers everywhere.

Cellulosic ethanol. POET researched for years in its labs and at a pilot-scale facility to develop a process that uses corn stover to produce ethanol. POET-DSM, a joint venture with the Dutch life and biosciences company Royal DSM, built their first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant and opened it in 2014.

The annual Carver award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to building the biobased economy by applying industrial biotechnology to create environmentally sustainable products. It serves as a lasting memorial to the original vision of George Washington Carver who, over a century ago, pioneered biobased products, materials and energy derived from renewable agricultural feedstock. Industrial biotechnology is the modern-day equivalent of Carvers vision.

Broin becomes the 10th recipient honored with the award; past recipients include:

Dr. J. Craig Venter, Co-Founder of Synthetic Genomics and Executive Chairman of Human Longevity in 2016;

Jonathan S. Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme in 2015;

Ellen Kullman, CEO & Chair of the Board, DuPont in 2014;

Dr. Jay Keasling, Hubbard Howe Jr., Distinguished Professor of Biochemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in 2013;

Steen Riisgaard, president and CEO of Novozymes in 2012;

Feike Sijbesma, CEO of Royal DSM in 2011;

Gregory Stephanopoulos, the Willard Henry Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010;

Charles O. Holliday, Jr., chairman of the board of DuPont in 2009;

Dr. Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo, Inc., in 2008.

All programs at the 2017 BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology are open to members of the media. Complimentary media registration is available to editors and reporters working full time for print, broadcast or web publications with valid press credentials.

For more information on the conference please visit https://www.bio.org/events/bio-world-congress. For assistance, please contact worldcongress@bio.org.

About BIO

BIO is the world's largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the worlds largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIOtechNOW is BIO's blog chronicling innovations transforming our world and the BIO Newsletter is the organizations bi-weekly email newsletter. Subscribe to the BIO Newsletter.
New York, May 25(Just Earth News): Ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Italy, the United Nations childrenas agency has urged the leaders of G7 industrialized countries to adopt its six-point action plan for the protection of refugee and migrant children.

At least 36,000 of the refugees and migrants rescued since January have been taken to Sicily, the site of this years summit, and the Italian G7 presidency has made migration a priority for this years talks.

Sicily stands as a symbol of hope for uprooted children seeking a better life, but it is also the endpoint of an extremely dangerous journey that has claimed the lives of many children along the way, said Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director of the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF).

UNICEFs call comes at a time when the dangerous Central Mediterranean migration journey from North Africa to Italy draws renewed attention.

At least 200 children have died while crossing the Central Mediterranean from North Africa to Italy so far this year, a rate of more than one child per day, according to the latest estimates from UNICEF.

Between 1 January and 23 May, more than 45,000 refugees and migrants arrived to Italy by sea, up 44 per cent over the same period last year. This includes some 5,500 unaccompanied and separated children, an increase of 22 per cent from 2016, who account for approximately 92 per cent of all children arriving to Italy via the Central Mediterranean route.

A record high 26,000 unaccompanied and separated children arrived to Italy last year, but if current trends hold, that record will be smashed in 2017.

That is not a record to be proud of, but a reminder of our collective failure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of refugee and migrant children, Forsyth said.

Earlier today, on the eve of the G7 summit, children, volunteers, the Italian coastguard, Italian and UNICEF officials took part in a symbolic rescue of paper boats to commemorate the thousands of children who have risked their lives crossing the Central Mediterranean and send a message to the G7 to take action to safeguard children on the move.

The action plans six points are:

Protect child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence;

End the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating, by introducing a range of practical alternatives;

Keep families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status;

Keep all refugee and migrant children learning and give them access to health and other quality services;

Press for action on the underlying causes of large scale movements of refugees and migrants;

Promote measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization in countries of transit and destination.

In addition, UNICEF has also launched the #AChildIsAChild campaign, which has so far been supported on social media by more than 2 million people.

Photo: UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Young Bengals grow up to provide special season in Blythewood The feeling amongst the team is sky high right now, Seidel said. We knew we were young last year and had a lot coming back this year. You dont know...

Falcons fall to Lucy Beckham Find these pictures and many more here! One of the most prolific eras in A.C. Flora Falcons girls tennis has come to an end. With a 4-3 loss on...
New York, May 25(Just Earth News): aAfrica Daya 2017 comes at an important moment in the continentas endeavours towards peace, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres said, urging humanity to listen and learn with the people of Africa.

All of humanity will benefit by listening, learning and working with the people of Africa. It starts with prevention. Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. We need to break the cycle of responding too late and too little, said Guterres in his message commemorating Africa Day.

The UN chief pointed out that most of todays conflicts are internal, triggered by competition for power and resources, inequality, marginalization, disrespect for human rights and sectarian divides. Often, they are inflamed by violent extremism or provide the fuel for it.

But prevention goes far beyond focusing solely on conflict.

The best means of prevention and the surest path to durable peace is inclusive and sustainable development. It is critical to continue building more effective and accountable institutions to address governance challenges, advance the rule of law and promote civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, he stressed.

As the international community has entered the second year of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to tackle global poverty, inequality, instability and injustice, Guterres highlighted that Africa has adopted its own complementary and ambitious plan: Agenda 2063.

For the people of Africa to fully benefit from these important efforts, these two agendas need to be strategically aligned, he said.

We can speed progress by doing more to provide opportunities and hope to young people

Guterres referred to last months first-ever UNAfrican Union annual conference as a unique opportunity to strengthen our partnership and establish a higher platform of cooperation, saying: Our work is based on four driving principles: mutual respect, solidarity, complementarity and interdependence.

Guterres said that the UN partnership with Africa is also rooted in a deep sense of gratitude.

Africa provides the majority of United Nations peacekeepers around the world. African nations are among the worlds largest and most generous hosts of refugees. Africa includes some of the worlds fastest-growing economies, he elaborated.

Turning to youth, he noted We can speed progress by doing more to provide opportunities and hope to young people. More than three out of five Africans are under 35 years of age. Making the most of this tremendous asset means more investment in education, training, decent work and engaging young people in shaping their future.

The UN chief also stressed: We must also do our utmost to empower women so they can play a full role in sustainable development and sustainable peace. I am pleased that the African Union has consistently placed a special focus on gender equality and womens empowerment.

He also reaffirmed his commitment as a partner, friend and committed advocate for changing the narrative about this diverse and vital continent.

Crises represent at best a partial view. But, from a higher platform of cooperation, we can see the whole picture  one that recognizes the enormous potential and remarkable success stories throughout the African continent, concluded the Secretary-General.

Photo: FAO/Pius Utomi Ekpei

Source: www.justearthnews.com
When Donald Trump is in real trouble, he turns to Marc Kasowitz.

When a journalist dared to allege Trump was worth less than the billions he claimed; when women came out of the woodwork to accuse the future president of sexual assault; and when reporters sued for the unsealing of candidate Trumps divorce records, Kasowitzthe prominent New York attorney with a shock of perfectly-coiffed white hair, a flair for the dramatic, and most important, a 15-year record of aggressive serviceanswers the call.

And so Kasowitz has answered it again, according to reports that the president hired the millionaire litigator to serve as his personal attorney in a Justice Department investigation into whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia to influence last years presidential election.

Several news outlets have pointed out that Trumps retainer could pose a conflict of interest. Kasowitz employs Joe Lieberman, the former senator floated to be in the running for the FBI director job, a position that no one seems to want. Kasowitzs firm also represents Russias largest bank, OJSC Sberbank, in a federal case unrelated to Trump. And until Tuesday, Kasowitz was representing Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaskas company in an appeals argument, according to Neal Katyal, the attorney representing defendant Morgan Stanley in the case. Bummer. I was looking fwd to it. I've not met him but by all accounts he is an excellent lawyer, Katyal tweeted. Earlier this year, the Associated Press reported that Deripaska paid Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manafort $10 million a year to lobby for Putin-friendly oligarchs and pro-Russian governments from 2006 until 2009.

Kasowitza Yale and Cornell University law school graduate, known as a trial lawyer who is willing to represent Davids and Goliaths alikehas little experience in criminal matters, but should former FBI Director Robert Muellers investigation uncover criminal activity, the 62-year-old litigator would likely bring on a team of attorneys better versed in criminal law. For now, loyalty seems to be Kasowitzs best asset.

Kasowitz did not return requests for comment, but in January, told the Wall Street Journal, Trump is a great client.

Hes certainly dependable.

Trump first hired Kasowitzs firm, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, in 2001, to restructure $1.3 million in bondholder debt held by his Atlantic City casinos.

In 2005, Kasowitz represented Trump in a failed suit against his Hong Kong partners, The Cheng Group, over accusations that they tried to sell a West Side property for less than it was worth, stiffing Trump in the process.

Later that year, Kasowitz demanded a retraction and apology from journalist Tim O'Brien who wrote in "TrumpNation" that Trump was worth as little as $150 milliona far cry from the net worth of $5 billion he liked to claim.

In a letter to O'Briens publisher Warner Books, Kasowitz wrote the book contains out-and-out defamatory falsehoods concerning Mr. Trump, his business and his family," and demanded that Warner immediately cease and desist further publishing and disseminating this book."

When Warner did not comply, Trump sued OBrien for defamation to the tune of $5 billion. When the case was dismissed in 2009, Trump complained, the libel laws in this country have never been fair.

Kasowitz found greater success on Trumps behalf in 2006, with a suit against condo board members at one of his properties, Trump World Tower. The bizarre lawsuit alleged the condo members had breached their contract and fiduciary duties in an attempt to take over the management of the property, and accused several members of threatening to murder other members, abusing condo employees, and walking around naked in front of staff.

Longtime attorney Alan Garten told the Wall Street Journal that Kasowitz has worked for Trump countless times behind the scenes, but with the 2016 announcement of his presidential candidacy, Kasowitz was set back to attack mode.

Last year, Kasowitz, threatened The New York Times with "prompt initiation of appropriate legal action" for the publication of 1995 tax records which revealed a $916 million loss that could have allowed Trump to avoid paying federal taxes for nearly two decades. And he successfully represented Trump against the paper of record and Gannett in their efforts to unseal Trump and ex-wife Ivanas 1990 divorce records. In his motion against the unsealing, Kasowitz wrote, There is simply no importance, overriding or otherwise, to unsealing the matrimonial records of a political candidate." Meanwhile, Ivanas lawyer offered a different, but compelling argument: Does anybody doubt that Donald isn't that nice to women?" her attorney asked the presiding judge.

And Kasowitz, who also counts disgraced former Fox News host Bill OReilly as a client, has defended Trump against claims of sexual harassment both in court and in the media.

In a letter to The New York Times following the papers publishing of claims from women who said Trump inappropriately touched them, Kasowitz threatened to sue, saying the article was reckless, defamatory and constitutes libel per se.

In a reply that quickly went viral, a lawyer for the Times wrote, Mr. Trump has bragged about his non-consensual sexual touching of women. He has bragged about intruding on beauty pageant contestants in their dressing rooms. He acquiesced to a radio hosts request to discuss Mr. Trumps own daughter as a piece of ass. Multiple women not mentioned in our article have publicly come forward to report on Mr. Trumps unwanted advances. Nothing in our article has had the slightest effect on the reputation that Mr. Trump, through his own words and actions, has already created for himself.

No lawsuit was ever filed.

Kasowitz does seems poised to appear on behalf on Trump against one accuser, however. Summer Zervos, a booted Apprentice contestant filed a lawsuit against Trump for defamation stemming from allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances. In March, Kasowitz filed a motion questioning the constitutionality of the lawsuit, since it could distract a President from his public duties to the detriment of not only the President and his office but also the Nation. The case is still in its early stages.

Despite his imperfect track record on Trumps behalf, Kasowitz has shown to be the kind of attack dog that Trump values most. Its a tenacity that even former adversaries admire.

David Dean, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in a case brought by victims of the 1993 Port Authority bombings against the New York City, in which Kasowitz represented the defense, recalled at the end of a nearly decade-long fight, holding Kasowitz in high regard, and described him in an interview with The Daily Beast as smart, ethical, and hardworking.

I dont respect his client, Dean continued. Im appalled by what Trump is doing to this country, but Kasowitz I respect.
ROMEOf the many images that will come to define President Donald Trumps first foreign trip abroad, the most memorable might be Melania Trump slapping her husbands hand away. But the most significant will surely be those moments when the women of Trumps inner circle were shut out due to accepted protocol that underscores the fact women are not equal in many parts of the world.

In Rome, there was that awkward moment Wednesday morning when the first lady stood rather uncomfortably dressed in black with her dark mantilla veil on her head in the grandiose corridor of the Apostolic Palace as her husband met with Pope Francis for 29 minutes behind closed doors. She eventually got to go in, but the first thing the pope asked her was, What do you feed him? Potizza? He was referring to a doughy delicacy from her native Slovenia (not pizza, as widely reported) while at the same time implying that if POTUS is portly, thats her fault as his wife. Yes," she replied, smiling.

In Israel, who can forget the image of first daughter Ivanka praying alone in the cordoned off section of the plaza in front of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Female reporters traveling with the president there were also separated from their male colleagues.

In Saudi Arabia, where women cant vote, cant drive, and live under the guardianship of men, neither the first lady nor the first daughter wore head scarves, but they were so obviously just window dressing to the event. While much attention was paid to their choice not to wear a headscarf as a political statement, it must be noted that the precedent was set long ago by other first ladies like Michelle Obama as well as world leaders like Theresa May and Angela Merkel.

Saudi media played up the presence of the fashionable Americans, implying that Saudi men, too, appreciate a womans looks. Melania was the talk of the town in her bespoke dresses and jumpsuits and Ivanka was praised for giving a talk on gender equality to a crowd of women for whom that is at best a theoretical construct.

Feminist writer Anushay Hossain summed it up nicely in an op-ed for CNN: The headscarf should be the least of the Trump familys worries, she writes. Because the Saudi press have embraced Melania (and to a related but lesser extent, Ivanka) for basically doing for the kingdom what they do for Donald Trump: provide the perfect cover for misogyny and tyranny by being beautiful, poised, and often silent.

One might ask if perhaps the president likes what he saw in these capitals of inequality. After all, his administration clearly lacks gender diversity and his recent budget shows that womens issues are not a priority. Not only has he signed legislation that strips funding for organizations that provide abortions, his replacement of the Affordable Care Act penalizes women in unthinkable ways, including stripping valuable maternity benefits and essentially turning owning a set of ovaries into a pre-existing condition.

If he does take a page from any of the three regions he has visited so far, we might see not just a wall between Mexico and the United States, but perhaps new barriers in public places where men and women gather, as he saw in Jerusalem. He could start with the National Mall in Washington, DC, the the site of the Women's March the day after his inauguration.

And if he liked the way the pope does things, we might also see even fewer women in positions of power, as he witnessed in Vatican City. He did seem at ease during the procession through the majestic corridors of the Apostolic Palace, where he was surrounded only by old white men.

And who knows, perhaps he will introduce male guardianship over women, as he saw in Saudi Arabia. When it comes to womens reproductive rights, he already has.

To be fair, the Trump administration is still in its infancy, so growing pains like obvious missteps and blind spots on gender equality can be expectedthough, we hope, never accepted.
BERLINFour months out of office, Barack Obama was in full elder statesman mode when he appeared in Berlin on Thursday morning, looking sharp and well-rested as he told a cheering audience: "First of all: Guten Tag."

One sign waved back, echoing a famous line from John F. Kennedy: "Du bist ein Berliner."

An adoring crowd of some 80,000 people, many of whom started queuing up at 7:00 a.m. to get a place in front of the Brandenburg Gate, now stretched miles back.

The world is becoming more interconnected, Obama said, well aware of the historical context here. Providing development aid or investing to fight climate change isnt just charity: "In this new world that we live in we cannot isolate ourselves, we cant hide behind a wall."

Many in the crowd wore orange sashes to mark the biannual Evangelical "Kirchentag" and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

The 44th president of the United States had some wise words to share about the value of skeptical thinking.

The deep religiousness of many Americans is positive, but can be misleading, he suggested. "The problem is that we sometimes carry into politics our unwillingness to compromise in questions of faith," even though compromises in a democracy are "inevitable."

"Each of us only sees a part of the truth," said Obama. The real strength of faith, according to him, is to allow for other opinions: "I think it is always a good thing to doubt yourself a bit."

"I liked that part the most," Natasha, a young woman from Chicago, told The Daily Beast afterward. "And when he talked about how a presidency is a 'human enterprise,' and inevitably flawedit also reminded me that, you know, Trump is just a person. He makes mistakes."

Her friend interjects: "But hes not my president! Obama is my president!

In fact, Donald Trumps name was not mentioned a single time in the one hour that Obama and Angela Merkel under the banner of "Engagiert Demokratie schaffen" (Being engaged in shaping a democracy) discussed, among other things, Germanys toughening stance towards taking in refugees.

But for the young crowd, even with a sunny public holiday and Obama on the stage, the new American president was still on peoples minds.

A 13-year-old boy scout with one yellow sash tied around his neck and another tied around his head told us he thinks Obamas appearance was "ein starkes gegensignal," a strong contrast to President Trump, whom the young man described as a "populist autocrat."

This is the second time that "Kirchentag" is taking place in Berlin since 1989, when it was held on the divided ground of the East and the West.

At the time, Monica, a middle-aged accountant, got special permission to travel from East Berlin to West Berlin for the public festivities. She says this is her first time back at the "Kirchentag" since then.

"Its amazing to see the difference," she tells The Daily Beast.

Then she adds acerbically, "And its good to see someone like that, who, umm, thinks ... about the world. Being the president of the United States is hard. I think we were pretty spoiled for the past eight years.

There was some outcry among Merkels opponents that Obama was flown in to help her campaign. German elections are in September. And indeed, while Obama may have gotten the rock star welcome in Berlin, it was Angela Merkel who ended up getting the biggest laugh.

As the chairman shifted to address Obama, he said: Now that the long-time most-powerful man in the world is sitting next to me. Obama appeared to wince. In fact, Merkel was seated between the chairman and Obama. But she began to grin.

The chairman looked confused.

Im just giving that look because Im sitting next to you first.

Obama grinned, too.

Maybe you had to be there, but the fact is 80,000 people who were thought the moment was hilarious.
Past is fucking prologue, Roger Stone likes to say, but this isnt a story about him.

Its a story about Joe Lieberman, and whyto the best of my recollectionMartha Stewart elbowed me to defend his honor. Thanks for nothing, Bette Midler.

So, 2000, the year we got a taste of what could happen when a Democrat wins the popular vote but not the presidency. Al Gore tapped Lieberman, a certified scold from the Tipper Gore school, as his running mate in no small part to signify that with this ticket thered be no White House sexcapades or other such naughtiness.

Show business, of course, nonetheless lined up with the Democrats. So, a day after Lieberman testified before a Senate committee led by his pal John McCain about how either Hollywood and the video-game industry would stop peddling violence and sex to minors or Washington might do it for them, there was The Concert, the Woodstock of DNC fundraisers at Radio City Music Hall.

As it happens, a cousin of mine was helping to design Marthas Kmart line, this well before her post-lockup reinvention as the weed-carrier for Snoop Dogg (who at least beat his case). And my cousin had an extra ticket, which somehow ended up with 22-year-old me getting the dead-fish shake from Stewart on arrival in my best bar mitzvah suit and cleanest dress shirt out of the laundry bag.

Then trapped, and maybe just a little stoned, in the middle of a row with Stewart two seats two to my right as first the pols prattled on (with Lieberman joking about how he never dreamed hed make it so big as to open for Midler) and then celebs (Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, and Julia Roberts) giving canned intros to the the rock dinosaursJimmy Buffett updating Margaritaville to diss Bush and Cheney, Lenny Kravitz asking Are You Going to Go Al Gores Way, and some lousy old Eagles once again freezing hell over to sing lousy old Eagles songs.

Im doing my best to keep up appearances and just look ahead and let this all pass, like on any bad trip where youd like to walk around or smoke or just leave, but theres Martha Stewart keeping an eye on you and too many people between you and the aisle to even consider escape. And then out came John Leguizamo, abandoning his DNC-vetted script seconds into his act to praise Gore for picking Lieberman under a very old, wise principle that New York women have known for years: It takes a Jew to lick bush.

I cracked up, as did a lot of people, the laughs met by about as many hisses and hushes, including from my seatmates. Leguizamo shot back: Oh, come onyoure acting like Republicans.

After that, he proceeded to make sexually explicit jokes about public figures, as The New York Times primly put it the next day, while the crowd hissed and glowered at him.

Feeling Marthas eye on me, I managed to stifle my laughs even when Leguizamo said that coming up after him would be a woman who has appeared in more bathhouses than Ed Koch .

And then off he went and on shimmied Bette Midler, singing The Rose. The tension started to lift out of the room. I no longer felt Stewarts suspicious eye on me, and Midler was really wailing. I took a deep breathwere gonna make it after all.

I felt the eye on me again when she interrupted the next tune, Hes a Rebel, to tell dirty jokes as the big screen in the theater showed Tipper looking really unhappy. I made it through the first one without laughing; I knew the punchline when Midler set it up with the guy complaining to the hundred-dollar hooker about how the Dutch only paid $24 for Manhattan.

But honey, Manhattan just lies there.

But then she was talking about asking the the bag boy at the grocery to carry her bags to her car, and telling him when they got to the parking lot about her itchy booty.

Im sorry, lady. I dont know one Japanese car from another.

I laughed, a lot. Only stopped when I got wacked in the ribs, hard. So this is a long time ago, and I was a lot weirded out at this point, so its hard to say for sure, but it was someone a couple seats to my right. Martha!

It turned out after the show that the Democratic powers-that-were-about-to-be told various reporters that Midler was OK, that shed toed the line (and they said Tipper had loved it despite the face she was caught making on the video screen), while Leguizamo had crossed it. But inside Radio City as Midler was going, no one knew what was acceptable to laugh at and Stewartor someonehad struck me to defend the honor of the ticket.

That was back in 2000, a simpler time before then-Southern District U.S. Attorney Jim Comey sent Stewart to prison (not for insider tradingshe beat that casebut for lying to the feds about it). Before Lieberman left the Democratic Party. Before Martha Stewart replaced Donald Trump on The Apprentice and he wrote an open letter calling her a boring failure and insulting her daughter. Before Al Gore grew a beard, won an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Nobel Prize, made a fortune selling his cable network to the Qataris, and, amid accusations of inappropriate massages, ended his 40-year marriage.

And long before the American people elected Trump president and he fired Comey as FBI director and said he was thisclose to nominating Lieberman, of all people, as his new g-man before changing his mind this week. Take that, Roger.
The discussion swirling around the Atlantic cover story My Familys Slave has taken a life of its own since publication last week. The story has prompted more Americans to describe the existence of modern forms of slavery, share personal experiences, and critique the author Alex Tizons depiction of his familys slave, Eudocia Tomas Pulido, whom they called Lola. For the most part, people have been critical of Tizons family while also appreciating his efforts to liberate Lola.

But for me, the pivotal theme of Tizons story was the facade of friendship between Lola and Tizons mother as they grew old together, juxtaposed with Tizons decision to not discuss Lola around his mother. This evolution of their relationship might seem heartwarming on the surface, but in fact it shows how the humanity of the oppressed can be used to sustain their own oppression.

Tizons grandfather bought Lola in the late 1940s in The Philippines, where he lived at the time, when she was only 12. He gave her to Tizons mother. In 1964, Tizons family moved to America and brought Lola with them. Lolas life consisted of serving Tizons family. She cooked, cleaned, took care of the children, and never had a life beyond the needs of this family.

She was never paid. She made no friends and had no romantic relationships. For decades, she received constant verbal and physical abuse. For years, the Tizons did not even give her a bed to sleep on, so she slept on a couch or a pile of dirty laundry. Yet despite his familys relentless torture of Lola, she expressed an unconditional amount of love towards his family.

Tizon goes on to tell of the time his father left the family, when the author was 15, and how Lola became the shoulder for his mother to cry on as she struggled to cope with the burden of raising her family on her own, (ignoring both Lolas contribution and her dependence on Lola). The added stress made her even more demanding, but her lack of a spouse meant that she also needed an adult she could talk to.

As Mom snapped at her over small things, Lola attended to her even morecooking Moms favorite meals, cleaning her bedroom with extra care, said Tizon. One night I heard Mom weeping and ran into the living room to find her slumped in Lolas arms. Lola was talking softly to her, the way she used to with my siblings and me when we were young.

Yet Lolas kindness was not reciprocated. Tizons mother still let her teeth rot and refused to take her to the dentist. When her children defended Lola, tried to assist her with household chores, or pleaded with their mother to take her to the dentist, she ridiculed her children and made Lolas life even worse. Shed blame Lola for turning her kids against her and would become verbally abusive.

As the years went by, Tizons mother remarried and slowly but surely, she became nicer to Lola. She bought her a nice set of dentures, and took her on vacations to the beach with her new husband. From the outside looking in, Im sure that it would be easy to view Lola and Tizons mother as two elderly friends.

However, Lola always remained an afterthought to his mother. At one point, Tizon found her diary, and he saw that Lola was nothing more than a persistent footnote in their history. She was always there, but hardly discussed. Tizon would eventually stop discussing Lola when he was around his mother because it would anger her and because reminding himself of his mothers abuse of Lola made it harder to forge a relationship with her.

When his mother died, Lola was not far away. Tizons mother never apologized or asked for forgiveness for how she treated Lola. After her death, Lola moved in with Tizons family, and he spent the rest of his life trying to give Lola the life of freedom that she deserved.

As an African American who is the descendent of slaves, I cannot help but look at this story and imagine many similar interactions between blacks and whites in the 1800s and before.

Additionally, what struck me the most as I was reading about Lolas infinite patience with the slights and cruelties she endured with such equanimity was how her grace in the face of adversity could be used to sustain her oppression.

Tizon remained committed to breaking his familys connection to slavery, but he also wanted to build a strong loving relationship with his mother. He wanted to find a way to love her, and as he got older that meant ignoring the plight of Lola, which further sustained her oppression.

This combination of love of family and the survival techniques of the oppressed can incline oppressors and their descendants to ignore and distort the horrors of the society in which they perpetuate.

American slave owners and their offspring have used this template to downplay the severity of American slavery, and reinforce the false narrative of blacks being better off enslaved. The fact that slaves did not kill slave owners in their sleep, and showed compassion to them when they were vulnerable, enabled a pseudo-absolving of the sin of slavery among white Americans. The kindness of the enslaved perpetuated this lunacy for generations.

During Reconstruction, former slave owners in the South were shocked that the freed blacks refused to work on their plantations. These slave owners thought that they had treated their slaves well. The kindness of the enslaved had convinced these slave owners that the enslaved had actually enjoyed their dehumanizing status.

Today, segments of America still honor the Confederacy. Their Heritage Not Hate argument echoes Tizons quest to find a way to love his mother. Whether in the former Confederacy as a whole, or within the Tizon family, if you remove racism, terrorism, and slavery from the equation, these Southern sympathizers have now found an ancestor they feel comfortable loving. Yet in doing so, they only perpetuate racial oppression.

And when confronted by terror, African Americans still choose to invoke our shared humanity as our defense mechanism. Following the massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina many of the victims expressed compassion and forgiveness instead of revenge for Dylann Roof. They expressed a civil, compassionate response to racist terror. This week following the murder of Richard Collins III by a white supremacist we exuded the same grace.

Additionally, following the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and others, African Americans rallied around the Black Lives Matter movement. This movement was not about demonizing white Americans or any American, but instead was intended to raise the cultural awareness of the lives and struggles of black Americans. The controversy surrounding this movement stemmed from merely bringing up the topic of black lives. This is similar to how Tizon opted to not discuss Lola around his mother. Lolas existence, or what they had turned her existence into, could not be spoken of, for it would make them hate themselves. BLM elicits a similar form of dread and animus.

As a child Tizon was punished for defending Lola. And as an adult he opted to ignore Lolas existence when around his mother to avoid a fight and to see the humanity of his mother instead of the tyrant in her. Throughout all of this Lola worked to embrace the humanity of her oppressors because this was her only way to survive in this dehumanizing environment. Eventually, Tizon decided to break the chain of slavery, give Lola the best shot at freedom that he could create, and reciprocate the humanity that she had shown his family.

As a people, African Americans have survived by embracing the humanity of their oppressors and waiting for a reciprocity that rarely arrives.
BOSTONCool damp air blew through an open window in Room 906 of Suffolk Superior Courthouse, quietly clanking the ball-chain hanging from a curtain against the wall. More chilling though was the case lawyers were questioning prospective jurors to try.

This is the trial of a murdered 2-year-old girl, found by a woman walking her dog on the shore of Bostons Deer Island two years ago. The girls identity and her death were a mystery and she became known as Baby Doe while police plastered her computer-generated image across the city, which then spread around the world. On a billboard, Baby Does soft brown eyes pleaded to commuters, Remember me?

Three months later, Baby Doe was identified as Bella Bond and her mothers boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, was arrested for murdering her, supposedly claiming later that he believed the girl was possessed.

If you found out [the defendant] was interested in demons or Satan would that make him unworthy of your belief, asked defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro. Could you believe the mothers testimony, if she waited several months to report the death, asked assistant district attorney, David Deakin. Would they expect scientific evidence to resolve all outstanding issues? he asked again.

McCarthy, 37, is being tried in the same courtroom where just over four weeks ago, Aaron Hernandez, was acquitted of a double homicide, only to kill himself in his prison days later.

Prosecutors allege Bellas body was first stored in a refrigerator for weeks before it was thrown into the water from a South Boston beach and washed ashore. The state also revealed in court documents, that someone witnessed Bellas caregivers lock her in the closet, claiming she was a demon.

Suffolk County prosecutors will face similar challenges as they did with Hernandez because their case appears to rest primarily on a single witness who was granted a deal for their testimony. In Hernandezs case, that witness was Alexander Bradley, who Hernandezs attorney claimed incriminated Hernandez to save himself.

Bella Bonds murder trial may also be aptly compared to the first client that made Baez, famous: Casey Anthony. Her daughter, 2-year-old Caylee, was found wrapped in blanket and a trash bag in the Florida woods. Baez got Anthony off after he challenged the prosecutions story about how the child died. In Bellas case, the cause of death is unclear, too. The medical examiner ruled it was homicidal violence, type undetermined.

In this case, the primary witness is Bellas mother, Rachelle Bond, and she may be even more problematic for the state.

The Commonwealths case is weak because it relies almost entirely on the testimony of Rachelle Bond, who is not a very credible witness, McCarthys attorney, Jonathan Shapiro wrote in an email. Her testimony that she saw Mr. McCarthy kill her 2 year old child and made no effort to call 911 or otherwise get help, and that she was unable to escape from his clutches for four months because he held her as a hostage is unbelievable.

Shapiro says, her history of addiction, crime, that the parental rights of her two other children were revoked, and that the Department of Children and Families had been called due to her care of Bella twice before, makes it more likely that she was responsible for Bellas death than Mr. McCarthy.

In February, while dabbing her eyes with a tissue from a Frozen-themed box of tissues, Rachelle Bond plead guilty to accessory to murder after the fact and larceny for continuing to collect Bellas state benefits after her death. In exchange for her testimony against McCarthy, Bond will be released on time served, after his trial, instead of serving up to seven years.

Bond told police that she watched McCarthy standing over Bella and hitting her in the abdomen until the child went quiet and her face turned gray and swollen. He then told Bond that her daughter had been, possessed by demons and it was, her time to die.

But McCarthy, allegedly told police that he didnt know Bella was dead. He thought child protection services had taken her, like they had Bonds two other children.

In the plea hearing, Bonds attorney, Janice Bassil, argued that her client was a victim. Bond claimed that McCarthy had kept her captive by shooting heroin into her neck, so she wouldnt report Bellas death, and exasperating her raging drug habit, that she had previously worked to control so she could care for her child. Bassil says her client lives to see Michael McCarthy convicted.

Outside the courtroom, Bassil faced a heated scrum of reporters, questioning her characterization of Bond as a victim.

She is a woman who struggled for a great many years in her life, with homelessness, with mental health issues, with drug issues. She really did her very best to provide a decent place to live and a decent life for this child, and she had succeeded. The problem was this person came into her life, and quite frankly wouldnt leave, said Bassil, referring to McCarthy. I think losing a child is one of the worst experiences anyone would have to survive and its very hard for her.

She also did nothing after the fact, added a reporter.

Its very easy for you to say she did nothing after the fact, Bassil shot back. Why dont you live under a bridge for a week?

But she wouldnt tell anybody that her daughter was in a trash bag in Boston Harbor? Ever? Even when she was alone? asked another reporter.

Why dont you walk in her shoes for a week and see how well you do? Bassil replied.

Bond left the house on multiple occasions without McCarthy before telling a friend her daughter was dead, according to both the prosecution and the defense. In a recent pretrial hearing, Judge Janet Sanders ruled that Rachelle Bond could testify that she believed McCarthy had supernatural powers that he could use to harm her.

It is unclear if and how McCarthy, with his near-translucent skin and hooded eyes, and the thin pouting lips, was able to cast that impression on Bond. Since he first appeared in a Boston courtroom, he cut his long dark blonde hair into a trendy coif. His stare is less vacant; at one point, his father and brother appeared to smile at him from the back of the courtroom; and he was engaged with his defense team, huddling with them as they discussed each potential juror.

Previous reports say that he and Rachelle Bond met on Bostons infamous, Methadone Mile, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Southampton Street, where all things opioids meet: treatment facilities, dealers, and users. He spoke frequently about demons, and told his therapy group about a dream he once had about Bella, according to The Boston Globe.

Like Rachelle Bond, McCarthy has a lengthy rap sheet of drug related offenses.

Though Shapiro is not sure how much evidence of this will be allowed to go before the jury, he said, I expect that there will be evidence that Rachelle Bond was the one who was obsessed with demons and who in fact believed that Bella was inhabited by a demon.

Outside the courthouse, Joseph Amoroso, Bellas biological father, who is expected to testify for the prosecution, told The Daily Beast that Bond did not mention demonology to him, but she mentioned it to his mother once, the day she was arrested.

Amoroso met Rachelle while they were both homeless and living in tents pitched in Bostons Financial District, during the Occupy Boston movement. Though he moved to Florida and never met Bella, he had returned to Boston and had been trying to see her, not knowing it was too late. He and his mother, Patricia Quinn, who is also listed as a potential witness, were with Bond in the hours before she was arrested, though he told The Daily Beast, he didnt know Bella was dead yet.

That morning, Amoroso said Bond pulled Quinn aside and told her, Ive had a demon with me my whole life and I think Im possessed, but now Im free.

Though Amoroso wants to see McCarthy convicted, he doesnt think Bond is trustworthy either.

She is lying through her teeth, he said. Shes not telling the whole truth. I believe she had a lot more to do with the whole incident than what shes saying. Its so sick. I mean, how do you put your kid in the refrigerator?

Amoroso said he is nervous about testifying, in case he casts doubt on Bonds credibility.

I have to be careful with what I say up on stand, because if I say the wrong thing then it could turn the whole thing around and make the jury, believe OK, she probably did it and is throwing him under the bus, and saying he did it, and he is going to get away with murder.

Though he added, he understood that he would have to tell the truth under oath.
Bryan resident Danny Carlos Diaz agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to killing two women on the same day in 2015, crimes for which he now must serve at least 60 years in prison before being eligible for parole consideration.

The 31-year-old was given two life sentences and waived the right to file an appeal after District Judge Kyle Hawthorne accepted the plea agreement at the Brazos County Courthouse.

With that agreement came a pair of convictions for the murders of Ashley Garcia  a 26-year-old woman whom he decapitated using a machete  and Vanessa Gonzales  a 30-year-old who had been dating Diaz before her death. The body of Gonzales was discovered by a jogger early May 15, 2015, while Garcia - who was sister to the mother of Diaz's child - was found in a dumpster on the other side of the county.

An investigators report from the Brazos County Sheriffs Office states that authorities were called at 7:30 that morning to check into a potential hit and run accident on Weeden Loop Road in eastern rural Brazos County. Gonzaless lifeless body had been discovered near her white Nissan. The front of the vehicle had been damaged, and there was blood spattered across the entire drivers side, as well as on the bottom of the vehicles body and on its door panels. A blood stain also was discovered on the backseat on the passenger's side.

According to authorities, Diaz had shown up about 7 a.m. without a car at Garcias mothers home on Elmo Weedon Road in Bryan, about three and a half miles from where Gonzaless body had been found. Garcias stepfather told authorities Diaz asked to talk to Garcias mother, but she wasn't home. The report states that Garcias stepfather told investigators that Diaz was wearing a pair of Texas Longhorn wind pants covered in what he thought at the time was grease. Later, after learning Diaz likely had committed a violent crime before showing up on his doorstep, the stepfather acknowledged what he saw could have been blood.

According to the report, Garcias mother told authorities that Diaz left her house and walked to her daughter's nearby home. Covered in blood, Diaz asked to take a shower. As he did so, Garcia texted her mother, letting her know Diaz was there and appeared as though he had committed a murder because of the volume of blood. Garcias mother abruptly stopped receiving text messages after her daughter told her she was going to take Diaz somewhere in Bryan, according to the report.

Diaz, who was taken into custody less than four hours after the first crime was reported, was arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant. A tip from Diaz's brother led authorities to his property in northwest Bryan near Pleasant Hill Road where Diaz was found in Garcia's truck, which was stuck in a mud-filled ditch. Investigators noticed a pool of water in the back seat of the patrol car used to transport Diaz to the sheriffs office, which later tested positive for the presence of blood.

Authorities later found Garcias decapitated body in a dumpster on the property of Diazs brothers home on Pleasant Hill Road. According to the report, investigators found a machete with blood and hair on it inside Garcias Black Chevrolet Tahoe in which they had found Diaz, about one-third of a mile from where Garcias body had been found.

The report states that authorities unsuccessfully attempted to question Diaz at the sheriffs office. When Diaz - whose chin and clothes had blood showing - spit into a trash can, authorities noticed the saliva was speckled with blood. He was taken to the hospital and later charged with murder.

This story is developing and will be updated.
A 31-year-old Bryan man who killed his girlfriend, then decapitated a longtime friend using a machete will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to the 2015 murders in Brazos County.

Danny Carlos Diaz killed the two women in separate incidents that spanned a 12-hour period, ending the morning of May 15 two years ago when the body of Ashley Garcia -- a 26-year-old mother -- was found in a dumpster.

It wasn't clear exactly, when but earlier that morning, Diaz ended the life of Vanessa Gonzales, a 30-year-old whom he had been dating on and off.

Diaz was given two life sentences and waived the right to file an appeal after District Judge Kyle Hawthorne accepted the plea agreement that calls for him to serve at least 60 years in prison before he is eligible to be considered for parole.

The 85th District court was standing room only during Wednesday's one-hour hearing, during which families and friends of the victims and defendant squeezed onto the wooden benches, while uniformed deputies and detectives lined the aisles.

Norbert Contreras, stepfather of Gonzales, spoke on behalf of the family during the victim impact portion of the proceeding, saying to Diaz that he would pay one way or another for the brutal slayings.

"You will get yours two-fold before this is all done," said Contreras, who, along with his wife, will help raise Gonzales's two young children. "I hope you will carry that on your conscience when it comes to your judgment day."

Diaz, bearded and slouched, did not show emotion as the stepfather spoke, nor did he turn to see the face of Melinda Muschinski, a close family friend of the Garcias, when she told Diaz that he "took someone so precious on that day."

"You have destroyed this family," Muschinski said. "When you go to jail, I hope you sit in that cell and you think about what you've done."

Prosecutors and family members of Diaz said he has several mental illnesses and, in recent months while in jail awaiting trial, was being treated with medication.

Lives of two moms end

An investigator's report from the Brazos County Sheriff's Office states that authorities were called at 7:30 the morning of May 15, 2015, to check into a potential hit and run accident on Weeden Loop Road in eastern rural Brazos County. Gonzales's lifeless body had been discovered near her white Nissan. The front of the vehicle had been damaged, and there was blood spattered across the entire driver's side, as well as on the bottom of the vehicle's body and on its door panels. A blood stain also was discovered on the backseat on the passenger's side.

According to authorities, Diaz had shown up about 7 a.m. without a car at the home of Garcia's mother on Elmo Weedon Road in Bryan, which was about 3 1/2 miles from where Gonzales's body had been found. Garcia's stepfather told authorities Diaz asked to talk to Garcia's mother, but she wasn't home.

The report states that Garcia's stepfather told investigators that Diaz was wearing a pair of Texas Longhorn "wind pants" covered in what he thought at the time was grease. Later, after learning Diaz likely had committed a violent crime before showing up on his doorstep, the stepfather acknowledged what he saw could have been blood.

According to the report, Diaz left their house and walked to Ashley Garcia's nearby home where he asked to take a shower. As he did so, Garcia texted her mother, letting her know Diaz was there and "appeared as though he had committed a murder because of the volume of blood." The daughter took one of her two children to school and stopped at a restaurant to pick up breakfast tacos, according to the police report that states she gave one to Diaz.

Garcia's mother told authorities that she abruptly stopped receiving text messages after her daughter wrote that she was going to take Diaz somewhere in Bryan, according to the report. Her other child was left with a babysitter.

A tip from Diaz's brother led authorities to his property in northwest Bryan near Pleasant Hill Road where Diaz was found near Garcia's SUV, which was stuck in a mud-filled ditch. Diaz was arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant. It had been four hours since his first victim was discovered.

Within hours, investigators found Garcia's decapitated body in a dumpster on the property of Diaz's brother's home. According to the report, investigators found the machete with blood and hair on it inside Garcia's Chevrolet Tahoe, about one-third of a mile from where Garcia's body had been recovered.

The report states that authorities unsuccessfully attempted to question Diaz at the sheriff's office. When Diaz -- whose chin and clothes showed blood -- spit into a trash can, authorities noticed the saliva was speckled with blood. He was taken to the hospital and later charged with murder.

He 'will die in prison'

Brian Baker, first assistant district attorney for Brazos County, said Diaz had been treated for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression.

Lane Thibodeaux, one of Diaz's attorneys, called Dr. John Fabian, a forensic and clinical psychologist, to testify during the hearing. Fabian said Diaz had been given psychoactive drugs for treatment while in jail and had suffered from a traumatic brain injury when he was younger.

The Diaz family released a statement, saying that Garcia and Gonzalez's deaths "so dramatically demonstrate untreated mental illness can spiral so far out of control as to change lives on not only those were killed, but the family of the man who today took responsibility for those deaths. To the families who have lost so much, so tragically, so unnecessarily, we wish some level of healing."

Baker said the notes on Diaz's treatment will be sent to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and that he will be evaluated when he is transferred to Huntsville. Diaz could be sent to a prison that has specialists dedicated to psychiatric treatment.

Brazos County District Attorney Jarvis Parsons called the killings "two senseless criminal acts," that -- despite the heinous nature -- did not qualify under the law to be tried as capital murder, and therefore the death penalty was not an option.

"The only solace we can give a family is that the person who did that will die in prison," Parsons said.
Local emergency personnel and Texas A&M University System officials put their response skills to the test Wednesday as they ran through a drill that simulated a plane crash.

Participants gathered near the TEEX Fire Field in College Station for the drill, which included representatives from several federal, state and local agencies, including the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Bryan and College Station fire departments, Easterwood Airport, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, College Station Medical Center, CHI St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Texas A&M University and more.

Throughout the nearly five-hour mock emergency situation -- which began around 9 a.m. with fake social media reports of a crashed plane at Easterwood Airport -- administration officials and emergency responders played a role in handling the response. Responsibilities ranged from developing a communications strategy to treating and transporting mock patients to area hospitals.

A&M Assistant Vice President for Safety and Security Chris Meyer said the situation -- a crashed airplane on the Easterwood Airport runway, leading to a potential terrorist threat with a hostage in danger -- was designed to go beyond the usual emergency situation and challenge those who were in a position to respond.

"It just helps us make sure, to the extent that we can, that we're ready for something no one would expect," Meyer said. "From an incident command standpoint, it requires that you balance all of those different needs, procedures and protocols [of the different agencies] while keeping your responders safe and tending to the needs of the victims."

Meyer said he wants the community to know that those who were involved in the drill are "very dedicated to public safety and that we go to significant effort and expense to try to put something together so that we're being the responders that they deserve."

Texas A&M President Michael K. Young praised the drill as a reflection of "steadfast commitment" of area first responders in ensuring the "safety and security of our campus and the community."

"I am grateful today, as always, for the time and effort that they invest in preparedness for events that we hope will never happen but need to be ready for nonetheless," Young said.

University Police Department Chief Mike Ragan said opportunities such as this help to build the collaborative partnership between area first responders. He said it is also a positive experience for his officers to learn more about the College Station Police Department's SWAT unit and how they can assist on scene.

"For our guys to be able to see what SWAT does and know what to do before they get there is good," Ragan said.

Altogether Ragan said he is "confident in the overall ability of everybody here to do their job and work well together."

College Station Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Mumford said he sees the drill as a good time for first responders in the area to experience what it might be like dealing with a "multicasualty incident" which pushes beyond the scale of normal training exercises.

"A full-scale exercise like this brings together all the emergency responders from Brazos County together in a simulated drill so that if an emergency ever happened, we're prepared," Mumford said. "It gives us the opportunity to put our training to good use, show what we need improvement on, what we did really well on and brings our community leaders and responders together."

Meyer said the drill is observed and evaluated by "experienced individuals" who do not otherwise participate in the event.

"At the conclusion of the exercise, a quick debriefing is typically held to get immediate thoughts of the observers and players," Meyer said. "Within a few days, a post-exercise meeting commonly known as an 'after action' is held to identify a) those things that were done well and should be sustained, b) those things that should be improved and may be implemented quickly and c) those things that should be improved but may require more time to address properly."

The last emergency exercise drill was in July 2014. Meyer said while the drills are typically held roughly once every three years, the last one was preceded by another drill just a month earlier in May 2014.

He said the two drills tested response to two separate mock situations, one at Easterwood Airport and the other on the A&M campus.

A&M Emergency Management Coordinator Monica Martinez said getting to coordinate events such as this is one of her favorite parts of the job, likening it to being a movie director with only one take to get everything right.

Ultimately, Martinez said she is thankful for the relationship the community has between its various agencies, institutions and first responders.

"We could not have made this possible without all the agencies and the people on the planning committee," Martinez said. "We're very fortunate to have such an amazing community partnership where our first responders can come together like this."
Mohalla sabhas got Rs 55 lakh each after the Delhi government in 2015 earmarked a sum of Rs 20 crore for 12 shortlisted Assembly seats. But two years down the line, the money allocated remains unaccounted for.

By Abhishek Anand: Where has all the money gone? AAP government ministers, legislators and local coordinators are at a loss, unable to explain the mystery of the missing mohalla sabha funds.

More than two years after the first ever meetings of the local governance bodies in a dozen assembly constituencies, the money allocated remains unaccounted for and so does the work promised by the administration, an India Today TV investigation has found.

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AAP called the mohalla sabhas a revolutionary concept to bring swaraj, or participatory democracy. In fact, party convenor and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a book on it. For the first meeting of the bodies, which have the power to choose and start development projects in their areas, the Delhi government set aside a sum of Rs 20 crore for each of the 12 shortlisted assembly seats during the budget session of 2015. The released money also reached the mohalla sabhas: each of them got Rs 55 lakh.

Asked about the details of the funds, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said, "It is not in my ambit. I can't comment on it."

'DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS'

The INDIA TODAY TV investigation found that mohalla sabha coordinators, as well as the minister and MLAs of the chosen constituencies don't know where the money is. Also, during visits to the Patparganj, Kirari and Chhatarpur assembly seats the reporter learnt that the first mohalla sabhas used less than 10 per cent of the funds.

"During the first mohalla sabha, in which the local MLA, sub-divisional magistrate and a number of residents participated in April 2015, as many as 12 development works were identified," said Anil Kumar Dikshit, former coordinator of the mohalla sabha at Pratap Nagar in Sisodia's constituency.

"A priority-wise list was made and construction of metal gates was started. But after this, the work was halted."

He said construction of toilets, a library, a community centre and a parking lot as well as laying of sewers and covering of drains never began.

"We don't know where the money is. We are sure that Rs 55 lakh was released for development of our colony and only gates were installed. I repeatedly requested local MLA and deputy CM Manish Sisodia about the promises, but all in vain," Dikshit said.

The investigation also found that the plots to be used for library, parks and community centre are lying vacant. Also, no new sewers were constructed and the drains were not covered either.

'NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SO FAR'

INDIA TODAY TV then visited Kirari assembly constituency, considered the most backward part of north Delhi. Here, less than one per cent of the sum allocated was utilised. Locals have a list of 15 promises that were made at the gathering in June 2015.

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RWA president of Indra Enclave phase 2 Sanjay Sharma said, "Installation of iron gates, dustbins and signage was decided during the mohalla sabha. Also, it was decided that a marriage hall, library and park will be developed on either DDA land or land of the gram sabha. It has been two years since the funds were allocated in front of us but we don't know where the money has gone."

Only a few signboards had been installed in the area, while from the list of 14-15 projects just one had been initiated. The residents say they don't know where the allocated funds are.

"Every year during monsoon, dengue and chikungunya spread here. During the mohalla sabha meeting, funds were allocated for 40 sanitation workers and also for construction of drains. Nothing has happened so far and people are still at risk," said Aftab, a local resident who survived chikungunya last year.

The area mohalla sabha coordinator refused to comment, claiming he is not aware of the current status of the funds.

Next on the list was Sanjay Colony at Bhati Mines of Chhatarpur assembly constituency in south Delhi. Residents say two major promises were made during the mohalla sabha meet two years ago: construction of roads as well as drains.

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"I will have to check with the MLA," said mohalla sabha coordinator Rampal. However, after half a dozen fumbling attempts, he was unable to locate the money.

"For two colonies of Bhati Mines, Rs 1.10 crore was allocated for construction of roads. We don't know what happened," said local resident and activist Hira Lal.

ALSO READ | Election Commission to AAP: Changing EVMs' motherboard during hackathon is irrational

ALSO READ | Delhi Mohalla Clinics: AAP govt probes graft charges, Congress alleges scam

ALSO WATCH | EVM tampering: Election Commission accepts AAP's challenge, announces 2-day hackathon

--- ENDS ---
Texas Education Agency commissioner Mike Morath has decided not to replace the Hearne school board following a second review of the district's appeal of the initial decision.

Morath notified the district by letter Wednesday morning that he was reversing an earlier decision to replace trustees with a board of managers. In the same letter, he also noted that the TEA would not be reversing the decision to lower the district's accreditation status for 2015-2016.

Morath initially attributed the decision to replace the board to a special investigation conducted by the TEA that found the board of trustees and the superintendent "failed to work together to provide educational leadership for the district," trustees were "acting in their individual capacities on behalf of the board" and the district did not adequately provide background checks.

In his Wednesday letter, Morath said he was convinced by the information presented by the district officials during a May 17 meeting with school officials in Austin. The meeting was the second review of the Hearne decision.

According to presentation materials, the district highlighted training sessions trustees attended, learning goals for students, new budget processes in place and new curriculum standards for all grades.

"It was about two things," said school board vice president Nelda Calhoun, who attended the May 17 meeting. "Governance, and we then were able to show student progress. This is the whole focus of Mike Morath. He wants all boards to be focused on student success."

The announcement also means that superintendent Adrain Johnson will keep his job, although Patricia Hayes, the TEA monitor who was promoted to conservator, will maintain her role as an overseer of district operations.

Johnson said the decision was validation for all the improvement the school has made and a morale booster for teachers and the community.

"It's just now coming out, but I'm already getting emails and texts from staff," Johnson said. "I think there's an enthusiasm now that we have the decision from the TEA."

Incoming board member Sheridan Ely is more skeptical. Upon first learning about the letter, she said she wished the commissioner would have included more specific requirements and timelines in his notification to help hold the district accountable.

Despite the fact that the decision reversal means her spot on the board is secure, she said she disagrees with keeping the board. She said current board members have "long been ineffective" but hopes that the threat of a TEA intervention can serve as motivation.

"HISD has been threatened and warned that the 'old games of yesteryear' are unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated,'" she said in a statement to The Eagle. "This experience and the current TEA decisions are a 'call to action for our HISD.' "

Calhoun said moving forward she is hopeful STAAR results will show the steps the district has taken.

"I'm just really optimistic," said Calhoun, "We've been given a very merciful chance to get our school back."
Opportunities to honor our war dead this weekend

In among the Memorial Day sales, the barbecues, the fun and games this weekend, take the time to remember what the day is all about. It is a day to remember those who have died in service of our country. This Memorial Day weekend we have several opportunities to remember those fallen heroes and to give back to our community.

On Sunday, the Vietnam Veterans of America will hold services at its memorial in front of the Clara B. Mounce Library in Bryan at 2 p.m. This memorial is dedicated to the 66 Brazos Valley residents who died in Vietnam. Five new names have been added to the memorial and they, along with the Brazos Valley veterans who have died since last Memorial Day, will be honored by calling their name and ringing the bell. Full military honors, with rifle salute and playing or taps, will be rendered by the American Legion Honor Guard. The public is invited to attend.

On Monday, at 10 a.m., the Texas A&M Corps will honor an additional five names of World War I Aggies lost by adding their names to the memorial at the Corps Center. At 11 a.m., the VFW will host a Memorial Day Ceremony along with the American Legion,

On Saturday, the Marine Corps League, Blinn College and Texas A&M student veterans organizations along with other groups will gather at Bryan City Cemetery at 9 a.m. to place flags on the final resting place of the veterans there. On Monday, around 8 a.m., the DAR,SAR and Sojouners, Wreaths Across America, Texas A&M's and Blinn's student veteran organizations and others will place flags on the veterans' graves in The Aggie Field of Honor.

Volunteers are needed to assist in placing these flags. If you or your group would like to assist, please email: waacollegestation@gmail.com or contact Ellen Fuller at 757-478-4747.

Lt. Cmdr. (ret.) TOM POWELL, USN

Bryan

Appropriate for Trump to share information with Russia

I am afraid that I am missing something about the current flap over the Trump-Russia connection. As I understand it, Donald Trump had a conversation with a Russian representative concerning ISIS plans for a terrorist attack on commercial aircraft. I assume that this was classified because we don't want ISIS to know that we have information about their plans.

Although we disagree with Russia over many things, the fact that ISIS is our common enemy is not one of them, and Trump's sharing strategic information with Russia concerning ISIS is not against the law (he has the right to de-classify information to whatever level he sees fit).

The detractors seem to think that it is wrong to share information with Russia about a common enemy. As it is said: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

RON DARBY

Bryan

At least locking the chicken coop benefits the chickens

Regarding stock market decline associated with Trump's problems: Just because stock in the fox goes down when the chicken coop is locked, doesn't mean it ain't good for the chickens.

DON MACHROWICZ

College Station
Last May at the same 'intersessional' climate talks in Bonn, a group of countries representing more than 70% of the world's population insisted on adding a 'conflict of interest' provision in the negotiating text.

It almost made it - and would have done were it not for an underhand move by the European Union and the USA which saw it removed.

Pulling the strings behind such moves: the world's largest fossil fuel companies.

Taken to its logical conclusion, addressing conflicts of interest would mean kicking out the same corporations whose profits are built on causing climate change.

Research shows that at least 80% of known fossil fuel reserves need to be kept in the ground to keep global warming below 2 degrees, let alone 1.5 degrees. But a look at BP and Shell's future energy projections allege that we can continue to burn fossil fuels indefinitely.

Ending fossil fuels would put them out of business. This is a fundamental conflict of interest, yet getting it even discussed - let alone addressed - has been an uphill struggle.

However, persistence of those countries at the frontline of climate change - particularly Ecuador, which is seeing increasing water shortages and crop failures - as well as increasing public outrage and civil society's call on the UN to 'Kick Big Polluters Out' of climate policy, has ensured the issue has remained on the agenda.

Big fossil and Big Tobacco: two peas in a pod

This year's two-week intersessional talks in Bonn saw an official workshop on the topic organised by the secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Taking place on 9th May, the second day of the talks, the strongest intervention came from the secretariat of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

On the WHO's behalf, Ms Johanna Gusman spoke about its struggle against a tobacco industry that had "the express intention of subverting the role of government and of the world health organisation in implementing public health policies that combat the tobacco epidemic."

The WHO found that as long as tobacco lobbyists were allowed access to the negotiating process, ambition remained low.

The fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the interests of the tobacco industry and public health policy meant the firewall the WHO eventually erected between policy makers and lobbyists (known as Article 5.3) was the only way to protect the negotiations against vested commercial interests.
Making a return to our two favourite summer locations, Mount Maunganui and Nelson in early January 2023, we've got whiff of the first release lineup and me oh my, yes boy
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
People from two communities in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district came to blows after a minor scuffle on late Wednesday night. Stone pelting has been reported from the area.

By Indo-Asian News Service: People from two communities came to blows and pelted stones at each other in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district, triggering panic today, police said.

The melee started with a minor accident late on Wednesday night after which people from both sides clashed and pelted stones at each other in Ladia locality.

The locality is considered 'hyper sensitive' communally and as the news of the clashes reached the district officials, police reinforcements were sent and the situation brought under control.

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District officials pacified the angry mob and asked them to return to their homes.

Dhruv Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Sasni Gate area where clashes took place said that police was identifying mischievous elements and will take action against them.

The situation is tense but under control, he further added.

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Zan TV isn't just focusing on women's rights, but also employs an all-woman staff.

By Shreya Goswami: Afghanistan has come a long way since the Taliban was ousted in 2001, and so have the nation's women. The war-ravaged country had a rather negative track record with women's rights and issues, but the scenario has gradually changed over the last 16 years. Afghan women have only recently regained access to education and employment, but they are already making more headway than women from a number of other developing countries.

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The recent launch of Zan TV is a case in point. Zan TV or Women's TV is Afghanistan's first channel dedicated to women's issues, and it's run completely by women. From female newsreaders and presenters, to producers, this new channel is giving Afghan women the platform they deserve.

Rozena Khatebi, news director of the Zan TV station (women's TV) works on her computer in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters

While the organisation is for women, it was founded by a man--Hamid Samar, a media entrepreneur. Based out of Kabul, Zan TV is working on a small budget and depends on low-cost digital technology to spread its voice.

Shamela Rasooli, 22, Afghan presenter, records her morning TV programme at the Zan TV station. Photo: Reuters

Also Read: 7 things women do to stay safe, that men don't have to

While female newsreaders are quite common in Afghani news channels, proper training in media or journalism has rarely been provided to Afghan women. The Zan TV staff is literally learning while on the job. Some 16 male technicians are guiding them through the behind-the-scenes infrastructure, but the hope remains that these ladies will soon master every aspect of running a media organisation.

Afghan staff of Zan TV station (women's TV) discuss in their newsroom. Photo: Reuters

"I am so happy that this TV station has been created for women because there are women in our society who are not aware of their rights," 20-year-old Khatira Ahmadi, a producer at the station, told Reuters. "So this station represents women and we work to raise the voice of women so they can defend their rights," she added.

Afghan presenters record their morning programme at the Zan TV station. Photo: Reuters Afghan presenters record their morning programme at the Zan TV station. Photo: Reuters

Also Read: Kalki Koechlin decodes feminism, Bollywood's wage gap and women

Ahmadi is one of the few members of this channel with previous work experience in this field, but life isn't easy for her either. Most Afghani women in media have strained relations with society, and have to deal with the disapproval of family members.

Khatira Ahmadi (R), 20, producer of Zan TV (women's TV) station, works in the editing room. Photo: Reuters Khatira Ahmadi (R), 20, producer of Zan TV (women's TV) station, works in the editing room. Photo: Reuters

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This, however, hasn't curbed their enthusiasm. The women at Zan TV might have just started broadcasting on May 21, but their actions are already ground-breaking. Their initiative, whether ultimately successful or not, proves that women--no matter how suppressed or deprived in the past--can actually overcome any obstacle.

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Brynn Casady makes most of her volleyball season at Spoon River College

Casady played defensive specialist, libero and outside hitter at various times during the season
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MILFORD  J.C. Penney, which announced in March plans to close nearly 140 stores across the country, including its location at the Connecticut Post Mall, has notified the state the Milford closure will cost 89 workers their jobs.

The company lists June 18 as the layoff date for its employees and July 31 is noted as the date of the stores closure, but a company spokesman said the June date was a clerical error that will be corrected.

The company in March said 5,000 positions across the nation would be affected by its decision to close 138 stores this summer. Those in the Westfield Trumbull mall and the Danbury Fair mall were not on the list of closures announced in March.

We will go to great lengths to relocate esteemed leaders, and, if possible, we will assist associates in identifying other job opportunities at nearby JCPenney stores, said company spokesperson Joey Thomas. Eligible associates who do not remain with the company will receive separation benefits, including an on-site career training class. The class will assist associates in writing resumes, filling out applications, answering interview questions and more.

A mall spokeswoman indicated in March the shopping center would aggressively market the space to find a new tenant, but its unclear whether it would be divided to accommodate smaller tenants or if a new anchor would take the space.

While we currently do not have plans to significantly break up the box, there are development implications with any new tenants that will improve the space and the overall appeal of the shopping center within the Milford community, said Dan Kiley, the malls general manager, in a statement. Our goal at Connecticut Post Mall is to provide the best experience for our customers. There are a number of factors that go into the selection and placement of our retailers and restaurants, including size, category, etc.

Kiley said he hopes to make a formal announcement about the space in coming weeks.

In malls throughout the area, retailers departures or downsizing has been handled differently. When anchor tenant Sears decided to downsize in the Danbury Fair mall several years ago, it leased its 70,000-square-foot second floor to the European fashion store Primark.

At the Connecticut Post mall, recently vacated spaces havent stayed empty for long. Uniqlos exit in January was quickly followed by the opening of Urban Planet, a brand of Canada-based YM Inc., in that space shortly after.

National retailers this year are not faring better than they have in recent years, with J.C. Penney among numerous retailers to announce store closures in the first half of 2017. Abercrombie & Fitch recently announced it was closing 60 stores in the U.S., although the list of locations has not been released.

Abercrombie & Fitch has storefronts at Stamford Town Center, Westfield Trumbull, Connecticut Post Mall and Danbury Fair. Aeropostale also announced closures before finding a way in bankruptcy court to keep most of those stores open.

Another teen retailer, Rue21, is closing even more stores across the nation. Among the 400 locations set to shut their doors this June will be Rue21 stores in Westfield Trumbull and the Meriden mall. Its Connecticut Post Mall location was not on the list of closures released earlier this year.

ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227
Bikram Choudhury, the millionaire founder of global fitness business, has not paid over USD 7 million in connection with a sexual harassment case and had claimed last year that he was nearly bankrupt.

By Press Trust of India: A US court has issued an arrest warrant for Bikram Choudhury, the Indian-American "hot" yoga guru who was ordered in 2016 to pay over USD 7 million in connection with a sexual harassment case, a media report said.

Choudhury, the millionaire founder of global fitness business, has not paid the amount and last year claimed he was nearly bankrupt.

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Authorities believe the 69-year-old has hid his assets and left the country, the ABC News reported.

According to the report, the warrant allows authorities to arrest him if he returns to the US or, possibly, in Mexico.

In January last year, a jury determined that Choudhury had sexually harassed and then unfairly fired Minakshi "Miki" Jafa-Bodden, his onetime lawyer. He was ordered to pay nearly USD 6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to USD 924,000 in compensatory damages.

SEXUAL ALLEGATIONS

Jafa-Bodden was general counsel to Bikrams Yoga College of India but was fired after refusing to cover up allegations that Bikram had raped and sexually assaulted a yoga student.

"I feel vindicated," she told ABC News in 2016. "Im elated."

She convinced the jury that Choudhury had repeatedly sexually harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women.

She also claimed she was fired after she tried to investigate another woman's sexual harassment and rape allegations against him. During the trial over Jafa-Bodden's allegations, Bikram strongly denied sexually assaulting any women. He also denied to ABC News ever having any sexual contact with his students or followers.

Bail was set at USD 8 million, the report said.

Choudhury was one of the pioneers of yoga in the US, setting up shop in Beverly Hills in the 1970s. Celebrities including Madonna, Andy Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow and Goldie have all participated in Bikram yoga.

Now his yoga studios are franchised worldwide.

Created by Choudhury Bikram Yoga, as this form of yoga is known, is made up of a series of 26 postures which are performed in an extremely hot room.

The 90-minute classes are taught in rooms heated to 40.5C exactly. Because of this consistency across the world, Choudhury refers to the practice as McYoga.

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--- ENDS ---
Ned Gerard / ST

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton ordered Francisco Illarramendi to pay $25.8 million to investors he defrauded along with a $1 million penalty, with Illarramendi currently serving a 13-year prison sentence.

The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission announced the judicial order, with Illarramendi having pleaded guilty in 2011 to running what amounted to a Ponzi investment scheme and incarcerated in 2015.
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STAMFORD  The cavalcade of motorists on the upper blocks of Hope Street every day may have noticed a rapidly changing streetscape.

A new building at 1011 Hope St., which will house a kitchen showroom, highlights the latest change in the commercial center of the citys Springdale section, a transformation that has ushered in a host of new stores and also brought residential growth and streetscape improvements.

Longtime merchants said they welcome the areas emergence as a destination, but many worry chronic congestion threatens business, while others fret the changes could undermine the neighborhoods character.

Its beautiful here, and its busy, said Hilda Hanna, owner of Prestige Cleaners and Tailors at 1008 Hope St. But maybe its becoming a little too busy.

Many changes

City officials have sought in recent years to encourage transit-oriented development in Springdale, which includes a station on Metro-Norths New Canaan branch, at the corner of Hope Street and Largo Drive.

Village zoning regulations enacted in 2009 have aimed to promote more business vitality and walkability in the neighborhoods commercial corridor.

A $6 million redesign of Hope Street, which began in 2013 and lasted until about mid-2015, included widening sections of the thoroughfare and reconstructing sidewalks.

The regulatory and infrastructure changes have encouraged the opening of a number of businesses in Springdale center in the past few years. The new building at 1011 Hope St. will house a showroom run by Express Kitchens, which operates several other stores in the state.

Its the nicest building in Springdale, said August Lenhart, principal of Hope Enterprises, which owns the building.

Across the street, a Beanz coffee shop is scheduled to open within the new two weeks at 1032 Hope St.

What weve noted is an increase in people traffic and walking, said Tony Aversano, owner of Fish Bowl Pets at 1013 Hope St. As these locations are completed and fill up, theres no doubt in our minds well have more potential customers in the area.

A growing residential base also attracts businesses to Springdale. An 88-unit apartment building at 1032 Hope St. opened last year at the former site of a pharmacy.

Competition keeps things lively and more interesting, said Bernard de la Rivera, manager of the Haydee Coiffures hair salon at 1003 Hope St. As long were able to keep businesses here and storefronts occupied, thats great. You dont want to see storefronts empty because then its a ghost town.

Challenges

The traffic on Hope Street presents more potential customers, but it also acts as a growing deterrent to customers, according to a number of merchants.

Many of Prestige Cleaners and Tailors customers, especially those traveling from New Canaan and Darien, have grown tired of battling the constant congestion, Hanna said.

The traffic is crazy all day  it takes you forever to get anywhere, she said. Its good were a little more busy, but the traffic makes our customers not want to come back.

Despite the continual bustle on Hope Street, some businesses still grapple with a lack of visibility. The owners of Perfect Match Paint Supply at 20 Cushing St. said they struggle because their establishment is out of sight from Hope Street and overshadowed on Cushing Street by a condominium complex.

Perfect Match planned to move to the new building at 1011 Hope St. But Hope Enterprises, which also owns 20 Cushing St., backed out of a verbal agreement for Perfect Match to relocate, according to Perfect Matchs owners. Signs posted last year at the construction site had announced Perfect Match as a future tenant.

Someone else came along with a better offer, and thats impacted us big time, said Perfect Match co-owner Evelyn Salazar. Its not what we expected, but we just have to deal with what we have. We put a lot of effort into this building. If we have to move, then well move.

The Salazars lease clearly outlined their options, Lenhart said.

I had to make a choice as to who was the stronger tenant, Lenhart said. They had the option to relocate, but it wasnt a contract that guaranteed them occupancy in the other store. I had six different entities interested in that space, and I had to disappoint five and make one happy.

Some business owners also worry the evolution of the commercial district risks undermining its neighborhood fabric in the pursuit of development that would rival the downtown and the citys major commercial shopping complexes.

Springdale is not the place for bringing in chain stores, said Agnes Chrzanowska, owner of Village Tiles at 1002 Hope St. Its got to be more low-key and family oriented.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott
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DANBURY  Widow Browns Cafe has had the same owner, name and location for 40 years, but plenty has changed over the years at the roadside bar and restaurant.

The death of a restaurant is not changing, said Aura Showah, who opened Widow Browns with two partners in 1977 at 128 Federal Road in Danbury. When you talk about being here for 40 years, its good and bad. People sometimes forget about you, but we are always evolving  always thinking of new ways to make the restaurant better.

Part of the evolution is finding different ways to bring customers through the door, especially in Danburys ever-expanding restaurant scene. Widow Browns has a game room, live music on weekends, open-mic night on Sundays, trivia on Tuesday, karaoke on Wednesday and wing night on Thursday.

With four decades under its belt, Widow Browns also has history on its side.

People come in and say, we met here, or we got engaged here, or we had our first date here. There is so much history here, Showah said. I talk to people who say they used to come here all the time as a kid. I say: Used to? I want people to come now. There are so many restaurants in Danbury now. I hope people dont forget about Widow Browns.

Showah opened the restaurant with Doug Waterbury and Tom Wilson. They also owned Marble Dale Pub  now The White Horse  in New Preston from 1973 to 2008. Widow Browns also had a location in Naugatuck. Showah is now the sole owner of the restaurant.

Overall, its been a good 40 years, she said. Ive been extremely lucky in this business.

The beer effect

The popularity of craft beers and specialty drinks has changed the restaurant industry. Widow Browns had a few beer choices in 1977, but now has 20 varieties on tap, as well as an extensive selection of bottles. The draft choices change frequently as 15 of the 20 taps are revolving, including many options from Connecticut breweries.

The craft beer scene is huge, J.T. Wilson, Auras son and general manager of Widow Browns, said. Its gotten bigger and exploded even in the last five years. I like to stay in-state as much as possible with the beers, but there are a lot of out-of-state beers, too.

Widow Browns Facebook page keeps customers up to date on the craft beer selections.

Widow Browns holds special dinners in which beers are paired with the meal, rather than the traditional wine pairing, every other month. Showah said the beer dinners are a popular ticket.

New chef Joe Hawkes, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, creates weekly specials and has updated the menu with new dishes. He has also retained the traditional meals that have been a cornerstone of the restaurant for decades, such as French dip, build-your-own burgers and Monte Cristo sandwich. Hawkes grew up eating at Widow Browns and has high hopes for the future of the restaurant.

Id like to think we can expand. Im no stranger to hard work, he said. J.T. is great; he takes care of the front and I take care of the back.

Hawkes uses local produce as much as possible and has found new distributors that he said increased the value of the food.

We make a lot of things in-house from scratch, he said. Thats what I know how to do.

Keeping it together

It takes skill and a bit of luck to survive four decades in the restaurant industry, Showah said. She recalled a time when she decided Widow Browns needed an updated and more descriptive sign on Federal Road, but didnt have the money. A few days later, there was an accident on Federal Road in which no one was seriously injured, but the old sign was destroyed. Insurance paid for a new sign.

While luck is always helpful, Showah said diligence is the real key. She is fanatical about her bookkeeping and other daily operations. She once fired her son from Marble Dale Pub for showing up to work late.

Most restaurants fail because they dont have control over their finances. They dont know their food costs or their bar costs or their payroll, she said. They dont watch the day-to-day finances. You have to be careful. Its hard keeping everything together.

After more than 40 years keeping it all together, Showah, now 67, is reluctantly thinking about handing over the reins to J.T. Wilson and Hawkes.

Im slowly starting to back away and let the younger generation take over, she said. This is a business for the younger generation. Its not even the hours that get to you. Its just time. Im getting older and they know how to do it.

The writer can be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
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39.3 million

The number of Americans, AAA says, who will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Memorial Day weekend.

651,031

The number of Americans killed in combat in Americas wars from 1775-1991, according the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

1868

The year Decoration Day was established to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead with flowers.

Maj. General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30, a date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress.

1,263

The number of speeding tickets Connecticut state troopers gave out last Memorial Day weekend.

251

The average number of pennies to buy a gallon of regular gas in Connecticut; about 83 cents more than last year.

The highest average gas price ever in Connecticut was on July 9, 2008, when a gallon of regular gas cost $4.39.

102

The number of people who died on Connecticut roads, so far, this year.

Connecticut Crash Data Repository said 311 people died in 2016.

100

The number of days in the period starting at Memorial Day when teen crash deaths historically climb.

AAA says crashes for teen drivers increase significantly during the summer because teens drive more during this time of year.

92

The number of dollars youll pay on a ticket for driving without a seatbelt.

88

The percentage of Americans who will travel by motor vehicles. Thats the highest Memorial Day travel volume since 2005, according to AAA.

75

The percentage of Americans who plan to barbecue this Memorial Day weekend, according to Wallethub.

70

The highest expected temperature along the shoreline on Saturday and Sunday along the Long Island Sound shoreline.

26

The number of days from Friday until summer officially begins at 12:24 a.m. on June 21.

17

The number of extra getaway trains Metro-North Railroad will run departing Grand Central Terminal between 1 and 4 p.m. on Friday.
STAMFORD  Driverless cars are miles closer to reaching Stamford after the state Senate voted in favor of a pilot program and task force that helps lay the groundwork for testing the developing technology in Connecticut.

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, would allow four Connecticut municipalities to vie for inclusion in the pilot program. One slot would go automatically to Stamford, since the proposal states that one of the cities must have had a population of 120,000 to 124,000 in the 2010 U.S. Census  which excludes all cities but Stamford.

The citys Office of Economic Development has eyed autonomous vehicles as a way to establish Connecticuts third largest city as a suburban tech hub. Lawmakers have not said what other municipalities would participate, but Leone said Bridgeport is a candidate. At least one of the remaining three cities must have a population over 100,000.

We actually have the ability to participate and not be blindsided by this technology, said Leone, co-chairman of the Legislatures Transportation Committee, whose bill passed the state Senate in a unanimous vote Tuesday. Protecting peoples interests and allowing innovation to occur can only help Stamford.

Stamford hopes to join cities nationwide, including Pittsburgh and Tempe, Ariz., that have offered their roads for testing self-driving cars with mixed results. Google, Tesla, Uber and Ford are each pioneering cars that drive themselves.

Leone said officials envision a loop for testing the vehicles that extends from the South End to downtown, where the city hopes to establish innovation districts that would contain clusters of startups, modern manufacturing businesses and co-working spaces.

Thomas Madden, the citys director of economic development, said several groups have already expressed an interest in testing autonomous technology in Stamford because of its size, geographic diversity and proximity to New York City.

Were an ideal candidate for future testing, said Madden, who noted driverless vehicles are not allowed in the state until the task force submits its report by January 2019.

The task force would have members appointed by state lawmakers, the governor, the Office of Policy and Management, and motor vehicle and transportation commissioners, among others.

As the task force drafts its report, Madden said the early bugs in the technology will be worked out in other cities. Stamford last year sought to apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation pilot program for cities to host autonomous cars, but was not large enough to qualify.

We dont want to be bleeding edge, but we want to be close to leading edge, he said.

The state task force will establish policies and routes for autonomous cars on roads that were not designed for cars that drive themselves.

This technology is moving at such a rapid clip and its going to be disruptive, Leone said. We wanted to establish the framework first and then allow the technology to thrive within the framework.

As manufacturers roll out driverless cars, concerns have been raised about liability and safety. In March, one of Ubers self-driving Volvo SUVs in Tempe flipped on its side, causing the ride-hail app to temporarily ground its fleet in the midsized Arizona city.

We find that autonomous cars would be really beneficial in terms of traffic safety, said Fran Mayko, spokeswoman for AAA Southern New England, adding that driver error causes 90 percent of motor vehicle accidents.

On the other hand, there are a whole new set of risks with driverless vehicles, she said. When motor vehicle laws were written, they never envisioned that cars would be able to drive themselves.

Jackie Lightfield, executive director of Stamford Partnership, said there are different levels of autonomous vehicles and much of the developing technology is rooted in existing software used in cars.

Id rather see this stuff move a lot faster, she said. But its a step in the right direction, because part of the challenge of creating an autonomous technology zone in a municipality is the state needs to enable it to create laws and ordinances.

The bill needs approval by the state House of Representatives and a signature by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy before its enacted.

eskalka@ stamfordadvocate.com
The statistics on smartphone usage are staggering. According to a 2017 survey from ReporterLink, 46 percent of Americans grab for their phone the moment they wake up (its 66 percent for Millennials). In fact, the average person, according to Networkworld, touches their phone 2,617 times per day with a total of 145 minutes of use. The heaviest smartphone users tap or swipe their phone 5,427 time per day with 225 minutes of use daily.

This raises a serious question: Are we on our smartphones this much to be more productive and successful entrepreneurs, or are we just afraid that we are missing out on something? If your answer is missing out, you may be losing valuable productivity time and diverting your attention and energy away from what will make you successful. And, you may be suffering from a new kind of anxiety.

FOMO, the acronym for "Fear Of Missing Out," is actually a real word. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as, "Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media."

It seems to have hit critical mass these days as its being mentioned repeatedly, not only in the news, but on the street too. Here, in New York City, you only need to sit in a busy coffee shop for a few minutes to watch how often people check their phones.

So, if you feel that you are suffering from productivity-robbing FOMO, here are 5 smartphone tips that will help you overcome that success stealing anxiety:

1. Acknowledging the problem

There is little chance to overcome this until you acknowledge this is an issue for you, is causing you anxiety and is stealing your valuable time.

Related: 11 Habits of Truly Happy People

2. Nightly social site diary

Every night, the last action you should do on your cell phone is enter into a memo the five most important things you found out about from social media on your smartphone that day. You will quickly discover the list is comically small and has few items on it that will lead to more success and earnings. This is a technique to train your mind so that when you go to visit a social site, you will be thinking, When was the last time this social site provided something useful?

3. Schedule social media use on your phone

Other than answering a text, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc. or a phone call, schedule a handful times per day (use a calendar-type alert), when you will check social sites, engage and post from your phone. Add in the phone check when you wake up and before you turn in for the night, and you have six social site sessions a day.

If you catch yourself opening your phone at any other time, for any other reason other than communication, stop yourself. This will be hard at first, you may even slip, but soon this will become your new habit.

Related: Habits of the World's Wealthiest People (Infographic)

4.Time limit of one hour per day

During the six times you actually use your phone to be on social sites, set a 10-minute time limit. Use a timer on your phone if necessary. When the timer goes off, put your phone away! This will provide you with an hour on your smartphone for social sites every day. Thats almost one full workday per week.

Related: 5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich

5. Human-to-human engagement

At least once per day, when you are out in public, if you get the urge to use your smartphone when its not a designated time, turn to someone nearby and ask them how their day is going or ask them if they have heard anything new theyd like to share. You might find the act of engaging another human uplifting or beneficial, and you might even find out something you would have missed had you been on your phone.

If you have a FOMO, and its causing you to be on your smartphone in a way that steals your productivity, time and success, you now have the fix -- its right at your fingertips.

Related:

5 Smartphone Tips to Overcome FOMO

This Agri-tech Entrepreneur Says Indian Farmer is Not Averse to Technology

How Smartphones Are Promoting Online Gaming



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are out there doing business battle on a daily basis. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Who are you and whats your business?

I am Greg Berry and my business is launching businesses. My latest venture is BurgaBox, the most exciting meal kit on Earth!

What does the word entrepreneur mean to you?

To me, a true entrepreneur is what society deems a crazy person. When you tell somebody about something that does not exist they have every right in the world to think youre crazy. But it's when you bring it to life and others can finally see it that you cross the fine line between crazy and genius.

Related: 22 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

What was your toughest challenge and how did you overcome it?

The toughest challenge for me was starting my own business without ever having worked for someone who was where I wanted to be. When you start with nothing, failing is the only way to move the yardsticks. What should be covered with a band-aid can quickly turn into a full body cast. I overcame this through time, patience, and persistence.

Whats the problem you just solved or are attacking now?

Right now my focus is on bringing over-the-top restaurant quality experiences into the home. Cooking at home can be monotonous and most people simply dont have the ingredients, skillset, or time to cook an exciting meal. Takeout is transactional. Great restaurants provide the environment, excitement, atmosphere, and a memorable dining experience. BurgaBox is bridging the gap between boring home cooked meals and exciting restaurant experiences by delivering an over-the-top meal kit with simple instructions and mind-bending gourmet tastes.

Related: Entrepreneurship Is All About the Fight

How did you discover this problem?

One day a meal kit box appeared at The Boston Burger Companys warehouse. The three owners stood over it as if it came down from space. They thought, if people are getting excited about kale and quinoa, imagine what would happen if we put our burgas in a box? They called me and together we brought the concept to life.

What trait do you depend on most when making decisions and why is that useful for you?

What helps me make decisions on a day to day basis is both self-confidence and humility. I truly believe that I can figure out most problems I face by tapping into past experiences and connecting dots, but more importantly, I understand that I dont know much and can learn from every person with who I come into contact.

Related: Being an Entrepreneur Means Finding Profit in Your Passion

How has your leadership style evolved?

Earlier in my career, I tried to do everything myself. I couldnt wait. Everything needed to be done yesterday. If I hired someone and they couldnt finish a task in minutes, I would just do it myself. That leadership style leads to many long nights, burn out, and constant dissatisfaction.

Leadership to me is allowing someone to build their own theoretical building within your organization. Some can build a skyscraper, some can only build a few floors, but they all tumble without a solid foundation. The foundation is not only making sure they understand and believe in the company vision but also learning about their personal wants, dreams, and goals and helping them achieve them.

Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation?

There is no elevator to success. You must take the stairs. - Zig Ziglar

As an entrepreneur, one of my biggest challenges has always been my desire to chase shiny things. I need newness in my life. If I wrote down my dream life on a piece of paper and a genie granted it to me within a week Id be concocting new ways to make it better. This quote reminds me every day that there are no silver bullets, the next move is not going to make or break the company, and the best way to succeed is to understand that success lies in the journey, not the destination.

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NORWALK  The Norwalk Visitors Docks are in for another round of disruption when Eversource Energy relocates two high-voltage transmission lines as part of the Walk Bridge replacement.

On Wednesday evening, Eversource presented to the Norwalk Harbor Commission Application Review Committee its proposed route for the 115-kilovolt transmission lines, which now follow Metro-North Railroads New Haven Line and run atop the 120-year-old bridge.

The rerouted transmission lines would go below ground at the Norwalk Police Department headquarters parking lot at 1 Monroe St., run below Elizabeth Street, go under the harbor from 90 Water St. and emerge at the north end of the Visitors Docks parking lot, according to a map provided by Eversource.

Were going to be putting in splice vaults and then trenching our way out of the parking lot, said Marcia Wellman, transmission senior project manager for Eversource.

Asked Harbor Management Commission Chairman Anthony Mobilia, In other words, youll be digging up the parking lot?

Wellman said the parking lot would be dug up to create the trench to run the transmission lines and restored afterward.

The parking lot was recently repaved as part of a $2.1 million overhaul of the Visitors Docks, which are scheduled to reopen today, according to city officials.

Michael P. Libertine, vice president/director of siting and permitting for All-Points Technology Corp., a consultant engaged by Eversource, spoke afterward about the potential effects.

We certainly will be occupying some parking areas temporarily while the work is going on, Libertine told The Hour. But in terms of use of the docks, that type of thing, I think the goal is to try to do that off-season as much as possible.

A map provided by Eversource shows the northern half of the Visitors Docks parking lot shaded and used as temporary easement. A similar temporary easement at 90 Water St., however, would be the principle work area, according to Eversource.

From the Visitors Docks, the new transmission lines would continue underground below Fort Point Street and emerge above ground at the railroad tracks.

The on-land portion of the project is not the only concern for the Harbor Management Commission.

Commissioner John T. Pinto noted the new transmission lines would run under the harbor bed close to the northern-most docks. Such placement could limit repairs or additions to the docks and pilings that support them, according to the commission.

This coming winter, the Norwalk Department of Recreation and Parks plans to replace the docks and install steel pilings to support them.

Pinto suggested Eversource rethink the route and have the transmission lines emerge at Veterans Memorial Park well south of the Visitors Docks area.

Wellman said such a route would require another splice vault, but she indicated Eversource would explore the idea. The company has yet to finalize its plans, and much review and permitting lies ahead.

Eversoure hopes to start the transmission line relocation project in January 2019 and complete it by years end. The project will require the approval of the Connecticut Siting Council and permits from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The power company maintains the project will not harm wetlands or the harbor given that the new transmission lines would run up to 30 feet below the harbor bed.

While acknowledging the project will cause disruptions, Eversource described the proposed transmission line route as the most favorable among 14 options considered.

It has the least impact, overall, to the community, Wellman said.

A barge is expected to go into place in the harbor to perform test borings in advance of the work.

Eversource said it must relocate the lines before the DOT replaces the Walk Bridge. The bridge replacement is not expected to begin until 2019 at the earliest.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island is suing a local YMCA, on behalf of a former yoga teacher, saying the association violated her right to breastfeed her daughter in public by asking her to move away from the child care center so that "young boys" would not see her.

The case against the Ocean Community YMCA of Westerly, Rhode Island, represents one of a string of incidents at YMCAs across the country in recent years that have drawn scrutiny from breastfeeding advocates.

Elizabeth Gooding, the plaintiff in the Rhode Island case, said she is concerned there is a broader issue at YMCAs.

"If a mother cannot feed her baby in the day care of a family establishment, where can she nurse?" said Gooding, who had been employed by the Y, in an open letter she planned to post on Facebook on Wednesday. She said she hopes her case sets a precedent, and she called on women to gather at their local YMCAs for a "nurse-in" on June 11.

"The YMCA should be supporting breastfeeding moms and their babies not deterring them," she wrote.

Other women who encountered challenges while breastfeeding at YMCAs in recent years have attracted headlines, including a mother at a YMCA in Oklahoma City who said she was asked to leave a women's locker room to nurse her eight-week old; a mother at the Two Rivers YMCA in Iowa who said she was told she could not nurse by the pool during a 'family swim;' and a Las Vegas mother who said she was told she could not breastfeed by the pool, prompting dozens of women to protest with an organized "nurse-in" at the Centennial Hills YMCA.

Brad McDermott, a spokesperson for the YMCA of the USA, said the nation's 2,700 YMCAs employ 250,000 employees, all but 20,000 of whom work part time or seasonally. He said incidents often occur as a result of young or part-time staff who are not aware of the states' policies or "simply not exposed to breastfeeding on a regular basis."

McDermott said the national organization recommends that all the independently operated YMCAs comply with state breastfeeding laws and that member YMCAs understand the need for ongoing training. The national organization provides online resources to educate about the benefits of breastfeeding, he said.

"Breastfeeding is something we actively encourage of mothers and families who are members of the YMCA, and something we support in accordance with the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics," he said.

Every state, except Idaho, has a statute that protects a woman's ability to breastfeed in public places. Rhode Island is one of a minority of states that also has an enforcement clause, which means that a plaintiff can win compensatory damages.

According to the complaint filed in Washington County Superior Court, Gooding was twice asked to move while breastfeeding her 1-year old daughter in the day care of the YMCA.

She appealed to supervisors of the day care and was told she could not breastfeed in any public area due to concerns that "young boys" could see her, the complaint said.

In the first incident, Gooding said, she was told she could not breastfeed in the child care. In the second incident, she was asked to move to a gated area in the corner of the room.

"I was not putting myself on display. I was minding my own business," Gooding said in an interview.

Gooding met with the local YMCA president and chief executive Maureen Fitzgerald, who told her to be more "discreet," the complaint said.

The incidents occurred in 2015. Later that year, Gooding was told she could no longer bring her baby to the mother and baby yoga class she taught, the complaint said. She stopped working there not long after that.

"The statute is quite clear and, on the face of it, the YMCA does not follow state law," said H. Jefferson Melish, the volunteer attorney for the Rhode Island ACLU representing Gooding.

The lawsuit also alleges that the YMCA's actions violate the state's Civil Rights Act and constitutes a form of gender discrimination.

The Ocean Community YMCA did not issue a statement to the Post, but referred to a statement released by Fitzgerald to press earlier this month, saying that the organization "regrets that a former employee and member felt it necessary at this time to file a suit against the YMCA for an incident that she alleges took place almost two years ago."

The YMCA took "affirmative steps at that time to address her concerns, developed a policy on breastfeeding, and provided training for its employees," the statement said.

"The Ocean Community YMCA wants to assure the community that it does not restrict where members or program participants may breastfeed within the facility," the statement said.

Best for Babes, a breastfeeding rights group, has received at least six complaints to its hotline about YMCAs, more than from any other organization, said Michelle Hickman, director of advocacy for the group.

Volunteers with the group have compiled a list of more than 40 breastfeeding incidents at YMCAs, including those reported on social media or to news outlets or parenting blogs, dating back to 2004.

Mothers said they were told they could not breastfeed in YMCA locker rooms or in child care areas. Multiple incidents have occurred at YMCA swimming pools, she said, where women have been told that breastfeeding near the pool is unsanitary and indiscreet. Such policies put women in a bind, particularly when they have other children, Hickman said.

"What do you do? Leave your other children unattended in the pool, while you go inside to nurse your child?"

A string of similar breastfeeding incidents at YMCAs in Canada prompted the national YMCA there to apologize and issue policy guidance in 2014 that clarifies the legal rights of women to breastfeed without being asked to cover up, move or be more discreet.

Gooding said she hopes the YMCA in the United States can make a similar policy statement.

"We have to stop this whole idea that by breastfeeding we are doing something wrong," she said.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Calling himself "a go-getter" who believes in "bulldozing" obstacles, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said his target is to award work worth Rs 31 lakh crore by the time the government completes 5 years.

These include contracts worth Rs 15 lakh crore to transform Indias National Highways network and another Rs 16 lakh crore in the shipping area to bring water transport, on the back-burner so far, right in the front.

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"I am a go getter... Obstacles keep on coming but I believe in bulldozing road blocks... It is my target to award work worth Rs 31 lakh crore in both highways and shipping sectors when we complete five years," the road transport, highways and shipping minister told PTI in an interview.

Listing details of work by his ministries on completion of three-years, Gadkari said contracts worth Rs 6 lakh crore has already been awarded in both the sectors out of Rs 31 lakh crore.

Work of this magnitude will create 2.5 crore jobs directly and another 2.5 crore indirectly besides contributing 3 per cent to GDP growth, he said.

"My aim is to build 1 lakh km of new National Highways. We have brought the road building pace to 23 km a day at present from a mere 2 km a day when our government took over," Gadkari said, exuding confidence to take it to 40 km a day by the end of next March.

He said it is his endeavour to take the National Highways length to 2 lakh km from about 1 lakh km so that 80 per cent the countrys traffic comes on NHs.

"We have already identified NHs of 1.7 lakh km. I have a target of completing 1 lakh km of roads in my regime this is my target," he said.

Claiming to build a world record of sorts, Gadkari said that in 2016-17, the government awarded contracts for building 16,800 km of highways.

"People in London, where I had been recently to launch NHAIs Masala bond, said this is Guinness world record that in a country 16,800 km of awards for highways have been given in a year."

He said on a cumulative basis the highways ministry has awarded contracts worth for 32,000 km in the last three years.

"Next year our target is 25,000 km. Next to next year we will award 30-35,000 km of work. We want to accomplish 1 lakh km of work in five years," he said.

He elaborated that his ministry has taken a decision to widen roads to four-lane highways where there is a traffic of 10,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units) and build six-lane highways where there is 20,000 PCUs.

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He said emphasis was on building cement concrete roads which are durable.

Besides, he said the government is building 13 expressways along the country that include Eastern Peripheral Expressway to ease the traffic of the national capital at least by 50 per cent.

The expressway is likely to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on August 15 this year, he said.

Claiming to his credit building the first express highway in the country, Mumbai-Pune express highway in Maharashtra, Gadkari said: "We are also building Western Peripheral Expressway and both will ease 50 per cent traffic from Delhi and minimise pollution as people going or coming from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan need not cross through Delhi.

Work on Dwarka express highway will start in 3-4 months and a green highway between Delhi-Meerut will be completed till December, he said.

Vadodara-Mumbai expressway will be built at a cost of Rs 44,000 crore and work on the project will be started in three months, he said adding Vijaywada-Amrawati expressway will be access-controlled.

The Minister said alignment for Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi- Katra expressways have been finalised besides work is in pipeline for Hyderabad-Chennai and Chennai-Bangalore projects. PTI NAM ANZ SA

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WILTON  The actions taken by Wilton police in the field will soon be recorded when the department acquires 50 new body cameras this summer.

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday evening to apply for a grant that would reimburse the purchase of around $177,000 worth of body camera equipment and service plans. The plan was previously approved by the Board of Finance last week.

Its foolish for police departments to not take advantage of this grant right nowwhereas in three or four years, they might be mandated to follow the policy, Capt. Thomas Conlan said.

Statesmen in Hartford have long mulled over making police body cams mandatory in Connecticut, despite pushback from police departments around the state.

Though the state still doesnt require police body cams, Wilton officials argued that this is an opportunity too good to pass down.

This camera is much better for us, Conlan said. We really wanted to go with this camera in the beginning two years ago, but it just wasnt ready. It was still in its beta version for Panasonic at the time and there were all types of issues with it.

Conlan said that its interface with the police cruisers and 14 dash cams are especially helpful. He highlighted one useful feature where the camera turns on right when an officer flips the lights on in his vehicle.

Another boon, Conlan continued, is that the camera uses the same software that the department uses already so it would equal less training for new recruits.

Itll be a lot easier on our end having one software as opposed to two different softwares, Conlan said.

The new Panasonic body cams that can be purchased through this grant are more technologically advanced versus what we have, and they are seamlessly compatible with the dash cams, said Chief Financial Officer Anne Kelly-Lenz.

They also have an improved design. They turn on by pushing a button; the current cameras are turned on by motion, meaning they are often activated by a seatbelt, she added.

The town is expected to be fully reimbursed for the cost of the cameras by the state as a part of its Body-Worn Recording Equipment Reimbursement Grant Program, in addition to being compensated for the first year of the services contracts, said Kelly-Lenz.

Beyond the first year, an annual service agreement for the upkeep of the body cam servers will cost the town $2,695 a year, as well as $799 a year for redacting software used to censor any sensitive information on video. Beginning in 2020, storage for the body cam videos could also cost the $3,374 a year.

The town could also cut out about $14,000 dollars from this total by removing a secondary lapel camera the package.

The grant also requires that Wilton adopt the state police that all officers be equipped with a camera.

This is already Wiltons policy, and the expectation is that eventually this policy will become state law, Kelly-Lenz said.

The department currently has 15 body cams in use already. However, the 45 officers on staff have been forced to share the cams between each other. By purchasing enough cameras for every officer, Conlan said that the department hopes to increase their lifespans.

One thing weve realized with our officers is that they have an accountability to equipment that is theirs. When you share a camera between three officers, its much more likely to be damaged, or something like that, Conlan said.

Under the new agreement, the town would be able to opt of the service plans for their original 15 body cams, which they would have begun paying in 18 months. Kelly-Lenz also said the town will explore selling these 18-month-old body cams to Westport, which uses that specific brand.

A lot of police departments dont even want the cameras, theyre kind of fighting it. So, its the old thing: the moneys available, the states making it available, First Selectman Lynne Vanderslice said.

While there was a long list of positives to go along with the body cam grant, Vanderslice did voice one concern: the states ability to pay out the grant. After all, the state would be borrowing the money that it would then use to reimburse the town.

So were working to find out if we bought the equipment, could we have it here, dont open it and submit the reimbursement, and if they dont give us the money then we send it back, Vanderslice said.

Last year, the state approved $15 million in bonding for a grant program for body cameras, $2 million of which went to state police. Of that allotment, Kelly-Lenz said there is still about $8.5 million available.

In February, the State Bond Commission approved $870,000 to reimburse nine towns and two universities for the 462 body cameras purchased in 2016.

ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1046; Twitter: @Tomlinson_PE
In an email sent to media houses, Arunoday Asom, the publicity secretary of the insurgent group ULFA (I), has accepted the responsibility for the oil pipeline blast.

By Kaushik Deka : The banned United Liberation Front of Asom - Independent (ULFA-I) outfit has claimed responsibility for a blast today at an oil pipeline at Dikom village in Dibrugarh district of Assam.

A body, which was torn into pieces, was found near the place of blast. Unconfirmed sources have claimed that the body is of ULFA (I) member Palash Asom.

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Teams from Assam police and armed forces reached the spot and repair work on the pipeline is underway.

In an email sent to media houses, Arunoday Asom, the publicity secretary of the insurgent group, accepted the responsibility for the oil pipeline blast.

The Assam police issued an alert on May 24, saying that a team of ULFA (I) led by Padum Deka Rajbongshi was trying to cross over to Assam from Nagaland to carry out disruptive activities ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.

The sources in Assam police, however, said that the blast could be an attempt to steal oil from the pipeline.

Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Dhola-Sadiya bridge on Brahmaputra, the longest bridge in India, on May 26. The bridge is located at a distance of 80 km from the place of the blast.

The Prime Minister will address a rally in Guwahati to celebrate the completion of three years of the NDA government and one year of Assam government. He will also lay the foundation stone of AIIMS to be set up at Changsari town in Kamrup district, which is at a distance of 30 km from Guwahati.

ALSO READ:

Series of blasts in Assam on Republic Day, no casualties; ULFA claims responsibility

3 years of Modi rule: How Assam proved to be PM's lucky mascot

ALSO WATCH:

Assam: Twin blasts in Charaideo district, ULFA claims responsibility

--- ENDS ---
Cats are no fun to be around when theyre in heat. They make noises and become more animated.

Sometimes, pet owners have to literally pay the price for animal desire.

In Grand Island, you can be fined $25 for not keeping a dog or cat isolated when its in heat.

In March, for instance, a Grand Island woman was fined $25 for letting a dog or cat run at large and $25 for failing to confine a female animal in heat. With court costs, she wound up paying $99.

The requirement to isolate females refers to domesticated animals. Dogs and cats are the main concern, but it also applies to other creatures, such as ferrets.

Cats are a slightly bigger concern than dogs, because they go into heat more often. Healthy cats also generally produce bigger litters than dogs.

Neither animals heat cycle is connected to the time of year, but the Central Nebraska Humane Society usually notices a kitten population explosion in the spring. The influx of young cats puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the staff and the Humane Societys foster families, Executive Director Laurie Dethloff said.

Dethloff thinks more kittens are produced in the spring because cats have probably been inside during the cooler weather. When it gets warmer, more animals are out moving around. Being outside just lets that aroma spread, and its a magnet to the males, Dethloff said.

Right now, the Humane Society is at capacity for both cats and dogs.

Weve had a tremendous amount of puppies come in this year, which is unusual, Dethloff said.

The unwanted kitten population, though, is a slightly bigger problem.

The community already has a large feral cat population, Dethloff said. The Humane Society doesnt like it when people feed community cats.

Other people will find cat waste on their lawns. The cats also bring other animals into the neighborhood.

More birds fall victim to the larger cat populations. When they have a good food supply, you have healthier animals, and you have larger litters of kittens, Dethloff said.

Some of those feathered friends arent eaten.

Cats dont just kill for food. They also kill for sport, animal control officer Rose Krause said.

Few animals decide to live a life of celibacy.

If people dont isolate animals in heat, it will draw males to their property. When animals are running at large, they can be hit by cars.

Krause referred to a dog that could smell another dog two city blocks away. And he kept running straight back to her, she said.

When females in heat are not confined, you end up with strange dogs trying to get with these females, Krause said. The dogs are going to be more aggressive because theyre trying to mate. So there will be more dog fights, and pet owners will be bitten while trying to separate the combatants.

Other problems occur when male animals make a booty call.

When a large dog successfully breeds with a smaller dog, serious consequences may result at birth, Dethloff said. There might also be damage done to the smaller dog when a larger dog is feeling romantic.

People bring litters of puppies and kittens to shelters, either because they want to help or they dont know how to get rid of them, Dethloff said.

But if young animals dont stay with their mothers, they wont get the milk they require. Even though people are trying to do a good thing, the fatality rate for puppies and kittens can be high because they need that special nutrition to be healthy, Dethloff said. Puppies and kittens that are bottle-fed at the Humane Society sometimes dont make it because their immune system is weaker.

The Humane Society strongly believes in spaying and neutering animals, and its not just to control the population.

Having a cat or dog altered cuts down on the chance of uterine infection, said Dr. Brad Adrian, the Humane Societys veterinarian. Spaying and neutering also reduce incidents of cancer, said Adrian, who was interviewed while neutering a bull mastiff. The procedure will no doubt curtail the animals dating habits.
Seven scouts, three scout leaders and a handful of dutiful tagalongs entered the Veterans Cemetery on Wednesday evening with bundles of flags for each of the cemeterys 1,385 graves.

The scouts cast long shadows as they bent close to each grave to press the flags into the ground, close enough to read each veterans name.

Boy Scout Troop 119 commemorated Memorial Day with their annual tradition of placing American flags at each headstone in the Nebraska Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Grand Island.

The troop has come with flags every year for the past 15 years, assistant scoutmaster Ray Fye said.

Fye said the meaning of the tradition extends past the 45 minutes the scouts spend in the cemetery. The practice brings the scouts up close to the veterans sacrifice and gives them the opportunity to honor that sacrifice. For boys and young men who werent alive for an active draft, or who were perhaps only ten years old when the Iraq War ended, the flag tradition can give a rare opportunity to reflect on the cost of freedom, Fye said.

In scouts we teach that the flag isnt just a cloth with red, white and blue, Fye said. It represents something, and the scouts can see how every veteran realized that meaning, and sometimes they gave their life for that meaning.

This recognition of veterans falls with values instilled in scouts. Every scout meeting begins with the pledge of allegiance and then the scout oath: I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country...

Fye said service in citizenship allows scouts to look beyond themselves.

There are things that need to be done that arent about you or me, Fye said. Theyre about something larger than that.

Service to country is a part of that larger importance. Hayden Price, a senior scout leader, said respect for veterans is a large part of being a scout.

Price began as a 6-year-old cub scout, and eight years later he is working toward being an Eagle Scout. Price has attended the flag tradition four times. He said each time his appreciation and understanding grow deeper.

It really opens your eyes to see the sacrifice by seeing all the graves, Price said.

Besides placing flags, the scouts regularly interact with the Veterans Home by fishing and volunteering with the veterans.

The veteran community is very much alive here, Fye said. It doesnt take too much to feel that civic duty.

Fye is a proud son of an Air Force veteran, and Prices grandfather served in Vietnam, and they said their proximity to sacrifice reinforces the civic duty.

I understand the sacrifices the military makes, Fye said.

Its hard to miss the 1,385 flags in the cemetery, and Fye said veterans reach out to the troop to voice their appreciation. Fye remembers a letter from a Vietnam veteran letting the troop know how much seeing the flags meant to him.

But of course we dont do it for the recognition, Fye said. Theres very seldom a service project that a troop will say no to.
Bucks Democrats expect to have majority in state House

Democrats expect to gain one more seat in state Senate, but still be in minority there.
On 19th May 2017, 338 Myanmar nationals, mostly women & children, had crossed over to the Indian side of the International Boundary in south Mizoram, seeking refuge and asylum to evade atrocities from Myanmar-based insurgent group 'Arakan Army'.

By Manjeet Negi: A major refugee crisis which could have lingered and prolonged in Mizoram was successfully averted by Assam Rifles and civil administration in Saiha district.

On 19th May 2017, 338 Myanmar nationals, mostly women & children, had crossed over to the Indian side of the International Boundary in south Mizoram, seeking refuge and asylum to evade atrocities from Myanmar-based insurgent group 'Arakan Army'. The influx of Myanmari refugees occurred at villages Lungpuk and Khaikhy in Saiha district. The refugees came from Ralei village in Myanmar.

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Assam Rifles being the first responder for the Indo-Myanmar Border immediately sprung into action and sent its team from forward posts and a senior officer of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel was also sent with his team from Lunglei to handle the situation and ensure safe and peaceful return of the refugees to Myanmar. The team also had a medical officer to provide the medical and humanitarian assistance to the refugees.

The persistent efforts of troops of Assam Rifles under headquarters Inspector General Assam Rifles (East) who were present at Lungpuk village from the very first day along with the support of DC Saiha, SP Saiha, village council of Lungpuk resulted in paving the pathway for repatriation of the refugees safely back to their homes. The repatriation of the refugees was organised at International Boundary Pillar No 15 of Indo-Myanmar Border on 24 May 2017, wherein the VCP of the Ralei village, Myanmar Mr Chebei himself came from Myanmar on 24th May to take back the villagers who had fled from the same village.

The villagers, who came from Myanmar to receive the refugees, on the condition of anonymity confided that the Arakan Army insurgents who were present in the Ralei village and surrounding area have moved away to an undisclosed location and the village is now completely safe for the refugees to return to their homes.

To ensure safety of the refugees they were all escorted by the Assam Rifles troops up to International Boundary Pillar No 15. Lunglei Battalion, Mizoram handed over all the refugees to the VCP of Ralei village of Myanmar. The VCP of Ralei village Mr Chebei conveyed his gratitude to the VCP of Lungpuk Mr Rachu, Assam Rifles, District Commissioner of Saiha, SP Saiha and MADC for all the support and assistance provided to their villagers at the time of crisis.

Tenacious and assiduous efforts by the Assam Rifles and civil administration of Saiha not only averted major humanitarian refugee crisis through their synergized effort, but have also further strengthen relations between the two nations. The prompt reunion of displaced families from their relative will go a long way to strengthen bonhomie.

ALSO READ:

Fate of 40,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar to be sealed soon

Over half of Rohingya Muslim girls who fled violence in Myanmar became child brides: UN Survey

--- ENDS ---

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St. Louis Lambert International Airport is collaborating with graduate students at Washington University in St. Louis to create a 100 ft.-long public sculpture that will soon take flight in Terminal 2.

Over the last four months, eight students in the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, have digitally designed, modeled and constructed prototypes for a suspended sculpture that will feature colorful translucent polycarbonate sheets within a thin, wire-like lattice of hardened carbon fiber. It will be hang over the Terminal 2 Ticketing Lobby with installation set for the week of May 21.

The students have researched, monitored and evaluated every factor of the terminal space to guide and inspire their design, construction and materials, says Jeff Lea, Coordinator for the Lambert Art & Culture Program, which is commissioning the sculpture. The design speaks to our region and it evokes themes of airports, people and flight. We look forward to see thousands of passengers looking up, purposefully, toward the ceiling to get a glimpse of this new work of art.

SPECTROPLEXUS will be built from approximately 2,000 subassemblies based on a rhombic grid formed with wrapped spools of carbon fiber. Theyll be joined together to form a single flowing, wavelike structure. Students even designed the collapsible molds that will be used for wrapping the carbon fiber structure. Polycarbonate panels will be cut using a 2D knife plotter in the Sam Fox Schools Digital Fabrication Lab.

Part of the premise of the studio is to develop processes that produce complex results through the clever management of more manual technologies, says Jason Butz, a lecturer in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, who teaches digital fabrication with fellow lecturer Lavender Tessmer. Each part must be calibrated not only against the digital model and the tools used to produce them, but against each other.

The concept is based on the hybrid nature of flying machines, Tessmer explains. The wing of an airplane is a mechanized form, but its also a shape  like the wing of a bird  that we understand from the natural world. Carbon fiber is strong, rigid and lightweight, but it also behaves a little unpredictably. Theres variability in the geometry. Polycarbonate is more predictable  it cuts the same every time  but the colored inks were using dry very quickly, which gives the panels a lot of texture.

Over the next three weeks, students will work to fabricate the sub-assemblies, at the rate of about 100-150 per day. The Airport is working with the student team on the final details of installation which will likely be scheduled during overnight hours to reduce the impact on passengers and operations. The sculpture will hang for up to 18 months. More than seven million passengers travel through Terminal 2 every year. The art project is part of the Airports temporary exhibitions program which is financially supported by the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission.

The partnership with Washington University on this unique art project was endorsed by STLs Airport Art Advisory Committee: The current committee is represented by Lisa Cakmak, Associate Curator of Ancient Art at Saint Louis Art Museum; Ellen Gale, Executive Director of Clayton Chamber of Commerce; Shelly Hagen, Curator of Corporate Art Resources at Wells Fargo; Leslie Markle, Curator for Public Art at Washington University; Kiku Obata, President & CEO for Kiku Obata & Company; Roseann Weiss, Director of Community and Public Arts at the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis; and Carlos Zamora, Creative Director at Express Scripts.
As badly as the comedy film genre has fared in the past, say, fifteen years, I have to admit that most of the bashing has come from me. I can defend my viewpoint because all good writers  at least those who think critically upon the subjects about which they write  can. Comedy lately is best enjoyed through the lens of its combination into other genres. Action-comedy is best in a film like last weeks megahit, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Buddy comedies are still a delight. I bring them up because Smokey & the Bandit returns to theatres next week for a celebration of its fortieth anniversary of release. But this week we revisit the always popular question: are women funny? First of all, thats a ridiculous question. Yes, women can be funny. Just like men can be sexy. And kids can be articulate. And cats can have personalities. When we assign attributes to a group, we make some broad leaps that only begin to hurt when we narrow down our thinking to stereotypes. So if you dont think women can be funny, stop reading this now. And maybe start watching Kate McKinnon kill it on SNL each week.

The newest comedy out there, Snatched, is from the current queen of the stand-up world, Amy Schumer. Its a basic and simple plot, tied up neatly in a 90-minute package, and I can see on paper where it could be funny. The lovably blue Emily Middleton (Schumer, playing roughly herself) is a hot mess that gets dumped by her up-and-coming rock star boyfriend just before she thinks hes about to make a greater commitment to her. Theres an irony there that could be mined for laughs, but better breakups have been done on-screen before (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Social Network, just to name a pair.). So, in a funk, she accidentally invites her mother, Linda (Goldie Hawn), to accompany on her nonrefundable exotic vacation to Ecuador. Its a treat to see Hawn back to work since her last movie was almost fifteen years ago, 2002s The Banger Sisters with Susan Sarandon. Lindas an uptight cat lady who really checked out when her husband dumped her years before. Shes the straight man to Schumers out of control depression spiral. These two are a complementary match made in movie heaven. Or are they?
Keep an eye out for Edwardsville police officers on bike patrol in yellow uniforms.

After receiving two iFORCE police patrol bicycles as a donation from Madison County Transit, the Edwardsville Police Department is now all set for the summer season. With four bike patrol officers and four patrol bikes now on-site, the department is now fully-prepared to take to the city streets and bike trails.

MCT Managing Director Jerry Kane said this isnt the first time MCT has donated bicycles to the EPD and likely wont be the last.

This is the second time we donated two bikes to Edwardsville. Actually Edwardsville is where we started this program. It was the first police department that we donated bikes to. Its a perfect location because as you know we have quite a few of our trails come through Edwardsville and Edwardsville is very pedestrian-bicycle-friendly, Kane said. Apparently its very popular not only with the police but with the people because police on a bike are much more approachable than they are in a car. We believe the police are one of the reasons we have such a good quality of life in this area. We owe a lot to them. Its one of the few things we can do to help pay them for all of the services that we get and comfort and peace of mind, knowing we have a very good, strong, well-organized police force in the city of Edwardsville.

The EPD wasnt the only department to receive bikes from MCTMaryville, Alton, Granite City, Highland, and East Alton all have benefitted from the bike patrol program.

The two Edwardsville Police bikes are equipped with a microphone, sirens similar to that on a patrol car, patrol lights, an open battery compartment that can only be opened only with a handcuff key, and a public address speaker.

Kane said both bikes are manufactured in the United States.

These bikes are made by a company called iFORCE. They only make patrol bikes and police bikes. They dont sell them through bike shops. The frames are made in the USAwe wanted a few bikes that had frames still made in the United States. They have a special light packageits built into the frame. It goes through the frame and in the back, he said.

In exchange for the bike donations, MCT has asked the EPD to continue patrolling the MCT bike trails and creating an accessible presence for pedestrians who utilize the trails.

Bike patrol officers are now also able to transport their bikes on MCT buses across town for free to get from one section of town to the other without having to ride solely on their bikes.

With these new additions and the bike patrol program in full swing, Kane said, People can appreciate not only the police, but the personalities behind the badge, as it allows citizens to get up-close and personal to the officers on patrol.

Bike Patrol Officer Mark Lask, of the EPD, said the donation will definitely not go unnoticed.

I think its something we really appreciate. The program is something we really like to use to interact with the community. Having two new bikes is going to allow us toeach officer on the street is going to have their own bike now that they can take care of and maintain (their own.) I think its just a great addition to our fleet, Lask said.

Prior to the donation, the EPD had only two patrol bikes on-hand, which meant the four bike patrol officers needed to rotate the two bicycles when on-the-job.

Bike Patrol Officer Jason Penick said patrol officers will definitely have a presence during city-wide events and during the summer season.

Whether its for parades, we can now have more officers out there for parades and 5K runs and it just gets more of us out there, Penick said. We try to get out on the trails and subdivisions and the business districtswhether its Main Street or Edwardsville Crossing.

The benefits of the EPD utilizing a bike patrol program, according to Penick, is it allows officers to be more efficient and more accessible to the public.

We can spot people on their phones or no seatbelts. Its good with enforcing the traffic laws. Also I think it brings more attention when youre on a bike and you approach somebody on a bike, theyre a lot more willing to listen to you, Penick said. You tell them about the laws of riding the same way, riding with the flow of traffic. A lot of the bicyclists I see dont know that and theyll be riding against traffic.

The program has been ongoing for quite some time after Kane approached the EPD, hoping to revamp the bike patrol program. Edwardsville Police Chief Jay Keeven said since MCT became a primary sponsor of the program, it has taken off significantly.

I think Highland now has bike patrolsGranite City has bike patrols and as you can see today, were kind of adding to our emphasis. So having four officers allows us for the most part to have an officer on each squad at any given time. That staffing allows for that officer to work the trails. Its a good tool when you kind of want to get up close and personal, Keeven said. People like to interact with our officers. People like to kind of have that close and personal interactionInteracting with kids is fantastic. Anytime you can have a positive interaction with a youngster or even a young adult, you know that carries on into adulthood so that these people growing up in this community, theyll know four, five or six police officers by first name, which is what our goal is.

For more information about the bike patrol program, contact the Edwardsville Police Department at 618-656-2131. For more information about Madison County Transit, visit its website at www.mct.org.
Fulfilling statutory duties, Glen Carbon Mayor Rob Jackstadt delivered the annual State of the Village address at the most recent meeting of the full board of trustees.

There is an Illinois statute that provides that the president or mayor shall give the corporate authorities information concerning the affairs of the municipality and may recommend for their consideration measures that he or she believes expedient, Jackstadt said. With that in mind, the first part of my State of the Village presentation will include information concerning the affairs of the Village of Glen Carbon and the second part will discuss measures that I believe are expedient.

The mayor first touched on the affairs of the village by discussing the sales tax growth in the village over the past 10 years.

According to Jackstadt, retail sales tax revenue has increased by 79 percent, from $1.9 million in 2005 to $3.4 million in fiscal year 2016.

Over the last fiscal years sales tax increased 4.2 percent to $3,636,006.

Over the past 10 years alone, sales tax receipts have increased a total of 68.1 percent, Jackstadt said.

He added that new businesses in the village and the voters approval of a sales tax increase have helped the village remain in good shape financially.

But businesses are not the only ones investing and locating in Glen Carbon, Jackstadt said.

Over the past year residential and commercial growth in the Village has remained consistent with 684 permits being issued for various types of construction and an overall construction value of $28,768,992, he said. While most likely we will never see the building permit volume we enjoyed before the great recession of 2008, Glen Carbons building permits figures remain positive.

Jackstadt reported that FY 2017 saw the addition of 32 new homes built in the village with a per unit value of $485,585. This number is a slight increase of FY 2016.

New commercial construction for FY 2017 had an estimated value of $2,290,000, which is a slight decrease from the prior year.

Jackstadt said with commercial and residential growth continuing, the village has maintained a stable property tax levy.

The Village property tax levy continues to remain consistent at either $2.6 or $2.7 million, he said. The levy represents the amount of property tax money requested by the village for items such as police protection, pension obligations and street maintenance.

The Village tax rate has remained consistent over the past 10 years with a decrease beginning in 2013. The current village tax rate is 0.7884 percent.

The Village tax rate has remained remarkably consistent the past 10 years, Jackstadt said. Coupled with our increasing EAV, the village should be able to maintain a steady tax rate in the future.

The EAV (Equalized Assessed Value) is generally one-third of the market value of all properties located within the village. For the last tax year, 2016, the total village wide EAV was $347,025,607.

To be entirely transparent, this is our Village government real estate tax and does not include real estate taxes paid for the Glen Carbon Centennial Library or the Glen Carbon Fire protection district.

As per the future of the Village, Jackstadt discussed future commercial and residential developments.

Commercially, the 52-acre Foucek property, located on Route 159 south of Edwardsville Crossing, and a 720acre parcel located on the east side of Route 159, south of Country Meadows Subdivision, are still being developed.

The developers have been active in presenting the properties to prospective tenants and have had substantial interest for both restaurant and retail users, he said. The Foucek Nursery site, to be known as the Promenade, has received preliminary support from the Planning and Zoning Commission and is still under consideration by the Village Board as development funding details continue to be negotiated.

Other positive highlights touched on the by the Mayor included the completion of the $967,245 state-of-the-art Glen Carbon Police Communication Center and the addition of the K9 unit to the police force.

After his comments regarding the affairs of the Village, Jackstadt moved on to measures he deemed expedient for the coming fiscal year.

Financing the reconstruction of Old Troy Road, increasing efforts to market Glen Carbon for economic development, maintaining public safety, modernizing Glen Carbon government and completing and funding Schon Park.

We need to make sure that our Police Department is fully staffed and able to deal with the increase in retail businesses that are here and plan to be here, he said. I want to commend Chief (Todd) Link and the Police Department for instituting the business district patrol and suggest that we earmark certain portions of any incremental sales tax receipts specifically to police protection to make sure crime never becomes an issue in the Village.

Jackstadt said modernizing all aspects of village government will improve the services provided to residents. He said there needs to be an examination of how offices and work spaces can be updated and to streamline services and improve employee efficiencies.

In closing, Jackstadt said Glen Carbon is one of the best communities in the entire St. Louis region to live, work and raise a family.

We as elected officials have the daunting task of keeping it that way, he said. I am sure we will have some challenges this coming fiscal year and I look forward to having an open and transparent discussion on the issues that face Glen Carbon. We may not always agree on the issues, but lets communicate in a candid, non-partisan and honest manner.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) A special court today granted bail to five accused named by the CBI in its supplementary charge sheet in a coal scam case against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and others.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar today granted the relief to the accused - Jindal Steels adviser Anand Goel, Gurgaon-based Green Infras Vice-President Siddharth Madra, Nihar Stocks Ltd Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE Internationals Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Mumbais Essar Power Ltd Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo.

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The case pertains to allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

The names of these five persons were revealed by Singhal, a chartered accountant, who was earlier chargesheeted by the CBI as accused in the case.

The court had summoned them also as accused after taking cognisance of the supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI on March 24.

Besides Jindal, the case also involves former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.

The court had earlier directed the CBI to expeditiously file its further probe report.

CBI had alleged that Koda had favoured Jindal group firms -- Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL) -- in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

All the accused had denied the allegations levelled against them and said there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process. PTI UK RRT ARC

--- ENDS ---
In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, Edwardsvilles Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will showcase some of Edwardsvilles historic buildings in a series of articles during the month of May.

The George Meyer House  #7 St. Andrews Place

In November 1907 Samuel F. Lloyd, a bookkeeper for the N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company, and George W. Meyer, an Edwardsville banker, platted an addition in Edwardsville that was a new concept. They purchased the old Bradshaw Homestead at the corner of Vandalia and St. Andrews Avenue, divided it into 12 lots and hired contractors to start building houses, each with an address that matched the lot number. The Bradshaw place, assigned lot #1, is still in existence today. It is surrounded by the newer homes so is not easily visible from the street.

New construction began in 1908, and shortly afterwards Meyer bought out Lloyds interest in the property. Meyer proceeded to have houses built, but ten years later, although there were eight completed houses, only four had been sold. Meyer retained ownership of the remainder for many years, living first in #3, then in #8, before building a new house in 1923 at #7 St. Andrews Place.

An article in the Edwardsville Intelligencer on March 26, 1923, read, A contract is to be closed today by George W. Meyer with John L. Schwager for the erection of a beautiful home at Vandalia Street and St. Andrews Place. It will cost approximately $30,000. The home will be of brick and contain eleven rooms.

The house is a two-story Colonial Revival of medium brown brick with limestone accents. A completely symmetrical composition with hipped rooflines, the house has one-story sun rooms on either side flanking the center two-story block, with a wing in the back that includes an early garage. Many of the original windows have been replaced, but luckily leaded glass windows in the sun rooms and at the second-story window above the main entry remain. Doric pilasters and an arched cornice frame a recessed doorway with limestone wall panels and a stained wood front door with sidelights; this entry also has a cartouche with a carved house number at the head of the opening. Reportedly, this house originally had a terra cotta roof which would have been a common, high-end material for houses of this style and period.

It was a perfect house for entertaining, and by the 1920s, that was an important part of the Meyer familys social life.

George W. Meyer was a self-made man. He was born in St. Louis in 1861, but his family moved to Carlyle, Illinois when he was very young. His family was poor, so he quit school to labor at menial jobs to earn money. Later he found employment in a general store, and, in 1879, moved to Edwardsville where he found employment as a clerk at the G. B. Cranes dry goods store. When he first arrived, he slept at night on the store counter to save money. The first $1000 he saved was sent home to pay off his parents mortgage.

In 1890, G. B. Crane sold his store to four of his employees. One of them was George W. Meyer, and the store, still remembered by many in Edwardsville, was the Madison Mercantile Company of which he was named treasurer. He also helped found the Edwardsville National Bank which later merged with the Bank of Edwardsville. By the time George retired in 1933, he was president of the Bank of Edwardsville.

But his most admired characteristic was not his business acumen. A 1912 Intelligencer article said, Mr. Meyer has always taken an interest in helping young men. Wherever he finds one who is willing to work and desirous of making something of himself, he is over anxious to assist. The sick, the needy, the unfortunate or the unemployed know him as a real friend, and few people suspect the extent of his benevolence.

During the Depression, when he learned that a Troy, Illinois, bank was failing, he offered his personal funds to replace money lost by 222 children with accounts at the bank, approximately $4,000.

Meyer married an Edwardsville High School teacher, Elizabeth Snyder, in 1908. She was twenty years younger than her husband, having been born in 1881 in Moweaqua, Illinois. Like her husband, she was very intelligent. Unlike George who was only able to receive about three years of formal schooling, Elizabeth was a graduate of the University of Illinois. At EHS she taught mathematics and physics before being promoted to principal. She was active in numerous community causes with her husband; for example, they supported not only their own church, but others as well. She was musically talented, singing in numerous quartets and choirs over the years and serving as the organist at St. Johns Methodist Church for 25 years. In her later years she took an interest in candy making and cake decorating, winning numerous awards and treating friends and neighbors with her handiwork. At one time she travelled the State of Illinois giving cooking demonstrations for Laclede Gas and Light Company. A newspaper reporter may have underestimated her abilities when he/she referred to her as an energetic and versatile woman.

George and Elizabeth had one son, George W. Meyer Jr. who, like his parents, was also exceptionally bright. After graduating from Edwardsville High School he went on to study English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan where he earned his PhD. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1943, and was as a professor of English at Tulane University in New Orleans when he died in 1967 at the age of 55.

George Sr. died in 1941 after an extended illness and his wife, Elizabeth, in 1955. On average the Meyer family retained ownership of half of the homes on St. Andrews Place during their lifetime which provided rental income for many decades. George and Elizabeth Meyer were responsible for construction of their beautiful home as well as many others on St. Andrews Place, but perhaps their lasting legacy is their benevolence towards so many Edwardsville institutions and families.

Information for this article was obtained from resources at the Madison County Archival Library, Madison County Recorders Office, and Edwardsville Public Library. Architectural information is provided by architect Jennifer Plocher Wilkins. If you have questions about this article, contact Cindy Reinhardt at 618-656-1294 or cynreinhardt@yahoo.com.
Four high school seniors from throughout the Metro East were recently selected to receive college scholarships through TheBANK of Edwardsvilles Community Scholarship Program. Each will receive $2,000 per year for four years of education.

Kelly Bonk from Edwardsville High School, Emma Mattix-Wand from Marquette Catholic High School, Annie Maynard from Alton High School and Jill Ann Buettner from Belleville West High School, were chosen as the 2017 scholarship recipients. The recipients were selected from a large group of applicants based on their positive leadership and character in both academic achievements and community activities.

TheBANK of Edwardsville established this scholarship program 17 years ago as a commitment to the education of our future leaders, said Kevin Powers, President and CEO of TheBANK of Edwardsville. We are very proud of the accomplishments of the students who were selected from this years impressive pool of applicants, and we look forward to watching them progress through college and enter the workforce. Congratulations to the students for all of their achievements thus far."

TheBANK introduced its Community Scholarship Program in August of 2000, pledging $1.3 million toward scholarships to be awarded over 30 years to graduating seniors of local high schools. The Greater Edwardsville Area Community Foundation, which is governed by a board of local residents, administers the program with a selection committee which interviews the finalists and selects the final scholarship recipients.

As in years past, the selection committee evaluated the applicants on academic achievements, leadership and character exhibited both at school and in extracurricular activities. Selection criteria also included leadership in community activities as well as the positive impact the students have had on others.

This years scholarship recipients were:

 Kelly Bonk, Edwardsville High School: Kelly will attend the University of Denver, where she plans to study Biology and Pre-Med. She is the daughter of Laurie and Alan Bonk;

 Emma Mattix-Wand, Marquette Catholic High School: Emma will attend Loyola University of Chicago, where she plans to study Theater and Musical Theater. She is the daughter of Paula and Gerry Mattix-Wand;

 Annie Maynard, Alton High School: Annie will attend Illinois State University, where she plans to study Accounting. She is the daughter of Kim and Jeff Maynard; and

 Jill Ann Buettner, Belleville West High School: Jill will attend Saint Marys College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where she plans to study Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish. She is the daughter of Jo Ann and Michael Buettner.

TheBANKs Community Scholarship Program was created as part of the American Bankers Associations Banks of Promise effort, which is the banking industrys pledge toward Colin Powells Americas Promise  Alliance for Youth. TheBANK has committed to Americas Promise by partnering with not-for-profit organizations, athletes, mayors, governors, teachers, college professors and others to benefit youth through a variety of sponsorships and donations.
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Linkedin Alfred Bayle (Inquirer.net/Asia News Network)  Thu, May 25, 2017 13:05 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a261be6 2 Science & Tech Apple,iPhone,technology,5G,Internet,smartphone,#Apple,#Internet,#technology,#smartphone Free

While 4G-capable smartphones slowly become the norm, Apple is readying itself to go to the next level, as the company looks to 5G technology for faster iPhone wireless connectivity.

A report from Business Insider states that Apple signed an application for an experimental license to test out new millimeter wave or 5G wireless technology. The application was signed on May 23 and was made public by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

According to the application, Apple Inc. seeks to assess cellular link performance in direct path and multipath environments between base station transmitters and receivers using this spectrum.

These assessments will provide engineering data relevant to the operation of devices on wireless carriers future 5G networks, it continued.

Read also: Is Apple ditching the iPad mini?

Furthermore, two locations have been determined for the tests: one in Milpitas, California on the Yosemite Drive, and the other on Mariani Avenue, where Apples first headquarters used to be located.

The application also specifies the 28 and 39 GHz bands, which were FCC approved for commercial use for 5G application back in 2016.

One clear advantage to be had from millimeter wave or 5G technology is the supposed drop in latency once usage of the technology becomes widespread.

Apple, meanwhile, has not been publicly connected with 5G research before. The company is speculated to be doing the research now, due to the ongoing legal dispute with wireless chip supplier Qualcomm.

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This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin Khristian Ibarrola (Inquirer.net/Asia News Network)  Thu, May 25, 2017 12:17 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25ec3d 2 Health fidget-spinners,health,toys,#health,#toys Free

The popular hand spinners or fidget toys have been the latest craze among kids and adults alike.

The colorful hand-held toys have often been marketed as stress relievers, with presumed heath benefits that aid people who have trouble focusingincluding those wth ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism or anxiety.

However, a group of medical practitioners have debunked the claims, and voiced out their concerns regarding the ensuing trend.

A lot of the patients I see, they might even be talking to me and theyre playing with the spinner, and looking right at it, and not actually answering the questions or doing what they need to be doing, Dr. Rachele McCarthey, a psychiatrist at the University of Utahs Behavioral Health Clinic, said in a KSL.com report.

Read also: Light cigarettes linked to specific form of lung cancer

Furthermore, McCarthey added that there remains to be no scientific evidence on whether spinners actually help kids focus inside the classroom.

Contrary to its supposed focus-enchancing qualities, the whirring and abundance of visual action might instead put too much attention to the gadget itself.

Kids with ADHD can get really hyperfocused on things that they really find interesting, often to the exclusion of other things going on around, she added.

Dr. Mark Wolraich, a behavioral paediatrician at Oklahoma University Health Science Center, supported McCartheys claims in a separate report from Statnews.com.

Things that are routine or have some demand, its much harder for children with ADHD to be able to pay attention, he was quoted as saying. And so, [the spinner] may well make things worse for them.

Meanwhile, instead of giving children the fidget toys in class, McCarthey suggested some other alternatives.

An exercise ball to sit on during class, a putty (or squishy toy) to hold and squeeze, or a fidget cube which allows the child to squirm and wiggle in their hands.

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This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru  Thu, May 25, 2017 15:59 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a265aa1 4 National jailbreak,fugitive,ATM,robbery,denpasar,Pekanbaru Free

The Riau Police have arrested in Pekanbaru Jose William Salazar Ortiz, a Peruvian who had fled from a detention center in Denpasar, Bali.

The 37-year-old, who is standing trial at the Denpasar District Court for allegedly robbing ATMs, escaped the courts detention center with two other inmates by breaking its bathroom ventilation last week.

It was suspected that someone had given him a screwdriver to open the ventilation.

He was caught at a hotel on Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Pekanbaru, on Wednesday afternoon after three days. He traveled from Denpasar to Pekanbaru by bus.

He didnt resist arrest, Riau Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Guntur Aryo Tejo said on Thursday.

(Read also: Hundreds escape from Pekanbaru prison)

Guntur said Ortiz had planned to travel to Batam and return to Peru.

Ortiz was first arrested in Denpasar in November for breaking an ATM in the city and in Sidoarjo, East Java. He said he needed money to cover the medical expenses of an ill relative.

The police have escorted him back to Denpasar. They are also investigating his alleged accomplices. (wit)

Topics : jailbreak fugitive ATM robbery denpasar Pekanbaru
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 21:21 1994 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a27054f 1 National Facebook,tolerance,#tolerance,Asa-Firda-Inayah,religious-tolerance,religious-truth Free

Asa Afi Firda Inayah, 18, has once again captured the attention of Indonesians with her Facebook posts that promote tolerance.

In her latest post entitled Warisan (Legacy), which some people have deemed too liberal, Afi expressed her concern over the fact that many people followed a religion simply because they were born into a family that practiced that particular religion.

Following a string of protests, Facebook suspended Afis account for 24 hours on May 17.

In her controversial post, Afi said peoples religions, nationalities and names were all legacies of their parents; hence, they could not do anything but accept them.

I was born in Indonesia from a Muslim couple. Thats why Im a Muslim, Afi opened her post.

The minute after were born, our environment has determined our religion, ethnicity and nationality. From that moment, we spend our life defending something we never chose for ourselves."

Afi said while everyone had the right to believe in their own faith or religion, they should not force their beliefs on anyone else. Many conflicts come from a unilateral claim about the truth of their legacy: My religion is the best religion because God himself says so, she wrote.

Afis post has been shared 71,000 times since it was posted on May 15. Afi is amazing. She is still a senior high school student but she is really wise. Im a fan, prominent composer Addie MS tweeted on Thursday. (hol/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 08:38 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a253334 1 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

The police after conducting a preliminary investigation on the suicide bombings in the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakartaan attack that killed three police officershave determined that the bombs were low explosives.

The bombs were low explosives. The bombs contained aluminium scraps, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said, as quoted by Kompas TV on Thursday.

Martinus said the distance between the bombs was about 10 to 12 meters.

(Read also: #PrayForJakarta, #KamiTidakTakut trend worldwide following bomb blast)

He said the police were investigating whether the deadly bombings, which also injured at least ten people, involved accomplices. (jun)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 15:41 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a265457 1 National #JakartaAttack,#BombBlast,#suicide Free

National Police spokesperson Awi Setiono said on Thursday that the Kampung Melayu suicide bomb attack is likely linked to the Islamic State movement.

It is most likely linked to IS, but we are still investigating its possible connection to the international ISIS network, Awi said at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Thursday.

He said the attack was similar to a terrorist attack in Bandung in February, when a bomb was detonated at the Pandawa field before the perpetrator ran to the Arjuna subdistrict office where a shootout with the police took place. There were no casualties in the incident apart from the perpetrator who was shot by the police.

It was the same type of bomb as the one in Bandung, except it [the attack] was executed properly, he said.

IS-affiliated Jamaah Anshar Daulah (JAD) was believed to be behind the Bandung attack.

(Read also: Jakarta bombing attack a retaliation against police: Analyst)

Awi said that the police had been warned of being the target of such attacks.

With what happened in Manchester and Marawi, Densus 88 have warned the police to anticipate an attack, but we did not know when and where it would happen, Awi said.

The police, he added, had conducted a search of a house in Bandung possibly connected to the attack. (dis/jun)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 10:22 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a257355 1 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

Four victimstwo police officers and two civiliansare still being treated at Premier Hospital in East Jakarta for injuries suffered from suicide bombs that exploded at a nearby bus terminal on Wednesday.

Kompas TV station reported on Thursday that the officers were identified as Sec. Brig. Yogi and Sec. Brig. Ferry while the civilians were identified as Jihan and Agung.

Yogi had undergone surgery earlier in the morning while Ferry is expected to undergo surgery today. Both suffered severe injuries.

(Read also: Kampung Melayu suicide bomber identified: Police)

The bomb blasts killed three police officers who, along with other officers, were resting at the terminal after securing a parade led by residents to welcome the incoming Ramadhan fasting month.

A terrorism expert suspected that the bombs targeted the police based on the victims at the scene and past attacks against the police.(jun)
In the meeting, both sides held detailed discussions on the impediments related with the construction of road at Tentulia border.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: A flag meeting between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India's Border Security Force (BSF) was held on Thursday at the Kazipara border of Tentulia. The meeting was held from 12.00 noon till 2.30 pm.

In the flag meeting, Lt. Col. Al Hakim Mohammad Nowshad, commander of Panchagarh 18 BGB and Lt. Col. Arun Kumar Verma, acting commander of 66 Battalion of BSF, Siliguri were present.

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In the meeting, both sides held detailed discussions on the impediments related with the construction of road at Tentulia border.

Lt Col Al Hakim Mohammad Nowshad said that BSF barred Bangladesh from rebuilding road within 150 yards from the Tiagaj range of Tentulia border. In view of this, BGB and BSF delegations visited the border area.

BSF said that Indian delegation will visit the border area and inform the concerned authorities about the reconstruction of the road.

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 22:29 1994 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a271db1 1 National greenpeace,IOTC,Indian-Ocean-Tuna-Commission,illegal-fishing,transshipment,SusiPudjiastuti,maritime-affairs-and-fisheries-ministry,#SusiPudjiastuti Free

Global environment protection campaigner Greenpeace has called on Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) member countries to take bolder steps to stop transshipment practices.

Transshipment provides an easy access point for illegal fishing vessel to unload their catches into the supply chain, away from coast guards and port authorities, Greenpeaces Tuna Project science advisor and head of delegation, Cat Dorey, told The Jakarta Post during the 21th IOTC Session in Yogyakarta on Thursday.

Greenpeace activists asked all of the meetings participants to take a picture while holding a large yellow banner emblazoned with messages IOTC takes action now! Transshipment hides dirty secrets. The picture was later uploaded to social media with a hashtag #StandAgainstTransshipment #IOTC.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti opened the IOTC meeting, which took place from May 22 to 26 and was attended by representatives of 35 IOTC member countries.

Dorey said the Yogyakarta meeting did not put a transshipment moratorium on its agenda even though transshipment could facilitate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Transshipment practices could also lead to overcapacity in the tuna industry and trigger human rights violations related to workers of fishing vessels. Transshipment had also prevented fishermen in developing countries from receiving a fair distribution of the sea haul.

This is about illegal fishing and the violation of human rights, said Dorey.

He said the IOTC must immediately implement a moratorium on transshipment practices. There should be tight regulations on vessels permitted to carry out transshipment and sanctions for any parties who violated the rules. (ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 20:10 1994 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a26e658 1 National WHO,World-Health-Organization,World-Health-Assembly,Nila-Moeloek,JKN,health-insurance,SDGs Free

Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek has explained the progress of Indonesias national health insurance (JKN) program during the 70th World Health Assembly, scheduled for May 22 to 31, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Indonesian government is committed to achieving its goals in the health sector as stipulated in its Sustainable Development Agenda [SDGs] through, among others things, the JKN program, which has drawn in more than 175 million people, she said in Geneva on Tuesday local time, as quoted by Antara.

Nila said further that JKN represented the commitment of the Indonesian government to implementing the SDGs at the national level, the development of which should ensure no one should is left behind.

The government has also developed various innovations to ensure the availability of health care services for all Indonesian people, the minister added.

Through its Nusantara Sehat [Indonesia Healthy] program since the beginning of 2015, the government has placed more than 1,500 health workers in more than 300 community health centers in regions across Indonesia, especially in cross-border and remote areas, Nila said.

The government has improved services of referral hospitals through mandatory placements of specialized physicians in certain areas as well, she added.

During the meeting, Nila highlighted the importance of international cooperation for handling pandemics. Cooperation will help Indonesia strengthen the national health system because many infectious diseases come from outside the country, she added.

Indonesia is ready to implement World Health Organizations (WHO) Joint External Evaluation to assess the national health system on November 2017. (rdi/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 15:18 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a264678 1 National Islam,GP-Ansor,humanitarian Free

A movement to address the contextualization of Islamic teaching, dubbed Humanitarian Islam, has been inaugurated in Jombang, East Java.

GP Ansor, the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, inaugurated the movement during an event attended by over 300 worldwide religious scholars.

Muslims should be able to identify problems within Islamic orthodox teaching, GP Ansor chairman Yaqut Qoumas said in a press release made available on Monday.

Included in a road map of the movement was a call for a serious, long-term socio-cultural, political, religious and educational campaign to transform Muslims understanding of their religious obligations, and the very nature of Islamic orthodox."

The Humanitarian Islam movement was declared as having officially begun during an international gathering of ulemas held from May 21 to 22 attended by scholars from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The event focused on discussing problematic elements in Islamic orthodox teachings that often prevents Muslims from adapting to modern civilization. The scholars addressed crises Muslims were facing and the role of Islamic orthodox teachings.

"It is false and counterproductive to claim that the actions of al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram and other such groups have nothing to do with Islam, or merely represent a perversion of Islamic teachings. They are, in fact, outgrowths of Wahhabism and other fundamentalist streams of Sunni Islam," Yaqut said. (rdi)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 21:42 1994 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2710e4 1 National tolerance,Muhammadiyah,Wahid-Institute,YennyWahid,pluralism,Pancasila Free

The Indonesian Embassy in Vatican City on Wednesday held an interfaith dialogue and seminar themed Managing Religious Plurality in Indonesia during the Reform Era.

The event, which was held at Sant Egidio Community Hall in Rome, Italy, aimed to promote Indonesias diversity values and its vast experience in fighting for pluralism.

Indonesian Ambassador for Vatican A.Agus Sriyono said in his remarks that the seminar was intended as a forum to exchange views and to expand perspectives on Indonesias experience to contribute in the management of religious diversity in the international context. Moreover, in the worlds current condition, intolerance and inter-religious tensions had continued to increase, he added as quoted by Antara.

Indonesian Ambassador for Italy Esti Andayani, members of diplomatic corps, local journalists, and representatives of mass organizations in Italy attended the event.

Vatican papal council for interfaith dialogue head Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran said Indonesia was a peaceful country with great diversity. He added that the countrys ideology of Pancasila was an inspiration to live peacefully in harmony.

Saint Egidio Community president Marco Impagliazzo said religion had an important role in decreasing tensions caused by religious differences.

Wahid Institute director Yenny Wahid said Indonesia must use Pancasila as the solution to muffle religious conflicts. Pancasila as the state ideology unites all elements in the society, she said.

Muhammadiyah secretary general Abdul Mukti said there were five key elements that could be used to manage religious diversity. They comprised acceptance, respect, freedom to perform religious activities, justice guaranteed by the government, and understanding among religious followers that could be built through an interfaith dialogue. (rdi/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 14:32 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2639ce 1 National terror-attack,suicide-bombings,terrorism,sidney-jones Free

The double suicide bombing on Wednesday night near a Transjakarta bus station in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, that killed three police officers was an act of retaliation against the police, an analyst has said.

The director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), Sidney Jones, said on Thursday that the police had been seen as protectors of a thogut state that rejects application of Islamic law. In Islamic theology, thogut refers to those who worship anything other than Allah.

The police are the ones who arrest mujahidin [one who engages in jihad] and sometimes kill them in operations [...], she said on Thursday.

She said the purpose of the attack was also to show their presence following numerous police actions in past years that had weakened terrorist groups in the country.

Three police officers fell victim to the Kampung Melayu bomb blast while escorting a pawai obor (torch parade) to welcome the fasting month of Ramadhan, which begins on Saturday.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto previously said that the police had detected possible attacks in Jakarta, but were not able to identify when or where they might happen.

No country in the world can prevent terrorist attacks. Look at the United Kingdom, which has one of the most sophisticated intelligence operations in the world, Sidney said, referring to a suicide bombing at a pop concert in the British city of Manchester, late on Monday. (fac)
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Linkedin Kiki Siregar (AFP) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 08:14 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a250f44 2 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

A suicide bombing attack outside a busy bus terminal in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Wednesday killed three police officers, the latest assault to hit the Muslim-majority country as it struggles with a surge of terror plots.

Several other police officers and civilians were injured when two bombers launched the attack in a street next to the station, which sent panicked people running for their lives and clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky.

Human body parts and shattered glass were strewn across the road following the attack, which happened at about 9:00 pm (1400 GMT) as police were helping to secure a parade by a local group outside the terminal in the working-class district.

It was not clear who was behind the attack but Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, has been on high alert after a string of plots and attacks in recent times by militants inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The Kampung Melayu terminal in east Jakarta -- which is frequented by locals and is not popular with foreign visitors -- had been busy when the attack happened, and witnesses described scenes of panic as two blasts rang out minutes apart.

Dicky Wahyudin, 37, said he had been drinking a coffee across the road when the attack happened, prompting people to flee.

"Suddenly I heard two explosions, which were big -- I immediately ran away," he told AFP.

A local shopkeeper, Rosmala -- who like many Indonesians goes by one name -- added: "At first I saw smoke and shattered glass, the earth was shaking, I was shocked. After a few minutes there was another blast."

National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told reporters that two suicide bombers had been involved in the attack and three police officers had died. He had earlier said he believed only one attacker was involved.

"I have to convey my deepest condolences because three police officers died," he said.

Five other police officers and five civilians were injured, Wasisto said. Both suicide bombers, who were men, died during the attack, he added.

The terminal is a local hub served by minibuses and buses.
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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java  Thu, May 25, 2017 11:38 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25d210 1 National #JakartaAttack,#KampungMelayubombings,East-Jakarta,kampung-melayu Free

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo expressed condolences following the suicide bombings at the Kampung Melayu bus station in East Jakarta, late on Wednesday.

"This has gone too far. Ojek [motorcycle taxi] and angkot [public minivan] drivers have fallen victim and so have police officers," Jokowi told reporters on Thursday at his private residence in Surakarta, Central Java.

He said that in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, he had ordered National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian to hunt down and unveil the network of the bombers down to its roots.

(Read also: Jakarta shocked by deadly bombings days before Ramadhan)

"Furthermore, I urge all citizens in this nation to remain calm and preserve our unity. We have to maintain our peace as the Muslim people are preparing for the fasting month of Ramadhan," he said.

"I express my deepest condolences toward the victims of the incident and their families, both to those still undergoing hospital treatment and the departed, especially for the police officers killed on duty." (dea/dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 09:30 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a255d31 1 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast,#KampungMelayubombings Free

Police have identified one of the two suicide bombers who killed three police officers at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta, a police source said.

The source said the bomber, identified only as Ichwan Nurul Salam, was born in Bandung on Dec. 28, 1985, and was a resident of the West Java capital. The other had not been identified.

However, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul declined to confirm the information.

Martinus said that the bombers triggered the explosives 10 to 12 meters apart from each other.

(Read also: East Jakarta bombs were low explosives: Police)

Martinus said that after conducting a preliminary investigation, the police determined that the bombs were low explosives. (vny/jun)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 13:00 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a26128e 1 City gay,raids,sex-party Free

The North Jakarta Police have garnered protests and backlash from various public groups for their recent raid on an alleged gay sex party at a gym in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, where men were allegedly stripped naked and photographs taken of them during the raid went viral.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Wednesday called the raid, in which 141 men were arrested, "inhumane."

According to those arrested, the police had forced them to get into public vehicles naked and took pictures of them, Komnas HAM commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron said as quoted by kompas.com.

"The police action was an extensive abuse of power disrespecting human rights, as well as taking away the presumption of innocence," he said.

Separately, the Jakarta Police denied the allegations, saying that its officers had not taken pictures of the men.

"We do not know who took the pictures and shared them," said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono.

On Tuesday, the police released 126 of the arrested men.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian has instructed his officers to investigate the reports of shared pictures. (agn)
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Thu, May 25, 2017 18:56 1994 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a26d811 1 National #JakartaAttack,#KampungMelayubombings,bandung,suicide-bombings,SuicideBomber,Densus-88 Free

Personnel from the National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism squad have found links between the twin bombings at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta and the Bandung bombing early this year following searches of the houses of the alleged suicide bombers on Thursday.

"INS's wife [told police investigators that she] was once introduced by her husband to Agus, one of the Cicendo bombing suspects" said West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus, using the initials INS to refer to one of the alleged suicide bombers, Ichwan Nurul Salam.

Agus is suspected to have rigged the pressure cooker bomb, which exploded at Pandawa Park in Cicendo, Bandung on Feb. 27. Both Ichwan and Agus lived in Batununggal district.

Police conducted a search of Ichwan's rental house in the Batununggal, Bandung, West Java and seized documents and camping kits as evidence. Police also took Ichwan's wife for further questioning in addition to placing a police line around the house.

Yusri said in addition to finding links with the Cicendo terror group, police may also find leads suggesting links between Ichwan and the terror network led by Abu Salam, the perpetrator of pressure cooker bomb attack in Bandung who was gunned down by police.

(Read also: East Jakarta suicide blasts likely linked to IS: Police)

Yusri added that police also searched a house in Sirnagalih village, Cipongkor, West Bandung, believed to belong to the other alleged bomber Ahmad Sukri.

Through questioning of Sukri's mother, EN, 61, police learned that Sukri had been staying in a rental house in Garut for the past three months with his wife and two children.

"[Sukri] worked as a tailor," Yusri said.

Police took EN for further questioning and took blood DNA samples to match with Sukri's. (dmr)
By Press Trust of India: By Anisur Rahman

Dhaka, May 25 (PTI) A Bangladeshi court today sentenced the chief of the banned JMB group to over seven years in prison for heading the terror outfit linked to a series of attacks, including the one on a popular Dhaka cafe that killed an Indian woman along with 17 other foreigners.

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Maulana Saidur Rahman, the former head of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, who was arrested exactly seven years ago on this day in 2010 has already spent seven years behind bars. He will now serve the remaining six months in jail for this case.

Two of Rahmans associates were also sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison.

"Saidur Rahman and two other JMB operatives were convicted for planning to commit subversive activities across the country and handed down all the three seven and half years of imprisonment," a court official said.

Citing the anti-terror law, the judge sentenced the convicts to the strictest punishment applicable for such acts.

Prosecutors accused him of misinterpreting Quran to wage a war against Bangladesh.

"The convicts, despite having knowledge of the Quran and Hadiths, invented their own analysis of the religion in the leaflets they distributed," the court said.

Rahman has been spearheading a number of attacks against minorities, secular activists and foreigners, and also for recruiting men to carry out such attacks.

In the deadliest attack, 22 people, including 18 foreigners, were killed when militant stormed the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery and Kitchen restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic zone on July 1 last year. An 18-year-old Indian woman who was on a holiday in Dhaka was also killed.

The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the cafe attack. But police believe that New-JMB, which is close to the ISIS, was involved in organising the attack.

The three were arrested in a police raid on a house near Dhakas Donia Nur Mosque in 2010. Police found booklets of extremist propaganda and anti-government publications in their possession.

The two others who were convicted went into hiding after securing bail.

Since 2013, Bangladesh has witnessed a number of Islamist attacks on foreigners, liberals and religious minority with the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda making competing claims.

The government, however, has consistently dismissed their claims, saying foreign terrorist groups have no presence in Bangladesh and the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits.

The countrys security forces have launched a crackdown against militants following the attack, killing 70 extremists in the past one year.

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Last month, Mufty Abdul Hannan, the top leader of another outfit Harkatul Jihad (HuJI), was executed for masterminding a grenade attack against the then British ambassador to Bangladesh at a sufi shrine in 2004. PTI AR UZM AKJ UZM

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 10:55 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25b583 1 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

Pressure cooker bombs caused the explosions that blasted the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta on Wednesday evening, a police official has said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said on Thursday that the perpetrators filled pressure cookers with explosive materials, nails and buckshots.

"Based on the crime scene investigation, two of the perpetrators carried the pressure cooker bombs in their carrier bags. We found [pieces of] nails and buckshots in the pressure cooker" he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Setyo added that the police also found a store bill indicating a recent purchase of cooking pans in a pocket of one of the suspected suicide bombers.

"The bill of the cooking pan purchase on May 22 was found in the pocket of one of the alleged perpetrators," he said as quoted by tempo.com.

Two explosions blasted a Transjakarta bus terminal in East Jakarta at around 9 p.m., killing three police officers and injuring ten others.

(Read also:Kampung Melayu suicide bomber identified: Police)

Acts of terrorism involving pressure cookers are common in Indonesia.

Last December, National Police counterterrorism squad Densus 88 confiscated a pressure cooker containing triacetone triperoxide (TATP) from terrorists in Bekasi, West Java. The terrorists allegedly planned to attack the State Palace in Central Jakarta. (yon/jun)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 09:10 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a254143 4 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

Suicide bombers that killed three police officers at a Transjakarta bus shelter in the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta targeted police, a terrorism expert said on Thursday.

I suspect that the bombers intentionally targeted the police, Ridlwan Habib of the University of Indonesia told Kompas TV.

Ridlwan said the officers were resting in the shelter after securing a parade of residents welcoming the Ramadhan fasting month.

(Read also: East Jakarta bombs were low explosives: Police)

He suspected that the bombers were members of similar terrorist networks that attacked police officers in separate incidents in Surakarta, Central Java, on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, and in Tangerang, Banten.

The bombers had likely planned the attack weeks earlier, he said, and carried out the attack after the Jakarta gubernatorial election, when the police had decreased security in the capital as the elections had run safe and smooth. (jun)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 12:49 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25fcfb 1 City #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

Two police officers who suffered injuries during a Kampung Melayu suicide bomb attack on Wednesday underwent surgery this morning at Premier Jatinegara Hospital in East Jakarta.

This morning, two people underwent surgery while two others are still under observation, Premier Jatinegara Hospital spokesperson Susan Ananda said on Thursday morning as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Surgery was carried out on the victims, identified as Sec. Brig. Yogi and Sec. Brig. Ferry, to treat injuries they suffered when two pressure cooker bombs exploded, releasing shrapnel.

Yogi suffered severe wounds on his head and other parts of his body.

Yogis condition was more serious [] after the surgery we still need to observe him carefully in the intensive care room, Suyatno, a Premiere Jatinegara Hospital supervisor, said.

There were five doctors who handled the surgeries, including ear and nose specialists, an ophthalmologist, an orthopedic surgeon and a plastic surgeon. (hol)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 10:46 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25af62 1 National travel-advisory,United-Kingdom,#JakartaAttack,#KampungMelayubombings,bombings Free

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom has issued a travel warning to Jakarta for its citizens following the explosion in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta on Thursday night.

There have been reports of a bomb explosion at the Kampung Melayu bus station in East Jakarta on 24 May 2017. You should avoid this area. The FCO continues to advise that the threat from terrorism remains high in Indonesia. You should be vigilant, take care at all times, and follow the advice of the local authorities, the statement said, as quoted in www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/indonesia.

(Read also: Jakarta shocked by deadly bombings days before Ramadhan)

According to the website, around 280,000 British nationals visit Indonesia every year. The website also posted a reminder to its citizens that terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Indonesia. Terrorist groups continue to plan attacks and have the capacity and intent to carry out these attacks at anytime and anywhere in the country.

On Wednesday, explosions hit an area near the Transjakarta bus stop in Kampung Melayu at around 9 p.m. The bomb attack was carried out by suicide bombers. Five people, comprising three police officers and the two suicide bombers, were killed and 10 were injured. (wnd/dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 12:20 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25f7f3 1 National #JakartaAttack,#suicide,#BombBlast Free

Three police officers, who were killed during a suicide bombing attack on Wednesday in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, will be buried on Thursday.

The officers, Sec. Brig. Ridho Setiawan from South Tanggerang, Sec. Brig. Taufan Tsunami from West Bekasi and Sec. Brig. Imam Gilang Adinata from South Jakarta, will be buried in their respective hometowns with police representatives from each area attending the funerals.

The attack took place near a Transjakarta bus station in Kampung Melayu. In addition to the casualties, five police officers and five civilians were injured in the attack.

National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Syafruddin said the officers were monitoring residents participating in a parade to welcome the fasting month of Ramadhan.

(Read also: East Jakarta bombs were low explosives: Police)

National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said Wednesday night that the police had detected the possibility of an attack but had not been able to identify when or where the attack would happen.

He added that the police had determined that the bombers used pressure cooker bombs. (rdi/jun)
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Linkedin Toh Ting Wei (AFP) Singapore  Thu, May 25, 2017 11:21 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25c841 2 SE Asia #Malaysia,#singapore,#GraftCase Free

A former stocks trader was fined in Singapore Wednesday for his role in an international money-laundering scandal involving Malaysia's state fund 1MDB, the latest person to be penalised over the saga.

Singapore, a regional financial centre known for its tough stance against corruption, was the first country to hand down criminal convictions related to the 1MDB investigations.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from the state fund triggered a scandal that has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, though he has denied any wrongdoing.

Ang was slapped with a Sg$9,000 ($6,477) fine for bribing a research analyst to expedite a valuation report on PetroSaudi -- an oil company which had dealings with the Malaysian fund.

The Riyadh-based firm entered into a $1.0 billion joint venture with 1MDB in 2009.

According to court documents, Ang acted as a middleman between Yeo Jiawei -- a Singaporean banker sentenced to 30 months in prison in connection with the case last December -- and financial consultants NRA Capital.

Yeo told Ang in 2013 he urgently needed a valuation report to show that PetroSaudi was worth $2.4 billion. Ang agreed on the basis that he would be paid a commission and contacted NRA.

Ang, who worked for Maybank Kim Eng Securities but whose dealings with Yeo were said to be done on the side, is among a string of people to be punished for involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

Four private bankers have been jailed so far and in March the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) banned a former Goldman Sachs banker from working in the city's financial industry for 10 years.

MAS says it also plans to bar three others.

Ang was described by his lawyer as being at the "bottom of the echelon of people connected to this case".

"His name had been tainted with the same brush and he has difficulty finding employment," said lawyer Hamidul Haq.

Singapore has also closed the local branches of two Swiss private banks -- BSI and Falcon Private Bank -- used in the transfer of illicit funds.
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Linkedin Nikki Ekstein (Bloomberg)  Thu, May 25, 2017 10:01 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25718d 2 News application,travel,solo-traveler Free

No matter how much you do it, solo travel can be intimidating.

It's perfectly natural to be nervous about dropping into a foreign, new place on your own, whether you dread getting lost, feeling lonely, or just not knowing what to do when youre eating dinner alone. But don't order that room service cheeseburgerdownload these four apps, which will help you feel more sure-footed abroad.

Even if you've started your trip alone, you may end with a network of new friends.

Audio city guides you'll actually love

You can take a Detour alone or synch the tour among multiple devices, for group listening.(Detour via Bloomberg/File)

The founder and former chief executive of Groupon, Andrew Mason, has found a new industry to disrupt: the audio guide. His latest app, Detour, launched softly in 2015 by offering immersive, offbeat audio tours in just a handful of (largely West Coast) cities. On Tuesday, it is expanding to include 115 tours in 17 international markets, from Portland, Ore., to Paris. Many are narrated by influential locals; in New York, for instance, Harlem's first globally-recognized chef, Marcus Samuelsson, offers a highly personal walking tour through his neighborhood. In Washington, theres a Detour about the history of espionage, narrated by two former intelligence officers. The focus on documentary-style storytelling means that the experience is more like listening to a compelling podcast than an audio version of Lonely Planet. Bonus: The guides have built-in GPS, which means youll never hear about a place before you actually arrive there. Free to download, iPhone and Android. Tours cost $5 each.

Group tours that don't feel touristy

Setting up your profile on Peek takes two minutes; then the app steers you toward activities you'll enjoy.(Peek via Bloomberg/File)

Peek lets you choose your own adventure in 22 cities around the worldgenerally in the company of like-minded travelers. It offers a curated list of activities from vetted third-party operators, ranging from bike tours to food crawls and themed excursions: a James Bond tour of London with lunch at Heatherden Hall (which served as the Spectre headquarters in From Russia With Love), or a day riding ATVs in Eldorado Canyon, just outside Las Vegas. The app maintains real-time availability and a best-price guarantee so you can book online worry-freeeven last-minute. Free, iPhone and web.

Read also: Tourism Ministry holds homestay management training in NTB

Communal dinners in local homes

Part of the point of EatWith is meeting new peopletravelers and locals alike.(EatWith via Bloomberg/File)

EatWith is the Airbnb of restaurants: It allows locals in 200 cities around the world to open up their homes for hosted group dinners. Plug in your desired dates and destination and youll be able to scroll through a variety of menussome paired with cooking classes. In Paris, for instance, you can learn to make souffles and then eat a late lunch at a locals apartment in the Marais; in Barcelona, you can crash a Mediterranean-style Shabbat dinner, complete with Zaatar-infused challah and lamb kibbeh. Online only.

Safety first

Personal safety apps such as Companion can alert friends, family, or local authorities if you're concerned about your surroundings.(Companion via Bloomberg/File)

All solo travelers encounter nagging thoughts about safety at some point or another; for women, it can be an especially pervasive concern. Enter personal safety apps such as Companion and SafeTrek. The former lets you channel your location to designated friends, family, or companions, and it includes an I Feel Nervous button that will flag their attention. It also lets you skip that precautionary step and go straight to calling the police. (Americans used to dialing 911 wont get far in other countries without this type of direct line.) Free, iPhone and Android.

By comparison, SafeTrek cuts right to the chase. It asks you to press a button on the screen as long as you feel safe; if you let go, youre prompted to enter a predetermined four-digit pin code, or the app will automatically summon the cops to wherever you are. Better safe than sorry. $2.99 per month, iPhone and Android.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 09:49 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2568d1 1 News manado,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,tourism-promotion,North-Sulawesi,tourism,#tourism Free

The Manado International Conference on Tourism (MICT), held on May 24, resulted in US$400 million worth of business deals.

The deals consist of a $200 million investment deal with China for the development of a hotel, apartment, shopping mall and diving center in South Manado, and another $200 million deal with the United States for cottage accommodation and tourism in Raja Ampat, West Papua.

Read also: Saving Raja Ampat waters with tourism

A deal was also made between Dalian Maritime University in China and five Indonesian universities, namely the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Sam Ratulangi University, Manado State Polytechnic, Hasanuddin University and Manado State University.

These two business deals and one academic-related deal show the governments effort to increase investments in tourism and maritime sectors, said Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Thomas Lembong.

A one-on-one meeting was also conducted with 37 companies from China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, United Arab Emirates, South Korea and seven embassy representatives, as well as foreign business associates from China, Thailand, Australia and Japan.

Read also: Manado outshines major tourist destinations

In the one-on-one meeting, they met directly with provincial administrations and companies for discussions on investment, Thomas added.

North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey said the average of economic growth in North Sulawesi increased to 6.5 percent from 2010 to 2016.

Based on data collected from the BKPM, foreign direct investment (FDI) in tourism increases every year. The number went from $673.1 million in 2014 to $732.5 million in 2015. It further increased by 63 percent to $1.9 billion in 2016, and in the first quarter of 2017 FDI has so far reached $440 million. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 25, 2017 11:35 1995 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a25cfd1 1 News yogyakarta-tourism,community,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,social-media,Youth,tourism-promotion,GenPi,tourism,#tourism Free

Around 50 online communities in Yogyakarta participated in the launching of the Indonesian Charms Generation (GenPI) Yogyakarta branch, making it the 10th GenPi community in Indonesia.

Attending the event were representatives from GenPI Aceh, GenPI West Sumatra, GenPI East Sumatra, GenPI West Java, GenPI Lombok and GenPI Maluku.

Read also: Economist Rhenald Kasali talks digital disruption at Tourism Rakornas II

Also in attendance was the head of the Yogyakarta Tourism Agency, Aris Riyanta, who said that online communities were important in promoting tourist destinations.

Meanwhile, Don Kardono, a special staff member of the Tourism Ministry's media and communications department, emphasized that GenPI is a volunteer-based community whose members are creative in creating unique promotional content on social media.

Read also: Indonesian tourism gets ready to face digital invasion

After the launching event, a coordination meeting was held between GenPI Yogyakarta activists and representatives from other GenPI branches. Led by the ministrys Tourism Marketing Development (BP3N) online media communications head, Titus Haridjati, the meeting discussed starting a universal social media hashtag to be used by everyone.

During the meeting, Titus said that the ministry was always available to assist the GenPI community, If GenPI wants to hold a photo contest on a particular tourist destination, they can coordinate with us regarding the prize." (kes)
The bus was going from Patna to Sheikhpura when it caught fire around 5 pm.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Eight passengers were charred to death and 10 injured when a bus caught fire at Harnaut in Nalanda district of Bihar on Thursday evening. The bus owned by a private transporter Baba Rath Travels was on its way from Patna to Sheikhpura district when it caught fire. The injured have been rushed to a government hospital in Bihar Sharif for treatment.

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The incident happened at around 5 pm today when the bus was crossing Harnaut market. The fire was instant and so massive that it did not give much time to the passengers to escape leaving 8 people dead. However, few passengers did managed to get out of the bus in time.

The DM and SP of Nalanda rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported to carry out the rescue operation but by the time they reached, the bus was completely burnt.

According to Nalanda SP, the reason behind the fire was presence of carbide, a chemical substance which was being carried by some passenger and which perhaps caught fire because of the excessive heat.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed his grief over the incident and announced Rs 4 lakh compensation to kin of the deceased.

Police have begun investigation in the case.

Also read: Chopper carrying Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis crash-lands in Latur. Me, my team are safe, he tweets

Also read: From college student to Bihar's Lady Don: Story of Puja Pathak who married a jailed ex-gangster

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

--- ENDS ---
Transportation advocates are worried about the MTAs plan for the L Train shutdown in 2019, saying the transit authority does not appear to be prioritizing dedicated bus service on surface streets. [Streetsblog]

The Real Estate Board of New York is pushing to roll back the commercial rent tax on many NYC buildings. [The Real Deal]

An investor in Mission Cantina, the shuttered Orchard Street restaurant, is suing owner/chef Danny Bowien. [Grub Street]

Shake Shack is coming to Astor Place. [New York Post]

Alumni Report: Ursula Burns steps down as head of Xerox. Burns grew up on the Lower East Side. [Rochester Business Journal]
Bitcoin has almost tripled in value in the last twelve months as it traded at over Rs 2 lakh on Thursday. The price of the cryptocurrency could reach $3,000 - or Rs 1.93 lakh - within a couple of days.

By Shashank Shekhar: The burgeoning bitcoin has blown away the stock market bull run and the shinning bullion.

The cryptocurrency made global buzz after international hackers demanded it as ransom to disinfect computers. But growing demand has made it a top investment choice for many even in India, leaving behind the traditional gold rush.

Bitcoin has almost tripled in value in the last twelve months as it traded at over Rs 2 lakh on Thursday. Analysts had earlier projected the price of the cryptocurrency to reach $3,000 (Rs 1.93 lakh) by the end of this year, but the recent rally suggests that this target could be hit within a couple of days.

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In fact, bitcoin price has already surpassed the $3,000 mark on Indian exchanges. The rate in India is much higher than in other countries because there is high demand but limited supply. People here are only interested in buying bitcoins at the moment and not in selling them, which has also led to increased valuation.

WHAT IS BITCOIN?

Bitcoin is a digital token that is computer generated and not printed or minted physically like a country's currency. It is created and held electronically in a decentralised system, so no single person, bank or authority has control over it.

It works as conventional forms of currency and is traded worldwide.

On Indian exchanges, bitcoin prices are being quoted at premium of $400-500 higher than cost. The interest among Indian people fuelled largely after government's demonetisation.

"In India, bitcoin has already crossed the $3,000 mark. The demand has risen phenomenally and there is scarcity in supply," said Sandeep Goenka, CEO of Zebpay, India's largest Bitcoin exchange by volumes traded.

At Zebpay a bitcoin was available for Rs 2,28,023 while another Indian exchange, Unocoin was selling it at Rs 2,33,175.

NOTE BAN EFFECT

On November 8, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes would cease to be legal tender, bitcoin was priced at about Rs 52,000 on Unocoin and Zebpay.

On that day, the international cost of one bitcoin, when converted into Indian rupee, stood at Rs 46,942.

The surge in interest for the e-currency came as it evolved as an alternative and safe investment option. Google search data show that Indians' search for the keyword "bitcoin" was at its peak soon after note ban.

But increasing demand has also raised security concerns. Experts say there was a rush following the cash crackdown announcement as many traders exchanged their black money against bitcoins. The demand of the largest and oldest among cryptocurrencies is high as it is untraceable by security agencies and does not require physical storage that can be raided by authorities.

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EMERGING ASSET CLASS

Experts say the price has gone up as many countries are now making bitcoins legal. In April, Japan began accepting bitcoin, which also fuelled the international price. Indians too are catching the bitcoin fever as there is a demand of Rs 40-50 crore daily.

The volume here though is still just the tip of the global iceberg of Rs 10,000 crore and too little to influence the price.

However, traders caution that new investors should be careful before pumping money into the e-currency.

Experts say bitcoin is an emerging asset class and the price is volatile. Sceptics feel this is just another investment fad which will wither away. A rise in bitcoin prices has led to a surge in Ponzi schemes in India. The central bank too has cautioned people against cryptocurrency use.

Security agencies say global criminals are transacting in bitcoins while dealing in drugs, arms and porn.

This creates a hurdle in their investigation as tracking this money on the web and beyond the country's boundary is impossible.

The currency has been used by terrorists too. The recent Wannacry ransomware attackers also demanded payments in bitcoins, which bothers regulators or countries who want to legalise the digital money.

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ALSO READ | What is bitcoin? A look at the digital currency

ALSO READ | Newly discovered vulnerability raises fears of another WannaCry Ransomware like cyber attack

--- ENDS ---
After a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Fledgling Theatre Company brought their latest stage play, They Built It. No One Came, to the Crucible Studio in Sheffield as part of their UK tour.

The play is adapted from an article in the New York Times, which details the lives of two gay men who attempted to build a convent based on 18th Century agricultural practice  and are still awaiting their first member.

From the offset, their motivations are unclear: every attempt to explain their ideology is confused by academic jargon and fabricated isms, parodying the self-help philosophy they aspire to. The synopsis provided for the play is equally vague, but this blankness works to its advantage, making what follows a buoyant and hilarious surprise.

After the premise of the play is established, the pair gains a new member. A fresh-faced and anxiety-ridden student  clad in an orange t-shirt reading never give up  observes their practices for university credits, but, after their utopia begins to be invaded, events take a darker turn.

There are obvious comparisons we can make between the play and Waiting for Godot, with its sparse set, existential pontificating, and the entangled relationship between the two main protagonists. Yet Alexander and Tobias, with the aid of Bennie, inject far more optimism and fun.

Captain Fantastic, the 2016 film starring Viggo Mortensen, feels like another key touchstone. It tells the story of a father who, after isolating his children in the wilderness for a more liberal education, faces the reality of integrating them into society. Clearly, both share thematic similarities; yet the films arc relies heavily on Mortensens sensitive performance, whereas this play foregrounds the actors wacky and goofy comedy.

Mostly, the writing here is excellent: Alexander and Tobias wield the language with electrifying wit. But what feels most inventive is the plays physical comedy, rather than its intelligent musings. The actors leap and bound across the stage like hyperactive puppies.

Also, the set is manipulated brilliantly, managing to play with height, space, and depth with minimal props. Plain sheets of white paper stand in for doves, as the protagonists fly about the stage, ruffling their folds like wings. Its remarkably effective  I dont think Ive ever been as transfixed by a side of A4.

Undoubtedly, the narrative arc itself is flawed. The writers take a little too much artistic licence in adapting the original source material  an aside about gay hate crime is foregrounded, yet feels unnecessary, and the newcomers battle with anxiety is wholly misjudged. However, for the most part, they manage to streamline a relatively complex story into a succinct one-hour performance.

They Built It. No One Came was performed at the Crucible Studio just one day after the Manchester attacks. Patrick Holt gave a short tribute to the victims, emphasising that, above all, this is a play concerned with the value of community.

With a great sense of fun and a slice of subversion, They Built It. No One Came is a tragicomedy that left me feeling refreshed, satisfied, and a little less alone.

To see Fledgling Theatre Company perform on their UK tour, visit their website, here: http://www.fledglingtheatre.com
The names of all 22 people who lost their lives in the deadliest attack on British soil since the 2005 London bombings have now been released.

Here is everyone who lost their lives:

Georgina Callander, 18

(Photo: Instagram)

Described by others as an Ariana superfan, Georgina was the first victim to be announced after the attack. The teenager was a student at Bishop Rawstorne and is seen in the above image posing with the pop star during a previous meeting.

Saffie Roussos, 8

The eight-year-old from Tarleton attended the concert with her mother and sister.

The warmth and kindness that Saffie showed others stood out to those around her and the Chris Upton, the headteacher at Tarleton Primary School, said she was loved by everyone.

Saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word, Upton said.

John Atkinson, 26

The Radcliffe, Bury native has been described by many as an amazing young man and has received a vast amount of tributes on social media.

Megan Hurley, 15

Megan, from Liverpool, clearly made an impact on others, as a fundraising page was swiftly created to fund a special send off for her. Megans page quickly surpassed over 50 donations.

Olivia Campbell, 15

The 15-year-old from Bury told her mother, Charlotte, she was having an amazing time at the concert and was thankful that she was able to attend before losing contact at half past eight.

Olivias mum went on television seeking help to find her daughter a few hours prior to posting the following message on Facebook: RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far to soon go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.

Alison Howes, 45, and Lisa Lees, 47

The pair of mothers from Royton, Oldham, were killed while waiting for their daughters to come out so that they could drive them home from the concert.

Alisons stepson, Jordan Howe, posted this touching tribute on Facebook: They took a caring beautiful mum and step mother away from us all she was amazing to us all x love you loads Alison Howe xx.

Lisas brother, Lee Hunter, wrote For those who dont know Lisa is gone but never, ever forgotten. I love you Lisa Ill miss you so much.

Marcin, 42, and Angelika Klis, 40

This Polish couple who were living in York was killed while waiting to collect their daughters from Manchester Arena. Before going over to the venue they took the following selfie in the city centre.

Their children are safe.

Martyn Hett, 29

The 29-year-old PR manager from Stockport was last heard from about 20 minutes before the explosion, at which point he went to the bar.

Marytns partner, Russell Hayward, honoured him on Twitter, where he wrote: Soulmates doesnt even come close. Come back to us Martyn so we can watch last nights Corrie together.

Kelly Brewster, 32

Kelly, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, was originally reported missing but unfortunately lost her life in the attack. Her partner, Ian Winslow, said that Kelly was the happiest she had ever been and that the two had many things planned together.

Jane Tweddle-Taylor, 50

A school receptionist in Blackpool, Jane has been described as bubbly and irreplaceable. She leaves behind three daughters. According to Jane Bailey, the principal of South Shore Academy, numerous parents, students, community members and colleagues left messages of condolences at the school.

Nell Jones, 14

The 14-year-old from Cheshire was named as a victim in the attack. Nell was a student at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School.

Sorrell Leczkowski, 14

The Adel, Leeds, teenager attended the concert with her mother and grandmother, who were both injured in the attack. Sorrell did not make it.

Greg Mulholland, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Leeds North West, spoke at vigils in Leeds on Tuesday night and said It is heartbreaking that amongst the victims is a 14-year-old girl from Adel. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.

Michelle Kiss

Michelle was a mother of three who was described as caring about her family above all else.

In a statement by her family that was released by the Greater Manchester Police, they said Michelle Kiss was a loving wife to Tony, mother to Dylan, Elliot and Millie, as well as daughter to Mick and Christine and sister to Nichola. She tragically died during the horrible event that occurred on Monday night. Family was her life and we are all obviously devastated by her loss. She has been taken away from us, and all that love her, in the most traumatic way imaginable. We hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time.

Elaine McIver

Elaine was a police officer in Cheshire and was off-duty at the concert. Her family described her as a friend to all and an extremely thoughtful. They also said that she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics.

Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17

The young couple from South Shields in South Tyneside attended the concert together and wanted to be together forever, according to their families.

Eilidh MacLeod, 14

The Scottish teenager was at the concert with friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, who survived but was seriously injured and remains in the hospital.

Eilidh, from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, was described by her family as vivacious and full of life.

A fund set up for the families of the two girls has raised about 20,000.

Courtney Boyle, 19, and Philip Tron, 32

Courtney, from Gateshead, was a student and Leeds Beckett University and was at the concert with her stepfather, Philip Tron.

Courtneys mother made the following statement: My stunning amazing beautiful daughter you were my rock you made me so proud with all you had achieved and my gorgeous crazy Philip you made my world a happy place and now you are both my angels flying high in the sky.

Wendy Fawell

Wendy, a mother from Otley in West Yorkshire, went to the concert with her daughter and friends. She was last seen in the foyer of Manchester Arena shortly before the explosive was detonated.
Ukip has suggested that a burka ban is necessary to boost womens vitamin D intake via sunlight.

The Ukip manifesto, which launched on Thursday, also claimed face-covering veils are de-humanising symbols of segregation and oppression that pose security risks, and the party once again pledged to ban them if elected.

UKIP has come up with an absolutely priceless new reason for banning the burqa pic.twitter.com/imcV4SUdnA  saddam ZW (@saddamzwied) May 25, 2017

The vitamin D comment is whats got people talking though.

Is this the first time vitamin D intake has been a general election manifesto issue? pic.twitter.com/MVsbBJxAX8  Martin Belam (@MartinBelam) May 25, 2017

Vitamin D helps keeps bones, teeth and muscles healthy, according to the NHS.

The gov.uk website identifies children under five, adults over 65, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with darker skin, and people who have little exposure to sunlight as at risk of vitamin D deficiency.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) lists people who cover their skin for cultural reasons as an example of those who might get less sunlight.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has previously denied the policy is an attack on Muslims, with the party arguing the policy is needed as there is no human right to conceal your identity.

(Jonathan Brady/PA)

The manifesto states: If anything prevents liberty, it is the niqab, by preventing women from being perceived as individuals in their own right.

We want to open opportunities to all women, so that they can participate fully in life and in the workplace.

Clothing that hides identity, puts up barriers to communication, limits employment opportunities, hides evidence of domestic abuse, and prevents intake of essential vitamin D from sunlight is not liberating.

We stand in solidarity with women worldwide who are rebelling against the imposition of the niqab and burka.
Much as I dislike having to say it, I find myself in agreement with Paul Nuttall. UKIP are to resume their general election campaign today, having  and like the rest  suspended it after the attack in Manchester. The Labour Party will not officially recommence their campaign until Friday, and the same is true of the Conservative Party.

Paul Nuttalls reasoning, though, is sound: at a time when we are constantly told that we will go about our business as normal, that nothing will change, that terrorism will not break us or force us to display aberrant behaviour (except, of course, that we now have soldiers on our streets and must all conform to sickly campaigns for unity, which is a very un-British concept), it is surely hypocritical to prolong the suspension of political campaigns.

Announcing his decision, Mr Nuttall said: For those who say that nothing must change, but then complain, it is by prolonging the disruption to normality that we allow the terrorists to win Politics has never been more important, politicians must deal with these issues.

And hes right. But there is another reason: to suggest that a campaign has been suspended, and therefore that nothing said by politicians and political advocates during this period is to be considered political, is highly dishonest. The statement you should not politicize a tragedy is itself a political statement, as is the suggestion that politics is too divisive to take place at this time.

wrote on this topic last year for The Salisbury Review, when political campaigns were again ostensibly suspended following the brutal murder of Jo Cox. My contention then, as it is now, was that this prolonged period of mass Purdah was affording implicitly (and often explicitly) political arguments the veneer of apolitical truth and respectability.

As I wrote then: "David Cameron, firmly of the opinion that we should not politicise the tragedy, begins to say all the right things about hope not hate, joy not fear, diversity not intolerance, et cetera, ad nauseam. Never mind that, when not banging on about The Economy, Stupid, in the course of the referendum campaign, he has made those same soundbites and platitudes and niceties his rhetorical tools in service of the Remain faction. But no, not now. Times have changed. He is no longer a politician, he is a human being. He has no opinion on the referendum; how could he following such a tragic event? No, no, he is not politicising the issue at all.

"Others, lacking Mr. Camerons experience and gift in the art of trickery, have not been quite so subtle.

"The character of the alleged murderer, who, it has been said by many, was supposedly both mentally ill and had links to far-right and neo-Nazi groups, must say something about the state of politics and of political rhetoric in this country. We must not politicise the issue, but surely the toxic atmosphere of the referendum debate is at least partly responsible for this tragedy?"

What I didnt say then, but what I will say now, is that there is another facet to this problem. Sure, high-profile government ministers and shadow cabinet members do not presently appear on The Daily Politics to trade crass barbs and accusations, and when they do appear on television they seldom deviate from the apolitical line - were united, hope not hate, #WeStandTogether, nothing to do with Islam. (The Prime Ministers decision to deploy soldiers is apolitical in the same way, which is to say that it carries significant political capital.)  but the general public are not quite so nuanced in their devotion to this idea.

Already we have seen a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn removed from Downing Street for harassing members of the police and armed forces. They, she said, were defending the biggest terrorist of them all  thats the Prime Minister, who has never to my knowledge detonated an explosive device in a stadium full of young women. Theresa May was losing. She is going to lose. Please use your vote wisely on June the 8th, was her other line; and this at a time when politics is officially not allowed!

And The Canary reports that a growing number of people in Manchester are calling for a boycott of The Sun, after the Murdoch rag was insensitive enough to run a piece, on the morning after the attack, featuring an interview with an ex-IRA man. The headline was LABOUR EXCLUSIVE: BLOOD ON HIS HANDS, with the subheading Ex-IRA killers Corbyn Verdict.

Now, one can take a dim view of The Sun and of this article. One might even suspect, as many aggrieved Mancunians evidently do, that the headline was deliberately designed encourage a conflation. (Though it bears saying that any conflation takes place in the minds of readers; the dog whistle only works when there are dogs around to hear it.) Yet any opinion on this subject must be a political one. If the theorists of conspiracy are correct, The Sun is guilty of nothing more unusual than playing politics. And those calling for a ban on the paper are making a political statement, too.

I could go on and on, citing example after example. Juuuuust [sic] in case anyone was still voting conservative [sic], imagine last nights heartbreaking [sic] tragedy happening with a privatised NHS. Thats all, says a Tweet thats been quite widely shared.

But the point has, I think, been demonstrated. Suspending political campaigns is, at best, an attempt to defy reality, which is that politics never stops. Those who pretend otherwise are either deluded or cynical. Politicians keep up the pretence, but everything they say in this apolitical interlude is political, carries political connotations, and bears political capital. Meanwhile, the general public, even those endorsing the sentiment behind the suspension, stubbornly (or, rather, naturally) refuse to cease their politicking.

And I cannot see why they shouldnt. There is nothing good about pretending that politics can go, or has gone, away. It cant and it wont. Nor is there anything normal about it. Nor is there anything necessarily bad about divisiveness; politics, after all, is supposed to be divisive; a duel between rival ideas.

So I do wish that we would dispense with this peculiar habit, of acting bizarrely in the name of business as usual. These issues  terrorism, integration, security, civil liberties  need to be discussed, and we would be far better off if our leaders spent more time talking about them rather than ducking at the first opportunity.

Politics is inevitable and eternal. Lets accept the fact and get on with it.
Police have confirmed that a Leeds Beckett University student who was reported missing following the Manchester terror attack has died.

Courtney Boyle, 19, a Criminology and Psychology student at Leeds Beckett University, was killed alongside her mothers partner Phil Tron, 32, after attending the doomed Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

In a statement released by Greater Manchester Police, Boyles mother, Deborah Hutchinson, said: My stunning amazing beautiful daughter. You were my rock, you made me so proud with all you had achieved and my gorgeous crazy Philip, you made my world a happy place and how you are both my angels flying high in the sky.

The pair were initially reported missing after Monday nights terror attack which left 22 people dead and 62 injured after an explosion ripped through the ticket hall at Manchester Arena.

Social media appeals for the pair had gone viral, although the pairs family confirmed they had died in the attack earlier this morning.

Professor Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor at Leeds Beckett University, told local newspaper, Yorkshire Evening Post, that the university community has been deeply saddened by the news.

Courtney was a lovely, bright and hardworking student who had achieved excellent marks in her first semester with us. She was enjoying university life and had built strong friendships. For all of these reasons, she is a great loss to the university and to her fellow students.

You will appreciate the impact this has had on our students and staff. Our Chaplaincy and wider Support Services have been in contact with Courtneys many friends at the university, and we will continue to support them and any other of our students and staff who have been affected.

We are devastated to learn of the passing of one of our students, Courtney Boyle.

Our thoughts are with all Courtneys family. pic.twitter.com/XuFXhblVN4  Leeds Beckett SU (@LeedsBeckettSU) May 25, 2017

Leeds Beckett University Student Union released a statement this morning, which said: "We are devastated to learn of the passing of one of our students, Courtney Boyle, who was killed in the atack at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

"Our thughts and prayers are with all Courtney's family and friends."

Image Credit - Instagram. Twitter. Wikipedia Commons
Last week, students at the University of Glasgow expressed concern over surveillance equipment being installed under desks in postgraduate study spaces.

The university confirmed that a small number of monitors were fitted to desks in two parts of the university - the School of Social and Political Sciences and the School of Business - as part of a study to understand how and when people used different spaces to inform planning for future campus development.

This surveillance equipment has been installed under the desks of PGRs at Glasgow Uni without our prior knowledge or consent. pic.twitter.com/Rco19cwB04  Karen Cuthbert (@karencuthbert) May 16, 2017

In a statement they said: "The monitors recorded only that a space was occupied and did not gather additional or personal information.

"Although colleagues were advised in advance that the study was going to take place and it was wholly anonymous, some students expressed concerns and the monitors have now been or are in the process of being removed."

Three cheers for collective action, solidarity, and PGRs winning against the neoliberal university. #byebyeoccupEYE pic.twitter.com/6D9bVbntAj  Ashli Mullen (@_Verstehen_) May 16, 2017

PhD student Karen Cuthbert explained that the device was found after receiving an email that it would be happening.

"Were not advised in advance and the study spaces are personally assigned desks in locked offices of doctoral researchers.

"I teach research ethics to undergrads at this university. I'll be using this as a case study of when ethical principles are egregiously violated."

The university apologised to those who were not given sufficient warning and responded to claims of "violation of ethical principles by confirming that the "study was reviewed by the appropriate ethics group and College."

The same surveillance equipment was installed at Birkbeck, University of London's library in 2014 in order to eliminate students' complaints about insufficient study spaces.

Birkbeck Library Assistant Director Peter Williams tweeted: "Birkbeck Library uses monitors to manage a shared library space and takes no personal data."
Bitta Karate had claimed in an old interview that he killed at least 20 Kashmiri Pandits.

By India Today Web Desk: In a major impact of India Today's special investigation which exposed how Hurriyat leaders were receiving funds from Pakistan to fan unrest in Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has moved separatist leaders Bitta Karate and Ghazi Baba to an unknown location for interrogation.

Bitta Karate was exposed in India Today's special investigative report 'Operation Villains of the Valley' where he was caught on camera confessing to receiving funds from Pakistan.

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KARATE EVADES INDIA TODAY'S QUERIES

Bitta Karate, a former terrorist, was defiant when cornered by India Today reporters before being quizzed by the NIA. He denied receiving any money from Pakistan.

"I have been acquitted by the court. Didn't kill any Kashmir Pandit. They are like my brothers. The statement you are talking about was made under duress," Karate told India Today when enquired about an old interview in which he had admitted to have killed scores of Kashmiri Pandits.

In the video, which was dug out by India Today recently, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate is seen admitting of have killed 20 Kashmiri Pandits.

In the video, he is heard saying that his first victim was Satish Kumar Tikoo, whose crime was that he was a Kashmiri Pandit and "was believed to be from the RSS."

"Used to get orders to kill. Would have killed brother and mother," he said in the chilling confession.

As a gun-toting terrorist, Bitta Karate claimed he shot each Kashmiri Pandit victim either in the head or the heart and never missed his target.

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When JKLF leader Bitta Karate admitted to killing 20 Kashmiri Pandits

Caught on Camera: How Pakistan funds Kashmiri separatists to burn the Valley - India Today Exclusive

#HurriyatTruthTapes: Separatists in panic mode, JKLF's Yasin Malik assaults India Today crew

WATCH | NIA moves Bitta Karate to unknown location for probe, JKLF leader denies killing any Kashmiri pandit

--- ENDS ---
The trailer begins with a voiceover from the ever-repulsive Queen Cersei herself, alluding to the numerous impending threats that surround King's Landing. As she forthrightly cites the various challenges to her by-proxy-perch upon the Iron Throne, we catch a glimpse of each of them, by nothing more than the compass points relevant to their respective locations. Enemies to the East, the West, the South, and the North, "whatever stands in our way, we will defeat it" she says to brother-come-lover Jaime, whom we see standing with her, on a giant painted map of Westeros. Even considering the Lannister's veritable success on that front in the past, from the subsequent snippets the trailer shows us; Daenerys and her army, the Greyjoys, the Dornish, Arya, and the King in the North with all his allies, have no intention of letting that be the case again. But of course, a far greater threat still lies in wait, far north of the wall. As is ominously raised in the trailer, "The Great War is here." As The Mountain remains in his vacant yet perilous state, Littlefinger lurks evermore by Sansa's side, with his nowhere accent, while Davos imparts his usual brand of wartime wisdom: "If we don't put aside our enmities and bound together, we will die. And then it doesn't matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne." With soundbites like that, we can't wait.
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The Modi government is about to complete three years, but none of the promises made to Agra have been fulfilled.

By Siraj Qureshi: On 13 November 2013, just before the parliamentary elections, Narendra Modi made several tall promises to the people of Agra, in his capacity as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. He promised the city an International Airport, Barrage on Yamuna, International Stadium, and Tourism Development, among others things.

Now, the Modi government completes three years tomorrow, and not even one of those promises have been fulfilled. In fact, they haven't even moved an inch in these three years.

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Modi even gave Agra MP Ram Shankar Katheria a place in his cabinet as the MoS for HRD, but Katheria failed to deliver results and was soon shown the door, dashing Agra's hopes, yet again, for some comprehensive development. BSP leader and former UP Minister Narain Singh Suman told India Today, that Katheria does lists several development projects worth crores in his list of work done in the past three years, but none of them are directly linked to Agra's core problems. In fact, Katheria is doing nothing except inaugurating projects launched when the Congress was in power and Akhilesh Yadav held the government in UP.

Katheria stakes claim on flyovers currently being constructed in Agra, however, these flyovers were also sanctioned by the UPA government. Similarly, the Agra MP claims he got the remaining 65 crores for the construction of a civil air terminal released, but the money is yet to arrive. He claims that he has been working hard since 2009 for the sanctioning of Agra barrage, but instead of a barrage, Katheria could only get a rubber checkdam sanctioned behind the Taj Mahal, which will do nothing to alleviate the water woes of the people of Agra.

Several projects connected to the tourism ministry, like electronic ticketing in monuments, were already on cards, but Katheria stakes his claim those as well. Other projects like Taj Mahal's night view, light and sound show at Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort, and the conservation of Mehtab Bagh were already being studied by the tourism ministry, but the MP chooses to claim that all these changes happened due to his efforts.

According to Suman, some of the other projects that Katheria lays claims on, include the Agra Jaipur Shatabdi train, Agra-Etah train, Railway Training Center, Agra-Etawah 6 Laning of Highway, and Agra-Delhi 6 laning, etc. But the Agra MP does not answer why, despite being the HRD minister, he failed to address the problems facing Dr BR Ambedkar University (DBRAU) in Agra, which is one of the oldest universities in India.

Being a long term employee of the University, Katheria was well aware of the issues facing the university, but he did nothing to solve these issues and consequently, the SN Medical College, which is a prestigious medical college of the state, is contemplating on switching its affiliation from DBRAU to King George Medical University, says Suman.

He says that he himself made efforts to get Agra-Jaipur Shatabdi started, but when it began plying between the two cities, Katheria reached the station to show the green flag. Suman says in the parliament, Katheria's presence has been less than Ch. Babulal, who is the MP from rural Agra. In the past three years, Katheria raised only 15 questions and attended 10 different debates. He has been a complete failure in the past three years.

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Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad Chairman Sami Aghai alsoi says that when Katheria became minister, the hopes of the people of Agra were raised and they began expecting large scale development of Agra, but nothing happened. Katheria could find no solution to the drinking water problem of Agra and neither could he win the tug-of-war between Agra and Jewar for the international airport, as the more powerful union minister Mahesh Sharma refused to give ground.

He says people are very aware of Katheria's failures, and that he should start thinking about what he will do after he gets defeated in the 2019 parliamentary polls

--- ENDS ---
By Romita Datta, Indrajit Kundu: BJP's much hyped 'Lalbazar Abhijan' today got over within two-and-a-half hours from the start, with most of the prominent party leaders choosing to call it a day by complaining of falling sick and courting arrest.

BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh, Rahul Sinha, Roopa Ganguly, Kailash Vijaybargiya, Locket Chatterjee gave up within an hour and entered Lalbazar in police vans after they were arrested. Kolkata Police detained Vijaivargia after the march turned violent, leading to clashes between the police and protesters.

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Earlier, state police had the lathicharged Kolkata Bhartiya Janata Party workers moving towards police barricades from five directions, outside Kolkata Police headquarters.

Chanting Jai Shriram with saffron bandana, the party workers were aggressive from the word go, but couldn't create much impact. They were chased away before they were a few kilometres away from the police headquarters. A massive amount police had been deployed in Kolkata ahead of BJP's march.

West Bengal: BJP protest in Kolkata against state Government over law and order situation, water cannons used on protesters. pic.twitter.com/rX8C8rydIu- ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Kolkata: Kailash Vijayvargiya & Dilip Ghosh arrested under Sec 188 CRPC, during BJP's protest against state govt over law & order situation pic.twitter.com/jhiKFDPcC9- ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

BJP president Dilip Ghosh, leading a procession from Howrah and Brabourne Road was stopped at Tea Board. When the supporters tried to break through the bamboo baricade, tear gas shells were lobbed. BJP leader of women wing slumped complaining of dizziness. The police, however, said that BJP supporters were carrying bombs with them and hurled them at the police.

According to reports, the protestors even threw bricks at the police, who retaliated by using water canons teargas shells, and batons to disperse them.

The angry mob also torched the vehicle of the officer in charge of the Amherst police station at Phears Lane, close to Lalbazar, and destroyed two other government vehicles. The violence prompted police to start a combing operation in adjacent buildings, shops and metro stations in search of the BJP supporters.

The rally was organised to protest against the use of police force in recent civic polls, 'false charges' being pressed on BJP functionaries and a recent attack on journalists the Left Front's 'March to Nabanna' road show. The protestors were also demanding the arrest of "corrupt" TMC leaders, and the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque and Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati, for "anti-India remarks".

Seventy two hours after the Left's agitation, which left a trail of police attack on party supporters and media persons, the police was more organised, more restrained and more successful today. There was no complaint of major injury, even though BJP alleged that 27 party workers were hospitalised.

The party's Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly said they wanted to go the police headquarters to submit a deputation demanding the arrest of "corrupt" TMC leaders and over the alleged "lawlessnesses" in the state. "Why was such a huge police deployment made to stop us," she asked.

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The clashes have further increased concerns about the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Delhi: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reaches PMO to meet PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/YFF8gImAOY

Today's protests also clash with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi, where the two leaders are expected to discuss issues like the Presidential poll, pending funds for different central government schemes, and deferring GST for small scale businesses in the state, among others.

--- ENDS ---
The abduction of a Chinese couple teaching at a language school near Quetta has underlined the safety concerns for China as it steps up its presence in Pakistan under its $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor plan.

By Ananth Krishnan: China on Thursday said it called on Pakistani authorities "to take every necessary measure" to rescue two Chinese language teachers kidnapped in Balochistan and pointedly asked Islamabad to take measures to improve safety of Chinese citizens and assets.

The abduction of a Chinese couple teaching at a language school near Quetta has underlined the safety concerns for China as it steps up its presence in Pakistan under its $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor plan. Thousands of Chinese workers will move to Pakistan to take up projects under the plan, including in Balochistan where China is managing and developing the Gwadar port into a massive trade zone.

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The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed Wednesday's abduction. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety of overseas Chinese citizens and condemns the abduction of personnel in any form," spokesperson Lu Kang said.

"After the incident happened, the Chinese government, along with relevant departments, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and the Chinese Consulate General in Karachi, immediately launched the emergency response mechanism."

Lu added pointedly that China "requests relevant Pakistani authorities to take every necessary measure to rescue the abducted while ensuring their safety, and take more effective measures to secure the safety of Chinese citizens and organs in Pakistan."

"The Chinese government will work with the Pakistani side to make the utmost efforts for the early and safe release of the kidnapped personnel," Lu said.

Lu on Thursday also rebutted the reported criticism of CPEC from a UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) report, saying that the ESCAP's recent session in Bangkok had "supported the synergy between ESCAP and the Belt and Road Initiative."

"This has again demonstrated and spoken to the extensive support for the Belt and Road Initiative from the international community," Lu said, with Chinese officials pointing that beyond ESCAP, the UN Security Council had also mentioned the project in a resolution.

"According to our information, ESCAP did not issue a specialized report on CPEC," Lu said, when asked about the report suggesting that it could heighten disputes between India and Pakistan as elements of CPEC pass through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). "As to your question that CPEC may involve the disputed areas between India and Pakistan, we have reiterated many times that as an economic initiative, CPEC is neither targeted at any third party nor related to territorial disputes. It will not affect China's principled position on the Kashmir issue."

Also Read:

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India a victim of terror, says Donald Trump, calls upon Muslim nations to do their bit to defeat terrorism

Pakistan Air Force chief says enemy will remember response to LoC aggression

Watch Video: Video released by Indian Army shows heavy shelling on Pakistani posts in Naushera

--- ENDS ---

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By India Today Web Desk: Veteran actor Anupam Kher today criticised Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for meeting Kashmiri separatist leaders in the trouble-torn Kashmir Valley.

"Why talk to people who are responsible for killing people?," Kher questioned Aiyar at a debate on India Today's Newsroom program.

He said representations of some political parties insult Kashmiri Pandits by meeting certain Hurriyat leaders.

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A delegation which included the Congress leader had earlier met separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Aiyar defended his action saying it is possible to reach out to all sections of people and hold reasonable discussion.

Anupam Kher, who was representing Kashmiri Pandits, said, "Aiyar has never visited any refugee camps, spoke on behalf of Kashmiri Pandits. Bitta Karate has confessed to having killed over 20 Kashmiri Pandits. There has been not one word from Aiyar or Congress condemning Bitta Karate. I hope that some action is taken against Karate after his confession".

In response to Aiyar's claim that there were two Kashmiri Pandits at the meeting of all stakeholders that he was a part of, Anupam Kher said that the views of the Kashmiri Pandits at the meeting must not have been adequately represented.

Kher also hit out at Kashmiri separatist leader Bitta Karate who was caught on camera admitting taking money from Pakistan to fan unrest in the Kashmir Valley in an India Today sting operation.

An archival video of the JKLF leader has him admitting killed 20 Kashmiri Pandits.

"They (Hurriyat) are the people who have created all kinds of problems whether its stone pelters whether its killing of Kashmiri Pandits," he said adding that Karate's confession is in the public domain.

Also read:

When JKLF leader Bitta Karate admitted to killing 20 Kashmiri Pandits

India Today impact: NIA moves Hurriyat leaders Bitta Karate, Ghazi Baba to unknown location for interrogation

Also watch:

Mani Shankar Aiyar vs Anupam Kher: Meeting Pakistan-funded Hurriyat leaders an insult to Kashmiri Pandits?

--- ENDS ---
Ballot stamps cause minor issue in Brown, turnout in Codington 63%

While there was a minor issue counting some ballots in Brown Co., local election officials said Tuesday night went pretty well. SD voter turnout 57.5%
While Nashik police commissioner has ordered an inquiry against officers who reportedly attended the wedding, Congress' Sanjay Nirupam said minister Girish Mahajan should step down from his post.

By India Today Web Desk: With photos of Maharashtra's water resources minister Girish Mahajan at the wedding of Dawood Ibrahim's kin getting circulated, the Congress has upped the ante and demanded his resignation.

"Minister Mahajan should first step down and chief minister should immediately order an inquiry into this," said Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam.

"If cops went there with some inputs, we can understand. Why did the minister and other BJP leaders attend the wedding? Are they investigating Dawood's cases," the Congress leader asked.

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Nashik police commissioner Ravindra Singhal has already ordered an inquiry against the police officers who attended the wedding of underworld don Ibrahim Dawood's relatives.

Besides Girish Mahajan, Nashik's deputy mayor also reportedly attended the wedding.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has sought a report on the issue from Nashik police commissioner.

Minister of State for Home Deepak Kesarkar said, "We need to check why they went there... if they went to get some inputs on Dawood or because they are relatives of the family. Dawood is an international criminal. If found guilty, strict action will be taken against them (police officers)".

Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan (centre) at the wedding.

HERE IS ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE WEDDING OF DAWOOD IBRAHIM's RELATIVE: Nashik's Jaggi Konkani's daughter recently got married to the son of spiritual guru Khatib at a lavish wedding. Jaggi's elder daughter is married to the son of Ibrahim Kaskar--brother of Dawood Ibrahim. Eight police officers, including an assistant commissioner of police and two senior inspectors, reportedly attended the wedding in Nashik. Taking cognisance, Nashik police commissioner Ravindra Singhal has ordered an internal inquiry against the concerned police personnel. The invitation for the marriage of Dawood's distant relative was reportedly given to the police personnel by some Muslim clerics. "The invitation for the marriage was sent to some police officials of Bhadrakali police station and also to some corporators, political personalities, MLAs etc.," the police commissioner was quoted by PTI. The police commissioner said the statements of the police personnel, who attended the marriage of Dawood's relatives, are being recorded. "It will take two days to complete the internal inquiry against the officials as some of them are on leave," the police commissioner said.

The invite for the wedding of Dawood Ibrahim's relative.

ALSO READ:

Dawood Ibrahim is 2nd richest gangster of all time; 10 things about most wanted global terrorist

When Rishi Kapoor had tea with Dawood Ibrahim and was offered 'everything'

Is Dawood Ibrahim critical in Pakistan hospital? Family reportedly denies

WATCH | Maharashtra minister, BJP leaders attend Dawood Ibrahim's relative's wedding in Nashik

--- ENDS ---
Wednesday was Day 3 of the Delhi University admission process, and online registration for colleges under DU hasn't been without technical glitches.

By Arpan Rai: Caught between wait for class 12 results and race to secure a seat in college, anxious students are now facing another hurdle in their admission process.

With not even a single complete registration so far, online registration for colleges under Delhi University has not been without technical glitches for students on the third day of the admission process.

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So far, the students are allowed to fill tab 1 of the form which includes personal details. The payment of application fees has not been made available yet, owing to which the forms cannot be filled completely.

However, they can fill the admission form by clicking on the option "awaited" which specifies they are awaiting their result. The admission committee officials have also asked students and parents in the open days to not submit their forms in a rush.

'NO NEED TO APPLY IN A RUSH'

"There is no need to apply in a rush. Students can wait for their results and then apply accordingly," explained Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, an admission committee official.

The option of making the payment was stalled due to a hearing of a PIL on moderation policy for marks filed in Delhi High Court. The HC has asked CBSE to continue giving grace marks for difficult questions to students.

"We had taken the decision of not opening the payment gateway before a decision is taken by Delhi High Court on moderation policy. However, the option will be made available within this week," said Dr Ashutosh Bharadwaj, OSD admissions.

TOP COLLEGES CLULESS ABOUT INTERESTED CANDIDATES

This has left DU's top-notch colleges like St Stephen's College and Jesus and Mary College, clueless about the number of candidates interested in getting admission in their colleges. Unlike every year, these two colleges have come under DU's centralised registration process this year.

"So far, we do not know how many students want to come to St Stephen's in particular. This will be stalled until the centralised process does not allow the applicants to make payment," said an admission committee official of St Stephen's.

The college is likely to bring out a list of shortlisted candidates on June 15, followed by conducting interviews of candidates on June 17. The shortlisted students admitted under different undergraduate programmes will be announced on July 8 or July 9.

Anxious student and parents flocked to DU's Open Days to get their queries related to admission process answered.

Also, nearly 400 students are calling on the admission helpline number to get their queries answered. "Queries about best of four marks, availability of offline forms for a certain courses and pursuing Economics (Hons) despite not studying Economics till class 12 are coming our way," said Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, and a member of admission committee.

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ALSO READ | Delhi University kicks off admissions with 6,000 applicants

ALSO READ | Delhi University to open up 2,000 seats for popular courses

--- ENDS ---
Madhya Pradesh District Manager who ordered the externment of Sudeep Patel, was transferred as a fallout of the political war.

By Rahul Noronha: A day after he ordered the externment of Sudeep Patel, the son of former minister and BJP leader Kamal Patel, the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday transferred District Magistrate, Harda, Shrikanth Banoth.

Banoth, a 2009 batch IAS officer has been posted as deputy secretary at the Mantralaya. He has been replaced by Tarun Rathi, a 2010 batch officer.

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Sudeep Patel is a history sheeter with 13 cases pending against him in various police stations. The DM ordered Sudeep's externment on Tuesday. Under the externment orders, Sudeep was asked to leave Harda and 6 other adjoining districts within 48 hours and would have to be away from these districts for 1 year.

Proceedings against Sudeep had been on since 2015. Sudeep has serious cases pending against him including those of murder. Presently he is the vice president of a local panchayat while his wife is the president of the Harda district.

POLITICALLY LINKED TRANSFER?

BJP leader and former Minister Kamal Patel had rushed to Delhi on Tuesday and the state government issued orders transferring the DM on Wednesday. About a fortnight ago, almost out of the blue, Kamal Patel had initiated a campaign against illegal mining alongside the Narmada.

In his campaign, Patel had accused the DM and SP of supporting those who indulged in illegal mining and had filed cases at the National Green Tribunal. His real target however is said to be CM with whom Patel is upset because of being sidelined. The transfer of the DM is being seen as a fallout of the political war between the CM and Kamal Patel.

Congress MLA from Harda RK Dogne who had defeated Kamal Patel in the 2013 elections accused Kamal Patel of himself being involved in illegal. Patel's raising of the illegal mining issue is being linked to the externment proceedings against his son. On Tuesday Kamal Patel told the press that will continue his campaign against illegal mining and said that his son had been externed because of the campaign he had initiated against illegal mining.

On Wednesday however he was not available for a conversation. This is the second prominent politically linked transfer in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier too, the state government had transferred Katni SP Gaurav Tiwari after he initiated action minister Sanjay Pathak.

ALSO READ:

Madhya Pradesh: Harda district collector externs son of state revenue minister in Shivraj cabinet

ISI agents arrested in Madhya Pradesh linked to BJP; party leaders privately express anguish over possible infiltration

--- ENDS ---

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Priyanka Chopra's production banner, Purple Pebble Pictures, has registered its presence in the 70th Cannes Film Festival with a slate of at least half a dozen films that are in the works.

Represented in Cannes by the actress' mother, Madhu Chopra, who helms the company as managing director, Purple Pebble Pictures unveiled the first look of the new Sikkimese film, "Pahuna", written and directed by Paakhi A Tyrewala. It is scheduled to release in October.

"We've been enthused by the success of 'Ventilator' to step out into the big wide world of global independent cinema," Madhu said at an event hosted by the India Pavilion here to unveil the first look of "Pahuna".

The film, which unfolds entirely in Sikkim and uses many local talents in the junior crew, is about three children who are separated from their parents while fleeing from the Maoist violence in Nepal.

"It was a logistical challenge shooting in Sikkim because the state does not have a film industry but the government went out of its way to support the project," she said.

"The film is currently in post-production. It should be ready fore release before Dussehra. We will have the premiere in Sikkim."

Explaining the rationale behind their banner's regional- language forays, Madhu said, "Stories from the various Indian states are routinely turned into Hindi films. Bollywood benefits commercially in the bargain. Our core idea is to narrate these tales in the languages that they stem from."

Among the other films that Priyanka's production house currently has in the pipeline is "Nalini", a Bengali-Marathi bilingual inspired by a little-known romantic chapter from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's early life.

To be directed by Ujjwal Chatterjee and scripted by his wife Sagarika, the film will present a 17-year-old Rabindranath, who found his first love in Maharashtra when his father sent him to his elder brother Satyendranath to learn English.

"We are looking for a young actor to play the teenage Tagore, while we are close to casting Jisshu Sengupta in the role of the poet's older avatar," Madhu said in an interview.

Also up ahead is a film set in Goa, "Little Joe, Kahaan Ho?", about a boy who tides over his loneliness by sitting by the sea and sketching. A German tourist spots his talent and a bond develops between the two.

The film, pitched as a tribute to the art of celebrated cartoonist Mario Miranda, is directed by first-timer Suvrata Nasnodkar, who has her roots in Goa. She cut her teeth as an assistant to Prakash Jha.

Purple Pebble Pictures also has a Bhojpuri film, "Bam Bam Bol Raha Hain Kashi", and another Marathi production, "Kai Re, Rascala," lined up for release over the next year.

The sixth film that Madhu spoke about with special interest is the Bengali-language "Brishtir Opekhaye" (Waiting for Rain).

"It is based on a book by seasoned litterateur Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. We have just brought the rights from the writer in Kolkata and cast Rahul Bose and Rituparna Sengupta in stellar roles," she said.
Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan wished good luck to Hollywood star Brad Pitt and director David Michod for their forthcoming Netflix film War Machine.

Shah Rukh on Wednesday night shared a series of photographs of himself along with Pitt and Michod from the press meet he was hosting for the two international guests.

"My best to David and Brad for the release of 'War Machine' on Netflix. Pleasure to meet you both and Brad the dance remains," Shah Rukh captioned the image.

Pitt landed here on Wednesday morning on a surprise visit avoiding paparazzi to promote War Machine.

War Machine is a satirical comedy with Pitt essaying the role of US General Glen McMahon, who is tough but over-confident with the only aim to lead his army to victory in Afghanistan, and win the war.
Even nine decades after his original creator penned his last tale, the solver of mysteries, scourge of criminals, and saviour of the wrongly-accused is still busy at work. But in the thousands of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, there is one glaring omission for a detective whose swore by the "science of deduction and analysis". For a science can be taught.

And who better as an instructor than Holmes himself. It seems a more feasible idea than some of the situations that he has found himself in his further appearances  battling vampires or aliens, teaming up with or confronting various real and fictional contemporaries, and so on. And approached in the right way, it is most probable that he would accept.

"You are the only man who can elevate the humble police officer to where he, and she, will become an efficient detective. The investigators you create will become the intelligent, logic-driven weapons that will destroy criminality," says Lestrade here, and it does the trick.

But as Simon Clark, editor of this anthology of around a dozen new Holmes stories, argues, the premise seems rather obvious. As he tells us in the introduction, and then through Lestrade's voice, like the education of doctors became standardised in the 19th century, so would governments seek that the professional police forces become trained in crime detection.

And while a framing device is not necessary for another outing of Holmes' talents, this one makes for an innovative set of stories.

After a rather incongruous start where Lestrade, who has solved a rather macabre crime, approaches Holmes and obtains his acquiescence, we learn that "The Imperial Academy of Detective Inquiry and Forensic Science will train students not just from Great Britain but the four corners of the world".

Holmes, who will have total freedom to design the curriculum, will give lectures, mentor them as they go about their assigned work, and make them apprentices in his own investigations if he so likes. And with his expertise at surveillance, disguises and cipher-cracking, he will also cater to members of the secret service.

As expected, this makes for a wide variety for stories by crime fiction as well as fantasy and science fiction writers, with the focus not only on an number of peculiar crimes but a range of inexplicable activities, as well as a new look at the great detective, his faithful biographer and other familiar figures from the Holmes canon. And in most cases, it is Dr Watson who sketches out the events.

Alison Littlewood sets the ball rolling with "The Adventure of the Avid Pupil" where Holmes solves a perplexing crime with his customary methods of sharp observation and knowledge while setting up an insolent and presumptuous pupil, while Saviour Pirotta's "The Pressed Carnation (or A Scandal in London)" has a hint of deja vu (its name is a hint) though it waits too long to introduce the unexpected undercurrent.

"A Gentlemanly Wager", by William Meikle, is more about espionage, as is Simon Bestwick's "The Adventure of the Orkney Shark"  which seems more the territory of James Bond, but is an exciting sea story all the same.

Others to look out for are "The Spy and the Towers" by Nick Oldham about a terror threat that Britain faced for about a century, Guy Hayley's "The Bell Rock Light" where the issue is a bit academic but not its consequences, Cate Gardner's surrealistic, Gothic and eventually disturbing "The Gargoyles of Killfellen House" and Paul Finch's "The Monster of the Age", where Holmes and a female pupil ultimately identified who Jack the Ripper was.

Clark's own "The Pair of Wrong-Wise Boots" is intriguing but a little complicated, while Carole Johnstone's "The Case of the Cannibal Club" has promising material but is a bit of a climbdown subsequently as is "Sherlock Holmes and the Four Kings of Sweden" despite the exotic location of its action.

But still, Holmes aficionados, as well those of the genre, will welcome this collection to see the Great Detective in an entirely new light.

Title: Sherlock Holmes' School for Detection; Author: Simon Clark (editor); Publisher: Robinson
Morocco and Nigeria have taken a major step forward to construct an over 4,000-km gas pipeline that will carry Nigerian gas through six West African countries to Morocco, improving access to energy across the nations.

The two sides concluded an agreement for the Gazoduc pipeline project and another one for cooperation in the field of fertilisers at a ceremony in Rabat last week.

The agreements were concluded five months after the visit of Morocco's King Mohammed VI to Nigeria in December last year during which both sides signed a joint venture for the pipeline project, news agency MAP reported.

The Nigeria-Morocco pipeline, nicknamed "The Wonder of Africa", will also link Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania.

It will speed up electrification projects in all of west Africa and benefit over 300 million people in these countries.

It will not be a new pipeline, but will extend the current gas pipeline operated by Nigeria's West African Gas Pipeline Company, which transports natural gas from Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana.

The project was first discussed by King Mohammed VI and Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari at the UN Climate Summit COP22 in Marrakech last year in November and was taken forward by the two heads of state during the Moroccan King's visit to Abuja in December.

The two countries have termed their collaboration as "a model for South-South cooperation that will act as a catalyst for African economic opportunities".

In recent years Morocco has grown to become the second investor in the continent, after South Africa.

In 2016, a total of $600 million of investments in Africa were earmarked by Morocco.

The pipeline will eventually help Nigerian gas reach Europe. Nigeria has 30 percent of the continent's gas reserves.

Agreements on the pipeline were signed by CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Kacalla Baru, and the director general of the Moroccan Office for Hydrocarbons and Mining, Amina Benkhadra.

The ceremony was also marked by the signing of an agreement between the Moroccan state-owned phosphates OCP group and the Fertilizers Producers & Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN).

During the Moroccan King's visit, the two sides had signed a key agreement to build a fertilizers factory in Nigeria by OCP.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama who attended the ceremony said the conclusion of these agreements was evidence of the success of the Rabat-Abuja partnership.

He described the cooperation agreement with OCP group as "a great opportunity" for Nigeria, adding that this accord, "which the Sovereign has generously facilitated, is a great opportunity for Nigeria in its quest for food self-sufficiency".
The Kashmiri man who was tied to an Army jeep as a human shield has lodged a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) against the commendation of Major Leetul Gogoi.

Farooq Ahmed Dar has labelled the award to Major Gogoi as illegal in his complaint to the human rights body.

The 26-year-old Dar, believed to be one of the stone- pelters, was tied to the bonnet of an Indian Army jeep and paraded down the streets through a stone-pelting crowd by Major Gogoi during the Srinagar parliamentary seat by-election on 9 April. The video of the incident was widely circulated and created quite a controversy with many condemning the act.

The Kashmir police registered an FIR against the Major for human rights violation and investigation was ordered.

While the investigation was still on against Major Gogoi, the Indian Army honoured him with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) commendation for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was not fit to hold the post and should step down owing to the lawlessness in the state.

"Mamata Banerjee is not fit to be the Chief Minister," BJP leader Chandra Bose said as the BJP organised multiple protest rallies across Kolkata.

The March to Lalbazar' (city police headquarters) were organised to protest against the poor law and order situation in the state and the alleged fake cases lodged against BJP workers.

The rallies were taken out from different city spots towards the city police headquarters.

Banerjee will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Thursday to discuss the Ganga erosion issue, problems of other rivers and non-receipt of central grants.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked the police to extensively use social media to provide swift assistance to the people.

"Set up teams comprising efficient police officers to provide such swift assistance to the people," the chief minister said at the meeting attended by Home Secretary Asit Tripathy and DGP K B Singh here on Wednesday, official sources said.

Patnaik asked the DGP to instruct the superintendents of police of all districts and DIG of different ranges to use social media network like twitter and facebook so that the people could be connected and assisted.

He also asked the police to follow the social media link of the chief minister so that they could get information about requirement of the people.

Earlier on May 23, the Chief Minister's Office had received a tip off through a tweet about trafficking of four minors in a bus.

Subsequently, the state police had rescued the four minors from the bus and detained three persons.
A nine-year-old dog named Trump was kidnapped by two unknown persons while he was being walked by a security guard in north Delhi.

By Press Trust of India: The Delhi Police is looking for a nine-year-old dog named Trump who was allegedly kidnapped from the national capital's Roop Nagar area.

The pug was kidnapped yesterday around 6.30 am while being walked by a security guard, police said.

The dog belongs to one Mahendra Nath. He had asked the security guard at his locality, Omvir, to take the dog out for a walk, they said.

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While Omvir was walking the dog, two persons came in a car and snatched the dog from him. He told police that he tried to hold on to the moving vehicle while the accused were taking the dog away but to no avail.

Omvir sustained injuries while trying to save the dog, police said.

A case has been registered and police are scanning CCTV footage from the nearby areas to identify the accused. While the car can be seen in some of the footages, the registration number of the vehicle is not visible.

The owner has told the police that the dog is aged and has poor vision. He has even offered a reward of Rs 11,000 for any person who gives information about the pug.

ALSO READ | Lapse of reason: Dog sentenced to death in Pakistan for biting a child

ALSO READ | Firefighter performs CPR on lifeless dog, brings him back to life

ALSO WATCH | Nearly a Thousand Dog Lovers March with Bulldogs in Attempt to Break World Record

--- ENDS ---
In a horrific incident, a 25-year-old man was killed and four women were allegedly gangraped by six highway robbers on the Jewar-Bulandshahr road off the Yamuna expressway in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh early on Thursday.

The incident happened when a family of eight, including four female members, two children, accompanied by two men, were travelling to Bulandshahr when a group of 6-7 heavily-armed men attacked them at around 1:30am.

The accused looted Rs. 45,000 in cash, jewellery and other valuables from the family and then started assaulting women. When the man resisted, the robbers shot him dead.

Its a heinous crime. An FIR has been registered. A man has been murdered. Four women have alleged gang rape. Police teams are working on the case, Love Kumar, SSP of Gautam Budh Nagar, was quoted as saying by a news agency.

The women are being taken for medical examination. The post-mortem is being done. Two other teams are hunting for the suspects, he added.

In a similar incident on July 29, at the National Highway passing through Bulandshahr, a woman and her minor daughter were raped after some miscreants stopped their car.

(With inputs from agencies)
US President Donald Trump in a phone conversation recently with his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte called North Korea's Kim Jong-Un a madman who can't be let loose, according to leaked transcripts.

By Reuters: In a call last month with the Philippines' president, US President Donald Trump described North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un as a "madman with nuclear weapons" who could not be let on the loose, according to a leaked Philippine transcript of their call.

Trump told Duterte in the April 29 call that the United States would "take care of North Korea," and had a lot of firepower in the region, although it did not want to use it, according to a transcript of their conversation published by the Washington Post and the investigative news site The Intercept.

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The document included a "confidential" cover sheet from the Americas division of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

A senior US official said the Trump administration did not dispute the accuracy of the transcript and declined to comment further.

Trump requested Duterte's help in impressing on China, North Korea's neighbor and only major ally, the need for it to help rein in Kim, the transcript showed.

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that," Trump said. "We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20, but we don't want to use it."

The US president told Duterte that Washington had sent two nuclear submarines to waters off the Korean peninsula, comments likely to raise further questions about his handling of sensitive information after US officials said Trump discussed intelligence about Islamic State with Russian officials this month.

"We have two submarines - the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all," Trump said.

The Philippines foreign ministry said earlier in a statement that it had no comment on news reports about the leaked transcript.

NORTH KOREA IS TRUMP'S MAJOR FOREIGN POLICY CHALLENGE

But it said that under Philippine law there was "criminal and civil liability attached to the hacking, unauthorized disclosure and use of illegally or inadvertently obtained confidential government documents."

The ministry said it valued the need for transparency, but the release of some information could affect national security and regional stability. "As such, we appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of all concerned," it added.

North Korea has vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that can strike the US mainland, presenting Trump with perhaps his biggest foreign policy challenge.

It has conducted dozens of missile launches and two nuclear bomb tests since the start of last year.

Trump has said "a major, major conflict" with North Korea is possible and that all options are on the table, but his administration says it wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically with the aid of tougher sanctions.

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'WOULD BE HONOURED TO MEET KIM'

On May 1, just after the call with Duterte, Trump said he would be "honored" to meet Kim Jong Un, under the right conditions.

According to the transcript, Trump said he hoped China would act to solve the North Korea problem.

"They really have the means because a great degree of their stuff comes through China," Trump said. "They (Beijing) are doing certain things, like not accepting calls. But if China doesn't do it, we will do it," Trump said, having asked Duterte if he thought China had influence over Kim.

Trump said Kim had the "powder" - an apparent reference to North Korea's nuclear capability - "but he doesn't have the delivery system."

"All his rockets are crashing. That's the good news. But eventually when he gets that delivery system," Trump said without finishing his sentence.

While North Korea missile tests have frequently failed, Trump and Duterte spoke before an apparently successful test of a long-range missile this month.

Western experts say that test appeared to have advanced North Korea's aim of developing a missile capable of reaching the US mainland, although the capability was probably still several years away.

The director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, General Vincent Stewart, said on Tuesday that if left unchecked, North Korea was on an "inevitable" path to obtaining a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the United States.

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In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to waters off the Korean peninsula, where it joined the Michigan, a nuclear submarine that docked in South Korea in April.

Also read: Thousands flee Philippine city after rebel rampage claimed by IS

Also read: UK police hunt Manchester bomber's network, angered by US leaks

Also read: China says no information on missing Sukhoi, warns India on 'disturbing peace'

--- ENDS ---
Famous Bollywood writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar was summoned by the ED on Wednesday to record his statement in a money laundering case related to IPRS.

By Vidya , Virendrasingh Ghunawat: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned Bollywood writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar to record his statement in a money laundering case against the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS).

Akhtar who is one of the complainants in the case recently took over as the chairman of IPRS.

The IPRS is accused of not paying dues to its member lyricists and song writers.

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The lyricists and song writers of Bollywood had alleged that, "They had not been paid their dues by the IPRS and that there were gross irregularities in its affairs."

Earlier, the agency had also attached mutual funds worth Rs 70.17 crore of IPRS in the case.

Javed Akhtar had been summoned, along with related documents to detail his actions regarding the case after assuming chairmanship of the body.

ABOUT IPRS

The IPRS came into existence on August 12, 1969.

The IPRS is a representative body of owners of music, viz. the composers, lyricists (or authors) and the publishers of music and is also the sole authorized body to issue licences permitting usage of music within India by any person.

Composers are those who are better known as music directors, authors are better known as lyricists, publishers of music are the producers of films and music companies, or those who hold publishing rights of the musical works.

The society is a non-profit making organization and is a company limited by guarantee and registered under the Companies Act, 1956.

It was also registered under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957 as the Copyright Society to do business of issuing licenses for usage of musical works and accompanying literary works.

Affairs of IPRS are managed by a Governing Council comprising directors, some prominent names in the music industry, and representatives of popular music companies in the country.

(India Today tried contacting Javed Akhtar but he was unavailable for comments.)

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Olympic gold medalist Kaetlyn Osmond can't wait to skate in front of Newfoundland crowd for her first performance since COVID

When Kaetlyn Osmond steps on the ice at the Mary Browns Centre in St. Johns next month, it will be the first time the Marystown native has performed on ice in front of an audience since before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. It's also the ...
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Adds details, reactions)

Mumbai, May 25 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had a narrow escape today when his helicopter got entangled in overhead wires and crash-landed in Latur district after the pilot tried to descend due to bad weather, soon after take-off.

The state governments six-year-old Sikorsky chopper was damaged beyond repair, an official of civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI.

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The accident occurred when the helicopter, which had six persons on board including two crew members, was landing at Nilanga town of the district where the CM had held a programme.

The incident will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which comes under the civil aviation ministry, the official said. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is (sic) absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry," Fadnavis tweeted after the accident.

The chief minister later proceeded by road to Latur city, which is about 40 kms from the crash site, and boarded a specially arranged aircraft to fly to Mumbai.

The DGCA official said the six-seater helicopter suffered substantial damage and would have to be "written off".

After taking-off at around 12 noon, the pilot observed a variable wind pattern and decided to land. In the process, the helicopter got entangled in wires, the official said, adding that all on board are safe and escaped without any serious injury.

The aviation authorities spoke to the commander of the flight as well as the chief minister, he said, noting that they confirmed the well-being of all the occupants.

The chopper was scheduled to land at the governors house and from there proceed to its designated parking bay at the Juhu aerodrome here, a state government official said.

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada region for the BJPs Shivar Samwad Sabha, a state-wide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Those aboard the helicopter along with the CM included senior IAS officer and his personal secretary Praveen Pardeshi, his personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar, and media adviser Ketan Pathak.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldnt believe in rumours," Fadnavis later told reporters at Nilanga.

"Nobody got hurt. Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," Fadnavis said, added that the pilot also did not have any major injury.

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"We will seek information from the police on this incident," the chief minister said.

Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical problem, following which he had to travel by road to Nagpur.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao telephoned Fadnavis from Chennai and enquired about his well-being.

The governor said he was shocked to hear the news of the crash-landing and that he was relieved after being informed by Fadnavis that everyone was safe.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed relief that Fadnavis escaped unhurt.

"Spoke to CM Maharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis, thank god he is safe after his helicopter crash lands (sic)," he tweeted. PTI VT IAS DC NM GK BSA SC BSA

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Organization: World Bank

Duty Station: Kampala,

Uganda

Reports to: Practice Manager



Job #: 171010

About World Bank:

The World Bank Group is one of the worlds largest sources of funding

and knowledge for developing countries. It uses financial resources and

extensive experience to help our client countries to reduce poverty, increase

economic growth, and improve quality of life. To ensure that countries can

access the best global expertise and help generate cutting-edge knowledge, the

World Bank Group is constantly seeking to improve the way it works. Key

priorities include delivering measurable results, promoting openness and

transparency in development, and improving access to development information

and data.

Job Summary: The Financial

Management Specialist will assist in carrying out financial management (FM)

work in respect of projects financed by the World Bank Group and also assist in

advisory and technical assistance tasks. This will include, but is not limited

to, assessing the adequacy of project financial management arrangements for new

and ongoing projects; monitoring compliance with the Banks audit and fiduciary

requirements; ensuring that WBG-financed project operations are carried out in

accordance with applicable FM policies, procedures, and instructions; and

supporting analytical work on FM and public financial accountability.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

The incumbent will carry out FM

assessments for new projects and FM supervision assessments for ongoing

projects covering project budgeting, internal controls, accounting,

treasury/funds flow, financial reporting, and auditing arrangements

including adequacy and suitability of project FM staff.

Regularly monitor on-going compliance by

projects with the Banks FM policies and procedures.

Keenly monitor borrowers compliance with

financial covenants including audit.

Conduct internal control reviews and

Statement of Expenditures (SOE) reviews, in conjunction with disbursement

and procurement staff, to determine eligibility of expenditures for Bank

financing.

Review periodic Interim Financial Reports

(IFR).

Review annual audited financial

statements, audit reports, and audit management letters and prepare appropriate

letters for communication with the project implementing agencies.

Update the Banks automated PRIMA system

on a timely basis.

Provide inputs into diagnostic work in

Public Financial Management (PFM), Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCD),

and Country Partnership Frameworks (CPF).

The jobholder will assess audit firms/

auditors in terms of independence, competence, compliance with

International Audit Standards, adequacy of working papers etc.

Provide training, guidance, and advice on

FM related aspects to the staff of project implementing agencies and Bank

Task Teams.











Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The applicant for the World Bank Financial

Management Specialist job placement should hold be a qualified

professional accountant (CPA, CA or equivalent membership of an

internationally recognized professional accounting institute) with a

Bachelors degree in accounting, business, finance, economics or related

subject

A minimum of five years of

post-professional-qualification experience in auditing or financial

management.

Familiarity with public sector financial

management would be a distinct advantage.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the

World Bank in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to send their

applications Online by reviewing details at the web link below and clicking

Apply Now on getting a broader insight of vacancy.

st May

2017 Deadline: 31May2017
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 ...
Dar has approached the SHRC to seek an explanation as to why was Major Gogoi rewarded while the inquiry into the incident was still going on.

By Shuja-ul-Haq : Farooq Ahmad Dar, who was tied to the bonnet of an Indian Army jeep and used as a human shield, has gone to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) against the reward given to Major Gogoi by the Army. dar has also complained against the media for calling him a 'stone-pelter'.

Dar has now approached the SHRC to seek an explanation as to why was Major Gogoi rewarded by the Army while the inquiry into the incident was still going on.

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Gogoi, who had strapped Dar to his jeep, was given the COAS Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations on Monday. The incident had taken place on April 9 on the day of polling in Srinagar constituency.

Major Gogoi in his media briefing had claimed that he saved lives by using Dar as a human shield. The act of Major Gogoi and the subsequent reward has recieved wide criticism in the Kashmir Valley.

Also read: Pakistan calls Major Leetul Gogoi's reward for tying Kashmiri man to jeep 'act of cowardice, inhumanity'

Also read: Paresh Rawal deletes tweet targeting Arundhati Roy, says he was 'coerced by Twitter'

--- ENDS ---
But the tribe has a long way to go
At a time when there has been much talk about superstar Rajinikanth's possible political entry, the title of his next film has, interestingly, references to the Tamil cause. Produced by Wunderbar films, owned and run by his son-in-law Dhanush K. Raja, and directed by Kabali fame Pa Ranjith, Kaala will be the story of a don in Mumbai who fights for the Tamils.

Kaala aka Karikalan, the title of Rajinikanth's 164th film, has been trending worldwide ever since it was announced by Dhanush on Thursday morning. There has been much speculation over the story line and the expected punch dialogues.

Reports had earlier claimed that Rajinikanth would play the role of popular gangster in Mumbai, Haji Mastan. Apparently, Haji Mastans foster son sent a legal notice saying any story line or film about Mastan should be cleared by him. He also had rubbished the very thought that Haji Mastan was a gangster. However, Wunderbar films later released a statement clarifying that the story was not about Haji Mastan.

However, Kaala will also be a gangster from Mumbai. And, like Kabali, he too will address the issues of the suppressed class.

The title of the film has sparked off a lot of discussions on various social media platforms as the word 'Kaala' has different connotations. As director Ranjith says, it can be a reference to the God of Death, Yama. In Tamil, 'Kaala' or 'Kaalan' means Yama. In Sanskrit, it means black, destiny, fate and death. As the title denotes the powerful Tamil, fans now expect that the sturdiness will be reflected in the film also.

'Karikalan' stands for bravery. It was another name of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. It was also the name of an ecological wizard Chola King who fought for establishing peace and tranquillity, refurbishing Tamil Nadus Cauvery basin. For Tamilians, Karikalan has the same place of Alexander the Great, the brave, charming emperor who conquered the world.

However, Ranjith says Kaala or Karikalan in the film is from the Nellai community in Tamil Nadu and he would be playing the leader. He became a gangster to protect not just his own community but the entire Tamils. His role will be that of a leader who is committed to the life of crime and also to his people.

This is not the first time Rajinikanth playing the don or the gangster or a community leader. It began with his high spirit Baasha way back in 1995, in which he played a similar role, a Tamil don in Mumbai. The film was one of the best in Rajinikanths career and took him forward among his die-hard fans. In fact, the recent re- release of Baasha witnessed packed cinema halls. Called as Manick Baasha aka Manickam and very much loved by his community, the protagonist does away with all the bad men. He played the role of an auto-driver in Baasha. In Mani Ratnams Thalapathi, he played the role of a man committed to crime just for the sake of loyalty and devotion. In Thalapathi, the actor played the role of Surya, a loyal friend of Deva (played by Mammooty). At the end, Rajinikanth's charecter even faces the bullet for his friend. The latest in a similar story line was Kabali which released in July last year, where he played the role of Kabali, a gangster in Malaysia, who is unconditionally loved by the people.

The first look posters of Kaala indicates how Rajinikanth will again play the role of a man who is into crimes but all for the good of the people. In one poster, he is seen sitting on a car, with the arrogance of a gangster. As the poster suggests, he could be a man of negative actions, but might not commit any heinous crime. He will only be the saviour of the masses, an ageing don in Mumbais Dharavi.

But at a time when there has been much talk about Rajinikanth's speculated plans to enter politics and when his much expected next 2 point 0 has been postponed to January 2018, Kaala is a big bet for Rajinikanth as he will be shown as the leader of the masses in the film.

However, for his fans, who were recently asked by the actor to be ready for a war, Kaala could be a step to the beginning of the war.
The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday asked the Accountant General Central Revenue to explain in detail if former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit-led government violated general finance rules in awarding 358 stainless steel water tankers or not.

The ACB is also probing the angle pertaining to the involvement of incumbent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's involvement in the case. The anti-corruption squad is investigating whether Kejriwal deliberately delayed handing of the water tanker scam probe to the ACB.

The water tanker scam is worth over Rs 400 crore.

The ACB, earlier this month, recorded sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra's detailed statement even as he will be questioned on certain points again on Thursday.

Mishra had alleged that Kejriwal had influenced the probe into the tanker scam that dates back to Sheila Dikshit's tenure as chief minister. He had also said the investigation into the tanker scam was repeatedly delayed and influenced by Kejriwal and "his two men".

Dikshit in August last year was examined by the ACB officials in connection with her alleged involvement in the tanker scam besides being handed over a set of 18 written questions.

The Kejriwal-led AAP Government had in June 2015 constituted a fact-finding committee to go into alleged irregularities in procuring stainless steel water tankers by the DJB.

The Delhi Government in June 2016 sent a report of the fact-finding committee to the then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung following which an FIR was registered in the case.
The state police and BJP workers battled it out on the streets in Kolkata on Thursday following the party's demonstration in front of the police headquarters at Lalbazar in the city.

The protesters set ablaze two police SUVs at Bowbazar, injuring at least 10 policemen. A section of the workers also allegedly hurled bombs at the police forces. They rained bricks and stones at the policemen and were heard shouting, "Hit us. Hit us. We will retaliate, we will hit the power house."

At least three lakhs BJP workers have hit the streets on Thursday. Police arrested BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijaybargiya during the demonstration.

Several BJP workers were injured after police resorted to massive lathicharge to control the mob. Among the injured are senior BJP leaders, including Locket Chatterjee and Biswapriya Roy Chowdhury. The police also fired continuous rounds of tear gas and used water cannons.

Security has been beefed up in the city with massive deployment of forces across Kolkata. Buses have stopped plying and all vehicles are being deviated towards the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, resulting in intense traffic. Metro railway services have been suspended in the city. Schools and colleges have been shut.

Interestingly, the clashes coincide with chief minister Mamata Banerjee's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to discuss the issue of presidential candidate.

Let her meet the prime minister. But prime minister would not listen to what she said, said BJP leader Roopa Ganguly. We will bring change in Bengal. Look at the policemen, how they are using force to disperse, attack and even trying to kill us.

Current clashes erupted two days after the CPI(M) turned Kolkata into a battlefield with the streets near Dalhousie resembling a Kashmir-like situation with rampant instances of stone-pelting.
Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Gyan Singh is a member of the Lok Sabha from Shahdol. He is the only politician in the country who is a minister in his state while being a Member of Parliament at the Centre. As per rules, one has to be member of the state assembly to be a minister of state.

The tribal poster boy of BJP, Gyan Singh, 65, rose to prominence in 2012 when he was manhandled by Congress MLAs in the state assembly. He was officiating as speaker when Congress MLAs protested. Later, as a political reward, he was made minister in the BJP government. BJP presented him as their tribal face. In 2013, he was again made minister, but in November 2016, was forced to contest the Lok Sabha bypoll from Shahdol.

Gyan Singh did not want to contest, but had to obey the party decision. However, he put a condition that he will not resign from the post of state minister, and his son be made the BJP candidate from the assembly seat that fell vacant because of his election to Lok Sabha.

Gyan Singh won the Lok Sabha seat by defeating the young Congress candidate, Himadri Singh by a margin of about 60,000 votes. Subsequently, he took oath in Parliament on December 6. He also got his son, Shivnarayan Singh elected as MLA in April this year in a bypoll from his assembly seat, Bandhavgarh.

Even after taking oath in the Lok Sabha, Gyan Singh continues to function as a minister in the state government. He participates in cabinet meetings as well. Last month, he even sat in the assembly house when his son took his oath as a MLA. It was only after a Vidhan Sabha official pointed out that he went and sat in the speakers office.

Water and Irrigation Minister Narottam Mishra told the media that there is still some time left for him to complete six months. According to rules, one can be a minister for six months even if one is not elected as a member of the assembly.

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, in keeping the promise given to Gyan Singh by the party, has not directly asked the minister to give his resignation. They are hoping that he will do so himself. However, Gyan Singh is clear that he knows the importance of being a cabinet minister instead of a being a Member of Parliament alone.

Gyan Singh refused to comment on the situation, but leader of opposition, Ajay Singh said, The blatant misuse of parliamentary traditions and rules have become the hallmark of the BJP government. They have lost the sense of ethics and morality.

Meanwhile, BJP sources say that Gyan Singh has reportedly told his party that he is ready to quit provided his son Shivnarayan is made minister.
India's son Kulbhushan Jadhav may still be incarcerated in a Pakistani jail, but the government on Thursday celebrated the ghar wapsi of a daughter, Uzma Ahmed, from Pakistan. Almost a year ago, Geeta, a deaf mute girl who had somehow found her way into Pakistan, was brought back with similar fanfare.

Earlier in the day, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) had released a picture of Uzma at the Wagah border. The picture, as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a briefing, "told more than a thousand words". It showed Uzma bending to touch Indian land with her right hand. "That gesture of yours has moved the entire country," the minister told an emotional Uzma.

Uzma touching Indian soil at Wagah border | MEA

Uzma's story has all the elements of a Bollywood potboiler, including the "good men" in a hostile nation. The Old Delhi resident was in Malaysia where she befriended a man called Tahir, who was from Pakistan. He asked her to accompany him for a holiday, said Uzma. "I was given sleeping pills and I have no idea how we crossed the border. When I opened my eyes, I was in a strange place, surrounded by strange people who spoke a strange language.''

Uzma was in Buner, a remote location in Pakistan, which, in 2008, was declared Taliban territory. She was tortured physically and emotionally. Her captors even threatened to harm her three year old daughter in India. Uzma was forced to sign a nikahnama. "Buner is a horrible place. Tahir kept pistols. All men there have guns. You hear gunshots in the backdrop all the time. There are many other women like me who are trapped there. Not all are Indians, some may be Filipinos.''

Uzma said that few resided in Buner permanently. People went in search of employment to southeast Asia and hoodwinked women back to the hellhole.

Pulling all her wits together, she somehow convinced Tahir to accompany her to the Indian high commission in Islamabad, where she rapped at the window and cried, "I am an Indian."

The high commission found itself in a spot. High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale was in New Delhi, attending the heads of mission meet. Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh mulled over the consequences of giving her refuge. "But when I realised it was a matter of life and death, the decision was easy," he said.

Dressed in a yellow salwar kameez and green dupatta, Uzma complemented Sushma Swaraj's Thursday dressing. (The minister chooses colours according to the day of the week, and Thursday means yellow). Uzma thanked Swaraj profusely. "She used to call me up everyday to reassure me. She said even if it takes two years, they would get me out of Pakistan. Till then, I could stay in the high commission. That was when I felt that my life means something to someone. As an orphan, I had never felt more cherished."

Uzma's picture of Pakistan would send shudders down anybody's spine. "It is a horrible place. There is no freedom. Even the men are not safe, let alone women. Each man has more than one wife.''

It was ironic that at the very moment Uzma rapped at the high commission's window, the MEA, at the heads of mission meeting, had decided on a slogan: Pardes me aapka dost, Bharatiya dootavas (Your friend abroad, the Indian embassy).

Swaraj thanked the Pakistan government and judiciary for helping Uzma's return. "The home and foreign ministries extended every help. Our lawyer, Shahnawaz, fought the case so well. When Tahir told the court that the prestige of Pakistan was involved, Justice Kayani asked him how India-Pakistan came into this matter?''

The press meet ended as if on script. Uzma's daughter ran up the dias. The mother and daughter dissolved into kisses even as Uzma's brother, uncle and aunt looked on. "Today, this little child asked me for her mother. I was so happy to reunite them,'' said Sushma.
Tense situation in Saharanpur continues to escalate as fresh violence was witnessed in Saharanpur in which three persons were injured on Wednesday, prompting the government to suspend the District Magistrate (DM) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

The Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) were transferred in the wake of the continuing violence in the UP district, which has been hit by caste-based clashes.

Mobile internet and messaging services were also suspended in the district to prevent rumour mongering.

Late on Wednesday night, state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said strong action is being taken against all those responsible for the violence and appealed for calm.

He said people should not pay heed to inflammatory speeches and should help in maintaining peace and order.

Adityanath also met Governer Ram Naik late in the evening on Wednesday. They are understood to have discussed developments in Saharanpur.

The caste violence has led to a political slugfest with BSP chief Mayawati putting the blame on the BJP government and a senior state minister accusing the opposition party of "shedding tears".

Earlier on Wednesday, one Pradeep Chauhan was shot at in Janakpuri area by some motorcycle-borne men, Superintendent of Police Prabal Pratap Singh said.

Chauhan was rushed to the district hospital, from where he was referred to a speciality centre.

Members of the Thakur community protested against the incident outside the district hospital.

In another incident, some persons attacked two men while they were sleeping near a brick kiln in Mirzapur village, the police said.

One Nitin was shot at, while another person Yashpal was severely beaten up by the attackers, the police said.

They suffered serious injuries and have been admitted to the district hospital.

The police, however, said the incident could not be linked to the ongoing caste violence.

On Tuesday, some unidentified persons had set afire 12 houses of Thakurs in Shabbirpur village ahead of the arrival of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati there.

A mob later attacked a group of people returning from a rally of Mayawati, killing one Ashish (24), who hailed from Sarsawa town, on the spot and injuring four others.

In view of the continuing violence, the government took some action today.

"SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey and District Magistrate N P Singh have been suspended while Divisional Commissioner N P Agarwal and DIG J K Shahi have been transferred," said an official spokesman.

Bablu Kumar has been posted as the new SSP of Saharanpur while Pramod Kumar Pandey will be the new DM, the official said.

No official reason has been cited for the action, but it is believed that the top officials were removed after the Chief Minister expressed displeasure as they could not control the situation in Saharanpur district.

DIG, security, Vijay Bhushan who was sent by the government yesterday to camp in Saharanpur has been named the new DIG of the area.

This morning, a four-member team, led by Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra and comprising ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Mishra, IG STF Amitabh Yash and Vijay Bhushan arrived here to monitor the situation.

The ADG said the police is closely monitoring the situation and keeping a tight vigil on inflammatory messages on social media.

Aditya said there is trust deficit among the people of different communities and the administration is working to reduce it.

The official warned of strict action against those trying to take the law into their hands.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the family of the man killed and Rs 50,000 each to those injured.
Compensation for accident victims

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation for the families of those killed in when a bus they were travelling in plunged into a deep gorge in Uttarkhashi on Tuesday. The PM announced Rs 2 Lakh each for the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for those injured from the Prime Minister's relief fund. The bus, carrying pilgrims on the 'Char Dham Yatra', was returning from Gangotri to Haridwar and fell into a 300 metre deep gorge, near Nalupani on Gangotri highway, as the driver lost the control. Twenty two pilgrims died in the mishap that took place on Tuesday evening around six. According to information available, majority of the pilgrims in the bus were from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Those injured in the accident were airlifted and are being treated in Dehradun. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has also announced Rs 2 Lakh as compensation for the families of those who died in the accident.

Maoists knock at Almorah

For the first time, Maoists have struck the tiny hill district of Almorah. Slogans, asking the administration to impose complete ban on the sale of liquor in the state, have appeared on the walls of the collectorate office. The Maoists have warned to set fire to the liquor shops if the warning is ignored. Acting fast, the local administration has effaced the writings. Leaflets demanding the same, released by the zonal committee, were also found. Maoists in the state have been demanding more jobs for youth and complete ban on liquor. The leaflets proclaim that even after 16 years of the formation of the state, the government has failed to do anything concrete for its development. The activists have threatened to snatch their rights from political leaders. The officials said the matter is being investigated.

Thieves in high spirits

Thieves in the holy city of Haridwar are not shy of stealing things even from inside the police station. In one such incident, associated with Ferupur police station, thieves stole various parts of a tractor which was parked inside the premises of the police station. The tractor, belonging to Mustafa of Ambuwala village, was seized after cops found some irregularities. It was parked inside the premises of the police station. When Mustafa reached the police station to release the tractor after obtaining an order from the court, to his shock, he noticed that many parts, worth Rs 10,000, were missing. Mustafa refused to take back the tractor and now the cops are investigating the matter.

Naini lake is drying

The beauty spot on the chin of the hill district Nainital is drying. Naini lake, the pride of Nainital, is shrinking. The present water level is 18 feet less than the normal level. This has been confirmed by the irrigation department of the city. This is the only source of water for the Nainital city and has been a major tourist attraction. The declining water level is a grave cause of concern. In the past few seasons, especially in summers, the water level had gone down three or four feet below normal. Historical records show that the beautiful lake was discovered in 1841 by an Englishman. The annual rainfall in the basin area of the lake has been reported around 1294 mm.
By Press Trust of India: Los Angeles, May 25 (PTI) Your fitness trackers can measure heart rate, but are not good at counting how many calories you have burnt, Stanford researchers have found.

An evaluation of seven fitness tracking devices in a diverse group of about 60 volunteers showed that six of the devices measured heart rate with an error rate of less than 5 per cent.

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Researchers from Standford University in the US found that in contrast, none of the seven devices measured energy expenditure accurately. Even the most accurate device was off by an average of 27 per cent and the least accurate was off by 93 per cent.

The team evaluated the Apple Watch, Basis Peak, Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, Mio Alpha 2, PulseOn and the Samsung Gear S2.

Some devices were more accurate than others, and factors such as skin colour and body mass index affected the measurements, researchers said.

About 60 volunteers, including 31 women and 29 men, wore the seven devices while walking or running on treadmills or using stationary bicycles.

Researchers measured each volunteers heart with a medical-grade electrocardiograph. Metabolic rate was estimated with an instrument for measuring the oxygen and carbon dioxide in breath - a good proxy for metabolism and energy expenditure.

Results from the wearable devices were then compared to the measurements from the two "gold standard" instruments.

"The heart rate measurements performed far better than we expected, but the energy expenditure measures were way off the mark. The magnitude of just how bad they were surprised me," said Euan Ashley, professor at Stanford University.

The study was published in the Journal of Personalised Medicine. PTI APA MHN SAR MHN

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British Prime Minister Theresa May will confront United States President Donald Trump over leak of information about the Manchester Arena attack from the investigation when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.

The UK government has expressed its anger after a US newspaper published photos apparently showing the scene of the Manchester Arena attack that left 22 dead and several others injured.

"We are furious. This is completely unacceptable. These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public. The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts," media quoted a Whitehall source as saying.

The New York Times had published photos which it said were gathered by UK authorities at the scene of the Manchester Arena attack.

The photos were also consequently published in the UK media.

The details about the attack emerged in American media before being confirmed by the British police.

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was irritated with the early release of information about bomber Salman Abedi by the United States and told her American counterparts that no further leaks should happen.

Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham also expressed his anger over leaking of information from the investigation.

"We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world," said a National Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson.

Meanwhile, campaigning for the general election in United Kingdom will resume on Friday after it was suspended following the terrorist attack.

Major political parties, including the Conservatives, Labour, Greens and the Scottish National Party (SNP), will recommence local level campaigning on Thursday before resuming the national events the next day after a minute's silence is held nationwide for the victims of the attacks.

All the major political parties had suspended their campaigning for the general election as a mark of respect to those killed in the Manchester Arena attack on Monday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn will resume their party's national campaigning on Friday.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday met leaders of the main European Union institutions here as part of his first international tour after taking office in January.



Trump arrived in the Belgian capital to attend a NATO summit and was received by EU Council President Donald Tusk.



After Tusk, Trump met European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and they were later joined by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, Efe news reported.



"EU and the US must remain close allies to protect citizens against terrorism, boost growth and jobs for future generations," Taajni posted on Twitter alongside images of the talks.



US Defense Secretary James Mattis, Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accompanied Trump.



"Transatlantic relations key to world safety, prosperity," posted EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on Twitter.



"Strong EU/US ties at the heart of global agenda," he added.



The US President will have lunch with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the American Embassy before the NATO meeting.



Trump will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May during the summit, where she was expected to confront him about confidential information leak on the Manchester bombing to the US press.



Trump previously visited Saudi Arabia, where he signed several lucrative arms deals with Middle Eastern countries before heading on to Israel and the Vatican.
There is a buzz when you drive through the narrow lanes leading to Velagapudi, the temporary seat of power in Andhra Pradesh. The white, numbered buildings have been decked up with lights and a fountain has been added to jazz up the secretariat at Velagapudi in Amaravati. If everything goes as per the plan, the core government cityone of the nine cities that would form the capitalin Amaravati would be up and functional by 2019. On May 15, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for the start-up area. The core government city will have the secretariat, the legislative assembly, the High Court, chief ministers residence and various other offices of heads of departments, says Parakala Prabhakar, Naidus adviser. The designs are at an advanced stage and the masterplan is ready. The complex will come up on 1,400 acres and it will also house the Raj Bhavan.

UK-based architecture firm Norman Foster and Partners has been hired to design the entire complex. Initially, a Singapore-based consortium was invited to draw the design, but when their plans were found to be non-compliant with vaastu principles, the government invited three international firms to give fresh design plans. Finally, a fourth firm, Maki and Associates, was selected in 2015. However, the government was not too happy with the designs and so it replaced the firm with the present one. The designs are expected to reflect the states history, culture and heritage. Andhra Pradesh has gone through some phenomenal periods, including the Satavahana and the Vijayanagara dynasties that had rich architectural designs. All this will be reflected in the buildings, says Prabhakar.

While the masterplan is being prepared, apprehensions have been raised over the feasibility of the project, considering that the capital is being built over a region that is flood-prone. Every year, the region is inundated by the feeder rivulet Kondaveeti Vagu, also called the stream of sorrow. But the government has devised a plan to take care of the flooding. The water will be utilised for a drinking water project for the people of Amaravati, says Dr Mullapudi Renuka, official spokesperson for the TDP. The opposition is trying to create panic by alleging that it is flood-prone and, therefore, not safe for construction. They have also filed cases with the National Green Tribunal. The government aims to create a green capital. None of this water will be wasted, says Prabhakar.

However, getting land for the grand project was not easy. In 2014, the government launched the land pooling scheme. Since the state was and still is short on funds, Naidu found land pooling to be the ideal model for building the capital city, says Renuka. He convinced the farmers to give up their land in exchange for a good package. Fortunately, many farmers agreed and he could collect nearly 33,000 acres from 29 villages.

However, there were some voices of dissent because the farmers were being made to give up fertile land. The government has proposed to return 30 per cent of the developed land to its original owners and give an annual compensation.

Globally, we have created a benchmark in acquiring land, says Sreedhar Cherukuri, commissioner of Capital Region Development Authority. Getting land for building cities like Chandigarh and Naya Raipur took five to six years. We also constructed a transit, functional government complex within 24 months at Velagapudi. Roads are being laid, pits are being dug for drainage and water arrangements have been made for the capital city. By March 2019, the critical infrastructure for water, power, roads and connectivity to different centres, and some social infrastructure will be ready.

A couple of educational institutions, too, have shown interest in setting up their campus in Amaravati. Last year, Naidu laid the foundation stone for the SRM University, which will get 200 acres in two phases. The Vellore Institute of Technology has been given 150 acres. The government invited our chancellor Dr G. Vishwanathan to Amaravati, says Shiva Kumar, registrar of VIT. Naidu shared his vision of turning Amaravati into a hub for higher education. Incidentally, ours will be the first institute to start classes in July.

Dubai-based B.R. Shetty Group is planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore for its Medi City project, which will include a stem cell unit, a superspeciality hospital and a star hotel. The Indo-UK Institute of Health has been allotted 150 acres to set up a superspeciality hospital and a medical college. The capital city is being planned on three basic concepts, says Cherukuri. Primarily, there will be the community for interaction. The second important factor is accessibility. Everything within the capital city will be at walkable distance. Almost 95 per cent of all the daily needsschools, colleges, shopping and officeswill be within five minutes reach. The township will be at a distance of 10 minutes and a journey of 15 minutes will take a person to three city centres.

The final aspect is sustainability. Around 35 per cent of the city would be reserved for creating parks and water bodies, says Cherukuri. Together, the three elements will make the city efficient, sustainable and a happy place to live. Special attention is being given to create walkways and cycle tracks.

Though Amaravati is in the middle of two bustling townsVijayawada and Gunturit is still comparatively a remote place, but the connectivity is growing. By 2025, the population of Amaravati will cross the one million mark and by 2050, it is expected to touch 3.5 million, says Cherukuri.

The challenge is to change the mindset of the people. The government is taking help from the Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore, to train its officials in capacity building and urban development aspects.

To give the visitors a feel of the city, a gallery would be built on 4.5 acres at a cost of Rs 13.95 crore. It will engage the visitors through physical models, virtual reality experience and exhibitions.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Googles vice-president for South East Asia and India, Rajan Anandan has been appointed new chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

He took over charge from FreeCharges co-founder and chief executive officer Kunal Shah.

MakeMyTrip Chairman & Group CEO Deep Kalra has taken over as vice chairman from music app Saavn co-founder and President Vinodh Bhat.

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Facebooks Managing Director - India & South Asia, Umang Bedi has been elected as the new Treasurer of the Association.

Subho Ray continues to be the President of the Association, IAMAI said in a statement.

The tenure of the new council is for two years.

"Anandan assumes office at a time when the industry is going through a growth trajectory with more than 400 million Internet users and with more than 300 million mobile Internet users," the statement said.

In Rural India, with an estimated population of 906 million, have only 156 million Internet users.

"Thus, there are potential 750 million users still in rural heartlands; if only they can be reached out properly. Thus, the new council will work towards increasing the Internet users base, especially in rural areas," the statement said.

Another key focus area of work for the new council would be the promotion of local language content. Currently, much of the content on the Internet is in English. English language accounts for nearly 56 per cent of the content on the worldwide web, while Indian languages account for less than 0.1 per cent, the statement said.

Enabling Indic content on the Internet will lead to a growth of 39 per cent with the current Internet user base of India.

IAMAI, which helps Internet based firms in handling industry and policy issues, said that the new council would also work towards promoting the digital startup ecosystem in India.

"The Council believes that apps economy in India will drive the next level of Internet growth, along with Indic. With over 300 million mobile Internet users and more than 200 million local language consumers on the Internet, the growth trajectory for apps development is bound to be exponential," IAMAI said.

The companies in the new council include Times Internet, OLX, Policy Bazaar, Yatra, Paytm, Hungama, Mobikwik, Indiamart, Itzcash and Pepperfry. PTI PRS SA

--- ENDS ---
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

P. was born to Iranian parents who fled Iran to Germany following the Islamic Revolution. Following her parents divorce and subsequent discovery that her mother is, indeed, Jewish, P. was drawn to begin investigating her Jewish roots and identity. Revealing that she, too, is Jewish, she determined to join a one-year study program in Israel.

On Yom Yerushalayim, P. marched through Jerusalems streets and joined the Flag Dance throughout the city accompanied by her friends from the World Bnei Akiva youth movement.

P.s story is comprised of myriad details and contradictions that, somehow weave the riveting tapestry of her life. Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, her mothers family, unaffiliated Jews, fled Iran to Germany, intending to continue on to the United States. Simultaneously, her father, a secular Muslem, also escaped to Germany with plans to continue to Australia. During their brief sojourn in Germany, the couple chanced to meet in an open market.

My parents met and clicked immediately, shares P. As far as they were concerned, it made no difference that she was Jewish and he was Muslem. Given the open, liberal lifestyle that both practiced, it was completely irrelevant. The couple was married and gave birth to P., their eldest daughter, a short while later. Their plans to depart Germany to the United States or Australia were continually delayed, and after their second child, a son, was born, they resolved to remain and raise the children in Europe.

P. grew up in a happy home that promoted liberal values and surpassed boundaries of faith and nationality. We visited my fathers family in Iran on several occasions. They all knew that I was the daughter of a Jewish mother, but it didnt really bother anyone. Despite the familys acceptance, P. was warned to keep her Jewish roots secret whenever she visited Iran, lest it be discovered and label her family members as potential traitors.

At the age of 12, P. reached a turning point in her life when her parents shocked her with the announcement that they were getting divorced. Her father was leaving Germany and moving to Switzerland with her younger brother, and she was to remain with her mother. The sudden change and trauma in her life spurred P. to begin searching for her roots. She sought out the Jewish community in Germany and began volunteering with local Jewish children, helping them with homework and tests.

It was the first time in my life that I met Jews living in a mainstream Jewish community. I became close with the local rabbi and his daughters, and it was they who introduced me to Judaism and slowly began teaching me all about it. Supported by the rabbi and his daughters, P. began joining local Chabad events and participating in activities sponsored by the city branch of World Bnei Akiva, which is directed by an Israeli delegate. The atmosphere, ideology, and deep meaning of Judaism rang true in P.s heart. Drawn after her heritage, she slowly began accepting some of the mitzvot while adapting some of her longtime habits.

My dad heard that I was beginning to observe the mitzvot and live a meaningful Jewish life, but he just went with the flow. Even when my brother began practicing some Jewish observances, my dad didnt mind. He even joined him several times on visits to the beit knesset, shares P. in a voice laden with emotion.

Upon her arrival in Israel last summer, P. began searching for a program that would suit her needs before she commenced school. At WBA, they suggested that I join the Kashrut program in Israel. As soon as I heard about the program, I realized that this was exactly what I wanted.

Kashrut is an annual program attracting some 220 students from 18 countries around the world. The program is built on several sectors which consist of Torah study, educational experiences, volunteering on a kibbutz, with each sectors stretching approximately 3 months.

At the close of the program, youth group members will join the Israeli excitement on the holidays of Iyar, including Yom Yerushalayim which is marked by the famous Flag Dance throughout the city streets.

P. summarizes her feelings, For me, the Israeli experience has just begun. Now that Ive encountered Israel in depth, Im so excited that I will be marching through her streets and waving the Israeli flag. I am so happy and excited that Ive come to this place, and I thank World Bnei Akiva from the bottom of my heart for enabling me to experience all the wonders of Israel.

Photos: Photos of P during Hachsharot activity and a picture of World Bnei Akiva members dancing on Yom Yerushalmim

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: WBA)
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

For the second time this month, Arabs were apprehended trying to bring an explosive device into a military courthouse. This last incident occurred at the Shomron Military Court, the same venue as the first incident. The bombs were found when they went to the inspection point prior to entering the court.

The two elicited the suspicion of border and military police, and it was found they were carrying a pipe bomb. The two, a minor and adult, were taken into custody.

Border police commanders praised the alertness of security personnel, which averted disaster on both occasions.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Britains home secretary criticized U.S. officials on Wednesday for leaking sensitive information about the inquiry into the extremist attack that killed 22 people at a Manchester concert arena.

Amber Rudd told Sky News that U.S. officials provided information to the news media that Britain preferred to keep confidential for reasons of operational security. Britain has raised its official terror threat to critical  meaning it is likely an attack is imminent  and is trying to uncover a suspected extremist network before it strikes again.

Rudd said the element of surprise in the police and security service measures could be compromised by information being released too quickly. Rudd said she had complained to U.S. officials to make sure the flow of information is staunched.

British officials hadnt, for example, released the name of the bomber until it surfaced in the U.S. media based on leaks from U.S. officials briefed by their British counterparts. Other details also surfaced first because of leaks in Washington.

It comes at a time when European security officials have expressed concern about sharing intelligence with the U.S. after President Donald Trump discussed highly classified intelligence about the Islamic State group with senior Russian officials visiting the White House.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, told reporters Wednesday he understands the concern about U.S. leaks possibly harming the U.K. police operation.

If thats something that we did, I think thats a real problem, he said. If we gave up information that has interfered in any way with their investigation because it tipped off people in Britain  perhaps associates of this person that we identified as the bomber  then thats a real problem and they have every right to be furious.

He said, however, that even if U.S. intelligence sources shared vital information with the media, it likely would not affect the strong intelligence sharing relationship between the U.S. and Britain because it helps both countries.

A European security official said having a U.S. leak when the situation has developed in the U.K. is nothing new.

Historically, and nearly philosophically, the U.S. and U.K. intel services follow different paths, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to speak about the investigation. The U.S. have adopted a zero risk approach meaning that the U.S. services have a much shorter trigger when it comes to stop an ongoing operation. The U.K. services play it totally differently.

This was highlighted in the 2006 trans-Atlantic liquid bomb plot. Americans wanted to pounce to quickly stop the plot whereas British authorities were trying to better determine the suspects capability and wider terror connections, according to two British officials who worked on the case at the time.

U.S. Homeland Security Department spokesman David Lapan declined to say Wednesday if suspected bomber in the Manchester attack, Salman Abedi, had been placed on the U.S. no-fly list. Under normal circumstances, he said, Abedi may have been able to travel to the United States because he was from Britain, a visa-waiver country, but he would have been subjected to a background check via the U.S. governments Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA.

Lapan said the Homeland Security Department has shared some information about Abedis travel with the British government, but declined to offer specifics. Customs and Border Protection has access to a broad array of air travel information through the U.S. governments National Targeting Center.

(AP)
by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

LISTEN, BOYCHIK, VEN I VAS much younger in da Bronx, the Ruf of de shul of Bais Shraga allowed it. Dats gut enuf for me. If its gut enuf for Maariv it should be gut enuf for sfiras haomer.

The Mishna Brurah says that when the mechaber says mibod yom its referring to after Bain HaShmashos.

Look the Vilna Gaon says its okay.

These are the types of discussions that often occur in the larger shuls in New York, when there are multiple minyanim on an erev Shabbos. The Rav cannot be everywhere, and at times people are unaware of his ruling for a Sfiras HaOmer when Maariv ends well before the sunset. So what is the story with early Sfiras HaOmer?

THE WORDS OF RAV KARO IN SHULCHAN ARUCH

The exact issue, of course, dates back to the times of the Rishonim. The Rosh in Psachim (10:40) rules that when it is not certain darkness one can still recite the blessing. The Rashba in a responsum (Vol. I #154) disagrees. In the Machzor Vitri that discusses Rashis practices it says that

The Maharil (Siman #13) writes that one may not recite a blessing on Sfiras HaOmer while it is still day.

Even though there are various views among the Rishonim, the general rule is that we follow what is written in Shulchan Aruch by Rav Yoseph Karo. In this case, however, the exact interpretation of the Shulchan Aruchs words are a matter of much debate. The Shulchan Aruch (OC 489:3) writes as follows:

One who Davens with a congregation mibod yom  counts with them without a bracha. If he remembers at night he makes a bracha and then counts.

WHAT DOES MiBOD YOM MEAN?

The debate centers around what these two words mean in the Shulchan Aruch. Do they mean what they mean in contemporary usage- while it is still day  before the sun has set? Or perhaps they should be understood to mean Bain HaShmashos, twilight, which was considered still day during his time?

Some of the great Achronim understood Rav Karo to indeed refer to daylight  that his case refers to when one had davened Maariv and it was still before the sun had set. These Achronim are the Levush, the Eliyahu Rabbah, the Chavos Yair, the Maamer Mordechai and the Nehar Shalom. They understand the words Mibod yom as referring to anytime after 10 and 3/4 hours of the day  Plag Mincha.

Others have explained that Rav Karo is referring to the time of twilight where it is neither day nor night. This is the explanation of the Vilna Gaon and others. This is the view that the Mishna Brurah accepts.

HOW EARLY SHABBOS WORKS

There is a wide debate as to whether Tosefes Shabbos, adding onto Shabbos, is a biblical concept. If it is biblical, then when one makes Shabbos early, it is actually Shabbos from a biblical perspective too.

THREE MAIN OPINIONS

The Rosh (Psachim 10:2) and the Ohr Zaruah (Hilchos Erev Shabbos 14) hold that early Shabbos is biblical, while the Rambam (Shabbos 29:11) holds that it is only Rabbinic. The Mordechai (Megilah 2:798) holds a middle ground position that adding onto Shabbos before Shabbos it is Rabbinic but adding onto Shabbos after Shabbos  is biblical.



A FASCINATING RAMBAM

We also find another approach in the Rambam itself (Shabbos 29:11). He writes, if we read him carefully, that the obligation of Kiddush, emanating from Zachor es Yom HaShabbos LeKadsho  remember the Shabbos to keep it holy may even be fulfilled slightly before Shabbos.

Yes, thats right. The Rambam writes that one fulfills the obligation of Kiddush  even before Shabbos  but only a slight amount before Shabbos.

THE RABBI YEHUDAH APPROACH

There is another approach that we find in Tosfos, both in Brachos (27a DRav) and in Psachim (99a Ad). The Tosfos write that one fulfills the Mitzvah of Kiddush when recited early, according to the position of Rabbi Yehudah. If we recall, there is a famous debate when is the last time one may daven Mincha and when is the earliest time one may daven Maariv (Mishna in Brachos 26a).

According to Rabbi Yehudah we may only daven Mincha until Plag HaMincha (10 and  hours of the day) and we may begin Maariv immediately after Plag HaMincha. According to the Chachomim we may Daven Mincha until evening and we may only daven Maariv after evening  not before. How do we ultimately rule in the debate between Rabbi Yehudah and the Chachomim? We rule like either one of them, according to the Gemorah  (but not both in the same day, as well will explain later).

According to the simple reading of Tosfos  it seems that early Kiddush on Friday night is only according to Rabbi Yehudah and not the Chachomim.

Thus, there are three explanations as to how it works. The first is that Tosefes Shabbos is biblical, the second is that the Rambam holds the Mitzvah of Kiddush can be made even before biblical Shabbos. And the third is that it goes in accordance with Rabbi Yehudah and we may Paskin like him.

As far as these three answers, how do we Paskin?

The Mishna Brurah paskins that Tosefes Shabbos is deoraisah  biblical. Therefore, there would be no need to re-recite the Kiddush if it was recited before sundown.

BUT SHOULD WE DO IT?

The above discussion concerned how the concept operates. Another question arises, however, as to whether to do it or not.

The Kuntrus Eitz Chaim (p. 154) cites the Baal HaPardes (brought down by Rav Moshe Shternbuch in Teshuvos vHanhagos II #51) that when one makes a late Shabbos during the summer months, one violates the Torah prohibition of Tzaar Baalei Chaim to ones wife and little children. It is unclear whether Rav Shternbuch is truly of this opinion or whether he is exaggerating the point to ensure that the husband will comply. The Aruch HaShulchan further writes (OC 267:4) that communities should make early Shabbos in order to avoid Shabbos violations.

Rav Elyashiv ztl (Kovaitz Teshuvos Vil. I #23), on the other hand, writes that in Eretz Yisroel all effort must be expended not to daven before the correct time [unless there are extreme circumstances]. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichos Shlomo Tefilah 14: note 10) was less emphatic than Rav Elyashiv but did recommend that in Eretz Yisroel, Bnei Torah should refrain from davening Maariv earlier.

DAVENING EARLY IN GENERAL

As far as davening earlier on Fridays, in general, there is the debate we have just mentioned between Rav Yehudah and the Chachomim. The Gemorah tells us that one may choose any opinion  either like Rabbi Yehudah or like the Chachomim.

Most Rishonim understand the Gemorah that we cannot be inconsistent. We cannot do a tartei dsasrei  an internal contradiction by ruling like both opinions in the same day. We cannot daven Mincha after Plag in accordance with the Chachomim and then daven Maariv before evening like Rabbi Yehudah.

Some people are careful to always daven in accordance with the Chachomim. However, the Mogain Avrohom points out that on Shabbos one may daven earlier like the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah because there is a Mitzvah to add onto Shabbos from the week. One should be careful, however, to daven Mincha before the Plag.

The Mishna Brurah (267:3) cites the opinion of the Derech HaChaim that when dealing with a Tzibbur one may be lenient and daven Maariv while it is yet day even though one has davened Mincha after the Plag. The Mishna Brurah, however, rejects this position (in both the Mishna Brurah and the Biur Halacha). He writes that it would only be permitted bshaas hadchak  when one is in a bind and even then the Maariv must only be said during Bain HaShmashos at the earliest.

It is interesting to note that numerous shuls, for some reason, are going with the Derech HaChaim during these summer months rather than the Mishna Brurah. Since regarding all other issues we generally rule like the Mishna Brurah, a question arises: How can they do this?

One rationale perhaps is that they feel that they are not really arguing with the Mishna Brurah so much. Firstly, the shuls that do it, do feel bad about it. The reason they are lenient is because people do not want to start the Friday evening meal so late. It may take away from their oneg Shabbos. Rashi in Yevamos (93a) writes that Oneg Shabbos is a biblical obligation, as does the Rashba both on Yevamos and in his responsa (1:127). The Rivash (Responsa 513) also rules that it is biblical. Even though the Rambam (Shabbos 36:1) holds that it is only Rabbinic, the views of the other Rishonim, may make it fit into the criterion of Shaas Hadchak. It could be that in Europe, from an economical and logistical point of view  it was not viewed as oneg Shabbos to accept Shabbos earlier.

But what about the Maariv part during Bain haShemashos?

Many of those shuls that make early Shabbos and are not careful to daven Mincha before the Plag still do not daven maariv during Bain HaShmashos.

How can they do this? Perhaps they may rely on a number of factors too  a] The first Tosfos in Brachos VeAimasai as well as the Rashba there seem to hold that one is permitted to do an action that contains the internal contradiction in regard to Tefilah. Even though this position is rejected by the Mishna Brurah (MB 233: and 235), this view may be perhaps used in conjunction with other views. B] It could be that the aforementioned ruling of Tosefes Shabbos being a biblical concept may change the issue of Maariv and allow it to be recited early. C] It could be that we may accept the view of the Derech HaChaim on account of the Shaas Hadchak.

This is not to suggest that a shul should do this ideally, it is just to provide a limud zchus for those that do it.

It should also be noted that there are two ways to calculate the Plag Mincha. According to the Gra, Plag HaMincha is calculated as 10 and  hours between sunrise and sunset. According to the Mogain Avrohom it is calculated as 10 and  hours between dawn and star out.

When this author posed the question to Rav Dovid Feinstein a number of years ago, he suggested that a shul may use either Plag mincha and it would not be considered Tartei DSasrei an internal contradiction.

THE IDEAL TIME FOR MINCHA

There is also another issue, and that is when is the most ideal time to Daven Mincha. The Shulchan Aruch rules (OC 233:1) that the essential main time in which Mincha should be davened is from Mincha Ketana onward  that is from 9 and  hours onward.

The Mishna Brurah (233:1), however, cites Rishonim that hold that one may even daven ideally at Mincha Gedolah, which is at 6 and  hours of the day. Indeed, the Shaar HaTziyun (233:3) cites the Vilna Gaon as agreeing to this position as well.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
Karan Johar celebrates his 45th birthday today. As the filmmaker turns 45, we take a look at the most un-Karan Johar films of his filmography.

By Ananya Bhattacharya: Karan Johar - director, producer, actor - is a man who knows how to juggle many roles. He is a well-known filmmaker, a sensible and smart producer, he has dabbled with acting too, and is now a dad to twins Yash and Roohi, born to him through surrogacy. Karan Johar has been a household name ever since he made his directorial debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998. Before Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, of course, Karan's most famous cameo was in Aditya Chopra's 1995 film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.

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The filmmaker turns 45 today. In the two decades that we have known Karan Johar, he has been more than a name to reckon with. The success of his very first film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, made sure it happened that way. After Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, we saw him behind the camera with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001.

With Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Karan Johar's films began to be identified by certain traits unique to them. For example, they were almost always made for a family audience, but when Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna hit the screens, Karan demolished all set perceptions. The film, till date, remains one of his most un-understood films.

KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA

Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna released in 2006. The film dealt with themes of infidelity... and of course the 'Karan Johar audience' could do anything but digest these complex relations. Falling in love after marriage? In 2006? In India? These were questions that left the audience aghast. And most of all, what happened to his his feel-good, it's-all-about-loving-your-parents, vanilla films?

Of course, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was not the first time the Indian audience was having to deal with extramarital affairs and infidelity on the big screen. The most well-known example of a film on infidelity is probably Yash Chopra's Silsila, the film supposed to have mirrored the actual love triangle that Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha were part of. But how did Silsila end? With the man coming back to his nest. So despite all the feathers that Silsila ruffled, as long as the institution of marriage is saved, no matter at what cost, we're okay.

In his book An Unsuitable Boy, Karan speaks about Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna at length. "At the time when it released, a lot of scenes in the film were, I realized, uncomfortable viewing for many couples. I remember a couple came up to me and said, 'If my wife says she liked it, I would say why did you like it? Similarly, if I say I liked it, she'd say what did you like about it?'"

Karan also talks about why he made the most uncomfortable film in his career: "I wanted to be very modern about it because there was so much talk about marriage being a crumbling institution and how divorce was the new marriage and infidelity was a part of every home. I experienced it around me, with friends, with family."

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But trust us sanskaari lot to go all hawww, even today in a lot of circles, whenever there's talk of infidelity. Our marriages are sacrosanct. Our marriages are supposed to survive no matter what we go through. Our marriages join the man and woman in a saat-janmo-ka-bandhan blah blah. Who is Karan Johar to show the finger to this age-old institution? Hence the result, in Johar's own words, was 'uncomfortable viewing for many couples'.

But that was hardly anything compared to what Karan Johar did in his segment of Bombay Talkies, released in 2013.

AJEEB DASTAAN HAI YEH, BOMBAY TALKIES

It was named 'Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh'. A Strange Story. In Karan Johar's segment of Bombay Talkies, Dev and Gayatri are a happily married couple. Avinash is Gayatri's colleague, an intern from her office, and homosexual. Gayatri invites him over for dinner on his birthday. When Avinash enters Dev and Gayatri's lives, the tension at the dinner table is more than palpable. No, it's no older-woman-falling-for-young-colleague crap. Dev and Avinash share a love for old music. Dev soon seeks out Avinash, reaches his house, and plants a sudden kiss on his mouth.

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This Karan Johar creation was hard-hitting to say the least. The film made many people uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, it received a thumbs up from most people who watched Bombay Talkies.

Out of the four short segments in Bombay Talkies, the anthology, critics, the films' directors, and many viewers have been unanimous about the fact that Karan Johar's story was the best of the lot. Director Anurag Kashyap even went on to say how he thought Karan Johar was a misfit in the four-director team comprising him, Dibakar Banerjee and Zoya Akhtar.

"Initially, I used to feel that Karan is a misfit but not anymore. The more I have discovered him, I love him a lot. I identify with him on a lot on many things in life. And he is also who he is because of where he comes from. He aspires to be a filmmaker... he is constantly trying to change himself, adapt to situations, produces films for younger lot," said Kashyap in an interview.

Kashyap went on to say, "I have seen their (Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar) films and they have done a brilliant job.Everybody has made a magical film. There is a silent secret competition between the four of us but my favourite is Karan Johar's film."

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Dibakar Banerjee echoed Kashyap.

In Karan Johar's seven-film oeuvre, these are the two films that stand out thanks to their striking differences from a run-of-the-mill KJo film. As the filmmaker turns 45 today, here's hoping Karan breaks more barriers without thinking about the 'box-office sword' that is always hanging over his head.

(The writer tweets as @ananya116)

ALSO READ: Karan Johar says he is the mother of his children at India Today Conclave 2017

ALSO WATCH: Karan Johar on being the mother of his children, marrying SRK, at India Today Conclave 2017

--- ENDS ---
Visiting a city he once called all sorts of names to meet with the leaders of one alliance he threatened to abandon and another whose weakening he cheered, President Donald Trump will address a continent Thursday still reeling from his election and anxious about his support.

Trump traveled Thursday morning to the European Union headquarters in Brussels for meetings with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, and other EU officials.

Trump appeared to be greeted warmly by the leaders, despite his past comments publicly cheering the United Kingdoms vote to leave the EU last summer and slamming the alliance during his transition as a vehicle for Germany. Trump has taken a less combative tone since taking office, praising the alliance as wonderful and saying a strong Europe is very important to him and the United States.

After meeting with Trump on Thursday at the EU, European Council president Donald Tusk said he and the U.S. precedent agreed on the need to combat terrorism but some differences loomed large.

Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today  we means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia, said Tusk, who said unity needed to be found around values like freedom and human rights and dignity.

The greatest task today is the consolidation of the whole free world around those values, he said.

Later in the day, Trump is slated to meet with Frances new president and attend his first meeting of NATO, the decades-long partnership that has become intrinsic to safeguarding the West but has been rattled by the new presidents wavering on honoring its bonds. Trump has mused about pulling out of the pact because he believed other countries were not paying their fair share and he has so far refused to commit to abiding by Article 5, in which member nations vow to come to each others defense.

A new strain emerged on the relationship between the U.S. and a key European ally: a British official said Thursday that police in Manchester will stop sharing information about their bombing investigation with the U.S. until they get a guarantee that there will be no more leaks to the news media.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to push Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure. The source of the leak is unclear. Trump did not respond to shouted questions as to whether the UK can trust the US with sensitive material.

But the European capitals that have been shaken by Trumps doubts may soon find a degree of reassurance. Just like his position on the EU, the president has recently shifted gears, praising NATOs necessity. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that of course the United States supports Article 5, though Trump still wants other nations to meet their obligation to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense.

I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them, saying, Look the U.S. is spending 4 percent. Were doing a lot,' Tillerson told reporters on Air Force One. He also said he thought it would be a very important step for NATO to join the 68-nation international coalition fighting the Islamic State. The move, which is expected during Thursdays meeting, is symbolically important, especially since the terror group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

An anti-terror coordinator may also be named. But most changes will be cosmetic, as NATO allies have no intention of going to war against IS.

The 28 member nations, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, will renew an old vow to move toward the 2 percent figure for defense by 2024. Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.

European leaders have been particularly unnerved by Trumps reticence about NATO due to renewed aggression by Russia, which seized Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014 and, intelligence officials believe, interfered in last years American elections.

While in Belgium, Trump will unveil a memorial to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the only time in the alliances history that the Article 5 mutual defense pledge has been invoked. He will also speak at NATOs gleaming new $1.2 billion new headquarters.

But while the Europeans greeted Trump warily, tens of thousands gathered in Berlin to hear his predecessor and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discuss democracy and global responsibility at a Protestant conference as the country marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Barack Obama made a case for American involvement internationally, saying we cant isolate ourselves, we cant hide behind a wall in the hours before Merkel was set to meet Trump in Brussels.

In total, Trump will spend about 24 hours in Brussels, a city where he said making a home would be like living in a hellhole because of Muslim immigration and terror threats.

Brussels is the fourth stop on Trumps nine-day international trip, the first such trip of his presidency. Protests were slated to take place outside the heavily guarded security perimeter near the citys airport and downtown. In the wake of this weeks Manchester bombing, Belgium remains on security Level 3  meaning that the threat of an extremist attack is possible and likely. The country has been on that level of alert since suicide-bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and subway killed 32 people last year.

Trump is slated to leave Brussels late Thursday for the final piece of his trip, a two-day stay in Sicily for G-7 meetings.

(AP)
Tel Aviv District Court Justice Orenstein on Thursday, 29 Iyar, ordered an immediate halt in counting votes in this weeks Histadrut National Labor Federation elections. Running for the top spot were incumbent Avi Nissankoren and MK (Machane Tzioni) Shelly Yacimovich.

Yacimovich, was backed by Shas in the race. She alleges widespread corruption in the election in addition to persons threatened with loss of employment if they do not reelect Nissankoren. She added that contrary to the law, Histadrut employees were working for the Nissankoren campaign in many capacities.

As the votes seem to seal her defeat in the race, she appeared before the Tel Aviv District Court with sufficient evidence for the court to order an immediate halt of vote counting to avoid irreversible damage to the outcome of the elections.

The court agreed to issue an immediate injunction to halt counting votes pending a session with both sides present later in the day Thursday. The court made a point of mentioning however, that issuing the temporary order is not a confirmation of wrongdoing as alleged.

In line with results released prior to the court order, 648 of 792 voting stations in residential areas were counted as well as 16 voting stations in workplaces. Based on the tabulated votes, it appears they represent 24.7% of voters nationwide showing 59.01% for Nissankoren and 40.99% for Yacimovich.

UPDATED:

The Tel Aviv District Court held another session on Thursday, and decided that the counting of votes would continue. Only when this is completed will allegations will be heard.

Yacimovich is hoping to call for new elections, stating she has documented literally thousands of complaints from different polling stations including the mysterious disappearance of votes.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israel Police officials announce preparations for the Islamic month of Ramadan are completed.

Beginning this Friday, Rosh Chodesh Sivan and the following three Fridays of Ramadan, police and border police in the capital will be operating with increased manpower as tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers are expected on Har Habayis for Friday prayers.

PA (Palestinian Authority) residents wishing to travel to Har Habayis will require the necessary permit from authorities.

Police report they will exhibit zero tolerance to lawbreaking of any kind. Police ask persons to adhere to instructions of police to avoid uncomfortable situations.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
It has already been reported just how MK (Likud) Oren Chazan embarrassed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the State of Israel for compelling President Donald J. Trump to take a selfie with him at the official welcoming ceremony in Ben-Gurion Airport.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein on Thursday morning 29 Iyar joined the critics, stating anyone who was not embarrassed by the shameful and despicable actions of Chazan needs to do soul searching.

He called his behavior scandalous, adding one does not act this way at an official welcoming ceremony.

The speaker earlier in the week explained the reason President Trump did not speak in Knesset is because they could not guarantee there would not be shouts, reflecting poorly on MKs. Nevertheless explained the speaker, they were unwilling to gamble and the visiting president spoke at the Israel Museum instead.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
While Bayit Yehudi, Shas and Yahadut Hatorah are in the same coalition, presumably at peace with one another, when it comes to appointing chief rabbis, all bets are off. Take the recent appointment of a new Chief Rabbi of Nesher, which went to a second round and Shas emerged the victor.

Now, the drums of war are beating as there are openings, including a major appointment like Tel Aviv followed by Beit Shemesh, Lod, Sderot and Ramat Gan to name some. The races to elect a new chief rabbi have potential to get quite dirty and ugly, as has been the case in previous races.

The person who handles these elections in Bayit Yehudi is Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, who ran the office of the late Rishon LTzion HaGaon HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu ZTL as well as standing at the helm of the nations batei din. Deal-making is already underway, including an offer to giver Bayit Yehudi the Tel Aviv race in return for Shas remaining in charge of Beit Shemesh.

Ben-Dahan explains the person with the real power if a municipalitys mayor, for he has the authority to appoint many of the voting body. Hence, as these races move ahead the players will have to court the respective mayors.

Amazingly, Rav Lau stepped down as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv less than 24 hours ago and the behind-the-scenes askanim are already beginning the deal-making in the hope of placing their man in the post.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A federal appeals court dealt another blow to President Donald Trumps revised travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries on Thursday, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republicans administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Trumps administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation, the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory wrote.

In all, ten of the thirteen judges who heard the case voted against the Trump administration.

Trump will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A central question in the case was whether courts should consider Trumps past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trumps administration argued that the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesnt mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration says.

But Gregory wrote that looking at the statements was appropriate and said the executive order was steeped in animus and directed at a single religious group.

The first travel ban in January triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesnt apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes dont erase the legal problems with the ban.

The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

President Trumps Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms, said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, who argued the case. The Constitutions prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the governments request to set that principle aside.

(AP)
It has been over a decade since Yeshivat Chomesh returned to the former northern Shomron community in the hope of rebuilding that which was destroyed by the government of Ehud Olmert, in the so-called Disengagement Plan of 2005.

The Jews were ousted from Chomesh and nearby SaNur, as well as from Gaza, but Olmerts vision of peace was quickly replaced by Islamic terror and rocket attacks into southern Israel.

In a recent attack, PA (Palestinian Authority) residents directed their destruction against Yeshivat Chomesh, on Monday night the eve of 27 Iyar. This is not a regular yeshiva since the IDF does not permit the talmidim to reside there or leave anything. Hence, they bring everything each day, and fold up at days end. It is located on the ruins of what was once Yishuv Chomesh.

PA residents in the area were taking part in a rally in support of imprisoned terrorists participating in a hunger strike, another one of their so-called Day of Rage. They broke into Chomesh and set the site ablaze, resulting in significant damage to the beis medrash building.

MK (Bayit Yehudi) Betzalel Smotrich said the arson attack is yet another sign the government should act towards Israels return to the areas destroyed as a result of the expulsion. Each place we leave becomes a terror base and attacks against holy sites.

Smotrich calls on the prime minister to act, to authorize the return to Chomesh and provide the necessary security.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Commenting on the visit to Saudi Arabia by US President Trump earlier in the week, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed concerns with the regional arms race in the Middle East, adding I am not at peace with it.

Speaking with Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), he explained the deal is $215 billion, a significant sum, and he is concerned with the amount of military equipment being sold to the Saudis. The deal with the Saudis includes tanks, missile defense systems, radar system, combat ships, cybersecurity technology and communications technology. Lockheed Martin will assemble 150 Black Hawk helicopters intended for the Saudi kingdom in Saudi Arabia instead of assembling them in the US.

Lieberman was also asked to comment on the reported leak by President Trump to the Russians, stating Everything necessary to make up with our American friends was done. He explained the matter has been worked out and put to rest and the level of intelligence cooperation between America and Israel is unprecedented.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
On Wednesday, 28 Iyar, the Knesset Education Committee convened an emergency session to discuss the concern that Ben-Gurion University is promoting the BDS movement.

The committee was initiated by MKs Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi), Anat Berko (Likud) and Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu) following the Universitys recent promotion of a controversial workshop run by far-Left NGOs and sponsored by the European Union, which taught students how to effectively film protests.

Ben-Gurion University has come under fire in the past for its affiliation with anti-Zionism and BDS. In 2011, Israels Council for Higher Education recommended shutting down the Universitys Department of Politics and Government unless changes were implemented.

Education Committee Chairman MK (Shas) Yaakov Margi said: It is outrageous that such a phenomenon is occurring within Israel. We need to deal with whoever is promoting it.

MK Bezalel Smotrich added: You cannot talk about freedom of expression when [the professors] are signing in their name and in the name of the University on petitions against the State of Israel.

You cannot invoke freedom of expression on the one hand and protect the professors, yet not allow a member of the Board of Governors to express his opinion, said Smotrich referring to an alleged attempt of the University to kick out a member of its Board of Governors who spoke out against this issue.

Ben-Gurion University President Rivka Carmi was also present at the discussion and rebuffed the claims that the University is involved in promoting BDS.

The University is spearheading the battle against BDS, said Carmi. Again and again empty allegations arise [against the University]. The organizers of this discussion will not frighten us.

Carmi also rejected the accusation that the University was trying to silence a member of its Board of Governors: It has been said that we are silencing Michael Gross. We have listened to all of his comments. Michael Gross called me personally a Kapo, and thats the way he treats the University.

Ahead of the discussion, the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu distributed reports citing a number of what it referred to as anti-Israel statements from Ben-Gurion University faculty, including public calls to boycott Israel.

It is impossible to deny the involvement of Ben-Gurion University and its faculty in the delegitimization of Israel and IDF soldiers, and in the promotion of boycotts and international pressure against Israel, said Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg.

Peleg called on Carmi to take responsibility and immediately deal with this issue.

MK (Meretz) Tamar Zandberg shot back at Peleg, calling Im Tirtzu a group of hooligans.

You have been pestering the Knesset for a long time now. Everyone works for you. You are engaging in a witch hunt, said Zandberg.

At the conclusion of the session, Education Committee Chairman Margi remarked that he was pleased that the discussion convened. Whoever calls to harm Israel, we must fight against them, concluded Margi.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Last year Government revealed plans to force letting agents to scrap sky high fees for renters: now a major London landlord has gone one step further and scrapped deposits.

Get Living, the company that owns and rents out the former London 2012 Athletes Village in east London, has announced that from 14 June it will no longer require renters to put down a deposit to secure a home there.

New residents in the area - now called East Village, E20 - also won't have to pay any fees and will be able to sign up for longer term tenancy contracts if they want.

Existing tenants in the development will also have their deposits handed back to them next month, a total of 3million. There's a small catch - to qualify you will have to pass tenant referencing or have a guarantor.

Renters in London's East Village development will see their deposits handed back by July

While it will be welcome news for those living in the east London village, millions of renters across Britain still face finding thousands of pounds to secure rented accommodation.

This is on top of letting agency fees that can rack up to several hundred pounds, plus having to pay the first month's rent up front.

Neil Young, chief executive of Get Living, says: 'We were the first to revolutionise the rental experience in the UK by removing agency fees and introducing longer term tenancies as standard.

'We know that the cost of living can be high so, as a responsible landlord with a long-term perspective, it is important for us to be able to identify and address areas where we can alleviate the burden on our residents. Scrapping security deposits as a pre-requirement and returning deposits to current residents is yet another step we are taking to show we are firmly on the side of renters.'

AVERAGE RENTS IN THE UK Apr-17 YoY % MoM % Av.  UK 0.82% 0.04% 1,191 England 0.79% 0.04% 1,223 Scotland 1.21% 0.09% 723 Wales 1.30% 0.10% 636 Northern Ireland -1.01% -0.37% 552 London -0.81% -0.09% 1,878 UK without London 1.72% 0.12% 753 Source: Landbay







Landlords have traditionally demanded renters pay a security deposit - typically equal to either one month's rent or six weeks rent for higher value properties - to cover the cost of any damage they might cause.

WHEN WILL DEPOSITS BE RETURNED? To reward residents who have taken good care of their home, if rental payments are up to date, Get Living will waive any damage and cleaning costs if it totals less than one weeks rent. Existing Get Living residents will have their deposits returned from early July 2017. Deposits will be returned first to those residents who have lived in the same East Village home for the longest and its expected that the returns process will be complete by the end of the year. To be eligible, requirements include residents needing to have passed referencing or have a guarantor and be up to date with their rental payments.

But as rents have sky rocketed, so too have these deposits. According to buy-to-let lender Landbay, the average rent paid in the UK is now 1,191 a month.

'We launched Get Living four years ago this month and in that time our average deduction from deposits has been just a few days rent, with the majority of our residents getting their deposits returned in full,' says Young.

'We have great relationships with our residents and, given they are taking such good care of our homes, why should we hold six weeks rent? We can do this at Get Living because we have the scale and track-record to know it will work.'

How does it work?

The East Village development is currently the countrys largest single-site private rent scheme and is home to more than 3,000 renters in 1,439 homes. Get Living is expanding across the UK, and already has a further 4,000 homes in the pipeline.

It is this scale that means the company can afford not to take deposits from tenants.

For example - let's say your monthly rent is 1,000. The security deposit you'd likely be asked for is 1,000.

Get Living says that on average, it claims back only 'a few' days from this deposit - three days out of 30 days is 10 per cent - 100 per tenant.

This means, that across the firm's whole property portfolio, it is keeping just 10 per cent of all the cash deposits it takes from tenants who cause damage to the property.

Get Living is expanding across the UK with a further 4,000 homes in the pipeline

Because all landlords are legally required to hold tenants' deposits in a separate protection scheme, the other 90 per cent of this cash is left untouched by both the landlord and tenant. It's of no value to either party in other words.

Get Living has decided that instead of penalising tenants' cashflow like this, they are prepared to meet the cost of the 10 per cent of deposits they actually end up retaining.

This means the damage costs will instead be paid by them directly, out of their profit. The firm will still be charging for damages but only if the cost totals more than one weeks rent.

This is a commercial decision - it could be that they believe this will be worth it financially for them because more tenants are attracted to their properties, or that their longer term tenancy agreements mean they have fewer other costs to bear - such as months where the property is unoccupied for instance. It may also be that they're hoping to see fewer tenants negotiate their rent down because they don't have to stump up a large cash deposit.

Will all landlords stop taking deposits?

It's highly unlikely that all landlords will scrap deposits. This is because most landlords in Britain are private individuals with reasonably small portfolios - they might own around 10 properties in a local area.

The small scale of landlords in this position means that if one property is damaged, the cost of repairing that hits their profits much harder. Proportionately - the costs are higher compared to the total value of rents they earn across the board.

This is why landlords started to take deposits and it's why they're likely to continue.

We may well see other large scale landlords taking this approach but I very much doubt well see any changes in the smaller landlord market.

Rob Bence, a landlord and co-founder of The Property Hub, says: 'A landlord of Get Livings scale is able to make a move like this because if a tenant causes damage to a property or fails to pay they have enough properties (and therefore enough rental income) to offset the losses. Clearly a smaller landlord does not have this luxury.

'We may well see other large scale landlords taking this approach - particularly those with purpose built rental schemes - but I very much doubt well see any changes in the smaller landlord market.'

Steve Olejnik, of buy-to-let mortgage broker Mortgages for Business, agrees.

'I'm sure that would-be renters will be attracted to the headline but a quick look at available two-bed properties on their website tells me that the average monthly rent is just shy of 2,000 a month - which is not affordable for many renters, even in London.

'I doubt that this model is where the sector is heading although there is probably room for more entrants into this niche by the larger operators.'

Government support for larger landlords

Olejnik also expects landlords with smaller portfolios to continue to ask for deposits. But is the move by Get Living setting a precedent that other landlords will eventually have to follow?

'Where we have led  with no fees and longer tenancies - others have followed,' says Young. 'We hope deposit-free renting becomes the norm.'

Philip Hammond, chancellor of the Exchequer, used last year's Autumn Statement to reveal plans to ban letting agent fees charged to tenants

The Get Living approach to providing rented accommodation is the model that the Government would like to see more landlords use.

This is in part why they have cracked down on buy-to-let recently, making it much more expensive for smaller landlords to operate and in some cases wiping out their profits altogether.

Government wants to see larger, institutional landlords offering what they see as a fairer deal for tenants.

Bence isn't convinced that this will happen any time soon however.

'Tenants dont tend to choose properties based on finances alone. Location and type of property is key so I dont think well see swathes of renters heading to large scale landlords just for the benefit of not having to cough up a deposit,' he argues.

'It will certainly be an attraction for some but as long as landlords continue to offer fair-priced, well-kept properties they shouldnt struggle to find tenants willing to take them.'

A bit of background

Britain's private rented sector has seen considerable change over the past 12 months. New buy-to-let property purchases now attract a 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge and the tax relief landlords can claim on their mortgage payments has begun to fall.

Stricter requirements for those with buy-to-let mortgages have also been imposed on landlords, with more of these rules due to hit in October.

The changes have driven down the number of new buy-to-lets being purchased by around half, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

CML figures show the number of buy-to-let purchases spike before the stamp duty surcharge came in last April. Overall activity has since dampened

Figures published today by the Association of Residential Letting Agents meanwhile show that in April, the number landlords selling their buy-to-let properties remained the same, with an average of four selling per branch.

In March, the number of landlords selling up rose from three to four for the first time since November 2016, when the Government revealed plans to ban letting agent fees later this year.

Separate research from London Central Portfolio, a property developer, claimed that the capital was in the midst of a 'new build crisis' with sales of new homes in London falling as much as 41 per cent in Q4 2016 compared with the previous year.

This, they said, was driven by a 'proliferation' of new homes coming to the London market coupled with falling demand from buy-to-let investors looking to purchase new properties for their rental portfolios.

According to LCP, the London market south of the river, is beginning to suffer as large numbers of the planned 22,000 units between Battersea and Nine Elms have come to market.

Typically purchased by foreign buyers as rental investments, data analysed by LCP demonstrates a significant annual increase in available rental properties in this area amounting to 28.1 per cent.

This has been accompanied by a 6 per cent discount on asking rents over the last three months.
Actor and politician Shatughan Sinha has offered his help and support to Tamil superstar Rajinikanth if he plans to foray into politics.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday supported Tamil superstar Rajinikanth's move to join politics. Sinha also advised him not to join any political party, instead let others join him.

"Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu and son of India - dearest Rajinikanth! Rise, Rise, Rise!! It's high time and the right time!. Nation is waiting with bated breath for Superstar Rajini's leap into constructive politics to shape the future of your people and nation," the BJP MP said in a series of tweets.

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Rajinikanth had earlier hinted that he may join politics at an appropriate time.

The Patna Sahib MP, who was recently locked in a Twitter war with former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi over the Bharatiya Janata Party's stance on Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue of corruption, also suggested to the Tamil superstar not to join any political party.

"The people are with you and ready to join Superstar Rajini and instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you," Sinha said.

"Hope, wish and pray that after consulting with your family, dear ones and experts, you take the right decision soon - sooner the better...," he added.

Sinha said that as a friend, supporter and well wisher he would always stand by Rajinikanth and offered all sorts of support to guide him.

"You can bank on me. I'm bankable, dependable and available to you - anytime and every time. Regards to your family and long live Superstar Rajini," Sinha said.

Also Read:

Rajinikanth in politics: Twitter war breaks out between actor Khushbu Sundar and Tamil Nadu BJP chief

Rajinikanth will join politics, for sure. The question is when?

Also Watch:

Rajinikanth does not clarify on joining politics, but says get ready for war

--- ENDS ---
Departing staff: Polished City spinner and Brunswick founder Sir Alan Parker, 60

Polished City spinner and Brunswick founder Sir Alan Parker, 60, is losing two of his senior lieutenants, Mike Harrison and Mike Smith. Harrison is off to write crime thrillers, while Smith plans to resume learning the piano. It is said that numerous talented practitioners have previously quit Brunswick, frustrated at Parkers unwillingness to relinquish control of his company. Some harshly compare him to Colonel Tom Parker, Elviss famously controlling manager who wouldnt release the King from his contract even after he died.

Pudgy hedge funder Crispin Odey remains bearish about the British economy, insisting too many of us are starting to borrow money we cant pay back. He cites Adolf Hitlers armaments minister Fritz Todt, who predicted the German war effort would stall in Russia in 1942, remarking: What he could see was that lines of supply were at breaking point. A little de trop? Nazi analogies are never wise.

Have you noticed how there are no new photos of Fred Goodwin since his public disgrace over Royal Bank of Scotland? The last known picture was taken in 2009. The go-to snap remains the one of Fred dressed like a country squire with shotgun broken over one arm, a penny-loafered hoof resting triumphantly on a hay bale like a Roman Praefectus. Photographer Lesley Donald predicts the pictures copyright fees will keep him in silk stockings well into his dotage.

Plummy Dixons Carphone boss Seb James, 51, is excited about the firms new store in Copenhagen called Elgiganten. He says: Anyone visiting Copenhagen on their travels really shouldnt miss seeing it. If he says so. The James family holidays must be a riot.

Brainbox ex-GlaxoSmithKline chairman Sir Richard Sykes, 74, met with Prince Andrew on Wednesday in his capacity as chairman of The Royal Institution. According to Court and Social, Andrew later held a meeting about driverless cars. Do cerebral business dignitaries find these intimate pow-wows with His Highness helpful, I wonder?

Have you any gossip for our City diary? Email: mrdeedes@dailymail.co.uk
Markets opened flat as investors awaited news from todays OPEC meeting in Vienna.

Representatives from most of the worlds top oil producers will got around a table and discussed cutting output in a bid to bolster the price but decided to just extend the current cut by nine months.

UK GDP growth was revised down, while markets further digested yesterdays credit rating cut imposed on China, as well as the Federal Reserve meeting minutes put out last night.
ITALIAN DREAM Asian-themed chain Wagamama is opening its first restaurant in Italy, in partnership with W Italia Srl.

MILITARY MIGHT Defence giant Qinetiq has hiked its dividend by 5 per cent as it announced a boost in profits. Bosses said the company, which tests and develops military and space equipment, was particularly relevant during a year of growing threats to global security.

BID BLOCK Activist investor Gatemore Capital has upped its stake in DX as it prepares to block the mail delivery firms takeover of the distribution arm of Menzies. The investor, which has been vocal in its criticism of the deal, raised its stake from 11.3 per cent to 21 per cent.

Healthy appetite: Asian-themed chain Wagamama is opening its first restaurant in Italy, in partnership with W Italia Srl

STORE DELIVERY Cornershops signing up to a service that allows shoppers to get goods bought online delivered to their local store rather than home has boosted Paypoint, which saw revenues climb 36 per cent to 39 million in the year to March 31.

STEP DOWN Marwan Chedid, a board member at oil firm Petrofac, has resigned after he was suspended amid a corruption probe.

WELL DONE Greetings card retailer Card Factory revealed in a trading statement ahead of its AGM that it was on track to open a further 50 stores over the year.

PET POWER Sales at Pets At Home grew 7.2 per cent to 834 million in the year to March, pulled up by soaring revenues in its veterinary arm which jumped by a quarter to 47 million.

GOING UP Newly listed oil firm Ades International Holding says revenues soared in the first quarter of the year to 36 million, up from 21 million during the same period last year.

WASTE NOT The fall in the pound has helped profits soar 22 per cent to 25.7 million at European waste management company Renewi.

NORTH SEA Oil and gas production firm Enquest said its Kraken development in the North Sea is on track to produce its first oil before the end of June. The company expects to produce 45,000-51,000 barrels of oil per day on average this year.

AIR SERVICE Shares in aviation services company Gama Aviation nudged up yesterday after it confirmed that trading remained in line with expectations. It said its US Air division had performed strongly and its EU arm remains on track to deliver modest growth.
Billionaire retailer Sir Philip Green is mounting a rescue bid for the Australian arm of Topshop after it collapsed into administration.

The High Street brand has opened 24 stores in the country after Sir Philip sold the rights to Australian tycoon Hilton Seskin in 2011.

Most of these are concessions in the branches of Australias biggest department store chain, Myer, although it also has nine standalone shops.

Billionaire retailer Sir Philip Green is mounting a rescue bid for the Australian arm of Topshop after it collapsed into administration

But on Wednesday, Austradia, which operates the franchise, was forced to call in the administrators after suffering from mounting losses.

Administrator James Stewart, from Ferrier Hodgson, has offered assurances that it is business as usual, but its collapse has threatened 760 jobs.

Now Sir Philip is working on a rescue bid which could see him take ownership of the business.

He has dispatched a pair of executives from his Arcadia group to Australia to work on a solution, but has yet to make a decision on its future.

Measures could include persuading landlords to reduce rents, while Arcadia is talking to Myer about continuing the partnership between the two brands.

Assuming we can resolve the issues, we will see if we can do something, said Sir Philip. We need to see where we get to in the next few days.

If Sir Philip does decide to bring the Australia business into the Arcadia fold, it would mark his first major deal since he opened Topshop stores in China last year.

Getting back on track: Sir Philip is seeking to move on from a turbulent couple of years which eventually saw him pay 363 million to fill the black hole in the pension fund left behind when BHS collapsed in April last year

The British High Street staple has 140 stores outside the UK.

Sir Philip is seeking to move on from a turbulent couple of years which eventually saw him pay 363 million to fill the black hole in the pension fund left behind when BHS collapsed in April last year.

The department store chain failed just 13 months after Sir Philip sold it for 1 to thrice bankrupt businessman Dominic Chappell, who had no retail experience. Its demise caused 11,000 people to lose their jobs and threatened the retirement income of 20,000 current and former workers.

Sir Philip faced criticism about how much he had taken out of the business in dividends before selling it to Mr Chappell, a former racing car driver.

Details of the potential rescue bid for the Australian business come after reports that Lord Grabiner  chairman of Arcadia parent company Taveta Investments  is about to become the latest high-profile departure from the group after 15 years leading the board.

He came under fire last year after his appearance before a joint parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of BHS, when MPs said that he gave a complacent performance.
The price of oil has continued to fall

The price of oil has continued to fall despite the Opec oil-producing nations agreeing to extend production cuts for a further nine months.

Russia and other non-Opec members have also agreed to slash production for another nine months.

However, despite the cut, Brent crude slid 3.8 per cent to $51.92 amid expectations the extension would have been much longer and the looming threat of shale gas expansion in America.

Opec countries and 11 other oil-producing nations had first agreed to reduce production in December in an effort to boost flailing prices.

The cut, of 1.8 million barrels per day, was the equivalent of about 2 per cent global oil production.
Nowadays, in theory, all you need to bankroll a start-up or expand your business is a computer with access to the internet.

Gone is the requirement for Mark Zuckerberg wannabes to raise capital for their ventures by enduring Dragons' Den style pitches, or arranging appointments with tight-fisted bank managers for a business loan.

Except, as ever, life in practice is quite a bit tougher. If you want to raise money for a start-up then you need to expect some hard work - getting your business plan watertight, honing your powers of persuasion, and getting stuck into any contacts that you have.

Facebook was the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg who sought venture capitalist funding to grow the social media company

Some 657,790 businesses launched in 2016, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.2 per cent and a sizeable hike of 49 per cent from the figure recorded for 2011, according to Government-backed entrepreneurship initiative StartUp Britain.

This means that there are even more start-up firms vying for much needed cash injections to catapult their businesses to new heights.

From crowdfunding to angel investing - what is the best way of getting your small business off the ground?

We review the top six ways in which young firms can raise capital.

Friends, family and contacts

Some start-up bosses skirt the bank and look to family and friends for funding - many of whom may or may not have business acumen.

The main benefits of such approach is obvious. Those nearest and dearest to an entrepreneur are unlikely to demand an extortionate rate of interest and may simply choose to invest in the proposition based on sentiment.

Caleb explains these loan deals tend to be loose in structure and typically allow the recipient to repay the sum once the business has generated reasonable inflows and is able make repayments.

She said: 'This is probably not the best method to raise incredible amounts of money. Family and friends usually offer small amounts.

'You have to think about the reality of losing a friend and, perhaps even worse, falling out with a family member if all doesn't go to plan and you lose their money.'

There is a real possibility of falling out with family and friends if all does not go to plan

Ms Caleb advocates establishing from the outset whether the money being lent entitles the investor to shares in the company or is simply a loan.

Away from friends and family, your contacts can be an invaluable source to tap up for funding and knowledge.

This is particularly the case if you are starting or expanding a business in a field in which you have worked before and know people who are aware of your track record. Approaching them directly and asking them to invest or lend money to you, can pay off, as they may value your expertise and believe you can make your idea work.

Their advice and feedback can also prove to be a major asset in starting or expanding your business.

Business angels can add value by not only investing capital but offering their well-honed business expertise to start-up firms

Angel investing

Angel investors provide financial backing for early stage and start-up businesses in exchange for an ownership stake in the company. The likes of Facebook and Uber broke into the mainstream thanks to this mode of business funding.

If a start-up performs well, both parties would reap the financial rewards; conversely, if the venture goes south, the business angel would not expect their initial investment back.

There's an additional advantage of using an angel investor. A rule of thumb suggests that around nine out of 10 start-ups fail.

But business angels often go beyond pound and pence investment and lend their well-honed business expertise to younger firms. And it's this that really matters.

Bill Morrow, founder and chief executive at angel-led investing platform Angels Den said: 'We see over 100 business plans and applications every day for angel funding and each one asks us for the wrong thing.

'They all ask for money, whereas in our ten years of experience what they really need is mentorship, business experience, contacts and then the money.

'Raising capital is part of the process, but we are more interested in ensuring that they are equipped to survive three, four, five years down the line and what will kill almost every business is what they don't know, they don't even know.

'This where the clever money that sophisticated investors bring, comes into its own.'

This method of fund raising also enables start-up business bosses to raise capital without the need for collateral or the expectation of capital repayment and interest.

It all sounds good but there are a few important details that company chiefs should note.

Those who hand over a slice of their start-up are essentially waving goodbye to a chunk of their future earnings.

It is therefore absolutely imperative for founders to weigh up whether the value that an angel can offer justifies the demanded equity stake, or whether it is worth walking away from the deal to pursue other funding options.

Elsa Caleb, small start-up team manager at the Federation Of Small Businesses, said although business angels generally have a higher tolerance to risk than banks when it comes to investing in small business, they generally have higher expectations.

This expectation, compounded by the fact that many business angels have earned their stripes through developing a business from scratch, manifests into a higher performance burden on the start-up in receipt of angel funding, she added.

Around 2,980 businesses are backed by UK private equity and venture capital according to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association

Venture capital

Venture capital is a form of investment in early-stage companies that are believed to have high growth potential in exchange for a partial ownership of the company.

It sounds similar to the concept of angel investing but there are some key differences.

Angel investors are high net worth individuals who use their personal finance to fund investments. VC, meanwhile, is typically provided by a collective of rich private investors, or more often specialised financial institutions such as venture capital funds, investment banks and pension funds.

VCs generally want the companies they invest in to be sold within three to four years, but quick business growth can lead to even more problems down the line

In addition, business angels, who dish out an estimated 1.5billion in start-up firms each year in the UK, generally invest at an earlier stage in a company's life than a venture capital firm, and offer less money according to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Aside from the financial backing, VC can be a source of valuable business guidance and offer practical support, including financial management and human resource management.

However VC is not appropriate funding solution for every young business according to Adam Riccoboni, founder of business consultancy firm Critical Future.

He is no stranger to VC funding himself, having used the funding channel to raise 8million to grow a business consultancy platform Talmix - a business he co-founded with an old school friend.

Drawing from personal experience, Riccoboni argues that business freedoms are eroded the moment funds from a VC enter a start-up's bank account.

He said: 'VCs generally want the companies they invest in to be sold within three to four years, but quick business growth can lead to even more problems down the line.

'They want the business to be sold for an extraordinary amount of money so they are very particular on how the business operates.

'They take over - you lose control of your business. We essentially became an employee with shares and had to follow and execute a business plan set out by the VC.'

In some cases, a VC's stake in a start-up could exceed 50 per cent - resulting in the loss of management control.

It should be noted that VC and private equity are not one and the same. Private equity funds invest in more mature firms with the aim of reducing inefficiencies and driving business growth through often increased margins and/or new sources of revenue growth, according to the BPEVC Association.

It estimates that 2,980 businesses are backed by UK private equity and venture capital and employing around 385,000 full-time employees.

Any money pledged to a funding campaign made through an crowdfunding platform which falls short of its target is usually returned to the respective investors

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding usually takes place on a website platform where businesses or individuals typically explain their project to attract loans or investment from the public.

This space is evolving but there are four different models at present. These are donation-based crowdfunding; pre-payment or rewards-based crowdfunding; loan based also known as peer-to-peer; and equity investment based.

This mode of fund raising can be particularly useful for business chiefs who are unable to secure finances through other means. If you've got a popular product or idea that appeals to a wide audience, you are also likely to be able to raise money more easily this way.

Of course, you will have to publicise your idea though.

The medium is also a good gauge of the wider public's appetite to a business proposition. Money talks, so an influx of investment is a sign that a business idea could work well, according to Caleb.

She said: 'Crowdfunding is an excellent, albeit inadvertent, marketing strategy. Businesses that have managed to raise money through crowdfunding essentially have a large number of people backing them.

'It is in the group of investors' interest to see the business do well, meaning that they are likely to promote the company to friends and family.'

The first potential drawback of crowdfunding, however, is if you have a complex business idea. A lay-person is unlikely to be able to identify the opportunities behind credible but elaborate business ideas. Also they may not be willing to sift through lengthy research that affirms the credibility of a business plan.

In addition, if a funding campaign is just shy of its target, any finance pledged is usually returned to the respective investors. Failed fund raises could damage the reputation of both the entrepreneur and their business.

What is more, business ideas that float on crowdfunding platforms without intellectual property protection are in danger of being copied.

Where are the best places to start a business in the UK? Edinburgh tops the list of best cities to start a business according to a recent report by Expert Market, a firm that specialises in providing business solutions. The nation's capital, London, came third behind the Scottish capital and Bristol. London home to The Shard (pictured) came third behind Bristol and Edinburgh in the rankings The firm methodology took into account active business enterprises, business survival rates over a five-year period, start-up 'births' and prosperity, as well as the talent available in each city. Top ten Edinburgh Bristol London Liverpool Brighton Bradford Cardiff Leeds Leicester Glasgow

Loans and grants

The traditional way of securing start-up cash is going to the bank. Bank loans are good - if you can get one.

The British Business Bank estimates banks reject loan applications from some 100,000 small business each year - representing a funding shortfall of 4billion.

Banks will lend - and do lend huge sums every year - but in the post-financial crisis environment they are more risk averse and are therefore less likely to back more esoteric start-up propositions.

Banks can offer a large amount of capital to start-up businesses but applicants would need to jump through a number of hoops to secure funding

It is difficult for small businesses to secure a loan unless they have a substantial track record or hold valuable assets like property, according to Caleb.

Individuals with a low personal credit score are also likely to be denied a business loan from the outset. Many banks will also be unwilling lend if the loan applicant has not injected their own personal funds into the venture.

'They simply want to be assured that you'll be able to repay the money they lend. All banks have a different approach to judging this,' Caleb said.

'Do not forget that bank's loans can be called in at anytime so make sure that you have a plan B even if you are successful in getting the loan.

'The main thing banks look for when lending money is whether your business is able to repay the money they lend. All banks will have slightly different criteria they use to judge this. But there are common things you'll need to show them to prove you can repay the money.'

Bank loans are usually individually priced and have negotiable terms and conditions. Things like a solid balance sheet and attractive future revenue forecasts are likely to generate a low rate of interest.

There are also a handful of business grants - although they are hard to come by. These include The Prince's Trust which offers small low interest loans of up to 5,000 for young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 30

'In the grand scheme of things grants usually represent an incredible small amount of funding that business actually need to grow and prosper. People should use grants as leverage for something else,' Ms Caleb said.

One of the main positives of going it alone is retaining complete autonomy, but using personal assets to bankroll a new venture is a huge financial gamble

Do it yourself

Those who choose to start up a business without external funding answer to no-one and are therefore free to manage the company as and how they see fit within legal parameters.

Starting a business with minimal capital, also known as bootstrapping, teaches bosses some invaluable business skills including how to make their pound stretch further.

After a disappointing experience with venture capitalists in his earlier career, Riccoboni took a different tack with his latest venture - Critical Future - by going it alone.

'I did learn a lot from the venture capitalists from my first venture. There were some very strategic people on the board but that is not the only reason for the success of the new business.

'It helps that we are a consultancy business because we could create the company with very little set up costs. The fact that we managed to get revenue from clients from day one also helped.

'It did not cost a lot to set up the website. We funded it by bootstrapping. Entrepreneurs can build their website themselves by using templates.

'I would encourage small start-up to get a good and workable product or service to market and get selling. You can use the proceeds to further grow and develop your proposition.'

It should be noted that entrepreneurs who choose to use their own cash to get their business up and running are taking a financial gamble - especially if the business fails.

Also, without a substantial capital injection, businesses risk growth at a snail's pace and markets do not wait for anyone. Businesses that fail to quickly build scale are in danger of missing a window of opportunity that could propel them to new heights.
The US Navy conducted its first freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea under the Trump administration, according to a US officials.

By Reuters: A US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, US officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since US President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors. The so-called freedom of navigation operation, which is sure to anger China, comes as Trump is seeking Beijing's cooperation to rein in ally North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

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Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a state's coastline. One US official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China's claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The US patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. The United States has criticized China's construction of the man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the new administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office. Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon, without offering any details.

Still, the US military has a long-standing position that these operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations. The Pentagon said in a statement it was continuing regular freedom of navigation operations and would do more in the future but gave no details of the latest mission.

"We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in the statement.

US-CHINA RELATIONS

Under the previous administration, the US Navy conducted several such voyages through the South China Sea. The last operation was approved by then-President Barack Obama.

China's claims to the South China Sea, which sees about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade pass every year, are challenged by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan. The latest US patrol is likely to exacerbate US-China tensions that had eased since Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit at the US leader's Florida resort last month.

Trump lambasted China during the 2016 presidential campaign, accusing Beijing of stealing US jobs with unfair trade policies, manipulating its currency in its favor and militarizing parts of the South China Sea. In December, after winning office, he upended protocol by taking a call from the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China regards as its own sacred territory.

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But since meeting Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump has praised Xi for efforts to restrain North Korea, though Pyongyang has persisted with ballistic missile tests despite international condemnation.

US-based South China Sea expert Greg Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the operation was also the first conducted by the United States close to an artificial feature built by China not entitled to a territorial sea under international law. Previous freedom of navigation operations have gone within 12 nautical miles of Subi and Fiery Cross reefs, two other features in the Spratly built up by China, but both of those features are entitled to a territorial sea.

Mischief Reef was not entitled to a territorial sea as it was underwater at high tide before it was built up by China and was not close enough to another feature entitled to such a territorial sea, said Poling.

He said the key question was whether the US warship had engaged in a real challenge to the Chinese claims by turning on radar or launching a helicopter or boat -- actions not permitted in a territorial sea under international law.

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Otherwise, critics say, the operation would have resembled what is known as "innocent passage" and could have reinforced rather than challenged China's claim to a territorial limit around the reef.

Also Read:

India a victim of terror, says Donald Trump, calls upon Muslim nations to do their bit to defeat terrorism

US says Pakistan's 'support for anti-India militants' to blame for deteriorating New Delhi-Islamabad ties

Also Watch:

Modi and Trump speak for first time, decide both countries will combat terrorism together

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: national

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) India is awaiting a response from Pakistan on its request for consular access to Sheikh Nabi, reportedly an Indian, who was arrested in Islamabad for not possessing travel and visa documents.

"We have asked for facts. We have also asked for consular access. We await a response to our request," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

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Ahmed, who hailed from Jogeshwari East in Mumbai, was taken into custody on May 19 after he failed to produce any travel or visa documents, according to media reports.

The Indian national was walking on a road when he was stopped at a check post here. Police demanded to check his visa documents after he told them that he was an Indian.

However, Ahmed could not produce any document and was taken into police custody, the reports said.

Later a case was registered against him for illegal entry and stay in Pakistan under Section 14 of Foreigners Act 1946 and sent to jail on judicial remand for 14 days.

It was not clear why and how he came to Pakistan. PTI PYK ASK

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By Jackson Chen

Manhattan Express

Gov. Andrew Cuomo believes his administration can do better than the federal government, so he is requesting that Amtrak hand over the critically needed Penn Station repair project to New York state or a private operator.

The nations largest rail hub, which Cuomo likened to catacombs, is already running at double capacity, serving more than 600,000 passengers a day. Service out of Penn Station, shared by the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor, has been disrupted by two derailments and frequent track problems in recent weeks, angering riders.

Conditions on the citys transit system  the subways and the LIRR  have reached crisis levels in the view of many elected officials and transportation experts.

Amtrak, which owns the station and is responsible for maintenance of the tracks, plans to embark on an emergency repair project beginning July 7  an effort the governor now wants to commandeer. Amtrak has said the repairs will take six weeks and reduce peak train service during that period by 20 percent, but Cuomo is skeptical of its ability to carry out the complicated project on time.

Now, even if Amtrak could get this done in six weeks, if you reduce trains coming into Penn by 20 percent, it will be a summer of hell for commuters, the governor said. Amtrak has had a track record of coming with a schedule and the actuality has no connection whatsoever to a schedule.

Instead, Cuomos May 23 proposal to the federal government would allow New York state to take over the repair project. The governor also wants to merge the Penn Station repairs with the nearby Moynihan Station and Gateway projects.

While the Moynihan project will transform the landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building into Manhattans new base for Amtrak trains, the Gateway project will repair two deteriorated tunnels underneath the Hudson River and create a new tunnel to double the train capacity between New York and New Jersey.

Cuomo said since the state already has a hand in these two major projects, Amtrak should surrender the reins of the Penn Station repairs to Empire State Development, which he asserted would be able to coordinate all three projects.

The best way to do this  is do it as one unified project under one project manager and have the entire project work together, Cuomo said at a news conference at the CUNY Graduate Center on 34th Street.

The governor said he has already spoken with legislative leaders in the city and in Albany who offered support for his proposal. State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-LI), City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), and City Comptroller Scott Stringer are among those who have spoken up favorably about the idea.

To further engage key stakeholders, Cuomo is assembling a taskforce to work with the federal government in seeking short-term and long-term solutions for the Penn Station, Gateway, and the Moynihan projects.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan), who will be joining Cuomos taskforce, focused on the question of Washingtons willingness to provide adequate resources, saying in a written statement Amtraks main issue has been a lack of funding and the federal government has both a responsibility and an obligation to fund this vital transportation network, which is important not just to New York state but the entire Northeast Corridor.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) was even harsher about the federal government living up to its funding responsibilities, especially in light of the Trump administration budget released this week.

The presidents proposal to slash infrastructure investments is a job-killing, 180-degree turn away from his repeated promise of a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Schumer said in a written statement.

Still, it seems that Cuomo has not given up entirely on Trumps promise of better infrastructure throughout the nation.

President Trump has talked about a trillion-dollar infrastructure program. What better single project can you have than this project? Cuomo said.

Cuomo also acknowledged the Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys struggling performance with the subway system.

To spur creative outside-the-box ideas, the governor said he challenged the MTA to initiate an international competition to solicit solutions to what he described as the systems three major challenges: more trains running, improved train cars, and a modern transit system overall. To provide some incentive, Cuomo said the state would offer a $1 million Genius Transit Challenge award for the winning solutions in each of the categories.

After hearing the MTAs projected 40- to 50-year time frame to upgrade the subways signal system, Cuomo said he concluded government needs to begin exploring ideas from sources other than the usual industry experts,

I will be dead in the next 40 years, Cuomo said. It cannot take 40 years to put in a new signal system. Ideas are out there, the technology is out there. We need to get those ideas and technology here.
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By Tammy Scileppi

Two local artists have checked into a couple of hip hotels in Long Island City, and theyre inviting the public to drop by their studios and check out their art.

Erin Treacy and Jennifer Williams, both from Sunnyside, are artists-in-residence for the summer  at the Paper Factory Hotel and Z NYC Hotel, respectively  as part of the ArtHotel Residency, a new program of the Queens Council on the Arts in partnership with the Queens Art Fund and the two hotels.

QCA chose them from a wide pool of local applicants based upon criteria that included artistic excellence, a public engagement experience, and a clear proposal of art activity to happen during the three-month residency running from April through late June.

We are delighted to be able to offer a chance for artists to create work in unexpected places, and we are thrilled to have the support of the local hotels who understand our concerns for artists need of space to work, said QCAs executive director Hoong Yee Krakauer.

Treacy is working out of a large, sunny studio in the historic Paper Factory Hotel, at 37-06 36th St., at the edge the Kaufman Arts District.

Erins abstract, colorful art and her personality were the perfect fit for what the owner, Gal Sela, aims to build in his bigger-picture vision of artists at Paper Factory Hotel, said the hotels creative director Jeigh Hall. As many museums as there are in NYC for tourists, they dont always have the ability to see live art-making while also having the opportunity to engage directly with the artist. Paper Factory Hotels aim has always been to create an environment dedicated to welcoming artists and musicians from all over the world, and were excited to have Erin Treacy as our first official ArtHotel Residence. This is definitely not the first or last time we plan on working with artists on projects like this.

You can find Treacy working at her easel on Mondays and Fridays, from 26 p.m. You can also join her for an Artist Talk on Tuesday, May 30, from 7:309:30 p.m. Her closing talk will be Thursday, June 29, 6:308:30 p.m.

Working in the studio is usually a solo pursuit for me, said the artist, who felt that her hotel stay has allowed her to open up the studio process and discussion with a larger community. It is a great open and sunny space that will surely contribute to my palette and allow for me to expand the scale of my work.

Treacy, 35, has been adding the finishing touches to two large paintings and a series of drawings and paper sculptures, and said she works to evoke beauty, vibrancy, and wonder of being in and of the world simultaneously.

Using abstract and impressionistic forms, I work to deconstruct our sense of space and movement, allowing color and shape to be our only guide, she said.

Photographer and collage artist Jennifer Williams is setting up her workspace in the Z NYC Hotel 11-01 43rd Ave. in LIC.

Since her residency started, Williams has been shooting photos around the neighborhood, printing them out, and assembling them collage-style into a surreal cityscape, taking the non-descript space of a hotel room and localizing it by bringing the outside world in.

The idea, Williams explained, was to use the hotel room as a blank canvas and cover it with images shot from each direction.

For instance, to the north is the Queensboro Bridge, so the north will be filled with the intricacies of its off ramps and how they weave in between buildings and lots, she said. The southeast contains tons of new construction, so the walls will be filled with images depicting the area around the Citibank Building and its mega-growth.

The installation has been growing as the artist walks and bikes the neighborhood repeatedly, learning its intricacies and quirks.

The public aspect of her ArtHotel project involves asking guests at the hotel to share their pictures of the neighborhood in hopes it will encourage them to explore the neighborhood and share the images they shoot along the way according to Williams, whose day job is teaching and managing the photo lab at The Cooper Union in Manhattan.

The city is a vast machine that can seem overwhelming to the individual, Williams said. We often take the shortest routes between points A and B for efficiency and turn a blind eye to everything as we go. My work asks the viewer to take a moment when they leave the gallery to consider their surroundings and the past, present, and future they hold.

If all goes according to plan, the pictures will be turned into a small takeaway book by the end of the project.

The photographer will open her studio starting on Friday, June 9, 48 p.m. Williams will not have regular open-studio hours like Treacy, but you can see the dates and times at: www.queenscouncilarts.org/calendar/2017/5/11/arthotel-open-studio-jennifer-williams.

If you go

Erin Treacys Artist Talk

Where: Paper Factory Hotel 37-06 36th St., LIC

When: Tuesday, May 30, 7:309:30 pm

Jennifer Williamss Artist Talk

Where: Z NYC Hotel 11-01 43rd Ave., LIC

When: Friday, June 23, 6 pm
Times' Game of the Week Preview: No. 4 Mapletown vs. No. 5 South Side

No. 5 South Side gears up to stop the top-scoring No. 4 Mapletown Maples and star running back Landan Stevenson in the quarterfinal Class 1A matchup.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's economic development agency is giving GlobalFoundries $7.5 million to help pay for a new, $210 million extreme ultraviolet lithography tool being installed at its Fab 8 computer chip factory in Malta.

The grant is coming from a $208 million pool of money set aside in the latest state budget for various SUNY Polytechnic Institute programs across the state that needed attention following the school's bid-rigging scandal.

In this case, the grant to GlobalFoundries will help pay for $89.1 million in upgrades to a $120 million extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography tool that was originally supposed to be installed at SUNY Poly for a research partnership with the school.

The tool, called the NXE: 3300, is made by the Dutch company ASML.

After the SUNY Poly scandal broke, the EUV partnership between SUNY Poly and GlobalFoundries fell apart, followed by rumors that SUNY Poly owed GlobalFoundries more than $100 million.

It appears that those rumors, which could not be substantiated at the time, concerned what to do with the $120 million EUV tool, which had already been ordered from ASML.

Thursday's action by the ESD board appears to finally address the issue.

The $7.5 million grant from the state will be used to help GlobalFoundries upgrade its order to ASML's next-generation EUV machine, the NXE: 3400 scanner, which specializes in 7 nanometer and 5 nanometer etching.

The total cost of those upgrades is $89.1 million, with GlobalFoundries paying $81.6 million of that bill.

"The funding approved today by the board squares up the state's commitment to GlobalFoundries and supports their efforts to develop cutting-edge technology in New York state," ESD spokesman Jason Conwall said. "The state's longstanding partnership with GlobalFoundries has produced tremendous results for upstate New York, and today's action ensures it will continue to remain strong."

The state first approved funding for Fab 8 back in 2006 when the state Legislature and Gov. George Pataki approved $650 million in cash and nearly $1 billion in tax breaks for the plant, which today employs 3,000 people.

ESD officials said that the grant would support 12 new jobs and 400 existing jobs related to advanced lithography at Fab 8.

The ASML tool funding comes as GlobalFoundries is hiring contractors and new employees to gear up for the addition of 7 nanometer chip manufacturing at Fab 8, an effort expected to cost billions of dollars this year and next.
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The skull found Feb. 26 in a Coxsackie swamp belonged to an adult male, age 20 to 50, State Police said Thursday afternoon.

The man's identity is still unknown, State Police Lt. Peter Cirigliano said.

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner performed the anthropological tests that confirmed the man's gender and approximate age. Cirigliano said investigators hope a nuclear DNA test will help them match the remains to a missing person case.

The skull fragments  spotted partially buried in state wetlands along the Hudson River in Greene County  prompted widespread speculation over whether the remains belonged to 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker, who vanished in 2007.

Three months later, all signs point to another, unidentified victim  with most of the information released early on now turning up as unconfirmed. Privately, State Police have said for weeks that nothing pointed to the possibility the remains were those of a child.

But the case caused friction between the police chief who has spent nearly a decade investigating the boy's disappearance and the state investigators probing the skull's discovery.

Troopers have bristled at other agencies' premature leaks, while Greenwich-Cambridge police Chief George Bell said his case has been mired in miscommunication.

"I'm so frustrated by this," Bell said Thursday. "Shame on whoever could not reach out to me and say this (skull) isn't connected to my case. It bothers me that it hits the media before me."

Cirgliano, who is leading the skull investigation, said he planned to call Bell and other police agencies once the medical examiner's report arrived Thursday afternoon.

"It's not like there is anything we are withholding," Cirigliano said.

Days after the skull was found, Bell said he delivered his Rainwalker cases files, including more DNA samples, to the State Police laboratory  a step he said he'd "never done before."

Bell was "doing what every agency who has a missing (persons) case does," Cirigliano said. The lieutenant has consistently declined to discuss the details of his ongoing investigation, except to say he is casting a wide net.

"We wouldn't exclude anyone," Cirigliano said on March 20, referring to missing persons from across the country. "Anything is sheer speculation until we are lucky enough to extract DNA from the skull."

The decomposing bone fragments were sent to the New York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office, whose forensic anthropology unit helped identify the remains of World Trade Center victims. The results of their examination are expected to be released Thursday, Cirigliano said.

Rainwalker vanished from his adoptive parents' Washington County home in November 2007. Police believe foul play was involved and have scrutinized his adoptive father but no one was ever charged in his disappearance.

An upstate forensic anthropologist, who first examined the skeletal fragments, originally said the skull likely came from a boy between the age 10 and 13. The state Department of Environmental Conservation broke the news March 6 that the skull possibly belonged to a young boy  an announcement that State Police Lt. Brian Webster said the DEC did not coordinate with troopers.

"Unfortunately, the information got out there and gave a lot of people a false sense of hope," Cirigliano said March 9.

Weeks later, that age determination wavered. Bell said in late March that investigators believed the skull could have belonged to a male ranging from age 10 to 50.

Bell also said investigators originally estimated the remains washed up 5 to 10 years ago into the Vosburgh Swamp in Coxsackie. But, by mid-May the chief said he'd heard divergent rumors, from the skull having washed up recently to it belonging to a generations-old Native American.

State Police have declined to comment and Bell said his conversations with the media have had a chilling effect with law enforcement partners.

"I don't even know where (the skull) is at this point," he said on May 16. "I'm very discouraged."

On Thursday, the chief said he heard the State Police were set to release information on the skull only after reporters called him for comment.

Bell said it brought back memories of the days following Rainwalker's disappearance. As evidence technicians swept the boy's home, Bell said he asked troopers what he should say to the journalists waiting outside. Their reply, according to the chief, was, "You don't say nothing."

Bell said he told the lead investigator: "With all due respect, I'm a chief of police in a small town. ... No one will bother you in a State Police headquarters but I can't hide from them here."
ALBANY  After a 4-year-old boy's custom wheelchair disappeared from a Pine Hills sidewalk Tuesday morning, city police are investigating whether it was stolen or accidentally thrown away.

The boy's family leaves the wheelchair on the sidewalk outside their Hamilton Street home from 7:50 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. every day while they get the child ready for school, Albany police spokesman Lt. Brian Hogan said.
CLIFTON PARK - In an effort to establish cultural literacy, the Shenendehowa East High School has reserved a room for students to pray during Ramadan.

The month-long holiday observance begins Friday evening and the designated prayer room is meant to accommodate students of the Muslim faith whom the local Imam says face harassment when they try to pray  an essentially practice during the holy month.

"There is so much pressure on the students," said Halfmoon Imam Mohammad Radie. "Basically, we requested the room for Ramadan prayers, for them to be able to practice their religion in security. Thankfully, the school responded."

But some parents are not happy, including one who said the school district crossed a line.

"It has opened a Pandora's box," said one mother, who was initially willing to be named, but later asked to be anonymous, citing concerns her children could be harassed. "If I was a Devil worshipper, would I get a room?"

In a letter to parents, High School Principal Donald Flynt, said that the room is an accommodation and not something that is being forced on any student.

"Please note that is voluntary and student-initiated," Flynt wrote. "Involvement of school employees is a non-participatory capacity. The allowance of this does not materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school."

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder and co-president of Freedom from Religion Foundation, said that prayer in school is legally allowable if it is an accommodation and does not disrupt the school day.

Promoting religion is not, she said.

"Our first impression is that this is a reasonable accommodation," said Gaylor. "It is important that schools not get carried away and it's always worth monitoring. Principals should beware appearing to promote prayer or praise it in students."

Gaylor also said that less than 1 percent of American students are Muslim, so a question on Ramadan rarely comes up. The percentage might be less than that at Shenendehowa High School where approximately 2,830 attend. Radie said that only a handful of students are Muslim at Shen and will be using the room.

Regardless, the Shen mom said after years of erasing any semblance of religion in schools, she feels the Shenendehowa district is giving special treatment to the Islamic community.

"We all have to manage going to school and our religion," she said. "It's O.K. before school, after school, but not while school is in session."

Kelly DeFeciani, spokeswoman for Shenendehowa said the district, cites federal law.

"In some circumstances, schools may be required to make accommodations that relieve substantial burdens on students' religious exercise," she said. "We have the day off for other religion holy days or students can miss school and it is an excused absence but that would mean that these students miss a month of school. So the principal provided this classroom."

Gaylor said she disagrees with religious accommodations in schools, but said it is the law.

"I believe, as JFK did, in 'an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,'" she said. "I do not think Congress should have passed the Equal Access Act or the Supreme Court should have blessed it (which allows religious - or irreligious- clubs to meet in public schools that offer other clubs). But the law in our country has evolved to consider these accommodations, and this seems like the best the school could probably do under those circumstances."
By Press Trust of India: By Gurdip Singh

Singapore, May 25 (PTI) The week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has come to a close.

The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded yesterday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapores F-15SG fighter jets, Singapores Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

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Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and at a sea phase in the South China Sea.

This years exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.

The RSN deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti), and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircrafts and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.

During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings, the defence ministry statement said.

The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions, it said.

Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years -- from a serial-based exercise to todays mission- based exercise -- incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," the commanding officer of RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Albert Khoo said.

Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses.

INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the RSNs Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura ? Changi Naval Base on May 15 and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) Asia from May 16 to 18.

Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said. PTI GS CK

--- ENDS ---
Schenectady

Hundreds of General Electric Co. employees now have covered parking, and GE has lower electric bills, thanks to an array of 6,800 solar modules covering the lot near its largest manufacturing building here.

GE officials on Thursday unveiled what they're calling upstate New York's largest solar carport. The event was held in an outdoor pavilion in driving rain.

"It still provides power," said Erik Schiemann, general manager of solar at GE's Current division, as rain ran off the pavilion roof. Except at night, "it's always producing energy," he said.

Schiemann heads a team of about three dozen people based in Schenectady. GE describes Current as a "holistic approach to energy and intelligence," blending networks of sensors with software and advanced technologies to make commercial and industrial properties more energy efficient.

Another efficiency: In the winter, cars parked under the solar modules don't need to be cleared of snow.

The carport is capable of producing up to 2.26 megawatts of power, and is expected to save GE about $1.5 million on its utility bills.

"GE believes that energy should be more affordable, reliable and sustainable everywhere, including on our own campuses," said Maryrose Sylvester, president and CEO of Boston-based Current. "This site has a tremendous history of manufacturing. It's really appropriate that this is where we place our largest solar carport facility."

The new carport produces the equivalent of 10 percent of the power consumed by Building 273, where GE manufactures its massive turbines.

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State Assembly member Angelo Santabarbara, who attended Thursday's event and is a member of the Assembly energy committee, said the carport also might one day recharge employees' electric vehicles.

Already, he said, more than 400 solar energy companies call New York home, employing more than 5,000 highly skilled workers.

Current, meanwhile, is installing a number of solar carports and ground-mounted solar modules, with customers that range from Partners Healthcare to Smith & Wesson.
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Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the Wilmington, Det., police officer who discussed the arrest of Joevany "Moon" Luna. The officer's name is Sgt. Andrea Janvier.

SCHENECTADY  A reputed Panamanian gang member from Delaware with a violent past has been charged with the contract killing of a man on a Bellevue Street last year, say several people with knowledge of the ongoing murder probe into last year's fatal shooting of Charles Dembrosky.

The suspected hit man, Joevany "Moon" Luna, 42, was nabbed Tuesday in a car on East 12th Street in his hometown of Wilmington, Del., said Wilmington Police Sgt. Andrea Janvier.

Asked Thursday about the contract killing, an illegal agreement between two or more parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for some form of payment, monetary or otherwise, Schenectady Police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Dearing declined comment.

Schenectady police are also hunting for a second man, Luna's alleged accomplice, and could make an arrest as early as Friday, according to those individuals who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the pending investigation.

Luna, who is being held on $1 million bail at the Howard Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Dembrosky, 49.

A passerby called police to 2436 Campbell Ave. just before 7 a.m. that day after spotting Dembrosky's body near a bush at the corner of 12th Street and Campbell Avenue.

Paramedics treated Dembrosky but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

In 2011, Dembrosky bought the property at 2436-38 Campbell Ave., real estate records show.

At the time, neighbors described the area as very quiet, but routinely cited the two-story duplex as a source of problems for nearby residents.

They described the house and its occupants as particularly loud for the neighborhood, citing incidents of yelling, arguing and cursing in the early morning hours as well as an unusual number of visitors and traffic at the home.

Janvier confirmed that Luna has a long rap sheet. In 2011, Luna pleaded guilty to first-degree assault for a 2009 drug-related shooting at the Maryland motel that wounded a man.

In exchange for his guilty plea the state of Maryland dismissed six additional counts of the indictment against Luna.

Luna, then 36, was sentenced to seven years in prison for shooting the man.

Law enforcement authorities in Maryland said Luna was a member of a Panamanian gang. He also faced federal charges.

In January, police announced a $5,000 reward for help in solving the case. It was not immediately clear Thursday if the reward played a role in Luna's arrest.
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DUANESBURG -- A man has died after a crash involving a Mohawk Ambulance on Route 20 in Duanesburg.

Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino said a 64-year-old man died after the rig crashed into a tree at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday as it was bringing a patient home.

Dagostino said the driver and another passenger were taken to the hospital. He did not know what their conditions were.

It was unclear at this time what caused the crash, which occurred between Mott and Suits roads. The highway was closed in both directions during the crash investigation but reopened after 10 p.m.

Mohawk Ambulance Service, without addressing the death, said in a statement that it was one of their vehicles, but the service did not provide any details on how the crash occurred.
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Manchester, England

British security forces raided an apartment building Wednesday in Manchester as they investigated a network of people allegedly behind the concert bombing. Hundreds of soldiers were sent to secure sites across the country, including Buckingham Palace and Parliament.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the bomber, Salman Abedi, "likely" did not act alone when he killed 22 people and wounded scores Monday night at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Rudd said Abedi had been known to security forces "up to a point."

Abedi, a 22-year-old British citizen born to Libyan parents who grew up around Manchester, died in the attack.

In Libya, authorities arrested Abedi's father and a younger brother. The anti-terror force that took the brother, 18-year-old Hashim, into custody said the teen had confessed that he and his brother were a part of the Islamic State group and Hashim Abedi had been aware of the details of the attack.

The father, Ramadan Abedi, denied his son's involvement Wednesday.

Another man taken into custody Tuesday in Manchester was identified by Abedi's father as another son, 23-year-old Ismail.

British police, meanwhile, arrested four additional suspects on Wednesday and were assessing a package carried by one of the men, detained in Wigan, a town west of Manchester. Authorities were raiding properties thought to be connected to Abedi. No one has been charged in the case and authorities have not identified the suspects.

"I think it's very clear this is a network we are investigating," said Chief Constable Ian Hopkins of the Manchester Police.

Many at the concert were young girls and teens enthralled by Grande's pop power.

Officials are examining Abedi's trips to Libya and possibly Syria as they piece together his allegiances and try to foil any new potential threats.

The government said nearly 1,000 soldiers were deployed Wednesday in high-profile sites in London and elsewhere, replacing police, who can work on counterterrorism duties.
A war broke out in the middle of the 20th century over what urban planning could and should accomplish, a struggle engagingly documented in "Citizen Jane: Battle for the City." And it is a kind of war movie, centering on the wildly differing visions of writer and activist Jane Jacobs and New York City planning czar Robert Moses.

Jacobs, the film's heroine and winner of the battle, wrote one of the seminal books about city planning, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," published in 1961 and still read and taught. She had a street-level vision of cities, based on the everyday lives of the inhabitants, congregating on stoops and watching the busy scene below from their apartment windows.

Emblematic of then-modern city planning, Moses and his like had an austere vision based on ideas of Le Corbusier and others to replace aging and disorderly slums with high-rise projects grouped in bunches with few of the amenities of the old neighborhoods. This was called urban renewal, and its many errors are now widely recognized.

This film documents the beginnings of that recognition, in which Greenwich Village resident Jacobs played a notable role, although she was but one of many in what became a large movement. She started out as a journalist, and had a sharp eye for detail that would prove invaluable in the battle. Early in her career, she wrote a story about city manhole covers, noticing they were embossed with interesting patterns. She used her writing skills to confound Moses, and taught herself how to organize an effective protest.

More Information *** Review "Citizen Jane: Battle for the City" Rated: Not rated Running time: 92 minutes **** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor See More Collapse

Moses, who had the ear of politicians and developers, amassed a lot of power and openly sneered at the growing opposition  why, some of them were mere housewives and mothers! Is it possible the film is a bit hard on him? We now see the destructive effects of his "take no prisoners" methods, but despite his prickly personality, he seems to have genuinely felt he was improving people's lives.

In any case, he wasn't, and this first long section of the movie, focused on the high-rise aspect of urban renewal, ends with a montage of projects  and not only in New York  being dynamited into dust, which puts a dramatic exclamation point to Jacobs' victory.

Perhaps too abruptly, the movie now switches gears to focus on planners' efforts to accommodate the American love affair with cars, which eventually prompted one of Moses' most ambitious (and bone-chilling) proposals  building a highway connecting the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges to the Holland Tunnel, a road that would have been known as the Lower Manhattan Expressway.

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Moses' bulldozers would have gotten quite a workout. Jacobs, naturally, threw herself into the opposition. The roadway was never built.

Filmmaker=journalist Matt Tyrnaeur, who in 2008 directed "Valentino: The Last Emperor," does a capable if not especially dazzling job of communicating the outlines of the struggle. There are lots of archival photos and footage and talking heads, perhaps the most enjoyable of whom is the late Mayor Ed Koch, who recalls his days as an urban activist and discusses the hated plan to extend Fifth Avenue through Washington Square Park.

The Jacobs vs. Moses story has been recounted many times (even inspiring an opera last year, "A Marvelous Order"). It's a complicated tale, and at 92 minutes, the film is a very brief summary. But it's a story that needs telling, as Tyrnauer proves with footage showing China's massive program of erecting high-rise residences that bear more than a passing resemblance to the old American projects. Economist Saskia Sassen is heard offering this scary thought: "China today is like Moses on steroids."
By Press Trust of India: By Gurdip Singh

Singapore, May 25 (PTI) The Indian Navy and the Singapore Navy have concluded a week-long bilateral military exercise in the South China Sea, during which they conducted a series of advanced naval warfare drills, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings.

The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded yesterday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapores F-15SG fighter jets, Singapores Ministry of Defence said in a statement here.

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This years exercise is the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.

Hosted by Singapore, the exercise comprised a shore phase held at renamed RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base and a sea phase in the South China Sea.

The Singapore Navy deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti) and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.

The drills also saw the inaugural participation of the Republic of Singapore Air Forces F-15SG fighter aircraft.

Aside from the two F-15SG fighter aircraft, the RSAF also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircraft and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.

"During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings," the statement said.

"The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions," it added.

Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years ? from a serial-based exercise to todays mission- based exercise incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," said CO RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Albert Khoo.

Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses.

Testament to the warm and long-standing defence ties between both countries, INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the Singapore Navys Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura ? Changi Naval Base on May 15, and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) Asia from May 16 to 18.

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Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said. PTI GS CK ZH

--- ENDS ---
Nenagh Hospital and South Tipperary General Hospital are participating in the National Patient Experience Survey, a new nationwide survey asking patients for their views on hospital care.

With an estimated 27,000 patients eligible to participate, approximately 700 of these in the Tipperary area, this will be the largest single survey of the healthcare system to be conducted in Ireland. All adult patients who spend at least 24 hours in a public hospital and who are discharged during the month of May will be asked to complete the survey.

The National Patient Experience Survey covers all aspects of a patients stay in hospital, including admission and discharge, the ward environment, interaction with staff, and care and treatment. The survey contains 58 tick-box questions and three open-ended questions, where participants have the opportunity to comment on what they found good about the care they received in hospital, and also provide suggestions for improvement.

HIQAs Tracy OCarroll, visiting both Nenagh Hospital and South Tipperary General Hospital today, Thursday, encourages all eligible patients in Tipperary to participate in the survey: This is a great opportunity for patients to tell us about their hospital experience. By taking part in the National Patient Experience Survey patients can help us to identify areas for improvement, and also tell us the positive work that is carried out every day in Irish hospitals.

Welcoming the launch of the survey, Maria Barry, General Manager of South Tipperary General Hospital, says: There are a number of ways in which patients can and do provide feedback on our hospital services. In South Tipperary General Hospital we work continuously to refine our services on the feedback received. However, we can always improve on our services and are delighted that our patients voices will be listened to as part of the National Patient Experience Survey.

Cathrina Ryan, Operational Director of Nursing at Nenagh Hospital, adds: Patient feedback has always been important and encouraged in Nenagh Hospital. We continuously strive to make improvements based on what our patients tell us. This national survey is a fantastic opportunity on a large scale to gain invaluable feedback and a greater insight into what our patients experience when they use our services.

It is accepted internationally that the key to creating a better healthcare service is to focus on the patient and to learn from their experiences. With this in mind, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has joined forces with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health to carry out the first ever National Patient Experience Survey.

The results of the survey will be used to improve the standard of hospital care for all patients, not just in Tipperary, but across the country. The responses will help to set priorities for the delivery of better patient-centred care in all Irish hospitals, with the aim of creating more effective and efficient healthcare organisations, both nationally, and locally.

The National Patient Experience Survey will allow for comparisons of patient experiences at a hospital-group and national level, but also, for the first time in Ireland, facilitate a comparison with international best practice. Patient experience surveys are regularly conducted in other countries, including Scotland, England, Denmark and New Zealand.

Patients eligible to participate in the National Patient Experience Survey will receive a survey pack in the post approximately two weeks after their discharge from either Nenagh Hospital or South Tipperary General Hospital. This pack contains the survey, an information leaflet and a Freepost envelope in which to return the completed survey. The survey can also be completed online up until 26 July 2017.

Find out more about the National Patient Experience Survey at www.patientexperience.ie, on Twitter @NPESurvey or on Facebook /NPESurvey.
[May 24, 2017]

CAMMS sponsors Sri Lanka Institute of Directors Risk Management discussion panel

CAMMS is the Platinum Sponsor for Sri Lanka Institute of Directors' discussion panel titled "Risk -- What the Board Should Know".

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) software vendor CAMMS -- a world leader in planning and strategy, project, risk and meeting management software, as well as budgeting, workforce and analytics solutions -- is the Platinum Sponsor for the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) discussion panel on Risk Management.

Taking place at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo on Thursday 25 May, the panel discussion -- "Risk  What the Board Should Know" -- features CAMMS Managing Director, Joe Collins. Collins will share his expert views on risk; one of the most critical aspects affecting modern day organizational success. The expert panel will discuss pertinent issues relating to Risk Management, in order to help company board members an senior management professionals understand and improve their Risk Management strategies.







For more information about the event, GO HERE: http://www.slid.lk/risk-what-board-should-know/

"Risk Management plays a pivotal role in modern day organizational operations," said CAMMS Asia General Manager, Sanharsha Jayatissa. "As experts in Risk Management, CAMMS assists organizations to seamlessly manage risks, audits, incidents and hazards with our intuitive enterprise Risk Management software."

The panel discussion will attract both SLID members as well as non-members from top corporates.

"Taking a focussed approach to Risk Management should be more than a compliance requirement," said SLID in a statement. "Today's complex and volatile commercial, business and political climate demands that Risk Management take center stage at board discussions."

About CAMMS

CAMMS is a global Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) software company dedicated to transforming organizational strategy into reality. CAMMS offers the world's only true end-to-end, fully integrated, EPM platform.

Able to be used independently, or as part of a complete EPM platform, CAMMS is a world leader in planning and strategy, project, risk and meeting management software, as well as budgeting, workforce and analytics solutions.

Founded in 1996, CAMMS has tens of thousands of users across five continents, with offices in the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

For regular news and updates, follow CAMMS on Twitter (@Cammsgroup), LinkedIn (camms-group), YouTube (cammsgroup), Facebook (cammsgroup) or Google+ (cammsgroupsolutions).

For further media information, interviews, images or product demonstration, please contact:

Lachlan James, CAMMS Global Marketing Communications Manager on +61 (0)8 8113 4821, +61 (0)431 835 658 or [email protected]

SOURCE CAMMS
[May 25, 2017] Florida Cyber Charter Academy to Hold First-Ever Graduation Ceremony

Florida Cyber Charter Academy (FLCCA), an accredited, full-time online public charter school serving students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, will host its first-ever graduation and student awards celebration on Friday, June 2nd. Open to all students who reside in Clay, Duval, Osceola and Pasco counties, FLCCA offers a personalized online education tailored to the specific needs of students through individualized learning plans developed by state-certified teachers. FLCCA provides courses in language arts/English literature, math, science, history, music, art, and world languages. The commencement event will honor the 2017 graduates, provide recognition for rising class promotions, and celebrate the achievement of outstanding students. Kindergarten, 5th and 8th grade classes will receive rising class promotion recognition and seniors will celebrate graduation. Special achievement awards for students in grades K-12 will also be presented. The ceremony will conclude with refreshments and music to honor student accomplishments with fellow students, parents, teachers and staff. The event is open to all FLCCA families; prior registration is required. FLCCA students and their families can register online for the event at this link: https://goo.gl/forms/JvqvEn3DHk4MQCkr2



Details of the celebration are as follows: Florida Cyber Charter Academy Graduation Ceremony

Friday, June 2, 2017

11 a.m.

Majestic Event Center

801 N. John Parkway

Orlando, Florida 32084

About Florida Cyber Charter Academy Florida Cyber Charter Academy (FLCCA) is a full-time, online public school available to K-12 students in Clay, Duval, Osceola and Pasco counties. As part of the Florida public school system, enrollment in FLCCA is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the engaging curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of proprietary K-12 curriculum and online education programs. For more information about FLCCA, visit http://flcca.k12.com/. About K12 Inc. K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12's curriculum serves over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered more than four million courses over the past decade. K12 is a company consisting of thousands of online school educators providing instruction, academic services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered through K12 partner public schools in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and through private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More information can be found at K12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005615/en/

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[May 25, 2017] Mouser Electronics Partners with Macnica to Support Engineers in Japan from Prototype to Production

Mouser Electronics, Inc. and Macnica, Inc. are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership to deliver the highest levels of service and support to Japanese design engineers. With the partnership, Mouser and Macnica are introducing a new co-branded website available to customers in Japan. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005960/en/ Mouser Electronics is partnering with Macnica to deliver the highest levels of service and support to Japanese electronic design engineers. With the distribution partnership, Mouser and Macnica are introducing a new co-branded website available for customers in Japan. (Photo: Business Wire) Macnica is the leading Japanese semiconductor distributor focused on offering technical support and the continuous advancement of its technological capabilities. Macnica became an industry pioneer by creating a business model that focused on providing technical support and established itself as a new type of "technical trading company." Mouser is the industry's leading New Product Introduction (NPI) distributor with an e-commerce model that makes it easy for engineers and buyers to find engineering quantities of the newest products for their designs. In addition, Mouser offers instant availability of both development tools and semiconductor products from the leading manufacturers. "We are excited to partner with Macica and leverage our e-commerce and NPI expertise to serve engineering customers in Japan," said Glenn Smith, Mouser President and CEO. "We will be able to maximize our strengths for mutual benefit and serve Japanese engineers with the highest levels of service while increasing our brand presence in this important market."



Through the partnership, customers in Japan can speed time-to-market by taking advantage of Mouser's and Macnica's complementary distribution models. Mouser will handle new product content and engineering quantities for prototype development, while Macnica will focus on volume distribution and technical support for engineers across Japan. "The online business has become increasingly important to our business. Mouser is a world-class e-commerce company focused on engineering quantities and new product introductions," said Kiyoshi Nakashima, President and CEO of Macnica. "This joint partnership with Mouser will allow us to better serve our customers by offering an online presence combined with vast inventory and world-class fulfillment and Macnica's technical support. We look forward to offering new value to Japanese customers and supporting them throughout their design cycle challenges."

With its broad product line and unsurpassed customer service, the Macnica-Mouser co-branded site strives to empower innovation among design engineers and buyers by delivering advanced technologies. The Macnica-Mouser co-branded site stocks the world's widest selection of the latest semiconductors and electronic components for the newest design projects. Customers in Japan can visit the new Macnica-Mouser site, available in Japanese and English, at http://www.macnica-mouser.jp/. About Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an award-winning, authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor focused on rapid New Product Introductions from its manufacturing partners for electronic design engineers and buyers. The global distributor's website, Mouser.com, is available in multiple languages and currencies and features more than 4 million products from over 600 manufacturers. Mouser offers 22 support locations around the world to provide best-in-class customer service and ships globally to over 550,000 customers in 170 countries from its 750,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit www.mouser.com. About Macnica Since its establishment in 1972, Macnica Inc. has specialized in the supply of a wide variety of high-value-added electronic parts and network equipment, particularly semiconductors, to the electronics, information and communications industries. The company is justly known as a leader in the high-technology fields in which they operate. In recent years, Macnica has expanded its lineup to provide in-depth technical support to customers in addition to the supply of devices. Its customers include Japan's leading electrical and electronic products manufacturers. The company has its headquarters in Yokohama, and its subsidiaries are located in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Europe, the USA and Brazil. Trademarks Mouser and Mouser Electronics are registered trademarks of Mouser Electronics, Inc. All other products, logos, and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005960/en/

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[May 24, 2017] St. Petersburg University of IT, Mechanics and Optics Wins IBM-Sponsored International Collegiate Programming Contest

RAPID CITY, S.D., May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A trio of students from St. Petersburg University of IT, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) have emerged as World Champions of the 41st Annual ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals sponsored by IBM (NYSE: IBM). The contest, hosted in Rapid City by Excellence in Computer Programming, brought together the next generation of developers from 133 universities around the world, where they competed on the most elite programming level. Headquartered at Baylor University and known as the "Battle of the Brains," the world's oldest and most prestigious programming competition challenged teams, each comprised of three students, to solve a series of complex real-world problems in just five hours. Demonstrating the elite talent of its team members, St. Petersburg ITMO University successfully solved 10 problems to earn the victory. "IBM values this opportunity to assemble the brightest students from the world's leading universities and share with them the technology trends that will shape the future and allow them to build new innovations fueled by cloud, cognitive and more," said Jonas Jacobi, Vice President, IBM Developer Advocacy, Worldwide. "These students are the future leaders of our industry and we are committed to fostering their development with these critical technologies as they prepare to enter the global workforce." IBM has been rapidly expanding breakthrough technologies for cloud and cognitive computing that are easily accessed by developers, including quantum computing, blockchain and more. This ready foundation of transformative tools equips programmers, designers and coders with the potential to build revolutionary applications across a multitude of industries. "Competing at the ACM-ICPC is an experience that will impact these students throughout their lives," said Dr. Bill Poucher, ICPC Executive Director and Baylor University Professor. "I am excited to see what these students will do with the knowledge they gained and the dauntless problem solving abilities they showcased at World Finals as they continue their academic and professional pursuits."

University of Warsaw, Seoul National University and St. Petersburg State University finished the competition in second, third, and fourth places, all earning coveted gold medals. The regional champions are: Africa and the Middle East : German University in Cairo

and the : German University in Asia : Seoul National University

: Seoul Europe : St. Petersburg ITMO Univrsity

: St. Petersburg ITMO Univrsity Latin America : Universidad de La Habana

: Universidad de La Habana North America : University of Waterloo

: South Pacific: University of New South Wales



Gold Medalists (4): St. Petersburg ITMO University, University of Warsaw , Seoul National University , St. Petersburg State University

, Seoul , St. Petersburg State University Silver Medalists (4): Moscow Institute of Physics & Technology, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University

Bronze Medalists (4): KAIST , Ural Federal University, KTH  Royal Institute of Technology, The University of Tokyo The 133 World Finalists emerged from local and regional ICPC competitions this past fall. Initially, selection took place from a field of more than 300,000 students in computing disciplines worldwide. A record number of students advanced to the regional level, as 46,381 contestants from 2,948 universities in 103 countries on six continents competed at more than 480 sites, all with the goal of earning one of the coveted invitations to South Dakota.

In addition to competing in the World Finals, students were exposed to the latest technologies from IBM through speakers and interactive, on-site demos of IBM's Cloud Platform. The combination of IBM Bluemix and IBM Watson, delivered through the IBM Cloud with extensive API support, allows developers to rapidly build cognitive applications which can run in secure, hybrid cloud environments. About the ACM-ICPC

Headquartered at Baylor University, the ACM-ICPC is a global competition among the world's university students, nurturing new generations of talent in the science and art of information technology. For more information about the ACM-ICPC, including downloadable high resolution photographs and videos, visit ICPC headquarters and ICPCNews. Additional information can be found via the "Battle of the Brains" podcast series. Follow the contest on Twitter @ICPCNews and #ICPC2017. About ACM

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, with more than 100,000 members, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers, professionals, and students to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking. For more information, see www.acm.org. About IBM

IBM is a globally integrated technology and consulting company. With operations in more than 170 countries, IBM attracts and retains some of the world's most talented people to help solve problems and provide an edge for businesses, governments and non-profits. Innovation is at the core of IBM's strategy. The company develops and sells software and systems hardware and a broad range of infrastructure, focusing on growth initiatives such as cognitive computing, cloud computing, big data and analytics, mobile, social business and security. For more information, visit www.ibm.com. About Excellence in Computer Programming (ECP)

The ECP champions a culture of excellence by integrating the capabilities of the host partners of South Dakota. Host partners who are the leaders of industry and government are providing the personnel and financial resources for the 2017 World Finals. Rapid City is the home of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT), the engineering and science research university of South Dakota. SDSMT is a research partner of the 8000-foot-deep Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), the world's newest laboratory for the study of neutrinos and dark matter which is located in Lead, South Dakota. ECP is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing an environment in which people of all ages and ability levels can develop their coding expertise through individualized study, extracurricular activities, and participation in competitive programming. Media Contact  North America:

Courtney Thomas, Tierney Communications

+1 (203) 952-2876

[email protected]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-petersburg-university-of-it-mechanics-and-optics-wins-ibm-sponsored-international-collegiate-programming-contest-300463609.html SOURCE IBM

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[May 24, 2017] IoT Platform Market - Trends and Forecasts by Technavio

Technavio's latest report on the global IoT platform market provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2017-2021. Technavio defines an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006195/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global IoT platform market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) Sunil Kumar Singh, a lead analyst from Technavio, specializing in research on embedded systems sector, says, "The global IoT platform market is growing at a significant rate. The growth stems from the growing demand for digital transformations from traditional industries who are looking to gain a competitive advantage in their respective markets." The global IoT platform market was valued at USD 420 million in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 32% by 2021. The increase in the number of interconnected smart devices such as PCs, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, smartphones, and sensors integrated into everyday consumer devices and physical assets is driving the market growth. In addition, advances in technology have resulted in low-cost, compact, and energy-efficient sensors and communication devices. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing <>Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free.



The top three emerging trends driving the global IoT platform market according to Technavio research analysts are: Development of an open Wi-Fi network

OpenWireless.org is a cyber activist group seeking to improve the Internet connectivity and access by encouraging sharing among users. The organization has developed a software that can convert the wireless router of the mobile device into a wireless access point. If people accept and adopt this idea, then a ubiquitous public wireless network can be created. "This untapped bandwidth can be utilized by using the sharing software developed by OpenWireless.org. The group plans to route the guest traffic over the anonymity software Tor or a VPN for enhanced privacy. It will use a protocol called EAP-TLS, which is the equivalent of HTTPS, to encrypt each user's link," according to Sunil. Growing diversity in IoT standards Vendors across the IoT market have to work in tandem on an open-source platform to ensure interoperability among the IoT devices and also set some standards for all the devices. The AllSeen Alliance, founded in 2013, was created to develop a larger ecosystem of vendors and products. Leading enterprises including consumer electronics manufacturers, home appliances manufacturers, service providers, retailers, enterprise technology companies, innovative startups, and chipset manufacturers have joined hands to develop the framework AllJoyn. Industrial Internet revolution Industrial internet of things (IIoT) is a combination of big data analytics and IoT. It offers a number of opportunities for organizations across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, and transportation. Currently, these sectors account for 60% of the global economy. At present, IIoT is in its early stage but is poised for tremendous growth. The increase in the number of sensors shipped has fueled the global IIoT market. Large companies and governments have taken industrial Internet initiatives such as Made in China Strategy 2025 and Internet Plus in China and Industry 4.0 in Germany to encourage digitalization of industries. The key vendors are as follows: Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) (Nokia)

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AT&T

Cisco Systems

Microsoft Corporation Browse Related Reports: Global Metamaterials Market 2017-2021

Global Microcontroller Market 2017-2021

Global Sorting Equipment Market 2017-2021 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 in-vitro diagnostics, oncology, and vaccines. 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 Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006195/en/

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[May 24, 2017] 58.com Reports First Quarter 2017 Unaudited Financial Results

BEIJING, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) ("58.com" or the "Company"), China's largest online market place serving local merchants and consumers, today reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017. First Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights Total revenues were RMB1,988.3 million ( US$288.2 million [1] ), a 31.7% increase from the same quarter of 2016 in Renminbi amounts, exceeding the higher end of the Company's guidance of RMB1,855 million .

( ), a 31.7% increase from the same quarter of 2016 in Renminbi amounts, exceeding the higher end of the Company's guidance of . Gross margin was 90.0% compared with 89.5% in the same quarter of 2016.

Income from operations was RMB77.9 million ( US$11.3 million ), compared with loss from operations of RMB333.8 million in the same quarter of 2016.

( ), compared with loss from operations of in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP income from operations [2] was RMB217.2 million ( US$31.5 million ), compared with non-GAAP loss from operations of RMB214.0 million in the same quarter of 2016.

was ( ), compared with non-GAAP loss from operations of in the same quarter of 2016. Net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. was RMB21.5 million ( US$3.1 million ), compared with net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. of RMB536.5 million in the same quarter of 2016.

( ), compared with net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. of in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc. [3] was RMB105.7 million ( US$15.3 million ), compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. of RMB346.5 million in the same quarter of 2016.

was ( ), compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. of in the same quarter of 2016. Basic and diluted loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB0.15 (US$0.02) . One ADS represents two Class A ordinary shares.

. One ADS represents two Class A ordinary shares. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS [4] attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB0.73 (US$0.11) and RMB0.72 (US$0.10) , respectively. Management Comments "We're pleased to report strong first quarter 2017 results," commented Michael Yao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 58.com, "Our job category in particular continues to grow faster than other major categories, delivering very strong year-over-year revenue growth as it increasingly accounts for a larger proportion of our revenues. I'm happy to say that revenue from our job category exceeded each of our online recruitment peers in China for the first time during the quarter. We also continue to see encouraging year-over-year growth across numerous operational metrics including traffic and user-engagement, particularly on our mobile apps. In April 2017, Tencent made a US$200 million investment into our used goods trading platform "Zhuan Zhuan", which became our third incubated unicorn after 58 Home and Guazi upon completing its Series A financing. We are confident in the future business prospects of our multi-category platform and look forward to working with our partners and affiliated companies to expand our local services eco-system." Mr. Hao Zhou, Chief Financial Officer of 58.com added, "We are pleased that first quarter revenues exceeded the higher end of our guidance. The sequential decline in revenue was primarily due to typical seasonality caused by the Chinese New Year holiday. We are also pleased to see the continued year-over-year expansion of our operating and net margins. Cash flow also improved significantly on a year-over-year basis. We continue to see opportunities to improve our operational efficiency as traffic and revenues continued to grow." First Quarter 2017 Financial Results Revenues Total revenues were RMB1,988.3 million (US$288.2 million), representing an increase of 31.7% from RMB1,509.6 million in the same quarter of 2016. Membership revenues were RMB792.9 million (US$114.9 million), an increase of 31.5% from RMB602.9 million in the same quarter of 2016. The increase in membership revenues was primarily driven by an increase in the number of paying membership accounts. The total number of paying membership accounts on the Company's platforms, which include 58.com, Ganji.com and Anjuke.com, was approximately 2,212,000 during the first quarter of 2017, a 21.7% increase from approximately 1,818,000 in the same quarter of 2016. Paying membership accounts refer to the merchants who have purchased the Company's subscription-based membership services and whose membership subscriptions are active at any point during a given period. Some paying members purchase membership services from more than one Company platform which contributes separately to the revenues of each platform. Online marketing services revenues were RMB1,137.0 million (US$164.8 million), an increase of 34.3% from RMB846.4 million in the same quarter of 2016. The increase was primarily driven by increases in traffic and effectiveness of real time bidding and various other online marketing services. Cost of Revenues Cost of revenues was RMB199.6 million (US$28.9 million), an increase of 25.5% from RMB159.1 million during the same quarter of 2016. The year-over-year increase in the 58.com's cost of revenues was primarily driven by increased traffic acquisition costs ("TAC") paid to 58.com's advertising union partners as well as other types of website maintenance-related costs such as bandwidth fees and depreciation expenses. Gross Profit and Gross Margin Gross profit was RMB1,788.7 million (US$259.3 million), an increase of 32.4% from RMB1,350.5 million during the same quarter of 2016. Gross margin was 90.0%, compared with 89.5% during the same quarter of 2016. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to higher growth in total revenue and effective cost control measures. Operating Expenses Operating expenses were RMB1,710.8 million (US$248.0 million), representing an increase of 1.6% from RMB1,684.3 million in the same quarter of 2016. Sales and marketing expenses in the first quarter of 2017 were RMB1,246.0 million (US$180.6 million), a decrease of 5.4% from RMB1,317.4 million in the same quarter in 2016. Within sales and marketing expenses, advertising expenses accounted for RMB512.2 million (US$74.2 million) and RMB684.3 million during the first quarter of 2017 and 2016, respectively. The decrease was primarily due to improved advertising cost control measures following the acquisitions of Anjuke and Ganji. Other sales and marketing expenses in the first quarter of 2017 were RMB733.8 million (US$106.4 million), an increase of 15.9% from RMB633.1 million in the same quarter in 2016. Other sales and marketing expenses primarily include compensation, benefits and sales commissions, customer service and marketing teams as well as office overhead expenses associated with these teams. The increase was primarily driven by increased commissions, salaries and benefits for the Company's sales and customer service teams. Research and development expenses during the first quarter of 2017 were RMB314.5 million (US$45.6 million), an increase of 35.5% from RMB232.0 million in the same quarter of 2016. The increase was primarily due to increased costs associated with the hiring of additional research and development personnel for the development of new features and services. General and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2017 were RMB150.3 million (US$21.8 million), an 11.4% increase from RMB134.8 million in the same quarter of 2016. The increase was primarily driven by increased share-based compensation expenses and other administrative related expenses. Income/(Loss) from Operations Income from operations was RMB77.9 million (US$11.3 million) in the first quarter of 2017, compared with loss from operations of RMB333.8 million in the same quarter of 2016. Operating margin, defined as income/(loss) from operations divided by total revenues, was positive 3.9% in the first quarter of 2017, compared with negative 22.1% in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP income from operations was RMB217.2 million (US$31.5 million) in the first quarter of 2017, compared with non-GAAP loss from operations of RMB214.0 million in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP operating margin, defined as non-GAAP income/(loss) from operations divided by total revenues, was positive 10.9% in the first quarter of 2017, compared with negative 14.2% in the same quarter of 2016. Other Income/(Expenses) Other expenses in the first quarter of 2017 were RMB96.8 million (US$14.0 million), compared with other expenses of RMB216.9 million in the same quarter of 2016. Other expenses in the first quarter of 2017 mainly included an RMB96.4 million pick-up of the net loss attributable to 58 Home's ordinary shareholders that was calculated based on the Company's common shareholding in 58 Home, and was included in share of results of equity investees in the consolidated statements of operations. Net Loss Attributable to 58.com Inc. Net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. was RMB21.5 million (US$3.1 million) in the first quarter of 2017, compared with net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. of RMB536.5 million in the same quarter of 2016. Net margin, defined as net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. divided by total revenues, was negative 1.1% in the first quarter of 2017, compared with negative 35.5% in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc.[3] was RMB105.7 million (US$15.3 million) in the first quarter of 2017, compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. of RMB346.5 million in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP net margin, defined as non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. divided by total revenues, was positive 5.3% in the first quarter of 2017, compared with negative 23.0% in the same quarter of 2016. Basic and Diluted Earnings/(Loss) per ADS Basic and diluted loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders in the first quarter of 2017 were RMB0.15 (US$0.02), compared with basic and diluted loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB3.80, in the same quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders[4] in the first quarter of 2017 were RMB0.73 (US$0.11) and RMB0.72 (US$0.10), respectively, compared with non-GAAP basic and diluted loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB2.45 in the same quarter of 2016. Cash Flow Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB422.4 million (US$61.2 million) in the first quarter of 2017, compared with net cash provided by operating activities of RMB142.7 million in the same quarter of 2016. Cash and Cash Equivalents, Term Deposits and Short-term Investments As of March 31, 2017, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, term deposits and short-term investments of RMB2,355.5 million (US$341.4 million). Shares Outstanding As of March 31, 2017, the Company had a total of 290,570,395 ordinary shares (including 241,930,135 Class A and 48,640,260 Class B ordinary shares) issued and outstanding. One ADS represents two Class A ordinary shares. Business Outlook Based on the Company's current operations, total revenues for the second quarter of 2017 are expected to be between RMB2,250 million and RMB2,350 million. This represents a year-over-year increase of 15.7% to 20.8% in Renminbi amounts. These estimates reflect the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change. Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, this press release presents non-GAAP income/(loss) from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc., non-GAAP net margin and non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share and per ADS by excluding share-based compensation expenses of the group, net of the amount allocated to noncontrolling interests, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, pick-up of net loss attributable to share-based compensation expenses of equity investees, loss on conversion of Guazi Convertible Note and income tax effects of above GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are important to help investors understand the Company's operating and financial performance, compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis and assess the Company's core operating results, as they exclude certain expenses that are not expected to result in cash payments. The use of the above non-GAAP financial measures has certain limitations. Share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and their impact on share-based compensation attributable to noncontrolling interests have been and will continue to be incurred in the future and are not reflected in the presentation of the non-GAAP financial measures, but should be considered in the overall evaluation of the Company's results. The Company compensates for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of its share-based compensation expenses of the group, net of the amount allocated to noncontrolling interests, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, pick-up of net loss attributable to share-based compensation expenses of equity investees, loss on conversion of Guazi Convertible Note and income tax effects of above GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company's performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is set forth at the end of this release. Conference Call 58.com's management will host an earnings conference call on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 p.m. Beijing / Hong Kong time on the same day). Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:







International: +1-412-902-4272 U.S. Toll Free: +1-888-346-8982 Hong Kong: 800-905945 China: 4001-201203 Passcode: WUBA

Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call. A telephone replay of the call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call through 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, June 1, 2017. The dial-in details for the replay are as follows: International: +1-412-317-0088

U.S. Toll Free: +1-877-344-7529

Passcode: 10107732

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of 58.com's website at http://www.58.com. About 58.com Inc. 58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) operates China's largest online marketplace serving local merchants and consumers, as measured by monthly unique visitors on both its www.58.com website and mobile applications. The Company's online marketplace enables local merchants and consumers to connect, share information and conduct business. 58.com's broad, in-depth and high quality local information, combined with its easy-to-use website and mobile applications, has made it a trusted marketplace for consumers. 58.com's strong brand recognition, large and growing user base, merchant network and massive database of local information create a powerful network effect. Safe Harbor Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. 58.com may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about 58.com's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: 58.com's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to retain and grow its user base and network of local merchants for its online marketplace; the growth of, and trends in, the markets for its services in China; the demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; competition in its industry in China; its ability to maintain the network infrastructure necessary to operate its website and mobile applications; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry; and its ability to protect its users' information and adequately address privacy concerns. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and 58.com does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For more information, please contact: 58.com Inc.

[email protected] Christensen

In China

Mr. Christian Arnell

Phone: +86-10-5900-1548

E-mail: [email protected] In US

Ms. Linda Bergkamp

Phone: +1-480-614-3004

Email: [email protected] 58.com Inc. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands, except share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)

As of

December 31,

March 31,

March 31,

2016

2017

2017

RMB

RMB

US$ ASSETS









Current assets:









Cash and cash equivalents 1,200,457

1,192,865

172,897 Restricted cash 1,151,940

1,158,160

167,866 Term deposits 26,361

15,868

2,300 Short-term investments 833,480

1,146,792

166,219 Accounts receivable, net 424,892

493,912

71,588 Prepayments and other current assets 426,056

472,665

68,509 Total current assets 4,063,186

4,480,262

649,379 Non-current assets:









Property and equipment, net 1,480,921

1,434,818

207,966 Intangible assets, net 1,532,228

1,475,664

213,886 Land use rights, net 3,766

3,747

543 Goodwill 15,903,677

15,903,677

2,305,115 Long-term investments 2,118,461

2,117,333

306,891 Long-term prepayments and other non-current assets 223,767

120,396

17,450 Total non-current assets 21,262,820

21,055,635

3,051,851 Total assets 25,326,006

25,535,897

3,701,230 LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND EQUITY









Current liabilities:









Short-term loans 1,842,720

1,829,304

265,143 Accounts payable 611,947

608,776

88,237 Deferred revenues 1,845,846

1,986,661

287,951 Customer advances 1,236,076

1,378,877

199,858 Taxes payable 62,084

55,219

8,004 Salary and welfare payable 553,506

467,431

67,750 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 727,904

723,413

104,853 Total current liabilities 6,880,083

7,049,681

1,021,796 Non-current liabilities:









Long-term loan 150,000

150,000

21,741 Deferred tax liabilities 373,810

359,886

52,163 Other non-current liabilities 69,937

36,740

5,325 Total non-current liabilities 593,747

546,626

79,229 Total liabilities 7,473,830

7,596,307

1,101,025 Mezzanine equity:









Mezzanine classified noncontrolling interests 86,457

90,479

13,114 Total mezzanine equity 86,457

90,479

13,114 Shareholders' equity:









Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 4,800,000,000 Class A and 200,000,000 Class B shares authorized, 240,930,737 Class A and 48,740,260 Class B shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2016 and 241,930,135 Class A and 48,640,260 Class B shares issued and outstanding as of March31, 2017, respectively) 18

18

3 Additional paid-in capital 20,907,599

20,999,549

3,043,722 Accumulated deficit (3,070,735)

(3,087,764)

(447,547) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (138,597)

(130,236)

(18,877) Total 58.com Inc. shareholders' equity 17,698,285

17,781,567

2,577,301 Noncontrolling interests 67,434

67,544

9,790 Total shareholders' equity 17,765,719

17,849,111

2,587,091 Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' equity 25,326,006

25,535,897

3,701,230 58.com Inc. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except share, per share and per ADS data, unless otherwise noted)

For the Three Months Ended

March 31,

December 31,

March 31,

March 31,

2016

2016

2017

2017

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$ Revenues:













Membership 602,948

812,021

792,928

114,929 Online marketing services 846,437

1,189,380

1,137,042

164,805 E-commerce services 36,847

44,520

15,411

2,234 Other services 23,343

48,852

42,890

6,217 Total revenues 1,509,575

2,094,773

1,988,271

288,185 Cost of revenues(1) (159,062)

(212,238)

(199,592)

(28,929) Gross profit 1,350,513

1,882,535

1,788,679

259,256 Operating expenses(1):













Sales and marketing expenses (1,317,392)

(1,224,702)

(1,246,018)

(180,601) Research and development expenses (232,049)

(313,389)

(314,478)

(45,581) General and administrative expenses (134,846)

(150,915)

(150,272)

(21,781) Total operating expenses (1,684,287)

(1,689,006)

(1,710,768)

(247,963) Income/(loss) from operations (333,774)

193,529

77,911

11,293 Other income/(expenses):













Interest expenses, net (6,370)

(9,401)

(5,780)

(838) Investment income/(loss), net 2,854

(131,994)

7,625

1,105 Share of results of equity investees (138,545)

(225,178)

(99,071)

(14,360) Foreign currency exchange gain/(loss), net 5,296

229

(39)

(6) Others, net (80,108)

849

472

68 Loss before tax (550,647)

(171,966)

(18,882)

(2,738) Income tax benefits 15,311

37,639

1,963

285 Net loss (535,336)

(134,327)

(16,919)

(2,453) Net loss/(income) attributable to noncontrolling interests 2,341

958

(110)

(16) Deemed dividend to mezzanine classified noncontrolling interests (3,475)

(4,604)

(4,488)

(651) Net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. (536,470)

(137,973)

(21,517)

(3,120) Net loss per ordinary share attributable to ordinary shareholders - basic (1.90)

(0.48)

(0.07)

(0.01) Net loss per ordinary share attributable to ordinary shareholders - diluted (1.90)

(0.48)

(0.07)

(0.01) Net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders  basic (1 ADS represents 2 Class A ordinary shares) (3.80)

(0.95)

(0.15)

(0.02) Net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders  diluted (1 ADS represents 2 Class A ordinary shares) (3.80)

(0.95)

(0.15)

(0.02) Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic loss per share 282,676,226

289,523,186

289,992,930

289,992,930 Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing diluted loss per share 282,676,226

289,523,186

289,992,930

289,992,930































Note:













(1) Share-based compensation expenses were allocated in cost of revenues and operating expenses as follows:















Cost of revenues 291

387

574

83 Sales and marketing expenses 12,963

17,773

17,694

2,565 Research and development expenses 23,388

29,439

29,831

4,324 General and administrative expenses 25,669

19,152

34,345

4,978

















58.com Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results (in thousands, except share, ADS, per share and per ADS data, unless otherwise noted)

For the Three Months Ended

March 31,

December 31,

March 31,

March 31,

2016

2016

2017

2017

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$ GAAP income/(loss) from operations (333,774)

193,529

77,911

11,293 Share-based compensation expenses 62,311

66,751

82,444

11,950 Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions 57,432

57,432

56,821

8,236 Non-GAAP income/(loss) from operations (214,031)

317,712

217,176

31,479















GAAP net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. (536,470)

(137,973)

(21,517)

(3,120) Share-based compensation expenses 62,311

66,751

82,444

11,950 Share-based compensation attributable to noncontrolling interests (4)

_

_

_ Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions 57,432

57,432

56,821

8,236 Pick-up of net loss attributable to share-based compensation expenses of equity investees 392

5,455

2,191

318 Loss on conversion of Guazi Convertible Note 84,177

_

_

_ Income tax effects of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items[5] (14,358)

(14,358)

(14,205)

(2,059) Non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. (346,520)

(22,693)

105,734

15,325















GAAP operating margin (22.1)%

9.2%

3.9%

3.9% Share-based compensation expenses 4.1%

3.2%

4.1%

4.1% Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions 3.8%

2.7%

2.9%

2.9% Non-GAAP operating margin (14.2)%

15.1%

10.9%

10.9%















GAAP net margin (35.5)%

(6.6)%

(1.1)%

(1.1)% Share-based compensation expenses 4.1%

3.2%

4.1%

4.1% Share-based compensation attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.0%

_

_

_ Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions 3.8%

2.7%

2.9%

2.9% Pick-up of net loss attributable to share-based compensation expenses of equity investees 0.0%

0.3%

0.1%

0.1% Loss on conversion of Guazi Convertible Note 5.6%

_

_

_ Income tax effects of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items (1.0)%

(0.7)%

(0.7)%

(0.7)% Non-GAAP net margin (23.0)%

(1.1)%

5.3%

5.3% Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing non-GAAP basic earnings/(loss) per share 282,676,226

289,523,186

289,992,930

289,992,930 Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing non-GAAP diluted earnings/(loss) per share 282,676,226

289,523,186

292,912,009

292,912,009 Weighted average number of ADS used in computing non-GAAP basic earnings/(loss) per ADS 141,338,113

144,761,593

144,996,465

144,996,465 Weighted average number of ADS used in computing non-GAAP diluted earnings/(loss) per ADS 141,338,113

144,761,593

146,456,004

146,456,004















Non-GAAP net earnings/(loss) per ordinary share attributable to ordinary shareholders - basic (1.23)

(0.08)

0.36

0.05 Non-GAAP net earnings /(loss) per ordinary share attributable to ordinary shareholders - diluted (1.23)

(0.08)

0.36

0.05 Non-GAAP net earnings /(loss) per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders - basic (2.45)

(0.16)

0.73

0.11 Non-GAAP net earnings /(loss) per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders - diluted (2.45)

(0.16)

0.72

0.10 [1] This press release contains translations of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars (US$) solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise specified, all translations of Renminbi (RMB) amounts into US$ amounts in this press release are made at RMB6.8993 to US$1.00, which was the U.S. dollars middle rate announced by the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange on March 31, 2017. The percentages stated in this press release are calculated based on the Renminbi amounts. On May 23, 2017, such exchange rate was RMB 6.8661 to US$1.00. [2] Non-GAAP income/(loss) from operations is defined as income/(loss) from operations excluding share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions. See "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" at the end of this press release. [3] Non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. is defined as net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. excluding share-based compensation expenses of the group, net of the amount allocated to noncontrolling interests, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, pick-up of net loss attributable to share-based compensation expenses of equity investees, loss on conversion of Guazi Convertible Note and income tax effects of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items. See "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" at the end of this press release. [4] Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per ADS is defined as non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. divided by weighted average number of basic and diluted ADS. [5] This is to exclude the income tax benefits related to amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions calculated at PRC statutory income tax rate of 25%. Other GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items have no income tax effect. The Company included the income tax impacts in the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 and updated the prior period comparative figures accordingly in this earnings release.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/58com-reports-first-quarter-2017-unaudited-financial-results-300463422.html SOURCE 58.com

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[May 24, 2017] SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS : HULFT Holds the Second Largest Worldwide Sales Share According to Gartner's MFT Market Research

SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; President: Kazuhiro Uchida; hereafter "SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS") has today announced that HULFT now holds the second-largest worldwide sales share (*1) according to All Enterprise Software Market Share (Managed File Transfer Suites Segment), Worldwide, 2016, a report of the survey on the managed file transfer (MFT) (*2) market published by Gartner (News - Alert) Inc. Sold and supplied by SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS, HULFT already holds the largest market share in the domestic market (*3) and in the Asian market (*4). This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524005487/en/ SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS will continue to ensure the safety and reliability of data that flow through the global IT infrastructure and will provide safety and security for the evolving network society in line with the ever-growing MFT market. (Graphic: Business Wire) Aspiring to consistently provide domestic and overseas customers with attractive products and services under the HULFT brand, SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS has since its launch in 1993 been working to provide the software with multilingual support, to offer 24/7/365 customer support in English, Chinese and Japanese, to cultivate sales channels in the worldwide market, to establish a partner program and to enhance the product lineup and functions and cultivate markets. In addition, SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS has set up HULFT business bases in Shanghai in 2011, Beijing in 2015, Singapore in 2015 to cover the ASEAN region, and California in 2016 to expand the HULFT business globally. Today, a total of 189,600 copies are used by 8,700 corporate customers in 43 countries around the world. (*5) SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS believes that the recent survey results reflect its efforts to improve its products to better address its international customers' problems and be easier to use. Gartner Inc. reports in this research that the worldwide MFT market grew at an annual rate of 7.4% in 2016, with sales, or market size, of nearly 873 million dollars, or 94 billion yen. SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS will continue to ensure the safety and reliability of data that flow through the global IT infrastructure and will provide safety and security for the evolving network infrastructure in line with the ever-growing MFT market. HULFT (Product details: https://www.hulft.com/en/hulft-mft)

Compatible with an ever-growing range of platforms since its launch in 1993, HULFT is file transfer middleware equipped with all the functions customers need to share files between business systems. There are currently 189,600 (*5) HULFT licenses in use by 8,700 companies in 43 countries worldwide, spanning a wide range of industries. In addition to sending, receiving and managing file transfer jobs, HULFT also include peripheral functions essential to transferring files, including security and data integration before and after transfer.







References and Remarks *1 Source (News - Alert): Gartner Inc.: Market Share: All Software Markets, Worldwide, 2016 *2 MFT: file transfer software with a focus on reliability and security with functions suited to file transfer between intra-business and inter-business systems, such as a prohibition on the transfer of any but designated files and recovery in the event of failure in transfer *3 Source: Fuji Chimera Research Institute, Inc.: New Market of Software Business (2015 Edition) (package and value basis) *4 Source: IDC (News - Alert), Nov 2015, "Worldwide Managed File Transfer Software Market Shares, 2014: Year of Steady Growth" (#259975) *5 As of the end of March 2017

Gartner Inc. neither recommends any specific vendor, product or service included in Gartner Research publications nor advises anyone to choose top-rated vendors or vendors with other ratings only. Gartner Research publications represent the views of Gartner Research and do not represent facts. Gartner Inc. does not provide any explicit or implicit guarantee, including that of merchantability of this research or that of suitability of this research to any particular purpose. Trademarks

- HULFT and all HULFT related products are registered trademarks of SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO., LTD.

- Names of other companies, products and services are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies. SAISON INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO., LTD. Headquarters: Sunshine 60 (21F), 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-6021, Japan

Established: September 1, 1970

President: Kazuhiro Uchida (President and CEO)

Capital: 1,367 million

Business activities: Financial systems, Retail service systems and IT solutions, HULFT

Securities code: 9640 (Tokyo Stock Exchange, JASDAQ Standard Market)

Website: http://home.saison.co.jp/english/ View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524005487/en/

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[May 24, 2017] Visa supports Samsung Pay in Hong Kong

Enabling secure mobile payments with Visa Token Service HONG KONG, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa announced support for Samsung Pay in Hong Kong today. Consumers can now pay with their Visa cards from participating issuers, using compatible Samsung mobile devices to pay at stores. With Visa's extensive acceptance network in the market, it enables another fast, easy and secure way of mobile payment to Visa accountholders in Hong Kong. "Around 8 in 10 (78%) of the Hong Kong people are likely to adopt new ways to paying, and picking smartphone as a device for everyday payments[1], we are confident the launch of Samsung Pay will provide more convenience and further accelerate the growth of mobile payment capability in Hong Kong. In addition, currently one-fifth of all Visa contactless transaction are made through smartphones[2], we can see that Visa customers are getting comfortable using mobiles to conduct payments," said Caroline Ada, Country Manager of Visa Hong Kong and Macau. Samsung Pay is supported by Visa Token Service technology that replaces cardholder information with a unique digital identifier without exposing sensitive account information. It is an added security layer that makes mobile payments more secure for everyone, everywhere. For more information on Samsung Pay, visit: http://www.samsung.com/hk/samsungpay/ or http://www.visa.com.hk/en_HK/samsungpay.shtml or contact your financial institutions for more details.







[1] Visa Mobile Payment Attitudes Study by YouGov, 2016. [2] As of March 2017.

About Visa Visa 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 -- which 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 or fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information: visit www.visa-asia.com , visaapnews.asia and @VisaNews . Media Contact:

Kaman Ho

Corporate Communications

Visa Hong Kong Limited

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +852 2842 2321 / 9212 2045 SOURCE Visa Hong Kong Limited

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Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable and an act of cowardice and inhumanity, said Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.

By India Today Web Desk: Pakistan today condemned Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat for felicitating Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a Kashmiri man to his jeep and paraded him as a human shield in several villages, with a Commendation Card.

"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.

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"The Commendation Card for Major Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was given for his "sustained efforts" in counter-insurgency operations," the Indian Army had said.

Gogoi, who has also been reportedly given a clean chit by the Army's Court of Inquiry (COI), was felicitated by the Indian Army for "saving several lives" by his act of using a Kashmiri youth as a shield.

NOT THE FIRST TIME: PAKISTAN

Zakaria further said that it was not the first time that the Indian forces had displayed such an act of "cowardice and inhumanity".

Accusing the Indian forces of being involved in acts of "grave violence against civilians", Zakaria also urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take cognisance of the act.

A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-poll held amid violence, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, tied to an Indian Army jeep's bonnet in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, to ward off stone pelters.

The Jammu and Kashmir police, however, filed a case against Gogoi, which is still on.

(With Inputs from IANS)

Also read | Indian Army chief honours Major Gogoi who had tied Kashmiri man to his jeep as human shield

Also read | Nothing found against Major Leetul Gogoi in court of inquiry, say Army sources

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
[May 25, 2017] IBM Security Launches New Capabilities to Help Clients with Impending EU General Data Protection Regulation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new incident response capabilities, from its IBM Resilient security portfolio, to help companies address the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These capabilities are designed to help clients rehearse, prepare for and manage the new regulations. GDPR is one of the biggest changes in data privacy law in decades which goes into effect on May 25, 2018. GDPR may require significant changes to the way organizations respond to consumer data breaches. For example, any organization that does business in Europe will have 72 hours to notify the supervising authority and data subject of a breach, or risk being fined 20 million or up to 4 percent of their global annual turnover. A recent Ponemon Institute study found that 75 percent of organizations admit they lack a formal cyber security incident response plan (CSIRP) applied consistently across the organization, meaning that GDPR response could prove to be challenging. [1] IBM Security is launching new GDPR capabilities to its Resilient Incident Response platform (IRP) a year ahead of the 2018 deadline to give organizations time to begin preparing and adapting. New capabilities include: Resilient GDPR Preparatory Guide . An interactive tool that prescribes step by step how you can prepare for GDPR. The guide leverages the flexibility of the Resilient IRP and makes preparation and planning interactive and dynamic. Tasks in the guide can be modified or assigned to more effectively manage the GDPR preparation workflow for the organization, beyond breach notification. The Resilient GDPR Preparatory Guide covers all aspects of preparation and are captured in detail, making it easier to track and document for the future.

. An interactive tool that prescribes step by step how you can prepare for GDPR. The guide leverages the flexibility of the Resilient IRP and makes preparation and planning interactive and dynamic. Tasks in the guide can be modified or assigned to more effectively manage the GDPR preparation workflow for the organization, beyond breach notification. The Resilient GDPR Preparatory Guide covers all aspects of preparation and are captured in detail, making it easier to track and document for the future. Resilient GDPR Simulation. A new function within the Resilient IRP helps security analysts within an organization rehearse the actions they may need to take if they experience a breach under GDPR, such as practicing for the 72-hour breach requirement, assessing risk of harm, or communicating with the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and Data Protection Authority (DPA). As part of the simulation, analysts assess a risk as high, medium or low, and follow the steps of engaging with a DPA and notifying the consumers whose data was compromised. The Ponemon study also found that the top barrier to cyber resilience is insufficient planning and preparedness; GDPR simulations can help reduce this barrier.

A new function within the Resilient IRP helps security analysts within an organization rehearse the actions they may need to take if they experience a breach under GDPR, such as practicing for the 72-hour breach requirement, assessing risk of harm, or communicating with the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and Data Protection Authority (DPA). As part of the simulation, analysts assess a risk as high, medium or low, and follow the steps of engaging with a DPA and notifying the consumers whose data was compromised. The Ponemon study also found that the top barrier to cyber resilience is insufficient planning and preparedness; GDPR simulations can help reduce this barrier. Resilient GDPR-Enhanced Privacy Module. IBM Security added GDPR regulations to its global privacy module and will continue to update it so that once GDPR becomes enforceable on May 25, 2018 , IBM Resilient clients will have access to the databas of GDPR-related guidelines and regulations embedded into an incident response platform. GDPR's extraterritorial provision means that non-EU-based companies that market to or process the information of EU Data Subjects are also affected. Despite this far-reaching impact, the Ponemon study shows that only about half of the 4,268 IT and IT security professionals surveyed have started to prepare for the GDPR regulation. [1]



Most organizations already struggle with responding to cyber incidents. According to another Ponemon study, 66 percent of the professionals surveyed say they are not confident in their organization's ability to recover from a cyber incident. Moreover, 41 percent say the time to resolve a cyber incident has increased in the past 12 months. [2]

"GDPR will add a new set of challenges for most organizations," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute. "Our research shows that most companies globally do not feel confident in their ability to comply with data breach notification requirements. To get ahead of these challenges, organizations should be proactive about establishing processes and owners for ensuring compliance with the new requirements." The GDPR-enhanced Privacy Module is designed to reduce the time and complexity of responding to a data breach under the new regulation. For example, a US-based company with customers in Europe and the US could experience a breach that affects customers in Germany and in Massachusetts, California, and New York. Without access to the Resilient IRP, the company would have to know what to do  and who to contact  to comply with GDPR for their German customers, as well as knowing the people and processes involved in complying with the relevant and varying US federal and state laws for MA, CA, and NY. The Resilient IRP is part of the IBM Security immune system, which helps clients out smart threats by incorporating the very latest in cognitive, cloud and collaboration technologies. View IBM Resilient's Responding to a Data Breach Post-GDPR Response Solution Brief and other GDPR assets on the IBM Resilient website, or learn more about IBM Security GDPR offerings here. About IBM Resilient

IBM Resilient's mission is to help organizations thrive in the face of any cyberattack or business crisis. The industry's leading Incident Response Platform (IRP) empowers security teams to analyze, respond to, and mitigate incidents faster, more intelligently, and more efficiently. The Resilient IRP is the industry's only complete IR orchestration and automation platform, enabling teams to integrate and align people, processes, and technologies into a single incident response hub. With Resilient, security teams can have best-in-class response capabilities. IBM Resilient has more than 200 global customers, including 50 of the Fortune 500, and hundreds of partners globally. Learn more at www.resilientsystems.com. About IBM Security

IBM Security offers one of the most advanced and integrated portfolios of enterprise security products and services. The portfolio, supported by world-renowned IBM X-Force research, enables organizations to effectively manage risk and defend against emerging threats. IBM operates one of the world's broadest security research, development and delivery organizations, monitors 35 billion security events per day in more than 130 countries, and holds more than 3,000 security patents. For more information, please visit www.ibm.com/security, follow @IBMSecurity on Twitter or visit the IBM Security Intelligence blog. [1] Ponemon Institute and IBM Resilient, "The Cyber Resilient Organization" 2016 [2] Ponemon Institute and Citrix, "The Need for a New IT Security Architecture" 2017 Media Contacts: John Pinkham, IBM Resilient

617-207-4160

[email protected] Sara Bosco, Ketchum

[email protected]

646-935-4366 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibm-security-launches-new-capabilities-to-help-clients-with-impending-eu-general-data-protection-regulation-300463540.html SOURCE IBM

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[May 25, 2017] Kingston Introduces KC1000 NVMe PCIe SSD to Meet the Most Demanding Data Needs of SSD Enthusiasts

COMPUTEX Taipei - Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced KC1000 NVMe PCIe SSD. Shipping in mid-June, the M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD is over 2x faster than SATA-based SSDs and over 40x faster than a 7200RPM hard-disk drive. KC1000 is built for the power user, providing the ultimate, low-latency performance boost for resource-demanding applications including high-resolution video editing, data visualization, gaming and other data intensive workload environments where traditional storage solutions are unable to keep pace with data demand. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524005967/en/ KC1000 NVMe PCIe SSD is over 2x faster than SATA-based SSDs and over 40x faster than a 7200RPM hard-disk drive. (Photo: Business Wire) "The demands of today's performance power users are constantly being put to the test as new data-intensive applications push the boundaries of what can be achieved with even the market's high performance professional workstations and most powerful gaming rigs," said Ariel Perez, SSD business manager, Kingston. "KC1000 is the perfect solution to meet the needs of media and design professionals, gaming enthusiasts and anyone who needs ultra-low latency storage performance to end data bottlenecks. This native NVMe device offers one of the industry's most powerful storage solutions for high-resolution content delivery, virtual reality applications, accelerated game play or a competitive edge for the creative professional on tight deadlines." KC1000 delivers up to 290,000 IOPS and will ship in mid-June in 240GB, 480GB and 960GB capacities. The high-performance SSD supports the PCIe Gen3 x4 interface and the latest NVMe protocol. KC1000 provides accelerated boot and load speeds and increases sequential read/write performance, as well as offering improved endurance and energy efficiency. It is perfect for users seeking instant, breakthrough performance improvements for: High-resolution video editing

Virtual and augmented reality applications

CAD software applications

Streaming media

Graphically intensive video games

Data visualization

Real-time analytics KC1000 is backed by a limited five-year warranty and legendary Kingston support. Kingston KC1000 NVMe PCIe SSD Features and Specifications: Form Factor: M.2 2280

M.2 2280 Interface: NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 Lanes

NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 Lanes Capacities 1 : 240GB, 480GB, 960GB

240GB, 480GB, 960GB Controller: Phison PS5007-E7

Phison PS5007-E7 NAND: MLC

MLC Sequential Read/Write2: 240GB: up to 2700/900MB/s

480GB, 960GB: up to 2700/1600MB/s Maximum 4K Read/Write2: 240GB: up to 225,000/190,000 IOPS

480GB, 960GB: up to 290,000/190,000 IOPS Random 4K Read/Write: 240GB, 480GB: up to 190,000/160,000 IOPS

960GB: up to 190,000/165,000 IOPS PCMARK  Vantage HDD Suite Score: 150,000

150,000 Total Bytes Written (TBW)3: 240GB: 300TB and .70 DWPD5

480GB: 550TB and .64 DWPD5

960GB: 1PB and .58 DWPD5 Power Consumption: .11W Idle / .99W Avg / 4.95W (MAX) Read / 7.40W (MAX) write Storage Temperature: -40C to 85C

-40C to 85C Operating Temperature: 0C to 70C

0C to 70C Dimensions: 80mm x 22mm x 3.5mm (M.2)

180.98mm x 120.96mm x 21.59mm (with HHHL AIC - standard bracket)

181.29mm x 80.14mm x 23.40mm (with HHHL AIC - low-profile bracket) Weight: 10g (M.2)

76g (with HHHL AIC - standard bracket)

69g (with HHHL AIC - low-profile bracket) Vibration operating: 2.17G Peak (7-800Hz)

2.17G Peak (7-800Hz) Vibration non-operating: 20G Peak (20-1000Hz)

20G Peak (20-1000Hz) MTBF: 2,000,000

2,000,000 Warranty/support4: Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support







KC1000 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD Part Numbers Part Number Capacity SKC1000/240G 240GB SKC1000H/240G HHHL (Add-In Card) 240GB SKC1000/480G 480GB SKC1000H/480G HHHL (Add-In Card) 480GB SKC1000/960G 960GB SKC1000H/960G HHHL (Add-In Card) 960GB

1 Some of the listed capacity on a Flash storage device is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. As such, the actual available capacity for data storage is less than what is listed on the products. For more information, go to Kingston's Flash Memory Guide at Kingston.com/flashguide.

2 Based on "out-of-box performance" using a SATA Rev. 3.0 / PCIe Gen 3 motherboard. Speed may vary due to host hardware, software, and usage. IOMETER Random 4K Random Read/Write is based on 8GB partition.

3 Total Bytes Written (TBW) is derived from the JEDEC Client Workload (JESD219A)

4 Limited warranty based on 5 years or "SSD Life Remaining" which can be found using the Kingston SSD Manager (Kingston.com/SSDManager). A new, unused product will show a wear indicator value of one hundred (100), whereas a product that has reached its endurance limit of program erase cycles will show a wear indicator value of one (1). See Kingston.com/wa for details.

5 Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD) Kingston can be found on: YouTube (News - Alert): http://www.youtube.com/kingstontechmemory

Facebook (News - Alert): http://www.facebook.com/kingstontechnology

Twitter (News - Alert): https://twitter.com/KingstonTech

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kingstontechnology/

LinkedIn (News - Alert): http://www.linkedin.com/company/kingston About Kingston Digital, Inc. Kingston Digital, Inc. ("KDI") is the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world's largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Established in 2008, KDI is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, USA. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com or call 800-337-8410. Editor's Note: For additional information, evaluation units or executive interviews, please contact David Leong, Kingston Digital, Inc. 17600 Newhope Street, Fountain Valley, CA (News - Alert) USA 92708, 714-438-1817 (Voice). Press images can be found in Kingston's press room here. Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524005967/en/

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[May 25, 2017] NTT Communications Won 3 Categories at Asia Communication Awards 2017

NTT (News - Alert) Communications Corporation (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group (TOKYO:9432), announced today that it was named Operator of the Year, and was also recognized in the category of Wholesale Operator of the Year and The Connected Asia Award at the Asia Communication Awards (ACA) 2017 in Singapore on May 24th. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006347/en/ Asia Communication Awards 2017 Winner's Logo (Graphic: Business Wire) Launched in 2011 by Total Telecom (News - Alert), ACA recognizes the companies and individuals driving the success of the Asian-based telecom industry to a global audience. A panel of telecom experts selected winners in 18 categories. NTT Com was named Operator of the Year for the third time. The award recognizes that a provider demonstrated a strong service portfolio, investment in network and service development, a growing and satisfied customer base, and execution of a clear and ambitious strategic plan. "Many telcos have tried to transform their business and have ended up going backwards. NTT Communications (News - Alert) on the other hand is inching its way into the new digital world," said one judge. Wholesale Operator of the Year is one of the most fiercely contested at the Asia Communication Awards and NTT Com won this category for the second year in a row. The award recognizes NTT Com's continuous investment and improvement in network infrastructure in APAC, such as launch of AsiaPacific Gateway (News - Alert) (APG) submarine cable in October 2016 and Kizuna Submarine Cable-Laying vessel in March 2017, while keeping the high customer retention rate through its Tier-1 Global IP Network. One judge said NTT Com showed an "excellent approach to global engagement, which is the mark of a good operator."



NTT Com received The Connected Asia Award for its IoT Platform. This award highlights NTT Com's contribution to business transformation and productivity improvement of enterprise customers by a solution that fits in all use cases, leveraging the company's globally deployed network, cloud and data center as well as its partnership with application platform providers and device vendors. "In terms of sheer scope, NTT Communications is the Connected Asia leader," declared one member of the panel. For more information about NTT Com's awards and recognition, visit www.ntt.com/strength/leader/data/awards.html.

About NTT Communications Corporation NTT Communications provides consultancy, architecture, security and cloud services to optimize the information and communications technology (ICT) environments of enterprises. These offerings are backed by the company's worldwide infrastructure, including the leading global tier-1 IP network, the Arcstar Universal One VPN network reaching 196 countries/regions, and over 140 secure data centers worldwide. NTT Communications' solutions leverage the global resources of NTT Group companies including Dimension Data (News - Alert), NTT DOCOMO and NTT DATA. www.ntt.com | [email protected] Com | [email protected] Com | [email protected] Com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006347/en/

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[May 25, 2017] PAWBO: Acer's Pet Tech Offering Set to Boost Pet Wellbeing in UK

LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- An exciting opportunity for retailers in 2017 Products that offer pet owners peace of mind, and increase their pets' happiness and wellbeing, are without doubt bestsellers within the retail environment. With a recent independent survey by pet tech company PAWBO, revealing that over 65% of pet owners admitted that their pet exhibited unusual anxiety-related behaviours when left at home alone, this statistic is only set to further impact on sales. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/515964/PAWBO_Acer_Pet_Tech.jpg )

The poll, based on a study of 1,000 current and former pet owners, proves that technology can play a significant role in keeping pets and their owners connected and calm when owners are at work, at play, or travelling. The launch of the Pawbo+ - a revolutionary pet care innovation - could not have come at a more ideal time, to offer both retailers and pet owners an opportunity not to be missed. Created by the team behind world-leading Acer computers, the Pawbo+ is a sleek unit that embodies the concept of a web camea with superb technology, yet offers so much more. The interactive camera features two-way communication, live games for direct pet/owner interaction, a treat dispenser, video/ imagery storage via DropBox as well as social media link-up routes, and multi-user compatibility. All of this comes as a single robust product that is designed to withstand the inevitable wear and tear that unattended pets can create.



Ben Wan, chairman of Pawbo Inc. said: "As the study shows, separation anxiety isn't solely an issue for pets, it's also a huge issue for pet owners. Fortunately, technology can connect pets and pet owners alike to eliminate stress and anxiety all around. The Pawbo+ interactive pet camera provides peace-of-mind for pet owners by giving them the ability to check in on their pets no matter how far away they are", he said. Not only does the Pawbo+ offer an unrivalled opportunity for pet owners, but it is also set to help retailers drive profits in the year ahead. Each unit comes complete in compact packaging, that includes everything consumers need to set the unit up at home. This specially designed packaging means more unit per shelf, and ultimately more money in the tills. Additionally, for e-commerce sites, the packaging is designed for easy and low cost shipment, keeping the profitable margin healthy.

At a glance: Pawbo+ 720P HD live video and 130 Wide-Angle Lens, supported by high-quality sound

Allows up to eight users to chat with pets through Pawbo + at one time, with all users able to operate the interactive functions simultaneously

at one time, with all users able to operate the interactive functions simultaneously Six built-in ringtones to attract pets' attention

Built-in games for pet interaction, with the capability of extending functions via wireless connection

Push-to-Talk function allows pets to hear their owner's voice at the touch of a button

Via the Pawbo Life app users are able to to control multiple Pawbo + devices and operate multiple Pawbo + accessories

devices and operate multiple Pawbo accessories Supports video storage via Dropbox, allowing a maximum 15 minutes of video recording.

Find out more For further information, visit http://www.pawbo.com. The Pawbo+ Wi-Fi Pet Camera is now available (RRP 169) from Amazon. For more information, interviews or images please contact the Pawbo PR team: Kimberley Hornby Tel: +44(0)1858-681122, Email: [email protected]

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[May 25, 2017] Mumbai-based Education App 'Ediffy', Expands its National Footprint

MUMBAI, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ediffy is revolutionising the way technology is being used in educational institutes since 2013. The company is bridging the communication gap in educational institutes through its cloud-based solution. It has so far connected over 2.5 lakh students and 1500 teachers on its platform. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516165/Ediffy_Logo.jpg ) After successfully strengthening its roots in Maharashtra, the company is now expanding its reach to other states of India like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Speaking about the expansion, Parth Gandhi, CEO, Ediffy said, "We saw that there was a lot of lacuna when it came to communication within the institutes, be it announcements, projects deadlines, fests etc. At the same time other than a written note in the wards' book, there was no tool for communication between the parents and teachers. Streamlining this communication was the need of the hour and that's how we started the process of building our app. Our aim is not just to encourage urban institutes to use technology but also handhold and bring efficiency to rural educational institutes. Moreover, the government has recognised the virtues of a Digital India and we are seeing to it that our efforts are in line with proviing these virtues to them."



"The number of smartphone users in India is growing and consumers today are well informed. Through the Digital India initiative, the government is providing impetus for the growth of tech in India. However, connectivity remains a challenge. To address this we built Ediffy in such a way that it works offline too," added Gandhi. The app is available both on ios and Android platform. Additionally last mile connectivity is provided via SMS support. "As working parents it becomes impossible to multitask and manage our child's day-to-day activities. The notifications from Ediffy keep us calm as we get updates of the location while he is travelling in the school bus," said Anjali Shah (parent), user of Ediffy.

Ediffy has been specifically developed by taking into consideration ground realities in terms of infrastructure in institutes and comfort level of teachers and parents in using the tech. "Ediffy is a one-stop solution where all our data is available and accessible from anywhere at any time. Scope for human error reduces and helps us push real-time data to parents," says Dr. A.S Deshpande, Principal - KLS Institute of Technology, Belgaum. To know more about the Ediffy app, get in touch with their team by giving a call on - 1800-3070-7773 (Toll Free) About Ediffy: Ediffy is a student communication and engagement application deployed in education institutes that streamlines teacher-student communication and various related processes such as placements, reminders and document sharing. The principle behind Ediffy is that most major problems in the education ecosystem usually have communication issues at their epicentre - be that lack of sufficient communication or lack of the right platform to communicate. Keeping this in mind, Ediffy has been engineered to utilize a 'Mobile First' channel to engage students. These channels include native mobile application as well as text messages. Ediffy Communication Pvt. Ltd. is swiftly revolutionising the way in which schools engage with parents by providing them with information that they desire but are unable to access in a reliable and timely manner. To learn more, please visit http://www.ediffy.com.

For further information please contact:

Siddharth Kadri

E: [email protected]

C: +91-9930749808

Head, Digital PR & Communications

First Economy Pvt Ltd





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[May 25, 2017] Mu Sigma's Culture Code - Breaking the Status Quo

BANGALORE, May 25,2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Twelve years into existence and ten thousand employees down the line, working at Mu Sigma just keeps getting better. Having questioned several accepted conventions, Mu Sigma has well established that as a company, it is not afraid of doing things its own way and winning. But, going against the grain is not the only thing that sets it apart from the rest of the corporate universe. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516160/Mu_Sigma_Culture_Code_Image.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516161/Mu_Sigma_Logo.jpg )

Mu Sigma attracts a variety of talent each year, making it a hub for ideas, innovation and change. Believing in a white-box, open environment, employees are encouraged to engage in healthy conflict and give direct, honest feedback to everyone, even their superiors. Identifying themselves as being irreverent, Mu Sigma does not shy away from taking on the most difficult of problems across multiple industries, yet displays the humility of acknowledging that they are not experts, but are willing to learn and 'figure it out'. This goes hand in hand with their core belief of Learning over Knowing. People in Mu Sigma are taught to question anyone over anything they're not convinced about. They are encouraged to understand the 'why' before doing something. They dislike people pleasers or those who display sociotropic behavior - one should say a 'yes' only if they mean it, otherwise there's always a 'no'. They are encouraged not to be a Pushmi Pullyu. Mu Sigma follows a flat hierarchy, having only one managerial designation - tha of the 'Apprentice Leader'. This is done to create an environment of collaboration without the impediment of hierarchy or the problems of following formal protocol with seniors. The culture demands that one ask for help from whosoever need be, and the company's hyper-collaborative, networked environment ensures there is a smooth flow of knowledge across people and teams.



The founder, Dhiraj Rajaram, advocates the philosophy of 'be childlike, not childish', in a sense that it encourages people to have a childlike curiosity about things and gives them the freedom to be their own unique self, however different they may be. The company has, over the years, created an environment where everyone, from trainees to the leadership team are taught to be okay with chaos and ambiguity and in fact, thrive in an atmosphere that is full of the same. Mu Sigma is a young people company that fundamentally believes in capability over experience. It has taken several risks, one being choosing to build the company by investing time and resources to cultivate the right mindset for problem solving (and skills too) in young people straight out of college (even with non-technological backgrounds). By advocating a 'can-do' attitude they give opportunities to people to explore new things, regardless of their experience.

Mu Sigma is a heavily culture-driven company, running on its philosophies and belief systems. Mu Sigma, by virtue of the environment it has set up for youngsters, and the work ethics it helps drive into young, impressionable minds at the start of their career, fosters a mindset of 'get it done', an attitude best characterized by the phrase 'do-it-now'. It means every Mu Sigman works towards managing their short-term, long-term and daily goals with whatever it takes to succeed. Lastly, Mu Sigma approaches everything with a profit-and-loss mindset, where every employee needs to don the salesman's hat. Whether they are in sales, delivery, marketing or a talent management role, one has to think of selling their ideas or their work, keeping a customer in mind. Because this mindset directs the full focus of the employee towards planning their work according to possible returns and trimming their efforts for maximum efficiency, both of which are crucial for not just winning, but making profits in a business. In a nutshell, Mu Sigma likes to take a stand of its own, and that is why its culture code is an extremely promising sign for not just itself, but the industry as a whole for years to come. About Mu Sigma

We are the world's largest pure play Big Data Analytics and Decision Sciences Company with a Unicorn status in the U.S. and the first profitable Unicorn in India. Mu Sigma works with more than 140 of the Fortune 500 through a unique ecosystem that brings together People, Processes, and Platforms. We currently have 3500 Decision Scientists worldwide. We aspire to deliver a combination of Art + Science done at Scale. To do this, the company needs to be part design studio, part research lab, and part data factory, striving to bring it together as a whole. For more details, please visit us at: http://www.mu-sigma.com Follow us on Facebook at Mu Sigma Inc. and Inside Mu Sigma

Media Contact:

Rokhsar Vakharia

[email protected]

+91-9986801888

Mu Sigma





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[May 25, 2017] TradingForex.com Establishes New Boundaries in Trading With the Release of its New Website

LIMASSOL, Cyprus, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TradingForex.com, the true STP/ECN broker, today announced the launch of their new website, http://www.TradingForex.com. The company, operated by TTCM Traders Trust Capital Markets Ltd, was 'formed by trader for trader,' with the traders' experience at the heart of their activity. The broker is represented by Swiss management and their clockwork precision new website redefines accessibility and security in trading the world's financial market, offering the full website functionality from desktop, mobile or tablet. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516172/TradingForex_Logo.jpg )

Filled with a wealth of information, easy navigation throughout the website, a complete education library and an abundance of trading tools to match a traders style and needs, clients can now benefit from the latest insights and analysis to support heir trading journey.



The company states why clients should choose TradingForex.com: Honesty & integrity - with trader success in mind, all income is generated from trading execution; their clients' losses do not increase their gains.

Transparent trading environment - governed by fair and ethical trading conditions, whereby the traders can focus on simply trading! Safe and strong regulatory protection - authorised and regulated under CySEC (License number 107/09) and passported in the European Union under the MiFID directive, registered with all European regulatory authorities. Cutting edge technology - for both novice and pro-traders to enhance their trading experience with cutting-edge tools. Nicola Berardi, CEO states, 'Our team, originally traders, have experienced a lot of changes in the past number of years when it comes to trading the markets and know what they want when they are trading their own portfolios. So we take all of this real-life expertise, along with our Swiss thinking, to create a company that can offer true trading execution with the trader at the heart of it all.' Notes to editors: TradingForex.com offers traders of all levels access to the world's financial market. Dedicated to providing an unbeatable trading experience, TradingForex.com continuously invests in the development of their service with industry leading technology, the best market conditions and bespoke customer service. Their mission is to empower and enable traders to gain financial independence and trading excellence. TradingForex.com is operated by TTCM Traders Trust Capital Markets Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), license number 107/09. To find out more, visit: http://www.TradingForex.com

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[May 25, 2017] ScaleFT, the "Zero Trust" Security Software Company, Names Veteran Cloud Executive Ben Sabrin Vice President of Revenue and Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ScaleFT, the Zero Trust security software company, today announced the appointment of Ben Sabrin to a new leadership role at the company as vice president of Revenue and Strategy.

Ben is a proven serial early-stage company sales leader who has successfully led organizations through massive growth, said Jason Luce, co-founder and CEO at ScaleFT. He brings incredible experience at early-stage companies disrupting the enterprise Java application market, the database market, the cloud market and more. Sabrin has held a series of executive sales and management leadership roles in a range of big data, cloud and open source companies in enterprise software, including H20.ai, JBoss, MongoDB, Nodesource and Rackspace. I had the privilege of working with Jason at Rackspace and jumped at the chance to join his team in bringing a new security paradigm to the market with ScaleFT, Sabrin said. Security is nearly a $100 billion annual industry but its a market cluttered with complex, inelegant products that fail too often and expose customers to costly risk and mitigation. ScaleFT has a simple but proven and effective approach based on Google re-thinking security that is easy for customers to deploy and for their employees to adopt.



Sabrin started his technology career as a recruiter at Pencom Systems. He joined JBoss and quickly advanced to vice president sales, North America, before the open source application server company was acquired by Red Hat. He founded and led eHire before joining MongoDB, the open source NoSQL company, to serve as vice president Americas. He next served as head of sales and business development in the ObjectRocket division and chief enterprise strategist for the enterprise business at Rackspace. After that he led sales for big data analytics company H20.ai and NodeSource, the server-side Node.js software company. Sabrin holds a B.S. in Marketing from Indiana University. About ScaleFT

ScaleFT helps companies protect sensitive resources through a Zero Trust platform that makes intelligent, context-aware access decisions in real time. Founded by startup veterans from The Apache Software Foundation, Cloudkick, and Rackspace, the company is venture-backed with offices in San Francisco and Austin. Learn more at: www.scaleft.com or follow on Twitter @ScaleFT.

Lonn Johnston [email protected] +1 650.219.7764

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[May 25, 2017] SCIEX Sponsored Award Recognizes Notable Contributions to Electrodriven Separations

SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, has announced that the MSB Strategic Planning Committee has selected Dr. Shigeru Terabe, Professor Emeritus of the University of Hyogo in Kamigori, Hyogo, Japan, as the recipient of the Arnold O. Beckman Medal and Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements in the Field of Electro-driven Separation Techniques. The Medal Ceremony was presented on Tuesday, March 28th as part of a Special Award Plenary Session at the 33rd International Symposium on Microscale Bioseparations (MSB 2017). This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005442/en/ Left to right: Professor James Landers, Chairman MSB Strategic Planning Committee, Dr. Rawi Ramautar, Leiden University, Netherlands, Dr. Shigeru Terabe - recipient, Jeff Chapman, Senior Director, at SCIEX, Dr. Govert Somsen, Vrije University, Netherlands (Photo: Business Wire) The Arnold O. Beckman award is given to an individual for remarkable career achievements, with particular consideration being given to the development of new methods, techniques and high-impact applications in the field of electro-driven separations. The award comprises a Medal, a Diploma and a Monetary Prize. Professor Terabe earned his undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees from Kyoto University, Japan in 1963, 1965 and 1973, respectively. Professor Terabe began is career at the Shionogi & Company Ltd, where he was a research chemist. Later, he joined Arizona State University, where he was a research associate before returning to Kyoto University, Japan to become an assistant professor. In 1990, he was appointed to the Faculty at Himeji Institute of Technology, Kamigori, Hyogo, Japan and has since been engaged in the practice of analytical chemistry. After retiring, Professor Terabe served as a Research Supervisor of the program Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology" funded by the Japanese government from 2004-2010. In his role, Professor Terabe assisted 40 top young analytical scientists by funding ca. 5 million USD per year for the project, "Structure Function and Measurement Analysis."



Professor Terabe has been a driving force in understanding the fundamentals of capillary electrophoresis including the introduction of Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography and a myriad of its applications, as well as the development of sweeping, a "stacking" approach for neutral analytes. His 250 original research publications have been cited more than 15,000 times altogether ranking him in the top 200 among all chemists. Professor Terabe has been awarded the ACS (News - Alert) Award in Chromatography in 2004, CASSS Award in 2007, and the Chemical Society of Japan Award in 2008 in recognition of his contributions to analytical chemistry. He served as an Editor of Journal of Chromatography for 15 years and in 2011 he was Chairman of the IUPAC International Congress on Analytical Sciences. "This annual Medal and Award sponsored by SCIEX recognizes the achievements of those that have made a momentous impact on capillary electrophoresis," said Jeff Chapman, Sr. Director, SCIEX. "Professor Terabe's invention of micellar electrokinetic chromatography has inspired many scientists, both utilizing and building upon this fundamental methodology."

"I am humbled to be the recipient of the prestigious Arnold O. Beckman award, a notable honor that has recognized distinguished colleagues that have impacted diverse scientific and technical disciplines," said Dr. Shigeru Terabe, Professor Emeritus of the University of Hyogo in Kamigori, Hyogo, Japan. "Dr. Beckman's achievements have inspired me and I would like to express my gratitude to MSB for this esteemed award." Learn more about SCIEX and SCIEX Capillary Electrophoresis Solutions About SCIEX SCIEX helps to improve the world we live in by enabling scientists and laboratory analysts to find answers to the complex analytical challenges they face. The company's global leadership and world-class service and support in the capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry industry have made it a trusted partner to thousands of the scientists and lab analysts worldwide who are focused on basic research, drug discovery and development, food and environmental testing, forensics and clinical research. With over 40 years of proven innovation, SCIEX excels by listening to and understanding the ever-evolving needs of its customers to develop reliable, sensitive and intuitive solutions that continue to redefine what is achievable in routine and complex analysis. For more information, please visit sciex.com. SCIEX social: Twitter (News - Alert): @SCIEXnews, LinkedIn and Facebook. For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. RUO-MKT-12-5561-A AB Sciex is operating as SCIEX.  2017 AB Sciex. The trademarks mentioned herein are the property of the AB Sciex Pte. Ltd. or their respective owners. AB Sciex is being used under license. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005442/en/

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[May 25, 2017] Ford Announces Global Leadership Team Appointments

Ford Motor Company (News - Alert) today announced senior leadership appointments around the world, completing the newly reorganized team led by President and CEO Jim Hackett. "The leadership changes we are announcing today across our global business are important as we foster even greater teamwork, accountability and nimble decision-making," Hackett said. "I am excited to work together with Bill Ford and such a talented and diverse group of leaders to create a more vibrant Ford that delivers value for all of our stakeholders." Hackett was announced as president and CEO on Monday by Executive Chairman Bill Ford. The two leaders emphasized three priorities: Sharpening operational execution across the global business while decisively addressing underperforming parts of the business

across the global business while decisively addressing underperforming parts of the business Modernizing Ford's business , using new tools and techniques to unleash innovation, speed decision making, improve efficiency and more

, using new tools and techniques to unleash innovation, speed decision making, improve efficiency and more Transforming to meet future challenges, ensuring the company has the right culture, talent, strategic processes and nimbleness to succeed as society's needs and consumer behavior changes over time At the same time, Ford named three new leaders reporting to Hackett - Global Markets, Global Operations and Mobility. Consistent with this shift, new leadership appointments are being announced within each of the three new functions: Global Markets: Reporting to Jim Farley, executive vice president and president, Global Markets, new appointments and changes include: Raj Nair is named executive vice president and president, North America, succeeding Joe Hinrichs. Nair, 52, previously served as executive vice president, Product Development, and chief technical officer, leading the company's global Product Development operations and playing a key role in the company's mobility efforts. His new appointment is effective June 1.

is named succeeding Joe Hinrichs. Nair, 52, previously served as executive vice president, Product Development, and chief technical officer, leading the company's global Product Development operations and playing a key role in the company's mobility efforts. His new appointment is effective June 1. As part of previously planned organizational change, Dave Schoch, group vice president and president Asia Pacific, has announced his intention to retire, after 40 years with Ford. Schoch, 66, has led the company's Asia Pacific operations for the past five years during the biggest and most aggressive expansion within the region in Ford history. He has served in a variety of positions around the world, including controller, The Americas; executive director, Ford Canada, Mexico and South America; chief financial officer and vice president of Strategic Planning for Ford of Europe, and chief financial officer of Ford Asia-Pacific Operations. His retirement is effective Aug. 1. "Dave has been a fantastic leader and a role model for many at Ford during his four decades in the company," Hackett said. "Over the past five years, Dave has been a key architect of our tremendous growth in China, and overall success in Asia Pacific." Peter Fleet is named group vice president and president, Asia Pacific , succeeding Dave Schoch. Fleet, 50, will lead all Ford's operations and partnerships in Asia Pacific. As chairman and CEO of Ford China, he also will lead Ford's operations in China - including Lincoln, the Ford China import business as well as Ford's passenger car joint venture, Changan Ford, and investment with Jiangling Motors Corporation. His appointment is effective July 1. Fleet previously served as vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Asia Pacific.

is named , succeeding Dave Schoch. Fleet, 50, will lead all Ford's operations and partnerships in Asia Pacific. As chairman and CEO of Ford China, he also will lead Ford's operations in China - including Lincoln, the Ford China import business as well as Ford's passenger car joint venture, Changan Ford, and investment with Jiangling Motors Corporation. His appointment is effective July 1. Fleet previously served as vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Asia Pacific. Mark Ovenden is named vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Asia Pacific . Ovenden, 53, will lead the Marketing, Sales and Service functions across the Asia Pacific region, reporting to Fleet. Mark also is elected a company officer. His appointment is effective July 1. Ovenden previously served as president and CEO, Ford Sollers, where he led the transformation of Ford's operations in Russia for the past two years.

is named . Ovenden, 53, will lead the Marketing, Sales and Service functions across the Asia Pacific region, reporting to Fleet. Mark also is elected a company officer. His appointment is effective July 1. Ovenden previously served as president and CEO, Ford Sollers, where he led the transformation of Ford's operations in Russia for the past two years. Steven Armstrong is appointed group vice president and president, Europe, Middle East & Africa , succeeding Jim Farley. In this role, Armstrong, 52, will have overall responsibility for Ford of Europe and Ford Middle East and Africa. His appointment is effective June 1. Armstrong previously served as vice president and chief operating officer, Ford of Europe.

is appointed , succeeding Jim Farley. In this role, Armstrong, 52, will have overall responsibility for Ford of Europe and Ford Middle East and Africa. His appointment is effective June 1. Armstrong previously served as vice president and chief operating officer, Ford of Europe. Sherif Marakby is appointed to a newly created position of vice president, Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, effective June 12. He is elected a corporate officer. Marakby, 51, previously worked at Ford for more than 25 years, serving in a variety of leadership positions in Product Development in North America and Europe. He has extensive background in electrification, having led the team to deliver a battery electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles. Global Operations: New appointments reporting to Joe Hinrichs, executive vice president and president, Global Operations include: Hau Thai-Tang is appointed executive vice president, Product Development and Purchasing. Following more than 25 years in global Product Development, Thai-Tang, 50, has advanced Ford's global Purchasing operations with numerous supplier-partner led innovations and delivered significant material cost savings. In this expanded role, effective June 1, both organizations now report to Thai-Tang.



Mobility: New appointments reporting to Marcy Klevorn, executive vice president and president, Mobility include: Neil Schloss is appointed vice president and chief financial officer, Mobility, effective Aug. 1. Schloss, 58, previously served as vice president and treasurer for Ford, and chief financial officer of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary formed to design, build, grow and invest in emerging mobility services.

is appointed effective Aug. 1. Schloss, 58, previously served as vice president and treasurer for Ford, and chief financial officer of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary formed to design, build, grow and invest in emerging mobility services. Jeff Lemmer is appointed vice president and chief operating officer, Information Technology, effective June 1. In this role, Lemmer, 51, is responsible for automotive-related application development and running the day-to-day operations, including networks, data centers and employee collaboration tools. He also is elected a corporate officer. Lemmer previously was Director, IT Operations. The appointment of a chief information officer will be the subject of a future announcement.

Also today, the following leadership changes are being announced: Bradley Gayton is appointed group vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel , effective June 1. He will continue to report to Jim Hackett. Gayton leads the company's litigation, tax, corporate and intellectual property efforts, including the General Auditor's Office. In this expanded role, he is responsible for Ford Land and Corporate Services, which includes the company's security, and global travel and events operations. He previously served as group vice president and general counsel.

is appointed , effective June 1. He will continue to report to Jim Hackett. Gayton leads the company's litigation, tax, corporate and intellectual property efforts, including the General Auditor's Office. In this expanded role, he is responsible for Ford Land and Corporate Services, which includes the company's security, and global travel and events operations. He previously served as group vice president and general counsel. Ken Washington is appointed vice president, Research and Advanced Engineering, and chief technology officer , effective June 1, reporting to Jim Hackett. Washington, 56, previously served as vice president of Research and Advanced Engineering, leading Ford's worldwide research organizations, and overseeing the development and implementation of the company's technology strategy. He will add chief technical officer responsibilities in this expanded role.

is appointed , effective June 1, reporting to Jim Hackett. Washington, 56, previously served as vice president of Research and Advanced Engineering, leading Ford's worldwide research organizations, and overseeing the development and implementation of the company's technology strategy. He will add chief technical officer responsibilities in this expanded role. Kenneth R. Kent is appointed vice president and treasurer, succeeding Neil Schloss. With his new appointment, effective Aug. 1, he also is elected a corporate officer. Responsible for the company's overall treasury operations, Kent, 54, reports to Bob Shanks, executive vice president and chief financial officer. He previously served as controller, The Americas. Below is additional background information on each of the named leaders. For biographical information and photos of Steven Armstrong, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Peter Fleet, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Bradley Gayton, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Kenneth R. Kent, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Jeff Lemmer, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Raj Nair, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Mark Ovenden, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Neil Schloss, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Dave Schoch, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Hau Thai-Tang, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Sherif Marakby, click here.

For biographical information and photos of Ken Washington, click here. About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 202,000 employees and 62 plants worldwide, the company's core business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks and SUVs, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. Ford provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products and services, please visit www.corporate.ford.com. For news releases, related materials and high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com.

Follow at www.facebook.com/ford, www.twitter.com/ford or www.youtube.com/fordvideo1 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005546/en/

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Uzma, 20, who had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month, said that her Pakistani husband Tahir Ali 'forced' her to marry him at gun point and also harassed her.

By India Today Web Desk: Indian national Uzma who had claimed that she was forced to marry a Pakistani man, reaches home after Islamabad High Court granted her the permission on Wednesday.

An Islamabad High Court bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, returned Uzma her original immigration form after the hearing. According to a Geo News report , the court had also ordered the police to escort her till Wagah border.

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma and empathised with her ordeal in Pakistan.

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through.- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 25, 2017

Uzma returns to India via Wagah border in Amritsar. Photo: ANI

Rejoiced over the news of Uzma's return to her homeland, her brother Wasim Ahmad said, "Very happy to hear that Uzma is back, but don't know when she will be back in Delhi, her flight is delayed."

He also thanked the Government of India for helping him secure his sister's freedom and added that EAM Sushma Swaraj even arranged a phone call for him with Uzma when she was in Pakistan.

Uzma, 20, who had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month, said that her Pakistani husband Tahir Ali 'forced' her to marry him at gun point and also harassed her.

Uzma had approached the Islamabad High Court on May 12 to provide security for her journey back to Delhi and to issue duplicate travel documents which were allegedly stolen by Tahir.

#WATCH Indian woman Uzma returns to India via Attari-Wagah border, she alleged she was forced to marry a Pakistani pic.twitter.com/x5FeEos6lS

Also read: Indian woman Uzma tells court she was forced to marry in Pakistan, submits written reply to court

WATCH | Indian national Uzma, who was forced to marry Pakistani man at gun point, returns home

--- ENDS ---
[May 25, 2017] Travelers Institute Holds Annual "Kicking Off Hurricane Preparedness Season" Event in New Orleans

The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV), will host its seventh annual "Kicking Off Hurricane Preparedness Season" symposium. The event will offer recommendations to help families and businesses get ready for the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially begins June 1. SBP, a national disaster recovery organization, and the New Orleans chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), will co-host the symposium. "Hurricanes and other severe weather can have a long-term impact on communities," said Joan Woodward, President of the Travelers Institute and Executive Vice President of Public Policy at Travelers. "Properly preparing for storm season is critical to keeping your family safe, protecting your property and maintaining business operations." During the symposium, the Lowlander Center, a Louisiana-based nonprofit organization that provides education, research and advocacy for the state's coastal communities, will receive the Trvelers Excellence in Community Resilience Award. The $100,000 grant is presented annually by the Travelers Institute and the Travelers Foundation to recognize organizations that are showing leadership in the field of community resiliency.



Keynote speaker Brian Zachry, a storm surge specialist at the National Hurricane Center, will highlight changes the organization is making to better serve communities and its partners. "Beginning with the 2017 hurricane season, the National Weather Service will issue storm surge watches and warnings to highlight areas along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the continental United States that have a significant risk of life-threatening inundation from a tropical cyclone," said Zachry. "This will advance our ability to communicate the storm surge hazard, which is often the greatest threat to life and property."

Zachry will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Woodward and will be joined by Shirley Laska, Co-Founder of the Lowlander Center; Tina Meilleur, Founder and CEO of Design Your Success, and incoming president of NAWBO New Orleans; and Zack Rosenburg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SBP. Please visit www.travelers.com for more information on preparing for hurricanes. About the Travelers Institute The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers' senior management, as well as the technical expertise of many of Travelers' underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more information, visit www.travelers.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005560/en/

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[May 25, 2017] Walmart Releases Annual Global Responsibility Report and Outlines 2017 North Carolina Investment Plans

RALEIGH, N.C., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Walmart has released its 10th annual Global Responsibility Report, highlighting milestones in its global progress toward creating shared value for people, business, and society. The report looks back at the company's progress during fiscal year 2017 in advancing the key areas of opportunity, sustainability and community. Following are local examples illustrating Walmart's local impact in each of these three areas of the Global Responsibility Report: Opportunity

Walmart is addressing barriers that can impede career advancement for associates. In FY2017, Walmart completed a $2.7 billion investment in U.S. associates that included increases in training, education and higher wages. North Carolina achievements include: Opening the first Walmart Academy in Garner in November 2016 . Since February 2017 , Walmart has opened four additional academies in Denver , Morganton , Morrisville and Fayetteville with plans for expansion throughout the year. These facilities have trained more than 2,400 associates to date.

in . Since , Walmart has opened four additional academies in , , and with plans for expansion throughout the year. These facilities have trained more than 2,400 associates to date. Awarding a total of more than $28 million in quarterly bonuses to North Carolina associates in FY17.

in quarterly bonuses to associates in FY17. Continuing its commitment to hire military veterans for a total of more than 7,000 veterans hired in North Carolina since launching the Walmart Veterans Welcome Home Commitment in May 2013 . In addition to investing in its own associates, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation in 2015 launched the Retail Opportunity Initiative, a five-year, $100 million sector-wide effort aimed at strengthening the transferability of skills of the U.S. retail workforce and developing ways to make it easier for front-line workers to advance their careers. Through the end of FY2017, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation invested more than $59 million and collaborated with leading nonprofits, employers, government agencies and educational institutions such as the The League of Innovation and the Aspen Institute. Community

In FY2017, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation invested more than $1.4 billion in communities worldwide, including more than $52 million in cash and in-kind contributions to non-profits throughout North Carolina. Local non-profits awarded grants from the Walmart State Giving Program, one of several Foundation giving programs that play an essential role in the Foundation's mission to create opportunities so people can live better, include: Support Military Spouses received $25,000 for the Military Community Job Fair and Employment Readiness Program

for the Military Community Job Fair and Employment Readiness Program Urban League of Central Carolinas received $100,000 for the ULCC's Continuum of Opportunity program

of Central Carolinas received for the ULCC's Continuum of Opportunity program Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina received $166,000 for their Restoring Hope and Health with food program

received for their Restoring Hope and Health with food program Communities in Schools of Wake County received $25,000 for the Smart Academy As the nation's largest grocer, Walmart is uniquely positioned to support organizations that are on the front lines in the fight against hunger. In addition to donating more than 28 million pounds of food to local North Carolina food banks  equivalent to 23 million meals  Walmart and the Walmart Foundation donated more than $50 million toward hunger relief in FY2017, including more than $306,000 for after school and breakfast in the classroom programs in North Carolina. Walmart also engages customers across the country in making an impact on hunger in their local communities. In the U.S., Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations teamed up with customers and participating suppliers to support Feeding America through the "Fight Hunger. Spark Change." campaign, raising more than $17 million in funds in FY2017, including funds for the following North Carolina Feeding America affiliate food banks: Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, Charlotte, NC , $185,043

, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina , Winston-Salem, NC $173,191

, Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina , Fayetteville, NC , $55 , 673

, , Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina , Raleigh, NC , $189,352

, , Food Bank of the Albemarle , Elizabeth City, NC $32,552

, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Raleigh, NC , $56,334

, MANNA FoodBank, Asheville, NC , $82,367 Walmart associates are deeply engaged in their communities and in FY2017, associates overall volunteered more than 1.2 million hours generating more than $12 million in Walmart donations, including more than 17,000 hours with local non-profits and charitable causes in North Carolina, marking another way in which the company supports and impacts the local communities it serves. In FY2017, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation supported communities after 30 disasters. A total of $6.8 million in cash donations was given specifically for disaster preparedness and relief, including $170,000 in North Carolina to assist with food supplies following Hurricane Matthew, as an example. 2017 North Carolina Innovations and Investments

Walmart's most recent earnings report shows continued positive momentum in U.S. sales, customer traffic and customer feedback, which is attributed to many of the innovations and investments the company has been making in store operations and its workforce. Walmart is planning the following investments in North Carolina this year: Open three new stores/clubs across the state creating approximately 700 new jobs statewide.

Recently opened four training academies with plans for additional academy openings across the state.

Multi-million dollar capital investments in improving existing stores/clubs by remodeling more than 18 locations across the state.

Walmart Supercenter, 701 Hawley Ave, Belmont



Walmart Supercenter, 125 Bleachery Blvd, Asheville



Walmart Supercenter, 2010 Kildaire Farm Rd, Cary



Walmart Supercenter, 150 Concord Commons Pl SW, Concord



Walmart Supercenter, 1830 Galleria Blvd, Charlotte



Walmart Supercenter, 1015 Lewis St, Oxford



Walmart Supercenter, 4424 W Wendover Ave, Greensboro



Walmart Supercenter, 200 Watauga Village Dr, Boone



Walmart Supercenter, 9820 Callabridge Ct, Charlotte



Walmart Supercenter, 25 Northridge Commons Pkwy, Weaverville



Walmart Supercenter, 1226 E Dixie Dr, Asheboro



Walmart Supercenter, 8180 S Tryon St, Charlotte



Walmart Supercenter, 1318 Mebane Oaks Rd, Mebane



Walmart Supercenter, 1876 Main St W, Locust



Walmart Supercenter, 3105 Dr. M L King Jr. Blvd, New Bern



Walmart Supercenter, 805 Town Centre Blvd, Clayton



Walmart Supercenter, 705 Retail Way, Louisburg



Walmart Supercenter, 3209 Pineville-Matthews Rd, Charlotte "2017 is going to be an exciting year for Walmart in North Carolina as we continue to focus on how to better serve our customers through innovation and investments so they can save both time and money," said Kate Mora, Walmart Regional Manager in North Carolina. "We've had a sharp focus on making our store experience second to none and our customers are telling us that our plan is working. Our team is energized and we're looking forward to exceeding our customer's expectations for what a great Walmart shopping experience can be like." Walmart's 2017 investment plans build on Walmart's growth last year in North Carolina. 2016 Highlights included:







Opened a Global Shared Services Center in the Charlotte area creating more than 1,000 new jobs with a total investment of $10 million.

Opened 6 new stores

Remodeled 14 stores across the state Launched Online Grocery Pickup Service currently serving 38 markets

Opened the first training academy in the state

Launched Walmart Pay statewide

Opened a Distribution Center in Mebane

About Walmart in North Carolina

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better  anytime and anywhere  in retail stores, online and through their mobile devices. In North Carolina we serve customers at 218 retail units and online through Walmart Grocery Pickup, Walmart.com and Jet.com. We are proud to employ over 59,000 associates in North Carolina. Walmart supports local businesses, spending $11.9 billion with North Carolina suppliers in FYE17, which supported more than 67,000 supplier jobs. Learn more at the Walmart Today blog, and our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram channels. Media Contact:

Ashley Messier

[email protected]

804-771-5303 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/walmart-releases-annual-global-responsibility-report-and-outlines-2017-north-carolina-investment-plans-300463650.html SOURCE Walmart

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[May 25, 2017] JLab Audio Expands Wireless Earbuds Collection

SAN DIEGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The award-winning brand, JLab Audio, is multiplying its wireless earbud selection, focusing on great fit and sound across the entire Bluetooth collection. Following the success of its most award-winning product ever  Epic2 Bluetooth Sport Earbuds  JLab will expand its wireless collection with three new products: JBuds Pro Bluetooth ($24.99), Metal Bluetooth ($29.99) and Fit 2.0 Bluetooth ($39.99). Hitting retail stores nationwide now, various models of JLab Bluetooth wireless earbds are available at Walmart, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods and other retailers, or online at jlabaudio.com.



"JLab saw a huge opportunity to innovate around Bluetooth; customers were asking for a comfortable in-ear solution at an awesome price. With three models starting at $24.99, we wanted to make going wireless a no-brainer for customers," said JLab CEO Win Cramer. "Our customer-favorite earbuds now have the ease of Bluetooth  adding to the great fit, comfort and sound people have already enjoyed from JLab. As wireless becomes the go-to option for new phones, JLab is making it easier for consumers to make the transition without breaking the bank." Including all three new earbud models, each features a strong Bluetooth 4.1 connection while keeping a 6-hour battery life for any day-to-day activity. Providing consumers with an easy wireless experience, the in-line remote located on the right side allows you to utilize all the controls: Play, pause, track change, and volume adjust. Given their built-in microphone you'll be able to take or reject calls with just a click. Designed to keep your fitness goals in motion, each earbud has an IP55 dust and sweatproof rating. Always providing all day comfort, all three earbuds come with extra gel eartips, Cush Fins (on Pro and Wired), or Memory Wire (Fit2.0) to help find your exact fit.

About JLab Audio

JLab Audio is an award-winning designer of personal audio including earbuds, headphones and Bluetooth speakers. In 2016, the San Diego Business Journal named JLab Audio one of the Best Places to Work in San Diego, JLab Audio CEO Win Cramer was selected for the 40 under 40 award by Dealerscope Magazine and The Wirecutter named the Epic2 Bluetooth Earbuds Best Wireless Workout Exercise Headphones. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jlab-audio-expands-wireless-earbuds-collection-300464054.html SOURCE JLab Audio

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[May 25, 2017]

Kids to learn the importance of being inclusive online for Media Literacy Week 2017

OTTAWA, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - MediaSmarts, Canada's leading centre for digital and media literacy, and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) today announced this year's Media Literacy Week, to be held Nov. 6 to 10, will focus on diversity and inclusion online for children and teens.

"Inclusion in a Connected World: A Place and a Voice for Everyone" will promote ways in which diverse voices, perspectives and talents can participate and enrich our media and digital spaces. The week will highlight how young people can create welcoming digital environments and engage in respectful dialogue online.

"Everyone benefits from inclusive online spaces that allow people to share their unique perspectives," says Cathy Wing, Co-Executive Director of MediaSmarts. "If we want to build a friendly online culture for children and teens, we need to engage them as the next generation of users and creators."
[May 25, 2017] Huron Capital's Good Sportsman Marketing Completes Two Add-ons

DETROIT, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Huron Capital announced today that its portfolio company, Dallas, Texas-based Good Sportsman Marketing ("GSM"), has recently completed two add-on acquisitions. GSM acquired Scent Web from Beaverton, Mich.-based A-Way Hunting Products, Inc., and also acquired Eugene, Ore.-based Bullseye Camera Systems ("Bullseye"). These represent the second and third add-on acquisitions for GSM since Huron Capital's initial investment in June 2016. Scent Web has a patented delivery mechanism for dispensing deer scent attractants, which builds on GSM's portfolio of innovative products that enhance the hunting experience. The acquisition represents GSM's initial expansion into the scent/attractants market. Bullseye designs, assembles and distributes target shooting camera systems. Using Bullseye's camera system and its proprietary software application, shooters can view targets from long distances from mobile device as well as utilize several interactive features of the software for a unique experience at the range. "Scent Web and Bullseye are great additions to our growing product lineup," said Eddie Castro, CEO of GSM. "Scent Web offers several unique attributes that differentiate it from competing products, and we believe this will be a key product category extension for our Hunting Made Easy line. Meanwhile, Bullseye will be the initial building block in our new Shooting ade Easy line."



Sean Roberts, Principal at Huron Capital, added, "We're thrilled to add not one but two more acquisitions to GSM. Eddie and the GSM team have proven the ability to drive growth across their portfolio of products, and we look forward to seeing the potential of these new products through GSM's distribution. We are excited about the future for both Scent Web and Bullseye, and are eager to pursue additional acquisitions as we expand the GSM platform." About Huron Capital

Based in Detroit, Huron Capital is an operationally-focused private equity firm with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through our proprietary ExecFactor buy-and-build investment model. We prefer complex situations where we can help companies reach their full potential by combining our operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. Founded in 1999, Huron Capital has raised over $1.7 billion in capital through six committed private equity funds and invested in over 130 companies, and our portfolio companies have employed over 11,000 people throughout North America. The Huron Capital buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron Capital targets both control and non-control equity stakes in fundamentally-sound companies that can benefit from the firm's operational approach to creating value. Huron Capital's sector focus includes business services, consumer products & services and specialty manufacturing. For more information, please visit www.huroncapital.com.

About GSM

GSM has been a leader in the hunting and shooting accessories markets since its inception in 2000 when it pioneered the trail camera market with the launch of StealthCam. Since that time, GSM has added to its comprehensive portfolio of market-leading products with the addition of Walker's hearing protection and enhancement devices, American Hunter deer feeders, Cyclops LED lighting, and HME hunting accessories. GSM combines its passion for the outdoors with its innovative design capability to create unique products that enhance the hunting and shooting experience for its enthusiast customer base. The Company sells its products at leading specialty retailers, online distributors and big box outlets across the U.S. and Canada. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huron-capitals-good-sportsman-marketing-completes-two-add-ons-300464067.html SOURCE Huron Capital

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[May 25, 2017] ECRI Institute Issues Free Public Resource to Protect Hospitals from Ransomware Attacks

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ransomware is a form of computer malware that holds systems hostage with a ransom demand. Medical systems are vulnerable to such attacks, which can damage hospital operations and compromise patient care by barring users from accessing critical functions and data. Today, ECRI Institute, the independent leader in medical device safety and evaluation, announces the publication of a new guidance article, "Ransomware Attacks: How to Protect Your Medical Device Systems." The free resource offers ECRI Institute's independent, unbiased recommendations to help hospitals identify and protect against ransomware attacks. "With the recent news of nationwide cyberattacks, we thought it was very important to make this information available to the public as quickly as possible," says Juuso Leinonen, project officer, Health Devices Group, ECRI Institute. "Following these recommendations will allow hospitals to minimize impact to normal operations and mitigate the risk of a ransomware infection with your medical devices." The report provides recommendations for adapting general cybersecurity principles to the particular requirements of medical device systems, including a list of immediate do's and don'ts for quickly responding to emerging threats. This practical guidance will help facilities protect their devices and information in a timely manner. ECRI Institute has published a number of articles designed to help hospitals respond to cybersecurity threats. Thse resources provide guidance on topics ranging from ongoing management, strengthening cybersecurity initiatives, and finding future system acquisitions.



At the end of 2016, ECRI Institute launched its Cybersecurity Gap Analysis service to help hospitals and health systems develop a program to protect their medical devices from being used against them in a cyberattack. "Patching medical devices' software and routinely training staff members about phishing emails are just two aspects of a medical device cybersecurity program; there are many other issues that every hospital has to address," says Robert Maliff, director, Applied Solutions Group, ECRI Institute.

Software management gaps putting patients and patient data at risk is No. 6 on ECRI Institute's annual Top 10 Health Technology Hazards list for 2017; Medical Device Cybersecurity was No. 2 on ECRI Institute's 2016 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List. For more information about ECRI Institute's work with medical device cybersecurity, contact ECRI Institute by telephone at (610) 825-6000; by e-mail at [email protected]; or by mail at 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462. Social sharing [email protected]_Institute issues free public resource to protect hospitals from #ransomware attacks on medical devices bit.ly/2r0CqZ9 About ECRI Institute

ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes enable improved patient care. As pioneers in this science for nearly 50 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. Strict conflict-of-interest guidelines ensure objectivity. ECRI Institute is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO is listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ECRI Institute convened and operates the Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety, a multi-stakeholder collaborative. Find ECRI Institute on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ECRIInstitute) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ECRI_Institute). To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ecri-institute-issues-free-public-resource-to-protect-hospitals-from-ransomware-attacks-300464091.html SOURCE ECRI Institute

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[May 25, 2017] Tensorcom Announces its Single-Chip WiGig System-In-Package Achieves Wi-Fi Alliance Certification; Introduces New USB 3.0 Adapter Reference Designs

Tensorcom, Inc., a leading provider of ultra-low power 802.11ad WiGig semiconductor and system solutions, and a member of the NantWorks ecosystem of companies, today announced that its TC60G1316UE System-In-Package (SIP) has achieved Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig certification. The SIP, based on Tensorcom's TC60G6504UE "Nant1" 802.11ad System-On-Chip, brings robust, gigabit wireless connectivity to power-sensitive devices that demand high-performance. ABI Research (News - Alert) forecasts more than one billion WiGig chipsets will ship in 2021 in applications ranging from wireless docking, multimedia streaming, high speed data transfer between devices, and networking applications. They further estimate 28% of smartphones will support WiGig by 2021. "Tensorcom continues to set the standard for 60 GHz ultra-low power performance," said Jim Chase, Tensorcom's Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. "Our Nant1 based WiGig solutions offer the highest level of integration in the market today and are ideal for products that demand high bandwidth wireless connectivity in a small package." Nant1 is a monolithic ultra-low power CMOS system-on-chip with integrated 60 GHz CMOS MAC/PHY and USB 3.0 controller/PHY and includes all functions required to implement a complete WiGig solution for embedded devices, accessories, and portable products that require gigabit-per-second wireless data rates at the lowest power in the smallest form factor. Key features of the TC60G1316UE SIP include: 802.11ad compliant MAC and PHY with support for multiple frequency channels

MCS_0 through MCS_7 support with max PHY rate of 1.9 Gbps

WiGig certified, with driver support for common operating systems

SIP dimensions 13 mm x 16 mm

Tx power of 450 mW max New Reference Platforms Ideal for Portable Accessories and Peripherals Tensorcom today also announced availability of two USB 3.0 adapter reference designs based on the Nant1 solution. The TC60G1422AE and TC60G1422CE reference are optimized for cost-effective manufacturing and support USB Type A and Type C connections, respectively. Each design includes a high performance end-fire antenna that enables reliable multi-ggabit speed connectivity and includes all necessary hardware components, production ready firmware and drivers, detailed schematics and related documentation needed to develop a complete USB 3.0 WiGig adapter for embedded or accessory applications.



Mr. Chase added, "Tensorcom's new WiGig adapter reference designs are ideally suited for ultra-low power applications where reliable high-speed wireless performance and low power are critical. These new designs based on our Nant1 SoC will allow PC, smartphone, and accessory manufacturers to develop best-in-class 802.11ad products with the fastest possible time-to-market." Tensorcom at Computex 2017 - May 30 through June 3, 2017 - Taipei, Taiwan

Tensorcom will demonstrate its technologies in the Taipei Nankang Exhibition Center, 1st Floor Booth J0818 during Computex from May 30-June 3, 2017. Demonstrations will include the latest products in high speed data and video applications. For media interested in meeting with Tensorcom, please contact: [email protected]. About Tensorcom Tensorcom, a member of the NantWorks family of companies, is a privately-held fabless semiconductor company headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has pioneered cutting edge technology for high speed millimeter wave wireless communication and offers ultra-low power products supporting the 802.11ad WiGig standard. Tensorcom has assembled a world class team of experts with extensive experience in communication system design, 60 GHz CMOS RFIC design and ultra-low power baseband and SoC implementation. For more information regarding Tensorcom's products please contact a Tensorcom representative via [email protected] or visit www.tensorcom.com Tensorcom and the Tensorcom Image logo are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of Tensorcom, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries. About NantWorks NantWorks, LLC, is the umbrella organization for an ecosystem of companies committed to the convergence of 21st century innovative platforms to transform how we work, live and play: NantHealth, NantOmics, NantBioScience, NantCell and its affiliate NantKwest, NantPharma, NantMobile, NantStudio, NantCapital and NantCloud. Fact-based and solution driven, each of NantWorks' division companies operates at the intersection of innovation and infrastructure. Founded by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, scientist and inventor of the first human nanoparticle chemotherapeutic agent Abraxane, the core mission for NantWorks is convergence: to develop and deliver a diverse range of technologies that accelerate innovation, broaden the scope of scientific discovery, enhance ground-breaking research, and improve healthcare treatment for those in need. NantWorks is building an integrated fact-based, genomically-informed, personalized approach to the delivery of care and the development of next generation diagnostics and therapeutics. For more information please visit www.nantmobile.com and www.nanthealth.com and follow Dr. Soon-Shiong on Twitter (News - Alert) @Dr.PatSoonShiong View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005811/en/

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[May 25, 2017] Calgary Scientific Receives Support from Federal Government for Its PureWeb Technology

Calgary Scientific, one of Canada's leading providers of advanced technology, announced that it has been selected to receive support through Western Economic Diversification Canada's Western Innovation (WINN) Initiative. David Lametti, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, made the announcement yesteray on the Minister's behalf. Calgary Scientific's technology-forward platforms were of particular interest to Mr. Lametti, whose strong background in Intellectual Property rights was obtained through his tenure teaching law at McGill University.



The support from WINN will aid Calgary Scientific in continuing development of its core technology platform, PureWeb, a platform that is enabling rapid changes in how companies around the world access and share high value image data. The company previously received funding through the WINN program in 2014 for its ResolutionMD technology, which enables healthcare providers to access critical medical data quickly, securely and at high resolution from mobile devices anywhere in the world. "Since the founding of Calgary Scientific, we have pushed to be innovative in solving complex technological issues with creativity and rapid development," said Dave Waldrop, Chief Revenue Officer with Calgary Scientific. "This support will enable us to accelerate the product roadmap for our PureWeb platform, expand our portfolio of image data solutions and grow our Calgary-based business. We are excited to be part of the diversification of Western Canada's economy, and honored to receive support from the Canadian government to continue contributing to this important initiative."

A significant patent list underscores Calgary Scientific's continued innovation development, dating back to 2004. This includes patents for tools that allow enterprises to securely access and interact with graphically intensive data from any location, without moving or copying data. The company currently holds over 40 patents related to virtualization, collaboration, interoperability, user experience and image processing. About Calgary Scientific Calgary Scientific offers enterprise image-viewing tools to access, collaborate on, and analyze graphics-intensive data securely on mobile and web. Their ResolutionMDsoftware is installed in thousands of healthcare facilities worldwide, and is powered by the PureWeb software development platform. The company is leveraging its flexible toolset to expand into new markets beyond healthcare, such as design, enterprise gaming and energy. For more information on Calgary Scientific, visit calgaryscientific.com.  2017 Calgary Scientific Inc., ResolutionMD, PureWeb and the Calgary Scientific logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Calgary Scientific Inc. or its subsidiaries. Any third-party company names and products are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005829/en/

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[May 25, 2017] Krones Strengthens Process Technology Footprint in U.S. via Acquisition of Javlyn

Krones, a leading manufacturer of filling and packaging technology, has completed the acquisition of Javlyn. Javlyn is based in New York State, and integrates process systems for the food, dairy and beverage industry. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005860/en/ From left to right: Victor Tifone/President, Javlyn; Tim Raymond/EVP Sales & Marketing, Krones Inc.; Ron Bielinis/Vice President, Javlyn; Holger Beckmann/President & CEO, Krones Inc. (Photo: Krones Inc.) "Javlyn's experience and know-ho in the field of process technology is very synergetic to Krones, and its customer base is a great fit for us. With this complementary acquisition, we further strengthen our regional value proposition for our North American customers," said Holger Beckmann, President and CEO of Krones Inc.



Ron Bielinis, a founding partner of Javlyn, stated, "We knew from the minute Krones approached us that there is a special fit here. My business partner Victor Tifone and I, along with the rest of the Javlyn team, are looking forward to being part of the local customer focused strategy of such a well-respected global organization." This acquisition represents another step in executing the Krones strategy to expand its process integration capabilities. Javlyn will remain in its current set-up in Rochester, New York, and will continue to be led by Ron and Victor. Javlyn will be part of the "Machines and Lines for beverage production/Process Technology" segment of Krones.

About Krones Inc.

Krones Inc. is the United States subsidiary of Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, a world leader in the manufacture of fully integrated packaging and bottling line systems as well as integrated brew house and processing systems, IT solutions and warehouse logistics systems. The company has facilities strategically located around the globe. Krones' United States headquarters is in Franklin, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. About Javlyn

Javlyn is a process system integrator headquartered in Rochester, NY. It specializes in highly automated food, dairy, and beverage process systems and is expert in the field of industrial control system integration. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005860/en/

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INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Commences Investigation on Behalf of Petrofac Ltd. Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Petrofac Ltd. ("Petrofac" or the "Company") (OTC: POFCY) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

On May 25, 2017, Petrofac suspended its chief operating officer Marwan Chedid after a U.K. prosecutor said the Company hasn't cooperated with a bribery probe. The Company has also brought on a "senior external specialist" and set up a new committee to oversee the response to the bribery investigation. Petrofac CEO Ayman Asfari and COO Marwan Chedid were arrested, questioned and released without being charged in connection with alleged bribes paid to secure lucrative contracts.

On this news, shares ofPetrofac fell sharply, over 30%, during intraday trading on May 25, 2017.







If you purchased Petrofac securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005888/en/
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Incorporates related series)

New Delhi/Lahore, May 25 (PTI) A young Indian woman, who said she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gun point, today returned home via the Wagah Border with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj saying she felt "sorry for all that you have gone through."

Describing Uzma Ahmad as "Indias daughter", Swaraj welcomed her to India.

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"I am sorry for all that you have gone through," she tweeted.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She was allowed by the Islamabad High Court yesterday to return to India following a plea she filed with the court requesting its directive after her husband Tahir Ali took her immigration papers.

Accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel, she crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar.

"The Indian woman was happy and excited to leave for her homeland," a Pakistan Rangers official told PTI.

Media was not allowed to interact with Uzma.

She touched the ground after she entered the Indian territory.

Yesterday, the high court handed over her original immigration documents after Tahir submitted them to the court a day earlier.

Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia - a blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production.

Tahir had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet "his wife". A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the pleas and after hearing their arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.

She has said she was forced to marry Tahir at gunpoint. The two reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love.

Uzma reached Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Tahir on May 3.

Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission.

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the high court and she can return to pursue the case. PTI MZ PYK ABH AKJ ABH

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[May 25, 2017] Upinder Zutshi, CEO and Managing Director of Infinite Computer Solutions, honored as Gold winner in the Annual 2017 CEO World Awards

ROCKVILLE, Md., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Upinder Zutshi has been announced as a Gold winner in the prestigious CEO World Awards in the 'CEO of the Year' category. The coveted annual CEO World Awards program encompasses the world's best in leadership, innovation, organizational performance, new products and services, CEO case studies, corporate social responsibility, and milestones from every major industry in the world. Other winners include Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison - Co-Founder of Oracle Corporation and Marc Russell Benioff - Founder, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, who were both recognized for 'Leader of the Year.' Organizations from all over the world are eligible to submit nominations including public and private, for-profit and non-profit, largest to smallest and new start-ups. Winners will be honored in San Francisco on Monday, June 26, 2017 during the annual SVUS Red Carpet Awards Ceremony Dinner. Upinder Zutshi has been instrumental in setting the vision for Infinite to be positioned as a Global Service Provider and focuses on differentiated services and product based offerings in non-conventional engagements and business models. Under Upinder's leadership, Infinite has greatly increased their visibility among stakeholders and expanded its Platformization concept in the marketplace  currentl, Infinite provides 28 Platformized solutions.



"I am honored to be named a Gold winner by the CEO World Awards and am dedicating this award to our entire team," said Upinder Zutshi, Managing Director & CEO at Infinite Computer Solutions. "This award is a testament to Infinite's commitment to provide top notch, cutting-edge service to our customers, and that starts with investing in our employees and future technologies. I sincerely thank the CEO World Awards for this honorable recognition." About the CEO World Awards

CEO World Awards are an annual industry and peers recognition program honoring CEOs and Companies of all types and sizes in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin-America. The Annual CEO World Awards is part of the SVUS Awards recognition program from Silicon Valley in the United States of America which also includes other programs such as Consumer World Awards, Customer Sales and Service World Awards, Golden Bridge Awards, Globee Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards, Info Security PG's Global Excellence Awards, Network Products Guide's IT World Awards, Pillar World Awards, PR World Awards, and Women World Awards.

Learn more about the CEO World Awards at www.ceoworldawards.com . About Infinite Computer Solutions

Infinite Computer Solutions Ltd. provides technology based business process solutions, next-gen mobility solutions and product engineering services, specializing in the Healthcare, Banking & Finance, Telecommunications & Technology and Media & Publishing industries, for Fortune 1000 companies. Their solutions build on proprietary industrial frameworks that significantly reduce work effort and cost while providing faster go-to-market speeds and nimble responses to market dynamics, a solution they call Platformization. Infinite has over 6,000 employees and 8 global delivery centers. For more information, please visit: http://www.infinite.com.

For more details, please contact:

Anjana Arora

301-355-7773

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/upinder-zutshi-ceo-and-managing-director-of-infinite-computer-solutions-honored-as-gold-winner-in-the-annual-2017-ceo-world-awards-300464168.html SOURCE Infinite Computer Solutions

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[May 25, 2017] Jagermeister in Collaboration With AKQA Introduce Jagermeister.com

Premiering a new creative direction, Mast-Jagermeister SE has launched its global and US website at Jagermeister.com. The new experience features Bauhaus-inspired typography; a rich green, amber and gold palette; and footage expressing the energy of the legendary herbal liqueur. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005699/en/ Be the Meister - Introducing Jagermeister.com (Graphic: Business Wire) The new Jagermeister creative direction celebrates the tension between the German precision that goes into crafting each bottle, and the daring nightlife that Jagermeister inspires. Jagermeister challenges people to master the rules like a pro, so they can break them like an artist. The site's content taps into this irreverent spirit, unlocking the mystery and uncompromising quality of one of the world's most beloved shot drinks. Jagemeister.com invites visitors to explore the rich heritage and uncover the artistry of its creation. It encourages the discovery of drink recipes that unlock Jagermeister's bold and distinctive taste, and learn more about the brand's past and present - the journey from the birthplace of every bottle in Wolfenbuttel to the vibrant Berlin-inspired nightlife. A fully responsive mobile-first website with a flexible architecture makes it easy to create and publish content across platforms, ensuring optimal performance.



Jagermeister.com was developed in collaboration with AKQA. From footage of party-goers to the new drinks photography, the experience was made in Germany by AKQA's Berlin studio. Head of Global Digital Marketing at Mast-Jagermeister SE Felix Jahnen said: "With our new site we use our past to take Jagermeister into the future. Our new visual identity is a celebration of our German heritage and brings the Jagermeister story to a new generation of trendsetters and rule-breakers."

Project lead at Mast-Jagermeister SE, Global Digital Marketing Manager Francesca Lange adds: "Our new mobile-first Jagermeister experience emphasises the innovative and powerful aspects of the brand, always reinventing itself without changing its inner core. The combination of zeitgeist and tradition is what defines us and what users can experience on our new digital entity." About Mast-Jagermeister SE Jagermeister - the herbal liqueur with 35% vol. alcohol is produced by Mast-Jagermeister SE, a traditional family business in Germany with a 139-year history, which brought Jagermeister on to the German market over 80 years ago. Ever since it was invented by Curt Mast, Jagermeister has continued to be produced according to the original recipe at the head office in Wolfenbuttel. Its manufacture follows a secret recipe using 56 different herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits from all over the world. Jagermeister with the unique flavour - best enjoyed ice cold - is enjoying increasing popularity internationally: The biggest German spirit brand is now available in 129 countries around the world. Almost 80 per cent of the total sales are made abroad, with total sales of 91.4 million 0.7-litre bottles. What means Jagermeister reached eighth place in the definitive Impact International rankings of the top 100 premium spirits, underpinning its position as the biggest selling liqueur brand in the world. About AKQA A recognised pioneer, AKQA is the global brand experience agency inspired by the imaginative application of art and science www.akqa.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005699/en/

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[May 25, 2017] Insight School of Michigan to Hold In-Person Commencement Ceremony

Insight School of Michigan (ISMI), a tuition-free online public charter school authorized by Central Michigan University will honor the Class of 2017 at a graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 3rd. Eighty-six students from diverse educational backgrounds will graduate from ISMI as part of the school's third and largest graduating class. ISMI is an educational option for students of every ability level in grades 6 through 12. ISMI has a competency in helping students who are struggling academically. A credit recovery program is available for students who need to catch up in certain subjects, as well as highly-targeted remediation sessions to build specific skills. With a unique and highly-supportive approach, ISMI works with students and their families to help them overcome obstacles, including learning or behavioral issues, bullying, family challenges or changes in lifestyle. Shaylee Chlebek is the Class of 2017 valedictorian and Peter Heyboer is the salutatorian. Colleges and universities graduates report being accepted to include Muskegon Community College, Washtenaw Comunity College and Central Michigan University.



The ceremony's keynote speaker will be Rep. Tom Leonard, Michigan's Speaker of the House. Details of the commencement are as follows:

Insight School of Michigan Graduation Ceremony

Saturday, June 3, 2017

11 a.m.

Grand Ledge HS Auditorium

820 Spring St

Grand Ledge, MI 48837 About Insight School of Michigan Insight School of Michigan (ISMI) is a tuition-free online public charter school authorized by Central Michigan University that serves students in grades 6 through 12. As part of the Michigan public school system, ISMI is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the rigorous, innovative and interactive curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary K-12 curriculum and online education programs. For more information about ISMI, visit InsightMI.net. About K12 Inc. K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12's curriculum serves over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered more than four million courses over the past decade. K12 is a company consisting of thousands of online school educators providing instruction, academic services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered through K12 partner public schools in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and through private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More information can be found at K12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005976/en/

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[May 25, 2017] From Montreal to Melbourne, C2 goes global

C2, the world's most innovative business conference, in collaboration with MCI, will hold the first ever C2 conference in Melbourne on November 30th and December 1st, 2017. MONTREAL, May 25, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - After 6 successful editions of its flagship event in Montreal, C2 International will bring its unique approach to exploring commerce and creativity to the city of Melbourne in a two-day immersive event that will transform the way that participants do business. In collaboration with MCI, world leader in meeting and event management services, and with the support of the Victorian State Government and Melbourne Convention Bureau, C2 will bring the event that the Harvard Business Review describes as "a conference like no other" to the gateway to the Asia Pacific region, Australia, on November 30th, 2017. The keynote speaker to kick off the lineup for C2 Melbourne is Uschi Schreiber, Chair of Global Accounts Committee & Vice chair of Global Markets at EY, with more inspiring leaders to be announced in the coming weeks. "I am excited to be part of the first C2 conference in Asia Pacific. Melbourne is a great place for this as it is associated with innovation and creativity! Today we live in a world that is in transition  from a model of business, political participation and society that we are familiar with to one that is still largely unknown and needs our shaping.", said Uschi Schreiber. "Together with C2, EY has created experiences that facilitate engaged and an open discussion on how to best steer business and government through the fog of transition. We have taken hundreds of senior executives out of their comfort zones by placing them into disruptive and challenging C2 environments that confront them directly with the unknown. The Melbourne event will be no exception  get ready for an amazing experience that will make you think!" "As the team at C2 was imagining where we may go for the first ever large scale C2 outside of Canada, we sought cities with a rich culture, an intoxicating energy and a readiness to work together to set the stage that will reset imagination and unleash new ideas for business leaders, innovators and creatives from around the world", said Richard St-Pierre, President of C2. C2 events cater to executives from a wide variety of industries and provide the perfect backdrop to explore trends, opportunities, disruptions and major shifts on the horizon. In collaborative environments specifically designed to provoke collisions and spark new ideas, the C2 Montreal conference alone inspires over 6,000 executives every year, with participants coming from over 50 countries and 24 industries to challenge their biases, shift their perspective and explore completely new ways of doing business. Each year, based on an overarching theme, C2 invites innovators across fields and sectors to engage with participants in a multimedia stage environment designed to yield collective 'ah-ha' moments. It's not hard to see how a business conference designed by Cirque Du Soleil and Sid Lee is destined to be ruly unique. However, it's the first hand experiences at the core of C2 that make the event so innovative. Through engaging and boundary-pushing exercises like Labs, Braindates, Masterclasses and Workshops, participants are forced out of their comfort zones both physically and mentally in order to take their thinking to new heights; think walking through an indoor snowstorm under pink umbrellas, being suspended from structures, and emerging from clouds. These immersive experiences are proven to re-energize and re-tool leaders, allowing them to find creative solutions to real world problems.



For C2 Melbourne 2017, the theme will be Ecosystems, and the programming will explore fields like technology, arts and design, marketing, impact and leadership. "Our partnership with C2 embodies our mutual love for ideas and delivering not just innovation but true progress. At MCI we are passionate about leveraging our unique ability to globalize services for all of our clients and look forward to working with C2 to bring the nexus of creativity and commerce to Melbourne", said MCI's CEO, Sebastien Tondeur.

Thinking outside the box is good for business too: on average, 25% of attending companies make a deal because of C2. C2 Melbourne is also an opportunity the Victorian State Government to mobilize the local business community around the imperative to embrace creativity and transform the way they do business. It provides a new way of attracting the world to Melbourne, Australia and connect companies to their future clients, collaborators and partners. The Victorian Government has put innovation at the centre of its agenda and Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis said the state was excited to have secured the C2 event. "Melbourne is the ideas capital of Australia and the perfect host city for an event that is all about how creativity and new ideas can drive new business opportunities. "The Victorian Government is investing heavily in innovation because we know it is the key to the business ideas that will drive our economy in the future. Victoria is proud to be hosting C2 which will be a great forum for new ideas and for showcasing our culture of innovation and vibrant startup ecosystem to the world." Melbourne Convention Bureau, Australia's leading convention bureau played a key role in securing C2 Melbourne. Karen Bolinger, Melbourne Convention Bureau Chief Executive Officer, said with Melbourne being an innovator in the events sector, it made perfect sense to bring such a pioneering event to the city. "Melbourne has always been Australia's pacesetter in the events space, and we have a mandate to continue to be a world leader by bringing the best events to our city. With C2 Montreal named the number one innovative business conference for two consecutive years, we knew this was an event of our city's calibre. Melbourne has been named the world's most liveable city for six consecutive years, and prosperity is the essential foundation for our liveability. Melbourne vigorously supports innovation and entrepreneurship, underpinning the premise of what C2 is all about. C2 Melbourne is well placed to showcase our cities innovation, brightest minds and creativity," Ms Bolinger said Visit c2melbourne.com for news and updates about the 2017 edition of C2 Melbourne. About C2

C2 is a global convener on a mission to transform executives and organizations that are ripe for change ? whether they know it or not. In a collaborative context specifically designed to provoke collisions and spark new ideas, C2 gets leaders to challenge their biases, shift their perspectives and explore completely new ways of doing business. C2's reinvention of the international conference experience started with the annual C2 Montreal event, which has been described as "challenging conventions" by The Economist and "a business conference unlike any other" by the Harvard Business Review. After Zurich, Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Rome, San Francisco and Melbourne, C2 is now expanding its reach across all continents. See c2.biz for more information. About MCI

MCI is a global leader in engaging and activating audiences. Since 1987 we have been driving innovation in events and production, meetings, incentives, congresses, and association and community management. Through our creative consulting, analytics, sustainability and digital services, MCI helps multinational companies and international associations enhance their organisational performance, grow globally, energise communities and drive their business results. MCI is an independently owned company with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Our 1,800 professionals in 60 cities and 31 countries help clients across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa. www.mci-group.com About Melbourne Convention Bureau

The Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) is a is a sales and economic business development organisation that partners with state and local government and strategic industry partners to identify, secure or create large international conferences, corporate meetings and incentive programs for Victoria. This is all new business that helps drive Victoria's visitor and knowledge economy. MCB is the state's sole entity responsible for the procurement of international business events. MCB positions Melbourne nationally and internationally as a business events destination that goes above and beyond for clients and partners, creating lasting social and community impacts through legacies that deliver well beyond the event itself. MCB is globally connected with international representation in North America, Europe and Asia. www.melbournecb.com.au

Twitter: @melbconventions

Facebook: Melbourne Convention Bureau SOURCE C2 Montreal

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[May 25, 2017] Two specialty masters elevate Rutgers in ranking of online graduate business programs

NEWARK, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting and a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management combined to earn Rutgers Business School the No. 12 spot among the nation's online graduate business programs. Against its peers in the Big Ten, Rutgers Business School was No. 3 on U.S. News & World Report's annual list of best online graduate business programs, behind Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and Penn State University's World Campus. Rutgers moved up two places over last year, according to the ranking by U.S. News & World Report. The first-of-its-kind online master of accountancy in governmental accounting program at Rutgers ranked No. 2 aong all of the online graduate accounting programs surveyed by U.S. News & World Report. Villanova University holds the No. 1 spot, according to the ranking.



The Rutgers online Master of Science in Supply Chain Management ranked No. 6. Learn more about the online masters programs at a Graduate Admissions Information Session at Rutgers Business School in Newark on Monday, June 5.

The two specialty masters programs moved Rutgers Business School into the online learning space, and there are plans to continue expanding its presence there. Both existing programs are differentiated by their curriculum and convenience for students who are seeking to obtain a masters degree in a specialized area of study. The programs at Rutgers tied for the No. 12 spot with California State University-Fullerton. The Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting is a 30-credit program offered entirely online. The only advanced degree specializing in governmental accounting, the program prepares professionals who are seeking to advance in the expanding fields of government financial management, accounting and auditing. "The program continues to be the only graduate program in the country which provides much-needed governmental accounting and public financial management education to employees in federal, state and local governments," said Irfan Bora, the program director. "We are happy to see this recognition from U.S. News & World Report." The Master of Science in Supply Chain Management is built on the same quality instruction offered through the highly ranked Rutgers supply chain management department in a convenient online format. The 10-course program can be completed in as little as one year and has no residency requirement. Rudolph Leuschner, an assistant professor of supply chain management, said the curriculum was developed with the input of industry and geared to people who are working in supply chain and who plan to continue  and advance  in the field. "The program was built from the ground up focused on best practices," Leuschner said. U.S. News & World Report analyzed 141 online graduate programs across the country  online MBA programs were not considered. The criteria used to analyze the programs includes student engagement, admission selectivity, peer reputation, faculty credentials, student services and technology. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-specialty-masters-elevate-rutgers-in-ranking-of-online-graduate-business-programs-300464298.html SOURCE Rutgers Business School

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Election results: Check out results from various races across the state
After Donald Trump called out Iran for being a sponsor of militant groups, the middle-eastern country built its third ballistic missile factory and says it will continue to do so, forcefully.

By Reuters: Iran has built a third underground ballistic missile production factory and will keep developing its missile program, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard as saying.

The development is likely to fuel tensions with the United States in a week when President Donald Trump, on his first foreign trip, has called Iran a sponsor of militant groups and a threat to countries across the Middle East.

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"Iran's third underground factory has been built by the Guards in recent years ... We will continue to further develop our missile capabilities forcefully," Fars quoted Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Guard's airspace division, as saying.

Iran's resistance:

Since taking office in January, Trump has imposed new sanctions on Iran in response to its recent missile launches, putting Tehran "on notice".

Iran has reacted defiantly. Newly re-elected pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday: "Iran does not need the permission of the United States to conduct missile tests".

Iran's Sunni Muslim Gulf neighbors and its arch-enemy Israel have expressed concerns over Tehran's ballistic missile program, seeing it as a threat to regional security.

Also read: I will not let Iran develop nuclear weapon, ever: Trump

In 2015, Iranian state TV aired footage of underground tunnels with ready-to-fire missiles on the back of trucks, saying the facility was one of hundreds of underground missile bases around the country.

"It is natural that our enemies America and the Zionist regime (Israel) are angry with our missile program because they want Iran to be in a weak position," Hajizadeh said.

Most nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted last year after Tehran fulfilled commitments under a 2015 deal with major powers to scale back its nuclear program - an agreement that Trump has frequently criticized as being too soft on Tehran. But Iran remains subject to a U.N. arms embargo and other restrictions.

Also read: Iran bans chess grandmaster Dorsa Derakhshani for not wearing hijab, brother for playing with Israeli

Two months after implementation of the deal, the Guards test-fired two ballistic missiles that it said were designed to be able to hit Israel.

Iran's defence boost:

Iran says its missile program is not in defiance with a U.N. resolution that calls on it to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years.

"Along with improving our defense capabilities, we will continue our missile tests and missile production. The next missile to be produced is a surface-to-surface missile," said Hajizadeh, without elaborating.

In retaliation for the new U.S. sanctions over its ballistic missile program, Iran this month added nine American individuals and companies to its own list of 15 U.S. companies for alleged human rights violations and cooperation with Israel.

--- ENDS ---

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A family of 8 was travelling from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandhshahr when it was attacked by a gang of criminals. A person was shot dead when he objected to the goons misbehaving with the women of the family.

A person was shot dead when he objected to the criminals misbehaving with the women of the family.

By Himanshu Mishra: In a re-run of the horrific 2016 Bulandhshar highway gangrape incident, a family was attacked by a group of at least five criminals on Jewar-Bulandshahr road off Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Budh Nagar district early today. The attackers shot dead a man when he objected to criminals assaulting the women of the family. Some reports claimed that the women were gangraped.

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No complaint of rape has been registered in the case as of now. However, the women have been sent for a medical examination to ascertain if there was any sexual assault.

According to reports, eight members of a family were travelling from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandshahr to meet an ailing relative.

The vehicle, a Maruti Suzuki Eeco, in which the family was travelling was intercepted by the criminals at about 1.30 am. Reports said that the criminals had sprayed the road with nails which forced the driver of the car to pull over. As soon as the vehicle stopped, the men attacked the family looting them of cash and valuables at gun point.

The criminals shot dead a man when he raised objection to the criminals misbehaving with the women of the family.The deceased has been identified as Shakeel Quraishi.

The police have launched a manhunt to nab the culprits. The SSP along with other police officials have reached the spot have assured strict action. Jewar MLA Thakur Dhirendra Singh visited the hospital to meet the victim family.

The incident reminded the horrific gang rape of a woman and her 13-year-old daughter in July last year when they were travelling in a car from Noida to Shahjahanpur. The incident took place on the national highway passing through Bulandshahr.

ALSO READ:

Bulandshahr gangrape case: Five police officials suspended for negligence

Bulandshahr: Robbers gangrape mother, daughter in front of family, two accused identified

WATCH | UP: Man shot dead, four women gangraped by robbers on Jewar-Bulandshahr highway

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Local consultant Jon Stephens: "No offense, but it looks like the 55+ demo is over represented. Perhaps this discussion needs more 25-49 year-olds engaged."

ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT DEALS IN KANSAS CITY HISTORY TO BENEFIT A GLOBAL CORPORATION.

Round-up of recent discussion . . . They'll be more today . . .Also, here's one of Kansas City's top consultant and pundits showing just a bit of hateration for old school members of the discourse . . .And while theis a throwback to different era in American Discourse . . . Once again it's curious to see consultants and middle-class white people fighting for influence in support ofAs for the council vote . . . We covered that earlier in the week and insiders agree that the decision will be close and leave aagainst a small group of local tax fighters.You decide . . .
Congressman Cleaver Releases Statement Regarding Exit of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouris ACA's Marketplace

"The news that Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance will exit from the ACA's Marketplace in Missouri next year is devastating and should be a wake-up call to Congress. This means that thousands of Missourians will be without health care next year if their employer doesn't provide it. What choices will they have if the largest insurance provider pulls out? Trumpcare is not the answer. Congress must come together to improve the ACA, not start again from zero with a plan that would harm so many Americans."

Tonight we check the aftermath ofaccording to local leadership.Accordingly . . .Congressman Cleaver puts attempts to rally his colleagues and prevent what many would believe would be a medical crisis if Obamacare is lost.Take a look:Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II released the following statement after reports that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri will pull out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2018.-U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II##########You decide . . .
Follow-Up On KCMO Gunfire

Police investigating double-shooting in Kansas City Kansas City police are investigating a double-shooting at Smart Avenue. The victims suffered life-threatening injuries. This is a developing story. Stay tuned to KCTV5 News for more. Copyright 2017 KCTV (Meredith Corp.) All rights reserved.

Nasty 1st Responder Charges

Former Claycomo firefighter indicted for felony statutory rape, sodomy New information Wednesday about charges filed against a former Claycomo firefighter and medic who is accused of having sex with a teenage girl inside a fire station. KCTV5 has learned a grand jury indicted the first responder for felony statutory rape and sodomy.

JoCo Creeper Suspect Shock

Fugitive accused of molesting girl under age of 12 found living near Johnson County elementary school OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Police say a fugitive has been hiding out in Overland Park after being charged with child molestation in Jefferson City, Mo. The Cole County Sheriff's Department has been looking for Julio Clark since March 28th when he was charged with molesting a girl under the age of 12 years old.

Car Crash Charge Against Prosecutor

Blue Springs assistant prosecutor faces misdemeanor charges in deadly wreck A Blue Springs man faces only misdemeanor charges for a crash that killed a mother. That man also is the assistant prosecutor in the City of Blue Springs. Adrienne Afrisio was pulled over on a very busy stretch of roadway and was waiting for a tow truck driver to wrap up the job after her car had broken down.

JoCo Lesson In Nasty

Police investigating possible sexual relationship between Olathe South student and teacher Olathe Police are investigating a possible sexual relationship between a teacher at Olathe South High School, and one of his students.

The season of higher crime is nearly upon us and there are so many worthwhile recent news items on this front that we wanted to collect them all in one convenient location. Checkit:Developing . . .
Kansas City Trump Food Cutbacks

President Trump proposes slashing billions from food assistance programs KANSAS CITY, Mo. - As the Truman Medical Centers Mobile Market rolls through, 41 Action News caught up with Jessica. "We come faithfully every week. And it goes until November, so then you start to be mindful of what foods are available seasonally.

Bui8lding Up Troost

Developer seeks abatement for $24.3M project on Troost - Kansas City Business Journal Milhaus Development, which is making its first big splash in Kansas City with the $80 million Gallerie mixed-use development between Crown Center and Union Hill, is proposing 182 apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail space six blocks east of there at 27th and Troost.

Rainbow Bunny Raising Prices

Digital Life: Google Fiber TV customers will be paying $20 more each month Maybe it's time to cut the cord. The cost of Google Fiber's TV package is going up again. A standard cable-like package with the company's ultra-fast consumer internet connection will spike by $20 a month beginning in July. Internet-only rates remained unchanged.

Sending The Very Best Tax Spike

Sheraton and Westin hotels in Crown Center want tax distinction for redevelopment KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Sheraton and Westin at Crown Center are looking to redevelop and they want a special tax distinction to help foot the bill. The developer believes renovations will cost about $30 million and they say they cannot afford it. They are looking to make changes to rooms, parking garages and amenities.

Meth Town Mail Charge

FedEx Ground worker caught on camera stealing money INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - A FedEx Ground worker was caught red-handed picking up money that didn't belong to him during his route. The driver was seen picking up $60 a mother left for her daughter under the doormat at a home on the 2100 block of N. Delaware Street Wednesday morning.

Check KCMO Tech Disparity

Visualize the Kansas City's digital divide with this new Smart City tool between those with consistent access to computers and the Internet and those who don't, the digital divide is often discussed in the abstract. However difficult to conceptualize in a broad scale, the digital divide in Kansas City has real economic, cultural and social implications in our community.That's why the City of Kansas City, Mo.

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Chloe hotness and some of the more important Kansas City links for tonight. Dive right in . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Tamika Pledger found guilty after driving into group of teens, killing one of them A woman accused of driving into a group of teens, killing one of them, has been found guilty on all counts.

After a court fight that dragged on to way too long . . . More courtroom drama today preceded this verdict. Take a look:
Ten Deka Awards from the Hellenic Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal have been given to individuals of Greek heritage who are business owners in greater Montreal for their contributions to the community.

The awards gala took place at Le Windsor in downtown Montreal on May 10 with 280 members in attendance along with guests. The evening showcased the accomplishments and excellence of the 10 award-winners.

The Deka Gala is a special night for our business community as we pay tribute to companies and individuals of Greek origin who have excelled and contributed to the enrichment of the greater Montreal area, John Charalampopoulos, president of the HBOT, said in a speech at the event.

Also awarded at the event was the Businesswoman of the Year award which went to Chris Ann Nakis of the Nakis Group. Other awards were given to Tony and Costa Antonopoulos, co-presidents of the Antonopoulos Group, who were awarded the 2017 Deka Presidents Award and Dr. Peter Limniatis, a dentist in Chomedey and longtime supporter of the Hellenic Appeal Foundation, was presented with the Deka Community Services Award.

Other 2017 Deka Award winners were: Bill Boriamos, president of Sunbec (Manufacturing & Processing Award); Harry Drakopoulos and Angelo Destounis, co-owners of Off the Hook (Young Entrepreneur of the Year); Jimmy Nikolidakis, president Miron Food Group (Distribution Industry Award); John Limniatis (Personality of the Year Award); Sam Erimos, co-owner of Supermarche PA (Retail Industry Award); Jim Alexopoulos, president of Stanex (Entrepreneur of the Year); Jim, Anthony and Adam Tzemopoulos, co-owners RD3 Restaurant Group (Restaurant Innovation Award).

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Small but multi-faceted, Folegandros offers plenty of variety to travelers despite its size.

Folegandros, is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea between Sikinos and Milos, that has packed a lot of beauty into its small size. One of the most beautiful Cycladic islands, Folegandros is known for the magical charm of its white-washed Hora with its old Castle that has been occupied since Medieval times and of course, the settlement of Ano Meria with its famous themonies agricultural complexes that consisted of homes, ovens, cellars and cisterns.

1. The island has an old-worlds charm

Despite its small size and relatively long distance from the Greek capitals Piraeus port, Folegandros has long stood as a favorite summertime destination. This is no surprise considering the quality of its main town, one of the most striking in Greece. Kastro, a medieval-era district that makes up part of the main town and features old white houses joined wall-to-wall, is extremely impressive. Its slightly aged look is livened up by the colored window and door frames and the young locals, who like to come here and play during the afternoon hours. Simply relax and absorb the Horas overall magic. The rugged rural areas at Ano Meria and the Aspropounta lighthouse, built nearly a century ago, provide additional interest to Folegandross unique Cycladic setting.

2. Delectable Cuisine in a Picturesque Setting

Karavostasis port, part of a small, likable and simple village, serves as the first impression of the island for new arrivals. Apart from offering a selection of accommodation and food choices, Karavostasis essentially gives a hint of the beauty to be found at the main town. Horas quality may be seen at and around the squares, and along the small roads. The plane trees embellish the setting, while the experience is made even richer by the dinner tables, loaded with handmade pasta (matsata, often served with rooster), snails (karavoli), orange pies and almond-based sweets (amygdalota). Make the effort to walk to Panagia (Virgin Mary) church,15 minutes away from Horas Pounta Square. Although this is the shortest route, it can prove a little challenging for walkers not in good physical shape.

3. Visit the exquisite church

The Panagia church, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, is one of the islands main tourism attractions. At Easter, a renowned icon, kept inside, is used to bless all the houses and boats of Folegandros over a three-day procession like no other.

4. Survey the rural area

Explore the rural area and farm houses of Ano Meria, located roughly five kilometers northwest of Hora. Ano Meria is the islands second-largest settlement. Its landscape and architectural traits differ to those of the main town. The traditional farm houses  which, in the past, were equipped with threshing floors and cisterns, providing locals with means to make a living  are a distinctive Ano Meria feature. If in the mood for a little extra adventure, it is worth walking from Ano Meria to the Aspropounta lighthouse, a monument constructed 97 years ago.

5. Take a dip at one of the beaches

The islands small size limits the number of accessible swimming choices, but they are worthwhile thanks to their emerald-green waters. Hohlidia and Vardia are conveniently placed for visitors based in the wider Karavostasis area. Hop on one of the boat rides to Katergo. Also head to Agali and the small beaches located nearby, including Galifos. The Abeli, Livadaki and Agios Nikolaos beaches should also be kept in mind for a visit.

Source: greece-is.com

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The Bank of Greece publishes today for the first time travel data by region of Greece, as part of its ongoing commitment to present a more comprehensive and accurate picture of the current macroeconomic situation and to provide statistical data users, from the private and the public sector, with better and more detailed information.

Since January 2016, the Bank of Greece has started to collect and process travel data by region of Greece, as derived from its Border Survey. Thus, the Bank of Greece travel statistics now also include a regional breakdown of inbound travel receipts, visits and overnight stays. (1) The regional classification used follows the Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 2013/EU-28) and, more specifically, the NUTS level 2 subdivisions, which coincide with Greeces 13 administrative regions.

The key travel receipt figures by region will be published on a quarterly basis on the Bank of Greece website at:

http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Statistics/externalsector/balance/travelling.aspx

In more detail:

Travel receipts by region

Total travel receipts in 2016 amounted to 12,749 million. As shown in Chart 1 and in the Table, five regions accounted for the bulk (87.5%) of total receipts, namely the Southern Aegean (3,136 million), Crete (3,095 million), Attica (1,734 million), Central Macedonia (1,688 million) and the Ionian Islands (1,504 million). The remaining regions (the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Epirus, Western Greece, the Northern Aegean, Central Greece and Western Macedonia) together accounted for 1,592 million.

Visits by region

In 2016, visits to Greece (all 13 regions combined) totalled 28,376 thousand. The number of visits exceeds the number of inbound visitors (2016: 24,799 thousand), as travellers may visit more than one region in the course of one trip.

The six most popular regional destinations, accounting for 86.4% of total visits (Chart 2 and Table), were: Central Macedonia (6,395 thousand visits), the Southern Aegean (5,227 thousand), Attica (4,543 thousand), Crete (4,537 thousand), the Ionian Islands (2,457 thousand) and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (1,363 thousand). The remaining regions (the Peloponnese, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece, Central Greece, Western Macedonia and the Northern Aegean) together accounted for 3,854 thousand visits.

Overnight stays by region

Overnight stays in Greece in 2016 totalled 190,402 thousand.

According to the breakdown into the 13 regions (Chart 3 and Table), five regions accounted for 85.1% of total overnight stays, namely the Southern Aegean (39,996 thousand nights), Crete (39,378 thousand), Central Macedonia (36,330 thousand), Attica (24,769 thousand) and the Ionian Islands (21,493 thousand). The remaining regions (the Peloponnese, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Thessaly, Epirus, Western Greece, the Northern Aegean, Central Greece and Western Macedonia) together accounted for 28,437 thousand overnight stays.

Key figures of travel receipts by region

In 2016, the average expenditure per visit to Greece (all 13 regions combined) was 449 (Chart 4 and Table), but varied widely across regions: the highest average expenditure was recorded for Crete (682), followed by values well above the national average for the Ionian Islands (612) and the Southern Aegean (600). At the opposite end of the distribution, Western Macedonia posted the lowest average expenditure per visit (205). The next lowest values were recorded for Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (212) and Central Macedonia (264).

Expenditure per overnight stay in Greece (all 13 regions combined) averaged 67 (Chart 5 and Table), varying between highs of 79 for Crete and 78 for the Southern Aegean and lows of 46 for Western Macedonia and 47 for Central Macedonia.

The average length of stay in Greece was 6.7 nights (Chart 6 and Table), ranging between a high of 8.7 nights in the respective regions of Crete and the Ionian Islands and a low of 4.0 nights in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, followed by 4.5 nights in the respective regions of Central Greece and Western Macedonia.

Main countries of visitor origin by region

As for the main countries of visitor origin, five countries accounted for 50.3% of total travel receipts, namely Germany (2,128 million or 16.7% of total receipts), the United Kingdom (1,944 million or 15.2%), France (889 million or 7.0%), the United States (728 million or 5.7%) and Italy (722 million or 5.7%). In several regions, the main countries of visitor origin differ from the ones for the country as a whole. Chart 7 provides a breakdown of total travel receipts by country of origin for each of the 13 regions of Greece.

In particular:

In Attica, 50.2% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from the United States (275 million), the United Kingdom (213 million), Cyprus (121 million), Germany (98 million), France (91 million) and Italy (74 million).

In the Northern Aegean, 55.8% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Turkey (32 million), the United Kingdom (23 million) and the United States (17 million). In the Southern Aegean, 53.6% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (470 million), the United Kingdom (425 million), France (270 million), the United States (267 million) and Italy (250 million). In Crete, 52.1% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (860 million), the United Kingdom (408 million) and France (346 million).

In Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, 63.5% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Turkey (80 million), Bulgaria (54 million) and Germany (49 million). In Central Macedonia, 50.9% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (315 million), Serbia (196 million), Romania (175 million) and FYROM (173 million). In Western Macedonia, 57.4% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (17 million), Albania (16 million) and Romania (6 million). In Epirus, 54.6% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (39 million), Albania (34 million), the United Kingdom (25 million) and Italy (21 million).

In Thessaly, 55.1% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from the United Kingdom (82 million), Italy (52 million) and Germany (32 million). In the Ionian Islands, 50.5% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from the United Kingdom (605 million) and Germany (155 million). In Western Greece, 38.5% total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (17 million), the United Kingdom (14 million), Albania (13 million) and France (12 million). In Central Greece, 51.1% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (19 million), the United Kingdom (16 million), France (15 million) and the United States (11 million). Finally, in the Peloponnese, 42.8% of total travel receipts were generated by visitors from Germany (47 million) the United Kingdom (37 million), the United States (28 million) and France (27 million).

(1) The relevant figures do not include cruise data collected from sources other than the Border Survey.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
When people visit Greece, they always have a choice. They can spend their days lounging at the beach, visiting seaside lounges and restaurants, and shopping in all the tourist shops available to them. While fun, this isnt the real Greece  its the one put in place by the tourism industry to accommodate those who wish to relax and unplug from their normal lives.

However, theres another side of Greece thats also worth exploring. Traditional Greek life is very different than the life most tourists tend to experience  and if you want to experience life away from all the tourist traps, theres no better place to do that than the isolated island of Lemnos, which is located on the Aegean Sea. Here are some things you can do while here:

Enjoy a Traditional Greek Fishing Harbor

The capital of the island, Myrina, more closely resembles a traditional fishing harbor than it does a modern city. Fishing boats hug the coastline, either displaying their fresh hauls or waiting for the next excursion out into the seas. The city has a relaxed feel that has enough going on to enchant guests and locals alike.

Its also a gentle city and the homes and businesses dotted across the landscape, giving it a gentle atmosphere. While here, try eating in one of the citys fish tavernas, or purchase some fresh seafood to cook yourself if your guest room has a kitchen. However, there is still evidence of a small tourist culture here  you can easily shop for souvenirs or enjoy some of the citys nightlife.

Spend Some Time at the Beach

Do you avoid some of the hectic beach resorts in some of the other parts of Greece? If you prefer a quiet beach, where the beauty of the island and of the Aegean is at the center of the experience, this island is the place for you! Beaches such as Thanos Beach, Plati Beach, and Keros Beach are known for their natural beauty and offer a relaxing way to spend your time on the island. While they do have services nearby and even lounge chairs to rent, they seem to attract a gentler, more relaxed crowd than some of the other beaches in Greece.

Enjoy One of the Most Popular Diving Locations in Greece

You also dont necessarily need to lounge on the beach in order to have fun with the Aegean. Lemnos is actually known as being a top spot for diving enthusiasts. If you would like to dive while on this island, be sure to contact places such as the Black Rock Dive Centre, which specialize in diving services for people of all skill levels. Diving gives you a chance to see a part of the island that you otherwise wouldnt get a chance to experience.

Lemnos offers visitors the ideal opportunity to experience the more traditional side of Greek life. Because the island is fairly isolated, that means that western influence isnt as prevalent here. While it does get a healthy crowd of visitors each year, it has still maintained its relaxed atmosphere.

Source: greekboston.com

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has signed three contracts worth $35 million with Omani firms for the supply and servicing of compressors.



PDO has agreed two contracts with Bin Salim Enterprises for the supply of instrument air compressor packages and the maintenance and repair of installed units, said a statement from the company.

It also penned another service deal with PipeLine Supply Company for an existing compressor fleet, it added.



Raoul Restucci, managing director of PDO, said that the company is delighted to sign these contracts which displays its commitment to investing in Omani businesses and people.



He added that the deals will enable both the local manufacture of vital equipment for our operations and the development of Omani service engineers and repair facilities.



Restucci further noted that PDO are working all the time to ensure Omani companies play a greater role in the oil and gas sector and beyond in order to develop competitive, capable, professional and efficient local supply chains.
Police officials suspect that the alleged robbery and gang rape on Jewar-Bulandshahr road near Greater Noida could be a case of personal enmity or property dispute. There are discrepancies between victim and eyewitness statements, the written complaint and the medical report.

The car in which the victim family was travelling.

By Chayyanika Nigam: The alleged robbery and gang rape on Jewar-Bulandshahr road near Greater Noida that dominated television news channels on Thursday could be a case of personal enmity or property dispute, suspect police officials associated with the investigation.

A senior police official, speaking to MAIL TODAY on condition of anonymity, said the differing statements of the alleged victims and preliminary investigation point at certain discrepancies.

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The incident took place in the wee hours of Thursday when a family of eight, travelling from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandshahr, were robbed of Rs 1.5 lakh cash and other valuables by a group of six robbers who also allegedly raped the women in the family by taking their vehicle off road.

One of the male members was killed by the robbers for resisting them.

'WE ARE INVESTIGATING ALL ANGLES'

"The police team that first reached the spot took a video recording of the surroundings as well as the statements of the victims," said the police officer.

"In that statement, the victims only talked about robbery and murder by a group of unidentified persons. There was no mention of rape. The circumstantial evidence does not hint rape. However, there is nothing conclusive and we are investigating all angles."

Later in the afternoon when the victims filed a written complaint at Jewar police station, the complainants said the accused first robbed the cash, jewellery and mobile phones and then raped the women in the family. MAIL TODAY has a copy of the handwritten complaint.

However, within hours of their medical test, one of the victims claimed that two of the robbers and rapists were known to them and the family had a running property dispute with the accused. The medical report has not confirmed any assault, police sources said.

LOCAL'S STATEMENT

Police are also questioning one more person who was working in a tubewell near the spot when the incident happened. When the person intervened he was also kept hostage.

In the statement given by this local, there is no mention of rape or assault. "He only told police that the armed assailants were asking for cash and jewellery, and killed a man while asking him for about "45,000," the police official said.

One of the male victims told MAIL TODAY that at around 1.30 am, when the family reached near Sabauta village, the road was sprayed with nails.

When the occupants got down of the car to inspect and make a call for help, they were intercepted by a group of six men who demanded money and jewellery with the family.

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The victim said: "They took us inside an agricultural land so that we remain untraceable from the highway, where they tied us using dupattas of the women of our family. They then dragged our female members and raped them one by one," he said.

A case under the relevant sections of rape has been registered based on the written complaint filed by the victims.

ALSO READ | UP: Man killed, women gangraped as gang attacks family on Bulandshahr-Jewar highway

ALSO READ | Bulandshahr gangrape case: Five police officials suspended for negligence

ALSO WATCH | UP: Man shot dead, four women gang-raped by robbers on Jewar-Bulandshahr highway

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Bahrain hit the headlines as the new Destination Weddings location in the region following the successful hosting of the wedding celebration of an Indian billionaire couple in the kingdom recently.

The challenge of managing an exclusive wedding orchestrated to exact detail, with over 1,200 international guests arriving on the island, was met by Dadabhai Travel, a leading Bahrain-based integrated travel firm.

The lavish wedding of Diya Mehta, daughter of Rosy Blue chief executive Mr Russell Mehta and Ayush Jatia, son of Hardcastle Restaurants managing director Mr Amit Jatia, was the first major step for Bahrain in line with the vision of the government to promote the kingdom for Destination Weddings, said Dadabhai Travel managing director Aziz Gilitwala. We are proud to have been instrumental in bringing this travel industry trend to Bahrain.

Dadabhai Travel provided all the on-ground support for the wedding and the companys flawless handling of the complete on-ground logistics for well over 1,200 guests and crew from India, the US, the UK and mainland Europe across the three-day event won praise from the parents of the couple.

The travel specialists services included all meet and greet and immigration clearance at the airport; airport  hotel transfers; all arrangements and assistance at the four hotels being used  the Four Seasons Hotel, The Ritz Carlton, The Elite Resort and Spa and the Royal Phoenicia Hotel; all ground transportation and services for the wedding, related events and personal sight-seeing; permissions and arrangements for the fireworks and concerts that were part of the event and co-ordinating with the over 250 wedding managers who have been working on the event for months.

In addition to the families of the bride and groom, there were some special guests that Dadabhai had to look after, including Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao; the Reliance Industries Limited chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita.

Bahrains got everything going to make it an ideal wedding destination, said Gilitwala. We have year-round sunshine, world-class hotels, global connectivity through our international airport, a strong infrastructure for cultural events and easy visa rules that make the Kingdom very accessible to all.

"Dadabhai Travel shall continue to make use of these advantages and we look forward to welcoming many more destination weddings to Bahrains shores. - TradeArabia News Service
On June 1, Emirates will commence its scheduled daily flight between Dubai and Zagreb, expanding the airlines network and further strengthening ties between the UAE and Croatia.



Months of planning have paved the way for the launch of Emirates new service to Zagreb next week, which sees Croatia become the airlines 39th destination in Europe. The new route will be an important one for Emirates as it will further strengthen the airlines European footprint and tap into a new part of the continent  the south eastern part - thanks to Zagrebs central location at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Mediterranean and the Balkans.



Both business and leisure travellers from around the Emirates network will be able to enjoy the airlines award-winning product and service on board the three-class Boeing 777-300ER offering a choice of eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy.



The new Zagreb flight is expected to boost the growing tourism demand for Croatia from around the Emirates network, especially the Middle East and Asia Pacific and also offer a convenient option for visiting friends and relatives travelling in from Australia and New Zealand. In just the month of June alone, Emirates has received bookings for flights to Zagreb from passengers originating from no fewer than 36 different countries around the world.



Zagreb itself is steeped in culture and history. A very walkable city, both the upper and lower parts of the town offer visitors an insight into the past, with the 19th century style of architecture prominent across the capital. Tourists can also enjoy the parks, or visit one of the many theatres, museums and art galleries dotted around the city.



For those seeking a getaway to the wider Croatian region, an interline agreement with Croatia Airlines enables travellers to reach several popular cities: the coastal town of Pula; distinctive walled-town Dubrovnik and Split, with its popular town square. Bookings can be created with a single ticket and baggage through-checked to the final local airport, providing a seamless travel experience.



Business travellers too can benefit from the new route, particularly the convenient early afternoon landing into Franjo Tuman International Airport. Zagreb is central to industry in the region, with many of the largest Croatian and Central European companies and conglomerates having their headquarters or regional offices in the city centre.



To further facilitate trade and commerce, Emirates daily Boeing 777-300ER service will offer up to 23 tonnes of cargo per flight, providing many same-day transportation options for temperature-sensitive shipments to the UAE and beyond. Dedicated services like SkyPharma for pharmaceutical consignments and SkyFresh for perishables like fruit and vegetables will become available to Croatian exporters.



In preparation for the launch, Zagrebs Franjo Tuman Airport recently opened an impressive new passenger terminal, with modern, eye-catching design and passenger-friendly layout and facilities. At the gate which will be used by Emirates Boeing 777, there is a connecting airbridge especially installed for wide-body aircraft, allowing travellers the convenience of boarding and disembarking directly from/into the terminal. The project represents one of the largest capital investments in Croatia in recent years, with a spend of over 300 million ($335.5 million)



The new route has created jobs in Croatia, with Emirates refreshing the ticket office in Zagrebs Westin hotel it has been operating for over 10 years. Additional local staff have been hired and trained to enhance the customer experience, providing assistance with enquiries and bookings. In addition, the airline employs almost 250 Croatian cabin crew and pilots.



Scheduled flight times: EK129 departs Dubai at 08:15hours and arrives in Zagreb at 12:20hours local time. The return flight EK130 departs Zagreb at 15:35hours and arrives in Dubai at 23:05hours same day. - TradeArabia News Service
FudCheff Hospitality Service - providing fresh Food for travel in train and airport all across India.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - May 25th, 2017 - FudCheff Hospitality Service - providing fresh Food for travel in train and airport all across India is celebrating one year of success today. Since its founding on 23rd May 2016, FudCheff has delivered food in train and airport for more than 30k happy customers.

The concept of #deliveringfoodfortravel was very clear, giving comfort to many passengers travelling daily by train or airplane. FudCheff is meant to serve fresh and hygienic food for the travellers.

Every passenger who travels have a big thought on fresh, hygienic and food of choice on travel, same way when Mr. Pritesh Vaishya [ Founder and CEO of the company ] was travelling with his family saw many travellers carrying homemade #foodforjourney along with them and found this could be quite difficult every time they travel and for long journey. He could understand the problem faced by passengers and that is how idea of FudCheff came in.

Thus after deep research and exploring various cities of India many railway junctions and food quality required by passengers FudCheff was launched in the year 2016. Today FudCheff serve variety of food cuisine at 300+ Railway Junctions 6000+ Trains and all major airports in the country. FudCheff deliver fresh, hygienic and warm food right at the train seat and airport terminals making travel journey comfortable and easy for each passenger. Till date FudCheff has successfully serve more than 30,000 travellers, including passengers heading for #holidaytour, daily travel from one city to other, #PureJainFood and Thali for religious travellers for pilgrimage tours, family, school or college trips or tours, various trekking groups, business tours, family and relatives group travelling for marriage and various family functions, sport tours and many more.

Mr. Pritesh Vaishya strongly believes in food quality and customer satisfaction. Every order is taken care with best quality service, right from food preparation to the #fooddeliveryintrain or airport. Complete process is observed by experienced and senior supervisors taking care of food quality, freshness, hygiene, food preparation to the food packaging and delivery of order. So customers can choose FudCheff as their food partner for travel without any hesitation.

FudCheff makes it very easy for travellers to place food order by visiting www.fudcheff.com or through mobile app available on Google play and Apple store, or even customers can place order via whats app or a single call at 9960633330 | 9766733330 . You can order variety of food including veg / non-veg thali, ala carte, snacks, sweets, beverages and lot more. To enhance your city or state tour you will be served with city speciality food too.

Further Mr. Pritesh thanks everyone for great support helping FudCheff for successful one year of business. And look forward for the continuous support with increased number of happy customers and see FudCheff as food brand for every passenger throughout India. FudCheff will soon announce many new railway junctions to be added for service and food cuisines to be served for travellers, with hassle free #fooddeliveryfortravel in train or airport.

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By Press Trust of India: Dhaka, May 25 (PTI) A Bangladeshi court today sentenced the chief of the banned JMB group to over seven years in prison for heading the terror outfit linked to a series of attacks, including the one on a popular Dhaka cafe that killed an Indian woman along with 17 other foreigners.

Maulana Saidur Rahman, the former head of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, who was arrested exactly seven years ago on this day in 2010 has already spent seven years behind bars. He will now serve the remaining six months in jail for this case, bdnews reported.

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Two of Rahmans associates were also sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison, the report quoted police as saying.

Citing the anti-terror law, the judge sentenced the convicts to the strictest punishment applicable for such acts.

"The convicts, despite having knowledge of the Quran and Hadiths, invented their own analysis of the religion in the leaflets they distributed," the court said.

Rahman has been spearheading a number of attacks against minorities, secular activists and foreigners, and also for recruiting men to carry out such attacks.

In the deadliest attack, 22 people, including an 18- year-old Indian woman, were killed when militant stormed the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery and Kitchen restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic zone on July 1 last year.

The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the cafe attack. But police believe that New-JMB, which is close to the ISIS, was involved in organising the attack.

The countrys security forces have launched a crackdown against militants following the attack.

The three were arrested in a police raid on a house near Dhakas Donia Nur Mosque in 2010. Police found booklets of extremist propaganda and anti-government publications in their possession.

The two others who were convicted went into hiding after securing bail.

Since 2013, Bangladesh has witnessed a number of Islamist attacks on foreigners, liberals and religious minority with the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda making competing claims.

The government, however, has consistently dismissed their claims, saying foreign terrorist groups have no presence in Bangladesh and the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits. PTI UZM AKJ UZM

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In Partnership with Artesanias de Colombia, this 9-Day, 8-Night Expo-Artesanias Colombia - The Crafts of Colombia: Bogota & Cartagena tour runs December 5-13 and Features two full days at the Expo Artesanias handcraft fair, the worlds finest showcase of traditional and contemporary, natural and authentic material, utilitarian and design crafts from indigenous and Afro-Colombian artisans.



(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED STATES - May 25th, 2017 - Tia Stephanie Tours, a specialty tour operator focusing on cultural travel to Latin America, has partnered with Artesanias de Colombia, the Colombian government entity with the mission to support and promote the artisan sector of Colombia, to design fiber arts, craft and cultural journeys to Colombia.

First up in 2017 is the highly anticipated Expo Artesanias Colombia: The Crafts of Colombia: Bogota & Cartagena tour runs December 5-13, 2017. It will feature a two-day, deep-dive immersion into the Expoartesanias handcraft fair. Entering its 27th year, the fair focuses on the finest in Colombias diverse traditional and contemporary crafts. This special access tour offers travelers insider opportunities to meet the artisans and learn about their culture. Included are one-on-ones with the Wayuu, Aruaco, Zenu, Waunaan, and Amazona people, so you can actually purchase works after engaging in meaningful interactions with the artisans themselves. Taking place at Corferias in Bogota, travelers will explore the highlights of Bogota, in addition to attending the craft fair. From Bogota, the tour moves to and continues in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, where cumbia, salsa, vallenato and other rhythms flow into the night! The price is $2585, including four star hotels, daily breakfast, five lunches, three dinners, and a cerviche crawl!

The Expo-Artesanias tour is part of a series of Craft and Culture route tours in Colombia organized by Tia Stephanie Tours. These experiential trips invite travelers to learn about both the culture and bio diversity of the country.

Other tours in Tia Stephanies Colombia Cultural Routes series include:

Fiber Arts: Craft & Culture of Colombia -- Combining craft and cultural discoveries along Colombias Caribbean Coast, from Cartegena to Cabo de la Vela in the Guarjira region.

Afro Colombia and the Petronio Alvarez Music Festival  Exploring Music in Cartagena & Cali

Dance Colombia  Exploring Salsa, Cumbia, and Vallenato in Cali & Cartagena

Moda Viva (Living Fashion) of Colombia  To quote the LA Fashion Magazine, Colombia is Fashions New Hot Spot. This tour will reveal the remarkable work being done in Colombia uniting traditional community artisans with contemporary designers, and in many cases, the traditional artisans ARE the designers, and the value-added work is their own! (Tour itinerary to be announced soon.)

Tia Stephanie Tours designs curated travel experiences to Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala, for individuals and groups, on a set departure or custom basis. In April 2015, TST's Day of the Dead in Michoacan tour was selected as a National Geographic Trip of a Lifetime. The company has also been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Travel + Leisure, and all the major travel trade press. Founder, Stephanie Schneiderman, is a Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist for Mexico, focusing on culture and cuisine.

For upcoming themed travel immersions visit www.tiastephanietours.com.

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Media Contacts:

Keisha Nelson, Marketplace Excellence + 1 201 861-2056

Alani Henneman-Todman + 1 340 642-9789

CHEF RALPH MOTTA NAMED U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS CULINARY AMBASSADOR

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (May 25, 2017) - St. Croix chef Ralph Motta is the newest Culinary Ambassador for the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.

The Department announced that the executive chef of Motta Cuisine will represent the Territory at various in-market activations and events during the year to promote the USVI's exceptional culinary offerings.

This week, Chef Motta appeared on camera preparing a dish for "SoFloTaste" on WPLG-TV (ABC in Miami), in advance of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's Caribbean305 culinary celebration, which will take place on Miami's Jungle Island on June 3.

During the segment, Chef Motta, who appeared with Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty, offered host Hunter Franqui a taste of a modern twist on boiled fish. He prepared the dish with poached mahi mahi in a butter sauce with a cilantro-lime yucca puree, passion fruit glaze, sauteed broccoli and microgreens.

Commissioner Nicholson-Doty said the Department was pleased the young Virgin Islander agreed to be an official envoy for USVI cuisine. "We're honored to have Chef Motta as a Culinary Ambassador. His incredible dishes speak for themselves, and he embodies what makes St. Croix's culinary scene so special - fresh farm-to-table and sea-to-plate cuisine, on par with and excelling beyond well-established culinary hot spots around the world."

Chef Motta (right) chats with WPLG's Hunter Franqui at Miami's Zest restaurant this week.

The self-trained chef , who earned a BFA in Painting from New York's Pratt Institute, brings an artistic flair to his cooking, often experimenting with a palette of new culinary techniques, serving up a fusion of American, Caribbean and French cuisines. He founded Motta Cuisine, a boutique catering company , in 2014.

Recognized by Black Enterprise magazine "for disrupting the status quo and creating his own opportunities in the culinary world," Chef Motta was also named a BE Modern Man of 2015.
Karan Johar knows how to shine bright, and those bling-a-ding shoes play a major role in that.

By Shivani Chhabra: Karan Johar turns 45 today, and we find it pretty hard to believe that, since we've grown up with his movies---wasn't he in his 20s, when DDLJ was bestowed upon us?

From friendship to love, KJo's films have been aspirational life manuals in disguise that we will never get over.

But while his films have touched our hearts, his fashion sense has got our grey matter working overtime.

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Karan Johar has been totally dapper, and with the statement shoes he has seen sporting, nobody can question his exotic sense of fashion.

Those silver shoes can blind anyone with the glitz on them. However, we loved the confidence with which he donned them, and looked super-glamorous while at it.

Photo: Yogen Shah

Also Read: In pictures: Deepika Padukone's Cannes 2017 fashion diary

The white-sneaker trend has taken the world by storm, but Karan Johar likes to make his own improvisations while following fashion trends. Needless to say, the skulls look super-hot on the shoes.

Photo: Yogen Shah

Applique was everywhere this season, but it looks the best on KJo's shimmery plimsolls. Who would mind a little quirkiness with such bling?

Photo: Yogen Shah

Also Read: It was your engagement party, Sagarika Ghatge. Could you not have chosen a better colour

Studded sneakers--glamour and comfort in a single pair of shoes--these shoes reflect KJo's life choices so perfectly. Besides, they're really hot..

Picture courtesy: Instagram/karanjohar

Can you see how cool those studs look on his black, velvet shoes? Karan is a man of fusion, and he aces the art of mixing comfort and style like nobody else.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/karanjohar

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Amritsar, May 24

Showing concern about the ban on kirpan by the Supreme Court of Cassation, Amritsar Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla today met Luigi Estero, minister counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, and Luigi Gentile, first secretary, Political Affairs at the Embassy of Italy in New Delhi.

Luigi assured him that unlike the Supreme Court of India, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Italy applies only on individuals involved in the case and not on the entire community.

The judgments of Italian courts do not become law as is prevalent in India. Hence, there is no ban on carrying/wearing religious symbols in Italy as is considered by many. However, every individual will have to obey the law of the land.

Aujla said the meeting was fruitful and many confusions in this regard were clarified.

He said there was a chaos since the judgment given by the Supreme Court of Italy but the officials explained facts.

They apprised me that Italy respects Sikhs as a peace-loving and progressive community. Hence, the government is always willing to discuss various matters and reach an amicable solution to such identity issues, he said.

Meanwhile, Aujla also submitted a memorandum to the Italy ambassador in this regard. He also appreciated organisations which are working to resolve identity and symbol issues of Sikhs.

Being a parliamentarian from Amritsar, the holy city, I requested the Italy Government and the Supreme Court to reconsider issues related to Sikhs. It is understood that the courts in that country are bound to take up the issues as per the law of the land, he said.  TNS
Beijing, May 25

Indias plan to ban Chinese power firms due to concerns over cyber-attacks could backfire on India, even though the move would cause losses to companies from China, a report in a state-run daily said on Thursday.

Indias reported move to block Chinese companies in the power sector seems to be new evidence of the countrys overly suspicious attitude toward China, but this could backfire given that India is still plagued by electricity shortages and unstable supply, an article in the Global Times said today.

The article was commenting on the remarks by Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers Association Director General Sunil Misra that ban on Chinese equipment would protect India from cyber-attacks because the power sector is increasingly software driven with intelligent technology and control systems being used.

Referring to criticism that China does not allow for overseas investment in its electricity grid, the article said, the reciprocity argument is unreasonably idealistic and doesnt make any sense at all. Even if China allowed overseas investment in its power sector, could Indian power companies really make it into the Chinese market given their lack of development?

For a long time, Indian power companies have been calling for a complete ban on Chinese companies in the domestic power sector, citing the threat to national security, it said.

Of course, such a prohibition, if it became real, would cause losses for Chinese companies. But it is totally unrealistic and inefficient for a country that relies heavily on foreign technology and equipment due to its own underdeveloped power sector, because it would be hard and costly for India to seek substitutes for Chinese products, it said.

At present, Chinese companies are the major suppliers of power generation equipment in India, accounting for about 40 per cent of the traditional power equipment market, according to media reports. As such, Indias boycott of Chinese equipment would be at the cost of its electricity infrastructure development, eventually making its people the biggest losers, it added.  PTI
New Delhi, May 25

International credit ratings agency, Moodys Investors Service today downgraded state-owned IDBI Banks rating citing asset quality concerns and extremely weak capitalisation.

The rating actions reflect the significant deterioration in IDBIs financial profile, driven by asset quality issues and the heightened risk to its solvency position, the ratings agency said.

The local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings has been downgraded to Ba2/Not Prime from Baa3/Prime-3, Moodys said, adding the ratings are under review for further downgrade.

Separately, IDBI Bank said the government, which has infused Rs 1,900 crore in the lender this year, continues to support it.

The bank added it plans to raise capital through sale of non-core assets and churning of corporate loan book.

Moodys said over the next 12-18 months, asset quality issues of IDBI bank are likely to persist, which will put pressure on the banks profitability and limit its ability to generate internal capital.

At the end of March 2017, IDBIs impaired loans (non-performing loans plus standard restructured loans) ratio rose to 29% versus 19% a year earlier.

In addition, loan loss reserves, when adjusted for the restructured loans, stood at about 34% at the end of March 2017  which was one of the weakest among Moodys-rated public sector banks in India, the US-based agency said.

Bank crafts turnaround plan

Hit by weak profitability and deteriorating asset quality, IDBI Bank on Thursday said it has formulated a turnaround strategy focusing on augmenting capital base and recovery from bad loans

In the year ended March 31, 2017, the bank posted a net loss of Rs 5,158 crore as against net loss Rs 3,665 crore in fiscal 2016

The banks gross NPAs almost doubled to 21.25% of the gross advances in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal compared to 10.98% in the corresponding period of the previous financial year

 PTI

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The Kerala High Court has declared the marriage of a woman as 'null and void' in a case that has seen the bride's father claiming that his daughter was converted to Islam at the behest of the Islamic State.

By Jeemon Jacob: In an unusual case of alleged conversion and marriage at the behest of the Islamic State, a division bench of the Kerala High Court declared the wedding of a 24-year-old Hindu woman with a Muslim man as void.

The case took a curious turn with allegations that the woman was forcibly converted to Islam by people or group having affiliation to the Islamic State.

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The Kerala High Court directed the police to conduct a detailed probe into the suspected forced conversions of Hindu women by groups having links with Islamic State.

The Kerala High Court bench of Justices Surendra Mohan and Mary Joseph ordered the girl to return to her parent's home. The Kerala High Court declared marriage of Akhila alias Hadia with Shafeen Jahan, a native of Kollam "null and void" on the grounds that bride's parents were "not present or given consent" for the marriage.

WHAT KERALA HIGH COURT SAID

The court considered two habeas corpus writs filed by Ashokan Mani of Vaikom and another parent from Cherpulassery in Palakad district.

"Marriage being the most important decision in her (Akhila)'s life can only be taken with the active involvement of her parents," the Kerala High Court observed.

"The marriage, which is alleged to have taken place, is a sham and is of no consequence in the eye of law. Her husband has no authority to act as the guardian,'' the court further remarked.

The Kerala High Court also directed the State Police Chief to conduct departmental inquiry against Perinthalmanna Deputy Superintendent of Police for not investigating the case properly and take appropriate action.

THE MISSING COMPLAINT

Ashokan Mani, an ex-serviceman filed Habeas Corpus petition before the Kerala High Court on January 25 last year, when he found that his daughter Akhila was missing from the campus she studied. Akhila was a student of the Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery course in Salem.

In his petition, Ashokan alleged that his daughter was forcibly converted to Islam and sought the help of the court to find her. Ashokan named two of Akhila's classmates Jaseena Aboobaker and her sister Faseena - residents of Perinthalmanna - as the persons behind her disappearance from the campus under mysterious circumstances.

Ashokan said in his petition that Akhila and eight other friends including Jaseena and Faseena were staying in a rented house near their college in Salem. They used to visit her friends' home in Perinthalmanna during holidays.

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SUSPICION OF A FATHER

Ashokan mentioned in his petition that he noticed some behavioural changes in her daughter when came home to attend her grandfather's funeral in December 2015. Ashokan said that Akhila was not ready to perform Hindu rituals.

On January 6 next year, Ashokan received a phone call from the father of one of Akhila's classmate informing him that his daughter was seen wearing veil and that she was converted to Islam.

The news was a shock to Ashokan, who suffered a mild heart attack. Akhila was informed about the health condition of her father, but she was allegedly not willing to visit him at that time.

Later, Jaseena told Ashokan's wife that she would bring Akhila home on a pre-decided date. But, they did not reach home. Ashokan's family, somehow, managed to contact Akhila, who reportedly told them that she was being forcibly held by people including Jaseena and Aboobacker. Ashokan claimed in his petition that those people were engaged in forcible conversion of vulnerable youths of other faiths.

WHAT AKHILA TOLD POLICE, COURT

On the complaint by Ashokan, police began probe. Akhila was found but she submitted an affidavit before Perinthalmanna police that she was following Islam since 2012 and had willingly left her home.

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Akhila told the police officials that she joined a course run by Tharbiathul Islam Sabha, Kottackal in Malappuram to learn Islam and shifted her residence to Satyasarani in Manjery - an Islamic Institution, which allegedly promotes conversion in Kerala and is reported to have close connection with Popular Front of India.

According to her affidavit, Akhila stayed in Aboobacker's home for a brief period. Akhila later shifted to Satyasarani's hostel for girls and completed her course. Satyasarani introduced her to Sainaba from Ernakulam and started staying with her after her father filed Habeas Corpus petition.

FIRST ORDER OF KERALA HIGH COURT

Akhila told the court that she was not under any illegal confinement against her free will. Akhila also told the court that she was not willing to go to her father's house. She insisted that she wanted to pursue her Islamic studies at Satyasarani.

In June last year, the Kerala High Court allowed Akhila to stay with Sainaba.

Later Akhila informed the court that she had taken admission in Satyasarani and produced records of her admission in the religious institution.

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Consequently, Kerala High Court dismissed the Habeas Corpus petition filed by Ashokan Mani.

ANOTHER HABEAS CORPUS PETITION

The June 2016 order of the Kerala High Court should have been the end of the matter. But, ex-soldier Ashokan Mani was not convinced with his daughter's reply. He sensed something fishy.

Ashokan Mani would keep track of his daughter's movement and developments in her life. As a result, he filed another Habeas Corpus writ two months later.

This time, Ashokan Mani alleged that her daughter was converted to Islam at the behest of the Islamic State. He feared that Akhila might be taken out of India to join the ranks of Islamic State in Afghanistan.

Ashokan mentioned about two separate cases of women vanishing from Kerala to join the Islamic State jihadis in Afghanistan after they were converted to Islam and married to Muslim men.

TWISTS AND TURNS IN KERALA HIGH COURT

The Kerala High Court, at first, was not impressed with the reference to the Islamic State. The court asked Ashokan's lawyer CK Mohanan to delete the reference to the Islamic State in his petition as it was irrelevant.

But, Mohanan was insistent and argued that Kerala police were investigating a case of missing 21 persons from the state. They are suspected to have been taken to Afghanistan. A heated exchange took place in the open court between the lawyers and the bench.

Justices PN Ravindran and Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu slapped ordered contempt proceedings against lawyer Mohanan in 2016. The court pronounced him guilty in the case and sentenced him to three months imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.

Ashokan assured the court that he would not engage Mohanan in future. The high court shifted Akhila from the custody of Sainaba to SNV Sadanam, Ernakulam - a ladies' hostel.

Meanwhile, Akhila alias Hadia got married to Shafeen Jahan of Kollam in December last year. The matter came up in January this year before the Kerala High Court, which was hearing the second Habeas Corpus writ filed by Ahokan.

Akhila produced marriage certificate issued by Puthur Juma Masjid in Malappuram and marriage registration certificate by local panchayat authorities. But, the Kerala High Court has declared both the marriage and the certificates as invalid.

ALSO READ |

Kerala: Girl chops off rapist sanyasi's genitals

ALSO WATCH | Kerala: RSS worker hacked to death in Kannur, BJP demands AFSPA

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Chandigarh, May 25

A 19-year-old girl was attacked with a sharp weapon outside her house in Burail on the night intervening May 23 and 24, leaving her seriously injured. The accused, both cousins, who are known to the victim, are at large.

According to the police, the victim, Sapna, stays alone in Burail. The two accused, Sanjay and Laxman, are natives of Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh, who stay in Burail.

On the day of the incident, the accused attacked the victim on the neck and face with a sharp weapon. The victim was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, where she is under treatment.

The police said accused Sanjay was holding some grudge against the victim following which he, along with his cousin Laxman, attacked the victim.

The victim had shared Sanjays secrets with his family some time back, which led to the incident, sources said.

The police said a case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the Indian Penal Code had been registered against both accused at the Sector 34 police station.

The police said raids were being conducted at various places to zero in on the accused.  TNS
Harish Khare

A revolution was deemed to have been ushered in on May 26, 2014, in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Three years later, it is all too obvious that the meretricious cult has not been allowed to go stale; nor, have the revolutionaries lost their swagger. If anything, the revolution and its high priests seem inexhaustible and unstoppable. The Prime Ministers reputation as the greatest demagogue of our times stands undiminished; he has been blessed with, to use Tiruvallavars words, the gift of the gifted tongue.

As a nation, we remain seduced. Our anxieties and animosities are kept bubbling; and, we are all comfortable with #hashtag ill-liberalism. We have been induced to believe that we are being governed by less corrupt and more effective rulers than we were during the days of the parasitic Gandhis; we are unceasingly bombarded with facts and fiction, all intended to convey a sense of competence and accomplishment. Indeed, we are not allowed to catch our breath; we are being constantly transported from one crisis to another  and, a sense of relief that there is someone out there who is willing to use violence against those who threaten us with violence.

There is no denying that the new revolution continues to demonstrate untiring political energy and populist verve; perhaps its greatest  uniquely unprecedented  strength remains its ability to control the national narrative, what we think or are allowed to say in public domain. It has mastered the new communication techniques and technology. The result is a bit of national incongruity. The same media that only a few years ago thought its primary institutional responsibility  rather its very raison detre  was to ask uncomfortable questions, to show a mirror to power, to speak up to authority, has been enlisted, unresistingly and self-consciously, as a government surrogate. Night after night, dissent and disagreements are shouted down in television studios; those in disagreement with the government are simply told to stop cribbing. This has been one of the most remarkable achievements, that too without seemingly any recourse to the coercive instruments available to any government. The media has been seduced to redefine its role: run the Opposition out of town. No other government since Independence has had the media so eagerly eating out of its hand, not even during the infamous Emergency.

Yet, three years later, the character and direction of the revolution stand changed. It can be argued, admittedly with a bit of exaggeration, that the revolution has been reduced to a fight over Indira Gandhis legacy between her biological grandson (Rahul Gandhi) and a putative political grandson (Narendra Modi).

The revolution changed direction once the Bihar electorate in the late 2015 put an end to the emerging Modi presidency; and, suddenly, the man who was widely hailed to be an Indian Deng Xiaoping, dexterously changed the course. After the Bihar voter settled Modis hash, the reformist platform was pushed on the back-burner (even though the FICCI and the ASSOCHAM continue to sing paeans, perhaps out of habit.)

Let us make no mistake. Three years after the revolution, the Indian State is back with a bang  back with all the Stalinist impulses of the Indira Gandhi era. The State and its authorised functionaries breathe down the citizens neck, in the most intrusive and demanding manner. At least, three elements of the Indira Gandhi State stand restored as functioning mantras of the new revolution.

First, the poor have been discovered, circa 1969. The grand disruption that went by the demonetisation was dressed up in pro-poor rhetoric in a manner that would have earned a nod of approval from Indira Gandhi. All those who thought that the corporate imagination and the market innovation would be relied upon to find answers to our problems of economic stagnation and unemployment, have watched in silence as the State was now charged with the responsibility to ameliorate the poors plight. Shades of Garibi Hatao. All the Indira Gandhi acolytes have noted with satisfaction that the 2014 revolution has not meant the withering away of the welfare State.

Second, the inspector and his stick are back. In the name of unearthing black money, the raid raj has been brought back. Not since the brief period of VP Singhs tenure as Finance Minister has the country been invited to celebrate the daily visits from the CBI or the Enforcement Directorate. It is being harshly demanded that taxes be paid up; otherwise be prepared for a visit from the income-tax man. Rather than the citizen being asked to live up to his obligations to the State, a collectivist mindset appears to be at work. And, where the legal functionaries are unable to be persuasive, there is the lynch mob, out to enforce and impose new prejudices and preferences. The State has asserted its right to oversee all spheres of cultural and social activity. The State is more muscular, more muzzling, and more manipulative than at any other time in recent decades.

And, the third Indira Gandhi mantra at work is invocation of nationalism and its unremitting demands on our emotions and loyalties. Our nationalism has been reoriented as an anti-Pakistan mantra. Stupid and shallow men in Islamabad and Rawalpindi continue to fuel our sense of righteous indignation. Indira Gandhi remains the historic role model. Our present leaders cannot be faulted for remembering that Indira Gandhi enjoys the status of being the only Hindu ruler in our history to have inflicted a crushing defeat on a Muslim adversary. Even Atal Behari Vajpayee had to hail her as Durga. History carries its own allurements for the current saviours.

And, just as it was Indira Gandhis wont, these mantras are being pressed to good use for a single-minded pursuit of personal political dominance and hegemony. The pursuit of personal political hegemony has, necessarily, to be non-ideological, practical, pragmatic and tactically ambiguous. The purists can keep on bemoaning the ideological flakiness and the absence of a Margaret Thatcher-like clarity and conviction, the hegemon has no doubts about his aims and direction: maximalist power as a personal entitlement, as a necessary requisite for orderly and stable governance.

A political leader defines himself as much in terms of what his regime stands for as in terms of who he chooses to designate as his putative enemy. The Modi revolution continues to position itself as the anti-thesis of the Gandhis, and to appropriate for itself a moral and spiritual superiority  a very Indira Gandhian ruse, as it seeks to lay its own claim to the historical legacy of Indira Gandhi. In this quest lie the seeds of the revolutions own disintegration.
Arun Joshi

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi's Kashmir policy has not come out of wraps even after three years. It is true that Kashmir, a volatile problem with international ramifications, is by itself an enigma. The problem, as illustrated by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has two dimensions  internal and external. That sums up the legacy that Modi inherited from Atal Behari Vajpayee who tried to address the issue of the conflict resolution by expanding the ambit of talks within the state. His approach toward Pakistan yielded some substantive results too before those went downhill under the UPA regime, following 26/11.

After three years, Modi has little time left to go in for course-correction as the challenges have multiplied during this period. Islamic radicalisation and resistance have converged, pinning down Kashmiri nationalism.

At the start of his innings, Modi understood the external and internal dimensions, but inaction and inattention toward simmering discontent in the Valley has posed newer challenges. The presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Modi's swearing-in ceremony three years ago had sent out positive signals. This highpoint of the Modi brand of diplomatic outreach triggered hope. Kashmiris hoped that Modi with his huge mandate would ensure that the state turned the corner because the mandate was huge and from the country's Hindu majority. It is believed that only a strong Hindu national leader can take a bold decision on Kashmir. However, Modi has not been able to chart a successful course and the mandate too is getting undermined.

Initially, there was a cautious optimism in the air. Modi conducted himself well by not raising the contentious issue of the oft-repeated BJP mantra of abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370. He also did not indulge in Pakistan bashing in the first few months in the office. His development mantra that promised basic amenities like 24x7 water, power supply and food to everyone as well as narrowing of the distances through road and rail links was aimed at addressing the internal problem. This appeared a grand strategy with great chances of success. The people of the state reeling under mis-governance and corruption for over decades, welcomed it.

Politically, he promised to tread the path of humanity, democracy and Kashmiriyat to resolve the K-issue. But that was not to be. There was neither back-channel dialogue nor any visible effort to initiate talks anywhere. Doubts started creeping in about Modi's roadmap on Kashmir. These deepened further when the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan were cancelled in August 2014. The excuse was that the Hurriyat Conference leaders visited the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi ahead of talks. That was nothing new. Delhi was drawing new redlines without assessing the fallout on the external dimension or its adverse ripple impact on the internal one.

This off-and-on business of talks went on for almost two years. Now these stand halted in the tracks following the September 18, 2016 Fidayeen attack at the Uri Garrison in which more than 20 soldiers were killed. The much-publicised and politicised "surgical strikes" led to a series of retaliatory terror attacks. Thirtynine security personnel have been killed in Kashmir since then. The ranks of local militancy have swelled to 150. The Line of Control is a mini war theatre where the population has been displaced and lives in constant fear in migrant camps on the border.

Democracy touched a new low when the bypoll to the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency recorded merely 7 per cent voting  a drastic decline from the over 60 per cent turnout in the 2014 Assembly elections. India not only lost the faith of the people, but the USP of the Kashmiris' faith in democracy through huge participation in elections also suffered a severe jolt.

This was the result of the incompatible PDP-BJP alliance, akin to the coming together of the North Pole and the South Pole. This coming together could not survive the test of the democratic process, which further suffered due to the postponement and subsequent cancellation of the April 12 byelection to the Anantnag Parliamentary constituency. The rigid thinking of the Election Commission inflicted this blow. The demand made for a large number of troops was as if the polls were going to be a war.

All these happenings have posed a question mark over the situation in Kashmir, where among others, the student community too is a partner in stone-throwing street agitations.

Post-killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in July 2016, the radicalisation is manifest everywhere. Burhan's successor Zakir Musa, following in his footsteps, declared that "Kashmiris are fighting for Islam" and not for the "freedom of Kashmir". He has since quit Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen .

Burhan wanted to set up a Caliphate and Zakir has drawn inspiration from Isis and Al-Qaida. This has created uncertainty and can fuel the crisis. The government has no clue how to handle it. The Kashmir policy, if any, is going haywire.

Guns and stones can be neutralised by the use of force, but how can it curb the radicalisation, which has grown because of the developments in Pakistan  the first nation to have two separate clubs of good and bad terrorists. The way Pakistan has honoured Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) demonstrates practitioners of terrorism too stand to get rewarded. The TTP was responsible for the massacre of the students of the Army school in Peshawar in December 2014.

Perhaps Modi, like his predecessor Manmohan Singh, believes that the situation in Kashmir would take a turn for the better by itself. That is not going to happen. There are many layers to the internal dimension now.

In fact, the situation has turned much worse. India is facing more censure than Pakistan by the violent images travelling abroad. The Indian Army, despite returning to the old practice of cordon-and-search operations finds its image bruised by the stone-throwers and hecklers. It is a dangerous terrain because the prolonged conflict and resistance have overtaken the development narrative. The Prime Minister's call to make a choice between terrorism and tourism has not worked despite the BJP being in power in Kashmir along with the PDP. Both the parties are down. The recovery path has become more difficult.

ajoshi57@gmail.com
Los Angeles, May 25

A California judge has issued an arrest warrant against the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued the warrant yesterday for Bikram Choudhury and set bail at $8 million.

No lawyers appeared for Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt. The award was won by Minakshi "Micki" Jafa-Bodden, who claimed Choudhury fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation.

Her attorney, Carla Minnard, says they've tracked luxury vehicles and other property that Choudhury moved out of state and have court orders in Nevada and Florida preventing him from moving property out of warehouses there. AP
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 25

In the last one year, the Kangra Police had launched a campaign against drug peddlers and psychotropic drug sellers. About two cases were registered by the police under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act against those selling psychotropic drugs in Kangra district. Huge quantities of psychotropic drugs were also seized.

However, despite registration of about 200 cases, charge sheet has been filed in just three cases, sources here said. The delay in filing charge sheet in such cases is hampering the efforts of the police that wanted strict action against psychotropic drug peddlers.

As per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, only drug inspectors can file charge sheet in court. The police after arresting the accused under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act have to handover the cases to the drug inspector concerned.

Ashish Rana, drug inspector, Dharamsala, said 49 cases were registered by the Kangra Police under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act in the last one year. Out of these, charge sheet had been filed in just two cases. In 26 cases, prosecution sanction had been sought from the state drug controller, while in the rest of the cases investigation was still going on, the drug inspector said.

In Kangra district there were three drug inspectors at the Dharamsala, Palampur and Nurpur region. In all, these three regions about 200 cases have been registered by the police, but charge sheet has been filed in just three cases.

Kangra SP Sanjeev Gandhi said under the present set of rules, the police had to handover the case to the drug authorities within 24 hours of arrest of the accused or confiscation of material. The problem of psychotropic drugs has become a menace in the area. The number of psychotropic drugs seized by the police in the last one year is an illustration to the fact, he said.

We had written to the state government that the police should be allowed to arrest people besides registered chemists who are involved in peddling of psychotropic drugs. It has been seen that the sale of psychotropic drugs has been adopted as trade by some peddlers and it needs to be checked, he said.

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act has provisions to protect the registered chemists from harassment at the hands of the police. The police have to handover the cases to drug inspectors as they are supposed to have better knowledge regarding drugs.

In cases registered by the Kangra Police it was found that psychotropic drugs in bulk were coming from Jalandhar, Meerut and Delhi for sale in Himachal. The police till date have failed to trace the sources where such drugs were manufactured and supplied to peddlers.

The sources here said provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act were strict and accused could be sentenced to up to 10 years of imprisonment. However, the cases first have to go before the court. In case of Kangra district, the drug authorities are inordinately slow in sending the cases against psychotropic drug smugglers to court.
Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 25

Though the Medical Council of India (MCI) has rejected the application of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru Government Medical College, Chamba, to run the first batch of 100 MBBS students from this session pointing out several deficiencies in the college, Union Health Minister JP Nadda, along with state Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, is pressuring the MCI to undertake its inspection again.

According to the MCI inspection on April 25, 2017, its executive committee observed that the medical college lacked 67 per cent faculty and 64 per cent shortage of resident doctors. The college has just 65 nurses against the mandatory requirement of 179.

Similarly, the medical college had three operation theatres, while it needed four. Lecturer theatres, central library and Central Sterile Service Department were under construction. There were no residential quarters for faculty and residents in the medical college.

The anatomy dissection hall and histology lab were under construction. Physiology and bio-chemistry labs were yet to be refurnished, observed the MCI. Even patients were checked in private clinics by practitioners, hired to run the college, and over six doctors from Tanda medical college were being transferred to Chamba to put up a good show before the MCI when it came again, revealed insiders.

After detecting the deficiencies, the executive committee rejected the approval for running the first batch of 100 MBBS students from July 2017. The application had kept pending in the MCI office for considering it for the next year, stated an MCI document.

The Union Health Minister had promised the college management that the MCI team would take a fresh inspection before July, sources revealed.

They said the Chamba medical college had hired doctors from Jammu and Kashmir, including local private practitioners, to run the college after the MCI rejected the letter. Even lecture theaters were being run from the hired building.

When medical college principal Dr Anil Ohri was contacted, he claimed they had filled 95 per cent of faculty posts in 22 different departments. We have 330-bedded hospital of Chamba district hospital and labs are being set up. We hope to start the college this session but the state government has to take a final call, he said.

Deficiencies that council found
Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 25

A five-member civil society delegation, led by senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, met Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Omar Farooq here today to discuss the prevailing Kashmir situation.

However Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik shut his doors on the delegation and refused to talk.

In December last year, when a similar delegation led by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had come to Kashmir to meet Hurriyat leaders, Yasin had refused to meet it then as well. Geelani and Mirwaiz had met the Sinha-led delegation.

Mirwaiz met the Aiyar-led delegation at his Nigeen residence this morning.

The other members of the group who met Mirwaiz and Geelani included social activist OP Shah, Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak (retd), senior journalist Vinod Sharma and ID Khajuria, president of the Forum for Maintaining Peace and Territorial Integrity of State.

The meeting between the Hurriyat leaders and the Delhi-based civil society group members comes amid the escalating tension along the line of Control and the hardening of postures by the ruling BJP and its leaders.

On Tuesday, Aiyar and other members of the group attended a conference, organised by NGO Centre for Peace and Progress. The theme of the conference was Discussion on Jammu and Kashmir, the Road Ahead.

During the meeting, Mirwaiz told the delegation that the situation in Kashmir was one of extreme oppression and was so frustrating that even young students were hitting the roads each day to resist occupation.

Mirwaiz said the recent incident of using a Kashmiri youth as a human shield by an Army officer and he getting honoured by the authorities clearly defines the Government of Indias perspective regarding Kashmir and how to deal with it, the Hurriyat quoted Mirwaiz in its statement.

Mirwaiz told the delegation that the Hurriyat believed that an alternative way to resolve the Kashmir dispute was through negotiations between India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir and to the satisfaction of all, primarily the people of Kashmir.

On the other hand, Yasin Malik today refused to meet the delegation. Sources in the JKLF said that the delegation had sought an appointment, which was however rejected by Yasin.

Later in the afternoon, the delegation also met senior separatist and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) head Shabir Ahmad Shah at his Sanat Nagar residence. Shah made it clear to the delegation that the people of J&K would never give up their struggle for the right to self-determination, a statement from the group said.

In the evening, the delegation met hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani at his Hyderpora residence. In the video of the meeting released to the Press, Geelani is seen hugging each member of the delegation, depicting a cordial atmosphere.

Geelani is seen telling Aiyar that he had come along with full army. Aap to poori fauj lay kar aayay hein, Geelani tells the delegation head. In reply, one of the members quips: You too have a full army.

Vinod Sharma is seen telling Geelani that they were here on their own and not at the behest of the Government of India.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

Terming the NDA governments Pakistan policy a diplomatic disaster, the Congress today said it had never recognised the unelected and unelectable in Kashmir.

We have never recognized or engaged with the unelected and unelectable in Kashmir. Other stakeholders and people of the Valley need to be taken on board during the dialogue process, senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said today when asked about the Congress stand on the Centres decision not to engage with the Hurriyat.

The Congress was also quick to dissociate itself from the meeting its senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had with Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Srinagar today.

I will not comment on individual meetings, Sharma said addressing a press conference on the eve of the third anniversary of the government at the Centre.

Sharma questioned the BJPs flip-flop on Kashmir, saying it had no policy on the Valley and also termed the internal security situation alarming.

Every now and then the government releases videos to mislead the people, Sharma said close on the heels of the Army releasing videos of its attacks on Pakistan posts across the LoC. He however clarified his remarks when asked whether he was questioning the Armys actionor doubting the authenticity of the videos.

We have never questioned the authenticity of the Army action but we do not want the truth to be lost in the release of videos on both sides. The truth must come out as to why the situation in Kashmir has worsened under the BJP rule. It is for the PM to answer that and he must answer. They are now whipping up war hysteria to deflect attention from questions being asked of them. But in a democracy the government is accountable, Sharma said.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India starting tomorrow.

Jugnauth will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The Mauritius premier, who will be in India from May 26 to 28, will address a business event and will be felicitated by the India Foundation.

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This will be Jugnauths first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year.

The Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) leader will be accompanied by his deputy Ivan Collendavelloo, senior officials including the cabinet secretary and finance secretary of Mauritius.

Modi had visited the island nation in March, 2015, as Chief Guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.

During his visit, Modi commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.

"The Mauritian PMs forthcoming visit to India is part of our continuing engagement with the Government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects special ties between our two countries," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said. PTI PR KUN

--- ENDS ---
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 25

Social activists Girija Dhar and Meera Khanna, both members of the Guild of Service, called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today.

Girija Dhar and Meera Khanna discussed with the Governor the trauma, trials and tribulations faced by women and children due to the periodic periods of unrest in the Valley and offered suggestions to bring peace and normalcy in J&K, an official spokesman said.

The Governor urged Dhar and Khanna to continue their valuable activities, both in Srinagar and Tangmarg, and promised them his support. While reiterating the crucial importance of restoring peace and normalcy in the state, he urged them to particularly focus on strengthening the educational arena and counseling youth against being exploited by those pursuing negative objectives.

Vohra briefed on plans afoot for J&Ks progress

Adviser to the Chief Minister Amitabh Mattoo met Governor NN Vohra here on Thursday. Mattoo briefed the Governor about various initiatives underway for advancing the interests of the people and the state. The Governor discussed with Mattoo the need to focus on the importance of protecting the integrity of the entire educational sector from primary school upwards, particularly care being taken to nurture and advance the aspirations of the youth. The Governor regretted the attempts at politicising the educational arena and exploiting the youth for pursuing narrow and negative objectives.
Brad Pitt has managed to do, what many celebrities cannot  arrive quietly to promote a movie. The Big Short actor, who recently promoted his upcoming Netflix movie War Machine at an event in Mumbai, said that he can never be a part of Bollywood because he cannot dance. When asked if he will be interested to be a part of a Bollywood feature, the actor said, I would never make it in Bollywood because I cant dance. I just cant, he said.

Pitt was joined by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who said, Oh you will [dance]. In Bollywood, we make everyone dance. I just spread my arms and do nothing, thats a step. Khan also shared that Brads roles in movies like 12 Monkeys and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button made him a fan Brad.

Talking about his upcoming film, the Moneyball actor also revealed why he took a chance to work with Netflix for War Machine. He said, Its because the way the studio system is right now in Hollywood. It just cant support risky films like this, of this budget certainly. The actor also feels that working on sets in movies like Fight Club and War Machine were most fun.  ANI
New Delhi, May 25

Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, called Pakistan a well of death while narrating her ordeal on her return on Thursday.

Seated with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad JP Singh, and other senior ministry officials, an emotional Uzma said, Its easy to enter Pakistan but nearly impossible to leave that place.

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Pakistan is a maut ka kuan (well of death). Ive seen women who go there after arranged marriages. Theyre miserable and living in terrible condition. There are two, three, even four wives in every house, she said.

Uzma said she wanted to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally thank him for the governments efforts to facilitate her return.

She said Buner, the area where Tahir, the Pakistani man who married her at gunpoint, took her after giving her sleeping pills, was like a Taliban-controlled region.

Uzma said had she stayed there for a few more days she would have been dead. She broke down several times while recalling the horror in front of the national media.

She profusely thanked Swaraj, Indian mission officials and other staffers for making her comfortable and ensuring her return.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She was allowed by the Islamabad High Court yesterday to return to India following a plea she filed with the court seeking its direction after her husband Tahir Ali seized her immigration papers and refused to return the document.

She crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar. She was accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel.  PTI
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

The Narendra Modi government at the Centre will complete three years in office on Friday.

The PM will mark the day in Assam by inaugurating Indias longest bridge  the Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Lohit, a tributary of Brahmaputra. In Delhi, initiating the 20-day celebrations, BJP chief Amit Shah will highlight the governments achievements of the past three years.

The Prime Minister, while addressing the nation from Guwahati, is expected to do the same. He is also expected to use the occasion to send a strong message to Pakistan. After the Armys punitive fire assaults on its positions across the LoC following the repeated infiltrations by terrorists aided by the Pakistan army along with fomenting unrest in Kashmir, this is the first time he would be addressing such a rally.

Alongside, BJP leaders say the presence of the PM at the inauguration of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge will act as a message to China while filling the huge connectivity gap in the region for civilians and ensuring easy access to the Indian Armed Forces in the hitherto inaccessible regions.

The 9.15 km bridge will connect Dhola on the Brahmaputras south bank to Sadiya on the north and is longer than the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (5.6 km). Aimed at improving the road connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the bridge will ensure swift mobilisation and movement of troops and heavy equipment to the border areas in the northeast.

From May 26 to June 15, the BJP has planned an extensive programme, including Modi fest and Jann ki Baat, to connect with people, especially youth on achievements and programmes of the Modi government. Spread across 900 cities in the country, BJPs 330 MPs, 11 Chief Ministers, five Deputy Chief Ministers, ministers in state governments and organisational functionaries, will hold rallies, visit colonies populated by the poor and meet local intelligentsia.
Tribune News Service

Lucknow, May 25

Four women of a family were gang-raped and the male head who came to their rescue shot dead by a gang of highway robbers at Jewar on the Yamuna Expressway in the wee hours today.

The family was travelling from Jewar to Bulandshahr when the highway criminals shot at the tyre of their vehicle, bringing it to a standstill near Sabauta village.

As the family got off to check the tyres, a group of half a dozen armed men suddenly appeared and surrounded the family members. At gunpoint, they dragged the family to nearby fields where they deprived them of their belongings, including around Rs 45,000 in cash, phones, wallets, purses and jewellery.

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The armed men then took the womenfolk still deeper in the fields where they allegedly gang-raped them.

When the head of the family accompanying them attempted to stop the criminals, he was shot in the chest and leg, killing him instantly. By the time the police arrived on the scene, the miscreants had vanished.

According to Gautama Buddha Nagar Superintendent of Police Luv Kumar, a case of loot, murder and gang-rape had been lodged and raids were being conducted to arrest the criminals. The police have sent the women for medical examination.

It may be recalled that last year, a similar case of a brutal gang-rape of a Noida woman and her minor daughter had hit headlines. The incident had taken place at Dostpur village of Bulandshahr on the Delhi-Kanpur highway.

Condemning the incident, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said a delegation of party MPs and former ministers would visit the crime scene on May 26-27 to make an on-the-spot enquiry.
Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, May 25

The Ayodhya Special CBI court today deferred the appearance of senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister Uma Bharti from May 26 to May 30 in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

The court made it clear that the accused would get no further exemption and must appear before the court on that date. All three leaders have been charged with criminal conspiracy in the December 6, 1992, demolition of the Babri masjid.

CBI Special Judge SK Yadav showed his displeasure over appearance of only one accused  Shiv Sena leader Satish Pradhan  before the court on Thursday while Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Dr Ram Vilas Vedanti, Champat Rai, Baikunth Lal Sharma and Mahant Dharam Das Maharaj were conspicuous by their absence.

The court had fixed Thursday for framing of charges against them.

Last month, the Supreme Court had ruled that conspiracy charges against the three, as well as other leaders, would be revived, seven years after the Allahabad High Court upheld a 2001 CBI court judgment dropping charges.

The apex court also gave the CBI special court in Lucknow a month to frame fresh charges, and two years to deliver its verdict in the 25-year-old demolition case.

On May 20, the special CBI court began day-to-day hearing in the politically-sensitive case and granted bail to the five Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders after signing a surety bond worth Rs. 20,000.
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 24

As more states join the anti-genetically modified (GM) mustard grouping, activists wonder why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not hearing their concerns and also of the states ruled by his party despite the promise he made in the 2014 election manifesto.

After Bihar and Kerala, West Bengal has decided not to allow the cultivation of GM mustard seeds in the state, warning the Centre of devastating consequences it could have on farmers. On Friday, the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution, asking the Centre to cancel permission for production and cultivation of GM seeds for commercial purposes.

With this, five states, which also includes Tamil Nadu and Delhi, have joined the growing group, says Kavitha Kuruganthi of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA).

It is not clear why the PM is not hearing the BJP-ruled states despite the BJPs 2014 manifesto promising that the party would take no decision without full scientific data on its long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers, she says.

If the Environment Ministry allows commercial cultivation of GM mustard, the PM would be going back on his promise and that too as he celebrates three years of his government, she says, reminding him of similar concerns shown by BJP-ruled statesGujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradeshwhich disallowed field trials of genetically-engineered crops.

Apart from anti-GM activists, RSS affiliate, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, has also urged the Prime Minister not to introduce unscientific, toxic and anti-biodiversity GM mustard in haste as it would prove detrimental to public health.

However, with the Environment Ministry website re-posting a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs), activists apprehensively sense it as a positive indication for GM mustard.

Kavitha says late environment minister Anil Madhav Dave, in his last meeting with the activists, had promised them to raise their concerns at the right platform, which he probably also did in his meeting with the Prime Minister a day before he passed away.

The present incumbent is Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan, who said he needed to study issues relating to GM mustard before taking a decision on its commercial use on which the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) gave an approval on May 11.

We hope that since he (Harsh Vardhan) is a doctor he may understand what chronic toxicity is all about. However, the fact that his own ministry (Science and Technology) spent crores funding GM mustard, any decision he takes as Environment Minister will be a conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, a Parliamentary Standing committee headed by Renuka Chowdhury, which asked the Centre to hold the final nod to what could be Indias first GM food crop, is holding a meeting with the GEAC members, who, the activists, including the SJM, have accused of aggressively pushing for GM mustard.

BJP manifesto on GM foods

No genetically-modified seed will be allowed for cultivation without full scientific data on its long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers. All food and food products produced with genetically-modified seeds will be branded as GM Food.
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, May 25

After a week of landing at Delhi airport, two modern artillery M-777 Ultralight Howitzer guns reached Pokhran in Jaisalmer district for field trials on Wednesday evening.

An American team of experts has also reached the firing range with the Army unit concerned, defence sources said.

The trial will begin soon and will last for a couple of months in the Pokhran firing range.

Thirty-one years after the Bofors artillery guns were ordered from Sweden and the resultant bribery scandal, the first two pieces of the Ultra Light Howitzer (ULH) M-777, arrived at the New Delhi airport on board a special aircraft on May 18.

These are a part of the 145 guns on order from BAE Systems at a cost of $ 737 million. These are set to be formally handed over to the Army in the next two to three weeks.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: With additional quotes and information)

Mumbai, May 25 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today had a close shave when his helicopter got entangled in overhead wires and crash-landed in Latur district after the pilot tried to descend due to bad weather, soon after take-off.

The chief minister didnt suffer any injury in the incident and all the six persons on board are safe.

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The crash-landing occurred soon after the chopper with six persons on board, including three CMO officials and two crew, took off at around 12 noon from Nilanga, around 45 km from Latur, for Mumbai.

"It was a crash-landing. When we took off, we noticed that the chopper was slanting. There was air pressure. It brushed against (electric) wires," Fadnavis said, after reaching Mumbai by another aircraft from Latur.

The CMs banker wife Amruta Fadnavis expressed relief that her husband had escaped unhurt in the crash.

"Devendra ji called me and informed that he was safe. He also spoke to (his) mother," Amruta said, adding the CM was very calm when he spoke.

Among those who called up Fadnavis to inquire about his well being were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, an official said.

The state governments six-year-old Sikorsky chopper was damaged beyond repair, an official of civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI.

The incident will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which comes under the civil aviation ministry, the official said. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

Fadnavis tweeted after the accident that he was safe.

The chief minister later proceeded by road to Latur and boarded an aircraft to fly to Mumbai.

The DGCA official said the six-seater helicopter suffered substantial damage and would have to be "written off".

"After taking-off at around 12 noon, the pilot observed a variable wind pattern and decided to land. In the process, the helicopter got entangled in wires," the official said, adding that all on board are safe and escaped without any serious injury.

The aviation authorities spoke to the commander of the flight as well as the chief minister, he said, noting that they confirmed the well-being of all the occupants.

The chopper was scheduled to land at the governors house Raj Bhavan, near the CMs official residence Varsha in Mumbai, as usual, an official said.

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Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada region for the BJPs Shivar Sanwad Sabha, a state-wide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Those aboard the helicopter along with the chief minister included senior IAS officer Praveen Pardeshi, his personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar and media adviser Ketan Pathak.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldnt believe in rumours. Nobody got hurt. Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," Fadnavis told reporters in Nilanga.

He said information will be sought from the police on this incident.

Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, Fadnavis helicopter had suffered a technical problem, following which he had to travel by road to Nagpur.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao telephoned Fadnavis from Chennai and enquired about his well-being.

The governor said he was shocked to hear the news of the crash-landing and that he was relieved after being informed by Fadnavis that everyone was safe.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed relief that Fadnavis escaped unhurt.

Former deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the government should take extra precaution in ensuring proper maintenance of helicopters deployed for VIP duty.

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"I thank almighty that CM is unhurt in todays accident. It is to be checked whether the periodic maintenance of choppers, flying VVIPs or any other person, is done or not," Pawar told reporters in Pune.

He demanded that there should be two pilots on a chopper carrying VVIPs. "New technology should be used in the maintenance of choppers," Pawar added.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao telephoned Fadnavis after coming to know about the incident and expressed happiness over the Maharashtra CM escaping safely, a release from Raos office in Hyderabad said. PTI VT IAS DC SPK SJR NM GK NSK ARK

--- ENDS ---
San Francisco, May 25

Infosys Ltd, the India-based computer services giant, on Wednesday touted its new strategy to hire and train 10,000 American workers over the next two years at the company's annual leadership meeting in San Francisco.

Infosys is the largest employer of workers under the US H1-B visa programme for skilled workers, which has been under fire as the Trump Administration moves to tighten a range of immigration laws. Many large companies hire so-called outsourcing firms such as Infosys to manage their computer operations.

Infosys announced three weeks ago that it would hire 10,000 Americans, and said on Monday that it had leased 35,000 square feet of office space in downtown Indianapolis.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, who succeeded Vice President Mike Pence in the state's top office, and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie appeared at the San Francisco event to voice their support.

Ravi Kumar, Infosys's deputy chief operating officer, said the company will be looking to hire both experienced professionals and recent college graduates at a range of skill levels.

Each month, Kumar said, the company plans to put large batches of prospective employees through training courses of eight to 10 weeks that will prepare them for positions in fields like data analytics, enterprise cloud applications and cybersecurity.

Kumar said the new moves did not reflect any major change in the company's business model, with US workers being compensated at the same level as H1-B visa professionals.

The company also used the meeting to highlight the launch of Infosys Nia, a new artificially intelligent service that is designed to allow IT professionals to automate more of their tasks. Infosys stressed that AI and automation are the future of technology, and that innovations in these areas will allow enterprises to be more productive without having to hire more people.

"If problem solving is going to be done by machines, then problem finding is the human frontier," said Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka in his keynote. Reuters
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 25



While Maharashtras Minister for Medical Education and Water Conservation Girish Mahajan may get away with a minor rap on his knuckles for attending the wedding of gangster Dawood Ibrahims relative, several police officers in the town of Nashik are facing an inquiry for their presence at the event.



After visuals of Mahajan and other top BJP leaders, including three MLAs and the mayor of Nashik, enjoying a feast at the wedding were telecast on local television channels, the minister claimed to have received the invitation from the grooms family.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

While the brides mother is the sister of Dawoods wife Mehjabeen, the groom belongs to a prominent family of clerics in Nashik.



I was invited for the wedding by the grooms uncle Shekar Khateeb, a well-known community leader, who has organised health camps on a number of occasions, Mahajan told reporters.



The minister is said to have told Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that Khateeb had worked with the authorities in maintaining communal harmony in the district, sources said.



The minister told reporters that he had discovered the brides links with Dawood Ibrahim only the day after the wedding.



With the opposition Congress party demanding action against Mahajan, the minister alleged that even leaders from the opposition parties were in attendance.



However, the police department has set up an inquiry against an Assistant Commissioner of Police and nine others for attending the wedding.

Their statements were also being recorded, police sources said.



Police sources said there is so far no confirmation that any member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang had attended the wedding.



The Congress party has hit out at the state government for not taking action against Mahajan.

The policemen may have gone to get some information on the guests attending the wedding. But there is no reason for the minister and other BJP MLAs to be there. The minister must step down and an inquiry needs to be ordered into this, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said.
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 25

A chopper with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on board on Thursday crash-landed at Nilanga in Latur district after it developed a snag.

Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry.

The Chief Minister and the team travelling along with him escaped unhurt.

Fadnavis talked about the incident on Twitter, saying there is nothing to worry about as everyone is safe.

He, however, told reporters later that the chopper's pilot and the chief minister's media advisor Ketan Pathak who were accompanying Fadnavis had suffered minor injuries in the incident.



Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry, Fadnavis said in the tweet.

The Chief Minister also issued a video wherein he is seen assuring the people that he is safe.

With the blessings of people of Maharashtra and Nation, I'm safe.

My team is fine too.

Please do not believe any rumours. pic.twitter.com/4B7OUmD0ss  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 25, 2017

"Due to the blessings of all-more than 11 crore people of Maharashtra and Maa Bhawani, I am safe and absolutely unharmed," he said.

State police officials said the Sikorsky helicopter was damaged as it landed on rough terrain after suffering a snag.

The Chief Minister, who was in Latur since Wednesday to take account of the drought relief works, was returning to Mumbai when his chopper crash-landed immediately after taking off from Nilanga helipad.
Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, revving up political speculation with regard presidential poll as she has been in the vanguard of Opposition parties move to pit a joint candidate against the nominee of the BJP-led NDA.

The meeting lasted for about 40 minutes  a timeline considered to be significant in the backdrop of her animosity towards Modi and the BJP.

After the meeting, Mamata tried to dispel any notion of her discussing political issues with the PM. No political issue was discussed; not even the presidential poll. I discussed issues relating to West Bengals development. However, she hoped for a consensus candidate for the presidential election. Banerjee is slated to attend a luncheon meet at Congress president Sonia Gandhis residence on Friday.

Later in the day, her post on Twitter handle that APJ Abdul Kalam was a consensus candidate; if they get the consensus candidate that will be very good; we will be happy to see that, fuelled rumour mill in political circles and gave rise to fresh speculation on her possible discussions with Modi on presidential poll.

Some of the Opposition parties have earlier thrown a hint that they were not averse to engaging with the government if it works for a consensus candidate.

The Mamata-Modi meeting assumes significance as it coincided with the BJP staging its biggest ever agitation in Kolkata on governments failure to control law and order. Partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and its stalwart Dilip Ghosh were arrested in the midst of the agitation.
United Nations, May 25

The United Nations has dismissed the Pakistan Army's claim that its military observers came under attack from Indian troops near the Line of Control, saying there was "no evidence" of them being targeted.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there was no evidence that an UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) vehicle was targeted by the Indian Army along the LoC near the Khanjar sector.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

"I can say to you that this afternoon in Bhimber District, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, UNMOGIP military observers accompanied by the Pakistani Army escorts heard gunshots in their vicinity. There is no evidence that the UNMOGIP military observers were targeted by the gunfire. No UN military observer was injured," he told reporters on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, had said that a vehicle carrying two officers of the UN military observer group came under attack by Indian troops during a visit to the LoC.

The Pakistan Army had claimed the vehicle was carrying UNMOGIP officers Major Emmanual of the Philippines and Major Mirko of Croatia.

Asked about the increasing tension between the south Asian neighbours and whether the UN secretary-general will look into the situation, Dujarric reiterated, "we're obviously concerned at the situation in Kashmir, and it's an issue that the secretary-general is following closely."

According to the UN Security Council mandate of 1971, UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the LoC and the Working Boundary between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.

India has maintained that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.

The observer group is headed by Major Gen Per Lodin of Sweden. It currently has 38 military observers and 73 civilian personnel. PTI
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

A love story gone horribly wrong reached its conclusion today as Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint, returned home safely. She was welcomed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who called her Indias daughter and also in all graciousness thanked the Pakistan establishment for helping Uzma return home.

Uzma is here because of the cooperation of Pakistans foreign and home ministries. I thank lawyer Shahnawaz Noon, who fought her case like a father, Swaraj said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

A visibly emotional Uzma called Pakistan a death trap. Its easy to enter Pakistan. But its nearly impossible to leave. Ive seen women who go there after arranged marriages. Theyre miserable and living in terrible circumstances. There are two, three, even four wives in each house, Uzma said.

Uzma thanked the government for the help in getting her back. She had sought refuge in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad after escaping from her husband, who she alleged had physically and mentally tortured her. Uzma, in her early 20s and from New Delhi, is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir Ali in Malaysia.

Later, when she was visiting Pakistan, Ali forced her to marry him on May 3.

Uzma made the same statement before the Islamabad High Court, which then asked her husband to return her immigration papers, thereby allowing her to return home.

Uzma had requested the Pakistani court to allow her to return to India since her daughter, from her first marriage, suffers from thalassaemia  a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

Earlier in the day, Uzma crossed into India through the Wagah border crossing near Amritsar. She was accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel.
New Delhi, May 25

The family of an Indian woman who claimed she was forced by a Pakistani man to marry him at gunpoint on Thursday said it never thought she would be back home this soon.

Uzma Ahmad reached India on Thursday morning, crossing the Wagah Border near Amritsar from Pakistan, after being allowed to return home by the Islamabad High Court.

She was accompanied by Indian Mission officials.

We did not expect that she would be back this soon, Uzmas brother Wasim Ahmad, happy at the quick turn of events, told reporters here. He added that the family had to do little for her return.

We did not have to do any running around. We got a call from (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj that Uzma had contacted the Indian Mission in Islamabad and her return to the country was being facilitated, Ahmad said, expressing the familys gratitude to the Indian government.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s and belongs to New Delhi, is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir Ali in Malaysia.

She told the Islamabad High Court that Ali forced her into marrying him in Pakistan on May 3, when she was visiting that country.

She petitioned the court on May 12, requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassaemia--a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

The court ordered Ali to return her immigration papers which, she said, had been taken away from her. Ali submitted the documents, enabling her to leave Pakistan.

Ahmad said it was not clear what had happened to Uzma during her Pakistan visit.

We dont know what exactly happened with her there. We will get to know the truth from her when she is back here. So far we have only been hearing from the media, he said.

Minister Swaraj welcomed Uzma back home, calling her Indias daughter.

I am sorry for all that you have gone through, she tweeted. PTI
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

On the back foot over the auction of sand and gravel quarries, the government has now initiated a checks and balances system to ensure that there is no illegal or excessive mining of sand and gravel and the prices remain low.

Bringing down the escalating price of sand and gravel is the top priority for the government for allowing mines to be auctioned at exorbitant prices, which in turn will lead to a further rise in the prices of sand.

On the cards is also a lot of technological intervention, including satellite imaging besides continuation of physical checks to ensure that only the tonnage specified for extraction at a particular site is extracted.

Related stories:



Sources say that a leading remote sensing centre in the state is being roped in to keep checks that only allowed extractable sand is lifted at the quarries. Any excessive mining will be drawn to the notice of the top functionaries in the state and the defaulters could lose their contract.

Officials in the Directorate of Mining, Department of Industries, told TNS that 43 quarries other than have been auctioned last week, the left over 46 quarries will be auctioned within a fortnight.

Besides, over 50 new quarries are expected to get environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, and will be auctioned in July.

With this, we will pump in 2.20 lakh tonnes of sand and gravel in the market. The already operational mines are generating one lakh tonnes of sand and gravel. Thus, against a supply of 3.30 lakh tonnes, the demand in Punjab is just 2 lakh tonnes. With supply exceeding demand, the prices will have to remain low. Those who have bid at high rates cannot dictate the prices, said a senior official.

The governments prime purpose is not to make revenue, but to break the sand cartel  which it has succeeded in doing to a great extent as several splinter groups have come forward to take the contract.

With those who bid at unrealistic prices withdrawing from the race, the re-auction is likely to see a correction in bid amounts, said a senior official in the Industries Department.

No state check on bidders

Officials in the Directorate of Mining say that the mining policy has no in-built provisions to check who is bidding for a quarry. Reacting to The Tribune expose on a ministers employees getting contracts, officials said the policy allowed for anybody to bid.

But we give a brief period (two days) for the successful bidders to deposit money  which is 55 per cent of the bid amount. Thus, only those with deep pockets and serious players come forward. How the bidder is depositing this money is not for us to investigate, say officials.
According to Army and intelligence sources, there are more than 150 Pakistani militants on the prowl along the Line of Control (LoC), waiting to infiltrate into Kashmir.

By Manjeet Negi: Nearly 150 terrorists are sitting along the Line of Control (LoC) at Pakistani Army locations waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate into India, say intelligence reports.

According to reports, terrorists are divided in groups of four-five and it was one such group that was eliminated in north Kashmir's Naugam sector on May 20-21.

Similar infiltration bids could be attempted by militants groups in coming weeks, warns the report.

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Here is what is happening:

Pakistan's SSG Special Forces are deployed on the LoC forward posts to carry out BAT (Border Action Team) actions. The Indian Army so far has been successful in foiling these attempts, and one SSG trooper was killed on May 17-18.

The Indian Army is now firing directly at Pakistan posts which are believed to be pushing terrorists inside, and trying to carry out BAT operations.

The Indian Army has been firing 105 mm artillery shells at Pakistani Army posts to cause maximum damage.

As many as 4,000 soldiers have been deployed in the Kashmir valley and along the LoC to check infiltration, in addition to provide security to the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.

Troops have also been stationed in south Kashmir area which has been witnessing heightened militant activity lately.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is likely to brief Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and NSA Ajit Doval on the current situation in Kashmir.

Also Read:

Desperate to downplay India? After its Army, now Pakistan Air Force and Naval chiefs warn India

Pakistan Air Force chief says enemy will remember response to LoC aggression

Also Watch:

Video released by Indian Army shows heavy shelling on Pakistani posts in Naushera

--- ENDS ---
Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, May 25

A 30-year-old man created panic in the court complex on Thursday evening by trying to commit suicide minutes after he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in an NDPS case here.

The case was registered against him at the Civil Lines police station, Batala.

Pandemonium prevailed in the court complex after Nirvair Singh, a resident of Kathunangal, dodged the security cordon and jumped off the railing of the third floor.

He broke both his legs and also suffered injuries to the ribs. The police took him to the civil hospital where his condition is said to be serious.

The judge, who sentenced him, has his court on the same floor.

SSP Bhupinderjit Singh Virk immediately dispatched DSP (City) and the SHO (City) to the hospital.

The police booked Nirvair under Section 309 IPC (attempt to suicide) at the Gurdaspur City police station.

The police initially wanted to register a case under Section 223 of the IPC (escape from confinement or custody).

However, after an impromptu inquiry, it surfaced that the man dodged the cops not to escape from their custody but to actually attempt suicide.

The SSP was all set to hold a press conference in some other case when news filtered in about the suicide attempt.

Nirvairs kin claimed that case made out against him was done so at the behest of a senior SAD leader from Amritsar.

Nirvair wasnt involved in smuggling narcotics. The police framed him just because the powerful Akali leader told them to do so. He was so frustrated after todays sentencing that he thought the only way out of his predicament was to end his life, said one of his relatives at the civil hospital.

The SSP said he had formed a team to look into the sequence of events leading to Nirvair dodging the police team and attempting suicide.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

Opposition parties today demanded that Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh be sacked from the Cabinet over the mine auction controversy allegedly involving four of his employees.

Leader of the Opposition HS Phoolka asked Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to take action against the ministers acquiring benami contracts. Captain should explain what is stopping him from taking action against Rana Gurjit? he asked.

Addressing a press conference in Jalandhar, AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said if the CM failed to act against Rana Gurjit, the party would hold a dharna in front of the residence of the CM or the minister in order to make him quit. He said the state government should make public the source of income of Rana Gurjits cook Amit Bahadur.

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He said AAP would also file a complaint with the Chief Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and urge the agency to keep tabs on the mafia that had been looting the states natural resources.

Khaira also asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the issue.

In a press release, SAD demanded immediate sacking of Rana Gurjit for acquiring sand and gravel mines through benami transactions in the name of his cook and office staff. In a statement here, party MP Prem Singh Chandumajra said action should be taken against the minister under the Income Tax Act.

The case should also be handed over to the ED for an investigation, he said, adding that the party would also raise the issue in Parliament.

Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a press conference in Ludhiana, former state BJP president Manoranjan Kalia dared the CM to make his position clear or order a CBI probe into the entire process of e-bidding of sand mining.

Former Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh said the case brazenly established conflict of interest in the auction of mines in Punjab and warranted Ranas immediate dismissal.
Syed Ali Ahmed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has sought a CBI inquiry and an FIR against Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on the charge of concealing information about the killing of 21 Khalistani militants for over two decades.

Addressing a press conference, DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK and general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the CM had tweeted recently, I felt betrayed by then PM Chandra Shekhar after 21 Khalistani militants I arranged to surrender were killed. Never spoke to him after that.

This is a confession by the CM, but who will take action? they asked.

The duo said they would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a CBI inquiry against the CM. They also announced to approach the National Human Rights Commission for getting an FIR registered against the CM.

GK and Sirsa said the 21 Khalistani militants were lodged in a jail after they had surrendered. Later, they were killed in a fake encounter. Their killing was a murder of the judicial system, the Akali leaders added.If our appeal for a CBI inquiry is not accepted, the DSGMC will go to court, GK and Sirsa said.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes today ordered the Punjab Police to form a SIT (Special Investigation Team) headed by an IG to probe the alleged highhandedness by Congress workers in Bagga village near Amritsar recently.

The SIT has been told to submit its action-taken report in the case of atrocities on Kashmir Singh and his wife, belonging to Scheduled Caste, in a week, said Vineet Joshi, state secretary, BJP, in a press release.

On May 21, a group of BJP leaders had complained to the commission about the incident. They were followed by a SAD-BJP delegation led by former minister Bikram Singh Majithia on May 23.

The Commission has asked the SIT to specifically investigate the role of police officials for not taking appropriate action on the complaint registered by Kashmir Singhs family that he and his family were allegedly attacked thrice  on April 17, 29 and May 15.

The Commission has also ordered probe into the alleged illegal confinement of Kashmir at a police station for 2-3 days, beating up of his son in police custody, attempt to outrage the modesty of his wife and daughter, reasons of the FIR on Kashmir Singh ignoring his previously filed complaints and reasons for the delay in registration of FIR from the victims side.

Wont defend guilty, says Congress

Hitting back at SAD general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia in the Dalit atrocity case, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday said the party will not defend the guilty in the case. Earlier, the SAD had presented the victims before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and demanded immediate registration of a criminal case and the arrest of Congress leader Sukhjinder Raj Lali Majithia and other accused. Lali Majthia and another Congress leader, Raj Kumar Verka, while addressing the media in Chandigarh, said the Akalis were crying foul when caught on the wrong foot. It was the Akalis who committed atrocities on Dalits and registered maximum fake cases, they said.
Gopeshwar, May 25

The Sikh shrine of Hemkunt Sahib was reopened this morning with over 5,000 devotees paying obeisance at shrine in the Himalayas.

The gates of the pilgrimage centre were opened at 9.30 am after which traditional prayers were offered, a shrine official said.

The first ardas was offered as soon as the gates were opened a recitation of the Sukhmani sahib was done after that, Seva Singh, a representative of the shrines management committee, said.

About an hour later a shabad kirtan was also held, he said.

Over 5,000 devotees offered prayers at the Sikh shrine located at height of 16,000 ft above the sea level, he said.

Guru Gobind Singh is said to have performed Tapasya at Hemkunt Sahib which is situated about 21 km away from Govindghat on the Badrinath National Highway. PTI
Los Angeles, May 25

A US court has issued an arrest warrant for Bikram Choudhury, the Indian-American hot yoga guru who was ordered in 2016 to pay over $7 million in connection with a sexual harassment case, a report said.

Choudhury, the millionaire founder of a global fitness business, has not paid the amount and last year claimed he was nearly bankrupt. Authorities believe the 69-year-old has hid his assets and left the country, ABC News reported.

According to the report, the warrant allows authorities to arrest him if he returns to the US or, possibly, in Mexico.

In January last year, a jury determined that Choudhury had sexually harassed and then unfairly fired Minakshi Miki Jafa-Bodden, his onetime lawyer. He was ordered to pay nearly $6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $924,000 in compensatory damages. Jafa-Bodden was general counsel to Bikrams Yoga College of India but was fired after refusing to cover up allegations that Bikram had raped and sexually assaulted a yoga student.

She convinced the jury that Choudhury had repeatedly sexually harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women.

She also claimed she was fired after she tried to investigate another womans sexual harassment and rape allegations against him. During the trial, Bikram denied sexually assaulting any woman. He also denied to ABC News ever having any sexual contact with his students or followers. Bail was set at Rs 8 million, the report said.

Choudhury was one of the pioneers of yoga in the US, setting up shop in Beverly Hills in the 1970s. Celebrities including Madonna, Andy Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow and Goldie have all participated in Bikram yoga. Bikram Yoga, as this form of yoga is known, is made of 26 postures which are performed in a hot room (40.5 Celsius).  PTI
Tripoli, May 24

Libya has arrested a brother and the father of the man suspected of carrying out the bombing in the British city of Manchester, said a relative and security sources.

The family source, asking not to be identified, said intelligence services had arrested Hashem Abedi, who like his older brother Salman was born in Britain.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

One of the forces that supports the GNA posted a picture on its Facebook page of Hashem Abedi after detaining him.

"The father, Ramadan Abedi, has also been arrested," said Ahmed bin Salem, a spokesman for the police of Libya's Government of National Accord.

He said the brother was aware of Salman Abedi's attack plan and that the two brothers were both members of the Islamic State group.

The relative said Salman had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before Monday's bombing that killed 22 people.

"His father wanted his son to stay in Libya but Salman insisted on going to Manchester."

The suspected bomber has been identified as 22-year-old Salman Abedi, born in Manchester to Libyan parents who fled the regime of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi. AFP
The son of a Mumbai police inspector, who allegedly murdered his mother at his house in Santacruz late on Tuesday night, has been detained by Jodhpur police.

By Saurabh Vaktania: The son of a Mumbai police inspector, who allegedly murdered his mother at his house in Santacruz late on Tuesday night, has been detained by Jodhpur police.

He was later handed over to the Mumbai police for further investigation.

The victim Deepali Ganore, wife of police inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore, was found dead at their Vakola residence in suburban Santacruz.

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Police inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore was part of the team probing the Sheena Bora murder case. He also headed the team, which arrested prime accused in this case Indrani Mukerjea.

ALL THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The accused son Siddhant Ganore was detained from a hotel by the Jodhpur police in Rajasthan. Siddhant was later handed over to the Mumbai Police. He had been absconding since his mother's murder. Jodhpur Police Commissioner Ashok Rathor said, "We have detained the son in the case and handed him over to Mumbai Police for further investigation." According to a police officer, when inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore came back to his residence in Prabhat Colony at around 2 am on May 24, he found his wife Deepali lying in a pool of blood with her throat slit and his son's mobile phone nearby. Officers investigating the case had told India Today that after murdering his mother and writing the note in blood saying "I am tired of her. Catch and hang me", the accused son Siddhant Ganore went to the bathroom and took a shower. He later left the house with Rs 2 lakh in cash.

Also read | Cop's son kills mother, uses her blood to write message daring his father to catch him

Also read | Mumbai cop's son murders mother, writes note with her blood: Tired of her, catch and hang me

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
Missoula (Montana), May 25

Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was accused of physically assaulting a reporter on the campaign trail on Wednesday, the eve of a special election to fill the states lone seat in the US House of Representatives.

Ben Jacobs, a political correspondent for the US edition of the Guardian newspaper, said in a Twitter post and in a television interview that Gianforte body slammed him, breaking his eyeglasses, at a campaign event in Bozeman.

The incident, capping a campaign watched as a possible bellwether for next years mid-term congressional races, occurred as Jacobs was trying to ask Gianforte about healthcare, according to an audio tape captured by Jacobs and played on cable television networks MSNBC and CNN.

In a statement issued a short time later, the Gianforte campaign did not deny Jacobs allegation but countered that he had instigated an altercation by barging into the candidates office, shoving a recording device in the politicians face and began asking badgering questions.

After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined, the statement from campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon said. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.

Its unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ, it said.

Interviewed later on MSNBC, Jacobs said he retreated to a parking lot after the confrontation to call his editor and the police. He said he was speaking to MSNBC from a hospital where he was getting his elbow X-rayed.

Sheriffs launches inquiry

At an evening news conference, Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said deputies were interviewing Jacobs, had obtained a copy of his audio recording, and had spoken briefly to Gianforte at the scene before he left.

Gootkin said no arrests had been made as the case remained under investigation.

The sheriff also said he hoped to interview Gianforte and five others who were in the room when the confrontation occurred and expected to discuss the matter on Thursday with the local prosecuting attorney.

In Jacobs audio tape of the incident, Gianforte is heard shouting: Im sick and tired of you guys. The last guy who came here, you did the same thing.

After loud scuffling noises are heard, Gianforte yells, Get the hell out of here and demands to know if Jacobs is with the Guardian.

Yes, and you just broke my glasses, Jacobs replies amid more shouting by Gianforte.

According to the audio tape, the confrontation began as Jacobs tried to ask Gianforte if he still supported a Republican healthcare overhaul bill after the Congressional Budget Office found the measure would cost 23 million Americans their medical insurance coverage by 2026.

Another political writer, Alexis Levinson, a reporter for BuzzFeed News, who was just outside the office, tweeted that Jacobs had walked into a room where a local TV crew was set up for an interview with the Republican candidate.

All of a sudden I heard a giant crash and saw Bens feet fly in the air as he hit the floor, Levinson tweeted. She said she then heard yelling that sounded like Gianforte.

She said Jacobs emerged from the room holding his broken glasses in his hand. Afterward, Gianforte huddled behind closed doors with an aide before leaving the event by car.

Gianforte, a tech executive, is running against Democrat Rob Quist, a banjo-playing political novice who hopes to pull off a surprise victory in the Republican-leaning state.

A victory for Quist could signal trouble ahead for President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans as they defend their 24-seat House majority in the 2018 mid-term elections.

Quist and Gianforte are vying for the House seat vacated when Trump named Ryan Zinke as U.S. interior secretary.

Republicans have held Montanas House seat for two decades, and Gianforte was still favored in a state Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in last years presidential election.

However, both sides say the House race was tightening as Quist focused on criticism of the Republican effort to repeal and replace former Democratic President Barack Obamas signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Quist, attending another campaign event in Missoula, declined to comment on early reports of Wednesdays incident. Reuters
Islamabad, May 24

After Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was denied a speech at the American-Islamic summit on counter-terrorism, the Pakistan media frowned over the development, branding it as national humiliation.

The PM was effectively gagged at the American-Islamic summit on counter-terrorism. It also represented a national humiliation, said The Daily Times adding that no opportunity was given to Pakistan to present its case within the context of the country being a victim of regional instability and terrorism.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

What angered Islamabad further was the fact that US President Donald Trump in his speech at the event said India was one of the countries, which had suffered due to terrorism, while ignoring Pakistan.

No one was interested in what Pakistan had to say. Quite possibly, they have heard it all before. Of this, Nawaz should be in no doubt. Trump's singling out India as a victim of terrorism while failing to mention Pakistan  at all  was not a case of simple veering from the script by an exhausted president. It was a signal to Islamabad of where the US stands on current South Asia power imbalances, said the Daily Times.

Meanwhile, Pakistan-based publication The Nation in an article titled Frontline state mortified at anti-terror summit called the Riyadh summit a disaster for Pakistan, because while the country had lost over 70,000 civilians and over 6,000 soldiers to terrorism, Trump did not mention the country even once.

The article added that even though there was almost no possibility of a Sharif-Trump meeting, the Pakistan Foreign Office kept hyping it up.

All that Prime Minister Sharif could manage was a brief encounter with Trump and exchanged pleasantries. ANI
Lahore, May 25

The Pakistani Sikh community has donated to the Lahore Museum a metallic palanquin with a wooden base, brought specially from India, to hold the holy Guru Granth Sahib.

The Guru Granth Sahib kept at the Lahore Museum is from the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century.

The 10 members of the Sikh Sangat who donated the palanquin yesterday performed a ritual while placing the holy book on it (palanquin). The palanquin has been brought from Amritsar.

The museum contains a rare collection of artefacts which are also from the era of Ranjit Singh. It features a rich collection of Sikh artefacts, including gold, silver and copper coins, as well as Ranjit Singhs gold medals, miniatures including portraits of Sikh spiritual and political figures, clothing, furniture from the royal court, royal decrees and Sikh holy books.  PTI
Washington/Beijing, May 25

The US has sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump, prompting China to say the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty.

The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, patrolled within 20 km of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims.

A crucial shipping route, China claims ownership of the vast majority of the South China Sea, including the Paracel and Spratly island chains, a claim disputed by numerous other countries including the Philippines and Vietnam. The Chinese government has reclaimed land and built up artificial islands in the sea, including on Mischief Reef, and deployed military assets to them.

The exercise is the first since October and comes after friendly exchanges between the US and China to settle trade issues and vows to cooperate to contain the nuclear programme of North Korea, a Chinese ally.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law." The patrols are "not about any one country, or any one body of water", he told the Wall Street Journal.

In Beijing, China reacted sharply to the action saying the US warship had entered the South China Sea "without permission".

China's Defence Ministry said two Chinese frigates had "warned and dispelled" the US Navy ship after it had entered its waters "without permission." "We firmly opposed to the US behaviour of showing force and boosting regional militarisation, and have made solemn representation to the US side," Defence Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said.

China's Foreign Ministry too criticised the US move. "The act damaged China's sovereignty and security interests, and could have easily led to an air or sea accident," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said.

"[China] resolutely opposes any country sailing or flying freely that could pose damage to China's sovereignty and security interests. At present, through the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the South China Sea situation has cooled down." "The acts of the US have seriously disrupted the process of dialogue and consultation." We urge the US to correct this mistake, he said.

Meanwhile, responding to China's protest, the Pentagon today defended its latest Freedom of Navigation Operations in SCS, asserting that these are as per well established international norms.

US forces operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the SCS. All operations are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the US will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allow," Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman said. "We have a comprehensive Freedom of Navigation Operations programme that seeks to challenge excessive maritime claims to preserve the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to nations under international law.  PTI
Washington/Beijing, May 25

A US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, US officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since US President Donald Trump took office.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

China said its warships had warned the US ship and it lodged stern representations with the US. China said it remained resolutely opposed to so-called freedom of navigation operations.

The US patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijings efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking Chinas cooperation to rein in ally North Koreas nuclear and missile programs.

Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a states coastline.

One US official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated Chinas claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The US has criticised Chinas construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the Trump administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the US would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon.

Still, the US military has a long-standing position that the operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement.

The Pentagon gave no details of the latest mission.

Errant ways

Chinese defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang told a monthly briefing two Chinese guided-missile warships had warned the US vessel to leave the waters, and China had complained to the United States.

The US sides errant ways have caused damage to the improving situation in the South China Sea, and are not conducive to peace and stability, Ren said.

Ren was referring to a recent of easing of tension between China and other claimants, in particular the Philippines.

Chinas extensive claims to the South China Sea, which sees about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade pass every year, are challenged by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said such patrols were very likely to cause unexpected sea and air accidents.

Under the previous US administration, the Navy conducted several such voyages through the South China Sea. The last operation was approved by then-President Barack Obama.

The latest US patrol is likely to exacerbate US-China tensions that had eased since Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit in Florida resort last month.

Trump lambasted China during the 2016 presidential campaign, accusing it of stealing US jobs with unfair trade policies, manipulating its currency and militarising parts of the South China Sea.

In December, after winning office, he upended protocol by taking a call from the President of self-ruled Taiwan, which China regards as its own sacred territory.

But since meeting Xi, Trump has praised him for efforts to restrain North Korea, though it has persisted with ballistic missile tests.

US-based South China Sea expert Greg Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the operation was the first conducted by the US close to an artificial feature built by China not entitled to a territorial sea under international law.

Previous freedom of navigation operations have gone within 12 nautical miles of Subi and Fiery Cross reefs, two other features in the Spratlys built up by China, but both of those features are entitled to a territorial sea.

Mischief Reef was not entitled to a territorial sea as it was underwater at high tide before it was built up by China and was not close enough to another feature entitled to such a territorial sea, said Poling.

He said the key question was whether the US warship had engaged in a real challenge to the Chinese claims by turning on radar or launching a helicopter or boat - actions not permitted in a territorial sea under international law.

Otherwise, critics say, the operation would have resembled what is known as innocent passage and could have reinforced rather than challenged Chinas claim to a territorial limit around the reef. Reuters
In addition to inaugurating a number of projects - including the Dhola-Sadiya bridge - Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to speak about his government's three years in power at a public meeting.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge as the nation's chief executive on May 26, 2014, after leading the BJP to a stunning victory in that year's Lok Sabha elections. Today - on the third anniversary of that day - Modi will inaugurate a number of projects, including the country's longest bridge, in Assam.

He'll also address a public meeting, where he's expected to speak about his government's three years in power.

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"I will be in Assam tomorrow to take part in various programmes. I am eagerly awaiting this opportunity to interact with people of Assam," Modi tweeted on Wednesday night. He said he'll also lay the foundation stone for two key projects - AIIMS and Agriculture Research Institute. "Both projects will quicken the development of Assam & the Northeast," he said in another tweet.

Assam has been enveloped with massive security cover in view of Modi's visit.

DHOLA-SADIYA BRIDGE

Referring to the Dhola-Sadiya bridge which he will inaugurate, PM Modi said, "This is one of the most important infrastructure projects in our nation."

The 9.15-km-long bridge will reduce the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from six hours to just one hour as the distance will shrink by 165 kms. It will serve 2,20,000 people in the region covered.

The bridge is 3.55 kilometres longer than the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai.

Modi on Thursday also congratulated Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonwal and his government for completing one year in office.

"Congrats to @BJP4Assam Government under @sarbanandsonwal for completing a year in office & undertaking remarkable development initiatives," he tweeted.

"I am also happy on the support towards @BJP4India across the Northeast. We are committed to serving the region & enhancing its progress," the PM added.

(Inputs from PTI)

ALSO READ | How Dhola-Sadiya, India's longest bridge, will improve Assam, Arunachal Pradesh's transport system

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi's demonetisation move gave economy Rs 5 lakh crore advantage

ALSO WATCH | PM Modi to inaugurate India's longest bridge between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh

--- ENDS ---
Photo: United States Navy

Acting in bipartisan fashion, as it often does, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved two bills on May 24 intended to make it easier for military personnel and veterans to obtain Commercial Driver Licenses. Both expand on initiatives aimed at helping vets become truckers that were included in the FAST Act highway bill that became law in 2015.

The Active Duty Voluntary Acquisition of Necessary Credentials for Employment (ADVANCE) Act (H.R. 2258) would exempt active duty military and reserve personnel with qualifying experience from certain testing requirements when they seek to obtain a CDL. The bill was introduced by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA).

The ADVANCE Act has been endorsed by the American Trucking Associations and the Association of the United States Navy, which lobbies Congress on behalf of active, former and retired USN sailors.

This is a common-sense measure that will help our brave men and women find work here in the Inland Empire, said Rep. Aguilar in a statement. While we hear every day that Washington is broken and compromised by partisan gridlock, we can clearly see that there are issues that both parties can get behind.

The second bill (H.R. 2547) expands the Veterans Expanded Trucking Opportunities (VETOPPS) legislation, which passed as part of the FAST Act, by allowing additional medical professionals in the Veterans Administration system, such as advanced practice nurses and physician assistants, who are qualified for listing on the National Registry to use a new online training course so that VA physicians can become certified to conduct DOT physicals without excessive financial and travel requirements. The bill was introduced by Reps. Rob Woodall (R-GA) and Julia Brownley (D-CA).

According to the House committee, since only 33% of certified medical examiners are medical doctors, opening this program up to the other 67% of qualified medical professionals within the VA system will increase access and reduce wait times for veterans.

Support for this measure came across several fronts, including the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, the American Academy of Physicians Assistants, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the American Legion.

The original VETOPPS Act [passed as part of the FAST Act] was a direct response to a bureaucratic problem standing in the way of our veterans being able to quickly return to work and support their families, said Rep. Woodall. I was proud to lead in the effort that resulted in a solution becoming the law of the land, but when we see ways to improve upon the ways were serving veterans even further, we absolutely want to seize that opportunity. Thats what H.R. 2547 is all about, and Im grateful to Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, Rep. Brownley, and my colleagues on this committee for their support.

I constantly hear from industry about the need for new truck drivers, who are critical to moving goods and keeping our economy rolling, said Rep. Brownley. This bill will help address both these problems and I look forward to working with my colleague, Mr. Woodall, to further advance the bill and get it to the Presidents desk.
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Evelyn Sloat noticed a U.S. Army vehicle as she returned to her Coweta home from dropping off food at the family home of Edgar R. Pulliam Jr., who had been killed in Vietnam.

She assumed that an Army official was there to discuss arrangements for her son, who was also in Vietnam, to escort Pulliams body back to Coweta for burial. It was customary for a service member from the same hometown to escort a fallen soldiers remains, and Donald Sloat had been assigned this honor.

Instead, the officer was there to tell her that her own son had been killed six days after Pulliam.

In all, eight Coweta men died in Vietnam, prompting U.S. Sen. Fred Harris of Oklahoma to declare before his Washington colleagues that no town in America had suffered more per capita from the war than the Wagoner County town of 2,500.

Of the 37 young men in the Coweta class of 1967, 14 would serve in the military during the Vietnam War, but only 10 would return.

From the class of 67, Coweta buried:

 Sgt. Phillip B. Sanders, 20, killed on May 15, 1969, and survived by a 6-month-old daughter, Christy, he never saw.

 Pfc. Edgar R. Pulliam, 20, killed during a night ambush on Jan. 11, 1970.

 Spc. Donald P. Sloat, 20, killed by a grenade on Jan. 17, 1970.

 Pfc. Jimmy Lee Campbell, 22, killed by a booby trap on Feb. 11, 1970. He was considered one of the best running backs ever to play for Coweta.

The others:

 Cpl. Billy K. Carver, 19, killed in action on April 8, 1967. He had been in Vietnam 48 days.

 Spc. Frank E. Faught, 22, killed in an ambush on Jan. 31, 1968. He was remembered as a good-looking farm boy with a killer smile who married his high school sweetheart.

 Tech Sgt. Dallas Perryman, 32, killed by rocket fire on Feb. 28, 1968. He wore slick-shined shoes and starched pants to school, preparing himself for the military.

 Cpl. Grover S. Boston, 20, killed in action on May 2, 1968. A draftee, he married a Coweta girl and died six weeks out of basic training.

(In 2009, Coweta dedicated a city park to Jimmy Lee Campbell as a permanent tribute to its Vietnam War dead. Nine names are engraved on a monument there. The ninth is that of Spc. Ruben Wayne Dykes, who died on Sept. 9, 1972, while on medical leave from his second tour.)

'Don did something truly extraordinary'

Each loss is equally felt by friends, family and community. But one family waited four decades for the truth.

Evelyn Sloat had been told that her son had stepped on a land mine. Then in 2008, a relative saw a different account on a website and a member of his squad confirmed it.

Mrs. Sloat said in 2010 that she was "bound and determined to get that medal for Don. He was never recognized for what he did."

She reached out to volunteers  Vietnam veterans who never knew Sloat  who eventually located three eyewitnesses who verified the story.

Sloat was a machine gunner with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade. On Jan. 17, 1970, his squad was in the Que Son Valley when a soldier tripped a booby trap that caused a grenade to roll downhill.

 Don did something truly extraordinary, President Barack Obama said on Sept. 15, 2014, when he awarded Sloat the Medal of Honor.

He reached down and he picked that grenade up. And he turned to throw it, but there were Americans in front of him and behind him in the kill zone. So Don held onto that grenade, and he pulled it close to his body. And he bent over it.  He saved the lives of those next to him.

In February, Sloats family presented his service medals including the Medal of Honor to the city of Coweta for display. In April, Coweta's junior high school was renamed Donald P. Sloat Junior High.

Mrs. Sloat died in 2011, but her family saw that her wishes were carried out.

Once our mother, Evelyn Sloat, learned how her son died, she made it her goal to have him recognized, said Don Sloats sister, Karen McCaslin. The ultimate recognition came when the president of the United States posthumously awarded Donald the Medal of Honor. Mom wanted a school named after him, so now that, too, has come to pass.

Read more Throwback Tulsa stories.
This week in art-house cinema offers a Tulsa actors first leading role, a crime film shot in Tulsa and the kickoff event for Tulsa Pride week.

NEW AT CIRCLE CINEMA

The Lovers: Tulsas Tracy Letts (the award-winning playwright of August: Osage County) stars opposite Debra Winger in this drama about a deeply unhappy, cheating couple sparked into having a heated affair  with each other. A recorded video introduction by Letts airs before each screening.

Let Me Make You a Martyr: Tulsa viewers will be among the first to enjoy this tough-minded crime film shot in the local area in spring 2015, featuring shock-rocker Marilyn Manson as a reclusive hitman. John Swab, a former Tulsan, wrote and co-directed the picture.

Kiki: The showing of this documentary, about New Yorks underground ballroom scene and at-risk teens finding a safe haven, is set as the official Tulsa Pride kickoff event, with a 6 p.m. Kiki Reception ahead of the 7 p.m. Tuesday screening.

ALSO...

See next weeks wide-release movie early: Showtimes are set for previews of movies including Wonder Woman at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at Tulsa-area theaters.
Exactly 50 years ago, a police team was ambushed in what was the first naxal attack in the country. A sub-inspector was killed in the attack led by Jangal Santhal near Naxalbari village in West Bengal.

By Prabhash K Dutta: People of slightly older generation know that naxalism owes its origin in a West Bengal village called Naxalbari in Siliguri sub-division of Darjeeling district. For younger people, naxalism is more synonymous with Maoism and terrorism .

The government of India defines naxalism and Maoism as left wing extremism and is dealt with by a separate division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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The Maoists carried out two massive attacks this year in March and April. In March, naxals killed 12 CRPF jawans at Sukma before launching a fresh attack on the paramilitary forces on April 24 in the same district killing 24 more personnel.

The biggest attack on security forces was launched in April 2010 in Dantewada of Chhattisgarh when 72 CRPF and one police jawan were killed.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

It was in 1967, when a small group of Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders decided to break away and launch their own armed struggle against big landowners. These leaders were Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal.

Their objective was to snatch the lands from those big zamindars and re-distribute the same among the tilling farmers and landless labourers.

Naxalbari movement leader Charu Mazumdar. (Photo: @el_resistencia)

The then president of the Siliguri Kisan Sabha Jangal Santhal started organising people for the same. But, within a week of the call for armed struggle, a sharecropper was attacked and killed at a village near Naxalbari by the armed band of the local zamindar. This incident took place on May 24, 1967.

The next day - exactly 50 years ago from now - Jangal Santhal led a group of tribals to ambush a police team which had come to investigate the killing of the farmer. A sub-inspector was killed as the Naxalbari team attacked the police convoy with bows and arrows.

The incident took place at Naxalbari, which gave the armed movement its name.

WHAT CAUSED NAXAL MOVEMENT

Many observers have found the incomplete agrarian reforms as the reason behind naxal movement. Extreme poverty, exploitation of landless tillers - often from Dalit and tribal communities - and denial of social justice by the administration gave birth to extreme discontent among the masses and left wing leaders.

After Independence, the government abolished zamindari system as part of agrarian reform but redistribution of land was not undertaken amid protest by some groups. Meanwhile, attempts were made to improve agriculture, which led to better returns from farms.

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The combined effect of the abolition of zamindari and improved practices in agriculture produced many neo-rich farmers, who were not ready to share their profit with the tillers and labourers, who put the real hard work in the fields. While the landowners prospered fast, the landless continued to struggle for food.

In several agriculture depended areas, the poverty levels were reportedly as high as over 95 per cent. Discontent was simmering. Naxalbari only gave vent to the socio-economic anger.

Picture for representation. (Photo: Reuters)

IDEOLOGY AND DISSENSION

Charu Mazumdar was the inspiration of the early naxal leaders. Charu Mazumdar was, in turn, inspired by the success of Mao Zedong of China. Mao had shown brilliant acumen in organising and leading the ordinary and exploited masses of rural China to overthrow the ruling elite.

Charu Mazumdar interpreted Mao's ideas in the context of West Bengla and framed strategies to suit his surroundings. His Historic Eight Documents propounded the naxal ideology and was instantly popular among the early rebels.

In the next four-five years, naxalbari movement spread across West Bengal. 'Amar bari, tomar bari, Naxalbari, Naxalbari' slogan filled the campuses in the then Calcutta and other places of the state.

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But, differences started cropping up in the ranks. Several groups came in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The various splinter groups again reunited in September 2004 under the banner of Communist Party of India (Maoist), which an outlawed outfit in the country.

At the time of the merger, three groups were active. These were the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), the People's War (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI).

Naxalbari movement leader Kanu Sanyal.

WHAT GOVERNMENT HAS DONE

The successive central governments since 1960s seem to have underestimated the influence of naxal movement and ignored the real reasons behind the armed struggle.

In June 1967, - some three weeks after the Naxalbari incident - the then Union Home Minister YB Chavan told the Lok Sabha that it was a law and order problem and should be dealt with by the local police with heavy hand.

The heavy-hand dealing approach of the government has continued ever since. In 2008, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the Maoist violence as the biggest threat to internal security.

Since, then efforts have increased to deal the problem with multi-layered approach, which has helped reduced the sphere of Maoist influence in the country.

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on March 17 this year, informed the Lok Sabha that the number of district affected by Maoism was 68. In 2009, the then Home Minister had told Parliament that the Maoist affected districts number 223.

Of the 68 districts influenced by Maoism, only six are affected by Maoist violence. In the rest of the districts, Maoist ideology has sizeable influence.

ALSO READ |

Sukma attack: Why Naxals succeed attack after attack in Chhattisgarh

From Dantewada 2010 to Sukma 2017: How the Naxal attack narrative has not changed in 7 years

ALSO WATCH |

Has the Sukma attack exposed the government's claims on note ban's effect on Naxalism?

--- ENDS ---
Emergency responders transported a man to a local hospital after he was shot in the buttocks.

He initially told police an unknown assailant shot him about 11 p.m. Wednesday while walking through an east Tulsa apartment complex located on the 700 block of South 101st East Avenue, Tulsa police state in a news release.

Police were unable to locate evidence of a shooting in the apartment complex parking lot. After inspecting the 30-year-old man's injury, police determined it was a "close contact wound."

After searching the man's residence, they located a .32-caliber pistol. Tulsa Police Sgt. Steven Florea states in the release that the gun had recently been fired and an empty casing was in the chamber.

"Officers concluded that the victim most likely shot himself in the buttocks as he tried to tuck the firearm into his waist band," Florea states.

Police state no arrests have been made. However, the man may face criminal complaints after his release from the hospital.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Mary Fallin stepped up her pressure on the chairman of the House Criminal Judiciary Committee to release justice reform measures trapped in conference committee.

"It's pretty clear from the last year that the public gave its support ... to criminal justice reform in our state," Fallin said at a 12:30 p.m. news conference.

"We've asked leadership to the reassign bills to a different committee, just to let the members have a chance to debate the bills and vote on them," Fallin said.

The bills must be out of committee by 4 p.m. Thursday to be heard this session, which must adjourn by 5 p.m. Friday.

Committee Chairman Scott Biggs, R-Chickasha, has said House and Senate conferees cannot agree on language in four major criminal justice reform bills and five minor ones. Biggs, a former prosecutor, has been skeptical of most of Fallin's reforms and says some of the measures could release potentially dangerous criminals.

Earlier in the session, he supported legislation that would have greatly modified criminal justice reform approved by voters as State Question 780.

Bills in conference committee require signatures from a majority of both House and Senate conferees to be heard on the floor. The bills in question have not been made available for House signatures.
OKLAHOMA CITY  The Oklahoma Senate passed a $6.8 billion budget bill 33-13 late Wednesday.

Earlier in the day the upper chamber had passed a key component toward funding the state budget for fiscal year 2018.

By a vote of 28-18, the Senate passed Senate Bill 845, which would add a $1.50-per-pack fee on cigarettes in addition to the $1.03 tax already assessed. The measure is expected to generate nearly $258 million in hopes of reducing the $878 million budget hole.

An effort to pass the $1.50 tax on cigarettes failed to secure approval in the House, where a supermajority was needed. Some lawmakers believe that the measure needs only 51 votes in the House because it is now being called a fee.

Senate Minority Leader John Sparks, D-Norman, said the measure was unconstitutional because it violated provisions against passing revenue-raising measures in the last five days of a session. He said the bill is a tax and requires a supermajority.

The bill is fatally flawed in substance and form, Sparks said.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, defended the bill, saying it is a fee to fund smoking-cessation efforts.

Sen. Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City, said lawmakers should have passed the fee or tax earlier.

Lets pass this fee today so we can decrease smoking in Oklahoma, especially amongst children, Yen said.

On Tuesday morning, the House narrowly passed another key piece of the budget when it approved a $110 million increase in what amounts to the sales tax on new and used cars.

Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, said House Bill 2433 lifts an exemption that will raise the effective tax rate on vehicle sales from 3.25 percent to 4.5 percent, which is the same as the state retail sales and use taxes.

Echols said that because HB 2433 would remove an exemption instead of raise an existing rate or impose a new tax, it does not meet the legal definition of a revenue bill and required only 51 votes for passage. The bill barely got the simple majority, passing 52-47.

All 26 Democrats opposed the bill, questioning its constitutionality and labeling it another Republican effort to shift the states tax burden onto the middle class. Echols dismissed their complaints as more grandstanding, more obstruction, more doing everything you can to sidetrack the budget.

Lawmakers are working toward a Friday adjournment.

Gov. Mary Fallin said the budget plan will keep state government from shutting down.

It is not an ideal budget, but it avoids draconian cuts to our core services such as education, health and human services, and public safety; unfortunately, it leaves many agencies facing cuts for the sixth year in a row, Fallin said.

It puts some recurring revenue on the table but does not address the structural budget challenges that I have been working to fix since I took office. Year after year, I have repeated my warning about our reliance on one-time funding and our eroding tax base, and yet again we have crafted a budget that only fixes some of the defects in our funding formula.

Lawmakers were working on a legislative fix to the general appropriations bill to add $18 million for education in the form of House Bill 2360.

While the budget crisis has been a formidable challenge for all involved, I am deeply grateful that the Oklahoma state Legislature has worked hard to successfully make the school funding formula whole for common education, said State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister in a statement issued late Wednesday. This has been a tough process, and many state agencies have weathered steep cuts, but legislators deserve praise for prioritizing education on behalf of Oklahomas schoolchildren.

Under the trailer bill, the Legislature will ensure that the funding formula is preserved and that the state fulfills its statutory obligation to cover 100 percent of the health insurance costs so vital for educators. This agreement is welcome news for Oklahoma schools after a year of uncertainty and financial hardship.

The general appropriations bill, Senate Bill 860, does not contain a raise for teachers.

The measure holds 16 agencies harmless from the cuts and has reductions of about 4.2 percent to other agencies, said Kim David, Senate Appropriations Committee chairwoman.

The budget uses $83 million from the states Rainy Day Fund, leaving a balance of about $100 million, said David, R-Porter.

The House must pass a budget bill by Friday.

The legislative session began in February.
By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, May 25 (PTI) AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has dared BJP president Amit Shah to contest from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, saying it is not as easy as "eating cake".

Owaisi, the sitting MP from Hyderabad, said his party would ensure that the BJP lost from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, held by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and five assembly seats the saffron party has in the city.

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"You (BJP) want to contest Hyderabad....you are welcome. But why are you planning to field somebody else? You (Shah) come and contest.

"Hyderabad ki seat jeetenge....is it like eating a cake? We have worked a lot here for several years," the three-term Hyderabad MP told a gathering here last night, referring to Shahs reported statement that BJP will win the seat.

Ridiculing Shahs claim that BJP would form its government in Telangana after the 2019 assembly elections, Owaisi said, "You are dreaming".

"God willing, we will ensure BJP loses Secunderabad and also the five assembly seats held by them," he said.

"I am telling you Mr (Narendra) Modi and Mr (Amit) Shah...mark my words...we will ensure that BJP is defeated from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat. The people of Hyderabad will tell you. You will lose deposit from Goshamahal.. you (BJP) will lose Amberpet, Musheerabad, Khairtabad and also Uppal Assembly seats (in Hyderabad). You will face big loss in Telangana...Insha Allah," Owaisi added.

On Shah?s three-day visit to Telangana, Owaisi said, "The BJP President is on Telangana tour...theres sudden love (that he has developed) for Telangana."

The AIMIM leader said Shah went to Nalgonda and had lunch at a Dalit home about which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said was prepared by a member of a forward community.

"What kind of love you (Shah) have? You have food at the residences of Dalits which has been prepared somewhere else. What kind of love you have for (B R) Ambedkar?" he said.

He rejected Shahs claim that the Centre had allocated Rs 1 lakh crore to Telangana, and insisted it got only Rs 24,000 crore.

"Ok, even if you gave (Rs 1 lakh crore) did you give it from your pocket. We are not beggars...It is our (Telanganas) constitutional right to get (central funds). It is the right of the Telangana government to get not just Rs 1 lakh crore but Rs 10 lakh crore," he said.

Meanwhile, reacting to Shahs challenge, BJP floor leader in the Telangana assembly G Kishan Reddy dared the Hyderabad MP to contest from his constituency Amberpet.

"Amit Shah is based in northern India. There are thousands of BJP workers here who can defeat Owaisi. I dare him to contest from my constituency Amberpet," Reddy said. Amberpet was among the five assembly seats Owaisi had said his party would ensure BJPs defeat. PTI VVK RS DK SK SK

--- ENDS ---

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After being escorted out of the hospital, the man got into his vehicle and rammed into a security vehicle. He then sped toward the security officers, attempting to hit them, and the officers "fired one shot each at the vehicle in self-defense," Saint Francis said in a press statement.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education issued an emergency order Thursday to suspend the teaching certification of a Sapulpa elementary teacher who police say had heroin with her at school when she was arrested.

Megan Sloan, 27, was arrested May 1 after a fellow teacher at Holmes Park Elementary School reported discovering an online conversation in which Sloan discussed heroin use and pawning school property. Sloan had left her Facebook account open on a computer, authorities were told.

Sapulpa police who went to the school reportedly found black tar heroin, methamphetamine, prescription drugs and paraphernalia  including syringes with exposed needles and bent metal spoons with burn marks  in the purse Sloan had with her in a classroom.

An officer also reported witnessing Sloan tell school administrators that she took money from students for a field trip and used it to buy gasoline and drugs.

In the regular monthly meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education on Thursday, the board issued an emergency order suspending Sloans teaching certificate, which prevents her from being in a public school classroom effective immediately, according to spokeswoman Steffie Corcoran.

Sloan will receive a copy of the signed order with notification of a hearing for the board to consider revoking her certificate, which Corcoran said could result in a permanent loss of teaching certification. The hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Sloan has been held in the Creek County Jail and charged with a felony count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance in the presence of minor and a felony count of child neglect related to the students entrusted to her care.

Three other charges pending against Sloan are one felony and one misdemeanor count each of embezzlement and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

She has a court hearing set for Friday morning in Bristow.

Sloan tendered her resignation on April 28  a few days before her May 1 arrest  with an effective date of May 16, the day after school let out for summer break.

Records show that on May 2, Sapulpa Public Schools Superintendent Rob Armstrong sent Sloan a notice that she was being suspended from her duties with full pay and benefits. He told the Tulsa World on May 11 that the school board voted to accept Sloans resignation at a May 8 meeting.
ABC has sent further details of its programming for National Reconciliation Week May 37  June 3.

TV specials include Stan Grants Counted (7.30pm Friday 26 May ABC and ABC NEWS), and a Reconciliation Special Q&A which will broadcast from Parliament House on Monday 29 May (9.35pm ABC and ABC iview).

ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie says The ABCs vision is to be the source of Australian stories, culture and conversations and fulfilling this aim would be impossible without a commitment to reflect the stories and contributions of Australias oldest cultures and First peoples.

The ABCs vision for reconciliation is that the diversity and distinctiveness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and perspectives are fairly represented in those conversations, stories and cultures. Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC and Garma provide all Australians with the opportunity to engage with these conversations and ensure they are heard.

This year marks several significant historical, political and cultural anniversaries for our First Nation peoples including 50 years since the 1967 referendum, and 25 years since the historic Mabo decision. Between May and August the ABC will focus on these milestones with specially created content across all platforms.

The project encompasses three phases  Our Focus: Reconciliation Week, Our Focus: NAIDOC and Our Focus: Garma.

A highlight of Our Focus: Reconciliation Week is the long form digital feature, Right Wrongs (www.abc.net.au/rightwrongs) which tells the story of the referendum and its impact over the last fifty years through a mixture of archival and contemporary stories, photos and videos. The ABC collaborated with the Indigenous staff and representatives from Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and National and State Libraries Australasia to access their archives as part of the project.

Throughout the week, on ABC iview (http://iview.abc.net.au/collection/reconciliation viewers can watch a specially curated collection of programs including Mabo and the two-part mini-series The Secret River, which examine the significant events in our nations journey to Reconciliation, from the 1967 referendum to the historic Mabo decision and the Apology.

Multi-media project Dont Fence Me In: Remembering Eddie Mabo reunites old friends Gail Mabo (Eddies daughter) and filmmaker Trevor Graham to talk about the man they knew and loved, and the court case and campaign that consumed their lives. The project includes never-before-seen footage and images as well as interviews with Koikis legal team, Bryan Keon-Cohen and Greg McIntyre, Henry and Margaret Reynolds. RNs Awaye! will broadcast the audio story on Saturday June 3 at 6pm (also available at RN online and on the ABC radio app), and the digital content  articles, slideshows and social videos will be available at RN Online and News Online.

Indigenous delegates including key Indigenous decision makers from around the country will be in Uluru to discuss the 45 Constitutional Recognition models under consideration from Tuesday 23 May to Saturday 27 May. ABC will provide extensive coverage across all platforms, including on ABC Radio, with Sabra Lane and the AM team broadcasting from Uluru and surrounds throughout the week.

Also on ABC Radio, Larissa Behrendt hosts a special live edition of Speaking Out, featuring Tony Birch, Vernon Ah Kee and Linda Burney exploring where Australia needs to go in the next 50 years. This will be heard on RN on Friday 26 May at 8pm and on ABC Radio on Sunday 28 May at 9pm.

A high-powered debate about the push for an Indigenous treaty and constitutional change will be held as part of the Garrmalang Festival in Darwin. The panel discussion  entitled 250 Shades of Black after the 250 known Indigenous languages in Australia  has attracted several leading Aboriginal activists as speakers, including Michael Mansell, Josie Crawshaw, Olga Havnen and ABC Radios Luke Pearson and will be broadcast on Sunday 28 May at 2.30pm on the ABC NEWS channel.

Kids will enjoy Behind The News Special: Indigenous Connections (Wednesday 31st May 10:30am ABC ME) which features a group of outback children trying to make it into an Indigenous choir and explores whether an ancient Aboriginal site could be the oldest astronomical map in the world.

#rightwrongs

#NRW2017
Next month BBC First premieres Guerrilla, created by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) starring Idris Elba.

Set in 1970s London, Guerrilla tells the story of two people whose relationship and values are tested after they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell

The 6 part series stars Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Rory Kinnear (Penny Dreadful, Spectre), Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Babou Ceesay (Eye In The Sky), Nathaniel Martello-White (Greys Anatomy), Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat) and Idris Elba (Luther).

This premiered in the UK in April.

Guerrilla is set against the evocative backdrop of 1970s London and stars Freida Pinto as Jas and Babou Ceesay as Marcus, two young activists involved in the capitals Black Power movement, whose relationship falls under intense pressure when they clash with racist elements within the police. Its a fictional exploration of a thought-provoking moment in history, which asks what might have happened if Black Power groups in the UK had turned to violence in their fight for equal rights.

Sundays at 9.30pm from June 18 on BBC First.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with fresh quotes)

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, May 25 (PTI) Pakistan today condemned the honouring of an Indian Army officer who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as a human shield.

"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing here.

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The international community, particularly the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added.

Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chiefs commendation card for his "sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations".

Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implement UNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self determination.

He accused India of perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement of Indian prisoner on death row Kulbhushan Jadhav confirms it.

Talking about the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in the Jadhav case, he said, "we are preparing for the case ahead of us, and dont have any specific details to share in this regard".

Zakaria said India has been trying to show that Pakistan has lost the first part of its battle at the ICJ.

"This is the line Indian media is towing which is incorrect and misplaced. Why should you take this as a loss? Even those who were associated with it have not called it a loss," he said, adding that the order is a provisional measure that stayed execution of Jadhav pending the final verdict.

"The court has only stayed the execution, without ruling on the merits of the jurisdiction and maintainability of the case. In similar cases of the death penalty, the court has normally stayed the eminent executions as the court favours the right to life. The court had been led to understand that the execution was imminent. Commander Jadhav can still avail the venues for appeal and clemency," Zakaria said.

The stay order in no way prejudges the jurisdiction and merits of the case which are yet to be considered by the court, he said, adding that "hence, Indian claims of a victory in the case of commander Jadhav are incorrect and misleading".

Meanwhile, Zakaria said that the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has not formally sought consular access to an Indian man reportedly arrested in Islamabad.

"We have requested Ministry of Interior, which is the line ministry, for details. Indian High Commission has not requested for the consular access," he said.

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Zakaria said that Pakistan has approached the Indian High Commissioner regarding retired army officer colonel Habib Zahir who went missing in Nepal.

"We are in touch with the Nepali government and we have also approached the Indian High Commissioner in this regard for assistance," he said.

On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it would bring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistan and China. He said several countries have expressed desire to join the project.

Zakaria supported Chinese Foreign Ministrys remarks that the admission of non-NPT states into the Nuclear Suppliers Group should be dealt with in accordance with the principle of consensus and through an open and transparent intergovernmental process while following the two-step approach.

"We believe that any criteria governing the membership of non-NPT states must be applied equitably while taking into account the non-proliferation goals and the imperative of maintaining strategic stability in South Asia," he added. PTI SH ZH AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
Some sense from Foxtels Brian Walsh telling Matchbox Pictures that Real Housewives of Sydney went too far in its vitriol.

Bravo Networks in the US is refusing to screen the series despite previously screening the Real Housewives of Melbourne.

A lot of the women in this show were nasty for nastys sake and have no redeeming features, Walsh told News Corp.

I particularly felt Lisa Oldfield and AthenaX Levendi were driving their own agendas.

Walsh said he raised concerns there were not enough lighthearted moments, something that would change in a second season.

Ive raised my concerns with the production team from this season. I felt the bad language and behaviour throughout the series did go too far, Walsh said.

The show drew horrified reactions when viewed by families on Gogglebox.

Last month I noted it was time to switch off and deny them oxygen after one allegedly trolled the 13-year-old son of another.

This is the first time Ive bothered to mention the show since
ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie and SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid faced Senate hearings yesterday with a grilling in Canberra.

Pauline Hanson took aim at ABC editorial balance, which she said was being talked about constantly on talk back radio, accusing ABC programs of targeting One Nation.

Michelle Guthrie rejected claims the ABC was biased, pointing to independent studies which found 80% of Australians trusted it as a news source, while director of editorial policies, Alan Sunderland, said he would look at any complaints Senator Hanson put forward, but stood by the accuracy, the impartiality and the quality of all the coverage we have done on One Nation.

Senator Hanson also demanded the salary of ABC presenter Tony Jones be made public. Her colleague, Malcolm Roberts, later expanded on the topic, asking for the details of all staff earning more than $250,000, all production and presenter staff earning more than $200,000, the amount of time they spent on air, and how many investigative journalists the ABC employed, what they were paid, as well as a breakdown in the costs of radio, television and digital platforms.

All were taken on notice.

There were questions over the idea that the ABC was sending out job alerts for Indigenous people, asking whether people applying just tick a box.

Hanson: Just following on on Senator Williams question about Aboriginality and you know, your 3% [target] there. Can you define what is a person of Aboriginality applying for the job, what is the definition?

Guthrie: Uh, Senator Hanson, we, we have guidelines around how our employees identify themselves as from Aboriginaility or Torres Strait Islander descent, um so we dont have guidelines to say-

Hanson: Do they tick a box, saying theyre aboriginal?

Heard off camera: You dont tick a box.

Hanson: You do, on a lot of forms. There are people listening to this who might want to apply for this, a job working at the ABC, so how do you define that person as Aboriginal?

Guthrie: Senator, I dont  Im not entirely sure what the question is.

https://twitter.com/dobes/status/867340574742913024

Greens senator Scott Ludlam was concerned about the large amount of British content on the ABC, pointing specifically at the Antiques Roadshow program.

Meanwhile Senator Abetz had requested all communications between SBS boss Michael Ebeid, his office and Australian Marriage Equality, over a decision to support a corporate campaign for marriage equality.

SBS rejected the request on the grounds the emails were sent in a personal capacity. But Abetz demanded to know whether any of the emails bore Ebeids professional SBS email signature.

Just because Im employed by SBS doesnt mean I have a lobotomy of my personal views, Ebeid told him.

Im still allowed, and I thought you as a senator that advocated for free speech would have certainly understood that in my personal capacity Im more than entitled to have a personal view.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield agreed he would not be concerned by the occasional use of work email for personal purposes by his own staff. Id take a common sense approach, he said.

Pauline Hanson questioned his $663,000 salary, which is set by an independent tribunal, and asked whether he thought his $92,000 in bonuses were justified.

I think Im probably worth a lot more senator, he replied.

He described a 2015 article published in The Australian which outlined his bonuses and travel as the biggest load of horse manure Ive read in a lot time.

Senator Hanson, who admitted to not having much time to watch TV, asked whether SBS offers shows to help migrants learn English.

Senator Eric Abetz also spent the majority of his time talking about the deleted seven-word Facebook post from ABC presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

Source: Fairfax, SBS, BuzzFeed
David Haslingdens Racat Group, which includes production company Northern Pictures, pre-schoolers ZooMoo Networks, and NHNZ of New Zealand, has been sold to Canadas Blue Ant Media.

Also included in the acquisition are Beach House Pictures of Singapore and mobile game developer and publisher Runaway Play from New Zealand.

Te deal sees Torontos Blue Ant secure a presence in Singapore, Dunedin, Sydney, Beijing and Taipei.

Haslingden, a former Nine chairman, was president and chief operating officer at the FOX Networks Group after spending a decade as CEO of FOX International Channels and National Geographic Channels Worldwide prior to setting up Racat in 2012. He becomes a significant shareholder and member of Blue Ant Medias board of directors as a result of the deal.

Our editorial focuses, product lines and territorial presences make us a perfect fit. While the Racat businesses have achieved a lot in the last five years, theres no doubt those achievements will be dwarfed by what we get done in the next five as part of Blue Ant Media, he said.

Northern Pictures has produced has recently produced Kakadu, Life on the Reef (pictured), Changing Minds and the Once Upon a Time in franchise. Founder Sue Clothier will continue to head the firm.

Source: C21
Rebel Wilsons defamation trial against Bauer Media has been attracting international headlines.

It has been reported in the US, New Zealand, Ireland, England, and Qatar including BBC, FOX News, NBC, NY Daily News, Perez Hilton.

Yesterday Wilson told the court she was let go from Kung Fu Panda 3 following Bauer Media articles in May 2015.

[DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg] said very bluntly to my face Unfortunately youre just now too divisive to be in this movie; its a family movie. I was devastated. Id never been fired from a job before in my life, she said.

I knew the director and producers loved me and the work I was putting into the film. I ran  well, I dont really run  I walked quickly out of the building, got to my car, and just burst into tears.

Wilson says she was also cut from the Trolls movie, asserting it was for the same reason.

This magazine company gets away with so much, and not everyone has the strength to stand up for themselves, but I do, she said.

Youre not popular forever in Hollywood, you have a few years until you go out of fashion. They took those two years away from me.

Earlier she said she had not lied about being related to Walt Disney, telling the court her grandmother told her the childrens animation pioneer married her relative Lillian. She recently visited the theme park with friend and actor Hugh Sheridan.

But in a separate claim Bauer journalist Elizabeth Wilson is suing Rebel Wilson after Rebel took aim at her on social media. In a case of mistaken identity Rebel Wilson targeted one of two journalists named Elizabeth Wilson, but only one of whom had written about her grandmother.

The odds of there being two women with the same name who worked at the same company  it never crossed my mind, she told the court.

This week Wilson told the court she had only had 2 jobs since the Bauer articles.

IMDb lists her upcoming projects as Isnt It Romantic for New Line, a new version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Anne Hathaway known as Nasty Women for MGM, Pitch Perfect 3 for Universal,

Source: Fairfax,
Holders Real Madrid will take on Manchester United for the 2017 UEFA Super Cup, the trophy contested each year by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

The 2017 showpiece takes place on Tuesday 8 August in Skopje, FYR Macedonia's first European club final. United are the first non-Spanish club since 2013 to qualify.

Great Real Madrid v Man. United goals

UEFA Champions League final victors Madrid will be in the UEFA Super Cup for the sixth time. They lost their first two appearances in 1998 and 2000 but beat Feyenoord in 2002, and Sevilla in both 2014 and 2016.

UEFA Europa League winners United have won the UEFA Super Cup just once before, overcoming then European champions Crvena zvezda courtesy of a Brian McClair goal in 1991. The Red Devils lost to Lazio and Zenit respectively in 1999 and 2008. The UEFA Super Cup has run since 1973.
As the junior doctors' strike at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) entered the second day today, the toll of patients has gone up to 15.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: As the junior doctors' strike at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) entered the second day today, the toll of patients has gone up to 15.

The strike claimed 8 more lives on Thursday though there is no official word yet from the government confirming these deaths.

Even as medical services at the PMCH remain paralysed, the junior doctors are in no mood to relent and return to work.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW "Initially, we had called for a 24-hour strike beginning Wednesday midnight and asked the government to grant us our demands. However, they have not spoken to us and hence we have now gone on an indefinite strike", said Dr. Vinay Kumar, President of Junior Doctors Association. The strike of over 450 junior doctors has created a crisis situation in Bihar's biggest government hospital. PMCH authorities say that they have called and pressed 50 doctors from neighboring districts into service to deal with the panic situation. "We have got support of 50 doctors from neighbouring districts of Nalanda, Bhojpur and Buxur, who have come and started treating the patients. Patients here are not having to suffer due to the ongoing strike of junior doctors", said PMCH Superintendent Lakhinder Prasad. While the government has not yet contacted junior doctors over their demand, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav has directed officials of his department to resolve the crisis at the earliest. The strike began after the junior doctors clashed with the police and were lathi-charged at the IAS Bhawan in Patna on Monday, where they had assembled to appear for the Post Graduation Medical. The police had also arrested four doctors for creating trouble and sent them to jail. The junior doctors are demanding that their colleagues be immediately released from jail and action be taken against the police officers who lathi-charged them.

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Also read | Patna: 7 patients die as 450 junior doctors go on strike in PMCH to protest lathicharge

Also read | Maharashtra doctors strike: Few resume work, health services remain paralysed

--- ENDS ---
This is how President Donald Trump and Pope Francis's meeting at the Vatican pushed people to imagining a horror movie playing out there.

By India Today Web Desk: When you are a world leader, and that too, the President of United States of America, avoiding being photographed is not an option.

POTUS was recently in Rome to meet Pope Francis, someone who has criticised him in the past. Trump and Pope Francis had a history of public feuds which clearly reflected during their much awkward meeting at the Vatican.

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There was one particular photograph that went viral and triggered a Photoshop war on social media platforms.

This photo.

Scary, eh? Take a look at the hilarious Trump-Pope memes that turned a serious meeting into a laughter riot for social media users:

I photoshopped in the kid from THE OMEN and its so perfect its unnerving. pic.twitter.com/I3wGIrbvBW- James White (@Signalnoise) May 24, 2017

But Dahling, this head covering look so much more chic when I meet the Pope....#melania #trump #pope- Horse Makovitz (@Ron_Shirt) May 24, 2017

Look at the Pope's face when he looks at Trump. pic.twitter.com/0wvBVesUdP- Yashar (@yashar) May 24, 2017

When Pope met Donald Trump When Pope met Barack Obama pic.twitter.com/AEbOzS6SUH- The Instigator (@AmBlujay) May 24, 2017

President Trump and his family (aka White House staff) pose with the Pope. Caption, pleaaase. pic.twitter.com/SeR0d8k45y- AJ+ (@ajplus) May 24, 2017

Pope Your Enthusiasm pic.twitter.com/joAC3sk5oe- Seinfeld Current Day (@Seinfeld2000) May 24, 2017

Meanwhile, many shunned Melania and Ivanka's decision to cover their heads while meeting the Pope but refusing to cover their heads when they visited Saudi Arabia.

Their attire is irrelevant-I reject the double standard that modest Muslim women = "oppressed" but modest Christian women = "respectful." pic.twitter.com/T38bq7wQ4q- Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) May 24, 2017

--- ENDS ---
President Pranab Mukherjee said that he has exactly two months to leave the office, effectively ruling out a second term at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Pranab Mukherjee is not in race for a second term. Photo: PTI

By India Today Web Desk: President Pranab Mukherjee today dropped enough hints to say that he is, in all likelihood, not in the race for another term at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"I have exactly two months to go. July 25, a new President will assume office," President Pranab Mukherjee said a day before various leaders from the Opposition are expected to meet at Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence to discuss presidential election.

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The President said that he is sending the officials who have worked him back to their respective ministries and departments. "One has gone to the Commerce Ministry, two to the Ministry of External Affairs," Pranab Mukherjee said at the farewell tea organised for Venu Rajamony, press secretary to the President of India.

MAMATA, NITISH BACKED A SECOND TERM

Pranab Mukherjee's remarks come at a time when the Opposition led by Sonia Gandhi is trying to arrive at a consensus candidate for the presidential election.

The Trinamool Congress, a key member of the Opposition alliance, is known to have backed President Mukherjee for another term at a recent meeting with Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

Earlier, Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar batted for a second term for Pranab Mukherjee.

Nitish Kumar said re-election of Pranab Mukherjee by consensus will set a good precedent, but added it was for the ruling party at the Centre to decide on the candidate after taking on board "all parties".

The Congress, however, chose to remain non-committal on a second term for Pranab Mukherjee said it was "for the ruling party to decide".

WHO ARE IN THE RACE FOR THE TOP POST?

In the Congress corridors, former governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi's name is believed to be doing the rounds as a probable Opposition candidate for the country's top post.

Former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar's name has also been floated as a likely Opposition contender for the President of India.

Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu is believed to be the frontrunner among NDA contenders for the top post.

(inputs from IANS)

ALSO READ:

Why BJP may surprise again with its pick for President of India's post

Presidential election 2017: Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, leads race for Opposition pick

Presidential election: Nitish chooses to skip Sonia's Opposition meeting to discuss consensus candidate

ALSO WATCH: No room for intolerant Indian in India: Pranab Mukherjee

--- ENDS ---

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Xiaomi's highly anticipated Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 Android smartphone is making a big buzz on the internet. The leak specs of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 have mounted up on the internet ahead of the smartphone's unexpected release date.

Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 Android smartphone is one of the much-awaited handsets by tech enthusiasts due to its anticipated upgraded design and features. It appears that anticipations turn out to be true as the leak specs for the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 have surfaced online.

The specs of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 Android smartphone apparently leak out on the Chinese tech giant's own website. Reports are claiming that Xiaomi accidentally exposed the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 briefly on its website, but the details were immediately deleted. Nonetheless, snappers took a screenshot of the specs and has now gone viral, The Android Soul reported.

Based on the leak specs of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2, the smartphone will feature a Snapdragon 660 SoC processor. The battery of Xiaomi's upcoming smartphone will also have improvement as it will boast a 4100mAh than Redmi Pro's 4050mAh. The Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 is expected to come along with a 3GB of RAM, but some reports are claiming that the smartphone will have a 4GB and 6GB variant as well.

The Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 is also said to feature a 5.5-inch OLED display. The Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 will reportedly boast a dual 16MP rear shooter setup, an upgrade from the original Redmi Pro's 13MP dual cameras, Digit reported.

Xiaomi's upcoming device is expected to be released with a $174 price tag. In spite of that, the leak suggests that the tech giant is gearing up for the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2, which means it won't be long before the device is officially announced to the world.

Watch The Video Here:
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be hosting a luncheon meeting where most Opposition leaders have been invited.

By India Today Web Desk: As a united force, can the Opposition come up with a consensus candidate for India's next President as Pranab Mukherjee's term ends this July? This is the question which will come up at a luncheon meeting hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi today.

The meeting, which co-incides with three years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, will also be a test of the unity and bond amongst all Opposition parties.

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Sonia Gandhi will host the lunch at Parliament House library.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who is himself a possible contender for the top constitutional post, would attend the lunch.

Invitations had been sent to JD(U), CPI, CPI-M, SP, DMK, NCP, RJD and TMC, besides some other big and small regional parties.

NITISH, KEJRIWAL TO BE ABSENT

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is all set to skip the meeting. His party has cited prior engagements and sent Sharad Yadav to the meeting.

Congress had not invited Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal.

"You wait and see tomorrow. Most opposition leaders will attend the meeting," a senior leader said, when asked if BSP leader Mayawati and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would be present.

The main opposition Congress is seeking greater unity among non-NDA parties ahead of the presidential election.

Efforts are on to bring arch political rivals in Uttar Pradesh -- the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party -- together on a common opposition platform ahead of the presidential poll.

Nitish Kumar has also mooted a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and suggested that the ruling BJP try and build consensus on him.

WHAT TRINAMOOL CONGRESS WANTS

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already said a consensus candidate as President is better for the country.

"The President is the custodian of the Indian Constitution. It will be very good for the entire country if we have a consensus candidate, much like (late President) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam," the firebrand leader who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said.

On May 16, she held talks with Sonia Gandhi on the issue of fielding a common presidential nominee by the opposition.

These names as India's 14th President will be on top of agenda at the meeting:

1. Gopal Krishna Gandhi - The former West Bengal governor is not only a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi but is also a well-known scholar. He is emerging as the Opposition's top choice.

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2. Fali Nariman - He is a senior advocate and the former Additional Solicitor General of India.

3. Sharad Pawar - The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief is believed to be considered for the post but the party said he has declined the offer.

4. Sharad Yadav - The senior JD(U) leader is also among the top choices.

5. Pranab Mukherjee - The incumbent may emerge as a common voice of the Opposition for a second consecutive term. However he has indicated that he is not in the race.

Also read:

Kaun Banega President? List of probable NDA and Opposition candidates

Presidential election 2017: Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, leads race for Opposition pick

Presidential election: Nitish chooses to skip Sonia's Opposition meeting to discuss consensus candidate

Also watch:

Who will make a good president? Top contenders

--- ENDS ---
It's not surprising these days that a lot of celebrities have higher education degrees. What's surprising, however, is that there are some who have pursued and earned a Ph.D. degree. Here are 5 celebrities you might not know has a doctorate degree.

Peter Weller

Peter Weller is best known as the original RoboCop, a role he also reprised in RoboCop 2. He also appeared in critically acclaimed films including Mighty Aphrodite and Naked Lunch. Aside from that, he is also the director of the Netflix series Longmire in 2012.

However, not a lot of people know that Weller has a Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance from UCLA making him the perfect choice to be the host of History Channel's Engineering an Empire, which talked about the architectural accomplishments of Rome, Egypt, and China.

Greg Graffin

Who would have thought that a bad-ass rocker from a bad-ass band has a Ph.D.? A lot of people can imagine Greg Graffin belting out 'Punk Rock Song' and other Bad Religion hits but not a lot would have guessed that he wrote a dissertation called, "Evolution, Monism, Atheism, and the Naturalist World-View: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology," for his Ph.D. in zoology from Cornell University.

If that wasn't cool enough, he is also a lecturer at Cornell and UCLA teaching life sciences and evolution respectively.

James Franco

James Franco might not have officially earned his Ph.D. yet but based on his track record, it won't take long before he accomplishes that. At present, he is taking his Ph.D. in English at Yale University, which is not surprising. There was a point in his life where he took as many as 62 credits per quarter at UCLA. Aside from that, he simultaneously studied filmmaking at New York University and fiction writing at Brooklyn University.

Miuccia Prada

Miuccia Prada is one of the heirs of the well-known luxury brand founded by Mario Prada, her grandfather. Aside from being involved in the family business, Prada is involved in a wide range of interests. One of those was as a mime performer at the Teatro Piccolo where she trained for five years prior to that. And speaking of doctorate degrees, she earned her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Milan.

Ken Jeong

Funnyman Ken Jeong was known for his roles in Knocked Up, Zookeeper, and Pineapple Express. But nor everyone knows that before he became a popular comedian, he was a practicing physician in New Orleans. He got his M.D at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill High School.
United Nations/Russian Federation Workshop on

Human Capacity-Building in Space Science and Technology for

Sustainable Social and Economic Development Samara, Russian Federation, 30 October - 2 November 2017 Co-organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and Samara National Research University Co-sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA)

Introduction

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has the mandate to promote international space cooperation and to assist Members States with capacity-building in the use of space science, technology and its applications. For this purpose, the Programme on Space Applications, implemented by UNOOSA, was established in 1971. Since its inception, the Programme has made substantial progress in furthering knowledge and experience of space applications around the world, through the organization of dedicated workshops and establishments of fellowships. In 2016, the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution A/RES/71/90, para.17 further emphasized the central role of UNOOSA in fostering capacity-building in the use of space science, technology and its applications and in providing assistance to developing countries, at their request, in the development of national space policy and legislation in conformity with international space law, as well as in the strengthening of institutional capacity in space activities. In this context, the United Nations and the Government of the Russian Federation are organizing the United Nations/Russian Federation Workshop on Human Capacity-Building in Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Social and Economic Development, under the framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. The Workshop is co-sponsored by European Space Agency (ESA) and will be held in Samara, Russian Federation, from 30 October to 2 November 2017. It will bring together experts from the space science and technology sector, as well as decision makers, educators and researchers to discuss the most recent strategies for capacity-building in space science and technology. The hosting organization, Samara National Research University, SNRU (formerly known as Samara State Aerospace University, SSAU), is one of the largest Russian academic institutions offering educational programmes in aerospace engineering and related fields. Hosting support will also be provided by the JSC Rocket Space Center "Progress" with participation of the Government of the Samara region.

Workshop Objectives

The Workshop will address consider the role of human capacity building for using space science, technology and its applications in support of sustainable development, with a particular focus on developing and emerging countries. The objectives of this Workshop are to: Examine the opportunities for development of human potential in relation to UNISPACE+50 Thematic Priority 7 (TP7) "Capacity-building for the 21 st Century" and the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on "Quality Education". Review the status of global, regional and national capacity-building efforts in space science, technology and its applications. Promote the implementation and coordination of international cooperation programmes in space-related fields that promote sustainable development, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Exchange views on capacity-building in areas such as micro- and nanosatellites, remote sensing of the Earth, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies, basic space science, health care and disaster mitigation-related applications of space technologies. Examine the role of academic institutions and space industry in supporting capacity-building efforts. Define strategies to provide cost-effective capacity-building that meet social and economic needs, with a particular focus on developing and emerging countries.

Expected Outcome and Contribution to UNISPACE+50

UNISPACE+50 At its Fifty-Ninth Session in 2016, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) endorsed seven thematic priorities for the implementation of UNISPACE+50. The objectives of the present Workshop are directly related to the UNISPACE+50 TP7: "Capacity building for the 21st Century", as well as to the SDG 4 on "Quality Education". In preparation for UNISPACE+50, a series of High Level Fora are being organized by the Office for Outer Space Affairs to be held annually from 2016 to 2018. In this context, UNOOSA has defined 4 pillars to address the future of space activities and their role in development: space society, space economy, space accessibility and space diplomacy. The present Workshop will identify areas of work in which capacity-building can contribute to the furthering of these pillars, in their role as constituents of an inclusive global Space2030 agenda for exploration, innovation and inspiration that calls for strengthened cooperation and governance of outer space activities: Observations and recommendations adopted by the Workshop participants are expected to contribute to a strategy for innovative approaches to capacity-building, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and partnership strengthening in the context of UNISPACE+50 TP7: "Capacity building for the 21st Century."

Download Thematic Priorities Booklet

Download Thematic Priorities Booklet The Workshop conclusions will be presented at the United Nations/United Arab Emirates High Level Forum: Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development, to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 6 to 9 November 2017, and, after further consolidation at the Forum, will contribute to the preparation of the UNISPACE+50 and to the development of a Space2030 agenda for exploration, innovation and inspiration that calls for strengthened cooperation and governance of outer space activities. The Workshop presentations will be made available at the website of the Office for Outer Space Affairs. A Workshop report, including observations and recommendations made by the participants, will be published as an official United Nations document.

Workshop Programme

The Workshop programme will include keynote addresses, technical presentations at the thematic sessions, discussions and a poster session. Presentations at the technical sessions may include, but are not limited to, the following topics: Global, regional and national initiatives to enhance space-related human capacity-building;

Education on space science, technology and its applications: new methodologies and the way forward for capacity building;

Contribution of human capacity building in space science, technology and its applications to sustainable development;

Industry support of capacity-building activities;

Best practices and challenges of promoting space education, in particular in developing and emerging countries, and among women and the youth;

Enhancing public awareness and increasing support for space activities. A technical visit organized by the hosts will complement the technical sessions. The Workshop will also be an opportunity to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the space age - launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in October 1957. A round-table and wrap-up session will concentrate on how international and national efforts in development of human potential and capacity-building in space science and technology can support sustainable social and economic development and contribute to the SDGs and UNISPACE+50. The Workshop organizers reserve the right to modify the number and themes of sessions in the final programme.

Location, Date and Logistics Information (updated 11th October!)

The Workshop will be held from 30 October to 2 November 2017 in Samara, Russian Federation. Invited participants will receive a formal invitation letter with further information on available accommodation, logistics and other local arrangements prior to the Workshop.

The venue (except for the Opening Ceremony,m which will take place at the premises of the Samara National Research University) is the Holiday Inn Samara Hotel, located on Alexey Tolstoy 99, Samara

Self-funded participants and those who received ticket-only support are kindly invited to book rooms at the hotel Holiday Inn Hotel. The Hotel provides special discounts for the workshop participants, as follows: single room - 5.200 RUB (breakfast included), double room - 6.300 RUB (breakfast included), executive room - 6.900 RUB (breakfast included), suite 14.000 RUB (breakfast included).

Participants who will be offered free accommodation by the organizers will also be staying at this hotel. They will be informed separately in due course.

To book the hotel, please send the request to the Hotel's email address: hisamara@hisamara.ru .Please be sure to mention that you are attending the UN/Russian Federation Workshop.

The University will also provide airport transfer on arrival, from the airport Samara Kurumoch to the Hotel, for all registered international participants. Please urgently provide the information on your arrival flight to the United Nations and to the local organizers ( intdep@ssau.ru ), no later than October 24th evening.

Please note the phone numbers to call in case of any problems on arrival or with the airport transfer:

+7 91 795 409 52 Emma

+7 92 726 458 74 Anton



Participants who wish to make their room reservations at other hotels are free to do so, but will need to inform the organizers and host of their hotel locations.

Language of the Workshop

The working language of the Workshop will be English. Interpretation to/from Russian will be provided by local co-organizers.

Participant Requirements

The Workshop is expected to bring together participants from national, regional, and international organizations including: Academic, educational and research institutions;

Government and national space agencies;

Relevant national, regional and international organizations, including representatives from the United Nations System,

Non-governmental organizations, private sector and industry representatives. Applicants must have a well-established academic or professional working experience in a field related to the topic of the Workshop. Due consideration will be given to geographic balance. Applications from female participants are particularly encouraged. The co-organizers of the Workshop will jointly select the invited participants from among the list of qualified applicants. Selection criteria are based on: Experience and expected contributions relevant to the Workshop objectives;

Degree of current involvement in the use of space science, technology and its applications;

Quality and relevance of the abstract submitted as part of the application; and

Educational background. Invited participants will be requested to prepare a presentation of approximately 10 to 20 minutes or a poster on topics relevant to the Workshop objectives. Presentations on actual on-going projects will be of particular interest. In addition, participants may also be asked to act as session rapporteurs or moderators and to contribute to discussion sessions and reporting activities.

Support to Qualified Applicants

Within the limited financial resources available to the co-sponsors, a number of qualified applicants, who have expressed the need for financial support, will be selected on a competitive basis based on their qualifications, experience and expected contributions to the Workshop and offered financial support to attend the Workshop. The support to applicants may include the provision of a round-trip economy class air ticket between Samara and the applicant's international airport of departure and/or room and board for the duration of the Workshop. En-route and any other expenses, including any changes made to the air ticket provided by the co-sponsors is the responsibility of the participants.

Due to the limited availability of financial resources, it is usually not possible to provide assistance to all qualified applicants who express the need for financial support. Applicants and their nominating organizations are therefore strongly encouraged to identify sources of sponsorship to allow them to attend the Workshop

Life and Health Insurance

Life and major health insurance is the responsibility of each selected participant or his/her nominating institution or government. The co-organizers will not assume any responsibility for life and major health insurance, nor for any expenses related to medical treatment or accidents.

Deadline for Submission of Applications

Applications for participating in the Workshop have to be submitted online through this webpage (see top of page).

The completed applications including the signature page with signatures and seals must be received by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs no later than 23 July 2017 for applicants seeking funding support and 10 August 2017 for self-funded applicants. Only complete applications received by these deadlines will be considered.

Contact

For questions related to the Workshop programme and participation opportunities, please contact us.

For latest information and updates on the Workshop, it is advised that you frequently visit this webpage.
U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow introduced a package of bills that would increase pipeline safety in and around the Great Lakes and account for the unique needs of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The bills announced today would raise liability caps for Great Lakes pipeline operators; expand and clarify U.S. Secretary of Transportations authority to suspend or shut down unsafe oil pipelines; strengthen federal review of oil spill response plans; increase transparency surrounding oil spill response and clean up plans; and create a Center for Expertise in the Great Lakes region to study freshwater oil spills.

The Great Lakes ecosystem is unlike any other in the world, and many existing pipeline safety rules and regulations do not adequately protect this precious resource from a disastrous oil spill, said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Senator Stabenow and I are working together to hold Great Lakes pipeline operators to the highest standards and help protect against the catastrophic consequences of a worst-case spill that would endanger our environment and the multi-billion shipping, tourism and fishing industries supported by the Great Lakes.

We cannot allow another devastating pipeline break like the one that dumped a million gallons of oil in to the Kalamazoo River in 2010, said Senator Stabenow. The bills we are announcing today will help protect the Great Lakes and other areas in Michigan from future spills by requiring stronger safeguards and oversight of oil pipelines.

The provisions Peters and Stabenow introduced include:

Increasing liabilities for oil spill clean-up and damages: Pipelines crossing the Great Lakes, including Enbridges Line 5 underneath the Straits of Mackinac, are currently classified as onshore despite crossing through miles of open water and are thus held to less stringent regulatory standards than offshore pipelines. The Peters-Stabenow bill would create a special classification for Great Lakes pipelines so they are held to the same stringent liability standards as offshore pipelines, meaning operators would be responsible for covering all oil spill clean up costs, up to $133.65 million in economic damages and providing proof of financial ability.

Last year, Senators Peters and Stabenow sent a letter to former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx urging him to classify pipelines crossing the Great Lakes as offshore.

Expanding DOT emergency authority to shut down pipelines: This legislation will build on legislation signed into law last year expanding the Secretary of Transportations emergency authority to shutdown pipelines in the case of an unsafe conditions. This would include a violation of established operating conditions; inadequate capabilities to respond to a potential incident; or inadequate financial resources to cover costs associated with clean-up and damages for a potential incident.

U.S. Coast Guard and EPA review of oil spill response plans: This Stabenow-Peters bill would require both the U.S. Coast Guard and EPA - the two primary federal agencies responsible for oil spill response and clean up - to review oil pipeline operator response plans that are submitted to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). Currently, both agencies have the option to review these plans but are not required to by law.

Increasing transparency: Currently, the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) is responsible for collecting, reviewing, and storing pieces of information from pipeline operators  such as facility response plans  that are available through cumbersome and costly Freedom of Information Act requests. Under the new legislation, PHMSA would be required to make facility response plans available online, where they can be more easily reviewed, while still protecting propriety and sensitive security information through exclusion at the Secretary of Transportations discretion.

U.S. Coast Guard Center for Expertise for Great Lakes: Last week, the Commerce Committee passed Peters-led amendment to create a U.S. Coast Guard Center of Expertise in the Great Lakes focused on studying the impacts of oil spills in freshwater environments. Most current oil spill response technologies were developed for saltwater environments and are less effective in freshwater. The Coast Guard has previously established several Centers of Expertise (COEs) on topics ranging from liquefied gas shipping to towing vessel issues to offshore safety.

These actions build on previous efforts by Senators Peters and Stabenow to increase pipeline safety in the Great Lakes. In 2015, Peters and Stabenow introduced legislation to strengthen pipeline oversight and improve response plans for oil spills under ice-covered waters. These provisions were included in the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act, or PIPES Act, which was signed into law by President Obama last year.
Baywatch has been hated by American critics, but almost every one of them has loved Priyanka Chopra in it.

By India Today Web Desk: Even though Baywatch has not released in India, it has already had its premiere in Miami, California. The film is scheduled to release in US theatres on May 25 this year.

Before that American critics got to watch the film in preview screenings and boy, have they hated it or what. Most critics have panned the film left, right and centre. At Rotten Tomatoes, currently, Baywatch is rated 18% rotten.

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Starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Priyanka Chopra in her Hollywood debut, Baywatch is based on the hit television series of the same name starring David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson.

However, even though critics have disliked Baywatch, almost everyone have praised Priyanka Chopra.

Matt Goldberg of Collider wrote, "The real standout is Chopra. I've never seen her TV series Quantico, but she owns the film every second she's on screen. Victoria isn't a particularly memorable villain on the page, but Chopra is commanding, and when she gets called an aspiring Bond villain, it made me want her to be the villain in the next Bond movie. If there's one good thing that can come from the wreckage of this movie, it's for Chopra's career in Hollywood films to take off."

Jack Shepherd of The Independent, who gave Baywatch two stars, wrote that Priyanka Chopra was underused. "Despite being incredibly talented, Chopra is clinically underused, the script offering her nothing to work with," his review read.

"The only other highlight is Priyanka Chopra as nefarious entrepreneur Victoria Leeds, who outshines pretty much anyone she's in a scene with. Chopra's engaging and interesting and is the only character that speaks with any kind of distinctive cadence, with the rest of the cast falling into the exact same pattern of delivery of their hackneyed gags. None of them are given much of anything to do, either," wrote IGN's Gav Murphy.

Forbes Magazine's Scott Mendelson also disapproved of how Priyanka Chopra was not utilised well by the filmmakers.

"Chopra has fun as the baddie, but she stays in the background until the end of the movie and really only gets one big scene at the end of the picture. The showdown is the best moment in the film, one which cleverly plays on gender-specific action movie tropes while showing its female villain no gender-based charity. I wish more movies had female super villains and to its credit, Baywatch doesn't treat it as a big deal," Mendelson wrote.

Jacob Knight of Birth.Movies.Death wrote, "The Indian goddess brings a (sadly underutilised) brainy charisma to every scene that feels fit for a better picture."

James Luxford of Radio Times went even a step further and wrote, "Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra judges the mood perfectly, playing the villain with exactly the right amount of dramatic flair ("I'm not a Bond villain... yet" she teases during an interrogation).

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Baywatch is scheduled to release in India on June 2.

ALSO SEE: Dwayne Johnson plants a surprise kiss on Priyanka Chopra at Baywatch premiere

ALSO WATCH: I wanted to be seen as a modern actor, says Priyanka Chopra

--- ENDS ---
UW Alumnus Pete Simpson Jr. Wins Obie Award

UW alumnus Pete Simpson Jr. is the recipient of an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance, co-presented by the Village Voice and the American Theatre Wing. (Pete Simpson Jr. Photo)

University of Wyoming alumnus Pete Simpson Jr. is the recipient of an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance, co-presented by the Village Voice and the American Theatre Wing. He received the award May 22 at the 62nd Annual Obie Awards in New York City.

Grandson of former Wyoming Gov. Milward Simpson -- and a son of Peter Koi and Lynne Simpson, who started their own theatrical company, Spontaneous Theatre Productions, in the early 1970s -- Simpson began his performance career by participating in the Casper Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps as a drummer for eight years.

During his time at the UW Department of Theatre and Dance, Simpson was a veteran of the UW stage, appearing in such productions as Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Boys Next Door and Eleven Zulu. He returned to UW in 2010 as a guest artist to take on the titular role in Hamlet, opposite his father, who played the ghost of Hamlets father.

The Obie Awards were created in 1955 by Jerry Tallmer of the Village Voice to salute excellence in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theater. Since its inception, the Obies have been purposely structured with informal categories to recognize persons and productions worthy of distinction in each theater season.

After completing a degree in English and theater at UW, Simpson earned a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the Denver Center Theatre Companys National Theatre Conservatory in 1996. After graduation, Simpson was hired in the Blue Man Group, an avant-garde-based ensemble that has grown to become a national and international sensation since its New York debut in 1991.

Simpson has performed, trained, directed or organized for Blue Man Group productions in Boston, New York, Chicago, Amsterdam and the German companies in Oberhausen, Berlin and Stuttgart. He has appeared with Blue Man on several television programs at home and abroad, and has toured with the company internationally with such artists as David Bowie, Moby and Alicia Keyes.

Simpson is a veteran theater performer on both the New York and regional theater scenes. He has worked with other downtown theater artists, performing in such roles as Francis Parkman in Richard Maxwells Cowboys and Indians; Tommy Tuttle in Richard Foremans European tour of Paradise Hotel; and Ned Ludd in the Wooster Groups production of North Atlantic, opposite actor Willem Dafoe.

More recently, Simpson has appeared in Young Jean Lees Straight White Men and Julia Jarchos Grimly Handsome and The Terrifying. He also has appeared in several productions with the Denver Center Theatre Company and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Simpson also has appeared on television in Law & Order and Conan OBrien and, this spring, starred as President Lincoln in Lincoln in the Bardo, the New York Times virtual reality film based on George Saunders novel of the same name.

He is married to Israeli-American costume designer, Naama Greenfield-Simpson, who is the daughter of notable Israeli painter Yitzhak Greenfield. The Simpsons have two children.
UW Planetarium Offers Stargazing Opportunities in June

The gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, will be visible all night this June. Look for them both in the southeastern sky. Saturn shines as a steady point of light in the Milky Way while Jupiter shines brightly to the right. The moon also will be passing by these planets at the beginning of the month before reaching its full moon phase. This June, the full moon is dubbed a micromoon, the opposite of the supermoon seen on Earth last November. (UW Planetarium Photo)

With nice evenings just around the corner, the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium offers many stargazing opportunities as well as a variety of programs on the summer solstice, the August eclipse and Greek mythology.

This month at the UW Planetarium welcomes a new season and the unique stargazing opportunities this summer brings to us in Wyoming, says Samantha Ogden, the planetariums coordinator. Join us to discover new seasonal constellations; Saturn at opposition; the sun reaching its highest point in our daytime sky; and so much more.

Friday planetarium shows during June start at 8 p.m., with a STAR Observatory tour scheduled to follow approximately an hour later. Kid-themed shows are scheduled Saturdays at 11 a.m. The month also includes six Tuesday shows.

Tickets cost $3 for students and $4 for non-students, and can be purchased at the Department of Physics and Astronomy main office, located in Room 204 of the Physical Sciences Building, Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m.-noon. Doors open 20 minutes before each show, where tickets will be sold if available. The planetarium, which seats 58, is located in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building.

Since the renovations were finished in November 2014, the full-dome shows now provide immersive 3-D experiences. Traditional star shows have been replaced with far more interactive presentations, similar to an IMAX theater. Laser shows consist of three lasers (red, blue and green) that project graphics on the dome. The lasers are synchronized with music, and pre-programmed graphics and images are displayed.

The June planetarium schedule is:

-- The Universe is Really Big, Friday, June 2, 8 p.m. The Earth seems pretty big to humans. It takes more than three days to fly nonstop around the world. However, there are bigger things in outer space, including some giant and far distant planets in our own solar system. The program will explore the universe in search of larger objects, and attempt to comprehend just how vast outer space is. A free STAR Observatory tour (weather dependent) follows at 9 p.m.

-- IBEX: The Search for the Edge of the Solar System, Tuesday, June 6, 7 p.m. The sun lies at the center of our solar system, and it is orbited by the eight planets, Pluto and more. What other cosmic objects make up our solar system? And where does the solar system end? The program will look beyond the orbit of Pluto to discover that the solar system reaches farther than imagined. The program takes audiences on a journey to where our solar system ends and the interstellar medium begins.

-- Our Night Sky: A Different View, Friday, June 9, 8 p.m. About 2,500 years ago, the Greek civilization revolutionized the way we see the night sky. Currently, 88 official constellations piece together the stars, most with a story dating back to Greek mythology. However, the Greeks were not the only civilization to observe and tell stories in stars. In fact, every ancient society looked to the sky and was inspired by its beauty. This show takes a look close to home to honor the Northern Native American culture and its night sky. A free STAR Observatory tour (weather dependent) follows at 9 p.m.

-- Full-Dome Movie: Two Small Pieces of Glass, Saturday, June 10, 11 a.m. For thousands of years, ancient civilizations looked up at the cosmos and wondered what was up there. They saw thousands of stars, a few planets and the band of the Milky Way, but that was as far as they could see. It wasn't until a scientist named Galileo Galilee pointed two small pieces of glass -- the first telescope -- up to the heavens and opened the universe up for human exploration. Telescopes have advanced considerably since Galileo's time. Humanity now has large observatories and even a couple telescopes in outer space. Watch the full-dome movie, Two Small Pieces of Glass, and discover how telescopes work and how astronomers use them to discover the universe. After the show, visitors will have a chance to make and decorate their own telescope or camera obscura to take home.

-- This Months Sky, Tuesday, June 13, 7 p.m. As the months and seasons change in Wyoming, new astronomical events occur in the nighttime sky. No matter what time of year, there is always something to see after the sun goes down. From constellations to meteor showers to visible planets, the program acts as a guide to these remarkable events and where to find them.

-- Throughout History: Eclipse 2017, Friday, June 16, 8 p.m. This Aug. 21 will go down in history as the Great American Eclipse and will be the most widely viewed eclipse ever. There will be eclipse events, viewing parties and festivals across the country, as well as chances to see the eclipse live via social media and NASA TV. But, this is not the first eclipse in the Earths history. Eclipses have been predicted, viewed, celebrated and feared for thousands of years. The program will explore solar eclipses in recorded human history: how often they take place, where they occur, and how our ancestors welcomed or feared this rare phenomenon. A free STAR Observatory tour (weather dependent) follows at 9 p.m.

-- From the Summer Solstice to the Solar Eclipse, Tuesday, June 20, 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. June 20 marks the first day of summer when the sun reaches its highest point in the daytime sky. And, in a few short months, another solar event will occur: a total solar eclipse. The program will explore the motions of the sun and moon across the Wyoming sky and how they come together to create this summers celestial phenomena.

-- IBEX: The Search for the Edge of the Solar System, Tuesday, June 20, 7 p.m. The sun lies at the center of our solar system, and it is orbited by the eight planets, Pluto and more. What other cosmic objects make up our solar system? And where does the solar system end? The program will look beyond the orbit of Pluto to discover that the solar system reaches farther than imagined. The program takes audiences on a journey to where our solar system ends and the interstellar medium begins.

-- Astronomy and Math, Friday, June 23, 8 p.m. More than numbers and equations, mathematics is a fundamental basis that the physical sciences are built upon. Mathematics has led to the advancement of space technologies, the discoveries of planets and the understanding of the nature of our universe. Discover how advancements in math have contributed to astronomy and how people view the universe today. A free STAR Observatory tour (weather dependent) follows at 9 p.m.

-- As Seen from Laramie, Saturday, June 24, 11 a.m. Oftentimes, in the planetarium, visitors observe the planets and stars from a point of view off the Earths surface. But, many of these cosmic objects can be seen from our own backyards. The program will go back to the traditional roots of a planetarium to see all of the great astronomical objects (stars, constellations, eclipses, comets, asteroids and planets) from Laramies perspective. The program will be the publics guide to Wyoming stargazing this summer. After the show, visitors will have a chance to create a star finder to take home.

-- This Months Sky, Tuesday, June 27, 7 p.m. As the months and seasons change in Wyoming, new astronomical events occur in the nighttime sky. No matter what time of year, there is always something to see after the sun goes down. From constellations to meteor showers to visible planets, this program acts as your guide to these remarkable events and where to find them.

-- Greek Mythology, Friday, June 30, 8 p.m. Ancient civilizations used the night sky as a clock, calendar and storyboard for their unique mythologies. The 88 constellations that piece the sky together are dominated by Ancient Greek mythology and the heroes, villains, gods and men featured in Grecian myths. The program will connect the dots to discover the characters that lie in the constellations and help astronomers navigate the night sky. A free STAR Observatory tour (weather dependent) follows at 9 p.m.
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A Twitter war broke out between south actor Khusbu Sundar and Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan over the party trying to woo Rajinikanth to join them.

Khusbu Sundar took a dig at Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan over her post on the party trying to bring good people (Rajinikanth) to politics.

A Twitter war broke out between south actor Khusbu Sundar and Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan in the wake of the buzz surrounding Rajinikanth's possible entry into politics. The Saffron party has been trying to woo the actor to join them.

It all began when Soundararajan, who is a doctor (physician), took to Twitter to post, "Trying and bringing good people to party is not begging. Words reveals thoughts" (sic).

It was a reply 2 ur own words Mam..recollect what u said..n let me remind u once again hw u started it all..actions reveals thoughts indeed?? https://t.co/050YUK4DXv; khushbusundar (@khushsundar) May 24, 2017

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Taking a dig at the president of the party's state unit, Khusbu asked Soundararajan to clarify her skills as a doctor and posted, "Mam,clear my doubts pls...u specialise as a psychiatrist or as a gen.physician? N I alwz thght Docs hve 2 meet their patients 2 read dem..." (sic).

Mam,clear my doubts pls..u specialise as a psychiatrist or as a gen.physician?N i alwz thght Docs hve 2 meet their patients 2 read dem..???? https://t.co/E4fUGlpkjJ; khushbusundar (@khushsundar) May 24, 2017

The superstar, while addressing his fans on May 15, said that he has no political aspirations but will consider taking the path "if it's God's will". After his explosive statement, several political parties welcomed his decision, especially the BJP.

The mega star Thalaiva had set tongues wagging with his remarks recently that that if he joined politics he would show the door to all "money-minded" people.

ALSO READ | Rajinikanth will join politics, for sure. The question is when?

ALSO WATCH | Will Rajinikanth take the political plunge? BJP, AIADMK debate what the move could mean for Tamil Nadu

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Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident of rumour of a bus accident on social media, which reported that over 40 students were killed in Poonch.

By Ashwini Kumar: Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident of rumour of a bus accident on social media, which reported that over 40 students were killed near Chhatapani on Mughal road in Poonch.

The rumour spread on WhatsApp groups put the administration in border districts of Poonch and Rajouri on high alert.The information was also sent to control rooms, which led to massive evacuation and rescue efforts. More than a dozen vehicles, including ambulances, were rushed from Rajouri to the site of the mishap. A similar effort was made by the Poonch district as well.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Officers of the district administration contacted the owner of a private school in Manjakote. The driver of the school bus was reported to be safe within hours after rumours of the accident went viral. Additional District Magistrate Mumtaz Ali will conduct a magisterial probe to identify the rumour-mongers. The ADM will be assisted by Additional Superintendent of Police Yousaf Choudhary, DIO National Informatics Centre Sanjay Puri, ARTO Rajouri and General Manager Telecom. The team will also seek assistance from the cyber wing of the police department. The magisterial inquiry was ordered after preliminary verification revealed the involvement of some people, who circulated the unverified news on WhatsApp groups in twin districts. The rumour was also traced to a private school and some news groups. More than a dozen people have been shortlisted for initial questioning to trace the rumour-mongers. The district administration, police, the Army, the Air Force and all agencies were put on high alert and rescue and evacuation operations initiated. The Rajouri Deputy Commissioner said that the people involved in spreading such rumours were definitely guilty of disturbing the security of the state and law and order situation. Such practices, if not controlled at this stage, could cause irreparable damage. The slapping of the Public Safety Act is being contemplated against culprits involved in this incident. Rajouri Deputy Commissioner, along with the SSP and a dozen senior officers of various departments who responded to the fake emergency situation, have stepped up efforts to trace the culprits. Suspects are being called for questioning. A report has also been sought from intelligence agencies in this regard. Police are lodging an FIR in the matter.

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Also read | Uttarakhand bus accident: PM Modi announces ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for kin of deceased

Also read | Madhya Pradesh: 3 on the way to attend PM's Amarkantak event killed in bus accident, 25 injured

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The first rule: One should observe the fast if and only if one is in good health.

By Disha Roy Choudhury: Observed during the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, Ramadan is considered the holiest month for Muslims.

Muslims across the world fast from dawn till dusk during this period. Every year, during this time, they are expected to wake up early and eat a pre-dawn meal (suhoor). The period of fasting that follows involves abstinence from drinking, eating, immoral acts and anger. The fast is broken after sunset with an elaborate feast, referred to as iftar.

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This year, Ramadan will be observed from May 26 to June 24, 2017. Despite being a holy festival, it is important for people to keep in mind that fasting might also have an adverse affect on one's health. This is of major concern, especially for those suffering from diabetes.

The festival of Ramadan involves a prolonged period of fasting. This results in a drastic fall in the blood-sugar level or hypoglycemia. Again, the heavy intake of sweetmeats and other eatables during iftaar leads to a sudden upsurge of sugar or hyperglycemia. Lack of water also dehydrates the body, leading to greater illnesses during the summer season.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/NomadicFoot

Diabetics, therefore, have to take certain precautions if they are fasting during Ramadan. Dr Shehla Shaikh, consulting endocrinologist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai, has listed a few important measures that need to be undertaken before one starts fasting.

In the first place, patients are advised to consult their doctor at frequent intervals, for six to eight weeks prior to Ramadan. There is also a provision for adjusting one's medication, especially for the festival. Someone who takes multiple doses of insulin should avoid fasting. A patient should fast only when he or she is certified as fit by the doctor.

Also Read: Ramadan: 10 things you ought to know about this holy month

Before initiating the fast, patients should check their sugar levels on the glucometer in the morning. ''The process should continue for the first few hours of fasting, to keep a check on how the body responds. If there is any form of dizziness, discomfort, or if you are sleeping for long hours, you should break the fast immediately,'' said Dr Shaikh.

One should also avoid indulging in any physical activity during the period of fasting, asserted Dr Shaikh. This may lead to uncontrolled sugar levels, which might prove detrimental to your body.

Even during the pre and post-meals during Ramadan, one should eat healthy, mostly fruits and vegetables.

But what happens in case of any medical emergency? The patient should be immediately taken to the nearest hospital. One's personal doctor can be consulted thereafter. It is not just the responsibility of the patient to take preventive measures. Dr Shaikh also said that is mandatory for the family members or relatives to be well-versed about the pros and cons of fasting, who will then act according to the need of the hour.

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Ajinomoto cutting the ribbon to open the new office

RELATED CONTENTS: AJINOMOTO sponsors SEA GAMES and ASEAN PARA GAMES 2017

The office has an area of 1,020 square metres. It will be the base of operations where the company will research the Vietnamese food culture and initiate marketing activities to inspire Vietnamese families and people to love cooking as well as connect to young consumers.

One of the features of the office is the Ajinomoto cooking studio where people can sign up to join free cooking classes from June 1. Teachers will be food experts who will share diverse recipes with participants, including every-day and specific dishes for specific eating groups, such as young children, or special holiday dishes. They will also hold classes on nutrition.

Class participants will receive step-by-step instructions and practice at the different stoves available in the room. The dishes will be always updated and new dishes will be added to meet the current trends among young people.

Hiroharu Motohashi, general director of Ajinomoto Vietnam, taught the first class in the cooking studio

There will be a space for the company to research the Vietnamese food culture and develop products to serve Vietnamese consumers. It is also where the company will develop balanced and nutritious menus to use in the school lunch programme that it has been carrying out in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Training and the National Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health.

Another highlight of the new office is the infoseum where visitors can learn about the companys history, its production activities, its efforts to protect the environment, and its corporate social responsibility activities, and more.

Ajinomoto Vietnams mission is to contribute to the further growth of Vietnam and the happiness and good health of its people through food culture and food resources development, said Hiroharu Motohashi, general director of Ajinomoto Vietnam. The establishment of the Hanoi office with these unique functional areas is a basis for the company to continue realising this mission.
Indonesia's elite anti-terror squad was Thursday investigating a suicide bombing attack near a busy Jakarta bus station that killed three policemen. AFP/FERNANDO

Two suicide attackers detonated bombs in a street outside the terminal late Wednesday, sending huge clouds of black smoke into the sky and panicked people fleeing.

The bombers died while five other police officers and five civilians were injured in the assault, which left body parts and glass strewn across the road outside the Kampung Melayu terminal in a working-class district.

Police believe they were targeted in the bombing as they provided security for a parade near the station, which is an area frequented by locals but not foreigners. Security forces have been the main target in recent years of Indonesian militants, who have largely turned their attention away from Westerners.

In a televised address Thursday, President Joko Widodo said he had ordered a thorough probe and was "urging all citizens across the nation to stay calm and remain united".

"I convey my deepest condolences to the victims and their families -- especially the police officers who passed away while performing their duty," he added.

Authorities have not indicated who might be responsible but Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, has been on high alert after a string of plots in recent times by militants inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group.

After wrapping up a crime scene investigation in the early hours, police handed over the probe to their elite anti-terror squad, which has played a leading role in tracking down and killing some of Indonesia's most wanted militants.

"Anti-terror squad Densus 88 is currently conducting an investigation, we want to know where the bombers came from, which groups they are affiliated to," national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told AFP.

Police have not yet named the two dead suspects but a law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to Reuters, said they may have been linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an umbrella organisation on a US State Department "terrorist" list that is estimated to have drawn hundreds of IS sympathisers in Indonesia.

PRESSURE COOKER BOMBS

Wasisto would not be drawn on which group could be behind the attack, but he confirmed the bombs were made out of pressure cookers. Authorities said along with body parts, they found explosive materials, switchers, an identity card and a receipt for a cooking pot.

A pressure cooker bomb was used in an attack in the city of Bandung in February carried out by a militant from JAD, which has been blamed for a string of recent assaults.

Martinus Sitompul, another police spokesman, told a local TV station the bombs went off 10 to 12 metres (32 to 40 feet) from one another and about five minutes apart. The terminal is a local hub served by minibuses and buses.

In a media briefing on Thursday afternoon, a police spokesman said that the double bomb blasts in the Indonesian capital bears similarity with the Bandung bombing on Feb 27.

Then, an attacker set off an improvised bomb made from a pressure cooker in a park, before fleeing. No one was injured in the incident. The alleged attacker then died in a gunfight with security forces the following day.

Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered a series of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

A sustained crackdown weakened the most dangerous networks but the emergence of IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for radicals.

Hundreds of radicals from the Southeast Asian state have flocked to fight with IS, sparking fears that weakened extremist outfits could get a new lease of life.

A gun and suicide attack in the capital Jakarta left four attackers and four civilians dead in January last year, and was the first assault claimed by IS in Southeast Asia.

The country has been hit by a series of low-level attacks since, usually claimed by IS-supporting groups, but most have caused little damage.
Saharanour riots have claimed two live, one each from the Dalit and Thakur communities. (File Photo)

By Atir Khan: When things become too serious some laughter could be a good remedy.

Perhaps this is the new mantra of Uttar Pradesh government's handpicked team working to diffuse tension in riot hit Saharanpur. The question is will the strategy work.

Temperature and tempers both were running high on Thursday noon, when UP Home Secretary Prakash Mani Mishra, along with ADG Law and Order, Aditya Mishra, begun their door-to-door outreach programme in Shabbirpur village. The team was escorted by a large number of men in uniform.

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The outreach was aimed at conveying to people of both communities that whatever happened was bad, but the government will not allow it to continue. And that if any wrongs had been done, they will be undone.

Two deaths had taken place, one each from the Dalit and Thakur communities in the village. People were tense, quiet and worried. What could the police officers possibly ask them? This question was troubling bystanders. There were also doubts whether police had come to book them or something. But on the whole, anger running high among people from both the communities.

In such an environment, Mishra and his team adopted a new strategy to infuse positivity. Rather than asking people how they were feeling, whether they were angry or worried, he asked an elderly woman from Thakur community, "Kyon amma kya khana banaya hai aaj aapne (Amma, what have you cooked today)?"

Her reply to the unexpected question came with a beaming smile, "lauki ki sabzi (gourd)."

This apparently did the trick. Quiet women, who were hesitant to speak out, started speaking and uttered all their grievances. Some women said some outsiders come and create problems for villagers, others said police response was poor. But Mishra's game was to make them speak.

After striking a positive cord, Mishra and his next team went to a Dalit family's house, where some women were agitated due to the poor response of the police and administration during the riots.

Again, a single comment by Mishra completely changed the mood. He told an elderly woman, "Amma agar aap UP police ki DG hojaye toh sabh theek ho jayega (Amma, if you become UP Police DG, everything's going to get fixed)."

On hearing this all the women started laughing. Even Mishra and his team could not stop their laughter.

The people of the village had been living peacefully, until about a month ago, when clashes begun between the two communities over installing statues of Ravidas and Maharana Pratap.

The outreach team's strategy was essentially to lighten the mood in the tense zone, which has been burning for the last twenty days. A meeting of representatives from both communities was also organised to diffuse tension.

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The old guard of administration was also axed by chief minister Yogi Adityanath after it failed to control the situation. The question is will the new guard be able to resolve long pending issues of both communities and bring to an end an uneasy calm which prevails in Saharanpur.

Also read:

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Prime Minister Hun Sen has said he will join in with campaigning for his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party ahead of local elections next week in an unexpected move for a leader who would normally stay out of the fray.

Hun Sen, who has been in power in Cambodia for more than 30 years, wrote on his Facebook page that he would appear as part of the push to secure votes during the final day of campaigning, on June 2, two days before the polls open.

According to analysts, he has not directly taken part in political campaigning since 1998.

Some of the people entered Facebook saying that [Hun Sen] didnt come out to go on parade. For the solidarity and support of candidates of commune councilors of the CPP; in the name of the president of the CPP, I will go on parade to close the election campaign in the coming days, he wrote.

The CPP will contest more than 1,600 local authorities, called communes, with the countrys main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party. Some 10 other minority parties will also seek to win control of local councils.

Eng Chhay Eang, CNRP deputy president, said he was surprised that Hun Sen would take part in the campaigning.

Im happy to see that the prime minister, who is the president of the ruling party, will come to take part in the election campaign. This shows that there will be no conflict for the upcoming election because we have competition with ballot papers, he said.

It will be very good if the prime minister ... took another step by discussing politics with the opposition party.

He added that the opposition welcomed peaceful competition during the election period.

The competition based on equality will mean winners win with honor and the losers will not be able to complain, he said.

Tensions have been high ahead of the vote and in advance of a general election next year, with the military and security forces becoming increasingly vocal and politicized. General Tea Banh, minister of defense, recently warned that the armed forces would smash the teeth of anyone protesting the results of the election.
[Editors Note: Last week, Cambodia hosted the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Phnom Penh, gathering hundreds of senior decision-makers in trade, business, and commerce. The forum covered entrepreneurship, the digital revolution, cross-border trade, and governance for greater collaboration between industry, government and civil society. On the sidelines of the event, VOA Khmers Hean Socheata and Khan Sokummono spoke to Arancha Gonzalez, an executive director of the International Trade Center. This is the second part of our interview with Gonzalez.]

VOA: What do you think about the number of women obtaining top leadership positions in ASEAN?

AG: There is a lack of women in top positions. Whether in politics, in businesses, in academia, the presence of women is not in proportion to the number of women in our society. This is the case not only, by the way, here in Asia. Its a the same across the world. If we look at the number of women prime ministers, heads of state, heads of government, and If we look at the number of women ministers, for example, ministers of trade, its very few. Yet, more than 50 percent of the population of the world are women. So we have to be asking ourselves the question why? Is it because women dont want to be in these positions? Or is it because there are specific obstacles to limit their ability to participate and reach those positions. And I think its more the second than the first reason.

VOA: How and why is it important to empower women in business, trade and technology?

AG: Its very important to empower women economically, because there is an economic reason to do that. Behind this, there is also a big economic story to tell. When we empower women economically, we obtain a triple gain. First, the countries that help their women to participate in the labor market grow more, grow faster, grow in the most solid way. For business, companies that are more diverse are more productive, have better wages, employ better. Societies that empower women economically, reduce poverty faster. Why? Because a woman, on average in the world, spends 80 percent of her income on her family or her community: in buying food, in sending their children to school, in sending the children to the doctor, in buying for the household. Its 80 percent in the case of women and its only 40 percent in the case of men. This is what studies done by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund showed.

VOA: What are the obstacles to women being involved in the economy?

AG: I think there are four main challenges. Challenge number one is that women face discrimination by law compared to men. In many countries, women could not sign a contract without their father, their husband or their brother. In many countries women cannot own assets. In many countries, women cannot open a bank account. The discrimination is written in the law. First, we need to address legal discrimination. More than 90 percent of the countries in this world still have at least one law that discriminates against women in the economy. Second, even if the law says the same, procedures are different. For example, in recent research we have done, we find that a women entrepreneur crossing borders is more likely to be asked for a bribe than a man. Third, in cases where the law and procedures are the same, for women to access credit, its more difficult than for men in business. Not because women are less credit-worthy. Fourth, women generally lack the networks that men have in the economy, networks in business circles.

VOA: Do you think the Cambodian government has done enough to empower young women?

AG: Its never enough. I mean, its nowhere near enough. There is no country in the world that has achieved nearly full parity. So, enough is never the case.

VOA: What recommendations would you make to the government to empower their young women?

AG: I think, again, education is a very important one, making sure that girls go to school, they get educated, and they get access to the same type of education as men, and that we dont use stereotypes. For example, if you are studying engineering, its for men, and if you want to study to become a teacher, thats for women. I mean we should move away from this stereotype. Two, I think it is very important to have role models in Cambodia. Use the example of women that have made it, in economics, business, politics, or at the schools, in sports, in sciences, so that other women can see these sisters of theirs, and its an inspiration. We, the International Trade Center, have our own contribution to make to the empowerment to women. We have launched an initiative called SheTrades to help women in business who want to be part of international trade, which is an important means to become more productive, more competitive, and to generate better quality jobs here in Cambodia.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
A group of women running as opposition candidates in the upcoming local council elections has vowed to prioritize development, improve administration and protect the price of agricultural products if elected.

Sin Chanpoeurozet, who is standing as a Cambodia National Rescue Party candidate in Battambang provinces OChar commune, said she would focus on infrastructure development and making administration more efficient if elected commune chief.

Currently, when people go to ask for stamped letters or receive other administrative letters, some of them wait for [years] to get those letters. Thus, when I am elected to be commune chief, I will make it easier and help the people to receive services in the commune in a timely manner, she said.

She said she would also attempt to alleviate poverty in the area and advocate for the government to increase transparency in funding allocations to the council.

In general, people never know how much the government gives to the communes for development, she said. So the authorities can do whatever they want.

Although the budget is not much, we need to provide the people transparency and honesty as someone who represents them.

Svat Vary, a woman candidate standing in Srah Raing commune in Bantaey Meanchey province, said one of the main concerns of her rural community was the low price of agricultural produce.

In my commune, all farmers cry during the months of selling paddy rice because they are finding it difficult to sell rice, she said.

Many of her constituents travel abroad for work, she added, so supporting the rights of migrant workers was also a priority, including assisting them to apply for passports and rebuilding damaged infrastructure, such as roads.

Millions of Cambodians are due to take to the polls on June 4 to elect new local councilors and commune chiefs across more than 1,600 constituencies.

Both major political parties, the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, have fielded more women candidates this year in an attempt to win a larger share of the vote. The CPP has fielded 131 female candidates while the CNRP has 103 women standing.
NATO leaders arrived in Brussels amid tight security for a summit Thursday dominated by the terrorist attack in Manchester, England.

It is the first encounter of many of the leaders with U.S. President Donald Trump, who during his campaign called the alliance obsolete for not effectively countering terrorism.

Recent terror attacks in Europe mean the U.S. leader may get the support he needs to strengthen the alliance's anti-terrorist efforts.

Thousands of leftist demonstrators marched in central Brussels Wednesday, protesting against both NATO and Trump. Some carried picket signs and banners with obscenities insulting the U.S. leader.

Disappointed in engagement

Some said they actually welcomed Trump's earlier criticism of NATO, but are now disappointed that he is engaging the alliance.



Trump said good things during the campaign. He said America would not be involved in the whole world. I thought that was great, demonstrator Frans de Maegd said.



But now his government is pressured both by Democrats and the Republican establishment who have him by the neck and he has changed his thinking and has a policy as aggressive as (former U.S. President Barack) Obamas, de Maegd said, referring to military campaigns the U.S. supported in Syria, Libya and Afghanistan during the past administration.



Trump arrived in Brussels at a time when Europe is extremely tense following the terrorist attack in Manchester.



The Belgian government deployed about 4,000 police, some heavily armed, and soldiers in Brussels ahead of the summit. Soldiers were seen patrolling streets, hotel lobbies and the city's underground metro system.



The mood is ripe for leaders to take decisive action against terrorism.



The attacks we saw in Manchester will be something which will be addressed, I think actually by all leaders in one way or another, because the attacks were brutal and they deliberately targeted children, young people and families, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg told reporters.

Trump's core message to members is a call to start spending their fair share, or 2 percent of their gross national income, on defense, something the NATO chief said is a goal for alliance members.

We are making progress. After many years of decline, total defense spending by European allies and Canada rose by billions of dollars last year, Stoltenberg said.

Defense spending

But spending more on defense is politically a hard sell for Western European countries with their hefty social welfare programs.



At a protest camp in Brussels, anti-NATO activists expressed concerns.



It means an enormous amount of money dedicated to war and an enormous amount of money that is not dedicated to things like education, health care and those sorts of things, said Stephanie Demblon, a camp organizer.



The NATO summit gets under way as recently elected French President Emmanuel Macron seeks to extend a state of emergency in France that was put in place in the wake of the 2015 coordinated Islamic State group attacks in Paris. It remains in place after further attacks in Nice and Normandy last year.

Demonstrators condemned Macron's move

The state of emergency in France has been prolonged too many times, Iverna McGowan, head of Amnesty International's European Institutions office, said as she joined the demonstrators in Brussels Wednesday.



While it's so important to protect, of course, civilians against hateful or violent attacks, this cannot be to the detriment of the basic safeguards that protect all of our rights stand for the kind of society we want to live in, McGowan said.

The recent spate of terrorist attacks in France and Britain mean NATO leaders will be more inclined to talk about war than peace.

This may not be the demonstrators' day.
On Africa Day Thursday, about 300 young African leaders appealed to African heads of state to rescue South Sudan's 2015 peace agreement.

The Archbishop Tutu fellows said in a letter to the leaders that the conflict in South Sudan poses serious national security threats to neighboring countries.

"We, the Archbishop Tutu Fellows ['Tutu Fellows'], have been following the events unfolding in South Sudan with great dismay. We felt it incumbent upon ourselves to write and urge you, as neighbors and key members of regional blocs, to leverage your relationships with political and military leaders on all sides of the conflict in South Sudan to revive a political process and chart a way forward for the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement," reads the letter addressed to "Your Excellencies," the presidents of Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, Namibia and Sudan.

Problem for all of Africa

Jackie Chimhanzi, chief executive officer for the African Leadership Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa, said South Sudan's conflict has become an Africa-wide problem.

"We felt that we needed to compel our leaders to act because we can talk about a peaceful Africa in 2063, yet we are not acting on South Sudan now, today," Chimhanzi said.

She said they purposely wrote the letter to the heads of neighboring countries because they have more at stake, adding, "the atrocities, and the war, actually those things threaten to spill over into neighboring countries."

Chimhanzi pointed out a number of Kenyan banks have had to shut down branches in South Sudan due to the insecurity, saying it's in their interest to work for peace in South Sudan.

The fellows urge the heads of state to deny South Sudan's political leaders access to amenities in their countries until they adhere to the peace deal.

Next generation of leaders

Chimhanzi said the Tutu fellows see themselves as Africa's next generation of leaders and therefore believe it's not right that "our current leaders continue to not hold each other to account, to support behavior that they know are not correct."

"It's time to be honest," Chimhanzi said, and to "speak to power, because such behavior is really not progressing the continent.

"We are watching 3.9 [million] people being killed, 4.9 [million] people are food insecure right now, there's famine, women and children are being raped; it cannot be right."

Chimhanzi calls the letter to the heads of state "a call to action."
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that he would ask the Supreme Court to review an appeals court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump's executive order limiting travel to the U.S. from six predominantly Muslim countries.

Sessions issued a statement saying, "President Trump's executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe."

"The Department of Justice strongly disagrees with the decision of the divided court, which blocks the president's efforts to strengthen this country's national security. ... The president is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States," the attorney general said.

Sessions was responding to a ruling earlier in the day by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, in which it declined to reinstate the three-month ban on most travelers from the six nations.

The court said the executive order did amount to a Muslim ban. "Laid bare, this executive order is no more than what the president promised before and after his election: naked invidious discrimination against Muslims," the judges said in their 205-page ruling.

A majority of the panel of 13 judges ruling in the case cited Trump's tweets, television interviews and statements posted on his campaign website as evidence of his intent.

Three judges dissented on the ground that the executive order did not mention religion.

"Far from containing the sort of religious advocacy or disparagement that can violate the Establishment Clause, the order contains no reference to religion whatsoever. Nor is there any trace of discriminatory animus," the dissenting judges wrote.

They also criticized the use of campaign material as evidence: "If a court, dredging through the myriad remarks of a campaign, fails to find material to produce the desired outcome, what stops it from probing deeper to find statements from a previous campaign, or from a previous business conference, or from college?"

In March, a federal judge in Maryland blocked the travel ban, which itself was a revised version of one issued in January that was tweaked after encountering legal roadblocks.

The appeals court majority did not think the second version was an improvement.

"Significantly, in revising the order, the executive branch did not attempt to walk away from its previous discriminatory order. Instead, it simply attempted to effectuate the same discrimination through a slightly different vehicle  the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing."

The Trump administration was given 90 days to appeal.

One of the plaintiffs in the suit, the International Refugee Assistance Project, vowed to fight "as long as it takes." IRAP's director, Becca Heller, said: "Once again, the courts have confirmed that the Muslim ban is discriminatory and harmful. The president cannot simply slap the words 'national security' on an unconstitutional policy and get away with it."

A part of the executive order stopping refugee arrivals for 120 days was not included in Thursday's ruling. But a second appeals court, the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, is reviewing the travel order on a wider basis, including the ban on refugees.

The original stay in the 9th Circuit case was issued by a judge in Hawaii.

VOA's Victoria Macchi contributed to this report.
Brazil's president on Thursday cancelled an order to deploy the military to the streets of the capital after criticism that the move was excessive and merely an effort to hold onto power amid increasing calls for his resignation.

In a decree published in the Official Diary, President Michel Temer revoked the order issued a day earlier, "considering the halt to acts of destruction and violence and the subsequent reestablishment of law and order." On Thursday afternoon, however, soldiers were still stationed in Brasilia.





The troops were deployed late Wednesday following a day of clashes between police and protesters demanding Temer's ouster amid allegations against him of corruption. Fires broke out in two ministries and several were evacuated. Protesters also set fires in the streets and vandalized government buildings. Images in national media, meanwhile, appeared to show police officers firing weapons, and the Secretariat of Public Security said it was investigating. In all 49, people were injured, including one by a bullet.



Temer's popularity has been in a freefall since he took office a little more than a year ago after his predecessor was impeached and removed. Some Brazilians consider him illegitimate because of the way he came to power, and his efforts to pass a series of economic reforms to cap the budget, loosen labor laws and reduce pension benefits have only made him even more unpopular. In addition, several of his advisers have been linked to Brazil's massive corruption investigation, known as Operation Car Wash.



Now, as part of the Car Wash probe, Temer is facing allegations that he endorsed the paying of hush money to a former lawmaker who has been jailed for corruption. Brazil's highest court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption after a recording seemed to capture his approval of the bribe. Temer denies wrongdoing.



Many Brazilians want him out one way or another: They are calling for him to resign or be impeached. The calls for resignation have heated up since the release of the recording and came to a head in Wednesday's protest, when 45,000 demonstrators took to the streets.



In Congress, meanwhile, opposition lawmakers have submitted several requests for his impeachment. Later Thursday, the respected Brazilian bar association plans to submit another such request  a move that carries symbolic weight since the association is not partisan.



The use of troops in the nation's capital is particularly fraught in Brazil, where many still remember the repression of the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship. Images of soldiers patrolling the streets increased the impression that Temer is struggling to maintain control and further ratcheted up pressure on him.



Temer defended the decision as necessary to restore order and within his rights.



"Order was restored, the respect of life and order was restored," Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said in a news conference. He also countered accusations that the move was highly unusual, noting that the military had been called to patrol the streets of cities 29 times since 2010.
The Saharanpur administration has imposed Section 144 and blocked the internet as measures to prevent the situation from deteriorating further in the strife-torn town.

UP Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra talks to the persons affected by the violence in Saharanpur, in Shabbirpur. (PTI Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: An uneasy calm prevails in strife-torn Saharanpur as the administration faces challenging task of bringing back normalcy in this western Uttar Pradesh town. Saharanpur has been witnessing caste based violence since late April. Situation got worse after a Dalit man was killed and several injured in violence on Tuesday.

The Yogi Adityanath government transferred the DM and SSP of Saharanpur for failing to the check the clashes between Dalits and Thakurs. JK Shahi, Deputy Inspector General of Saharanpur, was also transferred on Wednesday evening.

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HERE ARE THE TOP DEVELOPMENTS:

The administration has imposed Section 144 in Saharanpur to prevent any untoward incident. Internet services have also been blocked to deny rumour mongers any chance of vitiating the atmosphere further. The condition of the person who was shot at on Wednesday remains critical. The police has registered an FIR against unknown persons in this case. Muzaffarnagar SP has been given additional charge of Saharanpur after the Yogi government removed Saharanpur SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey and District Magistrate (DM) N P Singh over inability to control violence following fresh clashes in the area. A man was shot at on Wednesday even as Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra, who visited the worst-hit Shabbirpur village, said that the situation in the area was tense but under control. Shabbirpur is home to around 600 Dalits and over 900 Thakurs. Some unidentified persons had set afire 12 houses of Thakurs in Shabbirpur ahead of the arrival of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday. A mob later attacked a group of people returning from a rally of Mayawati, killing one Ashish (24), who hailed from Sarsawa town, on the spot and injuring four others. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said strong action is being taken against all those responsible for the violence in Saharanpur and appealed for calm, saying people should not pay heed to inflammatory speeches and help maintain peace and order. Some elements are not able to digest the good work being done by the state government and trying to disturb the atmosphere, an official release quoting the chief minister said. Saharanpur has been on the boil since April 20 when some BJP workers and Muslims clashed over a Dalit rally to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a Thakur rally commemorating Maharana Pratap sparked off violence as it passed through a Dalit neighbourhood in the village of Shabbirpur.

ALSO READ:

How Saharanpur clash promises to throw up new Dalit leadership threatening to dislodge Mayawati

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WATCH | Saharanpur: Section 144 imposed, Muzaffarnagar SP gets additional charge of strife-torn town

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Just as President Xi Jinping was launching the One Belt, One Road initiative to expand Chinas geo-economic footprint, a former high-level U.S. trade official raised concerns that Beijing has been reversing its policies of reform and keeping the market to itself.

Charlene Barshefsky, who worked as the U.S. Trade Representative under President Bill Clinton and witnessed Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization, told a group of corporate executives gathered in Tokyo that China has stopped the process of economic reform and opening, and instead has put in place a spate of measures that are zero-sum, highly mercantilist, and discriminate against U.S. and foreign companies.

Sinicizing the Chinese economy

Barshefsky accuses Beijing of Sinicizing the Chinese economy, all the while taking advantage of other countries open markets.

The former U.S. trade representatives remarks echo sentiments revealed in the latest Business Climate Survey put out by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which represents nearly 1,000 companies doing business there.

Respondents to the survey said it seems China has gone backwards  more regulations, taxes and local company market share protectionism. Others noted that despite a long track record of employing and training locals and investing in the local community, when the economy gets tough, the foreign firm is always seen as somehow not friendly to China.

Golden days over?

William Zarit, head of AmCham China, tells VOA that 25 percent of our companies are either reducing investment or not increasing investment  thats one out of four companies. Some companies are looking elsewhere in Asia, and some companies are looking back to North America.

In another sign of how China is losing its luster in the eyes of foreign investors, the latest Business Climate Survey shows the percentage of companies that consider China a high priority investment destination has dropped below 60 percent. Zarit points out that nearly 60 percent would seem to be good except that three or four years earlier, it was over 80 percent.

Watch: William Zarit, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China

Dangers despite continued presence

Every company has to be in China, to a certain extent, says Georgetown Universitys Ted Moran, professor of business and economics.

While a majority of companies may choose to maintain a presence, their decisions to expand less rapidly are also a danger, Moran says.

They may be there, but theyre not going to have as strong value-added, theyre not going to expand as rapidly, theyre not going to introduce their best technology, which in turn will confine China to a work bench economy, instead of one where companies feel comfortable bringing in operations with higher technology components.

Watch: Ted Moran, Georgetown professor of business and economics

A lot of things we have to consider

Barshefsky, the former trade official, calls on President Donald Trump to either renegotiate the trade relationship with China or to revive the Trans-Pacific Partnership led by the United States.

A Chinese trade official, speaking at the same forum, defended Beijings policies, saying the reform, although having slowed down, is still going on, and there are a lot of things we have to consider. The official, Long Yongtu, who now presides over the Boao Forum for Asia, also warned foreign companies to buckle up for stiff competition coming from Chinese domestic companies.

Resurgence of the state in the Chinese economy

Ever since China started accumulating more and more capital and demonstrating less and less hesitancy to use that capital to advance its interests abroad, many have voiced the concern that as Beijings investment spreads, so will its politics. Lately, concern over expansion of the state sector in the Chinese economy as well as the government-guided overseas investment strategy and potential consequences have grown louder.

In a report issued earlier this year by the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow, pointed to official figures released by the Peoples Bank of China that corporate loans issued to government-backed firms rose from 35 percent in 2013 to 60 percent in 2014, the latest year official figures were available.

While one negative of pumping money into state-owned enterprises is that less capital and less market share would be available to smaller, private firms, other concerns have to do with both the financial viability of this approach and how it could impact not only China but the United States and other countries.

In a sign of both the ballooning footprint of Chinese state-owned companies in the world economy as well as the uncertainties of their fates, three Chinese state-owned companies made Fortune Magazines Global 500 list in 2016, but two of the three, China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec (a producer of chemical products) saw significant reductions in revenue in 2016 (more than 30 percent from the previous year), and a loss of profit of 56.7 percent and 30.6 percent, respectively.

Rory MacFarquhar, a former White House economics and finance official, warns that if the Chinese government continues to prop up state firms that he says are more indebted, less profitable and less productive than private firms, and use them to channel Chinas plans and objectives abroad, it could have serious spillovers for other countries, including the United States, because the presence of these companies could potentially distort the competitive playing field, and their outward investment may raise national security concerns.

One Belt, One Road

President Xi promised that China would add billions of dollars worth of investment to the One Belt, One Road initiative. Asked if it is true that American companies are giving the initiative the cold shoulder, as some media reports have suggested, Zarit, the president of AmCham China, replied: A number of AmCham China members are closely following OBOR developments to gauge progress and substantive opportunities for their respective companies, although some members still view the project with a bit of skepticism.

Despite OBOR still being a fledgling initiative, the Chinese have rolled out this Xi Jinping presidential priority through an oversized summit with undersized substance. Having said that, American companies are interested in OBOR if it makes business sense.
British counter-terror officers have been conducting raids and making arrests in the wake of the concert bombing earlier this week that killed 22 people, including children. The raids are reassuring on the one hand, showing the police are moving fast. But they are adding also to a sense of alarm among Manchester residents.

That alarm is slowly morphing into anger as it has emerged British security services missed several opportunities to identify the Manchester suicide bomber, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, as a high-risk militant. Several people have stepped forward  from neighbors to mosque leaders and community workers  to complain about the lack of action by authorities after they reported their worries about him to counter-terror officials.

One community worker says he contacted authorities after Abedi said being a suicide bomber was OK.

Another community leader, Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: People in the community expressed concerns about the way this man was behaving and reported it in the right way using the right channels. They did not hear anything since.

Neither Britains domestic intelligence service MI5 nor the Manchester police have responded to the claims, but they are likely to be taken up by lawmakers demanding to know why Abedi was seen just as a peripheral figure rather than a threat requiring surveillance and investigation.

British authorities are focusing also on the international connections of the Manchester suicide bomber, who was born in Britain to Libyan parents after they fled to Britain in 1980 to escape the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Libya trip



Abedi travelled back to Manchester last week from Libya after visiting his mother, father, younger brother and a sister, who moved full-time to Libya after Gadhafis overthrow. His father, Ramadan, was at one time a member of the anti-Gadhafi Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, or LIFG, a militant Islamist band that was invited to join al Qaida by Osama bin Laden when its leaders were based in Afghanistan. Western media have taken to describing LIFG as an al Qaida subsidiary  a description rejected by former senior leaders, who say they declined bin Ladens invitation. LIFG subsequently split with some members joining al Qaida.

The whereabouts of Ramadan are currently unknown. On Wednesday night masked gunmen detained him while he was responding to media phone calls. Salmans younger brother, 20-year-old Hashem was also detained Wednesday night, by an Islamist militia in Tripoli known as the Rada Special Deterrence Force.

A spokesman for the 700-strong militia, a self-appointed vigilante force that has a fearsome reputation for harshness, said Rada had been monitoring Hashem for more than a month on suspicion he had ties with the Islamic State terror group, which has a powerful affiliate in Libya.

In a statement Wednesday, the militia said Hashem had confessed to IS membership, saying his brother, Salman, was a member, too. The militia claimed Hashem admitted he knew in advance about the plans for the Manchester bombing.

But a spokesman for Libyan authorities in Tripoli had a different version, telling British news media Hashem felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack. So after that, he told us, 'Having internet, I see the attack in Manchester and I knew that's my brother.

Link to Manchester



A strong Libyan connection to the Manchester bombing is a troubling prospect  not only for the British security services but for their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. If the Manchester bombing was directed by Islamic States Libyan affiliate, it would be the first time the group had managed to pull off a terrorist act in Europe using the North African state.

And it raises the possibility of more jihadists with Libyan connections and British passports bringing their fight to Britain and Europe, complicating the challenge European intelligence services already face with hundreds of European-born jihadist returnees from Syria.

But an Italian security official whos been working on Libyan issues told VOA the government in Rome remains wary of some post-bombing claims being made by the warring parties in Libya, seeing them as agenda-pushing. Midweek the prime minister of one of the rival governments in the country, Abdullah Thinni, who heads a government based in Beida, eastern Libya, said hed warned the British government it was harboring Libyan terrorists and sought to link the bombing to the Muslim Brotherhood.

No connection so far has been found to the Muslim Brotherhood, say British intelligence officials.

The Libyan connection to the bombing will likely have a major impact on European Union policy-making when it comes to the migrant flow into Europe from Libya. The interior ministers of German and Italy have been urging the EU to set up a mission along Libya's border with Niger in a bid to stop mainly African migrants from reaching Europe. Italian as well as other European authorities have long worried about jihadists infiltrating southern Europe as migrants, seeding themselves among thousands of sub-Saharan Africans making the Mediterranean crossing from Libya.But there is resistance from some EU member countries to the Italian-German recommendation.


The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday officially condemned the violent crackdown on protests outside the Turkish embassy in Washington last week.

"This timely resolution sends a clear signal to the Turkish government that we will not allow any foreign government to stifle the rights of our citizens," the committee said in a statement following the passage of House Resolution 354, which condemned the violence against what it deemed peaceful protests.

U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan thanked the committee, echoing concerns over the incident that have been expressed by U.S. lawmakers and diplomats for days.

The violent crackdown on peaceful protesters by Turkish security forces was completely indefensible, and the [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan governments response was wholly inadequate," he said in a statement. "I want to thank Chairman [Ed] Royce, Ranking Member [Eliot] Engel, and all members of the Foreign Affairs Committee for taking swift action on this issue.

The committee was expected to hold a hearing discussing the right to peaceful protest later Thursday.

The clash broke out between Turkish security personnel and protesters outside the Turkish ambassador's residence during Erdogan's visit to Washington.

Protesters say they were attacked by Turkish security forces as they demonstrated peacefully. Turkey blamed the clash on the demonstrators, claiming they aggressively provoked people who had gathered to see Erdogan.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate are urging President Donald Trump to remain committed to the 2015 Paris climate agreement. During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would withdraw the United States from the treaty signed by 195 countries, which Republicans claim is bad for the U.S. economy. Trump has promised to announce his decision after the G-7 meeting in Sicily at the end of the week. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports.
Less than two weeks before Election Day last November, federal agents descended on a hotel lobby to meet a Louisiana private investigator they believed had illegally tried to obtain Donald Trumps tax returns.

At the time, the agents didnt know if Jordan Hamlett had been successful  and they feared a public release of Trumps tax returns could influence the U.S. presidential election, according to a transcript of testimony obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The agents worried Hamlett could be armed and orchestrated an elaborate operation at the hotel Oct. 27, with plainclothes officers blending in with guests at the Embassy Suites in Baton Rouge. Other officers took up positions outside.

Trump tax returns

Authorities now say Hamlett was not able to get Trumps tax returns. He has been charged with misrepresenting his Social Security number, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.

Authorities have not said what Hamletts motive for getting the federal tax returns was, and they wondered in the documents whether he was working with anyone or planned to sell them or release them.

Every president since Jimmy Carter has released their tax returns in what has become an American tradition during presidential elections, but Trump so far has refused to release his.

Questioned for hours

According to testimony, authorities used an undercover agent posing as a potential client to lure Hamlett to the hotel. Instead of meeting the client, he encountered the agents, one from the FBI and the other from the Treasury Department.

Hamlett agreed to an interview in the hotels atrium and the agents questioned him for hours in hushed tones inside the crowded lobby, authorities said.

Hamlett immediately took credit for his genius idea to seek Trumps tax returns from a U.S. Education Department financial aid website before he was accused of anything, Treasury Department Special Agent Samuel Johnson testified.

He sounded somewhat, I would describe it as proud, Johnson said. We spoke in lower voices because there was a number of people passing by and the information that were discussing at this time relates directly to ... presidential candidate Trump and his tax returns.

Hamlett apparently tried to use Trumps Social Security number on a program that allows people seeking financial aid to locate their tax records, and transfer the information to the education website. The U.S. Education Department has not returned messages for comment.

Its not clear how he got the Social Security number, but agents did question him about the internet hacking group known as Anonymous, which had released some of Trumps personal information, Johnson said.

Neither Hamlett nor his lawyer, Michael Fiser, has returned phone and email messages from The Associated Press.
Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who became a national celebrity after speaking at last year's Democratic National Convention, has a book planned for young readers.

Khan's "This Is Our Constitution" comes out Nov. 14, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers told The Associated Press on Thursday. The book arrives the same day as his memoir "An American Family," announced last fall.



Khan is an immigrant from Pakistan whose son Capt. Humayun Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004. At the convention, Khizr Khan taunted Donald Trump for his divisive comments about Muslims and held up a pocket-sized edition of the Constitution, wondering if the Republican candidate had read it. According to Knopf, "This is Our Constitution" will help educate readers ages 10 and up about American history.
Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was injured Thursday when a bomb exploded inside his vehicle in Athens, officials said.



Two Bank of Greece employees in the car were also injured. All three were conscious and hospitalized in stable condition, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said, calling the blast an "attack."



"With all out heart, we wish Mr. Papademos and his companions a speedy recovery. The prime minister has been updated about all the events by the minister of public order and he will continue to receive updates,'' Tzanakopoulos said.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.



Papademos, 69,served as Greece's prime minister for six months in 2011 and 2012 after socialist George Papandreou resigned during the debt crisis to make way for a national unity government.

A respected economist and former European Central Bank deputy governor, Papademos steered the country through tough austerity measures and was credited with preventing the collapse of the country's international bailout at the time.
Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting that starts Friday, has typically been a relaxed affair in the worlds most populous Muslim country, Indonesia. But in the last few years there has been rising intolerance against activities like selling food during daylight hours. This year, after a divisive election cycle that marked the first true emergence of Islamist politics in modern Indonesia, many are preparing for the most austere Ramadan in recent memory.

There has also been a spate of disturbing crackdowns on gay Indonesians and a suicide bombing attack Wednesday in an East Jakarta train station. Experts have speculated that at least one factor behind the former is a desire for high-profile value signaling before the holy month.

Moral police

For at least the last five years, hard-line groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) have staged unofficial sweeps of restaurants, bars and clubs they claim disrespect Ramadan, during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, alcohol and sex from dawn to dusk.

Last year, a 53-year-old food stall proprietor in West Java was attacked by local officials for preparing food in daytime during Ramadan and forced to go into hiding. Jakartas Chinese-Christian governor Ahok tried to stem these groups, which operate outside official legal channels. But Ahok was unseated last month after an election during which his opponent actively allied with Islamist groups like FPI and heavily promoted his Muslim identity. As such, the countrys secular facade is dropping.

The emergence of Islamic majoritarianism means this years Ramadan will be more strict on a societal level, said Alissa Wahid, national coordinator of the GUSDURian Network for social activism.

Even though the police has repeatedly stated that sweeping wont be allowed in the past they generally actually took a soft stand [with them], either helping or escorting the sweepings, Wahid said.

Although Indonesia is an officially secular country that recognizes and protects six religions, Sharia-inspired bylaws have been on the rise in recent years  numbering about 440 in 2015, according to one researchers estimate.

Moral signaling

Both the police and the FPI habitually raid red-light districts and other sites of the sex trade before and during Ramadan. In 2011, FPI illicitly raided bars in Surabaya, East Java. That can be seen as a precedent for the last Sundays bust of a popular gay sauna in Jakarta, where 141 men were arrested at a sex party. Earlier in May, 14 gay men in Surabaya were arrested at a similar party and forced to have HIV tests. This week, West Java police announced a task force to target gay Indonesians.

The fact that all of these occurred in close succession is typical of the virtue based crackdowns before Ramadan, said Dede Oetomo, a prominent gay rights activist.

Theres very little social cost to it because few people vocally defend LGBT rights in Indonesia, he said.

Although it had been on the books for two months, Indonesias first caning of a gay couple for homosexuality, in the conservative, Sharia-ruled province of Aceh, happened Tuesday, adding grim context to the other raids.

Another twist to this turbulent month came in the form of a suicide bombing in an East Jakarta bus station Wednesday that killed three policemen and one of the bombers. Details are still emerging on the motivation behind the attack, but it adds to the chaotic feel of Indonesian current events.

Terrorist attacks frequently spike during Ramadan as extremist groups interpret the holy months imperative for heightened good conduct as a call to jihad.

The whole story

How the next month unfolds in Indonesia will be of interest. Bad news tends to monopolize headlines, and can distort the reality of most Indonesians Muslim life. Islam has been in the archipelago for at least eight centuries and been absorbed into hundreds of local cultures. Indonesians have historically debated even the starting date for Ramadan  it hinges on a point about sighting the full moon  which points to the plurality of traditions that can be good-naturedly accommodated in the region.

My stall will be open for business all day every day, Ramadan or not, said Ahmad, an observant Muslim who runs a fried-noodle food stall in South Jakarta. Im not worried about any sweeping. I dont even care if Muslims come to eat here during Ramadan. Its just not important. For me, or,  he gestured to the row of vendors sharing the sidewalk with him  really any of us.
Aid agencies warn that humanitarian efforts against hunger in northeastern Nigeria are dangerously underfunded and some communities remain cut off from aid and their farms as the military continues to battle Boko Haram.

Communities in northeastern Nigeria are facing the dual threats of hunger and the terrorist group known as Boko Haram. The zone has been identified by aid agencies as one of four conflict-torn parts of the world at risk of famine this year.

The United Nations Childrens Fund estimates that the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition will reach 450,000 this year in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Scott Paul, a senior humanitarian policy advisor for the international charity organization Oxfam America, was recently in northeastern Nigeria. He said the biggest driver for the humanitarian emergency is the inability for residents to access their farmlands, fishing sites and the markets.

I spoke with people who had to flee villages that were captured by Boko Haram and theyve since come back but they cant go a kilometer out of town to farm. Right now people are coming home sometimes under false pretenses," he said.

"Theyre being told that their homeland and home areas are safe and theyre coming home to find that the towns themselves might be safe but the farmlands outside arent safe. The markets arent safe. The roads arent safe. And in some areas that were working in there isnt even clean and safe water to be procured.

Nigerias National Emergency Management Agency says people internally displaced by the conflict can voluntarily go back to liberated areas as long as they feel safe. The Nigerian army provides road escorts several times a week from Maiduguri to certain communities.

But aid groups say many communities are simply not prepared for the large numbers of people coming back.

The Norwegian Refugee Council noted more than one million people have returned to northeast Nigeria since October 2015, and they are returning to towns that have no basic services or infrastructure. Nearly one million homes were destroyed or damaged by years of fighting, according to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima.

Earlier this month, Shettima told reporters it is still not safe for many internally displaced people to return to their homes. The governor said the IDP camps will remain open indefinitely, but that he hopes Borno state will be safe enough for full rehabilitation very soon.

The state capital, Maiduguri, is home to more than a dozen camps for those displaced by Boko Haram. Those camps have repeatedly been targeted by suicide bombings.

Recently, four IDPs who had ventured outside one of the largest camps in Maiduguri to go hunting were killed by Boko Haram, an official from a state-sanctioned vigilante group told VOA. Their decapitated bodies were found along a major road. Two weeks ago, Boko Haram insurgents killed at least six villagers who were working on their farmlands in a community just about 16 kilometers outside of Maiduguri. The fighters attacked the farmers as they prepared their fields for the rainy season.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in December Boko Haram had been crushed. But the military said mop-up operations are still underway.

The unpredictability of the security situation is hampering food aid. The U.N. World Food Program is delivering food to communities by road under military escort but says there are still areas it cannot access due to active fighting.

And humanitarian response efforts remain critically underfunded. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it has only received 23 percent of the $1.1 billion needed this year for Nigeria.

The World Food Program warns that the lean season has begun with the next harvest not expected until September. The WFP says inadequate funding means it will not be able to reach about a quarter of the nearly two million people in northeast Nigeria that it had planned to assist in June.

In its latest report, the International Crisis Group says failure to respond to the growing food emergency could have long-term security implications. VOA spoke to ICGs Nigeria researcher, Nnamdi Obasi.

If the crisis is prolonged, the frustration within the young people could make them vulnerable to all kinds of criminal engagements. Some of them could join bandit groups and just prey on communities trying to steal food, said Obasi.

Aid agencies are calling for urgent donor support and for the government to ensure that communities are safe enough for returnees to resume farming, fishing and market activities before the IDP's go home.
Joe Lieberman, a former U.S. senator from Connecticut and Democratic vice presidential candidate, has withdrawn from consideration to be the next FBI director, citing the potential for an appearance of a conflict of interest given President Donald Trump's decision to retain an attorney who works at the same firm he does.

Lieberman works at a New York firm headed by Marc Kasowitz, who has been hired by Trump to represent him amid probes by the Justice Department and Congress into possible ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

"With your selection of Marc Kasowitz to represent you in the various investigations that have begun, I do believe it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest," Lieberman wrote to Trump in a letter dated Wednesday.

A copy of the letter, which was first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal, was provided to Reuters on Thursday. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Lieberman's withdrawal.

Trump told reporters a week ago that he was "very close" to selecting a nominee to replace James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he said Lieberman was a leading candidate.

Comey fired

Trump fired Comey on May 9, a controversial decision given Comey's central role in the FBI's probe of Russian meddling in the election and potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials seeking to swing the vote in Trump's favor.

The Department of Justice appointed a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, to lead an independent investigation into the Russia matter.

Given Kasowitz's role, Lieberman might not have been able to participate in the Russia investigation for a period of two years without White House and Justice Department waivers, Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, told Reuters on Wednesday.

A federal regulation restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm's clients for one year, a period that was extended to two years under an executive order Trump signed in January.

CNN, citing an unnamed senior administration official, reported Wednesday that Trump wanted to renew the search for an FBI director after having interviewed a number of candidates, including Lieberman.

On Thursday, citing unnamed sources, CNN said John Pistole, a former deputy director at the FBI and a former head of the Transportation Security Administration, was under consideration.
Shah Rukh Khan appeared out of his element last night when he met Brad Pitt. Perhaps, he could take a few notes from Rajinikanth?

By India Today Web Desk: When Rajinikanth made his debut in films, critics and audiences alike realised that, yes, this man had charisma, but was he hero material?

You see Indian cinema heroes were always fair-skinned. Why? Either the filmmakers preferred to have their heroes fair or the masses wanted fair heroes. Consequently, the villain was dark-skinned. Dark was associated with bad, or at the very least, the complexion of the commoner. But even with Rajinikanth playing the baddie in film after film such as Apoorva Raagangal, Moondru Mudichu and Avargal, the people would scream, shout and hoot for Rajini. Soon enough, filmmakers realised that despite his so-called commoners' looks, Rajinikanth was a born-star. Thus, he began getting cast as the hero, and the rest is, as they say, history, because Rajinikanth never let his so-called inadequacies stop him from being the person that he could ultimately be.

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Fast forward a few years later, and come up north. Shah Rukh Khan became a sensation in Bollywood with his negative, anti-hero roles such as those in Darr, Baazigar and Anjaam. These films became hits despite the leading man being shown as a murdering psychopath. What was wrong?

Soon, just like Rajinikanth, Shah Rukh Khan began being cast as the hero in films. And the Badshah was born. A man who always stood up for what he believed in, be it his values or the choice of roles, ultimately reached the top, just like Rajini.

Why bring up Shah Rukh Khan right after Rajinikanth?

Because even though both stars achieved super-stardom during the same decade, the '90s, and even though both are loved, revered and respected all across the country, somehow, one man has come to terms with his identity and the other just hasn't; the former being Rajinikanth and the latter being SRK.

Case in point: Shah Rukh Khan's meeting with Brad Pitt last night in Mumbai.

Shah Rukh Khan and Brad Pitt (Courtesy: @NetflixIndia/Twitter)

While Brad Pitt was present to talk about his new film, the Netflix production War Machine, Shah Rukh Khan was a guest at the event sharing the stage with Pitt to add his two cents on Bollywood. While Brad Pitt was nonchalant, ever-curious and casual, Shah Rukh Khan appeared to be trying a bit too hard to hold his own. At one point, he just had to, like always, mention his hands-spread-wide signature step. Ten years ago, it was self-deprecation. Today, when you are mentioning it everywhere on numerous global platforms, it becomes trite.

Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Kal Ho Naa Ho

Thankfully, Shah Rukh Khan did not break into the Lungi Dance, something he feels is still in; which is why he had to do it at the 2017 TED Conference. Before that, he got Rush Hour director Brett Ratner to accompany him at a Lungi Dance routine in April. He did it when he gave his speech at the University of Edinburgh in 2015. And of course, on every award show SRK has ever been in since the release of Chennai Express. It is almost as if Shah Rukh Khan's cultural currency begins and stops at Lungi Dance.

With #KingKhan @iamsrk doing the #LungiDance during the @sffilm Inspiring, humble, a great dancer, and smells great too!! A post shared by Brett Ratner (@brettrat) on Apr 14, 2017 at 11:17pm PDT

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In contrast, when Rajinikanth shares the stage with any other star of equal stature and box-office value, for example, Amitabh Bachchan or Salman Khan, he does not talk or find the need to talk rubbish in a bid to appear appealing. Rajinikanth, a superstar like SRK, conducts himself as a mature, stoic, calm man, not in a rush to please everyone around him. Or at least, Rajini does not a grab a mic and go all ballistic in a roomful of audience, shouting his 'mass dialogues'.

When Rajini meets another star, it is not he who goes out of his way to praise or please the other. The equation works the other way round. Just last year during the release of Kabali, as the press and stars from various parts of the country gravitated towards Thalaivar, Amitabh Bachchan told Hindustan Times, "Rajinikanth is phenomenal. The largest, the best and truly the boss of Indian cinema. Outside of Tamil Nadu, people have no idea what he is all about. The adulation, the following is incomparable. We are friends and colleagues. I abhor epithets, but for him I will make exceptions, for he is truly exceptional."

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He went on to add, "Look where he came from and what he has become. Sheer hard work, talent and the belief that he could do it. And he did! He is a fantastic living example for the youth. Despite his extraordinary career he has remained a simple, down-to-earth person. Do you know? a Fiat car he bought when he had attained his early success remained with him till recently? Rajini is terrific company on the sets and a fine gentleman. He's religious, traditional and charitable."

Perhaps, Shah Rukh Khan could take a leaf from Rajinikanth's book and walk-and-talk like the true superstar he really is? Spare the Lungi dances?

ALSO READ: This is what Shah Rukh Khan and Brad Pitt discussed at the War Machine premiere

ALSO READ: Three things Shah Rukh Khan and Brad Pitt could learn from each other

WATCH: Shah Rukh Khan talks about the making of Raees and playing negative characters

--- ENDS ---

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Developments Wednesday concerning President Donald Trump include his visit with Pope Francis, and his desire to "pursue peace," the agenda for Thurday's NATO summit in Brussels, congressional subpoenas for his former national security adviser, and the Congressional Budget Office releasing its estimates on the cost of his health care plan:

Trump 'Determined to Pursue Peace' After Talks with Pope -- President Donald Trump says he is "more determined than ever to pursue peace in our world" following wide-ranging talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday. The White House says the two sides discussed "how religious communities can combat human suffering" in places such as Syria, Libya and Islamic State controlled territory.

Roman Catholics Hope Vatican Visit Will Signal Trump-Pope Reset -- U.S. President Donald Trumps visit Wednesday to Rome brought parts of the center of the ancient city to a grinding halt. Views about President Trump on the streets were decidedly mixed. As Pope Francis welcomed the U.S. leader to the Vatican for their first-ever face-to-face encounter, Eva, a devout Catholic from Boston visiting Rome and the Holy See, expressed relief that the meeting had even taken place. I think it was fabulous that the pope decided to meet with Trump, she said.

Israelis Elated, Palestinians Disappointed by Trump Visit -- In a country where symbolism is so important, President Donald Trump made a number of important gestures during his visit to the Holy Land this week, leaving Israelis elated and Palestinians disappointed.

Trump: Terrorism 'No. 1' Issue Ahead of NATO Meeting -- Ahead of meetings this week with NATO leaders, President Donald Trump has called terrorism the number one problem currently facing the world, and said we are making tremendous progress in the fight against terror. Trump, meeting Wednesday with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in Brussels, said the U.S. and NATO will work on various problems, but Trump pointed to the suicide bombing Monday in Britain and noted that terrorism is at the top of the list.

WATCH: VOA's Luis Ramirez on the NATO summit

Europe's Leaders Hope for Change at NATO Summit -- NATO leaders are going to Brussels for a summit meeting on Thursday expecting to agree on key principles. With Monday's attack in Britain overshadowing the meeting, there will be quick consensus on the need to keep fighting terrorism both at home and abroad, in places like Afghanistan. How to do it is a different question.

Trump's Trip Provides Respite from Russia Controversy -- President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East and Europe allowed him to escape the political turmoil in Washington for a time, but bad poll numbers seem to follow him no matter where he goes. A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that 54 percent of those surveyed thought Trump was abusing the powers of his office. Forty-three percent disagreed. Trump's public approval rating stood at 37 percent, with 55 percent disapproving.

Senate Panel Redoubles Effort to Acquire Flynn Records -- While newly-appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller gets to work investigating Russian meddling in last year's U.S. presidential election and any coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign, the Senate Intelligence Committee is continuing a probe of its own. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is squarely in the committee's sights.

US Congressional Panels Issuing New Subpoenas to Ex-Trump National Security Adviser -- U.S. congressional panels are issuing new subpoenas to Michael Flynn, in an effort to force him to turn over documents and testify about his brief tenure as President Donald Trump's first national security adviser.

Report: 23 Million Would Lose Health Insurance Under GOP Bill -- An estimated 23 million Americans will lose health insurance over a 10-year period under the Republican health care bill aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says. The CBO released its analysis of the House-passed bill on Wednesday, giving the public an estimate of the impact the measure would have on health coverage, premiums and the nation's budget. It says more consumers would have pared down coverage and many more would face higher deductibles under the bill, which was narrowly approved 217-213 on May 4.

Treasury Chief to Congress: Raise Debt Limit Before August -- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers on Wednesday that they should vote to increase the government's borrowing authority  and avert a disastrous economic default  before their August recess. Within hours, the conservative House Freedom Caucus said it would oppose such a vote unless certain conditions are met.

S. Korean President Wants to Help Trump Make Deal with North -- Newly-elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in is intent on reopening inter-Korean channels of dialogue and engagement, despite Pyongyangs continued missile tests and U.S. calls for increased sanctions.

Israel Alters Intelligence Sharing with US -- Israel says it has changed its intelligence-sharing protocols with the United States after President Donald Trump disclosed classified information to Russian diplomats earlier this month that had come from Israel, even though Tel Aviv had not assented to his handing it to another country.

Britain Irritated by US Intel Leaks -- Britain is criticizing U.S. intelligence officials for leaking information to journalists after a suicide attack Monday in Manchester. British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she had lodged a complaint with the United States after details about the Manchester attack were published by U.S. media outlets before being released by British authorities.

US FBI Director Search: Back to Drawing Board for Trump Team? -- A week after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was close to picking a new FBI director to replace the one he fired, the White House has decided to renew its search, CNN reported Wednesday. The Republican president said last Thursday that he was "very close" to selecting a new head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to replace James Comey, and that former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman was among the top candidates.

Report: Russians Looked to Sway Trump Through Advisers -- Senior Russian intelligence and political officials discussed how to influence Donald Trump through his advisers, according to information gathered by American spies last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Citing three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence, the newspaper said the conversations focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump presidential campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, a retired general who was then advising Trump.

On Syrian Border, Haley Confronts Civil War's Reality -- President Donald Trump's U.N. envoy set foot Wednesday in the no-man's-land between Syria and Turkey, witnessing the precarious transfer of aid supplies into a seemingly interminable conflict. That reality is far removed from America's years-old hope for President Bashar Assad to leave power and speedily end the civil war.

Treasury Chief Says US Reviewing Iran's Aircraft Licenses -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that his department is reviewing licenses for Boeing Co and Airbus to sell aircraft to Iran, telling lawmakers he will increase sanctions pressure on Iran, Syria and North Korea.
U.S. President Donald Trump's budget director told the Senate Budget Committee Thursday that Republican legislation aimed at revamping the nation's health care law would curtail the growth of health care costs.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report Wednesday estimating the bill, which narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, would achieve $119 billion in savings over 10 years.

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told lawmakers that the bill would achieve savings through "structural changes" that would "put the states much more in control over how they administer health care at the local level."

The savings would result from relaxing requirements on the quality of coverage insurers would have to provide and because of cuts in the number of people who would be covered under the current law's expansion of Medicaid, a state-based program for low-income people.

Sanders critical of measure

The measure was harshly criticized by independent Senator and former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who said the House bill is reflective of Trump's proposal to cut $3.6 trillion in government spending over the next decade, partially by cutting taxes for wealthy Americans.

"If you are a member of the Trump family, you may receive a tax break of up to $4 billion," Sanders said. "But if you are a child of a low-income family, you could well lose the health insurance you currently have through the children's health insurance program and massive cuts to Medicaid."

The CBO estimates 23 million Americans would lose health insurance over a 10-year period under the Republican health care bill.

Higher deductibles

The CBO analysis gives the public an estimate of the impact the measure would have on health coverage, premiums and the nation's budget. In addition to pared down coverage, many consumers would face higher deductibles under the bill, which was narrowly approved 217-213 on May 4.

Replacing the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, was a priority of Donald Trump during his presidential campaign, and of Republican lawmakers since its enactment in 2010.

The CBO issued two reports on earlier versions of the Republican legislation, called the American Health Care Act, in March. Both concluded that the bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 24 million over a period of 10 years.

The reports also projected the bill would increase premiums by an average of 15 to 20 percent over a 2-year period, but push them 10 percent lower than they would otherwise be by 2026.

Some conservative and moderate Republican lawmakers abandoned their support for the measure and crafted new language for a revised bill that narrowly won House approval.

More decisions for states

The new provisions would allow states to permit insurance companies to increase premiums on some people with pre-existing conditions and waive the federal "essential health benefits" requirement. States also would get permission to allow insurers to charge higher premiums for older people.

Democratic lawmakers have attacked the changes, maintaining they are designed to victimize people with serious health problems that require expensive medical care.

The latest bill would cut taxes by about $1 trillion over a decade, mostly for higher income people and health insurers, the CBO said. It would replace former U.S. president Barack Obama's tax subsidies for health insurance consumers with tax credits based largely on age instead of income.
While NATO heads of states are meeting in their newest headquarters to discuss increasing defense budget spending, leading peace activists from around the world are gathered for a counter-summit to advocate for less militarization.

Military spending will be one of the issues topping the NATO summit agenda Thursday in Brussels. Increasing defense spending to 2 percent of GDP is a requirement for member countries, but only five of the 28 abide by this rule.





President Donald Trump has been vocal since his campaign that other member states need to meet the budget obligation.



Elsewhere in Brussels, more than 100 international peace activists are holding their own summit, focusing not only on less military spending, but on completely phasing out NATO over a number of years.





Ingeborg Breines of International Peace Bureau says the arguments against NATO are economic, social and environmental.



We think that the costs are so high for the military that we dont have the means to cater to the means of people. The effects of societies of war are that they migrate by need. And ecologically, we misuse national resources such as minerals and energy and dig oils to keep the military machine going.



The U.S. president had called NATO obsolete during his campaign, but said in April that NATO has been the bulwark of international peace and security.

Left-wing French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, who wanted France to leave NATO, received close to 20 percent of the vote during the first round of presidential elections there a month ago; a study by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center, however, shows citizens of most NATO countries are in favor of the military alliance.



Ann Wright is a retired U.S. army colonel and former diplomat. She resigned over the Iraq war in 2003 and is now part of Veterans for Peace. Wright is worried about the militarization of U.S. foreign policy, although she admits it is unlikely NATO will ever disappear.



If you look at the reduction in militarization of the world, we have been a failure. But theres another way to look at this. I think its totally possible and there should be a huge reduction in the amount of money thats spent by each of the nations. The increase that has happened since the annexation of Crimea by Russia is extraordinary.



The day before the summit, a large demonstration was held in Brussels against President Trump's visit, but many signs at the protest also were critical of NATO.

The outcomes of the counter-summit and how to slowly phase out budgets for NATO are not shared with the heads of states as there is no interaction between the two, according to organizer Ludo De Brabander.



Even if we would like to, it would be difficult. I dont think these kinds of summits take us very serious. Because we have messages that are really very much opposed to what their aims are. But we organize this because its very important to inform the population," said De Brabander. "If we do a demonstration, its a very public event. And for us its very important to tell people what NATO really is. And that its not in the interest of the population to have an organization such as NATO.



The counter-summits have been organized since 2009, always coinciding with the bloc's summits.



With NATO having just agreed to increase support to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, its likely that military budgets are staying even or increasing. NATO accounts for more than half of all money that is spent world wide on military budgets. And the new headquarters, inaugurated at the summit on Thursday, was reported to have cost over $1 billion.
California-based company Rocket Lab said Thursday it had launched a test rocket into space from its New Zealand launch pad, although the rocket didnt reach orbit as hoped.



The company said its Electron rocket lifted off at 4:20 p.m. Thursday and reached space three minutes later.



It has been an incredible day and Im immensely proud of our talented team, company founder Peter Beck said in a statement.



Beck, a New Zealander, said the early stages of the mission went well.



We didnt quite reach orbit and well be investigating why, however reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position, he said.

More tests approved

Rocket Lab was given official approval last week to conduct three test launches from the remote Mahia Peninsula on the North Island. The company hopes to begin commercial launches later this year and eventually launch about one rocket every week.



The company said it will target getting to orbit on the second test and will look to carry the maximum payload.



New Zealand has never had a space program but officials hope regular launches could change perceptions of the South Pacific nation and generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year in revenue.



Rocket Lab plans to keep costs low by using lightweight, disposable rockets with 3D-printed engines. It sees an emerging market in delivering lots of small devices into low Earth orbit. The satellites would be used for everything from monitoring crops to providing internet service.

New space club member



Politicians are rushing through new space laws and the government has set up a boutique space agency, which employs 10 people.



So far, its only superpowers that have gone into space, Simon Bridges, New Zealands economic development minister, told The Associated Press last week. For us to do it, and be in the first couple of handfuls of countries in the world, is pretty impressive.



Rocket Labs Electron rocket is unusual in many respects. It carries only a small payload of about 150 kilograms (331 pounds). Its made from carbon fiber and uses an electric engine. Rocket Lab says each launch will cost just $5 million, a tiny fraction of a typical rocket launch.



Its a different plan than some other space companies like Elon Musks SpaceX, which uses larger rockets to carry bigger payloads.



Rocket Lab was founded by Beck and is privately held. The company has received about $150 million in venture capital funding.
North Korea has called South Korea's recent firing of warning shots at the border a reckless military provocation aimed at promoting anti-Pyongyang sentiments and maintaining a confrontation on the peninsula.

South Korea fired warning shots Tuesday after detecting an object flying across the border from North Korea. Seoul later said the object was probably a balloon carrying Pyongyang's propaganda leaflets.

The North's General Staff on Thursday accused Seoul of fabricating the incident, saying South Korean soldiers fired 450 rounds of shots at a flock of birds.

It warned in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that North Korea will closely watch how South Korea's confrontation hysteria would develop.

The Koreas face off across the world's most heavily armed border, and their militaries occasionally clash.
North Korea appears determined to make headway in its nuclear and missile programs, despite South Korea's diplomatic overture aimed at restoring peace on the divided peninsula, U.S. experts say.

Since taking office this month, President Moon Jae-in, of the Democratic Party of Korea, is taking a more moderate approach to the North compared with those of two previous presidents, expressing his willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under the right conditions and making conciliatory gestures.

A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry said Monday that it would consider allowing nongovernmental exchanges with the North, but only within the scope of international sanctions against Pyongyang. In 2010, Seoul imposed the "May 24 Measure," which banned nearly all exchanges between the two Koreas, in retaliation for an attack by the current leader's father, Kim Jong Il, on a South Korean navy ship.

Flexibility absent

"North Korea has no apparent interest in reconciliation with the new [South Korean] government, or in showing any diplomatic flexibility at all," Jonathan Pollack of the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies told VOA's Korean service.

Despite international calls to halt its nuclear and missile programs, Pyongyang remains obdurate, ramping up the testing cycle for its missile systems. On Sunday, the reclusive regime fired another ballistic missile into waters off its east coast, the second test within a week.

The North's state-controlled KCNA news agency said Sunday's launch of a new intermediate-range solid-fuel rocket, which traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) and reached an altitude of 560 kilometers (348 miles), proved progress in North Korea's stated goal of acquiring full nuclear weapons capabilities to strike the U.S. mainland. For decades, North Korea has claimed that its nuclear weapons are necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

Given Pyongyang's continued weapons testing, analysts say Kim's intentions are clear  he has no interest in diplomacy, even with South Korea's pro-engagement Moon, nor does he want to stop or reverse his nuclear weapons program.

"North Korea will not negotiate what it sees as necessary for its survival regardless of how much pressure is applied by the outside world," said Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington research group.

Eye on future talks

Other analysts attribute Kim's resolve to develop a reliable nuclear weapons capability to an effort to raise the stakes in future negotiations with South Korea and the U.S. to push for economic support and pledges of nonaggression.

"North Korean missile technology advances with each test, heightening the threat against the U.S. and North Korea's neighbors and potentially increasing North Korea's leverage if and when there are talks with either Washington or Seoul," said Sue Mi Terry, a former senior North Korea analyst with the CIA and currently managing director for Korea of BowerGroupAsia, a public policy consulting firm in Jakarta.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior defense expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, also said he thought North Korea was trying to "establish the terms of any future negotiations with Seoul and Washington and create certain facts on the ground.'"

"Pyongyang did something similar when President [Barack] Obama was inaugurated," said O'Hanlon, in reference to the North Korean nuclear test in the spring of 2009. "I believe they are following a similar pattern now with Moon and [U.S. President Donald] Trump  making clear they won't be intimidated, making clear they won't be pushovers, trying to create some real chips they can consider negotiating away, or not, if the price is right."

No outreach, no change

But Ken Gause of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, a research center for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, added that unless Moon further softened his approach, making significant concessions and aid to Pyongyang, the regime would continue its brinksmanship and there would not be any negotiation.

"Unless Seoul reaches out to North Korea with substantive aid, don't expect anything to change," Gause said. "All the Moon administration said is that diplomacy can't take hold unless the testing stops, and that is not enough to change Kim Jong Un's calculus.

"Whether the Moon administration is willing to go down this road, Pyongyang is willing to cease its testing at this point and the U.S. will support such an initiative remain to be seen."

Jenny Lee contributed to this report, which originated with VOA's Korean service.
Barack Obama received a rock-star welcome in Berlin as he appeared at a public debate Thursday with Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he praised as one of his "favorite partners" during his presidency.

Security was tight in front of the German capital's iconic Brandenburg Gate, where Obama and Merkel appeared on a podium before thousands of people attending a gathering marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Police helicopters patrolled the skies and snipers with balaclavas watched the scene from nearby rooftops.



After lauding Merkel as someone who had done "outstanding work," Obama launched a defense of his own presidency and the values of liberal democracy championed by both leaders.

Citing the rise of nationalism and xenophobia in parts of the world, Obama told the crowd that "we have to push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms."



In a veiled reference to his successor Donald Trump, Obama also spoke of the need to see development aid and diplomacy as essential aspects of national security policy.



"We can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall,'' he said, to cheers from the audience.



WATCH: Obama on refugees



Merkel, who hosted Obama at the same spot four years ago, was due to travel to Brussels later Thursday for a meeting with leaders of fellow NATO member states, including President Trump.



Thursday's appearance with Obama was criticized by some German opposition politicians as a publicity stunt ahead of September's general election, in which Merkel aims to win a fourth term.
Taha Siddiqui was relaxing in his living room with his son after work when he received a telephone call. On the other end of the line was a man claiming to be with the counterterrorism department of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency. The man, who Siddiqui said identified himself as Nadeem Bodla, a deputy director of the counterterrorism wing in the FIA, told Siddiqui to "drop everything" and immediately report to his office.

"It wasn't a courteous call," Siddiqui recalled. "It was actually a call where he was talking from a point of authority. The tone was intimidating."

As a freelance journalist working with several international outlets, Siddiqui had been covering military affairs.

His work had drawn attention in the past. Journalists who did not know him would sometimes call and urge him to rethink what he was filing, telling him authorities thought he was overstepping a boundary.

This was the first time, though, that a government entity had officially approached him. The move concerned Siddiqui, who feared an arrest over "illegal charges" or the seizure of his equipment that could compromise his work and sources.

Others questioned, too

Others, namely political activists and opposition figures, had been called in for questioning based solely on their social media activity.

One of them, Salar Sultanzai, tweeted from his handle @MeFixer that the FIA had told him to submit his cellphone and laptop for inspection.

Siddiqui decided to file a petition of harassment in the Islamabad High Court.

Interior Minister Ali Khan, in a news conference this week, maintained that the steps taken by the FIA were legal. The constitution, Khan said, barred anyone from demeaning the country's armed forces, its judiciary or its national religion, Islam.

"I assure you no one is putting any restrictions on social media," Khan said, "but a free-for-all social media is also unacceptable for a democracy."

He also said that only 27 social media identities and eight individuals had been identified for questioning and that no one had been arrested or harassed.

Party activists feel targeted

Opposition leader Imran Khan, whose PTI party held protests across the country this week, disagreed. He said the government was using excuses to crack down against activists from his party. Others from the party concurred.

"This is all political," said Faisal Javed Khan of PTI. "It's political victimization. They're picking our guys because they have been highlighting [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif's corruption."

Another PTI activist, Shahzad Waseem, said the crackdown went against the norms of freedom of expression. "Unfortunately, the government in Pakistan is trying to curb the voice of civil society of Pakistan," he added.

The current crackdown has revived memories of the disappearances this year of at least five bloggers. Many in the country blamed the intelligence agency ISI for picking them up for having criticized the military in their social media posts.

A countrywide uproar led to their return, but they were afraid to speak up about what happened. Most of them and their families reportedly left the country soon afterward. At least one of them told the BBC he had been tortured for pleasure by a government institution linked to the military.

Rules for social media use

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Khan directed the relevant government departments to formulate a framework "which ensures that social media is used as a medium to facilitate positive, constructive and healthy interactions  and not as a tool to propagate false information, pass defamatory comments, ridicule or humiliate sacred personalities, national institutions or jeopardizing social, religious and cultural values of any community."

He has also requested that the national assembly speaker reach out to all political parties over this issue.

Meanwhile, Siddiqui is waiting for his hearing next week to find out why he was approached over his journalistic work.
Philippine troops entered a besieged city on the southern island of Mindanao Thursday to begin clearing out Islamist militants who virtually took control earlier this week.

Two military helicopters flew above the citys rooftops as armored tanks rolled through its neighborhoods amid sporadic gunfire and explosions. Many of Marawis 200,000 citizens are fleeing to safety.

The crisis began late Tuesday when Philippine security forces launched a mission to arrest militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was believed to be in Marawi recovering from wounds sustained in a previous clash. The raid collapsed after a wave of militants stormed the city and went on a rampage, burning houses, a university and Catholic churches and taking hostages, including a priest and more than a dozen others at a cathedral.

The military says at least six government troops and 13 militants have been killed in the fighting.

President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the southern Philippines, and has vowed to take harsh measures against the militants. He also warned he might expand martial law nationwide.

Dutertes use of martial law has raised concerns among human rights groups, who have accused him of ordering security forces to kill thousands of people as part of his crackdown on illicit drugs.

The southern Philippines, particularly the resource-rich but poverty-wracked Mindanao region, has long been a hotbed of activity by the Abu Sayyaf and other fundamentalist groups.

Hapilon has sworn allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

His time as leader of the brutal Abu Sayyaf terror group, which has been blamed for numerous bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings in the Philippines, includes the 2004 bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay that claimed more than 100 lives.

The United States has placed a $5 million bounty on his head for alleged terrorist acts against American citizens.
A new study suggests that probiotics, so-called "good" bacteria that aid in digestion, may also ease symptoms of depression. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that what happens in the gut affects the brain.

Some 300 to 500 bacterial species inhabit the human gut, many aiding in digestion and the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Experts say some of these bacteria produce proteins that communicate with the brain.

Your gut, your mood

The gut flora not only play a role in helping to orchestrate the neural responses that regulate digestion, scientists say, but evidence is emerging that gut bacteria can also affect a person's mood.

Premysl Bercik, a gastroenterologist at Ontario Canada's McMaster University, researches what he calls the microbiota-gut-brain axis, or the communication between the gut and the brain through the millions of bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract.

Bercik said between 40 and 90 percent of people with irritable bowel syndrome, a distressing intestinal disorder, also battle symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Research led by Bercik suggests the gut bacteria themselves may have an effect on mood.

In Bercik's pilot study of 44 patients with irritable bowel syndrome and mild to moderate anxiety or depression, half of the patients received a daily probiotic  a beneficial gut bacterium called Bifidobacterium longum  and the other half were given a placebo. The participants were followed for 10 weeks.

"What we found was that the patients that were treated with this probiotic bacterium improved their gut symptoms but, also surprisingly, decreased their depression scores," Bercik said. "That means their mood improved. And this was associated also with changes in the brain imaging."

Depression, anxiety improve

At the beginning of the study, the patients' levels of depression and anxiety were scored. The patients also underwent high-tech brain imaging to see which structures were activated in response to happy and sad images.

At six weeks, 64 percent of patients taking the probiotic had a decrease in their depression scores compared to 32 percent of the placebo patients.

A second round of imaging showed changes in multiple brain areas involved with mood control in the patients who felt better.

While the participants' gut symptoms improved, Bercik said it was not to a statistically significant degree, suggesting the probiotic may have improved their anxiety and depression independent of symptom relief.

Results of the study were published in the journal Gastroenterology.

More study needed

Bercik says larger studies are needed to confirm the findings.

"However, I think that it shows a great promise," he said. "I mean new treatments, not only for patients with functional bowel disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, but it may also offer some new treatments for patients with primary psychiatric disorders like depression or anxiety."

B. longum was developed by Nestle, a Swiss food and drink company, which funded the study. It is not yet commercially available.

However, Bercik says it's possible other probiotics found in the gut have the potential to improve mood. And he doesnt stop there. Bercik says he envisions a form of personalized medicine using genome sequencing techniques to create microbiome profiles of individuals, which can be tweaked with oral probiotics for maximum health.
The actress is quite active on Instagram, and keeps sharing pictures of her family frequently.

By India Today Web Desk: Actress and model Shveta Salve gave birth to a precious little girl called Arya not too long ago, and she is as beautiful as her mother. Shveta, who is quite active on social media site Instagram, keeps sharing pictures of Arya. And we just cannot have enough of those photographs.

Shveta recently posted on her account that she is travelling to New York, America, with Arya.

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Also read: Shveta Salve flaunts post-maternity body in bikini six months after giving birth; see pic

The actress shared pictures of herself with her daughter and captioned one of them as, "Traveling Partner! #bestfriend #aryakikahani #travellingmom #babyandmommy #babygirl #babycarrier #nyc #newyork #america #wetravelintwos."

Here are the pictures:

Such loveliness.

--- ENDS ---
The International Committee of the Red Cross says that aid deliveries across front lines in war-torn Syria have significantly stepped up, compared to earlier years of the conflict.



A statement on Thursday by ICRC president, Peter Maurer, says there has been an eightfold increase in 2016 in aid deliveries, a trend that continues this year. But Maurer says needs remain grave.



He says people who have returned to their homes as well as the displaced need more sustainable, long-term assistance. Nearly half of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million has been displaced by the conflict.



ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek says the jump from five aid deliveries across conflict lines in 2015 to 56 such operations in 2016 was possible because of continued and improved dialogue with parties to the conflict.
Taking out insurance to protect against climate risks is the "wrong model" for improving countries' ability to cope and may even be worsening inequality and vulnerability, a leading development charity said on Wednesday.

A policy taken out by Malawi cost the drought-ridden southern African country $5 million but failed to deliver timely assistance to more than 6.5 million people affected in 2016 and shows that insurance is "poor value for money", ActionAid said.

Insurance is viewed by some as a solution for developing countries to cushion farmers against extreme weather that can worsen poverty and threatens to roll back development gains.

ActionAid said in a report there had been major defects in the model, data and process used by insurers African Risk Capacity Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd.) to determine a payout to Malawi.

"Insurance is not a quick fix for broken development, adaptation and humanitarian finance systems," Jonathan Reeves, the report's author, said in a statement.

ARC Ltd. did not automatically trigger a payout on the policy, citing "the model indicated a low number of people affected by drought," the insurer said in an email to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

ARC Ltd. rejected the findings in the report and said it had worked closely with technical experts in Malawi to customize the insurance model.

Malawi took out insurance based on a crop - long-cycle maize - that, as it turned out, most farmers did not grow in the 2015/2016 season. Long-cycle maize survived the drought, while the short-cycle maize most farmers grew did not.

After investigating the discrepancy, ARC Ltd. made a payment of $8.1 million to Malawi in January 2017, which ActionAid deemed "too little, too late".

The total cost of responding to the drought cost Malawi, where more than 80 percent of the population are smallholder farmers, an estimated $395 million, according to the report.

No quick fix

Last year, southern African states appealed for $2.9 billion in aid when the region was hit with its worst drought in 35 years, affecting 39 million people. Now, drought in the continent's east is pushing millions into hunger.

Insurance can be triggered more quickly than international aid, which can take months to fund.

ARC Ltd.s cover is based on a pre-agreed plan for how the government will use the payout.

The index-based insurance offers maximum coverage of $30 million per country per season for drought events that occur with a frequency of one in five years or less.

Twenty-five percent of land-locked Malawi has experienced drought more than seven times in the last decade, according to the United Nations' World Food Programme.

As of November 2016 around 6.7 million people, about a third of the population, were in need of urgent food or cash support.

Recent droughts have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon and an infestation of armyworms, an invasive Latin American pest that has decimated maize fields, a staple crop in the country.
Senior Russian intelligence and political officials discussed how to influence Donald Trump through his advisers, according to information gathered by American spies last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence, the newspaper said the conversations focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump presidential campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, a retired general who was then advising Trump.

U.S. congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department this month are investigating whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and collusion between Trumps campaign and Russia.

Russian controversy

The controversy has engulfed Trumps young administration since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agencys investigation of possible Russia ties. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

The New York Times report was the latest indication of the depth of concerns within the U.S. intelligence community about Russian efforts to tip Novembers election toward Trump as he battled Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan told lawmakers he had noticed contacts between associates of Trumps campaign and Russia during the campaign and grew concerned Moscow had sought to lure Americans down a treasonous path.

According to the Times, some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, who was subsequently named Trumps national security adviser before being dismissed less than a month after the Republican took office.

Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Manafort, who was dismissed from Trumps campaign, the newspaper reported.

The intelligence was among the clues, including information about direct communications between Trumps advisers and Russian officials, U.S. officials received last year as they began looking into Russian attempts to disrupt the election and whether any of Trumps associates were assisting Moscow, the newspaper said.

Former aide to testify

Separately, ABC News reported that Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trumps presidential campaign, would testify June 6 before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. ABC News said Page himself told it about the scheduled testimony.

Page was not immediately available to comment. A spokesman for the committee declined to confirm or deny whether Page would testify before the committee or, if he did so, whether he would appear in public.

On Wednesday morning, the top Democrat on the committee said it would subpoena Flynn in its probe into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election after he declined to appear before the panel.

We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information that we need, Representative Adam Schiff told journalists at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday they would subpoena two of Flynns businesses after he declined to hand over documents in its separate Russia probe.

Flynn, a retired general, is a key witness in the Russia investigations because of his ties to Moscow.

He was fired from his position at the White House in February, after less than a month on the job, for failing to disclose the content of talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russias ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

Reason for concern

On Tuesday, Brennan, the former CIA director, testified to the House intelligence panel that he had noticed enough contact between Trump associates and Russia during the 2016 campaign to justify an investigation by the FBI.

Brennans confirmation of contacts between Russian officials and members of Trumps team, increased the pressure on investigators to determine whether the Trump camp colluded with the Russians.

Schiff said the House panel had invited its first group of witnesses to testify, it is obtaining documents, and assessing who will cooperate voluntarily, and who will have to be subpoenaed.

He also told reporters the committee was trying to obtain an audio recording of any conversation between Trump and Comey, or Comeys notes on his meeting with the Republican president in January.

Schiff declined to comment specifically on what financial information the committee was obtaining, but speaking in general terms, he noted that one tactic Russians use to influence foreign nationals is financial entanglement.
A Senate panel has overwhelmingly approved new U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's support for international terrorism and its ballistic missile program, the first move to punish Tehran since a landmark nuclear accord went into effect.



Thursday's 18-3 vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee came days after President Donald Trump pledged common cause with Israel and Sunni Arab states to counter Iranian influence in the region.



"The bill passed overwhelmingly today [in committee] and I believe will pass overwhelmingly on the Senate floor," said the committee's chairman, Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee.



"If you think about what just happened with the [president's] trip to Saudi Arabia, this begins to coordinate a Middle Eastern strategy that counters Iran's aggression in the region. There is a move to push back against the many nefarious activities that Iran has been engaged in," Corker added.



Eight of the committee's 10 Democrats backed the bill, including Chris Coons of Delaware, who, in 2015, supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal.



"This bill shows a continuing determination by the American Congress to stand up to Iran's continued, even expanded malign activities around the world: their ongoing ballistic missile launches, their support for terrorism, their human rights violations," Coons said. "All of these are areas that are specifically called out in the JCPOA as areas where it is appropriate and possible for the United States, if necessary, to impose additional sanctions."



Ahead of the vote, a central figure in nuclear negotiations with Iran, former secretary of state John Kerry, took to Twitter to warn against new sanctions, writing: "There are many tools to up the pressure already in place and at our disposal. We need to weigh/consider risk to JCPOA."



That concern was shared by the bill's opponents in the Senate, including Democrat Tom Udall of New Mexico.



"Let's remember, the Iranians have just had an election, re-elected [President Hassan] Rouhani, who was a supporter of this agreement and he was re-elected by a big margin," Udall said. "So the first move of our government with this legislation is going to be to threaten the [nuclear] agreement. I think that's a very bad posture for us."



Such concerns are unwarranted, according to backers of the sanctions.



"We know that this in no way touches the nuclear deal," Corker said.



"Tehran can argue all they want that these areas for additional sanctions are not permitted under the JCPOA," Coons said. "The plain text of the agreement allows additional sanctions in these three areas [support for terrorism, missile development, and human rights]."



The committee's lone Republican to oppose bill, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, argued that punishing Iranian missile development makes no sense after President Trump inked a major arms deal with Iran's arch-rival, Saudi Arabia.



"If we want Iran to stop or lessen their development of ballistic weapons, we need to address the cause: the arms race in the Middle East," Paul said.



Between Trump's actions and the sanctions bill, no one is disputing that a shift has occurred away from the former Obama administration's handling of Iran.



"Some chose to believe that the regime in Tehran would respond to the JCPOA and the opportunity it gave the Iranian government to change their behavior, to engage with the West, to demonstrate that it wants to become part of the community of nations," Coons said. "In the last year their [Iran's] actions have proven the opposite, and I think it's now appropriate for us to take these steps [impose sanctions]."



Many will be watching Iran's reaction if the sanctions become law. Asked by VOA if he is concerned about how the bill will be viewed in Tehran, Corker shrugged.



"Are you talking about the people, [or] are you talking about this revolutionary leadership that is carrying out terrorism throughout the Middle East?" Corker responded. "I can't answer for both."
Egypt has blocked access to about 20 websites including Qatar's Al-Jazeera since Wednesday night, state media reported.

The sites, including Huffington Post's Arabic language site HuffPost Arabi and independent site Mada Masr, were blocked because they were allegedly "spreading lies" and "supporting terrorism", state-run news agency Mena announced.

The move comes a day after Khaled Ali, a prominent lawyer and former presidential candidate, was released on bail pending trial on Monday on charges of 'raising his middle figure' in public, which is considered obscene in some countries.



Mada Masr, known for taking a strong stance against corruption, tweeted a cartoon Thursday of a man in front of a closed wooden door in the desert with the caption "We have confirmed Mada Masr's website has been blocked. Stay tuned on how to find us again."

HuffPost Arabi also took to Twitter to direct readers to its social media accounts for continued news coverage.

The full list of disabled websites in general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's latest crackdown on media access was not released.

This is not the first time Al-Jazeera has been at odds with Sissi's government. Egypt drew international condemnation when it arrested three Al-Jazeera journalists  a Canadian, an Australian and an Egyptian  in 2013 and sentenced them to jail time. The three were later released.

Al-Jazeera's news coverage in the years following Egypt's 2011 Arab Spring revolution and the 2013 Sissi-led overthrow of the country's first freely elected civilian President Mohamed Morsi was intensely criticized by the Egyptian government.

Egypt currently ranks umber 161 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index.
U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are speeding up training in preparation for a looming battle on Islamic State's capital, Raqqa, commanders told VOA.

Without giving a timetable, they said about 50,000 fighters would be participating in the battle for the IS stronghold, with aerial support from the U.S.-led coalition.

"Special experts from coalition countries are supporting the training with clothes, weapons and other equipment," Muhammad Fathi, an SDF commander, told VOA.

The SDF is a loosely knit alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters that the U.S. sees as the most effective and reliable Syrian group fighting IS. The SDF has been closing in on Raqqa since November in a multiphased operation aimed at first isolating the city and then invading it. It recently claimed a major victory by seizing Syria's largest dam and Tabqa town, 50 kilometers west of Raqqa.

Driving IS from Raqqa is a major priority for the U.S.-led coalition. The U.S. announced this month that it would provide Kurdish forces around Raqqa with small arms, machine guns, ammunition and armored vehicles to counter improvised explosive devices and construction equipment. Washington sees arming the Kurdish fighters as the easiest way to bring about Raqqa's downfall.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered an "accelerated operation" against Islamic State jihadists in Syria, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said last week. Mattis called it a "tactical shift," saying the military would move away from operations designed to shove IS fighters out of seized locations, and instead focus on "surrounding the enemy in its stronghold."

Law and order

Kurdish commanders told VOA that hundreds of fighters were enrolled in seven-day training courses that would prepare them not only for the invasion but also to maintain law and order in Raqqa after IS. The training sites are in several locations in northern Syria, they said.

"Our goal has not been only to train fighters on how to take on the enemy, but also how to maintain stability in Raqqa," Fathi said.

A VOA Kurdish service reporter visited one of the training sites this week in a schoolyard in the town of Ain Issa, 50 kilometers north of Raqqa, where 50 young men and women finished a training program that Kurdish commanders said was supervised by the U.S.-led coalition. The graduates were dressed in green uniforms and wore light blue arm patches bearing the image of an eagle with its wings spread and emblazoned with the words "Raqqa Internal Security Force."

American military supervisors in the camp declined to comment.

But analysts and Kurdish activists in northern Syria say Syrian forces need training on how to use the U.S.-supplied weapons.

"The weapons are loaded on trucks and enter Rojava via the Iraqi Kurdistan's border on a daily basis," Jack Shahine, a Kurdish activist from northern Syria who monitors forces in the area, told VOA.

Shahine said the weapons are taken to military bases in Minbaj, Kobani and the Hasakah region, where U.S. special forces are present as trainers.

Turkish media reported that approximately 100 trucks have crossed into Syria from northern Iraq since May 15 with U.S. weapons.

Ankara opposes Washington's alliance with Syrian Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State. Turkey contends the SDF's Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the YPG, is a terrorist group affiliated with the outlawed PKK  the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a separatist group that has been battling the Turkish state for many years.

Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon told VOA that the U.S. government had yet to provide weapons to the YPG. He said the weapons would be delivered to the YPG as necessary to accomplish specific military objectives in Raqqa.

"We're not going to comment on every delivery, the contents of those deliveries or the locations of the equipment we're providing," Pahon said. To "the extent possible, we want to keep IS in the dark to increase our partners' chances of a swift military defeat."

Stepped-up roles



A senior Kurdish official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity said coalition countries  mainly the U.S., France and Britain  had stepped up their advisory roles to the group.

"The forces are equipped with newly provided advanced anti-tank missiles to destroy armored suicide vehicles," the official said. "The advanced anti-tank missiles are very new to our forces, and therefore more training is needed in that area."

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington public policy research group, told VOA that IS would most likely pose stiff resistance in Raqqa.

"Anti-tank missiles and anti-armor missiles are the top of the wish list since Daesh [an IS acronym] was able to acquire tanks, Humvees and perhaps MRAPs when the Iraqi army collapsed," he told VOA, referring to a type of mine-resistant military vehicle.

VOA'S Mahmoud Bali contributed to this report from Syria; Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb contributed from Washington.
A suicide car bombing and clashes with Taliban insurgents across Afghanistan have killed at least 25 security personnel.

The violence comes as the United Nations urges parties to the Afghan conflict to cease hostilities during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, beginning this week.

Local television stations quoted security officials in the embattled Helmand province as saying that a suicide bomber Thursday afternoon rammed his explosives-laden car into an office of the Afghan intelligence agency.

Initial reports said at least six people were killed and several more wounded. The district chief of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Tor Jan, was said to be among the dead.

The Taliban claimed credit for the violence, with a spokesman saying the massive explosion destroyed the facility in the Washir district and killed at least 20 people, including Jan.

The Islamist insurgency often releases inflated tolls for such attacks. Helmand is the largest Afghan province and is mostly controlled by, or under the influence of, the Taliban.

Meanwhile, officials in neighboring Kandahar province have confirmed that a Taliban ambush Wednesday night left at least 13 Afghan soldiers dead and eight others wounded.

Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said in Kabul that dozens of insurgents participated in the deadly assault that targeted an Afghan military base in the Maiwand district. He added that Afghan forces drove the assailants back, killing about 20 of them.

This was the second insurgent attack on a military installation this week in Kandahar.

Taliban fighters on Monday night staged a surprise assault on several security outposts in the Shahwali Kot district, killing at least 20 Afghan soldiers and wounding 15 others.

On Wednesday, the Taliban also assaulted security outposts in western Badghis province, killing at least six Afghan forces and wounding several others.

The increase in the number of casualties among Afghan security forces has been a cause of serious concern for the government and its international partners.

The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, has appealed for a cessation in hostilities during Ramadan.

"In the same spirit, I would like to call parties to the conflict to respect this religious obligation and halt the fighting," said Tadamichi Yamamoto.

Also Thursday, officials in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz reported that a Taliban rocket attack in the early morning hit a school in the provincial capital, killing at least one student and wounding nine others.

The deaths come as Afghan civilian casualties already have risen to record levels in the first four months of 2017, according to UNAMA.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will raise concerns with Donald Trump Thursday about U.S. leaks of intelligence on the suicide bombing in Manchester that police fear could hinder a hunt for a possible bomb-maker still at large.

After the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, police are hunting for accomplices whom they suspect helped Salman Abedi build the bomb that killed 22 people Monday in a crowded concert hall in the northern English city of Manchester.

But British ministers and security chiefs have been dismayed by leaks in the U.S. media that made public details about the British investigation.

May will raise concerns over the leaks when she meets U.S. President Trump at a NATO meeting Thursday, the BBC reported.

The New York Times published detailed pictures of the crime scene, including the remains of the suspected bomb and the rucksack worn by the suicide bomber.

The BBC reported that British police had stopped sharing information about the Manchester bombing with the United States, because of anger over the detailed disclosures. A spokeswoman for PM May declined to comment on the reports.

British police have arrested two more men in connection with the Manchester attack, taking the number of people in custody to eight, Greater Manchester police said.

Britain views the United States as its most important defense and security ally, and the two countries also share intelligence as part of the Five Eyes network that also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

After Trump defended his decision to discuss intelligence with the Russians during a White House meeting, Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Britain would continue to share intelligence with the United States.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers on Wednesday that they should vote to increase the government's borrowing authority  and avert a disastrous economic default  before their August recess.

Within hours, the conservative House Freedom Caucus said it would oppose such a vote unless certain conditions are met.

The timeline is earlier than previous estimates. It had been expected that Congress wouldn't have to act on the politically painful measure until sometime this fall, but tax revenues are coming in lower than previously estimated.

Mnuchin also urged the House Ways and Means Committee to pass the debt limit legislation as a bill without controversial additions, such as spending cuts sought by conservatives, that could complicate its approval.

We can all discuss how we cut spending in the future and how we deal with the budget going forward but it is absolutely critical ... that we keep the credit of the United States as the most critical issue, Mnuchin said.

Pelosi favors debt limit increase

Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, have promised to support a debt limit increase provided it's not weighed down by GOP policy changes. But such a vote is sure to be painful for conservative Republicans who opposed hiking the debt limit, presently set at almost $20 trillion.

In a statement, the Freedom Caucus said it would oppose a clean raising of the debt ceiling, and we demand that any increase of the debt ceiling be paired with policy that addresses Washington's unsustainable spending by cutting where necessary, capping where able, and working to balance in the near future.



The Freedom Caucus counts several dozen conservatives who wield considerable clout in the House.

'Extraordinary measures'

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told a separate House panel that the reason for the new deadline is that receipts currently are coming a little bit slower than expected.



Mnuchin said in a letter to lawmakers in March that that he has started employing bookkeeping measures to avoid breaching the debt limit.

Those maneuvers, set out in law, are deemed extraordinary measures, but in reality they have been employed numerous times by Mnuchin's predecessors to buy time until Congress could pass the legislation needed to raise the borrowing limit.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bookkeeping maneuvers Mnuchin can use will be exhausted by sometime in the fall.

Mnuchin has urged lawmakers to move quickly to remove investor doubt about any potential default. Lawmakers had been expected to wait until September or later to act.
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly lectured his fellow NATO leaders Thursday for not paying their fair share for defense, and he urged them to be more focused on terrorism.

"The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and on NATO's eastern and southern border," he told NATO leaders at alliance headquarters in Brussels.

Trump was speaking at a ceremony to unveil a memorial symbolizing the commitment of NATO members to the principle of collective defense, as outlined in Article Five of the alliance treaty. The memorial is a twisted piece of metal from remains of the World Trade Center, a reminder that the only time Article Five was invoked was after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

WATCH: Trump's remarks on areas Alliance needs to focus on

A conspicuous omission from Trump's speech, however, was any clear affirmation of the U.S. commitment to Article Five. Trump's refusal to endorse that principle on the campaign trail raised fears in Europe about whether the United States is fully committed to its defense.

The president made only passing reference to Article Five, saying "we will never forsake the friends that stood by our side." But White House spokesman Sean Spicer clarified afterward that the United States will not waver on collective defense."We're not playing cutesy with this," Spicer said. "He's fully committed."

Trump was quite clear, however, in scolding alliance members on the defense spending issues. "I have been very, very direct with Secretary (Jens) Stoltenberg and members of the alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations," Trump said.

The president noted that 23 of 28 member nations are not paying what they should, something that is "not fair'' to the people of the United States.

'Positive reaction'

Spicer told reporters afterward that the other leaders responded positively to Trump's call for them to work toward meeting NATO spending goals. "It was a very positive reaction and affirmation of the president's priorities today," Spicer said.

In his speech, Trump also said this week's Manchester bombing "demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism."

British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman told reporters the prime minister used the occasion to express her concern to Trump about leaks in the U.S. media revealing details of the Manchester bombing investigation.

WATCH: Mays on intelligence leaks by U.S.

Manchester police were reported to have been furious that the New York Times published unreleased forensic photographs from the crime scene, and U.S. media outlets announced the name of the suicide bomber before it was released by British officials.

Media reports said British police stopped sharing information with their American counterparts after the leaks. Mark Rowley, head of Britain's counterterrorism unit, said late Thursday that the two countries had shared resumption of intelligence-sharing.

Terrorism fight to top talks

Before meetings this week with NATO leaders, Trump called terrorism the "number one" problem facing the world.

In a meeting Wednesday with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in Brussels, Trump pointed to the Manchester attack as an example of the pressing terror threat.

"When you see something like that happened a few days ago, you realize how important it is to win this fight, and we will win this fight," Trump said.

"We have to be able to increase defense spending when tensions are going up. And tensions are going up," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday.

A senior U.S. official told reporters Stoltenberg expressed surprise in his meeting with Trump that anyone would question Washington's commitment to the NATO collective defense principle.

"Stoltenberg seemed bemused that it would ever be asked," the official said. "He [Stoltenberg] said deeds are what show the [U.S.] commitment to Article Five, and he came to the Article Five ceremony."

After Brussels, the U.S. president returned to the Italian island of Sicily for a summit of the Group of Seven major industrialized Western powers.
By Press Trust of India: Jodhpur, May 25 (PTI) A man who allegedly murdered his mother, wife of a police officer associated with the probe of the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, was arrested today from a hotel here.

Siddhant Ganore, 20, had fled his house after allegedly killing his mother and took a train to reach Jodhpur on Wednesday, police said.

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After arriving here, he stayed in a hotel opposite the city railway station, where the Jodhpur police arrested him this afternoon, they said.

Jodhpur police, after their preliminary investigation, informed their Mumbai counterpart, whose officials would be arriving Jodhpur to take his custody, they added.

The wife of a police inspector, who was part of the Sheena Bora case probe, was found brutally killed with her throat slit at their Vakola residence in suburban Santa Cruz in Mumbai yesterday.

"Siddhant had stayed in a hotel opposite the railway station. He purchased a new mobile phone and as soon as he connected with wi-fi and accessed internet, Mumbai police got his location," SHO (Udaimandir) Madan Beniwal said.

"On receiving the information from Mumbai police, we reached the hotel and detained him and brought him to the police station, where he confessed to have killed his mother," the officer said, adding the accused did not put up any resistance and accompanied police to the police station without any hesitation or fear.

According to police, after killing his mother with a kitchen knife, Siddhant had tried to slit his wrist but could not do so and fled leaving her mother behind in a pool of blood.

The officer said that he left his cell phone there and did not contact any known all this while.

"On Tuesday, his mother had asked for his progress report and was also to accompany him to college. This scared him and brought him under severe stress, under which, he decided to kill his mother," Beniwal said.

"We have arrested him and are awaiting Mumbai police to arrive in Jodhpur," said Beniwal, adding that his family members have also been informed, who also are reaching Jodhpur.

Meanwhile talking to media, Siddhant, a student of BSc Ist year, expressed no regret and alleged that he killed his mother because she was quite querulous and had made his and his fathers life miserable.

"I was under severe stress because of her nature. She would always quarrel with my father and keep scolding me for my studies. On Tuesday, she was to go with me to my college and did not want her to, so I killed her," he said.

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After killing her mother Dipali Ganore, he had a bath, gathered his clothes, stuffed them in a bag and fled. He took a train from Mumbai and reached Jodhpur on Wednesday through Surat. PTI COR SMJ

--- ENDS ---
U.S. President Donald Trump returns to Washington this weekend with a fistful of business contracts to boost his domestic jobs campaign, and commitments from allies for greater cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Maybe just as important, the exhaustive 9-day tour has provided the president a respite from his domestic troubles, giving him an opportunity to shine on the world stage.

But the trip also has raised speculation about the 70-year-old presidents physical stamina; whether he was exhausted when he botched a critical line in his speech to an audience of Muslim leaders, or whether the apparent stumble was a clumsy way of overruling advisers who wanted him to avoid controversial language he used on the campaign trail that opened him to charges of bigotry and Islamophobia.

It could be jet lag, or it could be intentional, Julian Zelizer, professor of history and political affairs at Princeton University, told VOA. Its easy to say [a person was] tired or worn out, but in some cases they say exactly what they wanted to say to begin with."



Controversial phrase

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly spoke of confronting radical Islamic terrorism, and excoriated Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama for avoiding the phrase.

But after what was described as a sharp debate among his advisers, the prepared text of his speech used the phrase Islamist extremism, which attempts to differentiate between the entire Islamic world and Muslim groups that mix religion with an extreme political ideology known as Islamism.



When he delivered the speech, however, the president deviated from the script, adding a few words of his own. Of course, there is still much work to be done, Trump said. That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamic extremism and the Islamists and Islamic terror of all kinds.

Afterward, an aide explained the presidential gaffe by saying, Hes just an exhausted guy. Trump also later backed out of a scheduled speech about social media, saying he was tired. His daughter Ivanka filled in for him.

Barry Strauch, who studied fatigue as an accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said while exhaustion cannot be ruled out, it is not a likely factor in Trumps case.

The president travels differently than anyone else. He gets to fly on Air Force One, which has pretty good sleeping facilities for a president," Strauch said.

Zelizer, who has researched Trumps earlier career, said Trumps strategic stumble would be consistent with his past practice in business.

If youve been following him since the 1980s, this is who he was, he said. So there is an element that this is President Trump as we saw him as a young man. Its the same person.

Misstatements

Trump has a history of misstatements and getting his facts wrong, prompting critics to accuse him of being untruthful. In some cases, the errors are obvious mistakes.

In a recent interview with Fox Business Channel anchor Maria Bartiromo, he said, Weve just launched 59 missiles to Iraq, prompting a correction from Bartiromo. Toward Syria, she said.

In another interview, he spoke about North Korea having had the same leader for more than two decades. While the same family has ruled for three generations in North Korea, current leader Kim Jong Un has only been in power since 2011.

Trumps ensuing stops in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Vatican, Brussels and Sicily are all designed to burnish the reputation of a president who is being battered by bad press at home.

Aside from a briefing by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson aboard Air Force One en route to Brussels, no spokesperson has gone on record, with the exception of a few brief quotes in response to queries.

The relative quiet has given rise to speculation about an imminent shakeup in the White House communications staff and strategy, as the administration seeks an image reset.

One possible result: an end to the daily White House briefings with Sean Spicer, which have become a fixture of afternoon television viewing in the United States.

Trump, a former reality TV star, is known to be unhappy with the way the briefings have turned into a media circus, but has resisted stopping them because they generate high ratings.
British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will raise concerns Thursday with President Donald Trump over U.S. leaks to the media revealing details of the Manchester bombing investigation.

In Brussels for the NATO summit, May told reporters that the deep defense and security partnership between the U.S. and Britain "is built on trust and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently."

"I will be making it clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agency must remain secure," she said.

In a statement issued by the White House, Trump said the "alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling." "I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to

launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

Police working on the Manchester case, who are furious about the disclosures, have stopped sharing information with their American counterparts, according to media reports.

WATCH: British PM on US intel leaks



The halt in sharing with the United States of police information about the attack will remain in place until assurances are received from Washington that there will be no further leaks, news reports said Thursday.

Various U.S. media outlets reported the name of the suicide bomber, attributing the information to American officials, before it was released by British officials. The New York Times subsequently published forensic photographs from the attack, which had not been officially released.

Terrorism fight to top talks

Before meetings this week with NATO leaders, Trump has called terrorism the number one problem facing the world, and said we are making tremendous progress in the fight against terror.

Trump, meeting Wednesday with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in Brussels, said the United States and NATO will work on various problems, but Trump pointed to the suicide bombing Monday in Britain and noted terrorism is at the top of the list.

When you see something like that happened a few days ago, you realize how important it is to win this fight, and we will win this fight, he said.

Aboard Air Force One, on the flight from Italy to Belgium, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump would be very tough on NATO allies Thursday and tell them you need to make sure you're doing your share for your security as well."

Trump wants to persuade NATO members to step up and fully meet their obligations under burden sharing the two percent of GDP is a target they all agreed to, Tillerson told reporters.

We have to be able to increase defense spending when tensions are going up. And tensions are going up, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday.

The defense alliance is expected to give the U.S. president at least one big thing he wants, a commitment to the coalition to fight Islamic State.

We do think that would be a really important step for them to take, Tillerson said.



Reassuring allies

Trump is likely to allay NATO members concerns about his administrations commitment to the pacts mutual assistance pledge, something that has been in doubt.

During a ceremony Thursday, Trump is expected to endorse Article 5, under which any NATO member agrees to come to the aid of an ally under attack. The only time it has been invoked was when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the United States on September 11, 2001.

Previous stops



Trump arrived in Brussels Wednesday following talks with the Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome. Trump said on Twitter after the meeting he is more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.

Prior to Wednesdays meeting with the pope, Trump spent several days touring the Middle East and meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as other leaders in the Muslim world. While speaking to dozens of Muslim leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he called for Muslim unity in the fight against terrorism.



After participating in the inauguration of a new NATO headquarters and a meeting of the alliances leaders, the president will return to Italy, specifically the island of Sicily, for the Group of Seven summit.

May is to cut short her attendance at the NATO leaders meeting in Brussels amid a critical-level threat of another terrorist attack in her country.
After the Chinese government detained her husband on March 19, Ching-yu Lee, wife of Taiwanese nongovernmental organization worker Ming-che Lee, dedicated herself to a rescue mission that raises international awareness and seeks his release.

Ching-yu Lee received a warm reception from senior U.S. officials and congressional members during a recent trip to Washington.

A State Department spokesman told VOA on Wednesday that Virginia Bennett, the acting assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor affairs, greeted Lee and a delegation of wives of human rights activists who are detained in China.

"We are aware of reports that China has detained Ming-che Lee, a human rights advocate from Taiwan, under vague state security charges and without access to a lawyer or family," she said. "We urge the immediate release of all who have been detained for advocacy on behalf of democracy and human rights."

Flight to Macau

Lee, 42, disappeared on March 19 after a flight from Taipei to the Chinese territory of Macau and before crossing a land border into mainland China where a friend was waiting, according to his colleagues in Taipei. His whereabouts remain unknown.

Lee's wife pledged to "continue to move forward" with the rescue campaign.

"As human rights workers, we don't have the rights to be pessimistic," Lee said this week after returning to Taipei.

Matthew Pottinger, White House National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs, shared his experience in a recent meeting, according to Lee. Pottinger was detained in 2004 when, as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, he was covering news in a village in China's Jiangsu province.

Pottinger told Lee to help her husband "learn to let go," if released, of all kinds of humiliation and torture that may occur during isolation and secret interrogation. "Help him to be at peace with himself," said Pottinger, Lee recalled in a blog.

Lee's case has sparked debate about whether China has the right to jail him.

China claims democratically ruled Taiwan is part of its territory, and it has never renounced the use of military force to bring the island under Beijing's control. The U.S. broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979.

Some ties continue

The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) approved that year by Congress allows the continuation of "commercial, cultural and other relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan" in the absence of diplomatic ties.

"Nothing contained in this act shall contravene the interest of the United States in human rights," the TRA says. "The preservation and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan are hereby reaffirmed as objectives of the United States."

Ross Darrell Feingold, a Taiwan-based American lawyer and political risk consultant, told VOA, "China's government won't be persuaded by arguments that it lacks the jurisdiction to detain Lee, as it will, of course, cite its broad national security laws as a sufficient reason to detain him."

Feingold, who is the Asia director of the Association of American Residents Overseas, said Lee's case is different from others. While there is a recent history of numerous detentions involving both foreign businesspersons and nongovernmental organization workers, "often those detained are based in China, rather than short-term visitors," he said.

Coen Blaauw, a spokesman for the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs, which promotes Taiwan's self-determination, told VOA that by "arresting and detaining Taiwanese citizens," the Chinese do not "enamor them to the people of Taiwan."

Looking to Congress

Lee and wives of other human rights activists detained by China  mainland lawyers Jingling Tang, Tianyong Jiang and Yang Xie  issued their appeals at a recent congressional hearing, calling on Washington to press Beijing to free activists and end torture.

ChinaAid, a U.S.-based nonprofit Christian human rights organization, said the wives presented the cases of their jailed husbands to American lawmakers May 18, asking them to "examine the torture, disappearances and detention of human rights lawyers and democracy advocates in China."

ChinaAid facilitated the meetings of activists' wives with U.S. officials and congressional members.

Amnesty International said Lee's detention raises fears that China is broadening its crackdown on legitimate activism, and it urged authorities to provide further details about his detention.
A week after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was close to picking a new FBI director to replace the one he fired, the White House has decided to renew its search, CNN reported Wednesday.

The Republican president said last Thursday that he was "very close" to selecting a new head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to replace James Comey, and that former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman was among the top candidates.

Trump left the following day on his first trip abroad as president, a nine-day visit to the Middle East and Europe, without naming a replacement.

Citing an unidentified senior administration official, CNN said Trump now wants to consider additional candidates for the job.

The White House and Lieberman did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Justice Department, which has played a lead role in the search, said it had no further information.

Trump fired Comey on May 9 in a surprise announcement that sparked days of political turmoil. Comey was leading the FBI's probe of possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian operatives whom U.S. intelligence officials say meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump and Russia deny any collusion.

Lieberman is a senior counsel at the New York-based law firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, which has represented Trump on various matters for years.

Trump has tapped one of the firm's partners, Marc Kasowitz, to be his private attorney while a special counsel investigates whether his presidential campaign worked with Russia to defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

If Trump were to nominate Lieberman, Lieberman might not be able to participate in the Russia investigation for a period of two years without a Justice Department waiver, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

A federal regulation restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm's clients for one year. This cooling-off period was extended to two years by an executive order Trump signed in January.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said last Wednesday that Trump was scheduled to interview four candidates for the position before departing on his trip: Lieberman; acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe; former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating; and former senior FBI official Richard McFeely.
A U.S. military investigation into a deadly March airstrike has found that a secondary explosion caused the deaths of more than 100 civilians in Mosul, Iraq.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said Thursday the investigation determined that Islamic State fighters had placed large amounts of explosives in a building that housed civilians and then began attacking Iraqi forces from that building.

When the coalition targeted snipers on the roof, the explosives detonated, killing at least 101 civilians sheltering in the bottom floors and four civilians in a neighboring structure.

U.S. Central Command said Thursday weapons and structural experts concluded, based on extensive modeling, (that) the structural damage to the building was in a different location than where the airstrike hit and was in excess of what could have been caused by the single GBU-38 munition used in the March 17 strike.

Neither the U.S.-led coalition nor Iraqi forces who called in the strike knew that civilians were sheltered in the building, Central Command said.

"Our condolences go out to all those that were affected," said Maj. Gen. Joe Martin, Commanding General of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command in Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. military looked at more than 700 separate video feeds covering 10 days of airstrikes in Mosul to determine the credibility of the civilian casualty reports.

The Pentagon has called the death of civilians in Iraq's northern city of Mosul a terrible tragedy.

"There is no military force in the world that has proven more sensitive to civilian casualties, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said shortly after the strike. We go out of our way to always do everything humanly possible to reduce the loss of life or injury among innocent people. The same cannot be said for our adversaries.

At the time of the strike, the Iraqi military cited evidence it said showed that Islamic State fighters placed explosives at the site.

"All of [the building's] walls were rigged with bombs, and there is no hole or signs that it was an airstrike target," the Iraqi military's Joint Command said.

U.S. officials have stressed to VOA that the U.S. military is fully capable of striking one building while leaving its surroundings unscathed.
A U.S. Navy warship on Thursday sailed within 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles) of a Chinese-controlled reef in the South China Sea, in the first mission under President Donald Trump to challenge Beijing's territorial claims in the disputed waterway.

U.S. military officials said the guided missile destroyer USS Dewey passed near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands.

U.S. military spokesman Major Jamie Davis said the United States was continuing its operations aimed at upholding freedom of navigation in international waters.

American forces operate daily in the South China Sea and will continue to "fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," Davis said.

A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry told reporters Thursday that the U.S. patrol undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea.

A U.S. defense official told VOA on Thursday that a Chinese military frigate "shadowed" the Dewey throughout the entire freedom-of-navigation operation. Another Chinese frigate and a Chinese coast guard vessel also were nearby when the American warship passed near the reef, the official added.

The United States and other nations have criticized Beijing for its island-building in the region, which is home to one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and other Asian nations also have competing claims to region.

VOA's Carla Babb contributed to this report from the Pentagon.
The Republican candidate for a U.S. congressional seat in (the western U.S. state of) Montana who was charged with assault after he allegedly grabbed a reporter by the neck and threw him to the ground, has apologized for his actions after defeating his Democratic opponent.

"Last night I made a mistake. I took an action that I can't take back and I'm not proud of what happened," said Greg Gianforte, a multimillionaire. "I should not have responded in the way that I did and for that I'm sorry."

Less than 24 hours after the incident, Gianforte narrowly beat out singer and poet Rob Quist Thursday, upholding the Republican Party's 20-year lock on the state's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, journalist Ben Jacobs of the British-based newspaper The Guardian tweeted that Gianforte "just body-slammed me and broke my glasses" at the candidate's campaign headquarters in the city of Bozeman, just hours before the special election that Gianforte had been favored to win in the rural, heavily Republican state.

About a third of Montana's voters had already cast their votes in the early voting process when the incident occurred.

The special election was being held to replace Republican Ryan Zinke, who resigned earlier this year to become President Donald Trumps interior secretary.

As word of the incident spread throughout the state, three of Montana's largest newspapers rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte. The Billings Gazette said it was at a loss for words over the allegations.

The House Republican leader, Speaker Paul Ryan, said Gianforte "should apologize. There's no call for this under any circumstance." Ryan said that "if he wins, he's been chosen by the people of Montana."

The House minority leader, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, described Gianforte as "a wannabe Trump. That's his model, Donald Trump."

The Guardian posted Jacobs' audio recording of the incident, which occurred as the reporter was seeking Gianforte's reaction to a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House Republicans' health care bill. After Gianforte initially refused to answer Jacobs' questions, a loud crash was heard, followed by Gianforte angrily screaming at Jacobs and ordering the reporter out of the room.

Gianforte's campaign issued a statement accusing Jacobs of "aggressive" behavior when he shoved a recorder in the candidate's face and asked "badgering" questions. According to the statement, when Gianforte tried to grab the recorder, Jacobs grabbed Gianforte's arm and forced both of them onto the floor.

But Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna, who was at Gianforte's headquarters to interview the candidate and witnessed the incident, posted a full-length story on the channel's website saying Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck, slammed him to the ground and punched him.

Acuna wrote that "at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte."

Another reporter in the building, BuzzFeed's Alexis Levinson, tweeted that she saw, "Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor."

Jacobs suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The local sheriffs office was called to the scene to investigate, and later issued a statement saying there was enough evidence to cite Gianforte with misdemeanor assault.

If convicted, Gianforte would face a maximum $500 fine and six months in jail.

Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert told Reuters news agency that Gianforte could face additional, more serious charges once prosecutors review the evidence.
Marking Africa Day, celebrated annually on May 25, AU Ambassador to the US, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quoa, said Africa has a lot to offer the world. She further tells VOA's Praxedes Jeremiah that emigration of thousands from Zimbabwe is not a unique situation, as many travel to better their lives.
Search teams looking for the missing Sukhoi-30 jet have recognised a few hotspots in the thick forest areas in the designated search zone close to China border.

A Sukhoi-30 of the Indian Air Force went missing near China border on Tuesday morning. (File photo for representation)

By Manjeet Negi: It has been over two days since a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force went missing near China border after taking off from Tezpur air base in Assam but search operations have yielded no substantial information.

Latest information from the IAF said that search teams have recognised a few hotspots in the thick forest areas in the search zone. More details are awaited.

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SUKHOI-30 WENT MISSING ON TUESDAY

A Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft with two pilots on board was on a routine sortie when it went missing on Tuesday morning around 60 km northwest of Tezpur airbase in Assam.

There were reports of adverse weather in the area.

China on Wednesday said it had "no information" on the missing jet.

Asked if China had any information about the jet and whether it had offered information to India, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters, "First of all, on the eastern section of China India border, our position is consistent and clear. We have been following the situation in South Tibet very closely," he said, using the term China uses for Arunachal Pradesh which it has claims on.

"As for the situation you mentioned, I have no relevant information to offer at the moment," he added.

ALSO READ:

China says no information on missing Sukhoi, warns India on 'disturbing peace'

Search for Sukhoi: Air Force deploys C-130 aircraft, Chetak helicopters to locate missing jet

IAF's Sukhoi-30 aircraft missing near China border after taking off from Tezpur

WATCH: Sukhoi MKI 30 crashes in Rajasthan; pilots escaped unhurt

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According to Scotland Yard, the attack on the crowd leaving the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, 22 May, has been perpetrated by Salman Abedi. A bankcard has been conveniently found in the pocket of the mutilated corpse of the terrorist.

This attack is generally interpreted as proof that the United Kingdom is not implicated in international terrorism and that, on the contrary, it is a victim of it.

Salman Abedi was born in the UK of a family of Libyan immigrants. He has travelled to Libya several times in the last couple of months, with or without his father.

His father Ramadan Abedi, with whom Salman lived, is a former officer in [Gaddafis] Libyan Intelligence Services. He specialised in the surveillance of the Islamist movement, but two decades later has failed to notice that his son has joined Daesh (IS).

In 1992, Ramadan Abedi was sent back to Libya by Britains MI6 and was involved in a British-devised plot to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi. The operation having been readily exposed, he was exfiltrated by MI6 and transferred back to the UK where he obtained political asylum. He moved in 1999 to Whalley Range (south of Manchester) where there was already resident a small Libyan Islamist community.

In 1994, Ramadan Abedi returned again to Libya under MI6s direction. In late 1995 he is involved in the creation of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a local branch of Al-Qaeda, in conjunction with Abdelhakim Belhadj. The LIFG was then employed by MI6 again to assassinate Gaddafi, for a payoff of 100,000. This operation, which also failed, provoked heated exchanges within British Intelligence, leading to the resignation of one David Shayler.

Other former members of the LIFG have also lived at Whalley Range, including Abedis friend Abd al-Baset-Azzouz. In 2009, this last joined Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and became a close associate of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In 2011, al-Baset-Azzouz is active on the ground with the NATO operation against Libya. On 11 September 2012, he directs the operation against the US Ambassador in Libya, Christopher Stevens, assassinated at Benghazi. He is arrested in Turkey and extradited to the US in December 2014, his trial still pending.

Nobody pays attention to the fact that Ramadan Abedi has linked LIFG members to the formation of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and, in 2011, he takes part in MI6s Arab Spring operations, and in LIFGs role on the ground in support of NATO. In any event, Abedi returned to Libya after the fall of Gaddafi and moves his family there, leaving his older children in the family home at Whalley Range.

According to the former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Abdelhakim Belhadj was involved in the assassinations in Madrid of 11 March 2004. Later, he is secretly arrested in Malaysia by the CIA and transferred to Libya where he is tortured not by Libyan or American functionaries but by MI6 agents. He is finally freed after the accord between Saif al-Islam Gaddafi [Gaddafis son] and the jihadists.

During the Libyan war, Belhadj, who had been living in Qatar, returned to Libya, courtesy of the Qatari Emir, and commanded the operations on the ground in league with NATO. On 28 July 2011, he organised the assassination of General Abdul Fatah Younis who claimed to have joined the rebels, but who Belhadj accused of overseeing the struggle against the LIFG during the 1990s.

In September 2011, Belhadj was named military governor of Tripoli by NATO. In 2012, seconded by the Irish-Libyan Mahdi al-Hatari, he created the Free Syrian Army, then returns again to Libya. On 2 May 2014, he is received officially at the Quai dOrsay [the French Foreign Ministry].

In December 2013, following the discovery in the archives of Gaddafis Libyan regime of a letter from the former chief of MI6, Belhadj launches proceedings in London against the UK for having kidnapped and tortured him nine years earlier. British Intelligence then illegally places his lawyers under phone-tapping, although it is ultimately constrained to destroy the intelligence obtained.

According to Egypts Prosecutor General, Hisham Barakat, in May 2015, Belhadj becomes Daesh most senior figure in North Africa, this claim taken up by Interpol. Belhadj installs three training camps for Daesh in Libya at Derna (in the former property of Abd al-Baset-Azzouz), at Syrte and at Sebrata. In October 2016, he launches in London new legal proceedings regarding his kidnapping and torture, this time nominally against the former director of MI6, Sir Mark Allen.

Daesh has claimed responsibility for the Manchester attack, but without describing Salman Abedi as a martyr. After the assassination, Ramadan Abedi has declared his opposition to jihad in a telephone conversation with journalists. He has also claimed that his son had intended to spend the month of Ramadan [beginning 26 May] with him in Libya and that he is convinced of his innocence.
After visiting Saudi Arabia and Israel, President Trump, will be in Rome tomorrow. Then on 25 May he will proceed to the Nato Summit at Brussels and return to Italy for the G7 meeting at Taormina (26 May  27 May) and will also visit the US/Nato base at Sigonella.

What is he actually hoping to achieve by this, his first visit abroad? General Mc Master, the Presidents advisor on national security, explains that his President has three core objectives:

 to launch a message of unity to Muslims, Jews, Christians;

 to establish relations with leaders all over the world; and

 to project American power abroad.

His visit to Rome is the third stage of what is described as a religious pilgrimage to the holy sites of the three great religions. The pilgrim initiated his journey, by signing at Riyadh a 110 billion dollar agreement for the sale of US arms to Saudi Arabia. These arms will be added to those that President Obama supplied earlier on for no less than 115 billion dollars. Such weapons as well s others are deployed, in the coalitions war under Saudi leadership, supported by the US, which is making a bloody carnage of civilian corpses in Yemen.

At the Arab Islamic American Summit on 21 May at Riyadh, Trump called for Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Monarchies to make a renewed commitment to the war against terrorism. In other words, hes asking for a commitment from those countries that have funded and armed Isis and other terrorist groups in the operations, led US/Nato. Operations falling along a continuum stretching from Libya then to Syria and finally to Iraq. In this great battle between Good and Evil, Trumps list of criminal barbarians includes the Hezbollah and Hamas on the one hand and Isis and Al Qaeda on the other hand. Trump slams Iran, culpabizing it with instability in the Middle East, accusing it of funding, arming and equipping terrorists and militia that are sowing destruction and chaos in the region; of destabilizing Syria where Assad, supported by Iran, has committed crimes for which there are no words. A true and proper declaration of war to Iran, which cancels the agreements concluded, something hugely appreciated by Israel. The US President will be visiting Israel on 22-23 May to strengthen strategic cooperation.

And in the meanwhile, in Israeli prisons, thousands of Palestinian political prisoners have been on a hunger strike that has been going on for forty days. Trump is meeting Mahmoud Abbas to urge the Palestinian leaders to make constructive steps towards peace.

Carrying this message of unity, tomorrow in Rome, Trump will discuss with Pope Francis, a series of questions of mutual interest. After meeting with President Mattarella, who will confirm Italys historic anchorage to the United States, Trump will then participate in the Nato Summit at Brussels.

Here, he will support the Pentagons plan for Europe [1], that is, a US military escalation in Europe and bolstering Nato in the face of a Russia that is rising and trying to threaten the international order under Western leadership. A plan that Trump must execute, eating the words with which he declared that Nato was obsolete and his electoral pledge to open dialogue with Moscow: in actual fact, the sword of Damocles in the form of impeachment is hanging over his head, for he is being charged with conniving with the enemy.

From the Nato Summit, Trump will go to the G7 that consists of the 6 biggest Nato countries (the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy) and Japan, the principal ally of US/Nato in the Asia/Pacific region. In fact, it is in this region that the Pentagon is lining up increasing forces including nuclear ones against an aggressive China and a Russia that has bounced back. Finally, the US President will visit air-naval station at Sigonella which lies on the border. This is the main base for US/Nato open and covert wars in the Middle East and North Africa, presented as projecting stability in the Mediterranean.
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.
Missing Person Donna Lee Hoyvik - Update

Ms Donna Lee HOYVIK who has been the subject of a missing person appeal has been in contact with her family and is safe and well in Spain.

The RGP wishes to thank those members of the public that responded to the appeal and have assisted with enquiries.
Ahmed and Khadijah, a Syrian couple who have been married for 65 years chose to stay in a war-torn zone despite of the inhuman situations in the country.

By India Today Web Desk: In the end, love conquers all.

Ahmed and Khadijah, a Syrian couple who have been married for 65 years prove the above statement.

The Syrian couple got married at a very young age as their fathers were best friends. The love between the both is seemingly unavoidable and shows that no matter how tough the situation is, love triumphs all.

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Also read: Syrian teens find freedom in Parkour, despite living in a country filled with hatred and terror

The Syrian couple is currently living in the camps near the border of Syria and Turkey and have not visited their hometown in 4 years due to constant air strikes. Khadijah,75, feels it's better to die than to live like this.

Also read: Before and after images show how Syrian civil war destroyed its largest city Aleppo

Ahmed and Khadijah have 8 children together, who left Syria and moved to Turkey after the situation got worse in Syria. They are in touch with their children through phone, but feel their absence more than ever.

"We will rest when we will die.", said 75-year-old Khadijah talking about the situation of Syria who has left all hope and feels nothing will get better, ever.

The couple feels that the situation in Syria is so grave that people are ready to even sell their own children for food. The camps that the couple live in are badly maintained and has hardly any water and food.

90-year-old Ahmed said, "The honour of the Muslims has gone. It's dead. Nobody cares anymore. We have no one but god," quoting the inhumane conditions in Syria.

Take a look at their heartbreaking yet inspiring journey:

Video courtesy: Spotlight Syria

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Gibraltar Contingency Council Meeting 24th May 2017

The Gibraltar Contingency Council (GCC) met again this morning, 24th May, to review security following the latest developments in the UK.

The Council concluded that the threat level for Gibraltar remains Substantial- an attack remains a strong possibility; but there is no specific intelligence to suggest an increase in the threat to Gibraltar.

The GCC will continue to closely monitor events in the UK. At the same time, the Royal Gibraltar Police continue to modify their operational posture in line with taking the necessary measures to keep the Public safe. Accordingly, the Public can expect to see an increased uniformed Police presence. This is a routine measure to provide additional reassurance to members of the Public.

As ever, the Public are asked to remain vigilant and to report any security concerns to the Royal Gibraltar Police.
Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery Open Day

An Open Day will be held at the Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery on Friday 2nd June to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the gallery and to present to the public several newly acquired artworks.

There will be works on display for the first time, by Gibraltars foremost masters: Bacarisas, Azagury, Mannia and Leni Mifsud. Guided tours will be on offer at 11am, 1pm and 4pm.

A rededication address will be given at 12:30pm.

Gibraltar Cultural Services encourages the public to visit the gallery, enjoy a complimentary wine and cheese reception and admire the works of Gibraltars own art legacies in the beautiful setting of the historic City Hall.

The Open Day will run from 10am to 6pm and entry is free of charge.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images

The jury selection process for Bill Cosbys upcoming sexual-assault trial is complete. Seven men and five women have been selected from a candidate pool run through the Pittsburgh County Courthouse in Allegheny County, despite the fact that the trial will take place in Norristown, which is inside Montgomery County. That means the jurors will be shuttled 300 miles east to the Philadelphia suburb, and sequestered for the duration of the trial, which is expected to take about two weeks. Cosbys lawyers requested that jurors be selected from an area outside of his home county in order to draw from a larger and more diverse pool of people, but despite the fact that voir dire took place outside of Pittsburgh, there were still only two black jurors selected. The racial makeup of the jury had been a massive point of contention between the defense and prosecution, with Cosbys team saying there was a systematic exclusion of African-Americans being carried out, according to the New York Times.

Despite conflicts, the 12-member group has been settled on, but the judge and lawyers are still selecting who the six alternates will be. More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, but this trial will only deal with allegations made by Andrea Constand, who claims that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, in early 2004.
Adam Carolla. Photo: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

The widely documented protests against conservative and right-leaning guest speakers at universities and the escalating violence revolving around the free speech debate on campus is getting rehashed in yet another hot take by podcast personality and comedian Adam Carolla. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Carolla and radio personality Dennis Prager are currently looking to raise $500,000 on Indiegogo for their documentary No Safe Spaces. The project, which gets its name from designated campus safe spaces where students who feel marginalized can find comfort and community, has already been in the works for the past few months, with Carolla and Prager even claiming to be victims of the activist student protests.

Though University of California, Berkeleys decision to cancel a speech by alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos made headlines, fewer in the media picked up on Carolla and Pragers claims that they were not allowed to hold an event at California State University, Northridge, because of their political beliefs. These claims, it should be noted, were rebutted by the university, which said that the on-campus event request was refused for logistical reasons and that the rental request was at no time approved. So, in case the name of the documentary or the Indiegogo campaign video mocking elite universities wasnt proof enough, these guys arent exactly coming to the phenomena from a place without bias.
Clockwise from top left: Top of the Lake: China Girl, The Beguiled, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and How to Talk to Girls at Parties. Photo: Sundance TV, Focus Features, A24, See-Saw Films

For Nicole Kidman, 2017 is a massive year: Not only will the Oscar-winning actress turn 50 in June, but shes halfway into a career-high annum, springing from her acclaimed work on HBOs Big Little Lies to four more exciting projects that all debuted over the past week at the Cannes Film Festival. But listen, youre a busy Nicole Kidman fan, and we understand! Thats why Vultures crack staff at Cannes has assembled this handy guide to all four of her acclaimed performances on the Croisette before they trickle out over the rest of the year, on TV and in theaters. Take a look and determine which Nicole Kidman character (and Nicole Kidman wig) is right for you, then begin planning accordingly.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties

Have you ever really lived until youve seen Nicole Kidman shriek yi-yi-yi-yi in a punk-versus-alien melee? In this loopy lark from director John Cameron Mitchell (based on a short story by Neil Gaiman), Kidman has a supporting role as Boadicea, a punk goddess who single-handedly confers cool points in 1970s London. Boadicea is introduced in a club scene yelling obscenities and slapping insolent punks, though the real first impression she makes is with her out-there look: Boadiceas black-and-white punk duds and outrageous makeup are accentuated with what may be Nicole Kidmans finest screen wig ever, a silver Bowie-type poof that I would adopt if it were a dog. The only thing that could possibly improve the look is later on in the movie where she dons welders goggles while wielding a blowtorch; essentially, Boadicea is Mad Max meets Blade Runners Pris meets Sharon Needles.

The A-plot of the movie follows young punk Enn (Alex Sharp) as he falls for a beautiful oddball (Elle Fanning) from an alien collective, but the irony is that even the latex-clad extraterrestrials cant do outer space better than Kidman in her fun few scenes. Whether shes griping about Vivienne Westwood, telling someone his skin smells like cheese, shouting indignantly about her abortions, or ending a cute little flirtation with Ruth Wilson by saying, Sex is over, havent you heard? its Kidman who feels like the center of the universe. Feel free to spin off Boadicea any time, because well be there.

The Beguiled

Imagine a Civil War season of The Bachelor where the frocked contestants eventually team up and turn on the central fuckboy, and youll come close to what Sofia Coppola has delivered with this remake of the 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood. Here, the injured northern soldier who takes respite in a Virginia girls boarding school is played by Colin Farrell, and Kidman is the headmistress presiding over a house of curious young women including Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning. Theyre all a little twitterpated by this supine soldier, and while Dunst and Fanning are more overt in their romantic interest, Kidmans buttoned-up belle feels stirrings, too, never more so than when shes cleaning off Farrells body and running her wet hands a little too close to his Adonis belt.

Theres a little more verve to the proceedings than youd usually get from a languorous Sofia Coppola film, and Kidman nicely bridges the gap between Coppolas more tasteful inclinations and the pulpy source material. Its a performance with comic calibrations that never tips its hand too far in that direction: Like a good southern lady, Kidman knows how to tuck her shade into a polite nicety, and shes never better than when she lets a faint, mischievous half-smile play on her lips.

Top of the Lake: China Girl

According to Top of the Lake co-creator Jane Campion, her old pal Kidman begged to be in the series  their first collaboration since 1996s Portrait of a Lady  and insisted on having her small part fleshed out until she could appear in all six episodes, so shes more than ready to go deep and weird on this one. If youve seen the trailer, you already know Kidman plays the adoptive mother of Mary (Alice Englert), the daughter that Elisabeth Mosss Detective Robin Griffin gave up 17 years ago, and that shes looking gloriously upper-class bohemian in a mass of gray curls, a set of fake teeth that make her upper lip protrude, and copious applied freckles. Though that hair is so insane you may spend the entire series thinking wig, wig, wig.

Related Stories The 10 Most Underrated Nicole Kidman Roles

Kidmans intellectual feminist has recently left her depressed wimp of a husband for a same-sex relationship with Marys high-school French teacher, while Mary has lashed out against her mother by dating quite possibly the creepiest 42-year-old on the planet (a mesmerizing David Dencik). And then, just when Kidmans Julia is at the peak of her self-pity, Robin shows up  her daughters birth mom, remember  and things get really interesting. Kidman is only in a few scenes per episode, but what she lacks in screen time she makes up for in a delicious, slow-build performance as a controlling mother whos unable to accept that shes lost control of her kid due to her own bad parenting decisions. The battle-of-the-mothers showdown you know is coming is not to be missed.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Lobster) loves a deadpan line reading, so casting Kidman as the female lead in his new film The Killing of a Sacred Deer is an interesting gambit: This is an actress who likes to pack her words full of feeling, not excavate them for effect. Whats interesting about the creepy, chilly Deer is that while Colin Farrell and the other actors embrace that traditional Lanthimos flatness, Kidmans line readings are left alone; she adds necessary ballast to these very arch proceedings just by being human, steady, and true.

In some ways, this is the least showy of her Cannes performances, but theres a whole lot cooking underneath that alabaster surface. In Deer, she and Farrell have their comfortable family life upturned by a creepy teenager seeking revenge, and the further things go, the more Kidman resourcefully pulls upon the modes that have served her well in past roles: the protective-mom instincts from Lion, the unreadable ambivalence of Birth, and finally the go-for-broke ambition of To Die For. Its hard to imagine the film working without her, and its just as difficult to think of an actress as willing to bare her soul  and her body  in the way that Lanthimos asks of her. Kidman rarely holds back, allowing herself to be the willing vessel of any director fortunate enough to cast her. Were lucky that in 2017, so many people have wised up to all the wonderful things she can deliver.
Whats it gonna take to get Rosario Dawson her own Marvel property? Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

How many roles must someone inhabit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before theyre given a solo project of their own? Ask Rosario Dawson, who is reportedly in talks to join Foxs X-Men spinoff New Mutants as yet another Marvel character. Dawson has been in every single one of Netflixs various Marvel series, including the upcoming Defenders, as the heroic nurse Claire Temple and the common denominator among all four of those superheroes. But for New Mutants, shell reportedly graduate from nurse to doctor, playing Cecilia Reyes, an M.D. with the mutant power to generate a force field around herself. (And who, like Claire, also helps Daredevil in the comics, but lets not make this even more confusing.) Reyes will act as the Professor X of this spinoff, in that shell be a mentor to Maisie Williamss Wolfsbane, Anya Taylor-Joys Magik, and the rest of the new generation. (James McAvoys Professor X reportedly wont be a part of this film, and neither will Alexandra Shipps Storm.) Because the MCU now revolves exclusively around Rosario Dawson.


Salma Hayek Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you want a party to be all it can be, invite Salma Hayek. The Mexican screen goddess has been a delight everywhere shes gone at the Cannes Film Festival this week. (Her husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, is CEO of Kering, which is an official sponsor of the festival.) On Monday, she showed up to the Kering Women in Motion awards in a pale-pink Jessica Rabbit wig and vamped it up for anyone who asked. I was bored with myself! she said.

And last night, she surprised everyone  but particularly the Mexican dream team of Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Inarritu, Emmanuel El Chivo Lubezki, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Diego Luna  at the dinner for the Cannes 70th-anniversary celebration by bringing her own mariachi band. It was Salma who brought them, del Toro confirmed when I randomly ran into him this morning. Thats how we always do it. We sang for two hours! I love singing! Salma loves to sing. Gael and Diego love it. Alejandro is really, really good. But Alfonso doesnt like it so much.

Hes not lying. All the way back in 2006, at a Children of Men screening in New York that also happened to be on Cuarons 45th birthday, I witnessed del Toro lead a mariachi band in singing the interminable Mexican birthday song, Las Mananitas, as Cuaron held a cake and looked like he wished he could be anywhere else. Its a damn long song! If you sing the whole thing, it could be days. Theres like 30 verses! Cuaron had said, while del Toro assured me the longest it ever goes on is 20 minutes.

Joining them as enthusiastic cantantes  especially of Cielito Lindo, otherwise known as the ay-ay-ay-ay song  were Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, French director Michel Hazanavicius, 88-year-old French directing legend Agnes Varda (who became the first woman to win an honorary Palme dOr, in 2015), and, of course, Isabelle Huppert, whod had her own glorious musical moment earlier that evening singing Happy Birthday to Cannes.

Isabelle Huppert sings Happy Birthday to #cannes. Your life will never be the same. #cannes70 pic.twitter.com/2YO1U46QNM  Jada Yuan (@jadabird) May 24, 2017

According to Indiewires report, Hayek closed out the night by leading a conga line to the stage. Clearly Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux knew what he was doing when he invited that particular crowd  and kept the mezcal flowing. I dont know if Cannes likes Mexican films, Cuaron said at a Masterclass he gave today. But they love how we party!

Cuaron: #Cannes70 party had mariachi + mezcal. "I'm not sure if Cannes likes Mex films but they love how we party!" pic.twitter.com/GISmMklUHh  eugene hernandez (@eug) May 24, 2017

Guillermo Del Toro leading mariachi band in song at end of #Cannes70 dinner. Sorrentino vapes. pic.twitter.com/07XlwjFeII  erickohn (@erickohn) May 23, 2017

One final video from this very special singalong led by Salma Hayek and Guillermo del Toro. #cannes pic.twitter.com/60M4JBTxhb  Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) May 24, 2017

This singalong now involves Inarritu, del Toro, Diego Luna, Salma Hayek, and Gael garcia bernal #cannes pic.twitter.com/tO0Q6x4hlO  Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) May 23, 2017
Washington Post visitors. Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Today, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg decided to sit in on a news meeting at a top publication, and for some reason we at Vulture didnt see them in our office. Was there a miscommunication that led them to the Washington Post instead? Sure, the Oscar-winning Hanks-Spielberg dream team is currently preparing for Pentagon Papers, a movie about the Posts legendary series of articles that exposed a damning Department of Defense secret study regarding the Vietnam War, but why go to the place where that story broke in 1971, when you could instead talk about movies with us in 2017? While theyre at it, Tom Hanks, who plays editor Ben Bradlee in the film, should also bring along his co-star, the actor playing publisher Katharine Graham, Meryl Streep. We feel confident wed somehow find a spot for her in our illustrious Slack channel.
By Pramod Madhav: Tamil Nadu Milk and Dairy Products Minister Rajendra Balaji on Wednesday accused private firms of mixing harmful chemicals in the milk sold by them.

"It is only milk if it turns sour in 5 hours, if not it is mixed with chemical preservatives," said Balaji, adding he had received various complaints from public, and even certain organisations, about chemical-mixed milk being sold in the state.

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Balaji alleged these firms were using Hydrogen Peroxide and Chlorine to increase the shelf life of milk. "We constituted various teams who will be collecting samples. If they are found guilty, we will definitely press criminal charges against them," Balaji said.

When asked if such controversies would shorten the supply of milk, he said, "you can't drink poison, just milk is in short supply." The minister said such milk, adulterated by chemicals, was as harmful as eating mangoes that are made to ripe using chemicals.

When asked about milk that is pasteurized to stay healthy for 25 days after being packed in special tetra packs, Rajendra Balaji simply reiterated his claim "if it doesn't turn sour, it is not milk."

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Rajendra Balaji claims that milk sold by private companies is 'cancerous' and causes cancer especially among children.

By Akshita Nandagopal: State minister for dairy development Rajendra Balaji is in the eye of a storm after he made some bizarre comments on Wednesday. Batting for state-run Aavin Enterprises, the minister advised consumers to opt for Aavin as it was healthier. Seems fair enough, considering he works with the govt et al. But, here's where it gets downright ridiculous -- Balaji then claims that milk sold by private companies is 'cancerous' and causes cancer especially among children.

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"Milk sold by private companies is adulterated and that's how it can last for days without getting spoilt. These chemicals used in the milk cause cancer among children. Aavin milk on the other hand is as pure as mother's milk," opined Ravindra Balaji. And he seems to be hinting at action too.

"Companies that are banned in Kerala are allowed to sell this adulterated milk to consumers in Tamil Nadu," the minister added. Now, not only are private entities seeing red over the move, even the aam aadmi is laughing off the statement. With no proof whatsoever, the minister's remarks have been deemed irresponsible and untrue.

"If he truly believes that private milk can cause such problems, shouldn't he do something? I've been consuming milk from a private body for over 6 years now, and I don't have any health issues," argues Rekha, a homemaker.

Another consumer, Manish has demanded a clarification from the minister.

"This kind of a rant will unnecessarily worry parents. As a minister, Mr Balaji cannot make such loose comments," says Manish.

Well, it's safe to say that Mr Balaji has zero knowledge about the process of pasteurisation or the term preservatives and that's saying something considering he is the dairy development minister of Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, private companies are worried as minister's bizarre statement could affect their business in the state.

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McLennan County has had its first confirmed mumps case since 2015, the state is seeing the highest number of mumps cases in 20 years, and local health officials are urging parents to make sure they and their children are up-to-date on vaccinations.

But legislative action in Austin and an increasing number of Texas children going without immunization have caused doctors to worry about how children would be protected from illnesses, especially during outbreaks like a few that occurred in Texas last year, the Associated Press reported.

The Texas House approved a measure Friday prohibiting emergency immunizations for children recently taken into state custody from abusive or neglectful living situations, according to the AP.

On Monday, Waco Independent School District alerted parents to a confirmed case of mumps at Bells Hill Elementary School, after a student was diagnosed by a local physician. District officials also were concerned that another student at University High School may have been exposed to the virus, but district officials could not say how.

Waco ISD officials would not say whether the students had been vaccinated, what grade the students were in or whether they were related, citing privacy laws, but district policy states no student will be allowed to attend school without proper documentation of immunization or a valid medical or conscientious exemption.

A district spokesperson said the number of local exemptions filed was not available but has been relatively low.

The district is working closely with the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District to address the issue and educate parents about the illness, said Candice Marecle, a registered nurse and Waco ISDs coordinator of student health services.

Its something weve been following, but since weve had a confirmed case, weve been speaking with the health district daily, Marecle said. Nurses are looking for all the symptoms the state health services have listed.

Mumps, a contagious disease caused by a virus, often starts with a fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite over a few days, followed by swollen salivary glands. It can be contracted through coughing, sneezing or talking, sharing items or touching contaminated surfaces. Symptoms typically appear 16 to 18 days after infection, but the state health department said up to 20 percent of people infected may not show any signs of the illness.

District officials disinfected Bells Hill and University on Monday night after the cases were discovered and canceled any remaining after-school activities for the day, Waco ISD spokesperson Bruce Gietzen said.

This is the first case tied to a McLennan County school district in 15 years, health district spokeswoman Kelly Craine said. No other school district in the area has had a recent case, Craine said.

November advisory

But the county and school district have been on alert about a potential case of mumps popping up since November, when the Texas Department of State Health Services sent out a health advisory about the increase in cases statewide.

The department sent another advisory in April, saying state, regional and local health departments were investigating multiple outbreaks, including one outbreak of 13 cases possibly linked to spring breakers on South Padre Island.

We believe in vaccines at the health district. Its changed health for many people in many communities. Its eliminated many diseases, Craine said. We want to approach this with respect to parents and parents rights. . . . When people ask about vaccines and concerns, my response is its important to have that relationship with your pediatrician and your physician (and talk about whats best).

In December, 28 people, mostly children, in Johnson County were diagnosed with mumps, according to The Dallas Morning News. The virus was traced to an outbreak in Arkansas, the newspaper reported. This did not include the number of students who might have possibly been exposed to the illness, the article said.

The local health district has yet to determine where the local patient may have picked up the virus, but that is part of the ongoing investigation, Craine said.

From Jan. 1 to April 22, 2,570 people in the United States have been infected with mumps across 42 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the CDC reports mumps is no longer considered common in the U.S., 5,833 cases were reported last year, and the average number of cases from year to year typically ranges from a couple hundred to a couple thousand.

Prior to the mumps vaccine program starting in 1967, about 186,000 cases were reported each year, meaning there has been more than a 99 percent decrease in the number of cases since, the CDC website states.

Weve seen mumps increasing throughout the country the past few years, so the risk is out there, Craine said. The best way to prevent this is through vaccination and making sure theyre up-to-date on vaccinations.

If your child is showing symptoms, dont feel like youre being paranoid. Take your child to the doctor and keep your doctor informed of whats going on.

But for those who think vaccinating a child is an obvious choice and should be required and state-mandated, one Texas group is fighting back on principle. The decision should be in the hands of parents, not the state, said Jackie Schlegel, executive director of Texans for Vaccine Choice.

For us, this is an issue of who gets to make the decision for these children, Schlegel said. Is it the state or is the individual?

Texans for Vaccine Choice, a political action committee, has been lobbying state lawmakers since its formation in 2015. The group was organized in response to a state representatives planned bill to end vaccine exemptions at public schools, the groups website states.

Texas, one of 18 states that allows philosophical exemptions to vaccinations for public school students, has had 44,000 parents file personal-belief exemptions for the 2015-16 school year, according to the AP. That is nearly a twentyfold jump from 2003, it reported. Though numbers were not available, Waco ISD has seen a low number of exemptions, Gietzen said.

At least eight bills were filed in this legislative session directly related to vaccine exemptions and requirements, according to the Legislatures website.

Better protection

While vaccines may not be 100 percent effective, the more people who are vaccinated, the better protected the population as a whole will be, said Dr. Roland Goertz, executive director of the Family Health Center in Waco. The center only occasionally handles a situation in which a parent would like to opt out of vaccinations, Goertz said.

Fortunately in our area, its not as large of an opt-out option as in other areas of the state, Goertz said. Its the composition of the area. You have a pretty significant health care system in the area, and we try to educate the population in every way.

For those who have chosen to opt out, Goertz said he has seen the argument dramatically shift from being about religion or philosophy, to Im the parent. Its my right. Science proves vaccines help eradicate disease, and that is something that cannot be ignored, Goertz said.

In a way, that argument is true until it impacts society as a whole, Goertz said. If you drop below a certain percentage of people who are vaccinating, you could see resurgence.

When I was training 30 years ago, I took care of those kids (who did not or could not get vaccinated). I saw some of them die. Ive been in practice long enough that I hardly see that as much and Im so glad, but I would hate to see resurgence in that because of people promoting bad science.

If you have questions or concerns about mumps, contact the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District at the 24-hour disease reporting line at 750-5411.
Local donations totaled more than $57,000 for local firefighters during the annual Fill the Boot campaign to benefit the local Muscular Dystrophy Association.

We love to serve our community and be in our community, so anything that they need, we will be there for them, said Michael Robertson, president of Waco Professional Fire Fighters Local No. 478. We want to be there for anything our MDA families need, and we just enjoy doing this.

Members of the Waco Professional Fire Fighters Local No. 478 presented a $57,646.63 check to Muscular Dystrophy Association Waco-area director Jen Jessen on Tuesday. This years Fill the Boot campaign brought in one of the highest local totals for the annual fundraiser by Waco firefighters.

Faith Fortenberry, 5, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy Type 2 in January 2013, was at fire station No. 1 in East Waco to help receive the check Tuesday afternoon. Her mother, LeeAnn Fortenberry, said the local contributions are appreciated, and the outreach has been overwhelming.

This means a ton, because without them, there would be a lot of people who cannot get the equipment and help they need for conditions similar to Faiths, LeeAnn Fortenberry said. This means the world to have local support and know that our community is willing to help out everyone.

Faith Fortenberry was diagnosed when she was 17 months old after her family noticed significant physical delays in her development.

Jessen said children and adults diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other related, life-threatening diseases lose the ability to walk, run or care for themselves. Last year, more than 2,000 Fill the Boot events were held to raise more than $25 million.

Waco firefighters consistently raise over $50,000 every single year, so it really does go a long way to support local families in the area, Jessen said. Money goes to different support and services, like clinics, summer camps and research and cures for individuals.

For more information about Muscular Dystrophy Association, visit www.mda.org.
By Press Trust of India: By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, May 25 (PTI) Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari today presented the governments policy and programme for the next fiscal year and said it is committed to complete the three-tier election process by January 2018.

"The government had successfully concluded the first phase of local level elections and was committed to conduct the second round of polls on June 14," Bhandari said as she read out the document handed over by Prime Minister Prachanda.

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She also presented the governments policy and programme for the fiscal year 2017/18 at the Parliament.

"Only after the election in all three levels -- local, provincial and federal ?- the Constitution would be fully implemented," she said.

"So the government has expressed commitment to hold the three-tier of elections by January 21, 2018, by providing necessary logistics to the Election Commission," she added.

The policy document also includes "restructuring of bureaucracy in line with the federal set up in the country."

"The government aim to give a logical conclusion to the Comprehensive Peace Process started in 2006 by carrying out the remaining tasks and for this aim, resources would be allocated to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons so as to make them effective," the President said.

Millions of Nepalese on May 14 voted in the countrys first local-level polls in two decades as the Himalayan nation took a crucial step towards cementing democracy amid political turmoil.

Local-level elections could not be held after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives in Nepal.

Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the new Constitution is amended to accommodate their views, more representation in the Parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.

The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesis.

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. PTI SBP AJR ASK AJR

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Days before the Texas Legislature concludes its 85th session, threats fly fast and furious between the legislative chambers over such wildly inconsequential matters as the so-called bathroom bill and where the infrequent transgender person should do his or her business. Meanwhile, the state of Texas risks getting itself stuck in a damning predicament from which it was recently freed  one requiring federal approval before the state can make any change in Texas election law.

The reason Texas originally got held to such a standard is because of its long history of racial discrimination in impeding minorities seeking to vote. The tradition began with Democrats in the Jim Crow era and more recently has flourished under Texas Republicans.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman, an attorney, deserve praise for trying to revamp the abysmal 2011 Texas voter ID law that, while seemingly innocuous in some respects (such as the worthy principle of showing a photo ID at the polls), made it harder for minorities to either get the qualifying paperwork to procure a photo ID or to get the photo ID itself. Federal courts  including jurists both conservative and liberal  repeatedly and correctly found the Texas voter ID law racially discriminatory. (The legal rulings make fascinating if somewhat discouraging reading.)

Huffman sought to craft a revision hewing closely to what U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos advised. Her bill passed the Senate in March. Now House members, Republicans and Democrats, have made legitimate tweaks that render this even more viable as legislation. For instance, an amendment lessens the punishment for one who lies in signing an affidavit to vote while claiming he or she cannot reasonably obtain one of seven state-approved forms of photo ID. (In such instances, the voter could display a utility bill or bank statement.) Sending one to the slammer for up to 10 years for this offense is pretty excessive  and, in this political climate, we fear persecution of those who mistakenly sign such affidavits. After all, whats a perfectly reasonable effort by one to obtain a photo ID might not seem so to the next person.

Other revisions include allowing people with state-approved photo IDs to continue using them even if the IDs are expired by up to four years, again in accordance with Judge Ramos thinking. The Senate bill allowed such ID to be expired by two years. The House added passport books or cards to the list of state-approved photo IDs  though not student IDs.

Democratic state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez is no doubt right that Gov. Greg Abbott only ordered this voter ID bill fast-tracked Sunday because the chickens are coming home to roost and Texas needs to get out of the doghouse with federal courts. That said, improving this new voter ID bill is whats important now. Lt. Gov. Patrick and Sen. Huffman should welcome these useful amendments from the House  and get the bill approved and to the governors desk promptly. No one would describe this bill as liberal, but it might be enough to satisfy a federal judiciary increasingly weary of Texas repeatedly marginalizing blacks and Hispanics at the polls.
WAHOO  The U.S. Navy Sea Cadet Corps, Cornhusker Division brought 18 youth from across Nebraska to Wahoo last weekend to participate in their monthly drill.

The program is like Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), but for the Navy, said Supply Petty Officer Susan Davidson of Wahoo.

Davidson said the sea cadet program is good experience for those wanting to see if the military is right for them.

Its a lot like the real military with regulations to follow, uniforms and a good code of ethics, she said.

In addition to monthly drill, cadets must have good grades and abstain from tobacco and alcohol.

Davidson and her husband, Rich Davidson, are both Navy veterans that met while serving in the Philippines. They are now continuing that service by investing time with their son, Vanis Davidson, who is a Petty Officer Third Class with the sea cadets.

Vanis Davidson is one of the 23 enrolled in the Cornhusker Division, which covers the entire state of Nebraska.

The Cornhusker Division spent the weekend camping at Lake Wanahoo SRA north of Wahoo, where they went kayaking, hiking, completed physical training (PT) and had an awards ceremony.

The group spent Saturday morning with the Saunders County Sheriffs Office touring the Law Enforcement and Judicial Center.

Their afternoon was spent at Sunrise Cemetery east of Wahoo, helping the Wahoo American Legion Post 82 put up flags and crosses for Memorial Day activities.

Wahoo Legionnaire Pat Hancock said it was good to have the group help with set up for Memorial Day services.

Sundays activities started with a 5:30 a.m. kayak trip on the lake. This was scheduled so they could see the sun rise, Davidson said.

Some cadets served breakfast for the others in preparation for an awards ceremony afterward.

Davidson said some of the cadets would be receiving ribbons and awards for their participation.

Cadet Hunter Pickering said hes been a sea cadet for almost a year and recently earned the drug awareness ribbon.

He said the ribbon had not been given out in 10 years and he had to spend time studying and making a presentation.

Cadet Caleb Brummer said he liked the cadet program because it helped him build skills.

In addition to skills, Davidson said there is a benefit for those that do decide to enter the military afterward.

If anyone has been a sea cadet, they enter enlisted as

an E3 instead of an E1.

Davidson said outside of their monthly drills, the sea cadets will spend their summer serving as color guards for flag ceremonies and in similar capacities as their help this past weekend with the Wahoo American Legion.
World Fuel Services, with its regional center based in London, United Kingdom, proudly announced today that they have become a Founding Member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Museums Corporate Membership Programme and a RAF Centenary Partner. With the 100th anniversary of RAFs founding taking place in June of 2018, World Fuel Services will participate in many of the celebrations and events planned around this milestone.

The museum operates two sites, one in Hendon, North London, and the second in Cosford. Both offer free admission to the public. Its mission is to tell the story of tell the story of the Royal Air Force through its people and collections and to ensure that the Royal Air Forces story endures and enriches future generations. The museum accomplishes this through a world-class collection and display of aircraft, special exhibitions, films, interactives, artwork, engines, missiles, photographs, medals, uniforms along with research and education facilities.

World Fuel Services is delighted to support the RAF Museum as a Founding Member of its Corporate Membership Programme and an RAF Centenary Partner. We are committed to the aviation space, with a long and proud history of delivering aviation fuel, services and solutions to the Military, General and Commercial aviation sectors. Its very exciting for our company to be able to play our part in sharing the stories and celebrating the RAFs achievements with the community and the hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts who visit the museum. We look forward to playing our role in many museum and centenary events over the coming years, including the RAF centenary celebrations planned for June 2018, commented Mark Amor, World Fuel Services Vice President of Commercial Development.

Its wonderful to have World Fuel Services on board as our Founding Corporate Member; we are looking forward to working together to build a long term relationship for the future. Says Maggie Appleton MBE, CEO of the Royal Air Force Museum

World Fuel Services sponsorship directly supports the ongoing redevelopment efforts of the museums Hendon location. This includes new exhibitions showcasing the RAFs first 100 years and the role of the RAF from the Cold War into the future, along with outdoor renovations and landscaping to bring back the sense of space and place of the historic Hendon Aerodrome.

To learn more about World Fuel Services full suite of business and general aviation solutions, join World Fuel Services in stand A67 at the 2017 European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE 2017) in Geneva, May 22-24.

About World Fuel Services Corporation

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, World Fuel Services is a global fuel logistics, transaction and payment processing company, principally engaged in the distribution of fuel and related products and services in the aviation, marine and land transportation industries. World Fuel Services sells fuel and delivers services to its clients at more than 8,000 locations in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

The companys global team of market makers provides deep domain expertise in all aspects of aviation, marine and land fuel management. Aviation customers include commercial airlines, cargo carriers, private aircraft and fixed base operators (FBOs), as well as the United States and foreign governments. World Fuel Services marine customers include international container and tanker fleets, cruise lines and time-charter operators, as well as the United States and foreign governments. Land customers include petroleum distributors, retail petroleum operators, and industrial, commercial, and government accounts. The company also offers transaction management services which consist of card payment solutions and merchant processing services to customers in the aviation, marine and land transportation industries. For more information, call +1 305-428-8000 or visit www.wfscorp.com.
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By Press Trust of India: Washington, May 25 (PTI) Unique exhibits from the ill- fated RMS Titanic and the Vietnam War are being put on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in the US.

The "Titanic at the Reagan Library" exhibit includes real artifacts from the ship, while the "Take Me Home Huey" art installation is an immersive piece created from the remains of a historic US Army helicopter shot down in 1969 during a medical rescue.

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The Titanic exhibit is unique as it includes items that were gathered in a recovery mission from the British passenger liner, NBC4 reported.

"Nothing came from the ocean floor. This is an all-new exhibit, never-before-seen items," said Melissa Giller, spokeswoman for the library.

"Take Me Home Huey" is the creation of contemporary artist Steve Maloney, who said he was inspired by the 50th commemoration of the Vietnam Ward.

"Titanic at the Reagan Library" will be open from this Saturday to January 7, 2018, while "Take Me Home Huey" will be there only until May 29 of this year.

The Titanic exhibit reunites hundreds of Titanic artifacts not seen together since the ship struck an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912. PTI SAR SAR

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By Press Trust of India: Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), May 25 (PTI) Sashastra Sima Bal (SSB) officials today nabbed today two persons for possessing arms and ammunition illegally at the Belrayan railway crossing along the India-Nepal border.

Rashid Ahmad and Ramij Ahmad were arrested and an Italy-manufactured pistol, its magazine and two cartridges were recovered from them in Tikonia area, SSB said here.

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The two men were arrested after they failed to show any valid license for the arms. They were handed over to the police and investigation in this connection is underway, it said. PTI CORR ABN ASV

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Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz has labelled George Soros "nuts" and accused him of trying to upset his hopes of developing the Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, according to a report in London's The Telegraph newspaper.

The claim was made during testimony given by Mr Steinmetz during an arbitration panel hearing in Paris between BSG Resources (BSGR) and the government of Guinea.

George Soros' fund is making fewer macro bets. Credit:AP

Mr Soros had outlaid "$US40-US50 million out of his own pocket to destroy me", Mr Steinmetz claimed, according to the newspaper report of the proceedings.
One would think the media would be wary of airing the shocking views of someone whose credentials are tough to verify. But for conservative media  and their audiences  the prospect of a self-proclaimed Muslim leader saying headline-friendly anti-Muslim things was too good to resist.

The Australian National Imams Council, which represents Imams across Australia, has said they do not recognise Tawhidi as an Imam, Sheikh or Muslim leader. His claims of being threatened by Muslims for his opinions have not been backed up by police.

The self-styled "imam of peace", Mohammad Tawhidi, is not recognised as a sheikh, imam or any kind of religious authority by the Australian National Imams Council. Credit:YouTube

Earlier this week, the ABC's Media Watch turned its attention to Mohammad Tawhidi, a self-described "imam of peace" who has built a significant media profile thanks to his strange stances on issues affecting Australian Muslims.

It's the latest example of a weird, perverse phenomenon that's come to occupy an outsized place in our national conversation. We have a bad habit of suspending our critical faculties when we're presented with someone whose age, gender, sexuality, race, religion, political orientation or other cultural marker is seemingly at odds with their opinions, especially when those opinions are as loud and provocative as possible.

In a media environment increasingly dominated by outrage and political division, being a self-defined contrarian has become a sure-fire way to secure TV appearances, column inches and just enough cheap notoriety to keep your name in lights.

The US election last year saw plenty of people using this strategy to make a name for themselves. Lynette Hardway and Rochelle Richardson, two black women from North Carolina who style themselves Diamond and Silk, vaulted to national prominence in conservative circles and gained breathless international coverage for their support of Donald Trump on their YouTube channel. They've since parlayed their heightened profile into a full-blown media career, complete with their own range of merchandise.

David Frum, a conservative political commentator who wrote speeches for George W. Bush and agitated for the invasion of Iraq, has reinvented himself in the Trump era as a sage defender of American democracy to the delight of US liberals.

Closer to home, the Australian contrarian menagerie is full of superficially interesting characters who become pretty stale once the gag becomes familiar. Think Caleb Bond, whose shtick is being a very young conservative who speaks, thinks and dresses like an old man; Daisy Cousens, the self-described former feminist-turned-"men's rights" agitator; and Mark Latham, the former Labor leader gone right-wing in all the worst ways.
The Turnbull government is staring down claims there is a $2 billion "black hole" in the revenue its new bank tax will raise, after federal Labor cited figures from the big four banks and industry estimates to attack the levy.

Labor has said it will back the new tax, which is supposed to raise $1.6 billion in its first year, and $6.2 billion over four years.

The ALP has hammered the government over its revenue forecasts after Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and NAB released estimates that suggested $965 million would be raised, after tax, in the first year of operation. Macquarie, the only bank yet to release an estimate of what it will pay, is not expected to make up the shortfall.
Crossbench senator Derryn Hinch is ramping up pressure on Pauline Hanson's One Nation over the explosive recording of senior figure James Ashby proposing a secret arrangement for the party to make money out of taxpayers and candidates.

There could be more that is yet to emerge, Senator Hinch has said, predicting Senator Pauline Hanson and Mr Ashby, her chief-of-staff, face the possibility of criminal charges over the matter.

Following the publication of leaked audio this week, in which Mr Ashby outlines to a party meeting the "opportunity for us to make some money [out of inflated expense claims] if we play this smart", Senator Hanson said the idea was "knocked on the the head there and then" in another part of the discussion.

A further recording of the meeting, obtained by Fairfax Media, does not contain Senator Hanson's rejection of the idea and Senator Hinch has predicted "there is some more stuff to come out that I'm totally not aware of".
The federal government has conceded little policy development has been completed around forced moves of public service departments and agencies to the regions, but promised future plans will be "more structured" than the pesticides authority controversial relocation.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told a Senate budget estimates hearing on Wednesday night the only significant detail about the plan to move agencies and departments out of cities including Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne to regional centres was contained in a speech by deputy National Party leader Fiona Nash last month and a doorstop press conference by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce a day later.

Finance Minister Senator Mathias Cormann during Senate estimates. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

He said relocation of the Australian Pesticides And Veterinary Medicines Authority to Mr Joyce's own electorate of New England had been an election promise, but detail of a government-wide decentralisation push this year was being prepared.

A template business case for relocations is being prepared by the Department of Finance, with government ministers required to justify why agencies and workforces in their portfolios should stay in the city by August. Cabinet will then decide on who stays and who goes, a plan Senator Cormann said he supported.
For one thing, petition author Michael Wilson argued, the "boundless plains to share" line in verse two clangs with Australia's approach to immigration.

" The Australian national anthem is a pile of garbage ," it began, before demanding Advance Australia Fair be put in the bin.

"We, as the greatest and best people on the planet Earth, deserve to have the greatest and best national anthem in the world," the preamble reasons. "La Marseillaise is taken by the French, and [Nirvana's] Smells Like Teen Spirit is taken by the youth of the 1990s as theirs.

"Therefore, we should change it to the 2003 song Hey Ya by OutKast, which has been venerated for centuries as one of the great party anthems."

There is some precedent here, with Melbourne music producer Terry Mann changing the words for his Straya version of the song in 2015. But Wilson's dream of school assemblies and rugby crowds singing "shake it like a Polaroid picture" (that iconic Hey Ya line) was dashed when the petition attracted just four signatories over four weeks and was rejected through the standard official channels.

Granted, while Hey Ya is great on the dance floor at 2am, it would not be appropriate at a dawn ceremony. However, this doesn't take away from the fact Advance Australia Fair is a mid-tempo dirge and needs to go.

As former Nationals senator Sandy Macdonald argued back in 2001, we should love our national anthem not fall asleep because of it.
Rihanna stole the show at the 2016 Met Gala. Credit:AP In short order she signed a deal with Puma to become its creative director and design her own line (Fenty x Puma), took that line to the runways of New York Fashion Week and then to Paris (where she showed in the same site as Valentino), became contributing creative director of Stance Socks, received the Footwear News Award for shoe of the year (the first woman to do so) and dipped in and out of collaborations with Dior (on sunglasses), Manolo Blahnik (on shoes) and Chopard (on high-end jewellery). She did this all while maintaining her position as an ambassador for Dior and wearing clothes from a broad assortment of names  from Vetements to recent Parsons grads  with whom she has no contractual relationship. Rihanna attends the "Okja" screening during the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2017 in Cannes, France. Credit:Getty Images "She has a quite unique ability to do it all at the same time," said Burak Cakmak, the dean of fashion at Parsons. And he is referring not just to her own creativity but also to her ability to get the global brands with whom she works to agree to her (very flexible) terms. This has never really happened before.

A brief history review: Up to this point, there have been effectively three kinds of strategies for celebrity would-be designers. First, the "license your name and make a profit from your fame" approach, one that has had varying levels of success: Jennifer Lopez's Sweetface line failed; Jessica Simpson's namesake empire was a wild success. Rihanna won the Met Gala (again). Credit:Getty Second, the "humble yourself before the industry and disappear into the atelier to pay your dues" tack. This has been the favoured mode if you want to be seen as a serious fashion person, as exemplified by Victoria Beckham, the Olsen sisters and (at least at the moment, a somewhat chastened) Kanye West. And third, the newest iteration: the pop-up rock collection gambit, as adopted by Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and the Weeknd; essentially an expanded, upstyled version of what used to be called "tour merch." Rihanna, however, fits into none of the above. She is both serious about, and promiscuous in, her style. While she says she is heavily involved with her brand, she also freelances widely across the fashion world, often for competing names.

Sure, she has the buffer of her social media fan base, a potential consumer bonanza to dangle in front of any brand, a weapon to wield and ensure her freedom. But that's only part of the explanation. There are a few different theories as to the rest. One has to do with the reputation she built as a risk taker who does not hew to a singular path but zigs and zags as she desires: musically, sartorially and professionally. In this hypothesis, her career in fashion simply reflects her career in music and thus has its own authentic internal logic (authenticity being a big deal these days). Especially when you consider her evident delight in dressing up. And it is also possible that she is simply the most visible beneficiary of a battle that was fought first by Beckham et al., who took the initial heat for (we all assumed) daring to think that because they wore clothes well, they could make clothes well. "Kanye paid the dues for Rihanna," said Marina Larroude, the fashion director of Barneys, referring to the fact that West, with all of his ambition, hubris and early attempts to show in Paris, softened us all up and made us willing to entertain the idea that celebrities can legitimately become designers and that their work should be judged on its own merits.
If you are old enough to remember the Cold War-induced fear of nuclear annihilation, then you're probably at least passingly familiar with Sting's operatic anti-war ballad, Russians.

"We share the same biology, regardless of ideology," he implores the frightened citizens of Europe and America (and presumably Australia), over the soaring melody sampled from late Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev.

"What might save us, me and you," Sting concludes, "is if the Russians love their children, too."

Earnest and schmaltzy it may be, but I've never forgotten the lyrics. Perhaps it's because I was a child myself, barely 10 but, like Sting's own son, already struggling to fathom the existence of a weapon that could wipe us all out.
Malcolm Turnbull has written to the West Australian government seeking its interest in a "city deal" for Perth.

The prime minister announced three "city deals" during the federal election, covering Townsville, Launceston and Western Sydney.

The proposed Metronet rail project could part of the city deal.

The deals involve local, state and federal governments working together on roads, rail, housing, services and job opportunities under an agreed timetable and plan.

Mr Turnbull has asked WA Premier Mark McGowan whether he was interested in a city deal for Perth.
A US federal court upheld a lower court's ruling which blocked Trump's travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries. That happened on a day when UK authorities threatened to stop sharing information across the Atlantic after intel on the Manchester suicide attack was leaked to the US media.

By Santosh Chaubey: It's proving to be a bad day for US President Donald Trump. A federal US court has upheld a lower court ruling which blocked Trump's ambitious but highly divisive travel ban plans targeting travellers from six Muslim majority nations.

In March, a Hawaii court had blocked the Trump Administration's second attempt to reintroduce the travel ban, and said it was biased and discriminatory.

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Trump signed a new executive order on March 6, weeks after the first futile attempt to ban immigration from some Muslim majority countries.

The Trump administration made some minor changes to the first version of the executive order, which was issued on January 27, so that it could evade the courts. For example, the second order excluded Iraq from the list of countries facing the ban, and featured exemptions for green card holders, permanent US residents, and for those already having a US visa.

But the courts weren't satisfied.

CANCELLED SPEECH, UK'S FURY OVER LEAKED INTEL

Earlier in the day, it was widely reported that Trump's proposed speech in the Israeli parliament - Knesset - had been cancelled.

An Associated Press report quoting Israel's parliament speaker said "a proposal that Donald Trump would speak before the Knesset during his visit to Israel was scrapped over fears that the American president would be interrupted and heckled by some lawmakers".

And the day began with a news break that left Trump embarrassed.

Furious British authorities warned that they would stop sharing information with the United States, after it surfaced that intelligence on the Manchester Arena bombing which they'd shared with the US had been leaked to the US media.

British PM Theresa May said she would raise the issue with Donald Trump when she meets him at the NATO Summit in Brussels.

In damage control mode, Trump asked the US Department of Justice to find the culprit and "prosecute the person to the fullest extent of the law".

ALSO READ | Theresa May to confront Donald Trump over intel leaks on Manchester bombing: Report

ALSO READ | In a first under Donald Trump, US warship challenges Beijing's claims in South China Sea

ALSO READ | The Conjuring in Vatican: Trump family's photo with Pope Francis triggers hilarious Photoshop war

ALSO WATCH | Witness Recounts Moment of Manchester Concert Suicide Bombing

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Brussels: US President Donald Trump has once again refused to explicitly endorse NATO's mutual defence pledge, instead lecturing European leaders on what he called their "chronic underpayments" to the military alliance at an event on Thursday.

Speaking at the opening of a new NATO headquarters, President Trump offered a vague promise to "never forsake the friends that stood by our side" in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks - a pledge that White House officials later said amounted to an affirmation of mutual defense.

But European allies are likely to see Mr Trump's words as falling far short of the robust endorsement of NATO's Article 5 clause, the "one-for-all, all-for-one" principle that has been the foundation of NATO since it was established 68 years ago after World War II.

Instead of stressing an Article 5 commitment, Mr Trump used his remarks at the NATO headquarters to lecture and criticise the other leaders assembled behind him for not contributing 2 per cent of their countries' gross domestic product to their defence. The allied nations have agreed to do so, but have often fallen short.
Vatican City: Pope Francis urged US President Donald Trump to be a peacemaker and gave him a copy of his encyclical on climate change at their first meeting on Wednesday, after the two men exchanged sharp words last year.

Under clear blue skies, Mr Trump received a tribute from the Swiss Guard in a Vatican courtyard when he arrived. He entered a small elevator taking him to the third floor of the Apostolic Palace and, after a long ceremonial walk past frescoed corridors, shook the pope's hand at the entrance to the private study that the frugal pontiff uses only for official occasions.

Before the door of the wood-lined elevator closed, a Vatican protocol official was heard quipping to the president that it was not "like Trump Tower in New York".

Pope Francis smiled faintly as he greeted Mr Trump outside the study and was not as outgoing as he sometimes is with visiting heads of state. Mr Trump, seeming subdued, said, "It is a great honour."
Acuna said that Jacobs "scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken." He asked the Fox reporter and crew for their names but "in shock, we did not answer." "To be clear," she wrote, "at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies." Her account contradicts a statement issued by Mr Gianforte's campaign which said that reporter "grabbed Greg's wrist" as the candidate tried to grab a phone "pushed in his face." Jacobs then "spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground." "It's unfortunate," said that statement, "that this aggressive behaviour from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ." The entire incident can be heard on an audio recording published by The Guardian. The recording does not support the campaign's claim that Jacobs had been asked to leave but rather reflects some broader grievance with reporters. "I'm sick and tired of you guys," Mr Gianforte is heard saying. "The last guy who came here did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here."

It's unclear whether it was the subject matter that provoked Mr Gianforte or simply Jacobs' presence and persistence in questioning him. The Congressional Budget Office estimates released Wednesday on the impact of the Republican health care proposal were not helpful to Republicans supporting the measure (23 million more Americans would be left uninsured by 2026, the CBO projected.) But while CBO numbers are often the source of much political heat and wonky debate, there's no history of violence associated with them. Later, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, in a statement, said that after "multiple interviews and an investigation... it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanour assault." The sheriff, Brian Gootkin, noted in response to questions that he had made a $US250 contribution to Mr Gianforte's campaign. "This contribution has nothing to do with our investigation which is now complete," he said.

Following the extraordinary incident, Montana's largest newspapers withdrew their endorsements of the Republican in what has become a surprising close race against Democrat Rob Quist to fill the seat vacated by Ryan Zinke when he became President Trump's Secretary of the Interior. In a late night editorial, the Missoulian wrote: "The Republican candidate for Congress not only lost the endorsement of this newspaper Wednesday night when, according to witnesses, he put his hands around the throat of a reporter asking him about his health care stance, threw him to the ground and punched him - he should lose the confidence of all Montanans." "We're pulling our endorsement of Greg Gianforte" said the headline in the Billings Gazette. "We're at a loss for words," the paper wrote in an editorial. "And as people who wrangle words on a minute-by-minute basis, that doesn't happen often.

"What happens even less - hopefully never again - is a Montana candidate assaulting a reporter. While there are still questions left unanswered about GOP House hopeful Greg Gianforte's altercation with Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, eyewitness accounts, law enforcement investigations and records are all shocking, disturbing and without precedent. "...We will not stand by that kind of violence, period." The Gazette referenced an incident at a campaign event in which a Gianforte took questions from the audience, including a man who said: " 'Our biggest enemy is the news media. How can we rein in the news media?' "The man then looked at the Ravalli Republic reporter sitting next to him and raised his hands as if he would like to wring his neck.

"Gianforte smiled and pointed at the reporter. " 'We have someone right here,' the candidate said. "It seems like there is more of us than there is of him.'" That and "other questionable interactions Gianforte had with reporters... must now be seen through a much more sinister lens," the Gazette said. "What he passed off as a joke at the time now becomes much more serious." The Gianforte campaign, it added, "should be appalled" by its statement "that would seem to justify the fight when it said the Bozeman Republican had tussled with a 'liberal journalist.' How would the campaign have known the reporter's political beliefs? And, is it suggesting that it's acceptable to put your hands on a reporter if you believe their political views are different from yours?" The Society of Professional Journalists denounced the alleged assault, saying "it is never acceptable to physically harm or arrest a journalist who is simply trying to do his or her job."
Beijing: Flamboyant Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui, on the run from Interpol, is a friend of former British prime minister Tony Blair, it has been revealed.

Mr Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, paid for Mr Blair to fly with him on a private jet to meet Abu Dhabi's royal family, successfully raising billions of dollars to fund Mr Guo's Chinese deals in 2013, it has been claimed.

Guo Wengui at the prestigious Mark's Club in Mayfair, London. Interpol has issued a "red notice" seeking Mr Guo's arrest. Credit:New York Times

Respected Chinese business magazine Caixin said Mr Blair and Mr Guo had been in contact up until last month's issuance of the Interpol red notice. They most recently met this year, the story alleged.

Mr Blair's office confirmed to Caixin he had been a friend of Mr Guo for 10 years and that Mr Guo had donated to Mr Blair's charities.
By Press Trust of India: By Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 25 (PTI) The Trump administration plans to slash USD 100 million and give USD 800 million as reimbursement to Pakistan in the next fiscal for its military support in fighting terror, a defence department official said.

The administration has proposed the USD 100 million cut in its annual budget proposals under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a Pentagon programme to reimburse US allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.

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Pakistan is one of the largest recipients under the fund and has received USD 14 billion since 2002. But for the past two years, the Congress has imposed conditions on disbursal of the fund.

"The FY 2018 budget proposal seeks USD 800 million in CSF for Pakistan. The CSF authority is not security assistance, but reimbursements to key cooperating nations for logistical, military, and other support provided to US combat operations," Adam Stump, Defence Department spokesman for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia told PTI yesterday.

For 2016 fiscal year, Pakistan was authorised to receive up to USD 900 million under CSF.

"The deputy secretary of defence signed the authorisation to disburse USD 550 million in fiscal year 2016 coalition support fund to Pakistan for logistical, military, and other support provided to the USoperations in Afghanistan for the period of January-June 2015," Stump said.

"The Department recognises the significant sacrifices the Pakistan military has made in the fight against terrorism, and appreciates Pakistans continued support for transit of materiel to coalition forces in Afghanistan," he said.

"Disbursement of the remaining USD 350 million requires the Secretary of Defence to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network. The Secretary has not yet made a decision on certification," Stump said.

For the first time in 2016, then Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had declined to certify that Pakistan met the requirement, resulting in the loss of USD 300 million fund to it.

This amount was reprogrammed by the Pentagon for Department of Defences Overseas Contingency Operations Funding, a second defence department official said.

In its latest budget, the Department of Defence has attached no conditions for disbursement of CSF to Pakistan. However, it was only the Congress which imposes such strict conditions on giving CSF money to Pakistan.

Justifying the need to give such a huge money to Pakistan, the Pentagon said Pakistan has served as a key ally in operation Enduring Freedom since 2001 and will continue to play a key role in maintaining stability in the region.

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"Pakistans security forces regularly engage enemy forces, arrest and kill Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, and provide significant support to US forces operating in Afghanistan.Pakistan continues to meet the enemy insurgency and has made enormous sacrifices in support of these operations," it said.

"The expenses Pakistan incurs to conduct operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces include providing logistical support for its forces, manning observation posts along the Afghanistan border, and conducting maritime interdiction operations and combat air patrol," the Pentagon said. PTI LKJ CK ABH AKJ ABH

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After the US sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation, China said the "provocative action" had violated its sovereignty.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey prepares for a replenishment-at-sea in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters.

By Press Trust of India: The United States has sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump, prompting the Chinese government to say that the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty.

The guided-missile destroyer - USS Dewey - conducted a patrol within 20 kilometres of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims.

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The exercise is the first since October and comes after friendly exchanges between Washington and Beijing to settle trade issues and vows to cooperate to contain the nuclear programme of North Korea, a Chinese ally.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law."

PATROLS NOT ABOUT ANY ONE BODY OF WATER: PENTAGON

The patrols are "not about any one country, or any one body of water", he told the Wall Street Journal.

But China reacted promptly to the action, saying the US warship had entered the South China Sea "without permission".

"The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines China's sovereignty and security interests", foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.

"We urge the US to correct this mistake", he said.

"Stop taking further provocative actions that hurt China's sovereignty and maritime interests, so as to avoid hurting peace and security of the region and long-term cooperation between the two countries."

FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION OPERATION TO KEEP SEA LANES OPEN: WEBSITE

In another report, American news website The Hill reported that the "freedom of navigation" operation was a signal intended by the US to assert its intention to keep critical sea lanes open.

"In conducting the freedom of navigation patrol, President Trump is likely to annoy China at a time when the US is seeking increased cooperation with the country to help rein in North Korea," it said.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. But Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have rival claims over the region.

A Pentagon official, however, said that since 1979, the freedom of navigation programme had demonstrated non- acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world. It includes consultations and representation by American diplomats and operational activities by the US military forces.

In February, USS Carl Vinson Strike Group arrived in South China Sea but did not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) against Chinese maritime claims around its artificial-island bases in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

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FONOPS WAS A "ROUTINE ACTIVITY"

Early this month, Pentagon spokesman Davis told foreign journalist that the FONOPS was a "routine activity" carried out by the United States around the world.

"We did it last year, freedom of navigation assertions against 22 different countries all over the world. Many of those countries are friends and allies," he said.

"Unfortunately, I think the public narrative has made it about China and the South China Sea. It is not that. It's about asserting international rights to navigate in waters that international law accepts, and these are rights and benefits that benefit all countries on Earth, to include China", Davis said.

"We will continue to do them," he said.

In an annual FNOPS report released by the Pentagon in February, the Department of Defence said that in 2016 it carried out freedom of navigation operations against 22 countries, including India. Other major countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Also read | In a first under Donald Trump, US warship challenges Beijing's claims in South China Sea

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Also read | China says India-Singapore South China Sea drills 'should not hurt interests of other countries'

Also read | China installs rocket launchers on disputed South China Sea island, says report

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

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By Manjeet Sehgal: Indian national Uzma Ahmed, who had claimed she was forced to marry a Pakistani man and was later allowed to return to India, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for their help as she recounted her ordeal at a press conference in New Delhi today.

"Pakistan is like a well of death. I am an orphan. I am an adopted child and have nobody," Uzma said as she broke down several times at the press conference. "It is easy to go (to Pakistan) but tough to return," she said.

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"They could have sold me or used me in a risky operation," Uzma, in her late 20s, said about a family in Buner, Pakistan.

Uzma said she was not the only woman duped into marry a man from Buner. She said she saw women who went to Pakistan after their arranged marriages also crying.

"There may be lots of girls in Buner. Buner people are mostly in Malaysia and they get girls from Malaysia. It is a dangerous area. You hear gunshots everyday. Every (man) has two wives there. I don't want this to happen with everyone," she claimed.

She thanked the government of India, particularly External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for making her return possible and making her realize "the value of my life as an Indian citizen".

"I am proud to be an Indian citizen. Sushma madam would call me every day to say we are fighting for you, you are our daughter, you are India's daughter," she said, recounting the days she spent at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

UZMA REACHES INDIA

Earlier today, Uzma reached home after Islamabad High Court granted her the permission on Wednesday.

Uzma had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month, said that her Pakistani husband Tahir Ali, a resident of Buner, 'forced' her to marry him at gunpoint and also harassed her.

Uzma had approached the Islamabad High Court on May 12 to provide security for her journey back to Delhi and to issue duplicate travel documents which were allegedly stolen by Tahir.

She revealed the physical and emotional trauma to the court which not only rescued her but also ordered the police to escort her upto Attari-Wagah border.

Despite having received an emotional setback in the name of love and marriage, Uzma's national and patriotic emotions were visible when she touched the ground with hands immediately after entering Indian territory.

EAM Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma Ahmed to India, minutes after she crossed into India from the Wagah border in Amritsar.

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"Uzma-Welcome Home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through," Swaraj, who was regularly in touch with Uzma's family, tweeted on Thursday.

Uzma reaches Attari-Wagah border.

Uzma was wearing a green suit and looked visibly upset after television crews followed her. She did not answer a single question about her ordeal in Pakistan.

She was escorted in a black BMW vehicle right from Attari border till Amritsar.

What went wrong between Uzma and Tahir's love story is still a mystery. Both, who were married previously, apparently met in Malaysia and became friends. Tahir is father of four children and Uzma has a daughter who is struggling with thalassaemia.

Sources said Uzma had gone to meet Tahir and had no immediate plans to get married. Uzma had taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad because she felt threatened, and wanted to return to her country of birth.

Ali had filed a petition claiming that she was being forcibly kept at the Indian High Commission and that the marriage was not under coercion.

Also Read:

Indian woman Uzma, forced to marry Pakistani man, returns home; Sushma welcomes 'India's daughter'

Forced to marry at gunpoint or elaborate lie? Uzma's story crumbles under evidence

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Indian woman Uzma tells court she was forced to marry in Pakistan, submits written reply to court

WATCH | Indian national Uzma, who was forced to marry Pakistani man at gun point, returns home

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) It was, as Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said, a meeting of two mothers.

Uzma Ahmed wiped the tears from her eyes as she hugged her mother. And then, as her eyes welled up again, she bent down to pick up her three-year-old daughter.

Delhi resident Uzma, back home today after a harrowing time in Pakistan, broke down often at an interaction with the media here.

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Forced to marry a Pakistani national identified as Tahir Ali, she managed to return to India after the Islamabad High Court allowed her to leave Pakistan, forcing Ali, who had taken away her immigration papers, to return them to her.

She recounted a tale of horror, of being forced to live in a "Taliban-like region" in Pakistan, which she described as a "well of death".

Questions were not asked at the conference organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, so the details of her story were often hazy.

She had met Ali in Malaysia, and the two had fallen in love. She left for Pakistan with him sometime in the beginning of May, she said.

"My plan of going to Pakistan was for leisure. I had planned to return by May 10 or 12. But, it wasnt like that at all when I reached there. You can call it a kidnapping situation," she said.

"After we crossed the Wagah Border, nothing felt right," she said.

At some point of time, she said, she had been given a sleeping pill by Ali and taken to "an unusual village" called Buner.

Uzma, it seemed, had been taken to the remote Buner district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where she was married to Ali on May 3, allegedly at gunpoint.

"The language was totally different there and the people were unusual, too. I was kept there, and I was beaten up," she said.

There were "big guns" in the house where she was put up, and Ali carried a pistol with him, she said. She could hear sounds of firing every day.

"I realised I may not have been alone there. There were other girls, perhaps not Indian nationals, maybe from the Philippines. Many of girls there have not been able to leave the place," she said.

Emotionally overwhelmed, she often cried while narrating her story at the briefing, in which minister Swaraj was also present.

Uzma said she was an "adopted child" but the government made her feel she was "Indias daughter".

She thanked Swaraj, her ministry and officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for ensuring her safe return.

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"I am here today only because of Sushma Maam, who kept track of me all through this episode. She told me that I was Hindustan ki Beti, her daughter, and that I need not worry. These words gave me strength when I was totally torn inside," she said.

It was not clear how she reached Islamabad from Buner. But once there, she took refuge at the Indian High Commission, which took up her case, providing her with legal aid.

"She (Swaraj) told me that I could stay at the high commission for even 2-3 years but she would not let me go back to that man (Tahir). I had never expected that the government would do so much for me," Uzma added.

Swaraj, while recalling the episode, said Uzma was so distressed that she told high commission officials she would commit suicide if she was not rescued.

"She came to the mission counter, and she had such a terrified look on her face that we immediately took her inside and gave her all support," Indias Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan J P Singh said.

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The Islamabad High Court yesterday allowed her to return to India after she appealed to the court to direct Ali to return her documents.

Soon after crossing the Wagah Border into India, she kissed the ground and touched the soil to her forehead -- a gesture that Swaraj said "indeed made her Indias daughter".

"You sent out a powerful message with that gesture. And, for us at the MEA, it was a compliment, as you reposed faith in our mission in a foreign land," Swaraj said.

"Your identity as an Indian national was enough for us to help you," the minister asserted.

Uzma called Pakistan a place which was easy to go to but difficult to return from.

"It is a well of death (maut ka kuan)," she said.

"Touching the soil of my homeland, I heaved a sigh of relief. I could breathe the air of freedom. There is no place in the world like India." PTI KND BDS

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WSU Makes Science and Art a Walk in the Parks

May 25, 2017

OGDEN, Utah  Weber State University is gearing up for its annual Arts in the Parks and Science in the Parks traveling summer programs.

Science in the Parks is entering its 11th year, while Arts in the Parks will begin its eighth year. Activities are offered in conjunction with the Ogden City School Districts free summer lunch program and aim to excite children about learning while enjoying a free meal.

Since its inception, Arts in the Parks has worked to celebrate the fun of creating stories, music, dance and visual art, said Kathryn MacKay, co-director. We started with only three parks and 200 to 300 participants and have grown to six parks with more than 700 participants. This is a fine example of WSU's commitment to collaborate and serve the community and to help connect both participants and helpers to the joy of the arts.

Staff and volunteers plan different activities for each day centered on a theme with an educational purpose. Though the locations change each week, the program stays the same.

Arts in the Parks has daily themes this year: Monday, Tell it with storytelling; Tuesday, Imagine it with puppets and theater; Wednesday and Thursday, Play it and Move it with music and dance; and Friday, Visual Arts with the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.

Science in the Parks has chosen See it!, Hear it!, Build it!, Move it!, Feel it! for its daily themes.

The community gets science brought to them, instead of expecting they need to come to campus or a classroom, said Adam Johnston, Science in the Parks director. Because we get to have these events in neighborhood parks, we help spread the word that science is all around, accessible and playful. We want to show that science is something that all get to engage with, and at all levels.

Science in the Parks activities will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Arts in the Parks from noon to 1 p.m. All activities are free thanks to current sponsorship from Weber County RAMP and support from Weber State University. Ogden City School District Summer Lunch Program serves free meals to anyone under 18, along with lunches for purchase for adults.

For more information on Science in the Parks, visit weber.edu/scienceintheparks;

and for more on Arts in the Parks, visit weber.edu/artsintheparks

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

Dates and locations for Arts in the Park:

June 5-9, Lorin Farr Park (769 Canyon Road, Ogden)

June 12-16, 4th Street Park (275 4th St., Ogden)

June 19-23, West Ogden Park (751 W 24th St.)

June 26-30, Monroe Park (850 30th St., Ogden)

July 5-7, Mt. Ogden Park (3144 Taylor Ave., Ogden)

* Note: No lunch or art hosted on July 3 and 4

July 10-14, Lester Park (663 24th Street, Ogden)

Dates and locations for Science in the Park:

June 5-9, Lester Park (663 24th St., Ogden)

June 12-16, Lorin Farr Park (769 Canyon Road, Ogden)

June 19-23, 4th Street Park (275 4th St., Ogden)

June 26-30, West Ogden Park (751 W. 24th St., Ogden)

July 5-7, Monroe Park (850 30th St., Ogden)

*Note: No lunch or science hosted on July 3 and 4.

July 10-14, Mt. Ogden Park (3144 Taylor Ave., Ogden)

For high-resolution photos, visit the following links:

wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Colleges-and-Departments/Science-College-of-Science/Physics/Science-in-the-Parks-2015
Distressing images and footage showing an infant trying to breastfeed on his mother, oblivious to her death, are doing the rounds on social media. The woman's body was spotted by people in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh.

By India Today Web Desk: When the people of Madhya Pradesh's Damoh spotted the bruised body of a young woman by the railway tracks, they could see her infant son latched on to her body, trying to breastfeed on his mother, unaware of the fact that she was dead.

Many images and videos of the deeply distressing sight are being widely shared on social media platforms.

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The cause of the woman's death is not yet known but the police suspect she may have fallen off a train or may have been hit by one. An NDTV report said that the officials think the woman may have been conscious for some time after being hit and may have tried to breastfeed her son.

A report in the Hindustan Times said that concussion and bleeding on the back of the woman's head led to her death but it wasn't immediate.

"She died before people found her. She opened a biscuit packet and gave some to the child. She breastfed her child to ensure he survives," railway police officer Anil Marawi told the Hindustan Times.

The 1-year-old baby's cries, as he was separated from the body of his mother, shook the onlookers, reports say.

INHUMANE HUMANS AT DAMOH GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL

Officials at the government hospital in Damoh town, however, was not moved by the tragedy.

The officials refused to take in the infant saying he cannot pay the admission fee of Rs 10, and reports said that the infant was kept waiting until a ward boy -- Tarun Tiwari -- paid the sum.

The woman's body has been sent for an autopsy and the baby has been shifted to a children's home.

Photo courtesy: DB Post

--- ENDS ---
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By Press Trust of India: New York, May 25 (PTI) Parents, take note! Interrupting family time by constantly checking your smartphone - a phenomenon dubbed as technoference - may increase behaviour problems in your kids, scientists have found.

Researchers, including those from Illinois State University in the US, found that even low or seemingly normal amounts of tech-related interruption were associated with greater child behaviour problems, such as oversensitivity, hot tempers, hyperactivity and whining.

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They analysed surveys completed separately by both mothers and fathers from about 170 two-parent households.

The parents were asked about their use of smartphones, tablets, laptops and other technology - and how the devices disrupted family time - a disturbance that researchers called technoference.

Interruptions could be as simple as checking phone messages during mealtime, playtime and routine activities or conversations with their children.

Parents were asked to rate how problematic their personal device use was based on how difficult it was for them to resist checking new messages, how frequently they worried about calls and texts and if they thought they used their phones too much.

They were also asked how often phones, tablets, computers and other devices diverted their attention when otherwise engaged with their children.

Researchers noted that on average, parents perceived about two devices interfering in their interactions with their child at least once or more on a typical day.

About half (48 per cent) of parents reported technology interruptions three or more times on a typical day while 17 per cent said it occurred once and 24 per cent said it happened twice a day. Only 11 per cent said no interruptions occurred.

Parents then rated child behaviour issues within the past two months by answering questions about how often their children whined, sulked, easily got frustrated, had tantrums or showed signs of hyperactivity or restlessness.

Researchers controlled for multiple factors, such as parenting stress, depressive symptoms, income, parent education as well as co-parenting quality (how supportive partners were of each other in parenting their child), which has been shown to predict child behaviour.

"We know that parents responsiveness to their kids changes when they are using mobile technology and that their device use may be associated with less-than-ideal interactions with their children," said Jenny Radesky from University of Michigan in the US.

"Its really difficult to toggle attention between all of the important and attention-grabbing information contained in these devices, with social and emotional information from our children, and process them both effectively at the same time," Radesky said.

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The study was published in the journal Child Development. PTI APA MHN MHN

--- ENDS ---
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 25, 2017 | 06:37 AM | CALLOWAY COUNTY, KY

The Calloway County Board of Education recently awarded World War II veteran Robert William Smith of Kirksey with his high school diploma, even though he was a student more than seventy years ago.

In accordance with a Kentucky Revised Statute, veterans who were unable to complete high school due to being drafted into military service are eligible to receive a high school diploma.



In March of 1945, Smith was drafted into the US Army. After basic training, Smith was sent to take part in the Asian Pacific campaign. He served overseas building roads and bridges, and as a cook. He was honorably discharged in November 1946 at the conclusion of the war.

Smith acknowledged one of his teachers from Backusburg School, Ms. Frances Suiter.



She changed my life, he said. Without her influence Im not sure what would have become of me.



Suiter was a young teacher just out of college, and Smith said that she won the hearts of the parents, students, and the community.

The Calloway County Board of Education thanked Smith for his service to his country.
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 25, 2017 | 06:29 AM | FRANKFORT, KY

Attorney General Andy Beshear today announced that his office will provide more than $574,000 to the states General Fund after settling with a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary over allegations it unlawfully promoted its over-the-counter drugs from 2009-2011 as complying with manufacturing safety standards.

The drugs include Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, St. Joseph Aspirin, Sudafed, Pepcid, Mylanta, Rolaids, Zyrtec and Zyrtec Eye Drops  all manufactured and distributed by McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division, which is now a division of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

The multimillion-dollar settlement reached by a group of state attorneys general and Johnson & Johnson, and submitted to Franklin Circuit Court on Wednesday, resolves allegations that McNeil promoted these drugs as complying with federally mandated manufacturing standards even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that some of its manufacturing facilities were not in compliance with federal standards between 2009 and 2011.

Through this settlement we are once again holding a drug company accountable for not only violating Kentuckys consumer protection laws but for placing our families and children at risk by not following federal manufacturing safety standards, Beshear said. The judgment we are announcing today is an important step toward ensuring the safe manufacture and lawful marketing and promotion of over-the-counter drugs to all Kentuckians.

The companys alleged quality control lapses resulted in recalls of many of its drugs manufactured between 2009 to 2011 including several used for pediatric or infant use. Failure of a company to comply with FDA standards may result in bacterial or foreign body contamination of a drug, or super-potent or ineffective medicines.

Beshear said Kentucky served on the executive committee on the multistate lawsuit that involved 42 states and the District of Columbia. Neighboring states joining in the settlement include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
A goal apiece from a couple of players with a combined transfer fee of 115million saw Manchester United barge tender young Ajax aside in the Europa League final last night.

Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan both went some way to paying back a significant chuck of their astronomic outlays, with United earning themselves a huge wedge by emerging victorious in Stockholm.

According to The Times calculations, United stand to reap a windfall of around 77.5million, which is broken down thus

An estimated 50million in Champions League television revenue and prize money next season.

A 22million bonus from Adidas as per the terms of their kit supply contract.

5.5million in Europa League prize money.

However, all this will be offset against the 28million that United will be forking out to various players after triggering pay rises written into their contracts.

In short, theyre approximately 50million up on the deal in crude terms.

Its still less than two-thirds of a Pogba, but still  not bad for a nights work.


 :     ,   ,   

  ,        , -     28         .
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was in the chilly month of February when Paramount wisely began marketing images and posters for the late-May release of Baywatch, a raunchy, R-rated take on the venerable TV series of the same name about a cadre of crime-busting lifeguards.

Among the fleshy avalanche of images was a poster of actress Alexandra Daddario dressed for the beach in an incongruent wintry landscape with the tagline: Dont worry. Summer is coming.

It rang appropriate for a couple of reasons. First, Daddario plays a character named Summer Quinn (played by Nicole Eggert in the original series). Second: At the time the posters were coming out, Daddario, 31, was herself working in the wintry landscape of Winnipeg, playing the role of a police detective investigating the crimes of an online predator in the thriller Nomis, opposite Henry Cavill and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Something like Nomis is really interesting to me because I wanted to work with the people that were involved with it and it was a role Id never done before, Daddario says from Miami, while doing press for Baywatch. Its exciting to be in a place where I can be in something like Baywatch because it enables me to be able to do the kind of things I havent done before.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

In fact, Daddarios resume thus far is admirably diverse. Shes done horror (Texas Chainsaw 3D), fantasy (in two Percy Jackson films, she played the demigod daughter of Athena), romance (The Choice) and horror-comedy (Burying the Ex), not to mention a memorable role in the HBO series True Detective as Woody Harrelsons mistress. In Baywatch, she plays a lifeguard who works alongside Dwayne Johnsons rebooted David Hasselhoff character Mitch, a change-up from playing his daughter in the 2015 disaster movie San Andreas.

The TV series Baywatch earned its long-running success with the appeal of beautiful bodies running  in slo-mo  on beautiful beaches, a formula the movie takes to R-rated extremes in transitioning the sexy-melodrama into a flat-out raunchy comedy. Daddario took to the transformation with a cautious sense of fun.

I read the script and I understood the tone of the film, she says. The only thing I wasnt interested in doing was nudity, because I didnt think it needed it. You have a lot of people who are half-naked the entire time and so you didnt need that. The body parts you do see make up for those you dont see.

But I was willing to push the envelope. I got what they were trying to do and I really wanted to be a part of that, she says. This is the first time I got to be part of more flat-out goofy comedy and thats something Ive been really wanting to do. I want to make people laugh.

She also doesnt object to subjecting people to suspense, which shell do in Nomis.

Its a more adult role than Ive played, she says. Im basically in an interrogation room with the bad guy the entire time and the scenes are very dark and very strange.

Nomis is a psychological piece and is unlike anything the actress has ever done before.

This character is dealing with something that Ive never had a character deal with something like this before in a film. Its fun. I love doing heavy stuff.

Working in Canada in February and March presumably helped her get to a dark place. Daddario was born in New York City and was accustomed to the hot-and-cold extremes of that citys seasons. But that was a long time ago.

Ive lived in Los Angeles now for seven years and for some reason I havent been in cold weather for an extended period of time, so it was actually a shock, she says. I was very excited at first to go and experience a winter but after a week, I was like What? This is terrible!

But I loved Winnipeg. You guys have a great film industry in the city.

randall.king@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @FreepKing

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RICK RYCROFT / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Alexandra Daddario and Zac Efron star in the action-comedy Baywatch, a film based on the long-running TV series about crime-busting lifeguards.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ikea Group named Jesper Brodin, currently responsible for the development of the Swedish furniture retailers product range and supply chain, as chief executive officer after Peter Agnefjall decided to step down.

Brodin, a 48-year-old former assistant to Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad who has worked at the maker of the Billy bookcase and Klippan sofa for 22 years, will take up the new role Sept. 1, Ikea said in a statement Wednesday. He is currently managing director of the Ikea of Sweden unit and will move to Leiden in the Netherlands, where Ikea has its headquarters, from Almhult in Sweden, where it opened its first store in 1958 and has its Swedish base.

Brodin will take over the helm of a furniture and retail empire with 348 stores, 45 shopping centres and 140,000 employees in 28 countries. During Agnefjalls almost five-year tenure, Ikea expanded its presence in China, began a push into India and honed its online offering. That strategy wont change under Brodin, Ikea Chairman Lars-Johan Jarnheimer said in an interview.

Supplied Jesper Brodin, Ikea Groups new CEO, started working at the company in 1995.

The strategic direction that the company has remains in place, and even if Jesper will mould it, he has been part of the development of the strategy together with Peter in his previous role on the management team, Jarnheimer said by phone. The new CEO is used to transformative work, which is more relevant than ever today, he added.

Brodin started at Ikea in 1995 and since then has worked in purchasing, product-range development, logistics and group management and spent time in locations from Pakistan and China to Denmark and Sweden.

We have a lot of exciting things ahead of us, Brodin said in a phone interview. Were growing, were keen on taking on new markets and were looking at how we can improve the customer experience in many dimensions.

Agnefjall, 46, who has worked at Ikea for 22 years and has also been an assistant to Kamprad, said he felt it was a natural time for me to take a change of path.

The CEO job involves working 365 days a year, 15 to 16 hours per day, and at some point one needs to hand over to the next generation, he said.

In the year through August, Ikeas store sales rose 7.1 per cent to 34.2 billion euros (C$51.5 billion). The CEO change wont affect Ikeas long-held goal of raising annual revenue to 50 billion euros ($75.3 billion) by 2020, according to its chairman. The company will have introduced so-called multi-channel retailing, including online sales, in almost all of its markets by the end of the year, Agnefjall said. Ikea plans to open 18 new stores next year, he added.

We see opportunities to continue to grow in all markets, because were quite small and have relatively low market shares everywhere apart from in Sweden, Agnefjall said.

We see big opportunities in large markets such as China and India and Id also like to highlight the U.S., where there are still quite a lot of white spots on the map.

 Bloomberg News
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Danny Bubis, the founder, president and chief investment officer of Tetrem Capital Management, is winding down his 13-year-old investment counsel and portfolio management firm.

Hes not selling it and the decision to close up shop is entirely his own and is not being made because of pressure from creditors or clients.

The 12-person Winnipeg firm manages about $4.5 billion in assets, mostly for CI Investments Inc. mutual funds, but also for a number of high net worth individuals.

Sarah Taylor / Winnipeg Free Press Files Tetrem Capital Management founder Danny Bubis says hes looking forward to a change of pace.

Bubis, 50, said the decision is his alone and is being made for a mosaic of reasons.

We are at a high water mark for all our clients. This is not a market call, Bubis said.

But we have been in a world where it is getting more difficult to find value in the marketplace and we are a value manager.

But mostly Bubis is walking away to take a break and because he can do it on his terms.

This is a 365 day per year job, he said. Im looking forward to being able to see what it is like to wake up in the morning and not be responsible for peoples life savings.

He said he has no plans other than to be present and not distracted with my family and friends.

Bubis was the former chief investment officer of Assante, which was acquired by CI Investments in 2003. He started Tetrem in 2004 and the relationship with CI has been a constant feature of the growth of the firm.

They have been a fantastic business partner, he said.

I have nothing but the highest level of respect for everyone in that organization.

Neal Kerr, executive vice-president investment management for CI Investments, said its confident in new management that was announced on Wednesday, but said, We will miss our relationship with Tetrem. Throughout various market environments, Tetrem has been consistent and disciplined in applying its approach and conducting independent research.

Staff at Tetrem will be looked after and some have already found other work in town.

Evan Mancer, president and chief investment officer of Cardinal Capital Management, now the largest independent investment counsel and portfolio manager in Winnipeg said, On the one hand you dont want more and more competition, but on the other hand we are all small fish in the big Canadian pond and its good to have other good firms in the business in the province.

He said, The way I feel about Danny, is that way many others do, that he has a great reputation as a great money manager.

In fact, he may be one of the best.

While Bubis was helping to build Assante into a Winnipeg powerhouse, Charlie Spiring was doing the same with his former brokerage firm, Wellington West. (Spiring has just launched a new firm called Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc.)

Spiring said, Danny is one of the best money managers Winnipeg has ever produced and Im very comfortable saying that. Hes winding down the firm with elegance and style the way you would hope.

But as successful as Tetrem has been, according to one industry veteran, the firms value on the market was completely tied up in the presence of Bubis at the helm. Therefore, it was not an enterprise that could have been sold and operated by anyone else.

Its probably true that I was not very successful at institutionalizing the business, Bubis said. I dont know if I really tried to do it. I think I could have monetized more of it It was not necessarily the most commercial decision not to do that.

In its latest quarterly report to Tetrems investors, it showed annualized returns to March 31, 2017, of 18.9 per cent.

Last year, we had a great year, Bubis said.

Everyone who has ever invested with me all my clients made money with me. Im proud to be able to say that.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadians remain deeply committed to reinstating door-to-door mail delivery even if it means getting their mail less frequently, according to a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute.

More than half of those polled want to see a return to door-to-door service, according to results released Thursday by the pollster ahead of a federal government decision about the Crown corporations fate.

Angus Reid said it means Canadian views on the issue are essentially unchanged from initial polls done four years ago.

SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS More than half of Canadians polled want to see a return to door-to-door mail delivery service.

While 54 per cent are in favour of nixing controversial community mailboxes, 61 per cent would support dropping delivery days from five to just three. However, most Canadians are committed to keeping the Crown corporation public. According to the poll, 63 per cent of those surveyed oppose privatization.

The numbers came as no real surprise to Jarrett Schmidt, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Winnipeg.

This is pretty much the same as the last report: Canadians continue to value Canada Post, they understand that its an essential service they dont want to privatize. All those things have stayed the same, Schmidt said.

According to the federal governments website (Canada.ca), the Trudeau government tabled its response to the standing committees report on the Canada Post review on April 12. It is currently considering the committees recommendations, as well as all of the evidence gathered throughout the review process.

The priority is to ensure Canada Post provides Canadians with the quality postal services they deserve, the website says.

The future direction of the Crown corporation is expected be announced later this year.

Schmidt was clear about what the postal workers union wants to see in that decision.

I think the ideal response would be to restore door-to-door to the areas that lost that service like they promised, he said. I think the government should see that rolling back services or eliminating services is not what Canadians want.

At the end of the day, the people are what rule the government the people are the ones that express how they feel about what the government gives in services. Clearly, (the Angus Reid poll) shows that its consistent that they constantly feel that Canada Post is an essential service and its valuable to the everyday Canadian.

For its Canada Post poll, Angus Reid surveyed a randomized group of more than 1,500 adults online over a period of three days in early April. The results are considered accurate 19 times out of 20.

scott.emmerson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/05/2017 (1996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A proposal from a group of councillors to improve transit safety through the creation of a transit police force and other initiatives has been referred to a committee for study.

The proposals, from Couns. Jeff Browaty, Janice Lukes, Shawn Dobson, Ross Eadie, Jason Schreyer and Russ Wyatt, were first made public earlier this month after they were frustrated with what they described as the administrations inadequate response to the Feb. 14 slaying of transit driver Jubal Fraser.

The administration is bringing a summary report of current safety initiatives to a public works meeting next week, where the councillors proposal will also be considered.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The scene of the Feb. 14 slaying of transit driver Jubal Fraser at the University of Manitoba.

The councillors had said the ideas were gathered recently from a review of whats being done on transit safety in other jurisdictions.

They noted that they cant believe its taken Winnipeg Transit three months to compile a report detailing existing safety measures.

Leadership at the transit union has been frustrated with what they said was the failure of transit officials to consult with them on the report.

The report will be presented to the public works committee May 30.

In addition to the creation of a special transit police force, the councillors are proposing:

The creation of a safety first policy for Winnipeg Transit.

A zero-tolerance policy for fare evaders, with heavy fines for those who refuse to pay.

A zero-tolerance policy for assaults on transit vehicles, with monthly assault reports to council.

Implementation of a continuous transit safety awareness campaign.

The creation of a council-appointed transit community advisory board.

Revisions to the Transit directors job description to focus on safety protocols and tying part of the directors remuneration to customer service survey results.

Some of the measures suggested by the councillors, such as the safety awareness campaign, are already common practice for other transit authorities.

Only Vancouver has a dedicated transit police force.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents of Red Sucker Lake First Nation whose health may be at risk from a nearby forest fire are being moved to Thompson and then Winnipeg.

Flights from the remote community 700 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg began Thursday afternoon, the Canadian Red Cross said in a news release.

More than 300 people with health issues and their caregivers are being flown out to Thompson where they will meet with Red Cross officials to wait for flights to Winnipeg, where they will stay during the evacuation. The agency has an agreement with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to manage the evacuation.

 Mapbox  OpenStreetMap

Since Red Cross disaster assistance to First Nations is supported by the federal government, the expenses for these responses are covered.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to help the Red Cross prepare for future disasters can go to www.redcross.ca or call 1-800-418-1111. Those who want to learn about how they can volunteer to help with future disasters can go to www.redcross.ca or call 204-982-7330.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/05/2017 (1996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly two years after arriving in Canada following a perilous dip in the Red River, an aid worker forced to flee Somalia is working to raise money this Friday for Winnipeg Harvest.

Yahya Samatar is promoting the fundraising Fast and Furious Feast.

I feel so happy because this program is all about Winnipeg Harvest, said Samatar, who has volunteered at the food bank.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Yahya Samatar, the refugee claimant who swam the Red River to get into Canada in 2015, was accepted as a refugee and now hes promoting the Fast and Furious Feast, a Winnipeg Harvest fundraiser, Friday.

Samatar is a full-time fundraising consultant with the Creaddo Group  a Winnipeg fundraising agency  and volunteers with Welcome Place, helping newcomers and refugee claimants. On his lunch hour Wednesday, he was busy helping a newcomer fill out immigration forms at Portage Place.

Fridays feast runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Those who cant attend can donate tickets for refugees and refugee claimants to use to enjoy a restaurant meal while getting to know Winnipeg.

Its an opportunity for new people whove come here to go out for dinner and be part of the community, Samatar said.

Last year, more than 600 people took part in the feast, which raised more than $15,000. Samatar said he knows what its like to be a refugee claimant, in limbo and without a permanent safe place to call home. And he knows the desperation that drove hundreds of people this past winter to risk life and limb walking through frozen farm fields from the U.S. into Canada.

Its a terrifying, sad situation, said Samatar. He nearly drowned after entering the mighty Red in August 2015, thinking that if he crossed it he would be in Canada.

You only know that you can see hope on the other side, he said. That is what drives you to do everything.

Winnipegs Fast and Furious Feast is being held for the fourth time on the eve of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that includes fasting during daylight hours. Its part of Give 30, a national grassroots campaign that calls on people to support their local food bank in the spirit of compassion, community and social solidarity during Ramadan.

Tickets for the feast are $25 and available online at winnipegharvest.org or at the door. Its happening at Shawarma Khan at 225 McDermot Ave., in the Exchange District.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/05/2017 (1996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Try to sound more Canadian, eh?

For many immigrants trying to get ahead, thats the ticket, says a Winnipeg speech therapist who helps clients modify their accents.

The most typical client I have coming to see me is a very intelligent, professional immigrant that finds it so difficult to feel at par with work colleagues and only because of their accent, said Luella Jonk, a registered speech language pathologist and certified professional counsellor.

They want to work their way up the ladder, but sometimes they feel theyre not, perhaps, appreciated for their work thats at the same level, said Jonk, who presented an accent reduction workshop Wednesday at the Career, Education & Settlement Immigrant Fair in downtown Winnipeg. The one-day event was sponsored by Canadian Immigrant magazine and included motivational speakers, workshops, a trade show with exhibitors and potential employers.

When youre asked to repeat something more than once in a meeting, you can see how that would affect your sense of self-worth or self-esteem  What can I do about this? What can I do to make myself better understood? 

For Jonk, her work is close to her heart.

My father was an immigrant from the Netherlands. He always had a very strong accent. She loved his Dutch accent and said he was a very successful farmer who never tried to change it. Thats not an option for many newcomers today, however.

I see hardworking immigrants coming to this country and wanting to improve themselves and be the best they can, she said. That includes improving their spoken English.

A common problem involves the voiceless th sound  as in thank you  versus the th sound in brother, where the tongue is placed between the teeth, Jonk said. Mispronunciations such as tank you and over dere can impact a listeners perception of the person speaking, she said.

You come across as maybe not sounding quite as intelligent. Its unfortunate that an accent can change a listeners perception of someone when intelligence has nothing to do with accents, said Jonk.

Some of her clients are corporations that fund their employees getting accent modification training on their own time.

They see their potential, said Jonk, who created Speak, Read, & Spell, an online learning platform and book series. About 80 per cent of her speech therapy work is one-on-one and she sees many of her busy clients via Skype.

In everyday life, were all running around like crazy, said Jonk.

Taking on the added work of improving their spoken English shows a determination to fit in and be understood, she said.

Thats why I admire accented speakers  theyll take customer service jobs because they want to practise.

But, as a consequence, theyre leaving themselves open to an impatient and sometimes rude public and complete degradation, Jonk said. People working at call centres will often be told, I want to talk to someone who speaks English, she added.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Trained speech pathologist Luella Jonk works with a lot of professionals who feel their accent is holding them back.

While many Canadians lack patience because they dont understand what its like being a linguistic minority, shes seeing a growing accent acceptance locally.

I think Winnipeg is getting a bit better, Jonk said. Winnipeggers are often kind to a fault  they wont say that they dont understand what someone has said or correct their pronunciation.

Were much too polite, Jonk said.

But its better to seek clarity than pretend you know what someone is saying when you dont, she said.

Instead of nodding, say Could you repeat that? or I didnt quite get that. 

She gave an example of a client who wanted help pronouncing a word after he kind of got that weird look from colleagues when he said it. He was telling people about an outing in Pinawa, but he had mispronounced it pi-NOW-wa. People smiled and said, That must have been fun, but no one knew what he was talking about, Jonk said.

They were much too polite.

Jonk said her clients and students would appreciate being discreetly and kindly corrected. Theyre the best students to have. They give so much back to you  their joy, their motivation is incredible.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/05/2017 (1996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Trudeau government has finally named a new treaty commissioner for Manitoba after nearly a year of seaching for the right candidate.

Loretta Ross, a lawyer who hails from Hollow Water First Nation, 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg, will take office Monday after a protracted, non-partisan vetting process that began last May. Ross will be responsible for helping improve treaty relationships.

Its a pretty big discussion, Ross said Wednesday at home in Winnipeg, where shes been working for the last year wrapping up the last of her legal cases, many to do with residential school survivors, in preparation for this appointment.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Loretta Ross has been appointed Treaty commissioner for Manitoba.

Its taking a look at the treaties and saying between governments, between nations, what does that relationship look like now, and how do we go forward?

How much of these conversations Ross will be able to tackle during her one-year term is unclear. She admits to being hampered by the short tenure but is determined to push forward nonetheless.

I think people would like to see something a little more concrete, Ross said. You cant do as much as you want in a year, but you can start the process, you can plan.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the federal government created the role in 2005, a joint attempt to create a neutral office that would better relationships governed by treaties that date back centuries.

It can be a polarizing topic, Ross said. Indigenous people are on one side pointing to mounting evidence the treaty benefits have been one-sided, the government not honouring its promises, she acknolwedged, while non-indigenous people are on the other worrying what more indigenous control will mean for their lives.

Automatically, she said, people get their backs up.

But Ross has been preparing for those moments when people need to practically be forced to sit and listen with an open mind almost her entire career. A graduate of Queens Universitys law school, Ross spent a year working in Toronto before coming home to Manitoba, where she did a nine-month stint doing research work for the Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission.

From there, Rosss legal practice focused primarily on Child and Family Service law. In 1995, she joined AMC, where she spent a decade mired in indigenous self-government negotiations which invariably entwined with treaties.

Although Ross left AMC in 2005, treaties continue to factor prominently in her legal work. She served for a while as lawyer for Fox Cree Nation, her role eventually evolving into an executive director role to help mediate in the First Nations interactions with Manitoba Hydro. She later served as legal counsel for Hollow Water as well.

With Rosss legal background and expansive treaty knowledge, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak said AMC is happy we have the right person in the position.

AMC recommended Ross to the federal government last fall, at which point the job had been vacant for six months. The Liberal government let former treaty commissioner James Wilsons appointment  made by the former Conservative government and reappointed in 2014 without AMCs approval  lapse in 2016. Rosss appointment was one of many slowed by new federal processes to make sure such appointments were non-partisan.

Although Nepinak had hoped for a speedier decision, he said hes looking forward to seeing Ross tackle the job.

We think shell be able to handle the difficult questions, he said, particularly legal ones. Nepinaks hope is Ross will be able to make the treaty commissioner role a little more substantial.

While treaty-based education is an important aspect of the job, he said hes looking for a more substantive role for (Ross) to actually get involved in some of the ongoing issues around treaties that are both political and legal in nature.

In a statement, the office of the minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada said the government is looking forward to working with her as we rebuild Canadas relationship with indigenous peoples based on respect, recognition of right and co-operation.

Ross said discussions between all levels of governments and between nations are going to be key to her appointment.

Each of the parties needs to have a look at the politics, have a look at the legal aspects of treaties and what they mean, she said.

From there, she said, Maybe we could arrive at a point where we can advance the treaty relationship itself.

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The media mostly missed it (or chose to ignore it as a piece of meaningless rhetoric), but U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed a new doctrine in his speech to the assembled leaders of the Muslim world in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. It goes by the name of Principled Realism, although it didnt offer much by way of either principles or realism. In practice, it mostly boiled down to a declaration of (proxy) war against Iran.

After rambling on for 20 minutes about the wonders of Islam and the evils of extremism and terrorism, Trump finally got to the point: No discussion of stamping out this (terrorist) threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists safe harbour, financial backing and the social standing needed for recruitment I am speaking, of course, of Iran.

No mention of the fact that every single terrorist attack in the West from 9/11 down to the bomb in Manchester Arena on Monday night was carried out by Sunni fanatics, most of them of Arab origin, whereas Irans population is overwhelmingly Shia and not Arab at all.

EVAN VUCCI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit at the King Abdulaziz Conference Centre on Sunday, in Riyadh.

Iran, to hear Trump tell it, is the source of all the regions problems.

From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region It is a government that speaks openly of mass murder, vowing the destruction of Israel, death to America, and ruin for many nations and leaders in this room

Until the Iranian regime is willing to be a partner for peace, all nations of conscience must work together to isolate Iran, deny it funding for terrorism, and pray for the day when the Iranian people have the just and righteous government they deserve.

Trump delivered this remarkable farrago of lies and half-truths two days after Iran, the only Middle Eastern state apart from Israel and Turkey to hold relatively free elections, re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, who has worked hard to reduce the influence of his hard-line opponents. He also signed the deal freezing Iranian work on nuclear weapons for 10 years, and he clearly has popular support for his policies.

The militias Iran trains and supports include those in Iraq that are fighting to free the city of Mosul from the clutches of Islamic State (they also have tacit American support), and the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, which has been part of the Lebanese government since 2005. There is no evidence that Iran has supplied weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, despite frequent allegations to that effect by Arab and American sources.

The Iranian government does not speak openly about mass murder, and the one Iranian leader who spoke about the eventual destruction of Israel (although he did not promise to do it personally) was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was defeated by Rouhani in the 2013 election, and was banned from running again in the one just past. Death to America! was a nationalist slogan popular in the 1980s.

Iran, like most large countries, has many conflicting political trends, and with careful selection and enough ill will you can find enough extreme and ignorant comments to demonize the country. (You could certainly do it with Trumps America.) But the Islamic Republic of Iran has never invaded anybody, and it certainly does not support terrorist attacks against either the West or the Arab world.

Trump has drunk the Kool-Aid. He has bought into a partisan Arab narrative whose theme is an inevitable (and ultimately military) conflict between Iran and the Arab world, and has all but promised that the United States would fight on the Arab side in that putative war.

This is probably the stupidest foreign policy commitment any American administration has made since the decision 60 years ago to take Frances place in fighting the Communist menace in Vietnam. Iran has almost as many people as Vietnam, its five times as big, and its mostly mountains and deserts  plus some very big cities.

Maybe it is inevitable that Sunni Arab leaders will see Shia Iran through the lens of their own fears and stereotypes, and start making self-fulfilling prophecies of apocalyptic conflict. Trump has no such excuse  except perhaps to point out that Barack Obama also went along with the Yemen nonsense, and that Hillary Clinton would probably have bought the whole foolish package.

Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
Winona

Wednesday

10:00 a.m.  A man reported a tire on his vehicle was cut on the 550 block of Hamilton Street.

11:35 a.m.  Craig Robert Neyers, 43, Minnesota City, was cited for theft at Menards.

11:41 a.m.  Kwik Trip on West Fifth Street in Winona reported a counterfeit $100.

7:16 p.m.  A woman on the 300 block of Mankato Avenue reported a purse missing from her car, which was later found behind the Washington-Kosciusko Elementary School.

7:33 p.m.  A man reported a wrench and pliers missing from his garage on the 600 block of West Fourth Street.

Thursday

1:28 a.m.  Mitchel Lawrence Turner, 19, Winona, was cited for underage drinking after police responded to him attempting to enter the Huff Street Mugby Junction locations back door because he thought it was his friends house.
Shameful and shockingthe Cincinnati suicide of an eight-year-old boy named Gabriel Taye two days after being assaulted by a classmate in a school bathroom.

The video of the event is more than disturbingand not just from the assault, Gabe reaching out to shake hands with a bigger boy who pulls or throws him into a wall, rendering him unconscious as he slumped to the floor. Nor is the most disturbing aspect of this tragedy the schools handling of the situation, labeled inexplicable and inexcusable in a recent Cincinnati Enquirer editorial.

No, the most disturbing behavior of all is Gabes classmates who, for seven long torturous minutes, walked past him going in or out of the bathroom, a few of whom stopped to stare or step over or even poke or prod Gabe with their feetjust to see if hed move, I guess. He didnt.

Those boys who passed by on the other sideyes, Im reminded of the parable of the Good Samaritanwerent ignoring a stranger. They knew Gabe, they liked Gabe, yet they passed by on the other side. And those who did stop to poke him with their foot, getting no response, well, theyve help write the new parable of the Uncaring Classmate within the larger theme of the Uncaring Culture.

Many readers will strongly disagree with my judging the behavior of eight-year-olds. But I believe that being eight does not exonerate. In terms of suicide, children of that age may not comprehend the finality and permanence of death. But they surely know pain and being hurt and needing to summon an adult when another child is lying motionless on the floor.

But children do not grow up in vacuumthey learn from adults. Nerve-gas bombs dropped on Syrian children? Another Islamic State beheading video? Mass murder and cremation of Syrian prisoners, starvation in drought-stricken Africa and even in the streets of Venezuela? Not my problem.

Remember Joseph Welchs penetrating question at a Senate hearing, Have you no sense of decency, sir? So I ask today, Have we no shame? A dulled sense of shame or common decency goes hand in hand with a weakened importance of personal character and moral compass. At larger levelsfamily, community, nation, such degrading of group morality and standards leads to lesser pride in a familys, communitys, or nations reputation.

Ones reputation used to be of central importance. Long ago. Heres a letter that Dan Hosbrookwho lived in Cincinnati and had been blind for yearsreceived on his 80th birthday from his son in Indianapolis. The year was 1865.

Respected father, In looking over the list of your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, I believe there is not a drunkard or a swearer or a vagabond or a beggar in the catalogue, and I now pledge myself that none of my children ever shall be. Family pride. Moral compass. Pretty old-fashioned, eh?

Dans son clearly had pride in his familys reputation. He would have been shamed had his son walked by another boy lying helpless and motionless. He would have cried had his son been the one who threw Gabe into the wall. Simply put, we are now in an era of nudity, crudity, cussing, road rage, and walking by on the other side, an era when its harder to shame people into much of anything. Whens the last time you blushed?

This increased callousness and abrasiveness at the local level is taking place within rapidly lowering national and global standards for human conduct. Genocideor near-genocideis occurring in some countries as well as mass starvation and displacement. Will we walk by on the other side? Will America exert moral leadership on the world stage, and will we, as a culture and country and government, better behave ourselves?

And will we help children have strong reasons to liveand to live a life of caring for others? If we cant have the Ten Commandments in schools, let it be the Golden Ruledo unto others as you would have them do unto you.
So much for the Fiscal Year 2018 Federal Budget and its essentially "zeroing out" all sort of schemes and initiatives expected to help the poor, all in the name of tax credits for "the Four Hundred." Cuts unlikely to produce realistic jobs stateside, or so the prevailing thought holds.

Doesn't this, in effect, suggest that the deeper mantra of such "zeroing out" is one of telling the lower classes that they need to "rescue themselves" solely by their own will, resolve and resources?

And wouldn't such a notion essentially suggest that the "best and only" solution the poor have is through scams such as "the Five Reports," "mailing-list generator" and "cashflow gifting club" such as were popular in the late 1990's and early 2000's via e-mail, all the while exploiting their want of sophistication and marketable job skills which are all the more unlikely to be developed thanks to funding cuts?

So what is the preferred ideal against such a prospect? And please, spare us the platitudes about the "need to return to God and Christ," which can only go so far.
A member of the Sauk County Board has filed a complaint against the boards chair, Marty Krueger, saying he violated the countys ethics code by making a false allegation.

Krueger does not deny making the remark in question. In a written response, he said it was not a violation of the ethics code, but rather an exercise of free speech.

The complaint relates to a comment Krueger made during an April 4 meeting, in which he alleged that one of the boards committees routinely discusses county business outside official meetings. If true, such discussions may violate the states open meetings law.

The chair of the committee in question, Supervisor Scott Von Asten of Baraboo, filed a complaint against Krueger over the remark on April 17, documents show. The countys Ethics Inquiry Board is scheduled to consider the matter during a public meeting Friday morning.

He accused the entire committee of violating the law on a routine basis, Von Asten said. First of all, were innocent of that. Thats the important thing. Hes accusing innocent people of violating the law, which is clearly an assault on the integrity of the committee and the board as a whole.

During an April 4 meeting, Krueger proposed a change to board rules that would increase the size of the boards Property and Insurance Committee from five to six members. He said Von Asten, the committees chair, frequently allows Supervisor Tom Kriegl of Baraboo, who is not a member of the committee, to participate in discussions without restriction.

Therefore, Krueger said, he may as well appoint Kriegl to the committee. He then said this: Basically, Ill appoint Tom and let him participate. Im not worried about a tie vote, because I think a lot of stuff at that committee is discussed outside anyway.

Krueger and Kriegl are longtime political foes, and the property and insurance committee includes several supervisors who have openly criticized the board chairs leadership. Krueger used the rule change discussion as an opportunity to criticize his political opponents before withdrawing his proposal.

Krueger has offered no evidence to support his allegation that the property and insurance committee discusses county business outside official meetings. He did not return a phone call Wednesday, but instead forwarded a copy of his written response to Von Astens complaint.

The Sauk County Code of Ethics does not, nor can it, regulate First Amendment speech, Krueger wrote in an April 20 response to Von Astens complaint. Mr. Von Asten may not like what I said. However, he cannot use the Ethics Code to silence my speech any more than I can use the same ode to silence his speech. This is politics, not ethics.

In his complaint, Von Asten referenced a section of the ethics code that says county business should be conducted in such a way so as to re-enforce the publics confidence in its integrity. He pointed to another section that says county officials and employees should primarily be concerned with the public interest and carry out their duties efficiently and impartially.

A former ethics board member, David Ament of Baraboo said the countys ethics code does not specifically address behavioral standards. It mainly addresses self-dealing on behalf of county officials and employees.

Ament said Kruegers remark likely is not a violation. However, he said that does not mean that such behavior is appropriate for county board members.

I think too often they let their own personal vendettas get in the way, Ament said. If theyd just keep county business and the good of the electorate in mind, it would solve a lot of problems.

The countys Ethics Inquiry Board rarely meets, and gathers only to consider complaints. Terms of the panels members had expired at the time Von Asten filed his complaint in April.

The county board chair is responsible for appointing new members to the ethics board. Krueger appointed new members during this months county board meeting with the knowledge they would consider Von Astens complaint against him.

The ethics board last met in March 2009 to consider another complaint against Krueger. In that case, a supervisor alleged that the board chairs failure to appear at court dates involving a lawsuit against his business was an ethical violation.

The judge that presided over the civil lawsuit held Krueger in contempt of court and authorized a warrant. Krueger was arrested, but later resolved the lawsuit.

The ethics board dismissed the 2009 complaint, saying it did not allege a specific violation of the ethics code.
MAYVILLE  It was recommended Wednesday night that Mayvilles facade improvement grant application program match up to $5,000 for $10,000 worth of improvements to downtown businesses.

Mayville Mayor Rob Boelk said over the phone that the grant program is in need of an upgrade with hopes that it will gain more attention. So far two businesses have applied for and been granted funds.

He added that non-profits are exempt from the grant funds and businesses can only be accepted once every 24 months.

This action will need council approval.

Downtown river walk upgrade

Elsewhere in downtown Mayville the downtown river walk surface is recommended to change from a five-foot width of asphalt to a concrete surface instead.

According to Boelk, this recommendation comes at the request from the state. This will raise the cost of the project by about $3,000. Its estimated that this project will cost Mayville $50,000. The project has not yet been put out for bids. Design work cost $15,000.

Ground breaking for the project will take place in spring of 2018.

New website coming June 1

City of Mayville will get a new website on June 1 and advertising revenue will go toward promotion of the city.

Boelk said that the city would aim to advertise the city outside of its usual demographic. This means that Mayville will look outside of Dodge County and Wisconsin to attract visitors. The new website cost $3,500.

The Community Development Authority will charge $600 for ad space on www.mayvillecity.com.
JUNEAU  A 19-year-old Watertown man entered a not guilty plea to charges that he exchanged sexually suggestive photos with a 14-year-old girl.

Stephen D. Buske is charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography, child sexual exploitation and exposing a child to harmful material.

According to the criminal complaint, a 14-year-old girl in Green Bay reported in November 2016 that she exchanged up to 16 nude photos with Buske. The girl said it had started at the end of the school year in the spring. The girl said that when she was visiting a relative on one occasion, that Buske would come over and touch her inappropriately as well. He also sent her inappropriate videos of himself on Snapchat. The girl said she did not save the videos but believed he had sent her between 10 and 50 photos and videos.

Police met with Buske in March and he told officers that he met the girl at a funeral in 2016. The complaint states that he admitted to having the photos of the girl in the past, but said he deleted them.

According to the complaint, Buske said he had sent four or five photos to the girl and two videos. He estimated that she had sent 80 to 100 photos to him. He said he only kept the photos a few days before deleting them. According to the complaint, Buske also admitted that he was having more interest in younger children and had viewed child pornography on the web.

Police were able to find photos of underage girls on his phone.

A telephone scheduling conference is scheduled on June 30.
The Columbus Lions Club transports donor eye tissue two months out of the year, in May and October. Lion Linda Madsen and Lion Bob Groh act as the Columbus Lions eye coordinators. This year the Columbus Lions are celebrating their 30th anniversary as a club, and over these years have transported countless numbers of boxes containing donor eye tissue. Many of the clubs members and their family and friends drop what they are doing to transport eye tissue when they receive a call from Madsen or Groh, to ensure that the donor eye tissue is delivered in a timely manner. So far this month, 26 boxes of donor tissue have been transported (with 11 days left in May that might add to this total).

Lion Jack Sanderson was delivering three boxes of donor eye tissue to the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin on Saturday May 13 when Jimmy Cliffs song I Can See Clearly Now came on the radio. He said it was very inspirational to him since he knows that delivering donor eye tissue could lead to someone regaining their sense of sight. Sanderson transported a total of five boxes of tissue that day, because the Lions Eye Bank had processed tissue that was intended for transplantation that needed to be sent out.

The Columbus club is part of the Cornea Express, a statewide relay of Lions Club members who transport tissue throughout Wisconsin. The Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin uses this unique process of transporting donor eye tissue, and it makes a huge impact. When a donation occurs, local Lions clubs are called upon to transport the corneal tissue to the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin via a relay system. Volunteers use their own vehicles to transport the donor tissue.

The Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin needs eye and corneal tissue from donors of most ages. The eye tissue is used for more than just restoring vision: It can also be used to further research for certain diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. The Lions Club has a focus of helping people prevent blindness, and this is just one of the examples of what Lions do to serve their communities.

To read donor stories and learn more about Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin, go online to lebw.org.
A Lyndon Station man faces two domestic abuse charges, including strangulation and suffocation, after being arrested May 10.

Heath Pickel, 38, could face a $10,000 fine or imprisonment of six years or both for the strangulation charge. Pickel was also charged with misdemeanor battery, domestic abuse, and could receive a $10,000 fine, a prison term of no more than nine months, or both, if convicted. In addition, Pickel also faces a charge for resisting an officer, which carries a possible $10,000 fine and no more than nine months in prison, or both, along with a misdemeanor bail jumping offense that carries the same penalty.

According to a criminal complaint:

A Juneau County deputy responded to a residence in Lyndon Station for a possible domestic disturbance on May 10. Upon arrival, a female and 17-year-old male were outside the residence. The male told police Pickel had attacked him and was very intoxicated. He said Pickel had grabbed him by the arm causing bruising and pain and also by the throat. The male said Pickel squeezed his throat for about 30 seconds, which obstructed his breath. He said he had to throw Pickel back into a door to make him stop. Pickel also allegedly threw a knife block full of knives at the male and female then ran out the door and drove to a neighbors residence.

Three officers went to the neighbors house looking for Pickel. A male answered the door and claimed Pickel went to the garage to hide. One of the deputies spotted Pickel hiding in an adjacent room of the garage. When he stood up from hiding, he allegedly was staggering and slurring his speech. The officer told Pickel why he was there and Pickel claimed he didnt know what he was talking about.

After being arrested, Pickel refused to walk himself to the squad car, pushing back two officers. He was eventually placed in the back seat, but started banging his head and yelling at the officers. At the jail, Pickel threw himself on the floor and was taken to Mile Bluff Medical Center for clearance.

Pickel was arrested last year for his third operating while intoxicated offense and because that case is still open he cant commit another crime. For the May 10 charges, Pickel is set to make an initial appearance at the Juneau County Justice Center at 9 a.m. June 21. On May 15, Pickel posted a $3,000 bond and was released from custody.
WASHINGTON  The poor and the disabled are big losers in President Donald Trump's $4.1 trillion budget proposal while the Pentagon is a big winner.

Trump's plan for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 makes deep cuts in safety net programs, including Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The proposal also includes big cuts in Social Security's disability program.

Defense spending and border security would get significant boosts.

The winners and losers:

WINNERS

The military: Trump's budget proposal would add $469 billion to defense spending over the next decade.

Border security: The proposal includes $2.6 billion for border security technology, including money to design and build a wall along the southern border. Trump repeatedly promised voters during the campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall, a notion that Mexican officials rejected. Instead, the U.S. taxpayer will foot the bill.

The elderly: Trump's budget plan does not address Social Security or Medicare benefits for retirees, even though both programs are on track to become insolvent in the coming decades.

New parents: The budget plan includes a new paid-leave program for the parents of newborn children. Under the program, mothers and fathers could take up to six weeks of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Trump's budget summary says the program is fully paid for, but includes only $19 billion over the next decade.

Veterans: The budget proposal calls for an increase for the Veterans Administration, including $29 billion over the next decade for the Choice program. The program allows veterans to seek outside medical care from private doctors.

Doctors: The budget proposes to cap jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Medicare and Medicaid fraud prevention: These efforts would get a $70 million increase next year.

LOSERS

The Poor: Trump's budget would slash Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program by $616 billion over the next decade. These programs provide health insurance for millions of poor families.

The Poor, Part II: Trump's budget would cut the food stamp program by $191 billion over the next decade.

The Poor, Part III: Trump's budget would cut funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program by $22 billion over the next decade.

The Disabled: Trump's budget calls for cutting Social Security disability benefits by nearly $70 billion over the next decade by encouraging and, in some cases, requiring people receiving the benefits to re-enter the workforce.

College Students: Trump's proposal would cut student loans by $143 billion over the next decade.

Farmers: The budget plan would cut farm subsidies by $38 billion over the next decade.

Young Workers: By not addressing Social Security or Medicare benefits for retirees, Trump's budget increases the likelihood that young workers will eventually face either significant benefit cuts or big tax increases. Social Security's trust funds are projected to run dry in 2034 and Medicare's is projected to run out of money in 2028. If Congress allows either fund to run dry, millions of Americans living on fixed incomes would face steep cuts in benefits.

The Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay: Trump's budget would eliminate the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Chesapeake Bay Program, saving $427 million next year.

Planned Parenthood: The budget would prohibit any funding for certain entities that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The agency, which fights everything from AIDS to Zika, would have its budget cut about 18 percent, to $6.3 billion.

 The National Institutes of Health: The budget for the premier medical research agency would be cut by 18 percent, to $26 billion.

Science: The American Association for the Advancement of Science estimates the budget proposal would cut overall federal spending on scientific research by 16.8 percent.

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Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Hope Yen, Lauran Neergaard and Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.
Students in the University of Wisconsin System will not get the tuition cut Gov. Scott Walker proposed but will have flat tuition bills for the next two years under changes the states budget committee approved Thursday.

The Joint Finance Committee also trimmed the amount of new money that would be allocated to the System in the 2017-19 state budget by about $7 million compared to Walkers proposal, and gave more power to the UW Board of Regents in deciding how to divide funding among campuses.

The committee took up the UW Systems budget Thursday after delaying a vote on it earlier this week because Republican lawmakers could not reach an agreement on the tuition cut.

The result is a spending plan that UW leaders applauded as a reinvestment in higher education and Republicans said provided greater accountability, but that Democrats said came nowhere near replacing money lost in years of state funding cuts and could instead weaken the System further.

This is a good budget for UW, its a good budget for our economy, its a good budget for our students, said Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield.

Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point, disagreed, noting that the Republican changes did not provide any funding to offset the revenue UW institutions would lose by continuing the freeze that has been in place since 2013.

This was your opportunity to fund the UW System and you did not take it  you failed, Shankland told the committees Republican members, who passed the new budget provisions on a party-line vote. This budget puts UW backwards again.

Student savings eschewed

Walkers budget called for keeping in-state undergraduate tuition in the UW System flat for the coming school year, then cutting it by 5 percent for the 2018-19 term, and providing $35 million to fund the reduction.

Such a change would have saved those students $464 per year at UW-Madison.

But key lawmakers balked at the proposal and its cost, leading to disagreements between members of the Senate and Assembly in the latest rift among the Republicans who control the Legislature and governors office.

Several senators wanted to keep the tuition cut in place, while Assembly members were adamant that any reduction was, according to finance committee co-chairman Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, a no-go in their house.

Walker signaled a retreat from the tuition cut idea prior to the committees vote Thursday.

I would love to have a reduction; its what I proposed, Walker told reporters in Neenah. But having a freeze, I think, for the next two years would be a great victory.

UW leaders and supporters had asked lawmakers to end the cap entirely, saying authority for setting tuition should rest with the Systems Board of Regents. Democrats argued UW institutions would have an estimated $50 million worth of additional revenue if tuition increased at the rate of inflation.

Continuation of the tuition freeze becomes more detrimental each year, said Matt Kussow, executive director of the pro-UW lobbying group Badger Advocates. At some point lawmakers have to let the Board of Regents run the universities again.

But while Nygren and other lawmakers indicated they were open to ending the freeze earlier this year, by this week he said both sides agreed there would be no tuition increase.

Most of the $35 million Walker earmarked for the tuition cut will instead go toward a $29.6 million package for UW employee pay raises, said Nygren and committee co-chairwoman Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills.

Theyre getting such a good investment, we feel this is a good compromise, Darling said.

Performance funds for UW reduced

While the governors budget would have provided a $42.5 million funding increase for the System and distributed that money based on how UW institutions rank against one another in a list of performance measures, the committee approved changes to reduce that new funding to $31.5 million.

Other changes lay out a framework for measuring the performance of UW institutions, but let the Regents identify the specific metrics that would gauge that performance and write their own formula for distributing the new funding, which would have to be approved by the Joint Finance Committee.

Walkers budget laid out a more detailed plan for measuring UW institutions success.

We think we should give the framework to the Regents and have them decide, because one size does not necessarily fit all, Darling said.

Other changes to the budget will provide additional funding for the System, including $3 million over two years for a policy research and leadership center at UW-Madison named for former Gov. Tommy Thompson, and nearly $1 million for the Carbone Cancer Center.

We put forth a reasonable budget request that strategically aligns our resources with the states greatest needs, UW System President Ray Cross said. While we have concerns with some of the provisions, the vast majority of our requests were approved, and we look forward to working with the legislature on remaining issues.

Democrats, who have raised concerns that the Thompson center could become a conservative-leaning outpost at UW-Madison, noted that the rules for the center spelled out in Thursdays budget changes would mean most of its seven-person board would be appointed by the leaders of the Senate and Assembly  two chambers controlled by Republicans.

State Journal reporter Mark Sommerhauser contributed to this report.
Despite a historic electoral majority spanning the executive and legislative branches, Wisconsin Republicans have struggled this year to reach agreements in three key areas of the state budget: transportation, tuition and taxes.

But while tensions continue to simmer, Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday told reporters he's confident their disagreements will be smoothed out.

"Thats one of the things of having such a sizable majority in both the state Assembly and state Senate, not just between chambers or between the executive or legislative branch, but even within those caucuses, theres so many different people from so many different parts of the state," Walker told reporters in Neenah. "Were going to work this out."

TRANSPORTATION

Walker on Thursday publicly called out legislative Republicans on the absence of a transportation deal between the two chambers, speaking near the site of a project to expand U.S. Highway 10/State Highway 441 in the Fox Valley. He employed the same theme in his weekly radio address, this time titled "Get It Done."

"Delaying, or worse yet, returning to 2015 funding levels on the transportation budget jeopardizes the investments our budget would make in safety and maintenance," Walker said in a statement.

Walker told reporters he thinks the transportation budget that ultimately passes will be "very similar" to the one he proposed in February.

The governor's comments come two weeks after GOP leaders openly clashed over whether the Legislature's budget-writing committee should remove transportation from the 2017-19 state budget proposal and consider it separately from the rest of Walker's spending plan.

Joint Finance Committee co-chairs Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said earlier this month they would be open to splitting transportation out of the budget.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has said throughout the debate that if a deal isn't brokered, the transportation budget would be funded at base levels, meaning no new money would go toward addressing project delays.

But Walker and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, are strongly opposed to considering the transportation budget on its own.

"Gov. Walker has had six years to 'get it done,'" said Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse. "Instead of fixing our roads and protecting Wisconsin jobs, hes made it clear that hed rather give millions in tax breaks to the rich while working families pay the price for our poor roads.

The ongoing debate over how to fund transportation hit another roadblock earlier this month, when Fitzgerald said he doesn't see momentum in the Senate for an Assembly proposal that would cut the state's gas tax and apply a sales tax, reduce the minimum markup on fuel and put the state on track for a flat 4 percent income tax.

Walker has made the argument that his transportation proposal would strike a balance between the interests of the Senate and the Assembly. Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, issued a statement on Thursday arguing Walker's proposal is the "best option."

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said on Thursday that Assembly Republicans are willing to negotiate, but the next move must come from Walker or the Senate.

"I think the public is smart enough to realize its time to `just fix it, and theyre fed up with politicians unwilling to take real action. Assembly Republicans are the ones who are pushing the process along, offering up ideas, and providing the leadership to get it done," Steineke said, calling for Walker and Senate Republicans to offer a "true, conservative plan" with minimal borrowing.

TUITION

The Joint Finance Committee will reject Walker's proposal to cut tuition by 5 percent, but will maintain a tuition freeze over the course of the budget, Darling and Nygren said Thursday.

"Its a win for the people who work for the UW System, its a win for the students, it's a win for the taxpayers," Darling said.

The committee on Tuesday delayed a scheduled vote on the University of Wisconsin System's budget amid disagreement over Walker's proposed tuition cut.

Under Walker's budget, in-state undergraduate students at UW System schools would have seen a tuition freeze in the first year and a 5 percent cut in the second, funded by a $35 million increase in general purpose revenue. Resident undergraduate tuition is currently set at $9,273 per year at UW-Madison.

The proposal follows a four-year tuition freeze along with a $250 million cut to the system's funding delivered in the governor's 2015-17 budget. Before the freeze, implemented in Walker's second budget, tuition had gone up 5.5 percent annually since the 2007-08 academic year.

Walker said he would have liked for lawmakers to approve the cut, but he views extending the freeze as a "major victory."

TAXES

Walker has drawn two lines in the sand throughout the budget process, both related to taxes. The governor has promised to veto any budget that raises property taxes or gas taxes, and reiterated those conditions on Thursday.

Discussions with lawmakers about his proposal to eliminate the state property tax are ongoing, Walker said.

Walker's plan would reduce state taxes over the two-year budget period by about $180 million.

The governor met with the Assembly Republican caucus on Wednesday after Vos and other lawmakers voiced their frustration with Walker taking to Twitter to announce his latest veto condition. Democrats were quick to seize on the public debate, comparing Walker to President Donald Trump for his use of Twitter.

Nygren didn't share any policy details from the meeting, but said, "Overall, it was a pretty positive conversation."

No governor has vetoed the entire state budget since the state first started passing it as a single omnibus bill in 1931, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
George LaVigne

George Thomas LaVigne, 91, of Wisconsin Dells, passed away peacefully Saturday, May 20, 2017, at Wisconsin Veterans Home in King.

A celebration of life memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.

George was born April 15, 1926, in Wisconsin Dells, the son of Frank and Olive (Gray) LaVigne. After high school he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. He served three tours of duty from April 1944 through November 1951, attaining the rank of sergeant as an aircraft mechanic. During his time of service he had been stationed overseas in Japan before being honorably discharged.

Returning home, he married his sweetheart, Irene (Hajek), in September 1950 at the Presbyterian Church. Throughout their years together they loved to travel and explore the country, especially the southern and western states, relishing in the history of this great country.

George was a lifelong resident of the Dells, having worked for Holiday Wholesale in the early years with Bud Gussel. He attended to vending machines while employed there and then in later years worked various seasonal jobs around the vacationland area.

George is fondly remembered by family and friends as having a unique sense of humor, always trying to provoke a response in his own way. He was also proud to be a Boy Scout troop leader for many years. George also loved to hunt and fish and he looked forward to fishing in Canada.

George is survived by his wife, Irene; three sons, Michael of St. Francis, Gregory (Lynette) of Big Flats, and William of Wisconsin Dells; two daughters, Dianne (David) Ford of Poynette and Carol LaVigne of St. Francis. George is further survived by eight grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Francis Bones, Leo, Robert, Earl and Arthur Bud; sisters, Sara, Marge and Florence; and a grandson, Alex LaVigne.

The family would like to thank Hospice Care from Thedacare at Home and the staff at King Veterans Home for their wonderful care of George.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Veterans Home in King would be appreciated.

Picha Funeral Home and Crematory of Wisconsin Dells assisted the family with arrangements. For online condolences and information, visit www.pichafuneralhome.com.
Alumni networking event with Thuli Madonsela

A leader with integrity

Hundreds of Wits alumni arrived on campus to hear guest speaker Advocate Thuli Madonsela at a networking event on 23 May. The much-admired Wits alumna (LLB 1991, LLD honoris causa 2017), South Africas former Public Protector, spoke about how to heal our troubled world. Click on these links to listen to the audio, watch the video or see photos.

Why, she wondered, would anybody come to Wits on a chilly Tuesday morning to hear her speak? That person must be committed to something. You must be people who want to create a particular kind of world  the world that Wits inculcated in us  one where everyone is embraced and nobodys humanity is diminished. You are here today because you are still committed to that project.

She said it was up to every individual to do what they could to put South Africa on the right track. The South Africa of our dreams is in our hands. If you know whats right, do whats right. Whatever we do, lets make sure we do it with integrity and hold others accountable.

As the daughter of a domestic worker and a general worker, how did she find herself at Wits and later named as one of Times 100 most influential people in the world? Because of the generosity of the human spirit, she said. My father thought education was not necessary  it was good enough if you could take instructions from a white man. She was turned out of her home for wanting more. Thanks to bursaries and scholarships from the World Council of Churches, the United Nations and Wits, and thanks to individuals who offered other kinds of support, she was able to begin her journey towards crafting and defending our justice system.

She was not left behind, like so many young people are. And when people are left behind, there is no peace for anyone.

What can we do? she asked. One of the things that we should do is find a way to bridge the gap when it comes to inequality and poverty And I know that all of us alumni at Wits already support our academic institution and I know you already are contributing  but it would seem to me that one of the greatest calls right now is to find a way to make sure that everyone that deserves to be in a university gets into university. Smaller states have done that  we cant wait for government, though at some stage government should come to the party but it is in all our interests to  make sure that nobody who qualifies to be at a university is kicked out for financial reasons.

We also have the power to make sure that once people are at university theres a system that makes sure that they are not desperate and destitute. I know here at Wits there is a feeding scheme: thats a great starting point. But we can meet the university half way by doing more than that.
A student takes the lead in increasing diversity in study abroad

Diversity abroad: (left to right) Nasha Lewis, Molly DeStafney and Arielle Hankerson at the Global Education Office's Peer Advising Desk at the Reves Center. Photo by Rachel Sims Photo - of - Hide Caption

The following story originally appeared in the spring 2017 issue of World Minded - Ed.

Study abroad is a transformational experience that can and should be accessible to everyone, and yet students of ethnic and racial minority backgrounds, first-generation college students, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and students in STEM programs have traditionally made up only a small percentage of students taking advantage of global opportunities. The obstacles can seem unsurmountable:

No one in my family has ever traveled outside the United States. How could I?

I could never afford it.

Im a science major. Studying abroad will keep me from filling my requirements and graduating on time.

Its too complicated to find the right program, much less make it through the application process."

These assumptions are some of the biggest challenges for a Global Education Office trying to increase the number and diversity of students studying abroad. Nasha Lewis, assistant director for global education, has spearheaded study abroad outreach since she was hired in 2015.

Lewis has not only the professional and educational background for the job, but also  and perhaps even more importantly  firsthand experience with the challenges that can prevent a student from pursuing a study abroad experience.

I feel as if I can relate to students and some of their concerns and issues, she said.

Lewis wanted to study abroad the summer after graduation, but I got terrible and wrong advice from a teacher, who said if she went abroad shed have to delay graduation. It wasnt true, but Lewis didnt know that until it was too late. Lewis didnt give up an international experience; she joined the Peace Corps and served in Mali. Still, it taught her the importance of reaching out personally and individually to students, giving them access to good information, and information from their peers who can speak from actual experience. Lewis worries about reaching as many students as possible.

I dont want to fail the STEM students or the low-income students who may have average grades and assume theyre not noteworthy enough to be able to get funding, she said.

And so she visits classrooms, hosts events and reaches out in print, electronically and personally to engage and encourage traditionally underrepresented students.

This past year, she had some extra help from a dynamic and extraordinary young woman, Arielle Hankerson 17, who also faced obstacles but persisted and resolved to share her experiences to help other students have a successful study abroad experience.

An early start

Hankerson, who grew up in Virginia Beach, is the middle child of seven children and the first in her family to study abroad.

She attended Tallwood High School Global Studies and World Languages Academy, a public school that aims to provide opportunities to develop the skills needed to make global connections across disciplines. Geography is integrated into every course, and the curriculum follows three major themes: global issues, global systems and global cultures. Students must study two languages, and Hankerson studied three  Spanish, Latin and Arabic. She also participated in two exchanges, to Indonesia (14 days) and Denmark (10 days).

Even with Hankersons global experience, curiosity and enthusiasm, she knew that in college she would face some hurdles. However, Hankerson also knew where to go for guidance: William & Mary has such a strong Global Education Office.

One-on-one help to find the best fit

Finances were an important consideration. Hankerson met with Molly DeStafney, associate director of global programs, and learned that W&M study-abroad programs would accept her financial aid. First hurdle cleared. The next task was to choose a program. Hankerson had designed her own major  Inner City Development, with a minor in Public Health  and was mindful of fulfilling her requirements.

I knew I wanted to study abroad when I entered William & Mary, Hankerson remembers, But I didnt want to miss a whole semester.

Her solution? Find a shorter-term program, preferably over the summer.Another hurdle cleared.

Hankerson went to GEOs Study Abroad Summer Open House where there are representatives and veterans of the various programs as well as peer advisors, trained by GEO staff to explain the options and processes.

At third grade summer camp she learned about Australia, and ever since had wanted to go there. When she learned about the W&M program in Adelaide, she figured it was fate, especially since it was being offered for the first time in a number of years. Even better, the program was led by Associate Professor of Psychology Chris Ball and included a psychology class that would contribute toward her minor.

Hankerson went to Adelaide in 2015, the summer between her sophomore and junior years. In addition to examining national stereotypes in the media she participated in some community engagement projects that led to a volunteer position with the Wilderness Society, planning the Students of Sustainability Conference and helping with social media.

As Hankerson cleared hurdles on her own behalf, she realized that she had the experience to help other students facing their own challenges. If there were students talking themselves and their friends out of studying abroad, then couldnt students talk other students into it?

Sharing experiences and lessons learned

Hankerson applied to be a Diversity Abroad Campus Fellow, which she learned about in an email from the Reves Center.

Founded in 2006 and based in Berkeley, California, Diversity Abroad is the leading international organization working to ensure that students from diverse economic, educational, ethnic and social backgrounds have equal access and take advantage of the benefits and opportunities afforded through global education exchanges.

Sylvia Mitterndorfer, director of global education, has made increasing diversity a priority at GEO. She initiated membership in the Diversity Network to support the organization and to learn about best practices. DeStafney represented W&M at the organizations first national conference in 2013.

It was one of the best conferences that Ive been to professionally, DeStafney recalls. Everyone there was committed to the mission of diversifying international education, and it was a time to collect ideas that worked at other schools and have a dialogue about the challenges in attempting to create access across the board.

The diversity abroad campus

Fellows Program is a nine-month program open only to students enrolled at Diversity Network member institutions. It gives study abroad alumni the opportunity to motivate their peers on campus. Responsibilities include representing Diversity Abroad on campus and campuses in the community; connecting students with resources and collecting information for follow-up; and identifying and creating partnership opportunities on campus.

The qualities they look for include: being personable and actively involved on campus; being able to relate to diverse groups of various backgrounds; being passionate about making an impact on campus with international opportunities; and having an entrepreneurial spirit. Hankerson submitted her application and was overseas when she was contacted.

I got the initial email [from Diversity Abroad] while in Ghana as a field representative for an organization called Saha Global. We worked to provide clean water through womens entrepreneurship and community engagement, recalls Hankerson. They graciously postponed the interview until I was back in the states.

Trixie Cordova, associate director at Diversity Abroad, oversees the Campus Fellows Program, and worked closely with Hankerson as her mentor.

More than 50 students submitted applications for the 2016-17 Campus Fellows program, and ultimately six students were selected across the country, says Cordova. We had never had a Campus Fellow based at William & Mary, so Arielle was the first one!

Cordova has one-on-one calls with the fellows twice a month. There are definitely a lot of conversations to problem solve when outreach isnt working successfully, or to brainstorm other creative solutions to get the word out about Diversity Abroad, Cordova said.

My role is to help students on my campus know that they can study abroad regardless of income, gender, or anything else, said Hankerson about her mission as Campus Fellow at W&M. Study abroad is no longer an option [for todays student to be successful]; its a requirement.

Combining Forces with GEO

Hankerson had already reached out to Lewis even before Diversity Abroad notified Lewis in August 2016 that Hankerson had been selected.

Hankersons key partner would be GEO, and Lewis saw the Campus Fellow role as different from that of a student worker or GEO Peer Advisor.

It was Arielles inspiration to apply, and she had her own ideas, explains Lewis. We came up with a timeline together, but her ideas were driven by her, and we were careful not to duplicate efforts.

Lewis began by giving an overview of Reves and GEO and the climate on campus.

William & Mary is different from other universities and has a unique advantage, Lewis explained. The push for internationalization is embraced all across campus and motivated by the administration, faculty, staff and students.

W&M also has a quality that is both an advantage and disadvantage: Students take academics seriously and are very motivated, but that means they have limited free time.

Its best to get things early in the semester when students are still gung-ho, because after midterms, students are focused on studying and its hard to find time and interest, Lewis cautions.

One of Hankersons events on campus was a panel discussion  Diversity in International Experiences  that ended up occurring unavoidably in November, late in the semester. Although the conversation among faculty and students was informative, there wasnt a large turnout, which was a disappointment.

I would have liked to have hosted more events, but its challenging, Hankerson observes. How do you engage with an audience that doesnt want to be engaged?

For Lewis, thats an important lesson. There is no magic bullet, and its great that shes learned that now, Lewis notes. It really takes a year to understand the role of increasing outreach & diversity and getting a vision for a new position.

To that end, Hankerson wishes in some ways she could continue as a fellow, to apply the knowledge shes acquired. She would like to work more with the Center for Student Diversity, and has ideas about addressing the challenges of the new COLL 300 curriculum, as more students will consider studying abroad to fulfill the cross-cultural experience requirement.

When asked about her successes as a fellow, Hankerson lights up talking about a friend from the International Relations Club who is currently on W&Ms Seville program. They first met when she came as a prospective student and stayed in Hankersons dorm.

Hankerson remembers: She wanted to study abroad for a semester but wasnt sure she could afford it. I sent her to Nasha, and she had appointments with GEO staff and peer advisors to find funding. She ended up receiving scholarship money. Having someone to help figure out things is essential.

Although Hankerson focuses on the work that still needs to be done, Diversity Abroad has no doubts about her impact: Arielle is a very thoughtful leader., exclaims Cordova. No matter what she does next or where she goes, shell be incredible."




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Replacement steam generators arrive at Cruas 1

25 May 2017

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Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has delivered three replacement steam generators for unit 1 of the Cruas nuclear power plant in south-western France. They will be installed later this year during a scheduled maintenance outage.

One of the replacement steam generators destined for Cruas 1 (Image: MHI)

Utility EDF ordered the replacement components from MHI in 2010 following an international bidding process. MHI received the order jointly with Comex Nucleaire - a subsidiary of ONET Technologies - its alliance partner in the French nuclear power market since 2002.

The steam generators - each 21 meters in length and weighing 300 tonnes - were manufactured at MHI's facility in Kobe, Japan. Their pressure-resistant containers - made of low-alloy steel (containing manganese, molybdenum and nickel) - each house more than 4000 heat transfer tubes manufactured of a thermally treated nickel-chromium-iron alloy.

Steam generators are used in pressurised water reactors (PWR) to transfer heat from the reactor coolant into water in a secondary circuit, producing the steam used to power the electricity-generating turbines. Each steam generator contains thousands of kilometres of tubes through which hot water flows. Nuclear power plants replace steam generators as part of regular maintenance and when they are modernised.

The Cruas plant, on the banks of the Rhone river, comprises four 900 MWe PWRs which started operating between 1984 and 1985. The steam generators of unit 4 were replaced in 2014.

EDF operates a fleet of 58 PWRs, 34 of which are 900 MWe types which came into operation in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company is sequentially replacing the steam generators at its PWRs, a major undertaking but one that can enable the units' operating lives to be extended. In July 2009 the French Nuclear Safety Authority approved EDF's safety case for 40-year operation of the 900 MWe units, based on generic assessments.

MHI said it has received orders from EDF for a total of 15 replacement steam generators since 2005. Worldwide, the company has supplied a total of 31 replacement steam generators to several countries, including France, Belgium and the USA.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Westinghouse aims for competitive future

25 May 2017

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Westinghouse's core business remains strong and the company intends to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy stronger, better and more competitive, interim president and CEO Jose Gutierrez said yesterday.

Gutierrez addresses the Nuclear Energy Assembly in Scottsdale, Arizona (Image: NEI)

Gutierrez's speech to the Nuclear Energy Assembly - the US Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI's) annual conference for the US nuclear industry, held this week in Arizona - was his first discussion of Westinghouse's current situation in an open forum since the company's 29 March bankruptcy filing. He said it was important to note that the filing focuses on the construction of the four US reactors at Vogtle and VC Summer. The company's AP1000 construction projects in China are making good progress, and the company remains confident that AP1000 is "good technology," he said.

The bankruptcy filing was a strategic move to "reset the financial footprint" of the company to address construction issues at US projects, while protecting the company's core business, he said. The projects have been beset by significant cost overruns.

The two AP1000s being built at Vogtle in Georgia are scheduled for commercial operation in December 2019 and September 2020, respectively. The project is majority owned by Georgia Power (45.7%), with co-owners Oglethorpe Power (30%), MEAG Power (22.7%) and Dalton City (1.6%), and the units will be operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company. The two units under construction at VC Summer in South Carolina are being built for Scana subsidiary South Carolina Electricity and Gas and co-owner Santee Cooper and are currently expected to begin operation in 2020.

Gutierrez said a combination of factors had led to the issues prompting the bankruptcy declaration. The original contracts were signed in 2008 in the context of an expected "nuclear renaissance" - with up to 32 reactors under construction or contracted by 2030 - which failed to materialise. The company had to make significant redesigns to the reactors in response to requirements from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2011 Fukushima accident.

He also said the company - and the wider nuclear industry - did not anticipate the challenges and issues associated with a resumption of nuclear new-build in the USA 30 years after the country's last reactor construction project. "A lack of appropriate infrastructure, knowledge and experience became a reality," he said, citing the challenges of rebuilding the supply chain.

Westinghouse's relationship with contractor Stone & Webster had not worked as well as envisioned, he said, eventually leading to the 2015 strategic decision to buy Stone & Webster from Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Westinghouse parent Toshiba announced in December 2016 that it may have to write off "several billion" dollars because of Westinghouse's purchase of the construction firm.

Strong core

Away from the US construction projects, Gutierrez said the company was "very stable". While working with the owners of Vogtle and VC Summer to find a long-term solution to complete the reactors, the rest of Westinghouse's business remained strong. Since the bankruptcy filing, Westinghouse has been awarded several fuel contracts, which Gutierrez said demonstrated customers' confidence in the future of the company.

Westinghouse remains committed to its reactor design business and will pursue future sales, Gutierrez said, noting future opportunities in China, India, Turkey and the UK. The company is working to develop a "more achievable delivery model" to reduce risk, he said, adding that future projects would adopt an approach more like that used in China, where four AP1000s are under construction at Sanmen and Haiyang. Fuel loading is expected to begin this summer at Sanmen 1 and Haiyang 1.

Gutierrez's speech was live-streamed on Facebook by NEI.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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First Hualong One unit at Fuqing takes shape

25 May 2017

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The dome has been installed on the containment building of unit 5 at the Fuqing nuclear power plant. The unit - the first of two demonstration Hualong One units being built at the site in China's Fujian province - is expected to start up in 2019.

The dome is moved into position atop the containment building (Image: CNNC)

The steel dome - measuring almost 47 meters in diameter and weighing about 340 tonnes - was placed upon the top of the containment building walls at 5.58pm today, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced. This major milestone, it said, was reached 15 days ahead of schedule.

The hemispherical structure is a major component for protecting the reactor and preventing the release of radioactive materials into the environment in the event of a serious accident.

In November 2014, CNNC announced that the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One pressurised water reactor (PWR) design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry. China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April 2015.

The pouring of first concrete for Fuqing 5 began in May 2015, marking the official start of construction of the unit. Construction of unit 6 began in December 2015. CNNC announced in early January that it had completed assembling the containment dome for unit 5, which comprises 153 prefabricated components. Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Construction of two Hualong One units is also under way at China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang plant in Guangxi province. Those units are also expected to start up in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
European industry rates decommissioning opportunities

25 May 2017

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Germany is offering a great opportunity for new suppliers of decommissioning services because over the next five years all of its shutdown nuclear power plants will enter the decommissioning phase, Jorg Klasen, director of nuclear decommissioning services at EnBW, said yesterday. Klasen spoke at the 8th Annual Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Conference Europe 2017 being held in Manchester, England. Asked where they see the biggest opportunities in nuclear decommissioning and waste management over the next five years, 57% of the conference delegates selected Germany. The UK, France, Sweden and Switzerland followed with 30%, 6%, 2% and 2%, respectively.

EnBW, Germany's third biggest utility, received a decommissioning and dismantling permit for Neckarwestheim 1 from the Baden-Wurttemberg environment ministry in early February. Neckarwestheim 1 thus became the first of the eight units shut down in 2011 to begin dismantling work. Two months later, EnBW received a permit for this work to start at unit 1 of its Philippsburg plant.

Neckarwestheim 1 and Philippsburg 1 were among the eight oldest German reactors taken out of service , days after a tsunami hit Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011.

In February 2016, EnBW also received permits for the construction of decommissioning infrastructure - including residual material treatment centres and interim site-waste storage facilities - at Neckarwestheim and Philippsburg.

EnBW has had experience in decommissioning nuclear reactors since 2008  at its Obrigheim power plant, which was disconnected from the grid and entered the post-operational phase in 2005.

According to Jorg Klasen, EnBW follows strictly the philosophy of immediate D&D for all of its shut-down power plants. Consequently dismantling of systems and components in the reactor building started immediately after receiving the permit for Neckarwestheim 1 and Philippsburg 1. Detail planning and execution of D&D is supported by suppliers with special knowledge in different fields, he said. Klasen made it clear that the process also offers possibilities for foreign companies, but they need to be aware that the challenge is at the project level where the actual work is done. It is expected that knowledge of German regulations and language will be required of the applicant company, he said.

To the question, 'Which German utility has the biggest opportunities for your company in nuclear decommissioning over the next five years?', 64% of delegates said they did not know. Of the rest, 14% said EnBW, 9% Vattenfall, 6% RWE and 6% Preussen Elektra.

Simon Carroll, a senior analyst in the operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities at the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, said this indicated a contradiction. "In one question the majority thought that Germany would be the biggest market, so this question shows the respondents here don't know currently what [opportunity] there really is." Carroll is also chair of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's Decommissioning Cost Estimation Group.

Swiss vote



To the question on the recent Swiss referendum - 'This week Switzerland voted to phase out nuclear power, following on from Germany's decision to do so in 2011. Do you foresee this happening in any other European country?' - 57% of delegates said they did, while the remainder said they did not.

Geoffrey Rothwell, principal economist at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, said the recent Swiss referendum needed to be "seen in context".

"They've had four or five votes. They could have another four or five. They haven't voted for [immediate] phase-out, so they have to come up with resources to replace those [nuclear plants]. You can't assume that there isn't going to be another referendum as there was in Sweden."

Barry Moloney, managing director, NSE International GmbH & Olenian Ltd noted that the Swiss vote was not for immediate phase-out, but for at the end of the operating life of the exiting plants.

"So it's not perhaps as dramatic and abrupt as what happened in Germany in 2011. However it's still an important step in that people have voted for an end to nuclear, which is a troubling sign for our industry, but as [Rothwell] said, maybe theyll change their minds again."

Cost

The question 'What do you see as the biggest challenge for the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear power plants?' offered seven possible answers. Estimating the cost of decommissioning attracted 29% of the vote; choosing and utilising the optimal waste management strategy 25%; managing the decommissioning trust fund or provision agreed in line with cost estimates 18%; lack of innovations to assist decommissioning 14%; meeting regulatory requirements for decommissioning 8%; final site clearance 3%; and transferring used fuel to dry storage 1%.

Norman Harrison, a director with the UK's Nuclear Liabilities Fund, said Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) funding for decommissioning spend in the UK is "dominant in Europe". He added: "In addition in the UK, we'll see preparations for decommissioning of the AGR fleet as they come to the end of their operating tenure. So, I think I'm largely in agreement [with the poll results] with the exception of expenditure which I just don't see in the next five years."

Moloney, who chaired the discussion of the poll results, asked delegates why is it so difficult to estimate the costs of decommissioning.

Bill Roberts, the former chief financial officer of the NDA, said: "Nobody knows how much these things are really going to cost. The NDA provision has grown 70-fold in the last 20 years. One of the key contributing factors is poor program management, so the inability to control the program is the largest factor in the cost estimates."

Saulius Urbonavicius, head of planning at the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania, said estimating the cost of decommissioning is "a big challenge".

Lithuania agreed to shut down Ignalina units 1 and 2 as a condition of its accession to the European Union. Unit 1 was shut down in December 2004 and unit 2 in December 2009. The closure of the two Soviet-designed RBMK reactors at Ignalina left Russia as the only country operating RBMK reactors.

"This is the first RBMK in decommissioning and we can't compare different plants. One thing we can do though is work out our costs through the value of contracts," Urbonavicius said.

All the used fuel from the Ignalina units is expected to be moved into storage at a new facility by the end of 2022. Known as the ISFSF B1 Project, the facility is at the plant site in Visaginas municipality. The start of 'industrial operation' of the ISFSF is expected this October.

Support

To the question 'What more can industry bodies, such as the Nuclear Industry Association, the French Nuclear Society and the Swedish Nuclear Society, do to help businesses break into supply chains in other countries?', 43% of delegates said they could do more to help facilitate introductions with potential clients in other countries, while 40% said they could do more to create a collaborative framework to support European trade. Of the remainder, 14% said they could do more to provide better information on the nuances of working in countries of interest, and 3% said they already provide adequate support.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Brazil has 27 federal units, 26 states, and one federal district. The economy of Brazil is one of the most vibrant in the Latin American region as well as in the whole world. Some of the states, especially those in the south-eastern region, have top economies driven by the growth in the service and industrial sectors of the economy. Besides having some wealthy states, other Brazilian states struggle economically, hardly raising 1% of the national GDP. Such states include Piaui and Maranhao.

The Richest States In Brazil

1. Distrito Federal

Distrito Federal is the seat of the federal government and the richest state in Brazil with a GDP per capita income of R$64,653. The primary sector is the service industry, followed by the industrial sector, with the agricultural sector coming third. While Distrito Federal is not a state, it has features that resemble those of a state, hence its inclusion on this list.

2. Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is the second-richest Brazilian state with a GDP per capita income of R$33,624. It is also one of the richest states in Latin America, with the GDP per capita surpassing that of countries like Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Sao Paulo has a large industrial complex, the largest in Brazil, which contributes about 46% of the states GDP. The service sector is leading in the state with a GDP contribution of 47%. Agriculture contributes about 6.5% of the GDP.

3. Rio de Janeiro

With a GDP per capita income of R$31,064, Rio de Janeiro is Brazils third-richest state. The state also has a large industrial sector, which raises more than half of the GDP. The service sector is the second-largest economic contributor at 47.8% followed by the agricultural sector at 0.6%. Its primary exports include petroleum, fuel, siderurgy, chemicals, and vehicles. Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Bahia, and Santa Catarina are among the richest states in Brazil making up more than four-fifths of the national GDP per capita.

The Poorest States Of Brazil

1. Piaui

Located in the northeast region of Brazil, Piaui is the poorest state with a GDP per capita income of R$8,137. Like most Brazilian states, Piaui has a large service sector with a GDP contribution of about 60%. The industrial and agricultural sectors come in second and third with a GDP contribution of 27.3% and 12.6% respectively. Piaui mainly exports agricultural products including soybeans and cashews.

2. Maranhao

Maranhao has a GDP per capita income of R$8,760, making the state the second-poorest in Brazil, contributing less than 1% to the national economy. The state has a large service sector representing 54.5% of the states GDP, followed by the industrial sector at 25.45% and the agricultural sector at 20.1%. Most of the residents in the state depend on palm tree products to generate income. Top exports from Maranhao include aluminum, iron, and soybeans.

3. Alagoas

Alagoas is Brazils third-poorest state having a GDP per capita income of R$9,333, which is less than 1% of the national income. Although the service industry is the largest contributor to the GDP, the state of Alagoas is highly dependent on agricultural production, mainly sugarcane, which is also highly unreliable. The tourism industry has been developing steadily over the last few years due to attractions, mainly beaches.
10. Semuliki National Park

A hot spring in Semuliki National Park.

The Semeliki National Park is located in the Bwamba County of western Uganda on the countrys border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in October 1993 and occupies an area of 194 square km. The Semeliki National Park is well-known for its rich and diverse flora and fauna and is especially famous for birds, of which over 400 species exist in the park. Nine hornbill species have also been recorded at the park. More than 60 mammalian species including leopards, hippos, forest buffaloes, elephants, civets, duikers, and 8 species of primates also live here. The Semuliki and the Lamia Rivers that flow by the park are watering places for the parks wildlife. The Semeliki National Park also features a hot mineral swamp and two hot springs. Visitors to the park enjoy birdwatching, hiking, and visiting the hot springs. However, safaris across the savannah are the main driving factor for tourists visiting the park.

9. Rwenzori National Park

Great white pelicans in Rwenzori National Park.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Rwenzori Mountains National Park is located in southwestern Uganda. The 1000 square km national park houses the continents third highest mountain peak. It also features numerous waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The Rwenzori Mountains National Park was established in 1991 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. However, due to insecurity prevailing in the region, the park was labeled as one of the World Heritage Sites in Danger between 1999 and 2004. A large number of species endemic to the Albertine Rift system including several endangered species. The park is famous for its plant species which are considered by some to be the worlds most beautiful botanical collection. The notable animals found here include the chimpanzee, black-and-white colobus, forest elephant, Ruwenzori turaco, L'Hoest's monkeys, and more. 89 species of birds and 15 species of butterfly also live in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park. The park offers unusual scenery, spectacular views, and excellent trekking and climbing opportunities to tourists.

8. Queen Elizabeth National Park

A lion in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.

The Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in the Western Region of Uganda, is the most visited national park in the country. The park is about 400 km from the capital city of the country, Kampala. It occupies an area of 1,978 square km and extends between the two lakes of Lake George and Lake Edward. The Queen Elizabeth National Park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and renamed two years later to commemorate Queen Elizabeth IIs visit. The park is well-known for its volcanic features, rich bird-life, and diverse wildlife. The most notable mammalian species here are the elephants, Congo lions, chimpanzees, Cape buffaloes, hippopotami, etc. The tree climbing lions with black-maned males of the area around Ishasha are particularly famous here.

7. Murchison Falls National Park

Wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park.

Spreading inland from Lake Alberts shores, the Murchison Falls National Park is located in north-western Uganda. The 3,893 square km national park is the largest of its kind in the country. The famous Murchison Falls is the major attraction of this national park. It is here that the Nile flows through a narrow gorge before plunging 43 meters down as a waterfall. The Karuma Falls and the Karuma Power Station are also part of the national park. The Murchison Falls National Park has 76 species of mammals, 450 species of birds, and the largest crocodile population in the country.

6. Mount Elgon National Park

A cave in Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda.

The Mount Elgon National Park is located at a distance of 140 km from the northeast of Lake Victoria. It occupies an area of 1,110 square km in Uganda, as well as 169 square km in Kenya. The Mount Elgon is an important water catchment for the Turkwel River and the Nzoia River. The mountainous slopes of Mount Elgon also support a rich variety of ecosystems ranging from montane forests to open moorlands with the vegetation varying with altitude. The lower slopes of the mountain hosts buffalos and elephants. Forest monkeys, duiker, and antelopes also live here. 144 species of birds including the eastern bronze-naped pigeon, Jackson's francolin, and Tacazze sunbird are also found here. The Mount Elgon National Park is famous for its eye-catching scenery featuring waterfalls, gorges, cliffs, hot springs, mountain peaks, caves, etc.

5. Mgahinga National Park

Mountain gorillas in Mgahinga National Park.

The Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is located near the town of Kisoro in southwest Uganda. The park is famous for being one of the few surviving habitats to the endangered mountain gorillas of Africa. The park is contiguous with the DRCs Virunga National Park and Rwandas Volcanoes National Park.

4. Lake Mburo National Park

Zebras in Lake Mburo National Park.

Lake Mburo National Park is located in the Kiruhura District of western Uganda. The national park hosts a great diversity of species including the zebra, impala, jackal, leopards, elands, warthogs, and more. It is also home to more than 300 species of birds. At 260 square km, it is the smallest national park in the country.

3. Kidepo Valley National Park

Elephants in Kidepo Valley National Park.

The Kidepo Valley National Park is located in the Karamoja region in northeast Uganda. The park occupies an area of 1,442 square km and features a rugged savannah landscape. The 9,020 feet tall Mount Morungole is the central feature of the park. The River Kidepo, with its perennial water, serves as an oasis in the semi-arid landscape and hosts more than 86 species of mammals. Some of the most notable ones include Tanzanian cheetahs, wild dogs, leopards, elephants, Cape buffaloes, and the Rothschild's giraffes. More than 500 species of birds also are sighted here. Game viewing is possible by vehicle on the dirt roads in the western and southern regions of the Kidepo Valley National Park.

2. Kibale National Park

A baboon in Kibale National Park.

The 766 square km Kibale National Park is located in southern Uganda. The national park features an extensive area of moist evergreen rainforest. It is an important safari and ecotourism destination, hosting a significant population of chimpanzees and 12 other primate species. Other terrestrial animals found here include elephants, bushbucks, bushpigs, African golden cats, leopards, red and blue duikers, and more. The national park also serves as the home of 325 species of birds including the African gray parrot, the endemic ground thrush, olive long-tailed cuckoo, and two species of pittas.

1. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

The landscape of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in south-western Uganda. The 331 square km park has both montane and lowland forest habitats and has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has great biodiversity including 120 mammalian species, 328 bird species, 220 butterfly species, and 27 species of frog. The park also hosts one of East Africas most diverse forests. This includes 1,000 species of flowering plants, 163 tree species, and 104 fern species. Rare and threatened species like the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, turacos, and hornbills live here. It also hosts half of the world population of critically endangered mountain gorillas.
Angola is a country located in Southern Africa which gained independence from Portugal in 1975. According to the current constitution, Angola is a unitary presidential constitutional republic where the president is the leader of the government and is also the head of state.

Constitution Of Angola

The Constitution is the supreme law in Angola, and all other laws are based on its provisions. Immediately after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola promulgated its first constitution which was extensively amended in 1976 and 1980 to be in line with the establishment of the country as a single-party state. In 1992, a new constitution was drafted with the primary objective being to scrap off the one-party status of the country and allowing a multiparty democratic republic with democratic elections. The constitution is still being implemented in the country, albeit with several amendments over the years. The 2010 amendment abolished the direct election of the president and limited the president to two five-year terms. The 2010 constitutional amendment also scrapped off the prime minister position and allocated all executive authority to the president.

The President Of Angola

The President of Angola serves as the head of state and head of government as well as the commander in chief of the armed forces. After the 2010 amendment of the constitution, the president was given the power to appoint and dismiss all senior government officials. The President is the leader of the executive and is mandated to appoint all officials in the executive, including the state ministers, state secretaries, and ministers. According to the constitution, the President is not directly elected by the public but is the leader of the winning party or coalition during the general elections which take place after every five years.

National Assembly Of Angola

The National Assembly of Angola is a single-chambered parliament (unicameral) and is the legislative branch of government. The National Assembly has 220 members comprised of 130 members who are elected by proportional representation and 90 members who are elected by provincial districts. The National Assemblys primary function is the creation of laws, amending existing laws and executing state level budgets. In Angolas National Assembly, voting for or against motions is done through closed list proportional representation. As leader of the government, the President is the head of the National Assembly. The National Assembly features several committees (permanent and temporary) which are mandated to assist the National Assembly with its administrative and operational functions.

Judiciary Of Angola

According to the Constitution, the Judiciary is mandated with the administration of justice in a system known as the Unified Justice System. The courts are protected, independent, and are impartial in administering justice. The judicial system in Angola is comprised of the municipal courts, trial courts, provincial courts, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is comprised of 16 court judges who are all appointed by the president. The leader of the judiciary is the Chief Justice who is also appointed by the president. The Constitutional Court is comprised of 11 justices, and four are appointed by the National Assembly, four appointed by the President, two appointed by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and one by the public.
The government of Armenia was previously carried out under the system of a semi-presidential representative democracy. In 2015, however, the citizens of the country voted to approve a referendum that made the country a parliamentary republic. This action took veto power from the President and made the position ineligible for reelection. Additionally, candidates for presidency may not be affiliated with any political party. Armenia is still headed by both a President and a Prime Minister, only the President now acts as more of a figurehead for the country. Government officials belong to a multitude of political parties, with the Republican Party currently holding a majority in the legislative branch. Administration of the government of Armenia is divided between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. This article takes a closer look at each one.

Executive Branch Of The Government Of Armenia

The executive branch in Armenia is generally referred to simply as "the government" and is considered to be an executive council of ministers. It is formally led by the President and the Prime Minister - however, the Prime Minister holds more power and is considered as the Head of Government.

The President acts as the Head of State and is Commander-in-Chief of the military. The person in this position represents the country in international relations, including negotiating agreements and carrying out foreign policy. In addition, the President signs bills passed by the National Assembly into law and appoints the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is responsible for managing the work and activities of the 18 ministries and 7 adjunct bodies within the country. To accomplish this, the Prime Minister must organize the work of the Ministers and ensure that legislative decisions are implemented.

Legislative Branch Of The Government Of Armenia

The legislative branch of Armenia is made up of the National Assembly, a unicameral parliamentary body. This government body previously consisted of 131 members, but with the previously mentioned referendum of 2015, that number is now 101. According to the new system, the National Assembly may reach up to 200 seats in an extraordinary circumstance. Currently, 105 members sit on the National Assembly, representing the following political parties: Republican party (58 seats), Tsarukyan Alliance (31 seats), Way Out Alliance (9 seats), and ARF (7 seats).

Each member serves for a 5-year term and is part of an ad-hoc committee within the National Assembly. The committees work to investigate specific issues and submit expert opinions and guidance to the legislative body in order to ensure appropriate resolutions and regulations are passed. Currently, two special committees have been formed: the Committee on Ethics and the Committee on Studying the Gas Supply System in the Republic of Armenia.

Judicial Branch Of The Government Of Armenia

The judicial branch is responsible for administering justice in this country. This is accomplished through a hierarchical system of courts, including the court of the first instance of general jurisdiction, the court of appeals, Court of Cassation, Constitutional Court, and specialized courts. The Court of Cassation serves as the highest court of appeals and ensures that the law is carried out justly across the country. For matters concerning the constitutional validity, the Constitutional Court has jurisdiction. The judicial branch operates independently of the executive and legislative branches.
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According to a new report by the Miami Association of Realtors, Miami single-family home sales, median prices, traditional transactions and dollar volume increased year-over-year in April 2017.Single-family home sales in Miami expanded 3.7 percent year-over-year in April, from 1,150 to 1,192. Single-family luxury sales (up 56.5 percent) and median prices (up 12.3 percent to $320,000) rose by double figures. Single-family traditional sales (up 15.1 percent) and dollar volume (up 22.7 percent to $603.6 million) also registered increases."April's statistical report points to positive market expansion for Miami real estate," said Coral Gables Realtor Christopher Zoller, the 2017 MIAMI chairman of the board. "A lack of local buildable land puts high value and demand for existing Miami single-family homes. Existing condominiums, meanwhile, have seen five-plus years of price appreciation."According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage declined for the first time in six months, dipping to 4.05 percent in April from 4.20 percent in March. The average commitment rate for all of 2016 was 3.65 percent.Total existing Miami-Dade County residential sales -- which posted a record year in 2013 and near record years in 2014 and 2015 -- decreased 4.8 percent year-over-year from 2,419 to 2,303.Sales for existing condominiums, which are competing with a robust new construction market, declined 12.5 percent year-over-year. A shortage of existing condo properties at popular price points impacted sales.The lack of access to mortgage loans is also impacting the existing condominium market. Of the 9,307 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, only 12 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 last year, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.The rise in Miami single-family home sales is being led by a surge in mid-market transactions. Miami single-family mid-market home sales, or transactions for properties listed between $200,000 and $600,000, jumped 13.2 percent in April, from 725 to 821 sales. Mid-market home sales comprise 68.9 percent of all single-family home sales.Luxury single-family sales ($1 million and above) jumped 56.5 percent, from 62 to 97.Miami single-family traditional sales, or non-distressed transactions, rose 15.1 percent. This growth in traditional sales, from 933 to 1,074 transactions, shows the health and strength of the Miami market.Total sales volume for all properties accounted for $1.01 billion last month. These sales do not include Miami's multi-billion dollar new construction condo market.Miami-Dade County single-family home prices jumped 3.7 percent in April 2017, increasing from $285,000 to $320,000. Miami single-family home prices have now risen for 65 consecutive months, a streak spanning more than five years. Existing condo prices increased 6.5 percent, from $215,000 to $229,000. Condo prices have increased in 69 of the last 71 months.Despite the rise in prices, Miami real estate remains a major bargain. A 120-square meter condominium in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach cost $170,000 in 2016 Q3, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The average cost of a 120-square meter apartment in 2016 in the prime inner city areas of London ($4.1 million), Hong Kong ($3.1 million), and New York ($2.2 million) were at least ten times higher, according to Global Property Guide.Total Miami distressed sales declined 43.5 percent year-over-year, from 409 to 231 last month. Only 10 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 16.9 percent in April 2016. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.Short sales and REOs accounted for 2.3 and 3.2 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in April 2017. Short sale transactions dropped 27.4 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 47.0 percent.Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 5 percent of sales in April, down from 7 percent a year ago.The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Miami single-family home sales was 49 days, an 8.9 percent increase from 45 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family properties increased 7.4 percent to 101 days.For condos, the median time to contract increased 15.2 percent to 76 days. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date increased 8.2 percent to 119 days.The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes decreased 0.7 percent to 95.1 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums decreased 0.3 percent to 93.6 percent.Nationally, total existing-home sales dipped 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in April from a downwardly revised 5.70 million in March.Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 23,829 last month, easing slightly (-1.2 percent) when compared to April 2016, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 10,292 last month, down 4 percent compared to April 2016.The national median existing-home price for all housing types in April was $244,800, up 6.0 percent from April 2016 ($230,900). April's price increase marks the 62nd straight month of year-over-year gains.The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $234,900, up 10.3 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in April was $172,000, up 7.2 percent over the year-ago figure. April was the 65th month in a row that statewide median prices for both sectors rose year-over-year.Miami cash transactions comprised 39.4 percent of April total closed sales, compared to 48.6 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (21 percent). Miami's high percentage of cash sales reflects South Florida's ability to attract a diverse number of international home buyers, who tend to purchase properties in all cash.Condominiums comprise a large portion of Miami's cash purchases as 55.3 percent of condo closings were made in cash in April compared to 24.7 percent of single-family home sales.Inventory of single-family homes decreased 2.2 percent in April from 6,320 active listings last year to 6,182 last month. Condominium inventory increased 9.2 percent to 15,307 from 14,011 listings during the same period in 2016.Single-family homes have a 5.6-month supply, which indicates a seller's market. Existing condominiums have a 13.8-month supply, which indicates a buyer's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.Total active listings at the end of March increased 5.7 percent year-over-year, from 20,331 to 21,489, Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed. New listings of Miami single-family homes decreased 9.6 percent, from 1,803 to 1,630. New listings of condominiums decreased 13.0 percent, from 2,503 to 2,177.Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of April climbed 7.2 percent to 1.93 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 9.0 percent lower than a year ago (2.12 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 23 consecutive months. Unsold inventory is at a 4.2-month supply at the current sales pace, which is down from 4.6 months a year ago.Most Miami preconstruction condo developers require a 50-percent cash deposit on new units. The deposit is not only one of the highest in the United States but is significantly higher than the 20 percent required during the last real estate cycle. The large cash deposits show how committed Miami's preconstruction condo buyers are to the local market.Eighty-one condo towers with 8,007 units have been completed in Miami-Dade County east of I-95 in the last six years since the start of 2011, according to a May 23 report from preconstruction condo projects website Cranespotters.com and MIAMI.
A 30 years old inmate called Abdul Karim Shahnavazi was executed in Zahedans prison after 6 years.

Two prisoners were executed in the central prison of Arak.

A 33 years old prisoner called Mehrdad Asgari was executed after spending 5 years sentence in Kermanshah.

5 inmates from ward 9 of Tabrizs prison, 3 of them called: Kazem Hojjaj, Seyed Ali Mousavi and Jaber Fakhri from Shabestar were executed after 9 years in prison, the names of the other two executed are unknown.

It should be noted that another prisoner was executed by regime executioners in the prison of Isfahan on Monday, May 21st.

In the prison of Southeastern city of Zahedan, regimes officials forced an inmate to come and watch the hanging of his friend, and he was told that he will be executed in 40 days too.
Candlelit Vigil to Take Place in Wrexham to Pay Respects to Victims of Manchester Attack

This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 25th, 2017

A candlelit vigil to pay respect to the victims of the Manchester terrorist attack will take place in Wrexham tomorrow.

The vigil, which has been organised by local residents, will take place the the Bandstand on Llwyn Isaf at 6pm on Friday 26th May.

Anna Jones, who has helped organise the event with her family and friends, told Wrexham.com that the idea to hold a vigil locally came after attending the minutes silence held at 11am today.

22 people were killed and 120 injured in the terror attack on the Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande concert on Monday evening.

Details posted about the vigil on Facebook, state: Wrexham community come together to pay your respects to the lives lost in Manchester. Me and my family plan to bring flowers and light candles and have a moment silence at 6pm at the band stand in honour of the lives taken at Manchester.

I hope you can all share this around as much as possible and I hope to see you all there. Everyone is Welcome, the more support the better.

The candlelit vigil will take place at the Bandstand on Llwyn Isaf tomorrow at 6pm  however people are invited to attend from 5:30pm onwards.

More information about the vigil can be found here.
Health Board Staff Raise Thousands of Pounds to Support Dementia Patients

This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 25th, 2017

Staff from Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board have put their best feet forward to raise funds to support people with dementia in community hospitals across the region.

A number of dedicated Health Board staff marked the end of Dementia Awareness Week by taking part in the gruelling three day 100 mile walk from Wrexham Maelor Hospital to Ysbyty Gwynedd.

In doing so they have raised over 3,000 for the North Wales NHS Charity, Awyr Las, which will help fund activities and additional therapies for patients who have dementia in community hospitals across the region.

The walk was organised by Ronnie Bright to thank NHS staff for the care his late mother received. He said: My late Mum suffered from Dementia and received really fantastic care at both Wrexham Maelor Hospital and Mold Community Hospital.

After she died I vowed to do something to give back to the wonderful teams of staff who regularly go above and beyond the call of duty to support people like my Mum.

I know how important it is to ensure that people living with dementia receive the very best support when they are admitted to hospital, and Ive seen for myself how donations can fund some of the added extras that go above and beyond what the NHS can provide.

This walk has provided a fantastic opportunity to support our local hospitals, and to explore the coastal path.

We intend to carry on fundraising over the coming months and years, and hope as many people as possible will join us.

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board employs a network of Dementia Support Workers in its acute and community hospitals who provide support and guidance to people with dementia and their carers.

Dementia Support Workers also facilitate a number of activities and therapies for patients with dementia in an effort to keep them stimulated during their stay in hospital.
The AP report stated that the Qatar News Agency and Qatari state television published stories on Tuesday purporting to quote Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani praising Iran and criticizing the recent Arab efforts to confront Iran and diminish its influence over the broader Middle East. By the following day, Qatari news outlets were blocked in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the Qatari government responded by alleging that the stories had been false and the result of malicious hacking.

However, Qatar has had traditionally more collaborative relations with Iran than have many of its neighbors, making it comparatively plausible that the emir would have attempted to push back against Arab efforts to move further in an oppositional direction. The disputed remarks included the following, which appeared on the ticker of a state media news broadcast: Iran represents a regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it. It is a big power in the stabilization of the region.

The incident comes just days after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was announced as the winner of the elections in which he sought a second term after campaigning on promises of domestic reform and further outreach to the international community, in line with the 2015 nuclear agreement he had helped to secure during his first term. Rouhani reiterated his praise for peaceful interaction in the context of his victory speech, and on its surface this seemed to contrast sharply with the calls for isolation and containment of Iran which had been expressed by Mr. Trump in the Riyadh summit.

However, looking beyond Rouhanis initial speech, the effort to pursue peaceful interaction has already proven to be limited. On Monday, he seemed to defy Trumps criticism rather than dispelling it, and his commentary was directed in large part against the United States as a whole and not just against the Trump foreign policy team. Americans resorted to many different methods against Iran but failed in all, the Iranian president said, adding, The problem is that the Americans do not know our region and those who advise US officials are misleading them.

In the same speech, Rouhani explicitly rejected US Secretary of State Rex Tillersons call for Iran to scale back its ballistic missile program, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions calling on the Islamic Republic to avoid work on weapons that are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The Iranian nation has decided to be powerful Americas dream of ending Irans missile program will never come true, he said.

An Al Jazeera report on Rouhanis speech also pointed out that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is the final authority on all matters of state in Iran, has absolutely ruled out the notion of normalizing relations with the US. While this does not necessarily exclude the possibility of normalizing relations with Irans other, more geographically close allies, it may well encourage the Trump White House and other influential policymakers to vigorously pursue a strategy of cooperation with the Arab states against Iran.

Toward that end, Trump continued to express the same talking points about Iran after proceeding from Saudi Arabia to Israel as part of his first overseas tour as president. Speaking from within the Jewish state, Trump insisted that the Iranians must cease funding, training, and equipping terrorist groups, and he called upon the international community to diplomatically and economically isolate the Islamic Republic in order to encourage this goal. According to The Guardian, he also highlighted the unlikely common cause that Israel and Muslim-dominated Gulf States are finding in their mutual confrontation of the threat posed by Iran.

Trumps assertive stance toward the Islamic Republic has been well known since long before he took office. On the campaign trail, he made his criticism of the previous administrations nuclear negotiations a major talking point, saying that those efforts resulted in the worst deal ever negotiated. The US president returned to those criticisms during his Israel visit, alleging that Tehrans belligerent regional activities  including threats to Arab neighbors  appeared to have been emboldened by the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which provided Iran with tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for a partial reduction of its nuclear enrichment.

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to either tear up or renegotiate the agreement, though he has stepped back from that promise since taking office. Nevertheless, his emerging Iran policy seems to be aimed in part at limiting the economic benefits that the Islamic Republic can acquire, as evidenced by his administrations recent imposition of new, non-nuclear sanctions. These sorts of measures have had some success in discouraging Western firms from taking the risk of investing in Iran, but that success has been far from complete.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that a Spanish-Iranian consortium had made arrangements for Irans purchase of 615 million dollars worth of oil pipes over the course of the next three years. This is just the latest in a gradually growing list of deals between Iran and Western entities, the prime examples of which remain multi-billion dollar commercial aircraft deals involving the US-based Boeing and the France-based Airbus.

The oil pipe deal is relevant to recent comments by the Iranian Trade Ministry suggesting that the Iranian oil and gas industry would need 30 billion dollars of foreign investment into its offshore development. UPI indicated that Rouhanis electoral victory was expected to improve the prospects for this investment, though it also acknowledged that Iranian officials tend to over-hype those prospects and that Western businesses may still not see incentive to invest their money in Iran.

All of this is relevant to the continuing tension between Iran and the Middle Eastern states affiliated with Saudi Arabia, because while those tensions are largely attributable to geopolitics and the sectarian divide between Sunnis and Shiites, they also have a clear economic dimension, which has arguably grown more pronounced in the wake of Irans nuclear deal.

Following the conclusion of that agreement, discussions began to emerge elsewhere regarding prospects for production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iran is a part. Facing depressed prices, Saudi Arabia and other countries including non-OPEC member and Iran ally Russia began pushing for the cuts as a way of stabilizing the industry. But Iran refused to participate at least until such time as its sanctions-hobbled oil economy returned to pre-sanctions output levels.

Irans eventual exemption from the reduction deal allowed it to expand its share of the oil market while its regional rivals were contracting. Although the tensions underlying this particular situation might have been diffused by Irans eventual participation, a Reuters report that was published on Wednesday quoted Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh as saying that this participation will not begin, regardless of whether the cuts continue for the next three, six, or nine months.

This decision may reflect nervousness about Irans economic future  something that was underscore by the Trade Ministrys acknowledgement that Iran needed foreign investment in part because the effects of the nuclear agreement may not last. This can be taken to refer either to expectations regarding the Trump presidency or to Iranian plans for deliberate escalation in antagonism toward the nations adversaries. But in either event, it does not appear as though the Iranian leadership is seriously committed to extending Rouhanis path of interaction to meet the Gulf Arab states or the USA.
George Friedman, the head of Geopolitical Futures and former chairman of the intelligence and strategic forecasting website Stratfor, has declared, in speeches and articles this week, that a US-led attack on North Korea is imminent. Friedmans assessment is that the sheer scale of the American mobilisation on and near the Korean peninsula is at the point of crossing a threshold, from threats to military action.

Stratfor, established by Friedman in 1996, came to prominence with its assessment of the international geopolitical implications of the US invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Its remit is to provide business elites with rigorous and sober analyses of world developments, in order to assist them in planning their longer-term investments and strategies.

Stratfor analysts, Friedman included, are believed to have close ties with American intelligence agencies and the upper echelons of the military. Their critiques generally ignore mainstream propaganda, such as fighting terrorism, and focus instead on the true imperialist motives for US intrigues and interventionscontrol over strategic territory, oil and resources, and access to markets.

Friedman retired as Stratfor chairman in 2015 and established Geopolitical Futures, which provides similar services to corporations. He made his remarks on North Korea to the Strategic Investment Conference 2017an annual gathering of business figures that took place this year in Florida.

Friedman substantiated his view of the imminence of a US attack, by drawing attention to several recent developments.

* With the dispatch of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan from its base in Japan, the US Navy now has two aircraft carrier battlegroups operating in the waters adjacent to the Korean Peninsula. Among what President Donald Trump labelled the US armada, are guided-missile destroyers and Ohio-class nuclear submarines, which could launch hundreds of cruise missiles to initiate an attack on the North. Friedman pointed to the prospect that at least two of the aircraft carriers currently based on the US West Coast could also be deployed.

* The US Air Force has deployed a number of its new fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to South Korea, which are touted as being able to circumvent North Korean air defence systems.

* Some 100 US F-16 strike fighters are conducting daily exercises over South Korea, alongside the Souths own array of hundreds of F-16s, F-15s and older F-5 fighters. Friedman noted that similar daily rehearsals preceded the massive US air onslaught on Iraq in January 1991.

* Friedman also drew attention to a public announcement that civil defence briefings will be taking place on May 31 in Guamwhere the US Air Force bases a number of B-2, B-1 and B-52 bombers, as well as a squadron of F-22 Stealth Fighters. The purpose of the briefings is to prepare the civilian populations response, should North Korea prove capable of attacking Guam with long-range missiles.

He bluntly declared: If were not going to war, we are doing a very good imitation of it.

Echoing other military and strategic analysts, Friedman postulated that any attack would be massive in scale and most likely undeclaredthat is, there would be no formal declaration of war on North Korea by the US Congress. The North Korean military, he stated, had a stunning mass of artillery within range of South Koreas capital Seoul and the 25 million civilians in its metropolitan area. The objective of the first stage of an undeclared war, he opined, would be to neutralise the artillerythat is, slaughter tens of thousands of North Korean conscript soldiers before they could launch retaliation attacks.

An onslaught of cruise missiles, carpet bombing by B-2s, B-1s and B-52s, and attacks by wave after wave of strike fighters against the North Korean forces massed near the border, would be accompanied by efforts to destroy command-and-control centres. According to the operation plans of the US and South Korean militaries, a key objective of the first hours of a war would be to kill the Norths political leadership, including its figurehead, Kim Jong-un.

Friedmans remarks are particularly significant in that he dismissed any conception that such a war would be the product of the irrationality of Donald Trump, or simply an attempt to divert attention from the raging political crisis engulfing his administration in Washington. Trump, Friedman made clear, was simply following operational plans for war that were drawn up during the Bush administration and developed further under Obama. An attack on North Korea, he emphasised, had been American strategy for several decades.

Friedman did not explore, in his speech, the real target of this strategy. It is, in the final analysis, China. North Korea has historically served as a strategic buffer for China against the US and its key regional ally, Japan. The destruction of the current North Korean regime, and the occupation of the North by US-backed South Korean forces, would objectively weaken the Beijings position.

Friedman indicated he strongly believes that a war will be launched soon. We didnt deploy the number of aircraft, warn the population on Guam, we didnt deploy carriers, as a gesture, he said. We intend to use them, I think.

Half-jokingly, Friedman concluded that the order to attack was unlikely to be given while the president was away from the United States. Trump is due to return to Washington on May 27.
While participating in last weeks One Belt, One Road (OBOR) forum in Beijing, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe walked a tight rope: seeking economic and other benefits from China while maintaining close relations with its rivals, the US and India.

The forum was held amid heightening tensions between China and the US, together with Washingtons major South Asian ally, India. The US and several European powers decided to send only second-tier delegations to the forum while India boycotted it.

The gathering was attended by the heads of 29 states and 1,500 delegates representing 130 nations, NGOs, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The OBOR project, initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is a development strategy, focussed on a land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and an oceanic Maritime Silk Road between China and Europe.

Chinas ambitious scheme is also part of a strategic response to counter the aggressive encirclement pursued by the US and its allies, while opening up further trade and investment opportunities for Chinese capitalism.

Speaking at the second day session of the OBOR Leaders Roundtable, Wickremesinghe said: The Belt and Road Initiative will provide the much-needed hard and soft connectivity in the Indian Ocean region required for rapid economic and social development. He insisted: History has shown that peace and freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean always resulted in economic growth and prosperity.

Freedom of navigation is the pretext used by Washington to instigate provocations against China in the South and East China Seas and more broadly in the Indian Ocean. Washington has been trying to block Chinese influence across these highly strategic waters with the help of India, which has become a frontline state against China by hosting facilities for the US Seventh Fleet.

Under the government of Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena, Sri Lanka has sided with the strategic interests of the US and India. Just two days before Wickremesinghe left for Beijing, Reuters reported that Sri Lanka rejected Chinas request to dock a submarine in the Colombo port this month.

Wickremesinghe tried to appease Washington and New Delhi by declaring categorically that the Colombo establishment is only interested in the economic benefits to be achieved by joining Beijings project.

Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka could be an economic hub within the OBOR program, adding: Similarly, the success of this initiative and the hub will also depend on the maintenance of long-term stability in the Indian Ocean by promoting peaceful and non-military cooperation.

Both the US and Indian elites were anxious about the growing ties between Sri Lanka and China under Sirisenas predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse and were intent on drawing the island into their strategic orbit, particularly after the Obama administrations declaration of a pivot to Asia to combat Chinas rise. As a result, Rajapakse was ousted in a regime-change operation engineered by Washington and supported by New Delhi. Via a presidential election, Sirisena and Wickremesinghe were installed in January 2015.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government took immediate steps to suspend a number of major Chinese-funded projects inaugurated during Rajapakses rule. Within months, however, their cash-strapped government was forced to beg Beijing, not only to restart the projects, including the Colombo port city, but to provide new investments to overcome acute balance of payments and debt problems.

That is why Wickremesinghe, in his speech at the OBOR forum, said: Furthermore, Sri Lanka is strengthening financial connectivity by establishing an offshore financial center in the Port City, which is a Real Estate Development project commenced under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The predicament faced by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government was outlined in a Sunday Times editorial on May 21. It said: With the anticipated inflow of funds not forthcoming from the West, despite a new government more amenable to it here in Sri Lanka, it is becoming clearer that this countrys economic future rests on the broad shoulders of India and China.

With Washingtons full blessing, Indias right-wing government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assumed the role of chief policeman in the South Asian region. New Delhi uses its political and economic influence to dictate political terms to every neighbouring country. The Sri Lankan government is caught up in this maelstrom.

In the same week that the OBOR forum met in Beijing, Modi paid his second visit to Sri Lanka in two years. Wickremesinghe attended the forum just after receiving Modi in Colombo.

New Delhi is following the manoeuvres of the Colombo government with utmost vigilance because it sees the relationship re-developing between Sri Lanka and China as a challenge to its own great power ambitions in the region.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that Sri Lankan Minister of Special Assignments Sarath Amunugama, who accompanied Wickremesinghe to Beijing, made a naive attempt to pacify India. Amunugama said: Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasised connectivity. These countries were connected many centuries ago. Once the regional problems are resolved, then India has to play a big role in the initiative. He added: India, anyway, has to play a big role because you cannot think of a belt and road without going over and close to India.

Justifying Indias boycott of the forum, Amunugama said: Here especially the Kashmir issue getting dragged into it, makes it difficult for India to be flexible.

The Kashmir issue is the disputed border that had led to many military clashes over the past 70 years between India and Pakistan. The origins of the conflict lie in the arbitrary division of the Indian sub-continent into India and Pakistan, on the basis of Hindu and Muslim religious communalism, in 1947. This was part of the so-called independence deal worked out between the British imperialists and the local Hindu and Muslim bourgeoisie.

India has raised objections to a $US50 billion project to be built as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to connect Chinese Xinjiang to Gwadar port in Pakistan. The corridor passes through parts of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, which India claims as Indian territory.

According to the PTI report, Amunugama also lamented his governments predicament. We are caught up in a debt crisis, he said. Sri Lanka is facing a problem of debt repayment.

Sri Lankas fraught stance at the OBOR forum highlights the tensions gripping the South Asian region as a result of US imperialisms aggressive push against China. Since coming to power three years ago, Modis government has been placing India at the forefront of US military preparations to confront China.

However, all the governments in Indias neighbouring countriesPakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lankaare in dire economic difficulties. China has allocated a credit line of $124 billion for OBOR projects, thus ensuring each country would accept Beijings invitation to participate.

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China hosts international launch of One Belt, One Road initiative

[16 May 2017]
At least ten rural workers from a settlement in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso were brutally killed in a violent massacre on April 19. Government officials suspect that the massacre was linked to a land dispute in the region, and executed by assassins hired by local landowners and farmers. The assassins attacked the peasants with machetes and guns. Several of the victims faces were disfigured in the attacks.

Less than two weeks later, another massacre occurred, this time against members of the Gamela community, an indigenous group in the northeastern state of Maranhao. The attack was just as brutal as the previous oneat least one victim had his hands chopped off.

Both tragedies were widely condemned by social movements and by the pseudo-left parties. In a note on the tragedy, the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) recalled the deaths of the peasant leaders Josias Paulino de Castro and Irani da Silva Castro, who were murdered days after they denounced threats made by landowners to the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) two years ago. The MSTs note stated, Mato Grosso cries knowing that other deaths were announced, and that nothing is being directed to prevent these new tragedies.

Religious leaders of Sao Felix do Araguaia, in the countryside of Mato Grosso, also expressed indignation against the attack, stating that The massacre happened at a historic moment of usurpation of political power through an institutional coup, resulting in the loss of fundamental rights for the Brazilian people.

The current government of President Michel Temer will likely do nothing to punish the perpetrators and prevent future attacks against indigenous communities, peasants, rural workers and quilombolas (residents of quilombos, rural settlements created by escaped African American slaves). Though the attacks have intensified over the past few years, the roots of the violence are in part a reflection of the politics of the pseudo-left Workers Party (PT) administrations of Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff.

The escalation of land disputes in Brazil is linked to the political alliances between the government-- including under the Workers Party--and private corporations. These agreements benefit both domestic and foreign companies by allowing for the exploitation of rural areas--including indigenous lands--with minimal oversight.

One example is the Belo Monte Dam, which was originally planned by Brazils military dictatorship and is currently under construction on the Xingu River in the state of Para. The construction of this dam is responsible for the displacement of thousands of indigenous people, as well as for causing irreversible negative impact to the environment.

In 2014, President Dilma Rousseff went so far as to appoint Katia Abreuhead of the countrys most powerful Big Agro association, the Agriculture and Livestock Confederation of Brazilas Minister of Agriculture. This was the result of a political agreement between the PT and a variety of powerful groups including construction conglomerates, agribusiness entrepreneurs, landowners and fundamentalist evangelical groups, all who have openly opposed the rights of indigenous groups and rural workers.

Such agreements were also used to drive the Growth Acceleration Program (Programa de Aceleracao do Crescimento), known as PAC, a major infrastructure initiative launched on January 28, 2007 by Lula da Silvas administration. It is believed that this program is also responsible for deepening conflicts between indigenous groups and landlords.

The history of violence in rural areas also stems from agribusiness control in the region. One example is in Maranhao, where agribusiness companies continue to benefit even with the current pseudo-leftist PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil) state government. The recent attacks that took place in Maranhao were cynically minimized by the state Governor Flavio Dino of the PCdoB, who declared that the government would not be held responsible for the recent clashes. Such statements only prove that the indigenous groups will be unlikely to see any punishment of their attackers, let alone any protection from them.

According to the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), in 2016, 360 conflicts were recorded in the Brazilian countryside, with a total of 13 people killed and 72 others issued death threats. However, during the Workers Party governments between 2003 and 2016, very little was done to quell the land disputes in the countryside, as land reform was put on hold.

Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseffs administrations are also known for doing little to improve indigenous land demarcations. According to a 2012 report by the Indian Missionary Council (CIMI), the average number of indigenous lands approved per year has been declining with each successive government. Under the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002), from the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party), the total number of approvals of indigenous lands was 18 per year. Under Dilma Rousseffs government, that number dropped to only five per year.

A recent report entitled Conflicts in the countryside, Brazil 2016, released by the Pastoral Land Commission, revealed that Brazil recorded 1,536 conflicts related to land, labor and water in 2016, 26.2 percent more than in 2015. The number of murders also increased from 50 in 2015 to 61 last year, up 22 percent. The number of conflicts related exclusively to lands occupied by indigenous groups, peasants and quilombolas rose to 1,295.

It is expected that tensions between rural workers and landowners will only intensify with the new fiscal and labor reforms proposed by President Michel Temer. Neither the Workers Party nor the pseudo-left parties that orbit around it have any genuine response to the ongoing political crisis, in large measure because the PT leaders are allied with the landowners and agribusiness. Only a revolutionary, anti-capitalist party of the working class in Brazil would truly represent working people and defend the indigenous population, quilombolas and rural workers against the attacks of the ruling class and their deepening neoliberal agenda.
In the wake of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling upon the Islamic Republic to avoid tests of weapons such as ballistic missiles which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The resolution replaced another that expressed the same expectations in even stronger language. But since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations, Iran has flouted both of those resolutions, conducting several ballistic missile tests including one that took place barely a week after President Donald Trump took his oath of office.

Within days of his speech praising Irans supposed commitment to engagement and cooperation, Rouhani made it clear that the countrys defiance over the ballistic missile issue would not diminish. Another Al Jazeera report quoted Rouhani as explicitly stating that missile tests would continue because the Iranian nation has decided to be powerful. He went on to say, Americas dream on ending Irans missile program will never come true, in a speech that also accused the United States of having inadequate knowledge of the Middle East and of following misguided policies in trying to confront Irans role in the region.

Rouhanis reaffirmation of the countrys ballistic missile program follows upon measures by the Trump administration to impose new economic sanctions upon entities with alleged ties to that program. This in turn follows upon the imposition of sanctions on two dozen such entities in February, a few weeks after Irans January ballistic missile test and the subsequent White House statement putting Iran on notice over its destabilizing activities in the region.

Apart from Rouhanis verbal disregard for the Trump administrations requests and restrictive measures, Tehran has also responded with reciprocal sanctions, as the Associated Press reported on Saturday. The Iranian Foreign Ministry published a new sanctions list on Friday, which included nine additional names, equal to the number that had been targeted by the US with its new measures. Although this leaves little doubt about the retaliatory nature of the measure, Iran explained the sanctions as being related to human rights issues, on account the alleged relationships of the named individuals and groups to the state of Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognize as legitimate or as having a right to exist.

But this threatens to further encourage the current US governments approach to Iran policy, which involves building partnerships with regional countries that feel threatened by the Islamic Republics growing imperialism and its contribution to sectarian tensions across the Middle East. President Trump was in Israel on Monday as part of his first overseas visit since assuming office. The previous day, he had been in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh for a summit of Arab and Muslim states, wherein he and other attendees focused attention upon the need to confront Iran over its role in the spread of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism.

In his speeches both to the Arab summit and to Israeli officials, Trump emphasized the importance of isolating and economically penalizing Iran in order to compel it to cease funding, training, and equipping terrorist groups such as Lebanons Hezbollah and the Houthi militants attempting to take control of the nation of Yemen, just across the southern border of Irans leading rival, Saudi Arabia.

The Guardian also pointed out that in his speech on Monday, Trump pointed out that the Jewish state and some of its traditional Arab adversaries are beginning to find common cause in light of the mutual threats they face at the hands of Tehran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and its foreign militant proxies.

Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia resulted in the signing of 380 billion dollars worth of deals, 110 billion of which was specifically devoted to arms sales. This comes after reports emerged last year indicating that Israel and Saudi Arabia were considering arms transfers and other forms of security cooperation as each sought to counter the Iranian threat at a time when there appeared to be little American leadership in this respect.

That situation has certainly changed with the transfer of power from the Obama administration to the Trump administration. The National Council of Resistance of Iran reported on Monday that US Senator John McCain had praised Trumps visit to the Arab summit because it sent a strong message and served as an important step forward in the emerging effort to impede Tehrans efforts to shame the affairs of the region in a way that is contrary to the interests of the US and its allies.

According to Reuters, Bahram Qassemi, the spokesperson for Irans Foreign Ministry, accused the US of reinvigorating terrorists with his arrangement of new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. But Iran itself is widely recognized as the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism, and its public criticisms of terrorism depend upon ascribing that term only to entities that are fighting against Iranian allies, while withholding it from all those that support Tehrans interests.

At the same time that Iran is backing the Houthi in their fight against a democratically elected government, it is also helping to prop up the government of Bashar al-Assad in the midst of rebel efforts to unseat his dictatorship. Yet all of the latter rebel groups are described as terrorists in Irans public statements, while the Houthi are simultaneously described as victims of unlawful intrusion into the conflict by the Saudi-led Arab coalition that is supporting the government of President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi.

Iranian officials including the supposedly moderate President Rouhani have steadfastly defending the Assad regime even in the wake of widely publicized chemical weapons attacks. As the NCRI pointed out, Trump made reference to these and other incidents in his speech in Riyadh, describing Tehran as helping to facilitate unspeakable crimes. In recent weeks, the Syrian Civil War has become a notable backdrop for escalating tensions between Iran and the US, and thus an example of the Trump administrations persistent assertiveness on Iran policy.

Whats more, Trumps outreach to traditional US allies and his references to crisis like the Syrian War underscore the fact that his Iran policy is not only concerned with the Iranian regime itself but also with the impact that it continues to have on other enemies and potential enemies of the United States. And this issue is particularly relevant to the ballistic missile program that remains fully active following the reelection of an Iranian president who promises positive interactions with the world community.

Last week, The Tower reported that the latest North Korean ballistic missile test showed more advancement from that country than had previously been anticipated. The article went on to suggest that this may be indicative of the continuation of long-established collaboration between the North Korean dictatorship and the Islamic Republic of Iran. It points out, for instance, that a ballistic missile tested by Iran last summer was apparently an improvement upon North Koreas Musudan missile.

It has also been reported that Iranian scientists have been on hand for North Korean missile tests, and this is only one piece of evidence suggesting that the exchange of missile technology and know-how has run in both directions between the two countries. The same may be true of nuclear warheads, which have already been obtained by North Korea and which many people believe are still being pursued by Irans leadership. Last month, the intelligence network of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran reported that the institutions in charge of the weaponization of Irans nuclear materials was still operating more than a year after the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Tallahassee, Fla., (WTXL)- With institutions like the Democratic National Convention, and the Department of Justice (and recently the Florida Department of Agriculture) falling victim to cyber attacks, experts say any business can be a target. That's why it's important for executives, owners, and public relations professionals to stop wondering if a hack will happen, and instead prepare for when it does.

"If you look at the news any day of the week you see a company's data being hacked, it's happening more and more often everyday. It's a serious situation," Jay Morgan-Schleuning, the President of the Florida Public Relations Association's Capital chapter says, "Whether you are a PR professional, a business owner or an executive, this is something that you have to deal with. You have to learn how to deal with it in your business. If your data is hacked, you have a very short period of time to deal with that. And if you do it incorrectly, it can damage the reputation of your company."

That's why the Florida Public Relations Association held a seminar in Tallahassee on Thursday. For the event, they brought in Sandra Fathi, the president and founder of Affect, a public relations, marketing, and social media agency in New York.

Fathi took center stage at the Goodwood Museum to arm businesses in the big bend against digital breaches.

"One of the biggest things that we talk about is not the communication plan if it [a breach] happens, but the plan for communicating prior to it happening." Fathi says, "The biggest vulnerability that people usually have are their employees who unwittingly may leave the door open to a data breach. So that communication beforehand is critical."

A data breach, if handled incorrectly, can be detrimental to a company's reputation.

"There are a number of types of data breaches, when you think about the information that you give a company, for example when you are online, you share some of your most valuable information with a company, and you trust that company to do the right thing." Morgan-Schleuning says, "Sometimes things just happen, data is hacked, and that's why its so important for businesses to respond quickly."

If you give private information to a company whose data is compromised, experts recommend that you start monitoring your financial information, prepare to report suspicious activity to law enforcement, and check your credit score frequently.
LAWRENCE, MA (WCVB/CNN) - Officers in Massachusetts are calling an 11-year-old boy courageous after he found illegal drugs in his dad's bag and called police.

According to Lawrence police, the boy found the drugs in his father's luggage.

Detectives went to the home and they say they confiscated over 200 grams of a blend of heroin and fentanyl.

The police chief says the drugs were packaged inside five sandwich bags hidden inside the luggage.

The child told them he saw his father selling drugs earlier in the day.

"The officers went there they consoled him and gave him encouragement that he did the right thing. we've said we'll keep an eye out for him and not to worry, we'll be there to help him," said Chief James Fitzpatrick.

Yamil Mercado turned himself in and now faces charges of drug trafficking and child endangerment.

The boy is being cared for by his grandmother.

Copyright 2017 WCVB via CNN. All rights reserved.
SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A Lake City woman is dead after her car hit a fence and overturned.

The Florida Highway Patrol said that Kelsey Johnson, 22, was traveling west on U.S. 90 Wednesday morning when it happened.

They said that for unknown reasons, her 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer drove onto the south shoulder of the road and crashed into a fence, causing the car to overturn.

Troopers say that Johnson died as a result of the crash. Johnson had a seat belt on at the time of the crash, and it is not believed to be alcohol related.

FHP is continuing to investigate.
By Will Dunham on 23 May 2017 for Ekathimerini.com -

Image above:

Graecopithecus freybergi lived 7.2 million years ago in the dust-laden savannah of the Athens Basin. This view from Graecopithecus freybergi place of discovery, Pyrgos Vassilissis, to the southeast over the plain of Athens and under a reddish cloud of Sahara dust; in the background: Mount Hymettos and Mount Lykabettos. Illustration by Velizar Simeonovski. From ( lived 7.2 million years ago in the dust-laden savannah of the Athens Basin. This view from place of discovery, Pyrgos Vassilissis, to the southeast over the plain of Athens and under a reddish cloud of Sahara dust; in the background: Mount Hymettos and Mount Lykabettos. Illustration by Velizar Simeonovski. From ( http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/graecopithecus-freybergi-hominin-04888.html ).

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SUBHEAD: Fossils cast doubt on early human lineage originating in Africa.Fossils from Greece and Bulgaria of an ape-like creature that lived 7.2 million years ago may fundamentally alter the understanding of human origins, casting doubt on the view that the evolutionary lineage that led to people arose in Africa.Scientists said on Monday the creature, known as Graecopithecus freybergi and known only from a lower jawbone and an isolated tooth, may be the oldest-known member of the human lineage that began after an evolutionary split from the line that led to chimpanzees, our closest cousins.The jawbone, which included teeth, was unearthed in 1944 in Athens. The premolar was found in south-central Bulgaria in 2009. The researchers examined them using sophisticated new techniques including CT scans and established their age by dating the sedimentary rock in which they were found.They found dental root development that possessed telltale human characteristics not seen in chimps and their ancestors, placing Graecopithecus within the human lineage, known as hominins. Until now, the oldest-known hominin was Sahelanthropus, which lived 6-7 million years ago in Chad.The scientific consensus long has been that hominins originated in Africa. Considering the Graecopithecus fossils hail from the Balkans, the eastern Mediterranean may have given rise to the human lineage, the researchers said.The findings in no way call into question that our species, Homo sapiens, first appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago and later migrated to other parts of the world, the researchers said."Our species evolved in Africa. Our lineage may not have," said paleoanthropologist Madelaine Bohme of Germany's University of Tubingen, adding that the findings "may change radically our understanding of early human/hominin origin."Homo sapiens is only the latest in a long evolutionary hominin line that began with overwhelmingly ape-like species, followed by a succession of species acquiring more and more human traits over time.University of Toronto paleoanthropologist David Begun said the possibility that the evolutionary split occurred outside Africa is not incongruent with later hominin species arising there."We know that many of the mammals of Africa did in fact originate in Eurasia and dispersed into Africa at around the time Graecopithecus lived," Begun said. "So why not Graecopithecus as well?"Graecopithecus is a mysterious species because its fossils are so sparse. It was roughly the size of a female chimp and dwelled in a relatively dry mixed woodland-grassland environment, similar to today's African savanna, alongside antelopes, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, hyenas and warthogs.The findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE.See also: Ea O Ka Aina: Evolution becomes Conscious 1/5/13 Ea O Ka Aina: One time Through the Bottleneck 7/21/11 Ea O Ka Aina: Hobbits and Menehunes 5/9/09
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Two Yakima convenience stores were robbed at gunpoint within minutes of each other Tuesday night.
Anyone who is slightly familiar with the secrets of the stock exchange knows that a companys share price is not determined based on whether the company recorded profits or losses. It is determined based on the ratio between the results and the estimates. If the company earned less than the forecasts, the share price will drop. On the other hand, if the company lost less than the early forecasts, the price of the share will rise.

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If I may borrow this financial image and apply it to the political-diplomatic world, the first day of US President Donald Trumps visit to Israel can definitely be deemed a success. While its still very difficult to measure in absolute terms at this stage, in light of the early predictions, there is no doubt that it was a very successful event.

Cynics may summarize the first day of Trumps visit as a day of speeches. Trump jumped from a speech at the airport to a speech at the Presidents Residence, and from a speech at the Presidents Residenceafter a short religious pauseto a speech at the Prime Ministers Residence. But if we try to put the cynicism aside for a moment, it was a series of pleasant speeches which were music to Israeli ears.

Trump and Netanyahu. The most interesting thing in the American presidents speeches was that he did not mention the two-state principle (Photo: AFP)

The focus on terrorism and placing Iran at the center of the new axis of evil are an almost complete adoption of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus policy on these issues. In his speech at the Presidents Residence, Trump made it a point to recognize the Jewish peoples connection to the Land of Israel. No longer just a safe haven. According to Trumps speech, the Land of Israel is the Jewish peoples homeland. And of course, like with every other American president, Trumps speech included a commitment to the alliance between the two countries. This is such a routine statement that it almost seems obvious to us. Its important to remember, however, that its not that obvious.

But the most interesting thing in Trumps different speeches Monday was what they did not include. In all his speeches, Trump did not mention the two states for two people principle. This mantra, which we have gotten so used to hearing from every Western leader who visits Israel, was completely missing from his remarks.

Make no mistake: Trump has not abandoned the American aspiration to bring peace to the Middle East. His speeches create the impression that he too is somewhat stuck in the belief that if only there were peace between Israel and the Palestinians, many of the Middle Easts other problems would almost solve themselves. Fortunately, however, Trump doesnt think he is more familiar with the regions problems than the two sides involved in the conflict. He is very eager to reach an agreement here, but he has no intention of forcing the parties to accept the agreement he is interested in. Such an American approach, which views the Middle Easts problems modestly, is a very refreshing innovation. Now, its the Israeli leaderships turn to leverage this approach to positive places that will strengthen the State of Israel rather than to places that will weaken it.

So what did overshadow the visit? Even writing about it is unpleasant, but silence is not always golden. Knesset Member Oren Hazan. Is there anything that has yet to be said about this young, and somewhat amiable, man? How many more fiascos will we have to endure before his tenure at the Knesset ends? How many more times will we feel the natural and so simple need to look away in shame? Hazans act is not the heartwarming Israeli bluntness. Its not an expression of the beautiful Israeli but of the ugly Israeli, the one who knows nothing about politeness and rules of conduct. The only comfort is the hope that in the next term, he will no longer represent us in Israels parliament.
Every year, on the eve of Jerusalem Day, I write about my love for the city and my disappointment with its political speakers. There is no other city in the world with such a discrepancy between words and action, between everyday Jerusalem and celestial Jerusalem, between holy and mundane. The city which was united thanks to the paratroopers, but is slowly splitting because of the politicians.

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Jerusalems advantage is the romance it creates among its lovers. Whoever falls in love with Jerusalem cannot be weaned. The stones, the market, the holy sites and the mixture of religions and streams. In Jerusalem, religious radicalization and pluralism grow. So do philosophy and conservatism. It is the goal and the excuse for almost everything that takes place here.

Love for people and for stones is a dangerous business: When there is an exaggerated dosage, the famous syndrome arrives. In political eyes, one stops seeing reality. I am one of its lovers. If there is a city worth living in, whose lovers are not allowed to learn about, its Jerusalem.

Most Israelis know Jerusalem from songs and from election campaign declarations, from pictures and from official publications. Not through their feet (Photo: Israel Bardugo)

We have lost Jerusalem in the international arena. This is a truth which should be told even when we mark 50 years since the war. The Temple Mount is in the hands of the Waqf, and the Israeli governmentinstead of doingis passionately speaking about its importance. A large part of the Jewish neighborhoods in east and north Jerusalem are under an unofficial freeze order. One time its former US President Barack Obama, now its Donald Trump, and another will follow. The city wraps itself in light on its holiday, but throughout the rest of the year most Israelis stay away. And now the Western Wallthe most famous religious symbol in modern Judaismhas turned into unclear mumbling in the Trump administration.

Half a year ago, I was approached by Oxford University to participate in a literary debate from the right and from the left about Jerusalem. An exchange of letters ahead of the 50th anniversary of the citys reunification. In my opinion, there is no chance to divide the city. Many of the neighborhoods are mixed. Jews live on the Mount of Olives, in Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood and in the City of David. Arabs from east Jerusalem work in the western part of the city. There is no surgeon who will manage to separate between these neighborhoods. There is no surgeon capable of connecting what had been disconnected. My literary rival in Oxford sees Jerusalem as a move towards peace.

Anyone who knows Jerusalem thoroughly knows that there are actually three different parts: The western part of the citywith the veteran, well-kept neighborhoods; the eastern part of the citywith islands of governance, turning a blind eye to the Palestinian Authoritys involvement: A separate electric company and legal and educational systems which belong to Ramallah; and the third partthe neighborhoods beyond the fenceareas that an Israeli cannot, if only due the fact that there is a sign forbidding him to do so. Areas with no government or responsibility. Places where each person does what he feels like. Whoever has construction material builds tall buildings, and whoever has a weapon walks around with it. Areas which politicians must not talk about, so as not to be forced to deal and decide on their future.

Most Israelis are unfamiliar with this division. I look into it when I address an audience. They know Jerusalem from songs and from election campaign declarations. They know it from pictures and from official publications, from the dress on the red carpet in Cannes or from the piece of jewelry that Rabbi Akiva gave his wife Rachel. Not through their feet. Their Jerusalem is reduced to the first partthe western part of the city. The Knesset, the Supreme Court and the Western Wall. Sometimes, they reach the Old City or the Church of All Nations at Gethsemane. The brave ones go up to the Seven Arches Hotel to the most beautiful observation post in Israel. Thats where it ends.

Unfortunately, even Jerusalem Day has turned into Religious Zionisms holiday. Most Israelis dont come near, dont know, dont visit. In a quiz that I once conducted for Army Radio, it turned out the many Knesset members dont either, including fervent speakers for Jerusalem. Now lets consider whether the reality of the city can be translated to the Brits from Oxford or to Trump, who excels without knowing, whether the discrepancy between words and ancient stones can be explained.

Fifty years after its liberation, Jerusalem needs people who will live in itnot politicians who adorn themselves with the city through dresses and protocols. It needs the government offices from Tel Aviv. It needs budgets that will turn the eastern side of the city into the west. It needs seculars and neighborhoods for young people in the east and in the west. It needs brave people who wont be afraid to get to know what is happening in the city.
Jordan slammed Israeli authorities on Wednesday for allowing a group of Israeli settlers to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque, state-run Petra news agency reported.

Mohammad Momani, Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs, said his country holds Israel responsible for the violation.

"Storming the yards of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a stark violation of holiness of the site and harms the feelings of the Muslims across the world," said Momani.

Israeli authorities did not take any action to stop provocative attempts by settlers, he added.

The minister warned against the consequences of such practices and Israel's ignorance of international laws and the peace deal signed between Jordan and Israel.
The top United Nations human rights official urged Israel on Wednesday to improve conditions for Palestinians security prisoners, especially the more than 1,000 whose hunger-strike was into its 38th day.

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The strike followed a call by Marwan Barghouti , the most high-profile Palestinian terrorist held by Israel, for a protest against solitary confinement and an Israeli policy of detention without trial that has been applied to thousands of prisoners since the 1980s.

"I am especially alarmed by reports of punitive measures by the Israeli authorities against the hunger strikers, including restricted access to lawyers and the denial of family visits," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

Protest in support of Palestinian prisoners.

While hunger strikes are not uncommon among the 6,500 Palestinians in Israeli jails, many of whom were convicted of attacks or planning attacks against Israel, this is one of the largest.

It is likely to raise tensions between Israel and the Palestinians as the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, during which Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem, approaches in early June.

Marwan Barghouti (Photo: AP)

Zeid said his office had received reports that the Israel Prison Service had evacuated at least 60 hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners to hospitals because their medical condition had worsened. A further 592 had recently been moved for observation to infirmaries set up in the prisons, he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which visits Palestinian detainees, urged Israel early this month to allow family visits. Under international law, these "can only be limited for security reasons, on a case by case basis, but never for strictly punitive or disciplinary purposes," it said.

It added that "Israel detains Palestinians within its territorybut not within the occupied territory as required by the law of occupation."
The Tel Aviv District Court ruled on Thursday that the counting of votes will continue. This was done with the consent of both parties. Shelly Yachimovich, who had pleaded for alleged irregularities in the Histadrut leadership elections with Avi Nissenkorn, accepted the proposal of the President of the District Court, Justice Eitan Ornstein, to end the counting of votes and continue to examine the ballot boxes that require examination. At the same time, she announced she would petition the court to invalidate the elections.

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"We are under a flood of requests from many people who want to file affidavits attesting to the massive and systematic falsification of the elections," said Yachimovich as she left the court. "At the moment, we will focus on the petition that is submitted for the disqualification of the elections," she added.

(Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn said, "I am happy. This is a victory for democracy, a victory for the workers and retirees. These are elections with the highest percentage of voters since 2005. You have to let the voters show their will at the polls. We will see the results tonight."

On Wednesday night, Habayit Hahevrati (the Socioeconomic Home), headed by MK Shelly Yachimovich, submitted a petition that claimed hundreds of ballots were found damaged and intentionally vandalized, and that irregularities were found in ballot amounts, which raised concerns the election results were not genuine.

The election committee's spokesman said the committee respects the judge's decision, and that vote counting has been stopped.

Avi Nissenkorn and MK Shelly Yachimovich placing their votes (Photo: Dana Kopel, Motti Kimchi)

Yachimovich welcomed the court's decision, asserting that "This is further proof that we are dealing with the most corrupt election that has ever been. It turns out that not only were workers threatened they would lose their jobs (by Nissenkorn's people), but that a system was established to that end. It was the method by which Nissenkorn's faction warned the workers that their vote was not confidential."

Nissenkorn's campaign lamented the decision, saying "This is a crushing victory that is expected to increase, with an unprecedented percentage of eligible voters going to the polls. We regret that Yachimovich is not accepting her defeat, and is continuing the campaign of complaints and slander that she has been conducting over the past three months.

"The impression is that Shelly's goal is to harm the Histadrut, the workers' committees, organized labor in Israel, and over 240,000 votersthe largest number of voters in the past 20 years. Shelly's behavior is shameful and embarrassing. She is not showing respect to the voters' clear wishes and is trying to undermine the democratic process through unfounded slander."

Preliminary, incomplete voting results show Nissenkorn is leading with around 59 percent of the vote, while Yachimovich got 41 percent of the vote.

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
The Jordanian government has strongly condemned the presence of Jews at the al-Aqsa mosque complex on Wednesday after 15 Jews were arrested for bowing on the Temple Mount, where they are not allowed to pray, while others sang the Israeli national anthem.

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A statement from the Jordanian government slammed Israeli authorities for "allowing Jewish extremists to storm Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif," which they said "violated the sanctity of the mosque and offended the feelings of Muslims around the world."

The Jordanian government "held Israel, as the occupying power, fully responsible for such a violation that encouraged settlers to 'dishonor the mosque' and for not stopping Knesset members' provocative calls to storm the mosque."

Jerusalem Day celebrations at the Western Wall (Photo: EPA)

Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani, who serves as the government's spokesman, warned against Israeli attempts to change the status quo on the Temple Mount, adding that "Israeli hostility will have severe consequences on Muslims' holy sites, international laws and the peace agreement signed with Jordan."

"Al Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims alone," Momani said in his statement, adding that "Jordan will utilize all its legal and diplomatic options to protect holy sites, Quds Awqaf employees and prayer performers at the mosque."

On Wednesday, some 75,000 people participated in the annual Flag Dance Parade that goes through Jerusalem's Old City as part of celebrations of 50 years to the city's unification. Some of them went into the Old City through the Jaffa Gate while others headed to the Damascus Gate to get to the Western Wall through the Muslim Quarter.

Some left wing activists tried to stop the parade from going through the Muslim Quarter, but they were removed by Border Police forces
Senior Russian intelligence and political officials discussed how to influence US President Donald Trump through his advisers according to information gathered by American spies last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

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Citing three current and former US officials familiar with the intelligence, the newspaper said the conversations focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump presidential campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, a retired general who was then advising Trump.





Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

US congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department this month are investigating whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 US election and the possibility of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The controversy has engulfed Trump's young administration since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agency's investigation of possible Russia ties. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

James Comey (Photo: AFP)

The New York Times report was the latest indication of the depth of concerns within the US intelligence community about Russian efforts to tip November's election toward Trump as he battled Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On May 18, Reuters reported that Flynn and other advisers to Trumps campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, citing current and former US officials.

On Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan told lawmakers he had noticed contacts between associates of Trump's campaign and Russia during the campaign and grew concerned Moscow had sought to lure Americans down "a treasonous path."

John Brennan (Photo: Reuters)

In its report, the New York Times said some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, who was subsequently named Trump's national security adviser before being dismissed less than a month after the Republican took office.

Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Manafort, who was dismissed from Trump's campaign, the newspaper reported.

Former Trump aide to testify

Separately, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, told Reuters via text message that he would testify before the House Intelligence Committee but was "still working out details."

Carter Page (Photo: AP)

"Nothing (is) fully confirmed at this stage," Page wrote, adding that if invited, he would also testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but had yet to receive such a request.

ABC News, which first reported on Page's planned testimony, said he would testify before the House panel on June 6. A spokesman for the committee declined comment on whether Page would testify.

In a letter to the panel seen by Reuters, Page accused Brennan of offering a "biased viewpoint" in Tuesday's testimony.

L to R: Sergey Lavrov, Trump and Sergey Kislyak (Photo: EPA)

On Wednesday morning, the top Democrat on the committee said it would subpoena Flynn in its probe into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election after he declined to appear before the panel.

"We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information that we need," Representative Adam Schiff told journalists at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

Paul Manafort (Photo: AP)

The leaders of the US Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday they would subpoena two of Flynn's businesses after he declined to hand over documents in its separate Russia probe.

Michael Flynn (Photo: EPA)

Flynn, a retired general, is a key witness in the Russia investigations because of his ties to Moscow.

He was fired from his position at the White House in February, after less than a month on the job, for failing to disclose the content of talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
Israeli crime boss Asi Abutbul, who is serving 17 years in prison, is suspected of being involved in the murder of a lawyer in 2008.

He is being accused of conspiracy and murder of Yoram Haham.
BRUSSELS - US President Donald Trump met the heads of European Union institutions in Brussels on Thursday ahead of a summit of NATO leaders at the military alliance's headquarters in the city later in the day.

Trump, on the fourth leg of his first foreign trip since taking office, was greeted by European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who chairs meetings of the 28 EU leaders. Also joining the talks will be the bloc's chief executive, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Trump, who voiced scepticism while campaigning about the EU's value and hailed Britain's Brexit vote to quit the bloc, will hear a call from European leaders for him to maintain Washington's longstanding support for integration on the continent, as well to support free trade and efforts to combat climate change.
Ruth Schwartz, whose 18-year-old son Ezra Schwartz was killed by a Palestinian terrorist in Gush Etzion in November 2015, spoke out at the UN against the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday for compensating terrorists.

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"The terrorist who murdered our Ezra is receiving a monthly stipend from the Palestinian Authority," Ruth said. "Ezra's murder broke our family; we will never be the same without him."

Ruth spoke at the United Nations during a special forum on the glorification of terrorism, organized by Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, in partnership with the non-profit pro-Israel education and advocacy organization StandWithUs.

Bereaved mother Ruth Schwartz speaking at the UN against PA's stipends for terrorists (Credit: UN)

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"My son is the victim of the worst crime," she said. "He was brutally taken from his family and friends forever. He will never be able to have fun or make someone smile, go to college, get married, have children or do anything in this world again. I will never again get to hug him or tell him that I love him. Instead, I get to visit him at the cemetery."

"Ezra did not deserve this. His family and friends did not deserve this. My children have to live the rest of their lives without their brother," Ruth lamented.

Ezra Schwartz

"Im here because, as Ezras mother, it is my duty to fight for my son," she continued. "My son's killer and his family should not be compensated for murdering innocent people. It is just another way to glorify and encourage terrorism. Its offensive and wrong."

"Terrorism knows no boundaries, it can affect anyone. No one is immune to it," she cautioned.

The bereaved mother finished by making a simple request. "Please do not kill and please do not reward people who kill, because it is as if you are doing the killing yourselves."

Danny Danon and Ruth Schwartz

Ambassador Danon then informed the forum that the Palestinian man who murdered Ezra and two others is currently receiving a monthly stipend of more than $3,000 for his reprehensible acts, calling it "blood money."

"This is the PA's prize money for terrorists who kill innocent civilians," said Danon. "Foreign aid given to the PA by the international community is exploited by the Palestinians and used to support terrorism. The more they murder, the more they are paid."

"The international community must not accept this dangerous precedence," Danon continued. "We call on the Security Council to act to put an end to these payments and finally stop Palestinian support for terrorism."

Ezra's funeral (Photo: Dana Kopel)

The event was held as part of Danon's efforts in the UN against the PA's funding of terrorism. About two weeks ago, Danon presented data on the PA's payments to terrorists at the UN Security Council.

"In 2016, the PA dedicated almost $130 million of its budget to paying imprisoned terrorists," he said during a short press conference. "They spent another $175 million in allowances to the families of so-called martyrs. Altogether, the PA paid more than $300 million directly in support of terrorists every single year."

This amount, he said, comes up to about seven percent of the PAs yearly budget, and almost 30 percent of the foreign aid donated by the international community.

"So many members of the Security Council, so many UN member-states, are sending their peoples money to support terrorists, the ambassador bemoaned.

Danon, at the UN

"This is all part of an organized system by the PA which glorifies terrorists and encourages terrorism, these payments are mandated by their laws," clarified Danon. "Think about the simple message this sends to young Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas is telling them that there is a simple equation: kill innocent people and you and your family will be paid for the rest of your life."

The ambassador, who sent an official letter about the issue to the Security Council several days before the press conference, called on the international community to keep track of their aid money to the PA and make sure the funds dont go towards payments for terrorists.

"It is absurd to condemn terror, while at the same time paying terrorists," summarized Danon. "Its time for the UN, the Security Council, and the entire international community to finally tell Abbas that enough is enough.

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad member escaped IDF custody on Tuesday afternoon, hours after he was arrested near Bethlehem.

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An initial investigation found that the Palestinian detainee asked and received permission from one of the soldiers guarding him to use the restroom.

He then took advantage of several moments in which the soldiers were distracted to flee an IDF post and disappear.

File photo: AFP

He was caught again on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday and taken for questioning by the Shin Bet.

The Palestinian was arrested when IDF soldiers stopped suspicious vehicles in the Bethlehem area and for random searches.

In one of the searches, the soldiers detained for questioning the suspect, because he has a past record of security-related offenses.

The soldiers who allowed the detainee to escape were reprimanded.

The IDF's Spokesperson's Unit said about the incident: "The detainee escaped a military post and was arrested again by security forces overnight. The incident was investigated and lessons have been learned."
The Jerusalemite Lithuanian faction, which is leading the ultra-Orthodox protest against the IDF draft , has decided to reward yeshiva students jailed by the army for draft dodging with $100 for each day of detainment.

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A yeshiva student from Beit Shemesh who was released Tuesday after serving 74 days in military prison has already been awarded $7,400.

The financial reward is funded by a New York-based organization affiliated with the anti-Zionist Satmar Hassidic movement to encourage army defectors after punitive action against them has increased.

Ultra-Orthodox protest in Jerusalem against the IDF draft (Photo: AFP)

In the past, yeshiva students who ignored their IDF drafting order were only jailed for a few days. But now, as law enforcement authorities mount a campaign against religious extremists inciting against the IDF , draft dodgers are being given longer sentences.

The yeshiva student from Beit Shemesh, Tzvi Dov Friedman, received a festive welcome from the leaders of the Jerusalemite faction and the Edah HaHreidis (the ultra-Orthodox community), Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach and Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss.

Yisrael Meir Toledano, who was also jailed for defection, also received the financial compensation. Two weeks ago he was released after having spent 63 days in military jail.

The two received the reward in cash and privately, without a public ceremony, to avoid exposing the members of the Satmar-affiliated organization so they won't be arrested for solicitation to commit a crime.
A Muslim man comforted an elderly Jewish woman and the pair prayed together at a floral tribute in the centre of Manchester in a symbol of the city's unity following a suicide bombing which killed at least 22 people.

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Sadiq Patel came and comforted Renee Rachel Black, who was visibly upset, and prayed next to her beside a display of flowers in Albert Square, where a vigil was held on Tuesday for victims of Monday night's attack at an Ariana Grande concert.

Patel and Black (Photo: Reuters)

He then helped her away, linking arms with her and carrying her chair in his other hand.





Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

In an interview with UK's Channel 5 news, Patel said "Renees 93, a Jewish lady. Im a Muslim man. But at this moment in time faith doesnt mean anything. Were in this together; well get through this together."

Photo: Reuters

Photo: EPA

Black agreed, adding "well try to get through this together and not matter about the color or creed or whatever you are, were all the same people and we bleed like everybody else."

Tuesday's vigil brought together representatives of Manchester's Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Sikh communities in a show of defiance and unity.
European Union Council President Donald Tusk says talks with US President Donald Trump reveal differences on key issues, including how to deal with Russia.

Tusk said Thursday that he was not "100 percent sure" the two leaders have "a common position, a common opinion, about Russia." But he said that regarding Ukraine "it seems that we were on the same line."

Trump met with European Union leaders Thursday morning in Brussels.

Tusk also said that "Some issues remain open like climate and trade," where the EU is pushing for full respect of the Paris Agreement on climate and open multilateral trade deals.

But he insisted there was full agreement on many issues, including "first and foremost, on counter terrorism."
President Donald Trump did not respond to a shouted question about whether the British can trust America with intelligence following a series of leaks blamed on US officials.

British authorities are livid over leaks related to the Manchester concert bombing. They include photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the attack that were published by The New York Times. It is not clear that the newspaper obtained the photos from US officials.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to raise the issue with President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels later Thursday.

She says she plans to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."
The White House is condemning recent violence in the Philippines by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

In a statement released Thursday, the White House says "cowardly terrorists killed Philippine law enforcement officials and endangered the lives of innocent citizens."

It adds that the United States will provide "support and assistance to Philippine counterterrorism efforts." The statement from the press secretary says the United States is a "proud ally of the Philippines."

Army tanks packed with soldiers have rolled into a southern Philippine city to try to restore control after militants linked to the Islamic State group launched a violent siege. Thousands of civilians have been fleeing Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people.
In two weeks' time, Israel will cut over a quarter of the electricity it provides the Gaza Strip, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced Thursday.

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Every month, Israel provides the Gaza Strip with 125 megawatts of electricity, which costs NIS 40 million on average. Israel takes that sum out of the tax money it collects for the Palestinian Authority.

Two months ago, the PA decided to stop paying that sum due to a power struggle with the Hamas government. The PA had demanded control over the Gaza Strip, including control over border crossings, as well as to receive the taxes Hamas collects from Palestinians in Gaza for services the PA provides.

Photo: AP

Hamas rejected these demands outright, leading Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to gradually cut down on the services the PA provides the strip for as long as it has no control over the enclave.

Hamas, meanwhile, formed a committee to govern the Gaza Strip instead of the Palestinian unity government that sits in Ramallah, which Hamas claims does not take care of the strip's needs.

At first, the PA informed COGAT it was no longer willing to pay for Gaza's electricity. However it has recently softened its position, telling COGAT that starting next month it will pay NIS 25-30 million every month instead of NIS 40 million.

As a result, Israel has decided to reduce the electricity it provides the strip accordingly.

"Hamas prefers its own interests and those of its senior members," said GOCAT, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai. "Every tunnel in the Gaza Strip has a generator, and only after that do the people get electricity. This failure is not ours. This is a conflict between Hamas and the PA. If Hamas decides the electricity will go to hospitals and civilians instead of Hamas members and Yahya Sinwar, the public in the Gaza Strip won't have a problem."

Because of the electricity crisis in the strip, an average Palestinian home gets about six hours of electricity per day.
A delegation of 15 Turkish officials headed by the governor of Antalya, Munir Karaloglu, arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a three-day visit aimed at restoring the glory days of the previous decade.

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Turkish delegation in Israel (:  )

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In 2016, following the improvement in relations and the reconciliation agreement signed between the two countries, there was a 60% increase in the number of Israeli tourists in Antalya, reaching 170,000 people. However, that is still only about half of the 330,000 Israeli tourists who visited Antalya in 2008.

As part of their stay in Israel, the Turks will meet with travel agents and representatives from the Tel Aviv and Central Chamber of Commerce, as well as senior Israeli officials. Governor Karaloglu called on Israelis to return to Antalya, saying, "I came at the height of the tourist season to strengthen the connection between Antalya and Israel, Tel Aviv is closer to Antalya than Ankara and we want you as our guests, not just as customers."

Turkish delegation in Yaffo

Israelis discovered Antalya at the end of the 1990s and found a host of advantagesa short flight, "all-inclusive" hotels that are suitable for children, abundant shopping, food for the Israeli palate and all at especially favorable prices compared to other resorts around the Mediterranean.

But in 2009, relations with the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, culminating in the Mavi Marmara flotilla affair in 2010, began to deteriorate, and the diplomatic crisis led to a long boycott of most of the largest unions in Israel, which refrained from sending workers to vacation in Turkey.

Antalya is now forced to compete with destinations that have become popular in recent years and have been a substitute for the banned resort town such as Greece, Malta, Turkish Cyprus, the Black Forest and more. Governor Karaloglu knows this and counts the advantages of his resort town: "We have the best quality hotels, the best prices and the best service, and the tourism agents know exactly what Israelis like, what they like to eat, where they love to travel etc. Both peoples know each other. "

While political relations have improved, most of the tourists are now concerned about the security situation in Turkey following a series of terrorist attacks in the years 2016-2015, in which 400 people were murdered. One of the attacksa suicide bombing in Istanbul in March 2016was even directed against participants of a culinary tour from Isrmezz, claiming the lives of three of them. Antalya itself experienced an exceptional incident when two rockets fired from Syria exploded near it last October and struck another blow to tourism to the city.

As a result, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a travel warning to Turkey, which is defined as the second most dangerous threat. The headquarters recommends avoiding visits to the country and Israeli tourists currently in Turkey are asked to leave as soon as possible.

R-L Antalya governorn, Turkish ambassador to Israel

Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Kemal Oktem, responded at a press conference held today at the Turkish Cultural Center in Jaffa. "We guarantee full security for Israelis visiting Turkey," said Oktem. "Turkey is a safe country and its situation is no different from any other place in Europe, and I suggest that you turn to those who issued a travel warning and see why it exists at all. It is not necessary. Terrorist attacks do not occur only in Turkey, they occur everywhere, including capitals and tourist attractions in Europe, and no country in the world is immune from terror threats."

But the political relations between the two countries are experiencing ups and downs, despite the reconciliation agreement, when only two weeks ago President Erdogan launched a harsh attack on Israel following the approval of the Muezzin law and said that his country would not allow the silence of the prayers in Jerusalem. He also called upon Muslims to come en masse to visit the city in order to strengthen the Palestinians. This development could once again alienate Israelis who already thought that relations between the two countries were on the way to recuperation.

Resort in Antalya (Photo: Dani Sadeh)

"Our position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not change," said Oktem. "We support and will continue to support a two-state solution that will live in peace and security side by side, and I do not see a connection between this and tourism. There are many other countries in the world that support a two-state solution, and Israelis are happy to visit them."

"Even at a time when there were minimal diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey, trade between the two countries more than doubled, from $2.5 billion in 2008 to $5.6 billion in 2015. We need to focus on business and maintain contact between people who will bring greater understanding to the political sphere as well. The relations between Israel and Turkey are flourishing."

Today, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines operate about 100 regular round-trip flights between Istanbul and Israel. In the summer season, which starts now, regular flights and charter flights to Antalya are also available. "We have a common interest - we want to improve not only the attitude between Israel and Antalya, but also vice versa. We want tourists from Antalya to come to Israel," said the governor of Antalya.

The current visit is the direct continuation of the visit of the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Nabi Abaki, to the annual International Tourism Exhibition IMTM this February, where he met with Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin.

(Translate and edited by N. Elias)
Hamas executed three men Thursday evening accused of being involved in the March assassination of Hamas commander Mazen Fukha.

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Ashraf Abu Laila was hanged, while the other two other defendants were hanged and put before a firing squad, respectively. The three were sentenced to death last Sunday after a weeklong trial with no appeals.

Hamas executes three accused of assassination

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Scene of the execution

The executions were carried out at a police station in the presence of hundreds of people, including Hamas officials and community leaders. Hamas recorded and broadcasted the executions live from a nearby building.

During interrogation by Hamas security forces, Abu Laila revealed that he was the one who shot Fukha in the underground parking lot of his residence, while the other two men apparently watched Fukha and tracked his movements.

Hamas issued a statement claiming that the men had acted on behalf of the Shin Bet security service and had received instructions from the organization's operatives. Furthermore, Hamas claims that the entire operationfrom planning to the actual killingtook eight months.

Ashraf Abu Laila

Abu Laila, 37, was from the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. He had previously been a member of Hamas' military wing and was apparently expelled for "moral offenses." Later, it was claimed that he had joined one of the Salafi groups in the Gaza Strip and was recruited by the Mossad.

Other sources mentioned that he was a car dealer and that his brother was a senior member of the military wing of Hamas. It was also claimed that some of Abu Laila's family members work in various government institutions in Gaza that are subordinate to Hamas.

Fukha was assassinated at close range near his home in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of southwest Gaza City by an assassin or assassins who used weapons with a silencer. They shot him in the head with four bullets and fled. He died immediately.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

The condemned (Photo: Reuters)

After the assassination, Hamas pointed an accusing finger at Israel and claimed that it wanted to create fear among the other released prisoners who had been deported to the Gaza Strip and felt that they were protected against liquidation. In the context of the investigation, Hamas imposed a siege on Gaza and prohibited the entry and exit of any person except for exceptional humanitarian cases.

Fukha, a Hamas member from Tubas, was sentenced in 2003 to nine life terms after being convicted of sending a terrorist to carry out a suicide bombing attack. The terrorist blew himself up on an Egged bus near Safed and killed nine people. Fukha was released from prison in the Shalit deal in 2011 and due to the gravity of his actions, he was deported to the Gaza Strip.

Human Rights Watch condemned the executions in a statement.

"Rushing to put men to death based on an unreviewable decision of a special military court days after announcing their arrests and airing videoed confessions smacks of militia rule, not the rule of law," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said.

"Reliance on confessions, in a system where coercion, torture and deprivation of detainee's rights are prevalent, and other apparent due process violations further taint the court's verdicts. Death as government-sanctioned punishment is inherently cruel and always wrong, no matter the circumstance."

(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg)
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah slammed Saudi leaders' meeting with US President Donald Trump, claiming that "Saudi Arabia glorified Trump, who is a racist and Israel's greatest supporter, who may be deposed in his own country. It gave Trump what he wantedthe money for Israel."

In a speech marking the 17th anniversary of the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, Nasrallah added: "The positions expressed in Riyadh will not affect the internal situation in Lebanon."
Israeli Military Police arrested a soldier on suspicion of having raped another female soldier, a military court in Kastina said on Wednesday. The suspect's remand has been extended.

The defendant claims that the sex was consensual within a romantic relationship between the two.

The IDF Spokesperson issued a statement, saying, "On 22 May, a female soldier filed a complaint that in April she was raped by a soldier from her unit, who lived in the base where they were serving. Upon receiving the complaint, an investigation was opened, and the suspect was arrested the next day, and his detention was extended by the Military Court, Southern District, until June 1. The investigation is still ongoing."
Upon marking 50 years of the reunification of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority discovered evidence of the last battle for the city from 2,000 years ago; the battle that occurred on the eve of the destruction of the Second Temple.

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Excavations reveal battle on Jerusalem

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Excavations conducted on a central street near the gates of the city and in the vicinity of the Siloam Pool, funded by the "City of David" association (ELAD), revealed arrow heads and catapult stones, which tell the story of the battle between the Romans and the Jewish rebels, at the end of which, Jerusalem was destroyed. These findings were described by the historian Josephus Flavius: "The next day the Romans defeated the bandits from the lower city and set everything on fire up to Siloam."

Part of the uncovered street (Photo: Shai Halevi, IAA)

Catapult stones (Photo: Shai Halevi, IAA)

(Photo: Clara Amit, IAA)

According to Nachshon Zanton and Moran Hajabi, the excavation directors of the Antiquities Authority, "Josephus' accounts of the battle in the lower city are fleshed out by the evidence that was revealed in the area in a clear and chilling manner." The excavation revealed stones fired by catapults that shelled Jerusalem during the Roman siege of the city. We also found arrowheads used by the Jewish rebels in the fierce battles against the Roman legions, just as Josephus describes."

Arrowheads (Photo: Clara Amit, IAA)

Nachshon Zanton (Photo: Shai Halevi, IAA)

To date, a section of a 100-meter-long street, paved with large stone slabs, has been uncovered in excavations, as was customary in monumental construction throughout the Roman Empire. The Antiquities Authority said that the archeological excavations on the street combine advanced research methods, the results of which have so far strengthened the understanding that King Herod the Great was not solely responsible for the large construction projects of Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period. Recent studies indicate that the street was built after Herod's time, under the patronage of the Roman procurators of Jerusalem, and probably in the time of the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, also known as the one who condemned Jesus Christ to be crucified.

"2000 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and 50 years since its liberation," said the archaeologists, "we return to the water wells, to the market and the square of Jerusalem on the eve of its destruction. Naomi Shemer certainly did not conceive that we would re-discover the Jerusalem of the Second Temple."

Arrowhead (Photo: Clara Amit, IAA)

Dr. Yuval Baruch, an archaeologist of the Jerusalem area at the IAA, revealed future plans, saying, "We intend to expose the entire length and width of the street within five years, thus completing the excavation of this unique site that drew the attention of archaeologists worldwide about 100 years ago. When the excavations are over, the remains of the street will be preserved, and it will be developed and prepared to accommodate tens of thousands of visitors who will walk alongside it," he said.

(Translated and edited by N. Elias)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech Thursday referring to President Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia and Israel.

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Nasrallah strongly criticized the recent American-Saudi arms deal signed in Riyadh, saying, "Saudi Arabia has given Trump what he has been wantingmoney to be used for Israel." Nasrallah further added that the Saudi summit "ignored Palestine and Palestinian prisoners."

Nasrallah in his televised remarks

Nasrallah made his comments at a rally marking the 17th anniversary of the IDF's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah was the topic of harsh words at the Riyadh summit, with the Saudis and the Americans calling for the organization to be disarmed. Nasrallah stressed that the statements made at the summit would not affect the internal situation within Lebanon.

"Saudi Arabia has surpassed Trump, who has insulted the Islamic and Arab nation. Saudi Arabia has surpassed the racist Trump as the biggest supporter of Israel. Saudi Arabia has given Trump something that no other US president has been given. What is behind this is Saudi Arabia's desire to defend its regime, which is already known to be behind the ideology of the terrorists."

Crowds of Hezbollah supporters gather to hear Nasrallah's remarks

Nasrallah also noted that despite all the measures Saudi Arabia has made in recent years, Iran's power has only grown.

"Saudi Arabia will be the one to lose as a result of her actions against Iran," said Nasrallah, who added, "The war against the resistance has been going on for a long time. Not war, nor fighting nor threats will scare the resistance. The resistance is stronger today than ever."

Nasrallah concluded his remarks by saying that the era of defeat has passed and the era of victory is arrived.

"The resistance will not evacuate the areas and battlefields until all the victories our people expect are achieved," Nasrallah proclaimed.
OMAHA  A 41-year-old Iowa woman has been convicted of killing her romantic rival, who was last seen in Omaha more than four years ago.

A Douglas County judge conducting the nonjury trial found Shanna Golyar, of Persia, Iowa, guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the slaying of 37-year-old Cari Farver. Farver disappeared in November 2012, and her bodys not been found. Golyars sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15.

Police say Golyar posed as Farver online and by phone for years after Farvers disappearance, and also posed as other people confessing to having killed Farver. An officer testified that Farver had been dating Golyars ex-boyfriend for some weeks when she disappeared.

Golyars lawyer argued that prosecutors presented no evidence that a homicide occurred: no body, no murder weapon and no crime scene.
As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More
Brussels: Donald Trump meets NATO and EU leaders on Thursday in the city he once derided as a "hellhole", with nervous allies hoping for a strong show of commitment from the US president.



The billionaire leader, on his first foreign tour, is getting a red-carpet welcome from the same organisations he ridiculed on the campaign trail in remarks that sparked fears for transatlantic ties.



But he was also greeted by large protests as he arrived in Brussels on Wednesday amid tight security for high-stakes meetings overshadowed by the concert bombing in Manchester, Britain, claimed by the Islamic State group.



Leaders will be hoping to convince Trump of the lasting relevance of the Brussels-based European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, together widely credited with keeping peace in Europe after World War II.



Trump dismissed NATO as "obsolete" for failing to tackle Islamist terror and focussing on Russia instead, while he alarmed the EU by backing Britain`s exit from the 28-nation bloc.



But the mercurial Trump has since backed away from his comments, and hopes are high in Brussels that he will finally make a display of solidarity.



EU President Donald Tusk, who will meet Trump along with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, tweeted that "I`ll aim to convince POTUS that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent (a) post-West world order".Trump set out his stall as he met Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel shortly after his arrival on Wednesday night, saying that the most important issue was terrorism after the "horrible situation" in Manchester.



"When you see something like what happened a few days ago you realise how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," said Trump, fresh from meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican.



There was no sign of tension with Michel over Trump`s calling Brussels a "hellhole" because of Muslim immigration in January 2016, two months before the city was struck by Islamic State suicide bombings.



However at least 9,000 people marched through Brussels on Wednesday night waving blond-haired effigies of the reality TV star president and flags saying "Trump not welcome".



Further protests were planned on Thursday, when Trump will first meet with EU President Tusk and Commission chief Juncker at the bloc`s headquarters.



Tusk and Juncker will tell the US president that since last year`s shock Brexit vote, the EU is "in a completely different place" after populist candidates lost in France and the Netherlands, a senior EU official said.



Trump is then set to dine with French President Emmanuel Macron, whose recent victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been seen as a beacon of hope by Brussels. The NATO summit after that will be full of pomp and symbolism, with the keen-to-impress alliance showing off its new $1.2 billion headquarters and staging a flypast.



At a ceremony with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump will unveil a memorial to September 11, 2001, attacks featuring part of the destroyed World Trade Center, while Merkel does the same for a fragment of the Berlin Wall.



In return, allies rattled by a resurgent Russia will hope for a public display of commitment from Trump to Article 5, the alliance`s one-for-all collective defence pledge.



While this has been triggered only once, by the US after 9/11, Trump has said that any future use might depend on whether a NATO member had met its spending commitments.



NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the eve of the summit that he was confident of Trump`s commitment.



He also urged allies to "step up" and join the US-led anti-IS coalition "not least because of the attack we saw in Manchester", and said they would deliver yearly spending plans.



The alliance is now set to formally join the coalition after France, Germany, and Italy dropped their opposition, diplomatic sources said.



Trump`s wife Melania, meanwhile, is set to visit a museum dedicated to the surrealist artist Rene Magritte and a leading leather store while in Brussels.



Trump`s sweep through Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, centres of three of the world`s main religions, is being followed by Brussels and a trip to Italy for the G7 leaders summit on Friday.



On Wednesday Trump said he was "more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world" following a "fantastic" meeting with Pope Francis.



The high-profile trip has diverted attention from Trump`s domestic pressures over alleged campaign collusion with Russia.
United Nations: The United Nations (UN) has dismissed Pakistan's claim that the Indian Army targeted UN military observers in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"This afternoon in Bhimber District, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) military observers accompanied by Pakistani army escorts heard gunshots in their vicinity. There is no evidence that the UNMOGIP military observers were targeted by the gunfire," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during a press briefing.

He added that no UN military observer was injured.

Yesterday, the ISPR, Pakistan military's media wing, claimed that the Indian Army targeted an UNMOGIP vehicle in Khanjar Sector during a ceasefire violation.

According to the ISPR, the vehicle was carrying UNMOGIP Officers Major Emmanual of Philippine and Major Mirko of Croatia on a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) with the UNMOGIP blue flag hoisted as per procedure.
Beijing: China on Thursday asked Pakistan to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of its nationals and institutions in the country, a day after two of its nationals were kidnapped by gunmen in the restive Balochistan province.

Condemning the kidnapping of a Chinese couple from Jinnah Town area of Quetta, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the authorities from the two countries are working together to rescue them.

"Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals overseas. We denounce abduction in all its forms," Lu told a media briefing.

"The Chinese government has maintained close communication with Pakistan since the abduction took place and urged Pakistan to take all necessary measures to secure the early release of the hostages," Lu said.

He said China called on Pakistan to take further steps to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals and institutions in Pakistan.

"The Chinese government will work with the Pakistani side to spare no efforts to rescue the two nationals at an early date," he said.

The couple who were teaching Chinese in Pakistan were allegedly kidnapped by gunmen yesterday in Quetta, raising concerns in Beijing over the security situation in Pakistan amid China's massive investment push in the country.

The gunmen dressed as police stopped the couple's car and shot and wounded a man who intervened after he rescued a third person who was in the car, according to Pakistani police and China's official Xinhua news agency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping yet.

Chinese interest in Balochistan has spiked in recent years after the announcement of the USD 50 billion China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which plans to connect the Pakistani port of Gwadar to Xinjiang in China.

In the past, China has asked Islamabad to improve security, especially in Balochistan, where it is building the Gwadar Port and funding roads as part of the CPEC.
Sadia: On the occasion of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's three years in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday (May 26, 2017) inaugurate India's longest bridge in Assam close to the border with China.

The 9.15 km bridge over the mighty Brahmaputra river will link Sadia in Assam and Dhola in Arunachal Pradesh. It is 3.55 km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link (5.6 km) in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge in India.

The bridge which links Dhola to Sadia -- located near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border -- in Assam`s Tinsukia district, will cut travel time from over six hours to just one hour. Notably, Sadia is the birthplace of music legend Dr Bhupen Hazarika.

Capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, the bridge is seen as an attempt by India to shore up its defence requirements along the Sino-Indian border, particularly in the Northeast, besides providing an easy access to the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with air and rail connectivity.

Army convoys will now require less time to travel from Assam to the posts along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had earlier said that the Dhola-Sadia bridge would not only ease the hardship of the people of Sadia but also fulfil a vital requirement in terms of the country's defence perspective as Arunachal Pradesh shares boundary with China.

Talking to Indian Express, Brigadier (retired) Ranjit Borthakur, meanwhile, said that the bridge will be extremely helpful to the Army.

The bridge will immensely help the Army in swift mobilisation and movement of troops and heavy equipment to the frontier areas. The Army had been pressing for this bridge for a long time, said Borthakur.

The construction of the bridge commenced in 2011 at a project cost of Rs 950 crore. It is located 540 km away from Assam capital Dispur and 300 km away from Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar. The aerial distance to the Chinese border is less than 100 km.

The bridge is the fourth over Brahmaputra river after Saraighat, Kaliabhomora, and Bogibeel (nearing completion).

Since northeast is in a high seismic region, the bridge has been provided seismic buffers in all its 182 piers.

Till now, the only means to cross the Brahmaputra in the location was through ferry only in day time, and even this was not possible during the floods, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

"The bridge will also reduce the distance from Rupai on NH-37 in Assam to Meka/Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 km," it added.

"The travel time between the two places will come down from the current six hours to just one hour - a total five-hour reduction," the Ministry said. This would lead to Rs 10 lakh worth saving of petrol and diesel per day.

The Ministry said the new bridge promises to usher in prosperity in the northeastern region and would provide efficient road connectivity to the remote and backward areas, which have poor road infrastructure.

"This bridge will also give a major boost to the overall economic development of the areas north of Brahmaputra in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

"It will also cater to the strategic requirements of the country in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh, besides facilitating numerous hydropower projects coming up in the state," the statement added.

As there is no civilian airport in Arunachal Pradesh, this bridge will help people of the state to reach the nearest rail head in Tinsukia and the airport in Dibrugarh easily.



As per Assam CM Sonowal, the delayed works of the bridge was expedited after Modi assumed the charge in 2014. The bridge was originally scheduled to open in 2015.

The BJP government in Assam completed one year in office on May 24.

The bridge is one of the key projects of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Northeast and is built in public-private partnership with a construction company.

(With Agency inputs)
Patna: Junior doctors of the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Thursday evening ended their two-day strike following government assurance, burt during the strike eight more patients died since Wednesday night, taking the toll to 15, officials said.

PMCH Junior Doctors Association President Vinay Kumar told the media that more than 500 protesting doctors will return to work from Thursday midnight, following a meeting with Principal Secretary Health R.K. Mahajan, who assured them on their demands.

Four junior doctors arrested earlier this week too were released on bail on Thursday.

The strike from Wednesday had left hundreds of patients, many of them in a serious condition, in the lurch. Their attendants and family members did not know where to turn to for medical attention. Seven patients had died on Wednesday.

The strikers were demanding action against police officials who canecharged them during a counselling session for admissions to post-graduate courses on Monday and left some of them injured, officials earlier said.

Junior doctors of Patna-based Nalanda Medical College and Hospital too had joined the protest on Thursday to express solidarity with PMCH doctors.

Earlier, Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) doctors also extended support to the strikers.
Patna: Nine passengers aboard a private bus were burnt alive and half a dozen were injured when it caught fire near Harnaaut area of Bihar`s Nalanda district on Thursday, the state police said.

All the injured were rushed to a government hospital.

Over a dozen passengers got trapped in the rear side of the bus after fire suddenly broke out, said police officials. The bus was not air-conditioned.

The cause of the fire was being ascertained, they said.

Bihar Disaster Management Minister Chandrasekhar has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the victims and promised to provide treatment to those sustained burns in the blaze.
New Delhi: Apparently sidelined in his own party, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha has now offered to help Tamil superstar Rajinikanth's foray into politics.

In a series of tweets, 'shotgun' offered to guide and support his 'friend'' Rajinikanth if he plans to foray into politics.

Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu & son of India - dearest @superstarrajini #Rajinikanth ! Rise, Rise, Rise!! It's high time & the right time! 1>2  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

Nation is waiting with bated breath for @superstarrajini 's leap into constructive politics to shape the future of your people & nation 2>3  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

While hailing Rajinikanth's move to join politics, the Patna Sahib MP also cautioned him not to join any political party, instead let others join him.

The people are with you and ready to join @superstarrajini and instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you...3>4  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

In another tweet, Sinha said that he was bankable, dependable and will always be available to superstar Rajinikanth in case the latter requires any help.

I have always stood by @superstarrajini as a friend, supporter, well wisher & even guide. Even today, if I can be of any help or support 5>6  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

..you can bank on me. I'm bankable, dependable & available to you - anytime & everytime. Regards to your family & long live @superstarrajini May 25, 2017

Sinha also advised Rajinikanth to consider joining politics only after consulting his family members, fans and experts.

Hope, wish & pray that after consulting with your family, dear ones & experts, you take the right decision soon - sooner the better...4>5  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

The tweets from Sinha have come at a time when the Amit Shah-led BJP is making every attempt to woo Tamil superstar Rajinikanth join the saffron party.

BJP chief Amit Shah recently said that Rajinikanth would be welcomed with open arms if he plans to join the saffron party.

Rajinikanth had earlier hinted that he may join politics at an appropriate time.

The Patna Sahib MP was recently locked in a Twitter war with former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi over the BJP's stance on Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue of corruption.
Korba: Three dailt families in Chhattisgarh's Korba district have alleged that they are ostracised by the panchayat of Kurudih village for filing a police complaint against local youths who allegedly molested some women at a marriage ceremony recently, an officer said on Thursday.

A complaint alleging social boycott was filed yesterday, following which the local police were directed to conduct investigation.

According to the officer, some people, including women from Kurudih village under Urga police station limits, filed the complaint alleging boycott by the village panchayat.

"Local police has been asked to investigate the matter and take further action accordingly," said Additional Superintendent of Police Tarkeshwar Patel.

Patel said some girls and women were allegedly molested by 'inebriated' youths recently during the marriage ceremony of a woman at the house of one of the complainants in the village, located around 15 kms away from here.

The women who were allegedly molested belonged to the family of the groom who had visited the bride's house as revellers, the officer said.

Following the incident, the bride's mother lodged a complaint against the youths, who also belonged to Kurudih village, with Urga police, he said.

Annoyed with filing of the complaint, a panchayat was called in the village which decided to boycott the family of the complainant and two more families of their relatives.

The bride's mother who complained of molestation today told reporters that they came to know about the the boycott yesterday only when a local priest refused to visit their house for performing some rituals for another marriage ceremony in the family.

"The priest refused to come to our house on Wednesday saying our family has been ostracised. Subsequently, we reached Korba to raise our plight before superintendent of police," she said, adding that consent of entire village was not taken at the panchayat meeting and their families were also not informed that they were being ostracised.

At least six Chauhan families reside in the village.
New Delhi: Moody's Investors Service on Thursday downgraded state-owned IDBI Bank's rating citing asset quality concerns and extremely weak capitalisation.

The rating actions reflect the significant deterioration in IDBI's financial profile, driven by asset quality issues and the heightened risk to its solvency position, the ratings agency said in a statement.

The local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings has been downgraded to 'Ba2/Not Prime' from 'Baa3/Prime-3', Moody's said, adding the ratings are under review for further downgrade.

Separately, IDBI Bank said the government, which has infused Rs 1,900 crore in the lender this year, continues to support it.

The bank added it plans to raise capital through sale of non-core assets and churning of corporate loan book.

Moody's said over the next 12-18 months, asset quality issues of IDBI bank are likely to persist, which will put pressure on the bank's profitability and limit its ability to generate internal capital.

At the end of March 2017, IDBI's impaired loans (non- performing loans plus standard restructured loans) ratio rose to 29 percent versus 19 percent a year earlier.

In addition, loan loss reserves, when adjusted for the restructured loans, stood at about 34 percent at the end of March 2017 -- which was one of the weakest among Moody's-rated public sector banks in India, the US-based agency said.

It added that the bank's buffers against further asset quality stress remain weak.

Its capacity for internal capital generation will remain constrained by low net interest margins and high credit costs.

"Moody's expects the bank to remain dependent on capital infusions from the government to meet the minimum capital standards," it said.

It said that given the current fragile financial strength of many public sector banks, including IDBI, "any reduction in government support will result in lower levels of confidence in such banks, and could negatively affect systemic stability".

IDBI to focus on augmenting capital base, NPA recovery

IDBI Bank in a separate statement said it has crafted a comprehensive turnaround strategy with a focus on augmenting the capital base and recovery from NPAs.

The bank said it plans to raise capital through sale of non-core assets and churning of corporate loan book to reduce risk weight of the portfolio.

The government has already infused Rs 1,900 crore in the bank this year and LIC has also subscribed to its preferential issue.

IDBI Bank MD and CEO Mahesh Kumar Jain said the government continues to support the bank.

"We will look at aggressive recovery and cost cutting measures and plan on churning our corporate book and risk weighted assets which should also ease the pressure on capital," he said.

Headquartered in Mumbai, IDBI Bank Ltd held assets totalling Rs 3.62 lakh crore at end-March 2017.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday, said that she discussed only the developmental issues in her state and not on the upcoming Presidential polls.

Media reports had earlier speculated that they may discuss the presidential elections as President Pranab Mukjerjee's term ends on July 24.

Asked about their meeting, she told reporters that only the developmental issues were discussed. She, however, added that it will be good if parties get a consensus candidate like during the time of APJ Abdul Kalam.

"The President is the custodian of the Constitution and it will be very good for the entire country if we have a consensus candidate much like (late former President) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam," she said.

Banerjee has sought funds from the Centre to implement government schemes. She also discussed developmental issues, including the threat of erosion to the Ganga river banks.

"Of the Rs 10,500 crore due we have got only Rs 2,000 crore so far. I apprised the Prime Minister about the Rs 8,000 crore that is still due. He said he will look into the matter," Banerjee said.

She said she raised the issue of funds to her state under various central schemes.

On Thursday's violence in Kolkata, she blamed the BJP for the clashes in which several people were injured.

It is the BJP and CPM, they started it. See how they have beaten up police (personnel) including women (officers), burnt govt properties, the chief minister said.

She was also scheduled to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders on Friday to finalise a common presidential candidate.
New Delhi: A court here has granted anticipatory bail to former 'Bigg Boss' contestant and self-proclaimed 'godman' Swami Om, who was accused of molesting and threatening a woman, court sources said on Thursday.



Special Judge Sanjay Garg on Tuesday allowed the anticipatory bail plea of Swami Om and asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25,000.



The court order came on ground of parity as co-accused Santoshanand was granted anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court on May 5.



Claiming innocence, Swami Om's counsel AP Singh told the court that he was falsely implicated.



He assured the court that if granted anticipatory bail, Om would not misuse his liberty.



In her complaint to Indraprastha Estate police station, the woman had accused Swami Om and Santoshanand of wrongful restraint and abusive behaviour, and committing objectionable acts.



The woman complained that the accused tore her clothes on February 7.


New Delhi: Union minister Uma Bharti on Thursday set off on a tour to inspect execution of the Centre's 'Namami Gange' programme at various places along the Ganga in a bid to amplify efforts to clean up the heavily-polluted river.

Bharti will begin her 15-day trip from Ganga Sagar in West Bengal and culminate the same at Gangotri in Uttarakhand.

During the nearly 2,500-km tour, the water resources minister will also cover 25 other locations from the basin states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, besides Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Apart from this, she will interact with various stakeholders during 'Ganga Chaupal' (meetings on issues relating to the river) at 24 locations in the five states to make the central programme a success.

Bharti will travel by road, boat, air and on foot during the journey, ministry spokesperson Samir Sinha said.

The minister will also visit Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute located in West Bengal's Barrackpore, he added.

The institute is specialised in fisheries research on the Ganga river.

The government has set itself a deadline of October, 2018 to clean the ailing river.
New Delhi: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the much-awaited Tejas Superfast Express from Mumbai to Karmali in Goa two days ago.

However, the state of affairs of the train's interiors, when it returned to Mumbai, was shocking for the railway official.

Tejas Express has ultra-modern amenities on board like LED TV, energy efficient LED lights, Wi-Fi and CCTV. But when it returned to Mumbai at its maiden run, railway officials found that the public had stolen headphones, damaged the infotainment screens.

As per a report in the Hindustan Times, Tejas Express, upon its return had fewer headphones, damaged infotainment screens and waste strewn all over.

At least 12 of the high-quality headphones provided for the infotainment screens are missing, railway sources told the HT

This despite the fact that Tejas has touchless taps and bio-vacuum toilets.

Tejas Express has been proved to be extremely popular as its ticket booking position has reached in waitlist for May 24.
Washington: Senate Democrats have urged US President Donald Trump to remain a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. The White House has said that the President is yet to make up his mind.



During a press conference on Wednesday, the White House said Trump was still deciding even as 40 Senate Democrats signed and sent a letter to him to not back out of the international climate change pact.



This was in anticipation of the Group of Seven (G7) conference in Sicily this week, which would be Trump's first appearance at an international summit, CBSNews reported.



However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that the Trump administration was "leaning towards withdrawing the US from the pact.



The group of Senate Democrats also said that the US participation in the climate pact was key to American competition and leadership on the international stage, especially with regard to China.



"Imagine that: Donald Trump, who campaigned repeatedly that China was eating our lunch and taking our jobs, is willing to cede both economic and moral ground to China," Schumer added.



The climate agreement was signed in 2016, during Barack Obama's presidency at the COP21 conference in Paris, where nations committed to slowing the effects of climate change through cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.



Earlier in May, Trump delayed a meeting on the Paris Climate Agreement, citing "scheduling conflicts" for the postponement.



The White House has said the President will announce the US' position on the agreement after the G7 conference, the CBSNews report said.



If the Trump administration were to pull out of the pact, the US would join just two other nations --Syria and Nicaragua -- that have not signed the agreement.



Critics of the Paris Climate Agreement argue that the promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent was too steep of a promise and may jeopardize the US economy.



These critics argue that the US should either back out of the agreement or go to the Senate for a vote. If the agreement did reach the Republican-controlled Senate for ratification, it would likely fail, the CBSNews report said.


Manchester: British Prime Minister Theresa May will raise concerns with Donald Trump on Thursday about U.S. leaks of intelligence on the suicide bombing in Manchester that police fear could hinder a hunt for a possible bomb-maker still at large.



After the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, police are hunting for accomplices whom they suspect helped Salman Abedi build the bomb that killed 22 people on Monday in a crowded concert hall in the northern English city of Manchester.



But British ministers and security chiefs have been dismayed by leaks in the U.S. media which made public details about the British investigation.



May will raise concerns over the leaks when she meets U.S. President Trump at a NATO meeting on Thursday, the BBC reported.



The New York Times published detailed pictures of the crime scene, including the remains of the suspected bomb and the rucksack worn by the suicide bomber.



The BBC reported that British police had stopped sharing information about the Manchester bombing with the United States, due to anger over the detailed disclosures. A spokeswoman for PM May declined to comment on the reports.



British police have arrested two more men in connection with the Manchester attack, taking the number of people in custody to eight, Greater Manchester police said.



Britain views the United States as its most important defense and security ally, and the two countries also share intelligence as part of the "Five Eyes" network which also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.



After Trump defended his decision to discuss intelligence with the Russians during a White House meeting, Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Britain would continue to share intelligence with the United States.
Brussels: After a warm welcome in the Middle East and a "fantastic" visit with the pope, US President Donald Trump walks on shakier ground on Thursday when European Union and NATO leaders will press him on defence, trade, and environmental concerns.

The Republican president, midway through his first foreign trip since taking office, has basked in the glow of favourable receptions in Riyadh and Jerusalem, where leaders lauded his harsh words for Iran.

Praise may be in shorter supply in Brussels.

Trump questioned the relevance of the NATO military alliance as a presidential candidate, and is considering pulling the United States out of the Paris agreement on climate change - a huge concern in Europe. The EU was also a party to the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has criticized sharply.

"We expect him to recommit to NATO`s founding rule that an attack against one ally is an attack against all," said a senior European diplomat at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"Words matter and there is a huge expectation on that."

Trump will also meet Europe`s chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs EU summits, in the morning.

He will then go to NATO`s new, billion-dollar headquarters where he will unveil a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

There Trump, in his only scheduled public remarks before a dinner with NATO leaders, is expected to pledge his full support to the alliance he once called "obsolete" because he said it was not doing enough to stop terrorism.

NATO hopes to impress Trump with military bands, allied jets flying overhead and a walk through the glass-and-steel headquarters, which replaces a leaking, 1960s prefab structure.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump would press NATO leaders hard to spend more on defence and take on more of the burden of paying for the alliance, a message Trump has reiterated repeatedly before and after entering the White House.

Trump wants NATO to join the battle against Islamic State, Tillerson told reporters on Air Force One.

NATO ambassadors agreed on Wednesday for the Western military alliance to join the U.S.-led, 68-nation coalition against Islamic State in Syria and I
Los Angeles: Warner Bros has cancelled the May 31 London red carpet premiere of Gal Gadot- starrer "Wonder Woman" in the wake of the deadly attack in Manchester that claimed the lives of 22 people, including children.

The film's cast, including Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright, were scheduled to make red carpet appearances at the Leicester Square in the British capital, reported Deadline.

"Our thoughts are with those affected by the recent tragedy in the UK. In light of the current situation, we will not be proceeding with our plans for the 'Wonder Woman premiere and junket activities in London'," Warner Bros. Said in a statement.

The film will make its world premiere in LA today and is set to hit the US theatres on June 2.
New Delhi: Ahead of the Opposition's huddle to decide on a consensus candidate for the presidential poll, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the Ganga erosion issue and seek more funds for her state to tackle the financial crisis.

"Discussed development issues with the Prime Minister, there was no deliberation on Presidential election," the West Bengal CM said after meeting PM Modi.

Her meeting with PM Modi comes in the backdrop of Mamata, known for taking a strong position against the BJP, intensifying efforts for a joint candidate for the presidential race.

Mamata is also scheduled to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Opposition leaders on Friday to finalise a common non-BJP candidate for the presidential elections in July.

President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24 and the election has to take place before that.
New Delhi: Bolstering counter-terror cooperation and highlighting India's economic reforms to woo investment will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's six-day visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France beginning May 29.

In Russia, Modi is likely to take up with President Vladimir Putin India's concerns over China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative, besides exploring ways to further boost ties in defence and civil nuclear sectors.

Asked whether India and Russia will be able to finalise the General Framework Agreement (GFA) for units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry's Eurasia division G V Srinivas only said it is "work in progress" and added, "I do not want to steal the thunder of the meeting."

On whether Indo-Russia ties are losing warmth, Srinivas cited the strategic partnership between the two countries and holding of annual Summit between their leadership in the last 18 years, besides signing of pacts in March for long-term maintenance for Russian origin Su-30MKI fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.

In the Summit talks to be held in St Petersburg, Modi and Putin are expected to review the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations and the progress made since the last Summit held in Goa on October 15, 2016.

It is the first time that the annual Summit will be held in Russia outside Moscow.

The Summit is also likely to focus on strengthen of trade ties.

Exploring ways to strengthen counter-terror cooperation and projecting India as an attractive investment destination, will be a major focus area of the prime minister's visit to the four countries, external affairs ministry officials said.

Modi will arrive in Berlin on May 29 where he will hold extensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on range of key issues, besides a series of other engagements including meeting CEOs of leading German companies.

The issue of an Indo-EU free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to figure in Modi's talks with leadership in Germany, Spain and France -- three key Europeans countries, the ministry officials said.

The talks on FTA, launched in June 2007, have been stalled since May 2013, when India and the EU failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status in the IT sector.

A number of MoUs are expected to be signed during Modi's visit to Germany. Union ministers Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and M J Akbar will be part of the PM's delegation in Germany.

From Berlin, Modi will travel to Spain on the evening of May 30. This will be first visit by an Indian prime minister since 1988.

Modi will discuss with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy ways to deepen bilateral engagement, including in the high-tech sector.

Modi will travel to St Petersburg in Russia on June 1 where he will hold the 18th India-Russia annual Summit with Putin and attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum the next day.

The prime minister will be in Paris on June 2 and 3 where he will hold official talks with French President Emmanuel Macron with a view to further strengthening India-France strategic ties.

This is Modi's first meeting with Macron, who was elected as the French president earlier this month.
[May 24, 2017] "Wannacry" a Wake-up Call for Businesses IT Security by The iWay Magazine

SAN FRANCISCO, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As "Wannacry" Ransomware stroke hundreds of thousand of systems across 100 different countries, companies realized that they weren't taking IT Security seriously enough. More than anything and with Ransomware as one exception, because many security breaches are ever hardly noticed by companies, or at least that we are talking about e-commerce specifically, have an important enough impact on their day to day operations. Stealing of Databases and other relative important loss of information happens all the time, but unless publicly made, this may not necessarily affect the companys revenue or its overall work flow. This of course generates a "vicious circle" in which companies neglect IT Securty, forsaking important Network Infrastructure and Systems security updates, allowing hackers an other cybercriminals to freely intrude into their networks, until something as notorious as a Ransomware occurs, or in the case of e-commerce businesses...sales plummet. "Ransomware could be devastating for companies of all sizes...ut at the end of the day is just what the attackers decided to do, since many other things may have happened before that...because they have already gained power over the Network" says Talon Cyber Defense a cybersecurity firm specialized in anti-ransomware computers.



The point is that companies shouldn't wait for something as notorious as the encryption of their data to react, since some attacks can be subtler but far more devastating, such as those that could hinder the income of e-commerce businesses for long periods of time. Thats not to say that data encryption isn't terrible for any type of company, but at least it wont last forever, a well orchestrated cyberattack to take control of network infrastructure could criple or even hinder its commercial growth for years to come...

"Wannacry" was successful not because it was crafted by evil geniuses, but because it relied on the fact that many systems out there were outdated and that companies at large were negligent about IT Security. Unpatched old operating systems were the most affected. Furthermore, there has been many solutions for this type of cyberattack for years, from sophisticated to quite simple ones, that could have stopped "Wannacry" from ever working into a system or even spreading across an entire network. Author: Randy Maugans

www.taloncyberdefense.com

Phone (844) 982 5663

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wannacry-a-wake-up-call-for-businesses-it-security-by-the-iway-magazine-300463287.html SOURCE iWay Magazine

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New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has invited all top Opposition leaders for a lunch at her Parliament House on Friday, however, no invitaion has been extended to AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

During the Friday lunch, the opposition leaders with possibly discuss a unanimous candidate for President to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's nominee.

According to NDTV, the lunch thrown by Sonia Gandhi is being showcased as a show of strength by the Congress on the day the Narendra Modi government completes three years in office.

According to reports, Congress chief had personally called up all top Opposition leaders to invite them and most have confirmed they will attend, putting aside regional rivalries.

The lunch will see Left general secretary Sitaram Yechury facing arch-rival Mamata Banerjee, who is West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief.

Banerjee, who was in Delhi last week, had met Gandhi and Kejriwal separately to discuss candidates for President.

Kejriwal has not received an invite because his party has so far not taken part in any joint opposition programme.

Mamata Banerjee will also be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and though officially the agenda is the development of Bengal, the two leaders are expected to discuss the presidential elections.

Sources close to Mamata Banerjee say her party's support will depend on who the Opposition's candidate is and whether a consensus can emerge around the person's name.

Among those who are likely to attend the lunch are Lalu Yadav (RJD), Mayawati (BSP),Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leaders. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be sending a representative to attend the lunch.

Former Bengal governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi is said to be a forerunner to be the Opposition's candidate and is strongly backed by Banerjee. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar's name has also been discussed.

Nitish Kumar had suggested a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee whose term ends in July, but the President has made it clear that he will consider it only of the government nominates him.

The ruling BJP has so far not seemed inclined to do that.

Veteran politician Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) declined Sonia Gandhi's offer to be the opposition's candidate for president, but will be there at her lunch party.

Pawar is believed to have said no because his party is not keen that he contest an election he is likely to lose. The opposition has little chance of winning the Presidential election against the NDA which has over 48.5 per cent support in the electoral college that elects the President and needs only a little support for the 51 per cent required for its candidate to win.
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Thurwsday rejected the demand of the Aam Aadmi Party to allow it to tamper with the motherboard of the electronic voting machines during the hackathon, saying that the EVMs would lose its originality if changes are made to its internal circuitry.

Yesterday, the AAP had asked the poll panel to reconsider the terms set for next week's EVM challenge and allow it to be an open 'hackathon' where tampering of any kind can be demonstrated.

An AAP delegation, which had visited the EC, had told the poll panel that it would be "worrying" if the event disallows tampering of the EVMs.

"We would like to strongly urge you to reconsider the terms of the EVM challenge. Please do not set any such rules and regulations and allow it to be an open hackathon where tampering of any kind can be demonstrated on the machine," AAP's national secretary Pankaj Gupta had said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

Reacting to AAP, poll watchdog also said today that the demonstration held inside the Delhi Assembly to prove that the machines can be hacked was carried out on a "look alike" EVM and not on the one used by the EC.

"Such so called demonstration on extraneous and duplicate gadgets, which are not owned by the EC cannot be misused and exploited to mislead and influence our intelligent citizens to assail or vilify the EVMS used by the Commission," it told AAP, as per PTI.

The EC further said that "allowing any change of the motherboard or any internal circuit of the EVM is like saying that anyone should be permitted to manufacture a new machine and introduce newly made EVMs in EC system, which is implausible and irrational".

The proposed challenge is on June three for which seven national and 48 regional parties recognised by the EC have been invited.

The challenge would be open only to national and state parties which contested Assembly polls in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab.

They would not be allowed to change the motherboard of EVMs and take the machines home to prove at a later date that they can be tampered with.

The commission said with a changed chip, an EVM would no longer be the "ECI-EVM" but simply a look-alike.

The AAP, along with other parties, have pointed to tampering of EVMs as a major reason behind their defeat in recent state Assembly and civic body polls.

The AAP also "demonstrated" in the Delhi Legislative Assembly how EVMs can be "tampered" with.

(With Agency inputs)
Kathmandu: Rescuers have retrieved the bodies of two Indian climbers who died on Mount Everest last year but whose remains could not be moved due to bad weather, an official said on Thursday.

A team of Nepali climbers retrieved the bodies of Goutam Ghosh and Paresh Nath from the balcony, an area just below the summit of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountain.

"Both the bodies are now in camp two in a place from where they can be airlifted. We are working out the logistics to bring them to Kathmandu," Sayeed Ahmeed Baba, an Indian official coordinating the operation, told AFP.

Nath's body was found last year but bad weather forced rescuers to abandon attempts to retrieve it. Ghosh's remains were only located this year by other climbers on the mountain.

"His body (Ghosh) was covered in snow and ice, so the team had to cut the ice to reach the body," Baba said.

Both bodies were found above 8,000 metres -- an altitude that marks the beginning of the "death zone" notorious for its difficult terrain and thin air as low oxygen levels heighten the risk of altitude sickness.

The retrieval of corpses from such a high altitude is a controversial topic within the climbing community.

Some rescue companies refuse to retrieve bodies at that altitude, saying it puts too many other lives in danger.

"We do not risk the lives of the living to recover the dead," Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, one of the largest rescue firms in the Himalayas, told AFP.

"When it comes to recovering the dead there is an acceptable level of risk above which we do not go."

A separate team will ascend Everest on Thursday to retrieve the body of another Indian climber who died over the weekend.

Ravi Kumar, 27, died after summiting Everest and becoming separated from his guide. His body was spotted on Monday a few hundred metres from the main route climbers follow to the summit.

"It is a very tough operation, risky as well. The body fell about 200 metres from the route into a very difficult area at about 8,400 metres. It is not easy to pull out the body," said Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks, the company coordinating the mission.

Six people have perished on Everest this season, including feted Swiss climber Ueli Steck who died during an acclimatisation climb in late April.

The bodies of four more climbers were found on Tuesday, though their identities remain unknown and authorities suspect they could be fatalities from a previous year.

At least 382 climbers have successfully reached the summit from the south side so far this season, with another 120 doing so from the Tibet side.

Many are still waiting to make their final push to the summit before the monsoon arrives in early June, marking the end of the short spring climbing season.
New Delhi: The BJP and the Sangh family supports a ban on cow slaughter but "condemns" vigilantism in the name of its protection, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said today, declaring they are "not our people".

Gadkari's comments in an interview with PTI are the strongest yet repudiation of cow vigilante groups by the Modi government, which has come under fierce attack by the its rivals over violence perpetrated by the so-called "gau rakshaks".

These cow protection groups have mercilessly beaten up people, some even to death. In Gujarat's Una, seven members of a Dalit family were flogged over skinning a dead cow, while in Rajasthan's Alwar, they dragged out cattle traders and beat to death a Muslim man. Another elderly Muslim man was killed on suspicion of storing and eating beef in Bisada village in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

These incidents inflamed communal tensions, tarnishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi?s efforts to focus on economic development, which Gadkari said was the government?s main agenda.

The government is focused on 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Together with all, Development for all), and none of its policies discriminated against religious minorities, Gadkari said in a wide-ranging interview that went beyond his main thrust about infrastructure projects in developing the highway network in the country.

Gadkari said violence in the name of protecting cows "should not have happened".

"This is not our agenda. Those who are doing this are not our people. Those who did it are wrong. We are not with them. Prime Minister had condemned (them)...We all have condemned (such violence). Why then the are we being blamed for these incidents?" he said.

Gadkari deprecated the tendency of associating every saffron clad person with the BJP.

"Any saffron clad person on television is immediately related to us (BJP) whereas the fact is that we don't have any relation with that person," said Gadkari, a former party president and a senior luminary of the Rashstriya Swayamsevak Sangh. "We don't support such people."

The BJP leader said these were part of a Left campaign to sully the image of his party and project it as anti-minority and anti-Dalit.

"BJP, VHP, Sangh (parivar) and our government do not support such elements," Gadkari said, adding that the party was, however, against cow slaughter.

As a matter of faith, Gadkari said, he used 'gomutra ark' for therapeutic purposes. 'gomutra ark' is an ayurvedic preparation obtained by distilling cow urine.

Gadkari said incidents of violence over cow slaughter had happened in the past under Samajwadi Party and Congress governments, too.

"Our government has not discriminated against any caste, creed or religion in the last three years," he said.

Gadkari said free LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana were given not only to Hindus but also to Muslims. Zero balance bank accounts under 'Jan Dhan Yojana' were created for people of all faiths.

"Our fight is against poverty, hunger and disease. Poor is poor and cannot be discriminated against on the basis of caste, creed, religion and language.

"We have not lent our shoulders to anyone for use against minorities," he said.

He, also rejected claims of rising intolerance under the Modi government.

Indians, he said, were genetically tolerant and this reflected in 4,000-year history when not a single mosque was demolished. "We do not discriminate," he said.
New Delhi: Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, has been given a clean chit by the Army's court of inquiry, which was conducting an internal probe into the incident.

Media reports quoted Army sources as saying that nothing had been found against the Major in the inquiry.

They also quoted sources as saying that Gogoi will continue his service as part of 53 Rashtriya Rifles till he finishes his tenure.

The CoI was tasked with a probe into the circumstances that prompted him to tie the Kashmiri youth to the jeep's bonnet as a "human shield".

A video, showing the man tied to the Army vehicle during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on April 9, had triggered a public outcry, prompting the force to institute a probe.

Later, giving his side of the story, he had said that his idea had saved many lives.

Making an appearance on national TV, rare by a Major-rank officer, Gogoi had defended his action and had said that he and five other Army personnel had gone to that polling booth after a "distress call" about a small group of ITBP personnel and few members of the polling staff being surrounded by a big crowd of about 1200 stone-pelters.

In the mob, he had said that he saw a man who appeared to be the "ring leader" as he was "instigating" the stone-pelters on the day of the bypolls.

The Major had gone on to say that the idea of tying the man had struck him suddenly as a means to evacuate the polling staff and the paramilitary personnel, besides avoiding any casualties.

He had added that after Dar was tied to the jeep, stone-pelting had stopped for some time, providing them a window to them to leave the area safely.

Notably, the Major has been honoured with Army Chief's 'Commendation Card' for his 'sustained efforts' in counter- insurgency operations.

"Major Gogoi has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter- insurgency operations," Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand had said, as per PTI.

All factors including his notable performance and "overall emerging indicators" of the CoI, had been "well-considered" while conferring the award on him, Army sources had said.

(With PTI inputs)
Islamabad: Uzma, an Indian woman, who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint, arrived home on Thursday, a day after she was granted permission by the Islamabad High Court to leave.

Following the Islamabad high court order, Uzma was escorted to the Wagah Border with police security.

She was received by the BSF officials at the Indian side of the Wagah Border.

Wasim Ahmad, brother of Uzma, said the Indian government had done more than expected for Uzma, who got permission from the Islamabad High Court to return to India.

He also said that the Indian Embassy treated Uzma with full care. She took shelter in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on May 5, 2017.

He added that he had no words to thank the government, Swaraj, and Indian High Commission in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, EAM Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma with a tweet and regretted the harship which she had to face.

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 25, 2017

The order was passed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani after hearing the pleas filed by Uzma, a doctor by profession, and Pakistani national Tahir Ali.

While Uzma had requested to be repatriated to India, Ali had asked to be allowed to meet his wife.

The HC had assured Uzma, who hails from New Delhi, that she was free to return to India at any point and would be escorted to the Wagah Border with police security.

The court also returned her the immigration papers which she had said was taken away by Ali, who had submitted the documents yesterday after being told by the court to do so.

Ali, dejected at the order, told PTI that the high court allowed "his wife" to go back.

"She has been allowed to return and I am unhappy because my point of view was not heard."

Justice Kayani also ordered the police to escort her to to the Wagah Border crossing between India and Pakistan.

The judge asked Uzma if she wanted to meet Ali in his chamber but she refused.

"I had asked to meet her for two minutes but I was not allowed," Ali added.

Some reports said Uzma once collapsed in the court during the hearing and paramedics were called in to treat her.

Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 with the request and had submitted a medical report, showing that her daughter was suffering from thalassemia - an inherited blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production - and she urgently needed to return to India.

Uzma and Ali reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love, after which she travelled to Pakistan on May 01 via the Wagah Border. The two contracted nikkah (marriage) on May 03 in the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Later, she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission, alleging she was forced to marry him at gunpoint.

Ali rejected the allegations and expressed his desire to work out their relationship. "She is still my wife. Neither she has asked for divorce nor I have divorced her."

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her and she can come back to pursue the case.

News agency ANI posted a video of Uzma arriving at the Wagah Border.

#WATCH Indian woman Uzma returns to India via Attari-Wagah border, she alleged she was forced to marry a Pakistani pic.twitter.com/x5FeEos6lS  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

(With Agency inputs)
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said he will take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of kidnapped Kerala Catholic priest Tom Uzhunnallil, who is at an undisclosed location in Yemen.

Vijayan was replying in the Kerala Assembly to a motion moved by former State Finance Minister K.M. Mani, who accused the state government of doing nothing to bring back the kidnapped priest.

An angry Mani said: "The state government has a responsibility in the matter. There is no use in just writing letters to the union government. The need of the hour is action from the Centre.

"The hapless priest himself was seen in a video footage saying that he is being kept as a hostage because he is an Indian. We request you (Chief Minister) to please take up the issue on a one-on-one basis with the Prime Minister," said Mani.

Senior legislator (Independent) P.C. George, backing the issue, said the only way out for his release is to pay the ransom that his abductors are demanding.

Vijayan told the House that he has written three letters to the Centre. "I will now personally take up the issue with the Prime Minister at the earliest," said Vijayan.

In March 2016 militants barged into a care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Yemen's Aden and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of whom was from India.

After the shooting, the militants abducted Uzhunnallil. Since then, besides a few videos, there has been no news of his whereabouts.

Indian officials have said the priest has been in the custody of the Islamic State terrorist group in Yemen, but despite efforts at various levels he is yet to be released.

Uzhunnallil's ancestral home in Ramapuram in Kottayam district is presently closed as two of his brothers live abroad, while another lives in Gujarat.
Lucknow: Prominent Muslim cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali has opined that there is no problem in Muslims practicing yoga as long they refrain from indulging in 'puja' activities.

Speaking exclusively to News 18, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member termed yoga as a good practice, saying there was no issue with Muslims participating in International Yoga Day celebrations. However the top Sunni cleric said Muslims should refrain themselves from being involved in any kind of 'puja' involved in the Yoga celebrations.

He agreed to give it a thought to the idea of participating in the International Yoga Day event if given an invitation. The mega event is scheduled to be held on June 21 at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will attend the Yoga day celebrations in Lucknow.

The International Yoga Day event here on June 21 is likely to witness participation of Muslims.

At least 300 Muslim men and women will participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations, which would be held in Lucknows Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan. The number of participants may go up, Mahiraj Dhwaj Singh, national co-convener (organisation) of Muslim Rashtriya Manch for UP and Uttarakhand told PTI today.

Spokesperson of All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas when contacted said, We are open to the idea of participation in the International Yoga Day celebrations. We are exploiting all the options in this regard.

Syed Babar Ashraf, president of Sada-e-Sufiyaain Hind was of the view that if yoga is good for an individuals health, then it must be practiced.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday ruled out any talks with the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, at least for now.



"In this current atmosphere of violence, we will not hold talks with separatists who are instigating violence. Not for now," he told a TV channel.



Jaitley said the government will definitely talk to the people of Kashmir and would like to address their grievances.



Asked if this included Hurriyat, he said, "I am not saying that."



Jaitley also said the NDA government would neither compromise with separatists nor with terrorists.



"As per as my views are concerned or of the government we will not compromise with the separatists. We will not compromise with terrorists. But as far as the average people of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned we want them to be on our side because they are also suffering from terrorism and violence," Jaitley said.



"They must realise that their day-to-day life is disrupted by these kinds of elements," he said.



Jaitley also defended Indian Army's Major Leetul Gogoi, who was involved in tying up a Kashmiri man to an army jeep in Budgam as a shield against stone pelters. Gogoi has been awarded the Army Chief's Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter insurgency operations.

"To deal with a situation of this kind (stone pelting), subsequent political or media reactions can't determine the military strategy. That has to be decided by the officer on the spot. If we are going to cripple our military officers in deciding as to what kind of strategy they must adopt at a given moment then I think we are playing with national security," Jaitley said.



A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-polls held amid violent incidents, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, being tied to the bonnet of an army jeep in Badgam of Jammu and Kashmir to ward off stone pelters.



The video went viral on social media and created an uproar. An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the security forces.



On April 15, the Army constituted a court of inquiry in the incident, and its final report is pending.



Defending Gogoi, Jaitley said the officer had the responsibility to save the lives of Election Commission officials and Indo-Tibetan Border Police officials as well as the crowd that had gathered.



"Now this officer uses his common sense at that stage and he manages to escape. How should a military officer deal with a situation of this kind? It was his duty to rescue the Election Commission officials and the ITBP," Jaitley said.



"Should he have fired at the crowd? Was that a preferred option? Should he have created a stampede? Was that a preferred option? He used his discretion in the larger national interest in order to defuse the situation without causing any loss of life and property," he said.



"I don't think the officer really can be faulted for that. The other options would have been far worse," he added.


New Delhi: In an embarrassment for Pakistan, a retired Pakistani Army officer, Lieutenant General Amjad Shoaib has admitted that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested from Iran and not Pakistan.

Notably, India has been saying that Jadhav was abducted from Iran, where he was pursuing his business. However, Pakistan's official claim is that Jadhav was arrested from the country's restive Balochistan province on March 03, 2016. Jadhav has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on alleged espionage charges.

A clip has gone viral showing the former ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) official speaking in a show that Jadhav was arrested by Pakistan in Iran.

In a bid to save his own skin after inadvertently exposing Pakistan's lie, the retired general told Daily Pakistan that what he implied was that Jadhav was headquartered in Iran not arrested from there.

Earlier this month, India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, which stayed Jadhav's execution pending a final decision by the court.

On Tuesday, Pakistan said that it is not embarrassed by the ICJ ruling on Kulbhushan Jadhav and that consular access will be provided to him on the basis of merit.

"What did India get from ICJ? Final ruling is still expected... we are not embarrassed from the ICJ ruling Pakistan is on solid ground," Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said in an interview to CNN News 18.

Claiming that Jadhav has "not been discriminated against", he said consular access is decided "on merit" basis.

Here is the clip:

Pakistan has claimed that the former Indian Navy officer confessed in a video that he was involved in spying and terror activities in Balochistan, a charge rejected by India. He was convicted in April by a Pakistani military court and sentenced to death.

India has maintained that Jadhav was abducted from Iran, where he was pursuing his business, and passed off as a spy.
[May 24, 2017] HUAWEI P10 and P10 Plus to Launch in Canada on June 6, 2017

P Series debut will bring world-class smartphone photography, battery, performance and style to Canadians MARKHAM, ON, May 24, 2017 /CNW/ - HUAWEI Canada today announced that the much anticipated P10 smartphone line will be available nationally on June 6, 2017; the first time HUAWEI's flagship device line has come to the Canadian market. With a combination of its Leica dual-camera system, battery life, speed and sleek design, the HUAWEI P Series of smartphones has been receiving rave reviews around the world. "We are excited to be working with Rogers, Bell and Videotron in bringing these fantastic new smartphones to Canada. This is a huge step forward in positioning HUAWEI in the Canadian device market," said Felix Li, President, HUAWEI Devices Canada. "Our new P10 line weaves together the exceptional imaging capabilities of Leica with our stand-out design and hardware innovations to bring users a powerful mobile experience." "The P10 and P10 Plus devices are exciting additions to our premium smartphone lineup and we think our customers are going to love them," said Dirk Woessner, President, Consumer Business Unit, Rogers Communications. "As the only carrier in Canada to carry the P10 Plus and the P10 in blue and gold, we're proud to bring our customers devices they can't get anywhere else." "Bell and HUAWEI are longtime partners in broadband network and smartphone innovation, and we are pleased to extend our relationship with the introduction of the P10 smartphone," said Blaik Kirby, President of Bell Mobility. "We look forward to bringing one of the world's most popular smartphone lines to Bell customers across Canada." "Videotron is a long-time partner of HUAWEI and we have been offering their wireless devices since the launch of our mobile network in 2010. We are proud to introduce to our customers the latest iconic devices of the P Series," said Bertrand Hebert, Vice-President Marketing of Videotron. "This launch is very exciting for us and for our customers." The new P Series demonstrates HUAWEI's continued commitment to setting new performance standards and inspiring creative expression. Key features of the smartphone lineup include: The Leica Dual-Camera 2.0 / 2.0 Pro Edition, featuring the rear dual-camera set up and Leica front camera, enabling Canadians to explore a full range of portrait photography. With a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor, a 12-megapixel RGB sensor and enhanced fusion algorithms, the new P Series delivers superior technical and artistic photography features on a smartphone.

3,200 and 3,750 mAh batteries, respectively for the P10 and P10 Plus, which support HUAWEI SuperCharge technology. The low voltage, low temperature, fast charging solution comes with a super safe 5-gate protection mechanism, offering real-time voltage, current and temperature monitoring to make charging not only fast, but safe. A 30-minute charge gives a full day's use under normal conditions and a full charge gives more than two days of use.

The devices come with a Kirin 960 Octa-core processor, HUAWEI Ultra Memory and new EMUI 5.1 user interface. The P10 Plus will have a 64GB memory. The P10 will have 32GB. Both devices will have 4GB RAM.

Trendy colours and design, including the industry's first Hyper Diamond-Cut finishing and colour variants created in the first cross-industry partnership with the Pantone Color Institute, the world's foremost authority on colour. Rogers will exclusively carry the P10 Plus. Bell, Videotron and Fido will be carrying the P10 in black. At launch, Rogers will carry the P10 in gold and black. Rogers will also carry the P10 and P10 Plus exclusively in blue later this summer. Pricing will be determined by each carrier partner. HUAWEI P10 & HUAWEI P10 Plus Canadian Fact Sheet









HUAWEI P10 HUAWEI P10 Plus Size Height: 145.3 mm; Width: 69.3 mm; Depth: 6.98 mm Height: 153.5 mm; Width: 74.2 mm; Depth: 6.98 mm Weight 145 g 165 g Colors Dazzling Blue, Prestige Gold, Graphite Black Dazzling Blue, Graphite Black Finishes Hyper Diamond-Cut, Sandblast Hyper Diamond-Cut, Sandblast Display 5.1" FHD, 2.5D glass, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 5.5" WQHD, 2.5D glass, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 CPU Kirin 960 (64-bit), Octa-core (4 x 2.4 GHz A73+ 4 x 1.8 GHz A53) Kirin 960 (64-bit), Octa-core (4 x 2.4 GHz A73+ 4 x 1.8 GHz A53) GPU Mali-G71 MP8 Mali-G71 MP8 Operating System AndroidTM 7.0 AndroidTM 7.0 Emotion UI EMUI 5.1 EMUI 5.1 Memory 32GB storage, 4GB RAM 64GB storage, 4GB RAM NFC NFC supported NFC supported Camera Front: 8MP, F/1.9

Rear: Leica Dual-Camera 2.0 20MP monochrome & 12MP RGB, SUMMARIT-H F/2.2, OIS Front: 8MP AF, F/1.9

Rear: Leica Dual-Camera 2.0 Pro Edition 20MP monochrome & 12MP RGB, SUMMILUX-H F/1.8, OIS Battery 3,200 mAh (typical) with HUAWEI SuperCharge 3,750 mAh (typical) with HUAWEI SuperCharge

About HUAWEI and HUAWEI Canada HUAWEI is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. HUAWEI's 177,000 employees worldwide are committed to developing innovative products that support operator, enterprise and consumer customers around the world. Founded in 1987, HUAWEI is a private company fully owned by its employees, and has been named by Interbrand as one of the world's top 100 brands  the first Chinese company to receive this recognition. HUAWEI Canada has been in operation since 2008, and now employs over 700 people in Canada. HUAWEI's innovative wireless products and services support many of Canada's leading telecommunications companies, and the HUAWEI Canada Research Centre is a national leader in advanced communications research, including 5G. HUAWEI is proud to be a key part of Canada's ICT Ecosystem, and is recognized as one of the Top 30 investors in research & development. For regular updates on HUAWEI Device Canada, follow us on:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/HuaweiMobileCAN

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuaweiMobileCAN

YouTube: https://youtube.com/huaweimobile

Instagram: https://instagram.com/huaweimobileCAN

Website: consumer.huawei.com/ca SOURCE Huawei

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New Delhi: Yet again coming out strongly against intolerance, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said people in power across the political spectrum now reach out directly to their audience which often becomes a one-way only communication from the powerful to the less-privileged, pushing the narrative in one direction.



Delivering the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture here, Mukherjee said Indian civilisation has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance and the country must continue to "throw open the windows for fresh breezes" without being blown away.



Talking about technological advances made in the means of communication, the President said aggregation and algorithms, the multiplicity of choices, have meant that while access to news is unfettered and vast, it has become increasingly, personalized.



People now have the choice to read only what they want to and more importantly, only what they agree with.



"Inherent in this process of selective sourcing of news, is the danger of people turning a deaf ear to one another, and a refusal to listen to points of view that may differ from our own. This in turn diminishes the room for agreement and can increase intolerance," the President said.



Mukherjee said discussion and dissension are crucial to public debate for decision-making in a vibrant, healthy democracy like India.



"There should always be room for the Argumentative Indian but not for the Intolerant Indian. That would be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of India, to the very idea of India itself," he said.



The President referred to the social, cultural, racial and linguistic diversity in India and said that is why there is need to be sensitive to dominant narratives of those who make the loudest noise, drowning out those who disagree.



"That's why social media and broadcast news have seen angry, aggressive posturing by state and non-state players literally hounding out contrarian opinions."



He said people in power, across the spectrum of politics, business or civil society, by virtue of the position they enjoy, tend to dominate the discussions and influence its direction.



"Due to technological advancement, they can now reach out directly to their audience, completely bypassing this crucial process of filtration and mediation. This often becomes a one-way only communication from the powerful to the less privileged, and an effort to push the narrative in one direction."



He said Indian civilization has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance and these have been at the core of the country's very existence, binding people together for centuries despite many differences.



"We must continue to `throw open the windows for fresh breezes' as Mahatma Gandhi observed, without being blown away.



"Thus the need to ask questions of those in power is fundamental for the preservation of our nation and of a truly democratic society. This is a role that the media has traditionally played and must carry on playing," he said.



The President said all stakeholders, from parties to business leaders, citizens to institutions, have to realise that asking questions is good, healthy and, in fact, is fundamental to the health of the country's democracy.



Noting that media's role of giving a voice to all has become more important in an atmosphere where there is too much noise and jostling for attention, Mukherjee said journalists and media organizations must also hold themselves to the standards they demand of others.



Mukherjee referred to the danger of paid news' and noted that abundance of media outlets has led to a highly competitive environment which often results in the survival of the shrillest voices rising above the others to be heard.



"Dumbing down the news to attract an audience is another consequence of the phenomenal growth of the media. Together, these compulsions have led to complex issues being reduced to binary opposites which, in turn, create a polarity of views and distort the facts."



Mukherjee said media must resist the temptation to take the path of least resistance which is to allow a dominant viewpoint to prevail without questioning it.



"The question that faces all of us is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative?



"We ought to remember that democracy will be the loser when and if we cease to hear voices other than our own."



He said the media must choose to reflect a plurality of opinions for that is what breathes life into democracy.



"It must always remember that its fundamental task is to stand up and ask questions with honesty and fairness. That's the sacred compact it has with citizens in a democracy," he said.



"Press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to powers that be," he said.


New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will skip the opposition parties meeting convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday over the Presidential elections, a party leader said.



"Nitish Kumar ji would not be attending the meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhiji," Rajya Sabha MP and Janata Dal-United Spokesperson K.C. Tyagi told IANS.



"Our senior party leader Sharad Yadav would attend the meet to represent JD-U," he added.



Sonia Gandhi has invited prominent opposition leaders for a luncheon meet at her residence, where the issue of selecting a consensus candidate for the presidential election is to be discussed.



Asked about the reason for the JD-U President not attending the meet, Tyagi said, "He is busy with some important work of the government and won`t be able to come."



Nitish Kumar was first among the opposition leaders who had met the Congress President over the issue of fielding a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.



Kumar has been calling for forging an alliance of secular parties at the national level on the lines of the 2015 electoral grand alliance in Bihar to take on the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



The Congress is exploring the possibility of fielding a joint candidate for the presidential election which is due in July this year.
Mumbai: It's as shocking and horrific as it can get.

The Rajasthan Police on Thursday detained Siddhant D Ganore, the prime suspect in the killing of his mother Dipali, the wife of a Mumbai policeman who was one of the Sheena Bora murder investigators, at their Santacruz home on Wednesday, an official said here.



"We had a tip-off that the boy had left for Jaipur and we sent a police team to apprehend him. In Jaipur, we learnt that he had left for Jodhpur, some 340 km away, and was staying in Hotel Dhoom there," said a Mumbai Police spokesperson, as per IANS.



Accordingly, the Mumbai team sent pictures of the suspect and requested Jodhpur police to detain him till they reached there.



The Jodhpur police swooped on the hotel early on Thursday and took Siddhant into custody where he has reportedly confessed to killing his mother, but Mumbai Police declined any comment.



According to his preliminary statement to Jodhpur police, Siddhant was irritated by frequent quarrels between his parents and apparently got enraged after his mother refused to give him some pocket money.



A sum of Rs 200,000 was also reported missing from the house after Siddhant disappeared from the scene of crime.

Victim was found dead in Prabhat Colony.

She is the wife of police inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore, who was part of the team which probed the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, which has now been transferred to the CBI.

The 42-year-old cop is attached with Khar police station.

According to police, when Ganore returned home on Tuesday night after finishing his duty and found the doors of his apartment locked from inside, as per PTI.

He tried to call his wife but her cell phone was switched off.

Later, he opened the flat himself from outside and found Deepali lying in a pool of blood, police had said.

He had also found a message written on the floor using victim's blood saying - Tired of her. Catch me and hang me.

(With Agency inputs)
Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday thanked Pakistani establishment and the judiciary for helping Uzma Ahmad to return to India on humanitarian grounds.

"Uzma is here also because of cooperation of Pakistan's foreign and home ministries. I thank lawyer Shahnawaz Noon who fought her case like a father," the EAM said, as per ANI.

The family of the Indian woman had claimed that she was forced by a Pakistani man to marry him at gunpoint.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s and belongs to New Delhi, is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir Ali in Malaysia.

She told the Islamabad High Court that Ali forced her into marrying him in Pakistan on May 3, when she was visiting that country.

She petitioned the court on May 12, requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassaemia - a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

The court ordered Ali to return her immigration papers which she said had been taken away from her. Ali submitted the documents, enabling her to leave Pakistan.

Uzma reached India this morning, crossing the Wagah Border near Amritsar from Pakistan, after being allowed to return home by the Islamabad High Court.

She was accompanied by Indian Mission officials.

On Uzma's return, Swaraj had welcomed her back home, calling her "India's daughter".

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through. May 25, 2017

Recalling her stay, Uzma said, "It's easy to go to Pakistan but tough to return. Pakistan is a 'well of death'. Even those who go there after arrange marriage are crying."

"Want to thank Sushma madam, High Commission officials. I am an orphan, first time, I realised my life is so valuable," she added.

On the other hand, Uzma's brother Wasim Ahmad, told reporters, "We did not expect that she would back this soon," as per PTI.

He added that the family had to do little for her return.

"We did not have to do any running around. We got a call from EAM that Uzma had contacted the Indian Mission in Islamabad and her return to the country was being facilitated," Ahmad said, expressing the family's gratitude to the Indian government.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Indian national Uzma Ahmad who was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint and subjected to extreme torture has revealed horrific details of the trauma she underwent during her forced stay in the Islamic Republic.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month after she fell in love with a Pakistani man Tahir Ali she had met in Malaysia.

However, her happiness was short-lived as Tahir forced her into marrying him at gunpoint on May 3.

Recalling her ordeal, Uzma said, "It's easy to go to Pakistan, but tough to return. Pakistan is a 'Maut ka Kuan' (well of death)."

"I had gone to Pakistan on May 01 and had planned to return by May 12. But I never knew that situation would change after crossing Wagah border," she said.

Uzma revealed that Tahir gave her sleeping pills and took her to a remote village named Guner - that was under Taliban control in the recent past.

Describing Guner, she said that it was a very scary place. "All men there have 2-3 wives and carry big guns," she said.

The mother of a three-year-old said that she was subjected to extreme physical and mental torture while she was held captive by Tahir.

Also Read - Sushma Swaraj thanks Pakistani establishment for helping Uzma Ahmad to return to India

"He (Tahir) threatened me that he will ensure that her daughter (who was in Delhi) would be killed if she Iidn't agree to sign the Nikahnama...fearing for the safety of my daughter I signed the papers," she said.

Uzma said that there were many more women like her remain trapped in Guner.

"Muslims (in India), especially women, think that Pakistan is very good but even those who go there after arraigned marriages rue their fate and want to come back to India. The women there have no freedom at all," she said.

"I am proud to be an Indian citizen, there's no place like India in the world," she added.

Thanking External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Deputy High Comissioner of India in Pakistan JP Singh, Uzma said, "I am an adopted child and I never knew my life had so much value."

"Sushma madam used to call me daily. She used to say daughter don't worry we are there for you, you are the daughter of India," Uzma said.

"My government has done so much for me," she said while also expressing desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to thank him personally.

Speaking about JP Singh, Uzma said, "When I reached the Indian High Commission and told at the counter that I am Indian, JP Sir responded immediately and took me inside the campus."

"He kept me safe and assured that I will not be made to go back with Tahir," she said.

"When I talked to Sushma madam, she said that no matter what happens we will not allow you to go back with Tahir," she said.

Uzma, accompanied by Indian Mission officials, had crossed the Wagah Border near Amritsar this morning.

She had petitioned the Islamabad High Court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia -- a blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production.

The court also returned her the immigration papers which Uzma had said was taken away by Tahir Ali, who had submitted the documents after being told by the court to do so.
New Delhi: Expressing happiness over Indian national Uzma`s return to India, her brother Wasim Ahmad thanked the Indian government and External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj for their support.

"I am very happy. Sushma Swaraj called and told that Uzma has crossed Wagah Border. At what time she will come that she did not tell. We did not think it would be done this soon.

The Government of India has helped us a lot. I want to thank the Indian Government and Sushma Swaraj," Ahmad told ANI.

Asserting that Sushma Swaraj was continuously updating him about Uzma, he further said that the government had taken a swift action in bringing her sister back to India.

"Sushma Swaraj made me talk to her on phone in her office. She told me that she was in Indian Embassy and was safe.

She told that police was supporting her. From that side, there was no contact and the people there did not let her contact me.

Sushma Swaraj continuously updated me about her.

Swaraj told me that they were doing a good and fast enquiry. She told that they are leaving no lapses and have also sent a good lawyer there," he added.

Meanwhile, Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma while expressing regret over her plight.Taking to Twitter, the External Affair Minister also empathized with her ordeal she went through in Pakistan.

Uzma, who had accused her Pakistani husband of marrying her at gunpoint, has finally returned to India, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted her the permission.

The IHC had also ordered police to provide her security till the Wagah Border.

An IHC bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, returned Uzma her original immigration form, which her husband Tahir had submitted to the court on Tuesday, reported Geo News.

Tahir also expressed his desire to meet Uzma in private, which the latter refused. Justice Kayani remarked that if Uzma does not want to meet Tahir, then she won`t be forced.

Ahmad earlier said the Indian government had done more than expected for Uzma.He also said that the Indian Embassy treated Uzma with full care.

She took shelter in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on May 5, 2017. He added that he had no words to thank the government, Swaraj, and Indian High Commission in Pakistan.

On May 19, Uzma had submitted a six-page reply to the High Court and reiterated her earlier claims and said that she was forced to sign the Nikkahnama [marriage papers].

The reply also claimed that Tahir`s affidavit was based on lies. The reply also requested that Uzma was allowed to travel to India as her visa would expire on May 30.

Earlier, while recording her statement before the Court of a Judicial Magistrate Uzma (20) also alleged that she was sedated, assaulted, tortured mentally and physically by the man in Pakistan who had invited her to visit his family in Pakistan.

Uzma, who hails from New Delhi, also stated the she had taken shelter in High Commission of India of her own accord and would stay there till she is sent back to India with security.

The case came to the forefront after her husband claimed that Indian High Commission has stopped her wife from leaving the premises during their visit to apply for visa on May 7.
New Delhi: Intensifying the battle on low-cost data and calling, Vodafone India has come up with a bumper plan offering unlimited calls and 4G data to its prepaid users.

Vodafone has launched two integrated plans  Vodafone SuperDay and Vodafone SuperWeek giving the prepaid customers benefits of unlimited local and free data.

With Vodafone SuperDay, customers can make unlimited local and STD calls on the Vodafone network, and get 100 MB data (on 4G handsets only) at just Rs 19 a day.

While, Vodafone SuperWeek gives unlimited local and STD calls on Vodafone network with 250 MB data (on 4G handsets only) at just Rs 49 for a week.

Other than these benefits, Vodafone SuperWeek at Rs 89, additionally offers talk-time benefits of 100 minutes to other networks.
Srinagar: A delegation of peace activists led by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday called on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and senior separatist leaders in an effort to create space for dialogue in the unrest-wracked state.



Besides Aiyar, the delegation comprised O.P. Shah, Air Vice Marshal (retired) Kapil Kak, Vinod Sharma and Khalid Tufail.



The team called on Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group in the morning at his city outskirts Nigeen residence in Srinagar.



The delegation later called on another senior separatist leader, Shabir Shah, chairman of Democratic Freedom Party.



In the afternoon the delegation members met the octogenarian hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Geelani at his uptown Hyderpora residence in Srinagar.



The delegation called on Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the evening.



An official statement said here: "The delegation had an extensive discussion on wide ranging issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir with the Chief Minister.



"Members of the delegation informed the Chief Minister about the impressions of their visit to the Valley.



"Mehbooba Mufti appreciated the initiative taken by them and informed them that she has been advocating for long that dialogue and peaceful means of engagement are the only ways ahead to get the issues resolved.



"The Chief Minister thanked the delegation for taking interest in the difficulties being faced by the people of the State".



Earlier this week, the delegation members attended a seminar in Srinagar organized by an NGO, Centre for Peace and Progress.



The seminar discussed ways and means to create space for dialogue to end violence and uncertainty in the state.


New Delhi: Farooq Ahmed Dar, the stone-pelter, who was tied to the bonnet of a jeep by Major Leetul Gogoi, has filed a complaint in the state Human Rights Commission, Jammu and Kashmir against the latter's recommendation for a Commendation Card by the Indian Army.

Recently, Major Gogoi, who had tied up Dar as a shield to prevent a mob from attacking Election Commission staff in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam, was awarded by Chief of Army Staff's (COAS) Commendation Card for his sustained distinguished service in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

The decision was hailed by many, while some of the political parties condemned the Indian Army's decision of commending Major Gogoi.

"I do not want to comment on the Army. But the Army personnel that were trapped would have been killed if not been rescued by Major Gogoi. We should never forget that he saved 19 people's life. And the Opposition who is raising questions, I would like to ask them to explain why they are silent over Lt. Ummer Fayaz incident. This is a kind of dual mindset. It is not right to keep silent over the martyrdom of patriotic people and killings of innocent people," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Few political parties were left irked with the Indian Army's decision, citing that Major Gogoi's measures against stone-pelters would only aggravate the situation in the Valley.

"Army must not react this way. We should be sensitive towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This kind of action will further deteriorate the situation in the state," Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja told ANI.

The Congress party, on the other hand said, "The Army officials are also getting influenced by the working pattern of the Modi government. Modi government should not introduce the element of politics in the Indian Army."

The women wing of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) also carried out protests against this move.

Major Gogoi was in the spotlight after a video shot during the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha by-polls, posted on the social media, showing Dar tied on the bonnet of an Army jeep.

Defending his action, Maj. Gogoi told the media, "I have not fired a bullet, not beaten up anyone... there was no collateral damage. From my point of view, I have not violated anything... We are here to help the people. The army is here for common people, against those with weapons and those who fight against nation."

(With ANI inputs)
[May 24, 2017] Stanford GSB Recognizes Student Leaders Committed to Social Change

The Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Center for Social Innovation recognized 12 students Tuesday night for their exemplary contributions to social innovation. The students were collectively awarded the Miller Social Change Leadership Award, the Frances and Arjay Miller Prize in Social Innovation, and the Social Innovation Fellowship. Each award is part of Stanford's ongoing commitment to promote global change through social innovation and to support students who embody the quest for social and environmental progress. The students were from the MBA program as well as the GSB's one-year Master of Science degree program for experienced professionals, the MSx program. Dean Emeritus Arjay Miller, creator of two of the awards, was also honored at the event for his ongoing contributions to the GSB. Miller served as dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business from 1969 to 1979. During that time, he created the school's Public Management Program to promote cooperation between public and private sectors for the benefit of society. "As I've said before, making money is the easy part-it's making the world a better place that is the hard part," Miller said. "I wanted to encourage students to find unique ways to overcome social challenges, and I'm thrilled with the change these programs have inspired over the past few years." Social Innovation Fellowship Two social entrepreneurs of the Stanford GSB Class of 2008, Jake Harriman and Jane Chen, inspired the Social Innovation Fellowship program. Their hustle to launch ther respective social enterprises revealed the need for a support system for students who want to start a nonprofit venture to address a pressing social or environmental need. Individual recipients of the fellowship are awarded $110,000 stipend each.



This year, emerging social entrepreneurs Jenna Nicholas (MBA) and Muhammad Mustafa (MSx) have been selected to test, implement, and iterate their venture ideas through the fellowship. Nicholas and Mustafa were evaluated on their personal leadership potential, as well as the anticipated success and impact of their proposed ventures. Nicholas' Impact Experience is an organization that brings together investors, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, innovators, and community leaders to solve economic challenges. By invitation, Impact Experience partners with some of the most disadvantaged communities to facilitate deep connections designed to generate trust, enhance strategy, and accelerate transformation.

Mustafa's EasyJob is helping illiterate adults obtain employment with a mobile app that is based entirely on icons and audio. The app will initially help these adults find temporary jobs to supplement their existing incomes. Once validated, the text-free user interface will be used to provide other services like educational content and medical advice. Frances and Arjay Miller Prize in Social Innovation The Frances and Arjay Miller Prize in Social Innovation rewards students who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to public good and is awarded to graduating students who plan to focus on social or environmental impact in the next phase of their careers. This year, students Ali Goldsworthy (MSx) and Benjamin Fernandes (MBA) were selected for the prize and will each receive a stipend of $20,000 to facilitate their transition after graduation. Through the fellowship, Goldsworthy plans to put her insights into politics to good use in the nonprofit sector while Fernandes is working on building a financial institution driving forward digital financial services in East Africa. Fernandes will initially launch these services in Tanzania to support the 80-percent unbanked population. Miller Social Change Leadership Award Recipients of the Miller Social Change Leadership Award are selected based on their focus on social innovation through academic coursework and practical application, as well as their leadership within and contributions to the GSB community of social and environmental innovators during their time at Stanford GSB. This year, the award recognized the following students: Shruthi Baskaran (MBA)

Eli Bildner (MBA)

Emma Chastain (MBA)

Benjamin Fernandes (MBA)

Ali Goldsworthy (MSx)

Kate Kraft (MBA)

Mark Moeremans (MBA)

Jenna Nicholas (MBA)

Tom Petit (MBA)

Karen Warner (MBA)

Charles Zhu (MBA) A special version of the award was presented to James M. Patell, the Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management, Emeritus. In 1985, Patell revitalized the Public Management Program by expanding its scope to include nonprofit, corporate, and community leadership as well as social ventures and championed its success through multiple leadership changes and economic downturns. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006154/en/

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New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday said it is keeping a close watch on illegal flow of funds to fuel militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and action is being taken by security agencies in such instances.

"All terror related incidents, including terror funding, are being monitored by the agencies. Appropriate action is also being taken," spokesperson in the Home Ministry Ashok Prasad told reporters here.

He was replying to a question on Pakistan's continuous attempts to fund militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Prasad said the state police along with the central paramilitary forces is trying to bring back normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been hit by unrest.

"All efforts are being made to bring back normalcy. The central government is providing all help to the state government," he said.

According to an estimate of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Pakistan-based terror groups finance terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir by generating millions in donations through their charity organisations.

Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a charity run by terror outfits Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Al Rehmat Trust, backed by another terrorists group Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM), have been supporting terrorists and funding terrorism in Kashmir.

These outfits collect donations from people in Pakistan and then pass on the money to finance terrorism in Kashmir through their over ground workers, an NIA official has said.

'Al Rehmat Trust' distributes pamphlets to raise funds for sacrificing animals during Eid and after collecting the money, they finance terrorism.

FIF, one of the major and fastest growing Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in Pakistan, also collects money from people and uses them to fund terrorists.

The groups collect millions of dollars in donations through crowd funding in the name of social service, the officer said.

According to a 2012 report of an intelligence agency, 780 million Pakistani rupees were collected for funding terrorism in Kashmir.
Bengaluru: Eight persons, among them a bride-to-be, were killed and 22 injured in a ghastly head-on collision between a bus and a van in north Karnataka, the police said on Thursday.

The accident occurred when a speeding private bus collided head-on with a van carrying a marriage party on Thursday morning at Annabeelu Cross in Uttara Kannada (North Canara) district, Bhatkal Deputy Superintendent of Police P.O. Shivakumar told IANS over phone.

Honnavara is about 490 km from Bengaluru in the state`s northwest coastal region.

N. Palakshi, 42, Baby Kom, 38, N.B. Ganigera, 44 (van driver), A.S. Sunil Seth, 25, Divya Kuradekar, 28 (bride-to-be), Pooja Seth, 24, R. Krishnappa Seth, 65, and Umesha Valmiki, 35 (bus driver) were killed in the crash.

Two children aged 9 and 6 years were among the injured. They were admitted to a private hospital in Kundapur.

At least 30 passengers in the bus, however, escaped unhurt.

"The van with the marriage party was going to Dharmasthala from Honnavara while the bus was in the opposite direction from Bhatkal to Honnavara when the collision took place," said Shivakumar.

Divya Kuradekar`s wedding was fixed for Friday at Dharmasthala, a pilgrim centre in Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district.

An FIR has been registered against the owners of the bus and the van as the drivers were among the dead, the official said.
Bhopal: In a disturbing incident being reported from Madhya Pradesh, a young woman lay dead by railway tracks and her infant son latched on to her breast wailing, trying to feed.

The extremely upsetting images have been widely shared.

People in Damoh, around 250 km from Bhopal, found the woman's body on Wednesday morning.

Beside the body was her one-year-old son, who was crying in a bid to wake her up.

Some people took the pictures and posted on social media.

It was not known exactly what happened to the lady, but it is presumed that she either fell off a train or was hit. The child, however, had no injuries as he was believed to be in his mother's arms safely while she fell down.

Meanwhile, oneindia quoted railway police officer Anil Marwai as saying that the lady was injured `but probably conscious. She opened a biscuit packet and gave some to the child. She breastfed her child to ensure he survives`.

Police found it hard to separate the baby, who was crying profusely, from his mother.

The tragedy did not end here. When the child was taken to a government hospital, the authorities refused to admit him as there was no one to pay Rs 10 for admission, reported NDTV.

Thanks to a ward boy, who came forward and paid the fee.

Watch the video:

The infant is at a children's home.

Efforts are on to ascertain the identity of the lady.
Latur: A chopper carrying Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis crash-landed at Nilanga in Latur district on Thursday when the pilot tried to descend because of bad weather, soon after take-off.

The CM and his team have escaped unhurt.

The helicopter, which had six persons on board including two crew members, got entangled in overhead wires while landing at Nilanga area where the CM had held a programme.

The Maharashtra CM took to microblogging website Twitter to assure that he and his team were safe.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry."

After taking off at around 12 noon today, the pilot observed a variable wind pattern and decided to land. During landing, the helicopter got entangled in wires, the official said, adding that all six persons who were on board are safe and escaped without serious injuries.

The authorities spoke to the commander of the flight as well as the chief minister. Both informed about the well-being of all occupants, the official said.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it was an accident and the chopper suffered substantial damage.

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada for the BJP's 'Shivar Samwad Sabha', a statewide campaign to reach out to farmers.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn't believe in rumours," Fadnavis later told mediapersons.

"Nobody got hurt. My media advisor Ketan Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," he told reporters at Nilanga.

He added that the pilot too had not been injured seriously.

"This is a new helicopter. We will seek information from police on this incident," the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister also issued a video wherein he is seen assuring the people that he was safe. "Due to the blessings of all - more than 11 crore people of Maharashtra and Maa Bhawani, I am safe and absolutely unharmed," he said.

Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok.

Nothing to worry.  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 25, 2017

The Chief Minister, who was in Latur since yesterday to take account of the drought relief works, was returning to Mumbai when the mishap took place.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation (AIB) bureau, which comes under the Civil Aviation Ministry, will investigate the mishap. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical snag, following which he had travel by road to Nagpur.
Latur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his team had a miraculous escape when a chopper carrying them crash-landed at Nilanga in Latur district on Thursday after suffering a snag.

The CM and his team escaped unhurt. The Maharashtra CM later claimed on Twiter that he and his team were safe.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry."

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada for the BJP's 'Shivar Samwad Sabha', a statewide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Here are the dramatic visuals of the crash-landing of Maharashtra CM's chopper in Latur.
Mumbai: Mumbai serial blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim may be hiding in Pakistan for decades, but he still maintains strong personal links with politicians and top policemen across Maharashtra. This became evident once again when a top Maharashtra government minister, MLAs and some policemen attended the wedding reception of the fugitive underworld don's niece in Nashik.

According to reports, Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan, who is believed to be very close to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and several MLAs from the ruling BJP were recently filmed attending the wedding reception of Dawood Ibrahim's niece on May 19.

Notably, Mahajan is the minister in the Fadnavis government for water conservation and medical education as well as the guardian minister of Nashik district.

Besides Mahajan, others who attended the wedding were ten top policemen from the area, BJP legislators Devyani Farande, Balasaheb Sanap and Seeema Hiray, Nashik mayor Ranjana Bhanasi and deputy mayor Prathamesh Gite (both of the BJP) and a section of local municipal councillors.

After local Marathi news channels aired the visuals of the high-profile wedding, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sought a detailed report in this regard from Nashik police chief.

I have already told Nashik Police Commissioner to send a report on the matter, Fadnavis was quoted as saying.

When quizzed by reporters, Mahajan said that he attended the wedding on invitation by the grooms uncle, Shahar Khateeb, who is a religious leader in Nashik and participates in various medical camps organised by the health department.

He also claimed that he was unaware of the brides relation with Dawood's family.
Delhi: Six minor girls of a family who allegedly went "missing" from Nashik two days ago, were rescued by the Mumbai police on Thursday.

They were traced outside actor Shah Rukh Khan's bungalow "Mannat".

They had apparently reached there to catch a glimpse of their favourite Bollywood star.

The young SRK fans, all cousin sisters, aged between 12 and 15, left their house on the evening of May 23 and had proceeded to the famous Nanduri temple in Kalwan taluka of the district.

Then they went to Nashik Road railway station and boarded the Shatabdi Express to reach suburban Dadar from where they ended up outside Khan's residence, hoping to see their idol once, said Subhash Chandra Deshmukh, in-charge of Mhasrul police station.

According to police, a missing complaint was lodged at Mhasrul police station here by parents of the girls on the night of May 23, when they were not to be found in the house.

The girls were brought home safely within 24 hours after a police team from Nashik was sent to Mumbai to trace their whereabouts.

The worried family had told the cops that the girls had a fascination for Bollywood, Deshmukh said, as per PTI.

After searching railway stations and bus stands across the metropolis, the Nashik team found these girls outside "Mannat" in suburban Bandra, with the help of Thane and Kalyan police, in co-ordination with the GRP, he said.

The girls were then brought back to Nashik and handed over to their parents yesterday after proper police counselling, the official said.

SRK is often referred to in the media as the 'Baadshah of Bollywood', "King of Bollywood" or 'King Khan' and has appeared in more than 80 Hindi films.

He has massive following in India and Asia and among the Indian diaspora worldwide.

(With PTI inputs)
Hong Kong: Lenovo Group chairman and chief executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters on Thursday the company`s China business reorganisation will not affect its mobile business on the mainland.

Yang, speaking after the company reported a return to profit for the year to March, said the company will keep its Lenovo-Motorola dual-brand strategy for it mobile business despite a widening loss.

"We will never phase out Lenovo," Yang said.


Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged the Centre to soon take up construction of a second bridge over the river Brahmani in view of the bad condition of the existing one.

"I would, therefore, request you to intervene in the matter urgently and direct the NHAI for taking immediate action towards construction of the second bridge over the river Brahmani near Panposh on the NH 143 so as to alleviate the traffic congestion on the existing old and weak bridge in the larger public interest?, Patnaik wrote to Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways.

"The bridge is in a distressed condition and not at all adequate to meet the requirement of safe and swift movement of the people and freight," he said.

Patnaik said he apprehended that communication between Sambalpur and Rourkela might be snapped at any time, thereby abruptly disturbing the movement of coal, minerals and other products in western region of the state. "This would have a detrimental impact on the economy of the state," he said.

"I have raised the issue in many fora but am still waiting for a tangible action from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to prevent any impending disaster," Patnaik said in the letter.
Karachi: In a shocking turn of events, Pakistani actress Nadia Khan has accused a famous Hollywood actor of allegedly abusing her daughter physically during an audition in Dubai.

As reported by the Express Tribune, the renowned TV-host has registered a police complaint in this matter, which left Nadia's 14-year-old bruised and badly shaken.

She shared, "I went to the audition hoping it would be good for my child, but instead got the shock of my life. When my daughter's turn came, the judge (name withheld for legal reasons) grabbed her roughly from the shoulder and pulled her, leaving her with deep bruises on both arms.

"The actress termed the audition as a "Disney" thing.

The medical report has confirmed that she had suffered multiple bruises.

As quoted by Gulf News, Nadia said, "It happened quickly and in front of me and at least 30-40 other parents.

Before my daughter, they were auditioning small children. She was the first teenager in that batch. My daughter was given a two-line script but before she could read it, she was grabbed and pushed so hard she fell on one of the parents.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She is my daughter. No one has the right to touch my child let alone subject her to public humiliation and physical abuse. She was crying all day.

"The 45-year-old-actress also said that it was not only her daughter abused during the audition, but another teenager boy was slapped multiple times by the same person and labeled the situation as 'bizarre'."

The report further says, parents arrived with their children for the audition after learning about the talent hunt from Facebook sponsored posts, inviting children to audition if they wished to meet Disney Channel stars.

However, Disney spokespersons have clarified that such talent hunt auditions are not associated by The Walt Disney Company or Disney Channel in any way.
[May 24, 2017] Harel Kodesh Joins Silver Lake as Operating Partner

MENLO PARK, Calif. and NEW YORK, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, announced today that Harel Kodesh has joined the firm as an Operating Partner based in Menlo Park. Mr. Kodesh will work with Silver Lake's diverse scope of portfolio companies to drive operational improvement. Most recently, he was chief technology officer at GE Digital and vice president of Predix, GE's operating system for the Industrial Internet. "Harel is a proven leader with decades of experience and a proven track record unlocking value through technology innovation," said Mark Gillett, Managing Director and Head of Value Creation at Silver Lake. "His unique experience spanning core technology and technology-enabled businesses, from the mobile device to the cloud, will be a key asset to our firm and our portfolio." Before joining GE in 2014, Mr. Kodesh co-founded and served as CEO at Nurego, a spinoff of EMC Corp. At EMC, he was executive vice president for cloud business systems and CEO of Mozy, EMC's wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to Backup as a Service. From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Kodesh served as chief product officer at Amdocs. He also served as CEO of Wingcast, the Ford Motor Company-Qualcomm joint venture. Mr. Kodesh is the 2017 recipient of the University of California's Viterbi School of Engineering's Daniel Epstin Engineering Management Award.



Until 2000, Mr. Kodesh held various executive positions at Microsoft, including vice president of the information appliances division, where he led development of the Microsoft Windows CE operating system. He also managed Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding team. He joined Microsoft from Motorola where he led a team responsible for its early wireless data efforts. "I am excited to join Silver Lake's talented team of investment and value creation professionals," said Mr. Kodesh. "I look forward to working with my new colleagues to identify and drive growth across the firm's diverse portfolio of technology and technology-enabled companies."

Mr. Kodesh joins Silver Lake's global team of operating professionals alongside other recent additions, including John Berkley, who previously led product, technology and operations at Mercury Payment Systems (now Vantiv) and Rajiv Taori who joined the firm from Citrix Systems where he was VP and General Manager for the XenMobile family of products. About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing, with about $39 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of approximately 100 investment and value creation professionals located in Silicon Valley, New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Silver Lake's portfolio of investments collectively generates more than $140 billion of revenue annually and employs more than 300,000 people globally. The firm's current portfolio includes leading technology and technology-enabled businesses such as Alibaba Group, Ancestry, Broadcom Limited, Cast & Crew, Ctrip, Dell Technologies, Fanatics, Global Blue, GoDaddy, Motorola Solutions, Red Ventures, Sabre, SoFi, SolarWinds, Symantec, and WMEIMG. For more information about Silver Lake and its entire portfolio, please visit www.silverlake.com. Media Contact

Nora Chan

415-671-7676

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harel-kodesh-joins-silver-lake-as-operating-partner-300463499.html SOURCE Silver Lake

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New Delhi: The central government employees might heave a sigh of relief as media reports are pouring that the update on allowances as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission will be out by June 1.

The Cabinet secretary has purportedly assured that the deadline to look into the report on the allowances committee has been set for the month end and by June 1 the update might be announced.

Consequently, the report will be sent to the Cabinet for consideration.

As per news reports, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) was supposed to present the report to the Union Cabinet yesterday, however nothing of that sort happened.

The Lavasa Committee on April 28 suggested modifications in some allowances applicable universally to all employees and also for those in specific categories, including railways and defence, after examining the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved important proposals relating to modifications in the 7th CPC (Central Pay Commission) recommendations on pay and pensionary benefits in the course of their implementation.

The benefit of the proposed modifications will be available with effect from 1st January, 2016, i.e., the date of implementation of 7th CPC recommendations. With the increase approved by the Cabinet, the annual pension bill alone of the Central Government is likely to be Rs 1,76,071 crore.

There are about 47 lakh central government employees.

While recommendations of the CPC on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continued to be paid at old rates.

The CPC had recommended that of a total of 196 allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate identities by subsuming them in another allowance.
New Delhi: The Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday arrested a Pakistani national at Wagah border while he was trying to enter into the Indian side near Wagah Border.

Abdullah Shah, 21, had valid Pakistani passport but no visa.

The BSF has also recovered a mobile phone with SIM card and 9000 Pakistani rupees from Shah.

He is from Pakistan`s Swat area. His father`s name is Khan Zorawar.The interrogation is underway.

Meanwhile, in another incident the BSF also arrested two Indian nationals, 20-year-old Thahib and 23-year-old Babu Ali near BOP (Border outpost) in Punjab's Amritsar.
New Delhi: In a recent announcement, NASA has said that it will launch its robotic spacecraft to a unique metal asteroid 'Psyche' 2022, an year early than the original schedule.

The mission will now take a more efficient trajectory to arrive at the main belt asteroid in 2026, four years earlier than planned, the US space agency said.

Psyche, an asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, is made almost entirely of nickel-iron metal. It offers a unique look into the violent collisions that created Earth and the terrestrial planets, researchers said.

"We challenged the mission design team to explore if an earlier launch date could provide a more efficient trajectory to the asteroid Psyche, and they came through in a big way," said Jim Green, from the NASA Headquarters in the US.

"This will enable us to fulfil our science objectives sooner and at a reduced cost," said Green.

The Discovery Mission programme - a series of lower-cost, highly focused robotic space missions that are exploring the solar system - had directed teams to propose missions for launch in either 2021 or 2023.

The Lucy mission - which will study a population of primitive asteroids called Trojans orbiting with Jupiter - was selected for the first launch opportunity in 2021, and Psyche was to follow in 2023.

Shortly after selection in January, NASA gave the direction to the Psyche team to research earlier opportunities.

Researchers designed a new, efficient trajectory that does away with the need for assistance of the Earth's gravity and shortens the cruise time.

In addition, the new trajectory stays farther from the Sun, reducing the amount of heat protection needed for the spacecraft.

(With PTI inputs)
Hyderabad: A war of words between the ruling TRS and the BJP over Amit Shah's comments on the quantum of central funds given to Telangana intensified today with the Opposition party taking serious exception to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's remarks.

Charging that Rao did not speak in a way that befits the stature of a Chief Minister, Telangana BJP president K Laxman and senior MLA G Kishan Reddy claimed that the TRS president is rattled by Shah's visit, and response from the public.

The war of words began with Shah stating, during his three-day tour to the state, that the Centre gave about Rs one lakh crore funds in various forms to Telangana in the last three years and Rao offering to quit the chief minister's post if the figures provided by Shah were proved to be correct.

"Why can't Amit Shah say our government is giving Rs one lakh crore. I am challenging the Chief Minister. You appoint somebody, may be a retired a judge. BJP accepts your challenge to quit. If you are serious, the situation of resignation will come," Kishan Reddy said.

It is Rao who should apologise for not being able to build even toilets for all, Laxman said on KCR demanding an apology to the people of Telangana for his "false remarks".

Alleging that the state government misused central funds in certain schemes, Reddy said the BJP would not step back and would continue its campaign against the TRS government.

Yesterday, questioning the veracity of the figures provided by the BJP national president on the funds given to Telangana, Rao reeled out statistics on the amounts for various schemes the state had received from the NDA government and demanded a apology from Shah.

Shah, who was on a visit to Nalgonda district, in a press conference yesterday, had said the state had been given an additional amount of Rs 20,000 crore annually under various heads by the NDA government.

"Shah says Telangana additionally gets Rs 20,000 crore annually (from the Centre). Mr Amit Shah should know what he is talking about. If figures given by me are wrong, I am ready to resign as chief minister," Rao had asserted.

He had also advised Shah not to resort to "cheap political gimmicks" by falsifying facts and figures.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Congress wondered why Rao had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi even as he attacked Shah.

Rao, if he is genuinely opposed to BJP, should support the common candidate to be fielded by the Opposition parties in the Presidential polls, senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy said today.

"I am challenging (him). KCR will not support our common Presidential candidate. Because, he is clandestinely in understanding with Modi," the former Union Minister alleged.

Replying to a query, he also said that his party is not averse to working with any outfit that is opposed to the BJP and the TRS.

Asked if the Congress is ready for an understanding with the TDP, he said the party high command and the state Congress President would take a call on such issues.
Lucknow: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, hearing the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition cases, is likely to frame additional charges on Thursday against BJP leader LK Advani and other accused after the Supreme Court ordered restoring of the serious criminal conspiracy offence against them.

The court on Wednesday granted bail to former Shiv Sena MP Satish Pradhan after he surrendered here in another Babri Masjid demolition case.

Special CBI court judge SK Yadav granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 20,000 each and a personal bond of the same amount.

Pradhan appeared in the court and moved a surrender application, which was allowed and he was sent to judicial custody, special public prosecutor CBI Lalit Kumar Singh, adding he later moved a bail plea.

The special court here, which began day-to-day hearing in the politically sensitive case on May 20 after a Supreme Court direction, had earlier granted bail to five VHP leaders in this case. Besides Ram Vilas Vedanti (59), those who were granted relief by the CBI court on Saturday were VHP leaders Champat Rai (71), Baikunth Lal Sharma (88), Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (79) and Dharmdas Maharaj (68).

Pradhan had failed to appear on Saturday and also on Monday.

The CBI court yesterday also ordered framing of charges against the accused in light of the Supreme Court order dated April 19, 2017. It has fixed May 25 for it, the special public prosecutor said here.

The Supreme Court had on April 19 directed that Advani, Union Minister Uma Bharti and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi will face trial on conspiracy charges. It had transferred their case from Raebareli to Lucknow.

It directed the special court to start proceedings in the matter within a month and deliver its verdict within two years.

The apex court had dubbed the demolition of the medieval era monument as a "crime" which shook the "secular fabric of the Constitution" and allowed CBI's plea on restoration of serious offence of criminal conspiracy against the VVIP accused.

In its 40-page judgement, it had termed the Allahabad High Court's February 12, 2001 verdict dropping conspiracy charge against Advani and others as "erroneous".

The matter is likely to have political implications, particularly against 89-year old Advani, reported to be a front-runner for the post of the President.

The apex court had also come down heavily on the CBI for the delay of 25 years in the trial.

It said: "The accused persons have not been brought to book largely because of the conduct of the CBI in not pursuing the prosecution of the aforesaid alleged offenders in a joint trial, and because of technical defects which were easily curable, but which were not cured by the state government."

While a charge sheet in the Lucknow court was filed in October 1993, a supplementary charge sheet was filed in November 1996. A supplementary charge sheet was also filed in May 2003 in Rae Bareli court.

Issuing a slew of directions, the apex court had said the proceedings in the case against Advani and five others in the court of the special judicial magistrate at Raebareli will be transferred to the court of additional sessions judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow.

It had said additional charges will be framed under Section 120-B (conspiracy) and the other provisions of the penal code mentioned in the joint charge sheet filed by the CBI against the accused.

Besides the BJP three leaders, the conspiracy charge would now be invoked against Vinay Katiar, Sadhvi Ritambara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, who were being tried at Raebareli.

The apex court had directed the Lucknow court to take on a day-to-day basis the hearing of the case after transfer of the proceedings from Raebareli and framing of additional charges.

The trial will be taken from the stage at which they were both at Raebareli and Lucknow, it had said.

There shall be no fresh trial. There shall be no transfer of the judge conducting the trial until the entire trial concludes. The case shall not be adjourned on any ground except when the sessions court finds it impossible to carry on the trial for that particular date, it had said.
Lucknow: In the wake of clashes between two communities in Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh Government on Thursday transferred 174 Sub-Divisional Magistrates.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit report on the recent worrisome clashes in Saharanpur.

Earlier, Saharanpur District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked after he was unable to control the clashes between two communities in the area.

Clashes occurred on Tuesday after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.

The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.

On May 5, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.

Reports said that the police stopped the Maharana Pratap procession after some Dalits informed the police. This angered Rajputs, who allegedly resorted to violence.
[May 25, 2017] Hurricane Electric Expands in Midwest with New Point of Presence in Chicago at Netrality

Hurricane Electric, the world's largest IPv6-native Internet backbone, announced today that it has established a new Point of Presence (PoP) at the Netrality Data Center located at 717 South Wells Street in Chicago, IL. This is Hurricane Electric's (News - Alert) fourth PoP in the city and 17th overall in the Midwest. Located in the heart of Chicago's financial district, 717 S. Wells is carrier neutral and one of the most connected buildings in the city. Additionally, the data center is a conduit to the local fiber backbone in Chicago as well as a primary access point for long-haul fiber in the region. The facility also boasts a cooling system capacity of 170 tons (N+1) backed-up by generators and is SSAE 16 SOC I certified. According to a recent report, Chicago was named the #1 emerging tech hub in the United States. The survey yielding these results was conducted by Modis, an Information Technology staffing services company. Among other findings, the survey cited the rise of Chicago's tech incubators, robust grwth of local training programs, and redevelopment of the Fulton Market into Google's (News - Alert) Chicago headquarters as the catalyst for the city's newfound status.



Hurricane Electric's new PoP at 717 S. Wells will provide customers of Netrality, and others in the Greater Chicago Metro area, with access to the company's vast global network. Hurricane Electric has over 17,000 BGP sessions with over 6,000 different networks via more than 155 major exchange points and thousands of customer and private peering ports. Additionally, companies within the 717 S. Wells facility can now utilize Hurricane Electric's extensive IPv4 and IPv6 network through 100GE (100 Gigabit Ethernet), 10GE (10 Gigabit Ethernet) and GigE (1 Gigabit Ethernet) ports and as a result, both new and existing customers will be able to experience increased throughput, reduced latency and improved reliability. "Chicago's technology sector continues to expand and Hurricane Electric is delighted to help satisfy the rising demand for affordable high-speed IP transit," said Mike Leber, President of Hurricane Electric. "With the opening of our fourth Point of Presence in Chicago, Hurricane Electric is well-positioned to remain ahead of the incredible growth in IPv6 traffic both in the Midwest and United States as a whole. We plan to continue building our presence throughout the region in order to help support businesses as they increase their capacity and drive growth in the heart of the country."

About Hurricane Electric

Fremont, California-based Hurricane Electric operates its own global IPv4 and IPv6 network and is considered the largest IPv6 backbone in the world as measured by number of networks connected. Within its global network, Hurricane Electric is connected to more than 155 major exchange points and exchanges traffic directly with more than 6,000 different networks. Employing a resilient fibre-optic topology, Hurricane Electric has no less than four redundant paths crossing North America, three separate paths between the U.S. and Europe, and rings in Europe and Asia. In addition to its vast global network, Hurricane Electric owns and operates two data centers in Fremont, California, including Fremont 2, its newest 208,000 square foot facility. Hurricane Electric offers IPv4 and IPv6 transit solutions over the same connection at speeds including 10 Gbps and 100 GbpsEthernet. For more information on Hurricane Electric, please visit http://he.net. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005539/en/

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Noida: A family hailing from Jewar was attacked and robbed while they were going to Bulandshahr in their car Wednesday night.

The incident happened at the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway in Greater Noida region of Uttar Pradesh.

A family of eight, including four female members, two children accompanied by two men, were travelling to Bulandshahr to get one of the child treated at a hospital when a group of 6-7 heavily armed men attacked them.

The attackers fired at one of the tyres of the car forcing the vehicle to stop and then attacked the family.

The criminals held the family hostage and allegedly gang-raped the four women.

Unfortunately, when one of the male companion tried to stop them, the miscreants shot him dead.

The criminals fled with Rs 45,000 cash and jewellery.

Uttar Pradesh Police have initiated an enquiry into the incident and sent the women for medical examination.

Last year, the entire nation was jolted by the news of brutal gang-rape of a Noida woman and her daughter. The incident took place at Dostpur village of Bulandshahr on Delhi-Kanpur highway. The incident occurred near bypass when the family from Noida was from travelling to Shahjahanpur on National Highway 91 (NH 91).
New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit report on the recent worrisome clashes in Saharanpur.

Earlier, Saharanpur District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked after he was unable to control the clashes between two communities in the area.

Clashes occurred on Tuesday after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati`s visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.

The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.

On May 5, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.

Reports said that the police stopped the Maharana Pratap procession after some Dalits informed the police. This angered Rajputs, who allegedly resorted to violence.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will on Thursday meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid Opposition's efforts to finalise a common non-BJP candidate for the Presidential Elections in July.

Before leaving for New Delhi, Banerjee said she would discuss river problems affecting the people, including the Ganga erosion issue, with the PM.

Claiming that the state was not getting adequate Central aid in certain areas, the Trinamool Congress supremo said she would try to sort out the problem.

"There are some areas where we are not getting funds. I will talk on that. Whenever I go to Delhi at least once or twice I meet him in a year. That is our routine and that is a courtesy. That's why I have asked for his time," she said.

Her meeting with Modi comes in the backdrop of Mamata, known for taking a strong position against the BJP, intensifying efforts for a joint candidate for the presidential race.

Opposition parties are slated to meet on May 26 here to decide on a candidate.

President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24 and the election has to take place before that.

(With Agency inputs)
Ranaghat: Fake government forms promising cash benefits in 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (BBBP) scheme surfaced in Nadia district, despite the government ordering a CBI investigation into such complaints last month.

Though there was no provision for cash incentive in the BBBP scheme, the women assembled before the head post office here since yesterday with filled up forms that falsely promised Rs 2 lakh incentive in the scheme.

Police personnel had to be posted before the head post office to maintain law and order.

"Women dropped the forms in stamped envelopes in the letter box. Some sent them through registered post and we were bound to receive it," an official of the head post office said, refusing to be quoted.

"We had received over 200 application forms to be sent in the registered post yesterday. We cannot tell you about today's figures," he said.

A District administration official said that there was a mad rush to Ranaghat head post office and the postal authorities sought help. "We sent some police personnel including women there."

Nadia District Magistrate Sumit Gupta said that the administration has used public address system since last evening to make people aware that it was all fake.

He said, "Government officials and people's representatives were also asked not to sign any such forms."

One of the applicants in the queue Shyamali Roy said that she came to know from someone that Narendra Modi government would provide Rs 2 lakh to each girl student aged between 18 and 25 years for their studies.

Another applicant Rita Roy said that she came to know about it from a neighbour who had got the information from the Internet.

Both said they got the forms from photocopy shops.

The forms were being sold from the photocopy shops for a price between Rs 6 and Rs 20, according to the applicants.

District administration sources said they have closed several such shops in the area and warned the owners not to sell fake forms.

The DM said that he had heard about photocopy shops being the source of such forms and would initiate cases if any of them was caught.

Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Raj said in the Rajya Sabha on April 6 that the CBI probe was ordered after some fake BBBP forms with a false promise of cash incentive of Rs 2 lakh were received from Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal.
Manchester: An army bomb disposal unit on Thursday reached at a college in Trafford, while responding to a call, said police investigating the terror attack in the city which killed 22 people.

"Explosive Ordnance Disposal have now arrived on site," police said without giving further details.

Police earlier said the call was at a college in Trafford, a suburb of Manchester, but then said it was in Hulme, an area just south of the city centre.

"The army attended Linby Street in Hulme and not a college in Trafford," the police said on Twitter.

It said several roads in the area were closed.

"Officers are in attendance and we are currently assessing the situation," they said.

However, it is too early to say if the alert is linked to its investigation into the Manchester bomb attack, the force said.

Several roads are closed and officers are currently assessing the situation.
Brussels: U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday intensified his accusations that NATO allies were not spending enough on defence and said more attacks such as this week`s bombing in Manchester would take place unless the alliance did more to stop militants.

In unexpectedly abrupt remarks as NATO leaders stood alongside him, Trump also said certain member countries owed "massive amounts of money" to the United States and NATO.

His scripted comments contrasted with NATO`s choreographed efforts to play up the West`s unity by inviting Trump to unveil a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States at the new NATO headquarters.

"We will never waiver in our determination to defeat terrorism and achieve lasting security, prosperity and peace," Trump said in the speech before a dinner with leaders.

"Terrorism must be stopped or...the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever," Trump said, referring to Monday`s suicide bombing in the northern English city that killed 22 people, including children.

Trump called on NATO, an organisation founded on collective defence against the Soviet threat, to include limiting immigration in its tasks as well as fighting terrorism and deterring Russia.

NATO leaders wanted Trump on Thursday to publicly support the military alliance that he had called "obsolete" during his campaign. But he instead returned to an old grievance about Europe`s drop in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying for their defence," Trump said, standing by a piece of the wreckage of the Twin Towers.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years," Trump said as the other leaders watched.

Praise was always going to be in shorter supply at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation after Trump`s sharp election campaign criticism of the alliance, which he blamed for not doing more to combat terrorism.

Leaders had hoped for more, although a White House official insisted Trump, by being a member of the alliance, supported NATO`s collective defence clause, which stipulates that an attack on one ally is an attack against all.

Before Trump spoke, Belgium`s premier Charles Michel said it was time to "defend the values of the free world" while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said NATO was central to the West`s security.

NATO still strived to impress Trump with military bands, allied jets flying overhead and a walk through the new glass-and-steel headquarters, which replaces a leaking, 1960s prefab structure.

Trump, a real estate magnate, called the building "beautiful" and joked that he did not dare ask how much it cost.

But it was left to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to carry through most of the planned pomp and to try to hammer home the message of unity.

"NATO is more than a club, more than an organisation. NATO embodies the unique bond between Europe and North America," Stoltenberg said. "As we raise our flags today, our alliance stands strong united and resolute," he said.

In one nod to Trump, NATO leaders are due to agree later on Thursday for the Western military bloc to join the U.S.-led, 68-nation coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Attica: Greek former prime minister Lucas Papademos was hurt Thursday when an explosive device went off inside his car in Athens, state agencies said.

State news agency ANA said Papademos was undergoing surgery for abdominal and leg injuries at an Athens hospital.

State TV ERT earlier reported that he also had trouble breathing, but his life was not in danger.

Two of his guards were lightly hurt, ERT said.

"We are shocked. I wish to condemn this heinous act," media minister Nikos Pappas told the station.

ERT said Papademos, prime minister from 2011 to 2012, was wounded by a letter bomb as he read his post in the back of the car.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who is attending a NATO summit in Brussels, has been informed of the incident, ANA said.

A police source said a number of people had been hurt but could not say if Papademos himself was in the car at the time of the blast.

Papademos, 69, a former Bank of Greece governor, was in an armoured Mercedes provided by the bank, which contained the blast and likely aggravated his injuries, ERT said.

He headed an interim coalition government at the height of Greece`s fiscal crisis that in 2012 negotiated a massive write-down of the country`s privately-held debt.

He served as prime minister from November 2011 to May 2012 after the resignation of George Papandreou`s socialist government, steering a batch of tough austerity measures through parliament before stepping down for elections to be held.

An economist by training, Papademos was Bank of Greece governor from 1994 to 2002, and European Central Bank governor vice president from 2002 to 2010.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

In March, Greek anarchist group Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei mailed a letter bomb that injured a secretary at the International Monetary Fund in Paris.

The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei had earlier claimed responsibility for an explosive device, also sent from Greece, that was discovered by the police at the offices of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

To make it more likely that the letter bombs would be opened, the attackers used the names of Greek politicians as alleged senders.

The group, which is considered a terror organisation by Washington, sent letter bombs to foreign embassies in Greece and to European leaders in 2010.
Washington: Former U.S. Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has withdrawn from consideration to be the next director of the FBI, citing the potential for an appearance of a conflict of interest, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

In a letter to President Donald Trump, Lieberman cited his work at a New York law firm headed by Marc Kasowitz, the Journal reported. Kasowitz has been retained by Trump to be his private attorney as a special counsel probes possible ties between Trump`s presidential campaign and Russia, a source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Lieberman and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Given Kasowitz`s role, Lieberman might not have been able to participate in the Russia investigation for a period of two years without a Justice Department waiver, Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University School of Law told Reuters on Wednesday.

A federal regulation restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm`s clients for one year, a period that was extended to two years under an executive order signed by Trump in January.

Trump told reporters a week ago that he was "very close" to selecting a nominee to replace James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Trump fired Comey earlier this month, calling him a "showboat" and "grandstander." That decision set off a political firestorm given Comey`s central role in the FBI`s probe of potential collusion between Trump`s campaign and Russian officials seeking to swing the 2016 presidential election in Trump`s favor.

CNN, citing a unnamed senior administration official, reported on Wednesday that Trump wanted to renew the search for an FBI director to succeed Comey after having interviewed a number of candidates, including Lieberman.
Theran: Iran has built a third underground plant to manufacture ballistic missiles, the head of its Revolutionary Guards aerospace division General Amir-Ali Hadjizadeh said on Thursday.

The announcement as US President Donald Trump makes a maiden foreign tour in which Saudi and Israeli concerns about Iran have loomed large is likely to stoke new tensions with Washington.

"Step by step, we are developing our defensive capability and I announce today that in recent years we have built a third underground factory for the manufacture of missiles," Iran`s Fars news agency quoted Hadjizadeh as saying.

"We are going to develop our ballistic power. It`s normal that our enemies, that is to say the United States and Israel, are angry when we show off our underground missile bases because they want the Iranian people to be in a position of weakness," he added.

In October 2015, state television aired footage for the first time of a base that Hadjizadeh said was 500 metres (1,600 feet) underground and stocked with a range of different missiles.

Armed forces spokesman General Masoud Jazayeri said earlier this month that Iran had a number of such underground silos which were an "important deterrent factor against the sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The United States says Iran`s missile programme is a breach of international law because the missiles could carry nuclear warheads in the future.

Iran denies ever seeking nuclear weapons and says the missiles are designed to carry conventional warheads only and are a legitimate part of it defensive capabilities.

The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Iran following a missile test in late January.

It added more last week at the same time as it renewed a waiver of sanctions related to Iran`s nuclear programme.

In Saudi Arabia on Saturday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged newly re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to end ballistic missile testing.

On Monday, Rouhani retorted that Iran did not need US permission to conduct missile tests and that they would continue "if technically necessary".

Iran has developed various designs of ballistic missiles, some with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) -- sufficient to reach both Israel and US bases in the region.
Marawi: Philippine troops aboard helicopters and in armoured tanks battled Islamist militants inside a southern city on Thursday, as reports emerged of the gunmen murdering civilians.



An initial rampage by the gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, through the mainly Muslim city of Marawi on Tuesday prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law across the southern third of the Philippines.



Authorities said ending the crisis was proving extremely hard because the militants were holed up in residential buildings, had planted improvised bombs in the streets and had taken Catholic hostages.



"People are afraid. They do not want to open establishments. Offices are closed. We do not want people to be used as human shields," Marawi mayor Majul Usman Gandamra said.



Two military helicopters flew above Marawi and armoured tanks churned through its streets as automatic rifle firing could be heard on Thursday, according to an AFP photographer in the city.



Marawi has about 200,000 residents but many of them have fled because of the fighting.



Five soldiers and one policeman died in the clashes, while 13 gunmen were killed, according to the military.



Authorities have not reported any civilian casualties but the GMA television network showed images of nine people who had apparently been shot dead. The victims had their hands tied together.



They were captured at a roadside checkpoint and murdered by the militants after being identified as Christians, according to the GMA reporter, citing a witness.



Duterte said on Wednesday one policeman was similarly caught at a checkpoint set up by the militants and beheaded.



There are only between 50 and 100 gunmen, according to various military officials.



The militants are also holding between 12 and 15 Catholic hostages abducted from a church, according to the local bishop, Edwin Dela Pena.



The fighting erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.



The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world`s most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.



However, the raid went spectacularly wrong as dozens of gunmen emerged to repel the security forces, then went on a rampage across the city while flying black IS flags.



The militants raided two jails, leading to the escape of more than 100 inmates, according to Mujiv Hataman, the governor of a Muslim self-rule area that includes Marawi.



They also set fire to many buildings, including a church and a university.
[May 25, 2017] IGEL Powers the Delivery of Entisys360 Workspace Cloud

CITRIX SYNERGY, BOOTH #207- IGEL, a world leader in endpoint management software for the secure enterprise today announced that Entisys360, an IGEL Platinum Level partner and award-winning IT consultancy specializing in the deployment and delivery of advanced IT infrastructure, virtualization and "Cloud First" solutions, is leveraging its industry-leading endpoint management solutions to help drive desktop transformation initiatives and power the delivery of Entisys360 Workspace Cloud. Entisys360 Workspace Cloud is a Workspace-as-a-Service (WaaS) offering that is built as a fully-managed, subscription-based digital workspace for public and private cloud environments. Leveraging core Citrix technologies to deliver a complete and reliable end user experience, Entisys360 Workspace Cloud enables on-demand scalability in order to address unpredictable changes in the business and consumption patterns; supports migration of on-premises apps to the cloud; and, minimizes the pain typically associated with updating antiquated virtual infrastructure technologies. "The Entisys360 Workspace Cloud would not be a complete solution if we didn't also address the devices that our clients are using to access their digital workspaces," said Dane Young, Virtualization Practice Manager for Entisys360. "We've worked with IGEL for a number of years now and they offer many key advantages that we are leveraging to help power this solution, including the IGEL Universal Management Suite, which ranks highly among of our clients. Additionally, we also like that IGEL enables our clients to re-purpose their existing x86-based hardware using the IGEL Universal Desktop Converter, while also providing a migration path to IGEL Universal Desktop thin client solutions, as older endpoints fail." Entisys360 is also one of the first solution providers in North America to adopt the IGEL Cloud Gateway solution. "We were incredibly excited when IGEL unveiled this solution earlier this year," said Mike Strohl, CEO, Entisys360. "The fact that it supports anytime, anywhere access to the Entisys360 Workspace Cloud for remote and mobile workers without the need for a VPN or other network connectivity solutions is a key differentiating factor for our clients. Together with IGEL, we see an opportunity to present an innovative and secure desktop transformation solution that drives efficiencies and speeds time to market." "With workers becoming increasingly mobile, IT organizations are having to look for new and cutting-edge solutions that will provide the features and functionality they need to ensure that their remote workers have secure access to their Citrix desktops and applications, whenever and wherever they need them," said Jed Ayres, President and CEO, IGEL North America. "Entisys360 Workspace Cloud powered by IGEL's endpoint management solutions can help them achieve that objective, and we are proud to be collaborating in the delivery of this solution to our mutual custoers."



During Citrix Synergy 2017, visitors to IGEL Booth #207 will have the opportunity to hear Dane Young present at 1:30 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, May 25 on why Entisys360 has selected IGEL's industry-leading endpoint management solutions to help drive digital transformation initiative for its clients. Entisys360 will also be receiving one of the demo kits that IGEL is distributing to its Platinum Partners at Citrix Synergy (News - Alert). Sponsored by Intel and valued at more than $5,000, each demo kit includes two i7 Intel NUCs, one i7 Intel NUC Skull Canyon, a Wi-Fi Router/Extender, Network Switch, and IGEL UD6. The IGEL and Intel (News - Alert) Demo Kit will also include an IGEL Universal Desktop Converter (UDC) (valued at $149), an IGEL UD Pocket (valued at $169), and IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS), the industry's most powerful endpoint management solution. Entisys360 clients interested in test driving IGEL's endpoint solutions can contact Entisys360 at [email protected].

To learn more about this and other ways IGEL is fast-tracking its channel partners' "Path to Success" at Citrix Synergy, visit the IGEL Blog. About Entisys360

Entisys360 is an award-winning IT consultancy specializing in the deployment and delivery of advanced IT infrastructure, virtualization and cloud solutions. Through state-of-the-art methodologies and broad solutions and services offerings, Entisys360 expertly solves its clients most pressing IT and business challenges. With more than two decades of experience, Entisy360 has become a trusted advisor to some of the most prominent companies in California. Offering professional support services, managed services, consulting and engineering services, Entisys360 serves mid-tier and enterprises within the healthcare, financial services and legal services sectors, as well as educational institutions and government agencies. The corporate headquarters for Entisys360 are located in Concord, Calif., with its public sector division located in Sacramento, Calif. Entisys360 also has offices in Irvine, Calif. and Pasadena, Calif. For more information, visit www.entisys360.com or call 1-877-ENTISYS (877-368-4797). Entisys360 on Social Media

Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/entisys360

Twitter (News - Alert): www.twitter.com/Entisys360

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Entisys/posts

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/entisys About IGEL

IGEL delivers powerful unified endpoint management (UEM) software that is revolutionary in its simplicity and purpose-built for the enterprise. The company's world-leading products, including the IGEL Universal Management Suite, IGEL OS-powered thin and zero clients, and all-in-one thin client solutions, deliver a smart and secure endpoint management experience that shifts granular control of thin and zero client devices from the end user to IT. This enables enterprises to remotely control all thin client devices from a single dashboard interface. IGEL has offices worldwide and is represented by partners in over 50 countries. For more information on IGEL, visit www.igel.com. To experience the capabilities of the IGEL OS, download the IGEL UMS, request a 12-minute demonstration of the IGEL OS or request evaluation hardware visit https://www.igel.com/demoit. IGEL on Social Media

Twitter: www.twitter.com/IGEL_Technology

Facebook: www.facebook.com/igel.technology

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101270758605662221044

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/igel-technology

YouTube (News - Alert): www.youtube.com/user/IGELTechnologyTV View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005014/en/

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Jakarta: Indonesia's president has ordered a thorough investigation of the network behind two suicide bombings that targeted police in the capital and killed three police officers.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo offered deep condolences for the victims and their families today. The bombings on Wednesday night also injured five other police officers and five civilians. The two bombers were killed.



Jokowi said he has ordered police to "thoroughly investigate the networks of the perpetrators and hunt them to the roots because the attack was already outrageous."

He spoke from his hometown of Solo in Central Java province.

Indonesia has faced an emerging threat in recent years from Islamic State group sympathisers who have launched attacks targeting government authorities, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces.
Washington: A U.S. military investigation on Thursday acknowledged that more than 100 civilians were killed in a U.S. air strike on a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March during operations against Islamic State militants.

The probe concluded that the U.S. strike in the Al-Jadida district inadvertently triggered explosives placed in the building by Islamic State fighters, causing it to collapse.

Local officials and eyewitnesses have said as many as 240 people may have died in the strike.

It is believed to be one of the single largest incidents of civilian casualties since the U.S.-led coalition started operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Air Force Brigadier General Matthew Isler, who oversaw the investigation, told reporters that the March 17 strike was aimed at two Islamic State snipers.

However, the 500-pound bomb triggered explosives inside the concrete building, collapsing it onto civilians.

Isler said the United States and nearby Iraqi forces did not know there were civilians in the building or that it had been rigged with explosives.

He added that 101 civilians inside the building were killed, four civilians were killed in nearby, and 36 civilians were still not accounted for.

Prior to this investigation, the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State said that at least 352 civilians have been killed in strikes it carried out in Iraq and Syria since 2014. That estimate is far lower than those provided by outside groups.
Brussels: US President Donald Trump on Thursday met leaders of the main European Union institutions here as part of his first international tour after taking office in January.

Trump arrived in the Belgian capital to attend a NATO summit and was received by EU Council President Donald Tusk.

After Tusk, Trump met European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and they were later joined by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, Efe news reported.

"EU and the US must remain close allies to protect citizens against terrorism, boost growth and jobs for future generations," Taajni posted on Twitter alongside images of the talks.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis, Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accompanied Trump.

"Transatlantic relations key to world safety, prosperity," posted EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on Twitter.

"Strong EU/US ties at the heart of global agenda," he added.

The US President will have lunch with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the American Embassy before the NATO meeting.

Trump will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May during the summit, where she was expected to confront him about confidential information leak on the Manchester bombing to the US press.

Trump previously visited Saudi Arabia, where he signed several lucrative arms deals with Middle Eastern countries before heading on to Israel and the Vatican.
Manila: Hackers linked with the Vietnamese government are likely targeting Philippine government agencies to gather intelligence related to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea, cybersecurity company FireEye said on Thursday.

That same group, which FireEye called APT32, was also responsible for attacking a Philippine consumer products corporation and a Philippine technology infrastructure firm in 2016, the company said in a media briefing.

Bryce Boland, chief technology officer for Asia Pacific, said the company had observed that APT32 was targeting not just multinational companies and organisations doing business in Vietnam but Philippine government agencies as well.

"This is presumably in order to gain access to information about military preparation and understanding how the organisations within the government operate in order to be better prepared in case of potentially military conflict," Boland said.

"There are overlapping claims between Vietnam and the Philippines over some islands in the South China Sea and it is quite likely that intelligence gathering is starting around that," Boland said.

Vietnam has strongly rejected allegations it supports hacking.

"The government of Vietnam does not allow any form of cyber attacks against organisations or individuals," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said earlier this month in response to similar accusations.

"All cyber attacks or threats to cyber security must be condemned and severely punished in accordance with regulations and laws."

A spokesman for the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department did not immediately respond to a telephone call or text message requesting comment.

The Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei contest all or parts of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

APT stands for advanced persistent threat, a term usually reserved for state-sponsored hacker groups.

"We believe all of the activities of APT32 are aligned to the interests of the Vietnamese government," Boland said.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. In general, the situation in Aleppo is good, the citys recovery works are being carried out normally, Jirair Reisian  Armenian lawmaker of Syrias Parliament told Armenpress, stating that after Aleppos liberation the situation is better, there is no state of insecurity in the city.

There are no shots in Aleppo, sometimes, small incidents, unexpected clashes happen, however, the unsafe situation of previous days no more exists. It is calm in the city, Jirair Reisian said.

He said the water problem is solved, there is a natural water supply. The electricity in the city was off for a long time, during those years people bought electricity for lighting and taking care of their daily needs. Already through the efforts of the authorities electricity is provided for several times a day. As this is not enough, people still continue buying electricity.

The roads in Aleppo are mainly open, especially inside the city. Outside the city as well the roads are open. As for the safety, incidents, clashes happen from time to time as a result of which the traffic is suspended for several hours so that to prevent such incidents. In any case, in general, traffic exists.

There is no shortage of food in the city, however, in line with this, there are economic hardships, the income is limited, but the expenses are multiplied. During the war the depreciation of Syrian currency became the main reason for increase of prices of goods. The Armenian lawmaker said the prices of goods will hardly return to the previous level, thus, the economic difficulties still will be maintained.

The classes come to an end, exams will start which will be followed by the holiday season. As you know, the educational institutions need renovations, the state is engaged in this work. I believe the situation will gradually improve. Of course, we understand that this is a long-term issue, he said.

As for the business, Reisian said the trade centers operate normally, but as for the production, it is still at the stage of initial steps.

Many are unable to totally restore the destroyed, looted factories. Few have chances to restore the production, however, not fully. Therefore, we can state that the production section is not restored yet, he said.

Commenting on the possible return of Armenians to Aleppo, the Armenian lawmaker said there is a certain progress.

Of course, I have no statistics, however we hear names of people who return. I can say that there are people who return to Aleppo, including families and individuals, Jirair Reisian stated.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Law enforcement agencies gathered intelligence on a group of gunmen preparing to carry out murder. According to intelligence data, the gunmen had rented an apartment in Ejmiatsin, illegally acquired weapons and ammunition and began plotting the murder.

The Police HQ told ARMENPRESS SWAT teams were dispatched to the apartment at 18:00, May 24, where the would-be killers were apprehended and brought in.

Police discovered firearms and ammunition in the apartment.

Investigation continues.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. NATO summit kicks off in Brussels which will last nearly 9 hours, reports TASS.

Large part of the summit will be dedicated to the opening ceremony of various solemn events, including the new headquarters of the Alliance and two memorials.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and heads of 28 NATO member states will deliver remarks at the summit.

US President Donald Trump will deliver speech at the summit for the first time.

The summit will focus on two key topics: increase of defense expenditures and fight against Islamic State terrorist group.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. The Ambulance station contacted the police department of Gugark, a village in Armenias Lori province, and notified that first responders discovered a dead body in a local home at midnight.

The Police HQ told ARMENPRESS officers were dispatched to the address and found the body of Tigran Martirosyan, 34, at the entrance of the house. The body had multiple gunshot wounds.

The victims wife, a 32 year old woman named Liana, confessed at the scene in carrying out the murder. She told officers that she took her husbands handgun and gunned him down during an altercation.

Police confiscated the murder weapon  a Makarov handgun.

An investigation is underway.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Authorities told ABC News that they found a kind of bomb-making workshop in Salman Abedis home  the suicide bomber who carried out the Manchester Arena bombing - and he had apparently stockpiled enough chemicals to make additional bombs, ABC reported.

The hunt is intensifying for what British authorities suspect is a possible network behind the deadly suicide blast outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday, officials say.

The search stretched from the U.K. to Libya, where officials made multiple arrests in a country seen by American officials as a burgeoning new base of operations for ISIS, which has claimed Salman Abedi was a "soldier of the Caliphate."

Counterterrorism officials fear whoever built the bomb that killed 22 people and injured more than 50 others may have built other improvised-explosive devices which could be used in further attacks.

The highest threat level, which is decided by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre - a group of experts from the police, government departments and agencies - has only been reached twice before.

22 people died when a suicide bomber detonated and IED in Manchester Arena, England, during a concert of US pop star Ariana Grande. More than 50 people have been injured.

Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old British man believed to have killed 22 people in a suicide-bomb attack in Manchester Arena, had ties to al Qaeda and had received terrorist training abroad, a U.S. intelligence official told NBC News on Tuesday as the United Kingdom raised its terrorist threat level to the highest category.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. The brother of Salman Abedi, the suspect accused of carrying out a bombing in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people, allegedly said he knew his brother was going to carry out an attack, but did not know where or when, according to a spokesman for Libya's counterterror forces, ABC reported.

Abedi, 22, the suspected suicide bomber, died at the scene of Monday night's attack at an Ariana Grande concert.

The UK has declared a 'critical' level of terror threat.

The highest threat level, which is decided by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre - a group of experts from the police, government departments and agencies - has only been reached twice before.

22 people died when a suicide bomber detonated and IED in Manchester Arena, England, during a concert of US pop star Ariana Grande. More than 50 people have been injured.

Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old British man believed to have killed 22 people in a suicide-bomb attack in Manchester Arena, had ties to al Qaeda and had received terrorist training abroad, a U.S. intelligence official told NBC News on Tuesday as the United Kingdom raised its terrorist threat level to the highest category.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Belavia airline re-launched flights to Yerevans Zvartnots International Airport.

The flights will be operated twice a week with the departure from Minsk at 10.40pm on Wednesdays and Sundays and arrival at Zvartnots International Airport at 02.45am (local time) the next day.

Flight duration time will be three hours and 10 minutes. The service will be operated with 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft, Belta reports.

A one-way ticket from Minsk to Yerevan will cost 114 and more, taxes and duties included. One-way fares from Yerevan to Minsk will start at 152. The price of a round-trip ticket will start at 226, taxes and duties included. Belavia is Belarus' largest air carrier performing regular flights to 49 airports in 27 European and Asian countries.

Belavia is Belarus' largest air carrier performing regular flights to 49 airports in 27 European and Asian countries.




YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet approved the bill package on prevention of corruption.

Arthur Hovhannisyan, acting minister of justice, said under the bill a corruption prevention agency will be created on the basis of the commission of ethics of high ranking officials, which will implement functions of corruption prevention, and deal with conflicting interests, ethics issues and other limitations for officials and public servants.

Hovhannisyan said the agency will have necessary tools, including the power of imposing sanctions.

The bill also plans filing declaration for public servants, who although arent high ranking officials, but however are included in the risk zone with their activities, i.e.  procurement process, inspectors, prosecutors.

Taking into account that former minister of justice Arpine Hovhannisyan  the current Vice Speaker of Parliament  had active participation in designing the bill, Arthur Hovhannisyan asked the Cabinet to acknowledge her as a co-author of the bill and designate her as main rapporteur in the Parliament.

The Prosecutor General, Arthur Davtyan, requested a two-day term for clarifications, while the Central Bank president asked for their opinions to be taken into account as well.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Bishop Sahak Mashalyan, the president of the spiritual council of Istanbuls Armenian Patriarchate, is convinced that Archbishop Aram Ateshyans resignation marks the beginning of a new era.

The past ten years passed either good or bad, perhaps the time without a Patriarch shouldve passed in that way. Ateshyan shouldnt be blamed much either. A man, who isnt the Patriarch, couldve done only that much, Mashalyan told Agos newspaper.

He emphasized that Ateshyans resignation opened the way for holding the patriarchal election.

I wish it happened sooner, the Bishop said.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Gagik Minasyan - RPA faction PM, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Financial-Loan and Budgetary Affairs, positively assesses the work of the Government led by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and states that at least 1-2 years are necessary for the public to feel the results of positive changes, reports Armenpress.

To solve the existing problems, not only consistency, but also time is needed so that the public will realize the changes. It is necessary to consistently work, and in order to make the results of that work visible for the public, I think, at least 1-2 years are needed for that, Minasyan told reporters on May 25.

According to him, during this period the Government led by PM carried out consistent works on solving the existing issues, however, time was short for the citizens to realize the positive changes.

The MP stated that the formation of new staff of Government is still being discussed.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. On May 24, after concluding a string of project-site visits and official openings of newly completed projects in Artsakh, a Hayastan All-Armenian Fund delegation began to visit and unveil projects in Armenia. These activities, which are intended to familiarize trustees and supporters with the quality and scale of projects implemented by the fund within the past year, are being carried out in the run-up to the annual meeting of the funds Board of Trustees. As its traditional, the delegation will also visit certain projects that were implemented in previous years, the Fund told Armenpress.

On May 24, the delegation visited Yerevans Tchaikovsky Music School, which was completely renovated in 2016 through the financial support of the funds US Eastern Region affiliate. Since 2010, the fund has provided ongoing assistance to the school, where Armenias future musicians receive their secondary and music education. As part of the renovation project begun in 2016, the fund donated ten pianos to the school a few months ago, with the financial support of its French and US Eastern Region affiliates.

On May 25, the delegation traveled to Shirak province. In the village of Bavra, members of the delegation got a first-hand look at the newly built buckwheat-processing factory, which is of great economic importance to the community. The construction of the factory was made possible by the support of the Devecyan and Ekserciyan families as well as Kirkor Simsiroglu of Argentina. The factory has been provided with all required equipment by the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development. Soon, the factorys first buckwheat production will be sold in the Armenian marketplace under the Nor Hatik label.

Subsequently the delegation officially opened the screening and diagnostics lab of the Childrens Home of Gyumri. The lab was built and equipped with contributions from the funds Swiss affiliate and completed with all required medical equipment and furniture. Notably, this includes an ultrasound machine which has been made possible by the financial support of the Devecyan and Ekserciyan families, as well as Krikor Simsiroglu of Argentina. The orphanage is home to children with physical or mental disabilities, who, up till recently, had to be taken to various clinics and hospitals for routine medical check-ups and tests. Now, thanks to the on-site lab, most types of screenings and tests are performed at the facility, and as frequently as needed, allowing for early detection and treatment of diseases.

The Swiss-Armenian community has been supporting this institution and those living in here since 1992, in an attempt to facilitate life here, chairman of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund affiliate Avedis Kizirian said in his opening speech.

In recent years, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has implemented several projects at the Childrens Home of Gyumri. They include the complete renovation and refurnishing of the facilitys two buildings; the reconstruction and equipment of the outdoor playground; and the construction of an indoor therapy pool.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. In accordance with the 2017 bilateral cooperation plan signed between the Defense Ministries of Armenia and Belarus, the working group led by Head of Standardization and Metrology Branch of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff departed for Minsk on May 24 to discuss issues relating to standardization and metrology field, the Defense Ministry told Armenpress.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Lucy Usoyan, an Armenian-born activist of the Yazidi community of the US, is one of the victims of Recep Tayyip Erdogans security details brutal attack on the Washington D.C. protesters outside the Turkish Ambassadors residence.

In an interview with Voice of America, Lucy spoke about the incident and the details which followed.

The demonstration began outside the White House, because we were concerned with Erdogans visit, thinking that a man who doesnt respect democracy isnt entitled to being hosted in the White House, which is a symbol of democracy. We could safely voice our needs outside the White House and naturally we didnt make any provocations whatsoever, she said.

During the demonstration, which was organized by the local Armenian, Kurdish and Yazidi communities, only one insignificant incident occurred, when Erdogan supporters attempted to grab a poster of a Kurdish demonstrator, which was followed by police drawing a separation line between the protesters and supporters. Then, the demonstrators began to walk towards the Turkish Ambassadors residence, where a group of Erdogan supporters had already gathered.

The protest was proceeding peacefully, however being in the first line I saw that another group joined the Erdogan supporters group. Those people had completely different outfits  khaki shirts, sunglasses, big-muscled trained people with military boots, Lucy said.

According to her, these people charged into the protesters and began to beat them. I suddenly appeared on the ground, not even realizing how it happened. The next thing I remember is how somebody was repeatedly punching me in the head. I was thinking about one thing at that moment  why are they beating me if Im not even defending myself. Then I blacked out, and when I opened my eyes I realized that Im on the ground. Aram Hamparian helped me get on my feet, and I saw that many of the demonstrators are injured, bloody  something that shocked me, because I wasnt ready for this kind of violence, Usoyan said.

Usoyan suffered a traumatic brain injury from the beating, and will require 6-8 weeks for recovery, however everything could have ended worse if not for the few Washington cops that were at the scene. They were trying to protect us by a small group. The footage shows how an officer is trying to take me away from the attackers, Lucy said.

According to her, the demonstrators did nothing to instigate the Erdogan supporters, they were simply carrying out a peaceful protest.

Perhaps they arent used to criticism, maybe this is the reason, however we live in a democratic time. This is the 21st century and it is necessary to be tolerant, or take into account the reason behind people complaining, she said.

Like many others, Lucy says the incident is unacceptable. In our belief, no government, not only Turkish, has the right to come to this country and batter US citizens and remain unpunished, she said.

Usoyan participated in the demonstration to demand the protection of Yazidis rights, as well as the recogniztion of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenia is the country where I was born and which has become the homeland of numerous Yazidis for more than a century, she said.

Lucy Usoyan was three years old when she left Armenia with her parents, however she has many relatives in Armenia, one of them being Kyaram Sloyan, the Artsakh soldier who died during the April War in 2016.

We  all Armenians, must stand up for rights and justice and demand the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, she said.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. The preservation of the status qua in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone is unacceptable, but at the same time the conflict has no military solution and must be settled only through peaceful negotiations, Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament David McAllister told the reporters on May 25.

All the European institutions share the opinion that the preservation of the status qua in Nagorno Karabakh is unacceptable, but this conflict has no military solution. A speedy political solution meeting the international norms is necessary. The EU has not an active role in the settlement of this conflict, but we support all the efforts aimed at finding a diplomatic solution. Therefore, the European Union will continue fully supporting the mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, one of which is EU member state France, Armenpress reports McAllister saying.

He stated that the conflicting sides must respect their commitments of preserving the ceasefire and finding a negotiated settlement of the conflict. We are concerned with the continuing arms race, military rhetoric and the repeated incidents on the contact line claiming lives from both sides. The EU encourages the sides to start negotiations without preconditions in line with the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament concluded.
Judge Wilson says 2011 law charging retirees premiums violates constitution and state must pay damages

The N.C. Department of Justice is considering how to respond to a Superior Court judge's ruling that the state unconstitutionally charged health insurance premiums to state retirees.Already wracked by $42 billion in unfunded liabilities, the State Health Plan might have to absorb billions of dollars more in unanticipated costs, which could foil plans to restore solvency to the state-funded health insurance system.The class-action suit involves 220,000 retirees. They say the state broke contractual obligations after 2011 by charging a premium for health-care coverage in retirement.said department spokeswoman Laura Brewer.She declined to say whether the department is considering an appeal of Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Edwin Wilson's order. Gov. Mike Easley appointed Wilson in 2003. He was selected to hear the case, filed in Gaston County.Wilson's ruling was limited to the state's so-called 80/20 enhanced plan. Under it, the state pays 80 percent for services and insured members pay the remaining 20 percent.Both sides agreed to a separate proceeding to deal with the state's 70/30 plan. Wilson gave parties in the case 15 days from his May 17 order to file motions, and possibly seek a trial.state Treasurer Dale Folwell wrote in a letter to state legislators dated May 19.he wrote.Should the plaintiffs prevail, Folwell cautioned, the unfunded liability could increase quickly to an unsustainable level.Folwell also warned that the legislature immediately needs to set aside more money to reduce the unfunded liability.In a legal motion filed in September, lawyers for the retirees argued that ample precedent exists for a damage award.after a public employee becomes vested in the benefit, the lawyers wrote.Wilson cited some of those prior cases in his order.He said the state breached its contract in September 2011 when vested retirees were forced to start paying premiums for the 80/20 plan.The State Health Plan was a contentious issue that year. Facing a half-billion-dollar shortfall in the retiree portion of the plan, the General Assembly attempted to move operation of the system to the state treasurer's office. The bills also allowed the plan to require retirees to pay premiums.Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed one bill but later passed House Bill 578 and allowed Senate Bill 323 to become law without her signature.Wilson said the U.S. Constitution forbids states from passing laws impairing the obligation of contracts. The state's action further failed a three-part test in place in North Carolina for determining when an unconstitutional impairment of a contract occurs. Wilson found the state's actions neither reasonable nor necessary to serve an important public purpose.The N.C. Constitution contains a "Law of the Land" clause, under which retirement health benefits are considered protected property, Wilson said. Therefore, imposing premiums on the 80/20 insurance plan constituted a taking of private property without just compensation.Wilson ordered Folwell, the State Health Plan, and the state retirement system's board of trustees to provide the 80/20 plan to retirees premium-free for the duration of their retirements.Wilson gave the parties two months to agree on damages. If they cannot agree by then, the court would have one month to arrive at a figure, and by the end of the fourth month a final amount would be submitted.
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 so called "Democracy" does exists.
Tom Campbell

"Nothing happens on the streets of this town after midnight that you need to be a part of," my parents told me as a teen. Concerned I had neither the experience nor the judgment to impose this discipline on myself, they imposed a midnight curfew on me. I didn't like, it but came to understand its wisdom. I remembered this experience after our state Senate's 3 a.m. budget vote. Seldom does anything good result from these late-night sessions.Repeatedly we've witnessed legislation mysteriously added, deleted or amended, then rushed to approval in order to pass a budget, meet a self-imposed deadline or to adjourn. Only later were lawmakers (and the public) shocked to learn what mischief was contained in these late-night votes. It is not good government and no way to conduct "the people's business."The process started badly, as neither rank-and-file Senators nor members of the public even saw the 800-plus pages of budget documents crafted behind closed doors until Wednesday morning, when various subcommittees essentially rubber stamped them. The $23 billion dollar budget subsequently came to the floor for passage Thursday. When Democrats objected to provisions and attempted to add amendments, Senate leadership abruptly called a recess until 2:30 a.m. When the session reconvened, punishment, in the form of reduced or eliminated funding for programs, was aimed squarely at certain Democrats.Upon reflection, some of the Senate's recommendations are good, but the process is the problem. Anyone criticizing these late-hour shenanigans is quickly reminded that when Democrats ran the legislature they were equally vindictive, dismissive and mean-spirited toward Republicans. Usually the critic is asked why we - the media - didn't raise a ruckus then. The record will show that we did, on TV, our website and in written columns. It was wrong then and is just as wrong now.Longtime political reporter and columnist Paul O'Conner recently quipped that what goes around still comes around. He remembered how Democratic leadership in the '80s and '90s ran roughshod over Republicans, stripping the Lieutenant Governor of power, refusing to allow input from GOP lawmakers on legislation and making decisions in small groups behind closed doors. The symbol for the Republican Party is the elephant, reputedly with long memories, and even though many current legislators were not in office at that time they remember (or have been told) the treatment received at the hands of Democrats. What goes around comes around.If the pendulum swings and Democrats once again attain majorities in one or both chambers of our legislature will they have learned from their recent treatment by Republicans and change the way things are done or will they just resume ways of punishing the minority party? An interesting question to ponder.Whether or not that ever occurs, the fact remains that when lawmakers are tired at the end of a long day, when changes are hurriedly made without due deliberation and when important decisions are at stake these late-night sessions generally result in bad legislation. Given their recent performance, perhaps our lawmakers would be well served to impose a curfew upon themselves. What harm would result in waiting another day or two before taking action? A little rest and reflection might result in better decisions, but most assuredly a better process.
Five reasons to chart a new way forward

Establish new licensing boards for naturopathic doctors and music therapists

Forbid hospitals from hiring uncredentialed surgical technologists

Require insurers to pay for autism treatment by certified behavioral analysts

Allow (for a fee) a special endorsement to a respiratory care practitioner's license to recognize outside training and credentialing beyond requirements for licensure

Allow voluntary registration of certified interior designers within the N.C. Department of Insurance

For half a century, making any reform to a state's occupational licensing system has been nigh on impossible. How hard? In 2015 , the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics could findIn recent months, however, the ice jam over occupational licensing has begun to break. Just since last year, several states have succeeded in implementing reforms of occupational licensing. Arizona (two reforms, one last year and another in March), Mississippi, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.From eight in 40 years to six in just the past year. It suggests we're at a watershed moment for re-examining occupational licensing, and we are.For North Carolina, this is not something to watch on the sidelines. There aren't any sidelines. North Carolina needs to devise an alternative structure to occupational licensing. Here are several reasons:North Carolina's constitution recognizes the inalienable right of individuals to enjoy the fruits of their own labor. Occupational licensing blocks many individuals from even entering their chosen field of labor.The Supreme Court in(2015) dismantled the presumption that state occupational licensing boards are automatically immune from federal antitrust laws.In the court's opinion, a state licensing board may violate federal antitrust law if a controlling number of board members comprise "active market participants" regulated by the board but the board is not actively supervised by the state.How to demonstrate active supervision by the state over licensing boards is an open question. Freeing up more occupations from barriers to entry via licensure would eliminate anticompetitive concerns at their root.Meanwhile, the FTC has a new Economic Liberty Task Force to focus on state occupational licensing activities. Acting FTC chairman Maureen Ohlhausen announced it in a March 31 speech at George Mason Law Review's antitrust symposium.Primarily, the FTC's interest in Economic Liberty will be advocacy and partnership. But as Ohlhausen made clear at George Mason, she is not averse to fighting for economic liberty in court.It's worth noting that a January 2017 Reason magazine profile of her said that " North Carolina Dental is Ohlhausen's greatest achievement so far as an FTC commissioner ."Fighting the many harms of occupational licensing to employment and consumers is an issue that unites thinkers across the political spectrum. For example, two of the most important recent studies on the issue came from the Institute for Justice and the Obama administration . Last year, the John Locke Foundation and the N.C. Justice Center both made similar cases for reforming occupational licensing before the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee.Only the power of special-interest lobbies and the unique stickiness of a public-choice problem such as licensing keep it from reform.Six states passing licensure reforms in a year not an aberration. As they free their labor markets, North Carolina risks staying shackled to an unwieldly, highly restrictive, and patently anticompetitive approach. Those other states offer proof that eliminating unnecessary licensing is achievable.Technological change is ongoing, and there's a clear market interest in obtaining and communicating information about safe, quality work in many fields (licensed or not). Private providers are meeting this need across untold numbers of professions, not only through certification and credentialing organizations, but also through consumer apps and reviews.It's never been easier to find information about service providers. Plodding, officious state boards have never been more redundant.The General Assembly regularly receives requests from occupations seeking special validation. This session, for example, has bills to:Does each occupation making such a request need its own special state apparatus and barriers to entry? Obviously not.But the frequency of such requests suggests something is lacking. North Carolina obviously needs a better way to balance protecting people's constitutional right to work and enjoy the fruits of their labors and protecting public health and safety.Reforms in Arizona Tennessee , and Mississippi point the way. They offer thorough approaches to conform - and limit - the state's involvement in an occupation to the issue at hand. If cleanliness, require inspections; if damage to third parties, bonding; if shadiness, registration; if insurance reimbursement, certification.Importantly, they would go no further than the least regulatory activity necessary.For North Carolina, whatever the reform, it's past time to start working on alternatives. The all-or-nothing world of licensure is coming to an end.
From 2010 until 2013, the IRS, under President Barack Obama, intentionally targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups applying for 501(c) tax-exemption by delaying the processing of their applications, requesting burdensome information from them that was later deemed unnecessary, and by intimidating them into withdrawing their applications. The scheme was intended to intimidate and/or stop Tea Party and other conservative groups from engaging in political activity in the 2012 presidential election and in subsequent mid-term elections. The abuse by the IRS was orchestrated in response to the growing Tea Party/ conservative/ grassroots movement (which all of a sudden were applying in great numbers for tax-exempt organization status and which were donating in large amounts to Republican candidates and elections). The actions of the government, spearheaded by President Obama, were a clear example of government tyranny - using terror and intimidation (the full resources of the federal government) to silence political opposition.As Rep. Darrell Issa and Rep. Jim Jordan of the House Oversight Committee explained in a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koshinen: "This revelation that the IRS sent 1.1 million pages of nonprofit tax-return data - including confidential taxpayer information - to the FBI confirms suspicions that the IRS worked with the Justice Department to facilitate the potential investigation of nonprofit groups engaged in lawful political speech."To date, and there is no surprise here, the IRS and its officials, have escaped justice and punishment. Its aggressive 3-year campaign against conservative grassroots organizations to suppress their first amendment rights of speech, expression, and assembly, and its illegal leaking of private tax information for political purposes, and its turning of the executive branch of the federal government into a thug ring for the Democratic Party has been explained away as mere incompetency and a lack of proper oversight.The fact that Lois Lerner escaped prison, that records were destroyed in a campaign to obstruct justice and allow other guilty parties to escape punishment, and that John Koskinen retain his job as the IRS commissioner are scandals in and of themselves. Last fall, House Republicans took steps to have John Koskinen removed by impeaching him for his role in covering up Lerner's crimes, his misleading a congressional investigation, his obstruction of Congress (defying a subpoena), and outright lying to Congress. Unfortunately, on December 6, House GOP leaders managed to derail impeachment, forcing the debate back to a committee for more study, where it silently died when Congress adjourned at the end of the year.While most believe the scandal and the government abuse subsided in 2013 when the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released an audit report concluded that the IRS had in fact used inappropriate criteria to identify, target, and then harass Tea Party and other conservative organizations in their applications for 501(c) tax-exempt status, the fact is that the IRS continued to improperly use its power to influence the 2016 presidential campaign and apparently still has hold-over rogue elements from the Obama administration who are secretly trying to undermine Donald Trump's presidency. How else could Donald Trump's tax returns have been leaked? How else was it possible that Trump's 1995 tax information was leaked during the 2016 presidential election season to Clinton's team, just in time for the presidential debates? How can we forget her accusation and then the ensuing political pressure from the media for Trump to release his tax returns. Remember what she said in the September 2016 debate; "You've gotta ask yourself, why won't he release his tax returns? And I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he's not as charitable as he claims to be. Third, we don't know all of his business dealings, but we have been told, through investigative reporting that, he owes about $650 million to Wall Street and foreign banks. Or maybe he doesn't want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes. Because the only years that anybody has ever seen, were a couple of years where he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license. And they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax."And how was it that an "anonymous" package with Trump's 2005 tax return and tax info was mailed to the New York Times in early March? [See my article "How Quickly Trump's Tax Return Story Has Disappeared," April 23, 2017]. Someone at the IRS, apparently still having the capability of treating it as a rogue agency, committed a felony. And Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, who received the tax returns from the Times and who was salivating over the chance to humiliate Trump, chose to insinuate that our President was the criminal and not the felon from the federal government.Why do I suggest that the "leaked" tax information during the presidential campaign season and the anonymous package to the NY Times containing Trump's 2005 tax return came from a rogue element still entrenched in the IRS? Oh geeeezz, let me see... All one needs to do is recall the 2012 targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups by the IRS for the purpose of reelecting President Obama. The thought of someone at the agency doing a similar favor for Obama's successor doesn't seem so far-fetched. The tendency to hold on to power is natural. Machiavelli explained this to us. The link between the IRS and Trump's leaked tax returns is persuasive.Furthermore, the history and modus operandi of both Hillary Clinton and Lois Lerner, head of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the IRS and mastermind of the Tea Party targeting scandal, appear very similar similar.... break rules, skirt the law, and then destroy evidence by deleting emails and destroying hard drives and servers. It's a Democrat thing. They benefit from the lawbreaking but escape justice by destroying evidence, which is itself a crime. Both used their positions in government not to genuinely and constitutionally serve the legitimate interests of the American people in general, but rather to advance personal and/or political goals. Lerner targeted the Tea Party. And Hillary collected lots of money by making personal deals while as Secretary of State to enrich her presidential campaign. And then she had officials of the government "provide" her with ammunition (Trump's tax returns) to beat Donald Trump. Both "lost" or destroyed the emails that would have proven their crimes.The New York Times says "someone" sent the documents to a reporter so it has no criminal liability in publishing it. Constitutional law is fairly firm on this point. But as a lawyer, I find that at times it fails to pass the "smell test." In other words, the policy sometimes stinks!! How is an ordinary citizen supposed to reconcile this reality: "If a private citizen receives stolen property, they go to jail. But if a reporter receives stolen documents, they receive the Pulitzer Prize." [Daniel John Sobieski, "Rogue IRS Felons Vindicate Trump." American Thinker]. To the very end, the Obama administration, through the officials he put in place, used the power of the federal government for strictly political purposes - for the purpose of assassinating the character of a presidential candidate, helping Hillary Clinton win the election, and to further entrench the agenda of the Democratic party in government. The IRS had never ceased serving as the nefarious arm of the political left to target conservatives and lessen their chances in the political arena. And even as a new administration is taking over the federal government, Obama officials still in remaining at the agency are using the same power to obstruct the efforts of a legitimately-elected president of another (an opposing) political party.Think about this - Hillary Clinton, as a candidate for president, continued to receive the highest levels of support from the government (including control of the media and access to illegally-disclosed confidential information) even after she had abused that government's power and prestige and had clearly broken many of the laws put in place to provide transparency to the American people. And, the President of the United States and the Democratic Party (the party having full control and power in government) co-opted all the functions, resources, and instrumentalities of t government, and their influence/pressure as well, in order to help her and to interfere in the campaign of a presidential candidate that threatened their power. It wasn't the Russians. It was the Obama administration itself. If this isn't the definition of government tyranny or the definition of government corruption, I don't know what is.It's about time the American people learned the true extent to which the government had turned on them, had violated their precious liberties, sought to target and silence them, and threatened their voice in government. This investigation is necessary so that We the People, and conservative watchdog groups, can seek protections to make sure it never happens again.We exercise the First Amendment so that we don't have to exercise the Second !!INTRO -We all know how fundamental the rights of conscience, religion, and speech are. The rights of conscience and religion are the beginnings of thought. Speech is how we express that thought.More than that, from a liberty point of view, it is our first amendment right that protects all the others by giving voice and publication when government violates them. It alerts the People to weigh for themselves how much they value their rights and liberties. And then it is the second amendment that ultimately secures all other rights from tyranny in government.In the IRS scandal, we had the Obama administration using the IRS as a tool of terror, of intimidation to silence the Tea Party - his party's political opposition. In theory and practice, it was much like Hitler and his gestapo. Political speech was frozen by government action, first and foremost, and then there were the Tea Party groups and folks who self-censored for fear of having the IRS target them, audit them, and god-forbid come up with some trumped-up charge to make their lives a living hell, fine them, or imprison them.Why? Because he was working to win the 2012 election for himself and his party and to win mid-term elections. In fact, documents released just last week by Judicial Watch confirm that President Obama's IRS improperly targeted conservatives in order to help him win the 2012 presidential election.On April 14, 2015, Judicial Watch announced it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the IRS seeking "any and all records" related to the selection of both individuals and organizations for audits based upon applications filed requesting nonprofit tax status.Political speech and expression is the most protectable form of speech; it was intended to help We the People flesh out ideas, assess honestly and fully what the government is doing, figure out which candidates are best to govern on our behalf, and to see that government operates as best and as responsibly as possible from our end. Our Founding Fathers appreciated the importance of protected political speech from the lessons taught throughout the colorful history of England. We can never forget that the government is OUR government and not the government of a political party. It operates on us, as individuals, in our lives, our property, our revenue, our liberty, and in our ability to live freely. Political parties are merely political organizations looking for power, not human results.THE IRS and TAX-EXEMPTION -US federal tax law, specifically Section 501(c)(4) of the IRS code (26 U.S.C.  501(c)), exempts certain types of nonprofit organizations from having to pay federal income tax. The statutory language of IRC 501(c)(4) generally requires civic organizations described in that section to be "operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare". Treasury regulations interpreting this statutory language apply a more relaxed standard, namely, that the organization "is operated primarily for the purpose of bringing about civic betterments and social improvements." As a result, the IRS traditionally has permitted organizations described in IRC 501(c)(4) to engage in lobbying and political campaign activities if those activities are not the organization's primary activity.TIMELINE of the IRS SCANDAL -(1) On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) is a U.S. constitutional law and corporate law case dealing with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations. The United States Supreme Court held (5-4) that freedom of speech prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations.All of a sudden, non-profit groups could spend money to engage in political activity and to influence elections. At the time, the Tea Party movement had just taken off, and:Most of the applications to the IRS for tax-exempt 501(c) status were conservative groups, andMost of the money pouring into TV and radio ads to influence elections were from conservative groups to benefit Republican candidates(2) Beginning in March 2010, when the Tea Party movement was the rage, the IRS more closely scrutinized certain organizations applying for tax-exempt status under sections 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code by focusing on groups with certain words in their names. IRS staffers began flagging applications from groups with politically themed names like "We the People" and "Take Back the Country." Staffers also targeted groups whose names included the words "Tea Party," "patriots," and "912" (a movement started by Glenn Beck). Those flagged applications were then sent to specialists for a more rigorous review than is typical. (This info, this timeline, came from a draft report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, May 2013).In May 2010, some employees of the "Determinations Unit" of the Cincinnati office of the IRS, which is tasked with reviewing applications pertaining to tax-exempt status, began developing a spreadsheet that became known as the "Be On the Look Out" ("BOLO") list.The list, first distributed in August 2010, suggested intensive scrutiny of applicants with names related to a number of political causes, including names related to the Tea Party movement and other conservative causes. Eventually, IRS employees in Ohio, California, and Washington, DC applied closer scrutiny to applications from organizations that:referenced words such as "Tea Party", "Patriots", or "9/12 Project", "progressive," "occupy," "Israel," "open source software," "medical marijuana" and "occupied territory advocacy" in the case file;[34][35]outlined issues in the application that included government spending, government debt, or taxes;involved advocating or lobbying to "make America a better place to live";had statements in the case file that criticized how the country is being run;advocated education about theConstitution and the Bill of Rights;were focused on challenging thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act-known by many as Obamacare;questioned the integrity of federal elections.Over the two years between April 2010 and April 2012, there was an increase of applications for 501(c) tax-exempt status - from 1,500 applications to more than double that amount, 3,400. The government (controlled by Democrats) took notice. The IRS essentially placed on hold the processing of applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exemption status received from organizations with "Tea Party", "patriots", or "9/12" in their names. While apparently none of these organizations' applications were denied during this period, only 4 were approved. During the same general period, the agency approved applications from several dozen presumably liberal-leaning organizations whose names included terms such as "progressive", "progress", "liberal", or "equality. Only 3 groups were targeted had the word "occupy" in their name.
Timothy writes, "Diego Gomez is a Colombian conservation biologist. When he was a college student, he shared a single research paper online so that others could read and learn from it, just as he did. Diego was criminally prosecuted for copyright infringement, and faced up to 8 years in prison."

"Today a court in Colombia acquitted him of the charges. This is good. Dragging students into court for sharing educational materials makes no sense. But the fight isn't over. The prosecution is appealing the case, and we'll need to help Diego in his defense yet again."



Diego's story also serves as a cautionary tale of what can happen when copyright law is broadened through international agreements. The law Diego was prosecuted under was enacted as part of a trade agreement with the United States. But as is often the case when trade agreements are used to expand copyright law, the agreement only exported the U.S.' extreme criminal penalties; it didn't export our broad fair use provisions. When copyright law becomes more restrictive with no account for freedom of expression, people like Diego suffer.

DIEGO GOMEZ FINALLY CLEARED OF CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR SHARING RESEARCH

[Elliot Harmon and Jeremy Malcolm/EFF]





Colombian Court Acquits Diego Gomez of Criminal Charges for Sharing a Research Paper Online

[Timothy Vollmer/Creative Commons]
Greg Gianforte is a short-tempered, hyper-conservative Montana political hopeful who is standing for the GOP in a special election for a Congressional seat; he is also invested in Russian firms that are under US sanction.



At a recent press conference, Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs asked Gianforte about the Republican healthcare plan. Gianforte went berserk, body-slamming Jacobs, punching him repeatedly, and breaking his glasses, while shouting "Get the hell out of here."

Gianforte's staff then lied about the incident, libeling Jacobs by claiming he had "entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions." None of this is borne out by multiple eyewitness accounts and a recording.

Gianforte has a hostile relationship to the press. At an American Conservatism Society meeting in April, an audience member said, "Our biggest enemy is the news media. How can we rein in the news media?" and Gianforte responded by pointing to a reporter, saying, "We have someone right here. It seems like there is more of us than there is of him."





Gianforte tried to run for the governorship of Montana in 2016, but failed. Gallatin Sheriff Brian Gootkin (who gave $250 to Gianforte's campaign) says he is investigating the incident, and requests that people stop calling the Gallatin 911 number to report it.

Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna, field producer Faith Mangan and photographer Keith Railey witnessed the incident, according to an account published by foxnews.com. After Jacobs asked Gianforte his question, Acuna wrote, "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. "Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of 'I'm sick and tired of this!'  To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies."

Republican candidate 'body-slams' Guardian reporter in Montana

[Julia Carrie Wong and Sam Levin/The Guardian]
Learning Resources

Apples App Development Curriculum for Community College, High School Students Now on iBooks

Apple today released its first full-year course to teach college students how to design mobile apps using the Swift programming language.

According to the companys announcement, select high schools and six community college (CC) systems will offer the App Development with Swift curriculum this fall, reaching an estimated 500,000 students nationwide: Alabama Community College System, Columbus State Community College, Harrisburg Area Community College, Houston Community College, Mesa Community College and San Mateo Community College District. Students at these CCs will also have the opportunity to intern at Apple and receive mentorship from company employees.

Apples curriculum includes a comprehensive student guide with playground exercises, mini projects and quizzes, as well as a teacher's guide with grading rubrics, solutions code and Keynote presentations, the announcement said.

The App Development with Swift curriculum is an extension of Apples K12 curriculum, Everyone Can Code, which has been downloaded more 430,000 times and will be used at more than a thousand schools this fall, the statement said. The latter curriculum also teaches students to use Swift and fulfills the companys pledge to the White House-led ConnectED initiative to advance computer science education.

The companys programming language has been used to create apps like Airbnb, KAYAK, TripAdvisor, Venmo and Yelp, according to the statement. A recent study by global freelancing platform Upwork identified Swift as the second fasting-growing skill in the tech industry, Apple says the new curriculum is designed for students who want to enter the rapidly growing app economy and seek to gain critical job skills in software development and information technology.

The curriculum is available for free through iBooks.
WEDNESDAY, May 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- The 2016 Zika outbreak in Florida wasn't due to a single introduction and spread of the virus, but rather at least four separate events, researchers report.

By analyzing the genetic material of Zika viruses found in people and mosquitoes in Florida, the scientists also concluded that local transmission of the Zika virus likely began in spring 2016 before the first local case was confirmed.

The researchers said they also discovered that three of the Zika strains that affected Florida spread through the Caribbean islands first before reaching the state. The fourth spread through Central America, the study authors said.

Based on their findings, the researchers believe that a similar Zika transmission pattern could happen again this year in Florida.

There are a number of reasons why Florida is a likely hotspot for Zika outbreaks in the United States, study co-leader Sharon Isern of Florida Gulf Coast University said.

These factors include the climate and an abundance of Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Plus, many people from the Miami area travel to countries where Zika is already established in Latin America and the Caribbean.

While the Zika virus is not harmful to most people, it can cause fevers, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain. It is, however, a significant risk to pregnant women because the virus can cause microcephaly, in which babies are born with underdeveloped heads and brains.

The new study was published May 24 in the journal Nature.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on Zika.
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New York, May 25, 2017 Authorities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain should cease blocking access to news websites, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities in the allied kingdoms yesterday blocked access to at least eight Qatari-funded news websites, including those of regional broadcaster Al-Jazeera, according to Al-Jazeera, government statements, and news reports.

Regional media published screen shots of error messages saying the websites were blocked by government order.

The censorship came hours after the Qatari state news agency QNA reported remarks purportedly made by Qatars Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in which he appeared to criticize U.S. foreign policy, to suggest that U.S. President Donald Trump might not last long in power, to express support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and to advocate for better relations with Iran and Israel. In a series of tweets, chief Qatari government spokesman Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed Al-Thani swiftly wrote that the news agency had been hacked, that what had been published was not true and totally baseless, and that authorities were investigating the despicable act.

The Qatari government also claimed that hackers had written a series of tweets from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs account accusing Arab countries of plotting against Qatar and claiming that the country had withdrawn its ambassadors to Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates in response, according to media reports.

Diplomatic relations between Qatar and its fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have long been strained by divergent foreign policies.

We call on Gulf kingdoms to resolve their political differences without breaking their international treaty obligations to respect the free flow of information, said CPJs Middle East and North Africa Coordinator Sherif Mansour. Gulf kingdoms should not hold the publics right to information hostage to a diplomatic spat, and should immediately cease blocking Qatari-funded websites.

Saudi authorities blocked at least eight Qatari-funded news websites, including those of Al-Jazeeras Arabic, English, and documentary channels; the website of the Qatari state news agency QNA; and the websites of the daily newspapers Al-Watan, Al-Raya, Al-Arab, and Al-Sharq, the Saudi-government-funded Al-Arabiya satellite news channel reported yesterday.

The Emirati government-owned daily newspaper Al-Bayan yesterday quoted an Emirati official, speaking anonymously, as saying that the country had blocked access to Al-Jazeeras websites and all Qatari newspapers.

Bahraini authorities likewise said they had blocked Al-Jazeera and other unspecified Qatari media outlets for what they called attempts to incite sedition, in violation of agreements between members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to media reports.

Al-Jazeera yesterday reported on Bahraini security forces forcible dispersal of a sit-in protest near the home of Shia preacher Eisa Al-Qassem, who is under house arrest pending the conclusion of his trial on corruption charges. At least five people were killed and 286 were arrested on terrorism charges in the operation, according to the Bahraini Ministry of Interior.

Officials from the communications and information ministries of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates did not immediately respond to CPJs request for comment.

Egyptian authorities also blocked access to 21 websites, including Al-Jazeera and other Qatari-owned media outlets, alleging that they support terrorism, are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, or report lies, according to news reports.

On May 20 Saudi King Salman Ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud, U.S. President Trump, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and others met in Riyadh for a summit to embark on new initiatives to counter violent extremist messaging, disrupt financing of terrorism, and advance defense cooperation, according to a statement released afterward.
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Istanbul, May 25, 2017The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Turkish authorities to immediately free Istanbul-based French photographer Mathias Depardon, who has been held in isolation and without charge in southeast Turkey since May 8, according to media reports.

We call on Turkish officials to unconditionally set free Mathias Depardon without delay, return his reporting equipment, and allow him to continue working in Turkey unobstructed, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. Holding a journalist in isolation and without charge, after having ordered him deported from the country in which he has worked for the past five years, is a particularly cruel and convoluted example of Turkeys extreme abuse of the press.

Depardon, 37, was first detained by local police while photographing the ancient city of Hasankeyf on the Tigris River in the southeastern Turkish province of Batman. He was on assignment for National Geographic at the time, according to press reports.

According to the Turkish service of the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA), Depardon was approached by police while taking pictures of an area where residents of Hasankeyf were to be relocated in case of flooding. After confiscating his two cameras and reviewing his social media accounts, the police officers detained Depardon on suspicion of making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization in relation to several pictures he had shared three years ago on social media, according to the VOA report from May 9.

The photographers lawyer, Emine Seker, told VOA that a local prosecutor had dropped the accusations against Depardon and ordered him released. Yet, according to Seker, the police officers who initially detained Depardon continued to hold him, eventually transferring him to a migration detention facility in the border province of Gaziantep. According to a May 19 joint letter by 22 European press freedom and media organizations led by Reporters Without Borders and addressed to Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, migration authorities ordered Depardons deportation on May 11. Turkey has continued to hold him without explanation. Seker spoke to the daily Evrensel on May 13 and said her client was being held in solitary confinement. To protest his treatment, the journalist started a hunger strike in detention on May 21, his lawyer said yesterday.

Since a failed coup attempt by rogue military elements in July 2016, the Turkish government has imposed a state of emergency and purged the countrys media landscape of dissenting voices, CPJ research shows. Dozens of journalists have been detained and imprisoned for their work, and multiple others have been forced into exile to avoid politically motivated prosecution and imprisonment. More than 100 media outlets have been shut down on alleged ties to the suspected coup plotters, and hundreds of reporters have lost their jobs. On December 1, 2016, when CPJ conducted its annual prison census, Turkey held at least 81 journalists in direct retaliation for their professional activitiesan all-time high for any country in the world since CPJ started keeping records in 1992.
Iran has demonstrated its utter disregard for childrens rights by executing a man arrested for a crime committed while he was 16 years old in a brazen violation of international human rights law, said Amnesty International.





The man, who has been identified in state media only by the name Asqar, was sentenced to death by public hanging nearly 30 years ago. He was executed at Karajs Central Prison near Tehran on 23 May 2017.





With this execution, the Iranian authorities repeated claims to the UN and EU that they are moving away from the use of death penalty against juvenile offenders ring horrifically hollow.





It is absolutely appalling that two decades after it ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran continues to display such a chilling disregard for childrens rights, said Philip Luther, Amnesty Internationals Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.





This is the third execution this year of someone arrested as a child in Iran, demonstrating the authorities clear determination to continue flouting international human rights law. The authorities should halt any further plans for executions and amend Irans Islamic Penal Code to abolish the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders once and for all.





Asqar was originally sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of the fatal stabbing of his 12-year-old neighbour, according to state media. The sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court. He was due to be executed at the age of 18 but escaped from prison shortly before the scheduled execution date; he was on the run until his re-arrest in April 2015.





Iran is one of the last few countries in the world that still executes juvenile offenders. International human rights law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against a person who was under 18 at the time of the crime.





Amnesty International opposes the death penalty at all times  regardless of who is accused, the crime, guilt or innocence or method of execution. The organization has consistently called on all countries that still use the death penalty to establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the punishment.

Iran: Juvenile offender hanged

IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS (24. MAY 2017): A juvenile offender was hanged in the Central Prison of Karaj yesterday morning.





The prisoner who is identified by a state run website as Asghar, was charged with a murder 30 years ago. At that time Asghar was 16 years old.





According to the Iranian news website Namnak, Asghar had managed to escape 18 months after his arrest in late 1980's, but was again arrested one year ago.





Iran Human Rights (IHR) calls for international condemnation of Iranian authorities' execution of juvenile offenders. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: "Asghar is the third juvenile offender being executed in 2017. This is a clear violation of Iran's international obligations and must be condemned by the international community. We especially call on the European Union to resume their pressure on the Iranian authorities in order to stop juvenile executions".

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Saudi Arabia has upheld a protest-related death sentence for a protester who was tortured so badly that he was rendered completely deaf in one ear. The judgment marks the first such move for several months, and comes days after President Trump visited the Kingdom.





Munir Adam (23), who has impaired sight and hearing, was arrested in the wake of political protests in 2012. Despite medical records proving his disability, Saudi police tortured him until he lost all hearing in one ear, and forced him to sign a false confession. The forced statement was used as the sole piece of evidence against him in a secretive trial at the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC).





Today, the appellate division of the SCC is understood to have upheld Munirs death sentence. He now has only one appeal left before the King signs his execution warrant  after which he could be executed at any time, without notification to this family.





The SCCs latest death sentence appears to break a period of several months during which the court has not upheld any protest-related death sentences. It comes days after President Trump made his first visit to the Kingdom.





Reprieve had urged the President to use his visit to raise the cases of protesters  including juveniles  who face execution. However, the White House is understood not to have raised human rights issues during the trip. One Administration official  Treasury Secretary Wilbur Ross  faced criticism after telling journalists there was not a single hint of a protester during the visit.





Commenting, Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve said:





Munirs case is utterly shocking  the White House should be appalled that our Saudi allies tortured a disabled protester until he lost his hearing then sentenced him to death on the basis of a forced confession. Todays judgment shows that, by failing to raise human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, President Trump has emboldened the Kingdom to continue the torture and execution of protesters. The Trump Administration must now urgently stand up for American values  they must call for the release of Munir, and all others who face execution for simply exercising freedom of expression.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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 To read more about the death penalty in Saudi Arabia click here : Reprieve, May 25, 2017
This article originally appeared in The Hill.

President Trumps budget proposal and its hysterical reaction are the predictable result of a nation that stubbornly refuses to confront escalating Social Security and Medicare costs. Advocates of all other budget priorities are left to fight viciously over the rapidly-shrinking scraps.

Since the end of World War II, federal spending has typically remained around 20 percent of GDP. Within that total, Social Security and Medicare costs have leaped from 6 percent of GDP in 2000 to 8 percent today, on their way to a projected 10 percent a decade from nowand 12 percent a decade after that. This will continue to squeeze all other spending, especially when combined with the resulting interest costs on the national debt.

In particular, America cannot sustainably add 77 million retiring baby boomers to a Medicare system that collects $140,000 in lifetime taxes from the typical retiring couple and then provides them with $422,000 in benefits (all adjusted into net present values) without slashing other programs to the bone.

Nevertheless, President Trump promised voters that Social Security and Medicare benefits would be sacrosanct. That decision explains his entire budget proposal.

Washington currently spends $4 trillion annually. Of that amount, Trump has taken off the table nearly all of the $2.4 trillion currently spent on Social Security ($940 billion), Medicare ($600 billion), defense ($600 billion, but which does not face automatic growth), and interest on the debt ($270 billion, which cannot be directly addressed). In fact, his budget allows these costs to grow by 77 percent to $4.3 trillion within a decade.

How can the president allow that spending to expand by $1.9 trillion without burying the nation in red ink? He wisely rejects massive, economy-damaging tax increases, especially considering that revenues are already on pace to reach their highest sustained percentage of GDP in American history. Besides, there is no tax the rich policy that could come close to funding these long-term costs.

The only remaining option is to eviscerate much of the remaining $1.6 trillion of the federal budget that consists of Medicaid and ObamaCare subsidies ($450 billion), anti-poverty entitlements ($270 billion), other entitlement programs ($230 billion), and non-defense discretionary spending ($600 billion).

And that is exactly what President Trump has proposed.

ObamaCare would be repealed and replaced. Medicaid spending, currently $389 billion, would likely fall over the next decade rather than rising to $650 billion to accommodate rising caseloads and costs. Anti-poverty programs would face significant reforms. And non-defense discretionary spending (which consists of programs like health research, education, foreign aid, homeland security, housing, and infrastructure) would be cut to 1930s levels.

Many of these reforms are necessary. Medicaids flawed design encourages states to overspend (and even defraud Washington) in order to receive higher federal reimbursements. Washingtons welfare system is too centralized, wasteful, and inflexible to the unique needs of low-income families. There is little reason why a 37 percent increase in the number of poor Americans since 2000 should have caused a 148 percent increase in the number of SNAP (food stamp) recipients. Non-defense discretionary spending includes many functions best left to state and local governments.

Yet enacting these deep cuts would still not solve the long-term budget challenge. The presidents proposal to cut 2027 non-defense discretionary spending $260 billion below the currently-projected level would merely finance 33 days of Social Security and Medicare spending that year (and fewer days in subsequent years). As Social Security and Medicare costs continue to soar, lawmakers would run out of other programs to cut  leaving only escalating tax increases. In other words, there is no escaping the necessity of Social Security and Medicare reform. Delays only make the inevitable reforms more drastic on seniors.

Ultimately, these budget battles  defense versus non-defense discretionary spending; rising ObamaCare and Medicaid spending versus sustainable tax levels  will only worsen over time as advocates battle over a shrinking pool of remaining resources. Even Congress tax reform agenda is currently being held hostage to deficit concerns brought on by unrestrained entitlement costs. Until the president and Congress confront Social Security and Medicare costs, all other priorities will remain endangered.

Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on twitter @Brian_Riedl.

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The Congressional Budget Office score of the American Health Care Act shows that the bill will reduce deficits by $119 billion over the next decade and result in 23 million more people being uninsured by 2026. This leaves the impression that people would be better off if Obamacare were unchanged. But a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services dispels this myth.

The HHS report shows that premiums in the individual market exchanges increased by 105 percent in the 39 states using Healthcare.gov from 2013 to 2017. This is equivalent to $244 per month in additional premium payments for people buying insurance through the exchanges, or $2,928 over the course of a year. People not eligible for exchange subsidies are fully exposed to these increases, while taxpayers will bear the brunt in the form of higher outlays for subsidies for enrollees who are eligible.

Despite the promises that Obamacare would cut the cost of a typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year, average premiums on the exchanges more than doubled over this period. In some states, such as Alabama and Alaska, the average premium more than tripled.

The high average increase is not driven by a few outliers, as 23 out of the 39 states included in the analysis experienced premium increases in excess of 105 percent. Only three states, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, had cumulative premium increases below 50 percent.

As the report acknowledges, the composition of the population enrolling in plans through the exchanges has changed over time due to the adverse selection problems created by the laws subsidy and regulation frameworks. For example, the community rating age bands, which dictate how much more companies can charge older, higher risk enrollees, were set at 3:1 under Obamacare. A recent study by Milliman estimated that relaxing these age bands to 5:1 would reduce premiums for people aged 20-29 by 15 percent while increasing premiums for older enrollees.

Lower premiums for younger, healthier people would encourage more of them to enroll through the exchanges instead of foregoing health insurance because it is too expensive for them. Older, less healthy people make up a larger share of the exchange population now than in earlier years, which exacerbates the premium increases on that population.

Due to data limitations, the report does not deal with the population getting plans on the individual market but not through the exchanges. These people accounted for more than a third of the total individual market. They are not eligible for the laws subsidies, so there is likely less adverse selection for the off-exchange population, but these enrollees have to bear the entirety of the costs of those increases.

Families choosing a plan through the exchanges have seen their premiums more than double since 2013. In some states, a wave of insurers leaving the exchange market has created situations where only one insurer is offering products for entire states.

Alabama and Alaska, which have seen the two highest cumulative premium increases, are both down to only one insurer. In the entire country, only Virginia saw the number of participating insurers increase from 2016 to 2017. Just today, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City announced it would be exiting the exchange, leaving 25 counties in Missouri without a participating insurer for now. The lack of choices and competition in a growing number of places makes it unlikely that there will be an end to rapid premium growth, absent reform. While the CBO estimates will provide some insight into the effects of the bill in its current iteration, a working group of Senators is crafting a revised bill with major alterations.

Getting the design of replacement legislation right is important, and the CBO score will give the working group of senators more information about which aspects of the bill that passed the House need the most adjustment. Provisions that allow for more competition and choice for people trying to get insurance through the individual market will help bring down annual premium increases. Since 2013, this group has had to grapple with fewer choices while their premiums doubled. A well-crafted bill could go some way to reversing that unsustainable trend.

Charles Hughes is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on twitter @CharlesHHughes.

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In todays investment world, it can be easy to get lost in the next big thing. Everyone wants to find the next startup thats going to return 200% in two years. Thats just human nature, and it totally makes sense. But smart investors know that sometimes the best buying opportunities come from the tried-and-true classics, and thats exactly what we have right now with Caterpillar, Inc. CAT.

Founded in 1925, this construction equipment manufacturer has grown to become one of Americas most iconic brands. Investors know the company well thanks to its long history of delivering solid dividends, and nowafter a strong first quarterthe stock has some fresh momentum.

In fact, Caterpillars most recent quarter was the first in 10 quarters that saw year-over-year improvement on the top and bottom lines. Whats more, the company has set off on a cost-cutting mission that should continue to improve earnings, even as low-end user demand slumps.

Check out some of the keys to Caterpillars strength right now:

As we know, the Zacks Rank is inherently linked to earnings estimate revisions, so its logical to see a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) paired with strong revision activity. Ever since the company raised its own guidance after its earnings report, analysts have been scrambling to adjust their estimates upwards.

Investors will also note that Caterpillar falls into the Top 25% of the Zacks Industry Rank. Its our belief that your best stocks tend to come from the best industries, so this is a positive indicator. As you can see in our Industry Overview, the Manufacturing  Construction and Mining group has gained more than 10.5% year-to-date.

Of course, income-focused investors are sure to be pleased by the companys 3% dividend yield. This certainly isnt the biggest dividend youll see on the market, but its always nice to have income-producing stocks like this in your portfolio, especially when a company gets to a point where growth is more difficult.

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But even in the growth department, we see some encouraging signs from Caterpillar. As mentioned, the company is cutting costs, and were seeing this initiative have a serious effect on earnings. Indeed, our current full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for EPS growth of nearly 20%. Current estimates also call for annual sales growth of 4.35% this year and 6.27% next year, which is not bad for a 92-year old company.

Shares of CAT are now hovering around their 52-week high, and it will be interesting to see if and when the stock breaks into a new range. Theres been plenty of speculation about a new infrastructure deal coming out of this administration, so look for any news on that front to help the effort. If that gets delayed, continued earnings strength should keep boosting the stock too. We expect Caterpillar to report again on July 25.

Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!

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The road from the battlefield to steady employment at a major company can be littered with landminesI should know. After serving for five years in the U.S. Army and making a quick detour into advertising, I eventually graduated from Columbia Journalism School and now work as a reporter and producer for Yahoo Finance. However, many veterans arent so lucky. According to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 453,000 veterans were unemployed in 2016. Of those, 36% were between the ages of 25-44.

Many new vets grapple with substandard transitional programs, predatory for-profit educational institutions that squander hard-won GI Bill benefits, and an ongoing struggle to reconcile mission-based military service with the financially-driven private sector.

Ahead of Memorial Day, I spoke with Mike Schindler, a US Navy veteran and the author of U.S. Veterans in the Workforce: Why the 7% are Americas Greatest Asset, about what companies should know before hiring veterans and why they make good employees. In our conversation and in his book, mission over money emerged as a major theme for veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce. Schindler also touched on different ways companies can utilize the unique experiences veterans bring to the table. A good company focuses on the value that a veteran brings to it, he said. Their traits, their experience, and how they can leverage that for success.
There was much hype leading up to President Donald Trump's Saudi Arabia visit that he would discuss an "Arab NATO" military alliance, but in the end the idea never was mentioned by name.



"I think it was like a trial balloon that someone in the administration probably sent up to see kind of how people gauge it or how people would respond to it," said Luke Coffey, a foreign policy expert at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank based in Washington.



The idea was that a military union between Arab states would help reduce the dependence on U.S. forces for protection against threats from Iran and terrorism.

Middle East experts believe maybe it was a good thing, however, that the concept wasn't acted on because they say there is still much suspicion, distrust and disagreement among Arab nations. Also, they suggest a broad military alliance probably wouldn't work in practice and could cause more harm by inflaming sectarianism in the region.



"There are a whole lot of difficulties with that kind of alliance formation," said Martha Crenshaw, a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford. "It's a dangerous direction to take because it cements the divide between Iran and the Arab countries."



At the Arab-Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Trump on his first foreign visit as president called on leaders of some 55 Muslim-majority countries to "conquer extremism and vanquish the forces of terrorism." He also told them "we can only overcome this evil if the forces of good are united and strong  and if everyone in this room does their fair share and fulfills their part of the burden."



The U.S. also announced a huge weapons deal with the Saudis worth about $350 billion over 10 years, which was seen by the Trump administration as not only a jobs creator at home but a way to bolster the kingdom's defenses against Iran and terrorism.



According to Trump's Sunday remarks, the U.S. has started discussions with some Muslim nations "on strengthening partnerships, and forming new ones, to advance security and stability across the Middle East and beyond."



"These countries in the region are very suspicious of multilateral institutions," said Coffey. "The best way for the U.S. to do this is by having very strong bilateral relationships with the countries in the region."



The idea of a Middle East military alliance isn't new and was promoted by the British in the 1950s as the Central Treaty Organization, or Baghdad Pact, to promote shared military and economic goals. The members included Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and the U.K. It ended in 1979 with the Iranian revolution.



The closest thing now to an Arab NATO is the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-member alliance divided over how to deal with Iran. Member nations include Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.



Yemen sought help from the GCC last year to oust the Iran-backed Houthis and today the Saudi-led war has been blamed for at least 10,000 deaths, according to the United Nations. Some GCC members such as Oman were neutral on the conflict but have been accused of helping Iran smuggle arms into the war zone.



"There are great divisions within the Arab world, even within the GCC you see some Gulf states more worked up about Iran than others," said Dalia Dassa Kaye, director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at Rand, a Santa Monica, California, think-tank.



Added Kaye: "The Saudis and Emirates are more concerned about growing Iranian influence. The Omanis and Kuwaitis are less concerned. So you see fissures there."



An Arab military alliance also presents a problem perhaps for Israel. Some of the Arab countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, have formal ties with Israel so would Israel have any role or be an outsider?



Then again, there's also the question of what role Iraq would have in any Arab military alliance since the Baghdad government has become closer to Tehran despite pressure from some other Arab countries.



Experts say Iran also has tried to play up the divisions within the Arab world and Russia also has played a role too in stoking friction in the region.



At the same time, the region is dominated by autocratic rule with leaders often more concerned about internal threats than external ones such as Iran or the Islamic State. There have been some democratic elections but it is still rare among states in the Arab world.



"All these countries have internal domestic vulnerabilities," said Kaye. "Sometimes that outweighs the external threats.





More From CNBC


Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

Starbucks (SBUX) executive chairman Howard Schultz challenged a room full of business executives on Wednesday to address the problems facing America in the current political environment.

I dont need to tell this audience that are all assembled today  whether youre Republican or Democrat or [you] voted for the president or not  we probably can all agree the country is drifting in a direction that we all need to be concerned about, Schultz said in an interview with Macys (M) CEO Terry Lundgren at a luncheon hosted by the Economic Club of New York.

And in the interest of being transparent and saying something that might be controversial, I would say the country is in need of an economic, cultural, and moral transformation.

In April, Schultz stepped aside from his role as CEO, handing the reins over to COO and president Kevin Johnson. Schultz explained that the company had reached the stage where the scale and complexity require a new generation of leadership. He said hed focus his creativity on building the companys premium brand called the Starbucks Reserve Roastery.

Additionally, Schultz has been spending time thinking about the future of the country.

I have significant concerns about the direction of the country, he said. And [were] trying to understand how we as a company can use our scale for good and leverage the fact that Starbucks is in almost every community in America. And once we do, [well] try and elevate the national discourse and the national conversation on things that create a more compassionate society and more compassionate government.

Schultz views the companys success as being defined by its culture, values, and principles. He pointed out that theres a strong focus on what he calls servant leadership. In carrying out this mission, he even leaves two empty seats at all board meetings  one that represents the customer and one that represents the employees.

I also say, culturally, weve imprinted into the management of Starbucks over many years that not every business decision is an economic decision, Schultz said. Weve always believed success in business is about the fragile balance of profit and conscience.

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This balance between social responsibility and making money is going to be more important for business leaders going forward, he explained.

We have a government thats dysfunctional and polarized and we have an administration, regardless of whether you voted for the president or not, were going down a path where many, many people are going to be left behind in this country. And what that means to me is businesses and business leaders are going to have to do a lot more for their people and the communities they serve going forward.

Schultz doesnt shy away from talking politics

Schultz is known to speak out on social issues and posting open letters on Starbucks website. Sometimes that means pushback and criticism.

I would say that leadership and moral courage is not a passive act, Schultz said. I think its very easy to lead and be courageous when the wind is at your back I want to be thoughtful, I want to be disciplined, but I want to be honest. I think probably one of the undervalued characteristics of leadership is being vulnerable, and I want to demonstrate vulnerability through transparency to our people.

Starbucks has been accused of being a political arm for Schultz.

We dont view it that way.

Howard Schultz

He added that the companys core purpose goes beyond the stock price and making money. He sees the company as having a social responsibility.

In recent years, Starbucks has taken on issues from race, guns, and veterans.

In 2013, Schultz sent a letter asking that customers no longer bring firearms to the stores. Some states allow for open carry. At the Economic Club luncheon, he clarified that Starbucks is not against the Second Amendment, and neither is he.

After Sandy Hook people were literally walking into stores with guns, Schultz said, One day, in San Antonio, somebody walked in with an AK-47. I just felt, I think this is a time where we need to have a little bit of common sense and sensibility.

Another social issue the company attempted to take on was race relations by creating the Race Together campaign in the spring of 2015.

We had a situation at Starbucks at the time that Ferguson and Oakland and Staten Island and Cleveland was going on where  and this has never happened in the history of the country  where a white customer in a southern state refused to be served by a black barista, Schultz said. And, when that was brought to my attention, I decided that this was an opportunity to try and elevate the conversation inside our company.

Within hours of launching the campaign, though, it was basically hijacked by social media users and the company lost the narrative.

Our collective responsibility

If you asked me today in my almost 40 years of being at Starbucks what I am most proud of, I would put that almost at the top of the list that we had the courage to raise the issue and discuss race in our country. I think we all need to recognize that there are things going in America today that if Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and LBJ when he signed the Civil Rights bill, if they all saw and witnessed whats happening theres a lot of issues here that I think are not being discussed at the national level.

He concluded: This goes back to what is our collective responsibility as citizens and businesses as business leaders to elevate these conversations and not ignore them because we certainly have a problem in America thats as significant today, in my view, as it was in 1968 with regards to race relations.



Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.

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Could the blossoming fintech scene in Andhra Pradesh turn this coastal state in southern India into the next Silicon Valley?

India has a reputation for producing the worlds best technology experts, millions of whom flock to global tech epicenters like California. But a few years from now, could a coastal region in southern India become the next Silicon Valley?

The global tech industry is undergoing a transformation. U.S. President Donald Trumps outlook on foreign workers is disrupting Silicon Valley norms. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found the majority of H-1B workers "are employed in occupations related to computers and information technology, with most of these tech workers hailing from India. CNBC reported Indian workers make up about 70 percent of foreign-born tech experts in the U.S., citing Goldman Sachs estimates in 2015. Recent rumors of massive offshoring layoffs in India gave the community a new imperative, which Quartz called a re-skill or perish mantra. But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a plan.

Read: Growth Of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance Foreshadows Blockchain Gold Rush

India is now investing in a domestic blockchain ecosystem, including academic training programs, initiatives at the Indian Central Bank and public support for startup accelerators. From the governments perspective, theres a huge push for a startup ecosystem, NT Arunkumar, CEO of Fintech Valley in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, told the International Business Times. Theres a concentrated effort to make a fintech valley in Andhra Pradesh.

Last year, India started a nationwide push to make digital banking more accessible and encourage unbanked citizens to join Indian financial institutions. It started with demonetization, which made most of the old rupee notes worthless and forced citizens to trade them for new currency at official banks. Quartz reported the push created 9.1 million new taxpayers, reducing Indias stockpile of unaccounted wealth. Now the government is experimenting with blockchain technology as it looks to streamline expansive financial infrastructure.

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With blockchain, how does this open up financial inclusion to so many citizens that are unbanked? Arunkumar asked. We want to accelerate financial inclusion. We cant do that unless we are all working on one platform.

There are now dozens of new blockchain firms sprouting up across India. Mumbai hosted Indias first international blockchain hackathon in May and there already are plans to host a bigger fintech event in October, a Blockchain Summit sponsored by the government of Andhra Pradesh. This is initiated by the government, but we want private sector participation, Arunkumar said. So authorities are working with Visa to make Visakhapatnam, the financial capital of Andhra Pradesh, into the regions first less cash city.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu tweeted in February that Yes Bank, one of the first Indian banks to implement blockchain technology, is keen on setting up a fintech park in the new state capital Amaravati. Indian fintech influencers aren't the only companies eyeing the prospects.

India is a very interesting market for us because there is this huge, massive amount of mobile money enablement going on right now, Stefan Thomas, chief technology officer at the fintech company Ripple Inc., told IBT. Theres interesting infrastructure in India, with the identity system that they have, where identities are actually tied to bank accounts.

India, with its $2 trillion economy including over a billion people, is also one of the worlds top remittance recipients. The World Bank reported ex-pat Indian workers sent $62.7 billion home to India in 2016. Thats why Ripples blockchain-inspired fintech solutions was a perfect fit for Indian banks like Yes Bank and Axis Bank. We dont want to stop there, Thomas said. We will expand in India. On the cryptocurrency front, Ripple has an additional partnership with the Hyderabad-based digital currency exchange BTCXIndia.

Arunkumar said government efforts are also looking into blockchain land registries and smart contracts, as well as blockchain solutions for government transparency and biometric ID cards. That blockchain biometric system, called Aadhaar, uses the basic concept of blockchain ledgers with identity keys and uses it to make ID cards that are almost impervious to fraud.

Aadhaar, which is already enrolling citizens across India, assigns each person a unique 12-digit number. The number is stored in a central database along with biometrics like iris scans and fingerprints. If an Indian resident wants to open a bank account, for example, he presents the ID card and has his iris scanned. The Harvard Business Review said this program is by far the largest and most comprehensive adoption of biometrics technology by any government in the world.

Eric Piscini, head of global blockchain financial services at the consultancy firm Deloitte, told IBT his company has a team of blockchain developers in India and sees the Indian market as ripe for fintech expansion. Working in a developing nation offers the advantage of installing the newest technology and watching regulation mature along with the industry, rather than trying to reform established infrastructure. Especially in India, the letter of credit market is very paper-based, he explained. Lets make sure every participant is receiving value from being on the blockchain.

A recent Deloitte study claimed Asia has quietly become the center of global economic growth through tech innovation. India has a layered approach for rising to the top: attracting international power players and building up local talent. Modis Digital India plan aims to overhaul the country completely by 2020. Although there have certainly been missteps, demonetization sparked demonstrations and riots across the country, the digitization efforts are quickly yielding results.

Mastercard announced earlier this year expanding digital payment options in India was one of the companys top priorities. According to the Economic Times, government initiative to support local startup hubs recently gave India the third highest number of startup incubators and accelerators in the world. And fintech is the beating heart of India's tech revolution. Just this week the Indian mobile payment startup Paytm attracted a $1.4 billion investment from Japan's SoftBank Corp.

We want to be home to the best blockchain, fintech companies, Arunkumar said. In two to five years, we see ourselves being the global hub of fintech.

Read: Fundraising With Initial Coin Offerings Hot New Trend Among Blockchain Startups

Related Articles
BONSALL, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 19, 2017) - Marijuana Company of America ("MCOA" or "the Company") (OTC PINK: MCOA), an innovative cannabis and marketing company, has established a Strategic Advisory Board, with the appointment of Noble DraKoln as Chairman, and the appointment of Andy Carter and David Hill as Advisors.

The Company has engaged experienced professionals with expertise in various industries to provide support for executing MCOA's strategies in the legal hemp and cannabis sector. These strategic advisors will help MCOA build a diverse portfolio of potential acquisitions that will benefit current and future shareholders. The Strategic Advisory Board will advise the Company on a broad range of subjects pertaining to: cannabis regulations, cultivation, processing, manufacturing, product development, real estate acquisition, marketing, brand development and management, distribution and logistics, compliance and other critical areas that will contribute to the success of the Company.

Mr. Donald Steinberg, MCOA President and CEO, commented, "We are excited about the formation of our Strategic Advisory Board, which will greatly expand the expertise of our Company as we continue to build our corporate structure. Each one of these advisors brings valuable knowledge in structuring and executing all of the current deals in the pipeline that will translate into tangible value for MCOA."

Noble A. DraKoln is the author of seven books on securities trading. Two of them, "Winning the Trading Game" and "Trade Like a Pro," were published by Wiley and Sons. After twenty years of being a securities broker, money manager, and teaching investing in commodities, options and futures, his experience in securities has enabled Mr. DraKoln to apply his expertise to business development and executive consulting. He has leveraged his experiences and relationships to enhance the value and efficiency of many companies, as well as leverage his own personal angel level investments. His books have been translated into multiple languages, he has been a financial keynote speaker around the world as well as contributing writer to dozens of financial magazines, including Forbes and as a radio and TV financial commentator.

Andy Dane Carter has been investing in real estate for many years and is a licensed real estate broker in California. As a real estate investor and licensed professional, he has bought, sold, invested, developed, flipped, held, and redeveloped over half a billion dollars in real estate. His real estate expertise has been consistently sought after by those in the rapidly expanding cannabis industry. Mr. Carter's understanding of the real estate legislation in California pertaining to cultivation, developing, and processing have become invaluable since Proposition 64 was passed. He has been consistently sought after for his knowledge and connections by those entering the space. His extensive real estate experience will give MCOA an advantage in conducting due diligence and structuring all aspects of current and future real estate acquisitions.

David Hill is the Co-Founder and President of Hill & DraKoln Media & Brand Management ("H&D"). For sixteen years he has lead successful brand and marketing campaigns for several national and international companies in different industries. He has strategically positioned new brands as well as revamped old brands. Over the years, Mr. Hill has cultivated extensive strategic relationships with OUTFRONT Media, formerly CBS outdoor, LiveNation, PR Newswire, and many other direct to consumer marketing outlets. Hill & DraKoln maintains three targeted magazine properties in-house to stay relevant with today's youth, and is sought after by corporations that see the value of expert building and narrative management by using magazines, books, and specialty publications to tell their story. To this end, H&D publishes and maintains book and magazine properties for several for-profit and non-profit entities. Having strong branding, marketing and media support will enable MCOA to build its brand and share its story with a broad consumer base.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.

For more information, please visit the Company's websites at:

MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

hempSMART.com

agoracom.com/ir/MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica
BONSALL, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 28, 2017) - MARIJUANA COMPANY OF AMERICA ("MCOA" or the "Company") (OTC PINK: MCOA), an innovative cannabis and hemp marketing and distribution Company, is pleased to announce that its PCAOB auditors have completed a two year audit of the Company's financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016.

MCOA's SEC legal counsel is now finalizing a Form 10 registration statement for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After the registration statement becomes effective, and the Company's common stock is registered with the Commission, the Company will apply to uplist its trading tier with OTC Markets to the OTCQB exchange. Completing the two year audit is an integral step in successfully filing a Form 10 registration statement. This significant step has been completed to enhance long-term shareholder value, and attract a broader and more diverse shareholder base, including more institutional investors.

Donald Steinberg, MCOA President and CEO said, "Our goal is to meet the requirements to be a fully reporting company. This is in-line with our business plan to move to a higher level stock exchange. As we continue to grow within our industry, achieving the highest level of transparency for our current and future shareholders is of paramount importance to us. With the audit completed, we are well on our way to becoming fully reporting and offering more transparency to investors and shareholders."

ABOUT L&L CPAs, PA

L&L CPAs, PA is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and is experienced in conducting audits of public companies in the cannabis industry. Please visit the audit firm's website at www.llcpas.net to find out more information about the firm.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.

For more information, please visit the Company's websites at:

MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

hempSMART.com

Harmoneous.com

agoracom.com/ir/MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica
BONSALL, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 4, 2017) - MARIJUANA COMPANY OF AMERICA ("MCOA" or the "Company") (OTC PINK: MCOA), an innovative cannabis and hemp marketing and distribution Company, is pleased to announce that it has finalized the joint venture agreement with Bougainville Ventures, Inc. ("BV") in Washington State.

MCOA will invest $1 million in cash in a newly formed entity. Bougainville Ventures, Inc. will contribute its expertise in the construction and management of a 30,000 sq. ft. greenhouse facility, which will accommodate a Tier-3 production and processing I-502 tenant that has decades of experience and a proven track record of consistency and quality. MCOA and BV will split equity and profits equally, 50/50.

As turnkey landlords, MCOA and BV will provide our I-502 tenant with a state-of-the-art facility that creates an ideal cultivation environment that they can move into and be fully operational on day one. This enables our tenants to focus on what they do best, producing top quality products and not worrying about maintaining their infrastructure.

Donald Steinberg, MCOA President and CEO, said, "This project will help to expand our operations as an ancillary business into the Washington State market. Achieving this milestone of closing this deal, as well as completing our PCAOB audit at the end of the first quarter are two more pillars of the strong foundation we are building for our shareholders."

The execution of the agreement is the final step in formalizing the Letter of Intent that was publicly announced on February 15, 2017. This joint venture partnership is formed for the purpose of greenhouse construction, management and commercial leasing to I-502 licensed producers within Washington State only and not beyond its borders.

ABOUT BOUGAINILLE VENTURES, INC.

Bougainville Venture Inc. is in the core business of converting irrigated farmland that was traditionally used to grow marginally profitable feed crops, to greenhouse-equipped farmland used to grow luxury crops with a primary focus on high-density and high-yielding crops. Bougainville is an agricultural services company that focuses on providing growers with state-of-the-art computer controlled greenhouses and processing facilities. Bougainville offers fully built out turnkey solutions to tenant-growers and provides growing infrastructure, as well as landlord services for licensed I-502 producers and processors in the state of Washington.

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SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.

For more information, please visit the Company's websites at:

MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

hempSMART.com

agoracom.com/ir/MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica
BONSALL, CA--(Marketwired - May 18, 2017) - MARIJUANA COMPANY OF AMERICA ("MCOA" or "the Company") (OTC PINK: MCOA), an innovative cannabis and industrial hemp corporation, is pleased to announce the launch of its new corporate website; www.marijuanacompanyofamerica.com.

The new website will provide our shareholders and prospective investors with helpful information to make educated investment decisions. As the Company continues to execute its strategic plans, this new site will be the central hub for information about MCOA and the rapidly emerging cannabis and hemp industry.

Since starting the process to become fully reporting and uplisting to a higher financial exchange, the OTCQB, the Company has been engaging with institutional investors and analyzing meaningful M&A opportunities in the cannabis and industrial hemp marketplaces. This new site will be a useful tool in providing investors with updates on these developments.

MCOA recently engaged Hill and DraKoln Media ("H&D") to develop the new website and provide marketing and brand management support. MCOA looks forward to capitalizing on H&D's ability to communicate clearly and concisely with investors and consumers alike. They will develop a strong and lasting presence for the Company's brands. MCOA will take full advantage of H&D's ability to reach audiences across a variety of demographics related to our industry and expand our reach into new territory.

"We are very happy to finally be launching our new corporate website. David Hill and the Hill & DraKoln group did a wonderful job on the new site and we look forward to them launching the comprehensive branding and marketing strategy they are developing for the Company," said Mr. Steinberg, MCOA President & CEO.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.

For more information, please visit the Company's websites at:

MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

hempSMART.com

agoracom.com/ir/MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica
BONSALL, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 15, 2017) - MARIJUANA COMPANY OF AMERICA ("MCOA" or the "Company") (OTC: MCOA), an innovative cannabis and hemp marketing and distribution Company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") while performing due diligence to finalize a joint venture agreement with Bougainville Ventures, Inc. ("BV") for the purpose of housing tenant growers engaging in the cultivation, processing and commercial availability of legal marijuana in the State of Washington.

Subject to the execution of a final definitive agreement, the terms of the LOI are that MCOA will invest up to $1 million in cash in a newly formed entity and receive 50% equity ownership and 50% share in net profits produced by the joint venture. Bougainville Ventures, Inc. will contribute its expertise in establishing facilities related to the production, processing and management for tenant growers utilizing an I-502 Tier 3 license, with leased property, established partnerships, licensing agreements and marketing relationships.

Donald Steinberg, MCOA President and CEO said, "We are looking forward to getting seed in the ground and ramping up this partnership with Andy Jagpal and Bougainville Ventures. This partnership further strengthens our supply chain and enables MCOA to produce the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices."

"We couldn't be happier than to have aligned ourselves with the outstanding team at MCOA," said Jagpal, President of Bougainville Ventures, Inc. "With the management expertise that the highly skilled professionals at MCOA bring, we have insured the certainty of expanding our Washington State Greenhouse Campuses while achieving our revenue and profitability goals."

This joint venture project is solely for the purpose of cultivation, processing and commercial availability of legal marijuana within the State of Washington only and not beyond its borders.

"As each new partnership is formed, synergistic benefits will develop organically," said Steinberg. "Our human, agricultural and technical resources will expand with the end result being the ability to cultivate superior products for the cannabis consumer in each state in accordance with their respective laws."

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With more than half of the United States now allowing for some form of legal medicinal or recreational cannabis use, there is an urgent need to establish cutting edge cultivation facilities and programs to service the continually growing demand for cannabis and CBD products.

"Knowing how to manage the many individual cannabis markets effectively and simultaneously will be the key to success for MCOA's national rollout," said Steinberg. "By integrating and aggressively harnessing the collective resources of our companies, we are confident that we will be making a significant impact on sales and distribution in Washington State."

ABOUT BOUGAINILLE VENTURES, INC.

Bougainville Venture Inc. is in the core business of converting irrigated farmland that was traditionally used to grow marginally profitable feed crops, to greenhouse-equipped farmland used to grow luxury crops with a primary focus on marijuana. Bougainville is an agricultural services company that focuses on providing growers with state-of-the-art computer controlled greenhouses and processing facilities. Bougainville offers fully built out turnkey solutions to licensed I-502 tenant-growers and luxury crop growers who will lease the facilities for production and processing. Bougainville does not "touch the plant" and only provides growing infrastructure as a landlord for licensed marijuana growers in the state of Washington. Bougainville has a strong management team with relevant experience and education in place with a focus on build-out and occupancy of its planned greenhouses in Oroville, WA. Strategic plans to expand its land bank, greenhouse campus and I-502 tenant-grower clients are scheduled for expanding operations.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.

For more information, please visit the Company's websites at:

MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com

hempSMART.com

agoracom.com/ir/MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica
Greg Gianforte

Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate vying for an open congressional seat in Montana's special election on Thursday, has been cited for misdemeanor assault after Gianforte was accused of body-slamming a reporter.

The altercation happened at Gianfortes campaign headquarters in Bozeman, Montana on Wednesday. Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, said he was asking Gianforte some questions at a campaign event before their encounter turned violent.

"Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs tweeted Wednesday.

Local authorities said in a statement that after "multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriff's office, it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault."

Gianforte is expected to appear at Gallatin County Justice Court "between now and June 7," the police statement said.

In an audio recording of the incident, captured by the reporter, Jacobs can be heard pressing Gianforte to comment on a Congressional Budget Office evaluation of the American Health Care Act released earlier Wednesday.

Then, a loud crash.

"I'm sick and tired of you guys," Gianforte can be heard shouting. "The last time you came in here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here."

Listen to audio of the exchange below:

"You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs says.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says again.

Jacobs described the incident to The Guardian:

"He took me to the ground," Jacobs said by phone from the back of an ambulance, according to The Guardian. "This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics."

A Fox News crew that witnessed the encounter between Jacobs and Gianforte described a far more disturbing scene, saying Gianforte "grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground."

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Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna said she and her crew "watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top of the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of 'I'm sick and tired of this.'"

According to Acuna's account, Jacobs "scrambled to his knees" and said that his glasses were broken.

"To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies," the Fox News reporter said.

Jacobs was taken to a local hospital, where he reportedly got an X-ray on his elbow. Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin confirmed to The Guardian that his department was investigating the incident.

It was later reported that Sheriff Gootkin had donated $250 to Gianforte's campaign in March, according to Federal Election Commission documents cited by Politico reporter Gabriel Debenedetti. The sheriff said in a statement that his previous donation to the Gianforte campaign had no bearing on the assault investigation.

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers, the Missoulian, Independent Record, and the Billings Gazette, rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte after the alleged assault.

Photos posted to social media showed police vehicles and an ambulance on the scene. Jacobs reportedly filed a report with Bozeman police.

BuzzFeed's Alexis Levinson, who was at the campaign event, said she heard a "giant crash" from behind partially closed doors and "saw Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor."

All of a sudden I heard a giant crash and saw Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor  Alexis Levinson (@alexis_levinson) May 24, 2017

Gianforte left the event early in a silver Jeep.

In a statement, Gianforte campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon suggested Jacobs was to blame:

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."

Gianforte, an engineer and businessman, is running against Democrat Rob Quist in a special election on Thursday for Montana's at-large Congressional district. The district was formerly held by Ryan Zinke, whom President Donald Trump tapped to lead the US Department of the Interior.

Gianforte unsuccessfully ran for governor of Montana in 2016.

Quist declined to comment on the incident when pressed by an MSNBC reporter Wednesday evening.

"That's really not for me to talk about. I think that's more a matter for law enforcement," he said.

Polls suggest an unexpectedly tight race in the reliably conservative Montana. In 2016, Trump carried the state by 21 points. But with the White House embroiled in scandal, Democrats are keeping a close eye on the Montana contest, which could give an early glimpse of their chances in the 2018 midterm elections.

Gianforte, meanwhile, has allied himself closely to Trump, campaigning with Vice President Mike Pence, Zinke, and Donald Trump Jr.

Jacobs reported last month on Gianforte's financial ties to two Russian companies sanctioned by the US.

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Sears

Sears' lenders are giving the embattled retailer more time to pay off its debt.

Short on cash, Sears negotiated a deal to delay a majority of its repayment for a $500 million secured loan facility until January, with the option to extend that deadline by another six months, the company said Tuesday.

The repayment was originally due in July. Sears will now pay $100 million in July, instead of the full amount.

Sears also said it will pass off $515 million in pension obligations to MetLife.

The deals will buy Sears more time to cut costs and try to turn business around.

Sales have been plunging  falling by more than 50% since 2009  and the company is burning through cash, closing hundreds of stores, and selling off assets in an attempt to stanch the bleeding.

Sears' situation grew even more dire this month as the company revealed that some suppliers are trying to cancel contracts and cut back on orders amid fears that the retailer could soon go bankrupt.

Sears says the new financing deals will help it reach its goal of reducing outstanding debt and pension obligations by $1.5 billion for fiscal 2017.

"These actions serve to reduce the size of the Company's debt and pension obligations, as well as future risk associated with the company's liabilities," Sears said in a news release.

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Beyond Fiber Optics: Teraphysics Set to Enable the Future of 5G With Wireless High-Speed Data Delivery Technology

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 24, 2017 / Teraphysics, developer of ultrahigh-speed 5G communications technology, announced that it will be presenting at the 7th annual LD Micro Invitational on Wednesday, June 7 at 2:30PM PST / 11:30 AM EST. Dr. Gerald Mearini, President and Founder of Teraphysics, will be giving the presentation and meeting with investors. Teraphysics technology will enable ultra-high speed 5G data delivery, paving the way for the next generation of mobile data connectivity and greater access globally to the Internet.

Today's available wireless spectrum is saturated and the industry predicts a 5,000 times increase in global bandwidth requirements by 2030 (International Wireless Industry Consortium). Boustead Securities, LLC MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC ("Boustead"), is presenting Teraphysics' SEC qualification for a $50MM capital raise through a Regulation A+ offering.

Invented by three former NASA scientists, Teraphysics' technology, the mmLink product-line of synthetic diamond-based millimeter-wave amplifiers, was developed and significantly enhanced through funding from the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Air Force Research Lab, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"mmLink is a breakthrough nanotechnology, with potential similar to the impact of the transistor and microchip. It's a modern-day re-invention of 70-year old vacuum electronic technology that will serve as the backbone of 5G wireless data delivery, making it possible to download movies instantly, stream live video seamlessly and bring Internet to underserved areas throughout the world," says Louis Fisi, Chairman, CEO & Co-founder of Teraphysics.

Teraphysics is issuing 10,000,000 share of common stock priced at $5 per share. The net proceeds of this offering will be used to fund the commercialization of Teraphysics technology, including the development of a micro link wireless network for the demonstration of wireless terrestrial and stratospheric platforms, the establishment of a piloting facility and the acquisition of production capacity.

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"This year, not only do we have a record number of companies making their LD Micro debuts, but a record number of companies presenting for the first time in their company's history," stated Chris Lahiji, President of LD Micro. "LD has established itself as the one venue that brings the most influential players from all segments of the market under one roof."

The conference will be held at the Luxe Sunset Bel Air Hotel and will feature 180 companies in the small / micro-cap space.

View Teraphysics' profile here: http://www.ldmicro.com/

Profiles powered by LD Micro - News Compliments of Accesswire.

About Teraphysics

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Teraphysics was founded by Louis S. Fisi and scientists Dr. Gerald T. Mearini, PhD and James A. Dayton,, Jr. PhD. The company has developed patented devices that will dramatically enhance ultra-high speed 5G data delivery, paving the way for the high level, next generation of mobile data transmission, that will greatly improve global Internet connectivity. More information at http://www.teraphysics.com.

About Boustead Securities, LLC MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC

Boustead Securities, LLC is an investment banking firm that advises clients on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, capital raises and restructuring assignments in a wide array of industries, geographies and transactions. Our core value proposition is our ability to create opportunity through innovative solutions and tenacious execution. With experienced professionals in the United States and around the world, Boustead's team moves quickly and provides a broad spectrum of sophisticated financial advice and services. For more information, visit www.boustead1828.com.

About LD Micro

LD Micro was founded in 2006 with the sole purpose of being an independent resource in the microcap space. What started out as a newsletter highlighting unique companies has transformed into an event platform hosting several influential conferences annually (Invitational, Summit, and Main Event).

In 2015, LDM launched the first pure microcap index (the LDMi) to exclusively provide intraday information on the entire sector. LD will continue to provide valuable tools for the benefit of everyone in the small and microcap universe.

For those interested in attending, please contact David Scher at david@ldmicro.com or visit www.ldmicro.com for more information.

Contact:

David Dobkin

917-667-6612

david@dobkinco.com

SOURCE: Teraphysics
Earlier this week, President Trump signed a nearly $110 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, a move that immediately sent defense stocks from to soaring, as investors expected it would spawn US job growth and greater security cooperation, particularly in the fight against ISIS.

The case for this deal is made to sound like a winning combination that both encourages investment in American jobs while putting responsibility on Saudis to "drive out" terrorism. But violent extremist groups are not America's greatest threat. The real threat is an increasingly influential kingdom with a powerful military capability that does not share America's values of freedom for all, human dignity, and justice.

The deal should have been negotiated with certain conditions as exchanges of such scale can carry unintended consequences that we will pay a greater cost for later.

Saudi Arabia's economy has been embroiled in conflict and suffering from the volatile price of oil and massive deficits. Their egregious history of human rights violations have kept U.S.- Saudi relations restrained to oil and security cooperation.

But the latest defense deal suggests Saudi Arabia sees an opportunity, suggesting officials are open to crafting an ambitious and politically aggressive strategy to exchange its reliance on oil revenues for military-industrial revenues.

This sentiment echoes Saudi Vision 2030, the country's business plan to become the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds which aims to diversify its economy away from oil as well as lessen its dependence on other countries for military capabilities.

Saudi Arabia has been courting Trump by proposing projects that they point to as mutually beneficial. And Trump's speech noted that America's relationship is "based on shared interests and values." But we must remember that while mutual interests might be shared interests, they are not the same as equal ones. And we must look at how those ideals could be used to justify their own interests and agenda.

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Saudi Arabia is currently one of the world's leading buyers of U.S. weapons, but only 2% of production and repair happen in the Kingdom. Historically, U.S. defense packages have come with long-term sustainment contracts for repairs, upgrades, and modernization, which theoretically produce American jobs but don't actually do so, largely because of the automation of those production processes. So, those jobs aren't going back to traditional manufacturing laborers, but at best, a smaller number of young, high-skilled employees from the technology sectors.

The Kingdom is investing over $1.62 billion domestically on offensive and deterrence programs, including advanced guidance systems, defense radars, and sensors, as well as communications and electronic warfare capabilities.

By 2030, over 50% of Saudi Arabia's military spending will be on domestic procurement, expertise, research, and development. The majority of manufacturing and repairs of military vehicles, aircraft, drones and missiles -- all the air and land systems support that would usually go to American contractors -- would now be done locally.

What's more, lawmakers, concerned with just how many jobs this deal truly creates for Americans, also voice concerns about negotiating deals and consequently abandoning our democratic values by endorsing oppressive regime like Saudi Arabia. The US is effectively helping them become a growing power, strengthening their ability to spread their values in the region.

So is this deal good for America in the long term? Are we trading in our leadership and values for short term gains that will bear unintended consequences?

America must lead again. Because if we don't lead, I promise you; we won't like who will.

Mina Chang is CEO of Linking the World and an International Security Fellow for New America.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
President Trumps fiscal 2018 budget seeks a major reduction of retirement benefits for the nations federal workforce. If the Republican president gets his way, federal retirement benefits will be cut by more than $4 billion in the coming year and by nearly $63 billion over the coming decade.

Its not all bad news for the federal workforce: The 2.2 million civilian federal workers are in line to receive a 1.9 percent pay raise next year, slightly more than previous pay hikes, and Trump has proposed a six-week paid parental leave program that would be available to federal workers, as well as others.

Related: 9 Top Takeaways From Trumps $4 Trillion Federal Budget

But for those targeted for reduced benefits, the focus is on the cuts. The proposed changes drew the wrath of public employees union leaders and other advocates who deemed the cuts as a frontal assault on federal workers that would erode their hard-earned retirement benefits.

Richard Thissen, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, said in a statement that Trumps budget proposal was nothing more than punishment for those who have served their country through federal service and a broken campaign promise to protect retirement security.

Renee Johnson, national president of the Federal Managers Association, called the budget a slap in the face of federal employees and a violation of a Trump campaign pledge not to touch government workers retirements.

As part of his austerity drive, President Trump is seeking to eliminate cost-of-living adjustments for retirees in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), the premier government retirement program. He would also cut the cost-of-living adjustment rate by 0.5 percent for those covered by the parallel Civil Service Retirement System.

Related: Why Trumps Spending Plan Wont Really Balance the Budget

Just those two COLA maneuvers alone would save the government an estimated $524 million in the coming fiscal year, according to the budget document released on Tuesday. The administration would save an addition $1.7 billion annually by increasing federal employees contributions one percent a year over the next six years to match the governments contributions to the retirement system.

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The government would reap an additional $1.8 billion a year in savings by basing retirement benefits on the average of the highest five years of salary instead of the highest three years of salary, which is now the case. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2016 that using a less-generous five-year average would reduce the FERS annuities of about 55,000 new retirees by an average of roughly 2 percent, which could translate into thousands of dollars per retiree.

The Trump administration says the proposed reductions in retirement benefits are in line with the presidents goal of reining in Federal government spending in many areas, as well as to bring Federal retirement benefits more in line with the private sector.

Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters Tuesday that the changes being sought reflected the new administrations shift towards market parity. That means downgrading federal benefits to bring them more in line with those in the private sector.

Related: Whos Better Paid, Private or Federal Workers? A New Twist on an Old Debate

Simply put, we try and make federal retirement close to the private sector, Mulvaney said. We thought [these changes] were common sense reforms to try and bring federal government closer to the private sector.

Mulvaney is correct that the federal employee retirement system is head and shoulders above many in the private sector and has long been eyed by budget hawks as fertile territory for possible savings.

But public employee advocates argue that relatively generous retirement benefits are essential in attracting and keeping top-notch talent, many of whom are middle-class workers. In some cases, government employees view their retirement benefits as a fair tradeoff for passing up higher salaries in the private sector.

The government actually operates two retirement systems: The Civil Service Retirement System, begun in 1920, is a traditional pension plan in which employees regularly contribute a certain percentage of their salaries and are provided with an annuity when they retire that approximates their former standard of living.

Related: Trumps $192 Billion Cut in Food Stamps Shifts Costs to the States

The other plan, FERS, was launched in 1987 and was designed as a successor to CSRS when its retirees eventually die out. This somewhat less generous system includes a basic pension, a Thrifty Savings Plan akin to a 401(K), and Social Security.

Over the years, studies have found that federal retirement benefits compare favorably to those in private sector, as well as those in state and local government. A CBO report in April found that federal workers retirement benefits and other non-wage compensation exceeded those of their counterparts in the private sector.

Benefits for federal workers cost 47 percent more per hour worked, on average, than benefits for private-sector workers with similar observable attributes, the report stated. Benefits also constituted a larger share of compensation for federal workers, accounting for 41 percent of the cost of total compensation, compared with 32 percent for workers in the private sector.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
There were few kind words for President Trumps $4.1 trillion fiscal 2018 budget on Tuesday as lawmakers and policy experts gathered for an annual conference on fiscal policy and the growing national debt.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair John McCain (R-AZ) declared the presidents budget blueprint dead on arrival and one that falls well short of Trumps campaign promise of a historic military buildup. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) charged that the budget is based on bogus economic projections and violates a long-standing bipartisan agreement to parity in defense and domestic spending increases.

Related: Treasury Secretary Gets Grilled on Trumps Budget Draft

And Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) complained that the administration is seeking major tax cuts for the rich while slashing spending for Medicaid, food stamps, disability insurance and scores of other social safety-net programs.

The budget reflects an America that I dont think this president has any knowledge of, said Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a former business executive. The notion that he would go out after we still have wide swaths of our country that are struggling from the recession and dramatically cut food stamps and [welfare] and student loan support and other kinds of programs that help those still in need. To give people like me and you a tax break? Its crazy.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was on hand to defend the budget  arguing that it would ultimately boost the economy and contain spending while repeatedly stressing that it is still a work in progress. This is a preliminary document that will be refined as we go through the process with Congress determining how money is spent, Mnuchin said.

Mnuchin and the lawmakers gathered as part of the Peter G. Peterson Foundations eighth annual Fiscal Summit in Washington. While the dozen or so experts and policy makers who took part in the conference offered differing reaction to Trumps budget blueprint, they were near unanimous that the administration is not facing up to long-term fiscal challenges.

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Related: 9 Top Takeaways From Trumps $4 Trillion Federal Budget

Although Trump has vowed to put the country on a path to a balanced budget in ten years, he has skirted serious discussion about entitlement reforms and sensible tax policy that would slow the rate of growth of the national debt and prevent shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare as more and more baby boomers retire.

The gross national debt is closing in on $20 trillion, the highest level since 1950 and projected to grow rapidly in the coming years. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), government watchdog groups and other deficit hawks warn that  absent major policy changes  runaway debt will undermine economic growth and drive up the governments interest costs at the expense of other programs.

Trump promised during the campaign that he would protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from budget cuts, but reneged on protecting Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, from deep budget cuts by House Republicans. For now, at least, he has made good on his pledge to leave Social Security and Medicare for seniors unscathed.

However, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and budget watchdogs argue that the president must ultimately face up to the need to slow the growth of the major entitlement programs to avoid their insolvency and drain on government coffers.

Throughout the day-long conference, organizers and participants renewed their calls for a bipartisan compromise along the lines promoted by the old Bowles-Simpson deficit commission to contain entitlement spending and long-term debt. Those measures included raising the retirement age, adjusting the cost of living formula and raising payroll taxes.

Related: Why Trumps Spending Plan Wont Really Balance the Budget

Michael A. Peterson, president and CEO of the Peterson Foundation, told the gathering that Trumps budget does not address the key drivers of our long-run spending: Social Security and Medicare.

For many years, both political parties have delayed, deferred and ignored the uncertain outlook for these essential programs, and they are now facing insolvency over the next two decades, Peterson said.

Weve got to fix entitlements, McCain said Its going to mean sacrifice which means its got to be bipartisan. But it wont happen until theres a crisis when were starting at either a collapse of the entitlements or some other aspect where we are forced to act.

Pelosi, a liberal Democrat, agreed that Congress and the White House must take on the sensitive issue of entitlement reform, but argued that Republicans must consider options other than cutting benefits  including raising taxes or closing costly tax loopholes for special interests.

You just cant always go to entitlements, she said.

Related: The Heartless Tradeoffs in the Trump Budget

However, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a fiscal conservative, argued that Republicans and Democrats must work together to get the country back on a responsible fiscal path.

Trumps budget, called A New Foundation for American Greatness, calls for a smaller-than-expected $43 billion increase in defense spending as part of Trumps pledge to mount a historic buildup and modernization of the military. He is also seeking separate overseas contingency operations funding of $64.5 billion for ongoing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The administration claims that military spending would increase by 10 percent under the presidents budget, but McCain insists Trump has exaggerated the increase and that it only amounts to 3 percent more than former President Obama had requested.

It does not rebuild the military; it doesnt give us the ships and the numbers of personnel that we need and the capabilities that we need, McCain said. We are facing challenges on a level we havent seen since the Cold War, and this budget is totally inadequate.

Pete Peterson funds The Fiscal Times, an independent news and opinion organization, as a private venture. The Fiscal Times is not associated with The Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
phone call Donald Trump

President Donald Trump told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in a phone call last month that two nuclear submarines were somewhere in the waters near North Korea.

"We have a lot of firepower over there," Trump said of the Korean Peninsula, according to a transcript of the call obtained by the New York Times and verified by White House officials.

"We have two submarines  the best in the world," Trump said, according to The Times. "We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all."

Business Insider previously reported that the nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine would head to North Korea's coast, joining the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group. The Michigan does not carry nuclear weapons, but it does carry Tomahawk missiles  the same type used in the April 7 strike on a Syrian air base. It also carries special forces, and South Korean media has reported that Navy SEALs are in the region and may be training to take out North Korea's leadership.

All US submarines are nuclear-powered  though at any time, four or five are nuclear-armed and on "hard alert, in their patrol areas, awaiting orders for launch," Stephen Schwartz, the author of "Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of US Nuclear Weapons Since 1940," told Business Insider.

It is unclear whether Trump was referring to the USS Michigan or the USS Cheyenne, another nuclear-powered but not nuclear-armed submarine in the region, or to another submarine armed with nuclear weapons. The locations of nuclear-armed submarines have to remain a secret to even the highest commanders in the US military.

However, even if Trump were discussing nuclear-armed submarines, it is highly unlikely his disclosure was inappropriate, because he did not appear to give specifics.

USS Michigan submarine us navy SEALs

Story continues

Nuclear-armed submarines make up the most secretive part of the US's nuclear deterrent. Essentially, even if an attacker could somehow neutralize all the US's nuclear weapons on land, they'd be unable to find the submarines. As a matter of national security, only the captains and crew of the submarines know for sure where they're located.

"In fact, we don't even know where they are  they run silent," Schwartz said.

NOW WATCH: South Korea requires all males to serve in the military  here's what it's like





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When President Donald Trump announced an arms deal worth billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia last week, one item stood out among the hardware: cybersecurity technology. And there was one regional ally, more adept than most at dealing with a cyber threat, that raised an outcry against the package: Israel.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said the U.S. should make sure the deal "will not, by any means, erode Israel's qualitative edge, because Saudi Arabia is still a hostile country," according to Reuters. It was a time-honored invocation of one of Israel's main defense mantras: Since it is small in size and population it needs to maintain qualitative and technological military superiority in the region.

While Israel depends on the U.S. for quite a few weapons systems, for example for its air force, cybersecurity is one field in which it has carved out a niche. In fact, the prowess of its military and security services in that field has spawned a whole new industry for the country, now worth billions of dollars in exports per year. It is second only to the United States in terms of market share.

"Today we provide something like 10 percent of the global market in cybertechnology products, [and] 20 percent in total global investment in cybertechnology is invested in Israel," said Isaac Ben Israel, a former general who founded the National Cyber Bureau in the prime minister's office and now heads the program for science technology and security at Tel Aviv University.

Some other estimates come out slightly lower, but the numbers are impressive either way. Ben Israel is clear about what has made Israel so advanced in the field: the fact that it has been under cyberattack for many years.

But the country has also been associated with offensive cyber capabilities. The Stuxnet cyberworm that was revealed in 2010 and said to have struck Iran's nuclear program, is widely thought to be a joint U.S.-Israeli project. Ben Israel makes the somewhat ironic point that the attack was what first alerted the wider world to the potential of cyberweapons and gave a boost to the cybersecurity industry.

Story continues

"Until 2010, the potential of cybersecurity was only known to experts," he said. When actual machinery, Iranian nuclear centrifuges, experienced real damage, the importance of cybersecurity started to sink in.

Israel's status as a cyber superpower is not likely to be threatened by the sale of some U.S. technology to Saudi Arabia. Chances are that at least part of it was designed in Israel to begin with.

Steve Morgan, whose firm Cybersecurity Ventures specializes in the global cybermarket, notes that even the U.S. relies partly on Israeli technology. "Why engineer something that already exists? We don't have the time to do that. We see some of that in the U.S. Our military is Israel's number one customer," he said.

Global spending on cybersecurity is expected to reach $1 trillion over the next five years, Morgan said. And Israel is well placed to get a significant part of that.

Cybersecurity Ventures publishes a list of the top 500 computer security companies; it features 36 Israeli ones, the largest number after the U.S. Even that number does not represent the whole picture, since many Israeli companies are acquired by American firms or move to the U.S.

And that's not all: "You now see the phenomenon of start-ups here wanting Israeli teams. So you see a whole new American company with an Israeli mindset," Morgan said. In fact, personnel is key with an estimated shortfall of 1.5 million to 2 million engineers in the sector.

That's where Israel, despite its small population of just over 8.5 million, has a relative advantage.

Yoav Leitersdorf, whose Silicon Valley-based YL Ventures invests in Israeli start-ups and helps move them to the U.S., calls the Israeli army "the world's most important supply for cybersecurity professionals. And many of them start new companies."

YL's previous seed capital fund, launched in 2013, was all invested in cybersecurity companies. A new fund, of $75 million, was announced just a few weeks ago and Leitersdorf expects three-quarters of it to go toward cybersecurity.

Israel's leading venture capital firm, Jerusalem Venture Partners, which has invested $1 billion since it was founded in 1993, also puts a lot of trust in cybersecurity. Managing partner Gadi Tirosh says that about one-quarter of JVP's investments goes toward cybersecurity.

But that's an increasingly broad field, he said. "These days that extends from endpoint security to cloud security to fraud detection, anti-money laundering measures and so on," he said. "As the whole space evolves, the definition of what is cyber expands as well."

JVP's investment in start-up CyberArk paid off handsomely when it had, as Tirosh puts it, "the most successful IPO of 2014, worldwide."

Tirosh sees Israel maintaining its competitive edge in cybersecurity for some time to come. Not only because of the country's current strong position and ongoing advantages but also because it has gained the trust of its customers, a precondition in the field of cybersecurity.

"I think it's going to take a while until corporates will feel comfortable enough buying cybersecurity solutions from high-tech hubs like China or even India, and Russia, too," said Tirosh. "There are even some doubts around the world about whether U.S. software-based solutions are entirely innocent."

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.





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Press Secretary Sean Spicer

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary and a devout Catholic, was left out of the president's meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday.

For a president whose inner circle often shifts, Spicer's absence from the meeting was seen as an intentional snub, a source close to the White House told CNN.

"Wow. That's all he wanted," the source added. Spicer has spoken publicly about his Catholicism, telling reporters that he gave up alcohol for Lent.

Both sides agreed to limit the number of staffers attending the high-profile meeting, according to CNN, and President Donald Trump's entourage included mostly family. First Lady Melania Trump and the president's daughter Ivanka were seen donning matching veils alongside son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. A few key communications aides were also present at the meeting, including spokeswoman Hope Hicks and social media director Dan Scavino, according to Politico.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Keith Schiller, a deputy assistant, and Brian Hook, a State Department aide, also attended. Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, and Stephen Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, had already returned to Washington after the initial stop in Saudi Arabia.

Trump was reportedly mulling a massive staff shake-up at the White House earlier this month after his communications staff, led by Spicer, failed to contain the fallout from Trump's ouster of former FBI Director James Comey. Trump is also reportedly considering cutting Spicer's public press briefings entirely.

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An interesting trend in journalism has emerged in the past few years: Billionaire benefactors have been stepping in to support an industry flummoxed by the question of how to make enough money to survive.

At the Deadline Club journalism awards in New York City Monday night, Washington Post editor Marty Baron was asked about how important journalism  the kind that can keep a check on power  can survive without needing to be supported by these friendly billionaires. Amazon (AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million and has a close relationship with the media organization.

Well, theyre not all so friendly, said Baron, when asked about this phenomenon. Ours is friendly. I dont know I have an answer to that question. With respect to us, I think its important to recognize that were not being treated like a charity.

Although new and sometimes exciting non-billionaire-led publishing is being introduced, often with venture capital, much of it has been geared toward newer trends of non-news content (think lifestyle publications and articles like The only guacamole recipe Anthony Bourdain will eat), which is cheap to produce, more shareable, and delivers more tailored ad dollar potential than generalist journalism.

Reuters: Amazons Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013.

Bezos has plenty of billionaire company in the news industry: EBay (EBAY) founder Pierre Omidyar funds the Intercept (Glenn Greenwald is co-founding editor). Rupert Murdoch owns News Corp (NWSA). Michael Bloomberg owns Bloomberg. John Henry owns the Boston Globe. Sheldon Adelson, casino magnate and CEO of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Morningstars (MORN) founder Joe Mansueto owns Inc. and Fast Company. Mortimer Zuckerman owns U.S. News and the New York Daily News. Carlos Slim has a big stake in the New York Times, and healthcare billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has one in the Tronc. Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev owns the Independentthough he may not be a billionaire anymore.

Story continues

On Tuesday evening, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which provides legal assistance to journalists, announced that Jeff Bezos made a $1 million donation.

Jeffs purpose is to create a sustainable business model for the Washington Post, said Baron. If it were treated as a charity and he got tired of that charity someday we would be in deep trouble. Last year was our first profitable year in a number of years and we are having a better year this year.

In Barons view, the real challenge isnt with national news organizations, which he says are beginning to find a sustainable business model. Larger national publications like the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal have enjoyed a Trump bump as subscriptions have surged as the public thirsts for scoops on details of the new presidency. Smaller organizations, as the Washingtonian noted recently, arent included in this to the same degree.

Baron speaks at the Deadline Clubs awards dinner. Source: Deadline Club

Baron echoed this point, indicating that the issue is making the business model work for cities like Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles, which face online competition in a way smaller local papers do not.

The major metros have a huge business challenge in places I worked whether its Boston or Miami or Los Angelesplaces like that, said Baron. Im not sure weve figured out what that model is. However, Baron did note progress for papers in Dallas and Minneapolis, and the contributions of public radio stations and nonprofits like Texas Tribune.

Still, Baron said these journalism outlets are going to have to figure things out for themselves, and that their business model challenge is more difficult than anybody elses. Without a Bezos-type benefactor, Baron says that business model is TBD for sure.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Got a tip? Send it to tips@yahoo-inc.com.

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Lithuanian English

The April 28, 2017 general meeting of shareholders of Vilkyskiu pienine, AB (company code 277160980, address: P. Lukosaicio str. 14, Vilkyskiai, Pagegiu co. LT99254, Lithuania) resolved to distribute the Companys profit of the year 2016 and allocate dividends amounting to EUR 0.12 per share.

Dividends will be paid to the shareholders who are shareholders of Vilkyskiu pienine, AB at the end of the tenth business day after approval of the resolution by general meeting of shareholders, i.e. May 15, 2017.

Dividends will be paid starting from May 25, 2017. Dividends will be paid in the following procedure:

Dividends to the shareholders whose securities accounting is performed by public exchange brokers or credit institutions providing services of securities accounting, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania will be paid out by the representative financial or credit institutions having deducted the income tax (profit tax) to the account indicated by shareholder.

Dividends to other shareholders will be transferred to the personal account indicated by shareholder. The requests may be supplied in written and sent to the companys address (Vilkyskiu pienine, AB, P. Lukosaicio str. 14, Vilkyskiai, Pagegiu co. LT99254, Lithuania) or e-mail address sigitam@cheese.lt

The dividends are subject to taxes as follows:

Dividends paid to physical bodies resided in the Republic of Lithuania as well as to physical bodies residents of foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of residential income tax.

Dividends paid to juridical bodies of the Republic of Lithuania as well as juridical bodies residents of foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of profit tax unless it is provided differently by law.

Authorized persons of the company capable to provide additional information:

Economics and Finance

Director Vilija Milaseviciute,

ph. +370 6555509
NUTH, The Netherlands and SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fortimedix Surgical today announced the appointment of David Castiglioni as Vice President of Sales in the United States. Under Mr. Castiglionis leadership, the Fortimedix Surgical commercial team will further expand sales of the symphonX Surgical Platform, the companys flagship product and the worlds lowest profile single-port surgery solution.



Fortimedix Surgical is well-positioned to achieve its strategic goals for near- and long-term growth with the appointment of Mr. Castiglioni, said Wout Bijker, CEO. David brings a wealth of knowledge within the medical device space, particularly around market introductions of disruptive technologies, and we will benefit greatly from his leadership and expertise.

Mr. Castiglioni has over 18 years of medical device sales and marketing experience, including senior leadership roles at Intuitive Surgical and Abbott Vascular, where he built and led cohesive sales teams to success within a variety of medical device markets in the United States. He joins Fortimedix Surgical from MiMedix where he served as Vice President of Surgical Sales, North America.

About symphonX

symphonX is the worlds first single-port surgery solution compatible with a standard 15mm laparoscopic trocar. Emulating conventional, multi-port laparoscopy makes symphonX easy to use and enables surgeons to perform procedural steps ergonomically, allowing for a comfortable and secure single-port approach. symphonX is poised to deliver on the promise of single-port surgery, including fewer port-site complications, less post-operative pain, faster recovery and exceptional cosmesis, elevating the standard of care in laparoscopy.

About Fortimedix Surgical

Fortimedix Surgical is a fast growing medical device company, aiming to challenge the status quo in minimally invasive surgery by creating novel devices that capture the claimed benefits of single-port surgery. The company is headquartered in Nuth, The Netherlands, and has a U.S. subsidiary in San Diego, CA. With a strong history as a global market leader in contract stent manufacturing, Fortimedix has been a trusted partner in the medical device industry for over 15 years. Fortimedix Surgical is committed to driving the evolution of minimally invasive surgery through smart innovation across surgical specialties to improve the quality of life of patients throughout the world.

For more information, please visit www.fortimedixsurgical.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements herein include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as may, will, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, believe, project or continue or the negative thereof or other similar words. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the protection of intellectual property, changes to governmental regulation of medical devices, the introduction of new products into the marketplace by competitors, changes to the competitive environment, the acceptance of new products in the marketplace, conditions of the surgical industry and economic and political conditions globally. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and Fortimedix Surgical assumes no duty to update them to reflect new, changing or unanticipated events or circumstances.
CLEARWATER, Fla., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog established by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, is hosting a banquet in honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness month on June 10th at the historic Fort Harrison for the purpose of raising awareness on the rights of older Americans.



According to the national Council on Aging, as many as 5 million older Americans are abused each year with only about 1 in 14 cases reported to authorities.i In 2016, in response to these alarming statistics, CCHR Florida launched a campaign in 2016 to raise awareness on the abuse suffered by the elderly under the mental health law especially the unnecessary and potentially harmful involuntary psychiatric examination of seniors, a process called Baker Acting.

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) reportsii that long term care elderly patients have an elevated mortality risk between 1.99 and 3.76 times greater when they are relocated.

Polypharmacy, the concurrent use of multiple medications, has doubled in the last decade among retirement-age Americans. Office visits resulting in multiple psychiatric prescriptions rose from 1.5 million in 2004 to 3.68 million in 2013 with rural areas showing the greatest increase.iii

According to the Office of the Inspector General, 304,983 elderly nursing home residents in the U.S. were given dangerous and often deadly antipsychotic drugs, of which 88% were prescribed off-label for dementia.iv

These are dangerous drugs and the Food & Drug Administration has made it known with a black box warning that the use of anti-psychotics with elderly suffering from dementia increases their risk of death, said Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida. It is time that the psychiatric abuse of our seniors is investigated and those responsible held accountable.

For more information on the banquet or the protection of elder rights under the mental health law please call 727-442-8820 or visit www.cchrflorida.org.

About CCHR:

CCHRs mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections.

It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world. In March 1969, he said, Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the free world tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of mental health. For more information visit, www.cchrflorida.org

i How many older Americans are abused?

https://www.ncoa.org/public-policy-action/elder-justice/elder-abuse-facts/

ii Florida Department of Health, Long Term Care Facilities Alternatives to the Baker Act http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/samh/MentalHealth/laws/LongTermCareFacilities.pdf

iii Sharp Rise Reported in Older Americans Use of Multiple Psychotropic Drugs, Benedict Carey - February 13, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/health/psychiatric-drugs-prescriptions.html?_r=1

iv Psychiatric Abuse of the Elderly, CCHR International https://www.cchrint.org/issues/protectelderly/
VIENNA, Austria, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equatorial Guinea will join OPEC, it was announced at an historic meeting of global oil producers in Vienna today. The Central African oil and gas producer will be Sub-Saharan Africas fourth OPEC member, bringing a wealth of experience and African diplomatic reach to the global oil exporters club.



Multimedia content can be accessed here: http://APO.af/1EqYZu.

Oil producers worldwide, including 11 non-OPEC members, joined together in December 2016 to agree on 1.8 million barrels per day of production cuts that would successfully stabilize the oil price in 2017. H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, was a leading voice in the calls for unity among exporting nations. Equatorial Guinea applied for OPEC membership in January, with the Minister announcing his intention to join the bloc by the end of the year.

Equatorial Guineas joining of OPEC is a triumph. This is a proud moment for us, said H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. There has never been a more important time to stand together and it is our honour to stand with OPEC as a positive force in global energy. We will use this platform to advance the interests of all African oil and gas explorers and producers and all OPEC members.

The oil price rallied this morning on the expectation of an extension of the deal to limit output by nine months or more. Equatorial Guineas share of production cuts over the last six months is 12,000 barrels per day.

Equatorial Guinea is Sub-Saharan Africas third biggest oil producer and has one of the regions most dynamic energy sectors. In 2017 work will begin on two landmark projects: Fortuna FLNG, Africas first floating liquefied natural gas plant; and the Bioko Oil Terminal, the largest crude oil and petroleum products storage facility in West and Central Africa. The Minister will present information on these projects, as well as Equatorial Guineas accession to OPEC and the conclusion of the EG Ronda 2016 bidding round, to investors at the Africa Oil & Power 2017 conference in Cape Town on June 5-7.

Distributed by APO on behalf of Government of Equatorial Guinea.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceanus Resources Corporation (TSX-V:OCN) (OTCQB:OCNSF) ("Oceanus" or the Company) reports additional assay results from the 2017 diamond drilling program on its 100% owned El Tigre Property in Sonora, Mexico. Highlights from the drilling include the following:



Hole ET-17-133  67.6 meters of 1.49 g/t gold equivalent from 78.5 meters to 146.1 meters consisting of 1.24 g/t gold and 19.1 g/t silver, including 23.4 meters of 3.31 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 2.77 g/t gold and 40.5 g/t silver



Hole ET-17-135  37.7 meters of 0.78 g/t gold equivalent from 71.9 meters to 109.6 meters consisting of 0.62 g/t gold and 12.4 g/t silver, including 18.8 meters of 1.16 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 0.91 g/t gold and 18.9 g/t silver; and 8.4 meters of 1.95 g/t gold equivalent from 215.3 meters to 223.7 meters consisting of 1.52 g/t gold and 32.4 g/t silver



Hole ET-17-140  9.0 meters of 1.86 g/t gold equivalent from 35.0 meters to 44.0 meters consisting of 0.18 g/t gold and 125.5 g/t silver, including 1.5 meters of 9.54 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 0.43 g/t gold and 683.2 g/t silver, in a step out hole approximately 500 meters to the south of the Main Deposit past Gold Hill (see drill hole location map at Appendix B)

The true width has not been calculated for the intercepts, but true width is generally estimated at 75-90% of drilled width. The gold equivalent ratio is based on a gold-to-silver price ratio of 75:1.

The new assay results are for drill holes ET-17-123 to ET-17-140. Refer to the Oceanus news releases dated September 14, 2016, October 18, 2016, December 14, 2016 and March 6, 2017 for the assay results for the previous drill holes. A map of a portion of the El Tigre Property is attached as Appendix A, a drill hole location map is attached as Appendix B, a table of significant drill intersections is attached as Appendix C and the drill hole location table is attached as Appendix D.



Glenn Jessome, President and CEO of Oceanus reports, The Oceanus drilling has expanded and supports the continuity of the vein and alteration zone between the El Tigre Camp and the south end of Gold Hill, which is a distance of approximately 1,800 meters. The vein and alteration zone remains open along strike to the south, north and at depth. Furthermore, with hole ET-17-133 we have identified a possible new high grade zone at Gold Hill. With holes ET-17-139 and ET-17-140 we have extended the strike length to the south by approximately 500 meters. These drill results further support wide zones of precious metals mineralization that demonstrate potential as a bulk-tonnage target.



El Tigre Drilling Program

Oceanus has completed the 2016-17 infill drilling program at El Tigre with a total of 62 diamond drill holes totalling 11,923.1 meters. The purpose of this drill program was to support a NI 43-101 resource estimation for the El Tigre Property. The results from the Oceanus drilling, prior drilling and other data will be incorporated into the resource estimation to be completed by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. by the end of June, 2017.

In particular, the drill program was designed to achieve the following objectives at El Tigre (see map at Appendix A);

twin several legacy drill holes at the Main Deposit;

infill the central area of the Main Deposit;

infill the 500 meter gap along strike at the Main Deposit to the north between La Mula and the Camp;

infill the 200 meter gap along strike at the Main Deposit to the south at Gold Hill;

test for a southern strike extension to the south of Gold Hill; and

test several of the veins to the north of the Main Deposit (Fundadora and Protectora).

Prospecting Work to the North at Protectora, Fundadora and La Chula

Field mapping and prospecting surveys are in progress along the Protectora vein system located approximately 1.5 kilometers to the north of the El Tigre camp (see map at Appendix A). Oceanus drill holes ET-17-141 to ET-17-144 have been completed at Protectora and assay results are pending (see drill hole location table at Appendix D). At Protectora quartz vein and stockwork zones are located within an advanced argillic alteration zone. Gold and silver mineralization was discovered along the Protectora vein and stockwork zone in diamond drill holes by El Tigre Silver Corp. in 2013 (hole ET-13-019 intersected 2 meters of 1.41 g/t gold and 421.7 g/t silver from 86.0 meters to 88.0 meters).

At the Fundadora vein system field mapping and prospecting surveys are also in progress (see map at Appendix A).

Recent field mapping and prospecting surveys have identified newly discovered mineralization, which has been named La Chula vein system (see map at Appendix A). An extensive mapping and prospecting program is now being carried out at La Chula.

El Tigre Property

The El Tigre Property lies at the northern end of the Sierra Madre gold belt which hosts many of the larger multi-million ounce epithermal gold and silver deposits including Ocampo, Pinos Altos, Dolores and Palmarejo. In 1896, gold was first discovered on the property in the Gold Hill area and mining started with the Brown Shaft in 1903. The focus soon changed to mining high-grade silver veins in the area with the majority of the production coming from the El Tigre vein. Underground mining on the El Tigre vein extended 1,450 meters along strike and mined on 14 levels to a depth of 450 meters. By the time the mine closed in 1938, it is reported to have produced a total of 353,000 ounces of gold and 67.4 million ounces of silver from 1.87 million tons (Craig, 2012).

The El Tigre Property is approximately 35 kilometers long and comprises 21,842.78 hectares. The El Tigre gold and silver deposit is related to a series of high-grade epithermal veins controlled by a north-south trending structure cutting across the andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs of the Sierra Madre Volcanic Complex within a broad gold and silver mineralized prophylitic alternation zone. The veins dip steeply to the west and are typically 1 meter wide but locally can be up to 5 meters in width. The veins, structures and mineralized zones outcrop on surface and have been traced for a distance of 5.3 kilometers along strike. Historical mining and exploration activities focused on a 1.5 kilometer portion of the southern end of the deposits, principally on the El Tigre, Seitz Kelly and Sooy veins. Four veins in the north (Aguila, Escondida, Fundadora and Protectora) were explored with only limited amounts of production.

Lab Preparation and Assay

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one-third of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining two-thirds portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. ActLabs crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 50 gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2-50) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3-50). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code 1F2 Total Digestion ICP).

Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed Oceanus QA/QC protocols.

Qualified Person

David R. Duncan, P. Geo., V.P. Exploration of the Company, is the Qualified Person for Oceanus as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Duncan has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release and has reviewed the Technical Report.

About Oceanus Resources Corporation

Oceanus Resources Corporation is a gold exploration company operating in Mexico. Oceanus is managed by a team of mine finders with extensive experience in exploring and developing large hydrothermal gold projects in Mexico. Oceanus is currently drilling and exploring the El Tigre Property in the Sierra Madre Occidental.

For further information, please contact:

Glenn Jessome

President and CEO

902 492 0298

jessome@oceanusresources.ca

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

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 News Release includes certain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, resources and reserves, the ability to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, the ability to complete future drilling programs and infill sampling, the ability to extend resource blocks, the similarity of mineralization at El Tigre to the Ocampo mine, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Oceanus, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as may, is expected to, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans, projection, could, vision, goals, objective and outlook and other similar words. Although Oceanus believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Oceanuss expectations include risks and uncertainties related to exploration, development, operations, commodity prices and global financial volatility, risk and uncertainties of operating in a foreign jurisdiction as well as additional risks described from time to time in the filings made by Oceanus with securities regulators.

APPENDIX A is available for download at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c0984101-ad57-4b46-9356-8b6532a71bb0

APPENDIX B is available for download at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f95deaa8-9feb-4900-b6eb-176e49535882

APPENDIX C

El Tigre Drilling Results Hole ID Section Comment From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Au

(g/t) Ag

(g/t) AuEq(2)

(g/t) ET-17-123 4550 76.4 80.6 4.2 0.42 0.8 0.43 and 133.5 149.5 16.0 0.20 13.5 0.38 ET-17-124 4600 64.5 82.7 18.2 0.23 87.3 1.39 and 94.8 120.6 25.8 0.41 20.9 0.69 ET-17-125 3700 13.9 19.1 5.3 0.74 0.5 0.75 and 58.7 62.0 3.4 0.42 33.0 0.86 and 134.0 142.2 8.2 0.37 37.1 0.87 and 189.9 194.0 4.2 0.12 18.1 0.36 ET-17-126 3600 4.5 23.0 18.5 0.17 72.1 1.13 including 15.8 21.5 5.8 0.48 182.8 2.92 and 69.0 75.0 6.1 0.39 1.2 0.40 and 87.0 105.0 18.0 0.35 32.3 0.78 and 112.0 118.0 6.0 0.19 11.3 0.34 ET-17-127 4600 35.0 58.6 23.6 0.35 27.9 0.72 including 51.1 52.7 1.6 1.30 395.9 6.57 and 152.3 161.7 9.4 0.23 14.9 0.42 ET-17-128 4775 86.4 112.2 25.8 0.63 28.0 1.00 including 100.4 105.1 4.7 1.06 106.6 2.48 ET-17-130 3550 53.8 55.7 1.9 0.34 11.9 0.49 ET-17-131 3550 58.0 67.3 9.3 0.74 9.1 0.86 and 77.9 86.3 8.4 0.27 2.7 0.30 and 142.5 147.0 4.5 0.80 74.6 1.80 and 178.0 202.2 24.2 0.35 22.0 0.65 ET-17-132 4900 37.5 48.2 10.7 0.20 22.1 0.50 OPEN STOPE 48.2 50.6 2.4 El Tigre Vein and 53.0 68.0 15.0 0.33 10.9 0.47 ET-17-133 3500 65.4 68.4 3.0 0.98 1.0 0.99 and 78.5 146.1 67.6 1.24 19.1 1.49 including 78.5 90.3 11.9 0.63 1.3 0.65 including 97.5 120.9 23.4 2.77 40.5 3.31 and 137.0 146.1 9.1 0.29 4.7 0.35 and 156.9 160.0 3.1 0.48 0.7 0.49 ET-17-134 3300 98.2 105.5 7.3 0.62 9.6 0.75 and 133.2 147.5 14.3 1.01 0.5 1.02 including 134.0 135.8 1.8 6.33 2.1 6.36 and 223.4 226.1 2.7 0.50 0.6 0.51 and 239.9 242.0 2.1 1.06 80.6 2.13 ET-17-135 3450 71.9 109.6 37.7 0.62 12.4 0.78 including 77.6 96.4 18.8 0.91 18.9 1.16 and 121.4 134.3 13.0 0.60 12.9 0.77 and 140.3 154.6 14.3 0.68 4.7 0.74 and 215.3 223.7 8.4 1.52 32.4 1.95 ET-17-136 3350 26.0 44.0 18.0 0.94 3.5 0.99 and 137.0 146.5 9.5 1.57 3.1 1.62 and 155.4 164.8 9.4 0.40 0.5 0.41 and 174.0 180.0 6.0 0.35 0.8 0.36 and 187.1 189.5 2.4 0.34 19.3 0.59 and 195.5 206.0 10.5 0.33 0.9 0.34 ET-17-137 3600 98.5 129.5 31.0 0.41 1.3 0.43 145.2 175.3 30.1 0.38 13.0 0.55 244.6 247.4 2.8 0.13 17.7 0.36 OPEN STOPE 263.1 268.6 5.5 268.6 276.1 7.5 0.32 1.3 0.33 ET-17-138 3400 20.0 25.0 5.0 0.42 0.7 0.43 and 66.7 83.4 16.8 0.21 6.9 0.31 and 103.1 104.6 1.5 0.46 1.2 0.48 and 115.6 118.4 2.8 0.34 1.0 0.35 and 178.0 185.0 7.0 0.24 1.2 0.26 and 238.0 246.3 8.3 0.28 5.1 0.35 ET-17-139 3150 10.6 15.8 5.2 0.96 1.7 0.98 ET-17-140 2950 35.0 44.0 9.0 0.18 125.5 1.86 including 36.5 38.0 1.5 0.43 683.2 9.54



Notes:

(1) True width has not been calculated for each individual intercept, but true width is generally estimated at 75-90% of drilled width. Metallurgical recoveries and net smelter returns are assumed to be 100% (2) Gold Equivalent ratio based on gold to silver price ratio of 75:1 Ag:Au.

APPENDIX D

El Tigre 2017 Drill Hole Location Table Hole ID Northing Easting Elevation Azimuth Dip Length ET-17-134 3383300 671185 1940 90 -50 302.0 ET-17-135 3383450 671232 1994 90 -45 223.7 ET-17-136 3383350 671239 1960 90 -45 221.0 ET-17-137 3383600 671099 1988 90 -55 144.2 ET-17-138 3383400 671220 1973 90 -60 275.4 ET-17-139 3383150 671303 1830 90 -45 116.0 ET-17-140 3382950 671313 1797 90 -45 212.0 ET-17-141 3387684 670011 1927 90 -45 299.0 ET-17-142 3387700 670277 1939 90 -45 247.4 ET-17-143 3385650 670740 1840 90 -45 232.0 ET-17-144 3386645 670680 2040 90 -45 224.0




Nashville, TN., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Colombia Gold Corp. (OTCPink: FCGD) announced today their preliminary projections on their newly acquired coal lease located at 12964 S. Hwy 421 Manchester, Kentucky 40964. The company obtained lab analysis on several coal samples taken from this lease to determine the quality and specification the coal would fit and could be reliably marketed and sold. The lab analysis demonstrated that the coal within the Haddix seam had less than 5% ash and had a Btu of more than 12,000. Based upon this specification and permits that are already in place which include three seams, the Haddix, Fireclay and Amburgy totaling more than 1 million tons of coal, preliminary expectations are that this coal could bring in excess of $50 per short ton. Additionally, the company estimated that their mining costs would be between $40 and $42 per short ton.

Jason Castenir, CEO of First Colombia Gold Corp. stated, This lease was in operation in early 2016, but at the time, coal was only selling for between $38 and $40 per short ton which caused the operator to take huge losses. Todays prices give us nearly $10 per ton of profit. We believe that with the current strength in the coal markets and what appears to be a long term rebound, that the profit margins are stable and will be strong enough to sustain operations and really allow the company to grow and expand their footprint within the coal industry.

The site and operating plan will focus initially on the Haddix Seam which ranges in thickness from 48 inches to 55 inches and will be mined using the area mining method. This seam has an existing permit in place which includes 300,000 tons of recoverable coal. The mine location will give First Columbia Gold Corp, the option to sell the coal through either the Eastern Kentucky Market or through access to the Norfolk Southern Rail system. Mr. Castenir further commented, In our model, we would like to use the coal located within reasonable distance of the Norfolk Southerns Cincinnati to Chattanooga line to provide a wider market for the coal. We believe that the numbers will allow us to develop significant infrastructure around this operation that could add additional profit centers in the future.

Investor Inquiries:

Website: www.FCGDcorp.com

Email: info@firstcolombiagoldcorp.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FirstColombiaGold

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/FCGDCorp



Disclaimer

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs of First Colombia Gold Corp. management and reflect First Colombia Gold Corp.'s current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When we use in this release the words "estimate," "project," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "plan," "predict," "may," "should," "will," "can," the negative of these words, or such other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, are all intended to identify forward looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of First Colombia Gold Corp. with respect to future events based on currently available information and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks and uncertainties pertaining to development of mining properties, changes in economic conditions and other risks, uncertainties and factors, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievement expressed or implied by such forward looking statements to differ materially from the forward looking statements. The information contained in this press release is historical in nature, has not been updated, and is current only to the date shown in this press release. This information may no longer be accurate and therefore you should not rely on the information contained in this press release. To the extent permitted by law, First Colombia Gold Corp. and its employees, agents and consultants exclude all liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, any such information, whether or not caused by any negligent act or omission. This press release incorporates by reference the Company's filings with the SEC including 10K, 10Q, 8K reports and other filings. Investors are encouraged to review all filings. There is no assurance First Colombia Gold Corp. will identify projects of merit or if it will have sufficient financing to implement its business plan. There is no assurance that the Company's due diligence on the potential acquisition of oil and gas assets will be favorable nor that definitive terms can be negotiated. Information in this release includes representations from the private companies referred to which has not been independently verified by the company. A downturn in oil prices would affect the potential profitability of the proposed acquisition negatively.
BOCA RATON, Fla., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, ADT LLC, a leading provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses, celebrated one of its LifeSaver events at the Georgia home of ADT Customer Dot Brown.



Brown believes her life was saved after experiencing a home fire in January. Thats when she was awakened in the middle of the night by the piercing sound of her ADT alarm. Thinking it was a burglar, Brown grabbed her pistol and walked out of the bedroom to investigate.

Seconds later, ADT Dispatcher Tiffany Chantaca phoned Brown from ADTs Customer Care Center in Texas where the alarm signal was received. Chantaca told Brown her smoke detector had activated and the fire department was on its way. She advised Brown to evacuate.

Seeing and smelling smoke, Brown was exiting her home when a policeman rushed in and exclaimed, Your house is on fire. As the officer helped Brown outside, he noticed the pistol still in her hand.

In the excitement of the fire, I didnt realize I was still carrying my pistol, said Brown. I handed it to the officer for safe keeping.

Minutes later, firefighters from Baldwin County Fire Rescue arrived and battled the blaze. They even sawed out part of the floor to reach joists which were still smoldering. Investigators determined an electrical short in the homes HVAC system sparked the fire.

Even though the fire was contained, heavy smoke created significant damage causing Brown to live three months in a motel. Now back in her home of over 40 years, Brown was glad to meet all those who helped save her life, including Chantaca.

I gave her a big hug and thanked her for saving my live, said Brown.

What a thrill meeting Mrs. Brown and hearing her amazing story, said Chantaca. I am proud to have played a part in keeping her safe.

Chantaca received an ADT LifeSaver Award along with four other ADT employees who sold, installed and serviced Browns security system.

ADT also presented $5,000 to the fire department. Accepting was Chief Troy Reynolds who said, At least 36 people have died in home fires in Georgia since January 1. We are glad Mrs. Brown was not one of those casualties.

About ADT

ADT is a leading provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses in the United States and Canada. ADT's broad and pioneering set of products and services, including ADT Pulse interactive home and business solutions, and health services, meet a range of customer needs for todays active and increasingly mobile lifestyles. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.
KyleWiddison wrote:

guerrero25 wrote: Graduates of medical schools are interested in practical work as practicing physicians. However, research laboratories mainly deal with theoretical work, and therefore, they are reluctant to hire personnel who are not interested in research. Consequently, research laboratories rarely hire graduates of medical schools.



The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A)Graduates of medical schools are interested in working for research laboratories.



(B)The only people not interested in research work are those who are interested in practical work.



(C)Most employees of research laboratories are not graduates of medical schools.



(D)Research laboratories would hire graduates of medical schools if such graduates were interested in research work.



(E)Few medical school graduates who are interested in practical work are also interested in research.



I have to question the OA on this one. As mentioned earlier, when you have difficulty finding the true assumption you can negate the possible assumptions and choose the one that destroys the conclusion.



Conclusion: research laboratories rarely hire graduates of medical schools

Negated D: Research laboratories would NOT hire graduates of medical schools if such graduates were interested in research work.

Negated E: Most medical school graduates who are interested in practical work are also interested in research.



If we insert Negated D into the argument, the conclusion isn't destroyed but rather supported.

If we insert Negated E into the argument, the conclusion is destroyed because there is now no valid reason to not hire a medical school graduate.



This provides strong evidence for E as the OA...



KW I have to question the OA on this one. As mentioned earlier, when you have difficulty finding the true assumption you can negate the possible assumptions and choose the one that destroys the conclusion.Conclusion: research laboratories rarely hire graduates of medical schoolsNegated D: Research laboratories would NOT hire graduates of medical schools if such graduates were interested in research work.Negated E: Most medical school graduates who are interested in practical work are also interested in research.If we insert Negated D into the argument, the conclusion isn't destroyed but rather supported.If we insert Negated E into the argument, the conclusion is destroyed because there is now no valid reason to not hire a medical school graduate.This provides strong evidence for E as the OA...KW

KW explanation is correct . I put the wrong answer . OA is indeed "E" ( not "D" as marked earlier)Here's the OE if anyone is interested :The argument above concludes that research laboratories rarely hire medical school graduates. As evidence, the argument states that most graduates of medical schools are interested in practical work and that research laboratories are not interested in hiring personnel who are not interested in research. This argument is correct only if it assumes that medical school graduates interested in practical work are not also interested in research. If they were also interested in research, research laboratories should be interested in hiring them, because, as implied in the argument, research labs are interested in hiring personnel who are interested in research.A) The argument does not depend on the assumption that graduates of medical schools are interested in working in research centers.B) This does not need to be assumed. The argument is quite compatible with the idea that there are people who are not interested in research work and are not interested in practical work.C) This choice paraphrases the argument; it does not need to be assumed.D) The argument states that being interested in research work is an important criterion for being hired by a research laboratory, but nothing in the argument indicates that this alone is sufficient to be hired. Laboratories should be interested in hiring those graduates but not necessarily bound to hire them.E) Correct. If many of those graduates were interested in research work as well as in practical work, then laboratories would be willing to hire them and more graduates would work for research labs. Therefore, it must be assumed that medical school graduates who are interested in practical work are rarely interested in research work.
Jatin1234 wrote:

Hi Anshul,



I, Jatin( Founder PythaGURUS), am writing to respond to your critique and am asking for your help as I want to make our process better. It is easy for an applicant to report a problem and tell the world that They did not receive a single interview Invite even after paying 2 lacs etc.  or call up a consultant and get him to refund the fees.



I am writing as we need your help in making our process better.

I am choosing to respond after exchanging several emails with you- and I did not intend to take this public- but considering the fact that you are sharing your side of the story everywhere, I decided to write on this forum and ask for your advice.





I am willing to furnish necessary details to show HOW WE TOOK AN ACTIVE STAND for you( and you have supporting emails for all the facts shared below) and ask for your advice and understand how to make things better in such situations in the future.





1. Despite Repeated follow ups from our side( I had to motivate you, scare you of results, warn you  and do whatever it took to get you to send your inputs) when you were 26 days away from the submissions- and you made me run after you for 20 days for your letter of recommendations. And your process of admissions consulting did not start 26 days before the deadline submissions. We started roughly two months before the deadlines and the initial effort went in building goals stories + making you network with the B-school community. Roughly a month before the deadline submissions, we got you started on Recommendation best practices and asked you to collaborate with your recommender, and get him to share his draft. After weeks, you sent blank recommendation questions, and asked me to generate the recommendations from scratch. I refused to write your recommendations from scratch as that was a mal-practice. Moreover, I had not worked with you for 5-6 years and was under no capacity to critique on your professional capabilities. Whenever you hire a top school consultant Anshul, you are not outsourcing the process. It was not our job to RUN AFTER YOU or tell you that I am NOT GOD! I need time to work on your stories Anshul- and for that- I need YOUR INPUTS.





2. Why was I following up or sending WARNING EMAILS to you till a week before the deadline Anshul? I had not even seen the first draft- and I was running after you, as I did not know how well written will the first draft of your recommendations be. As I had anticipated, the next version I got from you had ONE LINERS for every recommendation question- and this was 3 weeks after we had gotten you started on recommendations. Your first draft was blank- and your next draft had one liner responses. If an applicant sends a below average input just before the deadline, a consultant has very limited time to critique.



3. Essays: You should also know that you were informed repeatedly that you are READILY ACCEPTING ALL THE ESSAYS THAT I AM SENDING OVER TO YOU. I sent you repeated emails telling you that you are making this a one way communication. You were told that a story evolves only when a DOCUMENT goes back and forth between the applicant and a consultant. We do not put limits to the number of drafts Anshul and you knew that. Now, I need your help to understand How can I refine this process further so that I am able to create great success for applicants who are reluctant to participate in this process? For every school I did with you, I proactively sent out emails to you raising a concern that communication with you is ONE WAY and you are not actively critiquing or editing any of the essays that I am sharing. You were readily accepting all the drafts. Well, if you look at it, a one-sided communication was easy for me- and I could have ignored you. However, I proactively started asking you to NOT ACCEPT ANY ESSAY READILY  and LET THE STORIES EVOLVE WITH TIME- Let the energy flow between you and me. However, you never responded to any of those emails( NEVER). Our goal was to bring the best out of your life on that document. Unfortunately, that cannot happen without your involvement. I am sure that the admissions process was draining for you. However, in our case, in addition to working on your stories, I was exhausted running after you. Check your emails.



4. ISB Deadline: ISB Would not have been difficult for you. You could have sent the inputs for ISB ahead of time, but I followed up with you on the 8th asking you WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO FOR ESSAY 1 Anshul?- and till that date- I had not received any inputs from you. Despite that delay from your side, you also told us that you will be doing the submissions on the 13th as you wanted to attend your marriage anniversary. Looking at the feedback that was given to you a day before( check your ISB essay 1, and 2 both Anshul), I was under the impression that you understood that your essay needed rework but we did not have enough time to send it again for rework as you wanted to do the submission on 13th, and not on the deadline day and you had made that very clear. This left us with only 5 days for ISB- and I hope it is acceptable to give a professional 1- 2 days to work on your stories. Out of these 5 days- essay one was with you for three days. Moreover, you had sent your ISB recommendation just a day before 13th- and then you did the submission on the 13th.







You can blame us for whatever happened, but we are still trying to understand How can we make it better for future applicants?

Do not be pretentious. Real you is person who accused me of extortion and threatened of legal proceedings

Have another good season. Best of luck.

I too can write long posts putting the complete blame on you, starting with going for wedding and honeymoon vacation mid session.Why did not you inform before hand that you would be getting married mid session.(off from 26th jan - Round 2 candidates). I choose not to. I do not have energy and time to waste.As i already mentioned in my mails to you, I do not want to be connected with you anymore through any means so do not expect any further reply.
A young Nigerian boy simply identified as so_slow4 has celebrated his union with a much older woman after six years of being married.

Legit.ng gathered that the lovely couple who got married at the Ikoyi marriage registry has been married for six years.

So_slow4 shared a beautiful photo of he and his lovely wife identified as Brenda Skala on social media.

He wrote: My special day with a special number#6thanniversary.

READ ALSO: Ghanaian pastor heals woman by kissing her in the mouth (video)

Young Nigerian boy and his much older wife celebrate wedding anniversary

Some Nigerians who saw so_slow4s post on Instagram expressed their disbelief that such a young man could be married to an older lady while others congratulated their union.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

Read comments below:

See photos below:

Photos of the lovely couple together

Meanwhile, Legit.ng TV went to the street to ask Nigerians the right time a person can leave an abusive relationship

Source: Legit.ng
- A shocking photo of a 9-year-old girl has gone viral on social media

- The little girl was captured showing off her big muscles and six packs on Instagram

A fitness page on Instagram allthingsfitnez has shared a shocking photo of a little girl with six packs and big muscles.

The 9-year-old girl was snapped showing off her fit muscles and packs.

In the photo, the little girl who was wearing a red tank top and shots showed off her packs and her big muscles with a smile on her face.

READ ALSO: Young Nigerian boy and his much older wife celebrate wedding anniversary (photos)

9-year-old girl shows off her muscles and 6 packs on social media

See post below:

Some Instagram users who saw the photo of the young girl were furious, sighting the fact that the little girls posture has been destroyed.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

See comments below:

Legit.ng had earlier published the story of the strongest man in Nigeria

Watch amazing tips on how to lose weight fast on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
President Trump has passed his first hundred days in office and the news media is still talking about Russian spies without one shred of proof that Trump people worked with the Russians. They just feel there has to be something somewhere. They now want Trump to end this once and for all by admitting nothing happened. Thats right. Chuck Schumer said Trump could put this to bed. Baloney! They will never work with Trump. Want proof? Trump just fired his FBI director this week and Democrats and the press compared it to Watergate.

Thats right. According to the left wing, Trump firing Comey (which he had the right to do) is the same as Nixon bugging Democrat headquarters. Didnt Bill Clinton fire his FBI director? I remember the press saying that was like Watergate, too. Oh wait, no I didnt. The fact that every Democrat criticizing Trump for the firing also wanted Comey gone proves Trump can do nothing they wont complain about.

And how about the way the media says they always tell the truth and Trump has accomplished nothing in four months? Thirty-two executive orders were signed by Trump. I guess thats nothing. We have a new Supreme Court Justice that Democrats voted into another judgeship under Obama but considered unqualified now and didnt vote for him. Trump got the Keystone Pipeline moving, something Obama said would cause global warming when even his EPA said it wouldnt. That means thousands of jobs. Trump has opened up energy production, creating more jobs for working people. He has been removing job-crippling regulations from business, creating even more jobs. He opened up selling American beef to China, something Obama had stopped, saying cow flatulence caused global warming.

Trump has done a good job so far and all Democrats do is try to stop him. Unemployment is at its lowest level since November 1988. If Democrats are really for the working class as they claim, why do they oppose all these new jobs? Thats because the Democrat party of my father-in-law is no more. It has now become the party of welfare and letting illegal alien criminals roam the streets (but not in their neighborhood). Its been slowly building for a long time. Obama was the accelerator and Trump looks like the cure. Thats why they oppose everything he does no matter what.

Sid Guill, Mattoon
- This man allegedly convinced doctor to hide ring in his stomach wound

- He then asked his girlfriend, who is a nurse, to dress the wound as he watched

- The girlfriend, while addressing the wound, bumped into the golden ring

- It was a marriage proposal. She broke into tears, washed the ring, then put it on

Of all the marriage proposals that you have heard of, this could, perhaps, be the most painful way to propose to someone you are madly in love with.

An unidentified Russian man practically cut his stomach, hid a ring inside the wound, and then went ahead to propose to his girlfriend, who is a nurse. His action drew mixed reactions on social media.

"You dont have to cut your stomach and sew a ring inside the wound just to prove that you love someone. This was really a stupid thing to do, one user commented. I dont see anything wrong with how he proposed. He just showed the girl that he was ready to get hurt for her, another user, who goes by the name Taisa Grozny, responded.

READ ALSO: Buhari's health: Embassy source reveals detail of president's status

This man proposed to his girlfriend by hiding ring in his stomach wound

Sources privy to the bizarre proposal arrangement claim the man had convinced a surgeon to cut his stomach and bury the gold ring in the wound.

He then proceeded to propose to his girlfriend. He reportedly asked her to take care of the wound, as he sat back and watched.

As she was addressing the wound, the lady bumped into the ring. It was a marriage proposal. She was overwhelmed by emotions and started crying. She eventually accepted the proposal, washed the ring and put it on.

Unless your girlfriend is a nurse and you know of a surgeon who can actually agree to play along, it may not be a wise idea to borrow this proposal trick.

READ ALSO: Dad shows INSPIRING support for 3-year-old son with heart defect (photos, video)

Watch video of the strange marriage proposal:

Watch the video below:

Source: Legit.ng
A US military official told CNN that the incident took place approximately two weeks ago and that the Russian fighter had performed a barrel roll over the US plane. The official added that the US assesses the pilot was acting on his own initiative in performing the action.

Harrigian, who oversees US air forces in the region, said that the Russians apologized for that particular incident after the coalition communicated its displeasure about the unprofessional intercept.

We had one incident where there was an intercept they ran that I would categorize as unprofessional, and we called them on it and expressed our concern, Harrigian said, adding, they came back, quite frankly, and apologized for that particular intercept.

Despite the intercept, Harrigian said the coalition had been effectively de-conflicting with the Russians, saying that it was the only incident in recent months where there were any issues.

We have found ways to appropriately de-conflict to allow us to continue our mission, Harrigian said, adding, I think that its important to highlight that the Russians are understanding of what were trying to do.

The incident comes as Harrigian said that de-confliction efforts with the Russians have ramped up given the tighter airspace and need to avoid strategic miscalculation in Syria.

While targeting different groups on the ground, US-led coalition, Russian and regime aircraft have recently found themselves operating in increasingly close proximity in eastern Syria as the battle on the ground there has intensified.

The US military is prohibited by law from coordinating directly with the Russian military, but given the increased pace and scale of military operations in Syria, the US and Russia have sought ways to ensure that their respective personnel are not targeted by mistake, setting up a series of de-confliction zones that would delineate areas of operation for the coalition and the Russian forces.

Im ever-cognizant of the need to avoid an action that could result in a strategic miscalculation, Harrigian told reporters on a video teleconference call from Baghdad.

We have had to increase the amount of de-confliction work were doing with the Russians given the tighter airspace, he added.

The three-star general also acknowledged that he has personally piloted an F-22 fighter jet over Syria as part of an effort to get a better understanding of what he called a complex, dynamic environment for air operations.
Xiaomi has unveiled the Mi Max 2, an all-metal smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, and up to 128GB of storage.

But those arent the features that make the phone special. These are: it has a 6.44 inch display and a 5,300 mAh battery that the company says should be good for up to 18 hours of video playback, or around 2 days of battery life under normal conditions

The Mi Max 2 is a follow-up to last years first-gen Mi Max, which also had a big screen and a big battery. But Xiaomi has outfitted the new model with an even bigger battery while also updating the processor, memory, speakers, and a few other features.

The new model supports Qualcomm Quick CHarge 3.0 technology, has stereo speakers, features a fingerprint sensor, and has an IR blaster that lets you use the phone as a remote control for TVs and other appliances.

On the back of the phone theres a 12MP Sony IMX386 camera and on the front theres a 5MP wide-angle camera with an 85 degree field of view. The phone supports 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and ships with Android 7.1 software and the latest version of Xiaomis MIUI user interface.

A model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage sells for about $247 in China, while a 4GB/128GB model is priced at $291. Both versions also have a microSD card slot for removable storage.

Two features that are missing? NFC and support for high-speed mobile networks in the United States.

via MIUI Forum
Mary Ersek, Ph.D., RN, FPCN, holds a joint appointment at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Penn Nursing. Credit: Penn Nursing

For patients with advanced cancer, aggressive carechemotherapy, mechanical ventilation, acute hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissionsat the end of life is commonplace. Yet until now, little is known about the relationship between patients' and families' satisfaction with this aggressive care within the last 30 days of life.

A new study, from the Department of Veterans Affairs and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), suggests that such care is not likely to contribute positively to patients' and families' experiences in the final days of life. Furthermore, the study results support the view that aggressive care at the end of life for patients with advanced cancer is an indicator of poor-quality end-of-life care. The findings of the study are set for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Cancer. A digital version of the study has been published online first and is accessible here. The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary group of investigators led by Mary Ersek, PhD, RN, FPCN, who holds a joint appointment at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Penn Nursing, and Vince Mor, PhD, from Brown University and the Providence VA Medical Center.

The researchers examined the care and outcomes for 847 Veterans with non-small cell lung cancer who died in a VA inpatient setting from 2010-2012. The study described rates of aggressive care and the association of aggressive care with bereaved families' evaluations of care in the final month of life. The investigators found that almost three-quarters of the sample had at least one episode of aggressive care in the last 30 days of life, which they defined as receipt of injectable chemotherapy or mechanical ventilation, or more than two hospitalizations or admission to an intensive care unit. These high rates of aggressive care were not associated with younger age. However, they may have reflected the VA's adoption of "concurrent care," which, unlike Medicare, allows patients to receive disease-modifying treatments along with hospice/palliative care.

The results also show that for Veterans dying in acute care or nursing home settings, aggresse care was associated with lower overall ratings of care than when patients did not have any aggressive care. However, for patients dying in VA inpatient hospice units, the difference in outcomes were not significant between patients receiving aggressive care and those who did not receive any aggressive care.

"It is important to give patients with advanced illness options for care, including concurrent care. However, we need to be mindful that aggressive care at the end of life is not associated with better patient outcomes, and guide patients accordingly," said Ersek. "Regardless of the treatment that patients choose, we need to be offering hospice and palliative care services."
Park in California. Credit: Brian/Flickr. Creative Commons 2.0.

The anxiety over antibiotic-resistant superbugs, which are responsible for 23,000 deaths a year in the United States, is likely to grow in California, following the recent discovery by UCLA researchers of high levels of antibiotic-resistant genes in parks in four cities.

Antibiotic-resistant genes, or ARGs, lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And with antibiotic resistance rapidly increasing, worldwide they are expected to kill 10 million people annually by 2050more than cancer.

In a study published today in the journal ACS Omega, researchers found that concentrations varied, but in general, air, soil and water from city parks in Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno and Bakersfield contained high quantities of the genes in bacteria cells.

The highest levels in tap water came from drinking fountains in San Diego and Los Angeles, catching researchers by surprise. A previous study had uncovered high levels in air near concentrated animal feeding operations, so the biggest numbers were expected to come from Bakersfield and Fresno.

Jennifer Jay, a professor of environmental engineering at UCLA and one of the paper's authors, stressed that although the findings are significant, it's not time to panic.

"We don't want to sound alarm bells and have people afraid that they'd be breathing ARGs while they're in the shower," Jay said.

That's because antibiotic-resistant genes are not toxic on their own, especially when they're just floating around on benign bacteria cells. The trouble comes when these genes become part of pathogenic organismsthe ones that make us sick. There are three ways that resistant genes get transferred to pathogens: when cells reproduce, when cells become infected by viruses and through uptake of free-floating DNA.

In all 24 parks surveyed across the four cities, soil contained high levels of a gene that resists the antibiotic sulphadimidine.

"Sulphadimidine was the first mass-manufactured antibiotic," said Cristina Echeverria-Palencia, the study's lead author and an environmental engineering researcher in Jay's lab. "We no longer use it because basically we overused it. But the resistant gene has the ability to remain in the environment for a long time and has been linked to hyper-resistance."

Ever since life started on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago, bacteria have produced antibiotics to kill off competitors. In response, antibiotic-resistant genes became a first line of defense in a microbial survival race. In recent years, overreliance on antibiotic drugs by medical and livestock industries caused these genes to proliferate exponentially.

One worrisome characteristic, the researchers said, is antibiotic-resistant genes' ability to persist in the environment. Many contaminants degrade over time or, at worst, stick around at consistent levels. "One mercury ion can't spontaneously become two mercury ions," Echeverria-Palencia said. "However, once genes get inside a bacteria cell, every time that cell replicates, so does the gene."

Scientists consider antibiotic-resistant genes an emerging contaminanteven though they're on the rise, there isn't enough data to know how many more are present than would occur naturally.

In response to the growing number of antibiotic resistant infections, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, which encourages physicians to prescribe antibiotics only when needed.

However, in countries lacking sophisticated medical infrastructure, widespread antibiotic use has become part of daily life. Antibiotics, which are available over the counter, take the place of good sanitation practices.

Overuse is also a problem in the livestock industry. In the United States, it is estimated that 70 percent of antibiotics are used in meat production with virtually zero oversight, Echeverria-Palencia said.

"Big Ag isn't required to report what antibiotics they're using and in what quantities. A few years ago, President Obama created a committee to assess antibiotic resistance, and he left out agriculture entirely. So, it's this big powerhouse and nobody really touches it," she said.

In China, antibiotic use on farms is even more intense. The antibiotic colistin has been liberally used in pig farming. It is no longer effective on animal infections, and resistance is suspected to be transitioning to people.

UCLA's Cody Erikson contributed to the study through the senior practicum, a yearlong program in which undergraduate students devise science-based solutions to real-world environmental problems. "There are always unforeseen problems with getting samples," Erikson said. In this case, to prevent alarming parents and kids at parks, Erikson and other student researchers concealed the scary-looking air sampling machines in their cars, leaving only hoses sticking out of windows.

The ultimate result of antibiotic abuse could be a post-antibiotic world, and that has scientists like Romney Humphries, a UCLA clinical microbiologist, paying close attention. Humphries first encountered a patient with an antibiotic resistant superbug in July 2009.

"It was a really a big deal," she said. "Now we probably have one a week, if not more. And it happened pretty quickly."
Thousands of critical care and pulmonology specialists from across the world gathered this week for the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Washington, D.C., to share research, medical developments and best practices for patient care.

Here, we highlight a few standouts.

The value of rapid sepsis treatment

Published in The New England Journal of Medicine this week, the study looks at the controversy surrounding how quickly sepsis must be treated.

Using data from 185 hospitals on patients with sepsis and septic shock, researchers found that faster administration of care was linked with lower mortality.

The study team included Michigan Medicine researchers and University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovatio members Hallie Prescott, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine, and Theodore Iwashyna, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of internal medicine.

Both time to antibiotics and time to "three-hour bundle" completion were associated with lower risk-adjusted mortality. For every additional hour of delay in these treatments, odds of mortality increased by 4 percent.

"This is the largest study to date looking at time to antibiotics in sepsis treatment," Prescott says. "It was made possible as a result of patient-level data collected in New York as part of new statewide sepsis regulations, known as Rory's Regulations."

These regulations were put in place after 12-year-old Rory Staunton died in 2012 of unrecognized sepsis. The regulations require hospitals to develop and implement protocols for sepsis recognition and treatment, as well as to report data on all patients recognized to have sepsis starting in 2014.

The core elements in the sepsis protocols were the delivery of antibiotics, measurement of lactate and collection of blood cultures within three hours of patients arriving. These three treatments are known as the three-hour bundle. The study tested whether earlier treatment was associated with better outcomes among patients who presented to an emergency department and were treated within 12 hours.

"We found that we can reduce avoidable deaths by treating patients with sepsis and septic shock more quickly upon their arrival to the emergency department," Prescott says. "These findings argue that hospitals and health care systems should invest in infrastructure to get antibiotics to patients as soon as possiblejust as we get patients with heart attacks to the catheterization lab as soon as possible. With each hour of delay, patients have a greater risk of death."

Predicting mortality and functional outcomes in the ICU

New research from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, published in JAMA, analyzed how well intensive care unit physicians and nurses can predict six-month patient mortality and morbidity.

The authors say care teams' predictions can influence ICU decision-making, but it is not known if these predictions are accurate.

To probe the issue, the research team enrolled patients who spent at least three days in the ICU from October 2013 to May 2014 and required mechanical ventilation, vasopressors or both. Patients were treated across five ICUs in three hospitals in Philadelphia.

Of the 303 enrolled patients, 299 were tracked to a six-month follow-up. At that time, 169 were alive.

Concurrently, the researchers had 47 physicians and 128 nurses predict the patients' in-hospital mortality and six-month functional outcomes, including mortality, return to original residence, ability to toilet independently, ability to climb 10 stairs independently and ability to remember most things, think clearly and solve day-to-day problems.

The findings: Physicians most accurately predicted six-month mortality, while nurses most accurately predicted patients' in-hospital mortality. The physicians and nurses both least-accurately predicted cognitive recovery. Both showed higher accuracy when they were confident about their predictions.

The research team notes that accuracy in predictions varied depending on the outcome and confidence of the predictor, and additional research would help in understanding prognostic estimates.

New COPD national action plan

At the conference, the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute released a COPD National Action Plan, emphasizing the importance of the disease. It outlines key goals, including raising public awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, advancing research, improving patient care and health delivery, and developing management strategies for patients.

"Most people don't realize that COPD is actually a manageable disease," said Meilan Han, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine, medical director of the U-M Women's Respiratory Health Program and member of the stakeholder group that formulated the action plan, at the time of the plan's release.

"The plan outlines the importance public awareness plays in this disease. So many people go undiagnosed, but perhaps having more education around their symptoms would prompt them to reach out to their physician for care."

Some of the action plan's key goals for awareness and treatment of COPD are to:

Empower people with COPD, their families and caregivers to recognize and reduce the burden of the disease.

Promote education and training for health care professionals to improve the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of COPD.

Collect, analyze, disseminate and report COPD-related public health data that drive change and track progress.

Increase and sustain research to better understand the prevention, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and management of COPD.

Translate national policy, educational and program recommendations into legislative, research and public health care actions.

"As a researcher, physician and advocate for patients with this disease, I know I speak for myself and the committee when I say that we hope this plan helps create additional awareness for COPD and undiagnosed patients receive the care they need," Han said. "For those already diagnosed, we hope to continue to provide high-quality education and health care to help them manage this incurable disease."
A rendering of the structural connections in the brain of a 21 year-old male subject. Credit: Penn Medicine

As children age into adolescence and on into young adulthood, they show dramatic improvements in their ability to control impulses, stay organized, and make decisions. Those executive functions of the brain are key factors in determining outcomes including their educational success, and whether they will use recreational drugs, or develop psychiatric illness. In a new study, published this week in Current Biology, a team of University of Pennsylvania researchers report newly mapped changes in the network organization of the brain that underlie those improvements in executive function. The findings could provide clues about risks for certain mental illnesses.

The study, led by Ted Satterthwaite, MD, an assistant professor of Psychiatry, Danielle Bassett, PhD, an associate professor of Bioengineering, and Graham Baum, a neuroscience doctoral student supervised by Satterthwaite and Bassett, reveals that in adolescence the brain networks becomes increasingly divided into distinct parts, called modules. Modules are parts of a network that are tightly connected to each other, and less connected to other parts of the network. Modules are thought to support specialized brain functions like movement, sensation, vision, and more complicated tasks like executive function. The new evidence shows that the degree to which executive function develops during this period in part depends on the degree to which these modules are present.

"We were surprised to find that the development of structural brain networks involved both more distinct modules but also more global integration across the brain," Satterthwaite said.

The findings suggest that these modular sub-networks are critical for the development of complex cognition and behavior. They could also lead to the identification of biomarkers of abnormal brain development that could predict a person's risk for psychosis and major mood disorders.

Brain Network Organization. Credit: Penn Medicine

Satterthwaite and his team set out to define the normal development of structural network modules and its relationship to executive functioning using a large sample of 882 youth between the ages of 8 and 22 who completed diffusion imaging as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study of brain development led by Raquel Gur, MD, PhD, a professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology. As expected, executive function improved markedly in study participants with age. An analysis of specialized brain MRI scans allowed the team to estimate structural brain networks for each participant. Analyses of these networks revealed that modules became more defined with age, but also that the network as a whole became more integrated.

"The development of network modules did not result in the brain network becoming fragmented," Baum explained. "In fact, the brain's predicted ability to send signals efficiently across the whole network actually increased. These results suggest that as kids grow up, their brains become both more modular but also more globally integrated. This may allow the brain to have specialized units that can work together to support advanced cognitive abilities."

Satterthwaite, Bassett and Baum suggest that modular brain organization may be critical for supporting specific types of processing. At the same time, the increase in integration across the network may allow those specialized parts to work together in a coordinated fashion. The researchers found that both the presence of specialized network modules and the ability to send information across the network was significantly related to a person's performance on tests of executive function.

The research team is now combining structural and functional imaging techniques, to examine how structural brain networks constrain and shape functional brain networks and activation patterns. They will also investigate whether information about brain networks can predict the emergence of psychiatric disorders in children years later.

More information: Current Biology, Baum et al.: "Modular Segregation of Structural Brain Networks Supports the Development of Executive Function in Youth" DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.051 , Journal information: Current Biology , Baum et al.: "Modular Segregation of Structural Brain Networks Supports the Development of Executive Function in Youth" DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.051 , www.cell.com/current-biology/f  0960-9822(17)30496-7
Credit: George Hodan/public domain

Fathers with toddler daughters are more attentive and responsive to those daughters' needs than fathers with toddler sons are to the needs of those sons, according to brain scans and recordings of the parents' daily interactions with their kids.

Fathers of toddlers also sang more often to their daughters and spoke more openly about emotions, including sadness, possibly because they are more accepting of girls' feelings than boys', according to the study, published in the American Psychological Association's journal Behavioral Neuroscience. Fathers of sons engaged in more rough-and-tumble play and used more achievement-related language (e.g., words such as proud, win and top) when talking to their sons. Fathers of daughters used more analytical language (e.g., words such as all, below and much), which has been linked to future academic success.

"If the child cries out or asks for Dad, fathers of daughters responded to that more than did fathers of sons," said lead researcher Jennifer Mascaro, PhD, of Emory University. "We should be aware of how unconscious notions of gender can play into the way we treat even very young children."

The research examined whether the varying ways in which fathers treat sons or daughters may be influenced by different brain responses to male or female children. The study couldn't determine if those different brain responses meant fathers are somehow hard wired through genetics or evolution to treat sons differently than they treat daughters or if the fathers were conforming to societal norms relating to gender.

Studies about parenting often are biased in the lab because participants give answers that they think are expected of them or are not aware of their own behavior. The researchers, from Emory University and the University of Arizona, avoided that problem by taking their study out of the lab and into the real world. The study used data from 52 fathers of toddlers (30 girls, 22 boys) in the Atlanta area who agreed to clip a small handheld computer onto their belts and wear it for one weekday and one weekend day. The device randomly turned on for 50 seconds every nine minutes to record any sound during the 48-hour period. Some of the fathers in the study had more than one child, but the study focused only on their interactions with one son or daughter.

"People act shockingly normal when they are wearing it," Mascaro said. "They kind of forget they are wearing it or they say to themselves, what are the odds it's on right now."

The fathers also were told to leave the device charging in their child's room at night so any nighttime interactions with their children could be recorded, said Mascaro, an assistant professor in Family and Preventative Medicine at the Emory School of Medicine.

Fathers also underwent functional MRI brain scans while viewing photos of an unknown adult, an unknown child, and their own child with happy, sad or neutral facial expressions. Fathers of daughters had greater responses to their daughters' happy facial expressions in areas of the brain important for visual processing, reward, emotion regulation, and face processing than fathers of sons. In a finding that the researchers hadn't predicted, the brains of the fathers of boys responded more robustly to their sons' neutral facial expressions, possibly because fathers are responding to the more ambiguous emotional displays of their sons. There was no significant difference in the fathers' brain responses to sad facial expressions from sons or daughters.

In daily interactions, fathers of daughters used more language referencing the child's body (e.g., words such as belly, foot and tummy) relative to fathers of sons. Previous research has shown that pre-adolescent girls are more likely than boys to report body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem relating to body image.

The study focused on fathers because there is less research about fathers' roles in rearing young children than mothers, Mascaro said. The study couldn't make any definitive long-term connections between the varying treatment of sons or daughters as toddlers and future outcomes for those children, but the research explored some possible links that may offer some recommendations for fathers. Since the research was conducted in the United States, the study also couldn't draw any conclusions about fathers in other cultures with different societal norms for fathers.

If fathers are more present and attentive to daughters and open to expressing emotions, that may help girls develop more empathy than boys, so fathers of sons could take the same approach as fathers of daughters, Mascaro said. "The fact that fathers may actually be less attentive to the emotional needs of boys, perhaps despite their best intentions, is important to recognize," she said.

Other research has found that restricted emotions in adult men is linked to depression, decreased social intimacy, marital dissatisfaction and a lower likelihood of seeking mental health treatment.

Previous research also has shown that rough-and-tumble play by parents can help young children better regulate their emotions. Fathers of daughters may want to engage in more rough-and-tumble play with girls, even though such play is more often associated with boys, Mascaro said.

"Most dads are trying to do the best they can and do all the things they can to help their kids succeed, but it's important to understand how their interactions with their children might be subtly biased based on gender," Mascaro said.

More information: "Child Gender Influences Paternal Behavior, Language, and Brain Function," Jennifer S. Mascaro, PhD, Patrick D. Hackett, BS, and James K. Rilling, PhD, Emory University; Kelly E. Rentscher, PhD, and Matthias R. Mehl, PhD, University of Arizona; Behavioral Neuroscience, published May 22, 2017.
(HealthDay)Fidget spinners may be the latest must-have kids' toy, but claims that the gizmos help students pay attention aren't backed by science, experts say.

Some retailers market the devices as a way to help kids with anxiety, autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) keep themselves calm and focused in the classroom.

However, there have been no studies showing that fidget spinners benefit kids struggling to stay still, said Chicago psychiatrist Dr. Louis Kraus.

"To the best of my knowledge, there's no science behind what they're advertising," said Kraus, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry for the Rush University Medical Center.

"Without any research to show it's of benefit, I think it's wrong for them to advertise these things as helpful," he said.

The claims likely are based on small-scale studies that show kids with ADHD pay better attention if they are allowed to fidget, said Dr. Matthew Lorber, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

"They actually perform better because it indirectly forces the brain to work harder to focus on the task at hand," Lorber said.

But the lead researcher behind one ADHD/fidgeting study says fidget spinners probably are too interesting and fun to be much help in classrooms.

Fidgeting can help kids pay attention, said Julie Schweitzer, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the MIND Institute of the University of California, Davis.

However, "school work is probably a lot less interesting than playing with the toy," Schweitzer said. "You're looking at competing activities here. It seems to me that it would be more distractive than helpful."

In her June 2015 study in the journal Child Neuropsychology, Schweitzer found that kids with ADHD who fidgeted and squirmed more intensely wound up performing better on a test that required their attention.

However, those kids were stirring in their seats, not fiddling with a toy, Schweitzer said.

The palm-size devices whirl much like a fan or helicopter, and they seem to be everywhere these days.

Since they're hand-held, fidget spinners could get in the way of kids completing class work, said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

"I worry that children will focus on their spinners instead of what they are supposed to be paying attention to," Adesman said. "Moreover, students cannot take notes or other written assignments if they are playing with them."

Fidget spinners might benefit autistic children who use "sensory stimulation behaviors" to calm their anxiety, said Thomas Frazier, chief science officer at Autism Speaks.

These children engage in behaviors such as jumping, flapping their hands or spinning around. "Fidgeting with a fidget spinner as a replacement for that behavior might be a little less stigmatizing," Frazier said. Unfortunately, the toys also could distract the kids from class work.

Fidget spinners might best be used to reward children with autism for good behavior, Frazier said.

"If they pay attention and they complete an assignment and get access to the fidget spinner, it could be really reinforcing for them," he said. "Then they'd be more likely to finish their work next time."

Many schools are banning fidget spinners from the classroom as unnecessary distractions. Lorber recently spoke at a private school in Brooklyn, N.Y., that had taken that step.

"Certainly without question, it becomes a distraction to the class, to the point where teachers and even school systems are not allowing them," Kraus said. "You're going to find that more and more schools aren't going to allow them."

Adesman thinks the fad will be short-lived. "In my view, fidget spinners are just a new craze among children and their appeal will pass with time," he said.

There are other potential methods to help kids fidget in a productive way while in school, Schweitzer said, and these should be explored.

Allowing kids to chew gum might provide enough nonspecific motor activity to keep them focused but not distracted, Schweitzer said. In addition, some schools have tried attaching Velcro strips to desks, to give kids something to stroke and touch during class that doesn't grab their attention.

"If you could find something that doesn't interfere with their learning and attention, that would be best," Schweitzer said.

More information: For more on fidgeting in class, visit the For more on fidgeting in class, visit the National Education Association

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
A new study indicates that receiving donor kidneys from individuals with diabetes may offer a greater survival benefit than remaining on the waitlist for many transplant candidates. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), may help address the growing organ shortage.

As the demand for deceased donor kidneys increases, physicians and kidney transplant candidates need better information about the risks associated with using high risk donor kidneyssuch as those from individuals with diabetesto inform their decisions about whether to accept these organs.

Jordana Cohen, MD, MSCE (Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania) performed an observational study of 437,619 kidney transplant candidates from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database in the United States, including 8101 recipients of diabetic donor kidneys and 126,560 recipients of non-diabetic donor kidneys. The investigators evaluated patients' risk of dying after transplantation with diabetic donor kidneys compared with remaining on the kidney transplant waitlist.

Among transplant recipients who were followed for a median of 8.9 years, the mortality rate was 35 deaths per 1000 person-years. (A person-year is the number of years of follow-up multiplied by the number of people in the study.) Compared with patients who remained on the waitlist or waited for a kidney from a non-diabetic donor, patients who received a diabetic donor kidney had a 9% lower risk of dying during the study. Kidney transplant candidates who were at high risk of dying on the waitlist, especially at centers with the longest average waiting times, benefitted most from transplantation with kidneys from diabetic donors. Poor quality diabetic donor kidneys provided no survival benefit. Also, young kidney transplant candidates (under age 40 years) did not benefit from transplantation with diabetic donor kidneys.

"As kidney disease has become increasingly common in the United States over the past few decades, the need for kidneys to be donated far exceeds the number of available kidneys. As a result, poorer quality kidneys are increasingly being used as a way to try to decrease transplant waiting times and thus decrease the number of people who die while waiting for a kidney transplant," said Dr. Cohen.

In an accompanying editorial, Richard Formica Jr., MD (Yale University School of Medicine) noted that the study provides important data to support the use of deceased donor kidneys that are likely to be discarded. "However, as important as this finding is, it is necessary to view it in the context of the larger problem facing the nephrology community as it struggles to care for patients with end stage renal disease [ESRD]." He stressed that only a small percentage of money spent on ESRD-associated therapies is allocated to kidney transplantation despite the fact it is superior to dialysis. Moreover, when compared with dialysis, providing transplant care costs much less per year of treatment. "Given the magnitude of the health care crisis posed by ESRD and its toll in terms of human and financial costs, it is unfortunate that despite spending 17.4% of its GDP on healthcare the United States does not focus more of its resources on solving the problem through increasing access to kidney transplantation."

More information: "Survival Benefit of Transplantation with a Deceased Diabetic Donor Kidney Compared with Remaining on the Waitlist," Journal information: Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology "Survival Benefit of Transplantation with a Deceased Diabetic Donor Kidney Compared with Remaining on the Waitlist," DOI: 10.2215/CJN.10280916
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study of malaria medicine quality in 8 sub-Saharan African countries has found a large and potentially growing market for non-quality-assured (QA) malaria treatmentsmedicines not pre-approved by global health organisations - as much as 20% of the private-sector market in Kenya, and 42% in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As one of the most comprehensive recent studies relating to medicine quality in the region, the findings provide new insights for patients, researchers, policy makers and malaria control programmes because QA status is often linked to the quality of medicines - which can impact patient health and safety, malaria control efforts and artemisinin drug efficacy.

The study, conducted in the private and public sectors of Benin, DRC, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, was published today in a Malaria Journal article titled 'Do anti-malarials in Africa meet quality standards? The market penetration of non-quality assured artemisinin combination therapy in eight African countries'. Researchers measured the availability and market share of medicines not pre-approved under World Health Organization (WHO), Global Fund or European Medicines Agency (EMA) quality assurance programmes.

Researchers collected data from 29 malaria medicine outlet surveys and audited more than 330,000 artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) between 2009 and 2015. Based on samples from randomly selected clusters in the 8 countries, in 2014-15, non-QA medicines represented 42% and 27% of the private-sector market in Kinshasa and Katanga, respectively, 20% in Kenya, 19% in Uganda and Benin, 12% in Nigeria, 8% in Zambia and 5% in Tanzania. Moreover, non-QA medicines were available in 48% of private outlets in Nigeria, 38% in Uganda, 21% in Tanzania, 17% in Zambia and 83% and 53% in the Kinshasa and Katanga provinces of the DRC, respectively. In contrast with the private sector, the public-sector market share of non-QA medicines in 2014-15 was generally smaller - 6% in Nigeria, 5% in Kenya, and about 1% in Benin, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda.

Due to limited regulatory capacities in many malaria-endemic countries, public health officials look to pre-approval status to help ensure medicine quality. Although approval status alone does not guarantee the safety of a medicine - in fact, non-QA treatments can be safe and effective in some cases - it does provide a strong, evidence-based indication of quality, the article states. Poor quality antimalarials include falsified medicines - or those produced fraudulently - and substandard medicines, which were improperly manufactured or have degraded over time.

"These findings really improve our ability to understand the complex problem of medicine quality in Africa", said co-author Dr Megan Littrell, Principal Investigator at the ACTwatch project, which led the research collaboration. 'Although the data focus on quality-assurance status, it's hugely beneficial to know where non-QA antimalarials are most prevalent, particularly in countries with the highest malaria burdens, so that appropriate interventions can be considered alongside other efforts to tackle poor quality medicines".

In addition to showing substantial market penetration and availability of non-QA antimalarials, the study states that most countries showed an increase in the private-sector market share of non-QA medicines between 2009 and 2015. The greatest increase occurred in Kenya and Kinshasa, where the market share approximately doubled, from 19% and 11% in 2009 to 42% and 20% in 2014-15, respectively. The public-sector non-QA market share mostly decreased during this time, except in Kenya, Kinshasa (DRC) and Zambia where the non-QA market share shifted from 1%, 1% and less than 1% in 2009, respectively, to 5%, 18% and 32% in 2014-15.

"Non-QA antimalarials clearly have a strong market penetration across Africa, and these findings should help inform policy responses", said Professor Paul Newton, a co-author of the article and Head of the Medicine Quality Group at the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO). "However, we have also found numerous differences on the ground, so we must tailor our strategies for removing these medicines accordingly, by improving regulation, aligning national registration medicine lists with global standards, enhancing access to QA antimalarials and providing more support for manufacturers to ensure that their products are all quality assured. Frequent monitoring of the available antimalarials should be conducted to understand what patients are taking and the quality of the medications".

The article, which included co-authors from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also found that diverse generics and formulations were available, but typically imported and distributed in urban areas at either pharmacies or drug stores. In countries such as Nigeria, over 90 unique manufacturers were found to be supplying non-QA medicines. In most cases, the private sector is the most common source of treatments, at for-profit health facilities, pharmacies, drug stores, general retailers, and mobile providers. However, patients also receive medicines from public-sector outlets, such as hospitals, clinics and other facilities.

Provided by Infectious Diseases Data Observatory
Passenger traffic at the Lincoln Airport fell sharply last month, and officials aren't quite sure why.

According to the airport's numbers, the number of passengers in April was down 16 percent compared with April 2016.

Executive Director David Haring was so concerned that he called the airlines to see if their numbers matched up.

Haring said United Airlines told him its data was showing a 9 percent drop in Lincoln in April, compared to the airport's 13 percent figure.

Delta Air Lines, however, said the airport's numbers showing a 20 percent drop were correct.

Passenger numbers have been declining this year after four straight years of gains. Traffic has been down every month this year compared with last year, although the drops in January, February and March were much smaller than April.

Through April, passenger traffic is down 7 percent compared with 2016.

Haring said during the Lincoln Airport Authority's monthly meeting Thursday that one likely factor is a fare gap between Lincoln and Omaha that is growing.

The airport does a monthly fare comparison with Omaha, and the one for May, which looks at fare prices a month out, found that only about a quarter of Lincoln round-trip fares on Delta were within $100 of a flight from Omaha to the same destination, and less than half on United were.

For some cities, including Dallas and Philadelphia, it costs $500-$600 more to fly out of Lincoln than out of Omaha.

Haring said he and other airport officials plan to meet with both Delta and United in two weeks at a conference in Rhode Island to discuss why fares in Lincoln are so high.

He also said there seems to be a slowdown regionally in passenger traffic, especially at smaller airports. For example, traffic at Grand Island's airport was down almost 15 percent in the first quarter of the year.

"It is being felt beyond the borders of Lincoln," Haring said.
Men seem to have worse chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy than women despite receiving similar cancer treatments, according to research presented today at EuroCMR 2017.

"Cancer patients are living longer because of improved treatment but the side effects of treatment include cardiovascular morbidity and mortality," said lead author Dr Iwan Harries, cardiology specialist registrar at Bristol Heart Institute, currently pursuing a PhD on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and cardio-oncology at the University of Bristol, UK.

A 2016 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) position paper on cardio-oncology described female sex as a risk factor for developing cardiotoxicity from chemotherapy. Dr Harries said: "The data largely originates from paediatric populations and, in contrast, animal studies report male susceptibility to cardiomyopathy."

This retrospective observational study in adults investigated whether there was a sex effect on chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy. The researchers identified all patients over a six year period that received potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, were referred for CMR, and were found to have impaired left ventricular function (chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy).

Patients were excluded if they had another condition that could have contributed to the cardiomyopathy such as ischaemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, family history of cardiomyopathy, or excess alcohol consumption.

The study included 76 patients (45 women and 31 men). Data was collected on baseline demographics and comorbidities. Details of the cancer treatment were recorded, including the type of chemotherapy, dose of chemotherapy, and the interval between receiving treatment and having the CMR scan. CMR scans provided information on left and right ventricular function, cardiac volumes, and tissue characteristics.

To assess the potential impact of gender on the development of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, the researchers conducted a multivariate regression analysis correcting for baseline differences between men and women including age, body surface area, comorbidities, and treatment.

The researchers found that both left and right ventricular ejection fraction was significantly lower in men than women, indicating worse performance of the heart. Cardiac volumes and mass were significantly larger in men compared to women, indicating more damage to the heart's structure.

Dr Harries said: "The results of our study suggest that men developed a more severe form of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy than women at follow-up of 8.75 years. Patients receiving anthracycline received on average 240 mg/m2 of doxorubicin or equivalent, a dose which was similar in both men and women."

Previous studies in paediatric populations which found increased risk in females may be explained by the absence of female sex hormones early in life. In adults it may be that female sex hormones are protective. "Previous lab-based research has shown that female adult rat cardiac muscle cells have a survival advantage over male cells when challenged with oxidative stress-induced cell death, which is one of the proposed mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy," Dr Harries explained.

Dr Harries said: "Ours is a preliminary result and large scale trials are needed to confirm our finding that men are more susceptible to chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy than women. If confirmed, the implication of these findings is that cardiologists and oncologists could devise individualised treatment and monitoring strategies for their patients that take gender into account."

"Cardio-oncology is a new field of cardiology that is rapidly developing thanks to oncology treatments being more efficacious and oncology patients living longer but with associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to cardiotoxicity," Dr Bucciarelli-Ducci, senior lecturer in cardiology at the University of Bristol and principal investigator of the study concluded.

More information: The abstract 'Gender differences in patients with late chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy by cardiovascular magnetic resonance' will be displayed from 25 May at 09:00 to 27 May at 12:30 in the Poster area.
The experts designed a cross-sectional study of families where the parents were together or divorced, with the participation of 467 boys, girls and teenagers aged between two and 18 / Olmo Calvo (SINC)

Children's well-being is among the biggest concerns when a couple gets a divorce. Scientists at the universities of Santiago de Compostela and Vigo have carried out a study into how divorce affects children's health, finding increased risk of genitourinary, gastrointestinal, dermatological and neurological issues.

Divorce is a psychosocial stressor. It can have a significant impact on the physical and psycho-emotional health of all members of a family, the parents and the children. A team of researchers from the universities of Santiago de Compostela and Vigo have evaluated children's risk of health problems related to their parents' separation.

"It is not the break-up in itself that has negative effects on the children's health, but improper handling of the situation by the parents. This is indicated in the scientific literature and validated by our data," said Maria Dolores Seijo Martinez, a researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and co-author of the paper.

The experts designed a cross-sectional study of families in which the parents were together or divorced, with the participation of 467 boys, girls and teenagers aged between two and 18.

The scientists found that the children of separated parents are approximately twice as likely to develop gastrointestinal, genitourinary, dermatological or neurological issues than children living in nuclear families.

The researchers did not find exposure to divorce to be linked to the development of respiratory, cardiovascular or musculoskeletal issues, allergies, or hearing and sight problems.

Avoiding toxic stress

The majority of authors believe that physical, psycho-emotional and behavioural issues are linked mainly to inadequate management of the break-up. High levels of conflict, a lack of co-parenting or violence within the family increase the risk involved in divorce and its impact on child adjustment.

"Poor handling involves very high levels of interparental conflict, which makes it very difficult to maintain a good relationship. If children are exposed to these family situations for prolonged periods, they often experience toxic stress," says the USC researcher.

In Seijo Martinez's opinion, this causes an intense, prolonged activation of the body's stress responses, which are the main cause of these physical effects.

With respect to this, a 2012 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that adversity alone does not predict maladjustment and maladaptive health patterns in children, but is exacerbated by an absence of good relationships offering protection and support and favouring the children's adjustment and adaptation.

"We need to support families in order to reduce these consequences. Professionals in direct contact with children, such as primary care workers or school staff, have a very important role in reducing toxic stress, as they are in a position to design and implement new interventions oriented towards protection and prevention," Seijo Martinez concludes.

Support for separated families

In countries like the United States and Canada, it is very common to find separation education and support programmes, particularly those implemented by family courts. In some cases, all parents are required to attend these when they file for divorce, for separation custody of the children, or to demand visiting rights.

"In 2002, a pioneering programme was launched in Galicia at the University of Santiago de Compostela. The 'Parental breakdown, not family breakdown' (Ruptura de pareja, no de familia) programme was supported by local government until 2015, and is now run by volunteers," explains Maria Dolores Seijo Martinez.

More information: Jose Maria Martinon et al. Impacto de la ruptura de los progenitores en el estado de salud fisica de los hijos, European Journal of Education and Psychology (2017). Jose Maria Martinon et al. Impacto de la ruptura de los progenitores en el estado de salud fisica de los hijos,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ejeps.2016.10.002
Rob Gourdie, the director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute's Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine Research, uses "intrapreneurship" to translate laboratory breakthroughs into medical treatments. Credit: David Hungate/Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute

Sometimes it takes a researcher with a flair for entrepreneurship to translate a laboratory breakthrough into a medical treatment that will help patients in the clinic.

One such scientist is Rob Gourdie, the director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute's Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine Research.

In 2005, he founded a company, FirstString Research Inc., with his then-postdoctoral fellow, Gautam Ghatnekar.

After 12 years of work, FirstString Research is on the verge of commercializing a treatment to help heal foot ulcers in patients with diabetes.

On top of that, the business has recently received a prestigious 2017 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration, recognizing it among "the best of the best from the thousands of firms" in the Small Business Innovation Research program. The award was presented at the White House in Washington, D.C.

"I'd call myself an 'intrapreneur,' rather than entrepreneur," said Gourdie, who is also the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Eminent Scholar in Heart and Regenerative Medicine at Virginia Tech. "I work within the university, but try to take discoveries beyond the lab bench, and that involves a different kind of thinking than is traditionally associated with the publish-or-perish motivation of academia."

Gourdie's entrepreneurial touch is now reaching into Roanoke. With Samy Lamouille, a research assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, he founded a second biotech company, Acomhal Research Inc., to develop treatments for cancer patients.

"Dr. Gourdie's achievements demonstrate how National Institutes of Health support for basic research translates into improved human health and measurable economic impact," said Michael J. Friedlander, executive director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and Virginia Tech's vice president for health sciences and technology.

Friedlander recruited Gourdie to the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in 2012.

"He is a great example of the type of entrepreneurial faculty member who is able to secure National Institutes of Health funding for research, make fundamental biomedical discoveries, publish the findings in top peer-reviewed journals, translate them into applications to improve human health, and commercialize the work into a successful business," Friedlander said.

FirstString's technology grew out of pioneering work in Gourdie's lab on connexinschannels that enable direct communication between cells that not only are well-established by Gourdie and others as the key elements of bridges for electrical signaling in the heart but also play a potential role in wound healing and tissue repair.

The research led to a treatment to combat foot ulcers in patients with diabetes that's in the final stage of clinical testing. The treatment may soon become a care option for patients.

"The technology was initially developed as a tool for basic research," said Gourdie, who continues to serve on FirstString's scientific advisory board. "We were looking at how the electrical connections of heart muscle cells were regulated and developed a tool to carry out our experiments. About the same time, we became aware of another research group studying wound healing, and we realized the same tool we developed might have some therapeutic potential."

In 2006, Gourdie and colleagues patented their discoveries and secured their first small business grant. That seed money led to a series of grants involving the Small Business Technology Transfer program, which provides opportunities for small businesses and nonprofit research institutions.

The socioeconomic impact of the company's work helped it earn the Tibbetts Award, named for Roland Tibbetts, the acknowledged father of the Small Business Innovation Research program, overseen by the Small Business Administration.

The award is based on the economic impact of the company's technological innovation, as well as the extent to which that innovation served federal research and development needs and increased the commercialization of federal research.

"I was fortunate to be there at the beginning and am pleased to see how the company has blossomed," Gourdie said.

Meanwhile, work is under way to develop new approaches to target cancer-causing cells at his new startup, Acomhal Research Inc.

"Acomhal Research studies a compound that has potential to target cancer stem cells, which are the seeds from which a number of different tumors are thought to grow," Gourdie said. "We imagine a drug that might be used for treating glioblastoma, which is a deadly type of brain tumor."

In addition, Gourdie said colon and other types of cancer besides brain tumors may be effectively targeted through their cancer stem cell techniques. If so, it could be another candidate therapy for commercialization.
Are our medical students and junior doctors overworking? Credit: shutterstock.com

Doctors experience higher levels of suicide and mental distress than their non-medical peers. A review of studies in the area found male doctors had a 26% higher risk of suicide, while female doctors had a 146% higher risk (more than double) than the general population.

And a recent survey, conducted by the mental health foundation beyondblue, confirmed there were higher rates of suicidal thoughts and psychological distress among doctors and medical students than in the general community.

But beyond the numbers are tragic stories of young individuals who lost their lives to suicide. In recent months, the suicide of four junior doctors in New South Wales has prompted the state government to investigate the issue. News reports have suggested at least 20 doctors took their own lives between 2007 and 2016 in NSW.

Family members have pointed to stress, "brutal expectations" and working hours as having had an impact on the doctors' decisions to end their lives.

Are our medical students and junior doctors overworking? Can we identify underlying causes of mental distress and suicidal thoughts, as well as the warning signs? Can medical schools, hospital employers, supervisors, professional organisations and peers do more to prevent further tragedies?

A host of factors

Various inquiries and reviews have considered the above questions, in Australia and overseas. The conclusion is that it's complex. Behind the phenomenon are a number of interacting factors.

There's a legacy professional culture that can still view any admission of psychological distress as weakness or incompetence.

Doctors face long work hours in a pressured work environment. They experience anxiety about making mistakes that can have serious consequences.

Workplace bullying and harassment can also contribute. While this has most recently been highlighted among trainee surgeons, it probably extends well beyond surgical training.

And of course doctors have technical knowledge and access to the means to end life.

A lot has already been done to try to improve doctors' mental health. For instance, progress has been made to reduce working hours. Prolonged shifts and continuous on-call rosters have been discontinued in most, if not all, health service rosters. This was at least in part in response to pressure from the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Safe Hours campaign, which outlined the risks to patients and practitioners of excessive hours worked and the need for breaks between shifts.

These recommendations have been incorporated into industrial agreements for hospital medical staff. These stipulate maximum working hours and mandatory periods of time off. However, 14-hour shifts and rosters that include one in three or four weekends without any reduction in weekday hours are not uncommon. There is considerable anecdotal evidence that some junior doctors are working more hours than they are rostered for.

Progress has been made in other areas too. Polices for better orientation of junior doctors in hospitals to explain supervision and avenues for support have been implemented. Other measures adopted include: education and mentoring programs in hospitals; supervisor training; blame-free reporting; assessment by external accreditors of health services' and specialty colleges' reporting and support arrangements; mental health first aid training for students; medical student guides; and confidential doctors' health services.

But introduction of these initiatives has been patchy. The levels of support available in different hospitals are variable, and too often dependent on a few enthusiastic individuals. A systematic national approach would have much greater impact.

Medical graduates

One source of increasing stress for recent graduates, anecdotally, is the intense competition to get a job that will be their pathway to a specialist qualification. This pressure has its genesis in the dramatic boost to medical graduate numbers over the past 15 years.

Training beyond medical school is an intense period of four to nine years of work, on-the-job learning, study and examinations. By doubling the number of medical schools and almost tripling the number of medical graduates, Australia has severely increased competition in capital-city teaching hospitals (where, unfortunately, most of the training jobs for medical graduates remain based).

Ironically, the main reason for the boost in graduate numbers was the shortage of doctors in regional areas. An increasing number of young doctors (including those who trained in rural clinical schools or regional medical schools) feel that they have little choice but to apply for accredited metropolitan training posts.

They would be better off working and training from a home base in regional Australia, if only the specialist training pathways existed. Australia desperately needs to re-align this phase of medical training to better serve both regional communities and graduates.

Building resilience

There are core professional capabilities that should be taught and modelled throughout medical training. These include managing one's own health needs, dealing with stress and fatigue, recognising and assisting distressed colleagues, and reporting bullying and harassment.

Medical schools and hospital employers could do better in finding ways to communicate with one other to protect more vulnerable graduates as they transition into the workforce.

We should also critically review our approaches to selecting students into medical school. Selection policies that promote greater diversity, place more emphasis on humanistic qualities (qualities that define who we are as human beings such as honesty, integrity, courage, self-awareness and wholeheartedness) rather than examination marks, and that include people with a positive orientation to risk and innovation may help to take the steam out of the pressure cooker. These approaches could also improve workforce outcomes in rural and under-served communities.

Beyond "resilience building", there are important system challenges in how the nature of healthcare needs to be transformed into something that is more integrated, person-centred and community-based. This has particular implications for our larger institutions.

It turns out that finding "joy and meaning" in healthcare work is not only good for doctor well-being, it's also safer for our patients. Teamwork, fun and personal fulfilment in caring for others are the essence of the joy of medicine.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
A new cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and others suggests that $6 million in costs related to the opioid epidemic could be saved each year if a single "safe consumption" space for illicit drug users were opened in Baltimore.

It would also reduce overdose deaths, HIV and hepatitis C infections, overdose-related ambulance calls and hospitalizations - and bring scores of people into treatment, they found.

Carefully monitored "safe consumption" spaces, which are not legal in the United States but have been used in dozens of cities around the world, provide a clean indoor environment in which people can use their own drugs with medical personnel on hand to reverse overdoses should they occur. These facilities serve as access points to substance use disorder treatment and other vital social services for drug users, such as medical care and housing.

The authors of the study, published this month in the Harm Reduction Journal, say that the findings add economic evidence to the body of research that already links such spaces to a reduction in fatal drug overdoses and an increase in people seeking treatment. "Safe consumption" spaces are especially critical right now: Last year, the United States hit a record for the number of people who have died from drug overdose, and fentanyl, a more dangerous and powerful drug than heroin, is increasingly being added to heroin in places like Baltimore.

"No one has ever died from an overdose in a safe consumption space," says the study's senior author, Susan G. Sherman, PhD, MPH, a professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Bloomberg School. "Thousands of lives have been saved. There are lots of doors people can walk through when they are addicted to drugs. We want them to walk through a door that may eventually lead to successful treatment - and keep them alive until they are ready for that."

Says Amos Irwin, MA, the study's lead author and program director at the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in Washington, D.C.: "Today, thousands of Baltimoreans are risking their lives to inject drugs instead of seeking treatment. We estimate that more than 100 new people would enter treatment every year if the city had a supervised injection facility. Bringing these people into a safe space actually helps reduce drug use, not increase it."

For their study, the researchers looked at the costs of operating a safe consumption space in Vancouver, the only one in North America. Then they estimated the impact on several health outcomes, based on Baltimore data.

They determined that running a 1,000-square-foot, 13-booth space in Baltimore for 18 hours a day would cost $1.8 million a year. Insite, the Vancouver facility, serves about 2,100 unique individuals a month, who perform roughly 180,000 injections per year in a space the same size.

Based on research done at Insite, they estimate that a Baltimore facility would generate $7.8 million in annual savings, preventing four HIV infections, 21 hepatitis C infections, 374 days in the hospital for skin and soft-tissue infections, six overdose deaths, 108 overdose-related ambulance calls, 78 emergency room visits and 27 overdose-related hospitalizations.

At the same time, an estimated 121 additional people would enter treatment.

"Six million dollars is a lot of money for one facility to save," Irwin says. "It is almost a third of Baltimore City's entire budget for HIV, sexually-transmitted infections and substance abuse treatment and prevention."

A bill allowing safe consumption spaces failed in the Maryland General Assembly this year. Last month, the Massachusetts Medical Society recommended opening safe consumption spaces in that state. These supervised injection facilities are a widely used public health intervention in 11 countries, mostly in Europe.

Sherman says many drug users in Baltimore are injecting on the streets or in abandoned houses, exposing them to possible violence, arrest and overdose death. Safe consumption spaces would provide clinical supervision and a clean environment, and they allow health professionals to connect drug users to critical health services. Such spaces maintain a strict prohibition on drug sharing or selling. These programs are not condoning illicit behavior, she says. They are meeting people where they are and connecting them with lifesaving resources.

The researchers did not estimate how many safe consumption spaces would be needed to service Baltimore's drug using population.

"We know what doesn't work when it comes to the so-called 'War on Drugs' in the United States because we have an opioid epidemic that is only getting worse," Sherman says. "The stakes are even higher now with so much heroin and other drugs adulterated with fentanyl. You can keep doing what you are doing or you can try something that has been proven by evidence and is considered usual care in a dozen nations."

More information: "Mitigating the heroin crisis in Baltimore, MD, USA: a cost-benefit analysis of a hypothetical supervised injection facility" Harm Reduction Journal, 2017.
Diagram illustrates how varicella zoster virus might be able to take over a protein, potentially hijacking white blood cells and spreading the virus throughout the body. Credit: Gonzalez-Motos V, et al. (2017)

The virus that causes chickenpoxvaricella zoster virus (VZV)possesses a protein that could enhance its ability to hijack white blood cells and spread throughout the body, according to new research published in PLOS Pathogens.

The findings, presented by Victor Gonzalez-Motos of Hannover Medical School, Germany, and colleagues, may provide new insight into the poorly understood mechanism by which VZV spreads after initial infection in the respiratory tract.

VZV causes chickenpox in children and can reactivate later in life to cause shingles. After infecting the respiratory tract, the virus hijacks the immune system's white blood cells, using them to spread in the bodyincluding to the skin to cause chickenpox.

To better understand this process, the researchers investigated whether VZV influences the function of chemokines, small immune system proteins that attract white blood cells to sites of infection and guide their movement within the body.

The scientists focused on a VZV protein known as glycoprotein C, since previous research suggested it may play an important role in the infection cycle. In the lab, they performed chemotaxis experiments and found that the addition of glycoprotein C enhances the ability of chemokines to attract white blood cells, including white blood cells from the tonsils, which are a major target of VZV during initial infection.

Further experiments uncovered the molecular details of the interaction between glycoprotein C and chemokines. The researchers also showed that VZV viral particles that had been genetically engineered to remove glycoprotein C had a reduced ability to enhance chemokine attraction of white blood cells, indicating the importance of glycoprotein C for this process.

Overall, these results suggest that glycoprotein C may interact with chemokines to attract more white blood cells to the site of VZV infection, where the virus can hijack the white blood cells to spread to other parts of the body. Further research is needed to investigate whether this hypothesis holds up in human tissue.

More information: Gonzalez-Motos V, Jurgens C, Ritter B, Kropp KA, Duran V, Larsen O, et al. (2017) Varicella zoster virus glycoprotein C increases chemokine-mediated leukocyte migration. PLoS Pathog 13(5): e1006346. Journal information: PLoS Pathogens Gonzalez-Motos V, Jurgens C, Ritter B, Kropp KA, Duran V, Larsen O, et al. (2017) Varicella zoster virus glycoprotein C increases chemokine-mediated leukocyte migration.13(5): e1006346. doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006346
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Erdogan: Ankara continues mediation efforts to resolve Ukrainian crisis

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Armenia PM: Aliyev grossly violated tripartite written agreement of Sochi

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Armenia Security Council chief meets with Lithuania officials

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YEREVAN.  Azerbaijan is losing in political and military terms, stated Vagharshak Harutyunyan, former Defense Minister of Armenia, speaking to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, during the events that occurred in April of the year past, Baku wished to force the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs to propose an option that envisions handing over of territories to Azerbaijan.

[But] they [Azerbaijan] could not achieve this, stressed Harutyunyan. On the contrary, the Armenian side [to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] posited conditions; the co-chairs accepted them.

For that reason, Baku is now in an impasse. They demand from it, whereas it does not wish to fulfill these conditions, since thus, it will be clear who is violating the ceasefire regime.

And reflecting on Azerbaijans recent firing a Spike guided missile toward the line of contact of the conflict zone, the former defense minister said, in particular: They [Azerbaijan] think that they will achieve the settlement of the Karabakh conflict by way of recurrent violations of the ceasefire regime.

Vagharshak Harutyunyan added, however, that Azerbaijan lost the war, and it cannot resolve the problem for 25 years.
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian is set to offer testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe as part of a hearing investigating the May 16th brutal beatings of peaceful American protesters by Turkish President Recep Tayip Erodogans bodyguards.

Also testifying at the May 25 hearing are Ms. Lusik Usoyan, Founder and President of the Ezidi Relief Fund and Mr. Murat Yusa, a local businessman and protest organizer. Usoyan and Yusa were victims of the brutal assault on May 16th by President Erdogans bodyguards.

On the eve of the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) commented that The attack by members of President Erdogans security detail on peaceful protesters earlier this month was offensive and showed a deep disrespect for the United States and the value we cherish. Those responsible should be punished as the law allows and I call on our own authorities to make sure such a situation is never again allowed to occur.

The Subcommittee hearing will follow the full Committees consideration of the resolution condemning the attacks and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The ANCA commends Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for introducing H.Res.354, condemning the May 16th beatings of peaceful American protesters by Turkish President Erdogans bodyguards, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. Even more than a brutal attack on protesters, this is a fundamental attack on the very principles underlying our American democracy  free speech and freedom of assembly. Sadly, Erdogan is able to get away with this brutality in Turkey  but he should never be allowed to export this repression to America or anywhere else in the world.

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian was videotaping live at the scene of the May 16th attack, which took place in front of the Turkish Ambassadors residence where President Erdogan was scheduled to have a closed-door meeting with representatives of The Atlantic Council, a leading think tank in Washington, DC which receives funding from Turkey. Hamparians video showed pro-Erdogan forces crossing a police line and beating peaceful protesters  elderly men and several women  who were on the ground bleeding during most of the attack.
A 52-year-old Nebraska man will spend 18 years in prison for possessing more than two ounces of meth and $2,098 of drug money, according to federal court documents.

Carl Mangiameli, whose last address in court records is listed in Omaha, was indicted in federal court in November 2016 and sentenced by Judge Richard Kopf in Lincoln on Wednesday.

Mangiameli was charged with possession with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of meth.

On August 28, 2015, he was contacted by Lincoln narcotics officers at a city truck stop. He told officers he had been selling meth since 1999.

He will spend five years on supervised release after his prison sentence is fulfilled and was ordered to forfeit $2,091.

Mangiameli was sentenced as a career criminal. His attorney, Charles Steenson, argued against sentencing Mangiameli as such, but Kopf overruled his objection Wednesday.

He has two prior felony drug convictions from Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

This was Mangiameli's second conviction in federal court. He was indicted in 2004 on the same charge while he was on supervised release. Court records show Judge Joseph Bataillon sentenced Mangiameli in 2013 to 18 months in prison.
In accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission on Thursday conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, to the west of Seysulan settlement of Martakert Region.

From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring was held by Mihail Olaru (Moldova), Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO); and Simon Tiller (Great Britain), Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO.

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO; and Martin Schuster (Germany), staff member of the Office of the Personal Representative of OSCE CiO.

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule, and no ceasefire violation was recorded.

The Azerbaijani side, however, did not lead the OSCE mission to its frontlines, and, in violation of arrangements reached on the procedure of conducting a monitoring, it used a surveillance aerostat.

From the Artsakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
YEREVAN.  President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Ara Babloyan, on Thursday received a delegation, led by Chairman David McAllister of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.

The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who represented Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Finland and Italy, are in Armenia within the framework of a regional visit.

Representatives of the NA factions also attended this talk.

The NA President noted that the European Union (EU) continues remaining a key partner of Armenia, cooperation with the EU is, first of all, based on the system of common values.

Babloyan highlighted the role of the parliamentary diplomacy in the development of Armenia-EU relations.

Talking about the new EU-Armenia Framework Agreement to be signed in future, the NA speaker stated that Armenia, which is moving in the direction of the democratic development, expects the EUs support in various domains.

In the context of democratic development and protection of fundamental human rights, Ara Babloyan touched upon Azerbaijans blacklist comprising foreigners that have visited Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), and expressed their wish to get acquainted with the situation on the spot, unfairly appeared there.

Regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the issue of the young people who get killed in border incidents, the NA President reaffirmed the position of Armenia on the resolution of this conflict through pacific means, and noted: As a doctor, I have cured and operated on hundreds of Azerbaijani children during the Soviet years. And it is painful that we lose our young people during these days: the problem should be solved through peaceful means.

MEP McAllister, for his part, expressed the wish to listen to the views of both the political majority and the opposition of Armenia, with respect to the ongoing processes in the country.

During the ensuing exchange of views, the interlocutors touched upon the EU-Armenia new Framework Agreement to be signed in future, the avenues for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, and the MEPs visits to Artsakh.

During the talk, the representatives from all National Assembly factions expressed their viewpoints and concerns.
A Nebraska appeals court has affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss a prison inmate's lawsuit against staff for confiscating his artwork because it contained nudity.

Christopher Payne, 37, accused the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services and three employees of violating his rights by not allowing him to keep the artwork or to mail it to someone outside of the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution where he was being housed.

He alleged that an operational memorandum that prohibits inmates from making items that depict nudity suppressed inmates' artistic expression of free speech and that prison staff violated his First Amendment rights by not allowing him to send and receive mail.

Payne sought monetary damages, punitive damages, an order releasing his artwork and invalidating the prison memo.

In 2015, Lancaster County District Court Judge Karen Flowers dismissed his suit, finding that Payne couldn't sue the department for damages, and that the Corrections Department had not violated his First Amendment rights when it prohibited him from possessing and sending the artwork in question.

The judge found that the memo at issue was a preventative measure aimed at maintaining prison security.

Payne appealed.

On Tuesday, the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed Flowers' order, saying Payne hadn't shown he had a right to possess the drawings.

"Maintaining institutional security and preserving internal order and discipline are essential prison goals which may require the limitation of some of a prisoner's constitutional rights," Chief Judge Frankie Moore wrote in the opinion, citing a 1987 case.

Payne is serving a 40- to 50-year sentence on child sexual assault charges out of Douglas and Sarpy counties. He is at the Lincoln Correctional Center now, according to prison records, and isn't eligible for parole until 2025.
YEREVAN. - Status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh is unacceptable but there is no military solution to the conflict, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) of the European Parliament, David McAllister, told journalists on Thursday.

Responding to the question of Armenian News  NEWS.am reporter as to whether he agrees with the standpoint of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the recent violation of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan, he noted that all the European organizations have the same opinion.

According to him, it is necessary to find a quick political solution to the conflict, which will be in line with the norms of international law. The EU is not an active player in the settlement process but it supports each diplomatic effort towards the achievement of the solution, the Chair said. For this reason the EU continues to fully support the mediation efforts and proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group, one of whose members, France, is an EU member state, Mr McAllister stressed.

In his words, the parties to the conflict need to observe the ceasefire and solve the conflict by peaceful means. The Chair expressed concern about the ongoing arms race, military rhetoric and recurrent incidents on the contact line, which claim human lives. He thus urged the parties to resume the talks without preconditions and based on the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Earlier, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France, and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America, released the following statement: According to information collected from multiple reliable sources, on 15 May, Azerbaijani armed forces fired a missile across the Line of Contact, striking military equipment. On the evening of 16 May and continuing into 17 May, Armenian armed forces retaliated with mortar fire of various calibres. These actions by both sides represent significant violations of the ceasefire and are cause for alarm.
YEREVAN. - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday received the delegation led by Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) of the European Parliament, David McAllister, who is in Armenia on the sidelines of a regional visit.

At the meeting, reference was made to the agenda of Armenia-EU bilateral relations, important and pressing issues of the domestic and foreign policy of Armenia, as well as regional issues and challenges, the press-service of the Armenian Presidents Office informed Armenian News  NEWS.am.

Sarsgyan expressed satisfaction with the fact that in the recent years Armenia has achieved significant progress in the bilateral relations with the EU. He stressed that the country is interested in and willing to expand the existing partnership relations with the EU in all the spheres possible. According to the President, the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement and the partnership priorities for 2017-2020 are the most important guidelines for the bilateral cooperation. The mutual commitments expressed therein will give a new impetus to the large-scale political and economic reforms in Armenia, he noted.

Apart from this, the President underscored the importance of inter-parliamentary relations and frequent communication between the deputies in terms of developing the relations between Armenia and EU.

At the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan also congratulated Mr McAllister on assuming the post of the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, wishing him good luck.

David McAllister, for his part, thanked the Armenian President for the reception and congratulations, stressing that the European Parliament attaches great importance to the relations of Armenia with the countries of the region and is interested in the enhancement of democracy, as well as establishment of stability and peace in the entire region.

By the end of the meeting, President Sargsyan responded to the questions of interest to the deputies of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which related to the domestic and foreign policy of Armenia, its relations with the neighboring countries, regional issues and the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The tug-of-war over the University of Nebraskas state appropriation at the Capitol has left administrators strung out over how to close a nearly $50 million funding gap.

The NU Board of Regents is scheduled to meet June 1 to approve an operating budget for the 2017-18 school year and set tuition rates for students at its Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney campuses.

But details about both the operating budget and the proposed tuition rates were conspicuously absent from the 595-page agenda made public Thursday.

Those items are being finalized following the recent completion of the legislative session and determination of the universitys state funding, NU said in a statement.

Both the budget and tuition plans are expected to be released Tuesday, about 48 hours before the regents meeting.

The back-and-forth by state lawmakers on how much to fund the university system began in January and went into the final days of the 86-day legislative session.

Gov. Pete Ricketts in January proposed slashing $12.2 million from NUs budget next year before adding half that amount back in the second year of the state's two-year budget cycle, funding the university at nearly $578 million at the end of the biennium.

The Appropriations Committees plan would have cut $7 million from NUs budget in each of the next two years, putting it at $576 million in state funding when senators craft the next biennial budget in 2019.

NU leaders, meanwhile, asked the committee to hold funding flat at $583 million -- the level set by lawmakers for this year before mid-year cuts were put in place -- for the next two years at a hearing in February.

Instead, NU will receive $570 million in state funds next year and $580 million in the second year of the biennium after new projections from the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board trended revenue downward and lawmakers failed to override Ricketts' line-item veto.

Regents will be expected to wrestle with how to close a budget shortfall of approximately $50 million. Ten working groups have proposed cuts across non-academic areas of the university, although the details of those proposals have not been made public.

In addition to cuts, regents can raise additional revenue by imposing the costs on students.

Raising tuition by 1 percent would allow NU to generate an additional $1.6 million in revenue from Nebraska students and $1.1 million from nonresident students.

Reached by phone, several regents said they were waiting to see the administrations plans before commenting on what course the board could take.

Regent Paul Kenney of Amherst said the board will sit down and look at the entire picture next week, while Regent Jim Pillen of Columbus said the board is working through its options.

Those are going to be important decisions and important votes, Pillen said.
There is no shadow economy in Armenia without the participation of the government, the classic shadow economy only amounting to 10 percent in the country.

Economist Vahagn Khachatryan said the aforementioned at the discussion on the Bulgarian experience of reducing the shadow economy held at the session of the International Coordinating Council of Employers' Unions (ICCEU) in Yerevan on Thursday.

In his words, the main problem in Armenia is the absence of competition, both political and economic. The monopoly of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)which Khachatryan labeled Communist Partyrules in the sphere of politics. He also noted that Armenian has not outlived the ideology of socialism, which has started returning in the recent years.

Referring to the Armenian economy, Khachatryan said that this is a pure monopoly-oligarchic structure, it being impossible to engage in business without being given the go ahead. This is the case with investments as well: the important thing is not the law but the roof. There is no competition as such, this being the key issue hindering the development of business. In 2008, the GDP amounted to $11.6 billion in Armenia, reaching $10.5 now, he said.

According to the economist, the demographic and poverty issues are not solved in Armenia. The foreign debt made up $1.2 billion in 2008, whereas now it amounts to $6 billion. The budget has been increased by four times, the GDP doesnt grow, the unemployment is on the same level, the workforce productivity being the same as in the pre-revolutionary period. The private sector is under the 90 percent control of monopolist oligarchs. That is why we have no freedom of choice, he said, adding that this situation can be changed only by following the rules of market economy and observing the laws.
Serious Fall Results in UK Company and Director Being Fined

A 28-year-old worker was fitting solar panels on a roof at the farm on May 19, 2015, when he fell more than 10 feet through a skylight and broke his back in three places.

Eco NRG Solutions Ltd and its director, Jon Luke Antoniou, both have been fined in connection with a worker's serious fall injury at a farm in Cornwall, England, the Health & Safety Executive reported. HSE investigated the case.

Lewis Harding, 28, was fitting solar panels on a roof at the farm on May 19, 2015, when he fell more than 10 feet through a skylight and broke his back in three places. HSE's investigation found the company failed to take adequate precautions to prevent workers falling from height: There was no edge protection, netting, or boarding provided on site, and the company relied on an ineffective use of harnesses, the agency reported, adding that its investigation found that the failure was attributable to the neglect of Antoniou.

Eco NRG Solutions Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company has been fined 115,000 -- equivalent to $148,700 in U.S. dollars -- and ordered to pay costs of 2,879.60. Antoniou also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 (1) of the Health and Safety at work Act 1974 and has been fined 5,000 -- $6,454 -- and ordered to pay costs of 1,957.40.

"The worker is lucky to have not sustained more life-threatening injuries from what we found to be a serious breach of the law," said HSE Inspector Sue Adsett. "This case highlights the importance of directors being vigilant and acting on their obligations."
Ahoy Milwaukee mateys! OnMilwaukee declares May 24th as the official "Talk Like A Milwaukee Pirate Day." This fake Milwaukee holiday provides an excellent opportunity to don pirate wear while expressing Brew City pirate phrases like "Yarrrr der hey!" "Walk the Plankinton!" or "Shiver me winters!" And remember: the foam cheesehead is the original trifold hat.

Look, dressing up like a pirate is all well and good, but looking the part doesn't really matter if you don't sound the part, too. Lucky for you, we've come up with a number of great ways to talk like a Milwaukee pirate on "Talk Like A Milwaukee Pirate Day." Perfect!

Here are 25 MKE-minded expressions for all you local scallywags to say and enjoy:

1. Yarrr der hey!

2. Shiver Me Winters!

3. Walk the Plankinton!

4. Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rumchata!

5. Send em to Davy Jones Island!

6. Three Ben Sheets to the wind!

7. Thon she blows!

8. Fly the Jolly Aaron Rodgers!

9. Pirates of the Kenwood Blvd: The Curse of the Bruce Pearl!

10. Give me a cold, refreshing Miller Genuine Grog!

11. Son of a bratwurst eater!

12. Shiver Me Timber Rattlers!

13. Webster X marks the spot!

14. Watch out for the feared pirate Captain Beerbarossa!

15. And beware, Captain Jack Safro-Darrow!

16. The CalArrrrrtrava at the Arrrrttt Museum sure is beautiful!

17. Riverwalk the plank!

18. The chest is buried on Treasure (Jones) Island

19. Yo (ho ho) Mama frozen yogurt

20. The controversial Milwaukee scallyflag

21. Land ho? Sand, snow!

22. Arrrrrrrt Smarrrrrrrts Darrrrrrrrt Marrrrrrt is fun

23. Paul Cebarrrrrr

24. Kareem Abdul-Jabbarrrrrr

25. Where are we going to dinner? Ristorante Barrrrrrtolotta

What's your favorite expression? Let us know in the comments, or send us your own way to talk like a Milwaukee pirate on Talk Like A Milwaukee Pirate Day!
Ahoy Milwaukee mateys  and a happy Talk Like a Pirate Day to you scallywags! OnMilwaukee originally posted this recipe on Oct. 26, 2015, but in honor of the international holiday, we've brought it back. Only applicable links have been updated. Enjoy!

This weekend, I posted a story about the Captains Steak Joynt chains that were around Milwaukee  and other parts of the state  in the 1970s and 80s. Numerous people commented via Facebook that they remembered and loved the cheese fondue that was a staple at the Captains salad bar.

I asked Leslie Heinrichs, the archivist for the Marcus Corporation, who provided some of the information and all of the photos in my article, if she could dig up the original recipe.

Not even 10 minutes later, she emailed it to me.

"A long-time employee gave this to me a few years ago," Heinrichs wrote. "I believe the recipe was adjusted for home use. I made it and it was delicious."

Captains Steak Joynt Cheese Fondue Recipe

Ingredients:

2 packages S&M Old Fashioned Pepper Gravy Mix (Pepperidge Farms)

1/2 ounce Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

2 pounds processed American cheese

Water

Step 1:

Blend 8 ounces water and gravy mix in a sauce pan and set aside.

Step 2:

Using a double boiler, bring 26 ounces of water to 150 degrees. (Double boiler will ensure cheese does not scorch to the sides of the cookware). Add gravy mix and blend until smooth.

Step 3:

Add Worcestershire and Tabasco to water. Add more Tabasco if desired.

Step 4:

Add cheese to mixture in slices / pieces, small chunks and mix thoroughly entire time.

To make the Captains "chips" lay small pieces of French or sourdough bread topped with Parmesan cheese and garlic salt on a cookie sheet sprayed with liquid butter. Bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown. Serve warm with fondue.
The latest

Yokohama has closed on the East Side

Yokohama, the ramen and karaoke restaurant at 1932 E Kenilworth Pl. on Milwaukee's East Side has announced its officially closing as of Monday, Feb. 5.
Gorongosa National Park has more than 72,000 animals from 20 different species, mainly antelopes and zebras

Passing through the aged faded gates into Gorongosa National Park, it's difficult to imagine you've just entered Mozambique's largest wildlife sanctuary.

Bled dry by a long civil war that ravaged Mozambique from 1976 to 1992, the park has seen a remarkable turnaround in the last decade.

But even as it rises from the ashes, a fresh bout of conflict and a devastating drought threaten to undermine its revival.

Big mammals like elephants and buffalos are still rare in this 4,000 square kilometre (1,544 square-mile) reserve, but a restoration project launched by American philanthropist Greg Carr in 2004 has seen the return of species once on the brink of extinction.

"Before the launch of this project, we were heading towards extinction," Gorongosa conservation head Pedro Muagara told AFP.

"Now, in terms of reproduction, there are very positive signs. The numbers are growing."

Today, the park has more than 72,000 animals from 20 different species, mainly antelopes and zebras.

But even as wild life returned to Gorongosa, political tensions were growing.

Since 2013, sporadic fighting has broken out between government forces and rebels from the main opposition Renamo party.

Waterbucks run across floodplains at Gorongosa National Park

Refusing to accept the results of the 2014 national vote, Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has holed himself up in the mountains bordering the park.

For villagers fleeing the unrest, the unfenced Gorongosa has proved an easy refuge and food source.

Decked out in his khaki ranger's uniform, Muagara is one of the 150 armed rangers protecting animals from poachers and illegal hunters.

"With the fighting, the park has become a real target because the communities can no longer sustain themselves, so they hunt the animals instead," he said.

Tourists scared

An ongoing regional drought sparked by the El Nino weather phenomenon that has ravaged southern Africa for two years has also presented a new challenge, drying up several rivers in the park.

Animals desperate for water now congregate around the few remaining water sources, making them easy targets for poachers.

Floodplains at Gorongosa National Park

Faced with the unrelenting scourge of poaching, the park dedicates much of its rehabilitation programmes to educating local communities.

"We're trying to offer them alternatives, like farming options, for example," Gorongosa director of human development Manuel Mutimucuio told AFP.

At the end of the long track cutting through the thick forest is a glistening blue swimming pool at a luxury hotel completely renovated in 2012.

But today the facility stands empty, deserted by tourists frightened by the conflict. Only a few researchers remain in the luxurious rondavels.

In 2012, Gorongosa received 7,000 registered visitors. Today, even with the fighting confined to the park's extreme north, that number has plummeted to less than 1,000  mostly expatriates living in the capital Maputo, and South African tourists better informed of the situation on the ground.

"Unfortunately, today we have just four tourists  everybody else here works either directly or indirectly for the park," said hotel manager Paolo Matos, who took up the position just weeks before tensions escalated in 2013.

"We're losing a lot of money."

An elephant is pictured at a watering hole in Gorongosa National Park

With Gorongosa's turnaround once again threatened, park employees want to believe in the promise of better days, drawing hope from ongoing peace talks between Renamo and the government.

"During the civil war, everything was destroyed and we rebuilt," sighed Menesses Sousa, a park employee since 1974, before the war.

"But today it's starting again, and I don't what will happen."

 2016 AFP
Researchers Abhijit Pramanick of the City University of Hong Kong (left) and Mads Ry Jrgensen of Aarhus University are studying ferroelectric properties on TOPAZ, SNS beam line 12, to better understand how ferroelectric materials behave under high temperatures and the application of electric fields. Their research could also lead to the development of more environmentally friendly materials. Credit: ORNL/Genevieve Martin

At first glance, biomedical imaging devices, cell phones, and radio telescopes may not seem to have much in common, but they are all examples of technologies that can benefit from certain types of relaxor ferroelectricsceramics that change their shape under the application of an electric field.

Electromechanical properties within these materials are strongest at specific combinations of temperature and applied electric fields. Two former postdoctoral researchers at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are returning to their neutron sciences roots at the ORNL Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) to study this phenomenon.

Colleagues and frequent collaborators Abhijit Pramanick from the City University of Hong Kong and Mads Ry Jrgensen from Aarhus University in Denmark first met during the National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering (NXS) in 2008. Their latest project involves applying electric fields and varying temperatures to single-crystal samples using the TOPAZ instrument, SNS beam line 12, to examine how the material's atoms are displaced under those conditions. They say a better understanding of the material's behaviors should aid in the development of new relaxor ferroelectric designs with improved propertiesand possibly ones that are more ecofriendly, too.

"Interestingly, when you expose this material to certain temperatures under certain electric fields, you get a big increase in electromechanical responses," Pramanick said. "But we don't really understand why it happens under such conditions. We are trying to understand the atomistic mechanism."

Jrgensen, who also manages the DanMAX beam line at the MAX IV Laboratory in Sweden, explained that the fine details of how these materials work remains a popular subject of ongoing research because scientists have been studying these mechanisms for more than 50 years without conclusive results.

TOPAZ is an elastic scattering instrument that allows for probing of material structures and responses under controlled environmental conditions. It enables neutron measurement of the same single-crystal samples that is possible with x-ray diffraction. Credit: US Department of Energy

For answers, the team turned to neutrons. Neutrons provide a nondestructive probe researchers can use to interact with materials to collect data about the materials' atomic structures and behaviors.

"What's really interesting is the combination of high temperatures and electric fields. When you are trying to implement that for very small crystals like the ones we're using here, that's a very difficult experiment to do," Pramanick said.

"Normally, studying these crystals would be like standing on one side of a building but needing to walk around the entire perimeter to get a full view," Jrgensen said, "but TOPAZ provides a comprehensive view of all four sides at once, which allows us to probe the diffraction pattern in 3-D without rotating the sample."

The researchers are also investigating the significance of lead in ferroelectric materials. An essential component of relaxor ferroelectrics, lead also poses environmental risks, from contributing to air pollution to negatively affecting fragile ecosystems.

"We need to learn what makes lead so important," Pramanick said. "If we can understand the atomistic mechanisms better, we can design new materials that are more environmentally friendly but still achieve similar properties."

Both researchers are thrilled to pursue these goals at SNS. "It's always good to come back," Pramanick said. "We love seeing how the facility continues to grow."
They already received one of college journalism's top honors from the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation for Human Rights.

But on Tuesday night, 11 student journalists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications took home the grand prize from the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards in Washington, D.C.

It's the first time in the 49-year history of the prize the award has been given to a college group, placing them above other division winners including National Geographic, HBO, The New Yorker and Univision.

The UNL team's in-depth multimedia project "The Wounds of Whiteclay: Nebraska's Shameful Legacy" detailed the issues surrounding the small Nebraska town that sells 3.5 million cans of beer annually, mostly to Native Americans from the neighboring Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Joe Starita, the UNL journalism professor and an editor on the project, said the students poured in hundreds of hours interviewing, photographing and writing about the issues Whiteclay has created.

"This is an exceptional feat of journalism at any level, and the resulting package is one in which every Nebraska taxpayer got their money's worth," Starita said in a statement.

Students working on the project, including senior journalism major Chris Bowling -- a former Journal Star intern -- said it was "absolutely insane" to be recognized among the nation's top journalistic outlets.

"These are journalists we look up to and aspire to be like," Bowling said.

Other reporters contributing to the project include Lauren Brown-Hulme, Vanessa Daves, Marcella Mercer, Alyssa Mae and Natasha Rausch, while current and former Journal Star interns Amber Baesler, Jake Crandall, Calla Kessler and James Wooldridge provided photography. Matt Hanson designed the project's website at www.woundsofwhiteclay.com.
Seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts, USA. Credit: Wikipedia

Fear of earthquakes is part of life in California. But people experience this anxiety in different ways. For some, the fear prompts them to take steps to protect themselves: strapping down heavy furniture, securing kitchen cabinets and retrofitting homes and apartments.

For others, the fear prompts denial - a willful ignorance of the dangers for years until the ground starts shaking.

Seismologist Lucy Jones has spent her career trying to understand public attitudes about earthquakes, with a focus on moving people past paralysis and denial.

Jones said the way experts like her used to talk about earthquakes wasn't very effective. They tended to focus on the probability of a major earthquake striking in the next 30 years - the length of a typical home mortgage. They also took pains to say what they didn't know, which she now believes allowed the public to tune out and hope for the best.

Now she is making a dramatically different point. She said that in a keynote speech to international scientists in Japan on May 21, she emphasized that a devastating earthquake will definitely happen, and that there is much the public can do to protect themselves.

Denial may be getting a bit harder these days. Over the last several years, a few California cities have taken dramatic steps to require retrofits of thousands of vulnerable buildings. And next year, scientists and the U.S. Geological Survey are expected to unveil the first limited public phase of an earthquake early-warning system that would eventually offer seconds and perhaps more than a minute of warning through smartphones and computers.

THREE FACTORS THAT MAKE SOMETHING ESPECIALLY FRIGHTFUL

There are several factors that make a peril especially frightening, Jones told a joint meeting of the Japan Geoscience Union and American Geophysical Union. She named three of the biggest ones, citing the work of University of Oregon psychologist Paul Slovic:

Something that cannot be seen.

Something that is very uncertain.

Something that seems unknowable.

"All of these trigger our primal fears of the unseen predator hiding in the jungle," Jones said.

HUMANS HATE RANDOMNESS

"We have literally evolved to be afraid of randomness," Jones said.

"So we respond by trying to find the pattern. We evolved to find these patterns to infer that waves in the grass means a predator in hiding. We find patterns even when they're not real," Jones said. "We see constellations in the stars. When there is no pattern, we still try to make one."

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM

Rather than accepting the randomness, the public has turned to scientists to take the uncertainty out of future earthquakes, and researchers have spent much effort trying to find an answer.

There was some optimism in the successful prediction of the 1975 Haicheng magnitude 7.3 earthquake, in which people were evacuated before the quake struck in China, saving lives, Jones said.

A large part of the answer? There were more than 500 "foreshocks" to the big temblor, most of them in the 24 hours before the largest quake hit.

"The prediction did not happen because the Chinese knew more than we do about foreshocks. They used the basic principle ... quantified more than a century ago: One earthquake makes another earthquake more likely, and guessed that having a swarm of over 500 events made a big earthquake even more likely," Jones said.

Officials in that region of China had more to gain by ordering evacuations because of the weakness of the buildings against earthquakes. And they had less to lose from a false alarm, given the political and economic system of China at the time, she said.

IT WASN'T REPEATABLE

But the great guess of 1975 wasn't repeated when California scientists tried to do the same thing in the central part of the state.

Scientists in California were so convinced of a seemingly logical pattern of earthquakes in the Monterey County town of Parkfield that they projected a 95 percent chance of another magnitude 6 earthquake happening between 1988 and 1993.

The scientists were wrong. It would be until 2004 before the quake hit. The model, it turned out, wasn't always right.

TELLING US THE FUTURE PROBABILITY OF A QUAKE WASN'T MAKING US SAFER

And therein lies the great problem of being so obsessed with when the next big earthquake will come - it wasn't making us safer.

Publicizing the odds of a devastating earthquake in the next 30 years just didn't translate well to the public.

Cities up and down California were doing little, if anything, about ordering vulnerable buildings to be strengthened or demolished before they collapsed in a future earthquake.

"Psychologists tell us that uncertain things are more frightening. Something that is frightening and uncertain is something we would like to ignore," Jones said.

So what could be done?

CHANGING THE QUESTION

Instead of asking themselves, "What does society want from us?" scientists began considering a separate question: "What does society need from us?"

So, in the case of earthquakes, Jones shifted the answer.

Jones said she learned to focus her talking on what she did know, rather than what she did not.

For one, she and a team of researchers published a scientifically plausible scenario of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault that could cause many deaths and the collapse of numerous buildings.

Also, Jones said she learned to tell property owners they would have to pay for how their building fares in an earthquake - either as a retrofit or by picking up the pieces after the building collapses.

"By emphasizing the financial aspects, I moved people away from fear that can paralyze decision-making," Jones said. "I showed them that they were going to have to pay for the earthquake, one way or another. Either now or after it happens. It was just a matter of when."

Plus, there was a community responsibility - the collapse of one building would affect their next-door neighbor, as well as the entire community. "Someone's decision not to be ready increases the chances that others will suffer," Jones said.

After decades of doing little to nothing, political leaders and property owners agreed something had to be done. In 2015, Los Angeles passed the nation's most sweeping seismic retrofit law, which will require as many as 15,000 buildings at risk of damage in an earthquake to be strengthened.

A MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

Tragedy can happen when the general public does not understand the risk as scientists do.

Jones recalled a previous trip to a devastated area of Japan washed away by a tsunami after the magnitude 9 earthquake off the nation's east coast in 2011. Communities there endured a death toll as high as 10 percent of the population, she said.

She remembered being taken to Otsuchi, where the city hall sat behind a 20-foot sea wall. Experts had forecast a 16-foot tsunami from the quake.

"The city leaders ignored protocol that said to move to higher ground and conducted their emergency meeting in the city hall. When the tsunami poured over the sea wall, they lost over 1,000 people, including most of their city government," Jones said.

"The woman who gave me the tour asked me to begin by entering this shrine constructed in front of the city hall and to pray for the victims, because, as she said, we need to remember why we are doing this," Jones said.

"I want us to remember the victims. Remember that society wants our help - needs our help - to save people's lives and their livelihoods," she told her fellow scientists. "I am saying that, as a scientific community, I believe we should - as a moral duty - be fostering the creation of information that can be used to make a safer society."

2017 Los Angeles Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Researchers identified hundreds of climate change-related lawsuits filed in 24 countries, many of them seeking to hold governments accountable for existing climate-related legal commitments. Map is from their report

A new global study has found that the number of lawsuits involving climate change has tripled since 2014, with the United States leading the way. Researchers identified 654 U.S. lawsuitsthree times more than the rest of the world combined. Many of the suits, which are usually filed by individuals or nongovernmental organizations, seek to hold governments accountable for existing climate-related legal commitments. The study was done by the United Nations Environment Program and Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Around 177 countries recognize the right of citizens to a clean and healthy environment, and courts are increasingly being asked to define the implications of this right in relation to climate change.

"Judicial decisions around the world show that many courts have the authority, and the willingness, to hold governments to account for climate change," said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Burger said that in the United States, litigation has been "absolutely essential" to advancing solutions to climate change, from the first, successful, lawsuit demanding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulate greenhouse gas emissions, to a recent lawsuit claiming that citizens have a constitutional right to a stable climate system. "Similar litigation all over the world will continue to push governments and corporations to address the most pressing environmental challenge of our times," he said.

"The science can stand up in a court of law, and governments need to make sure their responses to the problem do too," said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. As litigation has grown, it has addressed a widening scope of activities, ranging from coastal development and infrastructure planning to resource extraction. The scope of individual suits is also growing in ambition, says the report.

A new report predicts a surge of climate-related litigation in developing countries. Here, a farm family navigates high tide near their home in southern Bangladesh, where rising seas are invading land. Credit: Kevin Krajick/Earth Institute

Some suits outside the United States have already had results. Among other things, the report describes how, in September 2015, a Pakistani lawyer's case against the government for failure to carry out the National Climate Change Policy of 2012 resulted in the government designating action points within several ministries, and the creation of a commission to monitor progress.

The report predicts that more litigation will originate in developing countries, where people are expected to suffer many of the worst effects of shifting climate. The report also predicts more human-rights cases filed by "climate refugees," coming as a direct result of climate-driven migration, resettlement and disaster recovery. By 2050 climate change could, according to some estimates, displace up to 1 billion people. That number could soar higher later in the century if global warming is not kept under 2 degrees Celsius, relative to pre-industrial levels, say some.

International organizations including the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees have already acknowledged the need to address the plights of people displaced by changing climate. But there is yet no international agreement on the rights of such displaced persons, nor on the obligations of countries to respect them.

Technology will not suffice to address coming problems, say the authors; laws and policies must be part of any strategy. They say that because of the Paris Agreement, plaintiffs can now argue in some jurisdictions that their governments' political statements must be backed up by concrete measures to mitigate climate change.

More information: The Status of Climate Change Litigation: A Global Review: columbiaclimatelaw.com/files/2  vt-CC-Litigation.pdf

Provided by State of the Planet

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University: blogs.ei.columbia.edu
Could dingoes be the answer to controlling the havoc red foxes wreak on native and domestic animal populations?

Dingoes are a polarising force in Australian society, viewed as both victim and villain. The introduced red fox, however, has few friends among native animals or farmers.

Now, the first study to look at the effects of dingo distribution and abundance on fox populations has found that fox numbers are reduced in areas where dingo numbers are high.

The article, "Top predators constrain mesopredator distributions," published in Nature Communications today examines the relationship between foxes and dingoes as part of a wider study investigating the effects of apex predators on smaller mesopredators.

Lead researcher Dr Thomas Newsome, from Deakin University's Centre for Integrative Ecology (CIE) and the University of Sydney, said the new research showed fox numbers were reduced where dingoes were high in abundance, compared to areas where foxes existed alongside fewer dingoes.

"What's significant is that fox numbers were reduced in the centre of the dingo's geographic range but at the edges of the range the suppressive effect on foxes significantly declined," Dr Newsome said.

The research, supported by other Australian, and several international universities, also looked at predator pairs in the US (wolves and coyotes) and Europe (wolves and golden jackals) and found similar results.

Dr Newsome said that further studies would help confirm the findings.

"We need to think about the broader geographical territory of the apex predators and where ecologically effective densities are being achieved.

"Our investigation suggests studies assessing the strength of top-down mesopredator control should consider whether the mesopredator is located on the periphery or in the core of the top predator's range, and whether the top predator has reduced abundance, destabilised social structure or a sporadic distribution," he explained.

"If these factors aren't taken into account, we could underestimate the potential effects of top predators on ecological communities and inhibit conservation and restoration efforts."

Dingoes are classified as apex predators due to their position at the top of the food chain, and can control fox numbers through direct predation  chasing and killing them  as well as through fear, which can alter foxes' activity and feeding patterns.

Dr Newsome said foxes and other introduced animals were blamed for the extinction of at least 20 native mammals in Australia since their introduction following European settlement.

"Foxes kill many threatened small and medium sized mammal species  including bilbies and small wallabies  and they also spread diseases and impact on agriculture," he said.

"Dingoes don't pose the same risk to these threatened mammal species, as these mammals have been able to develop effective anti-predator strategies to coexist with dingoes since they were introduced around 4,500 years ago.

"Unfortunately, our native mammals have not developed sufficient anti-predator strategies to coexist with foxes  essentially making them sitting ducks."

The research will add to the growing body of research about the functional role that dingoes, and other apex predators such as wolves, play in ecosystems around the world.

"Apex predators can benefit ecosystems by controlling mesopredators and other prey species. This has flow-on effects to other populations and even plant growth," Dr Newsome said.

"As an example, when wolves were removed from large areas of the US, deer numbers increased, which meant that plant populations declined, and bears suffered because their food source dwindled.

"When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, it helped to shift the area back into relative balance."

However, human modifications, like the widespread clearance of land for livestock grazing and cropping, made it difficult for dingoes and wolves to recolonise their former habitats, Dr Newsome added.

"If we want to harness the ecological benefits of dingoes, we need to provide suitable areas for them to recolonise.

"This means providing areas of suitable habitat that are large enough to maintain multiple packs of dingoes and wild prey, such as kangaroos."

Acknowledging the tension between farmers and dingoes, Dr Newsome said that allowing adequate space and prey for dingoes, as well as accepting occasional stock losses in return for rising net benefits, would mean minimal impact on the agricultural industry.

"If dingoes suppress kangaroos, it could lead to more vegetation and better grazing conditions for livestock," he said

"Red foxes are also estimated to cause around $17 M annually in damage to the sheep industry alone, and after accounting for other impacts they cost the Australian economy $227.5 M annually."

Dr Newsome said the best way to help dingoes recolonise larger parts of Australia was to let them do it naturally.

"This research shows that apex predators like dingoes and wolves need large, continuous territories in order to effectively control the balance of their ecosystems."

More information: Thomas M. Newsome et al. Top predators constrain mesopredator distributions, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15469 Journal information: Nature Communications
In the late 1990s, after a massive fermentation, restoration of Brselva was started in Ballangen municipality in Nordland, northern Norway. Credit: NIVA

Despite having increased human wellbeing in the past, intense modifications by multiple and interacting pressures have degraded ecosystems and the sustainability of their goods and services. For ecosystem restoration to deliver on multiple environmental and societal targets, the process of restoration must be redesigned to create a unified and scale-dependent approach that integrates natural and social sciences as well as the broader restoration community.

Use, development and exploitation of water resources might seem incompatible with preservation of aquatic ecosystem biodiversity. However, researchers from The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and colleagues have developed a new framework for effective ecosystem restoration, which integrates these goals. This new framework may be essential for achieving the UN targets of restoring at least 15 % of all degraded ecosystems within 2020.

Restoration of aquatic ecosystems can improve both the delivery of ecosystem services and the ecological functioning. In two peer reviewed articles published in 2016, in cooperation with international colleagues, NIVA researchers present how this can be done.

Lack of results from current restoration practices

"Special attention has been paid to the restoration of rivers over the last decades, providing many experiences we can learn from," says Therese Fosholt Moe, researcher at NIVA.

"Overall, the results from most restoration projects have not been as successful as we hoped for. Many restorations are not followed up with monitoring programs, and in most cases, we simply dont know if the projects are successful.

There are several reasons for this: poor planning, vaguely defined aims, lack of sufficient financial support, and primarily small and fragmented projects. Additionally, attention has been paid to restoring the appearance of nature, not ensuring that the ecosystem processes are intact."

The Operational Restoration Unit (OR): Restoration of the future

"Whether future projects will be successful or not depends on our approach to the restoration task. It is we, as humans, who see the need for and carry out these projects, though our incentives can be many and different," says Fosholt Moe.

"The measures we take must be regarded as part of a whole, in which all relevant social conditions are accounted for."

Fosholt Moe stresses that this approach must be used at all organizational levels - from agricultural politics, via the EU Water Framework Directive, down to local decisions in the municipalities and the needs of the landowners. This should reveal the possibilities and limitations of a restoration project. In this manner, the goals will be more realistic, increasing the probabilities of a successful project.

In other words, restoration planning is a crucial step in the process. Planning must be both holistic and restricted in time and space. This is where the NIVA researchers and colleagues suggest the new concept: The Operational Restoration Unit (OR).

The geographical boundaries of an OR will be defined based on catchments and landscape features, but other factors which might influence, or potentially conceal, the catchment effects are also accounted for when drawing the boundaries. Such factors are assessed at all relevant levels; from climate change to local point sources, integrating the time effect. All these aspects should be included when an OR is defined, because this influences both which measures should be taken, how to define the success criteria, and also the calculations of cost-benefit for the project.

The concept of, and the background for, OR is published in WIREs Water and Advances in Ecological Research, respectively.

A holistic approach

What differentiates an OR from earlier restoration practices is that an OR integrates all of the important and successful restoration elements in a holistic way, where the result is more than the sum of the individual elements, Fosholt Moe explains. "OR includes all the essential drivers for either success or fiasco; such as including all relevant parties, being interdisciplinary, scalable and flexible such that it can be used in any restoration. The core of its success lies in the consideration of both nature and human interests. This is essential for a successful restoration, but has in earlier projects often been ignored."

While the full implementation of the OR concept has not yet been tested, one of the most successful restorations in Europe, the Skjerna-catchment in Denmark, suggests good results, as it includes many of the elements of an OR.

Let nature do the job

When choosing restoration measures, the focus has to be on strengthening natural processes, allowing nature to do the work. For this, we need to assess the ecosystems ability to return to its original state. This is not currently a common practice, making the outcome of many restoration projects unforeseeable. OR, on the other hand, looks at a systems resilience (the ability to recover from a disruption), indicating how the system will respond to the restoration.

"The interplay of such restoration with natural processes is a cost-effective and sustainable solution, reducing the need for long-term maintenance," Fosholt Moe points out.

Interdisciplinary cooperation gives interdisciplinary benefits

For the implementation of an OR, an interdisciplinary approach is needed.

"To make this operative, we suggest that all relevant parties put in effort to increase the knowledge exchange. It is also important that future projects are followed up," says Nikolai Friberg, research director at NIVA.

"By applying the OR concept as described in the articles, planning and accomplishment of the projects will be more holistic. This, in turn, gives customized measures, lower costs, a reduced need for maintenance, more successful restorations, learning, knowledge based optimizing of the ecosystem services, and a better aquatic environment for future generations."

Unique possibilities in Norway

"In Norway, we've had very few restoration projects in aquatic environments, compared to other countries, for instance in Scandinavia. But there is a need for restoration projects also in Norway," Friberg says. "This situation gives us a unique possibility to implement OR in future projects, thereby avoiding the mistakes that have been done in the past."

A Strategic Institute Initative was in 2016 started up by The Norwegian Institute for Water Research, in which the effects of the restoration measures in aquatic ecosystems will be analyzed. This initiative runs over several years, and the methods presented above will be tested.

More information: Nikolai Friberg et al. Effective restoration of aquatic ecosystems: scaling the barriers, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water (2017). DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1190

Provided by Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)
Credit: Susanna M. Hamilton, Broad Communications

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard will release version 4 of the industry-leading Genome Analysis Toolkit under an open source software license. The software package, designated GATK4, contains new tools and rebuilt architecture. It is available currently as an alpha preview on the Broad Institute's GATK website, with a beta release expected in mid-June. Broad engineers announced the upgrade, as well as the decision to release the tool as an open source product, at Bio-IT World today.

The new version is built on a new architecture, allowing significant streamlining of individual tools and support for performance-enhancing technologies such as Apache SparkTM. This new framework brings improvements to parallelization, capitalizing on cloud deployment and making the process of analyzing vast amounts of genomic data easier, faster, and more efficient.

"We wanted to remove traditional barriers of scale while offering the same high level of data quality our users expect," said Eric Banks, Senior Director of Data Sciences and Data Engineering at Broad and a creator of the original GATK software package. "Thanks to the rapid adoption of cloud computing, researchers can finally do away with many of the infrastructure-related complications that have hampered progress, especially at smaller institutions and startups."

Today, more than 45,000 academic and commercial users worldwide rely on the GATK, running millions of analyses. The GATK is the industry standard for identifying SNPs and indels in germline DNA and RNAseq data. In addition to improving the performance of these established tools, GATK4 extends this scope of analysis to include copy number and structural variation, for both germline and somatic research applications.

Fully open source software

GATK4 will be released as a fully open source product, thanks in part to a collaboration between Broad Institute and Intel Corporation to advance high-performance analytics so researchers can study massive amounts of genomic data from diverse sources worldwide.

At the Intel-Broad Center for Genomic Data Engineering, software engineers and researchers have spent the last several months building, optimizing, and widely sharing new tools and infrastructure to help scientists integrate and process genomic data. GATK4 has benefited from this collaboration, which has helped engineers optimize best practices in hardware and software for genome analytics to make it possible to combine and use research data sets that reside on private, public, and hybrid clouds.

"Releasing GATK4 as open source was the obvious next step for our team," said Geraldine Van der Auwera, Associate Director of Outreach and Communications within the Data Science and Data Engineering group at the Broad Institute. "We believe it's the most effective way to support the community, and we hope it continues to grow, innovate, and help researchers make insights that are essential for future human health breakthroughs." "It is critical for progress in biomedicine that the software we use for analysing the genomes of millions of people is robust and well understood," said Ewan Birney, Director of EMBL-EBI and Chair of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH). "Releasing GATK software with an open source license directly supports open innovation, data re-use and data re-analysis in the global biomedical community."

"The GATK tools are crucial for both germline and cancer analyses," said Robert L. Grossman of the University of Chicago Department of Medicine and an expert in biomedical informatics. "Releasing GATK4 as an open source software package will increase adoption, and benefit the community."

"Open sourcing the GATK is a big deal for open genomics, and for open science in general," said Jeremy Freeman, manager of computational biology at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). "Not only does it make this critical tool available to as broad as possible an audience for use, reuse, inspection, and contributionit provides a powerful example to the community for how an existing project can embrace open source."

"Open source code is a foundation of efficient biomedical research," said Brad Chapman, a research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "It enables reproducibility, reuse and remixing by removing barriers for sharing and distributing analyses. The Broad Institute's GATK team leads in the development of scalable, sensitive and specific variant calling algorithms, and open sourcing GATK4 will allow frameworks like Blue Collar Bioinformatics to make these methods broadly available to the scientific research community."

"Cloudera has always been a supporter and believer in the power of open source code," said Tom White, data scientist at Cloudera and a member of the Apache Hadoop PMC. "We've been excited to contribute to the GATK codebase, to make it run smoothly on Apache Spark and Cloudera. This next phase of the GATK, powered by Spark and open source software, will expand access and improve collaboration among genomic data scientists."

"The open sourcing of GATK4 is a great step for genomics, allowing for scalability and performance gains to be openly available to the research, biotech and pharmaceutical communities," said Jason Waxman, corporate vice president and general manager of Data Center Solutions at Intel. "GATK4, when run on Intel's new reference architecture, can achieve a 5X speed-up compared to earlier versions of the software."

"We at Google are excited to see this new release," said Ilia Tulchinsky, Google Cloud Healthcare Engineering Lead. "We've been collaborating with the Broad Institute for the past three years to enhance genomic processing on Google Cloud Platform. As a strong supporter for open source technology, we believe that making GATK available this way will facilitate its use by genomic scientists everywhere. As fellow collaborators with Intel, we particularly look forward to enabling researchers to run GATK4 on Google Cloud using the upcoming Intel Xeon processor Scalable family."

"The GATK is one of the most widely utilized software packages in the life sciences, and our team has worked very productively with Broad to accelerate it for use on Azure," said Geralyn Miller, Director, AI & Research, Microsoft. "This new model will greatly facilitate this effort going forward, and we are excited to continue and expand our efforts around GATK on Azure."

"With the open source launch of GATK4, there is an opportunity to create a global community that can collaborate together and advance the state of art in bioinformatics," said Hong Tang, chief architect at Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group. "We look forward to closely working with Broad Institute in bringing the cloud-based GATK service to genomics customers in China, as well as in ongoing GATK research and development."

In addition to offering GATK4 as an open source toolkit, Broad Institute will continue to offer user support, training, and outreach on its popular user support forum. GATK4, like many of the Broad Institute's genome analysis tools, will be available through the Broad Institute's cloud based analysis platform, FireCloud.
The invasion of nonnative species has widespread and detrimental effects on both local and global ecosystems. These intruders often spread and multiply prolifically, overtake and displace native species, alter the intended interactions between flora and fauna, and damage the environment and economy. A particularly pesky invader is the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Given its abundancy, fecundity, and heartiness, zebra mussels frequently outcompete native bivalves. Their dominance interrupts the natural cycle of nutrients and disrupts the structure and function of infested waterworks. These so-called "ecosystem engineers" generate substantial removal costs for individuals, corporations, and towns; estimates indicate that zebra mussels cause $1 billion in damages and control costs every year.

While some species can easily spread upstream in unidirectional river environments, not all invasive species are able to do so. In a paper publishing on Thursday, May 25th in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Qihua Huang, Hao Wang, and Mark Lewis present a continuous-discrete hybrid population model that describes the invasive dynamics of zebra mussels in North American rivers. "We wanted to develop and apply a mathematical model to understand the interaction between population growth and dispersal, environmental conditions, and river flow in determining upstream invasion success of zebra mussels," Huang said.

Since its introduction to North America in 1986, the zebra mussel has invaded several large rivers, including the Mississippi, Hudson, Ohio, and St. Lawrence. "Rivers are key natural resources, and once zebra mussels invade the consequences can be disastrous," Lewis said. "Not only are the rivers themselves affected, they can spread the zebra mussels to new downstream locations." The mussels consume algae that is otherwise meant for native fish populations, and are considered unsafe for human consumption because they accumulate pollutants and toxins when filtering.

Three main phaseslarvae, juveniles, and adultscharacterize the mussel's life cycle. Larvae are planktonic, and drift through the water for a few days or weeks before setting on a surface and activating the juvenile stage. Upon sexual maturation in their second year of life, juveniles are considered adults and can reproduce once water temperatures are warm enough. "The larval life stage is relatively short compared to the zebra mussel lifespan," Huang said. "As a result, a model for the spread of zebra mussels in a river requires the introduction of different time scales." The authors chose to assume that settled larvae, juveniles, and adults all have the same survival rate.

Zebra mussels' survival in North American rivers is contingent upon a myriad of physical, biological, and chemical factors, includingbut not limited towater temperature, flow rates, salinity, turbidity, and pH levels. They are most heavily affected by unidirectional water flow, which shifts river sediment, sweeps mussel larvae downstream, and inhibits attachment to the benthos - the river bottom. "The dynamics of unidirectional water flow found in rivers can play an important role in determining invasion success," Huang said. "The alteration of hydrodynamic regimes associated with water management has direct effects on river ecosystem dynamics." As a result, it is difficult for zebra mussels to spread upstream in high flow rivers.

Because the zebra mussel has unusual dynamics, classical models do not suffice. Instead, the authors develop and employ a novel, impulsive, spatially-explicit population model. "In the model, the dynamics of the dispersing larvae stage are governed by an advection diffusion-reaction equation, while juvenile and adult growth are described by two difference equations that map the population density in the current year to the population density in the next year," Huang said. These equations combine the process-oriented population growth model with a hydrological model, based on available data about river flow dynamics.

Past researchers have proposed three measures of population persistence that reflect reproductive output of zebra mussels. The measures denote the fundamental niche of the population, the source-sink distribution, and the net reproductive rate (R 0 )the average number of adult mussels produced from a single adult throughout its lifetime. If R 0 >1, a population will grow; if R 0 <1, it will shrink. The authors extend these three traditional population measures to their hybrid model to investigate the impact of flow regime on distribution, profusion, and ultimate upstream spread.

"We determined conditions for persistence of zebra mussels in rivers as a function of temperature and flow rate," Huang said. "The population persists in a river only when the flow velocity is low and the water temperature is moderate. We found that the population cannot persist in a river if it is unable to spread upstream."

The authors' successful model offers multiple opportunities for further analysis. For example, one could adapt the model to study other environmental factors that affect population persistence, such as seasonality. "The living conditions for an invasive species and the hydrodynamics environment in a river can vary seasonally," Huang said. "The theory developed here could be extended to more general models by including seasonal variations in population growth and temporal variations of flow rate."

Additionally, the active nature of rivers makes them prone to variable landscapes and inconsistencies. "Deep pools and shallows in a river are examples of heterogeneities that typically occur on shorter spatial scales than the whole stretch of a river," Huang said. "It would be interesting to further investigate how the heterogeneous landscapes affect the successful invasion of zebra mussels." The authors believe that these heterogeneities might make it possible for zebra mussels to persist in rivers even without upstream spread.

Finally, the researchers could use their hybrid model to monitor the dynamics of other invasive species in rivers, such as the quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis). "Quagga and zebra mussels possess similar morphologies, life cycles, and functional ecologies, but different sensitivities to environmental factors," Huang said. "Patterns of relative dominance and competitive exclusion amongst these species may vary over space and time. As a future effort, we plan to extend our single-species model to a competition model to understand how the interaction between flow rate and environmental factors impact the persistence, extinction, and competitive exclusion in rivers."

More information: A Hybrid Continuous/Discrete-Time Model for Invasion Dynamics of Zebra Mussels in Rivers. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics. To be published. Journal information: SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics
An image of Jupiter taken by the Juno spacecraft. Credit: J.E.P. Connerney et al., Science (2017)

NASA's Juno mission, led by Southwest Research Institute's Dr. Scott Bolton, is rewriting what scientists thought they knew about Jupiter specifically, and gas giants in general, according to a pair of Science papers released today. The Juno spacecraft has been in orbit around Jupiter since July 2016, passing within 3,000 miles of the equatorial cloudtops.

"What we've learned so far is earth-shattering. Or should I say, Jupiter-shattering," said Bolton, Juno's principal investigator. "Discoveries about its core, composition, magnetosphere, and poles are as stunning as the photographs the mission is generating."

The solar-powered spacecraft's eight scientific instruments are designed to study Jupiter's interior structure, atmosphere, and magnetosphere. Two instruments developed and led by SwRI are working in concert to study Jupiter's auroras, the greatest light show in the solar system. The Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) is a set of sensors detecting the electrons and ions associated with Jupiter's auroras. The Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVS) examines the auroras in UV light to study Jupiter's upper atmosphere and the particles that collide with it. Scientists expected to find similarities to Earth's auroras, but Jovian auroral processes are proving puzzling.

"Although many of the observations have terrestrial analogs, it appears that different processes are at work creating the auroras," said SwRI's Dr. Phil Valek, JADE instrument lead. "With JADE we've observed plasmas upwelling from the upper atmosphere to help populate Jupiter's magnetosphere. However, the energetic particles associated with Jovian auroras are very different from those that power the most intense auroral emissions at Earth."

Credit: J.E.P. Connerney et al., Science (2017)

Also surprising, Jupiter's signature bands disappear near its poles. JunoCam images show a chaotic scene of swirling storms up to the size of Mars towering above a bluish backdrop. Since the first observations of these belts and zones many decades ago, scientists have wondered how far beneath the gas giant's swirling facade these features persist. Juno's microwave sounding instrument reveals that topical weather phenomena extend deep below the cloudtops, to pressures of 100 bars, 100 times Earth's air pressure at sea level.

"However, there's a north-south asymmetry. The depths of the bands are distributed unequally," Bolton said. "We've observed a narrow ammonia-rich plume at the equator. It resembles a deeper, wider version of the air currents that rise from Earth's equator and generate the trade winds."

Juno is mapping Jupiter's gravitational and magnetic fields to better understand the planet's interior structure and measure the mass of the core. Scientists think a dynamoa rotating, convecting, electrically conducting fluid in a planet's outer coreis the mechanism for generating the planetary magnetic fields.

This image made available by NASA on Thursday, May 25, 2017, and made from data captured by the Juno spacecraft shows Jupiter's south pole. The oval features are cyclones, up to 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) in diameter. The cyclones are separate from Jupiter's trademark Great Red Spot, a raging hurricane-like storm south of the equator. The composite, enhanced color image was made from data on three separate orbits. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Betsy Asher Hall/Gervasio Robles via AP)

"Juno's gravity field measurements differ significantly from what we expected, which has implications for the distribution of heavy elements in the interior, including the existence and mass of Jupiter's core," Bolton said. The magnitude of the observed magnetic field was 7.766 Gauss, significantly stronger than expected. But the real surprise was the dramatic spatial variation in the field, which was significantly higher than expected in some locations, and markedly lower in others. "We characterized the field to estimate the depth of the dynamo region, suggesting that it may occur in a molecular hydrogen layer above the pressure-induced transition to the metallic state."

These preliminary science results were published in two papers in a special edition of Science. Bolton is lead author of "Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft." SwRI's Dr. Frederic Allegrini, Dr. Randy Gladstone, and Valek are co-authors of "Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits"; lead author is Dr. John Connerney of the Space Research Corporation.

Juno is the second mission developed under NASA's New Frontiers Program. The first was the SwRI-led New Horizons mission, which provided the first historic look at the Pluto system in July 2015 and is now on its way to a new target in the Kuiper Belt. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, SwRI's Bolton. Lockheed Martin of Denver built the spacecraft. The Italian Space Agency contributed an infrared spectrometer instrument and a portion of the radio science experiment.

More information: S.J. Bolton el al., "Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft," Science (2017). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi  1126/science.aal2108 J.E.P. Connerney at Space Research Corporation in Annapolis, MD el al., "Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits," Science (2017). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi  1126/science.aam5928 Journal information: Science
Kansas City native Gary White has been chasing clean water and rudimentary toilets for more than 30 years. You see, much of the world's poorest populations live without them even now.

Changing that has been his lifelong goal, one he pursues as co-founder of Water.org, a nonprofit in the Crossroads Arts District.

"It all goes back to social justice and the way I was raised in Kansas City," said White, 54, who took his first water-related trip in 1985 to Guatemala.

Clearly, this has been an astonishingly tough nut to crack.

Perhaps more astonishing is the solution White has come to. Charity can't solve the world's water crisis, but investors can.

Water.org recently announced an investment fund with the goal of raising $50 million this year to deal with the water crisis. The fund is open only to accredited investors, those who meet income or net worth levels set by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Another fund opened to the public on Thursday, providing an alternative to an outright donation. The loan won't earn any interest for the person putting money into the fund and won't be tax deductible. But the individuals who lend money to the fund can ask to recover their loans in June 2020 or renew them.

Each effort will follow tenets learned over 15 years. In that time, Water.org learned how to use $18 million it received from donors to entice investors into providing $369 million to finance clean water and toilets for 6.1 million individuals.

White calls this "catalytic philanthropy." Instead of using socially motivated dollars to directly help a few individuals at a time, use the money to trigger a much larger market response, one that potentially can reach the same scale as the problem.

"It's not about the splash, it's about the wave. The wave keeps coming, and it grows," said John Tyler, general counsel of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and a lifelong friend of White.

HILLSIDE TREK

White explained his market-response approach recently by recalling a trip he took in February to Lima, Peru.

There he met Dina Quispr, a poor woman who had bought water each day from a delivery truck in the valley. She also toted her family's entire water needs up a steep hillside, bucket by bucket, making many trips each day, day after day. The work falls overwhelmingly on women.

This was expensive water, too. It cost 13 times more than water flowing through a community water system some 50 yards from her home.

The obvious answer: Give this woman the few hundred dollars she needed to connect to the water system.

But what about the 663 million others around the world who similarly live without ready access to clean water? What about the 2.4 billion people who live without a toilet?

According to Water.org, solving the world's water crisis would take $200 billion in donations each year for more than five years. And where could anyone find that kind of money?

White's revelation is that it can come from the poor, as customers.

Someone should lend that woman the few hundred dollars needed to tap into the local water supply. The money it would save her, plus the hours spent toting water each day that she could turn into productive labor or an education, easily would repay the loan.

"They seem like they need charity, but what they really need is just access to capital," White says.

Yet even this fails to happen. The task White's catalytic philanthropy tackled was one of nudging the market into action.

SCALING UP

Water.org nudged the market by extending its philanthropy to microfinance lenders.

These are ventures that traditionally have made small, low-cost loans to buy a sewing machine, livestock or other productive assets to help lift borrowers out of poverty. As each loan is repaid, the money becomes available for another loan.

Water.org's insight was to get microfinancers to turn their sights on water needs by providing a bit of free support. It provided "smart subsidies" to help lenders identify markets, develop loan products and market the loans to finance individuals' access to clean water and toilets.

White calls the concept WaterCredit.

With Water.org's support, the microfinancers have been able to attract $369 million from local investors to back the WaterCredit loans. The loans have helped 6.1 million people in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Peru and six other nations pay for water connections and toilets for their homes.

Water.org said 99 percent of the loans have been repaid, and an additional 1 million people are likely to receive loans this year.

With WaterCredit a proven concept, Water.org formed WaterEquity. Its goal is to attract money from investors, here and abroad, and then lend that money to successful WaterCredit microfinance partners so they can make more loans to individuals.

In the investment funds WaterEquity sets up, the microfinance partners will be obligated to pay the money back. It's capital for loans not a "smart subsidy" to get started.

Kansas City resident John Legg put money into WaterEquity's first investor effort, called the WaterCredit Investment Fund 1.

Launched in 2014, the fund attracted $11 million from socially motivated investors to expand the operations of six microfinance partners Water.org had worked with in India.

"That was the prototype. It was important to get it off the ground," Legg said.

The fund's lending began last year, and it is targeting a modest 2 percent investment return in the process. After a seven-year run, the fund will close and return investors' money. Legg said he is looking forward to whatever WaterEquity is doing then.

"Right now the money's in India helping people get access to sanitation and potable water. When that winds down, we'll do it again," Legg said.

The new $50 million fund targets a higher but still modest 3.5 percent return for its investors. White acknowledges that remains below what investors could earn elsewhere, but he said it comes with a high social return.

The new fund will expand WaterEquity's programs in India and extend the investor-backed approach to Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines, where Water.org already works with microfinance lenders to address water and sanitation.

It also will provide financing for infrastructure companies, such as those that make toilets, install septic tanks and run water kiosks.

At some point, White said, WaterCredit loans will begin to generate a competitive rate of return. And that will allow the market to help the world's poorest populations, mostly women, to throw off their costly and labor-wasting struggles for water and sanitation for an economically efficient answer to life's most basic needs.

"The poor aren't a problem to be solved," White said. "They're the source of the solution."

EARLY DAYS

White has come a long way to reach his WaterEquity initiatives. Kansas City area residents might remember his early fundraising dinners called Water for Life Events.

Back then, the nonprofit was called WaterPartners International and was based in Columbia, Mo. It had a different focus: to raise charitable contributions so it could give the money to help build water systems in poor nations.

White credits his upbringing in area Catholic schools for his sense of social justice.

He also tells a family story that highlights the problem of the poor. His father, who was born in 1921, had lived in a rented Kansas City home that was not connected to the sewer system. When the city put that connection in, it levied a special assessment and the family could no longer afford the rent.

The first Kansas City Water for Life Event came in November 1990 and spread to other cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chapel Hill, N.C., where White had earned degrees in engineering.

By 1998, WaterPartners International had raised a total of $250,000. A worthy effort, but that wouldn't even pay Water.org's telephone and related communications bill, which was $268,565 last year.

Water.org currently counts more than $32 million in assets, according to its most recent audited financial report. It has 100 employees, including 60 in Kansas City. Others work in branches in Kenya, Ethiopia, Peru, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and the Philippines.

White's efforts have drawn national attention. He received a 2009 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship for developing the WaterCredit concept.

Time Magazine named White to its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, along with the likes of then-first lady Michelle Obama, North Korea's emerging new leader Kim Jong Un, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

It is more than a footnote that Time's list paired White with actor Matt Damon. Damon had been on a parallel track, battling the water crisis in Africa, and the two merged their groups in 2009. WaterPartners International and H2O Africa became Water.org.

Damon does television commercials with sponsor Stella Artois, owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Stella Artois donates $6.25 to Water.org for every limited-edition chalice consumers buy from those ads.

White said other donors to Water.org include the Ikea Foundation, whose contributions have totaled $20 million; PepsiCo Foundation at $13 million; and Caterpillar Foundation at $10 million. The Kauffman Foundation is not a donor, White's friend Tyler explained, because its focus is exclusively within the United States, and Water.org operates only abroad.

Bank of America has provided a $5 million no-interest loan to kickstart WaterEquity's new $50 million fund.

White spends much of his time working with partners, speaking at forums and drawing attention to the cause. He had gone to Peru in February for a forum and took time to visit a WaterCredit project site.

These side trips to the field help White maintain an emotional connection to his work. It is also how he met Quispr, the woman who had needed a few hundred dollars to reach a water line just 50 yards away.

Thanks to the efforts of a Kansas City-based nonprofit 3,700 miles away, she'd gotten a loan and a water tap in her home.

No more toting buckets of expensive water uphill.

2017 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Photographs highlighting (A) arroyos, (B) colluvial hollows, and (C) the asymmetric distribution of these features within the landscape. Photos A and B are looking approximately north and south, respectively. The hillslopes in photos A and B are approximately 100 m and 30 m tall, respectively. Photograph C is looking to the west and was provided courtesy of Juan C. Fernandez Diaz. The bottom of C spans ~1 km. Credit: GSA Bulletin, S.A. Johnstone et al., and Photograph C provided courtesy of Juan C. Fernandez Diaz.

If you ever fly from L.A. to San Francisco, California, you may notice the Gabilan Mesa off to the east as you begin your descent into San Francisco International Airport. If you look carefully, you might notice two strange things: a series of bleach-white scars, where rock outcrops disrupt the smooth, grassy hillslopes, and a strong asymmetry in the orientation of tributaries, with many flowing south and few flowing north.

What you can't see is the few feet of soil that would lie beneath your feet if you were standing on the surfacebut it turns out that soil column may have a lot to do with shaping your 10,000-foot view.

Over long time scales, the transition from hillslopes to channels is controlled by the relative efficiencies of soil transport and channel erosion. This transition usually remains stable when erosion rates change, because increases in erosion rate would typically expose rocks that are stronger than the overlying weathered soils, thereby slowing any further increase in erosion rate. But what would happen if the opposite were true, if increases in erosion rates exposed highly vulnerable rocks, causing an unstable increase in erosion rate?

In this scenario, the shape of the landscape would be fragilesusceptible to major reconfigurations in the face of small changes in erosion rate. In their paper for the Geological Society of America Bulletin, Samuel Johnstone and colleagues demonstrate that this may be the case in landscapes developed in rock types that are susceptible to slaking, a process that pervasively fractures these rocks when they are exposed to wetting and drying cycles.

Using laboratory measures of rock strength, Johnstone and colleagues demonstrate that soils in the Gabilan Mesa, California, are actually stronger than the rocks from which they were derived, once those parent rocks have been exposed to a single wetting and drying cycle.

Within the Gabilan Mesa, these rocks are typically covered in soil, but can be exposed in dramatic erosional channel features called arroyos. The morphology of arroyos and their position in the landscape suggests that they form by aggressively cutting uphill into the soil mantled hillslopes. Theory predicts that this behavior would be expected in an unstable erosion scenario.

What is perhaps most interesting is how climate influences the fragile landscape response recorded by arroyos. Arroyos are exclusively found within south-flowing catchments, and Johnstone and colleagues reason that this is the consequence of the thinner layer of soil that forms on these sunnier, drier, more poorly vegetated slopes. These thin soils allow highly erodible bedrock to be more readily accessed by erosive processes, and arroyos to be triggered more easily. This asymmetric triggering of headward (upslope) channel growth appears to drive profound topographic asymmetry, in which drainages are densely packed on south-facing slopes and nearly absent on north-facing slopes. This pattern is observable at the scale of entire drainage basins. The team's observations suggest that this large-scale reorganization of the Gabilan Mesa landscape starts with the soils, and the unusual combination of relatively strong soils forming from easily weakened rocks.
On the hunt for new shoes? Racking your brain for a recipe idea? When you're trying to find information, typing out words in a search bar is probably the first thought that comes to mind.

Words can conjure up images and evoke emotions, but as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Now, companies including Pinterest, Amazon and others are giving consumers more ways to search just by taking a photo with your smartphone camera.

While some visual search tools focus on the discovery of similar objects or new ideas, others are more precise about finding the exact item you're seeking.

Home Depot's app allows customers to snap a photo to find tools and other objects that the business is selling online or in stores.

In the coming months, Google is also releasing a visual search tool for its assistant app called Lens that lets users, for example, point their camera at a restaurant and get reviews.

"Currently, the challenge is really figuring out what the use case is. What is the problem that's hard to put in words? How can you make your customer's life simpler?" said Yoram Wurmser, an analyst with eMarketer.

I put five visual search tools to the test, snapping photos on the streets of downtown San Jose, Calif., in a shopping mall, at the office and around my home.

Sometimes I got exactly what I was searching for - new recipe ideas, cheaper products, tips or more information - but I also got some surprises. And I had to be careful about exactly how I composed a photo.

I found the features a useful alternative to searching via text, but also discovered there's still room for improvement.

-

Pinterest Lens

Pinterest started beta testing Lens this year, rolling out the tool worldwide for users on iOS and Android who have their mobile device set to English.

To find the tool, you tap on the search bar, and then tap on a red and white camera icon. A circle surrounded by white space pops up, and you click on it to snap a photo.

Pinterest this month also rolled out a new way to access Lens from the iPhone's home screen by pressing longer on the Pinterest app.

Colorful dots quickly start swirling around. Words describing the object start hovering around the circle followed by a series of visually similar images and ideas.

I snap a photo of San Jose City Hall's transparent dome building, hoping Lens will identify the architect who designed the structure.

None of the pins identified the architect - Richard Meier, who also designed the Getty Center in Los Angeles - but I did learn about other transparent dome buildings, such as the Biosphere in Montreal.

I took photos of everything from cars and home decor to food, shoes and even my own face. I not only received a list of visually similar objects, but pins with ideas such as recipes, beauty tips and tutorials about how to create a terrarium.

When I took a photo of strawberries, Lens showed me recipes for strawberry chia seed jam and a summer berry spinach salad, which was exactly what I was looking for.

"It's more about understanding your intent," said Jeffrey Harris, a product manager for Pinterest's visual discovery team. "If you take a photo of a living room, we don't need to find the exact chairs that you want, but we may notice that you're into modern taste."

Spending my day visually searching, though, also made me more aware of the subtle differences between objects. And sometimes, I got results I didn't want.

I got beef recipes when I snapped a photo of ground pork. I got pasta recipes higher in the search results when I snapped a photo of spiralized zucchini noodles. And taking a photo of my friend's earring gave me search results for pendant necklaces.

Harris said Pinterest is focusing on getting more precise about how Lens understands food, such as the differences between a salmon burger, hamburger or chicken burger. The tech firm also rolled out a new feature this month so people who take a photo that shows multiple items can focus in on one object.

And if Lens doesn't get it right? There's a plus sign you can click on near the photo that lets you type out a description of the item.

-

CamFind

This visual search app surfaced different types of results: related images, shopping results and web results.

Julia Gallagher, a consumer outreach associate at CamFind, said people use the app for a variety of reasons, from shopping for clothes to finding movie showtimes and trailers.

The app, which is available on iOS, Android and Google Glass, recently surpassed 3 million downloads.

"We believe that visual search is going to take over text searching since that's the way technology is going anyways. Most things are more visual," she said. "If you saw something on a street - a car, shoes or even a bag - it's much easier to take out your phone and open an app and take a quick picture."

At Crate and Barrel, I took a photo of a gray tufted sofa and got search results from eBay, Amazon, Overstock.com and other retailers.

The camera in this app, though, didn't focus closer on an object like Pinterest Lens did, so sometimes I got search results for other items in the photo.

When I snapped an image of a building on San Jose's East Santa Clara Street, the app thought I was searching for a one-way traffic sign. I took a photo of my glass container for a terrarium and got results for a white concrete wall. And that same image of ground pork was identified as a pink and white textile.

Unlike Pinterest, though, it did show me a history of all the items I searched for in the physical world. The app also allows you to see popular searches and share your searches in a public feed.

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Amazon Shopping

Amazon's visual search tool doesn't even require that you snap a photo of an object. You just point at a product and tiny blue dots start twinkling around the item as it searches the online retailer's inventory.

To access the tool, just click on the camera icon on the search bar.

I pointed my camera at the "The Circle," a book by Dave Eggers, and found out it was retailing for $9.52 on Amazon. I held up my phone to an orange-red ceramic lamp and got 8,822 results for red desk lamps.

But this tool also took longer to surface search results than any of the other apps I tested. My patience wore thin as I waited for the blue dots to stop twinkling.

And for some reason, when I captured an image of a yellow patio table, I got results for trampolines.

-

Slyce

Clothing and accessories can be pricey, especially if they're by a well-known designer.

But what if you could get something similar at a cheaper price?

At Santana Row, I stopped by the Gucci store and took a photo with Slyce of a printed leather bag. The app showed me 30 results for a women's floral printed satchel, surfacing results for other bags and floral clothing from Forever 21, Aeropostale and Amazon.

Clicking on the item brings you to the retailer's website, allowing you to purchase the product.

But sometimes I got items I just wasn't interested in buying.

Snapping a photo of a pair of pointed Christian Louboutin heels, which cost $1,195 at Nordstrom, yielded results for a multi-stripe tank and stud earrings from Aeropostale.

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Realtor.com

Some visual search tools are clearly meant for a specific purpose.

Realtor.com's app has a tool that allows users to take a photo of a real estate sign for home details. You access it by clicking on the camera icon in the search bar.

I took a photo of a sign outside a home at San Jose's Communications Hill. The app showed me that the home was listed for $818,000, had three beds and two bathrooms and was 1,776 square feet.

It also had listings for open houses, property value history, tax history and a way to contact the agent.

Photos were displayed at the top, allowing me to swipe through images of the house without even walking in the door.

2017 The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Lancaster County communities saw some of the fastest population growth in the state over the past six years, according to Census estimates released Thursday morning.

Hickman was the fastest-growing city in the state from 2010-2016, seeing its population grow by 29.1 percent, from 1,657 to 2,139.

Waverly came in fourth, with 15.5 percent growth over the six-year period, and Lincoln ranked 10th at 8.5 percent.

Most of the other fastest-growing cities were in the Omaha area, with the exception of Kearney, which came in eighth.

Lincoln continued its march toward the 300,000 population mark, hitting 280,364 in 2016. That's up about 3,850 from 2015 and nearly 22,000 since 2010.

Other areas of the county also saw large population gains. Roca's population grew 28.6 percent, Bennet's by 18.8 percent, Hallam's by 10.8 percent, Denton's by 7.9 percent and Malcolm's by 5.5 percent. Those communities are all incorporated as villages and were not ranked along with the cities.

David Drozd, research coordinator for the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said there are likely a couple of reasons fueling the growth in the small towns around Lincoln.

Drozd said low gas prices over the past few years have made it more attractive for people who might want to live in a smaller town but work in Lincoln. He also said that home and rent price increases in Lincoln over the past few years may have driven some people to the surrounding areas to find more affordable housing.

Census figures also showed that strong housing growth in Lancaster County has made it one of the fastest-growing large counties in the country.

According to figures compiled by Drozd, Lancaster County ranked 101st among all U.S. counties with at least 5,000 housing units, which puts it in the top 7 percent.

The county's annual housing growth from 2010-2016 was 1 percent, according to Drozd, which is down from average growth of 1.6 percent in the 2000s. During that decade, however, Lancaster County only ranked 675th in housing growth.

"These changes are in part explained by Nebraska not getting 'overbuilt' in the 2000s, so weve had steadier growth with continued demand and building even when the economy softened," Drozd said in an email. "Our housing unit growth rate was reduced, but not by as much as in many other parts of the country, and we reaccelerated more quickly as well."

Nebraska's population topped 1.9 million people for the first time in 2016.
A high-tech prosthesis for a child draws on decades of research. Credit: Mark Geil, CC BY-ND

In 1905, an Ohio farmer survived a railroad accident that cost him both of his legs. Two years later, he founded the Ohio Willow Wood company, using the namesake timber to hand-carve prosthetic limbs. The company grew, surviving the Great Depression and a fire that destroyed the plant, and still thrives today in rural Ohio. Few who work there now might remember the curious footnote in the company's history that occurred during World War II, when the rebuilt factory was diversified to build parts for PT boats and B-17 bombers.

Today, it is ironic to consider a company that specializes in prosthetic limbs building parts for the war machine that unfortunately increases demand on companies making prosthetic limbs. Indeed, the tragedy of war has pushed prosthetics researchers to work ever harder to help service members and veterans who have lost limbs.

Not only are soldiers losing limbs from IEDs; older veterans are losing limbs from diabetes and vascular disease. Mobility is key to long-term health, and prosthetic limbs are key to mobility.

That has made the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs a key player in prosthetics development and technological innovation. But what is created for service members and veterans has benefits far beyond them, helping the nearly two million Americans  civilian children, elderly people and young adults with amputations  maximize their mobility.

A key funding source

As a biomedical engineer specializing in prosthetics, I've reviewed grant proposals seeking funding from the VA to research prosthetic limbs for several years.

Carbon-fiber leg and foot prostheses revolutionized mobility for lower-limb amputees. Credit: US Army/Tim Hipps

The federal government has long played a vital role in advancing prosthetic technologies. Before the 1980s, prosthetic feet were adequate for standing and walking, but very limited for more intense activities involving running and jumping. Veterans Administration Rehabilitation Research and Development funds were used to develop the Seattle Foot. That device and its carbon-fiber contemporaries paved the way for "blade"-style prostheses seen in the Paralympics.

Decades later, defense-related government spending continues to drive innovation in prosthetics. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has gained attention with the "Luke Arm," named after a certain fictitious Mr. Skywalker, and headlines that read like they're actually from Star Wars: "DARPA Helps Paralyzed Man Feel Again Using a Brain-Controlled Robotic Arm."

For prosthetics researchers, funding from traditional sources such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation has become remarkably difficult to obtain, at least in part because of competition. Consequently, many researchers have turned their attention to soldiers and veterans. In 2014-2015, the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program funded 18 proposals in Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes. But that funding is getting more competitive too: 98 proposals were rejected.

Connecting with the body

All this work is, generally speaking, focused on transforming a prosthesis from an external tool used by a person to an integrated replacement that becomes a part of a person. Much of the research involves taking small steps toward reproducing the grand complexity and robust design of human anatomy. We have not yet achieved the flashy and functional capability of a real-life Luke Skywalker with cranial nerves attached directly to motors in a robotic hand. But researchers have made important progress through intermediate steps.

The Luke arm. . Credit: U.S. Department of Defense

A process called targeted muscle reinnervation can connect nerves carrying messages from the brain, like "close hand," to a muscle over which a set of electrodes are placed. Those electrodes in turn send the signal to the motorized hand to close. Sensory feedback is being developed in a similar manner. While these efforts are not yet ready for everyday community use, they represent crucial progress.

Consider also a CDMRP-funded project at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Vanderbilt University. The lower-limb prostheses used are not just passive spring-like materials: They're active, motorized joints. Motors require careful control, and the project headed by neuroengineering specialist Levi Hargrove has attempted to learn from the amputee's muscles when she wants to transition from walking to, say, walking up stairs or down a ramp. Just like your phone's voice recognition better understands your voice over time, Hargrove's control algorithm allows the motorized prosthesis to make fewer errors in ambulation.

Clearly, projects like Hargrove's stand to benefit much broader populations than just soldiers and veterans. My own research focuses on children with limb loss, and I see so-called "civilian spinoffs" every day. In our Center for Pediatric Locomotion Sciences at Georgia State University, we're modeling the material and structural properties of pediatric prosthetic feet. Many of those components can be traced back to that original VA-funded Seattle Foot. Across town at the Shepherd Center, a renowned hospital specializing in brain and spinal cord injury, robotic exoskeletons help paralyzed individuals move their limbs and remap neural pathways, a project with connections to VA prosthetic research.

Though they won't get the public recognition of the Jeep or GPS, these civilian spinoffs from military-funded research in prosthetics will have long-term benefits for people of all ages, and they'll feel the results every day.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Dr. Saw-Wai Hla, along with Dr. Eric Masson and their students, created the Bobcat nanowagon, one of the world's first working nanocars. Credit: Robert Hardin

Dr. Saw-Wai Hla and Dr. Eric Masson are thrilled with their team's performance in the world's first nanocar race in April, but for them, it was a fun starting point to a much larger goal.

"The nanocar race is not the end; it is just the very beginning of our project," Hla, a professor of physics and astronomy, said. "We entered this competition not just to win, but to develop a controlled transport system at the molecular scale."

That's the first part of the goal; the second is to help create a new field of study  quantum mechanical engineering  that is now discussed only at the early theoretical stage.

The nanocar race was a unique competition: Six teams worked to build cars that could race each other on a track. However, these cars were no bigger than a few molecules, and the Ohio University team's car wasn't even in France, where the race was held; instead, it was a quarter of the way around the planet, in Hla's lab at Ohio University.

Masson, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and his team built OHIO's car, known as the "Bobcat Nanowagon," then worked with Hla to get it into a solid-state "race track" made of gold. From there, Hla's team "drove" the car along a 100-nanometer track. The driving is done by applying a positive or negative electrical charge to effectively "push" or "pull" the nanocar in a given direction.

Ultimately OHIO's entry covered 43 nanometers, but would have finished easily, Hla said, if not for a mundane foe: Ohio weather. A thunderstorm on the day of the race caused power issues that doomed the team  not that anyone was complaining.

"This is the first time that we made atomic-level control manipulation across an ocean by remote control. That is the technology itself. This is a technical breakthrough," Hla said. The team that won, comprised of members from Rice University and Austria, also participated remotely, but from a lab in Austria, the same time zone as Toulouse, France, where the race was held. The Ohio team had to operate at six-hour time difference. Like the French team's car, the Ohio Bobcat Nanowagon fit all of the stated criteria for the competition: It had more than 100 atoms (644, in fact), and was operated on a gold surface.

"Our car is the only car that looks like a car, it's functional, and it's a pure American car. It may not be the most beautiful one, but it works," Hla said. OHIO's was also the only one of the six to be a supramolecular car  it had five interlocked molecules.

"Basically, it's the first supramolecular car ever designed. It is also the largest nanocar ever built," Masson said.

Hla and Masson hope to create larger nanocars that can catch, move or release other molecules in a precise way, effectively building molecular structures for any number of applications. That's where the quantum mechanical engineering comes in. Hla compared it to our ordinary mechanical engineering used to design cars, buildings and other constructs.

"All of those machines are in our scale; we can use the concepts that we already know from mechanical engineers. However, for nanocars that we develop or any molecular machine that we develop in nanoscale, we cannot use any of those concepts. None," Hla said.

The nanocar is a good example; even though it has four wheels and moves across a surface, Hla and Masson are still working to discover if the wheels are gliding or rolling across the surface. On a nano-level, gravity is irrelevant, so the way the nanocar adheres to the surface and how it is moving across is highly important for fundamental scientific understanding.

"So the attraction of the car to stick to the surface has nothing to do with gravity. It has everything to do with atomic-level interactions between that wheel and the surface," Hla said. "In the quantum regime, the energy transfer to driving the machines, everything, is completely different from our world. However, there is no subject called quantum mechanical engineering. Nobody really knows what will be the energy we need. This is a major challenge right now and a major boost in the research direction. All the funding agencies in the US and around the world are really heavily pursuing it, this year, starting from now; it's becoming very popular."

The concept of molecular machines isn't new; Hla said our bodies have them, in the form of DNA making repairs on a constant basis. But there aren't many man-made ones, he said.

"Especially one that is suitable to operate in solid-state devices, like iPhones or computers," he said. "In my group at OHIO, we measure novel properties of molecular machines and try to understand them."

If the nanocars can be mass-produced and controlled, particularly a lot of them at once, they can be used to build or restructure electronic circuits and data storage devices, for example. A nano-sized data storage device would revolutionize the industry.

"Modern electronics today is way larger than our scale," Hla said. "The scale currently it is still about 1 million times by area larger than ours. We can use our nanocars as data storage. You have ultra-dense data storage. Probably the entire world's information, you could put in one cell phone, for example."

Or think of the scale this way: A nanocar is about eight square nanometers. The width of a human hair is about 8,000 square nanometers. Thus, about a billion nanocars would fit in that space.

For now, of course, this is all in the theoretical phase. Hla and Masson said there is a lot of research and experimentation to be done. And, they said, they couldn't do it alone; their students have been active in running experiments and one, Ryan Tumbleson, even drove the "Bobcat Nanowagon" during the race.

Hla said others are working on similar projects, so OHIO has to remain on the forefront.

"If we don't do it, somebody else will be doing it, so we'd better lead it," he said. "Maybe one day the university will have a special department, quantum mechanical engineering."

He said there's no reason Ohio University can't take the lead; in fact, he says it already has.

"Don't look down because we are from OHIO; we are unique," he says. "There was only one complete group from the US that competed (in the nanocar race). We can change the world, in a good way."

The technology, Hla said, can help in many ways.

"There are many areas, I do believe, that will be hugely impacted. Medicine, electronics, information technology, just to name a few. Those are the real impacts. However, it has to start from somewhere."
This image captures the spread of radioactivity from a hypothetical fire in a high-density spent-fuel pool at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. In this scenario, which is based on real weather patterns that occurred in January 2015, New York City and Philadelphia would be highly contaminated, forcing millions of people to evacuate. Based on guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the experience from the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, populations in the red and orange areas would have to be relocated for many years, and many in the yellow area would relocate voluntarily. Credit: Photo courtesy of Michael Schoeppner, Princeton University, Program on Science and Global Security

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) relied on faulty analysis to justify its refusal to adopt a critical measure for protecting Americans from the occurrence of a catastrophic nuclear-waste fire at any one of dozens of reactor sites around the country, according to an article in the May 26 issue of Science magazine. Fallout from such a fire could be considerably larger than the radioactive emissions from the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan.

Published by researchers from Princeton University and the Union of Concerned Scientists, the article argues that NRC inaction leaves the public at high risk from fires in spent-nuclear-fuel cooling pools at reactor sites. The poolswater-filled basins that store and cool used radioactive fuel rodsare so densely packed with nuclear waste that a fire could release enough radioactive material to contaminate an area twice the size of New Jersey. On average, radioactivity from such an accident could force approximately 8 million people to relocate and result in $2 trillion in damages.

These catastrophic consequences, which could be triggered by a large earthquake or a terrorist attack, could be largely avoided by regulatory measures that the NRC refuses to implement. Using a biased regulatory analysis, the agency excluded the possibility of an act of terrorism as well as the potential for damage from a fire beyond 50 miles of a plant. Failing to account for these and other factors led the NRC to significantly underestimate the destruction such a disaster could cause.

"The NRC has been pressured by the nuclear industry, directly and through Congress, to low-ball the potential consequences of a fire because of concerns that increased costs could result in shutting down more nuclear power plants," said paper co-author Frank von Hippel, a senior research physicist at Princeton's Program on Science and Global Security (SGS), based at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "Unfortunately, if there is no public outcry about this dangerous situation, the NRC will continue to bend to the industry's wishes."

Von Hippel's co-authors are Michael Schoeppner, a former postdoctoral researcher at Princeton's SGS, and Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

This image captures the spread of radioactivity from a hypothetical fire in a high-density spent-fuel pool at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. In this scenario, several major cities would be affected by contamination. Based on the guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the experience from the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, populations in the red and orange areas would have to be relocated for many years, and many in the yellow area would relocate voluntarily. The projection is based on actual weather patterns that occurred in April 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of Michael Schoeppner, Princeton University, Program on Science and Global Security

Spent-fuel pools were brought into the spotlight following the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami that struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, disabling the electrical systems necessary for cooling the reactor cores. This led to core meltdowns at three of the six reactors at the facility, hydrogen explosions, and a release of radioactive material.

"The Fukushima accident could have been a hundred times worse had there been a loss of the water covering the spent fuel in pools associated with each reactor," von Hippel said. "That almost happened at Fukushima in Unit 4."

In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, the NRC considered proposals for new safety requirements at U.S. plants. One was a measure prohibiting plant owners from densely packing spent-fuel pools, requiring them to expedite transfer of all spent fuel that has cooled in pools for at least five years to dry storage casks, which are inherently safer. Densely packed pools are highly vulnerable to catching fire and releasing huge amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.

The NRC analysis found that a fire in a spent-fuel pool at an average nuclear reactor site would cause $125 billion in damages, while expedited transfer of spent fuel to dry casks could reduce radioactive releases from pool fires by 99 percent. However, the agency decided the possibility of such a fire is so unlikely that it could not justify requiring plant owners to pay the estimated cost of $50 million per pool.

The NRC cost-benefit analysis assumed there would be no consequences from radioactive contamination beyond 50 miles from a fire. It also assumed that all contaminated areas could be effectively cleaned up within a year. Both of these assumptions are inconsistent with experience after the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents.

This image captures the spread of radioactivity from a hypothetical fire in a high-density spent-fuel pool at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. Based on the guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the experience from the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, populations in the red and orange areas would have to be relocated for many years, and many in the yellow area would relocate voluntarily. In this scenario, which is based on real weather patterns that occurred in July 2015, four major cities would be contaminated (New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.), resulting in the displacement of millions of people. Credit: Photo courtesy of Michael Schoeppner, Princeton University, Program on Science and Global Security

In two previous articles, von Hippel and Schoeppner released figures that correct for these and other errors and omissions. They found that millions of residents in surrounding communities would have to relocate for years, resulting in total damages of $2 trillionnearly 20 times the NRC's result. Considering the nuclear industry is only legally liable for $13.6 billion, thanks to the Price Anderson Act of 1957, U.S. taxpayers would have to cover the remaining costs.

The authors point out that if the NRC does not take action to reduce this danger, Congress has the authority to fix the problem. Moreover, the authors suggest that states that provide subsidies to uneconomical nuclear reactors within their borders could also play a constructive role by making those subsidies available only for plants that agreed to carry out expedited transfer of spent fuel.

"In far too many instances, the NRC has used flawed analysis to justify inaction, leaving millions of Americans at risk of a radiological release that could contaminate their homes and destroy their livelihoods," said Lyman. "It is time for the NRC to employ sound science and common-sense policy judgments in its decision-making process."

The paper, "Nuclear safety regulation in the post-Fukushima era," was published May 26 in Science. For more information, see von Hippel and Schoeppner's previous papers, "Reducing the Danger from Fires in Spent Fuel Pools" and "Economic Losses From a Fire in a Dense-Packed U.S. Spent Fuel Pool," which were published in Science & Global Security in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The Science article builds upon the findings of a Congressionally-mandated review by the National Academy of Sciences, on which von Hippel served.
Figure 1: Density profile of two superfluid components that either mix (left) or do not mix (right). In a rotating superfluid with two components that are miscible, or mixable, the matter will be distributed evenly within the doughnut-shaped container. This is the same density profile seen in a rotating, single-component superfluid. When the two components are immiscible, or not mixable, they will separate from each other and form two semicircle clumps on opposite sides. Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

The quantum world is both elegant and mysterious. It is a sphere of existence where the laws of physics experienced in everyday life are brokenparticles can exist in two places at once, they can react to each other over vast distances, and they themselves seem confused over whether they are particles or waves. For those not involved in the field, this world may seem trifling, but recently, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have theoretically described two quantum states that are extraordinary in both the physics that define them and their visual appeal: a complex quantum system that simulates classical physics and a spellbinding necklace-like state. Their study is published in the journal Physical Review A.

The quest for these states begins with a doughnut, or rather, a doughnut-shaped container housing a rotating superfluid. This superfluid, which is a fluid that moves with no friction, is made of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) comprising particles with no charge that are cooled to near-zero degrees kelvin, a temperature so cold, that it does not exist in the universe outside of laboratories. At this temperature, particles begin to exhibit strange propertiesthey clump together, and eventually become indistinguishable from one another. In effect, they become a single entity and thus move as one.

Since this whirling BEC superfluid is operating at a quantum scale, where tiny distances and low temperatures reign, the physical characteristics of its rotation are not those seen in the classical world. Consider a father who is swinging his daughter around in a circle by the arms. Classical physics mandates that the child's legs will move faster than her hands around the circle, since her legs must travel further to make a complete turn.

In the world of quantum physics the relationship is the opposite. "In a superfluidthings which are very far away [from the center] move really slowly, whereas things [that] are close to the center move very fast," explains OIST Professor Thomas Busch, one of the researchers involved in the study. This is what is happening in the superfluid doughnut.

In addition, the superfluid inside of the doughnut shows a uniform density profile, meaning that it is distributed around the doughnut evenly. This would be the same for most liquids that are rotating via classical or quantum rules. But what happens if another type of BEC is added, one that is made from a different atomic species and that cannot mix with the original BEC? Like oil and water, the two components will separate in a way that minimizes the area in which they are touching and form two semicircles on opposite sides of the doughnut container.

Figure 2: Different versions of the ultracold quantum necklace. The number of pearls in the quantum necklace depends on the strength of the spin-orbit coupling. A stronger coupling produces more pearls, and the number must always be odd.

"The shortest boundary [between the components] is in the radial direction," Dr. Angela White, first author on the study, explains. The two components separate into different halves of the doughnut along this boundary, which is created by passing through the doughnut's radius. In this configuration, they will use less energy to remain separated than they would via any other.

In the immiscible, or unmixable, configuration shown in Figure 1, the quantum world surprises. Since the boundary between the two superfluids must remain aligned along the radial direction, the superfluid present at this boundary must rotate like a classical object. This happens in order to maintain that low-energy state. If at the boundary the superfluids continued to rotate faster on the inside, then the two semicircles would start to twist, elongating the line that separates them, and thus requiring more energy to stay separated. The result is a sort of classical physics mimicry, where the system appears to jump into the classical realm, facilitated by complex quantum mechanical behavior.

At this stage, the superfluid doughnut has reached its first extraordinary state which is one that mimics classical rotation. But there is one more step needed to transform this already mind-boggling system into the necklace end-goal: spin-orbit coupling.

"In a very abstract way, [spin is] just a thing that has two possible states," Busch explains. "It can be this way or it can be that way." For this experiment, which involves particles that have no charge, or no spin, the researchers "faked" a spin by assigning a "this or that" property to their particles.

When coupling the particles based on this property, the two semicircles inside of the doughnut break into multiple alternating parts, thus forming the necklace configuration (Figure 2). By digging further into its composition, the researchers found that the number of "pearls" in the necklace depends on the strength of the spin-orbit coupling and, more surprisingly, that there must always be an odd number of these pearls.

Researchers have predicted quantum necklaces before, but they were known to be unstableexpanding or dissipating themselves to oblivion only a short time after being created. In this theoretical model, the OIST researchers believe they have found a way to create a stable necklace, one that would allow for more time to study it and appreciate its refined majesty.

More information: Angela C. White et al. Odd-petal-number states and persistent flows in spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, Physical Review A (2017). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.95.041604 Journal information: Physical Review A
Female desert tortoises adjusted well to relocation, but the males did not, a study has found. Credit: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Results of a study on the relocation of a community of desert tortoises in California has unveiled a mystery: When moved only a short distance from their habitat, the females in the group assimilated to their new location and reproduced normally  but not the transported males.

The study originated in 2008 with a planned expansion of Fort Irwin National Training Center in the Mojave Desert. But the expansion area included a swath of prime habitat for the endangered desert tortoise. So the U.S. Department of Defense funded relocation of the tortoises to an area adjacent to the base that is less than 10 miles south of their previous home.

The Smithsonian Institute's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has completed parentage analysis after the relocation and has found that none of the transported males had sired any offspring.

In contrast, all the moved females and the resident tortoises had adjusted well and reproduced.

"These results were really surprising," said Emily Latch, a UWM associate professor of biological sciences and a co-author of a paper published May 24 in the journal Biological Conservation. "We fully expected that after several years, all tortoises would be reproducing at 'regular' levels. Our radio telemetry data indicated that translocated males were in the vicinity of females, and so had access to mates."

Translocation is common conservation strategy, used to increase genetic diversity among populations and move threatened animals in the case of habitat loss.

Latch, who worked on the early stages of tortoise project as a post-doctoral researcher with the Smithsonian, has also worked on translocation projects involving species of wild turkeys, mule deer, bison, bighorn sheep, river otters and fishers.

These findings, she said, suggest that for some species, translocation may not be as effective a tool to rescue populations at risk as previously thought.

Kevin Mulder, a graduate student at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and first author on the paper, said more research is necessary to identify what may have happened.

More information: Kevin P. Mulder et al. No paternal genetic integration in desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) following translocation into an existing population, Biological Conservation (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.04.030 Journal information: Biological Conservation
A digital worm powered by stolen National Security Agency software caused $1 billion in damages when it infected hundreds of thousands of computers in less than a week, a Florida digital security company says. And new attacks may be in the offing.

Hackers unleashed the worm, dubbed WannaCry, on May 12. Some 200,000 to 300,000 computers were affected in at least 150 countries.

"The estimated damage caused by WannaCry in just the initial four days would exceed $1 billion, looking at the massive downtime caused for large organizations worldwide," Stu Sjouwerman, chief executive at KnowBe4, a Clearwater, Fla., firm that helps firms avoid phishing efforts, wrote in a statement.

The damage estimates include loss of data, lost productivity, disruptions to business, forensic investigation, reputational harm and other factors, the company said.

The digital contagion encrypted the hard drives of computers. Hackers then demanded payment in the digital currency bitcoin to unfreeze the hard drives. The hackers provided three bitcoin wallets, or repositories, for payment of a minimum of $300.

An automated tracker of bitcoin payments reports that 302 payments have been made to the wallets, totaling $116,542, indicating that most victims paid no ransom and probably lost all the data on their computers.

Depending on one's perspective, that might seem to be a relatively small haul for the hackers, given the massive, raw pain they inflicted on users worldwide.

"I would say it's low, comparatively, especially considering the number of infections and attention it received," said Raj Samani, chief scientist at McAfee, a Santa Clara, Calif., computer software security firm.

"One theory is that it was never about the money," said Perry Carpenter, strategy officer at KnowBe4. "It was more about creating a large-scale bit of noise. The other theory is that it was about the money but it was intended to be small-scale ... and got out of hand."

Among the companies and institutions affected by the attack were FedEx, automotive plants for Renault and Nissan, Spain's telecommunications giant Telefonica, and some 48 hospitals and clinics of the British National Health Service. Russia was the nation hardest hit.

The WannaCry epidemic utilized one of a handful of powerful cybertools stolen from the NSA and leaked to the public in March by an underground group, The Shadow Brokers.

Cybersecurity experts warned this week that other leaked NSA tools have been detected and, while currently harmless, could be "weaponized" into something scarier than WannaCry.

A Croatian security adviser, Miroslav Stampar, announced Sunday on a website favored by programmers that he had discovered a new self-replicating worm, dubbed EternalRocks, that uses seven leaked NSA exploits, or techniques. EternalRocks allows hackers to dominate and remotely control infected computers, but it has yet to be detected conducting malicious activity.

The new worm could be programmed to sit silently on computers, ready to search for password files and credit card and bank account information, said John Kronick, director of cybersecurity for the advanced technology group of PCM Group.

"Very clearly, that will be more damaging because those people won't know that that's happening," Kronick said. "It'll be out the door and you won't even know it."

A debate intensified, meanwhile, about whether a hacking group linked to North Korea was behind the WannaCry epidemic.

A prominent cybersecurity firm, Symantec, said its researchers had detected multiple instances of unique code and tools used in the WannaCry epidemic that had been used previously by Lazarus, a name given to a hacking group linked to North Korea.

Symantec declared Monday that it was "highly likely" that "Lazarus was behind the spread of WannaCry." A second company, FireEye, concurred Tuesday that WannaCry shared code with attacks previously believed carried out by North Korea, including a 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and a 2016 theft of $81 million from Bangladesh's central bank.

Dissent has been vigorous, however.

"The release of attribution evidence is premature, inconclusive and distracting," James Scott, a senior fellow at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a Washington research center, said in a blog posting. Scott argued that Lazarus has never been proved to be a North Korean state entity and is more sophisticated than the WannaCry perpetrators.

A rogue faction of Lazarus could be involved, Scott said, although the malware "appears to have been developed with Chinese keyboard settings and used an automatic English translation for ransom demands."

Carpenter, the KnowBe4 expert, said experts were "always looking for 'tells' within the code" and while some evidence pointed a finger at North Korea "there's no 100 percent certainty around that."

"There are other intelligence services, of course, that could insert that same bit of code as a false flag," Carpenter said. "We actually know that we (the U.S. government) do that in some cases."

2017 McClatchy Washington Bureau

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
ZUG, Switzerland , May 24th, 2017 /PRNewswire/  Monaco Technology GMBH, the company behind the revolutionary Monaco VISA Card and App, announced the worlds first Cryptocurrency Cashback program today. Holders of Monaco VISA cards will be entitled to up to 10% instant cashback rewards at participating merchants.

Kris Marszalek, Founder of Monaco Technology, commented: The Monaco VISA Card & App gives users the ability to spend, send and exchange money at perfect interbank exchange rates, saving them EUR30-40 on every EUR500 equivalent spent. Were doubling down on this strategy to increase the level of savings they can achieve even further by announcing the worlds first Cryptocurrency Cashback rewards program.

Monaco App and Card offering perfect interbank exchange rates

After a transaction at a participating merchant, Monaco VISA Card holders will be instantly credited up to 10% of the transaction value to their Monaco App wallets. The credit is in MCO, the native currency of Monaco Technology, which will be tradable on various exchanges starting 19 JUN 2017. Users will be able to easily convert MCOs to Bitcoin, Ether, as well as USD, EUR and other fiat currencies.

Combining perfect interbank exchange rates and instant cashback could potentially bring the savings on a single transaction to 15-18% for our customers. Its just unheard of, continued Mr. Marszalek. The credit for the idea belongs entirely to the Monaco user community. Were simply listening to what our users want in the product and executing at a rapid pace. If theres a merchant you would like to see participating in the program, please join our Slack channel at slack.Mona.co, where users are currently contributing and voting on a list of merchants to bring to the Monaco platform.

MONACO ICO HITS TARGET IN 90MIN, RAISES $3M IN FIRST 3 DAYS:

ICO launched on 18 MAY and exceeded minimum goal in 90 minutes

1,500+ contributors to date

Bidding war for Limited Edition Monaco Black Card #001 continues  price already exceeding $250 ,000

Commenting on the ICO, Mr. Marszalek said: Weve launched the ICO without any pre-marketing believing that the product is so strong that it will sell itself. The community quickly understood what were building and immediately saw tremendous value in it. Our team are working incredibly hard to perfect the product and were beyond happy that it resonates with our users. Were also humbled with the warm reception we have received from the community and the trust that over 1,500 community members have placed in us by contributing to the ICO.

LIMITED EDITION MONACO VISA BLACK CARD

Mr. Marszalek continued: To acknowledge and reward the early supporters, weve created a Limited Edition Monaco VISA Black Card.

Cards numbered 001 to 999 will be issued to participants of the ICO. Black Cards numbered from 001 to 499 will be assigned to Top ETH Token Contributors. Black Cards numbered from 500 to 999 will be assigned to the fastest contributors, based on the time stamp of their ETH contribution. The Black Card Leaderboard will be available at Mona.co and will update automatically in real-time during the ICO.

We were astounded to see that the Black Card #001 fetched over $250,000 in what appears to be a bidding war. Its unbelievable!, added Mr. Marszalek. Were looking forward to working together with this amazing community to deliver the best possible product to the market.

The Token Sale continues until June 18th, 2017.

To find our more about Monaco please visit: www.Mona.co

To participate in the ICO, please visit: www.Mona.co

White paper download: www.Mona.co/whitepaper

http://www.Mona.co
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Should someone who owns land in the county be able to put a cemetery on it? A dog kennel? An airstrip?

Current zoning laws allow those uses and others with virtually no oversight, and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission unanimously agreed things should stay that way.

The commission voted 8-0 on Wednesday to deny an application from a county resident to change the code to require several currently permitted and conditional uses of agricultural property to get a special permit instead.

Michael Williams, who lives in rural Malcolm, had sought the change after the United Yezidi Community of America bought land next to his for a cemetery.

Williams had tried to rally opposition to the cemetery and what he said would build a mosque on the site at Northwest 112th Street and U.S. 34, including contacting media outlets, but had little success.

He said at Wednesday's meeting he realized he couldn't do anything to stop the cemetery next door but wanted to ensure future similar projects would have to undergo more scrutiny.

"I think the community should have a say over what's being developed in their area," Williams said.

Greg Greder, an attorney representing the Yazidi group, said opposition to the cemetery was driven by a mistaken belief that a mosque would be built on the site.

"There's no plan to build a mosque there," said Greder.

Yazidism is a distinct and ancient religion that predates both Islam and Christianity.

The Planning Department had recommended denial of the change, saying it would add expense and take time for property owners.

The fee to apply for a special permit is several hundred dollars and the approval process takes a minimum of seven weeks.

The department's report also noted that some of the uses have been approved for nearly 50 years, virtually without complaint from county residents.

The proposal will now go before the Lancaster County Board, which has the final say.
News

Microsoft Said To Be Buying Hexadite Security Firm

Microsoft reportedly has agreed to buy software security firm Hexadite for $100 million.

Update 6/8: The Hexadite buy was confirmed today by Microsoft in an announcement. Hexadite's remediation technology will be added to Microsoft's Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection service and the Hexadite team will become part of Microsoft's Windows and Devices Group.

The agreement and price were mentioned in this Calcalist (Israel) press account, as cited in a Reuters story today. However, there was no confirmation from Microsoft, with a spokesperson saying only that "the company has nothing to share at this time."

Three-year-old Hexadite has its headquarters in Boston but its research and development facilities are located in Israel. The company makes a solution that automates the investigation and remediation aspects of addressing network breaches.

Hexadite was founded by three former members of an "elite intelligence unit of the Israel Defense Forces," according to the company's Web site. Its main product is the Hexadite Automated Incident Response Solution (AIRS), which was first launched in March of 2015.

AIRS works with other software security solutions to automatically apply remediation actions. Hexadite's partners include security solutions providers such as Carbon Black, Check Point, CrowdStrike, Cybereason, Cylance, Exabeam, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Palo Alto Networks and Securonix.

Hexadite is described as a "security automation and orchestration" (SAO) provider in a Forrester Research report. The SAO market is described as a new space that started about three years ago, according to the report. Other vendors profiled in Forrester's SAO report include CyberSponse, Demisto, Phantom Cyber and Swimlane. The idea behind SAO solutions is that they can speed up investigation and remediation time following network security breaches.

One challenge for Hexadite is to get security and response professionals to accept that human investigators can be replaced by an automated process such as the AIRS product, according to Forrester's report. AIRS, described as "security middleware," is designed to model the actions of investigators.

Microsoft has its own post-breach analysis solution called the "Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection" service. It uses machine learning to investigate network security breaches. It's primarily a forensics tool, but Microsoft had indicated back in December that remediation capabilities would be arriving in the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection service with the release of the Windows 10 "creators update." The Windows 10 creators update was released last month as a "current branch" test release for organizations.
A screenshot from a video posted on Twitter of the bus crash in Yishun.

Editors note: This story was updated at 9:30pm to reflect that the bus crashed into a taxi stand and not a bus stop, as earlier reported.

A Go-Ahead operated bus crashed into a taxi stand outside Yishun MRT Station on Wednesday (May 24).

A video posted on Twitter by user PardonDix showed the upper deck of the bus pierced by the roof of the shelter.

The video was posted around 1.16pm.

THE BUS DRIVER DROVE INTO THE SHELTER WTF #Yishun pic.twitter.com/yoFCKrMq7c  1man (@PardonDix) May 24, 2017

A Go-Ahead spokesperson told Yahoo Singapore that the accident involving bus service 85 happened at 1:08pm, and that no one was injured.

Go-Ahead said it deployed staff to the scene to ensure commuters safety and to ensure that bus services remained unaffected.

The spokesperson added that investigations into this incident are ongoing.

When Yahoo Singapore visited the site at about 8:45pm on Wednesday, construction cones had been placed around a section of the affected taxi stand. Part of the roof of the taxi stand was visibly damaged.

A photo of the affected taxi stand at Yishun at 8:45pm on 24 May.

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By Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian judge Artur Yemelianov has acknowledged in an online declaration that he owns a Breguet watch worth nearly a third of his annual salary and keeps piles of cash. On Jan. 12 he was suspended for three months after prosecutors opened a criminal case against him related to how commercial law cases were allocated to judges, according to statements by the Ukrainian High Council of Justice and Yemelianov himself. They accused him of rigging the process, which is supposed to be random, by setting out rules establishing that only particular judges could hear particular cases, court documents show. The prosecutors also claim that Yemelianov nudged the judges to deliver his preferred verdicts and would take judges off cases if they refused to comply. Ukraine is trying to show its international supporters and lenders that it can tackle entrenched corruption, including in the judiciary. The next payment of a $17.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund will depend on Kiev showing progress on reforms including anti-graft measures. Yemelianov denies any wrongdoing and says his businesswoman ex-wife gave him money that helped to fund his lifestyle. He says the allegations that he rigged the case allocation process were trumped up by his enemies in revenge for his attempts to stamp out bribe-taking and to stop him securing a seat at a newly established Supreme Court. His application could not be considered because of the criminal case against him. The main goal was achieved - as soon as I was taken out of the running in the competition (for the Supreme Court), he said earlier this month. The case is still ongoing and until it is closed, he is unable to travel abroad and his 1.5 million hryvnia ($56,944) bail money stays with the court. The prosecutors, according to their publicly available statements, opened the Yemelianov case after tip-offs from other judges. The prosecution service declined to comment on this story. The Ukrainian government, activists and anti-corruption officials have said the judiciary acts as a shield for corruption and distorts the business environment. The central bank complains that the judicial system has hampered its efforts to shut down banks it believes are engaged in nefarious practices such as money-laundering. It says that courts have given rulings that allowed 12 banks to stay open when they should have been closed, according to several central bank statements, most recently on May 11. "We are all living in the real world and are well aware that the judicial system is not clean, and bribery, and corruption and cronyism exist there," Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko told Reuters in January. The weakest link in our fight against corruption is the Ukrainian court, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said at a press conference in April. He was speaking shortly after Transparency International released figures showing that Ukraine ranked 131 out of 176 countries in the World Ranking of Corruption Perception. CASH AND PORSCHES The government launched a drive to fight corruption last year under which judges and other public sector workers are required to detail their wealth in an online database. About 30 judges, with annual salaries ranging from $10,000-$13,000, own Porsches, according to their declaration for 2015 and others have big sums of cash. Yemelianov declared a 2015 salary of 226,181 hryvnias ($10,354), a watch costing 68000 hryvnias and Blaser Repetierbuchse R8 Carbine worth 113,000 hryvnias ($5,173), and cash in hryvnias, euros and dollars worth the equivalent of $383,000, according the 2015 average rate. In 2013, his family income included 930,000 hryvnias in presents, prizes and wins. The wealth declarations of some of Ukraines most famous politicians and public officials have been pored over by the media and anti-corruption activists. If the prosecutors are right, Yemelianov and others judges have a pernicious influence on Ukraines business climate. Yemelianov says the prosecutors accused him of rigging thousands of cases but have not produced any evidence. He submitted his grievances to the European Court of Human Rights in April, and hopes the Court will take up his case and vindicate him. He said he hopes the Court would affirm the illegality of the conduct of Ukraine and Ukrainian bodies, including law enforcement, towards me and the violation of my rights as a citizen. "PANDORA'S BOX" As part of the anti-corruption drive, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAZK), which is responsible for checking the online declarations, is carrying out separate investigations into whether officials obtained the wealth they detailed honestly. An official at Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau NABU told Reuters it had also begun investigations into the declarations of judges but declined to name them or provide further details. The IMF has urged NAZK and NABU to work more closely together and said legislation must be passed by June to set up an anti-corruption court as a condition of its aid programme, according to an IMF country report released in April. As well as the online data base, the setting up of a Supreme Court and anti-corruption court, Ukraine has removed judges' automatic immunity from prosecution and stripped lawmakers of the power to appoint judges. But Petrenko said it will be hard to reform the judiciary while judges have an interest in throwing out corruption cases against public officials to try and make sure other judges don't eventually turn the focus on them. "Will that judge take an objective decision? I think he will not, because he understands that he will open Pandora's box and this practice can be used against him," he said. Reformist officials and ministers in the Ukrainian state have complained their efforts to root out graft are resisted by MPs, ministers and officials who profit from the current system. "We feel the resistance of the old, unreformed system," Artem Sytnyk, the head of the NABU told Reuters. MONEY FROM HIS WIFE Yemelianov says the bulk of his recent income comes from his ex-wife, Svitlana Yemelianova, who is now in Vienna and gave him a 3 million hryvnia ($137,333) loan in 2015 to finance his travel expenses to see their three children. "She's a wealthy woman, she has this money, she earns as she did before. In order to regularly fly to see my daughter, I need to have the necessary money. My salary is not enough for this," he said. He says he was a successful lawyer until 2001. He says that his ex-wife became a wealthy businesswoman and psychologist in Donetsk, which has been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since an uprising erupted in 2014. She fled Donetsk as the fighting started and left behind most of the documents related to her firms, Yemelianov said. Efforts by Reuters to reach Svitlana Yemelianova in Vienna were unsuccessful. Yemelianov declined to pass on her contact details to Reuters. Yemelianov said he did not know any details of his wife's current businesses. I cant tell you what kind of profits there were (at her businesses), but its a fact that none of them had zero income. ($1 = 26.3419 hryvnias; the 2015 average rate was $1 = 21.8447) (Additional reporting by Matthias Williams in KIEV and Shadia Nasralla in Vienna; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Anna Willard)
Yahoo Singapore file photo

Singapore has filed its written observations on the admissibility of Malaysias application to revise the International Court of Justices (ICJ) 2008 judgement on the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Thursday (25 May).

Singapores written observations are a comprehensive rebuttal to Malaysias application. Singapore is confident of our case and our legal team, said an MFA spokesman.

The next step is for the Parties to present their oral arguments after the ICJ has fixed the schedule for the oral proceedings.

Pedra Branca, which covers an area of about 8,560 sq m, is an outlying island and forms the eastern-most point of Singapore. Middle Rocks and South Ledge are two nearby maritime features. Pedra Branca has been the subject of a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia since 1979. The ICJ ruled in 2008 that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore, and that Middle Rocks is Malaysian territory.

Singapores Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a Facebook post that the written observations are the product of a whole-of-government effort, which involved our Attorney-Generals Chambers, National Archives, Maritime and Port Authority, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Law, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Added the minister: Singapore is fortunate to have Professor S Jayakumar, Senior Judge Chan Sek Keong, and Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh helming the legal team together with Attorney-General Lucien Wong. Their wisdom, experience, and guidance has been invaluable to the younger lawyers on the team.

In February this year, Malaysia filed an application to overturn the ICJs 2008 ruling, citing new facts in the case. It cited three documents recently declassified by the United Kingdom to support the application.

In April, Singapore formed a legal team comprising Attorney-General Lucien Wong, Professor S Jayakumar, Professor Tommy Koh, and former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong to study Malaysias application. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said then that Singapore is confident of retaining Pedra Branca as the Republic had a strong case.

Related article: Singapore to study closely Malaysias application for revision of ICJs Pedra Branca ruling
By Lidia Kelly WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday he wants to hold a referendum in November 2018 on whether to change the country's 20-year-old constitution, although it was not clear what kind of changes he was seeking. Duda has said previously that the balance of powers in the current constitution, Poland's first after the fall of communism, is incorrect. He has avoided any specific changes he would like to see made to the document, although he has suggested that the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces in name only. "I will ask the Senate (Poland's upper house of parliament) to hold a referendum on Nov. 11, 2018, in order to delineate the foundation of the future constitution," Duda said on state-run television. Nov. 11 is Poland's independence day. The 45-year-old Duda, an ally of the conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has said previously he would like Poles to decide whether there is a need for a new constitution. The current constitution was adopted in April of 1997. "In many cases, in my opinion, the division between powers was done incorrectly" in the 1997 constitution, Duda told Radio Dla Ciebie earlier this month. He said that although the constitution stipulates that the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, in practice it is very different. "The president can propose, suggest different initiatives, but if the minister (of defence) does not agree, then the president in this case is trammelled. You can say it this way: the phrase 'Commander-in-Chief' is not reflected in practice." Nov. 11 next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Polish sovereignty after 123 years of partition by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Habsburg Empire. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Reuters file photo

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has warned of a scam where members of the public receive calls or emails from people claiming to be employees of the airline to solicit their personal data.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, SIA said, It has come to our attention that there are contests, emails and calls that claim to be from Singapore Airlines, which inform recipients of free air tickets, before proceeding to request for their personal data.

The national carrier also warned customers that there are social media posts and phishing websites that look similar to its official website.

We advise customers to exercise discretion when revealing personal data to unverified sources. These websites, emails and calls should be verified if in doubt, it said.

SIA added that members of the public can report suspicious websites to this address http://singaporeair.com/en_UK/feedback-enquiry/



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A state regulator has opted to resign as director of the Nebraska Public Service Commission rather than leave his part-time job with a telecommunications consulting firm.

Jeff Pursley drew criticism from some lawmakers this year for his private role with Washington, D.C.-based Parrish, Blessing and Associates, which represents clients, including Windstream, that are also regulated by the Public Service Commission.

Pursley announced Thursday that he will leave the PSC effective June 12.

"I am very proud of what I accomplished during my tenure as executive director," he told the Journal Star in a prepared statement, adding that he's most proud of the staff who "come to work and persevere through it all."

"I will release a more detailed statement at the appropriate time," he said.

The Public Service Commission regulates telecommunications companies along with electric transmission lines, natural gas providers, taxi cabs and major oil pipelines, including the proposed Keystone XL.

Pursley says he never worked directly with any Parrish Blessing clients who are also regulated by the PSC.

While two independent, official examinations of his private work found it doesn't violate his oath of office or Nebraska's conflict of interest laws, pressure on Pursley to choose between the two roles never faded.

Last week, the Nebraska Attorney General's Office published a legal opinion that while Pursley's second job didn't violate his oath, his employment contract with the PSC doesn't protect him from being fired without cause.

Pursley said all five of the Public Service Commission's elected commissioners told him recently that he needed to resign from Parrish Blessing by July 1, but he had already committed to remain at the firm through December.

That's when Pursley and the PSC decided to part ways.

"This is an issue of integrity, and at the end of the day, a person is defined by their integrity," Pursley said.

Pursley has been executive director at the PSC since 2015. He previously served in other leadership roles at the commission from 1999 through 2008, when he left to join Parrish Blessing.

Jeff is a man of many of talents, said Commission Chairman Tim Schram of Gretna, in a news release. A nationally recognized expert in the field of universal telecom service, Jeff has contributed greatly to the progress of telecommunication and broadband in Nebraska during his time with the commission. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.

The duties of the executive director will be absorbed by staff until a new leader can be hired, the commission said in a news release.

State Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, who sponsored several pieces of PSC-related legislation this year and had encouraged Pursley to step down, said Thursday that Pursley made the right decision.

"I believe that it's for the best, given that there's been much discussion about Jeff and about his outside employment."
Team, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides asset performance assurance and optimization solutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Inspection and Heat Treating (IHT), Mechanical Services (MS), and Quest Integrity segments. The IHT segment offers non-destructive evaluation and testing, radiographic testing, ultrasonic testing, magnetic particle inspection, liquid penetrant inspection, positive material identification, electromagnetic testing, alternating current field measurement, and eddy current testing services. This segment also provides long-range guided ultrasonic testing, phased array ultrasonic testing, terminals and storage inspection and management program, rope access, mechanical and pipeline integrity, heat treating, and robotics and inspection services. The MS segment offers engineered composite repair, emissions control/compliance, hot tapping, valve insertion, field machining, bolted joint integrity, vapor barrier plug and weld testing, and valve management services, as well as leak repair services for pipes, valves, and flanges, as well as other parts of piping systems, pipelines, and related assets. The Quest Integrity segment provides furnace tube inspection system-enabled, in-line inspection, pipeline integrity management, engineering and condition assessment, and robotics and inspection services. It also offers onstream services comprising of line stopping and on-line valve insertion solutions. The company serves refining, power, renewables, nuclear, liquefied natural gas, chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, automotive, mining, valves, terminals and storage, pipeline, offshore oil and gas, and aerospace and defense industries, as well as amusement parks, bridges, ports, construction and buildings, roads, dams, and railways. Team, Inc. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
International Relations  May 25, 2017  Palestinian BDS National Committee

Hundreds of Palestinian political prisoners are now approaching their critical sixth week on hunger strike, and they have made an urgent appeal for international solidarity. As they hit Day 40 of their courageous Dignity Strike on May 26, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) calls for intensifying global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns to amplify the prisoners legitimate and just demands.

In particular, the BNC calls for immediate international action toward implementing a comprehensive military embargo on Israel, similar to that imposed against apartheid South Africa in the past. International bodies  including banks, private military corporations, research centers, universities and governments  must stop enabling Israels military and security apparatus, and stop facilitating the development of Israeli military technology. As long as military ties continue, the international community is effectively sending Israel a clear message of approval to continue its severe violations of international law, including its violations of basic prisoners rights.

Comprehensive Military Embargo

This is a critical moment  with every passing hour, Palestinian hunger strikers are risking death. Their health is rapidly deteriorating as they maintain their commitment to assert their dignity and win their internationally recognized rights. A comprehensive military embargo on Israel is long overdue and as urgent as ever.

Palestinians have come together in remarkably strong support of the Dignity Strike. There have been two general strikes with mass participation across historic Palestine. The general strike on Monday, May 22 was the largest since the first Intifada (1987-1993). Rallies and creative actions are happening on a daily basis in Palestinian refugee camps across the region. Those living under Israeli military occupation are also demonstrating in the streets, shutting down Jewish-only settlers roads, bringing work and traffic to a standstill and refusing the entry of Israeli products into supermarkets. Across solidarity tents the slogan boycott your jailer rings loud.

International action is needed to support and sustain these inspiring grassroots mobilizations as Israel has responded with its predictable use of brutal military force and repression. At least one demonstrator, 23-year old Saba Abu Ubeid, has been killed by an Israeli sniper. A second young man at a solidarity march was shot in the head by an Israeli settler.

ACT to support the Dignity Strike. There are many ways. On May 26, Day 40 of the Dignity Strike:

Join the #BDS4DignityStrike social media campaign. Share this image widely using the hashtag #BDS4DignityStrike. Organize a banner drop or street action in your community or campus to raise awareness about the Dignity Strike and call for a military embargo. Use #BDS4DignityStrike to share pictures from your action. Do your research and launch a divestment campaign. Your bank or pension fund are likely to have collaboration with Israeli military companies. Pressure them to divest. Start a campaign for your university to cut all ties with Israels military industry. Universities often conduct joint military or dual-use research with Israel or with weapons companies that supply the Israeli military. Write to your elected officials, multilateral bodies and the UN to raise the issue of the Dignity Strike and build pressure to exclude Israeli military companies from contracts and eventually impose a military embargo on Israel. Create your own BDS-related action. Dont limit yourself to this list.

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) again and again reaffirms its full support for the Dignity Strike. We call on people of conscience and citizen groups to take urgent action, mainstreaming and escalating military embargo campaigns as an effective nonviolent means of holding Israel accountable to international law and ending its fatal impunity. 

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

Workers Support Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike

We urge all labor organizations and workers movements to express their solidarity and support for the Palestinian prisoners hunger strike, for the Palestinian peoples struggle for liberation and for the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.  Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for BDS (PTUC-BDS), April 28, 2017.

Labor for Palestine joins workers around the world to stand with 1,500 Palestinian prisoners who have been on hunger strike since April 17 to protest conditions that Amnesty International calls unlawful and cruel. After more than a month, their health is failing, but their steadfastness remains unshakable.

From workers rights and womens rights, to anti-racism and anti-colonialism, hunger strikes are a time-honored form of protest against injustice.

But the Israeli government  which receives $3.8-billion per year in U.S. weapons and closely coordinates with the same police agencies that systematically terrorize Black and Brown communities in the United States  threatens to force-feed the strikers, and is gunning down their supporters in the streets of Palestine. Such relentless state violence reflects the continuing Nakba, Israels 69-year-old ethnic cleansing campaign against the Palestinian people.

Undeterred, the prisoners have vowed: Our chains will be broken before we are, because it is human nature to heed the call for freedom regardless of the cost.

They know that, like Jim Crow and apartheid South Africa, Zionist settler colonialism will one day fall to the unstoppable tide of popular mass resistance.

Labor bodies around the world have risen to their defense, including the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Canadian Labour Congress, 26 European trade unions and labor organizations, World Federation of Trade Unions (representing 92 million workers in 162 countries), and International Trade Union Confederation (representing 181 million workers in 163 countries).

Their outpouring is accompanied by rising international labor respect of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) picket line, which demands an end to occupation and apartheid, full equality for all, and Palestinian refugees right to return to the homes and lands from which they were expelled.

In the U.S., BDS has been embraced by West Coast dockers refusing to handle Israeli Zim Line cargo, the United Electrical Workers, CT State AFL-CIO, UAW 2865, UAW 2322, GSOC-UAW 2110, AFT 3220, and thousands of other union members.

This parallels growing intersectional solidarity with Palestine from the Movement for Black Lives, Standing Rock, #NoBanNoWall, and other U.S. grassroots social justice movements.

Today, we affirm:

* Victory to Palestinian Political Hunger Strikers!

* From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free! 

Issued May 21, 2017 by Labor for Palestine Co-Conveners: (Affiliations below for identification only) Suzanne Adely, Global Workers Solidarity Network; Michael Letwin, Former President, Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325; Labor for Standing Rock; Clarence Thomas, Co-Chair, Million Worker March; Executive Board, ILWU Local 10 (retired).

Endorsing Organizations (list in formation):

Al-Awda New York, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

AROC: Arab Resource & Organizing Center

Decolonize This Place

Arab Resource & Organizing Center

Existence is Resistance

Jews for Palestinian Right of Return

LA4Palestine

Labor for Standing Rock

NYC Students for Justice in Palestine

Labor For Standing Rock

Palestinian Youth Movement  USA

Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights

U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

Petition: www.change.org.
The three residence towers of Sky Park should be complete in late 2019.

Laying of the 600kg foundation stone of the Sky Park project by Zaha Hadid. (Source: Jana Liptakova)

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Construction of Sky Park, one of the last projects of now deceased prominent world architect Zaha Hadid, officially started in Bratislava on May 19 when representatives of the city, the investor and the Zaha Hadid Architects studio ceremonially tapped the foundation stone. It is a river stone from the Danube area weighing 600 kilos.

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A dynamic new community near the city centre, Sky Parks fluid architecture ensures generous living areas and communal spaces that flow into each other, said Patrik Schumacher, principal of Zaha Hadid Architects, who personally attended the ceremony. It will open a former industrial area to the public by creating a new park for the city  an important link between Bratislavas contemporary culture, emerging nature and history.

Schumacher took over the leadership of the Zaha Hadid Architects architectural studios after the death of Zaha Hadid in 2016. The studio won the international tender promulgated by the investor, the financial group Penta Investments, to develop the zone in the centre of Bratislava, at that time known as Culenova, in 2010 and prepared a comprehensive architectural design of this project.

Sky park, with a price tag exceeding 300 million, will consist of three 31-storey residential towers 105 metres high with a total of about 780 apartments, 1,100 parking places and two office towers with 55,000 square metres of offices to be built during the second phase.

The first apartments should be delivered to their owners in late 2019.

The investor plans to launch construction works later in May. It began selling apartments in December with the price of apartments starting at 130,000. More than one half of the apartments have already been sold.

Read also:

Read also: Sale of flats in Zaha Hadids project started Read more

Part of the first phase will also be the reconstruction of the facade of a protected historical building  the turbine hall of a heating plant designed by Dusan Jurkovic, a prominent architect known as the founder of modern Slovak architecture.

Penta still does not know for what purposes it will use the turbine hall, but wants part of them to be public.

The Sky Park project will also include a new city park with an area of more than 20,000 square metres, which will be accessible to all inhabitants of Bratislava.

Disclaimer: Penta financial group has a 45-percent share in Petit Press, the co-owner of The Slovak Spectator.
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) scrutinised alleged police violence in the Romani neighbourhood of Zborov from April 16, based on a video footage by a witness.

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The ERRC received video evidence of police officers attacking Roma at random in a street of the village of Zborov in the Bardejov Dsitrict in eastern Slovakia. Police entered the Roma settlement and began indiscriminately beating Roma, including children and elderly people, according to the Centre.

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Three people required medical assistance: a 5-year-old boy, a man in his 40s with a heart condition, and an elderly lady with disabilities, the ERRC has learned, as well as the fact that an ambulance was temporarily blocked from entering the neighbourhood by the police after it was called to treat the injured. Witnesses who filmed the violence were visited by police officers later that evening and told to delete any footage they had of the events. The ERRC informant who filmed the incident refused to be intimidated and to delete the footage taken in a public area.

According to his report, the first police car arrived between 17:00 and 18:00 and after some time another six policemen in uniform appeared, as well as two others in civilian clothes. A young boy was injured and a man in his forties was pushed to the ground despite the police being told by his relatives that he had a heart condition. The elderly lady you can see being pushed to the ground in the video also has some disability, he told the ERRC monitor.

Police were called to the area after a fight broke out in the Roma neighbourhood. They entered with batons drawn, causing terror amongst the residents as they advanced through the streets, beating men, women and children in their path, the Centre wrote on May 24. A Roma resident who fled the violence said if anyone tried to reason with them, when they appealed to them to stop  they were beaten.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/QpNVe33xosI

The Minister of the Interior, Robert Kalinak, has announced plans to increase police numbers in municipalities across Slovakia where there are large Roma populations. If this is the sort of policing we can expect, is it safe to have even more police officers on the streets of majority Roma areas? ERRC President ore Jovanovic asked, adding that we do not want more officers whose idea of good police work is brutalising minority communities in these locations.

The ERRC has looked at the crime statistics for the municipalities where the minister has proposed an increase of police, finding that the areas which have been proposed for an increase in policing are not those where the crime rates are highest but those where the Roma population is relatively high. According to the governments own data, there is no strong correlation between a high percentage of Roma in a municipality and increased crime rate. The Interior Ministry denied any racial bias in the decision to increase police units almost exclusively in municipalities with high Roma populations.

The ERRC are awaiting a response from the spokesperson of the regional police office.

Response in Slovakia

The public TV channel RTVS which showed the video on its Facebook site also reported that after the end of the raid, police forced locals to erase all footage from their mobile phones, allegedly leaving just this single one.

Police President Tibor Gaspar also reacted to the video, saying  as cited by the Sme daily  that several of these interventions seem to me quite inappropriate. He sent the video for police inspection.

This would not be the first aggressive police action against Roma. Raids from June 2013 in the Budulovska settlement of Moldava nad Bodvou and in the village of Drienovec were highly publicised. Then, police claimed it was a planned search operation in which 63 officers participated, detaining 15 people, of which they wanted to identify eight, charged five with a minor misdemeanours and investigated two for the suspected crime of attacking a public official.

Several Roma were injured two years ago, during a police raid in the village of Vrbnica in the Michalovce District. The locals then claimed that the means used by the police were unduly harsh and affected decent people who had not had any problems with law before, Sme wrote on May 24.
Merger still subject to approval by The National Bank of Slovakia.

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At the extraordinary general meeting held on May 24 it was agreed that the banks should merge on August 1, 2017, with the successor company being Prima Banka. Sberbank Slovensko will cease to exist as of July 31, 2017.

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However, the merger itself is still subject to approval by the National Bank of Slovakia, Prima Banka spokeswoman Eva Conkova told the SITA newswire. The reason and aim of the merger of the two banking houses is the most effective use of the funds invested in the capital of the banks as well as more extensive opportunities to provide banking services.

Prima banka, illustrative stock photo (Source: SME)

Sberbank has been stagnating in recent years, its internal processes were not efficient enough and the number of clients was low, Prima Banka commented. According to the bank, its original business model and focus did not lead to success and did not provide prospects for a long-term successful independent existence.
OMAHA  Authorities say a man who was found shot in northeast Omaha has died at a hospital.

Officers sent to check on gunshots around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday discovered the man, who was taken to Creighton University Medical Center. Police say he died there.
The much debated selection of the head of the Public Procurement Office (UVO) that oversees the states tenders ended without a winner.

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During a vote on May 24, the government failed to select from any of the candidates who entered the fray for the post of the new UVO head, the TASR newswire wrote.

Three hopefuls went through government-held public hearings but none of them received the required number of votes. As a result, the Cabinet will repeat the selection process for its nominee for the head of the UVO, probably before the summer recess.

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The candidates were the current UVO head, Zita Taborska, UVO lawyer Peter Kubovic, and Juraj Mery who heads the project management department at the Transport Ministry.

After a public hearing and after we heard the arguments of all three candidates who participated in this selection process, none of them got the necessary absolute majority of votes, Prime Minister Robert Fico said, as quoted by the Sme daily. He added that he himself abstained from the vote three times.

The cabinet then authorised the head of the Government Office, Igor Federic, to announce a repeated call for the UVO head candidates to apply. The PM added that the criteria will not be changed and the currently unsuccessful candidates may try again.

Fico also added that the whole hearing and the debate on the UVO head fulfilled expectations and achieved the purpose intended, and therefore he evaluates them positively. The cabinet took the process of selection very seriously, which was demonstrated by the recent decision.

Cabinet is dissatisfied

Last week, Fico slammed the UVO for a ruling, according to which the Interior Minister Robert Kalinak violated the law in the case of procurement concerning the purchase and reconstruction of the ministerial Clients Centre in the old building of Ikea in Bratislava.

Fico opined, as cited by Sme, that the UVO is not a criminal proceedings institution, and thus, he sees no reason to punish Kalinak. The office decided that the ministry should not have foregone the tender. Kalinak insists that only the protocol in this case is mistaken and continues to assert that such a verdict of the UVO can be contested. In the past, the office failed to find law violations in several famous cases.

As for its recent vote, the interior minister said that for any candidate to receive the absolute majority of cabinet, he or she must bring something more than shown by Wednesdays candidates. However, he refused to tell Sme how he personally voted.
Developer HB Reavis applies for the statute of an important investment to build the Bratislava bus station and cable car .

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The state will respond to the request of the developer HB Reavis to grant its project for the construction of a brand new bus station, Stanica Nivy and a cable car across the Danube River, a statute of important investment by the end of June. Deputy PM for Investments and Informatisation Peter Pellegrini announced this on May 21, adding that the decision itself would be conditioned by consent from the Bratislava city council and Bratislavas boroughs.

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Prior to submitting the material to the cabinet session, we will hold official negotiations with the Bratislava mayor as well as the mayors of the individual Bratislava boroughs, said Pellegrini as cited by the TASR newswire. Without collaboration and the positive stance of the city council, the cabinet cannot decide about such an investment.

Pellegrini will also need the stances of the other ministries.

Bratislava Mayor, Ivo Nesrovnal, has already talked with representatives of developers HB Reavis and J&T Real Estate about their intentions to carry out transportation projects in Bratislava. These include a cable car and a tram track.

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Read also: Developer wants to construct cable car connecting Petrzalka with new bus station Read more

The capital welcomes each such significant initiative focusing on development of the city, said Iveta Keselakova from the communication department of Bratislava city council as cited by TASR, adding that the city council will be helpful during the process of assessment and realisation of these projects.

The city council will assess the projects from the viewpoint of whether they fit into the concept of development of the city, whether they will be an enrichment of the main transportation system of the city and that in case they materialise they work in synergy and to the benefit of Bratislavans.

During this phase we expect more complex information about financing, process of preparation and the time of construction in cooperation of all involved when realising these projects, said Keselakova.

Dusan Pekar, the mayor of Ruzinov, the borough in which the Nivy bus station stands and from where the cable car should run to the opposite bank of the Danube, has a positive view on the cable car. In his opinion, if it is a supplement to existing public transport, it will be an added value. He also highlighted as another benefit the fact that costs of construction of the cable car, estimated at 50 million, will be covered by the developer.

The proposed route of the cable car (Source: Courtesy of HB Reavis)

Vladimir Bajan, Mayor of Petrzalka, i.e. the borough in which the cable car will end, said that the citys boroughs are still only discussing this project. But he has already invited the investor to introduce the project to local councillors.

But I am convinced that any solution that will help to transport 4,000-5,000 people per hour from one side of Danube to the other, is a great help, said Bajan.

Developer HB Reavis wants to build a cable car to connect the biggest housing estate in Bratislava, Petrzalka, with the new bus station. Its construction may cost about 50 million while it is not clear yet who will operate it after it is complete. It also proposes to build a 30 million parking garage in Petrzalka that will be connected to the cable car.

The statute of an important investment will bring the developer faster administrative proceedings in the respective project.

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Read also: The construction of new Bratislava bus station kicks off Read more

HB Reavis has already launched construction of a new bus station. It will firstly build a 125-metre administration tower. It will then continue with the construction of the new bus station premises in the summer.
It may change the form of its operations as of July 2018.

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The Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) may soon have greater control over its property than in the past. This stems from a law approved by the government at its May 24 session on public research institutions, that should secure the transformation of its institutes into public research institutions and also change its finances.

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If passed by parliament, the institution should transfer on July 1, 2018, the TASR newswire reported.

Ministers discussed the draft legislation last September but the talks were halted due to problems over property. The SAV currently administers the property owned by the state, which should now be transferred into its hands. The institutions should thus be able to sell or manage it in another way. The government however lacked some bigger guarantees in the previous version.

The current proposal suggests that if the SAV wanted to handle priority property worth less than 25,000, it would need the approval of the Finance Ministry. If the priority property was worth more than 25,000, it would also need the approval of the government. Moreover, the SAV would not be able to donate the unnecessary property to a non-governmental organisation, TASR reported.

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Read also: SAV representatives demonstrate for autonomy Read more

The aim of the law is to create a special type of business entity, the public research institution, which will focus on research. Unlike the ordinary research institutions, which serve as budgetary or contributory organisations, it will have its own property.

The institution will mostly receive funds from the state budget but will also be able to apply for other public sources, especially subsidies and grants. The public research institution will thus be allowed to carry out business activities, TASR wrote.

The law means a new chapter for the SAV, said its deputy head Eva Majkova. If it is approved by the parliament, the SAV will have more opportunities to develop as the law brings more freedom, bigger responsibility and also economic flexibility, she added for TASR.

Moreover, the new rules will allow the SAV to adapt to the environment which already exists in the rest of Europe as similar research institutions already run as public institutions using public-service management, Majkova said.

The preparations of the law on public research institutions started in autumn 2014, with the transformation being set on January 1, 2016.
There is a question whether the scrutiny may impact the carmakers plans to invest in Slovakia.

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The European Commission is investigating whether Slovakias plans to provide 125 million to the British carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) that plans to build its new plant near Nitra, are in line with the European Unions rules on regional aid.

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Though it is good when public investments stimulate economic growth in member states, it is necessary to avoid harmful competition between them, said the European Commissioner for Competition Policy Margrethe Vestager.

The Commission will thoroughly investigate whether the planned support from the Slovak Republic is really necessary for Jaguar Land Rover to place its investment in Nitra, whether this aid is limited to the minimum necessary extent, whether it does not distort competition, or damage cohesion in the EU, Vestager said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

JLR plans to invest 1.4 billion into its new plant near Nitra and employ about 3,000 people. The construction works started last autumn and are expected to be completed at the end of 2018. In the first phase, JLR should produce about 150,000 cars a year.

Slovakia notified the EC of its intention to provide the carmaker with state support amounting to 125 million, which is the maximum amount of aid that may be awarded for such a project, last May. The EC however casts doubt on whether in the current phase such a measure stimulates private investments. It will look at whether the decision of Jaguar Land Rover to invest in Slovakia was impacted only by the amount of the investment aid, SITA reported.

Moreover, it will also scrutinise the use of a further 0.5 billion the Slovak government spent on necessary investments linked to the plant in Nitra, like the purchase of land, the construction of roads and the transhipment point, the Sme daily reported.

If the EC decides that JLR should receive less money or that the investments paid from the state budget were not justified, the government will have talks with the carmaker about its stay in Slovakia, Sme wrote.

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Economy Minister Peter Ziga (Smer) considers the steps of the EC legitimate.

It will check whether or not some competitiveness principle was violated and whether state aid was necessary and whether the investment aid made Jaguar opt for Slovakia rather than Mexico, Ziga said, as quoted by SITA, adding that it is not complicated.

He also promised to cooperate with the EC and provide all necessary documents.

JLRs spokesperson, Lisa Palmer, said they expected the investigation due to the amount of the state aid. She also said they are ready to cooperate with the EC closely, Sme wrote.

The investigation will now last several months and may have several outcomes. If the investment aid is acceptable, JLR will continue with its activities in Slovakia. If it decides that the carmaker should receive less money, the government and JLR will have to discuss what to do next. The most pessimistic scenario is that they would not make a deal, the contract would be terminated and JLR would leave Slovakia, Sme wrote.

If the EC claims the governmental investments linked to JLRs arrival was also the state aid, the government would probably have to claim the money from the carmaker, according to the daily.
Slovakia's armed forces need to modernise their military technology, but also improve infrastructure and make soldiers' salaries more competitive.

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Slovakia's defence department has planned a major modernisation project that should cost more than the ministry's entire budget for one year. While any modernisation of the military is much welcome in Slovakia, experts also point to other needs, like making soldiers' salaries more competitive.

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There has been an open discussion about the state of the Slovak Armed Forces since the brief term of the government of Iveta Radicova, when the then-defence minister Lubomir Galko carried out an analysis of the armed forces and found many shortcomings in technology and infrastructure.

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President Andrej Kiska, who is the highest commander of the armed forces, was very open about the problem in his speech to members of the military at the General Staff whom he visited in late January 2017. He called the army undernourished.

Nothing can be said. We have a problem. We really have a problem and we have had it in the long term, President Kiska said in his speech as quoted by the Dennik N daily.

It is impossible to effectively participate in joint exercises and defend state territory when most of our technology is not interoperable with our partners and is in poor condition, Tomas Cizik, director of the Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs (CENAA) non-governmental think tank, told The Slovak Spectator.

Cizik, just like other security and defence experts, therefore welcomes the project that the Defence Ministry recently proposed and the government approved. The plan is to purchase different military vehicles and light armoured cars for a total amount of around 1.2 billion. That amount significantly exceeds the budget of the ministry, which for the current year is around 990 million.

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Defence spending still lags

Spending on defence currently represents some 1.19 percent of the GDP of the Slovak economy, which is well below the general commitment for NATO members to spend 2 percent GDP on defence and security annually. Only a few countries fulfilled that commitment last year, based on NATO data: the US, Greece, Estonia, the UK, and Poland.

Slovakia had planned to reach that figure by 2020, but that deadline is widely considered unrealistic. That is why the goal was revised and the leadership of the country has come with a compromise goal of 1.6 percent of GDP by 2020. This followed the 2014 outburst of the conflict in Ukraine and the NATO summit in Wales, where President Andrej Kiska represented Slovakia and agreed with the partners at the summit that the countries need to strengthen their collective defence.

Since then Slovakia's defence spending has been increasing, although marginally. That is why analysts are largely skeptical about the 1.6 percent of GDP goal as well, given the fact that in 2016 defence spending was somewhere around 1.16 percent GDP.

The Defence Ministrys budget was increased in 2017 by over 100 million, the ministry told The Slovak Spectator, and defence spending for this year represents 1.19 percent GDP.

The government pledged the further gradual increase in line with the commitments from the Wales summit in its programme statement and this intention has also been confirmed by the Defence Ministry in the updated White Book on Defence, the ministrys spokesperson Danka Capakova told The Slovak Spectator in early May.

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Modernisation project costs could count

Cizik believes that the the gradual increasing of the defence budget that Slovakia has been applying so far does not make it possible to reach the 1.6 percent threshold, but the planned modernisation expenses of up to 1.2 billion make the 1.6-percent goal reasonable. Such modernisation projects, however, cannot be considered as direct defence spending, according to the analyst.

In my opinion, the Defence Ministry is planning to use the proposed modernisation expenses into our overall defence spending, so in 2020 we will reach the 1.6 percent of GDP threshold as planned, Cizik said.

When asked whether the budget will be increased for the purposes of modernisation, the ministry responded that the plan that was approved by the cabinet only counts on procuring the vehicles between 2017-2029. Capakova stressed that this is only a framework sum.

Soldiers need more than technology

Yet experts point out that improving the state of the Slovak armed forces and their capability to defend the country and fulfill its commitments to NATO is not just about money and devices. The armed forces need a long-term strategy, that the ministry says it is preparing, and citizens need greater motivation to join the ranks of the army and treat it as a job of preference.

General Milan Maxim s peaking on the late-night talk show on the public-service RTVS, Vecera s Havranom, on January 31, 2017, said that the initial salary of a newly recruited soldier is some 600, which discourages rather than attracts young people interested in military jobs. Not only is this well below the national average that in 2016 exceeded 900, but it also fails to cover the expenses that a soldier with a family may have when he or she receives an order to relocate to another part of the country.

There are currently 12,000 soldiers employed by the armed forces, plus another 4,000 persons as non-military personnel.

One of the challenges facing the Slovak Armed Forces, therefore, is making military jobs more attractive among the public, said the general.

Long-term plan to come soon

The Defence Ministry is currently preparing the Long-term Plan of Development and Building of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. Capakova said that the drafting of the plan is in its final stages and after it is done, it will be presented to the cabinet and to the parliament.

Security analyst Jaroslav Nad said on January 31 during an RTVS debate that if the currently-drafted long-term plan will be linked to the planned defence spending at 1.6 percent, it will be unfulfillable, because 1.6 percent is a political promise but in reality, the spending is well below that.

Cizik also stated that the strategy should be executable and therefore the goals in it should be prepared very reasonably. Also, it should be developed in accordance with the new National Security Strategy, which should be finished in the coming months.

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The strategy should set out a reasonable plan that should include the development of an effective modernisation plan to improve operability of the military hardware and interoperability of the Slovak Armed Forces partners and to replace outdated military hardware; identify sources of finances to secure gradual increase of defence spending to 2 percent GDP in 2024; and identify security threats, Cizik listed for The Slovak Spectator when asked what the strategy should be like.

The main task of the defence sector is to secure the defence of the territory of the state, but in the current situation, the capabilities of the Slovak Armed Forces are very limited, due to the outdated technology and lack of investments into defence. But aside from that, Slovakia also needs to take into consideration the information warfare, the "soft-power" rather than "hard-power", Cizik noted.

We should also improve our abilities to protect our citizens and develop their inner resilience towards disinformation campaigns, Cizik said.
The main election committee selected eight members of the Judicial Council on May 23.

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Committee chairman Pavol Tomas announced the results of the Judicial Council election to the media on May 24 in Bratislava.

The judges selected to sit on the Judicial Council for the next five years are Milos Kolek (Trnava Regional Court, 677 votes), Lenka Prazenkova (Supreme Court, 672), Erika Zajacova (Trencin Regional Court, 636), Martin Michalansky (Kosice Regional Court, 616), Marcela Kosova (Bratislava Regional Court, 611), Jan Burik (Zilina Regional Court, 608), Pavol Pilek (Nitra Regional Court, 603) and Daniel Hudak (Supreme Court, 561). The unsuccessful candidates received significantly fewer votes.

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A total of 1,195 judges took part in the election, the TASR newswire wrote. All eight candidates nominated by the professional organisation the Slovak Judges Association (ZSS) won their elections. Conversely, none of the candidates proposed by the judges' association For Open Justice were elected.

Judicial Council chair Jana Bajankova was not present for the announcement of the election results. The newly-elected council members will be officially appointed on June 1. The election committee has invited to the appointment cermeony several constitutional officials, including the president, the speaker of parliament, the prime minister, the justice minister and the chairs of the Judicial Council, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and the parliamentary constitutional committee.

The Judicial Council's new leadership should emerge at the first session of the new configuration, probably this autumn. Until then, the Council will be led by its oldest member, lawyer Jan Havlat. The Judicial Council in its current composition is scheduled to for the last time on June 26.

Judges are allocated nine representatives on the 18-member Judicial Council. The ninth post was filled in November 2014 with the election of current Supreme Court judge Dusan Cimo.

Experts, top judiciary officials offer comments

Lawyer Peter Wilfling of the Via Iuris civic association commented for the Sme daily on the election results, noting that they send a surprising signal: the ZSS, led by Juraj Sopoliga, has in the past defended Stefan Harabin against his critics, while For Open Justice has counted itself among his critics.

We expected the judges to elect representatives of different opinions and stances, Wilfling said to Sme, as the diversity contributes to a better-functioning Judicial Council and judiciary in general. Thus, Slovak judges sent a very surprising signal, and it should be considered and analysed.

The judges selected have so far not publicly commented on the Slovak judiciary, and their opinions are not widely known  with the exceptions of Daniel Hudak and Jan Burik, Wilfling said. Thus, it will be important to watch their activities and decision-making in the Judicial Council. We hope that the newly elected members will tackle the acute problem of the untrustworthiness of the Slovak judiciary, Wilfling said.

The head of ZSS, Juraj Sopoliga, told the SITA newswire that he was optimistic about the strong participation of his colleagues in the election. He also praised the candidates' responsibility and experience with the problems facing the judiciary earned by managing administration and self-administration of the courts and ZSS bodies.

Sopoliga also expressed his view that increased communication of the elected members of the Judicial Council with the bodies of judges self-administration, courts administration and the ZSS, will provide timely solutions to several flaws in the judicicary. He said this will be of benefit to the citizens and well-respected by the executive and legislative powers.

Head of the Judicial Council Jana Bajankova told SITA that she respected the election results and thanks all those judges who, by their participation in the vote, confirmed that they do care about who will represent them in the Council. She also said she wished well for the newly-elected members in their work to boost an independent and democratic judiciary. The results confirmed the importance of regional self-administrations, as most of the candidates who had the support of local councils of judges were elected, according to Bajankova.

Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska said that she encourages communicate among all judges and that this will improve with the new composition of the Judicial Council.
The Slovak Supreme Court received a motion to dissolve the extreme right LSNS party founded and led by Marian Kotleba.

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General Prosecutor Jaromir Ciznar filed the motion with the Supreme Court, the news TV channel TA3 reported.

The information was officially confirmed for the Sme daily by the spokesman of the Supreme Court, Boris Urbancik.

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The move of GP Ciznar to dissolve the party has been expected since the last election, with the General Prosecutors Office receiving about 170 notions. However, the office said for several months that it was awaiting expert information that would show whether the party's conduct and statements might constitute violations of Slovak law.

Marian Kotleba and his LSNS party colleagues. (Source: TASR)

The first party of Kotleba, Slovenska Pospolitost (The Slovak Togetherness), had faced similar complaints and was banned by the Supreme Court in 2006. The manifesto of Pospolitost had proposed the abolition of the democratic system and the establishment of a class state based on the national, Christian and social principle.

It was the first decision on banning a party since the 1989 revolution that toppled the communist regime.
Apart from the condolences and assurance of cooperation with Slovak authorities, the official stance of the company producing the Bell 429 helicopters also points out that it is not possible to rule in or out any cause of the accident at this stage of the investigation.

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We are extremely saddened by the two accidents in Slovakia within the past year involving Bell 429s, and our heartfelt thoughts continue to go out to those onboard the aircraft and to their families and friends, the company wrote on May 25 following the crash of a police helicopter earlier this month. Another helicopter crashed during last Sepember. It also stated that Bell Helicopter and Pratt & Whitney continue to assist the Slovak authorities with the accident investigations, both of which are ongoing. Since neither investigation is complete, we cannot speculate on the cause of either accident, although we currently have no reason to believe that the two are related," the company wrote. "Contrary to reports in the media, the company wrote, "it is not possible to rule on any cause of the accident at this stage of the investigation.

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According to Bell Helicopters, aircraft accident investigations are complex, requiring consideration of multiple factors. They wrote that a thorough and impartial investigation typically takes several months to complete, and individual data points or information cannot be considered or discussed in isolation. They also wrote that everyone involved should not provide public speculation until the technical experts have concluded their work. The company assured that should a critical safety or airworthiness concern arise during an investigation, owners and operators of the aircraft would quickly be notified of the appropriate action to take.

With 285 operating worldwide, the Bell 429 meets or exceeds todays airworthiness requirements, the company said. The Bell 429 is powered by the PW200 Pratt & Whitney engine  of which there are more than 3,500 operating in 80 countries around the world, with more than 10 million hours of flight time." The company said that the PW200 also powers the Leonardo A109E and A109, Airbus EC 135, Kazan Helicopters Ansat and MD Helicopters MD Explorer.

"With these facts in mind," the company wrote, "Bell Helicopter continues to have tremendous confidence in the Bell 429.
In Slovakia four towns harness geothermal energy to heat flats, schools and other facilities.

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The Centre for the Use of Geothermal Energy was ceremonially opened in Velky Meder (Trnava Region), making it the fourth town in Slovakia to use thermal energy for public heating.

A 2,450-metre deep bore releasing water with a temperature reaching 93 degrees Celsius provides heating for 1,300 flats, a school, a kindergarten and a cultural centre in the town.

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The Environment Minister, Laszlo Solymos (Most-Hid) Velky Meder's mayor, Samuel Lojkovic and the Slovenian Ambassador to Slovakia, Bernarda Gradisnik, attended the opening ceremony.

As environment minister I am extremely pleased to see a project that combines the use of natural energy for heating and at the same time something that does not burden our environment, said Solymos as cited by the TASR newswire. When we add energy efficiency to that we can see a unique combination, that other towns in Slovakia will envy, in Velky Meder as of today.

In the ministers opinion, Slovakia does not sufficiently use its natural wealth in a modern and ecological way.

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As long as we all follow the principle that development must go hand in hand with the sensitive use of natural resources, we will be all right for many years not only in terms of means of living but we will also have a pleasant environment and we will leave a piece of nature to other generations as well, said Solymos.

Lojkovic noted that the town took out a loan worth 3.7 million for the project, while the drilling work lasted 35 days and ran 24 hours a day.

As many as 99 percent of the inhabitants have a positive stance on this investment, he said, adding that the return on the investment is expected in 10-15 years.

The saving of gas and electricity as well as the fact that it does not pollute the environment are among the most important features of the project, stated the mayor.

Preparatory work for the project began last February and the drilling work was completed by Slovenian experts last May. Afterwards needed infrastructure was built. It started to heat the town using the thermal water last October.

In 2018 it plans to join the town offices and other schools to the thermal water system. In the future, geothermal energy should provide heating for the entire town.

Velky Meder has not increased heating prices but on the contrary, intends to lower them over the next 10 years.
Police accused eight people who may spend between seven to twelve years in prison.

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The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) has revealed two tax frauds connected with poultry and rapeseed oil trading. Police accused eight people altogether.

In the first case, called Max, the damage to the state budget was at least 1,069,097. A group of people committed tax fraud between June 2015 and January 2016, creating different companies when using invoicing chains.

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Police checked six houses in Nitra, Sala, Chtelnica, Horna Streda and Bratislava. Papers, computer technology and memory cards were investigated. Seven people were arrested.

The prison term for this kind of fraud is from seven to twelve years, said Police President Tibor Gaspar, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

The second case, called Trade, was concerned with the trading of frozen chicken meat. The accused would order the products from the Czech Republic and supply them to a company in Slovakia but did not pay taxes during this process.

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In this case the damage caused amounted to 5.4 million. Police carried out operations in Trencin, Nove Mesto nad Vahom, Sladkovicovo, Bratislava, Dubnica nad Vahom and Nitra. Two people were accused.
Lush undergrowth and young trees bursting with new growth greeted Jamaica North Trail bikers, walkers and joggers on a recent spring evening.

It is just one of many trails in and around Lincoln that the Great Plains Trails Network helped secure funds to develop. David Schmidt was chair of GPTNs fundraising committee when it raised $280,000 for the first phase of the Jamaica North, and about $280,000 more for the second phase.

Each person on the committee made a contribution, he said. Some people were better at talking to people. Others were better at writing letters.

Working with government entities, trail supporters, developers and private foundations, the group has championed the development of a connection of trails that Lincoln commuters can use to and from work, students can access on their way to school to avoid busy streets, and bikers, walkers, runners, skaters and horseback riders can enjoy recreationally.

GPTN formed in October 1988 to lend support to a 1989 bond issue that funded development of the Rock Island Trail and the urban MoPac between 33rd and 84th streets. When approached with the option to purchase the 25-mile stretch of abandoned Missouri-Pacific Railroad corridor that is now the MoPac East, it went into fundraising mode. Lincoln residents Lynn Lightner, Jayne Snyder, Lyle and Joyce Vannier, Dr. Larry Fletcher and wife Peg, Dr. Bill Griffin and wife Sheila, Richard and Elaine Hammer, Rich and Susan Rodenburg, Gary Hill, and Dr. Larry Toalson and wife Phoebe signed a promissory note for $167,000 to put toward the $275,000 purchase price, and GPTN fundraised the rest.

Those signers started meeting weekly to brainstorm ways to raise money to pay off the debt. Fletcher and Snyder became co-chairs of the fundraising committee, still the heart of the organization.

Jayne was our go-to person for fundraising from the beginning to the time she died, shared Elaine Hammer, a longtime board member.

GPTN members not only raise money for public trails owned by government entities, but also work closely with governmental agencies to improve trail safety and ensure that those trails meet multi-user needs. Both Hammer and fellow GPTN board member Gary Bentrup serve on the City of Lincolns Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee to that end.

Since 1988, GPTN and its 30-member, all-volunteer board has supported the continued expansion of Lincolns trail system. That includes both rural and urban trails. One of the unique things is how this system brings urban and rural together, Hammer shared.

GPTN raised 10 percent of the funding for the N Street Protected Bikeway, which connects the Jamaica North Trail near 7th and N streets to the Billy Wolff Trail at 22nd and N streets. Schmidt, who works in commercial real estate, said Its a great economic development tool for the area.

Bentrup agrees, pointing to three new development projects along N Street that he believes see the value of the bike trail for commuting purposes, including Nelnet and Allo in the Telegraph District, Latitude Apartments and 8N Lofts. Bentrup said that for each $1 spent on trails, there is a $3 direct medical benefit for residents, too.

Along with former board member Beth Thacker, Bentrup co-wrote a grant for the Jayne Snyder Trailhead Center, which along with the Antelope Valley Trail System has become a connecting point for trails north, south, east and west, Hammer said. That was our dream, to have a trail center.

Connecting trails is one of GPTNs main goals.

I think it builds a sense of community, said Karen Griffin, daughter of Dr. Bill Griffin, one of the MoPac East promissory note signers.

Some of her best memories are of riding her bike with her family in the Sheridan neighborhood where she grew up. So I wanted to make sure all parts of Lincoln have access to trails and safe places to ride, she shared. It connects the community in a way that driving cars cant.

One of the toughest links to complete was the Husker Link (24th to 33rd streets and the bridge over 27th Street), Hammer said. Gale Breed and Nancy Loftis were instrumental in getting that accomplished. On the Oak Creek Trail project, John Angle spurred community support by putting up a $20,000 match.

Bentrup, who said the last thing he wanted to get involved in when he joined GPTN was fundraising, soon realized that it is the most important thing the organization does.

We wouldnt have kept going for 30 years if it wasnt for the continued interest in fundraising for the trails, added Griffin, a geologist with Olsson Associates and co-chair of GPTNs fundraising committee. She advocates for trails through the Community Services Foundation, campaigning for employee payroll deduction contributions to GPTNs foundation  the Nebraska Trails Foundation.

GPTN raises between $15,000 and $20,000 annually through the Community Services Foundation, Griffin said. Theres always a new effort, but people come through for us.

Improvements to the Murdock Trail are among the current GPTN priority projects. The goal is to pave the portion of the trail from 56th to 70th streets so it can be considered a commuter trail. We want to get it to Dawes Middle School, Hammer explained.

A total of $500,000 is needed for the trail upgrades, and GPTN has committed to raising half of that. Then, if additional funds can be raised, a 4-foot-wide limestone trail would be developed alongside of it, Hammer said.
The amendment transfers powers to appoint and remove the URSO chair, from the president to the government.

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On May 25, President Andrej Kiska vetoed and returned to parliament for repeat proceedings, an amendment to the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries (URSO) Act, stating that the bill curbs the energy regulatory authority's independence.

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Kiska objected to the fact that the amendment transfers powers to appoint and remove the URSO chair from the president to the government, thereby making the body subject to political pressure, the TASR newswire reported.

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In addition, Kiska also criticised changes regarding the Economy Ministry's and Environment Ministry's involvement in the URSO 's pricemaking proceedings.

These changes ... would significantly affect the offices independence and decision-making processes on energy prices, a situation that is at direct variance with the harmonisation rules of the European Union directives, stated Kiska, as quoted by TASR.

Describing the amendment as a wasted opportunity, Kiska said that the real problems with the URSO are in fact related to a wrongly formulated strategy, contradictory goals, conflicts of interest, nontransparent rules and poor supervision of regulated entities.
Versie 17.2 van Kodi kon al een paar dagen geleden worden opgehaald, maar nu is wegens twee vervelende fouten ook alweer een opvolger beschikbaar gekomen. Deze crossplatform-mediacentersoftware wordt ontwikkeld voor Windows, macOS, Linux, Android en iOS. In versie 17.0 is de mogelijkheid voor het afspelen van 10bit- en hevc-materiaal toegevoegd, in combinatie met gpu's van Intel of Nvidia die daar ondersteuning voor bieden. Ook de standaardskin is gewijzigd naar Estuary en voor apparaten met een aanraakscherm is dat Estouchy geworden. Sinds versie 17.1 zijn de volgende verbeteringen aangebracht:

Kodi v17.3: A minor bug fix and security release

Sorry for this quick bump to v17.3 however we deemed it necessary. In the previous v17.2 we had a slight issue due to packaging certain binary add-ons like PVR, visualisation and Inputstream. Sadly we only uncovered this too late after release. Additionally on the older distros like Ubuntu 14.04 in combination with the available GCC 4.8 compiler an issue surfaced which we had to fix as well. This v17.3 release fixed both these issues and should be completely working again including the missing add-ons.



Fixes done in this release: Fixed missing binary add-ons on release time

Fixed crash on older distros like Ubuntu 14.04 with GCC 4.8 compiler From previous v17.2 release: Fix selection after channelgroup switching in PVR guide window

Fix handling of gaps that caused eradic behaviour in EPG grid

Allow backing out of fullscreen pictures by mapping longpress guesture

Quick fix for wake up command not being called in PVR power management

Use alternative method to check if platform updates have been installed on Windows

Set the minimum version in the code which is currently OSX 10.8

Fix possible security flaw which could abused .zip files which try to traverse to a parent directory

Use the correct ttc font from the video file for subtitles on Windows

Detect and delete zero-byte database files which causes crashes Security

You may have read in the news that malicious subtitle zip files could potentionally infect and harm your media player including Kodi. When Check Point researchers uncovered this flaw they contacted us up front to let us know about this flaw. Our developers fixed this secuity gap and have added the fix to this v17.2 release. As such we highly encourage all users to install this latest version! Any previous Kodi version will not get any security patch. We have began the roll out of this version and Android Play Store as well as Windows Store have this update pending and will roll out as soon as possible. Please be patient if you are using these store versions. Our official download page of course has the regular install files available for the supported platforms.



To be clear this possible vunrability is only present when you first enable a subtitle dowload add-on and then actually download zipped subtitles. Any subtitles that you already have as text file, are embedded in the video stream or are included with you DVD or Blurays are safe.

Helaas!

De video die je probeert te bekijken is niet langer beschikbaar op Tweakers.net.
A man has been detained by police officers during a raid on a block of flats in an area of south-west Manchester.

It came shortly after an army bomb disposal team was sent to the scene and several roads were closed, including Linby Street and Jackson Street.

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that the area has now been deemed safe and the cordon has been removed. They apologised for the confusion.

UPDATE  This incident has now been deemed safe and the cordon has been removed. Apologies for any confusion. pic.twitter.com/xdE9jqODeN  G M Police (@gmpolice) May 25, 2017

According to the Guardian, an eyewitness said: The police came out, surrounding a man. He had his hands on his head.

Police had sealed off the area of south-west Manchester and dispatched army bomb disposal experts to the campus.

Multiple police units were sent to the area, which is centred around Castlefield Campus on Lindy Street.

A student from another college to the south of the scene where the army unit was sent, was one of many to post pictures and video on Twitter showing a plume of smoke.

Helicopter circling moss side and a smoke cloud, central Manchester pic.twitter.com/bProaTyy3V  Liv (@Thepizzafairy) 25 May 2017

Police had warned people to stay away from the area.

Video posted on social media also showed officers cordoning off Chorlton Road in south-west Manchester.

Other end of the cordon on Chorlton Rd. Blocked off area is huge. #Manchester pic.twitter.com/U5roM09JC2  Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) May 25, 2017

Small area still cordoned off around the Hulme Court block of flats. #Manchester pic.twitter.com/SKGQJPGGZA  Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) May 25, 2017

Police have also clarified earlier reports that said police had been sent to a college in Trafford.

Story continues

It is not known at the moment whether the incident is related to the bombing at the Manchester Arena in which 22 people died on Monday.

Read more: Here are the victims of the Manchester bombing

The army was deployed shortly before a minutes silence was observed around the country.

And it came as Theresa May said the threat level will remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant.

Read more about the latest developments related to the Manchester bombing here
By Mahmoud Mourad CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rejected on Wednesday his Sudanese counterpart's accusation that Cairo backs rebels aiming to topple the government in Khartoum, saying Egypt does not conspire against anyone. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir accused Egypt on Tuesday of supporting rebels at war with his government, a week ahead of a visit to Cairo by Sudan's foreign minister that is meant to ease tensions between the neighbouring states. "Egyptian policy is constant, unchanging, and will not change; we do not interfere in the affairs of others," Sisi told a news conference held following a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern in Cairo. "The other point I must stress is that Egypt does not conspire," he said, answering a reporter's question. "Would I conspire and let elements attack our brothers in Sudan? We practice honourable politics at a time when honour is rare." Egypt and Sudan have been at odds in recent months on issues ranging from disputed land in southern Egypt to trade restrictions and burdensome visa requirements that have threatened bilateral commercial relations. Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, has been at war with various rebel factions in three southern regions of Sudan for years. In a speech to Sudanese military personnel, he said on Tuesday that the military had seized Egyptian armoured vehicles from rebels in the country's war-torn southern Darfur region. Egypt's foreign ministry denied supporting the rebels. Sudan demands Egypt hand over the disputed Halayeb Triangle border area, but Cairo says it is Egyptian. Egypt rejected last year a request from Khartoum to enter negotiations to determine sovereignty over the triangle or to seek international arbitration. Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour is expected in Cairo on May 31 to discuss, among other issues, a simmering trade dispute that has blocked Egyptian agricultural imports. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was in Khartoum last month at the head of a delegation that took part in a bilateral political consultation committee meeting. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Mark Heinrich)
In the early 1960s, most TV viewers tuned into Route 66 to follow the adventures of the series two leading characters.

Dick Stephenson, an impressionable teen-ager at the time, couldnt take his eyes off what series star Martin Milner was driving: a Corvette convertible.

Right then and there, I was fascinated  I was hooked, recalled Stephenson, who followed the exploits of recent college graduate Bud Murdock and riding partner Buzz Murdock during the CBS dramas five-year run.

It wasnt long before the career-driven Stephenson burst onto the automotive scene, first as a Corvette owner and then as a service station owner. Two years out of high school, Stephenson became the proud owner of a 1962 white Corvette convertible. Two years after that, employee became owner when Stephenson bought service station owner Bill Schmieidings gas station at Tenth and R streets.

The series of life-changing events triggered an ownership career in the automotive business, and the beginning of a lifelong love affair with Corvettes.

Work ethic

The son of a career military officer, Stephenson was raised on hard work and discipline. His father was Nebraska National Guard Brigadier General John R. Stephenson, who moved his family from Omaha to Lincoln in 1961 after the military gave the Stephenson family the choice of their next move: Lincoln or Washington, D.C.

Driven to succeed, Stephenson started working part time when he was 14 years old. Bruce Watson, a neighbor who sold cars, got Stephenson interested in the industry, and Schmeiding, who ran the service station at Tenth and R streets, hired the career-minded teen and gave him his start.

An owner at 20

Stephenson was just 20 in 1966 when he bought his bosss station and opened Dicks Conoco at Ninth and R streets. 1966 also marked the beginning of what has been a marriag of 50-plus years for Dick and Vickie Stephenson.

Stephenson went on to own and operate the service station for 20 years. He opted at that time to get into the truck repair business and opened Stephenson Truck Repair, a business he continues to operate today at 4201 Industrial Avenue.

Along the way, Stephenson has maintained his fascination of the sleek, sporty classics produced by Chevrolet: In fact, hes owned more than 100 Corvettes since taking the wheel of his first beauty 53 years ago.

To say hes passionate about Corvettes is an understatement.

Ive always loved them because of the fit, the finish, and the drivability, said the soft-spoken, insightful entrepreneur.

Joining forces

Along the way, hes found quite a few enthusiasts who share his hobby. In the beginning, he and four other Corvette owners  Gene Oglesby, Rich Faulkner, Perry Eagan and Henry Kraft  formed a fledgling Corvette club in 1967 and held meetings at Misle Chevrolet. A similar Corvette club existed at the time in Omaha.

Over the years, the Omaha club dissolved and the Lincoln-based club spread its wings as the Nebraska Corvette Association. Today, the NCA has 200-plus members, and Stephenson  in the clubs 50th-anniversary year  once again has the gavel he first wielded as the groups first leader in 1967.

The car club takes pride in giving proceeds from its annual show to the Food Bank of Lincoln and the Child Advocacy Center, and conducts community service projects such as highway cleanups.

Stephensons current fleet of Corvettes consists of two 1965 models and a 2014 LT-3 silver coupe.
We seem to be fascinated by holograms or at least the promise of what they can do. Think the famous Princess Leia projection in Star Wars; holographic fashion shows in New York, Hamburg and Beijing; the massive success of synthetic pop star Hatsune Miku in Japan, or recent reports of holographic politicians in France.

Technically, all of these are misrepresentations of holography  either special cinematic effects, video projections onto water and smoke, or a hi-tech version of an old Victorian stage trick called Peppers Ghost. But holograms are big business. It is suggested that by 2020 the market for genuine, display holograms will be worth US$5.5 billion  so how are they impacting society? Here are five of the most incredible ways they are being used.

1. Military mapping

Geographic intelligence is an essential part of military strategy and fully dimensional holographic images are being used to improve reconnaissance. One American company has delivered over 13,000 3D holographic maps of battle-spaces for the US army. This allows soldiers to view three-dimensional terrain, look around corners and helps with mission training.

The company does this by taking complex computerised image data, which they make into a holographic sheet. Not only can users look into the high quality 3D image of the terrain stored in the hologram sheet, but the technology is simple to use and can be rolled up for easy storage and transportation. It all sounds very Star Wars, but the maps are also useful in disaster evacuation and rescue scenarios.

Being able to unroll an accurate 3D holographic image of new terrain clearly offers strategic advantages, but such technologies also generally filter down to wider society. Perhaps we can expect flexible 3D Google Maps at some point.

2. Information storage

We now generate huge amounts of data. Digital storage capacity increases (and becomes cheaper) every year and we have an insatiable desire to store our data and keep it for a lifetime. Just think about your own computer and the hundreds of gigabytes of information it can store, from family photos to videos and documents. Now consider your storage disc  and everyone elses  being corrupted and the vast losses involved. All very timely, given the recent WannaCry ransomware attack, which affected 150 countries.

Story continues

A holographic image is stunningly realistic because the recording process stores all of the information about the light reflected from the recorded subject. That is a massive amount of information.

But holograms dont have to record information about a visual object  they can also record pure data, pages and pages of it. This means that holograms can, potentially, store unthinkable amounts of information. Not only can the prototype systems store 4.4m individual pages of information on a disc similar to a DVD, but they offer long-term security, too.

If you make an optical hologram of a page of information and then smash it, for example, you can reconstruct it from any of the pieces. This makes holographic data storage extremely reliable. Unlike CDs and DVDs, which store their data on the discs surface, holograms store data in three dimensions and those pages can overlap in the storage space.

Researchers have been suggesting the possibilities of holographic data storage for over 50 years and it looks like they are getting closer to a usable system. Indeed, as computing begins to be based on light (photons), rather than electricity (electrons), holographic storage could one day be the storage solution of choice.

3. Medical

Holography could also revolutionise medicine, as a tool for visualising patient data while training students and surgeons.

Many medical systems generate complex data using advanced imaging technology, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and ultrasound scans. Normally, that electronic information is used to display a flat image on a computer screen, but it can also be used to produce full colour, computer-generated 3D holographic images.

A company in Scotland has been successful in using this kind of data to produce 3D images for training and display. The advantage here, as with all real holograms, is that no special viewing devices, or glasses, are needed. Students and doctors can simply look, unhindered, at the three-dimensional images.

Storing several different images in the same hologram means that the viewer can move around the display, allowing them to examine different organs or body parts. To date, the company has produced 3D holographic images of structures including the brain, liver, lungs, heart, skeleton, vascular system, nerves and muscles.

This may appear to be the stuff of science fiction but a commercial industry is now rapidly growing around these technologies.

4. Fraud and security

Holograms are complex optical devices and difficult to make, which gives them an incredible advantage in the commercial security market.

You probably have a security hologram in your pocket at the moment. That small silver rectangle of a dove on your credit card is a white-light, mirror-backed, transmission hologram. It displays a three-dimensional image which is visible as you move from side to side, and changes colour as you tilt your card up and down. Its very easy to manufacture en masse  but also extremely difficult to forge.

Bank notes have also championed the use of secure holograms. The reflective strip on the new UK polymer 5 bank note contains an image of Big Ben and uses holography to produce a set of changing colours as you tilt the note, as well as a 3D image of the coronation crown, which can be seen floating above it.

If you like a tipple and want to be sure you are drinking the real deal, winemakers in South Africa are also adding holographic labels to their bottles to reassure buyers that they contain vintage wine rather than a less delicious counterfeit.

5. Art

Artists became involved with holography almost as soon as it became a practical optical process. In the UK, Margaret Benyon, the mother of British creative holography, managed to secure access to complex and expensive holographic recording equipment as early as 1968, on an arts fellowship in the mechanical engineering department at Nottingham University. Much of what she discovered there laid the groundwork for her interest in the critical discussion around the process and its use by artists. She eventually submitted a doctoral thesis, which questioned and investigated the Art of Holography.

Around the world, there are pioneering artists using the three-dimensional recording opportunities of holograms to bend and cut space; construct multiple, visually solid, objects in the same volume; combine collections of still images or video to produce animated 3D works, and to sculpt pure light.

Most recently, a show of creative holography took place in central London; an international selection of artists are currently contributing work to an exhibition on Governors Island, New York, which runs over the summer; and artists from Italy, Canada, the UK and US have been selected for an exhibition utilising holography and media arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June. During 2018, an academic symposium in Portugal for artists and scientists, wanting to discuss the progress of holographic art and technology will take place.

We think of holography as something that jumps out and pokes us in the eye, but a great deal of work and research is actually quietly taking place in labs and studios around the world. Whats more, the applications are changing lives, saving lives and stimulating creative and intellectual discussion.

The future is bright  the future might just be holographic.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Andrew Pepper works for/consults to the Gallery 286 website and is one of the exhibiting artists in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government on Thursday said it had deported two escaped prisoners of Yemeni origin to the United States and dismissed local media reports that the detainees were suspected militants. The U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement the two men, identified as Kamal Qazah, 37, and Salah Mohamed, 35, were serving time in the United States for cigarette smuggling and drug dealing, respectively, and escaped from a high security federal penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia, on May 3 before coming to Mexico. The two were detained in a hotel with a third man who said he was of Australian-Jordanian nationality and is still in Mexico while authorities check his immigration status, a Mexican government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He is not wanted by the United States, the official added. "The Yemenis were returned ... and were throughout in the hands of migration officials working with specialist groups in the federal police," Mexico's National Security Commission said in a statement. Earlier, a Mexican National Security Commission official said the arrests were made in Mexico City on Tuesday at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials said earlier all three men were Yemenis, and the arrests sparked Mexican media reports the men were "terrorists" - a notion which the Mexican official completely dismissed. The statement clarified that the two Yemenis were the wanted men. Mexico has for years quietly helped the United States filter out potential Islamic militants from the tens of thousands of Central American migrants who travel through the country each year, bound for the southern U.S. border. However, in U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 budget, unveiled this week, the United States cuts all counter-terrorism aid for Mexico. In the United States, some right-wing media outlets have spread the widely discredited notion that Islamic State fighters could be flooding across the southern U.S. border from Mexico. "The Americans are not so worried by how many Central Americans get through, but rather about making sure nobody with even the slightest chance of being a terrorist does," Humberto Roque Villanueva, Mexico's deputy interior minister responsible for migration, told Reuters last year. (Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Gabriel Stargardter and Dave Graham; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Steve Orlofsky)
Saffie Rouses died in Mondays attack (Picture: PA via AP)

The mother of eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, the youngest victim of the Manchester attack so far, is believed to be unaware that her daughter is dead.

Lisa Roussos, 48, is in intensive care after she was hit by shrapnel when suicide bomber Salman Abedi exploded a homemade device in the foyer of Manchester Arena following a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.

Saffies sister, Ashlee Bromwich, is also being treated in a separate hospital.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, family friend Salman Patel claimed that Saffies mother was yet to be made aware of her daughters death.

Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at Manchester Arena on Monday (Picture: Andrew Yates/Reuters)

He said: Saffies sadly passed away and her mother, we understand, isnt aware. I am praying for the family, it is totally heartbreaking.

Saffie is one of three victims that have been named among the 22 people killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up after the concert on Monday night.

Mr Patel, who works opposite the family home in Tarleton, Lancashire, also spoke of the horror faced by Saffies dad Andrew as he arrived at Manchester Arena to collect his daughter.

MORE: Homeless heroes of Manchester recall bravery in aftermath of attack

MORE: People in Manchester open their homes to help those affected

He said: He went to pick them up and arrived to find his wife in a critical condition, his elder daughter injured and his younger daughter lost. I thought he meant lost in the crowd but heartbreakingly he meant lost forever, as in the end.

Georgina Callander was one of the 22 confirmed victims of the Manchester attack

I am praying the mum pulls through and copes with the tragedy of finding out when she does about her daughter.

The other victims include 18-year-old Georgina Callander, a student from Lancashire, and 26-year-old John Atkinson from Bury.
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovak prosecutors took steps to ban a far-right party that won its first parliamentary seats last year, saying on Thursday it posed a threat to the country's democratic system. The People's Party-Our Slovakia, which openly admires Jozef Tiso, leader of a Nazi puppet state that ruled the country during World War Two, won a larger-than-expected 8 percent of the vote in national elections in March 2016. Filing a motion with the Supreme Court to have the party dissolved, the General Prosecutor said its aim was to dismantle Slovak democracy. "The programme and activities of this extremist party with fascist tendencies violate the constitution, law and international agreements," the prosecutor's spokeswoman, Andrea Predajnova, said. Its rise echoes growth in similar movements in other European countries, driven in part by years of economic near-stagnation and the influx of more than a million migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Slovakia has seen little immigration, however, and analysts instead attribute the People's Party success to rising public anger over graft scandals linked to traditional parties. It has 14 lawmakers and its support has risen to about 10 percent since the election, according to opinion polls. The party, which denies any links to fascism, would study the court motion but its activities would continue, one of its lawmakers, Milan Uhrik, told Reuters. Its leader, Marian Kotleba, previously ran another far-right party, the Slovak Brotherhood, which the Supreme Court dissolved in 2006 for breaching the constitution. As well as expressing admiration for Tiso, who allowed tens of thousands of Slovak Jews to be deported to Nazi death camps and was later tried for treason, the People's Party is hostile to Slovakia's Roma minority. It stirred criticism in March when it posted pictures online of an enlarged copy of a cheque donated to a charity for disabled children for 1,488 euros -- a number used by white supremacists representing a Nazi salute. Two of its lawmakers are facing charges for hate speech against the Roma, Jews and Islam. If found guilty, they face up to six years in prison. If the Supreme Court decided to ban the party, its deputies would be able to remain in the legislature as independents. (Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova; editing by John Stonestreet)
Five Brits to Watch at the 2017 World Series of Poker

May 25 2017 Matthew Pitt Editor

The 2017 World Series of Poker is almost upon us and hundreds of budding poker players from the United Kingdom are set to jet off to Las Vegas in the hope they can show the world what they are made of and return home with a suitcase crammed full of dollars.

We are blessed with a wealth of talented poker players here in the UK so it is difficult to single out a handful of those grinders for a list on who UK & Ireland PokerNews think could excel during the 2017 WSOP. Difficult as it may be, we have compiled a list of five British pros who we think could light up Las Vegas and be revelling in glory on the streets of Sin City.

Max Silver

Max Silver

Max Silver, owner of the SnapShove app, is one of our favourite players to watch thanks to his aggressive, fearless style of play. Silver also has enjoyed an impressive record at the WSOP over the past three years, cashing a total of 18 times for combined scores of $742,120.

Silver reached the money places 10 times at the 2016 WSOP, including a 33rd place finish in the $10,000 Main Event that netted him $216,211.

Dont expect Silver to tear up trees in the early stages of the WSOP because he has informed UK & Ireland PokerNews that he doesnt arrive in Las Vegas until June 8, but will then be playing a busy schedule until the series concludes.

Simon Deadman

Simon Deadman

Simon Deadman is another player who has a solid record at the WSOP. Since 2015, Deadman has cashed in 12 WSOP events and won $531,984, with $391,466 of that total stemming from his runner-up finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem Six-Handed event at the 2015 WSOP.

Anyone checking out Deadmans Hendon Mob database will see the star has only cashed twice so far in 2017, but that only tells half of the story. Deadman and his wife, Shola, recently relocated to Las Vegas so he has home advantage on his side; dont underestimate the positives of being able to sleep in your own bed after a day grinding poker tournaments.

Deadman told UK & Ireland PokerNews that he plans to play pretty much everything this summer and when a player of Deadmans quality logs volume, the results tend to be positive.

Tom Hall

Tom Hall

Tom Hall may have a reputation for being a satellite tournament specialist but that hides the fact he is a terrific multi-tournament player too. Hall is currently ranked sixth in the UK and 52nd in the world by the Global Poker Index and he could well be the dark horse on our list and the one who flies home with a bracelet adorning his wrist.

Six cashes worth $35,269 were what Hall had to show for his 2016 WSOP efforts. The faster structures of the WSOP events should suit Hall and the fact he flies under the radar somewhat will be another advantage in his corner.

Hall recently finished third in a tough 10,300 High Roller event at the partypoker MILLIONS for 142,000 and finished fifth in a 5,200 no-limit holdem Hyper Turbo Eight-Max in Monaco for 14,740.

Patrick Leonard

Patrick Leonard

Patrick Leonard, the partypoker ambassador, seemed like he wasnt 100 percent sure if he was heading to Las Vegas, saying he thinks he is playing and if he does head to the WSOP hell play everything. We think the lure of the WSOP will be too strong for Leonard and hell head there and make a nuisance of himself at the felt.

Leonard cashed three times at the 2015 and 2016 WSOP for combined scores of $111,876 and while hes to cash in a live event so far in 2017, he has been crushing tournaments online and therefore will be used to, like Tom Hall, the faster blind structures of the WSOP events.

Niall Farrell

Niall Farrell

Niall Farrell, ranked second in the UK and 17th in the world by the Global Poker Index, has enjoyed a plethora of success at the WSOP in recent years. Six cashes in 2016, six in 2015 and three in 2014 bagged the Scot $877,992.

Last year, Farrell came agonisingly close to winning a bracelet when he finished second in a $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Shootout for $163,158 and then he followed that up with an eighth place finish in the $111,111 High Roller for $486,383.

More recently, Farrell has won the partypoker WPT Caribbean Main Event for $335,000 and finished sixth in the partypoker Million North America event for C$160,000.

You may be wondering why Charlie Carrel hasnt been mentioned in this list of five players. UK & Ireland PokerNews reached out to Carrel and asked if he was heading to the WSOP this year and he didnt reply, possibly because he was too busy bossing the SCOOP and winning millions of dollars. Carrel skipped the 2016 WSOP for personal reasons, but if he heads there for the 2017 series, he is sure to hit the headlines at some point because combining his talent with the run-good hes currently experiencing is a recipe for success.
Turquoise might be the first mineral that comes to mind when thoughts turn to precious rocks found in New Mexico, but the state boasts dozens of rockhounding sites known for everything from geodes to smithsonite to Pecos diamonds.

Each corner of the state has something thats collectible, says Virgil Lueth, state minerologist and director of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources museum.

Rockhound State Park is an obvious destination.

Set in the rugged slopes of the Little Florida Mountains near Deming, the southern New Mexico park is popular with campers during the spring and fall and attracts day-trippers during the hotter summer months.

This is the only place in New Mexico and one of only two places in the U.S. where you can take something from a state park, says Manager Robert Apodaca. The most prevalent thing thats readily available for surface collecting is jasper.

Visitors to the park also find geodes and thunder eggs, pearlite and quartz, Apodaca says.

Digging geodes out of the hillside is tough but rewarding, according to Ruta Vaskys and Martin Freed, authors of Rockhounding New Mexico: A Guide to 140 of the States Best Rockhounding Sites.

The interiors are beautiful, they write. Many have hollow centers with quartz and/or calcite or other species of crystals surrounded by agate. Even the solid nodules have beautiful agate interiors.

Although the park has been open 50 years, there still are treasures to be found.

People have the idea its been picked through, but the erosion farms the minerals back up, Apodaca says, adding that searching in washes and ravines after a monsoon rain spell is a good strategy.

Seek advice

There are other public lands where rockhounds can head for great collecting. The best strategy to figure out where to go is to talk to local experts with gem and mineral clubs.

Thats the best way it works, Lueth says. Another thing they can do is check with their local rock and mineral store. People there are usually knowledgeable.

While some people travel to New Mexico with the sole goal of rockhounding, casual tourists also can find adventure looking for rocks and minerals.

Susie Welch, geologic extension services manager for the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technologys Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, recommends doing some homework before heading out.

We advise people come to the mineral museum. Weve got quite extensive New Mexico minerals cases and they can see examples, she says. Actually, buying a rockhounding guide is a really good idea, too. We sell several of those in our bookstore here.

Maps, guides

Pecos diamonds are highly sought-after quartz crystals that range from microscopic to an inch in size and are found in the Roswell and Artesia areas.

They weather out of the gypsum as perfect crystals and in different colors sometimes, Lueth says. People like the color of them. They look like diamonds.

One popular site to find the crystals  and petrified wood  is on Bureau of Land Management land about 15 miles northeast of Roswell.

Don James, owner of Ancients of Days rock shop in Roswell, says it can be difficult to find the right spot to look, but finding the actual stones once youre there is simple.

Theres just thousands of them, he says.

James offers a hand-drawn map to one site near town, but says there are multiple different spots you can go to around the region, including near Artesia and Hagerman. You definitely have to have a map or a guide.

The region also is known for alabaster, a variety of gypsum that can be carved and polished, and transparent selenite crystals. Farther away, near Orogrande, rockhounds search for Apache tears, a nodular obsidian, James says.

Pay to dig

Another rockhounding option is to head to a commercial site where you pay a modest fee to dig for specimens. The Magdalena Nitt and North Graphic Mines south of Magdalena, for example, are well-known. Permits are sold at Bills Gem and Mineral Shop in Magadalena.

The area is famous for a mineral called smithsonite, which is blue-green and quite lovely, Lueth says.

Grace Dobson, who sells $5 collecting permits for the two mine tailings, says there is some smithsonite at the Nitt Mine, but its hard to find.

Occasionally, somebody finds a decent piece, she says, adding that azurite, calcite and malachite are more common. At the Graphic Mine, pyrite is the main find.

Dobson recommends calling the shop at 575-854-2236 to check on road conditions before heading to the area.

Also in the Magdalena area is the Kelly Mine. Tonys Rock Shop sells $10 collecting permits and hunters might find pyrite, commonly known as fools gold, and other minerals.

Rockhounds also often head to some of the states historic mining localities to look for specimens in mine dumps, Lueth says.

Call ahead

The Harding pegmatite mine site southwest of Taos was donated to the University of New Mexico to be preserved as a mineral collecting site and outdoor geologic laboratory. It was temporarily closed in the spring, so check on its status by calling 505-277-8843. When open, visitors are welcome with a permit.

Theres beryllium there, pink lepidolite, pegmatites, Lueth says. Others have reported finding a wide variety of minerals, and Vaskys and Freed call it a must-go-to for any serious mineral collector.

Pegmatites are igneous rocks that form during the final stage of a magmas crystallization. They contain exceptionally large crystals and they sometimes contain minerals that are rarely found in other types of rocks.

No matter where you go, check with land managers  whether its the BLM, the Forest Service, the State Land Office or a private owner  before collecting.

As far as how to go about finding specimens once youve reached your rockhounding location, there are two ways to go about it.

Some people like to dig into the ground. Other people like to look on the surface, Lueth says, adding that taking along a hammer and chisel is a good idea.
RACINE  The Atrium of Racine, which owns and operates The Atrium and Bay Pointe senior living centers, announced Thursday it has filed a voluntary Wisconsin Chapter 128 receivership, an alternative to bankruptcy under Wisconsin state law.

The Atrium, 3900 N. Main St., is a 76-unit senior housing facility, and Bay Pointe, 3950 N. Main St., is a 40-unit assisted living facility.

According to a news release issued by Michael Polsky, the nominated receiver, the organization cited shifting market forces such as rising health care costs, lower government reimbursements and increased competition as issues that created financial challenges and which led to the filing.

Polsky, of Beck, Chaet, Bamberger & Polsky, S.C. in Milwaukee intends to continue business operations and manage Atriums assets, liabilities, finances and employees for the benefit of all creditors under the supervision of the Court and consistent with Wisconsin state law. He does not anticipate there will be any changes in day-to-day operations, services or the care provided to residents.

Lincoln Lutheran fallout

Lincoln Lutheran, the previous operator of Atrium, declared itself insolvent and filed for receivership in December 2014. Previously a provider of housing, nursing and community services for older adults for decades, it is no longer in business.

Atrium was unable to fully recover from the negative impact, both financially and operationally, that resulted from the collapse of Lincoln Lutheran of Racine, stated Polsky, who was also the receiver in that case.

With Lincoln Lutheran in receivership, in April 2015 Watertown-based Marquardt Management Co. signed an agreement to manage, with an option to buy, five former Lincoln Lutheran properties including the Atrium and Bay Pointe.

The others were the Becker-Shoop campus, 6101 16th St., providing skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation and memory care; Lincoln Villas North, 3919 Ruby Ave., providing government-assisted independent living; and Trinity Terrace, 2132 Center St., providing government-assisted independent living.

During Lincoln Lutherans receivership, Polsky sold Lincoln Village Convalescent Center, the skilled nursing facility at 1700 C.A. Becker Drive, to Villa Healthcare. That center was the only facility Lincoln Lutheran owned; it only operated the others.

Under Villa Healthcare, the convalescent center was renamed the Villa at Lincoln Park. It is now undergoing a $2.3 million renovation which is expected to be completed by Oct. 1.

Lincoln Lutherans receivership also affected the Racine Dominicans, who were in a joint venture with Lincoln Lutheran at the time to develop Siena on the Lake, a planned $68 million senior living community at 5641 Erie St. Since the filing of Lincoln Lutherans receivership, the growth of Siena on the Lake has slowed.

Polsky said representatives from Marquardt will assist him through The Atrium of Racines receivership process.

Operations will continue with care remaining seamless for residents and their families until the receiver is able to facilitate and supervise a sale process for Atrium as a going concern, he stated.

The Atrium was established in 1988 to serve older adults in southeastern Wisconsin by providing housing, assisted living and other services.




A New York-based company that has released several New Mexico-inspired emojis has added some gloom to its Land of Enchantment collection.

Brooklyns Emoji Fame has added two Zozobra-themed characters to its New Mexico sticker pack that are already available for free to Apple users and will be coming to the Google Play store within two weeks, a press release from Zozobra organizers said Wednesday.

Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, was a creation of Santa Fe artist Will Shuster in 1924. It expanded to a community celebration, in which residents symbolically sent their cares and worries up in smoke.

One sticker features Old Man Glooms face with a text bubble saying, Its lit, while the other is an animation of the marionette going up in flames. They can be found on Apples App Store by searching for New Mexico sticker pack.

Emoji Fame is co-founded by Gavin Rhodes, who grew up in Placitas.

Ray Sandoval, Zozobras event chairman, said Zozobra has given people a way to express themselves and get rid of their gloom for years. In his own way, Zozobra has served as an emoticon since his beginnings, long before the term was even coined, Sandoval said in a statement.

Emoji Fame launched its New Mexico sticker pack in December. Some of the other emojis in the collection include a tortilla, red and green chiles, jars of salsa and hot air balloons.
The further students advance in their University of New Mexico academic careers, the more they will pay.

Rather than an across-the-board percentage tuition hike, the schools Board of Regents on Wednesday approved a plan that increases tuition by $18 per credit hour on upper-level courses, a measure administrators say will mean no tuition increase for more than half of UNMs undergraduate population.

Regents approved a different increase for graduate students, raising tuition by 4 percent and also $18 per credit hour on some courses.

All told, the changes average to a 4 percent tuition increase, according to Terry Babbitt, associate vice president of enrollment management.

Babbitt told regents tying undergraduate increases to 300- and 400-level courses better reflects the value of those classes, which are smaller and taught by tenure-track instructors. The tuition model also mostly spares first- and second-year students who are more likely to drop out.

In a statement after the meeting, Regent President Rob Doughty called the hike basically  a wash for undergrads who participate in the Finish-in-Four program that waives final-semester tuition for those who complete degrees in four years.

The extra tuition money should cover about half of the $8.9 million budgetary hole the school has projected for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The regents are expected to approve the full 2018 budget next month.

While student government president Noah Brooks spoke out against any increase during Wednesdays meeting, he said it was likely the best case scenario coming out of the meeting.

The administration had proposed a greater increase  $23 per hour  as the school continues grappling with state budget cuts. UNM saw its state funding drop by 7 percent this year and expects to sustain another 1 percent hit for the new year.

State appropriations have fallen about $43 million, or 12.8 percent, since fiscal year 2009.

The UNM administrations proposal to regents, determined after months of meetings by the schools budget leadership team, assumed tuition increases would cover $5.6 million of the expected budget hole, while lower expenses would account for the other $3.3 million. That included trimming administration, travel and other costs, plus using workforce attrition to save on payroll.

But Regent Tom Clifford argued that cuts should equal new tuition revenue.

We would be able to articulate to our students that the (tuition) increases are being balanced by efforts on the cost side, he said.

Prior to the regents approval of the lower-than-proposed tuition hike, acting university President Chaouki Abdallah cautioned them about the difficulty of trimming another $1 million.

This is not a threat or a promise, I am saying we are right now stretched very much in all aspects of the academic mission, he said, adding that the university could make it work but not without possible long-term damage. In a year or two years or three years, some of the decisions we make will have a negative effect.

Abdallah said in an interview after the meeting that cutting an additional $1 million might mean leaving more faculty vacancies unfilled or even layoffs.

Faculty Senate President Pamela Pyle said she thinks the school will now be cutting bone and not fat.

The idea of balancing presented today ignores years of cuts taken on the academic side with incredible State decreases and relatively modest tuition increases in the recent period. It is akin to the story about Solomon and the baby  it sounds equitable, but in this case, the baby is harmed, she told the Journal in a written statement.

Brooks told the Journal he understood the possible implications of more cuts on campus but had to advocate for students who are already facing higher fees in 2017-18 plus the almost-certain decline in lottery scholarship tuition coverage. Though nothing is final yet, Babbitt said Wednesday he anticipates lottery money covering about 60 percent of tuition in 2017-18. It currently covers about 90 percent.

If this was a different year, we could possibly support (tuition increases), Brooks said. But timing is everything, and we just do not support it at this time.
A second man was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday for his role in a fight over a game of beer pong that left one person dead and another with a gunshot wound.

Jack Daniel Trujillo, 23, pleaded guilty to charges including tampering with evidence and aggravated battery in an agreement that required a sentence of between two and 10 years. Prosecutors said he shot Jaime Acevez in the leg. His co-defendant, Esias Madrid, shot and killed Arturo Villa.

Police said Villa and Acevez bet their watches on a game of beer pong, a drinking game in which teams toss ping-pong balls into cups of beer. When they lost, they refused to give up their watches. A fight broke out and shots were fired.

Second Judicial District Judge Briana Zamora criticized the choices Trujillo made that night, and said it was fairly obvious that his decisions would lead to trouble.

Im concerned that you would make a choice to go anywhere near drugs, alcohol and guns, she said, particularly when theyre all three mixed together.

But she also said she could see that he felt tremendous remorse and commended him for using his time in custody wisely by working toward his high school diploma.

In a letter read aloud by one of his attorneys, Trujillo apologized repeatedly to the Villa family and to Acevez, and asked for their forgiveness.

My intention was not to hurt you the way I did, I promise, he said. I was in fear, and panicked, and reacted very foolishly. I thank God everyday that you (Acevez) came to be OK, and back home to your family and loved ones.

Villas mother, who spoke in court, said she hoped Trujillo would never have to experience the loss of a child.

I hope you are aware of the great pain you have caused, she said. Not only did my son lose his life, but you have also taken mine with his.

Madrid was sentenced in January to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. He is also facing charges in the drive-by shooting that killed Manzano High student Jaydon Chavez-Silver.
The American Federation of Teachers president characterized Gov. Susana Martinez and Education Secretary Hanna Skandera as relentless opponents of public education who attack unions to deflect attention away from their own failings. Randi Weingarten made those comments during a visit to New Mexico to address lawmakers at the special legislative session.

The AFT president  national leader of a union with 23,000 New Mexico members  told the

Journal on Wednesday that the governor and her administration have always been on war footing with public education and they never let up on it.

You see this kind of constant, constant, constant defunding, blaming,

shaming and coming up with top-down rules, Weingarten said. Their knee-jerk reaction is to blame teachers in classrooms.  It is a toxic environment. Last week, Skandera criticized teachers unions during a luncheon hosted by NAIOP, the New Mexico chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, calling them an entrenched political establishment that fundamentally enjoy keeping us where we are because they serve the adults.

To Weingarten, its all a blame game that distracts from the real issues: poor academic outcomes for New Mexico children and cruel cuts to the education budget.

On Wednesday morning, Weingarten attended a news conference at the Roundhouse to address lawmakers ahead of the special session and push for no further cuts to New Mexico public education, as well as the restoration of higher education funding for the 2017-18 academic year.

In April, Martinez line-item vetoed all funding for higher education and the legislative branch, setting the stage for the special session.

Martinez did allocate money for K-12 education, but district administrators have said they are waiting to see if the funding level changes during the session.

Lida Alikhani, New Mexico Public Education Department spokeswoman, accused Weingarten of coming to New Mexico to grandstand.

This is what New York union bosses do  parachute into states they know nothing about in an effort to score cheap political points, she said in an emailed statement. For all of the union lip service about local decision making, they never miss an opportunity to fly in from the East Coast and create a spectacle in front of the TV cameras.

Alikhani highlighted Martinezs efforts to work hand-in-hand with classroom teachers and put more money into education than ever before.

The state has seen gains on several measures  the graduation rate rose from 69 percent in 2015 to 71 percent in 2016; student achievement was up in 19 of 21 categories in 2016 and the number of students taking Advanced Placement exams has increased by 90 percent since 2010.

But Weingarten argued that New Mexico is actually falling behind. New Mexico is ranked 49th for child well-being, down from 46th during the 1990s, according to the Kids Count Data Book.

Martinez and Skandera are also focused on dismantling through defunding and destabilizing public education as an institution for the public good, according to Weingarten.

Ellen Bernstein, Albuquerque Teachers Federation president, echoed that view.

They are blaming the people who are working every day in the classroom without supplies, with inadequate resources, with no raises, with disrespect, with constant pseudo-reforms that put everything on testing with no trust in teachers  thats who they are blaming, she said. To the extent that this union has kept Skandera from unilaterally changing public schooling into public testing for 180 days in every classroom, then, yeah, I have stopped it, and I am proud of it.
BRUSSELS  Surrounded by stone-faced allies, President Donald Trump rebuked fellow NATO members Thursday for failing to meet the military alliances financial benchmarks, asserting that leaves it weaker and shortchanges the people and taxpayers of the United States.

Trump, who has often complained back home about other nations NATO support, lectured the other leaders in person this time, declaring, Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years.

The presidents assertion immediately put NATO under new strain and did nothing to quiet questions about his complicated relationship with an alliance he has previously panned as obsolete. Notably, he also did not offer an explicit public endorsement of NATOs all for one, one for all collective defense principle, though White House officials said his mere presence at the meeting signaled his commitment.

Fellow NATO leaders occasionally exchanged awkward looks with each other during the presidents lecture, which occurred at an event commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. When Trump tried to lighten the mood with a joke about NATOs gleaming new home base  I never asked once what the new NATO Headquarters cost  there was no laughter from his counterparts.

NATO officials had expected Trump to raise the payments issue during Thursdays meeting, even preparing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for the prospect that the president could try to pull off a stunt like handing out invoices. But one European official said NATO members were still taken aback by the aggressive tone of his speech.

As a presidential candidate, Trump railed against NATOs financial burden-sharing, suggesting the U.S. might only come to the defense of countries that meet the alliances guidelines  for committing 2 percent of their gross domestic product to military spending. A White House official said the president wanted to deliver the same direct message in front of NATO allies.

Trumps public scolding was all the more remarkable given the fact that he has actually backed away from some of his most provocative comments on foreign policy issues since taking office. Hes retracted his vow to label China a currency manipulator and has lavished praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping. During a visit to Saudi Arabia this week, he called Islam one of the worlds great religions after declaring during the campaign that Islam hates us

But few issues appear to have as much staying power with Trump as the uneven financial contributions of NATO members. Last year, only five of the 28 countries met the 2 percent goal: the U.S., Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland.

During a private dinner Thursday night, the 28 members, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, renewed an old pledge to move toward the 2 percent by 2024  a move the White House touted as a sign of Trumps influence.

Some of the allies  particularly Eastern European nations deeply worried about Russian aggression  were hopeful that Trump would state a firm commitment to NATOs Article 5 mutual defense agreement, which underpins the entire alliance. Instead, he highlighted NATOs decision to invoke the article for the only time after 9/11 and said the U.S. would never forsake the friends that stood by our side.

The White House insisted Trump had not intended to leave wiggle room on his commitment to coming to the defense of NATO members.

And Stoltenberg said later that Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other U.S. officials have stated clearly their assurances. He said, Its not possible to be committed to NATO without being committed to Article 5.

Trump scored a hoped-for success as NATO joined the 68-nation international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. An anti-terror coordinator may also be named. But most changes will be cosmetic, as NATO as an alliance has no intention of going to war against IS.

Finishing off a long day, Trump arrived late Thursday night in Sicily for meetings Friday with leaders from the Group of 7 wealthy nations. The summit marks Trumps final stop on a maiden international trip that began in Saudi Arabia and Israel, where the president was warmly embraced by the countries leaders.

His reception has been less enthusiastic in Europe, given his negative campaign comments not only about NATO, but also the European Union. His arrival was also shadowed by new criticism from British Prime Minister Theresa May, who complained about leaks of intelligence to the American media about this weeks deadly bombing at a concert in Manchester, England.

May said she planned to make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure. The two were seen talking during an event marking the opening of the new NATO headquarters.

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published. In a written statement, Trump called the alleged leaks deeply troubling and said he was asking the Justice Department and other agencies to review the matter.

The president opened his day with a meeting with leaders of the European Union, another alliance he criticized during the campaign. Following the talks, European Council president Donald Tusk said he and the U.S. president agreed on a need to combat terrorism but some differences loomed large.

Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today  we means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia, said Tusk. He said unity must be found around values like freedom and human rights and dignity.

Trump had lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been critical of the Republican president. As the press watched, the two men exchanged a very firm handshake during their meeting, both men gripping tight, their faces showing the strain.

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AP writers Lorne Cook and Raf Casert contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/jonlemire

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Emmanuel in the last paragraph.
Local anti-abortion groups said Wednesday that women receiving an abortion in New Mexico dont have enough choice  at least when it comes to whether the aborted fetal tissue is donated for science.

They are pressing Attorney General Hector Balderas to finally act or appoint a special prosecutor to act on a 2016 federal report that they say lays out clear violations of state law in the clinic consent forms and other violations.

Balderas spokesman James Hallinan on Wednesday said the office already is investigating the allegations in the nearly 300-page report from the U.S. Houses Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, which targeted the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque abortion provider Southwestern Womens Options.

While we can confirm there is an ongoing investigation and both UNM and SWWO have responded to our demands by producing a voluminous amount of records, we cannot comment further on the investigation, Hallinan said in an email.

Earlier in the day, a group of anti-abortion activists held a news conference at which they claimed the office is not investigating the allegations and is letting the statute of limitations for many of the alleged violations expire.

Elisa Martinez, president of New Mexico Alliance for Life, said the group, which included representatives from Students for Life, and mayoral candidate Michelle Garcia Holmes are asking Balderas appoint a special prosecutor to investigate violations of the states Maternal, Fetal and Infant Experimentation Act and the Jonathan Spradling Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

The group called the conference on Wednesday because it was the day the statute of limitations runs out for a possible violation in a particular case of interest to the group which was detailed in the U.S. House panel report.

In this incident, which happened in 2012, UNM Health Sciences faculty members sought whole fetal brains supplied by an abortion clinic so the brains could be dissected for summer camp students, according to the panel report. The group and panel allege this violated state law. UNM officials at the time acknowledged that a six-week Neuroscience Summer Experience in 2012 and 2014 involved fetal brain dissections. They said it was not a camp, but an educational research program.

In addition, Martinez said at least one of the two abortion clinics in the state has violated the law with consent forms. Citing a 2012 consent form, she said the form a woman must sign to authorize an abortion procedure at Southwest Womens Options also includes the consent for the tissue to be donated for scientific research, so a woman then is limited in her choice because she cannot authorize the abortion and decline the research.

Their right to choose was violated, Martinez said. The fundamental rights of women must be protected.

Journal staff writer Rick Nathanson contributed to this report.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  A 22-year-old student is accused of sneaking into a building and illegally logging into a Florida university's grading system to change his failing grade to a B.

Sami Ammar turned himself in at the Orange County Jail in Orlando on Wednesday and now faces a felony charge of accessing a computer without authorization.

His father declined to talk to the Orlando Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2qn4fqJ ), saying only that the charge is an allegation.

University of Central Florida professor Chung Young Chan became suspicious when he got a confirmation from a program he uses to log grades on May 4. He checked the grades and saw Ammar suddenly had a B instead of an F in the Electronics I class.

University police later identified Ammar on surveillance video at the Mathematical Sciences Building.

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KATHMANDU, Nepal  Nepalese officials cast doubt Thursday on the reported discovery of four bodies at the highest camp on Mount Everest, saying no climbers have been reported missing.

Tourism Department official Durga Dutta Dhakal said expedition teams and other sources have confirmed that all climbers have been accounted for, including six whose deaths were reported earlier.

Officials said Wednesday that a team of Sherpa rescuers had reported finding four unidentified bodies inside a tent at the South Col camp. But about 30 climbers scaled Everest on Thursday from the camp and none reported seeing any bodies, Dhakal said.

Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said if four climbers had gone missing, their team members at base camp would already have notified authorities or other climbers.

Tshering said the Sherpa rescuers might have seen the bodies of climbers who had died in previous years and were still on the mountain. The Sherpas were not available Thursday for comment.

The Sherpa rescuers went to South Col to recover the body of another climber who died over the weekend. They said they saw four bodies in a tent at Camp 4 at South Col, at a height of 8,000 meters (26,247 feet). That is the last stop before climbers make their final push for the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit.

Weather conditions have not been good on the mountain this year with high winds and poor visibility, which delayed the first climb to May 15.

Four climbers died over the weekend on Everest, while two others died earlier.
BRUSSELS  U.S. President Donald Trump met his match in a handshake showdown with Frances new president, Emmanuel Macron.

At their first meeting, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, the two men locked hands for so long that knuckles started turning white.

Trump finally seemed ready to pull away  but Macron evidently wasnt. The French leader held the shake for a few seconds more. Both mens jaws seemed to clench.

Trump has described himself as a germ freak and called handshakes barbaric. In his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, Trump wrote hed often thought of taking out a series of newspaper ads encouraging the abolishment of the handshake.

Trumps aversion to hand-shaking seemed to lessen over the course of the U.S. presidential campaign. Hes now deep into an inaugural world tour that has forced him to exchange hand greetings with leaders from Israel to the Vatican.

Macron won Frances election this month by positioning himself as the anti-Trump, embracing globalization and open borders and quoting philosophers.

But as a 39-year-old who has never held elected office, Macron clearly was excited about the appearance with the U.S. president, which cemented his status as a new global player  and as a formidable hand-shaker.
FBI agents served a search warrant on the main office of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department on Wednesday as part of an ongoing grand jury investigation, the U.S. Attorneys Office confirmed in a formal statement.

The warrant was apparently directed at one employee, state officials said.

As a matter of policy, Justice Department agencies, including the U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI, do not comment on ongoing investigations.

Additionally, as a matter of law, federal officials are prohibited from commenting on matters occurring before grand juries, U.S. Attorneys Office spokeswoman Elizabeth Martinez said.

A spokesman for the Taxation and Revenue Department told The Associated Press that the FBI investigation involved a classified employee who has been placed on administrative leave.

Several sources within the department and at the federal level said the raid was unrelated to a state investigation of Demesia Padilla, former taxation and revenue secretary.

Padilla resigned in December after state investigators went to her agency and seized tax documents belonging to her and her husband. Neither of them has been charged with a crime.

A spokesman for Attorney General Hector Balderas said state prosecutors are still investigating Padilla for possible crimes including tax evasion and embezzlement.
STURTEVANT  The Village of Sturtevant is sending both Cree and Putzmeister America certified letters expressing unhappiness with their employees littering and loitering off company properties.

The Village Board Tuesday discussed residents' complaints about both Cree, 9201 Washington Ave., and Putzmeister, 1733 90th St.

The problems are apparently driven, at least in part, by the fact that both corporate employers have smoke-free policies, so smokers go just off campus to indulge their habit. That puts them on either village or private property.

The problem, as I understand it, is the employees who go out on their break time go across the street and hang out on the other properties, said Village Engineer and Department of Public Works Director Jeff Seitz.

Trustee John Johnson said littering and loitering by Cree and Putzmeister employees has been an ongoing problem for years.

Asked for comment, Cree stated, "Cree facilities are smoke free to protect the health and well-being of our employees. Cree has reminded employees not to litter.

Efforts on Wednesday to reach the human resources director for Putzmeister, which is located in Mount Pleasant, were unsuccessful.

Residents: Employees disruptive

The board heard from residents of Village Homes of Park Ridge, a large condo and apartment complex in the 1500 block of 92nd Street, just east of Cree.

I can tell you: When I first moved in, we didnt have this problem, said Village Homes resident Kristin Hahner, because (employees) could smoke on their property, they had picnic tables over there, and everybody stayed over on their side.

It wasnt until they said, Nope, no more smoking,' that they all came over and started eating their lunches and throwing their cigarette butts 

Hahner said Cree employees eat their lunches sitting on the curb or in their cars and then toss garbage in the gutter. No one from the company cleans it up, she said.

And she said Crees third-shift workers come out at 3:30 a.m. and wake her with their noise  even in winter, with her windows closed.

Crossing over

Trustee Jason Eckman drew laughter when he said, I can tell you its comical out in the Renaissance Park because Kerry (Food Ingredients) employees come and sit on the BRP side, and BRP employees sit on the Kerry side. But nobody cares out there.

The same thing happens between Putzmeister and Badger Meter, 8635 Washington Ave., said Trustee Mike Rosenbaum. And, before you know it, we dont have smoke-free campuses anyway.

I feel for all these residents, said Police Chief Sean Marschke, because by corporations making their property smoke-free, theyre really impinging upon their own neighbors. Theyre not eliminating the problem  theyre pushing the problem onto somebody else.

The only way trespassing on private property can be enforced is if the intruders are first properly notified, either verbally or with signage, Marschke said.

Trustee Carrie Harbach suggested perhaps private property signs are needed in the case of the Village Homes. To give (employees) the boundaries. Maybe they need boundaries; they just need it spelled out, like teenagers.

On 90th Street, Putzmeister employees are actually becoming a traffic hazard when they run across the roadway, Marschke added.
Homicide detectives are investigating after a woman was found dead in her home near the Pan American Freeway and Montgomery NE Wednesday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department.

Celina Espinoza said police were called to a house near the 7100 block of the Pan American Freeway NE around 2:30 p.m. in response to a possible suicide attempt. But evidence on the scene prompted further investigation and homicide detectives took over the case.

We do not believe there are any outstanding suspects in relation to this case at this time, Espinoza said.

She did not say how the woman died.

Police are working to notify the womans next of kin before identifying her, but Espinoza said she is in her mid-50s.
SANTA FE  A proposal to retool New Mexicos gross receipts tax code  and rebrand it as a sales tax  hit a special session dead end in a House committee Thursday.

While the vote to table the 430-page tax change bill was expected after majority Democrats ruled out passage of the bill before this weeks special session, it still represented a stinging disappointment for Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, who worked for weeks to cobble it together.

We are so risk-averse and so scared of reform, Harper told reporters after a party-line vote in the House Labor and Economic Development Committee. I felt like this was something the left and right could shake hands on.

He also lamented the proposal having become a political hot potato, saying, Its very disappointing to me that this has turned into a partisan issue.

But Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about the potential for unforeseen consequences, with Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park, saying the bill could have actually caused state revenue levels to plummet in the coming year.

This bill would have created a further deficit  and Im not ready to vote to cut schools any more, McCamley said.

All six Democrats on the committee voted in favor of tabling the bill, which essentially represented its demise for the special session. All five Republicans on the panel voted against tabling the measure.

The bill was similar in intent to a similar tax measure that passed the House in this years 60-day legislative session and then stalled in the Senate, but it contained key differences.

It was added to the special session agenda by Gov. Susana Martinez, who has said it could make the states tax system fairer and easier to understand, while also generating short-term revenue to help stabilize the states financial footing.

The two-term Republican governor blasted the Democratic-controlled Legislature on Thursday for not having the courage to pursue comprehensive tax reform that she said would allow families to keep more of what they earn.

However, Democrats disputed the assertion, with Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, saying it could hurt low-income New Mexico residents.

Under this plan, health care costs would rise for working families, but there is nothing here to offset those new costs, Garcia said.

In its special session form, the bill would have eliminated more than 70 gross receipts tax breaks and lowered the overall state and local base rate by about 1 percentage point  from around 7 percent to 6 percent.

It would have also removed some of the business-on-business taxes, while increasing the tax rate on vehicle sales and health insurance premiums.

Unlike a previous version of the bill, it would not have reimposed a tax on food items. A food tax exemption was enacted in 2004, and the state pays a subsidy to city and county governments to offset the forgone revenue.

John Monforte, the acting secretary of the state Taxation and Revenue Department, said a tax overhaul could help bolster New Mexicos anemic economy, which has had the nations highest jobless rate for three consecutive months.

If that is going to change, one of the key pieces to that puzzle is tax reform, Monforte said during Thursdays hearing.

But more than a dozen lobbyists, advocates and union leaders testified against the legislation, saying the bill could impose a greater tax burden on New Mexicos health care system and had not been thoroughly analyzed.

And a legislative analysis of the bill, which was not publicly released until Wednesday, said it was impossible to score precisely its financial impact due to limitations in data.

This is not ready for prime time, said Dan Weaks, a policy consultant for the New Mexico Hospital Association. I think it needs a lot more work.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps revised travel ban speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination, a federal appeals court said Thursday in ruling against the executive order targeting six Muslim-majority countries.

Trumps administration vowed to take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 10-3 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban likely violates the Constitution. And it upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican administration from cutting off visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban unveiled in March. Trumps administration had hoped it would avoid the legal problems that the first version from January encountered. A second appeals court, the 9th U.S. Circuit based in San Francisco, is also weighing the revised travel ban after a federal judge in Hawaii blocked it.

The Supreme Court almost certainly would step into the case if asked. The justices almost always have the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.

Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe. If the administration does ask the court to step in, the justices first vote could signal the courts ultimate decision.

A central question in the case before the 4th Circuit was whether courts should consider Trumps public statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trumps administration argued the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesnt mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration said.

But Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory wrote that the governments asserted national security interest  appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the courts ruling blocks Trumps efforts to strengthen this countrys national security.

Trump is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism until he determines that they can be properly vetted and dont pose a security threat, Sessions said.

The three dissenting judges, all appointed by Republican presidents, said the majority was wrong to look beyond the text of the order. Calling the executive order a modest action, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote that Supreme Court precedent required the court to consider the order on its face. Looked at that way, the executive order is entirely without constitutional fault, he wrote.

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, said if the Supreme Court follows a partisan divide, the Trump administration may fare better since five of the nine are Republican nominees. Still, he said, its difficult to make a confident prediction because Supreme Court justices dont always vote in ideological lockstep.

The first travel ban issued Jan. 27 was aimed at seven countries and triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesnt apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes dont erase the legal problems with the ban.

The case ruled on by the 4th Circuit was originally brought in Maryland by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

President Trumps Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms, said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, who argued the case. The Constitutions prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the governments request to set that principle aside.

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Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer in Richmond, Virginia; Mark Sherman and Darlene Superville in Washington and Matt Barakat in McLean, Virginia, contributed to this report.
An Amber Alert has been canceled for a five-year-old girl who authorities believe had been abducted by her mother in Belen.

The Belen Police Department found Marissa Bibiano and her mother Thursday afternoon.

The little girl is safe and her mother, Alicia Trejo, 36, was arrested without incident, according to the police departments Facebook page.

Bibiano had been abducted from a home by her mother who didnt have custodial rights, according to New Mexico State Police.

Ms. Trejo broke into the residence of the childs grandmother, committed a battery against the grandmother, was intoxicated at the time, and abducted the child, Sgt. Elizabeth Armijo, a State Police spokeswoman, wrote in a release. Ms. Trejo left the area on foot.
SANTA FE  One lawmaker compared it to watching the same movie twice.

Just as they did in March, state legislators on Thursday sent Gov. Susana Martinez a package of budget and tax proposals aimed at ensuring New Mexico has enough money to pay its bills over the next year and start rebuilding its reserves.

And as soon as today, the Republican governor could veto some of those ideas, including tax hikes on gasoline and vehicles and imposition of a tax on internet sales. Martinez vetoed similar proposals earlier this year.

Let me be clear: I will veto all tax increases that hit my desk, Martinez said after lawmakers recessed Thursday. The legislative leadership knew that from the beginning and chose to pass these tax hikes regardless.

But some progress was evident, too, in this weeks special session.

The main budget proposal  which would restore roughly $744 million in funding for New Mexico colleges and universities  picked up bipartisan support as it won approval in the House and Senate. It also includes more money for student financial aid and other changes requested by the governor.

Martinez, in a substantial change in tone, even said she was pleased with some of the Legislatures work this week.

And top-ranking Democrats also said they believe theyve addressed the states budget crunch  at least for now.

Its time for this crisis to be over, and we hope weve taken that step, said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe.

A second financial proposal  a complex bond transaction that uses one-time money to help shore up the budget  also passed, with broad support. Its something the Martinez administration has pushed for, and she praised the Legislature for approving it.

If approved, those two measures alone should be enough to balance spending and revenue in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and close the books on the current budget year, lawmakers said.

Tax dispute

Beyond the basic budget bill and bond transaction, however, it isnt clear how much the Legislature  where Democrats hold majorities in both chambers  and Martinez will agree.

Despite the governors opposition, lawmakers sent the governor a package of tax and fee increases  contained in two separate bills  that could raise another $190 million a year or so. The extra revenue is necessary, Democrats said, to start rebuilding New Mexicos reserves and avoid damage to the states credit rating.

However, Martinez said she preferred raising money by closing tax loopholes as a part of a broad overhaul of the state tax code, a proposal that was blocked in a House committee.

An overhaul of the states complex system of gross receipts taxes is still possible, though not immediately. The budget proposal passed by lawmakers includes $400,000 for a tax study, and some legislators have broached the idea of considering a broad revision of the tax code later this year or in next years regular session.

The governor has until Monday afternoon to act on the four bills approved by the Legislature.

Thats because the House and Senate both recessed Thursday with plans to come back Tuesday, when they could try to override any gubernatorial vetoes, or just adjourn.

Were recessing so we can get action from the governor quickly, said House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe.

Budget troubles

New Mexico has faced intense budget pressure linked to a downturn in oil and gas prices  a critical source of state revenue. The state has also struggled with the nations worst unemployment rate.

The Legislature earlier this year passed a $6.1 billion budget for the coming year and a $350 million package of tax and fee increases to help pay for it.

The governor in April vetoed the tax package and removed funding in the budget for higher education and the Legislature itself  a temporary move, she said, until lawmakers could craft a new financial package without tax increases.

Martinez suggested Thursday that the dispute is moving closer to resolution. The new budget proposal to restore funding for higher education and legislative agencies is much more to her liking, as it includes some extra money for the University of New Mexico Cancer Center and financial aid, she said.

Overall, Im pleased that we were able to come to an agreement on the budget, she said in a statement.

Egolf said the Democratic-controlled Legislature tried to compromise on some of the governors requests, including more funding for student financial aid and the UNM Cancer Center.

However, he expressed concern about the possibility of a second downgrade to the states credit rating if Martinez follows through on her vow to veto the revenue bills.

Well keep trying to give the people of New Mexico reasonable, responsible tax reform, and well keep waiting on the governor to sign them, Egolf told reporters.

House Minority Leader Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, said he was pleased with the sessions outcome, though he lamented the demise of a proposal to overhaul the states gross receipts tax system.

We felt we held the majoritys feet to the fire and got a much better outcome than we did in the regular session, he said.

Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said the Legislature gave the governor enough options to balance the budget and start rebuilding reserves.

The tax proposals are smaller than what was proposed earlier in the year, though Democrats acknowledged the governor may veto the bills, either fully or partly.

If you feel like youre watching a movie for the second time, Padilla said, youd be correct.
NEW YORK  The ongoing leaks of sensitive information that have been a hallmark of the Trump administration are antagonizing one of Americas closest allies, with officials in Britain incensed over details of the Manchester bombing investigation finding their way into the news.

The longstanding practice of allied countries sharing intelligence had already been threatened by reports that President Donald Trump disclosed classified material gathered by Israel to Russian officials in a recent Oval Office meeting. Now police in Manchester have stopped sharing with the U.S. details of their probe into Mondays concert attack that killed 22 people without a guarantee that leaks will be plugged, one British official told The Associated Press.

Investigators were upset about photos published in The New York Times that showed crime-scene evidence and about the release of bombing suspect Salman Abedis name at a time British officials were still withholding it. British Prime Minister Theresa May said she wants to discuss leaks with Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels.

Trump said Thursday that the leaks were deeply troubling and pose a grave threat to national security. He called for a Justice Department investigation and said the leaker should be prosecuted.

The president has complained bitterly about leaks that have revealed private communications with other foreign leaders and contacts that his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had with the Russian ambassador. Yet Trumps administration is filled with people who privately reveal information to the press. Media reports of behind-the-scenes action and details about relations with Russia happen nearly every day.

Sadly one of the chief culprits in leaking information has been the president himself, who may have injured our relationship with one of our other partners over his conversations with the Russians in the White House, said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. So the White House can begin to take responsibility for a large part of the problem itself.

The photos published in the Times showed the container that held the Manchester bomb and how it was concealed. There were pictures of a switch likely held in the bombers hand, the shrapnel from the device and a battery used to power it. At the time Abedis name became public, raids were underway in Manchester and in Libya, where the bombers father lives.

Some British officials were concerned that people affiliated with Abedi could hide or quickly detonate another bomb once his name was out, said Rep. Mike McCaul, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who said he talked to people involved in the case.

Leaks can also jeopardize investigations and judicial proceedings, said Nigel Inkster, former head of operations for MI6, the British intelligence agency.

We shouldnt have leaked that information, said Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican. That should be kept as sacrosanct. So whoever did it was wrong.

The New York Times did not reveal how it obtained the photos and defended the decision to publish them.

This is the kind of information and the kind of photographs we and others have published countless times after terrorism attacks, said Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times. It serves to inform people about the way attacks are conducted. It was not personal or insensitive. Nor did it violate the privacy of the victims. Law enforcement never asked us to remove the information.

Information about terror attacks that occur in Europe is shared as a matter of course with American intelligence and law enforcement officials, who check their own files to see if suspects traveled to and from the U.S., and to offer any collaboration or support.

We are facing the same enemy, said Ali Soufan, a former FBI counterterrorism agent. We probably might have a lot of information that can help our allies. We check our databases. We check our files.

We do the same thing with them, he said. Were one team.

While sensitive information disclosed in the midst of an investigation can risk its integrity, it can also help investigators gather more tips and leads, said John Cohen, former acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of Homeland Security.

A former CIA officer now based in Britain, Bob Ayers, said British officials should get over it.

The Manchester police are pouting, and ultimately thats their choice, but they have to accept that they get more than they give, Ayers said. Its a suicidal and stupid decision.

He said theres been friction that goes both ways across the Atlantic, noting that British authorities in 2012 blocked the extradition of a man accused of hacking into military and NASA computers. May, who was home secretary at the time, played a part in that decision, he said.

Schiff said, however, that its in the best interests of the United States not to do anything to jeopardize trust with Britain.

The British have every right to be furious, he said. And we need to do everything we can to make sure that we respect the information thats provided to us by our allies.

___

Associated Press Writer Paisley Dodds in London contributed to this report.
NATO is looking to upgrade its branding for a new generation, and it has contracted an Albuquerque-based firm to lead the way.

Agenda and London-based partner MHP Communications have launched the WeAreNATO campaign, which focuses on the benefits of solidarity between NATO Allies, and the role the Alliance plays in maintaining Euro-Atlantic security, said a news release from Agenda, an Albuquerque-based marketing and communications company.

The campaign is the first major NATO-wide branded communications campaign in nearly a decade, according to the release.

In early February, after over 10 months of research, Agenda and MHP began developing the multi-platform franchise campaign and shortly after began field-testing it with member nations such as Lithuania, Spain and Canada.

Its an entire brand for the alliance, Agenda partner Doug Turner told the Journal. We built the messaging framework that each country can use and develop on their own.

WeAreNATO uses video, pictures and social media to promote partnership across member nations. One of its images could be seen in photos Thursday from the NATO summit in Brussels, which President Donald Trump attended.

But the campaign is also designed so it can be personalized by any of the 28 member countries. For example, a particular country can use the materials to emphasize its own troops or humanitarian efforts.

One of the major aspects of the campaign is use of the hashtag WeAreNATO to focus attention on younger generations. It is already in use by member nations, Turner said.

Agenda is one of three communications companies under contract with NATO, and it has been working with the alliance on various projects since fall 2015. Turner would not disclose the dollar amount of the five-year contract.

Agenda began in 1998 as DW Turner and rebranded in 2012. In doing so, the company expanded with offices in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.

Its crucial that our citizens, particularly young people who have grown up in times of peace, understand what NATO is and what we do, NATOs Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Tacan Ildem said at the campaign launch this week.
A district judge has denied a request by serial killer Clifton Bloomfield to withdraw his guilty plea to charges that include five counts of first-degree murder.

But Bloomfield will see nine years shaved off of his 195-year sentence after the judge vacated an aggravated burglary conviction over ambiguities in the plea agreement.

In 2008, Bloomfield admitted the murders of Tak and Pung Yi, retired teacher Josephine Selvage, interior designer Carlos Esquibel and recently married nurse Scott Pierce. All five were found dead  two strangled, two beaten, one shot  in their Albuquerque homes between 2005 and 2008.

Police said they believed that at least four of the murders were property crimes gone bad.

Before Bloomfield confessed to killing the Yis, two magazine salesmen were accused and jailed for more than a year in their murders.

Bloomfield, who pleaded to the five murders in 2008, listed several complaints in a petition filed in 2015. He argued that he took the plea involuntarily, that his then-defense attorney was not qualified to handle a death penalty case, and that the state failed to comply with his plea agreement, among other issues.

Second Judicial District Judge Benjamin Chavez rejected nearly all of those claims but agreed to vacate an aggravated burglary charge that Bloomfield was sentenced for because the agreement called for the charge to be both pleaded to and dismissed.

The Attorney Generals Office, which handles criminal appeals, agreed that the count should be removed from the sentencing document. Chavez said that Bloomfields sentence should be amended to reflect that change.

Chavez, in an order issued Wednesday, also said that an evidentiary hearing on the petition was unnecessary. In its response to Bloomfields petition, the AGs Office argued that his claims should be dismissed without an evidentiary hearing because they were refuted by the record.

In denying much of the request, Chavez noted that Bloomfields then-defense attorney wrote in an affidavit that Bloomfield had been the driving force being the plea. And the judge said there was no evidence to show that Bloomfield took the plea involuntarily.

Chavez also wrote that the state never sought the death penalty in Bloomfields case, so he didnt need an attorney qualified to handle death penalty cases.

Bloomfield also complained that the state agreed he would be imprisoned outside New Mexico. Chavez wrote that the state agreed to make the recommendation, but that the decision was ultimately up to the prison.

Online corrections department records show Bloomfield is incarcerated in the Northeast New Mexico Detention Facility near Clayton. And Chavez said other complaints about potential prosecutorial misconduct were speculative.

Bloomfields attorney, Robert Tangora, could not be reached for comment Thursday. But the AGs Office was pleased with the ruling.

Attorney General Hector Balderas said in a news release, Serial murderer Clifton Bloomfield terrorized New Mexico families with his horrific crimes, and now thanks to the work of our office he will remain in prison for the rest of his life.
Santa Fe arts collective Meow Wolf will receive more than $1 million in state and city funding to allow for expansion that is expected to create 250 full-time jobs over the next five years.

The state will provide $850,000 in funding through a local economic development fund, called the closing fund, used to help recruit new business and assist those already in existence, according to a news release from the New Mexico Economic Development Office. The city of Santa Fe will contribute $250,000, also through a local economic development allocation.

The money will be used to buy and renovate a building to house offices and creative space, the release says.

In April, Meow Wolf announced it purchased a 52,000-square-foot building that formerly housed a Caterpillar facility that closed last year.

Vince Kadlubek, Meow Wolfs chief administrative officer, said at the time that the building would be used to create exhibits as Meow Wolf works to expand beyond the states borders. He said plans were to invest $750,000 on machinery and hire about 70 workers over the course of a few years.

The expansion is expected to create jobs for artists, technicians and craftsmen, the news release said.

Were thrilled to be expanding our facility to bring our art to people around the world, Vince Kadlubek, Meow Wolfs chief administrative officer, said in the news release. Thanks to Gov. (Susana) Martinez expansion of the closing fund, were able to get bridge funding for this project and create jobs for New Mexican artists. Were looking forward to showing the rest of the world what Meow Wolf and New Mexico has to offer.

The state previously awarded $450,000 to Meow Wolf through a the states Job Training Incentive Program.

New Mexico has always been a hub for creativity and artistry, Gov. Martinez said. And now were expanding one of the worlds premiere arts destinations right here in New Mexico.

Meow Wolf has drawn more than 400,000 visitors to its House of Eternal Return immersive arts exhibit, which opened in March 2016. Located in a former bowling alley purchased by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin, the exhibit generated about $6 million in revenue after one year.

Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales said Meow Wolf enhances the art scene in a city already known for the arts.

Im thankful to the State and the City Council for their continued investment in creating good-paying jobs on Santa Fes south side, and proud of Meow Wolf for achieving great success while adding to the Santa Fe brand of high-quality art and performance experiences, he said.
Interbrand has released its second annual Interbrand Breakthrough Brands report in partnership with Facebook, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Ready Set Rocket. The 2017 report recognises 40 next-generation, disruptive brands that define progress and the potential to grow. The report complements Interbrands annual Best Global Brands report, now entering its 18th year, by putting a spotlight on emerging brands  those that are affecting change and embodying growth.

After analysing over 350 submissions from global influencers and open public submissions, 40 brands were selected as this years Breakthrough Brands; amongst which Indias start-up poster-brand Flipkart and technology-enabled logistics start-up Rivigo have also been featured. Paperboat by Hector Beverages has also been mentioned as one of the exemplified brands for appealing the rising middle class consumer in the APAC countries; by prioritising craftsmanship and personalisation, with an authentic and differentiated story.

There are moments throughout the life of your business when you enter a new stage of growth, said Jez Frampton, Interbrands Global CEO. For Breakthrough Brands, its realising theres a gap or a need in the marketplace, and filling it. These brands are catalysts as they are not just setting new standards for other brands, theyre breaking them.

As per the report, Flipkart has a staggering valuation of $11,600 million and a funding of $4,550 million. The Bangalore-based brand has become a hallmark of growth in Asia. It has changed the e-tail landscape in India, providing access to goods in both urban and rural communities at prices that were once unimaginable. Flipkart is also investing in payment and retail tech across the continent, making it one of the regions biggest Breakthrough catalysts. Recently receiving $1.4 billion in funding, the brand is set to break through globally.

On the other hand, Rivigo has been valued at $1,880 million and its funding is recorded at $114.9 million. According to the report, Rivigo isnt just about logistics: its about people. The India-based brand improves the working lives of the humans behind its delivery fleets by using big data, IoT sensors, and AI to monitor and manage driver stress and fatigue. With a team of top data scientists, Rivigo is creating systems that increase distance covered and improve turnaround times up to 70 per cent  driving productivity for both its people and its clients.

This years report divides the Breakthrough Brands into seven key insights:

The working future: An increased focus on individuals and what they need to be fulfilled within their careers and their lives, especially as they become increasingly intertwined, such as Rivigo, Slack and General Assembly.

From lifehacking to better living: Brands that are looking to improve our lives by removing concerns, obstacles, and unnecessary interactions. The good life is not about more, but better; Thrive Global and Sea for example.

Not so artificial intelligence: Brands that are leading this charge  by both creating and harnessing these new tools  are going to dictate the future with this breakthrough technology; like Face++ and Clarifai.

Meaningful mobility: Its not about the journey or the destination, its about fundamentally changing how we move people and things, with the aim of improving our environment, society, and lives through brands like Didi and Ofo.

Funding change: The focus in finance is truly personal, as brands find breakthrough ways to align with individuals values, and empower people to take greater control of their financial futures with brands like Square and Wealthsimple.

Experiences on demand: Some brands make it easier to get what we want, others make it easier to find what we want, but all are helping us live an on-demand lifestyle, which is what brands like MikMak and Flipkart look to do.

Health in your hands: By leveraging tech innovation and pooling huge, previously unmanageable amounts of information, these new brands are improving the entire spectrum of care like Babylon and HumanCharger.

Criteria & Methodology

When selecting the brands to be featured in this report, these criteria were key:

Age: Is the brand 10 years or younger?

Change: Is the brand driving change by responding to a unique marketplace need, generating a new experience for consumers, disrupting an industry, adopting a new business model or developing a new technology?

Growth: Is the brand demonstrating its ability to grow? Is it operating as a successful business? Is it stretching into new product or service categories  or new geographies? Is it attracting top talent?

Buzz: Is the brand grabbing attention and gaining momentum?

Originality: Is the brand presenting a unique business model that challenges the traditional way of doing things?

Commenting on the Indian contenders and the overall Breakthrough Brands in the local market, Ashish Mishra, Managing Director, Interbrand India, said, India is emerging as a crucible for the Breakthrough Brands due to our demographic, social, expressive & experiential evolution leading to cross fertilisation of new consumers, markets, lifestyles and touch points. There is a genuine need of improving lives across business and life-critical areas of money & mobility on one hand, health & lifestyle on another. The other big phenomenon is the merging of the breakthrough mindset with traditional organisations. We are seeing many traditional companies spawning breakthrough businesses within their folds. Indeed, its no longer about start-ups anymore but about inculcating the breakthrough mindset no matter what you do and who you are.
Twitter announced today the launch of new, customizable Direct Message Card that businesses can use to promote and share bots and other customer experiences built in Direct Messages. An increasingly number of businesses are using Direct Messages to create rich, personalized interactions that deepen relationships with consumers, ranging from customer acquisition to fun, engaging bots such as the first ever March Madness bracket builder in Direct Messages (#WendysBracket). With this new card, Twitter aims at helping businesses drive discovery of such experiences- both through Promoted Tweets and organic sharing.

Using a Direct Message Card, businesses can capture peoples attention with engaging image or video creatives, and include up to four fully customizable call-to-action buttons. Each call-to-action button takes the user into a specific experience within Direct Messages. With Direct Message Cards running in Promoted Tweet campaigns, businesses can leverage Twitter Ads full targeting suite to find a relevant audience to pull into personalized conversations at scale. Businesses can also turn their audience into advocates by encouraging them to share the experience in their own voice through a Tweet.

Several brands around the world are launching Promoted Tweet campaigns using the Direct Message Card this week to drive discovery of the experiences they have built. Patron Tequila, a leading spirits brands, is using the Direct Message Card to entice people to engage with their messaging bot  Bot-Tender  which creates personalized cocktail recommendations based on responses to questions around occasion, flavor, and even emoji.

Tweet: https://twitter.com/Patron/status/867046235991158788

Commenting on the launch, Arvinder Gujral, Sr. Director, Business Development, Twitter Asia Pacific, said A brands social presence and engagement have become an integral part of the customer experience journey today as tech-savvy customers research and educate themselves about the product prior to a purchase. Twitter is the best place for customers to reach brands in real-time and vice versa, and with todays launch of Direct Message Cards, businesses can expand and deepen their engagement with customers by leading them straight to customized Direct Message experiences.

The Direct Message Card is a robust discovery tool that complements other features Twitter has built to make Direct Messages a powerful canvas for brands to build personalized and scalable conversational experiences, including Welcome Messages, Quick Replies, Custom Profiles and Location Sharing. Were excited to provide brands with additional tools to create new ways of engaging and building deeper relationships with their audiences on Twitter. The DM card is a manifestation of Twitters endeavour to provide brands with innovative tools to create new ways of engaging and building deeper relationships with their audiences on the platform.
Acer has just introduced two new 10-inch Android tablets at Computex 2017 in Taiwan, the Acer Iconia Tab 10 (A3-A50) and the Acer Iconia One 10 (B3-A40FHD). Now, the company did not really share all that much spec info for these two devices, but they did release some information, along with images, which you will be able to find in the gallery down below. Speaking of which, lets start by talking about the design of the two new Acer tablets, shall we.

These two tablets both have really thick bezels, which is easily noticeable in the images down below. Theyre certainly not the most portable tablets out there, but these are multimedia tablets, and as such are packing in a set of dual micro-USB ports, and can provide really nice audio output. Both of these devices come with a wide-viewing-angle IPS displays and five-magnet speakers with DTS-HD Premium Sound. Its also worth noting that MediaTeks quad-core SoCs will fuel these two tablets, and Android 7.0 Nougat will come pre-installed on them with Acers custom UI on top of it. Acer also mentioned that these two tablets will provide up to 8 hours of battery life, and the company means 8 hours of pure usage with the screen on, though that will depend on what sort of a tablet user are you, if youre playing games, watching movies, and so on.

The Acer Iconia Tab 10 comes with a Quantum Dot display, which is supposed to offer a wider color range with higher brightness and saturation, at least according to Acer. This tablet will be under 9mm thick, and will come with four speakers. Acers MediaMaster will be included here as well, which will help you set your audio preferences. Based on the provided info by the company, the Iconia Tab 10 will be the more expensive of the two tablets, though we do not have any pricing info at the moment, nor the full spec sheet of these two tablets, so well have to wait a bit longer in order to be sure. Now, its also worth mentioning that youll get a number of Acers apps as part of the companys skin, including EZ WakeUp, EZ Snap, EZ Mode and Memory Cleaner. The EZ WakeUp, for example, will let you set up certain gestures which you can use while the tablet is off, so, for example, a swipe up gesture can launch a certain app straight from the sleep mode. In any case, if youd like to know more about these features, follow the source link down below.
Lower price and tons of features make this vacuum a winner

iRobots range of robotic vacuums continues to expand, with its latest high-end vacuum being offered at a $200 less price point than the top-tier Roomba 980. As a result the Roomba 960 offers a motor thats not quite as feature-rich, and a smaller battery, but its likely that many people wont notice the difference if theyre in a smaller dwelling or dont mind the vacuum taking longer to clean up the whole house. Is it worth saving $200 over the bigger brother model, or does the old adage of go big or go home apply with iRobots line? Lets take a look.

Video Review

In the Box

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Opening the box reveals that vacuum itself prominently placed at the top, with all accessories and extras below. Youll of course find a charging dock here for placing somewhere in your house, allowing the robot to charge itself as it cleans. The usual set of manuals and help guides is included too, and youll also find a single Virtual Wall lighthouse here, as well as 2 AA batteries to power it. For those first few months of maintenance, iRobot has included an extra HEPA filter and one extra side brush as well, which should help cut down on the initial cost of the investment here.

Hardware and Design

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From a design perspective youd be hard pressed to find any visual differences between the Roomba 960 and the more expensive Roomba 980, outside of a different coat of paint of course. Youll not only find the same sized device as the Roomba 980, but one that appears to have every function of that vacuum as well. Up top sits the camera, angled and residing beneath protective glass to give the Roomba 960 a visual of the room around it. Above the camera youll find three buttons: a large silver Clean multi-function button in the center, with a smaller home button to its left and a target clean button to the right. Above that is the trademark retractable handle that makes picking up the vacuum easy, as well as a small protruding knob at the top that serves two purposes: navigational aide to guide it towards the base and away from the Virtual Walls, and a way to keep the vacuum from going too far under furniture it shouldnt.

Around the front of the vacuum youll find the bumper, which takes up about half of the circumference of the vacuum itself and pushes in to let the vacuum know it has reached an impassable object. Around the back is the removable dustbin, which also houses the removable HEPA filter inside. Underneath youll find the bulk of the sensors and other instrumentation, including a number of sensors located all around the edge of the vacuum that act as a way to keep the vacuum from falling off edges like stairs. Starting from the front-most facing part of the underside, youll find a small 360-degree rotating wheel for pinpoint turning accuracy. On either side of this wheel sits over-sized charging contacts for easy automatic recharging. To the right is the dirt sensor, which scans the floor beneath the Roomba 960 as it moves and identifies places where there might be more debris than others, triggering an extra cleanup cycle. To the left of the charging contacts is the side-rotating brush that sweeps particles inward toward the suction rollers.

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These suction rollers are positioned just below the midpoint of the vacuum and are located between the main wheels. Both rollers are made of a silicone material instead of having traditional brushes, and iRobot refers to them as Debris Extractors instead of rollers to differentiate the technology. These rollers spin inward toward one another, grabbing debris on either side and pushing it into the suction chamber located between and above them. The wheels on either side of the debris extractors are made of a hard rubber and are checkered for extra grip. These wheels also adjust vertically about 2 inches to help with uneven surfaces, as well as climbing and descending small inclines like flooring transition strips.

Navigation

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iRobots navigation over the years has improved considerably since the early days of the Roomba series. Since the Roomba 980 made its debut a few years back, weve seen improved navigation on all of iRobots vacuums, in particular ones that come equipped with a camera. The Roomba 960 is one such vacuum, sporting a camera on top that works in conjunction with the many other sensors on board to provide a whole-home solution for navigation. Using the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm, the Roomba 960 actually maps out your home as it traverses the landscape of flooring types. This isnt unique to the Roomba 960 by any means, but it, combined with a newly updated app that actually displays the map your Roomba has made, means that navigation is better and smarter than ever. There were a few times in the review process in which the Roomba 960 got stuck on an object, lodging a string in its wheels or an area rug in the suction motor, and pulling up the app showed me immediately in the house where the Roomba was located thanks to the map.

As a rule the Roomba begins each cleaning cycle by moving forward until it comes in contact with an object or wall, and then turns around to cover the center of a room in a grid-like pattern. Once the edges of a room are identified, as well as edges or legs of furniture, the Roomba 960 will go around these edges and clean up any stray debris that may have made their way into the corners. Edge cleaning can be turned off if you so desire, but out of the box this is the standard behavior. The general navigation of the Roomba 960 doesnt feel as smart as something like the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum, but its considerably better than some other vacuums out there, and a bit of that has to do with the camera found on top of the vacuum. The Roomba 960 keeps track of where home is at all times, so if it needs to return to charge before finishing cleaning, it can automatically resume and go back to where its last known location was. Roomba also outfits the 960 with a ledge detection sensor, keeping the Roomba from falling off stairs or other steep drops and averting disaster.

Aside from simply closing a door or placing a physical object in its way, iRobot includes a single Virtual Wall with the Roomba 960 which allows users to place the virtual barrier in one of two ways. Line mode shoots out an invisible laser beam that acts as a simple straight barrier, keeping the Roomba 960 from crossing the laser line and protecting whatever is on the other side. Circular mode will similarly keep the Roomba 960 from getting within a 4ft radius of the virtual wall tower itself, helping to guard the Roomba from running too hard into things like dog bowls or getting stuck under furniture of awkward height. These virtual walls require two AA batteries and last seemingly forever on such a trivial amount of power, showing yet again that iRobot has by far the best barrier solution of any robotic vacuuming product out there.

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Cleaning Process

One of the few differences between the Roomba 960 and the Roomba 980, aside from price of course, is the motor found inside. The Roomba 960 uses the less-featured Gen 2 motor, which provides great suction but doesnt provide the additional Carpet Boost suction found on the Roomba 980s Gen 3 motor. The bright side of this is that the Roomba 960 is quite a bit quieter, not having the extra suction strength of course, yet didnt seem to affect the cleaning performance in my home. I mostly have wood and tile flooring, with some area rugs scattered throughout, so folks with more carpet may want to consider the extra suction to keep those rugs extra clean. What I found in general though was that the Roomba 960 handled the traversal of area rugs, particularly shag style rugs, far more easily than other robot vacuums. As we showed in our 3-way robot challenge, the Roomba 980 was the only one that could traverse any kind of shag carpet that we tested, and the Roomba 960 does an even better job of this.

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Its likely part of this extra performance on rugs has to do with the fact that the Roomba 960s motor isnt as powerful as the one found in the Roomba 980, however real-world performance didnt seem to be effected by this for the most part. The Roomba 980 will certainly grab more hair and particles out of thicker carpet than the Roomba 960, so for those with houses that are mostly carpet it might be wise to get the model with more suction power. As it stands in my home, which is all wood and tile floors interspersed with the occasional area rug, the Roomba 960 does more than a good enough job. iRobot says the Gen 3 motor found in the Roomba 980 provides 5x more air suction power than the Gen 2 motor found in the Roomba 960, but keep in mind this is the same motor used in the Roomba 800 series too. This reduced power also means reduced noise though, and as a result the Roomba 960 is much quieter than the 980, especially when Carpet Boost on the 980 comes into play.

The extra long side brush on the Roomba 960 is able to grab most particles out of corners, edges of the walls and underneath counters, whereas other competitors either have shorter side brushes or dont have them at all. As weve seen in our robot vacuum comparison tests, Roombas side brush often times grabs more dirt out of corners than others can. The Roomba 960 features the same dirt detect sensor of the Roomba 980, a godsend when it comes to extra dirty floors. Instead of just meandering on its usual route throughout the house and ignoring extra piles of dirt, hair or other debris, the Roomba can actually sense these moments and take action. Using a special sensor located underneath the vacuum, the Roomba goes into extra cleaning mode when it detects lots of debris. This means that the Roomba will back up and move over the extra dirty spots a number of times until it feels the spots are clean. Anyone who has pets or children will surely be thankful for this feature, as it generally proves to be extra efficient at picking up messes versus other robot vacuums out there.

iRobot uses different types of rollers than other robotic vacuum companies too; in fact these are so different that iRobot calls them Debris Extractors. These rollers are made of a silicone material and feature a number of grooves on them instead of the traditional brushes that most vacuum rollers have. As such these work differently and dont get hair trapped around the brush itself. Instead the hair makes its way toward the side and into the inside of the rollers thanks to an ingenious design. This keeps the rollers operating at full speed for longer than a traditional brush, and also keeps them free from hair and other particles that might adversely affect sweeping performance.

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What the brushes wont guard against are objects laying around the room, something that always needs to be considered before starting the vacuuming process. As with any robot vacuum, youll need to walk around the house and pick up any small objects that might get in Roombas way or get tangled underneath the vacuum. Childrens toys, cords and anything else that might be laying around the floor could become an issue if left lying around, and its entirely possible that youll need to dislodge the errant sock from the rollers or wheels from time to time.

The Roomba design is slim enough to get underneath most furniture, cleaning places that normally dont get cleaned by regular vacuums. The downside to this is when furniture is only just barely tall enough for the Roomba to fit under, in which case the Roomba will get itself stuck sometimes. My couches are one such type of furniture, and I have to block them off every time I vacuum. Its not something that will happen to everyone, but its incredibly annoying if it does.

App

As was the case with the Roomba 980, the Roomba 960 can be connected to your homes 2.4GHz WiFi network and will communicate with iRobots cloud service. Recent months have seen some significant upgrades to the iRobot Home app, and the entire iRobot ecosystem as well. Since our Roomba 980 review nearly two years ago, iRobot has added a number of features including, but not limited to, a custom built map of your home made by the Roomba. As the Roomba 960 works its way around your home it maps out the layout in real time, helping keep track of not just where it needs to clean next, but also where it has been and where it currently is. This gives customers a glimpse into the spatial awareness that was hidden before; a feature thats been available on iRobots devices since the Roomba 980s inception but not accessible by any easy means.

The problem with iRobots implementation of this feature is that the map isnt viewable in real-time as the robot is doing its job. In fact the map is not visible at all until the Roomba is finished and delivers its cleaning report, in which the map is included. The bright side to this is that youll be able to see all the spots in your home where the Roomba 960 wasnt able to clean, as the map is incredibly accurate and is extremely easy to pin-point locations on. The downside here is that, since you cant see it in real-time, you dont know where in your house the Roomba might be. This isnt necessarily an issue per say, rather its just something that doesnt quite come to the level of what Xiaomi, Neato or Dyson have going in their apps. If the Roomba ends a job stuck you will be able to see where the vacuum ended in the house, otherwise the report will only go out when it gets back to home base.

iRobot has also jumped on the virtual assistant bandwagon, integrating its cloud services with the likes of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. This means that anyone with access to Amazon Alexa, via the Echo Dot, full sized Echo or any other product thats powered by Amazons virtual assistant can control their Roomba 960 with their voice. The same goes for Google Assistant, and owners of either a Google Home or the myriad of devices now powered by Google Assistant can simply tell their Roomba 960 to start cleaning, pause, stop, go home, or a number of other commands as well. Roomba can even deliver status messages over these services, and a special Roomba voice comes through the speaker rather than the Alexa or Google Assistant voice, letting you know youre connected to the service.

Aside from this youll find all the usual great features of the iRobot Home app here and fully functional as they are on the more expensive Roomba 980. Youll be able to track how full the dust bin is, how much use the filters have seen, and how dirty the rest of the sensors and other components are on board remotely. This helps with the maintenance schedule and lets you know when the vacuum might need a little assistance. Real-time status updates when problems arise are delivered via notifications through the app, and every single problem features a how-to tutorial and video showing where the problem lies and how to troubleshoot it. Scheduling your vacuum to run up to once per day can be done through the app, and all firmware updates and other settings can be completely controlled through the app as well. In short theres nearly nothing the iRobot Home app doesnt do at this point, and its integration with other smart home services really seals the deal now. iRobot also offers its app in dozens of languages, a strong point for the companys worldwide availability and patent portfolio.

Maintenance and Battery Life

Aside from the motor, the other big difference between the Roomba 980 and Roomba 960 is battery size. The Roomba 960 features a battery rated at 75 minutes of run time, while the Roomba 980 boasts a 120 minute battery. In real world terms, however, I found the Roomba 960 cleaning 90-95% of my 1200 square foot house on the initial charge, taking about 1 and a half hours to do this portion. After slightly over one hour of charging, the Roomba 960 made its way around the final 5-10% of the house, resulting in a 2 hour and 45 minute final time to clean the whole house. This equates to around 900 square feet or so cleaned per hour, meaning it could take quite a bit longer for the Roomba 960 to clean your home versus a Roomba 980 if youve got a large home. This obviously needs to be taken into consideration if youre pressed for time, but if you regularly have the vacuum clean during the day while youre not at home, its not really an issue. Since the Roomba returns to home base and charges itself automatically, youll never need to worry about it actually finishing the job because of low battery.

iRobot recommends cleaning out the dust bin after every cleaning cycle, and there may be times where youll need to clean out the dust bin before the vacuum can finish its current job. The dust bin will hold around 2 cups, or around half a liter of material before it needs to be emptied. For those that run the vacuum regularly this bin size shouldnt be an issue. Folks that have pets and only run it once per week will certainly run into issues, as hair will take up quite a bit of space and most certainly require emptying before the cycle fully ends. Roombas rollers underneath generally need to have hair pulled out of the sides once per week or so, and there may be a stray particle or two in the suction chamber between the rollers and dust bin that occasionally needs cleaning out.

iRobot also features a HEPA rated filter inside of the dust bin, which prevents particles from flying out of the exhaust vent on the back of the bin. This HEPA filter is rated to strain out particles as small as one micron in size, meaning nearly everything will stay put in the bin until emptied. The filter is designed to last a few months before needing to be replaced, and can be extended significantly with proper care and a good can of compressed air to clean it off. The various sensors around the sides and bottom need to be cleaned off occasionally as well, although the iRobot Home app will notify you when these things really need to be done. Overall the vacuum is fairly maintenance free and wont require much attention outside of the regular bin and filter cleaning schedules.

Final Thoughts

iRobot has certainly made a winner with the Roomba 960. At $200 less than the Roomba 980 its difficult to argue with a product thats extremely similar in features and looks but has less power. Its this last part thats particularly important to note, especially for folks with lots of carpet. Without the carpet boost technology that the Gen 3 motor in the Roomba 980 has, the carpet cleaning power of the Roomba 960 will likely register as more than acceptable to many people, but a stronger vacuum might be needed every now and then for particularly dirty spots or those with pets. Many other important features are still here though, including connectivity with the iRobot Home app and all the features that entails, as well as the dirt detect sensor to make multiple passes on extra dirty floors. iRobots navigation is better than ever with the Roomba 960, and the new features in the app make it simply a fantastic product to choose.

Whether or not its truly worth spending the extra money over Xiaomis product is really a tough call, but the Roomba 960 does have advantages over cheaper competition. First off it is readily available in stores, the company backs its products with great support, more languages are available for worldwide usage, and iRobot consistently updates its app with hot new features like virtual assistant integration. The Roomba 960, like its bigger brother, traverses rugs incredibly well, including thicker shag rugs that many robot vacuums get stuck on. Its of course also worth noting that iRobots virtual walls are superior to other companys solutions, and theres one included in the box too. As far as robot vacuums go though, its one lean cleaning machine thats up for nearly any task.
An alleged listing of the upcoming Moto Z2 Play was spotted in the database of popular mobile benchmarking tool GFXBench earlier today, detailing a device powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 626 system-on-chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM. The new sighting of the handset mostly corroborates previously leaked specs of the Moto Z Play successor, indicating that the 64-bit piece of silicon thats powering the device will feature eight cores clocked at 2.2GHz and the Adreno 506 graphics chip, in addition to running Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The operating system of the device is expected to be skinned in a light manner, though that has yet to be confirmed seeing how some previous reports indicated that Lenovo is looking to ship future Moto devices with ZUKs ZUI mobile software suite after discontinuing its Chinese phone subsidiary.

The new GFXBench listing of whats said to be the Moto Z2 Play suggests that the device will boast a 5.5-inch display panel with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, in addition to featuring 64GB of internal flash memory that will likely be expandable by up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The screen of the device will likely be protected by 2.5D glass, with its top bezel housing a 5-megapixel sensor capable of recording Full HD video. The rear panel of the Moto Z2 Play will sport a single-lens 12-megapixel camera setup with support for 4K video and a conventional LED flash, the listing reveals. A representative of Lenovo recently confirmed that the upcoming smartphone will be powered by a 3,000mAh battery, presumably because the Chinese phone maker is looking to ship a device thats significantly thinner than its predecessor. According to a TENAA-issued certificate, the upcoming handset will be only 6mm thick.

Industry insiders claim that the Moto Z2 Play will be announced on June 8, possibly alongside the Moto Z2 Force. The Lenovo-owned phone manufacturer is expected to release a wide variety of new handsets in the second half of the year in an effort to compete in as many price segments as possible. While it remains to be seen whether that strategy will pay off, an update on the matter should follow shortly.
Qualcomm has officially filed for a preliminary injunction against Apple suppliers who are allegedly withholding royalty payments to Qualcomm on Apples orders. The list includes Compal, Wistron, Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn, and Pegatron. According to Qualcomm, Apple is having these suppliers follow in its own footsteps and withhold any sort of payment to Qualcomm until the lengthy court battle that the two are currently embroiled in blows over. Qualcomm says that its request will merely keep the named parties activities within the terms of their agreements with Qualcomm, and will prevent irreparable harm to Qualcomms business interests.

Apple has said in the past that it wont pay Qualcomm until the court case is cleared up because the amount that it owes to Qualcomm may wind up changing due to the case. Apples suppliers, on the other hand, have their own independent deals with Qualcomm. Whether this changes its obligation to follow Apples lead or lack thereof is essentially up to the courts, at this point. Apple, for its part, seems to imply with its actions that its suppliers are at liberty to wait until they know how much they have to pay for sure before paying out. Qualcomm, on the other hand, is looking to enforce its contracts. Should the courts side with Qualcomm, it could set a precedent that may affect how the rest of the case between Apple and Qualcomm goes.

This case runs alongside lawsuits over anticompetitive behavior in multiple territories, including the US, thanks to one lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission. Apple has filed similar suits against Qualcomm in the UK and China. Apple is arguing that Qualcomms contract terms are unfair and that its licensing fees are far too high. Qualcomms response, of course, was to protect its business interests by attempting to collect on the amounts named in the original terms of relevant contracts. Should the courts side with Apple in the end, Qualcomm could find that the precedent set there puts it in a slippery situation, potentially forcing it into multiple renegotiations. If the courts side with Qualcomm, renegotiations may still happen, but Qualcomms contracts will be found valid and enforceable, allowing it to pursue collection measures in the mean time.
Samsung Electronics on Thursday detailed all unique features boasted by the Chinese variants of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, listing a number of reasons why it believes local consumers should purchase either member of its latest Android flagship family. The bulk of the companys announcement pertained to a modified mobile software suite that ships with a wide variety of exclusive features that have been designed specifically for China. The Home screen of the Chinese Galaxy S8 models boasts an alternative system arrangement that provides access to the main default phone apps, Samsung said, adding that users can also switch to the regular screen arrangement enhanced with a vertical swiping interface.

The Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer revealed that the Chinese models of its new premium handsets ship with a number of exclusive services, including the Samsung Assistant app, Messages, and the Yellow Page feature integrated into the main phone app. Like its name suggests, the latter is essentially an interactive database of companies and service providers in China, while the Samsung Assistant app is meant to provide useful travel information that can be categorized, managed, and displayed through Messages, the company said. Furthermore, the default Camera app thats preinstalled on the Chinese variants of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus features 40 market-exclusive digital stamps and the Calendar app is capable of displaying a lunar and solar calendar simultaneously. The Smart Manager app also ships with some China-specific improvements and the same holds true for Samsung Health. Finally, the South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) equipped its local models with a Chinese-language input tool powered by search engine Sougou, in addition to shipping the handsets with a native screen recording feature.

All major OEMs see China as an attractive market given how the country accounts for more than a third of all global smartphone shipments, but local handset vendors have been pushing out foreign competitors in recent years with a broad range of capable and aggressively priced devices. According to recent estimates, Samsung is currently only holding around three percent of the Chinese smartphone market and is adamant to improve that performance however it can. This state of affairs is what led the company to release China-specific Galaxy S8 features, in addition to equipping the Chinese Galaxy S8 Plus model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal flash memory. Both devices started selling in the Far Eastern country as of today.
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday announced a new technology roadmap for its foundry process, detailing what its future clients can expect from the companys chipmaking division in the future. The roadmap includes 4nm process tech and a number of other solutions aimed at assisting fabless and IDM semiconductor companies in making chips that are more powerful and less power-hungry. The South Korean tech giant announced six new solutions in total, including a new variant of the FD-SOI planar process technology.

The 8nm Low Power Plus (8LPP) technology is said to be an improvement over the 10LPP process that the company announced earlier this year, providing Samsungs clients with a scalable and efficient solution without employing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, the company said. On the other hand, the 7nm Low Power Plus (7LPP) is an EUV lithography-based solution that Samsung co-developed with ASML, a Dutch provider of photolithography systems. Due to the implementation of a new lithography technique, Samsung claims this tech will break Moores law scaling in the near future, which some industry watchers believe will happen by 2021. The Seoul-based tech giant also outlined the 6nm Low Power Plus (6LPP) process that it revealed will be powered by the companys proprietary Smart Scaling technology integrated into the aforementioned 7LPP, while the 5nm Low Power Plus (5LPP) is said to be even more scalable and efficient and will serve as the ultimate solution based on the current generation of device architecture.

The jump to a new device architecture will happen with the 4nm Low Power Plus (4LPP) tech that will utilize Samsungs proprietary GAAFET structure called Multi Bridge Channel FET (MBCFETTM). The technology will rely on a Nanosheet device in an effort to improve upon the older FinFET architecture and allow for even better scaling and performance, the company said. Finally, the South Korean firm also detailed its Fully Depleted  Silicon on Insulator (FD-SOI) tech, a planar process technique designed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices that the company is planning to develop as a fully featured platform with embedded Magnetic Random Access Memory. More details on the newly introduced solutions are expected to be available later this year.
RACINE  Starting in the 2018-19 school year, Racine Catholic schools will be part of a the new Siena Catholic Schools system, which will involve the Archdiocese of Milwaukee hiring three new administrative positions. The five Racine area Catholic elementary schools along with St. Catherines Middle and High School are going to be part of the system.

Archbishop Jerome Listecki made the announcement to pastors, principals and trustees in a closed meeting at Sacred Heart Catholic Parish, 2201 Northwestern Ave., on Wednesday, following similar announcements recently made at other parishes.

The change comes after months, and in some respects years, of planning the realignment in effort to boost enrollment and overall quality of Catholic education.

Listecki said increasing costs and shifting demographics have weighed heavily on local parishes.

We always have to make Catholic education accessible and affordable, Listecki said. What this does is it helps to promote those two qualities.

The system is named after St. Catherine of Siena and the archdiocese anticipates enrolling 1,600 total students in the system. As part of the model, all of the systems schools will be part of the Racine Parental Choice Program. The two new schools that will begin accepting vouchers will be St. Ritas and St. Lucys, but that will not be until 2018-19 after they receive state approval.

Associate Superintendent Brenda White said this system is similar to the Kenoshas All Saints Catholic School model. The Racine system will consist of 10 parishes  St. Patrick, St. Richard, St. Lucy, St. Joseph, St. Edward, St. John Nepomuk and Sacred Heart in Racine; St. Rita in Caledonia; St. Paul the Apostle in Mount Pleasant; and St. Sebastian in Sturtevant. The parishes will be partnering financially to support the school system.

Additionally, Kathleen Cepelka, superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese, said the governance structure will be similar to the Seton Catholic School model in Milwaukee.

Its different from Milwaukee in that there is a high school (St. Catherines) and the transition from sponsorship of the Racine Dominicans to, now, the schools incorporation into this new entity, actually a new corporation, is unique, Cepelka said.

Dominicans end sponsorship

The Racine Dominicans, who sponsored St. Catherines for over 150 years, plan to handover the sponsorship to the archdiocese and will also financially contribute to the system.

The Racine Dominicans have not just been supportive of this, but they have requested this, Cepelka said. They reached a point in their community where they needed to turn this over.

When it comes to how much each parish will have to pay, the archbishop said larger parishes will contribute more than smaller parishes.

The formula will be equal, Listecki said, adding if people are interested in how much their parish is contributing, They can ask the parish. The committee has done the best they can do to make sure its a fair amount  No individual parish will take on a burden that it necessarily cant handle.

According to St. Paul the Apostles parish bulletin, the parish will be assessed $86,000 for each of the next three years. However, the parish found $56,000 in savings by sharing the salary and benefits of a new priest with St. Louis Catholic Church in Caledonia.

Listecki said currently parishes subsidize schools and in effect would allow schools to draw from a larger financial pool.

Two boards, one model

Dan Horton, leader of the finance task force and soon-to-be founding board member, said the next school year, 2017-18, will be a transition year.

Much of the activity on an operational basis will remain at the parish level, Horton said. But as the new leadership of the system is hired ... Theyll work with parishes and school principals to put together more details than weve already started with.

Along with a president, the archdiocese is looking to hire a director of business and director of schools. As part of the job, the individuals hired in those positions will work with the principals of schools and the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees.

Its unclear if positions will be eliminated but officials say that is not built into the model.

Were counting on the leaders of the new system, and the boards, to have the concept of good stewardship, Horton said. And that stewardship moving forward means people will have to perform, theyll have to contribute to help build a vision. Theyll make decisions at that point that matches the resources with the costs.

The Siena Catholic School system will have a two tier model to its governance. There will be a Board of Trustees, made up of parish pastors and representatives from the archbishop and the Racine Dominicans, and a Board of Directors made up of experts on finance, human resources, education, facilities and Catholic identity.

That Board of Trustees would be under the authority of the archbishop, White said. And then we would have a lay Board of Directors underneath the Board of Trustees.

White said the archdiocese plans on establishing the founding board members within the next month.

We will file our articles of incorporation with the state, White said. Once those are filed and our bylaws are approved by the founding board then our 501c3, our nonprofit organization, will be operational.

White said the boards will handle larger tasks such as signing leases and big purchases, and the principals will handle more day-to-day operations.

The Board of Directors will set policy. Theyll establish the budget; theyll take care of those big operational decisions, White said. There will still be a need at the local level by principals to make building decisions much like they do now.

Good for the area

Fr. Ricardo Martin, pastor at Sacred Heart, said this new system will be good for the City of Racine.

Its a system thats looking at growth, thats looking at improving the quality of education, Martin said. These things cost money. There is a sacrifice needed  (but) its not like a consolidation in times of crisis.

The archbishop said strong Catholic schools help improve the quality of the area and instill a level of faith in the community.

Part of our mission is education and part of that is evangelization, Listecki said. And the best way to do that is through the schools. So its imperative that we keep the schools viable and we keep the schools alive.

This story has been corrected since publication to reflect the correct name of the new school system.
Sony will release two more Android flagships by the end of the year, the Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer revealed during an investor conference held in Tokyo on Tuesday. The companys presentation from the conference covered all of its businesses, many of which are expected to post record profits in the fiscal year 2018 ending next March, and Sony specifically highlighted its smartphone unit as one division that has recently returned to profitability thanks to a new, significantly more streamlined product strategy. While the company confirmed that its planning to release two new high-end devices in the second half of 2017, it didnt reveal any more details on the matter.

Its currently unclear whether the upcoming smartphones will directly succeed the Xperia XZ Premium, though that doesnt seem likely given how Sonys latest Android flagship has yet to be officially released in most parts of the world. The company traditionally announced Xperia-branded smartphones at the Berlin-based IFA show thats starting on September 1 this year, so its possible that Sony is planning to unveil at least one of the upcoming flagships in Germany. Seeing how the firms Xperia XZ Premium is being released in the middle of the year, the other two devices may not compete with it directly and could instead serve as an alternative flagship lineup, something that many other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Samsung and Huawei already have. Sony has recently been opting for relatively early handset announcements, having debuted the Xperia XZ Premium at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in early March, months before the device was scheduled to hit the market. With that in mind, while the two upcoming flagships may be unveiled at IFA 2017, they likely wont be released until the holiday season, a traditionally lucrative period for phone vendors.

The Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer is also expected to start adopting mobile OLED displays in the near future, and the company recently hinted at releasing a device with an 18:9 aspect ratio, though it remains to be seen whether high-end Xperia devices go through any major design changes this year. More details about the companys future product lineup and its newfound focus on flagship handsets will likely be available in the coming months.
To say that Uber just cant seem to catch a break would probably be an understatement and the latest news out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  where Uber is conducting autonomous vehicle experimentation  isnt looking too good either. The company brought testing for its automated taxi service technologies to the city in early 2016. At the time, Mayor Bill Peduto was very receptive to the idea of being what he called a 21st-century laboratory for technology. Peduto says that promises were made by Uber in exchange for allowing the company to test in the city. However, many within the city are not happy with the results and do not believe that it has lived up to those promises. The problem itself seems to stem from a lack of communication between the city and Uber.

To begin with, Uber has started to charge for driverless rides. Those were allegedly pitched to the city as something that would be on offer for free. That may be understandable depending on the terms of the agreement between the company and city, or even if there were no official terms. It would have been somewhat naive to think that a for-profit company could offer free services indefinitely and remain operational and the company has explicitly said that it had always intended to charge for driverless rides at some point. If that werent enough, the company also backed out on supporting the citys application for a federal grant worth $50 million. That grant would have been used for the citys transportation infrastructure, but Uber says the citys requested $25 million private contribution was too much of an investment for the company.

Beyond those problems, residents of the city dont agree whether or not Uber has delivered on its promise to bring jobs into the municipality. Uber maintains that it has created 675 jobs in the area, in total. Some residents from the neighborhood where Ubers test track was created disagree. According to a local pastor, Tim Smith, the company told community members that jobs would be given to people from that neighborhood. Smith says that, as far as he knows, the company has actually not hired any of those residents that have applied, as far as hes aware. Instead of hiring actively from that neighborhood, applicants are forced to go through the companys job website. Meanwhile, other residents have expressed concerns about the effect Ubers self-driving cars will have on other areas of established employment and the citys finances. According to one group, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, there are 4,000 Uber drivers in the city and it is not known how automated vehicles will impact those drivers livelihoods. The groups executive director, Molly Nichols, also pointed out that a further negative result could be imminent because parking fees make up such a large portion of the citys revenue  at around 15 percent.

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Moreover, city employees have not been happy with the fact that of traffic data collected by Ubers self-driving vehicles has not been shared with the city. Uber has said that it has plans to share some of that information for use by Pittsburghs city planners once a deal can be reached. While officials have expressed that they dont believe the amount the company has historically shared with other cities has been enough, Uber says that it has not seen any proposals on that front.

Some of Ubers missteps in Pittsburgh may be understandable since Uber is, at the end of the day, a company that needs to make money to survive, according to Linda Bailey, the executive director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials. The city, she explains, really needed to put its own needs front and center, which is something the city really failed to do. Bailey further elaborates that the whole situation could be viewed as a cautionary tale with regard to that.

Uber, for its part, hasnt necessarily been a net-negative impact on the city either and the company has brought some benefits to Pittsburgh. In addition to the jobs Uber says it has created, the company has released a statement proclaiming that it is proud to be operating in Pittsburgh and to have put the city on the self-driving map. It also pointed to help it has provided to local organizations, including a womens shelter. Additionally, its facilities have also revived the local steel industry in the Strip District, though the city ultimately wants to get away from its steel-dependent past. Going forward, Uber has planned to install art along the testing areas as a way of improving its aesthetic impact on the communities it operates in and is open to proposals for sharing traffic data. Finally, the company has responded to complaints about jobs growth by reaching out to community leaders with offers to discuss job prospects, including job training for young adults in local neighborhoods. The actions taken by the company in response to the souring relationship between itself and Pittsburgh could turn out to be too little or too late, but it would also be difficult to not see the situation it as a great place for Uber to start repairing its public image.
A new Vodafone-branded smartphone which is manufactured by ZTE, the Vodafone 510, has been certified by the FCC. It is the first time that this phone has been spotted, but the FCC listing reveals a lot of information about the device which is substantial enough to get an idea of what to expect. It is an entry-level smartphone and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, features an all plastic build, and is 4G compatible. On the front panel, the Vodafone 510 features a front camera along with proximity and light sensors. The back of the device has a rear camera with LED flash on the top left side as well as Vodafone logo in the center. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, a micro USB charging port at the bottom, and volume jack & power button on the right side.

As for the camera app, it features Manual, Multi Exposure, and Time-lapse modes. Under the Manual mode, users will be able to play around with ISO, exposure, white balance, and time lapse interval settings to make most out of the phones camera. The phone also has microSD card support which should be good enough to meet your storage requirements considering that it is likely to be on the lower side of the internal storage being an entry-level device. The phone features a 2250mAh battery which is removable and supports Quick Charge 2.0 but you will have to buy a compatible fast charger separately to take benefits of fast charging. It means your phone will get charged at normal speed with the bundled charger. The phone is also NFC compatible which will allow users to use Android Pay and other such mobile payment apps supported by Android. Other than this, you will get usual features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

On the software front, the overall user experience of the software appears to be close to stock Android as per the screenshot included in the listing. It has navigation key icons similar to what we have seen on Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Interestingly, the user manual talks about split-screen mode which allows users to use two compatible apps side-by-side at the same time. Now, this means either the Vodafone 510 is running at least Android 7.0 Nougat or it is Android 6.0 Marshmallow device but with the split-screen mode in the custom UI. This is pretty much what is known about the upcoming Vodafone 510 smartphone at the moment but as the FCC has cleared the device, official announcement and launch should not be too far away.
RACINE  A 49-year-old man accused of child abuse and homicide in Milwaukee was arrested Wednesday in Racine.

Racine Police said the man was found on North Memorial Drive before 4 p.m. and taken into custody after a call from Milwaukee Police.

Its unclear what the man was doing in Racine but police said he is not a resident.

It all started after Milwaukee Police entered a house in Milwaukee about 1 p.m. to check for a child abuse suspect. The man allegedly struck a 5-year old family member, causing serious injuries that sent him to the hospital.

Believing the suspect was armed with a gun, a tactical team entered the Milwaukee home. Thats when officers found the body of a woman inside, the victim of an apparent homicide.

Now the man is facing charges in the death and child abuse case.
RACINE  A Racine woman is facing multiple charges of child abuse after allegedly disciplining young family members with her cane and a broom.

Pamela J. Foggs, 55, of the 1200 block of Schiller Street, was charged Thursday with four counts of child abuse intentionally causing bodily harm and one count of child abuse intentionally causing great bodily harm, all felonies.

According to the criminal complaint:

Investigators found that during a series of incidents on May 22, Foggs had allegedly hit five children in her care with either her cane, her hand or a broom handle. In one case, when the broom handle broke, Foggs allegedly used the broken end of the broom handle to cut a child in the arm.

Investigators reported Foggs had allegedly bragged to the children that she was strong enough to pick up a child and hold them against the wall.

Foggs allegedly told investigators the children were lying and fighting with others and that she gets real overwhelmed and that some of the children are little deviants.

As of Thursday evening, Foggs remained in the Racine County Jail, 717 Wisconsin Ave., on a $20,000 cash bond. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 31 in Racine County Circuit Court.

If convicted of the most serious charge, Foggs could see up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Another relative Africatera D. Riley, 38, of the same address, was also charged in the incident, accused of one felony count of child abuse.

Rileys bond is set at $5,000 and she is expected back in court for a preliminary hearing on June 1.

All five children as well as seven others were removed from the home by authorities, according to the complaint.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will focus on the Clean Armenia program and will propose the introduction of specialized waste disposal sanitary inspection agencies in communities, PM Karapetyan said during the Cabinet meeting.

The PM said the Clean Armenia action plans inter-agency commission submitted several proposals on waste management and sanitary cleaning.

We are going to strictly follow this program and it will be continuous. We specifically suggest to introduce the institution of waste disposal sanitary inspectors in communities. By yearend we plan to put forward a legislative initiative regarding a special legal act on regulating the waste management and sanitary cleaning sector, he said.

The PM tasked the acting minister of territorial administration and development to submit proposals within two weeks on introducing a special unit of administrative liability and fines for waste disposal in undesignated areas.

The minister was also tasked with presenting suggestions on improving the operations of troubled landfills and other issues relating to the proper implementation of waste management.
A growing number of key lawmakers in both parties are calling on Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller to detail what specifically his Russia investigation is targeting, with one Democratic senator warning bluntly that failing to do so could jeopardize the criminal probe into President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on a Judiciary subcommittee, told CNN Thursday that it's possible Flynn is cooperating with the Justice Department -- and that Capitol Hill has not been kept in the loop. He warned that congressional probes that have subpoenaed Flynn for records could undercut Mueller's investigation if the former national security adviser is secretly working with the Justice Department as part of its broader investigation into possible collusion between Russian officials and Trump associates during the campaign season.

"There is at least a reasonable hypothesis that Mike Flynn is already cooperating with the DOJ investigation and perhaps even has been for some time," said Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat.

Whitehouse added he had no direct evidence to suggest that Flynn is cooperating with the Justice Department. But he said there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that it could be the case, saying Mueller must immediately detail the situation to "deconflict" with probes on the Hill to "make sure that congressional investigations aren't inadvertently competing DOJ criminal investigations."

Flynn's attorney declined to comment when asked if his client was cooperating with the Justice Department.

The concerns speak to the mounting tension between the Hill investigation and the inquiry Mueller is now leading. Already, the Senate judiciary committee and House oversight committee have been stonewalled on their requests for documents, particularly for the memos FBI Director James Comey reportedly wrote about his conversations with Trump about the Russia investigation. And leaders of the Senate intelligence committee have asked to meet with Mueller to detail the path ahead.

On Thursday, the FBI declined to provide documents to the oversight committee, saying in a letter that the bureau was undergoing "appropriate consultation" with Mueller. The letter prompted a sharp response from House oversight chairman Jason Chaffetz, who told acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe that the committee's investigation is "central" to its oversight responsibilities.

"The committee has its own, constitutionally-based prerogative to conduct investigations," Chaffetz said, laying out a litany of records he wants from the FBI.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has grown frustrated that the FBI has not provided his panel with enough key information -- and instead provided some of that information to the Senate intelligence committee even though his panel has jurisdiction over the bureau. And he told CNN earlier this week that he was prepared to subpoena the Comey memos if he had to.

"I haven't made a decision yet," Grassley said when asked about issuing subpoenas to the Justice Department. "If we have to, I think you'll have find Democrats willing to do it too."

Whitehouse, whose Judiciary subcommittee is investigating Russia meddling, said he's "willing to grant them a little bit of space" to respond to the panel's requests. "But it's limited."

The Rhode Island Democrat said there are number of factors that suggest Flynn is working the Justice Department in its probe. He pointed out that "all reporting indicates they've got him dead to rights on a false statement felony" in his private interview with the FBI over his conversations last year with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He also noted that Flynn has gone silent and retroactively signed on as a foreign agent to Turkey. And he noted that a federal grand jury has been summoned and has issued subpoenas to Flynn associates.

"So none of that proves anything but it's all consistent with the hypothesis that he's already cooperating," Whitehouse told CNN.

"But that's certainly a hypothetical case of a time when we do need need this de-confliction apparatus in place to make sure that congressional investigations aren't inadvertently competing DOJ criminal investigations."

Whitehouse added that there's confusion about the structure of the investigation, including where other key players fall, like senior Justice official Dana Boente, who had been leading the Russia investigation.

"Clarifying that, I think, is also something that Mueller may want to tell us about," Whitehouse said. "But one way or the other, we need an answer. We need to understand what the structure is."

The chairman of the Whitehouse's committee, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, has sounded alarms that the Mueller investigation will impede Congress' separate investigation into Russia.

"The appointment of the special counsel is really taking Congress more out of the loop and diminished our ability to investigate," Graham said last week.
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Astana-Yerevan first direct flight will operate on May 31, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia H.E. Timur Urazayev said at the meeting with the teaching staff of the Institutes of the National Academy of Sciences, reports Armenpress.

When I came to Armenia a year ago, my friends, also the Minister of Transport, the Prime Minister told me it is necessary to have direct flights. Finally, we do it. Everyone can buy ticket and arrive in Astana in 3-4 hours, moreover, the tariffs are more affordable, the Ambassador said, stating the Astana-Yerevan direct flights will be carried out twice a week.

In late March the Kazakh SCAT airline announced launching Astana-Yerevan direct flights.
Allen & Overy has announced some changes to the way the firm is run including the formation of an executive committee and a client group.The aim is to better support growth of the global firm and client relationship management; including new forums to strengthen its governance and leadership.The executive committee will be co-chaired by the senior partner and managing partner and will comprise representatives from practice groups, regions and the new client group.That client group will also be co-chaired by the senior partner and managing partner and will be structured around industry sectors.These are forward-looking changes that will allow us to use our global network even more effectively to deliver the services our clients want, said A&O managing partner Andrew Ballheimer. They maintain the best collaborative strengths of our partnership while providing clear and accountable leadership.The executive committee and client group will both work closely with the firms board. Hogan Lovells says that many brand owners are leaving too little time for trademark clearance searches with two thirds doing so less than 3 months before filing.The global law firm has surveyed in-house counsel in 200 businesses across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America and discovered that 40% of brand owners file a trademark application less than 3 months before launching a product or service.In-house counsel have indicated to us that they would dearly like to have more time to adequately clear and apply for trademarks prior to launch but, unfortunately, the business reality is that they are not given that luxury," commented Lloyd Parker, Asia Pacific and Middle East Head of IP at Hogan Lovells.The survey also revealed that many businesses are taking a wait and see approach to filing trademarks for post-Brexit Britain. Most are unsure of the best course of action.Asia Pacific has a lower rate of online trademark misuse with less than a quarter of respondents reporting it compared to more than three-quarters in North America and two thirds in Europe. However, the report says that regular screening for online misuse is lower in Asia Pacific at 20% compared to 50% in Europe and North America.A defendant has been jailed in the UK after calling the judge mate.Asked how he would pay outstanding fines, 35-year-old Sebastian Stroud told Judge Simon Cooper Im not working mate.The rattled judge rebuked the defendant "I am not your mate. I am not going to be spoken to like that," before warning him that he was in danger of Contempt of Court.Stroud was taken to the cells at Swindon Magistrates Court but was released hours later.
The US Supreme Court has reversed a longstanding convention regarding how patent-infringements lawsuits are handled, making it harder for so-called patent trolls to pursue cases in sympathetic courts.Patent trolls are individuals or organisations that profit from suing over patents, even if they do not make any products of their own. They prefer to file cases in courts like the US District Court in Eastern Texas, which is reputed for rules and juries that favour plaintiffs in patent-infringement suits. The court attracts the most patent infringement suits in the US.In a decision handed down on 22 May, the Supreme Courts justices unanimously voted that patent suits can be filed only in jurisdictions where defendants are incorporated, siding with water flavouring maker TC Heartland in a case against Kraft Foods, Reuters reported.TC Heartland, which got sued by Kraft Foods in Delaware, wanted to move the case to its home base in Indiana. The district court and appeals court judges who heard the case both didnt allow the transfer.The Supreme Courts decision overturns a 2016 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That ruling said that patent suits can be filed anywhere a defendants products are sold. The federal appeals court has been using a similar rule since 1990.Individuals and businesses in the U.S. have been unfairly required for decades to defend patent suits in far off locales, adding cost, complexity and unpredictably to the intellectual property marketplace, said Ted Gelov, TC Heartland CEO.The ruling is expected to have a large impact on the technology industry, which sees a very high volume of intellectual property cases each year.
Sure, replacing a 911's flat-six with a V8, be it a GM-sourced motor or not, is a move that will infuriate purists and none-purists alike. Nevertheless, we can now talk about a beaten bath and the 996 machine we're here to discuss brings the most recent example of this.We discussed this senior Neunelfer earlier this month, when we brought you the tale of its heart attack. To put things shortly, the 248,000-mile sportscar lost its engine during a track day.Given the $9,500 price that Tyle Hoover had paid for the Porscha , the engine failure didn't come as that much of a surprise.And we're now back on the topic to let you know that the 911 driver has decided to go for the LS swap mentioned above. As you'll be able to notice in his latest clip, which you can find at the bottom of the page, Hoover found a specialist that handles such swaps. And it seems that, strictly from the financial point of view, choosing the slab of America over an engine rebuild or other possible revival versions was a no-brainer. To be more precise, the swap should set the owner back around $10,000.This 911 Carrera will be gifted with a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette LS2 motor, with the V8 having served its previous host for around 50,000 miles. So yes, this Neunelfer is in for a 400 hp trip.As for the reason for which the boxer mill of the German machine decided to give up, the clip also answers this question and we're asking the faint-hearted among you to skip this part of the video.
EV

On the one hand, you have Tesla, the company that started it all with the factory in Nevada that has come to be known as the Gigafactory. Elon Musk's company is guilty of driving demand up as well, considering how it is now getting ready to ship up to 500,000 electric vehicles a year by 2018.But others have similar plans as well. Mercedes-Benz has launched its EQ brand for alternative mobility and is expected to release a few capable electric vehicles of its own in no more than two years. Since the batteries make up a large part of an electric vehicle's production cost, the companies see no reason in giving all that money to a third-party supplier, so they're very much willing to build them themselves.Daimler has just announced the construction of a battery plant near Berlin, in Germany, an investment that's going to set the company back for around $600 million. It won't be the biggest battery factory in the world, then, but it will be largest in Europe when it's done. Volkswagen is another carmaker with big electric plans. Unlike Tesla , it already has production capabilities over in China, which is still the world's biggestmarket. Together with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC Motor), the Germans have just had a $730 million deal approved that would see them build 100,000 EVs there.With almost every traditional manufacturer ready to release at least one fully-electric model before 2020, if not a whole range of them, lithium-ion battery cells are most likely not going to be left on the shelves. In fact, there might even be a penury.Not if more companies like Energy Absolute Pcl have anything to say about it. The Thailand-based solar projects specialist announced it is ready to invest $2.9 billion in the construction of a battery plant that would have a yearly output of 50 GWh.Talking to Bloomberg , company CEO Amorn Sapthaweekul said the final location had not been decided yet, but he hoped it would be somewhere in Thailand. We will choose just one location for the manufacturing plant," he said. "We would prefer to have the plant in Thailand, which will be beneficial for the countrys development. Still, we need to see clear government policy.The plan is to announce the location by the end of next month and have a section of the plant up and running before the end of next year. That's a pretty tight schedule, but we've become used to the speed with which things are happening now.Lithium-ion batteries have long been associated with mobile devices like phones and laptops, and then electric vehicles, but a new market is opening up for them: stationary power storage units for domestic and industrial use. No, there is absolutely no risk of having too many battery factories any time soon.
The news comes from German daily Handelsblatt, who quoted the prosecutors office in Stuttgart regarding the inquiry. Bosch employees are suspected of aiding and abetting others in connection with the case that has Daimler AG as its subject.A spokesperson for the prosecutors bureau told the journalists the information presented above, without mentioning how many employees are involved.As Automotive News remarks, officials from Bosch or the district attorneys office were unavailable for comment. Since Bosch is a supplier for many other automakers, including Daimler AG, it is plausible that someone believed that the firm would have had knowledge of any cheating activity of its customers.It is fair to note that the same supplier is a defendant in a case along with Volkswagen AG , as it supplied the Wolfsburg-based brand its ECUs, Injectors, and many other parts required for the operation of diesel-engined vehicles.The officials of the same company denied any wrongdoing the last time they were accused of knowing anything about VWs cheating scheme.However, it may seem that German investigators do not care that much about how much did Bosch knew about any deception plan, and there is a possibility that some people within the company may have had other plans and ideas. Until the investigation is over, we cannot be sure what happened between Bosch and its partners.At the end of the day, we can presume the innocence of the supplier until it is proven to be guilty in this case. Evidently, it is fair to suspect this and that, but it is not appropriate to point the finger at a company and play the blame game in a gratuitous manner.Until Bosch or Daimler are proven guilty, both companies are just investigated over fears regarding a possible problem with the emissions of the diesel engines they built.
And it looks like the densely-populated Asia region is its new target as the bike making manufacturer announced its plans for opening up a new factory there. Harley-Davidson Inc. said this week it will build a new plant in Thailand, which is a major Asian automotive hub and will allow the company to be more responsive and competitive in the Asean region and China, according to relations manager Katie Whitmore.The new facility is supposed to allow H-D avoid Thailands big tariff on imported motorcycles and help it get tax breaks when exporting to neighboring countries thanks to a trade arrangement among the ASEAN members.The new factory will build new Harley-Davidson motorcycles from completely knock-down kits (CKD) that will be imported from manufacturers and suppliers in the United States. The new bikes promise to look, sound, and feel as authentic as the ones made in its other factories.Harley has two more overseas facilities, one in Brazil and the most recent one opened in India. The bikes that will be made in Thailand will support sales in China and southeastern Asia, adding up to the companys plans of growing international business to half of annual sales by 2027.The Milwaukee-based company also plans to launch 100 new motorcycles by 2027 as well as grow its business without enlarging its environmental impact.Back in the country, people are saying that building Harley bikes outside the US will put in jeopardy the success that propelled the company so far over the years. However, the iconic brand said the move will not impact the business in its homeland, and it doesnt intend to decrease production in America.The Thailand assembly plant is expected to be operational in late 2018.
The state Legislatures budget-writing committee voted on Thursday to require some Wisconsin residents using food stamps and receiving public health care to be tested for drug use and to meet work requirements in exchange for benefits.

The Joint Finance Committee, the states budget-writing panel, voted 12-4 to approve Walkers plan that would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to make drug tests mandatory for Medicaid recipients and would impose tests on adult food stamp recipients without dependent children seeking coverage through the states BadgerCare program.

Some parents with children over the age of 6 who are enrolled in the states FoodShare program, which administers federally funded food stamps in Wisconsin, also would be required to work or look for employment for at least 80 hours per month under another measure proposed by Walker that the panel approved Thursday. The work requirement currently only applies to FoodShare recipients without children.

The panel scaled back the governors proposal by applying the work requirement to parents using food stamps in certain regions of the state between April 2019 and June 2020 and not allowing the requirements to be applied statewide until an evaluation indicates it should be.

Republicans on the panel approved the measures over Democrats objection to its effect on some of the states poorest residents.

It is one thing to deny food stamps or W-2 benefits to poor people  to deny health care is another thing altogether, said Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh.

Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, R-Clinton, said the proposals are a balanced approach to improving the workforce in Wisconsin and welcomed federal block grants to allow state lawmakers to make decisions about how welfare services are provided.

Were not releasing the funding until we know were going to get what we expect and what we expect is a better workforce for Wisconsin, Loudenbeck said about requiring an evaluation of requiring parents on FoodShare to work.

All the proposals require federal approval, which the Walker administration is requesting. The administration also is asking federal officials to charge monthly BadgerCare premiums to childless adults and charge more to people engaging in risky health behaviors.

The GOP lawmakers plan also calls for the budget panel to sign off on the Medicaid changes, should they be approved by federal officials, before they take effect. Under the plans, people seeking benefits would have to undergo screening, with potential drug tests contingent on their responses.

Walker has proposed expanding drug-test and work requirements for a range of public programs. He and other supporters say the requirements prepare benefit recipients to enter the workforce.

Critics of the moves, which include Democrats and some advocacy groups, have said the drug tests, in particular, are meant to shame public-benefit recipients but wont deter drug use.

The panel also supported Walkers plan to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes and personal care providers. Both would receive 2 percent reimbursement hikes in each of the next two years under Walkers plan.

Personal care services are provided to people with disabilities and chronic health conditions to assist with tasks such as eating and meal preparation, dressing, light housework and shopping.

During Thursdays Medicaid debate, Democrats on the budget panel highlighted what advocates describe as uncertainty with federal health care funding created by President Donald Trumps proposal for the next federal budget. Programs such as BadgerCare, EBD Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, are funded with both state and federal dollars.

Also Thursday, Walker said splitting transportation funding from the larger state budget, as some Republican lawmakers have suggested, could delay work on critical highway projects.

Walker spoke publicly Thursday at an event in Neenah, near the site of a project to expand Highway 10/Highway 441.

The only way we have troubles with major projects like this  is if we dont have a transportation budget by July 1, Walker told reporters Thursday.

The 10/441 project is one of four major highway expansions that Walker has proposed to fund in his transportation budget proposal, keeping their construction on track for the next two years. Others include an expansion of Interstate 39/90 from the Madison Beltline to the Illinois state line, of Verona Road from Raymond Road to McKee Road and of Highway 15 in Outagamie County.

For months, the transportation debate has centered on whether to increase gas taxes or vehicle fees to ease the states growing backlog of road and bridge projects. Walker opposes the move, and proposed a budget that would hold the line on taxes and fees and increase funding for local roads while slashing funds for freeway projects in southeast Wisconsin.

The plan also relies on $500 million in borrowing. Thats a key point of contention between Walker and some legislative Republicans wary of putting more on the states credit card.

Legislative Democrats and some Republicans say tax and fee increases should be considered for the transportation budget.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke insisted that Assembly Republicans arent halting progress on the transportation budget.

Im renewing my call on the Governor and the State Senate to come forward with a true, conservative plan that fixes our roads and pays for it without borrowing at the peril of our children, Steineke said.
The press photos for this car all show the e-brake installed behind the shifter and accompanied by a drive mode button shaped like a little flower. But the center console for the cars with a manual handbrake is different. It's got two large cupholders and no place to put your key fob.At first, we thought this was down to the market where it's sold, as other companies water down their performance cars to make them cheaper. But no; we found both configurations on German dealer's lots. It's not a part of the adaptive cruise control package, which all the cars seem to have too.Our current best guess is that the e-brake is part of the premium package that gives you Alcantara seats, which costs about 2,000 extra. All the cars we found had cloth seats that aren't available in the German configurator. That could explain why a car with 10 or so kilometers on the clock is on sale for around 22,000 when it's actually supposed to cost around 30,000.Overall, the cabin of the currently sportiest Megane is a nice place, thanks to a set of digital dials, the portrait screen, blue accents, ambient lighting and horn-like paddle shifters that are visible from a mile away. But the Alcantara pack definitely makes things better.If you'd like to know more about the car, read or test drive review . But in a nutshell, it's got lower and stiffer suspension, a body kit and the 1.6-liter turbo engine from the Clio RS plus some extra power: 205 PS and 280 Nm of torque. The 7-speed EDC gearbox comes standard and has got a wet-clutch configuration, so it's smoother. Also standard is a four-wheel steering system called 4Control, which unfortunately adds about 40 kilos to the back axle. Oh, and did we mention the right exhaust is fake?
AMG

The next #PTSRS Exclusive. 82N: The final PTS 991.1 GT3 RS delivered. Stay tuned. A post shared by #PTSRS | Will Lee (@ptsrs) on May 9, 2017 at 5:08am PDT

We're dealing with the polarizing Ruby Star hue, one that's popular among our editors. The rear-engined delight has recently arrived at Porsche Centre Bangkok in Thailand.The Instagram report also mentions that this is the third documented Ruby Star 991 GT3 RS in the world, while making for the only such Neunelfer on silver wheels. The hue of the wheels is also used for the badging on the doors and posterior of the vehicle.As for the cabin, it seems that the sea of black leather adorning the interior of the Porscha features Guards Red contrast stitching - for the record, this was color used for the launch of the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3.If you happen to belong to the camp that shows love to this hue, we'll remind you that we showed you a 2017 Porsche 911 R dressed in Ruby Star. As a coincidence, the said rear-engined delight we're talking about also features silver wheels.As for what comes next, the automaker is almost ready to introduce the 991.2 incarnation of the Rennsport Neunelfer. We've spied the 2018 911 GT3 RS on countless occasions and while the 991.2 GT3 has brought back the manual, you shouldn't expect the RS model to follow suit. And that's because Andreas Preuninger, the man helming Porsche's GT Division, has let it slip that the track special will come in PDK-only form.The lap time focus here is obvious and, speaking of Ring numbers, since the revamped GT3 can lap the Green Hell in 7:12.7, we'll get to see the GT3 RS allowing Porsche fans to talk about the 7:10 asset of the Mercedes-GT R being left behind.
Just a few months after raising $100 million from China's Didi Chuxing, 99, a Brazil-based ride-hailing company in Latin America, has added $100 million in new funding from SoftBank.

Caveat: Though SoftBank finally closed most of its $100 billion Vision Fund, its investment into 99 isn't from it. Due to conflicts of interest, the Vision Fund won't finance ride-hailing companies. Same goes for SoftBank's recent investment in Didi's massive $6 billion round.

Though SoftBank finally closed most of its $100 billion Vision Fund, its investment into 99 isn't from it. Due to conflicts of interest, the Vision Fund won't finance ride-hailing companies. Same goes for SoftBank's recent investment in Didi's massive $6 billion round. Mutually beneficial: Bringing SoftBank as an investor is one of the benefits 99 is getting out of its relationship with Didi Chuxing, CEO Peter Fernandez told Axios, adding that access to capital in Latin America is nowhere as easy as in the U.S. or Asia. Another benefit is learning from Didi and its tactics. Though their respective markets are unique, they do have important similarities, such as low car ownership rates and per capital income. For Didi, this is a way for the company to expand internationally, in line with its plans to "play a global game."

Bringing SoftBank as an investor is one of the benefits 99 is getting out of its relationship with Didi Chuxing, CEO Peter Fernandez told Axios, adding that access to capital in Latin America is nowhere as easy as in the U.S. or Asia. Another benefit is learning from Didi and its tactics. Though their respective markets are unique, they do have important similarities, such as low car ownership rates and per capital income. For Didi, this is a way for the company to expand internationally, in line with its plans to "play a global game." Family awkwardness: Didi Chuxing is also an investor in Uber, 99's biggest rival in Latin America, and sits on the boards of both companies. With that said, Fernandez says he's not worried about Didi's relationship with Uber at all.
U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd called leaks to the U.S. press about the investigation into Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester "irritating," and warned that it "should never happen again," reports CNN. Many of the details that were disclosed following the initial reports of the blast, which left 22 dead and many more injured, were traced back to U.S. law enforcement sources.

"The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise," said Rudd on BBC Radio's "Today" program Wednesday. "So it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again."

The UK Police Chiefs Council also released a statement reading in part:

"We greatly value the important relationships we have with our... partners around the world.... When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations."

The leaks: As Newsweek points out, NBC News was one of the first media organizations to report an initial death toll of 20 people, citing U.S. officials briefed by British authorities. Other news publications were quick to follow with reports that referenced American officials, who appeared to get their information from the U.K. And on Tuesday, the day after the attack, NBC and CBS revealed the identity of the attacker before British authorities had released official confirmation.
25 May 2017 16:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenia continues to tense the situation along the frontline with new provocations. Besides constantly violating the ceasefire with Azerbaijan, the occupant forces deliberately set fire to Azerbaijani territories.

Thus, Armenians set fire to the occupied Boyuk Marjanli village of Azerbaijans Jabrayil region on Wednesday morning, APA reported.

The fire has spread across a larger area due to the windy weather.

The aggressors frequently commit arsons in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, particularly in summer, which also spread to villages located near the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops.

The Armenian side, committing provocations, deliberately seeks to cause harm to Azerbaijan and its people by making life at the border difficult and risky. Villages in Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Tartar and other Azerbaijani regions frequently face such destructive acts by Armenian soldiers.

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.

Despite a fragile ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, Armenia keeps violating armistice with Azerbaijan by regular provocations on the contact line of troops.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
25 May 2017 18:09 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans Defense Ministry has accused Armenia of systematic blackmail and slander against international organizations.

The ministry was commenting on the news of Armenian media, which reported that the Azerbaijani side allegedly did not take the OSCE mission to front positions during a monitoring of the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

The OSCE mission has officially confirmed that the monitoring, held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Tartar region, passed without an incident, the ministry said.

The Armenian side, also reported that the monitoring was carried out in accordance with the schedule and that the ceasefire was not violated during the monitoring. They also said the Azerbaijani side allegedly did not take the OSCE mission to the front positions during the monitoring, the ministry said, stressing that such provocative news was also spread after the monitoring held on March 1.

Once again we state that in accordance with the monitoring mechanism, international observers contact the sides of the conflict in advance and determine the date, place to be monitored and other details, the ministry said. Field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative confirm that the monitoring has been held. If any of the sides creates problems during the monitoring, the observers will first spread such information.

The ministry emphasized that Armenia, regularly spreading such slanderous information, pursues the goal of systematically blackmailing the international organizations, trying to cast a shadow on their activity and undermine their credibility.

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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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
25 May 2017 13:41 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Latvia and Azerbaijan are keen to expand economic cooperation. The issue was discussed at a meeting of Bakus Ambassador to Riga Javanshir Akhundov with Azerbaijani businessmen working in this country.

The sides discussed opportunities for expanding trade ties and increasing trade turnover between the two countries.

Akhundov stressed that the political dialogue between the countries is at a high level, while noted the need for corresponding intensive growth in field of economic cooperation.

He further mentioned several important projects that could increase bilateral economic ties, including Azerbaijan's participation in the ZUBR container train project, which connects transport hubs in the Baltic, Black and Caspian regions.

In turn, Azerbaijani entrepreneurs put forward a number of proposals for the development of economic and trade relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan.

They stressed the need to open direct flights to strengthen trade relations and the importance of opening a trade house of Azerbaijan in Riga.

Earlier, Latvian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Juris Maklakovs stressed that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia decreased by 28.93 percent in 2016 as compared to 2015, adding that however, the volume of services rose, which indicates the availability of capacity in this area.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia for the first quarter of 2017 amounted to more than $350,000, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament [Milli Majlis], Ogtay Asadov will visit Latvia next week to discuss the strengthening of parliamentary and economic relations.

Asadov is expected to hold a meeting with President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament Inara Murniece, Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis and Economy Minister Arvils Aseradens.

Priority areas of cooperation between the two countries include joint investment projects, effective use of international transportation corridors, education, agriculture, construction, tourism and health.

Latvia considers Azerbaijan an important partner in the field of transit and logistics in the South Caucasus region.

Republic of Latvia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1992. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1994. The embassy of Azerbaijan, which is also the first Azerbaijani embassy in the Baltic countries, was opened in Latvia in 2005. The Latvian embassy in Azerbaijan has started its activities since 2006.

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25 May 2017 15:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

There are no restrictions or problems at the International Bank of Azerbaijan concerning the withdrawal of deposits, Deputy Finance Minister Azer Bayramov said on May 25.

He made the remarks at a meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Committee for Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship.

I believe the banks management has given sufficient explanations in this regard. Now anyone can withdraw their deposits from the bank, but I think there is no reason and need to do that as debt restructuring covers foreign creditors only, Bayramov said.

He reminded that currently, management of the IBA and the Finance Ministry  IBAs main shareholder  are negotiating with these creditors for debt restructuring.

The International Bank of Azerbaijan has been operating since 1992 and is one of the countrys two state-owned banks.

The IBA has suspended payments on some liabilities and is seeking support from creditors to restructure more than $3 billion of debt.

The bank ran into problems in 2015 when bad loans built up. President Ilham Aliyev, on International Monetary Fund advice, ordered its balance sheet be cleaned up and the bank sold off, but no sale has occurred. The government has already taken over $5 billion in bad loans from the IBA.

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25 May 2017 18:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The Leningrad Region is ready to provide logistical support to the promotion of Azerbaijani goods into major Russian and European markets, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said at a meeting with Azerbaijan's Consul General in St. Petersburg Sultan Gasimov.

The governor noted that the region is ready to significantly expand ties with Azerbaijan in the trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural spheres.

Drozdenko stressed the active participation of the representatives of Azerbaijani diaspora in public projects and events of the cultural life of the region, interest in expanding contacts in the spheres of culture and social relations. "We see great potential for expanding economic cooperation," he added.

In turn, Gasimov said that the most important task is to preserve and develop ties in the humanitarian and cultural sphere, maintain friendly and good-neighborly relations in the spirit of strategic partnership.

He noted the importance of the format of the Russian-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission and invited the delegation of the Leningrad region to visit Azerbaijan this year.

Russia is one of the largest importers of Azerbaijani agro-products. Azerbaijan in recent years has increased the export of fruits and vegetables to the southern neighbour. Even in winter Azerbaijan exports tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplants grown in greenhouses to Russia.

Azerbaijan is one of the main economic partners of Russia among the CIS countries. Interregional cooperation plays an important role in the development of Russian-Azerbaijani trade and economic relations and the increase in trade turnover.

The trade turnover between Russia and Azerbaijan amounted to almost $2 billion in 2016.

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25 May 2017 11:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

A charity festival was held in "Turkistan" Republican Palace for Tashkent boarding schools.

The event was organized at the initiative of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan Cultural Centre named after Heydar Aliyev, subordinated to the embassy, according to Report.az.

The event was devoted to May 28 - the Republic Day of Azerbaijan and the embassy became an official sponsor of the festival.

About 1,000 disabled and orphaned children of boarding schools, representatives of Tashkent City Administration, Uzbekistan Trade Union attended the event.

Deputy Chairman of Tashkent Trade Unions Omon Topilov, addressing the event, assessed the support given to the charitable festival as an example of friendship.

Hailing friendly ties between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Director of the Cultural Center Samir Abbasov spoke about the great responsibility that rests with the future generation, i.e. children, in strengthening of friendship and development of relations between the two nations.

During the festival, "Azrbaycan qzlar" and "Kicik fidanlar" dance groups performed national dances.

At the end of event, Azerbaijan Cultural Centre named after Heydar Aliyev presented gifts to 15 boarding schools and orphanages in Tashkent.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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26 May 2017 00:48 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan's State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater has staged "Intizar" opera to mark the 70th anniversary of prominent composer Firangiz Alizade.

Many art and public figures, as well as her admirers attended the event.

The "Intizar" opera once again demonstrated that it is one of the most vivid and powerful works of art devoted to the Karabakh, Theater's Main Conductor Javanshir Jafarov said when addressing the event.

Bright, caring, exciting and, at the same time, complex music requires performers not only skill, but also the soul and dedication. The cast and the choir perfectly coped with the task, recreating the very real life situations and characters on the stage, he added.

He said that "Intizar" is not just opera, but opera-oratorio, which features not only national culture, national language, but also historical pain of the Azerbaijani people.

Frangiz Alizada is an Azerbaijani composer and pianist, currently living in Germany. She is best known for her works which combine the musical tradition of the Azerbaijani Mugam and 20th century Western compositional techniques, especially those of Arnold Schonberg and Gara Garayev.

Firangiz Alizadas works have been performed at festivals in Stockholm, Warsaw, London, Heidelberg, Amsterdam, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Frankfurt, Berlin, Zurich, Bonn and Cologne.

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25 May 2017 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The work has been completed on creation of the telecommunication infrastructure in the liberated Jojug Marjanli village of Azerbaijans Jabrayil region, a source in the telecommunication market told Trend on May 24.

The interlocutor informed that the commissioning of the telecommunications network in Jojug Marjanli is expected on May 28  it will be timed to the Republic Day celebrated in Azerbaijan.

The work was carried out in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. Specialists of Aztelecom already visited the village and assessed the work done.

The source noted that strengthening of the telecommunication infrastructure in Jojug Marjanli will make the village a distribution point for the further expansion of telecommunications services to other villages.

Currently, Jojug Marjanli is provided with a telephone station and a 10-kilometer optical line coming from Fizuli region, allowing the operator to provide other multimedia services, along with the services of communication and the Internet.

Jojug Marjanli village was fully liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016, when Azerbaijani Armed Forces prevented an Armenian provocation on the contact line. To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani army launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region.

In late January 2017, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli. Under the order, 4 million manats were allocated for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage.

Moreover, President signed an order on additional measures to construct the road leading to the liberated Jojug Marjanli village and allocated 4.3 million manats from the state budget for the construction of 9 km long highway in the village.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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25 May 2017 17:19 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The unresolved Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may aggravate even more as the Armenian side came up with another provocation against Azerbaijan.

Armenia has made attempts to organize flights from the Khojaly airport in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan under the guise of tourism.

This plan of Armenia to operate the airport in Khojaly is gross violation of international legal norms. This air space belongs to Azerbaijan, therefore, its use by Armenia is not possible.

The idea of Armenia to operate the Azerbaijani airport is not new  its roots were laid back in 2011. Besides Azerbaijan itself, many international organizations and foreign countries condemned Armenia's attempts to operate the airport in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Opening of the airport in Khojaly will be a blatant violation of legal norms that can damage peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry immediately responded to the Armenian provocation, calling the OSCE Minsk Group to address the issue as soon as possible.

Azerbaijan calls on the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, responsible for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, to take measures to prevent another Armenian provocation, Foreign Ministrys Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend on May 25.

He noted that Armenias plans to organize flights from the Khojaly airport in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian armed forces under the guise of tourism is another Armenian provocation. Such actions seriously damage the negotiation process and deliberately serve to escalate the conflict, said the spokesperson.

He added that the airspace of the occupied territories is the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

The Khojaly airport is Azerbaijans property by the special code of the International Civil Aviation Organization, said Hajiyev. Azerbaijan banned flights in the airspace over the occupied territories, since it is impossible to ensure the safety of flights in this part of Azerbaijans airspace.

The spokesman added that this position of Azerbaijan is supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Civil Aviation Conference.

Armenias attempts to use the Khojaly airport and organize illegal flights is a gross violation of the Law on Aviation of Azerbaijan, peremptory norms and principles of international law, the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, rules and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Hajiyev stressed.

He assured that Azerbaijan, using international legal means in order to prevent another provocation by Armenia, will appeal to relevant international bodies.

The State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan has also responded to the Armenian provocation. The Administration told Trend that they will take measures to prevent illegal flights from the Khojaly airport, in accordance with the Law on Aviation and Rules of Use of Airspace of Azerbaijan.

Taking into account that the Khojaly airport is located in the Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and it is impossible to ensure full flight safety in these areas, the State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan declared this territory a forbidden zone for civil aviation in accordance with the Law on Aviation, noted the administration.

It was also noted that official information about the prohibition of flights is also contained in the Aeronautical Information Publication of Azerbaijan.

To prevent any illegal flights in this area, measures will be taken in accordance with the Law on Aviation and the Rules of use of airspace of Azerbaijan, the administration noted.

International flights from the Khojaly airport, constructed in 1978, were prohibited after the occupation of territories by Armenia. Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

The town of Khojaly suffered the most mournful massacre of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On February 26, 1992, as many as 613 civilians of the town were cruelly massacred by Armenian armed forces. Only Azerbaijan has the right to operate the Khojaly airport, after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is over, and more than a million of Azerbaijani refugees return to their homes in the region.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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25 May 2017 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Zumrud Jalilova

The objective is to present the subject of gender issues in the workplace of the aviation industry and tourism. More specifically, the article addresses the continuing gender imbalance by making some relevant issues and challenges that women face pursuing career in the male-dominated industry more visible. The article raises both theoretical and practical issues, endeavouring to address the imbalance of women pilots in this occupation. It is also hoped it will encourage young women to identify and overcome the barriers to becoming a civilian pilot.

Women have been flying since the beginning of the twentieth century (Corn, 1979; Stepanski, 2012) and flying commercially for over four decades. It is 2017 and today in the world of globalisation and technology, seems like women are perceived as being as powerful as men in most parts of the developed world. However, there is still a great imbalance in one of the most intensely competitive industries that has a huge impact on global and national economies.

Women continue to be underrepresented in a global industry that provides transportation and employment of people and goods internationally and domestically. In the industry, that plays a significant role in manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, supply chains, and tourism (Saner, 2014). Speaking about tourism, it has become a crucial process in world affairs, generating income and profits for private companies, various businesses and governments, creating both well-payed careers and exploitive jobs, and alluring millions of people to visit other parts of the globe.

Tourism has become big business and the concept is very gendered. Gendered history shows that femininity referred to sticking close to home, and masculinity, has been defined as passport for travel. Some women, though, may have inadvertently reinforced the patriarchal link between unrespectable womanhood and geographical mobility with their own gestures of bold disobedience using bumper sticker on well-traveled vans in the 1980s: Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere (Enloe, 2014; Douglas, 2004). Furthermore, a patriarchal version of nationalist pride for countrys beautiful women can pour fuel onto these international beauty competitions among countries and companies (Germain, 2012). Tempting people to spend money on traveling to particular countries, promoting tourism and willing to meet the expectations of foreigners by using womens beauty and bodies. Business people know that a tourist can take multiple forms. Subsequently, it brings us to sex trafficking. Investigating developed sex tourism  men traveling to Thailand, to Cambodia, to Cuba, to Ukraine, to the Dominican Republic. One should also ask how voluntary, intimidated or coerced are the women in sexualised commerce and pay attention to terms like sex workers, trafficked women, sex slaves, and women in prostitution, which can confuse anyone who hasnt done detailed research (Chin, 2013; Barry, 2007).

From the very beginning, tourism has been a powerful drive for global integration and formula for development. The question is where do women stand in this overwhelmingly profitable industry? When was the last time that you heard this is your captain speaking from a female voice? To answer this simple question many would be racking their brains. The reason for it is that there really are not that many women pilots (Anderson, 2014). Most of the people remember women as flight attendants also known as stewardesses, air hostesses, or cabin attendants that are employed by airlines to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft (Grossman, 2010). Today hundreds of women are hired to work as service personnel by different airlines but not as pilots. What we see today are masculinized businesses with feminization of airline cabin crews, which is not perceived as simply oppressive by most of the women hired to be flight attendants (Colgan and Tomlinson, 1996). Enloe (2014, p. 66) claims that many of these women saw their employment as comfortably meshed with respectable femininity and as opening doors for paid careers and global travel. However, there have been two radical changes for many women working as part of the cabin crew: the aggravation of their in-flight working conditions and the growing number of male executives who attempted to sexualize stewardesses and their services for the sake of corporate mass marketing (Enloe, 2014).

Gender matters. It is very comfortable nowadays for many commentators to narrate the story of women facing challenges as specific cases or refer to gendered professions and classic example of womens physical deficiency or immobility. Furthermore, women may be mentioned, filmed and photographed, yet they are rarely interviewed by mainstream journalists about their career challenges and complex experiences in the aviation or tourism industry (Davey and Davidson, 2000). Men are much more likely to be visible and interviewed about their experiences by journalists (Ashcraft, 2005). It is the premeditated manipulation of ideas about girls and women, and of notions of femininity that empowers those who try to cheapen womens labour and represent their roles as secondary and auxiliary referring to natural differences that characterise and define the priorities, roles, payments and choices of people. In the Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation, Bridges and Neal-Smith (2016) describe the conducted studies to explain the prejudices and supposed differences between men and women claimed by some people. They has investigated that no significant differences were demonstrated during the testing of women in comparison to their male counterparts, even across the menstrual cycle in women on the contraceptive pills.

Historically male-dominated civil and military aviation industry restricted women from general aviation, i.e. private planes, or support jobs, (prior to the 1970s in the U.S. and Europe). When Yvonne Pope Sintes became Britains first commercial airline captain in 1972, having worked her way up from being an air stewardess, she was told by a male pilot that if a woman ever joined he would resign. Faced with these challenges, two women working as flight attendants for a U.S. airline organized Stewardesses for Womens Rights to change the sexist presumptions and stereotypes held by both their corporate employers and their sexually harassing passengers (Bagilhole, 2002). Openly identifying themselves with the wider womens movement, the activists took as their motto: Fly me? Go fly yourself!. This initiative helped other women with equal pay, the right to fly after they get married, protection against sexist uniform requirements and guarantees that they would be treated as the safety professionals they were (Barry, 2013; Enloe, 2014).

Yet today, four decades later, women in aviation story still surprisingly hits the headlines with such things as the woman who, in 2013 refused to board a Miami to New York flight because the pilot was a woman (Morris, 2015). People still do not trust female pilots since aviation has been traditionally portrayed as a split-gender workplace. It shows that there are still likely to be many reasons that contribute to this imbalance including public perceptions of what constitutes typically female or male professions and the perceived or actual inflexibility of the job.

The structure of international aviation and tourism has needed patriarchy to survive and thrive but the reality proves that it does not and not anymore. Royal Brunei Airlines' first all-female pilot crew armoured female sentiments by landing a plane in Saudi Arabia in 2016  where women are not even allowed to drive. What an achievement in masculine-oriented occupation! Another example is all-female crew that has operated the world's longest continuous flight in March 2016 from Delhi to San Francisco (Joshi, 2016).

On the other hand, estimates from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA) show about 4,000 women pilots worldwide, of about 130,000, that is just over 3%. Another estimate, by EasyJet, puts the balance at 5%, with 6% of its own flying staff female. British Airways says about 6% of its pilots are women  that is 200 out of 3,500 (Morris, 2015). While, there are drives to encourage more women into the industry, the cockpit remains one of the most staunchly masculinist spaces in industrial employment, and the reasons for a highly gendered realms are a human problem, management issue, political interests and tourism businesses (Gibbon, 2014).

Piloting, Caucasian Style (referring to a movie: Kidnapping, Caucasian Style directed by Leonid Gaidai).

Now let us look at the aviation history of Azerbaijan. A brilliant example of a woman becoming the first female student and pilot in the Caucasus, Southern Europe and the Middle East. Leyla Mammadbayova was the only female among the 22 accepted applicants to study the aviation course. After her graduation, she was chosen to be trained in Moscow, which was her lucky ticket to find her own destination. She was aware of how dangerous step she has taken because women were condemned and kept away from male dominated industries.

She was urged to cut her long hair (Azerbaijani women had to keep long hair as a symbol of their femininity) as it posed a danger in an open cockpit. On 17 March 1933, Mammadbeyova became the second woman parachutist after Nin Komneva, in the Soviet Union having jumped from a Polikarpov Po -2 aeroplane at Moscow's Tushino Airfield. In 1934, she won the parachute jump competition among representatives of the South Caucasus nations. By 1941, she was Squadron Leader of the Soviet Army. Back in Azerbaijan, Leyla continued her career as a pilot and instructor at the Baku Airclub. For being a mother of six, she was refused to fight in World War II. Nevertheless, her true free spirit motivated to launch her own glider and parachutist courses, where she trained hundreds of combat pilots and around 4,000 paratroopers. Despite her professional contributions, the award that she received was a Motherhood Medal to be considered the most prized one for raising six children and having a successful career, which shows the enforced idea of prioritising motherhood over any other roles or contributions of women through their lifetime. Leyla Mammadbayova has been a living icon symbolising freedom, spirit and energy who surmounted the stereotypes of the time and became an inspiration for Azerbaijani directors, artists, writers and generations to come.

References:

1. Anderson, S. (2014) Who do you trust more, male or female pilots? http://www.sunshine.co.uk/news/who-do-you-trust-more,-male-or-female-pilots-105.html. Accessed February 15, 2017.

2. Ashcraft, K. L. (2005) Resistance through consent? Occupational identity, organizational form and the maintenance of masculinity among commercial airline pilots Management Communication Quarterly 19, pp. 27-90.

3. Bagilhole, B.M. (2002) Women in Non-traditional Occupations: Challenging Men. New York: Pelgrave, Macmillan.

4. Barry, Femininity in Flight, 174-209. See also VictoriaVantoch, The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.

5. Bridges. D. Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation in Bridges D., Neal-Smith J. and Mills J. Alberts (eds) New York Routledge, 2016.

6. Conquering the Skies Baku Magazine, March-April 2011, No. 2 (22), p. 72.

7. Colgan, F. and Tomlinson, F., (1996). Women in book publishing: A feminised sector? In: S. Ledwith and F. Colgan (eds), Women in Organizations: Challenging Gender Politics, London: Macmillan, pp.44-77.

8. Corn, J. J. (1979) Making flying thinkable: Women pilots and the selling of aviation, 1927- 1940 American Quarterly 31(4), pp. 556-571.

9. Davey, C. and Davidson, M. (2000) The Right of Passage? The Experiences of Female Pilots in Commercial Aviation. Feminism and Psychology 10(2), pp. 195-225.

10. Davey, C.L. (2004). The Impact of Human Factors on Ab Initio Pilot Training. Gender, Work and Organization, 11(6).

11. Douglas, D. (2004) American Women and Flight since 1940 University of Kentucky Press, Lexington.

12. Enloe C. (2014) Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.

13. Gadirova I. The Proprietress of the Sky in Nash Vek ( ) 7 May 2004. Accessed February 15, 2017: http://nashvek.media-az.com/257/memory.html.

14. Germain, M. L., Herzog, M. R. and Hamilton, P. R. (2012) Women employed in male dominated industries: lessons learned from female aircraft pilots, pilots-in-training and mixed-gender flight instructors. Human Resource Development International, 15(4), pp. 435- 453.

15. Gibbon, D. (2014). Difficult, Dangerous, Not a Job for Girls: Factors Impacting Women and Girls` Orientation Towards Pilot Careers, in Bridges, D., Neal-Smith, J., and Mills, A.J. (eds), Absent Aviators, Gender Issues in Aviation. Chapter 2.

16. Grossman, Dan (July 9, 2010) "The First Flight Attendant: Heinrich Kubis, 1912". Airships: The Hindenburg and other Zeppelins. Accessed February 15, 2017.

17. Joshi S. An all-female crew operated the world's longest continuous flight on Air India, March 8, 2016. Accessed February 17, 2017. http://mashable.com/2016/03/08/air-india-longest-flight-women-crew/#MHc7ynwVwgqw.

18. Katila, S. and Merilainen, S. A. (1999) Serious Researcher or Just Another Nice Girl? Doing Gender in a Male-Dominated Scientific Community. Gender, Work and Organization 6(3), pp. 163-173

19. Kohn-Stuart, R. (2000). Gender differenced in the cockpit. In: 2000 Asia-Pacific Women in Aviation Conference, Canberra, Australia. Lepore, M. (2011).

20. Mahmudova N. Leyla Mammadbeyova: Memories of the First Woman Pilot in East, 2016. Accessed February 17, 2017.

21. Morris H. Why are there so few females? in The Telegraph, 2015. Accessed February 17, 2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Why-are-there-so-few-female-pilots/.

22. Pawlowski, A. (2013). Why arent more women airline pilots? CNN October 30, 2013. Accessed February 15, 2017. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/18/female.airline.pilots/

23. Saner, E. (2014) Female pilots: a slow take-off. The Guardian January 13, 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/13/female-pilots-woman-flying-aeroplane. Accessed February 15, 2017.

24. Simeone, A. (1986) Academic Women: Working Towards Equality. South Hadley, Massachusetts, J F Bergin and Garvey. Sitler, R. (2004) Gender differences in learning to fly. In M. A. Turney (Ed.), Tapping diverse talents in aviation: Culture, gender, and diversity Aldershot, Ashgate. pp.77-88.

25. Stepanski, L. M. (2012) Like Sportive Birds: The Girl Aviator Series and the Culture of Flight in America, 1911-12 The Journal of Popular Culture 45(4), pp.769-788.

26. Women in Aviation [WIA]. (2012) Women in Aviation: The Facts. https://www.wai.org/resources/facts.cfm. Accessed February 17, 2017.

27. Women in Aviation and Space History: https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/. Accessed February 17, 2017.

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25 May 2017 09:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Elizabeth II has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency my congratulations on the celebration of your National Day, together with my best wishes for happiness of the people of Azerbaijan in the coming year, Queen Elizabeth II told Ilham Aliyev in her letter.

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25 May 2017 13:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Key aspects of Azerbaijan's migration policy were discussed on May 24 during a business forum organized by Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club with the participation of Head of the State Migration Service of Azerbaijan Firudin Nabiyev.

Speaking at the business forum, Nabiyev briefed about the activities and further plans of the State Migration Service, Trend reported.

He said the Service successfully implements state supervision over attracting foreigners to paid work in the framework of the allocated quota, which meets the goals set by President Ilham Aliyev for the State Migration Service. Nabiyev reminded that every year the Cabinet of Ministers approves a labor migration quota three months before the beginning of a next year.

Nabiyev emphasized that in line with the Protocol of Cooperation in the field of nationalization, oil and gas projects with the participation of the State Migration Service, which was signed in 2013, the control over a phased replacement of foreign personnel by local professionals has been enhanced significantly. At the same time, according to him, conditions should be created for a wider and rational use of local personnel in order to meet demands of employers in a workforce.

Today, in the context of creating favorable business and investment conditions along with strengthening of the state support to the private sector and entrepreneurship, the State Migration Service is in favor of strengthening cooperation with entrepreneurs in compliance with the legislative requirements. In this regard, numerous meetings are held with business representatives, and work is in progress to address emerging issues as quickly as possible, he stressed.

The Decree of President Aliyev dated February 3, 2016, envisage for establishment of the Appeal Board of the State Migration Service and the Council Secretariat and their composition and regulations were approved in order to ensure objectivity and transparency in the process of considering complaints of individuals and legal entities engaged in entrepreneurial activities, said Nabiyev.

We also receive applications for obtaining temporary residence permits in Azerbaijan for the purpose of entrepreneurial activity, to chair a branch office or a company. Unfortunately, we sometimes encounter cases of illegal migration or lack of grounds for such activities in the territory of the country, noted the head of the Service.

During the business forum the member companies of the Caspian European Club discussed the ways to solve problems related to the migration policy of Azerbaijan, and also made proposals for continuing an active dialogue between businesses and the State Migration Service.

Addressing the business forum, First Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club Telman Aliyev thanked Firudin Nabiyev for the constructive dialogue, as well as for attention to the proposals and requests made by the Club member companies during the event.

Aliyev said that Caspian Energy Georgia company will start operating in Georgia from September and organize business forums, CEO lunch events, trainings, workshops, round tables, annual Caspian Energy Forum and a ceremony of presenting national and international prizes in Tbilisi and Batumi. Moreover, according to him, Caspian Energy puts up for sale participation interest in newly established or reestablished foreign offices.

He also recalled that the Club was established in June 2002 with the support of the largest oil and gas companies operating in the Caspian-Black Sea region. According to Aliyev, since the very establishment the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club have promoted attraction of revenues from the oil industry for the development of the non-oil sector. Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club bring together more than 5,000 member companies and organizations working in 50 countries of the world, and conduct active work to support the dialogue between the government institutions and the private sector.

During the business forum, Firudin Nabiyev was awarded the Honorary Membership Certificate of the Caspian European Club. Heads of companies and representatives of a number of diplomatic missions and international organizations attended the business forum.

Caspian Energy, Caspian Energy Forum, Caspian Energy Award, Caspian Energy Club, Caspian European Club, Caspian Business Club, Caspian American Club, Caspian American Forum, CEO, CEO Lunch, Brand Award and many others are the registered trademarks owned by the Caspian Energy International Media Group.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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25 May 2017 12:08 (UTC+04:00)

The Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles hosted a reception at the famous Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR).

The well-attended reception included officials of the U.S. State Department, representatives of the Los Angeles County and City, Los Angeles Police Department, consuls general and honorary consuls of many different countries, professors of various Californian universities, journalists, as well as members of Azerbaijani, Turkish, Jewish, Korean, Hispanic, Iranian and other communities.

Consul General Nasimi Aghayev spoke of the significance of the Republic Day (May 28) for Azerbaijan, a date on which 99 years ago the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first-ever secular democracy in the entire Muslim world was established.

The Consul General noted that this important event played a crucial role in strengthening of national statehood traditions of the Azerbaijani people. Speaking of Azerbaijans development as a free nation since the restoration of its independence in 1991, the Consul General stressed that the goal-oriented political, economic and social policies under President Ilham Aliyevs leadership have turned Azerbaijan into a centre of prosperity and stability in a challenging region, and a regional mega-hub for energy, trade, transportation and education.

Azerbaijan is proud to be called an exemplary model of multiculturalism and interfaith harmony creating an inclusive environment where Muslims, Christians and Jews continue to live side by side in peace and dignity, he added.

Then Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez, the founder of the prominent Churches in Action and the leader of the Los Angeles Interfaith Council, presented a certificate of commendation to the Consul General. He was joined by Dr. Jannah Scott, former Deputy Director at the Centre of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and other members of the Los Angeles Interfaith Council. Bishop Mendez and Scott hailed Azerbaijans model of interfaith harmony and multiculturalism.

The event also featured three diplomats of Azerbaijans Consulate General in Los Angeles, whose 4-year tenure is about to expire soon and who will be returning to Azerbaijan. The diplomats were presented with gifts on behalf of the Consulate General in honor of their dedicated diplomatic service.

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25 May 2017 13:13 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The UN highly appreciates Azerbaijans efforts to deepen cooperation with the organization, active participation of the country in its initiatives and programs, said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

He made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The meeting was held as part of the ministers working visit to New York to attend the events timed to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Azerbaijan and the UN, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the current level of cooperation.

Azerbaijan remains committed to the UN Charter and the principles and goals of international law, supports the activities of the UN, said Mammadyarov.

He also noted that the election of Azerbaijan as a member of the UN Economic and Social Council for 2017-2019 will create additional opportunities for the country in order to contribute to international development.

Mammadyarov also spoke about the contribution of Azerbaijan at the international level to the dialogue between civilizations and religions.

Speaking about the UNs role in the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is the main threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus, the minister stressed that the basic documents on the conflicts solution were adopted by the UN Security Council.

Mammadyarov noted with regret that the UN Security Council resolutions on the conflicts settlement still remain unimplemented.

The Azerbaijani minister also emphasized the need to continue substantive negotiations to resolve the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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25 May 2017 15:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijans Ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov has presented the countrys tourist attractions in Tehran.



Huseynov, addressing a conference on tourism, encouraged Iranian tour operators to launch tours to rural regions of the country and take part in international events in Azerbaijan.



Speaking about measures taken by Azerbaijans government to simplify the procedure for issuing visas, he said ASAN Visa system makes it easy for citizens from Iran and other countries to travel to his country.



The envoy briefed the participants about international sport events and shopping festivals and tax-free policies adopted in Azerbaijan, aimed at attracting tourists.



The ambassador reminded that the ties between Iran and Azerbaijan over the past years have considerably improved.



He further vowed to give support for Iranian tour operators doing business in Azerbaijan.



About 350 Iranian tour operators attended the conference held in Tehran on May 24.



Starting from January 10, 2017, Iranian citizens are able to apply for Azerbaijan visa via the ASAN Visa system, as a result of which, they will be able to obtain visas within three days.

Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples enjoy the same cultural and religious traditions, and, most importantly, the geographical proximity play significant role in relations of the two nations.

Azerbaijan, known for its centuries-old history and outspoken hospitality, traditionally welcomes many Iranians during the Novruz holiday.

The number of Iranian citizens, who visited Azerbaijan during Novruz holiday in 2016 increased by 35-40 percent, compared to last year. Alongside capital city Baku, Iranian tourists also took part in tours to tourist routes such as Lankarana, Lerik, Masalli, Gabala and Sheki.

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25 May 2017 17:41 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Russia maintains close relations with Azerbaijan and develops them in various areas, including political, economic and humanitarian spheres, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on May 25.

She noted that the Azerbaijani people are close to Russia and the ties between the two countries will develop in the future.

Our country does not link the relationship, which we develop with Baku and the people of Azerbaijan, with any other international factors. We certainly discuss with the Azerbaijani side the international agenda, regional agenda and problematic issues, no one is hiding them, Zakharova said, stressing that there is an open dialogue between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries were established in 1992.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia in 2016 amounted to $2.05 billion, which is 10.5 percent higher than the year before, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

Russia is one of the main trade partners of Azerbaijan, ranking second in commodity turnover, the first - in the import of products and the eighth - in exports. About 31 percent of Azerbaijan's non-oil exports fall on Russia, which is the first among Azerbaijan's trade partners in this indicator.

Moreover, Russia is making serious efforts for settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The country, along with the U.S. and France, is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the long-standing conflict.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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25 May 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

The largest event of the energy sector in the Caspian Sea region  the 24th International Caspian Oil and Gas Conference 2017 is scheduled for June 1-2.

As a recognized international platform and the key event in the regions oil and gas industry, the conference has been bringing together senior level directors every year to discuss key oil and gas projects in the Caspian region and ensure energy security.

The Energy Ministry of Azerbaijan and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) both show invaluable support for Caspian Oil&Gas.

The conference will address such issues as: Role of Azerbaijan in global energy, status of major projects and a look to future strategic growth, Identifying key operators plans in developing onshore and offshore oilfields, expansion of international cooperation in oil and gas projects, An overview the refining and petrochemical industries in Azerbaijan new projects development, Diversifying supply routes from the Caspian region, Azerbaijan as transportation, logistic hub of Caspian region, Cost optimization and improving the efficiency of upstream development with advanced technologies for exploration and production, Improving the efficiency of exploration and production with digital technologies, The development perspectives for alternative energy in Azerbaijan. Around 400 delegates from more than 30 countries are planning to take part in the conference.

This year, regular partner and exhibitor BP is marking its 25th anniversary of collaboration with Azerbaijan. One of conference sessions at Caspian Oil and Gas will be dedicated to this anniversary: BP  Azerbaijans long-term partner for 25 years.

The events status is consolidated by its line-up of sponsors. The General Sponsor is SOCAR. The Golden Sponsor of the conference is BP and Petronas, the Silver Sponsors - INPEX, McDermott, Statoil, Reflex Marine, and the Bronze Sponsors - Schlumberger, Caspian Geophysical, Microsoft, Siemens, Dentons, Fluor, Nobel Upstream, TAP, Total, Zenith Energy, Yokogawa, Lamor Corporation. The conferences General Media Partner is Caspian Energy International Media Group.

The conference provides suppliers with the opportunity to talk to customers and colleagues, to present technologies and services in action, to acquire useful business contacts, and to get new information and technologies, expanding the opportunities for international collaboration in the oil and gas sector.

The organizers of the conference are ITE Group and its partner Iteca Caspian.

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25 May 2017 17:12 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan plays an important role in ensuring Georgias energy security, First Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia, Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said on May 25.

The Deputy Prime Minister named Azerbaijan a strategic partner, APA reported.

We today depend on Azerbaijani gas. Currently, Georgia purchases gas from only Azerbaijan. This is important for us. As our strategic partner, Azerbaijan makes large amount of investment in Georgia. Our joint projects will soon be completed and well purchase additional gas from Azerbaijan, he said.

Earlier, Kaladze said that this year, Georgia will receive 2.457 billion cubic meters of gas, of which deliveries from Azerbaijan will amount to 2.347 billion cubic meters of gas (95.5 percent).

Georgia stopped importing gas from Russia in 2007. Since then, Azerbaijan has become the key supplier of gas to Georgia, thus decreasing Georgias dependence on Russian gas.

Azerbaijan supplies Georgia with natural gas from the Shah Deniz field via the Hajigabul-Gardabani pipeline. The second way carrying gas to Georgian consumers is the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (South Caucasus) Pipeline, through which the gas from the first stage of the Shah Deniz field is supplied to Georgia and a large proportion goes through its territory to Turkey.

Azerbaijan and Georgia, the two neighboring countries with long-standing and successful relations established diplomatic relations in 1992. The countries are actively cooperating in trade, transport and energy spheres.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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25 May 2017 13:31 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The dispute over Russian-Turkish wheat supplies flared up with renewed vigor, as it emerged that Ankara has imposed restrictions on imports of Russian wheat.

Turkish exporters have decided to limit the import of agricultural products from Russia, said Zekeriya Mete, a member of the governing Council of the Association of exporters of Istanbul.

"We shred the quotas among countries. We want to make us safe  if there are some problems in relations with a country, we will not lose everything. The decision to limit the import of Russian agricultural products to 20  25 percent was made by our organization, not the Economy Ministry. We are making decision while the Economy Ministry accepts or does not accept them," Mete explained, Trend reported on May 25.

Earlier, Russian Vedomosti newspaper reported that this relates to licenses for the supply of wheat in the internal processing mode. Such a license allows delivering grain to the country without duty for processing and further export, explains one of the traders. This regime operates in Turkey for all countries for protecting the domestic market.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Economy Ministry denied allegations, announcing that Ankara follows an agreement with Moscow on lifting trade restrictions.

"Despite the positive atmosphere and positive steps in the political and economic relations between Russia and Turkey, some media publish news about the restriction of imports of agricultural products from Russia, which do not correspond to reality, the ministry said on May 25, adding that Turkey continues to adhere to the agreements reached with Russia.

Moscow is in talks with Ankara in an effort to resolve an agriculture trade dispute between the countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 24.

Turkey has introduced new curbs on Russian wheat, limiting purchases to 20-25 percent of all import licenses issued for the commodity, confirmed Peskov.

Russia's Agriculture Ministry later announced that Turkey had so far sent no official notification of the restrictions.

Many restrictions have been recently removed in accordance with agreements reached with Russia following the results of the talks between Turkish Prime minister Binali Yildirim and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Istanbul.

The declaration, signed in Istanbul by Deputy Premier Mehmet Simsek and Russian Deputy Premier Arkady Dvorkovich, aims at normalizing and developing economies, and enhancing the current trade volume between Russia and Turkey.

The Russian-Turkish trade has been facing significant difficulties since 2016 when Russia introduced a food embargo against Turkey in response to the downing of a Russian warplane over Syria.

For Ankara, Moscow is a strategic supplier of agricultural products. In recent years, 70-75 percent of the flour in Turkey was produced from Russian wheat. In turn, Russia delivers 12-13 percent of exported wheat to Turkey.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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25 May 2017 15:12 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Kazakhstan's central bank will investigate the acquisition by the state-managed pension fund of $250 million worth of bonds in the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) after the lender announced it would not repay some of its debts in full.

Azerbaijan's largest bank IBA has suspended payments on some liabilities and is seeking support from creditors to restructure more than $3 billion of debt.

The bank ran into problems in 2015 when bad loans built up. President Ilham Aliyev, on International Monetary Fund advice, ordered its balance sheet be cleaned up and the bank sold off, but no sale has occurred. The government has already taken over $5 billion in bad loans from the IBA.

Head of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyar Akishev announced that after the internal audit, the materials will be transferred to the appropriate authorities for legal assessment

Kazakhstans National bank officials took a decision in October 2014 to acquire, via an offshore company and a closed subscription, IBA's 10-year bonds with a coupon paying 8.25 percent annually.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan is making maximum efforts to minimize negative consequences and has been negotiating with the.

The IBA said earlier that it hopes to complete the process of restructuring the $3.3 billion debt by the end of August.

The main creditors will be offered three options. The first provides for the exchange of sovereign debt with a 12-year maturity in three phases. The second option involves a one-on-one swap into 15-year sovereign debt while the third option is to stay with IBA, with bonds exchanged at par for a 7-year 3.5 percent issue.

"Together with the government we will choose the most secure restructuring option, from the risk point of view. However, all three options assume a loss and lost profit," Akishev concluded.

Net assets of the state pension fund of Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation of 18 million, were at 6.8 trillion tenge ($22 billion) as of April 1.

Around 9 percent were invested into non-Kazakhstan sovereign debt papers, with some 3 percent of that exposure to non-Kazakh private companies' papers such as bonds.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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25 May 2017 18:24 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

NATO leaders are set to give the go-ahead for the alliance to formally join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.

NATO will join the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State jihadis, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said on May 25, ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump.

"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said.

He stressed this did not involve NATO taking on a combat role in the fight against IS and other Islamist terror groups in Syria and Iraq.

Trump is in Brussels on his first foreign trip as the U.S. president to push NATO allies to take on a more active role.

All 28 allies have individually joined the anti-IS coalition of more than 60 countries, but NATO as an institution has not followed suit until now despite intense pressure from Washington.

Diplomatic sources say some member states such as France, Germany and Italy had opposed such a move for fear the alliance would be dragged into a ground war and risk relations with Arab powers.

The Government of Germany has so far been categorically against NATO joining coalition in fight against ISIS. As a justification for its position, it stated that NATO's participation would intensify conflicts in the region or, at the very least, will complicate the search for a peaceful settlement.

Stoltenberg said NATO would expand the role of its AWACS surveillance planes in supporting anti-IS operations and step up its training programmes in Iraq.

A special cell would be set up at NATO headquarters in Brussels to coordinate anti-terror intelligence and planning, he said.

He said the allies would also meet Tusk's demands to share more of the security burden and reaffirm a commitment to spend two percent of annual GDP on defense.

Earlier, Secretary General said that the North Atlantic alliance will not take part in any direct military operations in Syria.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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25 May 2017 18:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

A roundtable meeting on the topic "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and Seaports of Kazakhstan" was held in Tashkent on May 25.

The meeting participants discussed the development and popularization of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCITR), the potential of sea port infrastructure of Kazakhstan and other member-countries.

To attract an uninterrupted flow of goods, the Kazakh speakers presented the wide possibilities of Aktau and Kuryk sea ports for servicing prospective and voluminous transit traffic.

Moreover, the Kazakh side made a report about its activity on expansion of sea ports and development of dry-cargo and ferry boat fleet in the country.

In addition, for attracting Uzbek partners to the TITR project, the representatives of Kazakhstan Railways and Uzbek companies discussed the terms and deadlines of cargo delivery by railroad.

The Trans-Caspian international transport route, which is created to provide transport connections between the East and West of Eurasia, runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then to Europe via Turkey and Ukraine. The route was launched with the establishment of its Coordinating Committee in October 2013.

In January, 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine decided to apply the competitive tariffs for cargo transportation via the TITR. New competitive tariffs were introduced for the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route since June 1, 2016.

In October 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia signed an agreement on the establishment of the International Association of TITR, whose office is located in Astana. Its activities are aimed at attracting transit and foreign trade cargo, as well as on the development of integrated logistics products via TITR.

About 300,000-400,000 containers are expected to be transported via the Trans-Caspian international transport route by 2020, bringing huge financial profits to Azerbaijan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz




First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Published On May 25, 2017 12:26 PM By Rachit Shad

Indias largest carmaker plans to upgrade engines, introduce new platforms and launch more models with automatic transmissions

Maruti Suzuki is by far the most successful car manufacturer in India. Its current market share is over the 47 per cent mark and thats astonishing in a country like ours. However, the Japanese automaker doesnt plan to slow down by any means. As per a report published by PTI, Maruti Suzuki has some exciting plans for the near future. The company plans to upgrade engines, introduce new platforms and bring in more models with automatic transmissions. Marutis target is to sell two million (20 lakh) units per annum by 2020.

Maruti Suzuki products are targeted at the masses. The most expensive offering is the S-Cross, which tops out at Rs 12.04 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The company aims to sell 1.5 lakh vehicles with AGS (auto gear shift), CVT (continuously variable transmission) or AT (automatic transmission) units in the current fiscal and reach the 3 lakh sales mark by 2020. Currently, their sales figure is at around 94,000.

C V Raman, who is the executive director R&D at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, further clarified that the company is planning to offer AGS technology in all its models up to the Dzire sedan. From the Baleno onwards, Maruti Suzuki has been considering CVT and AT variants in its lineup.

He further added that Maruti Suzuki has increased the production capacity of such transmissions and has worked hard on localisation of parts to make the technology affordable. "Our experience on AGS has been quite positive. It accounts for over 40 per cent sales in Celerio, 13 per cent in Wagon R, 15 per cent in Alto K10, 26 per cent in Ignis," Raman said.

On the engines front, Raman said that the CAFE (corporate average fuel efficiency) norms are in sight and upgrading the current engine families will be a key project. "CAFE norms are coming, so we will have to upgrade engines. Currently, we are talking only about A and B segments, but in other segments, we will have to look at new platforms," he said.

Maruti Suzuki is also working towards making its entire product portfolio compliant with BS-VI emission norms by April 2020. The company is also working to meet the fast-approaching mandate on safety norms as well.

Raman also added that the company will introduce a total of 15 products in the country by 2020, out of which eight have already been launched.

Also Read: Maruti Dzire: First Drive Review
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine and its derivatives, lithium and its derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial applications comprising x-ray contrast media, polarizing films for LCD and LED, antiseptics, biocides and disinfectants, pharmaceutical synthesis, electronics, pigments, and dye components. In addition, the company offers lithium carbonates for various applications that include electrochemical materials for batteries, frits for the ceramic and enamel industries, heat-resistant glass, air conditioning chemicals, continuous casting powder for steel extrusion, primary aluminum smelting process, pharmaceuticals, and lithium derivatives, as well as ingredient in manufacturing of gunpowder. Further, it supplies lithium hydroxide for the lubricating greases industry, as well as cathodes for batteries. Additionally, it offers potassium chloride and potassium sulfate for various crops, including corn, rice, sugar, soybean, and wheat; industrial chemicals, including sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, potassium chloride, and solar salts; and other fertilizers and blends. The company operates in Chile, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, North America, Asia, and internationally. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile.
10 Places Which Tell The Story Of Christian History In Britain

The Christian faith in Britain stretches back as far as the third and fourth centuries AD. While not as old as churches in the Middle East, there is still a vast history of places which have had spiritual significance over the generations.

God is everywhere, of course, but certain places come to be associated with experiences of God  what the Celtic Christians described as 'thin places'. There are also other locations which have been significant in the Christian history of the country.

American readers may note that the pound is currently at a low ebb and may be eyeing a trip across the pond. For visitors from near and far, here is a list of 10 places to visit which have a spiritual significance...

Iona

Iona is an island in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. In 563AD a monk called Columba arrived from Ireland with 12 or 13 followers where he founded a monastery. Columba was a key part of the conversion of Scotland to Christianity, while the isle of Iona itself became a renowned centre of Christian learning and prayer. By the 12th Century a large Abbey had been built and it continued to be a powerhouse of Christian faith until it was abandoned during the Reformation. In 1938 a Church of Scotland minister, George MacLeod, started an ecumenical community on the island which has thrived in the years since. The island's beauty and history make for a potent combination.

Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey shares some of the historic trajectory of Iona, yet arguably its place in Christian history in Britain is even more important. Whitby, now in North Yorkshire but in the 7th Century AD a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria ,was chosen to house one of the great Benedictine monasteries. The poet Caedmon was based there, as was St Hilda of Whitby  the driving force behind much of the missionary activity of the age. The Synod of Whitby was a gathering which eventually ensured that much of the British Church would follow Roman practices, rather than those favoured by Celtic Christians. The magnificent ruins of the Abbey remain overlooking the North Sea coast.

Ffald-y-Brenin

Historic Christian sites have great value, but it's also good to visit places where God is doing new things. Ffald-y-Brenin is described as a 'House of Prayer and Retreat Centre'. It's a remote place in south Wales which welcomes visitors on retreats but also has an active prayer ministry. Director Roy Godwin has written about the experience of the Holy Spirit which is often described by visitors, in books such as The Grace Outpouring. The centre's website also links it into the heritage of Christianity in the area, "The rich heritage of Christianity in Wales is evident all around, including ancient Celtic crosses, holy wells, and pilgrim routes focussed on St Davids (only 22 miles away). Blaenannerch Chapel, where Evan Roberts encountered the Holy Spirit so powerfully in 1904, is also nearby."

St Enodoc's Church, Cornwall

This remarkable little church has a compelling history. Built in around the 12th Century, it's thought to be situated at the site of an early Celtic saint  Enodoc  who was a hermit. The church is surrounded by sandbanks and for several hundred years was virtually buried by the sand. In the 19th Century, the sand was cleared away from inside and the church began to be reused  a sign of resurrection if ever there was one!

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury has been an important place in British Christianity since St Augustine settled there in the late 6th Century. His mission from the Pope was to convert the English people to Christianity. In 597AD, the Cathedral at Canterbury was begun and although it later underwent major changes, it has been a place of Christian worship ever since. St Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral by the forces of King Henry II and it became a place of pilgrimage. From the time of the Reformation onwards it has served as the mother church of the Church of England and of the entire Anglican Communion Worldwide. It remains a stunning place to visit.

Lindisfarne

After travelling from Ireland to Iona, the Celtic Christians made inroads into Scotland and the North of England. A monastery was founded on Lindisfarne by monks from Iona. From early on, Lindisfarne became the base of missionary activity in surrounding areas. The Gospel spread further away too  St Cedd came from Lindisfarne down to Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex to evangelise. Lindisfarne itself acquired the name 'Holy Island' owing to its influence on Christian faith in Britain. The Lindisfarne Gospels are astonishing works of creativity and craft.

Glastonbury

Glastonbury, in Somerset, is probably best known today for its giant music festival. Yet its fame goes back much further... It was a place of ritual before Christianity came to the area. When the area became Christianised, an Abbey was founded. It has since become a place with various different Christian traditions and denominations. Glastonbury Tor, a nearby hill, has been important in all sorts of pagan and other faiths but also retained churches on its summit.

St Andrews

It might well be known as the place the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met, but it also has a significant Christian history. St Andrew the apostle is the patron saint of Scotland. The settlement named after him on Scotland's east coast is important in the present day too. In the early centuries of Christinaity in Scotland, it was the centre of the church  with a Bishop and a Cathedral. But the Scottish Reformation (which unlike in England, got rid of cathedrals and bishops) had a major impact. However, the fortunes of St Andrews are now linked very closely with its university  and its world renowned faculty of divinity, where the likes of Steve Holmes and NT Wright lecture.

Wigtown

Another site in Scotland with a very different story is Wigtown. In 1685 two women associated with the Covenanters (Presbyterian Protestants) were sentenced to death. They were tied to stakes and as the tide rose, they drowned. Although the debate may seem arcane to some now, at the time in Scotland questions of ecclesiology (church government) and theology raged. Margaret Lachlan and Margaret Wilson were killed because they defied Royal control of the Church  tantamount to treason. Their martyrdom gained them a place in the history books of the Church of Scotland (which developed out of the dispute). They are remembered in several memorials in the town.

Wesley's Chapel

On the edge of London's financial district, The City, stands a chapel where John Wesley regularly preached. Still a working church today, the site also hosts a museum of Methodism  the movement started by Wesley, his brother John, George Whitfield and other evangelicals in the 18th Century. The chapel hosted Margaret Thatcher's wedding and for many years, Labour Peer Lord Leslie Griffiths has been the minister. Just over the road from the chapel is Bunhill Fields burial grounds. Numerous influential figures are buried here including John Bunyan, William Blake, anti-slavery campaigner Thomas Buxton and hymn writer Isaac Watts.
500 years after Reformation, it's time for reconciliation says Lutheran bishop

Catholics and Protestants should both celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation next year, according to Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

"With this clear distinction from all other commemorations of past centuries, we are sending a signal of reconciliation and a new beginning," Bedford-Strohm said at a press conference in Berlin announcing events leading up to the anniversary on 31 October 2017.

The day chosen for the commemoration is the anniversary of the day in 1517 when Martin Luther is said to have posted his 95 theses denouncing church abuses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.

The Reformation that followed saw new Protestant Churches formed by Christians who split from the Roman Catholic Church in protest against what they said were its theological errors and moral corruption. A wave of warfare and persecution followed leading to religious and cultural divides which have persisted to this day.

However, in recent years Roman Catholics and Lutherans have reached agreement on the doctrine of justification, a key dividing issue between the papacy and Luther and his followers. Many doctrinal differences should no longer have a church-dividing character, said Bedford-Strohm.

The 500th anniversary celebrations will begin on October 31, 2016, with a service in Berlin. On the same day, Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), will celebrate an ecumenical service in Lund in Sweden, where the LWF was founded in 1947. They will pray for forgiveness and the healing of the wounds the confessions inflicted on each other over the centuries.

"We will celebrate with them in Berlin," said Bedford-Strohm. "What follows Lund, what kind of dynamic might be started there, nobody knows," he said.

This autumn, Protestant and Catholic leaders from Germany will undertake a common pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine. This will be followed in March 2017 by a joint service of penitence and reconciliation by the Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany.

One of the central events in Germany during the Reformation year will be a Kirchentag, or church convention, in Berlin in May 2017, gathering 100,000 people. Thousands more will join the Kirchentag participants for an open-air service on 28 May in Wittenberg, about 62 miles (100 kilometres) south of Berlin.

However, Bedford-Strohm stressed that the Reformation "is not just a German affair", pointing to the work of the 16th-century Reformers John Calvin in Geneva, Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich and Martin Bucer in Strasbourg, among others.

The European dimension of the Reformation will be marked by a storytelling journey beginning on November 3 in Geneva. A special truck will follow a European roadmap linking 68 towns and cities with a Reformation connection in 19 countries before arriving at Wittenberg on 20 May 2017 for the start of a four-month World Reformation Exhibition, 'Gates of Freedom'.
After the bomb: Why this Manchester college is committed to living the Jesus way

This week the place where I live was violated. Children from our city and our region were cruelly killed and maimed. As you are no doubt aware, Manchester is living through one of the most difficult weeks in its proud history. And in the heart of this city my colleagues and I at Northern Baptist College have been getting on with the job that we believe God has given us, the same job that the college had been doing for over 150 years, preparing people for servant leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ. It hasn't been easy.

On Tuesday, our staff team travelled out of our shaken city for an away day. We spent most of our time naming, discussing and praying for each of our students. Today, back at Luther King House, our home base on Manchester's famous curry mile, we have been interviewing four people who believe that God is calling them into Christian ministry, calling them in other words to devote their lives to helping people to follow Jesus, helping people to love, to serve, to pursue peace and to work for justice.

To be involved in such a process is always a profound privilege. This week it seems a particularly fitting way to be spending our time.

Why?

Well, because the slaughter on our doorstep has reminded us just how much our city needs communities of people committed to living the Jesus way. When some might be tempted to let anger turn into hatred, Manchester needs people who will remember that each of its citizens, whether red or blue, whether African, Asian or European, whether Sikh or Christian, Jewish or Muslim, whether northern-born or less fortunate, every last one of us is first and foremost a human being, created by God, bearing the image of God (however distorted) and precious in the sight of God.

As one of those charged by my denomination to form the next generation of church leaders I have to make sure that all our students remember what churches are for. No one can be allowed to leave our college in any doubt whatsoever that our churches must never become self-interested, seeking only their own wellbeing, neglecting the communities that God has called them serve. They must never be allowed to think that mission is only about growing bigger and bigger churches. They must never be allowed to devote themselves to growing disciples simply for the sake of growing disciples without asking what disciples are for, what difference disciples are supposed to make in the wider world.

We need leaders who will help churches become what they were always meant to be: communities of the prince of peace, the healer, the lover of outcasts, the one who would eat with anyone whether he was supposed to or not, the one who wept for Jerusalem. Any church that does not seek the welfare of its city is a contradiction in terms. Any church that forgets to build bridges of reconciliation forgets whose church it is. Any church that is content to let outsiders stay out has lost its way and lost sight of its Lord. Any church that thinks that this kind of stuff is none of its business is plain wrong.

That's what I have to remember. That's what this difficult week has reminded me. I pray to God that I will never forget. I pray that you will never forget either, even if you are not fortunate enough live in Manchester.

One of the things that people often say, when they are touched by tragedies such as the one that happened on our doorstep, is: 'I wanted to do something but I felt helpless.' If that's you then thank God you're are not helpless. If like me you name Jesus as your saviour, there's lots you can do. Here are six suggestions for starters.

1. You can resolve to remind yourself each morning that every person who lives in your village, town or city is a child of Adam and Eve and therefore your brother or sister in God.

2. You can commit yourself to helping your church to become the kind of church that behaves a bit more like Jesus.

3. You can identify someone in your community from another background, another race, another religion and simply get to know them. If that sounds scary, start by smiling and saying, 'Hello'.

4. You can find a group that is working to build bridges in your community and join them, whether they carry a Christian label or not.

5. You can go on praying the prayer that Jesus taught us pray, '... your will be done in my part of your earth as it is in heaven' and then act like you mean it.

6. And you can, if you would be so kind, pray for me and my colleagues in the heart of our hurting city that we might be able to grow leaders who know how to grow churches who know how to grow the kind of communities that will gladden the heart of God.

Rev Glen Marshall is Co-Principal of Northern Baptist College, Manchester.
Amid the rubble of an Iraqi town, it seemed all was destroyed. But then they found a sign of hope  a crucifix

At first sight, surveying the devastation left by Islamic State in the ancient Christian lands of the Nineveh Plain in Iraq, it appeared nothing had survived.

But in the rubble, outside St George's Church near Alqosh, half buried in the rubble, was a crucifix  a battered wooden cross bearing a figure of the crucified Christ.

Now the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and the Chaldean Archbishop, Bashar Warda of Erbil, have come together in London to bless the crucifix .

The blessing was part of a programme now under way to persuade the many thousands of Christians who fled the terror in their homelands to consider returning.

The crucifix was discovered intact by Stephen Rasche, chief counsel and projects coordinator for Archbishop Warda.

It was found in Baqofah village, just outside Alqosh.

Warda was in the UK this week at the invitation of Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity that facilitated the loan of the crucifix to a March 2017 exhibition of crosses displayed in Westminster Cathedral by curator Lucien de Guise.

Warda also had a private meeting with the Prince of Wales in London. Prince Charles has taken a close interest in the fate of persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East.

ACN is among the sponsors of the Return to the Roots programme helping surviving Christians return to the Nineveh Plains.

Earlier this month, an olive tree-planting ceremony was held to mark the beginning of construction of 105 homes in Nineveh Christian-majority towns Karamlesh, Qaraqosh and Bartella.

A survey by Aid to the Church in Need showed that nearly 13,000 homes need to be rebuilt.

In meetings and interviews this week, AWarda said home repairs were a priority in the nine Christian towns and villages affected. This means there will be some delay in the refurbishment of the 300 churches and chapels damaged and destroyed during IS occupation of Nineveh.

Warda is a member of the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee overseeing the Return to the Roots scheme as well as a key project partner for Aid to the Church in Need's emergency work for the 100,000 displaced people in his Erbil archdiocese and elsewhere in Kurdish northern Iraq.

He told ACN: 'Thank you very much for the help you have given to us in Erbil for your brothers and sisters from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains. It is because of your help that we still have Christians in Iraq. It is because of your help that we still have Christian families able to live in decent houses, getting proper medical help and much-needed food packages.'

ACN, a Pontifical foundation and registered charity that operates under the direct authority of the Holy See, is providing food, shelter, medicine and schooling for Christian families and others being cared for in Archbishop Warda's diocese.
Ascension Day: 4 reasons it matters for Christians today

Today is Ascension Day, when the Church celebrates Jesus' ascension from earth into heaven.

It's actually a quite baffling story.

The account in Luke 24:50-53 says:

'When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.'

It seems a quirky inclusion. The gospels have otherwise emphasised Jesus' fully human, grounded existence. But now it seems he can fly? It also appears to imply that heaven is just above the clouds, which we know not to be true. And yet Jesus' ascension is not simply an eccentric moment in Luke's account  it's a central part of the Christian story, affirmed as orthodoxy across the New Testament and in the early Church creeds. So why do we need it?

1. 'You gotta go there to come back'

Jesus' heavenly ascent can feel as though it's setting heaven above against earth below  but there's more going on. Jesus leaves, but his departure isn't final, nor is it a high-flying dismissal of earthly transience.

In the Acts account of the ascension, Luke writes:They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them."Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."'

As the Stereophonics put it, 'You gotta go there to come back'. Jesus is going, but he promises return. This lines up with Christian theology: the Kingdom of God is not about escaping this world to a disembodied existence, but about the redemption of this very broken world. It is for that reason that Jesus assumed humanity in the first place: to heal it, not help us transcend it.

2. One gift for another

Christ's incarnate humanity  God as a living breathing human being that you could know, laugh with, cry with and even kill  was a profound gift to humanity. But the ascension isn't God getting bored with earthly life and floating away. He does leave, but promises another, the Paraclete, 'the comforter' or 'the helper' will take his place. In a sense, God takes away one gift but gives another  and both are himself. The Son departs, but the Holy Spirit, who descends at Pentecost, will be God's Spirit living in the hearts of humankind.

We don't know why exactly this was how it had to be, although God's presence as Spirit, living through the Church, did expand the reach of God's incarnate work on the earth. Jesus spent most of his ministry with 12 men. He calls the worldwide Church, with the help of the helper, to go far further.

3. The great high priest

This shouldn't imply however, that Jesus is napping while the Holy Spirit steps up to do some work. The Holy Trinity is three persons in one, united and working together. Christ's work continues: his ascent to the Father is part of his ministry as the great high priest for humankind, the living sacrifice interceding to the Father. His humanity remains a central to that service.

As Hebrews puts it: 'Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are  yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.'

4. Looking up

The 'mystery of godliness is great', Paul told Timothy, and he was right. Jesus' ascent completed his description of that mystery (1 Timothy 3:16), and that seems fitting. Glory is the key theme  the man who was rejected is now visibly, unmissably rising again. Good has defeated evil, love has conquered, a New Creation is coming: Jesus' rise into the sky, baffling as it may be, gives us a hint of those dramatic realities that we can't yet see.

As we know, we're a generation that spends far too long looking down, often hunched over our handheld screens. Our apps keep us occupied, but do they give us wonder? Jesus's ascension reminds us to instead look up, in more ways than one. Not because he's hiding behind the clouds and might reappear at any moment, but because we're called to live hopefully, yearn for transcendence, and minster wonder to a cynical world. The disciples were moved not to fear and confusion, but joy and praising God. On a day like today, we remember we were made to look up.

You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter
Barra churches unite to remember victims of Manchester attack

A vigil has taken place on a Scottish Island which has been deeply affected by the Manchester terror attack.

Barra,in the Outer Hebrides, is in mourning after people there learned that 14-year-old Eilidh MacLeod was among those killed in Monday's attack.

Her friend, 15-year-old Laura MacIntyre, is in hospital with serious injuries.

The vigil took place at Our Lady Star of the Sea church in Castlebay.

The island's Roman Catholic parish priest Fr John Paul MacKinnon told the BBC: 'We are just a small little island and yet the world has suddenly come to our little island and we are the centre of the world from everything that's happened in Manchester.

'People are weighed down. This dark cloud is just pushing down on all of us and we are trying to lift ourselves up. It's difficult.'

Church of Scotland minister Rev Dr Lindsay Schluter, from the Barra and South Uist congregations, said: 'This is a service of prayer for both families affected and the wider community  Barra and beyond.'

Around 20,000 has been raised in an appeal for the families already. 'Individually people have prayed for the families and all affected, the need for people to come together to do this in support of each other is evident especially as we are still awaiting further news of both Laura and Eilidh,' said Dr Schluter.
Bishops In The Philippines 'Overcome With Grief' After Vote Approves Capital Punishment

Catholic Bishops in the Philippines have said they are 'overcome with grief' after the House of Representatives, the lower house in Congress, overwhelmingly voted in favour of reinstating capital punishment for serious drug offences.

The final vote, which was passed with 216 in favour, 54 against and one abstention, means the bill must now be approved by the Senate.

The bill, submitted on January 11, proposed to restore death by firing squad, hanging and lethal injection as punishment for 21 'heinous crimes'. Some of those crimes, including treason, murder, rape, and violent car theft, were taken out of the legislation by the final reading which approved capital punishment for serious drug offences.

In a statement, the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, said: 'The House of Representatives has given its consent for the State to kill. We, your bishops, are overcome with grief but we are not defeated nor shall we be silenced.

'We call on all Catholic faithful and all Filipinos who stand for life to continue the spirited opposition to death penalty. We urge Catholic lawyers, judges and jurists to allow the gentleness of the Gospel of Life to illumine their reading and application of the law, so that their service to society as teachers and agents of the law and of justice may bring life. It is indeed that we may have life to the full that the Lord came into our midst. They may have won but it does not mean that they are right.'

In 2006, capital punishment was revoked as a punishment for all crimes.

But the country's controversial President, Rodrigo Duterte, has repeatedly vowed to reinstate the death penalty as part of his 'war on drugs'.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines, with which Duterte has repeatedly clashed, has consistently opposed the reintroduction of capital punishment.

According to the Catholic Herald, more than 8,000 people have been killed by police and unknown suspects since Duterte took office eight months ago, many in incidents involving vigilantes.
Controversial Philippines President Duterte Seeks Peace With Pope Francis After Rows Over Condoms, Death Penalty

The controversial President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has written a personal letter to Pope Francis saying that the country values its "special relations" with the Holy See.

The letter comes after Duterte set himself on a collision course with the Catholic Church over plans to hand out millions of free condoms and reintroduce the death penalty.

However, the Pope is said to have told an aide to the President yesterday that he will bless Duterte after the aide handed the letter to Francis.

"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," presidential adviser Jesus Dureza said in a video clip at St Peter's Square, shown on television on Thursday.

The Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Jesus Dureza released a photo of the President's letter to the Pope yesterday. It read: "Your Holiness, with profound respect, I have the honour to extend my own and my people's warmest greetings to Your Holiness."

Duterte's letter went on to recall the Pope's visit to the Philippines in January 2015. "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 Church's flock," he said.

"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 President had drawn criticism during the papal visit after calling the Pope a "son of a bitch" for supposedly causing a traffic jam during his visit. He later claimed his comment was aimed at incompetent officials.

Earlier this month, Duterte angered Catholics by ordering millions of condoms to be handed out in a bid to curb unwanted pregnancies.

The Church does not allow the use of condoms as a means of birth control and says abstinence and monogamy in heterosexual marriage is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.

Separately, Catholic leaders and charities in the Philippines last month condemned as "very barbaric" Duterte's plan to restore the death penalty and execute "five or six" criminals each day despite what is widely acknowledged to be a corrupt legal system.

Duterte, 71, has made reviving the death penalty in the mainly Catholic nation his top legislative priority as part of a brutal war on crime that has killed 5,300 people.

"There was death penalty before but nothing happened. Return that to me and I would do it every day: five or six [criminals]. That's for real," he said.

An official at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said the Church "totally opposed" Duterte's plan. "The Philippines will be viewed as very barbaric," said Father Jerome Secillano, the executive secretary at its public affairs office. "It's going to make the Philippines the capital of death penalty in the world."

The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006 after strong opposition to capital punishment from the Catholic Church, to which 80 per cent of Filipinos belong.

Before taking office in June last year, Duterte vowed to introduce executions by hanging, saying he did not want to waste bullets and adding that he believed snapping the spinal cord was more humane than a firing squad.

Duterte said that he viewed the death penalty not as a means to deter crime but as retribution.
Does the Bible condone the death penalty? Philippines bishops blast President Duterte

Bishops in the Philippines have rebuked President Rodrigo Duterte in a statement flatly rejecting the Bible condones the death penalty.

In a strongly worded statement the country's Catholic bishops said those who think the Bible permits capital punishment need to go and read scripture 'properly'.

It comes as the radical President Duterte is advocating its return after the death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006.

'To the people who use the Bible to defend the death penalty, need we point out how many other crimes against humanity have been justified, using the same Bible?' the bishops asked in Sunday's pastoral statement.

'We humbly enjoin them to interpret the Scriptures properly, to read them as a progressive revelation of God's will to humankind, with its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, God's definitive Word to the world.'

They go on: 'Jesus was never an advocate of any form of "legal killing". He defended the adulterous woman against those who demanded her blood and challenged those who were without sin among them to be the first to cast a stone on her.'

Speaking of the early political stages in restoring the death penalty they add: 'It was Ash Wednesday when members of the lower House, on the second reading of the death penalty bill, outvoted by voice-voting the nays with their ayes. Ironically, they were captured on television shouting in favor of death with their foreheads marked with crosses made of ashes'

'Could they have forgotten what that cross meant?,' the bishops said.

'Even with the best of intentions, capital punishment has never been proven effective as a deterrent to crime,' they continued. 'Obviously it is easier to eliminate criminals than to get rid of the root causes of criminality in society. Capital punishment and a flawed legal system are always a lethal mix.'
Evangelicals Warn Of A 'New Fascism' Sweeping The World

Evangelical mission specialists have warned of the rise of a "new fascism" in different countries around the world.

A 'Call to Biblical Faithfulness' from the International Fellowship of Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT) has been signed by theologians including Paul Bendor-Samuel from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Rene Padilla from the Kairos Foundation in Argentina, Vinoth Ramachandra from the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and Ronald J Sider from Palmer Seminary at Eastern University in the US.

Reflecting on the election of Donald Trump in the US and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, and on referendums in Colombia and the UK, It says: "As an ideology characterised by fundamentalist, militant, nationalistic, and racist policies, fascism threatens especially the 'other', be it the poor, the oppressed, or the disenfranchised  people for whom God has a special concern."

The theologians say they are releasing the statement around the inauguration of Donald Trump because of the global influence of the US. They say they are "keenly aware of the anxiety and fear being caused around the world by the actions, stated positions, and inflammatory foreign policy remarks" of the president.

They note evangelical support for the "new fascism" in referendums and elections around the world. Regarding the US, while they acknowledge the complexity of the political process, they say: "Nonetheless, we grieve the part that evangelicals played in electing a person whose character, values, and actions are antithetical to the Gospel." They say: "It does not surprise us that many people, especially from the younger generation, are abandoning the evangelical world altogether."

They conclude: "As representative members of the global evangelical community, we stand with all who oppose violence, racism, misogyny, and religious, sexual and political discrimination by resisting the leadership of a person whose life, deeds and words have normalized and even glorified these postures. Our voices represent solidarity with them both in their grief over the results of the elections and in their resolve to speak to power in word and deed in these troubling times."

The statement calls the Church to "biblical faithfulness" in the treatment of immigrants, rejecting the objectification of women and seeking the welfare of the poor. It encourages prayer for Trump and his administration.

The INFEMIT statement echoes language used by Pope Francis in an interview with Spain's El Pais newspaper, in which evoked the spectre of Nazism.

"Germany is broken, it needs to get up, to find its identity, a leader, someone capable of restoring its character, and there is a young man named Adolf Hitler who says: 'I can, I can'," Francis said.

"And all Germans vote for Hitler. Hitler didn't steal the power, his people voted for him, and then he destroyed his people."

On Trump, the Pope said he would "wait and see".

"I don't like to get ahead of myself nor judge people prematurely. We will see how he acts, what he does, and then I will have an opinion," he added.
'Good grief'? No: so far there's nothing good about it

As exclamations go, 'good grief' is pretty innocuous. There is not much in those two words that can offend in the way some other expressions of astonishment can. But over the last few months I've begun to wonder whether there is such a thing as good grief.

On January 3, my wife Jill collapsed unexpectedly at home. Two days later, she was dead. In the intervening 48 hours, she had remained unconscious in Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital. She had suffered a massive subarachnoid haemorrhage  a type of stroke.

At the time I was quite calm and collected, although not exactly logical in my thinking: I had declined the invitation by the paramedic to travel in the ambulance with Jilly  I needed to take the car so I could bring her home. But I drove to the hospital slowly. I had seen that she wasn't breathing without assistance and I didn't want to hear what I knew in my heart of hearts the doctors would tell me.

Close family were summoned, a priest-friend celebrated a bedside communion service, prayers were said, and then it was over.

I still don't know what I was thinking at that stage. It was as if I was in a dream. I pledged not to have a drink. I knew that it would be all too easy to get drunk and I knew that if I did get drunk, I would most likely stay in that state. But I didn't want to eat either. It was only the 'meals on wheels' that a couple of local churches had organised that kept me and my three lads nourished in that first fortnight.

But a constant stream of visitors, thousands  literally  of lovely messages from friends and strangers, the news coverage of Jill's life and death, and the planning of her funeral kept me going.

But what then? A funeral is an opportunity to say goodbye to a person you love. For some, it is also a good time to say goodbye to their husband, their sons, their siblings. Initially, this was a welcome respite  the initial phase of support was quite overwhelming (though very welcome). Now, understandably, the pace of visitors had slowed and the rate of messages slowed right down.

Now, I was on my own. My eldest son, Myles, returned to work in Hong Kong. My middle son, Rory, returned to university in Sunderland, leaving Fergus, my youngest son, and me alone in a very large house. Jilly and I had talked about moving out this year once Fergus left for university, but we had not decided where we would move to.

Now I don't want to move. Moving means making plans. And I can't make any plans for the future because such plans, inevitably, do not involve Jilly. I still can't bring myself to plan for a life without her. That is not to say that I don't realise that Jilly is no longer in my life; but accepting that, and planning for it, are two very different things.

My sister-in-law and her daughter have moved in to the house. This is a very welcome development, not least because looking after my niece when my sister-in-law is away visiting her partner gives me a purpose in life. This is one of the hardest things for people to understand.

I try to explain to those around me that, often, I just can't see a reason to be. All my hopes, dreams, ambitions and plans are in shreds. And without Jilly, I can't bring myself to make new ones.

This is often misheard by those who care about me. Not seeing a reason to live is not the same as seeing reasons not to live. But if I am late back from anywhere and I have not replied to messages or answered the phone, I will arrive back home to find umpteen missed calls and dozens of messages: 'Where are you?' 'Is everything okay?' 'What's wrong?'

But the fact is that sometimes, I need to just disappear. I need space to try and organise my jumble of thoughts. At times, this means that I will spend whole days in bed. Other times I will drive out to a local beauty spot and sit and think. Not that it helps.

Constant tiredness, caused by an inability to sleep, disrupt normal thought patterns. And so it becomes normal to be crushed by self-anger at how calm I was while Jilly was in hospital. Fortunately, that particular train of thought lasted only a couple of weeks.

There are times when Jilly's death, just under five months ago, feels like it happened five minutes ago; and at other times it feels like years ago. However long ago it happened, the grief is here and now. And there is nothing good about it.
Immoral sex is the problem, not pregnancy, says Christian college that banned student from graduation ceremony

The conservative Christian school that banned a pregnant student from its graduation ceremony has clarified its position, saying it was her premarital sex that was immoral.

Heritage Academy in Maryland drew a storm of protest including from pro-life groups when it refused to allow Maddi Runkles, 18, to walk in the graduation procession.

However, the college's administrator, David R Hobbs, wrote in a letter to the school community on Tuesday: 'Let me clarify some facts. Maddi is being disciplined, not because she's pregnant, but because she was immoral.'

Runkles learned she was pregnant in January and said she does not plan to marry her baby boy's father. The private, nondenominational school's code of conduct says that 'no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of the marriage commitment between a man and a woman'.

Its Student Pledge, which every student from 5th to 12th grade signs, declares committed abstinence from 'sexual immorality and from the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs'.

Hobbs added in his letter: 'A wise man told me that discipline is not the absence of love, but the application of love. We love Maddi Runkles. The best way to love her right now is to hold her accountable for her immorality that began this situation.'

Hobbs said that some staff and board members supported her participation in the graduation and that countless hours in prayer and discussion' were brought to the final decision. He said the ban was nonetheless a necessary discipline. She will still receive her diploma.

He added: 'Heritage is also pleased that she has chosen to not abort her son. However, her immorality is the original choice she made that began this situation.'

Students for Life of America, which has supported Runkles, criticised the school's move in a response to Hobbs' statement.

'By banning her and her alone, the administration and board collectively decided to make a public example of one student and has either intentionally or unintentionally communicated to the school community that pregnancy (not simply premarital sex) is a shame and should not be observed within our school community,' Kristan Hawkins, the president of the pro-life group said.

She added: 'It appears that the school is not satisfied that she has repented of and been held accountable for her initial offense, and that satisfaction of such only comes at a public cost (ie not walking at graduation).'
It isn't grim up north, it's glorious. Why don't more Christians realise it?

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

Nathaniel was sceptical of Jesus not because of His teaching, His claims to be God or even His healings. It was because of where He came from.

Surely we've moved on and got over this kind of petty attitude in the 21st-century Church? I'm not so sure...

This week I've been enjoying listening to Melvyn Bragg's wonderful Radio 4 series The Matter Of The North. In it, Bragg takes us on a tour of the history, culture, politics and faith of the north of England.

For US readers who haven't visited the UK, the north of England is roughly similar to the American south. Its people are friendly, it has a distinct culture and history and it is far away from the seat of power  London. This means people in the north often feel looked down on by the south and ignored by the political and cultural elite.

What Bragg's series did so well was to highlight not only the history and achievements of the north (the cradle of the Industrial Revolution which changed the world, the birthplace of radical democratic movements such as the Independent Labour Party, Chartism and the Suffragettes, home to towering cultural work from Wordsworth to Morrissey). It also celebrated the profound spiritual heritage that the north has bequeathed to the rest of England, and indeed Britain.

Monastic communities which came from Ireland and Iona found a home on Holy Island  Lindisfarne. From there we heard of the pioneering historical work of the Venerable Bede  the only Englishman recognised as a 'Doctor of the Church'. The astonishing Lindisfarne Gospels, the pivotal Synod of Whitby which changed Christian faith forever, the Pilgrimage of Grace and the doughty resistance to Henry VIII's vandalism and destruction of monasteries were all highlighted.

Moving into the modern era, we heard of the powerful influence of Nonconformity in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Northumbria and beyond. Not only were they an inspiration for much social transformation, Methodism, Quakerism and other sects led the way in renewing the British view of faith as something not merely to be practised by clergy on a Sunday. Instead it was to be an all-consuming, whole life of discipleship.

I really hope some of my Christian friends in the south were listening.

I was born, raised, educated and worked in Lancashire until work brought me to London nearly a decade ago. In that time I've met many wonderful people, been part of great churches and am proud to be a small part of the renaissance of the Church in the capital. I love London.

Yet there is a worrying trend among Christians here. Instead of being counter-cultural as we are called to be, I've noticed a sense in which some of my fellow Christians here in the south east slavishly follow the culture of the rest of society. They far too easily dismiss the north of England as "backward", "grim", or even "inferior". They may not use those words, but the feelings can be obvious.

Otherwise educated and informed people will proudly proclaim their ignorance when it comes to the north. "Oh," they say with an odd air of pride, "I've never been north of Watford (they mean Watford Gap)"  as if it's some kind of badge of honour. In which other field would people feel free to comment on something of which they've just proclaimed their ignorance? Yet proclaim they do. "Ooh, listen to your accent." "Doesn't it rain all the time up there?" "Oh, I could never live up there  I need to be in London."

How depressing.

The Church in London is in decent health. Elsewhere in the country, though of course not everywhere, it is struggling. When he was Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright told me that he despaired of the discrepancy in applications to clergy posts between his diocese and those down south. While a post in the south may attract 20-odd applications, he was often struggling to find candidates.

This is a big problem for the Church. If we believe all are equal before God, then there aren't certain parts of the country we should esteem higher than others. Sure, much of the southern commentary on the north is done jokingly, but many a true word is said in jest. There is a real socio-economic north/south divide in this country and we as Christians shouldn't buy into it. In fact, we should be actively opposing it. If Jesus sought out the more marginalised places, then so should we. If the Church was founded in an unlikely backwater of the Roman Empire, then why wouldn't the next big move of God in the UK come from the north of England?

There are, of course, many wonderful churches in the north. Exciting things are happening in our great northern cities, towns and villages. They don't need condescending sympathy. Yet they might need you to go and join in. Those from the south might be surprised at the breathtaking beauty of the north, the wonderful culinary delights (I'll have a Butter Pie, followed by a Manchester Tart since you're asking), and yes, the warmth of the people.

Of course, not all Christians in the south are prejudiced. Some love the north, while others have good reasons for being committed to their lives and ministry in London.

Others, though, would do well to remember what Philip said to Nathaniel once he had asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

His reply: "Come and see."

Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy
After the elections

Political and bureaucratic actors need to hurry with preps for transition to federalism
Manchester and Mahabba: The Love Challenge

I woke up on Tuesday with my heart churning about Manchester.

As a Mahabba team across the UK, we were respectfully remaining silent to give Manchester time to grieve and find a way to respond. However, it became so obvious that we could not remain silent: people were looking for a way to respond, and for someone to help them come to terms with this tragedy, as so many people are feeling numb.

I so well remember that same numbness when I was an officer in the British army. Four of my soldiers were blown up senselessly in a radio-controlled explosion in our first week of action. The shock was so immense that I never really processed that pain and just locked it up inside. I do identify with those who are grieving and have suffered loss, so it is with trepidation, and a feeling of humility and brokenness, that I am now writing.

'Choose love, Manchester!' said the Manchester poet Tony Walsh. Right now, we are all facing the Love Challenge: will we choose to love sacrificially when nothing makes sense and our emotions are either totally numb or screaming inside? It's at times like this that we need to remember that people are never our enemy, whether Muslim or Christian, LGBT or straight, black or white...whatever the differences, everyone is loved and has been purchased by our precious Jesus, who gave his life for each one with no exceptions. My Bible says that love never fails, but oh how it hurts sometimes!

This is the Love Challenge.

I remember just after the events of 9/11 that Muslims in the UK were terrified of being persecuted and so they gathered in large numbers in mosques to try to make sense of the events. I quickly sent a message to all the other pastors in my town, asking them to join me outside the local mosque after Friday prayers so that we could press flowers into every hand as they came out, telling them not to be afraid: we were true believers in 'Isa Al Masih'  Jesus the Messiah  and they could count on us to be their friends. This was the Love Challenge  to respond in the opposite spirit, when our love tank was totally dry, and inside we were raging against Radical Islam.

Sadly not one pastor turned up, due possibly to fear or anger, and I was left alone with five intercessors pressing flowers into every hand. Most were in tears as we did this, and one young man jumped into my arms and said, 'I don't care where you come from  I'm following you!' This was the impact of one simple act of true love. That moment profoundly changed my life: learning to see behind all the veils and facades of religion, refusing to stereotype people, and actually feel God's father heart of love for them.

The seeds of this love for Muslims had been sown over several years as I went ahead of evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, as his campaign director, into many Islamic cities, believing that thousands would come to Christ. During our prayer times we again and again heard the prophetic heart cry of God from Isaiah 45, that he would give us these precious Muslim people, whom he saw as 'treasures in darkness'. Somehow we needed to choose to see Muslims as people just like us.

It can be at any moment that we suddenly, even years later, are able to release the pain of those moments. For me it happened at the National Prayer Breakfast in the Houses of Parliament in London last year, as my heart was heavy after the news of the Orlando bombing. At the breakfast, unexpectedly all the memories of losing my four soldiers almost 40 years ago began to resurface: I listened to the Middle Eastern bishop talk of the martyrdom of 21 courageous men from his Church being beheaded on the beach in Libya, and how he knelt down and then tweeted #fatherforgive. He then finished speaking, there was silence, and the band began to play. I cannot explain what happened next as I closed my eyes, but tears just flowed, and those years of locked up pain were released and healed, instantly.

Only embracing the Cross at this time will enable us to respond well to the Love Challenge. Oh, how it hurts, but it is the only safe place to bring the emotions and reactions that we are all feeling.

Gordon Hickson is a pastor from Oxford, and has been in missions and pastoral work for more than 30 years. Recently he and others have launched a prayer based relational network called Mahabba , motivating and mobilizing ordinary Christians to unveil Jesus to Muslims.
Manchester Muslims suffer hate crimes after bombing atrocity

Muslim leaders in Manchester are expressing concern about a spike in Islamophobic hate after the suicide bombing that killed 22 on Monday night.

A series of abusive incidents directed at Muslims followed the attack including an arson attack on a mosque in Oldham, Greater Manchester, a Muslim girl being spat at and another being told to 'go home', according to the Guardian.

Fawzi Haffar, trustee of the Manchester Islamic Centre in Didsbury, where bomber Salman Abedi is thought to have prayed, spoke outside the mosque on Wednesday night, seeking to dismiss the link.

In a strongly worded statement he condemned the attack as a 'horrific atrocity', saying 'this act of cowardice has no place in our religion or any other religion'.

But when pressed Haffar refused to answer questions on the centre's links with Abedi, despite one of the imams, Mohammed Saeed, describing how the 22-year-old had looked at him 'with hate' after he preached a sermon against ISIS.

Haffar went on to say Muslims should not have to apologise for extremists.

'I say to Muslims you should not have to apologise for the actions of individuals,' he said.

'No other community has ever been held to account like this. Let me be clear  what happened on Monday was a crime of epic proportions. It was epic, evil and one we condemn with the strongest condemnation.

'But let's also be clear about this  why do we then have to stand up and say: "we apologise"? It's not my fault. It's not the fault of the religion.'

He added: 'We're sick of having to apologise and being the first to condemn it. What more can we do? Tell me what more can we do?'

Going on to distance himself and the mosque from Abedi he said: 'We express concern that a small section of the media are manufacturing stories and making unfounded points.'

He added he was worried about the rise in hatred directed at Muslims.

'These are terrible anti-Muslim acts ranging from verbal abuse to acts of criminal damage to mosques in the area and outside the area. We do encourage any incidents to be reported as a hate crime.'

The Muslim chaplain at the University of Manchester, Mohammed Ullah, said he had heard a number of reports of attacks on Muslims but students didn't want to cause a fuss so didn't report them.

'Islamophobic attacks have increased in the last few years exponentially," he told the Guardian. 'I tell Muslim students to report these hate incidents when they happen. Be vigilant against it and don't allow hate to divide us.'
New evidence of the battle for Jerusalem 2,000 years ago is unveiled

Fresh evidence of the battle for Jerusalem 2,000 years ago on the eve of the destruction of the Second Temple has been unveiled by Israel's Antiquities Authority and the Nature and Parks Authority.

Arrowheads and stone ballista balls were discovered on the main street that ascended from the city's gates and the Pool of Siloam to the Temple, which was excavated in recent years with funding provided by the City of David Society.

The findings help to tell the story of the last battle between the Roman forces and the Jewish rebels who had barricaded themselves in the city, a battle that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and was described by the historian Flavius Josephus. 'On the following day the Romans, having routed the brigands from the town, set the whole on fire as far as Siloam,' Josephus wrote.

According to Nahshon Szanton and Moran Hagbi, the directors of the excavation: 'Josephus' descriptions of the battle in the lower city come face-to-face for the first time with evidence that was revealed in the field in a clear and chilling manner. Stone ballista balls fired by catapults used to bombard Jerusalem during the Roman siege of the city, were discovered in the excavations. Arrowheads, used by the Jewish rebels in the hard-fought battles against the Roman legionnaires, were found exactly as described by Josephus.'

So far, a section of the road around 100 metres long and 7.5 metres wide, paved with large stone slabs as was customary in monumental construction throughout the Roman Empire, has been exposed in the excavations.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said that so far the archaeological excavations strengthen the understanding that Herod the Great was not solely responsible for the large construction projects of Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period. The IAA said that recent research indicates that the street was built after Herod's reign, under the auspices of the Roman procurators of Jerusalem, and perhaps even during the tenure of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.

Szanton and Hagbi said: 'This conclusion in fact sheds new light on the history of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple Period, and reinforces recognition of the importance of the Roman procurators' rule in shaping the character of Jerusalem.

'Two thousand years after the destruction of Jerusalem and 50 years since its liberation, we are going back to the water cisterns, the market and the city square on the eve of its destruction.'

According to Dr Yuval Baruch, the Jerusalem region archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority: 'We intend to uncover the entire length and width of the street within five years, and thereby complete the excavation of this unique site which had already drawn the attention of archaeologists from around the world about 100 years ago.

'In fact, one can consider the current excavations in the City of David a natural continuation of the previous archaeological excavations of the site, which were begun in the past by European and American scholars. About four years ago archeological excavations were renewed along the street, this time in order to expose its full length and width. When the excavations are completed, the remains of the street will be conserved and developed and made ready to receive the tens of thousands of visitors who will walk along it.'
Nine Christians 'shot dead' by Islamist militants in Philippines as chaos descends on city after church kidnappings

Nine Christian civilians have reportedly been shot dead after being forced off their truck and having their hands tied together by Islamist militants in Marawi city in the Philippines.

According to local reports, members of the militant so-called Maute group murdered the group by a check-point after they were identified as Christian.

Harrowing local television images show the Christians lying dead face-down in the grass, amid reports that villagers are afraid to move the bodies because terrorists are still in the area.

A policeman was similarly caught at a checkpoint set up by the militants and beheaded on Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

News of the killings come as chaos descended on the Muslim-majority Marawi city, where the Filipino army has sent in about 100 soldiers, including US military.

Thousands of citizens have fled after the Maute group torched several buildings and occupied various parts of Marawi. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has imposed martial law on Mindanao Island, which includes Marawi, in an attempt to curtail the chaos. He promised the military rule would be 'harsh'.

'I warned everybody not to force my hand into it,' Duterte said, according to The National. 'I have to do it to preserve the republic.'

Attention has also been focused on the kidnapping of a local priest and his parishioners who were taken hostage by the Maute group on Tuesday.

The president of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines appealed for prayers for the hostages. He said: 'Fr Chito Suganob and others were in the Cathedral of St Mary's when members of the Maute fighting group forced their way into the cathedral, taking with them Fr Chito and others as hostages. They have threatened to kill the hostages if the government forces unleashed against them are not recalled.'

After the kidnapping the militants reportedly set fire to the cathedral and the bishop's residence. Black flags markings allegiance to ISIS have also reportedly been erected across the city.

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo told ABS-CBN News: 'I pray for the safety of all the hostages. I appeal to the consciences of the hostage takers not to harm the innocent as the Islamic faith teaches. I appeal to religious leaders of Islam to influence the hostage takers to release the hostages unharmed.

'For God's will is the safety of innocent people. May the loving God protect the people of Marawi.'

Bishop Edwin De la Pena, Prelature of Marawi Diocese, told Radio DZMM: 'At the time of his capture, Fr Chito was in the performance of his ministry as a priest. He was not a combatant. He was not bearing arms. He was a threat to none. His capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilised conflict.'

De la Pena told Agenzia Fides that people in the city were 'terrified'. At least 21 have been killed since fighting began on Tuesday, after a failed government raid on a suspected terrorist hideout.

That raid was meant to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. A military spokesman said he was still at large in the city.
Opposition To Philippine's President Duterte Turn Historic Event Into Protest March

Political opponents of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday turned a traditional celebration of a 'People Power' uprising against dictatorship three decades ago into a protest march condemning his war on drugs.

The small political opposition and left-wing activists held separate commemorative events at the historic highway where more than a million Filipinos gathered in 1986, forcing Ferdinand Marcos and his family to flee to Hawaii after a 20-year rule.

Supporters of Duterte were due to hold a counter rally later on Saturday at a big Manila park, including a vigil backing the anti-drugs crackdown. Similar actions were planned in key cities across the country and in some capitals abroad.

The opposition warned of a possible return to authoritarian rule under Duterte, calling on Filipinos to stand up for truth and justice and demand a stop to the extrajudicial killings, which have claimed more than 7,700 lives in seven months.

'There is a president who is threatening to re-impose martial law and openly support the killings of thousand of people,' staunch Duterte critic Senator Leila de Lima said in a message from her detention cell, a day after she was arrested for drug offences that she described as a vendetta.

'The grim truth: in the last seven months under Duterte, there were more deaths compared to the 14 years of martial law under the Marcos regime.'

Rights groups and a US senator criticised Duterte for the arrest of de lima, describing it as 'politically motivated' to silence his critic.

'President Duterte is effectively expanding his drug war from the urban poor to the legislative branch of government,' Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Thousands of left-wing activists marched on the main highway in Manila to demand 'genuine change' promised by Duterte, calling for the resumption of peace talks with Maoist-led rebels and release of more than 400 political prisoners.

'This is particularly dangerous today when there are real efforts to rehabilitate the Marcoses and pave the way for their eventual return to Malacanang,' Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary-general, said in a statement, referring to the presidential palace.

Former President Fidel Ramos and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, hailed as the heroes of the 1986 revolt against Marcos, attended a mass at the main army base in Manila to mark the anniversary, which Duterte skipped.

Interior Minister Ismael Sueno had asked local officials to encourage supporters to join candlelight events organised by a pro-administration political movement.

Some cabinet members feared anti-Duterte protests might be used as a staging point to call for the president's ouster, although top security officials have made firm assurance about the loyalty of the army and police.
Philippines president declares martial law after Islamist militants take Christians hostage and overrun city

Chaos has descended on Marawi city in the Philippines as the government attempts to combat Islamist terrorist who brought havoc to the city, killing several and holding a local priest and parishioners hostage.

The Filipino army has sent about 100 soldiers, including US military, into the majority-Muslim city with a population of around 200,000, which was this week overrun by the Maute terrorist group, a militant Islamist group with allegiance to ISIS.

Thousands of citizens have fled after the Maute group torched several buildings and occupied various parts of Marawi. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has imposed martial law on Mindanao Island, which includes Marawi, in an attempt to curtail the chaos. He promised the military rule would be 'harsh'.

'I warned everybody not to force my hand into it,' Duterte said, according to The National. 'I have to do it to preserve the republic.'

Attention has also been focused on the kidnapping of a local priest and his parishioners who were taken hostage by the Maute group on Tuesday. The president of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines appealed for prayers for the hostages.

He said: 'Fr Chito Suganob and others were in the Cathedral of St Mary's when members of the Maute fighting group forced their way into the cathedral, taking with them Fr Chito and others as hostages. They have threatened to kill the hostages if the government forces unleashed against them are not recalled.'

After the kidnapping the militants reportedly set fire to the cathedral and the bishop's residence. Black flags markings allegiance to ISIS have also reportedly been erected across the city.

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo told ABS-CBN News: 'I pray for the safety of all the hostages. I appeal to the consciences of the hostage takers not to harm the innocent as the Islamic faith teaches. I appeal to religious leaders of Islam to influence the hostage takers to release the hostages unharmed.

'For God's will is the safety of innocent people. May the loving God protect the people of Marawi.'

Bishop Edwin De la Pena, Prelature of Marawi Diocese, told Radio DZMM: 'At the time of his capture, Fr Chito was in the performance of his ministry as a priest. He was not a combatant. He was not bearing arms. He was a threat to none. His capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilised conflict.'

De la Pena told Agenzia Fides that people in the city were 'terrified'. At least 21 have been killed since fighting began on Tuesday, after a failed government raid on a suspected terrorist hideout.

That raid was meant to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. A military spokesman said he was still at large in the city.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Why The Archbishop Is Right  The North Of England Needs A Better Deal

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has become renowned for his interventions on behalf of Christians around the world. From his graphic advocacy of Fair Trade to his campaign against the rule of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, the Ugandan-born cleric is a tireless advocate.

This week, though, he was championing a cause much closer to home. Sentamu used a speech in the House of Lords to call for the devolution of more political power to the north of England. As Archbishop of York, he has jurisdiction over the northern dioceses of England, so he might well be expected to speak out on behalf of them.

His rhetoric, though, wasn't just aimed at an increase in money or resources. The Archbishop said: "We need economic policies which build on the assets of people in community. People are not just units to be moved around the country to wherever they are needed. People become human among their neighbours and in their communities."

In arguing for the benefits of national prosperity to be shared more evenly between south and north, Sentamu said he was actually making a case for the whole country to be improved. "The state of the north is important," he argued, "because, unless we get things right in the north, the whole country will be more divided, less prosperous and more unhappy."

In this way, the Archbishop is acting not just as a church leader, or even as a politician, but using a prophetic voice to speak truth to power.

I've written before about the attitude some in the Church seem to have to the north of England (It isn't grim up north, it's glorious. Why don't more Christians realise it?) Sadly, this attitude is in evidence throughout political, economic and cultural life in the UK.

Too often, the north of England is ignored, maligned or even laughed at. But this was the heartland of the industrial revolution. The prosperity which built modern Britain was the result of the labour of countless people working in the 'dark satanic mills' of the North, as well as other industrial areas of the UK. We simply wouldn't be anything like the country we are today were it not for the colossal cultural, economic and yes, financial contribution of the north.

By speaking out, the Archbishop has highlighted what has been obvious in the last year  a divided society is an unhappy society. The post-industrial heartlands of the north of England which have been overlooked and left behind for generations finally drew attention when they voted for Brexit. If the post-Brexit settlement then leaves the status quo in place and the people remain distant from power, what have we learned? What have we gained?

This is where the Archbishop's powerful call for devolution comes in. In Catholic Social Teaching, the idea of subsidiarity is very important. It means that decisions should be should be made at the lowest possible level. This is what has been lacking in the north of England over the last 40 years. As state power was centralised to London by various local government reforms in the 1980s and 90s, so too was economic power. The industrial heartland of the country was stripped of its significance and we came to rely more and more on the increasing influence of the City of London as a financial centre.

The IPPR North (a think tank whose report prompted the debate in the House of Lords) has what looks like an exciting agenda for the north of England. This is where the Church comes in. There is a call for ideas  even crazy, radical ideas  to be submitted to form part of new plans for the rebuilding of the north. Churches across the north of England are already engaged in important work. Why not take the chance to offer a vision of what the future could look like? You can do so here.

The Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, is a passionate advocate for the north of England. In a blog post in 2013 he argued for the importance of cultural institutions such as the National Media Museum in Bradford. "Ultimately the decisions taken will speak eloquently of our national communal priorities," he wrote. "These will betray our ideological as well as economic assumptions. And underneath it all will seethe a pile of questions about our anthropology, our fundamental philosophy of the common good, and the gap between our words of 'social solidarity' (for example, "we are all in it together") and the reality we fear to face."

This is just as true in 2017. For the sake of the whole country, we mustn't allow the south east to dominate the rest. God cares just as much about every blade of grass in our green and pleasant land. So should we.
The Optimistic Leftist: Why the 21st century Will be Better Than You Think, by Ruy Teixeira (St. Martins, 256 pp., $26.99)

The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution: Why Economic Inequality Threatens Our Republic, by Ganesh Sitaraman (Knopf, 423 pp., $28.00)

Donald Trumps victory over Hillary Clinton sent most of the political/intellectual world into a tizzy. Ruy Teixeira is the unusual liberal who sees Trump as merely a passing phenomenon in a world destined to be ruled, as in H.G. Wellss technocratic vision, by upper-middle-class professionals and experts. Ganesh Sitaraman looks more deeply and sees that the middle-class social basis for American constitutionalism is in peril. Their books are written from strikingly dissimilar but nonetheless left-wing sensibilities. Teixeira is almost Panglossian in his optimism, while Sitaraman bases his structural pessimism on a extraordinarily original take on Americas constitutional order. Yet starting from different temperamental poles, they come to similarand conventionally liberalsolutions for Americas problems.

Teixeira and Sitaraman are both Fellows at the Center for American Progress, a Democratic advocacy group founded by Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign manager, John Podesta. Both are writers of substance. But while Teixeiras book reads like it was written in anticipation of a Hillary Clinton presidency, Sitaraman seems to have hitched his star to an Elizabeth Warren candidacy in 2020.

Teixeira is best known for co-authoring The Emerging Democratic Majority with John Judis. That 2004 book argued that emerging demographic trends, namely the growth of the Hispanic and black population, as well as the retention of significant numbers of white working-class voters, were likely to deliver the White House to the Democrats on a regular basis henceforth. The thesis of perpetual one-party rule seemed to have been borne out by Barack Obamas victories in 2008 and 2012, but in 2016 Judis parted ways with Teixeiraand with received liberal wisdomby anticipating a populist white working-class defection from the Democrats. Teixeira, however, expected that the growth of upper-middle-class support for the Democrats would be enough to win a third term for the Obama coalition.

Despite the apparent bump in the road represented by Trumps victory, Teixeira sees only bright skies ahead for an American society dominated by single women, academics, and minorities. What is correct, he argues, is that progress has slowed down, not that it has stopped or reversed. The Left, he summarizes, does best in good times, worst in tough times. This thesis, which is Teixeiras overarching statement about American politics, seems contradicted, however, by the central role he assigns to the wisdom of FDR and the New Deal in the formation of the Democrat coalition.

Teixeira has little to say about Trump, but he expects that the Democrats will take the White House in 2024. Back in power, theyll bring back prosperity by restoring Obamas supposed middle-out economics, through Keynesian socialization of investment.

A Harvard Law School graduate who worked as policy director for Warrens 2012 senatorial campaign, Sitaraman is now a professor at Vanderbilt Law School. In 2012, he wrote The Counterinsurgents Constitution: Law in the Age of Small Wars, which won the Palmer Prize for books on civil liberties.

The first, and by far the best, third of The Crisis of the Middle Class is devoted to the classical underpinnings of American constitutionalism. Prior to 1787, innovations in accountable government were confined to what Sitaraman describes as class war constitutions, designed to constrain the predatory tendencies of both aristocrats and the common folk. Societies divided by class, religion, and/or geography required a strongly authoritativeif not authoritariangovernment to keep conflicts in check. In Rome, the patricians and plebeians were set off against each other by various constraining mechanisms; in England, after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Crown, Commons, and Lords were set off against one another in a sometimes fragile equipoise.

The American Constitution represented a dramatic break with prior efforts at governance. Aristotle argued that the best political community is formed by citizens of the middle class. But it wasnt until the 17th century, when the English political philosopher James Harrington wrote The Commonwealth of Oceana, that a compelling argument based on economic equality was made for a new type of political structure. In lines that influenced the American Founding Fathers, Harrington wrote that Equality of estates causeth equality of power, and equality of power is the liberty of not only the commonwealth but of everyman. In the 18th century, the Scottish philosopher David Hume, an important influence on the Federalist papers, carried Harringtons argument forward. He argued that the middle classes were the most stable basis for government: they were neither louche like the Lords nor consumed by the daily struggle for bread like the peasantry. The middle class, marked by prudence and thrift, were the ones, Hume argued, most amenable to reason and self-government.

Building on Harrington and Hume, and the colonists tradition of British common law, the Constitution ratified in 1788 propounded a short and remarkably straightforward set of rules of governance for the new nation. The Constitution, Sitaraman argues effectively, established a society in which property was widely if not always evenly distributed, but it did not pit the owners of property against the workers in intractable opposition. The Constitution was meant to serve and represent the broad middle ranks of society.

The great danger to the Constitution was the rise of an oligarchy able to convert its wealth into political power and vice versa. Madison, the Constitution's primary author, warned that, eventually, the proportion being without property would increase, and create a crisis of legitimacy for the ruling class. At that point, Madison intuited, the institutions and laws of the country must be adapted, and it will require for the task all the wisdom of the wisest patriots. Madisons foreboding applies well to California today where, formalities aside, the state is run, notes Joel Kotkin, by the plutocrats of Silicon Valley, whove accumulated vast wealth even while employing relatively few Americans.

Neither Sitaraman nor Teixeira mentions Silicon Valley or the oligarchs who rule the once-Golden State. Nor do these two authors see the dangers to democracy posed by the administrative state. Instead, despite admirably heterodox tendencies, they insist that a neo-New Deal state and its attendant bureaucracies are more than adequate to confront our challenges. Their faith in government as a means to spread the greatest happiness to the greatest number is charming, but experience leads us to doubt their premises.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
In the autumn of 2014, I was invited to give the opening address at a national fundraising conference. Flattered, I thought I would use the opportunity to encourage the sector to take bigger risks and explore different, potentially transformational ways to raise money.

However, next on stage was a senior representative of a national fundraising organisation who bemoaned consultants who extolled fundraisers to take bigger risks. He talked about how a local charity had raised an extra few thousand pounds by making a low-risk, simple change to its donation form as an example of how fundraisers could change things.
The director of an international aid charity has asked the Charity Commission to explain why it promoted one particular fundraising appeal earlier this year.

Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World UK, wrote to Paula Sussex, chief executive of the Commission, to raise concerns about a tweet from the regulators official account, which linked to the Disasters Emergency Committees appeal for East Africa.

He said that the regulator's social media activity amounted to "partisan" behaviour.

The Commission has responded to Daynes to say that its activity was in line with its aims to promote safer giving.

Linking to the DEC

The DEC brings together 13 large aid charities to raise money in times of crisis. They are Together We're Stronger, ActionAid, Age International, British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.

Membership of the DEC is reviewed every three years and is limited to 15 organisations which must meet strict governance, financial and programme quality requirments.

In March the Commissions Twitter feed urged people to donate to register charities raising money to help those affected by the disaster in East Africa and included the DEC twitter account handle and an image with DEC branding. The tweet also included a link to the Commission's news story on its website and was posted six times.

Give safely to registered charities helping those affected by the humanitarian disaster in East Africa @decappeal https://t.co/eOIhEe3nBx pic.twitter.com/lkz25KMgJj  Charity Commission (@ChtyCommission) March 23, 2017

The news item on the Commissions website also included a link to the DECs appeal page.

It is not the first time the Commissions Twitter account has mentioned the DEC, but it is the first time that it used images provided by the DEC.

The Commission has previously directed people to a DEC appeal, during its appeal for people affected by the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

It runs regular safer giving campaigns, reminding people to give to registered charities, at times like Christmas or Ramadan, though these do not typically direct people to particular charities.

Harmful to others

Daynes asked the Commission to explain why it is acceptable for the Commission to promote one organisation over another in such an overt, partisan way.

He said there are registered, reputable charities meeting humanitarian need that are not eligible to join the DEC and that the regulators public statements could confuse the public, who may think that organisations not part of the DEC are not to be trusted.

Indeed, we have had calls from the public to this effect. Your messages are impeding the response to the urgent crisis in the affected region, he said.

Daynes called on the Commission to publish a list of all the organisations the public could consider supporting.

Commission response

In response, Jack Rowley, head of external affairs, said the activity Daynes referred to was part of the Commissions ongoing safer giving work and is part of ensuring the public can have trust and confidence in charities.

He said: Where funds are misused or misdirected, trust is damaged. As such, the Commission runs a campaign throughout the year to provide tips and advice to help ensure donors can give with confidence. This campaign is often focused around times of increased giving, such as Christmas or Ramadan, or during humanitarian crises where we know the British public are incredibly generous.

Rowley said this included DEC appeals because we know that individuals are more likely to donate and we will ordinarily provide tips and advice during this period.

The press release provides lots of advice on how the public can ensure that their donations reach genuine charities. These are not specific to DEC charities and we do not advise that donations are only made to DEC charities. Further, there is no intention to suggest that other organisations cannot be trusted and we do not consider that our press release gives this impression, he said.

He stressed that the press release does include significantly more detail than the tweet and said the Commission would continue to consider its messaging in future campaigns.




Binod Ghimire covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2010, he has reported primarily on social issues, focusing on education and transitional justice.
A child stands amid the rubble of a town which has been destroyed by conflict in Yemen

H&M UK has raised 1m for Unicef UK through its plastic bag levy, which will be used to help vulnerable children in the midst of life-threatening emergencies.

The fashion chain has donated 1m to Unicef UKs Childrens Emergency Fund since the 5p plastic bag charge was introduced in 2015.

The introduction of the 5p plastic bag levy was in October 2015, and means that retailers with more than 250 employees must charge for plastic bags. This money is expected to go to good causes. The government estimated that the charge could raise 73m per year for charities, and that over 730m could be raised for good causes over ten years.

Kate Goldman-Toomey, director of partnerships and philanthropy at Unicef UK, said: At a time when children are facing so many crises around the world from conflicts to food crises in places like Yemen and South Sudan, the donation of 1m from H&M UK has enabled Unicef to carry out vital work to ensure that vulnerable children can survive and thrive. We want to extend a big thank you to H&M UK and its customers for supporting our work.

The donation of carrier bag charges by H&M to Unicef UK is part of a wider global partnership that since 2004 has raised approximately 1.7m ($22m) for Unicefs programmes for children.

Tesco trials stopping 5p bag sales

Tesco is launching a ten-week trial in three of its stores where it will no longer sell the 5p bags, and will instead only sell its bag-for-life, which start at 10p.

A Tesco spokesman has said that it will not make a profit from selling its bag for life bags, and will continue making money for charity through its Bags of Help scheme, which is being used to fund thousands of local projects in communities right the UK.

The trial is taking place in three stores in Aberdeen, Dundee and Norwich, to see how customers manage to get on without the bags.

Competitor Sainsburys already uses a similar model, with it instead charging 5p for a reusable bag, some of which goes towards replacing the reusable bags and the rest is voluntarily given to charity.

Civil Society Media is hosting its NGO Insight 2017 conference on 28 November 2017. For more information, and to book, click here.
Save the Children UK spent 464,000 on severance payments and has seen a drop in its total headcount, its recently published accounts for the year to December 2016.

The charity told Civil Society News that three UK-based members of staff had been made redundant during the year, while a significant number of programme staff were transferred to Save the Children International.

Save the Children UK saw a a drop of 490 in its full-time equivalent staff members in the space of a year. The majority of this reduction in staff, according to the charitys most recent annual accounts published yesterday, is due to the closing down of its subsidiary, Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin).

Merlin was acquired by Save the Children UK in 2013.

Merlins average full-time staff reduced from 618 in 2015 to 58 in 2016, with most of the charitys operations moved to SCUKs sister organisation Save the Children International.

However, some of Merlins operations, primarily in Pakistan, could not be transferred due to local regulatory issues and have since substantially ceased, the annual report said.

After winding down its Pakistan programme in 2016, the Merlin board retired with effect from 12 August 2016, and was replaced by an administrative board comprised of Save the Children UK staff.

A spokesman for Save the Children UK told Civil Society News: In 2016 costs of 464,000 were incurred, these primarily related to severance costs for staff who had transitioned to Save the Children International from Save the Children UK and Merlin, restructuring in UK programmes and programme partnerships divisions.

The spokesperson said only three jobs went in the charity's UK programmes and programme partnerships.

The annual report shows a relatively high staff turnover rate of 20 per cent.

In recent years resources from Save the Children's country offices have been being transferred to Save the Children International, which has taken a more active role in running its international aid effort.

Record income

Meanwhile, the charity raised a record income of over 405.5m in 2016, its accounts show, an increase of 15.8m from the total funds raised in 2015. The organisations total expenditure for the year also increased significantly to 410.1m, up from 381.8m in 2015.

The vast majority of this total income increase was generated by institutional donors, which saw an increase of 14.9m in the last financial year.

Save the Children UK also saw a large boost in performance related grants from government and multilateral organisations. Those grants totalled 233.8m in the last financial year, up from 213.7m in 2015. The largest performance related grant came from the UK central government, who made grants totalling 138.7m; the organisation also received significant grants from both the United Nations (40m) and from the European Commission (34.3m).

Decline in individual giving

This revenue streams helped STC to offset some losses from its individual giving channels, the total income from which decreased by 6.7m in 2016 down to 48.1m. The organisations expenditure on raising donations and legacies saw a slight increase of around 100,000 in 2016, up to 26.6m.

While the total costs of raising funds increased slightly, the charity did spend 1.8m less on its individual giving fundraising as a whole in 2016, however it was still by far the costliest of the organisations fundraising channels, with 15.3m being spent.

A spokesperson for the charity said the fall in individual giving income was due to lower emergency appeal funds received in 2016 following large appeals for the earthquake in Nepal and the Child Refugee crisis in 2015.

We expect expenditure on raising donations to pay back over several years rather than in-year, the spokesperson added.
Americas local journalists are disappearing. But nobody knows exactly how quickly.

Earlier this month it was Gannett, the countrys largest newspaper publisher, quietly letting go of staffers from its sprawling network of local news organizations. Now McClatchy, owner of the Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, and other papers, appears to be paring down some of its newsrooms. But the company, like Gannett before, is mum on specifics.

Semi-regular rounds of newsroom culling have become as predictable as media corporations downward spiral of ominous quarterly earnings reports. Its in companies PR interests to limit news of such erosion of value, but shielding this information from public view conflicts with their own newspapers missions.

The number of journalists communities are losingan important local story and increasingly urgent question for the medias role in civic lifeis anyones guess.

Poynter first reported on Monday that the Sacramento Bee was undergoing an undisclosed number of layoffs and buyouts following its parent companys gloomy first-quarter results. Executive Editor Joyce Terhaar declined to elaborate on the number of job cuts in an email to CJR, adding that her staff didnt have the full details. Fair enough.

RELATED: Tracking Trumps assault on press norms

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It remains unclear, however, whether the paper will eventually publicize the total. Editors havent discussed this internally yet, Terhaar says, but we have not done that with past job reductions. Terhaar did not respond by deadline to requests from CJR to explain why.

Poynter also cited two additional reports of McClatchy job cuts over the past two months. The Fresno Bee covered layoffs of eight journalists from its own newsroom in early Maythe newsroom deserves props for doing so. The Seattle Times reported in April that the McClatchy-owned Tacoma News Tribune would eliminate up to 10 jobs. Still, Tina Tedesco, a McClatchy spokeswoman, declined to specify whether the companys most recent cuts, at the Bee, were part of a broader round of staff reductions. I dont have any specifics as to the scope of jobs lost across the company, she emails.

TRENDING: Montana House candidate takes enemy of the people to its logical conclusion

Gannett employed a similar PR playbook earlier this month when news trickled out on Twitter that journalists were being let go from a number of its newspapers across the country. A representative similarly declined my request to elaborate on the size of total newsroom job losses, which were covered by just a few of the outlets affected.

After CJR put out calls for Gannett journalists to provide the information their mothership would not, nearly two dozen current and former employees responded. It appears that at least 60 staffers, from at least 15 separate newsrooms, lost their jobs. The real totals are likely higher, and they come in addition to the shuttering of off-site design and production facilities in New Jersey and California, respectively.

Not only are ongoing job reductions important stories for the local economies these news organizations cover, but theyre also increasingly crucial for communities grappling with a future without newspapers. Amid all the hand-wringing over the industrys fate, and all the discussion of enlisting the public to prop up local media, residents have little information on what theyre actually losing.

So, journalists, consider this a call to action: CJR wants to make public the information your corporations will not. Please ping us with any news of newsroom staff reductions at jray@cjr.org.

ICYMI: An upcoming Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks movie has former NYTimes journalists pretty ticked off

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti.
Every few days, Donald Trump issues a new threat against the press.

Some are minoressentially, name calling and common complaints about coveragewhile others are harder to dismiss. The fear among some press freedom experts is that even small incidents can erode the medias power to do its job, and create a trickle-down effect in which Trumps words embolden others at the state and local levels.

The political press in the US operates, for the most part, under well-established norms, rather than legal rules. In an interview about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, Harvard professor Steve Levitsky told The New York Times that democratic breakdown more often stems from leaders transgressing norms, rather than from breaking rules. The underlying informal norms are essential, he said, adding, There arent that many cases in the world where established democracies have broken down. But where they have, you will see these sort of informal guardrails come down, and intense polarization.

CJR compiled a list of instances when norms that protect press freedom in the US have been pushed, and, in some cases, upended entirely under Trump.

June 19

Reporters barred from attending campaign events in the Georgia 6th

Incident

On the eve of a closely watched special election, a reporter from The Washington Free Beacon was not allowed to cover an event for Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff. Meanwhile, a reporter for ThinkProgress said she was blocked from attending events held by the campaign of GOP candidate Karen Handel.

Scale of normalcy

Several reporters from other outlets spoke out in defense of those barred from doing their jobs. Its not unusual for campaigns to have testy relationships with media outlets perceived to approach issues from the opposing side of the political spectrum, but banning reporters continues a disturbing trend.

June 13

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Reporters are told they can no longer film impromptu interviews with senators in the Capitol

Incident

Journalists and several senators responded with outrage after Mike Mastrian, the director of the Senate Radio and Television Gallery, told reporters they had to obtain prior permission before interviewing senators. A spokesman for Senate Rules Committee Chairman Richard Shelby later released a statement saying, While the Rules Committee is reviewing the rules, reporters should continue to operate as they were operating yesterday.

Scale of normalcy

Shelby suggested that the restrictions would only be enforcing existing rules, but the idea of curtailing access as Republican senators drafted a health care bill in secret led to calls of obfuscation. As of now, nothing has changed, but its a subject that bears watching.

June 6

The Knight First Amendment Institute requests Trump unblock users from his Twitter account on First Amendment grounds

Incident

The Knight First Amendment Institute wrote a letter to President Trump asking him to unblock Twitter users from his account. Blocking users from your Twitter account violates the First Amendment. When the government makes a space available to the public at large for the purpose of expressive activity, it creates a public forum from which is may not constitutionally exclude individuals on the basis of viewpoint, wrote Jameel Jaffer, Katie Fallow, and Alex Abdo.

Scale of normalcy

Obama was the first president to use Twitter. The stated policy of the Obama White House was that official government accounts would not block followers.

June 5

Man breaks into a newsroom and attacks a security guard at Q13FOX in Seattle

Incident

Nicholas Hella was arrested by Seattle police after he allegedly punched a security guard in the face, tackled him, and tried to choke him. Hella then allegedly broke into the newsroom, where staff quickly evacuated. Police found Hella in possession of a knife and wire strippers.

Scale of normalcy

Its unclear what motivated this attack and break-in. Hella told police that he was looking for a blonde female wearing a blue sweatshirt.

May 29

Kentucky newspaper has windows shattered and suspected bullet damage

Incident

Three exterior windows at the office of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky were shattered and two others were damaged late Sunday morning. Police, who are investigating the incident as criminal mischief, said the damage was consistent with small-caliber gunfire. There were no injuries.

Scale of normalcy

It is unclear what motivated this attack. Reporters Without Borders is tracking the incident.

May 27

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin name-calls a reporter investigating him

Incident

After respected Louisville Courier-Journal reporter Tom Loftus wrote a story about Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin that resulted in an ethics complaint, Bevin called Loftus a sick man and a peeping Tom on Twitter.

Scale of normalcy

Personally targeting reporters in an attempt to undermine their reporting is something that Trump has done repeatedly since he became a presidential candidate. This incident is in line with an uptick in hostility toward journalists in recent months.

May 26

Texas Governor Greg Abbott jokes about shooting reporters

Incident

After signing a gun bill that reduces the cost to get a licence to carry a handgun, Governor Greg Abbott tested out a few guns at a shooting range. He then held up his bullet-riddled target sheet and joked, Im gonna carry this around in case I see any reporters.

Scale of normalcy

The fact that the Governor of Texas made a joke about shooting reporters just days after a journalist was physically assaulted by a Montana politician is truly alarming, as we continue to see a causal link between hostile remarks and incidents of intimidation and physical force, says Margaux Ewen of Reporters Without Borders.

May 25

Trump does not hold a press conference during foreign trip

Incident

During a nine-day trip to Europe and the Middle East, Trump delayed readouts, kept reporters at a distance, and did not hold news conferences, allowing him to avoid having to answer to controversies at home, reports Politico.

Scale of normalcy

George W. Bush never went through a foreign trip without holding a presidential news conference, according to his former press secretary Ari Fleischer. Barack Obama usually held press conferences at major summits, and often took questions from the media after bilateral meetings, said his former spokesperson Tommy Vietor. If you dont give the press access to the president or to senior staff who can readout his meetings, youre allowing other countries to write the stories and spin their message, he said.

May 24

Guardian reporter is body-slammed by the GOP candidate in the Montana House race

Incident

The Guardian US reporter Ben Jacobs, along with witnesses, say Montana GOP candidate Greg Gianforte body-slammed and punched Jacobs after the reporter asked a question about health care while Gianforte was preparing for an interview with a Fox News TV crew. The impact reportedly broke Jacobss glasses and sent him to the hospital for x-rays. Gianforte has been charged with assault.

UPDATE: Gianforte issued a formal apology and donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists as part of a civil settlement with Jacobs.

Scale of normalcy

A politician physically attacking a journalist for asking a question is illegal, unacceptable, and extremely unusual. There are fears that Trumps negative rhetoric about the press has emboldened politicians at the state and local levels to target journalists.

May 21

Rex Tillerson ditches press poolPart 3



Incident

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson briefed the press in Saudi Arabia without notifying or inviting the US media.

Scale of normalcy

This is the third time Tillerson, who describes himself as not a big media press access person, has failed to invite the customary press pool along to an important diplomatic event. Even though the State Department later apologized, its a concerning trend.

May 16

Trump told FBI Director James Comey he should imprison journalists who publish leaks

Incident

The New York Times reports that in a February meeting in the Oval Office, Trump told then-FBI Director James Comey that he should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information.

Scale of normalcy

This threat is unprecedented, according to Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Previous administrations prosecuted officials for leaking, but not news outlets for publishing those leaks.

May 16

Trump rolls out the red carpet for the worlds worst jailers of journalists

Incident

Trump met with Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has presided over an aggressive crackdown on the countrys media. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey and more than 100 news outlets have been shuttered. Trump has also met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, whose country holds 25 journalists behind bars, and President Xi Jinping of China, where 38 journalists are imprisoned. Trumps embrace of the worlds leading press freedom violators is serving to normalize media repression, reports CPJs Simon. The damage to the global press freedom movement is hard to overstate.

Scale of normalcy

President Obama did not speak out about press freedom in Turkey after its 2010 media crackdown, says Simon, although then-US Ambassador Frank Ricciardone was outspoken, as was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

May 12

Trump threatens to cancel White House press briefings

Incident

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump May 12:

Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

Scale of normalcy

Regular press briefings by a White House spokesperson have been the norm since the 1880s. Some presidents (Harding, Hoover) have bent the tradition by only accepting questions in writing, or in advance. Cancelling press briefings altogether would be a new and extreme development.

May 10

Russian press allowed into a meeting that was closed to the White House press

Incident

White House reporters were banned from a closed meeting between Trump and Russias foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Official government photographers for Russia and the US were allowed. Later, a state-controlled Russian news agency published photos of the meeting.

Scale of normalcy

The Obama administration was criticized for holding closed press meetings, only to later share photos shot by the official White House photographer. In 2013, the White House Correspondents Association said that practice amounted to establishing the White Houses own Soviet-style news service, Politico reports.

May 9

FBI Director James Comey is fired for talking to the press

Incident

According to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Comey was essentially let go for talking to the press, reports CJRs Vanessa Gezari. Comeys ouster falls perfectly in line with the administrations broader positions on media control, leaks, and leakers. It also offers more evidence, in case anyone needed it, of Trumps overweening desire to control the news cycle.Whatever you think of Comeys choices regarding the Clinton emails, its hard not to read Rosensteins memo as a screed against transparency, specifically when it comes to sharing information with the press.

Scale of normalcy

Comeys firing was unprecedented, but there is widespread skepticism that Comey was fired for the reasons outlined in Rosensteins letter. Nevertheless, the substance of the letter serves as a warning to others in the administration who might be tempted to speak publicly.

May 9

Reporter arrested in West Virginia for asking questions of Trump officials

Incident

Dan Heyman, a journalist with Public News Service, was arrested in the State Capitol in Charleston after questioning Trumps health secretary Tom Price about whether domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition under the GOPs new healthcare legislation. Capitol Police arrested Heyman and charged him with a misdemeanor count of willful disruption of state government processes. A spokesman for the Capitol Police insisted the arrest was not about his questions but his physical actions, reports The Washington Post.

Scale of normalcy

It is very unusual for a reporter to be arrested for asking questions, however there is no evidence that police arrested the reporter at the behest of White House officials. Media commentators speculate that Trumps rhetoric about the press has emboldened law enforcement to target journalists.

May 6

Trump campaign attempts to broadcast an ad calling out fake news on cable news channels

Incident

The Trump campaign committee spent $1.5 million on an ad about Trumps first 100 days that also featured news anchors from NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS with the words Fake News stamped across their faces. The networks declined to run the ad, leading to accusations of bias from the Trump campaign. The ad ran on Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

Scale of normalcy

This was an unusual move by the Trump administration, and a deliberate effort to undermine the impact of negative stories by making his supporters question their veracity.

May 3

FBI Director James Comey publicly supports prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing leaked information

Incident

During James Comeys hearing in front of the House Intelligence Committee, he said the Department of Justice would not prosecute journalists who court and solicit classified information, but he did support the prosecution of Assange for the same activity. As Elizabeth Goitein at Just Security points out, his reasoning was alarming: [T]he line Comey seeks to draw is not between leaking classified information and publishing it, but between publishing it for good reasons and publishing it for bad ones. Those who do the former are journalists, while those do the latter are not. And presumably, the Department of Justice gets to say which is whichat least when it comes to bringing a prosecution.

Scale of normalcy

No one has been prosecuted for publishing classified information obtained through a leak, but this isnt the first time a government official has suggested they should be. In 2010, then-Senator Joe Lieberman advocated for prosecuting Wikileaks, and The New York Times for publishing leaked cables.

May 2

Alaska Dispatch News reporter is allegedly slapped by a state senator

Incident

Reporter Nathaniel Herz told police that Alaska GOP state senator David Wilson slapped him after he asked the senator a question inside the Alaska Capitol. The police are investigating the matter. An audio recording of the encounter can be heard here.

Scale of normalcy

A politician physically attacking a journalist for asking a question is illegal, unacceptable, and extremely unusual. There are fears that Trumps negative rhetoric about the press has emboldened politicians at the state and local levels to target journalists.

April 20

The Justice Department prepares charges to seek the arrest of Julian Assange

Incident

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a press conference in El Paso, Texas, that arresting Assange is a priority, adding, Weve already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail. The same day, CNN reported that charges have been prepared to seek the arrest of Assange.

Scale of normalcy

See above.

April 14

CIA Director Mike Pompeo defines Wikileaks as a non-state hostile intelligence service

Incident

During a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said: Its time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: A non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia, Pompeo said. Assange points out to The Intercepts Jeremy Scahill that intelligence services gather information, while news outlets publish it, putting Wikileaks in the latter category.

Scale of normalcy

See above.

April 12

Rex Tillerson ditches press poolPart 2

Incident

During a visit to Russia, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did not take his press pool along to an unscheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Scale of normalcy

Tillerson has previously expressed contempt for press norms, telling the Independent Journal Review, Im not a big media press access person. I personally dont need it.

March 30

Trump threatens to open up libel laws (again)

Incident

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump:

The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws? https://t.co/QIqLgvYLLi  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017

Scale of normalcy

Current libel laws as they relate to the press have been in place since the 1964 Supreme Court decision in New York Times v. Sullivan. The president doesnt have the authority to change libel laws. Any change would require the Supreme Court to overrule that landmark decision, or a constitutional amendment.

March 20

Trump tweets about cracking down on leaks

Incident

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump:

The real story that Congress, the FBI and all others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information. Must find leaker now!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017

Scale of normalcy

Trumps Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said targeting leakers is a priority. The Obama administration already prosecuted more government leakers than any administration in history, bringing seven cases under the Espionage Act. Before Obama took office, only three people had been indicted under the Espionage Act.

March 15

Rex Tillerson ditches press poolPart 1

Incident

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took just a single reporterfrom a conservative media outletalong with him on his first trip to Asia. As MSNBCs Andrea Mitchell said of the decision: The State Department is the beacon of press freedom around the world. The message now to China in particular when he gets to Beijing is that press freedom doesnt matter. Up until now, secretaries of state have made it a key demand that our press corps gets into meetingsthat there be access for the media. A key component of foreign policy is being undercut by this. [via Politico]

Scale of normalcy

Previous Secretaries of State traveled with a press pool. In response to Tillersons decision, a number of news outlets wrote to the State Department expressing concern about the move.

February 24

Trump administration bars key mainstream news outlets from a press gaggle at the White House

Incident

Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds an informal, off-camera press briefing at the White House, barring outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, Politico, and the LA Times from attending.

Scale of normalcy

At one point, the Obama administration adopted a strategy of treating Fox News as the opposition and attempted to restrict its access to press briefings. After protest from the rest of the press pool, it never happened.

February 18

Trump rails against media during rally in Florida

Incident

During a campaign-style rally in Orlando, Florida, Trump ran down the media to his supporters, saying: I want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news. The dishonest media, which has published one false story after another with no sources, even though they pretend they have themthey make them up in many cases. They just dont want to report the truth.They have their own agenda and their agenda is not your agenda.

Scale of normalcy

This is part of a continual effort by the Trump administration to undermine the impact of negative stories by questioning their veracity and the integrity of the media in general.

February 17

Trump calls media the enemy of the American people

Incident

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Scale of normalcy

Unprecedented. This phrase is used by dictators to stifle dissent. Its never before been uttered by the leader of the free world, according to The Washington Post.

January 22

Alternative facts

Incident

During a Meet the Press interview, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway uses the phrase alternative facts to defend Press Secretary Sean Spicers false statement about crowd numbers at Trumps inauguration.

Scale of normalcy

The claim was part of a continual effort by the Trump administration to undermine the impact of negative stories by questioning their veracity.

January 21

Press Secretary Sean Spicer shakes up White House press briefings

Incident

Press Secretary Sean Spicer used the first White House press briefing to harangue reporters about their coverage and assert false claims about Trumps crowd size. He refused to take questions from reporters. In subsequent briefings, Spicer has broken from the convention of giving the first question to the Associated Press; instead he regularly takes questions from non-mainstream journalists, including a number of right-leaning outlets. He also introduced to the briefing room Skype seats, which allow four reporters from outside Washington to ask questions via Skype.

Scale of normalcy

Not all changes to protocol are for the worse. Spicer was praised for introducing Skype seatsalthough the consensus seems to be that they havent been as worthwhile as anticipated.

January 15

Trump threatens to move White House press corps out of the White House

Incident

The Trump administration floated the idea of relocating reporters out of the West Wing and into a separate building close to the White House. The administration later scrapped the idea.

Scale of normalcy

Journalists have had their own office in the West Wing since 1902. Moving them to another location would uproot decades of protocol, but its not unprecedented. Eisenhower also debated keeping reporters in the White House, and Nixon considered forgoing a press secretary.

January 11

In his first press conference after the election, Trump attacks media and refuses to take questions from CNN

Incident

Trump held his first press conference following the election on January 11, using it to attack the media. He called BuzzFeed a failing pile of garbage, and refused to take questions from CNNs Jim Acosta, calling CNN fake news.

Scale of normalcy

No president since Jimmy Carter in 1976 waited so long after the election to hold a press conference. Most did it within the first three days, according to CNN.

December 10

Trump begins using the phrase FAKE NEWS on Twitter

Incident

Trump begins using the phrase FAKE NEWS on Twitter to describe media reports he doesnt like. From the election until the 100-day mark, Trump used the word fake to describe the media in 52 tweets. Fake was the fifth-most common word Trump tweeted in that time. Those tweets have been cumulatively liked 81 millions times, and retweeted 18 million times.

Scale of normalcy

This is an ongoing strategy by the Trump administration to undermine the impact of negative stories by questioning their veracity. Past presidents, including Grant, McKinley, and Roosevelt all had somewhat antagonistic relationships with the press, but not to the same extent.

November 15

Trump ditches the press pool to go to dinner

Incident

At 6:15 pm on November 15, Trumps press secretary Hope Hicks told journalists there was a lid for the night, meaning no travel was expected. Later Trump took his family to dinner at nearby restaurant the 21 Club without notifying the press.

Scale of normalcy

The incident spared an outcry from the journalists, but Trump isnt the first president to ditch the press. As president-elect in 2008, Barack Obama also ditched his press pool to take his daughters to a water park.

November 10

Trump fails to establish a traveling press pool immediately following the election

Incident

The day after the election, Trump did not allow a press pool to travel with him for his meeting with Barack Obama at the White House. Reporters were only able to access the meeting due to the efforts of the White House and the White House Correspondents Association.

Scale of normalcy

The tradition of presidents and presidents-elect traveling with one or more members of the press has continued for decades.



ICYMI: A hidden message in memo justifying Comeys firing

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Shelley Hepworth , formerly a CJR Delacorte Fellow, is Technology Editor at The Conversation in Australia. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymiranda.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y.  The board of directors of UHS has appointed John Carrigg president and CEO of UHS Hospitals, effective June 1.

Carrigg will also become president and CEO of the full UHS System on Jan.1, 2018, UHS said in a news release issued Thursday.

Carrigg has served as UHSs executive VP and COO since 2013.

Matthew (Matt) Salanger will leave his role as the current president and CEO of UHS Hospitals on June 1 and as president and CEO of the entire UHS System next Jan. 1.

Salanger will become a part-time, senior strategic adviser to the organization, UHS said. He will also remain on the board and its executive committee.

The UHS board of directors approved the change during its annual meeting held Wednesday.

These changes are part of a senior-leadership succession plan that has been two years in the making, Jerome Canny, chairman of the UHS board, said in the release. We will be promoting from within someone who is uniquely qualified to be the new CEO, and will continue to benefit from our current presidents insights and counsel. That will ensure the long-term stability, strength and continuity of UHS as we continue to serve the healthcare needs of the Southern Tier.

About Carrigg

John Carrigg (Photo provided by UHS)

Carrigg has served as VP for operations and director of UHS Binghamton General Hospital, senior VP and COO of UHS Hospitals, and executive VP and COO of the UHS System.

Mr. Salanger and I have worked closely together and share the same vision for the future direction of our organization, Carrigg said in release. I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that UHS will encounter in this decade and beyond, and am grateful to Matt for staying on in a strategy role from which the entire system will benefit.

Carrigg, a Binghamtonarea native, graduated from St. Andrews College in North Carolina and earned an MBA degree from SUNY Binghamton, UHS said.

About Salanger

Matthew Salanger (Photo provided by UHS)

Salanger, a Syracuse native, is the organizations longest-serving CEO since three community hospitals consolidated to form UHS in 1981.

Salanger joined UHS in 1985, serving in a number of managerial roles, including assistant VP, associate VP, the VP for operations and director of UHS Binghamton General Hospital, and executive VP and chief operating officer of UHS Hospitals.

He became president and CEO of UHS Hospitals in 1994. Salanger later became president and CEO of the UHS System in 2007.

Salanger said he believes the time is right for the leadership change.

I have long been convinced that its important for succession at the top to happen in an orderly fashion, after careful planning and sound consideration, with the long-term stewardship of the organization being the first priority. On a personal note, I look forward to having more time for family, travel and volunteering, while still maintaining a stakeholder interest in the continued success of UHS, said Salanger.

About UHS

The UHS System is composed of UHS Hospitals (UHS Wilson Medical Center and UHS Binghamton General Hospital), UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, UHS Senior Living at Ideal, UHS Home Care, the UHS Medical Group and the UHS Foundation.

Serving a seven-county region, UHS describes itself as one of the largest and most comprehensive systems in upstate New York with a total community impact exceeding $1 billion a year.

An 896-bed organization, UHS provides a range of medical, surgical, rehabilitative and long-term care services from 60 locations.

With a workforce of more than 6,000, it is the largest employer in New Yorks Southern Tier and the workplace of a 392-provider, multi-specialty medical group and a 550-member medical staff, per the release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
MSC Cruises is looking to invest in a massive state-of-the-art cruise terminal at the port of Barcelona, according to Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman.

Vago told LaVanguardia.com that the company wanted to invest heavily in the construction of a large passenger terminal.

In addition, he said the negotiations were already done and more news would follow.

Vago noted he hopes the terminal will become a symbolic building for the city.
Royal Caribbean Cruises has added what may be the first ever full-time cruise industry Chief Meteorologist to its operations team in Jim Van Fleet, who brings a broadcasting background to the position and has degrees in climatology and broadcast meteorology.

Van Fleet joined the Miami-based company in January.
Princess Cruises and the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (Friendship Association) officially began Majestic Princess journey from Rome to China which will feature a cultural exchange program themed Telling the Chinese Story along the Silk Road Sea Route," according to a press release.

During the 37-day voyage, performance groups including the Ansai Youth Waist Drum team and the Luochuan Youth Yangge Dance team, the China National Orchestra and the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater will entertain and educate more than 6,500 guests from more than 40 countries.

Princess Cruises and the Friendship Association held a press briefing and luncheon aboard prior to the ships departure. Madam Li Xiaolin, President of the Friendship Association, David Dingle, Chairman of Carnival UK, Roger Chen, Chairman of Carnival Asia and Malcolm Morini, of Romes Civitavecchia cruise port, among other officials, attended the event. The Ansai Youth Waist Drum team and the Luochuan Youth Yangge Dance team presented an authentic Shannbei style performance during the sail-away ceremony to celebrate the start of Silk Road Sea Route voyage.

The Friendship Association aims to enhance international cooperation and promote common development between China and other countries, said Madame Li, We continually develop innovative ways to communicate the China story by utilizing more active and engaging programs to present Chinas diverse culture along the Sea Silk Road. Our efforts support the economic development of the Belt and Road initiatives and boost the cultural communication between countries along the route.

Our partnership with The Friendship Association and celebrating Chinese culture reinforces our brand promise to provide authentic international experiences to our guests and reflects our commitment to the China market, said Anthony Kaufman, executive vice president of international operations, Princess Cruises. The Chinese market is important to us and we are honored that Majestic Princess, our newest cruise ship which has been tailored for the Chinese market will become a key part of this cross-cultural people to people program between the East and West.
Talking Points:

Crude oil prices paused to digest gains having hit a one-month high, snapping a five-day winning streak, as all eyes turn to a much-anticipated OPEC meeting in Vienna. The cartel and like-minded external producers are widely expected to extend an output cut scheme introduced in late 2016 and expiring mid-year for another nine months.

The move is unlikely to offer prices much support having been unambiguously signaled by key officials in recent weeks, meaning traders are unlikely to hear much that is not already in the market. Indeed, a period of profit-taking may ensue as speculation becomes reality, sending crude lower. An unexpectedly shorter extension  for six months versus nine, for example  is likely to amplify selling pressure.

Gold prices rose following the release of minutes from Mays FOMC policy meeting. Traders made much of voting members saying it is prudent to await evidence [that the first-quarter] slowdown is transitory, brushing off an otherwise familiar cautiously hawkish tone. The US Dollar dropped alongside front-end Treasury bond yields, boosting the appeal of anti-fiat and non-interest-bearing assets.

Critically, investors priced-in outlook implied in Fed Funds futures still has a June rate hike as a near-certainty. This hints that gold may find it difficult to extend gains unless the tidbit of reluctance that emerged in the Minutes document is supported by hard economic data. That will have to wait for Fridays revised first-quarter US GDP figures. In the meantime, consolidation seems likely.

Retail traders expect gold prices to rise. Find out here what this hints about the coming trend!

GOLD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS  Gold prices are still treading water below resistance in the 1256.74-63.87 area, an area of both up- and downside significance in the past three months. A daily close above that opens the door for a test of falling trend resistance at 1278.76. Alternatively, a move back below the 23.6% Fibonacci expansion at 1235.91 exposes rising trend support at 1219.83.

Chart created using TradingView

CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS  Crude oil prices continue edge toward resistance at 52.51, the 76.4%Fibonacci retracement. Breaking that boundary on a daily closing basis exposes falling trend line resistance at 53.09. Alternatively, a turn back below the 61.8%level at 50.85 sees the next downside barrier at 49.50, the 50% Fib.

Chart created using TradingView

--- Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com

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Contact and follow Ilya on Twitter: @IlyaSpivak
Khanal works on issues related to urban transportation, air quality management and sustainable cities. He is also a food writer, and is currently working on a book on Nepali recipes, food culture, and history. He writes on Nepali food culture and recipes on his food blog 'Gundruk.
AutoZone, Inc. retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs. In addition, the company offers maintenance products, such as antifreeze and windshield washer fluids; brake drums, rotors, shoes, and pads; brake and power steering fluids, and oil and fuel additives; oil and transmission fluids; oil, cabin, air, fuel, and transmission filters; oxygen sensors; paints and accessories; refrigerants and accessories; shock absorbers and struts; spark plugs and wires; and windshield wipers. Further, it provides air fresheners, cell phone accessories, drinks and snacks, floor mats and seat covers, interior and exterior accessories, mirrors, performance products, protectants and cleaners, sealants and adhesives, steering wheel covers, stereos and radios, tools, and wash and wax products, as well as towing services. Additionally, the company provides a sales program that offers commercial credit and delivery of parts and other products; sells automotive diagnostic and repair software under the ALLDATA brand through alldata.com; and automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through autozone.com. As of August 27, 2022, it operated 6,168 stores in the United States; 703 stores in Mexico; and 72 stores in Brazil. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services. It operates through three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alliant Energy Corporation, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Wisconsin; and sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. As of December 31, 2021, IPL supplied electric and natural gas service to approximately 500,000 and 225,000 retail customers respectively; and WPL supplied electric and natural gas service to approximately 485,000 and 200,000 retail customers, respectively. It serves retail customers in the farming, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, chemical, and packaging and food industries. In addition, the company owns and operates a short-line rail freight service in Iowa; a barge, rail, and truck freight terminal on the Mississippi River; and a rail-served warehouse in Iowa, as well as offers freight brokerage services. Further, it holds interests in a 347 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired electric generating unit near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and a 225 MW wind farm located in Oklahoma. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.
Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Manufacturing, U.S. Manufacturing, and Retail segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen and heavy oil in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. This segments Foster Creek, Christina Lake, Sunrise, and Tucker oil sands projects, as well as Lloydminster thermal and conventional heavy oil assets The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, Clearwater, and Rainbow Lake operating in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as interests in various natural gas processing facilities. The offshore segment engages in the exploration and development activities. The Canadian Manufacturing segment includes the owned and operated Lloydminster upgrading and asphalt refining complex, which upgrades heavy oil and bitumen into synthetic crude oil, diesel fuel, asphalt, and other ancillary products, as well as owns and operates the Bruderheim crude-by-rail terminal and two ethanol plants. The U.S. Manufacturing segment comprises the refining of crude oil to produce diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt, and other products. The Retail segment consists of marketing of its own and third-party refined petroleum products through retail, commercial, and bulk petroleum outlets, as well as wholesale channels. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.

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HEICO Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells aerospace, defense, and electronic related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Flight Support Group segment provides jet engine and aircraft component replacement parts; thermal insulation blankets and parts; renewable/reusable insulation systems; and specialty components. This segment also distributes hydraulic, pneumatic, structural, interconnect, mechanical, and electro-mechanical components for the commercial, regional, and general aviation markets; and offers repair and overhaul services for jet engine and aircraft component parts, avionics, instruments, composites, and flight surfaces of commercial aircraft, as well as for avionics and navigation systems, subcomponents, and other instruments utilized on military aircraft. Its Electronic Technologies Group segment provides electro-optical infrared simulation and test equipment; electro-optical laser products; electro-optical, microwave, and other power equipment; electromagnetic and RFI shielding and suppression filters; high-speed interface products; high voltage interconnection devices; high voltage advanced power electronics; power conversion products; and underwater locator beacons and emergency locator transmission beacons. This segment also offers traveling wave tube amplifiers and microwave power modules; three-dimensional microelectronic and stacked memory products; harsh environment connectivity products and custom molded cable assemblies; radio frequency and microwave amplifiers, transmitters, and receivers; communications and electronic intercept receivers and tuners; self-sealing auxiliary fuel systems; active antenna systems; and nuclear radiation detectors. The company serves customers primarily in the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications, and electronics industries. HEICO Corporation was incorporated in 1957 and is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida.
GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
Financing gap a threat to SDGs: Industry Minister

Industry Minister Nabindra Raj Joshi made an astute observation while addressing the second Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on Tuesday.
Newell Brands Inc. designs, manufactures, sources, and distributes consumer and commercial products worldwide. It operates in five segments: Commercial Solutions, Home Appliances, Home Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solutions; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; and home and security, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms products under the BRK, First Alert, Mapa, Quickie, Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, and Spontex brands. The Home Appliances segment offers kitchen appliances under the Crock-Pot, Mr. Coffee, Oster, and Sunbeam brands. The Home Solutions segment provides food and home storage; fresh preserving; vacuum sealing; and gourmet cookware, bakeware, cutlery, and home fragrance products under the Ball, Calphalon, Chesapeake Bay Candle, FoodSaver, Rubbermaid, Sistema, WoodWick, and Yankee Candle brands. The Learning and Development segment offers writing instruments, including markers and highlighters, pens, and pencils; art products; activity-based adhesive and cutting products; labeling solutions; and baby gear and infant care products under the Aprica, Baby Jogger, Graco, NUK, Tigex, Dymo, Elmer's, EXPO, Graco, Mr. Sketch, NUK, Paper Mate, Parker, Prismacolor, Sharpie, Waterman, and X-Acto brands. The Outdoor and Recreation segment provides outdoor and outdoor-related products under the Campingaz, Coleman, Contigo, ExOfficio, and Marmot brands. It serves warehouse clubs, department and drug/grocery stores, mass merchants, home centers, office superstores and supply stores, contract stationers, and distributors, e-commerce, sporting goods, specialty, and travel retailers. The company was formerly known as Newell Rubbermaid Inc. and changed its name to Newell Brands Inc. in April 2016. Newell Brands Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Reports of four new deaths on Everest misleading: Expedition organiser

Recent reports that Nepali high-altitude rescue experts spotted four climbers dead in a tent near Mt Everest are misleading, an expedition organiser said on Thursday.
Govt to give loan sans interest to quake-hit

The disadvantaged quake victims can now receive additional Rs 300,000 interest-free loans along with the state grant to rebuild their homes as per the governments decision to implement working procedure 2017 which allows lendings on community collateral.
Thai state-owned operator TOT has named dtac as its preferred partner to help it launch its 4G offering via the 2.3GHz band.

Telenor subsidiary dtac is the third largest operator in Thailand, and was previously identified as being the most likely candidate to have its proposal for launching 4G accepted by TOT. The two operators are looking to sign a definitive agreement in Q4 2017 once they have obtained the requisite government approvals and agreed terms and conditions.

The state operator TOT has 60MHz of spectrum in the 2.3GHz band licensed until 2025, and is looking to lease out 60% of this capacity. It is charging a fixed annual fee of THB4.5 billion ($131 million) on the condition that the leaser must provide coverage that reaches 80% of Thailands population within the next five years. A total of thirteen companies expressed interest in running the service.

Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke stated that the agreement was a boon to dtac, noting access to significant spectrum resources on both the 2.1GHz and the 2.3GHz frequency bands will make us well positioned to continue to serve our Thai customers with quality services.

However, while the deal will augment dtacs spectrum holding in the short term, the operators growing mobile operations mean that its relative shortage of spectrum will continue to be a problem for it as it deploys services over the next two years.

While TOTs proposed 4G service has not yet received approval from the regulator NBTC (National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission), it is expected to do so following the resolution of a long-running legal issue concerning public-private partnerships.
US President Donald Trump met with several European leaders in Brussels on Thursday as a NATO summit got underway in the Belgian capital.

On the fourth part of an overseas trip for Trump, which has already seen him make visits to the likes of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Republican met with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss a variety of issues.

Among those discussed was Western relations with Vladimir Putin's Russia, which have been tense due to the ongoing conflict in Syria and repeated allegations of the Kremlin meddling in last years US presidential election.

Trump spoke with newly-elected French president Emmanuel Macron for the first time

Tusk told media following the meeting that both the EU and the US had common ground, but how to deal with Russia was more problematic.

"Some issues remained open, like climate and trade," Tusk said. "And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today  'we' means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinion, about Russia," he added.

According to The Guardian, Trump told those present at the meeting that he was concerned that Britains departure from the bloc would lead to job losses in the US. Trump had previously voiced his support for Brexit during last years referendum campaign.

Meanwhile, Trump spoke with newly-elected French president Emmanuel Macron for the first time in an uncomfortable exchange in which the two struggled through a handshake in front of the cameras.
High-altitude experts to retrieve body from Everest

A team of high-altitude climbing experts will embark on a daring mission to retrieve the body of an Indian climber from Everest on Thursday morning.
European stockmarkets started the day higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street ahead of a decision later in the day from OPEC on whether to extend its output cut deal from last November.

As of 0826 BST the Stoxx 600 was up by 0.09% to 392.72, alongside gains of 0.13% for Germany's Dax to 12,660.91 and an advance of 0.35% in the Cac-40 to 5,360.18.

Overnight, the S&P 500 closed just a fraction below its record highs after what some traders and analysts - but certainly not all - appeared to interpret as a 'dovish' set of US central bank policy meeting minutes.

"While most members viewed the slowdown as transitory there was broad agreement that it would be prudent to wait for further data to establish that fact before hiking again, though they did express the view that is what they expected would happen.

"Only then would it be considered appropriate to raise rates again, which rather begs the question as to whether the market is correct in thinking that June is more or less a done deal for a rate rise," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

OPEC energy ministers meeting in Vienna on Thursday were widely expected to agree to a six-month extension of their output cut agreement, but some countries were pushing for it to be prolonged for between another nine or 12 months.

In economic news, Spanish GDP grew at a 0.8% quarter-on-quarter pace during the first three months of 2017, as expected.

Still on the economic calendar for Thursday, UK GDP data was set for release at 0930 BST followed by a reading on business confidence in Belgium at 1200 BST.

European Central Bank vice president Vitor Constancio was expected to deliver a speech at 1800 BST.

Stateside, data on weekly jobless claims, trade in goods and wholesale inventories were all scheduled for release at 1330 BST.

Shares in online fashion retailer Zalando were little changed even after the company said that Global Founders GmbH had reduced its stake by 3.78%.

Private equity outfits Advent and Permira were not studying a joint counter-offer for Germany's Stada alongside Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, Reuters reported.
Tanzania has launched a new investigation after Acacia Mining was accused by a government committee of under-reporting gold exports, with analysts in disagreement over how much hot water the FTSE 250 company finds itself in.

A committee of experts appointed by Tanzanian President John Magufuli stated on Wednesday that Acacia had not fully declared all of the minerals contained in the concentrate and so its export ban would remain in place.

After mulling the committee's investigation of metal concentrate shipment containers that revealed that they had been undervalued by a factor of 10, Magufuli fired mines minister Sospeter Muhongo, dissolved the audit committee and called for a new probe.

Separately, but unlikely to be unconnected, Acacia has ongoing disputes relating to reclaiming an outstanding VAT receivable and also faces pressure to change the ownership of its local operating companies to include a 30% holding by Tanzanian nationals.

"This is not a laughing matter," said Investec, "but it sounds like someone in the committee has missed a decimal point somewhere along the line. Alternative explanations dont bear thinking."

But Jonathan Guy at broker Numis said that given the scale of production at the mines, he did not believe that the accusation of a tenfold understatement is credible.

"However, it provides a further indication of how problematic the relationship between the company and the government has become," he said, but expressing confidence the company and government will resolve the dispute before too long.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Tyler Broda downgraded Acacia's shares to 'underperform' from 'sector perform' as he felt the developments may even put the miner's local operating license under pressure.

Broda felt the Tanzanian accusations were "highly unusual" and "metallurgically questionable" and therefore further investigations "may - in theory - provide some relief for the company although it is unclear what next steps can be taken to clarify this matter".

But with the lack of near-term resolution to the concentrate ban and uncertainty around the future implications, the shares were likely to sag as investors further discount the potential cash flows in the near and medium term.

Acacia, which finished the first quarter with net cash of US$196m, has already said it could put production from its Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines on pause if the ban was extended, and RBC and Numis felt this was likely in order to avoid a further build-up of working capital from the concentrate which it is unable to sell.

There is a chance Acacia could be cleared by any independent investigation, Broda wrote, although he thinks international litigation looks increasingly likely.

"The economic consequences to Tanzania of shutting down what would be otherwise viable mining operations, especially with the negative mark that this could place on foreign direct investment, could see an eventual resolution arise," he concluded, such as a government stake or higher taxes.

Numis' Guy was thinking on similar lines: "Ultimately what the government wants is for ACA to resume exports but with adjustments to the amount of cash tax and royalties being paid."

But he retained his 'buy' recommendation in the belief that these issues will be resolved, not least as Tanzania is aiming to attract significant long term investment into the development of its offshore oil and gas industry.
Independent multi-brand automotive distributor and retailer Inchcape announced on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire premium Estonian automotive operations, focused on exclusive distribution for BMW Group, from United Motors.

The FTSE 250 company said the acquisition would complement its existing operations in Estonia, where the group currently represented Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda.

It said the transaction enhanced Inchcape's organic growth prospects in the Estonian market, consistent with the Ignite strategic objective of investing to accelerate growth.

Additionally, the board said the deal built on its existing regional presence for BMW in Latvia and extended its global partnership with the German carmaker to an eighth market.

The business to be acquired operated from four retail locations in Tallinn, Tartu, Parnu and Kohtla-Jarve, representing BMW in each location and Kia at two.

Inchcape said the transaction remained subject to customary conditions, and was expected to complete during June.

We are delighted by the opportunity to operate for BMW in Estonia, strengthening our Baltics presence and demonstrating continued momentum behind our Ignite strategy as we deliver on our objective of becoming the OEM's partner of choice, said group CEO Stefan Bomhard.

Estonia has attractive long-term growth prospects and I am excited to add further scale to our existing platform, enabling the group to deploy best practice and better leverage our regional scale. I strongly believe this deal will drive value creation for our shareholders and partners.

Solid revenue rises in first four months

At the same time, Inchcape updated the market on its trading for the four months to 30 April, reporting group revenue of 2.91bn - an increase of 17.9% at actual currency and 8.1% at constant currency.

Distribution revenue was up 30.0% at actual currency and 14.8% at constant currency, the board said, while retail revenue was up by 9.8% at actual currency and 3.4% at constant currency.

Our performance in the first four months of 2017 is consistent with our expectation for growth across the majority of our markets, Stefan Bomhard commented.

Our emerging markets distribution operations performed robustly, and benefitted from the strategic South American acquisition made at the end of 2016.

Pleasingly, and in-line with our Ignite strategic objective of delivering the full potential on all our revenue streams, we delivered growth across our value drivers.

Bomhard said the company had a strongly cash generative business model which enabled it to drive organic and inorganic growth within its disciplined capital allocation framework.

I believe the recent business development activity demonstrates the exciting opportunity for value-enhancing consolidation in our highly fragmented industry.

The 2017 distribution additions of PSA in Australia and BMW in Estonia reflect our Ignite strategy in action, working closely with OEMs to target exciting growth opportunities as we seek to be the OEM's partner of choice.
The TUC has urged the next government to take action to boost pay as it warned that borrowing to top up wages was poised to breach the record levels hit just before the financial crisis of a decade ago. Frances OGrady, the TUC general secretary, expressed alarm at the steady increase in unsecured debt  which excludes mortgages  and called for a higher minimum wage and an end to the tough pay curbs in the public sector.  Guardian

British car manufacturing went into reverse in April, with production falling at the fastest rate in more than two and a half years. A total of 122,116 cars rolled off UK production lines last month, 18% fewer than in April 2016, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). - Guardian

Online wedding company Prezola has received a multi-million pound investment from the Business Growth Fund as it looks to branch out into mobile app technology. The wedding gift list service, which also allows customers to create customisable wedding websites, has received a 3m backing from the BGF, which invests in small and mid-sized firms in the UK.  Telegraph

A200m settlement between Royal Bank of Scotland and thousands of aggrieved shareholders has been hit by further delays after it emerged that lawyers were having difficulty tracking down some investors to ask them to agree to the deal. A High Court trial into RBSs 12bn rights issue at the height of the financial crisis has now been adjourned until June 7 after Jonathan Nash QC, who is acting for the investors, said there had been logistical problems contacting some of the claimant shareholders to put a settlement offer to them.  Telegraph

Opec oil ministers will meet in Vienna today amid claims that some members are cheating on production quotas, undermining efforts to drive prices higher by extending a deal to curb output. As officials from the 13 member states gathered for a biannual policy meeting in the Austrian capital, there was mounting tension over suspicions that some countries in the organisation, which pumps a third of the worlds oil, are failing to honour their commitments under an agreement signed with other exporters in November to slash supply by 1.8 million barrels a day.  The Times

The senior independent director at Glencore was rebuked by shareholders yesterday over the commodity groups unusual board structure and opaque pay arrangements. Fourteen per cent of investors who cast a vote voted against the re-election of Peter Grauer, who is also the chairman of Bloomberg, while 5 per cent vetoed the re-election of Tony Hayward, the ex-BP chief who chairs Glencore.  The Times
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,523.06 in afternoon trade as investors digested news that the UK economy grew less than expected in the first quarter.

3i was the top riser after Canaccord Genuity lifted its price target on the stock to 975p from 875p following "another strong set of full-year results" earlier this month.

EasyJet flew higher after Central and Eastern European-focused low-cost airline Wizz Air reported record profit for the year to the end of March despite "challenging" conditions including low fares and increasing fuel prices.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst George Salmon said shareholders in easyJet would likely be delighted to see Wizz hasnt seen demand from UK passengers drop, despite the uncertainty around Brexit and the drop in sterling. "But with overcapacity a perennial problem, the news that Wizz is planning on increasing capacity by around 23% next year will be less welcome."

Going the other way, BT retreated as Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to 'underperform' from 'neutral', saying the underlying business appears to be "teetering on the edge".

Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl and business support group DCC were weaker as their stocks went ex-dividend.

Risers

3i Group (III) 873.50p 3.93%

easyJet (EZJ) 1,369.00p 1.86%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,268.50p 1.33%

Royal Mail (RMG) 434.30p 1.24%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 321.00p 1.13%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,827.00p 1.11%

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,402.00p 1.08%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 5,477.00p 0.83%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 392.00p 0.80%

Sage Group (SGE) 713.00p 0.78%

Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,062.00p -2.03%

Mediclinic International (MDC) 798.00p -1.85%

Barclays (BARC) 213.45p -1.39%

BT Group (BT.A) 312.55p -1.36%

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,158.00p -1.28%

BP (BP.) 472.75p -1.20%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 388.80p -1.17%

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,436.00p -1.02%

Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,578.00p -1.00%

DCC (DCC) 7,445.00p -1.00%
Oil stocks were under the cosh despite a decision from OPEC to extend a supply cut deal for another nine months, although in the oil equipment space it was Petrofac that was inflicting the greatest pain.

Crude oil futures retreated sharply just after reports of the oil cartel's decision, as some analysts had been expecting deeper cuts, although by 1449 BST they had trimmed an initial slide to trade just 0.45% lower to $53.72 as investors waited on the formal announcement at 1600 BST.

"As previously, oils recent gains have left little room to the upside unless OPEC can unleash deeper cuts, which comments from ministers this morning suggest is highly unlikely. Its worth bearing in mind that OPEC meetings are always full of statements and rumours that give crude a good beating about for the day. With the official announcement not due until 4pm UK time it could be a long day for oil traders," said Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.

Of interest, Bloomberg reported that Algeria's oil minister might be leaving his post after Thursday's OPEC meeting.

That was of potential interest in the medium-term because he was believed to have played a key role in brokering the original November 2016 output cut deal.

In parallel, Petrofac shares plunged to their lowest mark since 2009 after the Serious Fraud Office accused the oilfield services company of failing to co-operate properly with its investigation into bribery and money laundering allegations.



Fixed line telecoms were also under pressure after analysts at Exane BNP Paribas downgraded shares of BT Group from 'neutral' to 'underperform'.

At the same time, the broker cut its target price by 15% to 260p.

Exane said BT's underlying business was "teetering on the edge" and that it had identified more than a dozen factors - excluding regulations - which would drag on its operating profits and free cash flows more than markets were anticipating.

"In our view the market is mispricing BT as they transition from growth to decline," Exane said.



Shares in mobile peer Vodafone on the other hand were moving to the upside, with one City-based trader citing 'momentum trades'.

Stock in Tate&Lyle was also lower despite reporting an 85% jump in full-year profits, with investors opting to book profits instead of pushing the shares past their October 2016 highs.



Top performing sectors so far today

Industrial Metals & Mining 2,252.08 +2.60%

Personal Goods 37,116.58 +1.19%

Financial Services 10,653.24 +1.12%

Industrial Transportation 3,147.59 +0.81%

Mobile Telecommunications 5,119.13 +0.68%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 12,840.37 -10.51%

Fixed Line Telecommunications 3,610.22 -1.11%

Food Producers & Processors 8,658.13 -1.00%

Oil & Gas Producers 7,867.57 -0.96%

Electricity 9,038.84 -0.61%
UniVision Engineering has won a contract to provide closed-circuit television for Hong Kong's MTR public rail system that is worth around ten times the company's sales last year.

UniVision, which is based in Hong Kong and has been listed in London since 2005, was awarded the contract by MTR Corporation Limited to immediately begin replacing the CCTV on 11 of train lines on the Hong Kong network and the light rail line.

The total value of the contract, which is expected to be completed in around November 2023, is HK$389.4m (38.1m), while last year Univision made 3.87m of sales and 0.14m of profit.

Chairman Stephen Koo said the company, which he founded in 1979 and floated on AIM 26 years later, has been "preparing a long time" for such a contract and he was understandably delighted to have beaten off competition from other bidders.

"We have a long relationship with MTR and have many years' experience in installing and maintaining its CCTV system. I am confident that we will be able to fulfill all requirements under the contract in a professional manner.

"I am delighted for our shareholders as the value of this contract is transformative to the Company and I look forward to being able to report on our progress in fulfilling the contract in due course."

The contract provides the for the replacement works of the CCTV systems for Island Line (ISL), Kwun Tong Line (KTL), Tsuen Wan Line (TWL) ), Tseung Kwan O Line (TKL), Airport Express (AEL), Tung Chung Line (TCL), Disneyland Resort Line (DRL), East Rail Line (EAL), Ma On Shan Line (MOL), West Rail Line (WRL) and 22 stops of Light Rail (LRL), and the provision of new CCTVs for 47 stops of LRL.

The existing analogue CCTV system installed in the stations along ISL, KTL, TWL, TKL, AEL, TCL, DRL, EAL, MOL and WRL and the Internet Protocol (IP) CCTV system installed at 22 stops in LRL will be replaced with a unified IP-based CCTV system.

Univision's shares zoomed up 33% to 3.16p by mid afternoon on Thursday, topping 4p at one point. It's placing price in 2005 was 3p and it's all time high was 4.75p in 2006.

Sadly after waiting 38 years since he founded the company, Koo will not get as much of the rewards as he might have.

In September he had to sell a 41% stake in UniVision's for 32.8m RMB to real estate developer Nan Ning Hai Li Real Estate Development and another 10% stake to Nan Ning Hai Li's legal representative Xin Hai for 8m RMB, as part of a settlement after Koo and the company were sued by Nan Ning Hai Li.

However after the sales Koo still held 84m shares, equating to a none-too-shabby 21.9% stake in the company.
Its no secret that Elon Musk wants to take humans to Mars by 2025, but now, for the first time, he will explain how he plans to do it.

The CEO of

SpaceX and Tesla and chairman of SolarCity is scheduled to speak before the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, today at 2:30 p.m. ET.

In a keynote speech, Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species, Musk will discuss the long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars. His technical presentation will focus on potential architectures for sustaining humans on Mars that industry, government and the scientific community can collaborate on in the years ahead, according to SpaceX.

In a move to generate even more buzz around the highly anticipated speech, Musk shared photos of his Interplanetary Transport Systema powerful rocket engine dubbed Raptorconducting its first test-firing in addition to some other details:

SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine pic.twitter.com/vRleyJvBkx  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2016

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/statuses/780280440401764353 a major open problem that must be solved for the mission to be feasible, Hannah Kerner, executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation, explained to ABCNews.

There are also other issues including the psycho-social effects of space travel as well as the effect of decreased gravity on the human body, Kerner said. And, as with all space travel, she warned, there will surely be more vehicle failures and potential loss of life on the path to Mars.

So why do it?

At the event in Hong Kong in January, Musk described the desire to go to Mars this way:

Its really a fundamental decision we need to make as a civilization. What kind of future do we want? Do we want a future where were forever confined to one planet until some eventual extinction event, however far in the future, that might occur? Or do we want to become a multi-planet species and then ultimately be out there among the stars?

And while Musks main purpose to take us beyond our blue planet may be to save us from possible extinction, he also admitted, What gets me more excited is that this would be an incredible adventure. It would be like the greatest adventure ever.

Watch Musks speech live streamed today at 2:30 p.m. ET:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1YxNYiyALg
By Paul Brown

The food industry and big agricultural concerns are driving climate change and at the same time threatening to undermine efforts to feed the worlds growing population, according to GRAIN, an organization that supports small farmers.

Particularly singled out for criticism are the large chemical fertilizer producers that have gained access to the United Nations talks on climate change. GRAIN accuses them of behaving like the fossil fuel companies did in the 1990s, pushing false information in the hope of delaying real action on climate change.

The evidence is detailed in a book, The Great Climate Robbery: How the food system drives climate change and what we can do about it, published by GRAIN. It is a comprehensive account of the unrelenting and largely successful campaign by big companies to take over the worlds food supply and exploit it for profit.

Worlds food

The writers say small farms have been squeezed into less than one quarter of the worlds agricultural lands, but they continue to produce most of the worlds food.

Unless small farmers are protected and more land is returned to the kind of sustainable practice employed by small farmers, then there is no hope of feeding the worlds population in the future, they say.

On climate change, the book details how the march of industrial agriculture has created a food chain that is now a heavy emitter of greenhouse gases. The rise of palm oil plantations for processed food, the overuse of fertilizers and the long distances produce travels to reach our plates altogether produce about 50 percent of all human greenhouse gas emissions.

This is a bold claim, but not without a remarkable body of evidence. Every chapter has a long list of footnotes citing scientific papers and UN reports.

The book is endorsed by some high-profile campaigners, including Naomi Klein, who said, It explains why the fight to stop the industrial food juggernaut is the same as the fight for a habitable, just planet.

Another campaigner for small farmers, Dr. Vandana Shiva, said the book shows that industrial corporate agriculture is a major part of the climate crisis, and small-scale ecological farming is a significant solution. It also alerts us to the false solutions of those who created the problemthe Exxons of agriculture.

Although industrial farming methods produce only 11 to 15 percent of emissions, the book examines the entire food businessfrom deforestation to convert land to farmland, to transport, food-processing factories, the freezing and retail industries and discarded food waste.

Over the past 50 years, 140 million hectares, the size of almost all the farms in India, has been taken over by four crops grown on large industrial plantations. These are soybean, palm oil, rapeseed and sugar cane.

According to the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization, small farmers produce 80 percent of food in non-industrial countries. Their great advantage, apart from producing more food from a smaller area, is that they supply local markets with fresh rather than processed products, and less is wasted.

Organic matter

The book describes how the expansion of unsustainable agricultural practices over the past century has led to vast quantities of organic matter being lost from soils. This loss is responsible for between 25 percent and 40 percent of the current carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

By restoring small farmers sustainable practices, this organic matter could be put back into the soil, offsetting up to 30 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions, the authors say.

Instead, in order to counter the loss of this carbon from soils, more and more chemical fertilizer is used. Insecticides and herbicides are poured on the land, impoverishing biodiversity.

Cutting food miles and concentrating on fresh produce at local markets, rather than processing food and providing it frozen to supermarkets, would also directly cut emissions.

The book is a call to wrest control from the industrial agricultural giant whose job it is to make profits for shareholdersnot to feed the worldand to hand the land back to farmers.

The authors complain that there has been zero political will to challenge the dominant model of industrial food production and distribution. Peasants are getting the blame for cutting down trees when in fact deforestation is being driven by big companies growing industrial crops, they say.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Climate News Network.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration Tuesday to uncover public records showing that federal employees have been censored from using words or phrases related to climate change in formal agency communications.

Tuesdays lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, seeks to require four federal agencies to release climate-censorship records, in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. The U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of State have failed to provide records requested by the Center for Biological Diversity or indicate when they might do so, violating deadlines established under the law.

The Trump administrations refusal to release public information about its climate censorship continues a dangerous and illegal pattern of anti-science denial, said Taylor McKinnon at the Center for Biological Diversity. Just as censorship wont change climate science, foot-dragging and cover-ups wont be tolerated under the public records law.

On March 30 the Center for Biological Diversity filed Freedom of Information Act requests for all directives or communications barring or removing climate-related words or phrases from any formal agency communications. The records requests followed news reports that federal agencies had removed climate information from government websites and instructed Department of Energy staff to avoid using the phrases climate change, emissions reductions and Paris agreement.

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed identical requests with the Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On March 23 the Center for Biological Diversity joined conservation biologist Stuart Pimm and the Center for Media and Democracy in a separate Freedom of Information Act request to prevent the administration from removing hundreds of environmental data sets on government websites.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, when federal agencies receive requests for the same records three or more times, they must make the records freely available to the public on their websitesa rule known as the Beetlejuice provision.

Records responsive to the Center for Biological Diversitys climate censorship requests will be made available to the public and the media.
Indian envoy hails Nepal-India ties

Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri on Wednesday appeared before mediapersons for the first time since he assumed office in March at an interaction the Capital where he highlighted the importance of Nepal-India ties but stopped short of making any political comments.
Frustrated by non-experts taking to the internet to dispute the science behind human-made climate change, North Carolina meteorologist Greg Fishel issued a challenge to climate deniers, urging them to put up or shut up and submit your work the way real scientists do, and see where it takes you.

The News & Observer highlighted Fishels challenge, which he posted on Facebook, in a May 22 article, reporting that Fishel went off on people who question the science behind climate change.

The article noted that for most of his career, Fishel, who is the chief meteorologist for NBC affiliate WRAL in Raleigh, did not believe that humans contributed significantly to global warming. But several years ago, he says he decided he wasnt being open-minded about the issue and began to study what climate scientists were saying about it. He now approaches the issue on the air and on social media with the zeal of a convert.

Indeed, Fishel is among a growing number of meteorologists who acknowledge that human-caused climate change is real. Some of those meteorologists are urging their colleagues to discuss climate change on the air.

Fishel concluded his post by challenging climate deniers to submit their findings to one of the American Meteorological Societys peer-reviewed journals, adding, So prove me wrong bloggers and essayists. Submit your work the way real scientists do, and see where it takes you. Uncover that bias and corruption youre so convinced is present. If you end up being correct, society will owe you a huge debt of gratitude. If youre wrong, stop muddying the scientific waters with ideological trash.

From the The News & Observer:

For most of his 36 years broadcasting the weather in the Triangle, Fishel also held a contrarian view about climate change. He didnt believe that humans had much to do with warming the Earths atmosphere and would say as much when the topic came up on the air.

But several years ago, he says he decided he wasnt being open-minded about the issue and began to study what climate scientists were saying about it. He now approaches the issue on the air and on social media with the zeal of a convert.

If someone does have a critical piece to the puzzle no other scientist has, Fishel implored them to submit their findings to one of the American Meteorological Societys peer reviewed journals for publication.

If they are rejected, and the author feels unfairly, then make public each and every one of the reviewers comments for the entire world to see, Fishel wrote. If there is bias and corruption in the peer review process, everyone needs to know about it so this flawed process can be halted and corrected.

But Fishel said he doubts any of the climate change deniers has the guts to do this and said he thinks theyll continue with their pathetic excuse for science education.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Media Matters for America.
By David Pomerantz

The Nevada Assembly passed a bill Wednesday that would dramatically increase the growth of renewable energy in the state, but Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate and major donor to Donald Trump, is attempting to prevent the bill from becoming law.

The bill, AB 206, would ensure that Nevada gets 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040. AB 206 passed the assembly with bipartisan support by a margin of 30 to 12, but it must now pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Adelson owns the Las Vegas Sands casino giant, and is known in national political circles for the massive amounts of money he has plowed into Republican coffers; he spent $100 million in the 2012 election cycle, and then donated $35 million to the super PAC that supported Donald Trumps general election campaign last year, plus another $5 million to Trumps inauguration.

Given Adelsons support for conservative politicians, clean energy supporters considered it a happy coup in 2016 when the Sands Corporation threw money behind a ballot initiative that would allow electric customers to defect from the monopoly utility NV Energy.

Sands was the biggest bankroller of the committee that backed the ballot initiative, Nevadans for Affordable, Clean Energy Choices. The company didnt shy away from saying that their support for the initiative was motivated by a desire to use electricity from cleaner sources than NV Energy had on offer, garnering it fawning press in Nevada and globally.

 The company maintains a strong desire to purchase and use the cleanest and most cost efficient energy available on the open market, a Sands spokesperson said in a statement about its support for the ballot initiative.

Adelson Pulls a Bait and Switch on Renewable Energy

Now, however, its clear that while Adelson may want Sands to have the ability to defect from NV Energy, his motives were not as green as advertised last year.

Sands testified last month against AB 206, along with Wynn Resorts and the Nevada Resort Association (NRA). Why would Adelson, who spent all of 2016 saying that he wanted Sands to power with renewable energy, now be lobbying against legislation to move Nevada in that very direction?

The answer is likely that the bill language not only holds NV Energy to the increased renewable energy standard, but also any companies that defect from the utility, which could soon be Sands.

Adelson seems to want to maintain his companys unfettered ability to buy not only renewable energy, but also as much natural gas as he wants, for as long as he wants, as well.

We feel that this just isnt the time to codify these mandates, Sands lobbyist Chase Whittemore said about the bill, according to the Nevada Independent. NV Energy also fought the bill, introducing unsuccessful amendments to neuter it.

Is Adelson Funding a New Dark Money Group to Kill Nevada Renewable Energy Growth?

The lobbying against AB 206 by Sands, Wynn, the Resort Association and NV Energy did not seem to slow down the bills progress in the assembly, but the casino operators and NV Energy may have another trick up their sleeves: a new dark-money group is making a final two-week push to kill the bill in the Senate or on Gov. Sandovals desk. The Independent reported this week:

A new nonprofit that does not disclose its donors plans to spend six figures in the last two weeks of the Legislature to try to defeat a renewable energy measure opposed by most gaming companies.

The non-profit, called Secure Nevadas Future, registered with Nevada as a non-profit organization in April, listing Texas as its qualifying state. Its list of officers is due May 31. The group seems to have a Facebook page which also became active in April.

As long as Secure Nevadas Future refuses to disclose its donors, its impossible to know if Adelson, Wynn, NV Energy or some other mystery opponents of increased renewable energy is funding the effort, but longtime Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston wrote that its a reasonable assumption that major businesses are funding the operation.

Ralston reported that the one person publicly associated with the group as its executive director, Chris Young, used to work for Chris Carr while at the RNC; Carr now runs Wynns political operation. Carr had previously run a non-profit, Engage Nevada that received significant funding from Adelson personally, as well as from NV Energy.

Conflict of Interest Among Nevada Resort Association Lobbyists

While Adelsons Sands Corporation tries to kill the strong renewable energy standard, another casino company, the MGM Grand Corporation, has actually shown that its commitment to renewable energy is more than just greenwashing. The company came out publicly in support of AB 206 earlier this week.

Like Wynn and Sands, MGM Grand is a member of the Nevada Resort Associationmore than 10 of its properties are named as NRA member resorts, and MGM is listed on the NRAs board, along with Wynn.

But despite MGMs support for renewable energy growth, the NRA has sided with Wynn, Sands and NV Energy. The internal politics that drove that decision arent public, but its possible that some conflicts of interest among the NRAs lobbyists may be a contributing factor.

Carson City is a small town, and lobbyists commonly represent multiple interests, but a review of lobbyists for NV Energy, MGM Grand, Wynn, Sands, the NRA and Caesars revealed that the only overlap was between NV Energy and the NRA, and that overlap was significant: Of 12 lobbyists listed for NV Energy, seven are also lobbyists for the NRA. Those lobbyists are Morgan Baumgartner, Pete Ernaut, Greg Ferraro, Lorne Malkiewich, Nivk Vassiliadis, Nicole Willis-Grimes and Paul Young.
BEER-SHEVA, Israel... May 23, 2017 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers are developing a new therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) using part of an existing FDA-approved drug that restores the central nervous system's (CNS) immune defenses and increases life expectancy.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a lethal, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the motor nerve cells in both the brain and the spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of motor neurons leads to atrophy, paralysis and eventually death due to failure of the respiratory muscles.

Since the exact cause of ALS is unknown, current research has focused on extending the post-onset life expectancy, which is currently between two to five years for most patients.

Part of the disease's progression is linked to increased activity of glial cells, a type of immune cell that damages and kills the body's motor neuron cells and decreases their ability to cleanse the CNS environment.

Dr. Rachel Lichtenstein of the Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering at BGU has focused on reducing this negative immune response. "We found a way to thwart the glial cells from attacking and killing healthy brain cells," says Dr. Lichtenstein.

She successfully redesigned a portion of MabThera, an FDA-approved drug used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and types of cancer, into a new molecule to treat ALS.

"Our experimental results on ALS transgenic mice showed a significant increase in life expectancy", says Dr. Lichtenstein. "Since the drug is already approved, we believe that we will only need limited preclinical testing to reach the clinical phase earlier than other initiatives."

"This could also have major implications on the life expectancy of other neurodegenerative disease patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," says Dr. Ora Horovitz, senior vice president of business development at BGN Technologies, BGU's technology transfer and commercialization company. "Our new drug candidate may prove effective in boosting the self-cleansing mechanism of the human brain, thereby improving the lives of millions of people." The researchers are now seeking a pharmaceutical company partner.

Currently, there are only two drugs available for ALS patients: Reluzole (Rilutek), which helps extend patient survival by only three to six months; and the recently FDA- approved Edaravone (Radicava), which has demonstrated relatively modest success.

###

About BGN Technologies

BGN Technologies (BGN) is the commercialization and technology company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). BGN is responsible for patent protection and commercialization of inventions and innovations of BGU researchers and students. BGN encourages and fosters an entrepreneurial ecosystem by creating startups, accelerators, innovation hubs, and creative partnerships with industry and investors, BGN brings value to BGU, to its researchers and to those in need of new and effective therapies. BGN Technologies will be participating in the 16th National Life Sciences & Technology Week May 23 - 25, 2017 at the David InterContinental hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel.

About American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision: creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. As Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) looks ahead to turning 50 in 2020, AABGU imagines a future that goes beyond the walls of academia. It is a future where BGU invents a new world and inspires a vision for a stronger Israel and its next generation of leaders. Together with supporters, AABGU will help the University foster excellence in teaching, research and outreach to the communities of the Negev for the next 50 years and beyond. Visit vision.aabgu.org to learn more.

AABGU, which is headquartered in Manhattan, has nine regional offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.aabgu.org
If you've shaken a snow globe, you've enjoyed watching its tiny particles slowly sink to the bottom. But do all small objects drift the same way and at the same pace?

A new Tel Aviv University study finds the sedimentation of asymmetric objects in liquid is very different from that of symmetrical objects like spheres. The research solves a long-standing puzzle concerning the cause and the extent of "storminess" in sedimentation, and may be useful in improving water treatment and industrial processes that rely on suspensions, which are liquids that contain small solid particles. The research may also have use in the study of geological deposits, because variations in the concentration of particles from place to place affect the progress of sedimentation.

The research was led by Prof. Haim Diamant of TAU's School of Chemistry in collaboration with Prof. Thomas Witten of the University of Chicago, and conducted by TAU doctoral student Tomer Goldfriend. It was sponsored by the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) and published in Physical Review Letters.

The calm and the storm

"Our research clarifies a common, complex phenomenon and offers ways of controlling it," Prof. Diamant said. "We have demonstrated that the 'storminess' of sedimentation is specific to symmetrical objects such as spheres and ellipsoids. It disappears in the more general case of asymmetric objects, which can have arbitrary shapes. Asymmetric objects render the sedimentation process more uniform and less chaotic."

Certain chemical reactors and water-treatment facilities rely on processes closely related to sedimentation, Prof. Diamant explained. "These are called 'fluidized beds,' where settling particles are made to hover in the liquid by an opposing upward flow of liquid, which facilitates their chemical activity. Fluidized beds are used in the production of polymers such as rubber and polyethylene. They are also used to improve the efficiency of water and waste treatment facilities. Our work might lead to improvements of such processes by controlling the uniformity of particles distributed in the liquid."

The team is currently studying the organizational properties of other kinds of materials. "We now intend to look for physical scenarios other than sedimentation that may show a similar kind of 'self-taming' -- that is, a tendency of the material's constituents to self-organize into extremely uniform configurations," Prof. Diamant said. "The basic question is whether the behavior that we have found is unique to the process of sedimentation or can be found in a much broader class of materials. We think -- we hope -- that the latter is true."

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American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. For three years in a row, TAU ranked 9th in the world, and first in Israel, for alumni going on to become successful entrepreneurs backed by significant venture capital, a ranking that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,400 patents have been filed out of the University, making TAU 29th in the world for patents among academic institutions.
Low-growth trap

To achieve higher growth, Nepal needs to get more investments and enhance productivity
WASHINGTON -- Fathers with toddler daughters are more attentive and responsive to those daughters' needs than fathers with toddler sons are to the needs of those sons, according to brain scans and recordings of the parents' daily interactions with their kids.

Fathers of toddlers also sang more often to their daughters and spoke more openly about emotions, including sadness, possibly because they are more accepting of girls' feelings than boys', according to the study, published in the American Psychological Association's journal Behavioral Neuroscience. Fathers of sons engaged in more rough-and-tumble play and used more achievement-related language (e.g., words such as proud, win and top) when talking to their sons. Fathers of daughters used more analytical language (e.g., words such as all, below and much), which has been linked to future academic success.

"If the child cries out or asks for Dad, fathers of daughters responded to that more than did fathers of sons," said lead researcher Jennifer Mascaro, PhD, of Emory University. "We should be aware of how unconscious notions of gender can play into the way we treat even very young children."

The research examined whether the varying ways in which fathers treat sons or daughters may be influenced by different brain responses to male or female children. The study couldn't determine if those different brain responses meant fathers are somehow hard wired through genetics or evolution to treat sons differently than they treat daughters or if the fathers were conforming to societal norms relating to gender.

Studies about parenting often are biased in the lab because participants give answers that they think are expected of them or are not aware of their own behavior. The researchers, from Emory University and the University of Arizona, avoided that problem by taking their study out of the lab and into the real world. The study used data from 52 fathers of toddlers (30 girls, 22 boys) in the Atlanta area who agreed to clip a small handheld computer onto their belts and wear it for one weekday and one weekend day. The device randomly turned on for 50 seconds every nine minutes to record any sound during the 48-hour period. Some of the fathers in the study had more than one child, but the study focused only on their interactions with one son or daughter.

"People act shockingly normal when they are wearing it," Mascaro said. "They kind of forget they are wearing it or they say to themselves, what are the odds it's on right now."

The fathers also were told to leave the device charging in their child's room at night so any nighttime interactions with their children could be recorded, said Mascaro, an assistant professor in Family and Preventative Medicine at the Emory School of Medicine.

Fathers also underwent functional MRI brain scans while viewing photos of an unknown adult, an unknown child, and their own child with happy, sad or neutral facial expressions. Fathers of daughters had greater responses to their daughters' happy facial expressions in areas of the brain important for visual processing, reward, emotion regulation, and face processing than fathers of sons. In a finding that the researchers hadn't predicted, the brains of the fathers of boys responded more robustly to their sons' neutral facial expressions, possibly because fathers are responding to the more ambiguous emotional displays of their sons. There was no significant difference in the fathers' brain responses to sad facial expressions from sons or daughters.

In daily interactions, fathers of daughters used more language referencing the child's body (e.g., words such as belly, foot and tummy) relative to fathers of sons. Previous research has shown that pre-adolescent girls are more likely than boys to report body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem relating to body image.

The study focused on fathers because there is less research about fathers' roles in rearing young children than mothers, Mascaro said. The study couldn't make any definitive long-term connections between the varying treatment of sons or daughters as toddlers and future outcomes for those children, but the research explored some possible links that may offer some recommendations for fathers. Since the research was conducted in the United States, the study also couldn't draw any conclusions about fathers in other cultures with different societal norms for fathers.

If fathers are more present and attentive to daughters and open to expressing emotions, that may help girls develop more empathy than boys, so fathers of sons could take the same approach as fathers of daughters, Mascaro said. "The fact that fathers may actually be less attentive to the emotional needs of boys, perhaps despite their best intentions, is important to recognize," she said.

Other research has found that restricted emotions in adult men is linked to depression, decreased social intimacy, marital dissatisfaction and a lower likelihood of seeking mental health treatment.

Previous research also has shown that rough-and-tumble play by parents can help young children better regulate their emotions. Fathers of daughters may want to engage in more rough-and-tumble play with girls, even though such play is more often associated with boys, Mascaro said.

"Most dads are trying to do the best they can and do all the things they can to help their kids succeed, but it's important to understand how their interactions with their children might be subtly biased based on gender," Mascaro said.

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Article: "Child Gender Influences Paternal Behavior, Language, and Brain Function," Jennifer S. Mascaro, PhD, Patrick D. Hackett, BS, and James K. Rilling, PhD, Emory University; Kelly E. Rentscher, PhD, and Matthias R. Mehl, PhD, University of Arizona; Behavioral Neuroscience, published May 22, 2017.

Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office and at

http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bne-bne0000199.pdf.

Contact: Jennifer S. Mascaro at jmascar@emory.edu or (404) 727-4301.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

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Physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals in under-resourced communities around the world to receive access to the latest clinical information

Philadelphia, PA, May 25, 2017 - Elsevier, the information analytics company specializing in science and health, will add ClinicalKey to its global research and health resources available through Research4Life starting in June 2017. The expansion of the Research4Life access program with ClinicalKey benefits healthcare professionals in under-resourced, low- and middle-income communities around the globe.

ClinicalKey is Elsevier's premier clinical search engine, providing access to the most current scientific and medical information, and it will help Research4Life meet the 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that health policies and practices globally should be informed by the best research evidence.

"In 2012 the WHO Strategy on Research declared that health policies and practices globally should be informed by the best research evidence - and so we are delighted that ClinicalKey will help us grow the evidence-based medicine materials available for low- and middle-income countries through Hinari and provide an expanded basis for the informed decision-making of practitioners and policymakers," said Kimberly Parker, Hinari Programme Manager. Hinari is part of the Research4Life program managed by the WHO, in partnership with Yale University, and provides access to health and medical research.

As a founding partner of Research4Life, Elsevier contributes more than a quarter of the 77,000 peer-reviewed journals, books and scholarly databases that are available through the program. Access to ClinicalKey adds to an existing collection of research resources offered by Elsevier, including ScienceDirect and Scopus. Elsevier also provides technical, strategic and communications expertise to help advance and promote Research4Life.

Dr. Kristina Krohn, Health Frontiers Field Representative in Laos, said she was gratified to see how the Lao doctors reacted the first time they had access to medical journal articles through Hinari. "The Lao resident doctors devoured everything," said Dr. Krohn. "Hopefully ClinicalKey can help them sort through the medical literature without getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available."

Dr. John Danaher, President of Clinical Solutions at Elsevier, said, "Making ClinicalKey available to doctors and nurses in developing countries through Research4Life will help those medical professionals utilize the latest evidence-based clinical information to achieve the best outcomes for their patients."

Adding ClinicalKey to Research4Life follows Elsevier's recent agreement to provide ClinicalKey to Doctors without Borders and strengthens Elsevier's commitment to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

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Read more on Elsevier Connect

About Research4Life

Research4Life is a public-private partnership between over 200 international scientific publishers, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), Cornell and Yale Universities and several technology partners. The goal of Research4Life is to reduce the knowledge gap between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries by providing affordable access to critical scientific research. Since 2002, the four programmes - Research for Health (Hinari), Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Research in the Environment (OARE) and Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI) - have provided researchers at some 8000 institutions in more than 100 low- and middle-income countries with free or low-cost online access to 77,000 leading journals and books in the fields of health, agriculture, environment, and applied sciences. http://www.research4life.org

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global information analytics company that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 35,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com

Media contact

Christopher Capot

Global Communications, Elsevier

+1 917 704 5174

c.capot@elsevier.com

Natalia Rodriguez

Communications, Research4Life

comms@research4Life.org
Prague, Czech Republic - 25 May 2017: Men seem to have worse chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy than women despite receiving similar cancer treatments, according to research presented today at EuroCMR 2017.1

"Cancer patients are living longer because of improved treatment but the side effects of treatment include cardiovascular morbidity and mortality," said lead author Dr Iwan Harries, cardiology specialist registrar at Bristol Heart Institute, currently pursuing a PhD on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and cardio-oncology at the University of Bristol, UK.

A 2016 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) position paper on cardio-oncology described female sex as a risk factor for developing cardiotoxicity from chemotherapy.2 Dr Harries said: "The data largely originates from paediatric populations and, in contrast, animal studies report male susceptibility to cardiomyopathy."

This retrospective observational study in adults investigated whether there was a sex effect on chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy. The researchers identified all patients over a six year period that received potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, were referred for CMR, and were found to have impaired left ventricular function (chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy).

Patients were excluded if they had another condition that could have contributed to the cardiomyopathy such as ischaemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, family history of cardiomyopathy, or excess alcohol consumption.

The study included 76 patients (45 women and 31 men). Data was collected on baseline demographics and comorbidities. Details of the cancer treatment were recorded, including the type of chemotherapy, dose of chemotherapy, and the interval between receiving treatment and having the CMR scan. CMR scans provided information on left and right ventricular function, cardiac volumes, and tissue characteristics.

To assess the potential impact of gender on the development of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, the researchers conducted a multivariate regression analysis correcting for baseline differences between men and women including age, body surface area, comorbidities, and treatment.

The researchers found that both left and right ventricular ejection fraction was significantly lower in men than women, indicating worse performance of the heart. Cardiac volumes and mass were significantly larger in men compared to women, indicating more damage to the heart's structure.

Dr Harries said: "The results of our study suggest that men developed a more severe form of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy than women at follow-up of 8.75 years. Patients receiving anthracycline received on average 240 mg/m2 of doxorubicin or equivalent, a dose which was similar in both men and women."

Previous studies in paediatric populations which found increased risk in females may be explained by the absence of female sex hormones early in life. In adults it may be that female sex hormones are protective. "Previous lab-based research has shown that female adult rat cardiac muscle cells have a survival advantage over male cells when challenged with oxidative stress-induced cell death3, which is one of the proposed mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy," Dr Harries explained.

Dr Harries said: "Ours is a preliminary result and large scale trials are needed to confirm our finding that men are more susceptible to chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy than women. If confirmed, the implication of these findings is that cardiologists and oncologists could devise individualised treatment and monitoring strategies for their patients that take gender into account."

"Cardio-oncology is a new field of cardiology that is rapidly developing thanks to oncology treatments being more efficacious and oncology patients living longer but with associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to cardiotoxicity," Dr Bucciarelli-Ducci, senior lecturer in cardiology at the University of Bristol and principal investigator of the study concluded.

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Genetic testing is widely used across the developed world in order to diagnose and predict disease. However, along with its usefulness comes concern about how others, such as employers and insurers, can have access to and use its results. This in turn leads to the risk that individuals may avoid medically recommended genetic testing, or participation in genetic research, if they fear that they may be discriminated against based on their results.

At the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics tomorrow (Saturday), Anya Prince, JD MPP, a postdoctoral research associate at the Centre for Genomics and Society, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, will present results of her study comparing the regulation of life insurers' use of genetic information in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

"Such a study is necessary in order to appreciate the effectiveness and potential downsides of different policy options," says Ms Prince, who hopes to use her results to inform the development of regulations addressing life insurer use of genetic information in the United States. "Understanding which policy options most effectively assuage fear of discrimination has the potential to improve human health by encouraging individuals to undergo testing when medically recommended and to participate in genomics research."

In Australia, private life insurers are permitted to use genetic test results when setting insurance rates and deciding whether or not to accept an application. Although they are only allowed to use test results based on actuarial or statistical data, they are free to use their own judgements as to which tests meet these requirements.

In Canada, while life insurers are currently allowed to use genetic test results, the Parliament recently passed legislation that would prohibit them from doing so when drawing up insurance contracts. But in Canada insurance regulation comes under the jurisdiction of the provinces, so there is some doubt as to whether this ban is constitutional. The legislation is currently under judicial review.

Of the three countries studied, the United Kingdom had the most comprehensive protection against insurer use of genetic information. Life insurers have agreed to a moratorium on the use of predictive genetic test results for life insurance policies below 500,000 (five hundred thousand pounds). Above this figure, insurers are allowed to use genetic tests sanctioned by a government advisory committee, but to date only Huntington's Disease testing has been permitted.

"The two-tiered UK system is seen by many both within and outside of the country as being an effective way of balancing individual and insurer concerns--on the one hand about genetic discrimination and on the other about the economic viability of the industry. And the flexible nature of the moratorium, which is not permanent legislation, helps insurers feel comfortable that they will be able to react to advances in genomic research if necessary," says Ms Prince.

However, discussions with insurers in Australia and Canada showed that they felt that to lose access to genetic test results would have a drastic effect on their industry, and could threaten financial collapse. Unsurprisingly, individuals in those countries were much more likely to fear discrimination as a result of genetic testing than those interviewed in the UK.

Ms Prince has now widened the scope of her study to include Sweden, where insurers are barred from taking genetic test results into consideration. "I hope this comparative research will help to foster international dialogue about the ethical and legal implications of genetic research and insurance. Personally, I think that a two-tier system, as implemented in the UK, creates an appropriate balance. If insurers are allowed to use test results, I believe their model of an independent committee controlling which test results they may use is necessary," she says.

However, a major question remains. Are genetic test results relevant to insurance underwriting? "While genetic testing may promise to reduce risk, it is important to keep in mind that most genetic information can be affected by so many other factors. These include the environment, the likelihood of developing symptoms if someone has a genetic mutation (called the penetrance), the variation in signs and symptoms that can occur among people with the same condition, and how easy it is to minimise risks in individuals."

"Where there are tests for highly penetrant conditions, it is relatively easy to predict outcomes, but these conditions affect only a very small percentage of the population. It is therefore unsurprising that there is active debate about how loss of access to genetic test results would really affect the economic viability of the insurance industry," Ms Prince will conclude.

Chair of the ESHG conference, Professor Joris Veltman, Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom, said: "Genetic testing is becoming more mainstream and providing an increasing amount of information that can be used to predict disease risks. It is therefore important to evaluate who may or may not have access to these data and for what purpose, and make sure we develop common rules that can be internationally applied and upheld. This work provides an important analysis of the way different countries deal with this. It points to considerable differences that need to be addressed with all stakeholders involved."

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Abstract no: P20.03C
For humans, there are hundreds of antibodies available on the market today to evaluate immune status in health and diseases. However, for the more than 42 known species of dolphins around the world, commercially available marine-specific antibodies do not exist. With the drastic increase in the number of unusual dolphin strandings and deaths along the southeastern coast of the United States and elsewhere, finding specific antibodies to test, monitor and document their immune health is critical.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine in collaboration with Georgia Aquarium, conducted a study to identify cross-reactive terrestrial-specific antibodies for dolphins, which is the first study to characterize their immune cell subsets using this methodology. The goal of this study was to assess changes in immune cell populations in dolphins in the wild and results are published in the journal BMC Veterinary Research.

"We know that a strong immune system is important for combatting infectious diseases and cancer in both humans and animals," said Mahyar Nouri-Shirazi, DVM., Ph.D., lead author of the study and a professor of integrated medical science in FAU's College of Medicine. "Wild dolphins are impacted by newly characterized infectious disease and cancer, often associated with immunologic disturbances, which are now being better characterized."

While there are a number of studies and reports that suggest a correlation between environmental contaminants, immune disturbances and disease susceptibility in wild dolphins and other marine mammals, scientists and veterinarians need a way to characterize, monitor and evaluate specific immune cells to investigate and confirm this correlation.

The gold standard to monitor immune status and disease progression in humans is flow cytometry, a powerful tool that is used to rapidly measure and isolate immune cells. However, flow cytometry for dolphins requires the use of dolphin specific antibodies that are presently limited for the many different types of immune cells. To address this limitation, Nouri-Shirazi's team identified cross-reactive, terrestrial-specific antibodies to phenotype the immune cells of dolphins under human care and compare them with the immune status of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in the wild.

"When we compared the samples, we were able to see that the profile of some of the dolphins in the wild had changed significantly," said Nouri-Shirazi. "We saw abnormal distributions and increases in the percentages of the immune cells, which indirectly tells us that there may be a disease present."

Results from this study show that out of 65 terrestrial-specific antibodies tested, 11 were cross-reactive and identified dolphin immune cell populations within their peripheral blood. Using these antibodies, the researchers found significant differences in the absolute number of cells expressing specific markers within their lymphocyte and monocyte fractions. They found that the cross-reactive antibodies not only identified specific changes in the immune cells of dolphins in the wild, but also opened up the possibility to investigate the causal relationship between immune disturbances and morbidity and mortality seen in these dolphins in the wild.

"Georgia Aquarium's collaborative bottlenose dolphin research with FAU has demonstrated the intricate and dynamic interactions that occur between infectious disease, anthropogenic contaminants and immunologic responses. We have found that these interactions highlight the complexity of evaluating health in dolphins," said Gregory Bossart, VMD, Ph.D., co-author of the study and senior vice president and chief veterinary officer, Georgia aquarium. "Additionally, we have demonstrated that the bottlenose dolphin is a valuable sentinel species for understanding emerging or re-emerging diseases that may impact environmental and human health."

Findings from this study open up the possibility of utilizing flow cytometry for routine health assessment by monitoring specific changes in immune cells of wild dolphins caused by environmental contaminants or infectious agents with the goal of understanding pathogenesis of diseases.

The researchers anticipate that this new approach could be applicable to dolphins as well as other marine mammals including whales and manatees.

"Down the road, we hope to further develop this approach as an important tool to accurately gauge dolphin health and immunity," said Nouri-Shirazi. "Ideally, we hope that our research triggers interest for companies to further develop and commercialize these biomarkers to help us monitor and document dolphin health worldwide."

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Co-authors of "Phenotyping and Comparing the Immune Cell Populations of Free-ranging Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncates) and Dolphins Under Human Care" are Brittany F. Bible, FAU; Menghua Zeng, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical Center; and Saba Tamjidi, FAU.

This research was sponsored by Georgia Aquarium's Research and Conservation Program.

About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of 147 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU's commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. In June 2014, FAU's College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of 36 residents in its first University-sponsored residency in internal medicine.

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.

About Georgia Aquarium:

Georgia Aquarium is a leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Atlanta, Ga. that is Humane Certified by American Humane and accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Georgia Aquarium is committed to working on behalf of all marine life through education, preservation, exceptional animal care, and research across the globe. Georgia Aquarium continues its mission each day to inspire, educate, and entertain its millions of guests about the aquatic biodiversity throughout the world through its hundreds of exhibits and tens of thousands of animals across its seven major galleries. For more information, visit georgiaaquarium.org.
Boulder, Colo., USA: If you ever fly from L.A. to San Francisco, California, you may notice the Gabilan Mesa off to the east as you begin your descent into San Francisco International Airport. If you look carefully, you might notice two strange things: a series of bleach-white scars, where rock outcrops disrupt the smooth, grassy hillslopes, and a strong asymmetry in the orientation of tributaries, with many flowing south and few flowing north.

What you can't see is the few feet of soil that would lie beneath your feet if you were standing on the surface -- but it turns out that soil column may have a lot to do with shaping your 10,000-foot view.

Over long time scales, the transition from hillslopes to channels is controlled by the relative efficiencies of soil transport and channel erosion. This transition usually remains stable when erosion rates change, because increases in erosion rate would typically expose rocks that are stronger than the overlying weathered soils, thereby slowing any further increase in erosion rate. But what would happen if the opposite were true, if increases in erosion rates exposed highly vulnerable rocks, causing an unstable increase in erosion rate?

In this scenario, the shape of the landscape would be fragile -- susceptible to major reconfigurations in the face of small changes in erosion rate. In their paper for the Geological Society of America Bulletin, Samuel Johnstone and colleagues demonstrate that this may be the case in landscapes developed in rock types that are susceptible to slaking, a process that pervasively fractures these rocks when they are exposed to wetting and drying cycles.

Using laboratory measures of rock strength, Johnstone and colleagues demonstrate that soils in the Gabilan Mesa, California, are actually stronger than the rocks from which they were derived, once those parent rocks have been exposed to a single wetting and drying cycle.

Within the Gabilan Mesa, these rocks are typically covered in soil, but can be exposed in dramatic erosional channel features called arroyos. The morphology of arroyos and their position in the landscape suggests that they form by aggressively cutting uphill into the soil mantled hillslopes. Theory predicts that this behavior would be expected in an unstable erosion scenario.

What is perhaps most interesting is how climate influences the fragile landscape response recorded by arroyos. Arroyos are exclusively found within south-flowing catchments, and Johnstone and colleagues reason that this is the consequence of the thinner layer of soil that forms on these sunnier, drier, more poorly vegetated slopes. These thin soils allow highly erodible bedrock to be more readily accessed by erosive processes, and arroyos to be triggered more easily. This asymmetric triggering of headward (upslope) channel growth appears to drive profound topographic asymmetry, in which drainages are densely packed on south-facing slopes and nearly absent on north-facing slopes. This pattern is observable at the scale of entire drainage basins. The team's observations suggest that this large-scale reorganization of the Gabilan Mesa landscape starts with the soils, and the unusual combination of relatively strong soils forming from easily weakened rocks.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Soil development over mud-rich rocks produces landscape-scale erosion instabilities in the northern Gabilan Mesa, California

Samuel A. Johnstone, K. Dana Chadwick, Miguel Frias, Gabriel Tagliaro, and George E. Hilley.

Contact: Samuel Johnstone, sjohnstone@usgs.gov.

GSA BULLETIN articles published ahead of print are online at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/early/recent. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Kea Giles. Sign up for pre-issue publication e-alerts at http://www.gsapubs.org/cgi/alerts for first access to new content. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to The Geological Society of America Bulletin in articles published. Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.

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GW researchers publish findings in the New England Journal of Medicine of a co-occurrence of COMT and BRCA 1/2 variants in a data set population

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2017) -- Research looking at genomic data from women with a genetic risk for breast cancer, who may never develop cancer, found their cancer-free state may be related to a second genetic variation. Researchers at the George Washington University (GW) found through looking at data of women with BRCA 1/2 genetic mutations, that some women also have the co-occurrence of a rare COMT genetic variant.

The data set looked at women who volunteered for non-cancer related clinical trials, leading researchers to believe they have not developed cancer or have a family history of cancer.

"Not all mutation carriers develop the disease and the underlying reasons for this should be looked at, particularly with the large data sets now available to researchers," said Anelia Horvath, Ph.D., senior author for the study and associate research professor of pharmacology & physiology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, outlines a strategy for looking at similar genetic mutations.

"We do not claim the variant is preventative of breast cancer in BRCA 1/2 carriers; further research is needed to make those claims," said Horvath. "What we have done is illustrate a strategy for looking at the many data sets available for scientists today to look at different genes, different mutations, and discover patterns for why someone may never develop the disease predisposed by their high-risk mutation."

The next step would be to do a well-designed wet lab study to further look at this variant and determine whether it is functional or works with another variant to stop the incidence of cancer. Horvath and her research team hope to continue applying this model to other genetic conditions.

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"Co-Occurrence of COMT and BRCA1/2 Variants in a Population" was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and is available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1701592#t=article.

Media: To interview Dr. Horvath, please contact Lisa Anderson at lisama2@gwu.edu or 202-994-3121.

About the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation's capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation's capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities. smhs.gwu.edu
A new cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and others suggests that $6 million in costs related to the opioid epidemic could be saved each year if a single "safe consumption" space for illicit drug users were opened in Baltimore.

It would also reduce overdose deaths, HIV and hepatitis C infections, overdose-related ambulance calls and hospitalizations - and bring scores of people into treatment, they found.

Carefully monitored "safe consumption" spaces, which are not legal in the United States but have been used in dozens of cities around the world, provide a clean indoor environment in which people can use their own drugs with medical personnel on hand to reverse overdoses should they occur. These facilities serve as access points to substance use disorder treatment and other vital social services for drug users, such as medical care and housing.

The authors of the study, published this month in the Harm Reduction Journal, say that the findings add economic evidence to the body of research that already links such spaces to a reduction in fatal drug overdoses and an increase in people seeking treatment. "Safe consumption" spaces are especially critical right now: Last year, the United States hit a record for the number of people who have died from drug overdose, and fentanyl, a more dangerous and powerful drug than heroin, is increasingly being added to heroin in places like Baltimore.

"No one has ever died from an overdose in a safe consumption space," says the study's senior author, Susan G. Sherman, PhD, MPH, a professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Bloomberg School. "Thousands of lives have been saved. There are lots of doors people can walk through when they are addicted to drugs. We want them to walk through a door that may eventually lead to successful treatment - and keep them alive until they are ready for that."

Says Amos Irwin, MA, the study's lead author and program director at the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in Washington, D.C.: "Today, thousands of Baltimoreans are risking their lives to inject drugs instead of seeking treatment. We estimate that more than 100 new people would enter treatment every year if the city had a supervised injection facility. Bringing these people into a safe space actually helps reduce drug use, not increase it."

For their study, the researchers looked at the costs of operating a safe consumption space in Vancouver, the only one in North America. Then they estimated the impact on several health outcomes, based on Baltimore data.

They determined that running a 1,000-square-foot, 13-booth space in Baltimore for 18 hours a day would cost $1.8 million a year. Insite, the Vancouver facility, serves about 2,100 unique individuals a month, who perform roughly 180,000 injections per year in a space the same size.

Based on research done at Insite, they estimate that a Baltimore facility would generate $7.8 million in annual savings, preventing four HIV infections, 21 hepatitis C infections, 374 days in the hospital for skin and soft-tissue infections, six overdose deaths, 108 overdose-related ambulance calls, 78 emergency room visits and 27 overdose-related hospitalizations.

At the same time, an estimated 121 additional people would enter treatment.

"Six million dollars is a lot of money for one facility to save," Irwin says. "It is almost a third of Baltimore City's entire budget for HIV, sexually-transmitted infections and substance abuse treatment and prevention."

A bill allowing safe consumption spaces failed in the Maryland General Assembly this year. Last month, the Massachusetts Medical Society recommended opening safe consumption spaces in that state. These supervised injection facilities are a widely used public health intervention in 11 countries, mostly in Europe.

Sherman says many drug users in Baltimore are injecting on the streets or in abandoned houses, exposing them to possible violence, arrest and overdose death. Safe consumption spaces would provide clinical supervision and a clean environment, and they allow health professionals to connect drug users to critical health services. Such spaces maintain a strict prohibition on drug sharing or selling. These programs are not condoning illicit behavior, she says. They are meeting people where they are and connecting them with lifesaving resources.

The researchers did not estimate how many safe consumption spaces would be needed to service Baltimore's drug using population.

"We know what doesn't work when it comes to the so-called 'War on Drugs' in the United States because we have an opioid epidemic that is only getting worse," Sherman says. "The stakes are even higher now with so much heroin and other drugs adulterated with fentanyl. You can keep doing what you are doing or you can try something that has been proven by evidence and is considered usual care in a dozen nations."

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"Mitigating the heroin crisis in Baltimore, MD, USA: a cost-benefit analysis of a hypothetical supervised injection facility" was written by Amos Irwin, Ehsan Jozaghi, Brian W. Weir, Sean T. Allen, Andrew Lindsay and Susan G. Sherman. Other collaborating institutions include the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation and the University of British Columbia.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (P30AI094189) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32DA007292) as well as Amherst College, the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered a technique for controlling light with electric fields.

"Our method is similar to the technique used to provide the computing capabilities of computers," says Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and corresponding author of a paper on the work. "In computers, an electric field is used to turn electric current on or off, which corresponds to logic 1 and logic 0, the basis of binary code. With this new discovery, a light may be controlled to be strong or weak, spread or focused, pointing one direction or others by an electric field. We think that, just as computers have changed our way of thinking, this new technique will likely change our way of watching. For instance, it may shape a light into arbitrary patterns, which may find applications in goggle-free virtual reality lenses and projectors, the animation movie industry or camouflage."

Controlling light with electric fields is difficult. Photons, the basic units of light, are neutral - they have no charge, so they usually do not respond to electric fields. Instead, light may be controlled by tuning the refractive index of materials. Refractive index refers to the way materials reflect, transmit, scatter and absorb light. The more one can control a material's refractive index, the more control you have over the light that interacts with that material.

"Unfortunately, it is very difficult to tune refractive index with electric fields," Cao says. "Previous techniques could only change the index for visible light by between 0.1 and 1 percent at the maximum."

Cao and his collaborators have developed a technique that allows them to change the refractive index for visible light in some semiconductor materials by 60 percent - two orders of magnitude better than previous results. The researchers worked with a class of atomically thin semiconductor materials called transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. Specifically, they worked with thin films of molybdenum sulfide, tungsten sulfide and tungsten selenide.

"We changed the refractive index by applying charge to two-dimensional semiconductor materials in the same way one would apply charge to transistors in a computer chip," Cao says. "Using this technique, we achieved significant, tunable changes in the index within the red range of the visible spectrum."

Currently, the new technique allows researchers to tune the refractive index by any amount up to 60 percent - the greater the voltage applied to the material, the greater the degree of change in the index. And, because the researchers are using the same techniques found in existing computational transistor technologies, these changes are dynamic and can be made billions of times per second.

"This technique may provide capabilities to control the amplitude and phase of light pixel by pixel in a way as fast as modern computers," says Yiling Yu, a recent graduate of NC State and lead author of the paper.

"This is only a first step," Cao says. "We think we can optimize the technique to achieve even larger changes in the refractive index. And we also plan to explore whether this could work at other wavelengths in the visual spectrum."

Cao and his team are also looking for industry partners to develop new applications for the discovery.

The paper, "Giant Gating Tunability of Optical Refractive Index in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers," is published in the journal Nano Letters. Lead author of the paper is Yiling Yu, a Ph.D. student at NC State. Co-authors include Yifei Yu and Lujun Huang of NC State; Haowei Peng of Temple University; and Liwei Xiong of Wuhan Institute of Technology. The work was done with support from the National Science Foundation under grant ECCS-1508856, and from the Center for the Computational Design of Functional Layered Materials at Temple University, which is funded by the Department of Energy under grant DESC0012575.

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Astronomers have watched as a massive, dying star was likely reborn as a black hole. It took the combined power of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), and NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes to go looking for remnants of the vanquished star, only to find that it disappeared out of sight.

It went out with a whimper instead of a bang.

The star, which was 25 times as massive as our sun, should have exploded in a very bright supernova. Instead, it fizzled out--and then left behind a black hole.

"Massive fails" like this one in a nearby galaxy could explain why astronomers rarely see supernovae from the most massive stars, said Christopher Kochanek, professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University and the Ohio Eminent Scholar in Observational Cosmology.

As many as 30 percent of such stars, it seems, may quietly collapse into black holes -- no supernova required.

"The typical view is that a star can form a black hole only after it goes supernova," Kochanek explained. "If a star can fall short of a supernova and still make a black hole, that would help to explain why we don't see supernovae from the most massive stars."

He leads a team of astronomers who published their latest results in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Among the galaxies they've been watching is NGC 6946, a spiral galaxy 22 million light-years away that is nicknamed the "Fireworks Galaxy" because supernovae frequently happen there -- indeed, SN 2017eaw, discovered on May 14th, is shining near maximum brightness now. Starting in 2009, one particular star, named N6946-BH1, began to brighten weakly. By 2015, it appeared to have winked out of existence.

After the LBT survey for failed supernovas turned up the star, astronomers aimed the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes to see if it was still there but merely dimmed. They also used Spitzer to search for any infrared radiation emanating from the spot. That would have been a sign that the star was still present, but perhaps just hidden behind a dust cloud.

All the tests came up negative. The star was no longer there. By a careful process of elimination, the researchers eventually concluded that the star must have become a black hole.

It's too early in the project to know for sure how often stars experience massive fails, but Scott Adams, a former Ohio State student who recently earned his doctorate doing this work, was able to make a preliminary estimate.

"N6946-BH1 is the only likely failed supernova that we found in the first seven years of our survey. During this period, six normal supernovae have occurred within the galaxies we've been monitoring, suggesting that 10 to 30 percent of massive stars die as failed supernovae," he said.

"This is just the fraction that would explain the very problem that motivated us to start the survey, that is, that there are fewer observed supernovae than should be occurring if all massive stars die that way."

To study co-author Krzysztof Stanek, the really interesting part of the discovery is the implications it holds for the origins of very massive black holes -- the kind that the LIGO experiment detected via gravitational waves. (LIGO is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.)

It doesn't necessarily make sense, said Stanek, professor of astronomy at Ohio State, that a massive star could undergo a supernova -- a process which entails blowing off much of its outer layers -- and still have enough mass left over to form a massive black hole on the scale of those that LIGO detected.

"I suspect it's much easier to make a very massive black hole if there is no supernova," he concluded.

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Adams is now an astrophysicist at Caltech. Other co-authors were Ohio State doctoral student Jill Gerke and University of Oklahoma astronomer Xinyu Dai. Their research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech in Pasadena, California. Spacecraft operations are based at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

The Large Binocular Telescope is an international collaboration among institutions in the United Sates, Italy and Germany.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C.

Related Links:

The science paper by S. Adams et al.

NASA's Hubble Portal

NASA's Spitzer Portal

Caltech's Spitzer Portal

Ohio State University's Release

Christopher Kochanek / Krzysztof Stanek

Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

614-292-5954 / 614-292-3433

kochanek.1@osu.edu / stanek.32@osu.edu

Scott Adams

Caltech, Pasadena, California

626-395-8676

smadams@caltech.edu

Pam Frost Gorder

Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

614-292-9475

gorder.1@osu.edu

Elizabeth Landau

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

818-354-6425

elizabeth.r.landau@jpl.nasa.gov

Ray Villard

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

410-338-4514

villard@stsci.edu
NOC barred from distributing bonus

The sub-committee of the parliamentary Industry, Commerce and Consumer Welfare Protection on Wednesday, directed Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) not to distribute bonuses to the corporations employees until the Bonus Act 1973 was amended.
Under the terms of the agreement, PharmaMar will receive an upfront payment as well as development milestones related to the health approval procedure of Aplidin in this country. PharmaMar will retain exclusive production rights and will supply the finished product to Eczasibasi for commercial use.

Aplidin is PharmaMars second most advanced anticancer drug currently under development for the treatment of multiple myeloma and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. The Company announced in March 2016 that plitidepsin has shown positive results in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial (ADMYRE) for multiple myeloma and in September 2016, PharmaMar presented to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) the submission of the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for this drug in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) .

"The partnership with Eczasibasi will help in the commercialization in Turkey of plitidepsin, developed to tackle hematologic cancer. We are looking forward to working with one of the leading Health Care companies in this country", said Luis Mora, Managing Director of PharmaMars Oncology Business Unit. "We are firmly committed to advancing in the development of innovative oncology therapies", he added.

Atalay, CEO and President of the Eczasibasi Group, stated that "the agreement between PharmaMar and Eczac?ba?? Pharmaceuticals Marketing (EIP) offered a major advance for healthcare in Turkey, as Aplidin represented the latest innovation in cancer treatment". Elif Celik, Executive Vice President of the Eczasibasi Healthcare Division, noted that "the agreement ensured that multiple myeloma patients in Turkey would have access to the most innovative treatment at the same time as patients in other EU countries". She added that "the two parties hoped to extend the partnership to innovative products in other treatment areas as well".

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About APLIDIN (plitidepsin)

Plitidepsin is an investigational anticancer agent of marine origin, originally obtained from the ascidian Aplidium albicans. It specifically binds to the eEF1A2 and targets the non-canonical role of this protein, resulting in tumor cell death via apoptosis (programed death). Plitidepsin is currently in clinical development for hematological cancers, including a Phase Ib trial in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma as a triple combination of plitidepsin, bortezomib and dexamethasone, and a Phase II study in relapsed or refractory angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. A Phase III trial in multiple myeloma relapsed or refractory has been completed. Plitidepsin has received orphan drug designation in the European Union and the United States of America.

About Eczasibasi Group

Founded in 1942, Eczasibasi is a prominent Turkish industrial group, over 12,750 employees and a combined net turnover of TL 9.6 billion in 2016. Eczasibasi's core sectors are healthcare, consumer products and building products. Additionally, the Group is active in finance, welding technology and mining.

The pioneer of Turkey's pharmaceutical industry, the Eczasibasi Healthcare Division is unique in the breadth of its activities, which range from preventive care to early diagnosis and from innovative treatment to close patient follow-up and home care. Through this holistic approach, the Division contributes to wellbeing at every phase of human life.

EIP is a wholly-owned Eczasibasi Group company with an expertise in the marketing, sales and distribution of imported and locally manufactured pharmaceutical and health-based personal care products. EIP's diverse portfolio has a special focus on specialty care and rare diseases, and the company is now preparing to launch biosimilar products for cancer treatments not currently available in Turkey.

EIP has four strategic business units, with a sizeable sales force covering 25,000 physicians and 5,000 pharmacies all around Turkey. One of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in Turkey, EIP has numerous licensing agreements with multinational partners, among them Galderma, Procter&Gamble Health, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Cadila Healthcare, Astellas, and Tillots Pharma. Aplidin is expected to be marketed in Turkey no later than 2020. About PharmaMar

Headquartered in Madrid, PharmaMar is a world-leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of innovative marine-derived anticancer drugs. The company has an important pipeline of drug candidates and a robust R&D oncology program. PharmaMar develops and commercializes YONDELIS in Europe and has three other clinical-stage programs under development for several types of solid and hematological cancers, PM1183, plitidepsin, and PM184. PharmaMar is a global biopharmaceutical company with subsidiaries in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria and the United States. PharmaMar fully owns other companies: GENOMICA, Spain's leading molecular diagnostics company; Sylentis, dedicated to researching therapeutic applications of gene silencing (RNAi); and two other chemical enterprises, Zelnova Zeltia and Xylazel. To learn more about PharmaMar, please visit us at http://www.pharmamar.com.
The virus that causes chickenpox--varicella zoster virus (VZV)--possesses a protein that could enhance its ability to hijack white blood cells and spread throughout the body, according to new research published in PLOS Pathogens.

The findings, presented by Victor Gonzalez-Motos of Hannover Medical School, Germany, and colleagues, may provide new insight into the poorly understood mechanism by which VZV spreads after initial infection in the respiratory tract.

VZV causes chickenpox in children and can reactivate later in life to cause shingles. After infecting the respiratory tract, the virus hijacks the immune system's white blood cells, using them to spread in the body--including to the skin to cause chickenpox.

To better understand this process, the researchers investigated whether VZV influences the function of chemokines, small immune system proteins that attract white blood cells to sites of infection and guide their movement within the body.

The scientists focused on a VZV protein known as glycoprotein C, since previous research suggested it may play an important role in the infection cycle. In the lab, they performed chemotaxis experiments and found that the addition of glycoprotein C enhances the ability of chemokines to attract white blood cells, including white blood cells from the tonsils, which are a major target of VZV during initial infection.

Further experiments uncovered the molecular details of the interaction between glycoprotein C and chemokines. The researchers also showed that VZV viral particles that had been genetically engineered to remove glycoprotein C had a reduced ability to enhance chemokine attraction of white blood cells, indicating the importance of glycoprotein C for this process.

Overall, these results suggest that glycoprotein C may interact with chemokines to attract more white blood cells to the site of VZV infection, where the virus can hijack the white blood cells to spread to other parts of the body. Further research is needed to investigate whether this hypothesis holds up in human tissue.

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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Pathogens: http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006346

Citation: Gonzalez-Motos V, Jurgens C, Ritter B, Kropp KA, Duran V, Larsen O, et al. (2017) Varicella zoster virus glycoprotein C increases chemokine-mediated leukocyte migration. PLoS Pathog 13(5): e1006346. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006346

Funding: This work was supported by the Niedersachsen-Research Network on Neuroinfectiology (N-RENNT) of the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony to TFS, BS and AVB, by a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant to AVB (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-CIG, project number 631792, acronym INMA), by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft funded SFB-900 to AVB (TPB9), BS (TPC2) and TK (TPB10) and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft funded "Excellent Cluster REBIRTH" to BS (Unit 8.1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: AEIP's affiliation is NovImmune, Geneva, Switzerland. The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
The invasion of nonnative species has widespread and detrimental effects on both local and global ecosystems. These intruders often spread and multiply prolifically, overtake and displace native species, alter the intended interactions between flora and fauna, and damage the environment and economy. A particularly pesky invader is the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Given its abundancy, fecundity, and heartiness, zebra mussels frequently outcompete native bivalves. Their dominance interrupts the natural cycle of nutrients and disrupts the structure and function of infested waterworks. These so-called "ecosystem engineers" generate substantial removal costs for individuals, corporations, and towns; estimates indicate that zebra mussels cause $1 billion in damages and control costs every year.

While some species can easily spread upstream in unidirectional river environments, not all invasive species are able to do so. In a paper publishing on Thursday, May 25th in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Qihua Huang, Hao Wang, and Mark Lewis present a continuous-discrete hybrid population model that describes the invasive dynamics of zebra mussels in North American rivers. "We wanted to develop and apply a mathematical model to understand the interaction between population growth and dispersal, environmental conditions, and river flow in determining upstream invasion success of zebra mussels," Huang said.

Since its introduction to North America in 1986, the zebra mussel has invaded several large rivers, including the Mississippi, Hudson, Ohio, and St. Lawrence. "Rivers are key natural resources, and once zebra mussels invade the consequences can be disastrous," Lewis said. "Not only are the rivers themselves affected, they can spread the zebra mussels to new downstream locations." The mussels consume algae that is otherwise meant for native fish populations, and are considered unsafe for human consumption because they accumulate pollutants and toxins when filtering.

Three main phases--larvae, juveniles, and adults--characterize the mussel's life cycle. Larvae are planktonic, and drift through the water for a few days or weeks before setting on a surface and activating the juvenile stage. Upon sexual maturation in their second year of life, juveniles are considered adults and can reproduce once water temperatures are warm enough. "The larval life stage is relatively short compared to the zebra mussel lifespan," Huang said. "As a result, a model for the spread of zebra mussels in a river requires the introduction of different time scales." The authors chose to assume that settled larvae, juveniles, and adults all have the same survival rate.

Zebra mussels' survival in North American rivers is contingent upon a myriad of physical, biological, and chemical factors, including--but not limited to--water temperature, flow rates, salinity, turbidity, and pH levels. They are most heavily affected by unidirectional water flow, which shifts river sediment, sweeps mussel larvae downstream, and inhibits attachment to the benthos - the river bottom. "The dynamics of unidirectional water flow found in rivers can play an important role in determining invasion success," Huang said. "The alteration of hydrodynamic regimes associated with water management has direct effects on river ecosystem dynamics." As a result, it is difficult for zebra mussels to spread upstream in high flow rivers.

Because the zebra mussel has unusual dynamics, classical models do not suffice. Instead, the authors develop and employ a novel, impulsive, spatially-explicit population model. "In the model, the dynamics of the dispersing larvae stage are governed by an advection diffusion-reaction equation, while juvenile and adult growth are described by two difference equations that map the population density in the current year to the population density in the next year," Huang said. These equations combine the process-oriented population growth model with a hydrological model, based on available data about river flow dynamics.

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Past researchers have proposed three measures of population persistence that reflect reproductive output of zebra mussels. The measures denote the fundamental niche of the population, the source-sink distribution, and the net reproductive rate (R) -- the average number of adult mussels produced from a single adult throughout its lifetime. If R>1, a population will grow; if R<1, it will shrink. The authors extend these three traditional population measures to their hybrid model to investigate the impact of flow regime on distribution, profusion, and ultimate upstream spread.

"We determined conditions for persistence of zebra mussels in rivers as a function of temperature and flow rate," Huang said. "The population persists in a river only when the flow velocity is low and the water temperature is moderate. We found that the population cannot persist in a river if it is unable to spread upstream."

The authors' successful model offers multiple opportunities for further analysis. For example, one could adapt the model to study other environmental factors that affect population persistence, such as seasonality. "The living conditions for an invasive species and the hydrodynamics environment in a river can vary seasonally," Huang said. "The theory developed here could be extended to more general models by including seasonal variations in population growth and temporal variations of flow rate."

Additionally, the active nature of rivers makes them prone to variable landscapes and inconsistencies. "Deep pools and shallows in a river are examples of heterogeneities that typically occur on shorter spatial scales than the whole stretch of a river," Huang said. "It would be interesting to further investigate how the heterogeneous landscapes affect the successful invasion of zebra mussels." The authors believe that these heterogeneities might make it possible for zebra mussels to persist in rivers even without upstream spread.

Finally, the researchers could use their hybrid model to monitor the dynamics of other invasive species in rivers, such as the quagga mussel (). "Quagga and zebra mussels possess similar morphologies, life cycles, and functional ecologies, but different sensitivities to environmental factors," Huang said. "Patterns of relative dominance and competitive exclusion amongst these species may vary over space and time. As a future effort, we plan to extend our single-species model to a competition model to understand how the interaction between flow rate and environmental factors impact the persistence, extinction, and competitive exclusion in rivers."

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Source article: A Hybrid Continuous/Discrete-Time Model for Invasion Dynamics of Zebra Mussels in Rivers. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics. To be published.

Journal SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics

Qihua Huang is a postdoctoral fellow in the Centre for Mathematical Biology and the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta. Hao Wang is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta. Mark Lewis is a Senior Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Biology and a professor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta.
The received wisdom that migrant workers have a stronger 'work ethic' than UK-born workers is proven for the first time, in a new study of Central and East European migrants, from the University of Bath's School of Management

The received wisdom that migrant workers have a stronger 'work ethic' than UK-born workers is proven for the first time, in a new study of Central and East European migrants, from the University of Bath's School of Management.

The research shows that migrant workers are over three times less likely to be absent from work than native UK workers, a measure which economists equate with work ethic.

The enhanced migrant work effort was found to be a temporary phenomenon lasting for approximately two years from their arrival in the UK, after which migrant workers' absence converged with levels recorded by native UK workers.

A wide body of existing research evidence suggests that employers in the UK will often recruit workers on the basis of their nationality, especially in lower-skilled roles where employers tend to value a 'good work ethic' above anything else.

While the perception of the migrant work ethic persists, UK native workers may in some cases be missing out on jobs simply because their nationality is not synonymous with hard work.

The researchers suggest that by putting in extra effort at work, new migrant workers are trying to signal their worth to employers, compensating for limited English language skills and to overcome a lack of understanding from their new employers about the qualifications and skills they have gained in their home country. In fact migrants have on average two years more of education than their UK counterparts.

Additionally, migrant workers from low income countries initially perceive their UK salary to be relatively high and respond with increased effort.

As migrants spend longer in the UK, their language skills improve, they become more knowledgeable about the UK job market and they take on better paid roles. They no longer have to rely on working extra hard to prove their worth and they quickly assimilate into UK working culture.

The study, carried out by the Universities of Bath, Southampton and Leicester, is published in the Journal Work, Employment and Society.

The research used large scale data from the Office for National Statistics UK Labour Force Survey (2005 to 2012) to study the absence rates of migrant workers from the eight nations of Central and Eastern Europe (known as the A8) when they joined the EU in 2004.

Dr Chris Dawson, Senior Lecturer in Business Economics, said: "This is the first study with concrete evidence on the existence of the migrant work ethic. It backs up managers' perceptions that Polish and other Central and Eastern European migrants are harder working than UK employees, but importantly only for around two years from their arrival in the UK.

"The study shows that the common view that UK workers are lazy compared to migrant workers is misconceived: in fact migrants are temporarily working extra hard to offset the challenges they face when they first enter the UK job market.

"We clearly see in the research that migrants new to the UK put in a couple of years of hard work, before a better understanding of our culture and job market means they adopt the same work ethic as native workers."

From 2004 to 2007 over 600,000 workers from these new EU nations registered for work in the UK; shattering the projected figures of around 13,000 additional workers migrating to the UK.

Dr Benjamin Hopkins, Lecturer in Work and Employment at the University of Leicester said: "When the Central and Eastern European nations became part of the EU in 2004 the numbers of migrants registering to work in the UK was far beyond any projected figures. There was very little planning around information for employers about qualifications in these countries and how they relate to the UK system. This lack of understanding exacerbated the need for migrants to demonstrate their value to employers in a very practical way: by recording lower levels of absence than their colleagues from the UK."

Research by the School of Management was ranked 8th in the UK in the independently-assessed Research Excellence Framework. 89 per cent of their submitted case studies were deemed to have an outstanding or very considerable impact.

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For further information, please contact Alison Jones in the University of Bath Press Office on +44 (0)1225 386986 or +44 (0)7966 341322.

Notes

The A8 nations of Central and East European (CEE) nations that joined the EU in 2004 are: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia

The UK Labour Force Survey, produced by the Office for National Statistics', is a study of the employment circumstances of the UK population. It is the largest household study in the UK and provides the official measures of employment and unemployment.

The research included 113,804 people of which 1396 were A8 migrants as opposed to UK nationals. The survey covers employees from all occupations. 63 per cent of migrants work as machine operatives or elementary occupations compared to 16 per cent of UK nationals.

The University of Bath celebrates its 50th anniversary this year as one of the UK's leading universities both in terms of research and our reputation for excellence in teaching, learning and graduate prospects.

In the REF 2014 research assessment 87 per cent of our research was defined as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent'. From making aircraft more fuel efficient, to identifying infectious diseases more quickly, or cutting carbon emissions through innovative building solutions, research from Bath is making a difference around the world. Find out more: http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/

Well established as a nurturing environment for enterprising minds, Bath is ranked highly in all national league tables. We are ranked 5th in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2018 and 6th for graduate employment. According to the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2017, we are in the top 5 universities students would recommend to a friend.
A recent study from UBC's Okanagan campus identifies new genetic markers in sockeye salmon that can help improve management of fish populations.

The markers, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, are individual locations in the genome that, in this case, allow researchers to distinguish between the different variants of sockeye salmon: those that spawn on lake shore or island beaches and those that spawn in rivers and streams.

"The obvious practical application is in fisheries management," says study senior author Michael Russello, biology professor at UBC Okanagan. "Until now, it was quite challenging and even impossible, in some cases, to identify these different variants outside the spawning season. But the new genetic markers provide a fast, inexpensive and accurate way to tell them apart."

The ability for fisheries managers to precisely identify and monitor the abundance of different sockeye salmon populations is important to helping maintain healthy fish stocks, says Russello. The Ecological and Conservation Genomics Lab is working with fisheries managers to help classify kokanee, a freshwater form of sockeye salmon, to more accurately estimate population numbers, an important key in monitoring the impacts of changes to their habitat and hopefully in preventing future declines in the salmon run.

Russello and former UBC Okanagan post-doctoral associate Andrew Veale (now at the University of Otago) studied populations across the range of sockeye salmon in the United States, Canada, Russia and Japan at these areas in the genome. What they found was remarkably consistent genetic patterns for shore- and stream-spawning sockeye, despite spawning locations spanning different continents.

"What's really exciting are the clues this provides for better understanding the genetic basis of how new forms arise in nature," adds Russello. "In this case, we can estimate that the different sockeye salmon types diverged some 3.8 million years ago, much earlier than we would have predicted. There is incredible potential here to better understand the complex evolutionary history of this species."

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The study was published in Scientific Reports, an online journal from the publishers of Nature, and was supported by funding from Genome British Columbia, Okanagan Aquatic Enterprises, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource, and BC Hydro.

Media Contact: Nathan Skolski

Associate Director, Public Affairs

The University of British Columbia | Okanagan Campus

Phone 250-807-9926 | Email: nathan.skolski@ubc.ca
"We expect our results to have a major influence on the future of autopsy practice in the UK, and across the world" - Professors Guy Rutty and Bruno Morgan

Study applied a minimally invasive computed tomography technique (PMCTA) to a cohort of 240 deaths investigated by the HM Coroner for unexpected sudden death

Findings suggest PMCTA could be used to identify cause of death in up to 92% of adult post-mortem investigations without using an invasive autopsy

Using PMCTA instead of autopsy as the standard first-line test for unexpected natural death could have a positive and profound effect on public and religious groups within the UK and potentially beyond

A ground-breaking study by University of Leicester pathologists and radiologists could represent a breakthrough in how autopsy practice is conducted in the United Kingdom and around the world.

The research was led by Professors Guy Rutty and Bruno Morgan from the University of Leicester. It was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is published in the Lancet.

Professor Rutty explained: "Over the years there have been several attempts to develop alternative approaches to the invasive autopsy to limit the extent to which the cadaver is dissected. Although these techniques have been published, the invasive examination remains the standard adopted approach."

A previous study of PMCT published in the Lancet in 2012 showed promise for using medical imaging to investigate the cause of natural death, but with a major weakness: the inability to diagnose coronary artery disease, the most common cause of natural death.

Professor Morgan explained: "In clinical CT scanning, a contrast agent is injected into a vein and circulation delivers it around the body. This allows the CT scan to show the state of blood vessels anywhere in the body. However, the lack of circulation in cadavers means these techniques cannot be used."

This has been overcome by developing a novel minimally invasive coronary artery angiography technique. A variety of these techniques have been developed around the world over the last few years, but this is the first large-scale fully autopsy-controlled trial to demonstrate their efficacy in adult natural death.

Professor Rutty explained: "Here at the University of Leicester we developed a quick and minimally invasive approach to improve diagnostic accuracy. This uniquely uses a combination of standard contrast agent (positive) and air (negative) to show the coronary artery lumens and ventricular cavities."

Professor Morgan explained: "By 'minimally invasive' we mean that we use a catheter inserted into an artery to perform the angiography. The insertion techniques are like those we use on patients every day in our clinics, with just the use of local anaesthetic to numb the skin."

The Leicester team applied their PMCTA technique to a cohort of 240 deaths investigated by the HM coroner. They show that a cause of death could be given in 92% of cases, based on "the balance of probabilities", the burden of proof required by the HM Coroner. Comparison with independently generated autopsy results showed that PMCTA had a similar accuracy to autopsy, did not miss autopsy-identifiable unnatural or "reportable" causes of death, and would also not significantly change population "cause of death" statistics.

Professor Morgan added: "We have shown that PMCT enhanced by targeted coronary angiography can diagnose the cause of death in up to 90% of HM Coronial investigations for suspected natural death. This is the most successful application of PMCT and PMCTA to-date in natural death, and shows that a significant number of deaths could be investigated without the need for an invasive autopsy."

PMCTA was found to be superior at identifying trauma and haemorrhage, whereas autopsy was superior at identifying pulmonary thromboembolism. Both tests had different strengths and weaknesses in heart and lung disease.

Professor Rutty cautioned: "Both autopsy and PMCTA have different strengths and weaknesses as investigative approaches. When a higher burden of proof is required the 'gold standard' of death investigation should include both PMCT and invasive autopsy."

The findings of the study are unique from an international perspective as it focuses on natural death. In the study a small number of unnatural deaths were also examined, showing PMCTA was also useful in these cases.

Professor Rutty concludes: "There is already great interest in providing PMCTA as an alternative to autopsy in the UK with several centres, including Leicester, recently initiating services. These data now provide strong evidence to validate these services, especially where they use angiography techniques. We therefore expect these results to have a major influence on the future of autopsy practice in the UK, and across the world."

Professors Rutty and Morgan are internationally recognised as pioneers, researchers and practitioners within the field of post mortem computed tomography. They are the authors of the largest body of scientific publications in this field within the United Kingdom, including research studies and educational papers and book chapters.

They both state "we dedicate the success of our research to the families of Leicestershire, who have consented for their loved ones to be involved in these studies, despite being in a period of bereavement."

They have pioneered other investigative adjuncts to augment PMCT studies, developed a 'patent-pending' PMCT catheter, and they have launched the first educational postgraduate teaching programs for PMCT at the University of Leicester, which started in 2016.

The team believes adopting PMCTA as the standard first-line test in natural death would have a positive and profound effect on the public and religious groups within the UK and potentially beyond.

The research was authored by Professor Guy Rutty (East Midlands forensic Pathology Unit, CSMM) and Professor Bruno Morgan (University Radiology Unit, CSMM), in collaboration with other University of Leicester, and University Hospitals of Leicester employees past and present.

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The paper 'Diagnostic accuracy of post-mortem Computed Tomography with targeted Coronary Angiography (PMCTA) when used as the first-line investigation for HM Coroner post-mortem investigations: prospective, blind comparison to a gold standard study' is published in The Lancet.

A written feature about the study providing further information is available here after embargo lifts: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/features/features-2017/ground-breaking-research-could-have-major-influence-on-the-future-of-autopsy-practice-worldwide

A letter from HM Senior Coroner Catherine Mason lending her full support to the collaborative study is available on the University of Leicester website here after embargo lifts: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/features/hm-senior-coroner-catherine-masons-letter-of-support/view

More information about the postgraduate teaching programs in PMCT at the University of Leicester is available below:

A video highlighting the new research is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YsGe51hP1s

Images are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bd6bwegwet8bh6y/AADCk8AiYxQFd9y9Y7nAI50ya?dl=0
Whether it's a blue and black dress - or white and gold depending on your take - or a pair of legs streaked with white paint, eagle-eyed viewers are always keen to debate a visual illusion when these puzzling images appear online.

A new study published today reveals the science behind another 'trick of the light' that made high-profile photographs of a major piece of public art appear 'faked' to some people despite the pictures being entirely genuine.

Vision science researchers from the University of Lincoln examined photographs of the art installation, Blade, which took pride of place in the centre of Hull earlier this year. Their interest was triggered when some pictures published online of the work - a 75-metre long, 25-tonne wind turbine blade - made the object appear to be super-imposed.

The researchers found that this visual illusion was caused by the particular way light reflected from the blade, which then played on pre-conceived notions people have of how objects are lit in natural settings, effectively altering the object's shape to the human eye.

Daylight hitting the object from above produced shading which created the illusion that the blade was cylindrical, and was being lit from the side rather than above. This subtly reinforced the visual impression that the blade was out-of-place, and that the image of the blade and its backdrop must therefore be a composite of two different scenes.

To demonstrate this, researchers created virtual versions of a cylindrical C-shaped profile and a more complex S-shaped profile, and produced two images of each shape, one lit from above and the other lit from the front. The images demonstrated that the S-shape when lit from above and the C-shape when lit from the front both appeared cylindrical.

Professor of Vision Science, George Mather, from the University of Lincoln's School of Psychology, said: "I saw pictures of the installation in the media, and at first sight the photographs seemed to be clumsy fakes. Something else seemed to be at work too, at least to my eyes as a vision scientist.

"The blade appeared to be a cylindrical object, strangely out-of-keeping with the local environment, lit differently, as though it was superimposed on the scene digitally, but it really was there.

"We had an idea about what it was that conveyed this impression - light and shadow on the blade which is apparently inconsistent with the surroundings. The computer generated images were a way of testing the idea."

The blade was made by turbine manufacturer Siemens and placed in Victoria Square as a major public art installation to mark the start of Hull's year as the UK City of Culture 2017. Artist Nayan Kulkarni created the installation for Look Up, a programme of temporary artworks designed for Hull's public spaces and places. It used one of the first B75 rotor blades manufactured in Hull.

The research on the causes of the blade visual illusion is published in the scientific journal i-Perception today (Thursday 25th May 2017).

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New observations about the extreme conditions of Jupiter's weather and magnetic fields by University of Leicester astronomers have contributed to the revelations and insights coming from the first close passes of Jupiter by NASA's Juno mission, announced today (25 May).

The astronomers from the University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, led by the UK science lead for the Juno mission, have led three papers and contributed to four papers in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, that support the first in-depth science results from Juno published in the journal Science.

Juno made its first scientific close-up, known as a 'perijove', on 27 August last year. Lasting a few hours, the spacecraft flies from the north pole to the south pole, dipping within 4000 km of the equatorial clouds and beneath Jupiter's most intense and damaging radiation belts.

The Juno team organized a campaign with astronomers using Earth- and space-based telescopes around the globe to collaborate with the Juno science team. These collaborations provide the Juno science team with a 'forecast' of the gas giant's intense weather systems and powerful aurorae to compare with Juno close observations.

The results from Juno have proven Jupiter to be an even more extreme and surprising environment than the scientists predicted.

A model of the workings of Jupiter's polar aurorae (northern lights) was detailed by Professor Stan Cowley, Professor of Solar Planetary Physics at University of Leicester and the UK science lead for Juno, with colleagues at the University of Leicester. This model, based upon spacecraft flybys and Galileo orbiter observations, details the electric currents which couple the polar upper atmosphere to the planetary field and plasma at large distances, and offers a comparison of Juno's early data with a prediction of what Juno would observe on its first 'perijove'.

Professor Cowley, who is a co-author on the Science paper, said: "Our new paper in the Juno special issue of Geophysical Research Letters makes detailed predictions about what should be seen, and when, on Juno's first perijove pass, and we plan to continue this work for subsequent passes as well. Our prediction is being published alongside the early Juno data. We look forward to future release of the fully calibrated Juno data that will allow these predictions to be tested in detail."

Dr Jonathan Nichols, Reader in Planetary Auroras at University of Leicester, was also involved in monitoring Jupiter's polar aurorae during Juno's approach to Jupiter. He led on observations of the impact of the solar wind on the auroras using the Hubble Space Telescope, for the first time confirming the impact of the solar wind on auroras on Jupiter - and capturing the most powerful auroras observed by Hubble to date.

Dr Nichols said: "Jupiter threw an auroral firework party to celebrate Juno's arrival. We have been able to show that intense pulses of aurora were triggered during intervals when the solar wind was buffeting the giant magnetosphere. This tells us that even Jupiter's mighty magnetosphere is, like those of Earth and Saturn, not immune to the vagaries of the Sun and the solar wind."

Dr Leigh Fletcher, Royal Society Research Fellow at University of Leicester, has led Earth-based observations of Jupiter's atmospheric weather systems which take the form of dark and light banding of colour as seen from Earth. Closer inspection using the Very Large Telescope in Chile, the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, and NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) reveals that this banding is constantly changing over long spans of time. Juno is starting to reveal the deep processes driving these changes from below the clouds.

Dr Fletcher said: "Juno's data shows that Jupiter exhibits banding all the way down to ~350km, much deeper than what we've generally thought of as Jupiter's 'weather layer' in the upper few tens of kilometres. Deep sounding down through the clouds for the first time has revealed an enormous circulation pattern with a column of rising equatorial gas, suggesting that those cloud-top colours really are just the tip of the iceberg. This is much deeper than we can see with Earth- or space-based telescopes.

"The presence of the Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter is providing us with an unprecedented opportunity to combine remote observations with in situ studies of the jovian environment, a chance that won't come again for at least a decade. Already, Juno's discoveries are forcing us to re-evaluate some long-standing ideas about how this giant planet system works."

Juno launched on 5 Aug 2011, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and arrived in orbit around Jupiter on 4 July 2016. In its current exploration mission, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops, as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers). During these flybys, Juno probes beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studies its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The University of Leicester is home to the UK science lead for the Juno mission, NASA's programme to study our solar system's largest planet, Jupiter. Planetary scientists and astronomers from the Department of Physics and Astronomy are studying the gas giant's magnetosphere, dynamic atmosphere and its beautiful polar auroras.

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Find out more about the University of Leicester's involvement in the Juno mission: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/for-journalists/juno

Geophysical Research Letters Juno special collection: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/specialSection/JUNO1

Notes to editors:

For more information contact:

Dr Leigh Fletcher

Royal Society Research Fellow (URF)

Email: leigh.fletcher@le.ac.uk

Dr Jonathan Nichols (unavailable on Thursday 25 May)

Reader in Planetary Auroras

jdn4@le.ac.uk

Journal references:

Cowley, S.W.H., G. Provan, E.J. Bunce, and J.D. Nichols, Magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling at Jupiter: Expectations for Juno Perijove 1 from a steady-state axisymmetric physical model, Geophys. Res. Lett., in press, doi: 10.1002/2017GL073129, 2017.

Nichols, J.D., S.V. Badman, F. Bagenal, S.J. Bolton, B. Bonfond, E.J. Bunce, J.T. Clarke, J.E.P. Connerney, S.W.H. Cowley, R.W. Ebert, M. Fujimoto, J. C. Gerard, G.R. Gladstone, D. Grodent, T. Kimura, W.S. Kurth, B.H. Mauk, G. Murakami, D.J. McComas, G.S. Orton, A. Radioti, T.S. Stallard, C. Tao, P.W. Valek, R.J. Wilson, A. Yamazaki, and I. Yoshikawa, Response of Jupiter's auroras to conditions in the interplanetary medium as measured by the Hubble Space Telescope and Juno, Geophys. Res. Lett., in press, doi: 10.1002/2017GL073029,2017.

L.N. Fletcher, (2017), Cycles of Activity in the Jovian Atmosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett, in press.

L.N. Fletcher, G.S. Orton, J.A. Sinclair, P. Donnelly, H. Melin, J.H. Rogers, T.K. Greathouse, Y. Kasaba, T. Fujiyoshi, T.M. Sato, J. Fernandes, P.G.J. Irwin, R.S. Giles, A.A Simon, M.H. Wong, M. Vedovato (2017), Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt expansion and thermal wave activity ahead of Juno's arrival, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 1-9

Moore, L., O'Donoghue, J., Melin, H., Stallard, T., Tao, C., Zieger, B., Clarke, J., Vogt, M. F., Bhakyapaibul, T., Opher, M., Toth, G., Connerney, J. E. P., Levin, S., and Bolton, S., Variability of Jupiter's IR H3+ aurorae during Juno approach, Geophys. Res. Lett., in press

G. R. Gladstone, M. H. Versteeg, T. K. Greathouse, V. Hue, M. W. Davis, J.-C. Gerard, D. Grodent, B. Bonfond, J. D. Nichols, R. J. Wilson, G. B. Hospodarsky, S. J. Bolton, S. M. Levin, J. E. P. Connerney, A. Adriani, W. S. Kurth, B. H. Mauk, P. Valek, D. J. McComas, G. S. Orton, and F. Bagenal, Juno-UVS Approach Observations of Jupiter's Auroras, 10.1002/2017GL073377

T. Kimura, J. D. Nichols, R. L. Gray, C. Tao, G. Murakami, A. Yamazaki, S. V. Badman, F. Tsuchiya, K. Yoshioka, H. Kita, D. Grodent, G. Clark, I. Yoshikawa, and M. Fujimoto, Transient brightening of Jupiter's aurora observed by the Hisaki satellite and Hubble Space Telescope during approach phase of the Juno spacecraft, 10.1002/2017GL072912

Connerney, J.E.P., A. Adriani, F. Allegrini, F. Bagenal, S.J. Bolton, B. Bonfond, S.W.H. Cowley, J. C. Gerard, G.R. Gladstone, D. Grodent, G. Hospodarsky, J. Jorgensen, W. Kurth, S.M. Levin, B. Mauk, D.J. McComas, A. Mura, C. Paranicas, E.J. Smith, R.M. Thorne, P. Valek, and J. Waite, Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits, Science, in press, 2017.

Image of auroras on Jupiter and movie of example active polar auroras available to download at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/i2q9w851fhxmefu/AAC95igAgwiSlfn7rj1E7Bd2a?dl=0

Watch/embed a video on Leicester's involvement in the Juno mission: https://youtu.be/W1hJXoKItyg
UNC scientists show how DNA is accessed and used during the journey to maturation in fruit flies, and what this might mean to our understanding of how cancers arise

CHAPEL HILL, NC - Every animal starts as a clump of cells, which over time multiply and mature into many different types of cells, tissues, and organs. This is fundamental biology. Yet, the details of this process remain largely mysterious. Now, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have begun to unravel an important part of that mystery.

Using the fruit fly Drosophila, a standard lab model for studying animal biology, the researchers discovered a cascade of molecular signals that program gene activity to drive the fly from one stage of maturation to the next, like a baby turning into an adult. Part of this programming, they found, involves alterations to the way DNA is packaged. Those alterations open up certain regions of DNA to allow gene activity and close off other regions to prevent gene activity. The scientists found evidence that these changes to DNA accessibility occur in sequence.

"We're finally getting at one of the core mechanisms in biology, which determine the timing and sequence of events in normal animal development at the level of our genes," said Daniel J. McKay, PhD, assistant professor of genetics at the UNC School of Medicine and biology at the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.

This basic biology finding could have significance for human health, too. The changes to cell reprogramming that the scientists observed in the young flies can occur inappropriately in adult human cells - spurring cancer, for example.

"We hope that this work will help us better understand what goes awry in cancer and other diseases," McKay said.

In the study, published in Genes & Development, McKay and colleagues began by examining the molecular impact of the fruit fly hormone ecdysone, which causes a young insect to shed its old form and adopt a new one as it moves toward maturity.

Scientists know that ecdysone binds to a receptor, EcR, in the nuclei of cells throughout the bodies of insects. EcR is a transcription factor, a genetic master switch. When bound by ecdysone, it turns on a particular set of genes. And those genes, in turn, are involved in the development of proteins - the machines of biology.

Analyzing Drosophila wing cells, McKay and colleagues found evidence that wing development occurs via a cascade of these changes in gene activity.

"We found first-tier genes that respond immediately to ecdysone, and then they - together with EcR - activate a second tier of genes, and then these two tiers of genes, operating in concert, act on a third tier," said McKay. "So we observed these waves of changes in gene expression that drive the development of wing tissue."

Using genome-wide sequencing technologies, McKay's team found that these changes in gene expression are associated with changes in the way DNA is "packaged."

DNA is looped around support proteins called histones, and this histone-DNA combination is called chromatin.

When chromatin is relatively loose and open, genes can become active. When chromatin is tight and closed, genes are mostly silenced. McKay and colleagues found that ecdysone activates some genes to produce special transcription factor proteins that open or close chromatin. This altering of chromatin represents a fundamental reprogramming of cells.

McKay and colleagues had shown in prior work that the pattern of chromatin accessibility in the fruit fly appears to change significantly over the course of development but can be very similar at any given time across fly tissues.

To the scientists, these findings collectively suggest that changes in chromatin leads to cascades of gene activity that drive fly development. That is, chromatin changes - over time - would help enforce the timing of the various processes underway during biological development. And these changes represent an important developmental mechanism, one that is likely at work in humans.

McKay and his team plan further research to study how these cascades of changing chromatin accessibility and gene activity differ from one part of the fly to another.

As McKay notes, this area of investigation could have relevance beyond developmental biology. The expression of growth and survival genes is normal during early biological development - when we're young. But cancerous cells, for example, use those genes to sustain runaway proliferation to cause disease.

Therefore, understanding the molecular factors that open or close chromatin - and allow or shut down the activity of these powerful genes - may give biologists a better picture of how cancers arise. Armed with that knowledge, scientists could try to create more precise weapons with which to fight cancer cells.

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The study's lead authors were UNC graduate students Christopher M. Uyehara and Spencer L. Nystrom. Other co-authors were Matthew J. Niederhuber, Mary Leatham-Jensen, as well as Yiqin Ma and Laura A. Buttitta, from the University of Michigan.

This work was supported by funds from the UNC School of Medicine, the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, and the Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences (iBGS).
With rain forests at risk the world over, a new collaboration is equipping conservationists with the tools to predict and plan for future forest loss.

A new study by scientists from the Universities of Oxford, Montana and the US Forest Service highlights novel approaches to tackling deforestation. The team focused their research on Borneo, an island that has lost a staggering 30 percent of its forest since the 1970s and is among the most biodiverse and threatened on the planet.

The loss of Bornean forests threatens species such as the orangutan, Sumatran rhino, and the Sunda clouded leopard; as well as emitting significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Although focussed on Borneo, the study findings, published in Landscape Ecology, will be useful to all forest conservationists, and could help tropical forests around the world.

The study took an innovative approach to conducting their data analysis, using existing maps of the area and the machine learning algorithm 'Random Forests', the team built a multi-scale model of deforestation on the island over time (from 2000- 2010).

After calculating the historic links between landscape variables and deforestation, the team used this information to predict the future deforestation risk facing Borneo's remaining forests. The goal of this study was to provide national authorities with a tool that would support them to recognise potential deforestation threats in the future.

The deforestation risk factors varied from nation to nation, within the island. In Brunei, deforestation was associated with a highly patchy landscape with multiple land uses within a 10km radius and a large amount of forest edge. By contrast, in the Malaysian provinces of Borneo, deforestation was associated with a high proportion of lowland mosaic landscape types within 20km and high proportions of existing plantations within 30km. This led to a diffuse pattern of risk across Malaysian forests. Finally, in the Indonesian provinces of Borneo, deforestation was associated with areas of low elevation and a highly patchy landscape, leading to strong frontiers of deforestation risk.

Ewan Macdonald, joint first author and a researcher in Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) said: 'Our results provide the best insight to date of where the highest risks lie to Borneo's remaining forests. I hope this will help governments and conservation planners to develop effective strategies to combat these risks and to conserve these beautiful forests for future generations.

'If we understand where risks lurk, we can plan action to counteract them. And these risks are real and imminent for many species, such as the beautiful and enigmatic Sunda clouded leopard, which are threatened by Borneo's forest loss. I hope our understanding of the patterns of deforestation risk will provide a vital tool in developing effective conservation strategies.'

The research findings strongly suggest that this novel approach offer a powerful method for analysing land use change. In addition, it highlights the immense and imminent deforestation risk to Borneo's forest biodiversity, with clear spatial patterns of risk related to topography and landscape structure that differ between the three nations that comprise Borneo.

Samuel Cushman, joint first author, Director of the Center for Landscape Science and Research Landscape Ecologist at the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station said: 'It is well accepted that ecological processes interact across a range of scales both in time and space; despite this, very few studies have explicitly accounted for scale dependence in predictive modelling. This analysis highlights the power of multi scale approaches to land cover change modelling and we hope it will encourage other researchers to adopt this approach.'

Professor David Macdonald, Director of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit said: 'Borneo's majestic forests and glorious wildlife are beacons to the world and what's so exciting about this study is that the intelligence gained from studying patterns in Borneo, sheds a light to illuminate a way of helping tropical forests around the world. The innovation lies in a methodology that can be rolled out far beyond Borneo.'

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Notes to editors:

The study is described in the paper "Multiple-scale prediction of forest loss risk across Borneo" published in the journal Landscape Ecology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10980-017-0520-0

Image credits and captions:

Map from the study showing the predicted risk of deforestation across Borneo's remaining forests. Red areas represent areas of highest risk.

Photo of a Sunda clouded leopard captured as part of a WildCRU study into their ecology in Malaysian Borneo. Deforestation is one of the biggest threats to clouded leopards. (Photo Credit: Andrew Hearn, WildCRU)

For interviews or supporting images please contact: Lanisha Butterfield, Media Relations Manager on 01865 280531 or lanisha.butterfield@admin.ox.ac.uk

About WildCRU

David Macdonald founded the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) in 1986 at the University of Oxford. Now the foremost University-based centre for biodiversity conservation, the mission of the WildCRU is to achieve practical solutions to conservation problems through original research. WildCRU is renowned for its specialisation in wild carnivores, especially wild cats, for its long-running studies on lion and clouded leopard, and for its training centre, where early-career conservationists, so far from 32 countries, are trained by experts to become leaders in conservation, resulting in a global community of highly skilled and collaborative conservationists. Visit wildcru.org

About the U.S. Forest Service

The mission of the Forest Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

MPLS

The Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division (MPLS) is one of four academic divisions at the University of Oxford, representing the non-medical sciences. Oxford is one of the world's leading universities for science, and MPLS is at the forefront of scientific research across a wide range of disciplines. Research in the mathematical, physical and life sciences at Oxford was rated the best in the UK in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework
Oppn parties obstruct House; next meet slated for tomorrow

Lawmakers from the opposition parties including CPN-UML obstructed the Legislature-Parliament session on Thursday evening.
PHILADELPHIA (May 25, 2017) - For patients with advanced cancer, aggressive care -- chemotherapy, mechanical ventilation, acute hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions -- at the end of life is commonplace. Yet until now, little is known about the relationship between patients' and families' satisfaction with this aggressive care within the last 30 days of life.

A new study, from the Department of Veterans Affairs and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), suggests that such care is not likely to contribute positively to patients' and families' experiences in the final days of life. Furthermore, the study results support the view that aggressive care at the end of life for patients with advanced cancer is an indicator of poor-quality end-of-life care. The findings of the study are set for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Cancer. A digital version of the study has been published online first and is accessible here. The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary group of investigators led by Mary Ersek, PhD, RN, FPCN, who holds a joint appointment at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Penn Nursing, and Vince Mor, PhD, from Brown University and the Providence VA Medical Center.

The researchers examined the care and outcomes for 847 Veterans with non-small cell lung cancer who died in a VA inpatient setting from 2010-2012. The study described rates of aggressive care and the association of aggressive care with bereaved families' evaluations of care in the final month of life. The investigators found that almost three-quarters of the sample had at least one episode of aggressive care in the last 30 days of life, which they defined as receipt of injectable chemotherapy or mechanical ventilation, or more than two hospitalizations or admission to an intensive care unit. These high rates of aggressive care were not associated with younger age. However, they may have reflected the VA's adoption of "concurrent care," which, unlike Medicare, allows patients to receive disease-modifying treatments along with hospice/palliative care.

The results also show that for Veterans dying in acute care or nursing home settings, aggresse care was associated with lower overall ratings of care than when patients did not have any aggressive care. However, for patients dying in VA inpatient hospice units, the difference in outcomes were not significant between patients receiving aggressive care and those who did not receive any aggressive care.

"It is important to give patients with advanced illness options for care, including concurrent care. However, we need to be mindful that aggressive care at the end of life is not associated with better patient outcomes, and guide patients accordingly," said Ersek. "Regardless of the treatment that patients choose, we need to be offering hospice and palliative care services."

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This research was supported by a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research Development, Health Services Research and Development Service 1I01HX000956-01. Mor is the principal investigator of the study and Ersek serves as a co-investigator.

About the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center

The Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center provides health care to Veterans living in America's fifth-largest metropolitan area, including the city of Philadelphia and six surrounding counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. The Crescenz VAMC is part of the VA Healthcare Network - VISN4 and serves as an acute referral center for VA health care facilities in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey.

About the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is one of the world's leading schools of nursing. For the second year in a row, it is ranked the #1 nursing school in the world by QS University, and has four graduate programs ranked number one by U.S. News & World Report, the most of any school in the United States. Penn Nursing is consistently among the nation's top recipients of nursing research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube.
An international team of scientists has found evidence suggesting the dehydration of minerals deep below the ocean floor influenced the severity of the Sumatra earthquake, which took place on December 26, 2004.

The earthquake, measuring magnitude 9.2, and the subsequent tsunami, devastated coastal communities of the Indian Ocean, killing over 250,000 people.

Research into the earthquake was conducted during a scientific ocean drilling expedition to the region in 2016, as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), led by scientists from the University of Southampton and Colorado School of Mines.

During the expedition on board the research vessel JOIDES Resolution, the researchers sampled, for the first time, sediments and rocks from the oceanic tectonic plate which feeds the Sumatra subduction zone. A subduction zone is an area where two of the Earth's tectonic plates converge, one sliding beneath the other, generating the largest earthquakes on Earth, many with destructive tsunamis.

Findings of a study on sediment samples found far below the seabed are now detailed in a new paper led by Dr Andre Hupers of the MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at University of Bremen - published in the journal Science.

Expedition co-leader Professor Lisa McNeill, of the University of Southampton, says: "The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was triggered by an unusually strong earthquake with an extensive rupture area. We wanted to find out what caused such a large earthquake and tsunami and what this might mean for other regions with similar geological properties."

The scientists concentrated their research on a process of dehydration of sedimentary minerals deep below the ground, which usually occurs within the subduction zone. It is believed this dehydration process, which is influenced by the temperature and composition of the sediments, normally controls the location and extent of slip between the plates, and therefore the severity of an earthquake.

In Sumatra, the team used the latest advances in ocean drilling to extract samples from 1.5 km below the seabed. They then took measurements of sediment composition and chemical, thermal, and physical properties and ran simulations to calculate how the sediments and rock would behave once they had travelled 250 km to the east towards the subduction zone, and been buried significantly deeper, reaching higher temperatures.

The researchers found that the sediments on the ocean floor, eroded from the Himalayan mountain range and Tibetan Plateau and transported thousands of kilometres by rivers on land and in the ocean, are thick enough to reach high temperatures and to drive the dehydration process to completion before the sediments reach the subduction zone. This creates unusually strong material, allowing earthquake slip at the subduction fault surface to shallower depths and over a larger fault area - causing the exceptionally strong earthquake seen in 2004.

Dr Andre Hupers of the University of Bremen says: "Our findings explain the extent of the large rupture area, which was a feature of the 2004 earthquake, and suggest that other subduction zones with thick and hotter sediment and rocks, could also experience this phenomenon.

"This will be particularly important for subduction zones with limited or no historic subduction earthquakes, where the hazard potential is not well known. Subduction zone earthquakes typically have a return time of a few hundred to a thousand years. Therefore our knowledge of previous earthquakes in some subduction zones can be very limited."

Similar subduction zones exist in the Caribbean (Lesser Antilles), off Iran and Pakistan (Makran), and off western USA and Canada (Cascadia). The team will continue research on the samples and data obtained from the Sumatra drilling expedition over the next few years, including laboratory experiments and further numerical simulations, and they will use their results to assess the potential future hazards both in Sumatra and at these comparable subduction zones.

###

Notes to editors

1) For images of the research expedition and interviews with Professor Lisa McNeill, please contact Peter Franklin, Media Relations, University of Southampton. Tel ++44 23 8059 5457 Email: p.franklin@southampton.ac.uk

2) Copies of the embargoed Science paper Release of mineral-bound water prior to subduction tied to shallow seismogenic slip off Sumatra may be obtained from AAAS Office of Public Programson: Tel +1-202-326-6440 Email scipak@aaas.org.

3) The expedition to Sumatra was led by led by Professor Lisa McNeill (University of Southampton), Associate Professor Brandon Dugan (Colorado School of Mines), and Dr Katerina Petronotis (IODP JRSO).

4) For more on partner institutions and organisations visit:

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen https://www.marum.de

Colorado School of Mines https://www.mines.edu/

5) IODP is an international scientific drilling program funded by the National Science Foundation (USA), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan), European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling, Ministry of Science and Technology (People's Republic of China), Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (South Korea), Australian/New Zealand Consortium, Ministry of Earth Sciences (India), and Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Brazil). The research vessel JOIDES Resolution (JR) is operated on behalf of NSF by the JR Science Operator based at Texas A&M University (USA). https://www.iodp.org/

6) The University of Southampton drives original thinking, turns knowledge into action and impact, and creates solutions to the world's challenges. We are among the top one per cent of institutions globally. Our academics are leaders in their fields, forging links with high-profile international businesses and organisations, and inspiring a 24,000-strong community of exceptional students, from over 135 countries worldwide. Through our high-quality education, the University helps students on a journey of discovery to realise their potential and join our global network of over 200,000 alumni. http://www.southampton.ac.uk

7) Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton has a well-established reputation for outstanding research and teaching. Our unique waterfront campus at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS) attracts prominent researchers and educators from around the world, who join us to work within the areas of geochemistry, geology and geophysics, marine biogeochemistry, marine biology and ecology, palaeoceanography and palaeoclimate and physical oceanography. Following publication of the national Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF2014), OES was ranked second in the UK, for proportion of research recognised as world-leading (4*) in the Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences Unit of Assessment. http://www.southampton.ac.uk/oes/index.page
Thursday, May 25, 2017

Just got back from New Hampshire, the Granite State with the motto Live Free or Die. Of course, you can live free or not. Given humans 100% mortality rate, the Die part is not optional.

Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium in Manchester held two community outreach education events on May 23 with Gail Rubin presenting Kicking the Bucket List: Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die. Approximately 75 people attended the 2:00 p.m. event in Manchester, and 45 attended the 6:00 p.m. event in Boscawen.

Funeral Director Buddy Phaneuf presented excellent information on pre-need funeral planning after Gails Bucket List talk. The audience asked many good questions in both sessions.

TESTIMONIAL

Our funeral homes offer community education outreach sessions several times a year. Gail Rubins refreshing approach to preparing for end-of-life issues drew huge crowds who gave overwhelmingly positive feedback. Shes upbeat, well-informed, and a great resource to connect with new clients. Call Gail today!

 Michele Phaneuf-Plasz, Vice President, Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium

Learn more about the benefits Gail Rubin offers as a speaker.

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The search is on for the Wales Woman Farmer of the Year 2017, with the award aiming to celebrate the contribution of women in what is still a very male-dominated industry.

Welsh farming union NFU Cymru is this week launching the competition, which is now in its 21st year. The award aims to celebrate the contribution of women in agriculture.

Many farms are now run in partnerships and the 'farmer' is not always a man.

Anne, Princess Royal has previously paid tribute to women who work behind the scenes in agriculture.

Anne said: For all those ladies working hard behind the scenes, who perhaps dont have your names on the [business] letterheads, I hope you feel that progress has been made here.

'Hidden heroines'

Over the years times have changed and women are not only running farms, but often running a separate business or going out to work to earn extra money - all while juggling childcare, family and farm life.

Stephen James, NFU Cymru President said: Women in farming are the hidden heroines of the industry.

"Many of them do not want to claim the limelight but preferring to contribute behind the scenes.

"Many children will have grown up on farms and not just watched dad do all the work but perhaps watching mum pull calves, milk cows or drive the tractor.

"This competition is for those women who perhaps dont realise that what they do, on top of the other daily struggles, makes them extraordinary."

'Role models'

Principality Building Society is sponsoring the event. Chief Executive Steve Hughes said: "Its important to celebrate the role women play in farming and there are hundreds of women who make a huge contribution throughout Wales.

"Women working in the industry act as role models and inspire the next generation of female farmers."

The winner of the NFU Cymru/Principality Building Society Wales Woman Farmer of the Year 2017 competition will receive 500 and the person who nominates the winner will receive 50s worth of local farm shop vouchers or goods.

The closing date for the competition is Monday, 19th June 2017.
A positive look at a post-Brexit red meat trade will be based on a focus of provenance and credibility, according to the UK meat industry.

The industry has also been looking at the growing domestic Halal market for it to capitalise on.

Numerous livestock and red meat bodies have been addressing the challenges and opportunities that will follow the UKs withdrawal from the EU.

A recent conference brought together key figures within the industry, including AHDBs Phil Bicknell, Stuart Ashworth of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Rizvan Khalid of Euro Quality Lambs (EQL).

All agreed that a focus on food quality safeguards and quality standards will be key to the continued success and trading position of the UK livestock industry.

In the conference, UK and European delegates listened intently as speakers talked of the opportunities, rather than challenges, that Brexit presents.

'Provenance and credibility'

Taking questions from the floor, Stuart Ashworth, head of economics services at QMS explained that price is not always the most important factor.

What Brexit has given us is an opportunity to position our product as one of provenance and credibility, and we should be looking at branding to differentiate ourselves from the cheaper alternatives that will no doubt enter the market in a post-Brexit era.

Echoing his comments, Mr Bicknell, AHDBs market intelligence director commented: We know we face some uncertainties in policy and trade, but we know that a big advantage is that we have a relatively affluent UK population of 65 million who care about their food and where it comes from.

Events such as Great British Beef Week aim to educate the public on the benefits of buying British and also educate people about where their meat comes from. It is something the meat industry is hoping to capitalise on in the future.

The speakers' comments suggest that the industry will not only retain a strong export market, but there is also significant untapped UK buying potential that the industry should also look to address.

Halal market

One area that provides a huge opportunity for the UK livestock sector is the Halal market, as EQLs senior director Rizvan Khalid explained.

In 2015, the global Halal spend was $1.2 billion, and 16.6 percent of the total food expenditure. By 2021 this figure is expected to rise to $1.9 billion, representing a huge market potential for UK farmers, he said.

Combine this with the young demographic of the UK Halal market, 48 percent of Muslims in the UK are under 25, and 88 percent under the age of 50, you can see for yourself that this is a fast-moving segment.

EQL is the largest Muslim-owned lamb slaughterhouse in Europe, and Mr Khalid went on to give an overview of the additional opportunities in export markets for both Halal lamb and beef.

AHDB Beef & Lamb has recently appointed a new halal sector manager to help the organisation focus on the needs of the halal industry.

The creation of the halal sector manager role is part of a coordinated programme of activity organised by AHDB Beef & Lamb to improve understanding of the halal marketplace in the UK and targeted export markets.
Northern Irish meat processor Dunbia and Irish-based processor Dawn Meats have entered into a new joint venture.

The move will establish a majority owned joint venture in the United Kingdom comprising the UK operations of both organisations.

The combined UK businesses will trade as Dunbia.

A Dunbia statement said: We will deliver enhanced scale and market presence to better serve existing farmer suppliers and customers of both organisations across the retail, manufacturing, wholesale and food service sectors.

The Ulster Farmers Union deputy president Victor Chestnett said that the new strategic partnership between Dunbia and Dawn Meats will not come as surprise to most farmers as rumours have been circulating for some time now.

It is early days for the venture but ultimately the news will be judged on the future returns Dunbia can generate for cattle and sheep. Despite the buoyant prices at the minute, profitability on beef and sheep farms remains low.

'Better service for farmers'

Mr Chestnutt added that it will be important that the company delivers on its commitment to deliver a better service for their farmer suppliers.

We believe this can be achieved through greater industry collaboration and striving towards adding more value to Northern Ireland beef and lamb.

Dunbia has built a successful business in Northern Ireland over the years, one which farmers are very familiar with. It is positive they will remain headquartered in Dungannon.

Across Dawn Meats and Dunbia, the businesses process approximately 900,000 cattle and 2.6 million sheep annually.

The deal is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.
UK rural organisation the CLA is bringing European farmers and landowners together for Brexit talks, hoping to find a 'common commitment'.

The CLA which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses has organised a delegation of members from across England and Wales to meet with MEPs, EU officials a trade bodies in the European Parliament on 31 May.

The delegations message is that it is in the interests of the whole European food and farming industry that a successful free trade agreement is secured.

CLA Deputy President Tim Breitmeyer said the event will bring European farmers and landowners together to show a 'common commitment'.

'Establish a common ground'

The meeting is hoped will agree on a positive future trading relationship between the UK and EU.

He said: There is a bright future for EU agriculture and the wider food sector, but we have to work together to ensure that the politicians deliver the right deal for our industry with its hundreds of thousands of businesses and millions of consumers.

This event is unique opportunity for UK business leaders to discuss the details of a deal and establish a common ground. The devil is in the detail, extending beyond tariff arrangements into a wide raft of regulatory agreement.

A priority for us is securing wide support from across the industry for the importance of delivering a smooth transition that allows businesses to carry on running their operations and making plans for the future, whatever the time frames of the political negotiations turn out to be.

'Great change'

Tom Green from Spearhead International, a European farming group supplying food processors, manufacturers and retailers based in Cambridgeshire will talk to the delegates about his trading relationship with EU markets.

He said: It is hard to think of a greater change for British Agriculture than that which Brexit heralds.

Having spent the past 20 years building our business across 5 EU countries, I welcome this opportunity to discuss priority outcomes from the negotiation process.

How do we maintain and enhance the best elements of our current trading relationships with the EU, and maximise the opportunities for innovation and change offered by this unprecedented challenge?
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is hailing the launch of Westminsters major political parties manifestos as a win for animal health and welfare.

More than half of BVAs own manifesto recommendations has been written into the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat priorities for the next Parliament.

The BVA manifesto is framed under four key areas: Securing a successful outcome for animal health and welfare after Brexit; safeguarding animal health; promoting animal welfare; and recognising the vital role of veterinary surgeons.

British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said: This General Election, which has Brexit at its core, is a real opportunity to ensure the most pressing animal health and welfare issues are high on the next Governments agenda.

EU working rights

The first call of the BVA manifesto for 2017 - for the next Government to guarantee the working rights for non-British EU vets working and studying in the UK, and for British vets working in the EU  was comprehensively met in both the Labour and Liberal Democrat manifestos, with the Conservative manifesto stating that they will secure the entitlements of EU nationals in Britain and British nationals in the EU.

Animal welfare

The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats each made at least some commitment to ensuring animal welfare in trade in line with BVAs second manifesto ask.

All three parties are making stronger commitments around the call to ensure the UK continues to be a globally attractive place for research and development (R&D). In total 11 of BVAs 20 manifesto asks have been met by one or more of the three parties manifestos.

Plaid Cymrus manifesto or Action Plan also guarantees the rights of all Europeans currently living and working in Wales.

It states they will require the UK Government to seek the endorsement of each UK country before any trade deal can be signed, in order to avoid Wales being flooded with cheap imported food that could harm the Welsh farm industry.

The Green Party, UKIP, SNP and Northern Ireland parties manifestos are yet to be launched as of 25 May.
A new report has highlighted the 'significant' role agriculture plays for Wales economic, environmental, cultural and social well-being.

Released in the National Welsh Assembly, the report Farming  Bringing Wales Together features farmer-led case study stories from around Wales.

It demonstrates that the agricultural industry meets each of the well-being goals in the Welsh Governments Well-being of Future Generations Act.

The report was launched during an NFU Cymru Welsh Food & Farming celebratory event. Assembly Members attending the event also watched the premiere of a new Farming  Bringing Wales Together video, starring farmers from across Wales.

The video showed farmers work to the Welsh economy and environment, as well as promoting and protecting Welsh language and culture.

'Passion and drive'

NFU Cymru Deputy President John Davies said the 'passion and drive' demonstrated by 14 farming families and businesses represented in the report and video is a 'small snapshot' of the industry.

He said: These examples do not occur in isolation - farmers across Wales are contributing to the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of Wales on many levels.

Farming is part of Wales history and must continue to be recognised as an industry of critical and growing importance to Wales.

There can be no doubt that this very significant contribution will only continue to be delivered if we have viable and profitable farming enterprises and a strong, competitive agricultural industry in Wales.

'Society needs farming to thrive'

Mr Davies said it is 'clear' that society needs farming to thrive.

He continued: It is incumbent on us all to work together through the Well-being of Future Generations Act to put in place the policy and budgetary framework that allows farm businesses to be profitable so they can continue to deliver for the people of Wales now and in the future.

If industry, government, decision makers and stakeholders can all come together and recognise the contribution of agriculture and work with us to ensure a policy and budgetary framework that delivers a productive, profitable and progressive industry then we will have an industry that will deliver jobs, growth and investment for all of Welsh society.
Researchers are to shine a new light on an important chapter in the history of British farming - the Anglo-Saxon 'agricultural revolution'.

University of Leicester and Oxford University researchers are delve deep into how an agricultural revolution in Anglo-Saxon England fuelled the growth of towns and markets as part of a new project investigating medieval farming habits.

The period between c 800  1200 AD saw dramatic changes in farming practices across large parts of Europe, enabling an increase in cereal production so great that it has been described as an agricultural revolution.

This cerealisation allowed post-Roman populations not only to recover, but to boom, fuelling the growth of towns and markets.

In England, this meant that many regions became more densely populated than ever before.

'Open fields'

To operate a more productive but costly system of farming, peasants had to share expensive resources such as teams of oxen and mouldboard ploughs, and cultivate extensive and unenclosed open fields communally.

The project aims to understand when, where and how this mouldboard plough package originated and spread, by generating the first direct evidence of medieval land use and cultivation regimes from excavated plant remains and animal bones, using a range of scientific methods.

Dr Richard Thomas, Reader and Chair of the Association for Environmental Archaeology from the University of Leicester School of Archaeology and Ancient History said: By using different kinds of archaeological evidence we will try and establish how a revolution in agriculture in Anglo-Saxon England led to a surge in population and fuelled the growth of towns and markets.

(Photo: Leicester University)

We will be studying the stresses and strains on cattle bones from archaeological sites to establish when and where the heavy-plough was introduced.

This was a major technological innovation which enabled more land to be brought into cultivation and increased the production of cereal grains.

Transformed England's landscape

Three key innovations made the increase in yields during the period possible.

The widespread adoption of the mouldboard plough, which enabled farmers to cultivate heavier, more fertile soils; Crop rotation, e.g. planting with winter wheat followed by spring barley and extensification of cultivation, whereby fertility was maintained by short fallow periods during which sheep grazed on the stubble, rather than by intensive manuring.

In order to improve efficiency and share resources, people had to live in close proximity, leading to the formation of the nucleated villages, set amid extensive arrays of strip fields that can still be seen in many parts of the countryside today.

In this way, innovations in farming transformed large parts of the Englands landscape and with it, its social geography.

Helena Hamerow, Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Oxford and the projects Principal Investigator, said: This project will help us understand how farmers in medieval England were able to grow more food to feed an expanding population sustainably at a time of climatic warming.

The spread of the heavy, mouldboard plough  a technology that English farmers adopted from their European neighbours  was a key factor and analysing cattle bones will enable us to trace its spread.

Cereals, bones and pollen

As part of the project, a suite of over 400 radiocarbon dates on charred cereals, bones and pollen cores will make it possible to locate the origins and spread of open fields in time and space.

Patterns emerging from these bioarchaeological data will then be compared with the evidence from excavated farms to explore the inter-relationship between arable production, stock management and settlement forms.

Analysis of crop stable isotopes in preserved cereal grains will enable the team to assess the degree to which productivity was boosted by manuring.

Weed flora will also reveal the extent to which fields were manured and tilled, as well as providing evidence of sowing times and crop rotation.

The lower limb bones of cattle will be examined for pathologies caused by pulling a heavy plough. Pollen data will reveal the changing impact of cereal farming on the medieval landscape and will be used to produce the first national model of early medieval land use.

Read more on the history of farming: 'Humankind's greatest invention': The History of Agriculture - Part One and Part Two.
House committee directs govt to speed up Nijgadh Int'l Airport

The International Relations and Labour Committee of the Legislature Parliament has directed the government to accelerate the construction process of Nijgadh International Airport.
It comes four times a year: earnings season. For better or worse, shareholders, analysts, and the media breathlessly follow the latest corporate figures and news tidbits. Stock prices swing based on whether financial results match up to Wall Street's expectations. It's a high-stakes time for publicly traded companies.

With so much on the line, companies go to great lengths to portray themselves as well positioned, their managers straightforward and competent. Some techniques are well known, but much of the earnings game goes on behind the scenes, hidden from the public.

We now know a lot more about the sophisticated ways companies tell their stories thanks to a new research paper called "Managing the Narrative". The survey, conducted by Lawrence Brown of Temple University, Andrew Call of Arizona State University, Michael Clement of the University of Texas at Austin, and Nathan Sharp of Texas A&M University, may be the first of its kind to study the people most responsible for managing corporate narratives: investment-relations officers (IROs).

The world of investor relations has transformed over the past several decades. No longer is it piloted by media-relations and advertising personnel grinding out empty PR and marketing copy. Today's IROs work alongside the top executives at their companies, possess analytical expertise, and come from backgrounds in business, accounting, finance, and economics. This shift reflects profound changes in the ways companies communicate.

Professor Sharp, whom I interviewed about his work, told me that his team wanted to explore the inner workings of corporate disclosure. Despite all the research that's been conducted on the personal styles and practices of CEOs and CFOs, academics know little about IROs. If we want to understand how companies communicate to the market, why they say what they do, and why the market reacts the way it does, we need to better understand the authors of corporate communication. So the professors surveyed 610 IROs and interviewed 14 to better understand how they work.

The paper contains a number of fascinating findings about the topsy-turvy world of corporate communication -- in particular, how the theater of conference calls plays out, why analysts manipulate earnings estimates, and what really goes on in private calls between Wall Street analysts and the companies they follow.

I also think the study sheds new light on what the earnings game reveals about businesses, how smart the market is, and whether the playing field is truly level for all investors.

Do earnings surprises even matter?

First, let's get one thing out of the way: It's folly for long-term shareholders to focus much of their attention on whether a company beats or misses consensus analyst estimates. This might sound counterintuitive, but it's true.

Investors profit by purchasing a stock for less than it will be worth in the future. That's the case for growth and value investors alike -- the various strategies are merely different methods for predicting future stock prices. It shouldn't matter whether a company accomplishes what analysts expect of it; all that matters is whether its business outperforms what its stock price implies.

To put it another way, long-term investors don't need to worry if "CatfudCorp failed to beat estimates by $0.01." All that means is "analysts overestimated CatfudCorp earnings by $0.01," which is trivial. No one would lose their head over a headline that proclaimed: "The weather failed to top consensus forecast of 56 degrees, falling short of meteorologists' expectations by 1 degree. Time to panic." Likewise, it seems investors can ignore the earnings-versus-expectations meta-story and pay more attention to real things, such as earnings growth, consistency, and stock valuation.

The best explanation I've encountered for the market's obsession with forecasts has been entirely based in short-term trading dynamics: Momentum traders aren't so much concerned with the absolute performance of a company; all they want to know is whether other traders will buy or sell a stock. They need to know what other traders will do, and a company's beating or missing analyst estimates acts as a signal. It may be a largely arbitrary signal that doesn't reflect investing fundamentals very well, but to traders, arbitrariness isn't a big deal. All that matters is that everyone stays on the same page -- an earnings beat means we all buy, and a miss means we sell. And since most shareholders are short-term-oriented due to a combination of psychological and institutional reasons, they're sensitive to short-term price movements and feel the need to buy or sell along with everyone else.

This neat story helps explain why prices move on news of an earnings beat or miss -- and why, for long-term investors, the whole spectacle is hollow.

Yet one tidbit in "Managing the Narrative" suggests that despite its intrinsic absurdity, the beat-or-miss dynamic can expose real information about a business.

Interviews with IROs show that many analysts are all too willing to sacrifice the independence of their forecasts to help management beat Wall Street's estimates. Here's how it works: At the start of each year, analysts tend to produce optimistic forecasts. Optimism endears them to management and helps purchase better access. But unbeatable forecasts don't do the company any favors. And so, over the course of the year, analysts gradually "walk down" their earnings estimates to more realistic levels. Outperformance is one way to win the earnings game; lowered expectations are another.

Why are analysts so accommodating? It turns out that large shareholders, who don't want a nasty earnings miss to tank their stock, can pressure them. Remember that the analysts who issue earnings estimates and stock recommendations are sell-side; they make income by selling research. Their clients are buy-side stockholders. And analysts want to keep their clients happy.

Multiple IROs explained how it works. Here's an example:

What isn't visible to the public is that buy-siders call up sell-side analysts all the time and chew them out. If there's an outlier to the upside or the downside, they'll often hear from people who are stockholders saying, "Hey, what's with this number here?" I'll tell you that goes on all the time. Folks who own the stock will call up the analysts and beat them up and totally leave the company out of it. ... If you own a stock, you're aligned with the company. You want the results to be achievable.

Now we begin to see why missing estimates -- even by a single penny -- can produce what seem like silly overreactions. Management really doesn't want to miss estimates. And apart from performing better as a company, they have a million well-known extramural tools at their disposal to ensure they outperform, from lowering guidance to all of the wonderful techniques of GAAP accounting manipulation. What's more, analysts themselves face pressure from their clients to produce beatable estimates. So when a company still fails to beat estimates and can't provide a convincing excuse, despite all the odds stacked in their favor, then that suggests they really screwed up.

The strangest part is this: Consensus earnings estimates may be an arbitrary, easily manipulated benchmark more useful to momentum and short-term traders than to investors. Yet despite their arbitrariness -- and in fact precisely because of their manipulability -- the inability of a company to beat estimates can paradoxically reveal real information.

Earnings calls: "a bit of kabuki"

Once a company has announced quarterly earnings results, it's time to host a conference call. This event gives management a chance to tell its story to the public, and it gives analysts a chance to ask clarifying questions and probe management on topics it would rather avoid.

At least that's how things appear on the surface.

As it turns out, neither the story, nor the questions, nor the answers to those questions are quite as real as they appear.

Conference calls begin with management's summary of key facts about the quarter in prepared remarks. They're primarily delivered by the CEO and CFO, but IROs plan the narrative, and some IROs even write the entire script.

The question-and-answer portion seems much more unplanned, but it, too, can be highly choreographed.

For starters, the questions sell-side analysts ask aren't always their own. As it turns out, buy-side analysts often feed them questions in real time to ask management.

Why would buy-side analysts need sell-siders to ask questions on their behalf? Buy-side analysts typically never participate in conference calls. To ask a question in public would be to reveal your thinking about an investment to other traders. It would be as stupid as thinking out loud at the poker table.

But a neat trick gives buy-side analysts a chance to participate, albeit indirectly. They can use sell-side analysts as a cipher:

The sell-side analysts are sitting there with their IMs [instant messengers], and they're IMing the buy side. The buy side is texting them saying, "Ask them about X, Y, and Z," or "That last answer was BS; push them on this again.' The buy side doesn't want to be on the call and show anybody their cards. So the whole thing is kabuki.

Management plays a part in the mutual Q&A facade. Companies go to great lengths to prepare answers ahead of the questions:

I literally, on my laptop, type up every question that [has been] asked [during previous calls]. Then I code them by category. ... I track trends and investor concerns and investor likes by doing that. ... [Then] my senior management and I discuss potential questions and prepare for them. I can't think of a time when we've been broadsided.

It's even common for IROs to ask analysts what kinds of questions they should prepare for. Shockingly, 40% of IROs said they actually exchange private phone calls and emails with analysts during the time between an earnings release and the conference call:

What you'll learn is what is creating confusion, what don't they understand, what needs more clarification, what are the hot-button topics. It gives you better insight into what's likely to come up on the call, and you'll be in a position to give better answers.

Private communication before the public call also gives companies a chance to influence what questions they'll get asked:

The company can talk to the analysts at that point and basically guide the analysts to help manage the public call. ... If I can call some of my investors or analysts before the public call, then the analyst doesn't ask me a really tough, embarrassing question in public.

That some companies would be communicating with analysts between an earnings release and a conference call is prima facie shady. Remember, this is an extremely sensitive time. Institutions are hastily buying and selling shares on the basis of limited information contained in the earnings announcement. More feverish trading continues, during and after the conference call, as the market processes fresh information. Anyone with early access to whatever timely information or clarification is going to be presented during the call would be in a position to out-trade competitors.

While the practice is by no means universal, and many IROs said they'd never engage in it, it's amazing to discover that so many companies do.

VIP access: Who's the patsy?

It's obvious that analysts would value private access to management. Now we know that private calls are useful for companies, too. More than four out of five IROs said their company conducts private phone calls with analysts. And two-thirds said private calls were "very important" to communicating their message -- an even higher rate than said 10-Q and 10-K filings were very important.

What do analysts and management discuss in private? Since October 2000, it's been illegal for companies to share material information in a non-public setting because of a rule known as Regulation Fair Disclosure. By allowing every investor, big or small, equal access to information, Reg FD has been one of the great democratizing rules of the market.

So why do analysts and IROs place so much value on private calls with one another if they're not allowed to talk about anything material that hasn't already been disclosed? Another way to put the problem: It looks like someone is being taken advantage of. So who's the patsy?

As I see it, there are four candidates:

Sell-side analysts and their clients. Private calls amount to little more than PR spin. Clients of sell-side analysis. The information companies share on private calls is analytically useless, but the allure of exclusive access to management enhances the prestige of sell-side analysts for marketing purposes. Everyone else. Companies selectively share critical information with some favored institutions, giving them an unfair advantage over other investors, possibly in violation of Reg FD. No one. No material, non-public information is given, but the calls aren't totally useless. They give companies chance to clarify misunderstandings and correct errors, helping markets to process information and price stocks more efficiently in a way that's fair to everyone.

So which is it? Probably a bit of each.

No doubt communicating a company's message involves some mix of truth, management's take on the truth, and a sprinkling of what management is hoping to get the market to believe. It's not usual for management teams to put on a positive spin during public conference calls, so we should expect that they would do the same in private conversations.

Still, I suspect companies are mostly forthcoming on private calls. IROs repeatedly emphasized the importance of honest communication and maintaining credibility:

Investors need to trust the person who is in investor relations. You're the front line of defense. ... You have to be able to talk intelligently, talk rationally, without emotion, about what's happening, whether it's good or bad.

Their professed objectivity is backed up by multiple other survey responses. For instance, IROs say the most useful people to talk to are experienced analysts -- precisely the people who would theoretically be in a better position to detect corporate dissembling. We also know that overly optimistic analysis doesn't help management, since unrealistic expectations only raise the earnings bar. And elsewhere in the paper, we find out that IROs don't contact analysts at a much higher rate to discuss downgrades than they do to discuss upgrades.

That need to balance optimism and objectivity holds especially true when things aren't going well:

Running a big company is like watching sausage being made. It isn't easy, it isn't pretty, and a lot of times it's better not to know what goes into making the sausage. ... When something goes wrong, basically what investors want you to do is acknowledge it, be forthright with what's occurred, and give them at least a sense of a get-well plan. ... What they hate more than anything is being deceived. "Don't tell me everything is wonderful and great and then show up on the earnings call and puke."

Taken together, it seems IROs try to put their best foot forward but mostly avoid spinning analysts outright. But there's also good reason to believe analysts value private calls for reasons other than gathering information.

In a previous study by the same authors, analysts revealed that their compensation wasn't driven by the accuracy and profitability of their reports, stock recommendations, or earnings forecasts. But their relationship with management and industry knowledge, which provides access to management, did mean a lot.

That's probably because their institutional clients crave access:

If I call up a money manager, a hedge fund, whoever, and I've got a call to make on a stock, and I'm able to say, "Hey, by the way, we were able to spend 20-30 minutes talking to senior management," boom! Their ears are just straight up.

It seems that for analysts, the prestige of speaking to management is worth at least as much as are any insights they're able to glean. Institutional investors want an edge so badly that they're willing to pay up -- even for the mere feeling of an edge.

But just because private calls are a useful marketing tool, that doesn't mean companies don't share sensitive information on them. In fact, access to material, non-public information would enhance an analyst's market value. How can we be sure special access for analysts doesn't put the rest of us at a disadvantage?

"Managing the Narrative" asked IROs about this issue. As you'd expect, IROs say that they scrupulously follow Reg FD. And they score a nearly perfect track record of compliance in spite of analysts' best efforts to get information they're not supposed to have. One-fifth of IROs said analysts ask for information banned under Reg FD "several times a week or daily," more than half said it happens several times a month, and 93% said it sometimes happens. Yet a whopping 72% said IROs "never" answer a question without fully considering Reg FD ramifications. That's an incredible record.

Such a glowing report may not be entirely accurate, for several reasons. IROs, just like most people, are probably a bit reluctant to incriminate their profession to a surveyor. Self-deception could play a role, too -- no one likes to believe his or her profession behaves unethically. Finally, there's the epistemic elephant in the room: Absent the sort of feedback that analysts would never give them, IROs can't possibly know how often they accidentally reveal too much, because part of the nature of making a mistake is to be -- at least for a time, and often forever -- unaware of your mistake.

Though the study tried to address these issues by asking IROs how often Reg FD issues crop up not for themselves but for the "typical IRO," Professor Sharp agreed that we should probably take these Reg FD responses with a grain of salt. He suggested we might consider 72% a ceiling for how many IROs don't share information they're not supposed to -- meaning it's possible more than one-quarter of IROs share information they shouldn't.

Despite its limitations, communication isn't the Wild West that it was before Reg FD. After all, more than half of IROs say they get asked questions several times a month that they refuse to answer because of the rule. So the study suggests Reg FD is doing a lot to keep investors on a more level playing field.

What legally innocent things do IROs and analysts discuss in private? Much of it is regurgitory. During earnings season, analysts are frantically updating their models, estimates, and recommendations on dozens of stocks -- all at the same time, on little to no sleep. IROs say private call-backs during this busy time help them ensure frazzled analysts accurately remember information from the conference call.

Another lawful function of private calls: Reg FD allows companies to share information with analysts that's critical to their research -- even if it's non-public -- under certain circumstances. Suppose an analyst has everything he needs to assemble an opinion of the company except for one last fact. So long as that final puzzle piece would be immaterial knowledge on its own, it's legal for the company to share the information even if it hasn't been disclosed publicly. (This loophole doesn't, however, let companies disclose material information by subdividing it into tinier, non-material pieces in the same way the nutrition label on cooking spray rounds the fat content to zero by making the serving size infinitesimal.) So scraps of immaterial information can also be extremely valuable.

But the amount of hands-on support IROs provide analysts is astonishing. They actually proofread analyst models:

We look at analyst models and look for inaccuracies and look for areas where we would feel comfortable giving them feedback. ... We reach out to those analysts who are far off the mark.

If you've ever been lucky enough to have a high school teacher willing to provide feedback on test questions while you're still taking the test, then you understand how advantageous this could be:

Typically a month out from earnings, we'll get everyone's latest models, and then we'll go through them. If they modeled something incorrectly based on what we've said publicly, we'll highlight the discrepancy.

One IRO admitted to some truly extravagant kibitzing:

We literally pour all their models into a spreadsheet. So if you've got 10 analysts, you've got 10 columns. And you've got rows for all your revenue lines, and you've got rows for all your expense lines. ... [If] I see that an analyst has a couple lines that are just off, whether it's revenue or expense, and I know that there's something in the public that I can point to, I can help them rein in that line.

All this effort makes sense from an IRO's perspective. Companies want analysts to produce realistic forecasts so that they can beat the consensus estimate. Goofy as that motive may be, there's nothing nefarious per se about fostering realism.

But this level of involvement with analyst models does seem to violate the equal-opportunity spirit of Reg FD. And access is certainly unequal. In addition to favoring experienced and knowledgeable analysts, IROs are more likely to grant access to large investors than to the press by a 4-to-1 margin.

Practices such as conducting private calls and offering finely tuned feedback on models certainly put information on a less even playing field.

The smartest analysts in the room

When it comes to which analysts IROs prefer dealing with, the most important factors are an analyst's experience covering the company and industry knowledge. This fact may seem obvious or insignificant, but there's a lot we can infer from it.

IROs say they are much more likely to grant experienced and knowledgeable analysts private phone conversations, the right to ask questions on quarterly conference calls, and that most coveted and precious resource: access to management.

What's so special about knowledge and experience that trumps all other qualities, including brokerage size, awards, underwriting business, and media exposure?

I imagine IROs prefer more experienced and knowledgeable analysts because they think these are the analysts who can amplify the corporate message accurately and loudly.

Accuracy is obviously important: If you're an IRO, and your job is to get analysts to spread your message far and wide, you don't want to waste your breath on some neophyte who will spew imprecise or false information.

In addition to accurate, you also want your megaphone to be loud, in the sense that when an analyst speaks, the market listens. The loudness criterion suggests that, apparently, institutions are smart enough to listen to analysts with the most knowledge and experience, rather than getting their information from the largest or most popular brokerage, or from those with lots of media exposure. At least that's what IROs seem to think.

If we assume IROs are correct to privilege experience and knowledge for their loudness and accuracy, we learn two important things: First, the market does at least a decent job paying attention to insightful analysts over less insightful ones -- otherwise, experience and knowledge wouldn't indicate loudness. And second, those of us who pay attention to sell-side research might also want to focus on experienced and knowledgeable analysts over name brand, since they're the ones with the most accurate and precise information.

Long experience following a company is important for understanding context:

There's a lot of value to people who've been covering you through different cycles. ... Someone who's a year into it is less likely to immediately recognize some of the little changes in the market environment that can really turn the fortunes for a small sector or group of companies.

The flow of information goes both ways. IROs and management may know a lot about their company, but they don't always have time to keep tabs on everything that's going on in their industry. Analysts are the mirror opposite. They know a lot more than IROs do about the competitors and industry trends, but they need help getting company-level insights. So IROs share company-specific information with analysts, and analysts share industry-level information with IROs.

IROs did seem to hold two methods of communication in special contempt. In question after question, IROs described media and social media as relatively useless for communication purposes. Just 10% said the press was very useful for them to do their job -- though female IROs seemed to find the press more useful than male IROs did.

The reason for their disdain? IROs think of the press as a loud megaphone, but not a very precise one:

It's an opportunity to reach a very broad audience, in some cases millions of readers, but it's not a good opportunity to really tell your story in detail. There just isn't enough time and there isn't enough ink to really do it justice.

Social media is even worse -- not only is it imprecise, but it's not even loud:

The investor community largely ignores it. It's not well suited [for investor relations], and one of the main reasons is that stories are often complicated.

If there are any takeaways for the media in all this, it's that there may be an opportunity to improve coverage by paying close attention to the sources IROs trust -- sell-side analysts with long experience covering the company and extensive industry knowledge. Also, social media can tell us what topics people are interested in, but the information it presents is woefully simplistic.

"Thanks for the extra color around those assumptions"

From hidden meaning in hollow metrics, to the weird brew of information, PR, tips, and marketing solutions on private calls, to doctored estimates, staged questions, and staged answers, we've learned a lot more about the ambiguous nature of information on Wall Street.

There are still many more questions to be answered, particularly in the area of Reg FD compliance and whether IROs' coziness with analysts creates an unfair advantage for other investors.

"Managing the Narrative" is packed with fascinating data about how companies package, market, and distribute financial news. Understanding the epistemic quirks it records can make us all smarter consumers of financial information. I'd strongly encourage everyone to read it -- investors and journalists alike.
I agree with not replacing too much stuff. I have almost 330K on the clock and I wouldn't hesitate to jump in right now and do a cross-country trip. However - I've been maintaining my truck since I bought it. If high pressure hoses are your concern, both HPOP hoses to the heads are a quick replacement, and they are likely due anyway. Another hose that's due is the high pressure hose coming out of the power steering pump. Remember - it doesn't use power steering fluid, it uses Mercon V. A fresh air/fuel filter and oil change is one of my moves before a long haul.



Get the brakes to 100% obviously... the mountain passes will get you on the first third of the trip.



I sold my truck that was the predecessor to the Tacoma to buy my Superduty. I have no regrets on the trade up - the big rig is way more comfortable on long hauls, and there's no penalty on the price of fuel.
Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes went in the 'wrong direction' with set-up changes in Thursdays second practice at Monaco - which he hopes helps explain the Silver Arrows' 1.1s deficit to Ferrari.

We learned a lot - but we need to work hard to come back to the front

Mercedes had topped the weekend's opening session through 2016 race winner Lewis Hamilton, but slipped down the order in FP2, with Bottas 10th and Hamilton eighth.

As they did so, Ferrari hit the fore with Sebastian Vettel while Red Bull also surged forward, with last year's polesitter Daniel Ricciardo emerging as Vettel's closest challenger.

"I hope [the deficit] is not real," Bottas told reporters afterward. "We made some changes for FP2, some mechanical changes, and went in the wrong direction - Lewis as well. We definitely struggled.

"We know how to fix, but other cars are looking good as well.

"We can't be too happy as a team with P8 and P10. Everything was looking okay from FP1, but we tried to help the balance and went wrong. We adjusted at the end of FP2 and it felt better, but the tyres were old by then.

"So we learned a lot - but we need to work hard to come back to the front."

Hamilton said the extra day off before qualifying on Saturday could work in Mercedes' favour, adding: "Something just went wrong this session and we have to figure out why.

"The car is handling fine, particularly this morning - but this afternoon we couldn't get the tyres working. The extra time gives the guys more time to work on the car."
PM Dahal resigns, leaves behind a healthy economy

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal stepped down on Wednesday, as per the deal reached earlier with the coalition partner Nepali Congress, drawing praises for eliminating power cuts from major cities, ending confusion over construction of Kathmandu-Tarai expressway and keeping the economy in a healthy state.




Haiti - FLASH : Trump administration proposes to cut aid to Haiti by nearly 18%





On Tuesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump's first budget proposal included substantial reductions in diplomacy and development assistance and humanitarian assistance in Latin America, with reductions proportionate to each country.



In this budget proposal, which must still be passed by Congress and which may undergo modifications, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) are allocated an envelope of $ 37.6 billion for fiscal year 2018 (beginning on September 1, 2017), compared with $ 54.9 billion for the previous budget, ie 31.5% reduction. For the Secretary of State, Tillerson "This budget responds to the realities of a 21st century world and ensures that the State Department and USAID can quickly adapt to a changing international environment."



They are the USAID budgets for development aid and humanitarian assistance that are expected to be most affected by the reductions, and for Haiti the budget allocated would be 157.4 million compared to 190.7 million the previous year, a reduction of 33.3 million (-17.5%). The Dominican Republic, less dependent on American generosity sees its funds divided by two, from 10.5 million to 21.6 million the year before.



Reacting to this budget proposal, the American NGO "Mercy Corps" urged Congress to oppose "these major cuts which risk jeopardizing humanitarian aid for tens of millions of the most vulnerable people in the world, when the famine reappeared for the first time in six years."



SL/ HaitiLibre


















AVL adds nonstop to Vero Beach

Elite Airways, an airline brand new to our region, landed for the first time at Asheville Regional Airport from Vero Beach Regional Airport in Florida on Thursday morning, May 25.

The flight was welcomed by a water cannon arch, a tradition in aviation used to commemorate special occasions.

Once the plane taxied through the water arch and parked at the gate, AVL officials welcomed leaders from Vero Beach and Elite Airways to mark the day with a ribbon cutting ceremony on the airfield, with the Elite Airways jet nearby.

"I am so pleased to welcome our new friends from Elite Airways and Vero Beach to our mountains," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., AVL executive director. "It's great to see this beautiful Bombardier CRJ-200 at the gate, ready to take passengers straight to Vero Beach. There are strong connections between our two communities, and I anticipate that the route between the mountains and the Treasure Coast will be embraced. I look forward to a long relationship, and to making a trip soon on Elite Airways."

"Today marks the start of nonstop jet service between Vero Beach, Florida and Asheville, North Carolina  two very popular destinations for arts, culture, music, and R&R," said John Pearsall, president of Elite Airways. "We have high expectations for this route, and thank city and airport officials for their support."

The new service will provide the tenth nonstop destination available to regional travelers from AVL, with twice-weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays. For more information about flights, or to book a trip, visit EliteAirways.com.

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Only Hope declares support for Absher

The Board of Directors of Only Hope WNC, the organization that Michael Absher founded to serve homeless youth, issued a statement Thursday night expressing confidence that Absher "will be cleared of the charge against him and that these allegations are false."

Absher, who is also on the Henderson County School Board, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with permitting a 15-year-old male resident of the Only Hope group home off Upward Road to drink alcohol, the Henderson County sheriff's office said.

Absher, 27, turned himself in on Wednesday afternoon on the misdemeanor charge. He also submitted a letter at the school administration central office requesting a leave of absence from the School Board, Chair Amy Lynn Holt said in a message to the Hendersonville Lightning on Thursday morning. Schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell made her aware of the letter Wednesday afternoon, she said.

Absher faces a court appearance in District Court next month. He has hired Doug Pearson, a former assistant district attorney who is now in private practice.

North Carolina State Bar rules of professional conduct prohibit me from any further discussion of the case details at this time," Pearson said Wednesday night. "We are confident once a court discovers all the evidence Mr. Absher will be cleared of any wrongful conduct.

The offense of allowing the 15-year-old to consume alcohol "whereby he could become adjudicated delinquent and undisciplined," was alleged to have occurred between Nov. 1, 2016, and Jan. 1 of this year, according to the arrest warrant.

"We had some allegations made and we investigated it and after our investigation and consultation with the district attorney these were the charges against Michael," said Sheriff's Office Maj. Frank Stout. "The investigation showed that he had knowedge of them consuming alcohol at his home for homeless children."

In its statement, the board of Only Hope WNC stressed that it has strict policies against drug and alcohol use in the home.

"The main priority of the Board of Directors of Only Hope WNC Inc. has always been and will continue to be the safety and protection of the youth within our care," the statement said. "This commitment includes obeying the law in regard to drugs and alcohol. We at Only Hope have a strict policy against drug and alcohol use at our youth home. Violation of this policy may cause students to be dismissed permanently from our program.

"Because of the commitment, we have made to work with homeless youth, we often encounter young people working to overcome challenging backgrounds. Some students refuse to adhere to our policies and regulations and as a result become ineligible to continue participating in the program. The youth who has brought these allegations was terminated from our program on 4/1/17. These events occurred a few days before the allegations were reported. In our internal investigation, we have found no evidence to support the claim made by this student.

"As a Board, we want to reassure our many supporters and the Henderson County Community that we do everything in our power to provide a safe environment for the youth in our care. We are confident Michael Absher, our President and CEO, will be cleared of the charge against him, and that these allegations are false."

A graduate of East Henderson High School who was homeless himself in high school, Absher won a School Board seat on his third try last November. He has won wide acclaim for his work on behalf of homeless teenagers, forming the Only Hope organization and opening a home for homeless teenagers in April 2016. When he was a parttime teller at Wells Fargo bank, Absher received a "Heroes of the 500" honor from Fortune magazine that recognized Fortune 500 employees who had helped their community.
Polls on June 14 with added local units difficult, says EC

Hours before announcing his resignation, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday sought to know from the Election Commission (EC) whether postponing the second phase of elections could be an option to bring the agitating Madhes-based parties on board the poll process.
HFTP Annual Convention 2017 Online Registration Now Open

HFTPs 2017 Annual Convention is October 25-27 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate in Orlando, Florida USA

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) has opened online registration for its Annual Convention, which it has produced since 1952. This year's event will offer a variety of educational session lengths, enhanced networking and vendor opportunities as HFTP celebrates its 65th year as an association. Annual Convention will take place from October 25-27, 2017 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate in Orlando, Florida USA.

HFTP Annual Convention full registration attendees will have access to three full days of education, two days of exhibits, the Welcome Reception and the formal President's Evening dinner. The 2017 schedule of events is available on the HFTP website, and will be continuously updated until the event. Additionally, in traditional HFTP fashion, Annual Convention will feature three keynote speakers, a business meeting and silent auction benefiting a local charity during President's Evening.

"We are honored to celebrate HFTP's 65-years with the outstanding members who have made the association's success possible," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. "Designed specifically for the industry, HFTP continuously works to make each Annual Convention better than the last. This year's program is sure to be an exceptional one."

The dynamic event program will provide relevant industry information for hospitality professionals. Again this year, the convention will run the full day Wednesday through Friday. Education sessions will be presented in a variety of formats, and range from 25-minute quick information sessions to 150-minute sessions. Vendor interaction this year will allow attendees to meet with vendors at table top exhibits. Exhibits will be open to attendees on Wednesday evening from 7:00-9:00 p.m. during the Welcome Reception as well as during morning breaks and lunch on the following Thursday.

Visit the Annual Convention page on the HFTP website for complete information about all conference events, including the program schedule, hotel and travel details and more. For more information about HFTP's Annual Convention and other global activities, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at education@hftp.org or visit www.hftp.org. Annual Convention 2018 is slated for October 24-27 at the new Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky USA.

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) is a global nonprofit hospitality association, headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA, that uniquely understands the industry's problems. HFTP has members and stakeholders across the globe. HFTP assists its members in finding solutions to industry problems more efficiently than any organization via its expert networks, research, conferences such as HITEC and certification programs. HFTP also owns the world's only hospitality specific search engine, PineappleSearch.com. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segment of the hospitality industry. For more information about HFTP, email membership@hftp.org or download the HFTP/HITEC media kit via the HFTP website.
For the week ending 20 May, the Canadian hotel industry reported occupancy fell 3.1% to 68%, ADR rose 4.3% to 152.42 Canadian dollars ($113.52) and RevPAR increased 1.1% to CA$103.57 ($77.14).

The Canadian hotel industry reported mixed results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 14-20 May 2017, according to data from STR.

In comparison with the week of 15-21 May 2016, the industry reported the following:

Occupancy: -3.1% to 68.0%

Average daily rate (ADR): +4.3% to CAD152.42

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +1.1% to CAD103.57

Among the provinces, British Columbia posted the largest year-over-year increase in RevPAR (+8.0% to CAD127.27), driven primarily by the weeks largest rise in ADR (+7.9% to CAD175.80).

Manitoba saw the largest lift in occupancy (+5.2% to 67.3%).

Alberta reported the steepest declines in each of the three key performance metrics. Occupancy fell 14.9% to 53.2%, ADR was down 4.1% to CAD132.11 and RevPAR dropped 18.4% to CAD70.30.

No other double-digit decreases were reported by any of the provinces.

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
While the U.S. hotel industry reported flat year-over-year occupancy performance during the week of 14-20 May, ADR rose 1.5% to $127.91 and RevPAR increased 1.5% to $90.26.

The U.S. hotel industry reported flat occupancy and slightly higher rates year over year during the week of 14-20 May 2017, according to data from STR.

In comparison with the week of 15-21 May 2016, the industry recorded the following in the three key performance metrics:

Occupancy: Flat at 70.6%

Average daily rate (ADR): +1.5% to US$127.91

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +1.5% to US$90.26

STR analysts note that occupancy for the week was pulled down due to comparison with a non-Mothers Day Sunday in 2016.

Among the Top 25 Markets, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, registered the only double-digit lift in occupancy (+12.8% to 69.5%) and the largest year-over-year increase in RevPAR (+20.7% to US$72.04). ADR in the market rose 7.0% to US$103.64.

Three additional markets saw a double-digit increase in RevPAR: Detroit, Michigan (+11.6% to US$76.49); Seattle, Washington (+10.6% to US$147.88); and St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois (+10.5% to US$93.82).

Growth in St. Louis was driven primarily by the weeks largest increase in ADR (+9.9% to US$119.51).

Phoenix, Arizona, saw the weeks steepest decline in occupancy (-8.7% to 62.1%).

New Orleans, Louisiana, reported the largest decreases in ADR (-6.4% to US$145.67) and RevPAR (-14.4% to US$103.10).

Two additional markets experienced a double-digit drop in RevPAR: Miami/Hialeah, Florida (-11.8% to US$121.70), and San Francisco/San Mateo, California (-10.1% to US$206.84).

View weekly U.S. hotel performance review

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
Vector Solutions Promotes Tammy Daigle to Senior Vice President of Customer Operations

Posted by Press Releases on Thursday, 05-25-2017 4:32 am

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Daigle Leverages 25 Years of Technology and Communications Industry Expertise to Develop Superior Quality in Customer Service Operations and ProcessesTAMPA, FL. (PRWEB) MAY 23, 2017Vector Solutions, the leader in eLearning and performance support solutions for the architecture, engineering, construction (AEC), industrial, public safety, IT and education fields, announced today that Tammy Daigle has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Customer Operations with Vector Solutions. For the past year, Daigle has held the position of Vice President of Operations, responsible for account management and client support. Her focus is on helping customers understand and use eLearning technology to better serve their own employees and customers while improving operations.Daigles success working with the account management and client services teams is reflected in the substantial increase in retention rates and the improved pace of upsells delivered in 2016. These winning results mark the achi...

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What employers and employees need to know Overtime law updates have been in the US news for over a year now, with a definite outcome yet to come. The once-proposed changes to the overtime salary threshold under the Obama administration quickly devolved into the stalling of its implementation, parties on either side trying to push for a favorable decision, and businesses of all sorts scrambling to undo the various measures theyd undertaken in anticipation of the seemingly now-defunct changes. Recently, the most recent proposed change to overtime pay is being similarly battled out, and  if passed by the Senate  may sound a death knell once and for all to the original overtime changes proposed under Obama. First, a Quick Overview This latest bill  the Working Families Flexibility Act  proposes to tweak the FLSAs stipulation that employers must pay employees overtime (at 1.5 times the regular rate for time worked over 40 hours each week). If the bill passes, then employers would have the option to offer non-exempt employees compensatory time off (banked at the rate of 1.5 times the number of overtime hours worked, up to 160 hours) in lieu of overtime pay. Though the FLSA already permits public sector employees to be given compensatory time instead of cash for overtime, the new bill would include private sector workers as well. The bill has ...
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
President urges parties to elect consensus PM

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has called upon the political parties represented in the Legislature-Parliament to elect a new Prime Minister through political consensus within seven days.
It has just sought planning permission for a change of use to cafe at 110 Patrick Street, next to Easons, while a deal is also about to close on No 17 Oliver Plunkett Street, previously the long-established Ovens Bar, which is a large, double fronted premises of c 1,600 sq ft owned by a private investor landlord.

Preliminary works have commenced this week on No 17 Oliver Plunkett Street in anticipation of the closing of the deal with Caffe Nero.

The 1997-founded chain, described as Europes largest independent coffee retailer, has over 650 outlets, employs up to 5,000 staff and reported revenues of 230 million in 2014, when it announced plans to expand to 40 Irish outlets in a 20m investment roll-out.

It now has a cafe in Louth, two in Northern Ireland in Bangor and Belfast, and nine in Dublin, at locations such as Merrion Row, Lower OConnell Street, King Street, Donnybrook Road, Excise Walk and Lower Camden Street.

Having opened in the US in 2014, London-based Caffe Neros company founder Gerry Ford said they planned to open eight to 10 Irish stores per year, in locations such as suburban Dublin, and would also look at partnering with other retailers and airports and other transport hub options.

It is understood that Caffe Nero has other Cork locations in its sights, including Patrick Street, but Oliver Plunkett Street will be its first Cork foothold.

Agent Robert Jeffrey, who represented the landlord, and Aiden McDonnell whos associate head of retail with Colliers Dublin and who acted for Caffe Nero, yesterday both declined to comment on the deal, in the final stage of completion.

No 17 Oliver Plunkett Street is in a prime trading position on the largely pedestrianised Oliver Plunkett Street, by Brown Thomas on Caroline Street, and a nearby recent arrival is fashion retailer Marc Cain, at No 19.

Also close by are coffee retailers Mahers, and independent cafes such as Italee Cafe, Idaho Cafe, as well as Jacques restaurant, and The Oliver Plunkett.

The arrival of such a strong branded presence comes after the arrival in the past two years of Starbucks in Cork, a few of whose cafes became mired in planning and change of use disputes, with Bord Pleanala ruling against the coffee chain in at least one instance.

However, its understood that no such change of use application is needed for converting from a bar to cafe: its a point likely to come up for discussion, in some of the citys finest coffee emporiums and forums, as Nero rolls into town.
Asia Philippine Military Seeks to Secure Troubled City as Fighting Eases

An armoured personnel carrier belonging to government troops drives along a main highway of Pantar town, Lanao Del Norte, as it travels to reinforce Marawi city, southern Philippines on May 24, 2017. / Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

MARAWI, Philippines  Troops began clearing out a southern Philippine city besieged by Islamist militants, with hostilities easing on Thursday after thousands fled as the rebels seized large parts of the city and torched buildings in a battle with government forces.

Hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in a military camp in Marawi City, where militants linked to the Islamic State group had also taken Christians hostage and set free more than 100 prisoners from two jails.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law late on Tuesday on impoverished Mindanao, the countrys second-largest island, to prevent the spread of extremism after rebels rampaged through the city of 200,000 people.

Marawi mayor Majul Gandamra said some rebels from the Maute, a militant group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, were still holed up in buildings and sporadic gunfire could be heard.

He said troops had isolated the guerrillas but were not engaging them, and that the rebels were posting images on social media to make known their sustained presence in Marawi.

They are still there, surrounded by our military, Gandamra told DZBB radio.

They are not shooting at anybody specifically.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the rampage, which flared on Tuesday afternoon, via its Amaq news agency.

The battle started with a failed attempt by security forces to arrest some Maute fighters. Seven government troops and 13 militants had been killed since Tuesday, according to the army.

Details from authorities were sketchy and the status of the hostages taken by the Maute was unclear. It was also not known whether civilians had been killed or wounded, or how many rebels remained and how many had retreated.

Marawi is located in Lanao del Sur province, a stronghold of the Maute, a fierce, but little-known group that has been a tricky opponent for the military. Its activities are a source of concern for Mindanao native Duterte, who is familiar with separatist unrest but alarmed by the presence of radicals inspired by Islamic States radical agenda.

Duterte threatened harsh measures to prevent extremists taking a hold in Mindanao and said martial law would remain in place for as long as it took to restore order. It was not clear what exactly Duterte planned to do to achieve that.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Congress had received a mandatory report from Duterte explaining his martial law declaration and lawmakers would discuss it on Monday.

Martial law applies for an initial 60 days under the constitution, but that could be shortened or lengthened depending on security considerations, Alvarez said.

Human rights experts have expressed concern about possible abuses by the military and police in places under martial rule and say the conduct of security forces during Dutertes deadly anti-drugs campaign has not inspired confidence. Alvarez sought to ally those fears.

Let us not worry about this declaration. There are safeguards in our constitution to prevent abuses, he said.
Burma Court Charges Tailor Shop Owners Over Torturing, Enslaving Children

Scars inflicted on Ma San Kay Khaing. / Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  A Rangoon court charged six family members on Thursday under eight legal statutessome of which carry life sentencesfor the torture and enslavement of two children in the familys tailor shop.

Tin Thuzar, 59, Tin Min Latt, 37, Su Mon Latt, 27, and Yarzar Tun, 25, were charged under Burmas Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law, the 1993 Child Law, and for assault under the Penal Code. Ko Latt, 63, and Thiri Latt, 37, were charged under the anti-trafficking law and the child law.

All of the defendants, who ran Ava tailor shop and factory in downtown Rangoons Kyauktada Township, pleaded not guilty in the West District Court. Their lawyers asked the judge to summon some witnesses to testify again.

Well consult with our clients to file an appeal to the divisional court, said one of the defense lawyers after the court session.

The anti-trafficking law carries a sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment, and the child law up to two years and a possible fine. Defendants found guilty of assault can face from seven years to life in prison and a fine.

The two girls, Ma San Kay Khaing, 17, and Ma Tha Zin, 18, both from Kawhmu Township, suffered five years of abuse at the hands of the tailor shop owners before the case came under the spotlight in August 2016. The family members were arrested in September 2016.

The girls worked as housemaids at the shop since the age of around 10, but that turned into forced domestic servitude. They escaped from the slave-like conditions after Myanmar Now news agency launched an investigative report into the allegations of abuse.

Ma San Kay Khaing received treatment at Rangoon General Hospital for more than five months for burns, broken fingers, and flesh wounds reportedly inflicted with knives and scissors.

The next court hearing is scheduled for June 8, when prosecution witnesses will testify again. The district judge overseeing the case will retire in June, and a new judge will take her place.

The six family members have been detained in Insein Prison since the trial began at the West District Court eight months ago.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Daw Aung San Suu Kyis Jade Necklace at Peace Dinner Raises Questions

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with the necklace in question. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  From the campaign trail to meetings with dignitaries to state dinners, Burmas State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is under watchful eyes. Every move she makes is captured on-camera, each word painstakingly analyzed. Even her wardrobe, including her choices of color, design and accessory do not escape the gaze of admirers or critics.

Famous for her sense of traditional yet colorful Burmese fashion, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has served as a style icon of sorts since her release form house arrest in 2010her signature look one of simple elegance. Unlike many other Burmese women who can also afford to do so, she rarely wears jewelry featuring gold or gemstones.

On Wednesday evening, the 71-year-old entered the function hall of the Myanmar Convention Center II in Naypyidaw to attend a dinner to commemorate the onset of the second session of the Union Peace Conference. The State Counselor was seen in a peach-toned blouse and a sarong. Jasmine and red roses were tucked into her hair, as it typically is when she appears in public.

But when pictures from the dinner of the State Counselor went viral on Facebook, it was her necklace that attracted the most attention. The piece was noticeably larger than other jewelry she had worn in the past, and was comprised of a set of jade stones.

Normally, people wear amethyst against a peach-colored dress. But she used jade, creating something different and new, said Myo Min Soe, a fashion designer from Mandalay, who added that the move might herald a renaissance in jade accessories. If you looked at her last night, your attention would go directly to her necklace. Wearing oversized necklaces is trendy among middle-aged women now.

Yet some netizens have expressed shame at seeing the State Counselor wearing jadea stone harvested in Kachin State, where thousands remain in displaced peoples camps due to fighting between Burma Army and local ethnic armed group the Kachin Independence Army. The state is home to hugely profitable mines run by a network of ex-military elites, drug lords, and crony companies who illegally exploit the jade for tens of billions of dollars each year, while most of the local population lives in poverty.

One Facebook user shared photos of Daw Aung Suu Kyi in the jade necklace and wrote that despite finding the accessory stylish, I cant smile seeing her in this jade necklace.

Another user complimented the necklace, but said, whenever I think about jade, only hand-pickers pop up in my mind, referring to thousands of men who risk their lives scavenging for stones from the waste of larger mining companies.

For all the criticism, only Daw Aung San Suu Kyi knows where the necklace came from, whether it was an expensive gift or an accessory fashioned out of cheap jade. At a press conference, she once told reporters that, when it comes to her appearance, she makes do with whatever is on hand.

People also commented on what they described as the inappropriate timing of the fashion statement. They raised questions about her sensibility for wearing jade to the dinner marking the beginning of the peace conferenceto which KIA representatives were also invited. A peace agreement between the ethnic armed group and the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led government still has not been reached, and thousands displaced by conflict await a resolution.

For those living in IDP camps, the State Counselors choice in attire may seem insignificant; for many, the hope is that her wisdom, patience and collaboration with armed groups in conflict will finally allow them to return home.

The Irrawaddy reporter San Yamin Aung contributed to the reporting.
Burma Religion Minister Seeks Banks Help to Track Nationalist Funds

Religious affairs minister U Aung Ko talks to the media at the second round of the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Religious affairs minister U Aung Ko is grappling with the Central Bank of Myanmar for cooperation in order to trace the funds used for the activities of hardline nationalists that include a protest against him last week.

About 300 protesters, including nationalists and Buddhist monks, along with roughly 2,700 supporters from across the country, gathered in Naypyidaw on May 20 to accuse U Aung Ko of neglecting Buddhism and favoring Islam.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture cited on May 22 social media posts alleging that protesters were paid sums ranging from 7,000 kyats (US$5) to 30,000 kyats ($22) to participate, and that 800 million kyats ($584,000) went toward organizing the demonstration.

On Wednesday, U Aung Ko said his ministry first asked the Central Bank for the account information of every religious and social organization in Burma last July after the nationalist group Ma Ba Tha, also known as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, said its members would stage nationwide demonstrations if the government failed to take action against Rangoon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein for labeling the group as unnecessary for Burma.

The State Buddhist Sangha authority or the Sangha Maha Nayaka, known as Ma Ha Na, ordered Ma Ba Tha on Tuesday to cease all its activities.

The Central Bank provided the ministry with one whole figure of 300 million kyats, said the minister, but ignored his second request. The Central Bank is the main authority for local private banks, and the government has to go through it to retrieve the information.

Money is the only motivation for peopleespecially at a grassroots levelto participate in such a demonstration, he said. If thousands of people come and stage a protest in Naypyidaw, hundreds of millions of kyats would have to be spent. Where did the money come from?

U Aung Ko criticized the bank and other local private banks for being uncooperative in the investigation process, adding that he told the Presidents Office the Central Bank had not responded to the ministrys second request.

The minister could not confirm rumors that funds of about 5 billion kyats were designated for the activities of nationalist groups, he said, because of the banks unwillingness to help.

The Central Banks financial institutions supervision department was not available for comment on Thursday.

According to the 2016 Financial Institutions Law, a bank has a duty to maintain secrecy about the information relating to its customers accounts unless the disclosure of the information is ordered by a court and required for criminal proceedings.

U Aung Ko accused United Amara Bank, run by a son of the late U Aung Thaung, a controversial businessman and politician known for his ties with former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe, of dealing in the funds of nationalist groups.

His allegation prompted the bank to deny any involvement with Ma Ba Tha in a public statement on Wednesday night.

We always provide information and data requested by the Central Bank regarding financial cases without any delay, the statement read.

The ministry announced on Thursday that it had acted hastily by using the bank as an example in explaining its investigation to the media and has since apologized to the banks management.

U Aung Ko claimed a group of people or an organization wanting to reverse the transition toward democracy is supporting nationalist groups, though he was not able to confirm the theory.

The payment of protesters would violate Section 10 of the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law, which prohibits any act of paying, bribing of threatening people to participate in demonstrations. Violators face up to one month in prison.

U Sanda Siri, a member of Mandalay-based Nationalist Buddhist Monks Association, led hundreds of protesters last Saturday. The monk said it cost 2.8 million kyats to transport protesters from Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin to Naypyidaw, adding that the funds came from donors and nationalists.

I dont know about protesters from other places, he said. But in the place where I took responsibility, protesters were paid nothing.

Htet Naing Zaw contributed to this report from Naypyidaw.
Burma Saw Mutu Say Poe Calls for Inclusive Peace Negotiations

Karen National Union leader Saw Mutu Say Poe addresses the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw.

Chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU) Saw Mutu Say Poe urged for a more inclusive peace process in his speech on the opening of the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw on Thursday.

The leader of Burmas oldest ethnic armed organization and signatory of the governments Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) denounced the governments position on only inviting NCA signatories as delegates to the conference and said time restrictions were impeding national reconciliation.

We cannot solve the problem covering the whole nation with only those who signed the NCA, he told the ethnic armed group delegates, Burma Army officials, government ministers, members of Parliament, foreign diplomats, and NGO and UN representatives gathered for the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Peace conference.

I want to stress that there are still other national ethnic armed groups who are stakeholders in building up a future federal nation, he said.

NCA non-signatory groupsincluding members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)were not invited to attend as full delegates, but special guests with limited participation.

Saw Mutu Say Poe criticized hastily made political negotiations and said procedures and meetings with time limits and boundaries could not bring about national reconciliation.

The Arakan Liberation Party and the Restoration Council of Shan State were unable to complete regional consultations, known as national level political dialogues and an essential step in the NCA procedure, ahead of this session of the peace conference.

Peace negotiations should include all stakeholdersthe government, parliament, military, NCA signatories and non-signatories, political parties, and civil society representativesand be held depending upon race, place and matters.

We need to create this condition; the government and the Tatmadaw were leading the political negotiations, but to build a federal union all stakeholders must participate in the peace process with equal rights, he told the conference.

He said negotiations needed to take place free from influences and with sufficient preparation, and that everyone must analyze this session of the Union Peace Conference and judge its effectiveness.
Tamakoshi 3 plant to be built under PPP model

Investment Board Nepal (IBN) has prepared a modality for the construction of the stalled Tamakoshi 3 Hydropower Project which has been in limbo since potential developer Statkraft of Norway pulled out in January 2016.
Burma State Counselor Will Meet Northeastern Armed Group Delegation: Spokesperson

Zhao Guo An takes questions after the meeting on Thursday. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYIDAW  The government peace commissions closed-door meeting in Naypyidaw with representatives of seven northeastern armed groups on Thursday morning was just a social event, according to the commissions Dr. Tin Myo Win.

He told the reporters after the meeting that it was held in order to build trust.

After peace brokering by a Chinese special envoy between the non-state armed groups and the government, the ethnic delegation arrived in the Burmese capital on Tuesday.

The northern delegation joined the opening of the second session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference and dinner hosted by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as special guests on Wednesday.

Chinas ambassador to Burma Hong Liang also attended Thursdays meeting between the governments peace negotiation team and the northern groups.

We will meet the State Counselor on Friday, said the United Wa State Armys (UWSA) spokesperson Zhao Guo An, who expressed the UWSAs gratitude to China and to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and described the meeting as an opportunity to build trust.

Through a translator, Zhao Guo An said that he did not have any detailed discussion in Thursdays closed-door meeting.

The seven-member delegation representing armed organizations based in northeastern Burma is led by the UWSA vice chairman Bao Yuri. Also participating is the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) vice chairman NBan La, the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) secretary U Kyi Myint, the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA-S) vice chairman Sao Khun Sai, the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) vice chairman Tar Jok Jar, the Arakan Army (AA) deputy chief-of-staff Dr. Nyo Tun Aung, and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) official Phone Win Naing.

They had said they would only meet with the government for peace talks as a coalition under its team known as the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC).

They said that the FPNCCs general principles and specific propositions concerning political negotiations was agreed upon during their last meeting on April 19 in Panghsang, and was shared with the government. Copies were distributed to the media on Thursday.

The State Counselor will meet the seven groups separately. The KIA, UWSA, SSPP and NDAA will be invited to one meeting and she will meet the TNLA, AA and MNDAA in another, said government spokesperson U Zaw Htay at the peace conferences daily press briefing on Thursday. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will also reportedly host a private lunch for the KIAs NBan La and his wife.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Pope Francis gave Donald J. Trump a going away present after their meeting on Wednesday. It was a copy of his Encyclical on the challenge of climate change, Laudato Si, mi Signor,Praised may you be, my Lord.

This document begins with a paean to Saint Francis, which celebrates the natural world as a revelation of God rather than as a set of resources to loot and exploit and deplete.

Pope Francis wrote,

The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change.

The key words here are family, sustainable and development. Francis is making it clear that humanity is all one family and that he is not advocating any sort of Luddism or ecological escapism. He wants development scientific advance and economic improvement. But he wants it to be accomplished in a sustainable manner.

Sustainability means that resources arent permanently depleted resources like water and fuel.

Regrettably, many efforts to seek concrete solutions to the environmental crisis have proved ineffective, not only because of powerful opposition but also because of a more general lack of interest. Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference, nonchalant resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions. We require a new and universal solidarity.

Francis considers the challenge of acting to prevent debilitating climate change. He warns that we cannot sit back and just hope for a technological fix. New technologies are key, of course. But he points to powerful opposition and also to public apathy. The opposition can interfere with technology, as with those states, like Florida, that levy punitive taxes or fees on solar panels in an attempt to keep people hooked on fossil fuels.

The answer to both obstructionism (stemming from greed) and apathy is solidarity, is standing together across the social categories.

When he gave Trump this work, Pope Francis was aware that Trump is a major climate obstructionist. He is nevertheless appealing for human solidarity in the face of a dire threat. Believers dont give up on people.

Some forms of pollution are part of peoples daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths. People take sick, for example, from breathing high levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others.

Millions of people, the Pope says, are killed every year by air pollution. The seas are in danger of a mass die-off of marine life because of acidification. An ecology is a dense network of inter-relationships, he underlines. Trying to address one problem (e.g. transportation emissions) may only create others if a broad, holistic approach is not taken. Electric cars, e.g., are only able substantially to reduce emissions if the power plants that provide their electricity are not run on coal.

A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it.

Pope Francis notes the near unanimity of scientists on the danger of human-made climate change. Extreme weather and sea level rise are among the dangers. We have to stop emitting so much carbon dioxide, and that will require changes in our styles of life.

But above all it will require a conscience and dedication and solidarity.

Trump is a little unlikely to get it. But the point of publicly bestowing on him this gift is that the Pope hopes the rest of us will.

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By Daniel Korschun, Boryana V Dimitrova, and Yoto V. Yotov | (The Conversation) |  

U.S. News and World Report recently published its annual Best Countries ranking, based on how thousands of people around the world perceive other nations. Switzerland topped the 80-country ranking, followed by Canada and the United Kingdom.

One big surprise was that the United States fell three spots, from fourth to seventh. The U.S. received poor marks for business friendliness, respect for human rights and democracy, and educational quality. These results align with another ranking from Forbes showing the U.S. in decline.

Reputational rankings and similar best of lists surely make for interesting dinner conversation, but they do beg an important question: Does a countrys reputation really matter?

The three of us, an economist and two marketers, decided to examine how a change in a countrys reputation might affect its trade relationships. The results were astounding.

How a country earns its rep

A countrys reputation is, in essence, the perceptions that people elsewhere hold about its standing in the world.

There is no uniformly correct way to measure reputation. The U.S. News survey asks respondents to rate countries on categories from adventure and power to quality of life and citizenship, while Forbes focuses on business. And a countrys reputation can vary in different parts of the world.

People form those opinions based on the totality of their experiences involving the country, from the products theyve bought to the people theyve met while traveling to the images theyve seen in movies.

Another major factor in a countrys reputation is politics and diplomacy. And in that department, the election of Donald Trump may be contributing to the problem.

Pew surveyed citizens of 10 European Union countries last year and found that 85 percent of respondents had no confidence that Trump would do the right thing in world affairs. And since the election, 75 percent of those surveyed around the world for the Best Countries ranking  which came out in April  said they had lost some degree of respect for the U.S.

As a result, experts predict the U.S. will receive 4.3 million fewer visitors in this year than in 2016, in part because changes to immigration policy are making tourists feel unwelcome.

Of additional concern is that relations between the U.S. and some key trading partners have taken a turn for the worse. For example, the U.S. exports more to Mexico than any other country but Canada. Yet the presidents insistence on a proposed border wall has probably harmed the United States reputation among Mexican citizens and businesspeople.

Opening a window

Our recently published research (sponsored in part by the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation) provides a window into how intangible perceptions such as reputation can produce very tangible consequences.

Our measure of country reputation was the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index, which is based on a global survey of more than 20,000 respondents across 20 countries. We used the results from 2008, the last year for which data are publicly available. Respondents in those countries rated the country reputation of the other 19 countries as well as 30 additional countries around the globe, creating a matrix of country-pairs (Canadas reputation among Germans, Germanys reputation among Brazilians, etc.).

To measure various dimensions of country reputation, the surveys included ratings both for the quality of a countrys products and the trustworthiness of its people.

To capture export volume, we pulled data from the United Nations Statistical Division Commodity Trade Statistics Database for each country-pair. We wanted to make sure we were seeing only the potential impact of country reputation on exports (and not the other way around) so we downloaded trade data for 2010, two years after the reputation data were collected.

Combining the export figures with the reputation data resulted in a unique dataset of 861 country-pairs (e.g., Italys reputation among the French and Italian exports to France two years later).

We then applied what has been described as one of the most successful empirical models in economics (economists call it the structural gravity model of international trade) to test whether this relationship panned out on a global scale. Essentially, the model enables us to test the effect of reputation on exports for each specific trade relationship.

To exclude alternative explanations, we also accounted for a host of other factors that are known to influence trade between countries, such as the size of each market, geographic distance and having a common official language.

How reputation affects trade

We were amazed at what we found.

Each ranking drop in a countrys reputation is associated with a decrease in export volume of 2 percent. As an illustrative example, if the U.S. were to drop one reputational rung among Canadians, we would expect  all other things equal  a corresponding 2 percent decrease in exports to Canada. If we apply the results to 2016 exports, that would mean a potential loss of more than US$5 billion.

From another perspective, the effect is roughly equivalent to an importing country raising tariffs by 3 percent. For a large exporter like the United States (about $1.5 trillion in exported goods per year), a uniform drop in reputation could put tens of billions in manufacturing exports in jeopardy.

Of course, the relationship works both ways. If reputation improves, our model predicts the same corresponding increase in export volume.

Ignore at your peril

The Trump administration has made stimulating exports a priority and argues that international trade can be used to grow our economy, return millions of jobs to Americas shores and revitalize our nations suffering communities.

Yet, in his efforts to do this, he appears to be ignoring a meaningful ingredient: reputation.

Our research makes one thing clear: Countries ignore their international reputations at their peril. If Trump is serious about increasing exports, a good place to start would be improving Americas  and his  standing in the world.

Daniel Korschun, Associate Professor of Marketing, Drexel University; Boryana V Dimitrova, Clinical Professor of Marketing, Drexel University, and Yoto V. Yotov, Associate Professor of Economics, Drexel University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



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By Tara Sepehri Far. | ( Human Rights Watch ) |  

In Second Term, Should Move on Rights Reforms

When the 2017 election season kicked off April 21, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani did not go into the race possessing an enviable track record of defending human rights. While he achieved his 2013 election campaign promise of easing international sanctions after securing a nuclear agreement with China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, progress delivering on Iranians aspirations for greater rights has been few and far between.

During his first term, security forces continued to harass, interrogate, and detain hundreds of activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and members of ethnic and religious minorities. The 2009 presidential candidates Mehdi Karoubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, and the academic and artist Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavis wife, remain under house arrest. The judiciary repeatedly handed down long prison sentences and issued execution orders at an alarming rate, often as Rouhanis administration stood silently by.

Perhaps sensing he would be held accountable for these failures, Rouhani ramped up campaign promises on rights reforms as well as harsh criticisms of human rights abuses linked to his main rival in the election, Ebrahim Raeesi. Raeesi, a former judge, served on a four-person panel widely believed to have ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners during the summer of 1988. Rouhani described Raeesis political vision as one which had known only executions and imprisonment for the past 38 years.

Rouhani also spoke boldly on the campaign trail in defense of gender equality, minority rights, and citizens rights to unfiltered access to information. He even criticized the conduct of the powerful judiciary and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)s interference in the political process. By the end of the campaign Rouhani said in voting for him, Iranians would be choosing a lawyer [who] defends peoples rights.

Whether for tactical political purposes or genuine belief, Rouhani has rhetorically transformed himself. Now that he has won reelection largely on these campaign promises, his credibility as president is indelibly tied to his ability to deliver real rights reforms. And while he will confront the strength of unaccountable, rights-abusing institutions like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the judiciary, Rouhani is far from powerless. He enters his second term with a popular mandate, a moderate-reformist majority parliament, and a nuclear deal that has survived US and Iranian presidential elections (so far). In summary, Rouhani has constraints but also agency  he should act like it to promote what the Iranian people want most: a genuine commitment to protecting their rights.

Via Human Rights Watch

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TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: BGM) (the "Company" or "Barkerville") is pleased to announce additional drilling results from the ongoing 130,000 metre Phase II Island Mountain exploration drilling program at the Company's flagship Cariboo Gold Project. The Company is currently exploring and delineating the Valley Zone with four drill rigs. Detailed drilling results, a drill hole location plan map, vertical section and longitudinal section are presented at the end of this release.

Replacement Mineralization Intersected Northwest of Mosquito Creek

Located 160 metres down plunge of the former Mosquito Creek Mine at a vertical depth of 100 metres below surface, drillhole IM-17-100 intersected replacement mineralization grading 24.13 g/t Au over 12.70 metres. This new faulted occurrence correlates 35 metres up plunge to previously reported Phase I drillhole BGM-16-553 which intersected 56.31 g/t Au over 4.10 metres.

New Veining Intersected Northwest of Mosquito Creek

Drillhole IM-17-107 intersected new auriferous quartz veining grading 49.79 g/t Au over 8.05 metres fifty metres vertically below surface. In this sparsely drilled area, the veining intersection is open for expansion in all directions.

The geometry and hence true width of the potential mineralized zones cannot be assuredly concluded at this time.

The Company's Exploration Manager, Maggie Layman, P.Geo., commented, "The results from the Island Mountain drilling continue to demonstrate continuity, tenor and size potential of both replacement and vein style mineralization at shallow depths. The Phase II exploration program on Island Mountain continues to reveal exceptionally high grade intercepts in new zones".

About the Phase II Program

The 130,000 metre 2017 Phase II exploratory and delineation drill program on Island Mountain is intended to determine the extent of the vein systems that were historically never explored, and is aimed at discovering new vein systems and sulphide replacement bodies that will ultimately inform a maiden resource at Island Mountain. Four drill rigs are currently delineating additional mineralization below the former Aurum and Cariboo Gold Quartz Mines which have never been explored since mining operations ceased circa 1960.

Qualified Persons

Exploration activities at the Cariboo Gold Project are administered on site by the Company's Exploration Manager, Maggie Layman, P.Geo. As per National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its exploration activities on the Cariboo Gold Project.

Quality Assurance  Quality Control

Once received from the drill and processed, all drill core samples are sawn in half, labelled and bagged. The remaining drill core is subsequently stored on site at the Company's secure facility in Wells, BC. Numbered security tags are applied to lab shipments for chain of custody requirements. The Company inserts quality control (QC) samples at regular intervals in the sample stream, including blanks and reference materials with all sample shipments to monitor laboratory performance. The QAQC program was designed and approved by Lynda Bloom, P.Geo. of Analytical Solutions Ltd., and is overseen by the Company's Qualified Person, Paul Geddes, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration.

Drill core samples are submitted to ALS Geochemistry's analytical facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. The ALS facility is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for gold assays and all analytical methods include quality control materials at set frequencies with established data acceptance criteria. The entire sample is crushed and 250 grams is pulverized. Analysis for gold is by 50g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption (AAS) finish with a lower limit of 0.01 ppm and upper limit of 100 ppm. Samples with gold assays greater than 100 ppm are re-analyzed using a 1,000g screen metallic fire assay. A selected number of samples are also analyzed using a 48 multi-elemental geochemical package by a 4-acid digestion, followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS).

About Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd.

The Company is focused on developing its extensive land package located in the historical Cariboo Mining District of central British Columbia. Barkerville's mineral tenures cover 2,110 square kilometres along a strike length of 67 kilometres which includes several past producing hard rock mines of the historic Barkerville Gold Mining Camp near the town of Wells, British Columbia. The QR Project, located approximately 110 kilometres by highway and all weather road from Wells was acquired by Barkerville in 2010 and boasts a fully permitted 900 tonne/day gold milling and tailings facility. Test mining of the Bonanza Ledge open pit was completed in March of 2015 with 91,489 tonnes of material milled producing 25,464 ounces of gold. The Company has completed several drilling and exploration programs over the past 20 years and has compiled this data with all historical information in order develop geologic models which are assisting management in defining new deposits in the Cariboo Gold Project. An extensive drill program is currently underway with the goal of delineating additional high grade gold mineralization.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceanus Resources Corporation (TSX-V:OCN) (OTCQB:OCNSF) ("Oceanus" or the Company) reports additional assay results from the 2017 diamond drilling program on its 100% owned El Tigre Property in Sonora, Mexico. Highlights from the drilling include the following:

Hole ET-17-133  67.6 meters of 1.49 g/t gold equivalent from 78.5 meters to 146.1 meters consisting of 1.24 g/t gold and 19.1 g/t silver, including 23.4 meters of 3.31 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 2.77 g/t gold and 40.5 g/t silver

Hole ET-17-135  37.7 meters of 0.78 g/t gold equivalent from 71.9 meters to 109.6 meters consisting of 0.62 g/t gold and 12.4 g/t silver, including 18.8 meters of 1.16 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 0.91 g/t gold and 18.9 g/t silver; and 8.4 meters of 1.95 g/t gold equivalent from 215.3 meters to 223.7 meters consisting of 1.52 g/t gold and 32.4 g/t silver

Hole ET-17-140  9.0 meters of 1.86 g/t gold equivalent from 35.0 meters to 44.0 meters consisting of 0.18 g/t gold and 125.5 g/t silver, including 1.5 meters of 9.54 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 0.43 g/t gold and 683.2 g/t silver, in a step out hole approximately 500 meters to the south of the Main Deposit past Gold Hill (see drill hole location map at Appendix B)

The true width has not been calculated for the intercepts, but true width is generally estimated at 75-90% of drilled width. The gold equivalent ratio is based on a gold-to-silver price ratio of 75:1.

The new assay results are for drill holes ET-17-123 to ET-17-140. Refer to the Oceanus news releases dated September 14, 2016, October 18, 2016, December 14, 2016 and March 6, 2017 for the assay results for the previous drill holes. A map of a portion of the El Tigre Property is attached as Appendix A, a drill hole location map is attached as Appendix B, a table of significant drill intersections is attached as Appendix C and the drill hole location table is attached as Appendix D.



Glenn Jessome, President and CEO of Oceanus reports, The Oceanus drilling has expanded and supports the continuity of the vein and alteration zone between the El Tigre Camp and the south end of Gold Hill, which is a distance of approximately 1,800 meters. The vein and alteration zone remains open along strike to the south, north and at depth. Furthermore, with hole ET-17-133 we have identified a possible new high grade zone at Gold Hill. With holes ET-17-139 and ET-17-140 we have extended the strike length to the south by approximately 500 meters. These drill results further support wide zones of precious metals mineralization that demonstrate potential as a bulk-tonnage target.



El Tigre Drilling Program

Oceanus has completed the 2016-17 infill drilling program at El Tigre with a total of 62 diamond drill holes totalling 11,923.1 meters. The purpose of this drill program was to support a NI 43-101 resource estimation for the El Tigre Property. The results from the Oceanus drilling, prior drilling and other data will be incorporated into the resource estimation to be completed by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. by the end of June, 2017.

In particular, the drill program was designed to achieve the following objectives at El Tigre (see map at Appendix A);

twin several legacy drill holes at the Main Deposit;

infill the central area of the Main Deposit;

infill the 500 meter gap along strike at the Main Deposit to the north between La Mula and the Camp;

infill the 200 meter gap along strike at the Main Deposit to the south at Gold Hill;

test for a southern strike extension to the south of Gold Hill; and

test several of the veins to the north of the Main Deposit (Fundadora and Protectora).

Prospecting Work to the North at Protectora, Fundadora and La Chula

Field mapping and prospecting surveys are in progress along the Protectora vein system located approximately 1.5 kilometers to the north of the El Tigre camp (see map at Appendix A). Oceanus drill holes ET-17-141 to ET-17-144 have been completed at Protectora and assay results are pending (see drill hole location table at Appendix D). At Protectora quartz vein and stockwork zones are located within an advanced argillic alteration zone. Gold and silver mineralization was discovered along the Protectora vein and stockwork zone in diamond drill holes by El Tigre Silver Corp. in 2013 (hole ET-13-019 intersected 2 meters of 1.41 g/t gold and 421.7 g/t silver from 86.0 meters to 88.0 meters).

At the Fundadora vein system field mapping and prospecting surveys are also in progress (see map at Appendix A).

Recent field mapping and prospecting surveys have identified newly discovered mineralization, which has been named La Chula vein system (see map at Appendix A). An extensive mapping and prospecting program is now being carried out at La Chula.

El Tigre Property

The El Tigre Property lies at the northern end of the Sierra Madre gold belt which hosts many of the larger multi-million ounce epithermal gold and silver deposits including Ocampo, Pinos Altos, Dolores and Palmarejo. In 1896, gold was first discovered on the property in the Gold Hill area and mining started with the Brown Shaft in 1903. The focus soon changed to mining high-grade silver veins in the area with the majority of the production coming from the El Tigre vein. Underground mining on the El Tigre vein extended 1,450 meters along strike and mined on 14 levels to a depth of 450 meters. By the time the mine closed in 1938, it is reported to have produced a total of 353,000 ounces of gold and 67.4 million ounces of silver from 1.87 million tons (Craig, 2012).

The El Tigre Property is approximately 35 kilometers long and comprises 21,842.78 hectares. The El Tigre gold and silver deposit is related to a series of high-grade epithermal veins controlled by a north-south trending structure cutting across the andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs of the Sierra Madre Volcanic Complex within a broad gold and silver mineralized prophylitic alternation zone. The veins dip steeply to the west and are typically 1 meter wide but locally can be up to 5 meters in width. The veins, structures and mineralized zones outcrop on surface and have been traced for a distance of 5.3 kilometers along strike. Historical mining and exploration activities focused on a 1.5 kilometer portion of the southern end of the deposits, principally on the El Tigre, Seitz Kelly and Sooy veins. Four veins in the north (Aguila, Escondida, Fundadora and Protectora) were explored with only limited amounts of production.

APPENDIX A

El Tigre Property Map





APPENDIX B

El Tigre Drill Hole Location Map





Lab Preparation and Assay

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one-third of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining two-thirds portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. ActLabs crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 50 gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2-50) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3-50). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code 1F2 Total Digestion ICP).

Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed Oceanus QA/QC protocols.

Qualified Person

David R. Duncan, P. Geo., V.P. Exploration of the Company, is the Qualified Person for Oceanus as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Duncan has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release and has reviewed the Technical Report.

About Oceanus Resources Corporation

Oceanus Resources Corporation is a gold exploration company operating in Mexico. Oceanus is managed by a team of mine finders with extensive experience in exploring and developing large hydrothermal gold projects in Mexico. Oceanus is currently drilling and exploring the El Tigre Property in the Sierra Madre Occidental.

APPENDIX C

El Tigre Drilling Results Hole ID Section Comment From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Au

(g/t) Ag

(g/t) AuEq(2)

(g/t) ET-17-123 4550 76.4 80.6 4.2 0.42 0.8 0.43 and 133.5 149.5 16.0 0.20 13.5 0.38 ET-17-124 4600 64.5 82.7 18.2 0.23 87.3 1.39 and 94.8 120.6 25.8 0.41 20.9 0.69 ET-17-125 3700 13.9 19.1 5.3 0.74 0.5 0.75 and 58.7 62.0 3.4 0.42 33.0 0.86 and 134.0 142.2 8.2 0.37 37.1 0.87 and 189.9 194.0 4.2 0.12 18.1 0.36 ET-17-126 3600 4.5 23.0 18.5 0.17 72.1 1.13 including 15.8 21.5 5.8 0.48 182.8 2.92 and 69.0 75.0 6.1 0.39 1.2 0.40 and 87.0 105.0 18.0 0.35 32.3 0.78 and 112.0 118.0 6.0 0.19 11.3 0.34 ET-17-127 4600 35.0 58.6 23.6 0.35 27.9 0.72 including 51.1 52.7 1.6 1.30 395.9 6.57 and 152.3 161.7 9.4 0.23 14.9 0.42 ET-17-128 4775 86.4 112.2 25.8 0.63 28.0 1.00 including 100.4 105.1 4.7 1.06 106.6 2.48 ET-17-130 3550 53.8 55.7 1.9 0.34 11.9 0.49 ET-17-131 3550 58.0 67.3 9.3 0.74 9.1 0.86 and 77.9 86.3 8.4 0.27 2.7 0.30 and 142.5 147.0 4.5 0.80 74.6 1.80 and 178.0 202.2 24.2 0.35 22.0 0.65 ET-17-132 4900 37.5 48.2 10.7 0.20 22.1 0.50 OPEN STOPE 48.2 50.6 2.4 El Tigre Vein and 53.0 68.0 15.0 0.33 10.9 0.47 ET-17-133 3500 65.4 68.4 3.0 0.98 1.0 0.99 and 78.5 146.1 67.6 1.24 19.1 1.49 including 78.5 90.3 11.9 0.63 1.3 0.65 including 97.5 120.9 23.4 2.77 40.5 3.31 and 137.0 146.1 9.1 0.29 4.7 0.35 and 156.9 160.0 3.1 0.48 0.7 0.49 ET-17-134 3300 98.2 105.5 7.3 0.62 9.6 0.75 and 133.2 147.5 14.3 1.01 0.5 1.02 including 134.0 135.8 1.8 6.33 2.1 6.36 and 223.4 226.1 2.7 0.50 0.6 0.51 and 239.9 242.0 2.1 1.06 80.6 2.13 ET-17-135 3450 71.9 109.6 37.7 0.62 12.4 0.78 including 77.6 96.4 18.8 0.91 18.9 1.16 and 121.4 134.3 13.0 0.60 12.9 0.77 and 140.3 154.6 14.3 0.68 4.7 0.74 and 215.3 223.7 8.4 1.52 32.4 1.95 ET-17-136 3350 26.0 44.0 18.0 0.94 3.5 0.99 and 137.0 146.5 9.5 1.57 3.1 1.62 and 155.4 164.8 9.4 0.40 0.5 0.41 and 174.0 180.0 6.0 0.35 0.8 0.36 and 187.1 189.5 2.4 0.34 19.3 0.59 and 195.5 206.0 10.5 0.33 0.9 0.34 ET-17-137 3600 98.5 129.5 31.0 0.41 1.3 0.43 145.2 175.3 30.1 0.38 13.0 0.55 244.6 247.4 2.8 0.13 17.7 0.36 OPEN STOPE 263.1 268.6 5.5 268.6 276.1 7.5 0.32 1.3 0.33 ET-17-138 3400 20.0 25.0 5.0 0.42 0.7 0.43 and 66.7 83.4 16.8 0.21 6.9 0.31 and 103.1 104.6 1.5 0.46 1.2 0.48 and 115.6 118.4 2.8 0.34 1.0 0.35 and 178.0 185.0 7.0 0.24 1.2 0.26 and 238.0 246.3 8.3 0.28 5.1 0.35 ET-17-139 3150 10.6 15.8 5.2 0.96 1.7 0.98 ET-17-140 2950 35.0 44.0 9.0 0.18 125.5 1.86 including 36.5 38.0 1.5 0.43 683.2 9.54

Notes:

(1) True width has not been calculated for each individual intercept, but true width is generally estimated at 75-90% of drilled width. Metallurgical recoveries and net smelter returns are assumed to be 100% (2) Gold Equivalent ratio based on gold to silver price ratio of 75:1 Ag:Au.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 25, 2017) - TNR Gold Corp. (TSXV: TNR) ("TNR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of John Wisbey as Deputy Chairman. Mr. Wisbey has been a Director of the Company since July 2016, and an investor since 2015.

Mr. Wisbey is a technology entrepreneur and ex-banker. He founded two London AIM listed companies; IDOX plc, which provides software for Local Authority planning applications, and Lombard Risk Management plc, which creates software for risk management and regulation. He also recently established Convendia Ltd., an early stage private company which specializes in cashflow management and contingent cashflow evaluation. He was formerly a banker at Kleinwort Benson, where he held various roles, including a Director in the Derivatives Group, Head of Options and corporate lending. Mr. Wisbey has acted as a public company Chairman, CEO or Director for seventeen years. He is a graduate of Cambridge University.

Kirill Klip, the Company's Executive Chairman commented, "TNR Gold is moving to the next stage as a public company and will advance strategic market opportunities for its royalty holdings in McEwen Mining's Los Azules Copper project in Argentina as well as other royalties and strategic stakes in its investment projects. The Company will be expanding its reach in overseas markets such as London in order to facilitate the active management of its projects portfolio."

Mr. Wisbey will oversee the Company's capital market operations and strategic transactions.

Los Azules Project, Argentina

In a news release dated May 4, 2017, McEwen Mining Inc. ("MM") reported on its 100% owned Los Azules copper project, located in San Juan province, Argentina. MM reported, "we spent $6.3 million at the Los Azules project on a combination of infill and exploration drilling, significant advances were made in determining the best logistics, power and infrastructure options and further economic and engineering modeling of the production. Results from the drilling campaign are expected to be finalised during the second half of 2017."

TNR holds a 0.36% Net Smelter Returns Royalty ("NSR") on the Los Azules project.

Information on MM, including news releases, is available under the MM profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the MM website, where further details of the Los Azules project can be found.

Other News

The Company announces that Patricia Fong has resigned as Chief Financial Officer for personal reasons. She will continue to assist the Company on a part-time basis in a non-executive role.

In a news release dated April 7, 2017 the Company listed its ownership of a NSR royalty in the Mariana project, a joint venture between Ganfeng Lithium International Co. Ltd. and International Lithium Corp., to be 2% whereas the royalty interest is 1.8%.

ABOUT TNR GOLD CORP.

Over the past twenty-two years, TNR, through its lead generator business model, has been successful in generating high quality exploration projects around the globe. With the Company's expertise, resources and industry network, it identified the potential of the Los Azules copper project in Argentina and now holds a 0.36% NSR on the prospect.

TNR is also a major shareholder of International Lithium Corp. (TSX:ILC) ("ILC"), with current holdings of approximately 15% of the outstanding shares of ILC. ILC holds interests in lithium projects in Argentina, Ireland and Canada.

TNR retains a 1.8% NSR on ILC's Mariana property in Argentina. ILC maintains a right to repurchase 1.0% of the NSR on the Mariana property of which 0.9% relates to the Company's NSR interest. The Company would receive $900,000 on execution of the repurchase. The project is currently being advanced in a joint venture between ILC and Ganfeng Lithium International Co. Ltd.

At its core, TNR provides significant exposure to gold and copper through its holdings in Alaska (the Shotgun gold porphyry project) and Argentina, and is committed to continued generation of in-demand projects, while diversifying its markets and building shareholder value.
VANCOUVER, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ, Frankfurt: M8R) (the "Company" or "Mirasol") is pleased to announce that on May 18 2017, the Company and one of its 100% owned Argentine subsidiaries, signed a definitive exploration and option agreement (the "Agreement") with OceanaGold Corporation ("OGC") to explore the Company's 100% owned, La Curva gold project, located in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina (the "Project").

OGC is a mid-tier, high-margin international gold producer with operations in New Zealand, the Philippines and has recently commissioned the multimillion ounce Halie gold mine in the United States. The La Curva Agreement grants OGC the option to acquire, in five stages, up to a 75% interest in the Project and requires OGC to make a first year commitment of US$1.25 million in exploration expenditures, complete 3,000 metres of drilling, and make a US$100,000 option payment to Mirasol on signing the Agreement (the "First Year Commitment").

La Curva is a 36,100 ha exploration-stage gold project located at low elevation in an area with favorable infrastructure. Mirasol's exploration at the Project has outlined three gold prospects at Cerro Chato, Loma Arthur and SouthWest, situated along the six km long "La Castora" gold trend, which represent compelling drill targets for high grade, low sulphidation epithermal gold and silver mineralization. A series of additional gold and silver prospects in the Curva West area warrant further exploration to define additional drill targets. (Learn more about the La Curva Drill targets).

The Agreement provides five sequential earn-in stages that, if fully exercised, permit OGC to earn up to 75% of the Project.

Initial Earn-in: Following completion of the First Year Commitment, OGC can elect to proceed with the balance of the Initial Earn-in obligations over four years from the date of the Agreement to earn a 51% interest in the Project by: (i) funding cumulative exploration expenditures totaling US$7 million (inclusive of the First Year Commitment); and (ii) making staged cash payments to Mirasol totaling US$1.5 million (inclusive of the First Year Commitment). Mirasol will serve as operator for exploration for the first year in return for a 5% management fee. OGC may elect to serve as operator thereafter or request that Mirasol continue as operator.

PEA Milestone: Following completion of the Initial Earn-in, OGC may elect to increase its interest to 60% of the Project by funding and delivering, within two years of the Initial Earn-In date, a preliminary economic assessment, in accordance with NI 43-101, that outlines an inferred resource of not less than: (i) 500,000 ounces of gold equivalent at a cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t gold equivalent for an open pit resource; or (ii) 500,000 ounces of gold equivalent at a cut-off grade of 1.5 g/t gold equivalent for an underground resource.

Feasibility Milestone: Following completion of the PEA Milestone, OGC may elect to increase its interest to 65% of the Project by funding and delivering, within two years of the PEA Milestone, a positive feasibility study on the Project in accordance with NI 43-101.

Decision to Mine: Concurrently with the time period to complete the Feasibility Milestone, OGC may elect to increase its interest to 70% of the Project by funding and delivering the following: (i) a feasibility study suitable to be submitted to a recognized financial institution as a basis for lending funds for the development of a mine; and (ii) approval of a decision to mine by the OGC board.

Production Financing: At the Decision to Mine stage, Mirasol can elect to either: (i) retain 30% of the Project by funding its proportionate share of further development costs; or (ii) exercise its right to require that OGC fund its proportionate share of the development costs (to be repaid from 50% of Mirasol's net cash flow from the Project) in exchange for Mirasol reducing its interest in the Project to 25%, and thereby increasing OGC's interest to 75%.

OGC has the right to extend one of the time periods to complete either the PEA Milestone or the Feasibility Milestone by making cash payments to Mirasol of US$250,000, or US$500,000 respectively. In the event that OGC fails to complete the PEA Milestone, its 51% interest shall revert to a 49% and Mirasol shall assume management control of the Project. In the event that OGC fails to complete the Feasibility Milestone, then its 60% interest shall revert to a 51% in the Project. The Agreement includes a dilution provision whereby if either parties project equity position should fall below 10%, then their interest shall convert into a 2% net smelter return royalty.

Mirasol and OGC are currently optimizing the drill program design for the initial drill test of the La Castora Trend gold prospects. Drill permitting for the Project is well advanced and is anticipated to be completed within the current quarter. Mirasol and OGC are monitoring the weather conditions to determine if the drill program will be initiated during the southern hemisphere winter months, or to defer the start of drilling until the September 2017 spring period.

Mirasol is a mineral exploration and project generation company focused on the discovery of gold, silver and copper prospects in the Americas. Strategic joint ventures with producers have enabled Mirasol to advance its priority projects, focused in high-potential regions in Chile and Argentina. Mirasol employs an integrated generative and on-ground exploration approach combining leading edge technologies and experienced exploration geoscientists to maximize the potential for discoveries. Mirasol is in a strong financial position and has a significant portfolio of exploration projects located in Latin America.

Stephen Nano, President and CEO of Mirasol, has approved the technical content of this news release and is a Qualified Person under NI 43 -101.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 24, 2017) - Pinecrest Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PCR) (the "Company" or "Pinecrest") is pleased to announce a 3,000 metre Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill program planned to commence during Q3, 2017 on the 100% owned Enchi Gold Project ("Enchi or the Project"), located in Southwest Ghana, a region well-known for prolific gold production. The region hosts numerous historical and current operating open pit and underground gold mines located along strike to the northeast of the Project. All figures are in United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.

Highlights

Pinecrest to initiate RC drilling program on shallow extensions of the existing, one million ounce, heap leach, Inferred gold resource (37.36 Mt @ 0.9 g/t) at Enchi

Planned work program includes 3,000 meters in 27 RC drill holes

Past work at Enchi has included extensive RC and diamond drilling (52,385 m in 646 holes), resource estimation and a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") study (Pre-Tax NPV 5%: $102 million using $1,300/oz gold)

The Enchi gold deposit remains open for further resource expansion along strike and to depth. Numerous, additional high priority gold targets exist on the 568 km2 property

Ryan King, President of Pinecrest, commented: "Pinecrest is pleased to be advancing the Company's logistically sound Enchi Gold Project. The Enchi gold deposit covers 40 km of the prolific Bibiani Shear Zone that host the Chirano gold mine operated by Kinross Gold Corporation located 70 km northwest of the Project. The Enchi deposit is open along strike and to depth with the 2017 drill program focussed on testing potential deposit extensions and high priority targets generated by previous exploration and drilling."

The Enchi Gold Project is road accessible, is on the Ghanaian power grid and is situated along the eastern margin of the Sefwi gold belt that hosts multi-million ounce producing mines such as the Chirano Gold Mine and past producing Bibiani Gold Mine. Enchi includes six prospecting licenses within a total 568km2 land package. Previous work carried out on the project has included: RC and diamond drilling (52,385 m), airborne surveys, soil samples and trenching from numerous targets which resulted in an Inferred Resource Estimates and a Preliminary Economic Assessment conducted on three main gold zones (Boin, Nyam and Sewum). All zones within the Inferred Resource are open for expansion down dip and along strike, particularly the Boin zone that has undrilled internal gaps in the well-defined structure of up to 400 metres in strike length. Additional new high priority targets include Boin Northwest and Kojina Hill both located within 10 km of the main Boin zone where previous work completed includes trenching and drilling.

Enchi Gold Project Preliminary Economic Assessment Highlights

A NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA" or the "Study") was prepared by WSP Canada Inc. ("WSP") using a base case Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.07 million ounces (oz) of gold (37.3 million tonnes grading 0.9 gram of gold per tonne (g/t Au), at a cut-off of 0.5 g/t Au). The PEA contemplated an owner operated, open pit, heap leach operation processing 3.0 million tonnes per year (Mtpy). Using a base case gold price of $1,300/oz, the Study shows that the Project has net Pre-Tax cash flow of $145 million, a Pre-Tax Net Present Value (NPV) at 5% discount rate of $102 million and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 34%. (See news release linked here dated June 29, 2015 for full details and Technical Report filed on Sedar under Pinecrest Resources Ltd.)

Base Case $1,300/oz gold price

Average Mined Gold Grade (g/t) 0.91 Processing Rate (Mtpy) 3.0 Mine Life (years) 8.7 Life-of-Mine (LOM) Strip Ratio 3.16:1 IRR Pre-Tax (%) 34 NPV Pre-Tax (5% Discount Rate) (US$ Million) 102 IRR After-Tax (%) 25 NPV After-Tax (5% Discount Rate) (US$ Million) 62 Initial Capital Cost (US$ Million) 84 LOM Sustaining Capital Cost (US$ Million) 39 Payback (Pre-Tax) (years) 2.8 Payback (After-Tax) (years) 3.4 LOM Cash Costs (US$/oz) 802 Metallurgical Recoveries (oxide/transition/sulphide %) 75/75/73 Total Recovered Gold (oz) 538,450 Average Annual Gold Production (oz) 61,749 Peak Annual Gold Production (oz) 76,210

The PEA is preliminary in nature, and it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Numbers may not add exactly due to rounding. Cash cost includes all operating costs, royalties, refining charges, environmental monitoring, tenure fees as well as general and administration costs. Cash cost excludes any capital cost, either initial or sustaining and closure and remediation costs. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Financial Models

The financial models were completed using a base case gold price of US$1,300 per ounce. The Base Case Pre-Tax economic evaluation has an IRR of 34%, payback of capital in 2.8 years and a pre-tax NPV of $102 million at a discount rate of 5%.

Table 1 Pre-Tax Financial Model Sensitivity Analysis

Units Metal Price Scenarios (Base Case) Gold US$/oz 1,200 1,250 1,300 1,350 NPV, 5% M US$ 62.5 82.5 101.9 122.5 Payback Years 3.4 3.0 2.8 2.7 IRR % 24 29 34 39

The Pre-Tax financial model includes: an initial capital cost of $72.7 million, a contingency of $11.8 million (20% of direct costs); sustaining capital of $38.6 million including a contingency of $5.3 million and reclamation and closure costs of $18.3 million. The Financial Model was completed on a 100% Project ownership basis and includes a 5% NSR to the Ghanaian Government and a 2% NSR to Red Back Mining Ghana, a subsidiary of Kinross. The After-Tax financial model includes a 35% corporate tax, demonstrating a base case NPV of $62 million at a discount rate of 5%. The Government of Ghana have the right to a 10% free carry interest in the Project.

The PEA was based on the July 15, 2014 NI 43-101 Inferred Mineral Resource estimate prepared by WSP and using a 0.5 g/t cut-off (see Table 2 for details).

Table 2 Enchi Gold Project - Inferred Mineral Resource (0.5 g/t Cut-Off)

Cut-off Zone Tonnes Grade Contained Gold Au (g/t) Au (g/t) (ounces) 0.5 Boin 15,872,000 0.96 489,892 0.5 Nyam 5,350,000 0.96 165,129 0.5 Sewum 16,135,000 0.82 423,676 TOTAL 37,357,000 0.90 1,078,697

CIM definition standards were followed for the resource estimate. The 2014 resource models used ordinary kriging (OK) grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model with mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids. A base cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au was used for reporting resources with a capping of gold grades at 18 g/t. A US$1,300/ounce gold price, open pit with heap leach operation was used to determine the cut-off grade. A density of 2.45 g/cm3 was applied. Numbers may not add exactly due to rounding. Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves do not have economic viability

The 2014 Mineral Resource estimate was based on 52,385 metres of diamond and RC drilling in 646 holes as well as data from 102 surface trenches totalling 13,799 metres. The drilling is generally spaced at 25 to 50 metre intervals.

The 2017 Enchi Drill Program

The 2017 RC drill program will include approximately 27 holes totalling 3,000 metres of infill, step out and exploration drilling on the Boin and Sewum Zones and two new zones outside of the maiden Inferred Resource Boin northwest and Kojina Hill both representing high priority targets based on geological, geochemical and geophysical surface work and previous drilling.

BOIN NORTHWEST ('NW") TARGET

The Boin NW target is located approximately 1000 metres northwest of the main Boin zone and importantly not currently included in the NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate or PEA. Previous trenching intersected 26 metres grading 0.61 g/t Au and 40 metres grading 0.54 g/t Au including 10m at 1.64 g/t Au. Past limited drilling intersected 23m at 0.43 g/t Au and 39m at 0.43 g/t Au within the near surface oxidized material.

KOJINA HILL TARGET

Kojina Hill is located approximately 400 metres northwest of the Nyam Zone and was not included in the previous NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate. Previous drilling highlights from only 8 drill holes included near surface intercepts of: 42 metres grading 1.68 g/t Au and 17 metres grading 0.94 g/t Au.

Mr. Gregory Smith, P.Geo, the Vice-President of Exploration of the Company, is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, and is responsible for the accuracy of the technical data and information contained in this news release.

Subject to regulatory approval, the Company has granted 250,000 stock options to a consultant of the Company. The options are at an exercise price of $0.53 per share and valid for a period of five years from the date of grant and have vesting provisions.

About Pinecrest Resources

Pinecrest engages principally in the acquisition, advancement and development of precious metal properties with the Company's primary focus being the 100% owned Enchi Gold Project located in Southwest Ghana. Major shareholders of Pinecrest include Kinross Gold Corporation, Management and Directors.
Assays from four additional diamond drill holes at Pepas and Pupino. Holes PEP005 and PEP007 drilled from the same pad as PEP001 but in different directions. Holes PEP005 and PEP007 return substantial gold intersections, with the best at PEP007 being 80.55m @... Read More
The CarLang Area is a >10km prospective trend of dunitic units. 1.4km of the prospective strike was drilled this summer, with 28 holes totalling 8,295m. Assays from the first four holes have been received, with wide intercepts of dunite hosting Large-Scale nickel... Read More
TORONTO, Nov. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hudbay Minerals Inc. (Hudbay or the company) (TSX, NYSE:HBM) today released its third quarter 2022 financial results. All amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted. Third Quarter Operating and Financial Results; Production Guidance... Read More
TORONTO, May 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galane Gold Ltd. (Galane Gold or the Company) (TSX-V: GG; OTCQB: GGGOF) today announces that it has completed mining of the Galaxy ore body footprint at 22 level to a height of four metres. It was expected, from the mine plan included in the... Read More
People from rural towns near coal-fired power plants listen to a speaker, Thursday, during a protest in Seoul against 10 new power plants to come near their villages./Yonhap



By Kim Se-jeong

Kim Myoung-gak, a resident near the Dangjin coal-fired power plant in South Chungcheong Province, noticed his neighbors dying earlier than expected in recent years.

"Almost 12 have died. And 23 suffer from cancer," Kim said in an interview with Greenpeace Korea last year. "As far as I know, 14 are now sick."

Dangjin is home to 10 coal-fired power plants, and villagers believe particulate matter, known as fine dust, from the plants is killing them. Last year's public health report conducted by South Chungcheong Province revealed Dangjin residents had higher rates of cardiovascular and respiratory problems compared to other regions.

The villages are now fighting to stop two new plants from being built.

Dangjin isn't the only village expecting new coal-fired power plants.

Residents in Samcheok and Gangneung in Gangwon Province, Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province and Sacheon in South Gyeongsang Province are also fighting to stop these plants from being built.

Altogether, 10 new power plants are to be built.

On Thursday, representatives from these villages gathered in Seoul and vowed to join forces to combat the government's plans.

"This is so meaningful that now we are acting together," Yum Hyung-cheol from the Korean Federation of Environmental Movement said during the meeting in Seoul. "It has been a difficult fight. Few have paid attention to the hardships the residents have been going through. Some called the villagers selfish. Together, we can now make our voices heard that our demand is legitimate."












By Jun Ji-hye





Kim Young-woo

The National Assembly Defense Committee Chairman Kim Young-woo called on the Moon Jae-in government Wednesday to take a cautious approach in reviewing economic sanctions imposed on North Korea following a torpedo attack in 2010.

Kim, a Bareun Party lawmaker, warned that if the Moon government eases or lifts the sanctions, with the North showing no signs of changing its attitude, it will send the wrong signal to the country.

Kim made the comment in a news conference to mark the seventh year since the so-called May 24 Sanctions were slapped on Pyongyang in retaliation for the North's torpedo attack on the Navy corvette Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors.

"If the Moon government decides to lift the sanctions, there will be no way for the Assembly to stop it," Kim said. "But the government should take a cautious attitude in handling this matter after taking all aspects such as principles, international cooperation and national integration into consideration."

The Moon administration has been moving to resume humanitarian assistance to the North and civilian inter-Korean exchanges to end nearly a decade of frozen ties between the two Koreas under his two conservative predecessors.

One major obstacle in doing so is the May 24 Sanctions that banned all economic cooperation with the North and put aid projects on hold.












A day after firing dozens of rounds at a flying object crossing the border from North Korea, South Korea's military said Wednesday it was apparently a balloon carrying propaganda leaflets.



The South's military announced Tuesday afternoon that it detected an unidentified object flying across the military demarcation line (MDL) in the eastern region.



More than 90 machine gun rounds were fired as warning shots under a related manual and the object disappeared from radar screens, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).



The announcement further raised tensions on the peninsula following a series of ballistic missile launches by the North.

In a press briefing the following day, the Ministry of National Defense said there were actually around 10 flying objects detected close to the MDL and several of them crossed it.



"Judging from the results of an analysis, (we) believe there is a low possibility that the objects were drones," the ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said.



They are presumed to have been balloons carrying propaganda leaflets from the North, he added.



Their trajectory was similar to the direction of the wind, while the round objects were differentiated from the elongated balloons that South Korean activists use to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North.



Moon dismissed criticism that the South's military overreacted.



He said the country's front-line troops strictly followed the manual by first dispatching a warning via loudspeakers and then continuing to fire warning shots amid bad weather conditions that made it difficult for them to immediately identify what the objects were.



"The military was reacting in consideration of the worst-case scenario," he said. (Yonhap)




Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-wha speaks to reporters upon her arrival at Incheon International Airport, Thursday. / Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo

Kang Kyung-wha, President Moon Jae-in's pick for foreign minister, said Thursday humanitarian aid to North Korea should come with no strings attached.

Still, she called for taking "stern measures" against Pyongyang if it continues with its military provocations.

Her view is in line with Moon's pursuit of sanctions and dialogue simultaneously in resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.

"Humanitarian aid for those who suffer is something that is related to universal values and should be dealt with separately from political considerations," Kang told reporters upon her arrival at Incheon International Airport. "This is also a principle of the U.N. and I think we should act accordingly."

Kang, who has been working at the United Nations for the last decade, said an "in-depth review" should come in advance before determining countermeasures on North Korea's ballistic missile tests.

However, she said "more powerful sanctions" will be needed if there are any additional provocations.












By Anna Kook

As tensions escalate on the Korean Peninsula and headlines trumpet North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, the dire everyday lives of North Koreans and human rights issues there often are overlooked.

"Because pictures of the true average conditions in North Korea are not accessible, the international community shares a responsibility," South Korea's Ambassador for Human Rights in North Korea Lee Jung-hoon said recently. But the responsibility is to nevertheless learn the humanitarian truth about North Korea based on the knowledge of experts and refugees, he said.

Lee and North Korean defector Yosep Paek were sharing their expertise on North Korea with Cornell University students in New York on April 28.

The Cornell student organization debuNK _ which strives to raise awareness of North Korean human rights issues _ invited the pair to speak. While Lee stressed the dangerous political and humanitarian situation in the North, Paek shared his personal tale of fleeing for freedom.

Lee detailed North Korea's crumbling domestic state. "It is a country whose economy collapsed a long time ago," he said. "People are suffering from hunger and famine and yet the government is developing weapons of mass destruction and the international community must interject."

Lee pointed out that North Korea recently released a propaganda video about "preparing for World War III" against the United States and that U.S. President Donald Trump has been treating North Korea as a serious military threat.

"Strategic patience is over," he said. "This has been said over and over by the President, the Secretary of State, the Vice President, and the Secretary of Defense. Today marks the 100th day of the Trump presidency. Only yesterday, President Trump invited every single member of the Senate to the White House for a detailed briefing on North Korea. That's pretty unusual."

Lee said North Korea is "armed to the teeth" with not only "nuclear weapons but chemical weapons and biological weapons," part of the reason why the world can no longer view the North as innocuous.

But most importantly, Lee said North Korea continues to commit crimes against humanity that cannot be ignored.

"North Korea is violating every single article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," he said. "I'm trying to encourage the defectors to pull together and coordinate their efforts to fight. Just like the North Korean nuclear issue, it's not going away. It really is going to take a monumental effort to make a difference."

Paek, now a journalist, shared his personal accounts of human rights violations he witnessed as a North Korean citizen and soldier in Pyongyang.

He began by making the audience laugh. "It really does feel weird to be standing here," he said. "I have been trained all my life to kill you _ you are all my enemy."

Paek described the appalling, inhumane conditions he experienced as a soldier posted to the border between North and South Korea.

"I was only 41 kilograms when I was first in the military," he said. "When I left after two years, I was 31 kilograms. I ate anything I could to survive, including mice, snakes, raccoons, frogs."

Paek said the international community has the wrong impression that sending financial support can ease the people's destitution.

"Between 1998 and 2008, the international community donated a lot of money to North Korea," he said. "Interestingly enough, the more money that was sent in, the more people died."

After escaping and getting caught several times, Paek fled across six countries over six years, finally to reach freedom in South Korea. Why did he risk his life? Why did he refuse to give up?

"I suffered through all of this simply so that I could have what all of you were born with _ freedom," Paek said. "I asked myself why?' everyday. Why did I have to be born in North Korea?"

Paek's stirring and emotional account of the atrocities he suffered left the audience in silence.

During the question-and-answer session that followed, students bombarded the speakers with questions about Moon Jae-in, who has become South Korea's new President. In response, Paek firmly stated, "A lot of North Korean defectors are planning to move to the United States or Canada if Moon becomes president. For us, working under Moon is like the Jews joining hands with Nazi Germany."




By Choi Ha-young





Hong Joon-pyo

Former Liberty Korea Party (LKP) presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo made his bid to become the chairman of the main opposition party, Wednesday.

"Looking at the boundless wilderness here in Arizona, I refreshed myself and decided to make a new start," Hong posted on Facebook. "With a new mindset, I will dedicate myself to rebuilding liberal democracy in the Republic of Korea."

Hong's aides said he will return from the United States on June 4 and join the race for the chairmanship of the LKP. A party convention to elect its new leader and members of the decision-making Supreme Council is slated for July 3.

The LKP leadership race is expected to be a tough battle between Hong and loyalists of ousted former President Park Geun-hye.

Hong left for the U.S. after losing to Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea in the May 9 election.

Hong once claimed the 24.03 percent of the votes he won in the presidential election show the public wants him to reform the LKP. However, the pro-Park faction has blamed him for the election defeat.

Since the election, Hong has actively commented on Moon and the LKP through social media. Last week, he described Park followers as "cockroaches," claiming they are making a shameless attempt to retake control of the party without taking responsibility.

Once Moon ordered a state audit of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project carried out under conservative ex-President Lee Myung-bak, Monday, Hong defended the initiative. "This is no more than political revenge," he said.

In an attempt to distance himself from the far-right politicians, Hong has touted "neo-conservatism," while defining the pro-Park faction as "old conservatives." At the same time, he has called for the conservatives' unity, saying "the leftist administration is trying to annihilate the right wing."

To prevent the LKP's factional dispute from escalating, floor leader Chung Woo-taik declared Monday he will not run for the party chairman post. Since last year, the second-largest party has struggled to remove the traces of the disgraced ex-president, but the pro- and anti-Park factions are still exchanging barbs.
President Moon Jae-in's nominee for the country's top diplomat said Thursday that humanitarian aid to the North should be provided regardless of political considerations.



Kang Kyung-wha, recently tapped to lead the foreign ministry, still emphasized that it is necessary to seek "more powerful" sanctions against North Korea in case the regime carries out additional provocations.



"It is a universal value to provide humanitarian aid to where human beings are suffering. It is also the principles of the U.N. to (seek) it separately from any political considerations, and I think that we should do so," Kang told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.



Kang made the remarks upon returning home from New York. She had worked at the United Nations for about 10 years.



Asked whether she believes humanitarian aid to the North should be provided despite Pyongyang's continued provocations and nuclear aspirations, she said yes, adding that it is in line with the spirit and principles of the U.N. to extend help to those in need.



Since liberal President Moon took office May 10, there has been a change in mood regarding providing help and assistance to the impoverished Northern neighbor.



Moon has said that he will push for a "two-track" approach toward the North in which he seeks sanctions against provocations and at the same time engagement and dialogue aimed at tackling the nuclear stalemate.



In line with Moon's policy, she said, "Should there be additional provocations, I think more powerful sanctions are needed."



She didn't go into details, saying she will share her thoughts on major pending issues, including the North's nuclear and missile threats after studying more.













Kang's nomination, announced Sunday, came as a surprise as she, if confirmed, would be the first female foreign minister in South Korea and also the first time in 14 years in which the ministry would be headed by a person who didn't start as a career diplomat.



Kang is known for having in-depth understanding of human rights as she worked at the U.N. for years in relevant fields. But some critics worry that she lacks experience in handling the North's nuclear and other major challenges.



She dismissed the concerns, saying that she had experience in dealing with the North and its nuclear problem up close when she served as an interpreter for three years for the late President Kim Dae-jung known for his "sunshine policy" of engaging the North.



Asked about her stance on a controversial deal that South Korea and Japan reached in 2015 to put an end to their long-running row over the "comfort women" issue, Kang didn't respond, only to say that she needs to "study" major diplomatic issues.



Comfort women refer to the victims, mostly Korean women, who were forced into front-line brothels for Japanese troops before and during World War II. Japan ruled Korea from 1910-45.



In December 2015, the Asian neighbors reached a deal to resolve the long-running dispute once and for all. Under the deal, Tokyo expressed an apology and agreed to donated 1 billion yen (US$9.97 million) to a foundation dedicated to help the victims.



It still has ignited protests in Korea with critics doubting the sincerity of Japan's apology and claiming that it was hastily arranged without sufficiently seeking the opinions of victims. They called for its nullification.



In a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after his inauguration, President Moon made clear that most South Koreans cannot accept it emotionally.



Kang's nomination has beefed up expectations that the government would seek to renegotiate the deal given her career mostly focused on human rights.



Her confirmation hearing will likely be held in mid-June at the latest though parliamentary approval is not required.



Family issues, such as her daughter's dual nationality and a fake residential registration, mostly used in Korea for a favorable school assignment for children, are expected to be targets of attacks during the hearing. Kang said that she will provide detailed explanations on such issues during the upcoming hearing.



The nominee will start preparations for the hearing at a temporary office set up in central Seoul right away, government sources said. (Yonhap)
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enki Endoscopy Report Writer removes challenges of compliance, speed, and efficiency for gastroenterologists. By using secure, HIPAA compliant cloud technology, enki users continue to stay compliant  never requiring expensive software upgrades.

NextServices announces GIQuIC certification for its easy-to-use enki Endoscopy Report Writer (ERW) that helps gastroenterologists remarkably simplify quality reporting.

We have been using enki Endoscopy Report Writer for the last 6 months at our center. The customization of the program provided by the enki team kept us efficient while maintaining the necessary quality standards, said Peter Caride, MD from North Bergen, New Jersey. He added, The ability to edit reports to fit each physicians needs allowed for greater flexibility among the providers.

With GIQuIC certification, doctors using enki Endoscopy Report Writer can gather compliance data using intuitive and easy to use modules with minimal effort.

We find that gastroenterologists everywhere face challenges with endoscopy documentation. They work harder with old technology and keep paying for expensive upgrades, said Deepak Jadhav, Director of Technology at NextServices. He added, With our simple user-interface and robust cloud infrastructure, our clients have the freedom to focus on patients while effortlessly staying compliant. Its a bonus that they never have to upgrade again.

enki ERW integrates with endoscopes to capture real-time procedure images. Doctors can easily annotate and label images using a proprietary clinical dictionary based on Minimal Standards Terminology (MST). Algorithms automatically check GIQuIC requirements as the doctor completes operative notes and alerts users for non-compliance. The data can be exported in formats as required by the registry.

Additional features include integrated label printing for pathology samples, recall reporting wizard to track appointments and send reminders, integration with other EHR systems and secure report sharing through email and fax.

About NextServices

NextServices works with some of the largest gastroenterology groups in the country in the areas of revenue cycle management, EHR, and compliance. enki is the most advanced endoscopy report writer available in the market, suitable for busy endoscopy suites that wish to benefit from cloud-based technology. enki Endoscopy Report Writer is part of the enki Health IT product platform that includes certified cloud/mobile EHR for offices and surgery centers (ASC), patient engagement portal, and telemedicine system. Learn more about enki ERW at http://nextservices.com/endo or call (734) 677 7700.

About GIQuIC

GIQuIC is a national gastroenterology quality data repository. It benchmarks physicians from hospitals, ASCs, office-based endoscopy units on quality indicators for gastroenterology procedures. For more information, visit http://giquic.gi.org
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, May 25, 2017

Deutsch has hired Rob Campbell as partner/chief strategy officer for the IPG shops Los Angeles Office, effective May 30. The post has been vacant since Colin Drummond left in 2015.

Campbell will lead the offices 30-plus person strategy department and report to Kim Getty, president of Deutschs LA office.

A nearly 30-year industry veteran, Campbell previously oversaw strategy at Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai for more than seven years. He also ran The Kennedys, W+Ks creative talent incubator.

Campbell has spent most of his career at agencies in the UK, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, working with brands including Nike, Spotify, Beats, Tango, Converse, P&G, Sony, Chrysler, Virgin and Google.

Rob is an incredible talent whose global perspective will bring distinct, new thinking to the agency and our clients, stated Getty.
The Boeing Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of airplanes and commands more than 50% of the market in some channels and categories. The company and its family of subsidiaries design, develops, manufacture, sell, service, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and related services worldwide. The company operates through four segments including Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital providing products and services to end-users in 150 countries.

Boeing got its start in 1910 when William E. Boeing developed a love for aircraft. Soon after he takes his first plane ride which leads him to build a hangar and begin construction of his first plane. The onset of WWI helped spur the companys growth but business was cut drastically in its wake. The start of WWII was another milestone for the company and one that led to its current position of dominance. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing employs over 140,000 people in 65 countries making it one of the most diverse employers on the planet.

The Commercial Airplanes segment is built around the iconic 7-series which includes the 737, 747, and 787. The segment provides commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as fleet support services for regional, national, and international air carriers and logistics and freight companies. In terms of global volume, the company estimates about 90% of all air freight is carried aboard one of its jets. This segment also includes the Dreamliner family of planes. The Dreamliner is a game-changing airplane for many carriers as it opens up the potential for new one-stop destinations because of its capacity and range.

The Defense, Space & Security segment develops and manufactures a range of systems including manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems for governments. Among the many iconic brands within this segment are the AH-64 Apache, Air Force One, B-52, C-17 Globemaster, Chinook, F/A-18, and the V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft used by the Marines.

The Global Services segment offers a range of products and services that include supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics to its commercial and defense customers.

Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles.
Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. operates as a seaborne shipping and logistics company in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, South America, and internationally. It focuses on the transportation and transshipment of dry bulk commodities, including iron ores, coal, and grains. The company operates in two segments, Dry Bulk Vessel Operations and Logistics Business. The Dry Bulk Vessel Operations segment engages in the transportation and handling of bulk cargoes through the ownership, operation, and trading of vessels and freight. This segment charters its vessels to trading houses, producers, and government-owned entities. The Logistics Business segment operates ports and transfer station terminals, as well as upriver transport facilities in the Hidrovia region; and handles vessels, barges, push boats, and cabotage business. This segment provides its integrated transportation, storage, and related services through its port facilities, cargo barges, and product tankers to mineral and grain commodity providers, as well as to users of refined petroleum products. As of December 31, 2021, the company's fleet consisted of 36 vessels totaling 3.9 million deadweight tons. Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1954 and is headquartered in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands.


Four illustrious women who have impacted the lives of people through their services to humanity in diverse ways were honoured at this year's Super Woman Awards ceremony in Accra.

The four, Fatima Adamu of the Royal Bank; Mrs Felicity Acquah, a banker; Lydia Forson, an actress and 84 year-old Mrs Florence Laast, an astute educationist and founder of the St Martin De Porres School, were each celebrated at Jandel Limited's annual Mothers' Day event.

The day, according to Chief Executive Officer of Jandel, Afi Amoro, was initiated to acknowledge the tireless efforts and contributions of women who continue to shape this country through their work and contributions.

On the theme, 'Celebrating the Glory of Womanhood', the occasion was an afternoon filled with a lot of dancing, music, food, cheers, well-wishes and awards.

Mobbed by their families and friends, each awardee walked up to the podium of the Events Haven at Trade Fair to receive their plaques and citations of honour.

The Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year 2017, Joe Mettle, brought his A-game to the stage even as the whole auditorium sang along his hits songs 'Nhyira', 'Onwanwanni', among others.

There were other performances from Okyeame Kwame and DKB.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Renowned Ghanaian movie director Pascal Amanfo, has described Jeffrey Nortey, the fastest rising Ghanaian Actor as a "Star" to be watched out for..

Pascal Amanfo made this assertion on the actor's birthday which saw family,friends and colleagues in the movie industry all trooping in with their birthday well wishes.

Jeffrey Nortey celebrated his birthday on the 19th of May and it was historic..His social media handles were literally flooded with messages from family,friends and colleague industry players such as Pascal Amanfo,Henry Adofo,Abu Idi,Zylofonmedia,among others.

Pascal took to instagram to celebrate the actor on that day. He said " I say this with deep conviction! .This young man right here is a star..Take note world. Wave at him on the Streets or say Hello if you can because the clouds of glory are gathering over him and it is just about to rain!.Jeff! you will prove them wrong and Heaven will prove through you that Godliness is profitable. "

Jeffrey Nortey is a Ghanaian actor, TV Presenter(Buzz Extra, Verna changing Lives) and a Spoken Word Artist. He is widely known for the role he played in "I Love You But" by Kobi Rana.

Interact with Jeffrey Nortey via;

Facebook : Jeffrey Nortey

Instagram : @jeffreynortey1
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25.05.2017 LISTEN

To Mark Africa Union Day Celebration

From Sebastian R. Freiku, Kumasi

A five-day Livelihood Skills and Business Fair, under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has been opened in Kumasi, with a call on the National Youth Authority (NYA) to diligently implement the provisions of the Social Policy Framework of the African Union, in order to develop a strong, disciplined youth, imbued with a spirit of nationalism and sense of public service and morality, in line with its objectives.

The fair, which has the theme Investing in the Youth to help themselves  The task & responsibilities of the Stakeholders, is in direct response to the continental theme Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investing in Youth, heralds the African Union Day Youth rally on Thursday, as part of this year's Africa Union Day celebration.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah, who opened the fair yesterday, said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, upon the realisation that youth unemployment had reached crisis levels, recognises the fact that the youth constitute our major source of human capital for the transformational agenda of this country, hence, all efforts to discover the talents of the youth and sharpen their skills for the sustained growth of the economy.

He said the Social Policy Framework of the African Union agrees that due to youth unemployment and under-employment, the youth are open to many social challenges, including drug abuse, violence, exploitation, and sexual abuse, for which the said social policy framework recommends that African governments develop programmes to address unemployment among youth with disabilities, to ensure that they have equal access to opportunities.

According to the Minister, it is in view of this recommendation that the NPPs National Youth Policy is designed to help shape our youth, through developing leadership skills, quality education, entrepreneurship, job skills and creative skills, and gave the assurance that the government will continue to resource the NYA and the Youth Employment Authority (YEA) to provide vocational and professional training to as many youth as possible to be self-reliant.

Minister Asiamah indicated that the government was in the process of establishing a Youth Enterprise Fund (YEF), that will provide funding and business development services for businesses owned by young entrepreneurs, especially start-ups.

The Chief Executive of the NYA, Mr. Emmanuel Sin-Nyet Asigri, said the fair is intended to bring a new lease of attitude towards apprenticeship and vocational, as well as livelihood skills training in Ghana, and to orient stakeholders to review youth development interventions in a direction towards youth poverty reduction.

He announced that the NYA, in conjunction with the Federation of Professional Trade Associations of Ghana, is embarking on a nationwide crusade, aimed at achieving 50,000 youth artisanal vocational and trade apprenticeship promotions by the close of 2018.

The NYA CEO stressed the need for parents, teachers, social workers, government, nananom, and the entire social structure, to assume tasks and responsibilities in the crusade to promote skills acquisition as a more lucrative and viable means of livelihood, than those with high risks of fatality.

The Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Osei Assibey Antwi, noted that there were a lot of development opportunities, and gave the assurance that the KMA would help the youth acquire skills to secure their future and survival.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Mr Isaac Osei, Managing Director (MD) of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), has disclosed that the previous governments failure to shut down the refinery for major maintenance work has forced his administration to carry out a routine maintenance operation.

According to him, since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) took over the helm of governance in 2009, the administration failed to shut down the plant to carry out routine maintenance.

Albeit, TOR is operational at other facets, including the loading gantry, tanker farm and mooring points. Mr. Osei revealed that presently the refinery does not have the capacity to process crude into finished products.

The shutdown mode at the refinery has caused it to lose $16 million with the installation of a new boiler costing $24 million.

The cost of the new development forms part of a contract signed by the previous administration, but the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, being a respecter of contracts, will adhere to the tenets of the agreement, he noted.

Isaac Osei disclosed this to newsmen who called on him, after he had assumed office as the successor of Kwame Awuah Darko, whose assumption as the MD of TOR, two years ago, saw the refinery bouncing back into full operation.

In April 2016, TOR resumed full-scale operations, after it had signed an agreement with the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Limited for the supply of crude oil for refining.

TOR shut down its operation in 2015, following a major blunder in the regenerative unit situated in the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Plant.

Before the shutdown, the refinery supplied about 30 percent of petroleum products on the Ghanaian market.

Then it refined about 45,000 barrels of crude oil daily, a deficit of about 200,000 barrels of national demand, Samuel Boateng, Chairman of the Junior Workers' Union of TOR, told newsmen sometime in 2016.

He told newsmen that the necessary mechanism had been put in place to prevent a total shutdown of the refinery in the future.

When he assumed office as MD, Kwame Awuah Darko, through a cooperation between him and the staff of the refinery to forfeit some months of their salary, TOR was able to take delivery of one million barrels of first crude being produced from the TEN project.

That came amidst skepticism from some players in the oil and gas industry over TOR's ability to refine crude from Ghana's Jubilee and TEN fields which are of premium quality.

However, Mr. Awuah Darko defended that refinery was in the position to refine such grade of crude, following major expansion and repair works.

He said: At the beginning of this year (2016), if anybody had said that TOR would be refining seven million barrels, and would have an extra one million barrels of TEN crude sitting down to wait, nobody would have believed us.

We have plans to increase production capacity of crude to between 16 and 18 million barrels in 2017, because of the expansion capacity we have.

This would be realised after the refinery undergoes its turnaround maintenance programme, scheduled for February 2017.

He continued: As at 2015, the estimate on the refinery's books stood at GH1.6 billion, and said that by May 2016, TOR would have taken steps to offset its debts in the next 10 years, after recording $800,000 profit between February and April 2016.

The introduction of the Energy Debt Recovery Levy would also aid in paying off the debts, the former TOR MD, who was highly praised by the workers for turning the refinery around, explained.

These, Isaac Osei, the new TOR MD observed, could not be true, explaining that the refinery had lost three cycles of shutdowns compulsory, which had resulted in a breakdown of some of its plants, including the crude distillation and Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Plant.

We have discovered more and more damages that have occurred over the years in the facets of the processing plants after opening our vessels.

After 2009, the refinery should have undergone a shutdown in 2011, 2013 and 2015, but because the previous management of the refinery and government failed to do that, the results are some deficiencies in most of our production plants.

It is ideal for Ghanas refinery to undergo a routine shutdown to enhance efficiency and quality service delivery, he explained.

Other deficient equipment, he observed after assuming office, was a burnt crude distillation burner, the water treatment and utility plants, and, according to him, Ghana lost huge sums of money due to the three shutdowns the previous administration failed to embark on.

A refinery must work efficiently for two consecutive years with machines working non-stop. Therefore, any unforeseen shutdowns, like in the case of Ghana, are not healthy for a growing economy.

In view of this, Mr. Osei said the current government and his administration cannot be faulted for the present operational lapses at TOR, though he is keen on seeing the refinery becoming fully operational and processing crude oil by mid-June this year.

From Inusa Musah, Tema
Rome (AFP) - One year ago an Eritrean was arrested in Sudan on charges of heading a major people-smuggling network and extradited to Italy, where he has languished in jail ever since -- despite persistent claims the police got the wrong man.

Sicilian prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi hailed the arrest as "a turning point in the fight against human traffickers" after months of trying to break into a ring of smugglers shipping migrants across the Mediterranean.

Medhanie Yehdego Mered, 36, is accused of being "the General" of one of the largest migrant trafficking networks, with branches in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates as well as in several European countries.

Investigators suspect him of organising since 2013 the often deadly journeys of hundreds of people a month -- especially young people from the Horn of Africa -- across the baking Sahara and out to sea towards Italy.

He ended up on an international wanted list after being identified as the man who organised the packing of migrants onto a boat that sank off Lampedusa in 2013, killing at least 360 people in one of the worst disasters in the Mediterranean.

The "cynical and unscrupulous" Mered, who reportedly styled himself on ex-Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi, had been "continuously and constantly reaping vast profits while showing a contempt for human life," according to a joint statement by Sudan, Italy and Britain announcing his arrest on May 24 last year.

Medhanie Yehdego Mered, now 36, an Eritrean suspected of controlling a migrant trafficking network, is escorted by police upon his extradition from Sudan to Italy, on June 6, 2016

But images of a frail young man in a red shirt being marched off a plane in Italy sowed the first seeds of doubt.

Some who had known "the General" said the police had the wrong man. The handcuffed prisoner was instead identified by relatives as a refugee, Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe, then a 29-year-old carpenter.

"This is not the General. He doesn't even speak Arabic," Tasfie Haggose, an Eritrean refugee in Khartoum, told AFP.

Shared first name

The trial against him went ahead, and the prosecution will call its last witnesses for a hearing in Palermo this month.

But the accused man's lawyer, Michele Calantropo, says it is a case of mistaken identity.

"At the moment, there is nothing" that proves his client is the wanted trafficker, he said.

Calantropo says he has 42 witnesses and experts ready to testify in the coming months that the man behind bars has only one thing in common with "the General": his first name, Medhanie.

This was the name flagged by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2016 when it heard someone going by that name calling the tapped phone of a suspected smuggler in Libya.

The man who made the calls was tracked down and arrested in Khartoum. But while prosecutors say the calls were made to organise migrant trips, Calantropo says his client was just looking out for loved ones heading to Europe.

Prosecutors said two Eritrean translators had testified to police that the arrested man's voice matched a 2014 recording of "the General" captured by wiretap, though standard voice recognition software failed to produce a result.

Although the smuggling kingpin had been wanted internationally since 2015, investigators knew little about him.

The prosecution has deemed it irrelevant that the man behind bars is six years younger than the suspect and does not resemble a wanted photograph released by police.

An NCA spokesman told AFP that it "remain(s) confident in our intelligence".

But the man has had a lonely wait for justice. Since Italy considers him to be Medhanie Yehdego Mered, the family of Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe is not allowed to visit or contact him by phone.

"I was the only one who could wish him happy birthday" when he turned 30 in early May, Calantropo said.
Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls Joseph Campbell

By the time this article is published, 90% of the President's nominated MMDCEs might have been confirmed by their respective assemblies and that is good. I have followed keenly, the intensive lobbying, the sleepless nights, the anxiety, the shattered dreams, the backbiting, the backstabbing, disappointments and the sheer jealousy among applicants in the run-up to the confirmation of these MMDCEs and that too is normal.

Now that the battle has ended with some of the nominees getting 100% nod, the time has come for hard work. MMDCEs should gird up their loins because there are so many hurdles ahead and the job is onerous. There will be no time to lose since the President, Nana Akufo Addo has served notice that he is in a hurry. Promises have been made and they must be kept. As MMDCEs, you carry a huge load on your shoulders. You dare not fail the president because failure is not an option. In fact, if you have the word failure in your lexicon, rub it off.

I heard people talk about someone who has 'a lot of baggage'. Meaning they are carrying a lot of problems with them. MMDCEs should see this as unnecessary; especially in this age when traveling light is the goal. If they want to succeed they must try to avoid the gravitational pull of dispensable weight. The problems will come but as the sages say you cannot prove your merit on quiet waters. You have to swim against the tide. In fact, if you don't have problems then you don't have a job. All what you have to do is to focus on your goals, not your problems. In view of the fact that the expectation of Ghanaians is very huge, MMDCEs should be thorough because being thorough means being meticulous. They should deal with obstacles like the way eagles deal with chicken. Indeed, many of these MMDCEs may not have any experience as far as the workings of the assemblies are concerned but they must learn very fast. Ever watched children when they are trying something new? They are exited, they are eager, and they welcome the challenges. That is an attitude to recapture or to try and emulate by these new MMDCEs

These newly confirmed MMDCEs should see the flagship programmes of the Akufo Addo-led government as a guard post and work towards its realization. The one district, one factory is so dear to the heart of the president that as a candidate, he trumpeted it anywhere he went. He told Ghanaians that the idea is feasible and as such we should buy into it and we did. MMDCEs should quickly identify which type of factory they think could be sited in their respective districts and work towards that. They should not hesitate to consult the chiefs since nothing good will come from the programme without the support of the chiefs. After all, are the chiefs not the custodians of the land on which these factories would be set up? MMDCEs should not wait for the government to come to their districts to set up factories. Instead, they should fish for strategic investors who would be interested in establishing these factories. The truth is that we have investors who will be ready to take up the challenge if an enabling environment is created.

If each constituency is going to get one million dollars for development, it stands to reason that traditional areas which can boast of two districts will get two million dollars. What is very important is supervision. MMDCEs should not sit down for corrupt officials to take the people of their respective constituencies for granted. We all know what Civil Servants can do to derail the program for their own parochial interest. The issue of the SADA saga is there for these MMDCEs to learn from. Unlike what happened when the NDC was in power, this time around we are all going to be watchmen watching the government's watchman. Very soon when the Whistleblowers' Bill is passed by our Parliamentarians, everybody, particularly those of us in the inky fraternity will be whistleblowers. I am going for a FIFA recommended whistle to blow if I see or hear anything fishy.

When the free SHS takes off in September as promised by the government, MMDCEs will have a very significant role to play. Undoubtedly, some Headmasters are going to use any way possible to make money from parents if the MMDCEs close their eyes. These Headmasters will create avenues to impress upon parents to pay unapproved fees and levies, thereby rubbish the free SHS idea. As an American will say; we aint going to allow that

It was not for nothing that President Akufo Addo is keen in making sure that a dam is built in every village in the three northern regions. If this dream becomes a reality, the youth in these regions will not migrate down south to do menial jobs and an all year round production of food crops will be possible. MMDCEs in these regions should work in concert with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to make sure this programme works successfully. We are already aware how some northerners who were put in charge of programmes like SADA; Asongtaaba etc allegedly ended up stealing our monies and abandoned the programme. Trees were planted during the harmattan season and guinea fowls which were reared in Ghana migrated to Burkina Faso and never returned. We don't want to hear such Kwaku Ananse stories anymore.

You see, if you are called to represent a president who in the run-up to the general election told the world that he was not corrupt, has never been corrupt and will never be corrupt, you have been pushed to the wall and you dare not be corrupt. We saw what happened when the outsmarted NDC held the country at ransom. I saw a certain DCE whose best qualification is BECE certificate since he dropped out of school when he was in SHS form two. When he was appointed to the position of DCE in one of the districts, he quickly started amassing wealth and grabbing contracts from his colleague DCEs in other districts. Before Norman the Gambler could blink an eye, this guy had built two mansions in his home town, bought five luxurious air conditioned buses, sent three of his children to the US, demolished his family mud house and replaced it with a huge mansion. In fact, there was a frenzied pursuit of cash as if Ghana will turn into Syria. It was an era of make hay while the sun shines.

There was this one who got so deeply involved in 'galamsey' business and became so rich that he was nicknamed Pablo Escobar, in reference to the killed Colombian drug lord. He strutted the land like Colossus and dared anyone to report him to the president because after all, he had got what he wanted. When one day some security men arrested two of his workers, he drove straight to the police station and threatened to transfer all the police men at the station to remote areas to teach them a lesson. Before he could finish talking the District Commander, who heard him from his office quickly came out and instructed the sergeant on duty to release the boys because he 'didn't want any trouble'. Who say man no dey?

One of the factors which led to the embarrassing defeat of the NDC at the 2016 polls was the behavior of some of these MMDCEs. They grew Epicurean and exhibited their wealth openly at funeral grounds, wedding parties and other functions to the anger of the people. Because they were men of straw before grabbing the position that they founded themselves in, they treated chiefs and queenmothers with contempt. After all, because of poverty, some of these chiefs and queenmothers stooped so low just to get something for the day's meals. Instead of the chiefs and queenmothers inviting the MMDCEs to their palaces, some of these chiefs and queenmothers would wake up early in the morning and go to wait for the MMDCEs at their residences. Some MMDCEs did wake up around nine o'clock, have their bath, eat their breakfasts, dress up before inviting the chiefs in. These MMDCEs were caught up in the web of arrogance of power and as such they could not uncoil themselves from the web.

These new MMDCEs who have just taken over power should learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. If they think they are going to use their positions to make money like the way the past MMDCEs did then they should forget it because people did put their noses on the grindstone for the party to come to power. Some even paid the supreme price during the electioneering campaign. They should be reminded that what we did to the NDC when we smelled corruption at their camp will be replicated when they too toe that line.

As for the ladies who have found themselves in these enviable positions, they need to be reminded that if they mess around, they will destroy the chances of other women who are equally qualified to handle the job. I have very soft spot in my heart for women so I will only wait for them to start work so that we can all contribute our quotas to make them successful. As MMDCE, you have been called to duty at a time the economy is in tatters. All you have to do is to work past exhaustion. The universal adjective is perseverance and you know what? Perseverance defines visions, foresight and creative discernment.

Eric Bawah
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Africa is undergoing immense change. The positive transformation is fueled by the hard work, resilience and perseverance of Africans young and old who are determined to turn the page of poverty. We have every reason to believe that Africas future looks promising. In fact, we can see the positive momentum reflected through reduced geopolitical risks, sustained stability, economic growth, expanding trade, enhanced welfare and better living conditions across the Continent. Challenges to peace and security still exist. But they can certainly be overcome.

As we look to the future, Turkey is determined more than ever to extend its cooperation with Africa to new domains. We are seeking to develop mutually beneficial partnerships that will assist in building a solid foundation for relations that are long lasting and productive. Unlike past colonial powers history is on our side. On the one hand there is the human element. Turkey has deep rooted historical and cultural ties with the Continent dating back to the Ottoman Empire. We are also looking to build on the human element by encouraging people to people contacts. Our national carrier Turkish Airlines recently added Conakry as its 51st destination on the Continent. As we facilitate transportation to and from the 32 countries of the Continent, we are also promoting interaction of Africans with Turkey and also with the world.

Strong political determination for a lasting relationship

I also wish to underscore the resoluteness of our political will to work with Africa. Our determination is reflected through the strong interest of President Erdogan who attaches utmost importance to Africa. He not only visits African nations and receives their leaders in Turkey but also encourages businesses, universities, NGOs, research centers and ordinary citizens to engage in mutually empowering relations. He builds mutual trust, confidence and benefit for all so that all issues are addressed in an open and candid manner.

Over the last decade as first Prime Minister and then as President, President Erdogan has paid more than 30 visits to 23 African countries in total- a record number of visits for a non-African leader. We also hosted numerous Heads of State from African countries in 2016 and the visits of the Heads of State of Ethiopia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Somalia to Turkey in the first half of the current year continued to provide visibility at home and abroad to our African policy.

I should also underline that our diplomatic presence on the Continent is increasing ever rapidly. Today, 39 Turkish Embassies operate in different countries of the Continent. There is also considerable increase in the number of African Embassies in Ankara. The total number has risen to 33, most recently with the opening of the Tanzanian Embassy.

While we work to advance our bilateral ties with African countries, we are also establishing a sound cooperation mechanism with the African Union. 2008 had a particular significance in the development of our relations with Africa. That year the African Union declared Turkey as a strategic partner, and the first ever Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit was held in Istanbul. The Summit initiated a steady and sustainable collaboration process leading to the second Turkey  Africa Cooperation Summit held in Equatorial Guinea in 2014 with the Third Summit scheduled to take place in Istanbul in 2019. Along with the strengthening and diversification of our bilateral relations with African countries as well as our institutional ties with the African Union, we recently decided to rename our Opening Policy to Africa by a more proper concept, namely Turkeys Africa Partnership Policy.

African solutions to African problems: The motto of our Partnership Policy

This is not just a catchy word to attract attention to a foreign policy tool. It has substance and clear direction. It involves strong determination from our part and also encompasses our understanding of providing a two way interaction process. In fact, the motto of our Africa Partnership Policy is African solutions to African problems. We make every effort to

promote African ownership in our engagement with our African partners.

What I see as absolutely pertinent for the future of Africa is its sustainable economic development. In this critical moment of change, we feel that Turkey is best suited to share its experiences with the Continent and to advance on an economic cooperation model that is based on a win-win scenario rather than a zero sum game that produces winners and losers. I should underline that overall Turkish investments in Africa have recently surpassed 6 billion US dollars. These investments are providing much needed jobs, infrastructure, assisting local economies and increasing the exports of final products from Africa to third countries. We are also experiencing rapid increase in our trade with the Continent which reached 16.8 billion US dollars in 2016, signifying a four-fold increase in commerce with Africa in comparison to 2003.

We are also seeking to contribute to the implementation of African Unions Agenda 2013 blueprint for economic development by organizing thematic Ministerial meetings on areas such as business and agriculture in conjunction with Forums that bring together Turkish and African businessmen.

At the forefront of providing humanitarian and development aid to Africa

Turkey is also actively involved in overcoming humanitarian crises in Africa. Our long term engagement in Somalia since 2011 is an excellent example. We think that we simply cannot afford to just wait and see as natural or man-made disasters unfold in front of our eyes, devastating hundreds of thousands of people and putting in danger lives of future generations.

Take for instance, the recent droughts affecting East Africa. In early March, the Turkish Red Crescent launched a national donation campaign entitled Be the Hope of Humanity. As a first step of this campaign, the Turkish Red Crescent and the Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency have already begun to deliver much needed aid to Somalia. Nevertheless, it is essential to find lasting solutions to break the vicious circle of droughts and famine.

Therefore, as the Summit Chair of Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), we recently spearheaded an initiative to support drought-ridden East African countries with sustainable projects to be implemented by the OIC.

On 15 July 2016, Turkey was the target of a heinous coup attempt perpetrated by the Fetullah Gullen terrorist organization (FETO), in which 249 of our citizens were brutally murdered and more than 2,000 innocent civilians were wounded. I would like to acknowledge the support and solidarity displayed by our African friends after this attempt against our democracy and basic freedoms. FETO has numerous networks in Africa, and poses an imminent threat not only to Turkey, but also to African countries and their current leadership. Several African countries have swiftly and wisely taken action against FETO, by either closing or transferring FETO- affiliated schools to the Turkish Maarif (Education) Foundation or banning affiliated organizations. We call on all our African friends to follow suit.

In conclusion, I would like to underline that our vision of cooperation with Africa rests on a policy of reciprocal gain based on equality, transparency and sustainability. Through our enterprising and humanitarian policy we are extending our hand to Africa. We are glad to see that our motivation is shared by our African brothers and sisters who possess a vision of a better Africa.

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

BY H.E MEVLUT CA VUSOGLU,


25.05.2017 LISTEN

The Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Maxwell Kofi Blagodzi, has attributed the rejection of the President's nominee for the positions of Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Volta Region, to infighting among members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Deputy Minister has also not ruled out the conduct of some of the nominees, which also contributed to the problem.

Mr. Blagodzi has, therefore, urged the 16 Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCES) who successfully went through the approval process, to show much commitment to work, so as to promote the development of their respective areas.

He called on them to work closely with the traditional authorities, failure of which could pose problems for them.

He asked the new MDCEs to be guided by Act 506 of the Local Government Act, so that they would not deviate from their roles. According to him, it would not serve any useful purpose if the MDCES engaged in witch-hunting of perceived persons who were against their nomination, as well as confirmation.

Mr. Blagodzi, who was speaking at the swearing in of the 16 confirmed MDCEs in the Volta Region at Ho on Monday, said DCEs and the MCEs are servants who ought to demonstrate much commitment to the well-being of the people, through the implementation of viable social intervention projects.

The Deputy Minister hoped that the new MDCEs would live up to the expectations of the people who trusted and voted for them. The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, who swore the six new DCES into office, administered the oaths of allegiance, secrecy and the official oath on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He asked the new MDCEs to justify the enormous confidence reposed in them, by working hard to meet the development needs of the people, because many more qualified persons were waiting to takeover if they failed.

Dr. Letsa urged the MDCEs to be conversant with the Local Government Act, Act 396, and the Financial Regulatory Act among others, to enable them make judicious use of resources to the benefit of the people. According to him, quality leadership was needed to harness the development potential in the districts.

A former Deputy Minister for Employment during former President J. A Kufuor's regime, Mr. Kenwuud Nuworsu, urged the new MDCEs to serve as an interface between the party, the government and the people.

They should also be more creative and proactive in tackling the development needs of the people in their respective areas.

Mr. Nuworsu noted that the responsibility of the new MDCEs was to make the assemblies more vibrant, and reminded them of the judicious use of the one million dollars that would be provided to each district.

The former Volta Regional Chairman of the NPP reminded the MDCEs that your offices should not be turned into party office, and at the same time, the Assembly Common Fund should also not be regarded as party funds.

The DCE for North Dayi, Mr. Kudzo Attah, on behalf of his colleague MDCEs, thanked the President for the opportunity offered them to serve, as well as the assembly members for the confidence reposed in them. He called for cooperation and support from all stakeholders in order to promote development in their respective areas.

Present at the occasion were the Member of Council of State for the Volta Region, Mr. Francis Albert Nyonyo Agboada, a former Minister in charge of Tertiary Education now at the Presidency, Madam Elizabeth Ohene, a Patron of the NPP in the region, Mr. Castro Mediale, a former Volta Regional Minister and Ambassador-designate to the Republic of Togo, Nana Owusu Yeboa, and a former Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Joseph Kweku Nayan, among others.

From Samuel Agbewode, Ho
25.05.2017 LISTEN

The Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, has charged the newly-appointed Municipal and District Chief Executives in the region to discharge their duties diligently to champion the agenda of President Akufo-Addo.

According the Regional Minister, their core mandate was to ensure the fulfillment of the agenda such as the One-District One Factory, rapid development with the $1 million per District, One Village One Dam, and the Planting for Food and Jobs campaign among others.

Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh said this at the swearing in of the 24 confirmed MDCEs within the region at the Residency in Sunyani recently. Out of the 27 Municipal and District Chief Executives nominated by the President, 24 have successfully been confirmed and sworn into office, while three from the Berekum Municipality, Sunyani West and Sene East districts, failed to sail through.

The trio would, however, have another chance on the following dates  Berekum, Monday, May 22, 2017, Sunyani West, Friday, May 26, 2017. The Sene East nominee will, however, be hoping for the President to re-nominate him, as he failed to get the nod after a second chance.

The Regional Minister advised the appointed chief executives not to lord themselves over the citizens, but to serve in humility, fairness and just.

He called on them to open their doors to the public and address their needs, provided what they do would not be in conflict with the regulations of the local governance system and the financial practices.

Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh was, however, quick to plead with party faithful and the general public, not to over-burden the MDCEs with problems, which would compel them to engage in conflict of interest matters.

The Asunafo North Municipal Chief Executive, Osei Yaw Boahen, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, thanked the President for entrusting them with the positions, and pledged to pursue his (President) agenda for the development of their various districts, the Brong Ahafo Region, and Ghana as a whole.

Some of the newly-appointed MDCEs disclosed their willingness to help develop their respective districts.

The Kintampo North Municipal Chief Executive, Michael Sarkordie Baffoe, gave the assurance that the tourist sites in his Municipality, especially, the European Cemetery, Kintampo Waterfalls, Fulafalls and the Center of Ghana would be given a maximum facelift and the necessary publicity to boost tourism, so as to generate revenue for the development of the Municipality.

From Michael Boateng, Sunyani
25.05.2017 LISTEN

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Dr Felix Anyah as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The New Korle Bu CEO is the founder of the Holy Trinity Medical Centre in Accra, and Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm at Sogakofe, in the Volta Region. A letter from the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, addressed to Dr. Anyah, confirmed the appointment.

The Chief of Staff, the Executive Secretary to the President and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health were each given a copy of the letter. The letter further noted that the appointment takes effect, from June 1, 2017.

Dr. Anyah takes over from Dr Samuel Asiamah, who is the Acting CEO of the hospital, following the departure of Dr Gilbert Buckle.

Dr. Buckle, before his departure, faced numerous tussles with members of the Korle Bu Senior Staff Association (KOSSA), who, among other things, raised issues about certain decisions he made.

Meanwhile, the KOSSA has thrown its weight behind the appointment of Dr Anyah, expressing confidence in his leadership.

Speaking to Citi News, the President of KOSSA said everything they've learnt about Dr Anyah indicates he would do a fine job.

We fight CEOs who mismanage our funds; those who don't follow processes and procedure; those who chop the money of Korle-Bu to see patients die, he said.

Looking at his [Dr. Anyah] background, and his knowledge in healthcare delivery, we believe strongly that he can turn Korle-Bu around, and so we are hoping to work with him to bring Korle-Bu to the standard we all want it to be.

Profile of Dr. Felix Anyah

Dr. Felix Anyah was born on November 29, 1950 to a poor Christian family. He was given the name Gamesu, meaning the one who ends worries and brings comfort. His surname, Anyah, symbolises truth, and unbreakable.

He grew up in the Christian faith, has a passion to help solve people's problems, and humble yet inwardly bold. He imbibed the following healthy lifestyles from the culture of the faith healers, church, regular walkercises, healthy eating, adequate sleep, positive attitudes and passion for complementary and alternative medicine, including prayer, meditation and steam bath with herbs.

His aim to become a lawyer was changed to a medical doctor, when he escaped death with severe pneumonia and was abducted from his parents by a grandaunt, who helped him recover with orthodox medicine.

He grew up with excellent human relations, an entrepreneurial spirit, philanthropy, marketing, writing and counselling skills, and with boldness to use the legal system to advance his career.

In 2003, as a member of the Ghana Medical & Dental Council  a statutory body for the regulation of medical practice in Ghana  he researched, published and advocated professionally ethical advertising for medical practitioners.

This has positively changed the early very conservative position of the council against professional advertising by doctors in Ghana.

He had his education at the St. John's School, Sekondi, and Opoku Ware School, in Kumasi, before entering the University of Ghana Medical School, graduating with M.B. Ch B. degree in 1979.

After his housemanship at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and the Effia Nkwanta Hospital, he worked at several private hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria, before establishing the Holy Trinity Medical Centre in July 1988.

Starting with a staff of five in 1988, the Holy Trinity Medical Centre grew to win the Leader in The Private Medical Sector Award in Ghana in 2003, and Leader of the Health Sector Award in 2009.

In 2007, Dr. Anyah won a landmark case in medical jurisprudence in court against the Government of Ghana on the payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) by his novel Health Spa by using the WHO definition of Health  A state physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing, and not only absence of disease. This judgement has widened the view of ill-health by practitioners, policy makers and Parliament, which earlier emphasised physical diseases.

The Holy Trinity Medical Centre & SPA has been a member of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre's Top 100 companies in Ghana; (Ghana Club 100 in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) and also winner of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Presidential Special Initiatives) Ghana Golden Jubilee, Business and Financial Excellence Award in 2007.

In 2008 and 2009, Dr Anyah had the Nelson Mandela Gold Award for Exemplary Leadership & Transparent Virtues, as well as the Golden Star Award for Exemplary Leadership in Health Delivery in West Africa.

Security Watch Nigeria honoured him with Excellent Service for Security, Peace, and Safety in Africa in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2009.

Prior to these leadership honours, Dr Anyah had received the Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Outstanding Merit-Africa Leadership Award by the West Africa Magazine in 2004.

After establishing the First Health Spa in West Africa, Dr. Felix Anyah and the Holy Trinity Medical Centre earned several other awards including: Life Time Achievement in Medical Practice in Ghana (Pillars of Modern Ghana Awards (2015); Best Entrepreneur Health Services Award (2011); Best Integrative Medicine Provider of the year 2015  Presented by the Business Executive Excellence Awards (2016); The Most Patronized Medical Tourism Destination in West Africa by the New Ghanaian Magazine (2010); The Best health/Medical Tourism Destination in West Africa by the West Africa Magazine in 2008; Special Award for promotion of a Healthy Society in Ghana by the Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners (2008); Best Health Spa Facility in West Africa of the year 2015 (Gold Category)  Presented by The International Star Quality Awards (2016); Made In Ghana Awards  Hall of Fame Inductee  Spa & Health Services of the year 2014 (Presented by Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana (2015); the Platinum Award for the Best SPA in West Africa at the West Africa Tourism and Hospitality Awards, in 2010, 2011 and 2012; Best Spa in Ghana (West Africa Magazine) (2011); People's Choice Practitioners Award-Outstanding Private Health Facility Honours of the year 2017 (Presented by Media Men Ghana); Heroes of Distinction Awards  TNG Health Personality of the year 2016 (Presented by WAI-West Africa International Press Ltd); Made In Ghana Awards  Hall of Fame Inductee  Medical & Health Services Honours of the year 2015 (Presented by Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana (2016); Made In Ghana Awards  Business Support Health Services of the year 2015 (Presented by Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana  2016); National Honour  Excellence in Private Sector Health Care  By Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (1999); and National Honour  Contribution to Primary Health Care in Ghana  By Ghana Employers Association (1998).

By Maxwell Ofori
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Mr. John Peter Amewu, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, on Monday, revealed that some security personnel, particularly from the Ghana Armed Forces, have defied the orders of their Commander-In-Chief, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to stop activities of galamsey.

He emphasised that instead of arresting these illegal miners who are destroying our water bodies, forests and lands, some military, without authority, are protecting some galamseyers in the Ashanti Region to continue their nefarious activities.

The law enforcement agency, especially the military, are protecting an illegality, and I think that it is time the truth be told.

Most of the sites we visited today were heavily manned by the military command, and I was wondering under what circumstances were they undertaking this exercise, because my outfit had, under no circumstance signed any contract with the military to protect those illegalities, the Minister explained.

The revelation by the Lands and Natural Resources Minister has prompted The Chronicle to reflect on speculations, which earlier made rounds on the airwaves, that there are powerful people behind these galamsey operations in the country.

To this end, the paper believes that the fight against illegal mining in the country, which President Akufo-Addo has empowered the Lands and Natural Resources Minister to wage, will be a task as herculean as taming the lion.

Interestingly, Joseph Yamin, a former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister under the John Dramani Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, has provided information that confirms that powerful men from both NDC and New Patriotic Party (NPP) are behind the illegal business.

Mr. Yamin, who said he lost his job as deputy Ashanti Regional Minister because of his stance against illegal mining in the region, noted that he abandoned his hopes of ensuring that activities of galamsey were brought to an end, due to persecution from strong people within and outside the then NDC government, the Armed Forces, and chiefs.

We are delighted, however, that the Minister of Defence, Mr. Dominic Nitiwul, has declared his commitment to get to the bottom of his colleague Lands and Natural Resources Minister's revelation that military personnel are protecting galamsey sites.

The Chronicle is informed that Mr. Nitiwul has already instructed the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Obed Akwa, to, as a matter of urgency, institute investigations into the allegation. He, nonetheless, warned that his outfit will ensure that any military personnel caught to be engaged in the illegal act of protecting galamsey sites will be dealt with according to the law.

The Defence Minister stated; I would not want to doubt what he has put out there If there is any soldier or Commanding Officer in any of our garrisons or battalion that has allowed his soldiers to go and engage in illegal mining, the army is not aware of it.

As it stands now, the army has not, and will not, authorise anybody to engage in protecting galamseyers, those doing illegal mining. When anybody is found out to have acted against the army directives, that person will be taken through the due process  first through the army disciplinary process, and, of course, the civilian processes.

The Chronicle wants to add its voice to the decision of the Minister of Defence to probe Mr. Amewu's allegations.

We are, however, cautioning that the military personnel are just obeying orders from a superior officer, politician or chief somewhere, but the real kingpins are hiding somewhere, waiting to pull the strings to free themselves.

The paper is stressing that the Defence Ministry's investigations must go beyond just the military personnel, to expose all the big men who have the wherewithal to even get the soldiers to protect an act of illegality.

If they are identified, named and punished for their involvement in the illegal activity, it will deter others from going into the business.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Ghanas flagship Agricultural Programme, Planting for Food and Jobs, being championed by the sector minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has attracted international interest at the ongoing 52nd AfDB Annual Meeting in India.

Ghanas Agric Minister gave a presentation, during which he highlighted Government of Ghanas flagship policy aimed at revolutionalising the ailing agricultural sector in the country.

Speakers and discussants, made up of investors, government officials and development partners, exhibited key interest in the efforts being put in place by the government of Ghana to revamp the agricultural sector and create jobs for the youth.

The Ministers presentation focused, amongst other things, on how to bridge the huge gap between food imports and local production, as a way of boosting the sector and building the economy.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto further touched on how the Government of Ghana intends to modernize agric and encourage the youth to consider farming as a lucrative business.

The Agric Minister was on a panel discussion with the Founder of the World Food Prize, Norman Borlaug and the Chairman of the John Kufuor Foundation, Prof. Baffour Agyemang Duah.

Lauds the contribution of Ghanaian women to agriculture

The Minister has also been touting the contributions of women in Ghana to the growth and development of agriculture.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto noted that women in Ghana play key role in terms of production and marketing of farm produce.

The Minister, who featured in a roundtable discussion organized by the Self Employed Women Association (SEWA), a renowned women-based Non Governmental Organization in India, said in recognition of their role, the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has a permanent directorate, Women in Agriculture Directorate (WIAD) under the Ministry, that deals with formulating policies and programmes that seek to empower and resource women engaging in agricultural business.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

THE ASHANTI Regional Police Command has arrested a suspected murderer and an armed robber at their various hideouts in the metropolis.

DCOP Ken Yeboah, the Ashanti regional commander at a press conference yesterday explained that, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science andTechnology (KNUST) District Police at dawn of Monday May 22, 2017 at 3:00am arrested suspect Malam Sulemana, alias Romeo, an ex-convict, who was among a group of four armed robbers that attacked and robbed some students at a hostel at Ayeduase, a suburb of Kumasi on the same day.

According to him, two patrol teams swiftly moved to the area upon information and arrested the said suspect, while the other three accomplices whose names were given as Abass, Akwasi and Kolo, however, managed to escape.

He revealed that, an immediate search conducted on suspect Malam Sulemana revealed one locally manufactured pistol, five BB live cartridges, two Nokia mobile phones, one ladys wrist watch, a radio speaker, one spent cartridge fired at the scene and cash sum of GHc52.00.

He said suspect Malam Sulemana admitted to the crime and mentioned the above named persons as his accomplices, who were subsequently identified by the victim.

In a related development, the regional police command on Saturday May 20, 2017, at about 1:30pm arrested suspect Issah Muhammed, alias Issah Koodey, for allegedly murdering Richard Apuri, a 22-year-old unemployed young man at Adiebeba, a suburb of Kumasi.

He revealed that on Monday May 1, 2017, at about 1:30pm, suspect Issah Mohammed and his son, Sayibor and some youth from Apraman allegedly attacked Richard Apuri, now decreased, at a road intersection between Ahodwo and Kaase, where the suspect inflicted machete wounds on the deceased, until he became unconscious.

He was later found by the roadside and his relatives were informed, who rushed him to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), but died on arrival.

The Police Commander said preliminary investigations revealed that, a group of young men from Kaase and Apraman, all communities in Kumasi, clashed at the fire City Pub at Adiebeba, resulting in a fire fight.

He indicated that, further investigations revealed that suspect Issah Koodey threatened to kill any youth from Kaase that he meets because his son, Sayibor, was assaulted during the clash

Meanwhile, suspect Mohammed and his accomplices went into hiding after the act. The command consequently declared suspect Issah Mohammed and his son, Sayibor, wanted for alleged murder of the deceased, until his arrest at a hideout at Daban, through police surveillance.

From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has disclosed that its plan to secure where it is currently headquartered, will ultimately save the bank about 24 million cedis annually.

ADB's earlier decision to pay an annual rent of 5 million dollars at its current headquarters in 2015, generated a lot of controversy between the staff and the management.

The bank is currently in discussions with the owner of the building to buy the facility.

It is unclear how much it will cost.

But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Managing Director of ADB, Daniel Asiedu maintained that the bank will hugely benefit in the end.

I think they are excited because after 55 years, we need our own head office and beyond that it saves us 55 million dollars and 24 million cedis will be saving because we will be capitalizing itIt is a settled deal and once the new board is inaugurated, then we will continue, Daniel Asiedu stated.

According to Mr. Asiedu, calculations by the bank have revealed that it will cost it about 14 years rent to meet the cost of buying the facility.

Initially the old board thought it wasn't possible but I impressed on them to push the owners and find out and they are willing to sell and have given us an offer. Just looking at the yearly rent of 5 million dollars, about 14 years rent can pay for that and the Board has since agreed to this and that is what we are pursuing.

ADB partners local company to build new head office

Although ADB owns the parcel of land on which the edifice is cited, it entered into an agreement with the developers to build the structure under the name 'AGRIDEV.'

This was in an agreement which saw the bank owning 10 percent while the developer owned the remaining 90 percent.

The issue came at a time that the company faced stiff opposition by the workers to the management decisions embarked on.

The workers had argued among other things that the MD and the Board were acting in bad faith for allegedly selling the old head office for 10 million dollars and resorting to rent another area at a cost of 1 million cedis per month.

The then MD, Stephen Kpordzi on several occasions denied any such allegations leveled against management.

Stakeholders pleased with turnaround of banks performance

Mr. Daniel Asiedu, who succeeded Mr. Kpordzi as MD in March 2016, has also touted the achievements of the bank within a year of assumption of office.

According to him, the bank has enhanced its services including the customer service delivery through the adoption of Relationship Managers concept.

The MD also disclosed that the bank has returned into healthy profitability as deposits have grown from 1.5 to 2.5 billion cedis representing 66% increase between one year period.

Meanwhile Mr. Asiedu is confident of a sustained interest by the yet to be inaugurated Board to pursue the deal and benefit the company.

Aside from that we are occupying just about half of the building with other companies occupying others. So even if we are able to buy it and take the facility these other rents will be coming to us and in the end we may even end up having to pay a capital amount on a yearly basis that may even not be up to 5 million.



By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
The former Member of Parliament for the Asunafo South constituency in the Brong Ahafor Region, George Boakye has said the UK High Commissioner has failed to prove that he was indeed involved in any form of visa fraud.

The High Commission accused George Boakye and three other sitting MPs of engaging in various forms of visa related fraud.

Mr Boakye who felt he was being wrongfully accused subsequently wrote to the Commission demanding proof of his culpability.

He has received two separate responses from the High Commission but according to him, there was still no proof of his involvement in any fraud.

Mr. Boakye explained to Citi News that the commission has not been also able to prove that he used a diplomatic passport during the visa application process.

I wrote to them and made them aware that I never used any diplomatic passport; I even sent them a copy of my passport to them. So they wrote back and told me that they never said that I used diplomatic passport and that they've not banned me for ten years. Then my lawyer wrote to them again asking them to show where in the visa application process we acted fraudulently and that was the reply we were expecting from them.

We got the reply on Tuesday and they didn't even say anything about it and neither did they say that they've rejected our application I just wanted them to show my where I acted fraudulently and the reply I had from them on Tuesday didn't even touch and that issue. That was the most important thing. That is what I wanted to know from them, he added.

Mr. Boakyes alleged crime by UK High Commission

The British High Commissioner, Jon Benjamin earlier wrote a letter to the Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye about the four MPs who he said had been ban for ten years from the UK for allegedly engaging in visa fraud.

In the case of Mr. Boakye, the High Commissioner said: On 11/09/2012, the then Honourable and now former MP for Asunafo South George BOAKYE applied for visas for himself and his 37-year old daughter, Joyce BOAKYE to visit a friend in London for 17 days.

The visas were granted on 14/09/2012. On 17/01/2013 Joyce BOAKYE travelled to the UK with her Honourable father. Joyce BOAKYE did not leave the UK with her father, but remained until 06/01/2017, the statement added.

My daughter tricked me and overstayed

George Boakye had earlier lamented that his 37-year-old daughter tricked him into taking her to London under the pretext of going to see her uncle, but disappeared on their arrival in the UK.

According to him, although he knew he was being irresponsible by not reporting his daughter's disappearance once he couldn't find her, but he feared a report to security officials would have her incarcerated.



By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey & Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
Student nurses who get pregnant while in nursing training colleges can now have their babies while in school.

This is because the regulation that bars them from getting pregnant while undertaking their course has been scrapped by the Ministry of Health.

The decision comes on the back of incessant complaints by some pregnant women who have been prevented from sitting their examination because according to school authorities, the council's regulation prohibits expectant mothers from writing exams while in school.

Earlier in May, a married pregnant woman in the Gushiegu Midwifery School was sacked from an examination hall midway through her papers. The principal of the School asked her to go home and return next year to complete her studies because of her four-month-old pregnancy.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council defended the Principals decision explaining that it was in the students best interest.

They explained that a pregnant woman may lack the capacity to effectively participate in all the activities.

There are harrowing stories of pregnant women forcefully delivering prematurely in order to sit an exam.

The situation has generated public outcry and compelled the health ministry to summon all heads of the nursing training colleges as well as the Nursing and Midwifery Council to address the issue.

In an interview with Citi News, Public Relations Officer for the Ministry, Robert Cudjoe explained that we all came to that conclusion because we have also signed onto some international convention and is mandated for us to do away with such a policy which people are raising eyebrows over it. Henceforth, that policy that bars pregnant students from writing exams has been cancelled with immediate effect.

The ministry will also ensure that all heads of such institutions comply with the directive.

We are going to form a committee to ensure that all those clauses in the students' handbook and admission letters are also removed and also ensure that any principal who flouts the directive will be punished Mr Cudjoe concluded.



By: Farida Shaibu/citifmonline.com/ghana
Some angry petty traders largely second hand cloth dealers affected by the ongoing Tamale Metropolitan Assembly's decongestion exercise have reportedly assaulted the assembly's local Task Force leader, Dakpema Dema-Naa, Mohammed Hafiz Choggu.

Eyewitness narrated that he led a group of armed military personnel to the periphery of the Tamale Jubilee Park and sacked some evicted petty traders who displayed their wares.

They got infuriated by Dema-Naa's conduct, pounced on him and he was subsequently hospitalized.

The angry petty traders claimed the Bug-Lana, Naa Dakpema and the Gulkpegu-Naa allocated the said space for them to trade following their eviction.

They argued that Dema-Naa, Mohammed Hafiz Choggu had no locus to sack them, hence their instant justice.

They narrated that the Dema-Naa's statement saying, Only the Mayor of Tamale has the right to allocate a trading portion to traders, incurred their wrath.

They later matched to the Bug-Lana's palace and pleaded with him to call the Tamale Metropolitan Security Task Force members to order.

They also called for the dismissal of the Tamale Mayor, Iddrisu Musah Superior saying, We are appealing to President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia to intervene and remove Musah Superior from his post.

The victim, Dema-Naa Mohammed Hafiz who was discharged on Wednesday May 24, 2017 has officially lodged complaint with the police.

Some concerned citizens of Tamale charged the police to immediately arrest the culprits and bring them to book.

Head of Public Affairs at the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly Issah Musah told Citi News the assembly had not authorized the petty traders to trade at the said location.

Issah Musah emphasized the need for the petty traders to relocate to the Kukuo, Kalpohin, Kapkagyili and Sagnarigu satellite markets.

He said some prominent chiefs within the Tamale Metropolis approved the ongoing decongestion exercise.

The Tamale Metropolitan Security Task Force on May 15 kick-started a major decongestion exercise within the enclave of the Tamale Business City.

The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Iddrisu Musah Superior who superintended the exercise served notice saying, Anybody who comes and trade on the street we shall chase him out, we will prosecute him and he will answer in the law court. We have told them to go to Kapkagyili, Kukuo, Kalpohin and Sagnarigu markets.



Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
In 1997, my uncle told me about a twinkle city, which is described as le petit paris, the most dynamic and beautiful city in sub-Saharan Africa. My arrival in Abidjan is an experience impossible to forget. Coming from a city where the only light I saw was via kerosene lanterns and cooking stoves, but here I was, arriving Ivory Coast at night - the streetlights, the tall buildings in plateau, and the diplomatic residence at Cocody, blew my mind.

I was only 16. But I met a 26-year-old man who was notorious in the eyes of the society, a radical university student leader, a fighter for justice and a defender of equal rights. Who knew that a short coincidence would bring me closer to one of the most powerful men in Ivory Coast, my friend and big brother, Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, former Prime Minister and presently the President of the Senate in Ivory Coast

Its 10:45am in Abidjan as I arrived the Felix-Houphouet-Boigny International Airport. Straight from the plane, I received the highest level of VIP treatment - from the tarmac to the presidential suite at Africas oldest and prestigious Hotel Iviore, now SOFITEL. The protocol officer in his very french accent said Bienvenue a cote d ivories Monsieur Suji, the President of the National Assembly will receive you in this afternoon. Your luggage would meet you at your hotel. Here is a local mobile phone for you to communicate with your family and business, Abidjan and its people welcome you to our City

After a little rest, Mr. Cesc, one of Soros confidants drove me around the city. I was so moved by the beautiful landscape and the infrastructural development. I was struck by their speed and level of achievements. From Liberia to Sudan and from Libya to Libreville, war had been fought; countries and destinies destroyed. But for the first time, I saw the dividends of war, and how implementations of visions are guaranteed by the right mindset, the WILL to do things and the dedication to achieve greatness. In less than 10 years, a country that had gone through one of the most painful civil wars in modern times had evolved into a beauty, howbeit fragile; 6 new bridges have been built, 8 new shopping malls with top international brands, and a dynamic and functional 6 lane road system. For a second, it didnt feel like being in Africa.

While the world sleeps, destiny plans the next move to take. Twenty years later, I was summoned to spend the 46th birthday weekend with Africas most dynamic leader, young at heart, strong in the mind, and a political maverick who understands the motomatic philosophy of leadership. Success knows no race or colour. It only celebrates excellence and hard work.

Even though the malls are beautiful and the roads are wider, the potential of real estate like Nigeria remains the same; lots of beautiful but dilapidated buildings all around prime locations. I do not understand if its an African curse. Why do we have so much under-utilised potentialities? I had a chat with an amazing young Ivorien-Parisien Investment Banker, Bernard Ayitee, who analysed it in simple terms, Suji, the Ivorien problem is not the lack of financing, it is lack of vision, and deficiency of projects. We in Ivory Coast are not like Nigerians. We need people with bankable projects. This is our major problem: VISION, not the provision of finance. So Suji, when do you want to come and put a Lorenzo in Abidjan?

I love Abidjan, the vibrancy of the people, and the vision of its leaders. As I always say, the fundamental problem of Africa is not the capacity to develop its nation, but the vision of leadership and the WILL to execute. But this cannot be said about the land of Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Cote dIvoire is the only country where you cannot say negative things about their Leaders in public without being battled or outed. President Alassane Ouattara with the strong support of Guillaume Soros objectives has been very clear - to put the interest of the people first, and to bring innovative ideas which would maximise economic efficiency and the success of their nation.

The driver and security protocol picked me and drove me to a prestigious residential area, calm and serene. I was received with a lot of enthusiasm from the young team of dedicated people who surround Soro. They served me the local delicious Bissap juice, and I enjoyed the view of the waiting room where I saw pictures of great leaders like Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Henri Konan Bedie, Alassane Ouattara, and so many beautiful and historical frames which takes one in, into the person Guillaume Soro has become - a disciplined visionary who sets his standards through the achievements of great leaders - a man of the people, and the savior of Ivorian democracy.

Despite the fact he was in a long high profile security meeting, Soro insisted on seeing me immediately. His calmness, humility and humour separate him from his peers. - My friend, welcome home. Please meet Asalfo of Magic System music group - my child hood friend, meet Mr. Kone, one of our important ministers, Muktar from Mauritania and other friends and family. A part of me was perplexed and the other, impressed. I never could have imagined that in almost 20 years, a simple student who grew up in Abidjans poorest neighborhood could now eat at the leadership table of his nation. Food was surplus. Guillaume never stopped laughing at me and telling jokes Suji I hear you are the youngest and richest man in Nigeria, so before you go, you need to give me my share. The leader joked about himself and everyone else. He never stopped discussing his experiences as a student, his first time in Paris where he didn't have the money to take the train so he had to walk to the campus, his relationship with francophone Africas most celebrated musician, Asalfo Salif Traore , head of Magic System.

While taking in the beauty of human companionship and long-term friendships, I blurted out the words. What motivates you, and why are you in politics? He went calm, fixed his shirt and sat properly. The room adjusted to his demeanour - grave. He looked at me and said, INJUSTICE, the unjust system of education and my experience during school. The systemic denial of my scholarship was what pushed me to the wall to stand for my right and eventually the right of others. The injustice of medication and unaffordable healthcare system; the discriminatory banking and financial sector that only supports the 1% of our society; the injustice of education; the provision and lack of creation of a level field playing ground where businesses strive and young entrepreneurs can achieve whatever they want, not because their aunty is rich or their uncle is a minister but because they have an inept capacity to be the best. This injustice is what wakes me up and keeps me awake. Even when I was offered billions and a sweet position in government, I couldnt accept because it was contrary to my principles and I would be selling the destiny of my people, I REFUSED IT. I was moved. I had never heard someone describe his purpose in such a passionate manner, with history and experience to back it up. He continued. No one wanted me here. But with the collaboration of common interest, I was able to achieve this and a lot more work needs to be done. So Suji, don't let me start. I can see Asalfo is hungry and he would finish the acheke, so lets grab the mutton (goat).

GKS as he is usually called didnt stop there. As we had dinner, he talked about Nigeria, 'The America of Africa'. He spoke of his love for General Buhari and wished him good health, his respect for Asiwaju Tinubu and how he thinks he is a great political strategist. I didnt expect him to know so much about Nigeria, its politics and country. But then, this was GSK. He had been to Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Niger, Lagos, and Ota. He spoke lengthily of his love for his brother nation Nigeria, professing his great admiration and keen observation of Nigerias Houses of Assembly and its leaders; their never-give-up characteristics and leadership, and his mentor and political godfather, OBJ. Soro expressed his love for a man who has for most of his life dedicated himself to the service of Africa. He said Obansanjo reminded him of Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast. He envied the likes of Dangote and the Bull, Mike Adenuga, He hopes that one day, the Nigerian and Ivorian societies would have a strong enterprising relationship that would help Ivory Coast create the Adenugas and the Dangotes of Africa.

I had not tasted acheke in the last ten years. But the acheke, fish, lamb and plantain I had just reminded me of those days in Paris at Tanty Alice restaurant in 92 district of Paris. It was 1am and Soro had to continue his meetings. So, we left him and entered the streets of Abidjan. In Ivory Coast, the youth represent about 75% of the population. So, I wanted to see the youth and feel their pulse about their country and leaders.

We went to Lifestar, a beautiful upscale nightclub boasting lovely beauties; some of the most beautiful shapes Ive seen, I must admit. Think of the perfect Coca - Cola shape and then spice it with the flavour that a mixed-race society such as Ivory Coast can add to the African beauty. Voila! Nigerian music is very much loved in Ivory Coast. Artiste Davidos IF was repeated three times back to back and shouts of 30 billion for the account o filled the air. No doubt, no one parties like Ivoriens. The drinks were in abundance. So was the speed with which the Ivoriens gulped them. I was astonished when a lady approached me, ''Hey you look like the Nigerian musician Dr. Sid, come to my table and drink champagne''. I had fun, but I wanted to experience something else. I wanted to spend time with the lower middle-class. I was curious to know what an average Ivorien felt about Soro.

Cesc Mark, one of Soros confidants took me to a local Beer Parlor and as I got in, the live band called the names of ex-President Gbagbo, the present President Allasane, but when they mentioned GKS, there was an uproar. The room turned to a Gatsby celebration. Never in my life had I seen so much people rejoice over the mere existence of another person. For me, it was a sign that Soro had across the years proven to the average Ivorien that his ultimate dedication was to the wellbeing of his people, and that he was a man to be trusted. I left the Beer Parlour excited and elevated, and thinking to myself, if only we could have such a leader in Nigeria, who is young at heart, efficient in his doings, genuine in his character, an African Lee Kuan Yew who believes so much in meritocracy, then our society would compete not only regionally, but internationally.
Many know entrepreneur Elon Musk as the inventor of the futuristic Tesla car; the founder of innovative online payment portal PayPal and the founder, CEO and lead designer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)  but did you know that he hails from local shores? Musk was born and bred in South Africa, which shows that we have fertile ground for breeding BIG thinkers. The question remains: how do we inspire more of our graduates to achieve Elon-like innovation and Musk-like drive?

This was one of the questions that the Africa Design Challenge leg of Innovate Durbans Youth Innovation Challenge (YIC) sets out to address. Driven by global engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon in partnership with Oracle, the Africa Design Challenge is part of African Design Innovation, a design-thinking-led agenda initiated by Aurecon. African Design Innovation introduces a human-centred design approach to the conventional systems of thinking strategies employed by engineering firms.

This means viewing Africa from the inside-out  rather than the other way around  to develop solutions which put human beings at the centre of the design process. Especially relevant to an African context, it is aligned to both governments development agenda and global development goals such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

However, this means nothing if we dont find and develop the talent who will revolutionise our cities. The digital age is changing the way that cities run and the way that people move, socialise and work in them. Its crucial to begin empowering our youth with engineering skills founded on innovation as a point of departure, and combined with essential skills such as design thinking to develop integrated solutions in response to the challenges confronting cities.

Now in its third consecutive year, the YIC focuses on creating a platform for innovation to thrive in eThekwini by empowering the youth. This years theme is directed at finding sustainable, innovative solutions to a host of challenges such as urban sprawl, informal settlements, collapsing infrastructure and congested roads in Africas rapidly growing cities.

A better future for our city relies on out-of-the-box thinking and often, its the bright young minds that come up with big ideas. The private sector has a crucial role to play in giving the youth the tools, guidance, technology and insights they need to bring their ideas to life. Aurecon felt that the YIC was an opportunity to offer its mentorship services to create a link that spurs innovation between the youth of eThekwini and public enterprises, says Aurecon Technical Director Richard Ahlschlager.

The Africa Design Challenge participants, who are primarily school leavers and students, have been grouped into teams and tasked with thinking of new ways of addressing energy, water, waste, mobility, Information Communications Technology (ICT), and urban renewal challenges in eThekwini.

In the past, the challenge was largely involved with ICT, but Ahlschlager approached the Innovate Durban organisation and introduced the concept of the Africa Design Challenge, with the aim of developing sustainable cities.

Many of the Africa Design Challenge themes require engineering and technical solutions  of which Aurecon has vast knowledge. I contacted the organisers of the event and indicated that our engineers would like to collaborate with them, and show the young participants how their ideas could be engineered in real life. This type of knowledge transfer benefits the future leaders of our country as well as the city as a whole, explains Ahlschlager.

After brainstorming sustainable business solutions that will improve the city of eThekwini, the Africa Design Challenge teams submitted their concepts online. Shortlisted candidates will now receive mentoring sessions from the companies involved in this leg of the YIC to create business proposals and present their plans to a panel of judges. The Innovation Summit, where the winning proposals will be presented, will take place on 19  20 July and the Innovation Awards will take place on 20 July. As part of the first prize, the winning team will join Aurecons engineers for mentoring sessions at the companys eThekwini office for six months.

Aurecon eThekwini Office Manager, Walter Nxumalo, says this is but one of the many mentoring initiatives that has been implemented by Aurecon. In eThekwini specifically, the company has launched a Student Learning Programme where 50 students from disadvantaged schools in the region receive mathematics and science mentoring from Aurecon engineers.

We are actively involved in training, upskilling and mentoring the youth within KwaZulu Natal and South Africa. Aurecon is proud to be partnering with Innovate Durban on the Youth Innovation Challenge, and we look forward to seeing what the winning team has come up with, comments Ahlschlager.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra, May 24, GNA- President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left Accra on Wednesday for Freetown, Sierra Leone on a day's visit to that country.

The visit forms part of the President's official working visits to countries of the ECOWAS region.

The President has already toured the three countries bordering Ghana- Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire- in a wider move to introduce himself to and deepen relations with them.

The tour would further the President's quest to strengthen bilateral ties and to restate Ghana's commitment to the ECOWAS project.

He has also paid working visits to Guinea, Senegal, Cape Verde.

He would later pay official working visits to Nigeria, Benin and Liberia.

President Akufo-Addo during the first-leg of his ECOWAS tour, asked his counterparts to strengthen the regional bloc and give true meaning to the ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Goods and Persons by promoting open borders in the Community.

He explained that such a move would promote regional cohesion and economic development and would boost trade and tourism, and ensure that the peoples of the ECOWAS reap the economic benefits thereof.

'The opening of our borders will give true meaning to the ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Goods and Persons, and will spur on progress and prosperity for our peoples,' he stated.

The President also pledged to strengthen the ties between Ghana and countries in the region.

The President was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway and officials of the Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.

GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA
Accra May 24, GNA - The trial of Jihad Chaaban, the Marwako Fast Food Supervisor, was plunged into controversy when prosecution demanded the meaning of an expression 'Sharamota or Sharinta' in Arabic language.

The Arabic interpreter told prosecution that the meaning of Sharamota was used to insult ladies and also meant a prostitute.

Jihad is said to have used the word 'Sharamota' on the female employee whose face he allegedly dipped into a blender full of blended pepper.

Following the explanation, defence counsel Mr Julio De Medieros intimated to the court that he would cross examine the Interpreter, Mr Mohammed Mubarak Hidir on the meaning of Sharamota if that was going to be captured by the trial judge as part of court records.

According to defence counsel his client has denied using the word Sharamota on the victim.

The trial Judge, Mrs Victoria Ghansah indicated that she also has to ascertain the meaning of the word 'Sharamota.'

Answering questions under cross-examination by Chief Inspector H.A Hanson Jihad told the court that whenever someone suffered any injury at workplace the supervisor delegate another employee to accompany the victim to the hospital.

On the use of the blenders at the restaurant, Jihad maintained that 'we pay special attention to the use of the blenders and other equipment.

He denied that when he heard the sound of the blender in the kitchen on the day of the incident he was angry.

According to him when he heard the sound of the blender, he went to put it off.

Jihad said he never accused the victim, Ms Evelyn Boakye of destroying the blender.

Chaaban aged 26, is before the Court for allegedly dipping the face of Ms Evelyn Boakye into a blender full of blended pepper at the Abelenkpe branch of Marwako Restaurant.

He has been charged with offensive conduct by calling the victim a prostitute, intentionally and unlawfully causing harm and assault.

Chaaban has pleaded not guilty to the charges and he is on bail.

On February 28, this year, Chaaban is alleged to have assaulted the victim Ms Boakye for fidgeting with a blender and working slowly.

Chaaban, a brother-in-law of the owner of Marwako Restaurant at the Abelemkpe branch allegedly grabbed the neck of the victim and dipped her face into a blender full of blended pepper.

GNA

By Joyce Danso, GNA
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra, May 24, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Wednesday remanded one Raymond Nyirenkyi, a labourer for alleged conspiracy and robbery.

Raymond was said to have conspired with another now at large to robbed one Noble Gbeleous Sleem of his Capital bank Speed pay voucher worth GHE35,420.00.

He pleaded guilty to the charge with explanation, but after the explanation the court entered a plea of not guilty for him.

He was, therefore, remanded to reappear on June 6.

Prosecuting Police Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu told the court that the complainant Chantel Arthur is a Branch Manager of Capital Bank of Ghana Limited at Tesano, while the accused person is a labourer living at Abelemkpe.

He said on May 16 at about 1100 hours, an employee of the Bank, whose job is to sell speed pay vouchers to account holders of the Bank, stepped out for his normal duty and on reaching a section near express Capital at Tesano, two young men on a motor bike snatched the envelop which contained GHE35,429.00 worth of speed pay voucher and sped off.

He said, however, on May 19, at about 11:00 hours, the accused person went to the Banking hall to open an account using a speed card with serial number of the missing cards, and was arrested and brought to Tesano police station.

The prosecution said upon interrogation, Raymond stated that the card was given to him by an unknown woman.

The accused when told to lead the police to his place of abode, he rather directed the police a white man's house purported to be his, but eventually through intelligence gathering, the police were able to locate a Kiosk at Abelemkpe where the accused stays.

Police Chief Inspector Adu, said when a thorough search was conducted in the Kiosk, GHE33,140.00 worth of speed pay vouchers were retrieved from Raymond's beddings.

GNA

By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra May 24, GNA - A labourer who is accused defiling a two year old at Teshie has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with defilement.

Samuel Nii Quaye aged 18 pleaded guilty and pleaded for forgiveness.

The court presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku has ordered the case investigator to procure the birth certificate of the accused which he claimed was with the mother at Teshie.

Meanwhile, the court has also ordered for a special enquiry report to be prepared for the court to consider before sentencing the accused.

Accused person has been remanded into Police custody as sentence is deferred to June 6.

The case of prosecution was the complainant Emelia Sowah is the victim's mother.

Quaye lives with her aunty in the same house with the complainant.

On May 21 this year at about 22:00 hours the complainant left the victim in her room while she was asleep and went to purchase an item.

When the complainant retuned prosecution said she found accused naked and having sex with the two year old victim.

The complainant raised alarm and accused was nabbed. When the victim's vagina was inspected by the complainant she found some fluid smeared in her vagina.

The prosecutor said the accused was escorted to the Police station where a medical form was given to the complainant to send the victim to the hospital for examination.

The victim was unable to volunteer any information as she was unable to talk.

GNA
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra, May 24, GNA - A 35-year-old welder, who defiled a 13-year-old girl at Pantang Village in Accra four years ago, rendering the victim bedridden, has been given a 15 year imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.

Paul Ademan, who is also facing an additional charge of causing harm to the victim, was arrested by the Police at Abomboso in the Eastern Region after absconding.

Ademan denied the charges.

The Court presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, however, at the end of the trial found him guilty on the charges of defilement and causing harm.

When asked whether he had something to say before sentence was passed Ademan said he would not give up adding he would go to jail and come back.

Earlier, Prosecuting Detective Inspector Judith B. Asante said the complainant Vida Ahensah is a trader residing at Pantang Village with her family, including the victim.

Ademan also resides in the same vicinity.

In October 2013, the accused person's wife one Mavis Adjeiwaa sent the victim to their house to inform her children to stay indoors as the clouds were gathering and it could rain.

Detective Inspector Asante said the victim went to Madam Agyiewaa's house with his kid sister but on reaching the house Madam Adjeiwaa's children were not in the house.

Prosecution said Ademan took advantage of that and lured the victim and her sister into his kiosk and Ademan spread a piece of cloth on the floor for the victim to lay her kid sister on it and with this the victim also lay beside her kid sister and fell asleep.

Detective Inspector Asante said the victim said while sleeping, she felt sharp pains in her vagina and realised that her face had been covered with a piece of cloth.

The victim, prosecution said, removed the cloth and saw Ademan having sexual intercourse with her and though she screamed for help but no one could hear her as her mouth was covered.

Prosecution said the victim after her ordeal went home with her sister and Ademan threatened her with a knife warning her not to disclose the incident to anyone.

The victim informed the accused person's wife but he denied having sexual intercourse with the victim.

Later prosecution said the accused wife informed the victim that accused person had confessed to the crime.

The victim after some days became paralysed and broke her story to a prophetess in the area.

On December 2013, a report was made to the Domestic Violence and Victim's Support where medical form was issued to the victim to undergo medical examination.

Ademan, however, went into hiding until January 4, when he was arrested at his hideout Abomboso near Anyinam in the Eastern Region.

GNA

By Joyce Danso, GNA
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra, May 24, GNA - Ghana on Wednesday recorded a major headway in its Nuclear Power agenda, when it received the official report of the Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Mission through an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation.

The two-member delegation, led by Mr Mikhail Chudakov, the Deputy Director-General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy at the IAEA, submitted the report to Mr Boakye Agyarko, Ghana's Minister of Energy, at a meeting in Accra.

Mr Chudakov said the report formed part of Phase One of Ghana's Nuclear Power Programmes (NPP) of which the INIR mission evaluated the status of the 19 major infrastructure issues against the IAEA's Milestones Approach for the introduction of nuclear power.

He said 'I am therefore encouraged that the INIR Mission noted that mechanisms to involve a wide and comprehensive range of national stakeholders in the relevant activities have been implemented'

He explained that the INIR mission was not an audit by the IAEA, but rather a supportive mechanism to newcomer Member-State in their development stages of their Nuclear Power Programme (NPP) and praised the Ghana team for the transparency and cooperation exhibited throughout the process of conducting the INIR Phase One in January this year.

'I am encouraged that even though Ghana is still in an early phase, Ghana has already enacted a comprehensive nuclear law, established an independent Nuclear Regulatory Authority, and is currently reviewing existing, and developing appropriate new regulations', he said.

He however said as recommended by the INIR mission's report, Ghana must do well to complete the studies on some key issues that remained to be concluded and proceeded with the development of the nuclear infrastructure to reach Milestone One to enable it's government to make a knowledgeable commitment to a NPP.

Mr Chudakov said the report also recommended further assessment of the country's legal framework, to ensure its adequacy for the construction of the nuclear power plant.

He said the country also needed to prepare itself for an early Phase two activity, which included discussions with vendors and other potential partners, but indicated that Ghana had 90 days following the submission of the report, to inform the IAEA if it wanted the results of the INIR mission to be published on the IAEA website or not.

He said the IAEA considered energy as essential to development, and believed that everyone must have access to modern sources, to reduce poverty, raise living standards, improve health care, and boost industrial as well as agricultural output.

Unfortunately, the growing demand for energy had come at a time when the world was already on a dangerous and unsustainable path in terms of climate change and air pollution, however nuclear power had remained a proven technology that provided a stable, clean, low-carbon, baseload electricity that created better, higher-paying jobs than the other types of energy sources.

Mr Chudakov due to its unique characteristics, nuclear power needed special attention in the area of observing high safety, security and safeguards, which required that a strong regulatory framework among other 19 infrastructural issues be considered, alongside a specialised and highly trained workforce for effective operation.

He pledged the IAEA's commitment to offer targeted technical assistance in key areas, and said Ghana had 90 days to make a formal request to the Agency, otherwise the report would automatically be published on its website.

Mr Agyarko, expressed his gratitude to the IAEA, the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), and the host of experts as well as all the local stakeholders, who worked to make Ghana's Phase One INIR mission programme a success.

He said the inclusion of nuclear energy into the national grid was in line with the country's short-to-medium term development target, as it strived to meet the growing power demand to sustain industrial and economic growth that was required for a middle income economy, and this would further develop a strong backbone for the West African Power Pool.

He said to achieve this goal, the country had since 2008, taken careful steps in the quest to develop its Nuclear Power Infrastructure, which included the inauguration of the Ghana Nuclear Power Organisation to establish the terms of reference and roadmap for the successful take-off of the NPP.

He assured the IAEA that the Ministry would carefully study the report and address the recommendations as proposed, and urged all the related institutions to put in their best efforts to continually support the NPP.

Prof. Benjamin J. B. Nyarko, the Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, said the INIR mission was helpful in that it had provided an objective review of the status of the country's infrastructure nuclear development and also helped it to identify priority areas that needed to be focused on, to ensure the fulfilment of the requirements of the Phase one milestone of the roadmap.

GNA

By Christabel Addo, GNA
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra May 24, GNA - The 10 th Annual Chief Justice's Mentoring Programme has ended in Accra with a call on students to take up opportunities offered them to nurture their dreams and become responsible citizens.

The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina T. Wood, also urged students to learn how to build on good values to mould their lives.

The two day 10th Annual Chief Justice Mentoring Programme on the theme 'Mobilising for Ghana's Future- the Rights, Duties and Obligation of a Responsible Youth', attracted over 200 people drawn from 17 Senior High Schools in the Greater Accra, Eastern, Central and Upper East Regions.

Some female porters (Kayayie) in Accra also took part in the Mentoring programme. Participating students had the opportunity to visit Parliaments, interact with members of the bench and bar and took part in Career Counselling Sessions.

Mrs Wood was optimistic that the programme had empowered participants and helped them to understand how justice was dispensed in the country.

According to her the programme was also going to help students to select appropriate professions they would be pursuing in future.

She expressed her gratitude to all stakeholders who had supported her for the past 10 years.

The Chief Justice presented certificates to the participating schools.

Reverend Joyce Aryee, former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Mines urged the students to strive to build on good values in life.

The Kayayie Youth Association in the Greater Region presented a Plague to the Chief Justice for embracing marginalised girls and inspiring them.

'You are a great source of inspiration us,' Ms Fushoini Kubural a member of the Kayayie Youth Association told the Chief Justice.

GNA
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra, May 24, GNA - Stakeholders at a forum on Women's Rights online have called for urgent action to address barriers to women's access to the use of technology and the internet, in a bid to spur development.

According to the stakeholders, if trends in the use of ICTs and the internet persist, its spread could perpetuate the gender inequalities that society has been struggling for the past decade to address.

They made the call at a stakeholder forum on Women's Rights Online, organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and the World Wide Web Foundation (WWWF), on the theme: 'Promoting and Protecting Women's Rights Online- The Role of Stakeholders.'

Mr Vincent Adotei Odotei, the Deputy Minister of Communications, said bridging the digital divide required all hands on deck and urged all the stakeholders to contribute towards achieving it.

He expressed the need to mainstream technology into the nation's way of doing things and pledged the ministry's commitment to mainstreaming technology, saying 'technology should drive the way we do things'.

'Government and the public sector must show leadership' he added.

He noted that the ministry was working to improve on accessibility by reviving the use of the Community Innovation Centres (CICs) and the Regional Innovation Centres (RICs) to allow for citizens, including women to use the internet.

He said the ministry was currently in talks with Erikson to inculcate the Girls in ICT programme into the CIC module.

The Girls in ICT programme targets young girls in rural areas and also develop girls-specific programmes at the CICs and RICs.

It will also incorporate training in coding for girls.

'We have to demystify issues of technology. Technology is not only for men or boys. These days the women in the tech space are even better than the boys,' he said.

Mr Adotei also said government was also working with the Data protection Agency and the telecommunications companies to address issues of unsolicited messages and mails.

Government, he said, would also come up with policies and subsequently legislation to ensure the safety of women online.

Mr Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of MFWA, said the digital revolution was laying the foundation for inequalities between men and women that exist offline.

According to the report of the research undertaken by WWWF, more than 50 per cent of women were less likely to be online than their male counterparts or to be empowered to use digital tools for social and economic empowerment.

'It is rather unfortunate that over the years we've not been able to look at this as a critical foundation being laid to perpetuate the inequalities that exist in terms of empowerment,' he said.

He said it was good that it had now been identified as a problem.

He urged the stakeholders to begin to have conversations about it, raise the profile of the problem and engage the relevant policy makers to address it.

The survey covered five key areas: internet access and women's empowerment, affordability, digital skills and education, relevant content and services, and online safety with specific indicators for each area and countries graded in each area.

In Ghana, which had an overall score of 30 per cent, the study found that less than 20 per cent of women have access to the internet.

Also, high cost of data is a major constraint to women's use of the internet, with one Gigabyte of data costing over seven percent of average monthly income.

Implementation of Ghana's compulsory ICT education in schools has also been slow, while relevant content for women was also low.

GNA

By Belinda Ayamgha/ Priscilla Djentuh, GNA
Greetings Sheikh Mustapha Hamid,

Honourable Minister, I am posing this particular question to you directly. I am directing this question to you because of how you erroneously described the reasons behind the decision to purchase the equipments ( listening devices). You created the impression that the decision to purchase the equipments was to enable the former administration interfere with privacy of Ghanaians, to listen to private conversations and place surveillance on all Ghanaians. That is not only erroneous, but disingenuous which should not come from somebody I highly respect and admire.

I have not hidden my admiration when it comes to your attitude and composure on the political landscape and stated that strongly on my Facebook wall. I pray Allah guide you to jump over the those wicked traps politicians set for themselves when power gets into their hands.

Mr Minister, I monitored your interviews with some Radio stations this morning and what the Television stations captured which were telecast this evening and must say I am highly disappointed. Listeners and the media houses are less interested in less soothing stories.

The media houses wanting to be first with the news, may invest stories you forward to them with an atmosphere of sensationalism which they ( stories) may not deserve, but which will titillate the taste of the less sophisticated listeners or readers. This was what happened this morning, the desire to sensationalize the story was the major target of the journalist and the media house that first broke the story. On UTV, I detected many distortions in your statement, you deliberately presented a half truth story mixed with mischievous sensationalism to paint the former administration black in the eyes of the public.

HON. MINISTER, NOTE THIS

The equipment was for a national cyber security purpose; as national security must not always rely on telecos after it has secured a court order to do their ( its) work relating to anti- terrorism, fighting money laundering and other forms of cyber crime. Secondly, National Security did not secure a court order for mass surveillance or for an intricate surveillance of the entire country ( citizens) the target was a fraction of the population in order to monitor their nefarious activities.

Mr Minister, surveillance by our security outfits is not something new, it is being practiced in many countries including the civilised democracies. It is one of the most effective methods used when fighting terrorism, money laundering, cyber crime and other nefarious activities. Using it to violate privacy rights, interfering civil and political rights of law abiding citizens is unacceptable. The last administration was very particular about this principle hence the decision to get court order as the first step.

Ghana is not an endemic surveillance society but the kind of sophisticated crimes recorded in recent times, well planned murder, hacking of devices, swindling of innocent citizens on the net etc call for adequate safeguards against the enumerated abuses. Many countries who have practiced democracy for centuries and are true apostles of the system have already been adding thousands of surveillance cameras etc to their cities, towns and even rural areas. What happened recently in Manchester,should alert us to see the need to discuss this issues devoid of unnecessary political ejaculations. The current President recently touched on this issue from the social media angle and this was what he said 

http://dailyheritage.com.gh/?p=7365

Per the logic and propaganda you espousing in the media, can I therefore conclude that this administration is going to introduce social media censorship or, hacking into our devices. That is the logic you espousing with the comment you gave when you spoke to the media ( UTV)

Mr Minister, have you received enough briefing from the communication and security ministries on this issue? I am asking you this important question because, what you told the media undermines efforts by the communication ministry and National security to clampdown cyber crime, money laundering etc. The Communication ministry under , Minister Madam Ursula Owusu- Ekuful, the Council of Europe the National Security under Ken Dapaah in collaboration with other stakeholders organised a week- long course on cyber crime and electronic evidence for Judges and prosecutors at the Judicial Training Institute. It shows the importance your government attaches to the fight against these nefarious activities.

Mr Minister, my other worry is this concept of peddling half truth stories in the media and the attitude of sending sensitive stories ( information) to the media without authenticating the stories through wider consultations. We end up prejudicing right to fair hearing, we undermine ongoing investigations and even may end up arming the people we allege have committed crimes against the state. The information you sent out to your media friends were not accurate, half truth stories meant to discredit your opponents ( NDC). Some of the people mentioned in your story have vehemently denied your claims and can confirm are nursing pains.

I will forever support any move to retrieve from past officials or any other Ghanaian, monies or properties wrongly acquired in the name of political power,I support the NDC because of the noble principles and virtues our leaders espoused from 4th June 1979 and will forever champion those values. But I will not fall for cleverly packaged methods ( Machiavelli) to harass innocent citizens just for political convenience, and will not serve as surrogate to or for the propagandists whose only focus and interest is political power.

You are a young politician coming up and will be measured by what you espousing today, that is the reason why you must always struggle to bury the delusion spirit which easily destroy politicians . What you said on UTV confirms the assertion by many that you packaged the lies for an agenda.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

I think the authorities in Ghana and Saudi's counterpart are missing the critical issue with regards to Ghanaians being maltreated in the Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, as slaves in disguise.

Some unscrupulous people in Ghana are making adverts all-over the map in telling everyone, especially the young ladies that, they have secured professional jobs in Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi, and in all these Arab countries.

They entice them with the job bates and attract the young ladies and men, then they secure what they called working-visors for them, and they take them to those coubtries. These are purely house-maid servants working visors.

When they get there, they already have customers waiting at the airports in those countries, who take them and pay off the Agents huge money. What happens to these innocent vulnerable young ladies and men after that is something seriously despicable.

Their owners seize their passports, and use them like slaves, their sons rape some of them and kill those they want, cut them into pieces and hide them in bin bags for the bin trucks to take them away. This is a serious matter and it's been going on for long time now.

This is what is happening to our young women from Ghana and other African countries working in those Arab countries.

Telling those in Saudi Arabia to leave or those without documents to leave is not actually the full solution bcos some are already there who have some kind of working-visors but are been used as slaves.

Look, a Ghanaian lady who was a Trained Nurse in Ghana contacted me through Facebook from one of the Arab Countries and narrated the ordeals they're going through in Kuwait. How they're raping them, killing them and are been kept on their feet to work more than 14 hours/day throughout the week as house maids. It's just horrible.

She said an Agent tricked them of a nursing job in Kuwait and sold them as house-maids when they got there. With some help, the lady is now back to Ghana safely since 11 months now.

Am sure some of you have seen their videos or heard their tapes of the ladies (Ghanaians) complaining of the maltreatments they are going through in those Arab countries.

What I think the govt of Ghana should do is to pursue all these so-called Agents in Ghana, stop their adverts on radios, scrutinise their activities and cause them to trace those Ghanaians they tricked them with secured jobs, cured visors for them and have taken them to those countries. These Agents are crooks and are carrying out open adverts on radio staions all over Ghana, no one is questioning their activities, upon all these complaints....

Some adverts are even promising the young graduates with scholarships and pocket monies to further their education there, which are all lies.

In fact, sometimes I listen to the radio stations in Ghana and hear some things happening, and I find it difficult to believe why some people use all kinds of dubious means to get money from their fellow poor human beings and feel no compunction about it.

Those Arab Countries embassies in Ghana should stop giving mass visors to all these crook Agents. They are the problem.

Now that people are complaining loudly of the enslavements and the maltreatments in those countries, they announced that those with or without proper documents should leave Saudi Arabia. How did they get there? They should leave to where? What about those who have the so-called working-visors but are been forced to do what slaves do?

For sometimes now, when I listen to the adverts run on Ghana radio stations, I ask myself, why? It's like everyone in Ghana is kind of sick one way or the other. At every minute, there's advert of some medicines that cures this, cures that and what have you. There's this lady who appears on Peace and Okay FM, she is so obsessed with this advert of Genicure 442, saying Genicure 442, ema akosua kuma mu kye rough, take 4 in the morning, 4 in the afternoon and 2 in the evening, enoaa nono, genicure mamboos to get big breast, ejaculation emdicines, black power, Abrukusu, esi ho potii, etc, and all kinds of local herbal medicines naansense. All these naansense, why, is everybody in Ghana sick or what? Aaabah.

Peter Antwi Boasiako

London.
The real meaning of the Arabic word sharmota yesterday took centre stage at the trial of Jihad Chabaan, the embattled manager of the Ablemkpe branch of Mawarko Restaurant.

He has been charged with assaulting a Ghanaian caterer at the eatery.

Jihad, who has vehemently denied the use of the word, insists that he does not understand it and did not tell the police that sharmota has a lot of meanings, as the prosecution wants the court to believe.

Grilling

Under further cross-examination by the prosecution led by Chief Inspector H.A. Hanson, the accused person told the Abeka District Court, presided over by Ms. Victoria Guansah, that he did not tell the police that the meaning of the word is prostitute.

He stated that prostitute in Arabic is Aahira and not sharmota, contrary to the assertion by the prosecution.

C/Insp. Hanson indicated that it was necessary for Jihad to understand that he was testifying before a court of competent jurisdiction and as such ought to be careful with what he was telling the court.

But, Julio De Medeiros, his counsel, disagreed, insisting that the comments of the prosecutor amounted to threatening his client or putting a gun on his (Jihad's) head to answer the questions in a certain way.

Faced with the controversy over the word sharmota, the judge enquired from the Arabic interpreter, Mohammed Mubarak Hidir, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Department of Modern Languages.

Sharmota Unveiled

Mubarak Hidir stated that it is a colloquial Arabic word which is used in places like Egypt and Lebanon.

He explained that the word usually connotes negativity and can be used to insult a lady meaning a prostitute.

He further argued that in modern standard Arabic, there is a word for prostitute and not sharmota.

Jihad's lawyer said he was not comfortable with the action of the judge seeking the meaning of the word.

Julio claimed that the action was as though the judge had joined the prosecution to prosecute his client.

He contended that if the court intended to take the meaning from the interpreter, then he (Mubarak Hidir) had to be sworn on oath and put in the box for him to be cross-examined on what he had told the court.

Julio said it was not in the judge's place to fish for information for the prosecution, adding that for her to ask for the meaning of sharmota was going beyond her jurisdiction.

He contended that per the act, the judge had stepped into the shoes of the prosecution to try Jihad.

However, Ms. Victoria Guansah said the information was for her use and not to assist the prosecution in the matter.

She indicated that she could not also let any word she does not understand just pass, especially when it had been used in the court.

Sitting continues on May 31.

Charges

The accused, 26, is reported to have dipped the head of Evelyn Boakye  the caterer- into blended pepper on February 26, 2017.

According to the prosecution, the accused offensively conducted himself when he angrily called the complainant a prostitute.

Jihad is facing an additional charge of intentionally and unlawfully causing harm to Evelyn when he reportedly dipped the head of the complainant in the blended pepper.

[email protected]

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson


The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has promised to deal decisively with any military man found to be protecting persons engaged in illegal mining commonly known as 'galamsey' in the country.

According to him, the law would not be compromised if any military officer engages in illegality.

He charged officers to be professional in their work and abide by the laws of the land.

The minister, who made the remarks when he addressed a durbar of army officers at the Michel Camp in Tema as part of a working visit to some military installations in the area, said that the military high command had been tasked to institute investigations into recent allegation of some military officers protecting some illegal miners.

In recent times, news of some military officers alleged to be protecting illegal miners has become topical.

A case in point was soldiers as well as policemen protecting 'galamsey' operators believed to be Russians and Ukrainians in the Ashanti Region.

Mr Dominic Nitiwul recalled that there are some existing provisions whereby the military, based on request, are asked to protect some legal mining companies against attacks but that does not include galamseyers.

He warned that if the allegations turned out to be true, those officers would be dealt with according to law.

The minister called on the officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to lead disciplined lives, as government is prepared to equip and motivate them.

He further assured the GAF of government's commitment to solving the poor accommodation problem facing the officers.

The defence minister gave the assurance when he toured the One Garrison, comprising the Eastern Naval, the Michel Camp and the Shai Hills Military Training School.

The Minister, who was in the company of the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and top military officers, first visited the Eastern Naval Base.

He also inspected the ongoing housing project for naval officers which is about 90 percent complete at Tema Newtown but had been abandoned.

Mr Nitiwul, who also led the team to inspect encroachment on the military lands, expressed disgust about the situation and charged the military to ward off the encroachers.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema


Lusaka (AFP) - Zambia is considering a proposal to move its capital from fast-developing Lusaka to a nearly uninhabited marshland district in the centre of the country, a minister said Thursday.

Lusaka has been the national capital since 1935 when Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia under British colonial rule.

"Within the next 10 years, you will not be able to conduct business in Lusaka because of congestion," national planning and development minister Lucky Mulusa told AFP.

"The city is over-crowded, and so the sensible thing to do is move the capital out."

Mulusa said that President Edgar Lungu's cabinet was due to discuss the move to Ngabwe district within the next two weeks.

Ngabwe is a little-known rural district in Zambia's Central Province, close to Kabwe town and about 120 kilometres (75 miles) -- or two hours' drive -- north of Lusaka.

It is often cut off when roads flood during rains, but Mulusa said the district was well-positioned in the middle of the country.

He added that Ngabwe would be planned to ensure it could host regional bodies such as the African Union (AU), based in Addis Ababa, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), based in Gaborone, Botswana.

"If Lusaka was properly situated, it would have benefited many institutions," he said.

Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991, while Myanmar's military rulers moved its capital 200 miles north from Yangon to a new site at Naypyidaw in 2005.

Tanzania's capital Dodoma was designed in the 1980s but many government activities remain in Dar es Salaam.

Lungu's critics have accused him of suppressing dissent, while the main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has been in detention for more than six weeks on treason charges.


A total of 200 students from Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (OIC), an Accra-based vocational training institute, have carried out a major clean-up exercise at the University of Ghana (UG) Hospital in Legon.

The exercise which took place on Wednesday formed part of the activities marking the annual week celebration of OIC, and this received support from waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

The students and staff of Zoomlion during the morning-long exercise weeded, swept and mopped the hospital facility as a way of promoting clean sanitation and giving back to society.

The Centre Manager of OIC, Mawuli Sogbey, told the media on the sidelines of the exercise that the school has strived to contribute positively to the well-being of the society over the years.

According to him, the exercise was aimed at giving back to society, as well as projecting the positive image of the school.

As a school, he said OIC exists to train students in 10 skills areas to enable them to acquire marketable skills.

Senior Communications Executive of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Daniel Ohene, who was on duty to help coordinate the exercise, explained that his outfit remains committed to partnering other institutions to clean the environment.

According to him, there is the need to create public awareness about cleanliness to make sure that people clean their surroundings.

With regards to the clean-up exercise, he indicated that the school approached Zoomlion for support and it obliged, giving them logistics and offering expertise.

On his part, Administrator of the UG Hospital, Eric H. Gaisey, thanked Zoomlion and OIC for undertaking the exercise.

He recounted that students from OIC had on three occasions visited the hospital in their numbers to undertake clean-up exercises.

The work they have done today could have taken us more than three months to do, he said, calling on other institutions to emulate the examples of OIC and Zoomlion.

By Melvin Tarlue


The fake traditional medicine license that she operates with. INSET: The signboard of Nana Ama Serwaa, the fetish priest

Nana Ama Serwaa alias 'Asuoabena,' a famous fetish priestess at Barekese, near Kumasi, is being investigated by the police for allegedly recruiting young girls to engage in prostitution.

The soothsayer is also being probed by the Ashanti Regional Police Command for operating a traditional medicine business without proper license, which is contrary to the Traditional Medicine Practice Law (Act 575, 2000).

Nana Ama Serwaa and one Christopher Owusu, 25, who allegedly supplied the fake traditional medicine licence, have since been granted police inquiry bail.

The Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ken Yeboah, who made the disclosure on Tuesday, said the fetish priestess was picked up by the police on May 16, this year, while Owusu was also arrested two days later.

He said the police received complaints that aside practicing traditional medicine with fake license, the fetish priestess had also recruited some young girls in Ashanti Region and beyond to engage in prostitution in her house.

The police, who were armed with this information, rushed to Nana Ama Serwaa's residence at Barekese, invited her to the police station to assist in investigations and later on conducted a search in her 17-bedroom apartment.

DCOP Yeboah disclosed that during the thorough search, the police found quantities of used and unused condoms and fake traditional medicine bearing Nana Ama Serwaa's name.

Nana Ama Serwaa, he said, during preliminary investigations after her arrest on May 16, mentioned Christopher Owusu as the one who issued the fake license to her to operate her traditional medicine business.

Owusu, he said, was nabbed on May 18 in his house at Asuofia and quantities of capsules and plastic containers, containing creams with the inscription Rebec Vanicure and Rebec Man capsules, were retrieved.

According to DCOP Yeboah, Owusu, during interrogation, admitted giving the fake license to Nana Ama Serwaa.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi




The United Nation Headquarters has observed the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers yesterday.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laid a wreath to honour all fallen peacekeepers and presided over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjold Medal was awarded posthumously to 117 military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations in 2016.

Two fallen peacekeepers from Ghana were among the 117 who were the Dag Hammarskjold medal posthumously. They are Lance Corporal Emmanuel Sakyi, who served with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO); and Staff Sergeant Boniface Atanyik, who lost his life while deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

In a video message to mark the Day, the Secretary-General said: Every day, peacekeepers help bring peace and stability to war-torn societies around the world. On the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we pay tribute to the more than 3,500 peacekeepers who have given their lives in the service of peace since 1948.

For his part, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said: We pay our greatest respects to the committed and courageous peacekeepers who are no longer with us today. I offer my deepest and most sincere condolences to the families of those we honour and to the bereaved. It's critical that we continue to invest in peace and make every effort to carry forward their noble work, and that we continue to pursue reform efforts to make United Nations peacekeeping more efficient and effective. That is the best way we can honour the memories and sacrifices of our fallen peacekeepers.

Today, more than 96,000 uniformed personnel from 124 troop-and-police-contributing countries serve under the blue flag, alongside more than 15,000 international and national civilian staff and nearly 1,600 United Nations Volunteers.

Ghana is the 10th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping. It currently deploys more than 2,700 military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan and the Western Sahara.

The flag raising and wreath-laying ceremony will take place on Monday, 29 May at the Forecourt of the State House.
THE EXECUTIVES of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Tema West Constituency of the Greater Accra Region have temporarily banned activities of all splinter groups irrespective of any cause that brought them into existence.

According to the executives, activities of the groups have been put on hold until further notice to permit the party to restore discipline and avoid confusion, chaos and unnecessary tension in the metropolis with regards to some of their actions.

This was contained in a press statement issued by the party and signed by the Organiser in the Tema West Constituency, Emmanuel Kwabena Arhin.

The party during the 2016 electioneering campaign, lawfully endorsed the formation of identifiable groups mainly to galvanize support for the party with constituency executives overseeing their activities.

However, the party has noticed with deep concern, fierce in-fighting and recriminations in many of these groups.

According to the party, This has resulted in a lack of respect amongst members and a total breakdown of discipline.

Also, without consent of the party leadership and in some cases disapproved group activities/events are notoriously carried out.

It is against some of these reasons that the hierarchy of the party has taught it wise to cease their operations.

The party has warned to deal with any group or member who might go contrary to the directive saying that By this directive, all the groups should forthwith cease their operations accordingly; any identifiable group and/ or member who fails to comply with this directive shall face disciplinary action.

The party further seized the opportunity to congratulate the new Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema, Felix Mensah Annang-la for his appointment.

He was urged to work with the rank and file of the party to solve the crucial problems of unemployment in the metropolis.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema


Nairobi (AFP) - Five police officers were killed Thursday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in northeastern Kenya, a day after two separate IEDs killed eight officers, a regional security official said.

"The five police officers killed in the attack were headed to boost the ongoing operation in Liboi," said North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Ali Saleh referring to a town on the border with Somalia.

The Kenya Red Cross said the attack occurred between Malelei and Kulan in Garissa county.

The Shabaab, a Somali-led Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, claimed the attack -- as well as the previous two -- in a statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.

On Wednesday eight officers were killed in two separate incidents in Mandera and Garissa counties, both in Kenya's restive northeast close to the border with Somalia.

The spate of bombings comes after Kenyan police warned of increased Islamist activity in the area.

Since 2007 the Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Somalia but only began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-strong African Union mission fighting in Somalia.

In 2013 Shabaab gunmen raided a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi killing 67 people, and in 2015 a similar attack on a university in Garissa left 148 dead.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

One of Ghanas pharmaceutical giants, Ernest Chemists Limited, has picked two prestigious excellence awards for being the 2017 Peoples Choice Practitioners as well as the Local Pharmaceutical Institution of the year.

The award ceremony which was held in Kumasi was presented to the company by The Heleh Africa Honours, which also honoured other distinguished Ghanaians with 24-carat-gold medals.

In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer of Ernest Chemists Limited, Mr Ernest Bediako Sampong, said his firm would not have been able to attain that feat without the strong faith Ghanaians had in Ernest Chemists to continue providing quality medicines at affordable prices.

He said, we have been graced by the growing loyalty of our cherished customers over the past decades and we are even geared to do more for our most deserving current and potential clientele. It is in this light that we have taken steps to expand our current operations to help us meet the increasing demand of our locally manufactured medicines.

As a key strategy, Mr Bediako Sampong revealed, we have initiated an investment programme to procure modern and high capacity equipment aimed at increasing the output of our liquid products by 300 per cent. By July 2017, the installation of the additional equipment at our main factory will be completed to ensure that our supply of much sought-after products such as Auntie Mary Gripe Water, Epanol Syrup, Stopkof, No. 10 Liver Salt and Nexcofer Blood Tonic is not hampered.

To the companys local and international customer base, Mr Bediako Sampong gave the assurance of their unwavering commitment to be an excellent partner in health care across the West African sub region.

He reiterated that, our currently under-construction Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)  compliant factory on a Greenfield, upon completion by the close of 2018, shall not only increase our output further by adding new dosage forms and product lines to our present portfolio but also help upgrade our operational and management systems to meet current regulatory requirements and international standards.

Mr Bediako Sampong was of the firm conviction that, with these upcoming expansions in our production, we expect a wider coverage of our affordable medicines which are of the highest quality for even more Ghanaians.

We are passionate in our quest to help create a healthier Ghana as we believe that health is indeed wealth.

Since the company is a purely indigenous company with virtually all our employees being locals, our expansion programmes directly result in the creation of more jobs to reduce the unemployment ratio while contributing to the improvement of economic growth indicators such as GDP, GNP and per capita income.

With our increased supply of locally manufactured medicines reducing the need to import from abroad and our exportation of medicines, we can contribute positively also to the balance of trade and balance of payments indices.

He expressed optimism that Ernest Chemists Limited would work jointly with all Ghanaians to create a stronger and better Ghana.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com
Lagos (AFP) - Lack of funding is forcing aid agencies to cut feeding programmes for starving people in northeast Nigeria, the UN said Thursday, warning of growing pressure on resources as refugees return.

The World Food Programme last week said nearly two million people were living on the brink of famine in the remote region, which has been devastated by Boko Haram violence since 2009.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 5.2 million people could need life-saving food aid in three northeast states from June to August.

OCHA said a massive funding shortfall had "forced some organisations to review plans and targets and in some cases reduce food distribution for the upcoming critical lean season".

That "might negatively affect some of the progress made so far", it added in its latest situation report.

"This, paired with recent nutrition assessments indicating deteriorating nutrition levels in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (states), is putting increased pressure on food security and nutrition responders," the agency said.

'Looming famine'

Boko Haram's insurgency has left more than 2.6 million homeless and hungry

Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people in northeast Nigeria and forced millions of others from their homes.

Lack of security, plus restrictions on travel and trade, have hit agriculture in a desperately poor region dependent on subsistence farming and fishing.

That has led to food shortages and driven up prices.

The UN says Nigeria needs $1.05 billion this year to fund vital humanitarian projects including food and healthcare provision, clean water, sanitation and education.

But on Tuesday it said the plan to tackle "the looming famine" was only about 20 percent-funded at $24 million.

"We need to do more, we need to do it quicker and we can always do better," said the UN's deputy humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Peter Lundberg.

Lundberg called the situation in the northeast "Africa's worst humanitarian crisis" and said funding was "pivotal" as Nigeria faces up to the aftermath of the conflict.

Aid agencies working the region have stepped up their efforts with the approach of the rainy season, which sees already hard-to-reach rural areas cut off by flooding.

Makeshift dwellings are threatened with damage from heavy rains while the risk of disease -- especially malaria and water-borne conditions such as typhoid and cholera -- increases.

'Precarious state'

Nearly two million people are on the brink of famine in northeast Nigeria but there are not enough funds to feed them

Nigeria's government had wanted to shut camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in and around the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, by the end of May but was forced to abandon the plan.

Humanitarian agencies say camps elsewhere in Borno are facing increasing pressure because of the return of refugees from neighbouring Cameroon.

More than 6,000 people have registered with the immigration service since early April; 1,500 arrived in the first two weeks of May and 2,500 more are expected in border areas in the coming weeks.

"Returnees are arriving in areas where aid partners may not be fully prepared to provide assistance due to lack of presence and funding", said OCHA.

"The conditions in return areas are very poor and camps are overcrowded. The situation continues to deteriorate with serious protection implications.

"The returnees are in a precarious state, lacking all basic life necessities, including shelter, food and water."

Security also remains a persistent problem, with regular suicide and bomb attacks, despite military claims the militants have been weakened to the point of defeat.

Earlier this month, Britain and the United States warned that foreign aid workers were at increased risk of kidnapping in border areas where people are most in need of help.
The Ghanaian Womens Fasting and Prayer Conference, Toronto, today celebrated its 15th anniversary at the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church, also in Toronto, Canada, with pomp and pageantry.

The women, who came from all Ghanaian Churches in Toronto, filled the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church sanctuary to capacity and graced by about 20 reverend ministers and Ghana Consul General in Toronto, John D. Bosco. The women, backed by devout Christian men, dressed in a special cloth, designed for the occasion.

Everybody in the sanctuary danced and waved white handkerchiefs to the glory of God

Welcoming the group, the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church Resident Minister Rev. Raymond Baah Abekah said I know you all Ministers of God were originally Presbyterians but run away from the Presbyterian Church, amid profound laughter.

Rev. Baah Abekah, however, told the people including the Ministers, who still dont have a place to worship, should come back to the Presbyterian Church which doors are wide open to receive them.

Delivering the sermon, Evangelist Boniface Keelson of Light House Assemblies of God in Toronto, said today has been set aside for a serious prayer and everybody must actively pray for the salvation of mankind.

Quoting from the Book of 1st Timothy 2 vr 4, Evangelist Keelson said Gods ultimate desire for families and mankind in general is to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth, adding that any Pastor or a Church member who does not know Gods ultimate desire is either on a wrong bus or miss the path.

Evangelist Keelson told the people that in 1993 when he gained admission to the University of Ghana, Legon, he met a good woman who later became his wife. He said my parents did not send me to the University to get wife.

If it had been for a good wife and good friends, my parents would not have sponsored me at the university. They sent me to the University to be somebody in life, he stressed, adding that one day one of the good friends he made at the university, now a medical Doctor, who owns a clinic, requested him (Evangelist) to wait after preaching at a church in Accra, Ghana. The Doctor friend returned with an envelope containing 7,500 dollars as a gift to him.

According to Evangelist Keelson, my Doctor friend remarked that some of you made us what we are today and can use the content of the envelope anyhow I want it.

Evangelist Keelson emphasised that it is good to have money and own properties but the most important of all is to make Gods ultimate desire (salvation) a priority.

The Church is not there for only funeral announcements, outdooring of babies and weddings but the main aim of coming to church is to draw closer to God and help execute His ultimate desire.

He observed two reasons for some church members to resign from churches is that I fell sick and I was not visited.

Evangelist Keelson questioned: when you reported same to your employer, were you visited and did you resign from your employment?

My funeral announcement was made only twice while the other persons announcement was made about four times. These should not be justifiable reasons to resign from a church.

These are flimsy excuses, according to the Evangelist, and urged the people to desist from them. All the people around you, including your parents, children and families must be saved, encouraging the women to pray all the time for them to be saved.

In conclusion, Evangelist Keelson challenged the women to support Gods work such as evangelism and fasting and prayer meetings in all churches, urging mothers to pray and pray for the souls of leaders so that there will be peace on earth.

Call God anytime and He will answer, the Evangelist added.

Speaking at the conference, the Consul General of Ghana in Toronto, Mr. John D. Bosco, observed that all things are possible only with one accord. He invoked Gods blessings on the women and urged them to be role models for their children.

Mr. Emmanuel Duodu, President of Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario (GCAO), urged the women to have close ties with the GCAO for the harmony in the Ghanaian community in Ontario.

Highlight of the celebration was Mrs. Comfort Ayiku, Leader of the Conference, assisted by Mrs. Susana Barning, distributed plaques and gifts to Pastors and non-Pastors for the good job done for the Conference since its inception.
Nairobi (AFP) - Five police officers were killed Thursday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Kenya in an attack claimed by Shabaab Islamists a day after eight police died in similar blasts.

The officers had been deployed to the restive northeastern region to take part in an operation against the Somali-led militants after two separate roadside bombs on Wednesday.

"The five police officers killed in the attack were headed to boost the ongoing operation in Liboi," said North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Ali Saleh referring to a town on the border with Somalia.

The Kenya Red Cross said the latest attack occurred between Malelei and Kulan in Garissa county when a vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED).

The blast flipped over the green police pickup and tore its rear end off.

The Shabaab, a Somali-led Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, claimed the attack -- as well as the previous two -- in a statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.

On Wednesday morning three police officers were killed when their vehicle drove over a roadside bomb near the Liboi border post.

Later in the day a convoy accompanying a local governor was struck, killing five officers including his bodyguard.

Earlier this week Kenyan police issued a statement warning of increased militant activity in the area, specifically mentioning the threat of IEDs.

Attacks predicted

According to Tuesday's statement by police chief George Kinoti, the Shabaab was "under serious pressure in Somalia" and as a result "has split into small groups, some of whom are heading towards our border with the intention of staging attacks."

Kinoti said such groups planned "to lay IEDs along the routes used by our security patrols".

Despite predicting the spate of bombings that followed, Kenyan security was unable to prevent the deaths of 13 officers in two bloody days.

The government has yet to comment on the upsurge in attacks in the region bordering Somalia.

On May 16, four people were killed near Liboi when their car hit an IED.

Several other incidents took place last week in Mandera county when suspected Shabaab fighters attacked a village, killed a traditional chief and kidnapped two police reservists, according to local police.

In October 2016, the government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Mandera after Shabaab fighters killed 12 people at a hotel. The authorities also stepped up security in the region, with the curfew extended in April.

Since 2007, the Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Somalia but began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-strong African Union mission fighting in Somalia.

In 2013, Shabaab gunmen raided a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi killing 67 people, and in 2015 a similar attack on a university in Garissa left 148 dead.
IAMMIA-Africa, a leading media research non-governmental organization in Africa has called on African media to use their medium in projecting the positive image of the Continent to promote peace and development.

In a press statement signed by the Executive Director, Dr. Messan Mawugbe to mark this years African Unity (AU) day celebration, the NGO is of the view that, the persistent projection of the negative image of the continent is drawing back development

According to the statement, a research conducted by IAMMIA-Africa ahead of the 2017 AU day celebration reveals that, 58 percent of news stories reported by the African Media projected Africa negatively in 2015 to 2016 with only 42% positive.

The statement added that, Africa media houses relied 64% heavily on international news agencies for African news with only 36% from Africa medias own international correspondents.

The statement which was released on Tuesday lauded the African media for its efforts to challenge and stand tall among the global media but however called on the news gate keepers to portray the positive image about the continent instead of joining forces with the foreign media in tarnishing Africas image

IAMMIA-Africa, as a lead media research and intelligence organization, therefore calls on the African Media to use their various medium in presenting Africa positively to the entire world. We wish to see issues of successes in education, health, governance, democracy, economy and many more in news stories about the continent in the coming years. The statement noted.

Read the full release below.

PRESS STATEMENT BY IAMMIA-AFRICA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2017 AFRICAN UNITY (AU) DAY CELEBRATION IN GHANA

On Thursday May 25, 2017, Ghana will join her colleague African nations to mark the African Unity day celebration. The day is necessary as it is used to mark the formation of the then Organization of African Union (O.A.U), which was later changed to the African Union (AU) and now African Unity (AU).

The day is used by African leaders to assess and ponder on the achievement of the continent since it gained freedom from colonialism. It is therefore necessary for (IAMMIA-Africa) as a media research organization to assess and find out how African image is being presented in the media.

For many decades, it is alleged that, the foreign media, in a quest to satisfy its audience continues to report on only negative news stories about the continent despite the positive aspects.

They often describe Africa as the dark continent where hunger, drought, diseases, conflict, war, among other negative issues are pervasive which derails the development of the continent.

However, with the emergence of the new media narrating, one would have thought that, Africans would have used this media to portray the positive image of their own continent to the entire world.

IAMMIA-Africa, as part of activities to mark this years African Unity day celebration which is under the theme Harnessing The Demographic Dividend Through Investment In Youth conducted a research on how the African media reports about the continent using newspapers from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda which revealed that, media in Africa has joined forces with their foreign counterparts in projecting the negative image about the continent.

The research revealed that, 58 percentof news stories reported by African media in the past two years (2015 to 2016) projected the continent negatively with only 42% positive.

Furthermore, the research revealed that Africa media houses relied 64% heavily on international news agencies for African news with only 36% from Africa medias own international correspondents.

Issues of Terrorism, War, Conflict, Hunger, Drought, Diseases still leads in African media reportage though the continent since neocolonialism have achieved a lot in Education, Health, Democracy, Technology, Transportation, Water, Sanitation, among others.

Why then do the African media concentrate more on the negativity of the continent? Asking these questions and making efforts to get these questions answered, have left us with no option but to say that, The African Media Is Africas Enemy.

If this is so, then why then do Africans blame the western media when we are equally contributing to the negative image of the continent and crafting a future of hopelessness for the African youth?

We therefore believe that, if the African media would collectively and objectively portray the good image of the continent, the harnessing of the demographic dividend as stated by this years theme will surely be realized and would enhance Africa`s youth empowerment project.

IAMMIA-Africa, as a lead media research and intelligence organization, therefore calls on the African Media to use their various medium in presenting Africa positively to the entire world. We wish to see issues of successes in education, health, governance, democracy, economy and many more in news stories about the continent in the coming years.

We (IAMMIA-Africa) advocate that, media houses should invest in in-house international correspondents to cover news on Africa instead of over reliance on the international news agencies such as (BBC, CNN, Reuters, AFP, Xinhua) among a few for news on Africa.
Of course there are varieties of ways people/decision makers can use to size up unfolding events in an attempt to understand and if necessary devise action plan(s) to address those critical emerging issues. From personal observation, one of the most effective means to connect, gauge, or figure out an unfiltered mood of the Ghanaian society is to ride in taxi quite often. Perhaps every Ghanaian knows this already, but it is worth emphasizing that most of the taxi drivers in Ghana have a lot to say and possess troves of information regarding the socioeconomic pathways in the country today.

Admittedly, I dont live in the country of my birth (Ghana) now, so when it comes to what American politicians will describe as the bread and butter issues of the ordinary Ghanaians, I cant provide any good account that reflects everyday realities on the grounds. Nonetheless, within my three weeks stay in Ghana, I learned a great deal about the true state, including the socioeconomic trajectories in the country. Through the perspectives of the average, nonpartisan Ghanaians driving to make a living every day in the dusty, pothole-infested streets in the nations cities, towns, and so on, l got a fair idea of the state of affairs in Ghana regardless of my long absence from home.

Thus, if I were advising President Akuffo Addo now, I will make an impassioned plea to him to consider finding ways to randomly engage and interact with some of the taxi drivers in the country every now and then. By the nature of their trade, taxi drivers get the chance to talk and extract information from a cross-section of Ghanaians or people of all backgrounds. Many of the passengers who board taxis usually interact and engage in friendly conversations with the drivers, and in the process end up sharing information, deliberately or inadvertently. More so, some of the taxi drivers are social/political activists themselves so they may tend to be abreast of the pressing national issues.

In Accra or in Kumasi, l relied on taxis for my movements around town. Throughout those rides stories of indiscipline on our roads , near absence of law and order, socioeconomic rot in our society, including the events that precipitated ex-President Mahama and his government ouster from power, came up. Most of the taxis drivers I got in contact with had consensus of opinion that the previous regime deserved to lose because the key metrics that encourage economic growth were nonexistent.

To many of the drivers, public corruption was out of control in Ghana, and the general hope is that the government of Nana Akuffo Addo will not also fall into that selfish trap of public corruption and mismanagement that bedeviled the previous regime of NDC. Clearly, these average Ghanaians drivers know more about the societal trends and the general feelings of majority of Ghanaians than the decision makers think. Also, they can quickly figure out the background of most of their passengers no matter how one tries to disguise ones identity. For instance, although I insisted that I am not a so-called burgar, yet some of the drivers kept calling me burgar because they claimed my skin looked too smooth to live under the constant hot sun of Ghanawhatever that perception meant

In conversations about the deplorable state of many of the cities roads in the midst of mansions and fancy cars owned by some of the public officials in Ghana, some of the drivers questioned the sense behind buying all these expensive cars for the pothole-jammed and the third-class roads. One taxi drivers asked me: burgar, do you have these types of dusty and poor roads in US, Germany, Canada citieswhy cant our leaders do the same good things in Ghana since they see better things in abroad every day that they and their families visit there?

Another taxi driver sarcastically told me Ghana is the only place that the severely sick person goes to the emergency room/hospital in a taxi but the dead person is carried in an ambulance. Ghanaians spend more lavishly on the dead/funerals than the living person struggling to survive. Theyre building ostentatious funeral homes all over the place irrespective of whether or not they will worsen traffic problems in that area. One of those overelaborated funeral homes I saw during my stay was called the Transition located along the busy Dome-Kwabenya main road in Accra. I learned many residents in the area initially protested against putting up such a building because of the potential inflow of heavy traffic in the event of a funeral ceremony but to no avail. According to some of the taxi drivers, there is a strong suspicion that one or more top Ghanaian political leaders have interests in that funeral home that was probably why the residents protest couldnt have any impact.

Massa burgar, this is not a lie, do you know that some of the top people in Ghana have put their names on many streets in our cities but just look at all the potholes and how bad the roads are? Keep in mind these poor taxi or trotro drivers pay taxes all the time for the upkeep of the nations roads so they deserve better. Those taxi drivers are more than right. There are uncontrollable traffic jams everywhere in Accra and in Kumasi. The countrys population is fast exploding; and, it looks like everybody wants to buy a car to show-off their level of success in life while driving in the same old tiny roads. One sad and shameful observation is that Ghanas two major citiesAccra and Kumasiin this age of (MTN/TIGO) 21st century communication networks cant even boast of a second-class highway linking the two premier cities let alone first-class one.

Regarding the conduct of some of the MPs, many Ghanaians/taxi drivers think the parliamentarians change their contact numbers as soon as theyre elected into parliament on the pretext of security reasons, so it is hard to get in touch with them. The MPs would show up once in a while in the constituency office or become more accessible and smooth talkers when another election is coming up.

President Akuffo Addo appears to be popular among those taxi drivers I talked to both in Accra and in Kumasi. However, one of their concerns was that the government might relent in terms of keeping the galamseyers feet to the fire. Many regular Ghanaians support and expect the president to stand up to the illegal miners and their collaborators, especially the traditional rulers and the Chinese who have almost taken over Ghanas natural resources. There will be a huge disappointment among a lot of Ghanaians if Akuffo Addo-led administration behaves the same way as its predecessor NDC with regard to the handling of galamsey. Ghanaians cant take over China resources neither should any Chinese be allowed to run Ghana under any circumstances. Mr. President, ask or talk to the average taxi drivers; theyre closely watching you. They know a great about what is going on in the country, I bet you!

Bernard Asubonteng is a US-based writer; he just returned from a trip in Ghana. He can be reached at: [email protected]
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Gayama 2, Fungom Sub Division, the Cameroons: 14/5/2017:The area called Joining Water by most travelers between Nigeria and Cameroon in the Katsina Ala Basin has been completely submerged by rising water due to the construction of the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam by the Federal government of Nigeria.

The beacon, planted at Latitude 6; 49; 38.9280 N and Longitude 9; 57; 30.8989 E, acting as boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria is now underneath water as the rising water seems to modify even the footpaths and navigable portions of the Menchum or Mgbe rivers. Cameroon calls the river, Menchum while Nigeria calls it Mgbe.

Joining Water is a Y shape representing River Menchum and its tributary River Even (called Uwama by Nigeria), with Menchum or Mgbe being the main tributary of the River Katsina Ala. All these rivers take their in the Cameroons.

On the upper side of the Y was found Gayama 2 in the Cameroons, while on the right side was found Mgbe 1, and Mgbe too is on the left side. Like Gayama 2, Mgbe 1 is completely submerged by water.

According to Clement ALANG, elite from Gayama 2, the village had over 345 houses with a population of 750. Most of the people are now living as refugees in Nigeria, or as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Mgbe 2, Gayama 1, Mekaf, Munkep, Esu and beyond.

The Divisional Officer (D.O) Edward Egbe of Fungom Subdivision, Menchum Division, North West Region of Cameroon was informed when the water started rising and he visited the village in early April 2017.

The water has now swallowed the whole village and we have heard nothing from the government of the Cameroons. lamented Clement Alang.

Dauda Audu, a Nigerian fisherman and boatman who had a house in Gayama 2 complained that 100 residents who were at Gayama 2 contributed Naira 1,000 each to support the D.O. when he visited. We gave the D.O. from Fungom Naira 100,000 (FCFA 60,000) for his transport. We fed him well and gave him fish to carry back. But he has not come back to see whether we were still alive. Dauda Audu regretted.

Clement Alang confirmed that Dauda Audu had a house called underground in Gayama 2. It was a nice house with a tin roof, unlike majority of the houses in Gayama 2. Clement Alang said.

Most people in Gayama 2 are descended from Esu in Cameroon. Some in Esu point to Gayama 2 as their spiritual home from where their grandparents originated. Pa Charles Kum Mei, great seer of Esu still pays regular trips to Gayama 2 to the ritual site of his ancestors to pour libation and gather more spiritual powers.

All such ritual sites, constituting a world heritage have gone under water.

We are waiting for our gods to take up this fight! David Adzuanaga exclaimed with hands uplifted. He continued, We do not know why this calamity has befallen us. After the flood in the Bible, God made a covenant with Noah saying  Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. So even as evil as we might be as humans, it is not God punishing us.

All crops in Gayama 2 have been wiped out by the flood waters. The few oil palm trees and African bush mango still standing inside the water will eventually decay within months.

Clement said he farmed on 30 hectares and had more than 5,000 stems of cocoa, 3,000 oil palms, 300 bush mango, 100 mangoes, 25 coconut trees and millions of corn stems.

How do I now feed my family? How do I educate my children and take care of my health needs? Clement asked.

Cash crops and medicinal plants were all flooded. The communities around the Katsina Ala Basin put a high premium on alternative medicine. Most of their health conditions are remedied using alternative medicine and spiritual exercises.

Chief Martin Ngum Nang, third degree chief of Gayama 2, presently an IDP in Esu could not be contacted on how he planned to resolve some of the issues his community raised.

There is an acute shortage of water, food, medications and homes at Joining Water. Most of the 1,500 members of the Mgbe 1 community have moved to join the over 2,000 people in Mgbe 2. No schooling is going on in Mgbe 1 and Mgbe 2 as the only school was flooded in Mgbe 1. The Lone hospital was also submerged in Mgbe 1.

Clement lamented that he was not sure how Nigeria intended to compensate them, on the Cameroonian side, after such damage.

The project managers boast that the lifespan of the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam is 150 years. Unfortunately, it is becoming evident that the Federal Government of Nigeria and the executors did not plan for the consequences beyond a few months. For losing all their livelihoods due to the project and its flood waters some affected people were given Naira 6000 survive on for 150 years.

We expect the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently come to our rescue and end this terrible environmental and human disaster. Alang said.

The Project Managers clearly state that only those living within 10 kilometers of the dam will benefit from their social package which contains water and electrification. It means Mgbe 1, Mgbe 2, Manga, Alang, and Gayama 2, which are located more than 30 kilometers away would benefit nothing.

Akum Upkack and Ezong are about 45 kilometers away from the dam on the Cameroonian side. Healthcare and sanitation are collapsing in these places. All water in the communities after the dam is polluted and contaminated.

From the confessions of Rolbin Michael, Project Manager (PM) of Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam, those living after the 10 kilometers radius from the dam towards Cameroon are damned. I was unable to get Rolbin Michael to as residents of Kashimbila warned that the PM was too arrogant and supported by people in high places. None of my queries were answered.

Akum Upkack and Ezong with a population of over 8,500, according to Angwa Philip Akawu, President of Akum-Ezong Cultural and Development Association (AECUDA) are losing homes farms and people. Both communities are essentially farmers growing and commercializing cocoa, oil palm products, African bush mango. They also have non-timber forest products which are now under water.

We are lost because nobody in Cameroon or Nigeria is telling us anything. Philip Angwa lamented.

+234 909 402 6829

Fon Christopher Achobang roaming at large on +2349094026829 ****

Social Commentator, Human rights activist

The Cameroons
Former deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor has said his boss Dr. Kwabena Donkor erred in pledging to resign if he fails to fix dumsor.

In February 2015 Dr. Donkor promised to resign from his post if the debilitating power crisis then lingered on beyond December 2015.

At least the end of the year is December so you can hold me to thatyes I will resign, he declared in an interaction with journalistswhich he did after failing to solve the powere crisis.

He tendered in his resignation to the presidency on Thursday December 31, 2015 and it followed a series of discussions at the presidency over how he handled the crisis, a year after his appointment as the sector minister.

Breaking his silence on his boss pledge and subsequent resignation, Mr. Jinapor told Bola Ray on Starr Chat that: I wish he hadnt given that promise. He was under no compulsion and to be frank with you he doesnt control all the resources and so for him to have given that promise as bold as it was he shouldnt have.

Jinapor added: I dont believe in dampening the spirit of people because he said it. If you go saying that he shouldnt have said it, what he said is wrong, you demoralize him.

All I needed to do was to support him and he attests that I gave him the best of support.

Dr. Donkor, added Mr. Jinapor, left a good legacy despite his short stint at the ministry.

He did his part. But it is just unfortunate that because he gave that deadline there was so much fixation and some even thought let him fail and resign and I thought that he shouldnt have given that deadline.
Tripoli (AFP) - Libya is working closely with Britain to identify possible "terrorist networks" involved in the attack at a pop concert in Manchester, a senior Libyan official said Thursday.

"We are working closely and intensively with our British partners to probe possible terrorist networks and we have achieved important progress," deputy interior minister Abdelsalam Ashour told reporters.

Britain has named the suspected suicide bomber who killed 22 people in an attack on a Manchester concert Monday as Salman Abedi, who was born in Britain of Libyan origin.

Ashour, a member of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), said the interior ministry's Deterrence Force was in charge of the investigation but gave no further details.

"We have strong and close ties with our (British) friends," he told reporters, reading from a statement.

Libyan authorities have detained the alleged suicide bomber's father as well as a brother, sources in Libya have said.

Investigators in Britain were trying to track down a jihadist network suspected of having orchestrated the attack which also wounded dozens.

After arresting a 23-year-old man on Tuesday, British police said they had taken three more men into custody on Wednesday in south Manchester, where Abedi lived.

Monday's attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
Agona Akwa-Kwaa (C/R), May 25, GNA - The chiefs and people of Agona Akwa-Kwaa in the Central Region, have appealed to the Government to provide them with potable water.

They also called on Mr Poku Sawyer, the Member of Parliament for the area to put pragmatic measures in place to facilitate the supply of water to help eradicate water-borne diseases.

Nana Afriyie Akwah IV, the Chief of Agona-Kwaa in the Agona East District made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.

He said: 'Water is life but our lives are seriously in danger. Our community with the population of over 3,000 people drink from unsafe river, which made us sick and visit the clinic every day.'

In another development, Mr Oduro Ampaw, the Assembly Member for New Weija in the Ga South Municipality of Accra has called on the Department of Urban Roads to fix traffic lights on Ayigbe Town highway junction to control the speed of drivers.

He said the rate of pedestrian knockings and deaths by vehicles was too alarming and that the provision of the traffic lights would help control the situation.

'In fact over 15 people within the period of three months have lost their lives when crossing the road at the junction and it is heart-breaking for us as residents in the area,' Mr Ampaw said.

He however advised pedestrians to be cautious while crossing the road.

Mr Ampaw appealed to the newly appointed Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Mr Joseph Stephen Nyami to pursue the request for the immediate installation of the traffic lights to save lives.

GNA
25.05.2017 LISTEN

Accra, May 25, GNA - Ghana and Sierra Leone have agreed to ratify the agreement for co-operation them, in order to provide the legal framework for addressing their trade and investment concerns.

Despite the good relations that exist between the two countries, there is no framework for co-operation to guide them.

Thus, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured that he will push to have Ghana's Parliament ratify the agreement that was signed between the two countries on December 19, 2013.

'I will pursue this matter with my Parliament to ensure the ratification of this Agreement', he said on Wednesday after paying a day's working to Sierra Leone, at the commencement of the third phase of his official visits to countries in the ECOWAS region.

'Co-operation in the development of our agriculture, education, science and technology, infrastructure, health, energy and culture, and the co-ordination of the exploitation of our mutual natural resources, such as bauxite, iron ore, diamonds and gold, would be of immense benefit to our two countries.'

President Akufo-Addo said in addition to intensifying the links between Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean enterprises, the process of regional integration must be hastened.

'For a region that has made the choice of pursuing integration, we have not done much as we should have in liberalising and encouraging trade amongst member countries,' he said.

Research has shown that countries or groups of countries with the largest share of world trade are located within regions with the highest share of intra-regional trade.

However, trade between African regions remains low compared to other parts of the world.

With these very low levels of trade and investment co-operation, President Akufo-Addo noted that deliberate measures at expanding trade and business collaborations must be put in place to improve the prospects for prosperity of our two peoples.

In reiterating his commitment towards strengthening ECOWAS, President Akufo-Addo was certain that 'for a marked improvement in the welfare of the 350 million people currently living in the 15 member states of ECOWAS, I believe it is extremely important that we, the leaders, demonstrate strong political will to make the community an economic and political success, and make the project of integration real.'

With West Africa's population set to hit 500 million people in 20 years from now, up from the current population of 350 million, he said: 'This could be a large regional market, which could present immense opportunities to bring prosperity to our region with hard work, enterprise and creativity.

'The time for West African integration is now. Together, all ECOWAS member states should show real commitment towards converting ECOWAS into a true regional market.'

President Akufo-Addo also commended his Sierra Leonean counterpart for the efforts he has made in restoring law and order, fostering a spirit of national reconciliation amongst the people, and the strong leadership he has exhibited in restoring macro-economic stability since assuming the reins of government in 2007.

'In 2013, for example, the GDP growth rate reached a record, all-time high of 20.70 per cent. In 2014 and 2015, in the face of two major shocks, i.e. the Ebola virus outbreak and the collapse of iron prices, Sierra Leone's economy was shaken. Growth rates slumped dramatically,' he said.

'However, with prudent economic policies, spurred on by new investments in mining, agriculture and fisheries, economic growth has resumed, with GDP growth projected at 5.4 per cent in 2016. Hopefully, this growth path will endure.'

President Akufo-Addo added that it was his desire that 'Ghana and Sierra Leone to search continually for ways to co-operate, irrespective of who is at the helm of office of our respective countries. I have no doubt, that, together, we can forge a new, strong partnership for co-operation between our two nations for the mutual benefit of our two peoples'.

With the Sierra Leonean people about to go to the polls in March 2018 to elect a new leader, President Akufo-Addo noted that 'that the process will be enhanced, to the admiration of all in our region and beyond, by the quality of the arrangements for the next electoral contest in Sierra Leone, and by the quality of the democratic transition which Sierra Leone is about to witness. I wish you and the Sierra Leonean people well and Godspeed.'

President Akufo-Addo has since returned to Ghana.

He will leave Ghana on Friday, May 26, 2017 to Monrovia, Liberian for a two-day working tour of that country, and then proceed to Mali on Sunday, May 28, for a day's visit.

The President has already toured the three countries bordering Ghana- Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire- in a wider move to introduce himself to and deepen relations with countries in the ECOWAS region.

The tour would further the President's quest to strengthen bilateral ties and to restate Ghana's commitment to the ECOWAS project. He has also paid working visits to The Gambia, Guinea, Senegal and Cape Verde

He would later pay official working visits to Nigeria and Benin.

President Akufo-Addo during the first-leg of his ECOWAS tour, rallied his counterparts to strengthen the regional bloc and give true meaning to the ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Goods and Persons by promoting open borders in the Community.

He explained that such move would promote regional cohesion and economic development and would boost trade and tourism, and, thus ensure that the peoples of the ECOWAS reap the economic benefits thereof.

'The opening of our borders will give true meaning to the ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Goods and Persons, and will spur on progress and prosperity for our peoples,' he stated.

The President also pledged to strengthen ties between Ghana and countries in the region.

GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA
Takoradi, May 25, GNA - Persons with Disability (PWDS) in the Western Region have requested that more interpreters were made available particularly on Television stations and health care facilities across the country in order to help them appreciate news and information flow.

The group also entreated on the government to make it a point to ensure that PWDs were given the opportunity to serve in the political arena as well as ensure that seats were reserved for them in the boarding of public transport.

Madam Doreen Tawiah, a visually impaired and a member of the Ghana Association of Persons with Disability who said this at a workshop, stressed that policy makers needed to do more for this segment of the population to make their lives worth living.

The day's workshop was organised by the Local Government Network (LOGNET) on the provisions of the New Local Government Act, Acts 936 of 2016 and the Opportunities it offered for PWDs.

Madam Tawiah also called for the revival of rehabilitation centres across the country to give PWDS employable skills and make them more independent.

Mr Christopher Dapaah, Acting National Coordinator of LOGNET said the realising of human rights for all required that the poor and marginalised were supported.

He said the network under the auspices of the UNDP governance project was committed to inclusive development by working to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities.

Mr Dapaah said, 'These rights include; the rights to participate in the democratic processes in line with the sustainable development goal 16 and 17.

The Acting National Coordinator said none of the development parameters and the sustainable development goals could be achieved or be sustained if human rights and good governance were violated and PWDs were left out in the planning and decision making process.

Dr Eric Oduro Osae, Dean of Studies and Research, Institute of Local Government Studies who articulated sessions of the new Act to the PWDs said section 48 of the Act had given more power to these marginalised groups to demand from duty bearers.

He said any PWD who is dissatisfied with any Assembly's performance could petition CHRAJ for investigation and necessary action.

Dr Osae said institution such as the Public Relations and Complaint Committee had been expanded to speed up the process of complaint resolve.

GNA

By Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA
Accra, May 25, GNA - The Acting General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU-Ghana) Mr Morgan Ayawine has called for peace and unity among workers and citizens on the African continent.

The General Secretary said: 'Peace is a necessary condition to attract increased investment opportunities that will create more jobs in Africa to help reduce the unemployment rate.'

Mr Ayawine was speaking to the Ghana News Agency about how ICU-Ghana was celebrating its 57th Anniversary since the Union was formed on 25th May, 1960.

He also congratulated Africans on this year's African Union (AU)Day and expressed hope that, 'African leaders will continue to work to create the right environment that will ensure improved welfare of all citizens irrespective of their social and economic status'.

He said the ICU would continue to work towards harmonious working relations at all times to enhance productivity and help grow the economy rapidly.

On 25th of May, 1960, the General Secretaries of five national unions namely: Commercial and Allied Workers' Union, General Clerical and Public Boards Employees Union, Printers and Newspapers Workers Union, Manufacturing and Industrial Workers Union, as well as catering and Meat Cutters union closed their ranks and worked selflessly for the merger of their unions into a single national Union.

That gave rise to the formation of Union.

Mr Ayawine said the selfless act of the five visionary General Secretaries was very encouraging and that ought to serve as a signal for smaller unions today to work towards the path of merging into one stronger union.

'The formation of smaller splinter and ineffective in-house unions only go to weaken the fibre of trade unionism,' he said.

He said the vision and aspirations that the founding fathers of ICU-Ghana had then 'which are still valid today, have not been in vain as the ICU-Ghana has metamorphosed into the largest heterogeneous trade union organisation in Ghana today, championing the economic aspirations and improved social status of majority of Ghanaian workers'.

The ICU has been organising workers in various sectors of the economy including Banks, non-bank financial institutions, mining and mining services, insurance companies, hotel, catering and allied undertakings, paper and printing industries.

Others include General industries, Textile, garment, leather and fur, metal and automobile, professional and Managerial staff, Informal Sector and tourism.

On the occasion of the 2017 AU Day and the 57th anniversary of ICU- Ghana, Mr Ayawnine said, 'the leadership of the Union salutes all patriotic workers of Ghana and Africa in general and called on African countries to merge their economies by ensuring free trade among themselves'.

'It is the hope of the ICU that all citizens will continue to be patriotic and sacrifice, to build a better and prosperous Africa for the present and future generation.'

He also expressed gratitude to the workers' union social partners, their employers and assured them of the ICU's continued collaboration for increased productivity and profitability of their businesses.

He, however, warned that: 'We will not relent in our demand for a fair share of the wealth we help to create for the organisations.'

GNA

By D.I. Laary, GNA
Accra, May 25, GNA - Mission Africa Incorporated, in collaboration with Parliament and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), has held a prayer empowerment conference in commemoration of the Africa Union day in Accra.

The event on the theme: 'Let's Make Africa Great Again,' brought together religious bodies in the country, including Christian and Muslim youth organisations to praise and worship God for Africa's existence.

The congregation prayed for women in politics, technology and innovations for employment, the President and his Cabinet, educational systems, the media, job creation and for good environmental care.

The prayer sessions were spearheaded by Reverend Dr Joyce Aryee, Founder of Light and Salt Ministry, Dr Osei Darkwa, President of the Ghana Technology University College, Dr Andrew Ewool, from SDA Church and Apostle Peter Okoe Mankralo of the Apostolic Church of Ghana.

Dr Kodjoe Sumney, Founder of Mission Africa Incorporation, said the conference was to raise economic, political and spiritual leaders to complete the unification of Africa, empower the youth to engage in employable technical and vocational skills.

He said the session was also to promote innovation, technology, scientific invention for job creation as well as partner in loyalty for economic independence and development of Africa.

Ms Doris Kuwornu, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs for GBC, said the conference provided opportunities to pray to God to direct Africa in the protection of its natural resources.

'Africa is blessed with the needed natural resources and as such there is the need to protect these resources for future generations to enhance national development', she added.

She called for attitudinal change and urge African's to use all its weapons at his disposal to prayer and change the fortune of the continent for proper direction.

GNA

By Kodjo Adams, GNA
Thirty-one middle-level management officials of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) have been reassigned from their duty posts across the country.

This is the second major shake-up under the watch of new Comptroller of GIS, Kwame Asuah Takyi, who took office in March this year.

The officers affected are of Superintendent, Chief Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent ranks.

Earlier this month, 45 senior officers were transferred including the Head of Public Affairs at the Immigration Service Francis Palmdetti.

It includes two Deputy Commissioners of Immigration (DCOI), two Assistant Commissioners of Immigration (ACi), 18 Chief Superintendents of Immigration (C/SUPT.), eight Superintendents of Immigration (SUPT.), 11 Deputy Superintendents of Immigration (DSI) and four Assistant Superintendents of Immigration (ASI).

A letter dated May 17, 2017, and signed by Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kwame Asuah Takyi, said the transfers take immediate effect.

Related: Shake-up hits Immigration Serivce

According to the letter, DCOI Prosper Price Delali Asima has been transferred from Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Sekondi in the Western Region as the Officer in Charge (OIC) While DCOI Eric Affari at Sekondi heads to KIA as OIC.

In addition, ACI Isaac Luortey, the Commander in Tamale in the Northern Region has been transferred to Headquarters in Accra. He will be replaced by an officer from Headquarters Chief Superintendent Noah Ahomka Yeboah as Acting Regional Commander.

According to Mr. Takyi Asuah, the shake up is aimed at injecting more efficiency and effectiveness into the ranks of the service.

Ordinarily, officers are supposed to be transfered every four to five years. But most of the officers being moved currently have stayed at their duty posts for six to seven years without being transferred.

The move is also to ensure that those who have served in deprived areas like Shia, Hamile and Axim be given the opportunity to operate at more exciting duty posts like the Kotoka International Airport, Aflao, Headquarters and Tema.

The move will also allow those who have served in cities to experience service in deprived areas.

In the latest shake-up, six officers are being moved from the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to other parts of the country whilst seven others are being moved from the Aflao border post.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
Over one thousand representatives of universities across the continent are expected to converge in Accra from 5th to 8th June to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Association of African Uniniversties (AAU).

The event, which coincides with the 14th General Conference of the Association, is on the theme "[email protected], Achievements, challenges and prospects for sustainable Development."

The conference among other things would also discuss higher education as a vital tool for the promotion and retrenchment for democratic governance on the continent.

Critical topics to be discussed include, promotion of Science and Technology, curriculum reform to make African graduate to be entrepreneurs and more employable and mobilising resources for higher education in Africa amongst others.

According to the General Secretary of the AAU, Prof Etienne E. Ehile, over 500 executives from academia and industry players across the continent will be in attendance to discuss and shape the way forward for Africa higher education, in line with African Union's Agenda 2063.

It will be hosted by the government of Ghana, the National Council for Tertiary Education and the Vice Chancellors Association of Ghana.
Benghazi (Libya) (AFP) - Forces led by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar on Thursday seized control of the Tamenhant airbase in the south of the country from rival forces, a spokesman said.

"Our forces... took full control of Tamenhant airbase in the south of Libya," said Khalifa al-Obeidi, spokesman of Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.

An LNA officer, who declined to be named, said Haftar's forces had pounded the airbase on previous days and surrounded fighters from the Third Force militia.

Haftar's forces persuaded the fighters to evacuate the airbase, which they did, allowing the LNA to take over the facility without any resistance, said the officer.

The Third Force is loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord not recognised by the LNA.

Last week Third Force fighters attacked Brak al-Shati airbase, also in southern Libya, which is controlled by Haftar forces, killing 140 people, including civilians.

The attack was condemned by the United Nations, the European Union and the GNA.

The United Nations and Human Rights Watch said summary executions may have taken place at Brak al-Shati.

The unity government, the rival administration in eastern Libya and their respective backers are battling for influence in the North African country, which has been wracked by chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The LNA does not recognise the authority of the GNA, and instead supports the rival authorities based in the east.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

REJOINDER: RE: NCA CASE

I wish, humbly, to exercise my constitutional right to a rejoinder over your various publications of May 24 2017 on and about a National Security (NS)/National Communications Authority (NCA) transaction about which my company is connected.

I do this very reluctantly because of the confidential nature of the contracts involving very sensitive matters of national security.

The security implications and contractual obligation of utmost confidentiality, notwithstanding, I feel compelled in the present circumstances, and for what I perceive should be in the public interest, to share the hard facts in the hope, sincerely, that you and all would be properly guided by same.

Please take note of the following accordingly:

1) That there exist contracts duly executed on December 17 2015 between Infraloks Development Limited (IDL) and the NCA and between IDL and NSO Group Technologies Limited  an Israeli company, and these remain binding contracts not impeached in any way whatsoever by either party.

2) That IDL which has been in existence over six years in Ghana was contracted by the NCA as the RESELLER of anti-terrorist system as part of the countrys efforts to equip itself and stand ready to prevent and fight off terrorists.

3) That the contract involved a sum total of $8,000,000 out of which $6,000,000 was to be due to NSO with certificate of end-user from the Ministry of Defence  Israel.

4) That the duties and responsibilities of NSO and IDL were clearly embodied in the contracts with minimal role by the NCA representing the Republic of Ghana as the end-user.

5) That initially, the payment to NSO by IDL was to be made minus a commission agreement to be paid by IDL to another Israeli company - Aggura, but amendments by way addendum to the original contract with NSO required full payment to NSO and for NSO to deal directly with Aggura.

6) That NSO teams always visited Ghana through Aggura under IDL facilitation, and that I committed myself to assisting the state in what I found to be a most critical undertaking to secure the safety of citizens and all persons within the country.

7) That NCA did make a first tranche payment of $4,000,000 in accordance with the terms of the contract with NCA, and that it is critical to appreciate the initial payment terms with NSO as fully disclosed below:

i System Consideration

The System Consideration shall be paid by the End-User to the Company in three (3) installments as follows:

(a) 50% of the System Consideration shall be paid within 15 Business Days as of the Effective Date (the "First Installment").

(b) 35% of the System Consideration shall be paid upon the provision of a written notice from the Company, certifying that the Hardware Equipment was delivered to the End-User's site.

(c) 15% of the System Consideration shall be paid upon the provision of a written notice by the Company to the End-User confirming that the Deployment of the System at the End-User's site was completed (the "Commissioning Notice").

i Support Period Consideration

The Support Period Consideration shall be paid in one payment, in advance of each Support Period.

8) That upon first tranche payment by NCA to IDL, I did immediately instruct the bank to transfer $3, 000,000 to NSO as per initial contract payment terms with NSO, but the bank declined the transfer request on grounds of Bank of Ghana rules and regulations on forex transfers of such amounts of money requiring specific documentation as precondition.

9) That NSO sought clarification and were put in contact with the bank which informed them directly and supplied the specific BoG rules and regulations prohibiting the initial payment terms, and that this resulted in amendments to the terms by way of a memorandum requiring that:

a) The Reseller shall pay the Company the First Instalment (i.e. USD1, 000,000  One Million United States Dollars) within three (3) Business Days following the receipt of the Bank Guarantee (as defined below).

b) The Reseller shall pay the Company the Second Instalment (i.e. USD3, 000,000  Three Million United States Dollars) - "the First Commissioning" upon provision of a written notice from the Company certifying that:

The Hardware Equipment and License were delivered to the End-User's site,

The Company performed the Deployment, provided software set-up, installation and configuration services (the "Software Services"),

The Company presented to the End User, on site, the capabilities of the system on a sample of two devices per each Operating System (i.e. Android, IOS and Blackberry), as described in Exhibit A-1, and

The bank receives from the end user formal confirmation from the end user to the reseller and the supplier that (2a), (2b), and (2c) have been completed.

c) The Reseller shall pay the Company the Third Instalment (i.e. USD2,000,000  Two Million United States Dollars)- "the Second Commissioning" upon provision of a written notice from the Company certifying that:

The Training and Deployment at the End-User's site was completed.

Company acceptance test has been performed.

as of the date of the letter the Reseller is provided with the Twelve (12) months warranty, and

The bank receives from the end user formal confirmation from the end user to the reseller and the supplier that (3a), (3b), and (3c) have been completed.

10) That the bank also made IDL sign an undertaking to provide Customs Documentation covering the clearance of the hardware equipment from the Airport, even though NCA instructed NSO to address the Airway Bill to IDL and National Security Coordinator.

11) That the equipment was cleared by NCA with the promise to supply IDL Customs Documentation covering delivery of the hardware equipment as per the IDL undertaking to Bank, NCA has since June 2016 when it cleared the equipment not provided the Customs Documentation covering the clearance to IDL despite persistent demand.

12) That after the clearance, IDL facilitated a visit of a team of technicians from NSO to Ghana to install and commission the system, and that I was informed, two weeks later, by NCA that the installation and the commissioning of the system had been completed.

13) That it is significant to note that IDL was not involved in the operational side of the transaction for what was said to be genuine national security reasons, informing the banks requirement for written confirmation by NCA to IDL on completion of each phase of the project.

14) That in spite of this, it would be discovered NCA, curiously, had written only to the bank and NSO to confirm, among others, delivery of equipment and installation of same by NSO.

15) That the non-provision (physically) of the required documentation in June 2016 per terms meant:

i. that the contractual term requiring NCA to, among others, provide IDL with a formal letter confirming satisfactory completion by NSO of each phase of the project before payment could be effected was not met;

ii. that the bank would continue to insist it was unable to accede to requests for the transfer to NSO because the undertaking with the bank including to confirm installation and commissioning was with IDL and not NCA;

iii. That the banks requirements and those of the BoG on forex transactions in such amounts were not met hence the bank was unable to accede to requests from IDL to make any further transfers on the basis of NCAs bare and unapproved official communication directly to it.

16) That the sponsor (NCA), in the meantime, sought through its signatory to the contract and obtained sums in amounts allowed by forex transaction regulations and same reaching a cumulative gross amount of about $1,500,000.

17) That after several discussions with NCA on the issues on the customs documentation and need for written confirmation by NCA to IDL of completion of the second phase of the project by NSO and confirmation of funds to complete the transaction, correspondence from IDL to NCA including on 22nd December 2016 were completely ignored by NCA.

18) That it bears emphasis that I have informed the authorities that, out of the total amount of $4,000,000 NCA transferred to IDL, $1, 000,000 was successfully transferred to NSO, NCAs signatory to the contract has sought and obtained a cumulative gross of about $1,500,000, and that IDL still held $1,500,000 which NSOs portion could not be transferred for the stated reasons.

19) That obviously the transaction could not be completed because NCA did not meet its obligations to IDL as per the terms of the contract with it, having, among others, failed to provide required documents to facilitate payments to NSO as well as NCAs outstanding obligation of 2nd and 3rd tranche payments of a total of $4,000,000 to IDL.

20) That NSO, whom NCA later informed IDL that it had paid $2,000,000, continue to demand payment from IDL for completion of second phase of the project using and relying on a letter from NCA to NSO which represented that the installation and commissioning phase of the project was complete, and that NSO insists that payment obligations were undertaken by IDL, threatening a suit as the overdue amount is subject to a late payment fee at a daily rate of 0.04%.

21) That I am very disappointed to discover, courtesy the National Security Minister, in the most shocking fashion that contrary to representations by NCA including via said letter of June 10 2016 from NCA to NSO, that the system was sitting in someones garage.

22) That these details have been made available to the BNI in utmost good faith and without prejudice as I give my fullest cooperation in its investigations.

23) That IDL believes in due process in the democratic dispensation and accordingly have our lawyers in readiness to, in due course, assert my rights and those of the company under the contract with the Republic through the appropriate lawful forum should same become the inevitable resort.

Signed

George Oppong  IDL

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com
Takoradi (W/R),MAY 24--Parts of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis were flooded following a heavy downpour on the early hours of Monday.

As of 8:30am, on Tuesday,most of the residents in various suburbs of the metropolis were draining flooded areas in their homes and stores.

At the central business district popularly called the market circle,the owner of Foxx Electricals who gave his name as Mr.Saviour,told the Ghana News Agency that his store which is near the Kendicks Pharmacy, got flooded to a height of 2 meters with properties worth more than GHC2,000 destroyed.

When the GNA visited the Western Hydraulics shop near the Melcom shop,the owner,Mr. Smart Mensah bemoaned that it took him and his team two hours to drain the flood waters outside his shop adding that most stores around the Mankessim White House were flooded.

A source told the GNA that a gutter around the Mankessim White House was choked thereby making the area a flood-prone zone.

When the GNA visited the Takoradi No. 2 area popularly called the::" Esikafo Amba Ntem."cluster of schools,teachers confirmed that the area was flooded but later subsided.

A resident within the same vicinity around the NAGRAT's office,Madam Elizabeth Adisenu also said the area flooded and entered their rooms and destroyed personal effects.

At Ntankoful,a building opposite the Shell Filling station got flooded and broke the wall of an adjoining house to the former MP,Mr.Joe Baidoo Ansah.

Most of the affected residents attributed the flood menace to choked gutters,narrow and shallow gutters and the poor drainage system in the metropolis.

The Acting Western Regional Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization(NADMO),Mr.Abdul Ganiyu Mohammed later told the GNA in an interview that his outfit had identified ten(10) flood prone zones in the metropolis for action.

He mentioned the areas as Bakado,Essaman,Nkotopo,Egyamra-Bekamu,OIC and Cocoa Villa at Effia.

The rest of them are the Police park at Effia,Ketan,I Adu.and the Takoradi Market Circle.

Mr Mohammed attributed the floods to the fact that the drainage system was overflown, so many houses were submerged in water and few personal effects were destroyed.

He lauded the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly(STMA) for desilting gutters around the market circle to mitigate the extent of flooding this time around.

Mr. Mohammed said NADMO would collaborate with the STMA to look into plumbing works in the area to ensure an efficient drainage system.

NADMO would also liaise with the AMANDI construction works,contractors on the railway lines to desilt choked gutters in the metropolis.

As of the time of filing this report,the NADMO Coordinator told the GNA that his outfit was still collating data on the extent of damage and items lost in order to compensate affected households and personalities.

Mr Mohammed placed on record that the flood level recorded was 3 meters in height adding that STMA and his outfit would work harder to further mitigate the floods.

He however thanked God that no casualties were recorded during the recent floods.
25.05.2017 LISTEN

They have killed him several times, yet he refused to die. They have told us he would never win, yet he won. They said that, by this time in his presidency, all Nigerians would have become Muslims. To actualize their claims, they cloned websites, including those of reputable media stations, just to prove to us that he was dead or as the lousiest among them said, a walking corpse. Since none of this will work, they resorted taking us back a familiar path, a military coup!

Some days after President Buhari proceeded on medical follow-up, some of our noisy neighbours came up with their usual display of ignorance once more. In compliance with section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) the President transmitted a notice, required by the clause, to the National Assembly indicating he had handed over the governance of the country to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Since it was clear they wont read, they resorted to infantile criticism to a letter that cited portions of the Constitution.

After these detractors failed abysmally this time again to convince us of their intelligence, they needed something to divert public attention. They probably considered several options and settled for a coup detat!

When I got the news that some unnamed junior military officers were planning a coup in the absence of the President, I knew there was no smoke without fire. They never denied it. In fact, one of their supporters, on Facebook (when asked if they could not wait till 2019 to acquire power through the ballot box) said the coup was necessary so they could not wait since the nation will be on fire before then. It was at that point I knew frustration had combined with the desperation which is the surest way to committing suicide!

For anyone to think of planning a coup in 21st century Nigeria, such a person must be far out of his mind. As I write, in Africa, virtually, if not all political leaders are now democratically elected. Since military takeovers are no longer celebrated in the continent, this convinces me that the era of military rulers is long gone. Africa has joined the rest of the civilized world in adopting democracy. The world, Nigeria inclusive, has and continue to condemn coups. So whoever is planning a coup in Nigeria today may just be on a misadventure. Its the surest way to committing suicide!

Olalekan Waheed ADIGUaN is a political analyst and an independent political strategist for a wide range of individuals, organisations and campaigns. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

His write-ups can be viewed on his website http://olalekanadigun.com/

Tel: +2348136502040, +2347081901080

Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

Follow me on twitter @adgorwell
25.05.2017 LISTEN

 Poverty has buried many dreams and visions that could change the world. - Marcus Anafu

According to the United Nations, poverty is fundamentally the inability of having choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity, the lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. Poverty implies insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and even whole communities. Poverty has rendered many, especially children to live on the street. This is no secret in Ghana, in Africa and the world at large for streetism is one of the commonest problems in the world today. We cannot number to an end the effects of poverty and streetism but the touching effect is that it buries many dreams and visions that could change the world. We can never annihilate the truth that we know the plight of those who the street is a home to.

Poverty reduction is a sheer responsibility of all of us but most essentially the youth for they are the frontier and catalyst for change in society. Aside governments strategies of ending poverty more specifically streetism through free health care and education systems, controlling of over population, provision of subsidies, affordable housing projects and the infrastructural development of the rural areas, love or in a precise sense, charity can help alleviate the plight of those we see on our streets especially children to whom the street serves as a home. And this is just what in addition to government strategies the youth can do help save the situation.

The youth with the little they have can help make life better for the children who live on our streets. This flows out of passion, zeal and love. Most youth groups formed in our society are for in a way making society a better place for us all with some being like what we can call pressure groups advocating for the causes they stand for. In trying to make the society better for us all, the youth unknowingly close their eyes to those things they themselves can do to help and only and always look up to the government or others for they can or should do.

A great man called Jack London once said a bone to a dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog. But most times our desire and social responsibility of helping those in need is marred by our excuse that we ourselves dont have much to help others forgetting that we rise when lifting others. Coming together as one, the youth can help bring smile to the faces of the less privilege, the vulnerable and the afflicted by embarking on good kind works. To be more emphatic and precise, the role of the youth is to use his/her talent or skill in doing something positive that will help curb the issue of poverty and streetism or homelessness among us.

A perfect image and model of youths coming together to solve the problems of poverty on our society is the Love Foundation Club. Unlike any other youth group in the world, Love Foundation Club, a family of young people from across Ghana, Lesotho-South Africa, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone is one of the greatest youth charity organization contributing massively towards the fight against poverty, illiteracy and streetism among the poor, needy and children in our society.

With the motto  the hand that gives save lives, this foundation with its sole mission of making life worth living for the less privileged, street children and persons living with disabilities and even orphans in our orphanages has put into work several charity projects in their bid to bring a positive change. Love Foundation Club seeks to curb the rising rate of poverty through charity work, sensitization, encouragement and motivations and skill and talent development.

As youth who we say are the future, LFC as the organization is briefly called seeks to employ the God given talents of its members to generate funds for the projects they are embarking on. They have an acapella music group within the club which sings to raise funds for charity. And it is always a marvel when you hear and watch them sing, it is really a group of talented youths coming together with the vision of making our society a paradise for all. As young people particularly students, this organization is able to as at now carry out their mission greatly, thanks to the individual dues contributed by its members and support of some other charity organisations. With their focus not only on those on the streets, Love Foundation Club has visited a couple of orphanages in Accra.

Though just a year old, Love Foundation Club has also made donations to some deprived communities in the country such as Sabooro and Kasingo in the Northern Region of Ghana. The club also donated tons of clothes, footwear and goodies to the kids, physically challenged as well as the parents in the village tagged to be the most deprived and poorest in the Central Region of Ghana with the name Jesus Akra.

The foundation has also embarked on a couple of blood donations of which they took chance of its recent one to visit the sick at the 37 Military Hospital a leading hospital in Ghana with items such as fruits. Love Foundation Clubs legacy though just a year old has made the club to be labelled as the as one of the greatest youth charity organization in the country bearing its Founder and Chief Executive Officer the tag the youngest CEO in the country.

Out of the zeal, passion and commitment in members of the foundation, LFC further looks forward into making their mission and visions fruitful in the future by outlining down projects they are to undertake such as, a Campaign dubbed "save the street children" which would involve walks on the streets to encounter children sleeping under bridges with no food or cloth, providing them with shelter, food, clothing and also place them in a comfortable condition to help them become what they dream of becoming, building a school and an orphanage home to support these innocent children who happen to fall victims of living on the streets and several number of charitable projects. They are open for public membership and support.

These things are all things every youth, as an individual or as a group, can do to help curb the plight of the less privileged among us. For one of our call as human beings in this world is to love. Love Foundation Club is just the picture of what the youth groups in our world today can do to aid in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and street life among the poor, the needy and children in our various societies. Let us all take lessons from Love Foundation Club and stop waiting on governments and others to embark on the fight to annihilate poverty and streetism.

Akakpo Elikem Kwabla.

Public Relations Officer, Love Foundation Club.
Those without short memories can recollect that Dr. Bawumia was the least of choices for the position of the NPP's flagbearer running mate ahead of the 2008 elections. Most political analysts and pundits were expecting the NPP 2008 running mate to either be then MP for Salaga, Abubakar Boniface Siddiq or Hajia Halima Mahama. Others expected Messr MND Jawula taking the spot. But out of nowhere and to perhaps surprise a lot, Nana Addo picked a relatively unknown person in political cycles, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. His choice of Dr. Bawumia didn't settle down well with all the party members and sympathisers. Nana Addo stood firm on his choice and the rest as they will always say, is history.

In the 2008 elections, Dr. Bawumia wasn't attacked that much. Most of the NDC's propaganda was against Nana Addo. They accused him from being arrogant to him being a fake lawyer and many other unprintable lies and distortions. The worse of them was the one being led by Kofi Wayo saying Nana Addo indulges in drugs. All these allegations were levelled without any shred of evidence. They did it and it perhaps helped them to deceive a supposedly gullible public with "short memories" to win the 2008 elections.

Then came the 2012 elections and again most of the lies and propaganda was against the personality of Nana Addo. This time though, the NDC had the added advantage of Professor Mills death which they capitalised on and used it to clamour for sympathy votes. The results of the elections tells us that it worked for the NDC.

We are now in the 2016 elections and the dynamics this time are totally different. The NDC have realised that people are now so fed up with their incompetence, very corrupt, clueless, uncaring and indecisive administration. They have equally realised that Ghanaians have had enough of their lies, mischief, distortions and malicious propaganda against Nana Addo. Kofi Wayo can no longer be used to accuse Nana Addo, Hassan Ayariga true colours of being a NDC mole in PNC is known by all and Fiifi Kweetey and the other babies with sharp teeth are now known by their true lying and deceptive colours. The NDC needed to find a new and innocent target to defame. And they found, Dr. Bawumia.

Dr . Bawumia have grown to endear himself to many people in the NPP and out of the NPP through his numerous lectures he has been organising. These consistent and honest lectures not only expose the weaknesses and failings of the current NDC administration but also propose feasible and simple solutions to the problems and challenges we face as a nation. A good government would have listened more to Dr. Bawumia. But unfortunately, the president Mahama led NDC government wouldn't take anything from him.

Instead of the ruling NDC government consulting him the more in the spirit of all-inclusiveness, they rather decided to attack and rebuke him. They tried organising counter lectures and they all backfired. The Vice-President then realised it would be a shame on the NDC if they don't respond properly to Dr. Bawumia.

To tame and silence Dr. Bawumia, the Vice-President raised our interest high by telling us that he is going to let Dr. Bawumia know that the economics he Dr. Bawumia has been lecturing is primary school economics. Little did we know that the Vice-President's statement was another NDC propaganda. Till date, neither the Vice-President nor the finance minister has come out to answer or debunk the 170 questions Dr. Bawumia asked them about the economy.

Their attempt to use Fiifi Kweetey, Okudjeto Ablakwa, Felix Kwaakye and the other babies with sharp teeth to refute his lectures with propaganda, lies, mischief, distortions and defamations through the setting the records straight forum also backfired. Now losing focus and the debate on the best policy to rescue this collapsed economy, the NDC have decided to resort to the age-old tactics of slandering the truthful and honest person when you can't debate with him. This explains the insults and derogatory statements coming from the mouths of Koku Ayindoho and some of the NDC members. The NDC now don't know how to deal with Dr. Bawumia.

Besides, the words of Asiedu Nketia against Dr Bawumia goes deeper. He's saying the NPP is only using Dr. Bawumia to win the 2016 elections and after that dump him. He cited the case of late Aliu Mahama losing the NPP primaries even though he was the sitting vice president. What a weird analysis?

In fact some of these analysis or tribally-inspired politics beats my imaginations. The late Aliu Mahama was not abandoned by the NPP. If for nothing at all, he been Vice-President for 8 years was itself a good platform to serve his country. He campaigned against others during the NPP internal primaries and lost. The late Vice-President never complained to anyone he was maltreated or mishandled by the NPP. So why should the NDC think for us? Why must Asiedu Nketia try to always insult our intelligence? In any case, what did the NDC do to us from the three Northern regions after voting for them for 8 years? Is it the SADA create, loot and share or is it the taking away of fertiliser and fuel subsidies? Doesn't the NDC know we are mostly farmers? Why should the loving NDC, our beloved Northern brother and party, use our names as northerners to con, dupe and exploit the state? Why must they enrich themselves and their families leaving the three Northern regions underdeveloped and poor? Is this the NDC definition of love? Then that's a distorted and very wicked love!!!

Let's in a way assume that Asiedu Nketia is right, does that mean that the NDC has an agenda against people of Northern descent especially the Muslims? Why didn't the NDC handover or chose Honourable Mahama Iddrisu to take over from former president Rawlings after he serving the P/NDC for more years than professor Mills? Wasn't he very loyal to the cause of the PNDC and NDC governments? Why didn't the same NDC vote for Mahama Iddrisu in the 2006 NDC presidential primaries? Is it because it falls in the NDC's agenda of using Muslims and dumping them like rubbish after elections? We can't forget that it's around this same period that Fiifi Kweetey told us that no Muslim can be a president in Ghana.

The NDC must respect themselves and concentrate more on the policies they have to transform Ghana from its current hopelessness. We know it's not easy to see defeat staring you in the face and you'll be normal. That doesn't also mean that you must disrespect yourself by descending too low to make desperate and reckless tribally-inspired statements.

That doesn't also mean you must descend so low and end up insulting people who have built respect for themselves. The NDC must think of our national unity and cohesion before and after the 2016 elections. The wind of change can't be stopped now by the NDC, In sha Allah. Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia are clean and their positive and truthful vision for Ghana would, In sha Allah, come to fruition starting the 7th of January, 2017. No amount of lies, mischief, slander, malicious propaganda and distortions can prevent that....

I shall, In sha Allah, be back

Fuseini Abdul-Fatawu
Tripoli (AFP) - Feeding on the chaos that has gripped Libya since the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, jihadists have used the country to recruit and export militants.

Salman Abedi, the man suspected of carrying out the attack on a pop concert in Manchester that killed 22 people and wounded dozens, was born in Britain but visited Libya before the bombing that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Rebellion to jihad

At the start of the uprising against Kadhafi, dozens of Libyans who lived abroad travelled home to take up arms alongside other Muslim extremists against the veteran strongman.

They were supplied weapons by Western countries and fought the regime as NATO warplanes provided them with air cover.

Post-Kadhadi Libya quickly turned into a breeding ground for heavily armed groups, including Islamists, some of whom were paid by transitional authorities to secure the country's borders.

Among them was the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia which wooed jihadists and slowly spread its presence from Libya's second city Benghazi to Derna in the east.

Ansar al-Sharia was also present in Sirte, Kadhafi's hometown which was the Islamic State group controlled for more than a year before they were routed by Libyan pro-government forces late last year.

The Islamists who fought Kadhafi controlled army barracks and installations in the east and south of the country after his demise and transformed them into training camps.

Hundreds of jihadists were trained to fight in Iraq and Syria.

Military and ideology

The recruits first received ideological guidance and then military training, experts say.

Thanks to Libya's long and porous borders with Egypt and Tunisia, networks were able to radicalise, train and send fighters to battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

Foreign jihadists flooded Libya to prepare for battle.

Some joined Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate now known as Fateh al-Sham, while others joined ranks with its rival the Islamic State group.

As IS faced repeated setbacks in Syria and Iraq at the hands of the US-led international coalition, some fighters returned to Libya.

IS still active

Despite losing Sirte to pro-government forces in December, IS continues to be active in Libya, particularly in the country's remote south and in the east.

According to analysts, IS diehards in Libya consist of fighters from many nationalities.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Manchester bombing suspect Abedi could have been trained in an IS camp before the jihadists were routed from Sirte.

The Washington Institute think-tank says that "previously, most of the foreign fighters travelling to Libya hailed from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, and Tunisia.

"Yet once IS became the main recruiter there, individuals from Europe, North America, South Asia, and other parts of the Middle East and Africa began to show up as well."

Although the Islamic State group claimed the Manchester bombing there has been no confirmation it was behind the attack.

"If the Manchester attack is definitively tied to IS cells in Libya, it would show that the group can still be a lethal actor even without holding territory there," said the Washington Institute.
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.

Vote

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Accra, May 25, GNA - The Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has expressed interest in assisting Ghana set up a National Carrier.

Mr Tewolde Gabrielmariam, the Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, made this known when he called on the Minister of Aviation, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah at her office in Accra.

He outlined the desire of the Airlines to re-establish the partnership Ethiopian Airlines once had with Ghana Airways.

He told the Minister that ET had sought to get involved in the set-up of a new Airline in the past but was overlooked before Togo showed interest, which led to the setting up of ASKY.

He said ASKY was set up without any financial cost to the Government of Togo.

He said the Company believe that every country on the Africa Continent needed a home carrier because aviation was a strategic asset for any country.

'But we insist that Home carrier must be run professionally,' he added.

Mr Tewolde gave example of models of the African Sky (ASKY) that has worked well in West Africa, which started in 2010 as a privately owned Airline but based in Togo and now has eight Aircraft and made profit in 2015.

'Ghana can also set up ASKY Ghana,' he said.

The Minister expressed praises for Ethiopian Airlines and commended the Airline for thriving very well on the Continent.

She said Ghana could learn a lot from ET in the Spirit of South- South Co-operation, adding that the Minister was awaiting Cabinet approval to start the modalities for the new National Airline.

She said government as part of its vision was poised to making Ghana the Aviation hub of Africa and government also intended to establish an Aviation academy to train its pilots and cabin crew to equip the airline.

She said 'Ghana will, therefore, tap from the rich resource experience of the Airline to establish ours'.

She expressed the hope that the preliminary discussions would lead to greater partnerships to see the establishment of the airline.

Ethiopian Airlines has been flying to Ghana for 57 years and it is Africa's largest Airline and the most Profitable.

It currently flies the most modern Aircraft in the World the Boeing B787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350.

GNA

By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA
Jamestown, CA  A Jamestown man who claimed he had a gun while confronting a neighbor with a toddler, moments later challenged his roommate to a knife fight was taken into custody Monday night.

Tuolumne County Sheriffs Deputies responded to the 11000 block of La Grange Road in Jamestown for two separate reports of threats made by 60-year-old Mark Mahler. The first incident involved a neighbor who was returning home with his three year old daughter in his vehicle. Mahler allegedly blocked his path and then walked up to the passenger window and told the man not to mess with him because he had a gun in his pocket, according to Tuolumne County Sheriffs spokesperson Sgt. Andrea Benson. She adds, The man believed Mahler had a gun, and was in fear for his and his childs safety. Mahler also challenged his roommate to a duel with knives, and told him to call the sheriffs office because it would not end well for him. The roommate did not know what Mahler was capable of, and was fearful that he did have knives and would attack him.

Deputies determined that Mahler was under the influence of alcohol and arrested him for making criminal threats. His bail is set at $20,000.
Sacramento, CA  An appeals courts ruling to uphold the Cap-and-trade program has caused a spike in demand for California pollution permits in the first quarterly auction.

The rebound was noted on Wednesday by the California Air Resources Board, which stated that it sold out of permits to release greenhouse gases during 2017. The prices were pushed above the minimum as demand exceeded the total supply with nearly 22 percent of permits for future emissions sold.

Last year the market plummeted due partly to uncertainty from a lawsuit that contended the auctions were a violation of Californias constitution. In April the appeals court rejected that argument. The appeal now heads to the state Supreme Court.

Californias cap-and-trade program is one of the main sources of funding for the high-speed rail project and anti-climate change efforts.
San Francisco, CA  Opponents return fire in the ongoing bullet train lawsuit battle and refiled a lawsuit that a judge ruled against earlier this month.

This newest attempt to derail the $64-billion dollar train, filed Thursday, takes a new approach by naming the lead plaintiff as the state of California, rather than the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and has added state Finance Director Michael Cohen to the complaint. The objectors contend that AB1889, signed into law last year by Governor Jerry Brown, allows rail bonds to be sold and spent on the electrification of Caltrain from south of San Jose to San Francisco is unconstitutional as it violates the promises made to voters in 2008. Earlier this month a Sacramento judge rejected that argument.

As reported here, back in April the state went ahead and sold $1.25 billion in those bonds while the lawsuit was still pending since it targeted only the spending of the money.
- The APC has decided to hold a second national convention

- The second convention is coming two years after the first which held in Abuja

- Governors and leaders of the the party have decided to go on with the convention even in Buhari's absence

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has decided to make good its promise of holding a second national convention.

The ruling party had on Wednesday, January 18, said it will hold its 2nd National Convention in April, however, the convention did not hold.

In a bid to ensure that the convention holds as promised, governors on the platform of the APC met with the partys National Working Committee (NWC).

The meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday, May 24.

READ ALSO: Biafra remembrance day! IPOB/MASSOB get strict warning ahead of protest

According to Daily Post, the delegates agreed to proceed with preparations for the convention.

They agreed to proceed even with President Muhammadu Buhari still away on vacation.

The governors and NWC also resolved to send a delegation to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to present him with suggested dates for him to pick from.

Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong, made the disclosure to newsmen after the meeting.

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Lalong noted that though the president as leader of the party normally should attend but that in the present circumstances, the presence of the acting President will suffice.

National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun in his address noted that the meeting of the governors and the NWC have started yielding positive results that will not only benefit the party, but in turn be of benefit to the nation.

Below is a video in which Nigerians react to the speculation of an imminent coup and the possibility of a return to military rule.

Source: Legit.ng
- Doyin Okupe declared that Nigeria will not breakup in spite of current situation

- He admitted that the ingredients to disintegrate the country were in existence

- He however insisted Nigeria was God's project

A former aide to Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has declared that inspite of the current wave of agitation for the disintegration of Nigeria; the country will not break up.

His position has triggered reactions among Nigerians as while some agreed with him, others insisted that the country was not God's project.

This Day reports that Okupe spoke on Wednesday, May 24 where he insisted the heightened regional tension will still not lead to the break up of the country.

Some south easterners led by the Indigenous People Of Biafra have agitated for the break-up of the country but Okupe believes the recent drumming of war will not affect Nigeria as it was Gods project.

READ ALSO: How Nigeria can be a great country - Jonathan

He said: Yes, again and again, there are drums of war, rumours of coups and heightened cries for separation. Yet, Nigeria will not break. I repeat as God liveth, Nigeria is not about to break up.

Those who rely on what is seen physically and those who are not too knowledgeable about life may want to hold this assertion in derision.

Yet there is more than meets the eye in matters that control the affairs of nations and men.

He noted that ingredients required for the disintegration of the country existed such as inequality, injustice, nepotism, corruption, deception, sectional neglect and lack of inclusivity, mutual distrust among others, but fortunately or unfortunately it is not in the manifest destiny of this great nation to disintegrate.

To anyone who is discerning, it has been crystal clear that God has shown His guiding hand in the affairs of Nigeria since the June 12 debacle. God does not act in vain but for a purpose. It will be preposterous to assume that the purpose of Gods intervention in the affairs of Nigeria in the past 25 years is to lead us to a break up.

In truth, the Nigerian experiment or marriage is grossly imperfect and obviously not working. The Nigerian union presents some of the outstanding features of a dysfunctional marriage.

There is sustained anger, mutual contempt and distrust, lack of openness and poor communication among its component parts.

The former presidential aide also spoke about the issue of President Muhammadu Buharis health saying the north is apprehensive because of the case of late president, Umaru Musa YarAdua.

He said: But they are not willing to discuss this openly. Official handling of the situation suggests sectional protectionism rather than presenting a national problem seeking a national solution. After all, this is a president loved and voted for by nearly fanatical nationwide followers. Why should his adversity be borne and protected only by a section or just a few disciples?

On the other side are those, mainly southerners, who gloat over the presidents health challenges and cannot wait for power to be handed over to the vice president and for the latter to actually assume the full status of the president almost immediately. They rely exclusively on the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, totally ignoring the main and the central abiding political philosophy of power sharing in Nigeria.

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Obviously, there are serious and genuine fears across the divide. But as typical of a dysfunctional union, nobody is ready or willing to discuss these fears openly or even within leadership caucuses.

What we then get are heightened calls and counter calls for breakup of the country, calls for restructuring and official rumours of coups.

There is an urgent need to develop a national platform from which we can nurture the emergence of an elite political consensus from where we can always look at our problems as national problems and bring about unified national solutions. Then and only can our nation be on its ultimate journey to its divine destiny of greatness.

See reactions below:

Is Biafra about to become a reality following the recent release of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu from prison? Nigerians share their opinion in the Legit.ng video below:

Source: Legit.ng
- President Muhammadu Buhari is responding to treatment in the UK

- A source at the Nigeria High Commission in London reveals the president has made very significant improvement

- The source at the embassy says the president is very stable and is able to regularly and promptly observe his five-time daily prayers

Emerging reports suggest that President Muhammadu Buharis health has improved significantly.

A source at the Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom, reveals that the president is very stable.

The source however notes that only the president's physicians can determine when he will return to Nigeria and to work.

He is doing very good; he is ok but his doctors will determine (when he will return), said the source.

READ ALSO: Rule of law! Falana attacks Buhari's spokesman

According to Premium Times, the official, who sees Buhari regularly, asked not to be named because he had no permission to discuss the presidents condition with journalists.

The source also expressed sadness that some Nigerians could wish the president dead, saying (it is) sad that any human being will wish another dead.

He continued: Its sad but God is all seeing and will always suffice and to Him we submit all our affairs. They have failed and will continue to fail.

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On the calls for Buharis resignation on the ground of poor health , the source said, Well thats their problem because it is God that gives power and takes it when He so wishes and not anybody else.

Legit.ng learnt that when asked if the presidents health was now better than he left home, the source said the president is largely stable.

Adding that Buhari is able to regularly and promptly observe his five-time daily prayers.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has decided to make good its promise of holding a second national convention.

The ruling party had on Wednesday, January 18, said it will hold its 2nd National Convention in April, however, the convention did not hold.

In a bid to ensure that the convention holds as promised, governors on the platform of the APC met with the partys National Working Committee (NWC).

The meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday, May 24.

According to Daily Post, the delegates agreed to proceed with preparations for the convention.

They agreed to proceed even with President Muhammadu Buhari still away on vacation.

The governors and NWC also resolved to send a delegation to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to present him with suggested dates for him to pick from.

Stalwarts of the party noted the though Buhari its national leader is absent, still the convention must hold for the good of the party and to the betterment of Nigeria.

Buhari left the country for London on May 7 to continue with his medical treatment.

He had returned to Nigeria on March 10 after spending 51 days in the British capital during attending to his health.

Upon his return, the president said he couldnt recall being so sick since he was a young man, including in the military with its ups and downs.

He also said he could not recall ever having blood transfusion before.

The president also hinted that he would return to the UK for further treatment.

Im feeling much better now. There may, however, be need for further follow up within some weeks, Buhari had said while addressing the country.

Below is a video in which Nigerian's react to fake news over President Buhari's health and the speculations of an imminent military takeover.

Source: Legit.ng
- Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has labelled as naive, late Odumegwu Ojukwu's drive towards the Biafra war

- Obasanjo made the assertion at the maiden edition of the "Memory and Nation Building, Biafra: 50 Years After"

- The ex-president says the young officers who started the 1967 war were unguarded

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the officers who started the 1967 Nigerian-Biafra civil war were all naive.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the "Memory and Nation Building, Biafra: 50 Years After", the former president said the young officers who started the 1967 war were naive and never had an understanding of what they were going into.

Obasanjo says Gowon and Ojukwu were naive as to go headlong into the 1967 Biafra war

"Although there were some nationalism in some of them. And that is what has kept us where we currently are," Obasanjo said.

He further condemned remarks by some of Nigerian leaders who are bent on planting hatred in the hearts of the Nigerian populace.

"We really never had a national leader, we had three leaders at the beginning of our journey as a nation who are mindful of their regions. That is our problem. When you listen to our leaders they talk about freedom and their region but never unity," he said.

Obasanjo said all the officer who participated in the war never saw themselves as enemies.

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"We saw our brothers on the other side as rebels, we never called ourselves enemies. Right from the beginning of the war, reconciliation was on the federal's mind," he noted.

He said all the standard rule of engagement was observed during the civil war with the aim of reconciling with the aggrieved party.

"We had special code of conduct, foreign observers, we had people who had power to report authoritatively and power to even investigate.

"I have said it before, civil war is more difficult to fight that fight a foreign nation or exterminate.

"We wanted to preserve our nation, reconciliation was on our mind," Obasanjo added.

The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo and many others are currently seated at the Shehu Musa Yar'adua Centre in Abuja to discuss the Nigerian-Biafra civil war after 50 years.

Also seated for the debate is the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo John Nnia-Nwodo, Pat Utomi and Dr Oby Ezekwesili.

The chairman of the occasion is the former permanent secretary for the ministry of information, education and industry, Mohammed Joda.

Speaking at the event, Innocent Chukwuma of Ford Foundation - the co-organizers with Shehu Musa Yar'adua Foundation said the event was the first of its kind.

Below is a Legit.ng video in which Nigerians react to the possibility of a military takeover in Nigeria.

Source: Legit.ng
- Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria's unity must be guarded jealously

- The former president says many who are agitating for a breakaway were not born during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war

- He added that the agitators do not even know what the struggle entails

Former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo has said that most of the people agitating for the freedom of Biafra were not born during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war.

Speaking in Abuja at the Memory and Nation Building, Biafra: 50 Years After", Obasanjo said Nigerians must join hands to preserve the unity of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Osinbajo reveals how Nigerians can now own a house with N30,000

The leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Ralph Uwazuruike, in an interview with the Biafra Nigeria World, an online portal said, he was born in Okwe, Okigwe at sometime between 1968 and 1970.

However, Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra who is currently leading the agitation for Biafra was born 1970, three years after the war started.

The former president says many who are agitating for a breakaway were not born during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war

Obasanjo who spoke on Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation said these agitators do not understand what the struggle entails.

READ ALSO: Biafra May 30 protest: See how southeast looks like a graveyard

"These people do not even know what it entails," he said.

The former president urged leaders to stop politicizing all issues in Nigeria.

"Issues that should not be politicized should not be politicized. Some of the people agitating for Biafra were not even born then.

"Nigeria must be loved, it must be treated as we treat love affairs, it must be massaged.

It takes two to tango, I believe there is no substitute for us holding Nigeria like a love affairs.... there is enough cake for all of us," Obasanjo said.

In an earlier report by Legit.ng, Obasanjo said that the officers who started the 1967 Nigerian-Biafra civil war were all naive.

The former president said the young officers who started the 1967 war were naive and never had an understanding of what they were going into.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

"Although there were some nationalism in some of them. And that is whathas kept us where we currently are," Obasanjo said.

He further condemned remarks by some of Nigerian leaders who are bent on planting hatred in the hearts of the Nigerian populace.

"We really never had a national leader, we had three leaders at the beginning of our journey as a nation who are mindful of their regions. That is our problem. When you listen to our leaders they talk about freedom and their region but never unity," he said.

You can watch Legit.ng video of Obasanjo explaining why Nigeria needs to be treated like a love affair

Source: Legit.ng
What is the Nigerian Navy application form 2017? How do you fill it? Here are a few instructions. Do it ASAP if you really intend to serve in the Nigerian Navy.

Serving in the naval forces in Nigeria is quite honourable. The Nigerian Navy is one of the largest fleets on the African continent. If you want to be employed and serve here, you will receive a decent salary and an opportunity to see the world. In addition, for any person of our country, it is a great honor to defend his Motherland. The Nigerian Navy updates its personnel every year and recruits new employees. So it will happen this year too. For this purpose, the site www.joinnigeriannavy.com was created by the Nigerian Navy.

Nigerian Navy DSSC

What should you do to join the Navy in Nigeria?

Firstly you need to fill out a particular form of DSSC for the Navy. Please note the following: on the official website www.joinnigeriannavy.com the form for this year is not active yet. So it's important to keep an eye out for updates. Please beware of scammers. They will offer to help you manage everything for money. They cannot help you. You will just lose your money.

Nigerian Navy Officers

Now we must specify essential requirements for candidates:

 You must have the minimum of five credits in no more than two sittings in WASSCE/GCE/NECO/NABTEB (English language and Mathematics included).

 You must be between eighteen  twenty two years old. However, the age range of twenty four  twenty six years old is recommended for candidates with OND, NCE, Nurses and Motor Transport Department accordingly. Candidates with other specialties than mentioned above in the recommendations need not apply.

 Candidates should not be married and be Nigerians by birth.

 The height must be not less than 170 centimeters for men and 167 centimeters for women.

 You should not suffer from any mental or physical dysfunction.

 You should be free from any kind of financial liabilities;

 Candidates must not have any problems with the law: not be under trial or any kind of investigation

READ ALSO: NIGERIAN NAVY

Nigerian Navy

How to fill in Nigerian Navy application form?

Candidates who want to serve in the Navy should know that the Nigerian Navy recruitment form is given for free. The form can be submitted only one time. If you want to cheat and do it more than once, your application will be rejected.

Follow the next instructions:

 You should purchase a voucher at any branch office of the Union Bank PLC or the Unity Bank.

 The voucher costs 1000 naira for applicants with their WASSCE and 2500 naira for applicants with the help of Direct Short Service (Pay attention: Bank may charge its fee).

 Then you have to Log on to the Navys recruitment website (joinnigeriannavy.com) using the serial number of the card you bought as a username and the PIN as a password.

 You need to feel in the forms you will get.

 Then submit after cross checking, which is important to ensure that the information you have given is correct.

Navy Parade

After you have sent your Nigerian Navy application form online, you should print out a copy of the summary. You will get a notice about the dates of exams and recruitment centres.

You have to send reports to the recruitment offices with the following copies:

 Birth Certificate or Age Declaration;

 Parent Consent form;

 four passport photographs;

 a letter of introduction from your local government chairman.

Nigerian Navy School

Moreover, you have to take the originals of your certificates on your way to the recruitment centres. Please, dont forget the hard copy of your application form.

As you can see, the filling procedure of Nigerian Navy DSSC application form is not complicated. Do it attentively and correctly and if you meet the requirements you will be lucky to serve in the Nigerian Navy. You will certainly achieve success.

READ ALSO: Nigeria navy postpones recruitment exercise

Source: Legit.ng
- Reuben Wilson, an ex-militant leader, says Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has assisted in rehabilitating more than 200 persons from his clime

- Jerry Fiberesima, a native of Okrika, Rivers state says the programme helped him become a better man after living a life of violence

- Wilson also urged those yet to be empowered to exercise patience as it would be their turn

Many former militants and beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) have showered encomium on President Muhammadu Buhari over his programme and policies for the region.

The beneficiaries urged the Niger Delta ex-agitators and youths to support the president to achieve his great aim for the clime.

The ex-agitators, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, May 24, in Abuja, said they would remain grateful to Buharis administration for empowering them in various skills.

Ex-militants sower Encomiums on President Buhari

READ ALSO: Senate passes PIB bill in HISTORIC move after several years

Reuben Wilson, an ex-militant leader, said PAP, under the leadership of Brig-Gen Paul Boroh had engaged ex-agitators in various empowerment programmes, and had also facilitated employment for some of them who graduated recently.

According to Wilson, PAP has also assisted in rehabilitating more than 200 persons from his camp, who have all shunned violence and embraced peace.

He therefore commended the federal government for initiating the programme which he said had empowered many youths in the region and scaled down crime rate.

Also, Jerry Fiberesima, a native of Okrika, Rivers state, said the programme helped him become a better man after living a life of violence.

Fiberesima said he is now a successful farmer with 28 persons from his community working under him and earning a living.

I now have a farm where I plant corn, plantain and other vegetables; and which is being managed by my 28 employees.

He urged those yet to be empowered to exercise patience as it would be their turn.

READ ALSO: Buhari's health: Embassy source reveals detail of president's status

Emmanuel Onoyo-Akorhe, a fish farmer in Delta, said PAP had given them the opportunity to boost their fishing business and created a ladder out of poverty and food insecurity for the region.

Reuben Opuobori, who also owns a fish farm, said that the vocation had offered him and other ex-agitators a chance to make a difference by growing enough food to feed the nation.

Opuobori said though there were many challenges, young people should be trained and encouraged to live on their own and contribute to making Nigeria self sufficient and peaceful.

As we look to find solutions to feeding a world of nine billion people by 2050; it is this new generation that will work together to achieve that set goal, he said.

Uche Ogburia, from Elele, Rivers state, said poultry farming had become very lucrative due to the high demand for the products.

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Little investment is required to start up the business and losses are minimal, Ogburia said.

He also encouraged those with the challenge of acquiring land for the business to consider family land as an option, so that gradually they would be able to acquire theirs when the business becomes lucrative.

Legit.ng recalls that the federal government had confirmed the resumption of payments of monthly stipends to ex-militants in response to sustained attacks on oil facilities which have dropped crude production to a 30-year low.

The payment of stipends resumed on Monday, August 1, after coordinator of the presidential amnesty program, Paul Boroh told ex-militants in an e-mailed statement that their delayed stipends would resume.

Watch this Legit.ng TV Video of what Nigerians are saying about President Buhari's take the out of recession:

Source: Legit.ng
- There is tension brewing in Idumuje Ugboko, an agrarian community in Aniocha north local government area of Delta state

- The crisis is allegedly orchestrated following the kingship tussle tearing the community apart and dividing apparent heirs to throne of the late monarch

- As at the time of filing this report, there is confusion as kingmakers appear incompetent to handle the unfolding situation

- The kingmakers have therefore appealed to the state government and security agencies to wade in and stem the wave of crisis enveloping the tiny community

Idumuje Ugboko, a rural community in Aniocha north council area of Delta state is in confusion and under siege as residents, school children, market women are running for safety following the kingship battle that is tearing the tiny community apart.

The monarch of the community, Albert Nwoko, a 91-year-old man died in February 2017 but the choice of the rightful heir to the throne has led to series of chaotic occurrences, a development which has led to kidnapping of some people, arrest of a few, and denying others access to their properties and homes.

The situation, Legit.ng gathered, rose to a point where markets were on a particular day compelled to close down and school children chased out of school so as to forestall unwarranted death and destruction of property in the agrarian community.

The team from Idumuje Ugboko community which addressed journalists on the crisis enveloping the community in Asaba on Thursday

Following the development, there is confusion and fear in Idumuje Ugboko, the community which produced Professor Demas Nwoko of the University of Ibadan and Ned Nwoko, former member of the federal house of representatives, a philanthropic and owner of mount of Delta, a tourist centre located at the entrance of the community.

READ ALSO: Buhari's health: Embassy source reveals detail of president's status

In a press conference in Asaba, Delta state capital, on Thursday, some of the elders of the community, including the Iyase, Chris Ogwu; former president general of the community, Eziashi Walters; Kennedy Chuks Iloh, secretary, land allocation committee and one Henry Chike Okolo, the kingmakers decried the challenges in the community, calling on the state government and the security agencies to intervene so as to restore sanity to the war torn community.

The Iyase, who addressed over 35 media practitioners in Asaba, gave lurid and fearful details of developments in the community, explaining that life has become bad to the residents as the kingship tussle has instilled fear and horror in the minds of the community dwellers.

He told journalists that following the death of the monarch in February 2017, the situation of the community has degenerated to the extent that thugs have invaded the palace, sending shiver down the spine of community dwellers.

He added that the thugs had at one timer broke into his compound, gave him merciless beating, stating that wife of the late monarch who was chased out of the palace had lodged a complaint to the police asking for a total investigation of the issues surrounding the death of the late monarch.

The woman standing was the wife of the late monarch. She was chased out of the palace even before the death of the monarch. She was chased out on allegation of infidelity

He said though the matter is in court and that there is no reason for violence, he, however, said: The whole town is in violence. Only yesterday (Wednesday), a gentleman was killed, market women were chased from the market, youths chased children from school. There is violence and shooting everywhere. For some days now I have not been to my house.

When asked whether the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, and the chairman of Aniocha north local government area, Chuks Oseme, have been briefed on the development, he said the kingmakers have followed the usual due process to communicate the governor, adding: There has been information to the governor. Issues like this, we first petition the local government chairman, we have done that and as such the governor is aware.

He alleged that hoodlums were imported from other kingdoms to unleash terror on the community people, saying some came in the afternoon while others besieged the community in the night.

One of the community chiefs, Kennedy Chuks Iloh, who is the secretary of land allocation committee, told journalists that he was kidnapped and kept in custody for a period of time.

He said his children were told that their father was dead but when they demanded to see the dead body of their father, the children were chased away.

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He said the imported hoodlums from other communities are fighting youths of Idumuje Ugboko, noting that the chairman of the vigilante group in the community, one Peter Bama, was mercilessly beaten and dragged round the community, a situation which has landed him critically ill in an undisclosed hospital in the state.

The kingmakers alleged that Ned Nwoko, one of the illustrious sons of the community, was reportedly attacked, following threats from hoodlums who have put the community under tension with no immediate solution in sight.

The kingmakers have, however, said anyone allegedly involving Ned Nwoko in the crisis tearing the community apart is doing that as a diversionary approach, saying Ned meant well and is working in the interest of peace and development of the community.

Watch Legit.ng video where Acting President yemi Osibanjo talks on the Nigerian civil war

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian Senate has scrapped NNPC

- The upper legislative chamber also established three new agencies

- It said the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) is now under the new commission

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been scraped by the Senate. This is following the passage of the controversial Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).

Legit.ng gathered that the Senate had on Thursday May 25, considered and passed the much talked about PIGB, after its clause by clause consideration.

READ ALSO: Mixed reactions trail news that President Buhari is recovering well

In place of NNPC, the Senate recommended the establishment of three new agencies to effectively manage the largely troubled oil and gas sector.

JUST IN: Passes PIB, scraps NNPC and establishes 3 new agencies

Among the agencies established in the bill, is the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC), which shall be headed by a Chairman.

Legit.ng had previously reported that the Senate uncovered N10tr fraud in NNPC.

The commission will also consist of Commissioners, whose appointments and removal shall be subject to Senate approval.

The Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) is now under the new commission.

The PIGB also established the Nigerian Petroleum Asset Management Company (NPAMC) and National Petroleum Company (NPC), to coordinate the activities of other existing agencies, including the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The bill which consists of 132 clauses has taken time to come, having outlived the 5th to 7th Senate, making the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to describe its passage as historical.

When signed into law, the document is expected to stimulate Nigerias oil and gas sector.

It is also expected to help Nigeria reduce corruption and inefficiency in the sector.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Tayo Alasoadura said he was delighted that his committee could achieve much on the bill.

Today we have achieved what people believed was impossible to accomplish, he told Journalists.

It could be recalled that nine months ago, the Senate mandated its relevant committees to work on the old copy of the PIB, which was divided into different compartments.

On his part, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Akpan Bassey, said, the jinx has been broken.

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He expressed optimism that the bill would create confidence on how the business of oil and gas was done in the country.

It will create the right signal to international community that Nigeria is ready for business, he said.

A statement signed by Sarakis media office said, Today, the Senate passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), 2017. This followed the final consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas).

The intent of this landmark legislation is to establish a legal framework for the creation of a more efficient, transparent, competitive and internationalized petroleum industry.

The Bill, which was introduced by Sen. Tayo Alasoadura (Ondo Central), also seeks to create a conducive business environment for theoperations of the petroleum industry and overhaul the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the driving force behind the PIGBs progression through the Senate, said the Senates action today culminates some 12 long years of legislative attempts to reform the petroleum sector. Now, we are a step closer to bringing better governance and transparency to Nigerias most important economic sector.

Watch Legit.ng TV vox pop as Nigerians react to rumours of the president's death.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has warned MDAs against rejecting corps members

- He said there was already an existing government policy directing MDAs against rejecting corps members

- He also urged MDAs and private corps employers to assign challenging responsibilities to corps members during their primary assignment

The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, has warned government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to desist from rejecting corps members posted to them for primary assignment.

Legit.ng gathered that Osinbajo gave the warning during the Swearing-In Ceremony of the 2017 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Batch A Stream I corps members at the Permanent Orientation Camp at Kubwa, Abuja, on Thursday May 25.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Senate passes PIGB, scraps NNPC and establishes 3 new agencies

The acting president was represented by Amina Abubakar, the Director, Human Resources, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

Osinbajo said there was already an existing government policy directing MDAs against rejecting corps members.

He said the policy was still in effect, urging parastatals to ensure its full implementation.

Legit.ng had previously reported that NYSC recently announced date for printing of call up letters for Batch A 2017 prospective corps members.

The acting president also urged MDAs and private corps employers to assign challenging responsibilities to corps members during their primary assignment.

According to him, by doing so they will be fully incorporated into the process of nation-building and be able to contribute their quota to national development.

He said the federal government was aware of all the challenges facing the scheme.

He said government would continue to encourage cooperation between the federal, state and local governments to ensure smooth and effective execution of the operations relating to the scheme.

The Federal Government is aware of the challenges that face the NYSC and its duty to mitigate these issues including security, deployment management and processes.

As you step into your roles as service members, I commend to you the recently launched programme of the federal government, Change Begins with Me.

This campaign is aimed at restoring national values and upholding all that is right through each and every one of us.

You must all strive to fight the painful erosion of our social values as a result of greed and dishonesty. If change begins with each of you, there can be nothing that will impede the progress of this nation, Mr. Osinbajo said.

Besides, the acting president urged corps members to uphold the ideals of the scheme and remain conscientious in the discharge of their assignments.

Adebola Elegbede, the Chairperson, NYSC FCT Governing Board, said a lot would be required of corps members in their places of primary assignments for the benefit of the people of the territory.

Mrs. Elegbede urged corps members to apply themselves fully to the orientation programme as it would equip them for the task ahead.

I will be coming to the camp from time to time to ensure that your welfare needs are catered to and to see how you are faring in this regard, Mrs. Elegbede said.

Abdulrazak Salawu, the NYSC FCT Coordinator, said in response to emerging threats to the mental and social state of the youths especially in the area of drug abuse, the scheme had set up a counseling centre in the camp.

Mr. Salawu said the centre which was part of the schemes contribution to community development would help youths who may be affected in this regard.

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He said that the FCT minister has directed the renovation and upgrading of camp facilities to ensure relative comfort for all camp participants.

The coordinator said the scheme registered 2,702 corps members for the 2017 Batch A stream I orientation course which would last for three weeks.

The Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, who was represented by Justice Peter Affen, administered the oath of allegiance on the corps members. (NAN)

Watch Legit.ng TV vox pop as Nigerians react to rumours of the president's death.

Source: Legit.ng
- Dogara writes to Sultan of Sokoto over crisis created by Governor Abubakar

- In his letter to the Sultan, Dogara says as a Christian, nothing in his religion teaches him to discriminate

Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has asked the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'adu Abubakar, to step into what he described as unnecessary crisis created by Governor Mohammed Abdullah Abubakar of Bauchi state over renovation of mosques in Bogoro, Dass, Tafawa Balewa Federal constituency.

According to the letter sent to Legit.ng, Dogara said he had embarked on renovation and reconstruction of mosques in the constituency, but the Governor got a wind of it and directed the District Head and the council chairman to stop the work or lose their jobs.

It was however gathered that the people of the towns said the work must continue but the Governor insisted the Speaker must not be allowed to carryout the renovation so as not to take the credit.

Dogara writes Sultan as Gov Abubakar stops him from renovating mosques in Bauchi

Dogara writes to Sultan of Sokoto over crisis created by Governor Abubakar

In his letter to the Sultan, Dogara said as a Christian, nothing in my religion teaches me to discriminate or worsen the condition which other adherent worships.

READ ALSO: Buhari's health: Embassy source reveals detail of president's status

Dogara asked the Sultan to intervene in the matter to have the mosques renovated and for the governor to restore the District head of Dull to his stoll.

Dogara writes Sultan as Gov Abubakar stops him from renovating mosques in Bauchi

Dogara writes Sultan

The Speaker said he hopes the intervention of the Sultan will bring succor to the people of his Federal constituency and encourage peaceful co-existence which the Sultan is championing.

Legit.ng had recently reported that Governor Abubakar directed that local education authorities not allowed federal lawmakers to build schools or renovate existing ones.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

It would be recalled that a council chairman even threatened to demolish school built by a Reps member from Azare.

Below is a video in which Nigerian's react to fake news over President Buhari's health and the speculations of an imminent military takeover.

Source: Legit.ng
The Vitafoods Venture Den is an informal, fast-paced business pitch competition to give nutrition and health and wellness start-ups the opportunity to pitch to investors. Hosted by Nutrition Capital Network, the Venture Den is an annual staple of the Vitafoods Centre Stage and we went behind the scenes to get the scoop. Starting on Monday, before Vitafoods Europe 2017 even began, we cornered Grant Ferrier, CEO of NCN and Chairman of the NCN Investor Meeting Europe, for the all the backstage information. We then found Grant again as the Venture Den concluded to find out who won and where theyll go from here. To hear more from Grant, check out his blog on vitafoodsinsights.com about the challenges facing nutraceutical start-ups.
On a summer morning in 2013, Octavian Mihai entered a softly lit room furnished with a small statue of Buddha, a box of tissues and a single red rose. From an earthenware chalice, he swallowed a capsule of psilocybin, an ingredient found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Then he put on an eye mask and headphones and lay down on a couch. Soon, images flew by like shooting stars: a spinning world that looked like a blue-green chessboard; himself on a stretcher in front of a hospital; his parents, gazing at him with aching sadness as he reached out to them, suffused with childlike love.

Psilocybin has been illegal in the United States for more than 40 years. But Mr. Mihai, who had just finished treatment for Stage 3 Hodgkins lymphoma, was participating in a study looking at whether the drug can reduce anxiety and depression in cancer patients. Throughout that eight-hour session, a psychiatrist and a social worker from NYU Langone Medical Center stayed by his side.

Published Thursday, the results from that study, and a similar small, controlled trial, were striking. About 80 percent of cancer patients showed clinically significant reductions in both psychological disorders, a response sustained some seven months after the single dose. Side effects were minimal.
Ken Kurson, a close friend of President Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said on Wednesday that he will leave his job as editor of the Observer, the cheeky chronicler of New York City media and politics that Mr. Kushner purchased in 2006.

In a move rich with political intrigue, Mr. Kurson said he would begin a new job next week as a senior managing director at Teneo Strategy, a division of the corporate advisory firm run by allies of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Teneo has highlighted its ties to the Clintons inner circle and recruited clients who were also Clinton Foundation donors. Its team has expanded to include allies of the Clintons political adversaries: the firm recently hired Jason Miller, a top communications aide to President Trumps campaign and a frequent defender of his administration.

Mr. Kursons tenure at the Observer started in 2013 and was marked by questions about his ties to Mr. Kushner and the Trump campaign, particularly when he acknowledged that he had worked on a speech delivered by Mr. Trump to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. After criticism, Mr. Kurson said that he would no longer offer input to the Trump campaign.
ALBANY  There were two special legislative elections in New York on Tuesday, both won by Democrats. The outcome of one was a foregone conclusion, the other an utter surprise  especially given the convincing margin of victory by the Democrat, Christine Pellegrino.

Ms. Pellegrino defeated her Republican opponent, Tom Gargiulo, in the Ninth Assembly District on Long Island, 58 percent to 42 percent, even though the district is heavily Republican and President Trump won it with 60 percent of the vote.

Political observers are paying close attention to special elections across the nation this year as potential harbingers of what may happen in the midterm contests in 2018. Ms. Pellegrinos success appears to have drawn that kind of attention, at least in New York.

This sends a strong message to Democrats and Republicans, said Bill Lipton, the director of the New York Working Families Party, which endorsed her. To Democrats, it says that they can win in Trump country when they support bold, populist champions who put working peoples issues front and center.
When news began to break on Monday of a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people, including children, internet users turned to Twitter for updates and to vent grief and sympathy.

David Leavitt took a different tack. He logged on to Twitter, where he now has more than 60,000 followers, and wrote: MULTIPLE CONFIRMED FATALITIES at Manchester Arena. The last time I listened to Ariana Grande I almost died too.

He followed up a few minutes later: Honestly, for over a year I thought an Ariana Grande was something you ordered at Starbucks.
How long should it take to write a political play? I dont mean to ask how speedily it should be written  though if I did, Robert Schenkkans Building the Wall would surely win a prize. It was drafted, Mr. Schenkkan told The New York Times, in a weeklong white-hot fury after the election of President Trump in November, and has already been produced, or will be imminently, at theaters around the country. Here in New York, it opened on Wednesday at New World Stages, where I found it to be slick and dispiriting.

But put that aside for a moment. What I really mean to ask is how long it takes for a specific political situation to become ripe for dramatization. Eager critics, and audiences, too, now seem to be asking for a turnaround that all but prohibits introspection. Yet without introspection, how valuable is the result? It is a very rare political work that speaks directly to its time from its time, and also deeply and lastingly. The Normal Heart and Angels in America come to mind.

More typically, the names of actual presidents and the details of their terrible mistakes sit awkwardly in otherwise imaginary accounts of our world. In their all-too-realness, they tear at the fabric of fiction. Thats why expressly political playwrights like Brecht and Shaw often saw fit to set their works in the deep past. During the Hundred Years War, say.
Computers dont have ambition, he said. They dont say, I want to control people. They dont have gut instincts.

Jacque Fresco was born in Brooklyn on March 13, 1916, to Isaac Fresco, a horticulturalist, and the former Lena Friedlich, a homemaker. His parents wanted him to be a sign painter, like his uncle, but he was devoted to studying mathematics, conducting science experiments in the family bathroom and building advanced models of ships and aircraft. At 13, he designed a fan with rubber or fabric blades after a relative was hurt when he stuck his hand into a metal fan.

I submitted the design to some companies, but they showed no interest, he said in a 2011 interview on Facebook. Shortly after that the product came out on the market. That was my introduction to the marketplace.

He did not like attending school and was often a truant. By his early teens, he was on his own.

At some point, he said, he went to Florida, where he caught poisonous snakes in the Everglades and sold them to circuses. He never attended college and occasionally fretted in later years that his lack of academic credentials might have limited his impact.

After hitchhiking to California, he started a career as an aircraft and architectural designer, research engineer, creator of rocket models for science-fiction films and designer of prefabricated aluminum homes that were displayed at the Warner Bros. studio. During World War II, he said, he served in the Army Air Forces design and development unit at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio.

He predicted in 1956 that there would be saucerlike space stations, elevators that moved horizontally as well as vertically and, presciently, driverless cars.

Cars, he said, would have proximity control that would render collisions impossible.

Mr. Fresco had been thinking of a planned city, like the one laid out in Project Venus, since at least the 1950s. His work on it intensified after he moved to Florida, where he sketched out Project Americana, a scheme in which sensitive machines would react to the environment to cool and clean the city, direct traffic and close floodgates, he told Florida Living magazine in 1961.
More than five dozen Middlebury College students were disciplined for their roles in shutting down a speech by the author Charles Murray in March, the college announced this week. But the students were spared the most serious penalties in the episode, which left a faculty member injured and came to symbolize a lack of tolerance for conservative ideas on some campuses.

The college, in Middlebury, Vt., issued a statement on Tuesday describing sanctions against 67 students ranging from probation to official college discipline, which places a permanent record in the students file. The statement did not disclose how many students received the harsher punishment, but said, Some graduate schools and employers require individuals to disclose official discipline in their applications.

None of the students were suspended or expelled.

A college spokesman, Bill Burger, said the statement was intentionally vague because of concerns that releasing details would identify individual students, violating federal laws aimed at protecting student privacy.

An estimated 100 to 150 students at the liberal arts college shouted down Mr. Murray, who had been invited by a conservative student group. A political scientist who has written several books, he is best known for The Bell Curve, published in 1994, in which he linked socioeconomic status with race and intelligence. Student protesters said the book espoused a racist view that had no place on a college campus.
WASHINGTON  Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, on Wednesday fiercely defended budget plans to spend $1.4 billion on the Trump administrations expanded school choice agenda, but refused to say whether her office would withhold funds from private schools that discriminate against students.

In her first testimony to Congress since a bruising confirmation hearing in January, Ms. DeVos appeared unflappable as she told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee that the budget sought to empower states and parents to make decisions about students educations.

We cannot allow any parent to feel their child is trapped in a school that isnt meeting his or her unique needs, Ms. DeVos told lawmakers.

But Democrats derided the education spending blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year as tone deaf to low-income and working-class Americans. Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the panel, called it cruel and inhumane.
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions failed to disclose meetings with Russian officials when he applied for security clearance because he was told not to do so by advisers and the F.B.I., a Justice Department spokesman said Wednesday.

Mr. Sessions met with Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, at least twice in 2016. But asked on an official government form to note any contact he or family members had with foreign governments or their representatives over the past seven years, Mr. Sessions did not include his encounters with Mr. Kislyak. It is a federal crime to make false statements or withhold relevant information on the background check form.

As a United States senator, the attorney general met hundreds  if not thousands  of foreign dignitaries and their staff, Ian Prior, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said in a statement. The attorney generals staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the F.B.I. investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities.

Mr. Sessions filled out two such forms, Mr. Prior said, one last July, as he was first formally vetted by the Trump campaign, and one after the election in November.
WASHINGTON  After American Navy destroyers fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield last month, fears emerged that Russia would respond by cutting off communications designed to prevent unintended confrontations in the skies over Syria, where both countries are conducting air campaigns.

More than six weeks later, however, the American and Russian militaries are still using a shared hotline to avoid conflicts involving their air operations over Syria. In fact, the number of calls has been on the rise.

In the pure quantity of phone calls, it increased, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, the top American air commander in the Middle East, told Pentagon reporters on Wednesday.

This does not signal that American and Russian diplomats are anywhere near agreement on how to end the conflict in Syria or on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. Rather, it indicates that both nations military officers are trying to manage the risks of an inadvertent conflict in the increasingly crowded airspace over Syria, which American and allied warplanes have shared with Syrian, Russian, Turkish and Israeli planes.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  In a fierce, sometimes personal speech, Sally Q. Yates, the acting attorney general fired by President Trump for refusing to defend his travel ban, told the graduating class at Harvard Law School on Wednesday that her decision was a surprising but crucial moment when law and conscience intersected.

Ms. Yates has become a hero to many Democrats for standing up to the president on one of his first and most contentious policy initiatives. Mr. Trumps supporters regard her as just one of many holdovers from the Obama administration who have publicly and privately tried to sabotage his agenda.

Her tenure as acting attorney general was supposed to be uneventful, Ms. Yates said during ceremonies the day before commencement. Everything was to stay status quo. Her former chief of staff had jokingly told her there would be time for, in her words, a lot of long, boozy lunches.

But the defining moments in our lives often dont come with advance warning, she said. They can arise in scenarios we would have never expected, and dont come with the luxury of a lot of time for you to go inside yourself for some serious introspection.
BEIJING  A United States Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island claimed by China in the South China Sea on Wednesday, an operation that showed a new firmness by the Trump administration in its dealings with Beijing.

The warship, the guided missile destroyer Dewey, passed near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, not far from the Philippines, American military officials said.

The operation may tamp down concerns among allies of the United States that the Trump administration has been unwilling to confront Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea as it seeks Beijings cooperation on issues like halting North Koreas nuclear program.

Until the operation on Wednesday, the Pentagon had turned down requests from the United States Pacific Command in Hawaii, under the command of Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., for such maneuvers. It was the first freedom of navigation operation since President Trump took office.
Starring a mostly unknown cast of young actors, The Get Down is set in the South Bronx in the late 1970s and traces the journey of a group of up-and-comers in the still nascent hip-hop scene. In a time in which there are plenty of period dramas on network, cable and streaming television, The Get Down stood apart with its focus on non-wealthy, nonwhite characters living in a not particularly glamorous place.

In a post on his Facebook page, Mr. Luhrmann addressed the cancellation. When I was asked to come to the center of The Get Down to help realize it, I had to defer a film-directing commitment for at least two years, he wrote. This exclusivity has understandably become a sticking point for Netflix and Sony, who have been tremendous partners and supporters of the show. It kills me that I cant split myself into two and make myself available to both productions.

But the simple truth is, I make movies, he continued. And the thing with movies is, that when you direct them, there can be nothing else in your life.
Lidar  pronounced LIE-dar  is shorthand for light detection and ranging. It is a type of sensor that is at the heart of many autonomous car designs and is critical to several worldwide high-resolution mapping efforts. The same technology is used to delineate terrain from airplanes and detect speeding violations.

Image A lidar sensor from Luminar. The technology uses near-infrared light to detect the shape of objects around it. Credit... Diana Rothery for Luminar Technologies

The advantage of lidar is that it can generate precise three-dimensional images of everything from cars to trees to cyclists in a variety of environments and under a variety of lighting conditions. While autonomous car designs use numerous sensors, including ultrasonic, radar and video camera components, lidar has unique abilities. Unlike cameras, for example, lidar cannot be fooled by shadows or blinded by bright sunlight.

The biggest hurdle to widespread lidar adoption is an economic one, and that is where the battle is being waged.

When Google initially started its autonomous vehicle research eight years ago, the lidar sensors it used cost roughly $75,000. Those sensors were made by Velodyne Lidar, an industry leader. Velodyne declined to say what the current pricing is for such systems, but Waymos chief executive, John Krafcik, said in a recent presentation that his company had reduced the cost of its lidar system by 90 percent.

But even at $7,500, such systems are seen as too expensive to meet automakers demands.

Car companies want it to cost $100 and perform 10 times better, be smaller  and very reliable, said Omer Keilaf, chief executive of Innoviz Technologies, a lidar developer based in Israel. So theres a big vacuum in the industry right now.
Diamond is no longer the hardest mineral known to man, Weike Wang writes near the beginning of her debut novel, Chemistry. Lonsdaleite is 58 percent harder than diamond and forms only when meteorites smash themselves into the Earth.

This is the thought that pops into the head of the novels unnamed narrator, a chemistry Ph.D. student, when her boyfriend proposes marriage.

Ms. Wangs heroine, a young Chinese-American woman who is emotionally and professionally adrift, feels crushed by the expectations of her demanding parents, and by the pressures of her prestigious Boston university and her competitive male-dominated field, synthetic organic chemistry. She is also deeply ambivalent about marriage and committing to a career in synthetic organic chemistry. Chemistry is a sort of anti-coming-of-age story: Instead of figuring out how to be an adult, the narrator learns to live with uncertainty and indecision.

After she flips out in the lab, smashing beakers as other graduate students watch in horror, she goes on medical leave and starts drinking heavily.
Its Even Worse Than It Looks, by Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann, two centrist political scientists from the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings, respectively. They write about the transformation of the Republicans into an ideologically extreme party, contemptuous of compromise, science and the truth. They wrote it in 2012, but its even truer today.

I also read a book that I probably wouldnt recommend to anyone who isnt currently serving in the United States Senate but that does kind of shed some light on how the job has changed: The Evolving Congress, which is a Congressional Research Service report on, you guessed it, the evolving Congress. Its also on my night stand. But its under the Carl Reiner book.

What books in your opinion best explain the current moment in America?

I dont know about the current moment, but I feel like Woodward and Bernsteins All the Presidents Men may be due for a reprinting in the not-too-distant future.

Whats the one book you wish all Americans would read right now?

Theres a book called White Rage, by Carol Anderson, about a history that most Americans dont know: the history of oppression that African-Americans have faced from the Civil War to the present day. If every American read it, maybe we could really begin to have a real conversation about race in America, as opposed to the nationwide internet comment section we currently have.

And which book do you wish all your fellow senators would read?

Paul Toughs How Children Succeed, which is about the role trauma plays in a childs development. It explains how, when a kid experiences events like extreme poverty or domestic violence or the death of a parent, it changes their brain chemistry and their ability to learn. I wish every other senator would read it. Also, the secretary of education.

What are your favorite humor books? Do any books help you keep your sense of humor in Washington?

Ive really enjoyed books by female comedians like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham. But I wouldnt say theyve helped me keep my sense of humor in Washington. Mostly, they make me miss my old job.

Whos the funniest writer in politics?

The funniest writers in politics today are John Oliver, Samantha Bee and whoever else is writing for them. Also, whoever at S.N.L. figured out that Melissa McCarthy should play Sean Spicer.
Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

Beer Money: A Memoir of Privilege and Loss, by Frances Stroh. (Harper Perennial, $16.99.) As a fifth-generation heir to the Stroh Brewing Company, once the third-largest brewery in the country, the author glimpsed some of her familys former splendor growing up in Grosse Pointe, Mich. She tells a story of squandered wealth and her familys decline while attempting to link the Strohs fortunes to those of Detroit.

Still Here, by Lara Vapnyar. (Hogarth, $16.) Four friends from Russia attempt to forge new paths in New York, but end up transposing old dynamics, romances and jealousies to their adopted city. Vica pushes her husband to pitch an app with an ill-omened name  the Virtual Grave  to their wealthier friends, inspiring questions about immortality that follow the characters throughout the novel.

The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse, by Mohamed A. El-Erian. (Random House, $18.) In this edition, updated to reflect such geopolitical shifts as the election of President Trump and Britains vote to leave the European Union, the author outlines the challenges to the global economy and prescribes solutions to avoid falling back into stagnation  or having sluggish growth become the new standard.

The Sport of Kings, by C. E. Morgan. (Picador, $18.) The descendants of three Kentucky families  one wealthy and white, one African-American, and one equine  converge in this story, where questions of lineage, breeding and the past commingle on the Forge family plantation. Henrietta, a fiercely independent Forge heir, defies her father by hiring a black groom, and soon falls in love with him. Our reviewer, Jaimy Gordon, praised the fire, virtuosity and spiritual imagination with which Morgan conjures her subjects.
If Martha Gellhorn had been alive to see the release of Hemingway & Gellhorn, the 2012 HBO film about the writers brief and tumultuous romance with Ernest Hemingway while the two were reporting from the worlds hot spots in the 1930s and 40s, its safe to say she would have had a few choice words for whoever placed her second on the bill. All Cinderella had was a pumpkin, Clive Owens Hemingway drolly remarks, early in the film, when Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman) pulls up at the Hotel Florida in Madrid in a Russian tank. Gellhorn has come to see the Spanish Civil War firsthand  not to play dollface to an international celebrity  and she brushes past the addled Hemingway on her way into the lobby. John Dos Passos is there to support the Republican cause, and a young Robert Capa, and a cast of elegantly dissolute prostitutes, one missing a leg.

Cinderella needs a drink, Gellhorn replies over her shoulder to the skulking Papa Hemingway, and the films mediocrity is sealed.

But it does get one thing right about Martha Gellhorn: She cared far more about chasing the story than she ever cared about the men in her life, famous or otherwise. Its her fidelity to the story and the ordinary people swept up in historical events  particularly victims of the evil stupidity of nations at war, the lies and chicanery of statecraft and the global propaganda machine  that make Gellhorns novel A Stricken Field (1940) essential reading for the political moment were living through today. Set in Prague at the beginning of the war, a dead city in the process of being abandoned to Hitler by the rest of Europe in exchange for peace in our time, the novel follows an American journalist named Mary Douglas as she confronts a simmering refugee crisis in the proud, urbane capital of a liberal democracy. The Nazis have annexed the Sudetenland, an ethnic German enclave in the western outskirts of Czechoslovakia, and local Nazis, whipped up by the nativist demagogue Konrad Henlein, are going through the streets, armed, walking as men could not walk but only as terrible hungry animals moved  to beat and torture and kill. Prague is already groaning under the weight of refugees from Germany and Austria, Jews, Communists and other dissidents, and the Czech government has issued an expulsion order forcing anyone staying in the country without papers to return home and face torture, imprisonment and almost certain death.

Mary joins the other jaded correspondents, all male, as they drink in faded hotel lobbies and lament the stories that their papers kill or that the censors get to first, but her heart isnt in the banter. Shes still haunted by the fall of Republican Spain and the atrocities she witnessed there, the bombers that came over faster than wind, so that it would all happen in three unending minutes, but if you saw them they were hanging in the sky not moving, slow and easy, taking their time, youd think, not worried about anything. Prague hangs in suspension too, although its ordinance is human: Mary follows a noble German refugee named Rita on a hellish tour of temporary safe houses for the displaced, including an orphanage where the children eat a meager dinner of grapes and black bread and sing in their pajamas before bed. The fear and mistrust of the refugees is palpable  the Gestapo is operating on the streets unfettered, arresting dissidents and hauling them into an unmarked house for interrogations  and suicide is a constant presence. I must not, Mary scolds herself after visiting the orphanage, thinking of the child that she had tried to save in Barcelona and the voices of the refugee children as they sang a simple German folk song. I cannot allow myself so much love. She is a war correspondent, after all, and not a relief worker  or a saint.
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Good morning.

Heres what you need to know:

 The pieces of a deadly puzzle.

The Times obtained photographs of evidence collected at the scene of Mondays terrorist attack in Manchester, England, that suggest the bomb was an improvised device made with forethought and care.

Prime Minister Theresa May said today that she would confront President Trump over leaks, attributed to the U.S. government, which British officials blame for news reports, including in The Times, about the investigation. Were tracking the latest developments.

The authorities are racing to find other parts of a network that helped the bomber, Salman Abedi, who recently visited family in Libya. His younger brother and father have been detained there.
1. President Trump condemned leaks of sensitive information after Britain implied that U.S. officials disclosed details from the Manchester terror inquiry.

My administration will get to the bottom of this, Mr. Trump vowed.

The New York Times responded to criticism for publishing crime scene photographs of the bomb and reporting where it had been placed: Our coverage of Mondays horrific attack has been both comprehensive and responsible. (The full statement is embedded in the article.)
Efforts to reach Mr. Borker at the time were unsuccessful, although he was not keeping a particularly low profile. Earlier in the year, he posted a GoFundMe plea for $1,000 to buy long skis for an April trip to Utah. His short skis, he said, would not suffice in deep-powder snow.

Clearly, I dont want to pay for this upgrade, he wrote, in what by his standards qualified as a charm offensive. Please give me money.

The governments complaint also states that Mr. Borker recently posted a photo collage on his Facebook page showing him atop an enormous pile of eyeglasses. Next to the photos was what sounded like a job posting.

I am looking for a responsible fast paced person who can assist me at my Brighton Beach office doing various projects for my eye wear e-Commerce business, he wrote. Project one will be to help me sort this mess.

Mr. Borker, a 41-year-old immigrant from Ukraine, stands about 6 feet 5 inches tall. In 2010, when he was terrifying customers of DecorMyEye, which was based in Brooklyn, there was a method to his noxious technique: He believed that Googles search algorithm could not distinguish between positive and negative feedback. The more people griped about his company, his theory went, the more prominently his site appeared in Google search results.

Ive exploited this opportunity because it works, he told a reporter for The New York Times who visited his home in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. No matter where they post their negative comments, it helps my return on investment. So I decided, why not use that negativity to my advantage?

In essence, Mr. Borker believed that the internet allowed him to turn upside down long-cherished verities of commerce, most notably that treating customers well enhances ones bottom line. Using aliases such as Stanley Bolds and Tony Russo, he threatened to chop off the legs of one customer. He threatened to rape another. He wrote a letter to the office of yet another in which he said the customer was gay and sold drugs.
For those concerned about press freedom, the first months of the Trump administration have been troubling. Journalists have been yelled at, pepper-sprayed, pinned by security and even arrested on the job. Now, one reporter has accused a Republican candidate of assault.

Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the recent episodes were not enough to make any sweeping statements about the way journalists are being treated since President Trump took office.

But whats certainly unprecedented in modern American history is the rhetoric: the way that Trump talks about the media, the constant verbal attacks and the framing of journalists as enemies and purveyors of fake news, he said.

Mr. Simon said the committee was gathering data to identify trends and patterns. He said the assault case was particularly alarming. This incident in Montana  I mean, just based on what we know at this point  I cant recall anything quite like that, he said.
Jeanine Moss never expected to get into the cannabis industry. But that was before her hip-replacement surgery.

Ms. Moss, 62, of Marina del Rey, Calif., had quit her job as a marketing consultant before she had her hip done in 2014. As she left the hospital, her doctors handed her a shopping bag filled with opiates, she said. The drugs made her disoriented and woozy.

So she switched to medical marijuana, which is legal in California and was familiar to her, having grown up in the nearby Venice section of Los Angeles. Within a week, she had tossed away her pharmaceuticals.

As it turned out, Ms. Moss was in good company: Many of her friends were also using cannabis to manage their ailments. Slightly embarrassed about carrying around a drug associated with naughty high school students, the older women would lament that they had nowhere to stash their drugs.
Over the last 30 years, there has been a rise in single-vineyard Barolos, even as a few ardent traditionalists like Bartolo Mascarello insist on the primacy of wines blended from different communes. Similarly, in Champagne, where blending has been portrayed and marketed as an art form, more producers emphasize the terroir and the vineyard.

The same debate is occurring in Rioja, as many people believe the aging requirements offer no assurances of style or quality. Exacerbating the debate, said Victor de la Serna, who writes about wine for El Mundo and is a co-author of The Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwest Spain, is what he calls Riojas headlong plunge into mass production of ever cheaper wine.

The rise of cheap industrial Rioja, Mr. de la Serna said, affects the entire market, including the gran reserva category.

The problem is that anyone can get a gran reserva back label if they age the wine following the rule book, and even in that category, price differences can be huge, he said, citing a 2010 gran reserva from Campo Viejo selling online in Spain for around $13 (in New York, the wine sells for around $20). Prices like that, he said, make it difficult for more quality-minded producers to sell their wines for the higher prices that they need to maintain their standards.

Many top producers are pushing the regional wine authorities to enforce higher quality standards for Rioja as well as to create geographical subdivisions, like Burgundys hierarchy of regional, village, premier cru and grand cru wines. Last year, more than 150 Spanish wine professionals, in a meeting organized by Telmo Rodriguez of Remelluri, signed a manifesto urging wine authorities to create such hierarchical classifications for Spanish wine regions.

Mr. de la Serna was among the signers, though he doesnt hold out much hope for it.

Im very skeptical of such an approach ever being reality, he said. This is Spain, after all, and wine culture seldom forms the basis of wine regulations.

Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia, who, with her sister, Mercedes, and brother, Julio Cesar, runs the winery founded by her great-grandfather, said in an email that classifying a wine, whether by terroir, aging requirements or production methods, will not assure that it is good.
LONDON  The internet went into its now de rigueur frenzy recently after Balenciaga released a blue, roughly $2,000, trapezoidal tote, created by the artistic director Demna Gvasalia, that bore more than a passing resemblance to a classic plastic Ikea shopping bag (price: 99 cents). The general online response? How dare they?

But as a new exhibition on the life and work of the designer Cristobal Balenciaga at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London makes clear, such behavior is actually in line with the core principles of the Parisian fashion house, founded in Spain almost 100 years ago.

Cristobal Balenciaga was very unique for his time in that he was so modern looking and avant-garde in his vision, said Cassie Davies-Strodder, curator of the exhibition, Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion. Occasionally this made him unpopular, particularly with the press, whom he always liked to keep at arms length. He only gave one newspaper interview in his entire life.
This was just another day covering the Cannes Film Festival, where I am one of thousands of journalists who descend on the Riviera every year. This is my fourth time at Cannes, which ends May 28; Manohla Dargis, co-chief film critic for The Times, is also here, to review the films. I see as many as I can, but as The Timess European culture correspondent, I mostly handle the mondanites  the parties, the news stories, the dressing up, the sourcing up. For anyone covering film, Cannes is like the Olympics meets the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland  a place where you can see amazing performances and chat with people youd never be able to buttonhole back home. For me, home is Paris, so that means talking to film world people from New York and Los Angeles.

Covering the festival can be an exercise in sleep deprivation, of racing around in a daze between screenings, interviews and deadlines. Over the years, Ive gotten more skilled at navigating Canness vastness  where the theaters are, how long itll take to run to the different beach clubs and hotel rooftops where studios hold press events. A hierarchy of press badges grant varying levels of access: Im lucky to have a pink one with a yellow dot, which is the second-highest ranking after the famous carte blanche. Lower-ranking badge holders spend as much time waiting in line as they do seeing movies.

Every year there are images from around the festival that linger in my memory, like so many unsnapped Instagrams. As I ate a solitary salade nicoise last week, the people at the next table were talking about how to modify a film to get it past Turkish censors. At a party for the Todd Haynes film Wonderstruck, I had a real conversation with Michelle Williams, who is a co-star in the film and has never given a bad performance, and with Sandy Powell, one of the best costume designers in the world. As Ms. Powell talked, my platform heels sank several inches into the sand. At a party hosted by Netflix in a rose-colored villa high in the hills above Cannes, Ben Stiller made me laugh.

It can sometimes feel like living inside a surreal and even absurd bubble, especially when the festival coincides with horrible events elsewhere, like the deadly terrorist attack at a concert in Manchester, England, on Monday. This years security has been intense, and you have to get to screenings at least 30 minutes in advance to clear the metal detectors.

A few days after the Vanity Fair party, I went to Monoprix, Frances answer to Target, to buy supplies to clean the floor of my tiny rented apartment in Cannes. It overlooks a highway and collects exhaust dust, but has everything I need for a coveted assignment that remains a highlight of my year. I swept under the sneakers I wore to run to screenings and under my new red suede heels, the ones I wore to the Vanity Fair party at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, just nine miles and several lifetimes away.
In the era of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State the first thought is that its a suicide bomber. So you return to the checklist. Do we know enough to say that it was a suicide bomb? No, until you have evidence of intent. Even if you can establish that someone was carrying a bomb, the carrier could have been intending to plant it and leave, or someone tricked into carrying it. Also you cannot rule out what they call a work accident in Gaza  when someone making or planting a bomb blows themselves up by accident. In St. Albans in 1991, two Irish Republican terrorists accidentally killed themselves on their way to bomb a British military target, and their remains were strewn around the city center.

In fact, the only time I have been instantly certain that an explosion was a bomb was in Iraq in 2004 when I was actually looking at a car overtaking a convoy at precisely the moment that it suddenly slewed right, rammed into a vehicle and exploded. The shrapnel fell just short of our car. But we didnt even write an article, as car bombs had become so common in Iraq by that point.

One of the trickiest cases was in February 2008 when Iraqi officials claimed that a bomber in Baghdad had Down syndrome, and that her condition had been cynically exploited by terrorist handlers. If true, it raised questions of intent and volition and whether or not she could in fact be called a suicide bomber. In the event, an Iraqi Times journalist uncovered strong enough witness evidence from the scene to suggest that it was not the case, and the description of her being strapped with explosives accurately reflected the events of the day.

Forensic evidence sheds light on who did what and when, but this is often slow to arrive. Claims of responsibility are more conclusive. When a Jordanian doctor, Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, blew himself up in Afghanistan in 2009, killing at least seven people at a Central Intelligence Agency outpost, the Pakistani Taliban quickly released pre-recorded videos of Mr. Balawi proclaiming his intentions, in different languages. This was as conclusive as it gets.

But in the first few hours after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, initial suspicion fell on the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, after it was falsely claimed in their name. The real masterminds, as soon became clear, were sitting thousands of miles away in Afghanistan. Fast and first is important in journalism, but being right is even more so.

One essential task, as true today as it has ever been, is the need to ignore the judgment brigade instantly clamoring for blame to be assigned to whomever it deems to be the villain of the hour. The internet did not invent peoples capacity to jump to hasty and erroneous conclusions, but it certainly magnified the volume. Often you find partisan observers accusing the mainstream media of institutionalized liberal bias by not immediately blaming Islamist terrorists for the latest outrage.

Often the obvious does indeed turn out to be the case. But on numerous occasions it is not. As recently as last week many assumed that a car plowing through pedestrians in Times Square was an Islamist attack. It turned out to be nothing of the sort. In the aftermath of the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 many suspected Islamists. It turned out to be a white antigovernment extremist, Timothy McVeigh.

Armed with such precedents, and the mental checklist, you can reduce errors, if not eliminate them. But any checklist is only as good as the information it is based on. The Times had six journalists in Manchester this week. If you go, you know. If you dont go, you get it wrong.
We are honoring each of the Top 10 winners of our Fourth Annual Student Editorial Contest by publishing an essay a day. You can find them all here.

Below, an essay by Reagan Briere, age 16.

_______

A Psychedelic Cure?

A South African crack cocaine addict walks into a clinic, disoriented and anxious. Thousands of miles away, in the sunlit suburbs of San Francisco, an author, mother of four, and former defense attorney reclines on a couch, preparing for what promises to be a change in perception. In New York City, a recent college graduate returns from an abridged European vacation to search for an answer to an impossible problem. Worlds away, the only factor that seems to unite these three individuals is a search  but for what?

All three  Thillen Naidoo, the author Ayelet Waldman, and Octavian Mihai  were dosed with a hallucinogenic drug as a last resort when cognitive behavioral therapy, medications, and other traditional remedies failed to alleviate their illnesses. All met with resounding success. Today, most classical hallucinogens are still heavily stigmatized due to their Schedule I status. However, recent evidence has begun to support the idea that the potential of hallucinogens to treat psychological disorders must be explored and legitimized.

Clinical trials at Johns Hopkins, N.Y.U., and other institutions have begun to illustrate the potential of hallucinogens to minimize the effects of depression, to help longtime smokers quit, to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, and more. Many of these studies met with success rates of 80 percent or above when dealing with treatment-resistant patients. Tentative evidence has also begun to surface relating to the use of LSD microdosing to treat mood disorders and ibogaine to treat narcotics addictions.
I wanted to find a way to bring the students attention to how information can be misleading, and that we should be looking for more reliable news sources.

So we started a weekly activity in which my advisory group would read a New York Times article together on Tuesdays. I tried to balance videos and articles, and we would then do a share-out in our circle of what we knew before we looked at the news piece, and what we learned from it.

We first looked at Lives Rewritten With the Stroke of a Pen, which includes short and powerful pieces about immigrants and their journeys. I asked everyone in my advisory to tell their own story of how their families came to the United States.

I started with my family, who came from Eastern Europe. We talked about how even if we were born in the Bronx  the case for many at Bronx Lab School  our families originally came from somewhere else. We are a culturally rich and diverse high school; in my advisory alone, we have nine countries represented among 13 people. Our shared feeling was that we should emphasize the links between us, rather than the differences.

I asked students to say one thing we should know about the country from which they came, and to write it on a piece of colored paper. Soon, we were writing and decorating our papers and trading facts about our countries. None of us knew about the night markets in Taiwan, for example, but we definitely thought it might be a fun school trip  if, perhaps, a little too far away.

I posted our stories around a large world map on a bulletin board in the hall, and connected them with their destinations on the map with colored string.

As soon as I put up our web of immigration stories, kids, teachers and anyone walking by all gathered around it, showing each other where they called home. There was pride, and nostalgia, and a feeling of knowing your neighbors story. This was what I had dreamed of, especially as many in our school community are dealing with fear and tension related to the news these days.
In San Francisco, he found his father and a job washing dishes. The work is essential to every smooth-running restaurant service but is physically exhausting and offers little opportunity for promotion. It took me a couple of years to even think, I want to be a chef, he said. Guzman noticed who was mentored and moved into more powerful positions and who wasnt. He thought that a fluency in English, combined with his creativity, technical skill and ambition, might help him connect with a mentor and move up. He took classes for 10 years as he slowly made his way through the kitchen ranks. Prep cook, line cook, sous chef, chef.

In his new cookbook, Nopalito: A Mexican Kitchen, which he wrote with Stacy Adimando, Guzman shares recipes for the food he serves at the restaurants, like a glorious soup his mother used to make for him, rich with fried noodles and chicken on the bone. And he devotes several pages to the restaurants daily ritual of making masa  dried corn, rehydrated in an alkaline solution, then ground into the dough that forms the base of fresh tortillas. I want to pass this process along to all my cooks, he said, and hopefully if they ever open their own Mexican restaurants, theyll keep this old-school cooking alive.
Teresa Palmers work in the opening minutes of Berlin Syndrome succeeds in conveying the nearly tactile sensations of being an enthusiastic stranger in a strange land. Playing Clare, an Australian photographer looking for inspiration and adventure in Berlin, she seems to aspire to walk on air as she emerges from a subway station; a little later, leaning over the railing of the roof of the youth hostel where shes staying, she looks similarly ready to take off.

But soon this aspirant bird will be caged. A meet-cute with an intellectual schoolteacher named Andi (Max Riemelt) leads to flirtation, an intense sexual assignation and an unsettling discovery the morning after. She cant leave his apartment. It soon becomes horrifically apparent that the not-leaving component is part of a larger scheme that Andi has enacted before.

I cant speak from personal experience, but it seems the stages of captivity arent too different from the stages of grief. Once disbelief subsides, Clare starts to rage, but Andis living quarters are diabolically designed to contain her and her anger.

The movie is based on a 2011 novel of the same name by Melanie Joosten, but viewers of a certain age will detect an affinity with The Collector, the 1965 picture by William Wyler, based on a John Fowles novel. The director, Cate Shortland, making her third feature, depicts both the degradations endured by Clare and the peculiar psychological ins and outs of the captor-captive dynamic in explicit, sometimes excruciating detail. Her insistent imagery and sometimes oblique narrative approach dont always deliver the dividends sought. But the movie identifies Ms. Shortland as a talent to watch. And it should constitute some kind of breakthrough for Ms. Palmer, who has not been given much of interest to do since she arrived in Hollywood a little over a decade ago.
Starting with Rosalinda in 2010, the Argentine filmmaker Matias Pineiro has been making what he calls Shakespeareads, modern-day stories inspired by the playwrights heroines. Which is not to say that you need to brush up on your Shakespeare to engage with Hermia & Helena, the latest in Mr. Pineiros series and the first one set in the United States.

In a quietly virtuosic opening shot, Mr. Pineiros camera pirouettes on an apartment terrace, looking down at a park below, as a young woman speaks to her lover on a phone, picking him out in the park just as the camera does. Carmen (Maria Villar) is finishing an arts fellowship in New York; her lover, Lukas (Keith Poulson), is also her administrator. As if in a relay, Carmen returns to Buenos Aires and urges her friend Camila (Agustina Munoz), whos off to New York on the same fellowship, to make sure to touch Lukass hair. Camila eventually acts on her friends recommendation, but this spectacularly enigmatic character also has other agendas, including looking up an old lover and meeting her biological father.

Also in the mix: A mysterious woman who is sending postcards from a multistate road trip to Carmens apartment in New York, though Camila is now staying there and receiving them. (This character, Danielle, is played by Mati Diop, the intriguing French actress whos been in films by Claire Denis and Antonio Campos.) All this activity tends to distract Camila from her actual work, a Spanish translation of A Midsummer Nights Dream. But she never becomes entirely disconnected from that beloved comedy and its life-as-a-dream theme.

The movie has a hopscotching-in-time structure, moving back from its New York scenes to the actions of the day in Argentina when Carmen and Camila meet and conspire. As frequently as the movie touches back down in Argentina, though, it is very much a New York story. Expanding on its opening shot, the movie often lingers in the middle of parks where lovers and friends meet, unhurriedly takes in car rides across borough-connecting bridges, and more. Sometimes the image turns to negative, and handwritten text decorates the outer edges of the frame.
To put this skinny young man onstage is to see him turn instantly captivating: Mr. Wong is energetic but composed, determined yet realistic. Scenes in which he questions Hong Kongs leader are bold on their own. When you consider that Mr. Wong was only a teenager at the time, they are astonishing. Its as if he had been doing this for, like, 20 years, one interviewee says. Thats an understatement.

Joe Piscatella, the director, dives in immediately to set a speedy pace. He also provides a quick summary of Hong Kongs recent history, and looks to the future. After the education controversy ends  no spoilers for those unfamiliar with the outcome  Scholarism joins a protest over Beijings intervention in elections, then prepares to run candidates of its own.

Through it all, we see Mr. Wong and his group come of age. As their battles intensify, things grow complicated, and threats are always present: Some activists confronting China have found themselves on trial or have just disappeared.

Teenager vs. Superpower, which won an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival, ends the way most action movies dont  with hero and villain still battling. Yet amid the fight, theres a sense of hope as we watch one tough kid turning into one tough man. With luck, that will lead to a sequel.
Devoted to an actor of uncommon looks, charm and range, the Marcello Mastroianni retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center includes a work that is itself rare: Luchino Viscontis adaptation of Albert Camuss novel The Stranger.

The movie, in which an ordinary Pied-Noir (Algerian-born Frenchman) irrationally murders an Arab in broad daylight on a Mediterranean beach, was made in 1967 with Mastroianni in the lead. It has long been without an American distributor and, owing to complicated rights issues, was never released here on DVD. Its showing on Saturday and Tuesday in an excellent 35-millimeter print from the Istituto Luce Cinecitta.

Shot in Technicolor entirely in Algeria, with Jean-Luc Godards favored actress, Anna Karina, as the protagonists lover, Viscontis The Stranger makes the senseless sensuous  even sybaritic  in its blazing light and palpable heat. The movie was eagerly anticipated but suspiciously received when it opened in New York in December 1967. Andrew Sarris of The Village Voice deemed it a cynical producers package intended to titillate urban art-house, God-is-dead-and-living-in-Argentina sophisticates.

Visconti seemed an inappropriate choice to direct Camuss laconic classic. He was an operatic stylist and an aristocratic Marxist then best known in the United States for his neorealist and costume spectacles Rocco and His Brothers (1961) and The Leopard (1963). Mr. Sarris accused him of having prostrated his own directorial personality before the cultural monumentality of Camus.
Dont you want us there? an Israeli woman asks her husband in The Womens Balcony, a charming exercise in gender politics as experienced via religion. The wife, Ettie (Evelin Hagoel), has just learned that their newly rebuilt Orthodox Jewish synagogue no longer has a separate section for women  which essentially means they have been barred from the gender-segregated services. The slight is a punch in the gut, but it also starts a revolution.

The story begins when the womens balcony at the synagogue collapses during the bar mitzvah celebration for Etties grandson. The accident leaves the rabbis wife in a coma and the rabbi in a state of shock, which puts the future of the congregation in limbo; rabbis have to supervise repairs. So when the charismatic young Rabbi David comes to their rescue, hes seen as an angel from heaven. Rabbi David may be a good man, but hes not exactly progressive. His more conservative views and strict reading of scripture soon run afoul of the women of this more moderate congregation, especially Ettie. The growing rift threatens to tear apart a few marriages, but theres never really any doubt about the couples eventual reunion, let alone which side will prevail.

Still, Emil Ben-Shimons smart direction (tight shots of narrow streets and even narrower dwellings really convey a sense of an insular community) and Shlomit Nehamas lighthearted and topical script ensure the proceedings not only hit all the right notes, but also entertain while being respectful of religious traditions. The entire cast is solid, but the women, especially Ms. Hagoel, bring depth to their comedic and dramatic turns. Etties wisdom is never more spot on than when she tells her grandson, God gave us minds of our own. Indeed.
What does it mean to win a war? This question is never asked outright in War Machine, a new Netflix original movie starring Brad Pitt and written and directed by David Michod, but its a substantial thematic undercarriage of this satire. The movie, which has its theatrical and TV premiere on Friday, May 26, is adapted from Michael Hastingss 2012 book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of Americas War in Afghanistan. Mr. Pitt plays Gen. Glen McMahon, an arguably brilliant career soldier whose first words on touching down in Afghanistan, where he has a new mission circa 2009, are Lets go win this thing! McMahon approaches the task of transforming Afghan hearts and minds with enthusiasm and boundless ignorance. The terrifying hubris depicted in the movie is ever more pertinent given that President Trump has recently signaled an intention to increase the American military presence in Afghanistan.

Mr. Hastingss book is about the misadventures of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, whose brief tenure as the commander of United States and international forces in Afghanistan came to an end after a notorious profile Mr. Hastings wrote for Rolling Stone (in which, among other things, the general and his cadre were quoted making remarks sorely critical of the Obama administration). Mr. Hastingss book (he died in a car accident in 2013) came Mr. Michods way at an opportune time.

I had been looking for a way in to a theme: the two modern theaters of American war, Iraq and Afghanistan, recalled Mr. Michod, an Australian whose 2010 debut, the intense crime drama Animal Kingdom, found an enthusiastic albeit indie-size audience here, and also attracted the notice of adventurous Hollywood deal makers. I had assumed that given the nature of my first two movies that what I would come up with would be another dark, brutal movie. And I was resisting delving into those depths. The answer came when Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner, the presidents of Plan B, Mr. Pitts production company, sent him The Operators.

It showed me the way in, which is satire, Mr. Michod said. The book has a kind of gonzo levity and a group of characters who either by virtue of hubris or the simple insanity of war seem to be larger than life.
Bluff and bowlegged, with a neat side part in his hair and a spine as straight as a schooners mast, Brad Pitt strides into War Machine in a gust of masculine self-assurance. The sardonic tones of the accompanying narration  voiced by someone whose identity will be revealed later on  are an early indication that Mr. Pitt may not be the hero of the story. Glen McMahon, the four-star general he is playing, has no doubts on that score. McMahon, a man of many macho nicknames (the Glenimal, for example) is a mans man, a soldiers soldier, a warrior with the soul of a poet  the walking embodiment of just about every cliche in the book.

But the particular book that inspired War Machine, The Operators by Michael Hastings, is a sharp, nuanced deconstruction of the modern military mythology. The book grew out of a notorious Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was put in charge of the war in Afghanistan in 2009 and proceeded to blow up his own career. Mr. Hastings, who died in 2013, sketched a rollicking, damning portrait of a commander in over his head, enthralled by his own hype and in less than perfect control of his mouth. Thats the guy Mr. Pitt is supposed to be.

In adapting Mr. Hastingss journalism, David Michod, the writer and director of War Machine, also streaming on Netflix, has taken some risks of his own. The movie is fiction, but it hugs the shore of reality, occasionally running aground on the facts. Its a bit awkward  though not unusual  for semi-invented characters to brush up against real people. Anthony Michael Hall plays a volatile colleague of McMahons who seems to be based on Gen. Michael T. Flynn, whose more recent adventures may provide fodder for a sequel. The actual President Obama appears on a television news clip, and is played later in a brief scene on an airport tarmac by an actor named Reggie Brown. Ben Kingsley wickedly impersonates Hamid Karzai, at the time the president of Afghanistan.
The issues of bringing people together are for me existential issues for my family, he recalled telling the donors. My children are black. My stepchildren are not. And you have within our family Jews, the descendants of a soldier in Hitlers army, a descendant of the Mayflower, and the descendants of people who were stolen from Africa and came right off the Middle Passage, and were all at the same table after multiple generations within the United States. And we have to confront that not only because of the different ways we see the world with different ways the world sees us. And so we make it work.

He has also built a campaign that he says he believes puts core values of the civil rights movement  justice and equality  at the heart of his platform. He has called for an extensive ethics overhaul to break up the power broker world of New Jersey politics, with calls to eliminate no-bid contracts, ban contributions from lobbyists and require all political groups to list their contributors. And whatever issue he is promoting  affordable housing, education, criminal justice  he frames as it as a means of providing equal opportunity.

Mr. Johnson tends to speak softly, but sternly, and his reserved, self-described wonkish style doesnt result in soaring speeches or viral moments meant to captivate voters who have remained largely apathetic about the race.

A poll from Quinnipiac University this month found that about 52 percent of registered Democrats in the state still didnt know who they were planning to support. But Philip D. Murphy, a wealthy former Wall Street banker, who has dug deep into his own pockets to propel his campaign and has received a lengthy list of endorsements, has led in recent polls, with Mr. Johnson a distant second.

While Mr. Johnson surprised some in the state by becoming the first candidate to qualify for public financing, he has been dwarfed by Mr. Murphy.
In a similar fashion, in 2015, Ken Thompson, then the district attorney, held a news conference announcing that he planned to dismiss the conviction of Derrick Hamilton, who spent two decades in prison for a murder that Mr. Scarcella helped investigate. Though Mr. Hamilton has long maintained that Mr. Scarcella framed him, Mr. Thompson, who died last year of cancer, did not quite agree. While he acknowledged to reporters that the sole eyewitness in the case had given patently false testimony, as Mr. Hamilton claimed, when it came to Mr. Scarcella, Mr. Thompson said, We cant say he acted inappropriately.

Officials in the district attorneys office said that in each case that was dismissed, it was for reasons other than the former detectives police work. Though some defense lawyers have accused the office of defending Mr. Scarcella, prosecutors disputed that characterization.

I think its unfair to argue that just because were defending any individual conviction that were defending Scarcella, said Eric Gonzalez, the acting Brooklyn district attorney. We just never found any allegations of specific misconduct  theres not been a smoking gun.

Intentions notwithstanding, by stating on the record that it has no evidence that Mr. Scarcella committed any crimes, the district attorneys office has relieved itself of a handful of unpleasant consequences. If prosecutors had such evidence and made it public, defense lawyers would have powerful new leverage in their efforts to free defendants who contend that Mr. Scarcella helped put them into prison wrongly.

Image Ken Thompson, then the Brooklyn district attorney, said of Mr. Scarcella in one case, We cant say he acted inappropriately. Credit... Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

A finding of misconduct could also make civil claims of liability considerably easier to win. The city and the state have so far paid more than $40 million in claims related to Mr. Scarcella, and other cases are pending.

Ronald L. Kuby, a lawyer representing a number of defendants who claim that the former detective mishandled their cases, said the prosecutors stance toward Mr. Scarcella had discouraged a deeper examination of the criminal justice system. By arguing that Mr. Scarcella did nothing wrong, Mr. Kuby said, the district attorneys office has made it easier to say the same about the prosecutors who presented his cases to juries  and about the judges who heard those cases and sentenced people to prison. Many of those judges and prosecutors still work in Brooklyn today.
As soon as it was released, President Trumps budget, titled A New Foundation for American Greatness, was characterized by politicians and ordinary human beings of various leanings as the manifesto of someone who seemed to wish he were running a Victorian orphanage. Greatness, in the context of the administrations economic ideology, is built on a ground laid thick with self-abnegation. It is demanded not on the part of the well off, who are mandated instead to indulge themselves  spending the money they might have otherwise paid in taxes on Jet Skis and lake houses  but from those who are not typically in a position to decide whether its wild Alaskan salmon or a grass-fed rib-eye for dinner tonight.

Food is something we expect to enjoy every day, though of course many poor people lack that kind of access. The proposed budget would make it considerably more difficult for them, cutting the countrys Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) by 25 percent; $192 billion over 10 years. While the budget has little chance of passing in its current form, even a meager reduction to the program  a fraction of that astronomical sum, reached as a compromise  would have enormous consequences in major cities, where rising housing costs the past several years have made food insecurity an increasingly daunting issue. In San Francisco, for instance, though it is the birthplace of the modern culinary revolution, one in four residents struggles with hunger.

Monitoring activity at food pantries and soup kitchens is often a good way of gauging whether SNAP is meeting the needs of a particular community, because recipients typically avail themselves of these services after their monthly benefits have run out. In fall 2013, SNAP was cut by $5 billion, returning it, roughly, to its funding level before the recession.

Those dealing with food insecurity in New York were already facing an annual shortfall of 241 million meals, according to a paper by the Food Bank of New York City, the citys largest hunger relief organization, which supplies food to pantries. Margarette Purvis, its president, explained recently that the impact then was nearly immediate, with patrons arriving, for the most part, two weeks into the month rather than three. Their SNAP dollars were getting them only so far.
In addition to releasing the data, the city announced a new campaign against the virus aimed at pregnant women.

Last year, the city took unprecedented action to raise awareness and reach out to communities about the risks of traveling to areas with Zika transmission, the health commissioner, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, said in a statement. This season, our campaign and awareness efforts are shaped by what we learned over the past year. Although local transmission of the Zika virus remains unlikely, the virus continues to circulate in Latin America and the Caribbean islands. We urge women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, along with their sexual partners, to avoid traveling to these areas.

Several new studies of the virus and its genetic makeup have shown that it may have been circulating in Brazil months before it was detected and that it migrated north to Central America and then the Caribbean long before previously known.

The virus was able to move stealthily throughout the Americas in part because it rarely causes serious illness in healthy men and women. However, it poses grave risks to pregnant women since it can cross the placenta and infect a fetus in the womb. So even as epidemiologists were rushing to understand the rash of babies being born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, the virus continued its spread.

By the end of last year, more than 2,300 babies in Brazil had been born with the condition, which is associated with often severe developmental delays, and dozens of countries were tracking outbreaks of their own.
Also: Any analysis of the Islamic States motives and strategy, however tactically intriguing, has limited utility. Its murder sprees are incidentally instrumental but fundamentally self-justifying. It kills to kill.

This being so: The Islamic State and other jihadist groups do not require pretexts for violence. The core jihadist objection to the West concerns our values, not our policies. The brave journalists at Charlie Hebdo werent murdered for advocating neoconservative positions. Closing the United States prison at Guantanamo, whatever else might be said for it, will not mollify the next Abedi.

Further: Lets stop calling terrorists thugs and killers, as Barack Obama used to do. Lets not call them losers, either, as Donald Trump did this week. Suicide bombing involves a form of immortality seeking that has religion deep in its roots. Only some sort of God could summon, and justify, such promiscuous savagery.

Moreover: Elaborate semantic evasions of the word Islamic fool nobody and help nothing. To note that Hamas, Al Qaeda or Islamic State are, by their own emphatic declarations, Islamist enterprises shouldnt be politically controversial. Communism could not have been defeated without an ideological struggle that picked away at its moral assumptions. The struggle against Islamism isnt so different.

That said: The death cults driven by millenarian impulses are a universal phenomenon, perniciously present within the Islamist fold today but not culturally or historically unique to it. The black banners that are emblems of terror in this century are merely the continuation of the red banners that defined terror in the previous one.

For your reading list: Skip the jihadist propaganda. Turn instead to Joseph Conrads The Secret Agent, published in 1907. They depend on life  whereas I depend on death, which knows no restraint and cannot be attacked. An anarchist professor who goes about with a bomb in his pocket utters those words, but they are what Hamas leaders say as well.
Add cholera to the famine threat and other crises that are devastating Yemen. More than 360 people have died of the disease in recent weeks, and thousands more are at risk.

All that is unfolding against a civil war that has killed 10,000 people in two years and come to a grim stalemate in which President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his Saudi and United Arab Emirates backers continue to fight Houthi rebels, an indigenous Shiite group with loose ties to Iran.

President Trump could have used his trip to Saudi Arabia this week to spotlight the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen and push for a political solution to the conflict. Instead, he basked in the adulation of King Salman and his court, uncritically embraced the countrys foreign and domestic policies, and then sold the Saudis $110 billion in arms.

The package includes precision-guided munitions, which President Barack Obama withheld last year in an effort to pressure Saudi Arabia to halt attacks that have killed thousands of civilians and struck hospitals, schools, markets and mosques. He also worried about possible Saudi war crimes in which America could be implicated.
One of the greatest political mysteries of our time is why President Trump has clung  and continues to cling  so steadfastly to the perfidious Michael Flynn.

Flynn, the presidents former national security adviser, is at the nexus of Trumps problems. There was Flynns lobbying on behalf of Turkey and his contacts with Russia. There was Trumps dismissal of all warnings to steer clear of Flynn; his refusal to fire Flynn as soon as he was alerted to the fact that Flynn posed a security risk; his efforts to impede or even terminate the investigations of Flynn.

Not only has Trump staunchly defended Flynn  even after firing him  he is apparently still in contact with him, sending him encouraging messages. As Michael Isikoff reported last week for Yahoo News about a dinner Flynn convened with a small group of loyalists:

Not only did he remain loyal to President Trump; he indicated that he and the president were still in communication. I just got a message from the president to stay strong, Flynn said after the meal was over, according to two sources who are close to Flynn and are familiar with the conversation, which took place on April 25.

This level of extreme fealty is puzzling. It extends beyond basic loyalty to an early supporter. It seems to me that there is something else at play here, something as yet unknown. Trumps attachment to Flynn strikes me less as an act of fidelity and more as an exercise in fear. What does Flynn know that Trump doesnt want the world to know?

What are the dirty details of what could only be called The Flynn Affair?

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, who served as head of the Trump transition team before being brushed aside for Vice President Mike Pence, said he warned Trump about Flynn. As Christie said earlier this week: I didnt think that he was someone who would bring benefit to the president or to the administration, and I made that very clear to candidate Trump, and I made it very clear to President-elect Trump.
To the Editor:

Re Sent Into Danger Unprotected, U.N. Experts Paid With Lives (front page, May 21):

As the families of Michael J. Sharp and Zaida Catalan, we take exception to your headline and article about their abduction and killing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Contrary to the articles suggestion, Michael and Zaida were not killed because they lacked training or security; they were killed because they were experienced investigators and rare witnesses to atrocities.

There is abundant evidence that these murders were premeditated and that no amount of training could have altered the outcome.

No member of the United Nations Group of Experts on Congo had been killed before, and there was no reason to expect abduction or murder. For this reason, we are pressing the secretary general to appoint an independent international criminal investigation team to identify the perpetrators and their chain of command and to help ensure that those responsible face justice.
Remember when Ronald Reagan body slammed a reporter to the cheers of the conservative grassroots? Neither do I.

Yet in the aftermath of the assault on Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, by Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for a special House election in Montana, too many conservatives are either doubting the event occurred, despite audio evidence and witness testimony by a Fox News crew, or praising Mr. Gianforte for giving the press what it deserves.

Ben is a friend of mine, who stood up for me when I was grabbed and bruised by one of Donald Trumps campaign managers, Corey Lewandowski, during the Republican primary.

His assault was far more brutal than mine  and given the report from Fox News journalists in the room, he understated the violence. But like Ben, I faced skepticism and accusations. Despite the fact that there was audio evidence of my attack and a Washington Post reporter had witnessed the incident, many conservatives said I was lying. When video came out proving my account, those who labeled me a hoaxer changed their tune to suggest I deserved what I got.
At Kwame Nkrumah Circle in central Accra, people form long lines each morning as they wait to pile into rickety minivans that take them to work. The minivans have been retrofitted to seat about 14 people, nearly double their original capacity. Crammed together like sardines in the 90-degree heat, the passengers angle for a breath of fresh air as they prepare for the long ride through Accras congested streets.

These uncomfortable journeys are typical for most of Accras two million residents. So when the government announced that it would introduce a rapid bus transit system in 2015, Ghanaians were relieved. But it quickly became clear to us that what was billed as a measure to ease public discomfort was really a get-rich-quick scheme to reward the friends of John Mahama, the president at the time.

The government circumvented open bidding and awarded an overinflated contract for the branding of the 116 new buses to Smarttys Management and Productions, a company owned by Selassie Ibrahim, the wife of the former minister for food and agriculture. It is widely rumored that in doing so, Mr. Mahama was rewarding her for supporting his campaign.

The buses, which cost about $828,000 to brand, were emblazoned with black-and-white images of Ghanas former presidents, as well as a large color image of Mr. Mahama and his partys campaign slogan. The attorney general later found that the company overbilled the government  the branding of the buses should have cost only half that amount. That money could have been put to much better use, like paying for the construction of almost 15 primary school buildings to help house the up to one million children between the ages of six and 14 who are not enrolled in school. While Smarttys has reportedly returned much of the money, that happened only after public outcry.
Of the many foreign policy pledges that President Trump made as a candidate, one of the few worth keeping is to improve relations with Russia. Fueled most recently by Russian interference in the American election and differences over Syria, tensions between Washington and Moscow compromise American interests in Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

While Mr. Trump used his speech in Brussels on Thursday to justifiably criticize NATO members on burden sharing (and pointedly refused to endorse the alliances mutual defense pledge), going forward he should get serious about mending ties with the Kremlin by calling for a halt to NATO enlargement.

As is his style, Mr. Trump would be breaking with foreign policy orthodoxy  except this time, it would be fully warranted. Since the Cold Wars end, American and European governments have agreed that admitting Europes new democracies to NATO is the best way to anchor them in the Atlantic community and protect them against a potential resurgence of Russian adventurism.

The policy has backfired. From Moscows perspective, NATO has ignored its vociferous objections and expanded eastward in successive waves since the 1990s, bringing the worlds most formidable military alliance up to Russias borders. The Kremlin may well have returned to its bullying ways whether or not NATOs frontier moved Russias way. But Moscow perceives a threat from NATOs advance and resents its effort to peel away Russias traditional sphere of influence, helping fuel the confrontational turn in the Kremlins foreign policy and renewed rivalry with the West. Indeed, Russia militarily occupied chunks of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 in no small part to block their path to NATO.
We certainly dont want leading Republicans to tumble into hypocrisy, so lets refresh their memories.

Patriots like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have eloquently warned of the importance of ferreting out the truth and holding politicians accountable, including for leaking classified information. Thank God for their insistence on truth-seeking!

As McConnell warned, for example: The president did not value the sacred oath. He was interested in saving his hide, not truth and justice. I submit to my colleagues that if we have no truth and we have no justice, then we have no nation of laws. No public official, no president, no man or no woman is important enough to sacrifice the founding principles of our legal system.

Such passion for justice and accountability (expressed in 1999, during the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton) inspires us all. And at this historic moment when timid or myopic politicians balk at congressional oversight and resist an independent commission to investigate President Trump and possible collusion with the Kremlin, it behooves us to cherish the wisdom of such honest souls.
Obamacare is not collapsing under its own weight, as Republicans are so fond of saying. It was sabotaged from the day it was enacted. And now the Republican Party should be held accountable not only for any potential replacement of the law, but also for having tried to starve it to death.

The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released its accounting of the House Republicans replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, and the numbers are not pretty: It is projected to leave 23 million more Americans uninsured over 10 years, through deep cuts to insurance subsidies and Medicaid. The report underscores how the bill would cut taxes for the rich to take health care away from the less well-off.

The A.C.A. is not perfect, and improvements to it would be welcome. But it worked in many respects and would have worked much better had Congress been a faithful guardian of the law.

It is worth making a record of those Republican saboteurs efforts. The A.C.A.s opponents brought a lawsuit against its requirement that people buy insurance  a Republican idea  the very day the statute was signed into law. The Supreme Court rejected that claim. But the court gave opponents a major victory on another front, ruling that Obamacares expansion of Medicaid was optional for states. Yet another lawsuit seized on some sloppy language in the law to make the implausible argument that Congress did not provide for the insurance subsidies on which the law depends. The Supreme Court also rejected that challenge.
The Trump administration has made it clear that the United States will take a more aggressive approach to battling al-Shabaab extremists in Somalia.

In March, President Trump granted the military expanded authorities to operate in Somalia, paving the way for an accelerated military campaign.

By declaring parts of Somalia an area of active hostilities, Mr. Trump gave the Department of Defense authority to approve strikes without going through an Obama-era vetting process, which potentially lowers the bar for tolerance of civilian casualties. And the head of American forces in Africa, who advocated the change, said this would allow us to prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion.

The United States also recently sent several dozen additional troops to Somalia and reportedly requested information on the locations of aid groups there, possibly to ensure they are out of the way of airstrikes. One American soldier was killed in Somalia this month, the first combat death there since 1993.
Please. When did the Supreme Court acquire such diffidence about offering a forum for electoral struggle? Am I the only one to recall the late Justice Antonin Scalias explanation for why the Supreme Court had to intervene to stop the recount of Floridas votes in the 2000 presidential election? Permitting the recount to go forward, Justice Scalia wrote then, would cause irreparable harm to George W. Bush by casting a cloud upon what he claims to be the legitimacy of his election. Note that Justice Alitos dissenting opinion this week in Cooper v. Harris was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who as a private lawyer was a member of the Bush legal team in Palm Beach County, and by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, a prime mover in the courts eventual decision in what became Bush v. Gore.

Ironies abound in the North Carolina decision. Not so many years ago, it was Republicans, in states that had not sent an African-American to Congress since Reconstruction, who were complaining that the Voting Rights Act was being misused by a heavy-handed federal government to create majority-black districts where state legislatures had not seen fit to create any. Now that Republicans have control of Southern state legislatures, they seek cover from the Voting Rights Act, claiming that it gives them no choice but to pack ever-greater black majorities into those very districts  which just happens to make the surrounding districts ever more white and safely Republican. Its not race, its politics, the states say.

Justice Elena Kagans majority opinion  her most important since joining the Supreme Court seven years ago  pulled the fig leaf off that position. (Justice Clarence Thomas provided Justice Kagan with a necessary fifth vote.) Justice Kagan acknowledged that race and partisan identification are highly correlated and that it isnt always easy to disentangle the two. But in affirming the lower courts conclusion that race, not partisanship, was the North Carolina Legislatures predominant consideration when it added tens of thousands of black voters into districts that had been sending African-Americans to Congress by comfortable margins for years, the majority focused not on the states claims but on the evidence presented at trial.

In one of the districts, District 1, the state effectively conceded the predominance of race, and the Supreme Court voted 8 to 0 to affirm the lower courts finding of unconstitutionality. (Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was not on the court when the case was argued in December, didnt have a vote.) The fight was over District 12, represented in Congress for 20 years by a Democrat, Representative Mel Watt, an African-American who attracted votes from many whites and who won re-election repeatedly by wide margins although the district was only about 44 percent black. In the redistricting that followed the 2010 census, the legislature nonetheless added 35,000 African-Americans of voting age to the district, while removing 50,000 whites, turning District 12 into a majority-black district.
To the Editor:

Re Russians Talked of Ways to Sway Trump Advisers (front page, May 25):

We now have the intelligence agencies, as well as committees in both houses of Congress, trying to ascertain not only how the Russians tried to influence the election, but also whether they tried, through contact with members of Donald Trumps staff, to gain influence with Mr. Trump himself.

Wouldnt it be more informative if the investigations focused on the possibility of direct influence on Mr. Trump by the Russian government and other Russian entities by the use of investments, deals, favors and financial incentives that would tie them together to mutual benefit, and, perhaps, obligation? Wouldnt subpoenas of his tax records and business dealings in Russia be a better way to clarify these issues?

Everything Mr. Trump has done, from his odd favoring of all matters Russian, to his refusal to submit his tax records or be open about his business dealings, to his continuing to promote his business interests through family surrogates, suggests that this is the more illuminating direction to take.

ARNOLD MITCHELL, SCARSDALE, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Just because both the Russians and Donald Trump wanted him to win doesnt mean they colluded to make it happen. I cant even imagine how, exactly, such collusion could work. Mr. Trumps aides telling the Russians what to hack and when to leak it? The Russians were plenty smart to figure that out on their own.
I gathered with other black residents of Tulsa, Okla., last Wednesday night outside the county courthouse to hear a disappointing yet predictable verdict: Betty Shelby had been found not guilty of first-degree manslaughter in the police killing of Terence Crutcher.

Ms. Shelby, who is white, shot and killed Mr. Crutcher, who was black, during the course of a routine traffic stop in September 2016. Mr. Crutcher was unarmed, but Ms. Shelby said she shot because she feared for her life when she saw him reach into his car. In what has become a familiar pattern when law enforcement officers are accused of deadly misconduct, she walked free.

Once news of the decision spread among the crowd gathered outside, the small band of Shelby supporters disbanded and scurried off. Mr. Crutchers parents and sister walked out of the courthouse with their heads bowed. The lawyers for the Crutcher family visibly bristled, perhaps with a sense of helplessness, or with nagging regret that they could have perhaps done more. And those of us who had been waiting outside sat stultified, unable to feel surprise.

The next day, Chuck Jordan, the Tulsa police chief, offered little solace, simply announcing that Officer Shelbys employment was being evaluated. Mayor G. T. Bynum addressed a roomful of journalists at City Hall, recalling that black Tulsans long have been the victims of lawlessness and violence and delivering a painful reminder that Tulsans have talked about addressing racial disparity for 100 years but havent succeeded.
 Matthew Rosenberg, who covers intelligence and national security, talks about the two members of the Trump campaign who Russia identified as its best chance of influencing Donald Trump.

Background reading:

 Jim Rutenbergs Mediator column on the Seth Rich story, which he calls the latest triple-bank-shot of a conspiracy theory coursing through the alt-reality media.

 Mr. Rosenbergs latest reporting on the links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

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.

How do I listen?

If you dont see an audio player on this page or to subscribe to The Daily for free, follow the instructions below.

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Open the preloaded app called Podcasts; it has a purple icon. If youre reading this from your phone, tap this link, which will take you straight there. (You can also use the magnifying glass icon to search; type The Daily.)
Around midday on Wednesday, The New York Times published several photographs showing, in eerie detail, the makeshift shrapnel, shredded blue backpack and powerful lead acid battery used by the Manchester bomber who killed 22 people. The story accompanying the photos, describing the forensic evidence and crime scene found by investigators, said the bombers torso had been heaved toward the entrance of the Manchester Arena.

Nothing in the story directly states the source of the material but it says the evidence was photographed and distributed by British authorities. Now, British officials are accusing U.S. intelligence of leaking the material, saying it could seriously impede an investigation into the deadliest terrorist attack in Britain in more than a decade. Following complaints by Prime Minister Theresa May, President Trump has called for a Justice Department investigation into the alleged leaks.

Why did The Times publish the evidence and how did it weigh the public interest in the information against any potential damage to the investigation?

Dean Baquet, the executive editor, said he understands why some readers are concerned but he stands by the decision.

The judgment is that there is a public benefit to telling people how terrorists work, including the makeup of their bombs, the kinds of packs they carry. The [C.J.] Chivers story did that in a remarkably astute way, including interviews with experts. This was not highly classified information. And it did not violate anyones privacy. Nor was it insensitive. I understand the upset. Nothing is more powerfully upsetting than what happened in Manchester. But explaining how terrorists work is important journalism.

It is rarely an easy decision when editors are weighing the publics right to know against government concerns that publishing certain information might jeopardize investigations. In this case, the decision to publish has generated hundreds of emails from readers expressing a mix of fury and disappointment at The Timess decision.
He has all of the mechanics needed for a massive, well-staged media operation, said Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, a nonprofit media watchdog group. Photographers, handlers, its size, scope and scale  all the ingredients are there. And hes appearing in an environment where theres no sole Democratic leader or counterbalance to Trump, whos consuming all the oxygen in media.

Mr. Zuckerberg has publicly denied that he is using the visits as a platform to run for public office. He has said they are a way to get a broader perspective to inform how he runs Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a limited liability company through which he plans to give away the majority of his wealth over the course of his life.

So far, Mr. Zuckerberg has made it to roughly half the states, including ones he has previously spent time in. The visits have plunged him into self-reflection, according to four current and former colleagues and people close to the chief executive who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly. The self-reflection is especially the case as Facebook has wrestled with more questions about its responsibilities and its role in the lives of its users, many of whom rely on the network for news and information.

The trips are part of a real-world education for Mr. Zuckerberg, who grew up comfortably upper middle class in the suburbs of New York, walked the elite halls of Harvard and then moved to Silicon Valley, where he became a paper multibillionaire by the time he was 23. (He is now 33.)
This year is the 150th anniversary of the birth of the prolific American architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. Born on June 8, 1867, Wright designed more than a thousand structures during a career that shaped the countrys architectural and cultural identity. To commemorate the milestone, historic Wright sites, museums and hotels are celebrating with special events, new exhibitions and anniversary packages.

Activities

Wrights home state, Wisconsin, recently introduced a self-guided driving tour in his honor. The 200-mile trail winds through a cluster of southern counties featuring nine Wright landmark sites. Taliesin, Wrights 800-acre estate in Spring Green, offers a robust calendar of events, including two concert series, art workshops and architecture camps.

In Illinois, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust is celebrating with an extensive lineup of festivities, including a lecture and dinner in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago on Wrights birthday ($100), and Pedal Oak Park guided bike tours of 21 Wright sites throughout the summer ($45). A newly started Prairie Style Passport gives sightseers who visit three participating Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie-style locations a complimentary tour for two of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio (valid through the end of the year).

Buffalo is offering a seasonal All Wright, All Day Trolley ($130) tour of the citys top Wright masterworks, including the Martin House, fresh off a 15-year, $50 million restoration, and the Graycliff estate overlooking Lake Erie. Other stops highlight structures that were designed by Wright but constructed decades after his death, including the Filling Station at the Pierce-Arrow Museum, the Fontana Boathouse on the Black Rock Canal and Forest Lawns Blue Sky Mausoleum. Tours are offered on select dates from June 10 through Oct. 27.
On a wet Friday evening on the south side of Dublin, near the Portobello neighborhoods busy and unfashionable Leonards Corner, eight lanes of traffic crisscrossed near a halal grocer, takeout shops, the fluorescent tube lighting at Washers Laundry, and the year-old modern Irish restaurant Bastible.

Inside the restaurant, three sure-footed chefs led by Barry FitzGerald, who is also an owner, worked in an open kitchen, sending out adventurous dishes that involved behind-the-scenes prep work, including house-pickling, curing and fermenting. Thin slivers of zingy, house-pickled kohlrabi were wrapped around sweet Kilkeel crab. Beef dripping toasts that had the crispness of a wafer and the rich unctuousness of bone marrow accompanied a venison tartare topped with shavings of cured egg yolk.

Portobello, an ever-evolving neighborhood, has been called Little Jerusalem for its once-vibrant Jewish community.
American democracy remains healthy, but its health has worsened for the first time in recent history, according to a new survey of 1,126 political scientists.

Three-quarters of respondents said the quality of United States democracy had declined in the last two years, after four decades of stability. Twenty-one percent said there had been no change, and 4 percent said it was healthier.

The survey was the second by Bright Line Watch, a group formed by academics after the presidential election to study democratic performance in the United States over time. Compared with the first survey, conducted in February, a month into Donald J. Trumps presidency, they said the country was doing worse on a few core democratic principles.

Between February and May, there was a decrease in the share of respondents who thought the United States was meeting or fully meeting the standard that the Constitution and Congress could effectively limit executive power. They thought the country was not doing as well at giving citizens equal legal and political rights, or keeping elections free from foreign influence. Also, fewer thought the judicial branch was sufficiently independent, though more than half still said it was.
Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, called it unconscionable and un-American.

Stipulated: The cuts in Mr. Trumps budget were so sharp that Republicans in Congress were dismissing the budget even as it landed on their doorsteps. And Mr. Trump is also proposing deep tax cuts, particularly for the wealthy, that will no doubt be welcome by many people in a state that is renowned for its high taxes, particularly on upper-income residents. That said, given Republican control of Congress  and a long push by the party to cut domestic spending and taxes  at least some of them seem likely to make it into law.

Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican and House majority leader who is a close ally of Mr. Trump, offered warm praise for the proposal. The White House has produced a strong, conservative budget, he said.

It is too soon to measure exactly how much the state would lose. But by far the biggest cuts are for health care (Mr. Trump proposed Medicaid cuts above those already contained in the Republican health care plan). There are also cuts in aid for childrens health programs, disability assistance and research, much of it carried out at California universities.

The University of California currently receives more than $8 billion in federal support, including over $3 billion for our research enterprise, $1.6 billion in student financial aid and $3.1 billion in patient care support, said Janet Napolitano, the president of the university, adding, The proposal to slash more than $800 billion over 10 years from the Medicaid program would be devastating, not only to patients and hospitals in California, but to those throughout the nation.
A former Playboy model, Danielle Mathers, has been sentenced to community service for secretly photographing a naked older woman in a Los Angeles gym and then posting the picture on social media, court documents and officials said.

According to the criminal complaint, Ms. Mathers, 30, was charged in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2016 for using a concealed camera to take a photograph of the woman, who was 70 at the time, in July and then posting it online.

Ms. Mathers uploaded the photograph to her Snapchat account, with comments about the womans appearance and a picture of Ms. Mathers covering her mouth, the Michael N. Feuer, the Los Angeles city attorney, said in a written statement on Wednesday.

The police investigated, acting on a tip from LA Fitness officials.

Mr. Feuer said that Ms. Mathers entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor invasion of privacy charge on Wednesday and will perform 30 days of community labor. She was also placed on probation for three years, according to the city attorneys office.
Greg Gianforte, a wealthy former software executive who was charged with assaulting a reporter on Wednesday, won a special election on Thursday for Montanas seat in the House of Representatives. Mr. Gianforte, a Republican, had been the front-runner against the Democratic candidate, Rob Quist, but his campaign was plunged into crisis by his confrontation with the journalist.

A Technology Entrepreneur

Mr. Gianforte, 56, who has never held public office, amassed a personal fortune as a technology entrepreneur: He founded a software company, RightNow Technologies, that he later sold to Oracle for about $1.5 billion. He has put his business background at the center of his campaign, promising to use his private-sector sensibilities to help create jobs.

A Bid for Governor

Mr. Gianforte ran for governor of Montana in 2016, unsuccessfully challenging the incumbent, Steve Bullock, a Democrat. Mr. Bullock defeated Mr. Gianforte by about four percentage points, even as Donald J. Trump carried the state over Hillary Clinton by 20 percentage points.

Many of the attacks Democrats used against Mr. Gianforte last year lingered in the House race, forcing national Republicans to spend millions to bolster his campaign. And Mr. Gianforte made new, unforced errors, in one instance announcing his support for the American Health Care Act in a phone call with Washington lobbyists before stating a public position in Montana.
Judy OConnor had no idea a surprise awaited her when she pushed her son, who uses a wheelchair, onto a stage at the commencement at Chapman University on Saturday.

As she stepped back to let her son, Marty, have his moment  he was receiving his M.B.A.  a dean kept her on stage. It was then announced that she had been awarded an honorary M.B.A. degree. An emotional Ms. OConnor blew a kiss, and the crowd was on its feet.

I was totally blown away, Ms. OConnor, a retired elementary schoolteacher, said on Wednesday. I had no idea what was happening.
The March 17 strike, however, was approved by the Erbil-based command center, according to an unclassified summary of the investigation.

Though that additional authority for calling in airstrikes was granted under the Obama administration, the stepped-up pace of military operations under President Trump, which carries the potential for more rapid gains on the battlefield as well as increased risk of civilian casualties, has also drawn attention.

According to the investigation, the March episode began that morning when two Islamic State snipers in the citys Mosul Jidideh section began firing at troops from Iraqs Counterterrorism Service, which was fighting its way into western Mosul.

An Iraqi forward air controller called for the strike, which was approved by more senior Iraqi officers and coalition advisers. In Erbil, coalition officers evaluated the situation and decided to send an American plane to drop a single GBU-38 munition, which carries nearly 200 pounds of explosives.

The aim was to produce a blast by using a bomb with a delayed fuse that would damage only the top floor and front of the building, which was described as a well-built, two-story concrete structure, and kill the snipers. The bomb that was dropped, General Isler said, was not strong enough to have taken down the building.

But the blast, shortly before 8:30 a.m., set off the explosive material that Islamic State fighters had placed in on the second floor of the structure, causing it to collapse. Analysis of the debris found residue of explosive materials, including nitroglycerin, that Islamic State fighters are known to use but that are not used in the GBU-38.
WASHINGTON  Describing President Trumps revised travel ban as intolerant and discriminatory, a federal appeals court on Thursday rejected government efforts to limit travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim nations. Attorney General Jeff Sessions quickly vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The decision was the first from a federal appeals court on the revised travel ban, which was an effort to make good on a campaign centerpiece of the presidents national security agenda. It echoed earlier skepticism by lower federal courts about the legal underpinnings for Mr. Trumps executive order, which sought to halt travelers for up to 90 days while the government imposed stricter vetting processes.

The revised order, issued on March 6, speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., concluded in its 205-page ruling.

The White House derided the court decision as a danger to the nations security. And Mr. Sessions, in pledging to appeal to the nations highest court, said the government will continue to vigorously defend the power and duty of the executive branch to protect the people of this country from danger.
WASHINGTON  President Trumps first budget offers up dramatic policy shifts and hundreds of millions of dollars to clamp down on undocumented immigrants living in the United States, denying them tax credits, jobs and haven while funding a deportation force and flights home for those being removed.

The proposals, part of the $4.1 trillion blueprint the White House released Tuesday, offer the clearest indication yet of how Mr. Trump, who campaigned on a promise to build a southern border wall to keep immigrants from illegally entering the United States and hunt down and banish those who are already here, intends to carry out his crackdown. In a budget marked by steep cuts to social safety net programs, it is one of the few areas besides the military where the president proposes to increase funding.

In these dangerous times, our increased attention to public safety and national security sends a clear message to the world  a message of American strength and resolve, Mr. Trump said in the message accompanying the document. It follows through on my promise to focus on keeping Americans safe, keeping terrorists out of our nation, and putting violent offenders behind bars.

To carry out the changes, Mr. Trump has requested a $2.7 billion increase for border security and immigration enforcement, part of a nearly 7 percent increase for the Department of Homeland Security. But his targeting of immigrants reaches beyond spending freely to track and deport them.
He said the government had not been clear on how much the university would have to cut from its $900 million budget, but the figures bandied about in internal government documents  anywhere from $241 million to $512 million by 2026  would be impossible to accomplish without gutting the university. Officials have already spent years cutting back on bonuses, raises and other academic expenses like books and conferences. The university proposed a plan that phases in more modest cuts, but the board of trustees rejected it.

We are willing to right-size or downsize or whatever you want to call it, Mr. Gonzalez said. The students requests are noble and all, but the university does not have the control over the majority of the things they are requesting.

Dr. Carlos Perez Diaz, an alumnus who was president of the board of trustees until his resignation Tuesday, said students should be protesting somewhere else, like maybe the governors mansion.

I feel sad, frustrated, Dr. Perez said in an interview last week, before he stepped down. It doesnt matter what you try to do. You can offer something, but its not enough.

The governors office has said that it agrees that the proposed cuts are too severe and that it hopes to reach a compromise with the fiscal board in New York.

Some campuses had already voted to lift the student strike. On Thursday night, the main campus voted to lift it when the university board of governors ratifies a compromise that would delay tuition increases for a year. But the board still has eight of 14 seats vacant, so ratification will not happen immediately.
CHICAGO  The young women, many of them from poor families in Thailand, were promised trips to the United States. They would also receive visas. Life in cities like Chicago would be rosy, they were told, and they would be able to help support their families back home.

But the promises, the federal authorities say, came with an enormous toll: The women were required to work as prostitutes in cities all over this country until they could pay off exorbitant bondage debts, set as high as $60,000, to the very people who had promised them better lives.

Law enforcement authorities on Thursday announced federal sex-trafficking conspiracy charges against 21 people, part of what they described as one of the most elaborate and extensive sex-trafficking operations they had seen. The operation had gone on for at least eight years, netted tens of millions of dollars, and involved hundreds of women who were shuttled among American cities, sometimes every few weeks, the officials said.

The women did not have freedom of movement and, until they paid off their bondage debts, were modern-day sex slaves, an indictment unsealed on Thursday in Federal District Court in Minnesota said, laying out criminal counts against a long list of defendants, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Gregory Brooker, the acting United States attorney in Minnesota, described the ring as a multimillion-dollar, modern-day organized crime operation.
I think there was a lot of pressure to solve these homicides, said Mr. Figorski, who retired in 2006 as a lieutenant in the departments narcotics unit.

Mr. Thomas had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. One of the co-defendants was offered a plea deal and was released from prison in 1999, Mr. Figorski said. Mr. Thomas was also offered a deal  to serve five to 10 years  but he maintained his innocence and turned down the offer.

His appeals meandered for years in state and federal courts as he tried on his own to overturn his conviction.

A letter from Mr. Thomas was waiting for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project when it opened its doors in 2009, Marissa Bluestine, its legal director, said on Thursday.

For eight years, Ms. Bluestine and Mr. Figorski sought various remedies in court. Last year, they met with members of the Conviction Review Unit from the Philadelphia district attorneys office. Investigators interviewed one of the co-defendants, who told them that he was not involved or present at the murder and that he lied at Mr. Thomass trial, according to a timeline assembled by Mr. Thomass lawyers.

About two weeks ago, an investigative file that had long been sought by defense lawyers was found in a box in a hallway at police headquarters. The file included witness statements that contradicted accounts that Mr. Thomas was involved.

Had that information been available at trial  and had the story of Shaurns presence in court at the moment the murder was committed been told correctly  prosecutors agreed the trial would likely have ended differently, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project said in a statement.
Puppy Love

When to watch: Now, on Hulu

Add it to your Watchlist

Puppy Love hails from the creators and stars Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine who created and starred in the original British version of Getting On. This show shares some of that seriess relaxed, almost ragged style: Conversations are loose and naturalistic, and all the characters are meant to seem like real people, not sitcom people. The show centers on a dog trainer (Scanlan) and the students who sign up for her class, even though most of her techniques are saying look-look! and bribing dogs with pieces of cheese. If you like soft and slow comedy, this is for you.
Analysts and officials say the vigilante violence stems from a variety of problems with the police and the judiciary. India has a low number of police officers per capita, and those on the job are often poorly trained, unprofessional and corrupt. Morale is low thanks to meager pay, long hours and little or no vacation time.

The judicial system is in perpetual crisis, with more than 40 percent of high court judgeships unfilled. This has produced an enormous backlog of cases, leading to long delays during which witnesses may die, flee or simply disappear.

Moreover, policing in most states is governed by colonial-era laws that allow politicians to control the transfer and appointments of top officials. In practice, this means they are heavily politicized, influenced by governing-party politicians rather than evenhandedly enforcing the law.

All political parties dont think beyond their own importance and power, so they dont reform the police, said Julio Ribeiro, a former police commissioner of Mumbai. Its only when the people demand real reform that we will have it, and they havent done that yet.

The problems have convinced many Indians, particularly the indigent and illiterate, that if they are to have any justice at all, they must take the law into their own hands.

In an interview, Uttam Verma, a survivor of one of the mob attacks last week, recounted the terrifying series of events. Mr. Verma, 31, said he and his younger brother, Vikas, had ridden a motorcycle into the village of Nagadih, on the outskirts of Jamshedpur, the steel-producing city where they live. They were looking for land to start a new business making septic tanks.

A little into the village, the road was obstructed by a pipe, and the villagers were sitting around armed with bows and arrows, axes and swords, Mr. Verma said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia  Two suicide bombers set off explosives at one of Jakartas busiest transit hubs on Wednesday night, killing three police officers and wounding at least 10 other people, the police said.

The blasts occurred about five minutes apart at the Kampung Melayu bus station, which links the sprawling eastern suburbs and the industrial areas to the north.

So far, the death toll consists of three policemen, two suicide bombers, Setyo Wasisto, a spokesman for Indonesias national police, told reporters. Five police officers and five other people were hurt, he said.
MANILA  Philippine troops engaged Islamic State-linked militants in pitched clashes on Thursday around the southern city of Marawi as the military deployed tanks to secure vital installations in a battle that has become a major test for President Rodrigo Dutertes government.

With thousands fleeing the city and militants holding a Roman Catholic priest and others hostage, television footage showed black smoke billowing near Marawis City Hall as civilians who had held out in the besieged city watched from rooftops.

Explosions and bursts of gunfire could be heard at a distance, as the military asserted it was making progress clearing out desperate militants, forcing them to split into groups as they darted around the city trying to flee.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for Mr. Hapilons capture. In January, the Philippine military tried to kill him in an airstrike, but he was only wounded.

Mr. Hapilon has been trying to unite several smaller Islamist groups in the region, including the Maute, who are mostly in Marawi.

 Maute

The Maute are another of the four Islamist groups in the region affiliated with the Islamic State. The group, founded by the brothers Abdullah and Omar Maute, started as a small band of petty criminals. Last year, members of the Maute were arrested in connection with a bombing at a night market in Davao City, Mr. Dutertes hometown. The authorities also said they foiled a plot in November in which the group tried to bomb the United States Embassy in Manila.

 President Rodrigo Duterte

Mr. Duterte cut short a trip to Russia this week to oversee the military operation and declared martial law in Mindanao.

The populist president has taken an extreme hard line on crime and disorder, most notably with his contentious war on drugs, which has left thousands across the country dead and has drawn condemnation from rights groups and many Western governments. On Wednesday, Mr. Duterte warned that he might impose military rule over the rest of the country, citing the possibility that terrorists could begin operations in the northern Philippines.

How does martial law work?
UNITED NATIONS  A string of blatantly illegal attacks on clinics and ambulances in war zones around the world prompted the Security Council last year to demand protection for health workers and accountability for their attackers.

It made no difference whatsoever. In conflict zones, attacks on doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers continue unabated, flouting one of the oldest principles of international law: to respect the neutrality of medical workers in war.

In Afghanistan in March, gunmen disguised as doctors stormed a military hospital in Kabul, killing dozens in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

In Yemen, the Saudi-led military coalition, which is backed by the United States, bombed a hospital supported by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders in August, killing at least 15.
BRUSSELS  President Trump on Thursday punctured any illusions that he was on a fence-mending tour of Europe, declining to explicitly endorse NATOs mutual defense pledge and lashing out at fellow members for what he called their chronic underpayments to the alliance.

On a tense day when Mr. Trump brought the America first themes of his presidential campaign to the very heart of Europe, he left European leaders visibly unsettled, with some openly lamenting divisions with the United States on trade, climate and the best way to confront Russia.

The discord was palpable even in body language. When Mr. Trump greeted Emmanuel Macron, Frances new president, they grabbed each others hands, jaws clenched, in an extended grip that turned Mr. Trumps knuckles white. When the leaders lined up to pose for the traditional photograph at NATO headquarters, Mr. Trump appeared to push aside the Montenegrin prime minister, Dusko Markovic, to get to his assigned place in the front.

The split was starkest at NATO headquarters, where Mr. Trump used the dedication of a soaring new building to lecture allies on their financial contributions. Far from robustly reaffirming NATOs mutual defense commitment in the way that many members hoped he would, Mr. Trump repeated his complaint that the United States was shouldering an unfair burden.
ATHENS  A bomb exploded on Thursday in a car carrying Lucas Papademos, a former prime minister of Greece, through central Athens, the police said. Mr. Papademos, 69, was injured in the explosion, along with the driver and another person in the car.

A government spokesman, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, said Thursday evening that the three were in stable condition, are conscious and are undergoing all the necessary medical tests.

The blast occurred around 6:30 p.m. while the car was moving, Theodoros Chronopoulos, a spokesman for the police, said. He said the driver and the other passenger were employees of the Bank of Greece, the countrys central bank.

A police official said the explosion happened when Mr. Papademos opened an envelope and it detonated in his hands.
A teenage couple in love, dreaming of traveling the world together.

An off-duty police officer, taking a break from the stresses of fighting organized crime to enjoy a concert with her husband and two children.

A Polish couple, waiting to pick up their children from a concert and unaware it would be their last moments of parental duty.

On Thursday, the grim task of confirming those who had died in the Manchester attack appeared to be coming to an end.

The police said that they were confident they had identified all 22 people who died in the attack  but they added that they would not reveal all of the names until post-mortems were concluded, which could take several more days.

Families and friends have confirmed the deaths of loved ones to the police or to schools or on social media. The process helped bring a small measure of closure after Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, set off a crude bomb after a performance by the pop singer Ariana Grande on Monday night. It was the worst terrorist attack on British soil since 2005.
He said he was introduced to Mr. Trump there by his dear friend Elena Baronoff, a Soviet emigre who worked as Mr. Trumps exclusive sales agent, helping sell at least $100 million worth of apartments to Russians.

Ms. Baronoff, who died in 2015, was a close friend of many Russian power brokers, including the foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, according to Mr. Papale, recalling the time she told him that Mr. Lavrov was arriving by yacht from Sardinia.

She told me Lavrov is coming, he said, Can you say hello?

Despite the earlier press report here, he insisted that it was not Mr. Trump who had visited Taormina in the past, but rather Michael Dezer, the wildly wealthy developer of many of Mr. Trumps Florida properties.

In 2012, Mr. Papale bestowed on Mr. Dezer his Wolfgang Goethe Taormina Media Award, which is usually reserved for writers who write nice things about the town. A great entrepreneur like Dezer, an associate of Donald Trump, I wanted to give him this gift, Mr. Papale explained.

He added proudly that Mr. Dezer had stood on a stage in front of his palazzo along with Ms. Baronoff and Russias general consul, who, on another occasion, read a message of thanks to Mr. Papale from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for his work in advancing the countrys image in Taormina.

Mr. Papale is a huge fan of Mr. Putin, and is equally enthusiastic about Mr. Trump. As night fell, he ignored the stunning views of his balcony, smoked Marlboro Lights and scrolled through pictures on his iPad.

Here he was hanging out on Mr. Dezers plane or with Ms. Baronoff in a Rolls-Royce. Here he was with the Sunny Isles Beach gang on election night in Trump Tower, and here was a photo of Mr. Trump, minutes after his victory, flashing a thumbs up.

Heres Donald, he said.
 On the fourth leg of a grueling overseas trip, President Trump lectured NATO allies in Brussels on not spending enough for collective defense, and declined to plainly endorse Article 5 of the alliances founding treaty, which states that an attack on any member is an attack on all.

 For some of the European leaders, testing Mr. Trump seemed to be as important as finding common ground with him, amid anxiety about their relationship with a leader who had dismissed the alliance as obsolete and called the Belgian capital a hellhole after a terrorist attack.

 Earlier, Mr. Trump met with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission. Mr. Tusk said afterward that there were differences of opinion over Russia, but that when it came to Ukraine, it seems that we were on the same line.

 Analysts said expectations were low that Mr. Trump and European leaders would agree on issues like climate change, trade and terrorism. (He also shared an eyebrow-raising handshake with President Emmanuel Macron of France.)
The National Police Chiefs Council in Britain called the leaks a breach of trust, adding, This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counterterrorism investigation. The disclosure of potential evidence undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families, it added.

On Thursday, Manchesters top police official, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, joined the chorus of criticism, saying that the disclosure has caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.

Earlier in the day, the BBC reported that the Manchester police would no longer share details of the investigation with American counterparts. But on Thursday evening, after Mrs. May had new assurances from Mr. Trump, the police announced that intelligence sharing had resumed  if it had ever stopped in the first place.

Mark Rowley, an assistant commissioner in charge of counterterrorism at Scotland Yard and an officer on the Police Chiefs Council, said in a statement issued later on Thursday that while we do not usually comment on information-sharing arrangements with international law enforcement organizations, we want to emphasize that, having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. (Along with the United States and Britain, the other countries in the alliance are New Zealand, Australia and Canada.)

The Times said in a statement:

The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes, as The Times and other media outlets have done following terrorist acts around the world, from Boston to Paris to Baghdad, and many places in between. Our mission is to cover news and inform our readers. We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories. Our coverage of Mondays horrific attack has been both comprehensive and responsible. We cover stories about terrorism from all angles. Not only stories about victims but also how terrorist groups work, their sources of funding, how they recruit. Acts of terrorism have tremendous impact on how we live, on how we are governed and how we interact as people, communities and nations. At times the process of reporting this coverage comes at personal risk to our reporters. We do it because it is core to our mission.

Mr. Trump has viewed leaks differently at different times depending on whether they helped or hurt him. During last years presidential campaign, he not only capitalized on the disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, he publicly called on Russian hackers to unearth and publicize even more of them. I love WikiLeaks, he said at one point, praising the group that made public many of the emails.

But since taking office, Mr. Trump has been increasingly frustrated by information coming out of his own White House. Details of his conversation with Russian officials and of his telephone calls with the leaders of Mexico, Australia and, just this week, the Philippines have spilled into public view. Leaked information about a telephone call between Michael T. Flynn, his first national security adviser, and Russias ambassador forced the president to fire Mr. Flynn.

Mr. Trumps own aides also routinely leak about one another in the latest palace intrigue.

In recent days, anonymously sourced articles about Mr. Trumps private conversations with and about James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he fired, have fueled investigations into his associates ties with Russia. After The Times reported that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to shut down an investigation into Mr. Flynn, the Justice Department felt compelled to appoint a special counsel to take over the Russia investigation.
GAZA CITY  Three men were executed in Gaza on Thursday, days after being found guilty of assassinating a top member of the militant group Hamas  a crime the group accuses Israel of ordering.

Israel usually does not comment on such matters but has denied any part in the March killing.

Two of the sentenced men were executed by hanging, a third by firing squad. The executions were carried out as a near-communal event, with nearly 3,000 people, from political and tribal factions, invited. Two hooded Hamas executioners manned the scaffolding.

Before he was executed, one of the condemned men, Hisham al-Aloul, 42, said in a shaking voice: I want to apologize to my people. I ask my family to forgive me. I tell the Israeli intelligence you are scum. Sooner or later the resistance will get you. The Palestinian security in Gaza is smarter than you. The American and Israeli intelligence are the worst of humanity.

The assassination of Mazen Fuqaha, a senior member of Hamass military wing, set off a brutal search for people accused of collaborating with Israel in the Gaza Strip. Some 45 people have been arrested since the killing.
WASHINGTON  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved on Thursday the most sweeping sanctions against Iran since the United States and five other nations reached an agreement with Tehran in 2015 to sharply limit that nations nuclear capability, and the committee warned Russia that it was almost certain to be the next target.

Because Iran has complied with the nuclear accord, the Senate committee had to find other reasons to impose the sanctions, and linked the penalties to Irans continued support for terrorism and its human rights violations, among other concerns. But the timing of the long-planned punishment was awkward, coming right after Iranians overwhelmingly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, who has moved to expand personal freedoms in the country and integrate its economy with the West.

The Trump administration has supported new sanctions against Iran, which were approved 18 to 3 by the committee and could receive a full Senate vote as early as next month.

But Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson had pleaded for more time before new sanctions were imposed on Russia, hoping to use the first few months of the Trump administration to fundamentally change a relationship he recently said had hit its lowest point in years.
Saturday

4) 8 A.M. Capitol 5K

The city is known for at least two things other than the 500: amateur athletics (the N.C.A.A. has its headquarters here) and the greatest number of war memorials outside of Washington. Combine them in a Historic Downtown 5K run with ActiveIndy Tours ($20). The company founder, Nathan Smurdon, ran track and cross country at local Butler University and worked for Indianapoliss convention bureau, meaning he can talk about the citys canal system, the historic effort to lure the American Legion to town with a series of war memorials, and the symbolism on the towering Soldiers and Sailors Monument and Memorial while running effortlessly past those sites. But he keeps the clients pace and genially stops for pictures or excessive panting.

5) 10:30 A.M. Brunch Mechanic

When the line cook leans over the diner counter proffering house-cured salmon and chirps, Heres your bialy! youll understand why everyone loves Milktooth, the Fletcher Place brunch spot from the chef Jonathan Brooks in an old auto garage: The chefs seem to be enjoying themselves. The music is loud, the decor is thrift-shop eclectic and the creative fare may include breakfast (sourdough carrot cake waffle, $12) and lunch (twice-fried Korean chicken thighs, $16). The lines are constant, but so is the cheer.

An espresso at Milktooth. Credit Stacy Able for The New York Times



6) Noon; Cultural Cruising

Some $63 million went into building an eight-mile recreational trail for cyclists and pedestrians that has prompted development downtown and in adjacent neighborhoods. The resulting Indianapolis Cultural Trail organizes a convenient route to those neighborhoods and makes it easy to follow with special signage and brick paving. Pedal along aboard a Pacers Bikeshare ($8 for one day), making stops along the way at the solemn Shrine Room in the Indiana War Memorial Museum (free), the food-stall-filled Indianapolis City Market or the observation deck atop the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (free for stair-climbers, or $2 for the elevator).

7) 3 P.M. Critical Mass Shopping

One spur on the Cultural Trail runs up Massachusetts Avenue  or Mass Ave as it is known  a stretch lined with restaurants, bars, public art and some of the best boutiques in the city. Start browsing at Silver in the City, which sells artist-made jewelry, accessories and sundries including bags and wallets from PUP, or People for Urban Progress, a nonprofit using recycled industrial materials like the stadium roof of the former RCA Dome. Next door, Global Gifts carries fair-trade goods from around the world including soapstone carvings from Kenya and Mexican ceramics. Progress to Boomerang Boutique for funky T-shirts and kicky stud earrings in dollar signs or tangerine shapes. Homespun: Modern Handmade stocks housewares, stationery and ReFind Originals upcycled leather bags.

8) 5:30 P.M. Flight Deck

Another branch of the Cultural Trail links to Fountain Square, where New Day Craft Mead & Cider pours its house-made beverages in an inviting tap room stocked with board games. Flights ($8) include any six of the honey-based meads or hard ciders currently on tap. Among ciders, if available, try the dry Gold Rush cider and the strong bourbon-barrel-aged Barrel Aged JC. Meads are refreshingly light and balanced, including the blush-colored cherry mead Washingtons Folly, and cheese and meat plates (each $8.50) appease peckish bargoers.

St. Elmo Steak House, downtown, has a vintage wooden back bar, a speakeasy upstairs and tuxedoed waiters. Credit Stacy Able for The New York Times



9) 8 P.M. Northside Nosh

Drive around a bit of the Old Northside neighborhood to see the elaborate Victorian-era mansions that once housed the citys movers and shakers (including President Benjamin Harrison) before arriving at Tinker Street Restaurant & Wine Bar. Adjacent to the historic district, tiny Tinker Street has an outsize following for its vegetarian-friendly dishes and its carefully chosen, value-driven wine list. The menu changes often but might include crispy quinoa falafels ($12) and pork belly with spicy kimchi and an unctuous duck egg ($21).

10) 10:30 P.M. Nightcap Classics

Toast at least one late-night Indy classic with a nightcap. On Massachusetts Avenue, squeeze into compact Chatterbox Jazz Club for a set in the narrow dive decorated with Christmas lights, racing flags and graffitied dollar bills. Downtown, drop into St. Elmo Steak House for last call. The clubby restaurant, with a vintage wooden back bar and tuxedoed waiters, dates back to 1902. If the main bar is too crowded, or traditional, take the side stairs up to the 1933 Lounge, a speakeasy-style hideaway, for an Elmo Cola ($14), similar to a bourbon-spiked cherry Coke.
The number of civilians killed in American-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria spiked this year, as efforts to retake Islamic State strongholds intensified and as some procedures for approving airstrikes were changed.

Comparing estimates of civilian deaths most likely caused by American-led coalition airstrikes Total estimated by Airwars: 400 Raqqa offensive begins 300 Mosul offensive begins 200 100 Total confirmed by the U.S. Military: 25 Jan. 2015 Jan. 2016 Jan. 2017 Comparing estimates of civilian deaths most likely caused by American-led coalition airstrikes Total Estimated by Airwars: 400 Raqqa offensive begins 300 Mosul offensive begins 200 100 Total Confirmed by the U.S. Military: 25 Jan. 2015 Jan. 2016 Jan. 2017 Comparing estimates of civilian deaths most likely caused by American-led coalition airstrikes Total Estimated by Airwars: 400 Raqqa offensive begins 300 Mosul offensive begins 200 100 Total Confirmed by the U.S. Military: 25 Jan. 2015 Jan. 2016 Jan. 2017 Comparing estimates of civilian deaths most likely caused by American-led coalition airstrikes Total Estimated by Airwars: 400 Raqqa offensive begins 300 Mosul offensive begins 200 100 Total Confirmed by the U.S. Military: 25 Jan. 2015 Jan. 2016 Jan. 2017 The New York Times | Sources: Airwars (civilian deaths as of April 1); U.S. Central Command. | Notes: About 5 percent of the Airwars data is from unilateral American airstrikes that targeted groups other than the Islamic State, including Al Qaeda. The U.S. military did not provide dates for an additional 80 confirmed civilian deaths; those deaths are not included in the chart.

Data compiled by Airwars, a nonprofit group that tracks reports of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, showed a significant jump in the number of reported deaths in the first three months of 2017.

The military recently confirmed that American-led airstrikes had been responsible for at least 352 civilian deaths since the start of the war against the Islamic State. But Airwars estimated that the total was eight times higher. The group found that at least 3,100 civilians were killed in American-led airstrikes from August 2014 to March 2017.

Much of the increase in the Airwars data coincided with the operations to retake Mosul, Iraq, the Islamic States largest stonghold, and Raqqa, Syria, the groups de facto capital.

The increase has also led some human rights groups to question whether changes in procedure are responsible. In December, under President Barack Obama, some American and allied advisers in the field were authorized to call in airstrikes in Iraq without approval from an operations center. President Trump has also shifted more authority over military operations to the Pentagon.

Lama Fakih, the deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that making it easier to call in airstrikes will almost necessarily afford civilians fewer protections from being injured or killed.

But American officials have said that rules protecting civilians have not changed and that the current airstrike approval process allows for air support to reach Iraqi troops on the ground faster. They point to Mosul, Raqqa and other recent operations to explain the increase in reports of civilian deaths.

Aleppo Mosul Raqqa ISIS CONTROL AREAS SYRIA Tikrit IRAQ Damascus Baghdad Aleppo Mosul Raqqa ISIS CONTROL AREAS SYRIA Tikrit Damascus IRAQ Baghdad The New York Times | Source: Conflict Monitor by IHS Markit (control areas as of April 3)

Airwars also identified additional contested episodes that resulted in 2,700 civilian deaths. These were events in which American-led airstrikes may have had some role in the deaths.

Russian airstrikes, which have bombarded rebel-held areas in Syria since 2015, are probably responsible for thousands more civilian deaths, according to a preliminary analysis by Airwars.

But regardless of the total number of civilian deaths, several former American security officials recently wrote a letter warning Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that unintentional civilian casualties can cause significant strategic setbacks by reducing local cooperation and providing fuel for militant propaganda.

The Offensive in Mosul

About a million civilians were thought to be living in Mosul when operations to retake the city, Iraqs second most populous and the largest to have been under Islamic State control, began in October. At the time, Iraqi officials encouraged residents not to flee the city.

A large majority of civilian deaths there happened after Iraqi forces entered the dense urban terrain of the citys western neighborhoods in mid-February. More than 1,000 deaths were reported there in March.

Civilian Deaths From Airstrikes Where American-led coalition airstrikes are most likely responsible Where American-led coalition and/or other groups may be responsible

Area of detail IRAQ 20 MILES Area of detail IRAQ 20 MILES 2014 (Aug.-Dec.) Mosul 20 civilian deaths Sinjar 13 Qayyara 26 2014 (Aug.-Dec.) Mosul 20 civilian deaths 2015 Mosul 262 civilian deaths 2015 Mosul 262 2016 Mosul 555 civilian deaths 2016 Mosul 555 2017 (Jan.-Mar.) Mosul 1,793 civilian deaths 2017 (Jan.-Mar.) Mosul 1,793

The New York Times | Sources: Airwars (civilian casualties); OpenStreetMap and its contributors. | Note: Total civilian deaths include confirmed, credible and contested reports.

As Iraqi forces advance, their requests for airstrikes must be approved by American commanders. But the Islamic State is said to have been gathering civilians into buildings to raise the potential for civilian casualties when the militants are targeted.

The Push Toward Raqqa

American-backed militia fighters in Syria have been advancing toward Raqqa with heavy support from American and coalition airstrikes since November.

The battles here are happening in areas that are less populated than Mosul. Still, Raqqa Province has had a quarter of all recorded instances of civilian deaths from American or coalition airstrikes.

Civilian Deaths From Airstrikes Where American-led coalition airstrikes are most likely responsible Where American-led coalition and/or other groups may be responsible

10 MILES Area of detail SYRIA 15 MILES Area of detail SYRIA 2014 (Aug.-Dec.) Raqqa 2 civilian deaths 2014 (Aug.-Dec.) Raqqa 2 civilian deaths 2015 Raqqa 65 civilian deaths Tabaqa 30 2015 Raqqa 65 2016 Tal al-Samin 7 Raqqa 200 civilian deaths 2016 Raqqa 200 2017 (Jan.-Mar.) Raqqa 40 civilian deaths Mansoura 33 2017 (Jan.-Mar.) Raqqa 40

The New York Times | Sources: Airwars (civilian casualties); OpenStreetMap and its contributors. | Note: Total civilian deaths include confirmed, credible and contested reports.

Strikes With High Death Counts

On March 17, an American airstrike destroyed a building in the Jidideh neighborhood of Mosul, killing more than a hundred civilians who were inside. It may have been one of the deadliest American airstrikes ever in Iraq.

On Thursday, American officials made public the results of an investigation, saying that while an airstrike did hit the building, it was not enough to cause the building to collapse. They said the strike had set off explosives that Islamic State fighters had placed in the building, contributing to the high death count.

In the weeks after the airstrike, military officials said they had made changes to their procedures, though they declined to specify how.

Residents in western Mosul carried the bodies of people killed in the Jidideh neighborhood. Felipe Dana/Associated Press

In Syria, at least three coalition airstrikes had high death tolls in March. An airstrike that hit a school in the town of Mansoura in Raqqa Province on March 21 reportedly killed more than 30 civilians who had sheltered there. Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, the senior United States commander in Iraq, denied this report, saying that the attack had killed militants, not civilians.

Less than a week earlier, residents said a strike had hit a mosque in the village of Jina in Aleppo Province, killing at least 37 civilians. American officials said the target had been not a mosque, but a nearby building that Qaeda operatives were using. They have opened an investigation into whether civilians were killed.

Volunteers dug through rubble after a reported airstrike on a mosque in the village of Jina in Aleppo Province in March. Omar Haj Kadour/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

The United Nations urged the American-led coalition to rethink its tactics after the deadly attack in Mosul. Amnesty International accused Iraqi and coalition forces of failing to take adequate precautions to prevent civilian deaths, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
While Mexicans pour out on the streets to protest Trump's anti-immigrant policies, bashing Trump pinatas and burning U.S. flags, there was nary a Saudi protester chanting "Trump: Go home." In this very religious country, no one seemed interested in demonstrating opposition to Trump's derogatory comments about Islam nor his attempts to impose a Muslim ban back home.

Saudi women could have used the occasion to push for their rights. They could have put out a national call saying that as soon as Trump began to speak, women should walk out of their homes with their heads uncovered and dressed as they pleased, just like Melania and Ivanka Trump. They could have raised their arms in the air, waving the petition thousands of them signed calling for an end to the guardianship system that gives men control over their lives. They could have taken to the road behind the wheels of their family cars, openly defying the retrograde Saudi ban on women driving. But alas, there was not a Saudi woman in sight.

"Thanks to U.S. weapons makers and arms deals signed with successive U.S. presidents, the Saudi rulers have more firepower than they could ever need to put down any form of dissent."

Where was the Shia minority who make up 10 percent of the population and suffer ongoing repression? Why didn't they come out to call for the freedom of political prisoners, like the three young men on death row who were arrested as juveniles for protesting? The Saudi military is presently occupying the Shia town of Awamiyah, shooting at civilians and terrifying the townspeople. Yet there was not even graffiti on the streets of Riyadh saying "Military Out of Awamiyah."

Instead of hiding behind their computers, Saudi youth could have flooded the streets demanding the right to free speech and free association. They could have marched together demanding an end to gender segregation in the schools. They could have made hundreds of copies of the face of Raif Badawi, a young man sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for blogging, and held them for the visiting delegates to see.

Foreign workers from countries like Bangladesh and the Philippines could have picketed outside the hotels where the foreign dignitaries were staying, demanding they not be treated as indentured servants under a sponsorship system that doesn't even allow them to go back home without their employer's permission.

Christians could have organized a "preach in," taking to the street with Bibles to assert their right to build churches and publicly worship their God. Non-believers could have used the visit to insist that atheism should not warrant the death penalty.

Poor Saudis--yes, there are plenty of them--could have taken a page from the Brazilians during the Olympics and protested the millions spent on hosting the opulent gathering. Better yet, they could have complained about their rulers investing $115 billion in weapons instead of people's needs.

And where were all the environmentalists? Aren't there Saudi chapters of Greenpeace or 350.org? Why didn't they bring out that the big, plastic pipeline they use in so many international protests, demanding that the Saudis stop pushing cheap oil to keep the planet addicted to fossil fuels? Why weren't they out in force calling for the Saudi oil company ARAMCO to invest millions--no, billions--in solar energy?

Oh yeah, silly me. I forgot. Protest is illegal in the kingdom. It's also against the law to "distort the reputation of the kingdom" or "break allegiance with the ruler." A 2014 anti-terrorism law treats virtually all free expression as acts of terrorism, including "calling for atheist thought"; "contacting groups or individuals opposed to the Kingdom"; and "seeking to disrupt national unity" by calling for protests. People who dare dissent are publicly flogged, tortured in prison, and sometimes publicly beheaded.

Thanks to U.S. weapons makers and arms deals signed with successive U.S. presidents, the Saudi rulers have more firepower than they could ever need to put down any form of dissent.

No wonder the streets of Riyadh were so quiet.
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May 29, 2017: Peaceably Assemble for Truth: JFK to 9/11 + "The JFK Button" A letter to President Trump and Congress encouraging that May 29th (JFK's 100th birthday) and November 22nd be designated for millions to "Peaceably Assemble for Truth: JFK to 9/11". The author has designed and is manufacturing "The JFK Button - Emblem of Peaceable Assembly," of which 7,000 will be imminently, freely distributed in the DC area. OpEdNews readers are invited to write the author and be mailed a free JFK Button! Thursday, May 25, 2017A letter to President Trump and Congress encouraging that May 29th (JFK's 100th birthday) and November 22nd be designated for millions to "Peaceably Assemble for Truth: JFK to 9/11". The author has designed and is manufacturing "The JFK Button - Emblem of Peaceable Assembly," of which 7,000 will be imminently, freely distributed in the DC area. OpEdNews readers are invited to write the author and be mailed a free JFK Button!

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CNN's Jake Tapper: Fake Journalist? Ignores WTC-7, 9/11 Responder Karl Golovin During "The Kalb Report," live from Washington, DC's National Press Club, April 8, 2017: Retired Customs agent and 9/11 Responder Karl Golovin pursued why CNN's Jake Tapper hasn't reported about evidence of controlled demolition (implying "False-Flag Terrorism") in the collapse of WTC towers 1,2 and 7, documentation of which Golovin gave CNN President Jeff Zucker, Tapper and other journalists at the Newseum on April 18, 2016. Friday, May 5, 2017During "The Kalb Report," live from Washington, DC's National Press Club, April 8, 2017: Retired Customs agent and 9/11 Responder Karl Golovin pursued why CNN's Jake Tapper hasn't reported about evidence of controlled demolition (implying "False-Flag Terrorism") in the collapse of WTC towers 1,2 and 7, documentation of which Golovin gave CNN President Jeff Zucker, Tapper and other journalists at the Newseum on April 18, 2016.

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Liberty Lives in the Light: Illuminate + End "False-Flag" Terrorism Open letter to President Trump and Members of Congress correlating evidence of "False-Flag Terrorism" in history, notably from the assassination of JFK through events of September 11, 2001 (including Nato activities in Europe, post-WWII). The author anticipates that millions of Americans must re-engage in civic activism, even "Peaceably Assemble for Truth: JFK to 9/11," to ultimately "Expose and End False-Flag Terrorism." Thursday, April 20, 2017Open letter to President Trump and Members of Congress correlating evidence of "False-Flag Terrorism" in history, notably from the assassination of JFK through events of September 11, 2001 (including Nato activities in Europe, post-WWII). The author anticipates that millions of Americans must re-engage in civic activism, even "Peaceably Assemble for Truth: JFK to 9/11," to ultimately "Expose and End False-Flag Terrorism."

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December 7, 2014 in Washington, DC: "A New Pearl Harbor - of Conscience?" "Free Speech" isn't free if constrained to an out-of-the-way, unheard "Free-Speech Zone," but when "truth can be spoken to power," publicly and conspicuously, without fear of intimidation, false arrest. Text of a letter to President Obama on the eve of December 7, 2014, "Kennedy Center Honors" filming in DC, urging that truth about JFK's murder, 9/11 be well proclaimed even from a "Free Speech Pedestal". Monday, December 8, 2014"Free Speech" isn't free if constrained to an out-of-the-way, unheard "Free-Speech Zone," but when "truth can be spoken to power," publicly and conspicuously, without fear of intimidation, false arrest. Text of a letter to President Obama on the eve of December 7, 2014, "Kennedy Center Honors" filming in DC, urging that truth about JFK's murder, 9/11 be well proclaimed even from a "Free Speech Pedestal".

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President Obama: This November 22nd, Honor JFK - Free the Files! Text of a letter written by the author to President Obama (cc: various other officials) encouraging action to direct immediate release by all government agencies, most notably the CIA, of still withheld records pertaining to JFK's assassination. Tuesday, November 18, 2014Text of a letter written by the author to President Obama (cc: various other officials) encouraging action to direct immediate release by all government agencies, most notably the CIA, of still withheld records pertaining to JFK's assassination.

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This November 22nd, is Your Destination Dallas? - or Washington, D.C.?! Since 1963, Dealey Plaza has been the primary focal point for gathering each year to remember JFK's brutal murder - and question the Warren Commission's official theory of events. Yet since 2013, a precedent has been set to peaceably assemble every Nov. 22nd on public terraces of The Kennedy Center, in petition for release of still withheld assassination records. This year, is your destination Dallas? - or Washington, D.C.?! Tuesday, October 21, 2014Since 1963, Dealey Plaza has been the primary focal point for gathering each year to remember JFK's brutal murder - and question the Warren Commission's official theory of events. Yet since 2013, a precedent has been set to peaceably assemble every Nov. 22nd on public terraces of The Kennedy Center, in petition for release of still withheld assassination records. This year, is your destination Dallas? - or Washington, D.C.?!

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5/29/14: Join a Constitutional Assembly in Washington, D.C., Free the CIA/JFK Files New Video Release: A peaceable assembly in petition for release of all Kennedy assassination-related records still withheld by the Central Intelligence Agency will begin on Thursday, May 29, at 12:30 p.m. on public terraces of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, Washington D.C. Tuesday, April 15, 2014New Video Release: A peaceable assembly in petition for release of all Kennedy assassination-related records still withheld by the Central Intelligence Agency will begin on Thursday, May 29, at 12:30 p.m. on public terraces of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, Washington D.C.

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Attend First Washington, D.C. Screening: "JFK: A President Betrayed" On Friday, 3/21/14, please attend this FIRST SCREENING in the Washington, D.C. area of "JFK: A President Betrayed" (91 min) plus a video (20 MIn) and discussion among attendees of "Constitutional Activism" as a means of expediting release, during 2014, of all JFK assassination-related records still withheld from the public. Doors open at 6pm, film and discussion 7pm-9:30pm. Tuesday, March 18, 2014On Friday, 3/21/14, please attend this FIRST SCREENING in the Washington, D.C. area of "JFK: A President Betrayed" (91 min) plus a video (20 MIn) and discussion among attendees of "Constitutional Activism" as a means of expediting release, during 2014, of all JFK assassination-related records still withheld from the public. Doors open at 6pm, film and discussion 7pm-9:30pm.

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Your Invitation to Honor JFK On 11/22/13 a vigil began in Washington, D.C. that has evolved into "HonorJFK.com" and YouTube "Your Invitation to Honor JFK". Quoting JFK, One person can make a difference, and everyone should try, the video calls for a Constitutional Assembly 7/4/14 on public terraces of the Kennedy Center, petitioning for immediate release of still secret CIA/JFK files and return of CIA to it's original, intelligence-only mandate. Sunday, January 12, 2014On 11/22/13 a vigil began in Washington, D.C. that has evolved into "HonorJFK.com" and YouTube "Your Invitation to Honor JFK". Quoting JFK, One person can make a difference, and everyone should try, the video calls for a Constitutional Assembly 7/4/14 on public terraces of the Kennedy Center, petitioning for immediate release of still secret CIA/JFK files and return of CIA to it's original, intelligence-only mandate.
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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif received the diplomatic snub at the Saudi summit attended by President Donald Trump over the weekend . The US chief executive addressed at length terrorism's devastating effects on countries like India, Russia and Australia but did not mention the losses suffered by Pakistan as the front line state in the war on terrorism.

Nawaz Sharif attended the Trump event as the summit has come to be described, on the invitation of the Saudi king. Pakistan's delegation hoped for at least a pull-aside meeting between Nawaz and Trump with enough time to present a Pakistan dossier on the region, Kashmir included. But Nawaz Sharif was forced to settle for a mere handshake with Trump.

"Trump and Sharif shook hands and exchanged pleasantries", TV channels reported. During the exchange, Trump reportedly told Sharif that he was pleased to meet him. The Pakistani Prime Minister responded that the feeling was mutual, said a front page report in The Express Tribune, a leading English daily published in collaboration with the New York Times (NYT).

At the summit attended by leaders of 55 Muslim nations, Nawaz was expected to be a star speaker but he was not invited to address. Former Pakistani army chief Raheel Sharif, who heads the Islamic military coalition formed by Saudi Arabia, was not asked to speak either. "This is humiliation", leading newspapers bemoaned even as they are fuming at Trump's indifference.

The entire Opposition has slammed Prime Minister Sharif and has accused him of bringing disgrace to the country. Sharing the disgrace with him is British- born Pakistani barrister Khawar Mehmood Qureshi, though he has hit the headlines for a different reason.

A Queen's Counsel (QC) at Serle Court Chambers , London, Qureshi is bearing the cross for Pakistan's loss of face at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the La'ffaire Kulbhushan Jadhav case .

"Who hired the incompetent Qureshi", the Opposition is thundering. And the buck appears to stop at the door of the Foreign Office and Nawaz Sharif himself. Pakistan has no full-time foreign minister.

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We have his name, It is Salman Abedi. We have his age, he was 22-years-old and we know he was a British citizen of Libyan descent. What we don't know is what would make a 22-year-old strap on a bomb and at the perfect time set it off killing 23 people, many of them children, not to mention take his own life in the process.

Why? This is the question that remains after all is said and done. He was the second youngest of four children. Abedi grew up in a Muslim household and later went on to become a university dropout. Was that enough to turn him into a killer? We are hearing reports that Abedi was described as "normal" by people who knew him. One person went on to say, "He was always friendly, nothing to suggest he was violent. He was normal, to be honest." So, when did "normal" take on the face of "evil?"

Salman Abedi was a loner who kept to himself. He did not participate in any clubs or societies before dropping out and had no friends. He was often seen dressed in traditional Islamic clothing and his family was very religious. A neighbour reports that Abedi had taken to chanting in Arabic in public. He was heard saying, "There is only one God and the prophet Mohammed is his messager." Enough to set alarm bells ringing?

According to the French Interior Minister, Abedi had "proven" links to Islamic State. He went on to add, "All of a sudden he travelled to Libya and then most likely to Syria, became radicalised and decided to commit the attack." If If that much was known about Abedi, why wasn't he under closer surveillance?"

We know so much and yet so little about a young man who chose to kill himself and others in such a horrific fashion. Abedi's sister, Jomana, gave an insight into the mind of the killer. She blamed it on revenge for the U.S. air strikes in Syria. She told the Wall Street Journal, "I think he saw children-Muslim children-dying everywhere and wanted revenge. He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God!"

Revenge or not, it is the end result that grips at our hearts and tears at our souls. Abedi's anger and unresolved issues took so many young innocent lives and as the families involved mourn their dead, the world looks on in horror and heartache. We still don't have answers to what would make a 22-year-old on the threshold of life want to end his and the lives of so many others. Perhaps, the solution to getting to the heart of "terror" lies in those unanswered questions.

Until then, we will have to live with the fact that somewhere down the road, we will be faced with yet another attack, perhaps more deadly than the last. There are no ifs and buts about it, just when, where and how many dead?
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com.

In the first paragraphs of George Orwell's famed novel 1984, Winston Smith slips through the doors of his apartment building, "Victory Mansions," to escape a "vile wind." Hate week -- a concept that should seem eerily familiar in Donald Trump's America -- was soon to arrive. "The hallway," writes Orwell, "smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats." Smith then plods up to his seventh-floor flat, since the building's elevator rarely works even when there's electricity, which is seldom the case. And, of course, he immediately sees the most famous poster in the history of the novel, the one in which BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. ("It was one of those pictures... so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move.")

Now, imagine us inside our own "Victory Mansions," an increasingly ramshackle place called the United States of America in which, like Smith, we simply can't escape our leader. Call him perhaps "Big Muddler." He may not be looking directly at YOU, but he is, thanks to a never-ending media frenzy, remarkably omnipresent. Go ahead and try, but you know that whatever you do, however you live your life, these days you just can't escape him. And if Donald Trump's America isn't already starting to feel a little like that ill-named, run-down building in a future, poverty-stricken London, then tell me what it's like.

Can't you feel how rickety the last superpower on planet Earth is becoming as our very own Big-Muddler-in-Chief praises himself eternally for his "achievements"? Here's just a small sample from a recent graduation address President Trump gave at the Coast Guard Academy. (You know, the one where he so classically claimed that "no politician in history -- and I say this with great surety -- has been treated worse or more unfairly"):

"I've accomplished a tremendous amount in a very short time as president. Jobs pouring back into our country... We've saved the Second Amendment, expanded service for our veterans... I've loosened up the strangling environmental chains wrapped around our country and our economy, chains so tight that you couldn't do anything -- that jobs were going down... We've begun plans and preparations for the border wall, which is going along very, very well. We're working on major tax cuts for all... And we're also getting closer and closer, day by day, to great healthcare for our citizens."

This is, of course, all balderdash -- from the "big, fat, beautiful wall" the Mexicans were going to finance, for which he's requested $1.6 billion in the next budget (compared to the up to $67 billion it might actually cost) and which he's unlikely to get, to those scam jobs supposedly flooding in thanks to him. His urge is clearly to establish a fantasy America, a true Victory Mansion (undoubtedly with his name in golden letters above it) in the potential ruins of the country we once knew, which would indeed be an Orwellian trick of the first order. In the meantime, as TomDispatchregular Rebecca Gordon points out, President Trump and his coterie of cabinet plutocrats and advisers have been doing Orwell one better and, 33 years after 1984 passed us by, are in the process of creating their own memory hole down which they plan to stuff reality itself. Tom

Down the Memory Hole

Living in Trump's United States of Amnesia

By Rebecca Gordon The Trump administration seems intent on tossing recent history down the memory hole. Admittedly, Americans have never been known for their strong grasp of facts about their past. Still, as we struggle to keep up with the constantly shifting explanations and pronouncements of the new administration, it becomes ever harder to remember the events of yesterday, let alone last week, or last month. The Credibility Swamp Trump and his spokespeople routinely substitute "alternative facts" for what a friend of mine calls consensus reality, the world that most of us recognize. Whose inaugural crowd was bigger, Barack Obama's or Donald Trump's? It doesn't matter what you remember, or even what's in the written accounts or photographic record. What matters is what the administration now says happened then. In other words, for Trump and his people, history in any normal sense simply doesn't exist, and that's a danger for the rest of us. Think of the Trumpian past as a website that can be constantly updated to fit the needs of the present. You may believe you still remember something that used to be there, but it's not there now. As it becomes increasingly harder to find, can you really trust your own memory? In recent months, revisions of that past have sometimes come so blindingly fast that the present has simply been overrun, as was true with the firing of FBI Director James Comey. First, the president ordered up some brand new supporting documents from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein. These were designed to underpin his line that Comey was fired on their recommendation -- for being "unfair" to Hillary Clinton. Then, even as his surrogates were out peddling that very story, Trump told NBC's Lester Holt that, "regardless of [Sessions' and Rosenstein's] recommendation, I was going to fire Comey." And he explained why: "And in fact when I decided to just do it I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.'" Which rationale for Comey's departure is true? Both? Neither? What is "truth" after all? When the need to ask such questions occurs once in a while, it's anomalous enough that we notice. We have time to remark that someone or various people in this story -- Sessions, Rosenstein, the surrogates, Trump himself -- are mistaken or even lying. Fortunately, in the case of Comey's firing, journalists are still reporting the lies, but what happens if the rewrites of our recent history begin to come so fast that we stop keeping up? During the Vietnam War, President Lyndon Johnson was famously said to have a "credibility gap." People, including journalists, had stopped believing everything his administration said about one very important topic: the war. Trump doesn't have a credibility gap; he's tossed us into a credibility swamp. We're all there together swimming in a mire of truth and lies, with the occasional firecracker thrown in just to see if we're still paying attention.

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When the U.S. public was told that Spain had blown up the Maine, or Vietnam had returned fire, or Iraq had stockpiled weapons, or Libya was planning a massacre, the claims were straightforward and disprovable. Before people began referring to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, somebody had to lie that it had happened, and there had to be an understanding of what had supposedly happened. No investigation into whether anything had happened could have taken as its starting point the certainty that a Vietnamese attack or attacks had happened. And no investigation into whether a Vietnamese attack had happened could have focused its efforts on unrelated matters, such as whether anyone in Vietnam had ever done business with any relatives or colleagues of Robert McNamara.

All of this is otherwise with the idea that the Russian government determined the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. U.S. corporate media reports often claim that Russia did decide the election or tried to do that or wanted to try to do that. But they also often admit to not knowing whether any such thing is the case. There is no established account, with or without evidence to support it, of exactly what Russia supposedly did. And yet there are countless articles casually referring, as if to established fact to the . . .

"Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election" (Yahoo).

"Russian attempts to disrupt the election" (New York Times).

"Russian " interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election" (ABC).

"Russian influence over the 2016 presidential election" (The Intercept).

"a multi-pronged investigation to uncover the full extent of Russia's election-meddling" (Time).

"Russian interference in the US election" (CNN).

"Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election" (American Constitution Society).

"Russian hacking in US Election" (Business Standard)."

"Obama Strikes Back at Russia for Election Hacking" we're told by the New York Times, but what is "election hacking"? Its definition seems to vary widely. And what evidence is there of Russia having done it?

The "Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections" even exists as a factual event in Wikipedia, not as an allegation or a theory. But the factual nature of it is not so much asserted as brushed aside.

Former CIA director John Brennan, in the same Congressional testimony in which he took the principled stand "I don't do evidence," testified that "the fact that the Russians tried to influence resources and authority and power, and the fact that the Russians tried to influence that election so that the will of the American people was not going to be realized by that election, I find outrageous and something that we need to, with every last ounce of devotion to this country, resist and try to act to prevent further instances of that." He provided no evidence.

Activists have even planned "demonstrations to call for urgent investigations into Russian interference in the US election." They declare that "every day we learn more about the role Russian state-led hacking and information warfare played in the 2016 election." (March for Truth.)

Belief that Russia helped put Trump in the White House is steadily rising in the U.S. public. Anything commonly referred to as fact will gain credibility. People will assume that at some point someone actually established that it was a fact.

Keeping the story in the news without evidence are articles about polling, about the opinions of celebrities, and about all kinds of tangentially related scandals, their investigations, and obstruction thereof. Most of the substance of most of the articles that lead off with reference to the "Russian influence on the election" is about White House officials having some sort of connections to the Russian government, or Russian businesses, or just Russians. It's as if an investigation of Iraqi WMD claims focused on Blackwater murders or whether Scooter Libby had taken lessons in Arabic, or whether the photo of Saddam Hussein and Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands was taken by an Iraqi.

A general trend away from empirical evidence has been extensively noted and discussed. There is no more public evidence that Seth Rich leaked Democratic emails than there is that the Russian government stole them. Yet both claims have passionate believers. Still, the claims about Russia are unique in their wide proliferation, broad acceptance, and status as something to be constantly referred to as though already established, constantly augmented by other Russia-related stories that add nothing to the central claim. This phenomenon, in my view, is as dangerous as any lies and fabrications coming out of the racist right.
New Mexicans are strikingly proud of their cuisine. Due to the states geographic locale, as well as its rich history, it is a place at the crossroads of many cultures. A vibrant melting poter, roiling pot of green chile stew?of Mexican, Native and Spanish influences. The convergence of these diverse cultures make the local food singular. While outsiders may only conjure up images of sandy desert and mesa when they think of our state, Nuevo Mexicanos know that here there are fertile valleys where pistachio trees grow over rambling cascades and fruit trees flourish, while mountain tops watch over the scene from far away. From the borderlands to the mountainous north, to the four corners and Navajo Nation, there is many a food mecca within the great state, all of which are unique New Mexican.

As you eat your way through the great desert expanses of New Mexico, just be ready to choose your variety of chilethat is, red or greenwhen youre ordering up your food. New Mexico is the only state with an official question, and that is: Red or green? Travelers will find this a testament to the state passiongrowing, cooking and enjoying great food that is uniquely its own.



Photo by Erin Slonaker/Getty

Situated as the county seat of one of New Mexicos southernmost counties, Alamogordo has a lot of things going for it, one prime exampleits inhabitants claim it to be the friendliest city on Earth. While that declaration is highly dubious to anyone whos actually spent a good amount of time there, Alamogordo does assuredly have one of the worlds superlative things, and that is the biggest pistachio on the planet. Ok, its actually a statue of a pistachio, but it is still impressive. Billed as a New Mexico Treasure since 2014, this monument is evidence of southern New Mexicos rich agricultural lands. In fact, a huge swatch of Otero County is prime nut-growing land, and southern New Mexicans are exceedingly proud of their expertly farmed, flavored, packaged and delivered pistachios. McGinns Pistachio Tree Ranchhandily located on I-54, the busy corridor that leads to White Sands National Monumentboasts the giant pistachio attraction and the most variety of pistachios youre likely to find. Green chile, red chile, habanero-limon, garlic, ranch, lemon-line and more are all flavors of this alabaster-shelled nut youre likely to find within the massive outlet that is McGinns storefront. And growers in southern New Mexico do it all while using less water than growers in that other nut-growing state, California.



Photo by Education Images/UIG via Getty Images

A friend of mine from Albuquerque was recently in Portland, Ore. and saw vendors hawking Hatch green chile at the local farmers market. Clearly, the stuff is available in all reaches of the U.S. Yet, the only way to know if youre getting the authentic varietal of this piquant pepper is to go to the source. And that is the tiny town of Hatch and the surrounding environs of the Hatch Valley. While green chile of all manner can be grown in different regions (see: the battle raging between Colorado and New Mexico), as a Burquena, you know what side of the debate I fall onHatch green chile reigns supreme. And from August til early October New Mexicans celebrate the state food. During those months, the scent of roasted green chile is on the air throughout the state as enthusiasts roast the bounty of the green chile harvest. This roasting happens literally everywhere, from rural dirt lots to the local Whole Foods. That green chile is then incorporated into numerous dishesgreen chile stew, green chile apple pie, green chile cheese burgersyou name it, if theyre cooking it in New Mexico, its probably available with a dash of green chile on top. Though, one should note, a state-wide love of red chile is almost as prevalent as the regional commitment to green chile. Regardless of your red or green (or Christmas) preference, next time youre barreling northward on I-25, take a load off in Hatch, not just for the easy access to the worlds finest pepper, but to take in some small town quaintness. Hatch has its own share of odd statuary and green chile dishes and flair youre unlikely to find anywhere else.





This little town in the Tularosa Basin is barely a blip on the radar, but its rich railroad-related history is not something to be forgotten. Neither should we overlook the enigma that is its cider. In the last decade or so, the stuff has begun to be distributed nationally, though around the same time this brilliantly colored red drink was achieving fame, it started being made with extractive matters of cherry and cherry flavoring. If you love the taste of cherry flavoring more than the fruit itself, youre going to love the famous Carrizozo cherry cider. Really, sampling the cider is just an excuse to make the stop in this townthe kind of place where tumbleweeds look quite natural rolling down the dusty streets. Well worth a stop for any desert wanderer on the hunt for refreshment.



Photo By Chris Maddaloni/CQ-Roll Call

Shiprock is in the Navajo Nationan expansive autonomous stretch of land that extends throughout New Mexico, Arizona and Utahbut since it is just a hop skip and a jump (I mean that pretty much literally) from Farmington, New Mexico, and the portion that Shiprock occupies is on the New Mexico side of things, it must be mentioned as the preeminent place to get a Navajo taco. You can pick up these round, fluffy discs of heaven throughout the state, but the frybreadthe base of the Navajo tacois key. And in Shiprock, it is perfected. You can stop at one of several diners to pick up the taco, which is, at its most basic, frybread topped with the kind of stuff youd find in a tacobeans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and meator you may chance upon roadside stands that are serving up both frybread proper and decked-out Navajo tacos. This dish is an absolute must-eat on any journey through New Mexico. Not only will the blend of carbs, protein and fat power you through many more miles of travel, but the Navajo taco is the perfect archetype of New Mexican food as a whole, illustrating the convergence of multiple cultures on a single plate.

Main photo by Betsy Weber, CC BY 2.0
Since its founding by Laura Poitras, AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook in September 2015, Field of Visiona visual journalism film unit with an entirely free-to-watch digital archivehas emerged as one of the foremost producers and distributors of documentary reportage in the country.

Consider its offerings, each perfect in their modernity: showcases of original short-form work by new master directors like Kirsten Johnson, Adrian Chen, and Dustin Guy Defa; encrypted and secure submission options for sensitive or classified AV material; and, recently, acclaimed nonfiction features like Yance Fords Sundance premiere Strong Island and Poitrass disturbingly brilliant Julian Assange expose Risk.

At this infant stage, however, the works that most powerfully affirm the sites high standard are its binge-able, episodic docuseries. By serializing the work of independent journalists, FoVs in-depth reportage builds on its catalogue of short filmswhich focus primarily on the nuances of a single political concern or figure, like Johnsons military surveillance indictment The Above (2015) by using their length to explore a macrocosmic range of international conflicts and political situations, from xenophobia in Holland to the economic crisis in Greece to war-torn Syria.

With the battle for a free press increasingly fraught, the mere fact that the outlet produces, promotes and releases episodic televisual journalism pro bono is almost heroic in the context of most broadcast and cable news coverage. Still, cautious, thoughtful consumption is advised: If a common CNN segment is a milk-chocolate Hersheys bar, a Field of Vision episode is a bitter dark chocolate truffle.

FoV launched its first docuseries, #ThisIsACoup, in December 2015. Directed by photojournalist Theopi Skarlatos, narrated by producer Paul Mason and released in single segments over the course of four days, it incorporates a combination of extraordinary interviews and archival footage to depict the European Unions destruction of the first radical left government in modern history: Greeces SYRIZA party.

Watching the series now, nearly two years after its release, Skarlatoss expansive structural talent remains almost as impressive as the productions access. Through early 2015, she and Mason secured interviews with the leaders of SYRIZAincluding Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and former Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakisin the midst of desperate loan negotiations with the E.U. These exclusive conversations are visually panicked, urgent and hellish, presenting a nation on the brink of imposed austerity, yet the idealization of Greeces ferocious independence becomes the filmmakers primary theme.

Editor Andreas Loukakos helps to turn their political concerns passionately personal, alternating between dialogues with bureaucrats to hostile rioting that Mason describes as an epic clash akin to the Arab Spring. Meanwhile, Skarlatos speaks to a coterie of locals who widely share both the right to say no to austerity and the inclination. (One protestor, blaming Germanys chancellor, Angela Merkel, for Greeces financial stranglehold, gives the first episode its title: Angela, Suck Our Balls.)

In 2017, the sight of centuries-old democratic freedoms being impinged upon feels sickeningly familiar, primarily because Loukakos opts for a cyclical, Sisyphean chronology of push-pull bargaining. Foreign governments threaten virtual control over Greek lawmaking in exchange for desperately needed credit, while negotiations stall for months at a time. These monolithic superpowers loom in news footage like the spaceships in Arrival, days away from indenturing the countrys citizenry.

This kind of dystopian prescience is unusual for nonfiction series, especially one focused on a particular national crisis, but #ThisIsACoup welcomes reconsideration in the immediate present. Though Skarlatos and Mason set out to depict an isolated circumstance, the episodes increasingly move towards frighteningly accurate predictions of collapse (note the photographic resemblances between Greeces anti-austerity assemblies and recent images of The Womens March). For those of us in constitutionally challenged democracies, Field of Visions inaugural series remains unceasingly relevant in ways that television news may never be.

Poitras, Schnack and Cook edged closer to a traditional TV model with the release of The Journey in May 2016. Funded, filmed, produced and directed by Matthew Cassel, who faced severe personal risk to track a Syrian refugees attempts to reach Europe, FoV and The New Yorker originally co-released the six-episode series as The Journey from Syria. The slimmer title works better, however: Like the series, it is stark and precise, a reflection of Cassels elemental aesthetic.

After making contact with the filmmaker, Aboud Shalhoub trekked from Istanbul (where Cassel, an American citizen, was based) through Macedonia and into the Netherlands, seeking political asylum from a besieged Damascus. Jeweler and journalist took the treacherous journey togetherby raft, train, automobile, bicycle, footwhile cameraman Simon Safieh spent time with Shalhoubs wife and two children. Over thousands of kilometers and many months, the filmmakers arguably captured the most personal footage of any contemporary diaspora in documentary history.

Equipped with a Sony Action Cam and a Canon C100 Mark II, Cassel shoots largely on-the-fly, sporadically and almost abstractly, creating disjuncture in our sense of time and space. While Shalhoub and his brother move slowly through Eurasia, Cassel and editor/producer Olivia Dehez speed through the depiction of the journeys logistics, turning instead to scenes of humanistic warmth, like the Shalhoubs encounter with a displaced single mother and her harrowed daughters. To stave off tragedy (which is rare in the series), Cassel and Dehez allow these golden moments to soak in to the anxiously determined Shalhoub, and likewise, to those viewers who may have expected shots of Hanekean misery.

Shalhoubs voyage is depicted straightforwardly, yet The Journeys broader chronology is warped: As Cassel has said, he could only turn his cameras on for a moments shooting here and there, forced to switch them off again to preserve precious battery. The result is a kaleidoscopically visual series, with lush Mediterranean vistas and magnificent landscapes captured in brief splotches, then harshly juxtaposed in Dehezs exemplary edits with black Balkan nights and jittery hand-held getaways from immigration police.

It should be clear that the aesthetic chasm between The Journey and the simpler #ThisIsACoup is massive, with the former concluding on a note of unforced beauty that Skarlatos and Mason cynically (and rather cleverly) avoid. But the tonal difference in these projects benefits both: Ultimately, the two series establish their distributors idiosyncratic approach and thematic flexibility.

Immigration, finance, militarism, digital access: Watching these groundbreaking series take flight, one cannot imagine a subject or perspective off-limits for Field of Vision. Appropriately, in a confluence of television and journalistic traditions, the site has developed its own news cycle, releasing a mix of seasonal content in topical batches.

The most engaging projects from Spring 2017 (Season Four) include Maxim Pozdorovkins 12-minute documentary Our New President, a semi-satirical pastiche of Trumpian obsession in Russia; Clowns, a horrifying treatise on Americas collective fear of clowns; and last months touchingly humane The Moderators, about office workers monitoring the worlds social media sites. Docuseries, too, are a continued focus, with an upcoming episodic project about militias fighting ISIS, as well as a ten-film series on Americas president called Our 100 Days, promising some measure of viral fame for the company.

Yet, unlike its shorts, which Neon has recently opted to present theatrically in front of features like Risk (which, coincidentally, Poitras originally intended to be episodic), the impact of Field of Visions series will rely on their continued contrasts with the garbage-fire news medias partisan, punditry-heavy renditions of the same narratives. Skarlatoss and Cassels tremendous physical risks, for example, bear the visual fruits of extreme intimacy: There is no mistaking the experiential cinematics of their stories for mainstream nonfiction. As the Field of Visions profile expands, maintaining this intimacy across its programming could be its biggest challenge, and its greatest promise.

You can watch all episodes of The Journey and #ThisIsACoup now on Field of Vision.



Sean L. Malin is a media critic and producer based in Austin, TX. He is a frequent contributor to The Austin Chronicle and Filmmaker Magazine; and he is the editor-in-chief of CineMalin: Film Commentary and Criticism.
Yeti mechanic Shaun Hughes gets to work cutting down Richie's tires and readying his rig for practice.



Richie is running Minion DHFs front and rear...

...although with a cut chamfered edge to increase rolling speed.

Richie is sticking with the oh-so-successful SB6 this weekend. Whilst teammate Cody has opted for the big-wheeled SB5.5 to tackle the Wicklow stages on.

Sam Hill sits second in the overall and is reportedly riding Nukeproof's carbon Mega. Compare Sam's aluminum Mega behind one of the new carbon models. Details are limited, but the carbon version also has an aluminum rear suspension and 27.5" wheel.

A big move for Nukeproof with their first carbon frame. How will Sam fare on it this weekend?

Sam wasn't the only one to get a new Nukeproof this weekend, Nigel Page has been given a custom paint job.

Lewis Buchanan's Trek Slash is primed and ready for practice.

Cannondale have fresh paint jobs for the weekend.

Speaking of fresh...Is that a new Ibis Mojo HD...er...HD4? Yes. And, for clarification's sake, hell yes. Ibis' new enduro rig features revised geo and shock rate. Per the photo, the new Mojo HD also appears to just barely fit the FOX X2 shock with its reservoir on top, so there's clearance for a large water bottle on the downtube.

Matteo putting the finishing touches to Marco Osborne's bike. Jerome Clementz using a grip-shift to lock out his rear shock.

A new bike to the EWS circuit, the Identiti Mettle will be James Shirley's weapon of choice for the year.

The Mettle is the brand's first full suspension bike. Finished off in Gusset and Halo components and purple colourway, it's a bike that definitely stands out.

It was a day of strip downs and full rebuilds.

Joe Barnes' Spectral features a custom linkage that gives him a softer initial stroke with more support later in the stroke, which mechanic Craig says reduces fatigue on long stages.

A fresh build for Wyn Masters, the chromed Sanction sitting pretty in the Wicklow sunshine.

It has been a sunny start to the weekend in Wicklow as the teams and racers prepare their bike and bodies for what looks to be another tight day of racing come Sunday. We've been for a stroll through the pits to check out what the team mechanics were working on and a few things caught our eye, including a new carbon Nukeproof.
Where to Play Live Poker Tournaments in the UK & Ireland In June

May 25, 2017 Matthew Pitt Editor

The focus and attention of the poker world may be fixated on the 2017 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas during June, but if you are a poker tournament players hailing from the United Kingdom or Ireland, you have plenty of events to keep you on your toes that are much closer to home.

Nottingham is the place to be, Dusk Till Dawn to be exact, if you want to play in the tournament with the largest guaranteed prize pool. The folks at DTD and partypoker are running a 220 buy-in Grand Prix UK event which has a massive 1 million guarantee slapped on it.

Players in the Grand Prix U.K. can play several online Day 1s at partypoker and live Day 1s at DTD and a handful of other casinos from the UK and Ireland before heading to DTD to complete the event and, hopefully, win a slice of the seven-figure prize pool.

Kicking off the month is the 888 MAX at Aspers Casino Westfield, London. As the name suggests, this is an 888poker-sponsored event so players should expect a great structure and plenty of fun at the tables.

888poker also have an event in London during June, one taking place at the Village Green Card Club in Dublin. The 888Live Special Edition Dublin event runs June 8-12.

Toward the end of the month, the PokerStars Megastack heads to the Hippodrome Casino, London for its three-day festival, which includes a 170 Main Event and a 330 High Roller. Head to PokerStars to see if you can win your way into one of these events for a fraction of the cost.

Major live poker tournaments in the UK & Ireland during June 2017

Date Tournament/Festival Venue May 28-June 4 Rendezvous Poker Festival 2017 Rendezvous Casino, Brighton June 1-4 888 MAX Aspers Casino Westfield, London June 1-4 Grosvenor 25/25 Series Grosvenor Casino, Liverpool June 2-4 Unibet UK Poker Tour Alea Glasgow, Glasgow June 3 Monthly Special Grosvenor G Casino, Reading June 7 Anniversary Special Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin June 8-11 Grosvenor 25/25 Series Poker Room formerly The Vic, London June 8-11 Grosvenor 25/25 Series Grosvenor Casino, Leicester June 8-12 888Live Special Edition Dublin Village Green Card Club, Dublin June 10 The One Day Special Green Isle Hotel, Dublin June 12-18 2017 Genting Poker Series Mini Resorts World Birmingham June 15-18 Grosvenor 25/25 Series Grosvenor Leeds Merrion, Leeds June 15-18 Grosvenor 25/25 Series Grosvenor Casino Merchant City, Glasgow June 17 The Summer Sizzler Dolmen Hotel, Carlow June 17-25 partypoker Grand Prix UK Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham June 21-25 The LSPKR Mammoth Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin June 22-25 Grosvenor 25/25 Series Grosvenor G Casino, Thanet June 25-July 2 2017 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Leg 6 Poker Room formerly The Vic June 30-July 2 PokerStars Megastack London Hippodrome Casino, London

Sandwiched between the aforementioned are the 2017 Genting Poker Series Mini in Liverpool and the 100,000 guaranteed Grosvenor UK Poker Tour London Main Event. Half a dozen side events complement these events.

Then theres six of the popular Grosvenor 25/25 Series tournaments dotted up and down the country, each guaranteeing 25,000 for a 220 buy-in. Qualify for the GUKPT London Main Event and the 25/25 Series online at Grosvenor Poker.

If you're not heading to Vegas in June, why not follow all of the WSOP coverage via our live reporting pages and try to write your own headlines by winning one of the major live poker tournaments held in the UK & Ireland?

Schedule from The Hendon Mob Database
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 14:32:01

A.M. Best Affirms Credit Ratings of N.V. Unive Her

A.M. Best

Rishwinder Grewal

Financial Analyst

+44 20 73970321

rishwinder.grewal@ambest.com

or

Mahesh Mistry

Senior Director, Analytics

+44 20 7397 0325

mahesh.mistry@ambest.com

or

Christopher Sharkey

Manager, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

or

Jim Peavy

Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

james.peavy@ambest.com

A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of a of N.V. Unive Her (Unive Her) (Netherlands), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cooperatie Unive U.A. (Unive Group), a mutual insurance group domiciled in the Netherlands. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable.

The rating actions reflect Unive Hers integral role within the Unive Group and factors in the continued improvements that have been achieved in the groups risk management and corporate governance framework during recent years.

Unive Hers risk-adjusted capitalisation remains very strong, although the companys exposure to catastrophe losses subjects its balance sheet to potential volatility. A.M. Best expects Unive Hers capital position to remain at an excellent level over the longer term due to its ability to retain profits in more benign years. Furthermore, the company benefits from extensive capital buffers at the holding company level. A.M. Best considers that a well-defined capital allocation policy at Unive Group, established in 2015 as part of the implementation of Solvency II, strengthens capital governance throughout the group.

Unive Her has demonstrated improved risk management practices following underwriting losses reported in 2013 , that were due to an unusually high frequency of fire claims and one large natural catastrophe. In A.M. Bests view, the companys operating performance will continue to be volatile due to the nature of the business underwritten. However, Unive Her benefits from a well-established footprint in the Netherlands, given its unique relationship with the Unive mutuals, and the company carefully monitors its peak risk exposures and retrocession coverage. Unive Her in 2017 started to reinsure various product lines from N.V. Unive Schade (Unive Schade), with no retained risk being held with Unive Her.

The 12 Unive mutual entities are members of Cooperatie Unive U.A., the ultimate holding company of the Unive Group. These entities are regional mutual property insurers that combined have a good market position in the Netherlands. Unive Her, Unive Schade and Unive Services B.V. are the three operating subsidiaries of Cooperatie Unive U.A. Unive Schade provides commercial and personal insurance products, and Unive Services B.V. provides services to each of the other two subsidiaries. Unive Her is the groups reinsurer of property risks. All underwriting income is originated by the mutual companies, which individually retain a portion of property risk and transfer the rest to Unive Her.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Bests Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper [..].

A.M. Best is the worlds oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201705250055
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Automotive Engine Bearings Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027" report to their offering.

Automotive Engine Bearings Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 08:23:46

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In an automobile internal combustion engine, the engine bearing is usually a journal or a plain bearing on which the crankshaft rotates. The function of a bearing is to hold the crankshaft in place and to prevent the dislodging of connecting rod from the crankshaft. The engine bearing also plays a vital role in prevention of the force created by the piston and its transmission to the crankshaft, instead using the forces for the conversion of the reciprocating movements into rotation. The bearing is considered as one of the most important components of the engine assembly and its proper functioning is necessary to maintain the overall efficiency of the automobile. Research and development is going on in the field of automotive engine bearings in order to innovate the best suitable bearings for longer life and improved performance of the engine.The automobile engine parts and components have high wear and tear rate owing to its continuous operation to power the vehicle. The robust operation of the engine bearings is achieved if the material of construction possesses the properties such as high strength (wear resistance, cavitation resistance and load capacity) and softness (conformability, compatibility and embeddability).Global Automotive Engine Bearings Market: DynamicsThe market for automotive engine bearings exhibits a huge potential to grow, owing to the development and growth in the overall automotive sector. Moreover, in developed nations, high standard of living and rising disposable incomes have enabled consumers to use vehicles, which have all the aftermarket products fitted for the effective use of automobiles. Furthermore, growth in production of automobiles, is in turn, expected to fuel the growth of the automotive engine bearings market over the forecast period. The development in technology and research & development to produce more strong materials, which can sustain more load is also estimated to bolster the automotive engine bearings market growth. The replacement rate of the automotive engine bearings is high and thus automotive aftermarket holds a significant share in the automotive engine bearings market.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3757 Global Automotive Engine Bearings Market: SegmentationThe automotive engine bearings market can be segmented on the basis of product type, sales channel and vehicle type.By product type, the global automotive engine bearings market can be segmented as:Ball BearingsRoller BearingsPlain BearingsOthersBy sales channel,the global automotive engine bearings market can be segmented as:Original Equipment ManufacturersIndependent SuppliersBy vehicle type, the global automotive engine bearings market can be segmented as:Passenger CarsLight Commercial VehiclesHeavy Commercial VehiclesTwo WheelersRequest For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3757 Global Automotive Engine Bearings Market: Regional OutlookAsia Pacific and North America hold major shares in global automotive engine bearings market owing to the large number of automobiles present in these regions. Consumers tend to equip their vehicles with durable and robust parts so that their vehicle is in good condition and also to avoid breakdown of engines. These conditions are expected to act as catalysts for the growth of the overall automotive engine bearings market over the forecast period. The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations, which are the target markets of the automobile manufacturers will contribute significantly to the growth of the overall automotive engine bearings market over the forecast period. The automotive engine bearings market is projected to grow with a noteworthy CAGR owing to the increasing adoption of these systems in motorcycles and bikes globally.Global Automotive Engine Bearings Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global Automotive Engine Bearingsmarket identified across the value chain include:ORS BearingsNachi Fujikoshi Corp.MAHLE Aftermarket Inc.Minebea Co., Ltd.SNL Bearings Ltd.CW BearingNSK Ltd. King Engine Bearings, Inc.RBC BearingsSvenska Kullagerfabriken ABSchaeffler AG.Iljin Bearing Co., Ltd.RKB BearingsJtekt CorporationTimken CompanyWafangdian Bearing Group CorpC&U Bearing NTN CorporationBrowse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/automotive-engine-bearings-market
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Aviation Biofuel Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017  2027" report to their offering.

Aviation Biofuel Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 10:23:25

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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

Green Development is the first priority for large scale industries around the world, with the purpose of reducing their carbon footprint. The aviation industry contributes 2% in the emission of greenhouse gases, which may rise to 3% in coming future. Air transport, being a fast growing transport medium that carries around two billion people and employs 30 million people, plays a crucial role in accounting for carbon emission. It is thus important for the aviation industry to incline towards green development and switch to biofuels.The aviation biofuel market offers second generation sustainable biofuel as first generation biofuel could not meet cost expectations. The aviation biofuel market offers an alternative for current traditional jet fuel, and it is produced from natural feedstock and plant material, such as algae, jatropha and halophytes without acquiring agricultural land or fresh water resources. Thus, the aviation biofuel market is expected to dominate the aviation market throughout the forecast period, owing to its stability in operational cost and the reduced carbon emission advantage.Initiatives taken by the European Commission and by aviation industries involved in aviation biofuel production have introduced advancement in aviation biofuel in the European region, in order to achieve consumption of 2 million tonnes of biofuel in the European Civil Aviation sector over the forecast period. With the availability of sustainable raw materials at low prices, it is expected that the supply of aviation biofuel will be accessible across the Europe and on an international platform by 2030. Thus, aviation biofuel is projected to gain remarkable opportunities over the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3768 Aviation Biofuel Market: Drivers and RestraintsIn the aviation sector, traditional jet fuel is used, which is extracted from the kerosene fraction of crude oil under stringent regulations. Air transportation accounts for more than 10% in energy consumption on a global level. Among gaseous biofuels, electrification, and liquid biofuels, the most advanced substitute for the aviation sector is liquid biofuel, owing to its high specific energy content. With the objective of reduction in CO2 gas emission, the aviation biofuel market is expected to witness robust growth over the forecast period. The rising demand for bio jet fuel, with increasing international trade are expected to drive the aviation market globally, where hydrogenated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) is expected to become a promising alternative to supple ample amount of biofuel in the aviation biofuel market.European airlines, such as British Airways, Air France and Lufthansa, in co-ordination with Airbus and European aviation biofuel producers have initiated the endorsement of aviation biofuel in Europe. Also, the U.S. Federal government is evolving as an active promoter and buyer of aviation biofuel. An interagency biofuel partnership has been made between the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy in order to avail biofuel for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.However, strict regulations to maintain standard specifications in producing aviation biofuel may affect growth of the aviation biofuel market. This challenge can be overcome with innovative technologies over the forecast period.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3768 Aviation Biofuel Market: SegmentationThe aviation biofuel market can be segmented based on the certified production technology:Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO)Fischer-Tropsch (FT)The aviation biofuel market can be segmented based on the feedstock:SugarcaneCassavaGrassesIndustrial and Municipal WasteJatrophaAlgaeSweet SorghumAviation Biofuel Market: Region-Wise OutlookBased on geography, the aviation biofuel market is expected to remain predominant in the U.S. over the forecast period. Being a fast growing region in the aviation market, the U.S. civil aviation sector is estimated to account for a significant value share in the aviation biofuel market over the forecast period. The strategic expansion of aviation biofuel producing industries, along with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are expected to increase the consumption of biofuel by 1 Bn gal/Yr of sustainable aviation biofuel by 2018. Followed by the U.S., European nations are expected to witness robust growth in the aviation biofuel market in the coming decade.Oslo city, Norway has become worlds first airport to deliver jet biofuel, offering it on-tap to all airlines. Such a trend, of swapping into bioport to supply aviation biofuel is anticipated to boost the aviation biofuel market in this region over the forecast period. Other countries, such as Australia are taking initiatives to study the novel concept of bioport. Developing nations in Asia-Pacific region, such as India and China are expected to gain significant opportunities in the supply chain for providing feedstock to produce aviation biofuel in near future. Also, the target of attaining 7.5 billion gallons per year of aviation biofuel promoted by China is expected to offer significant opportunities for the aviation biofuel market in the coming future.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/aviation-biofuel-market Aviation Biofuel Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the aviation biofuel market are listed below:Honeywell International Inc.Red Rock BiofuelsTargray Technology International Inc.Vega BiofuelsArgent EnergyGEVOKFS Biodiesel GmbH & Co. KGPetroSun, Inc.Shirke EnergyArcher Daniels Midland Company
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 16:15:22

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for SmallCapPower--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - SmallCapPower (TSX:ACB). has issued a press release with the following headline:Canadian Cannabis Investing Insights from the Cannabis Life ConferenceTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on SmallCapPower, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:Source: SmallCapPower (TSX: ACB, TSX: APH, TSX: WEED)Date: May 25, 2017Time: 10:15 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of SmallCapPower and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
First sms tool to test routes via live nodes

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 10:36:09

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CM Telecom

Konijnenberg 30



Breda - 4825 BD



The Netherlands



Erik Eggens

PR Coordinator

+31765727000

email

http://www.cm.com/





# 477 Words

Konijnenberg 30Breda - 4825 BDThe NetherlandsPR Coordinator+31765727000

How can you ever really guarantee the quality of messaging routes when youre dealing with fake DLRs, grey routes and white listed test nodes? CM introduces the tool Texter, a complete new way of testing global sms delivery and routes.Solving a distorted viewTexter is an sms testing tool that uses live nodes to minimise the whitelisting of mobile numbers, which gives a distorted view of messaging delivery rates and route quality. Hence, Texter resolves the issue mobile operators, aggregators and mobile services companies experience: not knowing if a specific sms route delivers their messages to handsets.Live nodesTexter uses live nodes to verify if sms messages are delivered: Consumers worldwide can install an app, allowing them to make a little money in return for letting aggregators and operators use their phone as a live testing node. (Android) Phones all over the world can be used to test messaging routes and guarantee the best quality of SMS messaging. The Texter website displays live coverage of where live nodes are available to test routes for sms messaging.How does it work?With live nodes, people join and leave the community. This makes white listing impossible. The use of our ID code is also hard to grasp for current algorithms. Texter offers an API that can be easily integrated by telecom companies and mobile services businesses.Kristina Ristovska-Vidakovic, working with Texter: Texter is created for aggregators, MNOs and MVNOs, basically for every company that has the need to test the quality of the routes for SMS. Due to the current issues of the telecommunication market we face a lot of issues with gray routes, fake test results due to whitelisting, fake dlrs etc. All of this, results in losing customers and most of all the customers lose trust in the provider of the service. The idea for Texter came up as a solution on how to lower these issues first of all for us as a telecommunication company and then to offer it also to our partners, suppliers and clients. Why is Texter different from the others, is the fact that it is a dynamic database of numbers so the chance of whitelisting is much lower and the results are real time aggregated from the data from a real cell phone device, not a sim box. About Texter:Texter offers an application that enables customers all over the world to test their SMS text message routes and help them improve the quality and delivery rates of the messaging services they offer to their end-users.About CMTexter is part of CM. CM is an experienced global mobile services company using platform innovation since 1999. The Texter Testing tool is created based on the industry knowledge and experience, gathered throughout the years in the telecommunication industry.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 01:38:14

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Bow Energy Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Calgary, Alberta (FSCWire) - Bow Energy Ltd. (TSX Venture:BBLS). has issued a press release with the following headline:Correcting and Replacing: Bow Energy Ltd. Announces Closing of Indonesia AcquisitionTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Bow Energy Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Bow Energy Ltd.Source: Bow Energy Ltd. (TSX Venture: BBLS)Date: May 24, 2017Time: 7:38 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Bow Energy Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Electrical Steel Coatings Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2016-2026" report to their offering.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 12:08:49

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Growing adoption of large power transformers in heavy industries as well as residential sectors is driving the sales of electrical steel coatings. Particularly in developed countries, a majority of electrical steel coatings are used for manufacturing the core of such transformers. Higher surface insulation resistance and thermal stability are some of the key advantages that promote the use of electrical steel coatings in such applications. Future Market Insights recently published its report on the global market for electrical steel coatings, excerpts from which also indicate how increasing sales of hybrid cars and EVs are factoring the growth in demand for electrical steel coatings. According to the report, the global electrical steel coatings market is presently valued at US$ 211.9 Mn, and is expected to expand at 5.3% CAGR to reach US$ 353.6 Mn by the end of 2024.Apart from their use in manufacturing large power transformers, and motors of hybrid cars and EVs, electrical steel coatings are also gaining applicability in energy conservation measures. Eco-friendly production of various electrical equipment has necessitated the use of electrical steel coatings, especially for spiking energy efficiency of such equipment. While the global electrical steel coating revenues are projected to grow at a steady pace, the market is estimated to witness downtrend in terms of global consumption. Decreasing end-use sales of electrical steel coatings among potential buyers is said to impact the global consumption count, which recorded sales of 34,563 tonnes of electrical steel coatings in 2016.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3103 In the report, titled Electrical Steel Coatings Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, the demand for electrical steel coatings has been projected to be considerably high in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region. By the end of 2026, the APEJ electrical steel coatings market is expected to dominate by accounting for US$ 150 Mn revenues. While the region will register fastest revenue growth, Western Europes electrical steel coatings market is also predicted to grow robustly. Moreover, Japans electrical steel coating revenues will also soar at an impressive CAGR of 4.6%.US-based Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. is being profiled as one of the largest manufacturer & supplier of electrical steel coatings in the world. Companies such as AK Steel Holding Corporation, Proto Laminations Inc. and Polaris Laser Laminations, LLC are also contributing towards consolidation of electrical steel coatings market in North America. The global electrical steel coatings market will witness significant participation from APEJ companies such as Wuhan Iron & Steel (GROUP) Corp., and Filtra Catalyst and Chemicals Ltd., as well as Japans JFE Steel Corporation. Worlds leading steel manufacturer, ArcelorMittal SA, is also partaking in the growth of global electrical steel coatings market. Other companies profiled in this report include, thyssenkrupp AG, Rembrandtin Lack GmbH Ngf. KG, Cogent Power Limited, and Chemetall GmbH.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-3103 Key highlights of the report on global electrical steel coating market include:Development of water-based semi-inorganic coatings is slated to revolutionise the global electrical steel coating market.More than three-fourth of global electrical steel coating revenues arise from sales of C5 coatings.By 2026-end, nearly 80% of global electrical steel coating market value will be accounted by chrome-free coating materialsIn 2016, more than US$ 140 Mn worth of electrical steel coatings were globally consumed for non-grain-oriented applications.Over the forecast period, automotive motors will be remain as the most prominent end-use of electrical steel coatings in the world.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 15:20:16

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for First Colombia Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Nashville, TN (FSCWire) - First Colombia Gold Corp. (OTC Pink:FCGD). has issued a press release with the following headline:First Colombia Gold Corp Announces Projections on Coal LeaseTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on First Colombia Gold Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/First Colombia Gold Corp.Source: First Colombia Gold Corp. (OTC Pink: FCGD, ISIN: US3197142009, WKN: A112QT)Date: May 25, 2017Time: 9:20 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of First Colombia Gold Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017  2027" report to their offering.

Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 10:27:58

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Pressure Relief Valves are used to control the pressure in a system in case of a process upset, or equipment failure. The extra pressure in the systems is relieved through an auxiliary passage. A typical pressure relief valve is designed to operate at a predetermined set pressure to assist in protecting other vessels and equipment from being subjected to unsafe pressure. If the pressure in the system exceeded the relief valve automatically becomes the passage of least resistance and helps retain the pressure. Pressure relief valves finds application in a variegated range of industries ranging from F&B, Pharmaceuticals, Oil & Gas, Power and Paper & Pulp.Due to sluggish growth rate among most of these industries, the global pressure relief valves market is expected to expand with a moderate CAGR over the forecast period.Pressure Relief Valves Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe prime factor boosting the growth in the global pressure relief valves market is the reviving oil & gas and chemical industry, coupled with the rapidly growing industrialization efforts in the developing world. As companies relocate their manufacturing plants and set up new units across different geographies as per supply-demand scenario, demand for pressure relief valves is bound to increase. Increasing preference towards nuclear power generation particularly from countries such as India and China will also drive the demand for pressure relief valves. Furthermore, as most of the refineries showing plans for capacity expansion in near future, demand for pressure relief valves is anticipated to significantly increase. Rapidly increasing health and safety concerns across all industry verticals is another factor that is pushing existing industries to replace their legacy systems and upgrade to the new ones, thus fuelling more demand in the global pressure relief valves market.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3779 Pressure Relief Valves Market: Market SegmentationThe Pressure Relief Valves market is segmented into three parts based on product type, set pressure and end use industry:Based on product type, the Pressure Relief Valves market is segmented into:Spring loaded Pressure Relief ValvesPilot operated Pressure Relief ValvesDead weight Pressure Relief ValvesOthersBased on set pressure, the Pressure Relief Valves market is segmented into:High PressureMedium PressureLow PressureBased on end use industry, the Pressure Relief Valves market is segmented into:Oil and GasUpstreamMidstreamDownstreamChemical Processing IndustryPower IndustryPaper and Pulp IndustryTextile IndustryFood and Beverage IndustryPlastic IndustryLeather IndustryFertilizers and PesticidesPharmaceutical IndustryOthersRequest For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3779 Pressure Relief Valves Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, pressure relief valves market has been categorized into seven key regions including North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to dominate the global pressure relief valves market, amid, large number of chemical processing industries, and the rapidly expanding oil and gas production in the region. As oil and gas companies in the region explore more and more unconventional energy resources such as shale gas extraction, demand for pressure relief valves in the region is expected to remain high. Further, Western Europe being a global leader in chemical production is also anticipated to continue providing vast opportunity for pressure relief valves manufacturers. As, Asia Pacific Exc. Japan (APEJ) countries focus more on their domestic chemical production in turn relying less on western imports, demand for pressure relief valves in the region is expected to rise significantly. Moreover, on the backdrop of upcoming power generation projects inclusive of nuclear power plants in APEJ, the pressure relief valve market of the region is expected to grow throughout the forecast period. The Middle East and Africas pressure relief valves market is also anticipated to contribute significantly to the overall demand. Further, as oil prices revive demand for pressure relief valves in the region is expected to grow gradually. Japan is also a prominent region in terms of demand for pressure relief valves, however the growth rate is expected to remain moderate throughout the forecast period.Pressure Relief Valves Market PlayersSome of the key players identified in Global Pressure Relief Valves market are:-Pentair Ltd.Weir Group PLCGE CoCurtiss Wright Corp.LESER GmbH & Co. KGIMI plcAlfa Laval ABFlow Safe, Inc.Conbarco IndustriesVelan Inc.Watts Water Technologies, Inc.Goetze KG ArmaturenBrowse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/pressure-relief-valve-prv-market
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 16:11:19

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for GGX Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - GGX Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:GGX). has issued a press release with the following headline:GGX GOLD Initiates its Market Awareness Campaign Starting June 1 2017To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on GGX Gold Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/GGX Gold Corp.Source: GGX Gold Corp. (TSX Venture: GGX, WKN: A1JFMB , ISIN: CA76155T1093)Date: May 25, 2017Time: 10:11 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of GGX Gold Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
The 'Global and Chinese Organic Baby Food Industry, 2011-2021 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Organic Baby Food industry

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 04:54:24

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The Global and Chinese Organic Baby Food Industry, 2011-2021 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Organic Baby Food industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Organic Baby Food manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry. Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2011-2016 market shares for each company.Get sample Copy of this report@ http://www.researchtrades.com/request-sample/1014217 Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Organic Baby Food industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report then estimates 2016-2021 market development trends of Organic Baby Food industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out.Purchase copy of this report for single user price of $2800@ http://www.researchtrades.com/checkout/1014217 Table of ContentChapter One Introduction of Organic Baby Food Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Organic Baby Food1.2 Development of Organic Baby Food Industry1.3 Status of Organic Baby Food IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Organic Baby Food2.1 Development of Organic Baby Food Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Organic Baby Food Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Organic Baby Food Manufacturing TechnologyChapter Three Analysis of Global Key Manufacturers3.1 Company A3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Product Information3.1.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.1.4 Contact InformationBrowse Complete Report@ http://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-and-chinese-organic-baby-food-industry-2016-market-research-report About us:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.
Dispersant or Dispersing Agent is either a non-surface active polymer or a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 05:49:01

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Dispersant or Dispersing Agent is either a non-surface active polymer or a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping. The role of the dispersant is to make the dispersion process easier and more stable. Dispersants consist normally of one or more surfactants, but may also be gases.Get sample Copy of this report@ http://www.researchtrades.com/request-sample/1091397 Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Dispersants in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAir Products & ChemicalsAltana AG Arkema Group Ashland Inc. Basf SE Clariant AG Croda InternationalCytec Industries Elementis PLC Emerald Evonik Industries King Industries LubrizolRudolf Gmbh Dow Chemical UniqchemPurchase copy of this report for single user price of $3480 @ http://www.researchtrades.com/checkout/1091397 Table of Content1 Market Overview1.1 Dispersants Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Anionic Type1.2.2 Cationic Type1.2.3 Others2.1 Air Products & Chemicals2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Air Products & Chemicals Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Altana AG2.2.1 Business OverviewBrowse Complete Report@ http://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-dispersants-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022 About us:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.
Photo Printing and Merchandise Market:Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2016-2026 Research Report By Future Market Insights

Photo Printing and Merchandise Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 07:11:28

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According to Future Market Insights,Advent of digital imaging technology can be identified as the point from where roll films were ordained to go out of business.The declining demand for cameras with film rolls is directly associated with growing adoption of digital cameras. Consumers grew more inclined towards digital cameras, thereby making photo printing and merchandise obsolete.Furthermore, time consumed by dye sublimation photo printers added to this shift towards instantaneously-rendered digital images. Poor image quality and expensive costs of conventional inkjet printers further deterred consumers from photo printing & merchandise.Future Market Insights recent report predicts a very unavailing future for the global photo printing & merchandise market. Above factors have been compiled in the report to define the dynamics of global market for photo printing & merchandise. Based on these, the US$ 16.8 Bn market for photo printing & merchandise will see a decelerated revenue growth at 2.6% CAGR, bringing in just over US$ 21.7 Bn by the end of 2026. Future Market Insights projects that in the ten-year forecast period, photo printing & merchandise worth a little less than US$ 5 Bn will be sold across the globe. The report also highlights trends which will, in one way or another, boost the sluggish adoption of photo printing among digital age consumers.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1588 Firstly, manufacturers of photo printing merchandise are expected to maintain more focus on introducing kiosks for increasing marketing exposure. Companies like Fujifilm Group have already deployed their SmartPix photo kiosks across various commercial settings such as supermarkets, malls and camera shops, and have also augmented them with enhanced connectivity features. Instating NFC capabilities in photo printing kiosks can be also observed as another promising opportunity for manufacturers to generate interest among customers towards conventional photo printing.Although, almost half of global photo printing & merchandise revenues are likely to be coming from online sales. While instant kiosks account for less than 10% of the market value, online distribution of photo printing & merchandise will bringing more than US$ 12.2 Bn revenues through 2026. Meanwhile, distribution of photo printing & merchandise through retail channels will be scaling down rigorously, exhibiting a negative 1.6% CAGR during the forecast period.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1588 The report has analysed that in 2016, an estimated one-third of global photo printing & merchandise revenues emanated from sales of film printing. This indicates that a majority of consumers are preferring digital printing merchandise. Also, over the forecast period, the report projects an impressive growth in demand for mobile application-based photo printing. Desktop applications are expected to lose out to mobile applications as this mode of printing is projected to register a comparatively faster revenue growth at 4.9% CAGR.The report also predicts fastest revenue growth in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan region  3.9% CAGR. North America is also expected to dominate with nearly one-fourth stake in global revenues, although the region is likely to lose out its presence beyond 2020. Leading manufacturers of photo printing & merchandise, profiled in the report, include Sanpfish, Eastman Kodak Company, Cimpress NV, Bay Photo Inc., Digitalab, AdoramaPix LCC, Shutterfly, Inc., and Mpix.
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Linear Actuators Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017  2027" report to their offering.

Linear Actuators Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 10:25:31

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Linear actuators assist in converting energy into straight line motions, generally for positioning applications. Most of the linear actuators are either mechanical or electro-mechanical devices that provide controlled movement and positioning. These actuators are primarily used in industrial machinery, computer peripherals, valves, and many other places where linear motion is required. A typical linear actuator generally produces push and pull action. As most processes across a variegated range of industries gets automated, the global linear actuators market is expected to expand with an impressive CAGR throughout the forecast period.Linear ActuatorsMarket: Drivers & RestraintsThe major factors boosting the growth of linear actuators market is rising automation across manufacturing industry. Industrial objectives such as achieving complete factory automation, and integrating Industrial Internet of Things are some of the prime reasons that will drive more demand for linear actuators. While, rising industrialization particularly in the third world countries is another factor that will drive the demand in the global linear actuators market, on the backdrop of increasing number of factories. As the number of research studies conducted increases, demand for telescopic actuators is expected to increase significantly. Also as companies overcome their legacy systems to achieve higher efficiency, and replace existing actuators with new ones, demand for linear actuators is expected to rise. Furthermore, as an increasing number of industrial process adopt self-control and positioning demand in the linear actuators market is expected to continuously rise.However, as concerns regarding employment rises among most countries on the backdrop of increasing automation in factories, demand for linear actuators might get sluggish over the end years of the forecast period. Adoption of 3D printing in many industries is another factor that will restrain the demand for linear actuators, as usage of machines will decrease.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3778 Linear ActuatorsMarket: Market SegmentationThe Linear Actuators Market is segmented into two parts based on operation type and end use industry:Based on operation mechanism, the linear actuator market is segmented into:MechanicalHydraulicPneumaticPiezoelectricElectro-mechanical actuatorsBased on End Use Industry, the linear actuator market is segmented into:AutomotiveMedical/HealthcareEnergy and Mining,SteelConstructionMilitaryChemicalOthersRequest For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3778 Linear Actuators Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, linear actuators market has been categorized into seven key regions including North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.A prominent share of the demand for linear actuators comes from North America, and the region is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Furthermore, with more inclination towards shifting manufacturing in US from China and other ASEAN countries, demand for linear actuators will further rise in the region. Asia Pacific Exc. Japan is another prominent shareholder in terms of demand for linear actuators, amid, large manufacturing sector of China. Moreover, with India and Indonesia picking up at a fast pace, demand for linear actuators is expected to expand with a bullish growth rate over the forecast period. Being home to large automotive and research base companies, Western Europe is another prominent region generating huge demand for linear actuators. Eastern Europe is also expected to generate descent demand for linear actuators, particularly from energy and defense sector. Rising industrialization and the already dominant oil and gas industry of Middle East and Africa is the prime reason driving automation in the Middle Eastern region. Thus driving more demand for linear actuators. Japan is another prominent industrial nation, which drives demand for linear actuators, due to high automation penetration in their industries coupled with growing semiconductor industry of the region.Linear Actuators Market: Key PlayersSome of the players identified in Global Linear Actuators market are:-Duff-NortonHelix Linear Technologies, Inc.Altra Industrial MotionTolomatic, Inc.Fabco-Air, Inc.Actuonix Motion DevicesTusk Direct, Inc.Bishop-Wisecarver CorporationBEI Kimco MagneticsBurr Engineering & Development CompanyDel-Tron Precision, Inc.Rollon India Pvt. Ltd.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/linear-actuators-market
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Key Opinion Leader Management Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014-2020" report to their offering.

India Air Treatment Products Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 09:15:59

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# 728 Words

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The air treatment equipment includes those products which modify or change the technological characteristics and properties of air. This modification may include the treatment of harmful gases present in the air, increasing or decreasing the air temperature, compressing the air, removal of harmful microorganism from the air, increasing or decreasing the air pressure, removal of extreme odours and others. The air treatment equipment includes air compressor, air dryers, air washers, air filters, injectors and others.?On the basis of application the air treatment products are available for both industrial and domestic use. It is also used for roadways vehicles, waterways vehicles such as for ships, marines, and also for airways such as in aeroplane, spaceship, fighter plane and others. For domestic use air treatment equipment are offered to the consumers in the modified form and available in the consumer durable products for their convenient use. The air treatment consumer durable product includes hot air blowers, air conditioners, automatic washing machine, microwave, oven, automatic washer dryers, hair dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers and others.On the basis of domestic use the air treatment products is sub-segmented into air conditioner, air purifier, humidifiers and dehumidifiers and others. Among all these sub-segments air purifiers are further sub-segmented into air filters purifiers, ionizing purifiers, ozone generators, adsorbents and others. Whereas air conditioners is sub-segmented into room air conditioners, split air conditioners, window air conditioners and others.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-in-246 Globally Asia-pacific is considered to be the highest market for the air treatment products followed by North America and Europe. In Asia Pacific China, India and Japan represent ample opportunities for players in this market. This growth in these countries is supported by increasing number of health conscious consumers and rising disposable income of the consumers.Among all these countries, India accounted for low growth for air treatment products in 2011 due to economic slowdown. Moreover, the demand of air conditioner segment also registered less growth as monsoon arrived early in the country. However, the market growth for air treatment product showed a positive growth in 2013 due to rise in country economic condition and urge of the consumer for better and healthier life. It is expected that India will show a potential growth for air treatment products in the forecasted period. This growth will be supported by rise demand for air conditioners in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and others due to rise in heat and temperature. It is expected that air conditioner will occupy the largest position of the pie as the consumers in India are making their switch from ceiling fans or table fans to air conditioner. Among all the sub-segments of air conditioner, split air conditioner is expected to show the highest growth. Furthermore, it has been found that awareness among the consumers for purified air will also fuel the market growth for air treatment products in India. States such as Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat is expected to support the growth of air purifiers as these states possess large number of industries.In India, high entrant of manufacturing industries, outsourcing companies and rise in commercialization are some of the major drivers supporting the market growth. In addition, increase in number of health consciousness among the consumers coupled with rising disposable income is also expected to fuel the market growth for air treatment products in India.However, the market of air treatment products in India possess some restraining factors. This includes lack of awareness among the consumers regarding the product such as humidifiers, dehumidifiers and others. Additionally, the consumers perceives these products as quite expensive and also it is considered as a luxury product and not an absolute necessity.The key players for air treatment products in India includes Bajaj Electricals Ltd, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd., Usha International Ltd., Panasonic Corp, Atlas Copco AB, Eureka Forbes, OSIM International, SANYO Electric Co ., Ltd and others.This research report presents a comprehensive assessment of market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically-supported and industry-validated market data and projections with a suitable set of assumptions and methodology. It provides analysis and information by categories such as market segments, countries and types.Visit For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-in-246 The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies InvolvedTechnologyValue Chain
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 02:01:01

IoT consortium to demonstrate interoperability across devices and industries at Computex Taipei, The Automotive Linux Summit and CES Asia

Open Connectivity Foundation to Showcase Internet of Things Innovations at Industry Events in Asia

Open Connectivity Foundation

Richard Brown, (886)-2-2218-5452 #6201

RIBrown@via.com.tw

The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), a leading Internet of Things (IoT) standards [..], is announcing its participation at three upcoming events throughout Asia. At Computex 2017, Automotive Linux Summit and CES Asia, OCF will showcase member innovations in the IoT space, spanning industries including industrial, smart home and automotive.

Computex 2017: OCF is headed to Taipei to host a half-day seminar with III (Institute for Information Industry) on June 1st, and explore opportunities for promoting the development of a common framework for Smart Home and IoT innovation.

Date: May 30  June 3, 2017

Location: Taipei, Taiwan

Meeting Room #3, Taipei World Trade Center, No. 1 Section 5, Xinyi Rd

Automotive Linux Summit: Join OCF in Japan to hear Samsungs IoT software engineer Phillipe Coval speak on OCFs open source framework, IoTivity, and interoperability in the connected car industry, and provide insights on the keys to designing new vehicle-to-everything (V2X) use cases.

Date: May 31  June 2, 2017

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Booth #: 3 Chome 11-1 Ariake  Tokyo Conference Center

CES Asia 2017: OCF members such as Intel, Haier, VIA, and Beechwoods will showcase interoperability from OCFs interactive booth, with demos of their certified products, capable of communicating seamlessly through IoTivity.

Date: June 7-9, 2017

Location: Shanghai, China

Booth #: Hall N2 /2204  Shanghai New International Expo Centre & Kerry Hotel

About the Open Connectivity Foundation

Billions of connected devices (phones, computers and sensors) should be able to communicate with one another regardless of manufacturer, operating system, chipset or physical transport. The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is creating a specification and sponsoring an open source project to make this possible. OCF will unlock the massive opportunity in the IoT market, accelerate industry innovation and help developers and companies create solutions that map to a single open specification. OCF will help ensure secure interoperability for consumers, business, and industry. The AllSeen Alliance now operates under the Open Connectivity Foundation. For more information, please visit www.openconnectivity.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201705240063
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the RFID Pallet Wrappers Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017  2027" report to their offering.

RFID Pallet Wrappers Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 10:33:52

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# 684 Words

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

RFID pallet wrappers are the machine that wraps a stretched film of plastic around a loaded pallet to provide primary function of extra support to products being transported, and with the new technological advancement of RFID labels embedded in the machine, the shipment can be tracked from several feet away. RFID pallet wrappers are the buzz in the packaging industry as it helps to improve the supply chain and thus improve quality. The mounted RFID refers to radio frequency identification refers to an electronic device which consists of chip and antenna. The inevitable process of manufacturing and distribution that involves the package to travel in a conveyor and since tracking product movement is the key aspect for RFID. Thus its an important function that the antenna should be able to track tagged packages. The RFID pallet wrappers help to provide distinctive ID to each product wrapped and with individual information such as date shipped, manufacturing location, lot number, etc. After the wrapping process, the labels is printed with the help of thermal-transfer printer that is human readable information and then is encoded with RFID. The application of RFID pallet wrappers has penetrated in improving the supply chain in retail, transportation, and automation.Global RFID Pallet Wrappers Market: DynamicsWithstanding the soft economy RFID pallet wrappers deployment has gained tremendous traction in last year. The key driver to RFID pallet wrappers is its ability to track pallet and identify valuable commodities in the course of global commerce. Moreover, the asset tracking helps to maintain the whereabouts of the valuable asset that is fueling the growth of the RFID pallet wrappers. RFID pallet wrappers, especially with ultra-high frequency, is a potential factor for the growth of the market. Owing to its perfect match for tracking and asset management and getting a return on investment. Moreover, the tags can be encrypted to provide minimum information of the package thereby securing the details. Through RFID pallet wrappers faster delivery of the order and fill the order in a timely manner, and customer relationship is ensured, the potential factor adds advantage to the growth of RFID pallet wrappers. The companies driving RFID pallet wrappers market are Wal-Mart Stores Inc., The Home Decor Inc., ACE Hardware Corp, and Wegmans Food Market Inc. are some of the major companies that use RFID pallet wrappers for improvement of business process and overall supply chain operation. Enabling such infrastructure that is fully equipped with RFID pallet wrappers requires relatively higher investment as compared to traditional method of pallet wrapping which is a challenging factor to the growth of RFID pallet wrappers market.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3782 Global RFID Pallet Wrappers Market: SegmentationBased on RFID: Global RFID Pallet Wrappers Market is segmented intoUltra-High FrequencyHigh frequency and Near Field CommunicationLow FrequencyDual Frequency (NFC & UFH)Global RFID Pallet Wrappers Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global RFID pallet wrappers market is divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America holds the major share in the RFID pallet wrapper market due to rising demand for packaging in manufacturing and food & beverage industry. The market in APAC and Latin America is expected to be the prominent contributor to the growth of RFID pallet wrapper market owing to the proliferation of manufacturing industries in the region. The regions in Europe is anticipated to grow at moderate CAGR; this is due to the restrained manufacturing operation in the Western and Eastern Europe. The strong development in the region of MEA for pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and food & beverage industry is anticipated to attract demand for RFID pallet wrappers over the forecast period.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3782 Global RFID Pallet Wrappers Market PlayersFew of the prominent players in the global RFID pallet wrappers market are as followsREO-PACKKalamazoo Packaging SystemsPallet Wrapz, Inc.AIDA Centre, S.L.Lantech, IncEAgile Inc.SATO America, LLC.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/rfid-pallet-wrappers-market
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Speciality Malt Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2016-2026" report to their offering.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 11:54:47

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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

In parallel with the rise in global consumption of alcoholic beverages, local entrepreneurs from all corners of the world have begun treading the waters of brewing businesses. A considerable rise in the number of microbreweries being set up across the globe is stimulating the growth in consumption of specialty malts  a key ingredient for making alcoholic beverages such as beer. Innovations in brewing techniques has further consolidated the application of specialty malts in production of flavoured alcoholic beverages.A new research report from Future Market Insights reveals that the global market for specialty malts, which is currently valued at an estimated US$ 2.16 billion, is expected to soar at a steady CAGR of 6.4% and bring in revenues worth over US$ 4 billion by 2026 end.Since the growth in demand for specialty malts continues to remain contingent upon global alcoholic beverage consumption, more than one million tonnes of specialty malts are anticipated to be consumed through 2026. Incidentally, this will also shore up the global production of barley, wheat, corn, soybean and other grains used for deriving specialty malts. By lending a unique flavour, texture, and colour, the application of specialty malts continues to gain significance in production of beverages, revenues from which will impose nearly 90% share on global specialty malts market value throughout the forecast period. The research reveals that revenue share of alcoholic beverages in the global specialty malt market will remain consistent at nearly 82% through 2026. Meanwhile, about 130,000 tonnes of specialty malts were globally consumed for production of non-alcoholic drinks & beverages in 2016.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2439 Western Europe  Largest Consumer of Specialty MaltsWhen it comes to consuming flavoured alcoholic beverages, consumers in Western European countries such as Germany, France or Belgium will certainly not shy away. By the end of the forecast period, more than 500,000 tonnes of specialty malts will be consumed across Western Europe, making it the largest consumer of specialty malts in the world. With respect to production, the demand for specialty malts will register stellar growth in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region. The APEJ specialty malts market will register the highest value CAGR of 7.8%, and procure over US$ 1 billion revenues during the projected period. North America and Latin America are anticipated to account for a collective share of more than 24% in global specialty malts revenues through 2026.Cargill, Inc.  Largest Producer of Specialty MaltsWith more than 10% share in global revenues, Cargill Incorporated will retain its title as the largest producer of specialty malts in the world. With its manufacturing plants based in Germany, the company will also boost the status of Western Europe in the global specialty malts market. Joining Cargill in inducing higher production of specialty malts are prominent European companies, namely, IREKS GmbH, Viking Malt Oy, Groupe Soufflet, Malteurop, Axereal and Simpsons Malt Limited. Other key producers of specialty malts profiled in the research report include Australias GrainCorp Ltd., the Cooperative Agraria Agroindustrial of Brazil and Barmalt India Pvt. Ltd.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-2439 In the report, titled Specialty Malts Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, Future Market Insights discloses that global demand for caramelised malts will incur a decline in 2017 and beyond. While their dominance on global market revenues will be retained through 2026, the rate at which caramelised specialty malts are consumed in the world will be outpaced by surging consumption of roasted malts. By the end of forecast period, more than US$ 1.5 billion worth of roasted specialty malts are being projected to be sold in the world. Over two-third of global specialty malts production will be sourced from barley grain produce. Although, advancing farming techniques will also increase the production of specialty malts from wheat and rye grains. Likewise, dry extracts of specialty malts will dominate the global specialty malts revenues by accounting for a steady share of 69%. On the other hand, liquid and malt flour extracts will lose market presence in the years to come, exhibiting a marginal dip in their global revenue share.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 16:38:02

Feline Only Veterinary Practice Staffed by Cat Experts

To book an appointment call 0203 740 1112 or visit http://www.thelondoncatclinic.co.uk/

Streetcat Bob Opens The London Cat Clinic

For The London Cat Clinic

Lindsay Vetch / Christian Mahne

020 3488 31000

office@vetchmahne.com

The London Cat Clinic, a brand new purpose built feline-only practice was opened today by Bob the Streetcat and owner James Bowen. The clinic is situated at 82-86 Spa Rd, in the heart of the Bermondsey regeneration area. Catering for the health and well being of all cats from kittens through to their 'golden' years, the state of the art 2500 sq ft clinic is the brainchild of feline veterinarian Dr Jeremy Campbell. It is the realisation of three years hard work, transforming his passion for feline medicine and expert healthcare into the largest independent single species practice in London.

One of only 20 vets in the UK to have qualified as Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Advanced Practitioner in Feline Medicine, Dr Campbell explains Every detail of the London Cat Clinic has been carefully designed with the welfare and comfort of our patients in mind. As cat experts and owners, we know that cats like to control their environment and away from home they can become easily stressed. We have created a light, airy, spacious place where cats will immediately feel relaxed and we can effectively examine and accurately diagnose any underlying signs of illness or disease which are easily hidden if the cat is anxious. From booking an appointment to the time you leave, our mission is to make sure you and your cat receive outstanding care.

The clinic offers a unique drop off service for Londons busy lifestyles, allowing owners to leave their cats under the expert care of Dr Campbell while they are at work. Each patient will be given a 20 minute consultation in a room designed to exceed the Gold Standards set by the International Society of Feline Medicine [..].

There are special 'Cat Cubbies' in the consult rooms, cat-sized cut-outs in the wall that are ideal for nervous cats to walk up into using 3 large steps that they can step/perch on as they choose. They have been created specifically to reduce anxiety during consultations.

Advanced diagnostic and surgical procedures can be performed on-site using the clinics cutting edge ultrasonography, radiography, endoscopy and laparoscopy equipment. All procedures are tailored to specific feline requirements right down to the size of the equipment and the circulated warm air blankets used to maintain body heat during surgery.

Patients required to stay at the clinic are kept safe and warm on a climate-controlled ward. The accommodations specifically designed and built using the best materials to keep noise down and retain warmth and are larger than the standard size. The clinic can even offer tinted doors for those kitties who love their privacy.

Video, Audio and Photo assets for free use of media via this link:

https://spaces.hightail.com/space/4LC94rPe8J

ENDS

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Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Acrylic Lenses Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017  2027" report to their offering.

Acrylic Lenses Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 08:53:41

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# 637 Words

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

The increasing prevalence of vision problems such as myopia, hypermetropia, cataract, and astigmatism has triggered the demand for acrylic lenses. Acrylic lenses are increasingly preferred over glass lenses due to various advantages, such as lightweight, high break resistance and spark resistance, it offers. As per World Health Organization (WHO), there are 285 million visually impaired people across the globe. Moreover, WHO lists that the major reasons for visual impairment are glaucoma, refractive errors and cataract. Growing safety concerns among people to prevent these problems is expected to upsurge the demand for acrylic lenses market. Additionally, improvement in the healthcare facilities and shifting focus towards acrylic lenses over glass lenses are further estimated to influence the growth of the global acrylic lenses market.Based on application, corrective acrylic lenses are expected to dominate the global acrylic lenses market. However, therapeutic lenses are projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Based on design type, toric lenses and accommodative acrylic lenses are expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. Based on product type, hydrophilic lens is expected to dominate the global acrylic lens market owing to their ease of implantation during surgery.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3762 Acrylic Lenses Market: DriversIncreasing demand for acrylic lens due to its advantages over glass lens is projected to drive the growth of the global acrylic lenses market. Moreover, rise in the count of diabetic patients coupled with increasing risk of cataract among the diabetic patients are two main factors estimated to escalate the demand for acrylic lenses during the forecast period. Additionally, increase in incidences of ocular and ophthalmic conditions is further expected to drive the growth of global acrylic lenses market. Moreover, continuous innovations in the field of accommodative and toric lenses will also fuel the demand for acrylic lenses in the near future.Acrylic Lenses Market: RestraintsOne of the major factors affecting the growth of the global acrylic lens market is the high initial cost of the acrylic lens. Moreover, lack of reimbursement is further expected to hamper the growth of the global acrylic lenses market. Additionally, problems such as photophobia, corneal allergy and perilimbal infection due to continuous use of lenses are expected to restrict the growth of the global acrylic lenses market.Acrylic Lenses Market: SegmentationThe global acrylic lenses market can be segmented on the basis of product type, design type, and applications. On the basis of product type, the market can be further segmented into hydrophilic acrylic lenses and hydrophobic acrylic lenses. On the basis of design type, the global acrylic lenses market can be further segmented into spherical acrylic lenses, aspherical lenses, toric lenses, multifocal lenses and toric multifocal lenses and accommodative lenses. On the basis of application, the global acrylic lenses market can be further segmented into therapeutic lenses, lifestyle, corrective lenses and cosmetic lenses.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3762 Acrylic Lenses Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of region, North America is expected to be a promising revenue generating region owing to increasing adoption of technologically advanced products. Asia Pacific, led by China and India, is projected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. Increasing ophthalmic cases in Asia Pacific is expected to fuel the demand for acrylic lenses during the forecast period. Latin America is expected to witness substantial growth in the near future. Europe and Middle East & Africa are expected to witness positive growth during the forecast period.Acrylic Lenses Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants identified in the global acrylic lenses market are as mentioned below:Polyoptics GmbHLensOpticEyeKon Medical, Inc.Bausch & Lomb, Inc.American HydronBarnes HindCooperVisionWesely-JessenAmerican OpticalSyntexHoya CorporationAbbott Medical Optics, Inc.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/acrylic-lenses-market
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Lithium Bromide Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017  2027" report to their offering.

Lithium Bromide Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 09:03:36

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# 680 Words

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

Lithium bromide is a hygroscopic white crystalline organic compound. It is manufactured by the reaction between hydrobromic acid and lithium carbonate. Being hygroscopic in nature, lithium bromide is mainly used as a desiccant for air-conditioning and also, in industrial drying systems. Lithium bromide has a strong affinity towards water, owing to which a water-lithium bromide solution is used in vapour absorption refrigeration systems. In the pharmaceutical industry, lithium bromide is used as a hypnotic and sedative in medicine, and it is used in the manufacturing of various pharmaceutical products. Furthermore, lithium bromide finds application in metal working, such as in brazing and welding fluxes, among others.Lithium Bromide Market: DynamicsWith the growth of the chemical industry across the globe, the demand for materials involved in manufacturing processes is also increasing. Increasing demand for lithium bromide in refrigeration and drying applications is expected to in turn drive growth of global lithium bromide market over the forecast period. Along with this, the increasing use of lithium bromide in chemical synthesis is another factor that is anticipated to drive the market growth. Furthermore, owing to the growing automotive industry and infrastructure development, the demand for metal working fluids and auxiliary materials is expected to register steady growth, this in turn is expected to result in an increase in the demand for lithium bromide for brazing and welding fluxes. On the other hand, the corrosive nature of lithium bromide limits its use for various applications, and this is likely to act as an impediment to growth of global lithium bromide market during forecast period.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3763 Lithium Bromide Market: SegmentationOn the basis of type of compound, the global lithium bromide market is segmented into solid and aqueous type. Further, on the basis of application, the global lithium bromide market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, air-conditioning, industrial drying, metal working, chemical synthesis, and others.Lithium Bromide Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of consumption, the global lithium bromide market is mainly dominated by the Asia Pacific region. Steady growth in chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries in the APAC region and the increasing demand for medicines is expected to translate into an increase in demand for lithium bromide. In APAC region, China, followed by India is a major market for lithium bromide in terms of value and volume. The APAC lithium bromide market is expected to register a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. North America and Europe collectively hold the second spot in terms of market volume share.Rising demand for air conditioning, industrial drying and chemical synthesis applications in North America and Europe are expected to drive the increase in demand for lithium bromide over the forecast period. In Europe, Western Europe dominates the lithium bromide market in terms of consumption. North America and Europe lithium bromide markets are expected to register steady growth over the forecast period. In the Middle East & Africa region, Israel is a major producer of bromine compounds, owing to the presence of the Dead Sea  a major reserve of bromine. The MEA lithium bromide market is expected to register steady growth over the forecast period. Latin America is projected to register slow growth over the forecast period.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3763 Lithium Bromide Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global lithium bromide market, identified across the value chain includeAlbemarle Corporation, FMC Corporation, Nanjing Taiye Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.,Honjo Chemicals, Leverton-Clarke Speciality Chemicals, ICL Industrial Products, Shanghai China Lithium Industrial Co. Ltd. (SCL), Westman Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Shreenivas Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Deep Pharm-Chem Pvt. Ltd., and Axiom Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., among others. The market of lithium bromide is a highly consolidated market. Manufacturers of lithium bromide are adopting the strategy of backward integration as a few key players account for a major share of bromine reserves. The limited availability of bromine reserves helps these players cater to the increasing demand for lithium bromide and increase their footprint in the global market.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/lithium-bromide-market
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-25 22:05:15

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ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Tsodilo Resources Limited--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - Tsodilo Resources Limited (TSX Venture:TSD). has issued a press release with the following headline:Tsodilo Resources Limited Awarded Key Diamond Exploration License In The Orapa Kimberlite Field (Botswana)To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Tsodilo Resources Limited, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Tsodilo Resources LimitedSource: Tsodilo Resources Limited (TSX Venture: TSD, ISIN: CA8985301008, WKN: A0B880)Date: May 25, 2017Time: 4:05 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Tsodilo Resources Limited and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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.




By: Aid & International Development Forum

Contact

Alina O'Keeffe, head of marketing

***@aidforum.org

+44 (0)20 7871 0188 Alina O'Keeffe, head of marketing+44 (0)20 7871 0188

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-- There were 574 disasters reported around the globe and around 108 million people have been affected. The vast majority (92%) of natural disasters are due to global warming. Out of 65.3 million displaced people around the world over 14% are being hosted in Asia and the Pacific, according to the infographic created in time for the 3rd annual Aid & Development Asia Summit.One of the prevailing effects of climate change is water deprivation and drought, caused by the warming of the earth. In Vietnam over two million people, including 520,000 children and one million women, seek humanitarian assistance due to El-Nino induced drought (UNICEF, 2016). Three quarters of those in need are women and children. The Emergency Response Plan has prioritised health, WASH, food and nutrition for slightly more than one half of the total funding required. In the Philippines El-Nino caused $19.2 million in agricultural damage. In Cambodia, 18 out of 25 provinces face food insecurity which affects 2.5 million people.Myanmar ranks second on the Global Climate Risk Index. An estimated $190 million funding is required to support over 525,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance across the country. Out of the 218,000 displaced in Myanmar, 70% are women and children. The two key reasons for displacement are internal conflict between states and, floods and landslides, both of which have a devastating impact on people's lives. The displaced are in urgent need of water, food, medical attention and shelter. Moreover, 90% do not have access to basic health services and three quarters are food insecure.According to a UN OCHA reportFind out more about innovations, partnerships and policy updates for disaster and flood risk reduction at the upcoming Aid & Development Asia Summit, taking place on 14-15 June at the MICC2 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The agenda will include a panel discussion on building a culture of resilience and strengthening disaster preparedness and roundtables on emergency communication, early warning systems, GIS, data collection and mapping.Join the Aid & Development Asia Summit 2017 to hear from leading speakers including: Shashank Mishra, Disaster Risk Reduction Program Director, Marcel de Brune, Project Director, Ernesto Castro-Garcia, Director, Regional Programs, Asia-Pacific Region, Nada El Marji, Director, Aid and Development, Dr Aung Kyaw Htut, Deputy Secretary General, Wilson John Barbon, Country Program Director, Myanmar, Kieran Gorman-Best, Head of Mission, Myanmar, Bijay Kamacharya, Country Director, Myanmar, Dr Mel Capistrano, Senior Programme Manager, Claude Zukowski, Senior Manager & Disaster Relief and Donation Coordinator, Brushan Shrestha, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager,And many others! For more information, please visit http://asia.aidforum.org Photo Credit: Mathias Eick, EU/ECHO, Rakhine State, Myanmar/Burma, September 2013
By: The Compounding Pharmacy of South Africa

Dr. Jennifer Landa

Contact

Luxury Brands

***@luxurybrands.co.za Luxury Brands

End

-- Jennifer Landa, MD, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, will be hosting and lecturing at A4M's first ever workshop on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, taking place at the Balalaika Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg on Monday, 19th June 2017. This workshop is intended for Medical Practitioners to increase their knowledge on BHRT.The Compounding Pharmacy of South Africa will be partnering with A4M for this event. As a specialty pharmacy service provider, The Compounding Pharmacy situated in Bryanston, Sandton, focuses on compounded and personalized medications.As Chief Medical Officer of BodyLogicMD, a national network of doctors specializing in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, Dr. Landa has extensive clinical expertise and research experience surrounding the uses and practice of BHRT, and will discuss the practical applications and benefits of the therapy. Dr. Landa has dedicated her practice to customized programs designed to assist women and men resolve the symptoms that accompany aging, including sexual dysfunction, weight gain, declining energy levels, and heightened stress.The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is the world's largest non-profit society of physicians and scientists committed to research that helps optimize the human aging process, along with the advancement of techniques and technologies that detect, prevent, and treat aging-related diseases.The Compounding Pharmacy of SA has educationally partnered with A4M, and is dedicated to educating physicians, scientists, and all healthcare professionals. The Compounding Pharmacy of SA has an exclusive collaboration with A4M in the Southern African region.A4M is proud to be in their 25th year of providing first-class continuing education conferences on anti-aging, regenerative, and functional medicine. A4M offers exclusive membership to all medical professionals, with the potential to access over two-decades of established medical expertise.Tofor any event, orin any training program, please contact:at:Phone: +27 (0)11 463 0310Email: pharmacist@compounding.co.za 2 Eaton AvenueBryanstonSandtonJohannesburgThe office of theat:Toll-Free - US Only: (888) 997-0112International:(561) 997-0112Email: internationalevents@ a4m.com
Contact

Indian Institute of Finance

***@iif.edu Indian Institute of Finance

End

-- Indian Institute of Finance (IIF)-Delhi NCR-Greater Noida has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saint-Petersburg State University for Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI), Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA to further the cause of research and education in the field of Finance, Science, Technology and Management on 25th May 2017 at 10:00 hrs [10 AM Russia Time] at the SUAI (Main Campus) in Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA.The agreement was signed between Prof. Dr. Yulia A. Antokhina(SUAI)and Prof. Dr. Aman Agarwal (IIF). Prof Yulia A. Antokhina is the Rektor& Professor of Economic Sciences at Saint-Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI), Saint-Petersburg, Russia and Prof. Dr. Aman Agarwal is Professor of Finance and Dean International Affairs and Director, Indian Institute of Finance & Executive Editor of Finance India . Other Professors who witnessed the signing ceremony of the historic Academic Agreement - MOU (Academic Collaboration)were Prof. Dr. ArturBudagov, Director (SUAI-IET) and Prof. Dr. OlesyaKarelova (Department of International Affairs)The MoU signed between the Saint-Petersburg State University for Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI) and Indian Institute of Finance (IIF) has been furthered in connection with our Director Prof. Dr. Aman Agarwal's and Professors visit towards the invite as Guest of Honour to deliver the Plenary Keynote Address at the SUAI International Week Scientific Conference at the Opening Ceremony on May 22nd, 2017 [ May 22-26th, 2017 ]The MOU signing ceremony gracing the historic moment between SUAI and IIF were Vice-Rectors, Directors and other senior professors from SUAI. Other International Professors from France, The Netherlands, Hungary, Russia and Germany also graced the Celebrations at the formal announcements made by Prof. Dr. ArturBudagov (SUAI-IET) immediately after the Signing Ceremony at the SUAI International Week were Dr. Nadine Hackmann, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, GERMANY; Dr. Pascal Ricordel, Universite Le Havre Normandie, FRANCE; Dr. KseniiaBaimakova, State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, RUSSIA; Dr. Arthur Colin, Samara University, RUSSIA; Dr. Harm Hilvers, Christian University of Applied Sciences, THE NETHERLANDS;Dr. Peter Holicza, Obuda University, HUNGARY; Dr. Mikhail Krichevsky, State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, RUSSIA; Dr. Anna Sankina, State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, RUSSIA and many others.The academic collaboration would further the cause of enriching research in Financial Administration and Financial Economics, conduction of joint seminars, training programs and exchange programs at both faculty and student levels. This would also help build stronger Socio-cultural ties between the two nations and its people.It is a matter of pride for IIF and India for the addition of this 39milestone in the history of IIF to get connected with academic collaborations,internationally. IIF already has signed MOU for academic collaborations with 38 Institutions/Universities globally.The Saint-Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI) has active co-operation with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA); Indiana State University (USA); State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA); Universite of Franche-Comte (FRANCE); Lappeenranta University of Technology (FINLAND); Instituto Superior Formacin Empresa (SPAIN); Budapest University of Technology and Economics (HUNGARY); Ben-Gurion University of Negev (ISRAEL); Beijing Aerospace University (CHINA); Nanjing Aerospace University (CHINA); Xian Aerospace University (CHINA); Riga Technical University (LATVIA); Turku University of Applied Sciences (FINLAND); Wageningen University (THE NETHERLANDS);University of Wolverhampton (UK).SUAI is one of the most prominent Institute of Russia. SUAI is a research-oriented university. SUAI, Saint Petersburg, Russia, was founded on January 25, 1941 as the Leningrad Aviation Institute (LAI) by the Decree of the Soviet government. In more than 76 years the University has grown from a narrowly-specialized restricted admission institute to become a major research and education center. We are particularly proud of the fact that at the same time we managed to maintain all our traditional educational fields. We have retained one of the unique education profiles, Aerospace Instrumentation. University is nowadays not just about space and aviation. Its new educational fields include innovation studies and informatics, data protection and international relations, law, linguistics and many others. The University currently consists of 6 institutes, 6 faculties and more than 40 departments and it offers over 200 educational programs. We also develop new ways of educational organization. A number of further education, supplementary training and professional retraining programs are implemented by SUAI. The University also offers Applied Bachelor's Degree programs, which appeared in Russia as recently as 2013. Degrees awarded by SUAI are appreciated in Russia and abroad.Indian Institute of Finance (IIF)founded in 1987, 31 years ago is NON-PROFIT, equal opportunity, research based, autonomous educational Institution to promote education, research, training and consulting. It is an Island of Excellence, unique and the only organization of its kind in India. IIF fosters management practice through experimental learning, creativity, innovativeness, analytical ability, a sense of hard work, commitment, devotion, discipline and nationalism with an appropriate blend of Indian ethos & values with western technology of Management to nurture talent. IIF is well connected with well known experts from world renowned institutions / Universities including Nobel Laureates.IIF is headed by an eminent economist as its Chairman, Board of Governor's - Prof. J. D. Agarwal. Students of Prof. Agarwal hold Cabinet Minister Positions in Government of India, Secretary Government of India, Senior Positions at International Agencies like World Bank, IMF, UN, ADB and others, Chief Justic Positions, CEOs of Banks, Financial Institutions and Companies Worldwide and Vice-Chancellors and Deans of Universities Globally and in India.
MSM DesignZ, Inc. did it again! The advertising agency was recently awarded with multiple VEGA Digital Awards.

Contact

MSM DesignZ, Inc.

***@msmdesignz.com MSM DesignZ, Inc.

End

-- With over 1,100 submissions from 30 countries throughout the world, MSM DesignZ, Inc. won three Arcturus recognitions in the most recent Vega Digital Awards competition, showing extraordinary prowess in digital creativity.The winning works involved fully responsive, eye-catching websites for clients Cosentino Training, Pizzeria Molto and Lugano Wine Bar, including full-screen photography shot by MSM DesignZ as well for the two restaurants. These submissions were worth one Arcturus award in the category of Fitness/Health Website, and two Arcturus awards in the category of Restaurant Website, respectively."It is always exciting to receive this type of recognition, especially when we are talking about a worldwide competition such as the Vega Digital Award. It's a huge honor for us because this means more than a recognition of a final product, the website, but a recognition to our effort, teamwork and commitment to our clients", said MSM DesignZ, Inc. CEO, Mario Mirabella.Vega Digital Awards is an international competition catered to all creative professionals who inspire through concept, writing or design, through traditional or electronic media. Vega Digital Awards is administered and judged by International Awards Associate (IAA) and a carefully selected panel of internationally-esteemed creative professionals.Entries from more than 200 professional and student categories were rated this year, according to rigorous standards. This year's Vega Digital Awards competition included entries from 30 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Faroe Islands, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, Netherland, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.Founded in 1999, MSM DesignZ, Inc. is a full service, award-winning digital media agency, committed to ensure that its clientele stands out from their competition. Currently a Westchester, NY based company with offices in both White Plains, NY and Tarrytown, NY, MSM DesignZ, Inc. executes eye-catching work through a variety of services including web design and development, social media, SEO, online marketing, and advertising.For more information, visit http://msmdesignz.com ContactMario Mirabella
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Khizr Khan, the Pakistani-American Gold Star father who delivered a stirring speech during last July's Democratic National Convention, has written a middle-grade nonfiction book called This Is Our Constitution. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers has acquired world rights and will publish the volume on November 14, 2017, a simultaneous release with Khans adult memoir An American Family (Random House). Barbara Marcus, president and publisher of Random House Childrens Books, announced the deal, which was negotiated with Jennifer Joel of ICM Partners. Michelle Frey, executive editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers, will edit.

Khan and his wife Ghazala emigrated to the U.S. in 1980 and are both American citizens living in Charlottesville, Va., where attorney Khan is a legal consultant. During the run-up to the presidential election, Khans long-held passion for the rights outlined in the U.S. Constitution and the ideal of liberty for all Americans led him to express criticism of then-candidate Donald Trumps anti-Muslim statements and subsequently earned him an invitation to the Democratic National Convention.

During Khans DNC speech, delivered with Ghazala at his side, he paid tribute to their middle son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004 while checking on his troops. Captain Khan posthumously received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his actions. Also during the speech, Khan leveled pointed words directly at candidate Trump: Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy, he asked as he pulled a pocket copy of the document from his suit jacket.

Just like so many of us, I was moved by the Khans appearance at the DNC last summer, Frey said. The next morning, the first thing I did was make sure my eight-year-old son watched Mr. Khans speech. There are so many long political talks that can be hard for a childor adult!-to sit through, but this was a speech with so much emotion and wisdom. It spoke directly to my sonMr. Khan quickly became his heroand, I believe, to many children across the nation. So it was with great pleasure and pride that I found myself in the position several months later of working directly with Mr. Khan on this project that he cares so deeply about. He is exactly as he seemskind and honorable and humble and wise.

In This Is Our Constitution, Khan introduces young readers to the contents of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and offers his personal insight on why they are so important and still relevant to all citizens today. The book also includes a history of the Constitution and how it has been amended through the years, and highlights passages that Khan believes are essential to understanding America itself. In a statement announcing the project, he said, This book is my humble effort to pay tribute to our future leaders, the true custodians of our Constitution, and to all of the human dignities enshrined in our Bill of Rights, as the making of our republic continues.
ABA President says goodbye; Politics and Prose and Busboys and Poets Split; inside Amazon's Manhattan store; France's traveling tiny bookstore; and more.

Outgoing ABA president's Farewell Letter: Betsy Burton, co-owner of The King's English Bookshop and outgoing American Booksellers Association president, reviews the progress booksellers have made in talks with publishers..

D.C. Bookselling Partnership Ends: Politics & Prose will no longer manage the book sections inside three Busboys and Poets locations.

A Look Inside Amazon's Manhattan Store: CNBC offers a short video tour inside the new Amazon store in Columbus Circle which opens today.

R.J. Julia Store in Connecticut Opens: The independent bookseller has opened a new bookstore in Middleton, Conn. serving Wesleyan University.

California Bookstore to Celebrate Anniversary: Issues in Oakland is marking its 10-year anniversary on June 4.

The Perfect Bookstore Reading: Bestselling author John Katz writes about a memorable event at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

Libro.fm Adds Harry Potter: The downloadable audiobook service available at independent bookstores now offers the Harry Potter series for sale.

Ranking Toronto's Bookstores: BlogTO ranks the top dozen bookstore in Toronto, with Type Books coming out on top.

France's Traveling Tiny House Bookstore: La librairie itinerante is mobile bookstore offering 3,000 books that will tour France this summer.
Inspired by the 2016 presidential election, Jason Pinter, founder and publisher of indie house Polis Books, is returning to his first callingwriting novels. Pinter will publish The Castle, a political thriller, on June 26. In an interesting move, Pinter is self-publishing the title, keeping it entirely separate from the Polis Books list.

I wrote this book during the insanity of the election campaign, Pinter told PW, and I wanted it out right now, not in 18 months, [which is the usual publishing cycle]. I knew I would need to do it myself.

Pinter and his agent, Scott Miller at Trident Media Group, submitted the book to several publishers, before withdrawing it. Because of the topical subject, Pinter said, several editors liked the book, but said it needed to be out now. I agreed with them.

The new book, The Castle, focuses on Remy Stanton, a corporate executive who intervenes in a street crime and saves the lives of two people, one of whom is the daughter of a powerful businessman. This same businessman is about to make history by running for President of the United States. He offers Stanton, now a hero, a job in his political campaign. As the campaign moves forward, Stanton discovers the dark truth behind the candidate and his daughter.

Aside from Pinter's desire to get the novel to market quickly, he also didn't want to see it overshadow any of the titles he's working on as a publisher. "I didnt want my sales reps to have to deal with my book or for my Polis authors to feel shortchanged, or make them think they would have to line up behind me, Pinter said.

With this in mind, he set up Armina Pressthe name was inspired by his daughter, who is due to be born in Junewhich will act as the books publisher. Pinter plans to use IngramSpark, Ingrams self-publishing platform, to deliver the book in print. The e-book will be sold and distributed through Amazon KDP Select and other retailers. (The title will also be available, via Ingram, to libraries and bookstores.)

Pinter, who was an established crime author before launching Polis Books, has published five adult novels and one middle grade title. He founded Polis Books in 2013 and has grown the house into a full service publisher that will release 25 books in 2017.

Now that Polis Books is up and running, Pinter told PW the time was right to return to his writing. But that doesn't mean he's abandoning Polis Books. The publisher-author said now he's got the best of both worlds.

I just love books, theyre my passion and livelihoodboth writing them and publishing them. Its the best job in the world.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Armina Press was named after Pinter's daughter. Also IngramSpark is distributing the print edition of the 'The Castle,' not the e-book.
Georgia and America are celebrating twenty-five years of diplomatic relations and remarkable partnership. Georgia is an emerging democracy in a difficult region with mainly authoritarian regimes nearby. This and its location as a continental transport hub give it strategic importance. Georgia faces severe challenges from Russian military occupation and economic weakness, and to surmount them it deserves sustained Western support.

At its modern independence in 1991, Georgia was beset by civil wars, weak governance and poverty. Former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze returned from Moscow to lead the country. He could not avert Russian intervention in separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but did neutralize warlords and foster a more open political system and a westward-leaning foreign policy. Over time, amid corruption and rigged elections, he lost reform steam. In 2003, in the peaceful Rose Revolution, the young, U.S.-educated Mikhail Saakashvili ousted him.

Saakashvili eliminated much corruption, sped reforms and strengthened state institutions. Under his presidency, Georgia improved in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index from 124th from the top (least corrupt) in 2003, to fifty-first place in 2012. In 2008, however, shortly after NATO denied a Membership Action Plan for Georgia but said it will become a member, Saakashvili succumbed to a Kremlin provocation and stumbled into a briefbut disastrouswar with Russia. Russia's military now occupies Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In the last quarter-century, civil society and democracy in Georgia have taken firmer root. When Saakashvili's party in 2012 lost parliamentary elections, the Georgia Dream coalition took power peacefully. Bidzina Ivanishvili, a reclusive billionaire who funds it, plays a behind-the-scenes political role. His choice for president, the U.S.-educated Giorgi Margvelashvili, won election in 2013 and is a unifying and reformist voice. Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili is an able technocrat.

Russia's war has caused Georgia to accelerate its push to the West. Last year a major Association Agreement with the European Union entered into force. Georgia showed courage; in 2014, Russia intervened in Ukraine in a failed attempt to prevent its closer alignment with the West. Georgians now enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen Area, a popular benefit. Striving to join NATO, Georgia is the largest per capita contributor to the alliance's contingent in Afghanistan.

The remainder of this commentary is available at nationalinterest.org

Kenneth Yalowitz is the director of the Conflict Resolution Program at Georgetown University and a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and was U.S. ambassador to Belarus and Georgia. William Courtney is an adjunct senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, and was U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan, Georgia, and a U.S.-Soviet Commission that implemented the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.

This commentary originally appeared on The National Interest on May 24, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Internet Media Services (IMS) is claiming success after deploying 200 advertising campaigns on Snapchat for major brands targeting Latin American millennials.





According to the agency, over 100 advertisers have signed up for the Snapchat strategy across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Peru, including brands such as Coca-Cola, Sony, Telcel, McDonalds, Banamex and Mondelez.We have exceeded by 50% our initial expectations of estimated impacts, which strengthens IMS position as advertising strategy leader across the region, said Gaston Taratuta, CEO and founder, IMS Snapchat is a platform with high impact among millennials. For advertisers, finding the proper language and formats to connect with this audience is a challenge, which is why we deployed ads that meet the demands of youngsters and allow us to precisely measure the real impact.The millennial-targeted campaign was launched by IMS at the beginning of the year, offering three Snapchat formats across the region: Snap Ads (a vertical, full-screen ten-second video advert ), sponsored geo-filters (illustrations that snapchatters could use when creating a snap in a specific location), and sponsored lenses (offering snapchatters the chance to add effects and sounds in real-time to their selfies).We are very satisfied with the campaign results. The data from the reports is very detailed and it is the first time I have found an advertising format with which the user is willing to be the champion of the brand, and share it with friends. The time spent is also high and, above all, earned media generation is broader when compared to other ad formats. The cost for interaction is significantly lower and will help us become a leading and successful platform, concluded Taratuta.
A survey from ABI Research predicts that over the next five years high dynamic range (HDR) features will be packaged within full HDTV sets and help boost 4K/Ultra HD momentum.





The Ultra HD, 4K, HDR, 8K, HEVC report forecasts that HDR TV shipments will grow at a 41% CAGR and reach 245 million units by the end of 2022. The analyst noted that vendors including LG, Samsung, and Sony plan to incorporate HDR in their Ultra HD TV sets as a premium feature to support better colour and detail.As evident with Sonys recent announcement to include HDR in all its new TV sets, the next-generation TV technology will soon be a prominent feature in many Ultra HD TV sets, remarked ABI Research industry analyst Khin Sandi Lynn. While some less expensive sets will not yet support the technology, high-end TV manufacturers recognise the value that HDR functionality brings to the viewing experience.Yet it also cautioned that as HDR continues to infiltrate the market, broadcasters were holding back from investments due to a dynamic standards environment. It regarded HDR10 as the baseline industry norm, but accepted that Dolby Vision offers premium features like dynamic scene-by-scene metadata to further enhance the picture.Amazon and Samsung recently announced the development of HDR10+, a version of the HDR10 standard that uses Dynamic Tone Mapping to produce enhanced contrast and colours, added ABI MD and research VP Sam Rosen. At this point, this standard does not have a robust industry coalition to foster adoption and serves to further confuse the market.Interestingly, even as it was highlighting the challenged that 4K would face before commercialisation, the Ultra HD, 4K, HDR, 8K, HEVC report turned its eyes to 8K, an industry it says some manufacturers are already prepping for. It observes that 8KTV sets are still years away from permeating the global market, with market hype currently centred on Japans plans to deliver 8K video at the 2020 Olympics. Even though CE giant Sharp announced the first 8K TV set in late 2015, costing approximately US$130,000, and Chinese manufacturers Chang Hong, Hisense, and Skyworth introduced 8KTV sets in 2017 (not yet available for sale), ABI stresses that it will be years before the sets hit mainstream consumers.8KTV sets will enter the market in small quantities in 2020 but mainly in Japan and possibly South Korea, areas in which broadcasters are now working toward 8K broadcast, Lynn concluded. In the meantime, it will remain Ultra HD HDR TV sets that dominate the overall market.
Afghan officials say 13 soldiers have been killed and eight others wounded in fighting with Taliban militants in the southern province of Kandahar.

Defense Ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri said on May 25 that the firefight took place after the militants stormed several security checkpoints overnight.

Waziri said the Taliban were driven back after several hours of fighting.

At least eight militants were also killed, officials said.

The attack came as Taliban militants launched their annual spring offensive in late April, prompting a new surge of fighting across the country.

Late on May 22, Taliban militants attacked an army base in Kandahar, killing at least 10 Afghan soldiers. Officials said at least 12 attackers were killed in a battle that lasted several hours overnight.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and Pajhwok
The March parliamentary elections in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia have not assuaged the profound mistrust and antagonism between the various opposition forces and the leadership of the de facto president, Raul Khajimba.

On the contrary, the signing last week by the interior ministries of Abkhazia and Russia of an agreement to establish on Abkhaz territory an "Information-Coordination Center" to facilitate the struggle against organized crime has triggered a new standoff between the two camps.

On the eve of the signing ceremony, 15 of the 35 recently elected parliament deputies addressed a formal appeal to Khajimba and to Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Aslan Kobakhia to postpone it in order to amend the draft. Specifically, they called for the inclusion of a clause stipulating that the parliament should have access to all information concerning the center's activities, and that the director of the center should report annually to parliament on its work.

The opposition Kyarazaa party and the extraparliamentary Amtsakhara (Keep the Home Fires Burning) union of veterans of the 1992-93 war that culminated in Abkhazia's de facto independence from Georgia issued separate statements the same day highlighting the perceived dangers posed to Abkhaz national interests by the terms of the agreement. Kyarazaa pointed out that the center will be a supranational entity with more extensive powers than either the Abkhaz Interior Ministry or Prosecutor-General's Office, which impinges on the constitutional rights of the region's citizens of which Khajimba as president is the guarantor.

Amtsakhara for its part, while stressing that it supports in principle the idea of cooperation between the two ministries, explained in considerable detail how specific clauses of the draft agreement were mutually contradictory; duplicated already existing bilateral agreements, such as that between the Russian and Abkhaz prosecutors-general; or violated Abkhaz law.

For example, Article 10 of the agreement says Russia and Abkhazia will jointly fund the center, while Article 24 says it will be financed by the Russian Federation.

The party questions the logic and legality of the clause stipulating that the center must submit annually to the Abkhaz Finance Ministry and Russia's North Caucasus Ministry an account of its expenditures. It also argues that the stipulation that the center may not engage in any commercial activity is at odds with its stated exemption from taxes.

Moreover, the agreement says that the center's Russian personnel and their families will enjoy diplomatic immunity. Such immunity is, however, guaranteed under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which the Republic of Abkhazia -- which is not recognized as a state by the UN, and by only a handful of countries worldwide -- is not a party to.

Amtsakhara, which for the past 2 1/2 years has sought without success to force Khajimba to step down, concluded by laying on him in advance the blame for any deterioration of the political situation resulting from the signing of the agreement.

Khajimba's Forum of National Unity of Abkhazia (FNEA) responded with a counterstatement stressing that the primary function of the center will be the exchange of information and the maintenance of a special data bank on organized crime. The FNEA categorically rejected all criticisms of the draft agreement as unwarranted and "not conducive to stability and the strengthening of law and order."

Kobakhia and Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov duly signed the agreement as planned in Sochi on May 18. At a subsequent press conference, Kobakhia said that the initial draft of the agreement had been amended to take into account Abkhaz concerns. He added that the center's first head will be named by Abkhazia, and also that one of its primary functions will be to combat drug trafficking. (Over the past several years the opposition has repeatedly criticized the Abkhaz leadership for its imputed failure to prevent the spread of drug addiction among a younger generation with minimal prospects of either long-term employment or travel abroad.)

Those assurances cut little ice with the opposition, however. The website Civil.ge quoted independent lawmaker Raul Lolua, the first and arguably the most competent of the four men to serve as interior minister since Khajimba's advent to power three years ago and one of the 15 signatories to the appeal to Khajimba and Kobakhia to delay the signing of the agreement, told journalists on May 22 that the planned strength of the center (a total of 20 staff, 10 from Abkhazia and 10 from the Russian Federation) is inadequate to perform the functions it is supposed to perform. That means, Lolua reasoned, that either the authorities did not divulge the center's real purpose, or the officials who drafted the agreement were incompetent.

Despite widespread frustration and resentment at the authorities' perceived shortsightedness (and pig-headedness) in signing an agreement potentially damaging to national interests, the opposition does not plan to take to the streets in protest, according to Kyarazaa Chairman Dmitry Dbar, who like Lolua signed the appeal by the 15 lawmakers. Instead, Dbar said, his party will propose "appropriate amendments."

Amtsakhara Chairman Alkhas Kvitsinia, too, said that "at this stage" his party was not discussing street protests. That reluctance suggests that Amtsakhara may have realized the futility of public protests as a tactic, given its limited public support and the inevitability that Khajimba would simply convene a counterdemonstration by his supporters, as he did when Amtsakhara called for his resignation in December 2016.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
The prosecutor has demanded prison terms of up to 20 years for eight young men from Kabardino-Balkaria on charges ranging from illegal possession of arms and establishing an illegal armed group to the attempted killing of a police officer, the news portal Caucasian Knot reported on May 19.

At the same time, the prosecution proposed dropping the most controversial charge against the eight: that of plotting to overthrow the republic's leadership and establish an Islamic caliphate.

The accused, some of them Kabardians, some Balkars, all pleaded not guilty and said in court that they confessed to the charges against them only after being beaten and subjected to protracted electric shocks. The presiding judge ordered a probe into the torture claims in April that failed to substantiate them. The alleged leader of the group, Oleg Miskhozhev, a keen amateur wrestler, claimed in court that for 18 months he had needed a cane to walk because "they did my back in."

The defense lawyers say the case against the eight men is not backed by hard evidence. They also pinpoint inaccuracies in the indictment, specifically with regard to when and where the eight were first detained, and note that the pretrial testimony of several of the accused is virtually identical in style and content.

Some witnesses for the prosecution fully or partially retracted their initial testimony in court on the grounds they were not permitted to read through their purported statements before signing them, or that they signed only under duress, or that the statements read out in court did not accurately reflect what they said.

The eight young men accused are: Miskhozhev, Akhmed Balkarov, Islam Shogenov, Ruslan Kipshiyev, Kantemir Zholdashev, Artur Karov, Zaur Tekuzhev, and Ruslan Zhugov. Also charged were Zalimkhan Tkhamokov, who died before the start of the trial in August 2016, and Ibragim Gugov, who was reportedly killed resisting arrest. All lived in the same district of Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, but not all of them knew all the others, even by sight.

According to the prosecution, following the killing in June 2013 of a group of Islamic militants, Tkhamokov tasked his friend Miskhozhev with recruiting a new group of fighters under the aegis of the so-called and now-defunct Caucasus Emirate proclaimed in 2007 by insurgency leader Doku Umarov. Miskhozhev duly complied and was elected the group's commander. Their objective was allegedly similar to that imputed to the young fighters who attacked police and security facilities in Nalchik in October 2005: to seize control of the Nalchik city hall in August 2014 and proclaim an Islamic caliphate.

The men are also accused of plotting to kill a police officer by blowing up his car. The most bizarre charge, and the only one to which they pleaded guilty, is of disinterring Aleksandr Popov -- a Russian convert to Islam and one of the fighters killed in June 2013, whose family had had him buried in a Russian Orthodox cemetery -- and reburying him according to Muslim rites.

Defense lawyers for the accused take issue with the prosecution's claim that the eight are adherents of the radical Salafi Islam favored by the Caucasus Emirate. They concede that some, including Miskhozhev, were indeed practicing Muslims, but say they espouse the strain of Sunni Islam widely practiced in the northwest Caucasus. (Testifying in Shogenov's defense, one of his childhood friends made the point that Shogenov opted for a civil wedding at which alcohol was consumed, rather than a religious ceremony, which would not have been the case if he were indeed a radical Islamist.)

Miskhozhev, one of the first to be arrested (in January 2014 together with Balkarov while on their way to Friday Prayers), has pointed out that initially he was only charged with the alleged failed attempt to kill a police officer and setting up an illegal armed group. The charge of plotting to seize the Nalchik city hall, he continued, was brought only after the subsequent arrests of Kipshiyev and Karov, and on the basis of their pretrial testimony. (Like Miskhozhev, both say they were tortured to induce them to "confess.")

Miskhozhev's formal denial that he recruited a militant group was substantiated in court by a witness with ties to one of the fighters killed in 2013.

Their lawyers further argued that the charge of possession of marijuana brought against all the accused is incompatible with the claim that they espouse Salafism, given that Salafi Muslims regard the use of narcotics as anathema. Their lawyers also ask why, after Miskhozhev and Balkarov were allegedly found to be in possession of hand grenades, other weapons, and marijuana at the time of their arrest, other members of the purported militant group were rash enough to venture out into the streets with such incriminating objects on their persons, which were allegedly found when they were detained and searched and adduced as evidence against them.

As for the imputed plan by Miskhozhev, Balkarov, and Shogenov to kill police Colonel Artur Tembotov by attaching an improvised explosive device (IED) to the underside of his car, the accused and their lawyers point out that video footage of Tembotov driving up to a Nalchik police precinct where the IED was allegedly removed and rendered harmless has been edited and does not show those crucial episodes. They also argue that a device of the dimensions specified by the prosecution could not have been securely attached to the underside of the vehicle with the type of magnets allegedly used for that purpose.

Shogenov, who was said to have tailed Tembotov's Ford for weeks before the IED was discovered on December 26, 2013, has never learned to drive a car, and has an alibi: he was in college daily in December 2013 studying for an IT exam. Miskhozhev, too, has an alibi for December 26: he was engaged in construction work on an apartment building.

The prosecution has nonetheless demanded a 20-year sentence for Miskhozhev, 19 years for Balkarov, and 15 years for Shogenov.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
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.
At least 105 Iraqi civilians were killed in a U.S. air strike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in March, a U.S. military investigation has concluded.

The bomb dropped on March 17 targeted two IS snipers from the extremist group Islamic State (IS), the lead investigator, Air Force Brigadier General Matthew Isler, said on May 25.

However, the strike detonated explosives that militants had placed in the building, he said.

Isler said 101 civilians who had gathered in the lower floors of the building were killed when it collapsed, while another four died in a nearby building.

Thirty-six civilians remain unaccounted for.

The United States had previously acknowledged it "probably" had a role in the deaths but said this was unintentional.

In October, Iraqi government forces launched a major offensive backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes to recapture Mosul, the main IS stronghold in the country.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and the BBC
U.S. President Donald Trump has called the bombing at a concert in the British city of Manchester "a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilization" and told NATO allies he has new hope that nations can unite to defeat terrorism.

Trump was speaking at NATO headquarters on May 25, shortly after arriving in Brussels for his first meeting with NATO leaders since he took office in January.

He told British Prime Minister Theresa May that "all of the nations here today grieve with you and stand with you," calling for a moment's silence for the victims and families hit by the "savage attack."

All people who cherish life must unite in finding, exposing, and removing these killers and extremists, said Trump, who has repeatedly called on NATO to do more to combat terrorism.

In a statement issued by the White House, Trump said that leaks to the U.S. media of information from the investigation into the May 22 Manchester bombing are "deeply troubling" and a "grave threat to our national security."

The president said he was asking the Justice Department to lead an investigation into the matter, and "if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted."

British officials believe suspected suicide bomber Salman Abedi was part of a network and are hunting for accomplices who might have helped him build the bomb that killed 22 people, some of them children, and injured about 60.

Abedi's name was leaked to U.S. media just hours after the attack and pictures of the debris from the blast appearing to show bloodstained bomb fragments and the backpack used to transport the device appeared in The New York Times.

The leaks sparked an angry reaction from British officials, who said they undermined the inquiry and distressed families of the victims.

Upon arrival in Brussels, May, the British prime minister, said she would "make clear" to Trump that intelligence shared between the two countries must remain secure.

"These leaks were reprehensible, deeply distressing, Lewis Lukens, U.S. charge d'affaires in London and acting ambassador to Britain, said on BBC radio on May 25. "We unequivocally condemn them."

"The United States government is launching an investigation into these leaks and will take appropriate action once we identify the source of the leaks," he added. "We are determined to identify these leaks and to stop them."

Earlier, the BBC reported, without citing a source, that police investigating the attack have stopped sharing information with the United States following the leaks.

Separately, the Associated Press quoted an unnamed British official as saying that the Manchester police will stop sharing bombing investigation information with the United States amid anger over the leaks.

There was no official confirmation of the reports from British authorities.

The extremist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest in Britain since 56 people were killed in an attack on the London transport system in 2005.

Meanwhile, Manchester city police chief Ian Hopkins described the eight arrests made since the bombing as "significant" and items seized in raids as "very important."

Referring to the leaking of evidence from the investigation that appeared in The New York Times, Hopkins said it was "absolutely understandable" that this caused "much distress" to families of victims already suffering with their loss.

Queen Elizabeth visited victims at a children's hospital in Manchester, and a minute of silence was held in Britain on May 25 to remember the victims.

The minute of silence was held amid reports that a bomb disposal team was sent at a college in the Manchester suburbs after police responded to a call there. Police later indicated it was a false alarm, saying a suspicious package had been "deemed safe."

With reporting by BBC, Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa
Nestled in the Adriatic coastline between Croatia and Albania, tiny Montenegro may appear to have little military value. Just don't tell that to NATO or its sworn rival, Russia.

Montenegro, which gained independence from Serbia in 2006, will be welcomed into the security alliance this week in Brussels -- and formally join on June 5 -- despite a bitter campaign by the Kremlin to derail NATO's first expansion in almost a decade.

So why has a country that spent a paltry $69 million on its military last year become the front line in a diplomatic battle that some fear could edge Europe closer to a military conflict?

The government in Podgorica has faced a steady stream of rhetoric against NATO expansion from opponents both domestic and foreign, and an alleged coup attempt in October 2016 was seen by some as yet another attempt to change the political landscape and keep Montenegro away from integrating into the Euro-Atlantic alliance.

"With Montenegro's accession, NATO is telling aspiring members to hang tough, for their time may yet come. By stamping its feet in frustration, Moscow is telling the same NATO aspirants and NATO itself that that's a pipe dream," Leonid Bershidsky, founder of the opinion website Slon.ru and a Bloomberg View contributor, argues.

Why Montenegro?

With a population of just 620,000, Montenegro may seem like an afterthought for an alliance that has about six times that number in active military personnel alone.

Indeed, Montenegro's armed forces, with about 2,000 soldiers, is about one-third of what is needed to run a single aircraft carrier, while its eight armed personnel carriers, half a dozen ships, and dozen or so helicopters hardly add anything to the alliance in terms of hardware.

Meanwhile, it borders NATO members Croatia and Albania, neither of which poses a threat to Montenegro or the alliance, so it won't fundamentally change the country's security situation or markedly fortify NATO operations.

Still, its 293-kilometer coastline does give Montenegro some importance as a strategic parcel of real estate, since it's the penultimate piece in the Adriatic puzzle.

With Montenegro as a member, NATO will control the entire coast of the Adriatic, from the heel of Italy's boot to the rugged shores of Greece, save for a 20-kilometer stretch of land held by Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Moreover, Montenegro hosts the Bar and Kotor naval bases, once key facilities for the defunct Yugoslav armed forces that analysts say may be part of the alliance's future plans.

"It is difficult to say now whether any NATO combat facilities will be deployed in Montenegro. But militarily, I can say that the base in Kotor was one the chief ones among the former Yugoslav armed forces. It was well-equipped and there were ships which controlled major part of the Adriatic," Colonel Boris Podoprigora, president of the St. Petersburg Conflict Resolution Club says.

"As far as I know, there are no serious bases on the opposite side, in Italy. They are all on the opposite side of Italy, mainly near Naples. However, I can confirm that Montenegro is an important strategic point of the region. It is quite an important geographical unit in the NATO conglomerate."

Russian Opposition

The rewards of joining NATO may be tempered by the price Montenegro could pay at the hands of Russia.

A longtime ally that shares historic, linguistic, and cultural ties, Russia has not sat idly by as NATO wooed Montenegro.

Moscow is said to have asked Montenegro several years ago to use Bar as a naval logistics base for ships heading toward Syria. Amid reported pressure from NATO, the government declined, ruffling Kremlin feathers.

Since then, Russia has used the stick more than the carrot to try and edge its way into the Balkan conversation.

The Kremlin imposed sanctions against Montenegro's largest winery and one of the country's best-known exports. Officials claimed products from the Plantaze winery near the coastline do not meet proper standards, even though the company says it has had several independent tests performed on its wine to refute that accusation.

Mindful that Russian investors have poured millions of dollars into the country, mainly through real-estate deals to accommodate the thousands of Russians who flock annually to Montenegro's sun-splashed coastline, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned in April of a "surge of anti-Russian hysteria" in Montenegro.

And then there's the matter of last year's purported coup plot.

Officials in Podgorica have accused Russia of involvement, allegedly aimed at impeding Montenegro's further Western integration.

Moscow rejects the allegation, but a Montenegrin court began indictment proceedings on May 24 against 14 people, including two Russians and two pro-Russia opposition leaders, who are charged with plotting to overthrow the government last year.

"If the Kremlin has influence in the American political process, you can imagine how much greater ambitions it has to exert influence on the countries of the Balkans, which is seen as a 'soft belly of Europe,'" Janusz Bugajski, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, says.

Step Toward EU

Ultimately, accepting Montenegro as a NATO member may be as much, or more, about the European Union than the alliance itself.

Montenegro applied to join the 28-nation EU in 2009 and has been in membership talks since 2012.

It has already opened 26 chapters in its EU accession negotiations out of a total 35, and in its last progress report, in late 2016, the European Commission said Montenegro continued to make progress on political and economic criteria and had improved its ability to take on the obligations of EU membership.

Former Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic once even hailed NATO accession as "one more important step toward Montenegro's full membership in the European Union."

"The Balkans for centuries has been the scene of a struggle between the West and the East," current Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said recently.

"NATO and the EU have always been and remain a guarantee of stability and security and cooperation and the main basis for peace in Europe. It is about what kind of future we choose for us and generations to come."
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered Russian troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnieper River in the partially occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, another retreat amid a number of setbacks for Moscow on battlefields in Ukraine's east and southeast.

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.

"Begin to pull out troops," Shoigu said at a televised meeting with the commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, Army General Sergei Surovikin, on November 9, adding that the withdrawal must be implemented in "the nearest future."



"The lives of the Russian military personnel are always a priority for us. We must also take into account threats imposed on the civilian population and make sure that all civilians who chose to leave can do so," Shoigu said. "We also need to start withdrawing the troops and undertake all necessary measures to secure the move of military personnel, arms, and equipment to the other side of the Dnieper."



Kherson was the first city fully captured by Russia during what Moscow calls a "special military operation" and the only regional capital controlled by the Russians since the offensive began on February 24.



Ukraine's forces for weeks have been capturing villages as they advance toward the city, and Kremlin-installed leaders in Kherson have been evacuating civilians.

Earlier on November 9, the Moscow-installed deputy head of the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, died in a car crash.



Shoigu's order came after Surovikin said it was impossible to deliver supplies to the city of Kherson and other areas on the western bank of the Dnieper River.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were strengthening their positions "step by step" in the south.



"There is a lot of joy in the information space today, and it is clear why, but...the enemy will make no gifts to us," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.



Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelenskiy, said earlier on Twitter that the Ukrainian side sees "no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight."



Part of the Russian group remains in Kherson city, he said, adding that additional reserves are being sent to the region. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, are "liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements," he said.



Zelenskiy has suggested that the Russians could fake a retreat in order to lure the Ukrainian Army into an entrenched battle in Kherson city.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow's order to withdraw from Kherson was "evidence of the fact that they have some real problems with the Russian military."

Moscow and Russian-installed officials in Kherson have said for weeks that they are evacuating residents of Kherson -- both the city and the region -- to "other parts of the Russian Federation" for their safety. Ukraine has said the Russian move amounted to their forced deportation.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the withdrawal announced by Shoigu is "part of an overall pattern or picture we have seen over the last month that Russia has absolutely lost the momentum."



But Stoltenberg also cautioned against underestimating Russia.



"They still have capabilities," he said in an interview with Sky News during a visit to London. "We have seen the drones. We have seen the missile attacks. It shows that Russia can still inflict a lot of damage."

Kherson is considered by many military analysts as the most important of the four partially occupied Ukrainian regions that Russia announced as annexed in September.



It controls both the only land route to Ukraine's Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula and the mouth of the Dnieper River that bisects Ukraine.



Earlier on November 9, Russia 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 were under way in the eastern Donetsk region and in the south.



"The occupiers attacked the area massively with kamikaze drones, said Governor Valentyn Reznichenko. Ukrainian air defense destroyed some of the drones, but others hit targets. The Russian forces also used drones in an attack on the city of Dnipro, targeting a logistics enterprise. Reznichenko said four employees were wounded, and three of them are in serious condition in hospital.



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 people were not injured.



Zelenskiy vowed 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 the 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 deemed as sham by Kyiv and its Western allies.



Fighting had been going on there between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatist forces since 2014, the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN
Russia says it has sent Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems to Tajikistan for military drills, the first time Moscow has moved this type of missile to the Central Asian country.

Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, the commander of Russia's Central Military District troops, said on May 25 in the city of Yekaterinburg that the missile system will be used in the Dushanbe-Antiterror 2017 military maneuvers.

The May 30-June 1 drills are to be conducted by the Antiterrorism Center of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose grouping of former Soviet republics.

Russian authorities said earlier that Sukhoi Su-24M frontline bombers from the southern Urals and Mi-8 and Mi-24 military helicopters from the city of Novosibirsk, had been deployed to Tajikistan for the maneuvers.

Russia has about 7,000 troops stationed at three facilities that are considered part of a single Russian base in Tajikstan, which shares a border with war-torn Afghanistan.

Tajikistan is part of the Moscow-dominated CSTO security alliance but also has military ties with the United States.

The commander of the U.S. Central Command, General Joseph Votel, visited in April for talks, which Tajikistan said focused on issues that included the prospects for military cooperation and "broadening cooperation on strengthening the capabilities" of Tajik border forces.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
John Kerry, who served as secretary of state under the first black president of the United States, lamented the state of relations between Moscow and Washington this week, as he encouraged Harvard University students to go learn Russian.

The sharp-tongued spokeswoman for Russias Foreign Ministry offered up this eyebrow-raising recommendation in response:

Go read a 90-year-old Russian poem about an "elderly negro."

During his May 24 commencement speech to Harvards Kennedy School of Government, Kerry was harshly partisan and often scathing in his criticism of President Donald Trumps administration.

He also quipped that one of the best ways to succeed in a Trump administration would be to learn Russian, using Rosetta Stone, a widely used commercial tool for learning foreign languages.

"Im often asked what is the secret to having real impact on government," Kerry said. "Well, its recently changed. I used to say either run for office or get a degree from Harvard Kennedy School. With this White House Id say, buy Rosetta Stone and learn Russian."





Kerrys comments reflected the growing furor in Washington about ties between Trump associates and Russian officials, and U.S. intelligence conclusions that Moscow meddled in last years presidential election. Several congressional committees are investigating those ties, and the FBI is conducting a criminal probe as well.

In Moscow, Maria Zakharova, whose undiplomatic barbs have targeted Jewish voters and Washingtons former ambassador to Moscow, appeared defensive at Kerrys comments.

In a post she wrote to her Facebook page, Zakharova echoed the Kremlins assertions that the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama was to blame for the state of bilateral relations and suggested that poems by the Soviet futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky would have been useful.

She then quoted a verse from Mayakovsky's 1927 poem called To Our Youth:

"Even if I

were an elderly negro

and then

without being despondent or lazy

I would learn Russian

only because it

was spoken by Lenin."

Zakharovas choice of poem, the language it contained, and the fact she directed it at Obama caught the attention of more than a handful of commentators on her Facebook page, some of whom parsed Kerrys speech but many more who debated the choice of word.

For many, particularly older, Russians, negro is a commonly used word to describe African-Americans, and is not considered offensive. The use of black-skinned or "black"  as in black American-- is sometimes heard, though the word "black" is also used as an epithet to describe people from the southern Caucasus region.

"With the word 'negro' then, it's not all so straightforward," wrote one man, identified as Roman Cochinsky.
CHEBOKSARY, Russia -- A coordinator for Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's headquarters in the Chuvashia region has been fined for extremism after reposting a portion of the popular U.S. television show Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.

In a May 25 decision, a court in Chuvashia's capital ruled that Semyon Kochkin distributed extremist material and fined him 1,500 rubles ($27).

In 2015, Kochkin posted a clip from an episode of Oliver's political satire show in which he discussed an Al-Jazeera report that three women from Russia's Chechnya region tricked members of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) into sending them money.

According to the report, the women communicated with IS fighters via the Internet and promised to join them in Syria, but shut the social-network accounts they had used after receiving money for the trip.

The court said that Kochkin, 23, is guilty because the excerpt included what it said were Islamic State symbols, which are banned in Russia.

Kochkin said that he was afraid that he could have been incarcerated as propagating extremism can be punished by up to 15 days in jail.

He said that Navalnys supporters will organize an anticorruption rally in Cheboksary on June 12.

Rights activists say Russian President Vladimir Putin's government uses antiextremism legislation to prosecute Kremlin critics on false pretenses.
Russian authorities say the chief editor of a newspaper in the Siberian city of Minusinsk has been shot dead in a killing they believe may be connected to his work.

The Investigative Committee branch in Krasnoyarsk Krai said on May 25 that Dmitry Popkov's body was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a bathhouse outside a home in Minusinsk at about 11 p.m. local time on May 24.

Committee spokeswoman Olga Degid said it was the journalist's own home.

Investigators have opened a murder investigation and are looking into several possible motives including a link to the victim's "professional activities," the committee said. It gave no details.

Popkov, 42, was the chief editor of Ton-M newspaper.

Media rights groups say journalists who fall afoul of national or local authorities in Russia run the risk of being attacked, and the perpetrators or those behind them are rarely brought to justice.

At least 57 journalists have been killed in Russia since 1992, including 37 who were targeted for murder, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Reporters without Borders ranks Russia 148th in the world for media freedom.

With reporting by AFP, TASS, and Interfax


The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office says it will look into recent remarks by the deputy chief of Transparency International Russia (TIR) regarding controversial lawmaker Natalya Poklonskaya.

Prosecutorial officials said on May 25 that they have received a request from a senior pro-Kremlin legislator, Vasily Piskaryov, to examine Ilya Shumanov's remarks to determine whether they were threatening.

The dispute began when Poklonskaya, a deputy in the lower house of parliament, suggested that TIR and opposition leader Aleksei Navalnys anticorruption foundation were themselves doing wrong.

Shumanov responded by writing on Facebook that Transparency would "have to launch an investigation against" Poklonskaya.

Piskaryov claimed that Shumanovs post could be interpreted as an attempt to exert "undue influence" on Poklonskaya, who heads a parliamentary commission that oversees lawmakers income and asset declarations.

Poklonskaya was the Kremlin-appointed prosecutor-general in Crimea from the time Russia seized control of the Ukrainian territory in March 2014 until September 2016.

Navalny organized antigovernment rallies on March 26 that were Russia's largest and most widespread in years.

Based on reporting by RIA and Interfax
U.S. spies learned last summer that Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing ways to exert influence over Donald Trump through his presidential campaign advisers, the New York Times reported on May 24, citing anonymous U.S. officials.

The Russian discussions focused on Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman at the time, and Michael Flynn, a retired Marine general who was advising Trump on foreign policy and later became Trump's national security adviser, the Times reported.

Both men had indirect ties to Russian officials who appeared confident that their contacts could be used to help shape Trumps views on Russia, the Times said.

Some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, while others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine who lives in exile in Russia and who at one time worked closely with Manafort.

CNN has also previously reported about intercepted phone calls during which Russian officials bragged about their ties to Flynn and discussed ways of wielding influence over him.

The Times said the information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies last summer was considered credible enough to pass on to the FBI, which had just opened an investigation into Russian attempts to influence the election.

It is unclear, however, whether the Russian officials whose communications were intercepted actually tried to directly influence Manafort and Flynn. Both have denied any collusion with the Russian government.

The Times' report comes one day after the former chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, testified that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to steer the outcome of the election and he personally warned Russian spy agencies against doing so.

Brennan said he saw intelligence suggesting that Russia wanted to use Trump campaign officials, wittingly or not, to help in that effort. He said it raised questions in my mind about whether Russia was able to gain the cooperation of those individuals, who Brennan did not identify in his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.

I was convinced in the summer that the Russians were trying to interfere in the election. And they were very aggressive," Brennan said.

Still, by the time he left the CIA at the end of last year, Brennan said he had unresolved questions in my mind as to whether or not the Russians had been successful in getting U.S. persons, involved in the campaign or not, to work on their behalf, again either in a witting or unwitting fashion.

Whether the Russians worked directly with any Trump advisers is one of the central questions before U.S. investigators in Congress and the Justice Department.

Russia has repeatedly denied any interference in the election and Trump, for his part, has dismissed the allegations and investigations as fake news.

If there ever was any effort by Russians to influence me, I was unaware, and they would have failed, Manafort told the Times. I did not collude with the Russians to influence the elections.

Before taking the helm of the Trump campaign last May, Manafort worked for more than a decade for Russian-leaning political organizations and people in Ukraine, including Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president and close ally of Putin.

Manaforts links to Yanukovych led to his departure from the Trump campaign in August, after his name surfaced in secret ledgers showing millions of dollars in undisclosed payments he received from Yanukovychs political party.

Flynns ties to Russia go back to his time at the Defense Intelligence Agency, which he led from 2012 to 2014.

While there, Flynn began pressing for the United States to cultivate Russia as an ally in the fight against Islamist militants. He even spent a day in Moscow at the headquarters of the Russian military intelligence service in 2013.

Even after Moscow illegally seized control over Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014, Flynn continued to insist that Russia could be an ally in the war against terrorists. Flynn was eventually forced out of his job by the Obama White House.

In private life, Flynn developed even closer ties to Russia, including giving a speech at an RT television dinner in Moscow in 2015 for which he was paid $45,000. He was photographed sitting next to Putin at the dinner.

Flynn declined to comment on the Times story, and so far has refused to talk to or supply documents to committees in Congress that are investigating the Russian influence matter.

Flynn's refusal to cooperate with the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has led the committee to consider subpoenaing him, Representative Adam Schiff, the committee's top Democrat, said on May 24.

Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser on foreign policy who is also the subject of investigation, has agreed to testify before the committee next month. Page has denied any involvement in Russian attempts to influence the election.

With reporting by New York Times, CNN, AP, and Reuters


KYIV -- Nadia Savchenko, a former military helicopter navigator who entered politics after returning home following two years in a Russian jail, says the Justice Ministry is ignoring her request to register her new political movement.



Savchenko spoke at a news conference on May 25, exactly a year after she was released in a prisoner exchange and days after telling Polish news outlet Krytyka Polityczna that she is "ready to take responsibility for the country and run for president" in 2019.

Savchenko had planned to present her new political force, the Sociopolitical Platform of Nadia Savchenko. But she said that "the Justice Ministry...without providing any comments or explanations, without answering any appeals, requests, phone calls, has not registered the party."



The Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to Savchenkos claim.



Lack of registration would prevent Savchenko's political movement from participating in future elections and hurt her chances in a presidential campaign.

Ukraine is slated to hold its next presidential and parliamentary elections in 2019. A recent poll by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center indicated she would receive just 1 to 2 percent of the vote if the election were held this month.



Savchenko says she was abducted by Russia-backed separatists in June 2014 and taken illegally into Russia, where she was jailed and tried on a murder charge over the deaths of two Russian journalists who were killed in the conflict between the separatists and Kyivs forces.



Savchenko was convicted last year and sentenced to 22 years in prison but was released in a swap for two Russians held by Kyiv. She was widely hailed as a hero upon her return to Ukraine but has faced criticism from nationalists and others in Ukraine.



Savchenko was elected to parliament on the ticket of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenkos party in 2014 but quit the faction in December 2016 after its leadership criticized her for making a secret visit to separatist-controlled territory in the east. She now holds her seat as an independent.
Bad language and a short temper have landed one local Uzbek official in hot water.

Bahrom Quziev, a neighborhood committee head in the eastern city of Samarkand, angered over a complaint a woman was threatening to send to the Uzbek president's office, has been ordered to pay a fine after he peppered the argument with his constituent with insults like "bastard" and "faggot."

Quziev's outburst was secretly recorded on a mobile phone by the woman's son, who presented it as evidence after taking the official to court earlier this month.

The three-minute video shows the finger-pointing official telling off a woman, dressed in long traditional dress, for allegedly "slandering" him.

WATCH: Video Of The Confrontation (in Uzbek)



"Don't you dare slander me like that," Quziev, the head of the Qushtamghali neighborhood committee tells the woman, identified as 52-year-old local resident Mastura Musaeva.

"I haven't slandered you," says Musaeva, whose face cannot be seen in the video, in which the two are seen arguing near a parked car.

"You said you're writing to [the president's virtual office]. Write to whomever you want. I have seen plenty of stupid people like you. Understand?" Quziev says.

"OK, OK," Musaeva can be heard saying.

Quziev begins to get into the car before he turns around again to get in some parting shots.

"Go and find the solution with the person who has come out of your mother's belly," Quziev says, an apparent reference to Musaeva's brother, with whom she was involved in a dispute over a family house that prompted her complaint to authorities.

Musaeva's son, who didn't want his name to be published, told RFE/RL that his mother did indeed send her complaint to President Shavkat Mirziyaev in the hope he could help resolve the ownership dispute.

Musaeva believed the house was unfairly registered in her brother's name, with Quziev's help, the son said.

He said the complaint was filed to the president's so-called virtual office that Mirziyaev set up in September to make it easier for people to "directly" send him their complaints and suggestions online or via telephone. The virtual office, locally known as the portal, has reportedly received thousands of letters from citizens.

Musaeva's threats to write to the portal apparently did not sit well with Quziev, the head of her neighborhood committee. He can be seen in video saying he was "not afraid of anyone," since he had not done anything wrong.

"You told me that you're going to write to the portal. Your brother heard it too. I told him, 'Hey, ass, find some solution together with your sister.'"

Quziev repeatedly refers to Musaeva's son and brother as "bastard" and "faggot," and taunts them for not being able to find "a common language" with each other.

"You can't find a common language with the person who came from your own mother's belly, would you find a common language with me?!" Quziev asks.

"No, look...." Musaeva starts to say before the official cuts her off.

"You're slandering me. Bastard!" he says. "I just spoke with your bastard brother about you. That bastard was leaving. I told him, 'You, bastard, stop and listen to your bastard sister's words.'"

"OK. OK," Musaeva responds. The official continues to rant before getting into his car and driving away.

Last week, the Samarkand district court ordered Quziev to pay a fine -- equal to five months' minimum wage -- for verbally insulting Musaeva during the March incident.

The family, however, is unhappy with the court ruling, saying the fine of about $100 was too lenient for the offense.

"The court could at least order him to pay 100 months' salary," Musaeva's son says. "My mother has since been suffering mentally. Had it happened to someone else they would beat him up for insulting their mother. But me and my mother dealt with it decently."

Musaeva's son says he stopped himself from "attacking Quziev to defend" his mother, "because I would have been sent to prison for beating a government official."

"I opted for the legal route and went to court," he said, "but I'm not satisfied with the court decision."

Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service correspondent Shukhrat Babajanov
Contrary to posters you may have seen hanging on the walls in science buildings and classrooms, Lijun Liu, professor of geology at Illinois, knows that Earth's interior is not like an onion.

While most textbooks demonstrate the outer surface of the Earth as the crust, the next inner level as the mantle, and then the most inner layer as the core, Liu said the reality isn't as clear-cut.

"It's not just in layers, because the Earth's interior is not stationary," Liu said.

In fact, underneath our feet there's tectonic activity that many scientists have been aware of, but Liu and his team have created a computer model to help better explain it -- a model so effective that researchers believe it has the potential to predict where earthquakes and volcanoes will occur.

Using this model, Liu, along with doctoral student Jiashun Hu, and Manuele Faccenda from the University of Padua in Italy, recently published a research paper in the journal of Earth and Planetary Science Letters that focuses on the deep mantle and its relationship to plate tectonics.

"It's well-known that there are plate tectonics driving the Earth's evolution, but exactly how this process works is not entirely clear," he said.

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Liu and Hu looked specifically at the continent of South America to determine which tectonic factors contribute to the deformation, or the evolution, of the mantle.

To answer this question, the team created a data-centric model using the Blue Waters supercomputer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at Illinois. The sophisticated four-dimensional data-oriented geodynamic models are among the first of their kind.

"We are actually the first ones to use data assimilation models in studying mantle deformation, in an approach similar to weather forecasting," Liu said. "We are trying to produce a system model that simultaneously satisfies all the observations we have. We can then obtain a better understanding about dynamic processes of the Earth evolution."

While there are many debates in regards to how the Earth's internal evolution is driven, the model created by the team seemed to find an answer that better fits available observations and underlying physics. The team found that the subducting slab -- a portion of the oceanic plate that slides beneath a continental plate -- is the dominant driving force behind the deformation of the mantle.

Essentially, the active subduction of the slab determines most other processes that happen as part of a chain reaction. "The result is game-changing. The driving force of mantle flow is actually simpler than people thought," Liu said. "It is the most direct consequence of plate tectonics. When the slab subducts, it naturally controls everything surrounding it. In a way this is elegant, because it's simple."

By understanding this mechanism of Earth evolution, the team can make better predictions regarding the movement of the mantle and the lithosphere, or crust.

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The team then evaluated the model's predictions using other data. Hu, the lead author on the paper, said that by comparing the predictions to tectonic activities such as the formation of mountains and volcanoes, a clear consistency emerged.

"We think our story is correct," Hu said.

Consequently, the model also provides interesting insight on the evolution of continents as far back as the Jurassic, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth on Pangaea, the only continent at the time. This is still the team's ongoing research.

Liu said that in a separate paper that uses the same simulation, published by Liu and Hu in Earth and Planetary Science Letters in 2016, the model provided an accurate prediction for why earthquakes happen in particular locations below South America. He explained that earthquakes aren't evenly spread within the subducting slab, meaning there are potentially areas where an earthquake is more or less likely to take place.

"We found that whenever you see a lack of earthquakes in a region, it corresponds to a hole in the slab," Liu said. "Because of the missing slab in the hole, there's no way to generate earthquakes, so we might be able to know where more earthquakes will take place."

The model also explained why certain volcanoes might exist further inland and have different compositions, despite the common thought that volcanoes should exist solely along the coast, as a result of water coming off the down-going slab. As the model helps explain, a volcano can form inland if the slab subducts at a shallower angle, and a hole in the shallow slab allows for a special type of magma to form by melting of the crust.

"Ultimately this model will provide a promising way of solving the question of how and why continents move the way they do," Liu said. "The answer should depend on what the mantle is doing. This is a way to much better understand Earth evolution."

The team is currently expanding the model to analyze the entire globe.

"We are looking forward to more exciting results," Liu said.
An international team of researchers led by geoscientists with the Virginia Tech College of Science recently discovered that deep portions of Earth's mantle might be as hot as it was more than 2.5 billion years ago.

The study, led by Esteban Gazel, an assistant professor with Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences, and his doctoral student Jarek Trela of Deer Park, Illinois, is published in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience. The study brings new, unprecedented evidence on the thermal evolution of the deep Earth during the past 2.5 billion years, Gazel said.

The Archean Eon -- covering from 2.5 to 4 billion years ago -- is one of the most enigmatic times in the evolution of our planet, Gazel said. During this time period, the temperature of Earth's mantle -- the silicate region between the crust and the outer core -- was hotter than it is today, owing to a higher amount of radioactive heat produced from the decay of elements such as potassium, thorium, and uranium. Because Earth was hotter during this period, this interval of geologic time is marked by the widespread of occurrence of a unique rock known as komatiite.

"Komatiites are basically superhot versions of Hawaiian style lava flows," Gazel said. "You can imagine a Hawaiian lava flow, only komatiites were so hot that they glowed white instead of red, and they flowed on a planetary surface with very different atmospheric conditions, more similar to Venus than the planet we live on today."

Earth essentially stopped producing abundant hot komatiites after the Archean era because the mantle has cooled during the past 4.5 billion years due to convective cooling and a decrease in radioactive heat production, Gazel said.

However, Gazel and a team made what they call an astonishing discovery while studying the chemistry of ancient Galapagos-related lava flows, preserved today in Central America: a suite of lavas that shows conditions of melting and crystallization similar to the mysterious Archean komatiites.

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Gazel and collaborators studied a set of rocks from the 90 million-year-old Tortugal Suite in Costa Rica and found that they had magnesium concentrations as high as Archean komatiites, as well as textural evidence for extremely hot lava flow temperatures.

"Experimental studies tell us that that the magnesium concentration of basalts and komatiites is related to the initial temperature of the melt," Gazel said. "They higher the temperature, the higher the magnesium content of a basalt."

The team also studied the composition olivine, the first mineral that crystallized from these lavas. Olivine -- a light green mineral that Gazel has obsessively explored many volcanoes and magmatic regions to search for -- is an extremely useful tool to study a number of conditions related to origin of a lava flow because it is the first mineral phase that crystallizes when a mantle melt cools. Olivines also carry inclusions of glass -- that once was melt -- and other smaller minerals that are helpful to decipher the secrets of the deep Earth.

"We used the composition of olivine as another thermometer to corroborate how hot these lavas were when they began to cool," Gazel said. "You can determine the temperature that basaltic lava began crystallizing by analyzing the composition of olivine and inclusions of another mineral called spinel. At higher temperatures, olivine will incorporate more aluminum into its structure and spinel will incorporate more chromium. If you know how much of these elements are present in each mineral, then you know the temperature at which they crystallized."

The team found that Tortugal olivines crystallized at temperature nearing 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit (1,600 degrees Celsius) -- as high as temperatures recorded by olivines from komatiites -- making this a new record on lava temperatures in the past 2.5 billion years.

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Gazel and collaborators suggest in their study that Earth may still be capable of producing komatiite-like melts. Their results suggest that Tortugal lavas most likely originated from the hot core of the Galapagos mantle plume that started producing melts nearly 90 million years ago and has remained active ever since.

A mantle plume is a deep-earth structure that likely originates at the core-mantle boundary of the planet. When it nears the surface of the planet it begins to melt, forming features known as hotspots such as those found in Hawaii or Galapagos. Geologists can then study these hotspot lava flows and use their geochemical information as a window into the deep Earth.

"What is really fascinating about this study is that we show that the planet is still capable of producing lavas as hot as during Archean time period," Gazel said. "Based on our results from Tortugal lavas, we think that mantle plumes are 'tapping' a deep, hot region of the mantle that hasn't cooled very much since the Archean. We think that this region is probably being sustained by heat from the crystallizing core of the planet."

"This is a really interesting discovery and we are going to keep investigating Tortugal," said Trela, a doctoral student and the first author of the paper. "Although the Tortugal Suite was first discovered and documented more than 20 years ago, it wasn't until now that we have the technology and experimental support to better understand the global implications of this location."

Trela added, "Our new data suggest that this suite of rocks offers tremendous opportunity to answer key questions regarding the accretion of Earth, its thermal evolution, and the geochemical messages that mantle plumes bring to the surface of the planet."
Wolves and other top predators need large ranges to be able to control smaller predators whose populations have expanded to the detriment of a balanced ecosystem.

That's the main finding of a study appearing May 23 in Nature Communications that analyzed the relationship between top predators on three different continents and the next-in-line predators they eat and compete with. The results were similar across continents, showing that as top predators' ranges were cut back and fragmented, they were no longer able to control smaller predators.

"Our paper suggests it will require managing for top predator persistence across large landscapes, rather than just in protected areas, in order to restore natural predator-predator interactions," said co-author Aaron Wirsing, an associate professor at the University of Washington's School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

Gray wolves historically lived across vast swaths of North America, particularly in the western states and Canadian provinces. Coyotes, a smaller predator kept in check by wolves, appear to have been scarce in areas once dominated by wolves. As human development shrank territories for wolves, however, the wolf populations became fragmented and wolves no longer had the numbers or space to control coyotes, whose populations in turn grew.

The same story is at play in Europe and Australia, where the researchers examined the relationship between gray wolves and golden jackals, and dingoes and red foxes, respectively. As with America, when the top predator's range was slashed, the second-tier predators ballooned and ecosystems became imbalanced.

"This research shows that apex predators like dingoes and wolves need large, continuous territories in order to effectively control the balance of their ecosystems," said lead author Thomas Newsome of Deakin University and the University of Sydney in Australia. "Humans need a greater tolerance of apex predators if we want to enjoy the environmental benefits they can provide."

Only in the northern regions of Canada and parts of Alaska do wolves still roam across the large landscapes they once occupied. Elsewhere in North America, patchwork conservation efforts have brought wolves back in areas such as Yellowstone National Park, the northern Rockies, and eastern Washington and Oregon. Though wolves are on the upswing in these regions, their populations are likely too isolated to control the pervasive coyote and other small predators.

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In some areas, the increase in wolves is actually helping some predators that might be a couple of rungs lower on the food chain, like the red fox. But regardless of whether the presence of more wolves helps or hurts other predators, that effect is likely dampened when wolf populations are fragmented.

This calls into question what makes for effective conservation. At least for wolves, Wirsing said, prioritizing activities that connect landscapes and attempt to rejoin isolated populations should be considered, he said.

"This reframes the debate ? what we really need to do is connect areas if we want predators to play their historical roles," he said.

The researchers used bounty hunting data from all three continents to map the top predators' historical ranges. They then mapped the range over time for the three smaller predators, looking to see where they overlapped. The researchers found that top predators such as wolves and dingoes could suppress coyotes, red foxes and jackals only when the top predators lived at high densities and over large areas. Additionally, wolves and dingoes exert the most control closest to the core of their geographic range.

In places like Yellowstone and eastern Washington and Oregon, however, smaller wolf populations are too far removed from the remaining core of the species' distribution to really make a difference in controlling coyote numbers.

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Fewer wolves aren't the only reason coyotes have proliferated everywhere in North America. Coyotes are generalists that can live almost anywhere and have basically followed humans, eating our food and, in some cases, household pets. There have even been sightings in many metropolitan areas, including downtown Chicago.

"Coyotes have essentially hitched a ride with people," Wirsing said. "Not only do we subsidize coyotes, but we also helped them by wiping out their predators ? wolves."

The researchers plan to test whether similar patterns occur for other species pairs that compete strongly. They also call for more research comparing the ecological role of top predators on the edge of their geographic range, especially in human-modified environments.

"It will be interesting to see the influence of large predators on smaller predators in other parts of the world, especially the role of the big cats such as jaguars, leopards, lions and tigers," said co-author William Ripple of Oregon State University.
In 2012, scientists at UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) launched the Ocean Health Index (OHI), a scientific framework to measure and track the health of the world's oceans. Working in partnership with the nonprofit Conservation International, the OHI team measured the combined benefits that oceans sustainably provide for people -- from wild-caught and farmed seafood to habitats that protect coastlines. Annual status reports show how and where to improve ocean management.

Now, OHI researchers are transforming the way marine scientists engage with coastal management by leveraging practices and tools used by Silicon Valley software developers to promote teamwork. Employing several free software solutions that upgrade collaborative research, the team has been able to make its entire workflow more transparent and streamlined while enhancing the reproducibility of their data methods. The way in which OHI scientists adopted these "high-tech" practices is described in a new paper in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

"We combine best practices from ocean sciences and data science to help inform the management of coastlines around the world," says co-author Benjamin Halpern, NCEAS director and OHI chief scientist. "It was humbling to have so carefully documented what we did the first time around and then realize that it wasn't enough to efficiently repeat our work. We've had to completely change the way we do science. Now we do better science, and we also can do it much faster."

Developing the OHI framework and using it to assess 220 coastal countries was a massive undertaking of data mining and synthesis. The effort involved more than 30 scientists and 100 public datasets. As a way to track changes, the team worked by saving different versions of each file and collaborated about decisions via email. But as the researchers started repeating their methods from year to year to assess global changes in ocean health, problems arose because of the way they had originally worked with data.

"We quickly realized that we needed to transform how we worked to meet the demands of modern science," says lead author Julia Stewart Lowndes, an OHI project scientist at NCEAS. "We became data scientists, which means, among other things, coding collaboratively the way software developers do."

Lowndes noted that data science is incredibly powerful for both analyses and communication. "We're using software tools built specifically for working with data, which includes communicating about what you're doing," she explained. "We've used these tools to make our methods more repeatable, but what has been game-changing is that we can also use them to build interactive reports and websites so that others can build from our methods directly."

Sharing data and tools has become essential for global progress on climate, water and biodiversity issues. And this new approach has made OHI methods available to everyone. In fact, 20 groups worldwide, including the governments of Mexico and Indonesia and scientists in Sweden assessing countries on the Baltic Sea, are using OHI science and code for their own coastal management.

"We've been able to reimagine the way our science is done, communicated, shared and used," Lowndes said. "We're sharing our story because we hope to encourage others in the scientific community to do the same so we can all produce better science in less time."
Most people know that regular exercise can keep a body looking and feeling young.

What about the brain?

"There has been a wealth of evidence from past studies that physical activity has beneficial effects on neurocognitive functions, such as memory and regulatory control," says Mark Peterson, Ph.D., M.S., FACSM, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Michigan Medicine. "Essentially, those studies show that the physical activity alters the brain's aging trajectories to preserve cognitive health."

Peterson and colleagues were recently awarded a two-year grant from the University of Michigan's Exercise & Sport Science Initiative to further examine the role physical activity plays on the brain. The grant is one of four recently awarded by the U-M initiative to study physical activity.

A shortage of comprehensive analyses propelled the new effort.

"Those previous studies did not examine the effects in a large cohort," Peterson says. "We're hoping this study fills that knowledge gap and can validate and extend the previous claims."

Peterson and his U-M colleagues in psychiatry, Chandra Sripada, M.D., Ph.D., and computer science, Jenna Wiens, Ph.D., will obtain and study the cohort and data from the United Kingdom Biobank.

"The U.K. Biobank is the world's largest prospective epidemiological study," Peterson says. "It gathers extensive questionnaires and physical and cognitive measures from 500,000 participants."

"We'll be incorporating deep-learning techniques to predict brain age from raw neuroimaging, and will examine the independent effects of objectively measured physical activity on brain age and cognitive function in the cohort," he adds.
Rodents such as the edible dormouse feed preferably on high-energy seeds. They deliver the energy needed for reproduction and help juvenile animals put on the necessary fat reserves before their first hibernation season. But this important food source is not available every year. Beech trees save energy by producing seeds only in certain years and on a large scale, these years are called mast years. Edible dormice adapt to this cycle with a pragmatic choice of territory. A long-term study by researchers from Vetmeduni Vienna has now shown for the first time that edible dormice avoid areas with a high beech density. Instead, they prefer areas with a balanced mix of conifers and beech trees. The alternative food source allows the rodents to survive non-mast years without having to move to a new territory. However, they still find enough beech seeds to reproduce and feed their offspring, during mast years. The results were published in Frontiers in Zoology.

The seeds of beech trees are an important source of energy for rodents like the edible dormouse (Glis glis). In fact, beechnuts are a preferred food for the animals. The long-lived rodents need the energy-rich beech seeds for reproduction and the growth of their offspring. But beechnuts aren't available for the dormice every year. Beech trees produce seeds on a large scale only in so-called mast years. In other years, they yield little or no seeds. This requires the edible dormice to adapt to the lifecycle of the beech. New research conducted by wildlife biologists from Vetmeduni Vienna has now shown for the first time that the animals' choice of territory is of benefit to them. The rodents prefer areas with alternative food sources and only few beech trees. They actually avoid areas with a high beech density.

Move from beech forest to beech forest, or go without favourite food for a year?

Edible dormice have an exceptional longevity for rodents with an average life expectancy of up to 13 years. This means that they have to survive more years with lower food availability than other rodents. "Seeds such as the beechnut are an indispensable source of energy for the animals. Their reproduction as well as the survival of the juvenile animals depend on their availability," explains Jessica Cornils of the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology. "The edible dormouse must therefore adapt its own lifecycle to that of the beech. We hypothesised that this would also influence their choice of territory." The research team limited its study to two possible scenarios. "Not all beech trees have their mast years at the same time," says the first author. "One possibility for getting at the seeds regularly would be to switch territories between areas with many beeches. The second possibility would be to remain in a single territory that provides alternative food sources, such as conifer seeds, even though these are less energy-rich," says Cornils.

Dormice stay put, prefer abundant food supply over areas with high beech density

For their long-term study, the researchers set up nest-boxes in areas with a high density and in areas with a low density of beech trees. The nest-boxes were available to male and female dormice over the course of nine years. The researchers determined the food availability in each of the areas as well as the age and sex of the animals. The results showed that the dormice almost exclusively moved into nest-boxes in areas with a balanced mix of beech trees and conifers and that they rarely left the boxes once they moved in.

This allowed the researchers to show for the first time that the rodents made a pragmatic choice regardless of their sex. "Site fidelity had previously been known only among female dormice. They only rarely leave their territory to look for additional food," says Cornils. "In our study, however, the males also preferred territory with more alternative food sources. Not all nest-boxes were occupied to the same degree every year, but this can be explained by the fact that dormice go into hibernation earlier in non-mast year if their fat reserves allow it. Territory changes were observed mainly among juvenile animals. But this corresponds to their natural instinct to establish their own territory."

Dormouse reproduction depends on beech lifecycle

The study shows that the rodents rely on a safe alternative and a balanced food supply year after year. "In low-mast years, they can fall back on the conifers and other trees as a food source. During mast years, they have the large supply of energy-rich food available to them," explains senior author Thomas Ruf. "Although this tactic represents an excellent survival strategy, it does restrict their reproductive periods." The lifecycle of the dormouse is therefore closely tied to that of the beech trees in their territory. But the animals compensate with a long life and fertility even in old age. A lifecycle with intermittent periods of low and high crop years is typical for northern hemisphere trees such as oak and beech. After producing their energy-rich seeds in mast years, these trees can replenish energy during non-mast years. With the high yield of seeds in mast years, oak and beech trees can secure their own reproduction. Excess seeds that aren't eaten remain to grow into new trees.
Pioneering technology makes OPEC countries prime regions to produce synthetic fuels. This could be a key asset in phasing out fossil fuels after the Paris Agreement, while also keeping some of the existing oil industry value chain intact.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) holds its 172nd meeting in Vienna on Thursday, May 25th. OPEC's current fossil business will become obsolete in upcoming decades, but oil and gas related products are still needed in a climate neutral world. The Paris Agreement requires a transition to a net zero emission world within a few decades. This means a full phase out of all fossil fuels. Yet, hydrocarbons are still necessary for sectors such as marine and aviation, as well as the chemical industry.

As OPEC countries face having to leave their oil and gas in the ground, in order to ensure their economic success in the future, OPEC needs to look for new ways of producing fuels. Investing in Power-to-Liquid technology could be the answer, say Christian Breyer, professor for solar economy at LUT and Pasi Vainikka, Principal Scientist from VTT.

Neo-Carbon Energy: Synthetic fuels from the air

The Neo-Carbon Energy research project and technology from the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd enable the production of synthetic fuels straight from the air.

The solution is built on carbon dioxide capture, water electrolysis and subsequent synthesis units such as methanation for methane and Fischer-Tropsch for liquid fuels. It depends on very low cost renewable electricity based on wind and solar, and produces synthetic fuels in a carbon neutral way. This could lead to a whole new circular carbon economy.

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The cost estimates for producing liquid fuels with the solution are around $140/bbl (0.80 /l) between 2030 and 2040, if produced in the Maghreb region. Such prices were reached for crude oil in 2008. The cost could be even less in the future, due to declining solar PV and battery costs. The potential production volumes are practically unlimited, since Earth receives more than 1000 times more energy from the sun than it is used globally for all energy needs today. It is likely that Power-to-Fuels and Chemicals technology will gain increasing importance between 2030 to 2040.

"A net zero emission economy without this technology is practically impossible," emphasizes Breyer, professor for solar economy at LUT.

The raw materials needed in the process are carbon dioxide and water, with CO 2 separated from the air. Hydrogen is generated from water by means of electrolysis. Electricity consumed in the electrolysis is supplied from renewables. Finally, CO 2 and hydrogen are combined to form hydrocarbons in a synthesis reactor operated at high pressure and temperature. A future improvement might be to also use water from air, which is a byproduct of the CO 2 separation from air.

"All technologies are known, most of them for decades," says VTT's Vainikka.

OPEC regions excellent for production

Neo-Carbon Energy is feasible in areas where renewable electricity is available at a low cost. Research shows that the most cost-efficient sites for producing hydrocarbons from the air are regions with abundant solar and wind resources, such as Patagonia, the Maghreb, the Horn of Africa or Western Australia. The Middle East region is also well suited for production. The products are globally tradable as of today. Additionally, the liquids and chemicals need refining, which indicates parts of the existing global fossil oil value chain could remain after some restructuring. A new pilot plant will be opened in Finland in June.

The Neo-Carbon Energy Project will be featured in the EU Sustainable Energy Week program.
Humans are not the only species to show a strong work ethic and scruples. UC Berkeley researchers have found evidence of conscientiousness in insects, reptiles, birds, fish and other critters.

In reviewing nearly 4,000 animal behavior studies, UC Berkeley psychologists Mikel Delgado and Frank Sulloway tracked such attributes as industriousness, neatness, tenacity, cautiousness and self-discipline across a broad range of creatures great and small.

Just as in humans, conscientiousness in animals -- which includes working hard, paying attention to detail and striving to do the right thing -- has such evolutionary benefits as giving them an edge in hunting and gathering, attracting mates, procreating and fending off predators, according to the review published in the online issue of the journal Psychological Bulletin.

"Honeybees who are more likely to remove bee carcasses from their hive have more offspring, and birds who keep their nests tidier are less susceptible to being preyed on," said Delgado, a UC Berkeley doctoral student in psychology. "Also, for many bird species, mastering song is key to mating success."

And, "in some bird species, females carefully inspect the display nests that are built by males," she added. "Those males that build the best display nests and that have chosen nesting sites that are well hidden from predators, are more likely to be selected as mates."

Delgado and Sulloway divided the conscientious characteristics they found in animals into two main categories: "order and Industriousness," which includes organization and cleanliness, and "achievement striving and competence," which covers mastery and deliberation.

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Birds and insects tended to fit into the orderliness category, whereas primates and other mammals fit more squarely into the achievement striving box.

Moreover, researchers said, this split is reflected in the "phylogenetic" family tree in which primates and other mammals branched off from birds, reptiles, invertebrates and other species as their personality traits evolved to help them adapt to differing life conditions.

"Orderly and industrious tendencies appear to have originated in insects and fish, whereas achievement striving and competence may be more closely related to problem-solving, group living, and the complexity of the environment that those animals inhabit," Delgado said.

Among other tools, researchers tracked animal characteristics using the "Big Five" model, which breaks down personality into the five overarching categories of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

While previous research has identified openness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism in animals, this is the first time conscientiousness has been recognized throughout the animal kingdom.

That's because previous research defined conscientiousness too narrowly as a human trait based on emotions, intentions and morality, Delgado said.

"We argue for using a more behaviorally based approach in assessing animal personality in future research," Delgado said.
Is it possible to watch at the level of single cells how fish embryos become trout, carp or salmon? Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have successfully combined two very advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques. The new high-resolution light microscope permits fascinating insights into a cell's interior.

Using the "light-sheet microscopy" technology invented and developed by Professor Ernst Stelzer, it was already possible to observe organisms in a very precise and vivid way during cell differentiation. His group at Goethe University Frankfurt has now combined light sheets with a technique which so far only allowed very high spatial resolutions (<100nm) on a cell's surface. Combining both methods makes it possible to obtain a three-dimensional insight into a cell with a high resolution.

Light-sheet-based fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) is the most recent three-dimensional fluorescence microscopy technique. In fluorescence microscopy, a fraction of a cell's molecules is labelled with fluorescent markers, which are lit up with a beam of light. A camera records the three-dimensional distribution of the fluorescing molecules, i.e. the fluorophores. The outstanding advantage of LSFM is that even sensitive samples such as fish embryos survive observation. This is a major advancement since conventional methods, which illuminate the whole sample, expose the specimens to much more energy and destroy the cells in a very short period of time.

Ernst Stelzer, professor at the Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience and a principal investigator in the Cluster of Excellence "Macromolecular Complexes" of Goethe University Frankfurt, explains that LSFM does not illuminate the entire sample but only micrometre-thin light sheets. "Since we examine the biological specimens under conditions that are as natural as possible, we achieve very precise results," says Stelzer. However, not only static images of cells but also dynamic changes in their environment or genetic mutations can be measured in direct comparisons.

Bo-Jui Chang, Victor Perez Meza and Ernst Stelzer have now improved the technique further: "We combined light-sheet fluorescence microscopy with coherent structured illumination microscopy (SIM). This allows for an extremely high resolution," he reports. SIM is a super-resolution technique that produces several images, which are combined digitally. As a result, resolution is improved in the physical sense. The technical approach is to excite a fluorescing sample with a very specific illumination pattern. Sub-100 nm resolutions with this method are limited to surfaces but the technique has major advantages. It is fairly moderate in the excitation of the fluorescence, allows very fast imaging and can be used with all fluorescing molecules for high-resolution purposes.

"In the new microscope, which we call csiLSFM, we have developed the principle of SIM further in such a way that sub-100 nm resolutions are no longer limited to surfaces but can also be used in extensive three-dimensional objects. Here, two counterpropagating light sheets interfere at an angle of 180 so that they form the smallest possible linear interference pattern. As a result, we achieve an optimal resolution of less than 100 nanometres," explains Ernst Stelzer. The new instrument has three objective lenses. It works via the flexible control of rotation, frequency and phase shift of the perfectly modulated light sheet.

Images of endoplasmic reticulum of yeast, a complex membrane network of tubules, vesicles and cisterns, show that the researchers can use csiLSFM to work successfully with physiologically important objects.
When a person loses a hand to amputation, nerves that control sensation and movement are severed, causing dramatic changes in areas of the brain that controlled these functions. As a result, areas of the brain devoted to the missing hand take on other functions. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have found evidence of specific neurochemical changes associated with lower neuronal health in these brain regions. Further, they report that some of these changes in the brain may persist in individuals who receive hand transplants, despite their recovered hand function.

"When there is a sudden increase or decrease in stimulation that the brain receives, the function and structure of the brain begins to change," said Carmen M. Cirstea, M.D., Ph.D., research assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and lead author of the study. "Using a noninvasive approach known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to examine areas of the brain previously involved with hand function, we observed the types of changes taking place at the neurochemical level after amputation, transplantation or reattachment."

Cirstea, with co-author Scott Frey, Ph.D., the Miller Family Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience in the Departments of Psychological Sciences and Neurology, used MRS to evaluate the neuronal health and function of nerve cells of current hand amputees, former amputees and healthy subjects.

The researchers instructed volunteers to flex their fingers to activate sensorimotor areas in both sides of the brain. The research team then analyzed N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels, a chemical associated with neuronal health. The researchers found that NAA values for the reattachment and transplant patients were similar to levels of amputees and significantly lower than the healthy control group.

"Previous research has found substantial reorganizational changes in the brain following limb injuries that decrease sensory and motor stimulation following limb injuries," Frey said. "These findings show that after surgical repairs, the effects of nerve injuries on the mature brain may continue even as former amputees recover varying degrees of sensory and motor functions in replanted or transplanted hands."

Due to the small number of reattachment and transplant patients studied (5), the researchers said that the results should be interpreted with caution until more work is completed.
Camelina: Have you heard of it? It's an emerging alternative oilseed crop in parts of the Great Plains.

A new study, led by Augustine Obour at Kansas State University, looks at how three varieties of camelina perform when grown in two different regions within the Great Plains.

The end goal is to find the camelina variety that performs best in each location or environment.

"It's actually a challenge to identify alternative crops that are well adapted to semi-arid areas of the Great Plains," says Obour. "Plus, these crops have to fit into existing crop rotations."

That's where camelina excels. It's a short-season, cold-tolerant crop that grows well on marginal lands. It is also compatible with existing farm equipment used for grain crops.

Oil extracted from camelina seeds has several uses. It can be used for biodiesel and renewable jet fuel production. It is also a good source of ?-linolenic acid, a precursor for other healthy fatty acids essential for human and animal health. Together with camelina meal, the oil can also be used to manufacture adhesives, coatings, gums, resins, and varnishes.

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Most of the research on camelina cultivation has focused on the northern parts of the Great Plains -- parts of Montana and Wyoming. But the Great Plains stretches over 500 miles east to west, and 2000 miles north to south. Environmental conditions can vary widely in different parts of the Plains.

"Conditions, such as rainfall and air temperature, can have significant effects on yield and oil content of camelina," says Obour. For example, heat and moisture stress during flowering can reduce seed yield and alter oil composition.

How would camelina perform when grown in the central Great Plains -- western Nebraska and Kansas?

To answer this question, the researchers picked two test sites. One of the test sites was in Hays, Kansas, in the central Great Plains. Hays has relatively early springs and warmer summer air temperatures. The other test site was in Moccasin, Montana, in the northern Great Plains, with relatively cooler spring and summer temperatures. Moccasin also has lower average annual rainfall than that of Hays.

"These two sites provided us with an opportunity to test the effects of environmental conditions on camelina growth, yield, and oil composition," says Obour.

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But environmental conditions aren't alone in affecting how crops perform. Differences in the genetic makeup of crop varieties also influence which ones thrive in specific environments. "Different varieties of camelina respond to environmental stresses differently," says Obour. "That ultimately affects yield and oil content."

Over the course of three years, Obour and his colleagues grew three different camelina varieties in the two test sites. This way, the researchers could test how camelina genetics and environmental conditions together affected yield and oil content.

All three camelina varieties performed similarly at Moccasin, despite their genetic differences. At Hays, however, one variety, called Blaine Creek, had 42% higher seed yields than the other two. "This highlights the importance of looking at both crop genetics and environmental conditions," says Obour.

Overall, camelina seed yields were 54% lower at Hays than at Moccasin. The researchers also found that camelina oil content was lower at Hays. However, seed protein content was significantly higher at Hays.

Oil composition was different between the two test sites as well. Monounsaturated and saturated fatty acid contents were greater at Hays but polyunsaturated oil content was lower. This is important for growers to know so they can better target their crop to a chosen market.

"Our findings confirm that camelina seed yield, oil content, and fatty acid composition are significantly affected by both the environment and camelina genetics," says Obour.

Obour's work continues. "The next line of research is selecting camelina varieties that are tolerant to heat stress," says Obour. That will allow for improved seed yield, oil content, and fatty acid profile of camelina grown across the central Great Plains.

Read more about Obour's work in Agronomy Journal. The study was supported by the USDA-NIFA Biomass Research and Development Initiative program (Grant no.2012-10006-20230) and by the USDA/DOE Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy program (Grant no. DE-SC0012459).
Although cannabis had been used for many centuries for treatment of seizure disorders, medical use became prohibited in the 20th century. However, with the loosening of laws regarding medical marijuana, research and clinical use of marijuana-derived substances are increasing. This has prompted the editors of Epilepsy & Behavior to produce a special issue that presents an in-depth assessment of the potential of cannabinoids for the effective treatment of epilepsy. Cannabinoids are components of the cannabis plant.

Guest Editors Jerzy Szaflarski, MD, PhD, Director of the Epilepsy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Orrin Devinsky, MD, Director, Epilepsy Center, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, comment that, "There is an enormous dissociation between the widespread use of cannabis-based therapies to treat diverse epilepsies and our understanding about the efficacy and safety of different cannabinoids in treating different epilepsy syndromes." Because much of the political pressure to allow for medical marijuana use came from patients and lay groups, the goal of this special issue is "to evaluate the concerns and gaps in cannabinoid knowledge and medical education, and to create a curriculum as a first step in building a broader Education Roadmap."

This special issue provides an overview for general neurologists and epileptologists, including historical aspects of cannabis use for epilepsy, overview of cannabis botany, general aspects of the endocannabinoid system as it pertains to epilepsy, pharmacology of cannabinoids, available anecdotal and clinical trial data of cannabinoid use for the treatment of epilepsy, safety data, discussion of possible effects of cannabinoids on the brain including neuroimaging data, and the legal aspects of cannabis production, distribution, and use for the treatment of epilepsy.

Raphael Mechoulam, PhD, Head of the School of Pharmacy and Director of the Institute for Drug Research at Hebrew University, provides an insightful historical perspective. He notes that non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) is officially approved for the treatment of intractable pediatric epilepsy in Israel, but it took over 35 years to conduct the studies and obtain the results. "I expect that over the next decade we shall see major advances both in the medical-scientific and the treatment aspects of epilepsy with the help of CBD and related cannabinoids," explains Dr. Mechoulam.

To move a plant-based drug from research studies to clinical use is a particular challenge for pharmaceutical companies. Suman Chandra, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at the University of Mississippi, and co-authors review how the United States and United Kingdom have addressed the problem of securing uniform supplies of medically pure and potent cannabinoids. They review cultivation and processing of marijuana at two institutions with extensive experience, GW Pharmaceuticals in the U.K. and the University of Mississippi in the U.S.

Because both media coverage of cannabis use in epilepsy and inconsistent classification of medical marijuana usage in different U.S. states have short-circuited the rigorous scientific protocols of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), quality validation may be lacking. Dustin Sulak, DO, Integr8 Health (Falmouth, ME) and co-investigators review how "artisanal" cannabis preparations, not subject to state regulatory controls, are being used in Washington and California. They also relate four case studies of pediatric epilepsy patients that illustrate the complexities of treatment due to variability of these preparations.

As an example of how interest in medical use of cannabis can be driven by social media and word-of-mouth, Anastasia S. Suraev, The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, The University of Sydney, and co-authors surveyed the Australian epilepsy community. This online survey was promoted by Epilepsy Action Australia, a national non-profit organization that provides education and services to people with epilepsy and their families. There were 976 responses, about 60% from adults with epilepsy and the remainder from children with epilepsy. Overall, 14% reported currently using or having previously used cannabis products to treat epilepsy. Of the 389 children with epilepsy included in the survey, 13% had a reported history of cannabis product use for epilepsy. Of these, 71% of parents/guardians rated cannabis products as successful in helping them manage their child's seizures. Furthermore, 51% of parents/guardians reported reduced use of anti-epileptic drugs by their child after commencing use of cannabis products.

Although cannabis is currently legal for medical purposes in half of the states and another seventeen states allow products that are high in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) for medical use, none of these products has been approved by the FDA. Alice Mead, JD, LLM, GW Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Carlsbad, CA) provides an overview of the legal aspects of cannabis and cannabidiol, including cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and use for medical purposes.

"We hope these articles help stimulate greater understanding and more importantly, stimulate more studies to scientifically define the potential benefits and harms of cannabis-based therapies for epilepsy," note Dr. Szaflarski and Dr. Devinsky. "We need to develop a curriculum to address the rapidly changing scientific and regulatory landscape surrounding the medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids."

The special issue can be found online at: http://www.epilepsybehavior.com/issue/S1525-5050(17)X0007-3
With the prospect of a US-Mexico border wall looming, research and reporting on the ecological impacts of walls is both important and timely. Reporting in BioScience on such barriers' known effects on wildlife, science journalist Lesley Evans Ogden describes the potential effects of the proposed structure along the 2000-mile US-Mexico border. "If the wall is completed, it will create a considerable biodiversity conservation challenge -- one unlikely to disappear anytime soon," she writes.

The threats posed to local populations of species may be dire. Smaller aggregations of animals are often ephemeral and rely on individuals moving between populations to replenish their numbers and genetic stocks. "Local populations blink on and off like Christmas lights," says the University of Arizona's Aaron Flesch, who was interviewed for the article. The concern is that, if a border wall prevents migration, isolated local populations may fail to blink back on again.

Research described in the article points to problems even in areas where actions have been taken to allow animal movement. "Even when there isn't a physical wall or much of a barrier, [border agents] are actively engaged in enforcing the law through patrols," explained David Christianson of University of Arizona. These patrols, which may disrupt movement or other animal behavior, often include off-road travel "right in the middle of this endangered species habitat," says Christianson. Preliminary radio-collar and camera-trap data indicate that some species, such as pronghorn antelope, do not frequently travel near the US-Mexico border.

Perhaps most significant, some research described by Evans Ogden indicates that hardened border barriers may be ineffective in preventing passage by the species they are intended to impede -- humans. Jamie McCallum, a consultant at Transfrontier International Limited, and his colleagues from the Zoological Society of London set camera traps in protected areas where 4- to 5-meter steel barriers are already in place. The traps were used to photographically "capture" the presence of mammals along the border. Animals such as coati and pumas were found in lower numbers near hardened borders, as was expected by the researchers. However, the photographic evidence showed no lower likelihood of finding smugglers or undocumented migrants near border walls. Although more work remains to be done, this could be a sign that walls do little to prevent human cross-border movement. Says McCallum, "I thought it would have at least some kind of trace of an effect, even if it wasn't a statistically significant finding. But it didn't appear to."
Despite having increased human wellbeing in the past, intense modifications by multiple and interacting pressures have degraded ecosystems and the sustainability of their goods and services. For ecosystem restoration to deliver on multiple environmental and societal targets, the process of restoration must be redesigned to create a unified and scale-dependent approach that integrates natural and social sciences as well as the broader restoration community.

Use, development and exploitation of water resources might seem incompatible with preservation of aquatic ecosystem biodiversity. However, researchers from The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and colleagues have developed a new framework for effective ecosystem restoration, which integrates these goals. This new framework may be essential for achieving the UN targets of restoring at least 15 % of all degraded ecosystems within 2020.

Restoration of aquatic ecosystems can improve both the delivery of ecosystem services and the ecological functioning. In two peer reviewed articles published in 2016, in cooperation with international colleagues, NIVA researchers present how this can be done.

Lack of results from current restoration practices

"Special attention has been paid to the restoration of rivers over the last decades, providing many experiences we can learn from," says Therese Fosholt Moe, researcher at NIVA.

"Overall, the results from most restoration projects have not been as successful as we hoped for. Many restorations are not followed up with monitoring programs, and in most cases, we simply dont know if the projects are successful."

There are several reasons for this: poor planning, vaguely defined aims, lack of sufficient financial support, and primarily small and fragmented projects. Additionally, attention has been paid to restoring the appearance of nature, not ensuring that the ecosystem processes are intact.

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The Operational Restoration Unit (OR): Restoration of the future

"Whether future projects will be successful or not depends on our approach to the restoration task. It is we, as humans, who see the need for and carry out these projects, though our incentives can be many and different," says Fosholt Moe.

"The measures we take must be regarded as part of a whole, in which all relevant social conditions are accounted for."

Fosholt Moe stresses that this approach must be used at all organizational levels -- from agricultural politics, via the EU Water Framework Directive, down to local decisions in the municipalities and the needs of the landowners. This should reveal the possibilities and limitations of a restoration project. In this manner, the goals will be more realistic, increasing the probabilities of a successful project.

In other words, restoration planning is a crucial step in the process. Planning must be both holistic and restricted in time and space. This is where the NIVA researchers and colleagues suggest the new concept: The Operational Restoration Unit (OR).

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The geographical boundaries of an OR will be defined based on catchments and landscape features, but other factors which might influence, or potentially conceal, the catchment effects are also accounted for when drawing the boundaries. Such factors are assessed at all relevant levels; from climate change to local point sources, integrating the time effect. All these aspects should be included when an OR is defined, because this influences both which measures should be taken, how to define the success criteria, and also the calculations of cost-benefit for the project.

The concept of, and the background for, OR is published in WIREs Water and Advances in Ecological Research, respectively.

An holistic approach

What differentiates an OR from earlier restoration practices is that an OR integrates all of the important and successful restoration elements in a holistic way, where the result is more than the sum of the individual elements, Fosholt Moe explains.

"OR includes all the essential drivers for either success or fiasco; such as including all relevant parties, being interdisciplinary, scalable and flexible such that it can be used in any restoration. The core of its success lies in the consideration of both nature and human interests. This is essential for a successful restoration, but has in earlier projects often been ignored."

While the full implementation of the OR concept has not yet been tested, one of the most successful restorations in Europe, the Skjerna-catchment in Denmark, suggests good results, as it includes many of the elements of an OR.

Let nature do the job

When choosing restoration measures, the focus has to be on strengthening natural processes, allowing nature to do the work. For this, we need to assess the ecosystems ability to return to its original state. This is not currently a common practice, making the outcome of many restoration projects unforeseeable. OR, on the other hand, looks at a systems resilience (the ability to recover from a disruption), indicating how the system will respond to the restoration.

"The interplay of such restoration with natural processes is a cost-effective and sustainable solution, reducing the need for long-term maintenance," Fosholt Moe points out.

Interdisciplinary cooperation gives interdisciplinary benefits

For the implementation of an OR, an interdisciplinary approach is needed.

"To make this operative, we suggest that all relevant parties put in effort to increase the knowledge exchange. It is also important that future projects are followed up," says Nikolai Friberg, research director at NIVA.

"By applying the OR concept as described in the articles, planning and accomplishment of the projects will be more holistic. This, in turn, gives customized measures, lower costs, a reduced need for maintenance, more successful restorations, learning, knowledge based optimizing of the ecosystem services, and a better aquatic environment for future generations."

Unique possibilities in Norway

"In Norway, we've had very few restoration projects in aquatic environments, compared to other countries, for instance in Scandinavia. But there is a need for restoration projects also in Norway," Friberg says.

"This situation gives us a unique possibility to implement OR in future projects, thereby avoiding the mistakes that have been done in the past."

A Strategic Institute Initative was in 2016 started up by The Norwegian Institute for Water Research, in which the effects of the restoration measures in aquatic ecosystems will be analyzed. This initiative runs over several years, and the methods presented above will be tested.
Learning how to walk is difficult for toddlers to master; it's even harder for adults who are recovering from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or other condition, requiring months of intensive, often frustrating physical therapy. With the recent boom of the robotic exoskeleton industry, more and more patients are being strapped into machines that apply forces to their legs as they walk, gently prodding them to modify their movements by lengthening their strides, straightening their hips, and bending their knees. But, are all patients benefiting from this kind of treatment? A group of scientists led by Paolo Bonato, Ph.D., Associate Faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Director of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, has discovered a crucial caveat for rehabilitative exoskeletons: humans whose lower limbs are fastened to a typical clinical robot only modify their gait if the forces the robot applies threaten their walking stability.

In a study published in the newest issue of Science Robotics, the researchers measured how test subjects' gait changed in response to forces applied by a robotic exoskeleton as they walked on a treadmill. To the team's surprise, the walkers adjusted their stride in response to a change in the length, but not the height, of their step, even when step height and length were disturbed at the same time. The scientists believe that this discrepancy can be explained by the central nervous system (CNS)'s primary reliance on stability when determining how to adjust to a disruption in normal walking. "Lifting your foot higher mid-stride doesn't really make you that much less stable, whereas placing your foot closer or further away from your center of mass can really throw off your balance, so the body adjusts much more readily to that disturbance," says Giacomo Severini, Ph.D., one of the three first authors of the paper, who is now an Assistant Professor at University College Dublin.

In fact, the brain is so willing to adapt to instability that it will expend a significant amount of the body's energy to do so, most likely because the consequences of wobbly walking can be severe: a broken ankle, torn ligaments, or even a fall from a height. However, this prioritization of stability means that other aspects of walking, like the height of the foot off the ground or the angle of the toes, may require treatment beyond walking in a clinical exoskeleton. "To modify step height, for example, you'd need to design forces so that the change in height, which the brain normally interprets as neutral, becomes challenging to the patient's balance," says Severini. Most robots used in clinical settings today do not allow for that kind of customization.

The brain appears to create an internal model of the body's movement based on the environment and its normal gait, and effectively predicts each step. When reality differs from that model (i.e., when a force is applied), the brain adjusts the body's step length accordingly to compensate until the force is removed and the body recalibrates to the mental model. "The results of our study give us insight into the way people adapt to external forces while walking in general, which is useful for clinicians when evaluating whether their patients will respond to clinical robot interventions," says Bonato, who is also an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

"The results of this research are very important from a clinical point of view," agrees Ross Zafonte, D.O., Chairperson of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at HMS and Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs Research and Education at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. "It is thanks to advances in our understanding of the interactions between robots and patients, such as the ones investigated in this study, that we can design effective robot-assisted gait therapy."

"As the human population ages, robotics is playing an increasing role in their care and treatment," says Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., Founding Director of the Wyss Institute, who is also the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at HMS and Boston Children's Hospital, and Professor of Bioengineering at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "Studying how the human body interacts with robots can not only teach us how to build better clinical rehabilitation machines, but also how our own human bodies work."
The Zika virus circulated in many regions of the Americas for several months before cases of infection were detected, according to new data from an international research team from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and several collaborating institutions.

These findings, revealed today in Nature in a paper led by Pardis Sabeti of the Broad Institute and Harvard University, arise from an analysis of 174 Zika virus genomes -- including the largest collection of new Zika virus genomes to date -- sequenced from patient and mosquito samples collected in 11 affected countries and territories.

The genomic data allowed the research team to reconstruct for the first time the spread of the virus across South and Central America, the Caribbean, and into the southern United States.

In many of these regions, the virus circulated for months before local cases of infection were detected. Sabeti and colleagues' analysis suggested that Zika was circulating in Brazil around February 2014, a year before that nation's first confirmed infections were reported. Similarly, the virus appears to have arrived in Colombia, Honduras, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere in the Caribbean from 4.5 to 9 months before the first confirmed local infections, highlighting the importance of having sensitive and specific diagnostic tools early in an outbreak.

These results appear only now, months after the peak of the outbreak, because sequencing Zika virus has proved to be challenging, particularly directly from patient samples. The difficulty arises because Zika virus is typically present at very low levels in patients and disappears quickly. As a result, very few Zika genomes had been generated prior to this study, leaving researchers with little basis for understanding how the virus is spreading and evolving.

To address this lack of data, the team developed new laboratory and analytical methods for capturing robust Zika genomic data, and applied them to samples collected in partnership with collaborators in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and Florida to generate 110 new genomes for this study. The team combined those genomes with an additional 64 available in GenBank and in one of the study's two companion papers to carry out their analysis.

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"We knew it was important to understand the viral populations driving the epidemic, which motivated us to tackle the challenges of sequencing Zika," said study co-first author Hayden Metsky, a graduate student in the Sabeti lab. "Because the data we generated capture the geographic diversity of the virus across the Americas, they provide an opportunity to trace how and when the virus spread. Our data and findings will also support development of more effective molecular diagnostic tests, as well as improved public health surveillance tools."

The work also highlights the importance of quickly creating trusted partnerships between researchers and across institutions and regions, and of sharing data openly during outbreaks.

"This collaboration has been about each partner sharing their unique resources and expertise -- samples, protocols, analyses, insights -- to help understand and fight Zika," said Thiago Moreno L. Souza, a study co-senior author and senior research scientist at Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. "Sharing the data widely for the same end goal was an obvious extension of that ethos."

The study was published together with two companion papers, one by Kristian Andersen from the Scripps Research Institute and colleagues examining Zika's introduction into Florida, and the other by Oliver Pybus at the University of Oxford and colleagues examining the virus's establishment and early spread within and beyond northeastern Brazil. All three teams committed to sharing data and ideas freely amongst themselves and to release their findings cooperatively and quickly.

"Collectively our goal was to capture as complete a picture of the genetic underpinnings of the epidemic in the Americas as we could. Working together was critical to reaching that goal," said study co-senior author Bronwyn MacInnis, associate director of malaria and viral genomics in the Broad's Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program. "Instead of competing for publication, we wanted our papers to leverage each other and reflect our commitment to the greater good."

Zika remains a significant public health threat in affected countries and regions, highlighting the need for continued surveillance and research on the virus. According to MacInnis, the epidemic holds lessons about the role genomics can play in identifying and tracking emerging outbreaks early, before widespread infection occurs.

"Genomics allowed us to reconstruct how the virus traveled and changed across the epidemic -- which also means that genomics could have helped detect it much earlier," she said. "We were way behind the curve on Zika. We need to be well ahead of the next emerging viral threat, and genomics can have a role in achieving this."
Researchers analysed data of hundreds of UK children who had been born through IVF or ICSI (when the man has a low sperm count), testing the same groups of children every few years up to the age of 11. They found a positive association between artificial conception and cognitive development when a child was between the ages of three and five.

The study published in the journal, Human Reproduction, also shows that parents who undergo such treatments are generally older, more educated and have a higher socio-economic status than parents who had naturally conceived children. Artificially conceived babies are more likely to be part of a multiple birth or have low birth weight, however, this study finds their family backgrounds 'override' the possible negative effects to health that could lessen cognitive ability. The findings are significant given previous studies show a mixed picture, with some research suggesting assisted reproductive treatments can harm a child's cognitive abilities.

Researchers Professor Melinda Mills and doctoral student Anna Barbuscia, from the University of Oxford's Department of Sociology and Nuffield College, used data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative group of 18,552 families. They analysed a sample of babies born in 2000-1 who were resident in the UK at nine months, using data from the Department of Social Security Child Benefit Registers.

Out of 15,281 artificially conceived children born in 2000-1, 8,298 were followed up for cognitive ability tests in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2012. Out of 15,218 children born in 2000-2001, who were followed up for cognitive ability tests in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2012, 214 were conceived artificially through IVF or ICSI. Standardised tests (British Ability Scales) were used at each stage to assess the children's vocabulary skills (at three and five); reading at seven, and use of verbs at 11. The scores were compared with those of children who had been naturally conceived.

Analyses show that mothers and fathers are on average four to five years older, respectively, than parents of naturally conceived children. This group of parents is also likely to have a higher income and belong to a higher social class, with the mothers more likely to be highly educated and employed than mothers of naturally conceived babies. The study notes that these factors are 'consistent and statistically significant' and highlights that they are widely accepted as being linked with children with higher cognitive abilities in the early years.

Researcher Professor Melinda Mills, from the Department of Sociology, said: 'The findings suggest that the positive effect of the family background of children conceived through artificial reproduction techniques "overrides" the risks of related poor health impairing their cognitive ability. Although artificially conceived babies have a higher risk of being born prematurely or as a multiple birth, we have found they also have parents who are older, better educated and from a higher income bracket.

'These are all factors linked with better outcomes for children. What is significant is that this positive effect is over the long term up to the age of 11. The findings support other studies showing that on balance such fertility treatments do not impair a child's higher thinking skills.'

Lead author Anna Barbuscia said: 'The strong desire and considerable psychological and financial effort involved in having a child through artificial conception treatments undoubtedly contributes to more attentive parenting.

'Parents may perceive their children as more fragile but once past the period of greatest risk, their parenting style may change to become more like other parents. This might account for the fact that the gap in higher cognitive ability has closed by the time both groups of children had reached the age of 11 with only slightly better scores for artificially conceived children at this later stage .'

The paper explains that since the first IVF baby was born in 1978, there has been a rapid increase in the use of artificial reproductive technology, with more than 5 million children conceived this way (up to 2012). To date, results on the long-term effects on children have been mixed. Some studies reported an increased risk of damage to their behavioural, social, emotional and cognitive development, as well as mental disorders or physical problems such as low birthweight and premature delivery.

By contrast, a series of systematic reviews concluded, however, that there were no developmental differences once the baby was a few weeks old. Other studies draw similar conclusions to the Oxford study, showing not only comparable but higher mental health and social development in IVF children.
Paris (France), May 15, 2017 (SPS)  The decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which excludes Western Sahara territories from the EU-Morocco trade agreements is "mandatory" for both the European Commission and its member states, said Algeria's ambassador to Brussels, Amar Belani, in reaction to reports that the European Commission had requested the Unions approval for a new negotiating mandate with a view to "adjusting" certain provisions of the agreements.

Theoretically, this is unlikely to happen as the provisions of the ECJ ruling of 21 December 2016 are clear and stipulate that the products and resources from Western Sahara territory are excluded from the trade agreements between the EU and Morocco," Belani said in an interview with Afrique Asie magazine.

According to Afrique Asie, which quotes the international NGO Western Sahara Resource Watch, the European Commission has requested the EU member states approval for a new negotiating mandate to adjust certain provisions of the trade agreement with Morocco, to include products from Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco since 1975.

In this regard, the Algerian diplomat recalled that "the irreversible decision of European justice is binding for the European Commission and the EU member states. It derives from the distinct status recognized by the international law and the UN Charter, of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory."

However, he said that "the statements of certain senior EU officials and the low-key visits by these officials to Rabat suggested that the two parties work together to find technical means for circumventing this decision, which explains the incessant interrogations of the MEPs as to the content of these unclear negotiations.

The Moroccan authorities, which are usually so quick to react to the EU slightest recall of the international law principles, such as the non-autonomous status of Western Sahara territory or its eligibility for self-determination referendum, have been quiet in recent months, as if they received guarantees about the outcome of those negotiations."

For Belani, "it would be regrettable that the EU, in the name of pragmatism, decides to breach the principles and the values of its foundation and its relations with the rest of the world."

As well, he voiced "confidence" that the law would prevail. "My confidence is backed up by the European companies announcement of ending the exploitation of Western Sahara resources, like Swiss multinational Glencore PLC in offshore oil exploration."

Belani has welcomed "the end of the impunity through which Morocco illegally exported Sahrawi resources.

A South African judge seized a New Zealand-bound vessel carrying $-5-million 54,000 tonnes of phosphates, from the Boucraa mines in the Sahrawis occupied territories by Morocco.

Regarding Morocco's "dithering" over its agreement for the naming of a UN new personal envoy for Western Sahara,- a prelude to the relaunch of Morocco - Polisario negotiations-, Belani said that "Morocco is entangled in its own contradictions" recalling "the permanent representatives speech in New York at the end of the Security Council meeting on April 28, who conditioned the relaunch of talks, as proposed by the UN chief and supported by the Security Council, by the departure Polisario Front elements from Guerguerat region."

The Polisario Front has withdrawn its elements as a sign of appeasement and readiness to relaunch talks.

The diplomat regretted that "Morocco was exaggerating by saying that it would approve Horst Kohler as a UN Personal envoy on the only basis of its 2007 autonomy proposal, which is contrary to the Resolution calling for direct negotiations and without pre-conditions."

"There is another schizophrenic attitude of Morocco. The Kingdom wants to accede to the African Union (AU), by obtaining the support of most members, but it doesnt recognize or abide by the Pan-African Organization dispute settlement mechanisms. Morocco has adhered unreservedly to the AU constituent charter," concluded Belani. (SPS)

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Vienna (Austria), May 23, 2017 (SPS) - The Saharwi Coordinator with MINURSO, member of the National Secretariat, Mr. Emhamed Khaddad, held meetings with the Austrian Foreign Ministry as well as with Ambassador Bernhard Wrabetz at the headquarters of the Austrian government

During the two meetings, Khaddad briefed the Austrian authorities on the latest developments in the Sahara issue at political, legal and human rights levels, reviewing in detail the recent Security Council resolution, which called on the parties to the conflict to enter into direct negotiations without preconditions to reach a just and lasting solution that guarantees the right of Saharawi people in self-determination and independence.

Sahrawi official has also mentioned the decision of the European Court of Justice of December 21, 2016, which explained that Western Sahara "is not Moroccan and does not form part of the geography of Morocco, therefore Morocco is not legally entitled to sign agreements with a third party on the wealth of this region, which has not yet completed the process of decolonization, calling on the Austrian government to respect this decision and defend it in European forums.

In the field of human rights, Mr. Khaddad discussed with the Moroccan authorities grave violations of the rights of Sahrawis in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

His intervention to the friends and supporters of the national cause in Austria during the annual meeting of the Austrian-Sahrawi Friendship Association, he talked on the latest developments of the national cause, voicing on behalf of the Saharawi people, a sincere thanks to it solidarity and continuous support to our people in our just struggle to achieve our legitimate rights. SPS

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The UN recognized GNA (Government of National Accord) has occupied the capital (Tripoli) since early 2016 but has been unable to gain the loyalty or cooperation of the many factions that have been keeping the country, especially western Libya, in chaos since 2012. Worse, neighboring countries see Libya as a source of Islamic terrorism and criminal activity of all sorts. Within Libya he major obstacle to peace and prosperity are other Libyans.

GNA controls all the government ministries located in Tripoli but the rival HoR (House of Representatives) government based in Tobruk controls eastern Libya and, more importantly, most of the oil export (and many oil fields) facilities. HoR is better organized, united, less corrupt and more hostile to Islamic radicals and terrorists of any sort. Most other nations in the region agree with the HoR and are not optimistic about the success of the GNA.

The GNA made a major mistake early on by underestimating the revived Libyan Armed Forces and its leader general Khalifa Belgacem Hiftar. HoR and Hiftar gained allies throughout Libya while the GNA proved itself indecisive and ineffective. For example, Hiftar has the support of many of the Berbers who tend to live in western Libya. Since then more militias in western Libya are reconsidering their loyalties. This dispute is mainly about terms for transferring power (now held by tribes, militias and powerful men like Hiftar) to a new national government.

The basic problem is that the UN and most Western nations continue to back the GNA despite the fact that the GNA relies too much on Islamic conservative militias and senior Libyan Islamic clerics who favor imposing Islamic law on Libya, something most Libyans dont want. The GNA is also more tolerant of corruption, in part because GNA is the conduit for most foreign aid and thus there is more to steal. Western groups are pressuring the UN to concentrate on prosecuting militia leaders, especially those loyal to Hiftar, for war crimes. But most Libyans note the majority of alleged war crimes being committed by militias aligned with the GNA and rarely criticized by the UN. This reinforces Libyan distrust of the UN as a foreign force trying to impose itself on Libya. This is one of the best recruiting tools for Hiftar who, so far in 2017, has gained the allegiance of a number of tribes who see Hiftar as decisive, organized, reliable and very opposed to Islamic terrorists of any kind. That appeals to other Arab states in the region. The West tends to see Hiftar as another Kaddafi (a military officer who staged a coup to replace the Western backed Libyan monarchy). The Arabs and most Libyans dont see a similarity between Hiftar and Kaddafi and are mystified that so many in the West do.

The chaos that has crippled Libya since 2011 is not resolving itself quickly enough to prevent widespread hunger and privation throughout the country. This is not acceptable to the UN and the West but no one has a quick solution. Russia is openly backing the HoR faction that is opposed by the UN but is gaining support within Libya. Most Libyans have concluded that if they dont establish some form of national government (or understanding) soon the country will literally starve. Libya has depended on oil income for decades and the current population cannot feed itself without oil money to pay for the food and other necessities. Worse, most Libyan have a sense of entitlement because of all the oil wealth and resist taking responsibility for all the corruption and factionalism that is keeping the country in chaos and broke. Without a central government Libyans have fallen back on tribal or clan leaders. There are over a hundred recognized (even by Kaddafi) tribes and major clans. With Kaddafi gone it took a while for many of these tribes to rebuild their leadership capability and ability to serve tribal members. About a third of these tribes are large enough, and well led enough to be treated as a separate entity (usually because of a tribal militia) and it is these tribes that are now willing to work with Hiftar but not the GNA.

Dirty Oil

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) revealed that production had risen to a record (since 2011) 800,000 BPD (barrels per day) in April. This is largely the result of much less fighting near the main eastern oil ports. Between February and March this violence had reduced production to about 600,000 BPD but now the NOC sees production hitting a million BPD (a quarter of it natural gas equivalents) by the end of August and continuing to increase into 2018. But it all depends on an end of fighting over oil facilities. Meanwhile there are technical problems, mostly the result of years without proper maintenance that cause production to occasionally dip. For example, that happened recently when production fell to 788,000 BPD. In theory the oil is exported and the cash received buys essential items like food, medicine and other consumer items. In practice there is still a problem with corruption and a lot of the oil money disappearing before the needed imports can reach most Libyans.

One thing the GNA and HoR eventually agreed on was to cooperate when it comes to the Central Bank and NOC (National Oil Company). Both these institutions are essential to pay for needed imports. With this understanding, and the more capable Hiftar forces controlling most of the oil facilities the NOC sees an opportunity to get production from 650,000 barrels a day at the end of 2016 to a million barrels a day by the end of 2017 and double that by 2022. Pre-2011 production was 1.6 million barrels a day. One thing that all Libyans can agree on is that the standard of living has declined sharply since 2011. Per capita income is about 30 percent of what it was in 2011 and that will further decline until oil shipments get back to pre-2011 levels. Mass starvation is no longer a theoretical threat or conspiracy theory. It is happening and that is causing many factions to become cooperative, for now.

The GNA is still trying to deal with a massive corruption scandal and determine how 44 percent of oil revenue for the first three months of the year disappeared. There was supposed to be $3.87 billion but the Ministry of Finance can only account for $2.2 billion of it. The GNA has been trying to get foreign loans and the potential lenders wanted to see the financial records. That did not end well but it is no surprise as Libya is one of the ten most corrupt nations on the planet.

Another seemingly permanent form of corruption is the PFGs (Petroleum Facilities Guards). These are tribal militias hired (or bribed) by previous governments to keep oil fields, pipelines and port facilities secure. Soon many, if not most, PFGs went rogue, shut down the facilities they guarded and, in effect, tried to blackmail the government into paying them more. This was driven by tribal feuds over how oil revenue should be allocated. Libya has always been very corrupt and Kaddafi remained in power for decades by playing the tribes off on each other with oil income. Those who cooperated got more, those who caused trouble got less. With Kaddafi gone many tribes want payback for past injustices (real or imagined). Many of the PFGs have now backed the GNA but as long as some of them continue to resist oil income is crippled and the much feared food crises is still approaching. General Hiftar and the HoR government have been successful negotiating with the PFGs and offering a better deal (larger share of oil income) and less corruption. Hiftar has a reputation for being much less corrupt. PFGs often shut down oil fields and ports because GNA has not paid them. In these cases GNA has often delivered the cash but some or all of it was stolen by PFG leaders who deny they are stealing. The GNA has to collect and publicize enough evidence of the theft to convince other militias and tribal leaders that the corrupt PFG men must be replaced. This is difficult to do and meanwhile PFGs are constantly demanding adequate compensation before they will allow oil to be pumped, moved via a pipeline to the export facilities or loaded on tankers. The details of how much adequate compensation any PFG is paid is usually kept secret because in Libya the feeling is that no one group is getting their fair share of the oil wealth that has kept the country functioning since the 1970s. Without the cash provided by oil exports Libya could not import enough food and other essentials to keep the population alive. PFGs are acutely aware that if they lose control of the facilities they protect they lose their jobs so there are extremely defensive and paranoid. The overall problem is that PFG compensation has little relationship to how dangerous the work is but rather is more a matter of tribal politics. It has taken several years for tribes in areas where there are oil facilities to realize that it they do not cooperate everyone will suffer, which is what has been happening and is getting worse.

May 24, 2017: In south central Libya (770 kilometers south of Tripoli) Hiftar forces carried out at least a dozen airstrikes on pro-GNA militias seeking to establish control over Jufra and Sabha. Russia and Egypt are making an issue of pro-GNA militias carrying out massacres recently against civilians deemed un-Islamic. In 2016 this area became a destination of Islamic terror group refugees from Benghazi and other coastal cities. Some have called this loose alliance the Third Force because groups from Misrata have been sending reinforcements to allied Jufra militias since late 2016 in an effort to gain control. Hiftar saw this as an effort by the Misrata militias that were used to drive ISIL out of Sirte to extend their power to central Libya. The Misrata groups have a lot of members who support Islamic conservatism (but not ISIL). For this reason Hiftar accues the Jufra Third Force as being Islamic terrorists. Thats sort of true but this is mostly about Misrata warlords looking to expand their power. Problem is there is no unity among the Jufra factions. Some of the groups from Benghazi still call themselves the Benghazi Defense Brigades while those from other coastal cities have similar affiliations with where they came from.

May 22, 2017: In Britain (Manchester) a known (t0 Libyan and British police) believer in Islamic terrorism wore a suicide bomb vest to a concert hall and detonated it. This killed 22 civilians and wounded over 60. The bomber was a 23 year old Libyan whose family received refugee status in Britain back in 2006 after having fled Libya because of their anti-Kaddafi views. The bomber had just (a few days earlier) returned from a three week visit to Libya. There he and his brother were known to be associating with Islamic terror groups and his brother was being sought for being involved in an effort to carry out similar attacks in Tripoli. British police had about 500 similar local Moslems identified as potentially violent. This is especially true of those who have visited areas (Libya, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan) where Islamic terror groups can operate openly and run training camps for foreign recruits and then returned. Many Middle Eastern nations (UAE, Egypt, Algeria, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia for example) recognize this sort of thing and outlaw it within their borders and that includes refusing to take refugees from these nations. Many in the West see this as an over-reaction and another form of oppression. This lies at the center of the dispute between the GNA and the pro-Hiftar groups.

Britain has had corruption and violence problems with Libyans before. A notorious (at least in the mass media) example occurred in 2014. Late that year Britain began flying home nearly 300 Libyan officer trainees before their 24 week training was completed. Five of the Libyans did not leave as they were being held on rape charges. Three of these Libyans were charged with raping women and two of raping a man. The Libyans had arrived in June and within a month locals were complaining of Libyans coming into nearby communities and behaving badly. This was not supposed to happen as the Libyans were selected to receive combat and leadership training so they could better train and command troops back in Libya. British authorities were surprised by the bad behavior and responded by ordering the Libyans restricted to the 80 hectare (200 acre) base where they lived and trained. In August this led to a mutiny among some of the Libyans after British officers in charge of the training put three of the trainees under guard after police picked them up for being off base without permission. Then twenty other trainees went and threatened the British soldier guarding the three Libyan trainees. The British guard let the three go free rather than risk violence. Senior officers were uncertain about how to handle this insubordination. The situation went downhill from there. The Libyans were not only undisciplined but also unreliable. They would agree to certain conditions (as in how they behaved towards civilians on and off the base, especially women) and then ignore those agreements. When confronted they would plead ignorance of British customs and refused to accept responsibility. The Libyans also constantly fought among themselves. Although depicting themselves as devout Moslems many of them would go to the village, get drunk and commit crimes. Some blamed the British for making alcohol too easy to obtain. The British tried to cope with all this by stationing hundreds of armed soldiers in nearby communities and on the base to prevent the Libyans from getting out of hand. This did not work either. At least twenty of the Libyans tried to apply for political asylum. This was denied after the rape incidents in late October and the decision was made to send all the Libyans home. Not all the trainees misbehaved and some of them were hastily given a graduation ceremony even though the training was a few weeks short of completion. This group of Libyans, selected from many pro-government factions, gave Britons an up-close exposure to the kind of thinking and behavior that is tearing Libya apart. Now there is another, much more violent reminder.

May 20, 2017: In the south (Sabha) Hiftar warplanes bombed several pro-GNA forces that had participated in what Hiftar supporters are calling the May 18th Brak al Shati Massacre.

May 18, 2017: In the south (Sabha) pro-GNA Third Force militias from Jufra and Sirte launched a surprise attack on a Hiftar garrison at Brak al Shati and killed over 140 people. Survivors reported that the attackers shouted slogans favored by Islamic terrorist groups and seemed to be killing civilians as well as armed personnel. The airbase facilities (which were used infrequently) were destroyed.

May 17, 2017: General Hiftar met with the head of the Egyptian military in Benghazi to discuss joint operations against Islamic terrorist groups in Libya (many of them allied with the GNA).

May 12, 2017: In Tripoli clashes between pro-Misrata Islamic terrorist groups and pro-GNA groups flared up again. While the Misrata militias are the main military support of the GNA, there are many other militias GNA depends on that are considered less religious. During the 2011 rebellion the Misrata militias were the most numerous and experienced in Libya and did most of the fighting and took most of the casualties. In 2016 they did the same against ISIL in Sirte. Most other militias in the country are for local defense and often run by men who see this as an opportunity to steal. There is a major problem in that the Misrata militias contained a lot of people who supported an Islamic government. For many Libyans that meant a religious dictatorship similar to the Kaddafi government that was overthrown in 2011. Kaddafi was a dictator but he always invoked Islam to justify whatever he did. There is a similar divide in the pro-GNA forces and that is the cause of the current violence in Tripoli.

May 8, 2017: In western Egypt, ground troops and warplanes have been searching for and destroying a large number of 4x4 vehicles from Libya that were trying to move weapons and ammunition into Egypt. Over the weekend 15 of these vehicles were destroyed, apparently by air strikes. The operation continues.

May 2, 2017: In Abu Dhabi senior officials from the GNA met with general Hiftar to work out a compromise. This meeting was the result of the UN changing its attitude towards Hiftar and spending several months meeting with Hiftar and HoR officials to try and work out the disputes with GNA. The meeting today considered a compromise that would recognize Hiftar as head of the GNA forces as well his own. At the same time Hiftar and his supporters would merge with the GNA and submit to its authority. Elections would be held in 2018 and groups (mainly from Misrata) that refused to accept this deal as rebels. So far this is only a proposal but some of the Misrata militias are reacting violently in Tripoli and elsewhere.

April 25, 2017: Algeria announced that on May 8th Algeria it will host another meeting of nations neighboring Libya. This is not just for the neighbors but also for the major factions inside Libya. Algeria is seen as the major reason why the main factions in Libya are still talking to each other. Algeria has not provided any material support to any faction and provides a convenient and safe place to hold the frequent meetings between faction officials and diplomats from the UN and neighboring countries. Algeria has provided similar assistance for Mali.
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BorgWarner Inc. provides solutions for combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Air Management, E-Propulsion & Drivetrain, Fuel Injection, and Aftermarket. The Air Management segment offers turbochargers, eBoosters, eTurbos, timing systems, emissions systems, thermal systems, gasoline ignition technology, smart remote actuators, powertrain sensors, canisters, cabin heaters, battery modules and systems, battery packs, battery heaters, and battery charging. The E-Propulsion & Drivetrain segment provides rotating electrical components, power electronics, control modules, software, friction, and mechanical products for automatic transmissions and torque-management products. The Fuel Injection segment develops and manufactures gasoline and diesel fuel injection components and systems. The Aftermarket segment sells products and services to independent aftermarket customers and original equipment service customers. This segment provides a range of solutions, including fuel injection, electronics and engine management, maintenance, and test equipment and vehicle diagnostics. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers of light vehicles, which comprise passenger cars, sport-utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks; commercial vehicles, including medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, and buses; and off-highway vehicles, such as agricultural and construction machinery, and marine applications, as well as to tier one vehicle systems suppliers and the aftermarket for light, commercial, and off-highway vehicles. The company was formerly known as Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc. BorgWarner Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Whats it like living in a Frank Lloyd Wright? Thats the question I am asked by a docent during a Wright tour of my suburban Chicago town. The second stop on his guided tour is my house, and now 25 tourists look at me expectantly for an answer.

I blink. Having just moved in a few months ago, I dont know what to say. No one ever asked me what it was like living in a two-bedroom apartment or a 1940s Cape Cod. But now that I live in a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright, Im supposed to have a simple answer to describe my residential experience. Except, well, I dont. Because my relationship with my house is complicated.

It started simply enough. My husband and I bought a Frank Lloyd Wright house in the same way we purchased that 1940s Cape Cod. We saw it, fell in love with it, waited three years until the price had fallen enough to land within our price range, and bid on it. (No one else wanted the house, you see, because it had been perfectly restored to its original late 19th-century blueprint  which meant it had 2,600 square feet of living space but only one bathroom.)

Read more: Sleep in the Ann Arbor house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Once our bid had been accepted, I pictured lounging in my future bedroom, with its band of leaded art-glass windows and gas fireplace. I imagined reading on the built-in bench in the foyer under the antique light fixture. I even dreamed of the doorknobs.

First, of course, there were the ordinary home-buying steps: loan applications, the inspection, realtor phone calls, lawyers. Everything felt standard and part of the process.

Until I moved in and realized there was no user manual for how to live in a national treasure with a toddler.

Ah! Dont touch the wall! I told my daughter.

That worked well  for approximately 10 seconds. Then my daughter clomped down the stairs, running her hands along the wall to steady herself. I cringed. The paint she had her sticky hands on was the result of a decade-long series of analyses supplemented by original blueprint investigations and photographs to discover its exact original colour.

The house was so unfortunately perfect, it had recently won a Wright Spirit Award for its restoration. The roofs cedar shingles were hand-cut to replicate the size of the original shingles, and ridge caps were not used so as to perfectly reproduce the original roofline. All ceiling light fixtures were antiques. And the house displayed one of the earliest examples of Wright-designed furniture. It was museum living at its finest, and my imagination loved the concept. But my actual state of mind, rooted in the reality of toddler life, did not.

Play dates were the worst. More than one toddler wiping her runny nose on the cushions of one of Wrights first built-in pieces of furniture? More than one toddler reaching for an antique light fixture? More than one toddler pulling a toy train across the scratch-free, shellac-finished, quarter-sawn oak floors?

During these play dates, the history of the house screamed in my mind, telling me I was a horrible owner. During these play dates, a little voice told me I never should have bought the place, that my family was ruining it. During these play dates, living in a perfectly restored Frank Lloyd Wright house wasnt something I wanted to answer a question about, unless that question was why the heck had I ever been crazy enough to think I could live here sanely.

One day, even I contributed to the houses continued demise when I dropped a wall mirror down the staircase. As it shattered and dented the perfectly finished oak, I wanted to scream at myself, but my daughter did that for me.

Mommy! Look what you did! My daughter wagged her finger at me accusingly. And in my mind, Wright did, too. After all, he used to visit the house on Sundays to hang out with the former roommate for whom he built it. What would he think if he came over and found gashes in his quarter-sawn oak? Not to mention: What would he think of the Ikea toddler bed under the six leaded art-glass windows in the front bedroom?

But a few months later, I took a tour of Frank Lloyd Wrights Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill., and noticed cat footprints memorialized in the concrete. Imperfection! The relief this brought to me cannot be put into words. I showed the footprints to the guide.

She replied, This concrete will be restored over the next two years.

My chest deflated like a balloon with enough air to power the Windy City. Figures, I thought.

But then the guide added, Theyre preserving the cat footprints, though. They are a part of the history of the building.

I laughed. Really?

She nodded. I was thrilled. Because that dent in the staircase? That scratch I made on the soapstone counter the other day? Those nicks in the wall from my daughters determination to vacuum? They are part of the history of our house, and I am going to embrace them.

Thanks to a cat and some wet concrete, Ive realized that the history of my house and the history of my family  faults and all  are now one. While I still respect the house, I no longer fear it; I live in it.

People still ask me, What its like to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house? And I still dont know how to answer. Because to me, its no longer a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Its our home.

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THE GRAND CANYON, ARIZ.-Im lying in an empty parking lot, metres away from the Grand Canyons south rim, staring up at the white slash of the Milky Way, the faint blur of the Andromeda Galaxy and the occasional shooting star.

Its a sky so bright that Ive found my way to this particular spot without the need for a flashlight. Such a feat doesnt sound impressive in a world aglow with artificial lighting, but in the Grand Canyon National Park, that orange fog is blissfully absent.

The parks provisional status as a Dark Sky Park expires after three years, so the Grand Canyons park rangers  or dark rangers, to be precise  are now in a race against time to retrofit more than 5,000 lights.

There are a lot of lights  to give you an idea of the size of the job, its the only national park with a kindergarten-to-12th-grade high school within its limits, says Rader Lane, a park employee whose job title states that hes a park ranger by day, and a dark ranger by night. Once its done well have the most pristine dark-sky sanctuary in the world.

Lanes passion for astronomy was ignited by 19th-century philosopher Thomas Carlyles quote, which he repeats for me word-perfectly: Why did not somebody teach me the constellations, and make me at home in the starry heavens, which are always overhead, and which I dont half know to this day? Born into a military family, Lane was never in one place for long. I was constantly on the move but that quote made me realize I could look up anywhere and see these constellations. Thats a really comforting feeling.

Carlyles words are also a reminder that while the night sky and its millions of stars are always above us, being able to admire them is a different matter entirely. However, its not just the clarity which makes this area such a fantastic stargazing spot.

Were at the epicentre of a series of southwest cultures with rich connections to the night sky, explains Lane. For example, local clans are known to watch for the rising of certain constellations in order to know when to begin seasonal ceremonies. Indeed, tribal representatives speak about their links with the dark sky at the parks various stargazing events. The biggest one is the annual eight-day Star Party, held in June.

It was also Lanes advice which led me to the aforementioned parking lot, metres away from the start of the popular Bright Angel hiking trail. One factor which makes this area such a fantastic stargazing spot is the altitude  were high up, perched on the south rim, says Lane. And that parking lots got a great field of view  its where we set up our telescopes for the night-sky events. Sometimes the Milky Ways so bright that it casts your shadow on the ground.

In Flagstaff, 115 kilometres away, the night sky is held in equally high regard. Flagstaff Area National Monuments has recently been designated a Dark Sky Park, and its largely thanks to the efforts of maintenance mechanic supervisor Caleb Waters, who pushed for the designation.

Its about far more than just allowing people to see the stars, insists Waters, a dark-sky devotee who shows me pictures of the home-made down-lighters hes made from beer cans for the lights outside his house.

The worst kind of light is bright white LED light, he says, pulling up photos of street lights covered with insects. This type doesnt just cause the most light pollution. It attracts the most insects, which disrupts natures cycle, because owls and other birds are also drawn to it, away from their natural habitat.

Unfortunately, a thick layer of cloud has settled over Flagstaff so our stargazing session is cancelled, but we still stop by the Lowell Observatory to check out the telescope used to discover Pluto in 1930.

Its an enormous machine, with three, 13-inch lenses. Its technically an astrographic camera, which worked by reflecting light from celestial objects onto a glass photographic plate. These images were then analyzed by something known as a comparator. So you can imagine observatory assistant Clyde Tombaugh was rather relieved when he finally found the elusive ninth planet.

With our stargazing session cancelled, we raise a toast to Arizonas dark skies at the aptly named Dark Sky Brewing Company, instead. Therell be other opportunities, and after all, as Carlyle pointed out, its not as if those starry heavens are going anywhere soon.

Tamara Hinson is a U.K.-based writer. Her trip was sponsored by Flagstaff Convention and Visitors Bureau, which didnt review or approve this story.

When you go

Get there: Fly from Toronto to Las Vegas or Phoenix. From there, rent a car to get to the Grand Canyon. Its about a four-hour drive from Las Vegas and a 3.5-hour drive from Phoenix.

Do this trip: The Grand Canyons dark sky program runs between March 1 and Nov. 30 on the south rim and May 15 and Oct. 15 on the north rim. Events include the annual Star Party, held in June, along with regular stargazing evenings, ranger talks and dark sky storytelling sessions by local tribespeople. Find out more at nps.gov.

Stay: I stayed at the Red Feather Lodge (redfeatherlodge.com) near the Grand Canyon.

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Who ultimately controls the stories of 38,000 residential school survivors may finally be decided on May 25 when the question goes before the Supreme Court.

The courts have consistently ruled it is up to the survivors to decide what happens to their own accounts of their experiences, stories that led to Ottawa paying out more than $5 billion in compensation, and that it is the survivors wishes that must be upheld and respected. The courts say the 38,000 survivors have 15 years to decide individually if their stories should be preserved in an archive at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) at the University of Manitoba or be destroyed.

But a coalition representing the children and grandchildren of residential school survivors was recently granted intervention status at the hearing. They want to save the 38,000 stories, which they say are the largest firsthand accounts of the residential school system.

When I ask people if they want their story deleted, I ask them to think about it in the intergenerational perspective, said Carey Newman, founder of the Coalition to Preserve Truth and the artist behind the Witness Blanket, a massive, art installation  made up of leftover pieces of residential school items, churches and government buildings. The blanket is currently touring the country. Newman is of British, Kwagiulth and Salish descent.

Think about it with the idea that we as Indigenous people work to protect the Earth and the water for future generations because we dont feel it belongs specifically to us. We are stewards of the world. What we consume here we are taking from the future. There is intergenerational trauma that cycles through our community generation after generation, and the only way to stop it is to confront it and understand the root of where it comes from, he said.

Nearly 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families from the mid-1800s to the 1990s when the last school funded by the government and run by the church, shut its doors. Residential schools were meant to assimilate Indigenous people to Canadian society and to Christianize them.

Many of the students were physically, sexually and emotionally abused. They were malnourished, inadequately clothed and housed and they were forbidden to speak their own language and practice their own culture. The shattering effects of that abuse runs through generations of Indigenous families.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, a comprehensive settlement of class actions, made way for a process for survivors to settle abuse claims with Canada if they went through an Independent Assessment Process (IAP) to tell their stories. It is those horrific stories, contained on application forms and written and audio records, which are now the subject of the Supreme Court case.

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) believes the former residential schools students must be in complete control of their own stories  accounts that were shared under the belief they would never become public, said National Chief Perry Bellegarde.

The AFN recognizes that people have different views on this matter. The AFN takes the position that personal stories and experiences belong to the individual, and they have the right to decide what happens to their testimony, Bellegarde said.

The use, access, storage, copying and dissemination of information by or with the assistance of the NCTR must ensure that the privacy interests of Independent Assessment Process claimants and former students are protected at all times. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement provides a mechanism for IAP claimants to archive their IAP records. As this process moves on in court, the AFN remains focused on working towards justice, healing and reconciliation.

Newman, whose father Victor attended two residential schools, said he wanted to be a voice for the survivors and the intergenerational survivors because those perspectives were missing from earlier hearings. They are raising money to fund the court intervention.

In the interests of privacy, last week, the coalition indicated to the court that they want the names redacted from each survivors statement along with the names of perpetrators redacted so they will not be identified.

That is the balance we have struck to address the concerns of survivors who want their stories protected and also to balance it against the collective interest of intergenerational survivors of historical relevance. That is the focus of our intervention in the case, Newman said. The coalition has started a campaign raising money for their court effort at gofundme.com/standfortruth.

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Conservative party faithful from across the country will gather in Etobicoke this weekend to replace the only leader the modern party has ever known, and to take stock in the strength of their movement.

And by most measures, that movement is doing just fine.

The Conservative party out-fundraised the Liberals by almost a two-to-one margin in the early months of 2017, raising $5.3 million from more than 42,000 donors. This is despite an ongoing leadership contest that was expected to suck money away from the party in favour of particular candidates.

Their membership rolls have grown from roughly 90,000 people in late 2016 to more than 250,000 in April  more than the party even hoped for in the lead-up to their failed 2015 electoral campaign.

And whoever wins the leadership on Saturday will start Day One with control over one of the most sophisticated electoral machines Canada has ever seen: a motivated base of volunteers and grassroots activities, a serious approach to data-driven campaigning, and a pool of experienced former cabinet ministers to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus feet to the fire in Ottawa.

Not to suggest the new leader wont have challenges. The Liberals routinely poll above 40 per cent, and a poll from Leger this week puts the Conservatives under 20 per cent in Quebec, a crucial province.

But Conservative strategist Jason Lietaer said the new leader has a pretty good head start.

Usually when you take over a party its debt-ridden, its on the down slide, its prospects are weak, its support is weak, said Lietaer, who has worked with Conservative governments in Queens Park and Ottawa.

By comparison, the (Conservative) party is in much, much better shape. And the key there, I think, the foundation, the fundamentals, when youve a good caucus and good fundraising, youve got a pretty solid base to build on.

Quebec MP Maxime Bernier is widely perceived to be the candidate to beat on Saturday, holding a commanding lead in Mainstreet/iPolitics polls of Conservative members since television personality Kevin OLeary dropped out of the race.

With a field of 14 candidates  OLeary is still on the ballot, having quit after the partys deadline  and the partys unpredictable voting system, however, it would still be bold to make predictions.

The Conservative leadership ballot is ranked, and members can rank their preferences one through 10, or simply select one candidate for their vote. The Conservatives also give each riding equal say in who leads the party  so a riding in Calgary with thousands of Conservative members has the same weight as a riding in Montreal with 10.

Former Speaker of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer and former veterans minister Erin OToole are thought to have the best shot at upsetting Bernier, but again, the complexity of the voting system and the number of candidates makes the outcome difficult to predict.

The party has also committed to releasing detailed, riding-by-riding breakdowns of the voting, allowing for a close analysis of members desires for the future of the party.

For Rachel Curran, a former policy director in Stephen Harpers PMO, the leadership contest has provided two clear paths: slight tweaks to Harpers policies and approach  continuity candidates like Scheer or OToole  or significantly different policies offered by candidates like Bernier.

Curran, who recently wrote a comprehensive account of the policy choices facing the next leader in Policy Options, said that the continuity choice may be more challenging for the Conservative party than a fresher break.

The successful candidate isnt going to be successful in a national context, in the context of a national election, simply by putting together the same coalition that Harper put together in 2011, Curran said in an interview Thursday.

Our demographics are shifting, population centres are shifting. I dont think simply trying to put those same pieces together, and having someone different try (to) put those same pieces together, it isnt going to be sufficient to win a national election.

With the party receiving a significant number of mail-in ballots, the leadership contest may already be over by the time Conservative members gather on Friday. The new leader wont address members until Saturday night, after the final count is known.

Whoever it is will inherit a party that  despite an at-times divisive leadership contest, and the continued goodwill of the Canadian electorate to Justin Trudeaus government  is ready to fight in 2019. Conservatives in Etobicoke this weekend will get a taste of what that leader intends to do with it.

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OTTAWAStephen Harpers former top aide, Nigel Wright, was never charged with a criminal offence but his efforts to repay $90,000 for Mike Duffys Senate expenses were a breach of federal conflict rules, according to a new report.

More than a year after an Ontario criminal court acquitted Duffy in the Senate expenses affair, and four years after the federal Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner began and suspended her investigation, Mary Dawson finally reported Thursday on Wrights role.

She fingered Harpers former chief of staff for ethical blame on two fronts  when he pressed the Conservative party to repay Duffys bill, and when he decided to do so himself.

Dawson concluded Wright broke the rules for public office holders that prohibited him from making decisions that would further another persons private interests  Duffys  and barred him from influencing the decisions of anyone else, such as the Conservative partys chief bagman Irving Gerstein, to further Duffys interests.

There is no penalty for violating those two sections of the act.

The only sanction is the negative publicity resulting from the release of the examination report, her office said in an email to the Star.

As for any future impact should Wright decide to return to politics, Dawsons office said she wouldnt presume to speculate on that. All we can say is that commissioner Dawson reports on her examinations . . . and has no control over any potential repercussions her reports may have.

Her report is a politically difficult one for the Conservative party as it struggles to move on from the Harper era, and a personally difficult one for Wright, now a London-based financier.

My intention throughout was to ensure that the taxpayer was repaid for Sen. Duffys expenses. I have always believed, and still believe, that my effort to get those funds repaid was in the public interest. Well take the time to review and understand the report, said Wright in a statement issued Thursday by his lawyers.

Wright was never charged for making a payment to Duffy, though Duffy was charged and acquitted of accepting a bribe. Dawson noted he was investigated by the RCMP for a possible violation of the Parliament of Canada Act. In the end, Wright was a witness for the Crown at Duffys criminal fraud trial. Dawson made clear she viewed the payment as wrong.

The transfer of money by Mr. Wright to Senator Duffy, with express conditions attached and over Senator Duffys persistent objections, was serious enough to raise the question of charges being laid against Mr. Wright for giving compensation as prohibited under subsection 16(3) the Parliament of Canada Act. Although the issue of illegality was not pursued, I would consider such an act to be undoubtedly improper.

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, a leadership candidate and the former ethics critic, said the report shows how cynical the efforts of Wright and the Harper PMO were. He said the RCMP still owes Canadians a clear explanation for why it never charged Wright under the never-used provision of the Parliament Act.

Angus said the fact Dawson had to suspend her investigation for so long while the RCMP and the Crown conducted an ultimately fruitless prosecution is really problematic for the Canadian political system.

Mike Duffy declined to comment but his lawyer, Don Bayne, said Thursday he disagreed with a key premise of Dawsons findings, that Wright acted to further Duffys private interests. That wasnt remotely the case, said Bayne.

He pointed to the ruling of Justice Charles Vaillancourt in acquitting Duffy last April saying it was crass political manoeuvring that drove Wright.

It was for pure political motives to advance the party and its image in the public and to protect the then-prime minister and his government that this was done. None of this was for Sen. Duffys interests.

Dawson, however, concluded Wrights payment let Duffy off the hook from having to repay expenses out of his own pocket.

She rejected, one by one, Wrights arguments in his defence to her.

She said when Wright first tried to get the Conservative party to pay off the senators debt  which the party was ready to do when the amount was believed to be $32,000  he was using his influence as the prime ministers top aide. When all of Duffys bills were added up  including housing claims and per diem claims for meals in Ottawa, plus interest  it ran to more than $90,000 and the party balked.

Dawson rejected Wrights defence that he was acting in a purely partisan capacity  beyond her reach  when he turned to former Sen. Irving Gerstein, chair of the Conservative Fund of Canada, to repay Duffys politically embarrassing expenses.

I am of the opinion that in his communications with Sen. Gerstein, Mr. Wright used his position as chief of staff to the prime minister to seek to influence Sen. Gerstein and the Conservative Fund of Canada to reimburse Senator Duffys living expenses, Dawson wrote.

When Wright, an independently wealthy investment banker trained as a lawyer, decided to use his own funds to transfer to Duffys lawyer the amount owed to pay off the debt, she said he knew or ought to have known that he was improperly furthering Sen. Duffys private interests because it took the burden off Duffy to use his own assets.

She said Wright explained that he believed he was serving the government and the prime minister, not serving the private interests of Senator Duffy. He added that his duties as chief of staff included managing situations that could embarrass the government.

Wright resigned in May 2013 when news of the payment first broke. He returned to work for Onex investment corporation, based in London, England.

Duffy pleaded not guilty to 31 criminal fraud and breach of trust charges the RCMP laid against him in relation to those expenses. Last April, a judge cleared him of all charges.

The Conservative-appointed senator continues to sit as an independent.

Duffy, a longtime Ottawa resident, was named to the Senate by Harper in December 2008 as a Prince Edward Island representative. Duffy then claimed reimbursement for living at his Ottawa area home by designating his P.E.I. cottage as a primary residence.

He testified he falsely told Wright he couldnt pay off the debt because he didnt want to be forced by Harpers PMO to admit hed done anything wrong, which he has always said was his belief.

Dawsons report says Wright recognized from the outset that he had made errors in judgment but he insisted that didnt violate the act.

Though Wright admitted some of his actions (communicating with senators and staff about media lines) fell within his official capacity as Harpers chief of staff, he said he was acting in an unofficial partisan capacity in pushing Duffy to repay, and that it was never his objective to further Senator Duffys personal or private interest, and certainly never his own.

He said he made a gift of the $90,172 to Duffy, an action that was never expected or requested by his employer or the office.

But Dawson rejected the idea of a gift. She said the payment was negotiated between PMO and Duffys lawyers, and came with conditions: that Duffy would repay, admit a mistake, stop talking to media and promise to stop filing for expenses Wright believed he wasnt entitled to.

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MARAWI, PHILIPPINESBacked by tanks and rocket-firing helicopters, Philippine troops launched precision attacks Thursday to clear extremists linked to Daesh from a city that has been under siege since a raid that failed to capture one of Asias most-wanted militants.

Rebels have torn through the streets of Marawi since Tuesday night, torching buildings, taking a priest and his worshippers hostage and sealing off much of the city. The violence forced thousands to flee and raised fears of growing extremism in the country.

At least 44 people have died in the fighting, including 31 militants and 11 soldiers, officials said. President Rodrigo Duterte said a local police chief was stopped at a militant checkpoint and beheaded, and another policeman was also reportedly killed.

It was not immediately clear whether civilians were among the dead.

Read more:

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Filipino lawmaker defends Dutertes human rights record before UN council

At night we can hear the gunfire, said Mohammad Usman, who watched from his home just outside Marawi as thousands of residents streamed out of the city. Im just praying that the bullets will not find their way to my house and hit us. I hope that the bombs will not land nearby and harm us.

Duterte imposed 60 days of martial law Tuesday on the island of Mindanao, which encompasses the southern third of the nation and is home to 22 million people. Marawi has a population of around 200,000.

Duterte warned he may expand martial law nationwide, an unnerving development for many in the Philippines who lived through the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and used it to maintain his grip on power for more than a decade.

The man at the centre of the Marawi violence is Isnilon Hapilon, an Arabic-speaking Islamic preacher known for his expertise in commando assaults. He is at the nexus of several militant groups that are trying to merge into a more powerful force.

Hapilon, who is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, pledged allegiance Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in 2014. He also heads an alliance that includes at least 10 smaller militant groups, including the Maute, which have a heavy presence in Marawi and were instrumental in fighting off government forces in this weeks battles.

All these groups are inspired by Daesh, but so far there is no sign of significant, material ties.

We have not seen any concrete evidence of material support from (Daesh), military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said Thursday. But he added that the smaller groups are working to really get that recognition and funds, of course.

Washington has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Hapilons capture, but he has proved elusive. The Philippines launched an airstrike that wounded him in January, but he got away.

The army raided what it believed to be his hideout on Tuesday night in Marawi, but the operation quickly went wrong. Militants called in reinforcements and were able to overpower government forces. Once again, Hapilon escaped.

Based on reports, he is still in the city, Herrara told reporters in Marawi on Thursday as gunfire crackled in the background.

Much of Marawi was still a no-go zone Thursday. Automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard clearly and plumes of black smoke rose from the direction of the city centre. Air force helicopters swooped overhead.

Attack helicopters fired rockets in a precision attack, Herrera said. We want to finish this problem as soon as possible.

As authorities try to gain more control over the city, disturbing details have emerged.

Militants forced their way into the Marawi Cathedral and seized a Catholic priest, 10 worshippers and three church workers, according to the citys bishop, Edwin de la Pena. The black flags of the Islamic State group were planted atop buildings and flown from commandeered vehicles, including a government ambulance and an armoured car, said Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr., vice governor of Lanao del Sur province, of which Marawi is the capital.

More than half of the population of Marawi has cleared out, Adiong said.

The problem of militancy in the south, the scene of decades-long Muslim separatist uprisings in the predominantly Catholic nation, is not new.

Duterte had repeatedly threatened to place the region under martial law, which allows him to use the armed forces to carry out arrests, searches and detentions more rapidly. But human rights groups and others fear that martial law powers could further embolden the president, who already has been accused of allowing extrajudicial killings of thousands of people in his crackdown on illegal drugs.

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OTTAWAAn Alberta man who tortured and starved his roommate is not getting a chance to appeal his conviction before Canadas top court.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Dustin Paxtons request to challenge a 2016 ruling from the Alberta Court of Appeal which upheld a guilty verdict of aggravated assault and sexual assault.

The Supreme Court, as usual, did not list reasons for its decision.

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Paxton was convicted in 2012 for the prolonged and brutal abuse of a man who was his friend and roommate. He was designated a dangerous offender and is serving an indeterminate jail sentence.

The victim was dropped off, near death, at a Regina hospital in April 2010. He was emaciated, battered and bleeding.

In its November 2016 ruling, the Alberta Appeal Court upheld the convictions and said there was no evidence to suggest that the victim was consenting to sexual contact with Paxton.

The Appeal Court also rejected other arguments from Paxtons lawyers, who said the trial judge made errors, showed bias and shouldnt have excluded a defence expert who found the victims testimony unreliable. They also questioned the victims memory about events that had happened years before.

It is hard to imagine a situation more compelling than the one found to exist by the trial judge, of regular beatings inflicting serious bodily harm on (the victim), to support his evidence that he feared being beaten by Paxton if he did not comply with his sexual expectations, wrote the judges.

Paxton created an atmosphere where (the victim) was required to provide total obedience through physical and psychological control of this vulnerable person.

During Paxtons trial in Calgary, court heard that he humiliated, starved, beat and sexually assaulted his roommate over 18 months while they lived together in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The man, who cannot be identified, testified that he suffered a traumatic brain injury from the abuse and can no longer hold a job.

He said he has trouble with his balance, cant swallow properly and has to drink through a straw. The man lost some of his lip during the prolonged ordeal, had his ribs broken and sustained a ruptured bowel.

Before the assaults, I was extremely good-looking and very attractive to women and now I am disfigured, he testified.

The trial heard how the smallest things such as leftovers in the fridge would provoke an attack. The victim testified that he took the abuse because he didnt want to look like a sissy and had dreams of making big money in a moving business he and Paxton had started.

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WINNIPEGSeveral premiers are heading to the United States capital next month to push back against anti-trade sentiment south of the border.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he and several other provincial leaders are to spend June 5-7 in Washington, D.C., to promote the benefits of free trade. He said the trip was prompted in part by U.S. President Donald Trumps attempts to change or even scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement.

We have to do our best to promote a better understanding south of the border of the (trade) relationship, Pallister said Thursday.

I think it demonstrates clearly to the representatives from around the United States who  whether they are directly involved in the meetings or not  that we value the relationship, that we consider it important and that they should too.

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Staff for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant and Prince Edward Islands Wade MacLauchlan confirmed Thursday those leaders will attend as well.

The focus will be on trade generally, with NAFTA taking a front-row seat and Buy America to a degree, read a written statement from Wynnes office.

(Wynne) would be there with her colleagues to build relationships with key members of the administration, as well as members of Congress, and to discuss the mutual benefits of an interconnected economy and the good jobs that creates for both Americans and Ontarians.

Canada is trying to counter a rising tide of protectionism in the U.S. Trump has criticized NAFTA and threatened to scrap the three-country trade pact if it cant be renegotiated to his satisfaction.

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The federal government, which is not involved in the June mission, has mounted an information campaign aimed at Trump and his cabinet  as well as Congress and state and local governments  to underline the mutually beneficial trade between the countries.

The Trudeau government has repeated the talking point that 35 U.S. states call Canada their top customer, while nine million Americans depend on Canada for their jobs.

Pallister would not specify who the premiers plan to meet with. He said the aim is to make sure the benefits of free trade are heard well beyond states near the Canadian border.

Weve already reached out to our neighbouring states and I have initial assurances that they understand the value of that (trade) relationship very well in the border states. But its of course getting that communication across to others in the United States who may be a little less, in their area, aware of the mutual benefits of our relationship.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark has not yet decided whether to join the trip and is looking to see how much it might focus on the trade dispute over softwood lumber.

Were just kind of watching to see whether its worth going to, Clark spokesman Ben Chin said.

Were ... looking at the quality of the meetings that are taking place to see whether they are softwood-focused enough and whether they are meetings with people we can get access to.

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A new city staff report recommending approval of a highrise tower on Eglinton Ave. near the Yonge St. intersection contradicts earlier staff opinions, conflicts with the citys plans and has the potential to undermine the citys fight against other developments.

That predicament has been quietly percolating at city hall ahead of a council meeting this week where a decision on whether to approve the 24-storey condo tower at 90 Eglinton Ave. will be made.

The lead-up to that vote has seen residents groups from the fast-growing Yonge-Eglinton area ringing alarm bells about the unexpectedly positive report from staff and has left questions about the impact on ongoing development disputes.

Neighbouring councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22 St. Pauls) says he will fight to prevent approval of the building, first submitted by developer Madison Homes in 2013.

I was absolutely astonished that a city planner would have supported this development proposal given that it is in complete contradiction to the city's own policies including office replacement and its Eglinton Connects by-laws, Matlow told the Star.

Local councillor Christin Carmichael Greb said she will be asking that council refuse the application, against staff advice.

Its just too dense and office replacement is an issue, she said.

The key concerns with the application are that the site is located along an avenue that was approved for midrise development, not tall buildings, following a study called Eglinton Connects that resulted in a city by-law that came into force in 2014.

And the application does not follow the citys policy to fully replace the office space being redeveloped  a policy recommended by staff, approved by council in 2014, and now mired in a years-long dispute between the city and developers at the Ontario Municipal Board.

The development at 90 Eglinton was first pitched as a 36-storey building and later officially submitted at 29 storeys to replace the existing six-storey office building just west of Yonge St. on Eglinton Ave.

Since then the proposal was lowered to 24 storeys, still outside the realm of a midrise building, which is between four and 11 storeys, according to the citys guidelines.

The new 70-page staff report on 90 Eglinton, signed by North York planning manager Al Rezoski, recommends council approve the mixed-use building at 24 storeys. It outlines that the proposal represents an appropriate level of intensification and that because the application was made before the Eglinton Connects rules were in place, the property was excluded from those rules. It also finds that replacing 50 per cent of the existing office space is acceptable.

But that marks a significant departure from previous staff statements and council direction.

Earlier staff reports noted the site was within the Eglinton Connects planning study area and considered midrise development appropriate. Planning staff wrote in August 2014 they had significant concerns with the proposed development, then 29 storeys, and revisions to the proposal including a reduction in height and density are needed to align the proposal with various plans and studies, including the Eglinton Connects study.

The developers lawyer, Adam Brown, argued the Eglinton Connects by-law was not legally applicable to their site. At the time, planning staff disagreed.

Despite staffs view, former councillor Karen Stintz, who at the time represented the area, moved a successful motion at North York Community Council that staff continue negotiating with the developer recognizing that the site is not a mid-rise.

Then at a full council meeting later that month, Matlow moved a successful motion he said was drafted by staff to include a list of properties, including 90 Eglinton, into the intent of the Eglinton Connects by-law.

Were trying to get a set policy framework approved at council ahead of this so we can say midrise is the citys preferred built form here so developers cant say, well we want 30 storeys, too bad, Matlow told council.

A later staff report in April 2016 noted that while the 90 Eglinton site was not included in the by-law, city council amended the report recommendations to reinforce the study finding that mid-rise development is the appropriate built form here.

Now the new report dated April 2017, a final say from staff on the application, is agreeing to the tall building.

Director for community planning for the North York district Joe Nanos told councillors at a meeting earlier this month they had received somewhat conflicting directions about whether the site should be considered midrise.

On issue of office replacement, the city has passed policies that look to build complete communities that have a mix of office, residential and retail. In 2014, a policy to fully replace office space on sites like 90 Eglinton was approved.

But the final report says 50 per cent office space replacement is appropriate in this instance and that full replacement would be a challenge from a massing and neighourhood impact perspective  what would be a sterilization of the site because of the imposing size of a base building that would be required to accommodate both the office replacement and residential uses.

Staff have strongly opposed applications that did not replace office space at nearby sites such as 55 Eglinton Ave. East.

That application is now before the Ontario Municipal Board, which hears all land use planning disputes. The governing office replacement policy itself is also subject to dozens of individual appeals, a process that has been ongoing since 2015.

We dont want to see Eglinton Ave. become one long vertical bedroom community, Matlow said. Its not about sterilizing the site. We want a balance between places to work and places to live.

Why staff changed position on those two issues in the current staff report remains unclear.

When the Star asked for an explanation of the decision to approve both a tall building and less than full office replacement, staff repeated the points made in the final report.

Brown noted that following Stintzs 2014 motion, the developer worked collaboratively with staff and the community and was both patient and responsive over three years to arrive at the proposal that exists today.

A group of local residents and those representing the surrounding areas urged councillors at North York Community Council earlier this month to reject staffs advice.

Eglinton Park Residents Associations Tom Cohen said residents were reeling after the shock of a positive staff report.

What worries us most in EPRA is precedent. This building is a kind of camels nose. Its a camels nose which undermines in deep ways the whole plan for midrise all across Eglinton, Cohen told community council this month. We remain adamantly opposed to this one.

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Homeless people in Toronto are dying at a rate of more than two per week on average, according to disturbing new data collected by the city.

From January to the end of March 2017, a total of 27 homeless deaths were tracked in an expanded research initiative led by Toronto Public Health and supported by about 200 health and social services agencies. The median age of the deceased is 51.

Its a sign that our city is failing, said City Councillor Joe Cressy (Trinity-Spadina). It seems to me that in a city as wealthy as ours that to have dozens of people dying on the streets is wrong, its disturbing and its a failure on all of us. While we might not be able to prevent the loss of every life, we certainly can prevent many of these if we do more.

Advocates for the homeless have long maintained that efforts thus far to accurately count the dead have under-reported the true scope of the tragedy.

Previously, the city has recorded deaths only in city-administered shelters; that number for all of 2016 was 33.

The death rate for 2017, if it continues at two per week through December, would top 100  the most ever recorded in Toronto.

While we hoped the new numbers would not be much higher, the results thus far are not unexpected, said Paul Fleiszer, manager, surveillance and epidemiology at Toronto Public Health, referring to the new data. Unfortunately, the real number may even be higher because we are at the early stages of the project and still getting more agencies to come on board to the reporting system.

As a comparison to the 27 deaths recorded in the first three months of 2017 by Toronto Public Health and its partners, volunteers with the Toronto Homeless Memorial recorded 11 over the same period.

The memorial is an unofficial record of homeless people in the GTA who have died since the 1980s. Deaths are vetted and the list maintained by outreach volunteers, such as street nurses and social workers. There are more than 850 names on the memorial; its highest annual death count was 72 in 2005.

Cathy Crowe is a long-time street nurse and distinguished visiting practitioner at Ryerson Universitys department of politics and public administration. She said the new numbers from the city confirm that previous death counts have been historically under-reported  something advocates for the homeless and health workers have been saying for more than a decade.

This is a wake-up call, Crowe said. Doing this research is just not for the sake of counting. It is to identify ways to prevent deaths . . . I can tell you absolutely that access to emergency shelters, harm reduction, warming centres and better-funded drop-ins are key.

Fleiszer said the homeless are one of the citys vulnerable populations because they are more at risk for adverse health outcomes and contribute disproportionately to early death and other morbidities.

Fleiszer highlighted the age of the decedents.

The young age at which homeless people die is reflected in the current data that shows the median age is 51 years. This means that half of this group is in fact younger than 51, he said.

The citys tracking system is collecting information such as age, gender, unofficial cause of death and the location of death, history of homelessness and whether the deceased is of Indigenous heritage. Individual-level data, such as names, will be kept confidential. The data for all of 2017 will be released in an annual report early next year.

The city began its expanded death monitoring in January, 11 months after a Star investigation found that the province and most Ontario municipalities have no mandate to track homeless deaths comprehensively, if at all.

The Star chronicled the life of Brad Chapman, a homeless Toronto man, who died at age 43 in hospital following a drug overdose in August 2015. Because Chapman did not die in a city-administered shelter, and his death was not deemed suspicious, he became an invisible statistic.

Leigh Chapman, Brad Chapmans sister, called the 27 deaths recorded to date by the city, staggering.

These are all people who are loved, she said. These are brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, and I think this is a staggering loss of life of a preventable cause.

Chapman, a registered nurse and a PhD candidate, said city councillors must commit to act on the findings.

They cant just pass the motion to track the deaths, and thats the end of it.

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With the aroma of traditional Syrian delicacies permeating the air, whats usually the drivers support centre at Ubers Toronto office was transformed into an intimate story-telling party Wednesday night.

The guests from Matthew House, a refugee shelter in the city, were welcomed by Uber staff, mingling over faruj batata, a chicken dish with potatoes, a Syrian rice concoction with seven pepper spices, and ouzi, a puff dough pastry stuffed with ground beef and green beans.

The food, for Torontos first Refugees Welcome dinner, was prepared by Syrian couple Amir and Nour Fattal, who arrived here from Turkey in July after they were sponsored by a group of Toronto residents.

Its great to meet new people, said Ali Mahmud, 37, who fled Eritrea for Canada in January and was granted asylum two months ago. We had problems in our country. Im here by myself. Im hoping to share our stories.

This is a great way to bring people together to extend that sense of home and hospitality, Sheldon McCormick, Ubers general manager in Toronto, told his guests.

I hope the stories that have surfaced will send a message to the public and policy-makers that there is solidarity over the voices of hatred.

Launched in February with faith groups in the United States, the Refugees Welcome campaign has expanded to Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Norway and now Canada.

David Ponet, partnership specialist at UNICEF U.S., said the initiative was launched to foster understanding and appreciation between local community members of the host countries and refugees amid growing anti-refugee sentiments around the world.

It is one way we can engage the public to promote solidarity, said Ponet. The dinner helps bring the community together and break down barriers. It can also help those struggling to integrate to network with the community. It humanizes the refugee crisis and connects people at a human level.

In partnership with New York-based strategy firm, Purpose, the initiative offers an online toolkit for corporations, community groups and individuals to plan the dinner. Some even use the gathering to raise funds for refugee-related causes such as scholarships for refugee youth in the Middle East.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, an unprecedented 65.3 million people globally have been displaced, with about 21.3 million refugees  nearly half of them children  having fled their own countries.

The best part of this experience is seeing what kind of human connections are made at the dinners and the opportunities that result from it, for education, employment, housing and other needs, said Gissou Nia, strategy director at Purpose, who worked for years in the field with Iranian refugees in Turkey, Malaysia, Iraq and other countries.

It takes a village and in a time where political leadership on this issue in some corners of the world is waning, it is all the more important to put people power behind these issues and engage corporations, organizations and other actors in reaching solutions.

To date, three Toronto groups, Huge Inc. a marketing agency, Uber and the Centre for Social Innovation are already on board. Refugees Welcome hopes to reach out to other Canadian cities soon.

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WASHINGTONU.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos refused to say Wednesday whether she would block private schools that discriminate against LGBTQ students from receiving federal dollars, explaining that she believes states should have the flexibility to design voucher programs and that parents should be able to choose schools that best fit their childrens needs.

DeVos returned frequently to the theme of what she called a need for more local control in her first appearance before Congress since her rocky confirmation hearing in January.

Fielding questions from members of a House Appropriations subcommittee, she said that states should decide how to address chronic absenteeism, mental health issues and suicide risks among students and that states should also decide whether children taking vouchers are protected by federal special-education law.

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Researchers have found that many states allow religious schools that receive taxpayer-funded vouchers to deny admission to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students or children with LGBTQ parents.

Asked by Rep. Katherine Clark whether she could think of any circumstance in which the federal government should step in to stop federal dollars from going to private schools that discriminate against certain groups of students, DeVos did not directly answer.

We have to do something different than continuing a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach, DeVos said.

Democrats immediately criticized DeVos philosophy, saying the nations top education official must be willing to defend children against discrimination by institutions that get federal money. To take the federal governments responsibility out of that is just appalling and sad, said Rep. Barbara Lee.

DeVos pushed back against the notion that the Education Department would be abdicating its authority. I am not in any way suggesting that students should not be protected, she said.

Liz Hill, a DeVos spokesperson, said later Wednesday that panel members had asked questions about a voucher program that doesnt exist yet and about topics not covered under federal law. There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding about the Federal and State roles in education. When States design programs, and when schools implement them, it is incumbent on them to adhere to Federal law, Hill said in an email. The Department of Education can and will intervene when Federal law is broken.

DeVos travelled to Capitol Hill to defend a spending plan that has drawn criticism from both ends of the political spectrum.

U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed slashing $10.6 billion (U.S.) from federal education initiatives, including after-school programs, teacher training, and career and technical education, and reinvesting $1.4 billion of the savings into promoting his top education priority: school choice, including $250 million for vouchers to help students attend private and religious schools.

The administration is also seeking far-reaching changes to student aid programs, including the elimination of subsidized loans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness and a halving of the federal work-study program that helps college students earn money to support themselves while in school.

In her opening remarks Wednesday, DeVos said that while the size of the proposed cuts to K-12 and student financial programs may sound alarming for some, the presidents budget proposal reflects a push to return more decision-making power to states and more educational choice to parents.

We cannot allow any parent to feel as if their child is trapped in a school that is not meeting their needs, DeVos said.

Democrats predictably attacked the administrations budget proposal as an effort to undermine public schools and low-income students ability to attend college.

This budget reflects the views of an administration filled with people who frankly never had to worry about how they were going to pay for their children going to college, said Rep. Nita Lowey, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. And yet Im most upset that this budget would undermine our public education system and the working families who depend on them.

Several Republicans praised DeVos, particularly for her push to expand school choice.

Ive always made known my preference for giving parents the choice of where to send their students, because in the end the parents are the taxpayers. The parents are the ones who probably know best, said Rep. Andy Harris.

But GOP members also displayed their share of skepticism about the administrations proposed cuts.

Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the education subcommittee, questioned the proposal to dramatically cut college financial aid programs such as work-study and college-access programs for low-income students. Frankly, I will advise you, Cole said, I have a different point of view.

Another key Republican, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, emphasized that it is members of Congress and not the president who hold the power of the purse and will ultimately design the federal budget.

Declaring awe for special-education teachers hard work, Frelinghuysen also questioned whether the administration had proposed adequate funding for students with disabilities. DeVos seemed open to devoting more money, calling it a matter for robust conversation.

A 1975 federal special-education law promised that Congress would pay 40 per cent of the cost of providing additional services to students with disabilities. Lawmakers have never come close and in 2017 are footing only about 15 per cent of the cost. The Trump administration is proposing to hold funding at that level.

Critics said they are hopeful that Congress will reject many of Trumps ideas, as lawmakers did this month when they reached a bipartisan deal to fund the government through September.

But even in that scenario, Trumps proposal creates damaging uncertainty for school districts and students seeking to pay for college, said John King, who served as former president Barack Obamas education secretary and now helms the non-profit group Education Trust.

The administration has framed the conversation as a conversation about cuts rather than a conversation about investment, King said. We should be talking about investing more.

While the administrations proposed cuts have been embraced by fiscal conservatives who argue that Education Department programs need to be trimmed or eliminated, some conservatives are also troubled by the administrations proposal to invest new money in school choice, saying that represents an unwelcome expansion of the federal footprint in education.

As much as I want to see every single child in America have school choice, it is just not appropriate for the federal government to be using new dollars and new programs to push states in that direction, said Lindsey Burke, an education policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation. You need local buy-in for these school-choice options to really be supported and viable in the long run.

Trump and DeVos are seeking to increase the federal investment in charter schools by 50 per cent, bringing the total appropriation to $500 million per year. They also want to establish a new $250 million fund to expand and study private-school vouchers, and they want to dole out $1 billion in grants to school districts to adopt policies that allow tax dollars to follow students to the public school of their choice.

In a speech Monday night, DeVos called the push for school choice right and just and an opportunity to drag American education out of the Stone Age and into the future. She referred to her critics as flat-earthers and said that while the federal government would never force states to adopt choice-friendly policies, those who opt out are making a terrible mistake.

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A small Christian school in western Maryland is not backing down from its decision to ban a pregnant Grade 12 student from walking at graduation next week.

Despite a public outcry and growing pressure from national anti-abortion groups to reconsider, Heritage Academy in Hagerstown, Md., says that Grade 12 student Maddi Runkles broke the schools rules by engaging in intimate sexual activity.

In a letter to parents Tuesday evening, school principal David Hobbs said that Runkles is being disciplined, not because she is pregnant but because she was immoral . . . The best way to love her right now is to hold her accountable for her morality that began this situation.

Runkles, 18, is a 4.0 student who has attended the school since 2009. She found out she was pregnant in January and informed the school, where her father was then a board member, in February. Initially the school told Runkles that she would be suspended and removed from her role as student council president and would have to finish the rest of the school year at home.

After the family appealed, Heritage said it would allow Runkles to finish the school year with her 14 classmates but she would not be able to walk with the other seniors to receive her diploma at graduation. The family believes that the decision is unfair and that she is being punished more harshly than others who have broken the rules.

Its because Im pregnant and you can see the results of my mistake, Runkles said in a telephone interview Wednesday. There have been kids who have broken the student code and they could have hurt people or even gone to jail and they only received an in-school suspension and theyre allowed to walk this year. The school is worried about its reputation, but I think theyre missing out on an incredible opportunity to set an example for the pro-life community and Christian schools about how to treat guys and girls like me.

The babys father is out of high school and did not attend Heritage.

To Hobbs, a long-time educator completing his first year as the schools principal, the decision to not allow Runkles to take part in graduation resulted from her actions. He thinks she needs to be held responsible and believes the penalty will be instructive to other students.

The breach of a standard of abstinence is a grievous choice, he said in an interview. Maddi made a grievous choice. We do believe in forgiveness, but forgiveness does not mean theres no accountability.

Hobbs said Heritage, which opened in 1969 and has 175 students from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, emphasizes abstinence and tells students to maintain their purity until their wedding night.

We teach our students about the beauty of marriage and that sex inside of marriage is one of the things that is beautiful about marriage, he said.

But while the school reaffirmed its decision, anti-abortion groups have rallied to support Runkles. They argue that by singling out a pregnant student, the school is making it more likely that young women will choose abortion rather than suffer embarrassment and punishment.

Its a bad decision, said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life. I was horrified when I learned that they wouldnt let her walk at graduation. Usually when a woman is facing an unwanted pregnancy, especially a young woman, there is a sense of shame that comes into play and can have an impact on her decision and often does.

Mancini said that while she respects the schools code of conduct she worries about what the next pregnant student will do.

What she needs is support, and what the school is doing is really the opposite of that, she said. Its the antithesis of what it means to be Christian.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, also criticized the school. By banning her and her alone, the administration and board collectively decided to make a public example of one student and has either intentionally or unintentionally communicated to the school community that pregnancy (not simply premarital sex) is a shame and should not be observed within our school community, she said in a statement.

Runkles said her situation has drawn so much media attention in the past week, with her story being told by the New York Times, CBS and Fox, that some friends and classmates who once supported her now think she is just seeking publicity. The backlash has been severe, especially on social media, where she says strangers, acquaintances and parents of other students have attacked her.

It has really gotten out of control, Runkles said. Moms of students have tagged me and said nasty things about me. Ive had students start group messages to start nasty rumours. People saying Im just attention-seeking and spoiled.

The blowback led Runkles parents to pull Maddi and her Grade 9 brother out of the school for the remainder of the year. Her father, Scott Runkles, has resigned from the schools board and her brother will transfer to another Christian school in the fall.

While she feels that her experience at Heritage has been ruined, Runkles says she is grateful for the support from her family and the Baptist church she belongs to in Frederick. She has also become involved in anti-abortion activism, taking part in rallies and speaking out against federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

I chose life and sometimes it feels like it wasnt worth it, but then its been kind of a blessing because I have a big platform to help other people, she said.

Runkles, who has been accepted to Bob Jones University, a Christian school in South Carolina, doesnt believe Heritage will change its mind about letting her walk at graduation June 2, but she said that if it does, she will take part.

I would love to attend because my best friends will be there and I want to share that with them, she said. Some people are upset because they think Im out to get the school, but Im not. I just want them to do the right thing.

Still, Runkles isnt holding her breath waiting for the school to reconsider. And she has other things on her mind. Her baby boy is due Sept. 4.

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WASHINGTONTo cover up or not to cover up?

Melania Trump wore a veil to the Vatican on Wednesday to meet the pope, but no head covering a few days earlier to meet the king of Saudi Arabia, a religiously conservative country where most women cover themselves up from head to toe.

Why the difference? The answer is a complicated mix of personal preference, diplomatic protocol and religious dictates.

Stephanie Grisham, a spokesperson for the first lady, said Mrs. Trumps decision to wear a black lace veil known as a mantilla followed Vatican protocol that women who have an audience with the pope must wear long sleeves, formal black clothing and a veil to cover their head. In Saudi Arabia, however, the government did not request that Mrs. Trump wear a head covering known as a hijab, or a headscarf, Grisham said.

The Vaticans rules of attire are not strictly enforced. Many women, including high-ranking dignitaries, have visited the pontiff with their heads uncovered, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015 and Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars top civilian leader, this month.

Many women wear veils out of respect. Mrs. Trump is Catholic, which likely made accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump for a meeting with the leader of the worlds more than one billion Roman Catholics all the more meaningful to her.

When a Vatican official handed her a rosary, the first lady immediately gave it to the pope to bless. She spent time in front of a statue of the Madonna at the Vaticans childrens hospital and laid flowers at its feet. She also prayed in the hospital chapel.

Every woman in the U.S. delegation wore a veil, including Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter who converted to Judaism before marriage.

In Saudi Arabia, the first lady dressed conservatively for her arrival Saturday in the capital of Riyadh. She wore a long-sleeved, high-necked, black pantsuit that mimicked the loose, black robes, or abayas, that Saudi women and female residents wear. Her attire during the two-day visit hewed to the protocol for high-level female visitors: modest dress, longer sleeves, higher necklines, pants and long dresses.

Ivanka Trump also dressed modestly and left her head uncovered.

Most Western VIP women who visit Saudi Arabia dont cover their heads, including British Prime Minister Theresa May and Merkel. Laura Bush and Michelle Obama also left their heads bare when they visited as first ladies. Then-citizen Donald Trump criticized Mrs. Obama for doing so in 2015.

In Riyadh, Mrs. Trump didnt visit any Muslim holy sites or mosques where head coverings and other steps such as removing ones shoes would have been required.

In Israel, the Trumps visited the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. Donald Trump, who became the first U.S. president to visit the wall while in office, donned a yarmulke  a skullcap  which is customary; the site keeps stacks of them for visitors to wear.

The president also wore a yarmulke at Yad Vashem, Israels Holocaust memorial, where it is not required. Trump likely wore one out of respect.

In keeping with Orthodox Jewish tradition, men and women pray separately at the wall. Ivanka Trump wore a black head covering to the wall, while Melania Trump wore no head covering. Many Orthodox Jewish women cover their hair as a sign of modesty.

At the Vatican, while Mrs. Trump strictly followed tradition and protocol by wearing black and a mantilla, other high-profile visitors have taken liberties with their attire.

In 2006, Cherie Blair, a practising Catholic and wife of then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, violated protocol outright when she wore white for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Only royals are allowed the privilege du blanc  the so-called white privilege that dictates white outfits and white head coverings for queens and other royals when meeting the pontiff.

In 1989, during the landmark audience between Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II following the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was the Soviet leaders wife, Raisa Gorbachev, who stole headlines: She wore a bright red dress.

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BRASILIA, BRAZILBrazils president on Thursday cancelled an order that sent soldiers into the streets of the capital, following criticism that the move was excessive and merely an effort to maintain power amid increasing calls for his resignation.

In a decree published in the Official Diary, President Michel Temer revoked the order issued a day earlier, considering the halt to acts of destruction and violence and the subsequent re-establishment of law and order. On Thursday afternoon, soldiers began to leave their posts in Brasilia, according to the Defence Ministry.

The troops were deployed late Wednesday following a day of clashes between police and protesters demanding Temers ouster amid allegations against him of corruption. Fires broke out in two ministries and several were evacuated. Protesters also set fires in the streets and vandalized government buildings.

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Images in national media, meanwhile, appeared to show police officers firing weapons, and the Secretariat of Public Security said it was investigating. In all 49, people were injured, including one by a bullet. The person was shot in the jaw and was sedated and in serious condition Thursday evening, the Secretariat of Health said.

Temers popularity has been in a free fall since he took office a little more than a year ago after his predecessor was impeached and removed. Some Brazilians consider him illegitimate because of the way he came to power, and his efforts to pass a series of economic reforms to cap the budget, loosen labour laws and reduce pension benefits have only made him even more unpopular. In addition, several of his advisers have been linked to Brazils massive corruption investigation, known as Operation Car Wash.

As part of the Car Wash probe, Temer is facing allegations that he endorsed the paying of hush money to a former lawmaker who has been jailed for corruption. Brazils highest court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption after a recording seemed to capture his approval of the bribe. Temer denies wrongdoing.

Many Brazilians want him out one way or another: They are calling for him to resign or be impeached. The calls for resignation have heated up since the release of the recording and came to a head in Wednesdays protest, when 45,000 demonstrators took to the streets.

Opposition lawmakers have submitted several requests in Congress for Temers impeachment. On Thursday, the Brazilian bar association submitted another such request in a move that carried special symbolic weight because the association is not partisan.

The use of troops in the nations capital is particularly fraught in Brazil, where many still remember the repression of the countrys 1964-1985 military dictatorship. Images of soldiers patrolling Brasilia increased the impression that Temer is struggling to maintain control and further ratcheted up pressure on him.

Temer defended the decision as necessary to restore order after Wednesdays violence and said it was within his rights.

On Thursday evening, he posted a video on social media aimed at reassuring Brazilians that the governments work is continuing despite the upheaval, citing a series of measures passed this week by Congress.

Brazil did not stop and will not stop, he said in the brief message. The demonstrations happened with excesses, but deputies and senators kept working for Brazil.

Some observers are concerned that if Temer does manage to stay in office, the continuing political crisis will grind Brazils government to a halt just as the country tries to drag the economy out of a deep recession.

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ELLENABAD, INDIATo see Manjeet Kaur around her little daughter is to see joy at its purest.

The 15-month-old toddles about the sprawling courtyard of her parents farm, her oily curls tied up in a top knot, her rubber-soled shoes squeaking. Kaurs eyes dont miss a thing, and they often mist up with tears.

Gurjeet is the child Kaur yearned for desperately, after 40 years of being that thing which a rural Indian woman dreads more than almost anything else  barren. She gave birth at 58 years old, with help from a controversial IVF clinic in this corner of north India that specializes in fertility treatments for women over 50.

Such treatments have become more common across the world, and they strike a cultural chord in India, where a woman is often defined by her ability to be a wife and mother. While there are no reliable statistics for how many Indian women undergo fertility treatments each year at what age, tens of thousands of IVF clinics have sprouted up in the country over the last decade.

Fertility specialists say pregnancies like Kaurs are troubling because of the potential health risks and the concern that the parents may not live long enough to raise their babies to adulthood. Legislation is pending in Indias Parliament setting 50 as the legal upper age cap.

But Dr. Anurag Bishnoi, the driving force behind the National Fertility and Test Tube Baby Centre in Hisar, harbours no such worries. His clinics website home page is dominated by photographs of patients who carried babies to term at ages well beyond what most other doctors anywhere in the world may permit. At least two of his patients gave birth at 70.

For Kaur, its simple enough. Bishnoi made her belong.

You have no idea how I suffered, she says of her life before her daughter. The pain I lived with. I used to work all day, but my nights were spent in tears.

Kaur married her husband, Gurdev Singh, when she was 18 and he was just a little older than 20. She simply assumed that children would follow marriage, and there was no question of waiting. Her new relatives were relatively wealthy Sikh landowners in this corner of Haryana, and they had the means to raise a family and property to leave to their offspring.

But no children came. She felt worthless.

I asked God why he had abandoned me. I had been a good Sikh, a good person. Then why? she asks, as she nervously fidgets with the green scarf she uses to cover her almost entirely grey hair.

With each decade she felt the dream slip further away. The couple tried IVF twice in their 40s at two separate clinics in north India. It didnt work.

A woman in Kaurs setting, without a child, is an inauspicious creature. Her very presence is often shunned at social gatherings, especially at weddings and birth ceremonies which celebrate fecundity.

What I suffered you will not understand. People would turn their faces away from us, she says, wiping away the tears that run down her cheeks, lined by age and years of working in the sun.

For the vast majority of married Indian women, the inability to produce a child, preferably a son, can result in the taboo of divorce or abandonment by their husbands. For years Kaur begged her husband to take another wife.

I wanted to marry him off myself. I was willing to do anything for this family. I said to him, this property, this house needs an heir. I havent been able to give you a child, she says, as she walks through the guava trees outside her house, plucking fresh fruit for her visitors.

Singh refused.

I said I wont do it, says Singh, a short man with a smile constantly hidden behind his flowing white beard. If its meant to be, God will give me a child with you. If I marry again, what will happen to you?

They lived, like most rural Indians, with extended family, and Kaur showered all her love on the nephew and niece she helped raise. She says it is perhaps her unconditional love that made God and the Sikh gurus turn her fate around.

It was Kaurs nephew who first heard of Bishnoi, the doctor in the nearby town of Hisar, who had built a prosperous medical practice and tidy little business empire by helping aging women across north India have children through in vitro fertilization. The couple was at first hesitant, thinking about all the problems of such a late pregnancy. But meeting the doctor changed all that.

He treated us with so much respect and love, Singh says. Doctor sahib was like a god to us.

Dr. Anurag Bishnoi is called many things. God and quack top the list.

His harshest critics in the medical community accuse the embryologist of making money off the dreams of the desperate, and of taking wildly unnecessary risks with older women. When Bishnoi helped a 70-year-old woman give birth last April, Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, who heads a federation of Indian gynecologists and obstetricians, called him a rogue doctor and repeat offender who ignores the self-imposed guidelines that most other fertility specialists follow.

Dr. Narendra Malhotra, who heads the Indian Society For Assisted Reproduction, says Bishnoi is driven by a quest for records and has been attempting to play God.

We dont endorse making mothers out of grandmothers, he says. Its too risky for the women. Their bodies are not designed to bear children after 50.

Malhotra notes that if a woman gets pregnant at age 70, her child may be an orphan before the age of 10. He says his association has requested that Bishnoi stop his extreme practice of working with significantly older women, with no success.

Hes not breaking any law because there is no law, Malhotra says. But there are ethical and moral guidelines.

Most medical ethics guidelines around the world recommend a cut-off between 45 and 50 for treatments like IVF, and the Indian Medical Council sets 45 as the recommended age limit. Across the United States and most parts of western Europe, insurance companies usually stop paying for IVF treatment after 45. In the United Kingdom, the limit for fertility treatments under the National Health Service is 42.

Every now and then, news reports pop up about women across the world giving birth in their 50s and 60s. A Spanish woman gave birth to healthy twins at age 64 earlier this year after fertility treatments at an undisclosed clinic in the United States. A British woman gave birth in 2008 at the age of 57 after treatment at a clinic in Russia.

Many private clinics cap treatment at 50 or less, and most doctors offering assisted reproductive treatments to women over 50 do it on the down low. But Bishnoi, a boyish-looking 41-year-old, doesnt hesitate to send a press release to promote his work, and lists at least 30 patients on his website who gave birth between the ages of 50 and 70.

Bishnoi says he is a careful doctor who chooses his patients after a series of medical examinations to ascertain their ability to carry a pregnancy to term. He says age doesnt matter to him; all he examines is whether a patient is physically, emotionally and financially able.

He says he has turned away innumerable patients because he wasnt satisfied they were healthy enough, and has never had a patient die. He complains that the doctors who criticize him dont ask about his clinics success rate, which is 30 per cent for mothers above 50. Its an average that is low when compared to IVF success rates for women under the age of 45. But for older women, its an average that Bishnoi considers decent.

For older patients like Kaur, who make up 20 per cent of his practice, Bishnoi harvests eggs from anonymous donors, but in a deeply patriarchal culture, what really matters is that the sperm belongs to the father. He calls reproduction a fundamental right, and likens his patients to the military.

They are soldiers of their family, he says. And of course the risks involved are there, but soldiers dont care.

Bishnoi says he suggests adoption or surrogacy to most of his patients, including Kaur, but few are interested. Indian families adopted only 2,210 children in 2016, partly because of daunting levels of bureaucratic hurdles. And the importance of caste and religion are major deterrents.

When Bishnoi first suggested Kaur adopt a child, she didnt say anything.

I just started crying, she says.

Then he asked her to think about using a surrogate. She remembers breaking down and weeping in his office.

I said, Doctor sahib, I have everything. I even have children around me. Grandchildren too. I play with them, I carry them. Nobody has ever called me mummy. Ever.

If you can give me a child from my own body, then give me that child.

The packed waiting room at Bishnois clinic bears witness to the fact that working-class families across the country are willing to spend their limited savings for a child of their own. The cost of IVF treatment in India is relatively low, even though many families have to pay on their own. At Bishnois clinic, one cycle of IVF costs about 110,000 rupees ($1,700), compared to about $12,000 in the U.S.

This treatment costs as much as buying a buffalo, says Bishnoi, whose patients are largely from farming families.

Gurdev Singh says the money was nothing, as he playfully lets his daughter clamber all over him and coo into his cellphone. What matters is that he gave us our little doll, Singh says.

Kaur and Singh say they feel no fear and anxiety about raising their child at an age when most people are grandparents.

This is all Gods will, Singh says, as little Gurjeet shrieks papa, papa, with wild abandon.

Kaur says she has no trouble at all taking care of her daughter. In fact, she is already thinking of trying IVF again to give Gurjeet a sibling. She waits, impatiently, for the day when she can talk to her child.

One day when she is older, she will share my joys and sorrows, Kaur says. She will ask me, Mummy, how did you pass the days before I came?

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When Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady was a little boy, it seemed war was everywhere.

His earliest memories include the sights and sounds of Saddam Husseins war with Iran  rockets, artillery, tanks and soldiers were for years unremarkably normal in his hometown of Khanaqin, just seven kilometres from the eastern border. That was his reality until ceasefire took hold in the summer of 1988, when he was 6.

That same year saw Saddams ruthless al-Anfal campaign pound Iraqs Kurdish minority with the combined weight of his military and intelligence services. Arkady remembers seeing the worst one day on a trip with his mother to the vegetable market.

I saw a body near the mosque. There was a dog eating it but nobody was doing anything, just pretending it wasnt there, remembers Arkady.

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I screamed and my mother told me, Hush, say nothing  the walls have ears. 

The body was that of a Peshmerga rebel  likely killed by Husseins mukhabarat intelligence agents. And just as likely, the body was being watched. Anyone who dared claim and bury the corpse would be in line for arrest and a world of suspicion. So nobody did.

Soon enough the fear arrived directly on Arkadys doorstep, when Husseins intelligence agents came knocking with an ultimatum for his father: spy for us, they demanded, seeking to cultivate a steady flow of information on one of Arkadys uncles, a prominent Peshmerga officer. Rather than collaborate, the Arkady family fled, moving north into Iraqi Kurdistan, resettling near Sulaymaniyah.

They left everything behind: home, jobs, friends, family. Exile meant poverty  Arkadys father, an artist and teacher, had earned a comfortable salary as a regional school superintendent. He found new work teaching at paupers wages  about $3 (U.S.) a day, not enough to feed and shelter Arkady and his four sisters.

I wanted to be an artist like my father. I wanted to stay in school. But the family needed me to work. I helped my mom sew clothing by hand. I rode my bike to sell the clothes at the market, he says. Later, I worked doing car upholstery with one of my uncles.

During his first year in exile, Arkady remembers turning to his father in bewilderment, wondering about the black rain. The acrid, sooty precipitation, he learned, was fallout from Saddams scorched-earth response to the U.S.-led Persian Gulf War. As the coalition moved into Kuwait, Iraqi forces set ablaze 600 oil wells, filling the skies with fire and smoke. Some of it fell upon 9-year-old Arkadys world.

Twelve years later, George W. Bush finished the job his father began. The arrival of U.S. troops alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters was, for Arkady, like the throwing of a switch. Life went from off to on. Finally.

At 21, he led the familys return to newly liberated Khanaqin in 2003 and worked to regain the familys solvency. Arkady and a friend opened an internet cafe to cater to his generations burning desire to connect. He rebuilt the family home and, once his parents and siblings were safely ensconced, set about rebuilding his life.

The postwar boom brought new hope to Iraqi Kurdistan and school was no exception. Arkady was thrilled to enrol in the inaugural class of Khanaqins Institute of Fine Art in 2005. A five-year program; a clear runway to becoming a painter like his father.

Art was his calling  until he got his hands on a digital camera in 2006. He spent the next four years torn between two passions. The camera ultimately won.

It took time. I shot some weddings. I shot everything. I began to discover the power and possibilities of the camera. It was always a struggle for me, which way to go. I never stopped painting, even until now, he says.

There was nobody to teach me so I went online. I sought out other photographers in the Arab world. I learned. I got better.

Upon graduation in 2010, Arkady turned pro, with the backing of Sulaymaniyah-based Metrography, an Iraqi photo agency dedicated to developing a thriving photojournalism industry that breaks down ethnic, cultural and religious barriers.

Arkadys work gained notice, showing in more than a dozen exhibits in Iraq, Dubai, Georgia and Germany. He was selected for a coveted Noor-Nikon Masterclass. Assignments ranged from media work to projects for NGOs, including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Mercy Corps, IREX and International Relief Development.

As his career blossomed, Arkady married. His new wife  the Star is not publishing the names of his family for security reasons  shared his deeply personal understanding of war. At age one, she and her family were swept up with the refugees fleeing the infamous massacre at Halabja. The Hussein regimes targeting of the Iraqi Kurdish city with chemical weapons in the waning days of the Iran-Iraq War is widely regarded as the worst event of its kind this side of Adolph Hitler.

Arkady built a home, finishing an apartment by hand from a concrete shell. His photography  in the gaps between agency assignments  moved into long-form work. Among the projects, a photo essay on Iraqis injured and disabled by war.

Two back-to-back turning points set Arkadys course toward the photographs published today in the Star. On June 1, 2014, Arkady joined the VII Photo Mentor Program  a rare prize handed to just five shooters among 150 global applicants. Paired with seasoned pro Ed Kashi as his mentor, the jump to VII Photo identified Arkady as one of the worlds brightest new talents.

Three days later, Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, stormed Mosul, shocking the world by seizing Iraqs second city from a collapsing national army. The country was shredding anew. It was huge news. And for Arkady, a new calling.

One way or another, war had been in my life from the beginning. And yet I felt I was always avoiding it. I was seeing the effects of war. I had lived the impact. But I had never seen actual fighting, he says.

When ISIS came, I decided I would to try and get close to it. Whatever happened, this is where Iraqs future would be. As an Iraqi photographer, I had to be there, too.

This infuriated Arkadys father, sparking a family rift that has yet to heal. We shared meals together but for the last three years we didnt speak. He wont talk to me. I was making good money by now, some great assignments. Everyone in Iraq expects you to put money into cars and houses to gain wealth and social standing. But I put most of it back into my work because the work is everything. They couldnt understand.

For two years, Arkadys assignments ranged from Peshmerga encampments to a remote location near Halabja, where he joined a Dutch correspondent on a mission to interview the families of fighters who had sworn allegiance to Daesh.

It all set the scene for Arkadys fateful journey with Iraqi special forces  and the horrifying images shown here. The risk inherent in the photographs forced him into exile. His wife left home with a single suitcase, his daughter, a single toy. Everything else was left behind. Out of reach, likely forever.

We left everything. I gave my house to my parents because I may not be able to support them in the future. They can sell it for enough to have a good future, he says.

But even they are angry at me for doing this. They think I am crazy. I realize now, leaving has changed my life. I dont know where it will go. But I had to let the world see what I saw and what I felt.

During 18 hours of face-to-face interviews in Europe  and subsequent hours on Skype to verify details of his story  Arkady repeatedly described how emotions play through his camera lenses. Even as he reviews his work, frame-by-frame, his voice breaks in the telling of the circumstances of each image.

I feel what they feel as I hold up my camera. I dont know why. But I do. All of it, fear, agony, anger. I feel it.

It burns in him still, all that he felt in chronicling the brutal descent of the Emergency Response Division unit he followed in 2016. Especially anguishing are two occasions last November, when the steely-eyed ERD commanders coerced him, demanding that he put down his cameras and strike suspects during interrogations.

Any reporter with experience embedding with combat soldiers at war knows the drill: whatever story comes of it  positive, negative or in-between  journalists are expected to fall in line during the newsgathering. Go left, go right, stay there.

But what if the orders are insane? What happens then?

For Arkady, that obedience slammed against his senses of morality and sheer survival on Nov. 21 and again Nov. 23, just as his cameras began to capture the unit at its worst. Twice ERD commanders ordered Arkady to participate in the abuse.

Both times, Arkady says, he protested, repeatedly answering, No, I am photojournalist. I am shooting pictures  not hitting. Both times the ERD commanders  in the first instance, it was Capt. Haider Ali, who had presented himself as a heroic protagonist when he first met Arkady  loomed over him, eyes ablaze, in a terrifying, silent standoff. Ten seconds, 20, 30. Dead, sadistic silence. Awaiting Arkadys submission.

Both times, Arkady stepped forward, laying an open-handed slap. He says he made contact on the face of the first, unidentified suspect and, on Nov. 23, slapped a second time against the back of Iraqi shepherd Mahdi Mahmouds neck.

It was very bad. I am scared for my life ... I had no anger against these men. But I hit them. Not very hard. Not very soft. Like in the middle.

Like an undercover narcotics cop surrounded by smugglers, having heroin forced into his veins, Arkadys embed devolved perversely. It became the worst embed. Maybe ever.

If his earlier encounters with the ERD were overladen with benefits of the doubt, Arkady emerged from that November stint with a new and furious determination. He still had the trust of what he now understood was a squad run amok. He still had their trust. He would go back one last time, now intent upon documenting the worst.

I am going for a different story now, Arkady says of the final embed in December. I will include this torture in my film ... I will include everything.

When I decided to publish ... its not easy ... but it is to make them stop. It is not right. And what they did with me ... It is more honest this way. Total honesty from myself ... the important thing is for the world to see all of this.

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BERLINThe suspected bomber in the concert attack in Britain passed through Germany and Turkey before the attack, authorities said Thursday.

Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airports transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.

According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area, police said in a statement. Police didnt provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.

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Security camera photos reportedly show a man believed to be Manchester bomber Salman Abadi carrying a backpack. The U.K. is on its highest threat level as authorities investigate a "network" of alleged attackers.

A Turkish official told The Associated Press that the 22-year-old suspect travelled through Istanbul and Duesseldorf on his way to Britain.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without prior authorization, wouldnt say which country Abedi had arrived from to Istanbul. However, the official added that the attacker had on several occasions in the past used Istanbul as a transit for flights between Libya and Europe.

German magazine Focus, citing unnamed federal security sources, had earlier reported that British-born Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and that he wasnt on any international watch list.

A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadnt been cleared for public release.

Focus reported that Abedi previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015. The magazine also wrote that German authorities are trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany. The report said that British police informed their German counterparts that Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria beforehand.

The Czech Republics interior minister, meanwhile, said a report by German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel claiming Abedi had travelled to Germany via Prague, wasnt correct.

Milan Chovanec tweeted that I can confirm that information that this person was flying through Prague isnt true.

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MEXICO CITYJust as each batch of the weekly newspapers was dropped off at newsstands around Culiacan, men quickly bought them up as they followed the delivery trucks along their routes.

It occurred twice during one week in February, first with Riodoce, a paper known for its investigations into the dark corners of Sinaloa states criminal underworld, and two days later with the upstart La Pared (The Wall). Both papers carried cover story interviews with a drug lord. The men politely scooping up the papers after paying for them allegedly worked for the drug lords rivals.

La Pared has since closed shop. Riodoces editors continue fighting, though more carefully in the belief that the incident foretold the May 15 murder of the papers co-founder Javier Valdez.

Valdezs killing spurred an outcry unseen previously during the frequent murders of Mexican journalists. It has drawn together competing media outlets, foreign governments, the international press and human rights groups in a call for justice that President Enrique Pena Nieto has promised to address.

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For Sinaloa state, the killing signalled a frightening turn seen elsewhere in Mexico where cartels are willing to fight for headlines as well as for territory. It remains unclear if the slaying of one of the countrys most respected journalists will become a tipping point in the battle against impunity.

Justice for all those responsible, to the very end, thats the only way we will be able to talk about a watershed moment, said Carlos Lauria, Americas representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The person who found Valdez dead from 13 gunshots in the street with his signature Panama hat still on was his friend and Riodoce co-founder Ismael Bojorquez.

We had never interviewed a drug lord, we did it now and it cost us big, Bojorquez said.

The subject was Damaso Lopez  nicknamed El Licenciado, a title for college graduates  who was once Joaquin El Chapo Guzmans right-hand man. After Guzman was recaptured in January 2016  hes now awaiting trial in New York  Lopez moved to take control of the Sinaloa cartels territory in a fight with Guzmans sons. Culiacans press was caught in the middle.

Chapos sons found out that we had interviewed Damaso and they pressured Javier (Valdez) to not publish the story, Bojorquez wrote in his column Monday. But we refused the request. Then they offered to buy the entire print run, a proposal Riodoce also rejected, hence the operation following the delivery truck.

After La Pareds papers were bought up, its editors were contacted on behalf of Guzmans sons and told to run a new edition of 15,000 copies with a story criticizing Lopez, said a former staff member, who insisted on speaking anonymously for safety reasons. It was the papers last edition.

That was a new chapter in the local press relationship with the cartels. Local reporters said that previously, emissaries might lobby against publishing a certain photo or mentioning someone in a story. There was a habit of writing stories in a style similar to the narcocorrido songs that gave their subjects an almost mythical air.

The attempts didnt always work and in the worst moments, the Noroeste, El Debate and Riodoce newspaper offices were attacked with gunfire or grenades  violence that was followed by government inaction.

But Guzmans extradition to the U.S. marked a change in the rules that existed under the old school drug lords. Members of the next generation, known as narcojuniors, have shown themselves more impulsive and violent. They also seek a higher profile and apparently headlines as well.

The rapidly expanding Jalisco New Generation cartel has added another volatile element to the mix. And the January arrival of Gov. Quirino Ordaz of the Institutional Revolutionary Party also has heralded a new wave of violence exacerbated by the end of a drug peace that his predecessor allegedly reached with Guzman by turning over control of the police.

Bojorquez said he is sure Valdezs killing was related to his friends work even if it was something written a long time ago. The authorities have to investigate that, he said.

The Sinaloa state prosecutors office is investigating the case with the federal Attorney General Offices special prosecutor for crimes against free speech. Of the 114 journalist murders the government has recorded since 2000, that special prosecutors office has investigated 48 since 2010, resulting in three sentences.

Journalists and human rights activists in Sinaloa have formed a group to monitor the investigation of Valdezs killing and demand that its findings be public.

What is known thus far is that Valdezs car was stopped in broad daylight several blocks from his office. After being forced out, he was shot a dozen times with two different guns. Still missing are his cellphone and laptop.

The authorities said the motive in the case could have been a Valdezs reporting or a robbery  an idea that press advocates vigorously reject.

In the meantime, local reporters are living in fear.

Were very nervous, unsettled; we dont know what to do, said Marcos Vizcarra, a reporter for the newspaper Noroeste in Culiacan.

Bojorquez said if there is a silver lining to his friends death, it is seeing journalists unite and push for justice.

You can go break the windows at Los Pinos (Mexicos White House) and it wont be a big deal, but when governments feel international pressure they begin to act, he said.

Meanwhile, he said, Riodoce will continue its work, following Valdezs reporting on how drug trafficking affects society.

I want it to be clear: We dont give a damn who is running the criminal world, Bojorquez said. Were not fighting with any drug lord. For us drug trafficking is not a cause, its a phenomenon that exists and we treat it journalistically in terms of its consequences on the economy, on culture, on politics, on the government, on the police. And in these areas we are going to continue working.

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The brutality, the cruelty and contempt for any laws of war are shocking.

But that should not come as a surprise.

Photographer Ali Arkadys photos and video documenting torture of civilians by coalition-supported Iraqi forces in Mosul are evidence of what many have warned about for more than a decade.

It is validating my worst fears and worst expectations, Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watchs Middle East and North Africa director, said in an interview with the Star.

We have continually investigated and documented abuses by Iraqi government security forces, which includes not just central security forces but special units  the militias that have a sectarian affiliation, but are now formally part of the Iraqi government military forces.

As recently as last June, there were reports of abuse as Iraqi government forces and militias moved to liberate Fallujah and Tikrit from Daesh; harrowing allegations of suspects or civilians finally free of the terrorist groups rule, only to be terrorized by their liberators.

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For its report, Punished for Daeshs Crimes, Amnesty International conducted more than 470 interviews and concluded that Popular Mobilization Units, which are mostly Shiite paramilitary, and government forces committed war crimes through torture, arbitrary detention, the recruitment of child soldiers, forcibly disappearing suspects and executing thousands of civilians.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed to investigate.

But then, silence. As Iraqi and coalition forces faced their greatest challenge yet in taking back Mosul, the countrys second-largest city and the place where the so-called Islamic State was first declared, the warnings continued. The lack of response raises concerns about whether the government is actually investigating these abuses, and increases the concern that future violations will be committed with impunity, HRWs senior Iraq researcher Belkis Wille wrote as the Mosul mission loomed.

There is deep and specific history to Iraqs sectarian tensions, which stretch back to the Ottoman era but became especially acute under the Sunni-dominated rule of Saddam Hussein, when the countrys Shiite majority  nearly two-thirds of the population  endured systemic persecution. In unseating Saddam and imposing democracy in his wake, the U.S.-led coalition unleashed sectarian rivalries that rage to this day.

Arkady, who first began following a team of Emergency Response Division special forces during last summers battle to liberate Fallujah, thought he had found the antidote  a post-sectarian unit that proudly proclaimed it would rise above the abuse documented by HRW, Amnesty and others.

But during subsequent embeds with the ERD from October to December last year, his first impressions crumbled as he witnessed  and photographed  a litany of abuse that amounts to war crimes as defined under the Geneva Conventions.

Col. Jay Janzen, a senior spokesperson for the Canadian military, says Canadas troops who arrived in Iraq in 2014 have had no direct involvement with the ERD, focusing on working with the Kurdish peshmerga, and more recently other Iraqi security forces.

This is not the first time Canada has been presented with evidence of abuse and torture by a battlefield ally. During its long engagement in Afghanistan, Canada was accused of being complicit in torture for handing over hundreds of detainees to Afghan authorities, where they allegedly were abused.

Janzen says Canadian soldiers serving in Iraq are under orders to report any evidence or allegations of sexual abuse, torture and inhumane treatment and breaches of human rights law. As you would expect with a conflict of this magnitude and this severity, there have been reports coming into the coalition from time to time about atrocities on the battlefield, said Janzen.

Most of those reports involve abuse by the Daesh extremists, but, Janzen said, there have been a couple of what he called third-party allegations of mistreatment of people on the battlefield reported to Canadians.

Sometimes these things are difficult to chase down and sometimes it amounts to hearsay or third-hand information and sometimes the reports, we cant come to any kind of conclusion.

Obviously, one of the first things that we look at when we get this information isdoes it involve our troops or does it involve the troops that were partnered with? To date, weve got no evidence that would clearly suggest that troops we are partnered with are involved in atrocities, Janzen said.

Last years HRW annual report included allegations of apparently unlawful demolitions of buildings, homes, even entire villages, in areas that had been liberated from Daesh and were now under control of peshmerga forces. The report suggests that in some areas, Arab homes were deliberately targeted by peshmerga troops while Kurdish homes were left intact.

The report also notes that none of the countries that back the Kurdish Regional Government and support it with military aid, including Canada, voiced concern about the demolitions.

Such abuses breed anger, resentment and suspicion of government forces, which ultimately benefits Daesh.

When Iraqi security forces act in a way that is sadistic, that is brutal, that is unlawful, says Whitson, that undermines the fundamental bulwark on which the Iraqi governments authority and credibility rests.

When the coalition overseeing the multinational military effort was asked about what Arkady witnessed and documented, a spokesperson wrote that allegations concerning the conduct of Iraqi security forces would be forwarded to the Iraqi government.

Any violation of the law of armed conflict would be unacceptable and should be investigated in a transparent manner, U.S. army Col. Joe Scrocca told the Star in a statement. Those deemed responsible are held accountable in accordance with due process and Iraqi law.

Al-Abadi has zero tolerance for any improper action by government forces and would thoroughly investigate any allegations, Scrocca said.

But Wille, of Human Rights Watch, has little faith in such promises of investigations, saying that the Iraqis  and allies such as Canada and the U.S.  need to ensure such probes happen and the findings are acted on.

To date I have never seen any kind of transparency reporting on investigations, I have almost never seen results coming from these investigations, Wille said in an interview.

When faced with such clear and uncontradictable evidence, the coalition cant simply be complacent again by allowing the prime minister to say simply, Yah, well investigate. There really needs to be a sustained push on the side of coalition to get these forces immediately removed from the field, and then subsequent investigations and punishment where wrongdoing is found. They cant allow the prime ministers word on this to be enough.

For many, the most dangerous phase lies ahead, that without the unifying force of fighting a common enemy, elements of Iraqi society will once again turn on each other.

Moqtada al-Sadr  a prominent leader in the sectarian bloodletting that followed Saddams fall  is urging all sides to guard against post-Mosul genocide.

Im afraid that the defeat of Daesh is only the start of a new phase, he told correspondent Jonathan Steele, writing for Middle East Eye, in a March interview.

There is a warning from another surprising quarter  Paul Wolfowitz, who was the No. 2 in the U.S. defence department when President George W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003. The fear is Iraq could splinter apart after the fall of Mosul, he said in an April interview with the Global Politico podcast. Im much more fearful that it will descend into chaotic violence. And I think probably the key to avoiding that is  some significant degree of local autonomy and local security, so that Sunnis dont have to fear (Shiites) and Kurds dont have to fear Arabs.

How will the U.S. react, Wolfowitz asked: If we walk away, as we walked away five years ago, six years ago, the results will be much worse than if we stay there to insert, leverage and support.

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The least likely people youd expect to feel badly for embattled White House press secretary Sean Spicer are those with whom he has sparred with the most.

So it came as a surprise to some on Wednesday when Spicer received an outpouring of sympathy. The reason: as U.S. President Donald Trump met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Spicer  a devout Catholic  was noticeably absent from the entourage.

Those in attendance included first lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster; Hope Hicks, Trumps communications adviser; Keith Schiller, his former bodyguard; and Dan Scavino, his social media manager. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are both Jewish but nonetheless met with the pontiff.

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Meanwhile, Spicer, the highly visible White House aide who was reportedly excited to meet with Pope Francis, wasnt there.

Wow, a source told CNN. Thats all he wanted.

Spicers absence struck a chord. By excluding him, Trump has done something I thought was impossible, tweeted Josh Dawsey, Politico White House reporter.

He has made everyone empathize with/defend Spicer, Dawsey said.

New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush spoke out. Spicer has on multiple occasions criticized and clashed with Thrush during press briefings, exchanges portrayed by Melissa McCarthys Sean Spicer character on Saturday Night Live.

That planners of this trip couldnt or wouldnt get @seanspicer into the Vatican speaks to a small-mindedness I find incredibly depressing, Thrush tweeted.

This seems needlessly harsh  when else is Spicer likely to meet the Pope, and it mattered to him? tweeted New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.

Trump is a cruel boss, said New Republic senior editor Jeet Heer, who also wrote the president didnt let Sean Spicer meet the Pope out of sheer meanness.

Politico Magazine editor in chief Blake Hounshell said leaving out Spicer seems like a slight.

Huff Post published the headline, Sean Spicer Gets a Ride on the Nope Mobile.

Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump met at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on Wednesday. Trump's audience with the pontiff comes midway through his 9-day international trip.

CNNs Erin Burnett said meeting with the pope by all accounts would have been the highlight of his life.

Mark Preston, a senior political analyst for CNN who attends church in the same parish as Sean Spicer, told Burnett, Im sure is really hurting him, and suggested his exclusion reflected the presidents pettiness.

There very few perks, there are very long days, he said of Spicers job. For something like this to happen to Sean Spicer I think really is an indictment against Donald Trump and again in his lack of loyalty

Burnett wrapped up the segment by saying, If Donald Trump indeed plans to remove him, go ahead and get rid of him. But hes done a lot for you, this deeply mattered to him. I just think on a human level it was clear what the right thing to do was.

Some outside of the media industry were equally vocal.

Im no Spicer fan, but Trumps petty refusal to include him, a devout Catholic . . . was cruel and disgusting, Harvard Law Schools Laurence Tribe tweeted.

There are few things I despise more than people who use their power to step on the dreams of others, another tweet said.

Spicer is a regular at Sunday mass, and told reporters earlier this year that he gave up alcohol for Lent. He was mocked last year for appearing on CNN with ashes on his forehead in honour of Ash Wednesday.

He did not respond to media requests for comment Wednesday evening, but has previously spoken of his faith publicly.

In a television interview during the transition, Spicer said, Im going to look to God every day to give me the strength to do whats right, he said.

Thats all you can ask for is to get up and say, Can I do this thing?  Spicer said. Help guide me and ask Him for strength.

Some on social media expressed less sympathy toward the press secretary, with at least one Twitter user surmising, maybe he didnt want to go!

Comedian Samantha Bee tweeted: sorry about the pope. Remember, you dont HAVE to put up with this . . . 

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BRUSSELSSurrounded by stone-faced allies, U.S. President Donald Trump rebuked fellow NATO members Thursday for failing to meet the military alliances financial benchmarks, asserting that leaves it weaker and shortchanges the people and taxpayers of the United States.

Trump, who has often complained back home about other nations NATO support, lectured the other leaders in person this time, declaring, Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years.

The presidents assertion immediately put NATO under new strain and did nothing to quiet questions about his complicated relationship with an alliance he has previously panned as obsolete. Notably, he also did not offer an explicit public endorsement of NATOs all for one, one for all collective defence principle, though White House officials said his mere presence at the meeting signalled his commitment.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

Fellow NATO leaders occasionally exchanged awkward looks with each other during the presidents lecture, which occurred at an event commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. When Trump tried to lighten the mood with a joke about NATOs gleaming new home base  I never asked once what the new NATO Headquarters cost  there was no laughter from his counterparts.

NATO officials had expected Trump to raise the payments issue during Thursdays meeting, even preparing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for the prospect that the president could try to pull off a stunt like handing out invoices. But one European official said NATO members were still taken aback by the aggressive tone of his speech.

As a presidential candidate, Trump railed against NATOs financial burden-sharing, suggesting the U.S. might only come to the defence of countries that meet the alliances guidelines  for committing 2 per cent of their gross domestic product to military spending. A White House official said the president wanted to deliver the same direct message in front of NATO allies.

Trumps public scolding was all the more remarkable given the fact that he has actually backed away from some of his most provocative comments on foreign policy issues since taking office. Hes retracted his vow to label China a currency manipulator and has lavished praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping. During a visit to Saudi Arabia this week, he called Islam one of the worlds great religions after declaring during the campaign that Islam hates us

But few issues appear to have as much staying power with Trump as the uneven financial contributions of NATO members. Last year, only five of the 28 countries met the 2 per cent goal: the U.S., Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland.

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During a private dinner Thursday night, the 28 members, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, renewed an old pledge to move toward the 2 per cent by 2024  a move the White House touted as a sign of Trumps influence.

Some of the allies  particularly Eastern European nations deeply worried about Russian aggression  were hopeful that Trump would state a firm commitment to NATOs Article 5 mutual defence agreement, which underpins the entire alliance. Instead, he highlighted NATOs decision to invoke the article for the only time after 9/11 and said the U.S. would never forsake the friends that stood by our side.

The White House insisted Trump had not intended to leave wiggle room on his commitment to coming to the defence of NATO members.

And Stoltenberg said later that Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other U.S. officials have stated clearly their assurances. He said, Its not possible to be committed to NATO without being committed to Article 5.

Trump scored a hoped-for success as NATO joined the 68-nation international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. An anti-terror co-ordinator may also be named. But most changes will be cosmetic, as NATO as an alliance has no intention of going to war against Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Finishing off a long day, Trump arrived late Thursday night in Sicily for meetings Friday with leaders from the Group of 7 wealthy nations. The summit marks Trumps final stop on a maiden international trip that began in Saudi Arabia and Israel, where the president was warmly embraced by the countries leaders.

His reception has been less enthusiastic in Europe, given his negative campaign comments not only about NATO, but also the European Union. His arrival was also shadowed by new criticism from British Prime Minister Theresa May, who complained about leaks of intelligence to the American media about this weeks deadly bombing at a concert in Manchester, England.

May said she planned to make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure. The two were seen talking during an event marking the opening of the new NATO headquarters.

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published. In a written statement, Trump called the alleged leaks deeply troubling and said he was asking the Justice Department and other agencies to review the matter.

The president opened his day with a meeting with leaders of the European Union, another alliance he criticized during the campaign. Following the talks, European Council president Donald Tusk said he and the U.S. president agreed on a need to combat terrorism but some differences loomed large.

Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 per cent sure that we can say today  we means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia, said Tusk. He said unity must be found around values like freedom and human rights and dignity.

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to push himself past the prime minister of Montenegro during a tour of NATO's new headquarters Thursday.

Trump had lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been critical of the Republican president. As the press watched, the two men exchanged a very firm handshake during their meeting, both men gripping tight, their faces showing the strain.

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BRUSSELSU.S. President Donald Trump met his match in a handshake showdown with Frances new president, Emmanuel Macron.

At their first meeting, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, the two men locked hands for so long that knuckles started turning white.

Trump finally seemed ready to pull away  but Macron evidently wasnt. The French leader held the shake for a few seconds more. Both mens jaws seemed to clench.

Trump has described himself as a germ freak and called handshakes barbaric. In his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, Trump wrote hed often thought of taking out a series of newspaper ads encouraging the abolishment of the handshake.

Trumps aversion to hand-shaking seemed to lessen over the course of the U.S. presidential campaign. Hes now deep into an inaugural world tour that has forced him to exchange hand greetings with leaders from Israel to the Vatican.

Macron won Frances election this month by positioning himself as the anti-Trump, embracing globalization and open borders and quoting philosophers.

But as a 39-year-old who has never held elected office, Macron clearly was excited about the appearance with the U.S. president, which cemented his status as a new global player  and as a formidable hand-shaker.

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Growing up in government care in Manitoba was difficult. The deep politicization of child welfare didnt help matters. Polarized public opinion and a controversy-avoidant government shaped the legislation and policies that affected my day-to-day life.

Everyone, it seemed, was seeking to provide me with the best care  but it often missed the mark. Unfortunately, my experiences in the care system are not isolated but illustrate systemic government failures across the country to provide safe, quality care for youth.

We can  and should  do better. Supporting youth in care with comprehensive supports to age 25 would be an important first step.

Living in care likely ensured me a better outcome than I would have seen if I had remained with my birth mother. Her challenges extend from typical channels: an Indigenous woman born to a Manitoba prisoner and adopted out in the 1960s  not a formula known for good outcomes.

So when I asked to be put into care as a young teenager, I was confident I was making the right decision. I craved the support and structure that a home could provide. I felt empowered as I took ownership over my care.

The first home did have structure, but it was also riddled with emotional and spiritual abuse. I continued to move through many more placements and social workers. Many of us kids in care live in dozens of placements.

The tragic death of British Columbia teen, Alex Gervais, who died by suicide in a motel just months before aging out of the care system, lived in 17 placements over his life time. Such multiple transitions illustrate government care as a complicated and tumultuous time in the lives of trauma-inflicted youth.

The impact of transitory care experiences leave lasting effects on vulnerable youth.

In Winnipeg, 49 per cent of homeless individuals stated that they had spent time in a group-home or other Child and Family Services (CFS) placement as a child. This number is consistent in Ontario, with 43 per cent of street-involved youth describing Childrens Aid Society (CAS) involvement.

Graduation rates are also dismal, with 33 per cent of youth in care graduating in Manitoba, for example, compared to an 89 per cent graduation rate for their peers not in care.

My five years as a minor in care left me with serious mental health challenges and experiences with homelessness. The CFS shelters were full of other youth in care experiencing the same sort of crises I was facing.

But somehow, I made it. I didnt slip through the cracks and I found myself navigating a university degree and multiple jobs. I was always aware of my privilege and luck, but Im an exception.

In Canada, 60 per cent of young people aged 20 to 24 live at home with their supporting parents. Yet we hold youth with the complex traumas associated with growing up in care to a different standard and expect them to stand alone.

My colleagues almost universally have some sort of support from their parents. But my safety net is small. I have very few people to call upon for support in homelessness, in financial emergencies and if I was really struggling with mental health or addiction.

Still, many provinces drop services for youth in care at age 18 or 21, despite our desperate pleas for help.

Outcomes for kids who age out of care are typically bleak and many of us are caught up with other systems; 41 per cent of my B.C. peers have criminal justice system involvement.

These results arent surprising. Historically, little support has been given to youth transitioning out of care and they often do not have the skills they need to survive.

My experience was typical  unstable and frustrating. I also have twin sister, who entered care at the same point I did. She also struggled with many of the challenges. Her experiences with homelessness, late graduation and unsafe relationships characterize the experience of so many other youth from care.

When governments apprehend children and put them in care, they are claiming a responsibility for ensuring the success of vulnerable children. As a society, we arent living up to the promise or the responsibility.

Governments in Canada need to step up and guarantee youth in care comprehensive supports and services to age 25. Its an essential first step to level the playing field.

Dylan Cohen is an Indigenous former youth in care, a project co-ordinator for AgedOut.com in British Columbia and a contributor with EvidenceNetwork.ca.

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Canada and other countries that have joined the fight against Daesh in Iraq and Syria did not go to war simply to see one gang of brutal thugs replaced by another. Our goal cannot be just to bolster one side in an endless sectarian conflict.

Yet that is the disturbing prospect raised by the abuse, torture and outright murder carried out by special forces under the command of the Iraqi government and documented at length in the Star and ABC News.

The physical damage wrought on human bodies is bad enough  broken bones, crushed organs, even death. On moral grounds alone, these horrifying actions must be condemned.

But even aside from that, this kind of flagrant violation of the norms of war must be opposed on more pragmatic grounds as well. By turning the battle against Daesh (aka the Islamic State) into a campaign of revenge against Sunni civilians, the Iraqi government forces are undermining the justification for the fight.

Just as seriously, they are making it even harder to imagine that the countrys religious factions can ever find a way to co-exist in peace. They are fueling a tragic vision of war without end.

Read more:

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For Canada, which has been a member of the military coalition against Daesh since 2014, the revelations about systematic abuse carried out by our ostensible ally raises a host of troubling questions.

There is no evidence that Canadian forces had any knowledge of what Iraqi photojournalist Ali Arkady has documented in photographs and video. The abuse was carried out between October and December of last year by soldiers belonging to the Emergency Response Division, a special forces unit under the authority of Iraqs Interior Ministry. And a spokesman for the Canadian troops operating in Iraq told the Star that they have had no direct interaction with the ERD.

Nonetheless, Canada and other members of the anti-Daesh coalition are inevitably tainted by association when soldiers on our side of the conflict act in such an unjustifiable manner. It turns us, even unwittingly and unwillingly, into allies of torturers and murderers.

This is not what Canadians signed up for when the Harper government joined up for the fight against the brutes of Daesh, and the Trudeau government continued that commitment.

Canada, along with the United States and other coalition members, must push back strongly with the Iraqi government to bring its forces, including paramilitaries and special units fighting in collaboration with its regular soldiers, under control.

This will be difficult. Abuse by Iraqi forces fighting Daesh has been well documented since at least last year, when Amnesty International released a detailed report on the issue.

The report concluded that government troops had compounded the suffering of civilians by committing war crimes and other serious human rights violations in their successful battle to reclaim territory from Daesh. It found that Iraqi forces routinely torture or otherwise ill-treat detainees with impunity.

Iraqs prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, even set up a committee last June to investigate crimes committed by his forces during the battle to re-take the city of Fallujah from occupation by Daesh. But little came of that, and Amnesty reports that it just emboldened Iraqi militias to continue acting above the law, without any fear of consequences. In other words, it may have made the situation even worse.

Amnesty recommended at the time that the U.S., Canada and others should make their continued support for Iraqi authorities contingent on their stopping abuse, reining in the paramilitaries, and preventing revenge attacks against Sunni civilians.

The incidents documented by Arkady make it even more urgent that Canada and its allies step up and do all they can to make sure such atrocities come to an end.

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Re: Wynne tries to reignite unrequited love affair with high-speed rail Walkom, May 22

Wynne tries to reignite unrequited love affair with high-speed rail Walkom, May 22

Thomas Walkom raises valid issues with Ontarios latest high-speed-rail announcement, but in his summary of Canadas dabbling with high-speed rail in the past, he misses the biggest problem: Canada has repeatedly tried to get high-speed-rail service on the cheap and failed.

Walkom mentions the Turbo, which achieved the current Canadian speed record of 225 km/h in 1976 and was very reliable in its last years of service. But the Turbo was the wrong train for our tracks. It was a high-speed train running on jointed rail (also known as clickety-clack track) on an alignment that was laid in 1856.

The Turbo, and later the Bombardier LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable), were attempts to have high-speed rail without a penny invested in track infrastructure. Yes, the Turbo could travel at 225 km/h but, on its run to Montreal, it was forced to negotiate extremely tight curves and more than 300 road crossings, limiting its speed to 153 km/h in service. And Walkom correctly points out the Turbo  just like passenger trains today  had to share tracks with slow and heavy freight trains.

There have been so many studies of high-speed rail in Canada that its a shame you cant build the tracks out of paper. We have the population density and travel patterns to support high-speed rail between Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and London. If only we could stop studying it and start building it.

Jason Shron, author of TurboTrain: A Journey, Markham

So Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne wants $21 billion (minimum!) spent creating this rail line. I guess she hasnt heard that tens of thousands of people in Ontario are living in broken-down and infested subsidized housing. It also seems she and her party are unaware that thousands are on a waiting list for decent housing. Please, Ms. Wynne, lets get our priorities straight.

John Morton, Toronto

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For months, Kathi Wallace read the news and followed the controversy at the York Region school board from afar.

Wallace, who recently retired as director from Simcoe County board, the northerly neighbour to York, said she was surprised and rather taken aback by what was happening.

She never imagined she would be called upon  and pulled out of retirement  to help turn things around.

I must admit, I was surprised by the phone call, she said, in a recent sit-down interview with the Star. But, when you get a call to help out communities, students, families and staff, meet a challenge and move forward . . . I couldnt resist that.

For the next few months, Wallace will serve as an interim director at the embattled board following its year of non-stop turmoil.

A three-month probe was launched in January by Minister of Education Mitzie Hunter after growing concerns of racism, fiscal mismanagement and a culture of fear at the board. The investigation, which included input from hundreds of people, found trustees and the former director lacked leadership, and, instead, cultivated mistrust in an environment where equity and transparency were shunned.

The damning report, which was largely critical of former director J. Philip Parappally, led to his dismissal last month.

Wallace isnt intimidated by the past.

I saw it as a very positive challenge and opportunity to perhaps dig in my experiences . . . and use those to help others, she said. I also have a real sense that this board is absolutely wanting to move forward, and wanting to accept the challenge, and I believe they have the capacity.

Her goal is to also challenge staff and trustees to think long and hard, about how (any decision) comes right down to the classroom and the students, she said.

Hows that going to really promote that positivity and student achievement for all of our students?

But the task ahead will not be easy, and Charles Pascal, a former deputy minister of education, who believes the board should make sure Wallace is around long enough to deal effectively with the tricky issues of governance plaguing the board.

This should be a two-year interim appointment, because its going to take at least 18 months, with intentional reflection, on all the mistakes that the current board has made, said Pascal, now a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.

If they dont deal directly with their own problems before they go and hire (a permanent director) . . . who, of any quality, in terms of what they are looking for in a director, will step forward? Who will work for a board that hasnt figured it out?

Frank Kelly, executive director of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, said Wallaces experience in Simcoe showed her to be very positive in building a team there and working with her board of trustees  those are the two things that I think are needed in her new job.

Shes a quiet, sensitive person. She listens to her staff and she listens to the community, and shes been a good education leader.

Wallace is coming on board at a time when staff and trustees are making crucial budgetary and policy decisions, and theres a lot of strategic planning made going into next (fall), he also said.

He expects her to offer solutions to some of the problems plaguing the board, but her main objective is to bring together the senior team and the trustees so they are all working on the same page.

Shes good at that, he added. She has a record of that.

Wallace, who has worked in education for decades, moving up the ranks from teacher to board director in Simcoe, officially started in her role last week and hit the ground running.

In her first week, she reached out to parents and chatted one-on-one with some senior staff, met with ministry officials, attended community events and spoke with principal groups  with the goal of just listening and finding ways for community members to move forward.

Something that I truly believe is: better together,  said Wallace, who has implemented an open-door policy to encourage staff to drop in and take coffee breaks with her.

Among Wallaces goals is to ensure the 22 directives set out by the minister of education, which include establishing a human rights office, continuing training for all staff on equity and human rights and the creation of a comprehensive policy for hiring a new director, are executed in the very best way.

While the board has met all the provincial directives so far, there are a few areas, including the human rights office as well as better outreach and communication with the community, for which it has asked the board to provide more concrete steps.

Board chair Loralea Carruthers, who has been at the forefront of managing the crisis at the board, says there has been a noticeable change at the board, among staff and trustees in recent weeks  with many staff talking about their desire to come to work again.

We are turning a page, everyone is feeling it, she said. Theres a new tone, and people rise to the occasion.

Shernett Martin, executive director of the Vaughan African Canadian Association said she, too, has noticed a change in tone at the board and among staff and trustees.

There is a willingness towards partnership and dialogue that was not there before, said Martin, who said she plans to meet with Wallace in June.

And a lot of optimism going forward.

We really hope she sets the stage for the next director.

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There is a "good shot" of tax reform coming in 2017, according to Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey).

"I don't think the odds were as high as a couple of months ago, but I actually think there's a good shot at it," he said in an interview with TheStreet. "I would not give up just yet."

Gottheimer is focused on cutting tax rates, simplifying the code and ensuring that state and local tax deductions remain in place.

Investors are worried that the host of media leaks surrounding the Trump administration and the investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election may delay Trump's agenda.

Speaking of the Russia investigation, Gottheimer is on the House Oversight Committee that is set to host former FBI Director James Comey.

Gottheimer is solely focused on the facts. "I'm sick and tired of everyone playing fast and loose with the facts," he said, adding that he wants to ensure that policy continues to move forward, even with the investigation in the backdrop.

He said it's important for politicians to walk and chew gum at the same time.

More from TheStreet:
Exxon Mobil (XOM) - Get Free Report may be facing some added pressure at its annual meeting next week as BlackRock (BLK) - Get Free Report and Vanguard Group are said to be considering a vote in favor of an investor plan that would pressure Exxon to conduct climate stress tests to determine how environmental regulations impact its oil asset value, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Exxon is urging investors to vote against the proposal. Should it pass, the measure would be a strong signal that investors want greater disclosure of the threats climate change poses to business.

Everyone wants to sell oil stocks, but Jim Cramer believes there is a buying opportunity for the right energy securities. Read his analysis here.
In the ultimate test of machine versus man, Google's AlphaGo artificial intelligence system won its second match against the world's best Go player on Thursday, clinching a victory in its three-game match.

AlphaGo beat 19-year-old Go world champion, Ke Jie, in a match held in Wuzhen, China, as part of the Alphabet (GOOGL) - Get Free Reportunit's Future of Go Summit being held there this week. Go is a complex board game developed in China more than 2,500 years ago.

While the AlphaGo competition is a display of just how far Google has come in the realm of artificial intelligence, it also serves a bigger, more abstract function, especially in China.

Google is likely using the Future of Go Summit as a means of appealing to Chinese officials at a time when it's been unable to reenter the market. The internet giant's search engine, Gmail and YouTube have all been blocked from access in the region ever since 2010, when government regulators, often known as the Great Firewall of China, rounded up a list of 1.3 million websites and shut them down.

It meant that no one inside China could watch livestreams of the AlphaGo matches, since Chinese state media outlets couldn't broadcast them either. According to Google, the livestreams were still viewed by 60 million people across the Internet.

Google does operate some offices in China and has limited services available there, such as Google Translate, but the relationship still remains largely strained, similar to many other U.S. technology companies. Before the shutdown, Google offered a version of its services that conformed to China's privacy and censorship restrictions, but after the company discovered that several human-rights activists' accounts had been hacked, Google directed search traffic to an uncensored version of its website, violating Chinese compliance rules. The move prompted Chinese officials to swiftly block the site, but some experts say the foreign ministry may have also been trying to advance its own search engine Baidu (BIDU) - Get Free Report .

Baidu CEO Robin Li has said he hopes the company will eventually expand into new markets like the U.S. and Europe, hoping to gain a foothold in nascent markets where internet connections have improved. Baidu rival Alibaba BABA has made greater strides in developing in the U.S., particularly through strategic investments in U.S. startups like Lyft, Jet.com (now owned by Walmart (WMT) - Get Free Report ) and now public Snap (SNAP) - Get Free Report. Similarly, Baidu recently partnered with Ford (F) - Get Free Report to invest $150 million in Velodyne, a U.S. startup that develops LIDAR sensors used in self-driving cars.



Despite its rocky relationship with China, Google continues to attempt to reenter the area, perhaps because it recognizes the user and advertiser growth opportunities there. Those efforts will likely entail further compliance on Google's part, but the company has also tried to be more transparent about its dealings there, issuing an annual transparency report that details any user information requests or requests to remove content. To be sure, the AlphaGo event will show whether or not those efforts have paid off.

Editors' pick: Originally published May 25.

The AI machine's latest win shows how engineers are making significant headway in using the technology to complete sophisticated tasks otherwise reserved for humans. Over the past year, AI and machine learning have quickly risen to become the tech du jour among Silicon Valley companies, with many exploring its use in self-driving cars, smart home appliances and search engines, among other things. The technologies were also a major focus at Google's I/O developer conference last week, specifically with the release of Google Lens, its second generation tensor processing unit chips and Google.ai, a new initiative that will house AI- focused tools and research.

Go is a highly complex board game developed in China more than 2,500 years ago that involves placing black and white tiles on a grid system with the strategy of surrounding more territory than the opponent. AlphaGo, which was developed by Google's artificial intelligence research unit DeepMind, also defeated Korean Go champion Lee Sedol last year.

Editor's Pick: This article was originally published at 11:59 am ET.
Singapore has scored one heck of an Apple (AAPL) - Get Free Report store.

Shoppers at what is the tech giant's first Southeast Asia location (pictured below) were greeted on Saturday by a stunning 120 foot glass facade. The centerpiece of the store (besides all the tech gadgets) is the second floor, which feels like a modern town square. It even features trees that were specially brought in from China.

To be sure, Apple's retail chief Angela Ahrendts (who attended the opening -- see below picture) has had her hands over the fresh-looking location.

Ahrendts recently pulled the curtains back to the biggest changes to Apple stores in 15 years. The company will add conference and meeting rooms, updated video screens, and living trees to its 100 largest locations. It's also changing the name of the well-known Genius Bar to "Genius Grove." The changes mirror several undertaken at an Apple store in San Francisco last year.

Further, nearly all of Apple's 500 retail stores will start holding "educational sessions" that Apple has dubbed "Today at Apple." The classes will launch at the end of May.

Appleis aholding in Jim Cramer'sAction Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now.

Trending stories on TheStreet:
Barclays (BCS) - Get Free Report will have to wait until mid-June to find out its fate following an investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office into its emergency fundraising efforts with Qatari investors during the height of the global credit crisis in 2008.

The SFO had already delayed ruling on its investigation from the end of March to the end of May before today's announcement.

Barclays was able to avoid a state bailout by raising $15 billion in emergency funds from Qatari investors in 2008. Barclays shares were down more than 1% in afternoon trading Thursday.

Stocks have rebounded following a sharp sell off last week. Jim Cramer believes the rebound is real and gives investors advice on how to play the market going forward.
This fall, subject to government approval, the airlines will launch five flights in new markets, add frequency in four markets and upgrade aircrafts in two markets. The service enhancements come as the airlines implement a new Joint Cooperation Agreement (JCA) which deepens coordination to better serve customers

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (Mexico: AEROMEX.MX) are creating more options and expanded service for travelers flying between the U.S. and Mexico as they strengthen their historic partnership.

This fall, subject to government approval, the airlines will launch five flights in new markets, add frequency in four markets and upgrade aircrafts in two markets. The service enhancements come as the airlines implement a new Joint Cooperation Agreement (JCA) which deepens coordination to better serve customers.

Under the JCA, Delta and Aeromexico will provide customers with expanded travel options and choice while delivering on operational performance and reliability. One of the immediate benefits of the alliance is a 10 percent increase in transborder seat capacity by the end of 2017. Capacity will continue to grow as the airlines expand their combined flight offerings in 2018 and beyond. Travelers can expect an experience that is best in class at every point of their journey as the airlines leverage their joint expertise serving business and leisure markets.

"The strong relationship between Aeromexico and Delta provides significantly more choice for our customers, and the changes we are announcing today underscore the level of integration, customer focus and commitment we bring to the transborder market," said Nicolas Ferri, Delta's Vice President  Mexico and Aeromexico/Delta Air Lines Joint Business.

"We are passionate about offering our customers the best of each airline. Our commitment is to put customers at the heart of everything we do, to offer them more destinations, frequencies and best in class services," said Anko van der Werff, Aeromexico's Chief Revenue Officer.

The airlines will introduce service between the following new markets:

Atlanta and Merida, Mexico*

Atlanta and Queretaro, Mexico

Los Angeles and Leon, Mexico

Seattle and Mexico City

Portland, Ore., and Mexico City*.

In addition, service will be expanded in markets currently served:

A second daily flight between Los Angeles and Los Cabos, Mexico

A third daily flight between New York-JFK and Cancun

A second daily flight between Atlanta and Leon, Mexico

A second daily flight between Atlanta and Guadalajara, Mexico.

*Subject to Government approval.

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Even a fashionista like Parker worries about clothing's effect on the planet and the importance of paying a fair price for quality.

The next time your kid complains about his or her thrift-store wardrobe (a frequent refrain in my household), tell them theyre not alone. Even Sarah Jessica Parkers kid wears used clothes! The actress and famous fashionista, best known for her role as shoe-obsessed Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, told The Edit last November that she only buys second-hand clothes for her 14-year-old son James Wilkie. Interestingly, she said it was The True Cost documentary that influenced her most:

The documentary really changed me. The one area Ive had a hard time with is pants, but I buy used T-shirts and sweaters for him. Track pants are hard  boys rip them; I dont know how to get around that.



It seems the second-hand rule applies even to Parker, at times. For her new role in

, Parkers

she sourced every outfit from Etsy, eBay, vintage stores, and flea markets, never setting foot in Bergdorf, Barneys, or Saks.

The Edit interview also revealed Parkers concern over paying a fair price for a high-quality item. Parker owns a shoe line called SJP, where satin heels and flats in jewel tones and metallics, detailed with chic embellishments, sparkly closures, and satin bows (Toronto Sun) retail in the mid-$300s. While Parker told her interviewer that she wishes she could offer more affordable shoes, its not realistic:

I would love to be able to offer a woman a $69 pair of shoes, but those are never going to last her. The heels are going to break, and theyre going to be made under conditions that I would feel really lousy about. How could I ask anybody for their hard-earned dollars, even $69, if they would have to replace the shoes in two months anyway?



Parkers shoes are made in collaboration with George Malkemus III, CEO of Manolo Blahnik, a brand that she frequently praised while acting as Carrie Bradshaw. Production standards seem to be high:

We are going to make our shoes in Italy, the way shoes should be made. We are going to go to Tuscany, to fourth- and fifth-generation shoemakers, and were going to find a way to make a shoe for $395. Now, that isnt accessible for a lot of people, thats out of touch, but I couldnt give them a $69 shoe that would break.



Amen to that! This is a message that weve repeated frequently on TreeHugger  that the fast fashion mentality needs to die, for the sake of the planets virgin resources, waterways, and landfills, as well as our wallets. When we pay more for clothes and shoes, we get better quality, longer-lasting, and better-fitting pieces that well be inclined to care for and wear for many years. Spending $395 may seem like a lot, but if a single pair can replace five pairs of cheap shoes bought at Aldo or Payless and thrown out within a year, then its a significant improvement.

More celebrities are speaking out about the importance of ethical fashion, including Emma Watson, famous for her advocacy in this field; Pharrell Williams and Will.i.am, both working to recycle ocean plastics into fabric; Neil Young, who removed all non-organic merchandise from his stock; Livia Firth, advocate for the Green Carpet challenge; and Michelle Obama, who wears vintage clothes and promotes traditional production methods.
Eight employees of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services have been referred
No Ukrainian soldiers were killed, but two soldiers were wounded in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in eastern Ukraine over the past day.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Spokesperson for ATO Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk said this at a press briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"No Ukrainian soldiers were killed, but two soldiers were wounded as a result of military hostilities in eastern Ukraine in last day," he said.

Motuzianyk added that Ukrainian soldiers had been wounded in Volnovakha district in Donetsk region

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Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has positively assessed the dynamics of development of relations between Ukraine and Bavaria.

The PM said this at the meeting with Minister-President of Bavaria Horst Seehofer in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We have centuries-old historical relations with you and still maintain good interaction. The development of trade relations and the growth of trade with Bavaria by 26% in 2016 should be particularly noted. I am convinced that we have every opportunity to increase these figures. I also want to thank you for the interest of Bavarian investors in the implementation of new projects and the willingness to invest in Ukraine," Groysman said.

The Prime Minister expressed his conviction that today's visit will promote further deepening of bilateral relations.

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Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelian has denied media reports on the termination of railway passenger traffic with Russia.

"The issue to stop the railway or bus passenger services of Ukraine with Russia has not been considered by our Government," he told Ekonomichna Pravda.

Omelian also reminded that the air communication with Russia was terminated on Ukraines initiative in 2015.

Earlier, Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian national railway, also denied reports on the termination of railway passenger traffic with Russia.

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More than half (51%) of foreign guests, who visited Ukraine to attend the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, noted that the country met their expectations, while 47% admitted it even exceeded all their expectations.

This is evidenced by the results of the sociological poll, which was conducted by the GfK Ukraine company at the commission of the Institute of World Policy, UA: Pershy reports.

Director of the Institute of World Policy (IWP) Olena Hetmanchuk noted that visiting Ukraine to attend the Eurovision significantly changed the foreign guests perception of the country. In particular, the Eurovision attracted more supporters of Ukraines future membership in the European Union: 64% of the EU citizens noted that now they want to see Ukraine as a part of the European family (read more)

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The European Union and the United States share common position about Russias role in the settlement of the conflict in western Ukraine.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk said this after a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Brussels on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Im not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- we meaning President Trump and myself -- that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia. Although, when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine it seems that we were on the same line, he said.

According to Donald Tusk, the most important thing is that the sides share common fundamental western values.

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More than half (51%) of foreign guests, who visited Ukraine to attend the Eurovision 2017, noted that the country met their expectations.

This is evidenced by the results of the sociological poll, which was conducted by the GfK Ukraine company at the commission of the Institute of World Policy, UA: Pershy reports.

Director of the Institute of World Policy (IWP) Olena Hetmanchuk noted that visiting Ukraine to attend the Eurovision significantly changed the foreign guests perception of the country. In particular, the Eurovision attracted more supporters of Ukraines future membership in the European Union: 64% of the EU citizens noted that now they want to see Ukraine as a part of the European family even more.

"Quite unexpectedly, more than half of the respondents (54%) said that Ukraine would become a member of the EU in the next five years. It is interesting that both representatives of the EU countries (53%) and those, who do not belong to the EU countries, share the same view," First Deputy Director of the IWP Serhiy Solodkyy noted.

A fifth of respondents (19%) believe that Ukraine will enter the European family in the next decade, while only 6% said that would happen in next 20 years. Only 1% of respondents do not see Ukraine in the EU although almost 20% are undecided. The Eurovision Song Contest did not affect in any way the opinion of every fourth respondent (24%). Only 1% of guests from the European Union said that they did not want or slightly preferred to see Ukraine in the EU after visiting the country.

"The task of the Eurovision organizing team was not only to hold a world-class show, but also to change Ukraine's image in the world. It was important for us to present Ukraine as a reliable and equal partner, a country with the European values and landmarks, an integral part of Europe. I am happy we managed to cope with that task, and the poll results confirm this," Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Pavlo Hrytsak said.

The poll among the foreign guests of the Eurovision 2017 was conducted by the GfK Ukraine company on May 9-13, 2017. The method of computer-assisted personal interviewing was used to find out the opinions of a total of 1,060 respondents aged 18 and over, who were not citizens of Ukraine. Respondents were randomly selected in Kyiv, particularly, in the places, where the target audience was most concentrated.

The poll results are available on the website of the Institute of World Policy.

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Just a few days removed from what was an amazing outing for NXT in the Windy City. NXT once again took over the Allstate Arena for this weeks NXT and we had the fallout from NXT Takeover: Chicago. We saw Aleister Black, The Velveteen Dream and Drew McIntyre all in action on this weeks show just to name a few.

Black Amasses Another win over Hawkins

NXT opened with the unique Aleister Black in action against Monday Night RAWs Curt Hawkins who was looking for a measure of revenge for a loss on Main Event during the UK Tour.

However for The Captain of the Star Factory it was only going to end one way as Black used his quick striking ability to great effect. In the end it was a huge knee to the jaw that set up the earth shattering Black Mass and just like that it was over.

The Black Mass (photo:WWE.com)

A Smooth Debut for Velveteen Dream

Then came the long awaited debut of the Velveteen Dream who took on Robert Anthony and this was a very flamboyant debut to say the least.

However, with that being said it is clear that the newcomer wanted to make a statement at the expense of the Chicago native Anthony. Throughout this bout Velveteen Dream was both physically and verbally assaulting his opponent then for his finish we witnessed a spectacular elbow drop. The Velveteen Dream may have put the locker room on notice.

Meet Velveteen Dream (photo:WWE.com)

McIntyre Wins

In the main event we saw Drew McIntyre take on Wesley Blake in a match that all stemmed from Blakes challenge last week. Blake tried to bad mouth the man from Ayr, Scotland but paid for it in the end when he was booted in the jaw. The tough Texan however would not go down that easily and he began to put it up to McIntyre. Wesley Blake tried everything to keep the Scottishman down but Drew just kept powering his way out of any situation he found himself in. In the end Blake found himself on the receiving end of a Claymore kick and Drew won the match.
More than 30 migrants, mostly toddlers, drowned on Wednesday when about 200 people without life jackets fell from a boat into the sea off the Libyan coast before they could be hauled into waiting rescue boats.

Rescue group MOAS, which operates in the Mediterranean, said its staff was pulling bodies out of the water. "Most are toddlers," co-founder Chris Catrambone said on Twitter.

A total of 34 dead bodies were found in the water, and around 1,800 people rescued from four rubber dinghies and six wooden boats, the coast guard said later in a statement.

British and Spanish navy ships, aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), three merchant ships and a tug boat joined MOAS and the Italian Coast Guard and Navy to carry out the rescues.

The ill-fated boat probably tipped because of a combination of weather conditions and the fact the migrants suddenly crowded to one side, sending just under half of the 500 on board into the water, the coast guard said.

More than 1,300 people have died this year on the world's most dangerous crossing for migrants, after boarding flimsy boats to flee poverty and war across Africa and the Middle East.

Last Friday, more than 150 disappeared at sea, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday, citing testimony collected after survivors disembarked in Italy.

In the past week, more than 7,000 migrants have been plucked from boats in international waters off the western coast of Libya, where people smugglers operate with impunity.

Despite efforts by Italy and the European Union to train and equip the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and its coast guard to fight traffickers, migrants are arriving in record numbers.

Disputes are also brewing between the Libyan Coast Guard and aid groups. MSF and SOS Mediteranee said officials from the Tripoli-based force had boarded a migrant boat during a rescue Tuesday, robbing the migrants and firing shots into the air.

More than 60 people fell into the water in the ensuing panic, but no one was injured as life jackets had already been given out, MSF and SOS Mediteranee said, broadly corroborating an earlier report by humanitarian group Jugend Rettet.

"Italian and European authorities should not be providing support to the Libyan Coast Guard," MSF representative Annemarie Loof said. "This support is further endangering people's lives."

Group of Seven summit

Italy is hosting a meeting of the world's seven major industrialized nations in Sicily on Friday and Saturday, and is pushing the group, which includes the United States, to put migration, Libya's stabilization and African development at the top of the agenda.

"The tragedy of children dying in the Mediterranean is a wake-up call to leaders meeting in Sicily," the United Nations Children's Fund Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth, who is traveling to the summit, said in a statement.

Authorities have diverted rescue vessels to the mainland from their usual ports in Sicily during the summit, keeping the migration crisis out of sight but not out of mind.

More than 50,000 migrants have been rescued at sea and brought to Italy so far this year, a 46 percent increase on the same period of last year, the Interior Ministry said this week.

Most rescues take place just outside the 12-mile mark that separates Libyan territory from international waters.

It is a busy stretch of sea where humanitarian vessels and the Libyan Coast Guard are joined by scavengers hoping to recover abandoned migrant boats and their engines.

After Tuesday's skirmish, Jugend Rettet said the Libyans towed two migrant boats back to shore while humanitarian groups brought more than 1,000 on board.
Iran claims to have built a third underground ballistic missile production facility and says it will continue developing its missile program, a move that will surely increase tensions between the country and the United States.

Speaking with the semi-official Fars news agency Thursday, General Amir-Ali Hadjizadeh, the head of Irans aerospace program, said the facility had been completed in recent years.

"We are going to develop our ballistic power. It's normal that our enemies, that is to say the United States and Israel, are angry when we show off our underground missile bases because they want the Iranian people to be in a position of weakness," he said.

The announcement came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his first foreign trip to the Middle East, where he met with Israeli and Saudi leaders and called Iran a threat to countries across the region.

From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region, Trump said during a speech Sunday in Riyadh.

Trump has spoken strongly against the Iranian missile program and imposed new sanctions on the country earlier this year, following a missile test in January.

Iran has developed several ballistic missile designs with the capability of travelling 2,000 kilometers, far enough to reach Israel and U.S. bases in the region.

The United States has said Irans ballistic missile program is in violation of an international law regarding missiles with the capability of carrying nuclear warheads.

Iran, though, denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and claims the missiles are designed only to carry conventional warheads.
The U.N.s top official in South Sudan says President Salva Kiir has formally launched a long-awaited national dialogue and declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities.

While the National Dialogue could bring a welcome focus on reconciliation, for it to be credible, it will need the genuine participation of opposition constituencies, David Shearer told the U.N. Security Council via a video link Wednesday from Juba. Meanwhile, opposition groups have come together around a common position and jointly denounced the National Dialogue, he added.



Kiir also announced a unilateral cease-fire and said he would review the cases of political prisoners. Shearer expressed some skepticism, noting it was not the first time Kiir had declared a cessation of hostilities and added that there would be close scrutiny on the number of prisoners actually released.



South Sudans U.N. envoy Joseph Mourn Malok told council members the cease-fire is intended to create an inclusive environment for the national dialogue and to allow the movement of humanitarian aid to famine-hit areas.



The U.N. mission in South Sudan has had to cope with little cooperation from Kiirs government.



There is war, there is famine, our peacekeepers are operating in very, very difficult conditions, new U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters.

They do not get the kind of support and cooperation they would deserve from the parties, particularly from the government, he added.



Sanctions



One route the council has gone to try to force better cooperation is through sanctions on spoilers, those who obstruct efforts by the United Nations to halt the fighting. On Wednesday, the council unanimously extended the sanctions regime on South Sudan for another year.

But the possibility of imposing an arms embargo to stem the violence still appeared beyond reach, as veto-wielding member Russia expressed its long-held opposition to such a measure.



Solid peace in South Sudan is not going to be brought about by a Security Council arms embargo, but rather by progress on the political solution, as well as targeted measures for the disarmament of civilians, demobilization and reintegration of combatants, said Russias U.N. envoy Petr Illichev.







Rainy Season Begins



Meanwhile, the rainy season has begun, which means the countrys rudimentary roads will be unpassable for the next four months. While this will force a reduction in fighting, it will increase the challenge to humanitarian workers in getting aid to those in dire need, including in two counties that have already been declared famine zones.



Shearer said cholera, a potentially deadly water-borne disease, has been on the rise, with 7,700 cases recorded.



Aid workers must also contend with one of the most dangerous working environments in the world, with 84 humanitarians killed since the conflict began in December 2013. This year, 17 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan.
Sri Lanka's president met with the Australian prime minister on Thursday with fighting people-smuggling high on the agenda.

President Maithripala Sirisena is making the first visit by a Sri Lankan head of state to Australia. His visit to Canberra and Sydney marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries.

After meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, he was also scheduled to speak with Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton.

Sri Lankans, Iranians and Afghans are the largest national groups among more than 2,000 asylum seekers who are kept at Australia's expense on the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. But no Sri Lankan asylum seeker has reached Australia by boat since 2013.

President Sirisena's visit will be an opportunity to advance key areas of bilateral cooperation, including education, defense, science and technology, economic development, medical research and the fight against people smuggling, Turnbull said in a statement before their meeting.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said during an Australian visit in February that Sri Lankan asylum seekers held on Pacific island camps who could potentially settle in the United States were free to return home without fear of persecution.

Sri Lankans, Iranians and Afghans are the largest national groups among more than 2,000 asylum seekers who are kept at Australia's expense on the Pacific islands nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. But no Sri Lankan asylum seeker has reached Australia by boat since 2013.

Australia refuses to resettle any of them and President Donald Trump has agreed to honor an Obama administration deal to resettle up to 1,250 of them. U.S officials have begun the process of assessing applicants for resettlement.

Sri Lanka has been reconciling its population since a bloody 26-year civil war ended in 2009.

Before becoming prime minister in January 2015, Wickremesinghe had accused Australia of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in Sri Lanka in return for Sri Lankan government support in preventing asylum seekers from reaching Australia.

Sirisena this week used a Cabinet reshuffle to remove his country's foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera, who spearheaded a successful campaign to extricate Sri Lanka from possible international sanctions over war crime allegations from the country's long civil war.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organizations newly elected director-general, says health as a human right is at the core of his vision for the organization he soon will lead.

The former Ethiopian health and foreign minister is the first African chosen to head the organization, which was created 69 years ago.

After a long, bruising campaign that began in 2015, Tedros beat out two other contenders, David Nabarro of Britain and Pakistani physician Sania Nishtar, for the post by winning 133 of the votes cast by 185 WHO member states.

The outcome of the voting was very, very clear, said Tedros. Having confidence from the majority of member states gives me legitimacy to really implement the vision that I have already outlined.

Tedros' goals

That vision included five promises, which Tedros made to the World Health Assembly during a final campaign pitch preceding Tuesdays secret ballot vote.

He said that he would work tirelessly to fulfill the WHO promise of universal coverage and would ensure a robust response for emergencies to come.

He promised to strengthen the frontlines of health, transform the World Health Organization into a world class force and lastly place accountability, transparency and continuous improvement at the heart of WHOs culture.

At a news conference in Geneva, he said the concept of health as a human right would be at the heart of whatever he did.

Half of our population does not have access to health care, he said. That, he said, could and should be remedied through universal health care coverage, which would address the issue of health as a human right and act as a spur to development.

All roads should lead to universal health coverage and it should be the center of gravity of our movement, he said.

Tedros begins his five-year term as director-general on July 1, succeeding Margaret Chan, who has headed the WHO for the past 10 years.

The newly elected director general said he wants to reform and transform the World Health Organization into a better, more responsive agency.

As Ethiopias minister of health, Tedros led a comprehensive reform of the countrys health system, including the expansion of the countrys health infrastructure and health insurance coverage.

Resources a constant priority

As WHO leader, Tedros said one of his first orders of business would be to strengthen the organization's ability to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies because epidemics can strike at any time and the WHO must be prepared.

The campaign has ended, as you know, officially, but I think the work begins actually now. I know it is very difficult. It is going to be tough, he said.

One of the major difficulties is that of money. Reform, tackling emerging and ancient diseases take a lot of money, something the World Health Organization, which reportedly is struggling to close a $2.2 billion gap, does not have.

The problem is likely to be made even worse given the Trump administration announced budget cuts to global health programs, including a 32 percent cut to USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) and between 20 percent and 30 percent cuts for scientific research institutes.

The United States is the biggest WHO donor. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested funding cuts to the organization might be in the offing.

Tedros observed that it is the poor that are the most affected by big financial cuts.

I hope this will be understood before finalizing the proposal. I believe this will be taken into consideration, he said.

He can take heart in that a congratulatory statement on his election from Tim Price, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary did not threaten any funding cuts. Instead, he told Tedros the United States looked forward to working with him on changing the World Health Organization for the better.

The United States is committed to helping advance reforms and cultivating greater global health security, he said.
NOTICE: at the moment, we do not offer this tour. Enjoy Europe's most active volcano with one of our expert mountain guides! Join us on a private or group tour to Etna's majestic summit reaching more than 3300 m a.s.l. Stand on the roof of the Mediterranean and enjoy a breathtaking view around. To peer into the abysses of Europe's largest active volcano's craters is an experience of a lifetime. In addition to our group tours and individual private day tours, we also offer special tailor made itineraries to suit your travel needs and satisfy your whishes, including accommodation of all categories and private transfers, all backed up with expert knowledge from local specialists and fully certified volcanological and alpine guides. Depending on the chosen itinerary, these tours require moderate to excellent physical condition, adequate clothing and take between 5 and 7 hours total duration. Note: Access to the summit area and the craters may be restricted at any time due to the frequently changing eruptive conditions.

" I want to thank both you and our amazing guide from the bottom of my hearth for the best expedition that we have undertaken on any of our journeys. " (Etna Summit Tour - Kasper Kuijper, NL)

Early start in 4x4 vehicle to get to the trailhead near Monti Pizilli at ca. 2400 m elevation on the NE rift zone . From there, it's a 3 hrs hike through bizarre lava fields with many beautiful structures, recent cinder cones and eruptive fissures until the Grotta del Gelo cave is reached in the late morning. Its location is one of the most remote of whole Etna! We visit of the cave, using crampoons to get onto the ice inside which forms a small permanent glacier normally present all year. After lunch break at the cave, we hike back (ca. 3 hrs) along a remote trail towards the NE rift zone at lower elevation and circle part of Etna's NE flank between 1900 - 1600 m elevation, gradually entering more and more into beautiful and dense pine, birch and chestnut forests . On the way, a second great lava cave can be visited, the " Grotta dei Lamponi ", with huge lava channel structures.

After having arrived at the cable-car station (2500m), you hike along the huge ridge called "Back of the donkey", Schiena dell'Asino. This ridge has an exceptional view of the summit craters and the Valle del Bove, giant depression formed by repeated flank collapses of the volcano. We round off the tour by visiting the Grotta dei Tre Livelli: It was the main channel of the 1792-93 eruption and with a depth of 304 m and a length of 1150m it is the deepest and longest lava tube on Mt. Etna. Reaching 40 the slope of this cave is very unusual for lava tubes. The name Grotta dei Tre Livelli (Three Levels Cave) is due to three different overlapping levels. The transfer between the levels requires a speleo ladder but the visit is possible without any knowledge of speleology. Participants must be able to crawl through some narrow and low passages. At the end a steep slope, which it could be tiring to ascend as the floor is loose scoria. These are the only difficulties of the cave exploration. Inside the cave lives a small bat colony. Requirements: To be in good physical shape and not suffer from vertigo and claustrophobia

We take the cable-car that bring us quickly to around 2500m altitude. From here, we descend into the Valle del Bove , along an extremely steep (40+ degrees), butwhere we can run or slide down as if skiing (great fun!! and not dangerous), descending about 1000m altitude in less than about 30 minutes!At the bottom of the giant depression, an almostawaits us,- surrounded by, steep walls of ancient lava rocks, we are on the vast field of lava from the 1991-1993 eruption. On an unmarked, but easy trail we cross a sector of the Valle del Bove until we reach one of its lowest points of the SW border, where we can easily climb out of the Valle in just about 30 mins. Within just another hour on an easy path downhill, through forest and passing by giant vertical basalt wall (used as training ground for advanced rock climbers), we arrive at one of the very few springs at Etna, and shortly after that at the road.A jeep or a minibus will pick us up and bring us back to the point of departure.

Starting at La Sapienza, the cable car + jeep brings you to 2900 m on Etna's South side. Climb the dramatic and ever changing summit craters from there (about 400 m climbing). After the visit of the summit region, cross to the spectacular Northern rim of the Valle del Leone (at Pizzi Deneri) and finally have great fun descending from the North or Northeast side while "skiing" down a great ash slope. A car brings you back to the point of departure on Etna South.

Start at La Sapienza mountain station (1900 m elevation), then take cable car and/or jeeps to bring you quickly to ca. 2900 m elevation. From there, climb to the spectacular and ever changing summit craters (about. 1-1.5 hrs climbing, 400 m difference). The exact route of ascent and which of the summit craters can be visited will depend on weather, fitness, volcanic activity etc. Next visit the impressive newly formed craters of the eruption in 2002-2003, the new crater formed in the 2001 eruption and a fantastic viewpoint on the rim of the Valle del Bove.

Exciting and educational experience Valle del Bove Dear Emanuela (and Marco)



We all think that you where both fantastic yesterday and we are all very

great full for this exciting and educational experience you gave us

yesterday.



Personally I owe you both a big thank you for looking after Maria and

Rae when it went a bit downhill, Rae a lot, and Maria definitely learned

that she can enjoy things when they become a bit risky.



Marco, I think that you have helped Alex to reconfirm that Geography and

ultimately the volcano element will be a big part of his education over

the next 3 to 4 years.



Thank you so much for a great day and experience that we will all

treasure for many years.



Best regards

Steen

Hi Emanuela-



Thanks for the pictures and thanks again for hosting us in Etna- Etna turned out to be the highlight of our Italian trip Please pass our thanks on to Marco as well

Julie



(Valle del Bove)

Hi Emanuela,



Just wanted to say that Reinhard and I loved our Etna Tour and Marco was a great guide.

He really took good care of us and made it very special.

I want to thank you as well for always answering my questions in a very professional manner.

Thanks to your team for helping us make our dream come true.



Best wishes

Lori and Reinhard

something really special that we will never forget Starting the hike to Etnas summit area (photo - Petra) Looking across some of Etnas actively degassing summit craters (photo - Petra) "Dear Emanuela



Already returned to cold Switzerland I would like to thank you for the great excursion we had last Sunday on our tour with our guide Marco Ponte. It was just a perfect day (weather and guide). We know very well hiking in the Alps but the Etna is something really special that we will never forget. Marco explained everything perfectly and was very passionate and knowledgeable about all things volcanoes!



Attached you will find two pictures of our tour.



Mille grazie e salute de

Petra



(Petra S. from Switzerland about her private Etna day hike in October 2016)

The best expedition that we have undertaken on any of our journey Dear Emanuela,



We have arrived home again this weekend after an amazing vacation in Sicily...



... I want to thank both you and our amazing guide from the bottom of my hearth for the best expedition that we have undertaken on any of our journeys. We already knew from earlier experience that Etna is breathtaking no matter when or how you visit it, but fridays trip has amazed us beyond what we expected, and touched me personally aswell. The time we spend at the summit of the NE crater, listening to the churning of the lava lake was a moment I wont ever forget, and has made Etna leave a permanent impression on me. It was also a joy having the both of you along, with both being able to meet you in person after all the contact we had, and also because the knowledge and experience that both of you shared about the volcano added a lot of depth to the experience...

Since we visited Etna twice in the last few years we will probably try to visit some different volcanoes in the coming vacations, but I know, I will return.



Again many thanks, and kind regards,



Kasper Kuijper

also on behalf of,

Vincent van der Hulst

Daan van der Hulst

Fritsjan Bakker





"Just to say what a great trip to Etna and thanks to Rosario for showing me such wonderful sights. It was fantastic!" (T. Salt, UK) ( Etna Private Tours



"Etna, 15th August 2008 Thank you, it was a great experience, and we looked differenly at all the Volcanos in the Eoliennes, specially Etna. Roberto is great guide, as he could share his passion and knowledge with us,and give so much explainations." (Patrick de la Chesnais, UK). See Patrick's photos from this excursion on this page.





"Hello Tom,

We're now back from another great week on Etna.

We very much enjoyed our day out with Marco on 5th June (Rosario had to lead a group that day) which Steve Banfield joined us for. We visited the 'Bottoniera'to do some filming/photos for a few hours, returning down the usual pleasant descent route around Mte. Montagnola.

We undertook numerous other walks on Etna during the week  some of which we had not done before - including a return to the current eruption site at the 'Bottoniera', when the activity had changed to more random and sporadic explosions from the upper vent, some of which were quite violent, although activity from the lower vent remained relatively predictable. We got some good night-time video footage of the active vents and lava flows from the Schiena dell'Asina on one of our evening excursions. On our last day, we got excellent views (and, luckily, some more good video footage  for once the Valle del Bove was mainly clear of clouds!) of the advancing active lava front between Mte. Simone & Mte. Centenari from the ridge above the Serra del Concazze; the eruption was clearly continuing in similar style to the previous days, although there were far less ash emissions as the upper vent was exhibiting more Strombolian-type activity." (Niki, UK, custom Etna tour)





One word that describes Etna is 'awesome'and one word that describes Rosario's skills as a guide 'outstanding' ! (Etna tour - Kamal M., UK)





Hi all, Sorry about the late reply, just getting back in the swing of things at work. We climbed Etna as planned, although you do not appreciate the grand size of it until you are there. Etna being over 3 times higher than any mountain in Ireland. We met our guide at the top of the road near the excursion centre by the cable car. After he had sorted us out with gear we headed off up the cable car and trekking across the snow. i must admit that i had never trekked in snow before nor had any of my team. (We hardly get any snow in Ireland only rain). After hiking for about 4-5 hours and lots of breaks we got to the cabin at the top with in about 30 - 45 mins from the main cones.

It is hard to describe the mountain. it was total covered with snow and was a small bit cold but once you keep moving you don't really feel it, a clear blue sky since we were above the clouds and total quite not a person for miles. Peaceful a bit different than my job.

After the guide digging out the snow from the cabin door we ventured in to get some much needed food and hot drinks which we had carried up the mountain. after resting at the cabin it was decided to head back down, as one of the teams old back injury had came back to haunt him. On the way down we looked at some lateral craters and vents. We later headed back down the cable car and to the excursion centre.

This trip was well worth going and i would recommend it to any one traveling to scissile to attempt this trip. Who knows I may come back and attempt it again myself one day, when I am a bit fitter I think.

A special thanks to the guide for staying with us and showing us the beauty of the mountain. I am sure he could have climbed the mountain in the half the time it he wanted to. (lol). And to all the staff of Volcano Discovery for making this trip one of the best trips i have been on.

Yours sincerely

Christopher Corbett, Igor Kendrinkski, Paul Doolan, Marco (Ireland)





I am writing to you to thank you for a wonderful tour.

Both yourself and Rosario provided a fantastic service from the moment we enquired to the moment we arrived back at Rifugio Sapienza. Rosario was a great guide and he helped us to get much more out of our trip to Mt Etna than we could have hoped for and truly made it a trip to remember.

Should you ever need a reference, I would be more than happy to oblige. As soon as I can, I will be putting some photos on our website of Rosario and our trip. Should you want a copy of any of them, just let me know. I will let you know when I have published them. It will probably be at least a week though.



Many thanks once again, Daniel & Julie

Tom,I am writing to you toBoth yourself and Rosario provided a fantastic service from the moment we enquired to the moment we arrived back at Rifugio Sapienza. Rosario was a great guide and he helped us to get much more out of our trip to Mt Etna than we could have hoped for and truly made it a trip to remember.Should you ever need a reference, I would be more than happy to oblige. As soon as I can, I will be putting some photos on our website of Rosario and our trip. Should you want a copy of any of them, just let me know. I will let you know when I have published them. It will probably be at least a week though.Many thanks once again, Daniel & Julie http://www.danielandjulie.co.uk/

"Tom, Had a great tour, Etna was more than impressive, just fantastic - like a moonscape up there. ..." (J Perston, UK)

".. Just got back from Sicily. I had a very enjoyable time even though Etna has been shy and did not want to put on a performance. On the Monday I went round to the North side visiting the Grotta del ghiaccio, first time wearing crampons. The second day was spent in the Valle del Bove. The third day spent at the summit craters. The fourth day I joined Marta visiting the Alcantara Gorge, Taormina and spending the evening and next day in Catania.

As usual, Marta maintained the professional standards I have come to expect from the "Volcano Discovery" team, and I expect the three other clients felt the same way." (S. Banfield, UK)





successful, interesting and informative. Thank you very much for being an excellent guide. I attach two of our photos, one taken at the crater rim - and one of you! ... Thanks again Rosario!" (T Ecott, Etna private tour, May 07)

"Just a quick email to say what an amazing time I had hiking up Mount Etna last Thursday. It was an amazing experience I shall never forget, much thanks to our guide who was informative, safety conscious and extremely patient! Regards, Francoise J." (Etna private tour, May 07)

"This is a note to say that we enjoyed the climb and you made it. Thank you very much for being an excellent guide. I attach two of our photos, one taken at the crater rim - and one of you! ... Thanks again Rosario!" (T Ecott, Etna private tour, May 07)"Just a quick email to say what an amazing time I had hiking up Mount Etna last Thursday. It was an, much thanks to our guide who was! Regards, Francoise J." (Etna private tour, May 07)



"Tom... really enjoyed the day. Because of the amount of snow, we had to walk from the top of the cable car, and that made it a very long day but all the more memorable.

The visibility from the top was very good, and we could clearly see the Aeolian islands, although it was very hard to see into the crater because of the clouds of gas. We had some walking equipment, but the snow shoes Rosario brought were very useful, if a little difficult to get used to.

Rosario was great, with a very good knowledge of the mountain, volcanos, and good English (even if he didn't think so). We would certainly recommend yourselves and/or Rosario to anyone else visiting Sicily who wanted to go on Etna (or any other volcanos). Mark & Sarah (Scotland)"




You are sitting, floating through the virtual clouds, when you hear that unmistakable voice coming through the headphones.

The glittering buildings. Paper being shredded on the floor.

It is Laurie Anderson, the artist most famous for her fluke 1981 hit O Superman but acclaimed for decades of creativity that have defied categorization. And this is Aloft, a new, virtual-reality piece at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Over her long career, Anderson has made films, invented instruments, played the worlds greatest concert halls and also given outdoor shows for dogs. But she admits shes shocked that her latest project has come together. It is a 10,000-square-foot studio in Mass MoCAs newly renovated Building 6 and will serve as both an artistic incubator and a place fans can see her work for at least the next 15 years.

The Anderson project is part of a $65.4 million expansion at Mass MoCA, which has quietly become the countrys largest contemporary art campus. And talk of creating a space for the artist can be traced to a discussion at the museum nearly nine years ago when Mass MoCA Director Joseph C. Thompson turned and asked her a question: What would a museum of Laurie Anderson look like?

Laurie Anderson, renown for her use of technology in the arts, is creating a multifunctional exhibition space, audio archive and studio on permanent display at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The project opens Monday. (Jesse Dittmar)

She didnt miss a beat, Thompson said recently while walking through the museum. She said, It would be a radio station. And it would be a studio. Afterward, I said, Would you be interested in trying to do Radio Anderson?  She said, Yeah. 

When the project finally came together several years later, Thompson called her back.

Her tone, she admits, was different.

Youre kidding, she told him, recounting the conversation recently. I was literally shocked. I didnt really think he was going to actually do this.

But Thompson, who helped open Mass MoCA in 1999, has made it his specialty to pull off the unthinkable, whether an entire building dedicated to Sol LeWitt or the Wilco-curated Solid Sound music festival. The renovation of Building 6 is the latest, with dedicated installations featuring the works of Jenny Holzer, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Gunnar Schonbeck and James Turrell. Thompson imagines Andersons new space  which will include virtual-reality environments and a chalkboard room with floors, walls and a ceiling painted with cavelike messages  will offer a destination to which they can take a Laurie Anderson pilgrimage.

Hes excited about not just the technology but the floor-to-ceiling illustrations Anderson painted of her late dog, a rat terrier named Lolabelle.

There are a lot of people who would have no clue that Laurie is a very fine draftsperson, says Thompson. She can draw, she can paint. Shes truly a multidimensional thinker and maker. A lot of people wont give her the time of day. We hope this gives her not only the time of day but 15 years to show her work.

Anderson says shes excited about the project, but she tends to downplay the scope of the project or significance to her legacy. Her friends and collaborators say this is out of modesty. She particularly snickers at the word pilgrimage.

Thats a word I find grating on me, says Anderson. For me, I dont have that many things there at one time. Im hoping to make the writing room or chalk room or whatever were calling it so people can go in a few different times. My dream is that they mostly feel this kind of feeling of being free and aloft.

She also does not particularly like being referred to as a storyteller, though that is effectively what she does, whether through music, film or interactive objects. The Mass MoCA space will feature The Handphone Table, a 1978 piece that allows visitors to feel sounds by simply leaning elbows on its surface.

Storyteller sounds like somebody in a library over-pronouncing words, she says. So I would say my medium are stories instead of Im a storyteller.

However she defines herself, Andersons work has stretched across decades, linking the experimental New York art scene of Yoko Ono and John Cage with Andy Kaufman, David Byrne and Philip Glass.

In 1992, she began dating Lou Reed, whom she would eventually marry, the union ending only in his death in 2013.

Reed is ever-present in Andersons life. Shes organizing his archives, has photos of him around her studio and incorporated his voice into her recent concerts with Glass.

I had one long conversation that never stopped for 21 years, with one person, she said recently during a break at Mass MoCA. When that stops, you know its irreplaceable, but you begin to treasure your friends more, spend more time with them, and just kind of appreciate it more. I think I probably appreciate things more.

She remains as active as ever. On a recent weekday, in her studio on Canal Street in New York, she tried to simultaneously conduct an interview while tracing out text for a display at Mass MoCA, edit a book shes put together related to what she lost in Hurricane Sandy, and make a lunch reservation, for 10, to help celebrate a studio assistants birthday. She was also heading off to London for concerts with Glass.

On the wall next to her is a list of projects, current and future  Lou recordings Yellow Pony, Lesbos? Landfall, Connie Converse  that look as if they could keep the Museum of Modern Arts curatorial department busy through the next presidential campaign. This, she says, is her norm. Or is it?

I always try to do too much, she says.

She pauses.

Right now, its extreme, actually. Worse than usual. Tai chi and meditation are the things that make it possible for me not to flip out.

Anderson is particularly excited about the VR project, a collaboration with Taiwanese artist Hsin-Chien Huang. Visitors can experience two environments with goggles and a headset. In the first, Aloft, the walls of an airplane slowly fall away, leaving the visitor floating in the clouds. An array of objects hover around  a crow, a flower, a conch, a cellphone  and each can be grabbed and held onto. Thats when Andersons voice pops up, telling a story or quoting literature until you toss the object out into the sky.

A second environment, The Chalkroom, features phrases and song lyrics painted in white on black walls.

VR is usually about, its gaming stuff and its shooting stuff, its usually a very brittle and bright aesthetic, she says. Weve kind of made something that is full of shadows and darkness. For me, its completely a dream come true. Because its about what Ive tried to do in every other thing Ive ever made. Music or sculpture or film. To be completely bodiless.

This may be the first virtual-reality project shes presented, but she has tried before. Michael Morris, who as co-director of Londons Artangel has worked with Anderson since her O Superman days, remembers trying to pull off a virtual-reality project that she was collaborating on with Peter Gabriel in the early 90s. It simply couldnt work because of the limitations of technology.

For her, its attractive because it can help to tell the stories she wants to tell but its also participatory, he says. You can somehow create your own journey through the kinds of objects floating in the virtual reality and it doesnt necessarily involve her as a performance. Its a very intimate way of communicating when youre not only wearing a headset and its you and her voice, which is a very extraordinary voice. Ive never heard a voice like hers.

In theory, the Mass MoCA project could have been a careercapper for Anderson, who turns 70 in June. But she resists that idea. She does not want it to be simply an archive, lined with shelves of old instruments or video monitors showing past performances. In that spirit, she says she will change the space regularly, a distinct difference between her galleries and those filled with the works of Turrell and LeWitt. She hasnt even given her 10,000 square feet a name. For a time, Thompson called it Radio Anderson. She asked him to stop because she didnt know what that meant. As it opens, it will simply be called studio space.

None of this surprises Roma Baran, her longtime musical collaborator.

She remembers, back in 1980, hearing Anderson perform a piece driven by a rhythmic, repeating voice loop and a series of conversations processed into electronic layers through a vocoder. She told Anderson she should put that piece out on a record. Anderson resisted until, finally, Baran somehow persuaded her. That was O Superman. It rose to No. 2 on the British charts.

The idea that she would install something and kind of walk away and have people just dust it is not thinkable really, she says.


A still from a video from the exhibition "Local Legends" at VisArts, curated by Jose Ruiz, running from May 5 - June 11, 2017. The work is titled "Bound for Dust by Raul Zahir De Leon. (Raul Zahir De Leon)

Jose Ruiz is a sought-after curator on the D.C. and New York art scenes, admired for his indie sensibility, eye for emerging talent, and efforts to make exhibitions less intimidating. Even if its free, a lot of people dont want to walk into a gallery or museum because they feel they dont have the education to go in. Or they feel like you have to buy something, he says. His goal: to really open the doors and draw in the community, says Ruiz, who has curated more than 100 shows.

Curator Jose Ruiz. (Michele Langevine Leiby)

Born in Peru and partly raised in Brazil, Ruiz moved with his parents to Montgomery County, Md., when he was 9. He planned to join Perus diplomatic corps before deciding to change his major from international relations to studio art in his final year at the University of Maryland. He earned his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. His latest project, Local Legends, at the VisArts center in Rockville, represents a homecoming of sorts: He remembers exploring Rockville as a skateboarder and making art in high school there.

Today Ruiz, 41, divides his time between Brooklyn, where he is co-director of a curatorial collective, and Baltimore, where he is a professor at Maryland Institute College of Art. The new exhibition, drawing on eight artists with local ties, ranges from a video about an eccentric local performer who goes by T.V. John, to wallpaper showing F. Scott Fitzgeralds grave, to blank checks on which visitors are asked to make a reparations payment for slavery. It runs through June 11.

Q: What were your beginnings in art?

A: My parents would take me to museums as much as possible. I remember times in my life when I was learning new languages. I couldnt speak a language, but I was able to look at art and try to understand. I would try to create meaning from these works.

Q: And your first exhibitions?

A: When I was a senior at Maryland, my friends and I were organizing shows in D.C. in music venues like the Black Cat, Metro Cafe, Velvet Lounge. I opened up an art space in 2000 around the corner from 9:30 Club and Howard called Decatur Blue. We had that for almost four years.

I was a young artist. We didnt want to wait. We didnt want to get permission to be in a show.

Q: What is your curatorial aesthetic?

A: Ive had the pleasure to have worked with established artists in New York, people who have been in Whitney Biennials and Venice Biennales, but Im always looking for emerging and even pre-emerging artists. There are some younger artists in this [VisArts] show, not by age but by where they are in their career. And it reminds me of when I was younger, those moments of mini-breakthroughs.

Q: What has characterized your own work through the years?

A: Latin American identity, my personal background. But also coupling that with the way we look at labor in the U.S., especially when you think of immigrant or Latino communities. And also ideas of authorship and who gets the credit for cultural work. I gravitate more toward places that are not on the map. Ive done work in Central America versus, say, Paris. Im more interested in these mini-epicenters that are sort of bubbling with culture and ideas that dont get the support or attention.

"Rockville Watch Company Repair Bench" by Calder Brannock on view at the "Local Legends" exhibit. (Calder Brannock /Courtesy Kyla Tata)

Q: Is that your goal with Local Legends?

A: All the artists were able to maintain their voice and follow the line of thinking they were already doing in their practice, and just made an intersection with this idea of Rockville. If I brought artists from New York, there would be a disconnect. VisArts is a great space. But who goes there? The people from the participant organization go there. The people from Rockville go there.

Q: Where did the premise come from?

A: Rockville being a suburban place, people assume not much happens there. For this show, we put together a little research team. I asked: Can we find really interesting stories that happened in Rockville? And then could we give this archival story to the artist and see if they could find meaning from it?

Q: An article once described you as a rogue in the art world. And now?

A: Maybe a little bit. When I was younger I used to be more, I wouldnt say confrontational, but I definitely had a point of view about the way the system worked in that it was very hierarchical  whether it was commercial galleries or museums. I do like to try new things. So maybe not rogue by intent; its more that I cant settle down in one thing for too long. I like to keep things moving.

Local Legends, through June 11 at Kaplan Gallery VisArts Center, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville. visartscenter.org.


At Columbia Room, the Spero, an alcohol-free drink, right, is made with vinegar-based switchel, left. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Summer is rapidly approaching. When the weather gets hot, what thirst-quenching beverage will you be reaching for?

Lemonade? Soda? Iced tea? Water?

If youre anything like the farmers of old or an increasing number of chefs and bartenders today, your answer might be switchel.

[Shopping Cart: Viticks Switchel]

JP Fetherston, head bartender at Washington cocktail bar Columbia Room, says switchel was farmers Gatorade before we had Gatorade, something to restore and hydrate on a hot day. It is typically made with cider vinegar, some kind of sweetener (molasses, maple syrup, honey or sugar) and water.

Fetherston says he was introduced to switchel in New York. The first sip  it was really kind of odd and jarring, he says. Then, he thought it was the most refreshing thing in the world.

At Columbia Room, Fetherston incorporates switchel into a nonalcoholic quaff called the Spero, named after the bars chef, Johnny Spero. Spero likes to use hay in his cooking, so Fetherston combines the switchel, made with maple syrup gently spiced with guajillo peppers, with a hay and barley tea, along with some ginger. The overall effect is sweet and sour, with a bit of earthiness from the hay.

Chef Tarver King of the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm in Lovettsville, Va., is also a fan of nonalcoholic switchel. I dont know why this isnt on tap at every gas station you pull into, he says. I drink it all the time. It works.



Alexander Birdsell prepares blueberry switchel tableside at the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

He makes his switchel with maple syrup and ginger. Ingredients are combined tableside with preserved blueberries for a bit of a magic show  the clearish switchel goes into a cocktail shaker and comes out a rich blue-red thanks to the berries. Hes been serving the beverage with a fish course on his tasting menu.

Switchel is just as good with a bit of booze, says Cody Henson, bar manager at the Grey in Savannah, Ga. Its a pretty versatile product, says Henson, who makes his ginger switchel with cane syrup. In a recent cocktail, he combined it with rye, Drambuie (a Scottish liqueur) and lemon. Switchel also plays well with vodka, Henson says. King suggests bourbon as another possible pairing.

Switchel is still something that needs to be explained to many customers, and not everyone is ready to take the plunge. If you cant get around that vinegar character, its not for you, Fetherston says. Its one of those flavors you dont sit on the fence about.
Ke Jie thought he was on the verge of beating a computer program in the complicated game of go. The computer got the better of him, twice. (Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

A computer beat Chinas top player of go, one of the last games machines have yet to master, for a second time Thursday, a sign that the field of artificial intelligence is advancing faster than expected.

An IBM supercomputer known as Deep Blue defeated chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997. But many go players expected it to be at least 10 more years before computers mastered go, which is considered far more complicated for machines to master.

Go players take turns putting white or black stones on a rectangular grid with 361 intersections, trying to capture territory and each others pieces by surrounding them. The near-infinite number of possible positions requires intuition and flexibility  traits that human beings long believed a computer could never possess.

But then European and South Korean go champions began to fall to Googles AlphaGo computer program. The program defeated Ke Jie (pronounced kuh jay), a 19-year-old Chinese prodigy, on Tuesday and then again two days later, during an artificial-intelligence forum that Google organized in the Chinese city of Wuzhen (woo-jen).

Ke lost despite playing what AlphaGo indicated was the best game any opponent has played against it.

What happened? Ke said his loss was probably the result of something all too human: emotion.

I  thought that I was very close to winning the match in the middle, Ke said. I could feel my heart thumping. But maybe because I was too excited, I did some wrong or stupid moves. I guess thats the biggest weak point of human beings.

[Not even the best go players feel they have mastered the game]

He and AlphaGo play a final game Saturday in a country where go is extremely popular. Google says 60 million people in China watched online when AlphaGo played South Koreas go champion in March 2016.

This time, Chinese censors blocked most of the countrys Web users from seeing the Google site carrying the feed. None of Chinas dozens of video sites carried the live broadcasts but a recording of Tuesdays game was available the next night on one popular site.

The government encourages Internet use for business and education but tries to block access to material considered subversive, or rebellious. Social media and video-sharing websites such as Facebook and YouTube are blocked, and Internet companies are required to have teams of censors to watch social media and remove banned material.
1 of 12 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Washingtons brutalist structures View Photos Few U.S. cities have as many prominent examples of brutalist architecture as the District. Caption Few U.S. cities have as many prominent examples of brutalist architecture as the District. Examples of brutalist architecture, including the entrance to the Dupont Circle Metro station, abound in Washington. The architectural style, which emerged in the United States in the 1960s, features stark or rough exterior walls; deep-set, sometimes small windows; a sculptural or blocky form; and a monumental scale. ASTRID RIECKEN/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

The Union Station Metro stop was dark as a cave, its high concrete arch coated in years worth of grime. To Metro officials, it must have seemed like a no-brainer to break out white paint and rollers and give the dingy concrete a going-over.

Then photos of the paint job circulated on social media  and local architects, design aficionados and critics (including this one) erupted in fury. Keep Metro Bleak! urged one headline, while another decried the makeover as disrespecting the architecture. The controversy dragged from this past March into April, as more people saw Metros handiwork up close. RAAAAAAAGEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! tweeted an architectural blogger from Union Station on April 8.

The Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a federal design-review agency, also weighed in, writing to Metro to express their displeasure and ask that the work be stopped immediately. Painting the stations raw concrete, the commission argued, alters an essential characteristic of this important civic space.

Clearly, the beleaguered Metro system has bigger things to worry about  safety, reliability, plummeting ridership  than the color of its stations. Yet Paintgate does prompt tantalizing questions about the future of perhaps the worlds most polarizing architectural style: brutalism, derived from the French beton brut, meaning raw concrete. And few big cities in the United States or Europe have as much brutalism per square mile as Washington  thanks to the Metro, the FBI headquarters downtown, the Hirshhorn Museum on the Mall and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Southwest Washington, among other federal buildings, as well as privately built structures like Georgetown Universitys Lauinger Library.

Brutalist architecture in the United States emerged in the 1960s, the era of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnsons Great Society, when progressive designers wanted to create buildings that fit their vision of a strong and benevolent public sector. They were also bucking the previous generation and its cool, glassy modernism, which by that point had become the architectural language of the corporate world. By contrast, brutalism showcases stark or rough exterior walls; deep-set, sometimes small windows; a sculptural or blocky form (often top-heavy); and a monumental scale.

Over the years, many Americans have come to associate brutalism with failed public housing projects and Soviet architecture. The fact that its signature material, concrete, was used for hundreds of forgettable knockoffs, not to mention storm drains and highway overpasses, didnt help its reputation.

Theres a tendency to condemn the entire period based on its worst examples, argues Michael Kubo, an architect and architectural historian who co-wrote a book about the style. People point to all of the second- or third-rate, relatively cheaply built buildings in concrete ... as a way of condemning the best buildings.

As brutalist buildings have started to suffer the aches and pains of middle age, many are being torn down. Preserving them just as they are can be expensive and impractical. But for all its ham-fistedness, the painting of the Metro vault at Union Station raises the possibility of a middle way: Perhaps we can save brutalism by making it more lovable.



Pedestrians pass by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development building in April. The building is one of the District's many examples of brutalism architecture. It was designed by architect Marcel Breuer. In 2008, the development was added to the National Register of Historic Places. (Astrid Riecken/The Washington Post)

For any significant building in any style, the period between its 30th and 60th birthdays is awkward. By 30, it has been around too long to seem new or edgy. Its style has probably fallen out of fashion, and most likely it needs repairs. But its not yet old enough to be distinguished  to seem properly historical. What do you do with a building that is tired but not venerated?

Theres this kind of weird valley in which people either love or hate the buildings. I definitely feel like brutalism is in exactly that zone, says Kubo. He compares its predicament to that of Victorian architecture in the early 20th century, when that style was mocked. (Whatever may be said in favour of the Victorians, it is pretty generally admitted that few of them were to be trusted within reach of a trowel and a pile of bricks, P.G. Wodehouse wrote in 1937.) And its hard to imagine Washington without the Old Post Office or the National Building Museum  but both were once regarded with embarrassment, and the Old Post Office was nearly demolished in the 1970s.

Many brutalist buildings are today hovering around age 50. Hostility to the style combined with owners headaches over their upkeep have led to several celebrated structures being razed. The cloverleaf-shaped Prentice Womens Hospital in Chicago fell to the wreckers in 2013. In New York state, the Orange County Government Center, a multilayered (and leaky) cubic composition, succumbed in 2015. The same year, the brutalist Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore was bulldozed.

Washingtons octagonal Third Church of Christ, Scientist, was demolished in 2014 and has been replaced by a glassy office building. Last year, in Reston, Va., a spirited campaign to save the American Press Institute building by the modernist master Marcel Breuer failed, and workers started dismantling the structure in September. Comments on the website Reston Now reveal reactions on the extremes. Absolute tragedy and one of stupidest things Board of Supervisors ever approved! fumed one commenter. Another wrote, Ugly concrete building from an ugly architecture period.

But a colorful brutalist revamp is emerging as a middle course that everyone (maybe) can live with. One evening in the fall, Mayor Marty Walsh stood in front of Boston City Hall as the massive concrete temple from 1968 burst into a vivid blue. Walsh was unveiling a new lighting scheme: 325 LED fixtures that accentuate the three-tiered brutalist building  hailed by some as an architectural masterpiece yet also loathed as cold and depressing. The lights can be programmed to flame into color; the blue that night honored injured police officers. In Houston, the Alley Theatre, designed by brutalist flag bearer Ulrich Franzen, recently reopened after a renovation that gave it an airier lobby and lipstick-red carpet climbing the central stair.

The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth has also pursued an updated brutalism. In the 1960s and early 1970s, architect Paul Rudolph (designer of the doomed Orange County Government Center in New York) had planned the whole campus as a brutalist ensemble. Five years ago, Boston architect Robert Miklos and his firm DesignLab took on a renovation of the 1972 Claire T. Carney Library. The architects reorganized all the spaces inside the building after researching Rudolphs design intentions. They brought back his original color scheme of red, orange and purple, which had been lost over the years, and contributed their own accents in walnut. They also tried to revive Rudolphs groovy lounge pits as places for students to socialize.

It worked. Visits to the library tripled, and the project won a major award from the American Institute of Architects. The students embraced it like it was the coolest, hottest new thing, Miklos says.

Adapting brutalist buildings is pragmatic, he argues, and good for the environment, since it avoids the waste of demolition and conserves the energy and materials that would be required for a new building. You can love them or hate them, but its actually very practical and economical to repurpose these buildings, Miklos says. The irony is, given all its robust structural forms, the [library] was really amenable to complete replanning. We didnt make significant structural changes.

Inexpensive upgrades to lighting, finishes, and signage or graphics can go a long way. If you can create transformation at that low-cost level, he says, these buildings really have a future.



A pedestrian walks near the Hirshhorn Museum, which opened in 1974. Brutalism flourished in the 1950s to the 1970s, featuring angular, concrete buildings, often seen as inhuman, monstrous, cold and intimidating. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post)

Kubo believes brutalism is about to have a breakout moment, the way midcentury modernism did after the debut of AMCs Mad Men. In Britain, the style has become very, very faddish, he notes, with books and social media sites oohing over concrete landmarks like the Barbican (the apartment-complex-cum-arts-center in Londons financial district) and the Trellick Tower (a 31-story slab designed by Erno Goldfinger, the inspiration for the James Bond villain). I feel like [Britain is] 15 years ahead of what might happen in the U.S., Kubo says.

Theres evidence to back up that prediction. When the Metropolitan Museum of Art reopened the former Whitney Museum, a brutalist icon by Breuer, it embraced the style by dubbing it the Met Breuer.You can buy brutalist maps of Washington, London and Paris, and even a brutalist building set for kids. There is a Tumblr of beloved examples of the architectural style called F--- Yeah Brutalism.

It could certainly be that on this side of the Atlantic, the sun-drenched optimism of California in the 1950s holds a broader appeal than the harried mood of the late 1960s and 70s. The midcentury-modern movement encompassed popular furniture designs and housewares, which encouraged retailers such as Crate & Barrel to revive the look, nodding to icons like the Eames lounge chair in product lines. Brutalism, by contrast, is a self-serious style not known for creature comforts.

In Washington, however, brutalisms ubiquity means we will have many chances to decide whether it is worth saving. The FBIs J. Edgar Hoover Building, which squats over a full block of Pennsylvania Avenue downtown, is almost certainly a goner, since planners have set guidelines for its replacement once the agency moves out. (Plus, the concrete is falling off in chunks.)Few locals will miss it. But the architectural pedigree of other structures will make them harder to part with  among them the main HUD building and the Department of Health and Human Services, both designed by Breuer; and private buildings like those at LEnfant Plaza, designed by I.M. Peis firm, and Dupont Circles Sunderland Building by Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon.

So instead of bemoaning these structures, perhaps we should be thinking of the ways we could enliven them. (After all, one of the earliest brutalist landmarks, an apartment building in Marseille, France, by Le Corbusier, contrasts pops of color against gray concrete.) The 1990s plaza in front of HUD is a Jetsons set of flying-saucer planters and umbrellas, the work of landscape architect Martha Schwartz. The white rings were actually meant to be a riot of color  Schwartz wanted Froot Loops, not Frosted Cheerios. At the time, federal officials lost their nerve; but what if Schwartzs vision were finally realized, at HUD or elsewhere in the city? What if we lit up the HHS building like Boston City Hall, or asked artists to reimagine the long, dismal underbelly of the U.S. Department of Energys Forrestal Building? With so many brutalist public buildings  and, uniquely, brutalist Metro stations that hundreds of thousands of locals interact with daily  Washington would be the perfect testing ground for experiments, provided they respect the integrity of the architecture.

When the Hirshhorn projected Doug Aitkens video Song 1 around its exterior in 2012, it was a hit. That institution has succeeded in making its brutalist building relatable, even lovable, by celebrating rather than apologizing for it. This past fall, it offered visitors free doughnuts  a cheeky reference to the concrete doughnut  on World Architecture Day.

Last year, a runner-up entry in a design competition sponsored by the National Park Service suggested projecting vistas of Americas best parks onto Metro vaults, a terrific alternative to whitewashing them, which is irreversible and visually flattens the deep coffers. Metro has painted station vaults in years past, to less of an outcry (this was before social media). Simply the fact that there was a controversy this time around suggests the brutalism revival is real. A non-scientific online Washington Post poll asking whether Metro should paint the vaults split 55 percent for and 45 percent against. As glass boxes steadily take over the nations capital, producing a mirage of a cityscape, the sheer physicality of brutalism appeals more and more. It is good to have architecture we can get our arms around.

Brutalist has become such a pejorative term, Kubo argues, that the better name for this style is Heroic. It captures the best and worst qualities of the architecture of this period: its honesty and idealism, as well as its hubris. He is convinced that it will win us over eventually. We just have to be patient. You might not want to wear your parents clothing, he notes, but your grandparents clothing is suddenly cool again.

Amanda Kolson Hurley is a freelance writer in Silver Spring, Md.

Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.

For more articles, as well as features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit The Washington Post Magazine.

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Dear Heloise: I am a plumber, and I wanted to give my two cents worth on those blue bleach tablets that folks drop in the tank to keep the toilet bowl clean in between scrubbings.

I hate em. A strong bleach tablet so close to the rubber flapper will degrade it, which eventually will cause water to leak from the tank. This is wasteful.

The blue coloring masks lime and iron buildup. And the blue material will turn to gel eventually, which can clog the jets underneath  what a mess!

My solution is one of your favorites: white vinegar. I recommend pouring 1 cup of white vinegar into the overflow (the skinny pipe that stands up in the tank). This will allow the vinegar to circulate inside the rim and dissolve buildup when the toilet is flushed. Do this once a month. Thanks for your column.

Roy H. in Salt Lake City

Roy H.: Excellent hints! Yes, vinegar is one of my go-to household cleaners. Cheap, safe, nontoxic and readily available, vinegar can save you hundreds of dollars a year in cleaning supplies.

Ive compiled a collection of my favorite vinegar hints and recipes into a handy pamphlet. Would you like to receive one? Visit my website, Heloise.com, to order, or send $5 and a long, stamped (70 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Vinegar can unclog the shower head, too. Soak it in a bowl overnight.

Dear Heloise: When you want to donate your old magazines to the doctors office or hospital waiting room, the easy way to do it is to get a permanent marker and draw a line through your name and address.

Most people go through the trouble of cutting the name off the front, but it is quicker to black out the name and address, and the cover looks better when part of it is not cut off.

It also is easier to hold with the page intact.

Betty R., Albany, N.Y.

Betty R.: Some publications have removable labels that you can easily peel off. Donate to any waiting room anywhere, or call schools in your neighborhood  they always can use magazines for art projects and research.

Dear Heloise: My family and I enjoy reading your column in the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald.

When we have leftovers, we cover them with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap can be reused many times. This is nice when bringing a dish to a gathering as well.

To keep the food as fresh as possible, after covering the food, we used a hair dryer on low to seal the plastic wrap to the container.

If you use the hair dryer over all of the plastic wrap, it removes all the wrinkles, so your dish has a polished, professional look.

The Huston family, Omaha

Dear Heloise: Dont you hate it when people dont use their turn signal? So many times I wait for a car to drive by, and just as they are up to me, they put their turn signal on.

I could have been long gone. This happens so many times!

A Reader in Ohio

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.


Inside the Royal Crescent rowhouses in Bath, one unit  No. 1  is restored and full of Georgian appointments. (Carolyn Eaton/Alamy Stock Photo)

Shortly after our late-afternoon arrival in Bath, we took a promenade along its storied gravel walk, the same one where Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth found themselves exquisitely happy at the end of Jane Austens Persuasion.

This year marks the bicentennial of Austens death, and our party of four had come to Bath to follow in the footsteps of one of Britains most beloved novelists, who lived here from 1800 to 1806. Some of the special events planned include a Jane Austen Summer Ball in July (Regency dress is requested) and the 10-day Jane Austen Festival in September, which will feature more than 80 events.

Our stroll took us to that fine Palladian terrace, the Royal Crescent. I wish I could report that the golden sandstone of the buildings glowed in the late afternoon sun, but it was a rather miserable February day and we had not walked very far before the doorman of

No. 1 Royal Crescent, a house museum furnished as it might have been during the late 18th century, invited us in.

This circa-1774 grand abode was the first Royal Crescent house to be completed, and in 2006 it was restored to the splendor of its Georgian heyday, when it was occupied by a high-society family. Today, it welcomes visitors from all over the globe to see the world in which Austen resided.

Family and writing were at its center, and after her father retired, she moved to Bath with her parents and sister.



The Jane Austen Center, at 40 Gay Street in Bath, celebrates the authors life and work. (Marcin Rogozinski/Alamy Stock Photo)

The author partakes of afternoon tea at the Pump Room Restaurant. The rooms were a popular meeting place in the Georgian era. (Matthew Kirkland/For The Washington Post)

No. 1 Royal Crescent is furnished with all the fashionable accoutrements of the era: a globe and telescope in the gentlemans retreat; a collection of curiosities in the hallway; a fine dining room (a novel addition to a home in Georgian times); and portraits and botanical drawings. One modern convenience that the house did not possess however, was a bathroom, though a commode was discretely stored in a cupboard in each room. The doorman, David Symington, informed me that society came to Bath for the winter season, returning to their country houses in the summer, when the stench of the sewers became too much to bear. Below stairs, the kitchen and scullery boasted spices from around the world and some costumes that allowed my daughter Kitty to indulge her love of dressing up.

Soon, it was time to retire to our lodgings, which I confess were not quite as illustrious as Sydney or even Gay Street, two of Austens addresses in Bath. Nevertheless, our party of four found our two-bedroom flat with sofa bed in the lounge in a converted Methodist church quite adequate for our needs.

The next morning, we took a 20-minute walk into town and went directly to Gay Street. Alas, Austens former residence at No. 25 is now a dental practice, but the Jane Austen Center is located at No. 40, a house similar in size and style. The building is an homage to Austen and her works. The permanent exhibition recounts her life in Bath and the citys influence on her writing. Two of her novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, are partially set in Bath.

We attended a short lecture on Austens life by a guide in Georgian costume.





The writer, she explained, was the beloved seventh child of a clergyman and his wife, and was very close to her only sister, Cassandra. Her liberal father encouraged her writing and one of her brothers, Henry, was instrumental in launching her literary career.

After the death of her father in 1805, Austen, her mother and sister slipped down the ladder of Bath society, and the family left the city for good in 1806. Although she later became a published novelist, fortune never favored her. She died after a long illness on July 18, 1817, at the family home in Winchester. She was 41.

After viewing copies of various portraits believed to be of Austen, we watched a short film about her life in Bath, then I was dragged to the dressing-up corner by Kitty for more bonnets and dresses. I think she would enjoy a season in Georgian Bath very much, though at age 6, I think it will be some years before Bath society will be sensible to her charms.

The weather had worsened, so we set off, undaunted, for the Assembly Rooms, one of the places where 18th-century Bath residents went to mingle. However, the main rooms were closed for a private function. Thwarted in our endeavors, we walked back toward the Pump Room, where we had a reservation for lunch.

Baths 18th-century heyday was inspired by a natural geothermal hot spring that bubbles up in the center of the city. It is the only place in Britain where such water comes to the surface in this way. The Georgians thought that the waters had healing properties. In Austens Northanger Abbey, the Allens were visiting Bath because Mr. Allen suffered from gout. People would bathe in the public baths and drink water from the springs at the Grand Pump, and I am told Austen did both.

Today, the city of Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a status awarded not only for its Palladian-inspired architecture but also its Roman archaeology. For as Austen and her companions stood under the chandelier of the Grand Pump Room, wondering if a Mr. Tilney or Captain Wentworth would ever look in their direction, below their feet lay another meetinghouse where their Roman contemporaries relaxed and socialized 17 centuries before.

Stephen Clews, the manager of the Roman Baths and Pump Room, told me later via email that although the baths had been discovered in 1727, Austen would not have been aware that such a massive complex existed below the streets, though she may have visited a small museum in the Guild Hall where the gilded bronze head of the Roman goddess Sulis Minerva was displayed.



Steam rises from the restored Roman Baths complex. The baths are heated by a natural geothermal hot spring. (Matthew Kirkland/For The Washington Post)

Unlike most Roman sites in Britain, which were military garrisons, the Romans created a settlement in Bath in A.D. 43 as a place of relaxation. The baths, which we toured after lunch, have since been rebuilt above the level of the pillar bases, and their green waters still intrigue. The pillars above the baths are from the 19th century, our guide Laura Mountford explained, but the bases that the pillars stand on are Roman. Much of the Roman ruins can be viewed on the tour, including the sophisticated under-floor heating.

Alas, as our 24-hour stay in this historic city came to an end, I doubted that we had made much of an impression on Bath. But the city, its architecture, history and, of course, literature has left a lasting impression on me.

Starrs is a writer based in London. Her website is staycationer.co.uk.

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The exterior of The Hagues City Hall, designed by American architect Richard Meier, has been called the worlds largest Mondrian painting. (Nancy Beijersbergen/Alamy Stock Photo)

You might notice it from the highway, in the form of a high-rise sporting a colorful grid on its exterior, or perhaps next to the train station, where the Hampshire Hotel Babylon shows off a flashy facade. Look farther, and bits of bold red, yellow and blue can be found splashed around this button-down city known mostly for its dignified embassies and government buildings. The colorful geometric patterns celebrate the work of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian and the 100th anniversary of de Stijl (the Style), the modern art movement he and others launched.

While Mondrian is overshadowed by more-famous Dutch artists Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt van Rijn, he was considered a leader of modern art by the time he moved to New York City in 1940. (He died there in 1944, at age 71, and is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in New York City.) Using geometric shapes, flat planes of primary colors and horizontal and vertical lines, Mondrian and his cohorts, including famed architect Gerrit Rietveld, went on to influence architecture, furniture, fashion and advertising.

The Hagues Gemeentemuseum, which already holds the worlds largest Mondrian collection, is the focus of a year-long national program, Mondrian to Dutch Design: 100 years of de Stijl. Smaller shows and events are being held nationwide, including Rietveld exhibits in the architects hometown of Utrecht.

This summer, the Gemeentemuseum, decked out in swatches of Mondrian hues, will display its cache for the first time, spotlighting more than 300 works representing every stage in the artists extensive career. The Discovery of Mondrian retrospective runs from June 3 until Sept. 24. Earlier this year, the smaller, but insightful, show Piet Mondrian and Bart van der Leck: Inventing a New Art, focused on the two painters whose friendship helped spark a movement.



The Mondriaanhuis exhibits include a repository of commercial products showcasing the artists grid design. (Selina Kok /For The Washington Post)

Regardless of which special exhibits are running at the Gemeentemuseum, viewers can always see Mondrians Victory Boogie Woogie, a frolicking composition of colors and lines on a diamond-shaped canvas that is considered one of the 20th centurys most important works. Mondrian died before he finished the piece  you can still see pieces of tape stuck to certain parts. For years, the painting, inspired by his passion for boogie-woogie music and dance, was in a private American collection. In 1998, it was bought by a Dutch art foundation for about $40 million and is in the Gemeentemuseums permanent collection.

Mondrians designs also have lived on in commercial uses, from LOreal hair products to an iconic 1966 Yves Saint Laurent cocktail dress. Hague-based designer Michael Barnaart van Bergen has spun his own version of the mod dress, which is on sale at the Gemeentemuseum gift shop for about $250  a bargain compared with the original, which went for $47,000 at auction in 2011.

Venturing out from the museum into the city, visitors can find evidence of a Mondrian metamorphosis, especially at City Hall, home to the worlds largest Mondrian painting. The exterior of the gleaming, white complex, which was designed by American architect Richard Meier, has been adorned in red, yellow and blue strips of adhesive foil. In the same complex, the tourist information center is decked out in the same colors and sells Mondrian-themed gifts.

At the nearby Hofvijver, a small lake with a walking path in front of the Dutch parliament, 14 pontoon cubes of primary colors float in another tribute to the artist.





Several shopping streets have gotten in on the act, partly assisted by the city, which provided 850 Mondrian toolkits with signs and removable colored foil for window dressing. One of the most festive streets is Frederik Hendriklaan, near the Gemeentemuseum, where it seems that most of the stores are decorated.

One of the most lively  outside and in  is Kikke Spulle Fred (No. 198), a lifestyle and decor shop, which spelled out the stores name in Mondrian-like letters and has stocked its shelves with related products, such as place mats, salt-and-pepper shakers and purses.

I cant believe how popular they are, owner Esther Cox said. People keep asking me, Do you have this with Mondrian, do you have that with Mondrian? Its crazy.

Cox enjoys seeing the city awash in color.

I hear a lot about it from customers and am happy that the colors are not only in the centrum, but across the whole city, she said.

Another Mondrian site worth seeking out, some 90 minutes east of The Hague, is the Mondriaanhuis in the beautifully preserved city of Amersfoort. (The artist changed the spelling of his name after he left the Netherlands.)

The museum is located in the house where Mondrian was born and lived until he was 8 years old. It was a run-of-the-mill history museum until this year, when the staff transformed it into an innovative exhibition tracing the artists development, as well as a repository for commercial products showcasing his grid design. A Mondrian-patterned toilet seat is among the kitschiest.

Original art is not the focus here; the museum has only a dozen early Mondrian landscapes on loan from a private U.S. collection. But the lack of paintings doesnt detract from the experience and perhaps even inspired the staff and its inventive production company, Tinker Imagineers, to be more creative.

The permanent multimedia exhibits focus on Mondrians profound love of jazz and American boogie-woogie and how those influenced his art. (The Gemeentemuseums summer show will include jazz influences as well.) The museums use of video, audio and color helps viewers feel the energy that drove Mondrian.

Mondriaanhuis curator Marjory Degen said that it seemed natural to incorporate music in the makeover.

I researched what he listened to in what year, and I realized that the changes in his music also affected his work, she said. During his cubism work in Paris, he listened to ragtime. When he started using double black lines, his music was more up-tempo.

The final production, a joyous five-minute piece shown in a small, closed room, focuses on Mondrians final years in New York, when he abandoned black lines and painted smaller dynamic color blocks.



Visitors view Victory Boogie Woogie at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Mondrians unfinished final project. The painting is considered one of the most important works of 20th-century art. (Selina Kok /For The Washington Post)

Visitors sit around a 10-foot-high, semitransparent cube to watch scenes of Mondrian working interspersed with vignettes of 1940s New York City, to the background of the music he loved. Strips of color fill the cube, eventually flowing outside it and ultimately illuminating the walls and the audience  who find themselves inside a Mondrian painting in progress.

Weve noticed people staying to see it twice or even three times to let it sink in, Degen said. Its quite an overwhelming show.

Daniel is a writer based in the Netherlands. Her website is bydianedaniel.com.

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Baltimore attorney Christos Vasiliades was on his way to the rape trial of his defendant at the downtown courthouse Tuesday when the criminal focus pivoted away from his client and toward him. Vasiliades, 38, was arrested and charged with trying to intimidate the alleged rape victim in the case by telling her that testifying would make her vulnerable to deportation by the Trump administration, according to a grand jury indictment against him.

Vasiliades offered the woman and her husband $3,000 in cash if their absence in court got the case thrown out, court documents show, then encouraged the couple to track down the defendant and kick his ass.

If we were back home where Im from, from Greece  we would go f him up, thats it, Vasiliades allegedly said during a meeting with the couple that was secretly recorded.

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Vasiliades added: I think you should find him and kick his ass, personally.

The attorney and a man identified as his acting interpreter, Edgar Ivan Rodriguez, told the alleged victim that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would likely be in the courtroom for the trial, and that under new Trump administration policies the couple would be deported if they showed up in court.

You know how things are with Trumps laws now, Rodriguez said during the meeting, according to court documents. Someone goes to court, and boom, they get taken away.

He added: Theyre going to ask, you have your documents? 

The money, the men allegedly claimed, would ensure the couple remained in the United States.

Both Vasiliades and Rodriguez were arraigned Wednesday in Circuit Court in Baltimore on charges of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice, reported the Baltimore Sun. Both men pleaded not guilty and prosecutors agreed to release them under pretrial supervision.

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Part of it, we allege, is a good old fashioned bribe, but the threat that the witness would be deported is sadly new, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh told the Associated Press, and I think it arises out of the climate of fear in the immigrant community over the change in policy for deportations.

Since President Trump took office in January, immigration advocates and law enforcement officers have been outspoken about the negative impact that fear of deportation can have on victims of crimes. Afraid that voluntary contact with law enforcement might expose their illegal status in the country, alleged victims may opt out of reporting crime to authorities.

If crime victims feel that theyre in jeopardy of being deported if they report a crime, were going to get more crime, Frosh told the Associated Press. And I just really give a lot of props to the victim of this crime. She was victimized twice, but had the courage to report it to law enforcement, and it makes us safer when she can do that.

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According to the indictment, Vasiliades and Rodriguez called the alleged victims husband April 11 and claimed the womans rape case had become more complicated. The men wanted to meet and discuss it.

At a restaurant in Baltimore City, Md., Vasiliades and Rodriguez told the couple about their deportation risks. They said the man accused of the rape, Mario Aguilar-Delosantos, was sorry and then they offered them compensation for skipping court.

The couple felt threatened after that first encounter, reported the Associated Press, and sought help from law enforcement, who arranged for them to record a phone call to Vasiliades, claiming they had considered the offer and wanted to discuss it further, according to the indictment.

The four once again met up in Baltimore, this time in an office space, on May 18. Vasiliades forced everyone to leave their phones on a desk in the lobby, authorities said, but the couple was equipped with a recording device.

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The recording allegedly captured the men citing recent immigration statistics and explaining the climate for immigrants. They said that ICE was looking at this case.

They offered the couple $3,000 and laid out a game plan: Vasiliades would go into court the day of the trial but the alleged rape victim and her husband would stay outside with Rodriguez, according to the indictment.

If the case was thrown out because they didnt arrive to testify, then Vasiliades would come outside and flash a thumbs up to Rodriguez, who would then hand the couple their money.

Toward the end of the meeting, the men offered to show the couple the cash the night before the trial.

Please dont say anything on the phones, Vasiliades allegedly said on the recording. Dont say anything on the phones. For me and for you.

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Vasiliadess attorney said in a statement to the Associated Press that unless and until the State proves each and every allegation to a near certitude, Mr. Vasiliades is innocent.

Joseph Murtha, an attorney for Rodriquez, told the Associated Press: Its too early to reach any conclusions about Mr. Rodriquezs involvement until all the information that was collected in the investigation is reviewed.

Aguilar-Delosantos faces charges of second-degree rape, third- and fourth-degree sex offenses and second-degree assault for an incident March 25, 2016, reported the Sun. He has been free on $250,000 bond.

Since his attorneys arrest, his trial date was pushed back to August, reported the Sun.

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by Ovetta Wiggins

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Thursday that he plans to veto a paid sick leave bill that was approved by the legislature last month, calling the bill a deeply flawed measure that would be disastrous to our states economy.

The action is likely to lead to a showdown between the Republican governor and the Democratic-controlled legislature during the 2018 legislative session, just months before the gubernatorial primary.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said a veto override will be a priority for the General Assembly in January.

Its unfortunate that the Governor would not join the General Assembly in supporting 700,000 Marylanders by signing this legislation, Busch said in a statement. Marylanders need the opportunity to earn sick leave so they can support their families and take care of their health while not fearing losing their jobs.

Hogan made the announcement just days before the 30-day clock ran out on making a decision on the bill.

The governor, who offered a different paid sick leave bill, had previously said the Democrats measure was dead on arrival.

The bill passed the General Assembly with enough votes to override a veto. On Thursday, advocates implored the legislature to do just that at the start of the 2018 legislative session.

Governor Hogans decision to deny hardworking Marylanders the ability to take time to care for their families is nothing short of heartless, Liz Richards, the director of the Working Matters Coalition, said in a statement. Make no mistake  the victims of this decision are Maryland parents and children. Instead of being able to take the time they need to care for their families, these Marylanders will continue to be forced to make decisions like taking off work to visit their sick child in the hospital or paying the rent that month.

Hogan also announced that he he has signed three executive orders surrounding the issue. One order would create a task force, led by the state Labor Secretary Kelly M. Schulz, to study the impact paid sick leave would have on the states small businesses.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) has undergone heart surgery and is expected to return to his normal schedule after a few days in the hospital, according to his office.

The procedure, which took place Wednesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital, was to correct a narrowing of his aortic valve. The valve was replaced.

A statement from Cummingss office described the surgery as minimally invasive. The procedure was previously scheduled, not an emergency operation, a spokesman said. Congress will not be in session Friday and is in recess next week.

Cummings, 66, is the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. He is a frequent critic of the Trump administration and has pressed the Republican-led committee to aggressively investigate the Trump campaign over potential collusion with Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

The congressman joined the House in 1996 after serving in the Maryland House of Delegates for 14 years and becoming the states first African American speaker pro tem.
A 23-year-old woman has been charged in the death of an 8-month-old girl at a downtown Baltimore day-care facility after surveillance video showed the provider tortured her, authorities said.

Leah Walden faces charges of first- and second-degree murder, as well as child abuse and assault.

Baltimore police said the incident happened about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, when emergency personnel were called for a report of a baby not breathing. When they arrived, they performed CPR on the child, and she was taken to a hospital.

The baby, identified as Reese Bowman, was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

Officials said Walden told them she fed the baby, wrapped her in a blanket and put her in a crib for a nap at the Rocket Tiers day-care facility on South High Street. She told police that when she came back 45 minutes later, the girl was unresponsive.

Leah Walden, 23, was arrested and charged in the killing of an 8-month-old girl at a Baltimore day-care facility. (Courtesy of Baltimore Police)

But investigators found that video surveillance footage from cameras in the facility contradicted her story.

Police said officials at the day-care center called them Wednesday and said they had found some disturbing video showing Walden with the child, according to Stanley Brandford, chief of detectives for Baltimore Police.

Walden is seen covering the baby, who was awake at the time, with excessive blankets for long periods of time, Brandford said. At times, the childs face and head were covered with a pillow or blanket. Other times, the baby was violently snatched by one arm from the crib, swung and slapped.

Bowmans family released a statement Thursday to The Baltimore Sun, which reported the family was asking for privacy.

Our hearts are broken. No family should ever have to experience the loss of a child under any circumstances, the statement said. We await further information from the unfolding investigation.

Brandford described it as torture.

Officials said it appears as though Walden was the only person who had access to the girl at the time, and had complete care of the baby and another child who was in the room. Police said it appears that the other baby was awake and not harmed.

The case is still under investigation.

Brandford described the case as just evil.

What motive could you possibly have to treat a baby that way? he said. There is no motive that can explain something like this.

On Twitter, Baltimore Police chief spokesman T.J. Smith wrote, cant get much sadder than this. . . . 

No one answered the phone at the day-care facility Thursday, and a recorded message noted that it would be closed Thursday through Monday because of an emergency.

Police said the center has been cooperative, noting that management found the video that led to Walden being charged.

There do not appear to be other complaints about care at the facility, police said. The center is licensed to have 60 children as young as 6 weeks, according to records from the Maryland Department of Educations Division of Early Childhood Development, which licenses centers.

The center was cited for having a building that was not in good repair in all areas but that was fixed, officials said. It had other citations including for using unsafe equipment, having too many children and having a health or safety hazard at times. But those problems were resolved, according to the states records.

Walden is listed as a staff member on the Rocket Tierss website, which appears to have been taken down. An earlier taken image of the site showed Waldens bio, in which she stated that she has one year of professional child-care experience and spent six years as a part-time babysitter.

She had worked at the center for 2 years, police said.

On the centers website, Walden said in her bio, I love seeing the children develop new skills like sitting up, crawling and walking. The best part of being an infant teacher is caring for babies who love me as much as I love them.

Anyone who believes their child may have been abused at the center is advised to call 443-984-7378.
A federal appeals court on Thursday left in place the freeze on President Trumps revised entry ban, handing the administration another legal setback in its efforts to block the issuance of new visas to citizens of six Muslim-majority countries.

The broad, decisive ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit means the Trump administration still cannot enforce its travel order that the government says is urgently needed for national security.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.

In a 10-to-3 decision, the Richmond-based court said the presidents power to deny entry into the United States is not absolute and sided with challengers, finding that the travel ban in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination.

The presidents authority, the court said, cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation, according to the majority opinion written by Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory and joined in part by nine colleagues.

Protesters hold signs and march outside the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va., in advance of the hearing earlier this month on the Trump administrations travel ban. (Steve Helber/AP)

The 4th Circuit order leaves in place a nationwide injunction issued in March by U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang in Maryland, who sided with opponents in finding that the ban violates the Constitution by intentionally discriminating against Muslims. Thursdays ruling means citizens from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya can continue entering the United States.

[Judges press Trumps lawyers in travel ban case on campaign statements]

Even if the appeals court had sided with the Trump administration, the presidents order would have remained on hold because of a separate opinion from a federal judge in Hawaii. To put the ban in motion, the Justice Department would also have had to win at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, which heard oral arguments on May 15 in the governments appeal of the Hawaii decision.

Federal immigration law gives the president broad authority, and acting solicitor general Jeffrey B. Wall had urged the court to defer to the president and not second-guess his judgment.

But the ruling from the 4th Circuit was the latest in a series of defeats for the administration. Trump rewrote the entry ban after the 9th Circuit in February refused to lift an earlier injunction.

The revised version would temporarily suspend the U.S. refugee program and halt for 90 days the issuance of new visas to travelers from the six countries while the administration reviews its screening process.

[Read the full 4th Circuit opinion on President Trump's travel order]

If the administration asks the Supreme Court to stay the 4th Circuits decision, the request usually requires showing that the government would suffer irreparable harm if the lower court decision was allowed to stand. The passage of time since the executive order was first issued might make that difficult.

Sessions said the administration strongly disagrees with Thursdays decision but did not detail its strategy except to say that the government will seek review of the ruling.

The presidents order, Sessions said in a statement, is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe, and the president is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States.

A challenge would go to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who receives emergency petitions from that court, and then be referred to the rest of the justices. It would take five votes to stay the decision.

[9th Circuit rules 3 to 0 against Trump on first version of travel ban]

The challenge in Maryland was brought by organizations and individuals, including a Muslim in the United States whose relative would be affected by the ban. In its 79-page opinion, the court said challengers had demonstrated the harm that would come from delaying or disrupting pending visa applications, in addition to the psychological harm that flows from confronting official action preferring or disfavoring a particular religion.

Karen Tumlin, the legal director at the National Immigration Law Center and one of the lawyers on the case, said the court concluded that the presidents order has to be blocked because it steps over the constitutional line in a way that is out of step with our constitutional values of religious tolerance.

During oral arguments this month, many of the 4th Circuit judges questioned the governments lawyer about the link between U.S. security and the barring of citizens from the six countries identified by the administration.

In its opinion Thursday, the court said, plaintiffs point to ample evidence that national security is not the true reason for the order, including, among other things, then-candidate Trumps numerous campaign statements expressing animus towards the Islamic faith and his proposal as a candidate to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

A key issue for the court was whether to consider the presidents political statements and whether the order violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment that specifically prohibits the government from denigrating a particular religion. The travel order itself makes no mention of religion or Muslims.

The majority opinion recounts in detail Trumps statements, and it quotes extensively from his tweets, media interviews and comments made by his supporters and advisers, including White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Laid bare, this executive order is no more than what the president promised before and after his election: naked invidious discrimination against Muslims, Judge James A. Wynn Jr. wrote in a concurring opinion.

Judge Stephanie D. Thacker also sided with the majority but said the court could reach the same conclusion without relying on Trumps comments before he became president.

All of the judges in the majority were nominated to the court by Democratic presidents, and the three dissenting judges  Paul V. Niemeyer, Dennis W. Shedd and G. Steven Agee  were nominated to the bench by Republican presidents.

Niemeyer called the decision unprecedented and unworkable.

The Supreme Court surely will shudder at the majoritys adoption of this new rule that has no limits or bounds, Niemeyer wrote. One that transforms the majoritys criticisms of a candidates various campaign statements into a constitutional violation.

Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
President Trumps budget would hit the Washington area in terms of cuts to the federal workforce as well as the social safety net. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

President Trumps full budget plan, issued Tuesday, is even worse for the Washington region than the initial skinny version released in March, local government officials and analysts say.

The new one includes all the same ominous proposals that prompted warnings that the spending plan would worsen economic inequality and possibly tip the area into recession. The White House still wants to shrink the local federal workforce by thousands of jobs and slash spending for affordable housing, job training, environmental protection and the National Institutes of Health.

But the president has gone further by urging historic cuts in entitlement programs including Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. If enacted, those reductions and others would tear large holes in the social safety net and overwhelm state and local governments with new spending burdens.

Clearly it is going to be devastating for us, Prince Georges County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) said. We cant make up for the cuts that would be made to the social programs. The county doesnt have the resources to do it, and the states not going to make up the difference.

It wasnt all bad news for the region. One pleasant surprise was the inclusion of the annual $150 million grant to Metro for new equipment and other capital spending. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) also praised the White House for providing $30 million for the Districts school tuition grant program.

[Trumps budget would mean double whammy for Washington region.]

But Trumps plan drew a cold response overall, even from top Republicans. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R), who represents part of Northern Virginia, faulted it as being unfair to federal workers and as failing to support science research, disease prevention, combating the opioid epidemic, Chesapeake Bay cleanup and more.

A spokeswoman for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) also was negative, saying the governor is on the record opposing many of these proposed cuts, including to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup, Medicaid and NIH.

Like Republicans in some other states, spokeswoman Amelia Chasse also suggested that nobody should get too upset about the budget because Congress probably will drastically revise it.

The administrations budget doesnt appear to be a realistic one, Chasse said. And given the number of members of Congress from both parties who have already expressed concern about these cuts, they seem unlikely to become reality.

But Democrats and others warned against complacency. They noted that many of Trumps proposals are similar to measures that Republicans who control Congress have advocated in the past. Even if the GOP scales back some of the proposals, they said, the damage to the Washington region would be significant.

[GOP, Democratic lawmakers vow to defeat Trump plan cutting Chesapeake Bay funds]

The Republicans can now use this as a baseline, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said. They can say, He [Trump] zeroed it out, and we restored half of it  but that means half the disabled population it was serving will no longer be served.

D.C. City Administrator Rashad M. Young said the region should be very concerned about the marker that the White House has laid down about what it thinks the spending priorities ought to be.

Young said a preliminary analysis of the new proposed budget shows that the city administration would lose between $150 million and $250 million a year in grants and other federal contributions and result in the loss of157 full-time city jobs  significantly more than was estimated when the preliminary budget outline was released in March.

In addition, among the reductions in entitlements, the cuts in Medicaid and other health-care programs in the District are projected to total between $1.8 billion and $4.1 billion over seven years. Unless the city raised taxes or found extra revenue elsewhere, thousands of low-income people would be hit with health-care bills they could not afford.

Although politicians representing the District and the close-in suburbs criticized the budget, some conservatives from farther afield in Virginia and Maryland were supportive. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), whose district includes the Eastern Shore, said cutting entitlements would motivate the unemployed to find jobs.

Work requirements for able-bodied Americans receiving government assistance help elevate people out of poverty and will root out much of the waste, fraud and abuse currently straining the nations welfare programs, Harris said.

That argument was disputed by Wayne Turnage, director of the D.C. Department of Health Care Finance. He said most people in the citys Medicaid program are working, but in jobs that dont provide health care.

[Trump to poor Americans: Get to work or lose your benefits.]

I think what youre seeing is the Republicans finally getting the opportunity to do what theyve wanted to do since Medicaid was formed [in 1965], which was break the entitlement, Turnage said.

The White House also cited the need to halt undeserved handouts in its plan to reduce spending on SNAP by 25 percent. About 1 in 5 D.C. residents get some of their food from the program.

The proposed cuts in Medicaid and SNAP, like the rollback of spending for housing and job training, would affect the entire country and not just the Washington region. What is unique for the nations capital and its suburbs is the heavy economic hit that would come if the federal workforce shrinks as Trump envisions.

The biggest damage thats going to be done is going to be the whack at federal employment and the ripple effect on federal contracting, Connolly said.

The Trump effect is slowing economic growth in the area, according to veteran local economist Stephen S. Fuller at George Mason University. He pointed to recent figures showing a significant drop in job creation in March and April.

People are not investing  theyre sitting back, Fuller said. The bad-mouthing of Washington in the national media is not helping.

Fuller estimated that the Trump budget, if fully enacted, would mean the loss of between 20,000 andto 24,600 federal jobs in the region in 2018. About 370,000 people in the area hold federal jobs.

Young, the D.C. administrator, was asked whether he saw anything good in the proposed budget.

Not yet, but its 1,400 pages, he said. There could be something there.


Sextuplets were delivered at 30 weeks at VCU Medical Center, the first time in the Richmond hospitals history for such a large birth. (Allen Jones/Courtesy of VCU Medical Center)

For 17 years, Ajibola and Adeboye Taiwo tried to have a child but had no luck.

Until now  times six.

Ajibola Taiwo gave birth to sextuplets this month at a Richmond hospital, and doctors said the three boys and three girls, along with their mother, are doing well. It is the first time sextuplets have been born at VCU Medical Center, officials said.

On Thursday, the babies were still in the hospitals neonatal intensive care unit. Their mother was released last week and is very involved in the babies care, hospital spokeswoman Shira Pollard said.

The babies were born at 8:26 a.m. May 11 with the help of a 40-person medical team. Ajibola gave birth at roughly 30 weeks and delivered by Caesarean section, officials said.

The babies range in size from 1 pound 10 ounces to 2 pounds 15 ounces. In a statement, officials said the infants, whose names were not released, are doing well and continue to thrive.

Pollard said the medical team treating the sextuplets has not revealed when they will be discharged from the hospital.

She said the parents and doctors are not talking with the news media at this time.

In a statement, Ajibola said she hoped for the smallest of my six children to grow up and say, I was so small, and look at me now. 



Adeboye and Ajibola Taiwo hold two of their sextuplets, who were born May 11 at VCU Medical Center. (Allen Jones/Courtesy of VCU Medical Center)

The hospital released photos of the newborns and their smiling parents. In one, mom Ajibola and dad Adeboye are holding two of their babies against their chests as they practice what hospital officials called kangaroo care, or skin-to-skin contact.

The couple, natives of western Nigeria, had tried to conceive a child for nearly two decades. They were described as being overcome with joy when they saw four heartbeats at their first ultrasound in November, officials said.

But no one realized until January during another doctors appointment that the couple would be having two more.

I was excited, Adeboye said in a statement from the hospital. For the first time, we were expecting.

Hospital officials said that for privacy reasons they would not release where the couple live.



Jamie Burton, a neonatal intensive care unit nurse, helps one of the sextuplets. The crocheted octopus comforts the baby by reminding the child of the mothers umbilical cord inside the womb, officials said. (Allen Jones/Courtesy of VCU Medical Center)

Delivering that many babies was a challenge, with months of planning and pre-delivery drills, the hospital said. Their medical team included experts in fields such as labor and delivery, social work, nutrition and cardiology.

They worked with the mother, providing support and encouragement, according to Ronald Ramus, director of VCU Medical Centers maternal-fetal medicine division.

Adeboye Taiwo holds one of his sextuplets at VCU Medical Center. (Allen Jones/Courtesy of VCU Medical Center)

Its not every day that parents bring home sextuplets, he said. Their mother, he said, was eating, sleeping and breathing for seven.

The medical team also planned for months with delivery drills.

A typical labor and delivery shift includes one, perhaps two premature births, usually with time in between, Susan Lanni, medical director of labor and delivery and a maternal-fetal specialist at VCU Medical Center, said in a statement. But with this pregnancy, we had to coordinate with our colleagues in the [neonatal unit] for six premature babies to be delivered simultaneously.

Sextuplets are rare. In 2015, there were roughly 4 million live births in the United States, and 24 of those were quintuplets or higher-order births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CHICAGO, IL -Chicago's Soldier Field and Chicago's skyline looking Northwest across Museum Campus Drive. Chicago lost more population than any other U.S. city in 2016, according to a new Census report. (Photo by Warren Skalski for the Washington Post) (Warren Skalski/For the Washington Post)

In the tug of war between the suburbs and the city, the suburbs are once again on top, growing faster than cities for the first time since 2010, according to new population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The shift reflects a relatively steeper decline in the growth rate in cities, rather than an increase in suburban growth. In the past six years the rate in large U.S. cities slowed from 1.1 percent in 2010 to 0.82 percent; in the suburbs over the same period, growth declined from 0.95 percent to 0.89 percent.

In the big picture, it represents a return to normal. Since the middle of the 20th century, when people started buying cars and building homes outside of cities en masse, the suburbs had maintained their edge. It was only in 2010 that city growth began to outpace suburban growth.

The turnaround belies the much-hyped narrative that millennials have shunned the suburbs because they preferred city living, said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution.

Up until now we really didnt know where this city growth was going; it almost came out of the blue, and it surprised a lot of people, he said. Now that the economy is improving, he said, it could turn out that young people were choosing city dwellings over larger suburban houses out of necessity rather than preference, he said.

If so, it may be that the decade of the city is over. Growth is declining in both the Snow Belt of the northeast and in Midwest metropolitan areas as well as the SunBelt areas of the South and West. The number of big cities losing populations, just 5 in 2012, shot up to 14 last year.

Nationwide, the city losing the most people was Chicago, followed by Baltimore, Milwaukee, Detroit, St. Louis and Cleveland. Among the 17 largest cities, 13 grew more slowly last year than the year before.

The District of Columbia is still growing faster than its surrounding areas, due to a sharper decline in suburban growth. The city had the nations fifteenth-highest numeric increase last year, at 10,793.

Still, its rate of growth slipped from a high of 2.5 in 2010-11 to 1.6 last year, though that was less precipitous than the decline in counties such as Montgomery, Fairfax, and Prince Georges, where growth has flattened over the past decade.

Ten of the 15 fastest-growing large cities were in the South, with four of the top five in Texas. The rest comprised four in the West and one in the Midwest. No Northeastern cities were among the nations fastest growing.

Around the country, New York remains the largest city by far, with 8.5 million people, more than twice the population of the next largest city, Los Angeles. Despite a population loss of 8,638, Chicago is still the third-largest city, with 2.7 million people.

The largest numeric increase of any city was Phoenix, Arizona, which added 32,113, about 88 people a day on average, between 2015 and 2016.

That is consistent with recent trends showing population migration in the U.S. reverting back to traditional patterns, with the Northeast and Midwest losing people and the South and West gaining people.

As for millennials choosing suburban versus city life, a 2015 survey by the National Association of Home Builders found that 66 percent of people born after 1977 want to live in single-family homes outside of the urban center, including those currently living in cities. The new Census estimates may reflect that.

Its not the end of city growth, but it does show that cities are maybe not going to be as dominant as people thought in terms of their growth, Frey said.
Expect heavier traffic on the regions highways this weekend as more Washington-area residents plan to kick off the summer season with a road trip.

About a million area residents will venture at least 50 miles from home this Memorial Day weekend, the highest number in 12 years, according to forecasts. Nine in 10 travelers will get to their destination by car, bringing heavier traffic to the regions road network starting Thursday afternoon.

Nationwide, more than 39 million Americans are expected to travel away from home over the long weekend.

The expected spike in travel mirrors positive growth in the U.S. travel industry this year, said Tom Calcagni, regional director of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. It also comes as more people are driving overall, lured in part by lower gas prices.

Higher confidence has led to more consumer spending, and many Americans are choosing to allocate their extra money on travel this Memorial Day, Calcagni said.

Cars remain the preferred mode of travel. Nationwide, AAA estimates that nearly 35 million people will get to their destinations by car, an increase of about 2.4 percent over last year. The remaining travelers will fly or take other modes of transportation, including train and bus.

In the Washington area, the majority  891,500  of those traveling say they plan to drive. More than 78,200 are expected to fly, and 29,100 will go by bus, train or boat, AAA said.

With so many people expected to drive to their destinations, transportation officials and experts say planning is key, including adding plenty of time and patience to your trip.

This is the beginning of crab season, but dont be crabby. Dont get hot, be cool, said Jim Ports, deputy secretary of operations at the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Enjoy your family time in the vehicle. Turn up the music. Relax, he said. Its not important how fast you get there. The most important thing is that you get there safely.

Air travel also is expected to be the highest in years for the holiday, both locally and across the United States, a sign that recent high-profile airline-related incidents captured on video are not discouraging Americans from flying. Locally, travelers should anticipate longer lines at the regions three airports  Reagan National, Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall  where air travel is expected to be more than 6 percent higher this holiday weekend than last year.

The incidents include mayhem that erupted at Floridas Fort Lauderdale airport earlier this month when angry passengers clashed with Spirit Airlines employees and law enforcement after the airline canceled several flights. Last month, police violently dragged a passenger off a United Airlines flight, igniting outage among consumers and officials and leading some airlines to change their policies affecting bumped passengers.

If youre planning to fly this weekend  or anytime this summer  airport officials say you should arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight. Make sure to check the status of your flight before heading to the airport.

You can check online at the Transportation Security Administration website (tsa.gov) to see what security wait times are like and plan accordingly. The website ifly.com also lets you check wait times, delays and a variety of information for any airport.

Peak travel times at the Washington areas airports are during the early morning  from 5:30 to 8 a.m.  and late afternoon  from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Parking facilities at National tend to fill quickly during holiday weekends, so reserve a spot in advance or try an alternative such as Metro or ride hailing.

[Travel groups, airlines brace for possible expansion of laptop ban to all flights from Europe]

Gas prices are the highest theyve been for the holiday since 2015 but are still more than a dollar below what they were five years ago, when the average price in the United States was $3.64 per gallon.

The national average price for a gallon of gas this week as of Wednesday was $2.36, 8 cents more than last year. The average price in the Washington area was $2.34 a gallon, 6 cents more than 2016, AAA said.

To help speed you along your way, transportation agencies in Virginia and Maryland are suspending major road work during the holiday weekend and lifting lane closures where possible. Still, officials are asking drivers to be extra vigilant in work zones where there are new traffic patterns.

Based on historical traffic data, holiday travelers are likely to see the heaviest congestion between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday and Monday. Data shows that traffic for the holiday period will also be heavy Thursday afternoon.

In Virginia, holiday traffic congestion is generally heavy on Interstate 95 southbound and Interstate 64 eastbound Saturday morning through afternoon as scores of people head to the coast. Traffic is heavier on I-95 northbound and I-64 westbound Monday from noon through late evening. HOV restrictions on Interstates 66 and 395 will be lifted on Memorial Day.

In Maryland, beachgoers should expect to hit backups on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The best times to travel are before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday. Expect heavy traffic between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday. This weekend, travel on Route 50 may be particularly challenging as thousands of people visit Annapolis for commencement ceremonies at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Although this is a big getaway weekend, the District is also a major attraction for vacationers, and many travelers will be going to Memorial Day weekend events in and around the nations capital.

With gas prices down, more people hit the roads in the vehicle, Ports said. We do know that this is going to be a much busier holiday weekend.
Despite being stalled in a legal battle, the Purple Line is still under consideration by the Trump administration for federal funding. This is an artist rendering of the commuter light-rail project in Maryland. (Purple Line Transit Partners)

The Trump administration is continuing to consider Marylands Purple Line for federal construction aid even as the project remains stalled in a court battle, according to a budget document released Wednesday.

Supporters of the 16-mile light-rail project had worried that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) might scrap $900 million in grants requested for the line because the Trump administration had said it would fund only projects with existing full-funding grant agreements.

The Purple Line was five days away from securing such an agreement under the Obama administration in August, when a ruling in a federal lawsuit opposing the project made it ineligible for federal money. Being included among the FTAs latest funding recommendations signals that an agreement would be signed if the state wins the lawsuit.

The Purple Line proposal suffered a major legal setback Monday, when a federal judge ordered that Maryland update the projects ridership projections, potentially adding months to a seven-month construction delay.

[Judge says Purple Line needs more study of Metros declining ridership]

Despite the ongoing legal fight, the Purple Line was one of two projects without a funding agreement that the FTA included in recommendations for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Its listed under other projects that may become ready for funding. The Purple Lines funding agreement, the FTA report said, remains under review due to pending litigation.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said he and Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) fought for the FTA to retain the Purple Line for consideration after President Trumps skinny budget, released in March, said only transit projects with funding agreements would be recommended for grants.

Asked whether hed received any assurances that the FTA would sign a Purple Line funding agreement when, or if, the lawsuit is resolved, Van Hollen said, We believe theyll sign the [full funding grant agreement].

Added Van Hollen: The good news is the Purple Line is recommended in this budget and specifically cited. The big issue is the lawsuit and resolving that as quickly as possible in a positive way.

In a statement, Cardin said he, too, was pleased that the White House had agreed to maintain the Purple Line funding eligibility while the legal challenges are resolved. He said he planned to reach out to the FTA for details on what steps they plan to take to keep this project moving forward.

An FTA spokeswoman declined to comment on the projects funding chances beyond what was in the report.

[Trump budget slashes funding for transit, long-distance Amtrak routes]

The FTAs request for $1.23 billion in construction grants would cover 12 transit projects that already have funding agreements, including six transit lines in California and rail work in Denver, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Portland, Ore., and Fort Worth, Tex.

But transit advocates said they were disappointed that the FTA is proposing to leave many other projects to rely solely on state and local money. The Trump administration has said new transit lines should be paid for by the communities that will benefit from them. About 50 projects in two dozen states are at risk of losing federal support, according to federal documents.

Projects recommended by the Obama administration but cut from the latest FTA funding list included a streetcar line in Orange County, Calif., and extensions of light-rail lines in Minneapolis and Seattle.

The FTA recommendations also would cut all federal aid for small starts projects estimated to cost less than $300 million to build. Those include streetcar systems planned for Sacramento; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Tempe, Ariz., as well as rapid-bus lines for Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo.

Andrew Brady, of the American Public Transportation Association, called the potential cuts devastating.

Without any additional projects being recommended for funding, there are no more projects under the [federal] program, Brady said. Its the end of the line.

State and local officials could try to keep projects alive by continuing to plan and design them in hopes of getting federal construction aid in the future, he said, but doing so is expensive.

Its chilling to the industry, Brady said. Why spend the effort to stay in the pipeline when theyre not making any [construction funding] recommendations?

While Congress can change much of a White House budget proposal, funding for new transit construction is largely at the discretion of the executive branch. Even if Congress appropriates money intended for specific projects  the Purple Line, for example, already has $325 million appropriated  state and local officials cant access that money until the FTA signs a funding agreement.

[How a court ruling put nearly $1 billion off limits to the Purple Line]

Legally, Brady said, the FTA must evaluate state and local transit projects as they are planned and designed. However, he said, it remains unclear if the agency is required to spend money that Congress allots for construction or if it could sit on any appropriations by refusing to sign new funding agreements.

A senior Transportation Department official alluded to such an approach in a comment to reporters Tuesday, saying, We are continuing to follow the statutes and evaluating projects that are brought to FTA, but our presidents budget proposal is to wind down new investments in the future.

Maryland officials have said they cant afford the Purple Lines $2 billion construction without federal aid covering nearly half. The Purple Line would link Montgomery and Prince Georges counties.

The question now is how long it will take to resolve the 2014 lawsuit alleging flaws in the Purple Lines environmental impact study. The Maryland Attorney Generals Office is expected to appeal the latest court ruling.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn has said in court filings that the state would have to suspend pre-construction work as of June 1 unless it had a foreseeable path to resolving the lawsuit and a reasonable expectation that it would once again become eligible for federal aid.

Asked about that June 1 deadline this week, Rahn said in a statement, In light of [Mondays] ruling, MDOT is reviewing all possible procedural and legal options.

Maryland officials have said they could begin construction on the line within a few weeks of securing federal grants.
Pinar Gurdal, from right, Rick Shingles and Russell Chisholm show their opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline project during the debate for the Democratic nomination for governor at Virginia Western Community College on Thursday, May 4, 2017, in Roanoke, Va. (Heather Rousseau /The Roanoke Times via AP)

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam, under pressure from environmentalists to oppose two natural gas pipelines, told voters for weeks that he had won assurances from state regulators that they will increase scrutiny on the projects by assessing environmental impacts along specific sites, instead of relying on a blanket approval from federal officials.

But this week, the state agency in charge of the review said it miscommunicated its plan.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will not issue individual permits for every waterway the pipelines cross, but rather rely on the decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers whether the project complies with water quality rules at wetland and stream crossings. State officials say they will scrutinize the projects by evaluating areas outside the purview of the Army Corps, but the extent will be far less than environmental activists had believed.

[Gas pipelines spark a flare up at Roanoke gubernatorial debate]

The reversal complicates Northams position in his neck-and-neck June 13 primary race for the nomination against former congressman Tom Perriello.

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, left, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, left, speaks during a debate at Union Hall in Richmond on May 9, 2017, while former congressman Tom Perriello awaits his turn. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Perriello is opposed to the pipelines, one of the few policy areas where he clearly differs from Northam. Perriello, who has won praise from environmentalists for his position, has also pledged not to accept campaign donations from Dominion Energy, a sponsor of one of the pipelines and the states largest political donor.

Northam, who has accepted more campaign cash from Dominion than any of his rivals and owns shares of the utility, has said he wants a rigorous, transparent review of the environmental impact of the pipelines.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has final say over the project, although state regulators can withhold approval if they determine that it violates clean water protections.

A spokesman for Northam, the states lieutenant governor, says DEQs newly announced approach to reviewing the pipelines still meets his criteria.

This is a rigorous regulatory process that goes above and beyond what the state has required in the past, leveraging the expertise from the Army Corps while requiring additional conditions to be met through an individual certification issued by the State Water Control Board, said the spokesman, David Turner.

But environmental activists disagree.

(Northam) was misled along with the rest of us, said David Sligh of the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition and a former DEQ employee. Thats not a rigorous review, and he cant accurately continue to say that. He cannot live up to his pledge that hes going to push for thorough and transparent processes until he says to DEQ, You have to do what we understood you were going to do.

[Virginia power broker Dominion suddenly in the political hot seat]

Perriello said he wants more information about DEQs plans.

Frankly, its mindboggling right now to figure out what is even going on, Perriello said. This shows why clear leadership on these issues is important.

The confusion began in early April when DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden said the state would require certifications for each segment of the pipelines that crossed waterways.

Both Perriello and Northam hailed the decision, which environmentalists believed would slow down or possibly stop the project.

I was the one who stepped up and wrote a letter and communciated with the DEQ and recommended that rather than a blanket permit, that we have site-specific permits and because of that, they have decided to do that, Northam said at a May 2 candidate forum in Arlington.

But after repeated questions from reporters and activists, DEQ officials started backtracking.

They said they would be consult the federal blanket permit instead of requiring individual state certifications for every water crossing site. And they said they would increase total scrutiny by reviewing the effects of pipeline construction on areas further out from the waterways that could still affect water quality but would otherwise not be examined by the Army Corps.

Melanie D. Davenport, the head of DEQs water permitting division, said regulators didnt change their approach.

There was miscommunications in terms of how we explained to the public affairs office what we were doing, and perhaps a lapse in oversight in making sure how they anwered questions, she said.

Hayden is out of the office this week and unavailable to comment.

Dominion, Virginias energy giant and largest political donor, is proposing the Atlantic Coast pipeline that would run 600 miles from West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina. The second pipeline project would run 300 miles and does not involve Dominion.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who cannot seek consecutive terms under the state constitution, supports the pipeline projects as a source of jobs.
Minnesota state Rep. Mary Franson received a note from a friend last year urging her to draft stricter legislation against female genital mutilation. The state had banned the practice in 1994, so the Republican worried that a new law would seem Islamophobic, given its target audience.

One case changed her mind.

Federal prosecutors last month charged a Michigan doctor and his wife in connection with performing the procedure on two Minnesota girls. The parents of one girl  believed to have been involved in arranging the procedure  lost custody for a whopping 72 hours, Franson told lawmakers on the floor of the Minnesota statehouse last week.

Another Michigan doctor, Jumana Nagarwala of Detroit, has been charged in a separate case.

Now Franson wants Minnesota to pass a bill that would send perpetrators to prison for up to 20 years, targeting parents as well as doctors.

FBI agents leave the office of Dr. Fakhruddin Attar at the Burhani Clinic in Livonia, Mich., on April 21, after completing a search. The investigation is connected to the case of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, of Northville, charged with performing genital mutilation on two young girls from Minnesota. (Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP)

Were saying that if you harm your child in this way, youre going to be held responsible, she said.

Female genital mutilation has been a federal crime in the United States for more than two decades, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. But the three doctors are the first to be charged under the law. The case has set off a flurry of new bills across the country, with a growing number of states moving to extend penalties to the parents and hit them with lengthy prison terms.

The issue has been a lightning rod in right-wing political circles for years, with anti-Muslim and anti-immigration activists linking it explicitly to Islam. In fact, there is no mention of female genital mutilation in the Koran, and the procedure is rare in most Muslim countries. But attorneys for the doctors, all three of whom are Muslim, say their trial defense next month is likely to invoke religious freedom, a move that is sure to lend the case even more political ammunition.

Republican-authored bills are pending in Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Maine, and activists say Massachusetts is also weighing legislative action.

In Minnesota, which is among the 25 states that ban female genital mutilation, state representatives on May 15 voted 124 to 4 in favor of expanding the penalties. The bill will go to the state Senate for consideration, but it will probably be signed into law before the fall.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), sometimes called female genital cutting or circumcision, refers to the ancient, ritual practice of cutting off parts of a girls genitalia, and sometimes sewing shut the vaginal opening. It has no health benefits and can result in serious complications, including hemorrhaging and death, the lifelong loss of sexual pleasure, painful intercourse, and chronic infections.

The World Health Organization says more than 200 million women and girls living in 30 countries have experienced FGM. Most of those countries are in Africa.

Toddler Salsa Djafar cries as a traditional healer conducts a circumcision in Indonesia, where female circumcision is often considered a rite of passage. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images)

The practice spans an array of ethnic and religious groups despite nearly universal national bans. Although the rationale for the practice varies, experts say it is often driven by social pressures to control womens sexuality and ensure girls virginity before marriage. Some practitioners also believe that it serves a religious mandate, although the practice has no root in religious doctrine.

Some Muslim clerics have endorsed the practice, but a number of major Muslim leaders have condemned it. The three doctors in Michigan and the girls whom investigators say they cut are from the tiny Dawoodi Bohra sect of Shiite Islam, in which the practice is common and clerics are said to endorse it. The doctors trial is set for next month.

Theres no reliable data on how common the practice is in the United States, according to the authors of a 2016 Government Accountability Office report. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 513,000 women and girls in the United States either had the procedure or are at risk of experiencing it in the future, based on immigrant populations from countries where the practice is prevalent, including Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan.

[Detroit-area doctor charged with performing female genital mutilation on girls]

The Maine law would make parents who consent to FGM liable for up to 10 years behind bars. This month, the Texas state Senate unanimously approved a similar bill that would allow the state to prosecute people who transport or permit the transport of a person for the purpose of FGM, said the bills author, state Sen. Jane Nelson (R).

In Michigan, where the state Senate unanimously approved a package of bills on female genital mutilation May 17, perpetrators and accomplices would face up to 15 years in prison.

We want to send the message that Michigan is not the place to bring your daughter for this evil, horrific, demonic practice, state Sen. Rick Jones (R) told his colleagues during a recent hearing on the measure.

The Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for criminal investigations under the federal ban, is set to launch a pilot program next month that aims primarily to reduce FGM abroad by warning travelers of its illegality. The practice of taking girls abroad to be cut, sometimes called vacation cutting, was banned in 2013.

The program, Operation Limelight USA, will be limited to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, although officials said they are still drafting specifics on how it will work.

The fresh wave of attention has been bittersweet for the U.S.-based activists who have spent years campaigning to end a practice that they say is poorly understood and generally ignored by the public, law enforcement and U.S. officials.

When things like this happen, people just want to focus on getting all states to penalize it. But theres a bigger picture out here that were not focusing on, said Jaha Dukureh, the founder of the Atlanta-based Safe Hands for Girls, a leading advocacy group against FGM.

Dukureh, who underwent the procedure as an infant in Gambia, said she would rather see education and outreach aimed at preventing the practice than punishment alone.

For instance, many activists, doctors and lawmakers have said they want better training for medical professionals so they can address the issue with pregnant women who have experienced FGM before they give birth to girls. And they want to see efforts to spread awareness of the procedures dangers in vulnerable schools and communities, enlisting the support of neighborhood and religious leaders in condemning it.

Somali American activists have been pushing legislators for funds to prevent the practice through education and outreach, said Minnesota state Rep. Susan Allen of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

They have not gotten resources, she said.

The United States banned female genital mutilation in 1997, and in 2003 banned the transport of a minor abroad to have the procedure. But there have been only two other FBI investigations into the practice over the past two decades. In both cases, the FBI was unable to find victims, and only one of the cases, in California, led to charges, according to the GAO report.

Experts say a culture of shame and secrecy  or even ignorance of having undergone a procedure that they might have been too young to remember  keeps many from talking about FGM in the United States.

Deborah Thorp, who is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Minneapolis, said she sees at least one patient a day who has undergone FGM. Many are older refugees from Somalia, where the prevalence rate is 98 percent.

But she said she doubts that the practice is common for Somali American children who are born in the United States.

Im seeing a lot of moms who are so angry that it got done to them that I have a hard time thinking that they would ever have anything to do with it, she said.

Some activists and Democratic lawmakers have argued  in lieu of hard data about the prevalence of FGM  that racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments have played a role in fueling enthusiasm for the new policies.

Far-right blogs and news websites have long perpetuated the myth that FGM is a common Islamic practice by immigrants who are fundamentally at odds with American society.

FGM and honor killings would not exist in the U.S. without mass immigration bringing its practitioners into U.S. communities, Breitbart reporter Katie McHugh wrote in March. Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Trump, has voiced the same sentiment.

In Minnesota last week, some dissenting lawmakers worried that meting out draconian punishment for a poorly understood crime might make it worse. The Minnesota law would make it easier and more likely for the state to take custody of a child whose parent is suspected of involvement in FGM. For suspects who are not yet U.S. citizens, the crime would probably mean deportation.

When you start removing children from their families, increasing penalties for families, Allen, the state lawmaker, said, its likely that it may deter them from reporting the violence. They may not cooperate with police.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Wisconsin is preparing to recast its Medicaid program in ways that no state has ever done, requiring low-income adults to undergo drug screening to qualify for health coverage and setting time limits on assistance unless they work or train for a job.

The approach places BadgerCare, as the Wisconsin version of Medicaid is known, at the forefront of a movement by Republican governors and legislatures that is injecting a brand of moralism and individual responsibility into the nations largest source of public health insurance.

From Maine to Arizona, some states are seizing on an invitation by the Trump administration to redesign a program that was created as part of the 1960s Great Society and now covers 69 million Americans. Although President Trump and his advisers talk of tailor-made innovation to match need, the states strategies draw on a similar repertoire  monthly premiums for people below the poverty line, time limits for coverage and fees for emergency room visits, among others. All are influenced by more conservative values that long ago filtered into welfare and other anti-poverty programs.

The philosophy is: We want to move people up the economic ladder, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said.

None of the proposals, which must be approved by federal health officials, explicitly says the goal is tossing people off the rolls. Yet the proposals would significantly raise the bar for low-income people to get and stay on Medicaid. And they are surfacing at the same time that House Republicans want to reduce Medicaid funding by $834 billion over the next decade. The White House wants to reduce it even more.

The direction in which some red states want to shift their programs is highly controversial, even among some conservatives. Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who focuses on poverty issues and thinks that aid to the poor should not be a one-way handout, nonetheless said that requiring work makes less sense for Medicaid than for food stamps, welfare or public housing programs.

Penalizing people who dont comply is problematic, Rector said. You really cant deny medical care to a sick person. Morally and logistically, he added, there is no feasible way to do that.

[Trump proposes dramatic changes to federal government, slashing safety net programs that affect up to a fifth of Americans]

The proposal that Wisconsin expects to submit by early next week to the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as one being finalized by Maine, are notable because neither state expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, their redesigns would affect extremely poor people, imposing requirements that expansion states such as Arizona unsuccessfully sought for people with slightly more income.

Two governors said in interviews that they are confident the Trump administration will permit them to make changes to Medicaid the Obama administration consistently rejected  including hinging benefits to people working or training for a job. In March, HHS Secretary Tom Price and Seema Verma, administrator of the agencys Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, sent a letter to the nations governors that declared: We wish to empower all states to advance the next wave of innovative solutions to Medicaids challenges.

Hutchinson said he has discussed his states imminent proposal with Price and found him very favorable and supportive of this. This request for a waiver from the usual rules will renew the states attempt to compel able-bodied adults who are not raising children to seek work.

And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said he has talked about changing BadgerCare multiple times with Price, as well as with Vice President Pence. Although Walker said he did not ask for commitments to specific elements, I feel particularly confident . . . they want to empower states to make these changes.

Walker holds an influential role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and conservative and liberal health policy experts alike predict that additional states will follow Wisconsins example if the Trump administration approves its direction.



(The Washington Post/The Washington Post)

Several states already are on that path. In Indiana, the Medicaid program that Verma designed as a health-care consultant there is seeking a renewal of its existing waiver, and two sources said officials are likely to amend that from encouraging work or job training  the most that the Obama White House would allow  to requiring employment.

And Arizona is preparing to again seek a five-year limit on Medicaid benefits, as well as a work requirement and monthly premiums for people below the poverty line. During Obamas tenure, CMS rejected each request last September, ruling that they could undermine access to care. An Arizona law requires the state to keep asking for approval.

The earliest state to win federal permission to compel work in Medicaid could be Kentucky, where Republican Gov. Matt Bevin won his 2015 campaign in part by pledging to end the Medicaid expansion there. Last August, the state sent a waiver request to allow it to charge a small monthly insurance premium for people below the federal poverty line  as Wisconsin and Maine now want to do. Kentucky would remove people from Medicaid for six months if they were 60 days delinquent in paying. The Obama administration did not finish reviewing the proposal, so it will be decided by Trumps appointees.

[Trio of GOP proposals would overhaul Medicaid dramatically, starting with job requirement]

The value of these new twists on poor peoples insurance is a matter of vehement debate.

The ACA guarantees to every American citizen that there is an offer of affordable coverage, said Eliot Fishman, who ran the part of CMS that considered Medicaid waiver requests during the Obama administration. To create an exception to that, as a way to penalize some socially undesirable behavior in some way, is to undermine that principle.

Fishman, the senior director of health policy at Families USA, a liberal consumer health lobby, predicts lawsuits if CMS lets states move ahead with their plans. The question will be whether the changes are legal because Medicaid waivers must still fulfill the programs central goal of helping the poor get access to health insurance, he said.

But Tarren Bragdon, president and chief executive of the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability, said it is important to think of Medicaid as not just a health-care program but also a welfare program. I think thats where you see a lot of emphasis of work requirements within Medicaid.

Both Hutchinson and Walker said in interviews that the changes they are attempting would not prevent some people from getting insurance but help them to become employed and self-reliant.

We should treat public assistance more like a trampoline than a hammock, Walker said.

Charging $1 in monthly premiums to people with incomes as low as 20 percent of the federal poverty line would prepare them for the kind of insurance they would get through a job, he said. This and the other elements of Wisconsins plan would apply to the 150,000 childless adult residents at the poverty level or lower.

Wisconsin also would limit people to 48 months on Medicaid, with exceptions for months in which they are working or in job training. Its first-in-the-nation drug screening would make people answer a questionnaire and, if warranted based on their answers, take a drug test. If positive, they would have to go into treatment  which in Wisconsin, as in many states, is in short supply. Those who refused the screening or treatment would be denied Medicaid, but those on a waiting list for treatment could still get benefits.

This is not meant as a punitive measure, Walker said, pointing out that many employers require drug tests of new hires.

Two states that have tried to mandate broad-based drug screening for welfare applicants, Florida and Michigan, faced lawsuits and court rulings that held that the requirement was unconstitutional.

The idea of denying Medicaid to people who refuse drug screening treats addiction as a moral failing, said Jon Peacock, research director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. Besides, he said, Republicans have railed against the Affordable Care Act by arguing incorrectly the government was coming between people and their doctors. And thats exactly what Wisconsin is doing here.
IRAQ

U.S. confirms airstrike killed over 100 civilians

A U.S.-led coalition airstrike on a building in Mosul in March detonated a cache of Islamic State explosives, killing more than 100 Iraqi civilians, the Pentagon said Thursday.

An unclassified summary of the U.S. military investigation into the March 17 incident determined that the 500-pound bomb used in the strike set off additional explosives placed in the building by the Islamic State, causing the structure to collapse.

The blast killed two Islamic State snipers and 105 civilians, including four in an adjacent house, the summary said. Thirty-six additional civilians allegedly killed could not be accounted for because of insufficient evidence.

The strike is probably the single deadliest civilian casualty incident in the nearly three-year-old air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The investigation also said that the mass of people killed in the strike had been invited by a neighbor to take shelter on the buildings lower floors. The Islamic State warned them to leave, according to locals interviewed in the investigation.

This account is at odds with what the U.S.-led coalitions top officer suggested days after the strike. At the time, U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend said it appeared that the civilians were herded there by the Islamic State and were being used as shields.

In finding that the militants had placed the explosives, the investigation noted that traces of chemicals commonly used in Islamic State munitions were found in the debris.

 Thomas Gibbons-Neff

MEDITERRANEAN

About 2,300 migrants rescued; 2 bodies found

Rescuers saved about 2,300 migrants from rubber and wooden boats in the central Mediterranean on Thursday but also recovered two bodies, the Italian coast guard said.

As summer approaches, growing numbers of migrants have been attempting the perilous crossing to Europe from Libya.

More than 9,000 have been plucked from rickety boats in the Mediterranean in eight days.

On Thursday, coast guard vessels, merchant ships and a boat run by Doctors Without Borders rescued people from 14 rubber dinghies and four wooden boats, the coast guard said.

The previous day, more than 30 migrants, mostly toddlers, drowned.

The total rescued and brought to Italy this year is well over 50,000. More than 1,300 have died attempting the crossing.

 Reuters

GREECE

Ex-premier injured in letter bomb explosion

Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos was injured after a letter bomb exploded inside his car in Athens on Thursday. Two Bank of Greece employees also were wounded.

Authorities said all three were hospitalized in stable condition.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but militant far-left and anarchist groups have targeted Greek politicians in the past.

The Health Ministry said Papademos, 69, was being treated for wounds in his right thigh and upper body. He served as prime minister for six months in 2011-2012 and is a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank.

The government described the blast as a terrorist attack. Earlier this year, a group called Conspiracy of Fire Cells asserted responsibility for sending parcel bombs to the German Finance Ministry and the Paris office of the International Monetary Fund.

 Associated Press

Hungary says it wont amend law affecting Soros school: Hungary said it sees no reason to alter a controversial law targeting foreign-funded colleges that could force a university founded by billionaire George Soros to leave the country. Prime Minister Viktor Orbans chief of staff said the conflict over the Central European University was political hysteria. The European Commission had given Hungary one month to address its concerns and head off a lawsuit. The deadline expires this week.

Hamas executes 3 convicted of killing member: Hamas said it put to death three men accused of killing a senior member of the militant Islamist group, which rules the Gaza Strip. Hamass Interior Ministry said two of the men were hanged and one killed by firing squad. A special military court found the three guilty of killing Mazen Faqha. Faqha, 38, was killed in the garage of his apartment building on March 24.

Iran builds 3rd underground ballistic missile facility: Iran has built a third underground ballistic missile production factory, the semiofficial Fars News Agency quoted a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying. The development is likely to fuel tensions with the United States.

 From news services
Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter are both over 90, and still with us  making it just barely conceivable that John F. Kennedy might have lived to celebrate his 100th birthday on Monday, if he had not been assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Surely JFK would have noted a contrast between his Jan. 20, 1961, Inaugural Address and that of his succcessor Donald Trump exactly 56 years later. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country, Kennedy instructed. His epigrammatic call for patriotic responsibility resonated in a nation of World War II and Korea veterans tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.

President Trump encouraged a sense of grievance in his very different audience, casting them and their country as victims of a corrupt establishment focused more on other countries than the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public. Instead of offering to bear any burden or support any friend on behalf of liberty, Trump issued a new decree of America First and claimed that protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.

And this was no mere tonal difference; it was a flat repudiation of JFKs policy legacy, whether Trump intended it that way or not.

One of the things Kennedy asked of Americans was to break with their protectionist past once and for all. He spent much of 1962 campaigning for the Trade Expansion Act, a tariff-slashing measure he called the most important international piece of legislation . . . affecting economics since the passage of the Marshall Plan. Congress passed the bill with bipartisan support, and JFK signed it Oct. 11, four days before he learned Soviet missiles were on Cuba.

Indeed, but for the missile crisis, free trade might loom larger in JFKs legacy. Familiar institutions such as the U.S. trade representative, fast-track negotiating authority and trade-adjustment assistance owe their existence to Kennedys law, which he presented as an act of enlightened self-interest, economic and geopolitical.

With Europe recovering from World War II and forming a single market, Kennedy feared the United States would be shut out  a rupture the Soviets could exploit  unless he and his successors could negotiate reciprocal tariff reductions, as the new law provided.

Communist hopes for a trade war between these two great economic giants would be frustrated  and Communist efforts to split the West would be doomed to failure, Kennedy said. Our efforts to maintain the leadership of the free world thus rest . . . on our success in this undertaking. Economic isolation and political leadership are wholly incompatible.

As for the impact on the United States, he argued, most companies and workers would benefit, due to increased exports and healthy competition from imports.

If that argument sounds familiar, its because a version has been offered in favor of free trade ever since, most recently in President Barack Obamas ill-fated campaign to sell the Trans- Pacific Partnership as a job-creating counter to Chinese influence in Asia.

Trumps election and the ascendance of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Kennedys Democratic Party show the waning appeal of Kennedyesque thinking.

Many voters are coming full circle to the views of the late Rep. John H. Dent, who in 1962 opposed Kennedys bill because he could not agree to put any worker out of a job . . . to benefit another worker who is not an American.

Dent, who also alluded darkly to lobbying by registered agents of foreign countries, was a Democrat from an industrial western Pennsylvania county, Westmoreland, that voted 55 percent for JFK in 1960  and 63 percent for Trump in 2016.

Kennedys Trade Expansion Act is in the news today only because Trump is wielding an obscure provision  the exception allowing protection on national-security grounds  against metal imports from China and elsewhere.

Born in 1917, the year that Americas entrance into World War I confirmed its global rise, and a veteran of World War II, Kennedy was steeped in the lessons of U.S. experience abroad before his presidency. If anyone epitomized the foreign policy establishment that arose in the mid-20th century, and that Trump seeks to delegitimize, it was JFK.

Kennedys vision, though inspiring, did not adequately account for the costs, in domestic political sustainability, of any long twilight struggle, especially any that asked Americans from places like Westmoreland County to sacrifice in places such as Vietnam and Iraq. Trump, in that sense, is not only a cause of American grievance but a symptom.

Kennedys arguments, both for free trade and for the U.S. leadership of which it is a part, retain validity, however. The task confronting heirs to the JFK tradition is to recognize what may be real and legitimate in the sentiments Trump tapped, to adjust accordingly  and to carry on.

Read more from Charles Lanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Candles adorn posters with a picture of murdered journalist Javier Valdez and the words "Justice! No to silence!" during a demonstration outside the Interior Ministry in Mexico City in May 16. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

The May 22 editorial The death penalty for reporting rightly highlighted the urgent need for Mexico to protect journalists  and all of its citizens  by fixing the chronic failures of its criminal justice system. Mexican journalists and rights defenders, weary of failed government promises, are now calling for exceptional measures  including the idea of international participation to support the creation of a functioning justice system.

Its not necessary to reinvent the wheel. In neighboring Guatemala, a U.N.-backed commission exposed corruption at the highest levels of government, successfully bringing charges against the countrys former president. Another group of experts, created by the Organization of American States, is assisting Honduras in its struggle against drug gangs and violence.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly pledged continued backing for these types of efforts in Central America. Similar mechanisms are needed in Mexico. Instead of building a wall on the border, the Trump administration should focus on bolstering Mexicos long-term stability by strengthening the rule of law.

James A. Goldston, New York

The writer is executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
A pedestrian walks along blighted Springfield Ave., in Newark, N.J., May 1, 1974, focal point of bitter rioting in 1967. (ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jerry Mosey)

Charles Lane covers housing issues for The Washington Post editorial page.

By the early 20th century, American neighborhoods were highly segregated along racial lines, contrary to promises embodied in the post-Civil War constitutional amendments ending slavery and establishing equal rights.

Segregation was so far advanced by 1930 that neighborhoods in the average U.S. metropolitan area could not have achieved a random distribution of African Americans and whites unless fully 65 percent of blacks relocated, according to studies of census data by modern demographers.

Twenty years later, after the Great Depression and World War II, and after millions of African Americans left the South for the North in search of economic opportunity  and safety from racist violence  segregation had worsened significantly.

In 1950, achieving a random racial distribution of inhabitants in the average metropolitan area would have required nearly three-quarters of African Americans to change residence. And that level of segregation persisted through 1970.

[How white America has created a colony of incarceration for people of color]

In short, the middle decades of the 20th century were an age of ghettoization. In The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein shows how and why this happened, and it wasnt by accident. Blacks did not move into overcrowded slums as a matter of group preference. Nor was private racial discrimination by white developers, banks and homeowners associations exclusively to blame, though it was certainly a key factor.

Rather, the federal government used its expanding power to promote apartheid-like separation of whites and blacks in cities and towns across the country.

When the U.S. housing market collapsed in the Great Depression, Washington took control and attempted to revive it through New Deal agencies, such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Home Owners Loan Corporation.

The segregation that President Franklin D. Roosevelts administration inherited reflected preexisting institutions, of which restrictive racial covenants may have been the most important. They were still relatively new, however. FDR might well have used his unprecedented leverage over housing finance to undo them.

Instead, the New Deal did the opposite. The FHA promoted racial covenants and other instruments of segregation through underwriting standards discouraging home loans in areas infiltrat[ed] by inharmonious racial or nationality groups. The rationale was the governments need to protect its investment, and those of white homeowners, against the threat African American neighbors would pose to property values.

No data supported this ostensible concern, as Rothstein notes. The FHAs pro-segregation policy reflected racist assumptions that pervaded even progressive circles in the 1930s  plus FDRs need to appease his Southern Democratic supporters.

When World War II began, the federal government constructed dwellings for workers who flocked to defense-related factories. This housing, too, was allocated by race. In some affected localities, there was no housing segregation, nor even any particular history of Jim Crow, until the feds created it.

[If you lose your home, you lose everything else, too]

Rothstein tells the story of Richmond, Calif., across the bay from San Francisco. From 1940 to 1945, nearly 14,000 African Americans flowed into what was then a small Pacific Coast shipbuilding city. The government housed them in poorer-quality, officially segregated buildings, setting aside better homes for whites. This established segregated living patterns that persist to this day, Rothstein writes.

The Color of Law thus adds a necessary corrective to established narratives about the impact of the New Deal and World War II on U.S. domestic institutions. Two decades of Democratic dominance in Washington were indeed a time When Affirmative Action Was White, as the title of historian Ira Katznelsons 2005 book about the period suggests.

And, as Rothstein shows, the effects lingered for decades. Homeownership was a key path to wealth in postwar America, yet many blacks were excluded. Today, the median white households net worth is 16 times that of the median African American household.

In 1948, the Supreme Court rendered restrictive covenants unenforceable. The postwar FHA eventually abandoned redlining, though not before underwriting new whites-only suburbs for returning veterans, including Long Islands iconic Levittown.

Not until 1968 would a different kind of Democratic administration, that of President Lyndon B. Johnson, bring about the Fair Housing Act to undo the damage done by its predecessors (and by the Republican Eisenhower administration, whose Interstate Highway System sometimes displaced minority communities and facilitated the growth of white suburbs).

By outlawing overt discrimination, the Fair Housing Act helped bring about change. As of 2010, randomizing racial residential patterns in major metropolitan areas would require 47 percent of African Americans to move. This is down substantially from previous levels and 17 points away from the 30 percent level indicative of low neighborhood segregation, according to University of Michigan demographer William H. Frey.

Neighborhood segregation also eased because of factors such as the migration of middle-class blacks to suburbs in the South, including subdivisions that did not even exist prior to the Fair Housing Act. Urban sprawl, in that sense, has aided desegregation.

As Frey shows in his 2014 book, Diversity Explosion, some of the least-segregated metropolitan areas in America now are places like Raleigh, N.C., and Las Vegas. Immigration from Asia and Latin America has meanwhile fostered the rise of what Brown University sociologist John Logan has called global neighborhoods.

A discussion of such data would have strengthened Rothsteins otherwise excellent book. The figures quantify how grievously mid-20th-century policies harmed African Americans, and the country, but also how close we are  or were  to undoing the damage.

Black-white segregation is still shamefully persistent, especially in older Northern cities such as Chicago and New York. Presidential administrations of both parties never fully enforced the most aggressive remedies in the Fair Housing Act, which made local communities access to federal housing dollars contingent on their efforts to affirmatively further fair housing  the opposite of federal policy in the 30s and 40s.

In the waning days of President Barack Obamas second term, his housing secretary produced a regulation requiring states and localities to assess patterns of segregation and make plans to address them, with their federal aid ultimately on the line.

President Donald Trumps election casts that long-postponed rule back into limbo. New Housing Secretary Ben Carson, an ultraconservative African American neurosurgeon who grew up in segregated Detroit, denounced Obamas approach in a 2015 op-ed column.

These government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality create consequences that often make matters worse, Carson wrote.
Newt Gingrich, a Republican from Georgia, was speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He served as vice chair of the Trump transition team and is the author of the book Understanding Trump, which is scheduled to be released in June.

This newspapers legendary former publisher, Philip Graham, famously described journalism as the business of writing the first rough draft of history. This week, as President Trump gave a historic speech in Saudi Arabia before the leaders of more than 50 Muslim-majority nations, journalisms first draft missed the history almost entirely.

While the media focused on the ephemeral questions  whether the president would use campaign rhetoric in a diplomatic setting, or how the trip would affect the Obama legacy  they largely missed the real drama of the moment: a titanic shift in U.S. foreign policy occurring right before their eyes.

Trump stood before an unprecedented gathering of leaders to do something far more significant than utter a single phrase or undermine his predecessors record. He was there to rally the Muslim world, in his words, to meet historys great test  defeating the forces of terrorism and extremism. He did so in a way that no American president ever had before. While extending a hand of friendship to Muslim nations, he also issued them a clear challenge: to take the lead in solving the crisis that has engulfed their region and spread across the planet. Drive out the terrorists and extremists, he urged them, or consign your peoples to futures of misery and squalor.

To find a comparably dramatic moment in the history of U.S. foreign policy, we have to look all the way back to 1982. That June, 35 years ago next month, President Ronald Reagan stood in the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster in London and called on the West to rally in defense of freedom and against communist aggression.

In that one speech, Reagan predicted the fall of communism and reinvigorated the Western alliance. We see totalitarian forces in the world who seek subversion and conflict around the globe to further their barbarous assault on the human spirit, Reagan said. What, then, is our course? Must civilization perish in a hail of fiery atoms? Must freedom wither in a quiet, deadening accommodation with totalitarian evil?

Reagan declared his speech a turning point in history  and it was. On Sunday, Trump, too, declared that his challenge would be a turning point, one way or another. And he posed to that assembly in Riyadh an equally dramatic choice. It was, he said, a choice between two futures  the path of civilization, or the path of evil and death.

America is prepared to stand with you in the fight against terrorism, Trump pledged. But the nations of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them. The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves, for their countries, and for their children.

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Never before has an American president tried so clearly to unite the civilized world, including the nations of the Middle East and Africa, against the forces of terrorism. Never before has an American president issued so direct a challenge to those nations to do more in the fight. And never before has an American president so plainly put the ultimate responsibility for eradicating terrorism on the nations of the region. In doing so, Trumps speech implicitly repudiated the approaches of his two immediate predecessors and promised instead what he characterized as a principled realism, based on a clear-eyed view of Americas interests, security and limits.

That this decisive shift in U.S. foreign policy occurred on a foreign trip within the first four months of the administration is all the more impressive. Reagan didnt take his first international trip until well into his second year. And unlike President Barack Obamas early speech to the Muslim world in 2009, Trump backed up his words with action.

The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a $110 billion arms deal, the largest in U.S. history, which will bolster the kingdoms ability to contribute to counterterrorism operations across the region. This will reduce the burden on the U.S. military and send a clear message that this administration takes the threat of Iran seriously. The agreements also included a new commitment to crack down on terrorism financing in the Persian Gulf states, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Saudi investment in the United States.

Journalists and Washington bureaucrats, who are so deeply embedded in the establishment that they cant see out of it, may see Trumps call to action as a distracting sideshow from a status quo they cant imagine changing. And yet this week, it already has. Foreign leaders and the American people alike can see in this trip the core of a new, reality-based foreign policy.
RACE WAS an impermissibly predominant factor in the drawing of two North Carolina congressional districts, the Supreme Court determined Monday, upholding a lower-court ruling. In the process, the court did two welcome things. First, it made clear that politicians drawing district lines will face strong constraints in shuffling minority voters in or out of political boundaries. Second, it declared that those challenging district maps have several ways of substantiating their claims, flexibility that might aid plaintiffs in future gerrymandering lawsuits.

North Carolina has become the poster child for voter-suppression laws and absurd gerrymandering. Following the 2010 Census, its Republican legislature produced an astonishingly slanted congressional map. Though the state is closely divided politically, it sent nine Republicans and only four Democrats to Washington after the 2012 election. This alone may not have raised the courts ire: The justices have ruled that gerrymandering for partisan reasons is generally permissible. Whats not, most of the time, is moving district lines around based on voters race, rather than their party.

In the case of its 1st Congressional District, North Carolina claimed an exception. The state argued that it packed more African Americans into the traditionally Democratic district because the state was worried that it would have otherwise violated the 1964 Voting Rights Act. In some cases, the act requires that minority populations be bunched together so that their preferred candidates can win, in order to curb the dilution of minority votes.

In fact, the state legislature almost certainly moved minority voters into the 1st District to make the adjoining districts whiter and, therefore, more Republican. Nothing in the districts voting history, which is reliably Democratic, suggests minority voices were being drowned out before. The state claimed that population shifts necessitated adding thousands of voters to the district, and that legislators wanted to be sure these changes did not result in minority vote dilution. But it could point to no serious analysis backing up its claim.

The states invocation of the Voting Rights Act was cynical, and it deserved to be repudiated. The court made clear that judges will not allow a law meant to offer minority voters a fair shot at representation to be used as pretext for race-based voter-map manipulation unrelated to that goal.

Also notable, and more controversial among the justices, was that the court granted flexibility to those challenging district lines on the grounds that they were drawn according to impermissible racial considerations. In the case of North Carolinas 12th Congressional District, the second one the court struck down on those grounds, the state claimed that its opponents had to produce an alternative legislative map showing what the district would have looked like absent the consideration of unlawful racial factors. The court ruled sensibly that other kinds of evidence, such as statements from lawmakers and expert studies, could obviate the need for an alternative map.

As the courts deal with assertive GOP efforts to fix the electoral rules in ways that disadvantage minorities, the Supreme Courts Monday findings are welcome.
President Trumps budget demonstrates the costs of accepting lies as a normal currency in politics, broken promises as a customary way of doing business, false claims of being populist as the equivalent of the real thing and sloppiness as what we should expect from government.

Trumps fiscal plan was described as dead before arrival, but approaching it this way is a mistake. Many of the steep cuts in programs for low-income Americans mimic reductions passed before by Republicans in the House of Representatives. Theres more life in this document than the easy dismissals would suggest.

Particularly astounding from a president who promised better health care for Americans who cant afford it is the $1.85 trillion reduction over a decade from Medicaid and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. But didnt Trump promise not to cut Medicaid? Never mind, budget director Mick Mulvaney told CNBCs John Harwood. That pledge, Mulvaney explained, had been overridden by Trumps promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Right, and my commitment to losing weight was overridden by my insistence on eating anything I wanted. We demean ourselves if we cynically normalize the reality that every Trump promise is meaningless claptrap aimed at closing a deal  and that the vows will be forgotten even before the ink on the agreement is dry. Many who did business with Trump learned the hard way not to trust anything he said. His supporters are being forced to learn the same dreary wisdom.

Trump lies so often that journalists tied themselves up in an extended discussion of when it was appropriate to use lie and when it was better to deploy such euphemisms as misstatement and fabrication. We should stick to the short and simple word. Allowing Trump any slack only encourages more lying.

(Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

Although fibbing with numbers is an old trick, the etiquette of budget discussions leans toward references to rosy scenarios and the like. But how can you explain a budget that counts $2 trillion in claimed economic growth twice? Its used once to pay for massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and another time to paint Trumps budget as reaching balance in a decade.

This cant just be careless math.

Companies that make comparable errors in their prospectuses for public offerings can face legal action. No wonder former Obama administration economic adviser Seth Hanlon called this plan the Bernie Madoff Budget.

Another sign of fiscal fraud: the budgets blithe assumption that we will hit 3 percent annual growth in gross domestic product over an extended period. That would be nice. But no respectable economic forecaster thinks this is credible. Trump is asking us to bank our countrys fiscal future on his signature catchphrase, Believe me. We should know by now that we cant.

But there are also philosophical lies, and these may be even more offensive. Trump and Mulvaney are selling this budget as good for hardworking taxpayers by leading us to believe that it would really only hurt moochers and layabouts. Thus did Mulvaney claim that a $192 billion reduction in food stamp spending over a decade was directed at the folks who are on there who dont want to work.

Well, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported, it turns out that in food stamp households with at least one working-age, nondisabled adult, more than 80 percent work in the year before or after receiving benefits, and more than half work while getting them. This is a program aimed primarily at easing the lives of the working poor.

And it is worth noting, as Ronald Brownstein did in the Atlantic, that in the five Rust Belt states that swung from Barack Obama to Trump, whites without a four-year college degree  the heart of the Trump constituency  constitute most of those receiving assistance from food stamps and the parts of Social Security that Trump would also slash. If Trump really wants people to go to work, how does he think taking money away from job training and college assistance will ease their path to self-sufficiency?

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Trumps first trip overseas as president View Photos The U.S. president started his journey in Saudi Arabia and moved on to Israel and Italy. Caption The U.S. president traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Belgium and Sicily, Italy. May 27, 2017 German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, speaks to President Donald Trump as Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi listens during an expanded session at the Group of Seven Summit in Taormina, Italy. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

Martin Wolf, the Financial Times columnist, captured Trumps ideology with precision when he called it pluto-populism. It involves policies that benefit plutocrats, justified by populist rhetoric.

Trumps seriousness about the details of governing can be measured by his decision to be abroad when his budget was released. This is a man who sees his job as little more than spectacle, his word as negotiable and all numbers as fungible. The scandal of his presidency extends far beyond the Russia story.

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
IN 2009, when Metrorail ridership peaked at about 225 million annual passenger trips, no one  not at the transit agency, nor in academia, nor in the industry, nor any fortuneteller  could have predicted the scope of safety mishaps and ridership declines that ensued, costing the subway system more than 15 percent of its passengers. Now a federal judge, in a specious ruling, blames federal and state transit officials for not taking a hard look into the crystal ball today to divine Metros ridership levels a decade or two from now. And, says the judge, this failure is so glaring that it justifies blocking progress on one of the most critical transit undertakings in the region  the Purple Line light-rail project, which would draw about a quarter of its riders from Metro while linking close-in Maryland suburban neighborhoods.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leons opinion  shot through with illogic and heedless of precedent  is an excellent candidate for reversal on appeal. Unfortunately, as the judge surely understood, that may not come soon enough to save the Purple Line, whose future is threatened owing to his decision.

The judge swallowed spurious arguments from Purple Line opponents, who said Metros ridership travails should require Maryland and federal officials to redo their environmental study of the Purple Line, as if adjusting the light-rail projects passenger projections by 3 or 6 or even 13 percent would trigger an entirely new footprint or design  which it wouldnt. In fact, even if Metro disappeared, thereby depriving the Purple Line of a quarter of its riders, the Purple Line would still be one of the most heavily used light-rail projects to win federal funding nationally in recent years.

Nonetheless, by ordering a new environmental assessment, Mr. Leon has ensured a delay, meaning spiraling costs, and further jeopardized nearly $1 billion in federal funding, originally to be released last summer before the judge intervened. Without that funding, the Purple Line is dead. Fortunately, a Trump administration budget document released Wednesday appeared to leave room for the funding to go forward if legal obstacles are removed.

Mr. Leons jumbled, inside-out ratonale cavalierly ignores the judgment of federal transit experts, which the Supreme Court has specifically warned judges not to do in cases involving environmental studies. He says federal officials were arbitrary and capricious for not producing a point-by-point rebuttal of declarations by Purple Line opponents who predict Metros ridership is unlikely to recover far into the future. In fact, federal experts quite reasonably offered five scenarios for future Metro (and Purple Line) ridership, from moderately bright to implausibly grim. Under every scenario, the officials said, the Purple Lines footprint and environmental impact would be unchanged, and it would fulfill its main purpose: transporting tens of thousands of riders daily.

The judge is distressed that transit officials do not possess oracular powers of clairvoyance  that they did not forecast which scenario is actually most likely to occur. His reasoning would be laughable if not for the consequences, which could deny tens of thousands of commuters a convenience that would improve their lives and dozens of aging communities the chance for economic revitalization.
On Sept. 7, 2016, Donald Trump made a specific promise to an audience at the Philadelphia shipyards: to build a Navy of 350 surface ships and submarines. On March 2, Trump, now president, added to the specificity of that pledge by promising to increase the number of aircraft carriers to 12. The White House budget unveiled Monday breaks both of these promises. Its a big deal to walk on this pledge, which is why, if the president does not correct his error, Congress should reject the budget and substitute its own plan.

A 350-ship fleet is key for both national security and international stability. China is rapidly growing its navy to fill the gaps left by Obama-era cutbacks to the current level of 274 ships. Reversing those cuts is crucial to preserving American supremacy at sea and supporting allies around the world. And Navy shipbuilding also can be a great jobs program: real jobs in real shipyards producing real ships to meet real threats.

The presidents budget has forgotten these benefits. Breaking Defenses Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. summed up the details: Despite his campaign pledge of a 350-ship fleet, President Trumps first budget cuts Navy shipbuilding and aircraft procurement below what was enacted in 2017, documents released [Monday] reveal. Despite Trumps criticism of President Obamas defense plans, this budget sticks with Obamas shipbuilding plan for 2018: eight ships. And it actually buys eight fewer aircraft than Obama planned.

The budget includes a few excuses for Trump breaking his pledge: The Pentagon has to do a strategic assessment first, and readiness funds were more critical. Its true that the readiness funding was needed, as were the missile defense funding and personnel expenditures, but these explanations still barely reach fig-leaf status.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

But Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney was always a skeptic on defense spending, and now hes undercut the presidents crucial promises. With this budget there is no way to get the 350 ships the president promised by 2024, and it is very unlikely that a 12th carrier  if it remains authorized and is fully funded  will be in the fleet by 2027, long after the president leaves office even if he wins a second term.

There are plenty of superb plans on how to reach 350 ships by 2024, including one laid out in April by Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain, and Robert C. OBrien, a foreign policy adviser to multiple GOP candidates and a once and perhaps future candidate for Navy secretary. Both are friends and OBrien a law partner of mine, but what matters most are the details proving that getting to 350 can be done  and done quickly.

Of course, neither the president nor the Navy needs to buy into the Hendrix-OBrien plan, but a presidential promise needs a presidential plan, one Trump has reviewed and initialed, with the mix of ships specified, shipyards identified and construction schedules detailed. The president is above all a developer; developers understand critical paths and why every successful project depends on one. There is currently no plan for reaching 350 ships, eight months after Trump made that promise.

There isnt a new secretary of the Navy either, which is perhaps one of the reasons the Navy got rolled in both the omnibus spending bill that kept the government going and the 2018 budget sent to Congress. The Navy needs a cheerleader. It needs another John Lehman, who helped make President Ronald Reagans goal of a 600-ship Navy a reality. And if Trump needed any incentive beside national security and his commitment to keeping campaign promises, he should realize that Teddy Roosevelt and Reagan are both known for the navies they built.

This budget betrays both the promise and the reality of a rebuilt fleet. And for what? And against what background? No political or policy goals are advanced by this skulduggery, and much is damaged thereby. Trump made six core promises in the campaign: A Supreme Court nominee in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia (check), a border wall (on hold), repeal and replacement of Obamacare and tax reform (in progress), an infrastructure program and a 350-ship Navy (both abandoned by this budget). Many if not most of the reluctant Trump voters came home to him because of these promises. To break any one of them is taking a grave risk.

Further, to provide for the common defense is one of the very few specific purposes laid out in the Constitutions preamble. This budget breaks the presidents commitment to do that in full, a breach from which recovery of credibility of defense spending promises will be difficult to recover.

When the president returns from his very successful trip abroad, he needs to nominate a Navy secretary and send Congress an addendum to his budget, one with a plan to keep his promises, and the funding to make that plan a reality. If he doesnt, then the House and the Senate will have to save the president from his own OMB director and fund the 350-ship fleet the country needs.
Regarding the May 23 front-page article Trump to seek trillions in cuts over 10 years:

Newt Gingrich informed us, in his advice to President Trump on how to sell his budget that punishes people for being poor, sick or disabled, that people actually resent neighbors who are getting goodies they havent worked for. Mr. Gingrich has been a Catholic for only a few years, so he may not have read the Sermon on the Mount and Catholic teaching on caring for the least among us. He may want to brush up on that before he heads off to the Vatican with his wife.

Resentment of the less fortunate may be a political platform, but Mr. Gingrich should spend a little more time on the teaching of his church.

Martha Casey, Arlington

President Trumps budget is a cruel farce. His plan to severely reduce federal spending on Medicaid, food stamps and education while cutting taxes for the wealthy would create an enormous transfer of wealth from working Americans to their wealthiest neighbors. Limiting access to quality education, food and health care would undermine the viability of our workforce for years. If even a shadow of concern for the public exists in Congress, lawmakers will reject this budget outright.

Sharon Sterling, Arlington

In May 2015, the future president tweeted, I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. He repeated a commitment to the Medicaid safety net on other occasions. Yet President Trumps proposed budget and health-care bill arguably would cut more than $1.4 trillion from Medicaid.

Roughly 74.5 million Americans receive health coverage through Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program. In New Hampshire, those covered include 64 percent of nursing-home residents, as well as every single child in a facility serving children with disabilities. These unconscionable cuts are being sold under the artifice of providing states freedom to experiment with Medicaid. States already underfund Medicaid, without the further disincentive of losing federal matching funds. New Hampshires gap between state payments and nursing-home care costs is the nations third-worst.

For the Medicaid poor, Mr. Trumps approach is, as Janis Joplin once sang, Freedoms just another word for nothin left to lose.

Brendan W. Williams, Pembroke, N.H.

The writer is president and chief executive of the New Hampshire Health Care Association.
Jonathan Weiner is the author of The Beak of the Finch, which won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, and Time, Love, Memory, among other books. He teaches at Columbia Journalism School.



A DNA double helix. (REUTERS/National Human Genome Research Institute)

Here are two new books vying for our attention, The Gene Machine and DNA Is Not Destiny. One title is crying Yes, genes are everything! We are our genes! and the other No, we can go beyond them!

Yes and No have been tangled in this subject forever. After Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, he got a fan letter from his cousin Francis Galton. Galton asked Darwin if hed agree that the number of geniuses in their family (here Galton was pleased to include himself) suggested the power of inheritance. Darwin wrote back modestly that he thought his own contributions, whatever they might be, came from hard work. (His personal motto was, Its dogged as does it.) Ah, Galton replied, but surely the capacity for hard work runs in families, too.

[Would you take the test if you knew you potentially carried a deadly gene?]

In 1889, 30 years after On the Origin of Species, Galton published a book called Natural Inheritance, one of the primordial Yes books. There he declared that a gift for hard work or for the Artistic faculty is manifestly hereditary. Galton wrote, A man must be very crotchety or very ignorant, who nowadays seriously doubts the inheritance either of this or of any other faculty.

Galton dreamed of breeding better human beings through a program he called eugenics, from the Greek for well born. The program became so popular in this country that it led to a vogue for the baby name Eugene. But it also led to sterilization initiatives here, which, in turn, helped inspire the Holocaust.

Today we know a fantastic amount about the power of inheritance, but in some ways were still caught between Yes and No. Fourteen years ago, the National Institutes of Health and a consortium of other research groups around the world announced that they had finished reading the complete sequence of 3 billion letters that are written in the scroll of human DNA. The effort had cost a few billion dollars and a vast amount of time in collective person-hours: the equivalent of a single monkish scientist reading and copying the scroll for thousands of years. Now the job of reading DNA has been turbocharged. It can be done for about $1,000 and takes just a couple of days. Meanwhile, the parents of many of those babies know as little about inheritance as Galton did in 1859. Some of them have never heard of genes. How much should new parents be told about what is written there?

If you have a single typo in those 3 billion letters of your scroll of the human genetic code  if, say, at a certain point on Chromosome 2, you dont have a G but an A  then every time you bruise your thigh, your body will repair your thigh muscle with bone. Eventually your entire body will be encased in bone, like a suit of armor or an ants exoskeleton. A single typo produces this condition, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, which is extremely rare.

Thats how most of us think of our inheritance. We imagine that, for better or worse, each bit of genetic material decides our fates. And thats more or less how Galton thought of it, too. But cases like these are highly unusual, as Steven J. Heine reminds us in DNA Is Not Destiny. Of all genetic diseases, only about 2 percent are caused by a single gene, like fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Instead, most such diseases are caused by vast webs of genes  sometimes thousands and thousands of genes  working or blundering together with our experience, our environment. And of course we may carry the genes for most of these genetic diseases without the diseases showing up at all.

[His white suit unsullied by research, Tom Wolfe tries to take down Charles Darwin and Noam Chomsky]

Its the same story not only with diseases, but with almost any trait you can think of. Height, intelligence, creativity, willpower: Theyre all shaped by vast webs of innumerable interactions between genes and environment, inheritance and experience, interactions that have hardly begun to be explored.

Heine is a psychologist at the University of British Columbia, and hes interested in the reasons that people are so easily overimpressed by genetic test results. Whatever we know or dont know about this subject, he says, we are psychologically equipped to misunderstand it. We like what one sociologist has called the OGOD framework  One Gene, One Disease.

A few years ago, Heine conducted an experiment with a group of Canadian university students. Most psychology studies are done with university students, making for a highly biased sample of the worlds population, which Heine and a few colleagues have termed WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic).

Heine had the students come to the lab and read a few newspaper articles. One group read an article about obesity genes. The message: Your genes control your weight. A second group read an article about eating and social pressures. The message there: How much your friends weigh affects your weight. A third group read an unrelated article about the agricultural production of corn. Later, each student was asked to sample a bowl of cookies. The ones whod read about obesity genes ate the most cookies.

[Book review: A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, by Nicholas Wade]

This helps explain why we have so much trouble getting DNA in any kind of stable perspective. We confuse it with fate, as Heine says. We imagine that whatever is written in our genes is all-powerful, unchangeable, somehow of the essence. And we want to think this way. We like to think this way. It serves certain purposes to think this way, as a headline from the Onion suggests: Obesity caused entirely by genes, obese researchers find.

The NIH is exploring the idea of sequencing the DNA of every newborn baby in the United States. There are many good arguments for and against. But unlike the reading of the DNA scroll, explicating the contents cant easily be automated. Who is going to explain all of this to parent after parent as the science keeps racing ahead? Bonnie Rochman, a science journalist, explores the current scene in The Gene Machine, which, in spite of its title, is poised neatly between Yes and No.

We already do badly at the end of life. We dont want to do badly at the beginning, too. At the end, all we want is a good death at home, and thats not what most of us get. At the beginning, all we want is a healthy baby. We dont want the iatrogenic gift of extra nervousness. As Rochman puts it (she sometimes has a mix-and-match approach to metaphors), Will it heighten the anxieties of already hyper-anxious helicopter moms and dads, always waiting for the genetic shoe to drop? Soon all those helicopter parents may be waiting for the helicopter stork.

And of course genetic testing is an issue not only at the beginning but at the other end, too. As I wrote this piece, two colleagues of mine at Columbia published a paper announcing that they have found an association between a gene called TMEM106B and a sudden decline of the brain at the age of 65. If you have two bad copies of this gene, youre more likely to go into that accelerated decline.

Well, maybe thats true and maybe not. This is only a first study. But Im 63. It would be easy to find out if I have that gene. Do I want to know?

No.

DNA Is Not Destiny The Remarkable, Completely Misunderstood Relationship Between You and Your Genes By Steven J. Heine Norton. 344 pp. $26.95
Annie Murphy Paul, the author of Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives, is a science writer at work on a book about the extended mind.

Science is taking it from all sides these days. On the right are those who question the reality of climate change and doubt the theory of evolution. On the left are those who inveigh against vaccines and fear genetically modified foods. Those who do accept the authority of science watch helplessly as funding for research is threatened, all the while bemoaning the warping influence of political ideology on the beliefs of their compatriots.

Into this sorry state of affairs arrive two new books, each of which draws on a different body of research to make the same surprising claim: that the misunderstanding and denial of science is not driven exclusively or even primarily by ideology. Rather, scientific ignorance stems from certain built-in features of the human mind  all of our minds.

Granted, this news is not exactly cheering. Research in cognitive science has revealed that human capacity is not all that it seems, that most people are highly constrained in how they work and what they can achieve, write Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach, authors of The Knowledge Illusion. Sloman and Fernbach argue that there are severe limits on how much information an individual can process and that people often lack skills that can seem basic. Even more, the authors contend, its unclear that such skills can ever be learned.

And yet this book, along with another recent title, Scienceblind, offers readers a few crumbs of hope. If its not political ideology but rather cognitive errors that produce scientific illiteracy, then perhaps we can find ways to fix our mental glitches without wading into politics  that place where good intentions go to die.

[A secret weapon to fight climate change: Dirt]

The author of Scienceblind is Andrew Shtulman, an associate professor of psychology and cognitive science at Occidental College. His research focuses on intuitive theories, which he calls our untutored explanations for how the world works. Such explanations constitute our best guess as to why we observe the events we do and how we can intervene on those events to change them, Shtulman writes. Intuitive theories help us get by; they work well enough, according to the crude calculus of survival.

The problem is that our intuitive theories are, scientifically speaking, often wrong. We suspect that we came down with the sniffles because we were drenched by a cold rain. We surmise that the weather is hotter in the summer because the Earth is closer to the sun. We embrace intuitive theories because, in Shtulmans words, we are built to perceive the environment in ways that are useful for daily living, but these ways do not map onto the true workings of nature.

Many of our intuitive theories are formed early in life, before formal science instruction takes place. And because all children encounter the same physical world, interpreted through the use of the same limited biological equipment, they tend to formulate similar ideas about how that world works (creating a shared social reality that further entrenches intuitive theories).

Take, for instance, a typical childs understanding of heat. Kids commonly conceive of warmth as a property of a particular object: a baked potato is hot, while an ice cube is not. Their visual and tactile senses give them no hint that heat is actually a general property of matter, produced by molecules in motion as they rub against one another. We do, of course, teach children a molecular theory of matter, but not until they have reached middle school, and by that time, they have already constructed an intuitive theory of heat, Shtulman observes. Starting science education earlier wouldnt work, he continues, because children lack the concepts needed to encode the scientific information we might teach them. Moreover, studies conducted with very young infants suggest that many of our expectations about motion and matter are innate.

Even after years of education, our expectations about the physical world  those were born with and those we develop very early in our lives  continue to exert a tenacious hold. Indeed, researchers like Shtulman have come to believe that its not that we ever replace our intuitive theories so much as that we become progressively better at inhibiting them. This means that attempts to educate students and the public at large must forge a path, in the authors phrase, between the novices intuitive theory and the experts scientific understanding.

[Want to read fast and well? Ignore the rules of the speed-reading gurus.]

This can be accomplished, he suggests, by employing cognitively-informed instruction  that is, empirically supported teaching strategies, such as bridging analogies. Such analogies begin with scenarios that make intuitive sense (a spring exerts an upward force on a book resting on that spring) and gradually extend to include notions that, while scientifically unassailable, initially strike us as implausible (a table exerts an upward force on a book resting on that table).

Although such conceptual change is difficult to achieve and perhaps never complete, its worth attempting, Shtulman concludes, because scientific theories furnish us with fundamentally more accurate conceptions of reality and thus fundamentally more powerful tools for predicting it and controlling it than intuitive theories ever could. The better we understand thermal equilibrium, the more likely we are to optimize our home heating and cooling practices; the better we understand the biological mechanisms of cold and flu transmission, the more likely we are to take precautions against getting sick.

To seek out a more scientifically informed view of the world, however, we must recognize that our current view is inaccurate or inadequate  and such epiphanies, argue the authors of The Knowledge Illusion, are all too rare. Research in cognitive science demonstrates that individual knowledge is remarkably shallow, only scratching the surface of the true complexity of the world, and yet we often dont realize how little we understand, write Sloman, a professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences at Brown University, and Fernbach, a cognitive scientist and professor of marketing at the University of Colorados Leeds School of Business.

Like intuitive theories, the knowledge illusion  the sense that we understand more than we do  grants humans a rough-and-ready way of dealing with an intricate universe. We should be glad that our ancestors did not pause, in the face of a rock slide, to contemplate how little they understood about gravity. In our modern world, however, false assurance can come with its own set of dangers.

The knowledge illusion  which academics refer to as the illusion of explanatory depth  was first revealed by studies of how well (or rather, how poorly) people grasped the workings of everyday objects such as staplers, speedometers, piano keys, door locks and flush toilets. Psychologists Frank Keil and Leon Rozenblit discovered that, although people confidently assumed that they understood the operation of these items, in fact they had no clue. In attempting to explain how zippers and other objects work  to think through processes that previously they only skimmed over  Keil and Rozenblits subjects came to recognize that they really did not understand them after all.

Building on Keil and Rozenblits research, Sloman and Fernbach have found that this same misapprehension applies to more abstract phenomena as well, such as tax policy and foreign relations  and to politically charged topics such as climate change and genetically modified organisms. As with our intuitive theories, the development of deeper understanding is not a straightforward process of replacing or supplementing inaccurate or incomplete information. Unsophisticated efforts at education are often ineffective and can even backfire. Sloman and Fernbach describe a study in which parents who were shown images of children with measles, mumps or rubella, or who were given an emotional story about a child who contracted measles, actually became more convinced of the dangers of preventive vaccines.

Once again, research in cognitive science offers a savvier way around our mental blocks. Simply asking people to explain how vaccines work, or how a single-payer health-care system operates, or how a national flat tax would function, immediately renders them more cognizant of how little they understand these issues. It makes them more humble and more receptive to information that challenges the beliefs they previously expressed with such vehemence.

The authors of The Knowledge Illusion and Scienceblind both describe the research of Michael Ranney, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley. In Sloman and Fernbachs account, Ranney approached a couple of hundred people in parks in San Diego and asked a series of questions to gauge their understanding of the climate change mechanism. Only 12 percent of respondents were even partially correct, mentioning atmospheric gases trapping heat. Essentially no one could give a complete, accurate account of the mechanism. Ranney then gave participants a short text (or, in later studies, showed them a video) explaining how climate change operates. This two-step process, Sloman and Fernbach report, dramatically increased their understanding and their acceptance of human-caused climate change.

In this experiment, Sloman and Fernbach see the knowledge illusion being exposed and corrected. Shtulman, meanwhile, sees our intuitive theories being addressed and reframed. Intuitively, we dont really think of the earth as something that needs protection, he observes. How can we harm an object that is seemingly eternal? Ranneys clear explanation of how we are, in fact, harming the Earth with the production of greenhouse gases prompts our intuitive impulses to shift in the direction of protecting an endangered planet.

Though they focus on different defects in the human operating system, the authors of these two books arrive at the same solution: To move away from ignorance and toward understanding, we need to address directly what Sloman and Fernbach call the driving forces behind our obtuseness. Surprisingly, for once, that obtuseness is not produced by our politics but by the evolutionary history of our brains. Who knew, as President Trump remarked recently of health care, that things could be so complicated?
As Donald Trump surged in the Republican primary polls in the early months of 2016, his outsider campaign faced growing pressure to show that the former reality-TV star and noted provocateur was forming a coherent and credible world view.

So when Carter Page, an international businessman with an office near Trump Tower, volunteered his services, former officials recall, Trump aides were quick to make him feel welcome.

He had come with a referral from the son-in-law of Richard Nixon, New York state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, who had conveyed Pages interest to the campaign, Cox said.

A top Trump adviser, Sam Clovis, then employed what campaign aides now acknowledge was their go-to vetting process  a quick Google search  to check out the newcomer. He seemed to have the right qualifications, according to former campaign officials  head of an energy investment firm, business degree from New York University, doctorate from the University of London.

Page was in. He joined a new Trump campaign national security advisory group, and in late March 2016, the candidate pointed to Page, among others, as evidence of a foreign policy team with gravitas.

But what the Google search had not shown was that Page had been on the FBIs radar since at least 2013, when Russian officials allegedly tried to use him to get information about the energy business.

By the summer of 2016, Page, who had been recently named as a Trump adviser, was under surveillance by FBI agents who suspected that he may have been acting as an agent of the Kremlin.

As part of its broader investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, the FBI continues to examine how Page joined the campaign and what conversations he may have had with Russian officials about the effort to interfere with the election  with or without the knowledge of Trump and his team  according to people familiar with the matter.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has also zeroed in on Page, asking him for records of all his contacts with Russians during the campaign, all financial interactions he had with Russia and all communications he had with Trump campaign staff.

The circumstances that led to Pages easy access to the Trump campaign represent one of the main questions facing investigators: Were Trumps connections to multiple Russia-friendly advisers mere coincidence, or evidence of a coordinated attempt to collude with a foreign government? Or were they the result of incompetent vetting that left a neophyte candidate vulnerable to influence from people with nefarious agendas?

Regardless of the answer, the campaigns previously unreported procedures for vetting Page and other advisers are greatly complicating matters for Trumps presidency. Along with Page, a number of other Trump associates are under growing scrutiny by congressional investigators and the FBI as they examine potential ties between the campaign and Moscow, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort and informal Trump adviser Roger Stone.

This week, former CIA director John Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee that in 2016 he had seen intelligence revealing contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals. He did not name the individuals but said that when he stepped down as CIA director on Jan. 20, he had unresolved questions about whether the Russians had been successful in getting campaign associates to work on their behalf in a witting or unwitting fashion.

Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser for President-elect Donald Trump, speaks at a news conference at the RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow on Dec. 12. Page said he was meeting with businessmen and politicians during his visit. (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Multiple people familiar with campaign operations, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that Page and others were brought into the fold at a time of desperation for the Trump team. As Trump was starting to win primaries, he was under increasing pressure to show that he had a legitimate, presidential-caliber national security team. The problem he faced was that most mainstream national security experts wanted nothing to do with him.

Everyone did their best, but there was not as much vetting as there could have been, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said.

Another longtime campaign official put it this way: Anyone who came to us with a pulse, a resume and seemed legit would be welcomed.

We were not exactly making due diligence the highest priority, another campaign veteran added.

A White House spokeswoman referred questions to Trumps campaign. Michael Glassner, who currently serves as manager of Trumps campaign committee, declined to comment.

Page and Trump aides have said that Page never met Trump, and Page left the campaign in August 2016. Page has denied working on behalf of the Russians and said questions about his Moscow ties are part of a political witch hunt designed by Democrats to discredit Trump.

Page has for months declined to answer questions about how he joined the Trump team and who invited him aboard, calling the matter irrelevant in an email exchange with The Washington Post.

In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein last week, Page wrote that he had been an informal, unpaid member of one of [Trumps] campaign committees.

In his defense, Page in recent weeks has sent a series of meandering letters to investigators. He has quoted Maroon 5 lyrics, cited the writings of George Orwell and said he is being persecuted because of his Catholic faith.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the House Intelligence Committee, Page referred to himself as an unpaid, informal member of the Make America Great Again movement, a reference to Trumps campaign slogan, and said he had been illegitimately swept up into this investigation based on false evidence and propaganda.

Pages entry to the campaign came as Trump was starting to win Republican primaries and take commanding leads in GOP polls  but was also facing criticism for his lack of foreign policy advisers.

In early March 2016, more than 70 conservative national security experts signed an open letter opposing Trumps candidacy, calling him fundamentally dishonest. Trump announced that then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the only senator supporting him, would chair a foreign policy panel for the campaign  but no other members of the panel were named publicly.

When the hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe pressed Trump on air in mid-March to name people with whom he spoke about foreign affairs, the candidates response only seemed to underscore his lack of serious advice.

Im speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain, he said.

As the campaign maneuvered behind the scenes to expand its ranks, Page had at least one built-in advantage when he joined the Trump campaign: geographic proximity.

He ran a company, Global Energy Capital LLC, with offices located a block from Trump Tower and connected by an atrium to the famed property.

Some campaign veterans speculated that Page may have stepped forward on his own, essentially walking into campaign headquarters and introducing himself without a referral  a frequent occurrence at Trump Tower in those early days.

Last week, Page rejected this version of events. Wrong again, he told The Post via text message. At least one other primary person(s) involved.

On Thursday, after Cox described his role, Page confirmed that the New York GOP chairman had connected him to the Trump campaign.

Cox said in an interview that Page, an acquaintance from business and political circles, had reached out to him in early 2016 expressing interest in joining the Trump campaign. Cox said he routinely connected potential volunteers with GOP campaigns. He described Page as very informed and up to date on things.

Several former officials recall that when Page first showed up at Trump Tower, Lewandowski introduced him to other campaign aides. Lewandowski said he could not remember the encounter, which was first reported by the Daily Caller, but also did not rule it out.

Clovis, who assembled and vetted the list of national security advisers that included Page, declined to comment. Now a top official at the Agriculture Department, Clovis had worked on Russia-related issues at the Pentagon in the 1980s and, as a candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa in 2014, had questioned the effectiveness of sanctions imposed after Russias incursion into Ukraine.

Representatives for Flynn, Sessions and Jared Kushner, Trumps senior adviser, declined to comment. A White House official said senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, also a key campaign staffer at the time, had no role in the formation of the foreign policy group.

A thorough vetting of Page might have revealed several red flags. Page had spent three years working in Moscow, for instance, and he held stock in the Russian company Gazprom, meaning that he could have a personal financial stake in the future of U.S.-imposed sanctions against Russia.

Page wrote in a September letter to then-FBI Director James B. Comey that he had sold his de minimis equity investment in the Russian company at a loss a month earlier.

Page had previously drawn the attention of the FBI after he had conversations in 2013 with a man posing as an executive with the New York branch of the Russian development bank Vnesheconombank. The man was later convicted of being a Russian spy, and FBI recordings included discussions among Russian operatives about their attempts to recruit Page. Page has said that he cooperated with the FBI and that the only crime related to the incident is that U.S. government officials appear to have recently revealed his role to the media.

By late March 2016, when Trump appeared before The Posts editorial board, he was prepared to brag about his new foreign policy team.

I can give you some of the names, Trump said after Post Publisher Frederick J. Ryan Jr. asked about his advisers.

Second on the list of five read aloud by Trump: Carter Page, PhD.

Another unusual name on Trumps list of foreign policy experts was a little-known figure named George Papadopoulos, whose inclusion may also have demonstrated the vulnerabilities that came with limited vetting.

Hes an energy consultant, Trump said. Excellent guy.

The news media soon reported that Papadopoulos seemed to have exaggerated elements of his resume. And, touting his position as a Trump adviser, Papadopoulos began offering positive comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin to foreign audiences.

Papadopoulos did not respond to requests for comment. His name had surfaced four months earlier on a similar list of foreign policy advisers circulated by the presidential campaign of Ben Carson.

Barry Bennett, who served as Carsons campaign manager and later as an adviser to Trump, recalled that he was surprised when Trump named Papadopoulos to his team.

He was someone who worked for me at the Carson campaign for, like, 15 minutes. And somehow he was on the list, Bennett said of his reaction to the Trump roster. I was, like, how in the hell did that happen?

Trump soon added a few names to the group and held a formal briefing with its members in a conference room at his not-yet-opened hotel in Washington. A photo of that session distributed by Trump on social media  meeting with my national security team, Trump wrote  showed the candidate at the head of the table and Sessions at the opposite end.

Papadopoulos could be seen at the table. Page was not there, and Trump officials have said that Trump never met Page during his five-month stint as an adviser.

People involved with the campaign recall that Page attended other meetings that the group held in Washington, including one attended by Sessions. He also submitted policy memos for the campaigns review, a former campaign adviser said.

In June, Page stunned a group of foreign policy luminaries during a private meeting at Blair House with the visiting prime minister of India by going off-topic to declare that Putin was a stronger and more reliable leader than President Barack Obama, according to people who were in the room. Page also promised that U.S.-Russian relations would improve if Trump were elected. Page has denied this account, blaming it on his political enemies.

The next month, Page delivered a speech at a Russian university in which he was highly critical of U.S. policy. Page has said he met with no Russian government officials during the trip, except for briefly greeting a deputy prime minister who attended the event.

Over the summer, the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of Russia, law enforcement and other U.S. officials told The Post last month.

Pages name also appeared in a now-famous dossier, which quietly circulated among reporters and alleged that there were links between Trump associates and the Kremlin. The document asserted that Page met with top Russian officials to plot how to elect Trump.

The document, which was compiled by a former British spy employed by Trumps political adversaries, became public after the election and was dismissed by Trump and his allies as fake news. Page vigorously rejects the allegation about him and said the FBI should spend its time investigating how the document came together instead of his activities.

Page used his Wednesday letter to the House Intelligence Committee to defend his contacts with the Russians. Presenting the letter as a follow-up to Brennans testimony, Page wrote that throughout my interactions with the Russians in 2016, I consistently made it crystal clear that all of my benign statements and harmless actions in Moscow as well as elsewhere overseas were solely made as a scholar and a business person speaking only on behalf of myself. In other words, in no way connected to then-candidate Trump.

Earlier this month, Page insisted in writing to the Senate Intelligence Committee that for all the attention he has received, he did not once meet Trump.

In retrospect and with the 1984-inspired governance standards employed in 2016, Page wrote, I consider it fortunate that I never briefed Mr. Trump.

Note: This story has been updated.

Devlin Barrett and Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Senate Republicans are threatening to change a custom that allows Democratic senators to block some judicial choices from their states, in an effort to speed along a conservative transformation of the federal judiciary.

Leaders are considering a change to the Senates blue slip practice, which holds that judicial nominations will not proceed unless the nominees home-state senators signal their consent to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans say they will make the change if Democrats throw up blanket opposition to President Trumps nominees.

Adherence to the custom has waxed and waned, depending on the views of Senate leaders. But the rule was strictly observed during the Obama administration, and GOP opposition to President Barack Obamas nominees partly explains why Trump entered office with more than 120 judicial vacancies to fill.

Removing the blue-slip obstacle would make it much easier for Trumps choices to be confirmed. Although Trump and Senate Republicans have clashed early in his presidency, they agree on the importance of putting conservatives on the federal bench.

Senate Republicans changed the chambers filibuster rule in April to confirm Neil M. Gorsuch as a Supreme Court justice and applauded Trumps first round of nominations for federal circuit and district courts. His choices were drawn in part from the recommendations of conservative groups such as the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation.

The Senate acted Thursday on Trumps first appeals-court nomination, elevating U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar of Kentucky to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Thapar was confirmed 52 to 44 on a party-line vote, with four Democrats not voting. Thapars nomination did not raise blue-slip concerns, because both of Kentuckys senators are Republican and Thapar is a favorite of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Conservative groups have urged McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) to loosen the blue-slip rules  especially on nominees to regional appellate courts  and Republicans have warned Democrats that uncompromising opposition to Trumps nominees could trigger a change.

Everybody agrees that blue slips on federal district judges are appropriate where the districts are contained within a state, and thats been the tradition, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), the chambers second-ranking Republican. My sense is that were going to establish a pattern where a blue slip at the circuit-court level is an expression of advice but is not determinative as to whether that judge will be confirmed or not.

Democrats say that would be a substantial reworking of the rules and inconsistent with Grassleys pledge to retain the blue-slip process no matter which party captured the White House last year.

Eliminating the blue slip is essentially a move to end cooperation between the executive and legislative branch on judicial nominees, allowing nominees to be hand-picked by right-wing groups, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, wrote in a memo this week.

She pointed out that the vacancy for which Thapar is nominated exists only because McConnell refused to return a blue slip for Obamas nominee, Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Lisabeth Tabor Hughes. The seat has been vacant since 2013, and Tabor Hughes never received a hearing, because blue slips were not returned.

Christopher Kang, who advised Obama on judicial nominations, said that was the reason 17 of the presidents picks did not receive hearings, killing the nominations.

But the impact was even greater than that, because Obama gave up on trying to find nominees in some states, such as Texas, with two Republican senators. One vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, has been open for five years.

Theres no question that the blue-slip process greatly influenced the way President Obama chose nominees and whether they received hearings, Kang said.

Now, liberal groups that denounced Republican stalling over Obama nominees  his picks languished longer before action than did President George W. Bushs  are urging Democratic senators to use blue slips to block Trump nominees. Conservative groups until recently defended the process as time-honored.

Because it is a custom of the Senate and not a legal requirement, the blue-slip process has been interpreted different ways over the years.

Until the 1950s, objections by home-state senators did not hang up judicial nominations, according to a Congressional Research Service report. But during the civil rights movement, Southern lawmakers demanded more say over the judges from their states and succeeded in winning more deference. This proved temporary. By the 1980s, this deference was again on the wane. Then, during Obamas tenure, senators were yet again able to assert their power to block judicial nominees.

The blue-slip process was always intended to ensure consultation, and Grassley fully expects senators to continue to abide by that tradition, said Taylor Foy, a Grassley spokesman.

But Democratic aides said that they expected Grassley and the White House to adhere to the stricter interpretation followed when Obama was president and that Grassley is now reneging on vows made to Democrats that he would preserve the blue-slip system no matter who was elected president in 2016. Thats what they believed in 2015, when he wrote in the Des Moines Register that I appreciate the value of the blue-slip process and also intend to honor it.

Russell Wheeler, a Brookings Institution scholar who follows judicial nominations, said allegiance is situational.

All of a sudden, Republicans are discovering the blue-slip process can be abused, when in fact theyve been abusing them to get all of these vacancies for Trump to fill, he said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted Republicans for departing from tradition, saying in a statement, The Constitution requires the advice and consent of the Senate, not right wing interest groups, on the presidents judicial nominees.

But there is little that Democrats can do to stop Trump from nominating conservative judges and the Republican-controlled Senate from confirming them. It was Democrats, when they controlled the Senate in 2013, who changed the rules barring filibusters on judicial nominees, which required 60 votes to move forward on a nomination.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a former U.S. attorney and state attorney general who is among the most liberal members of the Judiciary Committee, said he doubts that Grassley would want to dismantle that long-standing Senate prerogative just to cater to the extremist impulses of this particular administration.

Given that appellate court seats are historically connected to individual states, they should continue to be able to make recommendations, Whitehouse said. I think that would be a really dumb mistake to make just to appease the far right, because it would have lasting consequences that would diminish the Senate both for Republican and Democrat senators.

Leonard Leo, who is advising the White House on judicial nominations, said the potential of changing the blue-slip process has not altered the tradition of consulting with home-state senators.

The administration has engaged in as vigorous a consulting process as Ive ever seen and is doing anything they can to hear out Democratic senators, he said.

Trump has nominated 10 judges in addition to Thapar, and two of them are from states represented in the Senate by Democrats. Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice David R. Stras and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan L. Larsen were on Trumps list of potential U.S. Supreme Court picks. Stras is nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and Larsen to the 6th Circuit.

Michigans Democratic senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, said they were informed of Trumps intention to nominate Larsen and have made no judgment about her. I will continue to listen to public input and consult with Michigans legal community to ensure that our state is served by highly qualified, fair and impartial judges that put the people of Michigan first, Stabenow said in a statement.

Minnesotas Democratic senators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, also have been noncommittal about Stras.

But they are insisting on maintaining the deference they now receive.

Its customary that the blue-slip process applies equally to both district and circuit court nominees  and Republicans certainly operated that way during the Obama administration, Franken said, adding, The committee should continue this custom and not change it simply because theres a new president in the White House.
At a NATO ceremony in Brussels on Thursday, President Trump appeared, in a moment captured on video, to push aside another world leader to get a spot at the front. That prompted pundits to joke that after eight years of Barack Obamas cautious foreign policy, the United States was no longer leading from behind.

But Trumps remarks at the event celebrating the Article 5 mutual defense treaty left the impression of a president who continues to lead from the side  with one foot in and one foot out when it comes to U.S. multilateral commitments.

Whether its NATO, the Paris climate pact, the Iran nuclear deal or the NAFTA trade accord, the Trump administration has wavered and equivocated, failing to offer a full-throated endorsement and allowing such agreements to continue in an awkward state of limbo

without U.S. leadership and nourishment.

Thursdays ceremony at the new NATO headquarters was supposed to put an end to the uncertainty among U.S. allies and partners in Europe. Trumps aides had laid the groundwork, hinting to reporters that the president, who had questioned the security alliance during his campaign, would directly endorse Article 5.

Instead, Trump found no space to do so in his 900-word address, as he stood next to a new monument symbolizing the treaty  a twisted piece of metal from the World Trade Center after it was destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York City.

(The Washington Post)

Article 5 was invoked by NATO for the first time after the attacks that day.

I was fully convinced he would do it because its very simple, said Thomas Wright, a Europe expert at the Brookings Institution. It was the perfect time, standing aside the wreckage. . . . Its very surprising he didnt do it. I think its a real problem for him. It automatically turns the trip into a failure from a policy point of view.

[Trump chastises NATO members, demands they meet payment obligations]

The critical reaction, which came quickly on social media, forced White House aides to try to clean up after the president. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, press secretary Sean Spicer said that Trumps participation in the event demonstrated his support.

I think its a bit silly, Spicer said, adding that the idea of Trump having to reaffirm his administrations support for Article 5 while he was attending a ceremony celebrating it is almost laughable.

Trump campaigned on a nationalist agenda that promised to put America first, and he expressed deep skepticism of the U.S.-led multilateral institutions that emerged after World War II.

Since he assumed office, however, Trump has failed to follow through on some of his most extreme rhetoric to withdraw the United States from global partnerships, other than the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which he scrapped in his first week. He has emphasized the importance of NATO during remarks at the White House.

(The Washington Post)

His reluctance to blow up the agreements has been widely viewed as a realization by a new president that complicated global problems  including terrorism and North Koreas nuclear threat  require broad-based international cooperation. It also has been seen as an example of the rising influence of more-moderate factions within a West Wing racked by infighting among advisers with roots in Wall Street and those with more populist convictions.

But Trump has continued to denounce what he views as an unfair system that puts undue burdens on the United States. He chided NATO partners during his remarks Thursday for failing to devote 2 percent of their nations budgets to defense to meet a goal established by the organization.

For NATO countries, the upshot is that their relations with the Trump administration continue to be defined by uncertainty and anxiety even as the president wraps up a maiden foreign trip this weekend that aimed to reaffirm U.S. global leadership.

It creates a hedging behavior, said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a global risk consulting firm, pointing to countries such as Germany and France that have long had close relations with the United States.

[Trump pushes back past Montenegros prime minister]

Trumps posture makes it more likely these countries are going their own way, Bremmer said. There will be some move towards more coordination of European-only security, and there will be less coordination with the United States.

Trumps aides insist that his foreign policy is purposely unpredictable, aimed at keeping other countries off balance and giving the United States an edge  at the bargaining table or on the battlefield. The presidents threats last month to withdraw from NAFTA resulted in the leaders of Canada and Mexico reportedly agreeing in principle to engage in talks to amend the terms of the 23-year-old trade accord.

In many cases, however, it is not even clear what is being negotiated.

Ahead of Trumps attendance at Fridays Group of Seven summit in Sicily, negotiators have been trying to get the United States to sign a joint statement that would walk the administration closer to endorsing the Paris climate pact inked in 2015 to reduce carbon emissions.

Trump denounced the deal during the campaign and has moved to reverse Obama-era regulations on automobiles and power plants. Inside the West Wing, advisers are sharply divided over whether to end U.S. support for the Paris deal.

Andrew Light, who served as a senior adviser on climate change at the State Department in the Obama administration, said things look promising for a joint statement on climate at the G-7 summit. But Light emphasized that even if the United States signs on, it would not be a direct reaffirmation of the Paris accord.

Therefore, he said, it will remain uncertain where Trump stands unless he personally voices clear support during the summit.

Theres a lot of hesitation to put out a clear statement of policy among the Trump administration, said Light, now a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute. Its not policy unless the president says it is.

Rivals have spotted openings in Trumps equivocations. China has promoted its commitment not just to global free trade agreements but also to the Paris climate pact, while U.S. allies in its sphere of influence  including the Philippines and Australia  have looked to deepen ties with Beijing. Although the hedging

began under the Obama administration, analysts said, it has sped up under Trump.

Some analysts said that it is becoming clearer that regardless of the ongoing policy divisions within the West Wing, Trump is fundamentally skeptical of multilateralism and will remain hostile to such agreements.

I dont think this is about sending a message to his base to get their support  its a conviction, said Wright, the Brookings analyst. I always thought Trump was more ideological than people think on a small number of things. This is one of them.
Denise Turner Roth, former head of the General Services Administration, says she thinks President Trump should divest from his D.C. hotel but that it would have been wrong for her to force him to. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

Denise Turner Roths phone began ringing almost as soon as the presidential election results were in. Everyone was asking: Would her agency pull the plug on Donald Trumps lease for a Washington property where he had just opened a luxury hotel?

Roth, the top federal official at the agency overseeing the Old Post Office Pavilion, decided to leave office on Inauguration Day without ending Trumps lease, leaving in place a business relationship between the president and a federal agency that some experts consider untenable.

In her first public remarks since leaving office, Roth told The Washington Post last week that she personally thinks President Trump should divest from the property but that the lease offered no valid reason to force him to do so.

The former head of the General Services Administration, the federal governments chief landlord, Roth said her decision was based on a technical reading of Trumps lease and an interest in ensuring that the GSA maintained its integrity in a heated moment.

She said she and her staff asked: What would you do if this were any other lease? Thats what we kept coming back to. It was important for our motivations to not be seen as doing something political. Considering the role [the agency] was in and the political times, we needed to be as apolitical as possible.

Then-candidate Donald Trump, accompanied by his family, holds up a ribbon during the grand opening ceremony of the Trump International Hotel in October 2016. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The interview marked the first time Roth explained how she reached her conclusion, one blasted in a May editorial in the New York Times.

Roth has been likened to a sort of anti-Sally Yates, a reference to the former deputy attorney general who was fired by Trump after saying she could not legally defend one of his executive orders. By comparison, Roth has been accused of avoiding the lease decision to protect her own interests, since, after leaving government, she joined a company that does business with the GSA.

Roth says Trump should sell his stake in the opulent Pennsylvania Avenue hotel, which has become a destination for political movers and shakers and an ethical test for the administration.

From my perspective, divesting would have been the right move, she said. We shouldnt have this question that were in about whether hes a leaseholder while hes the president and whether there is a clause affecting him. But those are his concerns.

Trumps lease, signed with the GSA in 2013, posed myriad ethical concerns that surfaced even before his election. In fall 2016, his company opened the 263-room hotel in the prime-location historic property that had fallen into disrepair.

Trump gave no indication that he would divest his interest in the property; maintaining his interest allows him to profit from it while in office. As president, he could appoint a replacement for Roth, giving himself a say on both sides of landlord-tenant negotiations.

With fewer than a dozen weeks between Election Day and the inauguration, Roth said she and GSA lawyers asked for more information from the Trump Organization about who would oversee the project and how the presidents stake would be managed, information that did not entirely arrive before her watch ended.

She said the lawyers determined that the GSA had very narrow grounds on which to possibly act.

The question we were focused on was the lease, whether there was any violation to the lease, she added. And if there was concern about how the president handled the lease once he took office, how could we deal with that?

The closest call, Roth said, was over a clause in the agreement saying that no elected officials shall be admitted to any share or part of this lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom.

But even that, Roth said, did not put Trump clearly in violation. For instance, the president was not an elected official while she was in office, so he might not technically have been in violation on her watch.

We didnt have a basis as to why we would be canceling the lease. If the suggestion was we would cancel the lease because of a clause that said that as an elected official he couldnt be in this lease, that was not a clear question to answer, she said.

Many of the initial concerns about leaving the agreement in place, however, have materialized since Roth handed over control of the agency Jan. 20.

Trump broke with tradition and the advice of the governments top ethics official by declining to divest from the hotel. Foreign governments and lobbyists book rooms and meetings there, prompting lawsuits claiming that the president uses the hotel to unfairly capitalize on his office.

Two months after Trump entered the White House, the hotel projects contracting officer, a career GSA bureaucrat many rungs down the ladder from Roths old post, ruled that there was no breach of the lease.

The ruling reignited scorn for Roths inaction, particularly in left-leaning circles.

Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.) said the decision to allow the agreement rendered the lease terms meaningless.

This month, a New York Times editorial took direct aim at Roth, calling her inaction mystifying and suggesting that she may have avoided a confrontation with Trump to better position herself in her new post as a senior adviser for WSP USA, a management and consulting firm with GSA contracts.

She demonstrated a unique level of cowardice and self-preservation instead of focusing on the interests of the nation, said Steven L. Schooner, a professor of procurement law at George Washington University who is advising in a lawsuit brought by the owners of Cork Wine Bar against the president and the hotel. We have seen through the process that GSA was far more interested in being hyper-technical than making any effort to do the right thing.

Schooner said there were obvious reasons for the GSA to act, among them the financial interest the president would have in overseeing the GSA, the clause barring elected leaders, the evidence of possible emoluments (gifts or payments from foreign governments) and Trumps $25 million settlement in a fraud case against his online real estate school, which Schooner said would have given the GSA grounds to terminate the hotel lease.

He said it was far more likely that Roth acted to avoid confrontation.

What is the difference between Denise Roth and Sally Yates? Schooner said. One did the right thing and was applauded by right-thinking people for putting the country above her own self interests.

The GSA declined to comment.

Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Tuesday that congressional scrutiny of the deal was essential with Trump in office.

Since he refuses to divest, congressional oversight of the GSA lease is more critical than ever, Cummings said in a statement.

Roth acknowledged that putting the fate of the presidents 60-year lease in the hands of career staffers placed them under unusual pressure that could lead to favorable decisions for Trump.

Its hard to say that as the head of the government that the president wouldnt somehow influence benefits that would occur, financial benefits that could occur to the hotel, she said.

But Roth said she had little to gain personally by deferring a decision.

In her new job, which she began in April, she is not permitted to lobby the GSA for two years because of federal ethics rules. WSP issued a statement describing her duties as focusing on revitalization issues, smart cities, performance measures and organization development for private and public clients.

The Trump Organization declined to comment for this story. It has said that it has taken appropriate steps to separate the business from the president and that the company will donate profits from foreign sources to the U.S. Treasury at the end of the year.
President Trump exported the confrontational, nationalist rhetoric of his campaign across the Atlantic on Thursday, scolding European leaders for not footing more of the bill for their own defense and lecturing them to stop taking advantage of U.S. taxpayers.

Speaking in front of a twisted shard of the World Trade Center at NATOs gleaming new headquarters in Brussels, Trump upbraided Americas longtime allies for not paying what they should be paying. He used a ceremony dedicating the memorial to NATOs resolve in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States as a platform to exhort leaders to focus on terrorism and immigration to ensure their security.

And he held back from the one pledge NATO leaders most wanted to hear: an unconditional embrace of the organizations solemn treaty commitment that an attack on a single alliance nation is an attack on all of them.

Instead, European leaders gazed unsmilingly at Trump while he said that 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying, and that they owe massive amounts from past years  a misstatement of NATOs spending targets, which guide individual nations own domestic spending decisions.

[Fact checker: Why Trump is simply wrong about NATO funding]

(The Washington Post)

The harsh tone had a toll, as Trump was left largely on his own after the speech as leaders mingled and laughed with each other, leaving the U.S. president to stand silently on a stage ahead of a group photo.

The long day of gruff Brussels meetings was a contrast to his friendlier encounters in the Middle East, where Trump last weekend embraced the authoritarian Saudi monarchy and said he had been wowed by King Salmans wisdom.

In Brussels, Trump sat in a morning meeting with top European Union leaders where one emerged to say that his message to Trump was that the West should concentrate more on values such as human rights and less on interests. The president lunched with French President Emmanuel Macron, an encounter in which the two leaders shook hands in a tense, white-knuckle embrace. And he sped across Brussels to NATO, where British Prime Minister Theresa May, the leader of Washingtons closest ally, buttonholed him over intelligence leaks following Mondays terrorist attack in Manchester, England.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, traveling with the president, played down the absence of Trumps formal commitment to security guarantees during the speech, saying that there was no question of U.S. support for NATO and all of the obligations that are entailed in membership.

Having to reaffirm something by the very nature of being here and speaking at a ceremony about it is almost laughable, Spicer said after the speech.

In a news conference after the leaders had held a working dinner and Trump had departed for a meeting of the Group of Seven in Sicily, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, We have seen that plain speaking of President Trump before.

Even if Trump did not say it, Stoltenberg said, he has been clear on his commitment to NATO. But President Trump has also been clear in the message to all allies that we have to deliver on the pledge we made to increase defense spending. He was blunt on that message today.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  President Trumps first official trip abroad View Photos The U.S. president started his journey in Saudi Arabia and moved on to Israel and Italy. Caption The U.S. president traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Belgium and Sicily, Italy. May 27, 2017 German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, speaks to President Donald Trump as Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi listens during an expanded session at the Group of Seven Summit in Taormina, Italy. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

Leaders offered modest applause at the end of a speech that Trump began by asking for a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of Mondays terrorist attack in Manchester, which killed 22 and wounded many more.

Addressing the British, Trump said, May all the nations here grieve with you and stand with you. The attack, he said, demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism.

Trump did not refer to the British prime ministers irritation, expressed earlier in the day, over what officials in Britain have said was the leak to U.S. news media of intelligence information that Britain gathered in the investigation of the Manchester case and shared with the United States.

We have strong relations with the United States, our closest partner, May told reporters as she entered NATOs $1.2 billion new headquarters for the ceremony, and that is, of course, built on trust. Part of that is knowing intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence shared with law enforcement agencies must be secure.

May talked with Trump about the issue inside the closed meetings, a senior British government official said.

[Trump calls for investigation of U.S. leaks in Manchester bomb probe ]

Trump is already under fire at home for allegedly violating intelligence agreements, following Washington Post reporting that he revealed sensitive information on the Islamic State, obtained from Israel, to the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador to the United States.

In a presidential statement issued while Trump was at the ceremony, he called the Manchester leaks deeply troubling, vowed to get to the bottom of them and called for a full investigation by U.S. agencies, one that could end with prosecutions, he said.

During last years campaign, Trump called into question the U.S. commitment to NATOs security guarantees, saying he would check a members defense commitment before coming to its aid. Since then, Cabinet officials have pledged to defend the alliance, but top officials of other NATO allies said that Trumps personal guarantee would eliminate any lingering doubts.

In the Brussels speech, Trump gave no specific commitment to Article 5, the collective-security provision that has been invoked only once  after the 9/11 attacks.



A senior administration official said that the intent was to deliver a direct message, which hes done before. Hes been direct with them in rallies, in speeches. He wanted to give the same message that hes been giving when NATO leaders are present or are not present, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to expand on Trumps remarks. Its the same message he gave on the campaign trail, its the same message he gives to the American people, and its the same message he gives to leaders one-on-one.

Trump began his day in Brussels at a meeting with E.U. leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

Values and principles first, this is what we  Europe and America  should be saying, Tusk told reporters after the meeting. Tusk, who has previously expressed concern about the new U.S. administration, said he and Trump agreed on counterterrorism but did not see eye to eye on a number of other issues, including climate change, trade and Russia.

Europe has been concerned about Trumps relationship with Russia, particularly over sanctions imposed after its 2014 military involvement in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. Some U.S. lawmakers have proposed additional sanctions in response to what U.S. intelligence has said was Russias interference in the U.S. presidential election last year.

National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who briefed reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the G-7 meeting, said the president is looking at sanctions against Russia. Right now, he said, we dont have a position.

At lunch with Trump, Macron repeated Frances urging that the United States not pull out of the 2015 Paris climate accord, a decision at which Trump has hinted but which the administration says has not been made.

[Video: Trump scolds NATO leaders at Brussels ceremony]

On this fourth and penultimate stop on Trumps nine-day trip, the first overseas travel of his presidency, Trump did not appear to find the near-adulation he experienced from Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, and from the Israeli government in Jerusalem.

During those stops, the leaders agreed with Trumps call to concentrate on counterterrorism and economic growth, with no discussion, at least in public, of human and civil rights concerns that had dogged U.S.-Middle East relationships under President Barack Obama. Compared with his clear ebullience and declarations of personal friendship with leaders in the Middle East, Trump appeared standoffish and solitarily glum among his NATO colleagues.

NATOs leaders used the excuse of the vast new headquarters to invite the former real estate mogul for a ribbon-cutting, even though construction on the site  a former military airfield  has not been completed. Beyond its official purpose, however, the meeting was designed to allow Trump and NATO to take the measure of each other.

Some allies have felt the golden word of the president would finalize the message to Russia and others across the NATO border that the United States had their backs.

At the end of the day, all important decisions are made by the president. And usually the president has a few options on the table, Latvias state secretary for foreign affairs, Andrejs Pildegovics, said ahead of the dinner meeting. Afterward, he said he still heard an endorsement of the relevance of NATOs traditional mission.

NATO pledged in 2014 that all members will reach the goal of spending at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense within 10 years. Stoltenberg noted Thursday morning that overall spending among members has been up for two years in a row, and he said he anticipated that increases would now speed up as the alliance addresses the terrorism threat.

He also said NATO was ready to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State  to which all individual members already belong. Among other increased contributions to counterterrorism  which Trump has urged  he said the alliance would step up support of NATO AWACS planes and intelligence-sharing, and provide refueling capabilities.

We will now establish a new intelligence fusion cell at the headquarters addressing terrorism, including foreign fights, and appoint a special coordinator for NATOs counterterrorism efforts, Stoltenberg said. He called it a strong political message as well as a practical one.

Stoltenberg also said NATO would consider increasing its noncombat troop presence in Afghanistan. The Trump administration is reviewing the U.S. presence there, including possibly adding some 3,000 troops to the 8,400 already on the ground and expanding their role, which now consists of assisting Afghan government forces fighting both the Taliban and a local Islamic State presence.
The Montana Republican congressional nominee charged with misdemeanor assault of a reporter on the eve of Thursdays special election has a history of minor controversies, as well as comments some have interpreted as threatening toward the news media.

Technology entrepreneur Greg Gianforte, 56, made national headlines Wednesday night when he allegedly body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign event in Bozeman. Jacobs was trying to ask Gianforte about the Congressional Budget Offices score for the House Republican health-care bill. The CBO said that the plan would substantially lower the number of Americans able to obtain health insurance.

Although Gianforte has denied wrongdoing, several Montana news outlets withdrew their endorsements of his candidacy and reconsidered past situations in which Gianforte seemed to express aggression toward reporters.

An editorial in the Helena Independent Record described the paper as sick and tired of Gianfortes incessant attacks on the free press.

In the past, he has encouraged his supporters to boycott certain newspapers, singled out a reporter in a room to point out that he was outnumbered, and even made a joke out of the notion of choking a news writer, and these are not things we can continue to brush off, the papers editorial staff wrote Thursday.

Greg Gianforte greets voters while campaigning in Missoula. (Staff/Reuters)

[GOP candidate cited for assault as newspapers pull endorsements]

Last month, a voter at a Gianforte town hall pointed out a journalist in the room, called the media the enemy and mimed the act of wringing a neck.

Gianforte smiled and pointed at the reporter.

We have someone right here, he said, according to the Ravalli Republic. It seems like there are more of us than there is of him.

Gianforte appeared to have the edge in his race against Democrat Rob Quist for Montanas only House seat before Wednesday nights incident threw the race into turmoil. The campaign pitted Gianforte, a onetime gubernatorial candidate whose net worth has been estimated at nearly $200 million, against Quist, 69, a cowboy-poet and musician with a history of unpaid taxes who had never run for office.

Some political strategists had acknowledged that Gianfortes strong personality was becoming an issue in the race, as it had during his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 2016.

As soon as Greg started getting attacked on TV, people were like, Oh, yeah, that guy, [the] billionaire jerk from New Jersey,  an unnamed Republican strategist familiar with the race told Roll Call this week.

Greg Gianforte,the Republican candidate for Montanas only U.S. House seat, sits in a vehicle Wednesday after allegedly body-slamming a reporter. (Freddy Monares/Associated Press)

Gianforte fully embraced President Trump during his congressional bid. He has campaigned with Vice President Pence and Donald Trump Jr. and spent time hunting  a favorite pastime  with the latter.

According to some critics, he has even channeled the presidents tough-guy persona.

Gianforte is a wannabe Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday on Capitol Hill.

To use language like that, treat people harshly like that  thats his model, she said. Donald Trumps his model. And weve really got to say, Come on. Behave. Behave. Thats outrageous. 

Gianforte was born in San Diego and spent his formative years in the Philadelphia suburbs before receiving degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.

[Montanas special election showdown]

He started his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1983. By his mid-30s, Gianforte had retired to Montana after selling his first software company, BrightWork Development, to nascent software giant McAfee for more than $10 million, according to Inc., a monthly business magazine.

A few years later, in 1997, he started his second technology venture, RightNow Technologies, providing customer service software. Oracle acquired the company in 2011 for a reported $1.5 billion. Gianforte received more than $100 million from the sale, a figure that brought his total income between 2005 and 2014 to $220.5 million, according to an Associated Press review of his tax returns.

During his time running RightNow, Gianforte became close to colleague Steve Daines, now Montanas junior senator. Daines, a Republican and one of Gianfortes closest allies in state politics, has called on him to apologize for Wednesdays incident.

Gianforte first considered living in Montana during a hiking trip to the state in junior high school. Since moving there in the mid-1990s, he and his wife, Susan, have become part of the fabric of life in Bozeman, with their interest in technology start-ups, evangelical Christian faith and conservative political beliefs defining their ties to the community, according to news reports.

Their philanthropy and activism have not come without controversy. Gianforte was a significant funder of the creationist Dinosaur and Fossil Museum in Glendive, Mont., which presents exhibits on the Earths age and the origins of the dinosaurs in the context of biblical history.

[Trump called the GOP hopeful in Montana a wonderful guy. Pence endorsed him, too. Theyve both been mum since an alleged assault.]

Speaking at the Montana Bible College in 2015, Gianforte raised eyebrows for his comment that the concept of retirement is not biblical.

The example I think of is Noah, he said, according to the HuffPost. How old was Noah when he built the ark? Six hundred. He wasnt, like, cashing Social Security checks, he wasnt hanging out, he was working. So, I think we have an obligation to work.

Gianforte also lobbied against an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance in Bozeman in 2014, suggesting in an email to city officials that allowing discrimination based on sexual orientation would be good for the local economy.

Homosexual advocates try to argue that businesses are leery of locating in towns that arent friendly to homosexuals. I believe the opposite is truer, Gianforte wrote in the email, obtained in 2015 by the National Journal.

During his 2016 race for Montana governor, Gianforte sought to clarify his position on the measure in a meeting with the editorial board of the Billings Gazette. He endorsed nondiscrimination for workers . . . but not for customers, the paper wrote.

These views have complicated the Gianfortes relationships in the world of higher education. In 2014, Montana Tech, a state-run university in Butte, announced that the couple would be its commencement speakers, prompting a backlash from students and faculty members.

[Win or lose, the questions that will be haunting each party in Montanas special election]

Two years later, the Montana Board of Regents faced similar protests while considering an $8 million donation from the Gianfortes that would involve naming a university department after them. The board ultimately accepted the gift and approved the name change.

Gianfortes sale of RightNow in 2011 ushered in a period of intense involvement in conservative education causes for the former executive. At the time, he was already a decade into a 14-year tenure as chairman of the board of Petra Academy, a K-12 Christian school in Bozeman that his children attended. The family donated $11.1 million to the school between 2005 and 2013 through its private foundation.

In 2012, Gianforte joined the boards of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools, the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, and ACE Scholarships, all of which advocate for school choice. Several of these groups received substantial donations from the Gianfortes, as did a variety of organizations that promote conservative Christian views such as opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Those groups included Focus on the Family, the Montana Family Foundation, Montana Right to Life, Alliance Defending Freedom, and the American Center for Law and Justice.

The Gianforte Family Foundation, founded in 2004, had $113 million in assets in 2013, according to a review published last year in the Billings Gazette. Gianforte sought to deflect attention to these donations during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign, presenting himself as a successful businessman and a proponent of Montanas small technology community, not a conservative activist.

I think prosperity is a virtuous thing and we need more of it in Montana, he said in early 2016, before entering the race, according to the Associated Press.

Gianforte has served as the managing director of the Bozeman Technology Incubator since 1995, according to his LinkedIn profile, and is a member of FICOs corporate board.

An avid hunter who regularly posts trophy photos on social media, Gianforte drew media attention last month for his plans to shoot prairie dogs with Trump Jr. while he was in Montana.

As good Montanans, we want to show good hospitality to people, Gianforte said, according to the Associated Press. What can be more fun than to spend an afternoon shooting the little rodents?

He dismissed concerns voiced by the Humane Society of America. Clearly theyve never shot a prairie dog, Gianforte said. They dont know how much fun it is.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
As Montanans headed to the polls to elect their lone U.S. House member, Republican leaders said that GOP candidate Greg Gianfortes behavior toward a reporter on Wednesday night was unacceptable but should not disqualify him for office.

In-person voting began across the state less than 24 hours after Gianforte allegedly body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, who was trying to ask him a question about the House Republican health-care plan. Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault in the incident.

The scuffle, caught on tape by the reporter and witnessed by a Fox News reporting team, threw the race to replace former congressman Ryan Zinke into sudden turmoil. As three major newspapers pulled their endorsements of the technology entrepreneur and some early voters sought in vain to change their ballots, GOP leaders urged Gianforte to apologize in an attempt to calm the waters.

There is no time where a physical altercation should occur, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said at his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill. It should not have happened. Should the gentleman apologize? Yeah, I think he should apologize.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), one of Gianfortes closest allies in Montana politics, called his actions unacceptable and agreed he should apologize. I do not condone violence in any way, Daines said in a statement and a television interview.

Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for Montanas only House seat, sits in a vehicle in Bozeman on May 24 after witnesses say he body-slammed a reporter. (Freddy Monares/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP)

Republicans fought off Democrats calls for Gianforte to withdraw from the race.

[Gianforte has history of controversial views, hostile comments to journalists]

Dont condone it, but I think knowing Greg for 20 years, and in the context of that relationship, hell do a good job, Daines said in an interview with NBC.

Asked twice whether Republicans would let Gianforte join their House conference, Ryan said they would. Im going to let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative, he said.

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the candidates behavior was totally out of character for Gianforte but said that we all make mistakes.

We need to let the facts surrounding this incident unfold, Stivers said in a statement. Todays special election is bigger than any one person; its about the views of all Montanans. They deserve to have their voices heard in Washington.

In Montana, where more than 200,000 of the 700,000 eligible voters have cast early absentee ballots, it was unclear how Gianfortes blowup would affect the race.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

A spokeswoman for the Montana secretary of state said it was not possible for early voters to recast their ballots in light of Gianfortes actions. The office received a dozen phone calls from early voters on Thursday morning wondering if they could revote, and reports suggested that local election officials had received a wave of similar calls.

In Montana, we vote only once, Christi Jacobsen, chief of staff to Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, wrote in an email. Once you voted you cant change your vote.

[The Daily 202: Five fresh setbacks for Republicans, who cant catch a break]

The polls will close at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

Wednesdays incident took place after nearly four weeks of voting in a special election to replace Zinke, who became President Trumps interior secretary in March. Gianfortes opponent, Democrat Rob Quist, told reporters Thursday that the scuffle was a matter for law enforcement and declined to comment further.

National Democrats quickly pounced on the controversy. At a Thursday afternoon news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Gianforte a wannabe Trump.

Thats his model. Donald Trumps his model, Pelosi said. How do you explain that to children? You ask a question and Ill strangle you? I mean, really.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) suggested Gianforte had shirked an essential duty to voters by refusing to answer Jacobss question. Part of the job representing the people of Montana is answering basic questions on important topics, topics such as how a dangerous health-care plan could impact the very people you are trying to represent. Its part of the job, the senator said.

Gianforte has not apologized for the incident, which upended the race considered by many to be a bellwether for Republicans political chances in the era of Trump.

Gallatin County police announced the charges late Wednesday after the Guardian published an audio recording of the incident made by Jacobs, the reporter.

[Analysis: Gianforte is fighting for a House seat. He might be miserable in Congress.]

In the recording, Jacobs can be heard asking Gianforte to respond to the newly released Congressional Budget Office score of House Republicans American Health Care Act, a bill Gianforte has said he was glad to see the House approve.

After Gianforte tells Jacobs to direct the question to his spokesman, Shane Scanlon, there is the sound of an altercation and Gianforte begins to shout.

Im sick and tired of you guys! Gianforte says. The last guy that came in here did the same thing. Get the hell out of here! Get the hell out of here! The last guy did the same thing. Are you with the Guardian?

Yes, and you just broke my glasses, Jacobs says.

The last guy did the same damn thing, Gianforte says.

You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses, Jacobs says.

Get the hell out of here, Gianforte says.

After that, Jacobs can be heard on the tape saying he will be contacting the police.

Gianforte left without appearing at the rally, and Scanlon released a campaign statement calling Jacobs a liberal reporter who aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face.

Greg then attempted to grab the phone, Scanlon said. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.

[Trump Pence mum after alleged assault by Gianforte.]

Scanlons description was challenged by a Fox News Channel reporter who witnessed the scuffle and described Gianforte throwing Jacobs to the ground, grabbing his neck, striking him and exclaiming, Im sick and tired of this!

Nothing in the campaign statement is accurate except my name and my employer, Jacobs told The Washington Post.

By dawn on Election Day, the assault charge was the biggest political story in Montana, and three of the states largest newspapers had pulled their endorsements, which the candidate had been touting in TV ads.

The Billings Gazette, which serves Montanas largest city, told readers that it had made a poor choice by ignoring questionable interactions the candidate has had with reporters in the past.

The Helena Independent Record, which serves the states capital city, wrote that the concepts of democracy and press freedom were under attack by Gianforte.

And the Missoulian, which had taken heat from readers for backing Gianforte, pulled its support and suggested that the candidate, who narrowly lost a race for governor last year, should bow out of public life.

The American Health Care Act  the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act  had become the dominant issue in the campaign. In the closing days of the race, Quist focused his events and TV ads on his opposition to the Republican bill and brought in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to help promote his position on U.S. health care: universal coverage.

[Ryan on Gianforte: Theres never a call for physical altercations]

Gianforte, meanwhile, had struggled to explain his position. In early May, reporters for The Post and the New York Times received a tape of Gianforte telling donors that he was glad that the AHCA had passed the House. But in public, he said he still had questions about the bill.

In a commercial that was still running on Election Day, Gianforte continued to obfuscate on the question of whether he could support the measure. And although he said that he would have a better idea of his vote when the CBO score arrived, Gianforte released no statement Tuesday.

I will not vote for a repeal-and-replace unless it protects people with preexisting conditions, brings premiums down and protects rural access, Gianforte says in the ad.

As word spread of the alleged assault in Bozeman, some supporters who had been knocking on doors for Quist began playing voters the audio clip. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has invested more than $500,000 in the race, called for Gianforte to quit the race and released a last-minute radio ad featuring Jacobss audio of the incident.

In other races, candidates have been badly damaged for appearing to blow up at reporters or people recording them. In 2006, Mike Hatch, the Democratic nominee for governor of Minnesota, lost a close race after accusing a reporter who asked tough questions of being a Republican whore. In 2010, then-Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) lost what had been a safe seat after manhandling a Republican tracker who asked whether he supported the Obama agenda.

But in interviews at Quists final rally, at a Missoula microbrewery, voters were skeptical that the attack could change the race. Gianforte entered the contest with high negative ratings and an image as a hard-charging bully who had joked about outnumbering a reporter at a town hall meeting and sued to keep people from fishing on public land near his home. He had nearly won the governors mansion anyway and had deflected attention from his low approval numbers with ads attacking Quist over unpaid taxes.

Greg thinks hes Donald Trump, said Brent Morrow, 60. He thinks he could shoot a guy on Fifth Avenue and get away with it.

Fred Barbash contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
The Republican bid to overhaul the health-care industry took one small step forward Wednesday and then essentially went two steps backward.

For a week, some congressional insiders had been whispering that the critical score from the Congressional Budget Office, on the legislation that narrowly passed the House earlier this month, might not provide any real deficit savings. Such a finding would have violated the Senates more arcane rules for considering budgetary items under fast-track rules  and it might have forced House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to redraw the legislation and hold another vote.

So there were a few sighs of relief late Wednesday afternoon when the CBO declared the legislation would find $119 billion in savings over 10 years, more than enough to allow it to pass muster under the Senates reconciliation rules, which allow a simple majority for passage rather than the usual 60-vote majority. Thats an important feat for Senate Republicans, who control just 52 seats.

But thats also where the good news ended and reality set in about the rest of the legislation. The congressional analysts  led by a Republican hand-picked by Ryan  found that 23 million more people would be left uninsured than under the current law, the Affordable Care Act.

The $119 billion in savings would result mostly because fewer people would be covered under the ACAs expansion of Medicaid  and because the new legislation would loosen requirements on the quality of coverage that insurers would have to provide.

(Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

For a core group of Senate Republicans, those facts may be all they need to bury the House version of a health-care overhaul once and for all. They also highlight just how high the hurdle is to get a health-care bill to President Trumps desk.

These senators already had built up staunch opposition to Ryans House-passed bill, when CBO estimates back in March suggested that the initial draft would leave 24 million more uninsured than under the ACA. After Wednesdays updated estimates, those Senate Republicans, predominantly from states with large populations of people who benefited from Medicaid expansion, dug in even further against the House bill because millions of their constituents would be left in the lurch by the GOP proposal.

Thats tough to swallow, said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who has 180,000 constituents relying on the Medicaid expansion for insurance coverage.

[ Who will decide what the Senates health bill looks like? Follow the Medicaid-state senators. ]

Capito, part of a bloc of 20 Republicans from Medicaid-expansion states, has been a vocal opponent of the House bill for so quickly transitioning away from that ACA benefit. She says this updated estimate puts steel in the spines of those Republicans, including Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio), John McCain (Ariz.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).

It strengthens my resolve, Capito said. To say, what are we doing to people here, particularly to our most vulnerable or those that dont have the wherewithal?

Said McCain: Yeah, I think it helps. I think it helps the Medicaid states.

With every Democrat opposed to the effort and just 52 Republicans in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) knows that the Capito-McCain wing is the most critical to getting close to the 50 votes he needs from his side of the aisle  which would allow Vice President Pence to cast the tiebreaking vote.

But each move to appease these Republicans risks losing a few more votes on the conservative end of McConnell's caucus, including his home-state colleague, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who seems dead set against supporting anything that is not seen as a complete gutting of the bill Republicans derisively call Obamacare.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have been more aligned with the House Freedom Caucus, which negotiated key portions of the legislation.

The jigsaw puzzle has left McConnell expressing rare bouts of public pessimism about such a big piece of legislation, something he campaigned on himself in his 2014 reelection effort  repealing and replacing Obamacare.

In a Wednesday interview with Reuters, the Republican leader began by telling his interviewers not to bother with questions about the ongoing health-care negotiations. Theres not a whole lot of news to be made on health care, McConnell said, adding later that he was struggling to find a path to getting those 50 votes. I dont know how we get to 50 at the moment. But thats the goal.

[ The Health 202: Senate gets its ticket to ride on the health-care roller coaster ]

Even if he can finesse the divide between his rock-ribbed conservatives and his Republicans from Medicaid-expansion states, McConnell risks blowing up what had been a meticulously crafted coalition in the House, where Ryan won, after weeks of fits and starts, by a two-vote margin.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who has been trying to find common ground, said that the CBO report would probably provide some good news that Senate negotiators could seize on. Those conservative families that voted for Trump need relief from $20,000-a-year premiums, Cassidy said, giving Senate negotiators the chance to exhume parts of the mostly dead-on-arrival bill from the House.

You want to look at different components of it, Cassidy said. It may be that some of it you keep and some of it you discard.

However, the CBO was clinical in its explanation for the lower premiums  because the insurance, on average, would pay for a smaller proportion of health care costs.

That means worse coverage, and many Senate Republicans are wary of passing a law that will stick their working-class voters  many of whom come from regions that voted overwhelmingly for Trump  with deteriorated coverage.

Now Republicans are left to their working groups in the Senate, trying to find the right mix. Veteran Republicans including McCain know that what they need to do is put together a draft piece of legislation where almost all of it is agreed upon, then start getting into the final wheeling and dealing on the last critical details.

Right now theres a lack of cohesion. Now, once they get a base bill, then I think youre going to see a lot of back and forth, McCain said. But so far they havent come up with a piece of legislation to work with.

Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
British investigators searching for clues to the motives and possible accomplices of the suicide bomber who killed at least 22 at a concert in Manchester are increasingly focusing on Libya  and the Islamic States presence here.

Authorities say that Salman Abedi, a British citizen of Libyan descent, spent four weeks in Libya, returning to Manchester days before he carried out Monday nights attack, for which the Islamic State asserted responsibility. His brother, Hashem Abedi, was arrested in the capital, Tripoli, on Tuesday on suspicion of having ties to the group, and authorities say he was planning an attack in this Mediterranean city.

The focus on Libya comes as the Islamic State branch here has fragmented into smaller groups, spreading across the nation and into neighboring nations.

Investigators are trying to find out whether a network of plotters extended all the way to Libya. Did anyone help Salman Abedi build the bomb, and did he receive other assistance from Islamic State cells or operatives in Libya?

But pursuing leads in this fractured North African nation is rife with obstacles. Rival militias control different regions, even enclaves within the capital, as a civil war spreads economic and political instability across the country. Three governments are competing for authority  the one recognized by Western powers and the United Nations wields no influence in the east. Even government bodies, including those dealing with law enforcement, are plagued by competing factions.

1 of 25 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos of the scene after an explosion in Manchester, England View Photos Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert. Caption Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert. May 23, 2017 Police cordon off the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Andy Rain/European Pressphoto Agency Wait 1 second to continue.

[Manchester probe expands to Germany amid raids, arrests in Britain]

For instance, Hashem Abedi, as well as the brothers father, Ramadan Abedi, were arrested by a counterterrorism militia affiliated with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. But human rights groups have accused the force of abusing prisoners, potentially raising questions about suspects confessions.

Meanwhile, security services in Manchester carried out raids Thursday and arrested two male suspects, bringing to eight the number in British custody who are suspected of involvement in the attack.

A German security official told The Washington Post that Salman Abedi, 22, had transited through Dusseldorf just four days before the bombing. The development signaled an expansion of the investigation.

But after six years of civil conflict and a revolving door of political and military players, it is also unclear whether Britain and its Western allies have reliable contacts and sources to help with the probe in Libya. Every Western embassy in Tripoli has been closed for at least two years, except for Italys, which reopened only this year.

Several other extremist groups also operate in Libya, among them al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the terror networks North Africa branch. All have skilled bombmakers and experts in weapons and militant training.

The Islamic State itself is in flux. If anything, the carnage in Manchester underscores the lingering potency of the group in Libya, despite recent setbacks to its operations and its ambitions  provided its suspected links to the brothers prove to be true.

[Trump calls for investigation of U.S. leaks in Manchester bomb probe]

They used to be in Sirte, and so we knew their location, said Badra Gaaloul, a military analyst who heads the Tunisia-based International Center of Strategic, Security and Military Studies, referring to the Islamic States former Libyan stronghold.

Now they are everywhere, and its incredibly hard to detect them and target them, she said.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, emerged in Libya after the 2011 revolution, part of the Arab Spring uprisings, when NATO airstrikes helped oust dictator Moammar Gaddafi, who was subsequently killed by rebels. Seizing advantage of the instability, tribal rivalries and an abundance of weapons in the country, the Islamic State in Libya became the groups strongest branch outside the Middle East.

In early 2015, its fighters entered Sirte, a coastal city that is Gaddafis birthplace and where he was killed. By the summer, the group controlled Sirte, nestled in the countrys lucrative petroleum crescent, the heart of much of its oil and gas reserves.

In Sirte, the Islamic State ruled through fear and brutality, mirroring the groups counterparts in Syria and Iraq. But it also sought to create a government, an effort to extend its self-proclaimed caliphate into Libya. Under pressure in the Middle East, the group saw Sirte as a possible substitute capital, particularly if its Syrian haven of Raqqa fell.

But last summer, pro-government militias laid siege to Sirte. Backed by U.S. airstrikes, they drove the Islamic State out of Sirte. While many militants died, hundreds of others escaped from the city, according to security officials and military analysts.

[A Tunisian family torn apart by ISIS]

Today, the Islamic State is diminished in size but remains a major concern.

In March, Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of the Pentagons Africa Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that instability in Libya and North Africa may be the most significant near-term threat to the interests of the United States and its allies in Africa.

He said that while the Islamic State has left Sirte, its fighters are gathered in small numbers and are regrouping. The Islamic State in Libya, he added, remains a regional threat with intent to target U.S. persons and interests.

According to U.S. military and intelligence officials and regional analysts, many Islamic State militants have fled to southern Libya and are believed to be regrouping there.

Others have crossed the southern border into Niger, perhaps heading to Nigeria, Mali or Chad to join other militant groups aligned with the Islamic State, such as northern Nigerias Boko Haram, said Claudia Gazzini, a senior Libya analyst for the International Crisis Group.

My sense is that they are transiting through the south and going out, said Gazzini, who recently visited southern Libya.

Other fighters have crossed into Tunisia or have joined al-Qaeda and other militant groups, said Gaaloul, the military analyst in Tunisia. The Islamic State in Libya, she said, is more dangerous than ever because many fighters have scattered and are moving under the radar in Tripoli and other parts of the country.

Now, I dont know who is an ISIS fighter, Gaaloul said. They have strength and power in hiding themselves. They can pose as civilians. And [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has given them the freedom to become lone wolves. Hes told them, If you have the opportunity to attack our enemies, do it. 





Read more:

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President Trump on Thursday denounced U.S. leaks about Britains investigation of the Manchester terrorist bombing as deeply troubling and asked the Justice Department and other agencies to launch a full investigation.

Leaks from the ongoing probe  including the publication of crime-scene photos in the New York Times and the naming of the suspected bomber by U.S. broadcasters  have provoked ire from British officials.

In response to the disclosures, British police investigating the Manchester attack took the highly unusual step of withholding information from U.S. agencies, which they say are responsible for the leaks. But by late Thursday evening, police said they had resumed intelligence sharing following fresh assurances.

British authorities have not said that the leaks have hurt the investigation into the worst terrorist attack in Britain in more than a decade  22 people died and 116 were injured Monday evening after a bomb exploded at the conclusion of a pop concert in Manchester.

But some commentators have suggested that publishing the name of the suspected bomber could have compromised the investigation. Withholding the name longer could have allowed authorities to track down people who may have since taken evasive action, they said.

A police officer stands on duty outside a residential property in Manchester on Thursday as investigations continued into Mondays bombing at the Manchester Arena. (Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)

There is also a marked difference in the relationship between the media and the secret intelligence services in the United States and Britain. Here, the culture is more closed, the spy agencies more secretive  it was not until 1986 that the government even officially recognized the existence of MI6. So when leaks such as this occur, it is a big deal.

May said Thursday morning she would make clear to Trump during the NATO summit that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.

May later had a tete-a-tete with Trump while they were waiting for a photograph to be taken. Her spokesman said she told Trump that U.S.-British information sharing was hugely important but should be safeguarded.

John Lloyd, a media commentator, said the outrage should also be viewed in the context of Britains upcoming election. The election may account for some of the grandstanding, he said.

Without an election in the offing  Britons go to the polls June 8  some politicians may have voiced their frustration behind closed doors, he said.

In a statement issued amid meetings in Brussels with leaders of NATO member nations, Trump responded to British indignation by vowing to get to the bottom of this.

The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, he said.

1 of 25 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos of the scene after an explosion in Manchester, England View Photos Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert. Caption Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert. May 23, 2017 Police cordon off the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Andy Rain/European Pressphoto Agency Wait 1 second to continue.

Earlier Thursday in Brussels, Trump twice declined to answer a reporters questions about the leak controversy and British intelligence sharing. In a photo opportunity ahead of a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump simply stared at his questioner and mouthed the words, Thank you. He said the same thing when asked whether his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, should cooperate with U.S. investigations of contacts with Russian officials.

[Bombing probe expands to Germany amid raids, arrests in Britain]

Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said in a statement Thursday that the leaks published by the New York Times have caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.

British police chiefs across the country have also criticized the leaks in a highly unusual statement.

The National Police Chiefs Council said that unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a counterterrorism investigation undermines our investigations.

On Wednesday morning, Amber Rudd, Britains home secretary, said the leaks in the U.S. media were irritating and should not happen again.

Hours later, the New York Times published detailed forensic photographs from the crime scene that showed, among other things, fragments of a blue backpack that may have contained the assailants bomb. They also included a graphic of the area where the bomb exploded, pinpointing where the victims bodies were found.

[Investigators face challenges as Libya becomes a key focus of bombing probe]

The New York Times on Thursday defended its reporting, saying in an emailed statement that the images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes.

We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories, the paper said. Our coverage of Mondays heinous attack has been both comprehensive and responsible.

The growing frustration of British officials comes as allies are already smarting from Trumps disclosure of classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador about an Islamic State threat.

Everyone is very angry, said Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.

Referring to Rudds remarks, he said that the Five Eyes relationship is crucial to U.K. intelligence and security, and for her to openly say how unhappy she is about this shows you how angry people are. He noted that Rudds use of the word irritating should be viewed through the lens of the British fondness for understatement.

Britain and the United States are members of the Five Eyes group (which also includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand) that allows close intelligence sharing.

But the overall transatlantic intelligence-sharing relationship will endure, he said, because they need each other  the links are far too tight to be broken.

At a lower level, however, there could be an erosion of trust. If Im a cop in Manchester, I may first think, Do I want this to go to everybody? if Im wanting operational integrity, Pantucci said.

This is not the first time that operational details in an ongoing investigation have come out in the United States.

Days after the London transit bombings in 2005, for instance, images of bomb components and the inside of a subway car were leaked in U.S. media.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he complained to acting U.S. ambassador Lewis Lukens that the leaks were undermining the investigation.

These leaks are completely unacceptable and must stop immediately, he said. This behavior is arrogant and is undermining the investigation into the horrific attack on the city of Manchester.

Lukens also condemned the leaks, telling the BBC that the messages coming out of Britain were loud and clear.

In Washington, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that he shares Trumps deep concern and has talked to the British home secretary about the matter. These leaks cannot be tolerated, and we will make every effort to put an end to it, he said. We have already initiated appropriate steps to address these rampant leaks that undermine our national security.

William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more:

Three seconds of silence, then a scream: How the Manchester suicide attack unfolded

The Manchester attack was exactly what many had long feared

Evil losers: Trump joins world leaders in condemning Manchester terrorist attack

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Researchers have discovered an extensive international hacking campaign that steals documents from its targets, carefully modifies them and repackages them as disinformation aimed at undermining civil society and democratic institutions, according to a study released Thursday.

The investigators say the campaign shows clear signs of a Russian link.

Although the study by the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto does not demonstrate a direct tie to the Kremlin, it suggests that the attackers are aiming to discredit the Kremlins opponents. The report also demonstrates overlap with cyberattacks used in the U.S. and French presidential elections, which American and European intelligence agencies and cybersecurity companies have attributed to hacking groups affiliated with the Russian government.

The campaign has targeted more than 200 government officials, military leaders and diplomats from 39 countries, as well as journalists, activists, a former Russian prime minister and a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, according to the report. The attackers seek to hack into email accounts using phishing techniques, steal documents and slightly alter them while retaining the appearance of authenticity. These forgeries, which the researchers have dubbed tainted leaks, are then released along with unaltered documents and publicized as legitimate leaks.

Tainted leaks plant fakes in a forest of facts in an attempt to make them credible by association with genuine, stolen documents, said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab. Tainted leaks are a clever and concerning tool for spreading falsehoods. We expect to see many more of them in the future.

(Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto)

The study details the hack in October of the email log-in details of David Satter, a renowned Kremlin critic who in 2016 published a book that links Putins rise to power with a series of deadly apartment bombings in Russia in 1999.

Hackers were able to access Satters emails when he clicked on what appeared to be a legitimate link, an attack that the study found to be technically similar to the 2016 breach of the email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clintons campaign chairman.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russian intelligence agencies carried out hacks against the Democratic Party on Putins orders, which the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.

In studying Satters case, the Citizen Lab investigators developed a technique to identify the other phishing links that were being sent as part of the same operation.

[ Declassified report says Putin ordered effort to undermine U.S. election and help Trump ]

The study describes how the pro-Russian hacking group CyberBerkut posted Satters emails, some of them carefully altered to create a false narrative of a U.S. government plot to plant negative articles about Putins regime in the Russian media. These forgeries were then reported by Russias state news agency as evidence of a CIA plot to support a color revolution in Russia.

The narrative supports a consistent theme of pro-Putin media: that Russia suffers not because of its leaderships refusal to loosen its grip on power, but because of constant meddling in Russian affairs by the United States and its European proxies.

The motivations behind Russian cyberespionage are as much about securing Putins kleptocracy as they are geopolitical competition, said Ronald Deibert, professor of political science and director of the Citizen Lab. This means journalists, activists and opposition figures  both domestically and abroad  bear a disproportionate burden of their targeting.

Mark Galeotti, who studies Russias power structures as a senior research fellow at the Institute of International Relations Prague, called the use of tainted leaks a step forward in Russias use of hacking as a weapon of political subversion.

In the case of the [Democratic National Committee] hacks, they leaked secret but real messages, Galeotti said.

Galeotti said that tainted leaks are more likely to be used for domestic consumption, where the Kremlin is starting to feel the pressure from scattered, grass-roots protests, epitomized by the anti-corruption campaign of Alexei Navalny.

While were not talking about the kind of critical mass likely to pose a challenge to Putins carefully orchestrated reelection in 2018, there is clearly a growing, generalized dissatisfaction across the country, Galeotti said. The attempts to paint Navalny and other critics as pawns of Western subversion suggest a degree of worry, even desperation.

Read more

Putin denies that Russia hacked the DNC but says it was a good idea

Russias Putin blames U.S. spies for global hacking wave

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Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert.

Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert.

Many fatalities and injuries were reported after the incident at an Ariana Grande concert.

Salman Abedis acquaintances were stunned to learn that he was the man believed to have carried out a suicide bombing at a concert hall this week, killing 22 people. But there were signs that he was troubled  and he was not the only one in his family who caused concern, friends and officials said Wednesday.

Salmans 20-year-old brother Hashem was arrested in Libya late Tuesday night, according to officials there, who said the young man told authorities that he had been involved in planning the attack on the concert hall in Manchester. British and other European security officials said they did not believe that Salman Abedi, 22, would have been able to build the explosive device used in Manchester by himself, and they worry that a professional bombmaker may still be at large.

[Armed troops guard Buckingham Palace and other London landmarks after Manchester attack]

In the Libyan-British community in southern Manchester where Salman Abedi lived, he was known as a university dropout and loner, acquaintances said. Abedi was born in Britain to parents who had fled Libya during the four-decade dictatorship of Moammar Gaddafi, and moved back to their homeland several years ago, after the Libyan leader was killed.

Residents described Abedi as an awkward young man and an isolated, dark figure who talked to few people and traveled back and forth between Britain and Libya.

(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Abedis father, Ramadan, asked two of his sons to move from Britain to Libya several weeks ago, said a friend of the family who last spoke to the father on Tuesday.

The father said he was afraid that something would go wrong if they stayed in Britain, said the friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons. The friend did not describe the nature of the fathers concerns.

But the friend said Salman and his brother Hashem had changed after another youth  an 18-year-old Manchester resident also of Libyan descent  was killed in the northern British city a year ago. That teenager, Abdulwahab Hafidah, was stabbed in the neck in what local media reports called retaliation for his having gone into rival gang territory.

It became a big source of anger for the youngsters in the Libyan community. Salman and Hashem saw it as an act of anti-Muslim hate crime; they called him a martyr, the family friend said. Hashem Abedi appeared to have known Hafidah.

Members of the Libyan immigrant community reported to local authorities more than a year ago that they feared Salman Abedi was turning increasingly radical, two friends of the family said. British security authorities have acknowledged that they were aware of Abedi but said that he was not considered a major terrorism risk.

Ramadan Abedi told the Associated Press early Wednesday that he believed his son was innocent. Last time I spoke to him, he sounded normal, the father said in a telephone interview from Libya.

Still, Abedi and his wife took away their sons passport upon his arrival recently in Libya, where both brothers were supposed to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Libyan authorities said, citing testimony by Hashem Abedi.





The young mens mother returned the travel document about one week ago when Salman told his parents he wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia to prepare a pilgrimage to Mecca, according to one family friend and a Libyan official.

But he was lying, said Ahmed Dagdoug, a spokesman for the Libyan counterterrorism Reda Force, which is aligned with the Libyan government that is recognized by the United Nations.

Instead of going to Saudi Arabia, Abedi flew back to Britain, where he is suspected of carrying out the worst terrorist attack on British soil since the London bombings in 2005.

[The Manchester attack was exactly what many had long feared]

Authorities worry that Abedi might be part of a network of terrorists, many of whom may remain at large. Abedi appears not intelligent enough to have built this bomb himself. Thats why there are concerns that a bombmaker is still out there, said a European security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

Investigators are also still trying to determine whether Abedi received support from family members. Libyan authorities arrested Hashem Abedi, alleging that he was aware in advance of the Manchester bombing plot and was also planning an attack in Tripoli. His father, who had been working for the Libyan police force in recent years, according to an official, was also detained on Wednesday, although it was not clear on what grounds.

Hashem helped Salman prepare for the attack, Dagdoug said. He had the same ideology as his brother.

Dagdoug said he didnt know precisely how Hashem assisted his brother. But Hashem told interrogators that we knew what we were doing, Libyan officials said.

Salman Abedi appeared to leave few traces of his life on social media, but there are indications that his younger brother may have been attracted to extremism. In 2014, Hashem joked on Facebook about joining a militant group, commenting on the photo of a young British jihadist who had left for the war in Syria: Inshallah [God willing] we go together. The younger brothers Facebook profile revealed other signs that he had an interest in the Islamic State, which has asserted responsibility for the Manchester attack.

[In suburban Manchester, a search for what might have motivated the attacker]

Although British authorities asked members of Salman Abedis southern Manchester community not to speak to the media, people who knew the family said on Wednesday that Abedi cared for his parents. He really liked them, said Mohammad Fadi, 25, standing in front of the mosque where the family had worshiped.

Salman Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994. His father sometimes led the call to prayer at the local mosque, the Manchester Islamic Center, and his older brother, Ismail, sometimes volunteered there. Ismail has also been taken into custody since the attack.

When the parents moved back to Libya a few years ago, their sons stayed behind in Manchester.

Salman Abedi studied briefly at Salford University, in Manchester, but wound up dropping out.

Salman was rarely seen there by other students, said community member Fadi.

At the mosque that the Abedi family attended, no one spoke in favor of the attack.

This act of cowardice has no place in our religion, said Fawzi Haffar, a trustee at the center.

Raghavan reported from Tripoli. Isaac Stanley-Becker in Manchester contributed to this report.

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An Iraqi military armored vehicle patrols a street near the front line in the old city of Mosul on May 24, 2017. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)

The Iraqi government said it has begun an investigation into one of its elite police units amid allegations that security forces have committed human rights abuses, including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings, in the battle to retake Mosul from Islamic State militants.

The inquiry comes after the German magazine Der Spiegel published a report by Iraqi photojournalist Ali Arkady this week detailing abuses allegedly committed by the Interior Ministrys emergency response division. On Thursday, ABC television broadcast footage recorded by Arkady, who had been embedded with that unit.

One video broadcast by ABC and carrying a warning of graphic content shows a blindfolded man balanced on a stool in the middle of a room, his arms bound and fastened to the ceiling. A man in military uniform kicks the stool away, leaving the blindfolded man hanging and whimpering.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that it would investigate the matter clearly and impartially and take legal action in accordance with the laws. The emergency response division said the report was fabricated.

In a video posted online, the division accuses Arkady of stealing cameras from a public affairs soldier and says he is wanted by Iraqi authorities.

Arkadys allegations prompt concerns about whether the United States is doing enough to vet the forces with which it is partnering in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq. Arkady said he witnessed the abuses late last year, around the time the U.S.-led coalition expanded its advise-and-assist mission to work closely with Iraqi Interior Ministry forces  including the emergency response division  on planning operations and in providing air support.

However, as they are not directly armed or trained by the United States, the emergency response division forces are unlikely to be covered by the Leahy Law, which prohibits the United States from providing military assistance to units that carry out human rights abuses with impunity.

While the Coalition cannot confirm the veracity of these allegations, any violation of the law of armed conflict would be unacceptable and should be investigated in a transparent manner, Army Col. Joseph Scrocca, a spokesman for the coalition, said in an email. Those deemed responsible are held accountable in accordance with due process and Iraqi law.

Arkady said he had initially set out to document the heroic actions of the unit as it fought to wrest control of Mosul from the Islamic State, following two officers  one Sunni and the other Shiite  to counter the narrative of sectarianism in the Iraqi armed forces and show they were liberators not destroyers.

Mosul is a majority-Sunni city, and the Shiite-dominated Iraqi military has tried to showcase the lengths to which it has gone to avoid any sectarian strife.

Arkady said, however, that he found himself documenting what could amount to war crimes. In his account in Der Spiegel, he said he later saw the body of one of the men he had seen being tortured in the headquarters of the units intelligence department. Detainees were accused of having links to the Islamic State or of having pledged allegiance to the group.

Arkady, who has received threats, has fled Iraq.

In a bid to refute Arkadys allegations, the emergency response division released a video showing soldiers revisiting a man who they say was featured in one of Arkadys videos, to prove that he is still alive  although he is not one of the people Arkady alleges were killed.

Morris reported from Beirut.

Read more:

Away from Iraqs front lines, the Islamic State is creeping back in

Final stages of Mosul battle will be extremely violent, U.S. commander says

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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In some ways, Rachel Lee Brand followed a traditional path toward a high-ranking position in the Justice Department: an internship with her senator, an Ivy League law school, a Supreme Court clerkship, a legal job in the White House.

But Brands journey to becoming the first woman to serve as associate attorney general, the Justice Departments third-highest-ranking official, had some unconventional features. The daughter and granddaughter of Dutch dairy farmers, she and her three siblings grew up in small-town Iowa. Seven years ago, when she went home to visit her family during the tulip festival in Pella, Brand donned her wooden shoes and joined 2,604 others in the town as it set the Guinness world record for the largest Dutch klompen dance.

Brand, 44, who was confirmed this month, now has to navigate a much more difficult dance as she takes the reins of what is considered by many the most politically challenging job in the Justice Department. As associate attorney general, Brand manages the lawyers who litigate civil rights, environmental and antitrust issues.

Before Brand arrived, Attorney General Jeff Sessions had already sparked controversy with his actions on civil rights issues. He has begun to undo the Justice Departments policy toward transgender students in public schools; unsuccessfully tried to pull back from a sweeping reform agreement the department has with the Baltimore Police Department; ordered officials to review other reform agreements with troubled police forces nationwide; and reversed the Justice Departments position on a voting rights law in Texas that a federal court has found intentionally discriminatory.

[Sessions orders Justice Department to review all police reform agreements]

Brand at her confirmation hearing in March. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

And it is the lawyers in the Justice Departments civil division who are defending President Trumps travel ban, key sections of which have been ordered frozen by the courts. The latest version of ban blocked the issuance of new visas to residents of six Muslim-majority countries and suspended the refugee program.

The challenge of her job is that she is responsible for oversight of some of the most politically difficult issues, said Jamie Gorelick, who served as deputy attorney general under Attorney General Janet Reno and worked with Brand at the WilmerHale law firm. All of the main places where there are differences between Republicans and Democrats reside in the civil litigation divisions. I think Rachel is well prepared  shes very smart and very thoughtful  but thats going to be a very hard job.

In an interview on her third day on the job, Brand said it was too early for her to discuss the high-profile issues she is facing.

Im just delighted to be back, said Brand, who ran the departments Office of Legal Policy under President George W. Bush. I love DOJ. I have a great amount of respect and affection for this institution.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota at Morris in 1995, Brand went to Harvard Law School with an eye toward going into public service. She was a member of the Federalist Society and met future husband Jonathan Cohn, a former Justice Department lawyer, at Harvard when the two attended a Federalist Society student conference. (They have two young sons, both with Dutch names.)

She went on to clerk for Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Charles Fried and then Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

Brand then worked for the firm Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal (now Cooper & Kirk), which is led by former Reagan administration Justice Department official Charles Cooper. Brand tinkered in politics on Elizabeth Doles presidential campaign, and when Bush became president, White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales hired Brand to work for him.

Brand on Capitol Hill in March. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

She moved over to the Justice Department as Bushs assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy, which develops and implements the departments significant policy initiatives. In that position, she led the murder boards, sessions to prepare John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. for their Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

She has deep knowledge of the department, is extremely bright, well organized and a good manager, excellent judgment, said Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor who headed the Office of Legal Counsel when Brand headed legal policy. She is principled, tough-minded and truly thoughtful. I cannot offhand think of someone better for the associate attorney general job.

Brand left the Justice Department in 2007, spent three years at WilmerHale and then became the vice president and chief counsel for regulatory litigation for the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center  a job that drew criticism from Democrats during her confirmation hearing.

She carries a heavily skewed, pro-corporate agenda that would do further harm to the Justice Department and its independence, said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Brand has extensive experience, years of experience, fighting on behalf of the biggest and richest companies in the world.

In response to a question about her work at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), Brand said she had spent most of her career in public service.

When I was at the Chamber of Commerce, I had a client, the Chamber of Commerce, and, as a litigator there, my job was to file lawsuits and file amicus briefs on behalf of that client, Brand said. If Im confirmed to this position, of course, Ill have a very different role. . . . My client will be the United States, and my role will be to serve the public interest and the interest of justice, representing that client as best I can.

President Barack Obama appointed Brand in 2012 to be a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent, bipartisan agency within the White House that advised the president on the privacy and civil liberties implications of the governments surveillance programs.

Shes a top-notch analytic lawyer and really good at figuring out what is the art of the possible, said Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general in the Obama administration who worked with Brand when she was at the Chamber. But the big issue for everyone at the Justice Department right now is how rigorously theyre going to police the rule of law.
Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Jared Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and an influential White House adviser, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and related matters, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Kushner, who held meetings in December with the Russian ambassador and a banker from Moscow, is being investigated because of the extent and nature of his interactions with the Russians, the people said.

The Washington Post reported last week that a senior White House official close to the president was a significant focus of the high-stakes investigation, though it did not name Kushner.

FBI agents also remain keenly interested in former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, but Kushner is the only current White House official known to be considered a key person in the probe.

The Post has not been told that Kushner is a target  or the central focus  of the investigation, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Target is a word that generally refers to someone who is the main suspect of investigators attention, though prosecutors can and do bring charges against people who are not marked with that distinction.

Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry, said Jamie Gorelick, one of his attorneys.

In addition to possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election, investigators are also looking broadly into possible financial crimes  but the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly, did not specify who or what was being examined.

[Russia probe reaches current White House official, people familiar with case say]

Sarah Isgur Flores, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said, I cant confirm or deny the existence or nonexistence of investigations or subjects of investigations. The FBI declined to comment.

At the time of the December meetings, Trump already had won the election. Contacts between people on the transition team and foreign governments can be routine, but the meetings and phone calls with the Russians were not made public at the time.

In early December, Kushner met in New York with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, and he later sent a deputy to meet with Kislyak. Flynn was also present at the early-December meeting, and later that month, Flynn held a call with Kislyak to discuss U.S.-imposed sanctions against Russia. Flynn initially mischaracterized the conversation, even to Vice President Pence  ultimately prompting his ouster from the White House.

Kushner also met in December with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Vnesheconombank, which has been the subject of U.S. sanctions following Russias annexation of Crimea and its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

(Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

In addition to the December meetings, a former senior intelligence official said FBI agents had been looking closely at earlier exchanges between Trump associates and the Russians dating to the spring of 2016, including one at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Kushner and Kislyak  along with close Trump adviser and current attorney general Jeff Sessions  were present at an April 2016 event at the Mayflower where then-candidate Trump promised in a speech to seek better relations with Russia. It is unclear whether Kushner and Kislyak interacted there.

The New York Times reported that Kushner omitted from security-clearance forms his December meetings with Kislyak and Gorkov, though his attorney said that was a mere error and he told the FBI soon after that he would amend the forms. The White House said that his meetings were normal and inconsequential.

Kushner has agreed to discuss his Russian contacts with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting one of several investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

In many ways, Kushner is a unique figure inside the White House.

He is arguably the presidents most trusted adviser, and he is also a close member of the presidents family. His list of policy responsibilities is vast  his foreign policy portfolio alone includes Canada and Mexico, China, and peace in the Middle East  yet he rarely speaks publicly about any of them.

Former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III is now leading the probe into possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, and he has set up shop in the Patrick Henry Building in downtown D.C. Even before he was picked by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to take over the case, investigators had been stepping up their efforts  issuing subpoenas and looking to conduct interviews, people familiar with the matter said.

A small group of lawmakers known as the Gang of Eight was recently notified of the change in tempo and focus in the investigation at a classified briefing.

It is unclear exactly how Muellers leadership will affect the direction of the probe. This week, Justice Department ethics experts cleared him to take over the case even though lawyers at his former firm, WilmerHale, represent several people who could be caught up in the matter, including Kushner, Manafort and Trumps daughter Ivanka, who is married to Kushner.

Mueller resigned from the firm to take over the investigation.

Investigators are continuing to look aggressively into the dealings of Flynn, and a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., recently issued a subpoenas for records related to Flynns businesses and finances, according to people familiar with the matter.

Flynns company, the Flynn Intel Group, was paid more than $500,000 by a company owned by a Turkish American businessman close to top Turkish officials for research on Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who Turkeys president claims was responsible for a coup attempt last summer. Flynn retroactively registered with the Justice Department in March as a paid foreign agent for Turkish interests.

Separately from the probe now run by Mueller, Flynn is being investigated by the Pentagons top watchdog for his foreign payments. Flynn also received $45,000 to appear in 2015 with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a dinner for RT, a Kremlin-controlled media organization.

Read more:

Heres why the FBI is likely to be interested in Jared Kushners meeting with Russians

The investigation of Jared Kushner fits a very troubling pattern
Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not reveal meetings with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance to serve as the nations highest-ranking law enforcement official.

Sessions came under fire earlier this year for not disclosing to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing that, as the senator from Alabama, he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential election when he was also serving as an adviser to the president. In March, Sessions recused himself from investigations related to the 2016 presidential campaign after The Washington Post reported the two meetings.

That same information was omitted from Sessionss security clearance form, which is known as an SF-86, as first reported Wednesday night by CNN.

As a United States senator, the attorney general met hundreds  if not thousands  of foreign dignitaries and their staff, said Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior. In filling out the SF-86 form, the Attorney Generals staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment.

The security clearance form requires anyone applying for a security clearance to list any contact that he or his family had with a foreign government or its representatives over the past seven years.

A Justice official said that in July, a Sessions staffer was helping Sessions fill out the security clearance form because he was being vetted for a possible position in the Trump administration if Trump won the presidency. The staffer asked an FBI employee handling the vetting if he needed to list seven years of contacts that Sessions had with foreign dignitaries and their staff, and he was told no, the Justice official said.

In late November, after the election, the Sessions staffer helped Sessions fill out a new security clearance form, but did not ask the FBI the same question again  and did not list all the contacts.

Another Sessions staffer who went to work at the Justice Department was also told by an FBI investigator that he did not have to list the many meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staffs if it was related to Senate business, the Justice official said.

After Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, Sessions sent out a list of all the ambassadors he met with in 2016. He also amended his Senate testimony and said he spoke briefly with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in July 2016. He said he also spoke with Kislyak in September during a meeting in his Senate office, which included two senior Sessions staffers.

[Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any probe related to 2016 presidential campaign]

At the March 2 press conference where he announced his recusal, Sessions said he talked to Kislyak about a trip he made to Russia in 1991, terrorism and Ukraine. The attorney general said that it got to be a little bit of a testy conversation. The ambassador invited him to lunch, Sessions said, but he did not accept.

When Sessions recused himself, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein was tasked with overseeing the FBI probe. But last week, after calls from lawmakers for a special counsel, Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to take over the investigation as special counsel.

Read more:

Deputy attorney general appoints special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference
It was March 2020, and the world was closing down as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At first, the news of...
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Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions. The Life Sciences segment provides mass spectrometers; flow cytometry, genomics, lab automation, centrifugation, particle counting and characterization; microscopes; genomics consumables; and Gene and Cell Therapy. This segment also offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services; and filtration, separation, and purification technologies to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, medical, and life sciences companies, as well as universities, medical schools and research institutions, and various industrial manufacturers. The Diagnostics segment provides chemistry, immunoassay, microbiology, and automation systems, as well as hematology, molecular, acute care, and pathology diagnostics products. This segment offers clinical instruments, reagents, consumables, software, and services for hospitals, physicians' offices, reference laboratories, and other critical care settings. The Environmental & Applied Solutions segment offers instrumentation, consumables, software, services, and disinfection systems to analyze, treat, and manage ultra-pure, potable, industrial, waste, ground, source, and ocean water in residential, commercial, industrial, and natural resource applications. This segment also provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for various color and appearance management, packaging design and quality management, packaging converting, printing, marking, coding, and traceability applications for consumer, pharmaceutical, and industrial products. The company was formerly known as Diversified Mortgage Investors, Inc. and changed its name to Danaher Corporation in 1984. Danaher Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.
DTE Energy Company engages in the utility operations. The company's Electric segment generates, purchases, distributes, and sells electricity to approximately 2.3 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity through fossil-fuel, hydroelectric pumped storage, and nuclear plants, as well as wind and other renewable assets. This segment owns and operates approximately 698 distribution substations and 449,800 line transformers. The company's Gas segment purchases, stores, transports, distributes, and sells natural gas to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Michigan; and sells storage and transportation capacity. This segment has approximately 20,000 miles of distribution mains; 1,304,000 service pipelines; and 1,305,000 active meters, as well as owns approximately 2,000 miles of transmission pipelines. The company's Power and Industrial Projects segment offers metallurgical coke; pulverized coal and petroleum coke to the steel, pulp and paper, and other industries; and power, steam and chilled water production, and wastewater treatment services, as well as supplies compressed air to industrial customers. Its Energy Trading segment engages in power, natural gas, and environmental marketing and trading; structured transactions; and the optimization of contracted natural gas pipeline transportation and storage positions. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. provides digital payment solutions for businesses to control purchases and make payments. It offers corporate payments solutions, such as accounts payable automation; Virtual Card, which provides a single-use card number for a specific amount usable within a defined timeframe; Cross-Border that is used by its customers to pay international vendors, foreign office and personnel expenses, capital expenditures, and profit repatriation and dividends; and purchasing cards and travel and entertainment cards for its customers to analyze and manage their corporate spending. The company also provides employee expense management solutions, including fuel solutions to businesses and government entities that operate vehicle fleets, as well as to oil and leasing companies, and fuel marketers; lodging solutions to businesses that have employees who travel overnight for work purposes, as well as to airlines and cruise lines to accommodate traveling crews and stranded passengers; and electronic toll payments solutions to businesses and consumers in the form of radio frequency identification tags affixed to vehicles' windshields. In addition, it offers gift card program management and processing services in plastic and digital forms that include card design, production and packaging, delivery and fulfillment, card and account management, transaction processing, promotion development and management, website design and hosting, program analytics, and card distribution channel management. Further, it provides other products consisting of payroll cards, vehicle maintenance service solution, long-haul transportation solution, prepaid food vouchers or cards, and prepaid transportation cards and vouchers. The company serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers in North America, Brazil, and Internationally. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
On Wednesday, newly-elected President Emmanuel Macrons administration seized on the May 22 terror attack in Manchester to announce the prolongation of Frances state of emergency, imposed after the 2015 Paris attacks, through November 1. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the move after a Defense Council meeting at the Elysee presidential palace. The state of emergency was supposed to lapse on July 15.

Since Macrons inauguration on May 17, his administration was looking for a way to prolong the state of emergency. Such a measure had been discussed during the presidential election, especially after the attack that killed a police officer on the Champs-Elysees, three days before the first round. We are in a state of emergency that will not be lifted for a long time, declared right-wing candidate Francois Fillon, whom Macron did not contradict. Fillon went on to call for a Macron vote in the second round.

This extension will be limited to the time needed to examine a bill to inscribe in legislation the last measures to reinforce the existing legal arsenal, Philippe said Wednesday. That is, the state of emergency and its suspension of fundamental democratic rights will be replaced by permanent measures of the same kind, which will be inscribed in the constitution or in law, so the state can use them routinely and permanently.

The government also announced the creation of a task force answerable to the president, which Macron repeatedly said was one of his key security policies during the campaign. This is a type of permanent general staff inside the executive, with unspecified powers, and including dozens of members from the intelligence services, the police and the army, whose stated task will be to coordinate the security and intelligence services.

Over the past year and a half, it has become abundantly clear that the state of emergency is aimed mainly at social opposition to government austerity policies, particularly the anti-worker labor law of previous Socialist Party (PS) President Francois Hollande. The state of emergency has given police vast powers that it used to brutally repress the resistance of workers and youth and to impose the labor law. The Macron government is pledged to impose deep structural reforms amounting to a social counterrevolution. It is expecting broad and strong opposition from the workers.

Macron announced Tuesday one of his governments main measures, the strengthening of the labor law, was to be imposed by decree in the coming weeks. These measures will give more power to employers, dividing workers by negotiating contracts at the level of individual firms, and undermining social rights gained over decades of struggle, including against fascism during the Nazi Occupation and the Vichy regime. The trade unions will have broad powers to determine the scope of these changes.

Macron is leading a government with an extremely narrow social base, which is terrified of a sudden shift in public opinion against it. Many of those who voted for Macron did so only to prevent his opponent, neo-fascist candidate Marine Le Pen, from coming to power. His much-vaunted moralization of public life is already under fire, after the satirical weekly Le Canard enchaine reported yesterday on financial deals made by Territorial Cohesion Minister Richard Ferrand.

The government was rapidly placed on the defensive, with its spokespeople declaring that the actions of Ferrand, who as general director of insurance policies in Brittany oversaw real estate transactions favorable to his family, were not illegal. Le Parisien cited government spokesman Christophe Castaner as saying: Ferrand is worried of the incorrect reading that would be made of the story before it was published.

To carry out its attacks, the Macron government is relying essentially on the security forces and the trade unions. The meetings he organized with trade union leaders on Tuesday at the Elysee presidential palace showed he can rely on them. The Stalinist General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the PS-linked French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT) and Workers Force (FO) all signaled they would not oppose his plans. The unions tacitly accepted that Macron would impose his policies by decree.

I believe that he is in agreement with me on the time table for talks.  This is a pretty good thing, because that will allow us to continue the debate we had last year on the PS labor law, said CGT leader Philippe Martinez after his meeting with Macron. He added, Going onto the streets?  We will be there when schools open and the protest season starts, that is, once the decrees have been passed.

Everything depends on the way Emmanuel Macron goes about making his decrees. The CFDT hopes that the legislative phase, whatever its form, will be preceded by a dialogue phase, CFDT Assistant Secretary-General Veronique Descacq told France Inter radio.

FO General Secretary Jean-Claude Mailly declared, There will be negotiations this summer, but one doesnt solve certain problems in three meetings  or else everything gets blocked. I do not have the feeling that the president wants a blockage. Mailly added, I felt that, a priori, he has room for maneuver. Mailly in fact has close ties to the new government, as Labor Minister Muriel Penicaud recruited Stephane Lardy, a former close aide to Mailly, as an advisor.

In exchange, one of Macrons plans for the trade unions is to have them funded directly and openly by the employers. In his book Revolution, he speaks of a clear financing mechanism, where workers orient financial resources provided by the firm to the trade union of their choice. This measure goes essentially in the same direction as the plan of Marine Le Pen, inspired by Vichy-era practices, of having the trade unions financed directly by the state.

With the complicity of the trade union bureaucracies, the Macron government is preparing unprecedented attacks on the working class, first with the state of emergency and then by attacking fundamental constitutional rights like the right to strike, to protest, to free movement, and free expression, including proposals to censor the internet.
The New South Wales (NSW) Coroners findings and recommendations on the December 2014 Sydney cafe siege, released yesterday, have left unanswered all the critical questions about the globally-publicised event.

The Lindt cafe siege, which ended with the deaths of two hostages, cafe manager Tori Johnson and lawyer Katrina Dawson, as well as the hostage-taker, Man Haron Monis, had remarkable parallels with similar incidents labeled as terrorist around the world, including this weeks Manchester bombing.

First and foremost, it was perpetrated by a mentally-disturbed individual, who had long been under close surveillance by police and intelligence agencies

Secondly, as the coroners report admits, Monis, who claimed to be acting in the name of ISIS, had no links to any terrorist group. He was, according to the coroner, a delusional and obsessional man, with a history of psychiatric examinations for mental health problems. Far from a secretive terrorist, he had conducted public protests since 2000, usually railing against Australias prominent role in criminal US-led wars throughout the Middle East.

Moreover, Monis had been known by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the countrys primary political surveillance agency, since at least 1996. As confirmed by the coroners report, ASIO assisted the Iranian-born man to obtain a refugee visa in 2000, after he claimed to have had high-level contact with the CIA. Later, despite facing serious criminal charges, including conspiracy to murder, Monis was, extraordinarily, released on bail.

Significantly, the coroners report is heavily redacted, on the grounds of national security, which means that no public scrutiny of police and ASIO connections with Monis is possible. At the same time, members of the public, even the families of the hostages, were excluded from those closed-door sessions of the inquest that reviewed ASIOs role. A classified version of the chapter on ASIO is being kept secret. The published version concedes that: Monis remained on ASIOs radar and was susceptible to ASIO scrutiny if and when required.

According to the coroners report, ASIOs responses to Monis were proportionate, even after Monis wrote to senior politicians, including Attorney-General George Brandis, asking how to contact ISIS and announced, via social media, his allegiance to ISIS. Likewise excused was ASIOs failure to review efforts by members of the public to raise alarms about Moniss conduct. Between December 9 and 12 alone, 18 calls were made to the National Security Hotline to report Moniss on-line postings, only to be brushed off by ASIO.

These and many other apparent flaws in police and ASIO responses are implausibly attributed to mistakes, such as logging deficiencies or lack of communications.

Likewise, the inquest report leaves unexplained misleading official statements, made during the siege, by police commanders and then NSW Premier Mike Baird, that world class negotiators were engaged with Monis.

In reality, there were no direct talks with Monis. He refused to talk to the police, but made frantic offers, via the hostages themselves, to release some of his captives if he were given time on radio to explain his grievances, or to have an on-air conversation with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, or to be given an ISIS flag. Later, increasingly agitated by the rejection of his demands, Monis asked for the street lights outside the cafe to be turned off.

At least eight desperate phone calls, made by the hostages to a number they were told would connect with police negotiators, went unanswered. An unknown number of their calls were diverted to other police numbers.

None of Moniss limited demands, which were suppressed by the media under police orders, was negotiated. The police also rejected offers of mediation from people who knew Monis, including his previous lawyers and prominent Muslims.

The only justification offered by the inquest report is that the National Counter Terrorism Plan 2012, adopted up by all federal and state governments, prohibited concessions to terrorists.

Despite it being entirely appropriate not to accede to Moniss demands, the coroner suggests that some of Moniss demands could have been explored, to ease his rising anger and frustration. The coroner also concludes there was no evidence that Monis initially intended to kill any hostages.

All the evidence indicates that the lack of negotiations was not a mistake or due to incompetence, but a decision taken at top levels of the state apparatus and government. From the outset, the police Emergency Action plan was based on armed intervention in the event of death or serious injury.

There is every indication that neither the state nor federal government wanted the siege to end quietly, with Monis simply arrested. Such an outcome would have called into question the large-scale anti-terror operation that had been immediately set in motion. It would also have led to a criminal trial, in which the unstable Monis could have revealed details of his ongoing relations with ASIO and the police.

Above all, the coroners report covers up any examination of how and why the federal and state Liberal-National governments, backed by the Labor Party and the corporate media, exploited the cafe siege to proclaim that Australia had entered the age of terrorism.

From the beginning, the 16-hour siege was carried out, not as a police operation to deal with a deranged individual, but as a nationwide terrorist emergency.

Within half an hour of the siege commencing, the federal government had convened its cabinets national security committee, involving senior ministers, intelligence, police and military officials, which met a further two times during the course of the day. Police and military forces were mobilised across the country.

The coroners report makes no examination of this high-level political involvement.

With the complicity of the media, the population was subjected to a barrage of newspaper, television and radio coverage, falsely portraying the incident as a full-scale terrorist attack. These lies were taken up around the word, notably by the Obama administration, whose secretary of state, John Kerry, declared the siege showed why the US was engaged militarily in more places with more partners than ever before.

As with other alleged terrorist attacks, the Sydney siege was used to stoke fears of terrorism, provide pretexts for the ever-greater expansion of police, spy and military powers and justify Australian involvement in escalating US-led military aggression.

The incident came at a critical political juncture. It followed the federal governments decision to send Australian military forces to the latest US-led war in the Middle East and the introduction of a swathe of new anti-terrorist laws, handing further unprecedented powers to the police and spy agencies.

Today, supposedly in response to the coroners findings, the ruling class is demanding even greater police-state measures, including the power to mobilise troops onto the streets, as the British government has done under the cover of the Manchester bombing. As well, calls are being made for more explicit shoot to kill powers for police, harsh bail laws and more restrictive visa rules.

An editorial today in Murdochs Australian, after embracing the reports line of a cascading series of institutional and operational errors, seizes on the coroners finding that the police waited too long before storming the cafe. Violent police action should not be a last resort, it insisted.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has quickly foreshadowed the imminent release of a review into the countrys already considerable military callout powers. Last week, he also indicated preparations to send more military forces to the Middle East, at the request of the Trump administration.

The author also recommends:

The Sydney siege: Official lies and contradictions

[27 December 2014]

Australia: One year after the Sydney siege, the cover-up continues

[28 December 2015]

The lies surrounding the Sydney siege unravel

[15 June 2016]
Seven times in 16 years Tommy Arthur has had his execution delayed. As he prepares for what could be his final appointment with the death chamber, he tells Ed Pilkington about a grisly  and traumatic  cycle

At 6pm on Thursday, barring intervention by Alabamas governor or the courts, Arthur will be pumped with medical drugs until he dies. Photograph: Dave Martin/AP

Tommy Arthur is caught in a ghoulish production of Groundhog Day. Seven times over the past 16 years he has been scheduled to be put to death in Alabama, and seven times the courts have delayed the execution, most recently in November just minutes before he was strapped to the gurney.

Now Arthur, 75, finds himself once again caught in this grisly cycle, with only hours to go before his eighth and possibly final appointment with the death chamber. At 6pm on Thursday, barring intervention by Alabamas governor or the courts, he will be pumped with medical drugs until he dies.

To come so close to being killed by the state is extraordinary on any occasion, but eight times? How has he endured repeated execution dates in 2001, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016 and now 25 May 2017?

Its a question of mind over matter, Arthur said in a phone interview from death row in Alabamas Holman correctional facility. You can either let a stressful situation break you so you cant breathe, or you hold on to hope and use your every waking moment to fight.

By this late point in the process, most condemned inmates would be ordering their final meal. Not Arthur. I dont believe in that last meal baloney  I never have the appetite. When theyre trying to kill you, youre not hungry.

Other condemned prisoners at this stage would also be consoling themselves with a stream of visits from their loved ones. Not Arthur. He gave up having visitors after the sixth scheduled execution as the stress on both him and them was too much.

It almost killed my eldest daughter, Sherrie, he said. She came to six execution dates, and the stress of her father about to be killed was so traumatic it damaged her heart, she almost lost her business and home. So I told her to disconnect, I didnt want her coming any more. She didnt come to the seventh, and she wont be coming to this one.

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Tommy Arthur has spent the past 34 years on death row. Photograph: AP

Tommy Arthur is one of the longest serving capital prisoners in the US. He has spent the past 34 years on death row, 25 of those in the same 5ft by 8ft cell from which he emerges only briefly every other day to take a shower. He has a vivid way of describing his living conditions: You couldnt put a baboon in this cell, theyd shut the zoo down.

Arthur was sentenced to death for the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker. The state accused him of carrying out a contract killing at the behest of Wickers wife Judy, with whom Arthur had been having an affair; Judy Wicker was prosecuted separately and given life imprisonment.

At the time of the murder, Arthur was out of prison on work release, having served five years of a life sentence for the second-degree murder of Eloise West, the sister of his common-law wife. He pleaded guilty to that unpremeditated killing, though he insisted it was an accident fueled by alcohol.

By contrast, he has always claimed innocence in the murder of Troy Wicker. Over the years he has been deeply involved in pursuing his legal appeals, and speaks of his own case with striking fluency and command of detail.

He points out that at her own trial Judy Wicker testified that the murderer was a burglar in her home who had beaten her up and raped her before killing her husband. It was only five years later, after she had been offered a deal to change her evidence that would see her get out of prison after serving only 10 years, that she pointed the finger at Arthur.

His lawyer, Suhana Han, emphasised the weakness of the prosecution case against him. Neither a fingerprint or a weapon, nor any other physical evidence connects Arthur to the murder of Troy Wicker, she told the Guardian.

The prisoner and his legal team have been pushing for the latest DNA testing technology to be applied to crime scene materials, though the courts have rebuffed their requests and crucial evidence has gone missing. A rape kit taken from Judy Wicker at the time of the murder was lost or destroyed years ago, the state claims, while hairs found near the victims body and in a wig presumed to have been used by the killer have not been subjected to the most sophisticated forensic techniques.

Arthur has sent a handwritten letter to Alabamas governor, Kay Ivey, pleading with her, so far without reply: Please Governor Ivey, dont kill me with this evidence never being DNA-tested, he wrote.

Perhaps the best remaining hope for the condemned man is that the US supreme court will once again step in and postpone the execution. His lawyers have an emergency motion before the 11th circuit court of appeals relating to the sedative midazolam that has been used in several botched executions in modern times.

Midazolam was deployed in the most recent Alabama execution of Ron Smith in December, when the inmate heaved and coughed for 13 minutes. The motion argues that were the state to go ahead and use midazolam again on Thursday, despite what happened to Smith, it would be guilty of intentionally inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on Arthur, banned under the US constitution.

As Thursdays deadline approaches, Tommy Arthurs room for manoeuvre closes. Asked how he was preparing for the possibility that this time he might actually be executed, he said he had only one wish: to be allowed to issue a public apology to his children. I failed them as a father, and Im so sorry for that, he said.

As it happens, he will be able to deliver that message in person to Sherrie. A few hours after the phone interview with Arthur had ended, a member of his legal team contacted the Guardian to say that there had been a change of plan: his eldest daughter had decided that despite the trauma she wanted to be present  she will be by his side should his eighth summons to the death chamber turn out to be his last.
A 29-year-old resembling the Joker character from superhero movies like "Batman" and "Suicide Squad" was arrested in Miami Tuesday after allegedly pointing a loaded gun at drivers passing an apartment complex. Lawrence Patrick Sullivan has his face tattooed that makes him look like a mix of Heath Ledgers Joker character and also Jared Letos version from "Suicide Squad."

Police arrived outside the Hammocks Place Apartments in West Kendall after Sullivan was spotted in the area. He was arrested when authorities found him with a gun without a weapons permit. The firearm, a Smith & Wesson handgun with six rounds in the magazine, was taken into custody.

Police wrote in his arrest affidavit that he told law enforcement: "I have a gun in my pocket" but "dont have a permit cause its expensive."

Read: What Happened To Creepy Clowns? Threats Reduce After Global Phenomenon

On Wednesday morning, Sullivan was charged with carrying a concealed firearm and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight correctional center with a $5,000 bond. Sullivans arrest affidavit lists him as a tattoo model. According to police records, Sullivan has one prior conviction for cannabis possession.

Later Wednesday, Sullivan bonded out and was released from police custody, following which he gave an interview with NBC 6 talking about his arrest and a felony charge.

"The gun's in my name, it's not a dirty gun. Why they gonna charge me with a felony?" Sullivan said, showing no guilt for carrying a gun without a permit as he added: "F--- the permit. We live in America."

While talking about his psych ward at the jail, Sullivan said: "I had my own cell. It was good, it wasn't bad," adding that he was treated like a celebrity while behind bars.

Meanwhile, his sister, who was not named, also spoke to NBC 6 about her brother's arrest: "I don't believe he was waving a gun around in traffic, he wouldn't do that. Yes he had a gun, but he wouldn't wave it around. ... He's a character, he's just playing a character. I warned him that people would take it the wrong way."

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This is not the first incident where a man has disguised as Batman's archenemy.

In March, police in Winchester, Virginia, charged a Joker lookalike for wearing a mask in public. Jeremy Putman, 31, was arrested after several witnesses saw him walking down a street with a sword. He was arrested and was later released on a $2,000 bail bond.

Last year, a creepy clown phenomenon had taken over the Southeast region of the United States later stretching up to the East coast and to places as far west as Arizona and Idaho before the Halloween when men dressed as clowns were spotted in several neighborhoods. Some of the incidents were so alarming that local schools were shut down after reports surfaced that the clowns tried to lure children into the woods.

The creepy trend first started Aug. 1, 2016, after a clown was spotted walking around with black balloons in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The clown sightings caused authorities to issue warnings in October 2016.

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Artifacts left behind by ancient Americans suggest their civilization was much more advanced than experts previously thought.

Some of those artifacts, found at a prehistoric settlement in Peru called Huaca Prieta, are 15,000 years old and include handwoven baskets, stone tools and whats left of meals made from marine- and land-based foods, with burnt and cut bones that are signs of cooking with fire, a study in the journal Science Advances found. The items were found hidden underneath a large human-made mound that was built later.

Read: Americas First Immigrants Are Ancestors of Native Tribes, DNA Confirms

The researchers said the hundreds of thousands of items the archaeologists found indicate the ancient South Americans developed a culture and society fairly quickly.

The pieces of the ancient peoples lives really raise questions about the pace of the development of early humans in that region and their level of knowledge and the technology they used to exploit resources from both the land and the sea, study co-author and archaeologist James M. Adovasio said in a statement from Florida Atlantic University.

Some of the tools would have been used to catch deep-sea fish, and the group was strategic about gathering a marine meal.

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Photo: Tom Dillehay/Florida Atlantic University

fauarcheolog2

Photo: Florida Atlantic University

The variety of hooks they used indicate the diversity of fishing that took place at that time and almost certainly the use of boats that could withstand rough waters, the university explained. They also combined their exploitation of maritime economy with growing crops like chili pepper, squash, avocado and some form of a medicinal plant on land in a way that produced a large economic surplus.

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While the ancient people used simple technology, the study says, the artifacts suggest they were knowledgeable, used their resources efficiently and were economically organized. Rather than harpoons and double-sided stone tools, the ancient society relied on gathering, trapping and clubbing to get their food on both the shoreline and further inland, like in the mountains.

Read: Ancient American Teen Gave Birth, Then Fell to Her Death

These people had a remarkable capacity to utilize different types of food resources, which led to a larger society size and everything that goes along with it, such as the emergence of bureaucracy and highly organized religion, Adovasio said.

About the baskets, which were made of reed and cotton, and were dyed, the archaeologist said, To make these complicated textiles and baskets indicates that there was a standardized or organized manufacturing process in place and that all of these artifacts were much fancier than they needed to be for that time period. Like so many of the materials that were excavated, even the baskets reflect a level of complexity that signals a more sophisticated society as well as the desire for and a means for showing social stature.

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A San Francisco man aboard an Asiana Airlines flight claims he was discriminated against and forced to vacate his seat because of his prosthetic leg. During the confrontation, a flight attendant allegedly told the passenger, Tim Seward, that hes not a normal person. Seward captured some of the exchange on video.

Seward was traveling from China to South Korea Sunday and reportedly purchased a seat in the exit row near the front of the aircraft, according to NBC reported Monday. But he was soon asked to move by an airline agent, who was concerned that he would not be able to perform the same actions required of the seat as an able-bodied person.

Read: United Airlines Cancels Man's Flight For Recording Confrontation With Ticket Agent

It's not safe, an airline representative allegedly told Seward during an exchange that was not captured on video. You're not a normal person. It's for the safety of the passengers.

Seward, who reportedly paid extra for the seat, said a female agent had approached him before the incident to ask if he could perform the necessary function required of the emergency row. Seward said he could. He was then approached by a different airline agent, at which point Seward began filming.

The video, seen above, seems to begin after the airline already asked him to move. Seward then asks the Asiana Airlines agent why he is being asked to change seats. He shows the man his prosthetic.

Im not saying youre disabled, the agent says. In response to Sewards questions about why hes being moved, the agent says, I cannot prove your leg is functional. If you want to show me, maybe you can run or jump.

In a separate interview with ABC News Sunday, Seward said he was threatened that if didnt move theyd kick him off the flight. Personally I feel like it wasn't right to have someone determine for me my physical ability and I think that airline should understand that that is wrong and they discriminated against someone, he added.

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Read: Woman Forced To Pee In Cup During United Airlines Flight, Was Humiliated By Attendant

As ABC pointed out, the Federal Aviation Administrations website clearly states that physical ability to perform the necessary duties required of exit row seats are used to determine whether a person with a prosthetic can sit there  not the prosthetic alone.

If a passenger with a prosthesis is being evaluated for assignment to an exit seat, the presence of the prosthesis would not be the determinant for being able to meet the criteria but rather the physical ability to perform the exit seat duties, reads the FAA website.

Seward told NBC that he doesnt blame the airline but called the event pretty embarrassing. He lost his leg to cancer when he was 11 years old, but he is extremely actively. For anyone to judge me based on my prosthetic alone is absolutely insane, he told NBC.

Asiana Airlines did not immediately return International Business Times request for comment.

Asiana Airlines Boeing 777

Photo: Alberto Riva

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Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - The terror attack in Manchester has thrown a spotlight on hardline Islamist exiles among opponents of former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi who live in the northwestern English city, experts said.

Manchester is home to the largest cluster of Libyans in Europe, numbering 21,000 according to British media.

The community became a hotbed of opposition to dictator Kadhafi, who was ousted in 2011.

It contains a diverse range of people from doctors to experienced members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which fought alongside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"If you were a Libyan living outside Libya, you were probably someone who was not very friendly to Kadhafi," Raffaello Pantucci, a specialist in British suburban terrorism, told AFP.

"Within that spectrum, you'd have everyone from secular nationalists to violent Islamists and jihadists," said Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute security think-tank in London.

"And because they are all fighting the same fight against the same regime, they tend to group together," he said, describing the overlapping circles between Libyan exiles, Libyan militant Islamist groups and other Islamic extremists.

- Britain 'paying the price' -

The LIFG was founded by Libyans who fought against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan and, back home, sought to overthrow Kadhafi and replace his regime with an Islamic one.

LIFG has been banned in Britain since 2005, meaning it is considered a terrorist organisation and it is an offence to be a member, support it or encourage support.

"In the case of the LIFG, quite a lot of them ended up coming to the UK, where they were taking advantage of the fact that the country has a fairly open approach to political dissidents," said Pantucci.

Monday's deadly attack on a pop concert was perpetrated by Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old born and raised in a Libyan family in the south of the city.

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Abedi's father Ramadan was a member of LIFG who found refuge in Britain before returning to fight against Kadhafi in 2011, police in Tripoli told AFP. He is now in Libyan custody following the Manchester attack.

Pantucci said there was clearly a family environment where armed struggle was "fairly normalised".

Reda Fhelboom, a Libyan journalist who has spent many years living in Manchester, said Britain was paying an "entirely predictable" price for allowing Libyan Islamists into the country.

"Everyone knows that hundreds of extremists have taken refuge in Britain," he told AFP in Tripoli.

"For several years, Britain has protected hundreds of extremists who are wanted in their own countries.

"The attack carried out by a Libyan was entirely predictable. I was not surprised, because every day in Manchester I see Libyan extremists from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and others walking around at liberty.

"Britain has harboured extremists and now it is paying the price."

- Network of radicalisation -

Detectives are trying to work out where Abedi slotted in to the picture of radicalisation among the overlapping circles of allegiance in and around Manchester.

Libyan refugee Abdalraouf Abdallah, 23, was jailed for five and a half years in July 2016, having been convicted of trying to help other Manchester-based extremists to join the Islamic State jihadist group.

He lived in Moss Side in south Manchester, a short drive from the Abedi family home.

Meanwhile fellow Mancunian Raphael Hostey, who left Britain in 2013 and is believed to have been killed in a 2016 drone strike, is thought to have recruited several young Britons to fight for IS.

SkyNews cited counter-terrorism sources saying they had established a "significant connection" between Hostey and Abedi.

Salah Suhbi, an MP in Libya who grew up in Sheffield, northern England, said Manchester Libyans had grown increasingly concerned about radicalisation in the city.

"They know exactly what's happening, there's a recruitment policy, we've been warning about it for years," he told The Guardian newspaper.

"People have been talking about this for the past three or four years, how ruthless they (Islamist recruiters) are. These people are recruiting from the second and third generation Libyan Brits or Arab Brits."

Mohamed Fadil, spokesman for the Libyan community in Manchester, said they were shocked by Monday's attack but admitted there was a problem in their midst that needed to be dealt with.

"The community here, it's all working people, like doctors and researchers, just normal people," he told AFP.

"The Libyan community is not an environment for extremism," he insisted.

Fadil said the community met in the aftermath of the suicide attack to address the issue.

"The general consensus is there is a problem. Maybe we're not reaching out enough to our young people," he said.

"You'll see very active steps from the community in the very near future: more activities and more involvement."
Barack Obama with Angela Merkel in Berlin: Getty Images

Barack Obama has said that the world "can't hide behind a wall" to shield themselves from the turmoil and poverty of other nations during a trip to Germany

The pointed reference to Donald Trump, came as both the current and former presidents find themselves in Europe, in a scheduling accident which invites direct comparison between their two radically different tenures.

He didnt mention his successors name once, but made an apparent reference to Mr Trumps vow to build a wall on the southern US border with Mexico that has come to symbolise the sitting presidents penchant for isolationist rhetoric.

If there are disruptions in these countries, if there is bad governance, if there is war or if there is poverty, in this new world that we live in we can't isolate ourselves, he said. We cant hide behind a wall.

The Obama Foundation says the former President accepted the invitation before the US election, so the overlap with Mr Trump's first presidential trip to Europe is purely coincidental.

Speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Obama pushed his vision of continued openness between nations, saying that globalisation and technology were shrinking the world.

Answering a question on the refugee crisis, he said: In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is just as worthy of compassion and love as my own child. We cant distinguish between them in terms of their worth.

But we are heads of nation states, and we have finite resources. Part of the job of governments is to express solidarity while operating within legal and national constraints.

The world is at a crossroads, Mr Obama added. The widening inequality gap inside nations as well as between nations was a major concern, he said. At the same time, The world has never been wealthier, more healthy and never been better educated.

If we can sustain that progress, then I'm very optimistic about our future. My job now is to help them take it to the next step, Mr Obama said.

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In another speech later in the southwestern German town of Baden-Baden where he accepted a German media prize, Obama said he was concerned about how technology advances had made it ironically easier for people to retreat into our own bubbles.

He added: We can find people on the internet who agree with our ideas, no matter how crazy. Democracies do not work if we are not operating on some level based on reason and fact and logic - and not just passion. We're going to have to find ways to push back on propaganda and listen to those we don't agree with.

Ms Merkel met both Mr Obama and Mr Trump, travelling from Berlin to Brussels for a Nato meeting.

While Mr Obama was met with cheering crowds at the Kirchentag, a traditional four-day Protestant festival, President Trump arrived in Brussels as tens of thousands of protesters attended Trump Not Welcome demonstration.

The President ifaced a difficult meeting at the Nato summit. Although he has recently changed his mind about the usefulness of the 28-nation bloc, declaring that it was no longer obsolete, he faced tough questions on a number of issues, including climate change and Russia.

Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Middle East were great. Trying hard for PEACE. Doing well. Heading to Vatican & Pope, then #G7 and #NATO.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2017

As for what happens once a president leaves the White House. Mr Obama said he had spent the last four months trying to catch up with my sleep and spending more time with his family.

I'm very proud of the work I did as president, he said, adding he was especially proud of health care reform.

My hope was to get 100 percent of people health care. We didn't quite achieve that but we were able to get 20 million people health care who didn't have it before. Certainly I have some regrets that we weren't able to get everyone health care.

Now some of the progress we made is imperiled because a significant debate is taking place in the United States, he added, again avoiding direct mention of Mr Trump, who is attempting to dismantle the so-called Obamacare.

Just four months before Germany's election, Mr Obama's mere appearance with Ms Merkel, broadcast live on four networks, raised concerns that he was helping her re-election campaign.

But Mr Merkel and Mr Obama stayed away from the campaign with their discussion focused on faith and politics in general.

He said he hopes to use the little influence he has as a former president to help young people be better prepared for the looming challenges.

Reuters contributed to this report
Photo: Splash News

Bella Thornes the princess of Cannes  at least according to her latest accessory. The actress stepped out for a red carpet event wearing a silver gown with a collar and low-cut neckline. She completed the look with a sparkly tiara.

Thornes royal look fit right in with her surroundings at Philipp Pleinns first-ever resort show on Wednesday night in France. The metallic dress comes from the Italian designers Spring/Summer 2016 collection. She even styled her hair in the same long, loose manner Pleinn used to debut the dress for last seasons runway show. She spent the evening with other celebrities including Paris Hilton and Chris Zylka, who walked the show and Eva Longoria, who sat front row.

Her other Cannes outfits have included a Rockabilly-inspired black, white, and red ensemble. (Pro tip: similar gingham pants are on sale at Asos right now for $27.)

When she's a badass @cometmusic A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on May 21, 2017 at 7:29am PDT

She even took her penchant for mixed prints international, matching a leopard bikini top with a checkered bottom. The poolside look is very I grabbed what was on top in my suitcase chic, and the good news is that next time you forget to pack part of a vacation outfit, you can mix and match and claim youre channeling Bella Thorne.

Scott Disick is seen with girlfriend Bella Thorne as they sunbathe at a luxury villa in Cannes, Scott could resist squeezing Bells Breast a the couple were seen all over each other in the sunshine. (Photo: Splash News)

Thorne is no stranger to the headlines thanks to her constant hair transformations and policy of oversharing. But shes landed extra coverage at Cannes thanks to her travel buddy, Scott Disick. Thorne, who is 19-years-old to Disicks 34, is reportedly sharing a private villa for the festival with the infamous Kardashian ex. Photos show that Disick may have even matched his own gray suit to Thornes silver metallic outfit, the true sign of any power couple. (Although as Disicks nickname is Lord, its a surprise he didnt wear a crown to complement Thornes tiara.)

Will Thorne end up on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and will she be wearing a tiara or a fishnet bodysuit when she does? Only time will tell.

Story continues

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U.S law enforcement is being held responsible by British officials, not the White House, for the second leak of information regarding the Manchester terror attack in the U.K., following which the British police have stopped any exchange of information about the attack, the BBC reported Thursday.

This comes after the New York Times published photographs Wednesday from the scene of attack, which Islamic State group (ISIS) took responsibility for. The attack happened at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday at the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring more than 60, the BBC reported.

The photos published showed the remains of a backpack, some nuts and screws, as well as a device that was called a possible detonator. It said the photos had been gathered by British authorities at the scene of the attack.

Read: UK Suicide Bomber Was Known To Security Services

British officials were infuriated by the leaks but believe U.S. law enforcement was responsible for them, not the White House.

"We are furious. This is completely unacceptable," the source said. "These images leaked from inside the U.S. system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public. The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their U.S. counterparts."

This follows the initial information leak, which happened just after the attack itself, with the identity of the 22-year-old British-born bomber Salman Abedi revealed by CBS, NBC, and then Reuters, citing U.S. officials, the Guardian reported.

A third U.S. government source was cited to identify the attacker as Salman Abedi, or Salman Ramadan Abedi, according to Reuters.

U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was reportedly irritated by information released about Salman Abedi and had warned Washington saying: It should not happen again.

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"The British police have been very clear they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity  the element of surprise  so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources, and I've been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," she said, according to the BBC.

The British government and Greater Manchester police had refused to confirm the identity of the suicide bomber as Salman Abedi just over two hours before his name appeared in U.S. media outlets. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham raised the issue with the U.S. ambassador, reports said.

With British police investigating an alleged network linked to the British-born suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, the matter of information leaked to U.S. media will be taken up by British Prime Minister Theresa May when she meets President Donald Trump at a later NATO summit, the BBC reported.

Britains National Police Chiefs Council meanwhile warned Wednesday that leaks of any possible evidence undermines investigations, CNN reported.

Read: Ariana Grande Seen For The First Time Since UK Terror Attack

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office said trusted relationships were valued by authorities: "When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families. This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counterterrorism investigation."

The U.K. terror threat level was, for the first time in over a decade, raised to critical after the bombing, signaling another attack was considered imminent.

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BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged a business lobby for Taiwan enterprises on the mainland to support the "one China" principle and contribute to unity between Beijing and Taipei, state media said on Wednesday. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be recovered by force if necessary, after defeated Nationalists fled there in 1949, following the loss of a civil war to the Communists. Beijing remains deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office just over a year ago, believing she wants to push the island toward formal independence. She says she wants to maintain peace with China. China welcomes Taiwanese investment, Xi told the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland in a letter on its tenth anniversary, the official Xinhua news agency said. Xi urged the body to make "unremitting efforts to contribute to the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people (and) wide unity with Taiwan compatriots (by) supporting the one China principle," Xinhua added. "Both sides of the Strait share an inseparable common destiny," Xi said in the letter, read to a meeting of around 400 Taiwanese in Beijing by Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, the news agency said. In the past, the business lobby, which groups about 130 Taiwanese business associations across China, has pushed for greater engagement with Beijing in Taipei. In 2012, it met then Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to push for permission for Taiwan citizens to become full-fledged members of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the ruling Communist Party. But the effort failed, relegating Taiwan businessmen to honorary positions. The lobby has been a target of a concerted campaign by the Communist Party to spread China's influence in Taiwan via its United Front Work Department, which reaches out to non-party groups. Since ties began to thaw in the 1980s, Taiwan businesses have invested billions of dollars in China, drawn by a common culture and language and the country's vast market and pool of cheap labor. (Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Diane Kruger (Photo: Getty Images)

Oh, so you dont like Diane Kruger?

Spoiler alert: She doesnt care. After a long career of trying to get her point across by being super-sweet, German-born actress Kruger is done wasting time.

When youre asking for something, you definitely  all my life, not just in the movie industry  as a woman [think], How do I get around to getting what I want? You dont want to be seen as a bitch, she said at a talk for Women in Motion in Cannes.

But with age, the Inglorious Basterds actress says she has adopted a new attitude when it comes to communicating her needs.

I dont give an (expletive), she says. I think you have to create that space and respect that you think you deserve. I work hard, Im on time, I know my lines, Im 100% invested in everything I do, so please treat me the same as you do my male costars.

Diane Kruger in Dior in Cannes (Photo: Getty Images)

This doesnt mean Kruger aims to be harsh.

I think Im a pleasant person, but sometimes when you have to ask for something that is maybe unpleasant for someone else, you have to find a way to bring your point across, she points out. I want to be a good colleague and I want to be someone that is pleasant to be around, but as time goes on, and you pay your dues, Im not going to let you walk all over me.

Kruger revealed that in the United States, at least, she has never been paid the same as her male co-stars, and while she has often conceded based on financial needs or a desire to play a certain role, she is grateful for those who stand up to the gender disparities.

Im really grateful that big, big movie stars like Jessica Chastain say, No, if Im not getting paid Im not going to make this movie. Its not the end of my career if I dont make this. That is great. Or Jennifer Lawrence. Those are the voices of the younger generation.

Diane Kruger in Tory Burch (Photo: Getty Images)

When asked what advice she would give young girls, Kruger says that she doesnt think they need her advice at all. I actually think that girls, and especially very young girls, are very empowered these days. Girls are being raised with the understanding that they can do anything. My part in that is to create projects and live by example.

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This means portraying multidimensional women, like the character she plays in her new film In the Fade which is competing for a Palm dOr at the Cannes Film Festival. The film about a woman who loses her husband and son in a bomb attack has become even more relevant after the events in Manchester this week.

My heart is beating really fast, she says when asked how she feels in light of recent news. I feel terribly concerned, as we all do, about the horrors that we face every day. I think its a very relevant film.

Putting herself in the shoes of someone who has experienced that loss was not easy for Kruger. Living that grief for so long, its definitely the most challenging movie Ive ever done, she says.

As she celebrates 25 years in show business, what the model-turned-actress is most proud of is still being around. Its a very, very tough business. Especially for actors and actresses theres always the new kid on the block. In Hollywood its all about whos next? So, Im most proud of the longevity and the diversity of my career.

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During a conversation with Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld talked about President Trumps refusal on Thursday to affirm Article 5 of the NATO treaty. Im hopeful that Secretary James Mattis or Rex Tillerson will, for example, make a trip to the Republic of Georgia soon, Rumsfeld said. I think just their physical presence there, letting the world know that the United States understands the fact that we dont want to create an environment thats hospitable for Mr. Putin to continue to be aggressive.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Donald Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a madman with nuclear weapons in a phone call with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.

A transcript of the controversial phone call, obtained by multiple news outlets, suggests the two leaders spoke extensively about North Korea and the possibility of a nuclear attack.

We cant let a madman with nuclear weapons on the loose like that. We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20  but we dont want to use it, Mr Trump said at one point.

Mr Duterte, who has been condemned by human rights groups for promoting violence in the name of public safety, called Mr Kim unstable, and warned that he has a dangerous toy in his hands which could create so much agony and suffering for all of mankind.

The President added that the Philippines are increasingly fearful of the leader, as they are in striking distance of his rockets.

Mr Trump responded by bragging about Americas firepower, telling Mr Duterte, We have two submarines  the best in the world.

Both men agreed that China had an important role to play in the situation.

Mr Trump had previously said he would be honoured to meet Mr Jong-un, under 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 Bloomberg News.

US defence intelligence officers have declined to estimate when North Korea could develop a missile capable of reaching the US, but Defence Intelligence Agency Director Vincent Stewart on Tuesday called the possibility inevitable".

"If left on its current trajectory the regime will ultimately succeed in fielding a nuclear-armed missile capable of threatening the United States homeland," Mr Stewart said.

Senior Trump administration officials told The Washington Post that the US President's call with Mr Duterte was his attempt at rallying as much support as he can on North Korea.

Regional support is extremely meaningful. This is how hes trying to proactively manage a very difficult situation, the official said.

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WH readout on "friendly" Trump-Duterte call does not say whether Trump raised or criticized extra-judicial killings pic.twitter.com/ri4VaJyRjs  Anne Rumsey Gearan (@agearan) April 30, 2017

The call nonetheless drew criticism, with some accusing Mr Duterte of being responsible for the deaths of thousands in the country's war on drugs. Human Rights Watch has accused Philippine police of falsifying evidence to justify more than 7,000 killings in the drug crackdown.

Mr Duterte, who previously promised to kill all the countrys criminals, claims these killings were carried out by lawless vigilantes.

According to the call transcript, Mr Trump praised the countrys war on drugs, calling it an unbelievable job.

Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that, Mr Trump said, adding that former President Barack Obama did not understand that, but I understand that and we have spoken about this before.

Mr Duterte on Wednesday placed Mindanao, a group of islands in the Philippines, under martial law  suspending the writ of habeas corpus and ordering the military to embargo the islands. He later warned he may extend martial law to the entire country.
There's a lot at stake in Brussels this week: AFP/Getty Images

Once Donald Trump steps into Nato's headquarters in Brussels he will hope that he can navigate a tricky gathering with nervous European allies in a similar way to his meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Mr Trump's penchant for outlandish and dismissive statements meant that before his arrival in Europe, both the meeting in Brussels and the audience with the Pontiff, were being dissected for their potential for awkwardness. But while there were moments of obvious disagreement between Pope Francis and Mr Trump  namely a pointed gift from the Pontiff of a papal letter on climate change for the US President to read, given his previous statements declaring it a "hoax"  both appeared visibly more jovial after their 30 minute private meeting.

For Mr Trump's Nato allies the issue has been the uncertainty the commitment of the US to the group, particularly after Mr Trump labelled it "obsolete" and ill-equipped to fight terrorism, but that stance has softened and in the wake of the attack in Manchester, both sides appear keen to try and find common ground.

As with the meeting for the Pope, which centred on a call for Mr Trump to pursue peace, something the President said he was "determined to do", the Nato mini-summit will focus on fighting terrorism, one of Mr Trump's main pledges.

There will also be a number of mutual assurances given following months of uncertainty over Mr Trump's commitment to Nato since his inauguration. The President has repeatedly pushed for Nato allies to commit to a greater role in combating terrorism, including joining the coalition fighting against Isis in Syria. He has urged Nato allies to assume a greater share of defence spending.

Mr Trump repeatedly complained about the financial burden that the US takes on in ensuring the security of the alliance during his presidential campaign. Those comments created concern among European allies fretting about escalating Russian aggression and the repeated terror attacks faced by member states. Mr Trumps silence on whether or not he would endorse Natos mutual defence pledge, known as Article 5, has further added to that trepidation.

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Mr Trump pulled back from his obsolete comments last month, and he is expected to publicly break his silence on Article 5 in Brussels this week.

Of course we support Article 5, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters after landing in Brussels with Mr Trump. The only time Article 5 has been invoked was in 9/11.

Article 5 was invoked for the first and only time soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, and saw Nato allies deploying several counter-terrorism operations including the deployment of a larger naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean to monitor shipping and trafficking. Nato allies also assisted US defence by flying radar aircraft missions in American airspace.

That US commitment to mutual defence has been of particular concern for Baltic member states who have experienced increased aggression from Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, claiming it was protecting citizens from a conflict that is still raging in eastern Ukraine. A swirling scandal back in the US surrounding Mr Trumps campaigns potential ties to Russia have only added to the concerns.

Mr Tillerson, however, said in Brussels that the US remained convinced that Russia should move forward with the 2014 Minsk cease fire agreement in Ukraine and move toward restoring Ukrainian sovereignty.

They are going to have to address the situation in Ukraine and we have been pretty clear with them what that means, Mr Tillerson said when asked if it is still appropriate for Russia to be sidelined at G7 summits, one of which Mr Trump will attend later in the week in Sicily. It means moving forward with the Minsk accord and restoring Ukraine sovereignty."

To show Mr Trump that Nato is responding to his calls to take on a greater role in combating terrorism, France and Germany are expected to agree to a US plan for Nato to take on a bigger role in fighting Isis and join the coalition fighting the terror group in Syria. French and German leaders have, however, indicated that the commitment is purely symbolic.

An anti-terror coordinator may also be named, but most changes will be cosmetic, as Nato allies have no intention of going to war against Isis. It's totally out of the question for Nato to engage in any combat operations, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday, on the eve of the meeting.

Nato as an institution will join the coalition, a senior diplomat involved in those discussions told Reuters. The question is whether this is just a symbolic to the United States. France and Germany believe it is.

Mr Tillerson said that the President also plans on pushing Nato allies to fulfil their financial commitments to the alliance. Just five of 28 allies have met a 2014 agreement to spend at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence. The US is one of those countries.

As the president has said, he really wants participating Nato members to step up and fully meet their obligations of the burden sharing, Mr Tillerson said. Two per cent of GDP was a target they all agreed to. I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them, saying: Look, the US is spending 4 per cent. We're doing a lot. The American people are doing a lot for your security for our joint security. You need to make sure you're doing your share for your own security as well.

However, this will not be easy - with Germany already making clear that it cannot afford to spend double

Aside from security and financing concerns, American officials may hear from Nato allies who have written a series of reports in recent weeks highlighting the risks poised by climate change. Those countries have urged the Trump administration to respect the Paris Climate Agreement and to ensure that the US meets its commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will certainly be a topic for the G7 summit on Friday.

Pope Francis made clear he sees climate as a priority for Mr Trump in gifting him a signed copy of his 2017 peace message whose title is Nonviolence - A Style of Politics for Peace, and a copy of his 2015 encyclical letter on the need to protect the environment from the effects of climate change. Well, I'll be reading them, Mr Trump said.

After Mr Trump flew from Rome to Belgium, the countries Prime Minister Charles Michel said he also insisted that Mr Trump should unequivocally back the Paris Agreement on climate change.

It is clear that there are a number of delicate issues facing Mr Trump on the latest leg of his first foreign trip - but having told Pope Francis "we can use peace" and come away from their meeting declaring that it went "great" and the Pontiff "is something... he is really good" - Mr Trump will hope he can emerge of the Nato mini-summit similarly unscathed.
Donald Trump wasted no time ahead of his first meeting with Nato allies in chastising the group's members for failing to pay their fair share towards defence with their chronic underpayments.

The visit to Nato headquarters in Brussels  part of the President's first foreign trip  was expected to be thorny given that Mr Trump has praised the Brexit vote for the UK to leave the EU and called the 28-member alliance obsolete several times in the past.

There had been conciliatory remarks in recent days about the need for Mr Trump and his Nato allies to work together, particularly in light of the terror attack in Manchester, but Mr Trump pulled no punches in remarks in front of the other leaders and set the stage for a frosty meeting.

As part of the meeting, the 28 member nations, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, will renew an old vow to move toward spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defence by 2024. Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defence than all the other allies combined  a bugbear of Mr Trumps both on the campaign and once he was in the Oval Office.

His stance on Nato seemed to soften after personal meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington.

However, Mr Trump went on the offensive again on Thursday. He said that the payments should be increased by other members in order to make up for the years lost.

Jorge Benitez a Senior Fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and Director of NATOSource told The Independent he thinks the defence spending issue may just be a "convenient excuse" Mr Trump is using to rile up his base at home.

He said Mr Trump does not believe in US leadership in an alliance like Nato while governing through his "America First" doctrine.

I have been very, very direct ... on what 23 of the 28 members ... should be paying for their defence," Mr Trump said.

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This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, Mr Trump said, adding that many member nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years.

If Nato countries made their full and complete contributions, then Nato would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism, Mr Trump added.

The spending issue is just one of the issues surrounding the meeting, with many Nato nations concerned by Mr Trump's dallying over his commitment to the alliance's mutual defence pact, known as Article 5.

At the opening of the new Nato headquarters  which included the installation of a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a piece from the World Trade Centre targeted in the 9/11 attacks  Mr Trump offered a vague promise to never forsake the friends that stood by our side but did not actively mention Article 5. The 9/11 attacks was the last, and only, time that Article 5 was invoked  with White House officials scrambling later to say that the vague wording from Mr Trump amounted to an affirmation of the defence clause.

Asked about Mr Trump not explicitly affirming US support for Article 5, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: It goes without saying. His presence at this event underscores our commitments and treaty obligations.

Mr Benitez, who is in Brussels attending the summit, said the mood in the halls of headquarters did not reflect Mr Spicer's statement.

"If you are a strong supporter of Nato it is a no-brainer" to vocally support Article 5, said Mr Benitez. In that respect he feels Mr Trump has at least been consistent.

Mr Benitez said the president should have been "clear, transparent, and direct...to reassure our allies" about Article 5 since he was speaking in front of a memorial to the very tragedy that prompted it.

It is a symbol that an attack on ally is an attack on all Nato allies. "The US is now not a reliable ally" he said.

European and Nato allies of the US have also sought clarification over other issues  including the Paris global climate change agreement which Mr Trump has not ruled out withdrawing from  and the actions of Russia and the potential threat to nations near the country's borders.

On Thursday morning, Mr Trump met with European Council President Donald Tusk, who said although the two agree that efforts to fight terror groups like Isis should be increased  with Nato allies set to agree to join the US-led coalition against the terror group  there were still major differences on important topics.

Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 per cent sure that we can say today  we means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia, said Mr Tusk.

Mr Trump then had lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been a critic of Mr Trump.

The pair's handshake showed the already strained relationship, with their knuckles turning white, their jaws clenching, and faces tightening. Mr Macron has made clear he will talk to Mr Trump about the climate change issue.

The photogs noticed that Trump and Macron were gripping their hands hard and in photo below Trump seems to just want his hand back. https://t.co/XRwidrDS1B  Steve Holland (@steveholland1) May 25, 2017

The meeting with EU leaders, and the lunch with Mr Macron gave Mr Trump a taste of what to expect from the working dinner late on Thursday  with Mr Trump's initial remarks perhaps showing Nato leaders the same back.

That continued at the family photograph the leader's gathered for after Mr Trump's speech  with Mr Trump standing alone as other leaders chatted among themselves.

Even without the various issues at stake, Mr Trump's welcome in Belgium had been frosty, with thousands of protesters turning up when he arrived on Wednesday, and a number also turning out ahead of the meeting on Thursday. Mr Trump has previously described Brussels as a hellhole.

Part of the problem is that Mr Trump does not fully understand the alliance because of his complete lack of foreign or domestic policy experience, said Mr Benitez.

"I think it's an attitude problem for him," he explained.

The lack of policy experience withstanding, Mr Benitez thinks this summit is "a failure" for the Trump administration because "this was not a policy meeting as much as a meeting about personal relationships."

Mr Trump's tense moment with Mr Macron and how he appeared to shove Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic out of his way while walking with the other leaders have been noticed by other leaders and their staffs.

There is going to be "great disappointment" for US allies especially those geographically close to Russia, said Mr Benitez.

"This is a Nato victory" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, "doubt and uncertainty...all these things help Russia," he said.

However, it was obvious to all that progress needs to be made  with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg trying to hammer home the message of unity.

Nato is more than a club, more than an organisation. Nato embodies the unique bond between Europe and North America, Mr Stoltenberg said. As we raise our flags today, our alliance stands strong united and resolute, he said.
According to a leaked transcript of a phone call that took place between President Donald Trump and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on April 29, 2017, it has emerged that the latter prefers Trump over Obama.

The originally confidential transcript was compiled by the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs on May 2, which revealed that Trump had congratulated Duterte on the unbelievable job he did on the drug problem. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem but what a great job you are doing, Trump was quoted in a New York Daily News report.

Although the White House mentioned that Trump and Duterte talked about getting rid of the drug situation in the Philippines in the official readout of the phone call, it had glossed over the fact that the president had praised Duterte's extrajudicial executions.

After discussing how Duterte does not get much sleep, just like Trump, the two presidents moved on to talking about North Korean President Kim Jong Un's mental instability.

Calling Kim mad, Duterte told Trump: He is not stable as he keeps on smiling when he explodes a rocket. Agreeing completely with Duterte, Trump said that they could not let North Korea expand its nuclear program as its leader was a madman.

Kim Jong Un

Photo: Getty Images

Both Duterte and Trump agreed on the fact that while there was one way - nuclear blast - to stop the North Korean supremo, it would not be a feasible option for the rest of the world.

Trump ended the conversation by casually inviting Duterte to Washington, much like one would invite a friend. "Come see me before November, you are invited anytime, Trump said.

The conversation between the two world leaders indicated growing diplomatic friendship, something that was missing in the kind of relationship that the Philippine president shared with Obama in the past.

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Obama was always a tough critic of the brutal methods used by Duterte to counter the drug problem in his country. In response, Duterte had remarked that the U.S. had a long history of colonization.

Barack Obama and Rodrigo Duterte

Photo: Getty Images/SAUL LOEB,MANMAN DEJETO

The Philippine president went as far as calling Obama "son of a whore" in one of his speeches, Business Insider reported.

The situation worsened when Duterte made it clear during Obamas presidency that he did not want to carry on the U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises any longer.

I serve notice to you now that this will be the last joint military exercise with the U.S.," Duterte said in a speech in October 2016, CNN reported. Duterte added that he valued respect and expected the same from Obama. "Eventually I might, in my time, I will break up with America. I'd rather go to Russia and to China," Duterte said.

In contrast to his attitude towards Obama, Duterte mentioned in a press conference held during his visit to Myanmar in March, that he thinks Donald Trump is a realist and man who knows what is real, what is not, and he does not engage in theories, according to transcript of the media interview reported by a Philippines-based news outlet, Minda News.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Wednesday to impose martial law nationwide to combat the rising threat of terrorism, after Islamist militants beheaded a policeman and took Catholic hostages while rampaging through a southern city.

Duterte declared martial law on Tuesday for the southern region of Mindanao -- which makes up roughly one third of the country and is home to 20 million people -- in an immediate response to the attacks by the gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The roughly 100 militants roamed through Marawi city, killing five soldiers, taking a priest and an unspecified number of other people hostage from a church, setting fire to buildings and flying black IS flags, according to Duterte and his aides.

Duterte said they also beheaded a local police chief after capturing him at a road checkpoint they had set up, as he expressed outrage at what he called the growing threat from militants allied to IS in Mindanao.

"I will not hesitate to do anything and everything to protect and preserve the Filipino nation," the president said.

"I might declare martial law throughout the country to protect the people."

- Praise for a dictator -

Duterte, who has waged a controversial war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives, warned martial law would be "harsh" and similar to military rule imposed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago.

Marcos's two-decade rule ended in 1986 when millions of people took to the streets in a "People Power" revolution. Thousands of critics were jailed, tortured or killed during the dictatorship, according to historians and rights groups.

"Martial law of Mr Marcos was very good," Duterte said, as he railed against human rights campaigners and other critics of his drug war.

Duterte said his own version of martial law meant security forces could conduct searches and arrest people without warrants.

He also said there would be curfews for some provinces in Mindanao, and that martial law would remain until the terrorism threat had ended.

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The fighting in Marawi erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.

The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.

The militants responded to the raid by burning buildings and conducting other diversionary tactics in Marawi, a mostly Muslim-populated city of 200,000 people, according to Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Five soldiers and 13 militants were killed, national military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said on Wednesday night. However he said the bodies of only two militants had been recovered and the other reported deaths could not be independently verified.

The gunmen also raided a church in Marawi and took the local priest, Father Chito Suganob, plus an unspecified number of other people hostage, according to the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

"They have threatened to kill the hostages if the government forces unleashed against them are not recalled," Villegas said in a statement.

- Thousands flee -

Thousands of residents fled Marawi, according to an AFP photographer at a military checkpoint near Iligan, the next biggest city about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away.

It was unclear on Wednesday night how many militants were still in the city or if they had escaped into nearby mountains and forests that they have long used as hideouts. There were no reports of major clashes on Wednesday.

The Abu Sayyaf, based on the most southerly islands of Mindanao, has kidnapped hundreds of Filipinos and foreigners since the early 1990s to extract ransoms.

Security analysts say Hapilon has been trying to unite Filipino militant groups behind IS. These include the Maute group, which is based near Marawi.

Separately, Muslim rebels have been waging a rebellion since the 1970s for an independent or autonomous homeland in Mindanao, with the conflict claiming more than 120,000 lives.

These main Muslim rebel groups are involved in peace talks with the government.

But the Abu Sayyaf, Maute and other hardline groups want to set up an Islamic caliphate in the south for IS, according to security analysts.
By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus won the race to be the next head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday, becoming the first African to lead the Geneva-based United Nations agency. The former health minister and foreign minister, who vowed to make universal health care his priority, won over half the votes from 189 member states in the first round and prevailed in a third-round ballot against Britain's David Nabarro. "It's a victory day for Ethiopia and for Africa," Ethiopia's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva Negash Kebret Botora said. Tedros, as he is widely known, told health ministers at the WHO's annual assembly after his election: "All roads lead to universal coverage. This will be my central priority. "At present, only about a half of the world's people have access to health care without impoverishment. This needs to improve dramatically," he added. Six candidates sought to take the helm at the WHO, which is tasked with combating disease outbreaks and chronic illnesses. The WHO said Tedros had led a "comprehensive reform effort" of Ethiopia's health system, creating health centres and jobs. UNAIDS, the vaccine alliance GAVI, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers welcomed his appointment. "Tedros has the power to herald a new era in how the world prepares for and responds to epidemics, including building partnerships, strengthening public health systems, and developing new vaccines and therapies that are available to all who need them," Jeremy Farrar, director of the medical charity Wellcome Trust, said in a statement. Tedros will begin his five-year term after Margaret Chan, a former Hong Kong health director, steps down on June 30. Chan leaves a mixed legacy after her 10 years on the job, especially because of WHO's slow response to West Africa's Ebola epidemic in 2013-2016, which killed 11,300 people. In a last pitch before voting began, Tedros appealed to ministers by promising to represent their interests and to ensure more countries got top jobs at the Geneva-based WHO. "I will listen to you. I was one of you. I was in your shoes and I can understand you better," he said. Tedros was widely seen as having the support of about 50 African votes, but questions about his role in restricting human rights and Ethiopia's cover-up of a cholera outbreak surfaced late in the race, threatening to tarnish his appeal. "You now have a clear mandate. We welcome your promises on transparency, delivery and reform," said Sally Davies, Britain's medical chief officer. (Additional reporting by Kate Kelland in London; Editing by Ed Osmond and Hugh Lawson; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Actress Eva Longoria rocking a Balmain dress. (Photo: Getty Images)

Eva Longoria just joined the Balmain army, and she didnt come in quietly so as not to disturb the models; she entered with a bang in a bold, sheer dress.

Longoria was at the Cannes Film Festival LOreal Paris party to celebrate Balmains Olivier Rousteing and his new lipstick collection for LOreal. She was basically covered in see-through mesh that had black panels attached to it.

So, to review: It really was a revealing dress, with some strips of perfectly placed fabric. Two pieces covered her chest but left her collarbones and cleavage exposed. A wide piece started at the waist and formed the front of the skirt. An identical piece covered the back. But the sides were open, save for a thinner strip of fabric that started at her waist on each side. The black panels were floor length and created a choppy skirt that showed just enough of this womans enviable curves, including her legs. There was also a black band around the neck, creating an illusion choker. The back was completely open.

What a dream come true to be the muse for a night of this man! Thank you @olivier_rousteing for this amazing dress and for your even more amazing spirit! #Balmain #LorealCannes #Cannes2017 A post shared by Eva Longoria Baston (@evalongoria) on May 25, 2017 at 12:19am PDT

The dress was daring, to say the least, but Longoria looked completely comfortable in it, as if she knew that anything Rousteing created would never move out of place  and that her cleavage was secured with a lot of tape. She was pictured dancing with models at the party, completely unfazed by the flapping panels.

Photo: Getty Images

Another thing that didnt bother her: her height. The petite actress  shes 5-foot-2  looked even tinier next to all the models who were at the party to support Rousteing and LOreal. Longoria came prepared in 5-inch heels and posed with them on the carpet  but that still didnt help, since the models also wore 5-inch heels. Theres one group shot of eight models, including Irina Shayk, Doutzen Kroes, and Cindy Bruna, towering over Longoria.

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Just us models ???? #Wore5InchHeelsAndStillCouldntKeepUp #SeriouslyShort A post shared by Eva Longoria Baston (@evalongoria) on May 24, 2017 at 5:26pm PDT

The Empire actress has a good attitude about it, though. She posted the photo on Instagram and joked, Just us models #Wore5InchHeelsAndStillCouldntKeepUp #SeriouslyShort.

However, no matter how short she is, Longoria emanated just as much ferocity as the models around her.

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A Polish climber who claims to have traversed from Tibet to Nepal at the summit of Mount Everest may have crossed "illegally", authorities in Nepal said Wednesday.

Janusz Adam Adamski posted on Facebook on Sunday that he had summited the world's highest peak via the northern route in Tibet before descending on the southern side into Nepal.

"Janusz made it to the top of Mt Everest from the north and then descended to the south, making him the first Polish, and 15th in the world, to traverse the mountain," read a post on his Facebook page.

Authorities in Nepal told AFP that the Pole only had permission to climb on the Tibet side of Everest, making his traverse and descent into Nepal illegal.

"The agency has informed us. If true, it is an illegal crossing," Tourism Department chief Dinesh Bhattarai said, adding that they had begun an investigation.

The Pole is the second foreigner to land himself in trouble with Nepali authorities on Everest this month.

South African Ryan Sean Davy was caught on Everest two weeks ago attempting to climb the mountain without paying the $11,000 permit fee.

Davy could be hit with a $22,000 fine -- a figure that he says he cannot afford -- or face up to four years in prison.

The company organising the Pole's climb told AFP that they were last in touch with him last week before he made a bid for the summit.

"All his arrangements are for a summit from the North and descent from the North. There was no indication of him planning to come down the Nepal side, we had never discussed it. He only has a permit for the north side," said Bodha Raj Bhandari, chairman of the Kathmandu-based Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition company.

"He had support staff until camp 2 and then he climbed solo. We were very shocked to see his post on Facebook. Our support staff is still waiting for him at the base camp in the north," Bhandari added.

In his most recent post on Facebook, Adamski said he was now trekking to Lukla, the main gateway to the Everest region on the Nepal side.

Adamski has not responded to requests for comment.
Carrie Coon as Gloria Burgle and Olivia Sandoval as Winnie Lopez in FXs Fargo. (Photo: Chris Large/FX)

Warning: This recap for The Lord of No Mercy episode of Fargo contains spoilers.

In which Emmit Stussy makes good on his promise to see Ray Stussy sponged off the floor.

25 things we learn in The Lord of no Mercy:

1. Battered and bruised Nikki tells Ray about the men who beat her: One was Russian, the other was some kind of Oriental, they drove a late model Cadillac, and she didnt get their license plate number. Shes still in much pain, covered with bruises on her torso, and Ray is so angry that he gets his gun from its storage location in his refrigerators deli drawer. He and Nikki leave with the gun.

2. Varga says hes about to tell a true story, about a 150-year-old bank, with $60 billion in assets, that collapsed overnight. Its stock price dropped 93 percent in eight hours. One day its solvent, the next its worthless, he says, talking about Lehman Brothers to make his point that perception of reality becomes reality.

3. He tells another story he says is true: How World War I was started by a sandwich. On June 28, 1914, a man named Gavrilo Princip  part of a group of conspirators who wanted to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria  was upset about a failed attempt to kill Ferdinand with a grenade, and he decided to get lunch. While he was eating a sandwich in a deli, a car pulled up out front. Ferdinand and his wife were inside it  the Archdukes driver was lost  and when Princip saw him, he realized he was getting a second chance. He dropped the sammie, and went outside to do some murdering, an act that sparked a chain of events that led to the start of World War I.

David Thewlis as V.M. Varga in FXs Fargo. (Photo: Chris Large/FX)

4. And Varga has one more true story: That of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in July 1969. Except that was a lie; the story Varga is telling is about how that famous historical event never really happened, but was instead created by actors and a crew on a soundstage in New Mexico. We learn hes been telling all these true stories to Sy and Emmit, as the trio discusses Vargas plan for doubling the size of the Stussy company in just three months. Varga has orchestrated $50 million worth of loans to buy 16 new parking lots, which will make everyone involved a lot of cash.

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5. Sy doesnt think the risk is worth the payoff, especially since, as he points out, there is an IRS agent at the office, waiting to go through their books. Tax fraud is a bad idea, he says, and asks, The more cautious approach why not?

6. Because the shallow end of the pool is where the turds float, Varga answers, assuring Sy the IRS guy will see some books, but not the books. Emmit seems to be fully on board with Vargas plan for the quick cash infusion, while Varga tries further assure Sy that the IRS only goes after middle managers and movie stars people who park their money in a Denver Wells Fargo under their mother-in-laws maiden name. He tells Sy, I assure you the IRS could not unravel an intricate web of shell companies and loan outs and secret accounts in Monaco, Luxembourg, and the Cook Islands if you gave them the account numbers.

What?! says an increasingly confused Sy.

Varga: Im beginning to think that finance is more of a hobby with you.

7. As Sy and Varga chat, Emmit tunes out. Hes thinking about the fight he had with Ray, on the phone, when Ray was on the bus. It appears to be weighing on Emmit that he told Ray, When Im done with you, theyll be sponging you off the floor. Varga, meanwhile, assures Sy hes taking care of the IRS.

8. At Stussy HQ, IRS agent Larue Dollard is waiting in a conference room, pens and notepads meticulously arranged. Into the room comes Meemo, dressed in suit and glasses that mirror Dollards. Meemo opens his briefcase and takes out papers and writing utensils he arranges just so, just like the IRS agent. He then shoves across the table a packet pf papers. Section 41C of the U.S. tax code affords my client the right to licensed representation in the face of any IRS inquiry, he tells Dollard. In fact, the IRS must notify the company 30 days in advance, of any documents they want to see and any employees they want to interview. Since they havent done that, Meemo says, Dollard needs to vacate our offices immediately.

9. Meemo leaves the building and walks into a waiting car, driven by Yuri. As they pull away from the curb, Ray and Nikki drive right up behind them and follow them. Yuri and Meemo drive to Vargas parking lot semi-truck home, and Ray wants to get out of the car and shoot them. A cooler head  Ms. Swangos  prevails.

10. Back at Rays house, Nikki is laying in a bathtub filled with ice. That and aspirin are her only treatment, and Ray worries she may have internal injuries from the beating. She refuses to go to the ER, though, as the cops and the villains are looking for her. Nikki has had time to think, and shes determined that the reason she and Sy were greeted by Meemo and Yuri is because Emmit is mixed up in some shady doings. He probably had cash problems when the housing market crashed, she guesses, and couldnt get a bank loan. He went elsewhere, she thinks, maybe private equity sources, but a shark in a suit is still a shark, she points out. She tells Ray hell get his shot at revenge for her beating, but not until they figure out what their play is in all this.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Nikki Swango in FXs Fargo. (Photo: Chris Large/FX)

11. A new Varga quirk: He likes to jam a small metal pointing stick into his gums and between his teeth, to make them bleed and cause himself pain.

12. Gloria and Winnie arrive at Stussy HQ, to talk to Emmit. Varga overhears and invites himself into the discussion. I didnt get your name, Gloria tells him.

True, he says. Im an associate of Mr. Stussys is all you need to know for now.

Gloria: Associate in what capacity?

Varga: Ladies shoes.

Emmit laughs. Gloria and Winnie do not.

Gloria asks Emmit if he and his brother are in the midst of a feud. He denies it, after she explains the flowchart of connections with him, Ray, Ennis Stussys murder, Maurice LeFay, the car accident, and the towns of Eden Valley and Eden Prairie. Varga defensively points out her whole theory sounds like a big coincidence. In 1932, there were 24 Hitlers in the German phone books, he says. Now, are you suggesting they were all responsible for the Final Solution?

13. Gloria persists in questioning Emmit, asking if he and Ray had had a disagreement about money, or something else Ray may have wanted back. As shes talking to him, sitting on the coffee table in front of her is a partially unwrapped parcel, which contains the feud-causing stamp, which Emmit had reframed. Varga tells Gloria and Winnie they have to leave. She hands her card to Emmit, but Varga reaches out and takes it, before telling them again to leave.

14. Varga Googles Gloria later, but Google cant find a single mention of her.

15. Yuri is dispatched by Varga to Eden Valley to retrieve the Eden Valley PDs files on the Ennis Stussy murder, since they are not, famously, computerized.

16. Meemo is dispatched by Varga to Rays house to execute Ray and Nikki.

17. Ray and Nikki flee to a motel, because Gloria and Winnie came to their door. The heats on, Ray says. We better blow. They go to the Ambassador Motor Inn, a motel Ray knows takes cash, so they wont be traced via credit card. What Ray doesnt know: that Meemo was outside his house and followed he and Nikki to the motel.

18. Inside the motel room, a still aching Nikki asks Ray to get her aspirin and a cold compress, which makes him realize he left their getaway cash  the money they stole from Emmits bank  at the house. He leaves to retrieve it, while Meemo hangs around the motel ice machine.

19. At home, Ray leaves his car running and goes in to grab the cash. He does, and is startled by Emmit, whos sitting on the couch. He reminds Ray he has a key, since hes the one who co-signed the mortgage. He also tells him about Luverne, whose ashes Ray dumped into a trash can. She was Emmits daughters Dalmatian, he says. After those jabs, Emmit tells Ray he cant think of one single person besides Ray who doesnt like him.

Thats what they say to your face, Ray cracks. But Emmit says theyve been fighting for 20 years, and thats enough. He hands Ray the newly reframed stamp, and tells him its his. Words said in anger, crimes committed weve both done things, Emmit says. Its a certain madness, I think, brotherhood. Buttons you push in me, that I push in you, grudges I didnt want that anymore, so Im giving you the stamp.

Theyre lovely sentiments, and Emmit seems quite sincere, but Ray only hears one thing. Well, youre not giving it to me, he says. You cant give me what was mine from the start.

Ray tries to give the frame back. Emmit refuses. They shove it back and forth, with increasing aggressiveness. Emmit pushes it back hard enough that it flips, glass first, into Rays face, hitting him in the head and neck as the glass shatters. The frame falls away, and Emmit steps back with a frightened look on his face. It takes Ray a couple of seconds to realize he has a giant shard of glass jutting from his jugular. Emmit shakes his head, saying, Nooooo to Ray, who pulls the shard from his body, as blood starts spurting out of his neck. He realizes what hes done too late. With a frightened look on his face, Ray reaches out towards Emmit and says his brothers name two times. He falls to his knees, and then slowly slumps to the floor, losing more blood quickly.

Raymond, Emmit moans, as Ray dies, leaving his head in a widening pool of blood. Emmit takes out his phone and calls  who else  Varga. He tells him theres been an accident at Rays, and he needs help. Varga says hes on the way.

20. At the motel, Nikki has gone to the ice machine to fill a bucket, and Meemo sneaks into her rooms bathroom, where he waits with string to strangle her. As Nikki walks back to her room, Meemo gets a call on his cell.

21. Nikki slowly re-enters her hotel room, sensing someone is inside. Grabbing a wire hanger and fashioning it into a weapon, she swings the bathroom door open  nothing. She pulls the shower curtain back  nothing.

22. Varga and Meemo arrive at Rays home, and immediately been concocting a cover for Rays death. Varga wants to pin it on Nikki. Theyll say Ray abused her  hitting her only in places where people cant see the bruises  and that she got fed up and killed him.

23. We realize Rays death, which brought Meemo to his house to help cover it up, saved Nikkis life. Now, Nikkis at the motel, alone, injured, without cash and food and medicine, and without a car.

24. Varga tells Emmit to go to his dinner meeting with Sy, while he and Meemo stage the crime scene. Emmit whispers to Varga, I didnt mean to. Varga whispers back, No one ever does.

25. Gloria is in her cop car, thinking back about Vargas rudeness in Emmits office, and how everyone  all the men  keep pooh-poohing her theory about the connections between Enniss murder and the other Stussys. Screw it! she says, and turns her car around. She gets on the police radio and asks the dispatcher to locate Winnie, and tell her to meet her shes going back to Rays house.

Dontcha Know:

* About that Gavrilo Princip story of Vargas it wasnt actually Princip who tossed the hand grenade that failed to kill Ferdinand earlier in the day. It was one of his pals, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, who tried to avoid being caught after he tossed the bad bomb by swallowing a poison pill and throwing himself into a nearby river. The poison was expired, however, and the river was only four inches deep. Cabrinovic was caught.

As for the sandwich angle of Princips story, theres very little evidence to suggest its true. According to a 2011 SmithsonianMag.com article, the sandwich story only became widespread, and widely accepted as fact, after it was reported in a 2003 episode of the documentary TV series Days That Shook the World.

* Notice that when Emmit was really in trouble, his first instinct was to call Varga, not Sy?

* Also notice that when Ray told Varga he was going to a dinner meeting, he said it was with Sy, but didnt mention Mrs. Goldfarb would also be there? Wonder how Varga will react when, after cleaning up Rays death for Emmit, he finds out Emmit and Sy are meeting with Mrs. G behind his back?

Not well seems like a safe guess.

Fargo airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

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SpaceX is marching ever closer to launching a brand new, huge rocket for the first time this summer.

A new video released by the Elon Musk-founded spaceflight company shows a test firing of one of the boosters that will be used for a Falcon Heavy rocket launch.

SEE ALSO: SpaceX's most recent rocket landing looks like something out of science fiction

The "side booster" will eventually be strapped onto the main stage of the Falcon Heavy to help give it the extreme power it needs to fly heavy payloads to orbit and beyond.

Static fire test of a Falcon Heavy side booster completed in McGregor, TX last week. This booster previously launched Thaicom 8. pic.twitter.com/nWrNCXtu13  SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 25, 2017

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is designed to be the company's most powerful rocket yet. In total, the rocket will be outfitted with two side boosters and a main booster.

This is the second Falcon Heavy test video released this year. The company showed off a test of its core Falcon Heavy stage in another video put out earlier this month.

The booster tested in Texas last week has already been to space.

Falcon Heavy is this times three. One way or another, launch is guaranteed to be exciting ... https://t.co/FPUNALj0Hd  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 25, 2017

SpaceX used this booster to launch the Thaicom 8 communications satellite to orbit in May 2016.

The company landed the booster back on a drone ship floating in the ocean after sending the payload on its way.

The booster after it landed back on a drone ship in 2016.

Image: spacex

SpaceX has big plans for the rest of the year. The company is gearing up for its first Falcon Heavy launch this summer and it plans to launch multiple Falcon 9 missions in the second half of 2017.

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The company also aims to launch two people on a circumnavigation of the moon in 2018. In 2020, SpaceX is aiming to send its first robotic mission to Mars.
Nairobi (AFP) - Five police officers were killed Thursday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Kenya in an attack claimed by Shabaab Islamists a day after nine police died in similar blasts.

The officers had been deployed to the restive northeastern region to take part in an operation against the Somali-led militants after two separate roadside bombs on Wednesday.

"The five police officers killed in the attack were headed to boost the ongoing operation in Liboi," said North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Ali Saleh referring to a town on the border with Somalia.

The Kenya Red Cross said the latest attack occurred between Malelei and Kulan in Garissa county when a vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED).

The blast flipped over the green police pickup and tore its rear end off.

The Shabaab, a Somali-led jihadist group linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack -- as well as for the previous two -- in a statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.

On Wednesday morning four police officers were killed when their vehicle drove over a roadside bomb near the Liboi border post.

Three were killed instantly and a fourth died of his injuries later, according to a police report seen Thursday by AFP that revised the initial toll of three.

Later in the day a convoy accompanying a local governor was struck, killing five officers including his bodyguard.

- More attacks predicted -

Earlier this week Kenyan police issued a statement warning of increased militant activity in the area, specifically mentioning the threat of IEDs.

On Thursday, Inspector General Joseph Boinnet of the Kenyan police said "several terror suspects" had been arrested in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties over the past two days, including one it identified as a "high-ranking Al-Shabaab explosives expert" named Ahmed Abdi Yare.

Weapons and material for making IEDs were also recovered, Boinnet said.

He warned that more attacks were likely during the holy month of Ramadan which begins this weekend.

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The Kenyan government has yet to comment on the upsurge in attacks in the region bordering Somalia.

On May 16, four people were killed near Liboi when their car hit an IED.

Several other incidents took place last week in Mandera county when suspected Shabaab fighters attacked a village, killed a traditional chief and kidnapped two police reservists, according to local police.

In October 2016, the government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Mandera after Shabaab fighters killed 12 people at a hotel. The authorities also stepped up security in the region, with the curfew extended in April.

Since 2007, the Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Somalia but began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-member African Union mission fighting in Somalia.

In 2013, Shabaab gunmen raided a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi killing 67 people, and in 2015 a similar attack on a university in Garissa left 148 dead.
Bouake (Ivory Coast) (AFP) - Four people were killed and many hurt when police clashed Tuesday with former rebels barricading the road into Bouake, Ivory Coast's second biggest city, in the spillover from a corrosive army mutiny over pay.

The protesters said security forces opened fire to disperse them, but the government denied responsibility.

"Security forces deployed conventional measures to maintain order," Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko said in a statement.

"But some of the armed demonstrators pulled the pin out of a grenade that exploded among them," he added.

Three bloodied bodies were brought into the main Bouake hospital, an AFP reporter said, shortly after police stepped in to evict protesters who had obstructed the northbound road into Bouake on Monday.

A fourth person later died, he was among around 15 people seriously injured in the clashes, hospital sources said.

The highway into Bouake is the main road for the world's top cocoa producer, linking the economic capital Abidjan in the south to northern Ivory Coast and to its commercially vital neighbour Burkina Faso.

"This is serious," said a rebel spokesman, Amadou Ouattara. "I never would've imagined shooting at unarmed people who are demonstrating."

The violence comes days after a crippling four-day mutiny by former rebels who joined the army in 2011, as peace returned after a decade-long war that had split the country in two.

The 8,400 mutineers last week halted their protest and returned to barracks after reaching an agreement with the government in a pay dispute.

- 'Sound of grenades' -

The rebels protesting in Bouake are among 6,000 nationwide who did not join the army, but who are now demanding identical compensation from the government for the war.

During the 2002-2011 conflict, Bouake was used as rebel headquarters, with a force estimated at tens of thousands.

Security forces were out in significant numbers on Tuesday morning to clear the highway into Bouake, which during last week's mutiny saw some 500 trucks backed up during several days.

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Traffic had begun to return to normal this weekend, and police remained stationed on the highway after dispersing the protesters.

The police assault took place in the morning. "Police started hurling tear gas," said Diakite Aboudou, a spokesman for the former rebels.

"We could hear the sound of grenades," he added. "Then we heard automatic gunfire and the sound of Kalashnikovs. The dead were killed by gunfire."

Solidarity Minister Mariatou Kone saying by telephone that she was calling for dialogue and "for calm because violence won't settle anything."

The protesters are demanding the government pay them 18 million CFA francs (27,000 euros) each as compensation for the time they spent fighting.

The mutinous soldiers are to get bonuses of 12 million CFA francs (18,000 euros) each.
Try to think of the last time Congress did something the American public generally opposes, such as raising taxes on the middle class or cutting back government services. Its an awfully short list, if you can come up with anything at all.

Yet the Republican-controlled Congress seems determined to do something that gets more unpopular by the day: replace the Affordable Care Act with something that would offer fewer protections to consumers and leave millions of Americans who are now insured without coverage.

The ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare, is a flawed program that needs help. But the GOP crusade to kill it is a white-whale obsession that cannot possibly lead to a happy ending for Republicans, or the country. For decades, Social Security was considered the third rail of politics: touch it and you die. Healthcare is now the third rail, and Republicans, remarkably, have wrapped their arms around this high-voltage career-killer.

The latest GOP plan would add 23 million Americans to the ranks of the uninsured within a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In Washingtons bizarre logic, this is considered good news for backers of the plan, because a prior version of the bill would have raised the number of uninsured by 24 million. So the latest plan is marginally less terrible than the prior one. The latest bill would also save taxpayers $119 billion over a decade, because you save money when you stop paying for something expensive, such as healthcare. Budget hawks think its a worthwhile tradeoff, but they have not yet had to run for reelection while defending a decision sure to be demagogued as an attack on cancer patients and pregnant women stripped of coverage.

All of this parsing is big news in Washington, because the official analysis just published by the CBO is sort of like a fat Scarlet A tattooed on the GOP bill. Intrigue! But Washington shouldnt even be talking about this, because of all the things Congress could be doing, revamping the healthcare system for the second time in a decade is about the most problematic, convulsive and implausible project to put at the top of the list during the new Trump administration.

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Republicans are stuck, of course, because they have hollered for the repeal of the ACA since a Democrat-controlled Congress passed it in 2010. Since Republicans now control Congress and the White House, they must either honor their word or risk exposure as hypocrites unwilling to do what they demanded now that they have the power to do it. That has made the ACA repeal bill Exhibit A under Be Careful What You Wish For.

The ACA is more popular than ever

Americans dont like Obamacare, but the rush to kill it this year has moved public opinion in the exact opposite direction that Congress is headed. The GOP attack on the ACA has literally made the law more popular than ever, with support rising from 42% last year to 55% this year, according to Gallup:

A Quinnipiac poll shows that 56% of voters disapprove of GOP plans to repeal the ACA, with only 17% in favor. So Congressional Republicans are going to spend the rest of 2017 fighting for a measure that less than one-fifth of voters support. No wonder Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he doesnt see how he can get 50 votes for a ACA-repeal bill, even though Republicans hold 52 Senate seats.

Americans dont expect much from Congress, so it might not matter if leaders of the House and Senate spend a year or two chasing bad legislation they secretly hope gets hacked into oblivion by the Russians. Except there are more important things Congress ought to be doing, and doing pronto. What should be at the top of the list is corporate tax reform that makes the US tax structure more competitive with other nations and encourages companies from everywhere to invest more in the Untied States.

Well get to it, GOP leaders sayright after we repeal the ACA. But thats like saying youll declutter the garage right after you detach it from the house and place it on top of the attic. Whichever party owns the health care issue regrets it, writes analyst Greg Valliere of Horizon Investments. The Republicans are caught in a Catch-22; they know that Obamacare is failing, but they cannot come up with a replacement.

The longer Congressional Republicansprodded by President Trumppursue an Obamacare replacement, the more they imperil the parts of their agenda voters might actually support, such as tax reform and infrastructure spending. By making health care their top priority, Republicans have set themselves up for a giant comedown when Trump must either sign a law that will harm millions of Americans, or give up, saying, well, we tried. That will weaken the GOPs hand on everything that follows. But at least 23 million uninsured Americans is less bad than 24 million.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com

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Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, right, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on May 23. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

A group of 22 Republican senators signed a letter urging President Trump to make a clean break from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The letter, dated May 25, commends Trump for signing 14 executive orders to roll back regulations established under the Obama administration. It singles out the Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth order for beginning the process of dismantling former President Barack Obamas Clean Power Plan regulations.

But the many high-profile Republican leaders  including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Oklahoma Sen. James M. Inhofe  argue that remaining in the Paris Agreement would interfere with rolling back the countrys regulatory burdens.

Because of existing provisions within the Clean Air Act and others embedded in the Paris Agreement, remaining in it would subject the United States to significant litigation risk that could upend your Administrations ability to fulfill its goal of rescinding the Clean Power Plan. Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to make a clean break from the Paris Agreement, the letter reads.

More than 195 countries have signed the landmark international treaty, pledging to reduce their carbon emissions in an effort to keep the average global temperature increase to below 2C.

Mike Lee, who signed the letter, talks with Lindsey Graham, who didnt, as signers Orrin Hatch and Ted Cruz stand nearby. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Republican senators argue that environmentalists will try to use the Paris Agreement as a legal defense against Trumps efforts to rescind the Clean Power Plan. They say the international accord will only embolden those already citing Section 115 of the Clean Air Act, which is concerned with international air pollution, to advocate for greenhouse gas regulations.

Trump, who has described himself as not a huge believer in the global warming phenomenon, vowed to pull out of the Paris Agreement while campaigning but has softened his tone since Inauguration Day.

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump plans to decide after his current international trip, which includes his first meeting with leaders from the Group of Seven in Italy. In their meeting at the Vatican, Pope Francis presented Trump with a copy of his landmark encyclical calling for international cooperation to fight global warming.

In the GOP letter, the senators acknowledge that Trumps inner circle is divided on whether the United States should exit the Paris Agreement. According to various reports, Ivanka Trump (his daughter and assistant), Jared Kushner (his son-in-law and senior adviser) and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson want the U.S. to remain. On the other hand, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt have been outspoken in their opinion that the U.S. should back out of the agreement.

We understand that some officials inside your Administration want to remain in the Paris Agreement to keep a seat at the table so that the U.S. continues to have a voice in future discussions. Fortunately, a clean exit from the Paris Agreement will not take this away, the letter reads.

The signatories point out that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 1992 reserves a permanent spot every year at the Conferences of Parties (COP). These are annual formal meetings in which diplomats and world leaders assess progress on climate change and discuss possible solutions.

Again, we applaud you on your ongoing efforts to reduce overregulation in America, the letter concludes. To continue on this path, we urge you to make a clean exit from the Paris Agreement so that your Administration can follow through on its commitment to rescind the Clean Power Plan.

On Wednesday, Democratic senators  including Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer  held a press conference urging Trump to stay in the climate accord.

Scientists, business owners, even our kids know #ClimateChange is real. Our govt shouldnt run away from it. #ParisAgreement  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 24, 2017

Many domestic and international scientific associations have issued statements affirming that scientific evidence shows that the global climate is changing as a result of human activities and that it is a major danger to society.

The American Physical Society, for instance, released a statement saying the evidence behind climate change is incontrovertible.

Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earths physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.

Here is a complete list of the Republican senators who signed off on letter to Trump:

 James M. Inhofe

 John Barrasso

 Mitch McConnell

 John Cornyn

 Roy Blunt

 Roger Wicker

 Michael B. Enzi

 Michael D. Crapo

 Jim Risch

 Thad Cochran

 M. Michael Rounds

 Rand Paul

 John Boozman

 Richard C. Shelby

 Luther Strange

 Orrin G. Hatch

 Mike Lee

 Ted Cruz

 David Perdue

 Thom Tillis

 Tim Scott

 Pat Roberts

U.S. Senate Climate Letter by Yahoo News on Scribd

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On the eve of a special election to fill Montanas House seat, the Republican candidate allegedly assaulted a journalist who was trying to ask him about the Congressional Budget Offices scoring of the House health care bill.

A violent altercation ensued, and the reporter, the Guardians Ben Jacobs, quickly relayed the incident on social media.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses, Jacobs tweeted Wednesday evening. In audio released of the incident, Jacobs asks Gianforte a question about the latest CBO scoring of the Affordable Health Care Act.

Im sick and tired of you guys, Gianforte said, as what sounds like a struggle can be heard on the recording. The last guy who came here did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here. The last guy did the same thing. Are you with the Guardian?

Yes! You just broke my glasses, Jacobs replied.

The last guy did the same damn thing, Gianforte said.

You just body slammed me and broke my glasses, Jacob said.

Get the hell out of here, Gianforte yelled.

Republican candidate for Montanas only U.S. House seat, Greg Gianforte, sits in a vehicle near a Discovery Drive building Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in Bozeman, Mont. A reporter said Gianforte body-slammed him Wednesday, the day before the special election. (Freddy Monares/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP)

Jacobs said he went to a local hospital to get an X-ray on his elbow. Gianforte left the event, and members of the Gallatin County Sheriffs Office were taking statements at the scene. Earlier on Wednesday, Jacobs had published a story in the Guardian about financial ties between Gianforte and Russian companies under U.S. sanctions.

The sheriffs office initially released a statement Wednesday evening saying it was investigating allegations of assault involving Greg Gianforte. As interest in the story grew, a press conference was called hours later. Sheriff Brian Gootkin said he was looking into whether Gianforte had fled the scene. That will be part of the investigation, Gootkin said.

Jacobs account of the incident was corroborated by Fox News Alicia Acuna, who was in the room to interview Gianforte at the time the violence occurred. Acuna said Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck and slammed him to the ground before punching him repeatedly.

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To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriffs deputies, Acuna wrote in her account of the attack.

Gianforte spokesperson Shane Scanlon released a statement Wednesday that appeared to be at odds both with the audio recording of the incident as well as Acunas retelling of it.

Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, Scanlon said in the statement, the Guardians Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. Its unfortunate that aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.

Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte speaks to supporters during a campaign meet and greet at Lambros Real Estate on May 24, 2017 in Missoula, Montana. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Rob Quist, the Democrat in the special election, told reporters he had no comment on the allegations.

I hadnt heard that, so thats really not for me to talk about. Thats more of a matter for law enforcement, Quist said. Asked what effect the incident might have on the outcome of the election, Quist demurred. I guess, again, thats not for me to judge. Im just focused on the issues that are facing the people of Montana.

This is not the first time Gianforte has clashed with a member of the media. At a campaign event in April, a supporter asked Gianforte his views on how the media could be reined in, the Missoulian reported.

We have someone right here. It seems like there is more of us than there is of him, Gianforte responded, after making a strangling gesture with his hands. I dont have a simple solution for you.

Sixty percent of votes in the election have already been cast via absentee ballot. In Montana, any registered voter can request and use an absentee ballot.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a statement after the incident calling on Gianforte to withdraw his candidacy and urging House Speaker Paul Ryan and the National Republican Congressioinal Committee to denounce its candidate.

Though not in the room when the violence ensued, BuzzFeed News reporter Alexis Levinson was nearby and tweeted her account shortly after the incident.

This happened behind a half closed door, so I didnt see it all, but heres what it looked like from the outside  Ben walked into a room where a local TV crew was set up for an interview with Gianforte. All of a sudden I heard a giant crash and saw Bens feet fly in the air as he hit the floor. Heard very angry yelling (as did all the volunteers in the room)  sounded like Gianforte

Health care has been a key factor in the race to fill the House seat that was held by Ryan Zinke before his appointment as the Trump administrations secretary of the interior, with Quist focusing his final ad on the issue.

Gianforte has previously come under fire over his views on the AHCA. Earlier this month he declined to tell reporters whether he supported the Republican plan to replace Obamacare.

Greg needs to know all the facts, because its important to know exactly whats in the bill before he votes on it, a spokesman for Gianforte told the New York Times.

Later that same day, on a conference call with Republicans, Gianforte was heard praising the bill, the Times reported.

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Stephen Jones came to the aid of Manchester bombing victims. (whufc.com)

If there is anything we have learned from terrorist attacks and their ugly aftermaths, it is this: Acts of kindness immediately will follow.

Strangers come together to aid the victims. Civic and national pride rises from the affected communities to show their collective support and display their determined defiance. The latter was the scene at Wednesdays Europa League final outside Stockholm, where Manchester United fans watched their club beat Ajax just two days after a terrorists bombs exploded at a pop concert in Manchester.

Out of this latest evil act, the story of Stephen Jones will go down as some of the good to come from it.

The 35-year-old Jones was homeless looking for a place to sleep on the street outside Manchester Arena when the bombs killed 22 and injured over 100 people at an Ariana Grande concert. Jones tended to some of the victims, doing what he could to help. His heroism made headlines around the world.

But that is not the end of Joness story.

West Ham United owners were so moved by Joness selflessness that they sought him out to help his own situation. Through social media, they were able to locate him. And on Wednesday, the Premier League club announced that joint-chairman David Sullivan and his son Dave are repaying Jones for his heroism by providing new clothes, paying his rent for six months and finding him job opportunities.

Dave and myself were both hugely impressed by the bravery shown by Steve, the emergency services and all those who rushed to the aid of those affected by the Manchester attack, Sullivan said in a club statement.

The Sullivans arent the only ones lending a helping hand. A crowdfunding effort has raised over $50,000 for Jones.

Steve deserves this chance to improve his own life, added Sullivan, after his selfless and heroic acts undoubtedly improved the lives of so many others.

[H/T ESPN FC]
A large body of water separated the present-day North American continent into two halves during most of the late Cretaceous Period, between 95 and 66 million years ago, and because of the seaway linking the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, land animals on one side could not make it to the other, and would therefore evolve independently. One such genus of animals, trapped on the western half, was the horned dinosaur, whose remains have been found in western North America, as well as Asia.

However, the discovery of a tooth in Mississippi provides evidence that horned dinosaurs were present in eastern North America as well. The fossil, dated to between 66 and 68 million years ago, is from a dinosaur closely related to Triceratops, the most well-known genus of horned dinosaurs. The find also suggests that there could have existed some land connection between the two land masses thought to be completely separate at the time.

HornedDinosaurTooth

Photo: George Phillips, MDWFP Museum of Natural Science

The fossil is small, only the size of a quarter, but it packs a ton of information. The shape of this tooth, with its distinctive split root, is absolutely unique among dinosaurs. We only have the one fossil, but it's more than enough to show that an animal very similar to Triceratops-perhaps even Triceratops itself-made it into eastern North America, Andrew Farke, a paleontologist from the Webb Schools in Claremont, California, and one of the authors of the paper announcing the discovery in the journal PeerJ, said in a statement Tuesday.

Read: Ghostbusters Dinosaur Zuul Discovered In Montana

Triceratops, which were herbivores, appeared in North America about 68 million years ago, and its remains have been found usually near the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The find of the tooth fossil from Mississippi suggests the seaway between the two halves of the continent had at least partially receded before the dinosaurs went extinct in the mass extinction event 66 million years ago.

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ToothComparison

Photo: Jeremy Copley, MDWFP Museum of Natural Science

George Phillips, paleontology curator at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Museum of Natural Science and co-author of the paper, discovered the fossil in the Owl Creek Formation in northern Mississippi. That region was likely under water when the tooths owner was still alive but it was still quite close to land.

The discovery is shocking because fossils of ceratopsid horned dinosaurs had never been discovered previously from eastern North America. Its certainly the most unique and important vertebrate fossil discovery Ive ever made, Phillips said in the statement.

OwlCreekFormation

Photo: Andrew Smith, Mississippi State University Center for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts

It is not known precisely when the seaway separating the two halves of the North American continent disappeared, and given the lack of preserved rock and fossils, scientists are unable to determine exactly when land animals could resume moving across the breadth of the entire continent. The discovery of this ceratopsid tooth could help improve that understanding.

The open-access paper, titled The first reported ceratopsid dinosaur from eastern North America (Owl Creek Formation, Upper Cretaceous, Mississippi, USA), was published online Tuesday.

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Associated Press

There has already been two coaching changes halfway through the NFL season with Indianapolis firing Frank Reich this week four weeks after Carolina did the same to Matt Rhule. The NFL had a record-tying 10 coaching changes last offseason and three-quarters of the teams have changed head coaches at least once in the past five years. Here's a look at some coaches who figure to be on the hot seat if things don't turn around in the second half of the season and some assistants who could be in line for head coaching jobs.
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian hardliners indignant at President Hassan Rouhani's re-election vowed on Sunday to press their conservative agenda, with some saying his caustic campaign trail attacks on their candidate would bring a backlash. Rouhani won decisively with 57 percent of the vote on Friday, with promises of more engagement with the outside world, more economic opportunities for Irans youth, as well as social justice, individual freedoms and political tolerance. The president, known for decades as a conciliatory figure, remade himself on the campaign trail as a reformist political street fighter, accusing hardliners of brutality and corruption in language that frequently strained at the boundaries of what is permitted in Iran. At one point, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called rhetoric in a TV debate "unworthy". In his victory speech, Rouhani continued to sound his defiant note, saying the nation had chosen "the path of interaction with the world, away from violence and extremism." Some conservatives were further angered when Rouhani's supporters danced and sang in the streets in some cities on Saturday evening to celebrate his victory. Men and women participated together, testing the strict rules meant to enforce sexual segregation in public in Iran. The victory for the reform camp went beyond the presidency: in Tehran, Rouhani allies won all 21 seats on the city council, defeating conservatives who had controlled it for 14 years. Rouhani's defeated rival, hardline judge Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Khamenei, said in his first comments after the election that the almost 16 million voters who supported him must not be ignored. "Enjoying such support, I will continue my fight against corruption and inequality and my efforts to solidify the values of the Islamic Revolution," Raisi, who received 38 percent of the vote, said in statement. A pro-Raisi coalition of conservative parties and clerical bodies told its supporters on Sunday the election was "not the end, but just a beginning". "We failed in our first step to form a government. But 16 million votes shows a real demand for change," the Front of Islamic Revolution Forces said in a statement. "GOD'S WRATH" An Iranian journalist who had spoken to Raisi supporters after the election told Reuters they were furious at the way the president had spoken about their candidate and themselves. "We do not seek a fight, it is Rouhani who has taken a confrontational approach, the journalist quoted one of the Raisi supporters as having told him. "Rouhani called Raisi supporters extremist and violent. How can a president insult 16 million people of his country? His sarcastic comments against the Supreme Leader and the security forces show he wants to pick a fight. On the internet, other conservatives complained about the post-election celebrations. A Raisi supporter identified as Mostafa Allali said on Twitter: "It was obscene to see boys and girls were dancing in the streets. My wife said let's go home before God's wrath falls on us." Hardline media rumbled with discontent about the outcome. The daily Kayhan, whose head is named by Khamenei, said that Raisi would have at least doubled his votes if he had been given the coverage Rouhani enjoys as president. The Ammar website, which reflects the views of the Basij hardline volunteer militia, wrote: "Hassan Rouhani can for a month destroy the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij and ... and no one can tell him anything?" Yet most hardline politicians have been more reserved, at least in public, choosing to follow Khamenei's lead in saying that the election's high turnout was a victory for the Islamic ruling system, without focusing on the outcome. Reformist university professor Sadeq Zibakalam said hardliners were still refusing to accept the election's verdict: that an overwhelming majority of Iranians want the system to become more open. "Unfortunately, instead of accepting the message issued by the results, they are hiding behind congratulations to society and the system over the high turnout," Zibakalam wrote in the daily Ghanoon. (Editing by William Maclean and Peter Graff)
cameronabadi

Donald Trump disclosure of top secret Israeli intelligence to top Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office is not without repercussions. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense chief Avigdor Lieberman said his country tweaked its intelligence-sharing protocols with the United States after Trumps off-script remarks.

I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that theres unprecedented intelligence cooperation with the United States, Lieberman told Army Radio. What we had to clarify with our friends in the United States, we did. We did our checks, he added.

Lieberman didnt clarify how or to what extent Israel changed how it shares intelligence with the United States. But the comments indicate Israels displeasure at Trumps inadvertent leaks. Not everything needs to be discussed in the media; some things need to be talked about in closed rooms, he said.

Trumps loose-lipped comments came during a May 10 meeting at the White House with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to Washington Sergey Kislyak. Trump reportedly went off-script and disclosed top secret intelligence about the Islamic State terror group during the meeting  information that reportedly came from Israel. The revelations sparked outrage among defense and intelligence officials, with furious Israeli intelligence officials shouting at their American counterparts in meetings, as Foreign Policy first reported.

The White House initially denied the reports, but then Trump undercut those denials in one of his infamous Twitter rants. As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism, he tweeted.

The latest offshoot of the Trump-Russia scandal came right before Trumps first major international trip, which included a stop in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels president, seemed willing to sweep the scandal under the rug to welcome Trump and his pro-Israel team with open arms.

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But Trump may have compounded the scandal on Monday by appearing to acknowledge the Islamic State intelligence came from Israel. Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name Israel during that conversation. They were all saying I did, so you had another story wrong, he told a pack of reporters, next to a sheepish-looking Netanyahu.

Photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images

Correction, May 24, 2017: Benjamin Netanyahu is the Israeli prime minister. A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to him as the president. Israels president is Reuven Rivlin.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions talks to President Donald Trump: AP

Attorney General Jeff Sessions reportedly did not disclose meetings he had last year with a Russian official when he applied for his security clearance, according to the Department of Justice.

This new revelation is the latest example of Mr Sessions failing to disclose contacts he had with members of the Russian government.

According to CNN, Mr Sessions  who spoke twice last year with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, once in the former senator's office  did not note these interactions on his application for security clearance. The form requires the person applying to list "any contact" he or his family had with a "foreign government" or its "representatives" over the past seven years, officials said.

Mr Sessions came under fire earlier this year after the Washington Post reported that he had failed to disclose interactions with Mr Kislyak during his Senate confirmation hearings for attorney general. He had also not disclosed the meetings in an official questionnaire.

One day after the Post published its story, Sessions recused himself from overseeing the FBI's investigation into potential ties between Trump campaign advisers and Russian operatives.

"Let me be clear," Mr Sessions said before announcing his recusal, "I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign."

It is possible that congressional committees, which are also conducting their own Russia probes, could call Mr Sessions to testify about his interactions with Mr Kislyak and his role in the campaign.

Members of Congress have also raised questions about Mr Sessions' role in Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey. The White House first said that the President had acted on the recommendations of Mr Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, despite Mr Sessions recusal from the Russia inquiry. Mr Trump told NBC that he would have dismissed Mr Comey "regardless of recommendation".
cameronabadi

Former Secretary of State John Kerry largely held his tongue on Donald Trumps raucous and controversial presidency  until now. In a commencement speech Wednesday before Harvard Universitys Kennedy School, Kerry slammed Trump and the noxious political environment in Washington in which politicians and former politicians slam each other.

I did not come here to be partisan or political or pessimistic. But I did come here to tell the truth, he said, before launching into a partisan, political, and somewhat pessimistic tirade.

He told a few jokes at the Trump administrations expense  jesting that Harvard Kennedy School graduates could take any of the thousands of empty jobs in the Trump administration, and the best way to get ahead in Trumps Washington was to brush up on all things Russia.

Im often asked what is the secret to having real impact on government, he said. Well, its recently changed. I used to say, either run for office or get a degree from Harvard Kennedy School. With this White House Id say, buy Rosetta Stone and learn Russian.

And he took a swipe at the toxic and faction-riddled political environment in the country today.

Its not normal that when you close your eyes and listen to the news, too often the political back and forth in America sounds too much like it does in the kinds of countries that the State Department warns Americans not to travel to, he said.

Then he veered back toward what could have been pages from his own stump speeches in his 2004 run for the White House.

We need people with the courage and guts to stand up and tell the truth and put forward better choices, not lowest common denominator choices calculated to win votes, he said.

He outlined some of the choices: Finding a way to alleviate Americans widespread economic anxiety, because few know economic anxiety like Harvard Kennedy grads; reminding graduates new technology is cold comfort to those who lost their jobs to it; remaining committed to combating climate change; and keeping the United States as a leading force in the world. Because the worlds just a little bit nervous about Trump right now.

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My travels to Asia, to the Middle East, to Europe  have informed me the global community is watching and unsettled about the leading nation in the free world, he said.

Kerry, who made fighting climate change one his big priorities both in the Senate and in the State Department, spoke at length about the severity of the climate threat, warning of the dangers of pulling out of the landmark Paris climate change agreement.

It would be a self inflicted wound that would hurt our own businesses, diminish our leadership, and set back our own future, he said. Instead, he urged graduates to bet on science, bet on reality.

Class of 2017, Kerry closed, your job is to disturb the universe. Because the universe apparently hasnt already been disturbed quite enough lately.

Photo credit: Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Oh Justin Trudeau, is there anything you can't make stupidly charming?

The Canadian prime minister did the coolest thing with a young contest winner, and we're super jealous about it. Five-year-old Bella from Thompson, Manitoba was the lucky winner of CBC Kids' "Prime Minister for a Day" contest.

As acting prime minister, she got to do whatever she wanted. And what did she do on her special day? Build an awesome pillow fort in Trudeau's office with the prime minister himself.

It doesn't look like this is Trudeau's first pillow fort-building rodeo. With Bella's help, he strategically places an office couch cushion on top of two wooden chairs, and drapes a blanket (covered in maple leaves, of course) over the top of the structure for shelter. He takes this task seriously because this is certainly a crucial part of his job.

We did some redecorating in the office last week - thanks to @CBCKids for bringing Bella & her family to the Hill for the day. https://t.co/ZDGPiIXuyu  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 22, 2017

You're a very lucky girl, Bella, and we'd think you'd make a great prime minister for your fort-building skills alone.
Of President Trumps many idiosyncrasies, one that stands out is his aggressive style of shaking hands, which he has bestowed upon various world leaders since taking office. He may have finally met his match, however, during an encounter with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump and the newly elected Macron met in Brussels before a NATO summit and held the customary photo op, complete with an intense handshake.

A pool reporter in the room described the rendezvous with appropriate fervor.

They shook hands for an extended period of time. Each president gripped the others hand with considerable intensity, their knuckles turning white and their jaws clenching and faces tightening.

Slideshow: Trump caught on camera  awkward moments at NATO summit >>>

Macron, 39, the youngest president in French history, appears to have done his homework on the brash billionaires handshakes. Indeed, in footage of the moment, Macron holds his own, maintaining eye contact throughout the awkward encounter. (Before the French election earlier this month, Trump signaled support for Macrons opponent, far-right populist Marine Le Pen.)

Trumps handshakes have become an event to watch in and of themselves as he makes the rounds meeting world leaders. Perhaps none was more bizarre than the protracted handshake with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who looked eager to regain his personal space.

An honor to host Prime Minister @AbeShinzo in the United States. pic.twitter.com/f6TvfZ6sMj  President Trump (@POTUS) February 10, 2017

Later on Thursday, Trump will have dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, giving him an opportunity to redeem himself after a previous handshake snub.

Update: Macron won the handshake battle, but he may have lost the handshake war. Later on Thursday, at the new NATO headquarters, Trump unleashed a handshake that forced Macron to use his remaining arm just to stay afloat.

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President Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron before a working lunch before a NATO summit in Brussels May 25. (Peter Dejong/Pool via Reuters)

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From left: Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and Melania Trump meet the Pope during the Trump administrations first foreign trip. (Photo: Getty Images)

President Trumps first foreign trip has drawn global attention, both to his own interactions with world leaders and to the behavior of his family members. In particular, Melania and Ivanka Trump are center stage, their body language, style choices, and political agendas being examined more critically than even their domestic appearances.

Of course, this isnt new for women in the first family. Melania and Ivanka are scrutinized both for their candid moments in the public eye as well as for their curated social media profiles. Often, the scrutiny focuses on how their own personas clash with that of the president. For Melania, its promoting an anti-bullying campaign while her husband mocked a disabled reporter; for Ivanka, its leading a womens empowerment initiative while her dad filled the majority of his Cabinet with white men with whom hed done business in his life before politics.

Thank you to Queen Fabiola University Hospital for allowing me to meet w your amazing patients! Enjoyed creating paper flowers with them & getting a tour. A post shared by First Lady Melania Trump (@flotus) on May 25, 2017 at 5:52am PDT

But Ivanka and Melanias softer public personas may be strategic, according to Dr. Lauren Wright, author of On Behalf of the President: Presidential Spouses and White House Communications Strategy Today. Political spouses have the ability to influence public perceptions of a politicians character in ways others cannot.

Since their political capital is mainly their personal relationship with the person, spouses can highlight aspects of the presidents (or leaders) character or personality in a way the leader himself or his professional colleague cannot do as credibly, Wright told Yahoo Style in an email. A positive message about the president appears more authentic, more believable, coming from the person who has the most access to him, knows him the best, and has spent the most time with him.

This morning I participated in a powerful and constructive dialogue with an amazing group of Saudi Arabian women leaders. The need to empower and engage women transcends borders and cultures. Whether in the United States or Saudi Arabia, we must recognize that empowering women is key to driving economic transformation. #WomensEconomicEmpowerment #POTUSAbroad A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on May 21, 2017 at 3:37am PDT

In this way, the United States is not unique. Take Frances new First Lady, Brigitte Macron, who has been called a breath of fresh air by gender studies experts. Her age (64, to her husbands 39), and the story of her relationship with now-President Emmanuel Macron, could have helped her husband avoid an overly masculine persona during his campaign, the experts theorize.

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In Canada, Sophie Gregoire Trudeaus Instagram page features photos of her and Prime Minister husband Justin and their children commemorating World War II soldiers and celebrating International Womens Day (though that post drew ire from some.)

Its still too early in the Trump presidency to determine what Melanias or Ivankas legacies will truly be, or to determine what kind of good the Trump presidency can accomplish. For some international leaders embroiled in controversy, even their wives best efforts to convince the public their husbands are benevolent arent enough.

Asma Assad, Syrian president Bashar Assads wife, was once referred to as a rose in the desert in a Vogue profile that lives in infamy (though not on the Vogue website). But the public perception of Assad now, at least outside Syria, has ostensibly stiffened, with many suggesting shes complicit in her husbands human rights abuses.

                 .. The First Lady Asma al Assad visiting al-Nour Kindergarten for visually impaired children in al-Midan neighbourhood in #Damascus     #Syria #love #LoveSy #assad #photooftheday #children #hope #OurFirstLady #WeLoveYouAsma #bestoftheday A post shared by The First Lady Asma al Assad (@asmaalassad) on May 20, 2017 at 5:28am PDT

Most recently, members of the British government have referred to Assad in opinion pieces as a cheerleader for evil and have called the British government to revoke Assads British citizenship, even though she was born in London.

But you wouldnt know that looking at her Instagram page, which has 132,000 followers. She posts photos visiting wounded heroes and disabled children, and often uses the hashtag #WeLoveYouAsma in what seem to be her own posts.

    ???????? Syrian Organization for Persons with Disabilities  Aamal #IMetTheFirstLady #WeLoveYouAsma #Syria #assad #LoveSy #love #photooftheday A post shared by The First Lady Asma al Assad (@asmaalassad) on May 17, 2017 at 9:42am PDT

Political spouses like Assad have greater control over the kind of coverage they receive, in part because they dont have to grant the kind of media access that their elected spouses do.

They have the luxury of choosing the outlet that will give them the most favorable coverage, or they can go to alternative media outlets, like late-night talk shows and scripted and reality TV where they know their message will be disseminated to a large and broad audience, Wright said.

Case in point: On Facebook, the Syrian first lady posted a 2016 Russian news documentary, of which she was the subject, which explored her role in the Assad administration. The documentary begins with an interview inside the Syrian presidential palace, then chronicles how she receives martyr families, (families of deceased Syrian army fighters) who then bestow upon her adoring praise.

Honeylet Avancena, common-law wife to Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte, is another example of a spouse whose presence adds a layer of warmth to a hawkish politician. While her husband forcefully tackles his countrys ongoing war against drugs, Avancena makes public appearances at museums and visits sick children in Cambodian hospitals. President Duterte, sometimes referred to as the Punisher, also appears on the Instagram page of his wifes daughter, Veronica Kitty Duterte, hardly as menacing as his nickname implies.

A post shared by Veronica (@vduterteee) on May 24, 2017 at 10:44am PDT

In Brazil, first lady Marcela Tedeschi Temer posts about her childrens initiatives on Instagram, saying in a post translated from Portuguese, talked about how the investment in each child can generate a better future for our country.

Com alunas de uma escola de Valparaiso de Goias que visitaram, hoje, o Palacio do Planalto. ???? A post shared by Marcela Temer (@marcelatemer) on Apr 6, 2017 at 4:45pm PDT

Meanwhile, President Michel Temer remains embroiled in an ongoing corruption investigation that has led an estimated 35,000 Brazilians to protest against the government. Temer responded by deploying federal troops to contain the violence.

#tbt da visita a uma escola no Japao que atende criancas brasileiras. ???????? ???????? A post shared by Marcela Temer (@marcelatemer) on Mar 16, 2017 at 3:17pm PDT

Trying to list all of the examples becomes exhausting. South African First Lady Bongi Ngema-Zuma, one of President Jacob Zumas four wives, joins the president on his international trips and leads a diabetes awareness foundation; President Zuma, meanwhile, fends off increasing momentum from opponents who are calling for his removal from office after evidence of corruption surfaced last year.

In Turkey, democratic-cum-autocratic President Recep Erdogan imprisoned at least 120 journalists in the last year for terrorism, what wed call dissent in the U.S. His wife, Emine, uses her Instagram to post photos of the events she attends that promote social, medical, and youth causes. In a recent post, she captioned a photo in Turkish of her delivering a speech, translated into English, saying, This land has always been a target in all periods of history, it has been blinded, and we have to look at it like our eyes, we have to live our life by understanding its importance, its value. I can do this only through a conscious and patriotic youth.

Although its not a hard-and-fast rule that a politicians wife must champion specific causes, it all comes down to strategically influencing public perception, Wright said. The idea that women have different concerns and priorities than men remains a controversial one, but what I found in my research was that there is often a normative benefit to having an active spouse in the White House, especially a spouse that travels internationally.

So, perhaps these women are more like wolves in sheeps clothing  if sheep wear Dolce & Gabbana, that is.

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Supermodel Miranda Kerr reportedly swears by the health and beauty benefits of Tahitian noni juice. But is the tropical beverage really a fountain of wellness?

Plastic Surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon has just returned from Tahiti, and he says, Its no secret to the people of French Polynesia and Tahiti. They swear by it!

Watch: Tahiti's Health Secrets

But what does it taste like, ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork wants to know. I cant say it on TV, is Dr. Ordons answer.

Dr. Stork takes a sip  and his expression says it all. It is so funky! Dr. Ordon laughs. It takes getting used to, Dr. Stork says. Its different.

Watch: The Health Benefits of Pineapples

When Dr. Ordon was in Tahiti, he got to see and sample the fruit at the source. He learned that noni fruit is packed with B vitamins, potassium, and antioxidants. The juice is fermented for about four months, so it also has probiotic properties.

If you havent given it a whirl, you should try it before you die, concludes Dr. Stork. Miranda, if youre there  Id love to drink some noni juice with you! adds Dr. Ordon.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock called congressional candidate Greg Gianfortes alleged assault on a reporter a real wake-up call in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric, as voters in his state headed to the polls Thursday.

Gianforte allegedly body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at an event in Bozeman Wednesday after Jacobs attempted to ask him a question about President Trumps health care plan. Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Bullock, a Democrat who defeated Gianforte in the 2016 gubernatorial election, said the assault was unacceptable and a clear sign of the countrys increasingly hostile political environment.

It is unsettling on so many levels that he would physically assault a reporter who was just doing his job, [then] lie and not take responsibility for his actions, Bullock said. Things like this serve as another wake-up call  not just for Montana but for all Americans  that we need to be restoring sensibility in politics and government and demanding more  from people seeking the public trust.

Gianfortes actions do not represent the state of Montana or the values of Americans, Bullock said, even if the Republican wins the election.

No matter what ends up happening, the actions of Gianforte dont reflect the values of Montana or the values of its people, Bullock said. Making journalists the enemy  thats not what we as a country are.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock listens to a reporters question at the governors residence in Helena, Mont., on Oct. 11, 2016. (Photo: Matt Volz/AP)

While most Montana voters have already cast their ballots by mail, Bullock maintained that he hoped the incident would serve as a wake-up call for undecided voters who head to the polls today.

It is just troubling for our overall system, he said, adding that he was hearing real concern from voters.

Bullock also discussed Trump, who won Montana by 20 points. He said the presidents signature health care bill  the American Health Care Act  would harm rural areas, including much of his own state.

One thing that really resonates  is President Trump taking health care away from Montanans, he said, adding that his state worked in a bipartisan effort to pass a Medicaid expansion that could be reversed.

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As the president talks about that and Greg Gianforte said that its good the House bill is moving forward  that has real effect, Bullock said. That is an impact for our rural communities and our health care, and thats one area where we really hear people saying, This isnt what we signed up for, as far as taking away our health care and giving tax cuts to rich guys.

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Miami (AFP) - An unmanned NASA spaceship circling Jupiter has spotted massive cyclones at the gas giant's poles, revealing stunning new details about our solar system's largest planet, researchers said Thursday.

A NASA statement described the planet as "a complex, gigantic, turbulent world" that is far different than scientists previously thought.

Two papers in the journal Science and 44 papers in Geophysical Research Letters describe a trove of discoveries made since Juno began orbiting Jupiter last year.

"We knew, going in, that Jupiter would throw us some curves," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

"There is so much going on here that we didn't expect that we have had to take a step back and begin to rethink of this as a whole new Jupiter."

A look at Jupiter's poles has shown they are covered with dozens of densely clustered storms, possibly dropping hail or snow.

"Images of Jupiter's previously-unseen poles show a chaotic scene of bright oval features," said one of the studies in the journal Science.

These ovals, it turns out, are huge swirling storms, some of which measure up to 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) across.

Researchers found "signs of ammonia welling up from the deep atmosphere and forming giant weather systems."

Now, more study is needed to better understand the nature of Jupiter's storms, and why the planet acts this way.

- Juno mission -

The solar-powered Juno spacecraft launched in 2011, and made its first tour around Jupiter on August 27, 2016.

Juno moves in an elliptical orbit, skimming within 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) of Jupiter's cloud tops and passing over the poles.

Juno's mission is scheduled to end in February 2018, when the probe will self-destruct by diving into the planet's atmosphere.

The $1.1 billion project aims to peer beneath the clouds around Jupiter for the first time to learn more about the planet's atmosphere and how much water the planet contains.

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"On our next flyby on July 11, we will fly directly over one of the most iconic features in the entire solar system -- one that every school kid knows -- Jupiter's Great Red Spot," said Bolton.

"If anybody is going to get to the bottom of what is going on below those mammoth swirling crimson cloud tops, it's Juno and her cloud-piercing science instruments."

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

- 10x Earth's magnetic field -

Juno has also taken measurements of Jupiter's gravitational field, to see if it has a solid core, as some models have predicted, or no core at all.

Instead, researchers found that the core is "fuzzy," -- neither a small compact core nor a non-existent core.

Bolton said the core may be partially dissolved, and is certainly much larger than anybody had anticipated.

Even before Juno launched, researchers knew Jupiter had the most intense magnetic field in the solar system.

But now, astronomers see that it is "substantially stronger than models predicted, at 7.766 Gauss, or roughly ten times Earth's magnetic field," said the study.

According to Jack Connerney, Juno deputy principal investigator and the lead for the mission's magnetic field investigation at NASA, the "magnetic field looks lumpy.

"It is stronger in some places and weaker in others," he said.

"Every flyby we execute gets us closer to determining where and how Jupiter's dynamo works."
Former President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a discussion at the German Protestant Kirchentag in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on May 25. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

Former President Barack Obama seemed to take a subtle swipe at his successor Thursday, telling a Berlin audience that the world cannot hide behind a wall  an apparent reference to President Trumps signature campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Obama was in Germany for Kirchentag, a conference affiliated with the Protestant church that he attended at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She was beside him as he spoke from an outdoor stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

Preaching against isolationist policies, Obama said, In this new world we live in, we cant isolate ourselves. We cant hide behind a wall.

He also appeared to address the populist, anti-immigration movement that has loomed in European elections, most recently in Marine Le Pens unsuccessful presidential bid in France. In that contest, Obama endorsed centrist Emmanuel Macron, who won, while Trump had signaled some support for Le Pen.

This order that has been created has to be changed, it has to be updated, it has to be continually renewed, Obama said. Because theres a competing narrative of fear, and xenophobia, and nationalism, and intolerance and antidemocratic trends.

And so, when I think about my role when I was president, but also now as a citizen of the United States and part of the world community, what I think is most important is we rally around those values and ideals that are best, and we have to push back against those trends.

Elsewhere in the speech, Obama touted his signature post-presidency initiative: encouraging political involvement among young people.

I feel very optimistic about our futures, but its ultimately going to be up to young people today, he said, and my job now is to help them take it the next step.

_____

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An F/A-18F Super Hornet lands on the US navy's super carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower: Getty

Air strikes carried out by the US and its coalition partners in Syria have killed the highest number of civilians on record since the bombing campaign began, a war monitor has said.

A total of 225 civilians, including 36 women and 44 children, were killed in the period between 23 April to 23 May, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The toll is the highest number of recorded deaths since the international air campaign against Isis began in September 2014.

The past month of operations is the highest civilian toll since the coalition began bombing Syria, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP news agency.

There has been a very big escalation.

At least 122 Isis fighters and eight members of militias loyal to the Syrian government were also killed in the same period, the Observatory said.

The strikes are conducted without the consent of the Syrian government, with which the US does not have official diplomatic ties, and have long been criticised by Damascus and Syrias allies in Moscow and Tehran for causing unnecessary loss of life.

One incident in 2016 a strike designed to take out Isis weapons depots and other positions near Deir Ez Zour in the north of the country accidentally targeted Syrian army positions instead, killing 62 soldiers.

However, since US President Donald Trump entered office in January this year there has been a marked uptick in civilian deaths in bombing operations against Isis across both Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

In March, the US was accused of killing around 300 civilians alone after one strike which hit a mosque in Aleppo province and two incidents in the fight for Isis-controlled neighbourhoods of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Earlier this month, the US military said that coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had unintentionally killed 352 civilians since the campaign began, but rights groups have blasted the estimate as too low, saying the US is guilty of not taking sufficient precautions to avoid civilian deaths.

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SOHRs own estimate is that 1,481 people, among them 319 children, have been killed by US-led air operations since 2014.

US investigations into the three March incidents are still underway.

The Pentagon has denied there has been any significant change in US-led bombing strategy since former President Barack Obama left office.

On Friday, however, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Mr Trump has directed a tactical shift from shoving Isis out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate [them].

The intent is to prevent the return home of escaped foreign fighters, he added.

Isis now holds onto just a fraction of the territory under its control at the height of the groups powers in 2014.

Twin US-backed campaigns to oust fighters from their last urban strongholds - Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq - are underway, led by local forces on the ground assisted by 5,000 US military advisors.

The complex Syrian civil war has killed almost 500,000 people, the UN says, and is now in its seventh year.
Pope Francis gave Donald Trump a letter he wrote regarding climate change as a gift on the president's visit to the Vatican: EVAN VUCCI/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump was given a gift during his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican: a papal letter detailing why the world should fight against climate change.

Pope Francis issued the encyclical in 2015, just months before nearly 200 countries signed the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.

The agreement is considered a large part of President Obama's legacy, particularly his work on environmental issues like establishing a protected national park in Hawaii and passing legislation on clean energy.

The US is one of the largest emitters of carbon in the world and so its role is crucial to the success of the agreement along with China and India, also large carbon emitters.

The encyclical, titled Laudato Si or "Praised Be," essentially tied protection of the planet made by God to Catholics' faith in God.

In it he writes that climate change is a global problem which has grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political, and for the distribution of goods.

Mr Trump and his aides have often played up the president's business acumen and experience running a global company. Pope Francis addresses the ties between multinational corporations and climate as well.

"[T]he pollution produced by companies which operate in less developed countries in ways they could never do at home, in those countries in which they raise their capital: We note that often the businesses that operate this way are multinationals. They do here what they would never do in developed countries or the so-called first world."

He went on to write that by itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and social inclusion.

Mr Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese in the past - a stance which appears to have softened a bit after his face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China has become a leader in renewable energy investments, which topped new money pouring into the oil and gas industry for the first time in 2015 to the tune of $350 billion.

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He also appointed former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State and a known climate denier, Scott Pruitt, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In his proposed federal budget, Mr Trump also plans to cut the State Department and EPA budgets - the agencies where much of federal climate change work is done - by nearly a third.

Climate change programmes across the whole federal government, but especially in the Coast Guard, the maritime security agency of the US which also does ocean and endangered species conservation work.

The president has also caused consternation for many countries in the group of seven (G7) for not making a decision on whether to keep the US in the Paris Agreement. The G7 has issued a cohesive statement on climate change until this year, where they cited the Trump administration's lack of clarity on their message as a problem.

Several alliances, including the 28-member military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) have declared climate change as a global security threat, especially in the Middle East where drought and famine are growing concerns.

The Vatican's Secretary of State brought up climate change during the meeting as well and encouraged Mr Trump to stay in the Paris Agreement. The White House said a decision whether to remain in the agreement would be made after the G7 meeting later this month in Sicily, Italy.

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By William Maclean DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar got into a war of words with some Gulf Arab allies on Wednesday after it said hackers had posted fake remarks by its emir against U.S. foreign policy, but their state-run media reported the comments anyway. The development suggested behind-the-scenes disarray among U.S. Gulf allies just days after President Donald Trump visited Riyadh and signaled a possible revival of a 2014 rift between Qatar and its neighbors over Doha's backing of Islamists. Qatar and it Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have used their oil and gas revenues to influence events in other Arab countries, and rifts between them can alter the political balance in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Qatar's official news agency reported on Tuesday that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, at a military graduation ceremony, criticized renewed tensions with Tehran, expressed understanding for Hezbollah and Hamas, and suggested U.S. President Donald Trump might not last long in power. Doha issued a robust denial that the remarks had ever been made, but Gulf Arab countries including oil giant Saudi Arabia permitted their state-backed media to run them throughout the day on Wednesday quoting Qatar's official news agency. A government spokesman told Reuters the emir had not made any comments at the graduation ceremony for Qataris doing national service. But Saudi Arabia's Okaz daily thundered: "Qatar splits the rank, sides with the enemies of the nation." Riyadh's Arab News said the comments sparked "outrage" among other Gulf states. A Qatari Foreign Ministry official expressed "surprise at the position of some media and satellite channels". DISUNITY "The Qatar News Agency (QNA) website has been hacked by an unknown entity. A false statement attributed to His Highness has been published," a government statement said early on Wednesday. Qatar will track down and prosecute the perpetrators, the statement continued. QNA was inaccessible throughout the day. Authorities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) blocked the main website of Qatar's al Jazeera television, which Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have often seen as being critical of their governments. Al Jazeera says it is an independent news service giving a voice to everyone in the region. Both dismissed the Qatari claims of a hack. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television ran a story titled "Proof that Qatar News Agency was not hacked," which noted that the statement had also run on Qatari state television and the QNA Instagram account. Al Arabiya also reported, without elaborating, that an unidentified source in the Emirati foreign ministry had confirmed the blocking of all Qatari media websites. The incident happened days after Qatar complained it was the target of "an orchestrated barrage" of criticism by unknown parties, in the run-up to Trump's visit, that alleged that the Gulf state supported militant groups in the Middle East. "The reality is that the region is on the verge of further escalation," a Western diplomat in Doha said. "It's total chaos and no one has vision." The falling out is especially awkward for the Gulf Arab states after their leaders met Trump last weekend at a Riyadh summit of Muslim nations meant to showcase solidarity against Sunni armed militant groups and Shi'ite regional adversary Iran. In Riyadh, Trump renewed his assertion that Iran was a leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran denies that and says Saudi Arabia, the dominant GCC power, supports militant Islamist armed groups such as al Qaeda and Islamic State. Riyadh, in turn, denies that accusation. Ties between Qatar and other Gulf Arab states suffered an eight-month breach in 2014 over Qatar's alleged support for the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose political ideology challenges the principle of dynastic rule. (Reporting by Mostafa Hashem, Sami Aboudi, Sylvia Westall, Noah Browning, Katie Paul; Writing by Maha El Dahan and William Maclean; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Queen Elizabeth made a surprise stop at the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital on Thursday to visit the wounded children of the Manchester terror attack.

The queens visit to the hospital came after Britain observed a minute of silence in tribute to the dead and injured.

The queen spoke to 14-year-old victim Evie Mills and her father and said, Its dreadful. Very wicked. To target that sort of thing.

Queen Elizabeth visits the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital (Photo: AP Images)

The queen also spoke with 15-year-old victim Millie Robson and her parents during her visit. The queen commented on the attack and told Robsons father, Its not something you expect at all.

Queen Elizabeth visits the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital (Photo: AP Images)

Queen Elizabeth also met with the doctors, nurses, and others who saved lives in the days following the attack.

Queen Elizabeth visits the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital (Photo: AP Images)

Twelve children under the age of 16 were taken to the hospital following the deadly attack. According to ABC News, 22 people were killed in the bombing, 64 were injured, and 20 remain in critical condition at the hospital.

In related news, actor Tom Hardy launched a fundraising drive for the Manchester bombing victims:

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Yoda, seen here in The Empire Strikes Back, has parallels in many religious traditions. (Photo: Everett)

A lifelong Star Wars fan from California, Irfan Rydhan always saw echoes of his Muslim faith in the concept of the Force. But when he began researching the parallels between Star Wars and Islam for a blog post, he was surprised to find a traditional Sufi figure that reminded him of Yoda. Al-Khidr is described as a green being who is very knowledgeable, Rydhan, a project manager in the design and construction industry, tells Yahoo Movies. And obviously that kind of translated for me into Yoda, whos a green creature who guides someone into the right path.

Rydhan isnt the only person of faith to wonder if Yoda has roots in his or her own religious tradition. Jewish Star Wars fans have noted that the name of Luke Skywalkers mentor sounds like the Hebrew terms yada, meaning to know, and yo-dei-ah, the original term for Jew. Some Taoists believe that Yodas age in Return of the Jedi (When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not!) is a nod to their belief that humans can live 800 years or more, like the Taoist saint Peng Zu. One Buddhism scholar claims that Yoda was actually modeled after a Tibetan Buddhist monk named Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche. And when The Empire Strikes Back opened in Utah theaters in 1980, many Mormons were convinced that Yoda was based on lookalike Spencer W. Kimball, the then-president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Its not just Yoda. Ever since the first Star Wars movie opened 40 years ago on May 25, 1977, people from all different faiths have been excited to find parallels to their own beliefs and traditions in the sci-fi saga, both in its larger themes about the all-powerful Force and in specific details of the Skywalker saga. With all the ideological divisions and disagreements that exist between followers of different religions, how is it that Star Wars resonates with so many? The answer lies in creator George Lucass vision of his saga as a mono-myth: a story with broad themes and characters that would have echoes in nearly every belief system. Yahoo Movies spoke with several faith leaders, religion scholars, and adherents of different religions, all of them Star Wars fans, to get some perspective on how the Skywalker legend can be a source of divine inspiration.

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Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi, who explains the Force in A New Hope. (Photo: Everett)

The Star Wars films chronicle the interplanetary battle between the scrappy, good-hearted Rebels and the sleek, power-hungry Empire. Original protagonist Luke Skywalker rises from naive farm boy to despot-overthrowing hero when he learns the ways of the Jedi, an ancient order of warriors who harness a spiritual energy called the Force. In terms of ideology, Star Wars is this beautiful milkshake, like a slurry of different religious ideas all mixed together, says Ryan Overbey, visiting assistant professor of religion at Wesleyan University.

That Star Wars recipe was concocted by Lucas, who was raised Methodist but harbored a lifelong fascination with different cultures ideas of God. I remember when I was 10 years old, I asked my mother, If theres only one God, why are there so many religions? Lucas told Time magazine in 1999. Ive been pondering that question ever since, and the conclusion Ive come to is that all the religions are true. That idea was reinforced for Lucas by the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell, who theorized that all mythic narratives, including the stories of Christ and Buddha, were variations on the same universal story: the heros journey.

Lucas made an effort to model his Star Wars films on Campbells formula, telling an old myth in a new way, as he described it to Time magazine. Along with the broader story about the struggle between good and evil, the writer-director borrowed specific elements from a grab bag of myths and religions. For example: Jedi sounds like the Sufi term for master of the mystic-warrior way, the Arabic word Al-Jeddi. According to producer Gary Kurtz, the Jedi blessing May the force be with you is modeled on the Christian liturgical phrase The Lord be with you. Darth Vaders invitation to Luke to join him on the dark side is evocative of the temptations of Jesus Christ and Buddha. Part of the Ewok language from Return of the Jedi is a Tibetan Buddhist prayer.

More important, Lucas invented a new concept of the divine for his Star Wars saga: the Force, the centerpiece of the Jedi. I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people  more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system, Lucas told Time. The Force is described by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope as the source of a Jedis power, the energy field created by all living things that binds the galaxy together. In The Empire Strikes Back, we learn that the Force has a light and a dark side. Its all deliberately vague, yet specific enough to apply to the idea of God in every major world religion. Thats where Rydhan first saw parallels to Islam. Our concept of God is kind of similar to the Force in terms of, we dont believe that God has any human image or form that humans understand, he explains.

Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. (Photo: Lucasfilm)

For the increasing number of people who are raised without organized religion  many of whom have probably seen a Star Wars movie  the Force can open the door to understanding complex religious concepts. When I teach religion, the Force is actually a good way to begin talking about things like Taoism or monism in Hinduism, says Joseph Laycock, assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University. Pastor Ben Larson-Wolbrink of the First Presbyterian Church of Beacon, N.Y., has used the Force in religious instruction as a way to try to move beyond this idea of [God as] a guy on a throne on a cloud with a beard.

Its not just about using pop culture to make religion accessible; there are deeper theological ideas to be found in the Force as well. Rabbi Brent Spodek of the Beacon Hebrew Alliance sees the Force as a way to look past simple concepts of good and evil into the more nuanced understanding put forth by Jewish Rabbinical literature. Darth Vader is Lukes father, and Kylo Ren is Han Solo and Princess Leias son, Spodek says. The dark side, the shadow side, isnt out there somewhere; its in here In Hebrew its your yetzer hara, your own appetites, unchecked. All of the things we might think of as wrong are in many ways questions of moderation or control. Luke Skywalkers like, I need to learn how to fight, I want to defeat Vader. Of course, he wants to be powerful and mighty strong. And theres nothing wrong with that. But that desire to be strong, that desire to be mighty, unchecked, is what leads you to be Vader.

Such big ideas about human existence rarely come up in discussions of other pop-culture juggernauts. What is it about Star Wars that sparks these conversations? For one thing, the Star Wars films have a religious belief system built into the story, something that sets them apart from the secular-humanist Star Trek or the Marvel and D.C. movies, in which gods are just extra-powerful superheroes. As to why people of so many different faiths can comfortably align themselves with Lucass belief system, it has a lot to do with the fact that Lucas based it in religious ideas, rather than any specific practice.

The Force and the Jedi Order and all of that are already a couple of degrees of separation from actual religious life as people experience it, says Michael Norton, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. So I think its easy for audiences to take that and fill in the gaps with their own experiences. Laycock, who teaches Star Wars in his Religion and Film and World Religion courses, points out that the Force transcends cultural differences that inevitably exist in real-world religions. There dont really seem to be different denominations of Jediism or anything, he notes. Its all just the Force  you either feel it or you dont. Like, different planets dont experience the Force differently because of their cultures or languages  everybody just gets it!

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (Photo: LucasFilm)



In this sense, Jediism can been seen as an idealized version of religion, uncorrupted by historical divisions. Its little wonder that some Star Wars fans have been inspired to claim Lucass invented faith as their own. A 2017 New York Times article about the small-but-growing Jedi religion estimates that the number of serious practitioners in England alone is around 2,000. Of course, bringing Jediism into the real world creates those real-world divisions absent in the films; for example, the independent Jedi organizations, the Temple of the Jedi order, and the Church of Jediism have conflicting belief systems.

Even if Jediism fails to thrive outside of Lucass galaxy, the Force will continue to be a touchstone for Star Wars fans of many faiths. The films might even be moving toward a deeper exploration of their own religious ideas. Rogue One introduced a new kind of Force follower in Chirrut Imwe, a warrior-monk who commits himself to Jedi principles without actually being a Jedi. And Luke Skywalkers declaration in the Last Jedi trailer that its time for the Jedi to end, while open to interpretation, might mean that traditional ways of using the Force will evolve and change with new heroine Rey.

As long as the films encourage audiences to go on their own spiritual quests, theyll be keeping with Lucass original vision. As Lucas told Time about inventing the Force, I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery. Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask the question Is there a God or is there not a God?  that is for me the worst thing that can happen.

Watch the trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi:

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On the eve of Montanas special election, Greg Gianforte, the millionaire Republican running for the states open congressional seat, was charged with misdemeanor assault after attacking a reporter for The Guardian on Wednesday.

Guardian political reporter Ben Jacobs said Gianforte body slammed me and broke my glasses after he asked a question about the Republican health care legislation.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses  Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017

There was a local TV crew there when Gianforte body slammed me. Audio is posting soon at @GuardianUS  Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017

In an audio recording posted by The Guardian, Jacobs can be heard asking Gianforte about the recently released Congressional Budget Office report on the Republican health care replacement bill. Then theres a loud crash.

Im sick and tired of you guys, Gianforte says. The last time you came here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here!



Jesus Christ, Jacobs said. You just body slammed me and broke my glasses.



Get the hell out of here, Gianforte says again.



If youd like me to get the hell out of here, Id also like to call the police, Jacobs says.

A Fox News crew was in the room at Gianfortes campaign headquarters in Bozeman when Jacobs walked in.

Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him, reporter Alicia Acuna wrote on the Fox News website. She said the three-member team watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of Im sick and tired of this!

Acuna added: To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte. She said the Fox crew had given statements to investigators.

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Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault and ordered to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court. He faces a maximum of six months in a jail and a $500 fine.

Sheriff Brian Gootkin said the incident did not meet the Montana statutory elements for felony assault. Gootkin also addressed a donation made to Gianfortes campaign in the amount of $250 in March, saying the contribution had nothing to do with our investigation, which is now complete.

MoveOn.org, a liberal public advocacy group, said late Wednesday it would run a five-figure, last-minute campaign ad about the incident through the polling on Thursday. The minute-long video includes dramatic audio recorded during the altercation, then flashes the message: Greg Gianforte. Unfit to serve.

By Thursday morning, three local media outlets had withdrawn their endorsements of Gianforte: the Billings Gazette, the Missoulian and the Helena Independent Record.

Gianforte had previously tweeted that it was an incredible honor to be endorsed by three of the states biggest newspapers.

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What an incredible honor to be endorsed by three of MTs biggest

newspapers. Thank you @missoulian @billingsgazette @helenaironline pic.twitter.com/iW5UEORGgm  Greg Gianforte (@GregForMontana) May 24, 2017

Alexis Levinson, a BuzzFeed reporter, saw part of the clash.

This happened behind a half closed door, so I didnt see it all, but heres what it looked like from the outside, Levinson wrote on Twitter. Ben walked into a room where a local tv crew was set up for an interview with Gianforte ... All of a sudden I heard a giant crash and saw Bens feet fly in the air as he hit the floor.

Jacobs reported the attack to local police. The Gallatin County Sheriffs Office confirmed in a statement late Wednesday that it was investigating an alleged assault involving Gianforte. It said the investigation is ongoing and it would provide additional details when appropriate.

Gianfortes office blamed liberal journalist Jacobs for the confrontation. Spokesman Shane Scanlon said in a statement that Jacobs barged into an interview in a private office and aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face and began asking badgering questions.

After Jacobs refused to leave, Scanlon said, Gianforte attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. Its unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene.

In an interview with MSNBC from the hospital, Jacobs called it the strangest moment of his reporting career.

I dont mind being blown off by politicians, and I also am always terribly uncomfortable being part of a story, he told host Chris Hayes. And now it seems like I became the story.

Gianforte sitting in a Jeep. Sheriff's deputies were talking to him earlier. Now a medic is at the window talking with him. #bdcnews #mtal pic.twitter.com/JsT4tTYt82  Whitney Bermes (@wabermes) May 24, 2017

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin, speaking to reporters at a press conference later on Wednesday night, pleaded with the community to stop calling his offices dispatch center, and said he wouldnt provide much information until the investigation is finished. Asked why charges were not filed at the scene, Gootkin said: Because we did not have all the information at that time.

The high-profile incident on the eve of Election Day throws a contentious race into turmoil. Gianforte is locked in a tight race with Rob Quist, a banjo-playing folk musician who has never sought public office before.

Quist, asked to comment outside a campaign event, told reporters, I think thats more a matter for law enforcement. He brushed aside further questions.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called on Gianforte to drop out of the race. The GOP should not waste another minute before publicly denouncing their candidate and apologizing for the millions of dollars they spent on his behalf, DCCC spokesman Tyler Law said in a statement.

Although Gianforte has led Quist in public polling, his lead has shrunk in recent weeks as Quist has tied him to the unpopular Republican health care bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month. Even as Gianforte reserved judgment on the bill in public, The New York Times obtained a recording of a call with Republican-leaning lobbyists in which Gianforte said he was thankful for the bills passage. He later tried to walk back the comments, but Quist pilloried him for it in advertisements and on the campaign trail.

Last month, Gianforte issued an apology to the Billings Gazettes editorial board after making comments during a campaign stop that included hand motions directed at a reporter as if he would like to wring his neck.

Gianforte said the statement was meant as a joke and that he fully supports the First Amendment, but his remarks did little to assuage the fears of local journalists.

It was sickening to hear this contempt for journalists echoed in our own back yard, The Missoulian wrote in an editorial.

News of Wednesdays violence could be a blow that dooms Gianfortes campaign, ensuring a Quist victory and a major win for Democrats nationally.

Progressive activists across the country have poured money into Quists race, seeing it as an opportunity to signal dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump in a state he won by 20 percentage points.

In the moments before the confrontation between Jacobs and Gianforte turned violent, the reporter can be heard asking the candidate to clarify his views on the GOP health care bill. A new Congressional Budget Office analysis of the legislation came out earlier in the day, presumably giving Gianforte information he needed to decide whether he supports it.

You were waiting to make your decision about health care until you saw the bill and it just came out, Jacobs began.

Well talk to you about that later, Gianforte replied.

Yeah but theres not gonna be time, Jacobs shot back. Im just curious about it right now.

Speak with Shane, please, Gianforte said, referring to his spokesman.

Then the sound of scuffling is heard.

Listen to The Guardians recording of the clash below:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Congressional candidate Greg Gianforte owns shares in Russian index funds

Republican candidate body-slams Guardian reporter in Montana



The Guardian is committed to holding power to account. Support our independent journalism by making a contribution or becoming a member

Greg Gianfortes investment raises some conflict of interest concerns, according to a sanctions policy expert, because betting on Russias economy is problematic. Photograph: Matt Volz/AP

 This story was originally published on 28 April 2017

A Republican congressional candidate has financial ties to a number of Russian companies that have been sanctioned by the US, the Guardian has learned.

Greg Gianforte, who is the GOP standard bearer in the upcoming special election in Montana, owns just under $250,000 in shares in two index funds that are invested in the Russian economy to match its overall performance.

According to a financial disclosure filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives, the Montana tech mogul owns almost $150,000 worth of shares in VanEck Vectors Russia ETF and $92,400 in the IShares MSCF Russia ETF fund. Both are indexed to the Russian equities market and have significant holdings in companies such as Gazprom and Rosneft that came under US sanctions in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of the Crimea.

The holdings, while substantial, make up only a small portion of Gianfortes wealth. The congressional candidate, who made a fortune starting a software company which was later sold to Oracle, has assets estimated to be worth between $65m and $315m, according to his financial disclosure.

Richard Nephew, the former principal deputy coordinator for sanctions policy at the state department, told the Guardian that there is definitely a question here but my initial reaction is that this is not something to freak out about.

He added: Index funds are usually just like mutual funds, excluded from consideration from a sanctions perspective because the ownership stake per person is incredibly small.

But he noted that it did raise some concerns from a Russia policy perspective as a conflict of interest because betting on Russias economy is problematic.

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Shane Scanlon, a spokesman for Gianforte, told the Guardian that the Republican candidate did not oversee his portfolio on a day-to-day basis. Instead, Gianforte focused on the overall performance, he said.

If elected, he said, the Montana Republican would put all his assets in a blind trust to avoid any conflict of interest as well as the fact that Gianforte had released 10 years of tax returns. He added in a statement: Greg strongly believes his personal assets should never influence his decision-making in office.

Regarding Gianfortes views on Russia, Scanlon said: The situation with Russia is the result of the last eight years of a failed policy by President Obama. The US and our allies need to work together on a long-term strategy to stand against Russian aggression in the region and to ensure the sovereignty of our allies is protected. In any foreign policy decision, we must always ensure that Americas interests are protected.

But Tina Olechowski, a spokesman for Gianfortes opponent, Democrat Rob Quist, used the investments to attack the Republican candidate. Montana voters deserve to know why Greg Gianforte held on to his shady Russian investments after Putin invaded Ukraine, and again when Russia was accused of interfering in the presidential election, said Olechowski. Instead Gianforte kept his Russian ties secret during his failed run for governor last year.

She also emphasized Quists strong stance again Russia. Putins Russia invaded Ukraine and interfered in last falls presidential election, said Olechowski. That kind of aggression is a clear threat to our democracy and global security, and in Congress Rob would evaluate all of our options including whether it makes sense to step up military aid to Ukraine.

Montanas special election will be held on 25 May to fill the vacancy created by Republican Ryan Zinkes resignation to become Donald Trumps secretary of interior.
Bowie State University President Dr Mickey L. Burnim hugs Richard Collins Jr., father of Richard Collins III, at the school's graduation ceremony: Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun via AP

The father of a black student who was murdered in a suspected hate crime, has accepted his sons degree.

In an emotional ceremony at Maryland's Bowie State University, Richard Collins Jr was cheered as he took the podium.

"I really have not tried to process motive or intentions behind this yet," he told NBC News before the ceremony. I'm in no place to feel very many emotions beyond sadness and just deep sense of personal loss.

His son Richard Collins III, a 23-year-old newly commissioned Army officer, was stabbed to death over the weekend, days before he was due to accept his Business Administration degree.

The 23-year-old had recently been commissioned as an officer in the army (Facebook)

Police have charged 22-year-old Sean Urbanski with his murder.

As he was a member of a racist Facebook group called Alt-Reich: Nation, the FBI have joined the investigation because it could be a possible hate crime.

He is alleged to have stabbed Mr Collins as he waited with friends for an Uber taxi near the College Park campus just north of Washington DC.

After approaching the group, Mr Urbanski, a student at the nearby University of Maryland, allegedly said: Step left, step left if you know whats best for you.

After Mr Collins refused Mr Urbanski stabbed him in the chest and fled the scene. Mr Collins later died in hospital.

The attack was caught on CCTV and a knife was recovered, police said.

At the graduation ceremony, Mr Collins' graduation gown was draped over front row chairs.

Bowie State President Mickey Burnim asked graduates to remember Mr Collins.

"Let us pause now in a moment of silence and contemplation of what each of us might do to promote greater peace, harmony and love that seems to be so lacking in our country and our world today," he said.

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Indeo Ragsdale, a friend of Mr Collins from Bowie State's officer training program, said he would be "truly missed. "

He said: "It's sad that it happened up the street from here, but it's out of our control. We're not focused on the negativity today. We're focused on the positivity. Collins was a joyful person."

Additional reporting by AP
People in South Jersey were preparing for bed when the message A civil authority has issued A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WARNING for the following counties/areas: Cumberland; Salem, NJ; at 8:54 PM flashed across their television screens, interrupting regularly scheduled programs.

Soon panic spread across the region and people dialed 911 for help when officials informed that the emergency alert was sent out by mistake and that there is no emergency situation at Salem County nuclear plant, NJ reported.

"There is no nuclear emergency at the plant," Brenda Banks, spokeswoman for Salem County said, NJ reported. The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management was quick to rectify the error by posting an update on both Facebook and Twitter before panic set in among the residents of the area.

The warning went out at 9 p.m. EDT following an emergency drill which was mistaken for an alert.

"We are conducting an emergency drill. Some of the drill scenarios were mistaken for an actual emergency," Joe Delmar, spokesman for PSEG Nuclear LLC said Tuesday night, the Daily Journal reported. "We are working with the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management to correct this information. Again, there is no emergency," he added.

An operator at the New Jersey State Police, under whose jurisdiction the state Office of Emergency Management falls, also corroborated the fact that the emergency alert was an error.

Reverse calls had to be sent out to all the households, assuring the residents that there was, in fact, no emergency warning issued.

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Another signal of a nuclear emergency that was missing, following the erroneous emergency alert, was the sound of the sirens that are placed within a radius of 10-miles from PSEG Nuclear's artificial island generating complex. The sirens are programmed to get triggered immediately during an emergency situation.

Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station

Photo: Getty Images/STAN HONDA

Drills are a common practice at the Salem County nuclear plant and are conducted annually to keep the staff abreast of ways to deal with problems in case of an emergency. The drill that took place Tuesday was no different, officials have confirmed. The latest drill was regarding the Hope Creek reactor, which is operated by PSEG.

It has not yet been established under what circumstances the false emergency warning was issued. State officials are investigating the matter, which might continue through Wednesday.

The goof up, however, could have been averted had the one responsible for sending out the false message verified its source.

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Bernie Sanders ripped President Donald Trumps proposed budget Wednesday after the administration released an outline of their plan. The Vermont senator appeared on NBC to say that the proposal was grotesquely immoral.

That budget that Trump has presented is a grotesquely immoral budget, he said in the appearance. It is a horrific budget.

Sanders went on to say that the budget plan merely benefits the nations richest people and wreaks havoc on the poor.

Read: Six Of The Most Surprising Cuts And Proposals In Trumps Budget

What you are looking at is a massive transfer of wealth from working families, from seniors, from children, into the hands of the very, very richest billionaires in this country, he said. It is an outrageous budget. It is a budget the American people do not want. It is a budget that should not see the light of day in the U.S. Senate.

Trump released the $4.1 trillion plan entitled A New Foundation for American Greatness Tuesday. The proposal included $3.6 trillion in federal spending cuts spanning the next decade in areas like Medicaid, the national food stamp program and environmental research.

If you are a low-income pregnant woman, youre going to lose nutrition programs for yourself and your babymillions of kids will lose their health insurance. Senior citizens will lose perhaps the one nutritious meal a day they get, said Sanders. Kids who are desperately trying to figure out how they will go to college, working class kids, will see Pell grants cut. Environmental programs will be decimated.

Sanders also slammed the budget in a series of tweets.

Trumps budget is immoral and it must be soundly defeated, he wrote in one post.

When we talk about Trumps immoral budget, I want you to think about this: Trump is trying to cut $191 billion from the food stamps program, Sanders said in a second tweet.

The Vermont senator was not alone in his denunciation of the plan. Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the plan showed an unimaginable level of cruelty and lack of imagination and disdain for the struggles of millions of Americans, including millions of children.

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Read: Bernie Sanders Says Trumps Tax Plan Makes Rigged System Worse

It hurts the well-being of children, Clinton said Tuesday during a gala for the Childrens Health Fund. Its time to send a resounding message that we will not stand for this attack on the most vulnerable among us.

The administration, particularly Trumps budget chief Mick Mulvaney, stood by the proposal amid an onslaught of criticism.

We are no longer going to measure compassion by the number of programs or the number of people on those programs, but the number of people we help get off of those programs, Mulvaney said Tuesday, according to CNN.

GettyImages-687339850

Photo: Getty Images

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Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, spoke to Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric on Thursday about his ongoing efforts to combat online sex trafficking ahead of this weeks premiere of the documentary I Am Jane Doe. The film spotlights victims of online child sex trafficking and the legal challenges to holding websites like Backpage.com responsible for facilitating such activity.

As chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Portman led a bipartisan investigation into Backpage. The probe concluded that the classifieds site had knowingly enabled online sex trafficking that involved underage girls. The Ohio lawmaker has praised the documentary for raising awareness of human trafficking.

This is something thats affecting communities all over our country, said Portman, noting that his home state of Ohio happens to be a state thats pretty hard hit.

Portman described sites like Backpage as part of the dark side of the Internet which, he argues, is actually increasing the human trafficking problem by making it more efficient, making it easier by doing it online.

He told Couric he hopes to change U.S. law in regard to online forums like Backpage to ensure that if you do engage in that kind of activity that there should be some liability.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., head to a closed briefing. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  For years, lawmakers have devoutly professed their desire to see the so-called Islamic State defeated and destroyed, while hiding from a vote to explicitly authorize military action to bring about that goal. On Thursday, Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Tim Kaine, D.-Va., unveiled legislation that would formally give the congressional green light to the nearly three-year-old campaign.

The proposal would repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed after the 9/11 attacks, which effectively permitted the invasion of Afghanistan and global efforts to stamp out al-Qaida. Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama cited that legislation as the legal justification for the global war on terrorism.

Flake and Kaines measure, which would also repeal the 2002 AUMF allowing Bush to use force against Saddam Husseins Iraq, would explicitly authorize making war on ISIS, al-Qaida and the Taliban, as well as associated forces, to be defined by the administration and Congress. The legislation would expire after five years.

Congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban will make clear to our allies and our adversaries that we are united in our resolve, said Flake said in a statement. It is past time for Congress to voice its support for the war against ISIS.

Kaine charged that Congress  the branch of government empowered to declare war  had stood silent while Bush and Obama expanded military operations.

We owe it to the American public to define the scope of the U.S. mission against terrorist organizations, including ISIS, and we owe it to our troops to show were behind them in their mission, said Kaine, the Democratic Partys vice presidential nominee in 2016. It is time for this Congress to fulfill its duty by putting its stamp on the current fight.

Smoke rises from an airstrike during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq. (Photo: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

Unlike the AUMF Obama sent Congress in early 2015, Flake and Kaines proposal does not place even vague limits on what kind of force could be used. That could complicate its chances of securing Democratic support.

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It is also unclear how the White House will respond. Officials there have said that the undeclared escalating war President Trump inherited is legal under existing authorities like the 2001 AUMF. But the president himself used to argue that Congress needed to vote.

The U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria began on Aug. 8, 2014. Obama asked Americans for support in a Sept. 10, 2014, televised address. Since then, the conflict has widened to Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

As of May 24, 2017, the anti-ISIS coalition has carried out a total of 21,663 strikes in Iraq and Syria against the terror group. As of March 31, 2017, the total cost has run to $12.5 billion, and the average daily cost is $13 million for 967 days of operations, according to the Defense Department.

The United States has declared war formally against 11 nations in just five wars in its history: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. Technically, Americas longest war  the Afghanistan operation launched after Sept. 11  isnt a declared war. Neither were Korea, Vietnam, Panama nor Iraq.

Read more from Yahoo News:
The Sgt. Peppers 50th Anniversary edition (photo courtesy of Capitol Records)

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band grabbed the world of music by the scruff of the neck and shook hard, late Beatles producer George Martin once said in a 1994 speech at the Palace in Los Angeles. It drove a splitting wedge right through to core of popular music. Many people see it as a watershed Yet the Beatles themselves never pretended they were creating great art They just wanted to do something different.

Fifty years after the original albums release, Martins son Giles, along with mix engineer Sam Okell, have done something different. Theyve remixed the landmark album to give a whole new generation a fresh opportunity to experience the magic with this weeks release of the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band Anniversary Edition. The remixed stereo version of the album is available in four different configurations, ranging from a single CD of the new stereo mix and a two-LP vinyl version to a Super Deluxe five-disc set that features the new stereo mix, along with two CDs of outtakes, plus a Blu-ray and DVD featuring new 5.1 surround sound mixes of the album, as well as promotional films for several songs and The Making of Sgt. Pepper documentary.

At a special playback of the remixed album for the press in early May at the iconic Capitol Records Studio in Hollywood, the younger Martin acknowledged he didnt take the job lightly. Its a massive challenge undertaking remixing Sgt. Pepper, he said. The first question we asked ourselves is why? Its hardly a bad-sounding record. And its also hardly one that was unsuccessful.

The original version of Sgt. Peppers topped the U.S. chart for 15 weeks, beginning on July 1, 1967, and went on to win four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and has sold 11 million copies in the U.S. and 32 million worldwide.

Most Americans grew up with the original stereo version of the album, but Giles Martin suggested that version doesnt accurately capture the Beatles original vision. The younger Martin went on to explain that stereo was only a novelty at the time of the albums original release on May 26, 1967 in the U.K. Sgt. Peppers was really made for mono, he said. My father and [engineer] Geoff Emerick and the Beatles would spend a fair amount of time doing the mono mixes it was all about the mono mixes. John [Lennon] said if you havent heard the mono of Sgt. Pepper, you havent heard Sgt. Peppers. Its strangely immersive, its weird, and its more psychedelic.

Story continues

Related: Beatles Sgt. Pepper at 50: When Jesus Dropped by During Fixing a Hole Sessions

So Martin, who has been working on Beatles-related projects since 1995s Anthology, set out to make a new stereo version of the album, using the original masters from the mono recordings.

During the playback session, Martin played a few tracks from the album, comparing the original stereo mix to the mono mix, and finally his new remix. In Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Martin said that Lennon manipulated his vocals in the mono mix. My father always said that John hated the sound of his own voice and wanted to change everything about it. However, that vocal manipulation wasnt sufficiently replicated in the original stereo mix. For the remix, Martin said Okell spent hours with adjusting the speed of Lennons vocals to match the sound and feel of the original mono mix.

Sgt. Peppers was recorded on four-track, but to give the album its symphonic, layered sound, George Martin and the Beatles would consolidate the first four tracks recorded to a single track and start anew with a second, and sometimes third, four-track using a technique known as bouncing. Getting Better and Lovely Rita have three bounces, Giles Martin explained. So it would be guitars, drums, piano on one four-track and thats bounced and consolidated to one track on another four-track and they record bass, maybe a piano overdub and backing vocals and thats bounced again. And theyd mix off that final four.

In working on the remix, Martin and Okell went back to all the original tapes. We were mixing off tapes that have never been used, he explained. Were getting rid of all the dynamic degradation that happens off three generations of tape.

Perhaps the most dramatic change between the original version and the remix is on Shes Leaving Home, which Martin pointed out is a whole semitone higher on the mono version, something that was lost in the original transfer to stereo.

Related: Beatles Sgt. Pepper at 50: Meet the Runaway Who Inspired Shes Leaving Home

Those present for the playback included longtime Breakfast With the Beatles host/former Dramarama bassist Chris Carter, and perhaps an unlikely Beatles fan, Henry Rollins, the former frontman of hardcore punk band Black Flag and current radio personality and author. Both were impressed with the new version.

It was brilliant. Giles had it right when it was a great combination of the mono mix and stereo mix, Carter said, so it was like the best of both worlds. Carter, who grew up listening to the original stereo mix, added that the remix gave him new appreciation for Paul McCartneys instrumental prowess. Overall, its just punchier and the thing that came to mind was how great it is to have Paul McCartney in your band as a bass player, he said. Really on this album, the bass is almost the lead instrument on a lot of stuff. The guitars are kind of here and there, but the bass is a constant, and this mix really brought it to a head.

Rollins, who first heard the original stereo mix of Pepper when he was 6 or 7 after his mother bought a copy for his family, said the album is in my DNA. But, he added that he had some trepidation about the Beatles classic being messed with. Im always a little afraid when anyone comes back to a sacred text like this and re-anythings it, he said. However, he noted if it had to be done, it was in the right hands. Giles is so sharp, he added. Hes such a smart guy, like his dad. Theyre both just amazing. Hes hopeful that the Anniversary Edition will turn on a new generation of fans onto the Beatles. It sounds like a contemporary rock album in a lot of ways  drums are real powerful and the vocals are just iconic. Hopefully this turns some young people on, because when something is new, even if its old, a younger person might be more interested. Otherwise, it might be your dads record at this point, or your grandfathers record. Every young person in my mind should hear the Beatles, because if you want to understand rock n roll in our lifetime, you really have to hear some Beatles records  like all of them  really at least once. This is a really cool reinterpretation of a solid work.

And that, said Giles Martin, was really the motivation behind remixing Pepper. The motivation for this is not to find a better take of Lovely Rita or a better take of Getting Better. Its really for me to show how good the band were, despite the mysticism of the music is plucked from a cloud and created on a record, it was really a question of four guys [Lennon, McCartney, guitarist/vocalist George Harrison, and drummer/vocalist Ringo Starr] who were just a really, really good band that played together, who had a great engineer and had a great producer and they could consolidated this brilliant sound to a disc. Thats what music is. Music is a physical experience; its not gadgets and gizmos. They help us, but its about a recording and experiencing music.

Related: Beatles Sgt. Pepper at 50: John Lennons Accidental Getting Better Acid Trip

Giles Martin shared the fact that had to go through the ultimate test of playing the remix for approval from one of his bosses, Sir Paul McCartney. The mere concept of that blows the mind of Rollins. I wouldnt envy anyone with the daunting task of having George Martin as their dad, being tasked with remixing Sgt. Pepper and eventually having to play it for Paul fricking McCartney and hope thats going to be OK. Wow, like no pressure.

Thankfully, Giles Martin and Okell were up for that task and came through swimmingly, though hes not likely to take full credit. After playing an outtake featuring a scrapped vocalized ohm that was kicked about as a possible ending to A Day in the Life, Giles Martin added, This kind of shows that a great album like Sgt. Peppers is actually a combination of a bunch of ideas and its a question of choosing the right ones, he explained. Thats the secret in the studio  just trying stuff. Its just humans. Theres no mysticism. Its just really, really good people, making really, really good sounds.

Follow Craig Rosen on Twitter @CraigRosen and @NumberOneAlbums.
Police officers in the US are rarely charged with a crime after killing unarmed civilians. The Trump administration will only make that record worse



Everyone wants to be safe, and to walk their neighborhoods without fear. Photograph: Joey Johnson/AP

The disregard for black Americans could scarcely have been more visible: Betty Shelby, a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is back at work just days after a jury decided that her moment of fear justified the killing of Terrence Crutcher, an unarmed motorist. For those who cried out for justice in this case, it seems that call will go unanswered.

When Donald Trump spent the 2016 campaign saying that he would be a law-and-order candidate, is this what he had in mind? When his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, says that the US Department of Justice undermined the respect for our police and made, oftentimes, their job more difficult through such things as consent decrees and investigations into the police violence that fills our television screens with its bloody aftermath on a nightly basis, can we credibly expect that those who abuse their power will be brought to task?

What does it mean to be pro-law enforcement in 2017?

It means less accountability. When Sessions announced that his Justice Department would be reviewing all consent decrees  the agreements that the federal government negotiates with police departments that have a history of brutality in an effort to reform them  he essentially took the work of policing the police off the table.

In a country where police officers are rarely charged with a crime after shooting an unarmed civilian  and even more rarely convicted of said crime  the possibility of removing any kind of federal oversight over police departments like the one in Ferguson, Missouri, once described as a violent klepto-state, should be frightening to us all.

But it should undoubtedly be more frightening to people of color, who have always borne the brunt of state violence in the United States. The history of this country is pockmarked by the overzealous policing of communities at the margins, and the reaction from those communities to brutality going unchallenged by our justice system. These communities can expect to find no relief from the Trump administration.

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The first indication of this, of course, was his 2015 speech referring to Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers. All throughout the campaign, Trump made clear that he considered immigrants from Latin America a group only to be punished, not to be welcomed. This sense only deepened when, during his Joint Address to Congress, he announced an initiative called Voice: Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement. This program, now up and running and housed within the Department of Homeland Security, would list all of the crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in the United States.

In addition to (wrongly) linking immigration to criminality, it also drew comparisons to Nazi Germany, where crimes committed by Jewish Germans were publicized and dramatized in the pro-Nazi daily Der Sturmer. We need not have gone overseas to find such analogies; one needs to only look at deadly race riots in Elaine, Arkansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, to find examples of media and government whipping people into a deadly hysteria.

The fear of such activities returning has only been heightened by the recent killings of Timothy Caughman in New York City and Richard Collins III in College Park, Maryland. In both instances, white supremacists allegedly committed these violent acts against black people without any provocation other than the color of their skin.

When you set up a political and ideological mainstream that sees people of color as populations of potential criminality, it is only a hop, skip and a jump from Mexicans are rapists and knock the crap out of them to taking the law into ones own hands.

Everyone wants to be safe, and to walk their neighborhoods without fear. But that is not what Trump and Sessions are really after. That is clear by the fact that their justice agenda is centered around the agents of the state as opposed to the people that they have taken an oath  an oath whose hollowness is increasingly visible  to protect.

It is why the agencies that deal with sexual violence and violence against LGBTQ people are worried their funding will be cut. It is why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents are arresting people leaving church shelters and domestic violence victims leaving courthouses.

It is why local police are feeling emboldened to ask any vaguely brown person on the streets about their legality. It is why the Alabama state senate gave its okay to a church police force, ensuring that the police state deepens further into every part of our waking lives.

And it is why Betty Shelby, someone whose preternatural fear of black people cost Terrence Crutcher his life, is back on the job, compensated with back pay, as if Crutchers life meant absolutely nothing.

That is what it means to be pro-law enforcement in 2017, and it is an ethos that should be met with the most vigorous resistance.
With Adam Rawnsley

Trump meets NATO. In a move meant primarily to appease President Donald Trump, NATO leaders said on Thursday that the alliance was joining the fight against the Islamic State. Every nation among the alliances 28 member states already support the effort in Iraq and Syria in some way, and several fly daily bombing missions targeting the terrorist group. In addition, some NATO countries, like France and the U.K., have special operations forces operating on the ground in Iraq and Syria.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that joining the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition will send a strong political message of NATOs commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our coordination within the coalition. But he underscored that it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations. The alliance will instead establish a new intelligence unit to track foreign fighters in Europe and appoint a counterterrorism coordinator.

Several diplomats, in fact, told Reuters that the decision to join the fight is window dressing meant to hand Trump one of his much-needed public wins. NATO as an institution will join the coalition, said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions. The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States. France and Germany believe it is.

A spokesman for newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron said he would tell Trump he is attentive to Trumps call, but the decision will not be a step toward transforming NATO into the sole strike force against Islamic State.

Allies will also be eager to show the American delegation that theyre making progress toward spending two percent of their GDP on defense, and will be watching to see if Trump finally affirms Article 5, the mutual defense provision in the alliances charter, which the president has pointedly refused to do so far.

Wheres Russia? One thing the allies wont talk about is Russia, apparently. The alliance is so anxious about pleasing the U.S. president that it tailored its first major meeting with him around topics that touch on his long-standing criticisms of the 28-member organization rather than the Kremlins latest provocations, Buzzfeed reports.

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Moscows actions in Ukraine and in the Baltics dominated NATOs last two summits in Wales and Warsaw, but didnt make the cut as a formal agenda item for the alliances meeting in Brussels. The meeting will be short, and focused on two main topics: stepping up NATOs role in the fight against terrorism, and fairer burden sharing, spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.

The alliance has also tailored the event to meet Trumps famously short attention span, cutting remarks to about 5 minutes each, as FP recently reported.

Eastern Europeans are into it. Given the focus on ISIS rather than the threat present by Russia, one would think NATOs Eastern European leaders would be unhappy with the new administration. But think again, writes FPs Emily Tamkin. Diplomats from those countries are thrilled with what theyve seen, heard, and gotten from the Trump administration so far  belying some initial concerns that he might throw American allies under the bus and cozy up to Moscow.

Really, looking at it, we have to say we have had amazingly good, high-level meetings that we didnt have at this early stage of the last administration, Kairi Saar-Isop, a counsellor at the Embassy of Estonia in Washington, told Foreign Policy. The three Baltic foreign ministers have already met with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, she noted. They never met Obamas.

Trump and Russia, chapter whatever. If its a weekday, theres a scoop about the Trump campaign and Russia. Wednesday didnt disappoint. American spies collected information last summer revealing that senior Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over Donald J. Trump through his advisers, according to three current and former American officials familiar with the intelligence, the New York Times reported. The conversations focused on Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman at the time, and Michael Flynn. Some Russians boasted about how well they knew Mr. Flynn. Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor F. Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Mr. Manafort.

Setting sail. For the first time under the Trump administration, a U.S. Navy ship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea. The USS Dewey cruised close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, one of the land features China is in a dispute over with other countries in the region. The patrol was the first since October.

Head of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris, has been a vocal proponent of more freedom of navigation patrols, but has been denied three times under the Trump administration as the president has worked to forced closer ties with Beijing. The Wall Street Journal notes that Harris paid a visit to a Japanese radar station on an island in the East China Sea recently, signaling the U.S. commanders intention to press China on such disputes. In the little-noticed visit, Adm. Harris touched down at the Yonaguni Coast Observation Unit, an intelligence-gathering facility, on an island in the Ryukyu Islands with Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, the chief of staff of Japans self-defense force, officials said.

Anchors aweigh. While the 2018 defense budget unveiled Tuesday may have included funding for just one extra ship, some senators appear to be more than willing to help him out with his campaign promises of building a 350 ship Navy. After Sen. Roger Wicker chaired a hearing with shipbuilding executives on Wednesday, he told Breaking Defense that the Trump budget is a placeholder, and were going to work with the administrationto try to help the president get to his goal of more than 350 ships.

Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.

Network. The man who made the bomb that killed 22 people in a suicide attack at a concert in Manchester on Sunday may still be at large, according to the Washington Post. Experts believe that Salman Abedi, the British-Libyan man who carried out the suicide attack may not have been the person who made the bomb but only a mule for the device. British authorities arrested seven people in the U.K., including Abdedis brother, Ismail. In Libya, counterterrorism authorities also arrested Abedis father, Ramadan, and another brother, Hashem, charging him with plotting to attack Tripoli.

Leaks. The New York Times published photographs of bomb fragments from the device used by Abedi at the concert in Manchester, capping off a series of leaks from American authorities and leading British officials to stop sharing intelligence about the attack with the United States. A British counterterrorism official tells Reuters that theyve halted the flow of intelligence to their American counterparts until such time as we have assurances that no further unauthorized disclosures will occur. British authorities have been unusually outspoken over their anger at U.S. leaks, with Home Secretary Amber Rudd calling them irritating and Prime Minister Theresa May saying shell raise the issue with President Trump directly, telling him that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.

Personnel. The Trump administration may finally be getting closer to picking a number three for the Pentagon. The Washington Times reports that Justin Rood is emerging as the administrations top choice for undersecretary of defense for policy. Rood formerly served as acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security during the George W. Bush administration. Rood has already interviewed with Secretary of Defense Mattis and an announcement of his appointment could be ready soon.

Call me. Russias threats to abandon a hotline to deconflict operations in Syria with the U.S. have proven hollow. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, says the number of phone calls on the hotline with Russia has increased since the U.S. carried out a cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base in response to Syrias use of chemical weapons. Russia threatened to stop using the channel after the missile attack but Harrigan says that the two countries are now operating in closer proximity as the Islamic States territory shrinks, necessitating greater coordination.

Philippines. An Islamist militant group pledging fealty to the Islamic State has taken control of Marawi City in Mindanao. The Philippine government has declared martial law on the island and sent in around 100 troops backed by helicopters to take back the city from Abu Sayyaf militants affiliated with the Islamic State. Philippine troops raided an apartment in Marawi on Tuesday in hopes of catching Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, sparking a series of violent clashes in the city.

Disinformation. The University of Torontos Citizen Lab has a new report out analyzing how hackers linked to Russian intelligence broke into a journalists email account and leaked a mixture of forgeries and real email from his inbox. After tricking reporter David Satter into clicking on spear phishing emails, Russian hackers posted his emails online using the CyberBerkut persona, forging fake correspondence intended to make it appears as though Satter was using Radio Free Europe to pay journalists for negative coverage of Russia. Citizen Lab researchers also found 198 other email addresses targeted by the same group of hackers.

Photo Credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
For the first time since President Donald Trump took office, a U.S. warship has sailed near a Chinese-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, signaling an attempt to project a more assertive American stance against Beijing just before a major regional defense summit.

The mission, a passage by the guided missile destroyer USS Dewey on Wednesday within twelve nautical miles of Mischief Reef, in the Spratly island chain, was long anticipated and delayed. The last such operation took place in October, and U.S. commanders who had already chafed under Barack Obamas tight leash had hoped to get a freer hand and to carry out more patrols under Trump.

Instead, the new administration has declined several requests from the military to carry out naval patrols in the disputed waterway. Eager to secure Chinas help in pressuring North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, the White House has moved cautiously and chosen not to confront Beijing over the South China Sea, officials and congressional aides told Foreign Policy.

But with defense ministers and senior military officers from across Asia due to meet in Singapore next month, including U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, the administration needed to show it was willing to back up its words with some action and demonstrate that it would uphold the principle of freedom of navigation, experts said.

This was a good, albeit overdue, move by the Trump Administration, said Ely Ratner, formerly deputy national security adviser to Joe Biden and now at the Council on Foreign Relations.

It was the first time a U.S. warship had sailed within the twelve-mile limit of any Chinese-held feature  a way to show that Washington doesnt buy Beijings claims that rocks generate a territorial sea, and so push back against Chinas expansionist claims. This was the big one folks were waiting for, he said.

And while those so-called freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPS, by themselves dont amount to a U.S. strategy to deal with the South China Sea, he said, the first step is to make sure that China cant unilaterally fence off bits of international waters. FONOPs are an essential part of that, Ratner said.

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During the campaign and early days of the administration, Trump and his deputies staked out a tough line on China. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested in his confirmation hearings that U.S. forces would actually try to expel China from disputed waters and islets it now claims.

But North Korea and its rapidly-expanding missile and nuclear weapons program have grabbed the attention of the Trump administration, pushing the disputes over the Chinese land grab in the South China Sea  and Beijings open militarization of many islets and atolls  to the back burner. Trump has toned down his rhetoric on trade disputes and other spats with China specifically to secure Beijings cooperation in defusing the North Korea crisis.

The president and his advisers have calculated that if we are to get Chinas help on North Korea, better to take the foot off the gas on more contentious issues, said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Even though as a candidate Trump portrayed former president Barack Obama as a weak president in his dealings with China and other adversaries, his administrations cautious diplomacy bears some resemblance to Obamas policies, as the previous White House concluded that more could be gained from Beijing by avoiding a full-blown confrontation over the South China Sea or other disputes.

Much to the consternation of U.S. allies in Asia, the Trump White House has yet to fill senior positions at the State Department and the Pentagon handling Asia policy, and has said little about the South China Sea issue publicly. The uncertainty over the administrations policy on China has alarmed Americas partners and weakened the resolve of some governments in Southeast Asia, who fear Washington will no longer back them up if they try to take on Beijing in the South China Sea.

At a meeting last month in Manila of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, government ministers from the region backed off of references to land reclamation and militarization after lobbying from China.

The Pentagon sought to downplay the significance of the operation, which it described as routine. Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, described the passage at an event in Washington Thursday as not confrontational, and said that the so-called freedom of navigation operations by U.S. ships receive exaggerated scrutiny for the supposed diplomatic messages they convey.

They sure get a lot of attention when they happen, he said, but the operations are routinely conducted all over the world without the fanfare associated with the South China Sea missions.

The operations sure get a lot of attention in China.

The Deweys patrol undermined Chinas sovereignty and security interests and is highly likely to cause untoward incidents in the waters and airspace, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Citing Chinas indisputable sovereignty over those islets and surrounding waters, he added: We strongly urge the U.S. side to correct its wrongdoing and stop any provocative actions detrimental to Chinas sovereignty and security interests so as to avoid any further damage to China-US cooperation and regional peace and stability.

And such operations are also closely watched in Washington, rightly or wrongly, as a barometer of the administrations willingness to push back against China. Amid growing concern in Congress that the Trump administration is making strategic concessions to China in hopes of persuading Beijing to shift its stance on North Korea, several senators from both sides of the aisle wrote a letter earlier this month urging the administration to show resolve in the South China Sea and conduct more frequent naval patrols in the waterway.

The first real test of the effect of Wednesdays naval mission will come in early June at the Shangri-La dialogue, a large annual gathering in Singapore that serves as a venue for high-level talks on crucial matters of Asian security.

Many maritime experts view the focus on freedom of navigation operations, and how they are publicly presented, as misplaced.

In my view, the publicity around the FONOPs is problematic. Many observers now view it as an indicator of U.S. resolve, which it is not, said M. Taylor Fravel, an expert on Chinese maritime issues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Such missions are merely meant to uphold traditional rights to navigation in international waters for all countries, he said. Whats more, they can give Beijing an excuse to ramp up its own provocative behavior, feeling as if its claims of sovereignty are being challenged.

They were never intended to do more, such as deterring Chinas broader ambitions in places like the South China Sea.

Ultimately, and despite the belated U.S. mission near Mischief Reef, Washington has few tools at its disposal to convince China to retreat from its years-long acquisition and garrisoning of a spate of tiny reefs and atolls in the South China Sea, one of the worlds busiest waterways. Some experts and lawmakers have urged imposing economic sanctions on Chinese companies taking part in the vast island-building project, but the Trump administration has shown no sign it is ready to consider such a move.

Since it began dredging sand from the seafloor to vastly expand the size of those pinpricks of coral in 2014, China has built airfields, deep harbors and air defense systems on many features and deployed advanced fighter jets, despite promises to stop militarizing the area.

The bid to extend its reach in the waterway is part of Chinas much broader effort  backed up with an arsenal of missiles  to push out its defensive perimeter from the Chinese coast and keep potential rivals at arms length in the event of a conflict.

The United States does not have great options in the South China Sea, Fravel said. China will not vacate the features it occupies and the United States will not forcibly remove them. 

Chinas project has moved at a brisk pace, with reports of new military installations appearing every few weeks. Earlier this month, a state-run Chinese paper said that Beijing had installed 155 mm rocket launchers on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys, purportedly to deter combat divers from Vietnam, which has been at loggerheads with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

They basically succeeded in their construction projects, and are now well on their way to having floating bases out in the Spratly Islands, and theres been really very little pushback and theyve had to pay very little cost for doing so, said Rapp-Hooper.

She added: It is, unfortunately, now game over.

Photo credit: JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A South Korean woman wanted for questioning in connection with the scandal that brought down president Park Geun-hye has withdrawn her appeal against extradition from Denmark, the Danish state prosecutor said on Wednesday. "(The) decision to extradite the Korean Ms. Chung is now final. She has canceled her appeal to the High Court," a spokesman for the Danish state prosecutor tweeted, adding that an extradition date has not yet been set. Chung Yoo-Ra is the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park accused of colluding with the former president to pressure businesses to contribute to non-profit foundations. Both Choi and Park have denied wrongdoing. In April, a Danish court upheld a decision by Denmark's public prosecutor to allow the extradition of Chung, a 20-year-old dressage rider, "for the purpose of prosecution in her home country". (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Designer Mark Boudreaux in his office with the Millennium Falcon vehicles he has designed over the past 40 years. (Credit: Hasbro)

In 1976, Mark Boudreaux was a University of Cincinnati design student on the hunt for a local work-study gig  and he hit the jackpot. He landed a job down the street at Kenner Products Prelim design department. Before long, he was at ground zero of the Star Wars toy boom, helping conceptualize some of the signature products in the Kenner line, including the Millennium Falcon. Four decades later, Boudreaux is still on the boards as senior principal designer of Star Wars/action brands at Hasbro (which acquired Kenner in 1991). For the 40th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, Boudreaux met with Yahoo Movies to talk toys. Here, in Boudreauxs words, is a first-hand history of Star Wars playthings.

By the late-70s, Kenner was banking on TV-related toys, as bigger rivals like Mego and Mattel locked up the most famous film and comic-book characters.

Mark Boudreaux: At the time, Kenner would have been working on Six Million Dollar Man  Steve Austin  and we also came across a property called Man From Atlantis with Patrick Duffy.  I was given the responsibility of Hey, he needs some sort of vehicle, what can you come up with?  So one of the first things was this toy concept called the Aqua-Terra Pod.

Those toys would soon be an afterthought. While Mego and Mattel ultimately passed on the Star Wars license, Boudreauxs boss, fellow University of Cincinnati alum Jim Swearingen, trekked out to Lucasfilm headquarters, read the script for A New Hope, and was hooked.

I started working at Kenner in January 77. In February, we first saw the trailer of Star Wars and all immediately became fans.

My direct design manager [Swearingen] had the opportunity to go out to California and he got a really good idea of what Star Wars was all about. He quickly realized that this was not just a movie about characters, but it was also about their ships and going from world to world. You had classic good and evil, you had great characters and environments and ships  something you could really sink your teeth into.

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But with the films May 25, 1977, release looming, Kenner faced a big problem.

Once Kenner started getting into Star Wars it was pretty much all hands on deck, 24/7. As I mentioned, we didnt see the trailer until February 77 so that didnt give us much time to actually put product on the shelves. It became very apparent that even though we put all resources to bear on developing Star Wars, we really werent going to get plastic product out until 78.

Boudreaux on the boards in his Kenner office in the mid-80s. (Credit: Mark Boudreaux/Hasbro)

I recall being in brainstorms with the rest of the designers and said, How might we go about putting Star Wars under the tree for that holiday season in 77? The idea was to come up with the Early Bird Special  it would essentially be a promise of four figures [Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and R2-D2] mailed directly to you and in that envelope was included a cardboard display with little plastic clips that as you purchased your initial wave of characters youd be able to display them proudly. I think there were some membership cards, maybe some stickers and things.

And they asked me to put together some preliminary conceptual documents  some artwork, fabricate some envelopes so that we can show our management team what the thoughts were. And it was quite an interesting conversation, if I recall, going to upper management and saying, Hey, you know, we want to sell an empty cardboard box for under the tree.

Kenners original Early Bird Certificate Package featured a cardboard standup, Space Club membership card, and stickers. Along with a line of deluxe 6-inch Black Series figures to pay tribute to the original Kenner line, Hasbro has released a 40th anniversary version of the Early Bird set, this time including Darth Vader. (Credit: Hasbro)

In addition to Luke, Leia, Chewie, and Artoo, the first wave included eight other action figures: Han Solo, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, Death Squad Commander, Sand People (a.k.a. Tusken Raider), and Jawa. The earliest vehicles soon followed: Lukes landspeeder, X-wing fighter, and TIE fighter.

Design, engineering, manufacturing all came together and sat down  I wasnt always privy to the top-level discussions  but I believe they started and said, You know what, its really about the characters. What are the core group of figures we can execute first? Obviously that included the core heroes, the core villains, and some of the ancillary characters  Jawas, things like that.

Swearingen realized early on that the size of the toys would need to be scaled down to work within the scale of the Star Wars universe.

He understood that for us to be able to develop really meaningful playsets and vehicles, the figures would need to be something other than our traditional 12-inch figure. For a long time G.I. Joe was 12-inch as well. It was the gold standard for a lot of product that had been developed. But he had the insight to say, We have to take a different approach to this, and he started thinking about this, he made some mock-ups. The team got together and decided that having that 3 3/4-inch scale would really allow us to create the type of product we were looking to do. That 3 3/4-inch scale made the figures large enough so you could have a recognizable portrait, which the design team thought was very important.

It also let you hold a lot of characters in your hand all at once. If you were kids running around the block you could just stuff the figures in your pocket, grab a couple of vehicles, and you were off. One of your friends was in a TIE fighter, you were in an X-wing, and youd have dogfights running around the neighborhood. It was that intuitive design sense that my boss had.

Watch: The Best Vintage Star Wars Toy Commercials:



Team Kenner then established a template for its future Star Wars saga toy-making.

As you might recall, the movies were out for over a year at the theaters at the time. There was no such thing as computers and DVRs and Blu-rays and all that fun stuff.

We were three years in between films, so we had time to backfill product if we couldnt do it all at once. We went for landspeeder, TIE fighter, X-wing because they were a little easier to execute. Something like a Millennium Falcon or a Tydirium [Imperial] Shuttle, those are a bit more complicated, a bit more expensive those tend to be in the second and third year of the line. And thats pretty much how it worked for those first three films.

Boudreaux, who became a Kenner full-timer in 1978, was asked to take on a big assignment for the second phase of A New Hope toys.

Members of our design team and marketing would talk with Lucasfilm about what product we should try to shoot for, what really were the core vehicles and figures we should do first. They said, Hey, Mark, we got this Millennium Falcon to do. Would you like to go ahead and do it? And Id go, Yeah, yeah, sure. Why not? We were fortunate. We didnt start this until 78, so we fortunate to know what the Falcon was all about. It was a character in its own right. It was such an important story element. To have all of our heroes come together there, to have a base of operations that allows them to go from place to place. We knew about all the features: we knew about the gunner station, we knew about the remote probe, things like that. So we tried to incorporate those into the toy.

Boudreauxs original design blueprint for the 1978 toy Falcon (Credit: Mark Boudreaux/Hasbro)

My responsibility was to take a big blank sheet of paper on our drawing board and determine how large should it be based on our character sizes, what type of features could we incorporate, how would we do the gun turret, how might we open the cockpit, how would we have landing gear.

Lucasfilm has always been a really great partner with Kenner and Hasbro. They would give us as much conceptual art as possible. Back in the day it was usually 8x10s, hopefully in color, a lot of times in black and white, and we would just go from there.

Lucasfilm provided Kenners design team with detailed photos of movie-used models, including the original Falcon. (Credit: Mark Boudreaux/Hasbro)

As I mentioned, we had our own model shop. So I would go ahead and do pencil drawings, to do layout, and those layouts would then be given to our model shop and they would make a one-off model of the Falcon. We used that model to demonstrate the features to all the folks in management. Once it got the go-ahead it went to the production designer who would create the actual toys.

Kenners Prelim design team made a functional, full-scale plastic model based on Boudreauxs designs to demonstrate the features. (Photo: Mark Boudreaux/Hasbro)

Though more finely sculpted, Kenners final toy version of the Falcon hewed closely to the mock-up. (Credit: Hasbro)

Kenner had the opportunity to essentially allow fans to relive what they had seen on screen by producing the vehicles and figures and creatures and playsets  that was something really special. All of a sudden, now you could continue the fantasy that you saw on the screen or you could adapt it to your own. Heck, you could have Greedo flying the Millennium Falcon. That was so cool about Star Wars. There were so many points of entry [for] the fantasy.

Like the film, Kenners Star Wars line became an instant smash. Stores struggled to keep shelves stocked with product. And George Lucas and his crew were just as psyched by the toys as everyone else.

Lucasfilm was always very, very helpful [trying] to determine what would be the best product to come out with for the first year, second year, third year. We would go through an approval process. We have conceptual approval. Then we usually do a first model or there are some renderings. There was one trip where we actually went out to Mr. Lucass home for Empire Strikes Back and had a presentation for Mr. Lucas. That was quite a fascinating trip, to be a twentysomething designer in the midst of Mr. Lucas and all of his friends and partners and also [Lucasfilm concept artist turned filmmaker] Joe Johnston and other designers that were there. It was cool having the actual Star Wars designers come up to us and say, Hey, this toy is really cool.

And while those early toys had their issues, they also had their charms.

Im in love with 1977 figure sculpts because they were at the forefront of design. Theyre just as nice in a lot of ways as our most elaborate Black Series figures at this point. Each time weve done something, its the very best we could do within the technology.

Because Star Wars has been around for 40 years, it gives us the opportunity to do updated characters, updated vehicles, where its appropriate. Weve done five Millennium Falcons. Im just as proud of the first one we worked on as the one we just did for The Force Awakens. Theyre each a little different but we put our hearts and souls into all the things we do. As fans we say, We havent done this for a while, maybe its time to do an updated version, but its never because we felt disappointed in the first version that we did.

Boudreauxs drafting table, pencil, and big sheet of blank paper have been replaced by computers; heres a look at his digital designs for Hasbros Force Awakens toy Falcon. (Credit: Mark Boudreaux/Hasbro)

Boudreaux had a hand in several of the most significant toys in Star Wars history, yet some of his favorites are more obscure.

The Millennium Falcon is obviously No. 1. Im a lover of Boba Fett and Ive had the opportunity to work on multiple Slave Is  those are the big vehicles. But from a personal point of view, we were able to develop a series of smaller vehicles, called Mini-Rigs, back in the day. And a vehicle called the Cruisemissile Trooper. Those were items that I was given permission to develop, inspired by vehicles, what we call off-camera.

Kenners Mini-Rigs seen here from concept to product. The off-screen vehicles were big enough to fit a single action figure. (Credit: Mark Boudreaux/Hasbro)

Things that would fit right into the Star Wars universe but you never saw on screen. They could very easily fit into the story. So, from a very personal perspective, to be able to pen a design that was in an official Star Wars package and related to Star Wars or Empire or Jedi, that was something I always just really appreciated. You dont get a chance to do a lot of that in the Star Wars universe because its so rich on its own. But for someone like myself back in the 80s to be able to do a design from a fresh piece of paper was really quite cool, something Im proud of.

Introduced in 1995, Boudreauxs Cruisemissile Trooper, seen here as a preliminary model, was envisioned as an assault vehicle, where the pilot was part of the ship. (Credit: Hasbro)

Meanwhile, the Hasbro team is cranking out a new line of toys for The Last Jedi.

Obviously, weve been working on the product for quite some time. Lucasfilm is a very good partner. They give us just the right amount of information that is required to do appropriate product but as a fan there are still a lot of things that I dont know about, and thats OK. I want to be entertained and surprised just like all the other fans when we see the film. But we cant wait to see it.

Everybody has put a lot of really hard work into it, and were all really excited for it. After seeing Rogue One, that really inspired us even more with all the great content that Disney is generating for Star Wars. We see a bright future for this brand and I hope to be involved with it for many years to come.

Read more from Yahoo Movies:
Tripoli (AFP) - Suspected Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi had expressed a desire to avenge the killing of a friend in the British city last year, a source close to his family said Thursday.

His friend, also of Libyan descent, died after being stabbed by British youths in Manchester in May 2016, the source said on condition of anonymity.

"That incident stirred up a sense of anger among young Libyans in Manchester and especially Salman, who clearly expressed his desire for revenge," he said.

"We were able to calm the young people in the neighbourhoods who felt they were targeted... as Muslims," he said. "But it seems that Salman did not forget the incident."

"I personally talked with him and tried to convince him that it was just a criminal act," he added.

British media reported that Abdul Wahab Hafidah died after being run over and stabbed in the neck in Manchester's Moss Side district in May last year.

His suspected killers are still on trial.

Monday's attack at a pop concert killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.
Amid growing tensions in the Korean peninsula over North Korea's continued missile tests, the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea is seen as a critical part of efforts to lessen North Korea's leverage from asymmetric weapons, a top American military commander in Seoul said Thursday.

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, who leads the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), made the comments a day after leader Kim Jong Un reportedly ordered mass production of a medium-range ballistic missile with the ability to reach U.S. bases.

Brooks said, according to Yonhap News, a "very dangerous situation" is looming over the peninsula as North Korea carried out missile launches, claiming to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Pyongyang's actions are holding South Korea and neighboring countries at risk, and there is need to "take that risk away without taking his systems away," he said.

Read: North Korea Ready To Attack US? Pyongyang Claims Latest Missile Was An IRBM, South Korea Denies

"I am not suggesting that we allow him to keep his weapons," Brooks said, during a speech at a security forum in Seoul. "We have to actually address the vulnerabilities we have here in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and find ways to lessen that vulnerability."

While talking about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, Brooks said the weapon provided the allies with a critical and unprecedented "area defense" against the threats from North Korea.

"This is all about North Korean missiles and the threat that North Korean missiles pose to the Republic of Korea, and it's for the defense of the Republic of Korea and nothing else," Brooks said.

THAAD has been designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles either just inside or outside the earth's atmosphere. Its deployment in a rural region some 180 miles southeast of Seoul raised concerns not only for North Korea but also China.

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China, which is Seoul's top trading partner, expressed concerns THAAD could also be a threat to the viability of Beijing's nuclear deterrent. The range of its radars can penetrate deep into the Chinese mainland, where the country is rebuilding its arsenal of mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles.

North Korea continues testing ballistic missiles despite several warnings and strong sanctions imposed by the United Nations. The reclusive country warned the U.S. about its recent military drills with South Korea as well as its missile defense system, THAAD, installed in South Korea in April. North Korea has accused the U.S. of escalating tensions with its actions and refers to its missile launches as measures to safeguard its country.

By relentlessly bringing in a number of strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula, the U.S. is gravely threatening the peace and safety and driving the situation to the brink of nuclear war, North Korean officials said in a statement in April. This has created a dangerous situation in which thermo-nuclear war may break out at any moment.

Pyongyang has also given rise to concerns that Kim's regime may be close to building a nuclear weapon that could hit the U.S. mainland. However, many experts believe North Korea is far from developing such a missile.

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Russians felt that they could influence Mr Flynn because they knew him well: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Senior Russian intelligence and political officials were caught by American intelligence agents discussing how to insert influence over Donald Trumps campaign last year, the New York Times reports.

American spies collected information last year on conversations that focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, who later got a job in the White House as a national security adviser but was forced to step down from that post because he misrepresented conversations he had with Russians to Vice President Mike Pence. Both of those men had indirect ties to Russian officials at the time.

The Russian officials felt confident they could use the two men to help shape Mr Trumps opinions on Russia.

The intercepted conversations included Russians boasting that they knew Mr Flynn really well. Others discussed levering relationships with Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine exiled in Russia, who used to work closely with Mr Manafort.

Those intercepted conversations are among many clues that US intelligence agencies got ahold oaf when they began investigating whether Trump campaign officials were helping Russians influence the 2016 election. Other clues included direct conversations between members of the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

The information was considered to be credible enough by intelligence officials that it was passed along to the FBI, which then opened up an ongoing counterintelligence investigation. It wasnt clear if Mr Manafort or Mr Flynn were directly influenced by Russians, or if Russians attempted to do so. They have both denied any collusion.

The spies who provided the recent details about the Russian discussions were granted anonymity by the New York Times, but top officials have spoken broadly about the investigation previously.

I was convinced in the summer that the Russians were trying to interfere in the election. And they were very aggressive, former CIA Director John Brennan testified Tuesday. Even by the end of the presidency of Barack Obama he had "unresolved questions in my mind as to whether or not the Russians had been successful in getting U.S. persons, involved in the campaign or not, to work on their behalf again either in a witting or unwitting fashion," he said.

Mr Flynn was forced to step down from his post as national security adviser less than a month into the Trump presidency after it was determined that he had misled Mr Pence when he said that he did not discuss Russian sanctions during the presidential transition period. Since his resignation, it has also been learned that the Trump administration had repeatedly dismissed warnings about Mr Flynn, and that Mr Trump had allegedly attempted to get former FBI Director James Comey to stop the investigation into Mr Flynn's role in Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.
Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un a "madman with nuclear weapons" during a telephone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, according to a transcript of the conversation released by US media.

A White House readout of the April 29 call characterized it as a "very friendly conversation." Days after the conversation, Trump said publicly that he would be "honored" to meet with Kim.

But in the call, Trump hinted at a possible dramatic escalation on the Korean Peninsula.

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that. We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20 -- but we don't want to use it," the US leader said, citing "two nuclear submarines" the Pentagon sent to the area last month.

Transcribed by the Philippine government, the conversation was released by The Washington Post and The Intercept.

Trump also queried Duterte about whether he believed Kim was "stable or not stable." The Philippine leader responded that their North Korean counterpart's "mind is not working and he might just go crazy one moment."

Kim has a "dangerous toy in his hands that could create so much agony and suffering for all mankind," he added.

But Trump appeared reassured that North Korea's recent missile tests had failed, saying that "all his rockets are crashing. That's the good news."

Turning to China and its ability to counter the nuclear threat, Trump pressed Duterte to call Chinese President Xi Jinping to exert pressure.

"I hope China solves the problem. They really have the means because a great degree of their stuff come through China," Trump said, adding: "But if China doesn't do it, we will do it."

Duterte agreed, saying "at the end of the day, the last card, the ace, has to be with China."

However, he also cautioned, starkly, that "the other option is a nuclear blast, which is not good for everybody."

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Trump closed the call by inviting Duterte to visit the White House "anytime you want to come," and called him a "good man."

"Seriously, if you want to come over, just let us know. Just take care of yourself, and we will take care of North Korea," he added.

At the start of the call, Trump congratulated Duterte on doing a "great job" in his controversial drug war that has killed thousands of people.

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U.S. President Donald Trump (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Does climate change exist, or is it as President Trump has insisted, a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese? You do the math. In recorded history, the 16 warmest years have occurred in this century, last year being the hottest. Any questions? Here, however, is the interesting part: the President has a climate change conundrum. His campaign commitment to cancel and withdraw the US from the global climate accord (the Paris Agreement) which seeks to do no less than save the planet by reducing greenhouse gases, is much like the weather itself. It may be about to change (as have so many other campaign positions of the President). That would be a welcome and momentous shift for the better. Heres why it matters and why he may ease into this position change beginning at the G7 (Group of Seven) meeting in Italy on Friday and Saturday as the President concludes his foreign trip.

The reasons this would be a positive development are straightforward and have been accepted by the exceedingly large majority of respected scientists around the world. Humans, through our industrialized development, have created increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which continue to raise temperatures, thus melting glaciers and ice caps. The result, without something being done, are rising sea levels which will displace tens of millions of people living on low-lying shorelines, droughts that will deplete global food supplies and lead to famine, increased diseases and extinction of many plant and animal species. Not great. Thats why, in 2015 after two decades of effort, 197 nations singed onto the Paris Agreement, the most comprehensive effort to address climate change ever. Last October, it received enough home-nation ratifications from those signatories that it entered into force.

To date, the disagreements within the Trump Administration about if the President should do as he said and cancel the Agreement have been notable, yet no decision has been made public. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has led the arguments in support of the Presidents clarion campaign call to pull the plug, saying its a bad deal for the US. On the other hand, Ivanka Trump has reportedly been the calm, cool and judicious voice for staying in. (Of note is that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil and supporter of the Agreement, may also have weighed in on the matter, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said he views climate change as an issue of national security.)

Interestingly, even some former foes of efforts to combat climate change, namely several coal company executives, have said the US should stay in as a venue for continuing to be part of the climate change conversation. This surprised many, apparently including the President himself, since such a position opposing the Agreement was not only previously popular among coal interests, but with coal miners whovote. Some emerging nations, with less restrictive mandates for greenhouse gas emissions will continue to burn coal (allowed under the Agreement). US coal companies want that to be their coal. Furthermore, to the greatest extent practicable, coal is best burned in manners which reduce pollution using clean coal technology. To that end, coal executives surely hope cost-sharing programs will be available. Such coal exportation and clean coal technology programs are more likely to assist US coal interests if the US continues to be part of the Agreement.

A man wearing a mask depicting Donald Trump protests during a demonstration against climate change outside of the U.S. Embassy in London, Britain, 18 November, 2016. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)

A decision point is fast approaching as the G7 leaders meet and are expected to discuss the matter. This is an exclusive club comprised of the leaders of highly industrialized democracies. All of the other leaders support the Paris Agreement. On his first G7 foray, would the President really want to come off as a paranoid pariah (perhaps a nut job) on climate change? That possibility is real because some of the leaders havent even met each other. Plus, President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and UK and Italian Prime Ministers, Theresa May and Paulo Gentiloni, respectively, have never attended a G7 meeting.

In the event the President chooses to continue to ignore the scientific facts and the majority global view on this matter, theres one saving grace. Since the Agreement has already been ratified and is currently in force, all 197 nations that were part of the Agreement (including the US) must wait three years before seeking to withdraw, and then another year before actually doing so. Under such a scenario, that would be 2021, after the 2020 presidential election.

Given all of this, it seems likely the President will soon alter his course to cancel the Agreement as promised during the election campaign. For the fate of the world, lets hope he does so.



About the Author: Former US Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton was Chair of the Energy & Environmental Markets Advisory Committee, is a political and policy commentator and author of Ponzimonium: How Scam Artists Are Ripping Off America. He can be reached at bartchilton@bartchilton.com.
cameronabadi

European leaders hoped President Donald Trump would explicitly endorse NATOs bedrock collective defense clause during his visit to Brussels on Thursday, after he spent the presidential campaign suggesting it was hollow. He didnt.

In a speech at the opening of NATOs new headquarters, Trump slammed U.S. allies for not spending enough on defense before an uncomfortable-looking audience of fellow heads of state, and in between sparked awkward run-ins with other leaders that underscored strained U.S.-European relations since Trump took office.

He berated allies for chronic underpayments on defense spending in remarks that left allies, former officials, and longtime NATO experts stunned.

This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, Trump said in a speech. And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years, he said yet again. (Of course, as Trump has had explained to him countless times, countries dont pay any dues to NATO, as they do to organizations like the U.N., so its unclear what he is talking about.)

*Look at their faces* and the whispering as Trump admonishes leaders over NATO financial obligations. pic.twitter.com/gLCYgKTdi3  Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 25, 2017

Currently, only five of NATOs 28 members  the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Estonia, and Greece  meet the alliances benchmark of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense. Its been a thorn in the side of U.S.-NATO relations for decades, but Trump brought new urgency to the debate after questioning the value of the alliance and openly praising NATOs arch geopolitical foe, Russia, during his presidential campaign.

Trump said he was very direct with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and other leaders about ponying up more on defense spending.

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We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness, and the size of forces, he said.

In another crucial signal, Trump refused to explicitly reaffirm the value of NATOs Article 5 collective defense clause, the linchpin of NATOs unity and deterrence since the alliances foundation in 1949. That says that all NATO members will come to the aid of any member that is attacked. Trump made those remarks in front of a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when for the only time in history NATO invoked Article 5 to help defend Trumps hometown.

His refusal to explicitly endorse the principle may rattle U.S. allies who were already nervous that Washington wont come to their defense in the event of an attack.

And while Trump addressed the threat of terrorism, he didnt harp on the Russian threat to allay allies fears, in another swing-and-miss. Baltic countries, in particular, are worried about massing Russian military forces that could overwhelm them, and were hoping for the typical, ironclad U.S. commitment, but left disappointed. It certainly fell short of what the Europeans were hoping to hear, said Derek Chollet, a former senior Pentagon official now with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. These are allies who are extremely worried about their own future. They see the Russia threat as an existential one. They live with it every day, he told Foreign Policy.

Experts and former U.S. officials, shocked at the omissions, slammed Trump.

Trumps behavior at this NATO meeting in Brussels is a definitive win for Putin, said Jorge Benitez, a NATO expert at the Atlantic Council who was at the NATO confab. It just increases a lot of the doubts and fears and concerns our allies have had, he told FP.

Every US President since Truman has pledged support for Article 5that US will defend Europe. Not so Trump today at #NATO. Major mistake, former U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns wrote on Twitter.

Others thought if Trump continued to harp allies on defense spending, it could backfire. It can have a blowback effect where countries say to Trump, well screw you Im not going to go home and appear to my people that Im knuckling under to you, said Jim Townsend, who was the Pentagons top NATO envoy up until January. Thats puny-minded. Thats not a tactic worthy of the American president, he said.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer brushed aside criticisms, calling them almost laughable.

The United States is in NATO, so obviously we support all the articles in NATO, he told White House pool reporters.

Optics-wise, things didnt fare much better, with passive aggressiveness out in full force. French President Emmanuel Macron went out of his way to leave Trump hanging for a handshake as he greeted the phalanx of NATO member leaders.

Macron blows off Trump, Trump responds by trying to rip his arm off? This is insane. pic.twitter.com/cPlPg7N72X  Calvin (@calvinstowell) May 25, 2017

In another cringe-worthy moment, Trump shoved Montenegrin leader Dusko Markovic out of his way to clamber to the front of the pack to preen for a photo-op:

Did Trump just shove another NATO leader to be in the front of the group? pic.twitter.com/bL1r2auELd  Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) May 25, 2017

(Background: Montenegro poured its heart and soul into gaining NATO membership, much to the Kremlins displeasure, and its expected to gain official membership next month. Trump himself greenlighted its accession.)

After the speech and some tense run-ins with his peers, Trump and the other NATO leaders gathered for a photo op on stage, while leaders mingled and chatted with one another. No NATO leaders were seen approaching Trump to speak with him on his way out.

This article was updated to include comments from the White House press secretary and other former senior U.S. officials.
Brussels (AFP) - US President Donald Trump on Thursday launched an extraordinary broadside at NATO allies for failing to pay their fair share of the defence bill.

The billionaire leader used the highest possible profile platform of his first NATO summit in Brussels to accuse members of the alliance of owing "massive amounts of money".

Unveiling a memorial to the 9/11 attacks at NATO's new headquarters, Trump also urged the alliance to get tougher on tackling terrorism and immigration in the wake of the Manchester attack.

Allies who had hoped to hear Trump publicly declare his commitment to NATO's Article 5 collective defence guarantee were left disappointed as he made no mention of it and instead castigated them on their home turf.

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they're supposed to be paying for their defence," the president said as fellow leaders looked on grim faced.

Trump said that even if they met the commitment they made in 2014 to allocate two percent of GDP to defence, it would still not be enough to meet the challenges NATO faces.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years," Trump added.

The diatribe stirred memories of his campaign trail comments branding NATO "obsolete" and threatening that states that did not pay their way would not necessarily be defended, which deeply alarmed allies.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg was repeatedly asked at a closing news conference about Trump's comments but insisted that while the president might have been "blunt" his message was unchanged -- the allies had to do more.

In dedicating the 9/11 Article 5 memorial, the president was "sending a strong signal" of his commitment to NATO, Stoltenberg said.

"And it is not possible to be committed to NATO without being committed to Article 5."

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- Terrorism 'must be stopped' -

Trump said the bombing of a pop concert in the British city of Manchester on Monday, claimed by the Islamic State group, showed that "terrorism must be stopped in its tracks".

"The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and NATO's eastern and southern borders," the president said.

The surprising focus on immigration echoed another key feature of Trump's campaign, which included a vow to build a border wall with Mexico, a measure derided in Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an entirely different note as she unveiled a memorial made up of a section of the Berlin Wall to mark the end of the Cold War.

"Germany will not forget the contribution NATO made in order to reunify our country. This is why we will indeed make our contribution to security and solidarity in the common alliance," she said.

Trump's rebuke came despite NATO saying it would formally join the US-led coalition against IS at the summit, despite reservations in France and Germany about getting involved in another conflict.

Article 5 has been invoked only once in NATO's six-decade history -- after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Analyst Thomas Wright of the Washington-based Brookings Institution said Trump's failure to publicly declare this was "shocking and damaging".

Brussels presented Trump with the first problems of a landmark foreign trip, including tense moments with the head of the European Union and with key ally Britain.

Trump announced a review of "deeply troubling" US intelligence leaks over the Manchester bombing, in which 22 people died, and warned that those responsible could face prosecution, the White House said.

He later discussed the row with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, who had condemned the leaks that left British authorities infuriated with their US counterparts.

- EU Russia tensions -

A meeting with European Council chief Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker did not go smoothly either, despite hopes it could clear the bad blood caused by Trump backing Britain's Brexit vote.

During his meeting with the two top EU officials, Trump launched a salvo against Germany and its car sales in the United States, Der Spiegel reported.

"The Germans are bad, very bad," he said, according to the German weekly's online edition.

"See the millions of cars they are selling in the US. Terrible. We will stop this," he reportedly said.

Tusk had earlier said there were differences on climate change and trade but above all Russia.

"I'm not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- 'we' means Mr President and myself -- that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia," said Tusk, a former Polish premier who grew up protesting against Soviet domination of his country.

Trump on the campaign trail made restoring relations with Russia a key promise but he has faced bitter opposition in Washington and has since become embroiled in a scandal over alleged links to Moscow.

Trump also held talks with new French President Emmanuel Macron, with the pair appearing to engage in a brief yet bizarre battle to see who could shake hands the hardest.

Trump came to Brussels direct from a "fantastic" meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, after visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
BRUSSELS  President Donald Trump on Thursday publicly scolded European allies for taking advantage of U.S. taxpayers by failing to spend enough on defense  while in private reportedly breaking with them over how to treat Russia, the country that worked to help get him elected.

NATO members must fully contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, he said at a ceremony intended to mark the alliances solidarity in responding to the 9/11 attacks on America.

Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what theyre supposed to be paying for their defense, Trump said. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years.

Trump spoke at NATOs sparkling new headquarters building at the dedication of a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks  the only time in the alliances 68-year history it invoked the Article 5 promise that an attack on one was the same as an attack on all.

Trump briefly acknowledged the military assistance NATO has provided in the war in Afghanistan, but spent more than a quarter of his eight-minute speech criticizing the alliances nations as several of their elected leaders stood by with uncomfortable looks on their faces.

Trump said he has been very, very direct with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and alliance members in saying that the they must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations.

Over the past eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined, he said.

By referring to countries owing massive amounts of money, though, Trump incorrectly described the nature of the organization. NATO does collect relatively modest dues for the operation of its headquarters and other largely administrative functions. But the collective defense component comes through the member nations collecting taxes from their own citizens to pay for their own militaries, which then work together.

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The concept of burden-sharing, where other NATO members would increase their own defense spending, has been a U.S. priority long before Trump took office, and in fact became formalized in 2014.

That year, following the declaration of a caliphate by the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria, immediately adjacent to NATO member Turkey, NATO agreed that each nation would ramp up its defense spending to 2 percent of its economy over the coming decade.

Trump termed the 2 percent figure insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing readiness and the size of forces.

During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly criticized NATO and went so far as to suggest it could be dissolved as obsolete because the Cold War had ended  a view aligned with Russian leader Vladimir Putins criticisms of the alliance through the years.

Indeed, if Russia had hoped to drive a wedge between the U.S. and western Europe with its support of Trumps candidacy, that strategy appears to be paying off.

European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters after a private meeting with Trump earlier Thursday that Russia appears to be an issue that will divide the U.S. and its traditional European allies.

Im not 100 percent sure we can say that we have a common position, a common opinion on Russia, Tusk said, according to a report by the BBC. Although when it comes to the conflict on Ukraine, we were on the same line.

In his remarks at the memorial dedication, Trump only in passing mentioned Russia. The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and on NATOs eastern and southern borders, he said.

The bulk of the rest of his remarks focused on combatting Islamist terrorism.

The White Houses three-paragraph readout of Trumps meeting with Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the three discussed ISIS, North Korea and trade, but did not mention Russia. The White House press office did not immediately respond to a query regarding Tusks reported statements.

U.S. intelligence services agree that their Russian counterparts covertly worked to harm the candidacy of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and to support Trump. Their tactics included stealing emails from Democrats and releasing embarrassing ones through WikiLeaks, the intelligence services have concluded.

Trump denies he knew anything about the assistance or that he colluded with Russians during the campaign. He did, however, fire FBI Director James Comey and cited the FBIs probe into Russian meddling as a reason. And Comey in an internal memo said that Trump during a private meeting asked him to drop the FBIs investigation into the presidents first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over his contacts with Russia. Flynn was forced to resign after less than a month in his post after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about those contacts.

Trump is scheduled to meet with the most prominent of the NATO allies he just criticized at Friday and Saturdays meeting in Sicily of the G7, which is made up of highly industrialized democracies. Also known as the G7, it includes Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy.

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ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected a resolution by senior U.S. lawmakers condemning a street brawl between protesters and Turkish security personnel outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington. Spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said the resolution was voted and passed with "a one-sided resolution which distorts the facts" and added the incident, which took place during President Tayyip Erdogan's visit to meet President Donald Trump, was a result of negligence by U.S. authorities. "The incident ... was caused as a result of the refusal of U.S. authorities to take necessary security measures, despite repeated official warnings," Muftugolu said in a statement. The U.S. envoy to Ankara was also summoned to Turkey's foreign ministry to protest the treatment of Turkish security officials during the visit. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Alison Williams)
President Donald Trump and the first lady met with Pope Francis on Wednesday at the Vaticans Apostolic Palace. For the visit, Melania Trump wore a black long-sleeve dress with a veil  in line with the traditional womens dress code at the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Internet was abuzz with reactions to photos from the meeting, including Melania Trumps Dolce & Gabbana look  with many inspired by her in-mourning vibe to jump on the same tasteless joke, insinuating that she was dressed like a widow to dress for the job she wants.

wondered what was up with Melania's very widowish black veil & then remembered you're supposed to dress for the job you want  PAPPADEMAS (@PAPPADEMAS) May 24, 2017

What's up with Melania's widow outift? Well, you know what they say. Dress for the job you want! pic.twitter.com/XHBMEEkPFe  Jen Spyra (@jenspyra) May 24, 2017

Dress for the job you want #widow pic.twitter.com/MoYt56ynKE  Taylor Jonathan (@taylorjburt) May 25, 2017

It's less "dress for the job you wish you had" and more "dress for the husband you wish was dead" pic.twitter.com/ZUKFYnHtf0  Paul Verhoeven (@paulverhoeven) May 24, 2017

As users probably tweeted the posts in jest, many pointed out that the joke was in poor taste and incredibly disrespectful to the president of the United States.

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@jenspyra What an ignorant remark, .@FLOTUS dressed appropriately to meet the Pope.  MJK (@jane747) May 24, 2017

@cciccone I'm definitely not a trump supporter, but this tweet is really inappropriate.  Emily  (@emily_chauncey) May 24, 2017

Some users also pointed out that former FLOTUS Michelle Obama wore the same look while meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in 2009  and questioned if the same joke would be made about her.

Melania Trump is traveling with the president during his administrations first international trip  an eight-day, five-stop trek to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Brussels, and Sicily.

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BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The United States has no intention of negotiating with Hungary about its new higher education law, which could force a top university founded by U.S. financier George Soros out of the country, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. The Central European University (CEU) found itself in the eye of a political storm after Hungary's parliament passed a law last month setting tougher conditions for the awarding of licenses to foreign-based universities. The law has triggered a series of street protests - the most recent on Sunday - against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government less than a year before a parliamentary election. Orban had proposed talks with the U.S. about the law, saying the reforms were meant to level the playing field for all universities in Hungary. But Tuesday's response dashed any prospect of a compromise through talks with Washington. "The Government of Hungary should engage directly with affected institutions to find a resolution that allows them to continue to function freely and provide greater educational opportunity for the citizens of Hungary and the region," the State Department said in a statement. "The U.S. Government has no authority or intention to enter into negotiations on the operation of Central European University or other universities in Hungary," it said. Orban's government said it had a clear interest in reaching an agreement "but unfortunately no support for this process has been forthcoming from the U.S. federal government." Washington again urged Hungary to suspend implementation of the law, but Budapest rejected accusations the reforms were discriminatory or that they threatened academic freedom. The European Commission has started legal action against Hungary over the new law, while the European Parliament has condemned Budapest for what it called a "serious deterioration" in the rule of law and fundamental rights. In the past seven years, 53-year-old Orban has eliminated checks on his power by taking control of the public media, curbing the powers of the constitutional court, and placing loyalists in top positions at public institutions. He has rejected accusations that Budapest was threatening the Central European University and dismissed Soros, whose Open Society Foundations has been active in Hungary for three decades, as a "financial speculator". (Reporting by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Beijing (AFP) - China on Thursday accused the United States of trespassing after a US warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, the first such operation by President Donald Trump's administration in the disputed waterway.

The row comes during a period of warming relations between the countries, with Trump saying that Washington has dialed down pressure on Beijing over other issues in hopes of securing their cooperation on North Korea.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey entered the area "without permission from the Chinese government", Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a regular press briefing, adding that the ship had "trespassed in the waters near the relevant islands and reefs."

"The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines China's sovereignty and security interests, and is very likely to cause unexpected sea and air accidents," he said, urging Washington to stop "provocative actions."

The USS Dewey sailed less than 12 nautical miles from Mischief Reef -- part of the Spratly Islands -- on Thursday morning local time, a US official said earlier, the first freedom of navigation operation under Trump. The United Nations says that nations can establish the breadth of their territorial sea up to a limit of 12 nautical miles.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan and several southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

It has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

The United States has challenged annexations of these islets and advocated for a diplomatic settlement to the disputes.

US Navy chief Admiral John Richardson sought to downplay the significance of the sailing, noting that the United States has routinely conducted freedom of navigation operations the world over since 1979, to contest "excessive maritime claims" and show that "rules matter."

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When asked about the latest operation, Richardson said: "They sure get a lot of attention when they happen, but I don't think in terms of the logical approach to why we do those there's anything different in the South China Sea than there is anywhere else."

Pentagon spokesman Major Jamie Davis said US forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis and will fly and sail "wherever international law" allows.

The exercises are "not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements," he said.

The US operation came a week after the Pentagon said that Chinese jets conducted an "unprofessional" intercept of a US radiation sniffing plane.

China denied the accusation, with the Ministry of Defense saying Thursday that "the close reconnaissance activities conducted by US military ships and planes towards China are the root cause of the security issues between China and the US over the sea and in the air."

- 'Severe disruptions' -

Relations between Washington and Beijing had warmed in recent months, with Trump trading his once fierce rhetoric about the country for glowing compliments.

Since meeting with President Xi Jinping in April, Trump -- who once accused China of "raping" his country -- has praised the Chinese leader as a "good man," saying it would be inappropriate to pressure Beijing while Washington is seeking its help with North Korea.

Thursday's operation may be an indication that Trump's patience is wearing thin.

But James Char, a China analyst at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said the manoeuver was just the US signalling that it is a "credible strategic guarantor to its allies" in the region.

"For now, I do not see this as a sign marking the end of the goodwill cultivated between Trump and Xi," Char told AFP.

Washington has long argued that Beijing's actions in the South China Sea threaten freedom of navigation and overflight through the strategically vital waters.

China denies these claims, countering that the United States is eager to stoke tensions in the region.

Last week, Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a framework for creating a new code of conduct for ships and aircraft operating in the region.

"The situation in the South China Sea is cooling down and showing positive signs of development," the foreign ministry spokesman said.

"What the US has done is cause severe disruptions to this process of dialogue and consultation. It will bring itself no good while hurting others."
A U.S. Navy warship carried out a Freedom of Navigation (FON) operation in the South China Sea, reports said Wednesday. This was the first such operation in the disputed region under Donald Trumps presidency, and the move was reportedly intended to show China U.S. wants to keep the South China Sea open. China claims the entire South China Sea. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have overlapping claims.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed within 12 nautical miles of artificial Mischief Reef in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands, Reuters reported, citing U.S. officials. China has built an artificial outpost, which has an airfield too.

The Defense Department did not confirm the reports.

U.S. forces operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including the South China Sea, Defense Department spokesman Jamie Davis said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

The U.S. has been conducting regular freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, angering Beijing. While the U.S. has continued to oppose Chinas growing aggression in the disputed region, Beijing has held Washington responsible for creating tensions in the South China Sea region. Other claimants of the South China Sea have blamed China of militarizing the region. However, Beijing defended its actions saying its military equipment will help in the safety of the region, from where about $5 trillion worth of trade passes every year.

In March, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a branch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), released satellite images showing China finishing the construction of its military infrastructure on the South China Sea islands. According to AMTI, the images showed Chinas naval, air, radar and defensive facilities were nearing completion. Following this, Chinas military aircraft would be able to fly over almost all of the South China Sea with the help of three air bases in the Spratly Islands, and one on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracel Islands.

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The same is true of Chinas radar coverage, made possible by advanced surveillance/early warning radar facilities at Fiery Cross, Subi, and Cuarteron Reefs, as well as Woody Island, and smaller facilities elsewhere. China has maintained HQ-9 surface-to-air missile systems on the Woody Island for more than a year and has on at least one occasion deployed anti-ship cruise missiles to the island, the Washington, D.C.-based think tank said in the report.

In March, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed the defense equipment on the artificial islands were to maintain freedom of navigation in the region.

"Even if there is a certain amount of defense equipment or facilities, it is for maintaining the FON," Keqiang said. "Because without such freedom or without stability in the South China Sea, the Chinese side would be among the first to bear its brunt," he added.

The premier also said his country is not militarizing the South China Sea. "With respect to the so-called militarization, China never has any intention to engage in militarization in the South China Sea," Keqiang said at the time.

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Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have legalized marijuana for adults in the state, but offered a path forward for the legislation if state lawmakers make a handful of changes to the bill.

I think we need to move a little bit slower, Scott said Wednesday, adding that hes not opposed to the idea of legalization in the state, but that lawmakers must get this right.

Scott said hes going to offer some changes and suggested that hed be willing to support a revised bill if it addressed his concerns about penalties for the sale of marijuana to minors, more time for a commission to study the prospects for a regulated market, and other safety issues.

Wednesday was the governors deadline to sign the bill, allow the bill to become law without his signature or veto it. Lawmakers will have the opportunity to address the governors concerns about the bill as soon as this summers special session.

The bill would have allowed adults in Vermont to legally possess as much as an ounce of marijuana flower by mid-2018. Adults would have been able to grow six marijuana plants for personal use, with up to two of them mature at any given time. The bill also would have created a commission to develop a retail marijuana scheme with regulations and taxes similar to the programs already enacted in states that have legalized recreational marijuana.

The measure was approved by the state Senate and House earlier this month, making Vermont the first state to ever pass a bill to make marijuana legal through its legislature. Eight states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana in recent years, but all via a ballot referendum. Twenty-nine states, including Vermont in 2004, and D.C. have legalized marijuana for medical purposes.

According to a recent poll from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, a majority of Vermont voters support allowing people 21 and older to possess and grow a limited amount of marijuana. They also support the state taxing and regulating recreational sales of the plant similarly to alcohol.

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A New York Times editorial on Wednesday had urged the governor to sign the bill.

Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, who supported the legalization measure, said he was disappointed to see Scott disregard the will of most Vermonters by vetoing the bill.

Vermont is now lagging behind other states in the region and is missing opportunities to capture revenue from an underground market that would allow us to address highway safety, drug education and treatment, and other needed state investments to reduce the temptation of drug use, said Zuckerman, a member of the Progressive Party.

Advocates for more progressive marijuana laws in the state also voiced disappointment in the veto, but were optimistic that a compromise bill could take shape soon.

Despite the veto, this is a huge leap forward, said Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, said the veto likely just amounts to a short delay and that hes very hopeful the state will become the first in history to end marijuana prohibition by an act of the legislature.

The fact that a bill even ended up on the governors desk signals a new phase of the marijuana legalization movement, Angell said.

Kevin Sabet, president of anti-legalization group SAM, commended Scott on his decision to veto the bill and voiced concern about a compromise bill.

Our work is not over, Sabet said. We will be working very closely with our allies to make sure any piece of legislation does not allow Big Marijuana to come to Vermont.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in the U.S., and the trend of states bucking prohibition in favor of legal regulation reflects a broad cultural shift toward greater acceptance of the plant. National support for legalization has risen dramatically in recent years, reaching historic highs in multiple polls.

Still, the plant remains illegal under federal law, and those who favor the end of marijuana prohibition in the United States have been concerned about the future of legalization under President Donald Trump.

This article has been updated with comment from Kevin Sabet.

Also on HuffPost

Because Most Americans Are Unenthusiastic About It

Only 7 percent of Americans think the United States is winning the war on drugs, and few Americans are interested in throwing down more money to try to win, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released in 2012.

Because The U.S. Won't Control The Flow Of Guns Into Latin America

Mexican authorities seized almost 70,000 weapons of U.S. origin from 2007 to 2011. In 2004, the U.S. Congress declined to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. They quickly became the guns of choice for Mexican drug cartels. Some 60,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a military assault on the cartels in 2006.

Because The United States Leads The Hemisphere In Drug Consumption

Americans have the highest rate of illegal drug consumption in the world, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Because The U.S. Ignores Latin American Calls For A Rethinking Of Drug Policy

Several current and former Latin American presidents, like Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have urged the United States to rethink its failed war on drugs, to no avail.

Because Of The Fast And Furious Scandal

In an attempt to track guns as they moved across the U.S.-Mexico border, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms allowed smugglers to purchase weapons. The ATF lost track of the guns and they wound up in the hands of drug cartels -- even as far south as Colombia.

Because American Politicians Refuse To Candidly Lead A Debate On Reforming Our Laws

Though the subject of marijuana legalization regularly ranks among the most popular at the digital town halls President Obama takes part in, he declines to address the issue or give it a thoughtful answer. Incidentally, a younger Obama supported marijuana decriminalization and a rethinking of the drug war.

Because The U.S. Tortures Detainees In Cuba

Almost 800 prisoners accused of terrorism have have been held at the U.S. military prison of Guantanamo, Cuba, where they are detained indefinitely without facing trial. The United States has drawn international criticism from human rights defenders for subjecting the detainees there to torture and other cruel treatment. The Cuban government opposes hosting the U.S. naval base on its soil.

Because The U.S. Has The World's Largest Prison Population

The United States has the world's largest prison population by far -- largely fed by the war on drugs -- at 500 per 100,000 people.

Because The U.S. Jails Undocumented Immigrants Guilty Of Civil Violations

Because the United States imprisons roughly 400,000 immigrants each year on civil violations.

Because The Border Patrol Kills Kids Who Throw Rocks

The U.S. Border Patrol has come under fire for killing minors who were throwing rocks.

Because The U.S. Recognized An Illegal Government In Venezuela

When opponents of leftwing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez briefly ousted him in 2002, the United States not only failed to condemn the coup, it praised the coup leaders.

Because U.S. Extradition Undermines Justice In Colombia

When Colombia demobilized the largest rightwing paramilitary organization in 2006, if offered lenient sentences to those who would offer details on the atrocities the AUC committed. But rather than facing justice in their home country, Colombia has extradited several paramilitary leaders to the United States to face drug trafficking charges -- marking it harder for people like Bela Henriquez to find out the details surrounding the murders of their loved ones. "More than anger, I feel powerless," Henriquez, whose father, Julio, was kidnapped and killed on the orders of one defendant, told ProPublica. "We don't know what they are negotiating, what conditions they are living under. What guarantee of justice do we have?"

Because The U.S. Helped Create Today's Cartels

The U.S funded the Guatemalan military during the 1960s and 1970s anti-insurgency war, despite awareness of widespread human rights violations. Among the recipients of U.S military funding and training were the Kaibiles, a special force unit responsible for several massacres. Former Kaibiles have joined the ranks of the Zetas drug cartel.

Because The U.S. Backed An Argentine Military Dictatorship That Killed 30,000 People

The rightwing military dictatorship that took over Argentina in 1976 "disappeared" some 30,000 people, according to estimates by several human rights organizations. They subjected countless others to sadistic forms of torture and stole dozens of babies from mothers they jailed and murdered. The military junta carried out the so-called "Dirty War" with the full knowledge and support of the Nixon administration.

Because The U.S. Helped Topple The Democratically Elected Government Of Salvador Allende

When it became clear that socialist Salvador Allende would likely win the presidency in Chile, U.S. President Richard Nixon told the CIA to "make the economy scream" in order to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him," according to the National Security Archive. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende in a bloody coup on Sept. 11, 1973, torturing and disappearing thousands of his political rivals with the backing of the U.S. government.

Because the U.S. Backed A Military Coup In Brazil In 1964

The Brazilian military overthrew the democratically elected government of Joao Goulart in 1964, with the enthusiastic support of President Lyndon Johnson, ushering in two decades of repressive government.

Because The U.S. Funded A Terrorist Group In Nicaragua

The Reagan administration funded the Contra rebels against the Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Regarded by many as terrorists, the Contras murdered, tortured and raped civilians. When human rights organizations reported on the crimes, the Reagan administration accused them of working on behalf of the Sandinistas.

Because The U.S. Helped Finance Atrocities In Colombia

Through Plan Colombia, the U.S. has pumped over $6 billion into Colombia's military and intelligence service since 2002. The intelligence service has been disbanded for spying on the Supreme Court and carrying out smear campaigns against the justices, as well as journalists, members of Congress and human rights activists. The military faces numerous allegations of human rights abuse, including the practice of killing non-combatants from poor neighborhoods and dressing them up as guerrillas to inflate enemy casualty statistics.

Because The U.S. Maintains A Trade Embargo Against Cuba Despite Opposition From The Entire World

For 21 years, the U.N. has condemned the U.S. embargo against Cuba and for 21 years the United States has ignored it. Some 188 nations voted against the embargo this year, with only the U.S. itself, Israel, Palau opposing.

Because The U.S. Engineered A Coup Against The Democratically Elected Government Of Guatemala In 1954

At the behest of United Fruit Company, a U.S. corporation with extensive holdings in Central America, the CIA helped engineer the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, ushering in decades of civil war that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.

Because The U.S. Backed The Salvadoran Military As It Committed Atrocities In The 1980s

El Salvador's military committed atrocities throughout the 1980s with U.S. funding.

Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti and Occupied It For Almost 20 Years

Woodrow Wilson ordered the Marines to invade and occupy Haiti in 1915 after the assassination of the Haitian president. The troops didn't leave until 1934.

Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti Again In 1994

One invasion wasn't good enough. The U.S. military returned in 1994.

Because The U.S. Trained Military Leaders Who Committed Atrocities In Latin America

The School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia, trained soldiers and generals responsible for massacres and torture of tens of thousands of Latin Americans, according to Al Jazeera.

Because The U.S. Backed Dictator Rafael Trujillo

Rafael Trujillo Sr. (Photo by Hank Walker//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Because The U.S. Invaded Cuba And Undermined The Island's Independence

The so-called "Spanish-American War" began in 1868 with the first of a series of three wars for Cuban independence. In 1898, the U.S. got involved, invading Cuba and occupying the island after forcing Spain to give it. The United States then forced Cuba to accept the odious Platt Amendent to its Constitution, which allowed the United States to intervene in the country militarily and established the U.S. military base at Guantanamo.

Because The U.S. Colonized Puerto Rico

As long as you're invading Cuba, why not take Puerto Rico as well? The United States invaded in 1898 and the island remains a U.S. territory today.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Photo credit: Lim Byung-shick/Yonhap / AP

From Popular Mechanics

South Korea fired warning shots Tuesday after an unidentified object flew south from rival North Korea, Seoul's military said. Local media said it may have been a North Korean military drone.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the military broadcast a warning to North Korea in response to the object before firing the warning shots. It said the military also bolstered its air surveillance. The statement provided no other details.

There was no immediate comment in North Korea's state-run media, and no reports that the North had returned fire.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency, without citing a source, reported that the South fired about 90 machine gun rounds into the air and toward North Korea. It said South Korea was analyzing whether a North Korean military drone had crossed the border.

The Koreas face off across the world's most heavily armed border, and the two sides occasionally clash. North Korea is also building nuclear-tipped missiles and has greeted new South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who wants to reach out to the North, with two missile test-launches, part of a flurry of tests since leader Kim Jong Un took over in late 2011.

In 2014, the rivals traded machine gun and rifle fire after South Korean activists released anti-North Korean propaganda balloons across the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the Korean Peninsula, but no casualties were reported.

Attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans.

North Korean drone flights across the border are unusual, but have happened before. In January 2016, South Korea said its military fired 20 machine gun warning shots after a North Korean drone briefly crossed the border.

North Korea has in recent years touted its drone program, a relatively new addition to its arsenal. In 2013, state media said North Korean leader Kim watched a drone attack drill on a simulated South Korean target.

In 2014, South Korean officials discovered what they described as several North Korean drones that had flown across the border. Those drones were crude and low-tech, but were still considered a potential new security threat.

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By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a Wikipedia lawsuit that challenges a U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) program of mass online surveillance, and claims that the government unconstitutionally invades people's privacy rights. By a 3-0 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, had a legal right to challenge the government's Upstream surveillance program. The decision could make it easier for people to learn whether authorities have spied on them through Upstream, which involves bulk searches of international communications within the internet's backbone of cables, switches and routers. Upstream's existence was revealed in leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013. Lawyers for the Wikipedia publisher and eight other plaintiffs including Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch, with more than 1 trillion international communications annually, argued that the surveillance violated their rights to privacy, free expression and association. The U.S. Department of Justice countered that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act had authorized Upstream's review of communications between Americans and foreign "targets." In October 2015, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Baltimore dismissed the lawsuit, finding a lack of evidence that the NSA, headquartered in Maryland, was conducting surveillance "at full throttle." Writing for the appeals court panel, however, Circuit Judge Albert Diaz found "nothing speculative" about the Wikimedia Foundation's claims. Diaz said the NSA interception and copying of communications showed "an invasion of a legally protected interest - the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures." The foundation could also pursue its First Amendment claim because it had "self-censored" some communications in response to the Upstream surveillance, Diaz said. By a 2-1 vote, the same panel also ruled the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the NSA's alleged "dragnet" to intercept "substantially all" text-based communications to and from the United States while conducting Upstream surveillance. Justice Department spokesman Mark Abueg declined to comment. Patrick Toomey, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the ruling means Upstream "will finally face badly needed scrutiny" in the courts. "This is an important victory for the rule of law," he said in a statement. "Our government shouldn't be searching the private communications of innocent people in bulk." Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers are working on legislation to curtail parts of Upstream. A section of FISA that authorizes the program expires at year end. The case is Wikimedia Foundation et al v National Security Agency et al, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-2560. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Phil Berlowitz)
Nearly a year since the Zika virus outbreak arrived in Miami, scientists say they've learned new details about how the mosquito-born virus emerged and spread throughout the Americas.

Researchers sequenced nearly 200 Zika virus genomes to see how the virus mutated and traveled over time. These genetic blueprints shed new light on a poorly understood epidemic that's affected thousands of people in recent years.

"We used [genomes] to investigate the timing and path of how Zika spread in a way that had not yet been possible, until now," Browyn Macinnis, an associate director at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, said this week on a press call.

SEE ALSO: This frog's slime can destroy flu viruses

Macinnis is the lead author of one of three Zika-related papers published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. All studies found the virus spread unnoticed for many months before transmission was detected.

Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen through a microscope in Recife, Brazil.

Image: mario tama/Getty Images

Zika is an RNA virus that mutates and evolves at a fairly high rate, which makes its genetic data like a trail of bread crumbs that scientists can follow. For the studies, researchers collected Zika virus genomes from infected patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitos in 10 countries.

The studies detailed where the Zika outbreak began and how it moved across the region.

The virus likely began circulating in northeast Brazil around late 2013 or early 2014  months before it was detected and an outbreak established. Soon, local mosquitos began transmitting the virus to Brazilians, including pregnant women. That likely spurred a rise in newborns with microcephaly, or an unusually small skull.

From northeast Brazil, Zika traveled south to major population centers, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and spread throughout South America, Central America, and Caribbean countries. The Caribbean was Zika's main pathway to the continental United States, where the virus also circulated undetected for several months.

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A woman hugs her 5-month-old son, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil.

Image: mario tama/Getty Images

Zika likely arrived in Florida in the spring of 2016, though the first cases of local mosquito-born transmission weren't reported until July, said Kristian Andersen, a lead author on one of the Nature studies and an assistant professor at the Scripps Research Institute.

The leap from Caribbean to continental U.S. likely happened around 30 to 40 times, meaning it wasn't a lone mosquito that sparked the outbreak.

"It's not a one-off event. This is something that keeps happening over and over again," Andersen said on the press call.

In Florida, 218 cases of Zika were acquired through local mosquito-born transmission last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Six additional cases were acquired locally in Brownsville, Texas.

Another 4,830 cases were reported across the U.S. last year, but all of those were travel-related infections, meaning people acquired the virus while visiting another country, the CDC reported. Forty-six more cases were acquired through sexual transmission.

A Dec. 2, 2016, map of South Florida.

Image: CDC

Andersen said the Miami and Brownsville areas face the highest risk of a Zika outbreak, while remaining swaths of the continental U.S. are unlikely to see a significant outbreak.

That's because southern Florida and parts of southern Texas have a year-round population of Aedes aegypti mosquitos, the main species that transmits Zika and other viruses like dengue and chikungunya. In the rest of the country, the mosquitos only appear during certain months, giving them fewer opportunities to spread the virus.

Miami is also a major destination for people living in Caribbean countries, where the Zika virus thrived.

Local officials in the U.S. and throughout the Americas have since taken drastic steps to limit the Zika outbreak, including by spraying insecticides and issuing travel warnings for pregnant women in affected areas.

Scientists are still working to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus, although the new genome sequences reported on Wednesday may help advance that research. The sequences reveal parts of the virus likely to mutate and resist the vaccine, Andersen said.

"We need to know what the virus looks like so we can target the vaccine against that," he told reporters. "Sequencing gives you the blueprint of the virus."
President Donald Trump is calling for significant cuts in science spending. (Flickr / Gage Skidmore)

President Donald Trump sent his budget request for the next fiscal year to Congress today, giving the science community a glimpse of what may be to come  and many dont like what they see.

The budget proposal cuts funding for most research and development programs in favor of defense and homeland security spending. The National Institute of Healths budget would be reduced 22 percent, from $34.6 billion to $25.9 billion. The budget for the Environmental Protection Agency would drop 31 percent, from $8.2 billion to $5.7 billion, and reduce the agencys employee count by 3,200.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science estimates that total research funding would be cut by 16.8 percent, or $12.6 billion, in the 2018 fiscal year. No administration appears to have proposed cuts to research this large in over 40 years, the AAAS said in its analysis.

R&D by character, as a share of GDP. Research funding would hit a 40-year low in 2018. #Science @AAAS_GR pic.twitter.com/btVEj3RxMQ  Matt Hourihan (@MattHourihan) May 23, 2017

The general outlines of the reductions have been known since March, when Trump released his skinny budget blueprint, but the request released today fills in more of the details.

Some in the science community raised concerns about attracting and training new talent for the nations workforce. Rush Holt, the AAAS CEO and a former member of Congress, is worried the cuts could slow technological advancements and have adverse effects on the economy.

Slashing funding of critically important federal agencies threatens our nations ability to advance cures for disease, develop new energy technologies, improve public health, train the next generation of scientists and engineers and grow the American economy, Holt said in a statement from the AAAS.

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Even some Republicans voiced disapproval of the cuts.

Representative Tom Cole, R-Okla., who oversees NIHs budget, feared that research grant cuts could potentially discourage promising young scientists from researching advancements in biomedicine.

In a tweet, Peter deMenocal, dean of science at Columbia University, called the budget anti-science. He drew a graphic contrast between the decline in R&D funding and the rise in global temperatures, which has been attributed to a climate trend that Trump has called a hoax:

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., spoke out against Trumps cuts to the EPA and other organizations  saying that they show a lack of understanding of issues that are important to Western states, such as water and salmon conservation.

This budget shows a callous disregard for the problems that keep Washingtonians up at night, she said.

Four of NASAs Earth science missions would be terminated, and Earth science research grants would be reduced, but funding would be continued for deep-space missions such as the 2020 Mars rover and a flyby of the icy Jovian moon Europa.

During his State of NASA address, acting administrator Robert Lightfoot spoke about the proposed $19.1 billion in spending, saying that his agency now has flesh on the bones of a once-skinny budget.

He said while NASA researchers cant do everything they had hoped to do under Trumps budget plan, they can certainly do a lot, all while supporting national priorities.

Lightfoot voiced concern about future generations of researchers and noted that NASA will eliminate the Office of Education, which gave many research grants, internships and camps to students.

However, Lightfoot said, NASA will continue to inspire the next generation through its missions and the many ways that our work excites and encourages discovery by learners and educators.

Keith Cowing, the editor of the independent NASA Watch website, criticized the plan to eliminate the education office. Somehow we are supposed to think that doing less education stuff can actually result in more inspiring of the next generation, he wrote in a blog posting.

Although todays White House proposal is a major step in the budget process, its up to Congress to approve the official spending plan  and Trumps proposal is likely to undergo significant tweaking in the months ahead.

More from GeekWire:
By Ritah Kemigisa

The Opposition Uganda Peoples Congress Party President Jimmy Akena has dismissed with contempt allegations that he has handed over the party to the ruling NRM.

Yesterday a faction of the party members led by Higenyi Kemba demanded for Akenas ouster on grounds that he has been holding secret meetings with President Yoweri Museveni to finalize his creepy plan to hand over the party to NRM.

Addressing the media today, Jimmy Akena said he wants follow in his father Milton Obotes footsteps and not and not those of president Museveni.

Akena adds that he stands and believes in the principles of UPC and that he cannot sell the party.

On the allegations that he has been meeting President Museveni secretly, Akena said he would be glad to meet the president in a dialogue to discuss matters of a peaceful transition, explain that other meetings he has held with Museveni were related to parliamentary duties.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Plenty of sunshine. High 71F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 45F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Peace, love and milk: that was the message West Salem senior Sarina Rabbitt was asked to imbue in a design for the annual June Dairy Days button.

It thought it was a really cute message, Rabbitt said.

Every year the June Dairy Days committee tasks students from area schools to design a button for the annual dairy fest. The best design in then selected by committee vote.

The buttons are sold for $3 at locations throughout West Salem, including the Village Hall, and grant of-age participants access to the beer tent.

The buttons are about a lot more than beer according to June Dairy Days President Leroy Brown.

They are a great show of support, he said.

Rabbitt said, I think when people remember it, they will have their pin as a souvenir.

Brown said most years West Salems talented art students have had no problem capturing the theme, and Rabbitts contribution is no acceptation.

I am pretty happy with Ms. Rabbitt, he said. She did a great job.

Rabbitts button, however, almost didnt happen.

She said it was an optional assignment in one of her art classes.

If it wasnt for that, I dont think I would have even known about it, she said. I hadnt won anything before, so I thought it would be super cool if I did.

Rabbitt said it turned out to be a fun project because the requirements were so specific.

It had to fit the theme which was peace love and milk, she said. I wanted it to be simple, easy to read and eye-catching, she said. It was a surprise to me how it turned out.

Within minutes of reading over the requirements, Rabbitt knew exactly what she wanted to do.

Immediately I knew I wanted to do a cow, she said.

After years of living on a dairy farm, Rabbitt said nothing said peace, love and dairy like a cow.

We used to have two cows not too long ago, she said. I thought it was super cute and fitting.

Rabbitt said she looked forward to the end of the school year and the start of the June Dairy Days Festivities.
Landowners have a new option to protect their environmentally sensitive cropland with the introduction of the Minnesota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.

The kick-off for the MN CREP continuous sign-up began May 15. The voluntary state-federal program is designed to improve water quality and habitat conservation. It will protect and restore up to 60,000 acres of marginal cropland across 54 southern and western Minnesota counties, using buffer strips, wetland restoration and drinking water wellhead protection. The program is funded with approximately $350 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and $150 million from the State of Minnesota.

This is a milestone in conservation for Minnesota, said to John Jaschke, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. State soil and water conservation district staff and federal USDA staff are ready to help landowners get started.

Landowners who are accepted in MN CREP will enroll in the USDAs Conservation Reserve Program for 14-15 years. At the same time, the land will be put into a permanent conservation easement through the states Reinvest in Minnesota easement program. Private ownership continues and the land is permanently restored and enhanced for water quality and habitat benefits.

Landowners wanting to learn more should contact the Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Office in Caledonia, 507-724-5261, ext. 3.

More information about the MN CREP can be found at www.bwsr.state.mn.us/crep.
The repeal of Wisconsins prevailing wage law hasnt had as big an impact on western Wisconsin as it has on the rest of the state.

According to data provided by opponents of the repeal, a number of local construction projects have gone to local companies in Minnesota both before and after the repeal went into effect. Across the state as a whole, out-of-state contracts have jumped 53 percent this year compared with the same time in 2016, with a number of contracts going to companies from states as far away as Kentucky and Florida.

The Legislature repealed prevailing wage regulations for municipal construction projects in 2015, with the change going into effect in January. Prevailing wage regulations provide a minimum wage requirement for public construction projects, and state lawmakers now are debating repealing the requirements for state construction projects such as infrastructure projects and University of Wisconsin System projects.

Proponents of the bill say it could save the state millions of dollars, as labor contributes up to 25 percent of the cost of a construction project and is one of the few places where companies have the flexibility to control expenses. Estimates from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation are that 78 percent of projects will not be affected by a repeal, as those projects receive federal funding and federal prevailing wage laws would apply. Estimates of savings from other agencies are mixed.

The Wisconsin Contractor Coalition, an organization opposed to prevailing wage repeal, analyzed municipal construction contracts awarded across the state between January and April of 2016 and the same time period in 2017. Analyzing the data, they found out-of-state contracts jumped 53 percent from $20.9 million in 2016 to more than $32 million this year.

The data does come with some caveats. The spreadsheets only looked at out-of-state contracts awarded during those two time periods, which makes it impossible to determine whether the jump is caused by out-of-state contractors outbidding their Wisconsin counterparts or whether more or larger contracts were awarded this year compared with last.

Some of the out-of-state contracts have gone to companies in Kentucky, Missouri and Florida, which opponents say can pay their employees lower wages. The result of the increase in out-of-state contracts, opponents argue, is a loss of Wisconsin jobs, wages and the transfer of taxpayer dollars from local communities to other states.

The goal is going to be lower wages and worse living conditions for people who work on these kinds of projects, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters representative Kevin Hennessy said. The law opens up competition from states with much lower wages.

That doesnt seem to be the case in the Coulee Region, where nearby companies in Minnesota such as Wieser Brothers General Contractor of La Crescent and Wapasha Construction in Winona won a number of contracts in both 2016 and 2017, according to the data. Minnesota is a higher wage state than Wisconsin, with the minimum wage there at $9.50 per hour compared with Wisconsins minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Chris Peterson, vice president of Western Wisconsin union Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 599, said quality will go down as a result of the changes. Local workers spend a lot of time enhancing their skills and completing safety training, and he said he worries about fly-by-night companies from outside the state getting projects by providing very low bids that result in a lower quality product.

It makes no sense to get rid of a system that gives more bang for the buck to Wisconsin taxpayers, he said.
A youth is in custody after a threat was discovered at the De Soto Middle/High School.

According to a letter sent to parents and guardians Thursday, the Vernon County Sheriffs Department has been investigating a threat discovered this week etched into a toilet paper dispenser in a boys restroom at the school. According to the letter from Superintendent Linzi Gronning, the threat was not specific but indicated something would happen Friday, the day of graduation.

On Thursday, the sheriffs department took a juvenile into custody related to the threat. Gronning said authorities believe they have apprehended the person responsible. The sheriffs department will continue to maintain a presence at the school for the remainder of the week, Gronning said, as well as the graduation ceremony scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Friday. Deputies will also be present at both elementary schools Friday to provide additional security.

The safety of our students and staff is our paramount concern, and we are very grateful to the Vernon County Sheriffs Department for overseeing our school safety protocols, assigning deputies to provide additional security, and dispatching investigators to address this incident, Gronnings letter to parents said. We recognize this has been a concerning situation, and we appreciate the cooperation and support received.
Do you have a hero in your life? When asked to list one, I suspect that most people, like myself, will tell you first about their father. My dad, Raymond Dill Anderson, died in May 2000 and I miss him every single day. But I am lucky because I have two additional real-life heroes on my list who have also helped me in more ways than I can tell you. This weekend, our country will recognize Memorial Day and the heroes that have served our country. I have two uncles who are not only my personal heroes, but they are genuine WWII heroes.

You may have heard the story of Howard Johnson, my moms brother, who joined the Air Force in 1942 after graduating from Westby High School. He was trained as a B-17 pilot and on his 23rd mission, on October 29, 1944, was shot down over Brux, Czechoslovakia. After being captured, the Germans escorted him to to Budapest, Hungary, where he spent the first two weeks in solitary confinement. In mid-January 1945, Howard was taken by train, in a cattle car no less, to a POW camp just east of Nuremberg, Germany, where he was held until April 3, when the Nazis evacuated the Nuremburg camp. The POWs were then marched to Moosburg, Germany, a distance of nearly 100 miles. While on that march, Howard escaped, was recaptured in a church, and held in a POW jail for several days until he was forced to rejoin the march. On April 29, 1945, only 15 day after their arrival in Moosburg, Howard, then 20 years old, and the other prisoners were liberated when General George C. Patton arrived at the camp.

A lesser known, yet very courageous story is that of Hilmer Anderson, my dads brother, who joined the Navy in April, 1944. Hilmer once described to me, in his typically modest way, that it was hard to get up at 4:00am but after the workout, a shower, and then breakfast, I felt so good the rest of the day wasnt hard. Oh, maybe the first week, but after that it was easy. Basic training finished in mid-May and Hilmer arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 21, on his way to the Marshall Islands, in what became known in history books as the Pacific Campaign. On August 13, 1944, he was assigned to the USS Calvert, a troop transport ship, where he would spend the next twenty-two months. On October 20, 1944, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed for the invasion of Palo Beach, Leyte, in the Philippines, Hilmer was there with the 7th Division of the 8th Army. The battle lasted for two months. A naval base had been established at Manus, New Guinea and Hilmer would be back and forth from Manus to Leyte then back to Manus three times before December 26, 1944, when the US and Philippine forces took back the Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation.

Join me next week as I continue Uncle Hilmers story and you will see why I consider him one of my heroes.
Work on the state budget continues. This past week, we discussed the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board, Elections and Ethics Commissions and several administrative provisions in the Departments of Administration, Health Services, Children and Families. We also made significant decisions related to the Wisconsin Technical College System, the State Historical Society and shared revenue. For a full view of our proceedings, follow this link: docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/committees/joint/1680

Service awards for volunteer firefighters, first responders and EMTs  we increased the contribution to the service award program match to $500 per volunteer per year from $344.11 per volunteer. Service award accounts allow a municipality to create an account that is payable when the volunteer reaches 15 years of service and the age of 60.

Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board funding  the LWSRB provides leadership for the riverway that extends 92.3 miles from below the dam at Prairie du Sac to the confluence with the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien and encompasses 95,893 acres. Most of the riverway is in the 17th Senate District. I authored a motion to provide full funding for an administrative position to support their efforts.

Forensic unit at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston  we provided funding to open a 20-bed unit in existing vacant facilities at Sand Ridge in Mauston to fulfill a need for forensic treatment facilities. A forensic unit in a mental health facility is for people who are committed as a result of a criminal process or a civil process. This budget provision uses existing facilities to meet a need and is a better investment of our resources and specialized talent.

Cassville Public Utility aid distribution  communities with power plants receive significant utility aid payments that are a part of their municipal budget. When Alliant Energy left Cassville in 2015, the community faced a huge, unexpected gap in its municipal finances. At that time, I worked with Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, to create a plan in which Cassville would gradually step down its utility aid payments over a five-year period. Unfortunately, the Department of Revenue recently issued a new interpretation of the law that changed the conditions and ended the payments immediately. In response, I authored a motion to once again step down the utility aid payments for Cassville, the city of Alma and the town of Two Creeks, which are impacted by similar rules.

Technical colleges funding  we deleted the tuition freeze but provided $2.5 million for need-based grants for technical college students. This is in direct response to the input and encouragement of technical college students statewide.

Circus World Museum  Circus World Museum in Baraboo will become a part of the Wisconsin Historical Society and will receive $1.2 million of state support and 10 positions over the biennium to support its operations. This historical attraction has struggled financially and sought help from the State Historical Society to sustain and grow into the future.

VW Settlement  in 2016, the U.S. District Court issued an order to resolve environmental claims against Volkswagen after it was discovered that the company had installed a defeat device in some vehicles to render the vehicles emissions inoperable unless they were undergoing emissions testing. As a result, the VW settlement distributes funds to Wisconsin for a variety of purposes. The JFC allocated funds to a statewide transit capital program to replace state fleet vehicles and to fund special agents at the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.

County aids  we voted to maintain the total county and municipal aid distribution of $753.1 million annually. These funds provide unrestricted aid to county and municipal governments for any activity approved by the local governing body. This is funded from general purpose revenue.

Next week, we are scheduled to discuss:

State treasurer

Consolidation of Human Resources Administration

Medical College of Wisconsin

Higher Educational Aids Board

Educational Communications Board

University of Wisconsin System

Children and Families

Economic support and child sare

Building Commission building program

Health Services  Medicaid services, FoodShare, mental health, public health

To view our agenda for the next week, please visit our committee schedule. committeeschedule.legis.wisconsin.gov/?committeeID=1680&viewType=List&filter=Upcoming

For more information and to connect with me, visit my website legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/17/marklein and subscribe to my weekly E-Update by sending an email to Sen.Marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov. Do not hesitate to call 800-978-8008 if you have input, ideas or need assistance with any state-related matters.

Republican Howard Marklein, Spring Green, represents the 17th state Senate District.
In early 2016 I had the opportunity to tour the Sparta School Districts STEM school with Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch to highlight the educational focus of the Rural Wisconsin Initiative. After the tour, we had a conversation with some of the students and discussed what their futures may hold. One of the students indicated that she was interested in a future in law or political science. As such, I invited the student to visit me at the State Capitol in Madison. The idea behind extending the invite was to provide a job shadow experience in state government. A number of weeks went by, and finally the day of the students visit came. Her grandfather drove her to Madison and was able to join us for the days events.

Before we started, we met in my office. I asked the student if she had any questions for me, and she asked me what had helped me to prepare for my job serving the people of Wisconsin. I looked across the table at her grandfather, who wore a small American flag on his jacket. Prior to answering her question about my background, I asked her grandfather to tell me more about his background. I knew her grandfather had to be a patriot from the flag he wore on his lapel.

I was subsequently humbled by the grandfathers response. He talked about his time in the military serving our country. He also recalled his fellow soldiers and friends, some of whom did not return from battle. In addition, he discussed how we can memorialize and continue to remember those who have died in service.

After the grandfather was done speaking about his background, I explained to the young student that the service of men and women like her grandfather is what allows me to represent Wisconsin citizens. It is the protection of our freedoms and our society that preserves our way of life. I encouraged her to hold her grandfathers powerful words close to her heart.

For the wonderful grandfather, every day is Memorial Day as he keeps the memory alive of the soldiers he served with that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. For other grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers, mothers and children, there is the memory of those that they served with or that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Those from younger generations have those they remember as well, be it a former classmate, friend, family member or someone else close to them.

On Memorial Day, we must remember those that sacrificed so much for the freedoms we enjoy. We must remember those that allow us to pursue the professional pursuits we desire. We must remember those that allow us to safely spend time with our families and even travel safely with our families on extended weekends. We must remember those that afford us the freedom to express our opinions freely. And we absolutely must remember those that gave their lives to preserve the constitutional republic and sacred institutions of these United States. As the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. states, Freedom Is Not Free.

Republican Nancy VanderMeer, Tomah, represents the 70th Assembly District.
As families across western and central Wisconsin come together to celebrate Memorial Day, it is important to take time to reflect on the sacrifices the brave men and women of our Armed Forces and their families have made to protect the freedoms we hold dear.

Since the beginning of American history, the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines of our Armed Forces have stepped up to defend our freedoms. Regardless of what one thinks about the wars that they fought in, we all must agree that our men and women in uniform have responded to the call of duty and performed with honor and dignity, and their stories and experiences should be preserved.

This year, I was proud to introduce the bipartisan Honoring Our Heroes Act, which allows family members within four generations of a veteran to apply for replacement medals, once all immediate family has passed away. The idea for this bill came from Tari Poulda of Eau Claire, whose great uncle, Bruce Bradley, died during the Pearl Harbor attacks on the USS Arizona. Though Bradley (S2.c, USN) and his family received a posthumous Purple Heart, the medal had been misplaced in the early 2000s. The military was not able to replace the medal for Tari because she was not immediate family. Thankfully after a lot of hard work and perseverance, Tari was able to get the Purple Heart, and this bill makes sure no other family is put in that position.

We owe it to our future generations to make sure our veterans achievements and sacrifices will never be forgotten, and the Veterans History Project ensures that. The Veterans History Project uses volunteer interviews to record the experiences of our veterans, which are then entered into the permanent collection of the Library of Congresss American Folklife Center. This is the last ask of a grateful nation to our veterans. There is no better way to preserve the important history of what it was like to protect our nation, while honoring our veterans at the same time.

Continuing with tradition, this Memorial Day I will join veterans and their families in Eau Claire and Eleva to honor our fallen soldiers. I hope everyone can take some time to join in the local celebrations, spend time with family, and remember those who have died protecting our country.

Democrat Ron Kind, La Crosse, represents Wisconsins Third Congressional District.


A Chinese student has apologized after she received heavy criticism for a graduation speech she gave in the American state of Maryland.

Yang Shuping gave the speech at the University of Maryland on Monday. A video of her comments was posted on the Internet. The video has been played more than 50,000 times on the YouTube website.

In her prepared comments, Yang talked about breathing the fresh air of free speech after arriving in the United States to study.

She described arriving in the U.S. this way: The air was so sweet and fresh and utterly luxurious.

The moment I inhaled and exhaled outside the airport, I felt free, Yang said. She added, I grew up in a city in China, where I had to wear face masks every time I want outside, otherwise I might get sick.

Radio Free Asia reports that the video of her speech appears on Chinas Sina Weibo social media website. By Tuesday afternoon, it said, the sites users had played the video more than 56 million times. Many users accused the Chinese woman of unfairly criticizing the shortcomings of her home country.

Yang wrote an apology that appeared in the Chinese newspapers Global Times and the state-operated Peoples Daily. In it, she said, I love my country and hometown and am proud of its prosperity.

She went on to write that I also hope to make contributions to it with what I have learned overseas.

Yi Sulaiman Gu is a Chinese student at the University of Georgia. He said Yang was considered to be insulting China according to the received consensus of patriotic Chinese students overseas.

He voiced support for her comments, saying Yang Shupings comments were, in fact, a comment on the necessity of freedom of expression and citizen participation in politics.

Xia Ming teaches political science at the College of Staten Island in New York. He said Chinese state media seek to project an image of a rising world power. So, when they are faced with criticism, they get angry, he added.

The University of Maryland called for understanding.

In a statement, the school said, Listening to and respectfully engaging with those whom we disagree are essential skills, both within university walls and beyond.

Chinese state-operated media published criticism of the video. The Peoples Daily website showed a story about criticism of Yangs speech as its most-viewed news story on Tuesday.

Im Mario Ritter.

Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man reported this story for Radio Free Asia. Mario Ritter adapted their report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

graduation  n. the act of receiving an award from a school for completing a study program

inhale  v. to breathe in

shortcomings  n. a weakness or a fault

consensus  n. a general agreement about an issue

participation  n. the act of taking part in something

engage  v. to be involved

essential  adj. very important

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.


Google announced new technology at its yearly developers conference last week. Many of these announcements involve updates to existing tech, instead of new gadgets. These updates may make life a little easier.

Gmail Smart Reply

Google is adding a feature to Gmail to make it easier for the user to answer emails. Smart Reply learns how you write and suggests three short replies to emails you receive. You can choose one and send it or add more words to the Smart Reply.



Smart Reply will be offered in English and will expand to Spanish later this year.

Google Assistant updates

Google Assistant, the digital assistant from Google, is getting updates with new features. You will be able to use Google Assistant to do more things on more devices.

Google Assistant new features

For example, Google Assistant is learning to read. Users will be able to type questions to Google Assistant on their phones in addition to using voice commands.

History will be added to Google Assistant so users can see what they have asked in the past.

Google Assistant can help make your home smarter as it now works with over 70 smart home partners. Use your voice to control your smart home devices with Google Home.

More languages are coming to Google Assistant on Android. Google Assistant soon will be available in Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, French, and German. By the end of 2017, Google Assistant will be available in Italian, Korean and Spanish.

Google Assistant on the iPhone

Google Assistant is now available on the iPhone in the United States. People who want to use Google Assistant, but also want to use an iPhone, can now download the Google Assistant app.

Unlike Siri, Google Assistant cannot be started by pressing the Home button on the iPhone. Users must go into the app to use Google Assistant on an iPhone.

The Google Assistant app is free in the iTunes App Store.

Google Home

Google is making its Google Home smart speaker more useful. Google Home works with Google Assistant and will be able to let you know about information such as flight delays and traffic problems that may delay your travels.

Users do not even have to ask for such assistance. Google Home will light up to let users know there is an alert. Then, they just have to ask what the alert is about.

Users also can now set calendar appointments and reminders through Google Home. The information will appear across all your devices.

Google Home will be able use voice activation for phone calls. Users can speak to Google Home to place calls and talk on the phone.

Google Home will recognize voices. For example if you tell it, call Mom, it will call your mother and not your partners or roommates mother. Google Home calls will be free to mobile phones and to landlines in the U.S. and Canada.

Google Home will be getting bluetooth so you can stream your music to it. You will also be able to play music directly from services such as Spotify, Soundcloud and Deezer.

If you have a Chromecast, you will be able to use your television as a screen for Google Home. If you connect your Google Home to your Chromecast, you will be able to see Google Home's answers to your questions on your TV. This feature will be added later in 2017.

Here is a video showing Google Home's new features:

Google Lens

Google is improving its ability to identify what is in a photo. For example, with Google Lens users could point their cameras at a poster for an event and do things such as adding the event to their calendars, buying tickets to the event or finding out more about it.

They can also use Google Lens to point their phone cameras at a restaurant and get reviews for it. Or, they can focus on a flower and Google Lens will identify the flower and suggest a nearby flower shop.

But the coolest trick of Google Lens may be one involving your router. Point the camera at a router's password code and Google Lens will automatically log you into the network.

Last month, we reported on how Google and Pinterest were changing image search. Google Lens shows the increasing importance of image search to Google.

In a tweet, Pinterest referred to the competition in image recognition with Google:



Google Photos

Google added new useful features to Google Photos that makes sharing your photos easier.

Suggested Photos

Suggested Photos is a new feature of Google Photos that makes sharing easier. Suggested Photos will identify people in a users photos and suggest that the user send them those photos. Users can even set Suggested Photos to send the photos automatically to people in the photos, without the need for a suggestion.

This video shows how Suggested Photos works:

Shared Libraries

Shared Libraries is a new feature that lets users share their entire Google Photos library, or large parts of it, with other people.

Photo books

Users of Google Photos can now order printed books of their photos. Google will choose your best photos or you can choose them yourself. Google Photos will make sure there are no duplicates and that you are choosing the best photo.

Photo Books start with 20 pages at $9.99 for soft cover and $19.99 for hard cover. The books will be available in the US first and then in other countries later this year.

Im Caty Weaver.

Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

Are you interested in the new announcements from Google? Which new tech are you most likely to try?

Share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or on our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

gadget - n. a small, useful device

reply - n. something said, written, or done as an answer or response

digital assistant - n. an application program that can understand natural language and complete electronic tasks for the user

device - n. an object, machine, or piece of equipment that has been made for some special purpose

identify -v. to know and say who someone is or what something is

focus -v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific

cool - adj. very fashionable, stylish, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of

router - n. a device that sends data from one place to another within a computer network or between computer networks

duplicate - adj. exactly the same as something else
This is Whats Trending Today...

Three million years may seem like a long time. But when you consider that planet Earth is more than 4.5 billion years old, it is a pretty short period of time.

And it is over that shorter time period that the whales in our oceans today got to be so large.

The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. They weigh more than even the biggest dinosaurs. They can grow to 30 meters long and weigh up to 130,000 kilograms.

Blue whales are part of the baleen whale family. Baleen is a kind of food-filtering structure in the mouths of the whales. The whales developed this system about 30 million years ago.

Other whales in the baleen family include fin whales, bowhead whales, and right whales. Today, these whales can weigh well over 70,000 kilograms.

But for millions of years, they were not nearly that large, scientists say.

All of a sudden  boom  we see them get very big, like blue whales, scientist Nick Pyenson told the New York Times. He and other researchers recently published an article on whale size in the British research journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Its like going from whales the size of minivans to longer than two school buses, Pyenson added.

The researchers -- Pyenson, Jeremy Goldbogen and Graham Slater -- believe that a change in the Earths climate caused whales to get so large only about 3 million years ago.

This change led to food becoming more easily available.

An oncoming ice age made the ocean water cold. High winds mixed the water in the ocean faster than before. Rain and snow made more nutrients run off from the land into the water. The nutrients resulted in algae. That attracted small fish and shrimp called krill.

The mixture of nutrients resulted in more food for large whales to eat.

Whales that were able to quickly eat a lot of food survived. And they got larger. Whales that had teeth instead of baleen, however, did not survive.

The largest baleen whales then produced other large whales.

Over the next three or four million years, the baleen whales grew 10 times bigger than they had been, the researchers say.

It is possible that the largest whales are gone, the researchers said. But, as they told the BBC, blue whales could grow even bigger -- or they could slowly die  depending on Earths changing climate.

And thats Whats Trending Today.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English based stories by NPR, The BBC and Popular Science. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

Do you think the large whales will return? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

baleen  n. cartilage that filters food and water from the mouths of large whales

cartilage  n. a strong but flexible material found in some parts of the body (such as the nose, the outer ear, and some joints)

filter  n. a device that is used to remove something unwanted from a liquid or gas that passes through it

algae  n. simple plants that have no leaves or stems and that grow in or near water

minivan  n. a small van designed to carry people and families
1 A Jewish woman named Renee Rachel Black and a Muslim man named Sadiq Patel react next to floral tributes for the victims of the deadly Manchester concert suicide bombing, at St. Ann's Square in Manchester, Britain.


Brazilian Zarela Mosquera moved to the United States as a teenager. The adjustment to a new place was difficult. Mosquera says she was a bratty teenager, as a result. But it was not just the adjustment that affected her behavior. Mosquera says there was another major stress in her life at that time: She was the only member of her family who spoke English.

Being in a country with my family that doesnt speak Spanish and my parents dont really speak English, my parents were trying to give me all these responsibilities.

Along with Spanish and English, Mosquera also speaks Portuguese. But there was another universal language she learned to love as a child: art.

Mosquera connected with drawing and painting while in school. But she mostly dismissed art as a path to a career.

She says her Dad would always say, Think about the future.

Mosquera did not think he would support the study of art once she went to college.

But, to her surprise, it was her parents who suggested just that. They urged her to apply to technical and liberal arts schools.

One of them was Rhode Island School of Design so that was like my top choice.

RISD, as it is called, chose Mosquera as well. She enrolled in industrial design.

Its basically to design products and services. I could be doing something more technical or something more related to problem solving. Whether its figuring out a better way to filter water or developing a type of specific shelter for refugees for example.

Mosquera says the course of study was tough including metal working, woodworking and model making.

She says in one class she just drew cubes for an entire month, which led her to a question:

Wow! Do I really want to do this?

But, she says, she survived the cube study. And, then began working on more interesting projects.

So you start kind of divinv more into the creative process when you have a strong foundation and design. And my school is really big on material understanding as well, which is why were trained to use every imaginable tool there is like table saw, band saw everything because they give you an understanding of material. And when you have that understanding, that's when you can start designing things that are functional and also form driven.

Mosquera is now a design strategist for Marshall Moya Design, an architecture and interior design company in Washington, D.C.

Her job, Mosquera says, is to find the best solutions for a client need. She also supports the architecture team and branding department.

I have experience in exhibit design, product design, website design and textiles. I've been using all of the experience that Ive had and all the different skills that I've gained.

Mosquera also has a long-lived and deep interest in public art. This year, she helped create and design The Walkway, for the D.C government.

They wanted to see public art that was related to street harassment and to the public realm and how that affects pedestrian safety.

The creation was a 11-meter long tunnel-like structure. It was built to narrow sharply as the walker moves through. Bright lights change color along the path.

On the walls are images of people. Voices and city sounds are played through speakers installed in the walkway. At first, the recorded conversations and street noise and pictures have a positive feel. But the images and audio increase in intensity along the path. The experience becomes dark and violent in the middle part of the walkway.

The purpose of showing these two different human emotions and human reactions is to allow people to reflect upon a variety of different expressions. So that brings up the conversation as to what is the right way to talk to each other in a public space. Should we talk to each other at all? So people are really questioning that. And that's what public art is meant to do.

For Mosquera, the form of the structure created the greatest impact.

In a couple of steps, it changes pretty drastically and so actually feeling it versus just seeing it in a drawing was really impactful.

She enjoys developing public art in her free time, too.

Throughout my career, I've picked up different things along the way. The best way to learn in my opinion is through working. Getting as many projects as you can. Industrial design kind of makes you a jack of all trades.

Im Marsha James.

Marsha James wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words In This Story

adjustment  n. the process of adapting or becoming used to a new situation.

bratty  adj. spoiled, self-centered, and badly behaved.

stress  n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.

filter  v. to remove something unwanted from a liquid or gas

cube  n. an object that has six square sides

foundation  n. something (such as an idea, a principle, or a fact) that provides support for something

brand  v. creating a unique name and image for a product

street harassment  n. a form of unwanted comments, whistling and other actions by strangers in public areas

realm  n. an area of activity, interest or knowledge

pedestrian  n. a person who is walking in a city, along a road, etc.

conversation  n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

jack of all trade  n. a person who is adept at many different kinds of work
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.
LEXINGTON  Two Nebraska farm kids who once vowed they would never farm are now the older generation of a family farm and wouldnt have it any other way.

"One eats ones words," said Linda Lauby of her youthful declaration despite growing up on a farm.

Lauby Co., once known as Lauby Cattle Company, is owned and operated by husband/wife team Terry and Linda Lauby. Terry and his brother Ed, along with some part-time hired hands, do most of the farming and Linda manages the office.

"Were running a cattle hotel here," said Terry of the feedlot located southeast of Darr at 42711 Road 753.

In addition to their own cattle, the Laubys welcome and care for cows from all over, even beyond Nebraskas borders. "We get cattle from almost every state in the union," said Terry.

Most of their business is generated through word of mouth, with other cattlemen and investors as clients. The length of time cattle stay on site varies with each customer, as does the age and weight of the cattle upon arrival.

"We treat the customers cattle as if they were our own," said Linda.

"We treat the customers cattle better than we do our own. You tend to look at them first in the morning," said Terry.

A typical day on the feedlot involves a visual scan while out among the cattle to check for well being and health.

Terry said he makes sure the cows come to the bunk (food) acting normal. If a cow acts strange it is corralled and he takes its temperature.

Terry said the hardest doctoring jobs are veterinarian and pediatrician because the patients cant talk.

"To be able to analyze an animal, years of experience is the best," he said, noting, "You cant hire someone who has that capability."

"Its all in the eye. Its reading their eyes, their mannerisms," said Terry.

When cattle first come to the feed yard they are vaccinated and receive an implant to stimulate growth. All medical needs are taken care of up front.

In todays high tech world, a video showing the cattle exiting the truck used to transport them and getting acclimated to their new surroundings is sent to the owner of the cattle.

At a feedlot they try to keep deaths under a half percent of all animals, he said. Sometimes where the animal has been previously has an impact on health.

Three years ago, when there were wildfires in California, some of the cattle showed signs of respiratory problems. It is suspected that their lungs were damaged by smoke inhalation before they arrived.

Some cows from Albuquerque seemed to have tender hoofs but not hoof rot. It was discovered that they stood in a rocky pasture before being loaded up for transport to Nebraska.

Each animal is tracked from birth on and those details are used to investigate problems that arise.

"Its a series of events like that always in a feedlot. Its always interesting and challenging," said Terry.

Linda said the medical treatment of each animal is also tracked to ensure animals are drug free by the time they go to a packing house.

The Laubys said they dont feed their animals medicated feed. "You can raise a lot of cattle without using a lot of antibiotics," said Terry, noting concern that drug resistance in humans might be linked to the food chain.

The cattle are fed a combination of corn and alfalfa hay, balanced with liquid protein. The Laubys grow 100 percent of the hay and 30 percent of the corn they use for feed. The remaining corn needed is bought mostly from neighbors. They also feed wet distiller grain, which is a by-product of ethanol made from corn.

Terry and Linda are the third generation to operate the family business that dates back 110 years, founded in 1907 by Terrys granddad Michael Lauby. They live on the original home lot and are about to move back into a house in the middle of the feedlot that was renovated with the addition of a basement.

Pictures from 1918 or 1919 show pens in the same location where pens are now, said Terry, noting there have been numerous updates through the years. Instead of wooden feed bunks, the ones in place now are concrete purchased from a farm in Wauneta, Neb. Such used materials help keep costs down.

Grandfather Michael Lauby split his farm holdings in 1959 among four sons: Lou, Chris, Mike and Stephen.

Stephen, who passed away in 2011, was Terrys father. At one time Stephen and his brother Mike were in partnership together. In 1981, Terry and two brothers bought Mike out. In about 2012 Terry ended up with sole ownership.

Terry said his father, Stephen, favored Lauby Co. as a name because it was shorter and easier to write and it has been used since 1955.

Terry said he once "definitely knew" he would not be part of the family farming business. He enlisted in the army in 1965 after graduating from high school and went to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for basic training.

He was a member of the now disbanded Army Security Agency, involved in Morse code intercept and direction finding. After four years military service, including two and a half years in Southeast Asia, Terry returned to Nebraska. About six months later he ran into Linda.

Linda also grew up on a farm in Lexington. "I told my mom thousands of times I would never marry a farmer," she said. In June the couple will celebrate 47 years of marriage.

Terry said after his discharge from the military, Israel offered him $400 a month to come and train troops. "I saved the letter, but I didnt go," he said. His father made a similar offer and he picked farming.

"We never looked back," said Terry. "We always looked forward, looked to the future."

A downside of the business is regulations, said Terry. For instance, the requirement to attend a five hour manure management class every five years.

If they haul manure and clear pens they have to record the weather and wind conditions the day before and the day after.

An annual Environmental Protection Agency permit that used to take five minutes to fill out has become so complicated they dare not do it on their own.

"We cant do anything without an engineer anymore," said Terry.

Water is another issue. "Thats going to be the downfall of the feeding industry in Nebraska," said Terry.

Paperwork includes daily logs, quarterly reports and permit applications.

He said big feedlots hire more workers to handle the increased paperwork demands, but smaller operations cant.

"We havent expanded since the late 70s or early 80s," said Terry, noting it is mostly due to lack of qualified workers.

The feedlot is permitted for 6,500 head of cattle, but doesnt operate at full capacity because it is hard to find and retain qualified help.

"Thats a drawback of the feedlot, its a 24/7 job," said Terry.

"We just scale the operation back," he said. "When you get down to it no one wants to work seven days a week."

Both Terry and Linda said they are highly satisfied with their blessed life.

"I love it. I love being on the farm. I love working with numbers. I enjoy our customers, cattle buyers and nutritionists. I love my job," said Linda.

She said she likes the good quality beef that comes from their operation and the farming lifestyle.

"Its a great way of life," said Terry, noting the spectacular sunrises and sunsets and good supportive neighbors.

"Were here to feed the world. Thats our mission in life. We are going to provide beef for everybody," said Terry.
The Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrested two senior executives and 19 staff members of a contractor of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) for alleged corruption in relation to their submission of fake concrete compression test reports regarding the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-

Macau Bridge (HKZMB), as noted in a statement released by ICAC.

Specifically, two senior executives, two senior site laboratory technicians, 12 site laboratory technicians and five laboratory assistants of the contractor of the CEDD were arrested.

Starting in January 2013, the CEDD had engaged the contractor to conduct compression tests on samples of concrete to be used for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project.

The test for each sample was required to be conducted within a set time frame and all concrete samples (in cube form) were required to pass the test.

ICAC suspects that the site laboratory technicians and laboratory assistants may have adjusted the times on the testing machines to cover up the irregularities.

Some of the laboratory staff might have replaced the concrete samples by using a metal calibration cylinder and/or high strength concrete cubes to falsify the tests, so that the tests would appear to have been conducted properly, the statement read.

It was suspected that the above malpractice might have started in early 2015.

Two senior site laboratory technicians had certified the false test reports, and it was suspected that they might have colluded in the submission of the false reports to the CEDD.

When irregularities were initially detected in the concrete compression test reports by the CEDD, the contractor conducted an internal investigation into the matter.

The arrests were the second controversial development this week to result from the bridge, the construction of which is expected by some estimates to complete by the end of the year.

Earlier in the week, concerned citizens in Hong Kong said mainland officials were using the infrastructure project to deepen ties between the Peoples Republic of China and the HKSAR.

One such official, Wei Dongqing, a Chinese Party official, told Reuters that the bridge would promote unity, both physically and mentally.

Its psychological, he said. We have confidence for the future [] a united market, a united people [] thats the dream.

That raised concerns with some in Hong Kong who continue to view the project as an erosion of Hong Kongs independent identity and the encroach of Beijing into the the territorys autonomy, as laid out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984.
Total property investment by Chinese mainland investors in Hong Kong soared 213 percent year-on-year to USD4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2017, according to a report released by Colliers International, a global leader in commercial real estate services. In 2016, mainland investors spent more than USD5.3 billion in the Hong Kong property market over the course of the whole year. Investment in the first quarter of 2017 represented a year-on-year increase of 60 percent compared with the same period in the previous year. So far, office buildings have been the most popular category of property for mainland corporate investors. Moreover, the report predicted that Hong Kong would replace New York as the top overseas urban property investment destination for Chinese mainland capital in 2017. The report said that Chinese mainland investors are expected to continue to shift their focus from the United States to Asian markets at a moderate pace.

Ng proposes housing development fund

Lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong is urging the government to use the citys fiscal reserves to establish a housing development fund. The fund would be used to support Macaus short, medium and long-term housing developments. Ng reminded the government that the citys housing and financial authorities had discussed the fund. Ng also questioned the government on whether it would use the fund to support the construction of additional economical houses, as well as new sorts of public houses.

Inflation grows slightly

The Composite Consumer Price Index in April 2017 increased by 0.8 percent year-on-year. According to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the increment was attributable to higher charges for eating out and out-patient services, as well as an increase in tuition fees and rising gasoline prices. However, price indices of Communication and Housing & Fuels dropped by 5.57 percent and 1.41 percent respectively. For the 12 months that ended in April 2017, the average Composite CPI increased by 1.51 percent from the previous period.

Two mainland men arrested for murder case in 2006

Two men suspected of murder in a homicide case that occurred in 2006 were arrested in mainland China. In 2006, a 23-year-old mainland student who studied at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) was killed in her apartment in an incident where the two suspects entered Macau illegally and burgled the victims house. The Judiciary Police (PJ) says that criminal identification technology was unreliable back then, preventing the police from identifying the suspects. In manslaughter cases, authorities have 20 years to press charges.

DSEJ to enhance training of teachers Mandarin

The director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), Leong Lai, said that the bureau intends to enhance the Mandarin training of teachers. According to Leong, the training will improve the use of Mandarin as language of instruction in the city. Currently, 24 percent of the citys Chinese teachers are teaching in Mandarin. Leong hopes that by the academic year of 2019/2020, most of the citys Mandarin teachers will be able to obtain Chinas national Mandarin qualification.

Fiscal reserve tops USD59b in Q1

The fiscal reserves of Macau reached MOP472.3 billion (almost USD59 billion) at the end of March this year. The basic reserves accounted for MOP127.95 billion and the excess reserves took up MOP344.41 billion, the citys monetary authority said Tuesday. In the first quarter, the asset allocation of the fiscal reserve continued to include global bonds, global equities and money market instruments. The annual investment income for fiscal reserve totaled MOP4.39 billion, equivalent to an annual return of 3.9 percent. The income from equity investment became the largest source for the fiscal reserve for the period, due to the recovery of global equity markets. Investment in the traditionally stable fixed income market and money market also generated a steady income at the same time, the monetary authority said.

Plane skids off runway at Chek Lap Kok

Flights to and from Hong Kong International Airport were reportedly disrupted for almost two hours yesterday morning after a China Eastern Airlines aircraft skidded off the runway after landing during heavy rain. After an initial attempt to land failed, flight MU765 from Nanjing landed at 10:51 a.m. and airport officials said the Airbus A321 slid off the runway as it was making its way to the gate. Firefighters were deployed after the plane came to a halt with its front and right side wheels stuck on the grass outside the runway. It took over 90 minutes before workers shifted the plane back to the runway and towed it away. Airport authorities said the 141 passengers and crewmembers were then transported to the terminal by bus and two people who felt unwell were sent to hospital for checks. The Civil Aviation Department said it will conduct an investigation into the serious incident.

Zhuhai refunds quarantine fees to car owners

The Zhuhai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau is refunding quarantine fees to Macau and Zhuhai car owners, according to a report by Jornal Va Kio. Under the scheme, a total of RMB5.7 million will be refunded to the owners of around 22,900 cars from both Macau and Zhuhai. The scheme will end on September 30. The Gongbei border gate, the site of most vehicle crossings between Zhuhai and Macau, will be the main border involved in the refund scheme. Around 82 percent of vehicles involved in the scheme were quarantined at the Gongbei border gate.
Emmanuel Macron is seeking to extend a state of emergency, in place since Islamic State attacks on France in 2015, following this weeks attack on a concert in Manchester.

Macron said that he will ask parliament to prolong the measure from July 15, its current expiration date, until Nov. 1. It would be the sixth extension of the state of emergency, which gives police exceptional powers.

He made the decision after a security meeting yesterday in which top officials studied the implications of this new terrorist attack on measures of protection to ensure the security of our compatriots.

Macron also asked his government to prepare draft legislation to reinforce security measures permanently beyond the state of emergency.
Deputy chief engineer of China Railway Corp, Zhao Guo Tang, believes that Chinas high-speed railway network may provide services to Macau, according to a report by Macao Daily News.

The Office of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress recently held a seminar on the innovation and developments of Chinas high-speed railway.

On the sidelines of the seminar, Zhao noted that as Chinas rapid development of high-speed railways continues, along with its continued development of the Pearl River Delta area, there exists a possibility for the high-speed railway to extend into Macau.

According to Zhang, the Pearl River Delta region is one of three regions in China which have been proposed as key points within the countrys high-speed railway network.

There are no problems building bridges or tunnels in terms of construction technology.

Zhang also noted that the engineering technology used in the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge is the same as that used in the construction of high-speed railways.

The high-speed railway network has caused controversy because although the cost of travel is almost the same as the cost of flying, it takes longer for passengers to reach their destinations using the network.

Zhang noted that the price comparison cannot be calculated in terms of which one travel mode is cheaper.

The engineer pointed out that the price should be compared in terms of average price per kilometer for the high-speed railway, express, and flights.

By comparing the prices according to Zhangs suggestion, high-speed railway becomes the cheapest mode of transportation among the three.
During the 28th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), the MSAR invited consuls from a number of countries accredited to the Hong Kong and Macau SARs to participate in a tour organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) on Tuesday.

The delegates, accompanied by the IC Vice President Kent Ieong and IC personnel, visited the exhibition The Art of Zhang Daqian at the Macao Museum of Art.

This exhibition features the Sichuan Museums collection of Zhang Daqians masterpieces from his early years, including his replicas of the murals during the years in Dunhuang, landscape paintings, portraits and line drawings, letters written and seals used before and after his trip to Dunhuang.

The delegation then headed to the Macau Design Centre, situated in an old factory, to gain an overview of the regions cultural and creative industries and learn about their development and features.

According to a statement issued by the bureau, the group, along with IC president Leung Hio Ming, also attended the concert Resonance through Space-Time at the Venetian Theatre.

The concert was performed by Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulovic with the young Spanish conductor Jose Luis Gomez and the Macao Orchestra.
The University of Macau (UM) launched yesterday the Green Book of Macau, Annual Report on Development of Travel and Leisure in Macau (2016-2017).

Proposed by the Center of Macau Studies from UM, the book was jointly created by scholars from both Macau and China, consisting of 22 reports about the general landscape of Macau and other topics.

As part of the vision of constructing a World Tourism and Leisure Center, this report stands on the historical and cultural accumulation of Macau from the angle of a tourism destination.

While talking to the media, Hao Yufan  the main author  said that there are no systematic studies regarding Macaus current tourism status and its tourism development challenges.

According to Hao, the report is focused especially on what Macau can do to improve and enhance its tourism industry in the future, adding that the report marks the first time the citys scholars collaborated with enterprises to come up with evidence-backed suggestions for improving Macaus tourism prospects.

From this version, the Green Book of Macau will be published annually. According to Hao, the writers are planning to establish a Macau tourism and leisure index to make it easier for the local government to make decisions.

Lin Guangzhi, director of the Center of Macau Studies of UM, says that the book represents the first time the academic sector is supporting Macau to build itself into a world tourism and leisure center.

Macau has a relatively good groundwork regarding the tourism and leisure industry, said Lin, but remarked that the industry still faces problems.

The scholar noted that the residents comfort and sense of happiness is the goal that the city pursues.

Regarding ways to improve Macaus tourism industry and residents sense of happiness, Lin suggested that improving services and balancing quality against quantity would aid in achieving those goals. He explained that we need a scientific and rational estimation of Macaus tourism carrying capacities in order to formulate a good plan.

Pang Chuan, vice president of the Macau University of Science and Technology, told the media at the book launch that Macau cannot be called a World Tourism and Leisure Center if Macau residents life cannot reach a status of leisure and comfort.

It is not ideal that Macau residents experience low standards of living but tourists enjoy leisure, said Pang, adding it is really difficult to achieve [the goal] to build Macau into a world tourism and leisure center.

Pang noted that the scholars want the Macau government to remember its original wish when developing the city into a world tourism and leisure center, which is enabling the residents to enjoy a leisurely and comfortable life.

Cooperation fund headquarters to be inaugurated in June

T

he Secretary for Economic Affairs and Finance, Lionel Leong, announced recently that the inauguration ceremony of the China-Portuguese-

Speaking Cooperation and Development Fund in Macau will take place on June 1.

Leong said that the inauguration of the headquarters of the Fund will take place at the same time as the VIII International Forum on Infrastructure Investment and Construction.

The headquarters of the fund will initially be located in the Macau Business Support Centre, at the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), and subsequently moved to the Complex of the Trade Cooperation Services Platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, to be built in the Nam Van Lake area.

The Fund for Development Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries has an initial budget of USD1 billion, as announced in November 2010 by the then-Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the 3rd Ministerial Conference of Forum Macau. MDT/Macauhub
Ikea Group named Jesper Brodin, currently responsible for the development of the Swedish furniture retailers product range and supply chain, as chief executive officer after Peter Agnefjall decided to step down.

Brodin, a 48-year old former assistant to Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad who has worked at the maker of the Billy bookcase and Klippan sofa for 22 years, will take up the new role Sept. 1, Ikea said in a statement yesterday. He is currently managing director of the Ikea of Sweden unit and will move to Leiden in the Netherlands, where Ikea has its headquarters, from Almhult in Sweden, where it opened its first store in 1958 and has its Swedish base.

Brodin will take over the helm of a furniture and retail empire with 348 stores, 45 shopping centers and 140,000 employees in 28 countries. During Agnefjalls almost five-year tenure, Ikea expanded its presence in China, began a push into India and honed its online offering. That strategy wont change under Brodin, Ikea Chairman Lars-Johan Jarnheimer said in an interview.

The strategic direction that the company has remains in place, and even if Jesper will mold it, he has been part of the development of the strategy together with Peter in his previous role on the management team, Jarnheimer said by phone. The new CEO is used to transformative work, which is more relevant than ever today, he added.

Brodin started at Ikea in 1995 and has since then worked in purchasing, product-range development, logistics and group management and spent time in locations from Pakistan and China to Denmark and Sweden.

We have a lot of exciting things ahead of us, Brodin said in a phone interview. Were growing, were keen on taking on new markets and were looking at how we can improve the customer experience in many dimensions.

Agnefjall, 46, who has worked at Ikea for 22 years and has also been an assistant to Kamprad, said he felt it was a natural time for me to take a change of path. The CEO job involves working 365 days a year, 15 to 16 hours per day, and at some point one needs to hand over to the next generation, he said.

In the year through August, Ikeas store sales rose 7.1 percent to 34.2 billion euros (USD38.2 billion). The CEO change wont affect Ikeas long-held goal of raising annual revenue to 50 billion euros by 2020, according to its chairman.

The company will have introduced so-called multi-channel retailing, including online sales, in almost all of its markets by the end of the year, Agnefjall said. Ikea plans to open 18 new stores next year, he said.

We see opportunities to continue to grow in all markets, because were quite small and have relatively low market shares everywhere apart from in Sweden, Agnefjall said. We see big opportunities in large markets such as China and India and Id also like to highlight the U.S., where there are still quite a lot of white spots on the map. Bloomberg
Dozens of foreigners seeking permission to stay in Japan have staged a hunger strike while in detention, highlighting what human rights advocates say is shoddy treatment of foreigners here.

Supporter Mitsuru Miyasako told reporters yesterday many had been recruited to work in Japan during the bubble economy about 30 years ago but are now being told to go home.

None has been charged with a crime. About half are seeking refugee status, although only about 0.3 percent of such applicants are awarded asylum in Japan. Many have had children in the country.

The hunger strike, which started May 9 with 22 people in a Tokyo immigration detention center, expanded to 70 people there. Thirty people in another city joined. It ended Tuesday because they were suffering health problems and had reached their limit, Miyasako said.

During the initial days of the hunger strike, some people didnt even drink water, and three  from China, Nigeria and Bangladesh  became unconscious and were hospitalized, Miyasako said in a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Tokyo. They have since recovered.

Immigration officials say such people simply need to leave Japan.

The decision has been made that they are to return and so we keep talking to them to convince them of that, said Kazuyuki Tokui, a Justice Ministry official.

Miyasako, who heads a support group called Provisional Release Association in Japan, said the detention centers have insufficient medical care.

In March, a Vietnamese man in his 40s died of a stroke after being found unconscious in his room at an immigration facility in Ibaraki prefecture, near Tokyo. Tokui said the government saw the death as a serious problem and is investigating.

Although Japan has in recent years begun an aggressive campaign to welcome tourists to boost its economy, it has long had a reputation as insular and unfriendly to outsiders.

Nearly 1,300 people are being held at detention centers nationwide, according to the ministry. The largest number came from China. Those who staged the hunger strike came from China, Myanmar, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Ghana, Peru and other nations, according to Miyasako.

The hunger strike has not produced any change to their status. AP
Jim Gomez, Teresa Cerojano

Islamic State group-linked militants swept through a southern Philippine city, beheading a police chief, burning buildings, seizing a Catholic priest and his worshippers and raising the black flag of IS, authorities said yesterday. President Rodrigo Duterte, who had declared martial law across the southern third of the nation, warned he may expand it nationwide.

At least 21 people have died in the fighting, officials said. As details of the attack in Marawi city emerged, fears mounted that the largest Roman Catholic nation in Asia could be falling into a growing list of countries grappling with the spread of influence from the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

The violence erupted Tuesday after the army raided the hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group who has pledged allegiance to IS. He is on Washingtons list of most-wanted terrorists with a USD5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

The militants called for reinforcements and around 100 gunmen entered Marawi, a mostly Muslim city of 200,000 people on the southern island of Mindanao, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

We are in a state of emergency, Duterte said yesterday after he cut short a trip to Moscow and flew back to Manila. I have a serious problem in Mindanao and the ISIS footprints are everywhere.

He declared martial rule for 60 days in the entire Mindanao region  home to 22 million people  and vowed to be harsh.

If I think that you should die, you will die, he said. If you fight us, you will die. If there is open defiance, you will die. And if it means many people dying, so be it.

But he said he would not allow abuses and that law-abiding citizens had nothing to fear.

Duterte said a local police chief was stopped at a militant checkpoint and beheaded, and added that he may declare martial law nationwide if he believes the group has taken a foothold.

Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Pena said the militants forced their way into the Marawi Cathedral and seized a Catholic priest, 10 worshippers and three church workers.

The priest, Father Chito, and the others had no role in the conflict, said Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

He was not a combatant. He was not bearing arms. He was a threat to none, Villegas said of Chito. His capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilized conflict.

Villegas said the gunmen are demanding the government recall its forces.

Military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said 13 militants had been killed, and that five soldiers had died and 31 others were wounded. Other officials said a security guard and two policemen were also killed, including the beheaded police chief.

Arevalo said troops had cleared militants from a hospital, the city hall and Mindanao State University. About 120 civilians were rescued from the hospital, the military said.

Thousands of people have fled the city, said Myrna Jo Henry, an emergency response official. She quoted another official as saying Marawi was like a ghost town.

Broadcaster ABS-CBN showed people crammed inside and on top of public vehicles leaving the area, and some walking on foot with their belongings as they passed through a security checkpoint manned by soldiers.

Martial law allows Duterte to use the armed forces to carry out arrests, searches and detentions more rapidly. He has repeatedly threatened to place the south, the scene of decades-long Muslim separatist uprisings, under martial law. But human rights groups have expressed fears that martial law powers could further embolden Duterte, whom they have accused of allowing extrajudicial killings of thousands of people in his crackdown on illegal drugs.

Hapilon, an Arabic-speaking Islamic preacher known for his expertise in commando assaults, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2014. He is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group and was wounded by a military airstrike in January.

Troops sealed off major entry and exit points to prevent Hapilon from escaping, military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano told The Associated Press late Tuesday.

We will conduct house-to-house clearing and do everything to remove the threat there. We can do that easily, Ano said, but added it was more difficult in an urban setting because of the need to avoid civilian casualties.

He said the group erected Islamic State flags at several locations.

Provincial Vice Gov. Mamintal Adiong said late yesterday that more troops had arrived in the city, which was dark because 80 percent was without electrical power. Hopefully, the military will be able to control the situation in Marawi city by tomorrow, he said.

Duterte met late Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he is counting on Russia to supply weapons for the Philippines to fight terrorism.

Of course, our country needs modern weapons, we had orders in the United States, but now the situation there is not very smooth and in order to fight the Islamic State, with their units and factions, we need modern weapons, he said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

While pursuing peace talks with two large Muslim rebel groups in the south, Duterte has ordered the military to destroy smaller extremist groups which have tried to align with the Islamic State group.

At least one of those smaller groups, the Maute, was involved in the Marawi siege. Its one of less than a dozen new armed Muslim groups that have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and formed a loose alliance, with Hapilon reportedly designated as the alliances leader.

Last month, troops backed by airstrikes killed dozens of Maute militants and captured their jungle camp near Lanao del Surs Piagapo town. Troops found homemade bombs, grenades, combat uniforms and passports of suspected Indonesian militants in the camp, the military said. AP
Around six months after leaving Malo Clinic where he was clinical director, Jose Peres de Sousa started a practice in the FBC building. Interviewed by the Times, the ears, nose and throat specialist discusses issues such as the health consequences of excessive noise in work environments, abuse of headphones and poor air quality.

Macau Daily Times (MDT)  A local association conducted a survey recently interviewing 513 persons. They concluded that around 60 percent of local citizens admit to having hearing problems

Jose Peres de Sousa (JPS)  It would be easier to assess if an official screening was made, and it is not difficult to implement such a screening to detect hearing problems. Nowadays, all newborns are screened for hearing problems. The idea of screening newborns for hearing problems was implemented in Portugal in the hospital where I worked  Dona Estefania  and has since become common practice worldwide. In Portugal, we track around 95 percent of all newborns. We also practice screening in Macau. The process is very simple: a machine emits a sound inside the ear and the babys brain will react if the sound was heard. The machine will indicate if the sound wave has reached the brain. If the result is negative, it means that there may be a problem. [] The universal screening ensures that profoundly deaf children do not reach three or four years of age without detection. And that may mean the difference between having a normal life and a life that will be adversely affected. Detection of profound deafness at the moment of birth allows that person to receive an implant We know that people who cant listen cant talk, and those who cant talk find it hard to interact.

MDT  Is the above-mentioned 60 percent figure accurate in Macau?

JPS  Regarding the adult population, we cant say there are 60 percent [with hearing problems] because a hearing screening has never been conducted. Two types of screenings could be conducted  one for people aged between 5 and 30 and other for people older than 50. Why? Because the types of deafness that appear in those age groups are different. Up to 40 years old there are problems related to the ossicular chain, meaning the transmission of the sound wave in the hearing channel. Even ear wax can cause deafness and then there are tympanic traumas and other pathologies that cause deafness in that age group. From 50 we have other type of deafness. We get older and the cells in the ear that receive the sound, transform them into electric waves and transmit them to the brain lose quality. The first frequencies to be lost are the acute frequencies. As a consequence, the person becomes unable to distinguish certain words.

MDT  There is the common perception that hearing loss is almost natural in elderly people. Is this correct?

JPS  Yes, the age of the cells causes that, and it also may cause eye problems. The loss of quality has two aspects: if it is in the cells, it can be corrected with a hearing aid, but if the problem is caused by nerve degeneration, it cant. If a person with nerve degeneration uses a hearing aid, that person will only be able to hear noise. The hearing aid is good if the person who uses it is able to understand the words that are said.

MDT  In Macau, as elsewhere, we see many elderly people using hearing devices

JPS  It is very common. I think the government has a policy of giving hearing aids to people, but many of those devices are quite basic. Nowadays, hearing aids can address [a much broader range of] problems. Even in cases of nerve degeneration there are big developments.

MDT  The respondents of the survey claimed that they lack knowledge about how to prevent hearing loss. Do you think that the Health Bureau could do more in this regard?

JPS  There is no prevention. We know that hearing is sensitive to noise. People who work near machines that produce noise over 80 decibels are more prone to suffering gradual hearing loss. Here in Macau, not all construction workers use hearing protection, which is mandatory. [] In younger people, noise has a perverse effect. Apparently, nothing happens, but the habit of going to nightclubs with music above 120 decibels [is detrimental to their health]. Here in Macau, a person goes to a night club and the legs tremble from loud bass. Noise is the main cause for the early beginnings of hearing damage.

MDT  Nowadays, we increasingly see people using headphones connected to their mobile devices. Can the overuse of headphones cause hearing damage?

JPS  Yes. Some phones even indicate, when a headphone is linked, that the sound is too loud. If people listen to those devices for many hours with a sound level louder than 80 decibels, it will cause damage. It may not be permanent in early stages, but people will later experience hearing loss.

MDT  Do you get young people complaining of those symptoms here at your medical practice?

JPS  I see young people that come here with symptoms of hearing loss cause by headphones and from being exposed to very loud environments.

MDT  Due to increasing traffic and other factors, the air quality in Macau has decreased. Do you have the perception that there are more patients complaining of ear and nose allergies?

JPS  The air in Macau is not of good quality, particularly downtown. And the region is just a pawn in the middle of all the pollution sources that encircle us. This is a heavily industrialized area. The exposure to pollution has a similar effect to tobacco: it causes mucous rash. [] If the mucous is more reactive it causes diseases such rhinitis, sinusitis and bronchitis. A person with a healthy background resists more, but someone who is allergy prone will have trouble with this [Macau] pollution. And children are more sensitive, particularly if there is a family background of such ailments.

MDT  You are the former clinical director of Malo Clinic Macau, which opened at The Venetian Macao in 2009. How do you see Malos latest plans here, which include the opening of new clinics?

JPS  Health is a very specific business. Whether people know what they want to do or not. Since I left the board of directors of Malo  previously I was also the CEO of the company  I never felt that people were really interested in improving health care. Obviously, the financial situation was complicated, but we need to understand that investments in the health care sector only pay back after a while. And there is a crucial factor: If you want to attract people there, you need to have the best human resources. And you need to treat those human resources well, otherwise the quality of the service degrades and customers are drawn away fast. I left the post of clinical director six months ago for reasons due to what I feel is the responsibility of the clinical director, regarding everything that is going on at the clinic. I felt I lacked appropriate conditions to continue as clinic director, bearing in mind that the clinical director is responsible toward the Health Bureau and people in general. [] It stopped making sense for me, also because I couldnt understand the CEO [who was from mainland China and didnt speak English], and couldnt speak with him.

MDT  Do you believe that Macau can become a health tourism center?

JPS  The health tourism in Macau is not the same as in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Thailand. Here it is possible to have a good check up, but specialized doctors are needed. Macau could become a major health tourism center in terms of dentistry  and when Dr Malo arrived in Macau it was a big evolution compared with what we had here before, but that was before he liquidated his own company.

MDT  What does the government need to do to turn the region into a health tourism center?

JPS  The government made a bet on our clinic [Malo Clinic] because it was innovative within this part of Asia. The relationship between medical spa and casino was a win-win situation. But, as I always told Dr Malo, dentistry should be the support while the hospital grew. Here in Macau, the only place with conditions to implement a concept linked to health tourism  namely wellness, which is something that hospitals cant provide  is what is installed at the [Malo Clinic] Venetian. But a lot of investment is needed. The spa must be transformed, because that classical concept of spa, with massages, is outdated. There are many other things in a medical spa.
A South Korean military court on yesterday sentenced an army captain to a suspended prison term for having sex with a fellow male soldier in a ruling human rights groups criticized as regressive and intimidating.

A lawyer for the captain said her client was being punished for having consensual sex with his partner in a private space. She said the captain was briefly treated at a hospital for shock following his conviction.

Its a ridiculous ruling, said lawyer Kim In-sook. She said the military penal code, which makes homosexual activity punishable by up to two years in prison, was unconstitutional because it tramples on basic human rights and dignity.

South Koreas military, which doesnt reveal how often it pursues cases against soldiers suspected of being gay, didnt immediately make a statement.

Kim said its unclear whether her client would appeal his six month prison sentence that was suspended by a year because he felt tormented by the legal process. He will be dishonorably discharged if the ruling stays.

The captain was arrested last month amid allegations by a watchdog that South Koreas military was hunting down and prosecuting gay servicemen. South Koreas army has denied such claims, saying it was conducting a criminal investigation of soldiers who posted a video on the internet of two male soldiers having sex earlier this year.

Lim Tae-hoon, who heads the Military Human Rights Center for Korea, which complained about the crackdown, said in an earlier interview with The Associated Press that neither the captain nor his partner had anything to do with the soldiers involved with the video leak.

According to Lim, military investigators used the information gained from their inquiry into the video case to track down other gay soldiers. Investigators threatened soldiers to out their gay peers, confiscated cellphones to check communication records, and even used dating apps to dupe soldiers into revealing their sexual identity, Lim said.

Lims group released a statement denouncing yesterdays ruling, saying that it turned the clock of history backward.

Sexual minorities who are always living in danger of being outed by others now must live in fear that they could be tracked down at any time and interrogated over their private lives, the group said.

Roseann Rife, East Asia research sirector at Amnesty International, called for the unjust conviction to be immediately overturned. Kim Tong-Hyung, Seoul, AP
In a first for Asia, Taiwans Constitutional Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage yesterday, punctuating a years-long campaign by advocates for gay rights in one of the continents most liberal democracies.

In its majority opinion, the court said a provision in the current civil code barring same-sex marriages stood in violation of two articles of the constitution safeguarding human dignity and equality under the law.

Authorities must now either enact or amend relevant laws within two years, failing which same-sex couples could have their marriages recognized by submitting a written document, the court said.

The ruling was greeted with rapturous applause outside the legislature not far from the court in the center of the capital, Taipei, where hundreds had gathered with rainbow flags and noisemakers emblazoned with slogans in favor of gay marriage.

People like me in the position of being in same-sex relationship with children, we need this law even earlier, even faster, said Jay Lin, a father of two and the founder and director of the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival.

And so everybody here and everybody who [is] supporting this law in Taiwan and throughout the world, all be rooting for us. And we will be giving a lot of pressure to the legislators to pass this law once and for all, Lin said.

Jamie, who has been in a relationship with his partner for 22 years, said the ruling was a milestone for Taiwanese society.

I am so touched. Finally weve reached this moment. This represents Taiwans human rights. This is a step forward in human rights, said the 60-year-

old retiree, who asked that only his first name be used.

A bill to enforce the ruling is already working its way through the legislature, where both the ruling and major opposition parties support legalization of same-sex marriage. Surveys show a majority of the public is also in favor, as is President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwans first female leader.

Gays and lesbians in Taiwan have formed an effective lobby in recent years, with an annual Gay Pride march drawing tens of thousands. While some conservative religious and social groups have mobilized against same-sex marriage, their influence is much less potent than in the United States and many other parts of the world.

The need, capability, willingness and longing, in both physical and psychological senses, for creating such permanent unions of intimate and exclusive nature are equally essential to homosexuals and heterosexuals, given the importance of the freedom of marriage to the sound development of personality and safeguarding of human dignity, the court said in its ruling.

Two of the courts 15 justices filed dissenting opinions and one recused himself in the case.

Despite the spread of same-sex marriage in a few regions since 2001, gay and lesbian couples had been allowed to marry in only 22 of the worlds nearly 200 countries. In Asia, Taiwan is the first government to legalize such unions, while South Africa is the only country in Africa to allow them. More than 70 countries continue to criminalize homosexual activity.

Globally, the pace of civil rights victories has slowed against the background of a steady stream of reports of anti-gay violence and persecution.

Recent weeks have witnessed large-scale detentions of gay men in Nigeria and Bangladesh, and accounts of roundups and torture of scores of gays in Chechnya. In Indonesia, a major police raid on a gay sauna was followed two days later by the public caning of two gay men. Johnson Lai & Christopher Bodeen, Taipei, AP
The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) participated in the 2017 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Summit in Sri Lanka.

Hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, the PATA Annual Summit was held in Negombo, Sri Lanka from May 18 to 21.

Under the theme Disruption. Innovation. Transformation: The Future of Tourism, the four-day Summit featured a series of panel discussions, a ministerial debate between leading industry experts, the PATA Annual General Meeting and the PATA Youth Symposium in addition to other meetings and activities that were part of the program this year.

As one of the members of the PATA Executive Board, MGTO head Helena de Senna Fernandes attended a series of meetings and activities at the Summit including a one-day conference, the UNWTO/PATA Ministerial Debate, the PATA Executive Board Meeting, the PATA Board Meeting and the PATA Annual General Meeting.

Both the new chairman and vice chairman of PATA were elected on Sunday.

Sarah Mathews became the newly elected PATA chairman and Chris Bottrill became the new PATA vice chairman, as cited in a statement issued by MGTO.

The summit gathered innovative speakers and leaders from the travel industry to exchange and share forward-thinking perspectives to inspire the advancement of the tourism industry.

Topics of discussion related specifically to new ideas regarding market-transforming innovations, destination growth management, the sharing economy and its influence, and comparison between traditional and digital marketing strategies.

PATAs other major event, the PATA Travel Mart 2017, will be held in Macau from September 13 to 15.
Chinas U.N. ambassador said that multiple North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile tests, with no end in sight, show the very strong need for new talks with Pyongyang to reduce tensions and try to achieve denuclearization.

Liu Jieyi, whose country is closest to North Korea, said all progress with North Korea on eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula has come through dialogue, so theres no reason why dialogue is not taking place in the current situation.

Liu spoke to reporters after emergency Security Council consultations behind closed doors on the Norths latest missile test.

The United States, Britain and France have been pushing for a new U.N. resolution with tougher sanctions against North Korea.

But Liu said China first and foremost wants to see the six sanctions resolutions against North Korea already adopted by the council fully implemented.

Meanwhile, we should also work to reduce tension, to de-escalate and also to try to achieve denuclearization through dialogue by political and diplomatic means, he said. Dialogue should take place because we can only resolve the issue through dialogue.

The Security Council this week strongly condemned North Koreas flagrant and provocative defiance of U.N. sanctions banning ballistic missile tests and again vowed to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures including sanctions.

It also welcomed efforts by council members and others to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue with North Korea.

Last Friday, North Koreas deputy U.N. ambassador Kim In Ryong told U.N. correspondents that the government will rapidly strengthen its nuclear strike capability as long as the United States maintains its hostile policy toward the country.

He said that if the Trump administration wants peace on the Korean Peninsula it should replace the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War with a peace accord and halt its anti-North Korea policy, the root cause of all problems.

The Trump administration has said there should be no talks until North Korea takes steps toward getting rid of its nuclear arsenal.

During yesterdays Security Council meeting, members were briefed by U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman, mainly on technical aspects of the weekend launch.

Uruguays U.N. Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, the current council president, said it was the 11th this year which basically means a quantum leap and determined effort to acquire aggressive capabilities, and that is of major concern.

Japans U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho told reporters afterward that North Korea is acting in triumphant and emboldened manner by this most recent launch, and is now clearly demonstrating that it is determined to further bolster its nuclear build-up.

Calling the provocations an enormous global threat, he said the international community must not leave this total defiance of the Security Council unanswered.

Bessho said Japan hopes the council will strengthen the measures and strengthen the sanctions mechanism.

He said Japan is talking to the U.S., South Korea, and close neighbors Russia and China to make sure pressure on the North is continued and even strengthened so that North Korea will change its policy. Edith M. Lederer, United Nations, AP
WASHINGTON  An Idaho congressmans bill to make it easier to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants made it out of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

The Davis-Oliver Act, which is named after California Detective Michael Davis Jr. and sheriffs deputy Danny Oliver, who were murdered by an undocumented immigrant, passed committee on a party-line 19-13 vote.

The Davis-Oliver Act is a first and necessary step to modernize a broken immigration system, said U.S. Rep. Rauil Labrador, R-Idaho, who co-sponsored the bill along with committee Chairman Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte. We need to give law enforcement at all levels the tools and resources they need to keep America safe and secure, and the Davis-Oliver Act does that. While other immigration reforms are needed, my bill is vital to a long-term fix.

The bill, versions of which were also introduced in the 2015 Congress, would make sweeping changes to immigration enforcement, including taking away some federal grants from local governments that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities and letting the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in sanctuary jurisdictions sue the municipality.

It would let states and local governments both help enforce immigration laws and enact immigration laws of their own as long as they dont conflict with federal ones, and it would make it a misdemeanor to be in the country illegally  being here without documentation is currently a civil violation, not a criminal one. It would also tighten up the visa issuance process and expand the circumstances where authorities can detain or deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.

The bill would fulfill much of President Donald Trumps agenda to crack down on illegal immigration, and Trumps chief strategist Steve Bannon has listed its passage as one of his priorities. Democrats on the committee, who over the days of debate offered numerous amendments the Republican majority shot down, referred to the bill repeatedly as Trumps mass deportation act.

It now goes to the full House, where leadership will decide whether or when it gets a vote.
TWIN FALLS  A Twin Falls woman stabbed her husband three times in front of the couples children during a weekend fight, police said.

Nadine Yazzie Villasenor, 34, was charged Monday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court with a felony count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Police say Villasenor stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife about 10:20 p.m. Saturday in the living room of their Twin Falls apartment during a fight that began earlier that evening at the Klover Klub bar on Main Avenue.

Villasenor stabbed her husband in the left shoulder, left part of his chest and his left hand as he defended himself, a Twin Falls Police officer wrote in a sworn affidavit.

Court records show the husband filed for divorce earlier this year.

The husband told police the couple was drinking at the bar when they began fighting, so he drove home and she walked home, court documents said. When Villasenor got home, she and her husband continued fighting inside and outside the apartment.

The couples three children were in the home and witnessed the stabbing, court documents said, and Villasenors husband said his wife started getting into one of the three childrens faces after she stabbed him.

Villasenor is in custody in the Twin Falls County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bond, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 2.
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TWIN FALLS  A judge set a very quick trial date Wednesday for a Twin Falls man who pleaded not guilty to strangling a woman to death last summer, and now prosecutors must weigh whether to seek the death penalty in the case.

Glenn Joseph Tures, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation death of 20-year-old Anessia Shaye Winterholer last Aug. 20. Tures was arraigned Wednesday in Twin Falls County District Court, making his first appearance in a Twin Falls courtroom this year.

Tures was declared mentally unfit to stand trial in December and received treatment at a Boise prison to restore his competence. On April 28, an evaluator determined he was fit to proceed, and he waived his right to a preliminary hearing, agreeing to be bound directly to district court to enter a plea.

In court Wednesday, he remained silent when asked for his plea, and his attorney asked District Judge Randy Stoker to enter a plea on his behalf.

As is typical, Stoker entered a not guilty plea for Tures on the first-degree murder charge. The judge also scheduled a trial to begin Aug. 1, referencing a conversation he had in chambers with the attorneys in the case.

Thats obviously very quick, but thats whats been requested, Stoker said.

Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs now has 60 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty against Tures. Loebs told the Times-News after the hearing he hasnt made a death-penalty decision yet and wont comment on the matter until a decision is made.

Tures is being held without bond as he awaits the August trial.
TWIN FALLS  While his mother was in a medically-induced coma, Brady Nixon found himself thrust into the role of primary caregiver for his four younger siblings.

For two months this spring, the 18-year-old juggled taking care of his family, working and wrapping up his senior year at Canyon Ridge High School.

Despite the challenges, he didnt think twice about stepping up in a huge way.

It came at me, so I just had to deal with it, Nixon said Friday. I would do it all again.

His biggest takeaway from the experience: I didnt realize how precious the time I spend with my family is.

Nixon is among 245 students wholl graduate Monday from Canyon Ridge High. In July, he starts an eight-year contract with the U.S. Navy.

He persisted

In February, Nixons mother and her boyfriend left for a vacation in Mexico. The original plan was that shed be only gone for two weeks, Nixon said.

But halfway through the trip, she developed a staph infection. It attacks your blood and just goes after your major organs, Nixon said.

His mother was in a medically-induced coma for a month at a hospital in Florida, followed by several weeks of recovery before she was allowed to go home.

Nixon found himself as the caregiver for his four siblings, ages 7, 12, 15 and 16.

He and his girlfriend helped pay the bills, and they got help with needs such as food, utility costs and emotional support from the Navy recruiting station, his mothers work and friends.

We got a little bit of help from everyone, he said.

Nixons method of coping: It might have not been the healthiest way, but I zoned it out, he said. I didnt want to, but I had to.

Most any other student probably would have given up in that situation, said Canyon Ridge principal Kasey Teske, whos a friend of Nixons family. He later added: What Brady did for his family was amazing during that time period.

Nixons typical days included going to school and working at the Discovery Research Group. At night, he kept the household up and running and was thinking about his mother, hoping shed come home, he said.

His mother returned home in mid-April and the medical challenges havent ended. We still arent quite out of the woods yet, Nixon said.

Last week, Nixon received a willpower award during a Canyon Ridge High awards ceremony.

Hes just a quiet, nice young man, Teske said. He persisted and has been successful. We get a lot of seniors who kind of falter, and sometimes even fall before graduation, and dont walk. He rose to the occasion and made it.

Now that hes done with high school, Nixon is heading into a new adventure. He signed an eight-year contract with the U.S. Navy. Hell start July 18 with boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill.

Nixon said joining the Navy was his mothers idea. He said she knew he wasnt keen on going to college.

Hell train as an electrical technician. Joining the Armed Forces, he said, is a way to gain skills he can use throughout this life.
Harry L. Hollister, an investment broker from Chicago, was heavily invested in Idaho, especially in mining and hydroelectric power.

Thinking an irrigation tract between Twin Falls and the Nevada border would rival the Twin Falls tract, Hollister extensively promoted the Salmon Tract and the town that still carries his name.

The first land drawing for lots in Hollister was held in 1908 in Twin Falls because no railroad tracks ran to the new townsite. The following year, however, the first train to Hollister brought an excited bunch of prospective landowners to the second drawing on Oct. 2, 1909. The train ride took 90 minutes from Twin Falls to Hollister.

There were present approximately 500 people, steamed up to a high pitch of enthusiastic apprehension lest their numbers might never come out of the box and at the same time, all exceedingly anxious to receive the favors of the fickle goddess and especially draw No. 1, the Twin Falls Weekly News wrote. The drawing disposed of $70,000 worth of lots by the end of the evening.

The crowd thought it ironic that the streets were wired for electricity even before the town got its start, the newspaper said.

Everything was there, in fact, except the buildings and the people.
Lowell Tracy

TWIN FALLS  Lowell Tracy of Twin Falls, gathering at The Catering Room for celebration of life with friends and family from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 25 at 827 Main street Twin Falls, Idaho.

Mary Louise Kirkham

TWIN FALLS  Mary Kirkham, graveside service at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 25 at the West End Cemetery, Buhl. A viewing will be from 9 until 9:45 a.m. at Farmer Funeral Chapel, Buhl.

Bobby Wood

HAGERMAN  Bobby Wood, graveside memorial service at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 25 at the Hagerman Cemetery.

Dennis Zimmerman

TWIN FALLS  Dennis Carroll Zimmerman, celebration of life at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at Reynolds Funeral Chapel 2466 Addison Ave E., Twin Falls.

Cody Mays

JEROME  Cody Mays, funeral service at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at the Hagerman Christian Center. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Demaray Funeral Service  Gooding Chapel.

Clifford Bymaster

TWIN FALLS  Clifford Bymaster, memorial service at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 27 at Rosenau Funeral Home Community Room.

Gloria Knowles

SHOSHONE  Gloria Knowles, memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 27 at Demaray Funeral ServiceShoshone Chapel. Inurnment will follow at the Shoshone Cemetery.
I have never been an activist.

It was always enough to be politically engaged. I understood and agreed with policies from both Republicans and Democrats. I voted in presidential elections. I have given money to both the RNC and DNC.

But an activist? Not until now.

On Nov. 9, I woke up in a fog of anxiety, tears and fear. Almost daily, some new report surfaced to incite anxiety, some new cabinet pick, some new policy to take away womens rights, some new tweet demonizing the free press.

On Nov. 9, an activist was born.

My first undertaking as an activist involved speaking. Speaking to friends, family, men, women, teenagers and senior citizens. I wanted others to know they are not alone. The responses I received inspired me, fueling the fire to keep talking and keep resisting.

Next, I took my teenage daughter on a trip  the Jan. 20 Inauguration in Washington, D.C. We went to resist the incoming president, in person. For the record, we were part of the Inauguration crowd, and it was not huge. National Parks Service photographs were accurate. The next day my daughter and I attended the Womens March on Washington, D.C. Also for the record, the Womens March was officially the largest protest in U.S. history. My daughter and I marched among 1.1 million women, men and children, of all ages, races, religions and backgrounds, with one common message: Women will not go back to being second-class citizens.

Women have spent 100 years fighting for equality.

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote. On Nov. 8, 2016, not all women exercised that right. I suspect those nonvoters do not realize that the Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1923, still has not been ratified. The text of the proposed amendment is simple:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Why has the ERA failed? I believe women became complacent. Women grew tired of fighting. Women accepted crumbs from Congress. Have we learned our lesson yet, ladies? I sure did. On that day in November, I was not going to stop talking, resisting, protesting, whatever it takes, until my rights, the rights of my daughter, and the rights of all women are protected.

Donald Trumps first message to this country came as executive orders: first to do away with the Affordable Care Act, next to build the wall, and then a real whopper, the illegal Muslim travel ban.

Then the firing of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who lied about meeting Russians and taking foreign payments while with Trumps campaign. Then the president fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates and replaced her with former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, who lied under oath in his confirmation hearings about his meetings with Russians during the campaign. Two weeks ago, the president fired FBI Director James Comey, who refused to end the investigation into Flynn and Russia.

In my new role as an activist, I started contacting our U.S. senators, James Risch and Mike Crapo, and U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador. I started tweeting, something I had not done in years.

Their responses did nothing to allay my fears.

Regarding the illegal Muslim ban, Sen. Risch wrote: The exact methods by which the government looks at refugees are classified, but I lack confidence in the governments ability to keep us safe.

Regarding Steve Bannons unprecedented appointment to the National Security Council, Risch wrote: President Trumps executive order allows Steve Bannon to only participate in the Principals Committee Meetings, which is one step below the actual NSC. At the NSC itself, Mr. Bannon may only attend these meetings as an observer. (emphasis in the original).

Regarding Mr. Sessions appointment as attorney general, Sen. Crapo wrote, After reading Coretta Scott Kings letter and reviewing all of the materials submitted, I am confident that he will work to assure that all Americans receive equal justice under the law. Unfortunately, Mr. Sessions has worked to intentionally widen the race gap in the criminal justice system with outdated and racially biased policies.

Regarding the presidents possible involvement in the Russian interference with the U.S. election, U.S. Rep. Simpson wrote: I oppose foreign intervention in the U.S. election, and I was disappointed in President Obamas weak response to the Russian meddling, even well before the Presidential election. (emphasis added).

I, for one, am tired of blaming this administrations bad decisions on President Obama.

Now we learn that the president met privately with the Russians in the Oval Office, allowed them to take photos and video footage while he bragged about his great intel and leaked highly classified information to our foreign adversary.

What did Sen. Risch have to say about this reckless act? He shrugged it off: Its no longer classified the minute he utters it.

The president has threatened the free press, the former acting attorney general, the former director of the FBI, Democrats in the House and Senate, along with a few members of the Republican Party, and just about every person who challenges him. Will our representatives ever do something? Sens. Risch and Crapo? Congressmen Simpson and Labrador? So far, they arent interested in challenging Trump.

That leaves you and me.

Please get involved. Call your senators and congressmen. Email them. Attend civil protests. The Congressional Switchboard will direct you to the person you need to talk to. Simply call 202-224-3121 and follow the prompts to be connected to your representatives.

History judges people by their actions and inactions. How will history judge you? Resist.
The government of Qatar Wednesday promised to track down those responsible for fake information on the state news agencys channels attributed to the countrys Emir allegedly criticizing the US President and calling Iran a regional super power.

Authorities of the gas-rich country have launched investigation into the incident, which has caused diplomatic row in the region, Doha-based al Jazeera reports.

The information rejected as fake by the Qatari officials was circulated Tuesday on various platforms of the national news agency (QNA). The fake news, attributed to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, laid into President Trump for his Middle East policy and said that he will not stay long in office given domestic challenges.

Sheikh al-Thani who reportedly spoke at a military graduation ceremony also criticized other Gulf States for renewed rivalries against Iran which he designated as big power and described Qatars relations with Israel as good.

The Emir also reportedly criticized the regions position on Hamas, Hezbollah which he said were resistance movements.

The hacked information also mentioned the countrys foreign minister indicating that Doha has recalled its envoys in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.

Twitter and Instagram accounts of QNA relayed the information in Arabic.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt promptly reacted by blocking several Qatari news websites including al Jazeera and the London-based Middle East Eye.

Doha robustly denied that the Emir made such comments. The statement published has no basis whatsoever and the competent authorities in the state of Qatar will hold all those [who] committed [this] accountable, said Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatar governments communications office.
The Mosul war reporter of German magazine Der Spiegel has revealed that Iraqi forces trying to take back the Daech-held city of Mosul have been committing serious violations, including looting, executions, rape, and torture with the blessing of American soldiers.

The war reporter, Ali Arkady, a German-Iraqi citizen accompanied Iraqi forces when the offensive to gain back the Iraqi Northern city began.

He revealed to Der Spiegel that he was eye-witness of execution and torture session on October 22 last year when the Quick Reaction Force arrested two young men at the Qayyarah Airfield south of Mosul and tortured them for several days before executing them.

He also witnessed another case in the village of Qabr Al-Abd near Hamam Al-Alil where a mosque guard named Raad Hindia suffered from torture after he was arrested by an Iraqi intelligence squad.

Arkady pointed out that Raad Hindia was victim of a second arrest at his own house in the presence of his family. He was brought to intelligence bureau and tortured to death for one week. American soldiers who were nearby turned a blind eye on the incident, he said.

The violations went on as Arkady continued following the Iraqi forces and shooting videos, documenting cases of abuses, beatings, rapes and murder.

Arkady who gave details of the cases he witnessed said one of the Iraqi soldiers told him that two brothers had been tortured to death and showed him a video of their bodies. He even sent me the video via WhatsApp and told me what happened, Arkady said.

The Der Spiegels reporter also spoke of a case of rape of a woman, mother to three, after her husband was dragged out of the bedroom.

According to Arkady, one of the officers, called Haydar Ali, entered the room and raped the woman, under the nose of American forces who were aware of everything.

The American supervisor asked them via the radio: What have you done? Captain Omar Nizar answered: Everything, we have arrested men and women and looted homes. The American supervisor replied: Well, you know what to do, Arkady said, adding that the Iraqi forces grave violence is so widespread and known to authorities.
Saudi Arabia through the voice of its foreign ministry Wednesday stood behind Bahrain following the death of five Shiite protestors in clashes with police, arguing that the security of the Sunnite-ruled Gulf State is an integral part of Saudi Arabias security.

A source in the Saudi foreign ministry indicated that Riyadh supports the crackdown on the Shiite majority in Bahrain, reported the Saudi official news agency.

The source further indicated that these measures are to address all terrorist attempts aimed at destabilizing and undermining security and order, the agency said.

Five protestors were killed Tuesday as police opened fire on a group of Shiite demonstrators in Diraz village, near the capital Manama. The demonstrators were protesting against the sentencing to one year in prison of Imam Isa Qassim who is considered as one of top Bahraini Shiite clerics.

According to press reports, close to 300 arrests were made after protestors threw stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces.

Saudi Arabia already, in 2011 in the heart in the Arab Spring, supported Bahraini authorities clampdown on Shiite demonstrators who were claiming a constitutional monarchy and an elected Prime Minister.

The Shiite protestors tagged by the Sunnite regimes as terrorists complain about marginalization.

Parliament in March greenlighted military and security action against any one associated with a terrorism act.

The US State Department has expressed concern about the development in the Gulf State while calling for dialogue and reconciliation.
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.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday, pledged to disburse more than $300 million to help prevent famine in Yemen and several countries in Africa.

Trump who was meeting Pope Francis for the first time, said he had renewed the US commitment to fighting global famine, with the United Nations warning that about 20 million people across Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are at risk.

Deadly famine is already affecting 100,000 people in parts of South Sudan and threatens to extend to Yemen, Somalia and northeast Nigeria.

Without collective and coordinated global efforts, the UN chief warned, people risk starving to death and succumbing to disease, stunted children and lost futures, and mass displacements and reversed development gains.

Oxfam also called on donor nations to step up life-saving assistance rather than providing arms to fuel the deepening conflict.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: Political failure has led to these crises  political leadership is needed to resolve them.

In 2016, the United States contributed about 28 percent of the foreign aid in those four countries, according to the United Nations.

The Obama led administration had contributed $6.4 billion in humanitarian aid, more than a quarter of global funding.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Wednesday appointed Abdul-Majeed Tabboun as the countrys new prime minister, replacing Abdelmalek Sellal, a statement broadcast by the state media said.

Following the Constitutional Councils announcement of the final results of recent legislative polls, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal submitted his resignation today to President Bouteflika, the statement read.

Tabboun, 71, is seen to be close to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who named him culture minister in his first government in 1999. He is also a member of Bouteflikas ruling National Liberation Front (FLN). He had been housing minister since 2012.

The ruling FLN sealed 164 out of 462 seats in parliament during May 4 polls in the North African nation while the National Democratic Rally came in second with 97 seats.

Bouteflika, a veteran of Algerias 1954-62 independence war, has governed the North African OPEC member for more than 15 years, and was re-elected in 2014 after a campaign in which he was only seen when he came out to vote in a wheelchair.
Georgian Finance Minister, Chinese Vice Premier agree to boost trade, investment

The Chinese Government will encourage Chinese companies to invest in Georgia.This agreement was reached after Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang in the city of Hefei in China.Kumsishvili said that large Chinese investments in Georgia are important as they create new jobs in the country and also make it possible to make full use of opportunities provided under the recently signed Georgia-China Free Trade Agreement."We asked the Chinese side to launch a new project under the One Belt  One Road initiative to support Chinese private companies that will be represented in Georgia, Kumrishvili said.He named the Chinese Hualing Group as a successful example of a successful collaboration between Georgia and China. The Hualing Group was named the largest investor in Georgia in 2015 with almost $600 million USD investment capital.The pair also discussed the memorandum Kumsishvili signed in Beijing three days ago with Shanghais largest corporation, CEFC. Under the memorandum, a Chinese bank with $1 billion capital will open in Georgia to support Chinese companies in doing business in Georgia.The CEFC will be the second Chinese company after the Hualing Group to open a Free Industrial Zone in Georgia in the port town of Poti.Kumsishvili and Yang discussed trade issues as well and agreed that the two states will work to increase trade turnover between Georgia and China to $1 billion.Georgia is the only country in the region that has a Free Trade Agreement with China. Negotiations on this matter lasted for seven months and was concluded on May 13 when the two states signed the agreement.
East Invest Announces Extension of Business Support Organisations

Representatives from chambers of commerce, employers federations, business and professional associations, as well as organisations active in investment promotion and trade facilitation, have until 15 June 2017 to apply to participate in the visits.BSO exchanges are carried out under the East Invest 2 project and consist of tailor-made training programmes on membership and services, financing and accounting practices, regional development, strategy and networking.Since the exchanges began in August 2016, seven representatives from Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries have visited their counterparts in the EU, while three training missions have been carried out by EU experts in the EaP countries.East Invest 2 is a regional investment and trade facilitation project for the economic development of the Eastern Neighbourhood region, launched in the framework of the EUs Eastern Partnership initiative. It targets business support organisations and SMEs from the six EaP countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine).
The News in Brief

Free Trade Agreement with China creates interesting possibilities for Georgia to attract investments



The Free Trade Agreement with Russia is an important document that creates very interesting possibilities for Georgia to attract investments, Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said at a governmental session today.



According to the Prime Minister, Georgia is gradually bringing back the geo-strategic function it has historically enjoyed.



We have signed free trade agreements with our neighbouring countries as well as the EU. It makes Georgia very interesting in terms of investment potential. We consider that the free trade agreement with China will be of the utmost significance for attracting new investments and developing export-oriented industries, he said.



According to Kvirikashvili, this is a very important new door opened in terms of development of Georgias export potential.



From our point of view this is an important step forward, Kvirikashvili said. (IPN)







Georgian inmates stage theatre show in Tbilisi



Tbilisi's Shota Rustaveli State Drama Theatre hosted a play staged and performed by Georgian inmates, with officials, family members and other inmates in the audience of the venue earlier today.



The celebrated theatre's stage saw 18 convicts from the No 16 Low Risk Penitential Facility in the city of Rustavi present their performance of Twelve Angry Men, directed by Guram Bregadze.



Staged after a 1954 play by American writer Reginald Rose, the show featured script and score adapted for the show by the performing cast of inmates, and saw tributes by officials including the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili.



Based on a script following a jury deliberating over a suspect in homicide trial, the performance was called "moving and emotional" by the head of Georgia's government, who wished the participating inmates a "prompt return" to their families.



The staging was presented to an audience that also included Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze and various members of the government. Among the guests were also Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II, representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps and around 120 inmates from penitential facilities.



Besides the play, the Rustaveli Theatre also hosted an exhibition of various items created by convicts who are still incarcerated. The display was held in the foyer of the venue and attended by Kvirikashvili along with the Minister of Corrections of Georgia, Kakha Kakhishvili. (agenda.ge)







New South Ossetian Government head appointed



On May 16, the South Ossetian legislature approved Erik Pukhaev as the head of the regions 12-member cabinet of ministers.



Pukhaev, who served as the deputy head in the previous government, was chosen for the post by the new South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov, who presented his candidacy to the regions 34-member assembly on May 5. Bibilov addressed the legislators before the confirmation vote on May 16, calling his nominee an experienced manager and a decent person.



We are well-aware of his professional qualities, the qualities of an experienced manager, who knows how to achieve results, a decent and earnest person who devoted himself to serving his people, Bibilov told the members of the regions legislature.



The new Tskhinvali leader touched upon Pukhaevs priorities as well, saying he needs to solve a wide range of issues concerning healthcare, housing, infrastructure, financial sector, economic development, unemployment, agriculture, etc.



During his confirmation speech, Pukhaev pledged to implement the pre-election program of Anatoly Bibilov and spoke about the need of conducting active and targeted socio-economic policy.



All 32 attending parliament members endorsed the nomination. Pukhaevs appointment was later formalized by Anatoly Bibilov, who signed a decree approving him on the new position.



Bibilov was proclaimed victor of the presidential election that took place on April 9. The government resigned two weeks later, on April 24. Shortly after the election, on May 2, Bibilov met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia.



Erik Pukhaev (b. 1957, Znauri District) previously worked as the head of the regions statistics department, and also served as the deputy head of government from 2014 to 2017. (civil.ge)




From BuzzFeed News:

A top Mar-a-Lago employee is also working for the government to help prepare for President Trump's visit to Taormina, Italy, for the G-7 Summit  an unconventional arrangement that further blurs the line between the president's business empire and the White House.

Heather Rinkus, the guest reception manager at Trump's "Winter White House," is working with the president's advance and logistics team, while Trump's exclusive club, Mar-a-Lago, closes for the summer. She has an official White House email and government-issued phone, two sources familiar with Rinkus trip told BuzzFeed News.

An administration source confirmed to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday that Rinkus was officially listed as an advance associate for the Taormina leg of the trip and had government-issued blackberry and email.

She is married to a twice-convicted felon, Ari Rinkus, who is known to brag about his wife's access to the president as he trawls for investors and pursues government contracts on behalf of a foreign company, BuzzFeed News previously detailed.

More here.
via @adamsmithtimes

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran has opened a new political committee, Watchdog PAC, that may or may not bankroll his campaign for governor in 2018. The Land O'Lakes Republican says he will remain speaker of the Florida House through the 2018 session and decide after that whether or not he will run for governor.

In the meantime, it apears virtually every special interest wanting something done or not done in the legislature can bankroll the ironically named Watchdog PAC to curry favor with Corcoran. We haven't heard back from Corcoran yet, but this new committee fits exactly what he said he intended to do.

"If I can't raise the money, I can't raise the money, and if I raise the money and I don't want to run for governor, I don't run for governor. I'll use it for constitutional amendments, I'll use it for helping real conservatives, or I'll turn it over to the (Republican) party," Corcoran told the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month.

Adam Putnam already has north of $8 million for his gubernatorial campaign, and state Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater seems increasingly likely to get into the race as well. U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis of northeast Florida is also a prospect.

--ADAM C. SMITH, Tampa Bay Times
From the Wall Street Journal:

The hacking spree that upended the presidential election wasnt limited to Democratic National Committee memos and Clinton-aide emails posted on websites. The hacker also privately sent Democratic voter-turnout analyses to a Republican political operative in Florida named Aaron Nevins.

Learning that hacker Guccifer 2.0 had tapped into a Democratic committee that helps House candidates, Mr. Nevins wrote to the hacker to say: Feel free to send any Florida based information.

Ten days later, Mr. Nevins received 2.5 gigabytes of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee documents, some of which he posted on a blog called HelloFLA.com that he ran using a pseudonym.

Soon after, the hacker sent a link to the blog article to Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, along with Mr. Nevins analysis of the hacked data.

Mr. Nevins confirmed his exchanges after The Wall Street Journal identified him first as the operator of the HelloFLA blog and then as the recipient of the stolen DCCC data. The Journal also reviewed copies of exchanges between the hacker and Mr. Nevins. That the obscure blog had received hacked Democratic documents was previously known, but not the extent of the trove or the bloggers identity.

More here.
@PatriciaMazzei

Florida Republicans in Congress had little to say Wednesday after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the revised House GOP bill to replace Obamacare would leave some 23 million people without health insurance by 2026.

That's a slight improvement from the 24 million who would have been left uninsured over the next decade under a prior CBO projection. But legislators weren't exactly celebrating -- especially because they expect the Senate to write their own, different version of the legislation.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Carlos Curbelo, one of two Miami Republicans to vote for the American Health Care Act called the new CBO score "a reminder that there is a lot of room for improvement in the AHCA."

"Since before it was voted out of the House, Congressman Curbelo has been working to enhance it by strengthening protections for those with pre-existing conditions and increasing support for lower income Americans and those nearing the age of retirement," spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement. "He has continued those efforts by engaging Senate offices in recent weeks."

A spokeswoman for the other Miami Republican to back the bill, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, said he had yet to review the CBO report because he had "been in meetings and hearings."

"While understanding the CBO is not infallible, he greatly respects the office and hopes to review the report this weekend," spokeswoman Katrina Valdes said in an email.

A spokesman for Sen. Marco Rubio would not comment.

Democrats, on the other hand, were eager to continue slamming the AHCA.

"This Republican health care bill is a disaster," Sen. Bill Nelson said in a statement. "It takes health care coverage away from 23 million people, allows older Americans to be charged more and ends the guarantee of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. We should be focused on improving our nation's health care system, not making it worse."
@MichaelAuslen

An unlikely voice has joined the drug policy activists calling on Florida lawmakers to come back in special session focused on medical marijuana: The Drug Free America Foundation, which opposes medical marijuana and whose founders spent nearly $10 million trying to kill the 2014 and 2016 constitutional amendments to legalize medical cannabis.



In a letter sent late last week, Drug Free Americas executive director Calvina Fay urged Senate President Joe Negron to join the call for a special session.



The legislature has an obligation to find a balance that protects the public health and safety of all Floridians while allowing for legal access of marijuana that was approved by voters, Fay wrote. It is imperative that our legislators take action and not allow the marijuana industry to operate as it does in some states with no regards to public health and safety.



Drug Free America was founded in St. Petersburg in 1995 by wealthy conservative financiers Mel and Betty Sembler after a controversial drug treatment program they founded called Straight Inc. was shut down following accusations of abusing teen participants. The foundation does not engage in treatment but instead focuses on advocacy and shaping drug policy.



Among their advocacy: Drug Free America and its lobbying arm, Save Our Society from Drugs, gave state lawmakers a list of suggestions for policy this session as the Florida Legislature worked to implement Amendment 2, which was passed by 71 percent of voters. Many of them made it into early versions of a House bill and several looked likely to survive in final legislation that the Legislature failed to reach a compromise on in sessions eleventh hour.



The Semblers and others on the Drug Free America board of directors were among the strongest voices opposed to Amendment 2, which requires the state to write rules allowing patients with a list of conditions including HIV/AIDS, cancer, PTSD and multiple sclerosis to use medical marijuana by July 3.



Mel and Betty Sembler gave $1 million in 2016 and $100,000 in 2014 to the political committee opposing Amendment 2, called Drug Free Florida. They also brought in support from other anti-drug campaign donors including Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who gave $7 million over the course of both campaigns.



Drug Free Americas letter calling for a special session brings the group in a rare point of agreement with the two men who were behind the Amendment 2 campaign: Ben Pollara and John Morgan, who separately called for a special session weeks ago.

Unlike Pollara and Morgan, who want to see a more open market (though their definitions of what makes the market open and what limits government ought to set have led to a high-profile feud between them), Fay wrote in the letter to Negron that Drug Free America wants to see restrictions in whatever legislation might pass the House and Senate.

The existing, small medical marijuana industry, Fay wrote, is "operating outside of what the proposed rules and regulations would allow."



Demands for lawmakers to come back to Tallahassee are growing among elected officials as well. While Negron has not yet committed to a special session  and would be unlikely to unless differences between the House and Senate legislation can be settled first  House Speaker Richard Corcoran has openly endorsed bringing lawmakers back to complete the will of 71 percent of voters.



As well, more than two dozen lawmakers from both parties have publicly said they want a special session. Two gubernatorial candidates have joined the calls as well: Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, a Republican, and former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, a Democrat.

 Times/Herald staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this report.

Photo: Mel and Betty Sembler, pictured in 2011. (JAMES BORCHUCK | Times)
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Rian Bartsch, 24, of Missoula did not vote in the presidential election and hadn't thought much about voting in today's special election for Montana's lone U.S. congressional seat.

But after seeing Wednesday night's barrage of stories about Republican candidate Greg Gianforte's alleged assault on a reporter, she said she felt compelled to make her voice heard.

The Gallatin County Sheriff's office cited Gianforte with misdemeanor assault Wednesday after he allegedly body-slammed a reporter from the Guardian who tried to ask him a question about the House Republicans' health care proposal.

"I would say the events from last night influenced me. It kind of lit a fire in me," Bartsch said.

On Thursday, the Missoula County Elections Office had issued 143 ballots for people who were either late to register, did not receive their ballot or needed a replacement ballot. At about noon, the office said it had received 67 percent of the ballots issued in Missoula County.

Dianna Kuhnhenn, who ultimately voted for Gianforte, said she had only started reading about the incident as she was waiting to vote.

She doesn't know much about what happened between Gianforte and the reporter, but said that from what she heard and read, she believed the reporter crossed a line.

For Bartsch, that didn't matter.

"You don't put your hands on somebody, I totally disagree with that. And I don't want someone like that to represent Montana," Bartsch said.

Tim Sayles of Missoula voted for Greg Gianforte on Thursday, although he said the candidate's actions Wednesday  Gianforte was cited with misdemeanor assault after allegedly "body-slamming" a reporter  disgusted him.

The violent confrontation and Gianforte's subsequent assault citation became a trending topic on Twitter, prompting a 137,000 percent increase in searches for body slam on the Merriam Webster dictionary website and resulting in a barrage of cable news and national newspaper headlines. Its unclear how much effect the incident will have on the elections outcome.

"He should have controlled himself," said Sayles, who voted at the Missoula County Fairground in the special election to replace former Congressman Ryan Zinke, appointed Interior Secretary by President Donald Trump. Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks also seek the seat.

But Wednesday's news didn't change how Sayles felt about Quist as an alternative.

"Why did the Democratic Party pick Rob Quist?" Sayles said.

Sayles was a Trump supporter and had hoped to see a change in Washington under the president's leadership. He isn't sure he sees that happening. But he sees Quist as inexperienced compared to Gianforte.

Even as a Gianforte supporter, any move on the candidate's part to limit freedom of the press would be met with strong resistance from Sayles.

"It's unfortunate this country can't have candidates to rally around," Sayles said.

Marielle Gallaghers vote in Missoula also wasnt influenced by Gianforte being cited for assault.

"I don't think it really affected my voting choice, but I can see why it would affect a lot of people who might have been looking to vote a certain way," said Gallagher.

She said that "on a cynical level" she didn't find the news of Gianforte's alleged misdemeanor assault on a reporter surprising.

"I suppose I suffer from the same confirmation bias where whenever I hear something negative about a side I'm not a part of, I go, 'Of course that's what happened.' So I'm surprised, disappointed and interested to see how it affects the outcome, though," she said.

Erik Myhre in Missoula also said he wasn't surprised by the news.

"It didn't change the way I was thinking about voting," he said.

***

In Billings, six people queued Thursday morning in front of the MetraPark Pavilion, waiting to cast their vote in Montanas special election. The scene stood in stark contrast to the long lines at the same polling station last November.

I got up early this morning because I was here for the November election. I also wanted to be the first person to vote then, said Sarah Whittle, who was the first voter in line Thursday morning.

Whittle said she was surprised and disappointed in Thursday's early low turnout at MetraPark.

She studied journalism and communications at the University of Wyoming. She said shes concerned with the increasingly violent rhetoric directed at the news media and sees its extension in the alleged assault Gianforte committed on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs Wednesday during a barbecue at Gianfortes campaign headquarters.

Kelly Benson, a Billings Clinic nurse, cast his vote after finishing a 12-hour shift. Benson said he saw the news of the dust-up break on cable TV overnight, but the assault charge didnt keep him from voting for Gianforte.

I felt he could have handled it differently but Im not running for election and I dont have people constantly in my face either, Benson said.

He said not all reporters are bad but there are reporters with bad behavior and the national press in particular showed some bias while covering the special election.

Bret Rutherford, Yellowstone County election administrator, said by Wednesday night Yellowstone County voters had returned 47,500 absentee ballots. Thats about half of the 98,000 registered voters in the county.

Rutherford said people on the roll who dont vote are usually cleared, but regulations require the county to keep registrations intact 100 days before or after a federal election. Otherwise, only about 88,000 voters would be currently registered in Yellowstone County.

Voters may still drop off their absentee ballots at polling places. Those eligible to vote but not registered can do so at those sites. People who have already voted cannot change their vote, but if a ballot has been marked and not turned in, voters may file a provisional ballot at the polling station. These ballots are counted statewide at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to ensure that no votes are counted twice.

Rutherford said provisional ballots usually account for just a few hundred of the total votes in typical elections in Yellowstone County. Though they usually dont have a large influence on the outcome, the votes are always counted, even in the event of a landslide.

The Missoulian's Ashley Nerbovig and David Erickson contributed to this story.
BOZEMAN  Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was cited Wednesday night for misdemeanor assault after allegedly body-slamming a reporter who asked him a question about his stance on proposed health care legislation.

"Following multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriffs Office it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault," the sheriff's office said in a statement released at about 10:30 p.m.

The incident occurred just hours before Thursday's special election to fill Montana's lone U.S. House seat, left vacant when President Donald Trump appointed Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary. Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks also are running.

Earlier Wednesday evening, a Washington, D.C.-based reporter called Bozeman police to accuse Greg Gianforte of assaulting him during an interview at a Wednesday evening barbecue for campaign volunteers.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses, Ben Jacobs tweeted at 6:06 p.m.

A Fox News reporter, Alicia Acuna, wrote that "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. ... (The news crew) watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of, 'I'm sick and tired of this!'"

Those accounts differed sharply from a statement later issued by Gianforte's campaign.

Two reporters from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle soon started tweeting updates and photos as police and medics spoke to both Gianforte and Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian, a British newspaper with a large U.S. following.

Jacobs was treated at Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital, and released, according to Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin. In a telephone interview with MSNBC, Jacobs said an X-ray was planned for his elbow.

The sheriff's office said Jacobs' injuries "did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault."

Shortly after 7 p.m., the Guardian posted a 45-second audio recording of the incident, which began when he tried to ask Gianforte about a Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday on the cost of the health care proposal passed in the House of Representatives.

Jacobs: The CBO score, because you know you were waiting to make your decision about health care until you saw the CBO and it just came out.

Gianforte: Well talk about that later.

Jacobs: Yeah but theres not going to be time. Im just curious about how youd react right now.

Gianforte: Speak with (Campaign Spokesman) Shane (Scanlon), please.

At this point, conversation stops as both Jacobs and Gianforte apparently tumble to the ground, although it remains unclear how that happened.

In an interview on MSNBC, Jacobs said: He grabs my recorder, my phone  and yeah, throws me down, my glasses break.

Gianforte spokesman Scanlon, who was not in the room at that point, according to multiple reports, described the events differently in an emailed statement: Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.

What was said next was clear in the Guardian audio.

Gianforte, now yelling, is the first to speak: Im sick and tired of you guys, the last guy who came in here, you did the same thing! Get the hell out of here! You with the Guardian?

Jacobs: Yeah, you just broke my glasses.

Gianforte: The last guy did the same damn thing.

Jacobs: You just body slammed me and broke my glasses."

Gianforte: Get the hell out of here.

Jacobs: Youd like me to get the hell out of here, Id also like to call the police. Can I get your guys names? He just body slammed me.

An unidentified person, possibly Scanlon, says, Youve got to leave.

Guardian U.S. editor Lee Glendinning said in a statement that "The Guardian is deeply appalled by how our reporter, Ben Jacobs, was treated in the course of doing his job as a journalist while reporting on the Montana special election. We are committed to holding power to account and we stand by Ben and our team of reporters for the questions they ask and the reporting that is produced."

Within an hour of Jacobs initial tweet, the incident climbed to the top of trending stories on Facebook and Twitter, fueled by thousands of comments by journalists and political observers who had been closely watching the special election to fill a U.S. House seat vacated after Ryan Zinke was appointed Interior Secretary. It also was a leading story on numerous cable talk shows and news broadcasts Wednesday evening.

Scanlon did not respond to a call or text messages requesting an interview, but issued the following statement:

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face, he wrote. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."

Alexis Levinson, a reporter for Buzzfeed News, told MSNBC that she had given a statement to the sheriffs office. In tweets and on air, she said she saw Jacobs go into a room where Gianforte was.

I heard the crash and saw his feet fly, she told MSNBC. She later told CNN that right before the incident, Scanlon had made some comments to Jacobs about not being happy with a previous Guardian story about Gianforte. They are taking press they dont like very personally.

Jacobs told MSNBC that I had been pressing the campaign for a few days to grab Gianforte one-on-one. And they told me they had decided in the past they werent. I figured they were standing around there I would get his response to the CBO score. He had talked about holding off his opinion on health care until after the release of the CBO score.

Gianforte is scheduled to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court between now and June 7, 2017, the sheriff's office said.

***

It is not the first time Gianforte has displayed a short temper with members of the media or voiced a distrust of journalists.

During the Republicans first campaign for public office last year, Gianforte met with the Missoulian editorial board as well as its city editor Gwen Florio and reporter Jayme Fraser. Under persistent questioning for more details about his position on refugee vetting and resettlement, Gianforte raised his voice, threw his phone down and repeatedly pounded the table.

Im not playing this game with you, he said. Ive been very clear. Montanans' safety is at risk and I will protect it and my opponent will not.

Read a full transcript of that meeting here.

At an April campaign stop in Hamilton, Gianforte celebrated his 56th birthday and met with members of the Advancing Conservatism Society, a local constitutional Christian group. Ravalli Republic Reporter and Associate Editor Perry Backus wrote about the event including, as a later editorial described it, the speech given by a local high school student, about the prayers and birthday cake.

Toward the end of Gianfortes talk, a man in the audience said to Gianforte, Our biggest enemy is the news media and asked, How can we rein in the news media? The man then turned to Backus, who was sitting next to him, and raised his hands as if he would like to wring his neck.

Gianforte smiled, pointed at the reporter and said this: We have someone right here. It seems like there is more of us than there is of him. I dont have a simple solution for you. I will say that doing town hall meetings and getting out and visiting with people is very important.

At a Billings Gazette editorial board a week later, he offered an apology for his comments about the press and said he fully supports the First Amendment, describing his remarks as a joke.

On Tuesday, the Guardian shared a video on Facebook of a different reporter trying to ask Gianforte about his support for Donald Trump. It might be the exchange that Gianforte referenced when yelling at Jacobs on Wednesday that The last guy did the same damn thing.

In that video, Paul Lewis approaches Greg twice to ask him questions. The first time, Gianforte says, Were here to visit with our folks here. As he starts to walk away, Lewis says, Sure, thats great. You stand for Congress you get questions from journalists. Gianforte said he will talk to them next week. Thats what the guy told you.

Lewis said, Were not here for next week, as Gianforte leaves. Apparently later at the same event, Lewis approached Gianforte to ask about the national question, just about Mr. Trump, very, very quickly.

Gianforte nodded and stepped forward to talk. Lewis asked why Gianforte had distanced himself from Trump during his gubernatorial campaign but then embraced him and campaigned with his son.

Nothings changed, Gianforte said. When I was running for governor. Thats a state race, now Im running for a federal position and Ive always said that I was gonna vote for Donald Trump and now Im in a position I get to work with him.

Lewis, talking over the end of Gianfortes comments, said, Reluctantly. You said reluctantly, I think. Gianforte walked away as Lewis spoke. The reporter stood alone for a moment then turned to the camera and said, Short and sharp.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was quick to seize on the reports, calling for Gianforte to leave the race.

Greg Gianforte must immediately withdraw his candidacy after his alleged violent assault of an innocent journalist, National Press Secretary Tyler Law wrote in a statement. Further, Speaker (Paul) Ryan and the National Republican Campaign Committee should not waste another minute before publicly denouncing their candidate and apologizing for the millions of dollars they spent on his behalf.

The Chronicle reported that the event for volunteers continued at the campaign headquarters without Gianforte. His Democrat opponent appeared at a similar event for supporters in Missoula later that evening.

Rob Quist declined to comment on the incident when he briefly dropped by an event at Draught Works Brewery.

"I'm just here to thank my supporters," he said as reporters and television crews from national news outlets crowded around him in the bar.

One reporter continued to shout questions to Quist, asking if he thought Gianforte's alleged actions were appropriate, but the candidate walked past him to shake hands with a campaign volunteer.

"Tomorrow is going to be a big day," Quist said.

This story will be updated.
Following a divisive two-month campaign, Montanas special election to fill the congressional seat vacated earlier this year by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke will be held Thursday.

Voters will select Democrat Rob Quist, Republican Greg Gianforte or Libertarian Mark Wicks to replace Zinke and represent Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Montanas race has gained nationwide attention, with an estimated $17 million having been spent by the campaigns and outside groups. President Donald Trumps son Donald Trump Jr. and Vice President Mike Pence came to the state to stump for Gianforte, while 2016 Democratic presidential primary contender Sen. Bernie Sanders appeared at a series of events across the state with Quist.

Missoula elections administrator Rebecca Connors believes between 5,000 and 6,000 voters in the county will cast their ballots in person Thursday.

Because several schools in the Missoula area are not available on Thursday due to construction or other events, eight polling place locations have been changed.

According to the Secretary of State's office, 39 percent of Missoula's registered voters have already cast their ballot, with 33,000 or the more than 48,000 absentee ballots already returned.

The county has set up its elections center at the Missoula County Fairgrounds, where people can get help with replacement ballots and same-day registration. Anyone who has not registered or needs to update their information can only do so at the fairgrounds, which also has a drive-thru ballot drop-off location for people voting by absentee ballot.

Voters can verify their registration information by visiting www.myvoterpagemt.com.
MOIESE  The thumping of tubs and whipping of toadflax signaled the start of the National Bison Ranges great weevil roundup of 2017.

Within minutes, more than a thousand of the little black bugs had been knocked from their leafy hideouts and tucked into waiting coolers, not to be mixed up with the other coolers full of soda for the volunteer wrangler crew.

About 40 people gathered by the Montana Noxious Weed Trust Fund spent Wednesday morning literally beating the bushes on the far western edge of the 18,000-acre range for Mecinus janthiniformis, which loves to eat and lay eggs in Dalmatian toadflax. It may be the only thing that appreciates toadflax.

This way the range staff can get a bunch of biocontrol done in one day, Melissa Maggio-Kassner told the volunteers at the start of the effort. We should be able to collect about 20,000 bugs," which will be deployed against other toadflax infestations on the refuge.

Dalmatian toadflax and its cousin, yellow toadflax, came to the United States from southern Europe and Asia hundreds of years ago. While they have pretty yellow flowers, they also grow and spread uncontrollably. They outcompete native plants for water and soil nutrients, and produce scads of seeds that can lie dormant for 10 years (most native seeds only remain viable for two years). Bison dont graze on it, while elk and antelope only nibble the tops off without slowing it down.

We feel that the toadflax just laughs and thumbs its nose at us, Revais Creek resident Sally Baskett said of her efforts to stop the weed from invading all of her property near the Bison Range. Weve even tried hard blasts of herbicide. Its very expensive and time-consuming. And this is a banner year.

And the problem may get worse. Dalmatian and yellow toadflax can cross-pollenate, creating a hybrid thats both hardier and harder to control. Colorado State University plant geneticist Sarah Ward explained that while the Dalmatian variety was common in Eastern Europe, the yellow species grew mainly in Great Britain.

Once they were introduced in North America, they met, fell in love and had babies, Ward joked. And they are not populations that come and go. If I may say so, these things kick ass. They outperform the parents.

The first hybrid toadflax was detected near Radersburg, Montana, in 2005. Since, its been reported in Colorado, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming. The new version can be hard to separate from the yellow version, unless you look at their seeds.

The Dalmatian seeds look like flying saucers, while the yellow toadflax seeds looks like Brazil nuts, Ward said. The hybrid seeds look like Brazil nuts with wings.

To control invasive toadflax without chemicals, you need an exotic bug that targets it while ignoring more popular or valuable plants. Montana State University Professor Robert Nowierski brought the first Mecinus weevils from Switzerland. Weve since discovered that while Mecinus janthiniformis likes Dalmatian toadflax, we need Mecinus janthinus weevils to fight yellow toadflax. And no ones sure which weevil might take on the hybrid toadflax.

Fortunately, the hybrids havent made an impact on the Bison Range yet. Wednesdays biggest challenge was keeping the captured weevils from blowing out of the tubs in the breezy morning. The volunteers fanned out on hillsides, gently whipping toadflax stems and knocking the weevils into their tubs. A couple hundred weevils would fill a whisky shot glass.

Its been a really amazing success story for biocontrol in Montana, said volunteer collector Tracy Sterling, who came over from Bozeman to help with the roundup. Growers know about it. High school kids know about it. It works.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal appeals court dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries on Thursday, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican's administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Trump's administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory wrote.

In all, ten of the thirteen judges who heard the case voted against the Trump administration.

Trump will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A central question in the case was whether courts should consider Trump's past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trump's administration argued that the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesn't mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration says.

But Gregory wrote that looking at the statements was appropriate and said the executive order was "steeped in animus and directed at a single religious group."

The first travel ban in January triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesn't apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes don't erase the legal problems with the ban.

The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

"President Trump's Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who argued the case. "The Constitution's prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the government's request to set that principle aside."
Increasingly, public access has become a contested issue in Montana, with approximately one-third of our landownership being federal public lands.

The Crazy Mountains, established in 1906, are part of the U.S. Forest Service Custer Gallatin National Forest. Yet, some private landowners would like to privatize these public lands by blocking public access to them.

One such access point is historic Forest Service Trail No. 115, more recently renumbered No. 136. In documentation provided from my Freedom Of Information Act request, in fall 2015, a public hunter named Joe Rookhuizen tried to utilized this trail, marked on his Forest Service map as open to bike, stock & foot travel. Yet, the access was obstructed when he got there. Contacting the Forest Service and Fish, Wildlife and Parks about the lock produced no results. Frustrated, Rookhuizen wrote a letter to U.S. Sen. Steve Daines: I am very discouraged as our government agencies don't seem to be able to do what they were created to do The Ranch that the forest service trail goes through is called Hailstone Ranch owned by the family Langhus we need help opening these accesses up. They continue to shut out more land every year.

Daines wrote Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson, who replied, "It is a historic trail that dates back a century or more. The Forest Service maintains that it holds unperfected prescriptive rights on this trail system as well as up Sweet Grass Creek to the north based on a history of maintenance with public funds and historic and continued public and administrative use. The process for resolving this and other comparable access disputes is expensive, lengthy and time consuming. With limited staff and budget, the Forest is unable to immediately address these complex property law issues and often times these disputes remain unresolved until brought before a court of law.

Fast forward to the fall of 2016; another public hunter, Rob Gregoire, had an elk tag for Hunt District 580. Seeing Trail No. 136 on the Forest Service map providing trail access, he verified this was a publicly accessible route with the Forest Service to make every good-faith effort to avoid trespassing on private property, sticking to the designated trail. Returning from his hunt, he was met by and issued a citation from the Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office for criminal trespass.

Trail No. 115/136 "part of a century-old trail system that circumnavigates the Crazy Mountains, and connected historic U.S. Forest Service guard stations (many of which are now rental cabins). Indeed a Forest Guard Station once existed upon the trail at issue at its juncture in Big Timber Canyon. Historically, forest rangers rode their work hitches on this trail system, administering public lands grazing allotments to private ranchers, managing mineral activity, putting up timber sales, fighting fire, and maintaining access for hunting and fishing for all Americans who might seek to use their national forests."

Despite historic access predating its purchase by nearly half a century, the public are being denied access and now, threatened with criminal charges, fines and possible incarceration. This is public intimidation for what should be a civil suit between the landowner and the Forest Service, such as the Wonder Ranch v. USDA Forest Service in Madison County.

At the very least, Sweet Grass County Attorney Pat Dringman should recuse himself, since his wife owns the Sweet Grass Ranch at the northern end of Forest Service Trail No. 136. Dringman should drop the Gregoire case, leaving the landowners to pursue a civil suit with the Forest Service, rather than perpetuating the harassment of the public who are rightfully utilizing a documented and published historical public access trail.
In the wake of President Trump firing FBI Director James Comey, many citizens may feel powerless to comprehend, let alone influence, where this story leads next.

Recently, a small group of Montana citizens committed to calm, thoughtful, nonpartisan engagement joined together to ensure our representatives in Washington, D.C., hear our concerns about Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential race. That is the concept behind a group we recently formed called Montanans for National Security, and you are invited to join our efforts.

On Jan. 6, 2017, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a declassified document that listed a number of troubling conclusions. Among them were that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign aimed at the 2016 presidential election; that Russias goals included undermining public faith in the U.S. democratic process; and that Moscow is likely to apply lessons learned to future influence efforts worldwide, including those targeting U.S. allies.

Since then, the story has taken many additional unexpected twists and turns, including the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, the recusal of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Russian efforts to influence the French presidential election, and President Trumps recent firing of James Comey, the man leading the FBIs investigation of possible collusion between Russia and President Trumps campaign. We were deeply disturbed by all of these findings and events, and struggled to answer a simple question: What can we do about this?

This is where the Montanans for National Security comes into play  because we have a plan.

Since Montana has two senators  but a population far lower than most states  Montanans have an outsized voice in what happens next. That means we have a power and also a responsibility to our great nation to engage carefully and forcefully on this issue. U.S. senators have access to the highest level of classified information, and the U.S. Senate has the power to determine where the Russia investigation goes next. Now that it appears the president is taking actions to interfere with the FBIs investigation, Congress response is more important than ever.

Congress must conduct vigorous oversight over the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's collusion with Russia to ensure the White House does not impede the work of FBI investigators. We also strongly support the immediate appointment of an independent, special prosecutor to investigate possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russias efforts to influence the 2016 election.

In order to push these demands forward, we have invited U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines to join us for a town-hall style meeting in Montana to discuss their own (unclassified) assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election and exchange ideas with constituents on what Congress should do in response.

When that town hall meeting happens, we need you to be there with us. This historic, massive issue is too important to go without public input.

Take a moment and reflect on the intelligence communitys conclusion that Putins goals included undermining public faith in the U.S. democratic process. Whether Putin accomplishes his goal is largely up to us  and the time to act against him is now.

When we come together  not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans  to ensure that Congress conducts a thorough and impartial investigation that follows all leads, regardless of where they go, we will have shown the world how robust and strong American democracy really is.

If you are interested in joining our effort to host both our senators for a public discussion in Montana about Russias interference in the 2016 election, please email mt4america@gmail.com with contact information, and well help you get involved.
Mariahs Challenge, born out of tragedy and heralded across the country as an innovative, life-saving program to combat underage drinking and drunk driving, is no longer a new thing. It is now a Butte institution.

That was evident Wednesday as the class of 2017, a group of 24 graduating students from Butte, Whitehall, and Boulder who accepted the challenge not to drink or use drugs during their high school careers, were honored at the initiatives annual event at Montana Techs auditorium Tuesday night.

Joe Torpey, as a 2009 Butte High graduate a member of the first group of Mariahs Challenge scholarship winners, spoke to the ninth group as the events keynote speaker. He congratulated them on their success but aimed the bulk of his remarks at the challenges that lie ahead during their college years.

Torpey, who has forged a career as a graphic artist and photographer in Butte, told the graduates that they have proved they have the skills and fortitude to thrive at the college level. Youve truly set the foundation for a successful career and life, he said. In the next chapter, you must sustain that success with these values.

He urged the graduates to always be yourself, be happy with what youre doing, and make a difference.

And he exhorted them to overcome negative events and situations. Dont hesitate to leave that situation if it is not congruent with your values, he advised the graduates.

Torpey counseled the graduates to find friends in college who align with your own values.  youre going to call on them for help, and theyre going to call on you, for the rest of your life.

Leo McCarthy, who founded Mariahs Challenge after the death of his daughter, Mariah, 14, in an auto-pedestrian accident caused by an underage drunken driver in 2007, sounded some of the same themes in his remarks to the crowd of students, parents, and friends.

Be around people like you, he said, and be safe.

He reminded them that, Youre always better than the situation. We need you to keep being you.

McCarthy talked about the programs impact on Buttes culture. Weve changed the norms, he said. Its no longer assumed that kids will drink and drive. And youre the proof of that, he told the graduates.

Look at what youve done.

At the conclusion of the program, McCarthy handed $1,000 scholarships to each of the graduates. As of this year, emcee Ron Davis observed, Mariahs Challenge has given more than $300,000 to Butte students alone, not counting the scholarships given to students from other towns.

Mariahs Challenge, once publicly accepted, uses peer pressure as a constructive force. And its not just for kids.

McCarthy reminded parents of their responsibilities to accept the challenge and not drink and drive.

Its all about living a simple life of self-respect, he said.

Judge Jimm Kilmer, president of Mariahs Challenge, had one more thing to remind the graduates of.

You are a big deal, he said. Never forget that.
Fishing is heating up at several spots in southwest Montana. The timing couldnt be better as anglers will be out in full force over Memorial Day weekend.

Anglers should be aware of a new license they need to purchase, even if they have already bought their season fishing license. Beginning May 19, all anglers in Montana must purchase an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Pass under legislation signed last week. The cost is $2 for residents and $15 for nonresidents.

Heres is The Montana Standard's weekly area fishing report:

Top pick

Beaverhead River  It is fishing awesome. Above Grasshopper Creek, there is 3-4 feet of visibility. The flow out of the dam was 105 cfs on Monday. Use caddis, Yellow Sally nymphs, San Juan Worms, Pheasant Tail nymphs or green Split Case PMD nymphs. Streamers will work early in the morning, late in the evening or on cloudy days. White Zonkers are a good choice for streamers.  Frontier Anglers, Dillon.

Big Hole River  There are caddis coming off. Sculpin patterns will work for streamers. San Juan Worms or rubber-leg stonefly nymphs will also entice trout.  Frontier Anglers, Dillon.

Boulder River  Its still flowing at a good clip, although cooler temperatures last week brought this river back to manageable flows. Like most mountain-fed streams, the higher up the clearer the water will be. During runoff, this week might be a window to fish. Nymph and streamer fishing is an angler's best bet. Larger stonefly nymphs (Rubber Legs, San Juan Worms) and larger beadhead Prince Nymphs will produce. Streamer fishing can be effective fishing Sparkle Minnows and black or olive Woolly Buggers.  East Rosebud Fly Shop, Billings.

Canyon Ferry Reservoir  Rainbow trout are being caught throughout the reservoir. Shoreline anglers are having success at Shannon and Chinamens using worms or PowerBait. Boat anglers are having success for trout trolling crankbaits at shallow depths throughout the reservoir. Walleye are being caught mostly on the south end of the reservoir trolling crankbaits or worm harnesses in 10 feet of water or less. Yellow perch are being caught while trolling for walleye.  FWP, Helena.

Gallatin River  The water has started to get brown again, but fish are eating. The Taylor Fork has started to add color. Above here the conditions are very good and the Park section will open on Saturday. The bite on black streamers along the bank has been good. Nymphing has also done well. Try dead drifting a dark Bugger with a golden stone. Caddis are out in the late afternoon. Fish close to the bank in the evening.  Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Hauser Reservoir  Rainbow fishing is slow with a few being caught from shore at the Causeway Bridge and Riverside while using crawlers or marshmallows. Boat anglers are finding a few rainbows while trolling cowbells around White Sandy and Black Sandy and in the Causeway. Walleye are being caught in Lake Helena while using perch-colored crankbaits or bottom bouncers. A few walleye have been caught from the Causeway Bridge on leeches. A few perch have been caught in Lake Helena.  FWP, Helena.

Holter Reservoir  Rainbows are being caught from shore at Gates of the Mountains, Holter Lake Campground and Departure Point while using worms or PowerBait. Boat anglers are finding rainbows while trolling crankbaits or cowbells along the shorelines throughout the reservoir. Perch action is good around the docks, Oxbow Bend and by the clay banks while using a jig and worm in 8 to 10 feet of water. Walleye action is slow with a few being caught while trolling crankbaits in 6 to 10 feet of water.  FWP, Helena.

Madison River, Lower  Still a good choice, but with the ever changing flows there are inconsistent reports. A medium-size fly (Zirdle, Woolly Bugger) followed by a flashy nymph is a good setup. With the cloudiness in the water the dry fly bite will be tough. A Stimulator or a smaller foam fly might get a curious trout to take a swing. Streamer fishing is a strong option. The banks are flooded and some of the bigger fish will be tucked right up underneath them.  Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Madison River, Upper  We've had reports its cleaned up and is fishable all the way down to the lake. Quake Lake isn't dumping any color for now. No reports from anything below Lyons, but fishing has been great above. A lot of the fish that were along the banks up at the top end of the river have moved back out to the boulders and seams. The best colors have been gray and white along with solid black, and bigger has been better. There are a lot of fish that are keyed in on midge nymphs and small mayfly emergers. Dry-fly fishing hasn't been great in the evenings. There have been some huge midge hatches. Griffiths Gnats and Midge Clusters are always a good choice when there is a big hatch.  Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Missouri River, below Holter  The flow was 11,100 cfs on Monday. Cast a purple Para Wulff or a small Caddis to rising fish. Most action is on nymphs. A Two Bit Hooker or Tailwater Sowbug are good nymphs, as are Scuds and Quasimodo. Red worm patterns are taking fish. For streamers, a Nicks Perch or olive Thin Mint will work.  Montana Fly Goods, Helena.
Voting was steady Thursday morning at Butte's Civic Center.

Colleen Safratowich, Butte-Silver Bow deputy clerk and recorder, paused as she was helping voters find their precincts and said, "For a special election, it seems pretty busy."

Voters Amy and Allen Perry were registering Thursday morning in order to be able to cast their votes. They said they were motivated to get registered by the fact that Republican Candidate Greg Gianforte was charged with assault Wednesday evening.

"Hey, I'm from Jersey, and that's what we do there, we kick ass," said Allen Perry. "But that doesn't make it right," Amy Perry quickly added.

"He showed pretty poor control of his impulses," Allen Perry said. "We've all been there, but he has to do better than that in such a situation."

Amy Perry said, "That's a pretty poor example for our children."

Rick King of Butte felt differently -- much differently.

"It's about time a reporter got knocked on their ass for getting in somebody's face like that," he said. "Asking questions, that's fine. But if you get in my face while I'm talking to somebody else we're going to have a problem.

"Now excuse me, I have to go vote for Greg Gianforte."

In Billings, six people queued Thursday morning in front of the MetraPark Pavilion, waiting to cast their vote in Montanas special election. The scene stood in stark contrast to the long lines at the same polling station last November.

I got up early this morning because I was here for the November election. I also wanted to be the first person to vote then, said Sarah Whittle, who was the first voter in line Thursday morning.

Whittle said she was surprised and disappointed in Thursday's early low turnout at MetraPark.

She studied journalism and communications at the University of Wyoming. She said shes concerned with the increasingly violent rhetoric directed at the news media and sees its extension in the alleged assault Gianforte committed on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs Wednesday during a barbecue at Gianfortes campaign headquarters.

The violent confrontation and Gianforte's subsequent misdemeanor assault charge became a trending topic on Twitter, prompting a 137,000 percent increase in searches for body slam on the Merriam Webster dictionary website and resulted in a barrage of cable news and national newspaper headlines. Its unclear how much effect the incident will have on the elections outcome.

At the Missoula County Fairgrounds Thursday morning, Tim Sayles voted for Gianforte, although he said the candidate's actions Wednesday disgusted him.

"He should have controlled himself," Sayles said.

But it didn't change how he felt about Quist as an alternative.

"Why did the Democratic Party pick Rob Quist?" Sayles said.

Sayles was a Trump supporter and had hoped to see a change in Washington under the president's leadership. He isn't sure he sees that happening. But he sees Quist as inexperienced compared to Gianforte.

Even as a Gianforte supporter, any move on the candidate's part to limit freedom of the press would be met with strong resistance from Sayles.

"It's unfortunate this country can't have candidates to rally around," Sayles said.

Marielle Gallaghers vote in Missoula also wasnt influenced by Gianforte being cited for assault.

"I don't think it really affected my voting choice, but I can see why it would affect a lot of people who might have been looking to vote a certain way," said Gallagher.

She said that "on a cynical level" she didn't find the news of Gianforte's alleged misdemeanor assault on a reporter surprising.

"I suppose I suffer from the same confirmation bias where whenever I hear something negative about a side I'm not a part of I go 'Of course that's what happened' so I'm surprised, disappointed and interested to see how it affects the outcome though," she said.

Erik Myhre in Missoula also said he wasn't surprised by the news.

"It didn't change the way I was thinking about voting," he said.

Kelly Benson, a Billings Clinic nurse, cast his vote after finishing a 12-hour shift. Benson said he saw the news of the dust-up break on cable TV overnight, but the assault charge didnt keep him from voting for Gianforte.

I felt he could have handled it differently but Im not running for election and I dont have people constantly in my face either, Benson said.

He said not all reporters are bad but there are reporters with bad behavior and the national press in particular showed some bias while covering the special election.

Bret Rutherford, Yellowstone County election administrator, said by Wednesday night Yellowstone County voters had returned 47,500 absentee ballots. Thats about half of the 98,000 registered voters in the county.

Rutherford said people on the roll who dont vote are usually cleared, but regulations require the county to keep registrations intact 100 days before or after a federal election. Otherwise, only about 88,000 voters would be currently registered in Yellowstone County.

Voters may still drop off their absentee ballots at polling places. Those eligible to vote but not registered can do so at those sites. People who have already voted cannot change their vote, but if a ballot has been marked and not turned in, voters may file a provisional ballot at the polling station. These ballots are counted statewide at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to ensure that no votes are counted twice.

Rutherford said provisional ballots usually account for just a few hundred of the total votes in typical elections in Yellowstone County. Though they usually dont have a large influence on the outcome, the votes are always counted, even in the event of a landslide.
Every 23 hours, a person is raped in Montana. Last year, over 800 sexual assaults and 4,000 domestic violence crimes were reported statewide. However, this accounts for only a fraction of the total number of crimes that actually occur, as most go unreported. What these statistics show is clear: We must improve how we address crimes of this nature in Montana. Fortunately, recent changes to state law will go a long way in reducing the frequency of these crimes, as well as provide victims the justice and support they deserve.

The 2017 Montana Legislative Session will go down in history as a turning point for addressing domestic and sexual violence in our state. With overwhelming support, legislators from both sides of the aisle passed a number of bills this session that significantly change how we address these types of crimes. A few of these bills are:

SB 22  Terminating parental rights of a rapist if a child is born as a result of rape;

SB 29  Revising the definition of consent;

SB 30  Increase the statute of limitations from 10 years to 20 years for sex crimes involving children;

SB 153  Making strangulation of a partner or family member a felony;

Im honored my office was so closely involved in drafting several of these bills, as well as working to get them passed and signed into law. While each piece of legislation is an important improvement to Montana law, two bills in particular standout as the most significant: Senate Bill 29 and Senate Bill 153.

Senate Bill 29, sponsored by Senator Diane Sands (D) of Missoula, was drafted by my office and the Legislative Law and Justice Interim Committee. Prosecutors, law enforcement and victim advocates all largely agree this bill is the most significant update to Montanas sexual assault statutes in decades, removing barriers which frequently prevent prosecutors from charging rape crimes in our state.

Prior to Senate Bill 29 becoming law, Montanas sexual assault laws were antiquated and did not accurately reflect the realities of many instances of rape. Under our old statute, prosecutors had to prove a rapist physically attacked the victim, or threatened to physically attack the victim, and that is what forced submission. Senate Bill 29 defined consent as most people likely believed it was defined before: Consent means words or overt actions indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact.

In addition to improving Montanas sexual assault statutes, the legislature also passed an important piece of legislation to protect victims of domestic abuse. Senate Bill 153, sponsored by Senator Margie MacDonald (D) of Billings, was drafted by my office and the Yellowstone County Attorneys office, and made the act of strangling a partner or family member a felony.

When a victim is strangled by a partner or family member, the likelihood of future abuse escalating to fatalities increases significantly. Under the old law, an act of strangulation was only a felony if serious bodily injury occurred, which was often very difficult to identify, as the damage is often internal. If serious injury isnt proven, or if the victim didnt testify that she feared for her life, the act of strangulation was only a misdemeanor crime, and wouldnt have become a felony until the third offense.

By making the act of strangulation in the partner and family member context a felony on the first offense, Senate Bill 153 will help interrupt the cycle of violence, preventing further abuse and even death. I firmly believe Senate Bill 153 will save lives.

Reducing the frequency of sexual assault and domestic violence crimes must be a top priority for policymakers at all levels of government. Im very pleased to see the legislature overwhelmingly support important changes to our states sexual assault and domestic abuse statutes this session, and Im proud my office could be a part of it.
BOZEMAN  A Republican congressional candidate in Montana charged with shoving a reporter to the ground on the eve of a special election kept a low profile Thursday even as supporters prepared a hotel ballroom for a possible victory party.

Greg Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault after witnesses said he grabbed a reporter by the neck on Wednesday and threw him to the ground at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman.

Gianforte, a millionaire tech entrepreneur who has aligned himself with President Donald Trump, said the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed him by the wrist at his campaign office.

The altercation occurred hours before voters went to the polls to decide whether Gianforte or Democrat Rob Quist will fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Ryan Zinke, a Republican who is now Trump's Interior secretary.

Many see the closely watched election as a referendum on the policies and practices of Trump.

Republicans have held the state's lone congressional seat for two decades.

"I don't know Greg Gianforte personally, and I don't know if he's got a hot temper. But I can understand how somebody could push somebody's buttons," said Republican voter Tina Stark of Townsend, a suburb of Helena. "I don't advocate violence, but when you're told to back off, you need to back off."

Luanne Biggs, who voted for Gianforte, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "I understand the frustration of someone being right in your face."

It wasn't clear how the last-minute melee would affect the race. More than a third of the state's registered voters had cast absentee ballots before polls opened Thursday.

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers pulled their endorsements of Gianforte  without endorsing his opponent  while leaders of both major parties called on him to apologize.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said what occurred was "wrong and should not happen." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, called Gianforte "a wannabe Trump."

"I don't think it probably changed very many minds or votes today, unfortunately," said voter Patrick Paradis, who supports Democrat Rob Quist. "Politics are pretty entrenched right now in terms of who people are going to follow and who people are going to vote for."

Gianforte was preparing for an interview with Fox News on Wednesday at a private office when Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, came in without permission, campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon said.

As Jacobs pressed the candidate on the GOP health care bill, "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him," Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna wrote in an article . She added that Gianforte then began to punch Jacobs.

In an audio recording posted by The Guardian, the reporter asks the congressional candidate about the health care bill.

"We'll talk to you about that later," Gianforte says on the recording, referring Jacobs to a spokesman.

When Jacobs says there won't be time, Gianforte says "Just--" and there is a crashing sound. Gianforte yells, "The last guy who came here did the same thing," and a shaken-sounded Jacobs tells the candidate he just body-slammed him.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says.

Gianforte's whereabouts weren't immediately known Thursday. Two people at his campaign headquarters in Bozeman referred all questions to Scanlon, who could not be reached. A sign on a gate thanked people for not trespassing at Gianforte's home.

Repeated phone calls to Gianforte's cellphone went unreturned. Twice it seemed someone picked up then immediately hung up.

Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he never touched Gianforte. He said of the politician's account: "The only thing that is factually correct ... is my name and place of employment."

Quist declined to comment on the incident.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin announced the misdemeanor assault charge shortly before midnight Wednesday in a written statement, about six hours after the incident.

Gianforte could face a maximum $500 fine or six months in jail if convicted; he's due in court on or before June 7.

Gootkin said Jacobs' injuries did not meet the legal definition of felony assault.

In Montana, he said, assaults without a weapon are considered misdemeanors; assaults that cause serious physical injuries or involve weapons are treated as felonies.

Gootkin previously contributed $250 to Gianforte's campaign, according to elections records. He apologized Thursday for not revealing the donation at a previous news conference.
After Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate to fill Montana's lone U.S. House seat, was cited Wednesday night for assaulting a reporter, some early voters wondered if they could have a do-over.

Montana does not allow early absentee voters to change their vote, according to the Montana Secretary of State. But a few states do allow changes, and the issue could get a look from Montana lawmakers in the future.

In Montana, an absentee ballot is considered voted when it is received by the county election office, said Derek J. Oestreicher, director of elections and voter services at the Secretary of State's office. Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania allow at least some degree of changes to early votes.

Gianforte, a Bozeman businessman, is running against Democrat Rob Quist, a musician from Creston, and Libertarian Mark Wicks, an Inverness rancher. Polls opened at 8 a.m. Thursday and closed at 8 p.m.

About 37 percent of registered voters had already sent in absentee ballots by Wednesday night, when Gianforte allegedly "body-slammed" Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, during a campaign event in Bozeman. Jacobs was asking Gianforte questions about the Congressional Budget Office's scoring of the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Audio recorded by Jacobs captured a violent encounter.

"I'm sick and tired of you guys," Gianforte yelled at one point, followed by "Get the hell out of here." Jacobs said Gianforte shoved him and broke his glasses. A Fox News reporter who witnessed the altercation reported "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him" and "then began punching the man."

Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, said the early voting provision hadn't gotten much attention in his roughly 30 years of watching Wisconsin politics.

I recall the point being raised, but I dont think that I recall any sort of similarly dramatic events, he said.

A quick spotlight flashed over the topic when President Donald Trump, while campaigning in November, suggested that voters could change votes cast early if they have "buyer's remorse." However, that didn't prompt a flood of canceled ballots in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin voters have the opportunity to cancel already-cast ballots at their polling places and fill out a new one. In the presidential election, about 3,000 voters canceled ballots, about 0.1 percent of people who voted in the election. And there's no data that zeroes in on why voters canceled their ballots; it's not accurate to assume that all did because they changed their mind about a candidate or issue.

We just dont have that level of detail, said Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman Reid Magney.

The issue could break down on party lines in Montana's legislature.

I think if youve cast your vote youve cast your vote, said Montana Senate President Scott Sales, a Bozeman Republican. I wouldnt be in favor of (changing) it.

Sen. Mary McNally, a Billings Democrat, said that she thought the incident could spark conversation.

Given whats happened, I think it would be worth at least looking at, she said. With early voting, those ballots do go out pretty early, and this incident aside, things do change.

Election procedure was already under scrutiny in Montana, as Democrats proposed using mail ballots for the House race. Republicans generally opposed the idea, and same-day polling prevailed. Absentee voting still allows voters who are signed up to vote by mail ahead of election day.

The events of yesterday are more dramatic, but this is always an issue with early voting, Mayer said. The key here is you have this sort of dramatic event less than 24 hours before the polls open on election day. The people who have already cast their ballot are unable to change their vote.

Thats been the problem all the way along with this idea of early voting and why Ive never been a big advocate of it, Sales said. I think our clerks and recorders and elections people have a tough job right now, and it would make it that much more difficult.

Nationally, there's been little impetus to allow ballot changes, even after presidential election attention on the issue.

"I've heard no discussion of this," said Paul Gronke, a professor at Reed College in Portland who runs the Early Voting Information Center. Instead, general trends have emphasized increasing early voting options.

If a voter who already cast an absentee ballot tries to show up at the polls Thursday, election workers' voting rolls will show the person as already having voted. Oestreicher described Thursday morning what would happen if a person shows up to change their vote, but their absentee ballot had not yet been received by the county.

"It is theoretically possible, but not pragmatic or practical, that someone could present at the polling place to vote prior to their absentee ballot being received at the county election office. It is highly unlikely at this late stage in the pre-election process. This scenario, technically, could invalidate a yet-to-be-returned absentee ballot. Practically speaking, however, this would be nearly impossible for the county election officials to track at this juncture."

Jon Sesso, a Butte Democrat who leads his party in the Montana Senate, said vote changing could come up in the next legislative cycle but it isn't a high priority of his. He had concerns about the complexity of such a system.

He also doubted Wednesday's incident would inspire many changes among those who voted for Gianforte.

"They knew who he was when they voted for him," he said.

The Gallatin County Sheriff released a statement late Wednesday saying there was enough information to cite Gianforte with misdemeanor assault; if convicted he could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Gianforte must appear in court before June 7, though a date has not been set. Gallatin County does not hold justice court, where he would appear, on Thursdays. Gianforte's campaign also released a statement Wednesday saying Jacobs was aggressive, grabbed the candidate and that Gianforte asked him to put down a recording device he was using; that did not match up with events recorded by Jacobs and detailed by others who saw what happened.

Montana does allow same day-voter registration through 8 p.m. on Election Day at most county election offices or designated locations. Voters can also check online to see if their ballots have been received.
HELENA  Jeremy Johnson, an associate professor of political science at Carroll College in Helena, classified Wednesday's alleged assault by Greg Gianforte against a national reporter as major."

Gianforte, a Republican, is running against Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks for Montana's lone U.S. House seat, left vacant when President Donald Trump appointed Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary.

On the night before the election, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office found probable cause to cite Gianforte for misdemeanor assault for an attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, who was in Bozeman and trying to interview the candidate. Jacobs wrote in a tweet that Gianforte had "body slammed me and broke my glasses."

Though 37 percent of registered voters have already returned absentee ballots, there will still be plenty of people voting on Election Day, Johnson said.

Turnout in special elections is typically low, and with this vote on the Thursday before Memorial Day, many have predicted low numbers at the polls.

Johnsons said he couldnt think of any precedent for what happened Wednesday night a little over 24 hours before voting ends in the first U.S. House special election Montana has held since the 1960s. The 85-day campaign has been unlike any seen in the state, drawing more spending during a very compressed cycle than the November race for the seat.

Those who cast early absentee ballots tend to strongly support a candidate or party, Johnson said, meaning many who havent voted yet could still be undecided  either about which candidate to support or about voting at all.

If youre on the fence about voting, this might drive interest to go vote, he said.

Of the apparently violent nature of the event, Johnson said, "Some voters will view this as a character issue that could hurt Gianforte at the polls.

Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna, who was in the room and saw what happened, reported Wednesday evening that "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him" and "then began punching the man."

Before the citation was announced, the timing of information released by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office played an uncertain role in how things could play out Thursday. At a press conference held around 8 p.m., Sheriff Brian Gootkin said law enforcement was still conducting an investigator and talking to witnesses. By 10:45 p.m. the citation was issued. Gianforte must appear in Gallatin County Justice Court before June 7 and would face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500 if convicted.

A lot of facts are not know yet, Johnson said before the citation was announced. It will certainly be a challenge for the Gianforte campaign. It will be discussed. We have to see if new information comes out  if any further information is available to voters before they start voting tomorrow.
MUSCATINE As graduates in the Class of 2017 make their summer plans, Muscatine High School officials and Aligned Impact Muscatine are teaming up to help them be successful in college in the fall.

According to data from the district, 66 percent of graduates in the Class of 2017 told their counselors they plan to attend a two- or four-year college in the fall. But some may experience summer melt  and their college plans may fizzle before the first day of classes.

They graduate and then you get all that freedom for a few months and then its like I gotta do school all over again? Id rather just work, said Muscatine High School Principal Jared Smith. Theres a decent percent of kids that just maybe dont have someone pushing them. Then when it comes time to decide, (say0 Do I really want to go to class again?

Though Muscatine-specific data on summer melt isnt available, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that 10 to 20 percent of high school graduates, many of whom are low-income or people of color, experience it.

Muscatine High School and Aligned Impact Muscatine  a collective of corporations, nonprofits and other institutions  will help by checking in with graduates over the summer and helping them deal with obstacles as they arise. The initiative is funded by an Iowa College Student Aid Commission grant, and is part of a bigger push to increase statewide college graduation rates.

Its just a way to really help our students who are planning on attending college, a two-year college or four-year college," Smith said. "Really provide any support we can to making sure that they actually show up, go to orientation, actually show up on that first day of class next year."

The district and AIM implemented two other strategies to increase the numbers attending college, including helping students with their financial aid applications and holding the districts first College Decision Dayan event that celebrates going to college.

Last week, the district and AIM collected contact information for 140 Class of 2017 graduates, which Corinna Aguirre, who works with AIM, will use to communicate with students. She will focus on those students who had lower grades and who may be at risk for summer melt.

Were trying to do early intervention so that students who encounter some conflict or obstacle  were able to intervene and assist them so that it doesnt prevent them from going onto their college of choice, she said.

The assistance could be helping them arrange a ride to college or guiding them through financial aid applications.

Other interventions, Smith said, include talking about long-term goals, reminding students that college is beneficial in the long run. Smith also said the district hopes the program will help identify the specific challenges that Muscatine graduates face over the summer.
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
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 []
It was happy ending to the construction of the Mombasa  Nairobi SGR railway on Saturday, when 4 Chinese couples working on the project exchanged vows at the new Nairobi terminus.

Their Kenyan colleagues gathered to witness the unique ceremony, which they described as unusually brief. Our Chinese counterparts will never cease to amaze. The wedding ceremony was astonishingly brief but colorful, Chris Musyoki told Xinhua.

The wedding was conducted according to Chinese traditions. It started with the grooms kneeling down and presenting flowers to their brides. The couples were then declared as man and wife, after which they uncorked champagne and gave short speeches as in a typical modern Chinese wedding.

READ: RIP Modern Coast, Mash Poa This is the Amount Youll Pay for SGR Train To Mombasa

Guests were later treated to a luncheon at SGR Camp 8

The date of the wedding, May 20, was both symbolically chosen for its similar pronunciation to I love you in Chinese, and to mark the coming commissioning of the railway.

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I met my future wife three years ago during a train ride in Hunan Province back home in China after which we exchanged numbers. That brief meeting and my bravery has now resulted into us tying the nuptials today, Li Bosheng, 26, a public relations officer with CRBC, told Xinhua.

My wife Jiao Yang is a graduate student in China and we will travel back home after the commissioning of the railway, he noted.

READ: PHOTOS  These HOT Ladies Cant Wait To Serve You on SGR Trains

Another groom, Wang Xiaoyu, works as a technical supervisor at the Nairobi Terminus. His new wife Zhang Weiping also works for CRBC as an accountant. They associated their love and marriage to the new railway.

We met here in Kenya and got married in this beautiful country. Kenya will always remain etched in our minds wherever we shall be. It is a country we cherish and whose people are very hospitable, they said.

The new railway line will be commissioned on May 31st by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Here are some more pics.
Gaw Van Male, a Napa wine, business law and estate planning firm, has hired Carlie Speelman, a paralegal specialist in alcohol beverage matters.

A Northern California native, Speelman has spent more than a decade in the wine industry advising her internal clients on every aspect of alcohol beverage regulation including trade practices, compliance and licensing.

Prior to joining Gaw Van Male, Speelman worked in the Legal and Regulatory Affairs departments of Treasury Wine Estates, Trinchero Family Estates and Francis Ford Coppola Presents. She received her paralegal certification from the University of California, Davis.

We are delighted that Carlie has joined our team," said Erik Lawrence, co-leader of Gaw Van Males Wine Law practice group.

Gaw Van Male is located at 1000 Main St. in Napa.

Info: 707-252-9000.
Round Pond Estate announced the appointment of Joan Stagnaro to lead private sales and client services. In the newly-created role, Stagnaro will handle private client direct sales at Round Pond Estate specializing in the top-tier limited-production wines.

Prior to joining Round Pond, Stagnaro spent five years at Hall Wines in St. Helena, where she worked in direct-to-consumer sales and membership services.

Stagnaro is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, holds a CSW from the Society of Wine Educators, a level 2 WSET with Wine and Spirits Education Trust and CWAS from The California Wine School.

I have always admired the extraordinary Round Pond Estate wines said Stagnaro.
Napa County supervisors favor allowing Mountain Peak winery to be built near the end of Soda Canyon Road, despite opposition claims that a winery this big is a bad fit for a remote location.

Several supervisors shared the opponents concerns about adding traffic to a narrow, dead-end road. But consultant Donna Oldford came to Tuesdays meeting with an offer on behalf of Mountain Peak winery that helped turn the tide.

Mountain Peak committed to making 75 percent of its wine from grapes grown on the 41-acre winery property and a nearby 180-acre vineyard. Supervisors said they thought this a good approach for a remote winery.

It honors that the grapes are going to come from exactly where theyre going to be crushed, where the wine is going to be produced, Board Chairwoman Belia Ramos said. I value that very much.

So did Supervisor Ryan Gregory.

Its what we need to be all about . For me, thats earned my support today, he said.

But Oldford failed to sway the many opponents, given the reaction to a statement by Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza.

I do have confidence this project will not come at the expense of our quality of life. I truly believe that, Pedroza said, drawing scattered laughs from the audience.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to tentatively uphold the Planning Commissions approval of Mountain Peak winery, with Supervisor Diane Dillon absent. It will take a final vote on Aug. 15, after the Mountain Peak onsite grape condition is crafted into use permit language.

Kosta Arger, Cynthia Grupp, William Hocker and Glenn Schreuder had appealed the Planning Commission approval decision and more than 1,000 people signed a petition opposing the project.

Mountain Peak winery is to be located at 3265 Soda Canyon Road, about six miles from Silverado Trail. It is to produce 100,000 gallons of wine annually, have up to 14,300 tasting room visitors annually and have up to 275 visitors annually at three marketing events.

Anthony Arger said on behalf of the appellants that Mountain Peak winery is too big with too many visitors for a remote location. He called it a leviathan commercial winery event center that would fit in on the Las Vegas Strip, rather than a small family winery suitable for the site.

Mountain Peak winery would add 40,000 annual trips to Soda Canyon Road, resulting in more accidents and increasing the fire risk, he said.

Oldford later responded to him.

This is not an events center, Oldford said. If we wanted it to be an events center, we failed miserably. The world leviathan has more syllables in it than we have events a year.

Schreuder said Soda Canyon Road was built before the 1950s and was last paved in the 1980s. It has blind turns, a one-lane bridge, deteriorating asphalt, a hairpin turn where trucks have gone off the pavement, a steep grade, areas that flood and no guard rails.

Its basically a failed roadway at the end of its usual life, Schreuder said while showing photographs of potholes and cracked pavement.

Supervisors didnt disagree that Soda Canyon Road needs improvements. Gregory said it is holding up relatively well, noting that Mount Veeder Road and other roads damaged by the winter storms are in worse condition.

In the greater context of Napa County, Soda Canyon is in relatively good shape, Gregory said.

Deputy Public Works Director Juan Arias said the county this fall will make a five-year spending plan for the Measure T road repair tax that takes effect in 2018. Pavement repairs to Soda Canyon Road could be on the list, he said.

Appellants said the proposed winery and caves would sap groundwater, hurt such species as the foothill yellow-legged frog and send eroded sediment into waterways leading to Rector Reservoir, the water source for Yountville. They said the county must do an environmental impact report for the project.

We are fighting for the environmental soul of Soda Canyon, Yeoryios Apallas said on behalf the appellants.

One opponent during public comments got down on her knees and begged supervisors not to approve Mountain Peak winery.

Oldford said the vineyards are organic. The winery will be meet top green building standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Then she proposed the voluntary condition of approval that 75 percent of the grapes for Mountain Peak wine be estate grown near the site.

This is a winery on a very large parcel of land, Oldford said. And its a winery in proximity to the grapes that its using to make almost all its wine .... we will be saving conservatively at least 88 trips for grape trucks that now must take grapes down that hill to be processed elsewhere.

The project has done what it can to maintain the areas rural character, including putting the wine-making underground instead of constructing a big-box building, project general manager Steven Rea said.

Supervisors began the day by deciding whether to go ahead with the hearing. Arger on behalf of the appellants asked for a continuance after noting that Supervisor Diane Dillon was absent. Dillon traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before a Congressional committee on Native American affairs.

Appellants are entitled to a full and fair opportunity to be heard, Arger said, adding he learned of Dillons absence when he entered the Board chamber.

County Counsel Minh Tran said due process guarantees a public hearing, not the attendance of any specific supervisor. Should the Board have deadlocked at 2-2, the absent supervisor would have reviewed the hearing record and voted at a future meeting.

Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards saw more at stake on Tuesday than Mountain Peak winery.

A loud minority voice has been speaking out against the wine industry, with arguments that do not hold merit and undermine the future vitality not just of vineyards and wineries, but Napa Valley overall, Wagner wrote to the county.

In a written statement released after the Boards tentative ruling, Arger depicted Mountain Peak as setting a precedent that disappointed him.

Winery developers should rejoice because the flood gates are now open for unbridled winery expansion into the most remote agricultural watersheds throughout the county, he wrote.

The Board of Supervisors appeals hearing lasted from 9:50 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a break for lunch.
The Oak Knoll section of the Napa Valley Vine Trail that connects Napa to Yountville won the California Transportation Foundations Pedestrian and Bicycle Project of the Year Award.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Oak Knoll segment was held in October after construction crews finished paving the 10-foot-wide, 6-mile-long trail that runs adjacent to Solano Avenue. The trail remained officially closed between Trower and Oak Knoll avenues for crews to complete curb cuts and signal modification until late April. This entire trail is now officially opened for use.

Napa Mayor Jill Techel accepted the award in Sacramento, noting the vision of one individual, Chuck McMinn, started an all-out effort to build a trail from Calistoga to the Vallejo Ferry and seeing the thousands of users on the path proves that it has been well worth the effort.

With the opening of the Oak Knoll Section, the Napa Valley Vine Trail now has 12.5 miles of continuous trail between Kennedy Park in the City of Napa to Madison Street in Yountville available for the community and its visitors.

NVTA secured more than $7 million in state and federal funding for the project, including a $2.5 million Federal Highway Administration Transportation, Community and System Preservation Program grant and a $3.6 million State of Californias Active Transportation Program grant. The entire project cost roughly $10 million.

The Vine Trail Coalition contributed $2.5 million to the project thanks in part to the Napa Valley Vintners and Visit Napa Valley, who have jointly contributed $5 million to support various segments of the trail. The Napa Valley Vine Trail is also responsible for funding the bridge over the Salvador Channel.

The city of Napa contributed almost $500,000, which includes constructing the trail between Wine Country and Trower. The County of Napa contributed almost $300,000, and Yountville contributed $45,000.

The Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition was founded in 2008 to promote the development of the proposed 47-mile Vine Trail between Calistoga and the San Francisco Bay ferry terminal in Vallejo. The Coalition, consisting of more than 30 representatives from agriculture, hospitality, business, health, education, arts and public agency organizations, has been the private partner in the unique private-public partnership with NVTA.
ST. HELENA  The St. Helena City Council voted Tuesday to reject the Culinary Institute of Americas plan to expand its dorms on Pratt Avenue, which faced vigorous opposition from neighbors.

The 3-2 vote was without prejudice, which allows the CIA to revise the project and go back to the Planning Commission, which voted in March to reject the current design.

CIA representatives say the project is crucial to its long-term viability in St. Helena. It proposed extensive upgrades at its historic Greystone campus, an increase in enrollment and the expansion of its Pratt Avenue dorms by 123 beds, for a total of 224.

The Greystone plans drew no opposition, but neighbors criticized the dorm proposal for its size, impact on traffic and an already smelly neighborhood sewer system, and a lack of parking.

Planning Commissioners shared those same concerns, denying the project and urging the CIA to investigate building new dorms on its land surrounding Greystone, including the Carpy property just south of Greystone that the CIA acquired in 1999.

On Tuesday, Councilmembers Paul Dohring, Geoff Ellsworth and Mary Koberstein voted to deny the CIAs appeal of the Planning Commissions ruling.

At first, Dohring said he hoped the council could work out a solution rather than simply deny or reject the appeal, but when no compromise arose he said he couldnt support putting 224 students on the 2.6-acre Pratt property. He said hes heard many concerns from residents of the Pratt/Park/Crinella neighborhood whove already been heavily affected by the Las Alcobas hotel, and who say the traffic and parking situation around Main/Pratt has reached a crisis point.

Im sympathetic to the financial and programmatic needs of the CIA, he said. But Im also very sympathetic to the neighborhood thats been here for decades and is feeling frankly under assault.

Koberstein called the dorm proposal 10 pounds in a 5-pound sack and cited impacts on traffic, sewer, parking and noise. She said there were no legitimate grounds to grant the two requested variances, or exceptions from city rules, involving the setback from Pratt and the number of parking spaces (72 instead of the required 125).

She also said its too early to conclude, as the CIA argued, that building the dorms near the Greystone campus would amount to a significant impact under the California Environmental Quality Act due to the campus historic status.

Ellsworth acknowledged the CIA is part of our family, but said that relationship is a two-way street. He said the various impacts deserve a full environmental impact report that would consider the cumulative impact on the neighborhood.

The CIA should look at building on the Carpy property instead, he said, and agreed with Koberstein that Tuesdays meeting wasnt the time to cobble something together.

Mayor Alan Galbraith and Councilmember Peter White voted in the minority. Galbraith said he didnt share concerns about the visual impact of the dorms (massing), parking and other factors, and said the number of students being requested by the CIA is vital to its overall master plan.

I think its fabulous what theyre proposing to do at Greystone, and its hugely important that we as a community do everything that we can to get those improvements done and keep the CIA here, Galbraith said. But there is a cost, and the cost is additional students at the Pratt Avenue property.

Galbraith praised the CIA for responding to neighbors by reconfiguring the plan so that the dorms closest to Pratt would be only two stories tall, with the three-story buildings farther back. He said the CIA, like other colleges, would be able to control student parking through permits and a transportation plan involving shuttles and bikes.

White said he wasnt concerned about massing either, but hoped the council could agree on a better parking solution to prevent students cars from spilling into the surrounding neighborhood. He suggested passing the Greystone component of the project and holding further discussion about the parking and sewer issues at the dorms.

He said hes always been impressed by CIA students, and called the school part of the fabric of our community.

When it became clear that the project didnt have three votes, CIA representatives asked the council to postpone the matter for four weeks so they could come back with a modified project that addressed some of the councils concerns.

I think were very close to a project that could be supported, said attorney Mary Murphy, speaking on behalf of the CIA.

Brian Russell, an attorney representing the neighbors, asked the council not to delay, saying the CIA was just trying to buy time.

Theyve known the issues, theyve heard the public, theyve heard the Planning Commission, he said. If they wanted to change the project, they would have already.

Koberstein said the project shouldnt be redesigned at the council level without new environmental analysis and moved to deny the appeal without prejudice. Ellsworth seconded the motion, and Dohring cast the deciding vote.
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Napa Valley is recognized the world over for its award-winning wines, but little is known about its low-income, mostly agricultural, communities where the need is great; especially for year-round student academic support and enrichment opportunities.

To address this need, Aim High  a nonprofit offering free summer learning programs to middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than thirty years  opened a campus at Silverado Middle School in rural Napa, a community where only 15 percent of third grade English Language Learners read at or above grade level. The Napa program currently serves 120 students, but has a waiting list of at least 60 children.

But in spite of the urgent need for these enrichment programs, as summer draws near, Aim High Napa, along with dozens of providers across the state serving students in low-resource inner-city and rural areas, are bracing for longer waiting lists and fewer spaces for children. This is a result of state policies that are out of pace with the cost, need and demand.

It is in these communities where both private and public investments can make a significant impact on educational inequities, and in the lives of children who otherwise wouldnt have access to critical summer and after school resources. Funding sources such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants ($1.2 billion) support expanded learning activities for more than 1.6 million predominantly economically disadvantaged children across the country.

In addition, Californias After School Educational and Safety program supports 4,000 summer learning and after school programs serving more than 400,000 students daily.

This summer, Aim High  along with a coalition of statewide organizations  is working with the Partnership for Child and Youth (PCY), a nonprofit that advocates for expanded learning programs, to raise awareness about the significant impact of these programs in high-need areas. They are calling on state legislators and congressional leaders to preserve summer learning and after-school programs by securing proper funding, while respectfully reminding them that in so doing they are looking out not just for the communities they serve, but also for the states future.

President Donald Trumps recent proposal to eliminate the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants from the federal budget, which also fund summer and after-school programming nationwide, could leave children and youth without access to vital programs that support their personal and academic development, and keep them safe during the summer months and after-school hours.

But, President Trumps actions targeting expanded learning arent the only challenge. In California, a lack of comprehensive support from state leaders undermines the work thats taken place over the last 20 years to help communities close the learning gap for children.

Recent increases in Californias state minimum wage (47 percent) and the cost of living (21 percent) have placed a severe financial burden on 4,000 programs that serve nearly half a million students daily on a budget that hasnt increased since 2006. Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chico) recently authored Senate Bill 78 to address this gap in funding, but the bill is pending approval and support by legislators.

We need all of our state partners on board. We cant afford to lose the investments that California has made to build this expanded learning network, which provides opportunities for kids to learn and gain skills, and supports working families by keeping their children safe and engaged. Now is not the time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish on programs that have a long-term impact on our youth and communities.

Over the last three years, PCY has launched numerous statewide campaigns that  despite generating resounding support from cities, school districts, and law enforcement agencies from across the state  have yet to secure the full backing of the legislature, the governor, and labor.

Given Californias current state budget its a real challenge for districts to provide summer learning programs. This work matters now more than ever for kids in low-resource communities and from immigrant families. Its critical that they have safe and nurturing summer opportunities, but providers cant do it alone. We need political will.

Alec Lee, Director

Aim High
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Huw Davies, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Chemistry, has received the prestigious Humboldt Research Award in recognition of lifetime achievements in research.

The award is given by the Germany-based Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to scientists whose discoveries or insights have had a significant impact on their field of study, and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.

The Humboldt Research Award also seeks to foster international scientific collaboration; recipients are invited to carry out research projects of their own choice in cooperation with colleagues in Germany. The award comes with approximately $66,000.

Davies research focuses on organic synthesis, particularly C-H functionalization, which explores the conversion of the very common carbon-hydrogen bond into useful functional groups, leading to new synthetic methods with broad applications to industry and medicine.

Davies currently is the director of the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF) at Emory. The CCHF fosters collaboration among Emory scientists and 22 other C-H functionalization research groups in 15 universities across the United States, in addition to working with similar centers around the globe.

Research in C-H functionalization is considered to have the potential to be a paradigm shift on how pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and fine chemicals for material science are made, in part by making the process simpler, faster and greener, says Davies. Consequently, there is world-wide interest in C-H functionalization with large-scale centers in the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea.

Davies is currently in Germany, working with chemistry professor Oliver Reiser from the University of Regensburg. He plans to use the award over the next three years to spend two months each summer at a different host university in Germany to build on several existing research collaborations.
NY Times: UF No. 6 among colleges doing the most for the American Dream

The University of Florida is once again one of the best schools in the country -- public or private -- at helping low-income students get a college education, according to the New York Times third annual College Access Index released today.

UF ranked No. 6  the same spot it held in 2015 -- and is the only public university in Florida to make the list. The University of Miami was ranked 162nd. The top five schools are University of California institutions with UC-Irvine taking the top spot and UCLA listed at fifth.

The ranking of colleges  those with a five-year graduation rate of at least 75 percent  is based on their commitment to economic diversity and on a combination of the number of low- and middle-income students that a college enrolls and the price it charges these students, according to the Times.

The complete rankings can be found here.

The annual rankings are created using the following:

Pell grad share for each college is the average share of the freshman class that received a Pell grant in 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, multiplied by the graduation rate for recent Pell recipients. Later years count more; not all colleges released 2015-16 data. Graduation rates for Pell students at some colleges are estimated.

Net price for middle-income students covers tuition, fees, room and board, after taking into account federal, state and institutional financial aid, and it applies to students who come from households earning between $48,000 and $75,000 a year and qualifying for federal aid. Loans and wages from work-study jobs are counted in the net price as part of the students cost.

The College Access Index is a combination of a colleges Pell graduates and net price, compared with the average school. (The index is based on the net price for both the $48,000-to-$75,000 income range and the $30,000-to-$48,000 income range.) A college with an average score on the two measures in combination will receive a one. Scores above one indicate the most effort.

Endowment per student is for the year 2012-13 and includes graduate students.
New Delhi [India], May 25 (ANI-NewsVoir): Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas announced today that Shuva Mandal, National Practice Head of Corporate, M&A and Private Equity at SAM & Co., will be joining the USD 100b TATA Group as its Group General Counsel. He will be part of N. Chandrasekaran's special team that will assist in transforming the TATA Group. Mandal has been with SAM & Co. for almost two years. During that time, he led the General Corporate, and M&A practice at SAM & Co., steering the National Practice Group through an important period of the Firm's growth and transformation. The Firm's practice is ranked amongst the top corporate practices in India. "While Shuva's resignation leaves us deeply saddened, we are also pleased to know that he will be joining the very highly regarded TATA team. The TATA Group has been a client of the firm and we have a strong and extensive relationship with the Group. This relationship will only strengthen with Shuva's move to the TATA Group," said Executive Chairman Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Shardul Shroff. "The SAM & Co. team remains strong. Our national footprint of 91 partners including 44 general corporate partners, many of whom are ranked at the top of their fields of practice, will continue to deliver the highest quality of services to our clients," added Shroff. "We wish to offer our very sincere thanks to Shuva for all of his hard-work in helping us establish a national Corporate practice at SAM & Co. We look forward to continuing our relationship and working together with Shuva," said Managing Partner Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Pallavi Shroff. "Shuva is a stellar lawyer and has been instrumental in helping to establish the SAM & Co. office in Mumbai and growing it from strength to strength. He has led and developed a highly-professional team of lawyers, who will continue with the Firm," said Managing Partner Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Akshay Chudasama. "The Firm continues to actively look out for opportunities to team with quality lawyers in the legal market the Firm services," added Chudasama. "I wish to thank the wonderful team at SAM & Co. and my Partners with whom I thoroughly enjoyed working over the last 18 months. The experience has been great. The team at SAM & Co. will go places," added Shuva Mandal. (ANI-NewsVoir)
The World Gold Council on Thursday said the enforcement of hallmarking is key along with implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) to bring the transparency in the trade of the yellow metal. The World Gold Council also bats for a "substantially low" GST rate. At its recent meeting the GST Council could not reach a consensus on the GST rate to apply on gold and will meet again on June 3 in New Delhi to decide this. "With the implementation of GST, it is important that the hallmarking is also enforced. Our view is that regardless of how the announcement comes, within the next 18-24 months, we should have a complete extension of hallmarking. We are for mandatory hallmarking," said Somasundaram PR, Managing Director, India, World Gold Council. Asked about the possible GST rate on gold, he said: "Today, the (tax) rate is around 12.5 per cent. Better thing is to keep the rates substantially low and to incentivise the moving of entire trade into a more transparent and compliance systems... something around 50 per cent off (the current rate)." He said operational issues in the entire supply chain of gold, which is complicated itself, need to be clarified. "There is no clarity on the GST rate on gold and also on operational issues. One-third of jewellers' business in India is gold for gold. Operational complexity appears to be high under the GST unless it is clarified," Somasundaram said. "Traders have different interpretation as of now," he added after the launch of Bengali version of a WGC's report -- India's Gold Market: evolution and innovation here. Adding that the GST would be a big success for the industry, he said whatever be the rate, it would take 12-18 months for the industry to settle down. "We believe the GST will get gold out of shadow of black money and in the long term, we are going to see a big jump in the way we sell and export gold. If the system is perfected, the smuggling is going to get harder," he said. The objective of the implementation of the GST is to bring the transparency in gold buying, he added. --IANS bdc/pgh/vt ( 375 Words) 2017-05-25-17:20:18 (IANS)
New Delhi [India], May 25 (ANI-NewsVoir): Rakesh Kapur, Joint Managing Director, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), has been elected as the Chairman of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) at the recent IFA's Annual Conference held from May 22nd - 24th in Marrakech, Morocco in which 1400 participants were present. Paris based IFA is the global Fertilizer Association having about 500 Members Worldwide representing 68 countries including 24 Members from India. Mr. Kapur is the third Indian to hold this prestigious position in IFA's 90 years' history. Mr Kapur is currently also the Chairman of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI). IFFCO, now World's largest fertilizer and marketing Cooperative represents 50 Million farmers across the country. The election of Mr. Kapur as IFA Chairman brought double celebration for IFFCO, which is currently celebrating its glorious 50thGolden Jubilee. IFFCO also hold a strong position in International Cooperative Alliance ICA. IFA has been actively involved in propagating sustainable agriculture, fertiliser use efficiency, enhancing farm productivity apart from its active participation in the implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as 'Zero Hunger' as well as environmental issues. IFA has wide level of engagement with International Initiatives and entities such as UNEP, FAO, OECD, IFAD, World Bank, WTO, WCO etc. for emphasizing the need for effective and efficient fertilizer application. The Prime Minister of India has given a call to address two major factors i.e. soil and water critical to agricultural production. On his election as Chairman, IFA, Mr. Rakesh Kapur said that his dual role would be to strengthen collaboration between FAI and IFA in encouraging innovative products and adoption of Fertilizer Best Management Practices, strengthening outreach to farmers for rapid dissemination of agri technologies; and raising awareness globally among decision makers about the crucial role that soil health plays in food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Mr. Rakesh Kapur is a Mechanical Engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. Mr. Kapur joined as CFO of IFFCO in 2005 before that he served in senior position in the Income Tax Deptt. of the Govt. of India and several Public Sector Undertakings. A Post Graduate in Management, Mr. Kapur is on the Board of several companies including various IFFCO's subsidiaries like IFFCO Kisan Special Economic Zone (IKSEZ), Nellore and IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL). (ANI-NewsVoir)
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of its annual meeting, Adesina said: "... had fruitful meetings with Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, and other Indian Ministers. All these meetings are expected to substantially contribute to the bank's new transformation agenda encapsulated in the high 5s -- related to the fields of power, agriculture (food security), connectivity (transportation), industrialisation (skill development), and health."

He was addressing a press conference at the Mahatma Mandir here. This is the first time that an AfDB annual meeting has been held outside the African continent.

The AfDB annual meeting started here from May 22.

"The bank is looking forward to scaling up technologies and investments in future technologies for skilling African youths," he said.

He said the youths in Africa should actively participate in agricultural activities.

The bank President said he even sees the possibilities of Bollywood films contributing to encouragement to the African youths.

--IANS mm/tsb/vt

( 211 Words)

2017-05-25-18:56:11 (IANS)
Slamming former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah for calling the Indian Army's inquiry into 'human shield' case a farce, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the ones protesting over the issue are actually exposing their true selves. Singh lauded Major Leetul Gogoi for doing a great honour and for which each patriotic Indian takes immense pride. "We are eternally indebted to the Indian Army and by honouring Major Gogoi, we have expressed our reverence to all that the Indian Army has been doing for us since years," Singh told ANI. Hitting out at the diplomacy of the Kashmir leaders, Singh said that till the time they are in power, they swear by India, but as soon as they are dethroned, they start questioning the status of Kashmir. Singh further said that such duplicity is not going to last for long. "These are the same people, who if you make Chief Minister tomorrow, will start searing by India, by Kashmir as part of India. They would also go to the extent of advocating that India should bombard terror camps in Pakistan, as they did during their earlier chief ministerial tenures. But, the moment they are shunted out of power, they lose their equanimity and start questioning the status of Kashmir," Singh said. Showing faith in the people of the Valley, the Union Minister said the youth there want to be a part of the developmental journey led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The common people of Srinagar, youth of Srinagar want to come out of this turmoil. But, these handful of 'vardis' want to keep the Kashmir pot boiling, but I am sure they will not succeed in misguided attempt," he said. Yesterday, Omar dubbed the Army's court of inquiry against Major Leetul Gogoi for tying a man to his jeep as a 'human shield' a 'farce'. "In future pls don't bother with the farce of a military court of inquiry. Clearly the only court that matters is the court of public opinion (sic)," he tweeted. "And international conventions like the Geneva/Vienna ones only count when India can accuse others of violations. Do as we say not as we do," he added. His remarks came in the backdrop of Gogoi's honouring by Army chief General Bipin Rawat recently with a 'Commendation Card' "for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations. (ANI)
The Patiala House Court will on Thursday hear the bail pleas of five new accused in connection with the alleged irregularities pertaining to the Urban North Coal Block in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier on Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed another chargesheet against former MP Naveen Jindal and five others in connection with the same. Taking cognizance of the chargesheet, the court issued summons to Jindal, four individuals and the Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) company, asking them to appear on September 4th. The CBI has chargesheeted the accused under sections of criminal conspiracy and cheating of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Last month, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Jindal Steel's advisor Anand Goel, Gurgaon-based Green Infra's vice-president Siddharth Madra, Mumbai-based KE International's Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal, Nihar Stocks Limited Director B.S.N. Suryanarayan and Mumbai's Essar Power Limited Executive vice chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo. The court was hearing the case related to the allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge. The CBI had sought more time from the special court to examine evidence in the coal block allocation scam. The CBI also stated that hard disks and letters were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory and opinions of handwriting and computer experts were also being sought. Earlier, Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir had filed a plea asking for a re-investigation in the matter. The plea was filed in response to the closure report sought by the two Union Ministers. The Supreme Court had earlier asked the duo for their final submission in the case. On not being satisfied with the closure report, the two leaders sought for a re-investigation. The scam dates back to 1993 when the Centre allocated coal blocks to private companies during 1993-2010. However, the apex court had in 2014 termed these allocations 'illegal'. It was on the complaint filed by Javadekar and Ahir in 2012 that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) ordered a CBI probe into the matter. Earlier in 2014, the apex court set up a special CBI court to try all the cases filed in the coal allocation scam. (ANI)
The funeral program, organised at Peace Ground by the Joint Action Committee of Anti-Tribal Bills, was held in the presence of cabinet ministers and high ranking officials.

The burial was made possible after the state government and the JAC-ATB struck an understanding to end a deadlock that lasted over 632 days.

Families, friends and supporters paid floral tributes to the mortal remains of the deceased, who were given the title of martyrs by supporters of the movement against the Inner Line Permit related Bills.

Works Minister Th Biswajit, Social Welfare Minister Nemcha Kipgen, Agriculture Minister V. Hangkhalian, officials of the Assam Rifles and representatives of civil society organizers were among those who attended the funeral.

The bodies were finally laid to rest at the Martyrs Park near Khuga Dam in Churachandpur.

As many as nine people had died during the protest against the passing of bills in the state assembly meant for the protection of indigenous people of the state on August 30, 2015.

The last rites of one of them had already been performed by the family members. (ANI)
The Naxalites attacked a convoy of the Congress workers and leaders in Darbha's hilly areas while they were returning from Sukma after an election rally.

Considered as one of the biggest attack ever made on politicians, it led to a loss of total 32 lives.

Former Chhattisgarh home minister Mahendra Karma, the torchbearer of the controversial Salwa Judum (a vigilante movement against Maoists that involved arming villagers), and former legislator Uday Mudliliyar, were among those killed.

Since then, three safety camps of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been established within two-three kilometers of the incident spot, but the situation does not seem to be much different.

After the incident in 2013, the state government had set up a judicial inquiry commission whereas the Centre, under the UPA Government, handed over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The judicial inquiry commission has till date recorded statements of 65 people whereas the NIA has closed the case after submitting the enquiry report.

However, the Congress has maintained that it was a political conspiracy, and if an investigative agency is decided to probe it, it would hand over all the evidences to it.

Chhattisgarh still remains the hotbed of the Maoists, with people living every second with the fear of losing their lives. (ANI)
Indian national Uzma, who had accused her Pakistani husband of marrying her at gunpoint, has finally returned to India, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted her the permission to. The IHC had also ordered police to provide her security till the Wagah Border. An IHC bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, returned Uzma her original immigration form, which her husband Tahir had submitted to the court on Tuesday, reported Geo News. Tahir also expressed his desire to meet Uzma in private, which the latter refused. Justice Kayani remarked that if Uzma does not want to meet Tahir, then she won''t be forced. Wasim Ahmad, brother of Uzma, said the Indian government had done more than expected for Uzma, who got permission from the Islamabad High Court to return to India. He also said that the Indian Embassy treated Uzma with full care. She took shelter in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on May 5, 2017. He added that he had no words to thank the government, Swaraj, and Indian High Commission in Pakistan. On May 19, Uzma had submitted a six-page reply to the High Court and reiterated her earlier claims and said that she was forced to sign the Nikkahnama [marriage papers]. The reply also claimed that Tahir''s affidavit was based on lies. The reply also requested that Uzma was allowed to travel to India as her visa would expire on May 30. Earlier, while recording her statement before the Court of a Judicial Magistrate Uzma (20) also alleged that she was sedated, assaulted, tortured mentally and physically by the man in Pakistan who had invited her to visit his family in Pakistan. Uzma, who hails from New Delhi, also stated the she had taken shelter in High Commission of India of her own accord and would stay there till she is sent back to India with security. The case came to the forefront after her husband claimed that Indian High Commission has stopped her wife from leaving the premises during their visit to apply for visa on May 7. (ANI)
Equipped with shields and batons some 2000 Kolkata Police personnel today virtually sealed its headquarters in busy central part of the city to thwart any attempt of BJP activists to sneak in during "March to Lalbazar". The BJP already began its activists to assemble at three different places surrounding Lalbazar and start march around 1300 hours from Howrah station in West, College Square in North and Esplanade in South to gherao the city police headquarters. " Lalbazar Cholo' has been sponsored to protest alleged deteriorating law and order situation, state's alleged attempt to gag the voice of the opposition parties, and alleged police excess and misused of administration to suppress the opposition voice. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said over one lakh people would converge into this metro from the districts to gherao Lalbazar. Party's national leaders like Kailash Vijayvagiya, Suresh Pujari, Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly, Rahul Sinha, Locket Chatterjee already fanned out at different venue of congregation to lead the march around 1300 hours. Police also provided special (yellowish colour ) jacket to media photographers and reporters covering the event so that in case of lathi charge police can identify the media people. On Monday during Left parties rally to Nabanna over 50 media people were injured, besides more than 100 Left workers and 69 police personnel. The traffic movement was being controlled and many roads lead Lalbazar already barricaded with iron fence. Meanwhile, both Congress and Left parties began criticising the BJP for launching the Lalbazar march at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi this evening. Ms Banerjee before leaving for New Delhi yesterday said she had sought an appointment with the PM to talk about the monetary issues, Ganga and some other river erosion in the state. UNI PC KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-907667.Xml
The security forces havearrested at least four suspected involved in insurgency activities andillegal deal of arms in two separate raids in last 24 hours in Tripura.The intelligence officials were separately interrogatingthem.According to report, TSR jawans detained threemembers of Kamtapuri Liberation Organisation (KLO) at night from Chandra KumarPara under Raisyabari Police station limit of Gandacherra under Dhalai district.Police said they were identified as Goutam Roy (24),Padma Deka (24) and Manajyoti Deka (22) and all of them were belong to Assam. Theywere taken to Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and kept in an extremistcamp for training. They confessed to the investigating team aboutthree months back one militant leader identified as Thamba met with them andmotivated to go to Bangladesh for search of job. They were taken to Chittagong HillTract and kept in an extremist camp situated in the bank of River Feni.According to their statement as many as 17 youthshave been residing in the camp, which has been used as training camp for KLOmilitants. But three days ago, they deserted the camp and after overnight foottravel they crossed the border and entered in Tripura.However, police claimed that acting on secretinformation TSR jawans raided a house of Chandra Kumar Para, Ratannagar ADC village,a bordering helmet and detained them Bangladeshi currency of 625 taka. Later,they were handed over to police, SDPO Jaharlal Debbarma.On the other, police arrested on Rajesh Das (18)with 9 mm pistol yesterday afternoon from MLA para of Mohanpur of NorthernAgartala based on a secret information. Police said Rajesh was allegedlyinvolved in arms dealing with Bangladesh.UNI BB KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-907674.Xml
A new degree college will be coming up in Narayangarh, Paschim Medinipur. According to state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, the decision to set up a degree college at Narayangarh in Paschim Midnapore will help thousands of students from the area. He said, "We have taken steps to take education to the doorsteps." After coming to power, the Mamata Banerjee-led government has given stress on expansion, equity, employability and excellence in education. Several steps were taken to improve and create Several steps were taken to improve and create infrastructure to ensure better quality education so that students from Bengal can compete in the national level. In all 47 new colleges have been set up. At the same time, 17 universities have also come into existence in the state. Steps were also taken to ensure education for all. Stress was also given on education for girls. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had held the first public meeting in Narayangarh after winning the Assembly polls in 2016.UNI SJC KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-907696.Xml
Expressing happiness over Indian national Uzma's return to India, her brother Wasim Ahmad thanked the Indian government and External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj for their support. "I am very happy. Sushma Swaraj called and told that Uzma has crossed Wagah Border. At what time she will come that she did not tell. We did not think it would be done this soon. The Government of India has helped us a lot. I want to thank the Indian Government and Sushma Swaraj," Ahmad told ANI. Asserting that Sushma Swaraj was continuously updating him about Uzma, he further said that the government had taken a swift action in bringing her sister back to India. "Sushma Swaraj made me talk to her on phone in her office. She told me that she was in Indian Embassy and was safe. She told that police was supporting her. From that side there was no contact and the people there did not let her contact me. Sushma Swaraj continuously updated me about her. Swaraj told me that they were doing a good and fast enquiry. She told that they are leaving no lapses and have also sent a good lawyer there," he added. Meanwhile, Susma Swaraj welcomed Uzma while expressing regret over her plight. Taking to Twitter, the External Affair Minister also empathized with her ordeal she went through in Pakistan. Uzma, who had accused her Pakistani husband of marrying her at gunpoint, has finally returned to India, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted her the permission to. The IHC had also ordered police to provide her security till the Wagah Border. An IHC bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, returned Uzma her original immigration form, which her husband Tahir had submitted to the court on Tuesday, reported Geo News. Tahir also expressed his desire to meet Uzma in private, which the latter refused. Justice Kayani remarked that if Uzma does not want to meet Tahir, then she won't be forced. Ahmad earlier said the Indian government had done more than expected for Uzma. He also said that the Indian Embassy treated Uzma with full care. She took shelter in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on May 5, 2017. He added that he had no words to thank the government, Swaraj, and Indian High Commission in Pakistan. On May 19, Uzma had submitted a six-page reply to the High Court and reiterated her earlier claims and said that she was forced to sign the Nikkahnama [marriage papers]. The reply also claimed that Tahir's affidavit was based on lies. The reply also requested that Uzma was allowed to travel to India as her visa would expire on May 30. Earlier, while recording her statement before the Court of a Judicial Magistrate Uzma (20) also alleged that she was sedated, assaulted, tortured mentally and physically by the man in Pakistan who had invited her to visit his family in Pakistan. Uzma, who hails from New Delhi, also stated the she had taken shelter in High Commission of India of her own accord and would stay there till she is sent back to India with security. The case came to the forefront after her husband claimed that Indian High Commission has stopped her wife from leaving the premises during their visit to apply for visa on May 7.(ANI)
Engineering exports to Israel have gone up by awhopping 640 per cent, or more than six times in April, 2017 over the same month last year, a key economic development which augurs well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impending visit to Israel, according to EEPC India. As against engineering exports of just about USD 20 million in April,2016, the shipment of these goods have gone up immensely to USD 146.42 million in April this fiscal. Moreover, Israel holds 12th position among India's engineeringexport destination and has figured prominently among the top 25 destinations, as per the latest data analysis done by the EEPC India. "It is a matter of great satisfaction that engineering exports toIsrael are doing so well , just ahead of the Prime Minister's impending visit . The fact that Mr Modi would be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel is a great positive sign for the Indian industry and exporting community," said EEPC India chairman T S Bhasin. He said the Indian engineering industry can enhance its level ofengagement with Israel in a number of high-tech areas like defence production, steel, automobile and auto components, aircraft components and ship-building and ship boats. In fact, bulk of the engineering exports to Israel for the month ofApril are listed against the broad group of ' Ships, boats, floating structures and parts', USD 122 million. " We need to diversify our export basket to Israel; no doubt and wouldbe working towards that end," Mr Bhasin said.UNI PC KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-907761.Xml
The SSB along with Customs sleuths have arrested two people from Bihar carrying two jars of snake venom worth Rs 70 crore, according to SSB Commandant of 41st Battalion,Ranidanga. He said following inputs the SSB laid traps between Batasi and Panitani along the Indo-Nepal border and arrested the two while they were fleeing ona motorbike last evening. The arrested persons have been identified as Vijay Kumar Arya of Purnea and Md Nausad Alam of Araria in Bihar. The seizure of venom and arrest was made two days after Cobra venom, smuggled from Bangladesh, worth Rs 3 crore, was seized from an impoverished carrier in Gangarampur area.UNI XC-PC KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-907792.Xml
President Pranab Mukherjee will receive two books -- 'Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio' and 'Marching with a Billion - Analysing Narendra Modi's Government at Midterm' -- at a function to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow. The President will receive the first copies of the books from Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who will later formally release it at the function in the presence of Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Union Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and other dignitaries. The book --'Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio'-- was penned down by Rajesh Jain and is a compilation of Mr Modi's addresses to the nation on radio every month under the programme 'Mann Ki Baat', a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said today. It contains a comprehensive, qualitative and academic analysis of 'Mann Ki Baat' the themes, the choice of topics, the salient features. It illustrates how 'Mann Ki Baat' has connected with the 'New India' the youth in particular. It also presents a coherent narrative about the manner in which 'Mann Ki Baat' has created mass movements, be it in cleanliness, in promoting India's tourism potential, safer roads and drugs-free India. The second book, authored by eminent journalist Uday Mahurkar, analyses the monumental changes that Mr Modi has brought on multiple fronts as Prime Minister on India's governance landscape by ushering in an unprecedented culture of transparency to create a level playing field so necessary in a developing country.UNI NY SW SHK 1443 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0099-907890.Xml
Days after he had directed Chief Secretary M M Kutty to ensure full availability of medicines and other consumables in some of government hospitals in the capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today visited Sanjay Gandhi hospital to inquire whether patients are provided free medicines without any discrimination. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Health Minister Satyendar Jain. During visit, Mr Kejriwal was also seen talking to patients asking about their health conditions and whether they are facing any hurdle to avail the medical facilities. Seeing the Chief Minister, keen of patients rushed to him with their grievances. After listening to them, Mr Kejriwal assured that all their problems would be solved. Earlier, the Chief Minister had said that he would conduct surprise inspections of government hospitals to take account of the situation on ground. In view of the problems faced by patients, Mr Kejriwal had said the government would keep up the efforts in this regard to make things better adding the government had already sanctioned finances for such matters.UNI DS SW SHK 1504 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-907850.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Assam with a day-long programme tomorrow, during which he will address the nation on the occasion of completion of three years of BJP-led NDA rule in the Centre. Mr Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the longest bridge in the country, the Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra river, in Dhola in Tinsukia district in the eastern fringe of the state as the first programme of the day. He will be flying to Dibrugarh airport from New Delhi and proceed to Dhola for the inauguration of the 9.15 km strategically important bridge. In the second scheduled programme, the prime minister will lay the foundation for an extended campus of Indian Council for Agricultural Research at Gogamukh in northern part of the state and also, address a public rally there. Mr Modi will be arriving at Guwahati airport around 1430 hours for the final leg of his trip to this northeastern state. He will lay the foundation for an All India Institute of Medical Science at Changsari in Kamrup district, through remote control at a function at Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati. The prime minister with address the nation at a function at Khanapara Veterinary College Field in the city as the last scheduled engagement in the state. The public rally has been organised to coincide with completion of three years of NDA government in the Centre and one year of BJP-led coalition government in Assam. Mr Modi is scheduled to return to New Delhi from Guwahati airport at 1800 hours tomorrow evening. UNI SG AKM 1505 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-907969.Xml
Three of the eight persons accused of gangraping two minor tribal girls surrendered before the police, while another was nabbed by the Special Police in Chintapalle Mandal. They are yet to be formally arrested here today. The three who surrendered, include prime accused and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPTC member A Angadha Rao's son K Varun, K Bheema Naidu and Balaraju. However, the head constable's son K Nagendra and three more are still at large. According to Sub-Inspector J Ramesh, parents of the accused produced them before the police station, making them surrender. Prasad was caught from a village in Tribal agency.He also said the accused would be formally arrested after questioning. The Chintapalle Police have registered cases under relevant Sections of the IPC, POCSO Act and SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. State Human Resource Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and AP State Women Commission Chairperson Nannapaneni Rajakumari visited the victims, who were undergoing medical examination at the Government King George Hospital.Speaking to newspersons, Mr Rao said one of the victims was a class V drop out and the other was illiterate. The Left parties and few women organisations alleged that the government was trying to save the accused. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission Chairperson N Rajakumari has advocated the chopping off of a man's genitals by a woman, if required, to save her dignity. She asked the girls to carry pocket knives and be prepared to use them in self-defence, and to keep rapists and molesters at bay.Known for issuing fiery statements and straight talk, Ms Rajakumari visited the King George Hospital to meet the two minor tribal girls, who were victims of a gangrape that took place near Tajangi under Chintapalle Mandal in the District Tribal Agency on the night of May 20. Speaking to the media, she justified her statement by recalling the latest incident in Kerala, where a 23-year-old law student cut off the genitals of a Godman, who had allegedly abused her sexually for the last few years. Appreciating the law student, the TDP leader said all women should draw inspiration from her and deal sternly with men, who try to misbehave with them.Referring to the gangrape of the two girls from a particularly vulnerable Tribal Group in Visakhapatnam Agency, Ms Rajakumari said that all efforts were being made to arrest the eight accused. Recently, a 23-year-old law student in Kerala chopped off the genitals of a Godman, who had allegedly sexually abused her for years. Citing her example, Ms Rajakumari said, ''We are planning to enact a legislation. When some men behave like wild animals and resort to such atrocious acts, I think there is a need to equip girls with knives. A law is needed for this," she told reporters.The Women's Commission head said like the culprits in the Nirbhaya case, rapists here too should be hanged or at least sentenced to jail for lifetime.She called for mandatory installation of closed-circuit television cameras in colleges, hostels, work places and hospitals, to check crime against women.UNI BSR RJ SHK 1615 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-908009.Xml
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Assam tomorrow, one person was killed in a mysterious blast in eastern Assam last night, while protests over issues related to two programmes of the prime minister were staged today. In a mysterious blast in an oil pipeline near Dihkow Oil Collecting Station of OIL in Dibrugarh district late last night, an unidentified man was killed, whose mutilated body was recovered by police today. Police have launched investigation to ascertain if the blast occurred during attempted oil theft, which is a regular phenomenon in the area, or handiwork of any militant outfit or miscreant. Dibrugarh district borders Tinsukia, the easternmost district of the state, which the prime minister will be visiting tomorrow to inaugurate the country's longest bridge, the Dhala-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra river. The youth and students' wings of the Opposition Congress staged protest near the bridge today, demanding explanation from the administration for blocking former chief minister Tarun Gogoi's visit to the bridge on May 22 last. About 50 protestors took out a procession and marched towards the bridge, raising slogans against the government, before they were stopped by the police. The protestors were later detained from the spot. In a separate protest, people of Raha and neighbouring areas of Nagaon district in central part of the state staged a demonstration and enforced a bandh on NH 37 since this morning, demanding shifting of a proposed AIIMS from Changsari, in Kamrup (rural) district, to Raha. Though the protestors called off today's agitation after talks with the administration, they have called for another dawn-to-dusk bandh tomorrow. The prime minister is scheduled to lay the foundation for the new AIIMS at Changsari by remote control from Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati tomorrow. The people of Raha have been objecting selection of Changasri as the AIIMS site as Raha was originally mooted for construction of the new medical institute. Meanwhile, the state government has made all arrangements to ensure foolproof security and smooth conduct of the prime minister's programmes in the state. Besides opening the bridge and laying foundation for AIIMS, Mr Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation for an extended campus of Indian Council for Agricultural Research at Gogamukh in northern Assam and address the nation on completion of NDA regime's three years in Centre and BJP-led coalition government in Assam's one year at a public rally in Guwahati. UNI SG AKM 1543 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-908038.Xml
"The President is the custodian of the Constitution and it will be very good for the entire country if we have a consensus candidate much like (late former President) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam," Banerjee told the media after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjee was in the national capital for the second time in a month and is slated to attend a luncheon meet at Congress President Sonia Gandhi's residence on Friday. Prominent opposition leaders have been invited for the meet where the issue of selecting a consensus candidate for the presidential election is to be discussed.

Banerjee on May 16 had held talks with Sonia Gandhi over a common presidential nominee from the Opposition ranks.

Talking about her meeting with Modi, Banerjee said she raised the issue of funds for to her state under various central schemes.

"Of the Rs 10,500 crore due we have got only Rs 2,000 crore so far. I apprised the Prime Minister about the Rs 8,000 crore that is still due. He said he will look into the matter," said Banerjee.

Asked if she had had a word with Modi on the presidential election, Banerjee said "no".

--IANS and/rn

( 227 Words)

2017-05-25-17:14:23 (IANS)
"I have given statement on seven serious issues of corruption by Arvind Kejriwal and his associates before Lokayukta," the sacked Delhi Minister informed this through a series of tweets.

The former Minister said the matter placed in front of Lokayukta were -- cash transaction of Rs 2 crore, Bansal family case, foreign trips and anti-India acts, water tanker scam, Hawala funding from fake companies, case of Mukesh and Hemprakash, and Satyendar Jain's anonymous property and black money declaration.

Since after being removed from the Delhi Cabinet, Mr Mishra has been firing salvos against the AAP chief and his close associates by accusing them of indulging in rampant corruption.

He had also recorded his statement before the Anti Corruption Bureau against Mr Kejriwal's alleged role in the Tanker scam.

The Karawal Nagar MLA was issued a notice by the Lokayukta after a petition was filed before it in connection with Rs 2 crore, which Mr Mishra alleged that the Chief Minister had taken from his Cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.UNI DS SW SHK 1654

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Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Thursday asserted that there are no plans to privatise national carrier Air India at this point in time, and added that the goal for his ministry is to ensure its survival. Gajapathi Raju told ANI, "Nothing can be ruled out, want Air India to survive, priority will be that, don't want it to become history. We will like it to remain with us and work for Indian aviation." Raju reveated that Air India's finances are very bad, adding that the impoverished part of company has to go. He said, "We are looking at all alternatives to revive it." Talking about the growth of aviation in India, he said, "In these three years, we have come from the ninth position to third position in domestic growth and fourth in international growth." "These are both private and public sector. Together, we should keep this momentum going," he added. The state-owned airline has been plagued by reports of inefficiency and enormous losses for years. It received 4.5 billion dollar bail out from the government in 2012. The report, which the government will use to evaluate the progress of Air India's restructuring, says Air India failed to meet its cash-credit limits, leading to short-term loans rising to 145.51 billion rupees (2.18 billion dollars) as on March 31, 2016 against a target of 36.46 billion rupees. It said the airline should monetise more of its assets faster to reduce its debt burden and speed up the leasing of narrow-body aircraft to improve its performance. "The company, though aware of the shortage of narrow body aircraft as early as May 2010, delayed leasing of A-320 aircraft," the report said, referring to Airbus Group's narrow-body aircraft which is widely used in India. The privatisation proposal came on October 28, 2011, when a Group of Ministers in the UPA government sat down to decide Air India's fate and approve a bailout package for the carrier. (ANI)
CPI (M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan today said senior Congress leader and former Defence minister A K Antony desiring to have a coalition between the Congress and the CPI (M) at the national level is only a "day dream" and the party is not interested for a national alliance with the former. However, Mr Balakrishnan said the CPI (M) will support the Congress, if they field a common candidate for the post of the President against the BJP-led NDA. He also said that Congress has given way to strengthen the BJP and the NDA to rule at the Centre, due to the misrule and anti-people policies of the Congress-led UPA government.Talking to newspersons on the sidelines of a function at Kannur, Mr Balakrishnan said RSS is the main opponent of the CPI(M), however, the party will not join hands with Congress.Replying to a question over Mr Antony saying that CPI (M) Kerala unit, especially Kannur leaders are the main road block for the alliance between the parties at the national level alliance, Mr Balakrishnan said this was not the decision of the state party. It is the national policy of the party, taken in the 21st party Congress held at Vishakapatnam, he added.The party Secretary also said the Congress does not have the strength to fight with BJP at the national level, adding that many present BJP leaders are former Congress leaders in many states.To another question that West Bengal unit of the CPI(M) has supported the Congress to field CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in the Rajya Sabha election from Bengal, Mr Balakrishnan said Mr Yechury has not decided to take the Congress support.Mr Kodkiyeri inaugurated the seminar "Mainstream politics and Muslim minorities," organised by the 21st Muslim culture council at Town Bank auditorium.He said the party is with Muslim women on the Triple Talaq issue, adding that it was not a political issue and there should be unity within the Muslim community.UNI AK RJ SHK 1834 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-908114.Xml
City-based Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS Hospitals) today announced the installation of next generation upgraded surgical robotic system da Vinci Si Model in its facility at Secunderabad here. With its first Da Vinci robot setup in 2011, KIMS Hospitals has completed 700 surgeries. Now, the hospital has installed the next generation Da Vinci Si Model at a cost of two million USD, the Hospital said in a statement here. Currently, eight trained doctors in six medical specialisations, including Oncology, Gynaecology, Urology, ENT, Gastroenterology and General Surgery at KIMS are performing robotics surgeries in the institute. Hospital CEO and Managing Director Bhaskar Rao, said, ''With increased awareness among our patients, we felt the need of acquiring the latest Si model of da Vinci Robotic System in place of our old SD Model Robotic System acquired in 2011, for giving better care and to perform more complex surgical procedures, which otherwise are not possible with laparoscopy. ''In the last six years, KIMS Hospitals has come a long way in learning and mastering the robotic machine and technology by its clinical applications in the successful outcome of 700 procedures,'' Dr Rao added. According to available statistics, the number of robotic surgeries being performed in India has increased to 3000 to 4000 per year, which is still very less, considering the eclectic spectrum of the country, the statement said. However, KIMS Hospitals is at the fore-front to concoct its doctors and patronage this program to augment for the betterment of their patients. KIMS is also among the first hospitals to capitalise and gain expertise on robot-assisted surgeries, it added.UNI KNR RJ SHK 1831. -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-908274.Xml
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a surprise visit to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Mangolpuri area here today to meet the patients and assured them that strict action would be taken against officials if found indulging in wrong work. Mr Kejriwal's visit comes three-days after he had directed the Chief Secretary to ensure 100 per cent availability of medicines, consumables and functioning equipment in all Delhi government hospitals. He visited all departments of the hospital, apart from the wards and pharmacy and talked to a huge number of patients. The Chief Minister was accompanied by the Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other officials of the department. During his visit, several patients told Mr Kejriwal that they were satisfied with the functioning of the hospital while some of them complained regarding problems faced by them. "I was on a surprise visit to the hospital and found there are many deficiencies. We have made all medicines, tests and investigations free in all the state government hospitals. Inspite of that, I came to know here that patients here are being asked get their tests done from outside, they are being asked to buy several medicines from outside, during operation they are being asked to buy several consumables from outside. In some cases they are being asked to get some basic tests from outside. This means the policy is not being followed at the lower level," said Mr Kejriwal after the inspections. He further added, "I have asked the MS to take action. I will also take action and will also talk to the Lt Governor Anil Baijal in this regard and take appropriate action. I will make more such surprise checks in the days to come. We will make all systemic changes required. Some cases of money being taken at some level was also reported to me by the patients, identification will be done and stern action will be taken". "All medicines will be provided for free, all tests and investigations should be done inside the hospital for free. We will do whatever is required for the proper implementation and welfare of the patients at the hospitals. If required the MS will be changed," the Chief Minister asserted.UNI DS ADG SHK 1850 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-908400.Xml
A court here on Thursday granted regular bail to five persons, including Jindal Steel's adviser Anand Goel, in a coal block allocation case against former Congress MP Naveen Jindal and others. Special Judge Bharat Parashar also granted bail to JSPL's then Deputy Manager (Finance) Siddharth Madra, Deputy General Manager Rajeev Aggarwal, Director (Finance) Sushil Kumar Maroo and Nihar Stocks Ltd Director B.S.N. Suryanarayan. The court has directed the accused persons not to tamper with evidence, nor to influence witnesses while on bail. On March 24, after considering the chargesheet, the court had issued summons to the accused. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had opposed the bail plea of the accused persons. The court had on April 4 granted interim bail to the five accused and later extended it up to May 25. Senior Public Prosecutor V.K. Sharma requested the court to reject the bail plea of Goel and Maroo, alleging that they threatened Suresh Singhal, an accused-turned-approver. The prosecutor said that during the course of further investigation, it had clearly come on record that Maroo and Goel had threatened Singhal for not disclosing true and correct facts either before the CBI or before this court. He said that on account of the conduct of these two accused persons in interfering with the course of justice, their applications for bail may kindly be rejected. The court asked CBI, if there was a threat to the accused, why had they not slapped charges under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against the two accused. The court also asked the prosecution tht if the two accused were sent behind bars, would it assure Singhal's safety. The prosecutor responded that if the two accused were released on bail then there were chances that they might tamper with evidence, influence witnesses or try to hamper the probe. However, defence counsel Vikas Pahwa submitted that the CBI in its wisdom had chosen not to arrest the present two accused persons during the course of investigation. He also added that all the five accused persons were respectable members of society and there were no chances of their running away or tampering with the evidence in any manner. The court granted bail to Goel and Maroo, asking them to furnish a personal bond of Rs one lakh and two sureties of like amount each. Madra, Suryanarayan and Aggarwal were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and one surety each of like amount. The court listed the matter for July 10 for further hearing. The CBI has chargesheeted them under the offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and cheating under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI has alleged that the five persons were actively involved in the transfer of Rs two crore from Jindal Realty and New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd to Sowbhagya Media Ltd (SML), a company controlled by former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayana Rao, in lieu of showing favour in the allotment of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge. The final investigation report was filed on the basis of a statement given by a prosecution witness -- Chartered Accountant and New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd Director Suresh Singhal -- who has turned approver in the case. The court was hearing the case related to the allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge. Besides Congress MP and industrialist Jindal, former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayana Rao, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta are accused in the case. The CBI filed a chargesheet against Jindal, Koda, Rao and Gupta in April 2015. The other accused include Jindal Realty Director Rajeev Jain, Gagan Sponge Directors Girish Kumar Juneja and R.K. Saraf, and Sowbhagya Media's Managing Director K. Ramakrishna. Of the five private companies named in the chargesheet, four are based in Delhi and one in Hyderabad. The accused have denied the charges. --IANS akk/nir/dg ( 692 Words) 2017-05-25-19:22:15 (IANS)
In the meeting, Mr Jain directed to launch a call centre for receiving complaints of water logging from 15 June onwards. The toll free helpline number is 1800118595.

The minister also directed the helpline number to be made functional on a 24x7 basis.

The three Municipal Corporations, DDA, PWD, Flood & Irrigation, DJB have been directed by Mr Jain to complete all Monsoon preparedness work by June 7.

He has also asked various agencies to keep their pumps for waterlogging removal ready by June 7 and all of them assured that they are working to meet the deadline for preparedness.

The PWD informed that a total number of 1447 pumps will be available for use by different agencies.

Mr Jain also directed the PWD, DDA and MCDs to complete the desilting of drains in their respective jurisdictions on the same dateline.UNI DS ADG 2240

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"We are furious. This is completely unacceptable. These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public. The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts," the Guardian quoted a Whitehall source as saying.

The New York Times had published photos which it said were gathered by UK authorities at the scene of the Manchester Arena attack.

The photos were also consequently published in the UK media.

The details about the attack emerged in American media before being confirmed by British Police.

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was irritated with the early release of information about bomber Salman Abedi by the United States and told her American counterparts that no further leaks should happen.

The leak comes in the backdrop of British Prime Minister Theresa May's meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday. (ANI)
The legislature now has two years either to amend the Civil Code or to enact laws addressing same-sex couples.

The New York Times quoted the court as saying in a news release that if the legislature fails to pass an amendment or legislation in the next two years, same-sex couples "shall be allowed to have their marriage registration effectuated at the authorities in charge of household registration".

Following Wednesday's ruling, Woody Wang, president of Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy said that everyone was happy.

"We don't want to see the legislature dither on this," he said.

The ruling from the court has come in response to two petitions to review the current law.

The first one was brought by Chi Chia-wei, a longtime gay rights campaigner and the second petition was brought by the city government of Taipei which was sued after rejecting marriage applications from same-sex couples.

The current legislative session ends on May 31, and the next session opens in September. (ANI)
The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday at the meeting of the NATO leaders in Brussels.

Reportedly, Germany and France will formally agree to the plan during the talks attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, who arrived in Brussels on Wednesday.

The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday at the meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels, the sources said.

Diplomats said the decision was mainly political because all 28 NATO members already contributed to the coalition fighting to retake areas of Iraq and Syria from the extremist group.

The decision to formally join the coalition follows pressure from Trump, who has previously accused the NATO of being "obsolete" and called for European countries to step up their funding of the military group, according to the DW.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that it would be an important step for the alliance to join the 68-nation anti-IS coalition. (ANI)
According to Sputnik News, a September 2016 internal government audit released on Wednesday said that inefficient documentation processes covering the large datasets that track the U.S. Government's multi-billion dollar program to arm the Iraqi government resulted in "inaccurate visibility and accountability documentation for equipment worth more than USD 1 billion."

Expressing concern over the report, Amnesty's Arms Control and Human Rights Researcher Patrick Wilcken said, "The audit, published online following an Amnesty International Freedom of Information Act request, provides a worrying insight into the U.S. Army's flawed - and potentially dangerous - system to a hugely volatile region."

The audit was circulated among the Pentagon brass in September of last year.

Budget authorisations from 2015 and 2016 funnelled USD 2.3 billion to the Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF) to support the Iraqi Government and Iraqi security forces, and to "improve the efficiency" of the Peshmerga, an outfit of Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

"Any fragilities along the transfer chain greatly increase the risks of weapons going astray in a region where armed groups have wrought havoc and caused immense human suffering,' the researcher added. (ANI)
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained four suspected terrorists of the Islamic State (IS) group today, plotting public transport attacks in Moscow. The FSB's public relations center said that four members of a terrorist group were detained in Moscow, some of whom were Russian citizens and others, citizens of Central Asian countries. They were making preparations for blowing up makeshift explosive devices at Moscow's transport facilities.The Islamic State-linked group was guided from Syrian territory, the FSB said."After an act of sabotage, the terrorists planned to leave for Syria for joining the Islamic State in its combat operations," the FSB said.The secret services have also uncovered an explosives laboratory during searches at the living places of members of the IS. "During the searches at the detainees' living places, the operatives uncovered a laboratory for making explosives, an improvised explosive with striking elements ready for use and components for its production, and also automatic firearms, ammunition, grenades, literature and video records of extremist and terrorist nature," the FSB press office reported.UNI XC RJ SHK 1758 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-908298.Xml
Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi carried out the concert attack because he wanted to take revenge for US airstrikes on Syria, said the 22-year-old's sister. Jomana Abedi, in an interview, called her brother "kind" and "loving" and said she was surprised by what he did, reported the Telegraph on Thursday. "He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge... Whether he got that is between him and God," she said. At least 22 people were killed when British-born Abedi detonated a device as fans left an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night. Jomana's comments in the Wall Street Journal interview sparked outrage, with some saying the US's involvement in Syria could not be compared to the targeting of innocent children at a pop concert. The US military launched an airstrike on Al-Shayran airbase close to the city of Homs in early April, in an operation President Donald Trump said was in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. Six Syrian soldiers were killed in the strike, while Syrian officials claimed that nine civilians, including four children had also lost their lives. Jomana's attempt to justify the attack was branded "abhorrent". "There is no justification for the taking of a child's lives," Mark Session, 52, from Manchester, was quoted as saying by the Mirror. "Any kid losing their life is heartbreaking, but to my knowledge, no children in the allied air strikes has been targeted purposely unlike in Manchester." "It is sick to justify the arena bombing in such a way. It is abhorrent in fact. Abedi's familial links to terror have come under the spotlight since Monday night's attack. According to a media report, Abedi spoke to his nuclear scientist mother back in Libya before the attack. A close family friend said: "I am sure Salman's mother and father are very shocked by what he did." "It is very sad because their mother is very intelligent. She told my wife that she was a nuclear science engineer and that she got excellent marks in her exams. She graduated top of her class from Tripoli University." A former Libyan security official said that Abedi's father Ramadan had been arrested in Tripoli and was linked to an Al Qaeda-backed fighter group back in the 1990s. Younger brother Hashim had also been detained in Tripoli, according to officials. A 23-year-old man, named in media reports as Abedi's older brother Ismail, was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Tuesday. --IANS soni/dg ( 432 Words) 2017-05-25-19:26:09 (IANS)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 01:14:23|Editor: ying

Israelis march into Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City during a celebration of Israel's "Jerusalem Day" on May 24, 2017. Tens of thousands of Israelis marched Wednesday through East Jerusalem's predominantly Palestinian Old City to mark 50 years of Israel's annexation of it. Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua/Guo Yu)

JERUSALEM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Israelis marched Wednesday through East Jerusalem's predominantly Palestinian Old City to mark 50 years of Israel's annexation of it.

The marchers, mainly ultranationalist religious Jewish youths, waved Israeli flags and blew horns as they passed through the Old City's Muslim Quarter en route to the Western Wall, above which is the city's most sensitive site, a hilltop compound where the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site to Muslims, resides.

The holy site is known to Muslims as the "Noble Sanctuary," and to Jews as the "Temple Mount."

Clashes then erupted between Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists near the Old City's Damascus Gate. The Palestinians protested against the march, during which far-right activists usually walk through Muslim Quarter, shouting racist slogans and sabotaging Palestinian property.

Local media reported that the Palestinian protestors were forcefully dispersed by the police.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said major roads were temporarily closed, and thousands of police officers were deployed across the route of the march to maintain order.

The parade is the main event of Jerusalem Day, an Israeli annual holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem.

Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed East Jerusalem and declared it as part of its "eternal and indivisible capital," a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Palestinians, who make up more than one third of the city's overall population, however, consider East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

A police statement said three guards from Waqf, a Jordan-based Islamic organization in charge of administrating the holy site, were arrested, as they allegedly attempted to attack Jewish visitors to the site, according to the police.

Samri said 15 Israeli teenagers were also detained after they prayed at the al-Aqsa compound, defying a restriction which allows Jews to visit the site but forbids them to pray there.

The parade came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump left Israel finishing a two-day visit to the country and the occupied West Bank, during which he visited the Western Wall.

In an address to the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump's visit to the Western Wall has "destroyed UNESCO's propaganda and lies," referring to the two resolutions by the UN cultural agency which criticized Israel for its control over Jerusalem without mentioning Jewish ties to the holy city.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 01:14:25|Editor: yan

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LAGOS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's restive northeast Borno state has evacuated more than 3,600 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) out of the 78,000 who fled to Cameroon at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency, the state governor said Wednesday.

"I want to say that the Borno deputy governor came back from Banki, Bama and Pulka two days ago, where he went to evacuate about 3,682 IDPs from Banki town to Pulka," Shettima said in Maiduguri, the state capital, when he received a donation of building materials and food items by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs.

"We are also making arrangements to fix the Government Secondary School Bama for it to contain nearly 78,000 IDPs that have been literary kicked out of Cameroon," he added.

Shetima told his audience that Boko Haram insurgents destroyed 156,453 houses in the state, noting that the houses represent about 30 percent of the housing stock in the state.

He added that the terrorists also destroyed 5,344 classrooms in 21 primary schools, destroyed 38 secondary schools and and two tertiary institutions in the state.

The governor said the insurgents also destroyed 665 municipal buildings, including local government secretariat, police stations, as well as 201 health facilities.

Shettima, however, expressed happiness that the military had been able to degrade the insurgents to some extent, saying "we want to commend the federal government and the Nigerian Armed Forces for their giant stride in degrading the insurgents.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 01:49:52|Editor: An

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ON BOARD SHIP XIANGYANGHONG 09, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, conducted a dive in the Mariana Trench on Tuesday, with Xinhua News Agency journalist Liu Shiping on board. This is his recollection after coming back to the mothership Xiangyanghong 09.

On May 23, 2017 at 1 p.m. sharp, after nearly six hours in the Mariana Trench inside China's submersible Jiaolong, I said goodbye to the bottom of the sea and reached the sea surface 156 minutes later.

Diving along with scientists to 4,811 meters below the sea's surface, in the world's deepest known trench, was a journey full of wonder and surprises.

The dive took place at the northern slope of the Mariana's "Challenger Deep," and the whole dive lasted 8 hours and 50 minutes.

Riding inside Jiaolong, I felt like I was sitting in a spacecraft, roaming the sky, and seeing "shooting stars" passing by.

Those "shooting stars" quickly turned into "meteor showers" when Jiaolong reached a depth of about 400 to 500 meters.

The stars were likely euphausiid plankton, which were possibly frightened and darting away from our intruding submersible.

Tuesday's operation was the first of Jiaolong's five dives in the third stage of China's 38th oceanic expedition.

Named after a mythical dragon, Jiaolong reached a maximum depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in June 2012.

We were definitely not alone -- fish, shrimp, sea cucumbers, starfish, sponges and others inhabited the deep sea world.

What impressed me most were the "dancing sea cucumbers."

They were so big and so beautiful. When they ran away from our submersible, they looked like elegant dancers in the ocean.

At 11:21 a.m. local time, a 30-centimeter-long purple sea cucumber swam near Jiaolong, and suddenly it started to move quickly.

"It must feel the movement of our machine and think we are enemies," a scientist told me.

Bang! It hit the mechanical arms of Jiaolong and dropped into the sample box of the submersible.

"This is a first in our 60 dives! A sea animal ran toward us rather than away!" said Tang Jialing, chief crew member of Tuesday's dive.

Collecting rocks in the trench was another important task for Jiaolong and its two mechanical arms.

But nature never lets us get what we want easily.

When we were at a depth of 4,792 meters, a long black rock drew the attention of the scientists. Tang ordered the mechanical arms to reach for the rock.

The mechanical arms grabbed the huge rock very easily, which surprised the team.

It turned out not to be a rock, but a clump of soft sediment. This happened a few more times during our expedition, and we nicknamed those fake rocks "liars."

After nearly nine hours of hard work, the scientists made observations, took photos and video, sampled and surveyed, and collected seawater, rocks and samples of marine life, including a sea cucumber, a sponge and two starfish.

Being the world's first journalist to dive deep into the Mariana Trench was certainly my coolest and most unforgettable experience.

The "stars," the "dancers," and the "liars" -- they all still roam in my mind.

In the deep sea surrounded by darkness and quiet, they made me feel the existence and pulse of life.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 01:59:58|Editor: yan

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KIGALI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Experts attending the second high-level East African Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition (EAMBS) held in Rwanda's capital city Kigali said Wednesday that innovation is key for the East Africa manufacturing sector to compete globally.

"We have to understand that our industries are operating in a global context, in an open globalized market place, and that is not going to change. We have to be innovative and work on our efficiencies. We should be able to produce high quality products that are competitive at international markets," said Ali Mafuruki, board chair of Trade Mark East Africa.

He added that regional economies should strategically position themselves in the global business environment through producing locally made products that are price competitive.

Rwanda hosts the forum from May 23 to 25, 2017 dubbed "harnessing the Manufacturing Potential for Sustainable Economic Growth".

The three-day meeting includes an exhibition where investors, enterprises, researchers and academia will collectively showcase new products and services as well as exhibit the latest advances in manufacturing technology and innovation, particularly those with relevance to Small Medium Enterprises.

Lilian Awinja, executive director of East African Business Council (EABC), called for innovative strategies that will raise competitiveness levels and expand the region's manufacturing and export base.

"Innovations are now shaping the business environment. We need to add value to products produced in EAC. Our regional industries can now begin to raise manufacturing output and increase its share of global trade and production," she added.

Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary-general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said manufacturing sector in East Africa needs to develop innovative approaches that are essential for local products to compete favorably at global markets.

"We should reduce the importation of cheap products from developed economies that may benefit local consumers but induce long-term challenges. East African economies should create a conducive business environment for doing business and encourage development of locally made products," he said.

Kituyi said a competitive manufacturing sector encourages domestic and foreign investment, creates employment and improves a country's balance of payments.

Currently, manufacturing accounts for 10 percent of the GDP in the EAC bloc.

More than 400 delegates are attending the regional event.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 03:15:53|Editor: Zhou Xin

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LONDON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chelsea have cancelled their Premier League victory parade originally scheduled on Sunday following Monday's terror attack in Manchester.

"In light of these tragic events, we feel it is inappropriate to go ahead with the victory parade in London on Sunday," the west London club said in a statement.

Chelsea, who face Arsenal in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, were due to celebrate their Premier League title on an open-top bus tour.

The suicide bomb attack killed 22 people injured 64 at a concert by Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on May 22.

A planned screening of Saturday's final at the Emirates Stadium has also been cancelled, along with any potential Arsenal victory parade.

Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said: "As always, the safety of our supporters and staff is paramount and we are in close contact with security services.

"After taking their advice we have reluctantly taken the decision to cancel the screening and potential parade. We are sorry for any disappointment this causes but it is in everyone's best interests."
Phantom Express is envisioned as a highly autonomous experimental spaceplane, shown preparing to launch its expendable second stage on the top of the vehicle in this artist's concept. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is collaborating with Boeing to fund development of the Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program. (Xinhua/Boeing Rendering)

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Wednesday it has selected Boeing company to design, build and test the first of an entirely new class of hypersonic aircraft that would be able to fly 10 times in 10 days.

The unmanned vehicle, known as Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1), roughly the size of a business jet, would take off vertically like a rocket and fly to hypersonic speed. But unlike the U.S. military's X-37B spaceplane that launches with an external booster, it would be powered solely by self-contained cryogenic propellants, the DARPA said in a statement.

Upon reaching a high suborbital altitude, the spaceplane would release an expendable upper stage that is able to deploy a 3,000-pound (1,360-kilogram) satellite to polar orbit. The reusable first stage would then bank and return to Earth, landing horizontally like an aircraft, and be prepared for the next flight, potentially within hours.

Currently, months or years of preparation is needed to send a single satellite into orbit.

According to the DARPA, building XS-1 will need significant advances in both technical capabilities and ground operations, but "would revolutionize the Nation's ability to recover from a catastrophic loss of military or commercial satellites, upon which the Nation today is critically dependent."

"The XS-1 would be neither a traditional airplane nor a conventional launch vehicle but rather a combination of the two, with the goal of lowering launch costs by a factor of ten and replacing today's frustratingly long wait time with launch on demand," said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager.

Boeing's Phantom Express XS-1 design beat out concepts proposed by Masten Space Systems and Northrop Grumman.

"Phantom Express is designed to disrupt and transform the satellite launch process as we know it today, creating a new, on-demand space-launch capability that can be achieved more affordably and with less risk," said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works.

Next, Boeing will build and test the technology demonstration vehicle, culminating with 10 test fires of the vehicle's engine on the ground in 10 days to demonstrate propulsion readiness for flight tests in 2019.

Then, there would be 12 to 15 flight tests, currently scheduled for 2020. After these flights are completed, the DARPA would launch the XS-1 10 times over 10 consecutive days, at first without payloads and at speeds as fast as Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

Subsequent flights are planned to fly as fast as Mach 10, and deliver a demonstration payload between 900 pounds and 3,000 pounds (400 to 1,360 kilograms) into low Earth orbit.

If the program is successful, the agency predicted that the XS-1 could operate with costs under five million U.S. dollars per launch, including the cost of an expendable upper stage, which accounts for "a small fraction of the cost of launch systems the U.S. military currently uses for similarly sized payloads."
U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall in Jerusalem, May 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Nati Shochat-JINI)

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- As U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his maiden trip to the Middle East, his intention to reset strained relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world was vividly revealed.

According to historical data by the White House, eight among the last 10 U.S. presidents chose either Canada or Mexico, both neighbouring and traditionally friendly countries, as their first stop of maiden trips overseas.

Analysts said the fact that Trump chose Saudi Arabia as his first stop overseas indicated his realization that a more constructive relationship with the Muslim world is crucial for the success of his counterterrorism campaign, deemed by the White House in early days as a key pillar of the Trump administration's foreign policy.

During his two-day stay in Saudi Arabia, Trump not only met with leaders of the Muslim world, but also delivered a centerpiece speech to introduce his vision for the Middle East moving forward.

In a major deviation from his campaign rhetoric of regarding Islam as a religion of hatred, Trump significantly softened his tone on Islam and the Muslim world in the speech in a bid to portray himself as a partner of the Muslim world rather than an enemy.

During his speech, Trump framed the war against terrorism as not "a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilizations," a measured assessment unlike his incendiary language on the campaign trail when he once pointedly claimed that "Islam hates us."

He also called for "partnership based on shared interests and values" between the United States and the Muslim world, mentioning little of his campaign pledges to monitor mosques back home and to establish a database of domestic Muslims, two controversial proposals he had yet to disavow publicly.

Also, while in the past he repeatedly blast his predecessor Barack Obama for not using the term "radical Islamic terrorism" in fear of tarnishing the whole religion, Trump steered clearly of the phrase before his Muslim audience.

In an interview with CNN, former U.S. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki downplayed the possibility that Trump's measured tone could indicate a policy shift.

"I think what everybody will be closely watching in the Muslim world is what actions he takes. Does his administration keep pursuing the travel ban? Does he change the rhetoric at home? What does he say when he does a rally in Ohio in two weeks?" Psaki said.

Meanwhile, Trump's Middle East trip showed his intention to reset Obama administration's Middle East policy by beefing up support to Saudi Arabia and Israel, regional nemesis of Iran.

Under the Obama administration, much to Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Israel's dismay, the United States and Shiite-led Iran held the first direct talks since the 1979 Iran Islamic Revolution to negotiate a deal over the Iran nuclear issue.

As a result of deal, a large proportion of U.S. sanctions against Iran were lifted, delivering a major blow to Iran's sectarian rivals in the Sunni camp and Israel.

To add insult to injury, from the Arab world's perspective, the Obama administration was seeking to establish a carefully constructed power balance in the Middle East as an external balancer at the cost of traditional U.S. military support to Saudi Arabia.

In an exclusive interview with the Atlantic in March, 2016, Obama called on Saudis to "share the neighborhood" with their Iranian foes and "institute some sort of cold peace."

In an apparent effort to change the regional policy of Obama, Trump used his first foreign trip to reclaim U.S. firm support for Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia and called for isolation of Iran.

Calling Iran a regional player that "has fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror," Trump said in the speech in Saudi Arabia that all nations "of conscience" should work together to isolate Iran.

On Saturday, Trump also sealed a 110-billion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, a move seen by many as a countermeasure against Iran's rising influence in the Middle East.

In addition, when later visiting Israel, Trump publicly called on Israel and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to form a regional coalition against "terrorism" and "extremism."

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, on May 22, 2017. Speaking on the first day of his visit to Israel and the West Bank, U.S. President DonaldTrump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start a "new partnership" with the Arab world. (Xinhua/JINI/POOL/Marc Israel Sellem)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had for years sought to recalibrate Israeli relationship with Sunni Arab nations by forging a extensive coalition against the Shiite-led Iran.

However, analysts point out that whether Trump can lead them to form a broad counter-Iranian alliance remains to be seen, since the likelihood of an Israel-Arab alliance is tightly linked to the progress made in solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
An Iranian military truck carries parts of the S-300 air defence missile system during a parade on the occasion of the country's Army Day, on April 18, 2017, in Tehran. (AFP photo)

TEHRAN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated on Wednesday that Iran is "heedless" of what the "enemy" says and will continue its missile program.

"Remarks by enemy about Iran's missile power result from their ignorance," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

"The enemy thinks that our power is restricted only to missiles, while our power lies in this nation's faith," he said at a cabinet meeting.

The president stressed that missiles are one of Iran's needs, and Iran would manufacture whatever it needs without paying any attention to others' remarks.

On Monday, Rouhani said that Iran would continue test of its missiles anytime if there was a "technical need," and it would not seek the permission of any other country to do so.

"Our missiles are for defense and peace," Rouhani said, adding that the U.S. expectations from Iran to halt its defensive missile program is "an illusion."

Earlier on Saturday, the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in Saudi Arabia that he hoped the re-election of Rouhani would put an to end to Iran's ballistic missile tests.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (Standing in the car) inspects troops during the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2017. Russia marks on Tuesday the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

MOSCOW, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Russia will continue to build up its armed forces to counter challenges and defend its national interests, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

"The United States and other Western countries continue to impose the idea of Russian military threat on the international community, and many countries follow this policy," Shoigu told the upper house of the Russian parliament.

Against such a backdrop, Shoigu said the Russian Defense Ministry pays special attention to sustaining nuclear deterrence by upgrading nuclear triad -- land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers and nuclear submarines.

He said the Russian Strategic Missile Forces has been receiving modern Yars International Ballistic Missiles, which have increased Russia's capability to penetrate missile shields. A total of 17 regiments will be re-armed with the Yars missiles by 2021.

According to Shoigu, Russia plans to modernize four to five strategic bombers every year. In 2016, the Russian Aerospace Forces received two upgraded Tu-160 and two Tu-95MS bombers.

After 2021, Russia plans to start mass production of the upgraded Tu-160M2 aircraft that can strike targets remotely without entering potential enemy's air defense zones.

Russia currently has nine modern strategic missile submarines and it aims to increase the number to 13, including seven "Borey"-class submarines equipped with "Bulava" missiles, Shoigu said.

Russia's state-of-the-art T-50 jets and anti-aircraft missile system S-500 will be delivered in 2019 and 2020 respectively, said Shoigu.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 05:02:03|Editor: ying

A demonstrator takes part in a clash with members of the security forces, in a day known as Occupy Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 24, 2017. Brazil's President Michel Temer ordered military troops to protect government buildings in capital Brasilia on Wednesday after protesters went into the buildings, even setting one ministry in fire. (Xinhua/TELAM)

BRASILIA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Michel Temer ordered military troops to protect government buildings in capital Brasilia on Wednesday after protesters went into the buildings, even setting one ministry in fire.

Government officials were evacuated and the Ministry of Agriculture was occupied by protesters, who set a fire inside the edifice, before it was later controlled by firefighters.

Files and documents were seen removed from the Ministries of Culture and the Environment by activists, while the Ministry of Planning was also attacked, with windows broken.

Police quickly responded, firing tear gas to chase protesters away from the plaza where the government ministries, Congress and Supreme Court are located. Police officers on horseback charged the crowds, driving them back.

Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said in a statement that President Temer considered the situation "unacceptable," and ordered the army to enter and protect government buildings.

On Wednesday afternoon, around 25,000 people marched in Brasilia to demand Temer to leave office and call for direct elections.

At least 600 buses ferried in protesters from other Brazilian states for a day known as Occupy Brasilia, called by the opposition parties.

The chaos also spread to Congress, where opposition parliamentarians took over the Speaker's dais to demand the legislative session be suspended, due to the violence.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 06:37:56|Editor: ZD

An armed soldier and an armed police officer patrol outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, on May 24, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Tuesday night that the country's terror threat level has been raised from "severe" to "critical", its highest level. (Xinhua/Ray Tang)

LONDON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- A man in connection with the Manchester bombing attack has been arrested, according to a police statement released on late Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches connected to the attack, police said.

This has made the total number of suspects linked to the attack rise to seven so far.

Meanwhile, Senior police chiefs in Britain reacted with anger Wednesday night after sensitive details of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing were leaked to media in the U.S.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the leaks undermines the investigation into the Monday night terror attack which left 22 people dead and 64 injured.

The Guardian newspaper in London said that Prime Minister Theresa May will confront U.S. President Donald Trump over the stream of leaks of crucial intelligence when the pair meet Thursday at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 06:37:58|Editor: Hou Qiang

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TRIPOLI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Special Deterrence Forces, also known as Rada, said on Wednesday that Hashem Abedi, the younger brother of the Manchester bomber, was planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the capital Tripoli.

Hashem was arrested in Tripoli on Tuesday when he was collecting 4,500 Libyan dinars (3,240 U.S. dollars) his brother Salman Abedi, the Manchester bomber, transferred to him to carry out a terrorist attack in Tripoli, the forces said on its Facebook page.

Hashem also admitted he and his brother belong to Islamic State (IS) group, the forces added.

Also on Wednesday, the forces arrested Ramadan Abedi, Salman's father, over suspicion of links to IS.

The British city of Manchester witnessed a bloody attack on a concert hall on Monday, which killed 22 and injured more than 100 others.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 07:13:07|Editor: ying

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk upon his arrival at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

BRUSSELS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- President Donald Trump arrived in Brussels here on Wednesday for his first trip to the European Union and NATO as the head of the United States and was met with protests against his fractious comments in the past.

Donald Trump and his wife Melania, who flew in from Rome, Italy, were greeted at the airport by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and met with King of the Belgians Philippe and his wife Queen Matilda later in the day.

Elsewhere in Brussels, however, some 6,000 protesters demonstrated in the streets to protest against Trump's presence, with placards letting the controversial leader know he was "not welcome here."

The U.S. President has had a fractious relationship with Europe since his candidacy, in which he publicly applauded the pro-Brexit campaign before and after the referendum which saw Britain decide to leave the European Union.

In January, as president-elect, he rattled many European allies by stating in an interview that NATO (North Atlantic Trade Alliance) was obsolete, and indirectly threatening allies to leave the pact if they did not boost defense spending.

On Thursday, Trump will meet the President of the European Council Donald Tusk and the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, both of whom have been critical of the U.S. president's remarks.

Afterwards, Trump and leaders of other NATO countries will meet for the first time to map out the future of the organization, and try to narrow their differences on its budget.

Donald Trump's first trip abroad as president has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank of the Palestinian territories, the Vatican before arriving in Brussels. His final leg of the journey will be in Sicily, Italy, where he will join a G7 summit in Taormina.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 07:39:20|Editor: MJ

Michael Perry, director of strategic partnerships of DJI, demonstrates the palm-sized drone "Spark" during an event in New York, the United States, on May 24, 2017. DJI announced its first palm-sized drone "Spark" here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Xinhua| 2017-05-25 07:45:30|Editor: Hou Qiang

Pakistani soldiers stand guard near the site where two Chinese were kidnapped in the neighborhood of Jinnah town in southwest Pakistan's Quetta, May 24, 2017. The Chinese embassy in Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed that two Chinese nationals were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province. (Xinhua/Asad)

Related:

Pakistani law enforcers launch search operation to recover abducted Chinese nationals

ISLAMABAD, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Police and other law enforcement agencies launched a search operation on Wednesday evening in Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta and its adjoining areas to recover the two Chinese nationals who were abducted earlier in the day.

Heavy contingent of police and other law enforcement agencies can been seen all over the city especially at the entry and exit points of the city and in the areas adjoining to the incident site. Full story
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 07:38:11|Editor: Hou Qiang

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RIO DE JANEIRO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Ten people, nine men and a woman, were killed on Wednesday during a police operation in the northern Brazilian state of Para, officials announced.

The operation took place in the municipality of Pau d'Arco, 860 kms from the state capital of Belem. Police officers were sent to a farm to carry out arrest warrants against men suspected of killing a security guard in late April, Para's secretariat of public security said.

Upon arriving at the property, the police were met with gunfire. They responded and a shoot-out began, in which 10 people were killed.

Afterwards, the police found a great quantity of guns and ammunition in the farm.

The state of Para has seen a wave of violence in recent weeks linked to disputes over land rights, in which at least 17 people have died.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 07:48:15|Editor: Hou Qiang

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LA PAZ, May 24 (Xinhua) -- An indefinite strike declared by Chile's customs association, ANFACH, left around 850 Bolivian trucks stuck at the border unable to cross into Chile on Wednesday.

Speaking to the press, the president of Bolivia's exporters chamber, Wilfredo Rojo, and Gustavo Rivadeneira, the president of Bolivia's heavy transport chamber, said that the move prevented the freedom of movement agreed between Bolivia and Chile in 1904.

Rojo said that the strike prevented Bolivia from moving goods worth five million U.S. dollars a day to and from Chile.

"Movement along this route reaches over 5 million U.S. dollars a day nationally. These are very high figures, which means the private sectors will lose markets...and the paralysis of the entire supply chain. It has always been complicated for Bolivia to depend on Chilean ports," said the exporter.

Chilean customs officials called an indefinite national strike on Wednesday, stating the government did not comply with agreements signed last year.

It has left at least 850 Bolivian trucks with international cargo blocked at the border. "Until now, we have about 850 trucks. This is not an exact quantity, it could be more, as five trucks cross into Chile every hour," added Rivadeneira.

Last year, the Bolivian heavy transport sector lost around 15 million U.S. dollars due to Chilean customs strikes, without counting the losses for exporters and importers.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R) lays a wreath in honour of all peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag on May 24, 2017 at the UN headquarters, New York. (Xinhua/UN photo)

UNITED NATIONS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- At a corner of the north lawn at the UN headquarters, peacekeepers and diplomats led by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mourned in silence on Wednesday morning for fallen peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.

"Today we remember not only our uniformed personnel but civilian peacekeepers who have fallen -- international civil servants, national staff members, and UN Volunteers," said Guterres at a wreath-laying ceremony held here.

A white wreath decorated with blue ribbon was laid in front of a glass memorial wall on which writes "Remember here those who gave their lives for peace" in six UN official languages.

UN statistics show that 117 military, police and civilian peacekeepers from 43 countries died in service in 2017. For the deceased peacekeepers, the Dag Hammarskjold Medal was awarded posthumously to them at another ceremony held later.

UN diplomats and peacekeepers on May 24, 2017 mourn the death of 117 peacekeepers who lost lives in peacekeeping operations in 2017 at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Shi Xiaomeng)

Among the 117 fallen peacekeepers, there are three from China -- Sergeant Liangliang Shen who served with the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and Corporal Lei Li and Sergeant Shupeng Yang who both served with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

"The three fallen Chinese peacekeepers sacrificed their young lives for UN peacekeeping operations," said Chinese Ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi. "Inspired by their spirit, China will consistently and unswervingly support the cause for world peace."

The honoring activities came ahead of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers which is observed annually on May 29. Currently, 16 peacekeeping operations are deployed in countries and regions including Haiti, Central African Republic, Western Sahara, and Kosovo.

Nowadays, UN peacekeeping operations are faced with grave challenges with peacekeepers continuing to come under attack from armed groups, spoilers and increasingly by terrorists, Guterres noted.

Over the past few weeks, MINUSMA, the mission which is mandated to support the peace process in Mali, has been under several attacks. In May alone, three peacekeepers were killed in attacks against MINUSMA, making it the deadliest peacekeeping mission across the world.

Koen Davidse, deputy special representative of MINUSMA, told Xinhua that the biggest challenge facing the mission is terrorist attacks and therefore it is working to strengthen its camps to ensure the safety and security of its peacekeepers.

Noting the killing of Chinese peacekeeper Liangliang Shen, Davidse said: "He died a hero while protecting others. We will continue our work bringing peace to Mali and making sure his sacrifice was not in vain."

Speaking of China's contribution to the peacekeeping operation in Mali, Davidse said "we greatly admire our Chinese fellow peacekeepers working on protection, medical care, and engineering."

"China is making a difference here which both Mali and the UN appreciate, especially since China is also a permanent member of the Security Council," he noted.
Xinhua| 2017-05-25 08:58:51|Editor: Hou Qiang

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ADDIS ABABA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Djibouti, Horn of Africa region's smallest nation, has inaugurated its largest port in efforts to become the African "Dubai".

On Wednesday, as part of Djibouti's ambitions to become a business hub for the Horn of Africa and Middle East region, Djibouti inaugurated the 690 hectares Doraleh Multipurpose Port.

The turnkey project, costing 590 million U.S. dollars and contracted by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, is intended to handle 10,000 deadweight tonnage at a time.

The finance needed for the project was covered by Djibouti Port S.A. and China Merchants Holdings.

Despite its small size, Djibouti handles about 95 percent of landlocked Ethiopia's export-import trade as well as serving several foreign nations and multinational organizations military base.

Djibouti also hopes the newly inaugurated Doraleh Multipurpose Port services the needs of landlocked nation South Sudan if and when the country gets out of its current civil war.

With Ethiopia's population nearing 100 million people, and the economy growing at what the Ethiopian government says is 11 percent annually, Djibouti's capacity to handle its neighbor's cargo needs have been stretched.

The Ethio-Djibouti electrified rail line, stretching more than 750km and financed largely through Chinese funds and constructed in two phases by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Corporation, is also expected to be operational soon, further linking the two nations economically.

"Djibouti port's distance from the Ethiopian border is only 96 km, you have the railway starting in the next few months cutting the (transport) time from four days to ten hours, reducing logistics cost greatly," said Zemedeneh Negau, former Managing Partner at the office of Ernest and Young Ethiopia, adding that the new Djibouti port can also better service Ethiopia's large shipping fleet.

However, he warned Ethiopia not to be dependent on one port option only, urging it to look at other alternatives.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 09:25:48|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Eight staff members and seven inmates were sent to hospital following a prison riot Wednesday in California.

Gunshots were fired by officers during the incident, which started at 10:25 a.m. local time (1725 GMT) at the maximum-security Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City of Del Norte County, said the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

In a statement detailing the incident, the CDCR said custody staff responded to what was initially a fistfight between two inmates on one of the facility's maximum-security general population yard.

"Responding staff used chemical agents and batons to subdue the inmates. However, they refused to stop fighting."

"As staff continued to try to subdue the two inmates, large groups of inmates from various areas of the yard ran toward the incident," CDCR officials said, adding that officers from three armed posts fired a total of 19 bullets as the prisoners started attacking them.

With two maximum security facilities, the prison was designed to house most serious criminals. It currently houses about 2,000 inmates and employs about 1,300 people.

Six of the eight injured officers were treated and released. The other two remained hospitalized with what prison officials said were significant but not life-threatening injuries. They were expected to be released soon.

The CDCR has sent a Deadly Force Investigations Team to the prison to conduct criminal and administrative investigation into the use of deadly force.

The prison is 370 miles (600 km) north of San Francisco and 13 miles (20 km) south of California's border with Oregon. It was opened in 1989.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 10:31:16|Editor: An

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by Dang Qi and Josue Alfaro

SAN JOSE, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China has been one of the most important foreign policy decisions for Costa Rica, said former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.

As the two countries prepare to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, Chinchilla told Xinhua that her country has seen "multiple benefits" ever since, especially in trade, foreign investment and international cooperation.

"We have received much investment from China in Costa Rica," she said.

Chinchilla also expressed her belief that Costa Rica should seize the opportunity to fully participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.

The initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, not only aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes, but is also an initiative for international cooperation in essence, open to all like-minded countries and regions.

"Many things impressed me, but I want to mention the kindness and care shown to us by the Chinese people and the long-term vision in the decisions of the Chinese authorities and the impressive infrastructure China has developed in all areas," said Chinchilla.

Before serving as president from 2010 to 2014, Chinchilla was a political analyst at the University of Costa Rica and Georgetown University.

She also worked as minister of public security from 1996 to 1998 and served in the National Assembly as a deputy for the province of San Jose from 2002 to 2006.

Chinchilla also hailed Latin America's current relations with China, and hailed the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) as a crucial platform for those ties.

"CELAC has become an important dialogue platform in our region," she explained.

"We discuss how to step up projects of joint cooperation ... such as promoting sustainable development and boosting clean energy, where China has shown important leadership at the international level," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 10:36:16|Editor: Zhou Xin

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CANBERRA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has not ruled out changing the law so that military personnel can be quickly called-in to deal with terrorist situations.

The government had not ruled out greater military involvement in terror situations, because current laws make it difficult for the military to be deployed quickly, said Australia's Attorney General George Brandis Thursday.

"It is important I think that when there is a major terrorist episode of the kind that we've lately seen in the United Kingdom, that all the capabilities that the country has that may be useful to deal with that terrorist event are at the disposal of the operational commander," Brandis said.

"At the moment the Defence Act provides quite a complicated series of steps to be undertaken before the defence power is called out in aid of civilian authorities and we're looking to see whether those powers can be streamlined so as to make the military more immediately able to be employed where it's important to do so," Brandis said.

The news comes after it was announced that Britain's military would be deployed at "at-risk" areas in an effort to deter future terror attacks like the one in Manchester, and Brandis was also able to confirm that no Australia were among the deceased or injured as a result of the bombing, which killed 22 people and injured dozens more.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 10:51:27|Editor: Mengjie

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Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Chen Baosheng (L) meets with new Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno in Quito, Ecuador, May 24, 2017. Chen on Wednesday attended Ecuador's presidential power handover ceremony and met with new Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno. (Xinhua/Santiago Armas)

QUITO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Chen Baosheng on Wednesday attended Ecuador's presidential power handover ceremony and met with new Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno.

Chen, who is China's Education Minister, extended Xi's congratulations on Moreno's taking office, and said China attaches great importance to developing relations with Ecuador.

China is willing to work with Ecuador to promote exchanges at various levels, deepen political mutual trust, and increase exchange of experience on governance, said Chen.

He also pledged to carry forward cooperation in economics and trade, finance, infrastructure, science and technology, education and tourism.

Moreno said Ecuador attaches great importance to the development of Ecuador-China relations and appreciates the huge contribution the Chinese government and people have made to Ecuador's national development.

The Ecuadoran government will continue its commitment to promoting the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and is willing to work with China to deepen cooperation in various fields, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 11:01:34|Editor: Zhou Xin

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by Alessandra Cardone

TAORMINA, Italy, May 25 (Xinhua) -- As final preparations were being made to host a major Group of Seven (G7) summit, local residents of Taormina do not really seem to be in a mood of excitement.

"I would not say this is a good event for us, we have lost much of the tourism so far," Agata, co-owner of an apparel shop, told Xinhua.

Her store lies in Giardini Naxos, a key seaside location down the hill where Taormina is located.

"We wait all year long for these four to five months since the tourism season is everything to us, this is not the right time to hold such an event here," she explained.

Having run her business for some 10 years, Agata is quite aware of the trend of tourists. This May, she said, is almost lost due to security restrictions.

Between Monday and Sunday, only local residents, participants of the summit and people working for the summit -- 11,000 in total -- are allowed to enter the town.

During the period, all hotels within the most restricted "red zone" are required to reject all reservations and leave their rooms empty.

Tourists are not allowed to reach Taormina, and schools are closed from Thursday to Sunday.

Security measures have been put in place since earlier, especially heavy restrictions on private vehicles.

"These measures have been gradually imposed since last month, and meanwhile tourism flows have been diverted toward other destinations in the Mediterranean," taxi driver Carmelo Priolo told Xinhua.

The man said he had nothing against the summit, but insisted the Italian government have chosen the wrong period.

"It could have been held in March, or between October and November, May is the beginning of the (tourism) season," he said.

Priolo acknowledged that the G7 summit might benefit Taormina by boosting its profile in medium term.

But all people don't agree on this. Monique, an assistant in a shop of traditional Sicilian ceramics, argued that Taormina was already famous around the world. "Taormina is beloved for its beauty: it has no need of a G7 summit to make itself known."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 11:11:38|Editor: Hou Qiang

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Lu Enguang, a former ministerial-level official of the Ministry of Justice, was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office for faking personal documents, buying official positions and bribery.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement Thursday that an investigation of Lu, former member of the leading Party group within the ministry, found that he had provided fake information regarding his age, his family members, his education and employment background and documents for joining the CPC.

He was also found to have used money, personal connections and lobbying to "buy official positions and honorary titles along the way" and which enabled him to rise "from a private enterprise owner to a vice ministerial-level official," according to the CCDI.

The statement said Lu had been simultaneously acting as an official and a businessman controlling multiple enterprises and had sought benefits for these enterprises via dishonest means.

He was also found to have offered significant amounts of money and gifts to state officials to obtain promotions to official positions and benefits in business operations.

The statement accused Lu of resisting the investigation.

The CCDI said Lu's values were "severely twisted" and his actions have seriously violated the Party's code of conduct and involved criminal acts.

Such acts have tarnished the image and the personnel selection system of the CPC and undermined the "political environment of related regions and units," the CCDI statement said, noting that "the circumstances were serious."

His dishonestly obtained honorary titles will be revoked and his suspected crimes and illegal gains will be transferred to judicial organs, according to the CCDI.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 11:21:43|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NAY PYI TAW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference Second Meeting on Thursday will continue to discuss the papers in five sectors resulting from six state- and regional- level political dialogue.

The second meeting, which aims to unite all ethnic nationalities and build a democratic federal union through dialogue, kicked off here Wednesday, nine months after the first in August 2016.

According to the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) Secretariat, apart from the papers, the 41 points of facts related to political, economic, social, land and environment sectors, reached by the UPDJC prior to the conference, will also be discussed.

The secretariat said participation of the Northern Alliance Group of seven is a sign showing that they are not too far from joining the Nationwide Cease-fire Accord (NAC).

The seven Northern Alliance group, also known as non-ceasefire signatories, refers to Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Arakan Army (AA), Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Mongla's National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP)-North.

With State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi inaugurating the event, some 1,400 representatives from the government, the parliament, the military, invited political parties, ethnic armed organizations and civil society participated in the five-day meeting.

The 15 ethnic armed organizations, present at the event, include eight signatories and seven non-signatories to the NCA.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 11:31:46|Editor: An

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COLOMBO/BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- For residents in Kahatagasdigiliya in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, rainwater seems to be the most economic and feasible solution to an urgent problem of clean drinking water.

The wells they used to draw water from are being abandoned. In the rural central and northern areas of the South Asian country, some 40,000 people are suffering from a chronic kidney disease (CKD) possibly linked with drinking water history. The disease killed some 1,000 people annually over recent years.

ADVANCED WATER TREATMENT FROM CHINA

In February 2017, Tidelion from Beijing, China, came to their assistance.

For the local primary school and three households of middle-aged male patients, the Chinese private company specialized in rainwater treatment technology has installed its rainwater systems in the country.

In a bid to help contain the CKD crisis in Sri Lanka, the pilot project came as part of a national assistance program within the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

"They (local residents) are very happy about the water," Tharanga Senevirathna, regional chief engineer at CKD Prevention Project run by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board of Sri Lanka, told Xinhua.

The Tidelion technology of rainwater storage, filtration and use is turning heavy rainfalls in tropical rainy seasons into a source of safe drinking water for Kahatagasdigiliya, 140 km northeast of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.

"In Sri Lanka, there are two monsoons and we get enough rainwater which can now be saved to be used throughout the year," Senevirathna said, praising the Tidelion systems for being better than those so far applied in Sri Lanka.

"There are several advantages we have achieved through this installation. Normally we have rainwater systems in Sri Lanka as well, but through these machines, we have advanced techniques and methodologies," he added.

With advanced filters, "that (the system) gives better-quality water," Senevirathna said. The exact quality data will not be available until after further tests and analysis, "but the people are very happy about this project."

LOW COST MATTERS

"If you consider other projects, we have to look at the operation cost and the special cost of water production," said the 39-year-old engineer.

According to Tidelion overseas market director Men Shi, Tidelion hopes that the pilot project will become a start for its overseas business expansion.

But what's more important, "we come to help people," he said.

"Looking at the rudimentary classroom there and children's smiling faces, I think everything we've gone through is worthwhile," Men added.

The tropical burning heat and blazing sun had been the biggest enemies for him and other Tidelion engineers who worked there for weeks. However, it was the kindness of local people that overwhelmed them, he said.

The local people invited them to their homes for dinner one after another, he said, despite the fact that they understood nothing that the Sinhalese locals spoke about. But they all deemed the daily invitation as a welcome to what Tidelion was doing there.

Tidelion is considering applying its rainwater systems to other areas in Sri Lanka, as well as to more participants such as the Bangladesh and Iran along the Belt and Road routes.

"We aim to provide safe drinking water not only in Sri Lanka or in South Asia, but also anywhere there is a need," Men said.

The Tidelion vision agrees with the initiative in bringing tangible benefits to people. China proposed the initiative in 2013 in order to build an infrastructure and trade network to seek common development and prosperity.

Regarding the CKD crisis, Senevirathna said several Chinese teams have come and visited many affected areas in the island country.

In the Anuradhapura area where he works, "the teams went around and discussed with people and identified the real issues and have given the best solutions ...they have done a very good job for people living in the area," said the Sri Lankan engineer.

In fact, many initiative-related cooperation projects are currently underway and completed in Sri Lanka. They include the construction of the Norochcholai coal power plant, the Colombo International Container Terminal, expressways, dams and a water plant north of Colombo, among others.

Like Tidelion, China's Origin Water Technology Corporation is also a one-stop water treatment solution provider that plans to "go global" with the initiative.

It is among the company's aspirations "to make contribution to social development," said He Yuanping, Origin Water vice president and chief financial officer.

The Beijing-based private company last year signed a cooperation memorandum with the government of Punjab province in Pakistan. It believed that a low-cost, small-sized sewage treatment system, which it designs for and is in use in China's rural areas, was a good choice for both sides.

While it is still challenging for private Chinese enterprises to expand business overseas due to risks such as less knowledge about local laws, the company hopes to become one of the backbone ventures in China's environment protection sector in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Origin Water President Wen Jianping has said.

With the membrane bio-reactors (MBR) using different kinds of filtration membranes it develops, the company has contributed to cleaning many Chinese water systems including the Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province and the Dianchi Lake in Yunnan Province.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 11:36:48|Editor: Hou Qiang

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CANBERRA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government on Thursday released thousands of age-progressed images of children who have been reported missing in a fresh push to help authorities and the public recognize missing persons.

The announcement comes on International Missing Children's Day, and the nation's Justice Minister Michael Keenan said while Australia was not a child abduction "hotspot," more than half of all missing persons reports involved children 18 years or younger.

"We are stepping up our search efforts to help find thousands of missing Australian children," Keenan said in a statement. "An estimated 38,000 people are reported missing in Australia every year. Sadly, more than 20,000 are under the age of 18."

"While Australia has one of the lowest rates of abduction in the Western world, we must not take this for granted."

"The Australian government and our law enforcement agencies are always looking for new ways to find missing children."

Keenan said the age-progressed photographs would give authorities and everyday Australians a snapshot of what a missing child might look like years after they were first reported missing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 12:12:00|Editor: Hou Qiang

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MELBOURNE, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Melbourne would be Australia's largest city by the mid-2030s, data released on Thursday revealed.

The release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the value of building work done in Victoria rose more than 9 percent in 12 months to March 2017 to 8.39 billion U.S. dollars while the value of work done in the rest of Australia dropped 7.2 percent.

In total, there were 12.1 percent more building projects being undertaken in Victoria in March 2017 compared to March 2016.

Tim Pallas, Victoria's Treasurer, said that the government would spend an average of 7.2 billion U.S. dollars on infrastructure projects over the next four years to accommodate for Melbourne's rapidly expanding population.

"We continue to see the positive results of our agenda for infrastructure over the past three budgets with record investment focused on what's most important to our cities, towns and communities," Pallas told reporters on Thursday.

Bernard Salt, one of Australia's leading demographers, in a regular column for Australia's national newspaper, said that at the current rate of growth Melbourne could overtake Sydney as Australia's largest city as early as 2031.

"Sydney's (population) lead is now closer to 350,000 but is narrowing at a rate of 20,000 a year. If present rates were to continue Melbourne would replace Sydney as Australia's largest city at some point in the 2030s," Salt said.

"Melbourne offers what Sydney cannot or will not offer: access to affordable housing on the urban fringe."

Jeff Kennett, Victoria's premier from 1992 to 1999, formulated a plan that predicted Melbourne's population would hit 5 million in 2030 at the earliest but Salt said the population will hit that mark around 2021.

The western suburbs of Melbourne shape as the major growth corridor, Salt said, with the Wyndham and Melton regions surpassing the Gold Coast as Australia's fastest growing areas.

Wyndham and Melton added 35,000 new residents between them in Financial Year 2016, accounting for a third of all Melbourne's growth.

In addition to housing affordability, Salt said much of Melbourne's growth could be attributed to the booming employment, with Victoria adding 115,600 jobs in 12 months to April 2017, more than all other Australian states combined.

Salt said that by the time Melbourne hit 8 million residents, predicted to be around 2050, the city would be an urban sprawl comparable to the city of Dallas-Fort Worth in the United States.

"Perhaps a better benchmark for Melbourne at 8 million isn't LA but the dual city of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), where the two hubs are separated by 50 kilometers of freeway. The DFW canvas also stretches 100 km and it contains two of America's leading growth areas, Collin and Denton counties, which offer growth comparable to the edges of Melbourne," he said.

He said that Sydney's future could resemble a New York-style corporate city.

"Sydney might have more corporate head offices than Melbourne, just as New York might offer more corporate head offices than DFW."

"But the housing and jobseeker market most readily gravitates to cities that deliver housing affordability combined with access to a capital city job market. And that is precisely what Melbourne is doing better than Sydney in the 21st century."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 12:32:43|Editor: Hou Qiang

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Giorggio Abrantes, a 34-year-old worker who lives in northeast Brazil, has recently turned into an Internet hipster.

His Facebook and YouTube pages have gained tens of thousands of views in just a few days since he published an ingenious invention in a 40-second long video: how to amplify music played by a smartphone using just some pipes and a paper box.

The online tool to create this snappy, eye-opening video story is VivaVideo, one of the few Chinese mobile companies that have already gained a good share of the global mobile market.

Launched in 2013 by some Chinese mobile video experts, this application now has 400 million users globally, and took home the award for the most innovative app on Google Play's "Best of 2016" global list.

"Our app is fast and stable," VivaVideo's President Zhu Binjie told Xinhua. "Many of our users are young and can't afford expensive smartphones. Only the best technology can let them run complicated video-editing quickly without crashing."

Sam Han, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, has worked for more than 10 years at California-headquartered ArcSoftInc, a photo and video imaging software development company. The video computing technology he developed at VivaVideo significantly outperforms similar other mobile apps.

The application also features prominently its face recognition technology and nurtures a lively video-making and sharing community.

"This mobile application has greatly helped my YouTube channel job," said Fawaz, a young man from Saudi Arabia, who has 74,000 subscribers on YouTube.

"I started using VivaVideo about three years ago when video-editing apps were almost non-existent or very poor compared to professional softwares on PC."

"But working on computer is usually slow and expensive," he added. "With VivaVideo, I can edit, montage and publish my videos while I'm at the dental waiting my turn, or when I'm in the metro going to the university, or when I'm drinking my morning coffee, very easily, very proficiently."

Targeting young people around the world, the mobile app hopes to bring every user to the front stage in the virtual world, said Zhu.

CULTURAL CHALLENGES

He called his company essentially "technology-driven," but also stressed the cultural dimension of the business.

"We have to stay humble to every different culture as we go further into the rest of the world," he said. "We also try our best at localization."

Building upon its video creating and editing strengths, the company has opened up online video communities in Southeast Asia and Brazil, and later expanded into Japan the United States.

According to the Beijing-based American venture capitalist Kaifu Lee, who also invested in Vivavideo, overseas market is a difficult business. "You have to get a good grasp of what local people think."

The same idea was echoed by Wang Xiang, senior vice president of Xiaomi, China's giant electronics company and the world's fifth largest smartphone maker.

"There are many challenges for a start-up to enter overseas markets," he told Xinhua. "You need to hire lots of foreigners who know local culture. You might also have to work with local partners who are more familiar with the local legal, economic and political environment."

A swarm of Chinese technology firms are rapidly expanding overseas as China embarks on its Belt and Road Initiative to reinvigorate the ancient overland and maritime silk roads.

In March, Xiaomi's founder and CEO Lei Jun said he hoped the foreign agencies of the Chinese government could offer more assistance with regard to local policies, tax and legal requirements to further support Chinese firms going abroad.

Zhu from VivaVideo expressed a similar hope. "I hope Chinese embassies overseas can help us find more local talents," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:07:58|Editor: ZD

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VIENTIANE, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has instructed relevant sectors to study the establishment of a Lao joint state-private company to join its Vietnamese counterpart to develop a seaport in central Vietnam, a government spokesman said.

The instruction was made at the two-day monthly cabinet meeting for May that closed on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office, local daily Vientiane Times on Thursday quoted government spokesman Chaleun Yiapaoher as saying at a press conference after the meeting.

The move came after the governments of Laos and Vietnam signed a deal in April 2017 to jointly develop the planned Vung Ang seaport project in Vietnam's central Ha Tinh province.

The deal was among nine cooperation agreements signed during the official visit to Laos in April by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Once the seaport project is realized, it will enable landlocked Laos to access sea trade routes, said the report.

A Lao official of the Inland Waterways Transport Department, under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, told Vientiane Times that the project was still in the early stages and more details needed to be sorted out.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:28:05|Editor: Zhou Xin

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VIENTIANE, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Laos and Thailand are set to boost their trade, investment and logistics cooperation, according to local daily Vientiane Times on Thursday.

Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Somdy Douangdy and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, with participation by ministers of Laos and Thailand from different sectors, discussed issues regarding the cooperation here on Wednesday.

The Lao government proposed the Thai government open itself up to more imports from Laos such as agricultural products including sweet corn, rice and rubber, the Vientiane Times reported.

The Lao government also proposed the Thai government help with trade facilitation of goods transported from Laos to a third country.

Major exports from Laos to Thailand include electricity, copper, tobacco, vegetables and minerals. Laos, in turn, imports fuel, vehicles, electronic items and machinery from Thailand.

Exports from Laos to Thailand reached 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, while imports were 2.59 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:28:07|Editor: ZD

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has helped boost the overall social welfare in the Middle East and Africa, and is highly anticipated to facilitate the overall economic and social development there.

The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

A BOON TO GROWTH

According to Suleyman Sensoy, head of the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM), the Middle East, despite "all the richness and strategic position," has been confronted with the fundamental "weakness in the institutional infrastructure."

"The lack of qualified human resources, of relative competitive advantage, of added value production, and of the share of the global market also deepen the development problems," he said.

Dr. Baris Adibelli from Turkey's Dumlupinar University said "the creation of prosperity depends on a sustainable development. There is a need for resources and infrastructure that support this long-term process."

The Belt and Road projects are an important platform that would meet all these needs, he noted, as they "offer an opportunity for regional countries to create their own dynamism by suggesting common trade, development and welfare rather than just offering financial help."

In the eyes of Gerishon Ikiara, lecturer of international economics at the University of Nairobi, Kenya's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative "has demonstrated its socio-economic benefits in the past five years and the years ahead."

"By being paratroopers of the Belt and Road Initiative, Kenya has received a large amount of financial resources. This is rapidly modernizing Kenya's infrastructure," he noted, adding the initiative "opens up Kenya and the region to the global trading routes."

The al-Ahdab oil field project in Iraq's Wasit province, developed by both Chinese and Iraqi companies, has grasped the benefits of the initiative and elevated its oil processing ability to 7 million tons per year, bringing 13.5 billion U.S. dollars worth of revenue to the Iraqi government and some 5,000 jobs to the local people.

According to Iraqi official statistics, the country's national unemployment rate in 2016 was as high as 16 percent and over 30 percent of population lived in poverty.

AN IMPETUS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Turkey's Adibelli said China, with a profound historical friendship with the Middle East and African countries, can help improve social and educational development under the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The cooperation in education could help the countries become more conscious. It also encourages women to stand up in social life. When the transformation of economic and social order is completed, stability will come along and there will be no safe haven anymore for terror organizations," he said.

"The Arab Spring that started in the Middle East had brought neither prosperity nor social transformation. The only thing it brought was chaos," said Adibelli, "The Belt and Road Initiative, however, brings both common wealth and a future due to its win-win nature."

"Many young people here are working in this oil field and paid with relatively high incomes," said Muhammad Mahdi, an engineer of al-Ahdab project.

The 31-year-old told Xinhua that he has received systematic training after working here and been sent to study in China because of his well performance at work. "I have saved up enough money and been engaged with my girlfriend," he added.

The operator of the project, the Chinese National Petroleum Company, has served the local communities by offering gas to nearby power stations and liquefied natural gas to tens of thousands of families in Wasit, so as to benefit the local people directly and reduce poverty and joblessness, a major reason for social instability in the province.

PROMISING PROSPECT AHEAD

According to Turkey's Sensoy, the Belt and Road Initiative, a "global integration project," can create "a historic opportunity for stability and development" in the Middle East and Africa.

Kenya's Ikiara also said the initiative, focusing on the development of modern infrastructure along the routes, will radically enhance "the efficiency and reliability of Kenyan and the Eastern African transport infrastructure, reduce cost of transportation by more than 40 percent and raise their products' competitiveness, therefore expand the region's share of global trade."

According to Zeyad Juburi, economic professor at Baghdad University, the Belt and Road Initiative could bring historic opportunities for Iraq, an important point along the route.

Energy cooperation is a key component of the Initiative, and Iraq has rich oil resources of 143 billion barrels, 8.7 percent of the global reserve, he said.

However, the development of the initiative in Iraq has to deal with the backward manufacture industry and agriculture, the aftermath of decades of wars, sanctions and social instability, he added.

But Iraq's need for a promising future is more urgent than ever.

"My life sucks because I still need my father's money like a kid," said 25-ear-old Ibrahim Mohamoud, who has not found a secure job since graduating from college four years ago.

"I hope the government will attract more foreign companies to invest in my country, so that I can see more chances to find a job," he said.

(Xinhua correspondents Yi Aijun in Turkey, Jin Zheng in Kenya and Wei Yudong, Cheng Shuaipeng in Iraq contributed to the story)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:43:12|Editor: Zhou Xin

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UNITED NATIONS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN)'s envoy in South Sudan on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to unite behind a common strategy to advance the political process and ensure peace in the crisis-torn country.

Addressing the council via video link, David Shearer, the secretary-general's special representative in South Sudan and head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), said that the "unity of purpose will send the best signal to South Sudan's political leaders to focus first and foremost on the plight of their citizens."

He also called for a "coherent and unified regional position" to aid political developments in the country, noting that governments in the region have "significant influence" on political developments to end the three-year war but are not communicating the same message.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Monday declared unilateral ceasefire across the country after he launched a national dialogue that seeks to unify and stabilize the East African nation.

But the main rebel group (SPLM-IO) has accused the government of launching fresh attacks on its positions in Eastern and Central Equatorial regions in the past two days in violation of the said ceasefire.

Meanwhile, cyclical rains in South Sudan are expected to make roads impassable for the next four months. While the flooding will likely curb hostilities, it also greatly complicates humanitarian efforts, making over 60 percent of the country impossible to access by road or airstrips, and brings cholera.

The UN envoy praised the short-term deployment of peacekeepers who were helicoptered in by UNMISS to give "confidence" for humanitarians to follow.

He also lauded the work of humanitarians throughout the country, noting that this is one of the toughest operational environments and condemned "the unacceptable levels of violence that continue to be directed toward aid workers," including detention, threats, arrests, assault and killings.

Shearer's briefing comes as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers that falls on May 29 approaches. Some 3,400 peacekeepers have died on duty since the first UN peacekeeping mission was established in 1948 until April 2016.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict that has have taken a devastating toll on the people.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under UN pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April 2016, but was shattered by renewed fighting in July in the same year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:48:15|Editor: An

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BISHKEK, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyzstan's irrigation facilities are to be developed thanks to a Chinese grant, the press service of the government reported on Wednesday citing a kyrgyz official as saying.

"Eleven irrigation facilities are planned to be financed this year, six of them, worth 32 million U.S. dollars, will be funded by a grant from the People's Republic of China," said Kokumbek Tashtanaliev, director of the Department of Water Resources and Melioration under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration at a press conference in Bishkek.

"With increasing population, the government pays special attention to the development of new irrigated lands and the provision of new jobs," he said.

In 2017, the Kyrgyz government will put into operation four irrigation facilities, the report said.

Bringing into operation of the planned four irrigation facilities will help develop 1,090 hectares of new irrigated lands and increase water availability on 1,960 hectares of land, which in turn creates about 4,200 new jobs.

Tashtanaliev said that the ministry has proposed 45 irrigation facility projects to be implemented for the period from 2016 to 2026.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:53:18|Editor: Zhou Xin

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WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Wednesday urged Congress to raise the debt limit before its August recess to avoid a potential federal government default.

"I urge you to raise the debt limit before you leave for the summer," Mnuchin said before the House Ways and Means Committee, adding that he would prefer a "clean" debt limit increase, which would not include any additional provisions.

The U.S. Treasury has begun using bookkeeping maneuvers to continue to finance the government's activities since the federal government's outstanding debt reached its statutory limit on March 15.

These extraordinary measures could help the Treasury have sufficient cash to make essential payments "until sometime in the fall of this year" without an increase in the debt limit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

But Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, warned on Wednesday that Congress may have to raise the debt limit sooner than previously expected.

"The (tax) receipts, currently, are coming in slower than expected and you may soon hear from Mnuchin about a change in the date," Mulvaney told the House Budget Committee.

"We look forward to working with the Hill on the best way to go about this," he said.

The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury can issue to the public and to the other federal agencies. The amount of outstanding debt subject to limit has now risen to about 19.9 trillion U.S. dollars.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 13:58:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

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YANGON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Direct Investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector topped with 22.41 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of April since late 1988, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

The country's oil and gas sector accounted for over 31 percent of overall FDI, followed by the power sector with 20.5 billion U.S. dollars, transportation and communication sector and manufacturing sector with 8.2 billion dollars each, real estate sector with 3.7 billion dollars, mining sector and hotel and tourism sector with 2.8 billion dollars each.

FDI also entered into livestock and fisheries, agriculture, industrial estate, construction and other services.

According to the figures of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), a total of 656 million U.S. dollars flew into the country in April alone.

Nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars of FDI entered into the country as of the third week of May during the current fiscal year.

The country is expecting over 6 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment in FY 2017-18.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 14:23:30|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, May 25 (Xinhua) -- At least one civilian was killed and nine others wounded in a mortar shelling attack in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Thursday, local officials said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 14:23:33|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SINGAPORE, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore condemned suicide bombing at a bus terminal in East Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday which has caused several deaths and injuries, including members of the Indonesian National Police, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry said it had extended the deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wished those injured a speedy recovery.

The ministry also revealed that there were no reports of any Singaporeans directly affected or injured by the incident thus far.

The attack killed three police officers and injured 10 others so far.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 14:28:36|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SYDNEY, May 25 (XINHUA) -- Australian healthcare manufacturer Ansell announced the sale of its condom business on Thursday, in a lucrative deal with Chinese buyers.

The sale of Ansell's sexual health division, which makes condoms and lubricants, includes some of its international manufacturing sites, as well as offices.

After more than 100 years of Australian ownership, Humanwell Healthcare Group and CITIC Capital Partners bought the sexual health division of the company.

The sale had been in the pipeline for some months now, with the 800 million Australian dollar (600 U.S. million) deal delighting investors, as shares surged 4 percent at 12:00 local time AEST.

Ansell began a review into its condom business, which is the company's oldest and smallest division, in August 2016, as part of a move to allow the business to focus on manufacturing rubber gloves.

Analysts had expected the sale to reach to fall somewhere within the range of 500 million to 1 billion Australian dollars.

"We are delighted with this outcome, following a thorough and competitive process, which realizes significant value for Ansell shareholders," Ansell CEO Magnus Nicolin said.

Following the announcement, Ansell also said it will engage in a share buy-back scheme, recouping 10 percent, or 356 million Australian dollars worth of its shares over the next 12 months.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 14:48:49|Editor: An

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China will increase imports from the United States in wide-ranging areas including agricultural products, energy and high-tech equipment, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

In a research report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations, the MOC noted the growth potential in U.S. exports as China's total imports are expected to reach 8 trillion U.S. dollars in the coming five years, which will bring more opportunities for U.S. companies.

China would like to further increase imports of agricultural products such as soybeans and cotton from the United States and speed up negotiations on terms regarding traceability, inspection and quarantine for U.S. beef to enter China, which will benefit 6 million American farmers, according to the report.

China is also willing to have active discussions on imports of more aircraft, microchips, machine tools and other high-tech products, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 14:58:51|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, May 25 (Xinhua) -- At least one civilian was killed and nine others wounded in a mortar shelling attack in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Thursday, local officials said.

"Some six rounds of motor shell fired by militants struck provincial capital Kunduz city since early Thursday morning. One shell landed near a school in front of city's police station, causing one student killed and nine others injured," a security source told Xinhua anonymously.

The injured were shifted to Kunduz Regional Hospital where one of the wounded remained in critical condition, the source said, adding that those among the injured were two school children.

He blamed Taliban militant group for the attack.

The restive province, 250 km north of Afghan capital of Kabul, has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and Taliban over the past months.

In a separate development, two Taliban militants were killed and five others wounded after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) they were planting in Dasht-e-Archi district, Kunduz province detonated prematurely on Wednesday, Afghan army's Corps 209 Shaheen, based in the region, confirmed earlier on Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 14:58:52|Editor: Zhou Xin

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by Bruna Gama

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Michel Temer on Wednesday ordered the armed forces to patrol the capital city of Brasilia for a week, following protests that called for the end of his government and immediate direct elections for a new president.

A series of clashes took place between tens of thousands of protesters and the policemen. Protesters set fire to a ministry building and the police used tear gas and pepper spray against the crowd.

It was the country's latest episode in the escalation of violence and political chaos that started last week when a local daily said the president was caught on tape engaging in obstruction of justice and endorsing bribes to a witness in a corruption case.

The tape was recorded by a businessman with whom Temer had talked in his official residence late at night in a secret meeting in March.

In the 40-minute-long conversation released to the public on Friday, Temer can be heard approving bribes paid to Eduardo Cunha, former lower house speaker and Temer's main ally in the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff.

The businessman Joesley Batista, who is head of meatpacker JBS, also talked to Temer about his corrupting judges and prosecutors while the president showed no reproach.

The Supreme Court has already opened an investigation into the president over allegations of corruption and obstructing justice.

Temer's defense was that the recordings were doctored despite his really having engaged in an unscheduled meeting with Batista, but it was not very convincing to the public, nor to Congress.

Calls for his resignation or impeachment continued, but Temer remained resolute to see his term through, even saying in a Monday interview that he will not resign unless he is forced out of office.

Brazilian law states that when a president resigns or is impeached in the final two years of the term, indirect elections must be held within 90 days.

However, many Brazilians believe direct presidential elections are the only way to ensure political stability in the country and give legitimacy to the presidency, since the Brazilian Congress is not very popular among them right now.

Earlier on Wednesday, more than 35,000 people who defend direct elections gathered in Brasilia for a protest demanding the president step down.

Amid the confusion, protesters damaged some areas in the ministries' lane, the main avenue in Brasilia, where ministry buildings are located side by side. Offices of five ministries were damaged and a fire was started, but was quickly put out by the fire department.

At least 49 people were injured in scuffles between policemen and protesters.

To contain the chaos, Temer ordered the army to the streets.

Meanwhile, the president lost two advisors -- one quit and the other was arrested for corruption.

On Saturday, the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) announced it was pulling out of the ruling coalition and seeking Temer's ouster.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 15:29:08|Editor: ying

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SEOUL, May 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House on Thursday reiterated its diplomacy-based approach to the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear program.

Park Su-hyun, spokesman for President Moon Jae-in, told a press conference that security has become a comprehensive issue expanding into diplomacy as President Moon mentioned.

As seen in the change in the National Security Office of the Blue House, the spokesman said, South Korea would attempt to resolve the security issues through an organic network with relevant countries.

The international community's sanctions and pressures remained towards the DPRK for its advanced nuclear and missile programs, but South Korea's DPRK policy will be determined by future situations and under the framework of international cooperation, the spokesman said.

President Moon appointed Chung Eui-yong, a career diplomat, as chief of the National Security Office, saying that security and diplomacy are the two sides of the same coin.

The president said the requirement for the top security advisor would be a diplomatic capability along with the firm philosophy of national defense as he is required to resolve an issue intertwined with security, diplomatic and economic elements.

A former defense ministry official was named as the first vice chief of the National Security Office, and the second vice chief was assumed by a political science professor who studied the Korean Peninsula issues for long.

Meanwhile, President Moon convened the first meeting with senior presidential secretaries. The meetings are set to be held twice a week every Monday and Thursday.

During the first meeting, the top security advisor reported to Moon on preparations for the upcoming U.S.-South Korea summit scheduled for late June, the presidential spokesman added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 15:34:10|Editor: ying

Soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gather for an assault against the Maute militant group in Lanao Del Sur Province, the Philippines, May 25, 2017. The Philippine armed forces continued conducting surgical operations on Thursday to flush out up to 40 remnants of the Maute militant group that remain in the besieged southern Philippine city of Marawi, a military spokesman has said. (Xinhua/STRINGER)

MANILA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine armed forces continued conducting surgical operations on Thursday to flush out up to 40 remnants of the Maute militant group that remain in the besieged southern Philippine city of Marawi, a military spokesman has said.

"Sporadic fighting continues. The clearing operations continue to flush out the remnants of the local terrorist group. There is no let-up," Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera said, adding the operations are focusing on specific targets in at least three villages in the city.

"We are conducting very precise and deliberate surgical operations," he told reporters.

Herrera said that there are still "sightings" of the presence of Islamic fighters in the city.

He said about 30 to 40 militants are hiding in some establishments and using the community or residents as shields to avoid the troops.

"We are using surgical airstrikes and calling on the residents to leave the villages where there are reported presence of terrorists," he said.

Herrera said the military "wants to finish the fight as soon as possible."

He said the militants are just roaming around in some parts of the city.

"They don't stay in one place. They are occupying buildings with strategic value. They are acting like residents want to distract the troops. They want to create diversionary attacks to mislead the focused military operations," Herrera said.

"These are desperate moves that they are doing now in a bid to mislead the troops. That's why we are very focused in our operations," he said.

However, Herrera could not say whether there are foreign fighters involved in Marawi attack.

He said there are reports about possible collusion of local terrorists with foreign jihadists.

Herrera also confirmed news reports that some of the residents hid in the hospital supply rooms to avoid being detected by the militants.

"We recovered 46 medical staff who hid in the hospital supply room," he said.

So far, he said 13 alleged Maute militants have been killed but added that only two bodies were retrieved.

Local media have uploaded pictures showing at least two vehicles roaming the streets of Marawi City on Tuesday displaying the black flag and insignia Islamic State (IS).

The news reports said the city residents took to social media to post photos and videos of the armed men roaming freely in the city streets.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared on Tuesday night martial law for 60 days on the island of Mindanao and nearby island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi after clashes between the army and militants with alleged link to IS in Marawi, a city in Lanao del Sur province in the southern Philippines.

So far, the military said five army soldiers and two police officers have been killed and at least 33 others wounded in the ongoing clashes.

The Maute group has attacked army troops and police jails and also carried out several bombings and kidnappings in the southern Mindanao region.

The group has pledged allegiance to IS, although the Philippine military says there is no evidence of active cooperation with foreign militants.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 16:29:53|Editor: ying

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MOSUL, Iraq, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units initiated a new advance to recapture areas scattered near Iraqi-Syrian border in west of Mosul, as part of a major operation to dislodge the Islamic State (IS) militants from Iraqi side of the border, the units said in a statement Thursday.

They began their progress on late Wednesday night to recapture the IS-held town of Baaj, some 25 km west of the newly-freed town of al-Qairwan, the statement said.

The two towns are located in the rugged sprawling area about 100 km west of Mosul.

In the early morning hours, the paramilitary units, backed by the army's helicopter gunships, freed four villages in west of al-Qairwan as they are advancing westward in the open land to free Baaj, according to the statement.

The Hashd Shaabi forces have surrounded three more militant-seized villages in the area between al-Qairwan and Baaj, the statement said.

The helicopter gunships destroyed a booby-trapped car during the fighting with IS militants, and are searching for seven IS vehicles carrying heavy machine guns spotted near one of the villages, it added.

Two days ago, the Hashd Shaabi units liberated al-Qairwan and many villages scattered around the town from the IS militants and announced that the paramilitary forces had ended the first stage of major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighboring Syria and cut off the IS' supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of the IS' self-declared caliphate.

The paramilitary units are now advancing to free the villages and take control of the IS supply routes around Baaj in order to isolate it and liberate the town later.

Furthermore, the operation came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul.

Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
PHNOM PENH, May 25 (Xinhua) -- As the nation gears up for the commune elections on June 4, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Thursday renewed his calls for the compatriots to vote for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in order to continue maintaining peace, stability and development.

"I'd like to appeal to the people to join the CPP to continue maintaining peace. No peace, no development," he said during a gathering with the representatives of the Christian community in the country.

He said that the CPP has brought peace, stability, socio-economic development and poverty reduction to Cambodia.

Twelve political parties will contest in the upcoming commune elections, with the ruling CPP and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) being the major contestants in the elections, according to the National Election Committee (NEC).

The commune elections are to elect commune chiefs and councilors for the kingdom's 1,646 communes, the NEC said, adding that around 7.87 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots.

Held once every five years, the commune elections are seen as a bellwether of the party's support ahead of the general elections in 2018.

In the last commune elections in June 2012, the ruling CPP gained 61.9 percent of the votes, compared to about 30.6 percent for the opposition.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 17:25:38|Editor: ying

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, on May 22, 2017. Speaking on the first day of his visit to Israel and the West Bank, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start a "new partnership" with the Arab world. (Xinhua/JINI/POOL/Marc Israel Sellem)

by Liu Wanli, Keren Setton

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump presented a reversed Middle East policy during his maiden overseas trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel, by calling for an anti-Iran coalition, which may fuel the tension in the region and jeopardize efforts for reconciliation.

The Obama administration sought to establish a delicate balance of power in the Middle East by pulling out troops from Iraq, pressuring Israel on settlement issues, holding up military support for Saudi Arabia and signing a nuclear deal with Iran, a series of moves distanced its traditional allies and are obviously abandoned by Trump.

However, days of a meet-and-greet trip cannot resolve decades-long conflicts between Israel and the Arab world, nor deter Iran by trying to form a coalition that is more likely in theory.

People in the region who are struggling in terrorism and wars need reconciliation much more than division and hatred.

BRIDGE GAP BETWEEN ALLIES

Trump is the only American president who makes a Muslim majority nation and Israel his first overseas trip, which indicates his policy of forming a new Middle East coalition by easing conflicts between Israel and the Arab world so as to rally against Iran's influence in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

He announced a 110-billion-U.S.-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia upon his arrival, including precision weaponry that his predecessor Barack Obama had held up over concerns of civilian casualties in the war in Yemen.

In his final remarks in Jerusalem, Trump said there are "new opportunity" for nations in the region to end sectarian strife and find peace.

"I call upon people to draw inspiration from this ancient to set aside out sectarian difference to overcome oppression and hatred," he said, adding that a prerequisite for a regional coalition would be to recognize Israel's positive contribution "to the region and the world."

He also expressed optimism about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. "They are ready for peace," he said.

"Trump inherited a relatively stable Middle East - as opposed to the upheaval and developments during Obama's time," said Dr. Ronen Zeidel, an expert on the Middle East Affairs from the University of Haifa.

"Trump came to Israel to reassure Netanyahu of his support. He came to calm traditional Israeli fears...It strengthens their sense of security and that is why they welcomed him so nicely in Saudi Arabia," he added.

"There is no way this visit will jumpstart the peace process and in no way will lead to normalization between Israel and the Arab world," Ronen said.

"Trump manages to reinvigorate the regional coalition and rally the pragmatic Sunni world two days after the elections in Tehran," said Ron Prosor, Israel's former envoy to the United Nations.

"Israel's homework is to look and see the coinciding interests with Sunnis that were not there for many years," he added.

COALITION AGAINST IRAN

"Trump presents a reversed Obama doctrine - he says he comes to do the opposite," said Yaki Dayan, a former Israeli consul general in Los Angeles, adding that "the only thing in common with Obama is that they view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a major issue but they have two completely different methods of solving it."

Trump is looking to create an Arab NATO, he added.

During his visit to Jerusalem, Trump said a struggle against Iran and the Islamic State (IS) should be a shared interest of all nations in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also called on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who was reelected last week to "dismantle the network of terrorism."

In response, Rouhani said Washington should drop its "hostile" policy.

The United States has no other way but to think of a "win-win approach vis-a-vis Iran, otherwise, they will fail," Rouhani said.

"He created a new axis of evil - Hamas, IS, Iran and Hezbollah," Ron Prosor said.

The U.S. army invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, which completely destroyed the country's political system.

Politicians, militia, and religious leaders, supported by the United States and regional countries, struggled for power at the expense of security and stability in the country.

The al-Qaida group established its Iraqi branch in 2009, taking the advantage of power vacuum, and later gave birth to the Islamic State which occupied large swaths of territories in Iraq and neighboring Syria, and launched terrorist attacks across the world.

The last thing the region needed was more weapons, critics said, referring to Trump's trip.

"He is not here to educate, no values, just interests," Yaki Dayan said.

"The big question is not whether the visit was symbolic rather than substantial but whether it will have long term affects. This depends on how much Trump is determined - right now it looks like he means business," he said.

As millions of civilians are suffering from political struggle for years in the Middle East, reconciliation efforts are more in need than confrontation than ever.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 17:35:49|Editor: MJ

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Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin speaks during a luncheon hosted by the CGCC (Houston Chapter of China General Chamber of Commerce-U.S.A) in Houston, the United States, on May 24, 2017. Some businessmen in the southern part of the United States on Wednesday hailed the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, saying it will boost win-win cooperation. (Xinhua/Zhong Jia)

HOUSTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Some businessmen in the southern part of the United States on Wednesday hailed the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, saying it will boost win-win cooperation.

The initiative is a strategy of mutual benefit and win for all, said Li Shaolin, chairman of the Houston Chapter of China General Chamber of Commerce-U.S.A.(CGCC).

The initiative can help Chinese companies go overseas to develop themselves, in the meanwhile, offer chances for foreign companies including those in the United States to tap the vast Chinese market, Li told Xinhua during a luncheon hosted by the CGCC.

Charles Foster, chairman of Asia Society Texas Center and U.S.-China partnership, also praised the Belt and Road Initiative for boosting the win-win cooperation.

"U.S.-China ties are the most important one in the world, and the two can work together for a win-win cooperation, including a better and closer economic and trade cooperation," he said at the event.

The initiative is "very important and the U.S. companies should positively participate in the initiative," he added.

Many other participants in the event also spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative, believing that it will help those countries involved realize the common development and prosperity.

Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin briefed about 300 participants on the outcomes of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which was held in Beijing on May 14-15.

Li stressed that the Belt and Road Initiative originates from China , but belongs to the world. It is not a China's solo, but the international symphony, which pools the common will of many countries to meet challenges and achieve prosperity.

After four years' development, the vision of Belt and Road Initiative is turning into a reality, many projects in different countries have been launched and achieved better progress than expected, he said.

The initiative is not only focusing on economy, its culture and people-to-people projects are also fantastic. Some American companies have already been directly or indirectly involved in the projects launched under the framework of the initiative, Liu introduced.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 17:41:00|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has asked society to learn from renowned geophysicist Huang Danian, who made outstanding contributions in education and scientific research.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a written instruction praising Huang's contribution to the nation.

Xi said Huang devoted his life to national prosperity and revival and people's wellbeing.

He called on the public to follow the example of Huang, learning from his patriotism, professional dedication, and the noble spirit of being indifferent to fame and wealth while dedicated to the country.

"People should put their patriotism and aspirations into the great course of reform and development," Xi said, asking ordinary people to do their jobs well, and contribute to the realization of the nation's two centenary goals and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Huang, known for his expertise in deep earth exploration technology, studied and worked in Britain for 18 years before returning to China in 2009. Over the ensuing years, he helped China soar in a number of technical fields, transforming the nation into one of the world's leaders in deep earth exploration.

Huang died from illness aged 58 on Jan. 8.
GARISSA, Kenya, May 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two Kenyan police officers were killed and two others injured early Thursday in a terror attack involving improvised explosive device (IED) in Garissa county along the border with Somalia.
BERLIN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A group of German lawmakers have called off a visit to Turkey due to the pressure exerted by the Turkish authorities, Bundestag's Vice President Claudia Roth said on Wednesday.

The delegation of four parliamentarians, headed by Roth, intended to visit Turkey this week and to hold talks with Turkish officials, lawmakers and non-government groups.

The plan was canceled after Ankara refused the delegation's request of meeting with Turkish officials and access to the parliament building, Roth told reporters in Berlin.

"Yesterday we were informed that it was currently not considered opportune for Turkey's highest level to hold political talks with the German parliamentary side in Turkey," Roth said, describing the situation as "political provocation."

The cancellation adds to a list of issues since last week that has increased the diplomatic tensions between the two NATO members.

Last Monday, Turkey refused the visit by another group of German lawmakers to Turkey's Incirlik air base, where over 200 German troops were stationed as part of the military coalition against the Islamic State.

The visit, scheduled also this week, was "considered inappropriate for the time being," a Turkish diplomatic source told Xinhua, without revealing further details.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week, as a response, that she was considering a relocation of the German army currently based in Incirlik, adding that Jordan, one of Turkey's neighboring countries, could be an alternative.

Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's defense minister, said last Saturday that she was "impressed" after paying a visit to Jordan's Azraq air base, although a final decision was yet to make on the transfer of the German air force.h Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Germany was free to remove their troops from Turkey but the withdrawal would not be a problem to Turkey.

"We have not receive official notice by Germany that it is going to transfer troops from the Incirlik base to Jordan," said Erdogan before leaving for Brussels to attend the NATO summit, "but if they do so, it will not be a problem to us. If they leave, we will say 'happy journey' to them."

Meanwhile, Germany and Turkey are negotiating over this mounting diplomatic chaos to work out a resolution, German Ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann said on Tuesday.

Merkel and Erdogan have both confirmed presence at the NATO summit, where the German Chancellor intends to meet her Turkish counterpart, said Steffen Seibert, Merkel's spokesman at a news conference on Wednesday.

Relations have worsened between Germany and Turkey since last year, when Germany granted asylum petitions to those who allegedly participated in the failed coup attempt in Turkey last July, and the German parliament agreed to define the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as "genocide."

The Incirlik air base is one of NATO's crucial military bases in the Middle East. The NATO aircraft, used in air strikes against the Islamic State, are deployed at the base. According to the agreement between Berlin and Ankara, German jets and hundreds of personnel will be stationed at the base until the end of 2017.
DHAKA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Thursday arrested four members of a banned militant outfit along with huge amount of firearms and explosives.

RAB in a statement said the militants are the members of Neo-JMB, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, blamed for the deadly attack on the Spanish cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan on July 1, 2016.

The arrests were made during raids in capital Dhaka and two adjoining districts, it said.

"From their possessions, RAB recovered explosives and bomb-making materials."

According to RAB, the militants belonged to the "Tamim Chowdhury-Sarwar Jahan group" of Neo-JMB.

Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian and Sarwar Jahan, identified as Neo JMB chief who was killed during a police raid on Oct. 8 last year, have been blamed as the masterminds of the brutal attack on the Spanish cafe that left 20 hostages including 18 foreigners dead.

JMB carried out a series of bombings in 63 out of the country's 64 districts, including capital Dhaka on Aug. 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 others injured.

Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up while six top leaders of the group, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.

Against the backdrop of a new wave of militancy rising, Bangladesh stepped up drive aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country.

Bangladeshi police have reportedly hunted down and killed dozens of militants linked to the cafe attack, including Tamim Chowdhury who was killed in a police raid on Aug. 27 last year.
NAIROBI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said its security team based in Meru National Park in eastern Kenya has recovered six elephant tusks.

KWS said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening that the tusks were recovered on May 13 by the security operations team in Meru National Park who were on routine wildlife patrols at Magado area near Bisanadi National Reserve.

The team had received information from the local community that there were two elephant carcasses, which had been sighted by herdsmen.

"The security officers swiftly moved to the said location in the company of two members of community who had given out the information," KWS said.

It said the officers managed to locate the two carcasses and also established the cause of death for both elephants as gunshots. In both cases, the tusks had been hacked off, an indication of poaching.

The wildlife agency has been working closely with elders from local communities under a new strategy to fight poaching.

Using the same strategy, the team has unraveled the identity of three suspected poachers who recently killed two elephants whose carcasses were discovered in the precincts of Bisanadi National Reserve recently.

The suspects reportedly went into hiding since the start of the joint KWS and local Community meetings for fear of the reprisals. "The elders have promised to arrest and hand over the suspects to KWS when they resurface," KWS said.

KWS said it has scheduled a series of meetings with the local community in coming days to address a number of wildlife security related challenges.

"The team thereafter mobilized a number of elders from the community within the area and held a meeting. The meeting was strategically meant to unearth the perpetrators and recover the missing trophies," KWS said.

"The elders promised the KWS team to come back for feedback after four days. The four days were to lapse last Wednesday (May 17)," it said.

KWS said after requesting for more days, the elders called commander of KWS security team telling him that the trophies had been recovered and that KWS should proceed to Eskot town where they were to meet with the elders and have the trophies handed over to them.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 18:46:45|Editor: ying

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WELLINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand unveiled its Budget 2017 on Thursday, which showed that its defense force will receive a total of 982 million-NZ dollars (691 million U.S. dollars) new funding as part of the budget.

The New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) will receive a 406 million-NZ dollar (285 million U.S. dollars) boost in operating funding over four years, and 576 million NZ dollars (405 million U.S. dollars) in capital as part of Budget 2017, said Defense Minister Mark Mitchell in a release.

"It is vital that the NZDF has what it needs to meet the country's security and defence interests. This major increase in funding for the armed services will support a range of NZDF capabilities as identified through the Defense White Paper of 2016," Mitchell said.

He said that one of the biggest priorities is ensuring the NZDF has the right people with the right training ready when needed, and this funding will support a range of personnel initiatives.

"It will also go towards a variety of new initiatives and projects in train already, including a cyber security support capability for the protection of NZDF communication networks, a new pilot training capability service, and more funding for our helicopter fleets," Mitchell said.

The NZDF has to be modern and able to operate in a wide range of tasks and environments, he added.

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said that Budget 2017 shares the benefits of growth by improving public services, investing in the infrastructure needed for a growing country, reducing debt and lifting incomes.

English added that the budget shows solid economic growth expected to average 3.1 percent over the next five years, peaking at around 3.8 percent in 2019.

The budget includes 203 million NZ dollars (143 million U.S. dollars) for science and innovation, 3.9 billion NZ dollars in health (2.74 billion U.S. dollars), among others.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 18:51:51|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The joint feasibility study on China-Mauritius free trade agreement (FTA) has been completed on a positive note, an official with the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

"Building the FTA is in line with the interests of both countries, and good for deepening bilateral economic and trade relations," ministry spokesman Sun Jiwen said at a press conference, citing the conclusion of the research.

Launched in November 2016, the feasibility study was the first FTA feasibility research between China and African economies. Completion of the research was announced during Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming's visit to Mauritius on Wednesday, Sun said.

China takes FTAs as a platform for opening wider to the world and an effective approach to integrate into the global economy and strengthen cooperation with other economies.

Currently, China has signed and implemented 14 such agreements involving 22 countries and regions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:02:04|Editor: ying

Chairman of the Peace Commission Dr. Tin Myo Win (C) speaks to media after a meeting of Myanmar's Peace Commission and the seven Northern Alliance armed groups in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, May 25, 2017. Myanmar's Peace Commission met with the seven Northern Alliance armed groups on the sidelines of the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference underway in Nay Pyi Taw Thursday. (Xinhua/U Aung)

NAY PYI TAW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Peace Commission met with the seven Northern Alliance armed groups on the sidelines of the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference underway in Nay Pyi Taw Thursday.

Welcoming the armed groups, which are non-signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA), Chairman of the Peace Commission Tin Myo Win told the press that their willingness of attendance at the conference represented a step of confidence building towards peace.

He thanked the seven armed groups for their attendance as well as China for its support of the holding of the peace conference.

The seven Northern Alliance group refers to the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Arakan Army (AA), Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Mongla's National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP)-North.

The second 21st Century Panglong Conference continued on Thursday, the second day session, focusing on papers in five sectors resulting from six state-and regional-level political dialogues.

According to the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) Secretariat, apart from the papers, the 41 points of facts related to political, economic, social, land and environment sectors, reached by the UPDJC prior to the conference, were also to be discussed.

The conference, which aims to unite all ethnic nationalities and build a democratic federal union through dialogue, kicked off here Wednesday.

With State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi inaugurating the event, some 1,400 representatives from the government, the parliament, the military, invited political parties, ethnic armed organizations and civil society participated in the five-day meeting.

The 15 ethnic armed organizations, present at the event, include eight signatories to the NCA, led by the Kayin National Union (KNU), and seven non-signatories or Northern Alliance, led by the UWSA.


Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:07:11|Editor: ying

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PHNOM PENH, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government has lifted a six-year ban on sending women to work as housemaids in Malaysia, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen imposed the ban in October 2011 following reports of physical abuses and law violation by Malaysian employers.

"It is true that we nearly reach the final process to reopen the market," Cambodian Labor Ministry Spokesman Heng Sour told Xinhua, referring to the sending of Cambodian women to work as maids in Malaysia.

"However, it depends on the choice of our people whether they want to go there or not," he said. "It also depends on the demand by prospective employers in Malaysia."

According to Malaysia's Bernama news agency, Malaysia's Human Resources Minister Richard Riot said on Thursday that the first batch of Cambodian domestic workers will arrive in Malaysia after Hari Raya Aidilfitri that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Muslims.

It is estimated that there are about 8,000 registered Cambodian workers in Malaysia with 3,000 of them being maids.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:07:13|Editor: ying

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NEW DELHI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A man was shot dead and four women of his family were allegedly raped Thursday in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said.

The family travelling in car were made to stop and then attacked in Jewar area of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, around 68 km southeast of Indian capital city New Delhi.

"In the wee hours today a family travelling in their car stopped after hitting a metal object on Greater Noida expressway. No sooner some members of the family came out to find out the reason, a group of six armed men surrounded the car, dragged out the women and gang raped them before looting the family," a police official told Xinhua.

"A male member of the family was shot dead when he tried to save the women."

Officials said the family of seven - four women, two teenagers and a man - was on their way to Bulandshahr to visit a relative admitted in a hospital.

The women have been admitted at civil hospital for medical examination.

Family members told police they were carrying some money along with them, which the armed robbers looted.

Police have registered a case and initiated investigations to nab the criminals.

"We are hopeful that the persons involved in this crime will be arrested soon," a police official said. "So far, no arrests were made in this regard."

Greater Noida comes under the purview of the National Capital Region (NCR) of India.

Last year, a 13-year-old girl and her mother were dragged out of the car and raped under similar circumstances on the national highway passing through Bulandshahr.

The girl, along with her family, was going to a funeral, when armed men stopped their car, beat up the men and gang raped the girl and her 35-year-old mother.

Sexual attacks on women and girls in India puts a question mark on their safety and efficiency of police force in the country.

In December 2002 a fatal gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi brought spotlight on crimes against women in India.

The incident saw huge protests and resulted in new anti-rape laws in the country. However, brutal sexual attacks against women continue to be reported across India.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:27:36|Editor: ying

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, during the EU-USA Leaders' Meeting at the European Council headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Thierry Monasse)

BRUSSELS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk admitted on Thursday that the bloc is still at odds with the United States over issues like climate, trade and Russia.

"My feeling is that we agreed on many areas. First and foremost, on counterterrorism... But some issues remain open, like climate and trade," Tusk told reports after meeting with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump.

"And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- we meaning Mr. President Trump and myself -- that we have a common opinion about Russia, although when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, it seems that we were on the same line," he added.

Tusk said he told the billionaire U.S. president that they should consolidate "the whole free world around those values, and not just interests."

"Values and principles first - this is what we, Europe and America, should be saying," said Tusk.

Trump, on his first overseas trip as U.S. president, on Thursday met with Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, both of whom have been critical of Trump's remarks in the past.

Later on Thursday, Trump and leaders of other NATO countries will meet for the first time to map out the future of the organization, and try to narrow their differences on its budget.

The U.S. President has had a fractious relationship with Europe since his candidacy, in which he publicly applauded the pro-Brexit campaign before and after the referendum which saw Britain decide to leave the European Union.

In January, as president-elect, he rattled many European allies by stating in an interview that NATO (North Atlantic Trade Alliance) was obsolete, and indirectly threatening allies to leave the pact if they did not boost defense spending.

Donald Trump's first trip abroad as president has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank of the Palestinian territories, the Vatican before arriving in Brussels. His final leg of the journey will be in Sicily, Italy, where he will join a G7 summit in Taormina.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:27:38|Editor: ying

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JUBA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Thursday said it is not supporting any rebel group in Sudan's Darfur region following the latest round of accusation by President Omar Bashir.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mawien Makol said the two neighboring countries have a security mechanism set up in 2014 to verify allegations of rebel support on both sides, rather than using the media to blame each other.

"That is not true. It is not the first time Khartoum has accused us. We have said we don't have interest to support rebels. They should not look at us as the problem," Makol told Xinhua in Juba.

The Sudanese leader on Tuesday accused South Sudan and Egypt of supporting the rebels in the Western region of the country. Al Bashir said that the rebels the Sudanese Armed Forces clashed with crossed into Darfur from South Sudan and Libya.

"We have put in place a committee headed by the two defense ministers that checks and verifies these allegations. Going to the media and talk about accusations is not good," Makol revealed.

The latest spat comes after the two former civil war foes moved to thaw relations following disputes over border demarcation, oil transit fees and hitherto disputed oil-rich Abyei region.

Khartoum has also been supporting its war-torn neighbor with humanitarian food after opening up its humanitarian corridors.

South Sudan has in the past also accused Sudan of supporting the SPLA-in opposition rebels allied to former first vice president Riek Machar now exiled in South Africa.

"We have now cordial relations with Sudan to the extent of them giving us humanitarian support," Makol disclosed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:32:42|Editor: ying

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SKOPJE, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Zoran Zaev, the head of Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) has called on the European Union to allow Macedonia to open the EU accession talks, at least in a technical manner, local media reported Thursday.

Zaev, who was mandated last week by President Gjorge Ivanov to form a new government here, attended Wednesday a dinner organized by European diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini for regional Prime Ministers in Brussels.

As Macedonia's PM-designate, Zaev told media after the meeting that he expected the EU to start the accession talks mainly with the chapters 23 and 24 which cover the judiciary, rule of law and human rights.

According to him, such move would be a significant help for Macedonia to push forward its EU integration agenda.

On the other hand, SDSM leader Zoran Zaev said that he also expected to propose a new government by the end of this week and to have the Parliament vote on it early next week, media reported.

We will try to submit a proposal to the Parliament by the end of this week. The people expect results, improvements, reforms. According to the rules of the Parliament, the debate can last for 48 hours and that means that we should have a new Government at the beginning of next week, media here cited Zaev as saying Wednesday night.

According to him, the talks have advanced with the two ethnic Albanian parties: DUI and AA parties, while he is still discussing with head of BESA party, who also offered the signatures of its five members of Parliament to support Zaev claim for a mandate.

Meanwhile, the EU's Mogherini encouraged the Prime Ministers of six Balkan countries to accelerate the necessary work in order to meet their citizens' expectations and move closer to their European Union future, a press release from Mogherini's office informed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:32:44|Editor: Mengjie

People visit a demonstration center of Guizhou big data pilot zone in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 25, 2017. The demonstration center is located in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, with a construction area of 4,300 square meters. The mountainous Guizhou Province has become a pioneer in China's big data development due to a moderate climate, sufficient power supply and good network infrastructure. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

GUIYANG, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China's first big data engineering laboratory newly launched in Guizhou Province is expected to help improve government management efficiency.

The lab, officially set up Wednesday, has several functions, including collecting and analyzing administrative data, offering privacy protection of data and applying big data technology to government decision making, clean government supervision, social management and public services.

The lab is located in the national high-tech industrial development zone in the provincial capital Guiyang.

"It will focus on the study of big data dedicated to government management and encourage the application and industrialization of big data in government management efficiency," said Wang Daming, head of the Council of National Engineering Laboratory.

The National Development and Reform Commission approved the joint construction of the laboratory by Guizhou and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation in November 2016.

Guizhou is the country's first pilot zone for big data. The technology has been widely applied in government management, business and daily life.

For example, the provincial high people's court has set up a big data system to aid the handling of cases and facilitate public inquiries.

The province also made a big data industrial map, which demonstrates companies' development in different areas, providing reference for policy making.

The province's computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing industries saw their added value reach 9.3 billion yuan (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, about nine times that in 2011.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk upon his arrival at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

BRUSSELS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk admitted on Thursday that the bloc is still at odds with the United States over issues like climate, trade and Russia.

"My feeling is that we agreed on many areas. First and foremost, on counterterrorism... But some issues remain open, like climate and trade," Tusk told reports after meeting with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump.

"And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- we meaning Mr. President Trump and myself -- that we have a common opinion about Russia, although when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, it seems that we were on the same line," he added.

Tusk said he told the billionaire U.S. president that they should consolidate "the whole free world around those values, and not just interests."

"Values and principles first - this is what we, Europe and America, should be saying," said Tusk.

Trump, on his first overseas trip as U.S. president, on Thursday met with Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, both of whom have been critical of Trump's remarks in the past.

Later on Thursday, Trump and leaders of other NATO countries will meet for the first time to map out the future of the organization, and try to narrow their differences on its budget.

The U.S. President has had a fractious relationship with Europe since his candidacy, in which he publicly applauded the pro-Brexit campaign before and after the referendum which saw Britain decide to leave the European Union.

In January, as president-elect, he rattled many European allies by stating in an interview that NATO (North Atlantic Trade Alliance) was obsolete, and indirectly threatening allies to leave the pact if they did not boost defense spending.

Donald Trump's first trip abroad as president has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank of the Palestinian territories, the Vatican before arriving in Brussels. His final leg of the journey will be in Sicily, Italy, where he will join a G7 summit in Taormina.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:42:50|Editor: ying

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YANGON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Ministries of foreign affairs of Myanmar and India held their 16th round of consultations on policy affairs in Nay Pyi Taw Thursday, according to a press release of the Myanmar Foreign Ministry.

Myanmar delegation was led by U Kyaw Tin, minister of state for foreign affairs, while Indian delegation was headed by S. Jaishankar, secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The two sides had extensive discussions on bilateral relations and cooperation, exchange of friendly visits, cooperation in security and border management, boundary affairs, projects being implemented by the two countries, promotion of trade and investment, tourism and cultural sectors as well as consular affairs.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 19:42:52|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese official Thursday pledged zero tolerance on academic fraud after German science publishing house Springer retracted over 100 papers by Chinese authors in April.

"China will resolutely contain the breeding and spreading of academic fraud and deal with such misconducts seriously," Shang Yong, Executive Vice Chairman of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), told a press conference.

"Lessons should be drawn from scientific fraud and efforts are needed to reform the evaluation system for scientists, scientific projects and institutions for scientific research," Shang said, warning against the traditional one-size-fits-all evaluation policy.

Shang said fake peer-reviews provided by third-party agents were to blame for the retraction, while calling for enhanced efforts to monitor the process of publishing academic papers and boosting research integrity.

Springer said the withdrawal was a global issue rather than targeted against Chinese authors.

The official said CAST would coordinate with the ministries of science and technology as well as education to keep high pressure on academic fraud.
Refugees from South Sudan wait to be settled outside the Khour Al-Waral refugee camp in Al-Salam locality, some 69-kilometers south of Rebek, capital of White Nile State, Sudan, May 18, 2017. The Khour Al-Waral refugee camp accommodated 50,000 refugees. The majority of them are from Upper Nile State of South Sudan on the border with Sudan. (Xinhua/Mohamed Babiker)

JUBA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Heads of two UN agencies have called on South Sudan's warring parties to the conflict to cease violence and work together to ensure that food and other lifesaving support can reach people to end famine and severe hunger.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s Jose Graziano da Silva and World Food Programme (WFP)'s David Beasley stressed in a joint statement issued in Juba that an immediate, massive response is critical, combining emergency food assistance and support for agriculture, livestock and fisheries.

"Despite the appalling conditions, it is not too late to save more people from dying. We can still avoid a worsening of the disaster, but the fighting has to stop now," said FAO Director-General Graziano da Silva during a visit to the former Unity State, one of the areas in South Sudan worst hit by the current hunger crisis.

"There can be no progress without peace. People must be given immediate access to food, and farmers need to be allowed to work on their fields and tend to their livestock," he added.

According to the UN, about 5.5 million people in South Sudan, or almost half the population, face severe hunger, not knowing where their next meal is coming from ahead of the lean season, which peaks in July.

Of these, around one million people are on the brink of famine. Of those 5.5 million, more than 90,000 South Sudanese face starvation with famine declared in parts of former Unity State.

"This unprecedented situation reflects the impact of ongoing strife, obstacles to delivering humanitarian assistance and declining agricultural production," the agencies said.

In the former Unity State, Graziano da Silva and WFP Executive Director Beasley visited people in several places who are being supported by the two agencies as they cope with the hunger crisis.

They met with people facing famine on the remote Kok Island, a refuge in the Nile River where many people have sought shelter from fighting.

Security members escort the convoys carrying food materials through the humanitarian corridor from Sudan's El Obied to Bentiu in Bahr el Ghazal State of South Soudan, May 19, 2017. The humanitarian corridors recently opened by Sudan government have contributed to the delivery of humanitarian aid to South Sudanese citizens and to lessening the famine there, according to aid organizations. (Xinhua/Mohamed Babiker)

They witnessed WFP planes airdropping lifesaving food for tens of thousands of people in Ganyiel, where regular distributions of humanitarian aid have kept famine at bay.

The two agency heads saw aid workers from international and local partner organizations distributing WFP food and nutrition treatments, as well as seeds and fishing kits from FAO.

"Food, treatment for malnourished kids, kits that help people fish and grow vegetables - these are the difference between life and death for people we met in Unity state," Beasley said.

"But we can't keep scaling up forever. The fighting has to end to make the kind of investments that give the children of South Sudan any hope for the future they deserve," he said.

The two UN agencies face a funding gap of around 182 million U.S. dollars for the next six months, and are struggling to raise funds to meet skyrocketing needs in several crises around the world.

"Donors have supported South Sudan over many years," said Beasley said, noting that WFP will continue to stand by the people of South Sudan in their time of need.

"But times are tight, with so many crises around the world demanding attention and support. South Sudan's leaders must show good faith by facilitating humanitarian efforts, including getting rid of unnecessary fees and procedures that delay and hinder aid," he said.

WFP aims to assist at least 4.1 million people this year in South Sudan, including lifesaving food for people in remote areas who would otherwise have practically nothing to eat, as they have been cut off by fighting.

The two UN agency heads also visited an FAO project aiming to provide women farmers and pastoralists with a place to safely process milk for their families and to sell it. It also offers a space for community training.
Source:Xinhua| 2017-05-25 20:09:16|Editor: Mengjie

A visitor passes by a demonstration center of Guizhou big data pilot zone during the 2017 China International Big Data Expo in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 25, 2017. The 2017 China International Big Data Expo is held in Guiyang from May 25 to 28. More than 300 big data enterprises from the world attend the expo. (Xinhua/Ma Yan)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 20:23:24|Editor: ying

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GARISSA, Kenya, May 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two Kenyan police officers were killed and two others seriously injured early Thursday in terror attack involving improvised explosive device (IED) in Garissa county along border with Somalia.

Regional government official Mohamud Saleh said the officers were killed when their vehicle ran over an IED, which was planted between Malelei and Kulan road.

The incident happened just a few kilometers from where three of their colleagues were killed the previous day.

"For the last one and half weeks, Al-Shabaab operatives have tried to destabilize the region and especially along the border with Somalia, but our resolve is to fight them remains undeterred," he said.

Saleh said the officers were traveling to Liboi at the border between Kenya and Somalia to reinforce their colleagues carrying out an operation to flush out the militants believed to be hiding around the area.

Saleh said that the attacks will not deter the government's resolve to fight and eliminate terror from the region.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 20:33:32|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China has no military or geo-strategic intentions, according to a Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Thursday.

"The saying that the initiative has the underlying purpose of expanding China's military presence along the Belt and Road is ungrounded," said Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense at a routine press conference.

Ren said that China proposed the initiative with the purpose of seeking common development by providing surrounding countries and regional cooperation with more public goods. The move also contributes to economic prosperity in such countries and to the regional economic development.

"China does not seek dominance over regional affairs or its sphere of influence, and China will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," Ren said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 20:43:35|Editor: ying

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GARISSA, Kenya, May 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two Kenyan police officers were killed and two others seriously injured early Thursday in terror attack involving improvised explosive device (IED) in Garissa county along border with Somalia.

Regional government official Mohamud Saleh said the officers were killed when their vehicle ran over an IED, which was planted between Malelei and Kulan road.

The incident happened just a few kilometers from where three of their colleagues were killed the previous day.

"For the last one and half weeks, Al-Shabaab operatives have tried to destabilize the region and especially along the border with Somalia, but our resolve is to fight them remains undeterred," he said.

Saleh said the officers were traveling to Liboi at the border between Kenya and Somalia to reinforce their colleagues carrying out an operation to flush out the militants believed to be hiding around the area.

Saleh said that the attacks will not deter the government's resolve to fight and eliminate terror from the region.

In the past week, the militants have killed 17 people in Mandera and Garissa counties, majority of them security officers.

Saleh said that so far the security agencies have made huge strides and have arrested three key suspects, one of them involved in the killing of Omarjilllo chief in Mandera last week.

He said the other two are suspected to behind the planting of explosives along Kulan-Liboi road.

"We also have got names of several other suspects and are following up their case and sooner we are going to arrest them. I would like to say with no uncertain terms that the government is capable of destroying this elements," Saeh said.

Since Kenyan soldiers crossed into Somalia several attacks believed to have been carried out by Al-Shabaab have occurred in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa and Dadaab districts of northern Kenya even as the military reports gains against the Islamist group by capturing their military bases and killing scores of them.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 20:43:36|Editor: Mengjie

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Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao (R) meets with Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, a visiting member of Palestine's Central Committee of the Fatah movement in Beijing, capital of China, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Li Yuanchao on Thursday reaffirmed that China supports a comprehensive, just, and long-lasting solution of the Palestinian issue at an early date.

While meeting with Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, a visiting member of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, Li noted that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is willing to deepen party-to-party exchanges with Fatah for wider cooperation between China and Palestine.

Thanking China for its support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, Tawfiq Al-Tirawi said the country places great importance on developing relations with China as well as the CPC, and is willing to strengthen cooperation in various areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 21:08:52|Editor: ying

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PYONGYANG, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Thursday that the claim by South Korea of a drone intrusion was nothing but "mental derangement."

The so-called drone was "a flock of birds" flying above the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that separates the DPRK and South Korea, the Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) as saying.

"The MDL area is the most acute hotspot where huge troops of both sides constantly level their guns at each other," the spokesman said.

"At around 16:00 on May 23, watching a flock of birds flying in the sky above the forefront areas in Cholwon, Kangwon Province, the south Korean puppet forces opened warning broadcasting and fired more than 450 machine gun bullets into the DPRK side, claiming they spotted unidentified flying objects crossing the MDL," the spokesman said.

South Korea said a drone from the DPRK flew across the MDL on Tuesday and its troops opened fire at it.

The spokesman says the south is "caught by mental derangement" and blames the north for everything, including the sinking of one of their own warships by the "north's torpedo."

The spokesman said the KPA is provokers in the south are "getting all the more reckless."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 21:13:55|Editor: ying

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MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had detained four suspected members of a terrorist group, which planned to attack Moscow's transport infrastructure.

The detainees were holders of Russian and Central Asian passports, and they received instructions from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group operating in Syria, the FSB said in a statement.

After committing sabotage and terrorist attacks, the suspects planned to go to Syria to take part in the hostilities there, the FSB said.

The FSB carried out searches, discovering a laboratory for the production of explosives, and seized an improvised explosive device, as well as automatic firearms, ammunition, grenades, literature and video recordings of extremists and terrorists, it said.

FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said last month that the IS might plot terrorist attacks in Russia.

He said the FSB needed to improve work aimed at preventing such incidents as the April 3 terrorist attack in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg, which killed 14 people and injured dozens of others.

Prior to Thursday's detention, ten people suspected of participating in terrorist cells were detained in the course of the investigation of the St. Petersburg attack and a large number of arms and explosives were seized.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 21:24:11|Editor: ying

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NAIROBI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways on Thursday announced a 99 million U.S. dollars loss for the 2016 financial year, a 61 percent reduction compared to the previous year.

Kenya Airways CEO Mbuvi Ngunze told an investor briefing in Nairobi that the reduction in losses was attributed to ongoing rationalization of operations.

"During the past financial year that ended on March 2017, there was a reduction of total direct operating costs by 25 million dollars and fleet ownerships costs by 140 million dollars," Ngunze said.

He noted that the improved performance was also due to increased frequency to African destinations.

"Our intra-Africa traffic jumped by 13 percent in 2016 underpinned by our strong focus on the African continent," he said.

Kenya's national carrier recorded a 9 million dollars operating profit for the period under review as compared to an operating loss of 41 million dollars in the prior period.

The CEO said that the airline was also affected by the negative exchange rate that impacted a number of African countries such as Nigeria as well as market pressure from increased capacity by competitors.

He said that despite reducing the number of aircraft under operation, passenger numbers grew by 5.4 percent to reach 4.5 million customers.

In addition, cargo volumes declined due to phasing out of Boeing 777 and the entry of Boeing 787.

"This led to reduction in capacity offered into the market resulting in constraining the space available to uplift cargo within the network," said the airline.

Beginning in October, Kenya's flag carrier will introduce 30 additional flight frequencies to existing African destinations.

The airline currently flies to 53 destinations worldwide, out of which 42 are in Africa.
This progress in the countryside of Homs, in the Syrian desert around Palmyra, is part of the military operation to secure a triangle of areas between Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders. (Reuters photo)

DAMASCUS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army and its allies are making quick advance against the Islamic State (IS) group in the southeastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria, a military source told Xinhua on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Syrian army and allied forces captured the town of Khnaifis in southern Homs after battles with IS, and the units there met with another military unit that was advancing in areas near the ancient city of Palmyra, said the source, on condition of anonymity.

The Syrian army also captured the town of Bardeh and the Zkakiyeh mountain in the same region.

This progress in the countryside of Homs, in the Syrian desert around Palmyra, is part of the military operation to secure a triangle of areas between Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

On May 18, the U.S. air force struck a convoy of pro-government fighters advancing in the desert near the Tanf border crossing with Iraq.

Then, reports said the U.S. was protecting its troops and rebels its backing in Tanf, where the U.S. and Britain have bases.

At the time, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said America's role in Syria's conflict was unchanged after the strikes.

"No. We are not increasing our role in the Syrian civil war. But we will defend our troops," Mattis said, when asked about the strikes.

For its part, the Syrian army stressed that it will continue to fight the terrorist groups and capture areas near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, as it's the "legitimate" duty of the Syrian army.

Since then, the army and its allies of Shiite fighters continued to make progress in the desert and are reportedly closing in on areas where the U.S. troops are located.
Technicians prepare for the Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, on its mother ship Xiangyanghong 09, May 22, 2017. The ship arrived at the Mariana area Monday and started testing temperature, salinity and depth for Tuesday's dive in the Mariana Trench, the first of the expedition's third stage. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping)

BEIJING -- China's Finance Ministry Wednesday dismissed a decision by international rating agency Moody's to downgrade China's credit ratings.

The downgrade was based on the "pro-cyclical" rating approach which is "inappropriate," the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.

Moody's said Wednesday that it had downgraded China's long-term local currency and foreign currency issuer ratings to A1 from Aa3 and changed the outlook to stable from negative.

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BEIJING -- The Chinese government will work with the Pakistani side to make every effort to rescue two Chinese nationals abducted Wednesday in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing that the Chinese government attached great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals overseas and denounced abduction in all its forms.

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ON BOARD SHIP XIANGYANGHONG 09 -- China's manned submersible Jiaolong plans to descend to 6,300 in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest known trench, on Thursday.

Thursday's mission will be Jiaolong's second dive in the Mariana Trench this year, which is expected to take less than 10 hours.

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BEIJING -- The Ministry of Culture has shut down 10 online streaming apps and websites in a campaign against illegal online content.

The 10 include an online streaming app called "Qianshu," said the ministry, adding that it had punished 48 operators and 31,371 presenters and terminated contracts with 547 presenters, at a press conference Wednesday.

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GENEVA -- Newly elected World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom on Wednesday reiterated the organization's adherence to the one-China principle.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:09:38|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour said that Iran supports the Belt and Road Initiative, and expects to conduct practical cooperation within the initiative's framework.

"To build the Belt and Road together will not only yield win-win progress, but also contribute to regional stability," said Rahimpour in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.

Iran was once an important stop along the ancient Silk Road, so it currently attaches importance to strengthening regional connectivity and building the modern Belt and Road. Rahimpour said Iran is ready to take part into the initiative in such fields as economic and transport cooperation.

As six overland economic corridors have been planned within the framework of the initiative, Rahimpour said Iran is willing to explore cooperative opportunities on building economic corridors.

Iran would like to work with its cooperative partners, including China and Russia, to launch tripartite cooperation within the framework to contribute to regional stability and economic development.

With regard to China-Iran ties, he said the two sides have forged a comprehensive strategic partnership, and Iran will continue to enhance cooperation with China, in the context of Hassan Rouhani being recently re-elected as Iranian president.

"Against the backdrop that new events and developments are continuously emerging in the world, it is important for the two countries to deepen ties and map out future cooperation through closer contacts and coordination between leaders of the two countries," he said.

China is the biggest trade partner and importer for Iran. Rahimpour said the two countries have scored cooperative projects in areas such as economy, trade and energy. In April, China and Iran signed the first commercial contract to redesign Iran's Arak heavy water reactor in Vienna, demonstrating a success in bilateral cooperation.

He noted that some merchants in Iran could even accept payments from Chinese apps such as WeChat and Alipay, which showcase great potential and broad prospects for tourism and cultural cooperation.

Rahimpour said that as there are direct flights between Iran and Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, more and more Chinese people have traveled to Iran for tourism and business. The Iranian side will work with China to remove obstacles and facilitate people-to-people exchanges.

"Two-way trade volume has exceeded 32 billion U.S. dollars, and we expect the volume to grow in the future," Rahimpour said.

On the Iranian nuclear issue, Rahimpour said that China has played an important role in reaching and implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached in Vienna in July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 group, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany.

Rahimpour said that so far there have been some difficulties in carrying out the JCPOA, but an individual country's stance can not affect the overall process.

"Iran is confident about the outlook of the implementation, while it believes some relevant parties share the same stance. The JCPOA is under the process of implementation, as some countries are conducting economic cooperation with Iran," he said.

He noted that if the JCPOA were suspended, it would be other countries, rather than Iran, that would suffer from the outcome.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:24:52|Editor: ying

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CAIRO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A policeman was shot dead by unknown militants, and three soldiers were killed as a blast targeted their armored vehicles on Thursday in Egypt's North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip.

In Arish city of North Sinai, a 38-year-old non-commissioned policeman was gunned down by unknown assailants and the police were combing the area in their pursuit, said official MENA news agency.

In nearby Rafah, a security source said that three soldiers were killed as an improvised explosive device targeted their armored vehicle during their patrol at the coastal side of the city.

Anti-government terror attacks in Egypt have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group.

Most of the terrorist attacks nationwide, particularly those in Sinai, have been claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) militia.

To further pressure the government, the IS started to expand terror operations to target the Coptic Christian minority in capital Cairo and other provinces nationwide.

In April, IS-claimed bombings at two churches in northern provinces of Gharbiya and Alexandria killed at least 47 and wounded over 120. A similar suicide bombing at a Cairo church in December 2016 killed at least 28 worshippers.

Meanwhile, security campaigns in Sinai have killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects over the past few years as part of the country's anti-terror war declared by former army chief and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's overthrow.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:29:57|Editor: yan

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VALLETTA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Maltese Institute of Financial Services Practitioners (IFSP) said in a statement issued on Thursday that Malta's tax rules are compliant with EU Legal systems.

They added that financial practitioners operate within a legal and regulatory framework of the highest standard, and Malta's tax system is neither harmful, nor discriminatory or secretive.

The statement was published following the publication of the "Malta Files" which described Malta as a haven for tax evasion.

Additionally, Malta had pro-actively ensured that its tax rules continued to be compliant with applicable EU legal principles even though taxation policy remained a matter for each member state to determine in the exercise of its sovereignty.

"Malta has participated actively in all of the EU's and international tax transparency initiatives, being an early adopter of all EU directives and other international agreements aimed at improving transparency between EU and other countries on tax matters," IFSP stated.

They countered that referring to Malta as an "offshore jurisdiction" or a "tax haven" was entirely baseless and purely sensationalist.

Furthermore much of the information released in the "Malta Files" was readily available through the Registry of Companies' online portal, they added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:35:02|Editor: yan

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By Abu Hanifah

JAKARTA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian authorities said Thursday that the deadly suicide bombings in a Jakarta bus terminal on Wednesday were conducted by IS-affiliated group operating in the country.

An Indonesian police headquarters spokesperson Martinus Sitompul said the attacks in the bus terminal located in East Jakarta on Wednesday night was strongly suspected of carried out by members of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which has stated their allegiance to IS.

"Content and components in the assembled bombs were entirely similar to the ones assembled by members of the IS-affiliated terror group which have been attempting attacks in several places," Sitompul said, referring to the assembled bombs detonated by suicidal bombers that killed themselves, three police and injured several other police and civilians on Wednesday night.

In the latest development police have managed to identify the attacks perpetrators in the Jakarta's bus terminal to be linked to a terrorist group actively operating in Poso, Central Sulawesi province.

The two perpetrators were identified as Solihin and Ichwan Nur Salam. The latter one was a Bandung resident.

After combing the scene and examining the evidence, police found out that the assembled bombs were not from high explosive ones. They contained nails and metal balls and were packed in pressure cookers and put in backpacks carried by the perpetrators.

Police found a receipt paper for the purchase of a pressure cooker from a minimarket in town of Padalarang, near Bandung, from the mangled body of a perpetrator.

Police said that the bomb packing and the contents were aimed at causing maximum explosion and giving severe impacts to the targets as it can shred flesh of people around the bomb blast.

A bomb with similar technique and contents were found in a failed attack in district of Cicendo, in West Java province's capital of Bandung in February this year.

Similar bombs were also found from police's ambushes against terrorist suspects in various locations with the largest one was in Bekasi, West Java late last year, which the police said capable to flatten buildings in radius of 300 meters.

JAD was identified as a terrorist group based in Indonesia. Formed in 2015, it constituted several extremist groups which stated their allegiance to IS.

Echoing police's analyses, a prominent terrorism analyst from International Crisis Group, Sidney Jones said on Thursday that the attack aimed at showing the radical group existence in Indonesia.

"It was to show its existence amid pressures received by IS throughout the world. There are some active IS-affiliated groups operating in Indonesia," Sydney said in an interview with a local TV station.

Meanwhile, former chief of government's anti-terror desk of the National Agency for Combating Terrorism, Ansyaad Mbai said the attack did not merely aimed at police. He added that it was actually aiming at the nation.

"The attack was intended to emerge insecurity among people as police are figured as the ones who assure the security for the people," he said in a TV interview on Thursday to comment on the fresh terror attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:35:04|Editor: yan

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Whether it's soaring above Mars or diving below the Pacific, science fans now have a host of scientific immersive experiences they can explore through virtual reality (VR).

At a science exhibition in the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing, people queue up at a VR experience zone where they can "dive" to 2,000 meters and "collect" coral.

It is based on the sea expedition conducted by China's research vessel Kexue ("Science") in 2015. People are instantly taken to the departure port once they put on the headset, when they can hop on the vessel and begin their adventure.

"I was so scared at first, it was very dark under the sea and I was stuck in the middle of rocks," said nine-year-old Ren Haoming. "But I managed to finally pick up a huge crab."

Kexue has launched sea expeditions at the Yap Seamount sea area in the west Pacific, where scientists have collected sea animal and rock samples.

"Science and nature are my favorite classes at school. It is so cool to have such an experience," Ren said. "I can't wait to board a real vessel when I grow up."

As one of the activities held across China to mark the 2017 National Science and Technology Week, the exhibition looks at various scientific achievements from pedal-powered nanogenerators and driverless cars to unmanned helicopters.

Another highlight of the exhibition enables visitors to "roam on Mars" through VR.

"People always have many questions after experiencing it, such as about the geographical features on Mars or whether there will be strong storm on it," said Deng Chao who works for the exhibition.

The launch of China's first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 last month inspired people's interest in science, and their enthusiasm was further fueled by the dive of Chinese submersible Jiaolong on Tuesday.

Jiaolong reached a depth of 4,811 meters in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest water, where scientists worked for more than three hours observing and collecting rocks and marine life samples.

A robotic arm at the exhibition provides people with a similar experience to scientists on the Jiaolong, enabling people to try to grasp simulated rock samples.

The science exhibition has also attracted professionals. Invited by China Science and Technology Exchange Center, Ulrichova Jitka, vice president of Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, came to China earlier this week.

After visiting the 2017 Shanghai Science Festival, one of the activities held across China this week, Jitka and two of her colleagues were also fascinated with the exhibition in Beijing.

"I haven't tried VR yet, and I'm very interested in the 3D-printed vertebrae," Jitka said. "This exhibition has more high-tech elements, whereas the science festival in Shanghai had more interactive activities."

"We are glad to provide people with more interesting experiences than just watching space and ocean exploration on TV," Deng said. "We hope to increase public knowledge in science through exhibitions and other scientific activities."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:50:08|Editor: MJ

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China is considering a pilot trans-regional environmental protection agency that realizes the same planning, standards, assessment, monitoring and law enforcement in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province.

At a Tuesday meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, the issue of air pollution in the Chinese capital and its surrounding regions was raised, and a trans-regional watchdog under the direct guidance of the Ministry of Environmental Protection was proposed.

"Aspects of the environment such as water and atmosphere spread easily, and pollution and ecological damage usually stretch across administrative regions, which makes a trans-regional environmental agency indispensable," said Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection.

"Weak law enforcement has long been a thorny problem in environmental protection in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, especially in less developed Hebei, where local protectionism always puts economic development first at the expense of environment," said Sun Youhai, head of Tianjin University law school.

However, located in the same basin, polluting emission from one place inevitably drifts to others, as does waste water. But Beijing cannot hold polluters in Hebei or Tianjin responsible in the current system.

The ministry has already set up six environmental inspection centers across China to supervise and drive local environmental protection.

"The centers are basically soft coordination mechanisms. A trans-regional watchdog should be a strong executing agency that can approve, assess, examine and implement environmental programs by itself," said Xia Guang, director of the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy under the ministry.

Xia said by forcibly pressing local governments and companies to shoulder environmental protection responsibilities, and directly implementing national environmental protection programs at local basis, the agency could play a critical role in better executing state wills.

Trans-regional environmental agencies are a common practice in many parts of the world. Countries such as the United States, France, Japan and the Republic of Korea have similar agencies, according to Xia.

In the meantime, local government departments have also made some progress in joint environmental governance. In 2013, seven provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei as well as eight central government departments formed a cooperative team to combat air pollution.

At the end of 2015, the three environmental agencies of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei pioneered a cooperation framework to target air, water and soil pollution in the region.

The governments of Beijing and Tianjin municipalities launched the first joint examination of vehicles that discharge excessively, at highway exits in December. An environmental protection standard regarding manufacturing, sales and use of building coatings and adhesives in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will enter effect on September 1.

According to the latest data from the ministry, the 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region saw 23 days on average with "good" air quality (an average daily Air Quality Index of under 100) in April, up 16.5 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:55:13|Editor: yan

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DUBLIN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny convened a security meeting with cabinet ministers on Thursday in the wake of the Manchester terrorist attack to review the country's level of preparedness in the event of an attack here.

The meeting was also attended by the commissioner of the national police service and the chief of staff of the defense forces.

The cabinet issued a statement after the meeting, saying that although there is a threat in Ireland, an attack is unlikely.

"The meeting was briefed on the threat assessment by the security authorities, who indicated that they remain in daily contact with their counterparts in the UK, the EU and beyond. It was noted that while a terrorist attack here is possible it is unlikely and there is no specific information in relation to any threat to Ireland from international terrorism," the cabinet said, adding that this assessment will remain under continuous review.

The cabinet said ministers were briefed on the overall national emergency management arrangements involving the different agencies of the country and how these arrangements would be operationalized in the event of a terrorist attack or other major incident.

As well as the key government departments who have a leading role within their specific sectors, the cabinet said the meeting was briefed on the role of the Health Service Executive (HSE), local authorities, aviation and transport authorities.

According to the cabinet statement, Irish police are working closely with event organizers to ensure that appropriate safety and security measures are in place at forthcoming events in the summer period.

The statement said Irish police, supported by the defence forces, are engaged in intensive work aimed at preventing any attack taking place here and that detailed preparations have also been made in the event of an attack.

It added other agencies have plans in place to deal with the outcome of major incidents.

On Tuesday, Irish Prime Minister Kenny said there are no plans yet to raise the alert level in the country. But he said security arrangements are constantly under review.

So far, British police have detained eight people in connection with Monday night's attack, which left 22 people dead, 64 wounded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 22:55:15|Editor: Tian Shaohui

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File photo taken on Nov. 23, 2016 shows the national flags of the United States and China during the 27th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Washington D.C., capital of the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with the United States to realize balanced development of trade and investment, a research report by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

"Looking into the future, China is willing to make joint efforts with the United States to encourage Chinese enterprises to participate in U.S. infrastructure construction, further open up markets, promote two-way investment and advance bilateral investment treaty negotiations to further strengthen China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation at local levels," said the Research Report on China-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations.

China will also consider increasing imports from the United States in agricultural products, energy, high-tech products and services, to increase the total benefits while realizing a balanced development of trade and investment, according to the report.

Both China and the United States benefit from trade and economic cooperation. China has maintained a trade surplus in goods, but the United States has also gained tangible benefits.

China is the U.S. largest export market outside North America, and an important export destination for soybeans, cotton, aircraft, automobiles and integrated circuits. In 2016, the United States had a trade surplus in agricultural products of 16.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Over the past 10 years, the average growth rate of U.S. exports to China was nearly three times the growth rate of U.S. exports as a whole, and twice the growth rate of China's exports to the United States.

The United States has maintained a long-term surplus in service trade. In 2016, it exported 51 movies to China, receiving revenue of 16 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese tourists and students in the United States spent more than 51 billion U.S. dollars.

With respect to investment, U.S.-funded enterprises in China have maintained good performance and gained high profits. Sales revenue in 2015 totaled 517 billion U.S. dollars, and profit reached 36.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Investment from Chinese enterprises in the United States is growing rapidly. Chinese investment projects have taken place in 46 states and 425 congressional districts, creating over 140,000 local jobs.

According to the U.S.-China Business Council, in 2015, U.S. exports to China and China-U.S. two-way investment contributed 216 billion U.S. dollars to the U.S. GDP, and supported 2.6 million local jobs.

China has made relentless efforts in recent years to balance China-U.S. economic and trade relations, the report said.

China has frequently dispatched trade and investment delegations to participate in trade and investment promotion activities in the United States. In February 2012 and September 2015, two large Chinese delegations visited the United States and signed trade, investment and cooperation agreements across all sectors, totaling about 44 billion U.S. dollars.

China has been addressing the specific concerns of the U.S. enterprises through the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. Since 2004, the two sides have strengthened policy communications through dialogue and consultation and great progress has been made in several areas, including antitrust law enforcement procedures, exports of agricultural products to China, software legalization, and access to China Compulsory Certification (3C) services of foreign-funded enterprises.

Moreover, China has been vigorously promoting trade and economic cooperation between Chinese and U.S. cities, and has been actively building exhibition platforms to expand imports from the United States.

The report called on the United States to give China fair treatment in export and investment issues.

The United States has exercised strict control over high-tech exports to China while criticizing China for encouraging independent innovation, an apparent paradox, according to the report.

The U.S. export control is based on a Cold War mentality, ignoring the rapid development of bilateral ties and not fitting to its future development, the report said.

China hopes that the United States will take concrete actions in easing the export control and effectively loosen the restrictions on products exported to civilian users for civil purposes, which will also help reduce the U.S. trade deficit, according to the report.

China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation has an increasingly important global impact. As important members of the WTO, China and the United States, together with other members, have pushed for the conclusion of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, and are parties to the negotiations on the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement and on the Environmental Goods Agreement.

The two sides have increased policy coordination under the framework of the G20, and maintained communication and exchange under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The cooperation results have showed the vitality and potential for development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations, as well as the responsibility of the two powers to the world.

Needless to say, the development of relations has not always been plain sailing. The two sides have had heated debates on several issues, even tensions at times, the report said.

However, the two sides have generally aimed for win-win results through constructive cooperation.

"Dialogue costs much less than confrontation, and cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the United States," the report said.

The backdrop for the report is a 100-day action plan for China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, which has had "initial results," MOC spokesperson Sun Jiwen told a press conference Thursday.

Sun also highlighted the global impact of economic ties between the world's top two economies, whose economic aggregate accounts for nearly 40 percent of the global total.

"All economies attach great importance to the status quo and future of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation," Sun said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:05:22|Editor: yan

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BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A seminar was held on Thursday in honor of late geophysicist Huang Danian, who made outstanding contributions in education and scientific research.

Lin Jun, president of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, appealed to returned overseas Chinese and those still abroad to follow the example of Huang and learn from his spirit of serving the country, professional dedication, bravery of innovation, diligence and his efforts to carry forward socialist core values.

Huang, known for his expertise in deep earth exploration technology, studied and worked in Britain for 18 years before returning to China in 2009. Over the ensuing years, he helped China soar in a number of technical fields, transforming the nation into one of the world's leaders in deep earth exploration.

Huang died from illness at age 58 on Jan. 8.

Around 2,000 returned overseas Chinese and students from the capital attended the seminar and many were moved to tears by Huang's deeds.

China Association for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Science and Technology decided to give posthumous honor to Huang as a "distinguished scientist," and asked scientific and technological workers to learn from him.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:10:27|Editor: yan

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CAPE TOWN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The South African cabinet said on Thursday it regrets the decision by General Motors South Africa (GMSA) to phase out the manufacturing and sale of Chevrolet vehicles in the country.

The cabinet has noted with regret the decision by GMSA, cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams said after a fortnightly cabinet meeting in Cape Town.

GMSA announced last Thursday that it was pulling out of South Africa and selling its plant in the country to Japanese commercial vehicle company Isuzu.

The U.S. company, which has been in South Africa since 1926, said its decision had nothing to do with the recent downgrade of South Africa's sovereign credit to junk status by rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch but as part of a worldwide reorganization to focus on more profitable businesses.

This decision "holds dire consequences for those who will lose their job and for our economy," Williams said.

The South African Department of Trade and Industry continues to work with all stakeholders to mitigate the impact, she said.

To increase manufacturing, employment creation and export intensity, the government recently launched the ninth phase of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) to guide future actions, said Williams.

She said the cabinet notes that Isuzu, which has been partnering with GMSA over the years in South Africa, will take over the operations from GMSA.

GMSA said its phase-out will only affect about 600 workers.

But the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) said job losses will run into thousands, particularly in the area of Port Elizabeth where the GM plant is located.

NUMSA has urged the government to intervene as GMSA did not follow due procedures.

The union said it will not allow GM to further disadvantage workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:15:27|Editor: yan

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ALGIERS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Algerian new Prime Minister, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on Thursday revealed priorities of his cabinet, as he indicated that he will work to boost economy in a bid to curb the North African nation's dependence on hydrocarbons.

"The top priority is to reconvert our economy, which was initiated by my predecessor, Abdelmalek Sellal," Tebboune told reporters upon the end of the official handover ceremony with former prime minister Sellal.

Tebboune stressed that "economic reconversion is necessary and urgent to ensure that our country would no longer depend on fluctuations in hydrocarbon prices."

"Our goal is to reach healthier and more balanced economy, where the private sector would have key role," he noted.

"The new cabinet will continue the mission of total eradication of housing crisis, support education and health care," he added.

Tebboune further indicated that due to the financial difficulties facing Algeria, the government is forced to reorient certain financial resources to other priorities set by the President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Tebboune, also thanked the President of the Republic for his "confidence in the new cabinet," saying "my predecessor has done an excellent and successful job under very difficult conditions."

Tebboune was appointed Prime Minister by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Wednesday, in replacement of Abdelmalek Sellal.

On Thursday Bouteflika conducted a cabinet reshuffle as 13 ministers have left their positions, ten others were maintained, while six new members have joined the team.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:20:30|Editor: yan

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MOSUL, Iraq, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units retook control of nine villages from Islamic State (IS) militants on Thursday, as part of a new push of a major operation to drive out the militants from areas near Iraqi-Syrian border in west of Mosul, the units said in a statement.

The predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units, backed by army helicopters, freed the nine villages scattered in the open land in north and east of the IS-held town of Baaj, some 25 km west of the newly-freed town of al-Qairwan, the statement said.

The two towns are located in the rugged sprawling area in about 100 km west of Mosul, and extend further to the Iraqi-Syrian border in the west.

The new push of the paramilitary forces began late Wednesday night and reportedly managed in the early morning to free four of the nine villages and surrounded three others.

The forces are advancing westward in the open land to free all the militant-seized villages and take control of the IS supply routes around Baaj in order to isolate it and liberate the town later.

The Hashd Shaabi units fought sporadic clashes against IS militants and killed a total of 38 extremist militants, including four suicide bombers, and destroyed two booby-trapped vehicles and nine other vehicles carrying IS militants, the statement said.

Two days ago, the units liberated al-Qairwan and many villages scattered around the town from the IS militants and announced that the paramilitary forces had ended the first stage of major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighboring Syria and cut off the IS' supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of the IS' self-declared caliphate.

Furthermore, the operation came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul.

Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:25:36|Editor: yan

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GAZA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Three Palestinians convicted for the murder of top Hamas leader Mazen Fuqaha were executed by Hamas security forces on Thursday, stated the Hamas-run interior ministry in an emailed press statement.

According to Hamas, the three confessed that one of them was directly responsible for shooting Fuqaha in the head and chest while the remaining two "were indirectly involved in facilitating the crime."

Fuqaha was killed in late March right beside his home.

Originally from the West Bank, Fuqaha was released in an Egyptian-brokered prisoners' swap deal reached between Hamas and Israel in 2011.

Hamas's court accused the three of complicity in the murder of the senior Hamas militant, in addition to collaborating with Israeli security intelligence.

Gazan rights organizations condemned the execution sentence, saying it needed a Palestinian Authority Presidential approval, namely that of President Mahmoud Abbas.

However, due to the internal division between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah Party, the execution verdict was issued by Hamas's court and implemented without Abbas's approval.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:30:38|Editor: yan

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KIEV, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian government stands ready to start a prisoner exchange with pro-independence insurgents in the eastern regions, Ukraine's head of the Security Service said on Thursday.

"We are ready to exchange more than 200 persons who expressed such a desire ... We are ready to do this in the shortest possible time," Vasyl Grytsak told reporters.

If the insurgent leadership agrees on the swap, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko would sign a decree to pardon the rebel supporters, Grytsak said.

Meanwhile, Daria Morozova, the self-styled ombudsman of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic said that insurgents are seeking a prisoner exchange solely under the "all-for-all" formula.

Kiev believes that insurgents are holding at least 128 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians captured in the conflict, while insurgents said that the government took hostage 776 of their supporters.

The prisoner swap is a key part of the Minsk ceasefire agreement designed to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed some 10,000 people since April 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:30:43|Editor: yan

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KIEV, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Thursday that the number of civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine has more than doubled in 2017 compared with the previous year.

"Since the beginning of this year, as of May 24, we have confirmed 225 casualties -- 44 people killed and 181 injured. In the same period last year, we confirmed 107 casualties -- 84 injuries and 23 fatalities," Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters.

The majority of civilian casualties resulted from shelling, small arms fire, mines and unexploded ordnance, Hug said.

Over the past two weeks, 22 civilians were affected by the hostilities between government troops and pro-independence rebels and six of them were killed, he added.

Overall, the three-year conflict has claimed the lives of some 10,000 people, including civilians and combatants.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-25 23:55:58|Editor: yan

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MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia have agreed to further tackle corruption together, according to senior officials from both countries.

A CPC delegation headed by Zhao Hongzhu has been on a three-day visit to Moscow that began earlier this week. Zhao, member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and deputy head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, held talks with Oleg Plokhoi, head of the Presidential Directorate for Countering Corruption.

Noting that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has been developing rapidly through high-level contact in recent years, Zhao said that China is ready to continue working with Russia to implement important consensus reached by leaders of both countries, to promote mutual trust and to boost pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

During the talks, Zhao briefed Russian officials about the major initiatives and accomplishments with the aim of promoting comprehensive and strict governance of the Party by the CPC Central Committee since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, highlighting the progress made in building a clean, honest government.

The two countries should see strengthening anti-corruption efforts as one area of solidifying bilateral ties, he said.

Echoing Zhao's appeal, the Russian side spoke highly of past dialogues between both the Russian and Chinese heads of state.

The Russian side expressed its readiness to deepen cooperation between government departments of the two countries, as well as enhance communication on anti-corruption issues.

During his visit, Zhao also met with Anton Vaino, head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, and Ivan Melnikov, first deputy chairman of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament (State Duma).
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 00:01:03|Editor: yan

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BRUSSELS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday hinted that he failed to woo U.S. President Donald Trump's support on Paris agreement on climate change.

Speaking at a joint press conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on the heels of their meeting in Brussels, Macron said :"As for climate, President Trump can assert his position. I respect the fact that he has a review of the Paris agreement."

"It's (the agreement) an important thing for international community. We have a political responsibility to assume, and we have to think also about jobs and economic development." he said.

"No hasty decision should be taken on this subject by the United States... our collective responsibility is to ensure that this commitment remains a global commitment." he added.

The Paris Agreement was agreed by the 195 member economies which attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. It went into effect last November.

Trump, on his first overseas trip as U.S. president, on Thursday met with European Council President Donald Tusk and Juncker, before holding a lunch meeting with Macron.

However, Macron claimed that the lunch meeting with Trump was "a very good, frank and warm discussion".

"It's necessary for the United States of America to remain an essential partner as regards collective security, development and the fight against terrorism." he said.

Later on Thursday, Trump and leaders of other NATO countries are set to meet for the first time to map out the future of the organization, and try to narrow their differences on its budget.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 00:06:11|Editor: yan

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KATHMANDU, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Thursday called all political parties inside the parliament to elect a new prime minister within seven days through consensus.

In a notice issued by the President's Office Sheetalnibas, the president called the political parties to elect the new prime minister and form a council of ministers under his or her chairmanship.

The call came one day after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal stepped down from the post. Earlier on Thursday, the president had received the resignation of Dahal.

Following the resignation, Dahal will be continuing as caretaker prime minister till his successor is elected through the parliamentary voting in a couple of weeks.

A former rebel leader, Dahal, served as the 39th prime minister of Nepal. His resignation came just three weeks ahead of second round of local body polls slated for June 14.

This was the second time Dahal served as the prime minister of Nepal since his party joined the mainstream politics in 2007 after signing the peace agreement with the then government, ending the 10-year armed conflict that started in 1996.

Dahal had previously served as prime minister from 2008 to 2009.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 00:21:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

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RABAT, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's King Mohammed VI has been awarded the Order of La Pleiade, the highest honorary order of the International Organization of la Francophonie, in recognition of his determining role in promoting the values of dialogue and tolerance, local media reported on Thursday.

The king was handed the decoration by President of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie, Aubin Minaku Ndjalandjoko, in the Royal Palace in Fez, the daily Le Matin said.

The Africa Regional Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie held its session in Rabat this May 22-24.

The awarding of this honorary order of La Francophonie reflects appreciation of the king's actions at the national and international levels to enhance the civilizational heritage of humanity, media quoted the organization as saying.

The decoration also recognizes his commitment to consolidating the position of Morocco as a land of coexistence and cultural diversity, it added.

The award of La Pleiade recognizes people who particularly distinguish themselves in the organization's ideals of cooperation and friendship.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 00:46:31|Editor: yan

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DAR ES SALAAM, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) on Thursday tasked the government to end alarming killings by armed gangs in the districts of Rufiji, Kibiti and Mkuranga.

Humphrey Polepole, CCM Ideology and Publicity Secretary, said the government should end the killings in order to quash fear and uncertainty among residents in the three neighboring districts.

The chilling killings in the districts began in 2015, having claimed the lives of 31 people including police officers and local politicians, especially members of the governing party.

"The ruling party wants to see the government giving the matter a special attention and see something substantial being done because the continuous brutal loss of lives in the area has been too heavy to bear for the party that is in power," Polepole told a news conference in Dar es Salaam.

He said CCM has been saddened by the killings in the districts and that people were now losing hope with their government.

"We have keenly been following up on the grisly killings in the three districts. It is high time the ruling party intervened to stop losing more innocent people," he said.

According to Polepole, CCM was also concerned with inaction by other political parties on the killings.

Questions still linger on the reasons for the killings as the assailants' motives have remained a mystery.

Police have tightened security in the three districts but they have seemingly failed to stop the killers.

In April, seven police officers were gunned down as they were returning to camp after a daylong patrol.

The Minister for Home Affairs Mwigulu Nchemba told Parliament in Dodoma last week that the government planned to establish a special police zone in Kibiti to arrest the wave of brutal killings in the area.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 00:56:47|Editor: yan

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ARUSHA, Tanzania, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Four miners were killed and three others injured on Thursday when a gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita.

Mponjoli Mwabulambo, Geita Regional Police Commander, confirmed the accident, saying it happened in a remote area of Geita Town located on the western shores of Lake Victoria, the world's second-largest freshwater lake.

The accident occurred at around 8 a.m. at a depth of 10 meters as a group of seven miners were working in the gold mine pit.

Mwabulambo said that four miners were killed by falling rocks and another three were taken to Katoro Health Center, though their injuries were not life-threatening.

According to him, preliminary investigation shows that the accident occurred as a result of the ongoing rains.

Herman Kapufi, Geita District Commissioner, said the rescue team had arrived on the scene of an accident and managed to retrieve bodies of the killed miners.

Deadly accidents are frequent in the gold-rich region of Geita, particularly in areas that are being operated by small-scale miners.

In January, 14 people, including one Chinese national, were trapped after a small gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita. The accident occurred around 4 a.m. at the Chinese-invested RZT gold mine in Nyarugusu.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 01:01:44|Editor: yan

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NEW DELHI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in one of the districts of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh state have blocked mobile internet services after clashes broke out between the members of two different castes, police said Thursday.

Officials said the step was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent spreading of "rumours" and stop "outsiders from instigating the violence in the district".

"The mobile internet has been blocked to stop people from using social media and internet based messaging service for rumour-mongering aimed at instigating violence," a police official posted in Saharanpur district told Xinhua.

"The service was stopped after an order was issued to mobile service providers on Wednesday evening to block the internet."

One person was killed and several others injured on Tuesday evening after a truck carrying Dalit (low caste) community members was attacked reportedly by Thakurs (belonging to upper caste) in Saharanpur district, about 711 km northwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

According to locals, the Dalits were returning after attending a rally of their leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Mayawati.

Mayawati, heads India's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a party that has support base in Uttar Pradesh and following among millions of low-caste Dalits.

On Wednesday morning two Dalit youth were attacked with knives in the district.

The police have detained over two dozen people in the district and deployed government forces in huge strength to contain the situation and prevent situation from worsening. Authorities have suspended the district police chief and other local officials immediately after the violence.

"Right now the situation is under control," the police official said.

Casteism, though prohibited in India's constitution, is deep-rooted in Indian society, especially in smaller towns and villages.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 01:01:45|Editor: yan

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DAR ES SALAAM, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania was in the process of tabling a bill in Parliament to regulate the growing real estate industry, a senior official said Thursday.

William Lukuvi, Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, told the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma that the real estate business has grown fast over the past few years.

"A framework to govern the industry is vital or else the government will be losing a lot of its revenue," Lukuvi said.

He said the bill will seek to control exploitation of hopeless tenants by landlords and real estate agents.

He said the government was aimed at supporting and closely monitoring the unregulated fast growing industry.

In February, 2012, members of Parliament from across the political divide endorsed a private member's motion seeking to end rogue real estate agents who exploited the sector.
Screenshot captured from Sky TG24 on May 24, 2017 shows Pope Francis (R1) and visiting U.S. President Donald Trump.

by Laura Delsere

ROME, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Pope Francis has given U.S. President Donald Trump a book on environment and inequality as a gift when they met in the Vatican on Wednesday.

The two leaders spent about 27 minutes during the meeting. Analysts believe the atmosphere was better than expected since the original time-table of their meeting was set within 20 minutes.

At the end of the meeting, the Pope gave Trump a copy of his encyclical "Laudato Si" which focused on issues of the world's environmental protection and growing inequalities.

Trump said he would read the book which the Pope gave to him as a gift. "It's a warning, I will read it," Trump was quoted as saying by local media.

In exchange, the U.S. president gave to the Pope the first-edition set of Martin Luther King Jr.'s works.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 02:02:14|Editor: Zhou Xin

Costas Yannopoulos, President of NGO "Smile of the Child" speaks during a forum on missing children at Zappeion hall in Athens, Greece on May 25, 2017. Greece marked International Missing Children's Day on Thursday, sending a message of hope that public awareness can help save lives. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Greece marked International Missing Children's Day on Thursday, sending a message of hope that public awareness can help save lives.

During a conference at Zappeion hall in the center of Athens organized by the "Smile of the Child", a Greek NGO which over the past two decades holds a leading role in defending children's rights in Greece, officials presented the latest data on missing children in Greece and the actions and initiatives taken to prevent and tackle the phenomenon.

"Throughout 2016 according to the official numbers, statistics, 241 children went missing. In 2017, until May 15, 2017 there are 125 children reported missing," Nikos Zervakakos, commanding officer of the Missing Persons'Unit of Greek Police, told Xinhua.

The majority of these disappearances concern Greek children who are followed by Albanian nationals, Bulgarians and Romanians and are linked to family issues, he said.

The Greek law enforcement officer stressed that in the overwhelming majority, such cases are solved in Greece. In 2016 and 2017, 84 percent of children were found, while in previous years the average stood at 97 percent, he said.

"It is an honor and pride for us that Greece ranks first in Europe in resolving the disappearances of children and holds one of the high positions in world rankings," Zervakakos said.

Prevention, of course, is always the best solution, the experienced officer underlined, advising parents to never lose sight of their kids in particularly in crowded areas and teach children from a very young age to not panic and cry for help, in case they cannot see their parents.

The mobilization of the entire society is of crucial importance in reconnecting children with their families, Dimitris Anagnostakis, general secretary of the Public Order Ministry, stressed at the forum.

"With a single call to the European hotline for missing children 116000, we can provide a clue to competent authorities that can be of vital importance in locating and saving a child," Anagnostakis said.

"Something very important is happening in Greece in the middle of the Greek crisis and the refugee crisis. We join forces with the government institutions like police fire brigade, the Coast Guard etc to fight and to work quickly when a child is missing," Costas Yannopoulos, the NGO's president, told Xinhua.

With almost 20,000 refugee and migrant children stranded in Greece after the closure of northern borders to central Europe in 2016, including 2,000 unaccompanied minors, the Greek authorities and NGOs try hard to offer assistance to these vulnerable kids, he added.

The numbers on missing refugee and migrant children are not clear. According to Europol police agency, about 10,000 unescorted children registered after arriving in Europe over the past three years have disappeared somewhere in Europe.

During Thursday's event, experts on crimes against children and volunteers shared good practices in search and rescue of missing children, while outside Zappeion hall were presented the ambulances and trained dogs who are at the disposal of authorities and volunteer groups in the case of a missing child.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 02:07:19|Editor: yan

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ABUJA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is considering to propose the signing of prisoners' transfer agreement with China, Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said on Thursday.

The Nigerian FM said when the process is completed, "the government will be able to address the condition of Nigerians serving jail terms in China."

Local groups had been calling on the Nigerian government to quickly make the signing of the agreement possible.

"The federal government has on several occasions reiterated that it would be impossible to get Nigerians on death row in different countries repatriated," the official said, adding "this is because they do not fall within the prisoner transfer or exchange agreements."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 02:17:25|Editor: yan

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BEIRUT, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah launched a verbal attack Thursday on Saudi Arabia and the Riyadh summit, accusing it of being behind all the terrorist activities that are targeting the countries of the region and the world.

In a televised speech to mark the "Resistance and Liberation Day," Nasrallah said "the Riyadh summit was focused on deviating the accusation of supporting terrorism from Saudi Arabia and pinning it on Iran."

Lebanon celebrates on May 25 the "Liberation and Resistance Day" that marks the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on May 25, 2000 after almost 18 years of occupation.

"Saudi Arabia is behind the takfiri thinking and the takfiri groups and the entire world knows this. That's why the Saudi regime sought to offer a bribe to U.S. President Donald Trump," Nasrallah added, referring to huge deals worth some 380 billion U.S. dollars that were signed between Riyadh and Washington during the U.S. president's visit.

However, Nasrallah hailed President Michel Aoun, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, the Lebanese government and al-Mustaqbal Movement over their stances that sought to dissociate Lebanon from the resolutions and statements of the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh.

"The stances of Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and President Michel Aoun on the Riyadh summit were courageous and responsible and will contribute to immunizing the country," he said.

"Even the government and al-Mustaqbal Movement have said that the Riyadh declaration is not binding for Lebanon," Nasrallah noted.

He also reassured the Lebanese that "all the stances that were said and issued at the Riyadh summit will not have any impact on the Lebanese domestic situation."

Turning to the situation on the eastern border and in the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, Nasrallah reiterated that "the militants have been completely kicked out of the Eastern Mountain Range."

"The remaining phase is Arsal's outskirts. I reiterate that Arsal's residents and the government must exert efforts to put an end to this situation and we are keen on preventing bloodshed," Nasrallah added.

"The current situation cannot continue, seeing as the outskirts contain armed groups and would-be suicide bombers who are threatening the region and its neighbors and I tell the armed groups in the outskirts that they have reached a dead end," he concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 02:17:26|Editor: ying

Coffin of former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto is moved during the funeral in Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki, Finland on May 25. 2017. Former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto was buried with military honors in Helsinki on Thursday. (Xinhua/Matti Matikainen)

HELSINKI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto was buried with military honors in Helsinki on Thursday.

With some one hundred thousand people along the streets watching the hearse procession, the downtown core of Helsinki was heavy with Finnish national symbolism, in sound and vision.

The procession made short stops outside the Bank of Finland and the Presidential Palace. Koivisto was the Governor of the Bank of Finland until he was formally elected to be the Finnish president in 1982.

In his eulogy, the incumbent president Sauli Niinisto underlined continuity in the Finnish post-war foreign policy. Niinisto said that at the end of the Koivisto presidency, Finland was definitely part of Western Europe but maintained at the same time "balanced and equal" relations with the East. That was a good basis to continue to work on, Niinisto said.

Niinisto also mentioned that Koivisto aimed at reducing presidential powers in Finland after the experiences of the long tenure of Koivisto's predecessor Urho Kekkonen.

Niinisto quoted Koivisto as saying that it is better that "the power pyramid stands on its base and not on its top". "Better that major decisions have to be taken by several persons, not just one", Niinisto quoted.

Koivisto came from a humble background, started higher education as an adult after years as a dock worker, gained doctorate and ultimately became president. Niinisto commented that Koivisto knew the nation in all its working roles.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas extends his hand to U.S. President Donald Trump during their remarks after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem May 23, 2017. (REUTERS photo)

RAMALLAH, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday urged Jason Greenblatt, United States President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, to intervene to resolve the Palestinian prisoners hunger strike.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been going on a hunger strike since April 17, demanding an improvement in the condition of detaining them, where officials warned that their life is in crucial danger.

Abbas told a meeting for his Fatah Party's Central Committee held at his office in Ramallah that he met with Greenblatt and discussed with him the prisoners' question and what would the U.S. be able to do in this respect.

Abbas added in remarks published by (WAFA) news agency that "we explained to envoy Greenblatt in details the question of the striking prisoners, which is crucial and sensitive."

"We hope that through out our contact with Greenblatt, we would be able to get an answer from the Israeli side over the prisoners' demands as soon as possible in order to present it before our revolutionary council on Thursday night," said Abbas.

He went on saying that "the whole world knows that the demands of the prisoners are human and Israel has no justification to deny it, mainly these demands had been presented before."

He accused Israel of "punishing our prisoners and punishing us by rejecting these humanitarian demands. We will be patient and we will carry on until we reach a reasonable agreement that everyone gets satisfied out of it."
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 12, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration won't label China as currency manipulator, and complained that the U.S. dollar is too strong. In an interview with Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Trump said "they (China) are not currency manipulators," according to the report. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, MAY 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday promised to probe into leaks of Manchester bombing investigation leads that have upsetted the United Kingdom.

"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling," Trump said in a statement issued by the White House.

"I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Trump said.

"These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security," Trump said.

The leaks of information on the Manchester bombing, days after Trump was accused of sharing sensitive intelligence from an ally with Russia, greatly irritated the British security community, which said the leak "undermined the investigation."

The White House has had trouble keeping secrets behind its doors since the beginning of Trump's administration, as a steady feed who did or said what in the White House found its way to the media.

The leaks have greatly damaged Trump and his team's credibility, especially in high profile cases such as the ongoing investigation into alledged collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Trump have repeatedly vowed to patch up the porous White House, claiming national security is at stake.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 03:12:52|Editor: yan

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BUDAPEST, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government does not see any amendments necessary to its controversial higher education act because of which the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Hungary, Janos Lazar, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, said here Thursday.

"The European Commission did not bring up any argument that would necessitate the modification of the higher education act," Lazar told journalists at a press briefing.

He explained that the Commission had earlier launched an infringement procedure against Hungary over the amendments, requiring Hungary to respond to questions in the executive body's "letter of formal notice" by Thursday.

The Hungarian Parliament recently approved amendments to the higher education act that requires foreign colleges and universities in Hungary to operate on the basis of an inter-governmental agreement and to have a campus in the country.

The Central European University (CEU), which is accredited in the State of New York but has only one campus in Budapest, says that the amendments would make its continued operation in Budapest impossible.

In April and May, several demonstrations were held in Budapest, as a show of solidarity with the CEU.

"Some have been caught in a state of hysteria over the matter of the CEU, but a number of countries are prepared to negotiate with the government," Lazar added.

The government is also in contact with the United States federal government on the matter, Lazar said, speaking a day after receiving a formal letter from the governor of New York, who invited the Hungarian government to open negotiations.

"The Government of Hungary has stated publicly that it can only discuss the future of CEU in Hungary with relevant U.S. authorities, which in this case is the State of New York. The Governor welcomes the opportunity to resolve this matter and to initiate discussions with the Hungarian government without delay," the letter of governor of New York Andrew Cuomo stated.

CEU welcomed the statement by the New York governor.

"We have said since the beginning that the right solution is a new agreement between New York and Hungary. We hope an agreement can be reached," CEU president and Rector Michael Ignatieff said in a statement Wednesday.

The European Parliament's resolution of May 17 called on the Hungarian government to enter into negotiations with the U.S. authorities.

The U.S. State Department confirmed Wednesday that the U.S. federal government has no legal competence to negotiate on higher education, which lies within the authority of individual American states. Governor Cuomo's statement therefore opens the path for negotiations.
People watch Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he appears on a screen during a live broadcast to speak to his supporters at an event marking Resistance and Liberation Day in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, May 25, 2017. (REUTERS photo)

BEIRUT, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah launched a verbal attack Thursday on Saudi Arabia and the Riyadh summit, accusing it of being behind all the terrorist activities that are targeting the countries of the region and the world.

In a televised speech to mark the "Resistance and Liberation Day," Nasrallah said "the Riyadh summit was focused on deviating the accusation of supporting terrorism from Saudi Arabia and pinning it on Iran."

Lebanon celebrates on May 25 the "Liberation and Resistance Day" that marks the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on May 25, 2000 after almost 18 years of occupation.

"Saudi Arabia is behind the takfiri thinking and the takfiri groups and the entire world knows this. That's why the Saudi regime sought to offer a bribe to U.S. President Donald Trump," Nasrallah added, referring to huge deals worth some 380 billion U.S. dollars that were signed between Riyadh and Washington during the U.S. president's visit.

However, Nasrallah hailed President Michel Aoun, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, the Lebanese government and al-Mustaqbal Movement over their stances that sought to dissociate Lebanon from the resolutions and statements of the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh.

"The stances of Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and President Michel Aoun on the Riyadh summit were courageous and responsible and will contribute to immunizing the country," he said.

"Even the government and al-Mustaqbal Movement have said that the Riyadh declaration is not binding for Lebanon," Nasrallah noted.

He also reassured the Lebanese that "all the stances that were said and issued at the Riyadh summit will not have any impact on the Lebanese domestic situation."

Turning to the situation on the eastern border and in the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, Nasrallah reiterated that "the militants have been completely kicked out of the Eastern Mountain Range."

"The remaining phase is Arsal's outskirts. I reiterate that Arsal's residents and the government must exert efforts to put an end to this situation and we are keen on preventing bloodshed," Nasrallah added.

"The current situation cannot continue, seeing as the outskirts contain armed groups and would-be suicide bombers who are threatening the region and its neighbors and I tell the armed groups in the outskirts that they have reached a dead end," he concluded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Moscow, Russia, on May 25, 2017. (KREMLIN PHOTO)

MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia and China on Thursday agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields and enhance joint efforts in coping with concerned issues on the international agenda.

In the context of improving Russian economy, Russia and China should maintain the development of pragmatic cooperation by way of promoting mutual communication and consultation between government departments, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the Kremlin, who was on an official visit to Russia.

The two countries should also work closely with each other within multilateral frameworks, including the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Group of 20 (G20), in resolving thorny issues and maintain global strategic stability, he added.

In addition, Putin warmly congratulated China for successfully hosting the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation earlier this month and expressed his welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Russia.

On his part, Wang pointed out that China and Russia agree with each other on development strategies and share broad prospects for bilateral cooperation.

He echoed Putin's appeal in saying that the two countries should further deepen cooperation in such fields as trade and investment and explore new sources of economic growth.

The two countries should also consolidate their strategic cooperation in international affairs and jointly promote the peaceful settlement of international and regional issues, Wang added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 04:48:42|Editor: yan

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CARACAS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela announced the death of a young man in a protest in the western city of Maracaibo on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 56 since April 1.

The investigation into the incident has been assigned to Israel Vargas, a public prosecutor in the state of Zulia, with Maracaibo as its capital.

According to a government report, a group of protesters, including 23-year-old Adrian Jose Duque Bravo, were near a residential complex when Duque Bravo was shot before the protests were dispersed by the army.

Duque Bravo was taken to a nearby hospital but died Wednesday night.

Since the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) called for wide protests in early April, the death toll stands at 56, with over 1,000 injured, and 284 arrested, according to Venezuela's prosecutor-general.

Protests against the government continued Wednesday, and there were more clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

The government has accused the MUD alliance of promoting "terrorist violence" by hiring paramilitary groups and gangs to spread chaos.

However, the MUD has said the protests will continue until President Nicolas Maduro steps down.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 05:08:49|Editor: yan

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TAORMINA, Italy, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Counter-terrorism cooperation is expected to be high on the agenda of a major Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held in Italian city of Taormina Friday and Saturday.

The heads of state and government of the G7, namely the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, will hold an official opening ceremony at the ancient Greek Theatre, one of Taormina's most impressive venues, on Friday, and will kick off their first session of work the afternoon.

According to the Italian G7 rotating presidency's official agenda, the summit was due to develop around "three fundamental pillars: citizen safety; economic, environmental, and social sustainability; and innovation and labor in the age of the next Production Revolution."

Indeed, security was already among the top priorities. Yet, in the aftermath of the terror attack occurred in Manchester on May 22, counter-terrorism and all other security-related topics were likely to overshadow any other issue.

"We are working to ensure the G7 in Taormina delivers the strongest possible message of an extraordinary and shared commitment to fighting terrorism," Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni confirmed soon after Manchester attack killed at least 22 people.

"We will have the opportunity to reaffirm, all together, that the cowardice that destroys young lives is not going to prevail over our freedom," Gentiloni added.

For leaders of the most industrialized countries, it will be their first chance to discuss the issue within the G7 framework since Donald Trump became U.S. president.

The 43rd G7 summit will also be the first one for newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Saturday, the second day of the meeting, the G7 will be joined by their counterparts from five African countries. Representatives from six African and international organizations, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the EU Council Donald Tusk will also attend the summit.

Despite urgency of the security and terrorism issues, however, the G7 leaders were also expected to tackle other topics in their talks, such as inclusive growth, sustainable development, and, on a lesser scale, climate change.

Europe's migration crisis was also due to be highlighted. The Italian government has purposely chosen the Sicilian island to host the summit, as the island has become a major point of arrivals for the large majority of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 05:29:03|Editor: yan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Italy, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Thursday urged the leaders of G7 industrialized countries to adopt its six-point action plan for the protection of refugee and migrant children.

At least 36,000 of the refugees and migrants rescued since January have been taken to Sicily, the site of this year's summit, and the Italian G7 presidency has made migration a priority for this year's talks, according to UNICEF.

"Sicily stands as a symbol of hope for uprooted children seeking a better life, but it is also the endpoint of an extremely dangerous journey that has claimed the lives of many children along the way," said Justin Forsyth, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director.

UNICEF's call comes at a time when the dangerous Central Mediterranean migration journey from North Africa to Italy draws renewed attention.

At least 200 children have died while crossing the Central Mediterranean from North Africa to Italy so far this year, a rate of more than one child per day, according to the latest data from UNICEF.

Between January 1 and May 23, more than 45,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy by sea, up 44 percent over the same period last year. This includes some 5,500 unaccompanied and separated children, an increase of 22 percent from 2016, who account for approximately 92 percent of all children arriving to Italy via the Central Mediterranean route.

A record high 26,000 unaccompanied and separated children arrived to Italy last year, but if current trends hold, that record will be smashed in 2017.

"That is not a record to be proud of, but a reminder of our collective failure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of refugee and migrant children," Forsyth said.

Earlier Thursday, on the eve of the G7 summit, children, volunteers, the Italian coastguard, Italian and UNICEF officials took part in a symbolic rescue of paper boats to commemorate the thousands of children who have risked their lives crossing the Central Mediterranean and send a message to the G7 to take action to safeguard children on the move.

UNICEF has urged the G7 leaders to adopt its six-point Agenda for Action for the protection of refugee and migrant children. In addition, UNICEF has also launched the "#AChildIsAChild" campaign, which has so far been supported on social media by more than 2 million people.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 05:54:10|Editor: yan

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By Alessandra Cardone

TAORMINA, Italy, May 25 (Xinhua) -- In the crowded newsrooms set up for a major Group of Seven (G7) summit, scheduled on Friday in Italian city of Taormina, common opinions are forming among media workers with more and more agreeing that security could overshadow other issues to be high on the agenda of the summit after Britain's Manchester bombing attack.

The summit attracts over 2,000 press workers, whoes interests and priorities should have varied based on the media outlets they serve. However, common opinions are forming on the eve of the summit.

"Given the challenge of terrorism, I think security will be an important issue, and high on the agenda," Davide Sarsini Novak, editor-in-chief with Italian news agency AGI, told Xinhua.

"It is likely the G7 leaders will be all impelled to try to cooperate more on security now, and this G7 can be a relevant opportunity -- after the NATO summit earlier this week -- to discuss the problem," he continued.

Sarsini said he was aware the British government was quite at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on intelligence sharing at the moment, after information on Manchester attack were believed to have been leaked from U.S. sources.

"I expect the British to ask all partners here to be more cautious, when they share intelligence," the chief editor explained.

"Yet, I also believe Taormina can be important for all leaders, because they can send the message that they are determined to do anything in their power to fight terrorism," said Sarsini.

As journalist and policy analyst with Britain-based Global Policy Journal, Dinora Kruja said security and counter-terrorism were probably the most important issues for British people right now.

"There is a lot of emotion in the aftermath of Manchester attack, of course, and, because of this, the problem of terrorism may overwrite certain other issues," she told Xinhua.

Yet, she also noted the need for global leaders to tackle security and counter-terrorism cooperation was strong even before Manchester, and this G7 summit would offer a good occasion to work on it.

"There is something very specific in this G7 in Taormina, due to the relevance for countries and various intelligence agencies to get together, share information, and fight together against terrorism," Kruja said.

However, security would partially assume a different meaning, taking the perspective of Japan.

Shinya Abe, London-based bureau chief of Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, told Xinhua that the next Group of Twenty (G20) summit was scheduled in Germany in July, and leaders from China, Russia, and other major countries would be attending. "In the perspective of that summit, the hope is that the G7 in Taormina will be united, and ready to act together to deter the nuclear proliferation threat," said the Japanese journalist.

This G7 was also the first one attended by Donald Trump, since he was elected president of the United States, which did not go unnoticed among reporters.

"From an Italian perspective, it is relevant," AGI's Sarsini confirmed. "This is the first summit in which Western leaders meet around the same table, and discuss an agenda that has been changed by president Trump's new administration."

"Therefore, it will be important to look at how the G7 will try to sort out all the differences now existing among them," he added.

This was an interesting aspect also for Japanese, according to the journalist from Tokyo Shimbun.

"Trade is another thing in which the Japanese public is very interested, and Taormina is Mr. Trump's debut on the international scene," Abe said. "What kind of message is he going to deliver from here? Would it be a stronger protectionist statement, or would the U.S. president soften his stand, and deliver a more helpful, cooperative message?"
Jail for DJ, boyfriend

The court heard that he has ten previous convictions including robbery, larceny of a motor vehicle and robbery. The couple pleaded guilty when they appeared in court on Monday. One week ago, the couple robbed the victim, a 65-year-old pensioner, of her cash, jewelry, two laptops and a cellphone.

She was tied up, beaten and robbed by the young man and woman, who, the court heard, did not wear masks as they ransacked her house. They were held last week Thursday in Chaguanas by the Chaguanas CID who, following up on information on the robbery two days later, intercepted the vehicle they were travelling in and recovered some of the loot. PC Ramkissoon of the Princes Town police laid the charges.

CHARGED FOR MURDER A 27-year-old man appeared before a San Fernando magistrate yesterday charged for the murder of Joan Cooper, 53, who was killed last year outside her Marabella home. Roger Wallace, also called Roger Stoute of Plaisance Park, Pointe-a-Pierre is also charged with possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Coopers husband Carl Edmund.

Cooper of Harmony Hall, was found dead on December 8 in her car which was parked outside her home. Edmund was also in the car and he too was shot but survived.

Wallace appeared before Senior Magistrate Cherril-Ann Antoine in the San Fernando First Magistrates Court. The matter has been adjourned to June 6.

PC Desmond Mathura of Homicide Investigations Bureau (Region III) laid the charges following advice from Deputy Director of Prosecutions Joan Honor?- Paul on Tuesday.

FRAUDSTER JAILED A 33-year-old farmer from Samlalsingh Trace, Gasparillo, who pretended to be a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) engineer and collected money as down payment for two houses has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour. The fraudster, who was charged with larceny by trick by PC Mitchell, reappeared in the Princes Town Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Last week Friday, he was arrested during a sting operation at a bank in Princes Town. He collected $1,200 from a representative of a non-governmental agency as down payment for the houses he promised to obtain for her.

The banknotes were marked and after being arrested, the man was taken to the nearby Princes Town Police Station where he was charged. Police said checks revealed the conman did not work for the HDC and could not provide homes.
Sheron spends night in jail

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He was arrested on Tuesday at his home following a report of domestic violence on Sunday. He remained in police custody until he was charged yesterday. Sukhdeo is expected to re-appear in court this morning. In February 2016, Sukhdeo, was charged with assaulting his wife Rachael Sukhdeo.

The matter was dismissed eight months later when she told the court she not wish to continue the case. In February, Sukhdeo was charged with receiving stolen vehicles and uttering a false document.

He is out on bail on those charges.
No charges yet

Only last week, the wounded man obtained bail and was released from prison in connection with the crime against the Mayo businessman. The suspect had an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in his possession when he was arrested. He is expected to be charged with a number of gun-related charges.

The drama, which began in Mayo, ended just around 11.25 am on Monday at the front gate of the Gasparillo home of retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Cecil Santana, with the bleeding victim stumbling out of his silver Lancer begging for help. Chasing him was the shooter, who was also held, in front of Santanas gate. PC Castillo of the Gasparillo police is investigating.
Villagers detained for mans killing

Police went to the homes of the suspects shortly after 9 am yesterday.

The suspects, 21 and 23, live at Spring Trace and Fanny Village in Point Fortin respectively.

Up to late yesterday a party of police including Insp Corrie, Sgt Haynes and Cpl Bhajan were interviewing the two. On Monday at about 2 pm, a friend went to Fortunes home only to find a section of his house at Ibis Street in Fanny Village, burnt. When she entered the bedroom, the woman saw Fortunes partially burnt body under a mattress and contacted police.

Police said the house was ransacked.

It is believed Fortune fought with his attackers and was beaten, stabbed and then set on fire. Fortune, a retiree of the Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Ministrys Forestry Division lived alone.

An autopsy confirmed Fortune died of multiple stabs and blunt force trauma.
Attorneys given no instructions on highway works

According to attorney Kelvin Ramkissoon, who appears with a team of lawyers for the Attorney General in the constitutional claim filed five years ago by Kublalsingh and the HRM over the construction of the contentious section of the highway, he had no formal instructions on what has been reported.

Ramkissoon was responding to a query by Justice James Aboud, who said he read something in the media about the road not being built.

We are on the home stretch finally, Aboud, said as he made the enquiry.

As he gave instructions to attorneys for the filing of closing written submissions, Aboud hinted at the possibility of delivering his judgment in February.

Lawyers for Kublalsingh and the HRM have been given until August 28 to file their submissions and legal authorities while the States lawyers are to reply by November 30.

Kublalsingh and the HRMs lawyers will reply to the States reply on December 21.

Aboud has set aside January 22 for mention so that lawyers for either side can indicate if they will want to make oral submissions on key issues raised in the five-year-long case.

In their claim, which was filed in 2012, Kublalsingh and and the HRM are contending that the Government contravened their rights to life, security, enjoyment of property, to freedom of expression and freedom of association by building the highway without consulting them properly.

As part of their claim, Kublalsingh and the HRM also contend they had a legitimate expectation that the Government would have abided by the findings of a study done by the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) led by former Independent Senator Dr James Armstrong.

Work on the Point Fortin Highway has come to a halt and its main contractor Brazilian firm Construtora OAS was fired from the $7 billion project last year.

On the weekend, Kublalsingh said he was told by Government that the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway will not be built.

He also said Minister of Works Rohan Sinanan assured that consultation will be held with HRM should work have to be done on this part of the highway.

Kublalsingh twice went on hunger strikes to force the then Peoples Partnership government to reconsider the proposed highway route through the South Oropouche wetlands.

We had meeting with the Minister of Works Mr Sinanan on March 13 and this meeting was requested by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. At the end of the meeting, he (Sinanan) gave the undertaking that no works will proceed between Debe and Mon Desir which is the contentions segment of the highway until the HRM is first consulted. They didnt have money to start any works at this time but in the event that they start work on that segment during their reign, they would first consult with us before any decisions are made. Kubalalsingh said that at the meeting, which was also attended by the heads of NIDCO, he was told that there will be on-going consultation with the HRM.
367 firearms seized so far this year

Despite our consistency in removing firearms from off the streets...the TTPS is deeply concerned with the availability of firearms and its use in crimes, said ASP Pierre during the weekly police press briefing in Port of Spain. The police spokesman said that in the continued effort to remove illegal guns, police have been working closely with the Air Guard, Coast Guard and regiment to carry out searches on land, in the air and at sea.

Newsday understands that guns have been used in the majority of violent crimes.

Statistics show that 77 per cent of this years murders, 32 per cent of robberies and 60 per cent of woundings, all involved the use of firearms. He added that in 2016, police seized 617 firearms the highest in a calendar year and added they would continue the work this year.

Pierre attributed the seizure this year and last year to diligent police work and assistance from the public.

Of the 350 guns seized this year, the Southern Division got the most with 58, and Tobago the least, with six.

The guns range from pistols and revolvers to sub-machine guns and high powered rifles.

Police also found and seized about 4,717 rounds of ammunition of varying calibre this year. Calibres range from 9 mm, used in pistols and sub-machine guns, to 5.56 ammo used in military type assault rifles.

FIREARMS SEIZED BY DIVISION

PoS: 29

South: 58

West: 50

North: 59

Central: 51

South West: 37

East: 33

North East: 44

Tobago:

6 TYPES OF FIREARMS Revolvers:

71 Pistols:

203 Shotguns:

26 SMG:

10 Rifles:

5 Air rifles:

2 Home-made shotguns:

23 Trapguns:

15 Modified:

2 Others: 10
Woman reports husband for rape

According to reports, the 30-year-old woman was at her business place at about 11 am when she was accosted by her husband and a heated argument ensued. The man later dragged his wife to the back of her business place where he struck her several times before raping her.

The woman went to the Penal police station and reported the incident to Cpl Ramlal and WPC Charles. She was taken to a District Medical Officer and medically examined.

The suspect was up to press time still assisting police in their investigations.
Officer confesses to leaking, in error

The constable expressed remorse claiming when the document was made available to him by seniors, he was supposed to save it and place it in a file. But in error, he sent the document to a chat group via WhatsApp.

The memo went viral on social media.

The constable said when he realised his error, he was at a loss on what to do. He reiterated that the message was not leaked deliberately.

He said when the leak was detected by Division Head, Snr Supt Kenny Mc Intyre and an investigation launched, he decided to come forward and disclose what he had done. Two weeks ago, a file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions by officers of the Professional Standards Bureau.

According to reports, Senior Superintendent Kenny Mc Intyre had outlined certain police duties and exercises to be carried out in the Central Division between the extended weekend of Holy Thursday and Easter Monday. The document was emailed to police who were supposed to take part in these exercises.

The constable received a copy of the instructions for the exercises and when it was discovered that it was leaked, Snr Supt Mc Intyre was forced to change the time and areas just in case criminals read the leaked memo via social media.

Mc Intyre, in an earlier interview, told Newsday the leak had left him very embarrassed and brought the Police Service into disrepute.

Officers of the Cyber Crimes Unit assisted in the enquiries and the cell phones of several police officers were seized as part of the investigation.
Foreigners renting State lands

However, some of these lands are grabbed by non-nationals some who are from outside of Caricom, even as multiple lots are staked by characters dubbed Squat Lords who in turn rent out parcels to other individuals.

While in 2002 the cost to upgrade lots was $70,000, this had since risen to $100,000 to $130,000 (depending on the nature of the land), he said.

Since 2002 to present this has been funded by about $250 million in portions from two loans respectively awarded in 2002 and 2011 from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). The overall loans were for US$40 million and US$50 million of which the allocations for squatter regularisation were respectively US$13 million and US$24 million, totalling US$37 million or about TT$250 million.

Hosein said these costs pay for box drains, asphalt paved roads, water supply, electrification and fire hydrants directly to each squatters lot. Other costs include broader activities such as topographical surveys, land use design and planning.

He said the original intent a few years ago was to provide gravel roads and earth drains, but now better facilities are supplied.

Since 1999, some 30 squatter settlements have been thus regularised out of some 251 sites listed in the relevant 1998 legislation. In addition, nine sites are now substantially completed he added.

Hosein estimated the country has 55,000 squatter homes, a sum that has been increasing at the rate of 1,000 new squatter claims per year.

Its not easy to get the names of people but we have now recorded every structure and where it is located, he said. In Port-of-Spain and environs there exists 10,000 squatting families he said. He said the LSA does not handle new squatter settlements which is the role of the Commissioner of State Lands.

LSA chairman Ossley Francis said, We prepare the land and people just move in in droves, and we cannot remove them. Hosein said the biggest squatter site regularised by the LSA was Racecourse in Arima, of 703 lots developed, but of which a subsequent invasion reduced the available sites to 530 lots. He bemoaned that in some cases squatters there had occupied an area of 18,000 square feet each! Opposition Senator Ridger Samuel asked about people traversing Trinidad to set up a series of small squats which they later claim and then rent out to others.

Hosein replied, Thats a reality that we face now. We have a term for persons like that which we call Squat Lords. Instead of landlords they are squat lords.

So they tend to occupy more than one lot of land. And more than that, we now have squat lords who are developing areas of State land and selling these lands to other persons. He said both buyer and seller are committing illegal acts.

Asked if any squat lords have ever been sanctioned under law, Hosein said no, as there is a challenge in getting information. Asked if he knew the names of any squat lords, he laughed and said no, adding that such matters should be sent to the police and the Commissioner of Valuations. In reply to a query by Independent Senator Jennifer Rafoul, Hosein said some $70 million had been spent under the former Land for the Landless programme, but out of 1,500 lots that had been fully developed, only six lots had ever been distributed.

Trade Minister Paula Gopee- Scoon chided the LSA for having no procurement officer even as procurement legislation is poised to take effect soon.

The PAC heard that the LSA needs an extra $35 million to get its staffing up to full complement.

Hosein said the LSA owes $10 million to contractors but itself owes no-one.
Ride out after the first lash

He also told the victims not to let pride prevent them from seeking help. Harris addressed the topic yesterday on his live monthly Facebook chat Ask the Archbishop Live, hosted by Tracy Chimming-Lewis from Archbishops House in Port of Spain.

He was asked if there was anything the church could do to assist people who return to abusive relationships.

Saying he had worked for years in the Marriage Tribunal of the church, Harris recalled many spouses saying they expected violent behaviour to change once they had got married.

People dont change, warned Harris. If someone is abusing you before marriage, you can rest assured that they will not change after marriage. So that if your choice is an abusive person...

expect to be abused. However, he said it was important there were places where victims and abusers could seek help,and wished every vicariate (parish group) had somewhere that, people with difficulties in their marriage can go for counselling. He added: We have to have safe houses for people who really have to escape from abuse. Harris said the abuser often returns pleading for forgiveness while promising never to do it again but, 90 per cent of the time it happens again. He said: So be wise and if you have been abused but your spouse wishes to come back, then ensure that your spouse gets the help, psychological and otherwise, that is needed to change him. Harris said it is not nice being abused and worse yet when people know that you have been abused. But, he told victims, Dont let your pride keep you from getting help.
Padarath: A scandal of immense proportions

Padarath, the Opposition UNCs shadow minister of Sport and Culture said Smiths actions shows a continued disregard for public office and that Smith, Really needs to come out and clear the air in terms of whether or not this expenditure was approved by him.

The minister cannot absolve or refute any of the allegations that have been made because (it is) in black and white, he said. Imagine, $92,000 has been spent and the minister is comparing this to a storm in a teacup. Well, minister, $92,000 has been spent and we dont even have a teacup to show for it!

Padarath said having served in the Office of the Prime Minister during the Peoples Partnership Administration, he was aware that such expenditure could only be approved by a Permanent Secretary and/or a minister. On Smiths response that the expenditure was at state-owned hotels, he commented, I think that is a ridiculous response, because what this means is you are using taxpayers dollars for this expenditure and you are trying to justify it by saying that you are using it at stateowned enterprises. That really does not cut the mustard.

I think this really warrants a complete investigation into what is happening at the Ministry of Sport. I believe the honourable Prime Minister needs to call in the minister and the minister needs to ventilate and provide some answers on this.
Malick Housing Development keys given to 18

Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the Housing Development Corporations (HDC) head office, South Quay, Port-of- Spain, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell said the Malick Housing Development was a project that started in 2008 but it was mired in delays and poor management.

When we came into office it was still incomplete in fact by December 2015 this project was still incomplete and as mandated to the HDC by this administration all incomplete projects had to be completed, he said.

He said these units were going to rental applicants and that signifies a change in policy at the HDC. Ive instructed the HDC to look at our policy. The HDC will now be looking towards the construction of rental units. A lot of the money has been going towards the construction of homes for people who can purchase however, the majority of the applicants at the HDC are persons earning below $6,000. Persons who really cannot qualify to purchase units, he said.

Mitchell said the HDC has been instructed to look at the policy where they can now move towards a more efficient use of the subsidy that Government provides.

The HDC will still be providing units for purchase but we will utilise the PPP (public private partnership) where the HDC can provide infrastructure then invite contractors through a PPP type arrangement to construct the housing units. The HDC will also be partnering with private sector companies to construct units where the HDC will provide technical assistance, he said.

The minister advised those who received their keys yesterday to pay their rents on time and to keep their units and common areas clean.
Third ferry being sourced

Sinanan made the announcement in the Senate, a day after the Express was down for repaird which led to a disruption in service on the domestic seabridge.

Sinanan said the vessel being sought is an additional wave-piercing catamaran passenger vehicle/fast ferry, similar to the design, features and capacity of the Spirit and Express.

He said this vessel is being sourced on a short to medium term full charter basis.

In explaining the procurement process, Sinanan said advertisements will be carried in newspapers next week and, Within two weeks we should have a vessel. The Minister said on Sunday that a note will be going to Cabinet to give the Port Authority permission to source an additional passenger vessel.

Sinanan previously said the Spirit and Express have not been dry docked for some time, prior to the Peoples National Movement (PNM) assuming office in September 2015. He indicated that one vessel will be drydocked in June while the other will be drydocked in September. We are working on a timeline to get both vessels on dry dock, Sinanan stated.

He said once dry docked, the Spirit and the Express will be thoroughly overhauled and rehabilitated.

The minister was confident that both ferries will be restored to full functionality and the third ferry will arrive before either vessel is drydocked. In addition, Sinanan said the water taxis will be used as and when needed to transport passengers to Tobago. He explained that when the water taxis were first purchased, under the former Patrick Manning-led administration, this was done knowing they could travel to and from Tobago in emergency cases.

The minister said the water taxi service would not be affected, as these vessels would be used on the weekend when the service is not active. Sinanan said he was unaware of claims by Opposition Senator Wade Mark that the seabridge crisis was damaging relations between Trinidad and Tobago. Asked if ferry passengers are being compensated for inconveniences they suffered when the ferries broke down, Sinanan said the Port Authority provided airbridge tickets to some passengers and in one case, even accommodated some passengers at a guest house when the could not return to Tobago. He said the latter occurred only once and the cost was nominal. These repairs are expected to be completed by May 28 and the Spirit will resume operations on May 29.

The TT Express will be the only ferry operating during the period, with the water taxis assisting it on May 28.

The Authority said in the absence of the Spirit, passengers will be accommodated on the respective days sailings.

People affected by these changes are not required to revalidate their travel tickets.
Minister Garcia meets principals

The meeting discussed school-based management (SBM), promoting discipline in schools and clinical supervision.

Francis opened proceedings by highlighting positive aspects of the education system, including gender equity.

Garcia urged principals to make a concerted effort to involve all their stakeholders in the management of their schools, and to enhance the systems in place to ensure students were proper supervised.

The three presenters  SBM head Claire Telemaque, Director of School Supervision (Ag) John Thompson and Director of Curriculum Planning John Roopchan said the meeting was in no way a blame game, but a chance to strategically plan the way forward using initiatives already in place at the ministry.

The meeting, at the Government Campus Plaza Auditorium, Port of Spain, was chaired by Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan and was also attended by staff of the ministrys Student Support Services, School Supervision and Curriculum Divisions.

The very candid and direct meeting explicitly highlighted where it is believed that improvements could be made and options were presented on how to move forward.

Recommendations were put forward for improvements in and out of the classroom.

The conversation was not one-sided as principals subsequently had the opportunity to air questions, concerns and comments they felt needed responses at this time.

Leaving the meeting, Garcia said he felt confident that its objective had been achieved and that partnership among principals and stakeholders would be reinforced to create a safer and more holistic learning environment for pupils
Plane with family of four goes missing near the Bermuda Triangle

The private passenger plane carrying a New York businesswoman and her family has gone missing. After spending Mothers Day in Puerto Rico, Jennifer Blumin, her pilot boyfriend Nathan Ulrich, and Blumins two sons took to the skies at 11 am on a plane heading for Titusville, Fla. At 2:10 pm, Miami Air Traffic Control lost all communication with the twin-engine MU-2B as it flew at 24,000 feet with a speed of 300 knots. According to the Independent.co.uk, the last known location of the plane was 37 miles to the east of Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas, as well as within the area comprising the infamous Bermuda Triangle.

The cause behind the familys disappearance has yet to be determined. Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant commander Ryan Kelly stated: There was no indication of significant adverse weather at the time, ruling out the possibility of bad weather.

Rae Dawn Chong, daughter of comedian Tommy Chong and Ulrichs ex-wife, has placed the blame on the plane, commenting: Hes an excellent pilot. You couldnt get a better pilot. Ive flown many hundreds of miles with him. It had to be a plane issue. To this, Kelly said that Ulrich may have been listed as the pilot, but it was unknown if he was the one flying the plane at the time of its disappearance.

Though there is no definite answer yet to the question of what happened to Blumin and her family, one may be coming in the near future. The NYPost.com reported that debris was found in the waters 15 miles east of Eleuthera. It hasnt been confirmed by the US Coast Guard if it came from the missing plane, however. Were putting two and two together and assuming that it is, unless we get more information, said Luke Clayton, also a Coast Guard spokesman. The debris has since been sent to the last mechanic who worked on the plane, with the hope that they might be able to identify it.

At the time of writing, speculations continue to run rampant as the mystery of Blumin and her familys disappearance remains unsolved.

A brief overview of the Bermuda Triangle

Also known as the Devils Triangle, the Bermuda Triangle refers to the 500,000 square miles of ocean bounded by Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. The name Bermuda Triangle was coined in 1964 by author Vincent Gaddis, who first used it in a magazine article discussing the hundreds of planes and boats that vanished within its purported area of influence. Everything from navy bombers to cargo ships have all entered the Bermuda Triangle but never came back out. The death of Joshua Slocum, famous as the first person to sail around the globe by himself, and the loss the USS Cyclops, a 542-foot-long Navy Cargo ship carrying 300 men and 10,000 tons of manganese, have all been attributed to the Bermuda Triangle.

Aliens, sea monsters, and even reverse gravity fields have been cited as the causes behind the Triangles mythical destructive nature. Similar to Blumins case, there doesnt yet exist a conclusive answer to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Theories and counter-theories have popped up and will continue to pop up until thenfrom both the believers and the skeptics of the Triangle. (Related: Has the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle been solved?)

Visit WeirdScienceNews.com for more stories about the strange, the unusual, and sometimes the paranormal.

Sources include:

Independent.co.uk

TheNewDaily.com.au

NYPost.com

History.com

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A bit of due disclosure; I'm a Frontier subscriber and have been for years. It's done some very exciting things in the next generation communications space in the interim, some of which I fervently hope get out my way. Recently, it got together with Nokia (News - Alert) on one new such development in Connecticut, with Nokia providing its G.fast technology to drive up gigabit ultra-broadband systems across the state.





With Nokia G.fast in place, Frontier can speed up its rollout of fiber-quality speeds to customers in apartment buildings, as well as offer new data service and Internet protocol television (IPTV (News - Alert)) packages. By focusing its early operations on apartment buildings and similar multi-dwelling units (MDUs), it can set up proof-of-concept of the operation and plan greater rollouts elsewhere.

It's part of an effort to improve current copper networks; while certainly, fiber would be better, the costs to install new fiber are almost prohibitively high. That's a point that Google (News - Alert) found out when it launched its own next generation communications operation Google Fiber. While Google refocused its efforts on wireless connectivity, some who already had established copper systems in place like Frontier looked to improve these systems. Built-in vectoring technology helps pull some of the load off the system, reducing cross-talk interference and providing a better solution.

Frontier's executive vice president and chief technology officer Steve Gable noted Nokia's field-proven G.fast solution will help Frontier quickly bring ultra-broadband access to customers by using the existing copper twisted pair wiring that is often found in apartment buildings. Without it, we'd have to drill holes and pull fiber into each apartment unit we serve, a time consuming and challenging process that can be frustrating for customers. Nokia's solution allows us to deliver new enhanced services without ever having to enter the place of residence.

This is all fine and welldevelopments have to start somewherebut the impact of this is comparatively limited and may not be that great a help to Frontier at all. After all, we've got to remember that we're maybe three years out from the commercial launch of 5G. If Google gets its hands on a similar wireless technologyand there's no real reason to assume it wouldn'tand starts setting it up nationwide, then that's it for most terrestrial providers. I'm a long-term Frontier subscriber myself, but if Google offered me Google Fiber via wireless and it worked any kind of well, that would likely be too much to pass up.

Frontier's Nokia-backed announcement is a welcome one, but it might be too little too late unless it can get this development out of apartment complexes and out to the rest of the subscriber base post haste.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
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Poverty continues to affect millions of children in North Africa and the Middle East where one in four children lives without quality health care or decent housing, the UNICEF said in a new report.

Poverty continues to affect at least 29 million children who are deprived of the minimum requirements in two or more of the most basic life necessities including basic education, decent housing, nutritious food, quality health care, safe water, sanitation and access to information, said the UNICEF report, which covered 11 countries in the MENA region.

Child poverty is about so much more than family income  its about access to quality education, healthcare, a home and safe water. When children are deprived of the basics, they are at risk of getting trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for MENA, at a regional conference on child poverty held in Rabat, Morocco.

He warned of the impact of poverty on childrens social mobility saying that future families could become impoverished for at least three generations.

When children are deprived of the basics, they are at risk of getting trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, he insisted.

The report also stressed the need for addressing the challenges standing in the way of measuring the impact of poverty on children and urged governments in the region to alleviate poverty.

Countries in the region dont consistently collect data on poverty while widespread and ongoing violence and displacement make it extremely difficult to get data from conflict-affected countries. Absence of a full understanding of childrens reality, including the most marginalized or invisible, risks that existing policies and actions fall short from addressing child poverty effectively, said the report.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has been awarded the Order of La Pleiade, the highest honorary order of the International Organization of la Francophonie, in recognition of his determining role in promoting the values of dialogue and tolerance.

The Monarch was handed the decoration on Wednesday by President of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie, Aubin Minaku Ndjalandjoko, who was received, along a delegation of the Africa Regional Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF), in the Royal Palace in Fez, the Royal Office said in a statement.

The Africa Regional Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie held its session in Rabat this May 22-24.

The awarding of this honorary order of La Francophonie and dialogue of cultures translates appreciation of the Monarchs actions at the national and international levels to enhance the civilizational heritage of humanity. The decoration also recognizes his commitment and initiatives that have anchored and consolidated the vocation of Morocco as a land of coexistence and cultural diversity, the Royal Office statement said.

This highest distinction of the APF is also a tribute to the Monarchs endeavors to establish a modern State where the rule of law prevails.

The APF President, Aubin Minaku Ndjalandjoko, hailed, in an address on the occasion, the Kings humanistic initiatives in the service of the ideals of cooperation and friendship between peoples in general and in the Francophonie region in particular.

He hailed the tremendous progress scored by Morocco and the Moroccan society between 1963 (the first Moroccan Constitution having been adopted in December 1962) and 2011, date of the referendum on constitutional reforms, insisting on the prevalence of the rule of law in the country.

The space for the exercise of individual freedoms has expanded, the principle of equality between men and women is a reality on the move, political pluralism is being consolidated, and participatory democracy is in motion, so much so that any Moroccan citizen can address to the Parliament a petition on a specific issue of daily life, he underlined.

Aubin Minaku Ndjalandjoko, who is also the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo, paid tribute to the Kings unwavering commitment towards Africa and to his laudable actions across the continent, saying that the large number of delegations, which took part in the Africa Regional Assembly, evidences recognition of this commitment.

The order of La Pleiade recognizes people who particularly distinguish themselves in the service of the organizations ideals of cooperation and friendship.
Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) offer an alternative market that may reduce Moroccos dependence on exports to Europe, the Moroccan finance ministry said in a study.

The study highlights the promising prospects for fisheries exports to the GCC countries and shows the rising fisheries consumptions trends in these countries.

The study notes that Moroccos fresh fisheries exports remain absent in GCC markets while Moroccan canned fish represents 2% in its category in the UAE and 1% in KSA.

The analysis adds that Moroccan exporters should explore the opportunities offered in GCC markets to reduce dependence on Europe, which remains the main export destination for Moroccan fisheries.

Diversification of our fisheries export destinations, which remain strongly concentrated in Europe, is key to reduce Moroccos dependence on traditional markets, the study underscores.

Moroccos fisheries exporters need to diversify export markets at a time demand remains stable in Europe in contrast to other regions with rising consumption trends.

The GCC is made up of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
For the fourth year in a row, Spain stands as the main trading partner for Morocco in 2016, Moroccos statistics office said.

Spain stands as Moroccos main trading partner taking 23.3% of the total Moroccan exports and providing 15.7% of its imports in 2016, the same source added.

The EU as a whole took 46% of Moroccos exports and supplied 54% of its imports, Eurostat said.

Spanish exports to Morocco represented 33.2% of total EU exports to Morocco while Moroccos exports to Spain account for 40.6% of its total exports to the EU, Eurostat noted.

These figures show the close commercial ties between Morocco and Spain, which grew six folds in the last 6 years to stand at 12.6 billion euros, representing 10% of Moroccos GDP.

During the same period (2010-2016), Moroccos imports from Spain rose from 3.41 to 6.93 billion euros while its exports jumped from 2.68 to 5.67 billion euros.

The latest data from Moroccos foreign trade department show that Moroccos imports from Spain rose by 17.81% by February 2017 compared to the same period last year, while exports to Spain jumped by 21.42%, indicating that the trade balance is on course to be even between the two countries.
What if the poverty was inside us all along? Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Ben Carson announced Wednesday that poverty is a state of mind.

I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind, the Housing secretary said during an interview with Armstrong Williams on SiriusXM. You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street and I guarantee in a little while theyll be right back up there.

This is incredible news for the 16 million American households that suffer from food insecurity, or the hundreds of thousands who have no roof over their heads. Malnutrition is just a mind-set! Homelessness is where the heart is! If you can visualize a well-stocked fridge, an affordable apartment, and an abundance of stable, well-paying jobs for someone with your skill set, then those things will immediately come into existence.

In all seriousness, there is a sense in which Carsons claim is accurate: Poverty does shape the human mind. Material deprivation in childhood has been linked to depression and abnormal brain development. As Erika Hayasaki wrote for Newsweek in 2016:

Two recent influential reports cracked open a public conversation on the matter. In one, researchers found that impoverished children had less gray matter  brain tissue that supports information processing and executive behavior  in their hippocampus (involved in memory), frontal lobe (involved in decision making, problem solving, impulse control, judgment, and social and emotional behavior) and temporal lobe (involved in language, visual and auditory processing and self-awareness). Working together, these brain areas are crucial for following instructions, paying attention and overall learning  some of the keys to academic success.



The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics in 2015, examined 389 people between 4 and 22 years old. A quarter of the participants came from homes well below the federal poverty level ($24,230 annual income for a family of four in 2016). Children from the poorest backgrounds showed greater diminishment of gray matter and scored lower on standardized tests.



The second key study, published in Nature Neuroscience, also in 2015, looked at 1,099 people between ages 3 and 20, and found that children with parents who had lower incomes had reduced brain surface areas in comparison to children from families bringing home $150,000 or more a year.

Do impoverished people sometimes develop self-defeating attitudes and habits that exacerbate their unearned disadvantages? Sure. And if Ben Carson were merely proposing to subject Americas poor to condescending motivational speeches, his emphasis on personal agency would be less loathsome.

But he isnt. The Housing secretary isnt just encouraging the destitute to take life by the horns  he is arguing that the government should force them to do so, by making public housing less accessible and more uncomfortable. The Trump administrations proposed budget cuts billions in federal funding for public housing.

Poverty is a mind-set, in that material want affects the human mind in negative ways. If we want to eliminate that mind-set, we should eliminate poverty. It wouldnt be hard to do, if we really wanted to.
Handshake diplomacy. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

On Thursday, President Trump began the fourth leg of his first overseas trip since taking office by meeting with European leaders in Brussels, a city he once called a hellhole.

Residents of the Belgian capital did not forget Trumps insult. On Wednesday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Brussels with signs telling Trump to, among other things, get the hell out of my hole.

Id like to see him point out where Belgium is on a map. Im sure he doesnt know where it is, one Belgian told NBC News.

Trump first met with Belgiums prime minister Charles Michel Thursday morning and then with leaders of the EU. Speaking to the media after the meeting, European Council President Donald Tusk said he and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed with Trump on many areas, but named only one  the importance of combating terrorism.

He went on to say that the EU leaders and Trump did not see eye to eye on the issues of climate, trade, and, most importantly, Russia. I am not sure that we can say 100 percent today that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia, Tusk said.

This wouldnt have been a Trump meeting if nothing leaked, and not long after it ended, something did. Trump reportedly told Tusk and Juncker that hes concerned Brexit will result in job losses for Americans. Thats quite a turn for Trump, who once labeled himself Mr. Brexit and called the United Kingdoms decision to leave the EU a beautiful beautiful thing.

They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2016

After his meeting with EU leaders, Trump went to a lunch of veal filet and Belgian-chocolate mousse with newly elected French president Emmanuel Macron. In Macron, who is not much more than half Trumps age, the 70-year-old saw something he could appreciate  an impressive electoral win.

It is my great honor to be with the newly elected president of France, who ran an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory, said Trump, who came close to endorsing Macrons far-right opponent during the election. All over the world theyre talking about it. And we have a lot to discuss, including terrorism and other things. Congratulations. Great job.

Their discussion was direct and constructive Macron said after the meeting in a tweet that included video of a now-viral handshake between the two leaders. It was yet another Trump handshake thats gotten considerable attention thanks to Macrons tight squeeze on Trumps meaty mitt, a clear attempt to out-alpha the alpha.

Premiere rencontre constructive et directe avec le President Trump. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/g2L3MZg5J9  Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 25, 2017

Heres how the Times saw it:

The 70-year-old American and the 39-year-old Frenchman grabbed each others hands in what began as a manly greeting and ended as a kind of good-natured death grip. Jaws clenching, faces alternating between smiles and grimaces, the two men shook until Mr. Trumps knuckles turned white.



At one point, the president tried to pull away, only to have Mr. Macron clasp his hand even harder and keep pumping. Finally, the second time Mr. Trump pulled away, Mr. Macron let him go.

Seems like someone went to the Justin Trudeau School for Handsome World Leaders to Prepare for Awkward Handshakes.

President Trump welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the White House. https://t.co/n7TqA3VDnW pic.twitter.com/5TcpyDfZx5  ABC News (@ABC) February 13, 2017

Following the lunch with Macron, Trump spoke as a memorial to 9/11 victims was unveiled at NATO headquarters. European leaders were hoping to hear Trump reaffirm U.S. commitment to Article 5, the alliances pledge of mutual defense, but instead he badgered them about NATO dues.

Members of the alliance must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, Trump said. Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States.

Later, in an apparent nod of support to body-slamming Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte, Trump physically moved Montenegro PM Dusko Markovic out of his way so he could preen for the cameras.
Legendary Alabama politician Big Jim Folsom didnt assault any reporters. But he looked and sounded like hed had more than a few tall drinks when he went on statewide television the night before a 1962 gubernatorial primary.

In trying to assess the possible impact of Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianfortes assault on a reporter last night, one searches in vain for parallels. There have been plenty of late-breaking developments in political contests that sent candidates reeling, from October Surprises that changed the dynamics, to last-second attack ads, to mysteriously well-funded whisper campaigns. But a candidate committing a criminal act (albeit a misdemeanor) on election eve? In front of witnesses? That may be a new one.

In terms of self-sabotage, however, Gianfortes high jinks may remind old-timers and students of political history of a famous incident in Alabama in 1962, when the legendary Big Jim Folsom appeared on statewide television the night before the gubernatorial primary, in what appeared to be a state of extreme inebriation. Chris McFadyen explains:

Folsom hoped to stage a coup on election eve with a 30-minute TV documentary. The film canister mysteriously disappeared and Folsom had to extemporize well beyond his planned introfilmed live with family members in a Montgomery studio. He couldnt remember the names of his children and stammered and lurched through an impromptu harangue of [primary opponents] Wallace and deGraffenried as just a bunch of me-too candidates: Me too! Me too! Me too! Me too!

It became known as Folsoms Tweety Bird speech, and many Folsom diehards still swear that legendary Big Jim must have been slipped a Mickey.

That may be true, though Folsom was extremely well-known as a man who liked adult beverages. On an earlier occasion, when he was governor, Alabama segregationists shrieked in rage at reports he had invited Harlems African-American Congressman Adam Clayton Powell to stop by the governors mansion for cocktails. Folsom responded: The people of Alabama know thats a damn lie. I drink corn liquor just like they do.

In any event, the Tweety Bird speech almost certainly robbed Folsom of a runoff spot, which in turn made it easy for his former protege turned race-baiter George Wallace to win the governorship for the first time, going on to dominate Alabama politics for decades. They didnt have much early voting in those days, so Folsom was not protected from the full consequences of his actions the way Gianforte may be (two-thirds and maybe more of the voters in the Montana race could have already voted by mail before yesterday). But then again, Big Jim wasnt brought up on charges, either.
Greg Gianforte found a way to draw more attention to tomorrows special election. Photo: William Campbell/Corbis via Getty Images

The special election to fill a U.S. House seat in Montana (which was vacated by new interior secretary Ryan Zinke) was already unpredictable heading into Thursdays vote. But now the favorite in this Republican-leaning state, Greg Gianforte, has thrown something new into the mix by apparently attacking a reporter on election eve. Late on Wednesday night, police announced that the candidate has been cited for misdemeanor assault.

Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for The Guardian, claims that while asking Gianforte a question before a campaign event on Wednesday evening, the candidate suddenly slammed him to the floor, breaking his glasses and shouting, Get the hell out of here.

He took me to the ground, Jacobs told his colleagues by phone from the back of an ambulance. This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses  Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017

Heres audio captured by Jacobss recorder:

Shane Scanlon, a spokesman for Gianfortes campaign, released a statement accusing Jacobs of crashing the candidates interview with another reporter. Scanlon claims he aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face, and began asking badgering questions. He continued:

After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. Its unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.

However, the journalists Jacobs allegedly interrupted  a team from the decidedly not-liberal Fox News Channel  offered a very different account. Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna said she and her two colleagues were making small talk with Gianforte as they set up for an interview when Jacobs entered the room:

[He] put it up to Gianfortes face and began asking if him if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act. Gianforte told him he would get to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon.



At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of Im sick and tired of this!



Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. He then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized.

Acuna noted, At no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte. She and her team are cooperating with local authorities.

BuzzFeeds Alexis Levinson, who was standing outside the room during the incident, said she heard yelling and saw Jacobs hit the floor. Then he emerged from the room holding his broken glasses.

All of a sudden I heard a giant crash and saw Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor  Alexis Levinson (@alexis_levinson) May 24, 2017

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Jacobs was examined at a hospital and released, then reported the incident to the police. After saying initially that his office had no immediate plans to charge Gianforte, Gootkins office released this statement shortly before midnight local time:

Following multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriffs Office it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault (MCA 45-5-201). The nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault. Greg Gianforte received a citation on Wednesday night and is scheduled to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court between now and June 7, 2017.

The maximum penalty is six months in county jail and a fine of up to $500.

The statement said the investigation is now complete, so it appears the candidate will not be cited for fleeing the scene. Gianforte was driven away shortly after the incident, though he was scheduled to address his supporters. Gootkin had said police were looking into the matter.

Gianforte sitting in a Jeep. Sheriff's deputies were talking to him earlier. Now a medic is at the window talking with him. #bdcnews #mtal pic.twitter.com/JsT4tTYt82  Whitney Bermes (@wabermes) May 24, 2017

Gootkin donated $250 to Gianfortes campaign in March, according to campaign finance reports. He said in a statement, This contribution has nothing to do with our investigation.

Guardian U.S. editor Lee Glendinning said the paper stands by Jacobs and they are deeply appalled by how he was treated in the course of doing his job as a journalist.

We are committed to holding power to account and we stand by Ben Jacobs and our team of reporters for the questions they ask and the reporting that is produced.

Last month, Jacobs reported that Gianforte, a tech millionaire, owns about $250,000 in shares of two index funds that are invested in the Russian economy and have holdings in companies under U.S. sanctions.

During a campaign event in Missoula, Gianfortes Democratic opponent, Rob Quist, told reporters he hadnt heard about the alleged body slam, and would leave the matter to law enforcement.

Late on Wednesday night, three local papers rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte. There is no doubt that Gianforte committed an act of terrible judgment that, if it doesnt land him in jail, also shouldnt land him in the U.S. House of Representatives, said The Missoulian. He showed Wednesday night that he lacks the experience, brains and abilities to effectively represent Montana in any elected office.

The editorial board of the Billings Gazette said they were at a loss for words:

Although were greatly troubled by this action against a member of the media who was just doing his job, to make this an issue of media intrusion or even a passionate defense of the role of a free press during an election would be to miss the point.



If what was heard on tape and described by eye-witnesses is accurate, the incident in Bozeman is nothing short of assault. We wouldnt condone it if it happened on the street. We wouldnt condone it if it happened in a home or even a late-night bar fight. And we couldnt accept it from a man who is running to become Montanas lone Congressional representative.

Referencing Gianforte telling Jacobs that hes sick and tired of you guys, The Independent Record said:

We are also sick and tired  of Gianfortes incessant attacks on the free press. In the past, he has encouraged his supporters to boycott certain newspapers, singled out a reporter in a room to point out that he was outnumbered, and even made a joke out of the notion of choking a news writer, and these are not things we can continue to brush off.

Its hard to say what the incidents political impact will be. On the one hand, a potential act of criminal violence by a congressional candidate could bother some last-minute deciders. On the other hand, establishing rich software capitalist Gianforte as a rassler who body-slams media enemies could cut the other way, too.

All in all, it could show the Republican candidate making a fatal last-minute mistake, or exhibiting complicity in a sure victory. It probably matters that as many as two-thirds of the voters in this contest have already cast ballots by mail, for or against the body-slamming Republican. But if the race turns out to be really close tomorrow night, Montanans may wonder if they want to be represented in Washington by a crazy, rich wild man like Greg Gianforte, who idolizes another crazy, rich wild man named Donald Trump.

This post has been updated throughout.
Nancy Pelosi. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

If voters give Democrats the House next year, Democrats will pass a $15 minimum wage out of the House within 100 hours of taking office, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi vowed on Thursday.

Pelosis pledge came as Democratic leaders introduced the legislation she promised to pass: Thirty-five Democrats in the Senate and 152 in the House signed their names to the Raise the Wage Act, a bill that would fully phase in a $15-an-hour rate by 2024, and guarantee that minimum to all workers, including tipped ones.

That a large majority of congressional Democrats  including Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer  would get behind such a bill is a testament to both the partys leftward drift and the power of labor solidarity. Less than two years ago, the partys leaders were pushing for a $10.50 wage floor. Last year, the Democratic front-runner insisted on $12.

Until very recently, the concept of doubling the current federal minimum wage was viewed with derisive disbelief  on both sides of the aisle. But then, in late 2012, fast-food workers began walking off their jobs. With the help of the Service Employees International Union, those workers built a movement that convinced three of Americas largest cities, two of its most populous states, and one of its major political parties to honor their core demand, in less than five years of organizing.

Thats a remarkable and encouraging feat, even if one is a liberal skeptic of the $15 rate. Organized labor has been the muscle behind nearly every progressive policy gain in American history. The fact that American workers can still radically expand the realm of the possible through solidarity  even as the union movement continues its bad decline  should be a source of comfort to progressives of all stripes.

That said, you dont need to be a reactionary to question whether a $15 federal minimum is the best mechanism for securing all workers a living wage. Too often on the left, debates over this issue are framed in normative terms instead of empirical ones: Do workers deserve a minimum of $15 an hour for their labor? rather than Will a $15 minimum, in the context of our (profoundly unjust) capitalist economy, reduce employment or work hours for those at the bottom?

The answer to the first question is, in my view, of course. They deserve more than that. And if American wages had grown in line with productivity, they would have it.

But the second question is an open one.

Historically, minimum-wage increases have never brought about the kind of massive job losses that hyperventilating libertarians tend to predict. But there is some evidence that minimum-wage hikes in general  and a giant hike to $15, in particular  can have adverse effects for some so-called low-skill workers. And we know very little about how such a dramatic increase would impact less affluent rural economies, since the longest-running experiments with a (slowly phased-in) $15 rate have been in major cities with relatively high median wages.

This isnt to say the Raise the Wage Bill necessarily sets the rate too high. For one thing, by 2024, that $15 minimum will be closer to $13 in todays currency. For another, theres reason to think a much higher minimum wage could have positive secondary effects that overwhelm any downside. Some studies suggest that a $15 hike would boost middle-class spending power, and thus economic growth and job creation. Whats more, if higher labor costs encourage employers to invest in automation, that might not be a bad thing  productivity growth is great, provided everyone gets a fair share of the product.

A $15 hourly wage is one way to try to ensure that everyone does. But there are others: California Democrat Ro Khanna has proposed boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit to provide as much as $6,000 a year for individuals and $12,000 for families  a proposal that amounts to $1 trillion transfer to Americas working people. (Its also, essentially, a modest, universal basic income, with a work requirement.).

Another (less ambitious) way of promoting economic fairness would be to guarantee all workers access to the package of benefits that were once a cornerstone of the social contract between American employers and their (white, male) labor forces.

Virginia senator Mark Warner has introduced a bill that would lay the groundwork for such a guarantee. As Axios reports:

The bill from Virginias Warner, a Democrat, would give the Labor Department $20 million to fund pilot programs related to either new or existing models for portable benefits. In other words, benefits you that arent linked to employment status. Warner told Axios that rather than starting with some kind of federally driven, top-down solution, what were trying to say is lets go ahead and try and experiment.



The grants arent supposed to go to a program that provides only retirement-related benefits, since Warner says hes hoping there will ultimately be more types of benefits available to workers.

Warner is no ones idea of a progressive Democrat. Which is part of what makes his proposal encouraging: Even Team Blues corporate wing is coming around to the premise that American workers deserve better, and the public sector needs to do something about that fact.

The Democratic Partys populist drift is further reflected in the growing support on Capitol Hill for the signature policies of Bernie Sanderss 2016 campaign  free public college for the working class and single-payer health care  and for the more progressive items in Hillary Clintons platform, like paid family leave and subsidized child care.

Put all of the aforementioned policies together and you have a pretty solid plan for making America great  or, much, much better than its been, anyway.

To be sure, the Democratic leadership is a ways away from endorsing a platform that would require such significant tax increases. Weeks before her $15 pledge, Pelosi vowed that her party would not make Medicare for all its official position on health-care policy anytime soon.

But Thursdays announcement shows that the boundaries of the possible are expanding  and that elected Democrats are balancing their Trump denunciations and Russia investigations with efforts to give working people something to vote for.
James Comey testifies before the House Oversight Committee last July. Photo: Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images

James Comeys decision last July to publicly announce the end of the investigation into Hillary Clintons private email server was made in part due to bad Russian intelligence alleging collusion between Clinton and the Justice Department. The Washington Post says the intelligence document, which said thenAttorney General Loretta Lynch promised a campaign staffer that shed go easy on Clinton, led Comey to take the extraordinary step of announcing the investigations findings without involving the Justice Department.

He feared that if Lynch made the announcement and the document leaked, it would undermine the entire investigation, the paper says. Along with the now-infamous meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton on an Arizona tarmac, which Comey said unsettled him, this was enough for him to keep the attorney general out of the loop with regards to the Clinton announcement.

But just a month after Comey made his announcement about the end of the investigation, and heavily criticized Clinton in the process, the FBI deemed the Russian intelligence unreliable, possibly even fake.

From the moment the bureau received the document from a source in early March 2016, its veracity was the subject of an internal debate at the FBI. Several people familiar with the matter said the bureaus doubts about the document hardened in August when officials became more certain that there was nothing to substantiate the claims in the Russian document.

The FBI tried to verify the document, which described an email from former DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Leonard Benardo of George Soross Open Society Foundations. The email said that Lynch told Clinton staffer Amanda Renteria that she would prevent the investigation from going too deep.

But after failing to obtain the email, the bureau didnt dig much further. It seemingly didnt even interview the people at the center of the claim.

Wasserman Schultz and Benardo said in separate interviews with The Washington Post that they do not know each other and have never communicated. Renteria, in an interview, and people familiar with Lynchs account said the two also do not know each other and have never communicated. Lynch declined to comment for this article.

So how, then, did this document weaving all these people together come to be? And why did the FBI take it seriously? One expert suggests it was a tale weaved by conspiracy theorists.

When asked, the individuals named in the document struggled to fathom why their identities would have been woven together in a document describing communications they said never happened. But others recognized the dim outlines of a conspiracy theory that would be less surprising in Russia, where Soros  the founder of the organization Benardo works for  and Clinton are both regarded as political enemies of the Kremlin.



The idea that Russians would tell a story in which the Clinton campaign, Soros and even an Obama administration official are connected  that Russians might tell such a story, that is not at all surprising, said Matt Rojansky, a Russia expert and director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center. Because that is part of the Kremlin worldview.

There is one other connection that might explain how this whole thing got started. Renteria may have never communicated with the former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, but she knows another woman named Loretta Lynch  who is a lawyer in California.
No heckling here. Photo: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

Plans for President Trump to address the Israeli Parliament during his visit to Jerusalem were scrapped because U.S. officials were reportedly afraid hed be heckled. In an interview on Israeli radio Thursday, Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein said the possibility was explored as a first option, and it was dropped from the agenda because it was clear that the president wouldnt be able to speak without interruption, the AP says. Trump chose instead to speak at the Israel Museum.

Four years ago, President Obama made a similar decision amid fears of a noisy Knesset crowd. He chose to speak to a group of Israeli students at the Jerusalem International Convention Center instead of the often rowdy crowd of lawmakers.

Less than a year later, Stephen Harper, then the Canadian prime minister, did address the Knesset. In the process, he provided evidence that both Obama and Trump probably made the right call.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Koi, the celeb-approved restaurant in the Trump SoHo announced plans last month to shut down for good, citing a business slump following the 2016 election. The five-star hotel is also apparently struggling, and is now planning to lay off staff, sources told WNYC. According to the report, corporate bookings have decreased by two-thirds in the first five months of this year, and nightly rates have dropped to under $400 per night  making the Trump SoHo a relative bargain compared to its five-star competition in New York City.

WNYC says that at least 12 of its 80-member attendant staff could be let go. The Trump SoHo will also get rid of one small luxury: its turndown service. A representative for the Trump organization told WNYC that hotel rates and occupancy fluctuate due to factors such as seasonality and macro-economic forces, which the spokesperson described as typical for the industry. The hotel continues to receive top accolades, the rep added.

The Trump SoHo news comes amid reports that bedbugs are plaguing guests at Trumps Vegas hotel, and that members of the Trump Organization are finding it difficult to track profits generated from representatives of foreign governments, and so wont be able to donate them all to the U.S. Treasury, as originally promised. While counting profits of any sort might not be relevant to the Trump SoHo anymore, the Trump International Hotel in D.C. seems to be doing just fine.
A British Army soldier patrols with an armed police officer near the Houses of Parliament in central London on May 24, 2017. Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has ordered the Justice Department to probe the alleged U.S. law enforcement leaks related to the Manchester bombing investigation. These leaks, including crime-scene photos published in the New York Times, have reportedly angered British police so much that officials have halted sharing any more Manchester intel with their American counterparts, and have forced British prime minister Theresa May to raise the issue directly with Trump during the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.



But now Trump says his administration is taking action. The alleged leaks coming out of the government are deeply troubling, Trump said in a statement about the inquiry, adding that if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Trump statement says he's asking DOJ to investigate Manchester leaks: the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law pic.twitter.com/3dYv4MKN6H  Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 25, 2017

Trump, in many a tweetstorm, has slammed leakers since taking office  though the president himself has contributed to recent concerns that the U.S. might be careless with other countries secrets after he allegedly shared Israeli intel with with Russian officials. But ire among British officials Britain reportedly grew after the Times published photos on Wednesday of what appeared to be the remnants of the bomb that was set off by a suicide bomber in Manchester, England, this week, killing 22 people. The paper identified them as law enforcement images that were distributed by British authorities, but did not specify exactly how they were obtained.

The BBC reported that British police are furious because they believe the photos were leaked by U.S. law enforcement, and theyve stopped sharing information with the U.S. One U.K. official said the leaks were on another level and had caused disbelief and astonishment throughout the British government.



U.S. officials had already been accused of reveling details like the number of casualties and the identity of bomber Salman Abedi. British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was irritated that Abedis name was made public, and had warned Washington that it should not happen again. There were concerns that the leaks may have hampered efforts to track down Abedis possible accomplices, and determine how he obtained the bomb.

The nations regularly share information as part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement. Manchester police reportedly hope to continue sharing information with the U.S. soon.

We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world, the National Counter Terrorism Policing unit of Britains National Police Chiefs Council said in a statement. When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation,

British prime minister Theresa May was expected to raise the issue with Trump during Thursdays NATO summit. I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure, May assured the public in a statement ahead of her trip to Brussels.

Last week Trump shared classified Israeli intelligence with Russian officials, and Israeli defense chief Avigdor Liberman suggested on Wednesday that Israel has changed how it shares information with the U.S. as a result.

The British believe the Manchester intelligence was leaked by U.S. law enforcement, not the intelligence agencies, and they suggested Americans have an intelligence-sharing problem that predates the Trump administration.

They dont understand the complexities of just blurting it out, and the reasons not to. They just think, Oh, Ive got something to say, for their own personal aggrandizement quite often, a former British intelligence chief told Newsweek.

The official added that while the British are pretty disciplined, American officials just blabbermouth it and its really, really unhelpful.

This post has been updated throughout.
ABC/Fred WatkinsFoo Fighters are headed to wine country this weekend to play their lone scheduled U.S. date of 2017 at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival in Napa, California. To celebrate, the band will be launching an on-site pop-up shop, which will be selling Foo-branded wine.

Other items at the pop-up shop include various tools needed to consume your signature Foo Fighters wine, from glasses to corkscrews, plus a variety of apparel and posters. The shop will open this Friday, May 26.

The Foos will headline BottleRock on Sunday, May 28. They'll be touring Europe in the summer, and they're reportedly working on a new album.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
After touching an orb in Saudi Arabia and driving Pope Francis to the depths of human despair, Donald Trumps first international tour continues today with a NATO stop in Brussels. Todays agenda included being greeted by protesters, one very awkward handshake with French president Emmanuel Macron, and, apparently, making sure his pals at NATO know hes in charge. While walking with several of his NATO peers  Trump spoke with leaders earlier on Thursday  Trump appeared to shove Montenegros prime minister, Dusko Markovic, out of the way, so he could assume the alpha position at the front of the group.

Here it is again, in slow motion, courtesy of CNBCs Steve Kopack.

Slo-mo: Trump appears to push aside/shove another NATO leader to get to the front of the group. pic.twitter.com/K0OC6QnEL4  Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) May 25, 2017

Of course, Trumps little push pales in comparison to reports coming out of Montana, where on the eve of a special election to fill a spot in the House of Representatives, GOP candidate Greg Gianforte reportedly body-slammed a reporter and broke his glasses. Apparently, these guys missed that lesson in kindergarten about using our words instead of our hands.
Bikram Choudhury. Photo: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images

In 2016, speedo-loving hot-yoga founder Bikram Choudhury was ordered to pay more than $7 million in a lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed and unceremoniously fired his former lawyer. However, Choudhury allegedly hid his assets and fled the country to avoid paying the judgment, and a California judge has now issued a warrant for his arrest, ABC News reports.

Minakshi Miki Jafa-Bodden was serving as general counsel for Choudhurys Yoga College of India when she was allegedly asked by the hot-yoga guru (who created the sweat-inducing Bikram Yoga) to help cover up allegations that he had sexually assaulted and raped a yoga student. Since 2013, Choudhury had been hit with six civil lawsuits from women who accused him of rape and sexual harassment, and Jafa-Bodden was allegedly in the process of looking into those allegations when the yogi made his request. The attorney refused, and subsequently lost her job.

Jafa-Bodden then filed her own suit against Choudhury, alleging he also sexually harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments, before unfairly firing her. In January 2016, a jury agreed and ruled in her favor. As ABC News reports, Choudhury was ordered to pay almost $6.5 million in punitive damages, as well as $924,000 in compensatory damages.

According to KABC-TV, Choudhury has not paid the judgment, and a process server for Jafa-Bodden has since tracked Choudhury down to Thailand. He also apparently tried to ship his fleet of 43 luxury cars overseas to avoid having to turn them over as part of the judgment. As a result, a Los Angeles judge issued an arrest warrant for Choudhury on Wednesday, and set his bail at $8 million. Under the warrant, Choudhury would be arrested if he returns to the U.S.
Because no two paths to parenthood look the same, the Cuts How I Got This Baby invites parents to share their stories. Want to share yours? Email gotbaby@thecut.com and tell us a bit about how you became a parent.

Photo: H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Dana started dating her now-husband when they were both 19. They married in their late 20s, and Dana got pregnant at 31. Her pregnancy went smoothly until about eight weeks before she was due, when some concerning pains sent her to the emergency room. After doctors told her she needed to stop working and go on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy, Dana informed her boss, whose reaction was not at all what she was expecting. She describes the way her boss handled her pregnancy and maternity leave, what it was like to hear doctors whispering seconds after her daughter was born, and how her first pregnancy changed her husbands views on abortion.

On an unexpected pregnancy with complications. I never thought Id get pregnant. My husband and I had been together so long  I wouldnt say we were trying or not trying. I just felt like if it was gonna happen, it would have happened. Then it did.

Two months before I was due I had pains in my left side, so I went to the hospital for an evaluation. My blood pressure was basically skyrocketing, just sitting in a bed doing nothing. I was due October 17; this was in August. I had to go on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy and be very closely monitored.

Emotionally, I didnt really grasp the bed rest until after I had the baby. At the time, I was just upset that I had to stop working because I wanted to get as many paychecks as I could and take the least amount of time off work. But once I went on bed rest, I could feel there was something wrong with my body. I would feel physically like I was getting sick; if I walked too much Id feel like I was going to pass out.

On how her boss handled the situation. When I got pregnant I was working as a store manager and was active in the production aspect, which meant I was on my feet all day, moving around. The doctors had given me all the papers saying I needed to be on bed rest, but the woman I worked for didnt understand what they meant. So I had to go in and fill out my own papers, essentially doing her job for her.

Then while I was on maternity leave, I told her my return date needed to change  and I got a totally unexpected reply.

On the logistics of her maternity leave. I had a C-section, so I had eight weeks of leave. When it was getting close to that time being up, I emailed my manager and said I was planning to take more time, using FMLA. She emailed back and said she no longer had a job for me, that shed given it to someone else.

I was obviously pissed off. I did the whole thing over email because I knew she was a sneaky person  I wanted documentation of everything. Though I thought it would just be a record of me asking for leave, not that the exchange would end the way it did. I wasnt even done with my maternity leave and, already, I didnt have a job to go back to.

On the reason she needed more leave. We didnt know about our daughters cleft palate until she was born. Some people have an indication in utero, if its the lip and the palate. But that wasnt the case for us. I wound up having a C-section, and once they take the baby out of you, you really cant see whats going on  but I could hear the doctors whispering. Then they brought her over and said she had a cleft palate. I didnt even know what they were talking about. I was strapped to a table with my stomach ripped open  I thought maybe her chin was just really far back. Then they told me she basically had no roof in her mouth.

It was very visible, once they showed her to me: You could see the lines to the septum because there was nothing there. You could see her complete nasal passage. She spent about 20 days in the NICU, and the nurses and doctors taught us how to feed her using a special technique. Then we took her home.

On caring for a child with unique feeding needs. Our first year was very focused on making sure she was eating, making sure she was gaining weight and hitting milestones. Sometimes kids with clefts arent getting enough nutrients  you also have to be careful to make sure they dont eat for too long. Its strenuous, for them to eat; anything longer than 30 minutes and theyre burning more energy than theyre taking in.

It was fine with me, but other parents didnt really understand that for us bottle-feeding was a process. It was a lot more than sitting there. You had to participate, the way I assume someone whos breastfeeding 24 hours a day would feel. There was a special bottle, and a specific angle.

On an unexpected financial situation. Because I didnt expect to be out of work after maternity leave, I pursued unemployment benefits, which my manager fought. But I didnt quit my job  I didnt do anything wrong, and I deserved unemployment. The appeal process with Unemployment took nine months. That was nine months of no pay, until the appeal went through and I received six months of unemployment pay in one lump sum.

Those nine months were tight for us, financially. But when I was pregnant someone close to me passed away and left me a little bit of money. That let me cover what I needed to cover. My husband was working of course, but I still had my end of the bills to pay. I was able to stretch the inheritance and make it work.

Id been at my job for six years, building relationships with customers and vendors. Sometimes Id see my customers out and about in public, and theyd always want to know what happened  I think it had been clear I wanted and expected to be at that job for even longer. Pregnancy discrimination is definitely a real thing. You can see it with me and other people in everyday life, all the time.

On navigating health care. She had surgery on her cleft palate a little bit before she turned 1. Wed been preparing for it and expecting it; we knew what was going to happen. She had the surgery, she did great  we took her home the next day and started the recovery phase. Her surgeon did an amazing job. We drove into the city to use a certain surgeon; were very grateful we did that  and that this surgeon took our insurance  instead of going to the local hospital 12 miles away.

The insurance company, though  that came with some annoyances. I was on the phone with them the day before the surgery was scheduled. Wed started the process five months beforehand, but still we were waiting for them to finish the paperwork and do what they needed to do, right until the last minute. It was really down to the wire.

Shes 3 now  she speaks really well for a 3-year-old. Youd never know about her cleft, if you just met her.

On beginning a new job as a new mother. Right around that time, the end of my daughters first year, I was looking for another job when someone literally knocked on my door one day. The manager of someone I had worked with before was about to go on maternity leave; she was looking for someone to come in and take over while she was gone. A delivery driver for the business knew where I lived and when he was in the area one day, he came to my door and explained the situation. I started the job a few weeks later.

My daughter was a year and four days old when I started working again. I look at that first year and think, now that shes 3: I dont understand why people complain so much about that first year, because I thought it was so great. For us, 3 is a whole other story.

On her first pregnancy. I was 16. The decision I made was the right choice for me. I also believe it was the right choice for who that baby would have become, I guess you would say.

Im not a feminist, but Im extremely pro-choice. There are so many circumstances in life where you cant judge one way or another. I was a teenager: Obviously, I was stupid, and I wound up getting pregnant. I knew that person didnt love me. I knew any child we had could potentially have would have a pretty shitty life.

I was doing drugs  I was doing them before I knew I was pregnant. How would that be fair, for another potential person to maybe have a lot of problems because I was an idiot and did drugs? It just wasnt going to be right for anyone involved.

On how other people reacted to her decision. The guy was not great. He was my first real boyfriend. My parents, obviously, wanted to kill him. My mother was an old-school Italian mother  after I told her, she went and bought a test to see for herself; she had to know for herself that I wasnt imagining things or being a pain-in-the-ass 16-year-old. Looking back at it now, Im sure I would do the same thing.

The guy was not treating me right anyway, and my parents were there to pick up the pieces. They made the appointment for me and took me. They dealt with the emotional aftermath; he didnt. He basically didnt have to deal with it at all. Not that money mattered, but he didnt pay for it. He didnt come to the appointment. I dont think he was emotionally involved in any way. It just didnt really matter to him  until his sister found out, maybe a year after it happened. And then he was saying he was angry about it. And I was like, What do you think my family thinks, about you?

On the way she thinks about the abortion now. When youre 16 you think you know everything. Later you look back and realize that was not a good decision, that was not a good person for you. Abortion is all over the news right now. I will clearly say its not an easy decision and one you have to live with the rest of your life. I could potentially have an 18- or 19-year-old walking around right now. Its not cut-and-dry.

My husband knows about my abortion. He was pro-life when I met him. Hes pro-choice now. I told him before we started dating, when we were just friends. I was upset one day because the anniversary of the abortion was coming up  we talked about it briefly, then got into a more detailed discussion later that shifted his opinion, but basically: We would have never met if I hadnt had that abortion. I wouldnt have the child I have now. We wouldnt have the lives we have now.



On parenthood expectations. For me, not having anything like a birth plan was the best plan. Going into motherhood, I didnt set my heart on things  I never said, Im going to have a natural birth, or Im going to breastfeed no matter what. It turned out I couldnt do either of those things, so I think not setting myself up for disappointment worked out very well for me. I just wanted to be the best mother I could. And I think thats made my marriage better, too  our expectations are to just do the best we can, as happily as we can.
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Good tbh



I hope she's doing what she needs to

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Wow, okay, I totally thought my 'Ari' icon was of another photo. This is still my fav pic of her though.

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this is my cover photo on tumblr and i don't even stan her. it's just such a great photo!

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that moment was epic hahaha

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understandable

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i really hope she takes longer than that and this is only a start, but it's really about her and what she feels she needs. that just doesn't seem like nearly enough time, imo.



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Same. I wouldn't blame her if she just scrapped the whole tour.

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me neither, which i know would suck cause she seemed so excited to tour this album but she's gotta put herself first no matter what.

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Everyone around her is probably going to pressure her to continue the tour... Millions of dollars are on the line.

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Too bad @ArianaGrande is a spoiled brat. Would love to see her visiting fans at hospital; could be the 1st pop icon to truly condemn terror  Lauren Cooley (@laurenacooley) 2017524





did anyone see this extremely bad take? have pop icons really never condemned terror before??? did anyone see this extremely bad take? have pop icons really never condemned terror before???

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what the fuck is this shit? she's a victim too!

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what the fuck is wrong with this person? she's also tweeting about ariana not paying for the funeral of the fans... like is now really the fucking time, bitch?!!! omg. ffs.

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idk she's a conservative student activist or whatever trying to "defend free speech on college campuses," so i would think she's predisposed to be against someone she reads as liberal

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I actually heard Ariana WAS paying for the funerals.

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Fuck this person.

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yeah I don't know why we give these people attention

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She means she wants Ariana to spout the islamophobic bullshit she believes and to use the tragedy to do so. There are definitely pop stars who have condemned terror.

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oh how edgy... fucking asshole.

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she's a trump supporter so i think her idea of condemning terror is 'close the borders! all muslims are bad!'



she even retweeted a tweet about how eagles of death metal condemned islamic terror and weren't allowed to perform at the memorial concert. (from what i remember, they basically said a lot of french muslims seemed 'dodgy', so i'm not surprised they were banned)



Edited at 2017-05-25 02:14 am (UTC)

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disgusting

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literally how does someone even reach this mental state? your life is literally a failure. you failed being a human



Edited at 2017-05-25 02:20 am (UTC)

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Who the fuck is this nd why is she verified?

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omg she is going OFF on twitter about Ari. wtf??



she's even posted a link to an old story about ari allegedly saying she wished her fans would 'fucking die' (which was probably a fake story in the first place).

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who the fuck is this prat

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I saw a tumblr post filled with reactions like this, going as far to use this as ammo against her being against the muslim ban. LIKE?!?!

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Jesus Christ. That's a bad take on several levels. "The first to truly condemn terror"???? Bc the stars doing charity events and whatnot for decades were, what, just kinda semi-against it??

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who is this idiot???

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I knew people would do this shit, like full of REFUSE to acknowledge that MAYBE this could have hurt her too

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In an alt-reality; Ariana goes to visit those in the hospital. This pos conservative nitwit jumps on twitter to say: "Ariana Grande is a spoiled brat who is using the trauma of this terrorist attack to boost sales and swarm these poor victims at this specific hospital with inconsiderate paparazzi and media storm. Grieving family don't want her there, she should just go home."







Edited at 2017-05-25 03:20 am (UTC) Ariana goes to visit those in the hospital. This pos conservative nitwit jumps on twitter to say:

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This person's trolling hard and horribly. I feel sorry for Ariana being the blunt of arguments/blame games like this. She's a victim too.

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The outsides match the insides. What a gross tragedy of a person.

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people are being really disgusting @ ariana bc she's a woman and a pop artist. i don't remember this kind of unnecessary criticism and telling her what she "should" do now or how it's her fault aimed at the band when the paris attacks happened.

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Okay yeah go fuck yourself, Lauren, who ever the hell you are. Asshole.

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Dis Drumpf supporter troll.....

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I clicked through her twitter b/c of boredom and jesus, her liked tweets are just as gross as she is. Kick her off the planet plzI clicked through her twitter b/c of boredom and jesus, her liked tweets are just as gross as she is.

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who is this?



hope she dies

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This honestly sounds like something Trump would say

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this woman is batshit insane

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I'm sickened by the reaction of some people. Lots of commenters saying Ariana is selfish because she won't visit. She could also feel as though she's being targeted by terrorists. Understandable for her to return stateside and hide out until the investigation is fully complete.

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If I were her I'd be done for the year tbh, but I also understand if she wants to come back and bring some light and joy to her fans through music sooner than that. :( its a sad situation and idt there is a right or wrong thing to do.

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I hope that if June 5th comes and she is still not ready to preform that she doesn't feel pressure to push herself to do so. She should take as much time as she needs. TBH I can't imagine ever wanting to preform again.

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The Dangerous Woman tour :(

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I hope she's able to get some rest and some counseling moving forward. I can't read anything else about this because hearing about the victims, especially since they were so young (two teen girls lost both parents) is just too much for me to handle right now.

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i don't know how any band/artist especially a pop star (i know Katy is starting her tour) would feel comfortable touring right now. my paranoid ass would be afraid this was the start of chain of events (what's the atheist expression for 'god forbid'??)



i see people not understanding that you can feel empathetic for Ariana right now AND the audience members and their families/friends. so many FBers are like "stop talking about Ariana, she's fine". probably the same people who don't understand Kim's trauma because she was 'fine'. it all just makes me so angry we don't teach basic mental health and self care in school

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Bieber's fans are begging him to cancel his upcoming shows including the July ones in the UK

I wish all artists had fans as understanding as this dude

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i think take that cancelled a couple of their tour dates (they were due to perform in manchester) because of it. i definitely wouldn't feel comfortable if it was me - especially with there being a critical warning in place atm.

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a lot have cancelled this week, but some fans don't seem to be so understanding wtf

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yeah people talking shit like that are such idiots.

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I think Ariana probably suffered the most trauma aside from the people who first hand witnessed the explosion or got injured. If she hadn't had a concert, none of those kids would be dead right now. (Not blaming her, but if I was her, this would be my line of thought.) I would be SO fucked up and feel SO guilty. I have no idea how I would get through that guilt.

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Yeah, did Eagles of Death Metal have people shouting to stop asking if they were "fine"? I remember lots of people being concerned and there was no "who cares about them!!!1" like there is with Ariana.



Also, Daily Mail is being gross and publishing articles about whether or not her "skimpy" outfits caused the attack. It's just really disgusting.

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Her mother is amazing for doing what she did. My heart breaks for Ariana and all the victims of this senseless attack 

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That's a rumor

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bless her, I'm glad she's taking a break and I hope she's getting all the love and support she needs.



this all so heartbreaking.

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wrong person bb :x



but yeah, I'm pretty sure it is too and it infuriates me bc it's been on the news here now and it just adds even more pressure on Ari who is a victim in all this too. The fansite was trying to do a good thing (maybe...) but :/ I guess we'll find out if it's true or not.

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June 5th is only a week and a half away :/



She deserves way more time if she needs it.

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Word at the OP note. That's been one of the saddest parts of this whole thing. :(

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i'm still holding out hope for the few still remaining. :(

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i heard that in order to work at the cheesecake factory, waiters have to memorize the whole entire menu by heart and recite it. is that true?



im addicted to the fried mac n cheese ):

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omg, no way, that menu is like 20 pages long!

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That's true of most chain restaurants. I've been to some chains so many times I could almost do it myself.

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Cheesecake waiters are some of the best paid servers tbh I wouldn't be surprised if they require that

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when I worker there a lot of them were dumb as hell so I doubt it

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Classmate of mine worked there and she said her test was 200 questions long.



No corporate restaurant is letting a server on the floor without knowing the menu items. Most are super strict. It's why I work for a family owned one even though it's less money.

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basically, without the reciting part. my hs bf worked there and their study book was the size of a phone book. it was intense.

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Of course. You have tests and quizzes on all the ingredients. Training was one week in a classroom and one week on the floor.

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I only went to The Cheesecake Factory once and it was a lovely experience. The decor was fancy and the waiter was so nice! We left him a forty percent tip.



But it really was one of the most positive dining experiences I've had. I made sure to mention it in the comment sheets.

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let her live!! lmao

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nnnnn

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now I want thai lettuce wraps

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ugh now i'm hungry. i've only had their key lime cheesecake and it's the only cheesecake i've ever liked

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Give me some fried macaroni & cheese and nobody gets hurts tbh

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I would wish I could buy their decadent af cheesecakes in stores =(

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The Cheesecake Factory menu is pretty long. That place seems to have everything.



I love the Adam's peanut butter cup fudge ripple flavor of cheesecake. It's only 930 calories with 59 grams of total fat. Worth it!

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On the current diet I'm on, there's no way I could eat that, lol. I don't think I'd be able to eat that even off my diet. I've had their standard cheesecakes and thought they were yummy but I could only eat off portions of them at a time.

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The best thing @ Cheesecake is the bang bang chicken and shrimp. I fucking love Thai food y'all

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Yeah, I love The Cheesecake Factory - I need to go there again at some point. I might donate myself because it would be funny/cool to hear Neil read the menu. He has a good narrating voice.

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this is great that he's donating to the unhcr, their funds in 2016 only met 28% of requirements :( that's just awful when you consider that there are over 20 million refugees in the world right now, needing their help. as well, the developing countries that are shouldering most of the burden of taking in refugees need their help too. well off countries like mine do fuck all and it makes me so angry.

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Fuuuuuuuuck =(

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Watching this go down on social media was awesome. Sara Benincasa >>>>>

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I love Sara so much. I still go back and watch her Sarah Palin vlogs every once in a while.





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omg yes! And her book Agorafabulous basically saved my life. My brother gave it to me when my agoraphobia and depression were at the most severe level I've ever experienced and it helped me so much. She did a comedy show in my city last year (or the year before? I forget) and I told her that + got her to sign it.



Basically I try to promote the crap out of whatever she's doing to everyone I know, INCLUDING this ridiculousness with Neil Gaiman.

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I worked there as a hostess one summer and now I hate that place



although the one I worked at was a shithole in a shit town and I've been to much nicer ones lol I just try to avoid if I can



HOWEVER I will say that Sunday July 30 is National Cheesecake Day and all their cheesecakes are 50% off!!!!!!!!!

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Yassss. I'm glad you told me this. I am going to make cheesecake for July

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share the deets with us ofc

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added this to my cal. bless you.

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Banks pulled the daughters hair back, physically manipulated her, and insinuated that the girl was accidentally conceived.



wtf ???



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Classic Tyra

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lmao omg!

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after 15 years of humiliating girls non-stop on ANTM, Tyra probably deserves this

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I still don't understand that pot ledom song challenge

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god I hate how they ruined alisons song about her dead father by making her add in that stupid gimmick.

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ohhh it was about "going viral"

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lol omg Sophie is so bad at this. Exactly how I would be, tbh

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Omg why was the little boy there I can't remember

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Does anyone have the gif of when she pretended to have rabies or something? I'm on my phone. But man that was... something else

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that pot ledom mess was so embarrassing lmao

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Idk about battery but they might have a case for assault if Tyra touched her. I served as a marshal at a protest and was instructed not to touch anyone during de-escalation -- even a hand on a shoulder can be interpreted as assault.



Although i just read that unwanted touching is battery so maybe the person who trained me misspoke.



Edited at 2017-05-25 12:58 pm (UTC)

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Yes - battery is the actual touching. Assault can take place without actual physical contact - you can have verbal assault, for instance. Sounds like someone taught you the opposite.

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Yeah. Assault is the anticipation of physical contact. Battery is actual physical contact.

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I can't wait to see how this turns out I can't wait to see how this turns out

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Wut

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What the hell??? I feel terrible for the couple and daughter. No one deserves to be humiliated and assaulted for a television show.

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The fuck

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.. what

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before yesterday, i'd say that nothing would come of filing "humiliation" charges, but if that gross playboy model bitch got 30 days community service (rightfully) for invasion of privacy...i just don't know anymore.



either way, release this footage pls and thx!!

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The 70-year-old woman who got humiliated by that gross playmate was just minding her business at the gym.

That couple signed an agreement to a TV show that is extremely well-known for humiliating bad contestants. And apparently, they were bad. Unless they can prove the whole "Tyra assault the daughter" thing, they have nothing.

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I'd more easily believe the "Demi flicked my vagina" story...what is this??

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literal Queen 

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After the minute's silence in St Ann's square, a quiet, spontaneous rendition of Don't Look Back in Anger broke out in the crowd #Manchester pic.twitter.com/zS97nhD7Dv  Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) 25. Mai 2017



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I saw this. Just lovely. The massive showing of support from people is really one of the few things I think helps people move forward after this kind of tragedy.

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This is so nice.

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That made me tear up this morning. Thank you for sharing this.

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that's great

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I haven't even started the video and I'm tearing up.

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Was so sad to be in my clinical OSCE exams today and unable to go :((( We did have a minute silence fitted in between exam stations but idk obviously it would have been much more ideal if we'd had the time to go and pay our respects.

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This made me cry this morning. These poor little girls. Even my anti-royal ass heart was warmed at the Queen trying to bond with them over Ariana. And one of the little girls was still wearing her Ari shirt. Another one talked to the Queen about her winning backstage passes and meeting Ariana before the concert. Ahh <3



Edited at 2017-05-25 03:27 pm (UTC)

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yeah it brought a tear to my anti-royal ass eye too. it was very sweet to watch.

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mariah careys qoute kinda rubs me the wrong way

i wonder why

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Devastated to learn that one of the victims in Manchester was part of the #Lambily. RIP Martyn Hett. We will cherish your memory forever. His family and all the families affected are in my thoughts and prayers. MC



I don't really see anything wrong with it - he was a massive Mariah fan and I think it's nice that she took notice and paid respects to him. This is the full quote on instagram:I don't really see anything wrong with it - he was a massive Mariah fan and I think it's nice that she took notice and paid respects to him.

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ok then

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mte, it was a really nice message

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I think it's beautiful. The first victim identified, Georgina, was a huge "Once Upon a Time" fan and had loads of pics from a con 2 weeks ago on her twitter profile and instagram. Loads of the cast reposted them and paid tribute to her.

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mfte

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thats really sweet of her

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i know what you mean. it makes me feel uncomfortable too

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this still hasn't quite sunk in for me

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I drove past the arena during work yesterday and seeing it all cordoned off really brought it home.



There's been a really heavy police presence pretty much everywhere I've been in Manchester as well (I'm a social worker so travel across the city for work)

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I almost never go to that area, but next time I'm in town I'll definitely go pay my respects. it isn't the same seeing it on tv, I think maybe that's why it hasn't sunk in yet.



I imagine they'll be around for a while, at least until the immediate threat has passed. maybe we'll get more police on patrol from now on.

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I completely agree.

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It's just jarring to see him behave like a decent person.

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To be honest, he's mellowed a lot and is pretty nice/funny the vast majority of the time. He's the meanest regarding his brother, but the rest of the time he just likes to talk shit for fun. People take him too seriously most of the time.



The way he always gushes about his wife is really lovely and he does a lot of charity work (like for the Teenage Cancer Trust).

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it's pretty incredible that the queen can still do stuff like this at 91

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really sheds a bad light on her grandchildren when 90+ lizzie and phillip were doubling will, harry and kate's events in the past few years

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seriously, like i know that she and longevity mean that the older members have more experience and more charities or organizations they sponsor, but there was a recent period that the duke of kent had more events than will, kate or harry. there's really no excuse, they need to be taking on way more duties because the three of them are going to be the public face of the monarchy for years to come.

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Whatever anyone says about the monarchy - Liz is a true gem and has been grafting at this and working hard af for pretty much her whole life. Yes she does live in the lap of luxury, but she doesn't just sit around doing fuck all.



Unlike OTHER members of her family who seem to think they'll be future kings and princesses....

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For real, it's amazing how strong and healthy she is at that age. I'm convinced she will outlive Charles tbh...actually she will outlive us all.



I can't stop reading about the victims and have felt a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes all day but it also amazes me how people always come together at times like this <3



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That the queen is in her 90s and still does 300+ public events a year is insane. I'm a third of her age and I can do roughly 2 events per year.

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This was really lovely to see. I was reading about how Millie Robson (the girl wearing the Ariana shirt) used her handbag to control bleeding and asked paramedics to take care of others first. I hope her visit lifted their spirits in whatever little way she could.

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tell why I thought "the Queen" = popstar

I rme then I scrolled down and thought oh THE QUEEN lmao

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Same, I thought people were still playing stan wars.

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As did Bangkok

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Marawi is under attack too :(

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What did she say about Ari?

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She was talking with one of the injured girls, saying to them that she thought Ariana Grande was a "very good singer'

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i imagine lady louise bringing her iphone to family tea and being like "granny, this is one of my favorite artists!" and the queen being like "very nice dear, what a pleasant voice she has but she's certainly no mariah carey!" 

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You should add that all the proceeds for One Last Time in the UK are being donated to the families of the victims

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Tribute from the family of Chloe Rutherford, 17, and the family of Liam Curry, 19 pic.twitter.com/nVNf8dS0ZQ  G M Police (@gmpolice) May 24, 2017





This girl wanted to be an architect to build her mum a house.



Tribute from the family of Sorrell Leczkowski, 14 pic.twitter.com/tM17YzortP  G M Police (@gmpolice) May 25, 2017

The GM police account has posted several tributes and they're all so gutting to read. It's hard not to cry while reading them.This girl wanted to be an architect to build her mum a house.

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god losing two kids at once is beyond my comprehension

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They didn't belong to the same family - they were a couple. The statement is coming from both families together, which is why it's confusing. Still horrendous to lose two kids you know in one event, though.

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I think the two kids were dating, so each family lost a kid.

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the 'they wanted to be together forever and now they are' line broke me :(



i also saw that eilidh died as well. i was holding out so much hope for the last few missing victims. i think only one of them (ashley taylor) was found alive.

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and now I'm crying

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I'm not a royalist but as I've got older I've appreciated what a gem the Queen is!

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I think it's possible to not like the concept of monarchy while still recognizing that the queen herself is pretty great lady.

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her body looks amazing



but i love that britney will always have terrible taste and terrible hair. it's my constant

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Same.

Funny story; every SINGLE time I've seen Britney live, there's some sort of malfunction with her hair.

02/18/14 - When she had dark red hair, and they did the headband look with her braid, and her hair kept getting stuck in her lip gloss, you could literally see her annoyed looks, and she kept pulling at her hair.

05/20/15 - Hair extension fell out during "I Wanna Go" and her dancer shoved it in his pants to hide it.

07/13/16 - She put her hair in one of those godawful buns, and used one of her hair extensions to tie it up in a knot...and a HUGE chunk was hanging off the bottom. Even her dancer was like "Girl no." So they came up and pointed it out, and she just wrapped it around the bun a few times... everyone in the pit around me was dying.



AND, when I saw her during the Circus tour, her hair looked like spaghetti noodles during the 09/23/09 show. Also saw her Circus show during April of the same year, and her hair extension was hanging off her head for two songs, and then her dancer yanked it off.

Poor girl is just plagued with bad hair. <3

LOVE HER THOUGH.

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Naomi who??? Get that women on a Parisian runway, I am ready for her new career stomping the walks

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She walks like a montgomery Alabama woman who is trying to leave Walmart with a stolen product between ha legs.

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I'd greet her up and down every time!

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You sound so pressed lmao

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she's feeling her oats

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stale and bland

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Welcome fellow stan! what was your favourite track from Glory?

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That stupid walk with the twirl and the head tilt.

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The nepotism models are shook

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lmao

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lol

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I wish she didn't love the smokey eye look as much.



I swear this will be my last comment on the topic but when is the tour coming to Europe?? I've read that it's now it'll probably happen next Fenruary, yet she's announcing dates only a month ahead and July is still free after Tel Aviv.



I'm desperate lmao.

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I've never seen her live and it's one of my dream. So I feel you.

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Me too and that she had left her lip/mouth area alone... and not gotten another nose job.

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mte about her eye makeup. it ages her so much :(

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always makes her look like she's just finished crying tbh

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It's funny to me how painfully obvious it is that she'd be washed up, trailer park white trash if she had never gotten famous.

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i mean, she's still trailer park trash sis...having money doesn't change that.

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srsly you can't take the trailer park out of the girl!

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True dat, sis! You can take the girl outta the trailer park but you can't take trailer park outta the girl!

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mte

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jesus who shit in your bonnet?

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While it's true that anybody from the south is trailer trash, Britney is the exception.

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Goddamn I wish she could personally clapback at your ass lmao



WHO ARE YOU GIRL

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She seems so happy!



In a world of insta models/facetune she just dgaf haha, love it.

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sold out WORLD TOUR! Who else but the election delaying LEGEND!







haters remain eating oreos. serving looks for days before herWho else but the election delaying LEGEND!

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but can she sell tickets in first world countries?

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Total Gross: $216,229,560 Number of Shows: 255

Total Attendance: 3,704,826 Number of Sell-Outs: 158



http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266415/top-touring-artists-of-the-decade



question is can you afford them? BRITNEY SPEARSTotal Gross: $216,229,560 Number of Shows: 255Total Attendance: 3,704,826 Number of Sell-Outs: 158question is

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loooollllllll

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The makeup, the hair, the shoes. Britney will forever be so perfectly tacky, and I love her for it. LMAO

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ikr

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Omg I forgot how much I used to love Wild Ones lmao



She looks cute as hell in that last red dress.



Edited at 2017-05-25 03:39 pm (UTC)

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lol mte about Wild Ones! I forgot the song existed tbh, but it's such a bop!

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I love muscly, well-toned legs. Alexis from Schitt's Creek has nice legs also.

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she has the ugliest face

ugly lobotomized loser

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You should post a picture of yourself for inspiration sis!

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actually yes.. please post a picture of yourself and we'll all give an honest, unbiased opinion.

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i see this was met with no receipt lol

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Goddamn her body is BANGIN'.

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jimmy seems so cheesy and fake in this hahahaha

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i know she's problematic~ but she's so HOT, that voice...

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what did she say that was problematic? i legit know nothing about her lmao

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Defended the Israeli army when they were doing shady shit in Palestine.

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https://www.facebook.com/GalGadot/photos/a.443954573925.242485.25616998925/10152522016708926/?type=1&theater



I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens. Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children...We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom!

#weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistance #loveidf



iirc this was during the 50 day war when hundreds of palestinian children were killed



Edited at 2017-05-25 10:08 pm (UTC) I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens. Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children...We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom!iirc this was during the 50 day war when hundreds of palestinian children were killed

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How Jimmy Fallon is Losing His Viral Video King Status https://t.co/7BtrO0qEbB  pajiba (@pajiba) 25. Mai 2017



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I love her dress(?).

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she injured her back and had to stand throughout the interview

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oh really? I thought that it was strange that they did it standing up, even when playing box of lies (that and the fact that she was wearing flats )

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yeah yeah, she injured her back, which is why Jimmy was handing her the boxes too

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Seems like it. She was also the only cast at that live meeting on BUILDseriesNYC's FB, that was standing,three days ago.

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I've loved all her interviews for this press tour so far. She's fun! Hope her back's getting better.

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She's so beautiful OMG.

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She's basically been doing all the promo this time around standing because of her back pain.

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I love her smile, it just always makes me smile too

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I'm always thrown off for a second by how pretty she is. I liked Adele's box of lies segment best tho.



God Jimmy annoyed me before but ever since his sad little article/photoshoot about his slipping ratings he MAJORLY irritates me.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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That dress is terrible, but damn if she isn't charming and sweet.

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aw that sucks. wonder what happened cause we all know that sophia will stay with a show until the bitter end no matter how bad it gets.



I guess thats why they brought in the actress from revolution.

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And Jon Seda's not coming back to the existing Chicago shows, right? I mean, it's may be coincidence but it's raising my eyebrows.

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the showrunner Matt Olmstead left earlier this year and the showrunner for law & order svu took over instead. Maybe it's related to that

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Yeah it seems very sudden. She hasn't said anything about her leaving the show on social media yet

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Rumours are it had to do with a costar (rumours again-jason) getting in her face with his hand literally saying stop when she was asking the director to try a scene differently. She said if this person ever did that again she woukd break his fingers. And they did it her way in the end. This is all just speculation from Twitter based on a story she told in recent interviews. I hope it wasn't because of bullshit like that but who knows.

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Im mad this is a reference to OTH but maybe she learned her lesson and is getting out while the going got good.

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i kept wondering why she looked familiar - totally didn't realize she was from revolution!

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I'm sad and in shock about this. I liked Linstead lol. Maybe Sophia wants to move back to LA... hopefully she land some other better roles.

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hmm wonder why



maybe now the other characters can get better/any storylines

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i'm surprised by this. i don't watch the show but i follow her and she seemed really into it and close with the cast.



my usual guesses for this would be; she doesn't like filming on location, she broke up with her co-star boyfriend or she's tired of playing the character/being on the show. but after oth, all of those things don't seem to be things she minds so

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Awww that sucks. She's one of the main reasons I keep watching.

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Sophia deserves a better career.

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No offense to her fans, but I hope this means all the other characters will get storylines now.

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Trust me the show will die without her. Season 5 will be its last.

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She just filmed a small part playing Bruce Willis's police partner in a new movie. I've always hoped shed break into film and have a great career. She's so beautiful and can play vulnerable or asskicker or comedic so I'm looking forward to what projects she chooses next!

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Oh I'm glad! I watched it when it first came out but after a while just couldn't take the level of police brutality. It was disturbing asf to watch the weird voice guy and his goons take suspects to the dark cage and beat them. If it was a show about bad cops it'd be fine but they're meant to be the "good guys" so that made it so much worse. We're already living in a world where the police are above the law and aren't held accountable for their actions so I'd rather not watch corrupt cops being treated like the good guys. Hope this shit gets cancelled.

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Agree with all of this. I only watched it as a guilty pleasure because I stan Sophia, but I'm gone if she's gone. The only show I can remember with ethics this shitty was The Closer, that show where they were always tricking people without lawyers into dodgy confessions.

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Yes! The Closer along with The Shield come to mind but PD is not going for that which is what makes it a mess. It's been a few years but I remember The Shield making it a point to say these are horrible corrupt cops and they're in no way the good guys. I wish CP went with that angled :/

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The police brutality is mostly why I've started to lose interest in this show over the past couple of years. Kept watching for Jon and Sophia but now they're both gone.

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Aww she's the only reason I watch it tbh

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i gasped! i never watched any of the chicago shows, but she's the lead, and that's huge. i always feel bad for viewers (and for shippers) when an actor suddenly leaves a show. you get invested emotionally, and then it's all gone. i totally respect the actors' wishes, of course, but it still sucks for the fans.



but ngl i'm happy she won't have to suffer at the hands of their new showrunner/SVU's old showrunner. she's lucky she got out early.

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She has no career outside of this show

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I'm sure she'll be able to land a tv pilot quickly

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Yeah prob

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Still better than all the OTH cast tbh.

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Nah, she's great and has a lot of fans. She may not be on ONTD's radar, but then again I don't know who the fuck "Gugu" is. Different strokes for different folks. Sophia will be fine.

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she has a couple of movies coming out

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An episode of this aired after a Big Brother Canada ep recently and I had just left the tv on. Within the first few mins they showed a man being burned alive/his charred body and I was horrified. I did not want to see that and was surprised a network show was showing such graphic violence with no warning.

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My mom gave me this 9-mil for my 13th birthday. Yeah. I'll always remember what she put on the card, "Jesus Loves Winners". That's why no matter what I do, I aim to win.

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mmmh something must have gone down, this seems sudden

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OPEC is about to extend its production cuts for another nine months in an effort to bring the oil market back into balance. Keeping in place the 1.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) of OPEC cuts, plus the 558,000 bpd of non-OPEC reductions, for nine months rather than six should be enough to normalize crude oil inventories, according to most analysts.

Great. Mission Accomplished. By the end of the first quarter of 2018, the market will have tightened and OPEC members can go back to producing as they were before, producing as much as possible and fighting for market share.

But heres the thing. When the deal expires and OPEC members open up the spigots again, it could create another glut just as before. That is the warning from a new Goldman Sachs report, which says that the oil market could find itself once again awash in oil in the second half of 2018 after the expiration of the OPEC deal. [W]e see risks for a renewed surplus later next year if OPEC and Russias production rises to their expanding capacity and shale grows at an unbridled rate, Goldman analysts wrote in the research note.

While the extension of the OPEC cuts will succeed in bringing down inventories to normal levels over the next nine months, the problem is that oil production capacity continues to grow both within and outside of OPEC. Everyone knows the story of surging U.S. shale  drillers are coming back quickly, having achieved lower and lower breakeven costs over the past several years. Energy watchers are having to repeatedly revise up their forecasts for shale growth. The EIA says that shale production will grow by more than 800,000 bpd this year, with an annual average output of 9.3 mb/d in 2017 and a staggering 10.0 mb/d in 2018. Related: Will This Miracle Material End All Energy Storage Problems?

But it isnt just U.S. shale that is going to grow between now and the end of the OPEC deal in March 2018. Canada and Brazil are both bringing new large projects online, and could together add more than 400,000 bpd this year. Russia is investing in new production capacity in the Arctic and the countrys output hit a record level just before the OPEC deal went into effect. Kazakhstan, a non-OPEC country that, like Russia, is party to the OPEC deal, has failed to comply with its commitments because it has oil fields in the Caspian that are ramping up.

Even within OPEC, there will be rising supplies. Iraq is targeting 5 million barrels per day of production capacity this year, sharply higher than its promised cap as part of the OPEC deal at 4.35 mb/d. Libya is aiming to add another 500,000 bpd or so to bring production up to 1.2 mb/d later this year. Saudi Arabia has also stepped up its rig count over the past year with an eye on long-term growth.

In short, despite $50 oil and upstream investment levels still a fraction of pre-2014 levels, supply is still growing. That means that when the OPEC deal expires, and everyone goes back to producing as before, the surplus will return. The OPEC cuts only work so long as they are in place.

However, all is not lost. Goldman Sachs suggests that OPEC has one tool at its disposal: bending the futures curve into backwardation, which is when near-term oil contracts trade at a premium to futures dated much further out into the future. How can OPEC do this? Basically, if OPEC can signal that the market will tighten this year (by extending the cuts) while also simultaneously signaling that their output will increase once inventories normalize, they can provide a jolt to near-term oil prices while at the same time push down oil futures for 2018 and beyond. Related: Can Private Investment Turn Mexicos Ailing Oil Industry Around?

Why would this matter? By lowering the prices of longer-dated oil futures relative to todays prices, OPEC could try to derail shale growth, for several reasons. For shale drillers, it will make hedging more difficult, because companies will have to lock in next years production at lower prices if they really want to hedge. A downward sloping futures curve would also lower the stock prices of shale drillers since lower future prices will mean the companies are worth less. It will also jack up the cost of debt as lenders grow wary.

In short, flipping the market into backwardation would starve shale drillers of finance. [T]he binding force to sustainably slow shale growth lies on the funding side and we believe that sustained backwardation can restrain access to the large pools of private equity and [high yield] credit capital, Goldman wrote.

By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

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In the first five months of 2017, Indian companies have purchased more than 1 million tons of Russian crude supplied from Black Sea ports. In and of itself, there would be nothing extraordinary about it, were it not for the almost complete lack of supplies before 2017. India already surpassed its average Urals imports twentyfold (the past few years annual import volumes lingered around a mere 50ktpa) and is on course to increase the ratio higher still.

On one hand, Indian companies that acquired minor stakes in Rosnefts Siberian assets have palpably intensified their purchases of Russian crude, which are a partial cause of the recent surge. On the other, those without any asset or joint venture-related link to Russia, have joined in, too. What is the root cause then, you ask? The price of Urals, vis-a-vis direct Middle East competitors has simply become too attractive not to buy.

Partly, this surge in Russian imports is a consequence of a recent convergence between Indian companies and Rosneft. A consortium comprising BHPL, IOC and Oil India purchased a 23.9 percent ($2 billion) stake in Vankorneft, Rosnefts subsidiary which produces oil in one of East Siberias largest fields, as well as a 29.9 percent interest ($1.25 billion) in Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha, operator of the 240 MMBbl Srednebotuobinskoye field. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Indias largest enterprise, has bought 6 Suezmax-carried Urals cargoes this year for its Koyali refinery in Gujarat. A strange twist of fate, as the refinery was built with Soviet assistance subsequent to the signing of the Russo-Indian Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1961. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BHPL) has stated that after the completion of its latest turnaround, which would allow it to process significantly more Urals, it intends on taking advantage of its close ties to Russian companies and start importing Urals. Related: The Battle For Natural Gas Dominance In Russia

Not only public sector companies have joined the Urals rally, independents, too, want to capitalize on the current favorable pricing rates. This June, when the $12.9 billion deal between Rosneft (49 percent), Trafigura (24 percent), UCP (24 percent) and the Ruia brothers is expected to be finalized, Essar Oil will come under the effective control of the Russian state company. Rosneft and Essar have already concluded a 10-year supply deal in 2015, stipulating the imports of Rosneft-supplied crude at 10 Mtpa for a 10-year period. Although Trafigura possesses downstream assets via its Puma Energy outlet (an investment firm, UPC has no downstream track record whatsoever), Rosneft will be the dominant voice in choosing crude for the 400 000 bpd Vadinar refinery. Apart from Russian crude molecules, Rosneft will bring in associated grades, too, as demonstrated by two deals in February 2017, under which it tentatively agreed on oil imports from Egypt and Libya to its new downstream asset.

Reliance, which runs the worlds largest refinery in Jamnagar (1.2 Mbpd production capacity), has so far imported four Urals cargoes this year. This, in itself, is a feat objectively reflecting the allure of Russian grades, as Reliance wields no assets in Russia. It has to be said that Reliance has seen its Saudi import channel significantly reduced as Riyadh was seeking to comply with OPEC production cut quotas, therefore it started its Urals imports out of necessity. Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which one year ago were vying for Indias top crude exporter spot, both cut their heavy crude supplies to India. Saudi Arabia will inevitably react, however, its recent declarations in favor of prolonging the OPEC production costs for another 9 months suggest that its reaction will not be rammed through international formats, but dealt with separately. Thus, notwithstanding the fate of the Vienna deal, Saudi Arabia seems intent on retaining its foothold over Indian imports  it already lowered its Asia-Pacific-bound medium and heavy crude formula prices for June 2017 and it might take further cuts, as circumstances may require. Related: Is Canadas Oil Production Ready For A Resurgence?

Middle Eastern grades also became more expensive on the back of the OPEC production cuts. This can be pointedly demonstrated by the price differential between Urals Med and DME Omani crude, which are characteristics-wise almost identical (31 API vs 30.5 API, 1.5 percent Sulfur Content vs 1.4 percent). Throughout 2017, Urals Med wielded on average a 1 USD/bbl premium over DME Oman, even though only a year ago Omani crude traded at a 0.5-1.5 USD/bbl premium over Urals Med. More generally, the front-month Brent/Dubai exchange of futures for swaps has significantly narrowed, below 1.5 USD/bbl, contributing to the rise of Urals appeal. Moreover, not only the crude quotations are more favorable, but also freight costs tilted the balance in favor of Urals. In Q2 2017, freight costs from Novorossiysk to the Western coast of India were 1-2 USD/bbl lower than those from Oman.

Source: Thomson Reuters.

This sudden surge in Russian oil exports to India is mostly resulting from the pricing conditions created by the OPEC Agreement, upon the fate of which depends the sustainability of the Urals trend. The current favorable price environment will most likely evaporate as soon as the OPEC Agreement falls apart and this is bound to happen sooner or later as discrepancies between Signatories are mounting. Still, Russias Indian advance represents a fitting example on how peculiarly does the oil market work  just as Saudi Arabia is increasing its market share in Poland and other European countries traditionally perceived as being within Russias radius of interest, Russia is cutting its way to outlets that are traditionally dependent on Middle Eastern exporters. Still, the ongoing boom will most likely not be sustained for a long time, Moscow and Delhi will revert to their basics, their joint ventures in upstream.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

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Top Iraqi oil marketer Falah Al Amri suggested that Iraq is interested in creating an oil price hedging program that would lock in prices for future trades well in advancejust like Mexicos existing strategy, but almost twice as large in size.

We will not rush. This is a long process, SOMO chief Al Amri said. We must make sure we do not lose money. You know the Iraqi parliament, it would not accept that.

Iraq is still in the early stages of exploring the possibility, the official said, adding that the proposal could add a new facet to SOMOs traditional marketing role.

Transforming SOMO is unstoppable. It will do more than just market Iraqi crude, he said.

Bloomberg calculations put the size of the Middle Eastern countrys hedge at 400 million barrels, compared to the Mexican finance ministrys 250 million barrels, which generate $3 billion from its options last year. State-owned PEMEX hedged its own oil production separately this year as well.

We are sending people for training with international companies and they will learn about hedging and how we can do it, Al Amri said. We will study and make a proposal to the government.

Private oil companies, especially American shale producers, commonly hedge oil prices to lock in incoming cash flow, but Mexico has so far been the largest country to make a federal strategy out of it. Ecuador, Ghana, and a few other nations have employed similar hedges in the past.

The hedge takes the form of mass purchases of options contracts that allow, but do not obligate, a government to sell oil at a predetermined price. The size of the hedge could affect the macroeconomics of barrel prices, and several analysts have said the Mexican policy contributed to bearish markets in 2008 and 2014.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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The oil exports of Iraqs semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan are not subject to the extension of OPECs production cuts, Iraqs Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi told Kurdish media network Rudaw during the OPEC meeting in Vienna on Thursday.

According to OPEC delegates, the cartel agreed today to extend the current output cuts for nine months until March 2018.

The reduction doesnt include the Kurdistan Region, Luaibi told Rudaw. But we will be trying to include the Kurdistan Region in the reduction of its oil. I have plans to visit the Kurdistan Region and discuss this with them after my return to Iraq.

The region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq is estimated to have 45 billion barrels of oil reserves. Exports from the fields in northern Iraq held by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stand at around 600,000 bpd. Most of the exports from landlocked Kurdistan are being carried out via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

Earlier today, Iraqs Al-Luaibi said that the best option to bring the oil market back to balance was extending the production cuts by nine months.

OPECs no. 2 Iraq was thought to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a nine-month output cut extension, but on Monday OPECs no.1 Saudi Arabia and Iraq said that they had agreed that the cuts need to be extended by another nine months.



Related: Is Canadas Oil Production Ready For A Resurgence?

Iraq was the last holdout to OPEC reaching the initial deal in November, when it first argued for exemption, due to funds need to fight ISIS, then disputing the so-called secondary sources that OPEC uses to calculate the single producers output levels and proposed cuts.

Then, even though it signed up to the initial six-month production cut deal, Iraq has been the biggest overproducer, and has so far failed to cut as pledged every month between January and April, according to OPEC data.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Libya has insisted that it remains exempt from the oil output reduction deal that OPEC today decided to extend by another nine months, to March 2018. According to Libyas ambassador to Austria, who represented the country at the cartels meeting, it is still producing less than half of its original production quota.

Libya, along with Nigeria and Iran, was exempted from the original agreement, struck in November 2016, as its oil production was affected by factors other than the global glut that sank prices in 2014.

According to Platts, OPEC sources had indicated that Libya will be granted its exemption in the extended deal, as militant activity and general political instability have caused its oil output to fluctuate considerably. Just a month ago, Libyas daily average slumped to 492,000 as militant groups blocked pipelines carrying oil from the countrys largest oil field, Sharara, and from the El Feel field to the Zawiya export terminal.

In May, however, production recovered to almost 800,000 bpd. The National Oil Corporation has plans to raise this to over a million barrels daily by the end of this year. However, an exemption would automatically undermine OPECs effort to push up prices by extending the cut agreement.

The success of the extension is already questionable: Brent crude and WTI actually fell after the announcement from Vienna, as traders were disappointed by the fact that the extent of the cut remained unchanged. It has become evident that despite commendable compliance rates, OPEC was largely expected to cut deeper.

Yet, as Saudi Arabias Khalid al-Falih told media after the announcement, the deeper-cuts option was on the table, along with the possibility of a six-month extension, but the nine-month option with quotas left as they are now came to be seen as the safe bet.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Texas shale producers forced OPEC this morning to extend its oil production cuts for 9 months, Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton said on Twitter on Thursday, shortly after OPEC agreed to extend the oil production cuts for nine months until March 2018.

On Wednesday, Sitton said that OPEC meets tomorrow and is expected to cut oil production again thanks to the resiliency of Texas shale drillers.

Less OPEC oil on the market enhances the opportunity for American energy to fill needs around the world, and will help us achieve energy dominance, Sitton also said, as quoted by Reuters.

The days of OPEC using oil supplies and prices as a political weapon are gone, the commissioner at the Texas oil regulator went on to add.

OPEC decided to continue with the current level of cuts, sending oil prices lower, as that particular outcome of the OPEC meeting was expected and already priced into the oil market. In addition, investors who had expected deeper cuts or a longer period of extension came away disappointed.

It was OPECs initial output cut announced in November that lifted oil prices to a more stable around-$50 level, instilling new confidence into U.S. shale drillers that have been increasing production since. Most of the output growth has been coming and is expected to come from the Permian in West Texas, which is set to account for more than half of the 122,000-bpd production growth in the main shale plays in June, according to the EIA.



Related: Saudi Arabia Signs $50 Billion Worth Of Oil Deals With The U.S.

U.S crude oil production is now expected to average 9.3 million bpd this year and almost 10.0 million bpd next year, compared to an estimated 8.9 million bpd in 2016, the EIAs latest Short-Term Energy Outlook shows.

The oil and gas industry of Texas continued to recover in April, with strong oil production growth last month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said last week. Total Texas oil and gas employment rose in March by 3,500 jobs to around 211,700 jobs, for the third consecutive month of increases in total Texas oil and gas employment, the Dallas Fed said.



By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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By Self Serving Politicians Are Driving Oregon Into Bankruptcy Coalition,

Kate Brown said PERS ought to be fixed but now is not the time (Oregonian September 8, 2002)

That was in 2002, when PERS was only $4 billion in the hole.

Now 15 years later, PERS is more than $22 billion in the hole!

Since becoming Governor, Kate Brown hasnt introduced a single piece of legislation or hosted even one public meeting to solicit solutions.

We are standing at the very precipice of financial devastation that threatens the heart of public school funding, public safety, our decaying roads and bridges, and health and human services. Thats why The Self Serving Politicians Are Driving Oregon Into Bankruptcy Coalition came together, according to former legislator and spokesman Jeff Kropf. In order to fix the PERS crisis we have to first come to terms with whom and what caused it. Thats the purpose of our research.

This coalition of six Oregon public policy organizations is investigating the conduct of public officials and their role in creating the Public Employee Pension disaster. The coalition is conducting a statewide educational ad campaign reaching hundreds of thousands of Oregonians.

The Coalitions members are: Oregon Capitol Watch, Taxpayer Association of Oregon, Oregon Freedom Foundation, Taxpayer Defense Fund, Oregon Citizens Lobby, Oregon Tax Foundation, Oregon Liberty Coalition and Oregon Transparency Project.

Read more about Governor Brown and the PERS crisis at Oregon Ponzi Scheme .com

 If you like this article please email, link, Facebook and Tweet it.
Sony is changing its strategy. It is reportedly planning to stop producing the mid-tier 'Premium Standard' models of smartphones and instead focus only on high-end flagships and mid-tier models. The change in strategy means Sony's Xperia X and X compact lines are going to be discontinued. The Xperia X which was launched at the price of Rs 44,000 had failed to draw much interest among buyers forcing Sony to drop the price to as low as Rs 25,000.

Sony made the confirmation at Sony's IR (Investor relations) Day. It said that it would not build smartphones in the $500 price range or 'Premium Standard' category any more. The $500-range smartphones fall in the the mid-range and high-end flagship categories. Until now, Sony had three lines of smartphones. Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra were the mid-range devices. Xperia X and X Compact fell in the Premium Standard models. The Xperia XZs and Xperia XZ Premium were the flagship phones.

After getting rid of the 'Premium Standard' models, Sony now plans to launch two new flagship devices this year. Sony has already launched Xperia XZs and Xperia XZ Premium. The Sony Xperia XZs is sold in India for Rs 49,990. The new Sony flagships could be unveiled at IFA in September.
India may launch aggressive actions inside Pakistan: US intelligence chiefs

WASHINGTON: US intelligence chiefs have warned Congress that India may launch aggressive actions inside Pakistan on the pretext of stopping cross-border attacks and that the ongoing exchange of artillery shells across the Line of Control (LoC) may lead to a direct conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours.



The warning given at a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday afternoon followed alarming statements from New Delhi and Islamabad, threatening attacks and counterattacks.



India has sought and continues to move to isolate Pakistan diplomatically and is considering punitive options to raise the cost to Islamabad for its alleged support to cross-border terrorism, Lt Gen Vincent Stewart, the head of US Defence Intelligence Agency, told the committee.



Increasing numbers of firefights along the Line of Control, including the use of artillery and mortars, might exacerbate the risk of unintended escalation between these nuclear-armed neighbours, warned the director for National Intelligence, Daniel R. Coats.

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The two officials were briefing senators on the US intelligence communitys threat assessment for 2017-18, during which they see terrorist groups attacking American interests across the globe.



On Tuesday, the Pakistan Army denied the Indian Armys claim that it had carried out an operation against Pakistani posts along the LoC. Indian Armys Maj Gen Ashok Narula claimed the action was aimed to bring down the number of terrorists in Kashmir so that local youths are not encouraged to take up arms.



Pakistan says that it never allows terrorists to use its soil for launching attacks into another country. Gen Stewart told the Senate committee that continued threat of high-level terrorist attacks in India, violence in India-held Kashmir and bilateral diplomatic recriminations would further strain India-Pakistan ties in 2017.



He said that after a terrorist attack on an army base in held Kashmir last September, New Delhi conducted an operation against militants across the LoC.



In 2016, Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged some of the heaviest fire in years along the Line of Control in Kashmir, and each expelled a number of the others diplomats amid growing tension, he added with a warning that yet another terrorist attack could lead to an India-Pakistan war.



Director Coats told the committee that relations between India and Pakistan remained tense following two major attacks last year by militants who he claimed had crossed over from Pakistan.



They might deteriorate further in 2017, especially in the event of another high-profile terrorist attack in India that New Delhi attributes to originating in or receiving assistance from Pakistan, he said.



Islamabads failure to curb support to anti-India militants and New Delhis growing intolerance of this policy, coupled with a perceived lack of progress in Pakistans investigations into the January 2016 Pathankot cross-border attack, set the stage for a deterioration of bilateral relations in 2016.



In a general assessment of the situation in Pakistan, Gen Stewart said that in 2017, Islamabad could slowly shift from traditional counterinsurgency operations along Pakistans western border to more counterterrorism and paramilitary operations throughout the country. He noted that such operations have had some success in reducing violence from militant, sectarian, terrorist and separatist groups.



Anti-Pakistan groups probably will respond to this sustained pressure by focusing their efforts against soft targets, he added.



Gen Stewart claimed that Pakistans nuclear stockpile had continued to grow and this was a cause of concern for the US. We are concerned that this growth, as well as an evolving doctrine and inherent security issues associated with Pakistans developing tactical nuclear weapons, presents an enduring risk, he warned.



But he also acknowledged that Islamabad is taking steps to improve its nuclear security and is aware of the extremist threat to its programme.



In his assessment of the situation in Pakistan, Director Coats said that Pakistan-based terrorist groups will present a sustained threat to US interests in the region and continue to plan and conduct attacks in India and Afghanistan.



He warned that the threat to the United States and the West from Pakistani-based terrorist groups will be persistent but diffuse. Plotting against the US homeland will be conducted on a more opportunistic basis or driven by individual members within these groups.



Director Coats said that Pakistan will probably be able to manage its internal security and anti-Pakistan groups will probably focus more on soft targets.



He identified Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi as the groups that would pose the greatest threat to Pakistans internal security. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would offer militants and terrorists additional targets, he added.
The management of Ghana Gas has denied media reports suggesting that four helicopters it purchased in 2015 are missing. In a statement on Wednesday, the management was emphatic that the four helicopters, and not seven as was reported, are currently stationed at the Air Force Headquarters at Burma Camp.



The four Z-9 EH helicopters was commissioned by former President John Dramani Mahama in September 2015 to provide surveillance services to the oil and gas installations in the Western Region.



According to the statement, the helicopters were procured from China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC). Ghana Gas does not have the expertise and hangars to operate and maintain the helicopters.



The Ghana Air Force, however, possesses such facilities. Ghana Gas, therefore, mandated the Ghana Air Force to operate and maintain them on its behalf.



The helicopters are in good working condition and not broken down as erroneously reported. The statement by hte management further noted that contrary to reports, there is a helipad at the Atuabo Main Camp.

Source: 3news









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Three police officers have been arrested and detained for robbing four persons yesterday [Wednesday] at Christian village, near Accra.



Citi News sources at the Criminal Investigations Department say the three, dressed in their police uniform and using a police vehicle forcefully took away GH3000 from the men around midday and bolted with the money.



The victims took notice of the number plate of the police vehicle and reported the incident to the police leading to the arrest of the suspects.



The suspects are Sergeant Francis Della, Sergeant Ebenezer Amoa and Corporal Amoako Atta. They have been detained pending further investigations.



Citi News can also confirm that the police has over the last eight months consistently received reports of theft and armed robbery about some of its men.

Source: Citifmonline.com









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The former deputy Minister for Power, Mr John Jinapor thinks that allegations that helicopters purchased by the erstwhile Mahama administration for Ghana Gas Company were missing are attempts aimed at denigrating the former administration.



He said the helicopters were with the Ghana Air Force since the army has the expertise to handle the helicopters.



The co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr Steve Manteaw who is also a member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) had raised the alarm following a visit to Ghana Gas.



Dr Manteaw had asked the whereabouts of the helicopters during the visit and said he was aware they were purchased at about $150million.



Since the people he interacted with could not immediately tell him where they were, it was concluded that the helicopters were either missing or they were never purchased.



But responding to media publications on the matter, Mr Jinapor said in a radio interview with Neat FM Wednesday morning that the claims were strange and unfortunate.



We procured four helicopters and they were commissioned by John Mahama in public. Ghana Gas does not have the pilots and expertise to fly the helicoptersthe helicopters are not supposed to be parked at Atuabothe Ghana Armed Forces was asked to manage the helicopters.



Mr Jinapor added: the helicopters are not missingbefore I left office, the helicopters were in good shape and were workingthe management saying they do not know about the procurement of the helicopters is surprising.



















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Former Minister for Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor has said Ghanas security under the watch of President Nana Akufo Addo is very week and threatened, if indeed some helicopters purchased by the erstwhile Mahama administration for Ghana Gas have gone missing.



According to him, Ghanas security is in wrong hands if such heavy military accoutrement painted in Ghana Air Force colours cannot be accounted for.



There have been reports that three helicopters for Ghana Gas Company purchased at a cost of 150 million dollars by the previous government are missing.



The co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr. Steve Manteaw who is also a member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) said sources close to Ghana Gas revealed that indeed the helicopters were bought and that they are being kept somewhere adding and Im not too sure where



He added: so it is early days yet to conclude that they are missing and that for now we just couldnt find them at the project but it does not mean that they are missing. So we just need to find out where they are and in which condition and shape they are in now.



But speaking on Kasapa FM Wednesday, Dr Kwabena Donkor who doubted the veracity of the claims said if the helicopters could go missing, then it means Ghana Armed Forces weapons and artillery could equally go missing, a development which will be dire for the countrys security.



This claim of missing helicopters has serious international implications, maybe we have not averted our minds to it. These are not matters that should be discussed in the public domainIf theres a country that wants to support Ghana by donating sophisticated weapons and other military accoutrements, that country will hesitate as the donor will fear the weapons could go missing and get into the hands of terrorists.



He added that it shouldnt be difficult for anyone to locate the said helicopters as they are kept with the Ghana Air Force which has the expertise to manage them.



Im baffled by this claim, if we put out such baseless statements into the public domain, we inadvertently disagrace the Ghana Armed Forces which is regarded highly in Africa and the rest of the world because the helicopters are safe in their custody. What stops anyone from first contacting the Ghana Air Force before churning out such falsehood. If this has not been done Im not sure were being fair to Ghana. The biggest indictment is on the Ghana Air Force. This is not an NDC or NPP matter, this is about national security.

Source: kasapafmonline.com









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BALLSTON SPA  A Corinth man who was one of three arrested over the winter for a burglary in Greenfield has pleaded guilty to a felony.
GLENS FALLS  When the Glens Falls/Queensbury Memorial Day Parade committee started meeting in February, it followed its usual strategy of trying to find World War II veterans to serve as grand marshals.

We usually have one or two, and this year when we started looking, we identified six, Queensbury Supervisor John Strough said. They are all in their 90s, and we figured we didnt want any of them to miss out on the chance, so we invited them all.

One veteran was unable to make the parade, so five World War II veterans will be in the lead car in the parade, which starts at 10 a.m. on Glen Street and marches north to Crandall Park.

The grand marshals are Richard Lee, Harold McAfee, Rowland Robillard, Philip Santasiero and Edmund Sipowicz.

Its really important for us to honor the World War II vets because of their age, said Tony Garcia, another member of the committee. I mean, they range from 91 to 99.

Strough agreed.

We said, Lets not wait, he said. Reading their biographies will add to the ceremony, but I cannot think of a better reason to add to it.

Here is a closer look at the five grand marshals:

Edmund Sipowicz of Glens Falls recently celebrated his 99th birthday. He was born in Queensbury and went to school in Hudson Falls. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Army Air Corps after training as a radio operator and navigator. To prepare for the war in Europe, he began ferrying B-17s, B-24s and C-54s from the U.S. to the U.K., Scotland and India. He was later transferred to the Pacific and flew for more than three years after the war.

Richard Lee, 92, of Glens Falls, was originally from Whitehall and in 1942 enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. He served aboard the USS Newell, a destroyer escort, guarding many convoys from the U.S. East Coast through the German submarines and bombers mostly to the Western Mediterranean. He was involved in the largest sea rescue in the Atlantic war and the entire crew of the Newell was awarded the Bronze Star. He later worked for Finch Pruyn for 29 years and then taught violin and viola.

Harold McAfee of Queensbury, 94, was born in Detroit but moved to Brooklyn and then Queens. He enlisted in the Army and was in the 10th Mountain Division. He fought in Italy in the battle for Mount Belvedere. From there, the battle continued to Riva Ridge and then on into the Po Valley. He returned to Queens and worked for the U.S. Postal Service for the next 35 years and later moved to Queensbury.

Rowland Robillard, 93, lives in Fort Edward. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 with his two brothers and loaded guns and torpedoes on the carrier escort USS Savo Island. His job was loading guns and torpedoes. The Savo Island menaced Japanese land bases and planes from the Caroline Islands to the Philippines.

Philip A. Santasiero, 91, lives in Queensbury, but grew up on Long Island. He graduated from high school in Bellerose and joined the 10th Mountain Division. He trained at Camp Hale in Colorado and in the winter of 1945 he found himself in the Po Valley of northern Italy. His platoon defeated the German there and retook Mount Belvedere and Riva Ridge. He worked six years on Wall Street, then had a career with National Cash Register Co. in Brooklyn and Queens.

In the second car of the parade, there will be three local women who were trapped in Europe during the war, and the third car will carry the keynote speakers, Bill and Beverly Osborn, parents of the late Ben Osborn, who was killed in the war in Afghanistan.

The three women being honored are Pia Baldwin, who was in France during the war, Susanna Canavan, who was in Germany, and Gunta Krasts Voutyras, who was in Latvia.

Ben Osborn, a Lake George High School graduate, was assigned to the U.S. Armys 101st Airborne and served in Iraq. Later he was sent to Afghanistan and was killed in 2010 while on a rescue mission. Since then, his parents have created the Ben Osborn Memorial Fund to assist school students throughout the region.

The ceremony, which will include a flyover by World War II planes, will take place after the parade, and, in case of rain, it will be held in the ice rink on Fire Road.

Luke Ely of Queensbury High School, who is a Boys State representative, will read Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address at the ceremony.

The parade committee held an essay contest at the two high schools, and the winners will read their essays at the ceremony.

Emily Derrick was the winner from Glens Falls High School. Her cooperating teacher was Donna Bates.

Ashley McCormick was the winner from Queensbury High School, and her cooperating teacher was Mary Tully.

The essay theme was Freedom. Courage. Sacrifice.
FORT EDWARD  The lead investigator into the 2011 triple homicide in White Creek has died, but that wont prevent him from testifying in the retrial of accused killer Matthew Slocum.

At a pretrial hearing Thursday, the prosecution and defense agreed to use a transcript of Bruce Hamiltons testimony from the 2012 trial. A third party will sit in the witness stand and read the transcript.

Hamilton was a Washington County sheriffs investigator. He died in 2014.

There will be redactions to his testimony, Judge Kelly McKeighan said.

Although he did not specify what would be removed from Hamiltons testimony, it is likely to involve a spontaneous confession from Slocum.

Hamilton and another investigator said Slocum told them, I just shotgunned my mother, dude.

However, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court tossed Slocums triple-murder conviction, saying the jury should not have been told about the confession because Slocum was questioned without an attorney present.

Slocum was being represented by Michael Mercure in an unrelated case, and he told investigators that Mercure would probably represent him in the murder case. Mercure also sent a letter to the Sheriffs Office, saying that he was representing Slocum and wanted to be contacted if Slocum was arrested or detained for anything. He told police not to question him on any matter without an attorney present.

But police went ahead with the interrogation.

A second deceased person is also on the list to testify.

Patricia McGarvin of Hoosick Falls gave a video-taped testimony before the 2012 trial because she was so ill that prosecutors worried she might not be able to testify at the trial.

She was brought to court in a wheelchair and testified about purchasing a cellphone for her grandson, Joshua OBrien. OBrien was one of the three victims on July 13, 2011.

She bought him the cellphone on July 12. When Slocum surrendered to police, he had the cellphone.

Her video testimony can be replayed to the new jury, McKeighan said.

The defense also signaled there may be a change in its strategy this time.

Slocum might not testify, Mercure said.

McKeighan asked him if he wanted the jury pool instructed that if the defendant does not testify, the jury cannot consider it an indication of guilt.

Mercure answered that he would probably want the jury pool given that instruction.

If Slocum does testify, both sides agreed that he will simply answer yes to the question of whether he has ever been convicted of a felony. He will not elaborate, McKeighan said.

In the 2012 trial, Slocum testified that his girlfriend, Loretta Colegrove, committed the murders. He said he was the one who burned down the family home after the shooting deaths of his mother, Lisa Harrington, her husband, Dan Harrington, and Harringtons son Joshua OBrien.

Officials said later they believed Slocum killed the family because they were pushing him to move out with his girlfriend and their infant son.

Slocum was serving 88 years to life for the murders.
A state appeals court on Thursday denied Alexander Wests application for bail pending appeal of his convictions for last summers fatal boat crash on Lake George.

Justice William McCarthy, who presides at the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, notified attorneys in the case verbally and via a brief written statement Thursday, Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said. She said her office has requested a formal written decision but it was unclear whether McCarthy would issue one.

The ruling means West will stay in jail pending his appeal of his convictions for second-degree manslaughter and lesser counts in the crash last July 25 that killed 8-year-old Charlotte McCue on Lake George. The appeal will likely take more than a year.

Wests lawyer, Cheryl Coleman, had filed an application seeking to have bail set at the level that West was free on before trial, $200,000 cash or bond. She had argued that there was a likelihood of a successful appeal on a number of procedural errors, including that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of manslaughter.

The court would have had to have found some merit to her arguments to agree to set bail.

But Hogans office had opposed the application, and claimed that the defenses recitation of the issues was incorrect. Prosecutors pointed out that the Lake George resident had ties to Colorado and had lived there in recent years, and had made a social media post during his trial predicting he would be acquitted and that he planned to head back to Colorado.

Hogan had no comment on the bail denial, and Coleman did not return a phone call for comment.

West, 25, was found guilty of eight charges May 8 after a three-week-plus trial that focused on the boat crash death of 8-year-old Charlotte McCue on Lake George last July 25.

The weightiest charges were second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident after a Warren County jury found he was impaired by alcohol when he drove a boat into one that Charlottes family was on. Charlottes mother was also seriously hurt.

West is being held in Warren County Jail pending sentencing. He faces up to 7 1/3 to 25 years in state prison when sentenced June 5 (corrected) by Warren County Judge John Hall.
















The USS Dewey guided missile destroyer has reportedly sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, apparently challenging Beijings sovereignty claims over disputed island chain. The US warship passed near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands on Wednesday under the Freedom of Navigation principle, according to Wall Street Journal and Reuters sources. If indeed the USS Dewey sailed within 12 nautical miles of the disputed land, then Washington seemingly violated China's territorial claims. Territorial waters are defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as a belt of coastal waters extending 12 nautical miles from the coast.





Wednesdays freedom of navigation sail was the United States first since October and the first since Donald Trump took office in January. In a statement to The Japan Times, the Pentagon refused to confirm or deny the report. The Wall Street Journal also failed to get a definitive answer from the Pentagon. We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea, Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told the publication in a statement. We operate in accordance with international law, he added, emphasizing the patrols are not about any one country, or any one body of water. While the Pentagon is reluctant to confirm the reports, photos posted on Commander  the US Third Fleet Facebook page  appeared to show the US vessel sailing the disputed waters. USS Dewey (DDG 105) transits the South China Sea before a replenishment-at-sea with USNS Pecos (T-AO-197), the picture post reads.





Earlier this month, US Navy Commander Gary Ross revealed that Washington is looking to continue its Freedom of Navigation operations in the disputed South China Sea region under Trumps administration. We are continuing with regular FONOPs (Freedom of Navigation operations), as we have routinely done in the past and will continue to do in the future, Ross was quoted as saying.





Beijing has laid claim to nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which some $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year. The Spratly Islands, or Spratlys, comprising more than 750 islets, atolls, and reefs, have also been caught up in the multinational dispute, with the claimants having their own national names for the archipelago.





































A US Navy guided-missile destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea designed to challenge Beijings maritime claims, media reported citing unnamed officials.

It was the first such patrol since October and the first one conducted under President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.









A freedom of navigation patrol, by definition, must take place within 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, the report explained.









The report added, however, that a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the operation, claiming the United States operates in accordance with international law.









































US Treasury chief Steve Mnuchin said the Trump administration was exploring ways to increase financial pressure on Iran, Syria and North Korea Thursday, days after President Donald Trump launched a blistering verbal offensive against Tehran during a trip to the Middle East.





Mnuchin told the House Ways and Means Committee that the administration was looking into revoking licenses for aircraft manufacturers to sell parts and planes to Iran, which had been a key component of sanctions relief under the 2015 nuclear deal.









We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria and North Korea to protect American lives, Mnuchin said, according to Reuters. I can assure you thats a big focus of mine and I discuss it with the president.





Mnuchin also praised sanctions as having been an important tool in bringing Iran to the negotiating table. While Trump has called the nuclear deal a disaster, his administration has not moved to scrap it.













However last month Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the administration has undertaken a full review of the agreement to evaluate whether continued sanctions relief is in the national interest. Tillerson noted that Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terrorism and that Trump had ordered the review with that in mind.





Trump has repeatedly bashed Iran during speeches over the last week, accusing it of reckless pursuit of conflict and terror, in Saudi Arabia, and vowing to keep it from getting a nuclear weapon while visiting Israel. The United States is firmly committed to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and halting their support of terrorists and militias, he told Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Tuesday.





































Its a frightening thing to consider. For the most technologically endowed nation to ever exist on planet Earth, it would be a nightmare of almost unimaginable proportion. Im referring to an attack on the U.S. by EMP electromagnetic pulseabout which there continues to be much chatter in the cybersphere. Most feared is a nuclear blast that could interact with the ionosphere, the shell of electrons and electrically charged particles surrounding Earth, to create a series of electromagnetic pulses that could reach across the North American continent, according to the scientists who study such matters.





In such an apocalyptic scenario, an American enemy would explode a nuclear weapon a certain number of miles above a central point above the continent. This would cause everything that is controlled by electronic circuitry to fail, bringing society and culture as we have known them to an instantaneous conclusion. All modern transportation would be stopped, with planes falling from the air. Car engines and circuitry would cease to function. From the sophisticated technologies of the hospitals, banks, and electric power-generating plants to the electronically powered, smallest conveniences such as coffeemakers, all would be instantly fried, and we would be sent back to the 1850s in a millisecond, according to the experts.





Disregarding such an enemy for the moment, the experts tell us we face the possibility of an EMP attack from the cosmos. Now, theres something to truly be concerned about!





Solar flares are the real danger, according to the scientists involved in study of this sort of EMP assault. These coronal mass ejections are enormous sun eruptions of super-hot plasma that spews charged particles across the solar system. They do the same sort of damage that the nuclear weapon EMPs might do, as I understand it. The Earth is in a period of high likelihood for these types of coronal mass ejections, according to the scientistsauthorities on such things. Although Congress has been given ways to help prepare for damage such EMP events can do, there has apparently been little interest from that quarter in making preemptive preparation. We remember the same sorts of fears and warnings about the year 2000Y2Kevent. In that instance billions of dollars were thrown into fixing the feared problems. Now, however, unlike in the case of the Y2K scare, for example, the mainstream media seems to have all but ignored the EMP concerns. Even peripheral media cable networks and other such media have remained silence. Only the blogosphere is alive with details of the possibility of impending doom. My own thought is that the Lord is and has always been in complete control of the fate of individuals, nations, and the entire Earthwhich He created. Thats why there hasnt been all-out warfarenuclear war. Thats why there hasnt been an EMP event that sets us back to the 1850s or so However, there is a prophetic thought that has nagged for a long time. Thats all it isa thought. Salem Kirban wrote the novel 666 in the 1960s. He portrayed the Ezekiel 38-39 Gog-Magog attack as being waged totally like the Scripture depicts. There were only horses, bucklers, shields, etc., as they stormed like a cloud to cover the land as the Gog forces raged toward Jerusalem. All modern weaponry had been rendered uselessI cant remember why or how. An EMP event from Earths sun could apparently make Mr. Kirbans novel truly prophetic, if all weve been told about EMP is correct. The way things are shaping in that region of the world should alert us that maybe we dont have too long to wait to find out about how Bible prophecy plays out.









































Fear of earthquakes is part of life in California. But people experience this anxiety in different ways. For some, the fear prompts them to take steps to protect themselves: strapping down heavy furniture, securing kitchen cabinets and retrofitting homes and apartments. For others, the fear prompts denial  a willful ignorance of the dangers for years until the ground starts shaking. Seismologist Lucy Jones has spent her career trying to understand public attitudes about earthquakes, with a focus on moving people past paralysis and denial. Jones said the way experts like her used to talk about earthquakes wasnt very effective. They tended to focus on the probability of a major earthquake striking in the next 30 years  the length of a typical home mortgage. They also took pains to say what they didnt know, which she now believes allowed the public to tune out and hope for the best.

Now she is making a dramatically different point. She said that in a keynote speech to international scientists in Japan on May 21, she emphasized that a devastating earthquake will definitely happen, and that there is much the public can do to protect themselves. Denial may getting a bit harder these days. Over the last several years, a few California cities have taken dramatic steps to require retrofits of thousands of vulnerable buildings. And next year, scientists and the U.S. Geological Survey are expected to unveil the first limited public phase of an earthquake early-warning system that would eventually offer seconds and perhaps more than a minute of warning through smartphones and computers.




















SC to hear on Friday plea challenging ongoing demolition of structures around tomb of Adil Shahi dynasty commander Afzal Khan in Maharashtra.
The altercation happened at Gianfortes campaign headquarters in Bozeman, Montana on Wednesday. Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, said he was asking Gianforte some questions at a campaign event before their encounter turned violent.

"Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs tweeted Wednesday.

Local authorities said in a statement that after "multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriff's office, it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault."

Gianforte is expected to appear at Gallatin County Justice Court "between now and June 7," the police statement said.

In an audio recording of the incident, captured by the reporter, Jacobs can be heard pressing Gianforte to comment on a Congressional Budget Office evaluation of the American Health Care Act released earlier Wednesday.

Then, a loud crash.

"I'm sick and tired of you guys," Gianforte can be heard shouting. "The last time you came in here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here."

Listen to audio of the exchange below:

"You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs says.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says again.

Jacobs described the incident to The Guardian:

"He took me to the ground," Jacobs said by phone from the back of an ambulance, according to The Guardian. "This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics."

A Fox News crew that witnessed the encounter between Jacobs and Gianforte described a far more disturbing scene, saying Gianforte "grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground."

Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna said she and her crew "watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top of the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of 'I'm sick and tired of this.'"

According to Acuna's account, Jacobs "scrambled to his knees" and said that his glasses were broken.

"To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies," the Fox News reporter said.

Jacobs was taken to a local hospital, where he reportedly got an X-ray on his elbow. Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin confirmed to The Guardian that his department was investigating the incident.

It was later reported that Sheriff Gootkin had donated $250 to Gianforte's campaign in March, according to Federal Election Commission documents cited by Politico reporter Gabriel Debenedetti. The sheriff said in a statement that his previous donation to the Gianforte campaign had no bearing on the assault investigation.

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers, the Missoulian, Independent Record, and the Billings Gazette, rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte after the alleged assault.

Photos posted to social media showed police vehicles and an ambulance on the scene. Jacobs reportedly filed a report with Bozeman police.

BuzzFeed's Alexis Levinson, who was at the campaign event, said she heard a "giant crash" from behind partially closed doors and "saw Ben's feet fly in the air as he hit the floor."

Gianforte left the event early in a silver Jeep.

In a statement, Gianforte campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon suggested Jacobs was to blame:

Gianforte, an engineer and businessman, is running against Democrat Rob Quist in a special election on Thursday for Montana's at-large Congressional district. The district was formerly held by Ryan Zinke, whom President Donald Trump tapped to lead the US Department of the Interior.

Gianforte unsuccessfully ran for governor of Montana in 2016.

Quist declined to comment on the incident when pressed by an MSNBC reporter Wednesday evening.

"That's really not for me to talk about. I think that's more a matter for law enforcement," he said.

Polls suggest an unexpectedly tight race in the reliably conservative Montana. In 2016, Trump carried the state by 21 points. But with the White House embroiled in scandal, Democrats are keeping a close eye on the Montana contest, which could give an early glimpse of their chances in the 2018 midterm elections.

Gianforte, meanwhile, has allied himself closely to Trump, campaigning with Vice President Mike Pence, Zinke, and Donald Trump Jr.
The article, known as the collective-defense clause, stipulates that an attack on any member is an attack on all. It was invoked for the first time in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks  a point raised by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in their respective remarks on Thursday.

Trump said in his speech that the US would "never forsake the friends that stood by our side" in the aftermath of 9/11. But he did not explicitly endorse Article 5, as every US president since Harry S. Truman has when speaking outside NATO headquarters.

Instead, Trump used the speech largely to lecture representatives from nearly two dozen member countries for not meeting their "financial obligations" to increase defense spending to 2% of their gross domestic product.

"If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism," Trump said.

Nicholas Burns, who was the US's ambassador to NATO under President George W. Bush, said it was "a major mistake" for Trump to not "reaffirm publicly and explicitly" the US's Article 5 commitment to NATO.

"I was the US ambassador to NATO on 9/11 and remain grateful for the unstinting support given to America by our European allies and Canada," Burns said on Thursday. "Trump is not acting like the leader of the West that all US presidents before him have been dating back to Truman."

Trump's speech at the NATO summit came on the heels of his trip to the Middle East, where he told Arab leaders he was "not here to lecture" them about human rights.

Richard Haass, a former US diplomat who has been the president of the Council on Foreign Relations since 2003, said on Twitter that Trump's "overly solicitous treatment" of Saudi Arabia stood in contrast to his "public lecturing of NATO allies," which Haass called "unseemly and counterproductive."

Ivo Daalder, the US's ambassador to NATO from May 2009 to July 2013, said Trump's reluctance to commit to the guiding principle was "a major blow to the alliance."

"After calling NATO 'obsolete,' Trump needed to say what every predecessor since Truman has said: The US is committed to Article 5," Daalder said on Twitter. "At the core of NATO is the unconditional commitment to collective defense."

Putin will be thrilled

NATO officials had hoped Trump would acknowledge that the organization's biggest challenge now was not fighting terrorism, but countering Russian aggression in eastern Europe, according to Politico.

NATO was founded in 1949 as Europe's answer to the Soviet Union, and theSeveral post-Soviet states, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, are now NATO members. Montenegro will become a member in June.

"Putin will be thrilled at Trump's refusal to endorse Article 5," said Tom Wright, the director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution. "Unimaginable under any other president."

After Trump called NATO "obsolete" in a January interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Moscow "shares Trump's opinion that NATO is a remnant of the past." Trump said later

Still, some officials worried that Trump could one day strike a bilateral deal with Moscow that would affect NATO's interests, Politico reported.

Putin has repeatedly characterized the US-led organization as an "aggressive" force whose aim is to isolate Russia from Europe  rhetoric that became more heated earlier this year amid NATO's military exercises in the Baltic Sea. Russia responded to those drills by transferring nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania.

Daalder said 23 NATO member countries had increased their defense spending since last year and eight would "spend 2% on their military next year."

"All allies committed in 2014 to spend at least 2% on defense by 2024," he said. "They did so because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday that he and Trump were "on the same line" when it came to the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia intervened in 2014 to support the pro-Russia separatist movement after annexing the Crimean peninsula. But Stoltenberg said he and Trump hadn't yet found a "common position" on Russia.

"Trump could have thanked allies for increasing their spending and urged them to accelerate the timetable by a few years," Daalder said. "Certainly, the threat from Russia warrants increased spending. NATO countries see Russia as the greatest threat to their security."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly brought a map of the former Soviet Union to her meeting with Trump at the White House in March to show him what Putin was nostalgic for  a vast empire that extended well past Russia's current western border.

"What is needed is a clearly formulated American policy on Russia," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who was NATO's secretary-general until 2014, told Politico. "The reason why people are preoccupied by all the investigations [in Washington] is that there is no clear Russia policy."

But the topic purposefully was kept off the agenda for the alliance's first major meeting with Trump, a NATO representative confirmed to BuzzFeed earlier this week. The leaders apparently were hoping to curry favor with Trump so he would "explicitly" state his support for Article 5 before being asked about Russia, a European official told the publication.

Even so, "Russia is, of course, the elephant in the room" in the Europeans' discussions with Trump, an official told Politico.

The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters later that Trump did not need to explicitly endorse the collective-defense clause in his speech because "the entire ceremony was called an Article 5 dedication."

"We're not playing cutesy with this," Spicer said. "He's fully committed. If you are standing at a ceremony talking about the invocation of Article 5 after 9/11 and talking about that, that is a pretty clear indication of the support that exists for it."

Another senior administration official said Trump's push for NATO members to spend more on their defenses was "obviously making life more difficult for Russia" and "creating a stronger and more vibrant Europe."

"The more NATO countries spend, the worse it is for Russia," the official said. "What Trump is doing, really, is increasing NATO's ability to deter any kind of aggression on its borders, including from Russia."

But Stephen Biddle, an adjunct senior fellow for defense policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor at George Washington University, said on Thursday that the US's allies "were looking for the president to resolve the contradiction between his statements and his own administration's statements on Article 5. He chose not to.
Those killed by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at an Ariana Grande concert include a serving police officer and an eight-year-old girl. Several teenagers were also caught up in the blast.

Moving tributes have been paid to the 22.This is a full list of victims:

15-year-old Megan Hurley was named as the final victim of the terror attack on Thursday, according to the Telegraph. She was from Halewood and a neighbour said the family is "devastated."

Elaine McIver

McIver was the police officer killed in Monday's incident, Greater Manchester Police confirmed on Thursday. She attended the Manchester Arena event with her family.

McIver was an officer for Cheshire Police and was off-duty at the time of the attack. In a statement, her family said: "Elaine just loved life, and had a major love of music. Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics, instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it."

Her partner, Paul, was also seriously injured in the blast.

Courtney Boyle and Philip Tron

Boyle attended the concert with her mother's partner, Tron. Their families paid tribute to them in a statement released by Great Manchester Police.

Courtney's mother and Tron's partner, Deborah Hutchinson, said: "My stunning amazing beautiful daughter. You were my rock, you made me so proud with all you had achieved and my gorgeous crazy Philip, you made my world a happy place and now you are both my angels flying high in the sky."

Wendy Fawell

Falwell, a teacher from Yorkshire, was waiting outside the Manchester Arena after dropping off her children. Her children are safe.

Her school, St Oswald's Primary, confirmed the news of her death on Twitter. "It is with deepest sadness that I confirm that our former colleague Wendy Fawell was killed in the Manchester bombing. RIP, Wendy," it said.

Eilidh Macleod

The 14-year-old Scottish girl's parents confirmed her death on Thursday.

"Words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh," they said, according to the BBC. "Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band."

She was at the concert with her friend& Laura MacIntyre, who is in a serious condition in hospital.

Sorrell Leczkowski

Another 14-year-old, this time from Leeds. Her death was confirmed by her grandfather Michael Healey in a statement through Greater Manchester Police.

"Sorrell was only 14, but she was our rock, she kept us all grounded. She was such a clever, talented, creative girl, there was nothing she couldn't do," he said.

The BBC reported that Leczkowski had gone to Manchester Arena with her mother and grandmother to collect her sister. Her mother and grandmother were injured, the latter seriously, while her sister was unharmed.

Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry

The families of Rutherford, 17, and Curry, 19 released a joint statement on Thursday morning. The pair were at the Grande concert together. "They wanted to be together forever and now they are", the statement said.

Kiss attended the concert with her daughter. "Excited girlies ready to watch Ariana," she wrote on Facebook prior to the gig on Monday.

Her niece, Laura Murray, confirmed the news on Facebook. She said: "It's true thank you everyone for your help we are all heartbroken."

Nell Jones

The 14-year-old's cousins appealed for information, but the head teacher of her school confirmed her death. Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School's David Wheeler said: "Nell was a very popular girl, always smiling, always positive."

51-year old Jane Tweddle-Taylor was from Blackpool. She reportedly went to the arena with a friend to pick up the friend's daughter. She was a receptionist at South Shore Academy School in Blackpool.

Martyn Hett

The 29-year-old was not seen or heard from following the blast.

Friend Russell Hayward announced on Twitter that Hett was among those killed.

He said: "We got the news last night that our wonderful iconic and beautiful Martyn didnt survive. He left this world exactly how he lives, centre of attention."

Olivia Campbell

Campbell went to the concert with her best friend Adam Lawler, who was treated in hospital. The 15-year-old's phone was not ringing and calls to hospitals proved fruitless. Her mother Charlotte confirmed her death on Wednesday morning.

Alison Howe and Lisa Lees

The friends were waiting in the foyer of Manchester Arena to collect their 15-year-old daughters when they were caught up in the suicide bombing. News of their death was confirmed on Facebook.

"They took a caring, beautiful Mum and step mother away," Howe's stepson Jordan said on Facebook. Lees' brother Lee Hunter wrote: "Gone but never forgotten. I love you Lisa and I'll miss you so much."

Kelly Brewster

Brewster's boyfriend Ian Winslow confirmed the news of her death on Facebook. She attended the Grande concert with her sister, Claire, and her niece, Hollie Booth, who were both injured in the attack, according to The Mirror.

"Not sure how this works but it isn't good news. Kelly Brewster wasn't one of the unidentified hospital patients. She has sadly passed away in the terror attack yesterday," he said. "Kelly really was the happiest she has ever been and we had so many things planned together."

Angelika and Marcin Klis

Sky News reported on Wednesday morning that the husband and wife died in Monday's attack. The news was confirmed by the Polish foreign minister, Sky said. The Klis' daughter, Alex, had appealed for information on Facebook.

Georgina Callander

Callander was named as the first victim of the attack. Friends of the 18-year-old said she was one of the first people rushed to hospital after the attack. She died with her mother at her bedside in hospital, according to a close friend.

Runshaw College Sixth Form Centre, where Callander was studying, confirmed her death on Facebook. "It is with enormous sadness that it appears that one of the people who lost their lives in Mondays Manchester attack was one of our students here at Runshaw College," it said.

Saffie Rose Roussos

Eight-year-old Rose Roussos attended the Grande gig with her mother, but the pair were separated, according to reports.

"Saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. She was loved by everyone," said, Chris Upton, headteacher at Tarleton Community Primary School.

John Atkinson
1. UK government ministers are reportedly planning to enforce new powers that would compel tech companies like WhatsApp and Apple to hand over encrypted messages. It's not clear how this would work in practice as the "end-to-end encryption" techniques used by the big tech firms make decryption impossible.

2. The new Nokia 3310 is now on sale.The revamped device is selling for 49.99 (or 49), and has some significant changes.

3. European Union ministers approved plans to make social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube tackle hate speech on their platforms.It is the first legislation at EU level on the issue.

4. SoftBank has invested $4 billion (3 billion) into US graphics chipmaker Nvidia. It equates to about 4.9% of the company.

5. A new report slams Tesla working conditions. It claims employees have suffered twice as many serious injuries as the industry average.

6. A longtime Snapchat exec who helped build its ad business has left the company.His name is Brian Ames.

8. Facebook is testing a change that will make news an even bigger part of your feed. The redesign places Trending, which shows links to top news stories, prominently in the News Feed on mobile phones instead of burying it in the search box of Facebook's mobile app.
A statement from the Acting Director of Public Affairs of the university, Major Kofi Baah-Bentum (rtd), said that authorities have received an Order of Interim Injunction, No. E/12/161/2017 from The High Court of Justice of the Central Region, restraining the University or its agents from the rustication of some eighteen (18) students.

The university was, therefore, complying accordingly with the directive, the statement said.

Background

At least, three students were stabbed at UCC in March 2017 when a clash erupted between some enraged students of the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, who had been invited to the celebration, and UCC students.

A UCC student, Emmanuel Quarshie, was paralysed after he was stabbed several times in the course of the clashes while entering his hall from night studies.

A committee was formed by the university to investigate the disturbances.

Following the conclusion of its work, the committee recommended the rustication 22 students who were manly the organisers of the event.
Obi was charged by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on one count.

He was arraigned on July 18, 2016, and pleaded not guilty.

However, midway into his trial, the accused opted to change his plea and was re-arraigned on March 31 during which he pleaded guilty.

The court consequently reviewed the facts of the case on April 1.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Babs Kuewumi found Obi guilty as charged.

He ordered that the sentenced should begin from the date of Obis arrest.

According to the charge sheet, Obi imported 1.57kg of heroin from Dar es Saalam, Tanzania, through Addis Ababa to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

The prosecutor, Mrs Juliana Obong, said that Obi was arrested at the E Arrival Hall of the airport during inward clearing of passengers onboard an Ethiopian flight from Tanzania.

She said that Obi was arrested after the substance was recovered from him.

Obong said that the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 11 (a) of the NDLEA Act, 2004.

Obi had prayed the court to show him mercy, claiming that he was a first offender.
Dave was docked on a two-count charge of criminal trespass and attempt to commit an offence of theft.

The Prosecutor, Mr Donatus Abbah, told court that one Ezekiel Daniel of Garki 2, Abuja reported the matter at the Garki Police Station on May 18.

He explained that Daniel had parked his vehicle to rest but suddenly slept off in the vehicle.

Abbah said that while Daniel slept, Dave attempted to steal Daniels cell phone through the window of the vehicle.

He said that Dave took to his heels when Daniel realised that the accused was trying to steal his phone.

The prosecutor said, however, that Daniel was later caught by the plaintiff.

He said Daniels offences contravened Sections 347 and 95 of the Penal Code.

The accused, however, denied committing the offences.

The Judge Alhaji Umar Kagarko, granted Daniel bail in the sum of N30, 000 and one surety in like sum.
The prosecutor, David Musa, told the court that one Kabiru Tsoho of Wuse Zone 6 reported the matter at the Wuse Police Station on May 10.

He said the complainant entrusted a N750, 000 to the defendant and one Jude, who is now at large for a plot of land located at Mpape, Abuja in Sept. 2016.

Musa said some men came to the plot on March 9 with sticks and threatened the complainant when he started to develop the plot.

The prosecutor said the men threatened to deal with the complainant if he did not leave the said plot of land, that it belonged to an army officer.

He said that when the complainant called the defendant and told him, the defendant asked for some time to solve it and since then the defendant had been avoiding the complainant.

Musa said the offences contravened sections 97, 312 and 322 of the Penal Code

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Nuhu Tukur, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N500, 000 with one surety that must reside within the courts jurisdiction.
Posting on Twitter, the president, who is on a tour of West Africa, said Africa integration has to be the basic fundamental objectives of governments on the continent.

"Continental integration has to be a very fundamental objective of all of the peoples and governments in Africa, as we celebrate AU Day," he said.

President Akufo-Addo opined that integration of the continent presents immense opportunities to bring prosperity, enterprise and creativity.

"The time for African integration is now, as this presents immense opportunities to bring prosperity, enterprise and creativity," he said.

Earlier, former president John Mahama in his AU Day message urged the continent to tear down the barriers, stereotypes and relics of colonialsim.

Let's keep working at it, let's tear down the barriers, let's tear down stereotypes, let's tear down the relics of Neocolonialism and let's work hard to shape our common future as our forebears envisaged. He said.

Today, May 25, marks the 54th anniversary of the formation of the African Union, formally known as the Organisation of African Union, with a focus on youth investment.

This years celebration is on the theme: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through investments in Youth.
He told Accra-based Citi FM: If the pharmaceuticals, already they have tax break on their raw materials that they import, are getting a further boost, then we should complete the value chain. That is to also ban the importation of labels because as speak, the pharmaceuticals in a year, import not less than 100 million dollars wealth of labels and other materials for packaging purposes.

Now our local printing firms have the capacity to print these labels. Graphic, for example, I am sure has the state of the art machinery and technology to do some of these printing on large scale. Daily Guide if you go to their place they have a state of the art machinery. I am sure many other companies that are in the printing industry have what it takes to take on board the printing of the labels."

The Akufo-Addo administration on Tuesday announced the ban on the importation of 49 medicines which will now be produced by local pharmaceutical companies.

They include aluminium hydroxide or magnesium trisilicate suspension, amoxicillin capsules and suspension, aspirin or caffeine tablet, folic acid tablet, cetirizine tablet, co-trimoxazole tablet, diclofenac tablet, magnesium trisilicate suspension and tablet and oral rehydration salt (ORS).

Others are paracetamol syrup, paracetamol tablet, paracetamol or codeine tablet, simple linctus syrup, vitamin B complex tablet and multivitamin tablets (vitamins A acetate, B1, B2, B12, D3, nicotinimie, calcium pantothenate), Ibrufen tablet and cough mixture that contains carbocisteine diphengydramine, gualfenesin or ammonium chloride as a single ingredient.

Last year, the Mahama administration excepted than 1,500 pharmaceutical products from VAT, thus giving the local manufacturers an advantage.
To this end, President Akufo-Addo has assured that I will pursue this matter with my Parliament to ensure the ratification of this Agreement, an agreement which was signed between the two countries on 19th December, 2013, but which is yet to be ratified.

Co-operation in the development of our agriculture, education, science and technology, infrastructure, health, energy and culture, and the co-ordination of the exploitation of our mutual natural resources, such as bauxite, iron ore, diamonds and gold, would be of immense benefit to our two countries.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, after paying a working days visit to Sierra Leone, at the commencement of the third phase of his official visits to countries in the ECOWAS region.

In addition to intensifying the links between Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean enterprises, the President stated that the process of regional integration must be hastened.

For a region that has made the choice of pursuing integration, we have not done much as we should have in liberalizing and encouraging trade amongst member countries, he said.

Research has shown that countries or groups of countries with the largest share of world trade are located within regions with the highest share of intra-regional trade. However, Trade between African regions remains low compared to other parts of the world.

With these very low levels of trade and investment co-operation, President Akufo-Addo noted that deliberate measures at expanding trade and business collaborations must be put in place to improve the prospects for prosperity of our two peoples.

In reiterating his commitment towards strengthening ECOWAS, President Akufo-Addo was certain that for a marked improvement in the welfare of the 350 million people currently living in the 15 member states of ECOWAS, I believe it is extremely important that we, the leaders, demonstrate strong political will to make the community an economic and political success, and make the project of integration real.

With West Africas population set to hit 500 million people in 20 years from now, up from the current population of 350 million, he stressed that this could be a large regional market, which could present immense opportunities to bring prosperity to our region with hard work, enterprise and creativity. The time for West African integration is now. Together, all ECOWAS member states should show real commitment towards converting ECOWAS into a true regional market.

President Akufo-Addo also commended his Sierra Leonean counterpart for the efforts he has made in restoring law and order, fostering a spirit of national reconciliation amongst the people, and the strong leadership he has exhibited in restoring macroeconomic stability since assuming the reins of government in 2007.

In 2013, for example, the GDP growth rate reached a record, all-time high of 20.70%. In 2014 and 2015, in the face of two major shocks, i.e. the ebola virus outbreak and the collapse of iron prices, Sierra Leones economy was shaken. Growth rates slumped dramatically, he said.

However, according to President Akufo-Addo, with prudent economic policies, spurred on by new investments in mining, agriculture and fisheries, economic growth has resumed, with GDP growth projected at 5.4% in 2016. Hopefully, this growth path will endure.

President Akufo-Addo added that it was his desire that Ghana and Sierra Leone to search continually for ways to co-operate, irrespective of who is at the helm of office of our respective countries. I have no doubt, that, together, we can forge a new, strong partnership for cooperation between our two nations for the mutual benefit of our two peoples.
According to the International Labour Organisation, the incidence of unemployment among youth in Northern Africa remains elevated at 29.3 percent in 2016, representing the second highest rate across all regions.

And that the youth unemployment rate in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to continue on its downward trajectory, which began in 2012, reaching 10.9 percent in 2016 and decreasing slightly to 10.8 in the following year.

Formed on May 25, 1963, the OAU brought the continent together to among other things achieve continental unity.

Since then, the 25 May has been celebrated widely across the world particularly in Africa to signify Africas identity and unity.

This years celebration is on the theme: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through investments in Youth.

READ MORE: Xi warns of globalisation backlash at BRICS summit

In a statement from the AU headquarters, it said the day presents a unique opportunity to discuss and reflect whiles celebrating important milestones on youth development across the continent.

The central importance of the demographic dividend to Africas transformative development has been repeatedly acknowledged by African leaders at the highest level and in key ministerial platforms. Over the last ten years, it has become evident that a demographic dividend lens offers a strategic basis for focusing and prioritizing investments in people in general and the youth in particular, in order to achieve sustainable development, inclusive economic growth, and to build "an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, which is driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena, it said.
ABC/Image Group LALuke Bryan will head off the beaten path this fall, continuing his Farm Tour for the ninth year in a row.

ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year Jon Pardi will join Luke for the trek, with more artists still to be added to the lineup. The four-time Entertainer of the Year will play six rural locations on the tour, starting September 28 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Proceeds go to fund scholarships for students from farm families. Since he started in 2009, Lukes been able to send 50 kids to college.

Here are the dates for Luke Bryans Farm Tour 2017, with pre-sales starting May 30, before going on sale to the general public on June 2:

9/28 -- Lincoln, NE, Benes Farm

9/29 -- Baldwin City, KS, Don-Ale Farms

9/30 -- Boone, IA, Ziel Farm

10/5 -- Fort Wayne, IN, Spangler Farms West

10/6 -- Edinburg, IL, Ayers Family Farm

10/7 -- Centralia, MO, Stowers Farm

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
According to the Ashanti Regional Police Commander DCOP Ken Yeboah, a search conducted on the suspects seventeen (17) bedroom apartments led to the retrieval of a quantity of used and unused condoms, fake traditional medicine license bearing her name.

READ MORE: Two fake soldiers grabbed for assaulting residents

Briefing the media, he said, the suspect upon interrogation mentioned one Christopher Owusu, 25 years as her accomplice and the one who issued her with the fake license.

Christopher Owusu was subsequently arrested in his house at Asuofua in the Ashanti Region.

Christopher Owusu's premises were searched and a quantity of capsules and plastic containers containing creams with the inscription Rebek vanicure and Rebek man capsules were retrieved.

He added that the sample of the vanicure and Rebek capsules, had been sent to the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for further examination.

He admitted to have issued the fetish priest the fake license.
President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Defence Minster have both stated that a bill for the extension of the retiring age of troops will be sent to parliament this fall.

The move is in fulfilment of a campaign manifesto by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

The report said the extension of the retirement age by an addition five years will have huge health, logistical and financial challenges for GAF which is already struggling to pay pension for its retiring officers.

READ MORE: NPP to increase the Army retirement age

Additional years, also make it impossible for the recruitment of younger soldiers, adding more years also means lack of military accommodations and other facilities for incoming officers, the report said.

According to the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, the move is to create room for the country to benefit more from the experience of soldiers.

But the unnamed soldiers advised the government to drop the proposal and consult both serving and retired soldiers on the implications of adding more years to the existing years just to make some soldiers happy with the monetary benefits the change will bring.
The newspaper noted the times Abedi had been reported. Citing information also reported by the BBC, it said:

the BBC reported late on Wednesday

On Wednesday, representatives of the Didsbury Mosque distanced the centre from Abedi and condemned his actions in the strongest possible terms.

It is also believed that British authorities were aware that Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, had potential links to terror-related groups. Former Libyan official Abdel-Basit Haroun told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the elder Abedi was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s, which had links to al-Qaeda.

Haroun said he belongs to the Salafi Jihadi movement, an extreme sect of Islam from which al-Qaeda and the Islamic State hail.

Ramadan Abedi, alongside his other son Hashem Abedi, Salman's younger brother were both arrested separately in the Libyan capital Tripoli by counter-terrorism forces on Wednesday.

Abedi killed 22 and injured at least 64 when he detonated an improvised bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena in central Manchester on Monday night, where pop star Ariana Grande was performing.
"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling," Trump said in a statement, promising that his administration will "get to the bottom of this."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that the leaks "cannot be tolerated and we will make every effort to put an end to it. We have already initiated appropriate steps to address these rampant leaks that undermine our national security."

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday that she planned to confront Trump at a NATO meeting about the leaks, which included highly sensitive police photos of the ongoing investigation into the attack.

"I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence which is shared between our law-enforcement agencies must remain secure," May said in a statement.

Trump said he's asking the DOJ and other agencies to "launch a complete review of this matter" and said that "if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

He also recognized the importance of the US' relationship with the UK, which is arguably America's closest intelligence sharing partner.

"There is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom," Trump said.

British security officials reacted with fury to the leaks, with one telling the Financial Times that lives were being put at risk. The BBC also reported Thursday that the police in Manchester had stopped sharing information about the investigation with the US because of the ongoing leaks.

Images of the remnants of the backpack used in the bomb attack, evidence of shrapnel, and a possible detonator were all published by The New York Times along with a layout of where those killed by the blast were standing.

Trump has long lamented leaks from within the government and his own White House, some of which have led to critical reporting on his activities, which he sees as undermining his administration.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The presiding judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N500,000, with a surety in like sum and adjourned hearing until July 25.

The prosecutor, Mr Adeniyi Oyeyemi, told the court that the complainant, Mr Ochir Samuel, of Benue State Liaison Office, Asokoro, reported the matter via petition to police in Abuja on Feb.2, 2016

He said the complainant paid N2million to one Daniel Abbah in June 2015 for the purchase of air compressor machine.

According to the prosecutor, Abbah converted the said money to his own personal use.

During police investigation, he was arrested and he confessed to the allegation, Oyeyemi said.

He also said that the defendant, Orsuul, acted as a surety for Abbah who was taken on bail and promised to comply with the conditions.

He said the defendant later left his office to an unknown address and refused to produce Abbah who had jumped bail.

He left his house at Kurudu to Mpape, making it difficult for his re-arrest. Since then, all efforts made to trace him proved abortive, Oyeyemi said.
The duo of Taiwo, 32, and Ajibojun, 27, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mrs Y.O. Ekogbule, for conspiracy and stealing.

The accused, residents of Agege in Lagos and Akute in Ogun, however, denied the charges and were admitted to a bail of N50,000 each with one surety each in like sum.

According to the prosecutor, Insp. Clement Okuoimose, the accused committed the offences on May 7 at Ikeja, Lagos.

He said the accused, who are cleaners of the company, stole assorted drinks valued at N98,000, property of Guinness Nigeria Plc.

The management received information from the warehouse that some drinks were missing.

The accused were captured by the CCTV camera stealing 13 packs of canned Orijin drink, 10 packs of canned Malta Guinness and seven packs of canned Smirnoff, all valued at N98,000, he said.

The offences contravened Sections 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused may be sentenced to three years on conviction, according to Section 287.
Guardian reports that the victims, Ayodele Megbuwawon and his son, Tobi, had switched on their generator at the lobby of their bungalow apartment, shut the doors and windows before going to sleep on the night of Monday, May 22, 2017.

According to an eyewitness, the duo was discovered the following morning by neighbours and while the son had died in the night, Megbuwawon passed on at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

According to a neighbour of the deceased identified as Segun, when residents noticed something was wrong as Megbuwawon and his son did not appear in the morning, he peeped through a hole in the door and saw Megbuwawon lying helpless on the floor.

Segun reportedly raised an alarm which brought other residents and they forced the door of the apartment open in order to save the victims.

The residents of the community described the late Megbuwawon as very peaceful and accommodating, noting that it was because of him the government had not chased them out of Iwaya.

A neighbour, Monday Okey, reported that the house smelled of fumes suspected to be Carbon Monoxide when they entered.

I was in my room when Segun came and knocked. He said something was wrong with Ijaloba, that it is like he fell down. We looked through the door and saw him on the ground.

So, we quickly broke the window and entered inside. He was breathing slowly. We also ran to check on Tobi but his body was already stiffened.

We rushed him to LUTH and were asked to pay N250,000. They were attending to him when we left to look for the money.

We went round the community appealing to people for donations, which they did. But by the time we returned to the hospital with the money, he was dead.

A cousin to the deceased, Evangelist Michael Megbuwawon who spoke with newsmen at their residence, said they were sad they locked themselves up and turned on the generating set.

It is a sad news to us. We are not happy because we dont understand how they would switch on the generating set inside and lock the doors.

We were called when the incident happened and thats why we came here. We are from Ilaje in Ondo State but we stay at Ajegunle.

At the moment, we are more interested in his burial. Once the burial is done, we would meet at Ajegunle.
The Police Prosecutor, Urom Otu, told the court that the matter was reported at the Apo Police Station by Irene Onye of Wumba village, Apo, Abuja, on May 17.

He said that Okocha and Bulus Lunkat, now at large, who are the plaintiffs employees, conspired and stole eight alloy-reams, special iron, Dyna radiator and some wires, all valued at N120, 000.

The prosecutor said that during the police investigation into the matter, Okocha admitted to committing the offence and confessed to have sold the items to an unknown person.

He further said that all efforts to recover the items proved abortive, adding that the offence contravened Sections 289 and 97 of the Penal Code.

However, Okocha in court, denied committing the offence and the judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, granted the defendant N150, 000 bail and one surety in like amount.
A report in Vanguard has it that Pastor Olisa who is in charge of the church's branch in Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos State had been having sexual relationships with the girl since she was 10-years-old at his house located on 6, Dolamo Street, Agodo-Egbe in the area where he resides with his family.

According to the report, the teenager is currently lying critically ill with heavy bleeding coming from her private part after she was induced with a fourth abortion by the man of God who is currently on the run after police operatives from the Area 'M' Division in Idimu launched a manhunt for him.

It was gathered that when the incident became known, residents of the area stormed Pastor Olisa's house and were on the verge on lynching him before he managed to escape and has been on the run since then.

Speaking on her ordeal in the hands of the pastor from her hospital bed, the young victim said she started living with Pastor Olisa who took her from her home in Delta State following the death of her parents six years ago through one of her uncles, George Aguba.

The girl said her mother hailed from Mali while her father was from Kwale in Delta State, adding that after her parents died, Aguba took her and her three siblings back to their hometown but Pastor Olisa offered to assist in taking care of her and took her to his house.

"When I was 10-years-old, Pastor Olisa would call me inside his bedroom where nobody was around and drugged me and raped me severally.

He usually invited me to bring water to his room at night. Thereafter, he would give me some drugs. But when I summoned the courage to ask him one day, he said that the drugs were to make me sexually active.

I have waited for this day when I would be free from his claws. The first time I opened up to our branchs Senior Pastor and his wife, I was hushed. They even said I wanted to tarnish my guardians image, despite all he had done to keep me in school.

Again, I reported the sexual molestation to some of my school teachers but they said they did not know how to go about it and how to prove my claim.

They were even afraid that I could be driven away from the house and that it would mean the end of my education.

This is my fourth pregnancy he has aborted. When he took me to the doctor that has been carrying out the abortions on me, the doctor refused, saying he had been doing it right from when I was 10 years.

The doctor opened up to me that there could be complications if the pregnancy was terminated.

He took me to another place that looked like a laboratory where I was laid on a slab. I begged the doctor not to do anything, but they pinned me down and the doctor induced me to sleep.

When I woke up, I discovered that they had flushed out the pregnancy.

The teenager added that when they got home that night, the Pastor attempted to sleep with her again but she refused and the following day, she packed her belongings out of the house and headed for the school where she intended to be living.

It was while heading to the school that she slumped, bleeding from her private part. Sympathizers rushed her to a hospital along Isolo-Mushin Road where it was discovered that the abortion was not properly done.

The victim who was in tears continued:

The hospital bed I laid on was soaked with blood. The attention of a church member who is also a family friend of my guardian was invited.

When the result of the scan came out, it revealed that the abortion was not properly done.

She further narrated that one of the doctors who treated her said the abortion was not completed which caused the heavy bleeding coming from her private part, adding that she does not know if she will survive when she is discharged from the hospital because she has no contact with his uncle who did not know what she was passing through.

When a Vanguard reporter went to the house where pastor Olisa and his family live, the residents confirmed the incident and rained curses on the runaway man of God.
Mustapha, whose address is unknown, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs O.J. Awope, admitted him to a bail of N30,000 with one surety in like sum.

Earlier, Police Prosecutor Ezekiel Ayorinde said the accused committed the offence on May 16 at Citadel Hotel, Ikeja, when he entered the hotel premises and approached the supervisor for free accommodation.

The accused approached the supervisor telling him that he should allow him to lodge for free that he did not have money.

He claimed that he is a politician, who lives in Abuja and that if given free accommodation, he will compensate him by giving him a `manager job in Abuja with a three-bedroom flat and a fat salary, he said.

The prosecutor said that when the manager of the hotel came in, he immediately recognised the accused.

The manager said the accused was in the hotel about six months ago asking for a free room.

The accused was arrested and handed over to the police, he told the court.

The offence contravened Section 168 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.(Revised)

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused may be jailed for three months on conviction, according to Section 168.
Punch reports that the CP made the statement while delivering a lecture on the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officers at the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) Hall in Ikeja, the state capital on Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

Owoseni who blew the whistle on top police officers in the state told the Commanders and the DPOs to sit up or be shown the way out of the force.

Warning top security operatives to shun bribery or leave the state, Owoseni added that discrete investigations have shown that some of them are on the payroll of fraudsters and that is why they have not been able to bring rising crime wave in the state to an end.

I am tired of hearing about shooting or killing of innocent persons. No one has the right to take another mans life. It is only God that has the right to take life.

It is your responsibility as a DPO to know those who are collecting bribe under you. If you refuse to stop them, they will stop you from being a DPO.

It is embarrassing to see policemen collecting bribes and chasing Yahoo-Yahoo Boys for a DPO. I would not cover any DPO. I will expose you.

Just leave Lagos before I get to your station. I cannot share out of your misconduct. I will give your photographs and details to journalists to expose you, Owoseni fumed.

Continuing, the angry CP said:

I am shocked to hear that some Area Commanders and DPOs are on the payrolls of fraudsters. I am investigating. Just pray that I dont get you.

Just know that you are causing pains for taxpayers if you are intimidating them and collecting bribe from criminals.

It is a curse to build a house with the money. The building would collapse on your head. Some of you even take people to the bank to collect money.

If you train your children with the money, they wont be useful to you. If those who were in the force before us bastardized it, we would not have the opportunity to be enlisted in the police.

I am tired of pleading with police victims because you are doing what you are not supposed to do. Remember, one day, you are going to die and give account to your Creator.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) should take note. I will not tolerate any act of indiscipline. Learn a lesson from the DPO at Ijeshatedo who shot dead a fashion designer.

He is in our custody and we are compiling charges against him. He would soon be arraigned in court. All DPOs in Ikorodu should use all resources within their disposals to fish out Badoo cult group that has been causing havoc in the community.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court had, two weeks ago, ordered the judgment debtor to pay a sum of N12, 250, as feeding allowance to his child.

On the date of adjournment, he paid N10, 000 and has yet to pay the balance.

Kayode, 35, a tailor, told the court that he was unable to raise the whole money due to the low patronage in his business.

He said that he tried his best not to disobey the order of the court, but all the money he could get was N10, 000.

The judgment debtor implored the court to give him more time to enable him look for the balance to pay.

The president of the court, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, ordered the judgment debtor to be remanded in prison until he was able to balance his debt.
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Ruling on the application filed by Yakubu's counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), Justice A. R. Mohammed gave the defendant the go-ahead to travel to the United Kingdom for a medical check-up.

The judge held that "since the prosecuting counsel is not opposing the defendant's motion dated 23rd May 2017 seeking leave to be granted to the defendant to travel to the United Kingdom to continue treatment, the application is granted."

Justice Mohammed also agreed with the prosecuting counsel, Prince Ben Ikani, that the passport of the defendant be released to his counsel in the interim adding that, "the leave is granted is for a period of three weeks commencing from May 25, 2017."

Other conditions attached to the release of the passport are:

1. The defendant shall return to the country on or before the expiration of the three weeks granted.

2. One of the sureties of the defendant shall file a separate affidavit to be liable in this case should the defendant refuse to return and take his trial.

3. The same affidavit shall be filed before the international passport is released to the defendant's solicitor.

4. Upon his return from his medical trip, the learned counsel for the defendant shall immediately return the international passport to the chief registrar of the court.

The case has been adjourned to July 6, 2017, for the continuation of trial.

ALSO READ: Court sends ex-NNPC boss to Kuje Prison

On February 3, 2017, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) found a cash haul to the tune of $9,772,000 and 74,000 Pound Sterling stashed in a huge fire-proof safe inside a building belonging to Yakubu.

Yakubu later admitted to the ownership of the recovered cash.
Speaking in Abuja at an event to commemorate 50 years after the Nigerian Civil War on Thursday, May 25, 2017, Adebanjo noted that except the country is restructured now, it would collapse.

He revealed another side to the Biafra agitation in Nigeria

The question of Biafra is not about separation, Adebanjo said.

The question is how we want to leave in peace on agreed terms. Anybody opposed to restructuring is an enemy of Nigeria. That is why I put it to northerners that are opposed to restructuring, you cannot be more northerner than the late Sardauna who was not opposed to it.

Our problem remains the military. The military did not allow us to settle our problems.

Restructure now or Nigeria will not exist, he concluded.

Earlier, former president Olusegun Obasanjo had advised Nigerians to avoid all events that led to the Nigerian Civil War.
The refuges, mostly women and children, are from Gamboru- Ngala Local Government Area of Borno, who escaped Boko Haram attacks to Cameroon in 2014.

Mr Saad Bello, NEMA Coordinator for Adamawa and Taraba, said the returnees left Cameroon to Nigeria without any official arrangement.

Bello, represented by Mr Abubakar Sadiq, an official of the agency, said that in the last two months 500 Nigerians had left Cameroon to Nigeria without formal communication from the Cameroonian Government.

So far, today (Thursday) we are evacuating 270 Nigerian refugees from Mubi Transit Camp to Maiduguri."

The refugees after thorough investigation left Cameroon Republic to Nigeria without any official notification from Cameroon Government."

Majority of them are women and children and are indigenes of Gamboru Ngala in Borno, Bello said.

He said that the army provided security for the evacuation of the refugees, adding that they would be handed over to the Borno Government.

Bello said that they had been in Mubi since April after they were received by NEMA and security officials at Sahuda, a border village in Nigeria.

Malam Hussaini Hassan, from Gamboru Ngala, who spoke on behalf of the refugees, alleged that they were forced to leave Futokol refugee camp in Cameroon by gendarmes.

Hassan said that they fled Nigeria to Cameroon when Boko Haram terrorists attacked their villages and had remained in d the country since then.

When we arrived at Sahuda, a Nigerian border village with Cameroon in Mubi South Local Government Area of Adamawa, upon sighting the Nigerian flag, women, children and men started shouting."

Some cried immediately after stepping on Nigerian soil because majority of us did not believe we would ever come back to our beloved country."

Since we put our legs into Nigeria, we breathed air of freedom and sense of belonging because the way and manner Nigerian security, NEMA among others, received us at the border; we feel we are safe and at home, Hassan said.
Obasanjo made the remarks while presenting a paper at a two-day workshop on Preventing Violent Extremism in Nigeria, in Abuja.

The event was jointly organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser to the president (ONSA) and CLUB DE MADRID, an international NGO.

Obasanjo explained that the reason for establishing the NGO, which he was part of, was to promote and propagate democracy that works all over the world.

He, therefore, urged the political class and the government to strengthen democracy by delivering its dividends to Nigerians.

This, he said, would go a long way in combating violent extremism or any group thinking of disturbing the peace of the country.

The former president said violent extremism does not just spring up overnight but do come about due to lack of adequate communication between the ruled and the rulers.

Obasanjo urged the Federal Government to intensify and sustain its on-going efforts in tackling the activities of the insurgents and other crimes in the country.

He also urged governments at various levels to be proactive by addressing certain issues at the right time, especially those that could lead to violent extremism in the country.

The former president advised the Federal Government to, as matter of urgency, address some pressing issues in the country, especially the agitation of the Niger Delta as well as other agitators in the country.

With early intervention and sensitive issues being addressed and handled properly, the Niger Delta militants and others would have been avoided.

With early intervention and sensitive issues being addressed timely and properly, the country will also witness unprecedented development, he said.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the security agencies for their efforts so far in combating the activities of the insurgents and other crimes in the country.

The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, retired Maj.-Gen. Muhammed Munguno, said that ONSA had done a lot in the security of the country, especially in the North- East.

The NSA, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, ONSA, Alhaji Aminu Nabegu, said that ONSA had contributed a lot to global efforts in tackling violent extremism.

Munguno said that tackling violent extremism demanded a comprehensive approach if the desired results were to be achieved by any country and the world in general.

He said that the essence of the two day workshop was to chart a new narrative to ways and manner of tackling violent extremism in Nigeria.

According to him, various governments must consistently invest in their people as one of the panacea to ending violent extremism in the country.

I have no doubt in my mind that in the nearest future, countries will come to Nigeria to understudy how we were able to combat violent extremism, he said.
According to reports, Fayose had earlier claimed that his first tenure was illegally truncated.

Reacting to the Governors claim, Falana said Fayoses 2018 bid will amount to tenure elongation which no court will grant.

According to Punch, the lawyer also said Tenure extension by a governor under any disguise is anomalous. No court can prolong the tenure of a sitting governor beyond the two terms prescribed by the Constitution.

In the case of Governor Rasheed Ladoja v INEC, the appellant wanted an extension of his term of office to allow him to spend extra 11 months while he was fighting his impeachment from outside.

Although the Supreme Court had set aside his impeachment, it was held that the relief was illegal and unconstitutional.

Similarly, the governors who were re-elected after their initial election was annulled, the Supreme Court made it abundantly clear that tenure extension was unknown to the Constitution.

In view of the settled position of the law on the matter, Governor Ayo Fayoses request cannot be granted by any court in Nigeria.
Falanas comment is coming on the heels of a statement made by Shehu during a press briefing at the State House.

The Presidents spokesman told newsmen that the Shiite sect leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky was still held in custody for his safety.

Shehu made the comment while trying to explain to State House correspondents, why El-Zakaky was still being held, despite the fact that he has been granted bail by a court.

He also said that El-Zakzaky is free to leave at any time, adding that he is in the company of his wife and children.

Reacting to Shehus comment, Falana said In a reckless demonstration of official impunity, Mr Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity purportedly issued a statement yesterday on behalf of the presidency to justify the illegal detention of Sheikh Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife, Hajia Ibraheema Elzakzaky, Daily Post reports.

In the incendiary statement, Mr Shehu claimed that the valid and subsisting order of the federal high court made on December 2, 2016 would not be obeyed by the federal government on the dubious ground that the Sheikh is in protective custody while the justification for holding the wife is that she is taking good care of her husband in the illegal custody, he added.

Falana also said Even under the neo-tarzanist Buhari/Idiagbon military junta, court orders which directed that victims of the obnoxious Detention of Persons Decree No 2 of 1984 be released from illegal custody were complied with. But under a democratic government, Mr Shehu wants Nigerians to believe that the El-Zakzakys are held in protective custody after the federal high court had declared such detention illegal and unconstitutional. Or has Mr Shehu suddenly become so power drunk to the extent that he can conveniently set aside the judgment of the federal high court?

Since neither President Mohammadu Buhari nor Acting President Yemi Osinbajo could have authorised the contemptuous statement issued on behalf of the presidency Mr Shehu Garba should be called to order and restrained from further exposing the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ridicule before the comity of civilized nations.

However, since the federal government continues to proclaim loudly that it operates under the rule of law it cannot be permitted to treat court orders with disdain. To that extent, El-zakzaky and his wife must be released from the illegal custody of the State Security Service since the federal high court has dismissed the official claim that they are held in protective custody.
He said the pension of the two former leaders is not enough to build a primary school, yet they own universities.

Falana stated this while speaking at the launch of Sahara Reporters' civic media lab.

He wondered where Obasanjo got the money to establish Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun state, and Atiku's American University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa state.

ALSO READ: Falana blames current economic hardship on corruption

According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, these men are calling for the restructuring of Nigeria but they restructured Nigeria's economy against the people.

He said, "these guys who have restructured the economy of Nigeria. Or you are not aware that these guys restructured the economy of Nigeria to the extent that Nigeria is the only country today where former heads of states openly own universities.

"Have you ever heard of that anywhere in the world that the likes of Obasanjo, Atiku, Babangida and others, own universities, and of course, the man who is now pushing for restructuring, Atiku, has a univerisity as well.
The former President also recommended that Nigeria should adopt fiscal federalism, adding that it will promote development in Nigeria.

Jonathan also said the system will give states the power to control the natural resources in the domain, while paying taxes to the Federal Government.

He said this while speaking at an event organised to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of Rivers state, in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

According to Premium Times, Jonathan said My conviction that fiscal federalism will initiate faster development is born out of a comparison between the intervention Agencies and the 13 percent derivation. From the days of Special Funds, through OMPADEC to now NDDC, the Federal Government has provided funds for the development of the oil bearing communities but very little physical infrastructure to show for it.

This is so because these bodies are highly political and lack continuity as tenures are hardly completed. New Federal Government administrations appoint new teams who award new contracts hence the zone is littered with abandoned projects.

I believe that without the 13 percent derivation, action governors like Wike would not have the capital to drive his ambitious developmental projects. With fiscal federalism, the pace of development will be even faster.

Speaking on why he organised a national conference, Jonathan said Our people want us to improve on the way we govern ourselves. That was why in 2014 I set up the National Conference to examine the grey areas and proffer viable options that will accelerate our political, social and economic development. I am convinced that implementation of the Report will help resolve some of the problems in our country.

It is also my conviction that the future of democracy, not only in Nigeria but across the entire continent of Africa, lies in putting the people first. This will entail not only working to improve their lives but also respecting their rights to freely chose who to represent them, without let or hindrance.

That way, they will be able to wrap their hope and future around the certainty of the declaration that real power belongs to them, and that the maxim of one man one vote is not just mere platitude.
The court awarded him 1 as damages after he claimed he was unlawfully detained by British Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.

However, Ibori, in a statement by his media aide, Tony Eluemunor criticized the press for focusing on the trivial compensation instead of the victimization and oppression he suffered at the hands of the UK government.

The statement reads in part:

The reports of some media outfits focused on the frivolous and disdained the serious mocking the 1 nominal damage. In doing so, they missed the obvious  how again Chief Ibori was victimized and oppressed by the UK government and how a British high court found in his favour and maligned the British Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) failures.

The CPS failures have embarrassed both the home secretary  Amber Rudd and the UK Establishment that continue to cover-up its misconduct. This action demonstrates the political nature of the Ibori and linked prosecutions in the UK.

At issue here is that Iboris human rights had been violated, but stretched significantly further, that detention is part of the long list of political persecutions he has faced both in Nigeria and Britain.

The judge could make no findings of any theft from Delta state. The sums alleged to have been stolen have now apparently dwindled down to 17m, the last amount widely mentioned last December instead of the other wild figures the were routinely mouthed. In fact, the forensic evidence demonstrates, there has been no theft from Delta state.

Many newspapers unwittingly fell victim of media manipulation when they followed the cue of a London evening newspaper to leave the essence of the judgment  the illegalities Ibori suffered in the London trial  and focused on trivialities.

Ibori was released on Wednesday, December 21, 2016, following a court order to that effect.

Ibori was jailed on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 by the Southwark Crown Court of the United Kingdom after pleading guilty to ten counts of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

He was arrested in Dubai on May 13, 2010, on an international warrant after being declared wanted by the UK Metropolitan Police.

Ibori was subsequently extradited to the UK in April 2011, and tried on 23 counts of money laundering, forgery, and fraud.
Ubah was arrested by the DSS on May 5, over alleged diversion of petrol kept in his tank farm in Lagos by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The NNPC had claimed that the petrol kept in Ubahs farm valued at N11 billion, saying it was an attempt by the defendant to cause scarcity of the product in the country.

Justice Yusuf Halilu of FCT High court at the resumed hearing on the matter, granted the order following an ex-parte application brought before him by the Counsel to DSS, Mr G. O. Agbadua.

According to Halilu, it is necessary to grant DSS application in the interest of justice to allow it carry out more investigations about the whole matter.

He said that the court had no power to disallow the agency from doing its work, stressing that the rule of law must prevail in the interest of justice.

The judge therefore granted the application for another more 14 days to allow the agency carryout more investigations about the matter, which it said was to ascertain the true position of the matter.

Halilu had earlier dismissed an application by Ubah praying the court to set aside its earlier order of May 10, which granted leave to DSS to detain the defendant in the agency custody.

Nobody will stop the DSS from doing its work; the court has no power to grant such order by Ubah to release him conditionally or unconditionally."

The DSS must always know that the rule of law thrive in this country, Ubahs order was obtained lawfully but is hereby dismissed, Halilu said.
The NAFDAC personnel had gone to raid the notorious Zone 15 housing producers of adulterated alcoholic drinks but were midway forced to retreat by the traders who pelted them with stones.

While the government officials were struggling to take out cartons of confiscated fake drinks, the traders threw stones which landed on one of them, dislocating his left shoulder disc.

Also, a police officer who helped to clear the road which the traders blocked was stoned on the head resulting in a sizeable swelling of the spot at the centre of his head.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the traders also broke the windshield of a new official Nissan van which the NAFDAC officials used for the raid.

Reacting to the development, the Chief Regulatory Officer of NAFDAC, Abia Office, Mr Olisa Okeke, told NAN that the traders were in the habit of attacking his men whenever they raided the market.

Okeke explained that the operated was necessitated by a complaint from a company producing alcoholic drinks that its products were being massively adulterated in that market.

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He said that before the traders attacked his staff, they had forced open over 15 shops and destroyed assorted bottled drinks, chemicals and empty bottles used by the offenders.

Okeke said that over 30 cartons of assorted fake drinks, a bag of powdery chemical substance and some glass cups were confiscated from the dealers.

He called on the state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, and all people of goodwill to partner NAFDAC to ensure the forces of evil in the market did not triumph over the forces of good.

Okeke said that he would write a special report to the acting Director-General of NAFDAC to seek appropriate action which might include closing down the market.
The states Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Andrew Nok, made the disclosure Thursday in Kaduna at a news conference to mark the second anniversary of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai administration.

Nok explained that more than N285 million was spent on payment of NECO examination fees for secondary school students and N280 million for foreign scholarship.

He added that the state had sponsored 30 young ladies to study medicine in Uganda in 2015, adding that 30 more would be sent to Cuba to also study medicine.

We have just returned from Cuba some weeks ago where we concluded arrangements with the Cuban Government."

The step is to bridge the manpower gap in the health sector, and also to address the religious and cultural challenges associated with male doctors handling women in this part of the country.

According to him, the administration has achieved giant strides in infrastructural development in the education sector in the last two years.

When we came in, most of the schools did not have ceilings, no roof, the floors were bad, students were sitting on bare floor and the laboratories were dilapidated."

To be able to deliver quality education, the government decided that the infrastructure must be addressed, he said.

The commissioner said that consequently the government had rehabilitated and equipped about 119 secondary schools and over 450 primary schools across the state.

Nok said that the government had also evolved policies which helped to raise primary school enrollment from about 800, 000 in 2015 to 2.1 million in 2017.

It was against this population explosion in our public primary schools that the state executive council decided to award contracts for the construction of storey buildings to replace existing structures in primary schools.''

We have equally concluded plans to convert all our secondary schools to boarding schools."

We have already started the project with 15 schools and earmarked three billion naira for the project."

Phase one of the modernisation project in the schools have been concluded.

On school feeding, which was jettisoned few months after it was started, the commissioner said the government spent more than N10 billion within the period the programme lasted.

He however said the school feeding programme would resume as logistics issues are currently being taken care of.

We have halted the programme because we were waiting for reimbursement from Federal Government."
A statement by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, said the partnership arose from the need to seek a fortune in a non-core oil sector to stay afloat.

According to the statement, the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Ventures, Dr Babatunde Adeniran, at the 10th edition of the Annual Sub-Saharan Africa Oil and Gas Conference in Houston, Texas, has said response from the Chinese prospects has been favourable and from American investors.

He said the non-core sectors that were of interest to the NNPC were in healthcare, shipping and telecommunications.

Adeniran said NNPC had more than 52 clinics across the country and was poised to take advantage of the gaps in the healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Obasanjo stated this while speaking at an event tagged Biafra: 50 Years After in Abuja on Thursday, 25 May 2017.

The former president noted that the civil war showed Nigerias bad side.

Obasanjo recalled the role of ethnicity in the war, which according to him has remained a problem in the present day Nigeria.

He maintained that most of the Biafra agitators lacked understanding of the matter.

We never had a national leader. Our leaders at the beginning were mindful of their regions. That is our problem till today, Obasanjo said.

I have maintained that the young officers who struck in 1966 were naive but there were some element of nationalism in some of them. Be that as it may, it set us back.

The language used in the war did not help matters, the people on the Biafra side called us vandals and we called them rebels.

We thought we would end the war in three months, but it took us 30 months, and the federal side nearly lost it.

Civil war is more difficult than fighting in a foreign land because we are fighting to unite.

ALSO READ: Obasanjo says Jonathan used Boko Haram as his ATM

Even a soldier of mine who tried to rape a woman. I had to chase him with a gun. He did not succeed in raping the woman, and I did not have to gun him down.

Some of the people agitating for Biafra today were not even born then. They dont know what it entails.

I think, we should even appeal to those saying they want to go, we should not tell them to go, we should make them understand that there is enough cake to share. We should massage Nigeria just like in a love relationship.

"We must concentrate on building Nigeria, we must learn our history. There's no substitute for us, the ex-president added.

In his remarks, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said "fools learn from experience while the wise learn from history."
Osinbajo, in a statement, joined family members, friends, colleagues and the entire Ijaw nation in commemorating the milestone in the life of the nationalist, whose life reflects our collective and continuous efforts towards building a great nation.

The statement was issued by the acting Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Osinbajo saluted Clarks unwavering patriotism and relentless pursuit of the unity of the country, particularly his maturity in speaking for the good of all Nigerians.

He also commended him for promoting the South-South quest for a new developmental vision and supporting the cause of the poor and vulnerable.

The acting president extolled the personal sacrifices and diplomatic shuttles of the great Nigerian leader, who worked relentlessly for the birth and sustenance of ECOWAS.

He assured the nonagenarian that his labour of love for the South-South and the progress of the country would be remembered by many generations to come.
The meeting was presided over by acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige said this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Council held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday.

He stated that the approval of the committee followed the councils deliberation on the report of the joint committee of government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Ngige said that membership of the committee would be drawn from Governors Forum, organised private sector and labour federation.

According to him, the chairman and secretary of the committee will be appointed by the Federal Government.He said Today, the Council deliberated on the report of the joint committee of government on one side and the labour federation of the NLC and TUC.

If you recall, on May 11, 2016, there was a deregulation of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and this resulted in the increase we had in the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

As a result of that, the labour union kicked against the increase and said that even if the increase will be there, government should put in place mechanisms to make sure that we dont have further increases.

That is why they said the Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Board (PPRB) should be put in place.

Osinbajo said that labour also asked for review of the National Minimum Wage for workers in the country in order to enable them have better purchasing power.

Prior to this increase, they had made a demand of N56,000 monthly as the lowest wage payable to any Nigerian worker and thirdly they need some palliatives to cushion the effect of the increase in the pump price of petrol.

So, government put in place a committee and that committee finished its work on April 24 and handed its report to Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Today at the council, I presented the report with various recommendations therein and Im happy to let you know that government approved the setting up of National Minimum Wage committee, he said.

ALSO READ:NLC threatens FG over minimum wage increase

According to the minister, the Federal Government will present six members of the committee from the public sector; Governors Forum will select six governors (one from each geo-political zone), and labour federation will present eight persons.

He added that the organised employers association would jointly present eight persons as members of the committee.

The minister, however, revealed that the chairman and secretary of the 29-member committee would be appointed by the Federal Government.
Osinbajo stated this at an event tagged Biafra: 50 Years After in Abuja on Thursday, May 25, 2017.

Recalling childhood memories of the Biafra Civil War, the acting president maintained that history was a better teacher compared to experience.

Osinbajos statement at the 50-years commemoration of the Biafra Civil War reads in part;

Introspection is probably what separates us from beasts. That ability to learn from history is perhaps the greatest defense from the avoidable pain of learning from experience, when history is a much gentler and kinder teacher. Indeed, the saying experience is the best teacher, is incomplete, the full statement of that Welsh adage is that experience is the best teacher for a fool. History is a kinder and gentler teacher.

I was ten years old when my friend in primary school then, Emeka, left school one afternoon. He said his parents said they had to go back to East, war was about to start. I never saw Emeka again. My aunty Bunmi was married to a gentleman from Enugu, I cannot recall his name. But I recall the evening when my parents tried to persuade her and her husband not to leave for the East. She did, we never saw her again.

"I recall distinctly how in 1967, passing in front of my home on Ikorodu road almost every hour were trucks carrying passengers and furniture in an endless stream heading east. Many Ibos who left various parts of Nigeria, left friends, families and businesses, schools and jobs. Like my friend and aunty some never returned! But many died. The reasons for this tragic separation of brothers and sisters were deep and profound. So much has been said and written already about the ``why's and wherefores and that analyses will probably never end.

"This is why I would rather not spend this few minutes on whether there was or was not sufficient justification for secession and the war that followed. The issue is whether the terrible suffering, massive loss of lives, of hopes and fortunes of so many can ever be justified.

"As we reflect on this event today, we must ask ourselves the same question that many who have fought or been victims in civil wars, wars between brothers and sisters ask in moments of reflection.... ``what if we had spent all the resources, time and sacrifice we put into the war, into trying to forge unity? What if we had decided not to seek to avenge a wrong done to us? What if we had chosen to overcome evil with good?

"The truth is that the spilling of blood in dispute is hardly ever worth the losses. Of the fallouts of bitter wars is the anger that can so easily be rekindled by those who for good or ill want to resuscitate the fire. Today some are suggesting that we must go back to the ethnic nationalities from which Nigeria was formed. They say that secession is the answer to the charges of marginalization. They argue that separation from the Nigerian State will ultimately result in successful smaller States. They argue eloquently, I might add that Nigeria is a colonial contraption that cannot endure.

"This is also the sum and substance of the agitation for Biafra. The campaign is often bitter and vitriolic, and has sometimes degenerated to fatal violence. Brothers and sisters permit me to differ and to suggest that were greater together than apart.

"No country is perfect; around the world we have seen and continue to see expressions of intra-national discontent. Indeed, not many Nigerians seem to know that the oft-quoted line about Nigeria being a 'mere geographical expression' originally applied to Italy. It was the German statesman Klemens von Metternich who dismissively summed up Italy as a mere geographical expression exactly a century before Nigeria came into being as a country. From Spain to Belgium to the United Kingdom and even the United States of America, you will find many todays who will venture to make similar arguments about their countries. But they have remained together.

"The truth is that many, if not most nations of the world are made up of different peoples and cultures and beliefs and religions, who find themselves thrown together by circumstance. Nations are indeed made up of many nations. The most successful of the nations of the world are those who do not fall into the lure of secession. But who through thick and thin forge unity in diversity.

"Nigeria is no different; we are, not three, but more like three hundred or so ethnic groups within the same geographical space, presented with a great opportunity to combine all our strengths into a nation that is truly, to borrow an expression, more than the sum of its parts.

"Let me say that there is a solid body of research that shows that groups that score high on diversity turn out to be more innovative than less diverse ones. Theres also research showing that companies that place a premium on creating diverse workplaces do better financially than those who do not. This applies to countries just as much as it does to companies. The United States is a great example, bringing together an impressively diverse cast of people together to consistently accomplish world-conquering economic, military and scientific feats.

"It is possible in Nigeria as well. Instead of trying to flee into the lazy comfort of homogeneity every time were faced with the frustrations of living together as countrymen and women, the more beneficial way for us individually and collectively is actually to apply the effort and the patience to understand one another and to progressively aspire to create one nation bound in freedom, in peace and in unity.

"That, in a sense, should be the Nigerian Dream  the enthusiasm to create a country that provides reasons for its citizens to believe in it, a country that does not discriminate, or marginalize in any way. We are not there yet, but I believe we have a strong chance to advance in that direction. But that will not happen if we allow our frustrations and grievances to transmute into hatred. It will not happen if we see the media  television and radio and print and especially social media  as platforms for the propagation of hateful and divisive rhetoric. No one stands to benefit from a stance like that; we will all emerge as losers.

"Clearly our strength is in our diversity, that we are greater together than apart. Imagine for a moment that an enterprising young man from Aba had to apply for a visa to travel to Kano to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, or that a young woman from Abeokuta had to fill immigration forms and await a verdict in order to attend her best friends wedding in Umuahia. Nigeria would be a much less colourful, much less interesting space, were that the case. Our frustrations with some who speak a different dialect or belong to a different religion must not drive us to forget many of the same tribe and faith of our adversaries who have shown true affection for us.

"My God-son is Somkele Awakalu, his father Awa Kalu, SAN, and I taught at the University of Lagos. My first book was dedicated to Somkele and my two other God-children. Chief Emmanuel Dimike is almost 80, he was my father's friend and business associate in his sawmills in Lagos. Chief has been like a father. I see him most Sundays, he worships with me at the chapel.

"The individual affections and friendships we forge some even deeper than family ties, must remind us that unity is possible, that brotherhood across tribes and faiths is possible.

"Let me make it clear that I fully believe that Nigerians should exercise to the fullest extent the right to discuss or debate the terms of our existence. Debate and disagreement are fundamental aspects of democracy. We recognize and acknowledge that necessity. And todays event is along those lines  an opportunity not merely to commemorate the past, but also to dissect and debate it. Lets ask ourselves tough questions about the path that has led us here, and how we might transform yesterdays actions into tomorrows wisdom.

"Indeed, our argument is not and will never be that we should forget the past, or let bygones be bygones, as some have suggested. Chinua Achebe repeatedly reminded us of the Igbo saying that a man who cannot tell where the rain began to beat him cannot know where he dried his body. If we lose the past, we will inevitably lose the opportunity to make the best of the present and the future.

"In an interview years ago, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, explaining why he didnt think a second Biafran War should happen, said: 'We should have learnt from that first one, otherwise the deaths would have been to no avail; it would all have been in vain.'

"We should also be careful that we do not focus exclusively on the narratives of division, at the expense of the uplifting and inspiring ones. The same social media that has come under much censure for its propensity to propagate division, has also allowed multitudes of young Nigerians to see more of the sights and sounds of their country than ever before.

"And for every young Nigerian who sees the Internet as an avenue for spewing ethnic hatred, there is another young Nigerian who is falling in love or doing business across ethnic and cultural lines; a young Nigerian who looks back on his or her NYSC year in unfamiliar territory as one of the valued highlights of their lifetime. These stories need to be told as well. They are the stories that remind us that the journey to nationhood is not an event but a process, filled as with life itself with experiences some bitter, some sweet. The most remarkable attribute of that process is that a succeeding generation does not need to bear the prejudices and failures of the past.

"Every new generation can take a different and more ennobling route than its predecessors. But the greatest responsibility today lies on the leadership of our country. Especially but not only political leadership.

"The promise of our constitution which we have sworn to uphold is that we would ensure a secure, and safe environment for our people to live, and work in peace, that we would provide just and fair institutions of justice. That we would not permit or encourage discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, beliefs or other parochial considerations. That we would build a nation where no one is oppressed and none is left behind.
The announcement was made on Thursday, May 25, via a statement released by Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau.

Dambazau, in the statement, congratulated Nigerians for witnessing yet another Democracy Day which marked the second anniversary of President Muhammadu Buharis government.

No doubt, the nation is closer to getting out of recession, particularly with the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which seeks to revitalize the nations economy soonest, he said.

With the recently signed Executive Orders on Ease of Doing Business, we have opened our doors wider for both domestic and foreign investors, he added.

Dambazau also assured Nigerians of the governments continued efforts towards guaranteeing security, revitalizing the economy and tackling corruption.
AFP takes a look at some of the kids who are making a splash:

Baby faces, dark thoughts

Starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell, family horror "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" has shocked audiences at the world's biggest film festival but features a standout performance from Irish actor Barry Keoghan as obsessive teenager Martin.

Best known at home for playing a cat killer in television series "Love/Hate", Keoghan is no stranger to dark roles, and Hollywood magazine Deadline said he'd tackled his latest film with "a creep factor that sends chills down your spine".

Blonde waif Fantine Harduin, 12, has meanwhile won plaudits for her chilling performance as the not-so-innocent Eve in Michael Haneke's "Happy End", set loosely against the backdrop of Europe's migrant crisis. Dark thoughts haunt this little girl, unloved in a bourgeois French household.

Rising deaf star

Todd Haynes' tender childhood mystery "Wonderstruck" follows the parallel adventures of two kids who run away to New York, one in 1927 and the other in 1977.

Deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, 14, has been widely praised for her performance as Rose opposite 12-year-old OakesFegley as Ben, who also loses his hearing. Casting agents discovered Simmonds during an extensive search in the deaf community for the right girl to play the role.

Disability is also a theme in well-reviewed French film "Ava" starring Noee Abita as a young girl who loses her sight.

Forces of nature

South Korean actress Ahn Seo-Hyun, 13, stars alongside Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal in Netflix movie "Okja" as a little girl trying to save a genetically-modified giant pig from the clutches of a multinational corporation. Vanity Fair described her performance as Mija, forced to abandon her home in the mountains and head to New York, as "soulful (and) winning".

Young stars also take centre-stage in another film set in a rural landscape, "Sicilian Ghost Story" by Italy's Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza. It's a teenage kiss in the Sicilian forests between Gaetano Fernandez and Julia Jedikowska that launches this grim tale of a boy's kidnap by the mafia.

Girls rule

Sofia Coppola's American Civil War thriller "The Beguiled" features a cast of young girls who hold their own against stars including Kidman, Farrell and Kirsten Dunst.

One stand-out was Australian Angourie Rice, 16, whose character Jane brings a wounded soldier (Farrell) back to her school to recover, setting the stage for a vicious battle of the sexes.

She told reporters after Wednesday's well-received screening that the Cannes madness was "quite intimidating".

As far as the shoot she said, "I loved working with all of these talented women. And also Colin... who is very talented," she said, drawing a laugh from the audience.

"Nice save," the Irish actor quipped.

Small person, big job

As an eight-year-old with no acting experience, Lise Leplat Prudhomme took on quite a challenge when she accepted the starring role in "Jeannette", a musical comedy about the childhood of French saint and folk heroine Joan of Arc.

But director Bruno Dumont said she had the "wild and impulsive" spirit to play the young Joan, who goes on to fight the English occupation of France before being burned alive at the stake in 1431.

"This little girl, she gave me some of her childhood," Dumont told AFP.
The private screening for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," which sees Johnny Depp's return to the big screen as Jack Sparrow, held on Tuesday, May 3, 3017, at IMAX cinemas, Lekki.

About Movie

Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazer (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devils Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea  notably Jack.

Jacks only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Benton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy.

At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifull small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has never faced.

The fifth installment stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Kevin McNall. The film also stars Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario.
Rev. John Ayo-Oladapo, the CAN Chairman in the state, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Okitipupa that religious tolerance was a key factor in fostering development and nation building.

He said that intolerance would only cause chaos and retrogression politically, economically and socially in the country.

According to him, Nigeria has many religions and no one should be forced to practise any in order not to threaten the corporate existence of the country.

Ayo-Oladapo spoke with NAN shortly after the swearing-in ceremony of new CAN executives for Okitipupa Local Government Chapter held at Saint Johns Catholic Church, Okitipupa.

He urged the new executives to be diligent in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ while living in peace with one another.

Primate Elisha Akinsulere, the new CAN Chairman, while speaking with NAN, thanked God and the Christian community for the opportunity to serve a second term.

He also thanked the state chapter of CAN for the assistance rendered to him during his first term in office and promised to work harder to move the association forward.
He was, however, released on bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum on the orders of Magistrate Omolaja Kazeem.

He, however, pleaded innocence of the offences.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Philip Osijiale, told the court that the accused committed the offences sometime in February at Sangotedo,Ajah.

He said Owonaro defrauded three parents of N189,000 on the pretext of obtaining West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) 2017 forms for their children and registering them for the exam.

The accused did not register the three students for the exam which started on Feb. 20 and ended on May 15 and also failed to refund the money. 

The offences contravened Sections 287 and 314 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Section 287 prescribes three years imprisonment for stealing, while Section 314 states 15 years imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretences.
Pencils are the future, people. Who would have thought we would be getting something so important to our economy in 2017? So many jobs will be created, so many people will receive new skills and school children will have lots of cheap pencils to choose from.

There is no need for a revised school curriculum that encourages digital skills or digitising the learning process. Nobody needs an iPad in school  grown people stuff. Chromebooks are too advanced too. These children will probably spoil it.

The haters and denigrators must be fuming right now. They told us we would only be able to start making pencils in 2018 but look at God. We have done it one year before the time they said. Now, we can draw a plan for other African countries to follow.

Except countries like Rwanda, of course. Those ones are already using drones to deliver blood to hard-to-reach communities so no point trying to convince them. It is stubborn people that buy into this drone business anyways. Plus, why do we need to buy drones when we have Benin people?

We can try Kenya but they already have one of the worlds most successful fintech solutions (M-Pesa) and their pride will just cause a clash of intellect. Moroccans seem friendly, but they already have one of the largest solar power plants in the world so they must be fine.

That would leave countries like Cameroon where the government doesnt give a damn about its citizens right to freedom of speech. They definitely need our pencil blueprint. Egypt is on the same shut-down-social-media wave as a lot of other African countries so they definitely need our pencil expertise.

Who knows? This may be what will change our destiny as a nation. Just thinking about the generators powering that factory 24/7 brings an incredible feeling of accomplishment.

We dont know how we are going to replace the trees we cut down to make these pencils but thank God this is Nigeria  we can figure it out when it becomes a problem. Its not like anybody is going to ask what the environmental cost is anyway. Go Niger Delta.
The huge glittering rock is said to cost an eye-watering 7.7million and the young, delighted 27-year old proudly shares a pic of the prized anniversary present with the 239K people that follow her on Instagram, saying "My husband is never too stingy to buy me presents."

Apparently Ksenia previously had a heart-shaped 30-karat ringand her oligarch husband felt that wasn't worth of his p[rincess so he decided to upgrade it for her.

"Now he made a decision that a 30-carate ring is not enough for me," Ksenia says in the Instagram post which flaunts the sparkly gemstone.

ALSO READ:Ahmed Musa weds Juliet Ejue in Abuja

Meanwhile Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg [another billionaire] chose to celebrate his own 5th wedding anniversary in simpler, less-flamboyant means - the couple spent the weekend out in Maine, USA.

With a post on Facebook [of course], he explained how he had promised his wife Priscilla, to take her travelling on their wedding anniversaries so as to make up for their honeymoon which was cut short for business reasons in 2012.

Some love to display love on a lowkey, others love to go all the way.

What matters are the acts of romance and the thought put into these acts.
"It is both possible and also my ambition to get an agreement on this issue at the end of this week," UN envoy Espen Barth Eide said.

Eide is involved in shuttle diplomacy between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci to broker agreement on a Geneva summit.

The envoy said there was a "desire to go the final mile and go to Geneva" but "there are real differences we still have to work on."

"I think both sides are in agreement that there is no purpose in going to Geneva just for going to Geneva, just to spend some weeks in Geneva, it doesn't have any meaning in itself," he said after a meeting with Anastasiades.

Anastasiades and Akinci are still far apart on core issues such as power sharing, territorial adjustments, security arrangements and property rights.

The Greek Cypriot leader wants Geneva to focus on post-solution security arrangements while Akinci wants issues of power sharing at the fore.

The talks are also complicated by a Greek Cypriot presidential election next February and the island's search for oil and gas that Ankara wants stopped until the negotiations have reached an outcome.

The two sides have been engaged in fragile peace talks since May 2015 that observers see as the best chance in years to reunify the island.

After meeting Akinci, the envoy said both leaders believed "there is not much more that can be achieved in Cyprus without agreeing on an international conference".

Much of the progress until now has been based on the strong personal rapport between Anastasiades and Akinci, leader of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.
In a statement issued by the White House, as Trump joined May at a meeting of NATO allies, he said: "There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom."

The British government has expressed its anger at the release in US media of details from the investigation into Monday's concert attack, including photographs of parts of the bomb which left 22 people dead, including children.

Arriving in Brussels, May warned that intelligence sharing with the United States was "built on trust".

"Part of that is knowing intelligence can be shared confidently and I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence shared with law enforcement agencies must be secure," she told reporters.

Visiting the military alliance's new $1.2 billion headquarters with fellow leaders later, Trump led a moment's silence for the victims of what he described as "a barbaric and vicious attack on our civilisation".

In his statement, Trump -- who was already struggling domestically to stem a tide of damaging leaks from law enforcement agencies -- said the information coming out in the US media was "deeply troubling".

"These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security," he said.

"I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

In his NATO speech, he said: "Prime minister May, all of the nations here today grieve with you and stand with you."

"The recent attack on Manchester in the UK demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism," he said.
The Kam Air flight was abruptly forced to fly back from central Bamiyan province earlier this week, triggering uproar and ridicule on social media with many accusing the lawmakers of abusing their powers.

Five people, including airport security officials, have been arrested over the "illegal diversion", the interior ministry said Thursday.

"When the two MPs arrived at Kabul airport, the plane was on the runway and ready to take off,"Humayun Stanakzai, a director of civil aviation, told AFP.

"The MPs got angry and called their men in Bamiyan. When the plane approached Bamiyan airport, their men were at the airport blocking the runway with rocks. The plane could not land and had to be diverted back to Kabul."

The plane carrying 30 passengers had to be refuelled and took off again for Bamiyan with the two MPs on board.

The lawmakers, Abdul Rahman Shaheedani and Hussain Naseri, were not immediately reachable for comment.

Kam Air, a private carrier, on Wednesday said they were indefinitely suspending all flights to Bamiyan, adding that the incident could have risked the lives of the passengers and airport workers.

Afghan lawmakers are regularly accused of corruption, nepotism and abusing their authority to enrich themselves.

Civil aviation has been expanding rapidly in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, with several private airlines operating in the country.
Abdoulie Hydara, director-general of the Gambia Tourism Board, dreams of his nation becoming the next Kenya or Zimbabwe -- African countries whose wildlife and nature attract well-heeled visitors from across the globe.

"We need to develop new products on the way, while maintaining and improving what we already have," Hydara told AFP, enthusing about the country's little-known chimpanzee colony and varied birdlife.

Hydara plans to put The Gambia on the map for ecological and cultural tourism, ending reliance on cheap package tours delivering tourists to beach areas close to the capital, Banjul.

To achieve this, experts and industry insiders say The Gambia must improve infrastructure and deal with its image as a cheap but sometimes seedy destination.

The government must also do more to tackle its reputation for lax monitoring, which leaves Gambian children at risk from paedophile tourists, NGOs believe.

On the strip

At 10:00 pm on a Saturday night in the popular Senegambia tourist zone, the idyllic family vacations that Hydara evokes feel a million miles away, lost in a sea of strip lighting and a bevvy of teenagers flirting mechanically with potential punters.

On this strip, men, women and children are for sale at a price negotiated via "bumsters", some of them sex workers themselves, others working as pimps.

Couples with four decades between them sit awkwardly over drinks and smoke at the Time Inn pub, the teenagers saying little to clients mostly visiting from Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries.

Lamin Sady, 29, who sells shells on the beach during the November-April tourist season, said many of his friends sleep with, and in some cases marry, much older women, which, he said, was due to their inability to provide for a Gambian wife.

"They don't have a compound, they don't have a car," he said. The older women "assist them, uplift them, give them a car and help them travel to Europe."

Some bumsters are also responsible for arranging child clients for sex tourists, often with the knowledge of the children's parents, said Gambian child protection expert Njundu Drammeh.

Drammeh, the national coordinator at The Gambia's Child Protection Alliance (CPA), said many parents turned a blind eye to children returning from the beach with large amounts of money, or encouraged "sponsorship" of their child through school with abuse attached.

"Sometimes they see a tourist involvement in their home as a kind of godsend, as luck for them, for the family and for the child," Drammeh said.

Not a single tourist has been prosecuted for paedophilia in The Gambia, Drammeh said, and no full study has been undertaken on the magnitude of the scourge.

But a member of The Gambia's dedicated tourist police, who gave his name only as Lamin as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said it was a problem sadly familiar to the force.

"Mostly, it is pornography, taking pictures of the private parts of little kids," he said, anger in his voice.

Hit by crisis

Although measures have been taken to discourage sex tourism in hotels, and 24-hour tribunals established to deal with cases involving tourists, Gambians are the ones prosecuted.

"Last October, we had a total clampdown on bumsterism in this country... One or two (notorious bumsters) are now currently serving prison sentences for hassling tourists beyond acceptable levels," said Hydara.

The Gambia's image problem is also pressing given that tourist numbers were hit "badly" by the country's political crisis in December and January, according to Hydara, adding his target of 195,000 visitors would very likely be missed this season.

The vast majority in this poor nation of 1.8 million have little opportunity to benefit from the revenue brought in by tens of thousands of visitors, who provide 20 percent of The Gambia's GDP each year.

The key is to tap Asian and Russian markets, as east African nations have done, Hydara said, and to raise awareness of the country's rich colonial history and slave trade landmarks.

Historically, an incredibly poor road network and the river that divides the nation almost in two have hindered The Gambia's ability to take tourists out of the small areas where they visit.

Chris McIntyre, managing director of Expert Africa, an upmarket British-based safari company, told AFP a "very wide gulf" remained between The Gambia's current offerings and the holidays he organises for clients in Kenya or Tanzania, which average 5,000 pounds ($6,500, 5,800 euros) a head.
The afternoon blast struck the convoy of Mandera county governor Ali Roba who was travelling with a security escort between the towns of Arabia and Fino near the Somali border when one of the vehicles hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

"Unfortunately, I lost five of my security officers including my personal bodyguard at an attack on my convoy," Roba wrote on his Facebook page, saying that he was not injured in the blast.

Earlier in the day a vehicle carrying three police officers was driving towards the regional town of Garissa further south when it struck a similar device close to the Liboi border post.

"They all died on the spot after their vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device," said a regional police officer, on condition of anonymity.

Police spokesman George Kinoti confirmed that incident, saying: "There was an attack this morning and we lost officers."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either bombing but Kenya's eastern border with Somalia is notoriously restive and prone to attacks staged by Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militants.

The deadly blasts came a day after police warned of increased Islamist activity in the area.

Islamic militants "are dispatching operatives into parts of north eastern region to lay IEDs along routes used by our security patrols in efforts to frustrate our security operations at the border areas," the police statement said.

Since 2007 the Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Mogadishu but only began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-strong African Union mission fighting in Somalia.
The victim, a lieutenant, was found dead in her single-room apartment on Wednesday, where a message was found reading: "Tomorrow, I won't be in this world any longer."

"The lieutenant appeared to have committed suicide," a military spokesman told AFP.

She had reportedly told her boyfriend that she had been raped.

Military police have arrested a navy captain as a suspect. He admitted to having sex with her but denied the rape allegation, the spokesman said.

Human rights activists say cases of sexual violence within the military occur persistently despite government efforts to curb them.

"This appears to be a typical case in which a male superior abused his power to violate a female subordinate," Bang Hye-Lim at the Military Human Rights Centre told AFP.

"It is not rare at all that male chauvinism translates into sex crimes in the military", she said.

A parliamentary probe revealed last year that a total of 111 female soldiers had fallen victim to rape by their seniors over the previous five years.
"In the war on corruption, there's no choice. It's either corruption or the state. Either corruption or Tunisia," said Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.

"I want to reassure all Tunisians that the government will see this war on corruption through to the end," he said in his first comments since the arrests started on Tuesday.

A senior official, on condition of anonymity, told AFP earlier that businessmen Chafik Jarraya, Yassine Chennoufi and Nejib Ben Ismail along with customs officer Ridha Ayari were arrested Tuesday "under the state of emergency" in force in Tunisia since November 2015.

"They are implicated in affairs of corruption and suspected of plotting against state security through incitement and alleged financing of the protest movements in Tataouine and other regions," he said.

The arrests come after a young man, Anouar Sakrafi, died of injuries suffered Monday when he was run over by a national guard vehicle during clashes with security forces in the southern desert region of Tataouine, the scene of long-running protests over joblessness.

Governor resigns

Security forces fired tear gas as protesters tried to storm the El Kamour oil and gas plant, radio reports said.

Dozens of people were hurt in the clashes, including about 20 security personnel. But the government said Sakrafi's killing was accidental.

Protesters have been camped outside the El Kamour pumping plant for about a month, blocking trucks from entering, to demand a share of resources and employment in the sector.

Clashes also erupted between protesters and security forces on Monday in the city of Tataouine, where buildings showed evidence of having been set alight.

On Wednesday, Tataouine's new governor, Mohamed Ali Barhoumi, resigned just weeks after being named to the position, saying in a post on Facebook that it was "for strictly personal reasons".

He was named governor in late April after two senior officials were dismissed following a visit by Chahed to the troubled region.

The premier was shouted down and forced to leave a heated town hall meeting.

Chahed has vowed to fight corruption since taking office last year, when the head of the national anti-graft body, Chawki Tabib, warned the problem had reached "epidemic" proportions.

The latest arrests come after Ben Ali's nephew, Imed Trabelsi, apologised to the Tunisian people on national television last week for the rife corruption during his uncle's regime.

- 'Smokescreen'-

He recounted how he grew rich thanks to a well-oiled system involving the complicity of customs officers, high officials and ministers.

Tunisians on social media and in the press applauded Tuesday's arrests, calling for the launch of an anti-graft probe such as Italy's "Clean Hands" campaign in the 1990s.

But others said they hoped the arrests were not a "smokescreen" at a time when the authorities faced mounting social unrest.

Youssef Belgacem, from anti-corruption non-governmental organisation I-Watch, tentatively welcomed the "surprising" arrests.

"We hope it's a serious first step in the war against corruption and the corrupt, and not an attempt to appease protests in Tataouine and elsewhere," he said.

"The list of corruption barons is still long."

Political activist Jaouhar Ben Mbarek wrote on Twitter: "If this is a real change of policy, then Chahed will find nothing but support from the Tunisian people."
She added that 771 civilians and 229 security officers have been injured.

"More than half of the cases of people being injured have been due to the action of the security forces. It is worrying how the violence has worsened," she said.

Ortega said a National Guard military police officer was to blame for the death of Juan Pernalete, a 20-year-old student struck by a tear gas canister in a protest in Caracas on April 26.

The wave of unrest since April 1 has seen riot police fire tear gas at masked protesters hurling Molotov cocktails.

"We condemn violence wherever it comes from," Ortega said. "Demonstrations must be peaceful."

Protesters are demanding early elections to remove Maduro. They brand him a dictator and blame him for an economic crisis that has caused food shortages.

The socialist president is resisting that call, accusing the opposition and the United States of attempting a coup against him.

Ortega is the most high-profile public official to criticize the authorities during the protests.

She is a traditional ally of Maduro, but had broken ranks with him over efforts by the courts to strengthen the president's hold on power.

She said the public prosecution service was investigating seven cases in which suspects were allegedly tried by military courts when they should have gone before civilian ones.
US producers have been cheered in recent weeks by the Trump administration's new stance, hoping it could bring more relief to struggling industries than scores of scattershot anti-dumping cases.

Domestic producers on Wednesday said unfair competition was undermining the US industrial base in ways that could jeopardize energy production and the manufacture of weapons, armor and vehicles.

Still, some analysts say technological advances and increased productivity, more than trade, have accounted for much of the industry's job losses.

John Ferriola, president of Nucor Corp, said his company's steel helped produce US Humvee light military trucks, Abrams battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, the Patriot surface-to-air missile system and the plating used for armored vehicles, Navy aircraft carriers and destroyers.

This required "continual investment" in expertise, research, development and testing to meet exacting US Navy standards, he said.

"Unfortunately, global overcapacity and unfairly traded imports threaten our ability to invest," he told the hearing. "Production overcapacity in the steel industry has reached crisis levels."

David Rintoul, head of the tubular business segment at US Steel Corp, said foreign producers in South Korea and China had "made it their mission" to capture the US market for certain steel products used in oil and gas production and exploration, using subsidies and other unfair support.

Trade barriers questioned

However, foreign producers told the hearing that new trade barriers could be both unnecessary and counter-productive.

Karl Tachelet, head of international affairs at Eurofer, an association of European Union steel producers, said his organization had also been fighting unfair practices and global oversupply.

"We do not believe that restrictive, unilateral action based on national security will alow for lasting solutions we all need," said Tachelet, calling for the investigation to focus on "specific uses" directly tied to national security.

"What do tin mill products used to make cans for food and beverages have to do with national security?" asked Tachelet,

"How real is the risk that one day the US will not be able to produce enough rebar or sections for construction and infrastructure given its massive scrap availability?"

China, Russia, Ukraine

Yu Gu, a representative of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, said the US Defense Department had found that US defense needs for steel were low and cited research that concluded that just three percent of domestic shipments served national defense purposes.

"Clearly, current and projected US national defense demand for steel can be readily satisfied by domestic production," he said.

The deputy head of Russia's US trade mission, Alexander Zhmykhov, said his country's steel exports were already subject to heavy anti-dumping restrictions and duties in the US, which had seen certain imports tumble.

"Russian imports have already been so drastically limited by the measures enforced that further limitations would be excessive," said Zhmykhov.

Ukraine's representative said his country's steel industry was under attack, suffering seizure and expropriation by foreign-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but was also crucial to that country's stability and security cooperation with the US.

A 2001 investigation showed that the US was not vulnerable to imports of iron or and semi-finished steel, said Vitalii Tarasiuk, minister-counsellor at the Ukrainian embassy.
Exelon Corp.'s Quad-Cities Nuclear Station, near Cordova, and its Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania did not clear in the latest capacity energy auction by grid operator PJM, local plant officials said Thursday.

Exelon announced that the two stations did not clear the 2020-21 annual capacity auction, which places the company's Three Mile Island plant at risk of early retirement.

"Exelon remains fully committed to keeping the Quad-Cities plant open, provided that the Future Energy Jobs Act Zero Emissions Credit program is implemented as expected and provided that Quad-Cities is selected to participate," Joe Dominguez, Exelon's executive vice president of government and regulatory affairs and public policy, said in a news release. "However, Quad has not been selected to receive Zero Emissions Credits under the Future Energy Jobs Act program to date."

Brandy Donaldson, spokeswoman for the Quad-Cities plant, said the auction outcome was not unexpected for the Quad-Cities plant given that the new Future Energy Jobs Act has not yet been implemented. The Illinois legislation goes into effect June 1.

But the auction result, she said, "highlights the challenge that nuclear energy continues to face without compensation for its ability to produce electricity without harmful carbon and air pollution."

It marks the third year the Quad-Cities plant failed to clear the auction.

According to Exelon, its Three Mile Island plant remains economically challenged as a result of continued low wholesale power prices and the lack of federal or Pennsylvania energy policies that value zero-emissions nuclear energy. It is located in Middletown, Pennsylvania.

In addition to Illinois, the state of New York has enacted new policies to fairly compensate nuclear and renewable energy for their environmental attributes.

Exelon's other nuclear plants in PJM cleared the grid for the 2020-21 planning year except for Oyster Creek in New Jersey, which did not participate. It is scheduled to retire in 2019.

Of the Quad-Cities plant, Donaldson said, "Our priority is we are looking forward to the June 1 implementation date (of the Future Energy Act), and we are hopeful that the act is implemented just as it was written and stands now."

A year ago, the station and its more than 800 employees were facing the possibility of closure, along with Exelon's Clinton, Illinois, station had the state not passed new energy reform. The governor signed the legislation in December.

Donaldson said the auctions are held annually for the planning year three years out.

"Our next chance will be next year," she said.

The grid operator PJM holds the auctions to ensure enough power generation resources are available to meet demand in its region of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Iowa American Water has issued a precautionary boil advisory for a portion of the city of Clinton that is expected to be in effect until 5 p.m. Thursday.

The boil advisory comes after the company repaired an eight-inch water main at North 2nd Street and 27th Avenue North in Clinton.

Iowa American Water is required by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to issue the boil advisory, which will remain in effect until water quality tests confirm the water is safe and meets all water quality regulations. Customers should bring water to a rolling boil for one minute before using it for drinking or cooking.

Water without boiling is safe for bathing, washing and other common uses.

The areas affected are: 2600 to 3100 blocks of North 2nd Street; the 2600 to 3100 blocks of Roosevelt Street; the 2600 to 3600 blocks of McKinley Street; the 2600 to 3300 blocks of Garfield Street; and the 100 blocks of all the streets between 27th Avenue North and 36th Avenue North.

Some customers in the affected areas may experience discolored water or air in their water lines as a result of the water main break. Iowa American advises customers to let their water run for a few minutes, and the problems should clear. If the problems persist, call Iowa American Water at 866-641-2108.

-- Thomas Geyer
A Muscatine teen is facing arson and other charges after Davenport police allege he set a fire in a secured facility at the Annie Wittenmyer Youth Center operated by Family Resources Inc.

Davenport police and firefighters were dispatched to the Annie Wittenmyer Youth Center at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday on a report that a client had set a fire in his room.

Gavin Malachi Rogers, 16, is charged with first-degree arson, possession of drug paraphernalia, and interference with official acts causing bodily injury.

The arson charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up 25 years. The charge of interference is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of up to two years. The possession charge is a simple misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to 30 days.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police Officer Doug Scroggins, Gavin is alleged to set the fire inside the locked residential unit in which 14 other clients are being housed.

Including staff, there were 19 people inside the facility when the fire was started, according to the affidavit.

Firefighters put out the fire. There was no damage estimate available late Wednesday.

Rogers fought with officers when they tried to arrest him, causing one of the officers to receive some minor injuries, according to the affidavit. Officers also seized a one-hitter marijuana pipe from Rogers.

Rogers was taken to Genesis Medical Center-West Central Park Avenue, Davenport, for a mental evaluation and for smoke inhalation. He was then booked into the Scott County Jail where he was being held Wednesday night on $25,000 bond.
Consider it a history textbook on wheels.

Iowa History 101, a traveling mobile museum, will visit LeClaire Friday through Tuesday in the form of 38-foot RV Winnebago packed with artifacts from the states past.

Step inside the custom-built vehicle, and youll find some of Iowas best stories told through items from the State Historical Museum in Des Moines with interactive elements voiced by LeClaire native Mike Wolfe, the star and co-creator of the History channel television show American Pickers.

The idea for the 300-foot exhibition followed a series of community conversations in 2014 led by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the State Historical Society.

"It became clear that Iowans want to know about their history, but wanted more ways to access it," said Andrew Harrington, the State Historical Museum of Iowas exhibits manager. We wanted to share parts of Iowas rich history without people having to come to Des Moines. We want to get the artifacts and history out there.

The mobile museum is expected to travel to each of the state's 99 counties, visiting schools, libraries, community festivals and county fairs -- including stops along the RAGBRAI route -- over the next three years.

We made a conscious effort to pull artifacts from all corners of the state and not just major cities, he said. We want to tell some of the basic stories of Iowa, those stories that some people may have heard and others that may be more unknown.

Here are some of the 50 artifacts on board:

A battered hat from a coal miner in Boone

A 1917 prototype of the state flag designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of Knoxville

The pen Gov. William Harding used to sign the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote

A basketball jersey Lynne Lorenzen wore during her glory days at Ventura High School

An Olympic medal from sprinter Natasha Kaiser-Brown of Des Moines

In August, Mike Wolfe helped announce plans for Iowa History 101 outside Antique Archaeology, the store that appears on American Pickers, in Le Claire.

"When we talk about the importance of this RV traveling across the state of Iowa and going into these small towns, we give people pride and when they feel pride, they have purpose ... they want to make a difference," Wolfe said during the press conference. "That's how it starts."

Cindy Bruhn, Le Claires tourism manager, is looking forward to seeing the RV up close.

It feels like its a part of us since it was announced here, Bruhn said. Its the kind of history thats relatable -- its about where we live and where we come from.

Along with parking near the Buffalo Bill Museum for a few days, the RV is scheduled to visit Bridgeview Elementary School.

Its a good fit, said the schools principal Cyndy Behrer, because third graders will soon start studying the states history.

Its a chance to spend some time getting acquainted with things theyre going to be learning about, she said. Were better citizens and students if we know about things in our area and where we come from. To see some of these interactive pieces will be a great opportunity for them.

That goes for Iowans of all ages, said Bruhn.

No matter how long theyve lived here, a lot of peoples perspective of Iowa is, Oh, its just cornfields,' she said. We know theres a lot more to it -- theres a lot of history here and its important to know.
Lock and Dam 15 at Rock Island may get its first official flood of the year as heavy rains north of the Quad-Cities are causing the Mississippi River to rise, meteorologist Jim Hladik of the National Weather Service, Davenport, said Wednesday.

The Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15 is forecast to reach its 15-foot flood stage early Sunday, Hladik said. The river is expected to rise to 16.6 feet by early Wednesday.

Heavy rains across Minnesota and Wisconsin over the past week-and-a-half or so is causing this flood, Hladik said.

The Rock River at Moline is not expected to flood, although there may be some water backup at the mouth of the Rock where it meets the Mississippi, he said.

Jennifer Nahra, spokeswoman for the city of Davenport, said the citys Public Works Department is monitoring the flood waters.

In preparation for the flood, city crews today will be closing South Concord Street between River Drives and Utah Avenue, she said. The compost facility can be reached by taking Rockingham Road (Iowa 22) to Wapello Avenue to Railroad Avenue.

As the river rises, portions of the riverfront bike path will become covered with water. Walkers, joggers and cyclists should expect closures along portions of the path over the weekend.

Also, Credit Island Park may be closed to the public beginning Sunday or Monday, depending on the river levels at the time.

Pumps have been set and appropriate gates have been closed to prevent river levels from backing into the storm sewer system in various low lying areas within the city.

Nahra said that city crews will continue to monitor the rising waters and respond as necessary.

In Clinton, city officials said that floodgates at 9th Avenue North will be installed at 9 a.m. Friday.

Earlier this month, a flood was predicted along the Mississippi River from Rock Island southward. However, the river crested at 14.9 feet on May 2, and then a secondary crest on May 13 only reached 14.65 feet.

Hladik said that temperatures will remain cooler than normal as some Canadian air passes through the area. Also, except for Thursday, there are rain chances through Tuesday. Daytime highs will be in the lower to middle 70s while nighttime lows will hover in the low to mid 50s.

What rain that falls in the Quad-Cities is not expected to have an impact on the rising Mississippi River, he said.

While it seems to have rained a lot in the Quad-Cities over the month of May, some areas got a lot more rain than others.

For example, from May 1 through Tuesday only 2.4 inches of rain has fallen at the Quad-City International Airport in Moline. That total is .76 of an inch shy of normal for this time of the month.

However, during the same time frame, 4.2 inches of rain has fallen at the Davenport Municipal Airport, which is 1.06 inches above normal for this time of the month.

The average monthly temperature at the Moline airport is 59.9 degrees through Tuesday. That is .7 degrees below normal. In Davenport, the average monthly temperature through Tuesday is 58.8 degrees, which also is .7 degrees below normal for the month.
DES MOINES  Hoping to head off a legal challenge, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday appointed state Public Defender Adam Gregg to be her acting lieutenant governor.

It's a hybrid position that makes him a full partner in her administration but leaves him out of the line of constitutional succession.

Gregg, 34, of Johnston, called Reynolds selection of him the honor of a lifetime, while the governor said it removes a distraction and allows her new team to focus on creating a better Iowa.

The new Republican governor said she would work with the Legislature next year to resolve the constitutional dispute raised by her taking over from Terry Branstad, who resigned Wednesday to become ambassador to China.

The legal cloud arose from a recent formal opinion published by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. He said research found that an individual ascending midterm from lieutenant governor to governor, as did Reynolds, does not have the constitutional authority to appoint a new lieutenant.

Reynolds told reporters Thursday she thinks the attorney general is wrong, but battling over who is going to be second in line in succession is a distraction and it is a waste of taxpayers dollars at this point.

Miller, a Democrat, came under fire for issuing a legal opinion that contradicted what he had informally said just months earlier.

Reynolds appointed Gregg to conduct the duties of the lieutenant but without officially holding the office.

We are going to be focused on doing the job, were going to be focused on building a better Iowa, and Im not going to have the taxpayers of Iowa in a potential lawsuit pay millions of dollars toward something that will be settled in 18 months with the 2018 election, she said.

Miller called the action a new concept that deserves further study, but he said he was pleased Reynolds chose to make the right decision by not attempting to alter the line of succession. Should Reynolds at any point be unable to serve as governor, Senate President Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, would be next in line without an elected official serving as the lieutenant governor.

I think the constitutional question has been addressed, and its been the right way, Miller said Thursday. Weve had a bit of a controversy here going back and forth, and theres a winner on this, and the winner is the Constitution. The Constitution has prevailed as it should.

Reynolds aides called the decision unprecedented to have an acting lieutenant do the administrative and ceremonial duties of the office and draw the $103,212 yearly salary but be outside gubernatorial succession.

Despite the high drama behind the attorney generals reversal of opinion, this does not need to be a crisis or chaotic, said Tim Albrecht, Reynolds deputy chief of staff.

Reynolds said Gregg will be a full partner who travels to every county and is involved in developing policy and guiding initiatives.

Call it whatever you want, Gregg said when asked about the acting part of his title. Its not going to change the way that I serve. Im going to work as hard as I can for the people of Iowa. Im excited to get to work. I havent even really processed this yet, quite frankly.

Gregg, who ran an unsuccessful 2014 statewide GOP bid for Iowa attorney general, reintroduced himself to Iowans as an ordinary Iowa guy who grew up in small-town Hawarden, married his high-school sweetheart, Cari, and now has two kids, a mortgage and college debt after graduating from Central College with degrees in political science and history and from the Drake University Law School in 2009.

I am honored and humbled by the trust that Gov. Reynolds has put in me, Gregg said. Over the last six years, she has revolutionized and rejuvenated the role of lieutenant governor. To follow her in that role, and to serve alongside her as she now leads this state, is the honor of a lifetime.

Gregg previously served as Branstads legislative liaison beginning in 2012 and worked on initiatives to reform education, cut property taxes and revamp the states health care system. After the 2014 election, Branstad appointed Gregg as the state public defender, where Reynolds said he became a trusted member of the administrations Cabinet.

He proved to me that he could accomplish big things, Reynolds said, but he also proved that he could do it in a bipartisan way and that he could build a coalition.

Reynolds interviewed several people for the position but chose Gregg because I value his opinion, I trust his judgment, he is respected by leaders on both sides of the aisle, he knows how to get things done and has a record to prove it.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Derek Eadon said Reynolds, in her first major decision as governor, appointed someone who shares responsibility for helping craft a disastrous state budget that jeopardizes the future of Iowa.

Gov. Reynolds had an opportunity to assure Iowans that she would make Iowas economy a priority, he said in a statement. "Instead, she has sent a clear signal that her administration will continue the reckless economic policies that have led to massive budget shortfalls, forcing drastic cuts to education, health care, and other essential services in the state."

Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, countered that Reynolds stepped up in the face of Millers ridiculous, partisan political stunt.
SIOUX FALLS | A South Dakota man has been sentenced to two years in prison a fatal shooting that took place last year on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

Nineteen-year-old Jacob McCloskey, of Mission, pleaded guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter.

Authorities say McCloskey believed he had removed all the ammunition from the gun before he playfully asked the 17-year-old victim if he wanted to be shot. When the victim jokingly agreed, McCloskey pointed the rifle at the victim and pulled the trigger.

Police say McCloskey first told authorities the rifle had discharged accidentally after the victim had set it down and told other juveniles who were present to lie about what happened.

McCloskey was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and perform 80 hours of community service.
NEW YORK | Target Corp. has reached an $18.5 million settlement over a massive data breach that occurred before Christmas in 2013, New York's attorney general announced Tuesday.

The agreement involving 47 states, including South Dakota, and the District of Columbia is the largest multistate data breach settlement to date, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office said. The settlement, which stipulates some security measures the retailer must adhere to, resolves the states' probe into the breach.

A news release from South Dakota Attorney General Jackley said South Dakota will receive $174,248 as part of the settlement.

This is a strong reminder that data breaches are sadly becoming more common and we must all guard against those who attempt to take personal identifying information and cause financial harm. Every consumer in South Dakota should get in the habit of accessing their free credit report to be alerted on matters affecting their credit, Jackley said in the release.

There are five Target stores in South Dakota, including one in Rapid City.

Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck said in a statement that the company has been working with state authorities for several years to address claims related to the breach.

"We're pleased to bring this issue to a resolution for everyone involved," she said.

Target had announced the breach on Dec. 19, 2013, saying it occurred between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 of that year. It affected more than 41 million customer payment card accounts and exposed contact information for more than 60 million customers.

The breach forced Target to overhaul its security system and the company offered free credit reports for potentially affected shoppers. Target's sales, profit and stock price all suffered months after the disclosure as shoppers were nervous about their security of their credit cards. The breach also contributed to the departure of Target's then-CEO, chairman and president Gregg Steinhafel, who resigned in May 2014. CEO Brian Cornell took the helm in August 2014.

Target's data breach was the first in a series of scams that hit other retailers including SuperValu and Home Depot. It forced the retail industry, banks and card companies to increase security and sped the adoption of microchips into U.S. credit and debit cards.

An investigation by the states found that in November 2013, scammers got access to Target's server through credentials stolen from a third-party vendor. They used those credentials to take advantage of holes in Target's systems, accessing a customer service database and installing malware that was used to capture data, including full customer names, telephone numbers, email and mailing addresses, credit card numbers, expiration dates and encrypted debit PINs.

The settlement requires Target to maintain appropriate encryption policies and take other security steps, though the company has already implemented those measures. Reck said the costs of the settlement are reflected in the reserves that Target has previously disclosed.
PIERRE | Another meeting, on June 2, is needed before proceeding to a special session, the Legislatures task force on regulation of access to and use of nonmeandered waters on public and private property decided Wednesday.

I think we should take a little more time, said Sen. Craig Kennedy, D-Yankton. If it takes another week or so, Im sorry for that.

Kennedy said he first saw the draft legislation Tuesday.

So did Rep. Hugh Bartels, R-Watertown. I know members of the public had it (the draft legislation) before I did, Bartels said. So I would hope we would meet again next week.

The task forces chairman is Rep. Lee Qualm of Platte, the House Republican leader. Qualm said he started working with a small group almost immediately after the May 9-10 meeting in Aberdeen.

The group included the vice chairman of the task force, Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark; GF&P Secretary Kelly Hepler; and Hunter Roberts, an aide to Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

They arrived at the 10 pages of draft legislation, called the Open Compromise. The task force received it Tuesday.

In its eighth section the legislation proposes reopening 30 specific water bodies that GF&P closed to the public. Nathan Sanderson, who is director of policy and operations for Daugaard, and Matt McCaulley presented the legislation to the task force. McCaulley is a lobbyist and lawyer from Sioux Falls who served in the state House of Representatives from 2001 until May 2004, when he resigned.

The legislation says nonmeandered waters are open to the public unless the owner of the private ground beneath them posts the waters as closed and uses some type of markers. It also gives authority for the GF&P to negotiate with landowners for public access to waters that are closed.

Meandered waters in South Dakota have definite boundaries that surveyors established in the 1800s. Nonmeandered waters refer to lakes and wetlands that aren't permanent. Many areas that flooded in the 1980s and 1990s in eastern South Dakota remain under water.

State Game, Fish & Parks officials closed public access at 25 lakes and sloughs in April in response to a South Dakota Supreme Court decision March 15 in a case involving several Day County bodies of water. The justices ruled neither recreational users nor landowners had a superior right to use the water.

We cant be one-sided on this, Qualm said Wednesday. We need to honor recreation, but we need to respect landowners that never wanted this water in the first place.

We are walking a tightrope, Greenfield said. This is a very good starting spot.

Greenfield said he remains optimistic. I desperately want this issue to be resolved, he said. There will always be a whole host of emotions on this issue.

Greenfield suggested June 2 for the final meeting. Qualm said he had the Legislative Research Council suggest dates at the end of May and early June for the special session, but the only thing that looks like it has a chance is June 12.

The South Dakota Wildlife Federation opposed the legislation. None of the sportsmen groups were contacted about the final draft. The South Dakota Farmers Union also was an opponent.

The legislation contains an emergency clause that would make it state law upon receiving the governors signature. An emergency clause requires a two-thirds majority of legislators in each chamber.

The wildlife federations opposition prompts the question of whether two-thirds majorities can be reached. Passing the legislation without an emergency clause would require 90 days for it to become law. The federation has been influential among Republican and Democratic legislators in past sessions.

Rep. Spencer Gosch, R-Glenham, asked whether the GF&P would reopen, during that interim, the nonmeandered bodies where the agency withdrew public access April 6.

I couldnt say, one way or the other, replied Sanderson.

I think the worst thing that can happen is nothing, Sen. Gary Cammack, R-Union Center, said. He said the draft legislation has a lot of merit.

We dont want to allow perfection to become the enemy of the good," Cammack said. "Im looking forward to us getting something done."

Rep. Herman Otten, R-Lennox, suggested a two-week delay so the public can review the draft.

Rep. Spencer Hawley of Brookings said the legislation was close but he wanted a little more time so lawmakers could talk with their voters back home.

I would hope we could put it off, said Hawley, the House Democratic leader. Whether it takes us another seven to nine days to do that is not going to hurt the process that much.

Rep. Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center, agreed with their suggestions that more time be taken.

Rhoden, who proposed the task force, said hes excited by the progress. I think the planets have aligned, Rhoden said.

To read the legislation, visit bit.ly/2qWLMmK.
There was no raucous crowd, action-packed moments or sense of high drama at the Olympics of computer programming at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center on Wednesday.

Rather, the hum of fingers tapping keyboards filled the air.

But for the nearly 400 collegiate computer programmers competing in the 41st annual International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals, it was as tense a five hours as they may ever experience.

From 8:40 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the floor of the ice arena, 133 three-person teams from 44 countries attempted to answer as many of the 12 programming problem sets as they could. In the end, St. Petersburg National Research University for Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics was awarded the World Champion Cup and a $15,000 grand prize, solving 10 problems in the shortest time period.

It was the Russian schools fourth win since 2012.

The three other gold medal teams  the University of Warsaw, Seoul National University and St. Petersburg State University  were each awarded $7,500 for solving 10 problems over a longer time frame.

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology team, which solved two problems, was an honorable mention.

The first hour and a half, we felt pretty good, said Matthew Schallenkamp, a member of the Mines team. We had solved two problems, which was what our goal kind of was. We got a little bit more frantic as time went on.

Matthew Dyke, who graduated from Mines this spring and will begin a job at Microsoft in Seattle this summer, said he was just happy to be in the finals, especially given that he began studying computer programming in college, more than 10 years after many of his foreign competitors.

Its a huge honor to represent the city and the school, Dyke said after the competition.

Earlier in the day, event organizers discussed the events history, significance, and their vision for its future. Next year's competition will be held at Peking University in Beijing. They also spoke about the world-class competitors.

They (competitors) are the future king makers, said Jonas Jacobi, a sponsorship executive of the ICPC and the vice president of IBM Cloud and Mobile Technology Strategy. IBM has been the prime sponsor since 1997 and contributed $1.5 million in funding to this years competition.

ICPC Executive Director William Poucher agreed.

This is performance art, he said. They are capable of paradigm shifts. They are not locked in the way were used to doing things.

Given the domination by Russian and Asian students at the event and their early education in coding and computer science, Poucher noted that the American competitors can reach their level through a simple fix.

Theres talent everywhere, he said. All you need to do to do a little bit better is more investment. Anybody who ever tells you that the problem is not money  give me a break.

Poucher added that the real significance of investment didnt lie in getting better results in competitions.

Maybe it wont make that big a difference in the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent, but itll make a huge difference in the vitality and life and opportunity of their children and their grandchildren," he said. "Thats really what were all in this together for.

Members of the Mines team agreed that earlier and better educational opportunities in computer science and programming would go a long way toward achieving that goal. Alexander Iverson put it more bluntly.

Fix math, Iverson said. Math education is horrible. What high school did their best to teach me was that math is awful. What my parents taught me was that math is awesome, and its extremely useful. If people teach programming the way they teach math, it would just make the situation worse. We need to figure out how to fix that first.

Schallenkamp said the effects of better computer science and math education would also translate well to other aspects of life.

There isnt a focus on this logical, methodical approach to both problem-solving but then just all the others aspects of your life, he said. In general, being a good, informed citizen is really important, and you need to have method to understand what sources, what information is correct. I think that computer classes and better math classes could go a long way towards that.

Those effects, though, seemed to be a byproduct rather than the reason Dyke, Iverson and Schallenkamp originally got into the field.

Its the closest thing weve discovered to magic, Iverson said. In computer science and computer programming, its about thinking so clearly, so precisely that you can impose your thoughts over reality.

Dont write it so it can work," he added. "Write it so it cannot fail.
The Rapid City Police Department is hosting a series of public events aimed at bolstering interaction between Rapid City residents and their sector lieutenants.

The first meeting starts at 5 p.m. May 25 at Black Hills Bagels. Lt. John Olson will host "Coffee with a Cop" for residents of Rapid Citys South, East and Southeast sectors.

Lt. Scott Sitts will meet with West Sector residents, which includes Central, Northwest, Southwest subsector residents at 6 p.m. June 14 at the Public Safety Buildings second floor training room, 300 Kansas City St.

A meeting with Lt. Elias Diaz and North sector residents, including those living in North, Northcentral and Northeast subsectors, is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 29 at the Minneluzehan Senior Center.

To view a sector map, visit rcgov.org/departments/police-department/field-services/sector-policing-296.html.
After immense public pressure, and incredible support for Meredith Erck, Rapid City school officials today agreed to let the teen with brain cancer walk with her peers at graduation on Sunday.

Erck, a Rapid City Central High student, fell behind in school while battling her illness and is six credits short of the requirement to officially graduate. But she had requested to walk across the graduation stage along with her twin brother, who faced his own brush with cancer.

Schools Superintendent Lori Simon and Central Principal Mike Talley had rejected the request by Meredith and her mother, setting off a stinging critical reaction by the entire community. The story was picked up by The Associated Press and was printed in newspapers across the country, including the New York Times.

At a press conference this afternoon, officials said Meredith will be allowed to walk the stage with her brother. They also said they will begin work on a new policy on who is allowed to walk the stage in future graduations.

Look for more on this story in tomorrow's Rapid City Journal, and at rapidcityjournal.com.
The feathering ceremony at Stevens High School on Wednesday evening was the largest in the history of the Black Hills region.

The 96 Native American high school seniors who received the ceremonial honor of an eagle feather tied to their heads came from Central, Stevens and Rapid City high schools, as well as Brown High School in Sturgis and Douglas High School in Box Elder. Last year, the same ceremony saw about 60 students, a number range that has held steady over the last few years.

Remarks from guest speaker Michael Talley, principal of Central High School, drew applause as he encouraged the students to go out into the world and soar to new heights.

I remember being here several years ago and the arena was pretty small, we had about a third of the class we have today, Talley, said. Its great to see how much our class has grown over the years. There are more and more Native American students graduating and achieving more in life than there have ever been.

Stephen Yellowhawk, a traditional Native American ceremonial dancer, also addressed the graduating class, explaining that the creator made the eagle to fly the highest and see the furthest.

When one receives the eagle feather, that person is acknowledged with gratitude, with love, and with ultimate respect, Yellowhawk said.

Tonight, you are receiving one of the highest honors we have as indigenous people. In the past our ancestors received an eagle feather for accomplishing something great in battle, or something that brought honor to the people, for doing heroic acts as a warrior. You are receiving this feather because you have proven to be present-day warriors.

Yellowhawk noted the challenges that modern Native youths face and commended the graduating seniors for fighting and emerging from those battles triumphant.

The battles that can cause you to take the wrong path, Yellowhawk said. The battle that can cause you to give up, to drop out of school, to forget about your dreams. You students sitting here have overcome and won that battle. You have proven to your family and your friends, your teachers, and most importantly, yourselves, that your desire for success is greater than your fear of failure.

Rhiannon Bad Wound, 17, of Rapid City High School, had to struggle against hardship  both academic and familial  to receive her eagle feather on Wednesday night, according to her godmother and cousin, Tisha Leader Charge. Bad Wound's father is in jail, and her grandfather recently died.

Shes kind of the baby in the family. Shes very special to us, Leader Charge said before turning to fan tears from her eyes.

With her eagle feather tucked behind her left ear  the young men get theirs tied behind their right ears  and a Denver Broncos star quilt draped over her shoulders, Bad Wound smiled as she received tearful embraces in a long procession of family, friends and spectators to the event.

Its very special in our culture, she said. Its a great honor to be here.

Mia Dubray, 18, of Central High School, shared in that sentiment, as did Jacob Martin, 18, of Stevens.

Its a good feeling, Martin said. Especially to be part of the biggest group thats ever done this ceremony.

Sage smoke curled through the air as the boom of drums echoed in Stevens gymnasium during the ceremonial songs and prayers. The symbolic transition from childhood to adulthood will continue this weekend when the students go on to graduate and receive their diplomas.

This milestone in your life is a great accomplishment, and it is beyond words, Yellowhawk told the students. Think of your diplomas as a ticket. A ticket to the next milestone in your life. That may be college or whatever you have set for your next goal in your life.

"And dont let anything or anyone get in your way. You owe it to yourselves to continue to be successful. Why hang with the buzzards when you can soar with the eagles?
Sturgis has been chosen to be South Dakotas Capital for a Day on June 6.

I look forward to the Sturgis event, and thank community leaders for offering to host it, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said in a news release announcing the choice. Its an opportunity for me to become better acquainted with current issues in the Sturgis area.

The governors activities for the day will include a Main Street walk, business tours around town, and a community social and coffee hour. The governor will also hold a roundtable for community leaders to meet and discuss the needs of the city.
George Manlove, the former CEO of defunct Montana appliance and electronics retailer Vanns, was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison on Friday after being found guilty earlier this year on 170 felony counts related to defrauding the company.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dana Christensen imposed the 63-month sentence at the end of a nearly six-hour hearing in Missoula.

Manlove was not taken into custody right away. The judge allowed him to report by June 20, the day after a hearing will be held to determine the amount of restitution Manlove will owe.

At the end of a three-week trial in February, Manlove was convicted of a litany of charges including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for defrauding Vanns. The same jury also decided that Manlove must forfeit $2.4 million in property deemed the ill-gotten gains of his fraud convictions.

In his statement to the court, Manlove said he never felt that he defrauded the company.

"I personally am devastated that Vanns failed on my watch, he said. Trust me, I feel everyones pain."

He had asked the judge for leniency, saying he felt he could still contribute to society and that possibility would be taken away if he was imprisoned.

I think society loses as well, not just me and my family, he said.

Christensen said that while Manlove has a right to continue to believe his innocence, since the trial he has consistently avoided accepting any blame, including repeatedly saying that Paul Nisbet, the former Vanns CFO, was the primary person behind the fraud conspiracy.

This despite Manlove being convicted of racking up more than $67,000 worth personal expenses that he charged to Vanns, and having the company pay for him to attend a graduate program in business, during which he polished his resume and began looking for a new job.

Nisbet was sentenced to 14 months in prison in October but was released earlier this year after the judge amended his sentence due to his cooperation with Manlove's prosecution.

The 12 jurors were not convinced and neither am I, Christensen said. You blame everyone else, the economy, whatever, for what went wrong. This is a level of hubris, some would say arrogance, that defies explanation.

Jay Allen, a former Vanns employee, was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in the summer of 2012.

He said he blamed the former CEO  whom he termed "The Wolf of Brooks Street"  for the loss of his health insurance and life insurance when Vanns went under in 2013 after declaring bankruptcy.

Over the years Mr. Manlove, you branded yourself a visionary. I doubt you saw this day coming, Allen said.

Michael Sherwood, Manloves attorney, asked Christensen to impose a sentence of a year and a day.

Anything more would be revenge or something, but certainly not justice.

After representing more than 1,000 clients, Sherwood said he couldnt think of any who were a finer individual than Mr. Manlove.

Sherwood said the fact that Manlove received a harsher sentence than Nisbet was the prosecutions way of punishing his client for not knuckling under after being indicted in late 2015.

Basically what they are saying is, Oh, Mr. Manlove challenged our authority, Mr. Manlove dared to go to trial, he said.

Manloves wife Jill said her husband was fully committed to the company from the day her father and Vanns founder Pete Vann asked him to move to Missoula to take a leadership role there.

Julie Santorsola, Jill Manlove's sister, said she felt the jury reached the wrong verdict; that her father told her all the former employees were repaid in a civil settlement and that Manlove was not a criminal.

They deserve all of our respects, she said of her sister and brother-in-law.

Prosecutor Adam Duerk recalled another federal sentencing in Texas just over a decade ago. The man in that case, another former CEO, also had letters of support and friends who testified they thought it was impossible he had done what he was convicted of, and that he was a family man who had poured his lifeblood into his company.

That CEO, Duerk said, was Jeffrey Skilling of Enron.

Fraud artists by nature deceive others, the prosecutor said. This case should set the bar for what white-collar criminal defendants should expect if they defraud their companies.
Guwahati, May 24 : While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case and trying to arrest the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) Chairman Abhijit Asom alias Dr Mukul Hazarika and trace the hideouts of the most wanted terrorist, Assam government had recently paid a compensation to his family towards acquisition of land for the purpose of construction of National Highway on the basis of Abhijit Asom's letter.

ULFA (I) Chairman Abhijit Asom alias Dr Mukul Hazarika had sent a letter of declaration to the revenue department of the Assam government on February 3, 2016 from Elton, England to pay compensation including his share to his family.

'I have no objection if the full compensation including my share towards the acquisition of land for the purpose of construction of National Highway over our ancestral property is paid to the family of my elder brother Kumudeswar Hazarika,' Abhijit Asom alias Dr Mukul Hazarika said in the letter.

Mukul Hazarika, originally resided at Kakhorigaon under Chalchali Mouza in Nagaon district of Assam also said in the letter that, he will not raise any claim or objection in the court of law thereafter for the aforesaid compensation.

While the anti-terror probe agency had registered a case against Dr Mukul Hazarika and declared him as the most wanted terrorist, the Assam government had paid an amount of Rs 19,93,480 to Abhijit Asom's family without informed to NIA.

According to the reports, the Sadar revenue circle office under Nagaon sub-division in the middle Assam district had paid the amount in two cheques.

The documents revealed that, an amount of Rs 2.20 lakh (by a cheque no 0096491) and Rs 17,73,480 (by a cheque no 0096492) had paid to the family of Mukul Hazarika.

The documents also revealed that, both cheque was received by Anjali Hazarika, wife of Kumudeswar Hazarika, elder brother of Abhijit Asom alias Mukul Hazarika.

NIA had summoned in 2015 to the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) Chairman Abhijit Asom alias Dr Mukul Hazarika in connection with a case registered against the outfit group.

The investigating agency had sent the summon against the ULFA(I) Chairman related to the case 4/2013 registered at the agency's Guwahati branch in the Lachit Nagar area.

In 2011, the hard-line faction ULFA had declared Dr Abhijit Barman as the new acting chairman of the organization after its chairman Arobinda Rajkhowa and other top leaders were arrested in Bangladesh and ULFA had declared Dr Abhijit Barman alias Dr Abhijit Asom as the new chairman of the organization.

In past years, security agencies had been trying to collect records, information about the chief of the outfit group.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati : Security has been tightened in Assam ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's day-long visit to the state on May 26 next following intelligence input of probable terror attack.

Intelligence Bureau (IB) alerted the security agencies for probable terror attacks in the PM's programme by the Pakistanas Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) patronized terror groups.

Following the IB input, a high level meeting was held in Guwahati in presence of top officials of Assam police, army and other security agencies.

Meanwhile, Assam police ADGP (Special Branch) Pallav Bhattacharya on Wednesday said that, a militant group of outlawed ULFA (I) led by most wanted militant Ron Asom has been trying to enter Guwahati to blow up terror attacks.

'The group equipped with sophisticated weapons, explosives had already sneaked into India from Myanmar. The leader of the group Ron Asom had completed his training under supervision of ISI. We have already sounded high alert across the state and asked all district police to take appropriate measures to nab the militant group,' the top Assam cops said.

The top Assam cops said that, security has been beefed up in all round corners for the PM visit.

PM Modi will visit Assam on May 26 next and he will inaugurate the India's longest bridge Dhola-Sadiya bridge on same day.

PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone (Bhumipoojan) of proposed Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at Gogamukh in Dhemaji district and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Sarusajai in Guwahati.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the nation from Guwahati on the same day on the marks of completion of three years of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA government and one year completion of the BJP-led Assam government.

On Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP's Assam unit

president Ranjit Kumar Das, Special DG of Assam police Kula Saikia had reviewed the security at Khanapara in Guwahati, where PM to address the nation from a public meeting.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Kathmandu, Nepal: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has on Thursday called upon the political parties represented in the Legislature-Parliament to elect a new Prime Minister through political consensus within seven days.

As per the provision of the constitutionthe president has to call the parties for consensus government.

Article 298 (1) of the Constitution has provisioned to this effect.
EPG meeting to be held in Dehradun of India

Kathmandu, Nepal: The fourth Eminent Persons Group (EPG) meeting is being held in Dehradun of India from May 29 to 31. Nepali members of the EPG are heading for India on May 28 to participate in the meeting with the single agenda of replacing the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 with a new charter.

As of the previous understandings that the fourth meeting is going to be held on the specific agenda of reaching on the understanding on replacing the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 with a new charter.

However, the members of the EPG are not optimistic that the meeting would bear any fruit, thanks to the reluctance show from the Indian side.

Though we are planning to present with specific agendas of replacing the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 with a new charter, the meeting would be ended as of the previous meetings as Indian side has been showing its reluctance, a member of the EPG said preferring anonymity.

The EPG meetings of earlier had failed to reach a consensus over the issue as Indian side did not wanted even to enter on the topics of replacing the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty, claims the member.

Interesting fact is that the only progress so far of the EPG is making an agreement in principle to review the treaty but not in concrete terms.
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Deutsche Welle

An increasing number of so-called "spiritual" gurus or "godmen" in India are implicated in ghastly crimes ranging from sexual abuse to murder. Murali Krishnan from New Delhi explores the reasons behind it.

Last week, a 23-year-old law student in the southern state of Kerala chopped off the genitals of a self-proclaimed holy man who tried to rape her and who she alleged has been sexually assaulting her for the past eight years. She realized that there was no other way to escape her tormentor.

The young woman was at home in the southern city of Thiruvananthapuram when she was allegedly attacked by Gangeshananda Theerthapada, who claimed to be a spiritual healer and visited their home frequently to cure her bed-ridden father.

Theerthapada, also known as Sree Hari, has preached at several temples in Kerala and was revered by hundreds of Hindu families in the state.

Charged with rape, he now joins the long and dubious list of several self-styled gurus presently languishing in various prisons nationwide for numerous sexual assault offences.

Sex scandals increase

It is not uncommon for the sprawling network of godmen, gurus and swamis in the Hindu-majority country of more than a billion people to commit sexual crimes.

Strangely, millions of Indians seem to be in thrall of these smooth-talking "godmen" who have built vast empires preying on their gullibility.

Three years ago, police had to battle the supporters of Rampal Singh Jatin, a controversial guru from the northern state of Haryana before they could arrest him. Their investigations uncovered sordid details about the supposedly holy mans sex life - a world of abuse and excess that was just as remarkable as his sprawling abode.

He preferred "hostesses," whom he called "sadhikayaen" and during the raids police recovered pregnancy kits from Rampals room, besides sexual potency drugs.

"For a man who claimed to be an incarnation of the 15th century mystic poet Kabir, he had all the trappings of luxury. Women were integral," an investigator told DW.

Another self-styled spiritual godman, Asaram Bapu, was arrested in 2013 after a teenage girl accused him of rape. She claimed that the guru lured her by promising to cleanse her of evil spirits.

Asaram Bapu was arrested in 2013 after a teenage girl accused him of rape

It wasnt the first time criminal charges were leveled against him. In 2008, two young boys died in his retreat in the western state of Gujarat. His trusted lieutenants, however, say all the charges against Bapu are fabrications.

Mahendra Giri, 65, was also arrested in 2013 for illegally confining and repeatedly raping a 24-year-old woman at his ashram over four months. Apparently, the victims husband and mother-in-law were his accomplices. All three have now been imprisoned.

In 2010, controversial Hindu godman Swami Nityananda (main picture) was arrested after a leaked video showed him engaging in sexual activities with an actress from southern India.

People fall prey to godmen

So how do these often aged and supposedly holy men take advantage of women while preaching against vice?

Bhavdeep Kang, author of "Gurus: Stories of Indias Leading Babas" believes that godmen are rarely held accountable, least of all by their devotees.

"The centrality of the godman in the lives of their flock - as spiritual preceptor, family confidante and business advisor - creates a dependency syndrome, making the devotee as invested in the purity of the guru as the guru himself," Kang told DW.

She reckons the self-styled gurus assume the role of counselor, offering an answer to the dissonance and stresses of modern life, triggered by high-speed socio-economic transformation, dislocation of communities and the atomization of society.

Millions of Indians seem to be in thrall of the smooth-talking "godmen" who have built vast empires preying on their gullibility

"The scope for abuse of trust is enormous. Often, even the family of the alleged victim prefers the gurus version to that of a blood relative," she explains.

Prabir Ghosh, general secretary of the Science and Rationalists Association of India, believes devotees are beholden to these holy men by becoming part of the faithful.

"We Indians are great believers in miracles and feel that somebody can get us out of our miseries. This is the prime reason we fall for these godmen," says Ghosh.

Starting out as small time preachers from villages and towns in the countrys rural hinterland, these so-called holy men cultivate a relationship with poor locals and over time, they acquire cult status commanding a huge following (and sometimes even political connections) to camouflage their nefarious activities.

"People everywhere in India are prone to mystics. Many fall prey to the saffron robes these godmen wear believing they are true saviors, and afterwards blind faith takes over," Pradeep Singh, a sociologist, told DW.

Despite the scandals and the fall from grace, there is no dearth of self-styled godmen operating in the country. Faith in the unreasonable and irrational remains firm.

Date 23.05.2017

Author Murali Krishnan (New Delhi)
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ABC/Randy HolmesLinkin Park is on a collision course toward the number-two spot on next week's Billboard 200. The magazine estimates that the band's new, pop-oriented album, One More Light, will grab the runner-up spot on the chart with around 90,000 equivalent album units.

If the One More Light prediction holds true, all seven of Linkin Park's full-length albums will have peaked in the top three of the Billboard 200. The band has reached the number-one spot on the chart five times in their career, most recently with their 2012 album Living Things.

Linkin Park will kick off a North American tour in support of One More Light July 27 in Boston. The outing includes two stadium dates with Blink-182.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi likely received some ISIS training by traveling to Syria in the months before the attack, according to information gathered in the preliminary investigation, a US official told CNN on Thursday.
If youre looking for a good family-oriented movie, look no further than The Martial Arts Kid. The film opens up with an arrest a teen named Robbie, played by Jansen Panettiere of Eden Falls, after what is assumed many arrests of the same kind. Robbies grandmother is fed up with the lawlessness and decides to send him to live with his aunt and uncle down in Florida.

The aunt and uncle are played by martial art veterans Cynthia Rothrock (China OBrien) and Don The Dragon Wilson (Paying Mr. McGetty). Wilson, who plays Uncle Glen, is the owner of a martial arts dojo and Aunt Cindy runs a restaurant on the beach. Robbies first night under the roof of his new family doesnt go so well when he sneaks out to a gas station in the middle of the night for snacks. He meets a girl named Rina (Kathryn Newton, Supernatural) whom he is instantly attracted to, but runs into the typical problem. She has a boyfriend. Not just any boyfriend, though. Her boyfriend is Bo played by Matthew Ziff (Altered Perception) who is the town bully.

Robbies experience at school the next day does not help. With further harrassments from Bo and his henchmen, Robbie learns martial arts from Uncle Glen and gets a new standard of character in the process. When Bo threatens Rina, Robbie takes a stand in a explosive end fight, where Unce Glen faces with an old student Laurent Kaine (T.J. Storm, Punisher: War Zone).

A good, clean entertaining movie, Michael Baumgartner directs a feel-good film that tells a story of a troubled young man coming into his own amidst adversity, with more than a decade of film experience behind him. The film cuts to the heart of the matter of bullying and what needs to happen for it to stop.
 "The portal itself is like a video game for criminal justice nerds." | Main | "Capital Punishment and the Courts" 

May 25, 2017

Deep dive into the deep challenges of sentencing different types of child sex offenders

The Shreveport Times has this detailed five-part series, called Sinister Web, which looks into the modern digital world of child pornography. One article in the series examines case-processing and sentencing issues and challenges in this sad space under the headlined "Different outcomes for child rapists, child pornographers." Here are excerpts:

Prosecutors face specific challenges when handling contact child sexual abuse cases, which often result in less prison time for those who sexually assault children than for those who possessed or distributed child pornography via the internet. The conviction rate in U.S. child pornography possession cases is 97 percent, according to the Crimes Against Children Research Center and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The conviction rate is much lower for offenders who commit hands-on sex crimes against children: 46 percent.... Experts cite multiple reasons for the disparities in sentencing and conviction rates. One is that young children often are difficult witnesses because they include "fantastical" elements in their testimonies or they cannot give detailed, accurate information to investigators, said Dr. Sharon Cooper. Cooper, a forensic pediatrician who has provided expert testimony in more than 300 cases involving internet and child sexual abuse crimes, also said that forensic interviews of children may not show any physical evidence of abuse, as many children wait years to disclose. But child sexual abuse images speak for themselves, said Lt. Chad Gremillion, a detective with the special victims unit of the Louisiana State Police. You cant deny what they are, what the focal point is, the abuse of a video where a four-year-old is being forced to provide oral sex to a male in a home, Gremillion said. The need for child victims of sexual abuse to testify at trial also is an issue. Defense attorneys surveyed by The Times said they often encourage clients to plead guilty to reduced charges to avoid a trial and in exchange for less prison time. Prosecutors and victims families often accept those pleas to prevent further trauma to the children involved, said Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorney Monique Metoyer. Many young children simply are not emotionally equipped to testify in an open courtroom, Metoyer said.... Another difficulty in prosecuting child sexual abuse cases is that victims often know their abusers. Another way some say the law is outdated: Those who upload child sexual abuse images to the internet, where they can be accessed by anyone in the world, can be charged under federal law with transporting materials across state lines  even though all they did was click a button on a home computer, said Katherine Gilmer, also a Shreveport defense attorney. As happened with Jesse Ward, the police officer who was caught after sharing a single image depicting child sexual abuse with an online undercover agent. Law enforcement officers also found "more than ten electronic images" of child pornography on a computer hard drive in his home in McDuffie County, Georgia, according to court documents. Ward initially was charged with three counts: possession, receipt and transportation of child pornography. Two of Ward's charges  receipt and possession of child pornography  were dropped upon the conviction of the third, more serious charge, transporting child pornography. The transportation charge applied because he had uploaded the image to a network from which users in other states could download it  thus crossing state lines, a distinction that gained his crime federal status. Ward was sentenced to 20 years. But those who possess, and do not share, child sexual abuse images also often face stiffer sentences than those who commit contact crimes against children. Melville resident Russell Guillory was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016 for possessing child pornography. The Lafayette man's collection included 75 videos and six images of child sexual abuse  including images depicting penetration of a 2-year-old child. A judge, in imposing sentence, said that the materials were especially heinous and that the very young children in the materials were not in a position of sufficient strength to resist the sexual abuse, according to court documents. In a letter to the Times, written in April, Guillory said his sentence did not match his crime. Even good people make mistakes, but mistakes should never make a person, Guillory wrote. We all have moments of weakness and make mistakes.... Unlike many contact sex crimes, child pornography possession and distribution charges carry mandatory minimum sentences, while judges in child sexual contact crimes have more discretion at sentencing. Child pornography crimes carry a mandatory five to 20 years of prison time.... Peter Flowers, a defense attorney in Shreveport, said the law has not been updated to reflect changes brought by the internet and digital photography. He voiced frustration with how the criminal justice system handles those convicted of child pornography offenses, especially because of what he termed outdated enhancements. It used to be that if you amassed 500 pictures, you really had to work hard. Now, its just pressing a button. Its not the same thing, he said. Flowers also said undercover stings  in which agents pose online as underage children and then arrest adults who initiate sexual conversations  catch only the low-hanging fruit. There are some serious child pornographers out in the deep, dark web, and thats where the real danger is, he said. The real deal is much deeper. Regardless of prison time, all sex crimes in Louisiana require sex offender registration, which can provide a degree of closure for child victims and their families or destroy an offenders life forever, depending on whom you talk to. Flowers said registration is a very serious thing and not just about having a sign put in your yard or having a strip across your drivers license. Offenders cant pick their own children up from school. Those who live within 1,000 feet of a school, church or a park must sell their homes and move, Flowers said.... Law enforcement officers, for the most part, expressed little sympathy for those convicted of possessing or distributing child pornography.... Corey Bourgeois, lead investigator at the Louisiana Attorney Generals cyber crime lab in Baton Rouge, said the state sentencing guidelines fit the crimes. You know how you got that image? Somebody was abused to get that image, he said. Metoyer said those who access child sexual abuse images chose to do so. Even though were looking at images of children and you may not see the children in the room with you, these are real children, Metoyer said. This has impacted them for the rest of their lives.

May 25, 2017 at 10:57 AM | Permalink

Comments

This is bad reporting so I'm not hopeful for the rest of the series but I'll take a look. The fundamental problem with sentencing--which the article hints at but does not confront--is the fact that contact offenses are almost 100% local or state crimes. Unless the Mann act is involved the feds don't have any jurisdictional hook. So that means contact crimes have to be prosecuted by the states and imprisoned by the states and states don't have the endless funds that the feds do. On the other hand, child pornography crimes almost 100% federal crimes (if the feds want the case) and feds have much greater resources at all levels.

The article overlooks that fact that in some cases the feds don't take the CP cases even when they can--if they think the offender is no so bad they let the state handle it and the states have much lower sentences.

Posted by: Daniel | May 25, 2017 11:44:15 AM

And, no matter what the justification for similar treatment, there is a gigantic qualitative difference in culpability between actual hands-on offenses and possessing or "distributing" (most distribution cases are based on possession within a file-sharing program rather than volitionsl posting, selling, trading, or sending images).

Posted by: Fat Bastard | May 25, 2017 2:10:29 PM

They should start hammering pimps who use minors.

Posted by: federalist | May 25, 2017 2:54:33 PM

I am most interested in the comment that "This has impacted them for the rest of their lives. The comment I usually hear is "Every time an image is viewed it re-victimizes the child." There is no evidence to support that statement. If it were true that every time an image (or recording) of victimizing was seen, it re-victimizes someone then we should quit broadcasting anything where a victim is created (e.g. Rodney King).

Posted by: Anne | May 25, 2017 3:29:12 PM

I'd like to expand and clarify a point I made in my first post. There has been a lot of talk from time to time about the role that prosecutor discretion plays in ultimate sentencing outcomes. However, it appears to me that this aspect hasn't be examined in any great detail within the context of child pornography. Child pornography can be prosecuted on the federal level or the state level depending on how charges are structured. For example, transportation or distribution is almost exclusively a federal crime whereas possession can be a federal or a state crime. This gives federal prosecutors huge leverage because they can waive their right to prosecute under federal law and let the states handle the case simply by characterizing the offense as a possession offense rather than distribution offense.

What makes it an especially powerful decision is that there are pluses and minuses to the defendant to being prosecuted by the state vs by the feds. States generally have shorter sentences but on the other hand the feds tend to have better prison facilities and there is less risk of violence to sex offenders in federal prisons (where the are often segregated) vs state prisons (where they are often integrated in to the general population).

While I understand and even share the concern about contact vs non-contact offenses the area of prosecution decisions in child pornography cases is an area where more research needs to be done. In its own way it highlights some of the major issues with the doctrine of dual sovereignty recently highlighted by Justice Ginsburg's concurrence in PUERTO RICO V. SANCHEZ VALLE.

Posted by: Daniel | May 25, 2017 4:10:01 PM

To follow-up on Daniel, a lot depends upon what agency does the investigation and the degree to which the USAO reaches out to local prosecutor and police agencies to encourage referrals.

While I don't have any data on this issue, my experience is that a lot of child pornography cases start with the local police -- a report made by an ex or a comment in a potential child sex case or discovered while looking for something else on a person's computer for an unrelated charge. If the feds have good relations with local law enforcement and encourage referrals, a good chunk of child pornography cases go federal. If the feds have a bad reputation (e.g., only taking cases if they are "big" and "easy") with the locals, the cases tend to stay in state court as the feds never hear about it. Just to use my state as a reference, in the last completed fiscal year, there was slightly over 400 felony charges in the "obscenity" NCIC category which (given the relevant statutes) should be mostly state child pornography charges. That's a lot of child porn charges staying with local prosecutors, only slightly less than the number of homicides charges filed by state prosecutors.

Again speaking from my personal experience, the same is true for non-child porn cases (e.g., drugs, guns, robberies). Who initially investigates the case and the degree of outreach by the USAO determines whether the case goes federal or state. While discretion is part of it, the other part is simple institutional default -- what officers, assistant state prosecutors, and assistant U.S. Attorneys are told by their superiors about which types of cases get referred to the feds and which cases stay with state prosecutors (even if a referral is attempted) without even making any case-specific decisions.

Posted by: tmm | May 25, 2017 5:02:24 PM

I saw ISIS behead a guy on a Youtube video. Should I be charged with murder?

The witch hunt is on for the productive male by the feminist lawyer, and its male running dogs.

It is tempting to support violence against the oppressor and Inquisitor.

I suggest something better. Total e-discovery all around. On the prosecutor, on its feminist supervisor, on the low life scum male hunter on the bench, on any complainant. Then post the content to the internet.

While we are talking about the suborning of child abuse, all internet providers, browser owners, and laptop makers should be seized in civil forfeiture for the crimes taking place on their platforms.

Posted by: David Behar | May 26, 2017 2:42:06 AM

To my favorite criminal defense lawyer here.

Explain to the class why you are not demanding total e-discovery on all the adversaries seeking to destroy the life of your client, including the dirty scum sitting on the bench.

I think I know. It is because you stink. You are working for the other side. If you were to ever fulfill your duty of a zealous defense, you would deter the enemies of your client. You would then lose your business. Your conflict of interest has no remedy.

Posted by: David Behar | May 26, 2017 2:46:27 AM

Child porn laws are draconian and need to change.



Posted by: kat | May 26, 2017 10:22:42 AM

Anybody who produces or knowingly consumes child pornography is contributing to the brutal exploitation of defenseless children and should really have the book thrown at them. Child pornography is tantamount to "pimping" a victim who cannot fight back. One does not even have to be male to be a pimp or a female to be a victim. The recent arrests and convictions of several child pornographers includes some female defendants along with male ones.

With that said, however, the post-sentencing registration requirement does not protect victims of this horrid crime. While such an offender should serve a harsh sentence, once that sentence is completed, then the punishment should stop. Not only do such laws fail to protect public safety and victims' rights, they actually put police and other law enforcement personnel at needless risk to their own safety. Ostracizing somebody who has served his or her time will only make that individual vengeful toward authority. We had one case in Augusta, GA, not too long ago where a former sex offender decided to phone in a bomb threat to the police station's local sex offender registry. Fortunately, the threat was fake and officer got killed as a result. In Minnesota, one former sex offender lunged at the judge and prosecutor and threatened to kill them before a bailiff overpowered him. What drove these defendants to attempt to murder law enforcement personnel was the registration requirement.

I can imagine two hypothetical types of scenarios where a former sex offender during home registration might kill an officer during such days as Halloween where many places have a stay-home requirement. In the first scenario, the former sex offender might honestly mistake the officer checking on him or her for a prowler. After all, the former sex offender during such holidays is not allowed to have their front porch light on after dark and could easily mistake the police for vigilantes or burglars. The home-dweller in that case might decide to invoke the "Stand Your Ground" laws and shoot the officer dead, not realizing until too late that he or she accidentally killed an officer, making himself or herself eligible for a possible death penalty for killing a police officer.

The second scenario would be the deliberate one where a former sex offender wants to get even with Megan's Law by intentionally booby-trapping his or her home with the intention of maiming or killing an officer.

My point, give this offender a severe sentence for committing the crime of child pornography by all means. But once this offender has served his or her full sentence, then don't use any stupid laws like registration that will simply ostracize and provoke that offender into killing our law enforcement officials.

Posted by: william r. delzell | May 26, 2017 10:24:49 AM

"Anybody who produces or knowingly consumes child pornography is contributing to the brutal exploitation of defenseless children and should really have the book thrown at them."

How is this different from people who watch videos of:

Murders

Street auto races

Ghetto people fighting in the school cafeteria

Physical pranks that are batteries without consent

Adult porn of people having sex for high fees

Politicians lying in a speech

Smoking crack and marijuana

Is there a Free Speech right to receive information, not just to express information? Is watching the above videos protected because it is the receiving of free speech?





Posted by: David Behar | May 26, 2017 12:50:44 PM

William. I oppose killing law officiasl. They will be replaced by grateful competitors. I support suing law officials, to make them suffer as they do us.

Posted by: David Behar | May 26, 2017 1:02:56 PM

william r. delzell: "Anybody who produces or knowingly consumes child pornography is contributing to the brutal exploitation of defenseless children and should really have the book thrown at them."

Why should the book thrown at the possessor be heavier than the book thrown at the producer? Or, didn't you get the point?

...

Posted by: Huh? | May 26, 2017 5:22:45 PM

I guess my comment caused misunderstandings. I never advocated killing any law enforcement officials. My point was that some former sex offenders might be driven to or tempted to do this if the restrictions make them bitter enough to feel they no longer have a stake in society. Secondly, I didn't say the possessor should have a heavier sentence than the producer. If anything, the producer should; or they both should. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings that David Behar had. I thought that I had been clear about these two point. If not, my mistake.

Posted by: william r. delzell | May 27, 2017 2:42:24 PM

Good conversation! So much injustice.

Posted by: LC in Texas | Jun 2, 2017 7:37:12 PM

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A scary morning in South San Francisco, as a yet-unidentified man wandering the streets with a shotgun was shot and killed by police. As of this morning, the police have still not determined a motive, and one officer was injured in the exchange of gunfire.



The trouble started around midnight Tuesday when South San Francisco Police fielded a 911 call from a resident reporting a disturbance involving a shotgun-armed man near the 3700 block of Cork Place, KRON 4 reports.



Officers confronted a man standing in the street armed with a shotgun, South San Francisco Police sergeant Ken Chetcuti told CBS 5. Officers gave commands for the man to disarm himself of the shotgun. He failed to comply with the officers commands at which time gunfire erupted.

Cork Place still blocked off in South SF after officer-involved shooting. Officers involved put on paid administrative leave. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/X9EdNwBKYv  Averi Harper (@AveriHarper) May 24, 2017

As seen in the KRON 4 video above, police presence remained heavy in the area as morning arrived, leaving the neighborhood understandably shaken.



One officer, who has not been identified nor his injury disclosed, remains hospitalized today. Details remain scant, but anyone with relevant information is asked to call South San Francisco Police Department at 650-877-8900 or the anonymous TIP line at 650-952-2244.



Related: Woman Shot As She Walks Down Tenderloin Street
An insane clown a little too reminiscent of Pennywise took the tomfoolery too far Wednesday afternoon, as a grown man in an evil clown costume holding what appeared to be a bloody machete menaced motorists along Highway 101 in Monterey County. Numerous freaked out drivers on a stretch of road between Aromas and Prunedale called 911, requiring the Monterey Sheriffs Department to come out and diffuse yet another clown threat.





Clown frightens Highway 101 drivers near Aromas https://t.co/ao0whuJ2io pic.twitter.com/3Cz2UWIKgr  KSBW Action News 8 (@ksbw) May 25, 2017



It can be fun to dress up as a clown, right? However, if you do please don't stand in the side of highway 101 at San Juan Rd holding a machete, says some wise guidance from the Monterey Sheriffs Office, via Facebook. Larry Tovey, from Gilroy, did this today and startled a few people who called 911. Two deputies contacted Larry, with their guns drawn, and eventually figured out what he was up to.

Which poses the question: What was he up to? He stuck his thumb out with one hand, as if he was trying to hitchhike, and held a machete covered in fake blood with his other hand, reports KSBW in Monterey.



Sheriffs deputies drew guns on the clown at 3:20 p.m., who was then identified as the 61-year-old Larry Tovey noted above. He was questioned and handcuffed, but deputies determined he was merely clowning around and let him go.



He didn't actually threaten anybody. He just had a sick sense of humor," sheriffs commander John Thornburg told KSBW. "They let him go home.

While this clown failed to amuse, the comment thread on the Monterey Sheriffs Department Facebook post does elicit a few laughs as the department attempted to calm the alarmed Monterey residents complaints. Just carrying it doesn't make it a deadly weapon, the Sheriff's deputies explain one comment. It's actually a tool and since he didnt use it as a deadly weapon to threaten someone, there was no crime.



If it's not concealed (the knife, fixed blade not a folded knife) then no arrest, explains another post. In this case we don't have a victim of a brandishing, which includes threatening a person with the weapon.

In related news, all this menacing clown business needs to stop. According to the evil clown crime statistics on Wikipedia, there were 12 evil clown incidents in California in 2016, primarily during the October Halloween season. These include an attempted clown child abduction in Concord, clowns threatening schools in Fairfield, and an attempted armed robbery by clowns in the Westfield Mall. Additionally, the SFUSD was forced to robocall parents to address clown concerns amid the creepy clown outbreak of October 2016.



Related: Clown Protestors Block Google Shuttle With Colorful Dance Numbers
Another San Francisco man, a man named Bob Tang who also goes by "Bob Tov," has gone missing, however in this case it may be by the man's own volition as police were seeking to question him in connection with the Mother's Day disappearance of Uber driver Piseth Chhay. Tang and Chhay are the same age, 48, and are said to have been friends or acquaintances, and in a release on Wednesday the SFPD's public information officer Grace Gatpandan said, "Mr. Tang is also believed to be the last person who saw Mr. Chhay."

Tang was scheduled to be interviewed by police on Tuesday, May 23, however he left his home on May 22, apparently to respond to a phone call from a security company notifying him of an alarm going off at a property he owns in Antioch. His family has not seen or heard from him since, and they reported him missing on Wednesday, May 24. Investigators now say they've received information that he may have fled the country, possibly to Cambodia.

Chhay's family say he was not working on Sunday, May 14 when he last left home, and he said he was going to meet a friend.

Less than a week later, his Mercedes SUV was found stripped on Davidson Avenue in the Bayview.

Tang, pictured above, is described as an Asian male, 48 years old, approximately 5'4", weighing 130 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. His vehicle associated is apparently unaccounted for as well, and that is a 2004 Silver Toyota Sienna SUV, with California license plate 5JOT221.

In addition to a search warrant executed at a property in the Bayview on Tuesday, police say they also executed a search warrant in Antioch as well. ABC 7 reports that the Bayview property was Maple Trade Corporation at 1280 Van Dyke Avenue, a property that is associated with Mr. Tang that is about 20 blocks south of where Chhay's car was found.

The SFPD tells ABC 7 that they have reached out to the FBI for assistance if in fact Tang has fled the country.

Anyone who has information about Tang or Chhay's whereabouts is asked to contact San Francisco police via the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

Previously: Police Serve Search Warrant In Case Of Missing Uber Driver


San Francisco police are investigating a body found this morning in Bernal Heights park. Park is closed. pic.twitter.com/571GFtaIX7  Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) May 25, 2017

San Francisco police are on the hunt for the suspects in two separate homicides, after a man was found with gunshot wounds in the Marina and another man was found with multiple stab wounds in Bernal Heights, taking SF's homicide count for 2017 to 24 victims.

Breaking news-homicide in San Francisco at Bernal and Anderson. I am live at the scene at 7am @kron4news pic.twitter.com/SdNrMzauSQ  Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) May 25, 2017

Most recently, police say that they were called to Bernal Heights Park at around 5:30 Thursday, when a jogger discovered a male victim San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Sergeant Michael Andraychak says was "suffering from apparent stab wounds."

The victim, who was discovered just inside the Anderson Street gates, was declared dead at the scene, Andraychak says. As of publication time, the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office had not publicly identified the victim.

Breaking-man stabbed to death in San Francisco's Bernal heights neighborhood. Coroner just arrived @kron4news pic.twitter.com/iiomCzqKOF  Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) May 25, 2017

NBC Bay Area notes that "a camouflage-print knife sheath" appears to have been found at the scene.

Bernalwood claims to have contacted the person who discovered the victim, an unnamed male who reportedly said:

The body was found at around 5:15am this morning at Bernal Park, on Bernal Hts Blvd where the path to Bocana starts. Grossly mutilated body with stab wounds. It was gruesome. No witnesses. There has been a lot of crime, often violent recently on Bernal Hill. Its about time we disallow overnight parking from 2am to 6am between Anderson to Carver. Since the city has banned overnight parking in other parts of The City, much of it now comes to Bernal. People sleeping in cars, illegal dumping, prostitution. Ive seen it all.

In a counterpoint to that unnamed witness, area dog walker Toni Woodward tells CBS 5 I always feel pretty comfortable (in the park)...A lot of us dog owners know each other. I would never think twice about there being any (safety) issues up here. It (discovery of the body) is pretty startling. I always feel its a pretty safe neighborhood so Im pretty shocked.

Area resident Julian Schuchard was also surprised by the crime, telling the Chron that This is a really popular park. Im amazed that something like this would happen. There are two-million-dollar homes. Generally, everyone is property owners and look out for the area.

Meanwhile, police announced Wednesday that a man found unresponsive in a Marina District doorway was shot to death, spurring another homicide investigation.

According to a press release sent by police Wednesday, "On Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 12:10 PM, San Francisco Police officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Alhambra Street to do a well-being check on a man sleeping in the doorway of a residence."

Alhambra Street is a short set of blocks that begins just off Fillmore Street and ends at Scott Street.

"Upon arrival," SFPD writes, "the officers found the man unresponsive. Paramedics were summoned to the scene and the man was transported to San Francisco General Hospital where it was determined that he was the victim of a gunshot wound. Despite medical efforts, the man succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

He has since been identified as 32-year-old Kelly G. Freeman, police say, who had "no local address."

Police are circulating the photo of Freeman you see at right, in hopes that seeing him will spark a memory in anyone with information on this case.

Police ask that anyone with information on either homicide contact SFPD's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or Text-A-Tip to TIP411 (847411) and begin the text message with SFPD.
It seems almost unfair to rose to start thinking about it, and talking about it, and looking for it when spring comes around. Then again, how many of us think about turkey and stuffing outside of November? Or corned beef and cabbage outside of March? No one is stopping you from planning those meals on any day of the year, calendar be damned. Yet you dont. At least most of you dont.

Did my college roommates and I cook up an entire traditional Thanksgiving dinner one spring semester? Sure we did. But we were young, and mentally energetic, and empowered by the awesome possibility that lay before us. And sick of instant ramen.

That full feast, even just the thought of it before we went shopping for the ingredients, brought about a wave of hope and anticipation that I can still recall. Thats the kind of power spring has. A golden-brown, 20-pound turkey has a similar power, yes, but I think theres more power in this season  the birth or reawakening of so many living things around us.

Pink fits this time of year perfectly  pink and green. (Thing is, I generally try to avoid drinking anything that is green.) I encourage people to drink rose all year long, to not confine their consumption only to spring and summer. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with getting your rose run started when the Northern Hemisphere blinks itself awake in the spring. Gotta start somewhere. The longest journey begins with a single sip.

With lower amounts of alcohol and tannin, high acidity and loads of bright fruit, it is hard to go wrong with a few bottles of nice rose on hand. If the imbibers in your life have eyes for aesthetics, they will also appreciate the beauty that rose brings to your table. Theyre not all dusty pink and blushing, as you know; some of them are closer to candy apple red.

But they are all fun. Even the serious ones are fun  like a dentist who dresses up in a costume on Halloween. Say, there is another thing you dont think of doing throughout the year. But think about how much fun you have when you actually do sport that get-up of yours and show up at a party full of ghouls, nurses and visual puns. Theres your excuse to plan a non-Halloween costume party in the middle of summer (or winter). And you might as well stock the bar with some pink wine while youre at it.

But first things first. Pick up a few bottles of rose, give them a nice chill and celebrate your mother May 14. Do it with a toast, if thats the kind of person you are, or just show up and be the respectful, thoughtful person she taught you to be.

Below are notes from a recent tasting of roses from around the world. They are listed in ascending order according to price.

2016 Faisao Vinho Verde Rose. With strawberry, raspberry, orange blossom, lively acidity and a refreshing spritz, this Portuguese wine had a clean, crisp finish and a friendly 10.5 percent alcohol. $8

2016 Mont Gravet Rose. From the South of France, this 100 percent cinsault was floral with raspberry, pear, lime and citrus, plus a lingering finish, and 12 percent alcohol. $9

2016 Cline Family Cellars Ancient Vines Mourvedre Rose. Pink grapefruit aromas jumped from this glass, and led to peach, cherry and zippy acidity. From Californias Contra Costa County. $13

2016 Mulderbosch Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Rose. Savory herbs and minerality segued into floral notes, plus raspberry and other red fruits. From the Coastal Region of South Africa. $13

2016 S. Pratsch Rose. This organic Austrian wine from zweigelt grapes opened with strawberries, peach, anise and zingy acidity, and then came full circle for a long-lingering strawberry finish. $13

2016 Piazza del Castello. From Italys Tuscany region and made of 100 percent sangiovese, this wine offered peach, kiwi, clean tropical fruits and a bright, crisp finish. $14

2016 Steele Cabernet Franc Rose. Intensely aromatic and packed with ripe raspberry, strawberry and citrus, this wine from Lake County, Calif., had a vibrant electric-red hue, like diluted Campari. $15

2016 Feudo Maccari Rose. Made of 100 percent nero davola grapes, this wine from Sicily offered strawberry, cherry, lime, peach and 12 percent alcohol. $16

2016 Leyda Rose. Black cherry, strawberry, spice, zingy acidity and a long finish sum up this 100 percent pinot noir from Chiles Leyda Valley, 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean. $16

2016 Tournon Mathilda. Earthy notes join bright, clean raspberry and cranberry in this crisp, refreshing, easy-to-drink pale grenache with spice on the finish. Made in Australia by French winemaker Michel Chapoutier. $16

2016 Castello di Bossi Rosato. This 70 percent sangiovese/30 percent cabernet sauvignon Tuscan blend offered mouth-watering red fruits, a touch of salinity, bright acidity and a formidable 13.5 percent alcohol. $18

2016 Figuiere Magali. Peach, lime, strawberry, orange zest, minerality and tangy acidity sum up this blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon, grenache and cinsault from Frances Cotes de Provence. $18

2016 Gamble Family Vineyards Rose. Luscious strawberry, apple, anise and spice all mingled in this lip-smacking, long-finishing Napa Valley blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. $20

2016 Sidebar Rose. This 100 percent syrah from Sonoma Countys Russian River Valley offered an intriguing mix of hay, fennel, floral notes, dried cherries, stone fruits and zingy acidity. $21

2016 Donelan Rose. Strawberry, cherry, anise, bright acidity and a clean, crisp finish characterized this Sonoma County blend of grenache, syrah, mourvedre and pinot noir, plus 13.8 percent alcohol. $25

2016 Inman Family Endless Crush Rose of Pinot Noir. With floral and herbal notes, plus strawberry, watermelon and anise, this Russian River Valley beauty was as mouth-watering as it was refreshing. $35
WEST POINT, Neb. | A man accused of stabbing a Rosalie, Nebraska, man to death has been bound over to district court to face murder and other charges.

Derek Olson, 27, of Oakland, Nebraska, remains held on a $1 million bond after Wednesday's preliminary hearing in Cuming County Court. Judge Michael Long ordered Olson to face charges of second-degree murder, accessory to a felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, first-degree arson and cruelty to an animal.

Olson's arraignment was scheduled for July 6.

Olson is charged in the death of Ernest Warnock, 64, whose body was found inside the burned rubble of his rural Rosalie home on March 11.

According to court documents, Nebraska State Patrol troopers determined that Olson and his father, Jody Olson, had been at Warnock's home before they had been pulled over in a traffic stop in Dakota County the same day the fire at Warnock's home was reported.

Derek Olson is accused of stabbing Warnock during an altercation at Warnock's home. An autopsy showed that Warnock was dead before his home was set on fire.

Jody Olson, 47, of Oakland, faces a charge of being an accessory to a felony.
It was hard to keep a straight face reading to the end of Pat Buchanan's column in Tuesday's Journal ("Debilitating, possibly dangerous time for Donald Trump begins").

Blaming everyone and everything but the kitchen sink for President Trump's problems, his skewered logic concludes that Rod Rosenstein's "naming a special counsel to take over the investigation of the Russia connection. . . could prove ruinous to this [Trump's] presidency." While that may prove to be the outcome, blame should not rest on appointing a special investigative counsel. The ultimate goal of this investigation is not, as Buchanan's commentary wishfully reveals, to save Trump's presidency, but to arrive at the truth.

It is in the interest of all Americans to learn whether or not our president achieved the highest office in the land thanks to help from a foreign government acknowledged to be an enemy of our democracy. If the investigation reveals there is no "there" there, Trump will be exonerated and the legitimacy of his presidency strengthened.

As to Buchanan's claim that while the investigation is under way, "[Republican] Party unity will fade away," whose fault is that? When toeing the party line is more important than arriving at the truth, perhaps it's time for each of us to speak up and hold our elected officials accountable for principled government, irregardless of party. - Jackie Austin, Rock Rapids, Iowa
'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' (Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence, and some suggestive content) -- While Captain Jack Sparrow searches for the trident of Poseidon, he quickly becomes the target of an undead pirate hunter.

'Baywatch' (Rated R for language throughout, crude sexual content, and graphic nudity) -- A devoted lifeguard butts heads with a new recruit who is taking the job to win back his reputation, but they discover a criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.

New DVD Releases for this week:

'Before I Fall'

'Collide'

'Fist Fight'

'The Shack'
Man arrested for work fight

STORM LAKE, Iowa | He's going to have to meet with HR.

A Storm Lake man was arrested May 12 after police said he assaulted a coworker during a fight at a packing plant.

The Storm Lake Police Department in a press release reported being called to the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Storm Lake at 4:30 a.m. Police said Xerxes Bouldin, 26, of Storm Lake, attacked a coworker at the plant.

Police said Bouldin charged the other Tyson worker, then struck the man in the face several times. Bouldin fled the plant and was found by police at 5 a.m.

He was arrested on the felony charge of assault causing serious injury. Bouldin was held in Buena Vista County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Man fakes identity to get job

SIOUX CITY | Talk about lying on a resume...

A Northwest Iowa man has been arrested on multiple felony charges, after the Sioux County Sheriff's Office reported he used another person's identity to obtain a job.

The sheriff's office press release said Quique Reynoso-Diaz, 37, of Sioux Center, Iowa, was arrested on three felonies May 18. After a traffic stop west of Boyden, Iowa, deputies said Reynoso-Diaz was found to be using another person's identity.

The release said Reynoso-Diaz used that identity to work at Rosenboom Machine and Tool Inc, in Sheldon. He was charged with identity theft and two counts of forgery.

Reynoso-Diaz was held in Sioux County Jail.
LEONARDTOWN, Md. (May 25, 2017)Superintendent of Schools, Mr. J. Scott Smith, today announced the administrative appointments made by the Board of Education at its meeting of May 24, 2017.



The Board appointed Dr. Joseph "J.R." Beavers as Principal of Dynard Elementary School. Dr. Beavers holds a Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University, a Master's degree from Western Maryland College and a Bachelor's degree from Bowie State University. He currently serves as an Assistant Principal, 11 month, at Lexington Park Elementary School.



Ms. Robin Janine Davis-Smith has been appointed as Assistant Principal, 11 month, at Lexington Park Elementary School. Ms. Davis-Smith holds a Master's degree from Towson University, and a Bachelor's degree from Salisbury State University. Ms. Davis-Smith currently serves as an Instructional Resource Teacher at Evergreen Elementary School.



Ms. Kelly Dobson has been appointed as Assistant Principal, 11 month, at Hollywood Elementary School. Ms. Dobson holds a Master's degree from Towson University, and a Bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina. Ms. Dobson currently serves as the Coordinator of Head Start.



Ms. Rhonda Morgan has been appointed as Assistant Principal, 12 month, at Great Mills High School. Ms. Morgan holds a Master's degree from Duquesne University and a Bachelor's degree from Seton Hill College. Ms. Morgan is currently a Chemistry Teacher at Great Mills High School.



Mr. Marc Pirner has been appointed as Assistant Principal, 12 month, at Chopticon High School. Mr. Pirner holds a Master's degree and Bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College of Maryland. He currently serves as an Assistant Principal, 11 month, at Chopticon High School.



Ms. Charlottis Woodley has been appointed Title I Elementary Student, Family, and Staff Engagement Supervisor in the Department of Supplemental School Programs. Ms. Woodley holds a Master's degree from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor's degree from Bluefield State College. Ms. Woodley currently serves as a Pupil Service Worker, 12 month, in the Department of Student Services.



The Board of Education also approved the following Administrative Transfers/Reassignments:



Ms. Rebecca Cline will transfer from Academic Dean at Fairlead Academy I, to Assistant Principal, 12 month, at Leonardtown High School.



Ms. Andrea Owens will transfer from Principal at Dynard Elementary School to Coordinator of Head Start.



Ms. Julia Steele will transfer from Assistant Principal, 11 month, at Hollywood Elementary School to Assistant Principal, 11 month, at Greenview Knolls Elementary School.



These appointments and transfers/reassignments will become effective July 1, 2017.
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.




Even as Mexico City quickly becomes the Third Wave coffee capital of Latin America, the city continues to surprise. The neighborhood of Cuauhtemoc is one of them. In the middle of this mix of office buildings, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and residences, is a brand new Cucurucho roastery and cafe.

Cucurucho was founded as a grocery store in 1977. But when David Birruete, the owners son, took an interest in coffee, they began to sell it. The quality improved day by day, and now, four coffee shops later, their roastery, Casa del Fuego, is open for business.

As the coffee scene in Mexico City is growing theres a whole new generation of baristas, cuppers, roasters, and producers, alongside training centers, coffee shops, and roasteries, Birruete says. Absolutely everyone is looking forward to preparing amazing Mexican coffee.

Casa del Fuego needed to be a space where baristas could experiment with different types of roasts and brewing methods, and could cup and test espresso drinks. This would give them the opportunity to practice for competition while improving their hospitality, technical, and competition skills.

The company roasts on a Probat and has relationships with farms throughout Mexico, including in the regions of New Germany in Chiapas, Pluma Hidalgo in Oaxaca, Atoyac in Guerrero and Coatepec in Veracruz. They are looking forward to working with producers in Nayarit and with other farmers who produce sustainable, ecological, and high-quality Mexican coffee.

While impressive, Casa Del Fuego is as serious about its coffee preparation as it is about its sourcing.

The use of alternative manual [brewing] methods in Mexico City has almost reached a peak, Birruete says. This has made other people really curious about the preparation.

Casa del Fuego offers unusual drip methods like the Japanese syphon and Nel dripper, which Birruete says lend coffee a unique sweetness, intensity, and concentration. For espresso, they use a La Marzocco Linea PB, and if the coffee isnt enough of a draw, Casa del Fuego serves a variety of brunch items as well as afternoon waffles.

Our inspiration is to make something as normal as [drinking] coffee a unique experience, and comforting day-to-day, Birruete says. At Casa del Fuego, they do just that.

Ximena Rubio is a coffee professional based in Mexico City. Read more Ximena Rubio on Sprudge.
This is an article I felt compelled to write.

I recently had the opportunity to interview influential Sao Paulo coffee professional Isabela Raposeiras for Sprudge. Our conversation discussed a wide number of topicsbusiness development, the growth of Brazils coffee scene, where the countrys coffee culture might be headed nextbut I was particularly moved by Raposeiras experience and perspective dealing with machismo: the deeply ingrained culture of sexism and toxic masculinity that pervades all aspects of Brazilian culture.

Machismo is still prevalent in Brazilian coffee, and as a journalist and coffee roaster, its something Ive experienced myself many times. Its not just Brazil; machismo is entangled in society across South America, and many other places around the world. But one thing Raposeiras said in our interview spoke to me profoundly: that when she travels for work outside of Brazil, she feels like she is treated more as a professional, regardless of her gender. That outside of Brazil people care about what she does, not about whether shes a man or a woman.

Intersectionality demands that we look at society from all angles. Are issues of sexism and toxic masculinity important topics for those living in places like the United States? Of course. But as a Brazilian woman and coffee professional, my experiences abroad have been far more positive and equitable than what women like me experience every day back home. If youre doing the hard work of unpacking sexism and discrimination at home, I applaud you, but in the same breath I must ask: dont forget about us here in Brazil. In your fight to change the society you live in, dont limit yourself from considering the experiences of others outside your own culture and country. Intersectionality asks this of us all.

When I leave Brazil and introduce myself as a coffee roaster, Im treated rather fineIm talked to in technical terms and afforded the chance to exchange professional knowledge with men and women alike. Sadly I cant say the same about my experience here. Coffee folks in Brazil have praised a few of the coffees that I roasted, but when these people come and talk to me in person, they ask: But who actually roasts your coffee? And when I answerMethey ask again: Just you? Isnt there someone else working with you?

As if it were impossible for a woman to do all this on her own.

Its a sentiment to which many women, minority, and gender non-conforming small business owners and professionals can relate, unfortunately. That should feel like an insult to me, but I think Ive gotten used to it by now, so I answer with a smile: Yes, just me. I inherited it from my father. I guess it would be too much for them to know that yes, I actually have been getting help in the last few weeksfrom a fellow colleague and expert roaster who happens to also identify as female.

This patronizing attitude extends to green coffee buying as well. The younger producers I work with find it fascinating that I, a young woman, am buying their coffee. The seniors, though, find it cute, which to me feels extremely offensive. They wont take me seriously, will often crack a sexist joke or twosomething along the lines of, Did they send you here to charm us so they could get a better price in our coffees? Who is they in that sentence? I guess any man on Earth would fit that. Then, I have to go the extra mile and prove myself many timesmore than a lot of men out thereso I can be taken seriously. Its a tiring process, and one that female-identified and gender non-conforming persons around the world can relate to.

The saddest thing is that when I take a friend who presents as male to go and buy coffee with me, the farmers will choose to only address him. It does not matter that he has never heard of coffee, that he has only come here to accompany meit is assumed that he is responsible for the transaction, simply because hes a man.

These are stories that many share, but in an agricultural society, and consequently in the coffee environment, my experience is that such attitudes are extremely common, with very little help or recourse available. Brazil was a colonized country, and land was never fairly shared amongst the colony dwellers at the time. Landlords have always been predominantly men. Coffee was brought to Brazil in the eighteenth century by an official of the Portuguese crown, who is said to have seduced the wife of the governor of our neighbor French Guiana so that she would give him coffee seeds. Not such a great start, I guesssexism and machismo are part of the very root of coffee in this country.

From there, the coffee crop spread throughout the southeast of Brazil thanks to cheap European male labor who looked to settle in the farms. Over the last few decades, it has become very common to see women working in the field at harvest time, but they are typically wives and daughters of rural workers. Farm owners say that women are more careful when picking, and therefore they hire them temporarily to work during harvest only.

Despite the frightening normalcy of these issues, things are changing in Brazil, if slowly. There are women managing many small farms, albeit a minority. There are female-identified personsRaposeiras, myself, and many otherswho are roasters, Q-graders, green buyers, baristas, and coffee shop owners. But still, we are the minority. Just look at a photo of a coffee-related event, a cupping, a producers workshop here in Brazilhow many women are there in that photo? How many women are even mentioned in the press briefings? Ive been doing this exercise and it makes me feel sad not to see roughly half the population being properly recognized for their part in the coffee chain.

When I look at photos of modern events in America, they feel different to me. The recent intersectionality panel at the 2017 SCA Event in Seattle is one beautiful example of this. We have not yet had a moment like this in Brazilnot even close.

I dont want this article to read like a complaint, or to make Sprudge readers feel sorry for the situation in Latin America. Here we are, discussing issues related to machismo and prejudice in Brazil on an international coffee websitethis is something that would have been totally unimaginable only a few short years ago. But we are far from resolving these issues here in Brazil, and we continue to find machista examples in our families, in the professional environment, and everywhere in-between.

This article is more about perspective. I just want Sprudge readers to be aware that the issues female-identified and gender non-conforming persons face on a daily basis around the world are magnified in producing countries. In countries like Brazil, our historical narrative of colonialism and poverty and agricultural hierarchies serves to magnify, and deeply entrench, a society where machismo and toxic masculinity are just a normal part of daily life.

Things are changing here in Brazil, but slowly. People like Isabela Raposeiras are out in front of that change and are enormously inspiring for other Braziliansreally, for people everywhere.

Juliana Ganan is a Brazilian coffee professional and journalist. Read more Juliana Ganan on Sprudge.
Batavia Downs has announced that Shane Hoehn will be joining its staff as Assistant Race Secretary and Program Director for the upcoming live harness racing meet that begins on July 26.

Hoehn was born and raised in Vernon, New York and started working at Vernon Downs right out of high school. During his 20-year tenure there, he started out selling programs and eventually became their full-time Race Secretary, a post he held for seven years.

In 2010, Hoehn left his duties at Vernon to pursue his own business venture. However, in 2012, he went back to his racing roots and took the Assistant Race Secretary position at Saratoga Raceway, where he worked until 2014.

I am looking forward to coming to Batavia Downs and get back into racing full time. I have never been to western New York and am very excited to move there and get started. I have known [Batavia Downs Race Secretary] Joe Zambito for quite a while and am looking forward to working with him, said Hoehn.

As much as Hoehn is anxious to starting his new position, track management is equally pleased with the new addition to their team.

In an era that requires personnel in our industry to wear many hats on a daily basis, Shane Hoehn brings 22 years of experience in racetrack administration with him to Batavia Downs and will be a valuable asset to the racing community here, said Todd Haight, Director and General Manager of Live Racing at the Genesee County oval. "We look forward to getting him settled in and underway in with his duties.

Batavia Downs will open its 2017 live racing season on Wednesday, July 26 and will host 71 cards of harness racing action through Saturday, Dec. 16.

(Batavia Downs)
The Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) has issued a media release commending Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) and Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) for their leadership and commitment in the development and introduction of H.R. 2651, The Horseracing Integrity Act of 2017 today (May 25) in Washington, DC.

Both Congressmen have been engaged and attuned in learning about the issue of medication reform in horse racing and in working with a cross-section of industry representatives to create a solution that meets racing's needs as a whole.

H.R. 2651 mandates the development of an independent anti-doping program for horse racing through the establishment of the independent Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority, whose board will be controlled by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and will have strong industry input and participation. The legislation addresses the lack of uniformity in medication policies and practices in American racing and puts U.S. racing jurisdictions in alignment with international standards. National oversight is desperately needed to supersede the current patchwork of 38 racing jurisdictions in U.S. racing, bringing them all under one set of uniform rules for testing standards, protocols and penalties. Importantly, the anti-doping program will be funded by the industry and will not require any federal tax dollars.

Founded in 2012, The Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) is a grassroots movement of like-minded individuals who support the passage of federal legislation to bring uniformity and integrity to horse racing by prohibiting the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the sport. WHOA represents a group of over 1,500 industry stakeholders: owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, equine practitioners, industry professionals, handicappers and racing fans. WHOA supports clean sport and recognizes the importance and necessity of a national anti-doping agency for horse racing, not only for clean competition, but for the welfare and safety of our human and equine athletes, for the soundness of the American breed, and for transparency of the bettor's gaming dollar.

(Water Hay Oats Alliance)
Earlier this week, The Raceway at Western Fair District's Director of Racing Greg Blanchard and track announcer Sugar Doyle brought some mini Molson Pace fun to downtown London, Ont. in advance of the big night.

Fresh off a victory in the "Battle of the Young Gunz" at The Raceway two weeks ago, six-year-old Travis Moore and his mini horse Wally joined the Western Fair team at Victoria Park on Tuesday afternoon to help promote the Molson Pace, which garnered some attention from CTV London.

The $150,000 Molson Pace is scheduled as the final race of The Raceway's meet on Friday night.

"It's great horse racing, it's a great night of racing, but it's a lot more than that," Blanchard told CTV's Brent Lale. "It's become a real fun-filled event with a lot happening."

First race post time is set for 7:05 p.m., with the Molson Pace estimated to head to post at 10:55 p.m. to headline a powerful card that includes the first Gold leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes season for the three-year-old male pacers as well as the City of London Series finals. The wagering menu includes a $5,000 Guaranteed Early Pick-3, $10,000 Guaranteed Early Pick-4, $15,000 Guaranteed Late Pick-4, and additional Super Hi-5.

Off track, there will be a 'Molson Party on the Patio' with BBQ and beer specials, Molson Pace cake available in the lobby, and hat & T-shirt tosses and giveaways throughout the night in the grandstand and on the patio. The Hands on Horses Program will also be offering the chance to ride behind a racehorse. All the action will kick off with the National Anthem performed by rising country music star Eric Ethridge.

"The race itself this year, I would say the best ever, the best ever field we've had assembled," said Blanchard.

This year's field has earned a combined $9.1 million and includes Bit Of A Legend N ($1,525,011), Rockin In Heaven ($548,971), Clear Vision ($2,703,859), Fool Me Once ($963,778), defending champion and track record holder Evenin Of Pleasure ($773,857), Sunfire Blue Chip ($1,181,939), Rockin Ron ($665,988) and Night Pro ($738,432).

"We don't want to make this race easy to win by any means and that's why we've been working on it for months now, putting together the best possible field we can to showcase our signature race, the Molson Pace," said Doyle. "It's become quite prestigious throughout the horse racing community, all over North America, and I think we put together a fabulous field here. We have a great team and we're looking forward to a big, big race."

For a free printable program for Molson Pace Night, click here.

(With files from CTV London)
Post Time with Mike and Mike presented by BetAmerica has announced the guest line up for its Thursday, May 25 show, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

Trainer Pete Tritton will be well-represented this weekend with charges in the Maxie Lee Memorial, Betsy Ross, and the Ben Stafford Jr. Memorial. Tritton also has Bit Of A Legend N competing in the Molson Pace on Friday night. The conditioner will talk about his chances in the big races this weekend.

Owner Tom Pollack will also join the program. Pollack part-owns Betsy Ross hopeful Medusa. He also owns aged pacer Rock N Roll World, who will compete in the Ben Stafford Jr. Memorial on Sunday at Harrah's Philadelphia.

Harrah's Philly Asst. Race Secretary Rob Pennington will join the program to talk about the trio of Invitationals coming up on Sunday at the Chester, Pennsylvania oval. Pennington will explain the process of how the races where put together.

Pompano Park Director of Racing Operations Gabe Prewitt will come on the show to continue the weekly Pompano Park segment. Track Announcer Darin Gagne will also be on-hand to host the weekly Running Aces series.

Post Time with Mike and Mike presented by BetAmerica can be heard live on its website at posttimewithmikeandmike.com or on the archive at betamerica.com/BARN.

(With files from Post Time with Mike and Mike)
Knights of Columbus Urges Public to Help Iraqi Christians as Humanitarian Crisis Looms

Without funding for food, Church leaders say their communities could disappear entirely



Contact: Joseph Cullen, 203-800-4923, joseph.cullen@kofc.org; Andrew Walther, 203-824-5412, andrew.walther@kofc.org; both with Knights of Columbus



NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 25, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Following the shared concerns about Christians in the Middle East expressed by Pope Francis and President Trump at their recent meeting, the Knights of Columbus, which has been among the top financial supporters of these persecuted Christians, is urging the public to donate to its Christian Refugee Relief Fund to help avert a crisis and will be matching up to $1 million in donations.



Church leaders in Iraq are warning that, without immediate support, the country's Christian population could be reduced to unsustainable levels.



The Christian population has fallen from as many as 1.5 million in 2003 to only about 200,000 today, according to the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil. Erbil is home to the largest Christian population still in Iraq and the largest community of displaced Christians in the country (12,000 families). The archdiocese now faces a shortfall of $600,000 a month in food aid.



"As we approach the third anniversary of ISIS' genocide against our community in Iraq, Iraqi Christians face a new threat," explained Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil. "Even as their home towns are liberated, our people often cannot move home because there is not enough money for reconstruction or security. What's worse, at this point we face a serious shortfall in the money needed just to cover the costs of providing food to the displaced Christians in our care. Having to decide between rebuilding homes or feeding the displaced is not a choice," he said. "It is a potential death sentence for our Christian communities."



He added: "As never before in 2,000 years, the future of Christianity in Iraq now hangs in the balance, and whether it survives will depend in great measure on whether or not we are able to provide the essentials that our people need in the short term, and whether or not they receive help with reconstruction and assurances of security in the longer term."



The Knights of Columbus has donated more than $12 million for Christian refugee relief since 2014 in support of communities too often ignored by direct U.N. or U.S. government assistance. The bulk of the funding has aided Christian communities in Iraq with food, clothing, shelter, and education, and has also helped threatened or displaced communities in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. Other religious minority groups targeted by ISIS, including Yazidis, have also been recipients of the Knights' aid.



"A century ago, the American people helped save Christianity in the Middle East after the genocide they endured during and following World War I," said Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus. "Today, it falls to us to act, and to act quickly, if Christianity  and with it, pluralism  are to be saved in the Middle East. The Knights of Columbus is absolutely committed to aiding our brothers and sisters in Iraq and to ensuring that pluralism is not erased there." He added, "We urge all who can to donate to our Christian Refugee Relief Fund as soon as possible."



The Knights of Columbus will match donations received by July 1 up to $1 million, and 100 percent of the money raised will be used to assist with food programs for Christian refugees in Iraq. Donations can be made at www.ChristiansatRisk.org or by calling 1-800-694-5713 and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Knights of Columbus Charities Inc. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.



The Knights set a new all-time record for charitable donations in 2015, with more than $175 million in donations and more than 73.5 million hours of service valued at $1.7 billion.
Standing at the lectern in a darkened auditorium, Stanford bioengineering professor Manu Prakash told his audience that he was going to demonstrate a few low-cost scientific instruments that had been developed in his lab. He looked more like a graduate student than a professor, with his untamed hair and rumpled down jacket, as he reached into his backpack and pulled out what looked like a colorful paper bookmark.This is the Foldscope, he said, a microscope made from 97 cents of materials. He pointed to a tiny spherical lens at the center, and told them that they could look through it and see microscopic objects with the naked eye.

To illustrate its magnification power, he played a video clip that had been recorded by attaching a Foldscope to a smartphone camera lens. The image of a gnat laying eggs squirmed across the auditoriums large movie screen. Its hairy body was translucent, revealing its pulsating organs. It was like a scene from an alien horror film. A few people gasped.

Next, he held up something that looked like a whirligig toy, a loop of twine threaded through two holes in a 3-inch-diameter disc. He grabbed the twisted ends, then rhythmically pulled. As the twine coiled and uncoiled, the disc spun at a dizzying speed. Prakash explained how he could attach a thin tube of blood along the radius of the disc and the spinning forces would separate, say, malaria parasites from blood cells, making it easy to detect the organisms under a microscope. This 20-cent, hand-powered device, called a paperfuge because of the prototypes paper disc, can do the job of a $1,000 commercial centrifuge.

Prakash was presenting at The Sequoias, a brainy retirement community nestled in the wooded foothills west of Stanford University. He had been invited to lecture on this February morning by resident Fabian Pease, PhD, an 80-year-old professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford and a key collaborator on what may be Prakashs most ambitious project yet: designing a scanning electron microscope that provides the basic functions of a $60,000 model for just $100.

The Foldscope, the simple centrifuge and the SEM all exemplify frugal science, designing scientific instruments that are affordable to people in resource-poor regions. Prakash is on a mission to inspire others to create tools that will ignite the curiosity of our next generation of scientists and engineers. And it seems as if he wont stop until every child on the planet has a backpack full of frugal science tools.

Out of India

Prakashs love of invention began during his childhood in a small town in northern India. He grew up in a home where his mother, who had a PhD and taught political science at a local college, emphasized learning. Outside of school, he was encouraged to explore and invent. He and his brother loved spending time building rockets, dissecting animals, collecting unoccupied bird nests and assembling large science models.

This informal, curiosity-driven learning time fueled my love of science, says Prakash.

Ive been wanting to talk to you, too. Could you help us design a $100 scanning electron microscope?

As an undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, Prakash studied computer science. But he soon found that he disliked sitting in front of a computer all day. So, he began sneaking off to tinker in the robotics lab, where he built an omnidirectional walking spider-robot and a program that simulated the drawing style of children. He wanted to do more of this kind of work, and he heard that MIT was the place for inventors, so he applied and got in.

I just got remarkably lucky. There was no rational reason to accept me. I only had a computer science degree and I hadnt published any papers, says Prakash.

At MIT, Prakash thrived. He invented a computer that used logic circuits comprised of microfluidic bubbles traveling along tiny etched canals, rather than electrons moving within metal pathways. And he worked out equations that described how water striders walk on water and how birds feed. He received his PhD in applied physics in 2008, then was awarded a Junior Fellowship at Harvard, which allowed him to pursue scholarship in any discipline for three years.

While Prakash was visiting a health clinic in India in 2010, he saw a photo of Mahatma Gandhi that set his course. In the photo, Gandhi looks through a microscope to observe the bacteria that cause leprosy. Prakash loved the contrasts in the photo. It showed Gandhi in a loincloth, sitting cross-legged on the ground, using an expensive European microscope at a time when India was struggling to shed its dependence on all things European. The instrument was impractical for rural India, where, because of the humid climate, lenses often cloud over with mold. But Gandhi knew he needed this instrument to help fight disease in his country.

For Prakash, this image embodies the idea that a single person embracing science during a tumultuous time can make a difference. This is the picture that started me on my path of frugal science, he says. He decided to spend at least half of his time as a professor developing low-cost science tools for everyone, everywhere.

Its a small world

Pease, a lanky, British-born microscope lover with a full head of silver hair, first heard about Prakash at a June 2014 scientific conference in Washington, D.C. His former Stanford student Alireza Nojeh, PhD, told him over dinner about an extraordinary presentation hed seen earlier in the day: A Stanford bioengineering professor had designed a working paper microscope that cost about a dollar. It was Prakash, who had joined Stanfords faculty in 2011.

The Foldscopes inventors encourage users to draw and photograph what they see through the lens and to share the images with the tools online community. Heres how pollen grains from a lily look.

Pease had to have one, so as soon as he returned to Stanford, he phoned Prakash, who happened to work in the building next door.

Ive been wanting to talk to you, too, said Prakash. Could you help us design a $100 scanning electron microscope?

Its been tried and it cant be done. The vacuum pumps are too expensive, said Pease, who in 1964 wrote his PhD thesis on a high-resolution scanning electron microscope he had designed and built.

Electrons are small, fast and difficult to control, since they obey the strange rules of quantum mechanics. Prakash knew that Peases expertise in harnessing electron beams would be invaluable in his pursuit of a low-cost SEM. Pease was a pioneer in developing electron beam lithography tools used to build large-scale integrated circuits. He also helped Tom Newman, his graduate student, win Nobelist Richard Feynmans most famous physics challenge  to inscribe text small enough to fit all the pages of Encyclopedia Britannicas 24 volumes on the head of a pin. (They did it by using electron-beam lithography.)

Undaunted, Prakash appealed to Peases love of audacious challenges: What if we shot the electrons through a very small distance in air, so that we didnt need vacuum pumps?

An SEM works on the same principle as a document scanner: by firing a precisely controlled beam back and forth across an object, measuring the intensity of the reflected beam and turning the beam into an image by layering dots on a screen. (Its a beam of light in a scanner and of electrons in an SEM.) But SEMs work on a much, much smaller scale, which drives up costs. Generating detailed images of microscopic bacteria and viruses requires a very fine electron beam. And to keep the beam from hitting air molecules and scattering, it is fired inside an airless chamber attached to a pump and power supply.

But instead of this costly set-up, they could shoot the beam through a sealed vacuum tube like those used in old television sets. Or they could shoot it through a very thin glass window, positioned extremely close to the desired object. If they didnt need a 40,000-volt power supply to drive the vacuum pumps, the other microscope subsystems could be run on a trickle charge from batteries.

For battery advice, they turned to Yi Cui, PhD, a Stanford professor of materials science and engineering. He suggested that such a battery could be made for several dollars by using conductive ink to print about 1,000 battery cells on an 8-inch-long, flexible circuit board.

The next challenge was to figure out how to create a tight beam of electrons without using an expensive, power-hungry laser. Pease called in Nojeh, who after Stanford went on to teach engineering at the University of British Columbia. Nojeh proposed that they focus an office-supply laser pointer on an array of carbon nanotubes to create such a beam.

At a certain point, Pease forgot how impossible the goal had seemed at first.

It took me back to my childhood, says Pease. He had pulled out his old textbooks and started thinking about how to simplify everything.

Now Pease is a regular fixture in Prakashs lab, joining three generations of scholars dedicated to squeezing cost out of the microscope subsystems. They currently have a working test prototype.

The primordial soup

Many of the Prakash labs best ideas originate at the Friday meetings where Prakash and his 13 students brainstorm and solve problems. They are primarily biologists, physicists and engineers, but past members have included a circus performer, a music technologist and several high school students. Today, roughly half of the students are developing frugal science tools. The other half study how biological organisms function.

Take Halteria grandinella. Prakash brought this organism into the lab accidentally, from water collected during a Foldscope testing field trip at Lake Tahoe. At a recent lab meeting, Deepak Krishnamurthy, a tall, bearded graduate student wearing nerdy black glasses, led a discussion of the single-celled creature. The aspect that most interests him is the organisms ability to jump at speeds unheard of in the world of microbes. While he was trying to take a picture of the microbe, it disappeared from the microscopes field of view and reappeared elsewhere, almost as if by teleportation. The organism, which lives in pond scum, is spherical with a floppy tuft of hairlike projections, called cilia. It looked like it was wearing a bad toupee.

Prakash kicked off the discussion: OK, lets get this out of the way. Yes, the cilia on top look like President Trumps hair.

Everyone laughed, then Krishnamurthy launched into his slide deck. Someone asked how the organism propels itself backward so quickly. Krishnamurthy waved his arms in a breast-stroke motion to show how the cilia propel the microbe slowly forward, then spun his arms like a frenzied egg-beater to show how the cilia generate explosive backward thrust. He pulled up a graph that showed velocity over time. Then he shared a dance-step diagram that traced the microbes pattern of motion. People argued about the purpose of the hyperspeed jumps. And for an hour, there was nothing more important than this little pond dweller.

Manu Prakash and lab members in Madagascar collect snails for a survey of a disease-causing parasite the animals spread. Right: children in Tanzania build Foldscope microscopes for lessons on germ theory and sanitation.

A million points of light

Toward the end of his lecture at the Sequoias, Prakash pulled up a world map with pins showing where his team had shipped Foldscopes. So far, theyve delivered 50,000 microscopes to 135 countries, beginning in 2013 with a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The prototypes were funded by a Spectrum-Stanford Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Prakash added, When we ship a kit, it comes with two Foldscopes, one for you and a second one for someone who has never looked through a microscope.

A man in the audience asked, Is there a temptation when you invent these things to make a lot of money?

This is a philosophical question I think about, said Prakash. We do file patents, but we decided that we wouldnt evaluate our success by money, but by how many people are carrying these tools in their hands.

To move the Foldscope from a lab-based project to a self-sustaining initiative, Prakash and Jim Cybulski, its co-inventor and Prakashs first graduate student, created a for-profit business, Foldscope Instruments, with a nonprofit subsidiary, thus enabling people with resources to subsidize those without. Their next goal is to ship 1 million Foldscopes around the world by the end of 2017. Foldscope Instruments will also commercialize other innovations from Prakashs lab, such as the paperfuge, which was announced in January 2017, and a $5 chemistry set, announced in April 2014.

Navi Radjou, an innovation strategist and a coauthor of the book Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less, says Prakash is onto something but it could take a while for people to catch on. The Foldscopes first benefit is in education; its a great way to get kids to learn by doing, he says. But when I talk about the Foldscope to large medical device companies, I dont feel enthusiasm from the audience. The idea of affordable tools is a threat to their core business models.

Radjou adds that in the United States, theres a perception that if something is low-cost, its shoddy. It may be that the developing world will leapfrog the West in frugal innovation, because of the Wests attachment to a more is better mentality, he says. The challenge is, how can Manu inspire the whole science community to embrace this concept?

Prakash and Cybulski have learned that its important to have partners in each country who can help train new users and promote the adoption of frugal science tools. To that end, Foldscope Instruments is partnering with a variety of industry, nonprofit and community groups. Through the Sigma-Aldrich Curiosity Labs initiative, they will provide students in 47 cities worldwide with Foldscopes and mentoring. To begin integrating the microscopes into Indian schools, clinics and everyday life, the Foldscope team is working with the Indian government to couple micro-research grants with free Foldscopes. They recently announced a call for proposals from Indian kids, teachers and tinkerers alike.

This was a special moment for me, since I deeply understand what a program like this might have meant for me as a kid growing up in a small town in India, says Prakash.

Near the end of his lecture at the senior center, Prakash offered to launch a Foldscope club there. He and Pease would teach the seniors how to build microscopes; then they, in turn, could teach their children and grandchildren.

Tell the children that everything that you touch, every experience that you have, everything that you hold, has a microscopic component, Prakash urged them. Every living thing is made of these living cells. And just like with astronomy, when you look through a microscope lens, there are galaxies of things crawling around.

As the lights in the auditorium went on, a crowd of seniors rushed the stage, each clamoring for a Foldscope.
There are some interesting coming from the recent visit of President Trump to Pope Francis of Rome. Many are commenting on First Lady Melania and Ivanka wearing black and black veils in the presence of the Holy Father as in this photo:

Why are Melania and Ivanka wearing black?

In Catholic symbolism (and human symbolism!) black garments signifies humility and the desire to not be noticed. During a papal audience, it is traditional protocol for men to dress simply (President Trump has a black and white tie) and for women to wear long black dresses that cover the knee, are high collar (no cleavage for the pope, please), and long sleeves. Melania and Ivanka provide a nice example of how its supposed to look.

But there is an exception for a few Catholic princesses and queens: Le privilege du blanc!

Le privilege du blanc for Royal Women

Le privilege du blanc or the privilege of the white in the presence of the Pope is granted to royal women so long as they remain in good standing with the Catholic Church. Heresy or a non-sacramental marriage would lead to the Pope declining the privilege. The following royal ladies have the privilege du blanc:

Queen of Belgium Queen of Spain Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Princess of Naples Princess of Monaco

Charlene of Monaco (photo to the right) used theprivilege du blanc on 18 January 2016 when visiting Pope Francis as part of an official state visit to the Vatican with her husband, Albert II, Prince of Monaco. Queen Sofia of Spain also used the privilege in 2016.

Cherie Blair (wife of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair) was highly criticized for wearing white while visiting Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
Measures to allow such shops in El Segundo, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach are all on their way to failing, based on semi-official election results
About 150 people showed up Wednesday night to comment on proposed zoning rules for emergency homeless shelters in Longview, with many giving it tentative support and others saying it will burden businesses and poor neighborhoods.

The two-hour hearing before the Longview committee on homeless shelters was the first of several public sessions that will be held before the city adopts rules on where emergency shelters can be located.

One Castle Rock man who owns an 11th Avenue business said shelters allowed in his vicinity would undercut his clients safety and lead to an increase in crime.

We have a high concentration of professional service businesses in these areas. Dentists, physicians, accountants, financial planners. One thing that these offices depend on is clients coming to them and feeling like theyre in a safe environment, and they also want to make sure their personal information that these offices store is secure. Allowing for a high concentration of professional service businesses to have a shelter next to them, just to me doesnt make a lot of sense, the man said.

Steve Langdon, planning commissioner, said the reason the committee chose to propose the zoning districts in the proposal was due to the proximity to services, as well as being in areas where the zoning regulations already allow multiple uses.

Other community members were happy that the process seemed to be moving forward, but they said the proposed restrictions are too great and said the committee should look at expanding the areas where shelters are allowed.

Longview veteran Tracy Kinv said everyone in the community should step up to help those on the streets.

Many people stumble and fall. Many of them are my own brothers out there on the street. Many of them dont know any other way. They act out, some of the crimes that youre reporting are due to PTSD issues.  Every one of these people deserve a chance to eat, deserves a roof, deserves services, deserves medical treatment, deserves access to my own church, Kinv said.

The committee, including two City Council members and two Planning Commission members, is recommending that emergency shelters be allowed in the citys general commercial and office commercial districts.

The largest of the citys general commercial zones is bordered by Douglas Street, 15th Avenue, Tennant Way and Seventh Avenue and along the west side of Oregon Way.

The citys only office commercial zone is bordered by Douglas Street, Ninth Avenue, 15th Avenue and Florida Street.

Under the committees proposal, emergency shelters could not be within 1,000 feet of a school, 325 feet from a park or single-family residential neighborhood or within 1,000 feet of each other.

Applicants planning to run a shelter would have to submit a good neighbor agreement, which would detail how they would minimize impacts to the neighborhood. A public hearing would also have to be held.

The zoning committee is also recommending that small shelters housing 10 or fewer clients would be allowed in the citys R-4 residential districts, which are primarily in the Highlands and Broadway neighborhoods.

Those shelters in the R-4 zones would have to be drug and alcohol free and couldnt accept registered sex offenders. They would be subject to the same buffers as those located in the general and office commercial districts. Youth shelters located in the R-4 zones would only be subjected to not locating within 1,000 feet of another shelter.

The shelters in the R-4 districts would also have to submit a good neighbor agreement and go through a public hearing process.

If you have questions/concerns, contact Steve Langdon, Planning Manager at steve.langdon@ci.longview.wa.us. or at: 360-442-5083.

Maps showing the zoning districts and buffers including West Longview are available online at www.mylongview.com.

The final draft will be submitted for recommendations to the Longview planning commission, which will hold a public hearing on the matter. Then the planning commission draft will then be submitted to the Longview City Council, which has the final decision over the zoning rules. The next meeting for the Ad Hoc committee has not been set yet.
IANS

Sticking to its earlier stand, the Indian telecom regulator on Wednesday recommended penal action against three operators - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular - for not providing adequate points of interconnections (PoI) to newcomer Reliance Jio.

The amount of penalty the three collectively have to pay is Rs 3050 crore. In similarly worded decisions against the three operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said it "considered it appropriate to recommend penal action... in view of the large public interest involved."

An Airtel spokesperson said that the company disagreed with TRAI's recommendation and requested the Department of Telecom (DoT) to reject it. "The penalty has been recommended on the basis of an incorrect assessment of the situation on the ground," the spokesman said in a statement.

Airtel requested the Department of Telecom (DoT) to reject the recommendations and "take into consideration the actions taken on ground by Bharti Airtel". It said "the fact is that we have provided PoIs to Jio at an unprecedented pace despite the provision of 90 days in the licence".

The regulator, in response to queries by the DoT, said that its earlier penalty imposed on the three companies on the basis of licence service areas (LSA) were being confirmed. It had proposed penalties of Rs 1,050 crore each on Airtel and Vodafone and Rs 950 crore on Idea for 21 and 19 licence service areas.

TRAI said under the rules it is not prevented from exercising its mandate to make recommendations to the government for wilful non-compliance of terms and conditions of license. The sector regulator in October said the top three telecom operators in the country had violated licence norms by denying adequate PoI to Jio.

The TRAI said Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may appreciate the fact that Airtel, Vodafone and Idea were "intentionally denying and delaying the provision/augmentation of PoIs to RJIL (Reliance Jio Infocomm), only to restrict a new entrant, thus violating the terms and conditions of licence and regulations/directions of the Authority, which also caused a lot of inconvenience to consumers."

It added that after its intervention the incumbent players have provided PoI capacity at much shorter notices (in some seven instances within 2-3 days), which implies "that it was capable of providing such POIs" without delay.

"In this context, the denial and delay in providing PoIs when the quality of service (QoS) parameters were not being met cannot be explained in any other manner but wilful." It said there was no provision in the licence or TRAI Regulation "to deny/delay provisioning of PoIs during the test phase. On the contrary, the testing cannot be completed unless sufficient PoIs are provided."

TRAI said it was clear that the incumbents TSPs were not willing to provide adequate POIs to RJIL to provide a satisfactorily service to its customers on launch of its commercial service. The TRAI said it took into consideration the efforts made by the incumbent operators in providing sufficient number of PoIs to RJIL.

"However, on finding that the incumbent operators are not willing to provide adequate POIs to RJIL as per its projections and demand, the Authority had to issue show cause notices to the telecom service providers."

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
IANS

The government on Wednesday announced a service to digitise the process of attestation of documents for those going abroad so that they are spared the trouble of visiting government offices for the purpose.

'e-Sanad' -- an initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in association with two other ministries -- will initially be hosting school leaving certificates with the help of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). In subsequent phases, the portal will also host documents from central universities.

'Parinaam Manjusha', the CBSE repository of documents like mark sheets and migrations certificates, has been integrated with e-Sanad for this purpose. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she collaborated with the ministries of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Electronics and Information Technology to execute the task, which was close to her heart.

"Every individual who goes abroad needs to get tens of certificates attested... There was such corruption that if anyone in Bangalore (Bengaluru) wanted to get his documents attested in Delhi to go abroad, there would be touts to do this for him for money," Swaraj told media. Even increasing the number of centres where one could get his certificates attested was not enough, Swaraj said, adding that she wanted "a solution under which no one was physically required to go to the office and carry papers".

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar lauded the endeavour, saying he too had been a victim of red-tapism. Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad hailed the move as a step towards making India digital. Regarding formalities for passport, Swaraj said there were rules which were "impractical, obsolete, unnecessary and anachronistic". She said the number for passport applications had increased by 30 percent since the simplification of process.

CBSE Chairman R.K. Chaturvedi said individuals seeking certificates through e-Sanad for 2016 would be able to access them free of cost. To get older certificates, one would have to pay Rs 100. He said e-Sanad would be a helpful even for employers, who would be able to verify the potential employees' documents through it.
IANS

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated on Wednesday that Iran is "heedless" of what the "enemy" says and will continue its missile programme and become more powerful. "Remarks by enemy about Iran's missile power result from their ignorance," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. "The enemy thinks that our power is restricted only to missiles, while our power lies in this nation's faith," he said at a cabinet meeting.

The President stressed that missiles are one of Iran's needs, and Iran would manufacture whatever it needs without paying any attention to others' remarks. On Monday, Rouhani said that Iran would continue the test of its missiles anytime if there was a "technical need", and it would not seek the permission of any other country to do so.

"Our missiles are for defence and peace," Rouhani said, adding that the US expectations from Iran to halt its defensive missile programme is "an illusion." Earlier on Saturday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in Saudi Arabia that he hoped the re-election of Rouhani would put an to end to Iran's ballistic missile tests.
tech2 News Staff

Japan's SoftBank group has silently acquired a US $4 billion stake in US chipmaker NVIDIA, according to a report in Bloomberg. The holding comprises of 4.9 percent of the shares, which is just a shade below the threshold at which the acquisition is required to be disclosed according to US regulations. It is unknown at what time the stake in NVIDIA was acquired, and depending on the timing, SoftBank could have impressive gains in its returns.

NVIDIA has performed better than analyst expectations, and in 2016, posted its fastest growth in five years. The growth spurt was driven by chips for gaming and data centers. NVIDIA has a market value of more than US $80 Billion.

SoftBank with a group of partners has recently announced $93 Billion committed capital as part of it's Vision Fund. The investors in the fund include the Mubadala Investment Company of the United Arab Emirates, Apple, Foxconn, Sharp and others. The fund will allow SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son to invest more heavily in technology companies than what SoftBank could have invested on its own. The Vision Fund is expected to acquire SoftBank's stake in NVIDIA, according to a report in Nikkei Asian Review.

Initially, the plan was to have the Vision Fund acquire the stake in NVIDIA directly. However, the fund took longer to take off than expected. The Vision Fund is expected to acquire unspecified other investments by SoftBank as well. While NVIDIA chips have traditionally been used for graphics heavy computer games, now the vast processing potential is being increasingly used for autonomous vehicles technology. Automotive partners of NVIDIA include Toyota, Ford and Mercedez-Benz.
tech2 News Staff

About 1300 light years away, is a star called the most mysterious star in the universe. The star has many names including Tabbys Star, Boyajians Star and the WTF Star (the WTF stands for What is the Flux?). The official designation of the star is KIC 8462852. It is an F type main sequence star, similar to our own sun.

What makes it remarkable is its odd light signature. The Kepler telescope showed that the star was dimming unusually during two events in 2011 and 2013. The dimming event in 2011 was far more than what even a planet the size of Jupiter would have caused to the Sun. In 2013, there was a whole complex of dips in the brightness of the star, indicating several overlapping instances of multiple massive objects passing in front of the star. Historical data from archived Harvard slides showed that the star had been steadily dimming over the past century. Scientists believe that the same phenomenon is causing both the steady dimming, as well as the sudden dimming.

If a planet is passing between the star and the earth, then the dimming should have been seen in regular intervals. However, that is not the case, and the dimming is erratic. Suggested theories to explain the light signature of the star include a warped star, dust and comets, and even an alien megastructure known as a dyson sphere from a civilization more advanced than humans.

It is this third hypothesis that makes the star an object of interest for the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). This short video below from UC Berkeley explains what the whole deal about the star is.

In May 2017, the star suddenly started dimming again. Professor. Jason Wright, Associate Professor at the department of Astrophysics called for astronomers around the world to observe the star during the dimming event. Telescopes around the world are engaged in various very expensive studies, and there is usually a strict schedule according to which they observe portions of the sky.

When an unexpected event occurs, astronomers around the world end up co-ordinating on large email threads, trying to figure out a way to make the telescopes observe the event. At the time of the incident, Wright was visiting UC Berkely, and went live with Berkeley SETI Director Dr. Andrew Siemion as the data on the event started pouring in. The video stream can be seen here:

The CHARA array associated with the Georgia State University in the US, The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) from the SETI institute in the US, the HARPS-N spectrograph from the University of Geneva in Chile, the Las Cumbres Observatory which is a global network of eight telescopes, and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo from Spain were among those instruments that interrupted their regular projects to observe the star.

Tabetha Boyajian, after whom the star has been named, explains exactly why KIC 8462852 is the most mysterious star in the universe in this TED talk from 2016.
Danny Ainges son Tanner is 33-years-old and looking for a new job. The thing is, Tanner doesnt want to work for his dad and the Boston Celtics. Instead, Tanner wants to work for the people of Utah.

Tanner doesnt want to work for the Utah Jazz either. Instead, he wants to be the Congressional representative for Utahs third district in Congress. That seat is currently occupied by Jason Chaffetz, who recently announced his retirement from Congress. When the primary is held on August 15th and special election on November 7th, Ainge hopes to come out on top.

According to Boston.com, Ainge declared his candidacy on Monday by filing the correct paperwork and later confirmed it on Twitter.

Thanks to so many for the encouragement. After taking the weekend to contemplate, today I filed the paperwork to run. #aingeforcongress https://t.co/SWS5XjaxPj  Tanner Ainge (@tannerainge) May 22, 2017

Danny then responded with a joke in classic dad fashion:

Why people choose politics is beyond me, but I can't think of anyone more competent and trustworthy than @tannerainge #AingeforCongress https://t.co/wpQQ13i1z3  Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) May 22, 2017

Tanner is currently a managing partner at Ainge Advisory, his very own consulting company. Ainge previously worked on Mitt Romneys 2008 Presidential Campaign and graduated from both Brigham Young University and Northwesterns Law School.

The 33-year-old congressional hopeful has already launched his campaign website: aingeforcongress.com. This all comes a week after Danny Ainge publicly backed his sons run on Twitter:

With vacancy created in the house, I'm encouraging my son Tanner to run. He has the integrity, edu, exp, to rep UT in DC. #AingeforCongress?  Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) May 18, 2017

With Danny already supporting his son publicly, that leaves out the possibility that the Celtics and Jazz might try and swing a trade for endorsement purposes. You know, maybe something like Bostons number one overall pick to Utah in exchange for every Jazz employee supporting Tanner? Wait thats probably illegal never mind.

[Boston.com]
May to cut short G7 trip after Manchester attack

AFP, London :

British Prime Minister Theresa May will curtail her trip to the G7 summit in Italy this week following the deadly suicide attack on a Manchester concert, an official said Wednesday.

Britain is on its highest terror alert level following Monday's bombing, meaning another attack is thought imminent, and police are searching for the perpetrator's accomplices.

May will attend the first day on Friday of the Group of Seven meeting in Taormina on the island of Sicily, which is due to be attended by US President Donald Trump, but will miss the Saturday talks.

"Based on the fact that we have a threat level which is currently critical and the ongoing situation here, the prime minister currently plans a shortened programme at the G7 so she is likely to return on Friday evening," a senior government official said.

Before heading to Sicily, May is due to attend the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, where she will urge the other leaders of the military alliance to step up their efforts in tackling terror.

NATO is expected to join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group, one of Trump's key demands, diplomatic sources in Brussels said.
In first under Trump, US warship challenges Beijing`s claims in South China Sea

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey prepares for a replenishment-at-sea in the South China Sea.

Reuters, Washington :

A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

China said its warships had warned the U.S. ship and it lodged "stern representations" with the United States. China said it remained resolutely opposed to so-called freedom of navigation operations.

The U.S. patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking China's cooperation to rein in ally North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Territorial waters are generally defined by U.N. convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a state's coastline.

One U.S. official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China's claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The United States has criticized China's construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement.

U.S. allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the Trump administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Last month, top U.S. commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon.

Still, the U.S. military has a long-standing position that the operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

"We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement.

The Pentagon gave no details of the latest mission.

Chinese defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang told a monthly briefing two Chinese guided-missile warships had warned the U.S. vessel to leave the waters, and China had complained to the United States.

"The U.S. side's errant ways have caused damage to the improving situation in the South China Sea, and are not conducive to peace and stability," Ren said.

Ren was referring to a recent of easing of tension between China and other claimants, in particular the Philippines.
South Korean delegation calls on UGC acting Chairman

Campus Report :

A six-member South Korean delegation led by Chang soo (Ben) Suh, PhD, Professor, Business Management, Dean of Center for Entrepreneurship and Startups, Soonchunhyang University, South Korea called on Prof Dr M Shah Nowaz Ali, Chairman (In-charge), University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh on Thursday at the latter's office.

Prof Dr Mohammad Yousuf Ali Mollah, Member, UGC, Prof Dr Dil Afroza Begum, Member, UGC and Prof Dr Md. Akhtar Hossain, Member, UGC spoke during the meeting.

Lee Chul Hee, Director, Overseas Business Division, MarkAny, Md. Fazle Rabby, Program Coordinator, KOICA, Dr Muhammad Shariat Ullah, Associate Professor, Department of Management, Dhaka University, Md. Rashedur Rahman, Assistant Director, Department of Organization Strategy and Leadership, Dhaka University and Dr BM Mainul Hossain, Assistant Professor, Institute of Information Technology, Dhaka University assisted Chang soo(Ben) Suh.

The delegation informed the UGC that South Korea through KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) is willing to establish innovation and entrepreneurship lab in Dhaka University for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.

The acting Chairman of UGC Prof Shah Nowaz Ali, observed that South Korea is always with Bangladesh for national development of our country. Terming the proposal as very positive he said that University Grants Commission would extend necessary cooperation and assistance to South Korean Government in this regard.


Experts for institution-based Zakat collection for SDGs

Economic Reporter :

Capable Muslims should offer Zakat (obligatory donation of wealth in Islam) among the poor people through institutions to ensure proper and collective utilization of the fund to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said experts at a round table conference in the city.

"Zakat is a religious and faith-based community tool by which poverty can be alleviated. Besides, the government should allocate more funds for social safety net, which is currently below 2 percent of GDP," former Caretaker Government Adviser Dr AB Mirza M Azizul Islam told the roundtable.

He was speaking as chief guest at the discussion on "Role of Private Sector in Achieving SDGs: A Case Study of CZM" organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Center for Zakat Management (CZM) at DCCI conference room.

Former Adviser to the Caretaker Government Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman moderated the meeting while DCCI Acting President Kamrul Islam delivered the welcome speech.

Mirza M Azizul Islam said institutions like CZM can come forward for institutional management of Zakat as well as overall monitoring.

Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said generally people give Zakat individually and most of the time they give sharees or lungees (clothes) to the poor people.

This system can barely bring any change, he said, adding "We need to strengthen institutional faith-based Zakat management tool and cluster based approach for poverty reduction."

Kamrul Islam said in SDGs, there are 17 goals and 169 targets and it advocates for inclusive growth, poverty alleviation, ensuring education and health care.


Certificate giving ceremony of BAF Jr Command & Staff Course held

City Desk :

The certificate award ceremony of No. 104 Junior Command and Staff Course of Bangladesh Air Force was held at Bangladesh Air Force Command and Staff Training Institute (CSTI) of BAF Base Bashar on Tuesday .

Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Ops & Trg) Air Vice Marshal M Naim Hassan attended the ceremony as the Chief Guest and distributed certificates and trophy among the graduating officers.

13 officers from Bangladesh Air Force, 01 officer each from Bangladesh Army, Indian Air Force, Sri Lankan Air Force and Sudan Air Force attended the course. Squadron Leader S M Shakhawat Anwar of Bangladesh Air Force was awarded with the "Chief of Air Staff's Trophy" for his best performance in the course.

While addressing, Assistant Chief of Air Staff thanked the government of participating countries for sending student officers in this course and hoped that they would continue to send their officers in future as well. Earlier, in the welcome address, the Officer Commanding of the institute, Air Commodore Md Shaharul Huda gave a brief resume on the course curriculum.

Among others, Air Officer Commanding, BAF Base Bashar, Assistant Defence Attache (ADA) of Indian High Commission and senior BAF Officers were present.
Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue Center formed a human chain in front of Aparajeya Bangla of Dhaka University on Thursday marking birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Tributes paid to Nazrul

Marking the 118th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, family members placing wreaths at Poet\'s mazar on Dhaka University premises on Wednesday.

BSS, Dhaka :

People from all walks of life yesterday paid rich tributes to national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on the occasion of his 118th birth anniversary.

The poet's birth anniversary was celebrated with due respect on Dhaka University campus where he has been laid to eternal rest.

The main programme of Nazrul birth anniversary was held in the city's Osmani Smriti (Memorial) auditorium with the

theme "Nazrul, a soldier against imperialism and colonialism".

President Abdul Hamid attended the programme as the chief gust.

Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor chaired the programme that was addressed by Cultural Secretary Ibrahim Hossain Khan and Nazrul Institute Trustee Board Chairman Professor Emeritus Rafiqul Islam.

DU Professor Soumitra Sekhar delivered a memorial lecture on the theme while Nazrul's granddaughter Khilkhil Kazi delivered the welcome speech in the inaugural function.

Later, a cultural programme was held at the same venue.

Earlier, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on Wednesday paying tributes to the national poet.

The programme of the day began in Dhaka with placing of wreaths on the poet's grave at the Dhaka University early in the morning.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique and Khilkhil Kazi paid rich tributes to Kazi Nazrul Islam by placing wreaths on his grave.

Later, Bangla Academy, Shilpakola Academy, National Museum, National Archives and Library, Nazrul Institute, Shishu Academy and different socio, cultural and political organizations paid rich tributes to Nazrul.
Ex-JMB chief Saidur, 2 others get 7yr jail

Court Correspondent :

A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced former chief of banned outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Maulana Saidur Rahman and two others to seven and half years' imprisonment for subversive activities.

Judge KM Imrul Kayes of the Special Judge Court-6 of Dhaka passed the order on Thursday.

The court also fined the convicts

Tk one lakh each and, in default, they will suffer one year more in the prison.

Two others convicts are- Abdullah Hel Kafi and his wife Ayesha Akhter. Earlier, Detective Branch (DB) Inspector Sohrab Hossain submitted the charge sheet of the case against the accused on August 7, 2010.

On May 25, 2010, police arrested Saidur Rahman and two others from a house in the city's East Dania area. During the raids, the police recovered a huge quantity of bomb-making materials, firearms and ammunitions and 24 types of unwanted books from their possessions.
ASI among 6 killed in Gopalganj road crash

UNB, Gopalganj :

At least six people, including a policeman, were killed as a microbus hit a human hauler on Dhaka-Khulna highway at Chechaniakandi in Sadar upazila on Thursday noon.

Five of the deceased were identified as Delwar Hossain, assistant sub-inspector of Sadar Police Station, Azad Sheikh, 26,

son of Altaf Sheikh of East Miapara area and Mujahid Molla, 35, son of Abul Kashem Mollah of Char Gobra village of Sadar upazila, Kulsum, 25, and Sumaiya, 17. Injured Lipon Sardar, 25, was admitted to Gopalganj General Hospital.

Officer-in-charge of sadar Police Station Md Selim Reza said the microbus hit the human hauler as its driver lost control over the steering after its front wheel got punctured around 12 pm, leaving two people, including the policeman, dead on the spot and four others injured, he said.
Trump condemns media leaks

BBC Online :

US President Donald Trump has said leaks of the investigation into the Manchester Arena attack to the US media are "deeply troubling".

They were a "grave threat to our national security", he added, and his administration would get to the bottom of it.

His remarks come after US media published photos from the scene of Monday night's explosion.

Salman Abedi blew himself up after a gig, killing 22 adults and children.

Mr Trump, who is at the Nato summit in Brussels with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, said: "These leaks have been going on for a long time.

"I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the US and the UK."

In a speech at the summit, Mr Trump said the attack in Manchester "demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism".

"Innocent little girls and so many others were horribly murdered and badly injured whilst attending a concert," he said.

"Beautiful lives with so much great potential, torn from their families for ever and ever. It was a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilisation."

Earlier, the top US diplomat in the UK Lewis Lukens condemned the leaks as "reprehensible" and told the BBC action would be taken to identify those responsible.

Media captionLewis Lukens says he doesn't know where the leaks are coming from

It comes as police described the eight arrests made since the bombing as "significant", and items seized in raids as "very important". On Wednesday, the New York Times outraged British police and government officials when it published photos appearing to show debris from the attack.

They included bloodstained fragments from the bomb and the backpack used to conceal it.

Greater Manchester Police were said to be "furious" and said they would stop sharing information with the US.

Its chief constable Ian Hopkins said the leak undermined the investigation and had distressed families "already suffering terribly with their loss".

The New York Times newspaper has defended its decision to publish the pictures, saying they were "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims".
CJ says lack of two-thirds majority to create crisis

UNB, Dhaka :

Voicing concern over the government's bid to empower Parliament to impeach the Supreme Court judges for their incapacity or misconduct, Chief Justice SK Sinha on Thursday said a vacuum will be created in the country if there is no two-thirds majority in the House.

"What if there's a hung Parliament? What will happen in the case of serious allegations against a judge if Parliament has no two-thirds majority? This makes me think," he said.The Chief Justice made the observation while hearing 1

an appeal filed against a High Court (HC) order that declared illegal the 16th amendment to the Constitution establishing Parliament's authority to remove the Supreme Court judges.

Mentioning that they protect the country's most sacred law, the Constitution, SK Sinha said, "We'll see something is inserted into it which creates a vacuum. What will happen then? What will the judiciary do then?"

Meanwhile, three senior lawyers have observed that Parliament should not be empowered to impeach the Supreme Court judges for their 'incapacity' or 'misconduct'.

Former Justice TH Khan, Barrister M Amir-ul Islam and Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud made the observations while placing their depositions as amici curiae on the 7th day of hearing on the 16th Amendment to the Constitution with a seven-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha.

In his deposition, TH Khan said the election through which the current parliament was formed was not legal and this parliament passed the 16th amendment. The Supreme Judicial Council should be empowered further, he said.

Joining the hearing, Barrister Rokanuddin read out a media report on the remarks of an MP about a judge.

He quoted the MP as saying, "Who the hell did make you a judge?" and posed a question, 'Will you hand over the authority of removal of the judges to them (MPs) who can make such comments in Parliament?

He also said an anarchic situation will be created if there is no Supreme Judicial Council.

Barrister M Amirul Islam said nowhere in the world, including India, Sri Lanka and Malaysian, parliament's bid to remove judges could get approval. "There's a system in our country, Supreme Judicial Council. So, they'll look after the removal of judges. If any allegation is raised against any judge, judiciary will investigate it and the Supreme Judicial Council will take the decision," he said.

The state on Sunday started placing arguments before the Supreme Court in an appeal filed against a High Court (HC) order that declared illegal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution establishing Parliament's authority to remove Supreme Court judges.

On February 8, the SC appointed 12 senior jurists as amici curiae seeking their opinions over the legality of the amendment.

They are TH Khan, Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Rafiqul Haque, Barrister M Amirul Islam, Barrister AF Hasan Arif, Barrister Shafique Ahmed, AJ Mohammad Ali, Barrister Rokonuddin, Fida M Kamal. Barrister Ajmalul Hossain, Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan and Barrister MI Farooqui.

On September 17, 2014, the Jatiya Sangsad passed the 'Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill, 2014' without any opposition, empowering Parliament to impeach judges of the Supreme Court for their 'incapacity' or 'misconduct'.

Nine Supreme Court lawyers filed a writ petition with the High Court on November 5, 2014, questioning the validity of the amendment.

On May 5 last year, the HC declared the 16th Amendment to the Constitution illegal. The government on January 4 last filed an appeal challenging the HC decision.

The Constitution drafted in 1972 had given the MPs the power to impeach judges and decide their term in office. But after the Fourth Amendment in 1975, the power was vested with the President.
London cops stop sharing info with US after leaks

BBC Online :

Police investigating the Manchester Arena bomb attack have stopped sharing information with the US after leaks to the media, the BBC understands.

UK officials were outraged when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the New York Times. It came after the name of bomber Salman Abedi was leaked to US media just hours after the attack, which left 22 dead. Theresa May said she would tell Donald Trump at a Nato meeting that shared intelligence "must remain secure".

Meanwhile, the Queen has been to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital visiting some of the injured as well as members of the emergency services.

While there she paid tribute to Manchester and the "extraordinary" way the city had responded to Monday's attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, in which 116 people were also injured.

In total eight men are now in custody fol

lowing the bombing carried out by Manchester-born Abedi, a 22-year-old from a family of Libyan origin. The arrests have been "significant" while searches of premises have also yielded items "important to the investigation", Greater Manchester Police said.

It has also emerged two people who had known Abedi at college made separate calls to a hotline to warn the police about his extremist views. A Whitehall source said Abedi was one of a "pool" of former subjects of interest whose risk remained "subject to review" by the security service and its partners. Greater Manchester Police hopes to resume normal intelligence relationships - a two-way flow of information - soon but is currently "furious", the BBC understands.

Its chief constable Ian Hopkins said the recent leak had caused "much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.". The force - which is leading the investigation on the ground - gives its information to National Counter-Terrorism, which then shares it across government and - because of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement - with the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Media captionThe Queen met staff at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital

All other US-UK intelligence is still being shared, while five terrorist plots have been disrupted in the UK since the 22 March Westminster attack, the BBC has learned. Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said she is "confident" the leaks will now end, after having voiced her irritation following the leak of the attacker's name.

However, the pictures of debris - which appear to show bloodstained fragments from the bomb and the backpack used to conceal it - were subsequently leaked to the New York Times, prompting an angry response from within Whitehall and from UK police chiefs. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera says UK officials believe that US law enforcement rather than the White House is the likely culprit for the leaks.

The police decision to stop sharing information specifically about the Manchester attack with their security counterparts in the US is a hugely significant move and shows how angry British authorities are.

The information from the crime scene wasn't shared on a whim: the British and Americans have a lot of shared world-leading expertise in improvised explosive devices and scientists would be discussing whether the Manchester device tells them something new that could, ultimately, track down a bomb-maker.

Other sharing will continue. The UK and US share a vast amount of information about terror and espionage threats - its a tight-knit network that also encompasses Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

That system is based on trust and the "control principle": if a piece of intelligence is shared, the receiving nation has no right to further disseminate it without permission. The UK's National Police Chiefs' Council described the "unauthorised disclosure" as a breach of trust which had potentially undermined a "major counter-terrorism investigation".

Counter-terrorism detectives have spoken in the past about how a delay of about 36 hours before the public know who is being investigated can allow known associates of the suspect to be arrested without being tipped off. Lord Blair, who was the head of the Metropolitan Police at the time of the bombings in London on 7 July 2005 said a similar leak had happened then.

"It's a different world in which the US operate in terms of how they publish things and this is a very grievous breach but I'm afraid it's the same as before," he said.

Eight men and one woman have been arrested in the UK since Monday night, including Abedi's older brother Ismail, 23. The woman has since been released.

Abedi's younger brother Hashem, 20, was held by special forces linked to the interior ministry in the Libyan capital Tripoli, as was their father.

Speaking on Wednesday, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "It's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating. "And as I've said, it continues at a pace. There's extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester." As part of their investigation, police raided a block of flats near Manchester Piccadilly station in the city centre, requiring them to carry out a controlled explosion and briefly close the railway line.

Police carried out another controlled explosion in the early hours of Thursday morning at an address in the Moss Side area of Manchester.

Anyone with information can call the anti-terror hotline on 0800 789321.

Some of the victims had been making their way outside at the end of the Ariana Grande gig when Abedi detonated his "nuts-and-bolts" bomb.

They include children and teenagers and others who had been waiting in the foyer to pick up concert-goers.

The youngest so far known to have died is eight-year-old Saffie Roussos, while an off-duty Cheshire police officer Elaine McIver was also among the dead.

Among the latest victims to be named are Wendy Fawell, aged 50 from Otley, west Yorkshire and Eilidh MacLeod, a 14-year-old from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, and 19-year-old Courtney Boyle.

Of the 116 injured, 75 remain in hospital. Of those 23 are in critical care, five of them children.

Salman Abedi was a 22-year-old born in Manchester to Libyan parents, and a former University of Salford student. He attended Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester between 2009 and 2011, and The Manchester College until 2013. A former classmate told the BBC that Abedi was a "very jokey lad" but also "very short tempered" and would get angry at "the littlest thing".

The man, who did not want to be identified, said Abedi had hung around "the wrong crowd and was very, very gullible". Before leaving Burnage Academy, Abedi had become "more and more religious", the man added.

A Muslim community worker, who did not want to be identified, has told the BBC that two people who had known Abedi at college had made separate calls five years ago to a hotline to warn about his extremist views.

He said they had been worried that Abedi was "supporting terrorism" and he had expressed the view that "being a suicide bomber was ok".
Banani rape Nayem Ashraf confesses crime, sent to jail

Court Correspondent :

A Dhaka court on Thursday sent Nayem Ashraf, one of the five accused in a case filed for allegedly raping two private university students at The Raintree Hotel in the capital's Banani area, to the jail on completion of his confessional statement about the incident.

Earlier in the day, Ismat Ara Amy, Sub-Inspector (SI) of the Women Support and

Investigation Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Investigation Officer of the case, produced Nayem in the court after seven-day remand.

The Investigation Officer filed an application to the court for recording Nayem's confessional statement about the incident.

Metropolitan Magistrate Satyabrata Sikder recorded Nayem's confessional statement at his chamber and later sent him to the jail.

On May 17, Nayem was arrested from Lohajang of Munshiganj district and he was put on remand for seven days.

Shafat Ahmed and Shadman Sakif, accused of the twin rape, gave confessional statement to the court on May 18. Shafat's driver Billal Hossain also gave the confessional statement, while his bodyguard Rahamat Ali was sent to jail after remand in this connection.

One of the rape victims filed a case with Banani Police Station on May 6 accusing five people. Of the accused, Shafat Ahmed, 26, and Nayem Ashraf, 30, were sued for raping the two female university students while Shadman Shakif, 24, Shafat's driver Billal, 26, and his bodyguard Rahamat Ali for abetting in the crime.

According to the case statement, the plaintiff along with her friend went to a residential hotel at Banani to attend the birthday party of Shafat on March 28.

The two prime accused-Shafat and Nayem-confined them to two rooms of the hotel at gunpoint after the rooftop birthday party was over at midnight. The two girls were made to drink liquor before being raped. Shafat raped the plaintiff while Nayem her friend.

Shafat's driver Billal filmed the incident, she said in the FIR adding that they got introduced with Shafat and Nayem through Shadman Shakif.
Heat wave halved industrial output

Badrul Ahsan :

Productions in factories across the country almost halved due to the sweltering heat wave now sweeping across the country, industry insiders said.

High density of workers coupled with lack of ventilation worsened the situation comparing to other sectors and causing many of the workers to become sick.

Workers and insiders said most of the industries, including ready-made garment, footwear, tanneries and bidi factories, largely lack sufficient ventilation system. Workers density is higher than the normal level.

According to data with different associations, at least 400 employees of several garment factories fell sick due to scorching heat at Konabari and Kashimpur in the city on Thursday.

Besides, a good number of workers in tanneries, footwear factories and other industrial units also fell sick and got admitted to different hospitals due to the abnormal heat wave.

Following the incident, owners of many garment factories shut down their factories and declared general holiday.

"Many of our workers fell sick in the last couple of days due to excessive heat wave and production come down to almost half,"

Shamsuzzaman Rana, Managing Director of Moon Lite Apparel told The New Nation on Thursday.

Agreeing with the claim of insufficient ventilation system in factories, he said, "Many of our factories are built considering normal weather. Factory owners rarely consider unusual situation while appointing workers."

Mitu Sultana, a hospitalized tannery worker who has been suffering of fever said that heat wave inside the tanneries is many times higher than that of outside.

"Poor ventilation system persists in almost all tanneries. We the workers are hostage of the owners wish. Many of our fellow workers are working with fever and some other sickness against their wish," she added.

Police have been deployed in different industrial belts to avoid any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that the heat wave will stay for a few more days. The temperature rose to 36.6 degrees Celsius in capital Dhaka on Thursday, while the highest temperature was recorded at 37.7 degrees Celsius in Khulna.
Trump to have tough talks with NATO leaders

Demonstrations against US President Donald Trump were held in Brussels.

BBC Online :

US President Donald Trump is in Brussels for what his team is describing as "tough" talks with other members of the Nato military alliance.

Nato has agreed to Mr Trump's request to join the US-led coalition against so-called Islamic State.

But he may also press members to pay their full financial share.

Mr Trump has already met EU leaders. EU President Donald Tusk said they had agreed on "many areas" but had differences on Russia.

"I'm not 100% sure we can say that we have a common position, a common opinion on Russia, al

though when it comes to the conflict on Ukraine we were on the same line," he said.

Mr Trump has been criticised for his admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his administration is embroiled in allegations of close ties with Russian interests.

Mr Tusk continued: "However, my main message to President Trump was what gives our co-operation and friendship its deepest meaning are fundamental Western values like freedom, human rights, respect for human dignity. "The greatest task today is the consolidation of the whole free world around those values, not just interests... This is what we - Europe and America - should be saying."

Mr Trump is now meeting new French President Emmanuel Macron. Mr Macron is expected to try to persuade him not to renege on the Paris climate accord. Mr Trump, who threatened to leave the agreement during his election campaign, is due to make a decision soon. The Nato gathering will see the alliance agree to a US plan for Nato to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamist militants, particularly jihadist group Islamic State (IS) - but France and Germany insist the move is mostly symbolic.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "Today we will decide to expand our support to the coalition with more Awacs [Airborne Warning and Control System] flight time, more information sharing and air-to-air refuelling. "This will send a strong political message of Nato's commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our co-ordination within the coalition but it does not mean that Nato will engage in combat operations."

There are concerns that Nato joining the anti-IS coalition could lead to the alliance becoming embroiled in post-conflict Iraq or Libya as it did in Afghanistan, says the BBC's Jonathan Marcus.

Mr Trump has voiced criticism of other Nato countries for spending less on defence than an agreed 2% of national output.

Ahead of Thursday's meetings, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that Mr Trump "really wants to persuade Nato members to step up and fully meet their obligations".

He added: "I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them and say... 'We are doing a lot. The American people are doing a lot for your security, for joint security. You need to make sure you're doing your share for your own security as well.' "That's going to be the core of his message to Nato." 'Minor diplomatic masterpiece' Donald Trump's timetable in Brussels is a minor diplomatic masterpiece of its kind, maximising as it does the number of meetings and minimising the amount of public speaking and press scrutiny which will follow them.

In the morning he'll meet leaders of the EU, among them European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who once complained that two years would be wasted educating the new president about a world he does not know.

In the afternoon he'll be at the headquarters of Nato, an organisation he once described as "obsolete" and whose European members he's criticised for not spending enough on their own defence.

It won't be difficult, though, to construct an agenda for those meetings which focuses on very broad areas of agreement - like the importance of the fight against terrorism - and if the day proceeds without diplomatic incident, Europe's leaders will at least be able to reflect on face-to-face meetings with the world's most talked about political personality.

After landing in Brussels on Wednesday, Mr Trump met the Belgian king and queen while thousands demonstrated against his presence in the centre of the city.

Earlier in the day, Mr Trump said he was "more determined than ever" to pursue peace in the world after meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican.

He arrived in Europe from Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he vowed to try to achieve peace in the region. The US leader began his foreign trip with a two-day stop in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, urging Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation. Mr Trump will end his tour on the Italian island of Sicily at the G7 summit on Friday.
Clash with the judiciary will have dangerous consequences

The present clash between the government and the judiciary will have dangerous consequences for both unless stopped. Any attempt to make the judiciary obliging to the government means denying the judiciary of its role as protector of the Constitution as well subverting the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

If the Constitution ceases to be its own saviour the government itself loses its basis of constitutional legitimacy. To put more bluntly, the government becomes a usurper. So those in the government wants to demolish the people given Constitution should have time to think of the consequences.

The clash with the judiciary first started with dragging the government's feet in not complying with an innocent order of the Supreme Court to issue gazette notification publishing the service rules for the lower judiciary.

Thereafter came the issue of sending of lower court judges to Australia and other countries for training without consulting the Chief Justice.

Before that, a law has been passed by the parliament authorising itself to punish the justices of the Supreme Court. This means in effect as leader of the parliament the prime minister will be the dismissing authority of the Supreme Court justices.

This issue is now being argued before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The High Court Division had already declared the law as unconstitutional.

The indications are clear that the government is keen to have unrestrained power to deny the rule of law and play with human rights. We find it unbelievable that the government is eliminating one after other the democratic institution and still calls itself a democracy.

The fact is it will not be possible to obliterate the Constitution this time. We know Bangabandhu also assumed the power of dismissing the justices of the Supreme Court. But he is no more. Nobody can claim his stature. But he also failed.

In our view not to allow the opposition in the parliament is unconstitutional. The parliament without the opposition is no parliament under the Constitution. Its election is in question.

Perhaps the undemocratic forces in the government saw it as too much of a weakness on that these issues did not come before for a decision. They are now taking chances for gaining the audacious power of sacking the justices of the highest court.

The Constitution is very much here if the Supreme Court does not want to end its own existence. If asked to, the government's electoral legitimacy will be for the Supreme Court to decide. Nobody knows where the government is leading itself to.

The mistake was made by the Supreme Court earlier when by a majority of one, the Supreme Court judges allowed the government to remain in power during election time. Under any parliamentary system, it is unthinkable that there will be elections of the parliament without dissolving the parliament. In the judgment not a single instance was cited where it is practiced.

Now peaceful election for transfer of power remains a far cry. This was a mistaken judgment sending wrong signals to the undemocratic forces. It has to be corrected sooner or later if democracy and the democratic Constitution are to survive.

The international community is anxious to see the next election free and fair. Under the present constitutional arrangement it will be miraculous to have a credible National Election.

Likewise the criminal justice system is also facing serious crisis of public confidence because of crisis of human rights. Arresting a person by police or an Anti-Corruption officer means no bail. Mere arrest is conviction because he suffers in jail. To pray for bail by his lawyer is seen by some judges as co-operating with the crime. Bail is treated as punishment.

The politicised police must not be believed more than necessary. They have arrested the person on suspicion of committing an offence. Now the person is in court's custody and the court should feel fully free to try him to find if he is really the offender.

But bail should be considered on the legal assumption of innocence unless there are materials from the past to show he is unsafe for society.

The presumption of innocence makes the justice system different from police state system. The police think that the person they have accused is guilty. But the courts are supposed to say no, he is innocent before found guilty by a court.

The distinction in attitude that an accused is not to be treated as offender just because the police say so makes a judge so different from a police officer. The accusation is no proof of the crime.

Not only the courts, every citizen must help the police. But not at the cost of his fundamental rights to be free to defend himself. Not also at the cost of legal presumption of he being innocent.

This principle of innocence makes the court the biggest protection to the accused and the surest reason for his faith in the judiciary. The judiciary becomes strong by saving the innocent. By compromising justice the judiciary does its own harm.

The police must be made to work hard to prove the accusation to be right. It is feared that too many false Casper are lodged making it possible for too many criminals to remain free. It is no wonder that crimes are rising.


iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES)  A judge in Los Angeles, California, has issued an arrest warrant for Bikram Choudhury, the founder of "hot" yoga who was ordered in 2016 to pay more than $7 million in a sexual harassment suit.



Choudhury has not paid the judgment. Authorities believe that he has hid his assets and left the country.



According to ABC station KABC-TV, the warrant allows authorities to arrest him if he returns to the U.S. or, possibly, in Mexico.



In January 2016, a jury determined that Choudhury had sexually harassed and then unfairly fired Minakshi "Miki" Jafa-Bodden, his onetime lawyer. He was ordered to pay nearly $6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $924,000 in compensatory damages.



Jafa-Bodden was general counsel to Bikram's Yoga College of India but was fired after refusing to cover up allegations that Bikram had raped and sexually assaulted a yoga student.



"I feel vindicated," she told ABC News in 2016. "I'm elated."



She convinced the jury that the 69-year-old guru had repeatedly sexually harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women.



She also claimed she was fired after she tried to investigate another woman's sexual harassment and rape allegations against him. During the trial over Jafa-Bodden's allegations, Bikram strongly denied sexually assaulting any women. He also denied to ABC News ever having any sexual contact with his students or followers.



Choudhury was one of the pioneers of yoga in the United States, setting up shop in Beverly Hills in the 1970s. His client list is a who's who of the rich and famous. Now his yoga studios are franchised worldwide.



Bail was set at $8 million.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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.
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David Boulet's 15-month tenure as an assistant secretary of the Department of Natural Resources didn't last as long as he'd hoped. He says the private sector opportunity he accepted was too good to pass up.

Photos by Robin May

After 15 months as the Department of Natural Resources man in charge of state oil and gas leases (and the revenue from them), David Boulet has left the department to return to the private sector.

"My tenure wasn't as long as I'd hoped," Boulet tells The Independent in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, "but the opportunity I was offered to return to the private sector was too good to pass up."

Boulet was hired to manage DNR's troubled Office of Mineral Resources by Secretary Thomas Harris in March, 2016. OMR's audit practices had been slammed by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, particularly in two 2013 reports. DNR whistleblower Dan Collins also discovered that maps on state oil and gas leases had been altered on at least two projects. The maps are produced by OMR.

In a November 2016 story in The Independent, Boulet discussed how OMR had languished without effective leadership for roughly five years before he was hired.

"It's been four or five years since an assistant secretary sat in this position," Boulet said then. "This office has been without real leadership during that time. Without leadership things slow down." He added that he viewed his charge from Secretary Harris to re-energize the office.

Boulet pointed out then that the office had five audit vacancies when he took the job. One of the final projects he worked on before leaving on May 12 was to work with Rep. Stuart Bishop on HB49 which would provide a funding stream to enable OMR to staff four new auditor positions.

"I helped put together the fiscal note on that bill," Boulet says of HB49. "It's a good bill that will help the department."

Bishop's bill, which would allocate $900,000 annually to OMR out of legal settlements over royalty disputes, was overwhelmingly approved by the House and now awaits consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

Faced with the reality of a number of field auditors reaching retirement age, Boulet implemented a new training manual with the aim of bringing new auditors up to speed faster. He also implemented new audit tools and procedures aimed and providing faster turnaround on audit projects.

Oil and gas revenue from state-owned lands and water bottoms account for between five and eight percent of state general fund revenue depending on the price of oil and gas and levels of production.

Boulet left DNR to take a management position at Industrial Cooling Tower Services, Inc., a Baton Rouge company that builds, maintains and upgrades cooling towers for companies ranging from refineries to power plants. The company is part of Thermal Performance Group, Inc., which is headquartered in St. Francisville.

"We do work all across the Gulf South," Boulet explains.

According to Boulet, the company contacted him at the end of last year but he didn't decide to leave DNR until Easter.

"I told Secretary Harris right after Easter that I had decided to accept the offer I had," Boulet says. "He asked me to stay on until after the first May meeting of the Mineral and Energy Board, so I did."

"I enjoyed working at the department," Boulet says. "There are a lot of good people there. I had hoped my tenure there would have been longer. I just had to take this position for my family."

Boulet is the son-in-law of former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. He and his wife Monique reside in Lafayette. They are the parents of four children. Boulet holds a degree in mechanical engineering from UL Lafayette. He graduated in 1989.

Pat Courreges, DNR's communications director, says Harris will not name a successor to Boulet until after the end of the current legislative session. Assistant secretaries require legislative approval, according to Courreges, and there is not time to identify a nominee and get them through the review process before the current session ends on June 8.
HB691 would create a new statewide authority to coordinate development and flood control efforts in the states' 24 river basins. If enacted, the bill could create an inland version of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

The House is scheduled to consider on Thursday, Rep. Valerie Hodges' HB691 which would elevate monitoring the status of Louisiana's 24 river basins to the same level of attention as the state now pays to the state's disappearing wetlands.

The Denham Springs representative now serving her second term has been active on flood control issues in her area since taking office, but her concerns gained urgency in the wake of the August 2016 floods. Her home was one of tens of thousands in the Baton Rouge area damaged by flooding.

Earlier in this session, Hodges convinced the House Appropriations Committee to siphon off $190 million in HUD disaster relief money and direct it toward the construction of the Comite River Diversion Project, which has lingered on the shelf for 30 years. Voters in Livingston and Ascension parishes voted to tax themselves to help pay for the project but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has repeatedly refused to fund its share of the project, saying it did not pass the Corps' cost/benefit analysis.

The full House stripped Hodges' funding stream from HB1 during the floor debate on the bill. Hodges said then that she had commitments from several local governments to devote some or all of their disaster funding toward construction of the Comite Diversion project. It calls for the construction of a canal across East Baton Rouge Parish that would allow water from the Comite River to be diverted to the Mississippi River.

With HB691 Hodges has set her sights on a comprehensive statewide approach to flooding issues ranging from flood control to monitoring development in flood plains.

The Independent contacted Rep. Hodges by phone and email regarding her bill but she had not responded to those offers to discuss her bill at press time.

The bill would create the Floodplain Evaluation and Management Commission and give it responsibility for supervision of the state's flood data base and to monitor development with in the state's flood plains. The new commission would be comprised of DOTD (which administers the state flood plan), the CPRA, the Office of Community Development, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security, and a House and a Senate member from each chamber's Transportation committee.

The bill would also require that the flood database be created "for the purpose of the systematic evaluation of drainage and flooding problems in the state."

The most controversial part of the bill would address the reality of flooding, namely that water ignores political boundaries.

The bill states: "The commission shall review the development proposals in each area to ensure that no development in one parish or municipality will have a negative or detrimental effect in any other parish or municipality."

The bill would give the commission the authority to levy penalties against local governmental entities found guilty of approving or authorizing projects that had detrimental affects on neighboring communities.

The flood commission would be obligated to review and update the state flood plan every five years, just as the CPRA is obligated to update its Coastal Master Plan.

In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee last Sunday, DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson revealed to the committee that his department has undertaken a digital mapping project of the Amite River Basin. He said the state was using federal disaster relief to launch the project, which will give the state the kind of digital tools to conduct similar mapping for the state's 23 other river basins.

In response to questioning from Sen. Sharon Hewitt, Wilson said the target date for completion of the Amite Basin mapping project is the fall of 2018.

DOTD Public Information Officer Anastasia Semien, in a statement to The Independent regarding the Amite Basin project, said the department views the project as the forerunner to the kind of broader detailed statewide mapping effort envisioned in HB691.

"The project will produce an in-depth digital hydrology, hydraulic and benefits/consequences model that will be used to evaluate the basin," Semien wrote in an email. "This model will serve as a large-scale planning tools, being able to assist with identifying flood-prone areas and developmental analysis."

The project, Semien added, is federally funded through disaster relief dollars that were awarded to DOTD by the Office of Community Development's Disaster Recovery Unit. The total cost of the project is $2.6 million, according to Semien, $1.98 million for the numerical model and $680,000 for laser elevation data to support the model.

The project just started this month, according to the information provided by Semien, with completion targeted for December 2018.

Part of the investments being made in the Amite Basin project, Wilson told Senate Finance, will give his department the digital foundation to map other river basins.

Hodges' bill, which is at the bottom of Thursday's House Order of the Day, does not provide a funding stream for the commission nor does it have a fiscal note attached to it.

HB691 was originally filed as HB605. It was revised and renumbered after being approved by the House Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee on May 22.
The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that changes Louisianas legal definition of school bus driver to school bus operator.

Some assembly required; operator not included.

School bus drivers may not be school bus drivers much longer.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 243 by Rep. Jeff Hall, D-Alexandria, which changes Louisianas legal definition of school bus driver to school bus operator.

The bill does not change anything about the profession or to whom the laws language applies. Proponents say the change is a matter of respect.

We dont use terminology like lunch lady...or janitor anymore, Louisiana School Bus Operators Association representative Mary-Patricia Wray, told the committee earlier this month. Instead, she said, cafeteria service and custodian are now used, respectively.

Driving and operating are virtually the same thing, Wray told them.
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Illinois Democrats are asking Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration for more information about state leases of private warehouses.

The Senate Appropriations Committee questioned agency directors Thursday over decisions to lease property instead of using existing state buildings to store records.

Department of Human Services officials say safety concerns prompted moving records in February from a former prison to a Springfield warehouse under a $2.4 million five-year lease. A second warehouse will store records for the Illinois Department of Transportation at $277,000 per year.

Michael Hoffman is director of the Department of Central Management Services. He says many state-owned properties are poorly maintained. He also says the budget impasse makes it harder for CMS to be competitive with private contracts.

Democrats say officials failed to provide all the details they requested.

 Associated Press
HERRIN  Dr. Russ and Dee Fine demonstrated some of the sparkle that led to them being honored with HerrinFesta Italianas 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday during the Mayors HerrinFesta Honoree Banquet in Herrin Civic Center.

Dr. Fine started speaking by saying he could not achieved what he has without the partnership of his wife, Davadeen Dee Woerner Fine, and asked her to join him at the podium.

We dated six times and eloped. He knew he had to get me quick, she said, giving the crowd a taste of the humor that no doubt endeared them to their audiences on radio and television in Birmingham, Alabama.

Herrin Mayor Steve Frattini said the event serves as one of kick-off events for HerrinFesta and celebrates the honorees. In addition to the Fines, Frank and Vicki Colombo were honored as parade marshals, and Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois as corporate honoree.

The evening was also a celebration of all things Italian. Mostaccioli dinner was catered by Marys in Herrin. Decorations in colors of the Italian flag were created by Vickie King. Red, white and green attire was encouraged, and many guests complied.

In addition to a radio career that spanned 20 years, the Fines spent five years as the morning drive time radio-television simulcast. They founded Alabamas first chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, with Dee, of Herrin, eventually becoming the national organizations vice president. She also created and directed Alabamas first office of Victims Assistance.

Dr. Fine has spent 41 years on the faculty of University of Alabama School of Medicine, where he currently is professor emeritus in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. His research in spinal cord and head injury and injury mechanics has resulted in more than 100 published articles and book chapters and brought nearly $50 million to UAB. He is from Carterville.

Herrinites Frank and Vicki Colombo were honored as Grand Parade marshals. Frank Colombo accepted the award on behalf of the Colombo, Storme, Brown, Crispi and Magnotti families.

The Colombo family has a long history in Herrin. Frank Colombo, the honorees grandfather, came to Herrin from Cuggiono, Italy, in the early 1900s. His grandson showed his final naturalization papers, dated Jan. 20, 1905, to the crowd at the civic center. A year later his grandmother, Caroline Lena Calcaterra, came from Cuggiono to become his grandfathers bride.

Colombo graduated from Herrin High School and attended Murray State University and SIU. He served in the U.S. Army and four years as an apprentice wireman electrician, before joining the family business, Colombo Electric, owned by his parents, Tommy and Ruth Wilma (Storme) Colombo. He served on the board of directors for First Southern Bank, REDCO and Herrin TIF committee and is a member of Herrin Chamber of Commerce.

Vicki Colombo was introduced to the Italian families in Herrin when her mother, Lila, married Tony Magnotti, and they moved to Herrin. She is a graduate of Herrin High School and attended SIU. She moved to Chicago and worked for a law firm, as hostess for Faces, co-owned Park West, a 1,000 seat concert club, and was general manager of the Daily Planet. She is a news photographer and does voice overs for local cable, television and radio. She has served as publicity and social director for numerous organizations.

Joey Helleny, vice president of HerrinFesta Committee, introduced the corporate honoree and Airport Director Doug Kimmel.

All of us have some connection to Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, Helleny said.

Kimmel thanked everyone, then paused to remember Richard Pisoni, longtime airport board member and Herrin resident who died Jan. 17.

I cant help but think how much he would have loved being here tonight, Kimmel said.

Kimmel read a quote by World War I flying ace William Mitchell that says, To measure the heartbeat of your city, take the pulse at its airport.

He said planning and development at the airport says as much about the community as it does about the airport and showed a short video about the airport.

Airport Authority chairman Bernard Paul also spoke, telling the crowd to get children to the airport.

Thats our key, our gateway to the whole world, Paul said.

I am very blessed. I am an Italian and I am very proud of my heritage, Frattini said.

Cris Trapani, president of HerrinFesta Italiana Committee, said the event celebrates the community, region and honorees, adding that Festa is a real partnership between volunteers on the committee, Herrin Chamber of Commerce, the city of Herrin and Herrin Civic Center.
Having officers spend more time on foot in public housing areas or leave notices for local businesses during an overnight patrol, letting them know they were patrolling, makes a big difference, according to Murphysboro Police Chief Chad Roberts.

These are just some of the changes that Roberts, in his first year leading the department, has implemented as part of his policy on policing, an approach he believes is not only gaining support from the community, but making policing in his city attractive to would-be job applicants.

Maybe his belief is born out in the 50 applications he got for three open jobs, after he shared his approach with a criminal justice class at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The applicants included women, minorities and SIU students. Hes already hired the three replacements, who are on the job now doing field training as other officers prepare for retirement by July.

In a time when police are under increased scrutiny, Roberts believes enhancing his department's role in the community and educating possible candidates about that helps generate interest in his department.

"Community police is not a new approach, its a well stationed approach in America, is just something new were bringing to Murphysboro," Roberts said. (It's) just more involvement in the community, more proactive policing."

Recruiting, hiring for new officers

His and a handful of other departments are responding to retirements, moves and other transfers and even injuries, to keep their departments well-staffed.

The Harrisburg Police Department was recently given the go-ahead to hire a 12th officer for its 13-member department and Perry County Sheriff's Office is looking to hire a deputy sheriff. Applications are being accepted through June 23.

Marion Police Department expects to choose its newest recruit Thursday, bringing its total number of officers to 33. The person will come from the 11 people who interviewed for the position. Marion is expecting to hire another officer later to meet its capacity of 34 officers, Chief Dawn Tondini said.

In the three years since Tondini was chosen to head the Marion Police Department, she has hired about seven new officers, filling vacancies from retirements, illness and other issues. The Marion City Council allowed her to add two more patrol officer positions, bringing to 34 its total number of officers.

The hiring is not just happening in Southern Illinois, noted Roberts, who has been in Springfield at the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board training for new police chiefs. Virtually all of the departments represented there are looking to hire new officers.

In his opinion, right now is a good time to be a law enforcement officer looking for work in the state of Illinois.

Roberts might even be hiring up to four more officers, especially if some of his officers move on to larger departments, like Carbondale or the Illinois State Police. His three recent hires fill vacancies to be made soon by the retirements of three long-serving officers  Sgt. Brian Brewer, Sgt. Tim Legere and Sgt. Ed Reiman.

Should he have to hire to fill any new vacancies, he will have to go to the list of candidates already compiled by the Police Board, per state law. The police department, though, will be testing for future applicants in October, he said.

A philosophy on 'community policing'

Roberts' move to have Murphysboro's police officers get out of their cruisers more and interact with the community is part of his policing philosophy, similar to the community policing model supported in the May 2015 "President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing." In addition to the increased foot patrols and night checks on businesses, Murphysboro officers visit the district's schools daily, interacting with the youth, Roberts said.

Tondini said she thinks the recent political climate surrounding policing has contributed to the declining number of out-of-area candidates, although she said other factors are involved. She also wondered about the impact that technology has on the attractiveness of such a service-minded occupation.

Tondini said it's not easy being a police officer today, being shot at, being yelled at, arresting people, going into homes where children are or have been abused and then having to go home and put that aside.

"The citizens of Marion have been very supportive of our police department and we appreciate that," she wrote in an email to The Southern. "However, nationwide there has been a lot of negative publicity toward the police. There have been several high-profile killings of police officers. Police officers seem to be under constant scrutiny in some areas, and I am sure all of this has some impact on people looking to go into this line of work.

"It definitely takes a special person who wants to get into this work, because sometimes you just dont get treated nicely," Tondini said in the telephone interview. "Its a tough job ... Right now, there are lots of easier jobs out there.
"Tracy and I can't thank the people of Southern Illinois enough for their support and their prayers. Our victory tonight sends a powerful message to out-of-touch politicians everywhere that we're unified and unyielding in the fight for our conservative values. Joe Biden's going to be held accountable for destroying the economy, ignoring the border crisis, and taking us from America First to America Last in two years flat. But none of this would be possible without the trust of voters from across our vast 12th District. Serving you is truly the honor of a lifetime."
To the Editor:

The Illinois State Senate is currently working on a budget compromise called the Grand Bargain, which is a 500-page expansion of taxation in Illinois.

One of the proposals in this so-called Grand Bargain is to raise taxes on services  including a 6.25 percent sales tax on home repair services.

We want people to keep their homes in good repair. We want safe, healthy neighborhoods. Creating an onerous, confusing tax on home repair services would lead to a reduction in these services and make our homes and our neighborhoods less safe.

This tax will also hit seniors and those on limited income the hardest and it will be a deathblow to homeowners already victimized by fire or storm damage. Fire damage can easily exceed $50,000, meaning the taxes to these repairs could exceed $3,000!

Instead of taxing home repairs, why not do something an overwhelming number of Illinois residents support?

The Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity projects that a penny-per-ounce tax paid by the distributors of sugary drinks could generate $560 million per year or even possibly close to $1 billion after federal matching funds, which far exceeds the $47 million that will be generated by home repair work. A recent poll conducted in February by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research (ALG) indicated, voters prefer the sugary drink tax (72 percent) to home repair and landscaping tax (19 percent).

The State of Illinois is in serious trouble. Everyone gets that. Raising taxes on home repair will not generate much revenue for the state, but it will have a devastating impact on the construction industry in Illinois.

Lawmakers need to understand what Illinois residents already know  our state will be much better off with more repairs being done than even more sugary drinks being consumed.

Pete Stefani

President, Kings Court Builders, Inc.

Naperville
To the Editor:

The State of Illinois has never been more broken than it is today. For over two years our lawmakers have been unable to agree on a permanent budget, which negatively impacts the lives of everyone living in the state. At a time in which voter turnout rates in our country are among the lowest in the developed world and our leaders in Washington, D.C., threaten many of our core values, Illinois must be a beacon of democracy and end this destructive practice of ineffectiveness and partisan fighting.

To make matters worse, wealthy donors and special interests are pouring money into our political races like no other time in our states history. How can we justify a system in which over 150 million dollars was spent on political races in 2016, while social services are being cut and schools remain underfunded? How can we sit idly by when over $75 million dollars have already been contributed to the Gubernatorial race by just three individuals with 18 months remaining before the 2018 election?

What we can do is to pass reforms that will provide an alternative to unlimited campaign spending, limit special interest control in Springfield, and allow people from communities across Illinois to run for office. It is time for our politicians to start listening to the needs of their constituents, and not just the whims of their political donors. It is time to stop the poisonous campaign ads that flood our airwaves during election time. It is time that Illinois pass the Fair Elections Act (SB1424), a bill strongly supported by Common Cause Illinois and recently passed by the Illinois Senate, which would create a small donor public financing system for elections.

If we want to find justice for our communities, we must make changes to the core of our broken system. Passing the Fair Elections Act is the first step in allowing ordinary people to become the change that we so desperately need. If you believe that Illinois deserves better, please join me in contacting your state representatives and urging them to pass SB1424.

Brian Gladstein

Executive Director

Common Cause Illinois
Local college students recently participated in training that not only taught them about geospatial technology, but also took them on adventures outside of the classroom.

The geosciences and geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, training is a three-year project at Claflin University funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Its a targeted infusion project focused on building an interdisciplinary geosciences and geospatial intelligence curricula through applied training and mapping and spatial reasoning, principal instructor Dr. Camelia Kantor said.

This type of training is unique to the area and possibly to the country, and will be serving as a model in training students in these fields, Kantor said. It is rare that a small school located in a predominantly rural area leads two other major research institutions in such technically advanced projects.

The course has an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together students from different departments at Claflin as well as a few students from South Carolina State University.

So we have a really interesting mix of students, different classifications, different majors and minors who are participating in an intensive three-week training. We are in year two of the training, Kantor said.

The course also brings together instructors from several schools to assist her: Dr. Narcisa Pricope of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington; Dr. Camelia Knapp of the University of South Carolina; and Dr. Mihail Kantor of Claflins biology department.

Students learned about online mapping and field data editing and post-processing. They also learned about concepts relating to groundwater, aquifers and hydrology.

In the first week of this years training, the students collected water samples from local ponds and streams to analyze the nitrate content in order to build a geodatabase.

Weve been learning what GEOINT is, so were basically playing with satellites and pinpointing where our location is, as well as going around and taking samples from different lakes, bringing them back to the lab and testing them for their nitrate levels, said Claflin senior biology major Monai Mitchell.

In the second week, they watched as a drone flew over Claflins campus collecting geospatial imagery, which was later used in class. In the final week of the course, students visited Congaree National Park, canoeing and hiking and working with the parks educational director to understand watersheds and geology.

At the end of the week, we go back to the human aspect of geospatial technology  were looking to human geography in case studies, Kantor said.

In the field and in class, students got hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment and industry-standard software.

Were all trying to teach the students, train the students in geospatial technology  geographic information systems, were doing a little bit of remote sensing, were doing data collection, GPS data collection, Kantor said. And were doing the basic procedures of creating maps ... databases, geodatabases ... were doing a lot of stuff."

"Im actually in phase two of the internship, so this is a continuation of last year for me, S.C. State sophomore agribusiness major Trevon Andrews said. Last year ... we learned geospatial concepts, what GEOINT is ... and an introduction to how to use GIS software and to be able to use and operate a map.

This year, were not operating maps so much as actually collecting data and then creating our maps, and taking it a step further to be able to analyze those maps and then build relationships and draw connections and conclusions from what we see on our maps that we created, Andrews said.

Claflin senior sociology and education major Marshall Wingate is also in his second year of the training.

What were learning now is mapping. Weve been collecting data samples. Im actually configuring them out on a map and pinpointing different locations, Wingate said. Today was actually making a map with rivers and lakes in it, and its very interesting.

The training is intensive, but the students seem to enjoy it, Kantor said. And the skills the students learn in the training can make them highly sought after in the job market, she said.

Right now, the fact that they already know how to utilize the symbology, how to utilize the correct projections, to work in RGS in ESRI -- this is the top software in mapping -- theyre already marketable in anything that deals with utilization of cartography, Kantor said. And actually if you look into ... this years classification of Forbes top jobs, cartography and photogrammetry is number 15. So this is a very hot job market.

The skills also have military applications, she said.

We have a pretty good number of ... ROTC students doing this because the technology is now highly utilized by the military, Kantor said.

Im going to join the Air Force when I graduate, Mitchell said. And from there in the Air Force, they deal with airplanes and dropping bombs and doing surveillance and reconnaissance."

She added, So this will actually help me because theyre pinpointing the location and using different GPS (data) to figure out the radius. So when you drop a bomb, it has to land in that radius, and you need GPS and satellite imagery to do that."

Im actually an Army ROTC cadet at South Carolina State University, and a combat engineer is one of my possible selections, Andrews said.

Geospatial certifications, GEOINT certifications ... are available for combat engineers, and theyre actually recommended for those officers in that field, he said. Because what a combat engineer does is to locate the enemy and create a path to reach the enemy, and that deals a lot with geospatial sciences.

Im actually involved in the community, Wingate said. I want to do research in the communities and I want to actually use mapping to help me pinpoint different locations or different structures in the community (to help identify) destructive things thats bringing the community down."

So what Im trying to do is try to find things in our area ... that are destructive toward the community."
An Orangeburg man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murder Wednesday afternoon in the 2015 shooting death of 48-year-old Franklin Degree Jr.

The jury deliberated for just under an hour before returning a guilty verdict against 53-year-old Michael Green at 12:30 p.m.

Assistant Solicitor Ashley Cornwell said Green entered Degrees Bellview Road home and shot him after he confronted Green in the yard.

Green claimed he was defending himself, saying he thought Degree was reaching into his pockets for a weapon on Nov. 28, 2015.

In her closing arguments, Cornwell told the jury Degree wasnt looking for trouble when Green waited for him to arrive home on a bicycle at the Bellview Road home.

Cornwell told the jury Green had plenty of opportunities not to bring on any difficulty, but instead of walking away, he entered Degrees home and shot him.

There was no act of aggressiveness by Franklin Degree, Cornwell told the jury.

She said Green didnt act in self-defense when he shot and killed Degree.

Public defender Minh Wyman tried to convince the jury that the prosecution called non-credible witnesses and that law enforcement did a sloppy job, she said.

She said the prosecution was relying on testimony of liars.

Wyman also said, Michael had a right to act on appearances when he saw Degree allegedly reach into the pocket of his jacket.

She said the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office closed this case after Michael turned himself in.

If theyre going to charge someone with murder, they need to get their facts together at the very least, Wyman said.

Before Circuit Judge Maite Murphy sentenced Green, Cornwell asked her to punish him to the maximum extent.

Cornwell described Degree as a brother and son who was well loved by his family.

He did not have any sort of drug or alcohol problem and did not have a serious criminal record, the prosecutor said.

He was a kind and caring person, Cornwell added.

Wyman described Green as a father and grandfather.

Hes a high school graduate, hes a nice guy and hes funny, she said.

She asked for the court to show mercy.

Mr. Green, theres certainly nothing nice or funny about the act youve been convicted of and your prison record, Murphy said, then sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

Greens prior record of convictions includes aggravated assault and battery, purse snatching, third-degree burglary, failure to return rental property, distribution of cocaine base, threatening the life of a public official, disorderly conduct and first-degree assault and battery. Hes now added murder to the list.

As officers led Green out of the courtroom, he turned his head and mumbled something toward Murphy.

The judge immediately asked the court reporter to make certain Green's remark got into the record.

Those in proximity to Green said they werent certain what he mumbled.
As a child, there were dozens of refrigerator magnets in my home showcasing countries from Israel to Spain. My desire to understand the world was later shaped when I was accepted into my high school international studies program. That experience, coupled with my fathers service in the U.S. Navy, sparked my eagerness to travel the world, experience different cultures and pursue a career in international affairs.

Today, I work at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, China. As a consular officer, my first responsibility is to help U.S. citizens if they visit or reside in the Guangzhou area, which includes four provinces in southern China.

Our top priority is to ensure the protection and safety of Americans while visiting or living overseas. If you ever need assistance, the American Citizen Services section in any U.S. embassy or consulate is available to help. For example, if a family member dies, we provide assistance to the next of kin in getting the loved one home. Or, if your child loses a passport, we can provide an emergency replacement. If you lose your wallet and do not have any money to travel home, we can offer a repatriation loan to get you back.

During the fall semester of my junior year at Claflin University, I accepted an overseas internship with the Department of State in Rome. My internship at the U.S. mission to the U.N. agencies was a fast-paced and meaningful experience that allowed me to better understand world affairs.

As soon as I received the internship offer, I knew my parents and relatives would want to stay in touch with me during my time away from home. While venturing to Italy as a single female of color, I made photocopies of my passport, state ID card and medical records for my parents to have in case something happened.

I also enrolled in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at STEP.state.gov -- something I'd recommend for everyone, especially those traveling alone. STEP is free and allows our embassies and consulates to contact you in an emergency, plus you can sign up to receive security updates while you travel.

Now for the fun part: Consider visiting Guangzhou! From here you can set sail on a cruise on the vibrant Pearl River Delta. Or visit Shamian Island and take a nice stroll to discover iconic buildings and churches. And of course, having Cantonese-style congee and Hainanese chicken rice is a must.

I am proud to serve as a Foreign Service officer. Wherever your future travel takes you, whether eating pizza on Rome's Spanish Steps or reading a restaurant menu in Chinese, know that taking a few precautionary STEPs can save you a lot of headaches and confusion.
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By Trend





By Sara Israfilbayova

Latvia and Azerbaijan are keen to expand economic cooperation. The issue was discussed at a meeting of Bakus Ambassador to Riga Javanshir Akhundov with Azerbaijani businessmen working in this country.

The sides discussed opportunities for expanding trade ties and increasing trade turnover between the two countries.

Akhundov stressed that the political dialogue between the countries is at a high level, while noted the need for corresponding intensive growth in field of economic cooperation.

He further mentioned several important projects that could increase bilateral economic ties, including Azerbaijan's participation in the ZUBR container train project, which connects transport hubs in the Baltic, Black and Caspian regions.

In turn, Azerbaijani entrepreneurs put forward a number of proposals for the development of economic and trade relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan.

They stressed the need to open direct flights to strengthen trade relations and the importance of opening a trade house of Azerbaijan in Riga.

Earlier, Latvian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Juris Maklakovs stressed that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia decreased by 28.93 percent in 2016 as compared to 2015, adding that however, the volume of services rose, which indicates the availability of capacity in this area.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia for the first quarter of 2017 amounted to more than $350,000, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament [Milli Majlis], Ogtay Asadov will visit Latvia next week to discuss the strengthening of parliamentary and economic relations.

Asadov is expected to hold a meeting with President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament Inara Murniece, Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis and Economy Minister Arvils Aseradens.

Priority areas of cooperation between the two countries include joint investment projects, effective use of international transportation corridors, education, agriculture, construction, tourism and health.

Latvia considers Azerbaijan an important partner in the field of transit and logistics in the South Caucasus region.

Republic of Latvia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1992. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1994. The embassy of Azerbaijan, which is also the first Azerbaijani embassy in the Baltic countries, was opened in Latvia in 2005. The Latvian embassy in Azerbaijan has started its activities since 2006.
By Trend





By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan plays an important role in ensuring Georgias energy security, First Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia, Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said on May 25.

The Deputy Prime Minister named Azerbaijan a strategic partner, APA reported.

We today depend on Azerbaijani gas. Currently, Georgia purchases gas from only Azerbaijan. This is important for us. As our strategic partner, Azerbaijan makes large amount of investment in Georgia. Our joint projects will soon be completed and well purchase additional gas from Azerbaijan, he said.

Earlier, Kaladze said that this year, Georgia will receive 2.457 billion cubic meters of gas, of which deliveries from Azerbaijan will amount to 2.347 billion cubic meters of gas (95.5 percent).

Georgia stopped importing gas from Russia in 2007. Since then, Azerbaijan has become the key supplier of gas to Georgia, thus decreasing Georgias dependence on Russian gas.

Azerbaijan supplies Georgia with natural gas from the Shah Deniz field via the Hajigabul-Gardabani pipeline. The second way carrying gas to Georgian consumers is the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (South Caucasus) Pipeline, through which the gas from the first stage of the Shah Deniz field is supplied to Georgia and a large proportion goes through its territory to Turkey.

Azerbaijan and Georgia, the two neighboring countries with long-standing and successful relations established diplomatic relations in 1992. The countries are actively cooperating in trade, transport and energy spheres.








Reports: Everton in talks with Martina

Thursday, 25 May, 2017



Ian Walton/Getty Images

Martina was strongly linked with a move to Goodison Park to link up again with Ronald Koeman last summer but nothing came of the speculation.

Now, with The Guardian's Andy Hunter and others reporting that the Dutch defender has flown in for talks with the Blues, it looks as though Koeman has decided to take Martina on a free transfer now that his contract with the Saints has expired.

The 27-year-old, who played under his compatriot at St Mary's Stadium, would provide cover at right back for the injured Seamus Coleman while also being an option in central defence if needed.

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Commercial Bank International (CBI), a leading bank headquartered in Dubai, UAE has partnered with Al Jalila Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, to support the foundations medical education, research and treatment programmes.



Mark Robinson, chief executive officer and Hessa Al Ghurair, head of Corporate Social Responsibility and chief human resources officer at CBI, met with Dr Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama, the chief executive officer of Al Jalila Foundation, today (May 25) to sign an MoU.



Through the partnership, funds contributed by donors into CBIs charitable Zakat account will be channelled to Al Jalila Foundation to help fund medical education, research, training, and treatment of patients who are ineligible for medical assistance and other foundation programmes.



Robinson said: We are proud to partner with Al Jalila Foundation, an important national foundation focused on driving real impact across the UAE by investing in healthcare. Throughout the year, our CSR program focuses on helping people in our community that need support. And during Ramadan, we will direct all Zakat account donations made through CBI to Al Jalila Foundation, enabling us to increase our impact. In the coming months, we look forward to giving more back to the community through this partnership.



Dr Al Olama said: CBI has a strong CSR programme that is aligned with Al Jalila Foundations goal to provide medical assistance to people in our community. We are grateful for CBI's support of our vision to improve patients lives, be it through medical treatment, education or research. Partnerships with financial institutions are instrumental in helping us deliver UAE Vision 2021 for a happy, healthy and prosperous nation.



CBIs CSR program aligns closely with the UAEs Year of Giving, and the UAEs national programme for happiness and positivity. To reflect CBIs values, the Banks CSR programme is focused on supporting education through charity and volunteering, reducing the Banks carbon footprint, delivering safe and secure banking solutions for customers and demonstrating care and compassion for its own employees, added Al Ghurair.  TradeArabia News Service
Top telecom provider Zain has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Mastercard, a leader in global payments industry, to boost digital payment services in Jordan through Zain Cash mobile wallet service powered by Mastercard.



Aimed at extending the benefits of the Zain Cash service to Zains growing subscriber base and enriching their experiences, the announcement was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Mena, held recently in Jordan.



The MoU was signed by Ahmad Al Hanandeh, CEO of Zain and Timothy Murphy, general counsel and chief franchise officer, Mastercard, in the presence of Dr Ziad Fariz, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan.



Under the license granted by the Central Bank of Jordan, Zain has been approved to issue Mastercard prepaid cards linked to the Zain Cash mobile wallet to provide subscribers with the advantage of obtaining and utilizing the card locally and globally through a network of more than 50 million Points of Sale, where Mastercard cards are accepted, as well as the possibility of shopping online and using it on the ATM network.



Al Hanandeh said: We are very pleased to sign this strategic partnership with a leading technology company such as Mastercard, as we continue to deliver the latest and world-class services to our subscribers and provide features that make it easier for them to complete their daily transactions.



This partnership is part of our efforts to boost the electronic payments system in Jordan, and expand the Zain Cash services to enrich the subscriber experience and provide them with an unprecedented, easy and secure way to pay by mobile in the Kingdom.



We want Zain Cash to be a complete service, as its launch reflects our commitment to providing all advanced ICT solutions to our subscribers. Our customers have always been at the forefront of the most advanced technologies in the world, so our strategic partnership with Mastercard will contribute to the goal behind Zain Cash and to provide e-payment solutions to all citizens, he added.



Basel Eltell, general manager, Saudi Arabia and Levant Cluster, Mastercard, said: "Our collaboration with Zain is an important strategic step aimed at enhancing the e-payment sector in the Kingdom. Mastercard recognizes the need to create secure solutions that meet the growing expectations of customers and drive the wider adoption of e-payments.



We are pleased to sign this agreement with a prominent company such as Zain, which comes as part of our relentless efforts to deliver innovative financial solutions for mobile payments while also reflecting our vision of paving the way for all segments of the society to have access to financial services."



Zain Cash offers all local mobile network subscribers a convenient and secure way to make payment transactions and process monthly payments by saying their time and efforts. The re-launch of Zain Cash comes as part of the companys partnership with the Central Bank of Jordan, through the national link JoMoPay that was launched and is being operated by the Central Bank of Jordan.  TradeArabia News Service
Abu Dhabis Urban Planning Council (UPC) has launched six major online services, as part of its digital transformation project, with a fresh new website.



This project is being rolled out in four phases and once complete, it will offer an entirely multichannel digital experience in accessing UPCs tools, services and resources, according to UPC.



The UPCs six e-services and impressive library of manuals and resources are now available on its revamped website, which serves as Phase One of the e-Services Transformation Project, said the council in its statement.



With a clean streamlined look and accessible digital services, the website will act as a one-stop shop for developers, other government entities, students and Consultants, and pearl qualified professionals, saving them both time and effort, it stated.



Falah Al Ahbabi, the director general, UPC said: "In line with the Abu Dhabi Plan, today marks a huge milestone in our digital transformation, which will bring all of our services online."



"With a customer-centric approach, the e-services system will be available across various platforms to enhance user experience. The revamped website has a clean design and simple navigation, providing quick and easy access to our e-Services and a more comprehensive understanding of our standards and requirements," he noted.



One of the e-services in the initial roll-out are requests for Estidama training registration, which ensures stakeholders adhere to the UPCs mandatory Pearl Rating System for the design, construction and operation of Complete Sustainable Communities.



The others are requests for enquiry meetings and PQP certificates, while developers can carry out various requests for Master Plan concept and detailed approvals, and Master Plan minor amendment approvals  all without having to visit the UPC office, he added.



To ensure the UPC continues to provide a seamless and efficient digital service, developers and stakeholders have been asked to try all the six e-services and give their feedback by August 8.



Alongside these digital processes, the UPCs library of resources is also available, including its 11 manuals to help drive and support Abu Dhabi's urban development strategy on topics including Urban Street Design, Neighbourhood Planning and Community Facilities Planning Standards, said the UPC statement.



Phase TWo of the e-Transformation Project is scheduled for the third quarter and the mobile app will be launched by the end of the year, as part of the UAE Smart Government services.-TradeArabia News Service
UAE-based Utico, GCCs largest private utility, has bagged the Desalination Company the Year award at the Global Water Summit 2017 recently held in Spain.



This makes it the first UAE company to win the coveted annual award at the worlds premier business gathering for the water industry worldwide.



Utico, which is currently developing $700 million worth of water and other green projects in the UAE and over $350million across the world, is the only company from the Middle East to win the coveted award, a statement said.



Utico won the honour for developing a trailblazing independent water and power project (IWPP) model distinctively positioning the company as a private water utility dealing directly with the end users and government bodies alike. The award was given by Global Water Intelligence with worldwide industry peers voting and assessment by an eminent independent jury.



This award is a global endorsement recognizing the viability and investor acceptance of our private business model in the desalination and water industry sphere. Our model supports governments and consumers with sustainability across operations. In the case of governments, the benefit is either low or no subsidy and cost-efficiency which in turn has trickle down benefits to consumers, said Richard Menezes, managing director, Utico.



The citation by the Global Water Award committee said that Utico has taken the desalination industries development model to the next level lining up a string of power and water projects around the Gulf while spreading its wings abroad through acquisitions, particularly mentioning its takeover of Minjur acquisition plant in Chennai, India last year.



Uticos landmark achievement of closing a $147 million deal with sovereign wealth fund- IDBI Infrastructure Fund II  managed by Asma capital for project and equity finance was also cited as a significant mark of confidence from investors in its strategic business model. ASMA Capital is owned by sovereign institutions including Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Public Pension Agency (PPA), Ministry of Finance of Bahrain and Ministry of Finance of Brunei.

The global recognition and landmark partnerships comes at a time when Utico is expanding across the GCC and other nearby global geographies. On a broad level, the award is also an encouragement to private utility players to enhance their role in independent IWP models putting less liability on government and help them reign in subsidies which is critical in low oil price environments. Moreover sovereign government guarantees are not an efficient way for project development in any country, Menezes added.



Recently, as a consumer reach out, Utico had also announced a unique project of supplying free water with buy back option or lowest water tariff in the UAE to farmers for sustainable agriculture which will benefit close to 3,000 farms in the Northern Emirates. Currently about 200 farms are in the process of being connected in the coming weeks.  TradeArabia News Service
Fifteen new startups were given an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to potential regional and local investors during the inaugural Investor Day event, hosted by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) in collaboration with its partner, 500 Startups, at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), in Doha, Qatar.



Investor Day is the finale of the Doha Dojo programme, launched earlier this month, and Qatar Foundation Research and Developments (QF R&D) Research-to-Startup program, announced in January, said astatement.



Dr Maher Hakim, executive director, QSTP, said: We have incredible talent in the region and its an honour for us, in collaboration with our regional and international partners, to be able to provide aspiring tech entrepreneurs with the essential support to realise their innovations and contribute to the expanding start-up ecosystem in Qatar and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.



The event has provided startups which took part in two of our programmes with an opportunity to showcase their innovative business products and services, and build bridges with potential investors from across the Arab world, said Hakim.



QF R&Ds Research-to-Startup programme is a collaborative initiative with QSTP partners Wasabi Ventures and Qatar Computing Research Center (QCRI), which aims to provide a launch-pad for startups that leverage technologies developed by research and academic institutes in Doha, it said.



Doha Dojo is part of a wider agreement between QSTPs umbrella organization, QF R&D, and 500 Startups, a global venture capital seed fund. The agreement aims to nurture the regions growing technology startup landscape by providing budding entrepreneurs with a stepping stone to bring their business ideas to fruition.



Nine of the 15 startups at todays Investor Day were part of the first batch of companies to take part in Doha Dojo. The programme, set to run once a year in Doha, brings the coveted 500 Startups Series A Accelerator to the Mena region for the first time. It accepts a limited number of regional tech-startups that have achieved a product market fit milestone in their startup development lifecycle and are ready to scale up their business.



As part of its agreement with 500 Startups, QF R&D also announced recently that it has joined 500 Falcons, 500 Startups Mena Fund, which achieved a first closing earlier this month.



Hasan Haider, Partner at 500 Startups, said: We plan to invest in approximately 100-150 companies, focusing on early-stage startups in the region, Mena diaspora founders, and non-Mena founders targeting Mena. We are always looking for the right partners, and we have found one in Qatar Foundation and its innovation arm QSTP, who will play a key role in helping us achieve our mission.



Dr Hamad Al Ibrahim, executive vice president, QF R&D, said: Our partnership with 500 Startups aims to support and accelerate the development of tech startups in Qatar, and its making a tangible impact on the local tech ecosystem.



The 500 Falcons fund is also a fruitful outcome of the partnership  the fund will be instrumental in giving Mena startups a boost to successfully take their businesses to market, he said.



Qatar Foundations contribution to the fund demonstrates its commitment to supporting innovation not just locally but across the Arab world, he added.



The event featured a series of side activities that encouraged participants to network and establish meaningful working relationships with industry leaders, investors, and fellow participants. A roundtable discussion was held on the sidelines of the event to highlight the status of venture capital, corporate strategic investment, and funding in the Mena region, and to explore ways to further strengthen the innovation ecosystem in the region, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
All warehouses and industrial units in Oman should install solar panels to run their operations, and achieve self-sufficiency in energy generation, said a senior Omani ministry official.



All factories coming up in Samayil and Nizwa, along with the ministrys expansions in Suhar, Raysut and in South Al Batinah logistics hub should have renewable energy panels atop their buildings, Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, was quoted as saying in an Oman Daily Observer report.



Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of a renewable energy programme, Sahim, Dr Al Sunaidy said those warehouses that install panels can avail of loans for the purpose from Oman Development Bank (ODB) and other banks.



He added that the nation has a renewable energy strategy that envisages SMEs producing solar energy and sharing it with the rest.



Dr Al Sunaidy further noted that there is huge potential for SMEs in the country. They have capability and technology for generating own power. Companies, factories and warehouses will get the benefit of tapping into the cheapest cost at night, which will ultimately benefit their business.
Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, has appointed Global Knowledge, a top IT training company, to provide training to all its partners and customers across Middle East and Africa.



These training programmes and courses will be offered to industry professionals looking to maximizing their knowledge and skills on all Trend Micro solutions, including those powered by XGen security.



We are committed to provide our partners and customers with the right training, so that they can maximize the benefits from their Trend Micro solutions. Working with Global Knowledge, our partners and end-users now have a variety of locations, dates, and delivery formats to be trained on Trend Micro solutions. In Global Knowledge, we have a company with the right requisites to offer very comprehensive training programs, said Ihab Moawad, VP Mediterranean, Middle East, Africa.



Trend Micro training courses include hands-on and virtual practice labs featuring the relevant scenarios in server security, cloud security and small business content security. Global Knowledges hands-on training solutions will help organizations equip their IT and security professionals with the skills needed to protect end-users on any device. In addition, help optimize security for the modern data center and secure networks against breaches from potential attacks.



We are extremely proud to be working exclusively with Trend Micro here in the region, and with our regional footprint and skilled instructors, we will be able to deliver high quality training that we are committed to deliver. As a global leader in IT training, we know that we can provide the type of training that Trend Micro is looking for, while adding another layer to our existing relationship and offering the wider ecosystem with more flexible training programs and schedules, said Wael Khattab, managing director, Middle East and Africa, Global Knowledge.



Global Knowledge is the world's largest independent IT training company with over 150 training locations in the world. The largest training portfolio includes more than 3,000 courses featuring more 30 technology providers.  TradeArabia News Service
Manufacturers and industrial operators are discovering practical ways to apply IoT across their operations and they are deriving measurable business value as a result, said a senior official from US-based Rockwell Automation at an event in London, UK.



Blake Moret, president and CEO of Rockwell Automation, one of the worlds largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, today (May 25) spoke on Internet of Things (IoT) adoption and its impact on industrial productivity, at the Ciscos IoT World Forum.



The official shared his insights with more than 1,200 business leaders at the event, said a statement from the company.



The company is uniquely positioned to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with harnessing the future of smart manufacturing, said a statement from Rockwell Automation.



As Moret described, the positive outcomes associated with IoT will continue to accelerate as organisations progress from pilot or proof-of-concept IoT projects to scalable IoT deployments.



According to the Global IoT Decision Maker Survey published by International Data Corporation (IDC), nearly one-third (31 per cent) of those surveyed have already launched IoT solutions, and another 43 per cent are looking to deploy solutions in the next 12 months.



Rockwell Automation is seeing a similar trend in its deployment of IoT solutions, and continues to increase its number of pilots across industries, applications and geographies.



Moret said: Combining IoT technology and expertise in specific industrial applications enables better collaboration, faster problem-solving and increased productivity.



He referenced several factors driving the adoption of industrial IoT and connected operations, including lower cost of computing and connectivity, and the convergence of information technology and operations technology.



Moret explained how a connected enterprise that adopts IoT technologies can generate better insight into industrial operations and deliver greater value by providing the right information at every level of their business through scalable analytics.



He cited Great Lakes Brewing Co. as a Rockwell Automation customer that is adopting scalable analytics to improve visibility and productivity for different parts of their operations.



We have great technology, good people and a strong culture, but another component that sets us apart from our competitors is our ability to partner with companies such as Cisco, added Moret.



Together, we deliver expertise and solutions for highly secure, smooth connectivity from the plant floor to the enterprise network, he concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
BP revealed that it has reached a significant milestone in the development of the Khazzan gas project in Oman, with the successful drilling and completion of the 50th well at the large gas field in Block 61, said a report.



This is the final well targeted for completion enabling first gas to be delivered later this year, added the Oman Daily Observer report.



These first 50 wells will enable production of 1.0 billion cubic feet of gas a day (bcf/d) to be achieved from first gas onwards and delivered to the sultanate. This will rise to 1.5 bcf/d once the second phase of the Khazzan project is fully up and running in 2020, it said.



A total of over 300 wells will be drilled over the estimated lifetime of the Khazzan project. The Khazzan gas reserves lie at depths of up to five kilometres in narrow bands of extremely hard, dense rock.



These complex and challenging conditions require specialist cutting and drilling equipment, the drilling of both vertical and horizontal wells, stimulation technologies to free the gas, as well as accuracy and efficiency.



Local Omani businesses have provided rigs, stimulation and drilling support, with BP bringing to bear its advanced seismic, hydraulic fracturing and well design expertise.



Omani firms have won drilling contracts valued at 85 per cent of the total spend at Khazzan and 60 per cent of overall well services contracts.



Drilling efficiency has increased significantly in the three years since drilling began with the average time to drill and complete a vertical well reduced by 27 per cent. A record time of 60 days was recently achieved for completion of one well.



BP is the Operator of Block 61 and holds a 60 per cent interest, added the report.
William Campbell/Corbis via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian said he's still in shock after Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate in Montana's special House election, allegedly body-slammed him on the eve of the nationally-watched election.



"It's still been a surprising, shocking set of events," Jacobs told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America Thursday. "But I'm recovering."



Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault following the purported incident, according to the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office website.



"Following multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriffs Office it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault," the sheriff's office said in a statement Wednesday night.



The statement added that the "nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault."

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Swiss-Belhotel International has ambitious plans for expansion in India and is in talks with a a number of owners and developers, senior executives of the hotel group said.



The top team from the region will be in India next week led by Gavin M Faull, chairman and president of Swiss-Belhotel International to explore opportunities.



Faull said: India is a very significant market for us and establishing a presence in the country is part of our global expansion strategy. We are in discussions with a number of owners and developers about opportunities across India and will be visiting various locations next week.



The Indian hotel industry is currently highly fragmented with a large number of small and local players accounting for bulk of the share. International hotel chains are expected to hold 50 per cent share in the Indian hospitality industry by 2022, from the current 44 per cent, said a statement.



Laurent A Voivenel, Swiss-Belhotel Internationals senior vice president, operations and development for the Middle East, Africa and India, said: Although around 89,500 additional rooms are expected to come up in India in the next five years, the supply of branded/quality rooms in India is much lower compared to other countries across the globe. Only a little over 37,500 branded rooms will be developed by 2020/21 taking the total supply to 151,324. Hence, there exists a huge potential for operators such as us across all the segments of hotel industry in India with 14 trusted brands.



Most of the expansion in Indias hotel market is taking place in the mid to upscale segments of the market due to growing middle class, stronger domestic demand, tax reforms and stabilisation of supply and demand chain. Swiss-Belhotel International is the perfect fit for the market with 57 per cent of the groups global portfolio of 145 hotels in four- to five-star segment, the statement said.



International hotel operators are eager to expand in India because of the countrys growing wealth and burgeoning travel market amid a population of more than 1.3 billion. India is projected to be the worlds most populous country by 2022, surpassing China, with its population reaching 1.7 billion by 2050. However, there has been a bit of a pipeline shortfall in the last three years because of the economic constraints, it said.



Voivenel stressed: It is an exciting time to enter India. Countrywide hotel markets are performing at an all-time high with ADRs ranging between 4,200 and 7,900 and occupancy ranging between 54 and 75 per cent. Hotel markets are clocking nearly 12 per cent higher room revenue over 2015, which in itself witnessed nearly 11 per cent higher room revenue growth over 2014. The hotel markets are expected to see strong performance growth in the short-to-medium term, given the new hotel supply growth in the country slowing to 3 to 4 per cent year-on-year over the next 3-5 years  from a high of 6 to 8 per cent over the past five years  and the return of growth of Indias macro-economic indicators.



According to industry reports, the owned inventories of the top 15 companies account for almost 34 per cent of the existing branded supply. Tier I cities, primarily Mumbai and Delhi, continue to be the most preferred locations for expansion. However, more and more hospitality players are now willing to invest in Tier II and III cities to capitalise on the growth of domestic travel that has resulted in these markets outperforming the more mature and established commercial hotel markets.



India has moved up 13 positions to 52nd rank from 65th in Tourism and Travel competitive index. By 2030, the country is expected to move up five spots to be ranked among the top five business travel market globally, as business travel spending in the country is expected to treble until 2030 from $30 billion in 2015. India is also projected to be the fastest growing nation in the wellness tourism sector in the next five years, clocking over 20 per cent gains annually through 2017, it said. - TradeArabia News Service


Following an exceptional first quarter, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has celebrated with the arrival of a new scheduled operation between the emirate and Prague, the Czech capital.



The operator is SmartWings, the Czech Republics most prominent low-cost carrier. The service will start with a weekly flight to a destination that is becoming increasing popular with UAE and regional residents. With its historic centre and varied architecture, The City of a Hundred Spires is one of Europes most attractive tourist destinations.



Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of RAK Airport and DCA, welcomed the airline to Ras Al Khaimah, saying: This is a key connectivity for Ras Al Khaimah for various reasons. Firstly, it connects RAK to one of our tourism source markets in Eastern Europe. Secondly, UAE residents enjoy visiting Prague during spring and summer time, and now they will have the option of flying from hassle-free RAK Airport. And lastly, through the hub at Prague, travellers will be able to continue their journey on SmartWings and their sister company Travel Services strong European network.



Mohammed Qazi, RAK Airport CEO, said: SmartWings are familiar with the airport as they have been operating charters to RAK for a while, but a scheduled operation is certainly a big boost for us. We are committed to airlines operating to RAK and shall be working closely with SmartWings and our colleagues at Tourism Development Authority to make this a year round feature. I am particularly pleased to have this service leaving from our doorstep as Prague is most definitely a two-way connectivity, and RAK Airport will be able to serve the local communities of the Northern Emirates.



Qatar Airways and Air India Express both initiated scheduled operations last year, joining the services run by Air Arabia out of RAK International. In addition to the new scheduled service, Qazi also revealed that for the first time charter flights are running throughout the summer, a clear indication that tourism growth from Europe is becoming a year round phenomenon.



According to Qazi, 2017 is currently beating what was a record year for the airport in 2016, highlighted by double-digit growth in the first quarter, with scheduled movements increasing by 11 per cent and non-scheduled rocketing by a hefty 30 per cent. Passenger numbers have also soared by 9 per cent over 2016, with the biggest growth coming from transit passengers following investment in rest areas for passengers transiting through the airport. On the cargo front volumes have grown by 15 per cent year-on-year due to the addition of new freighter operators connecting Ras Al Khaimah to Africa and the Subcontinent. - TradeArabia News Service
Dubais newest and plushest beach club Nikki Beach Resort & Spa has launched its brand-new Floridian themed destination restaurant Key West.



Key West Restaurant will feature fresh and vibrant flavours from the Caribbean region and the American state of Florida. The exclusive menu curated by Chef Olivier who hails from the Caribbean islands himself, will have items that are making its debut in the food capital of Dubai. Highlights include juicy and tender slow cooked barbecue beef complemented by a trinity of saucy goodness that range from spicy to mild. The restaurant zones in on healthy and comfortable fine dining with dishes that maintains the authenticity of Caribbean cuisine and incorporates the most high-quality ingredients.



Making the announcement, Alexander Schneider, general manager of Nikki Beach Resort & Spa said: Key West Restaurant is special to Nikki Beach Resort & Spa, as the cuisine pays homage to the brands roots Florida, the state in which Nikki Beach was born. In addition, there is a lack of representation for Floridian restaurants in the UAE so we are overjoyed to be one the first dining outlets to introduce this unique palette of flavours.



He said: We have used the dawn of summer for the much-awaited launch of Key West Restaurant. As the new season commences, diners are actively seeking out whats new in the food world and the beach facing Key West is the perfect place to be.



With the opening of Key West Restaurant, Nikki Beach Resort & Spas culinary portfolio is complete. Guests can choose between the Beach Club, Nikki Prive, Cafe Nikki and the Soul Lounge which are all premium, beach facing outlets that offer distinctive dining experiences that are sure to impress even the most discerning foodie, said Schneider. - TradeArabia News Service


Dubai-based Emirates took home Best Airline in the World and Best Middle Eastern Airline awards at the prestigious Ultras 2017 Awards.

The awards follow voting by the well-travelled readers of The Telegraphs luxury travel magazine in their annual survey.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates airline, received the awards at the ceremony held in London.

Hosted at the iconic Savoy hotel on May 22, this years ceremony was attended by key members of the travel industry, well-known British personalities and notable special guest, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, accompanied by her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The Emirates team is known for its dedication to continuously improving the travel experience of its passengers. Earlier this year, Emirates was also named Best Airline in the World at the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Awards for airlines after being the most positively reviewed airline in the industry.

Last year Emirates won the Worlds Best Airline award at the 2016 Skytrax World Airline Awards.
Saudi Arabia has been investing significantly in reinforcing its infrastructure and developing the meetings industry within the kingdom to attract meetings and business events.



Spearheading this drive is Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau (SECB), which recently took part in Imex in Frankfurt 2017 for the first time, with many Saudi successful event organising companies marketing their meetings and events facilities and services.



Currently public investment in the meetings industry in Saudi Arabia up to 2020 is estimated at SR6 billion ($1.6 billion). These investments include establishing five major convention districts - King Salman International Conference Center in Madinah; King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh; at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh; the King Abdullah Economic City and at the King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah, to be completed within the next five years. These are in addition to private sector investments in the industry, represented by hotels with exhibition and conference facilities all over the Kingdom.



The kingdom now has more than 600 first class hotels, convention and event facilities and nearly all leading international hotel groups have properties in the major cities.



Vision 2030

The investment is part of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, announced in April 2016, an ambitious but achievable blueprint which expresses long-term goals and reflects the countrys strengths and capabilities.



Vision 2030 is to position Saudi Arabia as a global investment powerhouse and a global hub connecting three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, capitalising on its status as the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds and its unique geographic strategic location.

Vision 2030 also aims to reinforce and diversify the capabilities of the countrys economy. As such, it will transform the economy away from a dependence on oil production into a industrial conglomerate and transform the Public Investment Fund into the worlds largest sovereign wealth fund.



Hosting business events is one of the focal points of the reforms, along with leisure and religious tourism, all means to generate both revenue and employment.



Business events comes under the National Transformation Plan, the centrepiece of Vision 2030, which consists of 755 initiatives costing $100 billion between 2016 and 2020.



Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage (SCTH) and chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Saudi Exhibition & Conference Bureau (SECB), has said that Saudi Arabia will become one of the key destinations in the meetings industry.



Established in 2013, the Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau was created with a mandate to develop the meetings industry.

Eng Tariq A Al Essa, executive director of SECB explains what the Bureau is doing and how it is making progress.



We are a government organisation responsible for developing and organising the meetings industry in Saudi Arabia. The government recognised the importance of the meetings industry and it has approved a development strategy. The SECB is operated differently to other bureaus around the world. Our mandate is not only promotion, it is also the development of the industry," he said.



Overcoming obstacles

As a first step, we identified the major obstacles to the industrys growth, including regulatory framework, accessibility, infrastructure capacity, human resources, and the non-availability of information about meetings and events that are being organised.



To deal with the matter of visas, we are collaborating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to smooth the process to obtain visas for speakers and exhibitors. Visitors, speakers or exhibitors will apply through an e-system and will receive their visa online," he said.



Saudi Arabia has a heritage in hosting meetings going back more than 2,000 years. The country has been staging one of the oldest meetings in the world, Okaz, originally an annual convention of Arab poets, he said adding: "Of course, we have 1437 years of experience in hosting the largest and most complex meeting in the planet - the 'Haj'. In 2016 more than 1.9 million international delegates from 163 countries took part in this meeting."



Although Saudi Arabia is starting to pitch for international association meetings, it is also very keen to create unique and sustainable business events based on its strengths, competitive advantage and the needs of the national economy, said Eng Al Essa.



There are plenty of opportunities for many sectors in Saudi Arabia. We are number one in the world for water desalination and water treatment, and obviously oil, power, petrochemicals, and Islamic finance. This gives the country an opportunity to host business events in these sectors which will positively enhance the economy and society. Our vision is to convert Saudi Arabia into a major destination for meetings in the world, which we can be."



We started from strengthening this idea at a local level and we will gradually extend our campaign to regional and international level. We have spent time characterising Saudi companies to highlight the importance of meeting, discussing, and exchanging opinions, views, and technologies. We also developed the 'ambassador programmes' with the aim of selecting and training a number of Saudi medical professionals and scientific associations and federations who will be in charge of contacting international associations to discuss partnership opportunities for hosting events in our country. This will strongly enhance the image of Saudi Arabia as a meeting hub in the region and worldwide, and will make a positive contribution to the tourism sector," said Eng Al Essa.



Measuring economic impact

In addition, to measure the economic impact of the meeting industry in Saudi Arabia and demonstrate the value of the investment we aim to provide information and statistics, we have created an electronic gate  a SR12 million project that is at the heart of the Saudi meetings industry. All operations and events happening in Saudi Arabia are reported in this e-system.



The gate is unique in the world, and it provides up-to-date data to assist business professionals from all around the world not only to understand the behaviour of the meetings industry, but the behaviour of all economic sectors in Saudi Arabia," he said.



We have also secured the involvement of investors in the creation of the Saudi Event Management Academy (SEMA), which is the first step in our bid to fill the gap between Saudis human resources and the competencies that the industry requires. The academy is unique in the Middle East region," he added. - TradeArabia News Service
Casper experienced the largest population drop in Wyoming during last years energy bust, losing nearly 1,000 residents, new figures show.

The city, a hub for the oil and gas fields, lost about 1.6 percent of its population. At the same time, two nearby communities  Mills and Evansville  experienced small increases.

In total, Wyomings population fell by 1,054 residents in 2016, the first year more people moved out of the Cowboy State than moved in since 1990, the tail end of a depression that drained the states workforce.

The population decline is linked to the energy downturn. The three key industries that prop up the states labor force and economy have been in decline. Oil, natural gas and coal suffered from falling prices, and though some say the state has reached the bottom of the drop, prices have not strengthened significantly for oil or gas. Meanwhile, coal continues to struggle because of the cheap price of natural gas.

The figures show that the states metropolitan area, Cheyenne, gained the largest number of people in 2016. The capital city grew by 1 percent, or 615 people. Its likely that some of the workers who lost jobs in other areas of the state moved to Cheyenne during the bust, said Wenlin Liu, chief economist for the state.

Cheyenne, with its proximity to Colorado and high number of government jobs, was relatively immune to the economic downturn, Liu said.

Neighboring states like Montana and Idaho likely stole some of Wyomings labor force as well, as their economies have strengthened even as Wyoming fell into decline, he said.

In total, nine cities and towns declined in population across the state, with regions of mineral extraction hit the hardest, including Gillette, Green River and Bar Nunn  which had been one of the fastest growing towns in the state since 2010.

For cities with populations of 2,000 or more, only Cheyenne and Kemmerer experienced growth.

The ebb and flow of residents in Wyoming takes place every year, but since 1990, there have always been more people coming than going, said Liu, the state economist.

Though the downturn in extractive industries has been significant, it hasnt had the same affect as the dramatic population changes of the 1980s, when the state experienced a net loss between 2 and 4 percent on a yearly basis, he said. The state had a very slow recovery rate extending throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, when coal-bed methane started another boom, he said.

Jobs are, however, finally returning to the Cowboy state. Oil and gas jobs hit 10,900 in April, the first year over year increase since January of 2015, according to Wyoming Insight, a monthly summary of economic changes in the state, released Wednesday by Wyomings Economic Analysis Division. Applications to drill for oil have also increased since this time last year, by nearly 1,000.

Theres been a slow climb in mining activity as well, revealed in an increase in sales and use taxes from the sector, said Jim Robinson, a state economist.

The states rig count hit 25 this week, up from seven a year ago at this time.
With Wyoming continuing to face low tax revenue due to a weak energy market, local governments have begun worrying about the funding they receive from the Legislature.

Wyoming is one of the few states that do not allow cities or counties any independent taxing authority, meaning that towns here are heavily reliant on appropriations from the Legislature to supplement the share of local sales and property taxes they receive.

Part of that state funding comes in the form of above the cap dollars, which are providing about $3 million to Casper this budget cycle.

We assume we will continue to receive that funding for fiscal year 18 but not any year after, said city accountant Kirk Gunderson, who helped compile the proposed budget now being discussed by City Council.

And Casper is in better shape to absorb that revenue loss than many other municipalities in Wyoming that dont have the same reserves and economic base, said Councilman Charlie Powell.

There is a real possibility that some of our smaller towns are going to cease to exist, he said.

In response to these concerns, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities began an ambitious lobbying effort last fall to persuade the Legislature to, first, continue distributing above the cap funds and, second, look at new ways to generate revenue that would make the state less dependent on the erratic energy industry.

Council resolutions

On Monday afternoon, City Council debated a series of resolutions brought forward by WAM, hoping to receive the blessing of cities around the state ahead of the June convention in Gillette.

While Council has no control over the Legislature  which is solely responsible for opening any new revenue sources  what emerged was a strong resistance toward new taxation with a slight nod toward the possibility that it may become necessary in the future.

We may need to come up with something that well have to tax, said Councilman Chris Walsh. We cant be those people who say therell be no taxes and society will go on or even be improved.

Members approved a resolution calling for an increase on the state malt beverage tax, apparently the first since prohibition ended.

Shawn Johnson voted against the resolution.

But even if the Legislature actually passes that increase, its likely to generate just a few million dollars per year.

Resolutions calling for a more substantial increase of other existing taxes faced more opposition.

Food tax opposition

Council unanimously defeated a resolution calling for removing the sales tax exemption for food, which critics say undermines the centrality of a consumption tax in a state that eschews both personal and corporate income taxes.

If, in the end, we intend to tax consumption, then thats what we should do, William Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, said in a January interview. What we want to do is sales tax anything other than the stuff people buy... Its easy to give away the tax base, politically.

But council members were won over by arguments from local Democrats who argued that taxing food would hurt the poor.

Former State Rep. Ann Robinson, who sponsored the initial exemption for food a decade ago, said that taxing food was regressive  meaning the poor pay a higher percentage of their income toward the tax than the rich.

The people it hits the hardest are the working poor, which we have a lot of in Natrona County, Robinson said. She noted that food stamps are exempt from taxes.

Democratic party activist R.C. Johnson also spoke against the resolution, arguing that the down economy made a food tax especially cruel.

Powell agreed that the tax was regressive but faulted the Legislature for not providing a different source of funding to replace the money cities lost when food was exempted from the sales tax.

Councilman Dallas Laird, who was sworn in immediately before the discussion, said he disliked all taxes and that supporting taxes might lose him an election.

I dont like taxing anything, Laird said. Most people in my ward dont either. If I came down here and started saying I was going to tax things  me running again? I might as well not run.

Laird was appointed by Council to fill the seat vacated by Todd Murphy when he resigned last month.

Several council members, including Laird and Walsh, said they would be open to raising some taxes if absolutely necessary but that the food tax was the wrong one to raise.

Lodging tax exemption

The panel was more divided on eliminating an exemption meant to serve the energy industry.

The city of Rawlins requested that WAM lobby to remove the exemption on long-term hotel and motel guests. Energy companies will often reserve blocks of rooms for months at a time to house oil field workers or other employees and, under the current law, people staying in a hotel for more than 29 days are not subject to the lodging tax.

The WAM resolution would ask the Legislature to remove that exemption, allowing local government to collect lodging tax on anyone who stays in a hotel or motel regardless of the duration.

Laird bristled at the question, claiming he did not have enough information to make a decision.

I dont like being given limited information and having it phrased in such a way that theyre pulling you into the vote, he said.

Councilman Jesse Morgan, Vice Mayor Ray Pacheco, Johnson and Laird voted to postpone a decision on the resolution but were narrowly outvoted.

After concern that the tax might target indignant individuals and families given vouchers to stay in hotels was assuaged, all but Morgan backed the resolution.

Powell, who sits on the WAM board, grew frustrated with his colleagues reluctance toward the food and lodging taxes.

He argued that while it was easy to speak against taxes, revenue is needed to operate both local and state government and that the Legislature had refused to undo any sales tax exemptions in its last session.

Every time they looked at an exemption some lobbying group came before them and said, Oh, no, you cant remove this exemption, Powell said. Nobody who ever advocates against a tax ever seems to come forward and say, Well, you should tax this way instead.
A Wyoming man pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court to two felony charges alleging he possessed hundreds of videos and images depicting child pornography.

Wolf Duran, 25, was charged with the two counts in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming in March, and a federal grand jury later indicted him on the two counts.

An agent with the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children task force  a collaboration between the local offices of the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations as well as the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation  noticed on March 13 that Duran had been arrested by Casper police the night before on an unrelated warrant. The agent remembered that Duran had been a suspect in an investigation by the task force and contacted the lead agent on that case, according to court documents.

Agents then interviewed Duran while he was jailed at the Natrona County Detention Center. At first, Duran denied being interested in child pornography but later admitted to downloading and distributing hundreds of such videos and images online. He said he downloaded some of those images while staying at an address on 12th Street in Casper, the documents state.

Duran started to cry as he described how his interest in child pornography developed, according to a search warrant filed in the case. He said that it grew inside of me like a sickness.

Investigators then searched the cellphones and memory cards that were in jail storage after being seized from Duran upon his arrest. An examination revealed that the phones and memory cards included 92 videos depicting graphic child pornography and 215 such images.

Some of the memory cards also contained pictures of Durans face.

A grand jury indicted him on the two charges on May 19. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A jury trial is scheduled for July 17 in Cheyenne. He remained in custody Thursday morning.
The Wyoming Attorney Generals office has declined to consider the state Republican Partys complaints against a progressive organization that sent voters mail praising Democratic legislative candidates and criticizing their GOP opponents, according to recent letters sent to people involved in the grievances.

The Attorney Generals office will not investigate the complaints because they came from the Wyoming Republican Party, Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Robinson wrote.

State law specifies complaints must come from qualified electors. And a political party is not a qualified elector under state law, he wrote.

Robinson sent letters on May 10 to GOP attorney Mitch Edwards and May 16 to ELLA LLC attorney Margaret White.

The state GOP had complained that Wyoming Hunters and Anglers Alliance and Women Lead Wyoming were supposed to be sending mail independently of the Democratic candidates campaigns. But many of the Democrats had hired a sister organization called ELLA WY LLC to manage their campaigns or provide them data about potential voters.

The GOP maintained that those organizations werent separate enough and that there was coordination among them and the candidates.

ELLA and the candidates have argued that they did everything they could to comply with the law. They said that the law wasnt explicit on organizations such as theirs. They said they hired an attorney who told the organizations to rent separate office space to create what they described as a firewall between the groups. The attorney gave them advice based on Colorado election laws, which are clearer, they said.

In the letter, Robinson stressed that his decision to not pursue the matter wasnt a decision on the merits of the complaint. His decision was based on the GOP not following the law to complain, he wrote.

The GOPs complaints came days before the Nov. 8 general election.

Chris Bell, director of ELLA, said the grievances were likely was a political stunt.

Its really hard to get away from that, he said. I really believe they should have stuck to the substance of their complaint if they believed if it was a legitimate issue.

Bell noted that the GOP characterized ELLA and the hunters and anglers groups as Obama operatives since a founder of ELLA had worked for the Obama campaign.

Jackson philanthropist Liz Storer is involved in the groups. She said others are giving money but declined to name them.

Outside groups becoming involved in elections is known as dark money. The progressive groups are new to Wyoming. Conservative organizations have been involved in Wyoming legislative campaigns for nearly a decade.

A number of state officials have said they want the law to be clarified. The GOPs complaint bounced around the state, among the AGs office, Secretary of State and the Albany County attorney, because there was disagreement of whose purview the investigation fell under.

Bell said his organization agrees the law needs to change.

We want to be a team player in this process of suggestions for revisions of the statutes, he said.

Edwards, the Wyoming GOP attorney, said the party disagrees with the AG, believing it is twisting the law.

A political party is allowed to complain over alleged campaign finance violations to the Secretary of State  the office to which the GOP submitted the complaint, he said.

Based on the timeline and the Attorney Generals actions here, it seems that the Attorney Generals most recent position is nonsensical excuse to evade its duty to enforce Wyomings campaign finance laws, he said.

The party is considering its options on how to proceed, he said.
A foreign correspondent from The Guardian newspaper has accused GOP U.S. House candidate Greg Gianforte of assaulting him during an interview.

The reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, claimed on Twitter that he was assaulted by Gianforte, who is running for Montanas lone U.S. House seat in Thursdays special election.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses, Jacobs tweeted.

The Gallatin County Sheriffs Office is investigating.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle first reported the incident, which occurred Wednesday at a campaign event in Bozeman.

Since then, the Guardian has released an audio recording of the incident.

The following is a transcript taken from the 45-second recording between Gianforte and Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs:

Jacobs: The CBO score, because you know you were waiting to make your decision about health care until you saw the CBO and it just came out.

Gianforte: Well talk about that later.

Jacobs: Yeah, but theres not going to be time. Im just curious about how youd react right now.

Gianforte: Im sick and tired of you guys, the last guy who came in here, you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. You with the Guardian.

Jacobs: Yeah, you just broke my glasses.

Gianforte: The last guy did the same damn thing.

Jacobs: You just body slammed me and broke my glasses.

Gianforte: Get the hell out of here.

Jacobs: Youd like me to get the hell out of here, Id also like to call the police.

Shane Scanlon with the Gianforte campaign issued the following statement:

Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardians Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face, and began asking badgering questions.

Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined.

Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face.

Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.

Its unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported one person was taken to Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital.
CHEYENNE  A legislative committees task of finding new sources of revenue for Wyomings state government, which depends heavily on the boom-and-bust energy industry, includes looking at new taxes or increasing existing taxes, a co-chairman of the panel said.

The Legislatures Joint Revenue Interim Committee was directed by legislative leadership to identify ways to raise new revenue to offset the deficits in state government operations and funding for public schools.

State tax collections have declined because of the downturn in Wyomings important oil, coal and gas sectors. The state education budget alone has a projected $1.8 billion shortfall over the next five years.

Basically, the directive is to leave no stone unturned, committee co-chairman Sen. Ray Peterson, R-Cowley, said.

Peterson said he is not a fan of imposing taxes on Wyoming residents and businesses.

But with about 70 percent of Wyomings revenue derived from taxing minerals, he said the state must consider broadening its tax base.

Up to 70 percent of our tax base is generated from minerals, which means around 30 percent with the private citizens that pay through sales tax, property tax and other fees, Peterson said.

Because of that ratio, Wyoming has always had this boom-bust cycle we always contend with.

Ample tax revenue from the energy sector allowed Wyoming to spend more than $15,600 per person for services in the states fiscal year that started July 1, 2014, and ended June 30, 2015  the second most in the nation, according to a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation study. Prices for oil, gas and coal have dropped significantly since then.

Persuading Wyomings residents and businesses to pay more when they have not been asked to for generations will be a difficult task, Rep. Michael Madden, R-Buffalo, the committees co-chairman, said.

If we have any obligation to educate the public, probably our biggest challenge is to remind these third- and fourth-generation citizens that just because weve lived for a few decades with this boom and bust  and boom always happening  doesnt mean its going to happen again, Madden said.

Possibilities for raising revenue include: imposing a gross receipts tax, reviewing fees imposed by state and local agencies, increasing tobacco and alcohol taxes and evaluating how local governments raise revenue.

The committee earlier this month voted to advance consideration of a gross receipts tax on the gross revenues of companies.

Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Cheyenne, said she met no voters who supported tax increases during her 2016 election campaign.

We dont want to impose taxes that are going to drive businesses and families out of our state, Ellis said.

The committees report is due in November.
Most of Wyoming, including the heavily forested northwest part of the state, is predicted to have a slightly below average to average large wildfire season this year, state forester Bill Crapser said.

Their best long-term trends right now are kind of on the low end of average, Crapser said. They are predicting quite a bit of lightning. So their prediction right now is that were probably going to have ... a lot of starts, but probably a lower than average large fire development.

The predictions come from the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center in Denver. The center consists of various government agencies, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, that provide information on wildfires in the Rocky Mountain region.

But Crapser, who briefed Gov. Matt Mead about the wildfire season predictions on Thursday, noted that fire conditions can quickly change in Wyoming with a few hot, windy days.

The caution that I have on this is that its almost identical to the prediction they had last year at this time, and then it dried out and quit raining and we had a pretty active fire season, he said.

In 2016, there were about 700 wildfires in Wyoming, including several large ones in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The state averages about 600 a year.

Wyoming has 11.8 million of acres of forested land, most of it on federal land, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Crapser said county firefighting resources were in good shape heading into the fire season.

Our state resources, both our crews and our helitack, are going to be staffed this summer and be able to deal with the normal type of stuff we have, he said.

With the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse passing directly through Wyoming, Crapser said his office has already been in touch with other states in the region about possibly bolstering Wyomings firefighting resources. Large wildfires put up huge plumes of smoke that can obscure the view of the sky from the ground.

So if it looks like were going to have a lot of activity during that time then well start gearing up some stuff, he said.
Wyomingites need health care

I have always wondered what living outside of Wyoming feels like. I had lived in Wyoming all of my life, up until a few years ago. I will always call Wyoming my home. Wyoming is everything to me; I love to share of the beauty that my home state is blessed with.

Im ashamed of my state representatives in the United States Senate and House of Representatives for blindly following Trump like dogs. You all are getting the worst image, and I am not proud of your votes, especially on health care. Ask any Wyomingite, we need health care. If you can get us all the exact same health care as yall, thatd be nice. I just wonder, were any of these people born and raised in Wyoming? Im not so sure any Wyoming-born and -raised person would just overlook the White House allowing Russians to meddle in our politics, Mr. Enzi. God bless Wyoming and God bless America.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some May 25 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.
of Tucson, Arizona passed away on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. He was 68 years old. Dr. Wagner was born in Transylvania, Romania to Drs. Julius and Victoria Wagner who instilled in both his sister, Gabrielle and him a sense of duty to care for the sick. Dr. Wagner graduated from medical school at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania, and following his studies immigrated to America on March 4, 1975 - a day that he would henceforth refer to as "Freedom Day." Once arriving in New York City, he completed his internship and residency at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital before completing his Cardiology Fellowship at Coney Island Hospital. Dr. Wagner was Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular disease. He was a member of the American College of Cardiology. In 1983 he moved to Tucson, Arizona, to start a medical practice. For the next thirty four years Dr. Wagner practiced interventional cardiology as a partner at Pima Heart Associates. Dr. Wagner practiced medicine as he lived his life: with integrity, dignity, and a respect for humanity. In his final days, an endless line of patients contacted the family to pay their respects to a physician who profoundly impacted their lives. Dr. Wagner was more than a doctor - he was a healer. Dr. Wagner lived his life to the fullest. He was passionate about travel and photography. Both he and his wife travelled the globe. He was a lifelong learner and avid student of history and philosophy. He had a deep love and understanding of music. As a young adult, he was a violinist in the young professional orchestra in Romania. Dr. Wagner was also an accomplished hiker. His favorite place in all the world was the Grand Canyon, and in 2016 he hiked the Canyon three times (including a one-day rim-to-rim hike). Survivors include his loving wife and soulmate of 36 years, Shirley Wagner; three sons, Richard (Molly) Wagner of New York City, Patrick Wagner of Tucson, and Dr. Eric Wagner of Houston; sister, Dr. Gabrielle Wagner of Erlangen, Germany and nephews, Philipp Wagner of Stuttgart, Germany and Dr. Frederik Wagner of Jena, Germany. He loved and embraced his extended family in Michigan and Ohio. He was predeceased in death by his parents. Prayers by Father Earl Cantos of St. Demetrios Orthodox Church and eulogy by Dr. Wagner's three sons will be offered at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at the Chapel of EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY, 5801 E. Grant Road in Tucson, Arizona. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that charitable donations be made in Dr. Wagner's memory to the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative (http://defeatgbm.org/). Correspondence to the family may be sent to greathealer75@yahoo.com.
PHOENIX -- The Arizona Supreme Court this morning gave former Attorney General Tom Horne another chance to escape a $1.2 million fine for campaign finance violations.

In a unanimous decision, the justices said it was wrong for Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who initially concluded Horne and a former aide had broken the law, to then overrule the findings of an administrative law judge who said there was no violation.

We hold that due process does not permit the same individual to issue the initial decision finding violations and ordering remedies, participate personally in the prosecution of the case before an administrative law judge, and then make the final agency decision that will receive only deferential judicial review, wrote Clint Bolick for the court.

But the justices did not absolve Horne of guilt. Instead, it sends the issue back for a review by someone, unlike Polk, who is neutral.

At issue is $513,340 spent by Business Leaders for Arizona on a last-minute commercial attacking Felecia Rotellini, Horne's 2010 Democrat foe.

The group was formed by Kathleen Winn, a staffer in Horne's office, and registered as an independent campaign committee. That status prohibits it from legally coordinating its expenses with the candidate.

The FBI, looking into other matters after the 2010 election, came across what it said was evidence that there was communication. The case went to then-Secretary of State Ken Bennett who, by law, had to pass it on to the attorney general's office.

But with Horne now running that agency, an aide farmed the case out to Polk.

She found evidence of violations, citing a series of phone calls between Horne and Winn.

When they appealed, the case was sent to an administrative law judge  essentially a hearing officer  with one of Polk's deputies presenting the evidence against the pair. Polk acknowledged later that she was involved with the prosecution of the case, by assisting with the preparation and strategy."

The result was a finding that Winn's expenses really were contributions to Horne's campaign, contributions that exceeded the limit by $400,000 of what he could take from any one source. So Polk imposed a penalty equal to three times that.
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally on Wednesday morning announced she has canceled a telephone town hall later today that was set to give constituents a chance to talk to her directly about health-care legislation.

In a brief statement, McSallys office said the congresswoman was traveling to Tucson because a man described as a father figure is gravely ill.

The man who has been a father figure in Rep. McSallys life for the last 20 years took a turn for the worse this morning in his battle against cancer and his health is rapidly deteriorating, read the statement from her spokeswoman, Kelly Schibi.

Rep. McSally has to urgently fly back to Tucson this afternoon. She regretfully will have to reschedule the health care telephone town hall for the next available date. Due to this emergency, the Congresswoman will also miss votes on Wednesday and Thursday. Rep. McSally has already informed the Speaker of this unfortunate circumstance. She appreciates her constituents understanding during this difficult time.

The forum was scheduled nearly three weeks after McSally, a Republican, voted in favor of the revised American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed on a party-line vote.

Several groups have staged protests outside her Tucson office since that vote.
Tucson Police Assistant Chief Ramon Batista was selected police chief of Mesa, the city manager announced Wednesday.

Batista, a native Tucsonan who grew up on the south side and was hired by TPD 31 years ago, will officially begin his new job in July, said Steven Wright, a Mesa spokesman.

Batistas pay range will be between $143,000 to $192,545, Wright said.

The chief of police is one of the most important leadership positions in the city overseeing a department of nearly 1,200 sworn and civilian employees, said Mesa City Manager Chris Brady in a news release.

Assistant Chief Batista was chosen because I believe he is the best fit for our community and organization at this time, said Brady, who made the selection after months of interviews and forums with police, community members, business and civic leaders, including those in Tucson.

The other finalist was Mesa interim Police Chief Michael Dvorak.

I grew up on Tucsons south side, said Batista in an interview Wednesday. My mom worked multiple jobs to send her three children to private school, said the assistant chief who attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic School and graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School.

I love Tucson and working at TPD has taught me a lot, said Batista who climbed the ranks as patrol officer, including working at the academy, traffic, and undercover narcotics. We are always looking to doing our jobs better and looking at other departments across the country and bringing their top programs here to see if it works. Not everything works, it all depends on the community, said Batista.

Batista said TPD was ahead of the curve when 21st Century Policing came of age, and it validated programs the department had in place and commanders are working to make better.

Batista oversees the investigative services bureau, which includes detectives, the crime lab, the evidence section and the crime scene unit. When he was promoted bureau chief in 2014, he commanded the field services bureau with oversight of the citys 235 square miles, four patrol divisions and more than 600 personnel.

He said working in Tucsons diverse community has prepared him to lead police in Mesa, which also has a nationally recognized department.

Batista said, like TPD, the Mesa Police Department has its own academy and crime lab. Mesas elected officials are very supportive of the department and public safety. I want to take our engagement to new levels and have a dialogue and reach out to people who are not so believing or so trustful of police, said Batista.

The Mesa department has 773 sworn officers and 427 civilian employees. The departments annual budget is $176 million.
A woman at the center of a years-long investigation into a string of illicit Tucson massage parlors has pleaded guilty to two felonies.

During a status conference in Pima County Superior Court on May 17, Clarissa Lopez entered an unscheduled change of plea, pleading guilty to one count of keeping a house of prostitution and one count of receiving the earnings of a prostitute, both class 5 felonies, according to court records.

Lopez was facing a total of eight felony charges, including illegal control of an enterprise, money laundering and pandering.

She was indicted in February 2016, a year after Tucson police raided multiple locations across town believed to be affiliated with the By Spanish prostitution raid, according to Arizona Daily Star archives.

A first-time offender, Lopez is facing a maximum sentence of two years in prison for each charge.

Lopezs sentencing is scheduled for June 19.

Her boyfriend, Ulises Ruiz, will be going to trial next year in connection with the case, and is facing six felonies, including illegal control of an enterprise, keeping a house of prostitution, money laundering and receiving the earnings of a prostitute.

In the Wednesday status conference, Pima County Superior Court Judge Howard Fell set a trial date for Jan. 9, 2018, and estimated the trial would last three days.

In a May 8 settlement conference, Sean Bruner, an assistant Pima County public defender who is Ruizs attorney, said there was no evidence his client did anything to merit the charges levied against him and that the county attorneys office was trying to pull him in because hes the boyfriend.

Ruizs only connection to By Spanish is that he answered the phone once or twice, Bruner said.

As a result of TPDs investigation into By Spanish, eight police department employees lost their jobs after they were found to be customers of or have knowledge of the illicit business. Police also identified government employees, firefighters, Border Patrol agents and Air Force personnel as customers.
Virginia

Sextuplets thriving after birth 2 weeks ago

RICHMOND  A Virginia hospital said its staff has successfully delivered sextuplets, and the three boys and three girls are thriving.

VCU Medical Center in Richmond announced the births in a statement Wednesday, saying they were the first sextuplets delivered at the hospital. The babies were born May 11 to parents who had tried to conceive for 17 years.

The statement says a 40-person team was involved and the delivery required hours of planning. Ajibola Taiwo, a native of Nigeria, gave birth via cesarean section. The babies ranged from 1 pound 10 ounces to 2 pounds 15 ounces.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the nearly 4 million live births in the U.S. in 2015, only 24 were quintuplets or other higher-order births.

Oregon

Snowy plover chick hatches in recovery area

PORTLAND  A Western snowy plover chick that hatched on an Oregon beach this spring is the first of its species to emerge successfully in that area in more than 50 years and provides hope that a management plan for the federally threatened species is working, wildlife officials said Wednesday.

The chick was the first hatchling spotted in the area along the states northern coast since the 1960s. Biologists spotted it around the Nehalam Spit using a viewing scope but have had a hard time getting a good picture because the tiny, fluffy chick is roughly the size of two cotton balls.

The news is a sign that a recovery plan developed by state wildlife officials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is making headway in its goal to return the tiny birds to their habitat along the length of the Oregon coast without banning humans from the beaches, said Chris Havel, a spokesman for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

South Dakota

Girl with cancer not allowed to graduate

RAPID CITY  A western South Dakota high school wont allow a student who has brain cancer to walk during its graduation ceremony because she is a few credits short of being able to graduate.

Meredith Erck, 17, wasnt sure whether she would live to see graduation day, the Rapid City Journal reported.

The Central High School student had colon cancer before she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015. Between surgeries and recovery, she couldnt complete all of her classes on time.

Meredith hoped she could walk the stage with her friends and her twin brother this weekend and formally receive her diploma at a later date.

But Rapid City school district officials said in a statement that her participation without credit completion would be unfair to other students who met the criteria to graduate.

Colorado

Seeking doughnuts, bear breaks into car

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS  A bear with a sweet tooth ripped off the bumper of a car used to deliver doughnuts in Colorado then tried to claw its way through the trunk to get inside.

Moose Watch Cafe owner Kim Robertson said she and her husband discovered the bumper-less car after they awoke Monday in Steamboat Springs.

They initially thought it had been struck by another vehicle. Then they saw the telltale claw and paw marks.







California

Playboy model to clean graffiti in photo case

LOS ANGELES  A Playboy centerfold was ordered to clean up graffiti Wednesday for secretly snapping a photo of a naked 71-year-old woman in a locker room and posting it online with a mocking comment.

Dani Mathers pleaded no contest to misdemeanor invasion of privacy in Los Angeles County Superior Court for the case that sparked outrage over the incident of so-called body shaming.

Mathers, 30, had previously apologized for taking the photo at an LA Fitness club in July and posting it on Snapchat

.
Europe

Grande suspends

tour through June 5

Ariana Grande suspended her Dangerous Woman world tour and canceled several European shows Wednesday after the deadly bombing at her concert in Manchester, England.

Shows Thursday and Friday in London were canceled, along with concerts through June 5 in Belgium, Poland, Germany and Switzerland. Refunds will be granted, the pop stars managers said. The tour was suspended to further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to the 22 dead and dozens injured in Mondays suicide attack in the northern England city.

Grandes tour is to pick up June 7 in Paris, followed by several more countries in Europe before moving on to Latin America, Asia and elsewhere.

Syria

US, Russia working

to avoid air mishaps

U.S. military phone calls with Russia have increased as the two countries work to avoid aircraft mishaps in the increasingly crowded skies over Syria, a senior American Air Force commander said Wednesday.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, who is in charge of U.S. air operations in the Middle East, also told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has been setting up temporary deconfliction zones around Syria. Military operations by Russia, the Syrian government or its allies are essentially restricted in those zones so American and U.S.-backed forces are protected.

India

Wild elephant stuck

5 days in swampy area

GAUHATI  Indian veterinarians are treating a 10-year-old wild elephant with an injured leg to help it escape from a marshy area where it has been stuck for at least five days.

The state Forest and Environment Ministry said forest rangers are bringing domesticated elephants to help rescue the trapped male elephant in Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary, 25 miles east of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state.

Their first priority is to treat the elephants injury so it can come out on its own.

Mexico

US: Heroin shippers hit with sanctions

MEXICO CITY  The U.S. government is imposing sanctions on alleged Mexican drug traffickers described by the Treasury Department as major contributors to our nations heroin epidemic.

The Treasury Department says the sanctions target Jose Luis Ruelas Torres and 10 members of his family-based Ruelas Torres organization. It calls the gang an independent opium and heroin production and distribution organization that smuggles multi-kilogram heroin quantities into the United States.

The sanctions announced Wednesday freeze any assets held by those on the list that are under U.S. jurisdiction and bar Americans from entering into transactions with them.

The gang allegedly has shipped heroin from Sinaloa state to cities ranging from Los Angeles to New York for well over two decades. Those cities include Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Columbus and Detroit.

Brazil

Troops are deployed

after clashes in capital

BRASILIA  The president ordered federal troops to restore order in the countrys capital Wednesday after some ministries were evacuated during clashes between police and protesters who are seeking the leaders ouster.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

New Delhi: With the admission process for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in major universities in India about to start, the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) unit of Muslim Student Federation organised a 10-day admission assistance camp outside JMI in Jamia Nagar.

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The camp was organised from May 16 to May 25 in which hundreds of students benefitted from free forms filling to knowing the admission procedure at JMI, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru university.

This is the third year in a row that such a camp has been organised by MSF, the student organisation of Indian Union Muslim League.

This camp benefitted students who come from remote areas. They dont know the procedure of entrance and admission. Some students keep searching their entrance centres. Our teams guided them in all of these matter, Ateeb Maaz Khan, National Joint secretary, MSF, told TwoCircles.net.

According to Aijaz Karim, General Secretary, MSF Delhi, organising such camps is very important from people who come from rural areas. They dont know about the admission procedures and thus they are not able to secure admissions in prestigious universities, he added.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

Human rights organisation Amnesty International India has criticised the Indian Armys decision to present an award to a Major suspected of having a man tied to a moving military jeep in Jammu and Kashmir last month. Amnesty said that it gives the impression that it condones human rights abuses.

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Aakar Patel, Executive Director at Amnesty International India, said, Rewarding an officer who is under investigation for a human rights violation suggests that the Army seems to be willing to not just overlook, but actually valorise an act of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to torture.

He further said, This decision sends the disturbing message to security force personnel and people in Jammu and Kashmir that the human rights of Kashmiris can be casually ignored without fear of punishment. Authorities should instead be trying to ensure that those responsible, including those with command responsibility, are brought to justice in a civilian court.

Yesterday, Army Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi was awarded with chief of army staffs commendation card for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations. Major Gogoi is suspected of having ordered 24-year-old Farooq Ahmad Dhar to be tied to a jeep, had a sign reading I am a stone pelter pasted to his chest, and driven around for over five hours on April 9 in Budgam district, Jammu and Kashmir.

Army officials have claimed that Farooq Dar was used as a human shield to deter people from throwing stones at their convoy. However in a video of the incident uploaded online on 14 April, a voice over a loudspeaker can be heard saying, This will be the fate of people who throw stones.

Even after the award commemoration Gogoi told reporters, I did this only to save the local people. Had I fired there would have been more than 12 casualtieswith this Idea I have saved many peoples lives. Taking a step forward in his allegations, Gogoi said that Farooq Ahmad Dar looked like a ringmaster of stone pelters.

It is unclear yet that commendation to Gogoi is related to the incident occurred on April 9, but Indian Army has ordered a military investigation into the incident. However, it is unclear if the investigation has been completed.

The disregard for the rights of Farooq Dar flies in the face of the commitments made by India recently at the UN Human Rights Council. It also contradicts the recent stand of the Indian government at the International Court of Justice in support of states respecting their international legal obligations, said Aakar Patel.

Military investigations into human rights violations lack independence and have in the past served to shield perpetrators from prosecution. Prosecutions of security force personnel in J&K have seldom progressed due to restrictions imposed by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990 (AFSPA).

Section 7 of the AFSPA 1990 provides virtual immunity for human rights violations by security force personnel, as any civilian prosecution can only proceed after obtaining prior sanction from the central government. In the 27 years that the law has been in force in Jammu and Kashmir, not once has sanction been granted by the central government.

Speaking to Amnesty International India, Farooq Ahmad Dar said, I want justice. The Army men who tied me up to a moving jeep should be prosecuted. Neither the police nor the army have approached to record my statement. I am not aware of the developments in the case other than what has been reported in the media.
Help India!

TCN News

Aligarh: Today JN Medical College at AMU joins the elite club of very few medical colleges of India to offer Assisted Reproductive technologies at very nominal rates and is the only public sector functional centre in U.P.

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In a historical advance today, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) unit of JN Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University opened up by conducting 8 successful oocyte retrival, 7 embryo transfer cases and 3 Testicular Sperm retrieval cases in Azospermic men.

The process of embryo transfers in the eight cases was witnessed by honorable Vice Chancellor of AMU Prof Tariq Mansoor who is also the alumni of JN Medical College and a guide and mentor to all of doctors present in the team.

The team was led by Chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Professor Seema Hakim and Professor Shaheen, In-Charge, ART unit at JNMCH who has taken training in IVF technology from AIIMS, New Delhi. The team conducted the cases with a public-private partnership with RAINBOW-IVF Centre of Agra which is run by AMU Alumni Prof. Jaideep Malhotra and Prof. Narendra Malhotra.

Incidentally Prof Jaideep Malhotra is also an adjunct faculty for Reproductive Medicine at JNMC and has been instrumental in setting up the IVF Lab and training the faculty and staff. Dr. Keshav Malhotra, who has been trained in Australia, carried out the IVF lab procedures. Dr. Keshav Malhotra was the youngest member on the team and staff of ART unit is indeed fortunate to be trained by his skilled hands.

Prof. Tamkin Khan, Prof. Nishat Akhtar, Prof. Noor Afshan Sabzposh, Prof Imam Bano, Prof. Zehra Mohsin, Dr. Nasreen Noor, Dr. Deeba Khanam, Dr. Dalia Rafat also assisted the team of doctors.

Professor Shaheen toiled to set up the lab under the supervision and guidance of Prof. Jaideep Malhotra.

Now thousands of infertile couples of this area, women with blocked tubes, Endometriosis, Primary ovarian failure, PCOD etc can have their own children. Men with azoospermia can now have their own genetic child with the technique of TESA-ICSI.

Prof. Jaideep Malhotra expressed satisfaction on how the Department has come up and in an emotional statement said that he will always give back whatever he has learnt from his alma mater which, according to him, has laid the foundation of his learning in his initial years and helped him reach the top of his academic career.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): Newly formed Dalits rights group Bhim Army on Thursday issued ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring the perpetrators of the May 5 Saharanpur violence to book.

The group also said if the government fails to provide justice, they would not shy away from taking up arms.

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If pressed against the wall, they must know that we do not only follow B.R. Ambedkar but Udham Singh as well If we do take up arms, then it will be for justice and peace for our community, Ravi Kumar Gautam of the Bhim Army told the media.

He also urged the state government to do justice so that peace can be maintained.

The members of the radical apolitical group accused the district administration of colluding with the upper caste members and giving them a free rein during which they ransacked and burnt down 65 houses and 25 shops belonging to Dalits.

The biggest failure of the administration was not confiscating the arms after May 5. At present, people are roaming around freely with their swords drawn. We are under a great danger of being attacked again, Jai Bhagwan Jatav, Patron of Bhim Army, said during a press conference.

Counsel for the group pointed out the disproportionate charges under which members of both the factions have been booked after violence.

The severest charge levelled against any upper caste member is IPC 395, which spells dacoity, while Dalits have been booked for murder and attempt to murder, advocate Mohammad Shehenshah Khan said.

Clashes had broken out in Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur district between the upper caste Thakurs and Dalits on May 5.

Tempers rose allegedly when on the occasion of Maharana Prataps birth anniversary, the Rajput community members insisted on playing loud music during a procession, despite a remonstration from Dalits against it.

In the ensuing violence, one person was killed and 16 were reportedly injured.
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Kolkata, (IANS): Accusing the police with attacking its workers with the help of states ruling Trinamool Congress cadres, the West Bengal unit of the BJP claimed that around 200 party workers were injured in police action during the protest march on Thursday.

Calling the state police unprofessional and ferocious, state BJP spokesman Samik Bhattacharya alleged the security forces carried out unprovoked baton charge on the BJP supporters during the march to the city police headquarters.

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Unable to control our movement, the police brought in Trinamool-backed hooligans. Nothing can be more condemnable than the police attacking agitators by taking help of ruling party-backed goons. We condemn this, Bhattacharya said.

He said BJP leader Locket Chatterjee was among the injured and had to be treated at the Kolkata Medical College Hospital.

Police behaved in an unprofessional and ferocious manner. They carried out unprovoked baton charge. Around 200 BJP workers, including women, were injured. Two of our workers are admitted in the state-run SSKM Hospital in very serious condition. One of them has got internal haemorrhage, another 27-year-old boy vomited out blood.

Bhattacharya said, Ninety-two of our workers have registered in the Kolkata Medical College as injured. What is more despicable is the attitude of the police. When Locket Chatterjee was being treated at the medical college and she was unable to breathe properly without oxygen support, police entered and said there was no need for her treatment, and that they were arresting her, he said.

Slamming the state administration, Bhattacharya said it cannot tolerate the least bit of criticism and opposition.

He also alleged that some people pelted stones at the rallyists standing before the police, while acid bottles were flung at BJP workers near the Central Metro station.

He also flayed the police for attacking the state BJP headquarters.

When over 60 of our workers were being given medical treatment in our state party headquarters, police attacked them, along with others. Veterans of our party were assaulted, he said.
Adam Sandler wouldn't be the first person you'd think of getting a Standing Ovation, let alone at the Cannes Film Festival. The festival of cinema, set on the backdrop of the French Riviera, is famous for its slightly sniffy nature. The way critics behaved during the screening of Netflix's very first entry into the festival is proof of that fact. However, there are times when it can amaze you, and on Sunday night, after the screening of Noah Baumbach's latest film, The Meyerowitz Stories, something magical happened. The crowd got up, and gave Adam Sandler, the film's lead, a four-minute long standing ovation.

Sandler shocks Cannes, but in a good way

Baumbach's comedy-drama, The Meyerowitz Stories, is competing for a Palme d'Or this year at the Cannes Film Festival, which is the highest honour bestowed at the event. Adam Sandler stars alongside the likes of Ben Stiller, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman. The film follows the story of a dysfunctional New York family and has recently been acquired by Netflix, and they'll be distributing the film on their online streaming platform. The movie currently has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been widely well received by critics, scoring an average of 7.5 out of 10.

However, it was reported by Deadline that the real reason the film got such a positive response at Cannes was due to Sandlers performance, which demonstrated what a talented actor he really is, despite all the negative press hes been receiving recently.

Perhaps the [biggest surprise is] a sentence I thought I might never write: Is Adam Sandler a contender for Best Actor in Cannes? wrote Deadline after having watched the film. Vanity Fairs headline, Adam Sandler Will Make You Forget Hes Adam Sandler in The Meyerowitz Stories, echoed this feeling of shock people experienced after having seen the film.

Oscar buzz for Sandler?

However, this isnt the first time Sandler has received praise for his performance. He showed us a completely different side to his acting ability in Paul Thomas Andersons Punch-Drunk Love, in which he played Barry Egan, a psychologically troubled seller of novelty trinkets. He also surprised people with his honest portrayal of a dying comic in Funny People.

However, Sandlers come under heavy criticism recently after having released a string of terrible movies with Netflix, the worst of which has to be The Ridiculous Six which currently has a score of 0 on Rotten Tomatoes. Hes just signed a new four-movie deal with Netflix, which The Meyerowitz Stories is one of.

Its different for a comedian when you get an offer like this, Sandler said before the films screening. The overall sentiment is that Sandler delivered a stellar performance in The Meyerowitz Stories, and could very well be a contender for the Best Actor award at Cannes. Theres no telling where it might go after that Oscar nomination perhaps? Who knows...
A new scandal is raising around the Manchester attacks: Salman Abedi, the 22 year old man that carried the bombing, was said to be known by the UK terror police who had received warnings on many occasions. Salman followed the basic path of a young man living in Europe and falling into radicalisation as some ask if it would have been possible to stop him.

A worried community that contacted the Terror Police several times

The Libyan community in Manchester, as well as many friends of the attacker, had expressed to the police and the Security Services their apprehension in regard to Salman's behaviour.

For instance, Salman was banned from Didsbury Mosque when a conflict started between him and an anti-extremist Imam (he delivered sermons about the dangers of extremism). The mosque conveyed the incident to the Home Offices Prevent anti-radicalisation program, understanding that Salman had been placed on a "watch list".

Furthermore, two of the bomber friends called, at different times, to inform the Security services about the clear radicalisation of Salman: they said he was "supporting Terrorism" and defending the idea that "being a suicide bomber was ok".

A US official also confirmed members of Salman's family had called saying he was dangerous.

His youngest brother was also investigated over suspicious links to ISIS

Salman's youngest brother, Hisham, was already investigated for more than a month over a possible link between him and the Islamic State.

The Libyan's forces arrested him soon after the attack as they are certain Hisham knew about the bombing and helped his brother in the plot.

A Libyan spokesman, the Telegraph reports, informed that "We were not quite sure about this (Hisham's link to ISIS and knowledge about Salman's plan), but when we arrested and we asked him, he told us, 'I have an ideology with my brother'. Hashim told us, 'I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester'."

A concerned father or part of a Libyan Islamic fighting group?

The mother and father of Salman Abedi flew Gaddafi's Libya in the 90's and sought refuge in the UK living first in London and moving later on to Manchester.The father is now being held by the Lybian militia in Tripoli (as he recently moved back to Libya with his wife).

He expressed shock and incomprehension at the news of his son carrying out such a horrific attack, he added (Salman) was always against those attacks, saying theres no religious justification for them. I dont understand how hed have become involved in an attack that led to the killing of children.

However, it seems Mr.Abedi himself is part of a Lybian Islamic fighting group and was said to be worried about his son's behaviour. Recent revelations confirm that Salman's parents asked him to join them in Lybia as they were afraid of their son taking action on British soil. He joined them weeks before the attack and his father confiscated his passport to stop him from going back to the UK. Nevertheless, Salman lied to his mother showing a motivation to leave for Saudi Arabia during the Holy month of Ramadan which led her to return him the passport: he then directly flew back to Manchester.

The Terrorism Police: Clearly aware of Salman Abedi's threat?

The question is being raised on the implication of the British security services: over a period of 5 years, they have received many calls and complaints about Salman's radicalisation. The friends that called said that they never heard back from the service.

Besides, Salman's was travelling back and forth to Libya where it is believed he received a specific training and knowledge helping him to carry the attack.

The British government, over the years, has put in place devices to warn the services of an eventual citizen's radicalisation (phone numbers, advertisement about speaking up in the case of doubts etc.) however, when used, these services seem ineffective  a sad example is Salman Abedi's attack that, this information show, might have been avoided.
The Manchester attacks were atrocious. There is no other word that can summarise this incident. All political parties and leaders have demonstrated their unity and condemnation towards the bombing. Suspending their campaigning activities during the 2017 General Election is the least they could do to pay their respects to the Manchester victims. Northfield Labour's error of continuing with leafleting streets was undoubtedly a mistake, and one possibly caused by a communication breakdown. This embarrassment and those controversial remarks of the Vice-Chair for Labour in Stroud are only two election mistakes that have been revealed so far, but political parties must do more to prevent these kinds of slip-ups from happening.

'Catastrophic mistakes in the media cost careers'

All local political parties utilised social media and other modern methods of communication to explicitly state campaigning had to grind to a halt on Tuesday, yet it did not appear to be enough to prevent Northfield Labour from distributing leaflets. But none of the parties were clear enough about the consequences of using the Manchester attacks to score political points. The vice-chair for Stroud Labour has been suspended, but a former Green candidate has also been spotted for insulting Conservative activists who have used social media to express their condolences towards the victims.

Catastrophic mistakes in the media can cost political careers. Social media is a dangerous weapon if people fail to conduct themselves properly. Behaviour regarding campaigning and social media should be clarified during incidents such as this.
Plenty of political volunteers know how to exercise class, but the Vice-Chair for Labour Stroud and former prospective parliamentary candidate for Stroud Central, Debbie Hicks, fails to meet that criteria. She tweeted on the day of the Manchester attacks: 'What has happened in Manchester is awful and my thoughts are with the families. However, I can't help thinking this is wonderful timing for Theresa May.' There is only one word appropriate to describe this tweet: disgusting. Regardless of one's own political convictions, this should be the universal opinion of anyone aware of that comment.

'Keyboard warriors fail to achieve anything'

All political parties can be forgiven for errors when an incident like the Manchester attacks occurs when people least expect it, like campaigning when instructed not to. But what thoughts go through the minds of activists wishing to progress in their political careers, especially those desiring to climb the greasy Westminster pole, when they write an insensitive tweet for hundreds, and now potentially millions, of people to see? It detracts from the main story, which is that a popstar's concert organised to provide joy to Ariana Grande fans was disrupted by an atrocious bombing. Children's lives were taken, that is the worst outcome of the terrorists' plan.

These keyboard warriors fail to achieve anything by doing this. The 2013 Defamation Act states there is a public interest when producing stories on established figures who fail to conduct themselves properly. People have a right to know if aspiring politicians cannot exercise caution on social media. In the long-term, they are the ones that lose.

The irony behind Debbie Hicks' tweet is that her opponents and the press will make political capital out of her stupidity. She is the one who has failed to show strong leadership in her community by humiliating herself.
Northfield Labour have been caught breaking their Twitter pledge not to campaign during the day of the Manchester attacks.

This news will come as an embarrassment to the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Birmingham constituency, Richard Burden, who is campaigning to be re-elected as its Member of Parliament.

Northfield Labour tweeted at 7.46am on Tuesday: 'Our thoughts this morning are with those affected by last night's tragic events in Manchester- all campaign activity is suspended in respect.'

But a source can reveal exclusively to Blasting News that Labour activists leafleted their street at 8.55pm on Tuesday night.

'Shocked to receive this leaflet'

They added: 'I was shocked to receive this leaflet in the evening. I thought Northfield Labour said on Twitter that they suspended all of their campaigning activities.'

But Mr. Burden said he had no knowledge of his campaigners distributing literature on Tuesday evening.

An official statement from Northfield Labour said:

'In line with the commitments by the national parties after the abhorrent attacks in Manchester, all campaign activities by Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens in our constituency were suspended throughout yesterday as a mark of respect. We are, of course, looking into the report that has been brought to our attention. However, we can confirm in addition to the national message, the Northfield Labour campaign team also sent out alerts to advise our members and supporters of the suspension of campaigning yesterday.

'Yesterday evening, Richard Burden was proud to join his campaign team in attending Birmingham's vigil in solidarity and support for the victims of the attack and their loved ones. At times like this we should never seek to sow division or score political points against one another, we have far more in common than what divides us.

As both Brummies and Brits we should remember and cherish this.'

Both Northfield Conservative Association and the local Liberal Democrats were approached to comment, but both organisations declined to do so.

This broken pledge is part of an extending string of election errors Labour activists have made since the bombing.

'Wonderful timing'

Political blog Guido Fawkes revealed the vice-chair of Stroud Labour Party, Debbie Hicks, tweeted that the Manchester attack is wonderful timing for Prime Minister Theresa May.

She said she was concerned the incident would be used by the Government for political gain to present a message of 'strong and stable leadership.'

David Drew, the Labour candidate for Stroud, confirmed that she has been suspended pending full investigation.

Yesterday, hundreds of soldiers were deployed to help protect British streets in the wake of the attack.

'Terror level critical'

The terror level has been raised to 'critical', the highest possible, meaning an attack is expected.

The man behind the attacks is believed to be Salman Abedi.

Five men linked to the terrorist have been held as police investigate what they believe to be a network of terror linked to Syria.

22 people were killed in an explosion at the Manchester Arena where American popstar, Ariana Grande, was performing live. Many of the victims were children. They have all been identified since the attack.

64 people were also wounded in the blast.

Mr. Burden attended a vigil at Victoria Square, Birmingham, on Tuesday evening to show solidarity with the victims who both lost their lives and were injured in the atrocity.

He issued a statement, which can be seen on his Facebook page, saying that Tuesday morning's bombing was carried out by people who peddle hatred and division.

The Labour PPC added that generosity had been expressed by the people of Manchester since the incident happened.

Richard Burden has been the MP for Northfield since 1992.

He served as shadow transport minister from 2013 to 2016.

After Labour won the 1997 General Election, he was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The one subject no political party wishes to discuss is the plight of our ever ageing population. Like most previous administrations, and certainly as the Who wished for in the 1960's; they would have hoped they had died, long 'before they got old.' Sadly that is not the case, they are saddled by an ever increasing gaggle of wrinkles, all demanding a fair slice of the cake that they have paid into all their working lives.

The NHS

The National Health Service is not necessarily underfunded, in many cases, it is failing because it has become a blatantly mismanaged edifice.

The first priority is to savagely trim the layer upon layer of advisors, assistants, and managers who have been added over the years to shore up a structure that is crumbling from the base upwards. Politicians have forgotten the very people who make it run smoothly, the dedicated Drs and Nurses, most who are overworked, underpaid and undervalued. The second priority is to decide once and for all if we want to save the NHS or privatise it all together. With the attitude of the current Secretary for Health that would appear the route that this government - in its dying days - and probably the next will want to travel. The third priority is the Drug Companies themselves, for far too long it is they who have dictated terms, with regards costs and availability.

They have held to ransom successive administrations and played with the lives of many.Yes, one can argue that it takes millions to develop new methods of keeping us all alive, disease, germs, bacteria or whatever label you wish to put on it, is a very slippery customer indeed. Once we believe we have eradicated one strain another one pops up.

So yes, it costs money to stay on top, but not that much?

The Elderly

As was said previously, no one has given any real thought to the problems of the elderly. Our hospitals are full of what are called, 'bed-blocker's,' elderly infirm patients, most with dementia with nowhere to go screaming out their agonies to the annoyance of all in the ward that has been left with them.

There is a little correlation between the sides in the battle, medical, healthcare, and home care all face a breakdown of communication throughout the UK. It is not about money it is about dying with dignity, being treated with compassion, and handled with care. Almost akin to closing our mental institutions in the 90's, to be replaced with Care in the Community, a much-trumpeted solution to a terrible problem, which in the end raised the fact that no one really cared anyway?

One would hope that as campaigning starts again tomorrow that somewhere in the pages of those manifestoes yet to be unfolded that some party with foresight has already instructed a firm of Architects to draw up plans for Super-Hospitals, meant only for those who at the end of their lives, ones who deserve to meet that dimming light with decorum, calmness, and respectability. It's doubtful though...?

(Part Three) The real solution to the problem. The one no-one wants to talk about...?
While hes been on the promotional tour for his latest big-budget action-adventure starring vehicle, Tom Cruise has confirmed a long-awaited sequel to one of his others. Appearing on Australian morning TV talk show Sunrise (of all the places he could making this huge announcement) to promote his new remake of The Mummy franchise (Tom Cruise > Brendan Fraser), Cruise announced that a sequel to his immensely popular Navy recruitment video Top Gun is officially in the works, with the cameras set to begin rolling in 2018.

Joseph Kosinski is the frontrunner to direct the sequel

The reason for the delays on making Top Gun 2 is down to Tony Scott, the director of the original, tragically committing suicide a few years ago. It didnt seem right doing it without him. But a few months passed, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer got dollar signs in his eyes and changed his mind.

Joseph Kosinski is the top choice to direct the new Top Gun follow-up. You may know Kosinski from his neon orgy Tron: Legacy or his wonderful, mind-bending sci-fi Oblivion, also starring Cruise. Hes currently working on Granite Mountain, a promising-looking drama movie about firefighters. Kosinski has yet to be offered the job properly, though, and Cruise has been meeting with a handful of possible directors, but he has a brief history with this one.

The aim here is to have the Top Gun sequel raring to go, engines at the ready (car analogy, but still works), by the time Cruise wraps up the sixth Mission: Impossible movie.

Its the perfect time for a Top Gun sequel in todays climate

Now, it may seem like a sequel to Top Gun is a few decades too late, since glorifying the military brings up moral issues these days and no one wants to see Donald Trump sending Maverick and Iceman to Syria to bomb the Assad.

Its just not fun.

But now is a great time to do a nostalgic T2 Trainspotting-style postscript kind of sequel, what with dogfighting in combat dying out and drone technology becoming more advanced. The world doesnt need Maverick anymore, and hes aging, and thats tragic. It could be a great story. The most recent draft of Top Gun 2 was written by Justin Marks.

Marks is a writer whos often linked with films that linger in development hell forever, so its good to see one of his projects finally getting somewhere.

Anyway, while Cruise gets shooting Mission: Impossible 6 and putting together Top Gun 2 (busy, busy, busy!), his latest Film, Universals new The Mummy reboot opens on 9 June, the day after the general election (coincidentally; that wasnt planned).
There are a lot of touching stories about graduations and commencement services. Some of them are very touching especially the story about a mother who gave up everything to attend college to help her quadriplegic son get his Master of Business Administration degree from Chapman University in Orange, California.

Back in 2012, Marty O'Connor fell down a flight of stairs and became paralyzed. After almost two years recovering from his accident, he wanted to return to college to get his MBA degree, and the college he wanted to attend was not local.

In 2013, Marty enrolled at Chapman University. His mother, Judy O'Connor, gave up everything to move across the country to be with her son to help him fulfill her dream.

At Chapman University

The retired Florida teacher was back in college again. This time it was not to get a degree herself. Instead, she was there to help Marty get his MBA degree. Judy attended every class as well as tutoring sessions and study groups and whatever else was required to help her 29-year-old son graduate in the two-year MBA program. Judy took notes and even raised her hand when Marty wanted to ask a question or give an answer in class. However, it was Marty who actually responded through his communication devices.

Graduation service

With the help of his mother, Marty completed his MBA program and even made it into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. He also received Chapmans outstanding graduate student award.

During the graduation ceremony, Marty was not the only O'Connor who received an MBA. His mother was presented with an honorary MBA.

Judy was totally surprised because she had no idea she would be honored. What she did was out of love for her son. She didn't know Marty had nominated her to receive the degree.

President Daniele Struppa told ABC News that all the college officials approved the request. After all, Judy learned what the other students learned.

The college president added that they were more than happy to award both son and mother the MBA degrees. Judy received a standing ovation as she was presented with the degree.

Judy concluded that the entire process changed both of them. It was therapeutic for her, and she saw the transformation in Marty who already has landed his ideal job working for a youth program in sports. Judy said they are planning to get a professional assistant to help him this time. She plans to go back to tutoring.
There were only a couple of hours left for Terrill Thomas to serve an eight-day stay in isolation at the Milwaukee County jail when something went terribly wrong.The man was locked up for a year in the county jail, however, according to eyewitnesses, he was placed in isolation as punishment for his behavior. After being locked away for seven days and when he had just a few hours to make it to the end of his punishment,a tragedy happened.

Guards cut off water to inmate's cell as punishment

The guards went to check on the inmate and found him lying on the prison's floor.

He was dead.The 38-year-old man spent his last days begging for water, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Prisoners inside the facility told the investigators that the prison staff had cut off the water to his cell as punishment for his bad conduct.

The inmate's lifeless body was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead by the medical staff. His body was later removed to the medical examiner's office, where an investigation was launched to ascertain the cause of death. According to the autopsy report, the man had died from, "significant lack of hydration." Additionally, the examiner listed his death as homicide - meaning he met his demise on the account of others.

Subsequently, Sheriff David Clarke enraged by the tragic event, launched an investigation into the senseless crime. However, now it has been about a year since the tragedy unfolded and to date, no criminal charges have been made regarding the death of Thomas. The county prosecutors revealed this week that an investigation is currently launched to gain valuable insights into the case.

They have also reported that they will find out who should be charged regardless of their official status.

It was also disclosed to the court on Monday by the prosecutors that the inmate had no water for seven days and a few hours into the eight day. Additionally, the Journal Sentinel reported that he had lost 35 pounds and was very frail and calm before he died in his cell.

Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley advised the jury that they should try to answer three questions - What was the reason for his passing? Was it caused by a criminal act? And who or what led to his demise?

Security system shows guards cutting off water supply

According to Wisconsin law, an investigation is warranted when a person's death is viewed as suspicious. And after witnesses are called to a court of law, the jury or judge decides the fate of the accused individual or individuals. Benkley, in his opening remarks, said that the three prison guards who were assigned to work that day were seen on surveillance video removing the water supply from the dead man's cell.

And according to the Journal Sentinel, none of the three guards documented what they had done.

They simply neglected to record their callous behavior. Additionally, according to Fox 6, on Monday, officer DeCorie Smith affirmed that prisoners were usually served beverages on Sundays with their suppers. However, Smith said during the week, they get their supply of water from their Prison Cell faucets.
The possibility of a debilitating war between North Korea and the United States of America may be fast approaching as both leaders of each nation have not yet to find the necessary solution to avert a full-scale war. On Tuesday it was reported that Kim Jong-un conducted a large-scale live-fire exercise to showcase the strength of his military.

However, while North Korea was showcasing its armed forces prowess, the USS Carl Vinson and its crew made their way to the Korean peninsula and docked in the waters off South Koreas coastline. The U.S. President ordered the deployment of the warship amid the growing tension that had ensued over North Koreas missile and nuclear programs.

Military officials of S.Korea, Japan and U.S.A. met in Tokyo

Several top officials from Japan, South Korea, and the United States recently held a meeting in Tokyo. And it was reported that leaders of the three nations were worried that the North Korean leader would order his military to conduct another long-range missile or nuclear weapons launch. The fear is in light of the 85th anniversary of the country's armed forces as well as the recent sanctions that were levied by the United Nations Committee (NATO).

Jong-un's said his military is ready to demolish U.S.A.

They were expecting Jong-un to retaliate against the new sanctions. However, instead of his regular nuclear test or large scale missile launch, the North Korean leader opted for numerous long-range artillery live-firing drills.

The test was carried out at the Wonsan airbase where missiles were reportedly tested before; the airbase is on the eastern coast of North Korea.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of staff office reported that the North Korean President had scheduled the large-scale live drill to commence in the afternoon at the Wonsan military base.

South Korea is a staunch ally of the United States of America and the number one enemy of North Korea. However, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency said the situation is firmly being monitored and its armed forces are ready to take on any challenge posed by the Kim Jong-un military.

Meanwhile, North Koreas Rodong Sinmun newspaper on its front page boasts of cutting edge military equipment such as wide varieties of precision small size nuclear weapons and submarine launchers with ballistic missiles.

The media outlet also said its leader was prepared to dismantle the U.S. nuclear blackmailing scheme. Additionally, the state-owned media network lauded the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army, which it claimed has a massive strike power that is capable of annihilating all its enemies.
A Gay Couple was flying with their three-year-old twin boys and five-year old daughter from Buffalo, NY to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday. Grant Morse and Samuel Ballachino claim Southwest Airlines showed discrimination against them when its agent denied them Family boarding privileges for the flight.

Southwest Airlines frequent flier is shocked by the incident

Morse is a frequent Southwest flier and was shocked by the treatment they received. He told NBC2 that hes always loved flying with the airline, but that Southwest Airlines did not show him any love in return on Saturday.

Instead, he claims they showed him hate.

Gay Couple Accuses Southwest Airlines of Discrimination | Deanna King | Radio 95.1 https://t.co/eAhXIK9zCv pic.twitter.com/av6W5Ltkw0  Radio 95.1 (@Radio_951) May 24, 2017

According to Morse, they attempted to use family boarding for themselves, their three children and the childrens grandmother. However, once arrived at the gate they were told by the Southwest Airlines agent that it was for family boarding only. Confused, Morse replied they are a family, indicating himself, his husband and three children. The agent continued to insist it was family boarding only and according to Morse, she was very sarcastic. Morse told Buzzfeed News that they were embarrassed and humiliated by the agent and that they looked like second-class citizens as they stood there.

Southwest Airlines denies any discrimination in the incident

Southwest Airlines told NBC2 in a statement that the incident did not relate in any way to discrimination. Their spokesperson said family boarding privileges includes parents, adding that the children should have been allowed by the agent to board. However, they went on to say the grandmother would not have been included in the privilege and would have had to wait.

Gay couple accuses Southwest Airlines of discrimination https://t.co/7pUCpFQ1WQ pic.twitter.com/GpgG2GjjIC  Scott Werntz (@mrpinkoutloud) May 22, 2017

Morse countered that statement saying that was not what was said to him at the gate. What he said happened was that the Southwest Airlines agent eventually allowed one of the men to board the plane with the three children, while the other had to wait with Morses mother.

He went on to ask how the airline could expect one parent to board three children under the age of six, with three strollers and other baby related paraphernalia, all at the same time. He said it was physically impossible. Morse added that even worse, their family was split up on the flight as flight attendants had saved four seats for them at the back, instead of the required six.

Airline to be sued by gay dad

Buzzfeed reports that Morse has now filed complaints with both Southwest Airlines and the Aviation Consumer Protection Division over the discrimination. He is demanding a written apology from the CEO of the airline, along with a commitment by Southwest Airlines to diversity training for its employees.

Morse also added that he would like to see the gate agent in question fired. He went on to say he has taken legal counsel and any financial compensation he receives will be donated to anti-discrimination charities.
Walmart, the largest retail store in the United States has put a statement out that they will ban an Arkansas woman for life after saying Racial Slurs to other customers. "Behaviors and acts like these will not be tolerated in any of our establishments," said a spokesperson from Walmart.

What happened at Walmart?

Eva Hicks minded her own business while shopping in a Bentonville, Arkansas Walmart. When Hicks attempted to reach for an item on a shelf in the pharmacy aisle near another patron's basket, she was slammed with racial insults. Someone has to bother me in every aisle I go in, the woman said as she moved her cart.

When Hicks pulled out her phone to record the womans intensity, she was immediately insulted with something she never thought she would here. Go back to Mexico, the woman stated while telling Hicks how rude she was. "We dont want you here, she continued. At this point, another shopper, an African-American, came over to intervene and ask the woman to calm down. The woman continued to yell at the woman when she then said, You are ignorant. The shopper then continued, An (n-word) is calling me ignorant?"

At this time, a Walmart employee came over to try and resolve the situation. She has just as much right to be here as you do, the employee said. The woman only got angrier and continued.

Because the woman was refusing to give up on the insults, the employee calmly asked her to leave. As the woman started walking away, she continued to attack Hicks with racial insults. At one point Hicks was crying, and the woman was seen mocking her, continuing to tell her to go away. This conflict, which lasted three minutes, was certainly a shocking experience for Eva Hicks.

What happened next? Did the woman get banned?

Hicks told NBC News in an interview, I had never experienced anything like this in my life. No one has ever talked to me with such filth and insult. New York Post writer, Shaun King, later posted a tweet demanding that Walmart bans the shopper for life.

I'm calling on @WalMart to ban this customer from this store for life. This cannot be tolerated. https://t.co/J8ZklZrwLJ  Shaun King (@ShaunKing) May 23, 2017

A Walmart representative later retweeted Shaun King's tweet.

We value and respect everyone who shops at our stores. We have no tolerance for such language and actions and are proud of the actions set forth by the assistant manager," Walmart said in a statement. Walmart also told newscasts that they were attempting to identify the woman shown in the video, and as soon as they do, they will ban her from all their stores for life.
Ever since the election of Donald Trump last November, political tension in the United States has reached an all-time high. After a Republican candidate reportedly attacked a journalist covering his election, Democrats called for immediate action from the GOP.

Republican attack

During the 2016 presidential election, it became commonplace for campaign rallies to get out of hand. Protesters and supporters often engaged in physical violence, peaking during a Donald Trump rally in Chicago that was forced to be shutdown by local authorities. In addition, Trump's war of words with the media has helped create a hostile environment for reporters and journalists who have been viewed as the number one enemy by many on the political right.

Since Trump was sworn into office last January, the tension between conservatives and the media has only gotten worse, as it's played out on the internet, cable news, and at various rallies and town-hall events. As reported by The Hill on May 24, Republican candidate Greg Gianforte allegedly assaulted a journalists from The Guardian for asking about Trump's health care plan.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses  Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017

According to The Hill, Guardian journalists Ben Jacobs was attacked by Greg Gianforte during a campaign event for the upcoming Montana special election. "Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses," Jacobs wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday night.

Other reporters appeared to validate the story, as many were on hand covering the same event.

JUST IN: Dems demands Montana GOP candidate drop out of race after allegedly assaulting a reporter https://t.co/mrG5oHtSFG pic.twitter.com/e6QxikL0jt  The Hill (@thehill) May 25, 2017

In response, Greg Gianforte's campaign were on the defensive, accusing Ben Jacobs of "aggressive" behavior" and "aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face." Despite the denial from the campaign, leaked audio contradicts with the official statement.

The audio captures Jacobs asking the Republican candidate about the recent CBO score of Donald Trump's health care plan, which triggered the candidate into a violent rage. "I'm sick and tired of you guys!," Gianforte said, before adding, "the last guy did the same damn thing!" Jacobs could be heard saying that his glasses were broke after being "body-slammed."

Democrats response

Responding to the news, the Democratic National Committee called on Greg Gianforte to drop out of the race due to his actions.

"Greg Gianforte must immediately withdraw his candidacy after his alleged violent assault of an innocent journalist, a DNC spokesman said. While it's unknown as of press time what the Republicans or Gianforte will do, it doesn't look good for the GOP in Montana.
Numbers paint a different picture. The US Department of Homeland Security's May 22 report on illegal immigrants might have shed a different outcome from the usual stereotype. For years Mexicans have been tagged as the USA's most predominant trespassers, but a publicly released statistic by the agency prove that wrong. It appears that people who enter the country legally from airports and seaports are more of a concern.

In the report, the Department of Homeland Security attempted to count individuals that overstayed their visas in fiscal 2016. Interestingly, it tells a different story compared to those who jump over the US-Mexican border.

Collectively in 2016, 630,000 visitors from foreign countries failed to leave the USA, a number that is bigger than the 415,000 individuals that tried to go over the border in the same period.

A new report by The Department of Homeland Security shows more than 600K U.S. Visa holders became illegal immigrants after overstaying term pic.twitter.com/2WurROMwTy  One America News (@OANN) May 23, 2017

In the same statistical report from the agency, Canadians were the biggest group of violators, not the USA's Latin American neighbors. The records show that about 120,000 Canadians stayed in the country illegally despite having expired visas compared to 47,000 Mexican immigrants.

Homeland Security's report is the second time the government released illegal immigrant data.

The first report came in January 2016 under the Obama administration for the fiscal year 2015. Surprisingly, during that period, they were only about 480,000 recorded overstays, the latest statistic on illegal immigrants has risen to about 25 percent.

Data, not 100 percent accurate

The data represents a snapshot of everyone who has visited and spent their approved sojourn, even to those who have only overstayed by one day. But according to a report from Quartz, this figure can be misleading since many of these individuals could have gone back to their respective countries.

For instance, of more than the 50 million foreigners that have expired visas and are required to leave the US in fiscal 2016, 740,000 overstayed. However, around 110,000 individuals left by the end of the year, followed by 84,000 by January 2017. The numbers are often confusing, with the final count of illegal overstayers to less than 550,000.

Apparently, there is also another flaw in the statistic because it only included travellers that entered and left the country via a plane or a boat. Canadians and Mexicans that travelled by land were not part of the list. Moreover, the incomplete nature of the data speaks to the US Immigration's problem of tracking individuals that have already left the country.

Homeland Security officials have been working to improve the monitoring system for years, but it appears that it still lags behind new technologies.

Bigger problem

Currently, Homeland Security is trying to set up a system that would help identify departing travellers without biometric technology after the US Congress mandated it more than ten years ago. It costs around $100 million a year, but Donald Trump's plan of setting up a border wall might cost even more.

The most alarming fact might have come from legal travellers, as found in the numbers, more people are overstaying and living in the US illegally via airports and seaports. The numbers do paint a different picture, and it is quite complicated from what we previously believed.
A United States warship sailed extremely close to a Chinese held island in the South china sea early Wednesday.According to inside sources, the warship sailed to almost 12 miles off an artificial island near Mischief reef in the Spratlys group of islands. Reports said that this was the first time under Trump's administration that the U.S. navy contested Beijing's claim over this highly contested area.

Why did the U.S. warship sail provokingly close to China held island?

U.S. navy conducts "Freedom Of Navigation" operations through international waters to test countries adherence to the international laws of the seas.

However, China had rejected the Hague ruling over the illegality of Beijing's claim over the vast China sea. Thus, American passage through these waters are seen as an intrusion into Chinese territory.

The U.S. warship was to show China that Washington is enforcing the United Nations resolution over the South China Sea. This is after China had claimed almost the entire area; a move that infringed the rights of several neighboring countries the use of international waters.

What is China's position over the South China sea dispute?

The United Nations made a resolution called the "Law of the sea treaty" that defined the laws regarding the limits of territory over oceans and seas. The treaty states that the territorial waters of any country stretches 12 nautical miles from the country's shore.

This ruling almost negates all of Beijing's claim over the contested sea. Beijing doesn't accept such resolution and continued on building artificial islands on highly contested waters.

China had recently fortified many of its islands in the contested area, even placing radar stations and jet fighters. However, in a rapid turn of events, the Philippines, which is the only regional ally of the United States in the South China sea, has started to drift towards Beijing.

China's prodding into international waters continued without clamor, especially after Trump's win wherein South China sea operations were halted until now.

How will this affect U.S.- China relations against North Korea?

The White House continually desires China to step up and apply stringent diplomatic pressure against North Korea to halt its nuclear ambition.

However, China isn't doing much to stop Pyongyang from its tests.

The United States will not back down from its freedom of navigation operations in these highly contested seas. One can only hope that such operations will not result in a serious altercation, which can ignite an untimely war between unintended enemies.
When the city of new orleans decided to take down public statues of Confederate war heroes, the decision touched off a controversy over what some saw as the erasure of history and what others call a reevaluation of an unsavory period in which the lost cause of the Confederacy was celebrated. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, now that the removal of the statues is a fait accompli, laid out the reasons for the decision. Landrieu made a number of compelling points.

After celebrating the diversity of New Orleans comes the sordid side of its history

New Orleans, Mayor Landrieu noted, is one of the most richly diverse cities in North America. But the city also had a sordid history based on racism and slavery. It was a port that received slave ships from Africa and was one of the biggest markets in which human beings were bought and sold in the old south. New Orleans saw lynchings, separate but equal, and the savage beatings of freedom riders. These were part of the history of the city as well, yet there exist no monuments commemorating them.

The Confederate monuments as a celebration of the lost cause and white supremacy

Landrieu suggested that the statues that have been removed from public spaces in New Orleans were not celebrations of the particular men depicted.

Rather they commemorated the lost cause, a mythos created in the wake of the Civil War that emphasized the glory of the Confederacy and the heroism of its soldier without mentioning that the breakaway country was based on racism and slavery. To celebrate Confederate heroes is to do the same for the cause they fought for.

A more expansive view of history of New Orleans

Mayor Landrieu concluded his remarks with the observation that the 300-year history of New Orleans is more than the 4-year brief historical aberration that was called the Confederacy. The removal of those statues, an affront to the citys African American residents, provides an opportunity to reevaluate how New Orleans sees its history and to erect symbols that are more representative of that towns story.

Not to praise the Confederacy nor even to bury it but to put It in context

Landrieu likely will never convince those people who are emotionally attached to the statues that his government arranged to be removed from public spaces in New Orleans. But his reasons for expunging the city of symbols of what many believe is a period that featured evil rather than heroism are worth considering. History is always in the process of reevaluation. It might have been a good thing if the mayor had laid out his reasons before the decision to remove the statues had been taken.
Kathryn Dennis was under fire last year for allegedly failing to take a drug test and checking into rehab a short time later. However, in new court documents it seems as though the tables may have turned.

As Dennis and Ravenel's Custody Battle over their two kids, three-year-old Kensington and 18-month-old Saint Julien, continues, Radar Online has shared a report, detailing the latest round of accusations. In their May 23 report, Dennis reportedly accuses Ravenel not only of drug use, but also of violent behavior.

As the outlet revealed, Dennis filed documents in Charleston, South Carolina and suggested Ravenel was abusing alcohol and taking narcotics while the children are under his care. She also claimed Ravenel has had illegal substances, including mushrooms and cocaine at his home when the children were present.

Did Thomas Ravenel 'trick' the court?

In her court documents, Kathryn Dennis claimed her former boyfriend shaved his entire body before submitting a hair follicle test in order to avoid being caught. In addition, she claims his behavior is grounds for their custody arrangement to be switched in her favor and has requested full custody of Kensington and Saint Julien. Dennis also wants Ravenel to undergo a psychological evaluation.

Kathryn Dennis claims Thomas Ravenel uses opiates

Dennis said in her court documents that because of Ravenel's alleged use of opiates, which she claimed he mixes with alcohol, he has exhibited erratic and violent behavior on multiple occasions. Although it is unclear what evidence of any such thing Dennis has, if any, Radar Online revealed that Ravenel has had a few drug-related run-ins with the law in recent years.

In 2007, Ravenel was reportedly caught with cocaine during his time serving as the State Treasurer of South Carolina. Following the ordeal, Ravenel checked into a treatment center and remained there for two months before being sentenced to serve 10 months behind bars. Six years later, Ravenel was arrested for DWI in East Hampton, New York and faced to pay $1,400 in fees.

Kathryn Dennis went to rehab last year

After splitting from Ravenel several months prior, Dennis checked into a rehab facility in Los Angeles and remained on the west coast for several weeks. Since then, as Radar Online revealed, the mother of two has refused to share her rehab records in court.

To see more of Kathryn Dennis and Thomas Ravenel, tune in to "Southern Charm" season four on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
Fans of Matt Brown of "Alaskan Bush People" have been worried about him all day. Rumors are flying that he was injured in an accident and it sounds like it could have been pretty bad for the reality star. This information is being talked about in various Facebook Groups for fans of Alaskan Bush People, but so far no news sources have shared the information.

What allegedly happened to Matt?

A credible source is revealing that Matt Brown was injured while they were filming their reality show. This would mean a lot of people were around to help at least.

This injury allegedly happened while they were doing something with a stick of dynamite. Allegedly, Matt had a 1/3 of a stick of dynamite go off early and this is what caused injury to him. Nobody seems to know how bad it was, but the fans are worrying and hoping for a confirmation about what happened soon. Matt's fans are pretty die hard and are even talking about praying for him and wondering what they can do to help out the Brown family.

Reports are that Matt Brown was taken to a nearby hospital after this happened and is now in ICU from his injuries. The fans are worried about him, but nobody has any confirmation about what exactly happened to Matt. Blasting News reached out to Discovery for an answer, but hasn't heard back from them at this time.

The speculation is going crazy as people in Alaska talk in the groups about what they have heard. Some even mentioned knowing that someone was injured last night, but details are still just barely coming out. Everyone is hoping that it isn't as bad as it sounds actually. If Matt is in ICU, that means that he is dealing with some pretty bad injuries from whatever went down.

Could they have been filming "Alaskan Bush People"?

There has been a lot of talk about season 7 of the show happening. That would make total sense that they would be filming right now and Matt Brown is known to do some crazy things so the idea that he would be playing with dynamite is not shocking at all. If they caught this all on film for an upcoming season of "Alaskan Bush People," then that is going to be crazy to watch.

Fans are really worried about Matt, but just aren't getting answers at this time.

Have you heard the rumors about Matt Brown of "Alaskan Bush People?" Are you excited for a new season of the show? Sound off in the comments section below, and dont miss "Alaskan Bush People" when it returns to Discovery with new episodes. It should be a great season no matter what happens.
On Friday's episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful" Dollar, Bill Spencer married the love of his life, Brooke Logan. The only people in attendance were his sons Liam and Wyatt, along with Brooke's son Rick and his wife Mia.Is Dollar Bill extending an olive branch to Rick and Mia, or only caught up in the happiness of finally making Rick's mother his bride? Knowing their past history, Bill may soon rescind his offer of a truce, and take the olive branch back.

Dollar Bill and Rick

Rick Forrester and Bill Spencer Jr. have a troubled history that keeps them at odds with one another.

Because of the mutual love they share for Brooke, the two men basically stay in their own corners. The most recent incident between Dollar Bill and Rick had to do with Rick's wife Mia. Bill found out that Mia had been born a man, named Myron. He published in his paper that she was transgender before Mia had a chance to tell Rick. The entire town was troubled by Bill's insensitivity, and his need to make a dollar. Rick accepted Mia as a woman and the two were later married.

The tension that has been between Rick and Bill over the years seems to have subsided now that they are bonded by marriage. Mia also must have forgiven Bill for causing her pain, because she was sitting beside her husband smiling during the ceremony.

Mia and Rick both spoke before the wedding vows were finalized. Each said some really nice things to both Bill and Brooke. It was as if the past had never happened. Long time fans of B&B realize this is quite out of character. And what happens next is truly shocking.

Those viewing Monday's episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful" may have wondered if they had just walked into the "Twilight Zone".

Rick and Mia were invited to tag along on Bill and Brooke's honeymoon. They were on the Spencer Jet headed to Paris with the newlyweds. The two couples laughed and talked as if they were old friends. Bill referred to Rick as his son, and Rick called him dad. It was done in a playful whimsical sort of way. Viewers realized the two were trying to get along for the sake of Brooke.

And that it will not last very long, but Rick and Bill will milk this for all it is worth.

It was done in a playful whimsical sort of way and viewers realized the two were trying to get along for the sake of Brooke. Those who have watched B&B for any length of time, realize this kumbaya moment will not last very long but Rick and his step daddy Bill are milking this for all it is worth.

It's great for Brooke that for a season, her first born son and his stepdad are attempting to bond. Bill even gives some offhanded advice to Rick and Mia. When they share that Mia's sister Nicole is babysitting their daughter Lizzy, Bill tells them to be careful. He points out that Nicole may get too attached to the child she gave birth to. And may desire to reclaim the little girl she gave her sister and brother in law to raise as their own.
BEIJING - China's Finance Ministry Wednesday dismissed a decision by international rating agency Moody's to downgrade China's credit ratings.

The downgrade was based on the "pro-cyclical" rating approach which is "inappropriate," the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.

Moody's said Wednesday that it had downgraded China's long-term local currency and foreign currency issuer ratings to A1 from Aa3 and changed the outlook to stable from negative.

The rating agency attributed the decision to expectations that China's economy-wide leverage would increase over the coming years, planned reform program would likely slow, but not prevent the rise in leverage, and sustained policy stimulus would cause rising debt.

"These viewpoints, to some extent, overestimate the difficulties facing the Chinese economy and underestimate the capabilities of China to deepen supply-side structural reform and expand overall demand," the MOF said.

China's economy started strongly in 2017. Gross domestic product grew 6.9 percent in the first quarter, above the full-year target of 6.5 percent and the 6.8-percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2016.

For the first four months, fiscal revenue jumped 11.8 percent, compared to 8.6 percent for the same period last year.

The MOF pointed to the strong performance as an effect of ongoing supply-side structural reform.

"China's economy is expected to maintain steady and relatively fast growth thanks to the deepening reforms in State-owned enterprises, finance, taxation and pricing, in addition to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative," the MOF said.

The ministry also refuted Moody's expectation that China's government debt-to-GDP ratio would rise to 40 percent in 2018.

"China's government debt risks are controllable overall, with a debt ratio of 36.7 percent in 2016, well below the 60-percent warning line of the European Union and lower than those of other major developed or emerging economies," the MOF said. "Government borrowing will be under strict control under the backdrop of supply-side structural reform. And expected medium-to-high GDP growth in the coming years will also provide fundamental support for reining in local government debt risks."

The ministry said it was unlikely for China's government debt risks to see major changes in 2018-2020, compared to 2016.

Moody's also claimed that increases in China's local government financing platforms and debt owed by SOEs would lead to rising government contingent liabilities.

The ministry said this was "baseless."

According to China's laws on guarantee and budget, local government contingent liabilities include no more than the guaranteed debt they issue using loans from foreign governments or international organizations.

The debt owed by local or central SOEs must only be borne by the enterprises themselves instead of governments, according to China's corporate laws.

Echoing the ministry, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, said Wednesday that deleveraging, as a major task of the country's supply-side structural reform, was making progress and China's debt risks were controllable.

China's overall leverage ratio is at a medium level internationally and it is stabilizing, said the NDRC, citing data from the Bank for International Settlements.
President: Sino-German meeting enriches nations' communication

President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that he hopes people-to-people exchanges between China and Germany will advance bilateral ties and China-Europe relations.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory message to the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday.

Hailing the long-lasting friendship and the deepened pragmatic cooperation since the two countries established diplomatic relations 45 years ago, Xi noted that the bilateral ties had entered a mature development phase.

"Cooperation in people-to-people exchanges in recent years has pulled the hearts of the two peoples closer," Xi said.

The president hopes that the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue will help enrich communication, widen exchanges and deepen cooperation between the two countries.

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong, Chinese chairwoman of the exchange dialogue, said that the relationship between the two countries is having its best days and people-to-people exchanges are a bridge and a bond boosting friendship between the two countries peoples.

To further increase mutual knowledge and understanding between the two peoples and nurture talent, the Chinese government will provide scholarships to 6,000 Chinese students studying in Germany in the following three years.

The Chinese Government Scholarship program will offer 1,000 places to young, Germans studying in China during the three years.

According to the Ministry of Education, 130,000 Chinese have studied in Germany in the past 45 years, and 80,000 Germans have studied in China.

The establishment of the exchange dialogue will lay a solid foundation for the two countries to expand their cooperation, Liu said.

German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who is the German chairman of the exchange dialogue, said Germany and China are indispensable partners to each other, and people-to-people exchanges, which are instrumental in boosting mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, are a crucial part of the bilateral relationship.

The German government will work with the Chinese government to deepen collaboration in people-to-people exchanges, he said.

China and Germany have worked closely with each other in the past 45 years, not only in politics and economy, but also in many other fields, such as education, culture and sports.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
BEIJING -- Chinese top legislator Zhang Dejiang on Wednesday met with Fidel Espinoza, president of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile.

Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said the China-Chile parliamentary political dialogue committee has become an important platform for communication and cooperation between the NPC and the Chilean parliament.

He called on both sides to give full play to the committee in order to enhance exchanges, consolidate mutual trust and cement the foundation of cooperation.

Espinoza, who is in Beijing to attend the 11th meeting of the political dialogue committee, said the Chamber of Deputies will actively participate in parliamentary exchanges with China and contribute more to cooperation between the two countries.
Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno gives a speech to supporters from the government palace's balcony after his inauguration ceremony in Quito, Ecuador, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

QUITO - Lenin Moreno was sworn in on Wednesday as president of Ecuador for the 2017-2021 term, promising to promote national dialogue and to build on the successes seen during the decade in power of his predecessor, Rafael Correa.

"To those who voted for us, to those who voted for other candidates and those who voted blank, all of you strengthened democracy, all of you have my respect...we will all take part in an...enriching national dialogue," said Moreno in his inauguration address.

Moreno, 64, who is wheelchair-bound, was sworn in as president in a ceremony at the National Assembly.

"From today, I am the president for everyone, I owe this to everyone, I respect everyone," said Moreno in a conciliatory and open speech. He admitted that the Ecuador of today was very different from that in the past and that there was a lot to do.

According to Moreno, over the 10 years of Correa's government, the Ecuadorian people recovered their self-esteem. However, the new leader also hinted that he will not follow Correa's confrontational style, preferring a lower profile.

The new president also used his speech to make it clear what his first policies would be, beginning with austerity.

"I will sign an executive order for austerity in the government. Every expenditure and investment will pass through an objective filter of our needs," announced Moreno.
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Authorities tell ABC News that they found a kind of bomb-making workshop in Salman Abedis home and he had apparently stockpiled enough chemicals to make additional bombs.



The hunt is intensifying for what British authorities suspect is a possible network behind the deadly suicide blast outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday, officials say.



The search stretched from the U.K. to Libya, where officials made multiple arrests in a country seen by American officials as a burgeoning new base of operations for ISIS, which has claimed Salman Abedi was a "soldier of the Caliphate."



Counterterrorism officials fear whoever built the bomb that killed 22 people and injured more than 50 others may have built other improvised-explosive devices which could be used in further attacks.



I think its very clear that this is a network that we are investigating, Ian Hopkins, chief constable of the Greater Manchester Police, said in a press briefing.



According to a terrorism expert who has been briefed on the investigation, the bomb featured a sophisticated design similar to the bombs used in the attacks in Brussels in 2016.



The expert confirmed that Abedi traveled to Manchester Arena by train, likely carrying the bomb in a backpack. The device, a metal container stuffed with bolts and nails, was apparently hooked to a powerful battery and featured a remote, cell-phone detonator with built-in redundancies to ensure a blast even if a first attempt failed.



The design was sophisticated enough to bolster the theory that Abedi didnt act alone, suggesting, according to the expert, theres a bomb maker on the loose.



"It's really suggesting that he probably did not act alone, that he probably had some help, that he certainly had some advice on how to create the bomb," said Matt Olsen, former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center and an ABC News contributor.



A western counterterrorism official told ABC News hours after the attack that British-born Abedi had only days earlier returned from an extended trip to his ancestral Libya, which has seen large towns under ISIS control in the past two years.



Libyan authorities Wednesday arrested both the bombers father, Ramadan, and the bomber's younger brother Hashim. Ramadan told Reuters that Salman was not a member of any terror group, but a spokesperson for Libyan special forces told ABC News that, following his arrest, Hashim admitted his involvement in the plot and told authorities that he and Salman consider themselves members of ISIS.



Hashim knew his brother was planning a suicide attack, the spokesperson said, but he didnt know the time or place or target. According to the spokesperson, Hashim said he and Salman had been studying ISIS videos online since 2015, including videos offering instruction on how to make a bomb.



British officials expressed anger at American security officials over the leak to U.S. news media of Abedi's name hours after the attack, when they already realized he might have accomplices they needed to locate as fast as possible to prevent more lives being lost in a followup attack, one senior western official told ABC News.



Past plots to successfully attack Paris and Brussels were hatched by core-ISIS in its Syria stronghold Raqqa, but counterterrorism investigators believe Abedi dropped out of university in Manchester this year and visited Tripoli "to get some skills" from the terror group's operatives there. If true, it would be the first core-ISIS plot hatched from outside Syria and possibly signals a significant shift.



The U.S. military's Joint Special Operations Command has gradually increased its operations in Libya, killing the top ISIS leader last year in an airstrike and other senior leaders there.



The U.K. has raised its threat level and deployed troops including elite anti-terrorism commandos of the Special Air Service.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Joseph Lake of The Economist Intelligence Unit moderates a discussion on China, the US and the global economy in New York on Wednesday with Hongbin Cai from the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, David Dollar of the Brookings Institution in Washington and Simon Jin of S&P Global. Paul Welitzkin / China Daily

US-Sino relations, trade between the world's two largest economies, and debt dominated a panel discussion on China, the US and the global economy in New York on Wednesday.

Joseph Lake of the Economist Intelligence Unit moderated the discussion at the 2017 Peking University Guanghua New York Forum.

Panelists were Hongbin Cai, a professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management; David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution; and Simon Jin, managing director and president of greater China for S&P Global.

Cai and Dollar both agreed that the April meeting in Florida between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump was largely a success. "Everyone was relieved that Trump didn't follow through on some of the heated rhetoric he said about China during (last year's) presidential campaign," said Dollar.

"The meeting was successful for both sides and shows that both leaders were determined not to have conflicts in the beginning," said Cai.

S&P's Jin said that the 100-day action plan of the US-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue unveiled at the end of the meeting resulted in new trade measures between China and the US that included some easement of restrictions in China's financial services sector.

"We are excited that credit ratings in China will now be open to foreign companies like ours," Jin said.

Dollar and Cai said that difficult negotiations remain for China and the US as both nations seek to smooth differences. "China has some limits on its economy that the US considers protectionist while China believes that the US has some limits on Chinese investment that they want lifted," Cai said. "Real hard negotiations lie ahead."

Cai said the US seems to focus on the financial sector when discussing China's economy.

Dollar said the US would like to see China open up its service sector to more foreign participation. "Healthcare is an example, as China has an aging population, and the US has a vibrant assisted-living industry that would like to participate in the Chinese market," added Dollar.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com
Four factors  a huge talent pool, less-restrictive government policies, fiscally strong traditional industries that lag technologically, and the world's top mobile internet market  will stimulate development of artificial intelligence in China, several top AI scientists said on Tuesday.

The disruptive technology of AI, which has profoundly affected human society and everyday life, also represents the greatest opportunity in human history, and China remains a critical hub in the global development of AI, said Kai-Fu Lee, founder and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, in a keynote speech at the Rosewood Sand Hill resort in Menlo Park.

Lee shared his optimism about AI's future with about 200 investors, entrepreneurs and scholars in Silicon Valley.

On May 15, when he was invited to talk at the commencement at Columbia University's engineering school, he predicted that AI will deprive human beings of jobs, but displaced workers can "take up careers spreading love and experiences  whether a passionate tour guide, an attentive concierge, a funny bartender, an infectious sushi chef".

In Silicon Valley, however, Lee spent considerable time explaining why China will become a world leader in AI.

China's young talent, the government's utilitarian approach, a booming internet market and capital-abundant traditional industries that are eager to adopt advanced technologies  all those factors combined  add up to a solid foundation for AI development, Lee said.

Chinese scholars are actively involved in AI research, and approximately 43 percent of top-notch academic papers relating to AI were published with one or more Chinese authors.

Chinese young men and women receive well-rounded mathematics, engineering and science training throughout their school years, and an influx of young talent has and will become the quintessential foundation of any new industry, such as AI, said Lee.

Big-data wise, China has about 800 million connected mobile internet users. Tech giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, for example, all invest heavily in AI in order to upgrade and scale their services and products, Lee said.

The consumer mobile internet is more advanced in China than in the US and it is leading in areas such as mobile payments, mobile gaming, mobile communications, he added.

Andrew Ng, a former chief scientist at Baidu, where he has been leading the company's AI group for almost three years, echoed Lee at a panel discussion by saying the 1,300-staff Baidu team is now stocked with talent.

He said Baidu is one of the few companies in the world with world-class expertise in every major AI area: speech, NLP (natural language processing), computer vision, machine learning, and Knowledge Graph, a knowledge base used by Google to improve its search engines results with semantic-search information from a variety of sources.

Many traditional Chinese companies historically lag their American counterparts in technology adoption, but they are eager and financially able to embrace new opportunities arising from AI.

The US excels at inventing new technology, and China is good at creating and quickly monetizing AI products, Ng said.

Compared to the restrictive government policies toward AI research and applications in the sharing economy, such as autonomous vehicles in the US, China has taken a less taxing and more utilitarian approach and would allow trials and experimental efforts, Lee said.

Because Chinese citizens are less concerned about data usage than their US counterparts, AI development tends to be more vigorous, he added.
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HA NOI  Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has played a key role in strengthening trade links in perishables between Viet Nam and the UAE.

Over the last year, the carrier has facilitated a near fivefold increase in the volumes of exports of fruits, including rambutans and lychees, from Viet Nam to Dubai.

As a result of the collaborative efforts between Emirates SkyCargo and Viet Nams Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), the volume of perishable exports from Viet Nam to Dubai has increased considerably, touching a record of close to 110 tonnes in January 2017.

Viet Nam has huge comparative advantages in agriculture. That is why we requested Emirates SkyCargo to facilitate exports of perishable products by air freight to capitalise on the countrys vast potential, Pham Binh am, ambassador of Viet Nam to the UAE, said.

We are happy to see the sharp increase in volume in the past year and will continue to work with Vietnamese producers and exporters for greater market penetration," am added.

Emirates SkyCargo started operations in Viet Nam in 2008 and has since then played an important role in the growing trade between Viet Nam and the UAE. By working closely with Vietrade and by building upon our expertise in shipping perishables, we developed air freight solutions that have helped increase the export of premium fruits and vegetables from Viet Nam to Dubai , Ravishankar Mirle, Emirates vice president, Cargo Commercial, Far East and Australasia, said.

We will work with our customers and stakeholders to promote and develop new trade lanes for exports from Viet Nam to global markets, he added.

Viet Nam is an important market for food exports, and in 2016, Viet Nams agro-forestry-fishery exports were valued at over US$32 billion.

Emirates SkyCargo offers exporters in Viet Nam a weekly capacity of over 580 tonnes through 18 flights, including four weekly freighter services.  VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung on Wednesday held a press conference at the Vietnamese Embassy in Spain, sharing information on breeding and export of tra fish.

The conference was attended by representatives of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, local reporters and various businesses from both countries.

Hung said that a number of press reports and articles published recently did not have correct information about the production, trade and export of Vietnamese tra fish, which has affected the trust of Spanish customers and the reputation of Vietnamese tra suppliers.

As per European Union (EU) regulations, to export tra fish products to the bloc, enterprises and exporters have to clear many steps. For instance, every batch of tra products is inspected by EU-authorised centres. The EU also conducts annual examinations and checks the list of exporters.

Viet Nam exports tra fish products to 160 countries and territories across the world, making an estimated annual turnover of around US$1.66 billion. Breeding of tra fish has become one of the key businesses in the country, helping farmers improve their finances and contributing to reducing the negative effects of globalisation.

At the conference, VASEP representatives and Vietnamese exporters provided Spanish reporters and businesses with concrete, accurate information about the countrys tra fish industry.

Earlier this year, Spanish television channel Cuatro Broadcast had telecast incorrect, defamatory information on tra fish bred in Mekong Deltas Cuu Long river. The report claimed that the fish are bred in unclean cages and given non-industrialised feed such as dead fish and other food waste, which it claimed is the reason why Vietnamese tra fish is inexpensive.

After the show, the Carrefour Group announced that it would stop selling tra fish products in its supermarket chain in Spain, Belgium and France. A number of schools in Spain also refused to buy Vietnamese tra fish.  VNS
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh delivers speech at the opening of the Viet Nam-Spain business forum in Madrid on Wednesday.  VNA/VNS Photo Ngu Binh

MADRID  Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh reaffirmed the Vietnamese governments commitment to welcoming foreign investors, including those from Spain, with all possible support at the opening of the Viet Nam-Spain business forum in Madrid on Wednesday.

Highlighting Viet Nam as a bright spot in terms of investment attraction and tourism, Minh said the country has so far lured nearly US$300 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), $154 billion of which has been disbursed.

The number of tourist arrivals in the country has surpassed a record 10 million thanks to political security, investment and a stable economic policy.

A representative from the Spanish government described Viet Nam as a priority market, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, railways, seaports, agriculture and tourism, and pledged to facilitate collaboration between the two nations businesses.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu introduced Viet Nams preferential investment policies while Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung talked about business opportunities with Spanish enterprises.

The two officials had direct meetings with Spanish firms operating in wind and solar power, the construction of airports and seaports, water treatment, and waste and plastic treatment. The firms expressed their wish to travel to Viet Nam to learn about specific projects.

On the occasion, Minh also witnessed the signing of agreements between Vietnamese and Spanish firms in infrastructure design consultancy.

As part of celebrations for the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, the forum was co-organised by the Vietnamese ministries of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Industry and Trade; the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the Vietnamese embassy in Spain; the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness; and the Spain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attracting nearly 200 officials and businesses from the two nations.

At a meeting earlier the same day, Minh and Spanish Minister and Secretary of State for Trade Maria Luisa Poncela promised to lift two-way trade to 5 billion euros by 2020 by increasing partnerships across transport infrastructure, renewable energy, environment, ecological agriculture and tourism.

Minh witnessed the signing of a co-operation agreement between the two governments on the establishment of a Viet Nam-Spain Trade and Investment Inter-Committee, and a deal on the fifth stage of the financial plan on providing financial support for the construction of metro line No.5 in Viet Nam.  VNS
HA NOI  EDoctor, a mobile app developed by a Vietnamese tech startup that connects users with medical professionals, has been selected to receive free mentorship and monetary support from Google.

The support is part of the Launchpad Accelerator programme, which will kick off on July 17 and is initiated by the US internet giant, aimed at empowering tech startups across the world to reach their true potential.

Under the programme, eDoctor, along with other selected startups, will receive a sponsor package worth US$50,000 backed by Google. The startups will have an opportunity to work closely with Google for six months in Viet Nam and participate in an all-expense-paid training for two weeks at Googles headquarters in the US, with access to Google engineers, resources and mentors.

EDoctor is the only Vietnamese startup that was chosen, together with 14 other projects from India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as Singapore and Malaysia.

The app, eDoctor, allows patients to receive medical advice and instructions at home by providing them with a platform to connect with experienced doctors.

Users can make health-related inquiries, look up medication and search for the nearest clinics and pharmacies within the comfort of their own home.

Apart from typed-in questions, eDoctor also allows users to contact available doctors via phone calls for a better diagnosis of their condition.

EDoctor offers medical aid in the most common medicine subspecialties, including obstetrics, gynecology, oncology and urology, as well as cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and endocrinology, along with nutrition, pediatrics and andrology.

The app is available for download for iOS and Android users.

EDoctor also won sponsor packages from Facebook (FbStart) worth $40,000 in 2016.  VNS
HA NOI  Containing the information about 906 species of birds, the book entitled Chim Viet Nam (Viet Nams Birds) by biological associate professor Nguyen Lan Hung Son and late professor Vo Quy is considered as the most complete reference of Viet Nams birds up to date.

However, as soon as the 1,200-page book was released early last week, it became the centre of a copyright controversy among Vietnamese photographers. Many photographers have surprisingly found their works used in the book as illustrations without any request from the author for their permission.

I have received no contact from associate professor Son until Chim Viet Nam was officially launched. I have learned that my photos of birds appeared in the books via my friends and attendants of the book launch ceremony, photographer Tang A Pau told the Viet Nam News.

Three of his photos of Viet Nams rare birds, Malayan Night Heron, Banded Broadbill and Pigmy Wren Babbler, have been used in the book. To make matters worse, all the signatures, watermarks or signs of authorization have been edited away.

He wasnt the only one; other photographers have filed similar complaints.

According to Pau, it takes tremendous time and effort to capture a good photo of a precious bird.

Capturing wild animals is the toughest kind of photography in terms of the photographers dedication and other factors like weather, topography and threats from dangerous animals. There were instances it took us up to two days to reach the mountain, sleeping overnight at a peak in freezing cold weather to capture just 10 seconds of a precious bird, he said.

Photographer Nguyen Tuan also had his work used in Chim Viet Nam. Though his photo of golden-winged laughingthrush was credited in the book, he received no request for permission. Furthermore, the books has been sold for commercial purposes, costing VN1.2 million (US$53) each.

We are always willing to donate the fruits of our works to nonprofit organizations or conferences that aim at conservation. However, we have and will never cooperate with commercial products, as we do not want to evaluate our efforts photos based on monetary values, Pau said.

Amid the rage of many photographers whose works were used without permission, associate professor Son has explained that the time pressure to finish the book by the deadline was the cause.

He told Tuoi Tre News, that the aim of the book was to summarise collective knowledge about Viet Nams variety of birds, serving the avifauna study in the country

The source of the photos on the internet have not always been clear, and it takes much time to contact the authors. However, despite any purposes, it is crucial to credit the photos. That is the mistake that we have to take away from the experience, he was quoted as saying, adding that he wishes to send his sincere apology to the photographers.

He also mentioned that the book has been withdrawn for adjustments and corrections. The photographers are invited to contact to associate professor Son via his email for approval and detailed information about the photo. If the publishing house receives no response from the photographers, their works will be taken out of the book.

But such solutions have not satisfied the photographers.

The author of the book needs to contact the authors of the photos, not the vice versa. It is also unacceptable to ask to photographers to send emails to the book author to claim their authorization as an unwilling action, Pau said.

As long as the author can prove that his books are beneficial for society, education or science, and the distribution is not for profit, we are willing to give away all of our photos, free of charge.  VNS
MUMBAI  Brad Pitt told Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan that he doesnt have the moves to star in Bollywood films as he promoted his new movie War Machine in Mumbai on Wednesday.

"I wouldnt make it Bollywood because I cant dance or sing," said the American actor during an event with Khan in front of journalists in Indias financial capital.

Bollywood Hindi language movies are renowned for elaborate dance sequences and high-energy songs and Khan responded by telling Pitt he could easily learn.

"We can make anyone dance. I just spread my arms and do nothing, thats a step," joked the actor known as King Khan.

Pitt, who recently split from Angelina Jolie, arrived in Mumbai from Japan early on Wednesday for the latest stop on a promotional tour for Netflix movie War Machine.

The satirical war film, in which Pitt plays a hubristic United States general, releases on the popular streaming site on Friday.

Pitt, 53, was due to attend a screening of the film, directed by David Michod, in Mumbai later on Wednesday.

It was the stars second high-profile visit to India after he accompanied ex-wife Jolie during her filming of A Mighty Heart in 2006.

Earlier this month Pitt opened up on his divorce from Jolie, admitting that heavy drinking had contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.

The Hollywood A-lister told GQ Magazine that he is now teetotal and in therapy. Jolie, 41, filed for divorce in September, citing irreconcilable differences.  AFP
HA NOI  The family of late Japanese archaeologist Nishimura Masanari, an expert on Vietnamese archaeology, has donated his entire library  in all, 7,000 items  to the National University of Ha Noi.

This includes books, maps and magazines on the Stone Age, early agriculture, Vietnamese ong Son culture during the Bronze Age, and Southeast Asian ceramic history. His collection includes a large volume of study materials in history, culture and anthropology of Viet Nam and other Southeast Asian countries.

Masanari spent more than 20 years working in Viet Nam with his wife, Dr Noriko Nishino, who is also an archaeologist. He was among one of the few foreign experts on Viet Nams archaeology. He also trained many young Vietnamese archaeologists.

His archaeological work in Viet Nam includes a major discovery in 1998 of a mould used to make bronze drums 2,000 years ago in Luy Lau, in the northern province of Bac Ninh. The only one of its kind to have been unearthed in the country, it was definite proof that Viet Nam was one of the sources for ancient drums.

The Japanese couple supported the rural community in uong Xa, Bac Ninh, to help them build the villages first community museum (also the countrys first), where its extensive ceramic history is displayed.

Masanari died in a traffic accident in 2013. He was honoured with a Friendship Medal by the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences for his contribution to archaeology in Viet Nam, and his love for the country and its people.  VNS
MADRID  Co-operation between Viet Nam and Spain, on the basis of the strategic partnership towards the future set up in 2009, has developed soundly over the past years, the two countries top diplomats have said.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Alfonso Dastis had talks in Madrid on Tuesday, which was part of the formers official visit to Spain from May 23-25. The trip is among activities marking 40 years of the countries diplomatic ties.

The two foreign ministers said the growth in bilateral ties is seen through regular meetings between the countries ministries and sectors at all levels, close coordination and mutual support at international forums, increased cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and soaring trade revenue, approximating three billion euro (US$3.37 billion) in 2016.

To deepen bilateral co-operation, they agreed to continue increasing mutual visits at all levels and carrying out diplomatic and security-defence dialogues and the political consultation at the deputy ministerial level. They also concurred in effectively implementing the fifth financial programme, which was signed during the current visit of Deputy PM Minh.

The first meeting of the joint committee on economics, trade and investment should be held soon, they said, agreeing to work to lift bilateral trade to five billion euro ($5.61 billion) by 2020.

The two ministers valued the co-ordination between both countries ministries and sectors in organising important events marking the 40th anniversary of founding diplomatic ties this year, especially the ongoing Days of Viet Nam in Spain.

Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Minh acknowledged the Spanish Governments support to Viet Nam through financial programmes, stressing the resolve to work with Spain to realise the strategic partnership in all spheres, especially in economy, transport infrastructure, renewable energy, hi-tech agriculture and environment.

He affirmed that Viet Nam is ready to provide the best possible conditions for foreign enterprises, including Spanish ones, to do business and investment in the fields matching Spains strength.

Minister Dastis said the Spanish Government prioritises relations with Viet Nam, and the Spanish people and businesses are taking increasing interest in Viet Nam as shown in more than 58,000 Spanish tourists to Viet Nam in 2016 and a number of investment and trade promotion events over the last couple of years.

At the talks, the officials also exchanged views on international regional issues of mutual concern, affirming that their countries will keep close co-operation at regional and international forums.

Spain affirmed its support for Viet Nams development of comprehensive co-operation with the European Union (EU) and access to favourable financial sources of the International Development Association after 2017. It also advocates the early signing and ratification of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement, Dastis added.

The Spanish side also shared Viet Nam and ASEANs viewpoint on and approach to the East Sea issue, which is resolving disputes by peaceful means, adhering to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and working to finalise a Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters.  VNS
Deputy Truong Trong Nghia from HCM City deliver speech at the ongoing third session of the 14th National Assembly (NA) yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Dan

HA NOI  Lawmakers spent a lot of time debating the age of responsibility for various crimes, including deliberately injuring people, rape and kidnapping when discussing amendments to the 2015 Penal Code at the ongoing third session of the 14th National Assembly (NA) yesterday.

Many NA deputies disagreed with the Penal Codes Article 12, which regulates that any person from 14 to 16, while still legally a child, is held responsible for the above crimes, saying that at these ages, offenders lack knowledge of society and law.

Families, schools and society also impact on childrens behaviour, they said, urging for education measures in such cases.

The childrens awareness is still limited so they are not fully aware of severe crimes such as serious and particularly serious crimes, said deputy Luu Binh Nhuong from the southern province of Ben Tre, adding that the young people normally only commit less serious crimes.

To deter and educate, we should handle criminal charges. But to secure the future for children and childrens rights, only light penalties or judicial, administrative, educational measures or even exemption from punishment are reasonable," Nhuong said.

When applying criminal responsibility on children, it is necessary to carefully consider appropriate punishments to ensure deterrence and to provide opportunities for children to become good people, he said.

Deputy Nguyen Thai Hoc from the central coastal province of Phu Yen proposed a second option, stipulating that people between 14 and 16 are only responsible for very serious crimes and particularly serious crimes, but have no criminal liability for less serious offenses or serious crimes such as rape, kidnapping or injuring people.

Such regulations are consistent with the current situation of crime prevention in adolescence, he said, adding that the crime rate from 14 to 16 is negligible according to statistics provided by the Supreme Peoples Court.

Agreeing, deputy Nguyen Thi Thuy from the northern province of Bac Kan cited data from the Supreme Peoples Procuracy, saying that from 2014-2016, there were only 122 children nationwide indicted for intentionally inflicting injury, nine were charged with rape, while two were indicted for kidnapping and appropriation of property.

This shows that there are very few of these offenders, while the 2015 Penal Code extended criminal proceedings to the children. It should be reconsidered, she said, adding that serious cases in recent years were not in the 14-16 group, but mostly in the 16-18 group.

Thuy said, according to statistics, the main reason children committed crimes was because they did not have a home or a family with up to 10 per cent orphans, 11 per cent had divorced parents while many of them lived with parents who are drug addicts or have criminal records.

According to a report of the NA Standing Committee, many other deputies urged not to amend the Article 2 as the cases of school bullying, rape and kidnapping had increased. A poll conducted at the second session of the National Assembly showed that up to 266 out of 397 NA deputies endorsed this provision of the Criminal Code in 2015.

Pyramid-scheme business

Also yesterday, deputies discussed the suggestion of the majority of National Assembly deputies and the Governments proposal to add regulations for illegal multi-level marketing.

Chairwoman of the National Assemblys Justice Committee, Le Thi Nga, said that many multi-level marketing businesses that violate the law had stolen from tens of thousands of people, mainly the poor.

However, the NA Standing Committee said that multi-level marketing is a modern business method, if it obeys the law, it can be effective. However, if the business violates the law, there can be grave consequences, she said.

Deputy Bui Van Xuyen from the northern province of Thai Binh said that the necessity to add violations on multi-level marketing into the Penal Code was not clear.

The Penal Code has had illegal business removed because it was not suitable for reality, when people have the freedom of doing business in areas not prohibited by law. Now it is not suitable to have a violation on business regulations of multi-level marketing mode," he said.

According to him, the draft law is not likely to be successful in reality because multi-level marketing companies are all licensed. Furthermore, the highest penalty of only five years imprisonment is much lighter than for illegally appropriating property or hi-tech crimes, which can be punished up to 20 years to life imprisonment, he said.

However, deputy Bach Thi Huong Thuy from the northern province of Hoa Binh said that multi-level marketers used sophisticated tricks to steal.

Reality shows that the situation is complicated, causing serious consequences and should be added into the law, she said.

Thuy said it was necessary to punish the heads of multi-level marketing organisations.  VNS
HA NOI  Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong lauded the visit by Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Central Committee and head of the CPC Central Committees Department of External Relations Jose Ramon Balaguer during a reception in Ha Noi yesterday.

Trong told his guest that reciprocal visits by high-ranking Party and State leaders and increased economic, trade and people-to-people exchange over the past few years are vivid manifestations of the exemplary fraternal ties, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and loyal solidarity between the two Parties, States and peoples.

The special relationship between the two Parties and nations is an invaluable asset that is always maintained, protected, fostered and handed down to younger generations, he said.

Jose Ramon Balaguer, who is in Viet Nam for the third theoretical seminar between the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) and CPC, expressed his belief that Viet Nam will continue reaping more successes in the implementation of resolutions adopted by the 12th National Party Congress.

Informing the host of the seminar held the same day, the Cuban guest spoke highly of the significance of the event, especially in the context that Cuba is actively embarking on the policy of updating socio-economic development model.

At the seminar, Nguyen Van Nen, head of the Vietnamese delegation, and Jose Ramon Balaguer shared the view that the event affords both sides a chance to share experience in theoretical issues and reality in the process of socialism building in each country.

Earlier the same day, the Cuban official met Politburo member, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is former President of the Viet Nam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA).

While in Viet Nam, the CPC delegation held working sessions with leaders of the CPVs Commission for External Relations, Commission for Popularisation and Education, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Communist Review, the VCFA and visited several socio-economic establishments in Ha Noi and the northern province of Vinh Phuc. VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Iranian Ambassador to Viet Nam, Saleh Adibi in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception for Iranian Ambassador to Viet Nam, Saleh Adibi, during which he called on Iran to make it easy for Vietnamese firms to expand investment in the Islamic nation.

Saleh Adibi appreciated the Vietnamese Governments positive reforms in many fields, especially in trade and investment, saying that his country wishes to further boost the traditional friendship between the two nations.

He called for cooperation between the two countries in banking with the establishment of a joint committee to boost this link, adding that he hopes two-way trade will hit US$2 billion by 2020.

The ambassador also suggested the two sides step up collaboration in tourism, science, technology and agriculture.

Meet with Siemens CEO

Also yesterday Prime Minister Phuc lauded Siemens AGs co-operation with Viet Nam across various fields during his reception in Ha Noi for Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of the German group.

The PM hoped Siemens increases its collaboration with Viet Nam in services, production, and investment as well as areas in which Viet Nam obtains high export turnover, so Siemenss initiatives for the fourth industrial revolution can be transferred to Viet Nam.

He highlighted Viet Nams advantages, such as its position as a gateway to the ASEAN market and the countrys engagement in 12 free trade agreements with major partners worldwide, saying that Siemens AG can access a significant market through Viet Nam.

For his part, Kaeser said Siemens is willing to assist in personnel training and promote cooperation with Viet Nam in fields such as energy and information technology. Transport infrastructure development is the premise for industrialisation and modernisation, he added.  VNS
HA NOI  Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan (People) newspaper Thuan Huu hosted a reception on May 25 for President of Chinas Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua) Cai Mingzhao who is on a visit to Viet Nam from May 23-27.

During the meeting, the host appreciated the significance of the visit, and highlighted the traditional cooperation between Nhan Dan newspaper and the China Daily newspaper.

Huu told his guest that Nhan Dan newspaper receives many delegations from Chinese press agencies every year, contributing to promoting exchange and communication links between the two nations.

Cai Mingzhao, who is also a member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed that Party and State leaders of the two countries attach special importance to co-operation between the two Party newspapers (the Nhan Dan and the China Daily), and between the two State-run news agencies (Vietnam News Agency and Xinhua).

He urged mainstream press agencies of Viet Nam and China to enhance collaboration, exchange of visits, and information sharing, thus further fostering the friendship and mutual understanding between their peoples.

Xinhua is willing to provide services and products for Nhan Dan newspaper through Xinhuas office in Viet Nam, he said.

The two sides shared the view that mainstream press agencies should continuously reform themselves and increase their voices and presence in the internet in order to meet increasing information demand.  VNS
HCM CITY  The HCM City Peoples Committee has asked district authorities to work with agencies to crack down on illegal encroachment on rivers, canals and the drainage system in an aim to prevent flooding.

Le Van Khoa, vice chairman of the Peoples Committee, said that illegal encroachment on rivers and canals was one of the main causes of serious flooding.

The filling of canals with rubbish and illegal building on waterway banks have slowed canal drainage, he said.

Khoa asked district authorities to work with agencies to strictly punish violators that damage the drainage systems in the city.

He urged district authorities to take serious measures to remove illegal structures and houses on canals to improve drainage and prevent flooding.

While waiting for the relocation, the city has urged districts to propose temporary solutions to tackle flooding during the rainy season and in the future.

In addition, the city has asked the Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme to step up inspections and work with districts to resolve any new encroachment site and report problems to the city Peoples Committee.

The centre will provide advice and technical assistance for the districts temporary solutions to flooding.

The Peoples Committee has also asked the Department of Transport and Department of Construction to direct inspectorates to assist the centre and districts in inspecting and removing construction near canals and other areas.

Flooding has become a critical issue in HCM City despite a large amount of money spent on the problem.

By the end of last year, the number of roads inundated by heavy rains and high tides had reached 59, up from 50 in 2010, 32 in 2011, 21 in 2012, and 50 in 2013, according to a report of the Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme.

Hoang Minh Tri, deputy chief of the citys Institute for Development Studies, attributes the problem to rapid urbanisation and mismanagement.

Recently, agencies discovered 87 positions where housing had encroached on canals. Violators were asked to fix problems at the other 58 positions.

o Tan Long, head of the Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programmes Drainage System Management Division, said the chief causes of flooding were the outdated drainage system, which meets only half of demand, and illegal canal encroachment.

Statistics show that nearly 10,000 houses in District 8 and around 2,200 others in District 7 are encroaching on canals.

HCM City has set a target of removing nearly 20,000 makeshift homes along the citys canals in the next five years.  VNS
The prices of battery-farmed chickens and their egg are falling rapidly, causing concern for breeders nationwide, especially in Ha Noi and ong Nai  the two localities raising the highest numbers of battery chickens.  Photo vietnamnet.vn

HA NOI  The prices of battery-farmed chickens and their egg are falling rapidly, causing concern for breeders nationwide, especially in Ha Noi and ong Nai  the two localities raising the highest numbers of battery chickens.

Pham Van Dung, a breeder raising over 30,000 battery chickens in southern ong Nai Provinces Thong Nhat District, said at present a kilo of live battery-farmed chicken sells between VN22,000-25,000 (96 cents  $1.1), while an egg sells at VN1,000-1,100 (4.4-4.8 cents), the Lao ong (Labour) newspaper reported.

The first thing I do every morning is calculate how much Ive lost from my chickens, Dung said.

Another breeder in Thong Nhat District said that at the current price he was losing about VN400-500 (1.7-2.2 cents) per egg sold.

On average, he sold about 40,000 eggs daily, meaning losses of up to VN16-20 million ($705-880) per day.

By selling a kilo of live battery-farmed chicken at VN25,000 ($1.1), breeders made no profit, he said.

The price is just enough to break even, he added.

Vuong Thi Minh, who buys battery chickens to sell to canteens in Ha Nois Me Linh District, said she had recently been buying fewer chickens due to reduced consumption.

The slow consumption of battery chickens has been partially blamed on the campaign to save pigs across the country, an effort to solve oversupply, according to Minh.

Another campaign coming?

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development estimated that the country has tens of millions of battery chickens.

The number raises the question of whether people will have to save chickens once the campaign to save pigs has ended.

In response, Nguyen Thanh Son, head of the ministrys National Institute of Animal Sciences, said the rearing of chickens had grown rapidly in recent years.

Data from the agricultural ministry estimated the number of chickens in Viet Nam at 217 million, an increase of nearly 5 per cent compared to last year.

Son said that even last years number was 9.9 per cent higher than in 2015.

"This results in a situation of oversupply and a subsequent drop in prices," he added.

Nguyen Kim oan, deputy head of ong Nai Livestock Association said the process to raise battery chickens often lasts between 42-60 days, therefore, breeders could stop hatching chickens to fix the situation.

It means we do not need a campaign to save battery chickens, he said.

However, oan advised breeders to think carefully before raising chickens or other animals, to avoid flooding the market further and putting more pressure on prices, he added. VNS
QUANG NAM  ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Viet Nam Limited (ExxonMobil) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the VinaCapital Foundation for medical capacity improvements in eight districts in Quang Nam province in 2017.

ExxonMobil will contribute US$50,000 for its Survive to Thrive programme to equip healthcare centres in the poor districts Phu Ninh, Que Son, Hiep uc, Tien Phuoc, Nam Tra My, Bac Tra My, Phuoc Son and Nong Son.

Since 2011, ExxonMobil has contributed a total of US$500,000 to the VinaCapital Foundation through its Critical Response and Survive to Thrive programmes. More than a million children in a Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai have benefited from ExxonMobils contributions.

Early this month, ExxonMobil also provided Operation Smile Viet Nam with $30,000 to provide medical evaluation and treatments for children born with facial deformities in central Viet Nam. More than 100 children born with a cleft lip and/or palate benefit from Operation Smile Viet Nams ongoing mission in Quang Ngai province.  VNS
HA NOI  Four children in Phu Yen Provinces Son Hoa District drowned on Wednesday while bathing in the water flow of a nearby hydropower plant, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) reported.

The four six-graders, Truong Si Lam, Cao Trieu Nguyen, oan Anh Quan and Pham Xuan Luat, were all 12 year-old classmates from Cung Son Secondary School in Son Hoa District, according to the schools headmaster Tran Van Thi.

Right after receiving the news from local authorities, the MITs Department of Industrial Safety and Environment asked the provincial Department of Industry and Trade to publish a thorough report about the incident.

According to their report, the incident occurred at about 9am on Wednesday about 10km from the Song Ba Ha Hydropower Plant on the Ba River, which was performing a scheduled water release.

In the report, local authorities said the flow hit a group of seven students from Cung Son School who went to the local Ba River to bathe.

The released water caused water levels to suddenly rise and wash away four of the seven children.

The four went missing while the rest escaped and ran to the local residential area for help.

The plants operation was immediately cancelled to support search and rescue efforts.

By 2:30pm the same day, three of the bodies were recovered in an effort supervised by the local authority.

About 100 rescuers took part in searching for the last victim, whose body was found early on Thursday, said provincial Peoples Committee chairman Tran Huu The.

ang Van Tuan, CEO of the hydropower plant, insisted that the plants water release followed an established procedure that has been in place for the past ten years.

As the release of water was for its regular electricity generation, the plant was under no obligation to notify the local administration and residents, according to Tuan.

The authority of Phu Yen Province said they had asked the plant to make an urgent report about the water release process and find out the real cause of the tragedy.  VNS
CA MAU  The southernmost Ca Mau Provinces Peoples Committee has asked the Government to provide VN120 billion (US$5.3 million) in funds to move locals from landslide areas to new residential areas.

The funds will be used to build new residential areas for households living in erosion-prone areas along the sea in at Mui Commune and Ngoc Hien District.

Under the plan, some 500 out of 2,000 households will be relocated to new areas, To Quoc Nam, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said.

Due to difficulties in obtaining capital, the province has only relocated some 1,000 households at high risk from disasters to safe areas.

According to Nam, coastal districts in the province always suffered the worst impact of climate change. Nam Can, Ngoc Hien and am Doi districts, in particular, were hit by landslides at different levels.

Nguyen Long Hoa, chief of the provincial Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue Department, said heavy rains have caused many landslides in the region.

Since the beginning of the year, 540m of land has been eroded and 43m of riverbank has collapsed, affecting over 320ha of aquaculture, property and residents lives. Provincial authorities do not yet have specific statistics on the extent of damage caused by the natural disaster.  VNS
The Viet Nam Social Insurance Agency rejected VN3 trillion (US$132.2 million) in health insurance fees in the first four months of this year, the agency reported at a meeting with local media in the capital Tuesday.  Photo bhxhgl.gov.vn

HA NOI  The Viet Nam Social Insurance Agency rejected VN3 trillion (US$132.2 million) in health insurance fees in the first four months of this year, the agency reported at a meeting with local media in the capital Tuesday.

The rejection was made after the agency discovered a range of violations such as health insurance card abuse, requests for multiple payments for one-time check-ups or requests to pay for medicines and medical services that are not covered by the agency.

Duong Tuan uc, head of the agencys Inspection and Payment Centre in the northern region, said the violations were found thanks to the Ministry of Health and to the sharing database from the citizen health dossier system among the agencys branches nation-wide.

The automated system has greatly helped the discovery of violations, he said.

The system uncovered health insurance card cheating, including the abnormal frequency of health insurance card use and the intentional prolonging of treatment in hospitals, he said.

The system reckoned that 2,776 people visited health facilities for examination and treatment over 50 times in the first four months of this year.

One patient in HCM City was found visiting 13 health facilities in the city for health examination and treatment a total of 57 times. It costs about VN 40 million ($1,760).

Another was found visiting 15 health stations with 58 times, and sometimes he was given up to 300 pills each day.

uc said, If a patient takes 300 pills in a day, itd be a miracle to survive.

Additionally, many patients were found staying up to 7 days at Thanh Hoa Eyes Hospital after a lens replacement surgery. The same situation also happened in Son La Eyes Hospital and Thai Nguyen Eyes Hospital.

As normal, a patient only needs to stay 1-2 days at the hospital after that surgery, he added.

These violations have put pressures on the health insurance fund, he added.

Solutions

Pham Luong Son, deputy general director of the Viet Nam Social Insurance Agency, said the agency was considering suspending contracts with health facilities that abuse health insurance policies and revoking health insurance cards of users who abuse the cards.

The agency plans to set up inspection teams to check all health insurance payment at every locality soon, any violation would be strictly punished, he said.

In an article with Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper, Bui uc Trang, former head of HCM Citys Health Insurance Agency, suggested the agency establish an independent council to better manage the health insurance fund.

The council members would encompass representatives from the State, health sector, health facilities, health insurance users and employers.

It would manage the fund following regulations but in a flexible manner. For example, if the fund is over-expensed, health insurance users might be asked to pay more. If the fund had to cover fewer expenses, health insurance users could get more benefits, he said.

It is estimated that the percentage of Vietnamese citizens with health care insurance has reached 81.7 per cent so far.  VNS
WASHINGTON  US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers Wednesday that his department will tighten the financial screws on Iran, Syria and North Korea in pursuit of safety for Americans.

"We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria and North Korea to protect Americans lives," he said. "And I can assure you thats a big focus of mine and I discussed it with the president."

Mnuchin made the comments in his testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee in connection with his departments drive to crack down on terrorist financing.

Iran and Syria are on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, and Washington is considering whether to put North Korea back on the list for the first time since its delisting in October 2008 in light of the killing of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Malaysia in February.

In his testimony, Mnuchin also said the Treasury Department is reviewing licences for Boeing Co and Airbus to sell aircraft to Iran.

"It is correct that both in the case of Boeing and Airbus, there are licences that will be required and they are under review," he said.  KYODO
The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors will hold its quarterly board meeting at 1:15 p.m. Monday, June 5, in the Board Room of Torgersen Hall (Room 2100) on the Blacksburg campus.

On Sunday, June 4, the boards Task Force on Board Structure and Governance will meet in open session from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the 1872 Salon at the Inn at Virginia Tech. The Nominating Committee will meet at 1:15 p.m. in the Huckleberry Room. From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., an open information session will be held in the Latham Ballroom also at the Inn at Virginia Tech. The Research Committee will then meet in open session from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. in the Duck Pond Room.



On Monday, June 5, the following committee sessions will be held:

The Academic Affairs Committee will meet in closed session at 8:30 a.m.320 Lavery Hall, followed by an open session at 9 a.m. at the same location.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee will depart from the Inn at Virginia Tech at 8:55 a.m. to tour the Upper Quad and New Cadet Hall. The committee will meet in open session at 10 a.m. in 330 Lavery Hall. At 11:15 a.m. the committee will meet jointly with the Finance and Audit Committee in open session in the 340 Lavery Hall, followed by a closed session at 11:20 a.m., also in 340 Lavery Hall.

The Finance and Audit Committee will meet in closed session at 7:30 a.m. in 345 Lavery Hall. The committee will then meet in open session with the Student Affairs and Athletics Committee at 8:30 a.m., followed by an open session at 9 a.m., both in 340 Lavery Hall. The committee will then join the Buildings and Grounds Committee at 11:15 a.m., also in 340 Lavery Hall.

The Student Affairs and Athletics Committee will meet in open session at 9:15 a.m. in 350 Lavery Hall.

During the two-day meeting, board members will hear reports on the Cranwell International Center and on the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station and its Agricultural Research and Extension Centers and to consider resolutions on the 2017-2018 university budget; promotions, tenure, and continued appointments; and to complete a capital project to renovate undergraduate science laboratories in Derring and Hahn halls. Public comment will not be received at the meeting.

More information may be found at the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors website.
An invader destroying maize in Africa is hitting countries where drought and political instability have already caused hunger. Virginia Tech's Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management has mobilized to coordinate an attack on the fall armyworm.

The armyworm marches through cornfields like a regiment, with mounting casualties in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Now, the USAID-funded Innovation Lab is looking for ways to halt the pest in both its larval and winged forms.

It is spreading like wildfire, said Tadele Tefera, an entomologist at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya, and the principal investigator on the Innovation Labs Rice, Maize, and Chickpea Integrated Pest Management for East Africa project. The pest is new, and no one understands how to manage it.

Virginia Tech entomologist and Innovation Lab Director Muni Muniappan traveled with Tefera to Ethiopia in April, where they witnessed the damage and met with struggling farmers.

Muniappan seeks a biological agent  a natural enemy, such as a wasp  to control the fall armyworm. He is working with researchers at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology to conduct a parasite assessment for the region.

Right now there are two wasps that we know of with the potential to manage the pest at the egg stage, Muniappan says. However, hairs on the egg masses can act as a barrier, hindering the control agents from reaching the pests. So we need to find out which species are the most aggressive.

Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are countries where the Innovation Lab runs a project on managing pests that devastate rice, chickpeas, and maize. At a meeting in Kenya last month, cohosted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa, scientists conferred with representatives from USAID, the World Bank, and international agricultural research centers to plan a strategy against the fall armyworm.

Currently, more than 300 million Africans depend on maize as their main food source, and 46 of 53 countries in sub-Saharan Africa cultivate the crop.

The fall armyworm is native to the Americas and only recently showed up in Africa. It usually feeds on leaves but during heavy infestations will also eat other parts of the plant including kernels. Full-grown worms cause defoliation, often leaving behind only stalks.

I have been cultivating maize for more than two decades, but Ive never seen such a catastrophic situation, said Ethiopian farmer Kebede Woldermariam. Maize is everything for us. I dont know what will be our fate for the coming months.
WATERLOO  When ReShonda Young launched Popcorn Heaven on Franklin Street in Waterloo three and a half years ago, within three months she attracted potential franchisees to expand her operation.

Now, Young has sold her Waterloo store to focus on growing and marketing her brand even more.

When youre trying to run a store, working in a store about 60 hours a week ... its really, really hard to service and market and hold up your obligations, Young said. I really need to move out of the store so I can grow this brand. The ideas for growth, there are so many of them.

With Popcorn Heaven locations in Des Moines, Charlotte, N.C., Peoria, Ill., and Kansas City, Mo., Young is concentrating on popping up more franchise operations across the country.

Fifty locations in five years, she said, noting its a lofty goal. But with the help of a new mobile trailer, she is determined to make it a reality.

Heather Stalzer and Chris Cook are the new owners of the Popcorn Heaven location at 3025 Kimball Ave. in Waterloo. They officially took over as store owners/operators last week.

In addition to purchasing the store, Stalzer and Cook will be rolling out the very first Popcorn Heaven mobile trailer in July. The trailer, which will allow them to make all of the brands unique flavors onsite, will be used for fairs, festivals, fundraising events and more.

Patton Equipment in Urbana is working on the trailer, and Young said they will manufacture the trailers for potential buyers across the country.

Stalzer and Cook also are planning some renovations to the existing store before hosting an open house in June. The store will remain open during the remodeling period.

Popcorn Heaven, which specializes in creating more than 50 flavors of gourmet popcorn, also sells fudge and confections.

I honestly cannot, would not take credit for all the things that have happened, Young said. Its kind of gone out on its own. All of it has been a divinely inspired deal, I just feel like Im along for the ride.

For more information on licensing opportunities, please email: popcornheavenllc@gmail.com.
Back at the ranch

The Twisted Ranch restaurant in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, saw crowds swell in March after it revamped its menu with more than two dozen items made with ranch dressing (including a ranch-infused Bloody Mary). As one satisfied visitor put it, Ranch is everyones guilty pleasure.

Unclear on the concept

Eight Yale University graduate students, claiming union status, demonstrated in front of the Yale presidents home in April demanding better benefits (beyond the annual free tuition, $30,000 stipends and free health care). Some of the students characterized their action as an indefinite fast while others called it a hunger strike. However, a pamphlet associated with the unionizing made it clear that strikers could go eat any time they got hungry.

A cut above

Police in Cleveland are searching for the woman whose patience ran out on April 14 awaiting her young sons slow haircut at Allstate Barber College. She pulled out a pistol, took aim at the barber and warned: I got two clips! Ill pop you. She allowed him to finish up and left without further incident.

Clearing the conscience

In February, a 52-year-old man who, arrested for DUI and taken to a police station in Germanys Lower Saxony state, wound up spontaneously confessing to a 1991 cold-case murder in Bonn. Police confirmed that, after reopening the files, they found details matching the mans account, though the man himself was not quite clear why he had confessed.
WATERLOO  The case against three men charged in an alleged 2012 gang rape is back on track following a ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The Iowa Court of Appeals in 2015 had ruled that charges against Deantay Darelle Williams, Taevon Washington and Cordarrel Smith should be dismissed because formal charges werent brought until more than a year after they were arrested, in violation states rule that indictments should be brought within 45 days.

In split 4-3 ruling handed down Thursday, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed the Appeals Court decision, allowing the charges of sexual abuse and kidnapping to proceed.

The charges stem from a June 2012 incident where two 15-year-old girls were at an Adams Street home drinking when they were sexually assaulted. One of the girls fled the house, and police were alerted. Officers raided the house, finding the other teen and taking others inside to the police station for questioning.

After DNA samples were taken, the occupants were released without being charged while the investigation was pending.

Williams, Washington and Smith, and a fourth person, Eric Delon Webster, were arrested in October 2013, and trial information formalizing the charges was filed in November 2013. Webster later pleaded to reduced charges.

Williams, Washington and Smith claimed the charges violated the states speedy indictment rule, and they argued that they were technically arrested when armed police placed them in handcuffs and transported them to the police department during the June 2012 raid.

In Thursday's ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court said that the speedy indictment clock didnt start ticking for the trio until they were brought before a court.

Once the arrested person is before the magistrate, the arrest process is complete, the person is no longer under the control of the arresting officer, and all the rights under the law available to defendants become applicable, including the right to a probable-cause preliminary hearing and the right to a speedy indictment, the ruling states. A speedy indictment is only needed when the defendant is arrested and subsequently held to answer by the magistrate following the arrest.

The decision was written by Chief Justice Mark Cady and joined by Justices Bruce Zager, Thomas Waterman and Edward Mansfield. Justices David Wiggins, Daryl Hecht and Brent Appel dissented.
CEDAR RAPIDS  President Donald Trump is coming to Iowa.

The presidents website says he will stop at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at the DoubleTree By Hilton, 350 First Ave. N.E., in Cedar Rapids. Doors open at 4 p.m.

To register for the event, go to www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/cedar-rapids-ia/.

Signs, banners, professional cameras or gear, back packs or large bags willnot be allowed.

It will be Trumps first Iowa trip since a Dec. 8 rally in Des Moines.
POSTVILLE  Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development Inc. will be starting on a community revitalization plan in Postville this summer.

The plan seeks to increase private and public investment in the area by creating a comprehensive community vision for development, improvements and infrastructure.

We look forward to working with property owners to hear their ideas and learning what vision the community members have for Postville, said Nathan Thompson, RC&D project coordinator.

Members of the public and business and property owners will be invited to a series of meetings to guide the formation of a plan for sites and strategies to be pursued for redevelopment. After these meetings, possible redevelopment scenarios will be presented and more public input will be solicited to select a final redevelopment plan. Projects prioritized in the plan could begin as early as 2019.

The project area for this planning process will include properties along the entire railroad corridor through Postville as well as the majority of the business district.

One possible project could be the transformation of the old turkey processing plant site into a more inviting western entrance to the city from U.S. 18/52, said Thompson.

He noted other projects that could be incorporated into the plan include renovation of historic downtown buildings, facade and landscaping improvements.

Dates for upcoming meetings to be held in Postville will be announced in the next two months.
I call it pouring water on concrete. You make a splash, but nothing sinks in.

Thats what it has felt like lately arguing via tweet and email with supporters of President Dumpster Fire who insist there is no evidence he did anything to merit the investigations and talk of impeachment he now faces.

It is, of course, an astounding claim.

Donald Trump stands accused not simply by a contemporaneous memo from then-FBI Director James Comey and a series of rather damning reports but also by his own words. Such as when he told Russias foreign minister and U.S. ambassador he had just fired Comey, who was investigating whether Trumps campaign colluded with the Russians last year when they meddled in the U.S. election.

He was crazy, a real nut job, said Trump. I faced great pressure because of Russia. Thats taken off.

And you wonder: How is that not obstruction of justice? If Bill Clinton lying about oral sex and Richard Nixon sacking a special prosecutor merited impeachment, how can anyone really believe there is no evidence Trump did wrong?

Anderson Cooper might feel my pain. You may have caught the CNN anchor last Friday watching in mounting disbelief as Trump surrogate Jeffrey Lord stumbled through one of his transparently disingenuous defenses of the presidents misbehavior. Finally, Cooper had had enough. If he took a dump on his desk, you would defend it, he said.

It was a coarse thing to say, yes. Cooper promptly apologized for it, as he should have. But one tends to empathize all the same. Because while the words might have been inappropriate, they were not incorrect.

Not that they will make a bit of difference. Thats the great frustration of political discourse in this era. Nothing seems to mean anything anymore. The idea of principled debate got run over by the Trump Train.

In its place, we have what Lord and an increasing number of like-minded sycophants represent: a brazen repudiation not simply of the facts, but of the fact that facts matter. We are trapped in a Groucho Marx routine: Who are you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes?

Consider America was already a nation of ideological silos. If this is any indication, thats about to get worse.

I say that reluctantly, as someone who has long prided himself on the ability to listen to and joust with those with whom I disagree. Theres always a chance you can learn something worthwhile from the other person. At a minimum, youll sharpen your own arguments.

But it has grown progressively more difficult to have those debates. One longs for an intellectually vibrant marketplace of ideas, but there is nothing intellectual or vibrant about what these days passes for conservatism. That once robust ideology has been shriveled by an intellectual dishonesty so profound the same people who tirelessly investigated Barack Obamas birth certificate and inveighed against his choice of mustard can look at the mountain of malfeasance rising from the White House and say with a shrug and all evident sincerity, What evidence?

How can you engage with that?

The good news is facts remain factual, whether the somehow-still-employed Jeffrey Lord and people like him acknowledge that or not. Moreover, the facts in this case are already persuasive  and the investigations have miles yet to go.

Let that be enough. After all, one gets tired of wetting concrete. Better to save your water for places where theres a chance something might actually grow.
Throughout the Trump-Russia investigation, the core question  the question that mattered above all others  was whether President Trump or his associates colluded with Russia to try to influence the 2016 election. If there were proof of that, the effect on Trumps presidency would have been devastating and possibly fatal.

The problem, for the confederation of Democrats, pundits, Obama holdovers and NeverTrumpers who hoped to see that result, has been so far, after a lot of investigating, no evidence has emerged collusion actually occurred. Although they allowed that previously unknown proof could always emerge, last week some of the lawmakers most deeply involved in the investigation, and most closely in touch with the intelligence community and law enforcement working on the probe, conceded there appeared to be none there.

That was then. Now, rather than focusing on alleged collusion, the thrust of leaks in recent days has been directed almost exclusively toward building a case of obstruction of justice against the president, charging he actively tried to derail the investigation into his campaign and his associates. More and more, day after day, Trumps adversaries believe when it comes to bringing down the president, it might not matter if collusion occurred or not. A cover-up would be enough to do the job.

The Trump-Russia case could become the ultimate illustration of the old Washington saying its not the crime, its the cover-up. In this case, there might be no underlying crime at all.

The latest story in the cover-up timeline broke Monday night in the Washington Post. Citing current and former officials, the paper reported Trump called the Director of National Intelligence and the head of the National Security Agency to enlist their help to "push back against the FBI investigation and to "publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election.

Before that came a spate of reports and developments, all arising out of Trumps May 9 firing of FBI Director James Comey.

First, the White House portrayed the firing as 1) not Trumps doing, and 2) not related to the Russia investigation.

Then Trump told NBCs Lester Holt he had in fact decided to fire Comey because "this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story.

Then, with accusations of obstruction in the air, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to investigate the Russia affair. Rosenstein specifically gave that prosecutor, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, authority to pursue any "federal crimes arising from the investigation.

Then the New York Times reported Comey wrote contemporaneous memos of his interactions with the president, and during one of those interactions Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Then the Times reported Trump, in an Oval Office meeting, bragged to Russias foreign minister and ambassador to the U.S. that firing Comey relieved Trump of "great pressure in the Russia investigation.

As each revelation came, there was more talk of obstruction. (A Google search of "Trump and "obstruction of justice Monday night drew 597,000 hits.) Democrat after Democrat suggested Trump might have engaged in obstruction, while the list of Democrats calling for impeachment grew long enough for party leaders to worry about the situation escalating too soon. The newest stories will do nothing to slow things down, even with the president on a foreign trip.

Before Trump fired Comey, a likely conclusion of the Russia affair was coming into view. Flynn would be in trouble for his connections to Turkey and possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Former Trump campaign head Paul Manafort would be in trouble for some sort of sleazy business dealing in Ukraine. Maybe another figure or two from TrumpWorld would get into trouble as well but in ways tangential to the investigation. There would be scalps for Democrats to celebrate, but the most consequential issue  collusion  would end in nothing.

That was before Comey was sacked. Now, the investigation has taken what is for Trump a more ominous turn. Focusing on alleged obstruction, the presidents enemies no longer have to find an underlying crime to attempt to remove him from office.

All the while, some Republicans have found themselves asking over and over: But what about collusion? Remember that? If theres no crime at the bottom of the Russia affair, then isnt all of this just much ado about nothing?

The answer is no. Certainly Trump has good arguments to make in his defense, beginning with what legally constitutes obstruction. But after the last two weeks, his supporters can no longer assume his detractors will have to find an underlying crime to make big trouble for the president.
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The march comes as Dominican media reported in March that consuls in New York and Boston were abruptly replaced after the U.S. State Department refused to accept their credentials because both are U.S. citizens.

Thousands of people in the Dominican Republic on Sunday participated in a massive anti-corruption march held in the southern city of Azua.

From the early hours of the morning, dozens of cars arrived in the city, bringing people dressed in green from all across the nation island.

The march comes as Dominican media reported in March that consuls in New York and Boston were abruptly replaced after the U.S. State Department refused to accept their credentials because both are U.S. citizens.

One corruption watchdog estimates that more than half of Dominican diplomatic appointments do not work in those jobs but still receive government salaries. They are locally known as "botellas vacias," or empty bottles.

"It reflects poorly on the government. It's a sign of corruption," said Julio Cesar de la Rosa, president of the Dominican Anti-Corruption Alliance.

Questions about the patronage system extend beyond the foreign service. In the capital, Santo Domingo, two of the largest government office buildings are sarcastically dubbed Huacal and Huacalito, slang for crates used to deliver bottles to stores.

In early April, the administration of President Danilo Medina said it would propose a law to modernize the foreign service, although it did not specify what changes would be made.

Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso said he hoped the law would reduce the payroll. While salaries represent a fraction of the country's US$14 billion in public expenditure this year, they have become a flashpoint for government waste.

Another corruption scandal has also played a major part in the two previous "End Impunity" marches, related to the alleged bribes the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht paid the government to gain access to Dominican contracts.

According to documents published on Dec. 21 by the U.S. Justice Department, Odebrecht paid approximately US$788 million in bribes in 12 countries, US$92 million of which was handed out in the Dominican Republic to secure contracts over almost two decades.
The Indigenous leader's message comes amid the ongoing U.S. aggression against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Syrian Arab Republic.

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, took to his Twitter platform Saturday, saying that unilateral military interventions by the U.S. are "'the worst disgrace to humanity' to befall a nation."

"La peor desgracia de la humanidad" para una nacion, es una intervencion militar norteamericana de caracter unilateral.  Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) May 20, 2017

In a second tweet, Evo noted that "'the worst disgrace to humanity' is to build military bases and (launch) interventions to steal natural resources, violating human rights."

"La peor desgracia de la humanidad" son las intervenciones y bases militares para saquear recursos naturales, violando Derechos Humanos  Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) May 20, 2017

The tweets from the Indigenous leader and Bolivian head of state were meant to address the ongoing intervention in Syria by the United States and a campaign of sabre-rattling aggression against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Morales has long been outspoken in his denunciations of U.S. imperialism, recently airing his fear and concern over the U.S. aggressive campaign in the Korean peninsula and its attack on a Syrian air field.

Last month, he remarked in an interview with teleSUR on the unprecedented diplomatic pressure spearheaded by the U.S. against Venezuela through the Organization of American, reminding viewers of late Cuban President Fidel Castro's characterization of the OAS as the U.S. Ministry of Colonies.

The popular Bolivian president also has said that imperialism constantly conspires and what we are seeing now  economic aggression, economic wars  have resulted in (imperialism) being able to again have geopolitical control in our region.

"I can't understand (this attitude), any authority must give more thought to humanity, any authority must respect the equality of peoples," Morales remarked in an interview with RT in April.
Montanans will go to the polls today to fill their at-large Congressional seat. The seat has been vacant since Ryan Zinke resigned on March 1st to become President Trump's Secretary of the Interior. The polls are open until 8:00PM Mountain Time (10:00PM Eastern).

The race, already more competitive than originally expected, was thrown into last-minute turmoil Wednesday night when the Republican, Greg Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with a reporter from The Guardian. While Democrats called on Gianforte to withdraw, it is unclear how much of an impact this event will have on today's vote. Over 250,000 ballots have already been returned by mail in a state with just 699,000 registered voters, according to The New York Times. In the 2016 general election, about 517,000 votes were cast in the state. That 74% turnout is unlikely to be replicated for a special election on the Thursday before a holiday weekend. This means the majority of votes in this election have already been cast.

Additionally, while there's no across-the-board data, early voting in many elections is often disproportionately Democratic vis-a-vis Election Day itself, when more Republicans tend to vote. Some of that can be seen in the most recent poll on the race. While finding a 14 point lead for Gianforte, his Democratic opponent Rob Quist held a one point lead among those in the poll who had already voted. The point is: Given the current war on the media from the right, some of today's voters in this conservative state will look favorably on Gianforte's standing up to a reporter.

Libertarian Mark Wicks is the third candidate on the ballot.
May 25, 2017 | By Tess

A team from the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery at St Vincents Hospital in Melbourne, Australia has successfully tested its innovative Biopen. The 3D bioprinting pen, which can be filled with stem cell hydrogel ink cartridges, was used to repair a sheeps knee.

The Biopen, which has been in development for some time, could be a significant game-changer for osteoarthritis treatments and prevention, as it could allow doctors to easily print living cells onto injured muscles, bones, tendons, and more.

Professor Peter Choong demonstrating the Biopen

(Image: St Vincent's Hospital)

The devices body, which features a lightweight and ergonomic structure, is reportedly made from medical grade plastic and titanium. Its titanium nozzle is capable of extruding the bioink, which consists of stem cells and a hydrogel made from gelatin and hyaluronic acid. Once the mixture is extruded, it is cured by a low-powered UV light.

In the recent tests involving a sheep, the Biopen was loaded up with printable ink cartridges filled with the patients stem cells and a biocompatible hydrogel material. The hydrogel, said orthopaedic surgeon Claudia Di Bella, not only allows for the cells to be printed, but also enables them to survive and replicate.

Stem cells, which can be adapted to become a range of different cell types, were used to make cartilage cells in this case. "The type of cartilage we were able to create was much superior compared to the other standard techniques we tried in the same sheep, which are the ones used normally in humans," said Di Bella.

The successful tests with the sheep are a positive sign for the technologys future, as the team behind the Biopen are hopeful that their device will soon be used to repair currently hard-to-treat cartilage injuries. The Biopen could be especially beneficial for young people and athletes, whose injuries could be treated in order to prevent or at least delay the risk of osteoarthritis, the most common chronic joint condition.

Dr. Claudia Di Bella helped develop the Biopen

(Image: Claudia Di Bella)

Osteoarthritis treatments also apparently cost the medical system a huge amount, so having a preventative tool could free up healthcare expenditures significantly. "In the big scheme of things, if we decrease the number of patients that have osteoarthritis later in life, that would incredibly affect the health expenditure of society, Di Bella explained.

Notably, the 3D printing Biopen was apparently easy to use on the sheep, meaning it should be a relatively straightforward tool for surgeons to adjust to using. Di Bella said: "It would be a fairly [easy], almost stock-standard surgical operation that we do already with a new instrument that is fairly easy to use."

Developed jointly by teams from St Vincents, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Wollongong, the Biopen device is currently in the process of being commercialized. We could even see human trials for the 3D bioprinting pen happen within the next year.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

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BabaGlee wrote at 5/25/2017 7:34:26 PM:What sort of animal is worth such a large sum of money that a arthroscopic surgical procedure could be warranted? It seems such a absurd use of technology for a cartilage repair tissue. Surely a injection into the joint would be a lot simpler. Maybe try a enhanced Synvisc and sulphate sugar solution that supports and repairs the cartilage as it reacts with the synovial fluid.




May 25, 2017 | By Benedict

The University of Waterloo, a top innovation university in Ontario, Canada, has just been given 8.9 million CAD in federal funding to develop its additive manufacturing lab. The facility will focus on improving metal 3D printing with sensors, quality assurance software, and machine intelligence.

The University of Waterloo, perhaps best known for its famous cooperative education programs, is about to receive another impressive string for its academic bow.

The universitys Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab, already backed by nearly 27 million CAD in cash and in-kind support, has just received a further 8.9 million CAD via the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The province itself has already provided 6.2 million CAD for the project.

The funding will be used to help develop the 3D printing lab into one of the 10 largest university-based additive manufacturing facilities in the world, helping Canadian companies tap the enormous potential of AM while also advancing the technology itself through research.

Additive manufacturing is poised to fundamentally change the way things are made, said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor at Waterloo. Fueled by a culture of innovation and backed by broad expertise in the advanced manufacturing sector, we look forward to playing a key role with our partners in unlocking the potential of this exciting technology.

FedDev Ontario says the funding shows that the government of Canada is committed to supporting innovation and competitiveness. The investment is the largest ever made in 3D printing at a Canadian university.

The Waterloo AM lab is focused on the development of next-generation 3D printing technology that can process metals. Researchers at the lab are exploring the use of new sensors, quality assurance software, and machine intelligence, all of which can improve metal additive manufacturing. The lab has even made some impressive breakthroughs already, having patented a process for embedding 3D printed sensors into metal parts.

Lab experts will work with local and national businesses to help them make use of additive manufacturing technology.

Canadian manufacturers now have a research hub to help them adopt end-to-end process innovation on their shop floors, commented Pearl Sullivan, dean of engineering at Waterloo.

Research at the expanding Canadian 3D printing facility will involve at least 14 professors, as well as dozens of engineers, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and co-op students.

When fully equipped, the Waterloo Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab will be one of the 10 largest university-based 3D printing facilities in the world. It will also collaborate with other laboratories from around the world, including facilities in Germany, the United States, England, and Singapore.

The 3D printing facilitys impressive roster of equipment includes an EOS M290 powder bed fusion 3D printer, a Renishaw AM400 powder bed fusion 3D printer, a Stratasys J750 polyjet color 3D printer, and many other machinesincluding ones developed by researchers in the lab.

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In the second of her blogs in her Brass Development Fellowship role with the Brass for Africa Charity, Dr. Taylor Hughey talks about the cultural differences and challenges in teaching and inspiring young musicians in Uganda.



The blogger: Dr Taylor Hughey



Music has remained an integral part of the human existence for countless years, as evidenced by discoveries that are constantly made of ancient instruments and manuscripts.

It stands to reason then, that since music has held a front row seat in the evolution of the human race it is an important part of us as people moving forward. Music had to have a reason for coming into existence and remaining; if something is not essential in human existence is it phased out (i.e. the appendix in the human body). Why, then, is music so important and how do we as educators move forward with its teaching?

Muscial intelligence

The idea that music consists of being simply talented or gifted has been a common thought for a long period of time. Especially in schools, music is often viewed as second-rate to core subjects and deemed as an unnecessary class when budget cuts are enforced. Music educators have long since been attempting to advocate for change, but advocation has not been able to evolve into understanding. This understanding will come when intelligence can be properly defined and conveyed to those in charge of developing curricula.

Intelligence in music presents itself differently from many other areas and can often present in different ways based on upbringing and culture Dr Taylor Hughey

Different cultures

Intelligence in music presents itself differently from many other areas and can often present in different ways based on upbringing and culture.



Take, for example, three children who are going to perform for an audience. The first child performs a Bach suite for solo violin with technical accuracy and musicality. The second child performs an aria from a Mozart opera after hearing it sung once. The third child sits at the piano and plays a simple minuet that he composed.

Each of the above children can be considered prodigies, but they each arrived to that moment from a different path of experience and culture. As all cultures are inherently different, the question arises as to what categories intelligences fall into, and as such, how can they be defined?



Teaching methods are different all over the world

Playing by ear

Here in Uganda, it is rare to find a childs musical intelligence presented in the above ways.

Instead, it can be found mainly in the guise of playing by ear. Because of the culture in which these musicians were raised (not Western Classical), they are able to hear and observe minutiae in music that can be missed by someone trained in another culture. Making sure that the teachers I work with never feel that their culture is inferior to other cultures is a hugely important task in my daily teaching routines.



Just because a trombone player may not know what glissando means doesn't mean that he is in any way an ignorant musician. It all boils down to how they were trained.

Making sure that the teachers I work with never feel that their culture is inferior to other cultures is a hugely important task in my daily teaching routines Dr Taylor Hughey

Not optional

A culture is not optional for human beings. All humans are part of a larger culture, whether its where they live, who they talk to, their ethnicity, etc. These cultures then provide specific guidelines that dictate how things are learned and the basic rules for living.



As cultures are inherently different depending on the country, province, county, town, etc. it is important to realize in the process of education that a certain level of leeway must be given and compromises must be made for learning to be successful.



Putting things in practice

Nothing shocks

Many of the experiences Ive had in my time with Brass for Africa thus far are comparable to any experiences a foreigner has going into a different country. Nothing Ive seen or heard has ultimately shocked me, but there have been things that have surprised me in both good and bad ways. The good parts have definitely outweighed the bad in a significant amount.

One really great thing that happened was to be able to see the utter joy on the faces of children from the streets when they played a note on an instrument for the first time. We just began a partnership with a new site here in Kampala and I was able to observe the first lesson.

Having started many children in the United States on brass instruments, I am very familiar with the process. However, the focus here seems to be more on the act of playing an instrument at the start rather than making a good sound.

Enthusiasm and bliss

After an hour of having the instruments, 20% of the children could play the correct open note, while the other 80% were simply making any noise. 100% of them didnt understand tone quality. I can remember starting on trombone when I was a child and although I enjoyed it, I expect that my joy wasn't even close to the level of joy that they experienced.

I can remember starting on trombone when I was a child and although I enjoyed it, I expect that my joy wasn't even close to the level of joy that they experienced Dr Taylor Hughey

Every student Ive started in the United States as a teacher also hasn't had the same level of enthusiasm and bliss that I saw in that lesson. Many of the children Ive worked with here seem to have an inherent sense of musical energy already inside them before they play one note on an instrument. Again, major cultural difference!

Similarities

There are also some similarities in the cultures that I wasn't expecting to see. In the United States right now, there is a visible shift in the way students are educated and the way they learn.



There is an instant gratification need that is arising in our society and allowing the students to choose to not put in enough work because they know things will be handed to them. That same situation is arising with the musicians involved in Brass for Africa.



The end result

Donor culture

There is a donor culture within this sector that allows for the participants to be able to expect someone to swoop in and help them if something goes wrong or if they are in need. While I am 100% in agreement with helping in major emergencies, it is sometimes hard to draw a line.



The question that arises is: if you do this for one person are you then expected to do it for the next person?

What constitutes as in need and what constitutes me being able to say maybe you should save your money for the next couple of months and buy it then? Walking this fuzzy line of entitlement has been an endeavor that I didn't expect to face and has created another tier of my position.



Brass for Africa is inspiring children each day

No easy answer

Many of the challenges an organisation such as Brass for Africa faces are on par with other NGOs here in Uganda.

One of the most common challenges is that everyone is looking for an easy answer or an immediate result Dr Taylor Hughey

One of the most common challenges is that everyone is looking for an easy answer or an immediate result. It is easy to be inspired by what goes on here every day, but it is also extremely important to remember that what we do goes far beyond just needing funding. There is another level that happens after the funding arrives that focuses on creating a continuing scope that can be maintained for a very long time.

Thats something that I think Brass for Africa is doing well. The administrative team is always thinking of ways to improve and is often the first to point out if something is being approached in an inefficient way.

The music education team is pushing forward and expanding to inspire more and more children each day.



Dr Taylor Hughey

Dr Hughey's Blog No 1:

http://www.4barsrest.com/articles/2017/1620.asp



Find out more about Brass for Africa: http://www.brassforafrica.org/
We don't actually need an excuse to drink more than our modest share of wine, but wummer weather does call for roseand crispy whites and light reds.

So we asked seven Bay Area wine aficionadoschefs, somms, and restaurateursfor their picks for the locally produced wines that are best for summer drinking. Raise a glass.

(Courtesy of Turnbull)

Jen Pelka, owner, The Riddler



Jen Pelka is owner of Magnum PR and first-time restaurateur whose chic Hayes Valley Champagne bar, The Riddler, has SF feeling particularly effervescent.

What are you drinking this summer? "I'm currently in love with the sparkling wines that Michael Cruse makes." He is currently practicing petillant naturel, the mode du jour for processing sparkling wine where wine is bottled while still fermenting. Pelka, who happens to be getting married this weekend at Copain in Healdsburg, is "obsessed with their delicious P2: a light, juicy red best served chilled."

For a summer party, what would you serve? "On the nights when we're grilling steaks, I'm excited to bring out some beautiful cabs from Turnbull. Second-generation owner Zoe Johns has done magical work with these wines."









Matt Deller MW, chief wine officer, Wine Access

Matt Deller MW is one among just 41 Masters of Wine in the U.S. (NBD), and he is currently the chief wine officer at Wine Access, a direct-to-consumer fine wine e-commerce shop that curates wine from all over the globe.

What are you drinking this summer? "I love the wines of Benoit Touquette. His Napa reds demonstrate a perfect balance of power and elegance. Teeter Totter is his personal project, sourcing from some of Napa's best vineyards and crafting a wine unmatched in terms of style and value. Hedonistic and sveltely textured with cassis, licorice, cedar and dark chocolate flavors."

What would you pair it with? "I'll be drinking this beside the barbecue, usually with grilled steaks and mushrooms with lots of garlic and butter, and green beans on the side."









Andrew Ghetia, area director, 4505 Meats

Andrew Ghetia has revamped the wine program at 4505 Meats, where he is spearheading efforts to bring in a variety of California wines made in the vineyard, not in the cellar.

Whatare you drinking this summer? "I'm loving the 2015 Hobo Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley/Sonoma County) from Kenny Likitprakong. Kenny is an incredible winemaker and sources the perfect grapes for his zinfandel which, like barbecue, is a truly American experience."

What dishes are you pairing it with? "This balanced zin is rich, but not overripe, fruit-forward but not a jam bomb. It goes incredibly well with 4505's Smoked 5Dot Ranch Beef Brisket and Sweet and Thick BBQ Sauce. This zin stands up great to the smokey, black pepper flavors of our brisket, yet is elegant enough to let the coriander and hickory smoke shine through."





(Courtesy of sfwine.wordpress.com)

Erik Johnson, head sommelier, French Laundry

Erik Johnson began his career as a "vintern" at Thomas Keller's French Laundry and is now the famed restaurant's head sommelier.

What local wine are you liking this summer? "Kenzo Estate, Asatsuyu Sauvignon Blanc. It has quickly become one of my most favorite white bottles in the valley. Asatsuyu, translating to Morning Dew, is crafted magnificently by two of the most dynamic innovators in the wine profession, Heidi Barrett and David Abreu. They have brought to life this tropical, insanely refreshing and irresistibly delicious white wine with the 2015 vintage, introducing a sprinkle of semillon. Perfect for a summer afternoon refresher."





Can you really choose just one? "Arnot-Roberts, Rose. When it comes to summer, nothing jumps to mind quicker than Arnot-Roberts rose. Not only is this wine super delicious and refreshing, the varieties and vineyards are pretty unique as well. Created primarily of Touriga Nacional and tempranillo from the Luschinger Vineyard in Clear Lake, with supporting roles of Touriga Nacional from Amador and grenache from the Russian River Valley, this final blend begs for sunshine."









Amaryll Schwertner, chef/co-owner, Boulettes Larder

Amaryll Schwertner the Bay Area's pioneers of the farm-to-table movement. A Chez Panisse alum, she is co-owner of Boulettes Larder and Boulibar in the Ferry Building.

What are you drinking this summer? "The rose offerings from Scribe, Home Farm, and Baker Lane are universally lovelybest enjoyed outdoors."

What do you pair them with?"My suggestion for a food pairing with a good lean and dry rose would be a grande aioli...which to me includes summer fish and various tender vegetables and a mortared young garlic and olive oil emulsion. Another example, succulent herbaceous pork loin roast, with olive oil crisped new potatoes and grilled fennel and charred calcot."









Michael Tusk, chef/owner, Quince and Cotogna

James Beard Awardwinning chef Michael Tusk is co-owner and toque behind the three-Michelin-star restaurant Quince and its more casual sister restaurant, Cotogna.

What are you drinking this summer? "The combination of vibrant green vegetables and summer produce with high acid, like tomatoes, combined with the earthiness of squash blossoms, calls for lighter, more mineral based wines. And almost always sparkling! Michael Cruse's wines have really lived up to all expectations. The super small production Ultramarine is on par with some of the best sparkling wines from Champagne and is also great with caviar and shellfish with light classic preparations."









Luke Stanko, assistant winemaker, Ram's Gate Winery

Luke Stanko began his career at Ram's Gate Winery in Sonoma as a harvest intern in 2012, a role that grew into cellar master and ultimately assistant winemaker. Stanko oversees the grapes in every step of the process, from the vine to bottling, at Ram's Gate.

What are you drinking in warmer months? "Either Jolie-Laide Pinot Gris and Melon de Bourgogne or rose from Rootdown Wine Cellars. Pinot Gris is a grape whose skins have color, so why shouldn't the wine? It's slightly pink in color with fresh stone fruit aromas and great acidity. The Melon is floral with a mineral backbone. Both are perfect for a day at the coast."
In the sequel, Ryan Gosling portrays a young blade runner  an android stalker  who must find Fords character, whos been missing for the three decades since the original story.

The sequel is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who had a hit last year with Arrival.

In a panel discussion live-streamed on the internet, Ford said it felt good to return to the dystopia depicted in Blade Runner, in which a crumbling, polluted Los Angeles is shrouded in dark clouds and a continual drizzle of acid rain.

The first time Ford walked on the set, he recalled, It was raining  that made me feel welcome.

Ford said the Blade Runner movies  which depict a society filled with gadgetry, such as holograms and flying cars, in which its difficult to tell artificial life forms from real ones  have some important lessons for today. Theres no such thing as a free lunch, and were really talking about both the benefit of technology and the social consequences of it in a way that I think is really interesting, he said.
This generation gap in tech savviness can lead to a generation gap in overall communication, and thats not good for the young or old. Three teens in the Washington, D.C., area realize this and are doing something about it.

Together, they formed GTGTech (short for generation-to-generation technology), a nonprofit that puts its goal simply: Our mission is to help senior citizens navigate the brave new technological world.

The teens are doing this by offering one-on-one training sessions with seniors on pretty much any tech topic  smartphone use, texting, digital safety, cloud computing and connecting to a network.

"We don't focus on a particular area; it's just whatever people come to us with," GTGTech president and co-founder Hannah Docter-Loeb explains. We've had people who don't know how to text and don't know how to Wi-Fi and don't know what the cloud is.

But through free training sessions, held at least once a month in libraries, senior centers and other public locations, the group gives older people the tech knowledge that helps them communicate with younger generations.

The impetus for the group occurred during a trip in 2016. "Aviah [cofounder Aviah Krupnick, now the groups head of media] and I were in Costa Rica in April, and we were talking about how we wanted to do community service for the next year," Docter-Loeb recalls. (Community service is now a graduation requirement at many high schools.) The discussion turned to tech skills, and the two saw an opportunity.

By the end of October, the girls had formed the group, recruiting Kaela Marcus-Kurn as director of community engagement, and registered as a nonprofit. After holding its first two training sessions at Washington-area libraries, GTGTech partnered with several other groups, including the D.C. Commission on Aging Senior Initiative and the World Bank, to offer programs. As of now, it has hosted a dozen training sessions.
Franco Origlia/Getty Images(ROME) -- First lady Melania Trump paid a visit to Bambino Gesu children's hospital in Rome on Wednesday, spending her time coloring with patients, snapping selfies, signing bandages and even speaking to them in Italian.



My visit to Bambino Gesu Childrens Hospital today was very moving," the first lady said in a statement. "To spend time speaking to and coloring with children who have such a positive spirit despite illness was an amazing gift. The time I spent with the little ones in the Intensive Care Unit is something I will never forget, and I will pray for each of them daily. I want to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of the hospital, who all do such beautiful and critical work.



Trump also shared a moving story about a young boy who was just informed he received a heart transplant, adding that she visited with the boy just hours prior.



Upon landing in Belgium, I learned a young boy and his family who had been waiting for a heart transplant was informed that the hospital has found a donor," she said. "I read a book and held hands with this special little one just a few hours ago, and now my own heart is filled with joy over this news.



A little boy who I visited today & had been waiting for a heart transplant will be receiving one! #Blessings #Faith pic.twitter.com/DZU3ojxXVC  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) May 24, 2017

The hospital, owned by the Catholic Church and founded in 1869, is the largest pediatric hospital and research center in Europe. The first lady personally wrote a letter to Pope Francis asking to visit the hospital, a spokesperson said.Princess Diana and Mother Teresa are among those who have visited Bambino Gesu hospital.Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The critically endangered black rhino has returned to the wilds of Rwanda with the help of animal transport specialist Intradco Global and Etihad Cargo.





On behalf of African Parks, a conservation non-profit that manages national parks and protected areas on behalf of governments across the continent, Intradco chartered two Etihad Boeing 777 freighters to transport the 19 black rhinos from Johannesburg to the Rwandan capital, Kigali. Upon touching down in Kigali International Airport (KGL), the rhinos were carefully transferred to trucks to continue the final leg of their journey by road, under police escort.



Ten rhinos travelled on the first flight, and nine on the second, along with the three vets and two attendants who accompanied them for the duration of their entire journey from Johannesburg to Akagera.



The rhinos, which can weigh up to 2,500 kg each, were transported in special pallets which also contained their feed for the journey. The temperature on the aircraft is specified by the vet to ensure the animals do not overheat or become stressed.

3



The project to return the rhinos took place over the first two weeks of May, and represents an historical moment for the country after the species disappeared in 2007 following decades of wide spread poaching.



The complex logistics involved in this remarkable homecoming required the expertise of Intradcos specialists who spent more than a year planning the journey with Etihad Cargo who operated the flights.





Intradco worked closely with African Parks and the Akegara team to ensure all permits and clearances were in place including valid CITES documentation (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)  a requirement when transporting listed species such as black rhino.





Tom Lamb, Intradco project manager, accompanied the animals on both flights and travelled with the team for the five-hour drive to Akegara National Park where they were successfully released.



Commenting on the project, he said: It is a brilliant achievement to return the extremely rare eastern black rhino to Rwanda after a 10-year absence. There are only 1,000 left globally so moving two per cent of the worlds population was a big responsibility and challenge, and an incredible project to be a part of.



It was a privilege to be able to accompany the rhinos on their homecoming and witness their release back into the wild. We would also like to thank Etihad Cargo for their role in professionally operating the two flights.



David Kerr, Senior Vice President Etihad Cargo, said: We are proud to play this integral role in returning an endangered species to its home. Last year Etihad Airways became one of the first airlines to sign the Declaration of the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products, known as the Buckingham Palace Declaration, as a demonstration of our support for preventing illegal wildlife trade  estimated to be worth up to $20 billion today. As a key mode of transport for transporting this caught wildlife across borders, it is the responsibility of the aviation industry to take action to prevent this.



Jes Gruner, Akagera Park Manager, said: Together with the Rwanda Development Board and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, we have spent the last three years preparing for this historic event, ensuring that the park is safe for the arrival of the rhinos and for their long-term future so they can breed and thrive.



Akagera has transformed since African Parks assumed management in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board in 2010, overhauling law enforcement and reducing poaching to an all-time low in just six years, thus making it safe to bring these eastern black rhinos back home.



Intradco Cargo services was established in the UK in 1987 and Intradco Global is now part of the Chapman Freeborn Group of companies.
Indonesias president urged people to remain calm on Thursday, a day after suspected suicide bombers killed three police officers on duty at a Jakarta bus terminal in an attack authorities said bore the hallmarks of globally inspired Islamist militants.

Ten people, including five police officers and five civilians, were also wounded in the twin blasts that were detonated five minutes apart by the two suspected attackers in the Indonesia capital late on Wednesday evening, police said.

The attack was the deadliest in Indonesia since January 2016, when eight people were killed, four of them attackers, after suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the capital.

We must continue to keep calm (and) keep cool. Because  we Muslims are preparing to enter the month of Ramadan for fasting, President Joko Widodo said in a statement.

Authorities in the world`s biggest Muslim-majority nation are increasingly worried about a surge in radicalism, driven in part by a new generation of militants inspired by the Islamic State group.

National police spokesman Awi Setyono described the Jakarta blasts as a global terrorist attack, but said police were still investigating whether the attackers had direct orders from Syria or elsewhere.

Police have not yet named the two dead suspects but a law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they may have been linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, an umbrella organisation on a U.S. State Department terrorist list that is estimated to have drawn hundreds of Islamic State sympathisers in Indonesia.

Indonesia has suffered a series of mostly low-level attacks by Islamic State sympathisers in the past 17 months.

Residents helped clean up debris at the bus terminal in East Jakarta on Thursday, where splattered blood stains and broken glass remained after the attacks.

After what happened in Manchester, in Marawi in the Philippines, maybe the cells here were triggered by the bombs and that lifted their passion for starting bombing again, Setyono told television station TVOne.

He was referring to the suicide bombing that killed 22 people in a crowded concert hall in the British city of Manchester this week.

In the southern Philippines, thousands of civilians in Marawi City fled their homes this week after Islamist militants took over large parts of the city, leading to a declaration of martial law.
A special CBI court in Lucknow, which is conducting daily hearing of the 1992 Babri demolition case, on Thursday directed BJP leaders LK Advani, Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi to appear before it on May 30.

The Lucknow court said they would get no exemption and must appear before the court on the given date.

All three leaders have been charged with criminal conspiracy in the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid. The Supreme Court had last month ruled that conspiracy charges against the trio, as well as other leaders, would be reinstated, 7 years after the Allahabad High Court had upheld a 2001 CBI court judgement dropping them.

The special CBI court that began day-to-day hearing in the politically-sensitive case on 20 May has granted bail to former Shiv Sena MP Satish Pradhan, the sixth accused in the said case.

Special CBI court judge SK Yadav granted him bail on a surety of Rs. 20,000 and a personal bond of the same amount.

The Supreme Court had on 19 April directed the special court to start proceedings in the matter in a month and deliver the verdict within two years.

The BJP leaders had moved court seeking exemption from personally appearing in court for the hearing of their role in the conspiracy to raze the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

The apex court gave the CBI special court in Lucknow a month to frame fresh charges, and two years to deliver its verdict in the 25-year-old demolition case.
Opposition wants Mahajan to step down after he attended marriage function of Dawood Ibrahims niece.

Maharashtras Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan has invited a controversy for attending a marriage ceremony of gangster Dawood Ibrahims niece at Nashik. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant has called for a probe into this incident. On the other hand, NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has demanded Mahajans resignation. Nashik police has already questioned eight police officers who had attended the function. BJP legislators Devyani Farande, Balasaheb Sanap and Seema Hiray, Nashik mayor Ranjana Bhanasi and deputy mayor Prathamesh Gite also attended the function. Police have seized photos and videos of the event for conducting further probe.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, The government should order for a probe into this incident to establish what links does Mahajan has with the organiser of the event. Mahajan should step down from his post until he gets a clean chit. When AV spoke to RTI activist Anil Galgali he said, If BJP had ousted Eknath Khadse from the party for allegedly receiving calls from Dawoods phone number why cant the party take similar action against Girish Mahajan who had attended the dons niece wedding. 

NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said, Earlier BJP used to allege that Sharad Pawar about having close links with Dawood Ibrahim. This is a serious matter and Mahajan should resign from his post.

Seema Hiray, BJP MLA from Nashik said, Since I am an MLA, I have to attend various functions in the city. A religious leader had sent an invitation to me hence I attended the marriage function. I was unaware that the bride was Dawoods niece and later came to know about it.

Even Mahajan has admitted that he had attended the function but he was unaware that bride was related to Dawood.

I attended the marriage after receiving an invitation from Khateeb. It is not possible for me to check the antecedents of people. I was accompanied by our party legislators and the mayor and deputy mayor of Nashik, Mahajan said.

Since I personally know Khateeb hence I attended the function. Khateeb has been one of the pillars of social activities undertaken by the medical education department in the Nashik region, he added.

On the other hand, the groom is Muslim Community leader Shahar A Khateebs nephew. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered for a probe into this matter after local news channels started reporting about it.

I have already told Nashik Police Commissioner to send a report on the matter, Fadnavis said.

After Eknath Khadse, Mahajan has become the second leader from BJP to be involved in a controversy pertaining to Dawood Ibrahim.
A gang of highway robbers allegedly dragged off and raped four women in a field in Uttar Pradeshs Gautam Budh Nagar early on Thursday after ambushing their car, police said. A male relative trying to rescue them was shot dead.

The incident took place a family of eight, including four female members, two children accompanied by two men were travelling in a car when all of a sudden the armed robbers fired and punctured two of the tyres of the car.

The six looted cash and valuables from the family and then raped the women, the victims alleged. When the man tried to resist, he was shot dead.

The robbers took away jewellery and Rs. 44,000 in cash. The deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Shakeel Quraishi.

Its a heinous crime. An FIR has been registered. A man has been murdered. Four women have alleged gang rape. Police teams are working on the case, said Love Kumar, senior superintendent of Gautam Budh Nagar. The women are being taken for medical examination. The post-mortem is being done. Two other teams are hunting for the suspects.

As per sources, the driver called the car owner after the car puncture took place, who thereafter called PCR; unfortunately no police help reached the spot on time.

Uttar Pradesh has the longest network of highways among all states, according to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) data. National Crime Records Bureaus data for 2014 show the state also accounts for the highest number of highway crimes  80% of the 84,000 cases of dacoity and thefts on highways across the country were recorded in Uttar Pradesh.

In a similar incident in 2016 at the Bulandshahr highway, a car was stopped by criminals, who dragged a 13-year-old girl and her mother to a nearby field and raped them.

The girl, along with her family, was going to attend a funeral, when armed men stopped their car, tied and beat up the men and gangraped the girl and her 35-year-old mother for almost three hours.
The much talked about Tejas Express, flagged off by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday ended its first journey at Mumbai CST in a deplorable state.

Passengers allegedly thrashed the LCD screens on the seats and stole the headphones provided. A senior railway official told that at least a dozen headphones were missing from the train after Mondays journey. He also said a couple of LED screens had scratch marks on them.

The train was flagged off from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on Monday and returned from Goa on Tuesday.

The Central Railways chief public relations officer, Narendra Patil, confirmed the railway staff reported that a few headphones were missing from the train after Mondays journey.

The headphones were distributed just after the journey commenced. There wasnt an announcement to return the headphones because we expected passengers to not carry them away, just like they dont take away pillows and blankets, said Mr. Patil.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said, Tejas will redefine train travel experience in India. The Executive Class fare in Tejas has been fixed at Rs. 2,540 without food and Rs. 2,940 with food. The Chair Car fare is Rs. 1,850 with food and Rs. 1,220 without food.

After Humsafar, Antyodaya, Deen Dayalu it is now Tejas, all of which were promised in the previous budget. It is a high speed train with modern facilities on board, enhanced passenger comfort, and attractive exterior, Prabhu said.
Scrambling up the operation against the black money and corruption, benami, or proxy-owned property worth Rs. 600 crores has been seized by the Income Tax Department over the last six months under a renewed law that lets the government takeover properties bought in fake names. In all, the tax authorities have detected over 400 benami transactions in 240 cases. This is informed by authorities to media without disclosing the names of the defaulters. No one knows who these people are and when are they raided and their properties are caught.

Modis demonetization move resulted in loss of more than 2 lakh crores. Miniscule of the colossal loss thrust upon the nation by the unwise demonetisation. The government and RBI have kept hidden from the nation, the final figures of notes surrender upon demonetisation. Upto 15th December, figures were promptly furnished. When the final figures revealed the colossal failure, the final figures were hidden. Anyway, there are many questions that need to be answered by the government. When will BJP government bring back black money from Switzerland? Is it possible before 2019? How much black money has been collected after note ban? Why benami property raids after so long and only 600 crores have been recovered? What government is doing with these recovered funds? Where these benami funds are going? How many new jobs were created in last three years?

The Benami Prohibition Law was first enacted back in 1988 but was not implemented for over 28 years because of technical problems in the law. The gaps were finally fixed last year; it stipulates a seven year jail term for people who violate this law. In the weeks after he made the surprise decision to scrap 86 per cent of the currency notes on November, Prime Minister Modi had declared the government would go after benami properties next.

Tax officials found a driver with land worth Rs. 7.7 crore in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur, a professional in Mumbai who had been buying properties in the name of shell companies that exist only on paper and a former employee of a jeweller who had nine properties registered in his name, all of them belonging to the jeweller. The tax department said immovable properties valued at Rs. 530 crores were attached in 40 cases alone. In these cases, the properties were located in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. However, it is only during the last one month that the IT department has stepped on the gas. The government has also setup 24 dedicated Benami Prohibition Units under the tax department across the country to intensify the scrutiny on land transfers and big purchases.

Officials expect it to be increasingly difficult for the corrupt to make benami transactions in the future because of rules in many states that require buyers and sellers of land to provide their Aadhaar numbers. A similar rule for Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards would also help.

The Act defines a benami transaction as a transaction where a property is held by or transferred to a person, but has been provided for or paid by another person. The Bill amends this definition to add other transactions which qualify as benami, such as property transactions where the transaction is made in a fictitious name, the owner is not aware of denies knowledge of the ownership of the property, or the person providing the consideration for the property is not traceable.

The Bill also specifies certain cases will be exempt from the definition of a benami transaction. These include cases when a property is held by a member of a Hindu undivided family, and is being held for his or another family members benefit, and has been provided for or paid off from sources of income of that family; a person in a fiduciary capacity; a person in the name of his spouse or child, and the property has been paid for from the persons income; and the Bill defines benamidar as the person in whose name the benami property is held or transferred, and a beneficial owner as the person for whose benefit the property is being held by the benamidar.

If an Initiating Officer believes that a person is a benamidar, he may issue a notice to that person. The Initiating Officer may hold the property for 90 days from the date of issue of the notice, subject to permission from the Approving Authority. At the end of the notice period, the Initiating Officer may pass an order to continue the holding of the property. If an order is passed to continue holding the property, the Initiating Officer will refer the case to the Adjudicating Authority. The Adjudicating Authority will examine all documents and evidence relating to the matter and then pass an order on whether or not to hold the property as benami. Based on an order to confiscate the benami property, the Administrator will receive and manage the property in a manner and subject to conditions as prescribed. Under the Act, the penalty for entering into benami transactions is imprisonment up to three years, or a fine, or both. The Bill seeks to change this penalty to rigorous imprisonment of one year up to seven years, and a fine which may extend to 25% of the fair market value of the benami property. Certain sessions courts would be designated as Special Courts for trying any offences which are punishable under the Bill.

Inspite of all the explanations, rules and regulations, one need to understand that the Property purchased is mostly accounted in tax returns. How such properties can be treated as benami? Such acts will only open doors for harassment and more corruption. Mere IT law is actually sufficient if implemented honestly. Or is it just Jaitleys new idea to fool PM Modi and the public? The PM says he is soon going to target Benami property. He should also concentrate on other defaulters. When the property is rented, the tenants dont pay rent or stick to old rents and do not want to upgrade it to conform to contemporary rent increases. They are difficult to be evicted. They demand phenomenal amount of money in cash. Litigation in the courts takes several years where the advocates make lucrative amounts of money. This can be seen as blackmailing and a form of corruption. This needs to be tackled in a stringent way as well. Let us hope that government will start a new initiative Sab Ki Jaanch, Sabka Hisab, without being biased.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
Shah Rukh Khan was at his candid best as he broke down myths associated with a movie stars persona during a session with Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt.

The hour-long chat last evening covered various aspects of cinema and while Pitt was a bit reticent in his replies, Shah Rukh was his usual witty self.

The Hollywood star, 53, who was in India to promote his Netflix satire War Machine, seemed more comfortable discussing his future as a producer that, he said, has become seems more appealing to him.

Pitt has produced the David Michod-directed war drama via his company Plan B. The film releases on the video-streaming service this Friday.

While the conversation, moderated by Rajeev Masand, mostly focused on the various aspects of films, Shah Rukh, 51, had interesting anecdotes to share.

When asked how he avoided becoming a self-obsessed movie star, the actor said it was not all that bad to be a bit self-absorbed.

I think certain amount of self-absorption is necessary for any creative person to be. You are not a machine that you will be following what people think should be doing. You have to have free thinking. A little bit of self-absorption It is required to be individualistic but beyond that no, Shah Rukh said.

Filmmaking is a collaborative process and there is a sharing of ideas, which would not be possible if one was self-obsessed, he said.

Shah Rukh admitted that he has encountered some self- obsessed people in his long career but they were few in numbers.

Its a cliche that movie stars are self-obsessed I think an actor is the person who loves himself the least, but yes as a star you need to love yourself. Brad and I, we love ourselves because we are stars and good actors.

The actor said while one has to be a part of system when it comes to movie-making, digital platforms like Netflix were opening up doors for talented young artistes.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Windy at times with rain. High 66F. NE winds at 25 to 35 mph, decreasing to 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low near 65F. Winds E at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.
The Pope and Trump Discuss Protection of Christians in Iraq

Among the topics discussed by Catholic leader Pope Francis and US President Donald Trump was the persecution and protection of dwindling minority communities in the Middle East like that of the Christians. A Vatican statement highlighted that Trump and Pope Francis made "particular reference to the situation in the Middle East and the protection of Christian communities." Minority communities like Shabaks, Yezidis, Christians, Kakais were largely displaced in places like Baghdad, the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh, and northern Syria as ISIS swept across the Middle East in 2014. "The discussions then enabled an exchange of views on various themes relating to international affairs and the promotion of peace in the world through political negotiation and interreligious dialogue," read Vatican statement. Prior to the rise of ISIS in 2014, there were about 400,000 Christians in Iraq of various Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriacs and Armenian sects. Now there are about 200,000 who are sheltered in the Kurdistan Region with about that many having sought refuge abroad. "Radical ideologies, extremist lectures, wars and massacres especially against our Yezidi and Christian brothers and sisters have not affected this culture," Kurdish Nechirvan Barzani Prime Minister said in December 2016. "But it has caused hesitation, fear, a deep wound and pain and posed a serious threat to the culture of coexistence in Kurdistan and Iraq. Interfaith leaders in the Kurdistan Region have participated in various coexistance forums; however, minority leaders have said that often the platitudes don't leave the room. "We have a serious task ahead of us. In this time of threats and terrorism this spirit of tolerance and coexistence has to be strengthened," Barzani previously added. More than 100 churches and monasteries in Mosul alone have been demolished by ISIS militants since 2014. Elsewhere in the country, there was the 2010 October attack on the Syrian Church in Baghdad that killed over 50 people, including many worshipers. The White House readout of the meeting stated the two leaders "discussed how religious communities can combat human suffering in crisis regions, such as Syria, Libya, and ISIS-controlled territory" The situation is complicated by the presence of rival forces protecting Christian towns and villages. Some areas, including Alqosh, Bashiqa, Tal Squf, and Batnaya, are under the protection of Nineveh Plains Protection Forces supported by the Peshmerga. But in Tel Kef, Hamdaniya and other places, Babylon Units, associated with the Hashd al-Shaabi forces, are in control. "It is my desire that you become an olive tree to construct peace," the Pope, not referencing any one conflict, told Trump, according to The Associated Press. "We can use peace," Trump replied According to 1987 Iraqi census, 1.4 million Christians lived in Iraq primarily in the Nineveh Plains, Baghdad, and some Kurdish cities. But many have since migrated to the West or places like Lebanon after years of persecution and economic hardship.
May 24, 2017

CAIRO  Egypts State Council General Assembly surprised Egyptian judicial and political circles May 13 by putting forward their most senior judge, Yahya Dakroury, as the single nominee to head the council.

The terms of the heads of the State Lawsuits Authority, the Administrative Prosecution and the Supreme Judicial Council expire June 30. Also, the current head of the State Council will reach retirement age and his post will become vacant July 19.

According to the law on the appointment of the heads of judicial bodies ratified by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on April 27, each body shall send the names of three candidates to the president 60 days before the vacancy of the posts.

The State Councils nomination of Dakroury as its single candidate was in clear defiance of this law and stirred speculation about an ensuing dispute between the president and the State Council.

Observers believe the decision of the State Councils judges carried two messages to Sisi: They reject his jurisdiction to choose their chief and insist on their independence, and they want to embarrass the president before political and judicial circles.

Indeed, the State Council seems to have put Sisi in a predicament; if he appoints Dakroury, the State Council would appear victorious and if he chooses another judge, Sisi would be seen as disrespecting the judges' desire for independence.

The General Assembly, which represents all members of the State Council, insisted on not applying the new law and rather applied the principle of absolute seniority, in force prior to the passage of the recent law, and accordingly sent their letter to Sisi on May 15, nominating Dakroury only.

In response to the State Council position, Sisi said during a meeting with the editors-in-chief of state-owned newspapers May 17 that the judiciary is a respected institution dedicated to preserving Egypts interests, noting that the State Council has made its choice and that he will make his decision in accordance with the law and in line with national interests.

This law in question stipulates that the heads of judicial bodies shall be chosen by the Egyptian president based on the nomination by these organizations of three senior judges.

Salah Fawzi, a professor of constitutional law at Mansoura University, told Al-Monitor over the phone, The nomination by the State Council of Judge Yahya Dakroury is illegal and should not be taken into consideration. It is not binding on the president at all.

Fawzi said that the principle of seniority applied by the judiciary is a custom adopted by former presidents. This has not been specified in the constitution or the law, he said, noting that Article 83 of Law No. 47 of 1972 governing the State Council confers to the president of the republic the power to appoint the head of the State Council after receiving the General Assemblys opinion.

In statements to Mada Masr news website May 14, Mahmoud Ahmad, the deputy head of the State Council, said the next step will be determined by the president's decision and would reveal the real purpose behind the promulgation of Law No. 13 of 2017.

He said that if Sisi does not choose Dakroury as head of the State Council and Judge Anas Amara as head of the Supreme Judicial Council, this will confirm that the law aims to keep these two judges out of top judicial decisions because of their rulings. Dakroury went against the president by issuing a ruling against the Tiran and Sanafir agreement; Amara is affiliated with the independence of the judiciary movement and issued a ruling nullifying all death penalties that are based only on evidence provided by national security investigations.

Amara was among three candidates nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council.

Mustafa Shaat, a legal researcher at the American University in Cairos Law and Society Unit, told Al-Monitor the General Assemblys decision, albeit surprising, is another step that falls within the scope of the State Councils strong and clear rejection of the law during its discussion and before its ratification.

When the law was first proposed, judges objected to it, seeing it as an infringement on the principle of the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers, but the Court of Cassation, the Administrative Prosecution and the State Lawsuits Authority complied with it and accordingly submitted to the president their candidates.

Shaat said, Three judicial bodies yielded and accepted the new law by nominating their candidates, while the State Council rejected it and dug in its heels. This incident was not an embarrassment to or any kind of pressure on the regime but had an impact on the judicial bodies themselves, leading to an unprecedented disagreement within the judiciary.

He said, The law so far has served the regimes goals to undermine the stability of the judicial bodies, reshaping and belittling the political role of the judiciary that had played a prominent role following the June 30, 2013, protests."

Shaat added, For the first time, the judicial bodies are not aware who their future heads will be as it is no longer up to them to choose their chief but to the president of the republic.

After the law was passed April 27, independent lawyer Issam al-Islambouli began legal action to invalidate the law on the grounds of unconstitutionality, arguing it breaches Article 25 of the constitution, not to mention that it undermines the independence of the judiciary. In the first hearing, the court set the case for adjudication for June 13.

Islambouli told Al-Monitor that the law is void and null as Egypts parliament abused its legislative power when it passed it without taking the opinion of judges on the new amendments in accordance with Article 185 of the constitution, which specifies that the opinion of the judicial bodies is to be consulted on draft laws governing their affairs.

He said that the State Council abided by the constitution by nominating a single candidate, and that all judicial bodies should have done so.

The State Council has put things in perspective and took a decision that is in line with the constitution. This is a courageous and great stance by the men of the State Council, he added.

In turn, Hassan Nafea, a professor of political science at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor, The judiciary branch should not be involved in politics at all. It should act as an independent authority, away from the legislative and executive branches. This is the established principle in any political system with minimal democracy.

Only totalitarian or dictatorial regimes subdue the judicial branch and the legislative branch under the jurisdiction of the executive branch, which is what is happening now in Egypt. Today in Egypt, the three branches are being controlled by the president, he said.

Nafea said, The new law allows the president to have the upper hand in choosing judges who follow his orders. This is the worst law issued in the history of the judiciary by far. None of the previous presidents, including Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was known for the Judges Massacre, dared to amend the principle of seniority in the judicial bodies law. The so-called Judges Massacre refers to Nasser's dismissal of over 200 judges in the late 1960s, after the Judges Club  the de facto representative of the countrys judges  stepped up its criticism of Nasser's government.

He continued, What the State Council has done is not a challenge to the president, but it is an expression of its rejection of the law, which undermines the constitution and the independence of the judiciary. It is not a political conflict but rather a conflict over respect for the judiciary as an authority independent from the executive branch. If Sisi sees the State Councils decision to nominate Dakroury as a personal challenge to his authority and chooses a different candidate, this will send a very negative message to the Egyptian people and the judicial bodies. A political conflict will break out between the judiciary and the president, in his capacity as representative of the political authority. The political authority will be the biggest loser in this case.

Sisi is expected to announce the names of the heads of the three judicial bodies  the State Lawsuits Authority, the Administrative Prosecution and the Supreme Judicial Council  before June 30, while the name of the new head of the State Council must be announced before July 19.
May 25, 2017

In the Iranian calendar, May 24 is the equivalent of the 3rd of Khordad. In popular lexicon, the 3rd of Khordad is used synonymously with the liberation of the southwestern port city of Khorramshahr from Iraqi forces. The invasion in October 1980 while the capital city of Tehran was in post-revolutionary turmoil shocked the nation. However, the liberation of the city located in the oil-rich Khuzestan province mobilized the country and created an ethos among leadership in which Iranian ingenuity would persevere despite the country's international isolation. Iranian officials, whether they prefer an economic system of self-sufficiency or want greater integration in the world economy, are keen to present this message to the public.

During a speech on the occasion of the liberation of Khorramshahr, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic could overcome any challenge because of its experience overcoming many difficult obstacles" during the Iran-Iraq War. While the liberation of Khorramshahr took less than 600 days, the war would ultimately last eight years.

Khamenei recounted that during the war  which is often called the Sacred Defense or the Imposed War  nearly the entire world stood against Iran, including the United States, NATO, the Soviet Union and regional Arab countries. Khamenei encouraged those involved in the arts to keep alive the lessons learned from that era  particularly the lessons of having faith in God and self-reliance  and to impart the lessons to the younger generation, which has no recollection of the day.

During a Cabinet meeting, President Hassan Rouhani said that during the war both Eastern and Western countries had supplied Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with weapons and money. He called the war a great global plot. According to Rouhani, one lesson to be learned from Khorramshahr is that of the importance of unity. He said that Khorramshahr was liberated because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij and the military all worked together.

Other Cabinet members related the anniversary of Khorramshahr to specific recent geopolitical events. Rouhanis Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri tweeted that the celebrations of the anniversary coincide this year with the country being in a state of happiness and hope, presumably over Rouhanis re-election.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted a picture of a female fighter holding a rifle; the text read, History review of the day: Saddams million-man army + $70 billion in Saudi petrodollars < resistance of Iranian women and men. #rememberkhoramshahr. The tweet is a clear reference to the recent US-Saudi Arabia $110 billion arms deal and the anti-Iranian comments made by US and Saudi officials at the Riyadh summit that called for isolating Iran. It is also a nod to Iranians who fought the Iraqi army  many of them house to house  with various groups and citizens working alongside each other.

Conservative outlets had extensive coverage of the anniversary. Mashregh News published the audio file of the radio announcement of the liberation of Khorramshahr. The State TV website published a list of the best books and movies on the liberation of Khorramshahr, and the Young Journalist Club website published pictures of Instagram users sharing some iconic photos from that era.
May 25, 2017

Attention has once again focused on Sinjar, the strategically significant and Yazidi-dominated area in northwestern Iraq that has long been a tinderbox of ethnic, sectarian and regional rivalries. The United States has been quietly and thus far unsuccessfully working to calm it.

The Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) are closing in on the area as they clear the Iraqi-Syrian border of Islamic State fighters, part of the ongoing operation to liberate Mosul.

The developments have prompted worries of a Turkish intervention amid claims that the Shiite militias are working in concert with Yazidi groups affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is carrying out a separate battle inside Turkey for Kurdish self-rule. There is even overwrought chatter about an Iranian-Turkish dust-up, all of which would disrupt the US-led campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria.

Nawaf Ashur, a Yazidi journalist and fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, told Al-Monitor that after driving IS out of the villages of Kassab and Tal Binad, the PMU liberated the village of Kocho with the help of the newly formed Yazidi Kocho battalion. They are moving very rapidly, he said.

Ashur added that there were unconfirmed reports that Kheder Salih, the leader of the PKK-linked Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), was helping the PMUs recruit Yazidi fighters and they were allegedly moving south to link up with them.

Although YBS spokesman Khalaf Murad denied that his group was involved in the battles south of Sinjar, Its a potentially explosive situation, Ashur said.

Denise Natali, an expert on Kurdish affairs at the Institute for National Strategic Studies and contributor to Al-Monitor, agrees. She told Al-Monitor, I would not be surprised at all if Turkey intervened militarily  Ankara has been stating this for months, particularly if PKK elements are enabled and remain in northern Iraq and Syria.

Turkey has long demanded that the PKK withdraw from its foothold in the western part of Mount Sinjar and has threatened military action if it fails to obey. On April 25, Turkey matched its words with action when Turkish jets bombed YBS targets in Sinjar but mistakenly killed five peshmergas from its top Kurdish ally, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), instead.

The PKK presence in Sinjar dates back to August 2014, when the group rescued thousands of Yazidis under attack by IS. Their precise numbers are unknown, but roughly 400 PKK fighters are thought to be entrenched in Sinjar along with the YBS and female fighters from YJA Star, a Kurdish all-female militia that is also linked to the PKK.

Even partial control of Sinjar offers the PKK strategic depth inside Turkeys Kurdish-dominated borders with Iraq. It also assures direct access to northeastern Syria, where the PKKs sister organization, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), controls a large swath of territory along Turkeys border with Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees the Shiite militias as a threat as well. He has gone as far as to label them terrorists even though they are formally operating under the umbrella of the Iraqi army. Allegations of cooperation between the PKK and the PMU have intensified amid frenzied speculation over a so-called Iranian corridor stretching from Tehran to the Mediterranean.

According to various media reports, the corridor would be established by the PMU, the PKK and the YBS on the Iraqi side and by the YPG, the Syrian regime and its own Iranian-backed Shiite militia allies on the Syrian side. The PMUs recent moves toward the Syrian border have been linked to such plans. According to Natali, Concern about an Iranian corridor to Syria reflects the larger post-IS dilemma: the competition by a multitude of sub-state actors for authority and control of liberated territories and resources.

It was in large part to fend off such land grabs that in December 2015 Turkey deployed hundreds of its special forces to a camp in Bashiqa near Mosul, where Turkish forces were training Sunni Arab fighters loyal to former Ninevah province Gov. Atheel Nujaifi to participate in the battle to liberate Mosul.

The move sent Turkish-Iraqi relations into a tailspin but Turkey refuses to budge and, according to Iraqi Kurdish officials who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of strict anonymity, sent in more special forces in the guise of aid workers but were forced to withdraw them under US pressure.

In this complex turf war, Turkey appears to enjoy the support of Massoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region who is also leader of the KDP. Turkish troops provide a counterweight to the PKK and the PMU, who in Barzanis mind are working together to subvert his plans for independence. The KDP wants the PKK out of Sinjar perhaps as much as Turkey, Natali noted.

But any expanded Turkish military presence could also torpedo the Iraqi Kurds hopes for independence, noted Arzu Yilmaz, who runs the international relations department at the American University of Kurdistan in Dahuk. I totally disagree with the notion that Barzani would welcome a Turkish invasion of Sinjar, she said in a telephone interview with Al-Monitor.

Yilmaz also believes the risk of a Turkish-Iranian confrontation in Iraq either directly or via proxies is overblown. Turkey has reached the limits of its expansion and influence in Iraq. To the contrary, Turkey will seek to work with Iran as it always has to limit Kurdish influence, because setting aside the occasional tactical alliances they strike with various Kurdish groups, both countries ultimately see Kurdish nationalism as an existential threat.

The United States has meanwhile weighed in using its influence over Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to get him to withdraw financial support for the YBS. At the same time, it helped persuade Haydar Shesho, the leader of an independent Yazidi militia, to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). But Washington has failed to deliver on pledges of financial and other support to Shesho and some of his fighters are now reportedly defecting to the YBS and the Shiite militias. In a further setback, Baghdad is said to have put the YBS back on its payroll.

In March, fatal clashes erupted when KDP peshmergas and their Syrian Kurdish allies known as the Roj Pesh sought to muscle their way into the YBS-held town of Hanesor, which connects Sinjar to Syria.

A tenuous cease-fire was swiftly declared amid public anger over renewed Kurdish infighting but not before the KDP managed to grab some territory from the YBS.

According to Ashur, the Yazidis are feeling increasingly squeezed and a growing number are joining the PMU for protection. They believe that if the Iraqi flag is raised in their territories, this will fend off Turkish and other aggressors, he said.

Christine van den Toorn is the director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimaniyah. In an interview with Al-Monitor, she concurred that the only solution for the Yazidis to get rid of the PKK and hence eliminate the threat of further Turkish military action is if they switch the PKK out for the PMU, the Iraqi security forces and Baghdad.

Correction: May 25, 2017 This article has been updated to include a denial from YBS spokesman Khalaf Murad that his group was involved in the battles south of Sinjar.
May 24, 2017

Fresh people and ideas are badly needed as Russia seeks to bridge the gap between Moscow and Washington, amid a tide of highly polarized information.

The person who is supposed to be Russias key facilitator in the process  Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak  has been in that position since 2008. During that time, Kislyak took the heat for Russias most bitter foreign policy crises  the war in Georgia in 2008, the war in eastern Ukraine, Russias takeover of the Crimean Pensinsula and the gay rights protests, which were largely reported in the Russian media as an anti-Russian campaign in the run-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Recently, Kislyak has come under fire over the nature of his contacts with members of US President Donald Trumps election campaign and allegations of spy activity in Washington. Its rumored that Kislyak is likely to become an adviser to President Vladimir Putin as part of a wider reshuffle of Russias foreign policy structure. His replacement as ambassador to the United States has already been chosen.

On May 18, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Duma  Russias lower house of parliament  confirmed the nomination of Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Antonov. His candidacy was reportedly sponsored by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and endorsed by Putin.

Antonov, who turned 62 three days before the Duma confirmation, is a rare mix. He graduated in 1978 from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, where he majored in international economic relations. He has had a long and diverse career in the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry ever since.

Antonov led the ministrys Department of Security and Disarmament for seven years (2004-2011) and headed Russian delegations to numerous security conferences, including ones on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. He also led negotiations with the United States on missile defense, strategic arms and export control.

After more than 30 years with the ministry, he was reassigned by Putin in 2011 to the Defense Ministry. In his new capacity, Antonov was responsible primarily for Russian military cooperation and military-technical dealings with other nations. In facilitating international contacts on behalf of the Defense Ministry, he was instrumental to the Russian campaign in Syria and policies across the wider Middle East. He was also actively engaged in dealing with the Obama administration, working for cooperation on Syria against the Islamic State and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra). The desired cooperation never fully materialized.

Having been honored with numerous military and state awards, Antonov was moved back to the Foreign Affairs Ministry near the end of last year. Being Lavrovs 10th deputy, Antonov was tasked with what hes been good at: coordinating political-military and security-related foreign policy, including working with NATO states diplomats and military personnel.

Speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, one of Antonovs former colleagues in the Foreign Ministry called him an experienced, skillful and tough negotiator. Another source described Antonov to the Moscow Times as having the determination of a bull terrier.

Following the closed confirmation hearing, Antonov lamented the negativity in US-Russia relations, while in fact many strategic objectives and tasks coincide. He also spoke in favor of strengthening US-Russian relations, emphasizing the two should jointly fight against the chief evil: international terrorism and continue nuclear disarmament. Yet, he noted, Russia wont yield its positions.

We need to convince our American colleagues that equitable, neighborly and mutually respectful relations meet the interests of both the Russian and American peoples.  Russia and America are simply fated to positive cooperation.

His official appointment is anticipated in July following an expected meeting between Putin and Trump in Hamburg at the G-20 summit of leading and developing nations. Meanwhile, under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, Moscow has to ask Washington to approve the appointment.

Rumors of Antonovs potential appointment started circulating in Moscow when the US presidential campaign was fully underway and the Russian leadership expected Hillary Clinton to win. The choice is an important element in the Kremlins thinking regarding the Trump administration. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Dmitri Evstafyev, a professor at the National Research University's Higher School of Economics, said the appointment of Antonov, a hard-liner, is supposed to send a threefold message to Washington.

First, the fact that Moscow decided to go with the same person it considered for the nomination should Clinton have been elected means in its relations with America, Russia is guided by its own principles rather than the standing of the White House, he said.

The second message, according to Evstafyev, is that the Kremlin believes a constructive dialogue with the United States is unlikely to happen, and even if it does, it would mostly involve military-political issues. Thus, Russia needs someone in Washington who not only gets the mentality of the Foreign Ministry but is also familiar with the logic of the Defense Ministry.

Finally, Appointing such a complicated figure  and in the American perception, he surely will be one  is very much in the spirit of Putin. Which [implies] if Washington doesnt accept this candidacy, itll have to wait for an alternative one for a long time, and that person may be even tougher, Evstafyev said.

Another important point to consider is how Moscow sees the current situation in Washington concerning all things Russia. Last week, Putin described the allegations about the Trump-Lavrov meeting as political schizophrenia, while saying that at first the Trump-Russia theme seemed amusing, but now is rather disturbing. The situation reinforces Moscows conviction that it needs someone who can stand firm under criticism but who also brings a good share of the needed pragmatism into the relationship.

Amid reports of expanding communication between Russia and the United States in Syria, as well as likely preparations for a new military phase on the ground for both nations, having a person with a record that spans these and many other facets of the military and diplomacy may be instrumental for what Moscow deems anti-terrorist cooperation with the United States. As the United States is apparently still preparing Jon Huntsman to be its new emissary to Moscow, the two countries are slowly converging on a path for continuous interaction  at least that seems to be the plan.
May 24, 2017

AMMAN, Jordan  Forces battling the Islamic State (IS) in Syria seem to be putting a lot of effort into thwarting each other's strategies.

Syrian government troops, backed by allied Iraqi and Iranian militias, are bolstering their control along parts of the Syrian-Iraqi borders. Leaders of the Syrian armed opposition factions who spoke with Al-Monitor confirmed earlier reports that the Syrian government aims to create a land passageway from Iran though Iraq to Syria, to reach Syria's oil-rich Deir ez-Zor, which has been under IS control since 2014.

The leader of Jaish Usud al-Sharqiya, a faction backed by the US-led coalition, accused the United States of disappointing the rebels and not backing them enough to be able to tighten their grip on the areas" in the Syrian desert they had cleared of IS. Leader Talas Salama (also known as Abu Faisal) told Al-Monitor, We liberated Rif Dimashq, the eastern part of Suwayda, Daraa countryside and the Damascus-Baghdad highway. But the regime [took] control of the areas that IS was expelled from.

According to Syrian Central Military Media, which is affiliated with the Syrian regime, the Syrian army and its allies took over the Baghdad-Jordan-Damascus triangle in the Syrian desert on May 12 after defeating Syrian opposition factions. The army's forces also tightened the noose on the Zaza triangle and the town of Sabaa Biyar, which also were under the oppositions control.

Meanwhile, the Syrian regime was keeping a wary eye on forces participating in the Eager Lion exercises, an annual military drill in Jordan that the United States and some 20 other countries have participated in since 2011. The exercises are designed to build a coalition capable of responding quickly to the threat of terrorism and to face the displacement of refugees. They took place in Jordan's capital Amman on May 7-18.

Abu Faisal sees a connection involving the Eager Lion exercises, the Syrian regimes fear of a military operation in southern Syria, and the presence of international forces at al-Tanf base, which is an opposition base in Syria adjacent to the eastern Jordanian borders. The anti-terror coalition forces protect al-Tanf base. Faction leaders told Al-Monitor there are 100 British soldiers at the base who train Syrian opposition factions.

On May 18, US-led coalition planes bombed a pro-regime convoy that was heading toward al-Tanf and ignoring warning shots.

The Syrian regime saw that there were American and British forces in al-Tanf base alongside Jaish Maghaweer al-Thawra and wanted to take a pre-emptive step," Abu Faisal said. "We have information about an Iranian-Russian agreement with the regime to secure the Damascus-Baghdad highway and open a land path for Iran and the Iraqi, Lebanese and Syrian militias through Damascus-Beirut-Baghdad-Iran in return for Russian advancement toward Deir ez-Zor to take over the oil wells.

Because of the Eager Lion exercises, the Syrian regime and Hezbollah escalated their rhetoric against Jordan. Hezbollah described the maneuvers as suspicious on May 9. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem warned Jordan on May 8, saying, We are not seeking a confrontation with Jordan, but if Jordanian forces enter our territories without coordination with Damascus, we will consider them adversaries.

Why was the Syrian regime afraid of the maneuvers, which have taken place in Jordan for seven consecutive years now? Timing is key, military analysts and politicians told Al-Monitor, as the military presence escalates in the Syrian desert.

Amer Sabaileh, a senior political security analyst at Amman-based NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions, told Al-Monitor, The Eager Lions maneuver was different this time, since it coincided with the agreement between Turkey, Iran and Russia during the Astana-4 conference [on May 3 in Kazakhstan] to establish four de-escalation zones, and the nearing settlement of the battle with IS in Raqqa and Mosul.

Jordanian military expert and retired pilot Mamoun Abu Nowar told Al-Monitor, The Eager Lion exercises are routine, preset practices, but the Syrian regime was afraid upon seeing the Jordanian, British and American troops. The regime seeks to reach the Iraqi borders near al-Qaim and Deir ez-Zor through its operation in the Syrian desert and was scared the troops would attack it and obstruct this strategic plan that has become much needed.

Abu Nowar said he expects the "Arab NATO" forces  discussed during the May 21 summit between US President Donald Trump and Arab states in Riyadh  to take control of al-Qaim and Deir ez-Zor (in addition to controlling al-Tanf) in a bid to halt the Iranian threat and establish safe zones in the Syrian territories adjacent to Jordan.

The scenario of the anti-terror coalition forces blocking a land crossing between Iran and Lebanon is possible, according to Abu Nowar, who warned that this might lead to sectarian wars in the region.

Analysts say Jordan is concerned that IS, after losing territories it controlled in Iraq and Syria, will retreat to the Syrian-Jordanian borders in the desert adjacent to the Iraqi borders.

Mohammad al-Momani, a spokesman for the Jordanian government, said in a May 8 interview on state TV, Jordan will take all diplomatic and necessary measures of defense in Syria to protect its borders. On May 9, pro-regime media outlets broadcast aerial images of British and US military troops amassing near the Jordanian border, toward the Syrian desert.

Syria's former ambassador to Jordan, Bahjat Suleiman, who was expelled from the country in 2014, wrote on Facebook May 13, Jordan has been notified that the Russian air force will intervene to support the Syrian forces and to destroy the attackers in case of any blunders.

The final statement of the Arab-Islamic-American summit in Riyadh announced that Arab states are ready to provide 34,000 soldiers as reserve forces to back the anti-terrorism operations in Syria and Iraq.

In a December BBC interview, Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, the chairman of Jordan's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Jordan was concerned even then about a possible expansion toward Syria of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units near Tal Afar in northwest Iraq, and the "creation of a land belt connecting Iran to Lebanon. Both would serve as warnings of Iran's growing threat to Sunni states, especially the Gulf countries, he said.

Jordan and Syria share borders stretching along 378 kilometers (235 miles), and Jordan declared these borders a closed military zone following the June Rukban bombing, when an IS truck exploded, killing 20 people, including seven members of the Jordanian border guard.
May 24, 2017

Eyes will be on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans meetings this week with key European leaders on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels.

These meetings will take place amid deep divisions between Turkey and Europe, which reached some of their lowest levels before last months constitutional referendum in Turkey that vested all political power in Erdogans hands.

The situation was exacerbated by Erdogans Nazi jibes targeting European politicians and officials in response to criticism of his undemocratic leanings, and by restrictions placed by various European countries on his canvassing activities for support from millions of expatriate Turks for his executive presidency.

Nevertheless, there are signs that the sides are trying to reduce tensions to move forward for the sake of broader interests.

For example, the European Union decided during a meeting of foreign ministers in Valletta, Malta, on April 28 not to terminate Turkeys EU bid, but to continue encouraging Ankara to meet democratic standards required for membership. Following the Valletta meeting, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini even expressed respect for the results of Turkeys constitutional referendum, even though international observers have flagged serious shortcomings regarding the fairness of the vote.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declared earlier this month that a Turkey-EU summit could result from Erdogans talks in Brussels and determine how ties will proceed henceforth.

Despite threats by Erdogan prior to the referendum to terminate Turkeys EU membership talks, Cavusoglu stressed Ankaras desire to continue with the EU. He told a pro-government television channel that European values of democracy and human rights are also shared by Turkey, adding, [Ankaras] only problem with the EU is its approach [to Turkey].

Cavusoglu was referring to the years of foot-dragging by the EU on Ankaras membership bid  due to cultural and religious differences  even when Turkey was making headway in enhancing its democracy and human rights.

There is scant evidence, however, given the manner in which Erdogan has done away with key prerequisites for true democracy  starting with the separation of powers and freedom of the press  and undermined the countrys parliamentary system, to corroborate Cavusoglus claim that Turkey still shares European democratic values.

The picture regarding human rights is no better, given the continuing security dragnet against thousands of Erdogans opponents  including journalists, academics and bureaucrats  who are accused on the shakiest of grounds of supporting last years failed coup attempt against Erdogan.

It is evident that Turkeys EU bid cannot move forward under these conditions, even if opposition to EU membership on cultural and religious grounds was to fade away. It is also evident, however, that the sides are considering their strategic interests in the economic and security domains and are not prepared to go for a full severance of ties.

The EU represents 64% of the foreign investment in Turkey and remains its vital trading partner. Turkey is also a vast market that Europe cant afford to overlook, given the highly competitive nature of the integrated global economy.

Retired Ambassador Uluc Ozulker, a former permanent representative to the EU, stresses that the customs union Ankara has with the EU is contingent upon Turkeys EU membership bid remaining open. Without a membership perspective, Turkey would have to negotiate a new free-trade deal with the EU, the way Britain has to now after Brexit, Ozulker told Al-Monitor. There is no guarantee, however, that it will be able to secure the advantages it has under the customs union if it were to opt for a new trade deal with the EU.

Ozulker also noted that since the Justice and Development Party came to power in 2002, Turkey has received no less than $600 billion from the EU in credits, which belies claims that Turkey has gotten little out of its ties with the EU. Turkey and the EU are also cooperating on a host of political, social and security issues that are vital for both sides. The case of Syrian refugees and the fight against terrorism are cases in point.

Despite Ankara's threats to end cooperation on the issue of illegal immigration if the EU does not honor its promise to lift the visa restriction on Turks, this cooperation is likely to continue due to the force of circumstances. The same applies to cooperation against Islamic terrorism despite angry claims by Turkey that European countries are lenient on supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, which is waging a campaign of terror in Turkey.

Ozulker pointed out that cooperating on security issues with Turkey  which remains an advance outpost for Europe given its strategic placing  also remains vitally important for the EU. There is no love lost for Erdogan, who is distrusted in Europe. Strategic considerations, however, are forcing the EU to make a distinction between Erdogan and Turkey in order to continue cooperating with Ankara, Ozulker said.

Ozulker also pointed to rising Islamophobia in Europe, which has millions of Muslim citizens. If Turkey is alienated, this will also stoke Islamophobia. As a major Islamic power, Turkey will also become a problem for Europe, which clearly no one in Europe wants, he said.

All of this makes Erdogans meeting with EU leaders in Brussels crucial. His talks will provide some clues to the new modus vivendi that Turkish-EU ties will operate under in the coming period.

Erdogan, of course, continues to blow hot and cold toward Europe  but a more moderate tone has also crept into his general approach when compared with the vitriol he was laying on Europe before Turkeys constitutional referendum. Issuing a Europe Day statement on May 9, he characterized Turkey as a country that has been part of European history, geography and culture for centuries. He expressed Turkeys desire to maintain its membership bid  which he referred to as a strategic target  based on mutual respect, equality and a win-win mentality.

Erdogan underlined EU membership as a strategic target for Turkey, despite his countless threats to sever ties with the EU and turn Turkeys direction elsewhere.

Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey, says Erdogans meetings with EU leaders in Brussels may offer a chance for progress toward reconciliation, even if Ankaras membership prospects remain remote. In an article for Carnegie Europe, where he is currently working, Pierini said some progress could be made in Brussels provided there is enough goodwill on Turkeys end and that the EU and Turkey can sort out their most immediate priorities.

He pointed out that the EU has been careful not to close the door on Turkey, preferring instead to only recall principles that Ankara also agreed to honor. It is now up to Turkey to decide whether to stay away from these principles or to move closer to them, Pierini argued.

Erdogans Turkey appears to have made its decision with regard to those principles, which makes Turkeys EU membership a highly unlikely prospect for the foreseeable future. Clearly, though, there is a realization on both sides that ties will have to continue for pragmatic reasons. Maintaining the white lie of Turkeys eventual membership in the EU  provided necessary conditions are met  to enable cooperation on the practical level to continue will most likely be the formula the sides come up with.
(Courtesy)

AL.com business news

From Taylor Swift to a $3.4 million acquisition, here are some of the top business headlines on AL.com for May 24, 2017.

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(Courtesy)

Birmingham Career Center

The Birmingham Career Center is closed this week as it prepares to move to its new location on 3216 Fourth Ave. S. in Lakeview, which will open at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The Department of Labor told AL.com last year it was moving primarily because of costs, a lack of parking and ongoing maintenance issues. About 27 Department of Labor employees are transferring to the new building, as well as 20 Jefferson County Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Board employees.

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Redline Decor

A fast-growing manufacturing company in Madison County will launch its first retail store this year at Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville.

Redline Steel CEO Colin Wayne Erwin said he signed a letter of intent last week to open Redline Decor in the Bath & Body Works space in August at Bridge Street. Bath & Body Works is in the process of moving to a larger space next to Lucky Brand Jeans, with a projected opening of June 30.

In the meantime, Bridge Street spokesman Van Geroux said the existing location will remain open until the new store construction is complete.

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(Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com)

Mercedes incentives

Officials with the city of Northport are sparring with representatives of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority over a 2009 "gentleman's agreement" that would have the city give $1.5 million to Mercedes-Benz U.S. International over 10 years.

The money in question, subject of a meeting held Tuesday, is part of a contract signed eight years ago by then-Gov. Bob Riley, the county authority and the car company.

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Medical Properties Trust

Birmingham's Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW) will buy $1.4 billion worth of medical real estate interests. The 10 hospitals are currently operated by IASIS Healthcare in Franklin, Tennessee.

The transaction is expected to close in September. The hospitals will be operated by Steward Health Care System. Steward and IASIS will be merging, and completion of that merging is a condition of the MPT's purchase.

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(Courtesy)

Google pop-up

Google has launched a pop-up store at Shops at Merchants Walk, the Whole Foods-anchored retail center at Memorial Parkway and Bob Wallace Avenue in Huntsville.

A Google Fiber spokesperson said it is a customer service center open from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday that provides a demo of the company's high-speed Internet. Visitors can also learn about Google Fiber TV and phone service.

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(Google Maps)

Moratorium

On Tuesday, the Pelham City Council unanimously approved an ordinance lifting the three-year moratorium on granting licenses to certain businesses, including payday loan shops, auto title loan providers and check cashing stores.

Each new business would have to receive approval from the Pelham Commercial Development Authority and the City Council before being granted a business license.

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Car seat recall

More than 25,000 car seats are under recall because the seat webbing may not adequately restrain the child in a crash.

Graco Children's Products is recalling certain Graco My Ride 65 convertible child restraints, models 1871689, 1908152, 1813074, 1872691, 1853478, 1877535, 1813015, and 1794334. The seats, which were produced in 2014, fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, "Child Restraint Systems."

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(AP)

Florence ties

Pop star Taylor Swift is not only one of the most successful musicians of the 21st century, she's also one of the most prominent opponents of free music streaming on websites such as Spotify, where payout to an artist for a single play is often around half a cent.

Recently, the record label Swift releases music though, Nashville imprint Big Machine, launched its own streaming service, Big Machine TV, using technology from a Florence software company called PublicVine.

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Sanders Capital Partners

Sanders Capital Partners LLC has made a $3.4 million acquisition of a 21,506-square-foot corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The property has a long-term lease to Oncology Hematology Care, one of the country's largest independent cancer care practices. It houses the corporate campus, which includes both executive and administrative workers. The practice has 15 locations that serve 26,000 patients annually.

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IKEA

IKEA is reportedly opening a store in Nashville, according to The Tennessean.

That's good news and bad news for Huntsville fans, who will soon be closer to the popular Swedish furniture company but still without one of their own. IKEA, which has been on Huntsville's short list of most-wanted retailers for years, typically requires a population of at least 1.5 to 2 million people within a 40 to 60 mile radius.

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Google

Alabama leaders celebrated Tuesday as Google Fiber announced the start of signups for the company's Gigabit-speed Internet service in Huntsville, which Google Fiber's CEO called "a city on the rise."

Check out what else we learned at the event.

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(Bob Gathany | bgathany@al.com)

Drones

A federal court has struck down the Federal Aviation Administration's rule requiring the registration of drones by recreational users. The ruling was met with praise by drone enthusiasts.

"We have long held that federal registration of unmanned aircraft systems makes sense at an appropriate threshold of weight, capability and other safety-related characteristics," said Rich Hanson, President of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. "However, federal registration shouldn't apply at such a low threshold that it includes toys. It also shouldn't burden those who have operated harmoniously within our communities for decades."

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Full Moon Bar-B-Que

Birmingham-based Full Moon Bar-B-Que has opened its 13th location, this one in Pelham.

The restaurant, which opened May 22, is at 2252 Pelham Parkway, near the intersection of highways U.S. 31 and Alabama 119. The 3,200-square-foot space was previously home to a Johnny Ray's barbecue restaurant.

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Female CEOs

Women CEOs earned big bucks last year, but there's still very few of them running the world's largest companies.

The median pay for a female CEO was $13.1 million last year, up 9 percent from 2015, according to an analysis by executive data firm Equilar and The Associated Press. By comparison, male CEOs earned $11.4 million, also up 9 percent.

But the number of women in CEO roles has barely budged. Just 6 percent of the top paid CEOs in the U.S. last year were women, according to the Equilar and AP analysis, a slight increase from about 5 percent in 2015 and 2014.

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Jo Bonner

Jo Bonner, a former U.S. House Representative, was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday as the new chairman of the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council.

In his new role, Bonner will take the lead on protecting and restoring Alabama's gulf coast. One of his priorities will be ensuring that the compensation given to the state after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010 is used to reverse "wildlife damage, workforce development, infrastructure improvements and tourism promotion, among other efforts," according to the statement.
Southeast Alabama Medical Center has cut 80 jobs from its 2,800-member workforce in a move to reduce costs, the Dothan Eagle is reporting.

SAMC is Dothan's largest employer.

Mark Stewart, the hospital's director of community relations, was quoted by the paper as saying revenue at the hospital has been trending downward. Last year, SAMC recorded a $2 million loss in the operations budget.

The hospital's revenue is approximately $305 million a year.

Hospital officials said the cuts were made after several months of deliberation through the work of nine task forces. The overall goal was to cut about $30 million in expenses, and employees submitted more than 1,100 cost-cutting ideas.
First Bank of Alabama is acquiring Bank of Wedowee, giving the east Alabama bank a total of six locations.

FirstBanc of Alabama, the parent company of First Bank of Alabama, announced the agreement today with Swann Bancshares, Inc.

The all-cash transaction has been approved by the board of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the 4th quarter of this year. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Once completed, the transaction means First Bank of Alabama will have approximately $530 million in total assets, $270 million in total loans and $445 million in deposits. It also expands First Bank of Alabama's presence, adding three full-service branches in Randolph County.

In total, First Bank of Alabama will operate six full-service branches in Talladega, Lincoln, Munford, Wedowee, Woodland and Roanoke.

FirstBanc President and CEO Chad Jones said the acquisition will "strengthen our presence in our targeted market area."

"In addition to the geographical benefits, this combination also pushes us towards our goal of being amongst the highest performing independently owned community banks in the state," he said.

Mitch Key, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Wedowee will remain an executive of the company, working from Randolph County.

"This experienced bank and management team shares our values on local decision making, community involvement, and quality of financial services," Key said. "The resources available to us through this partnership will allow us to expand our product and service offerings to our customers."
Yep, students across the states are excited that the school year is ending, but you know who's equally enthusiastic? The teachers.

In fact, the teachers, administrators and staff at Lee and New Technology high schools in Huntsville were so pumped that they made a video celebrating the beginning of summer.

Brandie Paseur, who's a life/PE and driver's ed teacher at Lee, said they made a video last year, but they wanted to go bigger this year. So she enlisted the help of the dance teacher for choreography and the band teachers for music.

The video also honored three employees who are retiring this school year.

"It's all for fun," Paseur said. "We're celebrating as well as the kids. It's just something fun for us to do."
The US military, veterans, a border wall, and space exploration all stand to gain from 10-year budget  but plenty to lose out as well.

While US President Donald Trump was on tour in the Middle East and Europe this week, the White House released its wish list for the federal budget for the next 10 years.

Keep in mind, the budget request is just that: a request. The US Congress must unanimously approve it first and many lawmakers on both sides have criticized the plan. But the budget does put this presidents America First priorities on display.

Theres plenty of money for the US military, veterans, a border wall and space exploration. But there are plenty of losers on his wish list, too. Here are some of them:

POOR PEOPLE: If you fall into the lowest 10 percent of the income bracket, this budget is tough on you. Over the next 10 years, the president wants to cut more than $610bn from Medicaid, a programme that helps low-income Americans pay for medical expenses. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), which is a food subsidy, will be re-tooled or, in administration speak, reformed over the next two years and cut by roughly $7.6bn. The proposal also includes the reduction in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a programme that helps poor families find work.





STARVING PEOPLE: If you live in South Sudan, Yemen, or Somalia and are now among the estimated 20 million people who are starving this budget wont help you, either. The president wants to cut the USAID budget by 30 percent. USAID is the primary distributor of food and other aid to regions of the world hardest hit by war, famine and disaster. White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has made it clear that this is an America First budget and thats why the cuts are needed. Theres been bipartisan opposition to the foreign aid cuts. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said publicly every dollar cut from foreign assistance puts American lives at risk, because poverty and starvation breed terrorists.

DISABLED PEOPLE: Over the next two years, the Trump administration wants to cut $2bn dollars from disability programmes and a total of $72bn over the next 10 years. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports 44 percent of children with disabilities need the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a programme that would also see a cut of $5.8bn over the next 10 years.

YOUNG PEOPLE: The most vulnerable people hit in this budget are children. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicaid and CHIP alone cover 40 percent of all American children. They argue although the federal budget proposal shifts the burden on states to manage many of these subsidies, they are simply not set up to do so. In response to these reductions, states will likely need to make programme cutbacks, including reductions in eligibility and benefits, they report. Moreover, funding for kids who want to go to college but cant afford it will also be dealt a blow. Subsidized student loans would be eliminated, starting in 2018. The Department of Education will see its budget cut 13.5 percent in 2018.

GREEN PEOPLE: If you think the government needs to hold corporations accountable for bad environmental practices, this budget is a disaster. The Trump administration wants to cut $2.5bn from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  nearly one-third of its budget. EPA monitors and penalizes companies that dont follow the rules. Republicans have condemned the agency for years as a bloated bureaucracy that enforces unnecessary laws and gets in the way of job creation.
Approximately 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners have entered their 39th day on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Prisoners are demanding some of the most basic rights, such as bimonthly family visits.

Palestinian prisoners have engaged in hunger strikes as a nonviolent method of protest since 1968, after Israel occupied the remaining Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Some strikes have been regarded as successful, while others were seen to have failed to reach their goals.

Here, Palestinian activist and writer Shahd Abusalama reflects on her fathers experience participating in a mass hunger strike in an Israeli jail almost four decades ago.

READ MORE: What it means to be a Palestinian prisoner in Israel

If we had not resisted through mass hunger strikes, we would have remained like the slaves from the Middle Ages, my father, Ismail, told me during a Skype call after I forced him to revisit his memories from the 33-day legendary Nafha prison hunger strike that he joined 37 years ago.

His memories sounded shockingly vivid and descriptive, given how distant they are. His eyes were fixed to the ceiling of his room at home in Gaza while he continuously scratched his chin as though he could picture everything he was narrating. His body language evoked a suppressed anxiety.

In 1980, my then 27-year-old father had been in Israeli jails for 10 years, which seemed trivial compared with the seven lifetime sentences he had been given for his affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) group.

He would have ultimately ended his days in Israeli prisons, had he not been part of the 1985 prisoner exchange.

READ MORE: Palestinian hunger strikers  They had no choice

He was one of 80 Palestinian political prisoners who had been transferred to the then recently opened Nafha prison in the Naqab (Negev). Conditions were extremely harsh.

Nine days into our strike, 26 of our comrades were forced into a steel cell on a truck, sprayed with gas, and taken on what seemed like a death journey to an unknown location. by Ismail Abusalama, former Palestinian hunger striker

It was located in the desert  one kilometre above sea level  which meant that it was boiling hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter, my father recalled.

It consisted of narrow cells that hardly saw the sun; each had a partially covered narrow rectangular window just below the ceiling and a metal door with a small aperture externally controlled by the prison guards.

Each cell, that would normally be suitable for two, was packed with eight prisoners; we were allowed only a half-hour walk per day outside these cells in a yard that was less than 400 square metres and had a barbed wire ceiling. We were not allowed to walk in groups; only as individuals or at most in pairs, and we just walked in circles under the hard gaze of Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli authorities had chosen the 80 detainees transferred to Nafha from among thousands of Palestinian prisoners. The 80 were deemed to be the most stubborn detainees.

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) had assumed that moving the prisoners for disciplinary reasons would break their resistance. The prisoners themselves feared that the success of this disciplinary action would mean that all detainees achievements prior to 1980 were void and would create a precedent to be applied to other Palestinians under detention.

So, from day one in Nafha prison, we realised that we had to prepare ourselves to counteract this oppression, my father said. The alternative was a death sentence.

In the run-up to the strike, the detainees drafted a list of demands and submitted it to the prison administration. Most of those demands were rejected. At that point, we realised that a hunger strike was our only resort, he said.

The prisoners launched their hunger strike on July 14, the date on which the Bastille Prison was stormed at the start of the 1789 French revolution. That was the idea of Omar al-Qassem, a leading member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). Qassem died in prison in 1989; he had been locked up by Israel for 21 years.

The demands made by my father and his comrades were very similar to those of the open hunger strike that over a thousand Palestinian prisoners launched on April 17. They are all related to essential human rights that Israel has persistently violated.

The demands were an end to collective and individual punishment, particularly the use of solitary confinement, the replacement of the pieces of sponge for sleeping with proper beds, blankets, winter and summer clothes, bimonthly family visits, access to food items in the prison canteen on an equal footing with Jewish prisoners, access to newspapers and books, expansion of cell windows and extending the daily outdoor walk to an hour.

Although the demands were simple, my dad pointed out how vital they were for someone locked up in a cell indefinitely and existing in basic survival mode.

Whenever Palestinian prisoners have gone on hunger strike, the Israeli authorities have responded by punishing them collectively. The Nafha hunger strike was no exception.

Nine days into our strike, 26 of our comrades were forced into a steel cell on a truck, sprayed with gas, and taken on what seemed like a death journey to an unknown location, my father said. That location was later identified as a prison in Ramla, a city in present-day Israel.

The gas made the prisoners  who were handcuffed and had their legs shackled  cough throughout the journey. In Ramla, the Palestinians were welcomed by Israeli prison guards queuing on both sides, who beat them with batons as they walked through [the prison], my dad said. The beatings continued even as the prisoners changed into the uniforms they were forced to wear.

Among those 26 prisoners were Rasem Halawa, Ali al-Jafari and Isaac Maragha, who died as a result of force-feeding in the prisons clinic a few days later.

There were several attempts to force the 26 prisoners to break our hunger strike, my father said. But they [Israeli prison authorities] neither succeeded with those 26 prisoners, nor with the rest of us. We responded with more stubbornness, until we reached the long-awaited victory, 33 days later.

The IPS has consistently resorted to force-feeding Palestinian hunger strikers despite the practice being banned by the Israeli High Court of Justice. Israeli Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan has been campaigning to revoke the ban to legitimise the use of force-feeding to prevent future hunger strikes, which he has described as a new sort of suicide bombing to threaten the state of Israel.

Some Israeli doctors have refused to engage in force-feeding on the grounds that it is unethical. Israel is considering hiring foreign doctors to potentially force-feed hunger strikers under the pretext of protecting their lives.

INFOGRAPHIC: A timeline of Palestinian mass hunger strikes in Israel

After 18 days of refusing food, my father was forced to choose between eating or a device known as the zonda, a device consisting of a container and a long tube that could stretch from the nose or mouth down to the stomach.

The zonda was dirty and any mistake carried the risk of death, my father said. It looked as if it had just been dipped in sewage. It was used on successive prisoners without being cleaned. The prison guards thought it was an effective way to disgust prisoners enough to accept food.

My dad resisted the psychological warfare, at which point an Israeli nurse force-fed him while his hands and feet were chained to a chair.

How did my father and his comrades survive their ordeal? They managed to because they were convinced that their cause is just and because the support they received from people outside the prison fed our determination, he said.

My father stands with the Palestinians now refusing food. Every day, he goes to a tent in Gaza that has been erected in solidarity with the hunger strikers.

International campaigning is vital to make the detainees battle for dignity shorter, my father believes. The frequency of hunger strikes in Israeli jails is a testament of their desperation.

Follow Shahd Abusalama on Twitter: @ShahdAbusalama
Afghanistan has seen increased attacks across the country, leaving Afghan forces  already beset by killings, desertions and vacuums in leadership and morale  stretched on multiple fronts. They have faced high casualties, and an offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has been making headway in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.

A possible expansion of American forces within NATO troops in Afghanistan  has gotten heavy media coverage and criticism.

NATO is currently leading Resolute Support  a non-combat mission launched on January 1, 2015  which provides training, advice and assistance to Afghan security forces and institutions.
MPs deny involvement, but aviation bosses open probe after Bamiyan-bound plane is forcefully diverted back to Kabul.

Afghan aviation authorities have filed an official complaint against two members of parliament after a Bamiyan-bound flight they missed was forced to return to the capital when men on the ground prevented the plane from landing.

Kam Air flight RQ-814 took off from Kabul on Tuesday with 30 passengers on board  but without Bamiyan MPs Ghulam Hussain Naseri and Abdul Rahman Shaheedani, who were booked on the 8am flight.

According to local media reports, Shaheedanis son, a police officer at the Bamiyan airport, had a role in disrupting the flights landing by converging with other officers on the runway and forcing the plane to fly back to Kabul.

READ MORE: Afghanistans Slippery Slopes

After the aircraft returned to Kabuls Hamid Karzai International Airport, the two politicians were able to board the flight. Footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows Shaheedani inside the plane, just before its second departure, saying: Everyone will now know who I am and what my power is.

Mahmoud Shah Habibi, head of the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority, called the incident a complete breach of security that violated Afghan and international aviation law.

We have filed an official complaint against the MPs and an investigation is under way, he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

Whatever happened there, Kam Air should not had come under pressure and contacted the relevant people.

Local media organisation, Tolonews, reported on Wednesday that at least five senior security officials were arrested over the illegal diversion of the flight. Shaheedanis son was among those arrested.

The provincial government said in a statement that the commander of Bamiyan airports border police, six border police officers and the regional security chief were being questioned in connection to the incident.

READ MORE: Rebuilding Bamiyan

Shaheedani, however, denied any involvement in disrupting the landing in Bamiyan.

I did not play any role in this. The flight was diverted by my supporters in Bamiyan, I did not ask them to do this, he told Al Jazeera.

I received a call after missing my flight that the flight was diverted back and I was now able to get on the plane, so I arrived at the airport without any knowledge of the incident until I was told by the airport staff about what happened.

Extreme pressure

Captail Samad Osman Samadi, chief executive of Kam Air, described the incident as very unusual.

This has not happened before, he told Al Jazeera.

We were under extreme pressure and worried for our passengers security and had no option but to divert the flight back to Kabul. They had blocked the runway and we could not land.

As the flight returned back to Kabul, passengers had to disembark, causing delays and inconvenience.

READ MORE: Afghanistan  Who are the Hazaras?

Samadi explained the plane was re-fuelled before taking off to Bamiyan again.

After the MPs got on board in Kabul, the runway in Bamiyan was clear and we landed without any interruption.

A number of MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Wednesday condemned the act and called for a full investigation.

Kam Air opened as Afghanistans only private airline in November 2003. It flies leased aircraft between Kabul, Dubai and Istanbul and operates several domestic routes.

Follow Shereena Qazi on Twitter: @ShereenaQazi

Additional reporting by Fatima Faizi in Kabul, follow her on Twitter @FatmaFaizi
The United Nations has called Israel to improve conditions for Palestinians in custody, expressing alarm over reports of punitive measures by Israeli authorities against hundreds of prisoners who are on hunger strike for nearly 40 days.

More than 1,500 prisoners launched the action on April 17 to press for an end to administrative detention and solitary confinement, as well as longer and more regular family visits, landlines installed in prisons and better healthcare.

The protest has continued without resolution and the health of hundreds of participating prisoners has began to deteriorate significantly, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement on Wednesday.

I am especially alarmed by reports of punitive measures by the Israeli authorities against the hunger strikers, including restricted access to lawyers and the denial of family visits, Zeid said.

READ MORE: How my father survived the hunger strike in Israel

There are currently 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including more than 500 administrative detainees, according to Jerusalem-based prisoner rights group Addameer.

Administrative detainees are arrested on secret evidence, unaware of the accusations against them, and are not allowed to defend themselves in court. Their detention periods can be indefinitely renewed.

Zeid said the right of detainees to access a lawyer is a fundamental protection in international human rights law that should never be curtailed.

Various international bodies have repeatedly called on Israel to end its practice of administrative detention. Such detainees should either be charged with an offence and tried according to international standards, or released immediately, he said.

The open-ended hunger strike is one of the largest in recent years led by the jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which visits Palestinian detainees, urged Israel early this month to allow family visits. Under international law, these can only be limited for security reasons, on a case by case basis, but never for strictly punitive or disciplinary purposes, it said.

It added that Israel detains Palestinians within its territory  but not within the occupied territory as required by the law of occupation.

READ MORE: What it means to be a Palestinian prisoner in Israel

The situation in the occupied territories has been particularly tense over the past month as Palestinians engage in marches and protests in solidarity with the prisoners.

Israeli police released three Palestinian guards of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound from detention on Thursday and banned them from entering the premises until June 4.

Tensions flared a day earlier when more than 800 Israeli settlers visited the compound on Israels Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration on the anniversary of Israels occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, an official from the Islamic Waqf, which runs al-Aqsa, told Al Jazeera.

Israeli police had arrested the three guards after assaulting them near the Chain Gate.

Khalil Tarhoni, one of the guards, is currently hospitalised after he was severely beaten by Israeli police in an incident caught on video.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that Jewish extremists were admitted inside the compound in unusually large numbers, during the visitation hours designated for non-Muslims.

Jewish extremists began praying near the Chain Gate and the guards protested. Some Muslim worshippers began chanting Allahu Akbar, one witness recalled.

Non-Muslim prayer has been banned at the compound for centuries. Since the 1967 occupation, Jews have been allowed to enter the compound under the protection of Israeli forces, but not to pray in the premises.

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Islamic Waqf, told Al Jazeera: Israeli police assaulted the guards for no reason. Palestinian guards are doing their work. The presence of the Israeli police in itself constitutes an aggression on the Noble Sanctuary.

READ MORE: Why Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel

Palestinians have long expressed concern that right-wing Jewish groups want to demolish the mosque and build a Jewish temple in its place. Jews, who refer to the site as Temple Mount, believe it is the area where two Biblical temples once stood.

In 1984, members of a Jewish organisation attempted to bomb the site with the hope that the Third Temple would be built on its ruins.

Also, in 1990, Israeli border police killed 22 Palestinians during a demonstration triggered by an attempt led by an Orthodox Jewish group to lay the cornerstone for a new temple in the compound.

Israel  which captured the western half of Jerusalem in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war  frames Jerusalem Day as the reunification of the east and west of its capital.

The annual celebration is a day when right-wing, mostly young Israelis rampage around East Jerusalems Old City, carrying Israeli flags and shouting anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racist slogans.

Large groups often parade through the Muslim Quarter of the old city and provoke residents by banging on Palestinian stores and homes.

Additional reporting by Ibrahim Husseini.
Brazils president ordered federal troops to restore order in the countrys capital, Brasilia, after some ministries were evacuated during clashes between police and protesters seeking Michel Temers ouster.

Temer is struggling to retain power after the release of a recording that appears to capture him approving hush money for a convicted former politician. Brazils top court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption. The president is resisting calls to resign and has said he will fight the accusations.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched to Congress on Wednesday to demand Temer step down and to protest against economic reforms that he is pushing through.

It was the most violent protest in Brasilia since anti-government demonstrations in 2013.

One protester was shot and wounded, police said. Local media reported at least one other demonstrator was seriously wounded by a rubber bullet to the face, while another lost part of his hand while trying to throw an explosive device at officers. The city government said 49 people were hurt.

What began as small scuffles between police and protesters who tried to jump a cordon mushroomed into a series of clashes, in which officers fired tear gas and pepper spray to contain the crowd. Protesters set fires and used portable toilets to create barricades.

As the fighting escalated, some government agencies were evacuated, the presidents office said. The G1 news portal reported that protesters set a fire in the agriculture ministry.

READ MORE: Michel Temer accused of obstruction of justice

In a brief national address during the unrest, Defence Minister Raul Jungmann said troops were being sent to guard federal buildings, including the presidential palace. The deployment was authorised by a presidential decree that left open the possibility that soldiers could be used more widely in Brasilia. The decree said Jungmann would decide the scope.





This mess, this mayhem is unacceptable, Jungmann said. President Temer will not allow that.

Jungmann added that troops had already entered the foreign ministry. Images on television showed soldiers outside the presidential palace.

The move to use the military in the face of protests could heighten anger at the government and senior officials were already distancing themselves from the decision.

Rodrigo Maia, the speaker of the lower house of Congress, said he had asked Temer to instead use the National Force, an elite police entity. Justice Marco Aurelio Mello, of Brazils highest court, said he was a little concerned about the context of Temers decision.

Al Jazeeras Lucia Newman, reporting from Brasilia, said the troop deployment was highly unusual.

It is the first time since 1980 when Brazil was under a military dictatorship that something like this has happened and it is causing quite a controversy, Newman said.

The fact of the matter is President Michel Temer signed the order to bring out the soldiers. The fact that he did this is seen by many as an act of desperation  a smokescreen at a time when he is under increasing pressure to resign.

READ MORE: Brazils beleaguered President Temer refuses to resign

Temers popularity was low even before the latest scandal broke, in part because of opposition to an economic overhaul that he wants to push through Congress, including loosening work rules and changing the pension system. Several of his allies and aides have also been caught up in a wide-ranging corruption investigation that has jailed business leaders and senior politicians.

While Congress debated a move to impeach the president, 35,000 people were marching towards the chamber down a long avenue lined with the main government buildings, including the Supreme Court, the presidential palace and the ministries.

Protesters shouted Out with Temer! and carried signs calling for immediate direct presidential elections.

James Green, director of the Brazil Initiative at Brown University, said that Temers position was very weak as he appeared to have lost the support of large sectors of his base, as well as powerful sectors of the countrys economic elites.

The reason he hasnt resigned yet is because he is still in the process of negotiating with the two main coalition party members to figure out who the Congress will actually choose as the president once he resigns, he told Al Jazeera from Sao Paulo.

If Temer resigned, the Constitution says Congress would elect the next president, who would hold power for the rest of his term, which runs to the end of 2018. But many Brazilians, disgusted with the political class, want to vote themselves.

The country is entirely polarised, Green said. Although this is not Brazils worst economic crisis, the unemployment and the slow growth of the economy are all exacerbating the tensions and there is tremendous disappointment and displeasure with his rule.
An appeals court from the US state of Virginia refused on Thursday to reinstate President Donald Trumps temporary travel ban on travellers from six Muslim-majority nations, stating it was rooted in intolerance.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 10 to 3 against Trumps travel ban, and indicated opponents of Trump were likely to succeed at trial in showing the policy violates US constitutional prohibitions on religious discrimination.

The decision, written by Chief Judge Roger Gregory, described Trumps executive order as using vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.

Gregory quoted statements by Trump during his campaign calling for a Muslim ban, and wrote that a reasonable observer would likely conclude the orders primary purpose is to exclude persons from the United States on the basis of their religious beliefs.

OPINION: Trumps Muslim ban is a dangerous distraction

Trumps administration argued the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesnt mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim, but because they present terrorism risks, the administration claimed.

Attorney-General Jeff Sessions said it is the presidents duty to protect our communities from terrorism and vowed to bring a review of the latest ruling to the US Supreme Court.

President Trumps executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe, Sessions said in a statement.

The Department of Justice strongly disagrees with the decision of the divided court, which blocks the presidents efforts to strengthen this countrys national security The president is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States.

This renewed blow to the White House represents another step in the legal battle with the US Supreme Court making a definitive ruling.

READ MORE: Trumps travel ban  How could Hawaii block it?

The appeals court was reviewing a March ruling by Maryland-based federal judge Theodore Chuang that blocked part of Trumps March 6 executive order barring people from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days while the government put in place stricter visa screening.

A similar ruling against Trumps policy from a Hawaii-based federal judge is still in place and will be reviewed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.





Trump issued a first travel ban order on January 27, just a week after the Republican president took office. It led to chaos and protests at airports before it was blocked by courts.

The second order was intended to overcome the legal issues posed by the original ban, but it was blocked by judges before it could go into effect on March 16.

The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organisations as well as people who live in the US, and feared the executive order would prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

President Trumps Muslim ban violates the constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms, said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, who argued the case.

The constitutions prohibition on actions disfavouring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the governments request to set that principle aside.
Despite denials of comments falsely attributed to Qatari emir, Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya ran discredited stories.

Fake news, decried by everyone from Donald Trump to Theresa May to Vladimir Putin, has now shown up in the broadcasts of Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya news channels.

Following the hacking of Qatar News Agencys website on Tuesday, when comments falsely attributed to Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, were broadcast, both UAE-based broadcasters went big with the news, inviting guests to dissect and condemn the reported speech.

Qatars government categorically denied that comments in which the countrys leader expressed support for Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel  while suggesting that US President Donald Trump may not last in power  were ever made.

There are international laws governing such crimes, especially the cyberattack. [The hackers] will be prosecuted according to the law, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatars foreign minister, said in Doha on Wednesday.

Despite Qatari denials, Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya kept running the discredited story, prompting complaints of questionable journalism at the channels.

Al Jazeera approached Sky News Arabias joint owner, Sky PLC in the UK, to ask what media standards their Gulf affiliate adheres to, but they have yet to comment.
Former opposition spokesperson sentenced over posts criticising the governments response to Oromo protests.

A previous version of this story used the UNHCR acronym for the UN Human Rights Council. That was incorrect. The right acronym is OHCHR.

An Ethiopian court sentenced opposition politician Yonatan Tesfaye to six and a half years in prison on Thursday, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Tesfaye, a former spokesperson for the Blue Party  one of the East African countrys main opposition parties  was found guilty earlier this month of encouraging terrorism.

He was arrested in December 2015 after accusing the government of using disproportionate force against demonstrators in Facebook posts.

Well appeal, Blue Party Chairman Yeshiwas Assefa told AFP news agency.

This is freedom of expression.

Tesfayes detention came shortly after the start of anti-government protests by the countrys largest ethnic group, the Oromos, which caused the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency last October.

READ MORE: How long can Ethiopia state of emergency last?

The defendant has acted in way that threatened the countrys political, economic and social fabric, read the charge sheet, as reported by Fana.

In a letter released on Wednesday, 13 rights groups called on the UN Human Rights Council (OHCHR) to urge Ethiopia during its June meeting to allow an independent investigation into atrocities committed by security forces to suppress peaceful protests and independent dissent.

A crackdown on protests resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.

The letter echoes complaints by the OHCHRs High Commissioner Zeid Raad Al Hussein, who said he was not allowed access to where the protests occurred during a visit to Ethiopia this month.

The rights groups  including Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders  also called for the immediate release of journalists, rights defenders, opposition leaders and other protesters arbitrarily detained during and after the protests.

The Ethiopian government has described the state of emergency as a necessary step to restore order to protest-wracked parts of the country, while officials work to address the demonstrators grievances.

The sentencing came a day after Ethiopian journalist Getachew Shiferaw was found guilty of stirring revolt. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Amnesty International said Shiferaws verdict was a further slap in the face for justice in Ethiopia, and accused the authorities of using the judiciary to silence dissent.
Bombs used in attacks were made from pressure cookers, similar to a device used by a local group linked to ISIL.

Indonesias elite anti-terrorism squad launched an investigation into the twin suicide-bomb attack in Jakarta that killed three policemen in an assault authorities believe was linked to ISIL.

Authorities on the island of Java on Thursday raided the homes of two men suspected of blowing themselves up in Wednesday nights attack on a bus terminal in the capital.

Three police officers were killed, while six others and five civilians were wounded in an assault that left body parts and shattered glass strewn across the street.

Terrorism is a serious reality that we are facing right now and its a global problem. What is happening in other parts of the world can become an inspiration for other sleeper-cells somewhere else, said Indonesia police spokesman Setyo Wasisto on Thursday.

READ MORE: Rise of ISIL in Southeast Asia

Police said they believed there was a link between the attackers and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), without giving further details.

Hundreds of Indonesians have flocked abroad to fight with the armed group in Syria and Iraq, and ISIL-linked combatants have been accused of being behind a series of recent plots and attacks across Indonesia.

The bus station bombing was the deadliest to hit in Indonesia since January 2016, when a suicide blast and gun assault claimed by ISIL in downtown Jakarta killed four civilians, along with four attackers.

In a televised address, President Joko Widodo said he ordered a thorough probe and was urging all citizens across the nation to stay calm and remain united.

Police said they believe officers were specifically targeted in the bombing.

Since 2010, the police have been a major target partly because theres a sense of wanting revenge against the police since theyre the ones that go after the terrorists, Sidney Jones from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict told Al Jazeera.

The attack came as police prepared to provide security for a traditional parade ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan near the Kampung Melayu terminal, an area frequented by locals but not foreigners.

The elite police squad Densus 88, which has played a leading role in tracking down and killing some of Indonesias most wanted fighters, is now taking the lead in the investigation.

Pressure-cooker explosive

In a raid on Thursday morning of one bomb suspects house in Bandung city, police discovered religious literature and two bladed weapons, West Java province police spokesman Yusri Yunus told AFP news agency.

Relatives of both men, whose identities have not been released, were taken in for questioning, he said.

Asked whether there were ties between ISIL and the attack, national police spokesman Awi Setyono responded yes there is, without providing further information.

Suspicion is likely to fall on local network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which supports ISIL and has been blamed for recent mostly low-impact attacks.

The bombs used in Wednesdays attacks were made from pressure cookers, similar to a device used in an attack by a JAD member in the Indonesian city of Bandung in February.

Another figure who may come under scrutiny is Indonesian man Bahrun Naim, who is fighting with ISIL in Syria and has been accused of directing a series of mostly botched plots in his homeland.

Indonesia has long struggled with hardline armed groups and has suffered a series of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Activists say one local man was wounded when soldiers entered the We are Sumud camp and attempted to remove tents.

Israeli forces have raided a protest camp in a village in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank, wounding at least one local resident, detaining one person, and attempting to destroy remaining tents erected by activists, organisers said.

The raid took place on Thursday morning in the village of Sarura, where activists and local landowners set up a protest camp last week to demand that families who were evicted in the 1990s be allowed to return.

Without providing orders or documentation for why they were there, soldiers confiscated equipment used by activists and attempted to remove two shade structures, Issa Amro, the director of the Hebron-based Youth Against Settlements told Al Jazeera by phone.

This morning soldiers arrived to confiscated tents and tools, Amro said.

[Soldiers] tried to destroy the last tent in the camp, but kids and activists were able to stop them.

READ MORE: How home demolitions threaten Palestinian statehood

Ashley Bohrer, an American-Jewish activist of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, told Al Jazeera that soldiers used a disproportionate amount of force against activists, kicking and shoving us to take the shade structure.

Video from Thursdays incident show Israeli soldiers shoving local families and activists as they attempted to remove the remaining tent.

Activists are heard yelling, there are children on this tent as soldiers started to remove stakes that were supporting the shade structure.

Bohrer added that a 55-year-old Palestinian man, who owned a cave in the village, was injured by Israeli forces and had to be treated by paramedics.

A Canadian-born man with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence was also detained, Amro said. The activist was later released.

We are Sumud

The protest camp was erected by a coalition of Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish and other organisations under the banner We are Sumud to call for an end to the systematic displacement of Palestinians. Sumud means steadfastness in Arabic.

The main goal is to bring the Palestinian families back so they could return to their homes, Amro said, emphasising the coalitions commitment to non-violent resistance.

At least 10 families from Sarura, who mostly lived in caves, were forcibly evicted in 1998 due to settler violence and a military firing zone set up by Israel, according to Amro and a statement by organisers of the demonstration.

READ MORE  Nakba: It remains bitter and continues to burn

The village is located in what the Oslo Accords designated as Area C, which makes up the 60 percent of the occupied West Bank that is under full Israeli control.

Israeli forces had previously raided the camp on Saturday, confiscating tents, generators and tools used by the activists and local families, Amro said.

Sulaiman al-Khatib of Combatants for Peace was also present during Saturdays raid and told Al Jazeera that soldiers were aggressive and did not show any papers.

COGAT, the department of Israels defence ministry in charge of the occupied territories, said in an email statement to Al Jazeera that the tent structures were illegally built and therefore were caught [on Saturday] morning for a second time this week.

The statement added that the land in question is a military firing zone, where entry is forbidden.

COGAT also said protesters tried to create physical tension with forcesand forces acted in accordance to protocol.

Amro said after speaking to families from Sarura, they have decided to continue the protest and rebuild tents and restore caves.

Nothing will stop usWe will not give up, we will keep fighting and resisting the occupation, Amro said.

We will build Sarura again.

Al-Khatib agreed, saying that activists and local families know this is a long, long journey, but we wont stop our Sumud.
Aid groups say 70 refugees jumped into Mediterranean waters to avoid being shot as speedboat interrupted rescue.

Libyan coastguard officers opened fire on two boats loaded with refugees while rescue attempts were under way in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, according to nongovernmental organisations involved in the operations.

The Libyan coastguard has rejected the accusations and demanded evidence.

But those at the scene told Al Jazeera that at around noon, as rescue workers from four groups  French NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Italian NGO Save the Children and German NGO Jugend Rettet  were trying to save refugees, a speedboat equipped with four machine guns and bearing the emblem of the Libyan coastguard arrived at the scene.

The speedboat approached the rescue operation at high speed, creating large waves that made it difficult for the refugees to board rubber dinghies, the witnesses said.

Shortly after, a series of gunshots could be heard coming from near the dinghies, Laura Garel, a communications officer on the SOS Mediterranees rescue vessel Aquarius, told Al Jazeera.

Situation was critical

When the shooting started, about 70 people jumped into the water from the refugee boats, said the witnesses.

The shots were seemingly aimed at the people on the boats, according to Jonas, a captain aboard the Iuventa, another rescue vessel at the scene operated by Jugend Rettet.

For us the situation was critical, said Jonas. We are here to help, but were forced to stand idly by as to avoid getting hit by a bullet ourselves.

While the the Iuventa crew was unable to determine whether anyone was harmed by the shooting, SOS Mediterranee said there were no casualties or direct injuries.

The aid organisations and refugees said at least two Libyan coastguard officers stole mobile phones and money from passengers.

When the Libyans pointed their weapons at us, asking us to give them all our money and cell phones and telling us to jump in the water, we did what they said, one Gambian survivor told SOS Mediterranee volunteers.

I was not afraid. I preferred to die at sea than being pushed back and to die in Libya.

Reckless behaviour

Mathilde Auvillain of SOS Mediterranee in Sicily described the incident as confusing and said it was the first time the Libyan coastguard  which usually only observes operations  interrupted the groups rescue efforts.

However, in a previous example of how NGO operations are interrupted, Sea-Watch said on May 10 that Libyas coastguard intercepted about 300 people on a wooden boat and returned them to Tripoli.

The Libyan coastguard showed very little regard for the well-being of the people in the boats in distress, said Annemarie Loof of MSF.

Their behaviour was reckless  if not directly threatening  to the people on the boats.

When the Libyans pointed their weapons at us, asking us to give them all our money and cell phones and telling us to jump in the water, we did what they said. I was not afraid. I preferred to die at sea than being pushed back and to die in Libya by Gambian survivor

The Libyan coastguard denied Tuesdays incident took place, calling the accusations illogical.

Ayob Amr Ghasem, a Libyan navy spokesman, challenged the rescue groups to produce evidence of their claims.

Why would we have shot at boats if we are the ones that always save them? Ghasem was quoted by the Italian ANSA news agency as saying.

Despite the circumstances, more than 1,800 people were rescued, including a two-week old baby.

The dramatic situation on Tuesday  the sad daily situation in the Mediterranean  shows once again the completely inadequate response to the humanitarian crisis that has cost already tens of thousands of lives, co-founder of SOS Mediterranee Sophie Beau said.

The imperative of maritime search and rescue cannot be left to NGOs alone.

Abuse in Libya

Libya is the main departure point for refugees hoping to reach Europe by sea.

In March 2016, the Balkan route was permanently shut, trapping tens of thousands of asylum seekers in Greece and slowing Aegean Sea crossings to a trickle.

The route between Libya and Italy remains busy.

Migrants and refugees living in Libya or passing through say they are subject to a range of abuses, with hundreds bought and sold in modern-day slave markets, according to the Switzerland-based International Organization for Migration (IOM).

READ MORE: African migrants traded in Libyas slave markets, IOM says

European vessels that intercept refugee boats in international waters are obligated to bring those on board to Europe, according to Judith Sunderland, associate director for Europe at Human Rights Watch.

In Tuesdays incident, two of the refugee boats were directed back to Libya by coastguard officers, according to Iuventa, despite being 14 nautical miles from Libyas coast and thus in international waters.

Certainly we believe that migration cooperation with Libya is deeply problematic, Sunderland said.

[The EU] should be doing a lot more to get people out of Libya in a safe way and a lawful way so they dont have to risk their lives to do so.
Fighters besieging southern city targeted as ongoing clashes leave six soldiers dead and trigger flight of residents.

The Philippine army has launched air raids against ISIL-linked fighters who are hiding in a southern city they attacked earlier this week.

The siege of Marawi has sent thousands of people fleeing and prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao region.

The surgical air strikes were aimed to flush out up to 40 fighters believed to be hiding in Marawi, Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-ar Herrera, a military spokesperson, said on Thursday.

A majority of the 200,000 residents have fled Marawi, about 800km south of the capital, Manila, but Herrera said those who remained had been warned to get out of the areas where there was bombing and fighting.

We have identified targets that we need to clear, he said. We need to neutralise the remnants of the local terrorist groups.

READ MORE: Inside Abu Sayyaf  Blood, drugs and conspiracies

But the Philippine military has also suffered some setbacks, with local news media reporting that between six to eight soldiers died on Thursday alone.

That is in addition to the five soldiers and two police officers killed when the fighting started on Tuesday.

At least nine civilians were also reported killed on Wednesday.

The violence erupted on Tuesday after the army raided the hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, a commander of the Abu Sayyaf group, which has pledged allegiance to ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.

Abu Sayyaf called for reinforcements from an allied group, the Maute, and dozens of fighters managed to enter Marawi and sweep through its streets.

Church targeted

The fighters reportedly burned a Catholic church, the city jail, and two schools, as well as occupied the main streets and two bridges leading to Marawi.

Religious leaders have accused the fighters of taking a Catholic priest and his worshippers hostage and using them as human shields.

On Wednesday the military said they had killed at least 13 fighters.

Duterte submitted to Congress on Thursday the proclamation of martial law for review as required by the constitution.

The Philippine House of Representatives and the Senate were scheduled to convene on Monday to assess the declaration.

Majul Gandamra, the mayor of Marawi, said many establishments were closed, making it difficult for those who are still in the municipality to purchase supplies.

Its getting difficult for people to get their basic needs, like water and food, Gandamra told a Manila radio station.

Our top priority is to give food, water and temporary shelter to residents.

We are looking for an evacuation centre where there is no presence of the ISIL-related militants.

READ MORE: Donald Trump called Rodrigo Duterte to affirm alliance

Soldiers, supported by tanks, moved through streets and houses as they scoured three villages in the area where the gunmen were reported to be moving around.

Checkpoints were established at entry and exit points of Marawi, while helicopters hovered over the city and more soldiers arrived in trucks to secure the municipality.

The military has placed units in different parts of Mindanao under high alert, including the city of Davao, Dutertes home town, where local authorities fear the fighters could attempt to stage retaliatory attacks.
A US-led air raid in March against a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul killed at least 105 civilians, the Pentagon admitted on Thursday after concluding an investigation into the attack.

According to the Pentagons summary of the investigation, the March 17 strike on Mosuls al-Jadidah district targeted two snipers of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in the building who had engaged with Iraqi counterterrorism forces.

The Pentagon said, however, that the high civilian death toll was caused by a secondary explosion of munitions placed by ISIL fighters in the building, where civilians were also sheltering.





There is no way the munition a US plane dropped March 17 in the Jadidah neighbourhood could have caused the extensive damage that killed 101 people in a house and four in a neighbouring house,it said in a statement.

The reports summary added that the coalition could not have predicted the presence of civilians in the structure prior to engagement and that an additional 36 cilivians remain unaccounted for.

Samuel Oakford of Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, told Al Jazeera that any armed actor in Mosul has to assume there are civilians nearby because thats almost always the case.

READ MORE: Coalition says it hit Mosul site where civilians died

The Mosul strike was the single deadliest incident for civilians arising from a coalition strike since anti-ISIL operations in Iraq and Syria nearly three years ago.

Initial reports from those inside Mosul said that anywhere between 130 to more than 200 civilians died in the strike.

About 200 people are thought to have died in that strike alone, Al Jazeeras Hoda Abdel-Hamid reported from Erbil in northern Iraq in March.

These reports of a high toll of civilian casualties were first given by the civilians who actually managed to get out of western Mosul.

No condolence payments

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that a local commander had ordered the air raid, which was then carried using a single precision-guided bomb.

It added that it was the most appropriate and proportionate means of engagement to neutralise the threat and to minimize collateral damage.

Major-General Joe Martin, the commanding general of coalition forces, expressed condolences to those affected.

The coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat ISIS.

US Air Force Brigadier-General Matt Isler, who led the investigation, said no condolence payments have been made, though such a move has not been ruled out.

The investigation comes amid broader claims that US forces under President Donald Trump are killing more civilians as the military fulfils a plan to annihilate ISIL.

On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said US-led coalition air raids killed at least 35 civilians in a town in Syrias Deir Az Zor province.

Earlier this week, SOHR said a total of 225 civilians were killed in US-led coalition air raids between April 23 and May 23  the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition since it began bombing Syria on September 23, 2014.

Airwars has said a minimum of 3,350 people have been killed in coalition strikes in Syria and Iraq.

As of the most recent US military count at the end of April, a total of 396 civilians had been killed since the beginning of the bombing campaign against ISIL nearly three years ago.

The 105 figure from the March incident would push that number beyond 500.
Member states of military alliance are set to officially join a US-led coalition fighting ISIL, diplomatic sources say.

NATO member states are expected to formally join a US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group in Syria and Iraq, according to several diplomatic sources.

The decision by the North Atlantic Council, the highest decision-making body within NATO, is expected to be officially announced at a meeting of the alliances leaders on Thursday.

The NATO (member state) ambassadors decided this evening an action plan on terrorism for the summit. It includes the accession of NATO to the global coalition against IS, one diplomat told the AFP news agency on Wednesday, using a different name for ISIL.

The decision is mainly political because all 28 NATO member states are already individually part of the coalition, with some only taking part in support roles.

It comes on the back of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has urged NATO members to do more in the fight against ISIL.

Diplomats said France and Germany will agree to the US plan, but insist the move is purely symbolic.

NATO as an institution will join the coalition, one senior diplomat involved in the discussions told the Reuters news agency. The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States. France and Germany believe it is.

OPINION: US expects allies to pick up the pieces after ISIL

The move will specifically involve an expansion of flights by NATOs AWACS surveillance aircraft currently supporting anti-ISIL operations in Syria and Iraq.

This means that the AWACS will not just do airspace surveillance but airspace management, the diplomat said, asking not to be identified.

They are going to coordinate the flights and direct airplanes over Syria and Iraq but only for flights which are not related to bombings.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he expected NATO to join despite reservations by some members states which are fearful of getting dragged into another conflict.

Tillerson said that NATOs joining would be a really important step but that there are a couple of countries that are still thinking it over.

I have had meetings actually with one of those. I think theyre going to support NATO joining and becoming a member of the ISIS fight, he told reporters travelling with Trump.

READ MORE: US-led coalition hits pro-Assad fighters convoy

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that many allies would like to see NATO as a full member of the coalition  because it sends a strong message of unity.

He added that in light of Mondays attack in Manchester, it is important to send this message of unity against terrorism.

Stoltenberg has previously stressed that there has been no discussion at all of engaging NATO in a combat role if it officially joins the coalition.

He also noted that besides sending a political signal of unity against terrorism, NATOs formal entry into the coalition would help allies improve coordination and provide better information flows.

READ MORE: US coalition mistakenly kills 18 allied Syrian rebels

At the Brussels meeting on Thursday, Trump is also expected to urge NATO members to increase defence spending to the target of two percent of a countrys annual gross domestic product, as they agreed in 2014.

In return, the allies hope the US president will unequivocally state his support for NATOs mutual defence pledge, known as Article 5.

The alliance is also due to discuss whether to increase the number of soldiers in Afghanistan as Trump mulls over adding at least 3,000 troops in hopes of putting pressure on the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.

Many in Kabul, however, fear a troop increase will not help, and have instead urged more training and equipment.
NATO set to discuss sending more soldiers to Afghanistan, but many in Kabul fear such a move could prolong war.

As NATO allies converge in Brussels for a key summit, one topic on the agenda will be a potential increase in the number of troops in Afghanistan  a move met with strong opposition by many in Kabul.

The military alliance began considering a troop increase earlier this month after it received a request from army chiefs for more soldiers to help in the fight against the Taliban, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

The prospect of a troop surge might have drawn considerable support in Brussels and Washington, but in Kabul the situation is different.

They are thinking of sending soldiers  They [the soldiers] will not do anything, Sher Mohammad Karimi, a retired four-star general in the Afghan National Army, told Al Jazeera.





If they are advisers, then its OK.

Afghan defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish agreed, saying that local forces needed better equipment and training.

What we need now is bombing planes and also modern engineering technology, he told Al Jazeera.

Since NATOs combat mission in Afghanistan formally ended in 2014, Taliban attacks have intensified and Afghan military and civilian casualties have risen.

NATO already has more than 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, including around 6,900 US and 500 British military personnel, who are training the Afghan armed forces to eventually take over the countrys defence and security. The US has an additional 1,500 soldiers conducting assist missions directly under Pentagon command.

OPINION: What should the US next move be in Afghanistan?

Stoltenberg has insisted that a potential troop increase would not mean a return to combat operations.

The discussion of a NATO troop increase in Afghanistan comes as Trump considers a plan to send at least 3,000 troops to Afghanistan in an effort to put enough pressure on the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.

According to The New York Times, Trump was expected to make a decision at Thursdays summit in Brussels regarding a troop increase, but that has been delayed after some within the administration expressed concern over sending more troops.

OPINION: Afghanistan  A pawn in major power rivalry?

Some Afghans fear a foreign troop increase by either NATO or the US could actually prolong the war.

Increasing foreign troops in Afghanistan is like putting more wood on the fire, an Afghan resident told Al Jazeera.





If they increase troops in Afghanistan that would provoke Pakistan, Iran and Russia. Neighbouring countries would increase their support for the Taliban, and more Afghans will be fighting each other.

In February, General John Nicholson, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told Congress that he would need an extra few thousand troops to make gains against the Taliban and break what he called a stalemate against the armed groups fighters.

At the height of the US combat mission, there were an estimated 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

I dont think anybody here is under the illusion that [a troop increase] is going to end the war, Al Jazeeras John Hendren, reporting from Kabul, said.

The Trump administration here is that would bring the Taliban to the bargaining table, but there is a lot of concern in Afghanistan that this surge is really going to be, at best, a half-measure.

Pay more, do more

At the Brussels meeting, the alliance is also expected to officially join a US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group in Iraq and Syria.

The decision is mainly political because all 28 NATO member states are already individually part of the coalition, with some only taking part in support roles.

It comes on the back of pressure from Trump, who has urged NATO members to do more in the fight against ISIL.

Trump is also expected to urge NATO members to increase defence spending to the target of two percent of a countrys annual gross domestic product, as they agreed in 2014.

Al Jazeeras James Bays, reporting from Brussels, said that Trump certainly wants NATO members to pay more and do more.

Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the US, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.

I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them, saying, Look the U.S. is spending 4 percent. Were doing a lot,' US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters on Air Force One.

Many are sceptical about this arbitrary bottom line that takes no account of effective military spending where it is needed most. Germany would have to virtually double its military budget and spend more than Russia.

The allies hope the US president will unequivocally state his support for NATOs mutual defence pledge, known as Article 5.
Police arrest 24 people and authorities suspend online services after clashes erupt in region of Uttar Pradesh state.

Authorities in a northern Indian district have blocked mobile internet services and arrested dozens of people after caste violence earlier this week left one person dead, according to police.

The latest unrest in the Saharanpur region of Uttar Pradesh state began after members of the Dalit community, formerly known as the untouchables, threw stones at the homes of upper caste Rajput Hindus on Tuesday.

Fresh clashes broke out when groups of Dalits returning from a political rally were attacked in a retaliation by Rajputs.

Local police said a Dalit man succumbed to gunshot injuries, while 16 more were wounded. On Wednesday, a Rajput man was shot and seriously wounded, but police said it was not clear if it was a caste-linked attack.

Bablu Kumar, a senior police officer, said on Thursday that 24 people had been arrested in recent days.

We ordered the service providers late Wednesday to suspend internet services as outsiders  were instigating locals with WhatsApp and Facebook posts, Kumar told the AFP news agency.

Now the situation is absolutely calm.

The region has witnessed intermittent clashes between Dalits and Rajputs since April, according to local media reports.

Clashes between the two communities earlier this month led to the death of another Dalit.

Uttar Pradesh, is Indias most populous state and has a history of religious and caste violence.
In line with his America First policy, US president tells alliance members to spend more for collective defence.

Donald Trump has hit out at NATO, saying its members must start paying their fair share of defence costs.

Speaking to alliance leaders on Thursday in Brussels for the first time, the US president said massive amounts of money are still owed.

He urged allies attending the meeting in Belgium to meet their financial obligations and spend more for collective NATO defence.

Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what theyre supposed to be paying for their defence, Trump said at NATOs new headquarters in Brussels.

In accordance with his America First policy, Trump said is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from the last years.

OPINION: Washingtons never-ending days of reckoning

NATOs current spending target of two percent of GDP on defence is not due to be met until 2024.

Germany spends 1.2 percent on defence but argues that its spending on development aid also contributes to international security.

Trump also said the Manchester suicide bombing was a barbaric and vicious attack and told NATO leaders: We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant. The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia on our borders.

Trumps mention of Russia was noteworthy as his campaign team has been accused of close ties with Russian interests.

Summit agenda

NATO is expected to formally join a US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Syria and Iraq, according to an announcement by Jens Stoltenberg, NATOs secretary-general.

The decision is largely symbolic because all 28 NATO member states are already individually part of the coalition, with some only taking part in support roles.

It comes in response to pressure from Trump, who has urged NATO members to do more in the fight against ISIL.

Al Jazeeras Paul Brennan, reporting from London on Thursday, said NATO leaders are not necessarily comfortable with this, but nevertheless when the most powerful man in the Western world wants you to do something, you have to come to some accommodation with him.

One other topic on the agenda will be a potential increase in the number of troops in Afghanistan.

NATO began considering a troop increase earlier this month after it received a request from army chiefs for more soldiers to help in the fight against the Taliban, Stoltenberg said.

Possible troop surge

The prospect of a troop surge might have drawn considerable support in Brussels and Washington, but the move has elicited strong opposition in Kabul.

They are thinking of sending soldiersThey [the soldiers] will not do anything, Sher Mohammad Karimi, a retired general in the Afghan National Army, told Al Jazeera. If they are advisers, then its OK.

Trump started the day by holding talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission president, and Donald Tusk, EU Council president.

They agreed to set up a joint EU-US action plan on trade relations, but Tusk said that differences remain.

READ MORE: Trump budget cut would make UN work impossible

We agreed on many areas, first and foremost on counterterrorism, Tusk said after the one-hour meeting.

But some issues remain open, like climate and trade.

Pulling the US out of the Paris climate deal is also a topic expected to be raised during the NATO summit by European leaders.

On another security note, Theresa May, British prime minister, said she would tell Trump at the NATO summit that private intelligence shared between their two countries, which included forensic photographs from the bomb site published by the New York Times newspaper, should not be leaked.

UK police stopped sharing information about the Manchester suicide bombing with the US on Thursday after leaks to American media that police said had risked compromising their investigations.
Those detained are accused of corruption and helping finance protest movements linked to economic frustrations.

Tunisia declared a war on corruption on Wednesday after the arrest of three businessmen and a customs officer suspected of graft and financing protests.

Corruption was widespread under Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the president who was ousted in a 2011 uprising, and has remained endemic since.

In the war on corruption, theres no choice. Its either corruption or the state. Either corruption or Tunisia, said Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.

I want to reassure all Tunisians that the government will see this war on corruption through to the end, he said in his first comments since the arrests started on Tuesday.

A senior official, on condition of anonymity, said that businessmen Chafik Jarraya, Yassine Chennoufi and Nejib Ben Ismail along with customs officer Ridha Ayari were arrested Tuesday under the state of emergency in force in Tunisia since November 2015.

They are implicated in affairs of corruption and suspected of plotting against state security through incitement and alleged financing of the protest movements in Tataouine and other regions, he said.

The death of Anouar Sakrafi

The arrests follow the death of Anouar Sakrafi, who succumbed to his injuries on Monday after a police vehicle ran over him during protests.

Violence gripped the rally as protesters clashed with security forces in the southern region of Tataouine, the scene of long-running protests over joblessness.

Security forces fired tear gas as demonstrators tried to storm the el-Kamour oil and gas plant, radio reports said.

Dozens of people were hurt in the clashes, including about 20 security personnel.

The government has said Sakrafis killing was accidental.

Protesters have been camped outside the el-Kamour pumping plant for about a month, blocking trucks from entering.

Clashes also erupted on Monday in Tataouine, when protesters briefly forced the closure of the Vana pumping station.

Police fired tear gas to disperse the hundreds of protesters demanding jobs and a share in revenue from gas and oil companies.

Long list of corruption barons

On Wednesday, Tataouines new governor Mohamed Ali Barhoumi resigned, saying in a post on Facebook that it was for strictly personal reasons.

He was named governor just weeks ago after two senior officials were dismissed following a visit by the prime minister to the troubled region.

READ MORE: Thousands protest Tunisias corruption amnesty bill

The unrest represents a challenge to the authority of Chaheds government as it tries to enact economic reforms demanded by international lenders and consolidate Tunisias transition to democracy.

Chahed has vowed to fight corruption since taking office last year, when the head of the national anti-graft body, Chawki Tabib, warned the problem had reached epidemic proportions.

The latest arrests come after Ben Alis nephew, Imed Trabelsi, apologised to the Tunisian people on national television last week for corruption during his uncles leadership.

Trabelsi recounted how he grew rich thanks to a well-oiled system involving the complicity of customs officers, high officials and ministers.

Praise over arrests

Tunisians on social media and in the press applauded Tuesdays arrests, calling for the launch of an anti-graft probe such as Italys Clean Hands campaign in the 1990s.

But others said they hoped the arrests were not a smokescreen at a time when the authorities faced mounting social unrest.

Youssef Belgacem, from anti-corruption non-governmental organisation I-Watch, tentatively welcomed the surprising arrests.

We hope its a serious first step in the war against corruption and the corrupt, and not an attempt to appease protests in Tataouine and elsewhere, he said.

The list of corruption barons is still long.

              .  Jaouhar Ben Mbarek (@jaouhar) May 24, 2017

Political activist Jaouhar Ben Mbarek wrote on Twitter: If this is a real change of policy, then Chahed will find nothing but support from the Tunisian people.

Tunisia was ranked 75th out of more than 170 countries in the 2016 corruption perceptions index published by Transparency International. It had been 59th in 2010.
NATO Allies and operational partners contributing to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission met today (19 May 2017), at NATO Headquarters, to review ongoing efforts in support to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) and long-term stability in Afghanistan.





The President of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the Commander of the Resolute Support Mission (General John W. Nicholson), and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan (Ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann) attended via video conference. - Read More, NATO




A first under President Trump, USS Dewey cruises past artificial island built by Beijing in move likely to rile China.

A US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since US President Donald Trump took office.

The US patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijings efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday the USS Dewey traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands  among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.

The move angered Beijing, which reiterated its position that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their surrounding waters.

The US militarys action was showing off force, promoting regional militarisation and could have easily led to a sea or air incident, Ren Guoqiang, spokesman for Chinas defence ministry, said later on Thursday.

The Chinese army has expressed firm opposition and has lodged solemn representations with the US.

OPINION: Chinas aggressive posture in South China Sea

The US navys so-called freedom of navigation operation comes as Trump is seeking Beijings cooperation to rein in ally North Koreas nuclear and missile programmes.

Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a states coastline.





One US official said it was the first operation near a land feature that was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated Chinas claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The US has criticised Chinas construction of man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the new administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon, without offering details.

Still, the US military has a long-standing position that these operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

The White House did not immediately comment on the latest action.

OPINION: Why China cares about the South China Sea

Under the previous administration, the US Navy conducted several such voyages through the South China Sea. The last operation was approved by then-president Barack Obama.

Chinas claims to the South China Sea, which sees about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade pass every year, are challenged by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan.





The latest US patrol is likely to exacerbate US-China tensions that had eased since Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit at the US leaders Florida resort last month.

Trump lambasted China during the 2016 presidential campaign, accusing Beijing of stealing US jobs with unfair trade policies, manipulating its currency in its favour, and militarising parts of the South China Sea.

But since meeting Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump has praised his counterparts efforts to restrain North Korea, though Pyongyang has persisted with ballistic missile tests despite international condemnation.

US-based South China Sea analyst Greg Poling, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the operation was also the first conducted by the United States close to an artificial feature built by China not entitled to a territorial sea under international law.

Previous freedom of navigation operations have gone within 12 nautical miles of Subi and Fiery Cross reefs, two other features in the Spratlys built up by China, but both of those features are entitled to a territorial sea.

READ MORE: China puts surface-to-air missiles on disputed island

Mischief Reef was not entitled to a territorial sea as it was underwater at high tide before it was built up by China and was not close enough to another feature entitled to such a territorial sea, said Poling.

He said the key question was whether the US warship had engaged in a real challenge to the Chinese claims by turning on radar or launching a helicopter or boat  actions not permitted in a territorial sea under international law.

Otherwise, critics say, the operation would have resembled what is known as innocent passage and could have reinforced rather than challenged Chinas claim to a territorial limit around the reef.
In Milan, earthrise meets the engineers who created a special kind of cement that cleans the air.

According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of city dwellers are breathing polluted air. Smog is linked to respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular disease.

In 2012, Italy had the most pollution-related deaths in Europe. More than 84,000 people in the country died prematurely owing to bad air quality. Milan remains one of the worst polluted cities, not only in the country but also on the continent.

To combat this, scientists have developed a new type of photocatalytic cement that absorbs pollutants and turns them into harmless salts.

Opened in 2015, the Palazzo Italia in Milan is one of the first buildings in the world to use pollution-eating cement.

This is 9,000 square metres of active concrete and this can clean the air of the equivalent of exhaust gases from 100 diesel cars or almost 300 gasoline cars, says Enrico Borgarello, the innovation director for the company that designed the building. Its a significant impact.

Gelareh Darabi travels to Milan to learn about the effects of this new biodynamic cement on air quality.
We investigate Chinas rising influence in Laos and the potentially disastrous consequences for the local population.

Mandarin is the language of choice among its residents and on its street signs and advertising hoardings; clocks are set to Beijing time in homes, stores and even municipal buildings; and the Yuan is by far and away the most common currency.

Any overseas visitors dropping in to Ton Pheung could be excused for thinking themselves in China  albeit a slightly raunchy theme-park version with an unusual preponderance of massage parlours and nightclubs along its streets.

But Ton Pheung is actually in the far northwest of communist Laos  on the border with China, but still in name, if increasingly not in reality, a sovereign district of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic.

Yet few here see it that way.

Over the past decade, Chinese investors have moved in, building shopping malls and casinos and glitzy hotel complexes and importing a way of life that is a long way from the traditional norms in Laos  an impoverished landlocked nation where 80 percent of the population still scrape a living from small-scale farming.

And the enclave is far from being an isolated case. One by one, communities across northern Laos are gradually taking on the appearance of de facto Chinese dependencies.

Tourism, transport, property, energy, high-intensity agriculture  with the blessing of the Laos government, China has set out to develop, some say exploit, the potential of its hard-pressed neighbour.

Given the countrys desperate need for foreign investment, the Laotian authorities clearly believe that the economic advantages of the relationship outweigh any drawbacks of surrendering sovereignty.

But critics say the consequences for the indigenous population of this unbridled, spill-over capitalism are truly dire  ranging from gambling, prostitution and illicit trade in the newly urbanised border communities to widespread land expropriation, deforestation and pollution in the rural hinterland.

Furthermore, the profits and benefits of all this activity flow back to the Chinese rather than to the locals.

So is it possible that this former French colony, South Asias poorest state, has given away too much? And will it ever be able to reconcile the needs of its people with the demands of its voracious benefactor? Filmmakers Gwenlaouen Le Gouil, Brice Lambert and Cedric Esteve went to Laos to find out.
Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
At the annual Nigerian jamboree to the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, Dr. IbeKachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum resources, told a world press conference on May 5, 2017 that Nigerias refineries would soon have new investors. He said 26 investors had indicated interest in the epileptic refineries. By September, we will []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
A customs worker strike across Chile this week has caused major disruptions at border check points, ports, airports and freight terminals for truckers and motorists alike.



Customs officials within the National Association of Customs Officers (ANFACH) in Chile went on strike earlier this week, causing major disruptions for truck drivers and motorists at border check points, ports, airports and freight terminals, according to reports from multiple media sources.

The strike is a result of displeasure with staffing issues, working hours and retirement benefits, according to the trade union representing the customs officials. Those participating in the strike hope to gain 250 more officers around entry ports and airports, reduced working hours and increased retirement benefits.

The strike began Tuesday morning and lasted through at least Thursday. It is currently unclear if the terms of the strike have been met.

According to Venezuelan newspaper the Latin American Herald Tribune, there is a great deal concern on both sides of the strike.

The cargoes that enter and leave the country are circulating as if there were no borders. There is no oversight and there are significant risks, ANFACH leader Marcelo Reyes reportedly told the Spanish news agency Efe.

However, analysts do not expect the strike to last very long, as previous customs worker strikes in Chile have been short-lived.
John Brennan defended his thesis that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win before the House Intelligence Committee. He did nothing to disabuse Congressional Democrats or the mainstream media of the notion that Team Trump colluded with Moscow to change the results of the 2016 election.

Brennan didnt explain why he thought that the Russians didnt want Hillary Clinton to win. Perhaps he could explain why they didnt prefer Hillary, who was Secretary of State when President Obama let Russia violate the INF Missile Treaty and colluded with the Russians to kill missile defense in Europe, telling Then Russian president Dimitri Medvedev to tell Putin he would have more flexibility after his reelection.

Brennan didnt explain why the Russians didnt prefer Hillary, Secretary of State for an administration that did nothing when Russia annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine. Why wouldnt the Russians want the Secretary of State who called murderous Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad a reformer and was there when President Obama drew the first of his red lines, then did nothing to prevent the slaughter of 500,000 Syrians while giving Russia free rein in that country?

Why would Russia prefer Trump over Hillary after she and husband Bill brokered deals giving Russia and Putin 20 percent of our uranium supply to benefit Clinton Foundation donors, including Canadian billionaire Frank Giustra?

As the New York Times reported, this mutual back-scratching gave Clinton donor Giustra control of a significant portion of the worlds uranium supply:

Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan. Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited: highly coveted deposits of uranium that could fuel nuclear reactors around the world. And Mr. Giustra was in hot pursuit of an exclusive deal to tap them. Unlike more established competitors, Mr. Giustra was a newcomer to uranium mining in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic. But what his fledgling company lacked in experience, it made up for in connections. Accompanying Mr. Giustra on his luxuriously appointed MD-87 jet that day was a former president of the United States, Bill Clinton. Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clintons charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustras more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clintons inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges. In February 2007, a company called Uranium One agreed to pay $3.1 billion to acquire UrAsia. Mr. Giustra, a director and major shareholder in UrAsia, would be paid $7.05 per share for a company that just two years earlier was trading at 10 cents per share.

Now isnt that special! Both the Clintons and their donor made off handsomely. Uranium One, which was gradually taken over by the Russians, would later be involved in a curious deal involving Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. From the New York Times:

At the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry, who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One. Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clintons wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton. As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium Ones chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well. Soon, Uranium One began to snap up companies with assets in the United States. In April 2007, it announced the purchase of a uranium mill in Utah and more than 38,000 acres of uranium exploration properties in four Western states, followed quickly by the acquisition of the Energy Metals Corporation and its uranium holdings in Wyoming, Texas and Utah.

So Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with husband Bill, in exchange for donations, gave nuclear power Russia and Putin control of 20 percent of the worlds uranium supply. Is that what Hillary Clinton meant by a Russian reset? Yet neither Congressional Democrats, who accuse Trump of being too cozy with Moscow, nor their wholly owned subsidiary, the mainstream media, are eager to talk about the Clinton uranium deals with Russia.

Based on this assessment, Brennan is wrong that the Russians wanted Hillary to win. They may have hacked into the DNC emails, but they didnt write them. They didnt keep Hilary from campaigning in Wisconsin, or make her motivate Trump supporters by calling half of them deplorable, or cause ObamaCare premiums to spike weeks before the November election.

There is another scenario as equally plausible as the one saying Team Trump, and perhaps President Trump himself, colluded with the Russians. It is that John Brennan himself colluded with the Russians to help Hillary win to guarantee his continued tenure as CIA director. It involves the infamous anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, used by Brennan and others as a pretext for a Trump investigation bonanza. As the American Spectator reported:

An article in the Guardian last week provides more confirmation that John Brennan was the American progenitor of political espionage aimed at defeating Donald Trump. One side did collude with foreign powers to tip the election -- Hillarys. Seeking to retain his position as CIA director under Hillary, Brennan teamed up with British spies and Estonian spies to cripple Trumps candidacy. He used their phony intelligence as a pretext for a multi-agency investigation into Trump, which led the FBI to probe a computer server connected to Trump Tower and gave cover to Susan Rice, among other Hillary supporters, to spy on Trump and his people The Guardian story is written in a style designed to flatter its sources (they are cast as high-minded whistleblowers), but the upshot of it is devastating for them, nonetheless, and explains why all the criminal leaks against Trump first originated in the British press. According to the story, Brennan got his anti-Trump tips primarily from British spies but also Estonian spies and others. The story confirms that the seed of the espionage into Trump was planted by Estonia. The BBCs Paul Wood reported last year that the intelligence agency of an unnamed Baltic State had tipped Brennan off in April 2016 to a conversation purporting to show that the Kremlin was funneling cash into the Trump campaign. Any other CIA director would have disregarded such a flaky tip, recognizing that Estonia was eager to see Trump lose (its officials had bought into Hillarys propaganda that Trump was going to pull out of NATO and leave Baltic countries exposed to Putin). But Brennan opportunistically seized on it, as he later that summer seized on the half-baked intelligence of British spy agencies (also full of officials who wanted to see Trump lose). The Guardian says that British spy head Robert Hannigan passed material in summer 2016 to the CIA chief, John Brennan. To ensure that these flaky tips leaked out, Brennan disseminated them on Capitol Hill. In August and September of 2016, he gave briefings to the Gang of Eight about them, which then turned up on the front page of the New York Times.

Could it be that Brennan himself is the leaker of classified information? There are reports suggesting he is and isnt that what is going on in Washington these days -- bogus investigations based on reports of collusion with the Russians and other shenanigans? Could that be any crazier than investigations triggered by the Steele dossier, a classic work of slanderous fiction? Two things we do know -- that the only crime is the leaking of classified information to the newspapers to damage Donald Trump and that Brennan is wrong on who the Russians wanted to win.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Single-payer healthcare remains the holy grail for Democrats seeking the ultimate in command and control government. Wealth redistribution on a previously unimaginable scale. The nanny state government controlling all aspects of everyones life, as few human activities dont influence health in some way.

Congressional Democrats are locked and loaded with federal legislation expanding Medicare to everyone. Specifically, this bill would provide, all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care. Interesting wording. Individuals residing in the U.S., not legal residents in the U.S., meaning, free medical care for anyone from anywhere, with any disease or medical condition, if they are physically within the U.S. This would include illegal immigrants.

The bill was introduced by Democratic Rep. John Conyers on Jan. 24, just four days after President Trump was inaugurated. I must hand it to the Democrats. Their pet issue, ready to go, only 30 pages in length, even though it will go nowhere in a Republican-controlled Congress.

Contrast with the Republicans, railing against Obamacare for the past seven years, endless promises of repeal and replace if voters give them control of the House. Then the Senate. Finally, the White House. Why not a repeal bill, four days after inauguration, which is all the Democrats needed? Instead several months later, the House passed Obamacare-lite, barely, after initially postponing the vote due to political infighting.

Even now the non-repeal and replace bill is in jeopardy based on how the CBO might score the bill. Again, Democrats had legislation introduced immediately. And if they had Congressional majorities and a Madam President, this would have been signed into law before Valentines Day. Rather, four months into the largest majority Republicans have enjoyed in almost a century, they have accomplished nothing on healthcare reform, instead fretting over Trump, James Comey, and mythical Russian collusion.

If Congress cant even tie their shoes, let the states take a shot at reform. As Mitt Romney said, the states can each be a laboratory of democracy, testing novel reform ideas on a smaller scale before thrusting a bad idea, such as Obamacare, on 300 million Americans.

Vermont was the first to try a single-payer plan. The ideal state for single payer. Home to Ben and Jerrys. Democrats as far as the eye can see, including one of the major single-payer proponents, socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. How did that turn out in the land of Chunky Monkey?

Not well. Legislation was signed into law. But then reality hit. The price tag was more than the entire state budget, funded by a tax hike above and beyond Bernies wildest dreams. The governor wisely pulled the plug, rather than bankrupting his state, sending business east, west and south to more friendly states. Strike one.

Last year Colorado placed a single-payer plan on the ballot, hopefully sweeping victoriously into law by the same landslide that was supposed to elect Hillary Clinton. Despite no evidence of Russian collusion in the Colorado vote, single-payer lost by a 4 to 1 margin. Not just a landslide. But a tsunami and meteor strike as well.

Colorado faced the same problems as Vermont. A price tag as large as the entire state budget. Requiring tax hikes large enough to double state revenue. Enough to give Colorado the highest state tax rates in the nation. Coloradans decided to stick with legal marijuana rather than voting to raise their taxes so high that they could barely afford a pack of cigarettes. Strike two.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a third time, call me California. The state that cant maintain vital infrastructure such as the Oroville Dam is ready to provide free healthcare to 40 million residents, and another 2 million illegals. Are Californias numbers better than in Colorado or Vermont?

California has a current budget of about $180 billion, including a projected deficit. The cost for a single-payer plan, unlike in Colorado and Vermont where the cost was equal to the budget, is more than twice the California budget with a $400 billion price tag. This new healthcare scheme would in effect triple the state budget. Good luck with that.

California already has the highest state income tax at 13 percent. This is on top of federal income tax, property tax, sales tax, and who knows what other taxes and fees that are squeezed out of Californians. Need to triple state revenue? Guess what happens to state income tax rates?

Employers will be off the hook for health insurance costs, but will these savings be passed on to employees? Employers may not be so quick to share their savings as their personal taxes will be going up, too. And such a pay raise bumps many workers into a higher federal tax bracket. I dont see any winners here.

If tax revenues are insufficient, just pay doctors less right? Until they leave the state. Cant you pay hospitals less? Sure, until they close their doors. Then come the wait-lists. Waiting for not enough doctors or hospital beds. Dont believe me? Just look across the pond at the British National Health Service to see exactly how this plays out under a government-run single-payer system.

The state that wasted $7 billion on a failed attempt to house the homeless is ready to spend more than twice its yearly tax revenue on free healthcare for all. Bernie Sanders wants California to lead on healthcare. Lead to where? Bankruptcy? Insolvency? Turning a once-prosperous state into Venezuela? Strike three.

Brian C. Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
George Orwell wrote in 1984 that one of the totalitarian regimes principles was stated in the slogan, Whoever controls the present controls the past. Whoever controls the past controls the future. A moments consideration will validate this axiom.

Leftists have a long, well-documented record of mutilating history and eradicating historical facts that do not conform, or that contradict, their ideology. The Soviet Union was particularly famous for this practice, carried to an even greater extreme under the rule of The Friend of All Humanity . . . Josef Stalin (be sure to see David Kings excellent The Commissar Vanishes; another, similar, one is Art Under Stalin by Matthew Cullerne Bown). This practice was, of course, also present in all the various communist countries, from North Korea to East Germany. National Socialism, another leftist ideology, also had this outlook. To all of them, the existence and purpose of history, science, sports, art, theater, films was/is to glorify and justify the regime, particularly the current dictator. The only difference was that, for ideological reasons, (since History was deified and personified as being judgmental), the communists paid particular attention to history. You may remember that in 1984, the protagonist works in the Ministry of Truth, where past newspaper stories and historical facts are systematically eradicated and altered.

But one did not, or rather I should say, does not, have to travel to those dictatorships in order to witness the leftists attack on historical facts, not when they can do it right here at the local university, or on ones television set, or in the nearby movie theater. You will almost certainly have come across such instances, though in all probability you did not pay particular attention to them, since I have noticed they are often uttered in passing (somewhat like intellectual drive-by shootings) during a conversation (and also because few Americans have a good knowledge of history, since its useless). Here, then, briefly, are a handful of historical distortions:

Columbus Carried Out Genocide

Christopher Columbus was the European explorer who discovered America. Although there is archaeological evidence that the Vikings were actually the first, their discovery was a dead end in many ways. Regardless, Columbus made four voyages of exploration in the New World and established a few primitive settlements. At no time did he engage in genocide or initiate harsh treatment of the natives. True, when he was once bedridden, his men attacked the natives, but it is often forgotten that Columbus had no control over his men; they often did whatever they wanted; although he was the admiral, the other ships captains would go their separate way (discipline was nonexistent in those days). He has even been accused of taking back 1,500 Indian slaves to Spain; anyone who believes that a tiny caravel could accommodate 1,500 slaves, on top of the crew, has never stepped foot on a caravel. I have.

Blankets Infected by Smallpox Were Given to Indians by the U.S. Cavalry

You have all heard of this and it is a lie. The only such incident on record occured in the 1760s during the French and Indian war, when British General Jeffrey Amherst presented a vicious gift of such blankets to the Miami tribe of Ohio. Fortunately for them, the Miamis had been previously exposed to smallpox and were immune.

Incidentally, a corollary of this is the additional myth that Native Americans were harmless, essentially an early version of the hippies, being at one with Nature, prancing through the woods. In truth, they practiced slavery, engaged in warfare, and in a few instances were successful at genocide of weaker, tribes. In short, they were ordinary people.

America Lost the Vietnam War, the First War it Ever Lost

This is usually told by a liberal with a gleam in the eye, relishing the fact that America was defeated, since their hate for their country is bottomless. The fact of the matter was that Nixon had a plan for "Vietnamizing" the Vietnam War, by steadily removing American forces, instead of having Americans bleed for the sake of South Vietnam. But in 1975, North Vietnam attacked the South in a minor battle on the border and some South Vietnamese units collapsed like a house of cards. The Republic of Vietnam might still have been saved by quick use of U.S. airpower, but congressional leftists elected in the wake of Watergate acted to forbid use of any American forces whatsoever.

Incidentally, the North Vietnamese Armys back had been broken earlier in their all-out Tet offensive in 1968; thereafter, the NVAs attacks were minor by comparison. The communists in the American media then declared the Tet victory an American defeat. Which may be why when Col. Harry G.Summers remarked to Le Duc Tho that: "You know, we never lost a battle in the field," the icy North Vietnamese commissar replied, "That is true, and it is irrelevant." Both campaigns were aimed at demoralizing the home front---and were successful.

The Nazis Were Right Wing

Yes, they were monsters, but they were hardly conservative. The National Socialist Workers Party took its Socialism very, very seriously. Socialism was implemented throughout the Third Reich (make sure to read David Schoenbaums eye opening Hitler's Social Revolution: Class and Status in Nazi Germany 1933-1939). The Horst Wessel song, the anthem of the National Socialists, blasts both the communists and the reactionaries. James Pools Who Financed Hitler shows that, far from receiving financial aid by industrialists in order to combat the German communists, as the myth has been propagated for decades (you saw Cabaret, right?), the Party was perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy. It is also a well-known fact that the aristocracy had barely concealed contempt for the Nazis and the army was itching to be let loose on the Brown Shirts and clean their clocks.

Nelson Mandela Ended Apartheid and Everybody Lived Happily Ever After

No, he did not. Frederik Willem de Klerk, the president of South Africa, ended Apartheid. Forget what a drooling Michelle Obama may have said. Mandela was simply a jailbird at the time.

As for living happily ever after, South Africa became overwhelmed by a tsunami of crime and the subsequent black politicians have engaged in corruption. As in the rest of Africa.

The Spanish Civil War

The historical lies begin like this: Spain was emerging from the Dark Ages and embracing democracy, at which point the Catholic Church and the Spanish fascists decided to overthrow the republic. Fortunately, the valiant Spanish people foiled the coup detat and a civil war ensued. At this point, the evil Nazis in Germany and the evil Fascists of Italy intervened in favor of Franco, but the weak-kneed democracies failed to support the Republic and only the Soviet Union was magnanimous in its support.

(Where to begin?) First, Spain (along with Italy and Russia) for decades had a very strong anarchist presence. The reason that the army revolted was because the deputies to the Spanish parliament (and lesser persons) who would criticize the socialists, communists, and anarchists were being dragged out of their homes in the middle of the night and shot (by the way, this is what some leftist professors have advocated should be done here in America) and the government refused to solve the situation or even investigate and arrest the culprits. Add to this the fact that churches were daily being invaded and looted by the anarchists and the communists and the priests hung inside the churches -- again with no recourse from the leftist government. Germany, Italy and Russia intervened for their own purposes, except that Russia began to gain more and more control of the government and began persecuting exterminating rival political parties (like the Trotskyites).

Richard Nixon

Everything bad that you have been told about Richard Nixon is bullshit. Everything. It would take too long here to dissect, point by point. Everything.

But in a nutshell, the reason for the relentless persecution of Nixon by leftists began in the late 1940s when he was closely involved in the investigation and prosecution of Alger Hiss, who had for years operated a widespread and effective Soviet spy network in the State Department. Nixon's intervention in favor of Whittaker Chambers, a former Soviet courier who had for nearly a decade attempted to expose Hiss, resulted in Hiss being imprisoned for perjury after he denied being a Soviet agent. It also infuriated the American left on all levels, who then bided their time until the opportunity arose to punish Nixon for his effrontery in opposing the progressive cause.

There are some parallels between the leftist media hatred of Richard Nixon and their hatred of Donald Trump.

The Haymarket Riots

It has been forgotten by many that in the late 1800s, many terrorists who were causing havoc in Europe emigrated to America and continued their destructive acts here. One of these resulted in the Haymarket bombing. The perpetrators were caught, tried, and convicted. However, leftist professors have declared ever since that the accused were found guilty on absolutely no evidence and were innocent victims and martyrs, just like Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.

A student asked his non-leftist professor, T. Messer-Kruse, if there was, indeed, no evidence, then why did the trial take so long. The latter decided to take a close look at the trial and it turned out that there was an overabundance of evidence. So he went to Wikipedia and made a correction. And the correction was deleted. And he did so again and it was deleted again and he was informed that he would be excluded from contributing to Wikipedia. He fought it and the correction remained. He detailed both the trial and the Wikipedia censorship in The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the Gilded Age.

Cuba

This is a subject near and dear to my heart, and I could write fifty pages on the topic, beginning with the fact that the leftists in Hollywood have cranked out numerous propaganda films praising the totalitarian dictatorship like, Cuban Rebel Girls, Cuba, Havana, Creature from the Haunted Sea, The Godfather 2, The Motorcycle Diaries, Che, Che and still more Che.

In Havana, starring Robert Redford, Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista is portrayed as a blonde white man. In reality he was of mixed race, and in the U.S. would be recognized as Black.

Instead of the fifty pages, let me instead summarize communist Cuba thusly: starvation, persecution, executions, censorship, militarization, cult of personality, crumbling infrastructure, propaganda, exodus, mediocrity, psychotic leader, brainwashing schools, economic collapse.

Berkeley University was the Birth of the Free Speech Movement

Yeah, right. Apparently, the Bill of Rights did not go into effect until the 1960s. Even conservatives like Milo Yiannopolous have swallowed this tripe (along with some of the above as well).

In reality the free speech movement of the 1960s in Berkeley consisted exclusively in yelling obscene words and in welcoming communist speakers while simultaneously refusing anti-communist speakers to attend the college to lecture.

Slavery

This particular fake history is not stated outright, but it is implied. The concept is that slavery was practiced principally, or exclusively by whites. In reality, slavery has always been part of human history throughout the world, including by black Africans and Native Americans. But the emphasis of slavery is always on whites.

However, it is white Europeans, particularly the Anglo-Saxons, who led the crusade in the late 1800s to abolish slavery throughout the world. It has been as successful as wiping out polio. That is, polio still holds out in Afghanistan and Pakistan, thanks to the Taliban, and slavery is still very much practiced openly in many Muslim countries.

But if you want to rail against slavery, then rail against Islam. Islam condones it. It is practiced in many Muslim countries. And Mohammed was a slave owning pedophile. That is historical fact.

The Heroic Blacklisted Hollywood 10

Here I will simply write that you should do yourself a big favor and buy and read Allan H. Ryskinds Hollywood Traitors. Dont be afraid. You can do it. Buy and read the book.

In short, just a we see fake news being spread, there is such a thing as fake history. I could continue to give (better detailed) examples of historical mutilation carried out by leftists in colleges and Hollywood (which explains to a large degree why so many students end up worshiping totalitarianism and see nothing wrong with communism): Sacco and Vanzetti, the Spanish-American War, blacks ruling Egypt, the 1960s, and on and on and on. The all-important question, then, now becomes: why are you letting this happen?
Within two days of Donald Trump declaring, during his speech to the Muslim world, that the fight against "Islamic terror" is not a war of civilizations, the non-warriors representing the non-enemy civilization have struck again, killing at least twenty-two and injuring many more at a concert in Manchester, England.

To be honest, I can't quite get my head around what is so inflammatory about calling the abstractly dubbed "war on terror" a war of civilizations. The aggressors are clearly claiming to represent an identifiable civilization in their attempts to annihilate another identifiable civilization. The only way to avoid the obvious conclusion is to deny that those aggressors are "really" representing their civilization. But what would that even mean in this context, once we wipe away the obfuscations of political correctness?

One civilization, the one in which we find nations governed (to varying degrees) under the tenets of Islamic law, has somehow managed to foster and perpetuate a subculture of murderous hatred for all resistance to the genuine Islamic ideal of a global caliphate. This civilization has coughed up generations of venomous phlegm in the form of ever more radical terrorist factions, alliances, and loose affiliations, which have wrought havoc on almost every continent on the globe, killing, maiming, and raping untold thousands of victims, while severely disrupting life, liberty, and peace of mind for millions more. The general citizenry of this civilization, though not themselves participating in such violence, have shown remarkably high levels of acceptance of, and sympathy with, the terrorists and their alleged cause  which, after all, is, as I said, a legitimate Islamic cause, the global caliphate.

The other civilization is the prime target of the violence and hatred spewed forth by the first, for the obvious reason that they are perceived as an obstacle, the primary obstacle, to the establishment of the global caliphate.

The first civilization has a well documented past of violent fanaticism. That is to say, the fanaticism currently dubbed "Islamic terrorism," "radical Islam," or what have you has a long and unbroken history. It is connected to the religion's holy book, but perhaps even more so to the specific biography of its figurehead, and even to its traditional language, Arabic, which Jean-Jacques Rousseau identified as the tongue of murderous religious fanaticism two hundred and fifty years ago.

The second civilization has its own accusers and critics, its own history of fanatical behavior and violence. But therein lies a significant difference. The fanaticisms of the Judeo-Christian world, or at least the ones that might lead to widespread death cults equivalent to ISIS, are a thing of the distant past. Modernity moderated those urges, as men in this second civilization found the boons of peaceful coexistence to outweigh the compulsion to enforce God's will with the earthly sword of righteousness. To put this in a way that some Christians may dislike, the modern West arrived at the point of realizing that as much as one may adhere to one's faith, there are other goods to which one may also adhere, which require a softening of religious extremism in any area where such extremes might compel one to oppression and violence.

So these are two civilizations, one still partly living in that pre-modern fanatical time and hating all who refuse to do so, and the other seeking to get on with the life of earthly comfort and coexistence. That there are plenty of exceptions on both sides of the argument is beyond doubt. But so is it beyond doubt that this broad-brush statement is fair enough as far as it goes. This is a war of civilizations. Not just "Muslim vs. Christian," but medieval vs. modern, fanatical vs. moderate, dogmatic vs. rationalist.

There are Muslims who wish to modernize their lives and live in peace with the other civilization, even in many cases to embrace it. Likewise, there are Jews and Christians who refuse to accept the moderation of faith in the name of political pluralism and tolerance. But this would be true of any fundamental clash of civilizations. There will be many on both sides who sympathize with the sensibility of the other or even side with the other. This does not contradict the claim that civilizations are in conflict. Rather, it helps to draw attention to the fact.

And why is this fact so hard to digest or to speak aloud? The "democracy project" fantasists will say it is harmful to the battle for "hearts and minds." But is it? Since when is identifying a disagreement honestly harmful to the long-term chances of resolving that conflict? Furthermore, when one civilization is under attack by the most radical elements within another civilization, it would seem that the only thing that could come of not identifying the problem openly would be a further brewing of radicalism under the protective cover of the victim civilization's "diplomatic language." That has certainly been the case in this particular unacknowledged war of civilizations.

Of course, the real answer to the question as to why the West is so reticent to label this fight a civilizational war (the radical Muslims have no such reticence) has more to do with ourselves than with the war. If, as I believe, there is a human nature, then there is no civilization  no human possibility  that is not latent in the blood of every man, anywhere. Thus, the West as a civilization has transcended the religious fanaticism that stymies societal development and favors dogmatic purity enforced with the sword over the growth of practical knowledge, productivity, and peace. Nevertheless, the temptation to such fanatical devotion, with its tendencies toward intolerance of infidels and coercive dreams of world domination, remains within us, even in our so-called secular modern age.

The West's own manifestation of this fanatical hatred of everything the modern West represents has risen to such prominence that we have given it a name: progressivism. Perhaps it is for this reason that we are so squeamish about calling the current global conflict a civilizational war. Progressives  both the overt and the indoctrinated  find something inherently agreeable and charming in an Islamic civilization that inclines toward hatred of the West with its moderating inclinations, tolerance, and individual liberty.

Hence, progressives are the ones who insist that this is not a civilizational war and that we must not call it one. In their hearts, they sympathize with the other side and would hate to see it lose. They would simply like to incorporate the other side into their own paradigm of anti-West destructiveness and their own form of world domination.

Progressives are learning the hard way that fanaticism doesn't work that way. No accommodation  from arming Islamic rebels against secular Arab leaders to burying police reports of mass sexual assault in Western cities  will ever be enough. The violence will not abate until the victim civilization has the courage to shuck off its progressive identification with the enemy and face the nature of the conflict openly.

This does not mean "hating Muslims." Nor does it mean disrespecting the power of human belief that leads to fanatical devotion to one's cause. (All great men, great leaders, and great societies have had a hint of the fanatical in them.) But it means refusing to accept fanaticism as a social norm. It means demanding the moderation of such passions from anyone who wishes to live in, or work alongside, a modern, rationalist, liberty-loving civilization. And if Islam is found somehow incapable of achieving this general "modernizing" effect, so be it  then the necessary and rational conclusion would be that devout Muslims as devout Muslims cannot be assimilated into modern civilization. (I am not saying this will end up being the case in the long run, but if it turns out to be so, then one must face facts as one finds them.)

Of course this is a civilizational war, whether our own neo-religious fanatics, the progressives, choose to acknowledge the fact or not.

Daren Jonescu writes about politics, philosophy, education, and the decline of civilization at www.darenjonescu.com.
Michael Bloomberg, according to Forbes, is the 10th richest man in the world, with a net worth of $47.5 billion.

Bloomberg graduated from the Harvard Business School, and built a huge business. He is no dummy. So, why has he given millions of dollars to the extremist Sierra Club? Why did he co-write Climate of Hope, an ignorant, anti-science book, with Carl Pope, the former head of the Sierra Club? Bloomberg studied electrical engineering as an undergraduate, so he cant plead that he is a science-dumb liberal arts major. Sadly, Bloomberg seems to believe what he wrote.

Global warming is a scare story that is on the decline. The failure of the Earth to warm for over 18 years, many unresolved questions and contradictions, and repeated scandals, have gravely damaged the catastrophic global warming story.

Different chapters in their book are written by either Bloomberg or Pope. Pope wrote a science chapter that is extremely amusing because Pope, a history major, obviously hasnt the vaguest understanding of the basic science behind claims of global warming. Worse, he doesnt know what he doesnt know.

Pope says:

Different gases and particles in the atmosphere capture some of the solar energy both as it hits the atmosphere and as it bounces back as heat. These are the greenhouse gases

This is confused gibberish. Very little of the incoming radiation from the Sun is absorbed by greenhouse gases.

Pope says that without greenhouse gases the Earth would be like the Moon, 253 degrees Fahrenheit by day and 243 degrees below zero at night. Thats wrong. Even without greenhouse gases, the Earth, unlike the moon, has an atmosphere. The Earth rotates 13 times faster than the moon. The Earth would not experience the extreme temperatures of the moon even without greenhouse gases because days and nights are short compared to the moon and because the atmosphere provides far more thermal inertia than the Moons surface does.

Pope states that greenhouse gases cause the blanket of air surrounding the Earth to retain more solar energy, causing the temperature to rise. Pope seems to think that the greenhouse gases are a kind of bank vault for energy. According to Pope: carbon dioxide is the second-largest heat-storage gas in the atmosphere But very little energy is stored in greenhouse gases as heat, the more so because they constitute a very small part of the atmosphere. The amount of atmospheric heat that can be stored in the atmospheres CO2 is more than a thousand times less that the amount of heat stored in the major atmospheric gases, nitrogen and oxygen. Pope was very clear about his mistaken beliefs in his 2006 book about the Bush administration, Strategic Ignorance:

"the science is, in fact, settled. greenhouse gases-carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and certain other atmospheric chemicals -- absorb heat from the Sun during the day and do not re-radiate it at night

This is gibberish. Pope seems to think that greenhouse gases store heat and make the earth warmer. Do they store more energy every day and not release it every night? Will they eventually explode from all the energy accumulated over the years?

Pope says in Climate of Hope:

More retained solar energy has two effects. It causes temperatures to rise -- hence global warming. It also makes the atmosphere more energetic, just as heating a pot of spaghetti sauce not only heats it but eventually causes it to bubble over. Storing more -- and reflecting less -- of the incoming Sunlight puts weather on steroids.

Just as Newton supposedly understood gravity after observing an apple falling off a tree, Pope has grasped global warming while cooking up a batch of spaghetti. Global warming is supposed to take place most strongly in the polar regions, reducing the pole-equator temperature difference. It is this temperature difference that drives weather, so global warming should make the weather more moderate -- more like spaghetti at a low simmer.

The many termite companies in Chicago would not be amused to know that Pope thinks there are no termites in Chicago due to the cold winters.

I am not surprised that Carl Pope, a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, has a knowledge of science barely one step up from explaining things in terms of Moon gods and Sun gods. What does surprise me is that obviously no attempt was made to fact check the information in a book written by the 10th richest man in the world and the former head of a 2-million-member environmental organization.

Michael Bloomberg has a history of supporting global warming hysteria. See this article concerning his previous efforts to promote global warming with two other billionaires. In Bloombergs chapter, The Stakes, quoting his previous efforts, he says:

In the decades ahead, coastal storm damage could grow to $35 billion annually, agriculture could face yield losses of more than 10 percent, and increasing power demand caused by rising temperatures could cost ratepayers an additional $12 billion annually.

A lot of things could happen as a result of global warming. None of these things is happening. But then, neither is global warming happening. If adding CO2 to the atmosphere is going to hurt agricultural yields, one has to wonder why the owners of greenhouses routinely install CO2 generators. Plants breathe CO2. Increased CO2 makes plants grow better with less water.

Bloomberg says: Never in recorded history have the seas risen as much, as quickly, as they did during the twentieth century. To see how misleading that is, look at the graph here. Recorded history is not relevant in this context.

Bloomberg uses tricks to make the reader think global warming is progressing rapidly. But, the Earths temperature has been flat since 1998, contrary to the predictions of global warming disaster. The flat temperature has slight ripples that enable the promoters of global warming to say this year or that year is the hottest on record. The record, of course, doesnt go back very far. It was probably hotter 6,000 years ago during a period known as the Holocene Optimum.

Bloomberg has a lot to say about increasing the energy efficiency of buildings. If you add enough insulation, enough triple pane windows and restrict fresh air intake, or use heat exchangers to condition fresh air intake, it is possible to make buildings that hardly consume any energy for heating or cooling. Instead of wasting energy, the greens prefer to waste money. Usually it is not their money. Then people move into the wonderful green building and ruin the best laid plans by opening the windows. The plunging price of natural gas due to fracking has made green buildings ever more wasteful of money. Because gas is so cheap, the sweet spot is less building and more energy.

Bloomberg and Pope hate coal, undoubtedly because burning coal generates more CO2 than other fuels. To promote their hatred of coal, they claim that pollution from coal is responsible for all sorts of medical problems. Claims that the low level of pollution from coal plants is responsible for medical problems and premature death is based on calculations and the assumption that small doses of pollutants cause problems in linear proportion to the problems caused by large doses. There is every reason to believe that this is not true. The claim that coal generation of electricity causes medical problems is thus unsupported by good science.

Ive hardly scratched the surface of the mistakes, misrepresentations and lies in the Bloomberg-Pope book. What is really going on? What is this book, filled with crazy but fashionable ideas, really about? It is certainly not about science. It has to do with a new religion that instead of invoking God, invokes science. The role of the devil is assigned to fossil fuel companies and Republicans. The prophets are computer models that supposedly predict the future climate of the Earth. The science that is invoked is not real science, but a confused mix of wild claims larded with scientific terminology.

Norman Rogers has a website.
Out of sight, out of mind. When it's President Trump who's far out of sight, the Democrats go even farther out of their minds.

Biased media have all but buried the coverage of Trump's historic visit to Riyadh, Israel, the Vatican, and Brussels. The possibility of Arab cooperation, so long jawed about by the Obama administration, is barely acknowledged now that Trump has seized the opportunity to promote it in person.

Finding a strategy for defeating ISIS appears not to be a major concern of the Trump-haters, whose presumed enemy of civilization is what they consider a home-grown terrorist illegitimately hunkering down in the White House. Trump's removal from office is at the apex of their aggressive agenda of resistance. And if his overseas visits go badly, the wished for end of the 45th presidency is all the more likely.

To suit their purposes, the liberal media have shortchanged Trump's historic agenda in the Middle East and beyond. Commentary relating to the trip invariably includes remarks to the effect that Arab leaders cannot be trusted, nothing will come of the effort and expense, and Trump is simply cozying up to the bigwigs of Wahhabism, in whose countries human rights are routinely violated. On the snider side, there have been comments to the effect that First Lady Michelle Obama bested her successor by being the first U.S. chief executive's wife to appear in that region of the world with her head uncovered.

Fixated progressives, who promote inclusiveness  except when they don't  can't seem to grasp the practical fact that alliances are forged not from cultural niceties, but from critical necessities. We welcomed Russia as an ally in the Second World War, even though Stalin ruled his country with ruthless force, reportedly having been responsible in the long haul for more deaths than Adolf Hitler. Churchill and Roosevelt knew of Stalin's treachery. Yet the civilized world desperately needed his help in our overwhelming struggle against a powerful Nazi regime.

If Allied leaders refrained from being judgmental of Russia's lapses in human rights, it was likely because they considered it neither the time nor the place. The same might be said today about any move to chastise the Saudis and others over what we perceive as human rights lapses  or even to go farther by making "reform" a condition of our an alliance to fight Islamic extremism. When your house is burning, you do not chide the fireman for his sins.

In WWII, the Soviet military demonstrated extraordinary courage and skill. The Russian people remained remarkably stoic throughout a series of brutal sieges and attacks by the German Army. More Soviet citizens were killed in that costly war than peoples from any other country. After the war, the West faced problems with the Soviet regime, but without Russia, it is unclear whether the Allied Forces would have been victorious.

In today's political environment, the American left fancies itself the world's moral compass that swings to point a punishing finger of disapproval at those whom it judges to be falling below the left's own high standards. Yet Obama fostered foreign friendships in a selective manner predicated less on demonstrable human values than on his own self-serving political criteria. It was de rigueur to embrace Mexico, for example, even though its corrupt government has over scores of years marginalized its people  a steadfast policy that still encourages mass migrations of illegal immigrants into our country.

Obama considered it "in our best interest" to agree to a treaty with Iran, even though that country is one of the world's most egregious enablers of terrorism and a violator of human rights. But let Trump be on the brink of reaching consensus with Arab states in our fight against the worldwide scourge of terror, and Democrats accuse him of consorting with the wrong kind. Trump has even been judged to have bowed more obsequiously to Arab royalty than Obama did and of looking downright foolish doing a sword dance. When the president stood at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, he was accused by his critics of putting on a phony 12-second "act" of worship. In anything pertaining to Trump, his haters do not give an inch. And as for our country's succeeding under his administration  frankly, my dear, they don't give a damn.

The immediate intent of the constant Trump put-downs is to enhance the likelihood of Trump's so-called "collusion" with the Russians. The battle against the left's sworn nemesis has the loyal assistance of a complicit media. Scorekeepers attest to the fact that more time on CNN and MSNBC was spent this week on speculative Trump-Russia ties than on either Trump's trip or the Manchester, England concert bombing. What better time for rat skullduggery than when the chief tabby is somewhere else?

The real shame is that more Americans were not exposed to Trump's inspiring rhetoric and to his impressive destinations. What viewers may have missed was not just the majestic pomp and pageantry of these venues, but the heartwarming hospitality and refreshing sense of shared camaraderie and respect. There was joy  not nasty placards  floating in the air.

The glittering council hall in Riyadh was filled with Arab leaders from across the region eager to see and hear the new American president. It was a seminal, historic moment reminiscent of others recollected from previous administrations: Nixon's surprise trip that opened China to the world; JFK's stirring "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech to the beleaguered people of that divided city; and later, Ronald Reagan's exhortation for Mr. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

These larger-than-life events stand in contrast to the petulantly narrow hope of Democrat spoilers to characterize Trump as a fool and a puppet of Putin. While they deliver little more than speculation, leaks, and rumors, the president is making groundbreaking progress with the work of the world.

It's been said that a combatant can die only once in war, but many times in politics. It's uncertain whether Trump has the nine lives of a cat. But it is clear that the ratfinks who would destroy him have their evil work cut out for them.
Attempting to upstage President Trump as he travels in Europe, President Obama made an appearance in Germany at the Brandenburg Gate for a rock star welcome. He also appeared with Chancellor Angela Merkel in a bid to boost her campaign.

Seeking to help Merkel (a woman he spied on to much brouhaha at the time, but this is politics) get re-elected, it's clear that Obama's new game out of office is to have a cadre of like-minded world leaders to obstruct President Trump as he seeks to work with Europe. (So much for returning to his community organizer roots and helping the black youth or watching Sasha graduate.) Obama laid out and advocated the full Eurotrashian platform parade of leftist tax-spend-appease-and-open the borders positions at his events, and the German crowds went wild, quite likely in a way they never would with Merkel alone. Not having had to live with the effects of Obama's low-growth economy, his corruption of the agencies, or the nightmare of Obamacare up close and personal, the man was easy to cheer.

'We can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall,' he said, to cheers from the audience. Merkel, who has taken political heat for her open door policy on refugees, including from Trump who called it a 'catastrophic mistake,' got reassurance from Obama. 'In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child,' Obama said. 'You can't distinguish between them in terms of their worth or inherent dignity.'

Here's the irony of all that scolding about walls, and Obama's sudden newfound interest in God as a political ally:

Police helicopters patrolled the skies and snipers with balaclavas watched the scene from nearby rooftops.

Get that? Cause. Effect. Obama was surrounded by de facto SWAT teams. Looking for terrorists, rioters, and assassins. All of these elements are linked to Germany's open door on immigration and its failure to assimilate immigrants so that even their offspring have become human bombs, desperate to go from zero to hero as they listen to radical imams, get drunk on internet message boards, and join Islamist terrorist groups. The rabid left, of course, helps out with the riots.

Instead of a world of safety for everyone, which is the democratic effect of walls keeping out Islamic terrorists, what's seen here, with the balaclava crowd and the highly trained rooftop snipers keeping guard, is the logical result of Obama's and Merkel's open door policy. Walls for elites, zero walls for regular people. And don't think this isn't just what Obama wants. In Obama's case, he's knowingly let in MS-13 members to wreak havoc on Long Island and in the skeevier parts of Los Angeles County. Let the little people take the murders. The elites get SWAT team cordons. Who knows how many ISIS members have been let in by Obama's policy as well? We know that Merkel has let them in.

The SWAT teams are evidence of Obama's howling about walls: a new normal of constant terrorist vigilance, of a casual willingness to accept losses among the citizenry, even as world leaders merit the finest in protective cordons. The elites get security cordons. The people have to sit there and take it, as leaders like Merkel and Obama virtue-signal about the superiority of having no walls and the wickedness of building any. They don't care about miscreants and killers getting in. There are too many political goodies in them. They want votes, Social Security dollars, and bureaucrat employment opportunities, particularly in the social welfare sector. No walls makes all that possible.

Will it work? Will Obama's gambit to cultivate anti-Trump world leaders to obstruct him be successful? It might be in some place like Germany, where locals seek to erase their own identity and guilt-trip the rest of the world to paper over their National Socialist past. They'd do anything to get a sense of uber-moral superiority again. But it might not work in the rest of the world, in places where national identity is strong and foreign campaigning often is taken negatively. Even the closest of allies, such as Britain and the U.S., take foreign campaigning from each other's countries balefully.

Or will the Germans notice the SWAT teams, recognize that as the logical result of open immigration without walls, and ask themselves if this new normal is what they really want more of?

One hopes for the latter.
Repealing and replacing Obamacare with the Republican alternative would lead to 23 million consumers losing their insurance by 2026 but also reduce premium costs and the federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO scored the original GOP proposal to reform Obamacare in March, at which time it calculated that 24 million Americans would lose insurance. The premium savings will come for those states that opt out of onerous Obamacare coverage mandates, including maternity leave and substance abuse coverage.

Daily Caller:

The report projects that some 23 million Americans would lose health insurance coverage by 2026 if Congress passed the proposal, a figure sure to draw flack from Democrats who remain united in their opposition to Republicans efforts to overhaul Obamacare. Another 51 million Americans under the age of 65 would be uninsured by 2026 if the AHCA is signed into law, up from the projected 28 million Americans under Obamacare. The CBO projects that under the AHCA, "a few million of those people would use tax credits to purchase policies that would not cover major medical risks," the report noted. The AHCA would also reduce the cumulative federal deficit by $119 billion over the next decade, according to the report. The figure is $32 billion less in savings than the CBO's score of the AHCA from March 22. The CBO scored the original version of the AHCA in early-March. The non-partisan research committee estimated the plan would reduce the federal budget deficit by $337 billion over the ten-year horizon. The report also found that 24 million Americans would lose health insurance if Congress passed the AHCA, with a large portion of the loss stemming from Medicaid consumers. (RELATED: CBO Unveils Obamacare Replacement Report) One of the main concerns regarding Obamacare for lawmakers is the fact that premiums are skyrocketing to levels many Americans cannot afford. (RELATED: Premiums Doubled Once Obamacare Took Effect, Report Says) The CBO report finds that the AHCA would increase premiums before 2020 by "an average of about 20 percent in 2018 and 5 percent in 2019." In 2020, premium increases would depend on which states were granted waivers to opt out of certain provisions of Obamacare and how said waivers were implemented. In states that do not apply for waivers, "average premiums in the nongroup market would be about 4 percent lower in 2026" than under current projections for Obamacare. The fall in premiums is mainly due to the participation of "a younger and healthier population" in the insurance marketplace. Other states that choose to make moderate changes to Obamacare, which the CBO expects to be about 33 percent of states, can expect "average premiums in the nongroup market would be roughly 20 percent lower in 2026 than under current law."

Many of those who lose their insurance are expected to be Medicaid clients who signed up in droves when Obamacare expanded the eligibility requirements. But about a quarter of those who signed up for Medicaid after Obamacare was implemented were eligible for the program even without the law. Others likely to lose their insurance include those whose policies were heavily subsidized by government. The Republican plan to replace some of those subsidies with tax credits won't make a big difference in the number of people who won't be able to afford insurance.

One of my major beefs with this scoring is that it fails to take into account the reaction of the insurance industry. Will insurance companies offer a wider variety of plans, with differing coverage levels? If so, it is likely that more people will be able to afford at least some insurance for their families.

We are no longer at the point where we don't need to repeal Obamacare. How many people will lose coverage when Obamacare implodes? Just today, Blue Cross and Blue Shield said they are pulling out of the Kansas and Missouri exchanges next year. That's another nail in Obamacare's coffin.

The coverage that will be available to people in two or three years without Obamacare reform will be far more expensive with fewer benefits, higher deductibles, and more out-of-pocket expenses. This is how the program has been proceeding since the start despite hundreds of billions poured into Obamacare to keep it afloat.

At least the GOP alternative  flawed as it is  offers some hope of coverage to most Americans. Whether the Senate can improve upon this plan remains to be seen.
Did you know that Donald Trump is planning to kill a million innocent Africans? Or that his budget would inflict "an unimaginable level of cruelty" on Americans unless Democrats stop him? Yes, it is time for Democrats to roll out their time-tested rhetoric of demonization, imputing murderous cruelty to those who would slow the rate of growth of the federal budget.

That's right. A less rapid rate of increase in the federal budget is morphed into "devastating cuts" in a habitual and shameless inversion of the true meaning of words.

Hillary Clinton, a two-time loser occupying no public office, took time away from playing with her grandchildren to analyze the Trump budget thoroughly in a matter of a few hours. (Transcript via RCP.)

HILLARY CLINTON: Instead of working together to lift children and families out of poverty and give them a fighting shot in life, this administration and Republicans in Congress are mounting an onslaught against the needs of children and people with disabilities, women, and seniors. And just this morning the administration released a budget that would slash funding for Medicare and funding for the Children's Health Insurance program.



This budget along with the unrelenting attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act shows an unimaginable level of cruelty and lack of imagination and disdain for the struggles of millions of Americans, including millions of children every single day. None of us can remain silent in the face of these attacks.

The usual parade of victims: children and people with disabilities, women, and seniors. But what about blacks and Hispanics? Oh-oh!

The ridiculous charge of a million deaths came from the MSNBC arm of the Democratic Party. In the classic style of a propagandist planting an idea without taking or even attributing responsibility for it, Chris Jansing spoke of "many people" suggesting the figure of a million deaths (transcript via Grabien):

JANSING: "Let me ask you about some of the specifics that you're going to have to be looking at and I'm going to start with Lindsey Graham and his concern with the cuts to the State Department. Are you concerned about this cuts to the State Department? Is that a place you would put money back in?"

CARTER: "Well I  I haven't seen the specific cuts that have been outlined in the president's budget. Certainly we need to look at this. And  and look, the president increased spending in defense which is something we all agree needs to be done. Look at what just happened in Manchester. The number one responsibility of our federal government is to protect our homeland and protect our citizen. We can only do that through a strong military. I applaud the president for increasing military spending. It is what we need to do at this time. We live in a dangerous world. We need to make sure that we're prepared."

JANSING: "But you're doing that, you're increasing military spending with  without taking on the biggest parts of the budget within things like Social Security. So let me go to a deeper dive, that is something you know very much about or I assume you do. There are huge cuts to global health care plans in this budget and there are many people suggesting it could cost a million people their lives in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. You're a pharmacist. You're somebody who understands the value of life saving drugs. If that's true is that something you would be OK with in order to save money, in order to help bring the costs down?"

CARTER: "Of course not. You know, we're never  you're never going to get me to say that I  I want to cut programs and let people die. None of us want to do that."

JANSING: "But that's what this program does, by many analyses."

CARTER: "No, no, no, no. No, no, no."

JANSING: "By many analyses if you take the money away from foreign aid that allows for health programs, there is a cause and effect. You would  you would agree with that?"

CARTER: "I would agree there's a cause and effect. There's also a cause and effect to be more efficient and more effective in the way that we spend our dollars. That's what the president is proposing. That's what we need to do in Congress and that's what I'm going to strive my best to get us to do."

JANSING: "Congressman, Buddy Carter of Georgia, always good talking with you. Thank you so much."

CARTER: "Thank you. Thank you."

This has all become a ritual. Democrat propaganda portrays Republicans as monsters. Sooner or later, everything they propose becomes a crime against humanity some way or another.

I suppose that people vary in how long it takes them to filter out continuous cries of alarm, as the fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" describes.

It seems to me that the longer this behavior persists, the more people will have their boywhocriedwolf moment and just dismiss extreme rhetoric as nothing new or worth paying attention to.
A farmer is going on trial for the crime of plowing his own field. That is the essence of a case that could have far-reaching implications for property rights, not to mention our supply of food.

It's a complicated story that involves a dispute between the Army Corps of Engineers and Duarte Nursery. The owner of the nursery purchased 450 acres of land on which he planned to grow wheat. There were several parts of the acreage that were off limits due to EPA Clean Water Act regulations about "wetlands." The farmer hired a consultant who mapped out the parts of his acreage where he could legally plow. But the Army Corps of Engineers claims that the farmer needed a permit to plow the land, given its "protected" location. There was also a protected species of shrimp that the Corps said the farmer threatened.

The tangled legal issues have led to the Corps suing the farmer for $2.8 million in damages and forbidding him from working his own land.

USA Today:

Duarte's wheat was planted but not harvested because in February 2013 the Army Corps of Engineers and the California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued orders to stop work at the site. The agencies claimed Duarte had violated the Clean Water Act by not obtaining a permit to discharge dredged or fill material into seasonal wetlands considered waters of the United States. Duarte sued the Army Corps and the state, alleging they violated his constitutional right of due process by issuing the cease and desist orders without a hearing. The U.S. Attorneys Office counter-sued Duarte Nursery to enforce the Clean Water Act violation. Farmers plowing their fields are specifically exempt from the Clean Water Act rules forbidding discharging material into U.S. waters, Francois said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Broderick said he could not comment on the case and referred questions to his offices public affairs department, which did not return phone calls. However, documents filed in court explain some of the rationale behind the governments case. Even under the farming exemption, a discharge of dredged or fill material incidental to the farming activities that impairs the flow of the waters of the United States still requires a permit because it changes the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters, the U.S. attorney said in court filings. The creeks also flow into the Sacramento River, home to endangered chinook salmon. In addition to civil penalties, the U.S. Attorneys Office is also asking the judge to order Duarte to repair the damage to the wetlands, including smoothing out the soil and replanting native plants in the wetlands.

The "waters of the United States" regulation that was one of the last Obama EPA power grabs is also the most pernicious example of government overreach during the Obama years. Under that regulatory regime, there is hardly a creek or a puddle that can't be managed by the EPA.

The nursery also discovered a byproduct of the regulation: the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers get to use their own definitions for who is in compliance and who is violating the law. They can interpret the regulations however they see fit, making them tyrannical masters of much of the farmland in the U.S.

The GOP is seeking to roll back this regulation, but you can bet that the greens will fight tooth and nail to keep it. The rule represents the culmination of 50 years of the EPA's drive to become the most powerful and intrusive agency in government. Farmers will discover this fact of life to their regret.
The race to fill the lone Montana House seat vacated by Rep. Ryan Zinke, who was named interior secretary, just got a lot more interesting.

Already considered too close to call by both sides, GOP candidate Gianforte was involved in an altercation with a reporter for the ultra-liberal Guardian newspaper, where eyewitnesses say the tech millionaire body-slammed the journalist and began to punch him.

Fox News employees witnessed the attack:

As part of our preparation for a story about Thursday's special election to air on "Special Report with Bret Baier," we arranged interviews with the top two candidates, Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist. On Wednesday, I joined field producer Faith Mangan and photographer Keith Railey in Bozeman for our scheduled interview with Gianforte, which was to take place at the Gianforte for Congress Bozeman Headquarters. Faith, Keith and I arrived early to set up for the interview in a room adjacent to another room where a volunteer BBQ was to take place. As the time for the interview neared, Gianforte came into the room. We exchanged pleasantries and made small talk about restaurants and Bozeman. During that conversation, another man  who we now know is Ben Jacobs of The Guardian  walked into the room with a voice recorder, put it up to Gianforte's face and began asking if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act. Gianforte told him he would get to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon. At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!" Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. Jacobs then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and Scanlon, who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left.

There's no doubt the Guardian reporter was being obnoxious and violated journalistic ethics by trying to horn in on an interview scheduled by another media outlet. "Getting the story" does not include trying to prevent other journalists from doing their jobs.

But Gianforte had absolutely no call to attack Jacobs, no matter how obnoxious his behavior or arrogant his demeanor. In a civil society, it simply can't be tolerated.

Will Gianforte suffer politically for the attack?

A few years ago, it would have ended his campaign. But this is the age of Trump, where voters tend to look at the faults and foibles of candidates in an entirely different light. There may even be some Montana voters who approve of Gianforte's assault on a liberal reporter.

Several Montana newspapers have withdrawn their endorsement of Gianforte. But since any newspaper endorsement is virtually ignored by the voters, it hardly matters.

Two years ago, I would have confidently predicted the demise of Gianforte's campaign. But today...who knows? The Republican's problem is that even if it costs him only a few votes, in a close race, that may be decisive. I think it's safe to say Gianforte didn't do himself any favors with his body-slamming a liberal journalist.
Watching the weenies at the U.K.'s Guardian react to the Manchester mass-casualty attack by trotting out the left's usual meme that "we must not overreact" to the latest atrocity, we may have arrived at a great clarifying moment. Apparently, there is nothing the Islamic terrorists could do that will provoke the European left into defending the West. So this will be a very short note.

First, the left, with its reaction to Manchester, has lost all credibility. Leftists are no longer relevant  and should be treated accordingly.

Second, Great Britain  in the midst of a "snap election" campaign  has been targeted by the same folks who've been launching mass-casualty attacks on the Continent. From the reporting, it appears that this was not a "lone wolf" like the guy who attacked Parliament. This was ISIS Central. An appropriate response is required.

Third, thank God that Barack Obama is not president.

So what should the Brits and the U.S. do? They should do what the Archangel Barack would not do after the Paris and Brussels attacks. Invoke Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. This was done after 9/11.

An attack on one is an attack on all.

Last, Prime Minister May, with President Trump's support, should do what George W. Bush did not do after 9/11 and call for 100,000 British men to leap to the colors and join the U.K.'s military. France's new president should do the same with his own men and his own army.

Enough is enough. As Mark Steyn wrote on Tuesday:
Leave it to Washington Post writer Catherine Rampell to blame anyone other than Obama for the collapse of Obamacare. She uses Iowa as an example, stating that the individual insurance market is collapsing not because of Obamacare, but because Iowa didn't implement it.

Iowa is down to one insurer in the individual market in 2017, and that one may drop out. Rampell says it is partially due to the fact that the insurer doesn't know the future rules under Trump.

Why doesn't Rampell address the collapse of the individual market throughout the United States?

In 2017, one third of counties in the U.S. have one insurer, and 60% have one or two. The insurers chose to drop out in 2016 prior to Trump being elected, and while almost everyone thought Hillary would be elected so the Obamacare rules and regulations would stay in place, so the collapse has to be due to Obamacare itself.

Before Obamacare passed in March 2010, there was substantial competition in Iowa and elsewhere. People could buy low-cost coverage or high-cost coverage, low deductibles or high deductibles. They could buy just catastrophic insurance if they liked. There were reinsurance and high-risk pools in place. Many of the uninsured were healthy and yet chose not to buy health insurance  they could essentially self-insure. This was especially true for the young. People actually had freedom of choice. Some of the uninsured were eligible for Medicaid and hadn't signed up.

President Obama himself said in September 2009 that 30 million Americans couldn't get health care, which is why we needed Obamacare. Today the number is around 28 million. So why does everyone repeat the made up number that an additional 20 million are covered? Essentially, we had less than 10 percent of the population at most that may have had a problem getting health insurance. So why would you destroy the existing system instead of just trying to help the people with actual problems?

Then along came Obamacare, and people no longer had a choice. They were forced to buy insurance, and not just any insurance  they had to buy a Cadillac plan that complied with a law of over 2,000 pages with over 10,000 additional pages of regulations. There were also over 20 new taxes. The cost to individuals, companies, and the government was obviously going to go up substantially, and people were not going to be able to keep their doctors and existing health plans despite the repeated promises.

The media and Obama blamed Bush for the problems during Obama's term, and now they are blaming Trump. We can all see that Obama and his team were perfect and that the only problems that ever occurred were because of someone or something else. Obama was just too smart to make mistakes.

In fact, it was Trump and the Tea Party that made Obama, Jonathan Gruber, and Democrats continuously lie about health costs going down and keeping your doctor and plan. They had to lie, or it wouldn't have passed, according to Gruber.
Mainstream news outlets are under criticism for some of their stories about President Trump. Here are recent examples:

CNN headline, May 10: "Sources: James Comey sought more resources for Russia investigation."

In the second paragraph of the story, we learn that those sources are "two sources familiar with the discussion."

Washington Post headline, May 15: "Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador."

In the first paragraph, the Post credits the story to "current and former U. S. officials[.]"

New York Times headline, May 16: "Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation."

Not until the sixth paragraph do we learn that the source was "one of Mr. Comey's associates [who] read parts of it to a Times reporter."

What's the problem with these stories? If you guessed "anonymous sources," guess again. Anonymous sources have been a staple of respectable news reporting for...well, forever. Remember Deep Throat, identified as FBI special agent Mark Felt only shortly before his death in 2008, who helped Woodward and Bernstein take down President Nixon?

The current problem is reporters' overreliance upon anonymous sources. In the 1970s, Washington Post editor Benjamin Bradley demanded that Woodward and Bernstein get confirmation by on-record sources before he'd print their stories. Now that's all changed. On-record sources almost seem like a quaint throwback to an earlier age.

Many readers only scan headlines, while others read the stories but remember only the headlines. To such people, the headlines falsely appear as established facts. News editors dedicated to truth will be dismayed, no doubt, to learn that many of their readers are thus being misled. Surely, they will welcome and implement the following simple solution: they should note all anonymously sourced information in the headline.

This practice would give us the following:

Improved CNN headline May 10: "Two persons who say they are familiar with the discussion but who wish to remain unnamed, allege that James Comey sought more resources for Russian investigation."

Improved Washington Post headline May 15: "According to persons claiming to be current and former U. S. officials but who do not wish their names or titles to be associated this report, Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador."

Improved New York Times headline May 16: "A Person Who Identifies Himself as an Associate of Mr. Comey but Who Insists on Anonymity, and Who Claims to be in Possession of a Memo Written by Mr. Comey which He Will Not Show Us, Has Read What He Asserts to be Parts of the Presumptive Memo to a Times Reporter, Whom We shall not Name, that Indicate President Trump Asked Mr. Comey to End Flynn Investigation."

Isn't that better?
Failed presidential candidate and scion of the tassel-loafer set John Kerry has made a fool of himself at Harvard, unspooling his thoughts for the student body at a commencement Wednesday.

"I'm often asked what the secret is to have a real impact on government," he said. "Well, it's recently changed." "I used to say, either run for office or get a degree from Harvard Kennedy School. With this White House I'd say, buy Rosetta Stone and learn Russian," he joked. The audience cheered.

It's incredible, what passes for humor among the toffs of the yacht club set with the legacy admissions. It's also remarkably similar in elitism to his insult to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq who couldn't possibly get into universities, as he claimed in 2006:

Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Does Kerry really think learning the language of Russia is an elementary thing, a stupid man's pursuit, compared to attending Harvard's Kennedy School? Is he serious in claiming that learning any foreign language from scratch is easier than for some legacy admission to get into Harvard and bee-ess his way around the Harvard seminar table sounding lofty and important in his pretentious bow tie?

I'm calling him light in the loafers on that one, a lazy man's claim on humor because he really never tried to learn any foreign language and never knew of any crisis in the Russian language aspect of scholarship, which certainly exists. For Kerry, the status of getting into Harvard amounts to more intelligence and a right to rule than the effort required to learn an actual foreign language, all because it comes through a commercial software program that anyone can buy. So gee, if anyone can buy one, it's must be unimportant to the likes of Kerry. Hence his disdainful insistence that Trump start with Rosetta Stone.

How much of the Russian language does Kerry know? How much did Obama know? How much did Ben Rhodes know? The answer is a big fat zero. Obama knows no foreign languages. It's highly unlikely that the creative writing major Rhodes had the discipline to learn one. As for Kerry himself, his only foreign language is French, which is one of the easiest ones for a native English speaker to master. Kerry also had the advantage of learning it immersion style, not through hard study, because he was raised in France as a child, an opportunity most American kids don't get. Color us unimpressed.

And if the Democrat "narrative" is what he is pushing  that Trump colluded with the Russians to steal the election from Hillary Clinton  why would learning Russian and presumably becoming more sympathetic to Russia as a natural result advance Kerry's "bad Russians" narrative? Such is the inchoate character of this clubby poofter.

What makes it astounding is its ignorance of the issue at hand. Does this former secretary of state not know that Russian is the least studied strategic language among U.S. graduate students? And that his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, made a fool of herself by presenting the Russians with a badly mistranslated "reset" button that signaled a severe lack of expertise among State Department staff in Russian language skills? Why again is Rosetta Stone being held up as the figure of fun here?

As I wrote last March 3:

How many Russians do most Americans know, anyway? How many kids in school study the Russian language? On the other side of the equation, how many Americans do most Russians know? The connections are negligible. Other than from a small wave of immigrants from the 1980s and 1990s, the Russians are largely unknown to us. Since the Cold War's end in 1991, Russian language and Russian area studies at universities have dwindled precipitously, to just 371 bachelor's degrees, 12 master's degrees, and one  count 'em, one  doctoral degree. Those figures are from 2014, and the Department of Education hasn't gotten around to updating them in the past three years, but the trend line from the charts is clear: it's a 66% decline since 1969, and it's the only strategic language and studies area that has seen any such decline. Chinese, Arabic, and Korean have all seen soaring gains. Russian is the only one that has fallen. Neither we nor the intelligence community has the knowledge base needed to make informed decisions about the country.

But somehow, in the elitist mind of John Kerry, learning the Russian language, especially if it is learned with a commercial program, is the mark of a stupid person. Given that the schools are failing to teach this language so badly, Rosetta Stone is often the one carrying the water  quite unlike looking important and speaking groupthink at Harvard seminars.

The conclusion is clear: Lurch has made a fool of himself. And not for the first time.
More than two months after Charles Murray went to Middlebury College in Vermont to give a lecture and was shouted down and roughed up on his leaving, school authorities have concluded their review of the incident and will not suspend or expel any students involved.

The school announced that 67 students had received various slaps on the wrist. The eight masked demonstrators who violently attacked Murray and a professor from the school when the two were trying to leave could not be identified, so police will take no action.

Inside Higher Ed:

While the department said that "it had identified a number of other people who were in the crowd of more than 20 people outside the event venue, on consultation with the Addison County States Attorney it was determined that there was insufficient information to charge any specific person who participated in damaging the car or interfering with or blocking the cars progress as it exited the parking lot." Ever since the Murray visit, Middlebury has been subject to national scrutiny over how it would punish those involved. Some have argued for tough punishments, while others have said that no punitive sanction would be appropriate. Murray is the co-author of The Bell Curve, a book widely denounced as racist for its conclusions on race and intelligence, but he was not planning to speak about that book. Stanger was the professor selected to lead questioning of Murray. While she defended his right to speak, she never endorsed his views. Middlebury policy permits protests of speakers but not activities that prevent someone from speaking. While many were involved in doing just that (and were seen on social media doing so), still others were involved in what has widely been seen as a more serious incident after the talk, when Stanger was attacked outside and the car carrying her and Murray from the event was attacked. Middlebury announced early on that it asked the town police to investigate that part of the incident. In addition, college officials said early on that they believed some of those involved in the more violent portion of the protest were not students or otherwise affiliated with the college. Middlebury officials have refused to answer detailed questions about the punishments, citing privacy issues with regard to the students. But they have indicated that they expected to have different punishments for different groups of students, depending on their level of involvement. The college's announcement Tuesday said of the more serious "college discipline" punishment that some received that it "places a permanent record in the students file. Some graduate schools and employers require individuals to disclose official college discipline in their applications."

So ends one of the more shameful episodes of suppressing free speech on campus in recent history. What made this incident so damaging was the actual, physical violence that erupted following the event's cancelation that was reminiscent of Nazi storm troopers suppressing opposition speech. The irony of referring to Murray as a "fascist," as many protesters did, was lost on the troublemakers, whose knowledge of history is deficient, as were their manners.

If colleges were serious about enforcing the free exchange of ideas, they would have suspended most of those 67 students and expelled others. Until universities show these fascists that they are serious about protecting free speech, the suppression of opposing viewpoints will continue  and get worse.
The owner of a burrito food cart in Portland has been driven out of business by social justice warriors who accused the two white women who run the business of "cultural appropriation."

Fox News:

Kali Wilgus and Liz "LC" Connelly, the two white women who started Kooks earlier this year, have been accused of stealing their techniques from the "tortilla ladies" of Puerto Nuevo, Mexico  because Connelly told Willamette Week that they gathered their recipes and tortilla-making processes during a holiday road-trip to the Baja California village. "I picked the brains of every tortilla lady there in the worst broken Spanish ever, and they showed me a little of what they did," she told the site. "They told us the basic ingredients, and we saw them moving and stretching the dough similar to how pizza makers do before rolling it out with rolling pins."

In another age, the two women would be praised for their ingenuity. Combining recipes and techniques is not "stealing" anything. In fact, their creation was wholly original, using the best from several cooks to develop a successful product.

Connelly then said she used a trial-and-error process to recreate a tortilla with the same flavor and texture after returning to Portland. She and Wilgus then opened their weekend pop-up inside a taco truck on SE Cesar Estrada Chavez Boulevard, and began serving their Mexican-style tortillas filled with California-inspired ingredients. Though the eatery had been open for several months, the owners of Kooks were only recently accused of cultural appropriation by The Portland Mercury and Mic.com based on Connelly's revelations. "Because of Portland's underlying racism, the people who rightly own these traditions and cultures that exist are already treated poorly," The Portland Mercury said, calling the closure of Kooks a "victory." The article continues, "These appropriating businesses are erasing and exploiting their already marginalized identities for the purpose of profit and praise."

Obviously, the SJWs have missed the point. All of American culture is appropriated, if you define "culture" as that which is excellent in arts, letters, manners, food, etc. from a region, race, or country. America has taken the best from each wave of immigrants who have come to our shores, embraced it, adopted it as "American," and celebrated it. We do this because America is a made up country with very little "culture" that can be identified as our own.

This is the "melting pot" method of assimilation that has been completely rejected by multiculturalists because it takes the motto of the United States to heart: "Out of many, one." The multiculturalists can't stand the idea of America being one country, looking instead to balkanize our people and split them into ethnic, racial, religious, and now sexual minorities. The charge of "cultural appropriation" is just a logical extension of their rationale  to absurd lengths, of course. But multiculturalism has its own logic, and soon, a strict racial and ethnic code will be enforced that divides America even more than it already is.
What could possibly go wrong? Stephen Dinan reports in the Washington Times:

The Obama administration knowingly let in at least 16 admitted MS-13 gang members who arrived at the U.S. as illegal immigrant teenagers in 2014, a top senator said Wednesday, citing internal documents that showed the teens were shipped to juvenile homes throughout the country. Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said a whistleblower turned over Customs and Border Protection documents from 2014 detailing the 16 people who were caught crossing the border. "CBP apprehended them, knew they were MS-13 gang members, and they processed and disbursed them into our communities," Mr. Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, said. The gang members were part of the surge of UAC, or "unaccompanied alien children," as the government labels them, who overwhelmed the Obama administration in 2014, leaving Homeland Security struggling to staunch the flow from Central America.

Taking government action "for the children" has proven to be the best cover of imposing left-wing mischief on the country  in this case, salting our communities with violent gang members capable of the cruelest criminal activities, the product of a violent and cruel Central American culture. There is no upside to allowing such people to be dispersed into unsuspecting communities. (By the way, 68% of the "children" admitted under the UAC program were 15, 16, and 17  old enough to be violent gang members.)

MS-13 is wreaking havoc on peaceful American communities.

The MS-13 gang is linked to a startling 38 percent of all the homicides in normally placid Suffolk County over the last 16 months, its besieged police chief told a startled Senate panel Wednesday. Since Jan. 1, 2016, 17 of 45 murders in the county have been connected to the brutal gang, testified Police Commissioner Timothy Sini. He said MS-13 engages in selling drugs, stealing and extortion, but unlike other gangs, the primary motivation isn't to make money but to terrorize the community. "MS-13 often engages in violence for the sake of violence," Sini told the Senate Homeland Security Committee, "to increase notoriety of the gang and to cause communities to fear the gang and its members."

The 16 gang members knowingly settled in the United States have names. They can be traced. Prior to deportation, congressional hearings should investigate what crimes they have committed. I would consider it a good bargain to offer them immunity from prosecution (but not deportation) for crimes they admit to in testimony (via translators). Let the American people understand what evil Obama loosed upon us.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 25 - Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Thursday that Italy is not against increasing its share of funding to NATO if other members do as well, but that "we need to make a proper assessment first". In an interview with Radio Capital, Alfano said that the Italian defense ministry should be involved and that tasks undertaken by members should be taken into account. The comments came after the current US administration in recent days called for other members of the alliance to increase their contributions. Alfano conceded that the US "contributes a great deal of money", but stressed that "our operations in the Mediterranean have something to do with defense tasks, do they not?".

Premier Paolo Gentiloni had told a NATO summit earlier in the day that "we support the sharing of spending" and that "Italy remains committed to the implementation of the Defense Investment Pledge (to raise contributions to 2% of GDP by 2024)". He had added that "we are the fifth-biggest contributor to the NATO budget and the second-biggest in the two main operations in Afghanistan, with almost 1,000 soldiers, and Kosovo, with over 500 soldiers, and other operations".


BEIRUT - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt have blocked all official Qatari websites into their countries following the publication of statements on the website of Qatari state-run news agency Doha that were offensive to Riyadh, according to the main pan-Arab television networks.



Doha said hackers attacked their site and published the statements, attributing them to the country's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.



Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.



However, Qatar is also one of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an Arab-region political, economic, and military alliance led by Saudi Arabia.


TUNIS - The local press in Tunisia is comparing a two-day wave of arrests for corruption to Italy's "Clean Hands" operation, which was a sweeping judicial investigation into political corruption in the 1990s.



"In the war against corruption there aren't alternatives; it's either corruption or the State, corruption or Tunisia, and I chose Tunisia, as all Tunisians," said Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.



Chahed has undertaken the operation as head of the country's unity government, and it has already led to the arrests of tens of notable figures in Tunisia.



The country is currently under a state of emergency that allows restrictions on personal freedom.



It was adopted by the country's interior ministry and not its judicial branch, citing threats to national security, an umbrella under which corruption is also included.



The first arrests were of two well-known establishment figures: businessman Chafik Jarraya and businessman and former presidential candidate Yassine Channoufi, both of whom were arrested on charges of corruption, embezzlement, and threatening national security.



That unleashed a series of arrests of others from the worlds of business, politics and the black market, whose identities are difficult to ascertain due to specific restrictions in place under the state of emergency.



Local media sources said there are about 50 people targeted to receive pre-trial supervision or custody orders, 36 international travel bans.


Italian court blocks 5 top museum appointments Culture minister says directors legitimate, will appeal

(by Denis Greenan).



(ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 25 - The Lazio regional administrative court (TAR) on Thursday struck down five of the 20 appointments for top Italian museums that were recently put out to international selection to attract the best possible candidates.



The TAR ruled against the five because the tender was open to non-Italians, interviews took place behind closed doors, and other technicalities.



The controversial ruling affected four Italians and one Austrian, in Mantua, Modena, Naples, Reggio Calabria and Taranto. Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the government would appeal while both ex-premier Matteo Renzi and Justice Minister Andrea Orlando said the TARs must be reformed. "The world has seen Italian museums change in two years and now the Lazio TAR cancels the appointment of 5 directors," Franceschini said via Twitter.



"I'm speechless and that's for the best".



The minister commented after Il Sole 24 Ore broke the news that five of the appointments had been rejected on the grounds that the court did not consider there to be the necessary conditions to open the selection to international candidates. Franceschini said that the government will appeal. "We'll immediately appeal to (top administrative court) the Council of State," he said. "I'm worried about how Italy looks to the rest of the world and about the practical consequences, because as of today some museums don't have a director. "I find it strange that the sentence talks of foreigners, when in reality they are European directors and this contrasts with the European Court of Justice and the Council of State. "I am an experienced lawyer and politician. I know that you should not comment on sentences but combat them in the right place". He added that he was astounded that the TAR had described the procedure as confused. "The international selection was conducted by an impartial committee," he said.



Franceschini added that the museum directors affected by the Lazio TAR's ruling "will be replaced ad interim". "The sentence has already been published and so the museums are effectively without directors," he added. "These people left everything and the reform was already bringing about great change, but it has been blocked as of today. "It is absurd to make distinctions on the candidates' nationality. The director of the National Gallery is Italian, while the British Museum's is German. It's a truly great damage to our image".



Ex-premier and Democratic Party (PD) leader Renzi slammed the TAR ruling and said the government should have reformed the TARs.



"The fact that the Lazio TAR has annulled our decision deserves institutional respect...but confirms, yet again, that we cannot be a country founded on cavils and appeals," he said on Facebook. "We did not make a mistake in trying to change museums; we made a mistake because we did not try to change the TARs".



Justice Minister Andrea Orlando, another top member of the PD, agreed that the TARs should be changed. "The TARs should be changed, without demonising them but they certainly should be changed by better defining what is the ambit of competence of politics and what is the ambit of competence of an administrative court, which often enters into the merits of choices that should be exclusively the province of politics," said Orlando. Asked if the TARs too often infringed on the political sphere, Orlando replied "Yes".



TAR sources said that "rather than changing the TARs, laws should be changed".



One Austrian and four Italians were among the five museum chiefs scrubbed by the TAR. (ANSAmed).




19 arrest warrants for Turk Telekom workers for Gulen links 'Deposited large sums in coup leaders' bank'

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, MAY 25 - Turkish authorities have issued 19 arrest warrants against employees of Turk Telekom, accused of links with the network of imam-in-exile Fethullah Gulen, allegedly behind the July coup attempt last year. Anadolu reported that at least 10 of them have already been arrested. Authorities say that proof of the links consists in the fact that they had deposited large sums of money in Bank Asya, which has been placed under external management due to alleged links to Gulen. (ANSAmed).




ROME - Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was reportedly injured on Thursday by an explosion inside his car in Athens. Authorities say the daytime left the 69-year-old Papademos with non-life-threatening injuries. Another passenger was also reportedly injured. An MIT-educated economist and former vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Papademos is currently visiting professor at Harvard. He was appointed caretaker prime minister of Greece on November 11, 2011, and served through May 16, 2012.


'Clandestine cat' at heart of children's book on migration 'The Journey of Sama and Timo' inspired by true migrant stories

(ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 25 - The book "The Journey of Sama and Timo" tells the story of a little girl and her cat who flee from war in Sudan and embark on a journey to Europe. It was written by Miriam Dubini for children, in the language of children, to help them understand the migrant crisis.



The story begins with Sama, a Sudanese girl who lives in a war-torn village in the middle of the desert. One night she is forced to leave together with her mother, three brothers, and sister, but she doesn't want to leave behind her beloved cat Timo. Sama's mother doesn't want her to bring the cat, so Sama puts Timo in his carrier and hides him under her chador. Thus begins the journey of the story's title, narrated by the "clandestine cat".



Author Miriam Dubini told ANSAmed there are moments in the story in which Timo the cat reflects on adult themes such as man and the reasons for war and violence, but by using a cat's voice "you can get children to reflect on things that wouldn't normally be on their horizon of thoughts".



The book was inspired by the true story of Sama, a 24-year-old Sudanese woman, who disembarked at Lampedusa on June 7, 2015, together with her cat.



Today Sama lives in Germany and is "very proud of the fact that her story will be told to children, despite the suffering she went through to retell the story", Dubini said.



"Every day following her arrival she tried to forget what she had lived through," Dubini said. Dubini added the book isn't just about Sama's story, but rather is "the tale of a choral story of a trip". She said she also interviewed other women and families of refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa and that the book is a mixture of their diverse stories. "I'm just an interpreter; I take the stories and translate them so they can reach others," Dubini said.



She said the book is a story of hope, told in the language of children, for children.



"Some children may have classmates whose parents took this trip, or children who took the trip themselves, and it's important that they understand something more about the person sitting next to them," she said. "It can also be useful for teachers to help explain this topic to children, mediated by using a symbolic story, as with fairy tales," she said.



Dubini said stories like this "have the right to not end up as grist for the social media mill, but rather to remain longer" on the printed pages of a book.(ANSAmed).




G7 ban doesn't stop migrant arrivals in Sicily Deadly accident amidst two arrivals on Wednesday

(ANSAmed) - MAZARA DEL VALLO (TRAPANI) - Two migrant boats disembarked in Sicily on Wednesday, despite a ban on arrivals of boats carrying migrants through the end of the G7 summit taking place Friday and Saturday in Taormina.



The arrivals on Wednesday were registered in Quarara, part of the port town of Mazara del Vallo, and in Pozzitello, part of the town of Campobello di Mazara, both in the province of Trapani on the island's western coast.



Wednesday was, however, a tragic day in the Mediterranean.



At least 34 people lost their lives and others went missing after a boat that had departed at sunrise from the Libyan port town of Zuwara had an accident on its way to Italy.



There were "perhaps ten" children among the victims, according to unofficial reports from rescue workers.



Nearly half of the boat's 500 passengers fell into the water when the boat encountered an unexpected wave or perhaps an unexpected movement of people aboard, causing it to lean to one side before righting itself.



The Italian Coast Guard coordinated rescue operations, in an area of the sea in which their Libyan counterparts intercepted two boats with 237 migrants aboard.



Those boats were forced to return to Libya and the migrants aboard were placed under arrest.



Meanwhile, also in the central Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported a shipwreck last Friday with an unofficial count of over 150 people missing.



A total of 14 ships engaged in 12 rescue operations saving over 2,000 migrants who were headed towards Italy aboard rubber boats or small watercraft.



The central Libya-Italy migrant route continues to be extremely high risk: of the more than 50,000 migrants who have arrived this year in Italy by sea (up 39% on last year), about 1,400 have died, according to IOM figures. (ANSAmed).




Defense min. warns Spain will not allow Catalonia referendum 'We will do what we have to do'

(ANSAmed) - MADRID, MAY 25 - Defence Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal said Thursday that Spain would prevent the holding of a referendum on Catalonian independence. ''We will do what we have to do,'' she told Radio Cadena Cope. President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont has pledged to call a referendum on independence by the end of September despite opposition from the central government.



(ANSAmed).




Former editor of anti-Erdogan magazine arrested in Turkey Sentenced to 22 yrs for Gulen links, 'attempt to flee to Greece'

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, MAY 25 - Turkish border guards have arrested Murat Capan, former editor-in-chief of the magazine Nokta, known for its criticism of President Recept Tayyip Erdogan.



The magazine was shut down after the failed coup attempt last summer. Reports were from Anadolu, which said that the editor was detained in the northwestern province Edirne while he was trying to flee to Greece. On Monday, an Istanbul court sentenced him to 22 years and 6 month in jail for ''inciting armed revolt against the Turkish government'' for links with the network under imam-in-exile Fethullah Gulen, which was allegedly behind the coup attempt. Capan was detained alongside three other people including a retired police chief, all of whom are also accused of having links to Gulen. (ANSAmed).




G7 shd raise level of terror fight - Gentiloni NATO shd pursue dialogue with Russia, meet spending-hike pledge

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MAY 25 - The Group of Seven summit in Taormina Friday and Saturday should raise the level of the fight against terror, Premier Paolo Gentiloni told a NATO summit in Brussels Thursday. "Against the strategy of terror we must take the fight against terrorism to a higher level," he said. "For this reason I will promote tomorrow in Taormina the adoption of a declaration against terrorism and violent extremism".



Gentiloni added that "it is in NATO's interest to pursue a long-term strategy with Russia. "We must fulfill the clause of the Warsaw summit (last July) for a periodic and significant dialogue with Moscow".



Gentiloni also said that "we support the sharing of spending, Italy remains committed to the implementation of the Defense Investment Pledge (to raise contributions to 2% of GDP by 2024)". He said "we are the fifth-biggest contributor to the NATO budget and the second-biggest in the two main operations in Afghanistan, with almost 1,000 soldiers, and Kosovo, with over 500 soldiers, and other operations". (ANSAmed).




Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune sworn in Takes the place of Abdelmalek Sellal after almost 5 years

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 25 - The new Algerian prime minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune was sworn into office on Thursday after being designated by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.



In an official ceremony at the government headquarters, former prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal handed the reins over to him after presenting his resignation and that of the government the previous day. The new government will be announced in the coming days.



(ANSAmed).




US official urges vigilance on Russia's role in Balkans Hoyt Brian Yee says US defending its interests in region

(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, MAY 25 - The US intends to defend its interests in the Balkans, where Russia is trying to increase its influence, according to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hoyt Brian Yee who was in the capital of Serbia on Wednesday to meet with leaders including Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, and Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic.



Yee urged vigilance over Russia's efforts to assert itself in the region.



"We, of course, remain hopeful that Russia will play a constructive role in the Balkans, as it has in the past, but we must remain vigilant, all of us, we believe, in watching what Russia is attempting to do," said Yee after his meeting with Vucic.



Yee mentioned Moscow's alleged involvement in the attempted coup in Montenegro last October, whose objective he said was to hinder the country's NATO accession efforts, as well as Russia's energy policy in the region.



"This is not to say that we assume bad intentions behind every gesture, but we do know from experience that the intentions behind many of Russia's moves are not good and are not consistent with the interests we believe are the interests of the countries in this region," Yee said.(ANSAmed).




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
Matars latest book details his return to Libya in 2012 as he sought the truth [of] his fathers fate, decades after he was kidnapped by Colonel Qaddafis secret security [forces].  His first novel, In the Country of Men, was nominated for the 2006 Man Booker Prize.
FIEO said that small manufacturers have no mechanism to demand refund of GST from government.

Exporters said that currently they dont pay taxes for goods bought from the suppliers but under GST they will have to first pay taxes and later on file for its refund.

New Delhi: Exporters on Thursday warned that their competitiveness will come down by 2 per cent if their concerns over quick refund of taxes in the new GST regime is not resolved.

Exporters said that currently they dont pay taxes for goods bought from the suppliers but under GST they will have to first pay taxes and later on file for its refund.

We are worried with the liquidity issue as the refund mechanism would require payment of GST first and its refund subsequently, said Ganesh Kumar Gupta, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

When will I get refund? When I will first pay. So from where I will generate the money to pay. First I should have that much credibility with the bank to finance me that much extra. Even if I get that fund, it will not be interest free, said Mr Gupta.

He said that while exporters welcome the final refund rules envisaging issuance of acknowledgement within three days of the filing of claim and issuance of 90 per cent of the claim amount on provisional basis within 7 days, unfortunately contrary to general belief, the interest on delayed payment would be due only after 60 days.

But who is going to wait for 60 days?, said FIEO president. He said that this will give a jolt to exporters particularly in micro and small sector. FIEO said that small manufacturers have no mechanism to demand refund of GST from government. FIEO asked the government to provide interest on delayed refund after 10 days (3 days plus 7 days) instead of 60 days.
Well, after making this mistake on more than two occasions, the international media should probably start using Google more often.

Mumbai: After the international media mistook Deepika Padukone for Priyanka Chopra, actress Sonam Kapoor yet again faced the consequences of western media's ignorance towards Bollywood.

Recently, at the 70th edition of Cannes Film Festival, fashionista Sonam was tagged as Deepika Padukone by a popular American photo stock agency, which later went viral.

The agency wrote, Indian actress Deepika Padukone arrives for the film The Meyerowitz Stories in competition at the 70th Annual International Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 21, 2017.

However, Sonam Kapoor made it clear on Twitter that this was merely an error.

She wrote, One picture in a milieu of 1000s tagged right is an error, not a misidentification. Gets your facts right don't believe Pr's.

Whereas Deepika had got so offended by that identity goof-up that she termed this antic by the international media as racist.

After Sonam made heads turn at the French Riviera with her fabulous fashion game, she is now prepping up for her upcoming film Veere di Wedding alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and Swara Bhaskar.

Sonams sister Rhea Kapoor, who also doubles up as her stylist, is producing the film.

Well, after making this mistake on more than two occasions, the international media should probably start using Google more often.
The superstar convinced the Hollywood star that it is possible for him to make it in the popular film industry.

Shah Rukh Khan and Brad Pitt during their discussion in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Los Angeles: Brad Pitt has managed to do, what many celebrities cannot, arrive quietly to promote a movie.

The 'Big Short' actor, who recently promoted his upcoming Netflix movie 'War Machine' at an event in Mumbai, said that he can never be a part of Bollywood because "he cannot dance."

When asked if he will be interested to be a part of a Bollywood feature, the actor said, "I would never make it in Bollywood because I can't dance. I just can't," reports the Hollywood Reporter.

Pitt was joined by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who said, "Oh you will [dance]. In Bollywood we make everyone dance. I just spread my arms and do nothing, that's a step."

Khan also shared that Brad's roles in movies like '12 Monkeys' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' made him "a fan of his as an actor" and asked him to continue doing such roles.

Talking about his upcoming film, the 'Moneyball' actor also revealed why he took a chance to work with Netflix for 'War Machine'.

He said, "It's because the way the studio system is right now in Hollywood. It just can't support risky films like this, of this budget certainly."

The actor also feels that working on sets in movies like 'Fight Club' and 'War Machine' were most fun.

Directed by David Michod, 'War Machine' is based on Michael Hastings' book 'The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan,' which revolves around Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan, who was forced to resign after mocking Vice President Joe Biden and other Obama administration officials in Hastings' 2010 Rolling Stone story.
The BJP had claimed that it had an appropriate place for Rajinikanth, who has a good rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi: Associating himself with the ongoing excitement within the political sphere over whether or not Tamil superstar Rajinikanth will join politics, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha has advised the fellow actor to launch his own outfit even as the saffron party has been desperately wooing the Souths megastar. Only last week, the Tamil megastar had dropped hints of a possible political plunge and the BJP had claimed that it had an appropriate place for Rajinikanth, who has a good rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sidelined within his own party, the actor-turned-politician and BJPs Patna Sahib MP, Mr Sinha, however, advised the Thalaivar that instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you.. describing the superstar as the Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu and son of India.

Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu and son of India - dearest @superstarrajini #Rajinikanth ! Rise, Rise, Rise!! Its high time and the right time! ... Nation is waiting with bated breath for @superstarrajini s leap into constructive politics to shape the future of your people and nation.... The people are with you and ready to join @superstarrajini and instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you..., tweeted Mr Sinha.

Often in news for praising BJPs rivals and refusing to toe the party line on various occasions, Mr Sinha described himself as a friend, supporter, well wisher and even guide of the Tamil superstar, who he said can bank on him.

I have always stood by @superstarrajini as a friend, supporter, well wisher and even guide. Even today, if I can be of any help or support... ..you can bank on me. Im bankable, dependable and available to you - anytime and everytime. Regards to your family and long live @superstarrajini, Mr Sinha tweeted.

He also advised Rajinikanth that he should consult his family, dear ones and experts and take the right decision soon  sooner the better.
The 39 YO actor started a JustGiving campaign page to raise nearly 20,000 USD for the British Red Cross Society.

Mumbai: Tom Hardy has become a real-life superhero by lending a hand to those affected in Manchester Arena bombing.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 'Revenant' star, who is a West London native, has started an online fundraising campaign for the victims of Monday's deadly terrorist attack following an Ariana Grande concert.

The 39-year-old-actor started a JustGiving campaign page to raise nearly 20,000 USD for the British Red Cross Society.

The news was verified by Tom's publicist.

The page has raised more than 10,000 USD, as of Wednesday morning.

After creating the page, the actor wrote, "I hope between us we can raise some funds as a gesture of goodwill and love to help in some small way towards repairing some if any of the damage done in the wake of last night's events. There will be much to do and for many the beginning of a new life without those that they love and also a new life damaged irrevocably by the actions of a crime which has no reason, no heartfelt purpose but was simply a cruel cowardly and barbaric, meaningless act of violence. A road to recovery unimaginable."

The star of upcoming 'Venom' movie urged everyone to help however they can.

"Terrorism is abhorrent, the killing of innocent families and children unacceptable. And it is with those, the innocent victims and the witnesses of this atrocity that my heartfelt concern and deepest sympathy lies. Please help however you can," Hardy wrote.

At least 22 people were killed and more than 50 got injured in a suspected terror attack that took place at Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

On the work front, Tom Hardy will be next seen in Christopher Nolan's 'Dunkirk,' alongside Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance.

The movie is slated to hit the theatres on July 21 in the US.
The child was also denied admission in a government hospital as there was nobody to furnish Rs 10 to help start the process.

The only clue the police have in their efforts to identify the woman is a purse found adjacent to her body. (Photo: Youtube screengrab)

Bhopal: The dead body of a woman with a child suckling was spotted along the railway tracks in Damoh, about 250 km from Bhopal, early on Wednesday morning. A train driver noticed the body and informed other officials.

According to an NDTV report, police reached the spot to find the deceaseds one-year-old son holding her tight, crying while trying to wake his mother up. The child was seen sucking at his mothers breast and stopped only to bite at a biscuit he was holding.

Onlookers recorded the sorrowful sight and circulated the video on social media.

It is suspected that the woman might have fallen off a train or might have been hit as she had a head injury. The child remained safe in its mothers arms.

Adding another angle to the tragic incident, the one-year-old was denied admission in a government hospital as there was nobody to furnish Rs 10 to help start the process. A ward boy, at last, came to the childs help.

The infant is currently at a childrens home. Efforts are being made to locate any of his relatives or family members.

Sarita, a care worker at the childrens home said to sources, When he came to us, he was very restless, crying...he was missing his mother and it was very hard to calm him down. Since yesterday, he is a little better. He recognizes us and is even eating well. We are trying to make him feel like he is with family, safe..."

The only clue the police have in their efforts to identify the woman is a purse found adjacent to her body.
Taking cognisance, city police commissioner Ravindra Singhal on Wednesday ordered an internal inquiry against concerned police personnel.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Girish Mahajan is in trouble for attending wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim's female relative's wedding at Nasik recently, said a report in DNA.

Some police officials also attended the marriage of the woman, whose family members are said to be distant relatives of Dawood Ibrahim.

Taking cognisance, city police commissioner Ravindra Singhal on Wednesday ordered an internal inquiry against the concerned police personnel.

Some personnel attached to Bhadrakali police station in Old City area reportedly attended the marriage ceremony held at a posh mall in Mahatma Nagar area on Monday.

The invitation for the marriage was reportedly given to the police personnel by some Muslim clerics.

The bridegroom is the son of a former local corporator.

Some politicians, including MLAs and corporators, reportedly attended the function too. However, police commissioner Ravindra Singhal said he could not confirm this though he conceded that the invitation was indeed sent to some politicians.

"The invitation for the marriage was sent to some police officials of Bhadrakali police station and also to some corporators, political personalities, MLAs etc.," he told PTI.

Singhal, however, didn't specify the exact number of police personnel who attended the marriage.

According to sources in local police, an ACP-rank officer also attended the function.

Singhal said the statements of the police personnel who attended the marriage are being recorded.

"It will take two days to complete the internal enquiry against the officials as some of them are on leave," he said, adding that the police force was also busy in providing bandobast in Malegaon in the district where municipal corporation elections were held on Wednesday.

There is no report on whether any action will be initiated against the Maharashtra minister.
Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe, nothing to worry, Fadnavis tweeted.

Latur (Maharashtra): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' helicopter crash landed at Nilanga in Latur district today after it suffered a snag, but he escaped unhurt.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry," Fadnavis tweeted after the mishap.

A senior official of the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) said it was an accident and the chopper suffered substantial damage.

#WATCH: Dramatic visuals of crash-landing of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis's chopper in Latur, CM and team escaped unhurt. pic.twitter.com/xTikKyvkhg  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada for the BJP's 'Shivar Samwad Sabha', a statewide campaign to reach out to farmers.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn't believe in rumours," Fadnavis later told media persons.

The chopper developed a technical snag while taking off from the helipad at Nilanga where the chief minister had gone for an event.

"Nobody got hurt. My media advisor Ketan Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," he told reporters at Nilanga.

He added that the pilot too had not been injured seriously.

"This is a new helicopter. We will seek information from police on this incident," the chief minister said.

Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical snag, following which he had travel by road to Nagpur.
Names of 5 persons related to the scam were revealed by Singhal, a CA, who was earlier chargesheeted by the CBI as accused in the case.

New Delhi: A special court on Thursday granted bail to five accused named by the CBI in its supplementary chargesheet in a coal scam case against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and others.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar on Thursday granted the relief to the accused - Jindal Steel's adviser Anand Goel, Gurgaon-based Green Infra's Vice President Siddharth Madra, Nihar Stocks Ltd Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai based KE International's Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Mumbai's Essar Power Ltd Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo.

The case pertains to allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. The names of these five persons were revealed by Singhal, a chartered accountant, who was earlier chargesheeted by the CBI as accused in the case.

The court had summoned them also as accused after taking cognisance of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI on March 24. Besides Jindal, the case also involves former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.

The court had earlier directed the CBI to expeditiously file its further probe report. CBI had alleged that Koda had favoured Jindal group firms -- Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL) -- in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

All the accused had denied the allegations levelled against them and said there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process.
She said Buner, the area where Tahir, the Pakistani man who married her at gunpoint, took her after giving her sleeping pills.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, left, listens as Uzma narrates her story to the media upon her return to India, in New Delhi, Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, called Pakistan a well of death while narrating her ordeal on her return on Thursday.

Seated with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad J P Singh, and other senior ministry officials, an emotional Uzma said, Its easy to enter Pakistan but nearly impossible to leave that place.

Pakistan is a maut ka kuan (well of death). Ive seen women who go there after arranged marriages. Theyre miserable and living in terrible condition. There are two, three, even four wives in every house, she said.

She said Buner, the area where Tahir, the Pakistani man who married her at gunpoint, took her after giving her sleeping pills, was like a Talibancontrolled region.

Uzma said had she stayed there for a few more days she would have been dead. She broke down several times while recalling the horror in front of the national media.

She thanked Swaraj, Indian mission officials and other staffers for making her comfortable and ensuring her return.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She was allowed by the Islamabad High Court yesterday to return to India following a plea she filed with the court seeking its direction after her husband Tahir Ali seized her immigration papers and refused to return the document.

She crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar. She was accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel.

Swaraj thanks Pak for 'daughter of India' Uzma's return

Amid continued tensions with Pakistan, Swaraj profusely thanked the Pakistani establishment and judiciary for facilitating Indian citizen Uzma Ahmed's return.

She said though there is tension between the two neighbours, the Pakistan foreign office and the home ministry played a key role in her return.

Swaraj had words of praise for Uzma's counsel Barrister Shahnawaz and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of the Islamabad High Court.

She said while the counsel treated Uzma as his child, the judge dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations as some people wanted him to.

"I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she crossed the Wagah border," Swaraj told reporters here.

Uzma, a Delhi woman, who had said she was forced to marry a man at gunpoint, returned home earlier in the day.

The minister also thanked officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, especially Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh.
Amid plummeting Indo-Pak bilateral ties, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has made all its forward operating bases operational.

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has denied news reports that Pakistani fighter jets had entered Indian airspace on Wednesday near the Siachen Glacier.

There has been no violation of Indian airspace, said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Bannerjee.

Amid plummeting Indo-Pak bilateral ties, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has made all its forward operating bases operational.

The reports of air space violation possibly emanated from reports in Pakistani media that said that the PAF flew fighter jets on Wednesday near the Siachen Glacier.

The developments coincided with a visit by PAFs Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman to Skardu to take part in PAF exercises. In Skardu, the PAF Chief, reviewing its exercises and operational preparedness, said that his forces would respond to any aggression by the enemy in a manner that their future generations would also remember.
Uzma was provided security by the Pakistani police till the Wagah Border crossin.

Indian national Uzma, who arrived in India from Pakistan via Attari-Wagah border, going to Delhi from Amritsar airport on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

Islamabad/Wagah Border: An Indian woman, who said she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gun point, today returned to India via the Wagah Broder, days after she took refuge at the Indian High Commisssion in Islamabad.

Uzma Ahmad, who is in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi, was allowed by the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday to return home after she filed a plea with the court.

Uzma was provided security by the Pakistani police till the Wagah Border crossing, and she touched the ground after crossing into the Indian territory.

On Wednesday, the High Court had allowed Uzma to return home and even handed over her original immigration papers, which her husband Tahir Ali had submitted to the court on Tuesday.

Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia - a blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production.

Ali had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet his wife. A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the petitions and after hearing their

arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.

Uzma arrived in Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Ali on May 3. She has said she was forced to marry him at gunpoint.

Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission.

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the High Court and she can return to pursue the case.
A major controversy surfaced earlier this week when Major Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was awarded Commendation Card.

Srinagar: A Kashmiri shawl weaver, who was tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep during the April 9 by-poll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, has filed a formal complaint against the officer involved in the act.

The incident had evoked rage across the country with human rights groups, including Amnesty International, demanding action against those responsible.

He has filed the complaint in the Jammu and Kashmirs State Human Rights Commission (J&KSHRC) against Army Major Leetul Gogoi by Farooq Ahmed Dar, a resident of Chhil Brass village of central Budgam district.

The commission, constituted in January 1997, is an autonomous state body with quasi-judicial powers tasked to investigate any violation of human rights in the restive State.

A video, which went viral soon after the April 9 incident in Badgam, showed Dar tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep with a placard. Dar had later said that he was caught by the troops in Gundipora village of the district, who tied him to the front of their jeep before proceeding towards Beerwah town. An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the Army. On 15 April, the Army constituted a court of inquiry in the incident and a report is pending.

However, a major controversy surfaced earlier this week when Major Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was awarded Commendation Card for his sustained distinguished service in counterinsurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. That in spite of the fact that Army has yet to complete the inquiry into the incident and the police has said that the case registered against him in the local police station has not been quashed either.

Major Gogoi told a select group of media persons invited by the Army to interact with him at his camp in Budgam earlier this week that if he had not done what he did that day at least 12 or more lives would have been lost, and that had I fired there would have been many casualties.

Dar on Thursday said that the Army inquiry into his being used as a human shield is complete eyewash. He said, They were never serious. Im a small person and why should anyone care. He also said that he was yet to record his statement with the local police. It has been over a month since then and I am yet to hear from the local police. Even my statement has not been registered, he complained.

He also termed Major Gogois claim that he had chosen him for being strapped to the bonnet of the Army jeep because he was the ringleader of a stone-pelting gang as totally false and an attempt to justify the crime he committed. He reiterated that he had gone to the polling station to cast his vote which has been corroborated by the concerned authorities. If I was a ringleader of the stone-pelters would I have cast my vote, he asked alleging that the Army officer is lying to save himself. He again said that he wont vote again in an election.

Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, had on Wednesday denounced as farce the Army's court of inquiry against Major Gogoi. He wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.com, In future, please don't bother with the farce of a military court of inquiry. Clearly the only court that matters is the court of public opinion. In another tweet, Abdullah alleged that the government was adopting double standards on issues of human rights violations. And international conventions like the Geneva/Vienna ones only count when India can accuse others of violations. Do as we say, not as we do," he said.

Syed Altaf Bukhari, a senior leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and J&Ks education minister, said the Army officers action was the worst form of human rights abuse. He told Greater Kashmir newspaper, I dont approve of it (giving Commendation Medal to Major Gogoi). I strongly condemn the action by the Army officer as it is a worst form of human rights violation and any human rights violation is condemnable."

Meanwhile, an alliance of key separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik- has called for peaceful protests after Friday prayers against the Army Chiefs felicitating Major Gogoi. In a statement, the alliance termed the decision to give Commendation Card to the officer as Indian fascism.
A West Bengal police team is camping in Chennai to execute an arrest order by SC against Justice Karnan in a defamation case.

Chennai: Calcutta high court judge C.S. Karnans lawyer has written to Tamil Nadu and West Bengal police, saying his client has sought legal remedy from the President of India, invoking Article 72 of the Indian Constitution.

Police should refrain from taking action against Karnan till the President of India disposed of the petition, seeking suspension of the sentence awarded to him by the Supreme Court, the lawyer Mathews J. Nedumpara told Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday.

When an appeal is pending in an upper forum, the order given by the lower forum is eclipsed. So, I request the police of both the states to wait till the President makes his decision, he said.

A West Bengal police team is camping in Chennai to execute an arrest order by SC against Justice Karnan in a defamation case.

As a law abiding citizen, my client intends to extend all cooperation to the police, needless to say without prejudice to his Constitutional and legal remedies, noted the advocate.

In his letter to the police chiefs of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the lawyer said, Justice C.S. Karnan considers the orders of the Supreme Court as one rendered without jurisdiction and in gross violation of the principles of natural justice and the Constitution. He is hopeful that the injustice done to him will be corrected in the proceedings instituted in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High court, as aforesaid, so too in the Memorandum which he has preferred under Article 72 to the President of India.

The letter further said that Justice Karnan not only challenges the very constitutional validity of the contempt of courts act, but also the orders of the Supreme Court which removed him from his office, which the President alone was empowered to. That too upon an impeachment motion, which shall receive the assent of two-third of members of both houses of the Parliament present, the letter said.

What is Article 72 of the Indian Constitution?

It says the President has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
So far, there have been three instances where differences between the two leaders have come out in the open.

The Sangh, sources said, was particularly worried about reports of growing differences between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya.

Lucknow: The RSS has mooted a proposal to set up a committee to ensure better coordination between the Yogi government and the party organisation in Uttar Pradesh.

With state BJP president Keshav Maurya becoming the deputy CM, the party organisation is left largely unattended and party workers have been stung with a lack of communication with the government.

Unless the government and the party work in close coordination, the good work being done by the Yogi government will not reach the common man and the purpose of good governance will be defeated. Similarly, the shortcomings of the government, if any, must also be brought to the CMs notice by the party so that there can be improvement in time, said a RSS functionary.

The main reason for setting up the coordination committee, however, is to ensure that the difference among ministers do not come out in public and are resolved within closed doors in the committee.

The Sangh, sources said, was particularly worried about reports of growing differences between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya. So far, there have been three instances where differences between the two leaders have come out in the open.

Two days ago, it was Mr Maurya who told reporters that the state government was preparing to scrap the minority quota in government schemes. Within hours of the news going viral, the chief minister reportedly asked senior minister Ramapati Shastri, who heads the social welfare department, to deny the report.

Mr Shastri told a news agency that there was no such plan to deprive minorities of their quota in government schemes. The chief minister maintained a studied silence on the issue.

Earlier, during a meeting, Mr Maurya had suggested that school uniforms for children in government schools should be saffron which was vibrant and bright. The chief minister immediately shot down the idea.

Mr Maurya was also publicly snubbed by Yogi Adityanath when he got his name plate at the chief ministers office at the Sachivalaya Annexe building fixed, presuming that the chief minister would sit at the newly constructed Lok Bhawan.

Mr Maurya was bluntly asked by the chief minister to remove his name plate which he did.

The chief minister has reportedly ticked off a few other ministers for their under-performance.

We do not want such reports to become public because it sullies the image of the government. There are bound to be issues but those can be resolved in the coordination committee meetings, the functionary said.
Uzma Ahmad, who is in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi, was allowed by the Islamabad High Court yesterday to return home.

Uzma kisses her daughter Falak as she stands with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, left, and her brother during a press conference in New Delhi, India, Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Indian woman Uzma Ahmed, who was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint, returned home on Thursday and thanked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for helping her reunite with her family.

I never knew my life would have so much value. I am an orphan. Sushma ma'am said being an Indian means you should be proud. I used to get calls from her daily. She said she was trying to do all she can to get you back. This encouraged me to think that Sushma ma'am and Centre is doing so much for me, said Uzma.

"I was tortured, threatened. Firing goes on everyday, where I stayed. People have 2 wives in every home," Uzma said. "It's easy to enter Pakistan. But it's nearly impossible to leave. Pakistan is a death trap. I've seen women who go there after arranged marriages. They're miserable and living in terrible circumstances. Men have more than two wives," she added.

Speaking at the conference, Swaraj said that Uzma was beaten up badly.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi, was allowed by the Islamabad High Court yesterday to return home after she filed a plea with the court.

Uzma was provided security by the Pakistani police till the Wagah Border crossing, and she touched the ground after crossing into the Indian territory.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Uzma recalled that she was tortured and threatened.

I was told that my daughter would be harmed and to save my daughter, I agreed to marriage, said Uzma.

Speaking of the ordeal she underwent in Pakistan's Buner district, Uzma said, "Firing goes on everyday, where I stayed. People have 2 wives in every home.

Perhaps I would not have been alive if had I been there for a few more days. They would have had sold me, killed me. There are women from all countries who are abused and harassed. There are many girls over there who are not able to escape.

It is easy to go to Pakistan, but difficult to get out of that country, it is a well of death. India is far better, there is freedom. I will always discourage people from going to Pakistan. Even men are not safe in Pakistan, said Uzma.

I am proud to be India's daughter. I have seen so many countries, but there is no country like India. India is so much better off in so many aspects. I'd also like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uzma added.

Sushma Swaraj said it is quite a big deal for us that when a woman is trapped in a foreign land, the Indian High Commission is a ray of hope.

I feel proud of an officer like JP Singh. There was no one to advise him. But he did all he could for her. He said the moment she said she is an Indian, all other questions became redundant. He has really lived up to one of our slogans: In a foreign land, the Indian embassy is your friend.

Uzma had gone through a great deal of trauma. She was beaten up badly. The first time I spoke to JP. I said even if we had to keep her for 1, 2 or 3 years, we would keep her at the Indian High Commission.

Sushma also thanked the foreign ministry and the home ministry of Pakistan. If Uzma is with us today, they have a role too. I also want to thank the lawyer who fought the case for us. The Pakistani judge was told this case was a matter of 'Pakistan's prestige'. He asked how is it about India and Pakistan?

When I saw Uzma kiss the Indian ground at Wagah border, that picture speaks a thousand words itself. That gesture alone won the hearts of all Indians.

Yesterday, the Islamabad high court had allowed Uzma to return home and even handed over her original immigration papers, which her husband Tahir Ali had submitted to the court. Uzma is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir in Malaysia.

Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia - a blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production.

Ali had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet his wife. A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the petitions and after hearing their arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.

Uzma arrived in Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Ali on May 3. She has said she was forced to marry him at gunpoint.

Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission.

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the high court and she can return to pursue the case.

Uzma's brother said the Indian government had done more than expected for her, and that the embassy treated her with care, said ANI.
According to the report, the Lucknow court said they would get no exemption and must appear before the court on the given date.

Lucknow: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, and Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti to appear before it on May 30 in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition case.

According to the report, the Lucknow court said they would get no exemption and must appear before the court on the given date.

All three leaders have been charged with criminal conspiracy in the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid. The Supreme Court had last month ruled that conspiracy charges against the trio, as well as other leaders, would be reinstated, 7 years after the Allahabad High Court had upheld a 2001 CBI court judgement dropping them.

The apex court gave the CBI special court in Lucknow a month to frame fresh charges, and two years to deliver its verdict in the 25-year-old demolition case.
On May 14, Union HM Rajnath Singh and UP CM Yogi Adityanath reviewed the preparations for the event, which will be held on June 21.

A 28-day workshop for the participants will be held prior to the International Yoga Day. (Representational Image)

Lucknow: The International Yoga Day event here on June 21 is likely to witness participation of Muslims in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"At least 300 Muslim men and women will participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations, which would be held in Lucknow's Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan. The number of participants may go up," Mahiraj Dhwaj Singh, national co-convener (organisation) of Muslim Rashtriya Manch for UP and Uttarakhand told PTI on Wednesday.

Spokesperson of All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas when contacted said, "We are open to the idea of participation in the International Yoga Day celebrations. We are exploiting all the options in this regard."

Syed Babar Ashraf, president of Sada-e-Sufiyaain Hind was of the view that if yoga is good for an individual's health, then it must be practiced.

"We are all for yoga and will participate in the International Yoga Day festivities. Problem arises when religion is mixed with yoga. As far as we are concerned, there is no problem with yoga," he said.

On May 14, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed the preparations for the event, which will be held on June 21.

Prime Minister Modi along with 55,000 people are likely to participate in the event.

A UP government spokesperson on Wednesday said that Rajnath Singh met Adityanath to discuss and review the preparations of the International Yoga Day. Union Ayush minister Shripad Yesso Naik was present at the meeting.

Adityanath said that for convenience of ordinary citizens, LED screens will be installed at different parks in the city, so that they could also participate simultaneously.

He also issued directions to hold a 28-day workshop for the participants prior to the International Yoga Day.

The Union Ayush Ministry had proposed Lucknow as the venue for the main function for IDY celebrations this year.

Earlier, the government was considering Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Ranchi and Bengaluru as possible venues for the event.

The Union Ayush Ministry is also planning to organise a major yoga event in at least one city in each of the districts across the country.

The ministry zeroed in on Lucknow as the possible venue at a review meeting for the June 21 event.

The official website of the Ayush ministry on its webpage pertaining to IDY also requests the people visiting the page to make the following pledge -- "I pledge to make Yoga an integral part of my daily life."

So far, 30.46 lakh visitors have pledged to make Yoga an integral part of their daily life.

The first IDY celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015 in which representatives of 191 countries had participated. Last year, the main function took place in Chandigarh.

The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 as IDY every year.
Raju said many decisions were taken for Air India years ago that were devoid of any economic logic.

New Delhi: Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju indicated on Thursday that the government could consider the option of disinvestment in Air India to pull the national carrier out of its financial troubles. The government owns Air India. When asked whether the option of disinvestment in Air India could be considered, Mr Raju told a TV channel he hopes the government considers the option. The government can retain control of Air India even if it goes in for disinvestment. But significantly, when asked if the outright privatisation of Air India can also be considered, Mr Raju said he was not in favour of closing any option, thereby indicating this option too could be considered.

The civil aviation minister also indicated the financial restructuring and turnaround plan of the airline would not be enough to turn Air India around due to the deep financial legacy issues that stemmed from factors such as purchase of scores of planes more than a decade ago as well as the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines around a decade ago. Mr Raju said many decisions were taken for Air India years ago that were devoid of any economic logic.

The ministers statements indicate a rethink within the government on what it should do about the national airline. The earlier UPA government had embarked on a policy of granting Rs 30,000 crores to Air India over a period of 10 years and the policy of financial support has been continued by the NDA government.

Cash-strapped Air India, which has incurred losses of thousands of crores due to these legacy issues arising from loans and other factors, has nevertheless recently improved its performance on the operational front. But it is clear to the government that the airline will continue to operate only if it is backed financially with state funds.

Mr Raju indicated as much when he hinted it cannot be business as usual for Air India in the current situation. Interestingly, the NDA government had earlier been publicly denying that it plans to privatise Air India or carry out any disinvestment in the national airline.
Mayawati trashes nine-page report, says BJP trying to malign her image.

Lucknow: Even as uneasy calm prevailed in Saharanpur on Thursday, with most areas wearing a deserted, curfew-like look, an intelligence input received by the Yogi Adityanath government has sent shock waves in political circles.

The report states that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is supporting the Bhim Army, which has been accused of inciting caste violence in Saharanpur. BSP president Mayawati denied having any links with the Bhim Army. In a statement, she accused the BJP of trying to malign her image with such reports.

According to sources, the nine-page report prepared by UP police and local intelligence units claims that BSP president Mayawatis brother Anand Kumar, who was recently appointed party vice-president, has been in touch with Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad through a third party.

Though the report does not say whether the BSP vice-president has been providing financial help to the Bhim Army, it clearly states that there has been communication between the BSP and the Bhim Army.

Police officials said that it is being presumed that BSP leaders are also providing funds to the Bhim Army to create social disharmony.

Interestingly, till now, it was believed that the Bhim Army was emerging as an alternative to the BSP in western UP.

An intelligence wing official said that they had put 25 phone numbers on surveillance to trace Chandrashekhar and also to track the activities of the Bhim Army. In one of the taped conversations, a Bhim Army volunteer is heard saying that Chandrashekhar has asked them to identify a village with less Thakur population and eliminate them with the help of boys from outside the village, the source said.

Saharanpur has been facing series of clashes between Dalits and Thakurs for the past one month. The clashes began over the installation of an Ambedkar statue on Ambedkar Jayanti, which became the reason of protests by local Thakurs. Dalits retaliated by thwarting a Thakur procession on Maharana Pratap Jayanti.



Suspended SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey had told reporters that Dalits were repeatedly provoked by the Bhim Army through inflammatory posts on social media and WhatsApp messages.



It was because of this that mobile, Internet and messaging services were suspended in the violence-hit district on Wednesday night after two more deaths were reported in the clashes.



The state government also suspended the district magistrate N.P. Singh and SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey after their failure to control the situation.



Clashes between the upper caste Thakurs and Dalits were first reported from Shabbirpur village in April when Thakurs allegedly prevented them from installing a statue of BR Ambedkar inside the Ravidas temple in the village.



Things escalated on May 5 when a Dalit group allegedly objected to a procession of Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap. This triggered violence in which one person was killed and over 15 injured.



Though the situation has started returning to normal earlier this week, a visit by Ms Mayawati on Tuesday sparked off a fresh round of violence that led to two deaths on Wednesday.

The half a dozen- odd violence- hit villages including Shabbirpur and Mirzapur wore a completely deserted look as paramilitary forces staged flag marches.



The new district magistrate Pramod Pandey and SSP Babloo Kumar visited the affected areas and met the injured persons admitted to the district hospital.
Uzma Ahmed expressed her wish to meet PM Modi to personally thank him for the Indian governments efforts.

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj profusely thanked the Pakistan government and judiciary for their role in enabling Uzma Ahmed, an Indian nation, to return to India on Thursday.

Pakistans foreign ministry and home ministry helped us, Ms Swaraj said. Uzma  Welcome home Indias daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through, Ms Swaraj tweeted hours after Ms Ahmed, in an emotional gesture, bent down and touched Indian soil after crossing the Wagah border in Amritsar.

Ms Swaraj also praised Ms Ahmeds counsel, barrister Shahnawaz Noon, and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad high court for her return.

Ms Swaraj, accompanied by Ms Ahmed and Indian deputy high commissioner to Pakistan J.P. Singh, told the media, I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she crossed the Wagah border.

Ms Ahmed profusely thanked Ms Swaraj and Mr Singh for their support. Still shaken from her experience, she described Pakistan as a well of death and narrated how she was lured to Pakistan by a Pakistani national, Tahir Ali  whom she had initially met in Malaysia  and was then forced to marry him by signing the Nikahnama (marriage certificate). She accused him of administering sleeping pills, without her consent.

Ms Swaraj thanked Ms Ahmed for trusting the Indian diplomatic mission and told reporters that she had also suffered beatings.

Ms Ahmed said that while some Indian Muslims may think favourably of Pakistan as a nice place, women are not safe there. Even men there are not safe, what to talk of women, she said, fighting tears.

Ms Ahmed is reportedly in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi. She described herself as an orphan while thanking her uncle and aunt. She has a daughter, Falak. She expressed her wish to meet PM Narendra Modi to personally thank him for the Indian governments efforts.

Ms Swaraj said that Ms Ahmeds counsel, Shahnawaz Noon, had treated her as his child, and Judge Kayani had dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations.

She pointed out that Tahir had exhorted the judge to treat the case as one of Pakistans prestige, but the judge had maintained that it had nothing to do with Indo-Pak ties.

Ms Swarajs words of praise for the Pakistani civilian government raised some eyebrows, coming as they did at a time when ties between India and Pakistan are strained over LoC incursions and the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. But they also made clear that while India would be firm and respond in kind to any move to foment trouble, New Delhi will generously appreciate Pakistans genuine efforts to help, especially in humanitarian matters. Ms Swaraj said that New Delhi would stand behind all its citizens abroad whenever they are in crisis, irrespective of religion or region.

Ms Ahmed said the place where she stayed with Tahir  Buner, in Pakistans tribal Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province  was a strange place with strange people.

She said that in Buner, which was once under Taliban rule, every man had four to five wives and keeps guns and pistols in their homes. She also indicated that many other foreign women had been enslaved there, with no hope of escaping. She recalled how easy it was to get a visa to visit Pakistan, but often impossible to leave the country as per ones will. I kept hearing the sound of firing (of guns), she said.

The Indian high commission had sheltered Ms Ahm-ed and promised her that they would not hand her over to Tahir. Ms Swaraj revealed how Ms Ahmed had even contemplated suicide in case she was handed over to her husband.

Mr Singh told reporters that it was a life and death situation for Ms Ahmed and that the high commission was ready to offer shelter to her for two years or more. On Wednesday, Ms Ahmed was allowed by the Islamabad high court to return to India following a plea that her husband, Tahir Ali, had taken her immigration papers.

According to news agency reports from Pakistan, Ms Ahmed had petitioned the Pakistani court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia  a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

Her husband Tahir had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet his wife. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the pleas and after hearing their arguments, allowed Ms Ahmed to return to India.
Security sources said the police recovered the body of a suspected Ulfa (I) rebel from the blast site.

Guwahati: A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit, outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) rebels triggered a powerful bomb blast on an oil pipeline at Dikom Chariali in Assams Dibrugarh district on Thursday.

The outlawed Ulfa(I) also claimed responsibility for the blast, which they claimed to have triggered to oppose the Prime Ministers Assam visit.

Security sources said the police recovered the body of a suspected Ulfa (I) rebel from the blast site. He is suspected to have been killed in the blast, which may have been triggered accidentally.

Saying the blast had led to oil pilferage, the security sources said the deceased Ulfa (I) man was identified as Bobby Dahotia alias Palash Asom, who hails from Kakopathar area of Tinsukia district.

In an email to media organisations, Arunoday Asom, Ulfa (I) publicity secretary, accepted responsibility for the oil pipeline blast. It is significant that the Union home ministry had alerted the Assam police about a possible attack by Ulfa (I) rebels in the run-up to the Prime Ministers visit to Assam on Friday.

The security agencies had in their alert pointed out that some Ulfa (I) cadres were trying to enter Assam from Nagaland to carry out subversive activities in the state to make their presence felt. The Assam police, however, said the blast could be an attempt to steal oil from the pipeline.

The Prime Minister is due to inaugurate the Dhola-Sadiya bridge on the Brahmaputra, the longest bridge in India, on Friday. The bridge is located about 80 km from the blast site.

Mr Modi will also address a rally in Guwahati on Friday to celebrate the completion of three years of his government at the Centre and one year of the BJP government in Assam. He will also lay the foundation stone of an AIIMS to be set up at Changsari town in Kamrup district.

Security has been beefed up across Upper Assam for the Prime Ministers visit, and additional forces sent to assist the administration, the security sources said.
Centre has rushed 400 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force to Saharanpur following a request from the UP government.

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government has informed the home ministry that the situation in Saharanpur was now under control after the recent violence witnessed in the area in which two persons have been killed and nearly 30 injured so far.

This is in response to a report sought by the MHA from the state government on the Saharanpur riots. Ministry officials said the state sent a preliminary factual report on Thursday, while it is expected to send a detailed one in the next few days.

On its part, the Centre has rushed 400 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force to Saharanpur following a request from the UP government. The RAF, along with state polices PAC battalions, has now been deployed in the affected areas. In addition, senior officials from the police and administration are also camping in Saharanpur.

While narrating the seq-uence of events, the state government informed the home ministry that trouble started on May 5 between two different groups over a procession. This led to some clashes in parts of Saharanpur district, resulting in the death of one person, while 17 others were injured. The district police lodged nine different FIRs in connection with the May 5 violence.

Even while additional police reinforcements were rushed to the affected areas, violence once again erupted on May 9 in which a mob torched some vehicles and injured as many as 12 policemen, though no casualties were reported.

The third round of clashes were triggered on May 23 between two groups which resulted in the death of one person. In its initial report, the UP government has said that so far it has arrested 24 persons and registered more than 30 FIRs for Saharanpur riots.

Sources said the home ministry has advised the state to ensure adequate preventive measures are in place so that no more clashes erupt and build greater trust and confidence among different communities who have resorted to violence. The Centre has also assured all possible help to the state government, saying, if required, additional paramilitary forces will be deployed in the affected areas.

In wake of the violence the State Government has already suspended the Senior Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate while a Deputy Inspector General and Divisional Commissioner have been transferred out. District administration has also suspended internet and mobile messaging services in Saharanpur as a preventive measure to check spreading of rumours which it feels could lead to further clashes.
BJP workers, who took out the procession towards the headquarters in Lalbazar area, were stopped by the police at Brabourne Road.

BJP protest in Kolkata against state Government over law and order situation, water cannons used on protesters. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Kolkata: BJP workers clashed with police during their march to the police headquarters here demanding the arrest of "corrupt" TMC leaders, prompting the force to use teargas shells, water canons and batons to disperse them.

BJP workers, who took out the procession towards the headquarters in Lalbazar area, were stopped by the police at Brabourne Road.

The saffron party's workers then tried to break the barricades there to move forward, forcing the police to use force.

Huge police deployment was made at different points in the metropolis in view of the BJP's programme.

The party's Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly said that they wanted to go the police headquarters to submit a deputation demanding the arrest of "corrupt" TMC leaders and over the alleged "lawlessnesses" in the state.

"Why was such a huge police deployment made to stop us," she asked.
He said Telangana only got Rs 67,390 crore from the Centre since the formation of the state.

Hyderabad: After BJP national president Amit Shah said that the state government was claiming credit for Centrally-sponsored welfare schemes, chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday said that on the contrary, it was the Centre that was surviving on funds contributed by the Telangana state.

He said that Telangana paid Rs 50,013 crore to the Centre in the form of various taxes in 2016-17 but got only Rs 24,561 crore in return. This shows who owes funds to whom, he said.

He said the Centre was not showing any meherbaani in giving funds to Telangana and whatever funds the state got from the Centre was as per the mandate of the Constitution in a federal set-up and what all 29 states in the country got.

He said only six or seven states in the country contributed funds to the Centre and Telangana was one of them; the rest were revenue-deficit states. He added that the Centre depends on these six-seven states for money.

In addition, Mr Rao said Telangana earned over Rs 1 lakh crore in foreign exchange for the Centre through IT exports.

He ridiculed Mr Shahs claims of the Centre giving over Rs 1 lakh crore to Telangana and an additional Rs 20,000 crore, every year, as well as Rs 40,000 crore to universities.

He said Telangana only got Rs 67,390 crore from the Centre since the formation of the state.

Mr Rao attacked Mr Shah  who is touring Nalgonda district  for saying that the Centre was providing additional funds for the development of Telangana and the state government was not taking the benefits of the central schemes to the poor and needy.

Speaking at Pragathi Bhavan, Mr Rao termed Mr Shahs statements blatant lies, unwarranted and unjustified.
Sharma challenged the government to come out with a white paper on the status of the economy.

New Delhi: On the eve of the third anniversary of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, the Congress launched a scathing attack on it. Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma claimed that the government was busy in publicity and was paying no attention to key sectors. Targeting the government over the state of the economy, Mr Sharma challenged the government to come out with a white paper on the status of the economy. He further added that there should be a comparison between the old formula and the new formula in calculating the GDP figures.

The Congress accused the government of trying to build a Modi cult by using taxpayer money for self-publicity. Mr Sharma also said that the government has had got a windfall due to falling prices of international crude oil, but that the relevant relief had not been passed on to the consumer. Mr Sharma also said We also dare the Prime Minister to make public the details of the people who have been given jobs by his government during the three years of the BJP rule at the Centre. The Congress leader described the economy as sluggish and added that investments are not coming in as they were expected to come.

Taking on the government over its Pakistan policy Mr Sharma said that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is burning and the government has no clue how to manage the situation. From May 16 this year the Congress is on an overdrive to highlight the failures of the Modi government. The party has done over 25 press conferences in the last ten days across various state capitals. Insiders say that press conferences across states will go on for the next couple of days too. While on one hand the government is highlighting its achievements, the Congress on the other hand is highlighting its failures
The Trinamul Congress chief met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week on a joint Opposition candidate for President.

New Delhi: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and discussed development issues related to her state. Though Ms Banerjee said she didnt discuss the coming presidential polls with the Prime Minister, after the meeting, the West Bengal CM told the media she would be happy if there was a consensus candidate like A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

I discussed development issues with the Prime Minister, (there were) no talks on the presidential election, Ms Banerjee said after the meeting at the PMO. The West Bengal chief minister said the issues discussed included soil erosion caused by the Ganga in West Bengal, the restructuring of the states loans, export duty imposed by Bangladesh on Indian mangoes, the Farakka barrage and the construction of a dam over the Atrai river by Dhaka. Ms Banerjee said her state government has to pay Rs 40,000 crores for debt clearance. How do we work in such a scenario?

When asked about the presidential elections, she said she favoured a consensus candidate. Giving the example of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, she said: Kalam was a consensus candidate once. If they get a consensus candidate, that will be very good... we will be happy to see that.

The Trinamul Congress chief met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week on a joint Opposition candidate for President.

Her comments on Drr Kalam are significant as she has been in favour of a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee if he emerges as a consensus candidate. During her visit to New Delhi last week, she had also met Mr Mukherjee.

Mrs Gandhi has called a luncheon meet of all Opposition parties on Friday to discuss a common presidential candidate.

The West Bengal chief ministers meeting with the PM was on a day when BJP workers in Kolkata took to the streets to protest against the high-handedness of the state administration.

Questioned about this, Ms Banerjee said there was no violence. It was the BJP and the CPI(M) that started the violence. See how they have beaten the police, including women, burnt government properties.
Meeting called by Congress president to discuss common presidential candidate.

New Delhi: All is not well as far as attempts at Opposition unity is concerned with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar deciding to skip the lunch called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday to discuss a common presidential candidate.

Mr Kumar, who was one of the first leaders to call for a joint Opposition presidential candidate, will not attend the lunch as he had some official engagements, JD-U national spokesperson K.C. Tyagi told this newspaper. Senior JD-U leader and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav will represent the party.

The JD-U is in alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar. The Bihar chief minister has in the past praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including over the demonetisation exercise. Recently, Mr Prasad, his alliance partner in the state, bore the brunt of raids over benami properties allegedly acquired by his family. Sources said the JD(U)RJD alliance might be under strain over this.

Interestingly, the meeting which was supposed to take place in the Parliament House complex was cancelled at the last minute and a luncheon meeting was called at Mrs Gandhis residence possibly to give it an informal flavour. Leaders who will attend the meeting include RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerji, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPIs Sudhakar Reddy.

Sources said that Mrs Gandhi had to take into consideration differences within the CPI-M also over attending the meeting as it would mean sharing stage with the TMC chief.

In West Bengal, the last couple of days have seen pitched battles being fought between the party workers of Congress-Left on one side and TMC on the other side.

The Congress-Left have also accused the TMC of using state machinery, including the police, to target their workers.

Most leaders have already met Mrs Gandhi separately over the last one month for discussions.

Among the names doing the rounds for a joint Opposition presidential candidate are former West Bengal governor Gopal Gandhi, former Speaker Meira Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar as well as JD(U)s Sharad Yadav. Mr Kumar has also proposed the name of President Pranab Mukherjee for a second term  a suggestion which was accepted by parties like TMC, CPI-M as well as the Congress itself.

Though the NDA has a slight edge after having won the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls with a huge margin, the Opposition is trying to rope in many NDA allies like the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal as well as fence sitters like the Biju Janata Dal. However, there has been no commitment from these parties as of now.
The theme of Kashish 2017  Diverse, One  seeks to celebrate the ultimate solidarity and diversity of the LGBT community.

The crowd at Kashish 2017, Asias largest queer film festival in Mumbai, is a rainbow of diversities. What started as a small collection of films that aired once a year, has grown exponentially over the past seven years. This years edition kicked off on Thursday evening, with music, dancing and inspirational speeches and will continue till May 28 at Liberty Cinema and Alliance Francaise de Bombay.

RJ Malishka crooned and Mr Gay World, Sushant Divgikar rocked the stage in shimmer and high heels. Writer-producer Navin Noronha and his partner-in-crime, comedian Nick Pillow, had the audience in splits with their jokes. As the evening wound down, curious first-timers mingled with the veterans at the festival.

A first-timer at the festival, Kushid Pillai caught the eye in his pink kurta, shawl and heavy silver jewellery. Its amazing and inspiring to see so many people and hear the kinds of stories that they have to share. At the same time, its also a bit overwhelming to find so many people all in one place to celebrate this event, he says.

RJ Malishka and Sushant Divgikar

Faraz Arif Ansari, on the other hand, was attending the festival for the fourth time, only this time he had a short film airing on Sunday. Weve made Indias first silent LGBT film, and we just won the best film award at the Boston Film Festival. Were also going to be closing Pride Week in Sweden. Were opening on Sunday, and were very excited since this is going to be the Indian premiere of my film, he gushes.

Though the second morning of the festival did not see the kind of numbers that the first day did, there were quite a few film buffs who made it, despite the early hour and the fact that it's still on a weekday. Sociology and film buff Farida Meher, who is filling her post-retirement life with culture and studies, says, Films are here to educate and entertain, and I am looking forward to being both. Though I am not a member of the LGBT community, as a former Sociology student, I feel that we should learn to live and let live. So, a festival like this one is bound to help us get past our differences and realise our similarities.

Canadian LGBT activist and mother of two, Mona Belleau, who is one of the international guests at the festival, was also present at the festival, despite her jet lag. Everyone has been so welcoming here, and its amazing to be a part of a festival like this. In Canada, its not only legal to marry someone of the gay sex, but also to adopt children or try surrogacy. Though there is still some prejudice, most people dont care. As a lesbian mother of two boys, I hope that the situation will be the same soon in India, she says.

An attendee at the event

Founder and director Sridhar Rangayan has seen the festival grow in scale and stature. Taking a moment from drawing up charts and schedules for the remainder of the festival, he spoke about his joy in being able to celebrate the LGBT Pride through the arts and culture. Right now, Kashish is not just an LGBT event, but a prestigious film festival that everyone looks forward to. While it is one of the biggest Pride events for the LGBT community, the non-LGBT community also comes here to catch some films. So, this is not just a platform for the LGBT community to shed their inhibitions, but is also an opportunity for the non-LGBT community to intermingle and have a dialogue with the other side, he concludes.
73 members expelled for anti-party activities in MCD poll.

New Delhi: The Delhi Congress on Wednesday suspended 73 members for six years after debacle in the last months municipal elections.

The action was taken for defying partys directions and contesting against official Congress candidates or fielding their relatives in the MCD elections, chairman of Delhi Congress units disciplinary committee Narendra Nath said.

The decision to expel the rebels and their relatives who fought MCD elections against party candidates was taken unanimously in a meeting of the disciplinary committee, Mr Nath said.

The Congress had managed to win only 31 of the 272 wards in south, north and east municipal corporations. In the run-up to the April elections, all the three main parties, the BJP, AAP and Congress, faced similar issues. But this is the first major action by any of them.

Mr Nath said that the party is also going through complaints of anti-party activities by senior party leaders in the municipal polls and will issue show cause notices after scrutiny of the complaints received from candidates who contested the last months polls. Those who have been expelled from the party include four former councillors.

A curious case was that of sitting Nangli Sakrawati councillor Satender Singh Rana. He was given party ticket from Chhawla ward but he fielded his wife against our candidate from Nangli ward, Mr Nath said. Similarly, the then sitting Kasturba Nagar ward councillor Ravi Kalshi who was denied ticket in MCD polls fielded his daughter-in-law against Congress. Both were expelled, he said.

The rift within the party came out in open during the ticket distribution for MCD polls this year.

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and other Congress leaders had openly blamed Congress Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken of failing to take senior leaders along. While Ms Dikshit and former Delhi minister Harun Yusuf had stayed away from the party campaign, former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely had joined BJP days ahead of the municipal elections on April 23. The BJP registered an impressive victory by winning 181 wards, while first timer Aam Admi Party won only 41 wards in the polls.
The agency has filed FIRs in a number of cases pertaining to the alleged pilferage of over 38 kilograms of gold from the Customs vaults.

New Delhi: The CBI has arrested a superintendent of the Customs department from Sonepat in connection with theft of gold from the vaults of the department at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

The agency has filed FIRs in a number of cases pertaining to the alleged pilferage of over 38 kilograms of gold from the Customs vaults in New Delhi.

CBI sources said Sanjiv Kumar, the Superintendent in the Customs department at Sonepat in Haryana, has been arrested recently in connection with the case.
Nearly 4,000 elected representatives of the party will participate in the campaign and hold meetings with farmers at various locations.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch a 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' on Thursday to reach out to farmers in the state and address their issues.

The four-day initiative is being launched amid the rising resentment among farmers across the state over delay in procurement of tur this year.

Nearly 4,000 elected representatives of the party will participate in the campaign and hold meetings with farmers at various locations.

According to a press release issued by the BJP on Wednesday, the party's representatives, including MPs, MLAs, zilla parishad members and corporators, will engage in a dialogue with farmers to know about their issues and take their feedback on various decisions taken by the government in the last two-and-half years.

Each leader will hold four meetings everyday. On day one, Fadnavis will meet farmers in Latur district of Marathwada region, while BJP's state unit president Raosaheb Patil will interact with the cultivators in Nandurbar district in North Maharashtra .

Other leaders like Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil will meet farmers in Kolhapur , Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in Chandrapur, Education Minister Vinod Tawde in Ratnagiri and Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde in Beed.

The chief minister, during his speech at BJP state working committee's meeting last month in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, had announced that the party will hold the 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' in the state.
He was duped by five persons under the pretext of selling him golden coins.

The Tilaknagar Police in Dombivli registered an offence under section 420 rw 34 of the IPC against the five persons including two women and have launched a manhunt for them. (Representational Image)

Thane: A businessman from Kalyan here was duped to the tune of Rs 13.5 lakh by five persons under the pretext of selling him golden coins, which the accused claimed to have recovered during digging at a construction site, police said on Thursday.

The Tilaknagar Police in Dombivli registered an offence under section 420 rw 34 of the IPC against the five persons including two women and have launched a manhunt for them.

According to the complaint filed by victim Jagdish Vishe, two of the accused came to his shop on May 14 with the golden coins embossed with the name and picture of Queen Victoria . They claimed to have unearthed the coins from a construction site here.

They also provided him with samples to verify if they were made of real gold. The victim who held repeated meetings with the alleged accused before the purchase, also on two occasions checked and confirmed that the sample shown to him were of gold.

Later during negotiations it was decided that the cost of the stock coins was around Rs 30 lakh and Vishe would give a part payment of Rs 13,50,000.

Accordingly, Vishe made the payment recently and took the delivery of the coins. However, when he once again went to check with his jeweller, they were found to be fake and made of a mixture of metals like zinc and copper.

Having been cheated, he went to the residence of one of the accused here on May 21. To his shock, he was informed by the neighbours that the accused has already left the place.

Police identified the accused as Raju, his uncle, his brother, his wife and his sister, all of whom are at large.
Victims, women from Nalasopara and Thane, passed away on May 22.

The Nalasopara resident was admitted on May 16 to civic-run Nair hospital but succumbed to infection on May 22.

Mumbai: Two more swine flu deaths have been reported in the city, taking the death toll to five this year. The latest victims are a women (30) from Nalasopara and Thane. The Nalasopara resident was admitted on May 16 to civic-run Nair hospital but succumbed to infection on May 22. The other woman too died in Thane on May 22.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) executive health officer Dr Padmaja Keskar said, The Nalasopara woman was infected with H1N1 virus, and had hypertension and a history of high-grade fever with chills, cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath. She had been vomiting since a few days.

So far this year, 215 persons have succumbed to swine flu in the state. Last year, 25 swine flu deaths were reported in the state. State surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate said, The toll in the state has reached 215, and more than 8 lakh people have been screened. We have obtained more than 28,000 Tami flu doses and made them available across the state and to medical facilities.

Asked if the five deaths due to swine flu in Mumbai was cause for alarm, Dr Awate said, There is no reason for any alarm in Mumbai. Cases of swine flu are being seen in much larger number in other areas like Nashik, Pune, Aurangabad, Amravati and Ahmedabad, which are the worst-affected parts.

Asked about precautionary measures taken to curb the swine flu threat, Dr Awate said, We have already set up screening centres in tentative regions. Our state is the first state to start the Tami flu vaccination programme after the virus spread across the state. We have started vaccinating patients including those from high-risk groups such as pregnant women, diabetics and people with high blood pressure.

Meanwhile, Dr Keskar said, We have already started an awareness drive in our hospitals and health post. The victims are mostly outside of Mumbai but if symptoms of flu are noted, the patient should immediately seek medical assistance.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses. It infects the respiratory tract resulting in barking cough, decreased appetite, and nasal secretions, and can be easily transmitted through the air, skin, saliva and contaminated surfaces.

According to Dr Om Shrivastav, consultant for infectious diseases, With change in climatic conditions, the virus can affect those who are at high risk including the elderly, children, diabetics, and cardiac patients. Patients need to be more cautious. They should consult the doctor if there are any symptoms of flu.
The much-talked about train left Karmali at 2.30 pm on Tuesday and reached CST at 11 pm, with its interiors wrecked by the passengers.

Mumbai: The Mumbai-Goa Tejas Express, the country's first high-speed semi-luxurious train, returned to the city in a mess after some passengers thrashed the LCD screens, stole headphones, soiled the toilets and littered all over the train.

The railway authorities were shocked to see the mess on the train, following which they have now appealed to passengers to safeguard the Tejas Express and treat it like their own property.

The much-talked about train left Karmali at 2.30 pm on Tuesday and reached CST at 11 pm, with its interiors wrecked by the passengers. It will be recalled that the train has been fully booked up to Friday this week as well as during the Ganesh Chaturthi season.

Aditya Tembe, a passenger who was travelling by economic-class on the train, described the chaos that ensued once they departed from Karmali. Some of the passengers tried to remove the LCD screen by pulling on its hinges. After a while, a railway official came and tightened the screws, he said.

Rueing the lack of civic sense prevailing among the passengers, he said the toilet, which is state-of-the-art combination of a bio and a vacuum toilet, began to stink an hour into the journey as people did not bother to use the flush. "The toilet was soiled and was stinking as the people didn't even bother to flush properly after they used it. In fact, I had to flush twice until it was clean enough to be used.

Senior divisional security commissioner, Sachin Bhalode said, We will check the CCTV footage to identity the culprits. The cameras have been placed in vestibule and corners of the compartment. Railway activist Nirmal Tikamgarh and ex-Divisional Railway User Consultative Committee (DRUCC), who was present at the inauguration which saw the train set off on its maiden journey on May 22 from CST, felt that any kind of littering or acts of vandalism should not be tolerated by the railway authorities. Luxury high speed trains like Tejas are a matter of pride. If this kind of vandalism continues, the railways will think twice before starting any such trains to and from Mumbai to any other metro.

A maintenance staff aboard the train during the Karmali-Mumbai journey said, The floor of the train was littered with cups, pet bottles, wrappers and bags of chips, which we had to clean up at the end of the journey. The amount of garbage found aboard Tejas was just like on any other train.

Central Railway (CR) chief public relations officer, Narendra Patil has appealed to the public to maintain civic sense aboard the train. It is true that the train was in a bad shape when it came back yesterday. We, the Indian Railways, want to appeal to the people of India to use these facilities with a sense of responsibility. After all, the railways belong to us and not just the government. And Tejas is something we are really proud of as a nation, hence it is our humble request that passengers keep the railways as clean as their homes.

Currently, the Railways fines commuters a sum of Rs 500 for littering on any railway property, including trains. But the law has many loopholes as the person has to first appear before a railway magistrate, who will decided if he/she has to pay a fine or be jailed for a period of 15 days.
Mr Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada region for the BJPs Shivar Samwad Sabha, a state-wide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Police officials stand by the wreckage of the Sikorsky VT-CMM helicopter, carrying Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his team, that crashed-landed following a technical snag shortly after take-off at Nilanga in Latur. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: In a second such incident in the last 15 days, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis helicopter, a Sikorsky (VT-CMM), met with an accident in Latur on Thursday afternoon. Mr Fadnavis and other officials who were travelling with him escaped safely. The helicopter detected variable wind pattern after taking off from Latur and the pilot decided to land back on the temporary helipad. However, during landing the rotor blades of the helicopter got entangled in electric cables near the helipad. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct a probe into the accident. Earlier, Mr Fadnavis helicopter at Gadchiroli had faced a technical snag mid-air on May 12 and he had to land back then.

The accident occurred when Mr Fadnavis boarded the helicopter at Nilanga town along with his three staff members and two crewmembers. The helicopter, which is government-owned, was surrounded by a huge crowd and the accident was recorded on mobile phones by people present at the venue. The visuals show Mr Fadnavis helicopter taking off and after reaching a certain height, landing back dramatically. Sources in the aviation industry said the incident was serious and Mr Fadnavis was fortunate.

Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry, Mr Fadnavis tweeted after the accident. Later, speaking with the media, he said, I am safe and it was a small incident. I am not injured. After take off, pressure was created. We realised that something was wrong and while landing back the helicopter got entangled with electricity wires.

DGCA sources said an team would conduct a detailed probe of the accident. Cockpit voice recorder will be checked. The team will visit the site and the helicopter. The flight data will be obtained and analysed. It will give information about what happened to the engine, communication between the pilots, in what situation the incident took place. There could be two possibilities, either technical error or the pilots mistake, an official said.

The official also said that the six-year-old Sikorsky helicopter was damaged beyond repair. Earlier, the CMs helicopter at Gadchiroli had faced technical snag mid-air and he had to travel by road.

Eyewitnesses of the incident said a few onlookers sustained minor injuries in the accident. Electricity wires snapped, a pole collapsed and the helicopter even touched a truck that was nearby and a house, they said. The helicopter, in the process of landing back, could not reach to its original position from where it took off, eyewitnesses said.

Captain Sanjay Karve, director general of Maharashtra Civil Aviation, who was flying the helicopter, narrated the accident. After take off, we felt air pressure. So, we tried to fly high but got entangled in the electric wires, Mr Karve said.

Mr Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada region for the BJPs Shivar Samwad Sabha, a state-wide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Ketan Pathak, Mr Fadnavis media advisor, suffered minor injuries in the incident. Others aboard the helicopter included senior IAS officer and Mr Fadnavis personal secretary Praveen Pardeshi and the CMs personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar.

Maharashtra governor C. Vidyasagar Rao telephoned Mr Fadnavis from Chennai and enquired about his well-being. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also called the CM.
The animal, which had separated from its pack, was chased by an angry mob of people.

Mumbai: In the second incident within a month, a sub-adult golden jackal was rescued from the staff quarters of Godrej in Vikhroli, Wednesday evening. The animal, which had separated from its pack, was chased by an angry mob of people. But a timely intervention by the Resqink Association of Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) NGO ensured that the mammal was rescued and rushed to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), where the vet found him to be weak with a minor wound.

The jackal was spotted in the evening being chased by dogs, after which it slipped into Pirojshanagar Creekside Colony, which shares its boundary with a mangrove habitat. Trying desperately to escape, the animal then fell into a deep pit, where it suffered a few injuries. It was then that a distress call was made by the residents to RAWW, the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation NGO, who took appropriate measures for its rescue and treatment with due permission from the forest department, said an official from Godrej.

In an operation lasting 20 minutes, the jackal was transported in a fibre cage to SGNP where it is being kept under observation. The park veterinarian Dr. Shailesh Pethe, who examined the jackal said, The animal appears to be little weak and has a wound on its right shoulder. He will be here for at least a week after which a decision on releasing the animal will be taken by the range forest officer of the city.

We will soon be getting in touch with the authorities at Godrej as well as the forest department to host awareness programmes for the security of the residents of the colony as well as nearby areas where jackals are spotted, said Pawan Sharma, Founder of RAWW.
The source said that Deepali was very strict with Siddhant & would not let him log onto social networking websites or spend time on his mobile phone.

Deepali Ganore, who was murdered and the killer left a note beside the body.

Mumbai: Siddhant Ganore, 21, who allegedly killed his mother Deepali by stabbing her nine times, was allegedly frustrated with her. Police sources revealed that Siddhant expressed no remorse over murdering his mother after being detained in Jodhpur on Thursday by local police following an alert from Mumbai police.

The Mumbai police took custody of Siddhant in Jodhpur and he will be brought back to the city for further investigation. A source from Vakola police, which is probing the case, said that Siddhant was calm and composed. He did not try to escape or run away or even make an attempt to resist arrest. He was in fact even speaking to some media persons present at the police station, said the police source.

Siddhant is the son of police inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore, who is attached to Khar police station. Dyaneshwar led the investigation in the high-profile Sheena Bora murder case.

According to the police source, Deepali, a law degree holder, was very worried about her son's academics. Siddhant dropped out of engineering college and enrolled himself in a graduate course at National College. There too, he did not fare well and had failed in many subjects.

The source said that Deepali was very strict with Siddhant and would not let him log onto social networking websites or spend time on his mobile phone.

He ran away from home a few months ago only to return after his parents pleaded with him.
The Presidents Islamophobia has now become Iranophobia.

US President Donald Trump, center, sits with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, prior to a meeting with Belgium's King Philippe and his wife Queen Mathilde at the Royal Palace in Brussels. (Photo: AP)

Donald Trumps West Asia tour was replete with symbolism: he flew directly from Riyadh to Tel Aviv, the first such flight between the two estranged countries, reflecting the Presidents vision of a united Arab-Israeli coalition against Iran. Islam was now described as one of the worlds great faiths, a departure from his campaign rhetoric when he had firmly asserted that Islam hates us. He then worshipped at Jerusalems Western Wall and visited the Christian holy sites  Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

But beyond the symbolism, there was a shaping of new strategic alignments in West Asia and the re-emergence of an active American role in the region.

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump had pandered to the ignorance and prejudice of his core constituency by repeatedly maligning Islam, the faith, and the Muslim people in general. The Presidents position changed partly due to the influence of three of his senior advisers  secretary of state Rex W. Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and defence secretary James Mattis. Mr Tillerson has been an oilman for several decades and had close ties with Saudi Arabia as ExxonMobil chairman.

The other two, as senior military officers in the Gulf, have been close to the kingdom and its princes for a couple of decades, while retaining a deep-seated animosity for Iran. Gen. McMaster has a further concern: he sees Iran as one of the hostile revisionist powers, in the company of Russia, China and North Korea, all countries which are seen to be challenging the US-led world order.

But there has been another influence on Mr Trump: the lure of defence and commercial deals. This was conveyed to the President by the deputy crown prince and defence minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during their meeting in March this year. The White House was exultant, cheerfully saying that Saudi investments of about $200 billion in US infrastructure would create a million jobs directly and several million others indirectly. This prepared the ground for the Presidents Saudi visit, when these deals would be ceremonially announced and a new strategic partnership put in place.

The Presidents Islamophobia has now become Iranophobia. This mindset and vision has defined Mr Trumps every remark and action during his foray in West Asia. On the bilateral plane, the US and the kingdom have signed a joint strategic vision declaration based on which they will jointly combat violent extremism and the financing of terror, build up Saudi defence capabilities, and shape a new defence architecture for the region.

In his address to the Muslim leaders assembled in Riyadh, Mr Trump asked them to confront the crisis of Islamic extremism. His references to Iran were specially hostile: he called on the Muslim world to help isolate Iran. Again, just days after the Iranians had re-elected a moderate President, Hassan Rouhani, he also seemed to call for regime change when he asked his audience to pray for the day when the Iranian people have the just and righteous government they so richly deserve.

In Israel, he affirmed that the US would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and would preserve Israels security in the region. He said: Irans leaders routinely call for Israels destruction  not with Donald J. Trump. Believe me.

For the kingdom and its Gulf Cooperation Council allies, Mr Trumps election slogan, America is back, has a literal and concrete meaning after what they recall as the nightmare era of the Barack Obama presidency. Mr Obama had not only failed to back Saudi Arabia in its regime change project in Syria and its war against the Houthis in Yemen, where both its aims were thwarted by Iran, the former President had also worked assiduously for the nuclear deal which freed Iran to challenge the GCC across the Arab world. Mr Trump seems to have harked back to the period of George W. Bush and his predecessors, when the US was the firm ally of the Arab potentates and he unshakeable enemy of Iran.

Most Arab commentators are not so enthusiastic. Even pro-GCC writers noted that the President, while condemning Iran, presented no specific action to confront Iran and its perceived hegemonic designs in the region. Specifically, he not repudiate the nuclear deal with Iran, nor did he rescind the visa restrictions on Muslims entry into the US.

They also noted his weak position at home and were not sure how he could mobilise domestic support to back the kingdom and its allies militarily in Syria and Yemen. Also, with the prevailing low oil prices, they doubted the ability of the Gulf monarchies to pay for the extravagant defence and other deals they have used to win the Presidents backing.

The most concrete takeaway from the visit is that Mr Trump, with his condemnation of Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, has criminalised the resistance to Israel, sidelined the Palestinian cause, and replaced Israel with Iran as the principal enemy of the Arabs in the region, so the Arab-Israeli conflict will now be replaced by an intra-Muslim sectarian contention.

But theres a serious flaw in the Presidents understanding of the sources of extremism in the Muslim world. Mr Trump narrowly focused on radical ideology, but failed to address the origins of this malaise: its not religious belief, but the authoritarian political order in West Asia that is seen by its people as non-transparent, non-accountable, corrupt, and non-accommodative of citizens aspirations, particularly the youth. The youth find an idealism, empowerment and sense of historic accomplishment in radical groups.

Mr Trump didnt speak of the need for political reform; he referred to his principled realism, in terms of which he supported the political status quo. Nor did he pluck up the courage to insist on Israel halting its settlements and reviving the peace process. He has, instead, structured a powerful, sect-based alliance against Iran and its allies. West Asia after the Presidents visit is more dangerous than it has ever been in recent times.
President Xi Jinping, who also is chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets officers of the People's Liberation Army Navy on Wednesday during his visit to naval headquarters in Beijing. ZHA CHUNMING / XINHUA

President calls commanders patrolling at sea from headquarters

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged the Navy to accelerate reforms and strive to become a strong and modern force.

The People's Liberation Army Navy is a strategic combat force that has great importance in national security and overall development, he said during a visit to Navy headquarters in Beijing.

A strong and modern navy is a crucial symbol of a world class military, as well as the strategic support for a maritime power, said Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission.

He has required the Navy to be more combat-oriented and insist on live drills and joint exercises. The Navy should improve its systematic combat capability on all fronts, from digitization to far-seas operations, and to be more innovative and train more high quality talent, he said.

Xi also has required the Navy to absolutely uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and tighten its grip on corruption.

Since late 2012, Xi has shown that he cares deeply about the Navy, attending many related events, according to the Ministry of Defense. During Wednesday's visit, Xi met with representatives attending the Navy's 12th Party congress as well as many senior naval officers.

At the naval command center, Xi called to send his regards to officers onboard the PLA Navy Task Group 150  a trio of Chinese warships that is conducting goodwill visits around the world and is now on a four-day visit to Bangladesh. The task group has visited five countries since departing Shanghai on April 23.

Xi also called the No 538 frigate, patrolling in the Yellow Sea, to learn of their routine combat readiness duties. "You have battled through winds and waves, fighting hard constantly. We thank you for your hard work," Xi told the commander. "We hope our comrades will continue to carry out their duties diligently, and live up to the expectation of the Party and the people."

In a decade, the Navy added 100 advanced ships and submarines and a large number of new aircraft. It commissioned about 40 new ships in the past two years, and is believed to have developed several new-generation nuclear submarines, according to the Navy. It now has a carrier battle group built around CNS Liaoning. A new aircraft carrier  Type 001A  was launched on April 26, too.

Major General Ma Gang, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, said the Navy has become a representative of the military due to extensive interactions and exchanges with other militaries.

"China's marine interests are growing fast, and it needs a strong Navy to safeguard those interests. A modernized navy also allows China to shoulder more responsibilities, such as peacekeeping and escort missions, and maintain regional and world peace."
Modi projected a spring-cleaning of a nation which projected a new role for India in history, and Indians loved it.

Three years is a long time in politics and three years of Narendra Modi feels even longer. The Modi era has been framed as a narrative not in terms of a report as evaluation, not in terms of an accountants chart, but in terms of the language of a brand.

Brand is a symbolic word, a mnemonic of remembrance and recall in advertising jargon. One emphasises what one thinks are the ideal properties of thing. In branding an object, we reduce it to a commodity, an object of desire, a message with symbolic power. Despite the intensity of the word brand, a brand evaluation is necessarily narrow and technical. Three years of Mr Modi becomes three years of the production and consumption of Mr Modi in public life. The analysis then focuses on image-building, on how Mr Modi has become the collective Rorschach of an era.

Brand Modi projected Mr Modi as an act of conquest, an attempt by a rank outsider to conquer and domesticate Lutyens Delhi. The historical trope was clear. It was the second conquest of Delhi, an overthrow of the Congress as a Mughal regime, with Mr Modi playing Rana Pratap. It was also in brand terms, an act of erasure. Jawaharlal Nehru had to be erased and Mahatma Gandhi smudged. By playing the Sardar Patel chord, Mr Modi returns to defeat Nehru and return nation building to its original power. The tropes of Mr Modi were the tropes of an NCERT book, the list of chapters  nation state, patriotism, development and governance  were his new goals. Mr Modi was stepping into history as a giant new civics lesson where he would teach Indians the basic rules of citizenship.

There is something about a brand which is more catchy, but less intense. Brand is contrivance. Here even the sense of the natural is constructed. In that sense, Mr Modi, it was clear, was a construct, more of a Lego set than human being. Yet he was a Lego set that fitted perfectly in middle class Indias hands. Both he and they read the same tutorial college looks on personality development and nation building. Brand Modi revealed that Mr Modi could not be as complex as Nehru or Indira. They exploded as original charismatic figures. He accepted his secondariness and then sought to expand and inflate it. His career began as a handbook, a kunji on how to be a political leader, an aspirational mobile history of politics where India no longer depended on the elite but on new regional entities. It was not an India of Nehru, Azad and Rajaji, but of Rajnath, Adityanath, Amit Shah and Mr Modi. The brilliance of Mr Modi lay in understanding that contemporary India was more at home in the second lot. It was a sense of a new lowest common denominator democracy where Allahabadi-Oxbridge leaders gave way to the hyper-intelligent chaiwala. The homely intelligence of Chai ki Charcha, the sense of inclusiveness, which allowed any man to be Prime Minister, suggested a demystification of politics. Mr Modi playing the common man with chutzpah erased the legendary common man of R.K. Laxman to create a democracy home in dhabhas, pan shops and mandis than in exclusive clubs.

Once this propaganda web of homespun democracy was spread, Mr Modi marshalled words, created glossaries, proverbs and fables for understanding state and governance, which was impressive. This new wordspeak created a mnemonic of accessible words that made it easy to talk and proud of being India. A nation suffering the angst of third-worldness and secondariness suddenly felt a muscular confidence about itself. Waiting to be a successful NRI, a seat in the Security Council, a place in the nuclear club were things India thought of as its right Mr Modi created what one can call a foreign policy for internal consumption which was different from a foreign policy for external consumption. The local variant was a no-nonsense theory of Pakistan, no tolerance idea of Nepal, a muscular sense of Indian cavorting with the biggest and best. It was a view of power for those who lived through stereotypes about it. Second was a more pragmatic scene of India as a sense for experiments in governance and a place for investment. The success of Mr Modi lay in making these wishful narratives into what people considered self-fulfilling prophecies. Mr Modi projected a spring-cleaning of a nation which projected a new role for India in history, and Indians loved it.

Brand Modi needed gossip, needed folklore, stories to spread which made Mr Modi a larger than life character in oral and digital life. It is this double uniqueness that made him important as Prime Minister. He let himself be soaked in the oral imagination with what can call his dohas and acronyms, and yet he was seen as a Twitter and WhatsApp person, an expert who understood the narcissistic joy of a selfie. Between the oral and the visual he created a semiotic self, which could simultaneously evoke tradition and digital modernity, without creating any sense of contradiction.

Mr Modi saw himself as a Chanakya who had become Prime Minister. He enacts this performance in every speech by creating a prime ministership made-easy, giving everyone a sense of the accessibility of power, both through body signals and language. He portrays both the picture of power as instant gratification and as a sense of sacrifice. Pushing through demonetisation was to be seen as a morality play where honesty as policy, as public virtue, has to be seen as public display. In that sense, Mr Modi conveyed a sense of pragmatism, of instrumentalism, secularism about ethics and feelings. Power like plumbing was no longer about values but about fixing things. I think there is no PM who is more instrumental about religion than Mr Modi. If the Ganga can be harnessed to perpetuate power, it will be. What he demystified in constructing Brand Modi was not power but values. Values were only something to be measured. It was not a vision of things. Doing, acting, fixing and building were the new key words as values disappeared from daily life. Instead of ethics, we had a civics of nation-building that a Stalin or a Kim Il-sung would be proud of. What Brand India constructed through Brand Modi was the idea of a fixer. The only thing the Make in India project was designed to do was to make images of India projecting its world of intentions.

Brand Modi was the new costume ball of the Indian State in an era of globalisation. Mr Modi was the chaperon, the hostel warden of both events. Brand Modi told India that the act of mimicry, which created him, was to also construct a myth of a culturally confident India. In an odd way, Mr Modi is India because every Indian seems desperate to construct himself, to create a version of himself. The speed the masculinity, the impatience has helped him create a rush-hour India and one wishes there was a deeper semiotic analysis of it.

Brand Modi was a victory of perception over practice of image over ideology, of the power of fiction over the realism of fact. In fact, Brand Modi is a secular theology where a nation, leader and society is created as an image, and yet the power of the image is so real that an icon is born. Modern India has finally taken to idol worship. That is the power of Brand Modi.
The rocket blasted off from the company's facility at Mahia, on the east coast of the North Island.

It was the world's first successful launch from a private site, and was seen as a further advancement in the move towards private enterprise carrying small satellites and other cargo towards the stars.

A private New Zealand-based company joined the exclusive space-race club on Thursday with the successful launch of a Rocket Lab test craft named Electron.

The rocket blasted off from the company's facility at Mahia, on the east coast of the North Island, to end three days of launch attempts aborted because of the weather.

"Made it to space. Team delighted. More to follow!" aerospace company Rocket Lab tweeted as New Zealand became the 11th country to launch into space.

It was the world's first successful launch from a private site, and was seen as a further advancement in the move towards private enterprise carrying small satellites and other cargo towards the stars.

"In the past, it's been countries that go to space, not companies," said Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck.

"We're one of a few companies to ever develop a rocket from scratch and we did it in under four years.

"We've worked tirelessly to get to this point. We've developed everything in house, built the world's first private orbital launch range, and we've done it with a small team."

However, while the rocket reached space, it did not reach orbit.

"We'll be investigating why, however reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position to accelerate the commercial phase of our programme, deliver our customers to orbit and make space open for business," Beck added.

New Zealand Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges hailed the launch as the government set aside NZ$15 million (US$10.5 million) for the country's space programme.

"New Zealand is now one of 11 countries able to launch satellites into space from their own territory and the first to launch from a fully private orbital launch range," he said.

Beck said Rocket Lab was committed to making space accessible and at full production, expected to launch more than 50 times a year.

Rocket Lab's commercial phase will see Electron fly already-signed customers including NASA, Spire, Planet, Moon Express and Spaceflight. The launch is the first of three planned tests before Rocket Lab begins providing customers commercial satellite opportunities.

The 17-metre (55.7-foot) rocket -- which uses an engine with 3D-printed and battery-powered components -- is said to have reached speeds of more than 27,000 kilometres per hour during the two-and-a-half-minute flight into space.

Beck has said that while there would be some celebrations following the successful launch, the main party would wait until they reached the commercial stage of taking satellite cargo into orbit.

Although a New Zealand firm, Rocket Lab's main backers include US companies Kholsa Ventures, Beesemer Venture Partners, Data Collective, Promus Ventures and Lockheed Martin.
The Samsung Galaxy Wide 2 from Korea outlines the rumours for the mid-range J7 2017 and has remarkably similar specs to the current J7 2016

The Galaxy Wide 2 has a code name of SM-J727S, which clearly points towards the fact that it could be the next J7, i.e. the J7 2017 edition.

Samsung has recently launched the Galaxy Wide 2 in Korea. The smartphone is supposed to be a mid-range offering in Samsungs lineup and has a decent design as well. The Wide 2 has a 5.5-inch HD 2.5D curved glass display. It is built around an octa-core 1.6 GHz processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/1.9 aperture and a front 5-megapixel selfie camera.

The Galaxy Wide 2 will run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. It will have 16GB of inbuilt storage along with an expandable 256GB microSD option. The handset is only 8.6mm thick with a 3300 mAh battery

However, the smartphone has a code name of SM-J727S, which clearly points towards the fact that it could be the next J7, i.e. the J7 2017 edition. If this becomes true, then the Galaxy J7 2017 wont be much of an upgrade from the current J7 2016. The current J7 has exactly the similar specifications, without the 2.5D curved glass on top of the display.

While we dont have a confirmed idea about the J7 2017 edition, we could hope that Samsung should be upgrading the internals to make for itself a fair fighting ground. The smartphone clearly has a visible upgrade in the looks department, especially for the rear metal panel. But, the J7 2017 needs to have at least 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage to make into a buyers consideration list and provide a compelling option to Xiaomis Redmi Note 4 and Moto G5.

(Source)
The blast flipped over the green police pickup and tore its rear end off.

Kenyan police have warned of increased Islamist activity in the restive northeast, close to the border with Somalia (Photo: AFP)

Nairobi: Five police officers were killed Thursday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Kenya in an attack claimed by Shabaab Islamists a day after eight police died in similar blasts.

The officers had been deployed to the restive northeastern region to take part in an operation against the Somali-led militants after two separate roadside bombs on Wednesday.

"The five police officers killed in the attack were headed to boost the ongoing operation in Liboi," said North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Ali Saleh referring to a town on the border with Somalia.

The Kenya Red Cross said the latest attack occurred between Malelei and Kulan in Garissa county when a vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED).

The blast flipped over the green police pickup and tore its rear end off.

The Shabaab, a Somali-led Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, claimed the attack -- as well as the previous two -- in a statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.

On Wednesday morning three police officers were killed when their vehicle drove over a roadside bomb near the Liboi border post.

Later in the day a convoy accompanying a local governor was struck, killing five officers including his bodyguard.

Earlier this week Kenyan police issued a statement warning of increased militant activity in the area, specifically mentioning the threat of IEDs.

- Attacks predicted -

According to Tuesday's statement by police chief George Kinoti, the Shabaab was "under serious pressure in Somalia" and as a result "has split into small groups, some of whom are heading towards our border with the intention of staging attacks."

Kinoti said such groups planned "to lay IEDs along the routes used by our security patrols".

Despite predicting the spate of bombings that followed, Kenyan security was unable to prevent the deaths of 13 officers in two bloody days.

The government has yet to comment on the upsurge in attacks in the region bordering Somalia.

On May 16, four people were killed near Liboi when their car hit an IED.

Several other incidents took place last week in Mandera county when suspected Shabaab fighters attacked a village, killed a traditional chief and kidnapped two police reservists, according to local police.

In October 2016, the government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Mandera after Shabaab fighters killed 12 people at a hotel. The authorities also stepped up security in the region, with the curfew extended in April.

Since 2007, the Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Somalia but began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-strong African Union mission fighting in Somalia.

In 2013, Shabaab gunmen raided a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi killing 67 people, and in 2015 a similar attack on a university in Garissa left 148 dead.
North Korea has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland US.

Washington: US President Donald Trump told his Philippine counterpart that Washington has sent two nuclear submarines to waters off the Korean peninsula, The New York Times said, comments likely to raise questions about his handling of sensitive information.

Mr Trump has said a major, major conflict with North Korea is possible because of its nuclear and missile programmes and that all options are on the table but that he wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically.

North Korea has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland United States, saying the programme is necessary to counter US aggression.

Mr Trump told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Washington had a lot of firepower over there, according to The New York Times, which quoted a transcript of an April 29 call between the two.

We have two submarines  the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all, the newspaper quoted Mr Trump as telling Mr Duterte, based on the transcript.

The report was based on a Philippine transcript of the call that was circulated on Tuesday under a confidential cover sheet by the Americas division of the Philippine department of foreign affairs.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump also called Kim Jong-Un a madman with nuclear weapons.

He said, We cant let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that. We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20, but we dont want to use it, the US leader said submarines the Pentagon sent to the area last month.

Mr Trump also queried Mr Duterte about whether he believed Kim was stable or not stable.

Mr Duterte responded that their North Korean counterparts mind is not working and he might just go crazy one moment. Mr Kim has a dangerous toy in his hands that could create so much agony and suffering for all ma-nkind, he added.
Prachanda announced his resignation while addressing the nation in a live telecast.

Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on Wednesday resigned after a brief stint of nine months, honouring a power sharing understanding reached between his party and the ruling partner Nepali Congress.

Mr Prachanda, 62, announced his resignation while addressing the nation in a live telecast.

It was his second stint as the Prime Minister. He was elected as the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal after forging alliance with the Nepali Congress on August 3, 2016.

Mr Prachanda, the chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre), had reached an understanding with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba that he would step down as Prime Minister and hand over the leadership to him after nine months.

The pact was to run the government on a rotational basis until elections to the parliament are held in February 2018.

Mr Prachanda was to hold office till local polls are held and remaining two elections  provincial and central  were to be conducted under Mr Deuba.

Millions of Nepalese on May 14 voted in the countrys first local-level polls in two decades as the Himalayan nation took a crucial step towards cementing democracy amid political turmoil.

Local-level elections could not be held after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives in Nepal. The elections should be held in every five years but due to the instability, they were halted since May 1997.
With the help of an Italian coastguard ship and several commercial ships, rescuers managed to drag many people from the water.

Migrants wearing life vests are seen floating in the water before being rescued at sea, Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)

Rome: At least 34 people including young children drowned on Wednesday when they fell off an overloaded migrant vessel in the Mediterranean, where tensions are rising between aid ships and the Libyan coastguard.

"There's a critical situation today. About 200 people fell into the water," an Italian coastguard spokesman told AFP, saying 34 bodies had been recovered including at least 10 children, some of whom were toddlers.

The victims were on a wooden boat carrying between 500 and 700 people which was just 20 nautical miles off the Libyan coast when the disaster happened.

The crew of the Phoenix aid boat, chartered by the Maltese charity MOAS, had begun the rescue and were distributing life jackets when many of those on deck fell into the water, perhaps knocked off balance by a wave.

"Not a scene from a horror movie... Real life tragedy unfolding on Europe's doorstep today!," said MOAS co-founder Chris Catrambone, who was aboard the Phoenix and published photos showing white body bags lined up on the deck.

"Rescuers are frantically trying to break open the locked hold on a wooden boat where hundreds of refugees are trapped!" he tweeted.

With the help of an Italian coastguard ship and several commercial ships, rescuers managed to drag many people from the water, while a military aircraft dropped life rafts and a helicopter looked for survivors.

About 15 relief operations were under way Wednesday off Libya in total, the coastguard said.

On Tuesday, they coordinated the rescue of about 1,500 people, while their Libyan counterparts intercepted 237 others, including 20 women and 15 children, travelling on two wooden boats.

The German charity Jugend Rettet said Tuesday it had had a run-in with armed men on a boat purportedly commandeered by the Libyan coastguard.

The Libyan boat already had passengers on board -- presumably picked up from a dinghy in the area.

Jugend Rettet published a photograph appearing to show the armed men pointing their weapons directly at the refugees and said "a variety of shots" were fired "and refugees were beaten".

About 100 people on the Libyan boat panicked when the shots rang out and threw themselves into the water, swimming towards the German boat Iuventa and the SOS Mediterranee boat Aquarius, which was also at the scene.

"We can not say whether and how many dead there were in the shooting. We had to be careful not to get a bullet ourselves," Jugend Rettet said in a statement citing the Iuventa's 25-year old captain Jonas, without giving his surname.

SOS Mediterranee said the refugees said the Libyans had ordered them overboard.

"When the Libyans pointed their weapons at us and asked us to give them all our money and our cell phones and told us to jump in the water, we did what they said," a 20-year-old Gambian told the Aquarius crew.

"I was not afraid, I would prefer to die at sea than be forcibly returned and die in Libya," he said.

Two weeks ago, the German NGO Sea-Watch reported an aggressive intervention by the Libyan coastguard as it tried to take control of a large wooden boat sailing in international waters with 450 refugees on board.

The Libyan coastguard has recently begun carrying out its own operations at sea, towing migrant dinghies headed for Europe back to shore and locking up those recovered in centres which are renowned for human rights abuses.
During interrogation, police realised that the complainant itself is the accused, as the victims spoke out about their ordeal.

London: A 40-year-old divorcee was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for sexually abusing three teenage boys and filming it during a party at her place in West Yorkshire, England, under the influence of drinks and drugs.

According to a report in Daily Mail, Beverley Tillyer had been abusing the teenage boys, all aged 14, from 2008. She abused the first victim for six occasions, the second victim twice and the third victim on one occasion.

The incident came to light when Tillyer made fake allegations against scared and traumatised boys to the police.

During interrogation, police realised that the complainant itself is the accused, as the victims spoke out about their ordeal.

One of the victims, whose identity has been kept secret, described how the incident has affected his confidence and he fears seeing Tillyer.

Tillyer initially denied the allegations of sexually abusing the teenagers; instead she claimed that she had been raped by the boys.

However, Tillyer eventually admitted to the crime after repeated police questioning.

Leeds Crown Court Judge James Spencer, QC, while pronouncing the verdict told Tillyer, You took advantage of those boys when you should have shown a more responsible attitude.

The adult has to take care of children even when they are 14 and think they know it all. Because of the degree of seriousness here, it does seem to me that there has to be a prison sentence, the judge further added.
Trump, pontiff opposed to abortion, concerned about Christians in Mideast.

Pope Francis meets with President Donald Trump and First lady Melania Trump on the occasion of their private audience, at the Vatican. (Photo: AP)

Vatican City: Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to use his US presidency to promote peace around the world after what he depicted as an inspirational meeting with Pope Francis.

Meeting face-to-face for the first time, the two leaders sidestepped profound differences over a string of issues ranging from the environment to the plight of migrants and the poor. And the US President emerged from a half-hour meeting at the Vatican gushing with enthusiasm about the 80-year-old pontiff, to the point of the former TV star appearing slightly star-struck.

Honour of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter before leaving Rome for Brussels and the next leg of his first overseas trip as President. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world. The declaration of intent followed a keenly-anticipated encounter between the billionaire businessman and the former Jesuit priest who has made championing the poor and the third world major themes of his papacy. In their worldview and tastes, the Argentine pontiff, who eschews the use of the palaces at his disposal, and the luxury hotel tycoon appear worlds apart. But if there was any friction when they finally met, it occurred behind closed doors. In front of the cameras, both men were mostly all smiles, relaxed and even jovial.

He is something, Mr Trump later said of his host. We had a fantastic meeting.

The Vatican described the discussions as cordial and emphasised the two mens joint opposition to abortion and shared concern for persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

Mr Trump told his host as he left, Thank you. Thank you. I wont forget what you said. The Pope had presented Mr Trump with a medallion engraved with an olive tree, the international symbol of peace.

I give it to you so you can be an instrument of peace, he said in Spanish. We can use peace, Trump replied.

Trumps gifts included a collection of first editions by Martin Luther King and a bronze sculpture. Francis gave Trump copies of the three major texts he has published as pope, including one on the environment which urges the industrialised world to curb carbon emissions or risk catastrophic consequences for the planet.

Trump, who has threatened to ignore the Paris accords on emissions and described global warming as a hoax, vowed to read them.

A Vatican statement on the meeting highlighted the joint commitment in favour of life, and freedom of worship and conscience. Trumps administration has pleased the Church by axing rules protecting tax-funded financing of family planning clinics that offer abortions.

Accompanied by his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, Trump met Francis in the private library of the Apostolic Palace, the lavish papal residence that the current pope eschews in favour of more modest lodgings.

Afterwards, the first couple were given a private tour of the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica.

While Donald dropped in on Italys President and met Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Melania visited a childrens hospital and Ivanka met women trafficked from Africa for the sex trade. In Brussels, team Trump will meet EU and NATO officials before returning to Italy for the G7 summit in Sicily on Friday and Saturday.

Francis and Trump past spats include the pope describing plans for a border wall with Mexico as not Christian and Trump evoking a possible Islamist attack on the Vatican which would make the pontiff glad to have him as President. But there have also been conciliatory moves. In 2013, Trump tweeted that the new pope is a humble man, very much like me while Francis had promised to judge the man not the image.

Wednesdays meeting nevertheless provided a reminder of their differences in style, Trump arriving at the Vatican in a jumbo-sized SUV that couldnt have been further removed from the modest Fiats and Fords Francis prefers.

Trumps Vatican visit was the third leg of his overseas trip after stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel and the Palestinian territories.

No president has ever visited the homelands and holy sites of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslims faiths all on one trip, said US national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Trump was bringing a message of tolerance and of hope to billions, he said.

The high-profile trip has diverted attention from Trumps domestic pressures over alleged campaign collusion with Russia. With his poll numbers at a record low for a recently-elected President, he will be hoping for a boost after rubbing shoulders with the popular pope.
The Presidents office earlier said he was seeking to extend the state of emergency until November 1.

Paris: President Emmanuel Macron wants a sixth extension of Frances state of emergency since the Paris attacks of November 2015, his Prime Minister said on Wednesday, adding that the terror threat remains very high.

The new President, elected on May 7, also wants legislation to boost the powers of the security forces, Edouard Philippe said, two days after the Manchester concert suicide bombing claimed 22 lives.

France and the United Kingdom are fighting the same enemy, Mr Philippe said after a meeting of his defence council.

The terrorist threat remains, in Europe, in our two countries, at a very high level.

Mr Macron is seeking a new extension of the state of emergency, which expires on July 15 after being extended to preserve our democracy.

The Presidents office earlier said he was seeking to extend the state of emergency until November 1. The measures allow security forces to monitor suspects and carry out searches without warrants, place suspects under house arrest, and ban public gatherings.
Abedi was known to British intelligence services, interior minister Amber Rudd said this week, without giving further details.

Manchester: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi was a British-born university dropout with Libyan jihadi links who, according to his sister, may have sought revenge for the deaths of Muslim children.

Abedi was named by British authorities the day after he detonated a bomb packed with nuts and screws at the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and maiming dozens more at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.

Born in Britain to a devoutly Muslim Libyan family, Abedi was an "isolated, quiet, reserved individual" according to Mohamed Fadil, a spokesman for the Libyan community in Manchester.

"Even when he came to mosque, he just kept to himself and quickly left. His friends are not in the Libyan community," Fadil told AFP, adding that locals said Abedi had a history of drinking and smoking cannabis.

Abdullah Muhsin Norris, 70, told Sky News that Abedi was ejected from his mosque in Moss Side two months ago after he had tried to hide in the mosque library to read religious books overnight.

"I was very annoyed with him," Norris said, adding that worshippers at his mosque were forbidden to engage in conversations or preaching about politics.

But the image of the awkward misfit stands in contrast to the picture which has emerged of the suicide bomber in recent days in British media of a man with links both to Islamist fighters in Libya and an Islamic State group recruiter.

The Wall Street Journal cited a family friend saying that Abedi had travelled to Libya with his father in 2011 to join the Tripoli Brigade militia as it battled the regime of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi. He returned to Britain in 2014 with his mother, the friend said.

Abedi was known to British intelligence services, interior minister Amber Rudd said this week, without giving further details.

Islamic State link

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Abedi had "likely" been to Syria after Libya, citing information provided by British intelligence services to their counterparts in Paris.

"In any case, the links with Daesh are proven," Collomb said, using another term for the Islamic State jihadist group which claimed responsibility for the Manchester Arena attack.

Links have also emerged between Abedi and a Manchester terror cell, according to counter-terrorism sources cited by Sky News television.

Investigators found a "significant" link between Abedi and Raphael Hostey, a young fellow Mancunian who allegedly recruited IS members before reportedly being killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.

Sky News said the two Islamists worshipped at Didsbury Mosque in the leafy Manchester suburbs, where trustees on Wednesday decried the "horrific atrocity" at the arena and denied any links to extremism.

Abedi's father Ramadan had sometimes performed the call to prayer at the mosque and his brother Ismael had been a volunteer.

However, Mohammed Saeed, a senior figure from the mosque, told The Guardian newspaper that when he once gave a sermon denouncing terror, Abedi stared him down.

"Salman showed me a face of hate after that sermon," Mohammed Saeed said of the 2015 encounter. "He was showing me hatred."

'He wanted revenge'

Libya arrested Abedi's father Ramadan and younger brother Hashem, who was also born in Britain, a relative and security sources said on Wednesday.

Ahmed bin Salem, a spokesman for the Deterrence Force, which supports Libya's UN-backed unity government, said Hashem Abedi was aware of his brother's attack plan and both were members of IS.

The relative said Salman had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before the bombing.

"His father wanted his son to stay in Libya but Salman insisted on going to Manchester."

While the precise details of when and how Salman Abedi decided to turn to violent extremist remain unknown, his sister said he was loving but driven by a desire for revenge.

"I think he saw children -- Muslim children -- dying everywhere, and wanted revenge. He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge," said Jomana Abedi, quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

Such anger was reportedly heightened when one of his friends, 18-year-old Abdul Wahab Hafidah, was murdered in the Moss Side area of Manchester a year ago.

"I remember Salman at his funeral vowing revenge," the family friend told the Journal.

Before carrying out the deadly attack at Manchester Arena, Abedi had joined Manchester's huge student population.

The University of Salford confirmed Abedi had studied there but a source told the Press Association news agency he dropped out two years into a business and management degree.
On Tuesday, a Muslim woman was spat on by a stranger on Manchester's Oxford Road, local media reported.

Armed police respond after reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. (Photo:AP)

London: A number of anti-Muslim incidents have been reported in the UK after the Manchester bombing with a Muslim woman spat on while a teenaged Muslim girl taunted by a passer-by who said, "when are you going to stop bombing people".

A 14-year-old pupil at Manchester Islamic High School for girls was taunted while on her way to school by a passer-by.

Mona Mohamed, head teacher at the school, told Radio 4's Today programme that the teenager had been "upset and hurt" by the comment, "when are you going to stop bombing people", but had not responded.

Mohamed was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that she advised her pupils to keep quiet if they are subjected to Islamophobic abuse. "What's the point of reacting?" she said.

"That's not the way we're going to tackle terrorism." A few hours after the Manchester concert attack an unidentified figure was caught on CCTV attempting to set fire to the door of a mosque in Oldham.

On Tuesday, a Muslim woman was spat on by a stranger on Manchester's Oxford Road, the Tab reported. The stranger approached the student and spat on her. She told the daily that she was "upset and shook up".

The student, who asked to remain anonymous, said she took a taxi straight home. "These kind of attacks aim to disrupt and divide our society. An incident that attempts to divide us will only make us stronger," the University of Manchester said in a statement.

"We have faith in the strength and resilience of the people of Manchester, and implore students and the wider community to come together at this difficult time," it said.

"With over 200,000 pounds raised and the hundreds that have queued at the blood banks show that no matter what -- #WeStandTogether," it added.

The racially-motivated incidents occurred in the wake of Monday's suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena claimed by the Islamic State, in which 22 people were killed and dozens more injured shortly after the end of a pop concert by Ariana Grande.

The bombing was carried out by 22-year-old Salman Abedi, a British Muslim man of Libyan heritage.

"To us, Islam is peaceful. If someone claimed to be Muslim and carried out an act of that kind, they're not part of us...We're not going to stand here and apologise for them," Mohamed said. Many Muslim groups across the UK have condemned the bombing.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush addressed the Knesset during visits; Obama opted to speak at a university.

Jerusalem: Israel's parliament speaker says a proposal that Donald Trump would speak before the Knesset during his visit to Israel was scrapped over fears that the American president would be interrupted and heckled by some lawmakers.

Yuli Edelstein told Army Radio on Thursday that US officials rejected the idea of a parliament tour and address to lawmakers because of the Knesset's notoriously raucous debates.

Edelstein says "the possibility was explored as a first option, and it was dropped from the agenda because it was clear that the president wouldn't be able to speak" without interjection.

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush addressed the Knesset during visits; Barack Obama opted to speak at a university.

Trump delivered a speech across the street from parliament at Jerusalem's Israel Museum.
For UN Special envoy for Syria, the Syrian government and the opposition are ready for talks to draft a new constitution. UN confirms a significant drop in violence in some areas. A seventh round of meetings is set for June in Geneva. Washington and Moscow set up deconfliction zones" to avoid clashes between their militaries.

Damascus (AsiaNews)  Russian and US military forces have intensified contacts to avoid clashes between their forces in Syria. At the same time, United Nations diplomats are working to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

For the first time, all parties in UN-mediated talks in Geneva plan to discuss a new constitution. United Nations special envoy for the Syria crisis Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council that the Syrian government and Saudi-backed High Negotiation Committee (HNC), the main opposition umbrella group, were receptive to a seventh round of political talks sometime in June.

The senior UN diplomat said there was additional "good news" in reports of "a significant drop in violence, including in aerial bombardment, in most areas" following a high-level meeting this month in Astana, Kazakhstan, guaranteed by Russia, Turkey and Iran.

However, fighting, including bombing, continues in certain areas like Hama, Homs and Damascus, which appear to be outside the de-escalation zones established by the three guarantors.

"Our goal is not just de-escalation but the realization of the nationwide cease-fire," de Mistura said, "and thus we have a common interest in ensuring that no party takes advantage of any ambiguities to make territorial gains or divert resources to other battlefronts." The aim is to avoid a constitutional, legal or institutional vacuum in Syria before, during or after any negotiated transitional political process."

De Mistura stressed that the UN is not seeking to draft a new constitution, which must remain the right of the Syrian people, but "We are laying foundations for the time when the Syrians can do that," he said.

While this is not an immediate prospect, de Mistura went on to say that "we hope this would take us closer to the possibility for direct negotiations between government and opposition."

Meanwhile, on the ground, Washington and Moscow are increasing their cooperation.

We have had to increase the amount of deconfliction work we are doing with the Russians given the tighter airspace that we are now working ourselves through, said Lt Gen Jeffrey L. Harrigian, the commander of Air Forces Central Command,

Over the past few weeks, Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have shifted their action to the eastern part of the country, closer to the areas of operation of the US-led international coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group.

In order to avoid the very serious danger of friendly fire, the Russians and the Americans have decided to step up communications and exchange of information.

According to Pentagon sources, senior officers in both capitals and their respective headquarters in the region will be in constant contact.

This has led to the formation of de-escalation zones, not to be confused with the security zones agreed upon in Astana, where only one side involved in the conflict is expected to operate.
The story of a priest from the official Church is presented at the AsiaNews Symposium, with the Churchs internal and external problems included. Up to 21 bishops bless a small factory for US$ 500 each. Priest asks for a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  CCTV cameras on churches, soldiers monitor religious activities, police dogs used to trace drugs on priests, interference in catechism scheduling and participation are some of the constraints that a Chinese priest has experienced in his daily mission. in his account, the priest  from an official community in central China  looked at the Churchs internal problems, due also to the half-hearted faith of bishops and priests, attracted more by money and career prospects.

The priests story is one of many that were read at the AsiaNews Symposium, held yesterday, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. Speakers included Prof Richard Madsen, Mgr Savio Hon, Fr Gianni Criveller, and Fr Bernardo Cervellera.

Dear brothers and sisters,

First of all, I am extremely grateful to all of you dear brothers and sisters for praying for the Chinese Catholic Church. I believe that I shall be with you in spirit since I cannot be there in body. May God bless the Chinese Catholic Church through the intercession of our Holy Mother Mary, Our Lady of China.

The situation of the Catholic Church in China is getting more complicated and difficult. There are some differences among the various dioceses since they are located in different provinces, but all of them are in the same boat, which is under the control of the Chinese government. Based on my experiences of mission in my city and my knowledges from other places, the situation of the Catholic Church in China could be resumed two ways: troubles from without and anxiety from within.

Chinas power structure is inconsistent and two-sided. On the one hand, the Chinese government wants to show the world that China has freedom and democracy; on the other, it imposes strict controls on whomever it wants. The Catholic Church of China is an important actor that is constrained, monitored, and spied upon by those in power.

Constraints

Before religious activities take place, military patrols beef up police, and the authorities send officials to question bishops or priests. If the religious activity is very important and solemn such as episcopal ordinations, they can block roads and streets, even residential districts. They can ban pedestrians and car drivers from the ceremonies in question, except for those authorised to take part in them. Last year, during an Episcopal ordination in my diocese, they did all the things mentioned above and more. Police and canine units checked all the rooms in a hotel near our Church where many attending priests were staying.

Monitoring

CCTV cameras have been installed on and near churches. One is just in front of the gate of the Church in my city. We don`t know where others are installed. But we are sure that they have some monitoring our church. One worshipper who works in an government office was seen coming to church. The evidence comes from a monitor showing the worshipper in the church courtyard. [This has had an impact on his career]. This happens not only in my diocese but also in other dioceses.

Spying

Religious life faces limitations. For example, if we organise Bible studies or other church-related activities, the authorities impose restrictions on the number of participants, on teachers and on schedules. Recently, one priest in my diocese planned a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Sheshan in Shanghai. The authorities were alerted and denied him the authorisation to go to Shanghai or Sheshan so the pilgrimage was called off.

The Catholic Church of China also faces some internal crises. First, many bishops and priests have been drawn into the Chinese government. They don`t preach the mission of the Church any more, but show their alignment with the government even in the Mass. They say what the government likes.

Secondly, some of bishops and priests are keen in getting official positions. They are proud of this and seek higher status in the pursuit of their careers.

Thirdly, some bishops and priests indulge in material things. One classic example occurs in my diocese. Every year some bishops are invited by a small boss in my city to bless a factory, then that boss will give each some money. One year, 21 bishops came from different dioceses for that purpose. Each got 3,500 yuan (US$ 500). This year, we can expect bishops to come.

The above is my experience in the mission and the context in which I live. It is also the reality of the Chinese Catholic Church.

Let me thank you for your prayers. We need them continually. May God strengthen our faith and place our hope in God`s hands, and dedicate the Chinese Church to Our Lady of China.
Father Bernard Swarna speaks about the attack against Our Lady of Fatima church. Police have provided protection to the diocese, and arrested 22 people. The Archdiocese plans a prayer meeting open to all. We are not so far from the persecution described in the Acts of the Apostles. For some, the incident has political-religious motives.

Hyderabad (AsiaNews)  Two days ago, vandals trashed Our Lady of Fatima Catholic church at Godamakunta in Kundapalli, a village in Keesara mandal, Hyderabad (Telangana). This is a great shock for the local Catholic community. We are deeply hurt and discouraged. We shall rally for peace through prayers, said Father Bernard Swarna, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Hyderabad as he reacted to the act of vandalism.

"Our religious sentiments have been deeply offended, the clergyman noted. The attackers entered the church and destroyed everything. For us Catholics, it is very painful to see the statue of Our Lady thrown to the ground, the crucified Christ broken, and the altar turned over." At the same time though, "We received support from Muslims and Hindus who condemned the violence against the church. They expressed their solidarity by participating in an act of prayer."

Fr Swarna added that the Archdiocese is organising a meeting for next Sunday with the participation of religious leaders and ordinary believers to reiterate that, despite the intolerance of Hindu extremists, praying is important.

"At first we thought to limit to Catholics, but after receiving so many messages of support, we decided to open it to everyone," he explained. According to the vicar, the vandalising of the church is the work of a "few extremists", unlike "the majority of Hindus with whom we have good relations".

He also thanked the local police for their proven support, which "guaranteed us protection". Likewise, the authorities have offered maximum cooperation", as shown by the arrest yesterday of 22 people involved in the vandalising of the place of worship. Still, There is a lot of confusion," the prelate said, "and people demand respect. We want to rally for peace."

Today the Archdiocese issued a press release in which it describes the attack against the church, which was inaugurated on 13 May by Archbishop Thumma Bala for the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

The communique notes that a mob of more than a hundred people broke into the church, threatened the watchman and desecrated the place. They also attacked Mr. Anantha Reddy, the supervisor of the construction work going on there, who was capturing this act of vandalism on his cellphone [sic]. This is a brutal act of violating our fundamental right of freedom to live, practice and worship our faith.

According to the Archdiocese, damages total around 250,000 rupees (US$ 3,850).

Such attacks can happen anywhere, said Mgr Matthew Cheriankunnel in his homily. We are not so far from [what is said] in the Acts of the Apostles. In India, persecution is nigh, and we must expect it to come from all sides at any time. We have to live with this reality. "

Fr Rayarala Vijay Kumar, the regional superior of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) in India, believes that violence "does not come from the people, from ordinary people, but has political-religious motives. Unlike other confessions, Hinduism has traditionally always been a tolerant religion," but "Today, it is becoming more and more extremist."
Beijing in defensive mode after Moody's downgrades its credit rating. The problems are falling growth and rising state debt to 260%. Economic reforms needed, but impeded by Partys fear of losing power and increasing social tensions. China maybe set for economic disaster.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - "The Moodys downgrade is based on an inappropriate method  It overestimated the difficulties faced by China and underestimated its ability to deepen structural reform and moderately expand overall demand,. This is the Chinese Finance Ministry response today to the move by Moody's agency that yesterday downgraded China's credit rating for the first time since 1989.

The agency lowered the rating by a point: from Aa3 to A1. With this tiny move, Moody's is expressing its concern that the Chinese economy will slow down even more in the coming years, and it will be more difficult for Beijing to be able to borrow and cover the costs of its debt.

The agency points out that the country's growth rate is falling (6.7 in 2016, 6.9 in 2015), while the state debt is climbing up to 260 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

The major part of this debt is concentrated on state industries, marked by overproduction, with no focus on market demand, whose deficit is covered each year by state banks.

For a long time, many economists have asked China to reform these ("mammoth") industries and to boost domestic consumption by raising the wages of the working population. But such "mammoths" are the basis of economic power for Party members and their children, and an employment basin. The Party fears a restructuring could cause financial loss to some leaders and their families, as well as social tensions due to unemployment.

Moody's move comes just months ahead from the Chinese Communist Party Congress, next October. After the rhetoric of liberation from the Japanese and the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, the Party supported its credibility and legitimacy on the economy and on becoming rich. The disclosure of a "drugged" economy, propped up by state loans and the debt-to-debt coverage of the state, is disapproved of by the leadership.

A few hours after the lower credit rating, Moody's also lowered the rating of 26 Chinese state-owned companies maintaining that the government will not be able to cover their debts.

The companies include China Mobile, China National Offshore Oil Corporation and China Petrochemical Corporation.

Many economists believe that China is preparing for a disaster that could be even worse than the US sub-prime crisis - which spawned the 2008 financial crisis - and the Japanese crisis in the 1990s.
by Melani Manel Perera

The Secretariat for Muslims reported 538 acts of violence between 2013 and 2015 by Buddhist extremist groups like the Bodu Bala Sena. For US, Sri Lanka will take immediate action, but Muslims think otherwise.

Sri Lanka (AsiaNews)  Violence against Muslims is up in Sri Lanka, whilst the authorities appear apathetic towards the problem and Buddhist religious leaders remain silent, this according to the Secretariat for Muslims (SFM), an Islamic organisation active across the country.

The group has recorded 538 episodes of violence, intimidation and aggression against Muslims between 2013 and 2015, a trend that has intensified more recently with at least 15 cases between 16 April (Sinhalese New Year) and 22 May, with attacks against individuals, mosques and Muslim-owned businesses.

"Some Buddhist groups have attacked Muslim places of worship and businesses in various parts of the country, the SFM said in a statement. The goal is to exert power and spread hatred among peace-loving people.

"After Sinhalese-Tamil New Year, Buddhist groups have begun attacking Muslims again, said Hilmy Ahamed, an activist.

Since 16 April there have been at least 20 attacks or attempted attacks, as well as acts of intimidation, and threats against people, holy places and in the workplace, he added. These renewed threats come from groups like Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya, Sinha-le and Mahason Balaya, just to name a few."

Buddhist extremists set fire (and in some cases completely destroyed) to a number of businesses, including a perfume shop in Elpitiya, a leather goods store in Wijerama Junction, the Last Chance Electrical showroom, and a mosque in Panadura.

The Ibrahim Jumma and Mallawapitiya mosques were attacked in Kohilawatta and Kurunegala respectively. Two shops were also attacked in Panadura, as were Selvanagar and Selva Nagar, two predominantly Muslim villages in Trincomalee.

The attackers insulted Allah, threatened Muslims in Onegama, Polonnaruwa, and seized land in Irrakamam, Mayakkali. The Venerable Gnanasara Thero, head of the Bodu Bala Sena, led the way in Irrakamam, spewing hatred against Muslims.

"This is an attempt to make Muslims turn violent and go against the government, said Mano Ganesan, Minister for National Coexistence, Dialogue and Official Languages. Some groups are using Muslims to split the country along religious and ethnic lines."

Any attack on a house of worship is reprehensible; this is the third in a week, wrote on twitter Atul Keshap, US ambassador to Sri Lanka, reacting to the violence.

The US government said that it believes that the Sri Lanka government will take immediate action. However, unlike the US diplomat, Muslims see the situation differently since no legal action has been taken so far. On the contrary, the SFM notes the police often puts pressure on Muslims not to file a complaint.
Israelis march to mark the conquest of the citys eastern section during the Six Day War. Police stopped Israeli activists and Palestinians who tried to stop the march. Clashes break out in and around the Esplanade of the Mosques. For Peace Now, using the Temple Mount for political reasons is another form of colonisation. Most Israelis oppose these celebrations.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  Clashes broke out in Jerusalem between right-wing and left-wing Israeli activists  for and against the occupation  and police a day after Jerusalem Day, which marked the 50th anniversary of what Israelis consider the "reunification" of Jerusalem, when Israeli forces seized the eastern part of the city from Jordan during the Six-Day War (June 5-10 1967).

According to police estimates, some 60,000 took part in the traditional march waving flags as they walked through Damascus Gate towards the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. Hundreds of Israeli activists and Palestinians tried to stop the march, calling for an end of violence and hate, but were dispersed by police.

IfNotNow, an anti-occupation organisation, said in a press release that about 50 of its activists from around the world participated in the act of civil disobedience, with some protesters injured.

"I'm here because it's important to show that there is a difference between supporting Israel and supporting the occupation," said one leftist protester. "When the police clear the area to let them march and shout 'Death to Arabs,' I cannot identify with the Jewish people."

In a related incident, there were moments of great tensions on the Esplanade of the Mosques (Temple Mount for Jews) when ten young activists with the Jewish fundamentalist Returning to the Mountain group went to the esplanade to pray, which is banned under the terms of the status quo, which recognises the area as an exclusive Muslim site, the third most important for Muslims.

Police stopped the youth. But the group issued statement calling on the government to take full control of the mosque compound and assert Jewish prayer rights.

"Fifty years after freeing the Temple Mount, Israel police act like a Jordanian regime and arrest Jews for daring to bow at the most sacred spot to the Jewish people," the group said on its Facebook page.

In another incident, a group of Jews on their way out of the compound began singing the Israeli national anthem. Officers began ushering them away when a number of guards for the Islamic endowments organisation, or Waqf, which administers the al-Aqsa compound, tried to attack the visitors and the officers. After police scuffled with guards, the visitors were removed and three Waqf guards arrested.

As much as the government wants to accelerate the so-called reunification, Jerusalem is completely divided. These is an occupied, not liberated territory, said Anat Ben Nun, director of Development and External Relations at Peace Now, who spoke to AsiaNews.

Peace Now plans a rally for 27 May for Two States - One Hope: A demonstration against 50 years of occupation. "We will show that Israelis are opposed to this kind of celebration, that they see the 1967 victory as a bitter victory that has resulted in the deterioration of Israels democracy and values.

"Those who marched (in Jerusalems Old City) are a small fraction of the people of Israel. People want the two-state solution," she added.

For the activist, Temple Mount is a delicate and hot issue. "Using it for political reasons is another form of colonisation, rather than a religious question. The Israeli government must act responsibly, rather than in ways that can set fire to the city and the region."
by Mathias Hariyadi

In recent months, Indonesia has been alerted to the presence of militants inspired by the Islamic State. Identified one of the two terrorists who coordinated the attack. Two low cots rudimentary devices used. Man hunt for the network of terrorist sleeper cells.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called the Indonesian people to the national unity after the terrorist attack that killed three people and the wounded another 10. Meanwhile, preliminary investigations are continuing and, according to sources of The Jakarta Post, East Jakarta police identified one of the suicide bombers as Ichwan Nurul Salam, 32, resident in the Indonesian capital.

In a press conference held today in his private residence in Surakarta, Central Java, Widodo said, "I call on all the citizens of this nation to remain calm and preserve our unity. We must defend our peace as Muslims prepare for Ramadan." The president announced that he had ordered a manhunt to bring the network of terrorist supporters to justice. The task of conducting the operations was entrusted to Gen. Tito Karnavian, head of the national police.

It is still unclear who is behind the attack, but Indonesia, the most populous Islamic country in the world, has been alerted in recent months following a series of terrorist attacks and attacks by militants inspired by the Islamic state ( Isis). Experts believe the attack was aimed at police officers. The nation is going through a period of strong social and political tension due to the Islamist radical movements demands that put the spirit of unity and pluralism on which the state is founded. After the sentencing for blasphemy of Jakarta Basuki's governor "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, these conflicts have taken on a semblance of religious conflicts. In an attempt to stem the phenomenon, the Widodo administration has recently launched a campaign against the most extreme movements.

Last night, around 9 pm, the Kampung Melayu Transjakarta bus terminal was hit by a double bomb attack. The police report that the two terrorists died instantly. At least five policemen, who were escorting a traditional parade to welcome the month of Ramadhan, were hit by the explosions and three of them died. Five civilians were injured in the attack.

The Transjargatan transit hub, East Jakarta, and the surrounding area were plunged into chaos after the explosions, which took place around 9 pm. The terminal is located in a densely populated area and is frequented mainly by locals. From preliminary investigations it emerged that the attackers used two rudimentary low cost explosive devices, made up of pressure cookers filled with metallic material.
Harold Pierce covers education and health for The Californian. He can be reached at 661-395-7404. Follow him on Twitter @RoldyPierce
TBC Media spoke with parents who's children have left their home to and pursue their careers, they tell their stories and offer advice to othe
Ivan Ssemwanga well known as Zari the Boss lady's Ex-Husband, is one of the most celebrated young and rich guy in East African's soil. His death which has been announced and spread across Africa this morning, is a proof of how powerful and influential this fellow was. The South African based Ugandan business tycoon, came to the limelight back in the year 2012 thanks to the famous game between the Ugandan Cranes and the Chipolopolo of Zambia.





During this time, Ivan gave the Ugandan Cranes Shs.10m in cash and promised 5m for all goals scored. In which Ugandan Cranes succumbed to Chipolopolo on penalties after a high spirit fight in which was triggered by the motivation Ivan had given the players. Ivan also is said he paid over 2million Shillings to a charter helicopter which airlifted him to Namboole stadium just to watch the Ugandan cranes vs Chipolopolo game, while he sponsored other 10 fans from South Africa with all expenses inclusive to watch the game live at Mandela Stadium (Namboole).





Ivan with a tight security during one of his last visit to Uganda

From that time back in 2012, Ugandans started to wonder who was Ivan Ssesanga aka Don the president of Rich gang squad and it is through their curiosity the media started to turn its eye to his lifestyle. Many have been said about how he emerged to be a successful business tycoon, with some rumours haves it that he first travelled to South Africa via Zambia by road and using fake travelling documents. But he was finally helped by a close friend whom through him he managed to enter South Africa where he started his businesses in which he was only delivering his services to the rich people living in Pretoria.

Ivan, Zari with their three boys before they broke apart





As a result to his hardwork, he built his own mult-Million house in Muyenga and on the long run he has a chain of schools including the famous (Brooklyn Collages which has 6 branches spreading across Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.) Other prevailing and successful businesses he is owning including IT (Information Tech), Mining and Policing Services, Student Hostels in Kampala, a hotel on Sir Appollo Kagwa and several houses in Bunga, Munyonyo and Mutungo among others.





Ivan showcasing some of his fruit after hard-work sweat

His death has come as a surprise to many people across Africa, especially to his fans back in Uganda and South Africa not leaving behind people in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. He had two divorces in his life, one with his first wife whom many don't know much about her and the second one with the famous Zari the Boss lady, whom together they rose up into the rich lifestyle he has been living until his last breath. Ivan is known as a huge fan of parting, rumours has it that whenever he organize for a party, he make sure he uses every cent of the planned budget for the event to the lutter. He has left behind three boys in which he gave birth with his second ex-wife Zarina Hassan. Rest in peace with the ancestors Don, our condolence to the family and friends of Ivan just from here at Bana News

Ivan on one of his multi-millions mansion in South Africa
Today President Uhuru Kenyatta led a congregation in a national prayer. The prayer organised by the Preachers Union brought people from all religious grounds to pray for peace.President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto urged the people of Kenya to preach peace and educate people on the importance of elections. The president also points out on the opposition as claimed to ignites chaos in the coming general elections.Coast region is believed to an opposition stronghold and the critics say it will remain that way because the residents were given false promises. People from the Coast were promised title deeds only to be given "fake" titles. Land grabbers have increased rendering resident squatters.New projects that he launched last year are all of down. The Mtongwe ferry channel was swept away by strong waves, Mariakani - Bamba road is impassable and the Waitiki issue in Likoni has not been resolved.
Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives arrested a self-proclaimed 'psychic' who reportedly scammed multiple victims out of more than $155,000.

Gina Wilson, 31, charged with scheme to defraud

Wilson ran scam out of her place of business in Tarpon Springs

One victim a military veteran who paid suspect $93,000 over 15 month period

Detectives with the county's Economic Crimes Unit arrested Gail Wilson, 31, at her place of business on South Pinellas Avenue in Tarpon Springs. She was charged with one count of scheme to defraud.

Officials said the investigation into Wilson started when a 33-year-old military veteran Justin Ezell approached detectives during a Fraud Awareness seminar and reported being the victim of a scam. Ezell told detectives he visited Wilson multiple times during a 15-month period, while he was suffering from emotional distress.

Ezell said during the course of his visit to Wilson, she instructed him to stop taking his medications, stop seeing his therapist and doctor, and alter his bank accounts. Ezell reportedly paid Wilson approximately $93,000 over the course of this period.

While looking into Ezell's claims, investigators found a second victim, a 61-year-old widow who told detectives she'd gone to Wilson for help with her grief following her husband's passing.

This second victim notified detectives that she'd sustained a loss of over $63,000.

Wilson was transported to the Pinellas County Jail without incident. Detectives are asking any other potential victims to contact Detective S. Bingham at 727-582-6786.


The city of Bradenton approved a six-month extension on a moratorium that stops medical marijuana dispensaries from opening.

Florida lawmakers approved medical marijuana last November

Bradenton officials want more direction from state

Residents such as Robert Jordan upset with decision



When the moratorium ends, it will have been more than a year since Florida voters approved the drug.

The city says with no rules or regulations from state lawmakers, cities like Bradenton have no guidance on how to manage medical marijuana dispensaries.

"This is relatively all new for cities and counties in Florida, so we're waiting for direction from them. That hasnt happened," said Brandeton spokesman Tim McCann. "So what the city did (Wednesday) night was extend the current moratorium another six months."

For the past 30 years, Robert Jordan has been fighting to legalize medical marijuana - not only for himself but for his wife Cathy, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

"It's the right thing to do," he said. "We started this so long ago that it's always been Cathys theme, and mine has always been, 'if it helped her, why cant it help somebody else?'"

Jordan is upset to hear the moratorium will stay in place.

"Beyond frustrating," he said. "It's at a point that people say, 'How have you and Cathy done this for all these years?' When I quit, she doesn't, when she quits, I don't."

The two says they will keep going until the moratorium is lifted, and the city of Bradenton comes up with a plan for when, where and how medical marijuana is doled out.

The city has said it will look into getting rid of the moratorium as soon as regulations from either the state or health department are given.
A tweet showing a picture of a high school students service dog alongside him in the school's yearbook is going viral.

According to Buzzfeed, Andrew Schalk, who goes by AJ, has had Alpha for three years. Schalk is diabetic, and Alpha alerts Schalk when his blood sugar drops.

they put his service dog in the yearbook i'm CRYING pic.twitter.com/yU47kpKnwA  diana bloom (@nycstheplacetob) May 18, 2017

"The amazing thing about Alpha is that he knows 20 to 40 minutes before my blood sugar actually does go low or high due to his amazing sense of smell," Schalk told Buzzfeed.

Yearbook editor Grace Fuller thought Alpha was enough of a presence at the school that he deserved a place of honor in the student section, right next to AJ.

Alpha even has his own student ID:
Oregon Coast Now: Lowest Tides of Year, Milky Way Gone

Published 05/24/2017 at 7:43 PM PDT - Updated 05/24/2017 at 7:46 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast)  It's a triple threat of trippy pleasures on the Oregon coast if you're looking down or looking up. Day or night. The lowest low tides of the year are right now, while Saturn is beginning a spectacular run as the Milky Way disappears. (Above: the Milky Way at Cannon Beach).

Most of the time, the stars and the rest of the galaxy are simply beautiful things to look at from this shoreline, but the skies can really have a direct effect on Oregon coast beaches in the form of low tides. Some of the biggest minus tides of the year are happening right about now and through the holiday weekend.

According the tide tables for Clatsop Beach on the north Oregon coast, May 25 brings a -1.3 inches tide at around 7 a.m. May 26 through 28 dip down to -1.6 inches around 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. On May 29 it's around -1.2 inches at 10 a.m., and on the 30th and 31st it's about a minus half inch.

This will mean greater access to many of the Oregon coast's most amazing tide pool areas, but also it could grant you unprecedented (but brief) access to many structures normally off limits. Watch those tides, however, and don't try extremely dangerous spots like Lost Boy Beach in Oceanside or the Devil's Punchbowl, however easy access may appear to be. It's not.

Safer areas that could be opened up may include the arch at Arch Cape (southern end), Boiler Bay near Depoe Bay (you'll get to see the boiler left over from a shipwreck more easily) and the tunnel at Oceanside.

See more tide table links at Oregon Coast Weather. Times at other beach spots will differ.

Meanwhile, where has the Milky Way gone? According to astronomers, including OMSI's Jim Todd in Portland, it is hiding just below the horizon in May. At these mid northern latitudes, you'll notice it's missing from anywhere in Oregon, including the Oregon coast.

Todd said the equator of the Milky Way is now circling the rim of the horizon, with the North Galactic Pole standing high overhead in the constellation Coma Berenices, or Berenices Hair. This puts it just out of sight throughout the month.

In this direction, where the glare and the dust of the Milky Way are minimal, the sky beckons you to look at the deep-sky objects beyond the Milky Way, Todd said. As seen from the North Galactic Pole, the Sun and the solar system revolve clockwise around the center or nucleus of the Milky Way Galaxy. The galactic plane is the plane in which the majority of a disk-shaped galaxy's mass lies. The directions are perpendicular to the galactic plane point to the galactic poles. Most often, in actual usage, the terms 'galactic plane' and 'galactic poles' are used to refer specifically to the plane and poles of the Milky Way, which is the galaxy in which the Earth is located.

However, the Milky Way has not drifted completely away from Oregon skies. If you stay up fairly late  well past midnight  it does start to emerge in the east. Stranger still: since mountainous regions and high hills are immediately east of the Oregon coast, it's quite possible beach area like Seaside, Cannon Beach, Newport or Lincoln City won't get to see it at all.

Coming up later this month and in June, Saturn will be stealing the show. The ringed planet will be rising from the eastern sky by early to mid evening in May, but soon it will be staying out all night. By June 15, it is in direct opposition to Earth and the sun, making it the best time of year to see it.

This is also when it comes its closest to Earth all year, making it the brightest the planet will be for 2017.

To top off the astronomical pleasures, if you've got a telescope you're in for a real treat. The rings are at an incline of about 27 degrees with respect to Earth throughout this year, making them more open than usual. Oregon Coast Hotels for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours











Photos below courtesy Seaside Aquarium











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The typical healthcare CEO took home median compensation of $12.9 million in 2016, according to calculations by The Associated Press and executive data firm Equilar, The Washington Post reported.

Healthcare CEOs' median compensation was 6 percent higher in 2016 than 2015. This year, they came second to CEOs in the industrial goods industry, who earned the highest median compensation of $13.2 million, also up 6 percent from 2015.

The lowest paid CEOs in 2016 were those of utilities companies, taking home a median compensation of $9.7 million. Their pay increased by 10 percent since 2015.
Leadville, Colo.-based St. Vincent General Hospital is putting a major construction project on hold because the United States Agriculture Department decided to pause a loan for the project, due to "the hospital's slower than anticipated financial turnaround," according to an announcement from the hospital's board of directors.

"This news, though disappointing, bolsters our collective commitment to Leadville and Lake County healthcare," Paul Chodkowski, president and CEO of St. Anthony Summit Medical Center and CEO of St. Vincent Hospital, said in a press release.

The emergency department, ambulance service, primary care clinic, laboratory, radiology and physical therapy departments will continue to be open at the hospital as it works to improve its financial situation, according to the statement.

The critical access hospital partnered with Englewood, Colo.-based Centura Health in 2013. The hospital, which has struggled financially, almost shut down in 2015 because voters rejected a tax increase that would finance repairs at the facility. At that time, Centura struck a deal with St. Vincent to keep the hospital open with more limited services. In 2016, the health system and the hospital decided to integrate operations and jointly build a new healthcare facility in the region.

Centura and St. Vincent are continuing strategic planning for the construction project. "The hospital boards number one priority is this community and their health care. We have experienced adversity in the past and overcame it. Our commitment is to our friends and neighbors. Our focus on solutions for our communitys health is unchanged," Byron Copley, St. Vincent General Hospital District board chairman, said in a statement.

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In a recent press release, Zotec Partners announces a new RCM agreement with Professional Radiology, Inc in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Editors Note: This post originally appeared on Zotecs website.

Zotec Partners (Zotec), the industry leader in radiology revenue cycle and practice management services, announces a revenue cycle management (RCM) agreement with Professional Radiology, Inc. based in Cincinnati, Oh. As part of the new arrangement, Zotec will apply its extensive revenue cycle management processes and technologies to maximize the groups revenue, while also offering compliance support, provider credentialing, analytical technology and patient experience methodology.

Professional Radiology, Inc. (PRI) is a full-service private practice group of imaging specialist physicians with expertise throughout the specialties of diagnostic and interventional radiology. Its physicians are committed to combining timely, compassionate care with advanced, innovative, cutting-edge technology. PRI has a physician pool large enough to provide extensive sub-specialty expertise, with the majority of its doctors having received fellowship training in a particular branch of radiology. The groups emphasis, however, remains on personal service and quality patient care. The group is committed to availability to referring physicians for consultation and discussion to ensure exceptional clinical management of patients. The result is a strong team of medical professionals who provide the highest quality of medical care. Click here to continue >>

News From Our Partners
Kaspersky Lab detected 479 million cyberattacks launched from 191 countries in the first quarter of 2017, according to the antivirus provider's newest report.

Here are five things to know.

1. The Netherlands launched 38 percent of web attacks in the first quarter  the most of any country. The U.S., which held the No. 1 spot for the past few quarters, launched the second most web attacks at 30 percent.

2. Twenty percent of internet-connected computers were hit by at least one malware attack. The U.S. (10.56 percent) was the third safest online environment, after Uganda (10.29 percent) and Japan (9.18 percent).

3. Twenty-three percent of computers experienced at least one local malware attack. The U.S. (7.57 percent), again, ranked the third safest online environment for local infection risk, after Japan (6.18 percent) and Denmark (6.35 percent).

4. The U.S. was not on Kaspersky's list of top 20 countries in which users faced the greatest risk of online infection. The No. 1 at-risk country was Algeria, where 37.67 percent of users were attacked.

5. However, the U.S. was the No. 1 country that experienced mobile ransomware attacks using Trojan disguise when ranked by percentage of users affected. In the first quarter, 1.23 percent of U.S. users experienced this threat.

Click here to view the full report.
A recent study sought to quantify anecdotal evidence that men in academic medicine use gender-subordinating language when addressing their female peers by not using professional titles.

Researchers analyzed archived video of same and mixed-gender speaker introductions at Internal Medicine Grand Rounds held at two locations of an academic medical center. They found female introducers almost always used professional titles when introducing speakers, male or female (97.8 percent for female speakers and 95 percent for male speakers). Male introducers were less formal  they were less likely to use formal titles when introducing speakers of either gender. However, male introducers were significantly less likely to acknowledge a speaker's credentials if she was a woman, the researchers observed. Men introducing other men used professional titles such as "doctor" 72.4 percent of the time. Men introducing women used professional titles just 49.2 percent, according to the study.

Not acknowledging a female speaker's professional title is problematic because it reinforces gender hierarchy and status, according to the authors. "[W]omen may benefit more from an external conferral of status through a title than men, who are already assumed to have status," the authors wrote. However, women may suffer a greater loss of status when that title is withheld."

"Unequal naming practices may amplify the issues of isolation, marginalization, and professional discomfiture expressed by women faculty in academic medicine," They concluded. "Even if this practice is unintentional, it may reflect subtle yet important inequity."

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The Worcester-based University of Massachusetts Medical School, Harvard Medical School and the Tufts University School of Medicine  both in Boston  are among the more than 200 medical schools, health organizations and others that have joined together to pressure Congress to increase federal funding for medical research, according to the Worcester Business Journal Online.

The institutions belong to the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, a coalition created to advocate for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health. The organization took out full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal and Politico Tuesday asking Congress to increasing NIH funding by $2 billion.

While the group has been in existence since 2008, officials said its mission has become more critical given the drastic cuts outlined under President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 fiscal year budget. Under the proposal, the National Institutes of Health's budget would be reduced from $31.8 billion to $26 billion. The budgets for the National Cancer Institute, National Science Foundation and other research organizations would also face sharp cuts, according to the report.

Research institutions in Massachusetts, specifically, depend more heavily on NIH funding, officials from Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research in North Carolina told the WBJO. Organizations in the state receive approximately $2.6 billion in annual NIH funding, the highest on a per-capita basis in the nation, according to the report.
Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Foundation signed a definitive agreement to acquire 297-bed Mission (Texas) Regional Medical Center.

Under the agreement, Prime Healthcare Foundation, which retains a 12-hospital portfolio, will maintain the medical center's status as an acute care hospital. The organization will also strengthen MRMC's physician recruitment initiatives and provide a multimillion dollar capital investment in the facility during the next five years.

The Foundation will also be responsible for all management services at the facility until the transaction closes, which officials expect to occur July 1.

"Mission Regional has provided high-quality healthcare to the residents of Hidalgo County and surrounding communities for more than 60 years," said Prem Reddy, MD, chairman, president and CEO of the Prime Healthcare Foundation. "We recognize the hospital's successes and will partner with physicians, nurses, employees and the community to preserve this valuable healthcare institution for generations to come."
Two nurses who were held hostage earlier this month at Geneva, Ill.-based Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital by a Kane County Jail inmate have filed a lawsuit against the county, a corrections deputy and the security firm used by the hospital, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

While at Delnor Hospital for surgery May 13, inmate Tywon Salters wrestled a handgun from Shawn Loomis, a correctional officer with the Kane County Sherriff's Department. After his gun was taken, the officer ran down the hallway into another room and made no effort to help, Sean Murray, a lawyer representing the two nurses, told reporters this week.

Armed and naked, Mr. Salters took a nurse hostage in an office. He held her at gunpoint, threatened her, forced her to remove her clothes, and verbally and physically abused her, according to the lawsuit. Mr. Salters released the first nurse when a second nurse walked into the room. The lawsuit alleges Mr. Salters took the second nurse into a "decontamination room" on the hospital's first floor where he tortured and raped her during the more than three hours he held her hostage.

"He held a gun to her head the entire time," Mr. Murray told the Chicago Sun-Times. "She was told she was going to die. She was going to leave in a body bag."

SWAT officers fatally shot Mr. Salters about five hours after the ordeal began. Mr. Murray told reporters the nurse was struck in the arm by the bullet that hit Mr. Salters.

The nurses' lawsuit alleges sheriff's officers and private security guards failed to follow proper procedures while guarding Mr. Salters during his hospital stay. The lawsuit alleges the guards used laptops, watched TV and fell asleep on the job. The lawsuit further alleges the guards left Mr. Salters unshackled and unsupervised when the inmate used the bathroom, according to the report.

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Greg Gianforte of Montana, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House, faces charges of misdemeanor assault after allegedly slamming a reporter from The Guardian to the ground, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

The altercation took place at a campaign volunteer barbecue.

An audio clip of the conflict published by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle indicates reporter Ben Jacobs asked Mr. Gianforte for his thoughts on the American Health Care Act in light of the recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office. Mr. Gianforte told Mr. Jacobs he would talk to him about the bill later and directed him to his campaign spokesman.

An account from Fox news reporter Alicia Acuna, who was also at the event, claims Mr. Gianforte grabbed the reporter by the neck and threw him onto the ground, which the reporter said broke his glasses. Ms. Acuna wrote in a blog post that she and her colleagues "watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, 'I'm sick and tired of this!'"

Campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon provided the Bozeman Daily Chronicle with a statement detailing a different version of events. The statement reads, "Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined." The statement continues: "Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."

The scuffle took place one day before the election and could potentially affect the vote, according to the report.

Read the full story here.

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The board of directors of Southbridge, Mass.-based Harrington Hospital unanimously voted to obtain approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to close the hospital's family birthing center.

Officials did not specify when the center would close, but said the hospital will enter into an agreement with the Worcester-based University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center to provide patients with access to all pre- and post-natal care and services previously provided by the hospital's birthing center.

As part of the management agreement, three Harrington Hospital gynecologists will join the UMass Memorial Medical Group and join the delivery call rotation at the facility.

Harrington Hospital President and CEO Edward Moore said the decision to close the center stemmed from several issues, including staffing difficulties and low birth volume. In 2014, the hospital delivered only 237 (15 percent) of the 1,560 babies born in the area, he said in a letter addressed to hospital staff.

Officials said 39 administrative and non-physician clinical staff will be affected by the closure. The hospital will reportedly work with affected individuals to assist them during the transition and help them apply for open positions at the hospital or at surrounding hospitals in the area.

The birthing center has been in operation since the hospital's founding in 1932.

"Harrington and UMass Memorial already cooperate in the delivery of obstetrics and women's health  High-risk pregnancies are often referred for delivery [to] the UMass Memorial Maternity Center, [while] a tertiary level urogynecologist employed by UMass Memorial [works] part-time at Harrington," said Mr. Moore. "This arrangement will ensure that patients will experience the best of both worlds, local access for all comprehensive gynecological care as well as 90 percent of pre- and post-natal care locally, and deliveries taking place in the Maternity Center at UMass Memorial."
Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp., the umbrella organization of Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies in five states, reported a $1.3 billion year-over-year increase in profit in the first quarter of 2017, Axios reports.

HCSC saw profit of $869 million in the first quarter of this year compared to a $442 million deficit in the same period the year prior.

The increase partially reflected Congress' decision to suspend an insurance tax under the ACA for 2017, as well as improvement in the payer's individual health plan business, Axios reports.

HCSC's Blue Cross and Blue Shield subsidiaries in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas insure about 1.1 million individuals through health plans sold on the ACA exchange.
A new HHS analysis found individual health plan premiums have doubled since 2013, the year before various market reforms were enacted under the ACA.

A report by the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation found premiums for individual health plans were 105 percent more in the 39 states using HealthCare.gov in 2017 compared to 2013. The agency also found the average monthly premium for individual health plans in 2017 was $477, compared to $232 in 2013.

The ASPE analysis used 2013 medical loss ratio data and 2017 CMS Multidimensional Information and Data Analytics System data to compare premiums. In a Health Affairs blog post, Timothy Jost, JD  a health law expert and emeritus professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Va.  wrote while HHS acknowledged the data sources are not "strictly comparable," the report focuses on premiums and not what the plans cost policyholders. The majority of ACA health plan enrollees qualified for subsidies under the ACA.

Mr. Jost also wrote health plans were much different before the ACA was enacted, and "more importantly, individual market coverage before 2014 often failed to cover many of the benefits that insurers must currently cover under the essential health benefits." ASPE noted in its report the "changing mix of enrollees and adverse selection pressure has likely been a significant cause of the large average premium increases in the individual market over this four-year period."
Cockroaches were reportedly a "persistent presence" in and around the food services areas at the Edward Hines (Ill.) Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, with multiple reports indicating the bugs were also found on food trays later served to patients, according to a Business Insider report.

Federal officials said the issue was apparent during an on-site visit May 10, 2016, according to a report by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General cited by Business Insider.

During the visit, officials "found dead cockroaches on glue traps dispersed throughout the facility's main kitchen" and "substantiated that at least several patients received food trays with cockroaches on them," the report stated.

Federal officials said they examined email correspondence between the mental health staff and food and nutrition service workers from March 11, 2011, through December 28, 2015. One reported dated March 13, 2014, stated the staff had received six complaints from patients confirming cockroaches were found on food trays, according to Business Insider.

The report also stated administrators were aware of the issue but "did not take additional action to control the problem."

The OIG report suggests the hospital take the following actions:

Complete a complete analysis of the basement and sub-basement to ensure measures are in place to prevent water from coming into the structure

Ensure staffing is "sufficient" to perform all required duties including cleaning and sanitation

Determine if moving the main kitchen to a new area of the hospital is feasible

Part of the issue, federal officials claim, was the lack of stable leadership during the period. Between 2011 and 2016, the VA hospital had 10 directors, according to Business Insider.

A spokesperson for the Hines VA facility said in a statement to the Washington Examiner: "The conditions present in May of 2016 when [the inspector general] inspected the kitchen were unacceptable  Providing a safe environment and quality care for our veterans is our top priority, and that includes serving quality, nutritious food that is prepared and delivered under proper sanitary conditions. [The] VA agrees with the VA Office of Inspector General's findings."

"[The] VA is confident that we have the right team in place and correct action plans well underway to resolve this issue," the statement continued. "Hines VA Hospital has taken steps to increase staff within the Nutrition and Food service, hired a contractor to provide nightly cleaning in the kitchen after hours and a deep cleaning twice a month, implemented a comprehensive cleaning schedule, and repaired tiles and pipes that created issues with standing water. We're committed to making all necessary changes to provide the best environment for our veterans."

To read the Hines VA hospital's full statement, click here.
The amount of time clinicians are spending on administrative or supply chain-related tasks is necessary to maintain a hospital's bottom line.

Nearly 20 percent of a clinician's workweek is spent performing supply chain related tasks in medical and surgical inpatient units, according to the 2016 Cardinal Health Supply Chain Survey.

"If you have 10 nurses, that can add up to more than $200,000 in wasted time in a single year, not even taking into account nurse overtime," Stephen Spencer, enterprise program manager for Cardinal Health Inventory Management Solutions, said during a May 9 webinar hosted by Becker's Hospital Review and sponsored by Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health. "More importantly, that has an impact on patient safety and quality outcomes."

The same survey found nearly 25 percent of hospital staff have witnessed an expired or recalled product used on a patient and almost 20 percent of respondents have seen or heard of patient harm occurring due to a lack of necessary supplies.

During the webinar, Mr. Spencer and Morgan Shradar, BSN, RN, manager of procedural services at Nebraska Medicine's Bellevue Medical Center, discussed successful collaboration between supply chain staff and clinicians.

Furthermore, Ms. Shradar shared five ways Bellevue (Neb.) Medical Center's partnership with Cardinal Health helped the hospital improve inventory management, streamline clinician workflows and remove the communication barriers between supply chain leaders and healthcare providers.

Obstacles to a successful supply chain

Supply chain inefficiencies not only threaten patient care, but also increase fatigue, workload and strain for clinicians and supply chain leaders. Ms. Shradar witnessed these consequences firsthand among Bellevue Medical Center staff.

"When we sought to revamp our supply chain two years ago, our team was feeling a lot of these stressors," she said, highlighting three major supply chain challenges that challenged Bellevue Medical Center.

Poor inventory management

While the hospital already had an automated solution in place, it didn't possess the reporting capabilities or deliver the key insights the hospital needed in a timely fashion. "I had zero visibility [into] our supply levels and consumption patterns," Ms. Shradar said.

Bellevue Medical Center's storage rooms each contained an average of $11,000 in expiring product every month. "We had no good method of understanding and managing our inventory without it being an extremely manual process," she said.

Overcomplicated clinical workflows

The hospital's supply chain also had too many human touch points in the clinical workflow, which resulted in compliance issues and workarounds, according to Ms. Shradar.

Nebraska Medicine Bellevue staff spent four to six hours a week labeling products with either a gold star, green star or red star to indicate expiration status. "When we mismanaged products or failed to trigger a reorder for an expired product, clinicians grew frustrated and questioned the care they could provide to the patient," she said.

Communication gaps

Ms. Shradar said supply chain staff felt tremendous pressure to squeeze more dollars out of operating expenses amid declining reimbursements.

However, they lacked data on par levels, consumption and charge capture to effectively discuss inventory management and cost savings opportunities with the finance team or clinicians. Silos that existed between clinical departments, administrators and supply chain managers created gaps in communication and spurred finger pointing when it came to inventory management, according to Ms. Shradar.

"As a manager trying to hit key benchmarks, including patient outcomes and satisfaction, this was extremely frustrating," she said. "We knew we had to put a solution in place to better manage supplies and refocus our efforts on quality patient care."

The benefits of automation

After Bellevue Medical Center implemented the Cardinal Health radio-frequency identification technology inventory management solution, hospital leaders gained access to actionable supply chain data, which led the hospital to achieve immediate operational, financial and quality improvements, according to Ms. Shradar.

RFID technology can track specific product information at each level, allowing staff members to automatically identify and track items in real time as they move through the hospital. Bellevue Medical Center has already achieved the following five improvements from using the technology.

1. Greater visibility

RFID gives clinicians instant visibility down to individual unit level for what's on the shelf, down to the specific item's lot, serial and expiration data, according to Mr. Spencer.

"We went from zero visibility to having visibility across multiple departments," said Ms. Shradar. Bellevue Medical Center's clinicians and supply chain staff can now see how much product they have, what's about to expire and where misplaced items might be at any given time, which leads to more efficient ordering and greater cost savings opportunities.

2. Streamlined workflow

With the new RFID technology, clinicians simply grab a product off the shelf, wave it over a RFID kiosk and the charge is instantly captured, according to Ms. Shradar. Automation eliminates staff members' need for manual counting and expiration labeling, and also ensures the right products are tagged for a patient to prevent any uncaptured charges, she said.

3. Data and insights at staff members' fingertips

Bellevue Medical Center's supply chain staff and clinicians can access a plethora of data  on par levels, product expirations, charge capture and more  at any time through a dashboard on Cardinal Health's cloud-based solution.

Access to this data not only informs ordering practices and cost savings opportunities, but also increases staff satisfaction and facilitates the change management process for supply chain improvements, said Ms. Shradar.

"Clinicians love data," she said. "Giving them more ownership over this information really helps with buy in and gives them a new sense of autonomy over their own product usage habits."

4. Stronger interdepartmental communication

The technology also bridged the communication gap between clinicians, supply chain staff and the finance team by better informing stakeholders about the hospital's entire inventory management process, according to Ms. Shradar

"My operations and finance teams are confident we're optimizing our supply management in every possible way," she said. "It's not just me understanding how our product is managed  it's the whole staff. The end goal can only be reached if people are willing to step up and understand the workflows of both departments."

5. Better patient care

A heightened level of product visibility and data allows staff to proactively track expired products and remove them from the shelves before they can ever reach a patient. The simplified workflow also frees up clinicians to spend more time on patient care, rather than manual inventory tasks, according to Mr. Spencer.

"Better supply chain doesn't mean just reduced costs," he said. "It also means happier clinicians and healthier patients."

To view a recording of the webinar, click here.

To download a copy of the webinar, click here.
Telemedicine policies are rapidly changing year to year. Since 2016, seven states have improved their coverage and reimbursement of telemedicine services, while three have furthered their restrictions, according to an American Telemedicine Association report.

ATA, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, educates healthcare providers and governmental bodies about remote care services, and works with Congress and lawmakers to inform legislation and eliminate barriers. The association advocates for telemedicine policies at the federal and local levels, says Latoya Thomas, director of the ATA State Policy Resource Center.

"We have to have our fingers on both the federal and state pulses, just because of the complex nature of our healthcare landscape," she explains. "We're focused on all areas."

Ms. Thomas spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about a few of the association's key programs and what legislative priorities it hopes to influence in the near future.

Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Question: What are your core responsibilities as director of the ATA State Policy Resource Center?

Latoya Thomas: My job is to serve as a clearinghouse of information for what's happening at the state level. There's a lot of information with regards to what a provider can and cannot do from a clinical perspective in the respective state they're licensed or certified when they use telehealth. Folks want to know whether or not they can practice across state lines or practice with other healthcare professionals. I also advise industry stakeholders, along with lawmakers who are trying to get their feet wet and learn a little more about telemedicine and how it might affect their constituents.

Q: What telemedicine policies has ATA been prioritizing this year?

LT: We believe if a state has decided it will license or certify a healthcare professional, then that healthcare professional should be able to use any tool at their disposal to practice at the top of their scope. We don't believe telehealth should be regulated any differently than in-person practice.

We are really committed to addressing artificial government barriers, like mileage or geographic requirements. Medicare currently stipulates you must be in a particular geographic location for a service to be covered when using telehealth. Or, licensing boards and state entities often make arbitrary proposals requiring a provider and patient to establish a relationship through in-person means, without medical necessity. We see those requirements as arbitrary, and we are committed to working with states and the federal government to come up with proposals to eliminate them.

We've also been encouraging states to adopt telehealth parity laws to promote a more value-based healthcare delivery model. Those laws hold payers accountable for covering and reimbursing services they've already agreed to, and making sure they don't discriminate when a beneficiary is having that service delivered by telehealth. If the payer's already agreed to cover and pay for that service under their original terms and conditions, then they should be accountable for doing so when that service is delivered remotely.

Q: One of the programs ATA hosts is the Telehealth Capitol Connection, a regular series that educates Congress, federal agencies and national organizations about different facets of telehealth. How did this program take shape?

LT: We kicked this series off last year. Congressional staffers and industry stakeholders told us they wanted more information about telehealth. There are currently a lot of questions about healthcare, where it's going, how it's going to be financed and what folks can do to alleviate costs, while still enhancing care and providing choice. Many people wanted more information about how telehealth could be integrated into those discussions, which were happening at the federal level. We've highlighted a variety of topics so far, looking at subjects like remote patient monitoring, value-based payments, broadband infrastructure and behavioral healthcare.

Q: ATA recently published new practice guidelines on telestroke care and telemental health. What's the intended impact of these guidelines?

LT: The guideline documents, which are proposed and vetted by our membership, are extremely helpful for the provider industry. Any time you see a new tool or intervention that's still evolving, you want to establish some kind of baseline understanding of what integrating this new tool into your practice means. You need to understand how to comply with state requirements, clinical practice requirements and federal requirements  if they exist.

The guidelines also serve as a good resource for specialty societies, which may not have a physician statement on telehealth or may not have developed telehealth guidelines yet. They can serve as a springboard for further discussion and future guidelines as more research comes out. The guidelines also show legislative officials and regulators that we've done our homework. We're not just introducing this concept of providing remote healthcare. We can substantiate our proposals with research documents that have been vetted.
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Taiwan's top court on Wednesday reportedly ruled in favour of gay marriage. According to reports, the court reportedly gave the country's Parliament two years to amend existing laws or pass new ones. If done, Taiwan will be the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex unions. Following the ruling, the Court reportedly said: "Such different treatment is incompatible with the spirit and meaning of the right to equality."
An update on settlement talks is due on Thursday

A High Court judge is to be given an update today on the state of settlement talks currently under way in a bid to resolve a legal action by thousands of shareholders against Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Justice Hildyard has been told by a QC representing investors that "progress towards a settlement remains good".

Although the judge has formally adjourned the case until June 7 as negotiations continue, the parties in the high-profile dispute are due to return to court this afternoon to give him a progress report.

The much-anticipated trial was due to start in London on Monday, but it has not got off the ground because of adjournments for talks to continue between claimants and the bank.

The judge has heard the majority of claimants have indicated a willingness to settle.

Jonathan Nash QC, for the shareholders, told the court on Wednesday: " We remain hopeful it will be possible to reach a final compromise of the claims made In these proceedings."

Granting a third adjournment of the trial, Mr Justice Hildyard said he understood "this is an exceptional case with exceptional logistical problems".

He emphasised there must be "certainty one way or the other" on whether the litigation would be going ahead or not.

The legal action centres on a rights issue overseen by former boss Fred Goodwin in April 2008 when RBS asked existing shareholders to pump 12 billion into the bank after leading a consortium that spent 49 billion on Dutch lender ABN Amro.

Shareholders claimed they were left nursing hefty losses following the cash call after RBS shares plunged 90% and the Government was forced to step in with a 45.5 billion bailout when the deal turned toxic.

If the litigation does proceed, disgraced former chief executive Mr Goodwin, who was stripped of his knighthood following the bank's near collapse, and a raft of former executives are expected to be questioned as part of a 700 million lawsuit brought against the lender by 9,000 retail investors and 18 institutions in the RBS Shareholder Action Group.

The bank has previously settled compensation claims brought against it by other shareholder groups in connection with the 2008 rights issue.

But the lender, which is still 73% owned by the Government, stressed payments were made without any admission of liability.
Co Tyrone meat giant Dunbia is coming together with Republic firm Dawn Meats in a new joint venture. Dawn Meats has agreed a strategic partnership with Dungannon company Dunbia to establish a majority-owned operation in the UK, which will include the UK operations of both organisations.

The firm will separately acquire Dunbia's operations in the Republic.

The deal is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.

A deal with the Waterford-based company has been in discussions between both firms for some time.

Dunbia's chief executive Jim Dobson will take over as chief of the new joint venture and Dawn Meats' chief executive Niall Browne will become executive chairman.

And the new venture will be run from Dunbia's existing headquarters in Dungannon.

In the Republic, Dawn Meats will have nine facilities - including five abattoirs - following the addition of two Dunbia sites. Jim Dobson of Dunbia said: "This is the right strategic partnership for Dunbia's staff and customers, and sees us joining with a company with a shared heritage of excellence in the production of premium beef and lamb products.

"The new UK joint venture confirms our future as a leading supplier in the UK market. In a consolidating industry this deal makes strategic sense for both companies, our customers and our farmer suppliers."

Dunbia employs around 3,800 staff across around a dozen sites in the UK and Ireland. It came in at number 50 in this year's Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies list.

Combined, both firms process around 900,000 cattle and 2.6 million sheep each year.

Niall Browne, chief executive of Dawn Meats, said: "We are both family businesses with a deep connection to farming and a culture and business ethos that is centred on quality and sustainability.

"Given the uncertainty posed by Brexit, this partnership should further underpin the competitiveness of both operations to the benefit of all stakeholders in the UK, Ireland and across Europe.

"We are very excited about the future of both companies and the opportunities that this transaction will bring for our staff, customers and suppliers.

"In our key operating markets we will be involved in three leading national businesses with Dawn Meats in Ireland, Dunbia in the UK and Elivia in France, with our co-operative partners Terrena."

Last year Dunbia sold its pork business in Cullybackey to English-based Cranswick plc.
Marks & Spencer's latest profits slump - fuelled by poor clothing sales - could be an omen of "more bad news to come" for struggling high street retailers, one Northern Ireland expert has said.

The retail giant, which has 20 stores in Northern Ireland including eight Simply Food outlets, admitted its overhaul has "come with a cost" as annual profits tumbled by nearly two-thirds and clothing sales plunged back into reverse.

The high street bellwether posted a 64% plunge in pre-tax profits to 176.4m for the year to April 17.

"The latest financial results from Marks & Spencer are, in my opinion, a portent of more bad news to come from struggling high street retailers," according to retail analyst Donald McFetridge.

"The principal reason why I believe this to be the case is that retailers are having to cope with increasing price competition in a very volatile market which is reliant on consumer confidence to part with their cash at the tills."

Sales in the group's embattled clothing and home arm dropped 5.9% in the last three months, marking an abrupt end to the revival seen in the previous quarter, when sales rose for the first time in nearly two years.

Described by experts as "sobering", the fall was compounded by the timing of Easter and its December sale, which wiped around 3.8% off clothing and home sales and around 1.9% off food sales.

This left like-for-like sales in its food halls 2.1% lower in the quarter.

However, shares in M&S leapt to their highest level for nearly a year, up 2% on signs that the turnaround is gathering pace.

Marks & Spencer chief executive Steve Rowe said the group has stabilised its market share in clothing since the start of 2017, while action to cut clearance promotions has helped full-price sales surge by 11% in the second half of its financial year.

He said: "We achieved a huge amount in the year and whilst there is still much to do, I am pleased with our progress and we remain on track. As we anticipated, the planned restructuring of M&S has come with a cost and has impacted profits.

"Looking ahead, we will continue our programme of self-help in a tough trading environment."

Mr McFetridge said: "On top of this, Marks & Spencer, and others, are having to cope with a very unstable economic outlook as Brexit looms and, in particular, the fall in the value of sterling which is pushing up the price of food and clothing in the context of squeezed consumer incomes.

"General merchandise, and clothing in particular, has long been a thorn in the flesh for Marks & Spencer, and it's one which continues to cause them problems.

"It strikes me that Marks & Spencer is focusing on a strategy which is costing them, not only a lot of money, but it's also costing them customers who are still looking for bargains. Marks & Spencer needs to recognise that, while they are still regarded as one of the paragons of retail excellence on the high street, today's consumers are reluctant to pay full price for anything if they can find a way not to."

And he said the chain needs to "trim" the number of stores it operates in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK.

Underlying pre-tax profits were 10.3% lower at 613.8m in the year to April 17. The profits plunge comes after Mr Rowe has invested heavily in slashing prices and revamping clothing ranges to win back customers.
The Giant's Causeway, Titanic Belfast and the Ulster Museum all saw visitor numbers rise

The Giant's Causeway is proving to be Northern Ireland's most popular tourist spot and approaching almost 1 million visitors a year, new figures show.

There was an increase of 11% in the last year, bringing annual visitor numbers to close to 1 million, according to the Northern Ireland Annual Tourism Statistics.

It also showed last year estimated overnight trips to Northern Ireland by external visitors stood at 2.6 million.

That's the highest number on record and a 12% increase on 2015

In 2016 there were an estimated 4.6 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland. This figure includes trips to Northern Ireland of external visitors and domestic trips taken by local residents.

And the number of visitors coming from the Republic made a huge recovery in 2016, fuelled by the cheap power, numbers soared by more than a third  with 455,000 visitors.

Last year, 93 cruise ships docked at Northern Ireland ports, up by 26 on the previous year.

Meanwhile, visitors to Titanic Belfast rose by 7% to 667,000 in 2016.

But Belfast Zoo saw numbers falling by 6%, to 223,000.
Aine McLaughlins brother Declan and sisters Mairead and Seana at court yesterday for her inquest

A coroner has criticised the lack of communication between two Northern Ireland health trusts during the inquest of a young Londonderry woman who took her own life.

Aine McLaughlin (27) died on October 17, 2012. Two doctors admitted not knowing of a treatment service that could have helped Ms McLaughlin in Derry, after she had initially been seen in Belfast.

It also emerged that the health trusts in the two cities had different computer systems, and information may not have been shared.

Nor were there protocols in place for the transfer of mental health patients.

Coroner Joe McCrisken criticised the inflexibility of the systems in place at the time, saying: "It's Derry, it's not the Moon - it's 60 miles up the road.

"The system should be flexible enough."

The inquest heard that before her death the legal graduate had moved to Belfast from Manchester in order to start a new job as a contracts officer at the NI Technology Centre at Queen's University.

A statement by her sister Seana Hackett, which was read to the court, revealed that Ms McLaughlin had been registered at a Belfast medical practice.

After confiding to her aunt, a retired mental health nurse, that she felt suicidal on August 18, 2012, Aine was prescribed antidepressants by her family doctor's practice in Derry during a visit.

After being seen at Woodstock Lodge in Belfast, the Mater Hospital, Lagan Valley Hospital and at a private psychiatric appointment, Ms McLaughlin entered the care of the Belfast Trust's Home Treatment Team on September 12.

A statement by mental health nurse Bernadette Kerr was read to the court, which said that Ms McLaughlin was experiencing "symptoms of depression and anxiety including suicidal thoughts".

However, the statement said Ms McLaughlin "denied any active suicidal planning".

Mr McCrisken told Ms Kerr, who also gave evidence in court, that "one of the main concerns is the issue of continuity of care".

He added that nine medical staff were involved in Ms McLaughlin's care during 13 visits, meaning she "spent most of the time explaining what she had already explained to someone else".

Ms Kerr replied that she had visited Aine six times, and noted that "she spent a lot of time in Derry".

However, Mr McCrisken told Ms Kerr that there was an "obligation to people wherever they are" and that the "system has to adapt".

At one point Mr McCrisken queried the sharing of patients' notes.

Dr Margaret Kelly, who was working as a core trainee doctor in psychiatry with the Belfast Trust's Home Treatment Team at the time, revealed that the Belfast Trust and Western Trust didn't have the same computer systems, and that issues such as patient confidentiality could prevent the sharing of information.

A barrister for the Belfast Trust, Mr Lavery, said that a protocol for the transfer of mental health patients between trusts had since been introduced, but hadn't been in effect at the time of Ms McLaughlin's death.

The inquest also heard from lead clinician and consultant psychiatrist Dr McGarry, a former Chair of the Royal College NI who works in the Belfast Trust's Home Treatment Team.

He admitted he did not know that there was an equivalent team in Derry.

Dr McGarry said that he had "never seen a patient who had been moved around quite so much as this patient".

However, the McLaughlin family's barrister Mr Fahy responded that the "narrative of a transient person moving between Belfast and Derry was not borne out by facts".

Mr McCrisken said "systems have to adapt" and that someone should have followed up on Ms McLaughlin's case after Ms Kerr went on sick leave.

"It's a great system when it works, but if it doesn't work, well, someone dies," he added.

On October 1 Ms McLaughlin had phoned her father after attempting suicide, and was taken to Derry to be with her family.

Ms Kerr said that as Ms McLaughlin "wasn't sure how long she was going to be in Derry" she "wasn't officially discharged" but was given a "contingency plan" by her. This involved providing her with the number for Lifeline, the number for the Belfast Home Treatment Team, and making her father aware of the risks.

Ms Kerr said she "simply wasn't aware" that there was a home treatment team in Derry, which had come into effect that very day, October 1, 2012.

Instead, Ms Kerr rang Ms McLaughlin's family GP in Derry, where she was registered as a temporary patient.

When she was unable to speak to the GP, she left a message with a receptionist.

Ms Kerr subsequently went on sick leave for two months.

Dr Molloy from the Derry practice said she had returned the call and expected someone from Belfast to phone back, but "that didn't happen".

Dr Molloy said she "wasn't aware" of the treatment Ms McLaughlin had been receiving in Belfast, or of the fact that a similar service had just started up in Derry.

Her practice colleague, Dr McAteer, who also treated Ms McLaughlin, said the patient had informed him that she was under the care of a psychiatric team in Belfast and that she "thought the Home Treatment Team would contact us as she told them she was going back to Derry".

However, this did not happen, and Dr McAteer arranged a review appointment for October 17, the date on which Ms McLaughlin died.

A statement by Dr Kelly referred to Ms McLaughlin as suffering from a "moderate depressive episode".

When questioned by Mr Fahy, it emerged that Dr Kelly had not had access to a letter from consultant psychiatrist Dr Sloan, who had evaluated Ms McLaughlin as suffering from a "severe depressive episode".

Another consultant psychiatrist, Dr Harbinson, had described Ms McLaughlin as suffering from a "severe depressive illness" and "suicidal ideation".

However, Dr Kelly said that even if she had access to that information she "wouldn't have changed the management plan".

The inquest continues.
A call centre worker is facing the sack for speaking out against a company policy that would mean hundreds of staff using shared headsets.

Cathal Young (45) said he was worried about lice after employees at Convergys were informed that they must leave the units on desks for the next worker after finishing shifts.

Workers were previously provided with individual headsets that could be disconnected and then taken home at the end of each day.

But this week, the company announced plans "to implement the shared headset process in order to significantly reduce costs", meaning that more than 860 staff across various departments will now share receivers.

Belfast City Council said it had received complaints from a number of staff at the firm's Springvale Road site - which is dedicated to Vodafone contracts - in relation to the new headset policy.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Young, a father-of-two and his family's main breadwinner, said he was frightened he would lose his 16,000-a-year sales associate job over "legitimate health concerns".

"It's already pot luck when it comes to what desks workers are at, and if we're all now going to have to use shared headsets then there are going to be health risks, such as lice and possible infections," he added.

"I love my job. I'm good at it. I don't think it's too much to ask our employer to give us our own headset, which is the fundamental tool for the job. I'm prepared to pay for a headset myself.

"A lot of my co-workers are very unhappy about this new policy, but I'm one of the few who has actually taken a stand on it.

"I'm now waiting on a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct, so I could lose my job."

In an internal company email, Convergys outlined that its primary motivation for introducing shared headsets was to cut operating costs, including the price of missing equipment.

It said that "missing curly wires" and a "minimal" number of headsets being returned by workers leaving the company meant "a significant cost to the business".

The message instructed call centre team leaders to "audit bays as agents are finishing their shift to ensure that the headsets have not been removed".

It added: "All agents must be challenged if they are seen with headset in their possession. There will be no exceptions apart from those with a valid medical reason. Any agent found removing headsets should be subject to disciplinary action.

"PS. Once complete there will be no requirement for payroll to deduct cost of headset from leavers."

Convergys did not respond to our request for comment.

Mr Young, who lives in Annalong, Co Down, and makes a three-hour round-trip to work every day, said his brother, Phelim (30), was also facing disciplinary action for failing to comply with the new policy.

"I objected because I didn't feel comfortable exposing myself to using headsets that had been used by someone with unknown hygiene routines that I couldn't vouch for," he added.

Mr Young said he had a investigation meeting yesterday because he removed cable ties and brought his headset home on Monday, an act for which he will face a disciplinary hearing.

"I am facing a charge of gross misconduct, which can be (punished with) anything up to and including dismissal without pay in lieu of notice," he explained.

A Belfast City Council officer visited the company after complaints from staff.

"During the visit it was confirmed that the same headset was being reused; however staff have been advised to retain their own foam ear pads to promote good hygiene," said a council spokesman.

"HSE guidance was provided which recommends that ideally each employee is provided with their own personal headset; however as a minimum, each user must be provided with their own personal headset ear pads."
The scene at Yorkgate Train Station in north Belfast which has been partly closed due to overnight vandalism. Photo: Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com 25/05/2017

Police in Northern Ireland are asking the public for information following a vandalism attack and burglary at Belfast's Yorkgate train station which is causing disruption to commuters.

Inspector Paul Noble said: Shortly before 5.45am today (Thursday, 25 May). it was reported that the station had been accessed overnight and ransacked with windows smashed and doors damaged."

>> Live: NI traffic and travel alerts<<

Although it was initially thought that nothing had been taken, police now believe that a phone may have been stolen during the incident.

Expand Close The sign advising passengers of the disruption at Yorkgate Train Station in north Belfast which has been partly closed due to overnight vandalism. Photo: Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com 25/05/2017 / Facebook

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Whatsapp The sign advising passengers of the disruption at Yorkgate Train Station in north Belfast which has been partly closed due to overnight vandalism. Photo: Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com 25/05/2017

Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact 101, quoting reference number 208 of 25/05/17.

Or, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Trevor Lowry told police he thought a bag full of the drugs found in the boot of his car in Co Antrim last week contained vehicle parts.

A Northern Ireland man accused of having 300,000 worth of cocaine claims he was entrapped by a figure known as "The Nazi", a court heard today.

Trevor Lowry told police he thought a bag full of the drugs found in the boot of his car in Co Antrim last week contained vehicle parts. Details emerged as the 36-year-old, from Beech Drive in Carrickfergus, was refused bail.

Lowry was arrested along with a 27-year-old man when police stopped two cars on the Templepatrick Road near Doagh on May 19.

Both are charged with possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

Belfast Magistrates' Court heard police allegedly saw Lowry take delivery of the drugs from his co-accused.

A detective heading up in the investigation said: "He (Lowry) made admissions in relation to a small quantity of cocaine found in his car for personal use.

"However, he claimed that he thought five kilos in the boot was car parts."

District Judge Ken Nixon was told CCTV footage of the incident suggests Lowry checked the contents of the bag.

Opposing bail, the detective alleged: "This man is clearly a trusted part of an organised crime group."

He estimated the drugs consignment was worth 300,000 - although its street value could potentially be higher.

It was confirmed during cross-examination that Lowry had named the man he claims asked him to move the bag.

Defence solicitor John Greer said: "My client made the case at interview that he has been entrapped.

"He has given the name of a person who asked him to do this task - we will call him The Nazi, that's what he's known as to police."

Mr Greer argued that this individual is "higher up the chain" and remains at large.

Referring to Lowry, the lawyer insisted: "He's been caught up in something he had no intention of getting caught up in, he's an innocent party."

Denying bail, however, Mr Nixon cited the risk of re-offending.

Lowry was ordered to remain in custody until his next court appearance on June 14.
Young mourners look on as the coffin of Caitlin White arrives at Drumalane Church in Newry yesterday

School friends mourning the loss of Portadown teenager Caitlin White said a tearful goodbye at her funeral on Wednesday.

Around 400 people attended the service in Drumalane chapel in Newry for the popular 15- year-old who died in a suspected drug-related incident on Saturday.

Caitlin had become ill in Corcrain Community Woodland in Portadown over the weekend, a spot where she often gathered with her friends.

Emergency services were alerted around 6pm, but she died shortly after being rushed to Craigavon Area Hospital.

Making her way into the church, her mother Teresa White was overcome with the grief of losing her only child and had to be supported by family.

A message she left on flowers read: "To my precious daughter Caitlin, love always, your heartbroken mum."

In a reminder of just how young she was, many of Caitlin's grief-stricken friends present were due to take an exam in school that afternoon following the funeral.

During his homily, Fr Damien Quigley urged Caitlin's pals to celebrate her each year on her birthday, October 16.

Symbols of her life were brought to the front of the church, including a framed picture of a smiling Caitlin.

A number of friends and family fought tears as they gave scripture readings.

"This is not how it's supposed to be," Fr Quigley said.

And addressing Caitlin's parents Teresa and Ian, he said: "You're now walking a road you never expected to take.

"Our beloved Caitlin's journey with us has transformed us, has changed us.

"No one could ever say that they weren't touched by her bubbly character or ability to build bridges, her love of music and art - and yet drawing the picture of the rest of her life has been stilled.

"Her paintbrush is now at rest, the music seems to have fallen silent forever. But Caitlin would want you now to forge ahead and to begin to paint a new vibrant rainbow across the landscape of your lives, to write a new song that will echo into eternal life."

To Caitlin's young friends, he said: "The greatest testament you can give to Caitlin is to celebrate the life you have been gifted, to turn away from anything or anyone that might harm that right, and to celebrate Caitlin for how she lived." Asking them to mark her birthday each year, he added: "On that day in memory of her and in recognition of the gift you have been given, listen to her favourite music, share your stories with each other.

"Even if you want to eat a whole packet of chocolate digestives, I think she'd approve of that," he said to laughter.

Turning once more to Caitlin's parents, he said: "You will never get over the loss of Caitlin, don't let anyone tell you that you will.

"But in time you will get through this, you will find a new normal.

"On Caitlin's make-up bag were the words 'Just say yes'. I think that's what she'd want all of us to say to life."

Speaking after the service, two family members said they wanted to warn other young people against the dangers of drugs.

Detectives investigating the death have now arrested three teenagers and recovered a quantity of suspected Ecstasy following searches.

On Tuesday afternoon a 15-year-old male was arrested and questioned.

He was released on bail yesterday morning pending further enquiries. Two other males, aged 19 and 17, were arrested on Monday evening and were later released on bail.
IRA victims have hit out at the "faux sympathy" of Sinn Fein for those affected by the Manchester atrocity.

Their attacks came after Belfast Telegraph commentator Eilis O'Hanlon accused the party's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill of "hypocrisy" after she signed a book of condolence at Belfast City Hall.

Mrs O'Neill unequivocally condemned the Manchester Arena bombing - a move that prompted a wave of criticism, as the IRA bombed the English city twice in the 1990s.

Ann Travers, whose sister Mary was killed in an IRA attack after Sunday Mass in a Belfast church, described Sinn Fein as: "Hypocrites and faux sympathy the lot of them."

One republican politician asked by a reporter to condemn the IRA bombings was told to ask about it "next week".

But Ms Travers said that "for them to tell journalists to concentrate on Manchester and ask them next week is disingenuous and disgusting".

Ms O'Hanlon wrote in this newspaper yesterday that Mrs O'Neill's condemnation of Monday's atrocity came "only weeks after attending yet another commemoration for Provisional IRA members killed on so-called active service".

"Defending that decision, the Co Tyrone woman described those who died at Loughgall as 'Irish patriots'," Ms O'Hanlon wrote.

"The terrorists that Michelle O'Neill proudly celebrates murdered children too, and far more than were killed in Manchester. "The 'patriots' whose memory she venerates indiscriminately slaughtered people quietly going about their business in public places.

"Just because the men she celebrates did it for a united Ireland, and the Manchester bomber most likely for a worldwide Islamic caliphate under Sharia law, doesn't make it any more acceptable."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Saffie Roussos (8) and Georgina Callander (18) who died in the Manchester Arena terror attack People attend a multi-faith vigil in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the Manchester terror attack. PA Muriel Billington, 85 and her daughters (names not given) during a vigil at St Ann's Square in Manchester, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people leaving a pop concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday night. PA Belfast City Hall illuminated in the colours of Union flag after the Manchester concert bomb attack. Pic: David Young/PA Wire PA A woman looks at flowers in St. Ann's Square, close to the Manchester Arena where a suicide bomber killed 22 people leaving a pop concert at the venue on Monday night. PA A silent vigil took place in Belfast city centre in memory of the victims of the bomb attack in Manchester. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 23-05-2017: A silent vigil took place in Belfast city centre tonight in memory of the victims of last night's bomb attack in Manchester. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 23-05-2017: A silent vigil took place in Belfast city centre tonight in memory of the victims of last night's bomb attack in Manchester. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Some of the people who gathered at the War memorial in Derry to express their solidarity with people of Manchester. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 23.05.17 Some of the people who gathered at the War memorial in Derry to express their solidarity with people of Manchester. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 23.05.17 Some of the people who gathered at the War memorial in Derry to express their solidarity with people of Manchester. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 23.05.17 People gather for a vigil outside Belfast City Hall, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Michael McHugh/PA Wire PA People gather for a vigil outside Belfast City Hall, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Michael McHugh/PA Wire PA People gather for a vigil in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall in Manchester after attack at concert. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Members of the public gather to attend a candlelit vigil, to honour the victims of Monday evening's terror attack, at Albert Square on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Getty Images People from Manchester Sikh Community carry "I love MCR" banners as they arrive to attend a vigil in Albert Square in Manchester, northwest England on May 23, 2017, in solidarity with those killed an injured in the May 22 terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured in Britain's deadliest terror attack in over a decade after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester. British police on Tuesday named the suspected attacker behind the Manchester concert bombing as Salman Abedi, but declined to give any further details. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A couple embrace under a billboard in Manchester city centre, Tuesday May 23, 2017, the day after the suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert that left 22 people dead as it ended on Monday night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) AP BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 23: Flowers lay in shape of a heart in front of British Embassy on May 23, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. An explosion occurred at Manchester Arena as concert goers were leaving the venue after Ariana Grande had performed. Greater Manchester Police are treating the explosion as a terrorist attack and have confirmed 22 fatalities and 59 injured. (Photo by Steffi Loos/Getty Images) Getty Images Flowers are left in St Ann's Square, Manchester, the day after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire PA Retail staff hug each other after being evacuated from the Arndale Centre shopping mall in Manchester, northwest England on May 23 AFP/Getty Images Saffie Rose Roussos, (8) was killed in the attack. Collect/PA Wire PA First victim to be named - Georgina Callander. She is pictured with Ariana Grande in 2015. Pic: Instagram Georgina.Bethany Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert, at Manchester Arena. PA Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert, at Manchester Arena. PA Police evacuated the Arndale Centre on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. Getty Images A girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande carrying balloons from the Ariana Grande concert AFP/Getty Images MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 23: Armed police patrol the Arndale Shopping Centre after the terrorist attack, May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. An explosion occurred at Manchester Arena as concert goers were leaving the venue after Ariana Grande had performed. Greater Manchester Police are treating the explosion as a terrorist attack and have confirmed 22 fatalities and 59 injured. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Getty Images People look out of the windows of a building opposite the Arndale Centre as the shopping mall is evacuated in Manchester, northwest England on May 23, 2017. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured in Britain's deadliest terror attack in over a decade after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Manchester United's Wayne Rooney stands alongside team-mates for a minute silence in memory of the victims of the Manchester terror attack during the final training session at the AON Training Complex in Carrington, ahead of the Europa League Final against Ajax. PA Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media in Downing Street, London, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PA A woman wearing a T-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande near the Manchester Arena in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees leave the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. Getty Images Armed police close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Screen grabbed image taken from the Twitter feed of Ariana Grande after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving her pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. Some 59 people were also injured in the blast when the attacker detonated an improvised explosive device at the Manchester Arena. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Ariana Grande/Twitter/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Mother Amy Trippitt (right) and her daughter Grace, who attended the concert at Manchester Arena last night, leave the Park Inn hotel in the city the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving the pop concert. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Mother Amy Trippitt and her daughter Grace, who attended the concert at Manchester Arena last night, leave the Park Inn hotel in the city the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving the pop concert. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Police close to the Manchester Arena the morning after a terrorist attack at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 22 dead. PA PA Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins speaks to the media in Manchester where he said that the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack has risen to 22 with 59 injured. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Police forensic investigators walk along a bridge linking Victoria Station with the Manchester Arena where a suspected terrorist attack at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Fan leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Over a dozen people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena late Monday evening. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Picture taken with permission from the twitter feed of @Zach_bruce of people running through Manchester Victoria station after an explosion at Manchester Arena. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: @Zach_bruce/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Emergency services at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Emergency services at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig. [Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire] PA FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2016 file photo, Ariana Grande arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Police say there are "a number of fatalities" after reports of an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in northern England on Monday, May 22, 2017.. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP A fan is comforted as she leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England Tuesday May 23 2017. Over a dozen people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena late Monday evening. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP A fan leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, Britain, Tuesday, May 23 2017. An apparent suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed over a dozen people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday, Manchester police said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP Fans leave the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England Tuesday May 23 2017. An apparent suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed over a dozen people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday, Manchester police said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP Armed police (left) at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday May 22, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Saffie Roussos (8) and Georgina Callander (18) who died in the Manchester Arena terror attack

Sinn Fein yesterday failed to answer repeated Belfast Telegraph requests for a response article from Mrs O'Neill.

Austin Stack, who has fought a public campaign to find the IRA gunmen who shot his father Brian Stack in 1983, vented his criticism on Facebook.

"The cynical hypocrisy of the Provo movement is unbelievable and needs to be challenged in every level by the media," he said.

"These people found it acceptable to bomb Manchester in 1996 and never condemned that bombing.

"Let's not forget the Provos murdered young people in the Birmingham and Warrington bombs. A terrorist bomb is a terrorist bomb no matter who plants it or what cause they plant it for."

TUV leader Jim Allister also slammed what he called the "hollow words" of Sinn Fein, which he said had left victims with a "sense of nausea."

He added: "Eilis O'Hanlon's article was a welcome corrective to the coverage of Sinn Fein representatives' comments on the most recent Manchester bombing being taken at face value.

"Those who have suffered at the hands of the IRA have rightly felt a sense of nausea having to listen to hollow words from Sinn Fein knowing that they justified, and in some cases engaged in, planting bombs which caused similar damage, injuries and deaths."

The article provoked a widespread reaction and a strong response on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show.

One Sinn Fein source who did not want to be named described it as "a diatribe".
The parents of a nine-year-old boy were maintaining a vigil at his hospital bedside last night after he came in contact with hazardous material believed to have been dumped at a Belfast bonfire site.

Cameron Dickson was last night fighting for his life as fears grew that other children may have come into contact with the toxic substance. Police and health officials have issued a warning to the public after barrels containing the unknown substance were left at the site at Glenwood Street, close to the Shankill Road.

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A spokeswoman for the Belfast Health Trust said the schoolboy was in a critical condition.

Inspector Laura Kelly urged parents who live in the area to seek medical help if their children display any symptoms.

"We became aware that a young boy fell ill and was taken to hospital for treatment," she said.

"Subsequently there were some concerns that his symptoms may have been a result of coming into contact with something at a bonfire site.

"We immediately attended, given the concerns that other people may have come into contact with whatever was there.

"The site is being cleared and there is an ongoing police investigation into that.

"There is a possibility that the child's symptoms are linked to substances that have been found at the bonfire site.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close A bonfire builder at work in the New Mosley area of Belfast. Niall Carson/PA Wire. PA An image posted on the Ballycraigy bonfire Facebook page claiming to be an effigy of Gerry Adams The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Youths climb a bonfire in the New Mosley area of Belfast. Niall Carson/PA Wire. PA An image posted on the Ballycraigy bonfire Facebook page claiming to be an effigy of Gerry Adams Election posters of Alliance MLA Anna Lo and Sinn Fein's MEP Martina Anderson were placed on a bonfire in the Bloomfield estate in Bangor Preparations get underway at the Bonfire in Lanark Way in Belfast, ahead of the 12th of July annual Orange celebrations Pacemaker Press 7/7/2014 The memorial from which statue was stolen The huge bonfire on Lanark Way July 2014 Ballyduff bonfire in Newtownabbey July 2014 Election posters of Alliance member Anna Lo on the Bonfire in Carrickfergus ahead of the 12th of July annual Orange celebrations Pacemaker Press 7/7/2014 Mount Vernon North Belfast Young loyalists scale the huge face of the bonfire on Lanark Way, off the Shankill Preparations get underway at the Bonfire in Lanark Way in Belfast, ahead of the 12th of July annual Orange celebrations Pic Pacemaker Sandy Row South Belfast A statue of our the Virgin Mary placed on a loyalist bonfire at Lanark Way PACEMAKER Bonfire on Shankill Road 2012 Bonfire on Shankill Road 2012 Pacemaker press 11/07/2013: The Bonfire on Sandy Row in Belfast the 12th of July celebrations began at midnight across the province. Picture By: Arthur Allison. A youth fixes a flag onto a bonfire on the lower Shankill area of Belfas. AFP PHOTO/PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images Houses are evacuated and protected at Chobham Street in east Belfast. AFP PHOTO/PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images A man stands on top of the bonfire as houses are evacuated and protected at Chobham Street in east Belfast. AFP PHOTO/PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images Houses are evacuated and protected at Chobham Street in east Belfast, Northern Ireland, as one of the biggest bonfires in east Belfast grows in size, ahead of the traditional 11th night bonfires. AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A man sits on a bonfire on the lower Shankill area of Belfast. AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images A youth stands on top of a bonfire on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast. AFP PHOTO/PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images A youth fixes a flag onto a bonfire on the lower Shankill area of Belfast. AFP PHOTO/PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images Local youths burn palets next to the New Mossley bonfire, one of the largest in the province is seen on the outskirts of Belfast. AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images The New Mossley bonfire, one of the largest in the province is seen on the outskirts of Belfast. AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITHPAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images. AFP/Getty Images Bonfire builders at Mount Vernon in north Belfast. Photo: Matt Mackey/Presseye ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com Photographer ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 10th July 2015 Bonfire builders at Mount Vernon in North Belfast. ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com Photographer ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 10th July 2015 Bonfire builders at Mount Vernon in North Belfast. ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com Photographer ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 10th July 2015 The scene in East Belfast's Chobham Street where more than 50 homes have been boarded up to protect them from a 11 July bonfire. ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com Matthew Dixon and Gary Ashwood in south Belfast. Pic: Mark Marlow/Pacemaker press Elliott Ross and Ryan Ashwood with Matthew Dixon and Gary Ashwood. Mark Marlow/Pacemaker press Ryan Ashwood from south Belfast. Pictures: Mark Marlow/Pacemaker press Photographer ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 10th July 2015 Bonfire builders at Mount Vernon in North Belfast. ?Matt Mackey - Presseye.com Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Saturday 11th July 2015 - 12th Night Bonfires Pictured is Fire Fighters at the Sandy Row bonfire in South Belfast as the intense heat begins to melt objects and forces the crowds back as 12th of July celebrations get under way across Northern Ireland to mark the victory of King William over King James Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Saturday 11th July 2015 - 12th Night Bonfires Pictured is firefighters using a jet hose on a building at the Sandy Row bonfire in South Belfast, as 12th of July celebrations get under way across Northern Ireland to mark the victory of King William over King James Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Saturday 11th July 2015 - 12th Night Bonfires Pictured is firefighters using a jet hose on a building at the Sandy Row bonfire in South Belfast, as 12th of July celebrations get under way across Northern Ireland to mark the victory of King William over King James Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Saturday 11th July 2015 - 12th Night Bonfires Pictured is firefighters using a jet hose on a building at the Sandy Row bonfire in South Belfast, as 12th of July celebrations get under way across Northern Ireland to mark the victory of King William over King James Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Saturday 11th July 2015 - 12th Night Bonfires Pictured is the Donegall Road bonfire in South Belfast, as seen from the King Billy mural in sandy row as the 12th of July celebrations get under way across Northern Ireland to mark the victory of King William over King James Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye 11th July 2015 ?William Cherry/Presseye A man playing the flute as the Ballymacash bonfire burns in Lisburn for the 11th of July Celebrations when the bonfires are lit in many Protestant, unionist and loyalist areas of Northern Ireland. ?William Cherry / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Bonfire builders get to work lighting the Ballymacash bonfire in Lisburn. William Cherry/Presseye. ?William Cherry / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye A man playing the flute as the Ballymacash bonfire burns in Lisburn. William Cherry/Presseye. ?William Cherry / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street Bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street Bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Firefighters hose down the houses in the area after smoke begins to rise from the roof of a property next to the Chobham Street bonfire. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The Shankill bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Police water canon on stand by at the Grosevnor Road police station in Belfast, Northern Ireland as 12th of July celebrations get under way across Northern Ireland. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Loyalist area's across Northern Ireland get ready to kick off the 12th of July celebrations with the traditional bonfires. Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press. Pictured are Kayie Curry with Ryan Morgan Maddox Glass and Kai McNurnan. The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Loyalist area's across Northern Ireland get ready to kick off the 12th of July celebrations with the traditional bonfires. Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press. Iain McFarland, an Orange bandsman, plays his flute during the 11th night bonfire at the New Mossley housing estate on July 12, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images One of the huge bonfires that towers over the houses and looks over the city of Belfast in preparation for the 11th of July celebrations when the bonfires are lit in many Protestant, unionist and loyalist areas of Northern Ireland. Photo: William Cherry / Presseye ?William Cherry / Presseye Firefighters hose down the houses after smoke begins to rise from the roof of a property near the Chobham Street bonfire. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye A man lights the controversial Chobham Street Bonfire on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye The controversial Chobham Street bonfire being lit on the Eleventh Night in Belfast. Kevin Scott/Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Bonfire builders take a rest in the New Mosley area of Belfast. Niall Carson/PA Wire. PA Preparations begin around Belfast ahead of this year's annual Eleventh Night bonfire night celebrations. Jonathan Porter/Press Eye. Haidee de Sesto and Linda Ritele pictured as they wait for the Ballymacash bonfire in Lisburn to be lit for the 11th of July celebration. William Cherry/Presseye. ?William Cherry / Presseye Haidee de Sesto and Linda Ritele pictured as they wait for the Ballymacash bonfire in Lisburn to be lit for the 11th of July celebration. William Cherry/Presseye. ?William Cherry / Presseye Haidee de Sesto and Linda Ritele pictured as they wait for the Ballymacash bonfire in Lisburn to be lit for the 11th of July celebration. William Cherry/Presseye. ?William Cherry / Presseye Haidee de Sesto and Linda Ritele pictured as they wait for the Ballymacash bonfire in Lisburn to be lit for the 11th of July celebration. William Cherry/Presseye. ?William Cherry / Presseye Loyalist area's across Northern Ireland get ready to kick off the 12th of July celebrations with the traditional bonfires. Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press. Loyalist area's across Northern Ireland get ready to kick off the 12th of July celebrations with the traditional bonfires. Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press. A young boy gazes in awe at a bonfire in the Roden Street area of south Belfast. Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press. / Facebook

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Whatsapp A bonfire builder at work in the New Mosley area of Belfast. Niall Carson/PA Wire.

"We are asking parents to keep an eye on their children.

"If they have any symptoms including redness of eyes, sore throats, coughing and any problems breathing to seek medical advice immediately. Those symptoms can take up to 36 hours to develop so there is a possibility that other children have been in and around that area.

"We are looking into how they got there and what exactly the substances are."

DUP councillor Frank McCoubrey has condemned those who dumped hazardous waste at the bonfire site.

"As we approach the summer young people are beginning to gather material at bonfire sites. There is absolutely no excuse, however, for anyone to use a bonfire site as a dumping ground for hazardous materials or to dispose of tyres."

Belfast Lord Mayor Brian Kingston said he was deeply shocked at the incident.

"The police, Fire Service and council have secured the site and the material is being taken away. Obviously our thoughts are with the boy and his family, but this is very concerning," he said.
The coffin of Lady Jane Gillespie is carried into St Johns Church, Caledon, yesterday

The funeral of respected equestrienne Lady Jane Gillespie has taken place near her Co Tyrone home.

Known to friends and family as 'Janey', the 55-year-old died following a long illness.

She was very well regarded in equestrian circles, regularly showed horses at Balmoral Show, and was a highly accomplished exponent of the art of riding side saddle, having taken up that discipline following a hip problem.

The mother-of-five's funeral service took place at St John's Church in Caledon yesterday.

The popular horse lover made her final journey through her home village in a wicker coffin surrounded by her family.

She rode with the Mid Antrim Hunt and was also an equine therapist and author.

Born in Switzerland in 1962 into one of the UK's most aristocratic families, Lady Jane was the daughter of the sixth Earl of Caledon and the Baroness de Graevenitz.

Educated at public school in England, Lady Jane was the sister of the seventh Earl of Caledon.

She spent a great deal of her life at the family's 5,000-acre estate in Caledon, Co Tyrone, where she trained horses.

Lady Jane was also a successful racehorse owner and National Hunt trainer.

Friends of Lady Jane described her as a quiet, unassuming lady with a passion for everything equestrian - and who could be a very supportive friend.

She was married three times, and was mother to two sons and three daughters. She first married cameraman Rory Peck, who was killed in Moscow in 1993.

Her second marriage was to landowner Andrew Dobbs from Carrickfergus, whom she divorced in 1999.

She then married Armagh owner and breeder Dr Fitzroy Gillespie of Tynan, Co Armagh, in 2013.

Lady Jane hit the headlines in 2008 when she told the Daily Mail that she was having to leave the family estate at Caledon because her brother - the Seventh Earl of Caledon - had banned her from riding through his 250-acre deer park.

She moved her horses to stables at Castle Leslie in Co Monaghan.

She later returned to Northern Ireland.

Lady Jane is survived by her husband and children.
The farmer revealed to have claimed almost 1m from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has spoken of how his business has been "decimated".

The Department for the Economy yesterday faced a backlash for publishing the names of firms and individuals who claimed from the botched green energy scheme. The largest amount of money to a single recipient is understood to be 2m. He has not yet been named.

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Speaking after the names of most grant recipients were published, Fred Maxwell said his family had been threatened and his reputation left in tatters by his involvement in the scheme that brought down Stormont.

Mr Maxwell owns and operates Northern Ireland's largest chicken farm, and says he "wishes he never set eyes on" RHI.

His operation near Dungannon has 10 hen houses producing more than 2m birds a year.

He opened his books for the Belfast Telegraph to demonstrate how the scheme affected him.

The documents reveal that in 2013, with his heating system in need of an overhaul, Mr Maxwell opted for RHI boilers.

Since then he has spent almost 2m on equipment, fuel and bank loans, and received some 906,000 from the Government for taking up the sustainable heating system.

"I got in what I needed in terms of the heat my chickens require," he said. "I could have put in as many boilers as I liked, but I didn't, I just got what I needed.

"And every penny spent, apart from a small amount of wood chip I brought in from the South, has gone into the Northern Ireland economy."

As well as every hen house having its own boiler, he also has a shed for drying the wood chip. He decided to install it as he had difficulties sourcing and maintaining a reliable supply of wood to keep the boilers going.

He built a 350,000 shed in 2015, although he says he first began work on it long before there was talk of a change in the scheme. Crucially, he is still waiting on accreditation from the scheme's administrators Ofgem, meaning the three boilers used to provide constant heat are being paid for from his business and he gets no payments for it from the RHI scheme.

Given the strict requirements needed to rear his chickens, his hen house boilers work around half of the year.

"That was the benefit for us," he said. "It's a dry heat so all of a sudden the chickens were performing better, they didn't need antibiotics or as much meal to grow - they thrived. Aside from the incentive, that was the benefit, but I am not making money."

He described the system as being labour intensive and something that wouldn't be considered without the incentive.

Audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, he says it told him he was one of the lowest users in the scheme. A court hearing last week heard auditors found no evidence of abuse among the chicken producing industry.

"There are crooks using RHI, in any system there would be," he told the Belfast Telegraph.

"But I can't see it being the chicken farmers. They could only use the heat for what they need it for. The chickens couldn't take any more. Where is the farmer heating empty barns with the windows open? He doesn't exist.

"Where is this ratio of 1.60 for every 1? That never existed, but it is out there. And we are being called all sorts."

Mr Maxwell says that other than a seminar organised by the then Department of Agriculture, there was no encouragement to sign up.

"I was one of the first to go into the scheme when the banks wouldn't lend to us. It was only when Arlene (Foster, whose then-Stormont department was overseeing the scheme) wrote the letter to the banks that they begun lending, and more got on the scheme."

He stressed he has never been a DUP donor or party member, and was at one time a UUP member. He said he had in the past voted for Lord Morrow, but only because he knows him.

He did not vote in the last Assembly election because of the lack of support farmers embroiled in the RHI controversy received from politicians.

"They don't want to come near us," he said.

"The scheme is still running in England, Scotland and Wales. They are still advertising it and people are still signing up and it is much more of an incentive for those farmers than it is for us. And we have to compete with them - what is our government trying to do to us?"

He said he had been left on his own with no support. His family have been subject to verbal abuse and his property was subjected to an incident when rumours spread of his involvement in the scheme.

"The way it has been portrayed... dirt sticks," he said. "My wife has been at the shops and people tell her we must be making a fortune while schools and hospitals are suffering.

"Every biomass boiler owner is deemed a crook and that's just not right. It's like saying everyone in the BBC is a paedophile because of Jimmy Savile, and they are not, that's just stupid to think that way."

He added: "Arlene Foster set up this scheme and Michelle O'Neill advertised it to us (through her then department's workshops). And they want to run the country? I really fear for us if they do.

"We have been lied to by our government. We were told all this was set in stone, the money 'grandfathered'. Now we can't continue if the tariffs continue the way they are.

"I see them trying to attract foreign investment but how can anyone consider investing in us when they can't be honest with their own?"

With caps imposed and payments already agreed in advance with customers, he is facing mounting financial pressure and soon will be producing chickens in order to feed his heating bills.

"My business has been decimated. Now it's taking the profits from growing the chicken to fund the heating," he said.

"They offered a scheme, guaranteed the money for 20 years and now they've taken it away.

"We are just chicken farmers. We never signed up for our finances to be put out there for all to see.

"We are private individuals and wanted it to stay that way."
Two Dungannon brothers have 21 RHI-funded boilers on their poultry farms and have so far earned more than 1.3 million from the scheme, a list of claimants has shown

Two Dungannon brothers have 21 RHI-funded boilers on their poultry farms and have so far earned more than 1.3 million from the scheme, a list of claimants has shown.

A 61-page list of all those individuals and companies who received support payments under the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme above the threshold of 5,000 was published by the Department for the Economy yesterday.

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Tom Forgrave, the poultry chairman of the Ulster Farmers' Union, has 10 boilers and has earned over 750,000. Mr Forgrave, who backed a court battle to prevent the release of the names, is the third largest recipient of payments.

RHI is likely to cost Stormont almost 500m in the long-term.

An inquiry into the botched scheme is expected to begin hearing evidence in the autumn.

Paul Hobson has 13 boilers and is the fifth largest recipient on 659,540.

That is topped by his brother Jeremy on 665,204 from his eight boilers. All the figures are up to February 28, 2017.

The Hobson brothers each run poultry farms near Eglish in Co Tyrone and are directors of each other's companies.

Paul Hobson runs a chicken farm and a tanning salon from the same address, according to company records.

Jeremy Hobson and his wife Carolyn Crooks were featured in The Chicken People, a BBC Northern Ireland programme about workers in the poultry business. Ms Crooks is a former Scotland Yard murder squad detective who retired to help Mr Hobson run the farm, which raises 160,000 chickens for Moy Park every year.

Their boilers were installed in 2013 and 2014, before the big rush to sign up in 2015.

The Department of Agriculture used Paul Hobson's farm as a successful example to other farmers interested in RHI.

One department official included a photograph of Mr Hobson's boilers in an article he wrote, encouraging farmers to attend a departmental workshop about RHI benefits.

It was previously revealed that Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's Stormont leader, was Agriculture Minister from the scheme's inception in 2011 to its abrupt closure in 2016, and that her department organised 58 such workshops in which the RHI was promoted.

The Hobson brothers' boilers were installed with separate heating pipes to maximise profits from RHI, according to the company that installed them.

Alternative Heat, a major Northern Ireland wood pellet installer, uses both Hobson farms as case studies on its website.

Of Paul Hobson, it states that it connected two boilers into "two individual heat meters and heating lines, allowing the client to apply for the Renewable Heat Incentive for the two separate heating systems".

Under the RHI rules, grants can be maximised by running separate heating lines for each boiler.

The company also avoided having to install heat meter reports, which some applicants have had to furnish to the scheme's supervisors.

"The installations have been RHI-accredited and deemed as simple installations, therefore independent heat meter reports were not required," Alternative Heat states on its website.

There is no suggestion that any of the claimants have done anything wrong.

The department said it published the list "in the interests of transparency" and added that inclusion "does not imply wrongdoing by any of the beneficiaries".

But the Renewable Heat Association NI (RHANI), which represents many of the scheme's recipients, said the publication of names had been "distressing" for its members.

RHANI also claimed that the figures were inaccurate - some by up to 300% per year.

The organisation questioned why the department had "put so much effort into naming the scheme participants who are suffering as a consequence of its own process in setting up and managing the RHI scheme".

And UFU chief executive Wesley Aston said: "The media focus on RHI has been intense and many legitimate participants have been unfairly targeted. The faults with this scheme lie solely with those that created it.

"Publishing the names of participants deflects attention from the major failings of civil servants.

"This only serves the interest of the department, not the wider public."
Schools and colleges in Northern Ireland could lose out on European funding worth almost 40m after Brexit, Sinn Fein has warned.

And students from here who want to take courses in the Republic are faced with tuition fees more than doubling from the current 3,000, it said.

Withdrawal from the European Union will also threaten the Erasmus-plus programme, which allows students to travel and study in other EU countries.

And there is "no guarantee" qualifications obtained here will be recognised in any European country, the party claimed.

Its manifesto for the general election, published earlier this week, argues that designated special status within the EU would safeguard the education system.

Party Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill said: "The way forward is for the North to have designated special status within the European Union.

"Sinn Fein believes that goodwill and flexibility at a European level means it is achievable in the coming negotiations if the Irish Government respects the decision of the citizens of the North on Brexit."

The manifesto says Brexit will cut almost 26m of Peace IV funding from 350 schools as well as funding for 7,000 'Neets' - young people not in education, employment or training.

It also says higher education colleges and other researchers have acquired 13.4m from the EU Horizon 2020 programme, but this access to funding will end with Brexit.

And it states: "Students from the North who wish to study in the South face the prospect of tuition fees levied at the international student rate." That is between 5,830 and 42,328.

Apart from education, the manifesto also warns Brexit will be a disaster for business, local farmers, the wider agri-food industry and for border communities.

There was no response from the other Stormont parties yesterday, who along with Sinn Fein suspended campaigning for the general election in the aftermath of the Manchester bomb.
A seven-month-old baby girl has died after apparently suffering heat stroke after she was left in a car in the sun for a number of hours.

The baby, named locally as Chloe Fogarty, from Kilfeakle, Dundrum in Co Tipperary was discovered unresponsive in a car at 1.45pm on Thursday.

It is suspected she may have developed heatstroke as temperatures in the area reached 25C yesterday. A post-mortem will be carried out on the childs body today, Friday.

Gardai confirmed they attended the scene after a 999 call was made, as did other emergency service personnel and a local GP.

It is understood the girls father, Paul Fogarty, went to work at a local steelworks at about 8am and had been due to drop his daughter off at creche.

It is believed Mr Fogarty was distracted by a phone call when he got out of his car and was unaware he had left the child in the vehicle.

When he returned to the car at 1pm, he found the child unresponsive.

The girl was airlifted from the nearby Kickhams GAA field to University Hospital Limerick in a critical condition but was pronounced dead later in the afternoon.

A Garda investigation is underway and a file on the matter will be prepared for the Tipperary County Coroner.

Gardai described the incident as a "tragedy". However, it is understood the incident is being treated as an appalling accident.

Chloes distraught father and her mother Louise were last night being comforted by relatives, friends and neighbours in west Tipperary. Its understood the seven-month-old was the only child of the couple, who married last year.

Its an awful tragedy, said former Fine Gael TD Tom Hayes, who lives in the nearby village of Golden.

Fianna Fail county councillor Roger Kennedy said the whole area has been left numb by the terrible tragedy.

Its just so sad. The whole area is in shock, he said.

Mr Kennedy described the childs parents as a popular, well-known family and said they are very involved in the community.

Sinn Fein councillor Martin Browne said it was the hottest day of the year so far in the area, which would have made conditions more difficult for the child in the car.

He added the sight of the baby being airlifted to hospital was truly heart-breaking.

Its not something that anyone would be used to seeing, he said. They are a very nice, very respectable family and its just a complete tragedy.

Mr Browne said the local community is doing all they can to comfort the Fogarty family.

Family and neighbours are offering their condolences and asking locals for anything they can do to help, he said.

Im sure the whole community will rally around the family.
Victims of the Manchester bomb massacre must get immediate therapy or risk a lifetime scarred by post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the worst-injured survivors of the IRA's 1992 bomb attack on the city has warned.

Neil Tattersall said he has been "deeply disturbed" since jihadi-trained terrorist Salman Abedi (22) killed 22 innocent people and maimed 64 others at the Manchester Arena on Monday.

He has friends who survived the carnage, including a mother who had taken her son to see Ariana Grande at the arena.

And the 47-year-old father said he knows survivors of the attack won't yet be feeling the full psychological effects of living through the trauma.

Neil, who ended up homeless and in despair after suffering life-changing injuries and depression following the IRA's 1992 Manchester outrage, said: "What's concerning me now is that I can see people who survived the attack need psychological help now.

"I'm seeing people being interviewed on the news who I can see from my experiences need counselling and help now.

"I saw one lad being interviewed on TV who survived the bomb and it was so obvious he was a mess. I think it's outrageous they are being allowed to go home without treatment.

"The guy I saw who needed help said in the interview he was going to see a doctor when he could. But I just thought, 'That's you in for a mess - you need help now'."

Neil is offering his help in counselling victims, and said about having friends who survived Monday's bloodbath: "The first I heard about it was when a mother I know posted about the attack. I messaged back saying I hoped she was ok and that I was hoping she got out safely. Thank God they did. It was like the 1992 attack was happening to me again when I heard."

Neil still takes a strong cocktail of painkillers for the crippling injuries he suffered when the IRA detonated two bombs in Manchester. But there is no fix for the effects of his mental trauma. Neil, who was eventually helped by Innocent Victims United in Northern Ireland, said: "I received terrible counselling after the 1992 bomb. When I first went to a counsellor, they asked me the ridiculous question: 'Are you in the IRA?'

He added: "What survivors of the Manchester bomb need is to sit with someone who has been through what I have.

"I find it incredibly patronising when members of the health profession say things like, 'I understand what you are going through', when they don't.

"When you've been through something like that you need to sit with someone who can say 'I understand what you've been through', and know they really do. It's huge when that happens."
Theresa May is expected to raise UK concerns over the leaking of intelligence about the Manchester Arena bomb attack to the US Press when she meets President Donald Trump today.

British ministers have voiced their anger to American counterparts after photographs apparently showing bloodstained fragments from the concert bomb were published in the New York Times.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi (22) detonated an improvised explosive device killing 22 people, including himself, and injuring up to 64. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

The pictures appeared a day after the bomber's name was briefed to the US media against the wishes of Greater Manchester Police, and just hours after Home Secretary Amber Rudd issued a plea to US authorities not to leak material about the atrocity.

The disclosure is regarded as "completely unacceptable" by Britain, both because of the distress it may cause families of those killed or injured and because of the risk it could complicate ongoing investigations.

A Whitehall source said: "We are furious. This is completely unacceptable."

The new pictures show torn scraps from a blue Karrimor rucksack as well as screws and nuts used as shrapnel and a metal item which the newspaper suggests could have been part of the bomb's detonator.

The paper described them as "law enforcement images" but did not make clear how they had been obtained.

The Home Secretary said she did not believe that the Americans had compromised the investigation. But she described the leaks as "irritating".

It also emerged yesterday that troops will not be back on the streets of Northern Ireland - despite the Prime Minister's announcement that the military will be deployed in the wake of the attack.

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Pic: David Young/PA Wire PA A woman looks at flowers in St. Ann's Square, close to the Manchester Arena where a suicide bomber killed 22 people leaving a pop concert at the venue on Monday night. PA A silent vigil took place in Belfast city centre in memory of the victims of the bomb attack in Manchester. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 23-05-2017: A silent vigil took place in Belfast city centre tonight in memory of the victims of last night's bomb attack in Manchester. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 23-05-2017: A silent vigil took place in Belfast city centre tonight in memory of the victims of last night's bomb attack in Manchester. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Some of the people who gathered at the War memorial in Derry to express their solidarity with people of Manchester. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 23.05.17 Some of the people who gathered at the War memorial in Derry to express their solidarity with people of Manchester. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 23.05.17 Some of the people who gathered at the War memorial in Derry to express their solidarity with people of Manchester. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 23.05.17 People gather for a vigil outside Belfast City Hall, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Michael McHugh/PA Wire PA People gather for a vigil outside Belfast City Hall, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Michael McHugh/PA Wire PA People gather for a vigil in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall in Manchester after attack at concert. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Members of the public gather to attend a candlelit vigil, to honour the victims of Monday evening's terror attack, at Albert Square on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Getty Images People from Manchester Sikh Community carry "I love MCR" banners as they arrive to attend a vigil in Albert Square in Manchester, northwest England on May 23, 2017, in solidarity with those killed an injured in the May 22 terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured in Britain's deadliest terror attack in over a decade after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester. British police on Tuesday named the suspected attacker behind the Manchester concert bombing as Salman Abedi, but declined to give any further details. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A couple embrace under a billboard in Manchester city centre, Tuesday May 23, 2017, the day after the suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert that left 22 people dead as it ended on Monday night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) AP BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 23: Flowers lay in shape of a heart in front of British Embassy on May 23, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. An explosion occurred at Manchester Arena as concert goers were leaving the venue after Ariana Grande had performed. Greater Manchester Police are treating the explosion as a terrorist attack and have confirmed 22 fatalities and 59 injured. (Photo by Steffi Loos/Getty Images) Getty Images Flowers are left in St Ann's Square, Manchester, the day after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire PA Retail staff hug each other after being evacuated from the Arndale Centre shopping mall in Manchester, northwest England on May 23 AFP/Getty Images Saffie Rose Roussos, (8) was killed in the attack. Collect/PA Wire PA First victim to be named - Georgina Callander. She is pictured with Ariana Grande in 2015. Pic: Instagram Georgina.Bethany Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert, at Manchester Arena. PA Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert, at Manchester Arena. PA Police evacuated the Arndale Centre on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. Getty Images A girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande carrying balloons from the Ariana Grande concert AFP/Getty Images MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 23: Armed police patrol the Arndale Shopping Centre after the terrorist attack, May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. An explosion occurred at Manchester Arena as concert goers were leaving the venue after Ariana Grande had performed. Greater Manchester Police are treating the explosion as a terrorist attack and have confirmed 22 fatalities and 59 injured. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Getty Images People look out of the windows of a building opposite the Arndale Centre as the shopping mall is evacuated in Manchester, northwest England on May 23, 2017. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured in Britain's deadliest terror attack in over a decade after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Manchester United's Wayne Rooney stands alongside team-mates for a minute silence in memory of the victims of the Manchester terror attack during the final training session at the AON Training Complex in Carrington, ahead of the Europa League Final against Ajax. PA Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media in Downing Street, London, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PA A woman wearing a T-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande near the Manchester Arena in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees leave the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. Getty Images Armed police close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Screen grabbed image taken from the Twitter feed of Ariana Grande after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving her pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. Some 59 people were also injured in the blast when the attacker detonated an improvised explosive device at the Manchester Arena. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Ariana Grande/Twitter/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Mother Amy Trippitt (right) and her daughter Grace, who attended the concert at Manchester Arena last night, leave the Park Inn hotel in the city the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving the pop concert. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Mother Amy Trippitt and her daughter Grace, who attended the concert at Manchester Arena last night, leave the Park Inn hotel in the city the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving the pop concert. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Police close to the Manchester Arena the morning after a terrorist attack at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 22 dead. PA PA Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins speaks to the media in Manchester where he said that the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack has risen to 22 with 59 injured. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Police forensic investigators walk along a bridge linking Victoria Station with the Manchester Arena where a suspected terrorist attack at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA Fan leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Over a dozen people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena late Monday evening. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Picture taken with permission from the twitter feed of @Zach_bruce of people running through Manchester Victoria station after an explosion at Manchester Arena. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: @Zach_bruce/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA Emergency services at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Emergency services at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig. [Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire] PA FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2016 file photo, Ariana Grande arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Police say there are "a number of fatalities" after reports of an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in northern England on Monday, May 22, 2017.. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP A fan is comforted as she leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England Tuesday May 23 2017. Over a dozen people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena late Monday evening. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP A fan leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, Britain, Tuesday, May 23 2017. An apparent suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed over a dozen people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday, Manchester police said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP Fans leave the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England Tuesday May 23 2017. An apparent suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed over a dozen people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday, Manchester police said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) AP Armed police (left) at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday May 22, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Saffie Roussos (8) and Georgina Callander (18) who died in the Manchester Arena terror attack

Almost 1,000 military personnel were being deployed around the country yesterday, including to key sites such as Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, after the official terror threat level was raised to critical, indicating that a further attack may be imminent.

But PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has insisted there is no need for him to deploy the Army in Ulster to deal with the increased terrorist threat in the wake of the atrocity.

He insisted there was "absolutely no requirement" for a similar response here.

"It would be disproportionate. It would be unnecessary," he said. "I'm not going to make a bid for military resources on to the streets of our post-conflict society just because everyone else has the need to do that."

In a day of dramatic developments, a man was arrested at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches linked to the Manchester Arena suicide bombing.

It brings the total arrests to six men and one woman, all of whom are in custody and being questioned by police.

Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in the Libyan capital Tripoli along with his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was "aware of all the details" of the attack.

Ramadan Abedi had earlier claimed his son was innocent, saying: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."

A spokesman for the Libyan authorities told BBC2's Newsnight that one of the killer's final acts before the murders was to ring his mother.

The spokesman said: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack. So after that, he told us: 'Having internet, I see the attack in Manchester and I knew that's my brother'."

The spokesman added that Libyan authorities were aware of Abedi going to the capital of Tripoli on April 18 and it is believed he stayed for two or three weeks.

He revealed that Abedi's younger brother Hashim had been investigated for about a month and a half over suspicions that he was linked to Isis.

"We were not quite sure about this, but when we arrested and we asked him, he told us: 'I have ideology with my brother'. Hashim told us: 'I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester'."

On the Belfast Islamic Centre Facebook page, a spokesman said they were "shocked and horrified" at the attack. They said such groups "work in cult-like secrecy, often via the internet; few of us will ever meet anyone with these sort of sympathies".
Kevin O'Neill who made a comment on the Manchester Bombing and was arrested by the PSNI - Social Media Image

A teenager from Northern Ireland has been charged over comments he allegedly posted on social media about the Manchester bombing.

Kevin O'Neill (19) was arrested on Tuesday evening in Belfast under the Malicious Communications Act, a police spokeswoman said.

The teen, from north Belfast, has been charged with the improper use of a public electronic communications network.

He is expected to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Monday, June 19.

All charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Former boxer Ricky Hatton (black t-shirt) looks at tributes in St Ann's Square, Manchester, before a minute's silence to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week.

People gather ahead of a minute's silence in St Ann's Square in Manchester, northwest England, on May 25, 2017, as a mark of respect to the victims of the May 22 terror attack at the Manchester Arena.

A Northern Ireland man has been injured in the Manchester bombing.

Tommy McCollum, originally from Cookstown, but now lives in England was hurt when he went to pick up his stepdaughter from the Manchester arena on Monday night.

Twenty-two people were killed and up to 64 were injured after suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated an improved explosive device.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Councillor Trevor Wilson said Mr McCollum sustained shrapnel wounds and had undergone an operation.

The Mid Ulster councillor said Mr McCollum's stepdaughter had not been hurt in the attack.

Mr McCollum's family are with him as he continues his recovery and doctors are said to be happy with his progress.

Mr Wilson told the Belfast Telegraph: "He has gone through an operation and he's recovering now and the doctors are happy with his recovery.

"Family members are with him at this time.

"The family are going through all the emotions. Relief, worry and concern.

"But hopefully things will settle down as Tommy continues to improve."
The brother of the alleged Manchester bomber had links to the Islamic State group and was aware of his brothers plans, a Libyan security force said.

The Special Deterrent anti-terror force said in a statement on its Facebook page that the arrest of Hashim Abedi took place in Tripoli as he was receiving cash transferred from his brother Salman.

British authorities have identified 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the suspected bomber in the attack at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

The forces statement says: The brother was aware of all the details of the terrorist attack.

The Libyan security force claimed that Hashim Abedi told authorities that both he and his brother belonged to IS.

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The Facebook statement says Hashim left Britain for Libya in April.

Meanwhile, the father of the alleged Manchester arena attacker has denied that his son is linked to militants or the suicide bombing that killed 22 people.

Ramadan Abedi said he spoke to his 22-year-old son Salman Abedi five days ago and he was getting ready to visit Saudi Arabia and sounded normal.

He said that his son visited Libya a month and a half ago.

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The elder Abedi told The Associated Press by telephone from Tripoli: We dont believe in killing innocents. This is not us.

He said his other son, Ismail, was arrested in England on Tuesday morning.

He said Salman was planning to head from Saudi Arabia to Libya to spend the holy month of Ramadan with family.

Mr Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafis security authorities issued an arrest warrant and eventually sought political asylum in Britain.

Now, he is the administrative manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.
Jack Straw, who has served as both home secretary and foreign secretary, was speaking to the BBC on Thursday morning after the New York Times published crime scene photos of the attack which killed 22 people on Monday night.

It's understood that the photos were leaked to the press by US intelligence sources. The claim follows allegations that other details of the attack were released to media in the US before they were disclosed in the UK.

Mr Straw told the BBC on Thursday morning that the leaks constitute "a serious breach of the understanding and rules about cooperation between intelligence agencies".

He added: "And it's not for the New York Times to say whether or not this kind of evidence is safe to put in the public domain. That's a matter for the investigating authorities here."

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Whenever the UK is suspected of leaking intelligence shared by the US, he stated: "the wrath of God of the United States comes down upon the United Kingdom, and we're told that this will screw up cooperation forever and a day."

Mr Straw said he believes it "is possible that these leaks could hinder the investigation".

"If, for example, information about the kind of container that the bomb in when it blew up is leaked, that could compromise the line of questioning of other suspects, and there are plenty of things like that."

In any case, it is vital that in such a "highly sensitive investigation" the authorities with whom the intelligence is shared, "respect both the source of the intelligence and the fact that it is in iron law in all intelligence cooperation that the organisation giving the intelligence determines its use and whether or not it should be disclosed".

Asked whether the attack represented a security failure, Mr Straw said he did not have access to the information needed to answer that question.

He did, however, indicate that it is virtually impossible to prevent any and all terrorist attacks, as was seen during The Troubles.

"With the best will in the world, and the most perfect and well financed police and security services in the world, terrorists will always get through on some occasions, I'm sad to say.

"That was the experience in Northern Ireland and indeed in the UK mainland throughout The Troubles."

Mr Straw also said he hopes that the public do not turn against either the police and security agencies or the British Muslim community.

"I hope very much that people do not turn against the security intelligence agencies and the police because there has been a bombing because the fundamental responsiblity for the bombing is the bomber's.

"I think that we in the United Kingdom have done better than in most European countries to try and respect both the religion and the religious practices of the Muslim community but also to help them have a stake in our society.

"It is a cliche but it's true - 99.9% of that community are as committed to the United Kingdom as are the rest of us."
There is no moral distinction between Salman Abedi and Dominic Adams, writes Nelson McCausland.

On Monday night, a suicide bomber murdered 22 innocent people at a concert in Manchester and left many more with horrific injuries. Most of the audience were children and parents and they were the terrorists intended targets.

This was the work of a radical Islamist and the murders have been admitted by the organisation that calls itself Islamic State.

The response to the Manchester attack was notable as political leaders from countries around the world expressed their horror and condemned the atrocity as barbaric and evil.

Generally, political leaders choose their words carefully when drafting such statements and that is certainly true for Sinn Fein.

By Tuesday morning, the Sinn Fein website carried two statements  one from Gerry Adams and one from Michelle ONeill.

The statement from Adams was terse and avoided the word condemn. The statement from Michelle ONeill was more fulsome and she said: The attack at the Manchester Arena was horrific and I condemn it. I watched with shock and horror as the events unfolded overnight and the scale of the terrible attack became known. For something like that to happen while young people are out enjoying themselves is unthinkable.

However, with the actions of the Provisional IRA, Sinn Fein politicians still refuse to join in what they call the politics of condemnation.

We saw that earlier this year, when Dr Peter Doran, a Queens University lecturer and Sinn Fein election candidate, refused to condemn the IRA murder of Edgar Graham.

It is true that Sinn Fein condemned the Omagh bomb in 1998, but that was the work of the Real IRA, not the Provisional IRA. Now, Michelle ONeill has condemned an Islamist atrocity.

However, I dont expect to hear Michelle ONeill, Mairtin O Muilleoir, John Finucane, or any other Sinn Fein representative condemn the many murders carried out by the Provisional IRA.

Down through the years, their party has refused to condemn IRA atrocities and actually celebrated them in the War News section of their newspaper, An Phoblacht.

On Tuesday morning, Theresa May spoke about the Manchester bomb and said that it was not the first time Manchester has suffered in this way.

She was right to point out that it was not the first terrorist attack in Manchester, because the Provisional IRA exploded two bombs in Manchester in December 1992 and injured 65 people. Another IRA bomb in Manchester in 1996 injured 206 people.

Indeed, it is all particularly difficult for Gerry Adams, since his uncle Dominic Adams was one of those linked to IRA bomb attacks in England in 1939, including the Coventry bombing on August 25, 1939, which killed five people.

However, there is no moral difference between what happened in Manchester this week and what the Provisional IRA did in Manchester in the 1990s.

Neither is there a moral difference between those who plan terrorist attacks today and Dominic Adams when he headed the IRA unit in Coventry at the time of the bomb there.

The inconsistency of Sinn Fein is glaringly obvious on the Sinn Fein website. By yesterday morning, Michelle ONeills statement condemning the Manchester bomb was down to number 18 on the page of latest statements.

But right at the top of the page was a video of the graveside oration given by Gerry Adams on March 23 for Martin McGuinness.

He was flanked by Michelle ONeill and Mary Lou McDonald, who applauded as he said: Martin McGuinness was not a terrorist. Martin McGuinness was a freedom fighter.

The truth is that you cant really condemn the murder of 22 people in Manchester and then refuse to condemn the Provisional IRA murder of 21 people in Birmingham in November 1974, or the murder of 10 Protestant workmen at Kingsmill. Sinn Fein have still not faced up to that reality.

They have come a considerable distance, but they still have some way to go and facing up to the truth about the IRAs bloody terrorist war is part of what remains of that journey.
Telling the difference between Isis and Northern Irish paramilitaries should be fairly easy, though people do get into trouble for trying.

Some get reviled on the internet for demeaning the IRA with the comparison, others fall for trying to absolve the IRA as not being as bad.

One distinction that has been aired is that the IRA sought to avoid civilian casualties while Isis exults in them.

That's true up to a point. The IRA did often give warnings before bombs and experimented with anti-handling devices that would allow civilians time to get away.

The weakness in any claim to serious concern for civilians is that the many occasions in which their plans went awry and they killed themselves or others did not deter them from further bombing. They might have coined the term collateral damage themselves, for they accepted throughout their campaign that civilians were likely to die and carried on anyway.

And this takes no account of the many times they deliberately killed civilians, people who worked for the security forces in civilian roles, a census collector and those they branded as informers.

On top of that, most societies would regard police officers as civilians and the IRA killed more than 300 of them.

With the loyalists it is even plainer.

They, like Isis, set out specifically to kill civilians, seeking to terrorise the Catholic community into disowning the IRA, as if that were possible.

The big difference between our paramilitaries and Isis is that Isis is actually an army at war. Setting aside morality and concentrating on strategy, Isis is fighting a land war for territory, is holding territory, and governing it in its own brutal way.

In that regard it is not strictly a terrorist movement; it is a real guerrilla force with at least a notional prospect of winning, of taking territory and ultimately defeating its enemy's efforts to expel it from that territory.

The other contrast, of course, is that Isis bombers want to die.

That can't be said of many of the IRA or loyalist bombers, but in fact, in the early years of the Troubles, as many IRA volunteers died by their own bombs or guns as by any other means. Precisely half of IRA casualties were own goals.

And while people weren't queueing up to be martyrs, the rebel songs in the bars honoured the dead as martyrs for the cause, revering them in the same language which Isis uses.

Where Isis functions within the category of military activity that can best be called terrorism is when it strikes abroad, in France or Belgium or Britain.

There it is not seeking to hold territory or achieve military aims. It has no prospect of weakening the resolve or material power of the western powers which are attacking it in Syria and Iraq. If anything, it actually strengthens the resolve of those powers.

Its objective, and the usual objective of terrorism is propaganda - the propaganda of the deed.

Isis was eager to claim the bombing in Manchester because it would be no use to them if people didn't attribute it to them.

In ordinary war you don't need the credit for hitting the enemy so long as he has been hit and felt it.

That's the big difference between terrorism and crime; the criminal doesn't want you to know who did the deed, the terrorist does, and wants the act to advertise the cause.

In this, Isis in Europe and the IRA followed the same template. They were not fighting a war in any meaningful sense, to weaken an enemy and claim territory. Their violence is protest, not resistance.

Their objective is headlines and space on news bulletins.

The moral argument for some is founded on the cause. If you think that British rule in Northern Ireland was of such evil proportions that it warranted the IRA protesting against it by bombing pubs, furniture stores, shopping centres, then you can say it was a good thing.

You may hold that view and yet not think Isis has a similar right to protest against western powers in Syria by killing civilians in the west. You may consistently say that they are not the same, presumably because you think Britain's behaviour in Ireland was worse than the drone bombing of Raqqa.

Like Michelle O'Neill, you may commemorate some bombings and commiserate with others.

But if you assess the two organisations by their military methods and objectives, they have followed the same handbook.

Neither had or has the remotest prospect of crushing the British state by bombing pubs and clubs.

And neither, if it was honest, would say it was even trying to.
Her legs were chained together and she was sobbing. She was an Indian Christian, identified by the initials SM, who had been caught distributing bibles on the streets of Abu Dhabi.

The police presented the bibles in court as evidence of proselyting - preaching any other religion except Islam, which is a crime in every Muslim majority country. They held up the bibles like they were a couple of grams of cocaine.

After four years of living in the United Arab Emirates, I got used to the petty rules - like how two Muslims must sign your most intimate personal documents. They could be any two Muslims, no matter how criminal, because Muslims are considered by the UAE government to be inherently more honest.

I had attended the witchcraft trials, where maids (it was nearly always maids) from minority religions like Christianity and Hinduism were accused of black magic, with evidence supplied by the government's Department of Islamic Affairs. I saw one maid (I secretly recorded part of her trial) show the court the Christian blessing and explain that it was a Christian symbol, not the act of a witch, as prosecutors had claimed.

A reporter friend for a UAE newspaper was in court with me. She was a devout Muslim and was shocked when I explained that it was wrong to prosecute a Christian for talking about her religion. "She cannot do this in a Muslim country," she said. When I asked her if it would be ok to prosecute Muslims for preaching in London, she fell silent. I could see the panic in her eyes. She was so consumed with Muslim victimhood her whole life that she was never confronted with the reality that she was the bully, she was the aggressor, she was the bigot, she was the oppressor. "But people would not know which path to choose." "Isn't the currency of human exchange?" I asked. "Isn't that what makes us human - the freedom to make choices."

She was so confused that she walked away and said that she didn't want to discuss it ever again.

I see her western friends are on Facebook with her every day, praising her and all Muslims, and denouncing the west for our racism.

I don't hate any Muslim, but I loathe and despise smug liberals who appease them, without understanding the social and political context within which Islam operates in the Middle East.

When I got back from the UAE (I was deported for speaking out about human rights), one of my first assignments as a journalist was to attend the launch of a government-funded Islamophobia report in the Republic. The complaints in the report included almost a full page from a Muslim woman who was told she couldn't park in a non-parking area and felt she was being moved on by a garda because she was a Muslim.

One of the speakers at the launch was a liberal arts professor.

He spoke glowingly about people who convert to Islam, then corrected himself and said "sorry - revert". He did this because Muslims believe that all people are born in Islam and only become Christians, Jews, Sikhs and everything else out of sin and ignorance.

In 20 years of journalism, with all the mental scars of the Middle East still fresh, I don't think I was ever as livid or unable to keep my journalistic professionalism. During a break in the speeches, I spoke to the professor, who said that "revert" should always be the correct phrase in front of Muslims. I told him about the Indian woman with her feet chained together for talking about the bible.

He couldn't have been more dismissive or condescending.

"Well, that's just one incident in one country. I have to take a call," he said, and walked off. He had never lived in the Middle East, or witnessed what I had seen.

We cannot go on like this any more. We cannot pretend that the Manchester bombing has nothing to do with Muslim society, that the bigotry of the Middle East does not find its most violent form in confused young men who come to the west and have their views challenged in ways that would never be permitted back home.

There was never been a Muslim reformation. It's time for one. As with the Christian reformation, it comes not from liberals placating those in religious power, but by confronting them, and by refusing to accept glib responses.

The next time you see Muslims preaching in Belfast, London or Dublin (I've engaged them in all three cities), ask a simple question: "Would you permit such street preaching for Christians, Jews or Hindus in Muslim countries? If the answer is no (from my experience it will be), then ask why. Ask in a polite, assured way for their opinion on the right to preach of religious minorities in the Middle East.

Am I saying those street preachers are to blame for what happened in Manchester? Absolutely not. Am I saying that Muslims are inherently violent? Absolutely not.

But in every Muslim majority country, it is illegal for other religions to win converts, in every Muslim country it is illegal for a Muslim to leave their religion, in every Muslim country minorities live every day with the fear of latent violence or imprisonment if they step out of line. For insecure young Muslim men, still trying to find their identity in the west, Islam offers easy answers to complex questions.

It's time for those answers to become more complex and for them to live in a complex society, one in which there are mosques but also gay clubs and Ariana Grande struts across stage in sexy clothes in front of Muslim girls wearing hijabs. Until Islam is made to reform, it will produce more and more lost young souls.

Until we have the bravery to make it reform, we can expect those lost souls to confront our confusing society with a simple, and deadly, response.
Indonesian police escort Ning Wiyarti, the mother of officer Imam Gilang Adinata who was killed by a suicide bomber, after Imams funeral in Jakarta, May 25, 2017.

World leaders joined the Indonesian president Thursday in condemning a terrorist attack that left three policemen dead outside a busy bus terminal in the Jakarta area.

No militant group has taken responsibility for the Wednesday night attack, but Indonesian officials pointed to a potential Islamic State (IS) link without releasing details. Two suspected bombers were also killed and 10 other people were injured in the worst terrorist attack on the Indonesian capital since January 2016.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo called for a thorough probe into the circumstances leading to the attack, which a Malaysian government leader said could be linked to the recent death of a regional IS leader based in Syria.

It was outrageous. Motorcycle-taxi and public transportation drivers, street vendors and policemen are the victims, Jokowi told reporters in Solo, Central Java, on Thursday morning.

I have ordered the national police chief to thoroughly investigate the perpetrators cell networks. Hunt them down to their roots, he said, urging the public to remain calm.

In neighboring Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak posted a message of support on Facebook.

Malaysians stand with the Indonesian people at this time, he said. Coming so soon after the appalling Manchester [England] bombing, this new outrage shows that terrorism has no borders and knows no race or creed. My thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those affected.

Najib said the region would end up stronger.

Even as the terrorists try to intimidate us, we must not fear them. Each atrocity must harden our resolve. Now more than ever is the time to be united, even as violent extremism seeks to divide us, he said.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he spoke to Jokowi and pledged to strengthen his countrys support of Indonesia.

Users of social media also condemned the attacks, using Twitter hashtags #KamiTidakTakut (We are not afraid) and #PrayForJakarta to get their messages across. Those tags topped trending lists on Thursday.

Following an attack claimed by Islamic State in central Jakarta in January 2016 that killed eight people, including four suspects, social media users adopted similar hashtags to show their defiance and outrage, along with support and solidarity for the victims.

Evidence

Investigators found backpacks, aluminum slabs, buckshot and other suspected bomb-making materials at the scene, National Police spokesman Inspector Gen. Setyo Wasisto told reporters on Thursday.

Police also found a receipt for a pressure cooker in the pocket of one of the bombers blamed for the latest attack that took place around 9 p.m. Wednesday outside the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta.

Officials released little information about the bombers, noting their initials were A.S. and I.N.S. Setyo said the pair, who set off their explosives minutes apart, targeted police.

The perpetrators are still under investigation. Please be patient, we will release the information when we have more details, Setyo told reporters, adding that police were checking for DNA matches and connections to terror networks to positively identify them.

Members of Densus 88, the nations elite counter terror squad, raided the suspects homes on Thursday, according to media reports

Setyo linked Wednesdays attack to a park bombing earlier this year in West Java province.

Investigators found evidence showing similarities with an incident in Bandung a while ago, Setyo said referring to an explosion in a public park in the capital city of West Java province on Feb. 27. No one was injured when Yayat Cahyadi, 42, detonated a pressure cooker bomb, but he later died in a shootout with police after he fled into a nearby office building.

Police at the time linked Yayat to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an Indonesian militant organization that has pledged support to IS.

Malaysian official links to Wanndy

Also on Thursday, the deputy prime minister of Malaysia linked the twin bombings in East Jakarta and recent attacks elsewhere in Southeast Asia to the April death of Malaysian IS recruiter Muhammad Wanndy Bin Mohamed Jedi, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria.

Based on the findings of the intelligence unit, the recent terror attacks in southern Thailand, Mindanao and Jakarta are linked to each other, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters. The killing of Muhammad Wanndy, who is one of the coordinators for Katibah Nusantara, is linked to the bombing attacks in these locations.

Officials and analysts in other countries played down Zahids comments.

In Thailand where a pipe bomb blast at a hospital injured 21 people on Monday, National Police Chief Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda told reporters he did not have intelligence information linking the attacks.

If IS was responsible for the attack at the military-run hospital, the terrorist group would have openly taken credit like in previous terrorist attacks in other countries before this, he told reporters.

Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict in Jakarta, also questioned Zahids statement about the link to Wanndy.

That seems unlikely, especially because there was no suggestion that the Bandung group responsible for the Jakarta attacks had any links to Wanndy and theres been no suggestion from anyone in the Maute group that his death was a factor, she told BenarNews. She was referring to the Maute group, a militant organization linked with IS that has locked in a three-day battle with Philippine government forces in the southern city of Marawi.

Jones did say, though, that the Jakarta attack likely was carried out by a pro-IS group, according to Reuters news service.

Zachary Abuza, a U.S.-based expert on insurgencies in Southeast Asia, also questioned Zahids comments.

Yes, IS cells may want to retaliate after the death of senior leaders such as Muhammad Wanndy. But there is absolutely no proof that there is a connection to the Big C bombing in Pattani, or any of the insurgency-related violence, Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, told BenarNews in an email.

He was referring to a twin car-bomb attack that wounded at least 69 people at the Big C department store in Pattani, a province in Thailands insurgency-stricken and Muslim-majority Deep South, on May 9.

Bombings happen in Indonesia when they are ready to go, especially given Densus 88s recent record of disrupting cells, Abuza added. These were coincidental. I think it is highly unlikely that there was any coordination.

Analysts see JAD link

According to Taufik Andrie, executive director of Prasasti Perdamaian Foundation, a Jakarta based think-tank, evidence of the types of bombs used in the attack in East Jakarta pointed to the attackers belonging to an Indonesian group that supports IS.

Moreover, the bombs were the same as those used in foiled plots in the West Java cities of Bandung, Bekasi and Tangerang in the last seven months that led to the arrests of several suspected bombers, he said.

In December, a woman, Dian Yulia Novi, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to blow herself up during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony outside the presidential palace in Jakarta.

Apparently, this time, their experiment was successful. My presumption currently leads to JAD groups, Taufik told BenarNews.

Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst at Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, said the attack was linked to IS because the militant group recently called for simultaneous attacks in regions, including Southeast Asia.

He agreed with Taufik that the attack was likely linked to JAD.

Pressure cooker bombs are identical to IS attack patterns and certainly JAD is the most powerful (terrorist organization) currently in Indonesia, he said.

Ray Sherman in Kuala Lumpur and Kusumasari Ayuningtyas in Solo, Indonesia, contributed to this story.
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The Bible has been under attack in the western world for over 200 years but never more intensely than today. These attacks have taken different forms and have come from many different corners of the academic world, from philosophers, to scientists, to textual critics. In the specialized world of archaeology the attacks have increased dramatically in the past 50 years. Once a specialization filled with Bible believing individuals, the field of archaeology is now overrun with atheists and skeptics, agnostics and those committed to the destruction of the Bible as a source of true historical information.

These attacks on the Bible are a part of a sweeping movement in western culture. Spearheaded by academic elitists in the university and the public educational system, the news and popular media, and the entertainment industry, these revisionists cloak themselves with supposed objectivity, purity of motives, and the superiority of science over the "uninformed", "unscientific", religious community.

They regularly mock those who question their world-view and their conclusions by name-calling and the worst forms of anti-Bible and anti-Christian propaganda. They have powerfully infected the church by turning Bible believing Christians against the very Scripture which is the foundation of truth and life in this world. Instead of contending for the Bible, Christian academics, pastors, and lay-persons are making egregious accommodations to these destroyers of faith and truth.

In these days of intense spiritual battle, God has called ABR to step into the gap to contend for the truth and to assist the church in this critical hour. ABR is a non-profit ministry dedicated to demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible and to give answers to questions being asked by believers and non-believers alike. We do this by using original archaeological fieldwork and research along with studies in other apologetic disciplines. We take on the bold claims of skeptics and critics. We challenge the bizarre anti-biblical propaganda that is purveyed upon the public as gospel through television and print media. We uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is God's message for the salvation of all mankind!
For Immediate Release, May 24, 2017 Contact: David Turnbull, david@priceofoil.org

Steve Kretzmann, steve@priceofoil.org

Elizabeth A. Schuster, Food & Water Watch, eschuster@fwwatch.org

Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org Report: Taxpayers on Hook for Billions in Fossil Fuel Subsidies on Public Lands Study Finds $7 Billion a Year in Subsidies, Tens of Billions in Liabilities WASHINGTON The U.S. government is providing extensive support for fossil fuel production on public lands and waters offshore, through direct subsidies, enforcement loopholes, lax royalty collection, stagnant lease rates and other advantages to the industry, a new report released today finds. The U.S. government is providing at least $7 billion a year in subsidies to support fossil fuel production on federal lands and offshore waters, and is holding some $35 billion in public liabilities for drilling in public waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the report shows. These subsidies support increased fossil fuel production on U.S. lands and waters and are out of step with efforts to meet international climate objectives. The report, released by Oil Change International in partnership with 350.org, WildEarth Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Food & Water Watch, and Public Citizen, for the first time outlines in detail the subsidies and other public support being provided in the United States to the fossil fuel industry for its activities on public lands. Titled Unequal Exchange: How Taxpayers Shoulder the Burden of Fossil Fuel Development on Federal Lands, the report can be found here. The report presents an accounting of the minimum amounts of direct taxpayer dollars that support fossil fuels on public lands, not including externalities such as climate and health impacts, which would bring the totals even higher. If those factors are taken into account, for example, mining coal in Wyoming's Powder River Basin alone would have a net cost to the U.S. public of roughly $17.8 billion a year. Rex Tillerson and other members of the Trump administration deny that these subsidies even exist just like they deny climate change. The reason is clear  in both cases, if you admit the truth the only answer is a managed decline of the fossil fuel industry, said Stephen Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change International. The first step towards that is to stop supporting the industry with our public dollars. These subsidies are a raw deal for American taxpayers, and a disaster for our climate. Particularly notable is a finding that some royalty and lease rates for fossil fuel development on public lands have remained unchanged since the 1920s. The report also makes a number of key recommendations, including the phaseout of fossil fuel leasing on public lands. Until that happens, the report recommends immediate action to reduce large, unfunded liabilities for U.S. taxpayers associated with fossil fuel production on public lands should be reduced and royalty and lease rates should be increased to better reflect the full costs of these activities. As if simply allowing the toxic, climate-killing extraction of fossil fuels on our sensitive public lands isn't shameful enough, that the federal government actually subsidizes this foolish activity with taxpayer money is downright absurd, said Wenonah Hauter, executive director at Food & Water Watch. For the sake of climate stability, the transition to a clean energy future must begin immediately. An ideal place to kick-start the transition is with a ban on fossil fuel extraction on our precious public lands, and most certainly, a halt to the underhanded propping up of this antiquated industry with our precious public dollars. The oil and gas industry's quest for energy dominance is only viable if they are given billions in taxpayer subsidies. This mature industry is happy to accept tax relief and other special treatment in order to balance their own books, but they will vigorously deny responsibility for the true costs of their operations. Something doesn't add up, said John Noel, national oil and gas campaigns coordinator at Clean Water Action. Federal subsidies for oil, gas and coal underwrite coastal flooding, severe drought and wildlife extinction, said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. In an era of worsening climate change, fossil fuel subsidies are disastrous public policy. This report makes it clear as day that the Trump agenda is the fossil fuel billionaire agenda. The industry finances corrupt politicians who in turn help them keep fossil fuels economically viable at a time when the science suggests most oil gas and coal needs to be kept in the ground. They set out to rig the system and they succeeded. History will judge them harshly, said Jason Kowalski, policy director at 350.org. Read the full report: http://priceofoil.org/2017/05/24/unequal-exchange-taxpayers-burden-fossil-fuel-federal-lands 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 25, 2017 Contact: Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org

Bob Fulkerson, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), (775) 348-7557, bfulkerson@planevada.org

Kelly Fuller, Western Watersheds Project, (928) 322-8449, kfuller@westernwatersheds.org

John Hadder, Great Basin Resource Watch, (775) 348-1986, john@gbrw.org

David von Seggern, Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, (775) 303-8461 Legal Protest Targets Massive Nevada Fracking Plan June Auction Threatens Water, Wildlife, Public Lands, Climate LAS VEGAS Five conservation groups today challenged a U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan to auction nearly 200,000 acres of public lands next month for fossil fuel development. The administrative protest asserts that the BLM failed to adequately analyze the impacts of fracking and related industrialization on public lands ecosystems, surface and groundwater, wildlife and the climate. This dangerous fracking plan is another example of the Trump administration's fossil fuel cronyism, and it has no place on America's public lands, said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. The lease auction risks irretrievable harm to a huge swath of Nevada's beautiful wild places. Fracking pollution threatens the state's precious aquifers and springs, its endangered species and our collective climate future. The auction, scheduled for June 14, would open 195,732 acres of public lands in northern Nevada to fracking, including the Big Smoky, Diamond and Railroad valleys, and the Diamond, Fish Creek and Sulphur Creek mountain ranges. Wildlife at risk include mule deer, greater sage grouse, the threatened Railroad Valley springfish and other species that live in springs fed by aquifers threatened by fracking. The BLM's original plan, issued under the Obama administration, would have deferred more than 104,000 acres from leasing because of environmental concerns. The BLM under Trump put all that land back into consideration for leasing. We won't allow the oil and gas industry to drill and frack in the Great Basin's wild and open spaces, said Bob Fulkerson, state director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. These corporations, along with other extractive industries like gold mining, put our precious desert water at further risk. The protest challenges the BLM's failure to analyze the environmental impacts of high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, especially relating to the depletion and pollution of aquifers and the springs they feed. The groups argue that the Battle Mountain District resource management plan, which was written long before the widespread use of fracking on public land, must be updated prior to new leasing. The government's environmental analysis failed to truly address obvious dangers of leasing these public lands to oil companies, said John Hadder, director of Great Basin Resource Watch. Oil and gas extraction is a dirty business that will release toxic chemicals into the air and water upon which communities depend. We urge federal officials to end this irresponsible leasing practice.



In its environmental analysis for the lease sale, the BLM failed to consider the impact of fracking on wildlife and habitat. In addition, its requirements for fossil fuel companies and other developers are weak, vague and unenforceable, opening the door to the destruction of riparian areas, wetlands, priority sage grouse habitat and big game ranges. It's not just the public that has concerns about this lease sale. Wildlife managers do, too, said Kelly Fuller, energy campaign coordinator at Western Watersheds Project. We've seen evidence that state and federal agencies asked the BLM to lease fewer acres in order to protect important habitat for sage grouse and other wildlife. The protest also challenges the BLM's failure to adequately consider the greenhouse gas pollution that would result from fracking, and its failure to consider an alternative that would prohibit leasing protect the climate. Studies have shown that the carbon pollution from new federal fossil fuel leasing is incompatible with U.S. commitments under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2.0 degrees Celsius. An oil and gas lease sale in Nevada ignores the fact that the fossil fuel production industry here is almost a non-entity while Nevada is now developing its abundant solar and geothermal energy resources, providing many times the jobs in renewable energy compared to fossil-fuel energy, said David von Seggern, chair of the Sierra Club's

Toiyabe Chapter. We have no need to take the risks involved with fossil-fuel production and distribution. Download today's protest here. 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.
Media Advisory, May 24, 2017 Contact: Catherine Kilduff, (202) 780-8862, ckilduff@biologicaldiversity.org Protest to Urge Rep. Taylor to Oppose Offshore Oil Drilling in Atlantic Trump Order Threatens Wildlife, Coastal Communities, Local Economy VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. Constituents of Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va., 2nd District) will gather outside his Virginia Beach office tomorrow, May 25, to demand that he and his East Coast colleagues in Congress oppose Trump administration efforts to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, including the Atlantic Ocean. East Coast communities last year successfully pressured the federal government to abandon a proposal to offer Atlantic offshore leases to oil companies for the first time in more than 30 years. But President Trump issued an executive order on April 28 urging federal agencies to expand offshore drilling in federal waters, possibly including the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans and eastern Gulf of Mexico. Conservation and community groups from across the country strongly oppose the order, which is being challenged in court and through a week of action that began Saturday, with Hands Across the Sands, and includes tomorrow's rally. What: Rally calling on Rep. Taylor and other members of Congress to oppose efforts to allow new offshore oil and gas drilling the Atlantic Ocean and other currently protected federal waters, including the Arctic and Pacific oceans. A petition opposing offshore oil drilling with signatures collected in Virginia Beach on Saturday at Hands Across the Sands will be delivered. When: Thursday, May 25 at noon (thunderstorms will cancel the rally) Where: Outside Taylor's office, 1 Columbus Center, Suite 900, Virginia Beach, VA Who: The rally is being organized by the Center for Biological Diversity, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mothers Out Front, Oceana and the Sierra Club.



East Coast communities strongly oppose new offshore drilling and we need Rep. Taylor to represent us, not Trump or the oil industry, said Catherine Kilduff, a Center attorney who will lead the rally. Drilling causes spilling, which devastates local communities that rely on tourism and fishing. Even exploring offshore oil requires deafening seismic blasts that harm critically endangered right whales and other marine life. We won't let Trump and this reckless administration put Virginia in harm's way. The people of Hampton Roads have made it clear that our region does not support offshore drilling. Allowing drilling off our coast would jeopardize our numerous military bases, essential ports, and vibrant tourism industry, said Harrison Wallace at Chesapeake Climate Action Network. At a time when our coasts are being battered by sea level rise, we need to be expanding our clean energy economy -- not increasing our reliance on dangerous new sources of fossil fuels. As of today, more than 120 East Coast municipalities, over 1,200 elected officials, and an alliance representing over 41,000 businesses and 500,000 fishing families have publicly opposed offshore drilling activities, said Caroline Wood, Mid-Atlantic Campaign organizer for Oceana. Nearly 1.4 million jobs and over $95 billion supported by our Atlantic Ocean are at stake. Virginia Beach proudly supports coastal tourism, local seafood, lucrative fishing, and our military, all of which are founded on an ocean that is vibrant, healthy, and unhindered by dirty and dangerous offshore drilling. For communities like ours, offshore drilling does not present an opportunity to diversify our economy  we know that offshore drilling can only replace our current economy, and would change the very fabric of our community, forever. The prospect of an oil spill off our beaches or the daily, destructive pollution that will surely accompany offshore drilling is something that we cannot risk, environmentally or economically, said Jeff Staples, community outreach coordinator with the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. We must transition to clean energy now. 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 24, 2017 Contact: Brett Hartl, (202) 817-8121, bhartl@biologicaldiversity.org House Approves Bill to Eliminate Clean Water Act Pesticide Protections H.R. 953 Eliminates Public Right to Know When Pesticides Sprayed Directly Into Water WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation today that would eliminate critical Clean Water Act safeguards, allowing more pesticides to be sprayed directly into streams, lakes, rivers and drinking water supplies. If enacted into law, H.R. 953 would strip away common-sense measures in place since 2011 requiring straightforward Environmental Protection Agency permits to spray pesticides directly into water for mosquito-control activities, weed and algae control, and forest-canopy pest control. A day after the Trump administration's budget proposed eviscerating the EPA, the House voted to begin making that vision a reality, said Brett Hartl at the Center for Biological Diversity. This dangerous loophole would benefit pesticide giants like Dow Chemical and leave the rest of us totally unaware of toxic chemicals going into our rivers and lakes. H.R. 953 eliminates the EPA's Pesticide General Permit, which requires a permit before spraying a pesticide directly into water. The overwhelming majority of pesticide applicators may apply for a general permit with very few restrictions on spraying, while only the largest-volume applicators must receive an individual permit. Exemptions to the permit requirement are available for human-health emergencies. No permit under the Clean Water Act is required for normal farming operations. Since 2011 the pesticide lobby has repeatedly pushed to eliminate the permit. In the last Congress an identical bill was renamed the Zika Vector Control Act in the hopes of using the public-health emergency as a scare tactic to enact the legislation into law. Alarmist predictions by pesticide manufacturers and others have failed to demonstrate any significant burdens or problems in the permit's implementation. In testimony before Congress, the EPA stated: We have not been made aware of any issues associated with the Pesticide General Permit. Nobody has brought an instance to our attention where somebody has not been able to apply a pesticide in a timely manner . . . [t]here have been no instances. We've been getting very good data. Keeping Americans in the dark about where, when and which pesticides are sprayed into our waters may benefit large corporations and other special interests, but it's not in the interest of our families or our environment, said Hartl. With more than 1,000 lakes and rivers in the United States already polluted by pesticides, we should be strengthening Clean Water Act protections, not eliminating them. 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.
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
The expansion of the Research4Life access program with ClinicalKey benefits healthcare professionals in under-resourced, low- and middle-income communities around the globe.

Elsevier, the information analytics company specializing in science and health, will add ClinicalKey to its global research and health resources available through Research4Life starting in June 2017. The expansion of the Research4Life access program with ClinicalKey benefits healthcare professionals in under-resourced, low- and middle-income communities around the globe.

ClinicalKey is Elsevier's premier clinical search engine, providing access to the most current scientific and medical information, and it will help Research4Life meet the 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that health policies and practices globally should be informed by the best research evidence.

As a founding partner of Research4Life, Elsevier contributes more than a quarter of the 77,000 peer-reviewed journals, books and scholarly databases that are available through the program. Access to ClinicalKey adds to an existing collection of research resources offered by Elsevier, including ScienceDirect and Scopus. Elsevier also provides technical, strategic and communications expertise to help advance and promote Research4Life.
The Institution will consist of a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds, trauma center facilities, medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year, nursing college with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for establishment of new AIIMS at Kamrup (North Guwahati Revenue circle). The cost of the project is Rs.1123 crore and it will be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).



The new AIIMS will be completed in a period of 48 months from the zero date (that is the date of the approval of Government of India), broadly comprising a pre-construction phase of 15 months, a construction phase of 30 months and stabilization / commissioning phase of three months.



The Institution will consist of a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds, trauma center facilities, medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year, nursing college with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year, residential complexes and allied facilities / services, broadly on the pattern of AIIMS, New Delhi. The hospital will have 22 Speciality/Super-Speciality Departments including 16 Operation Theaters. It will also have an AYUSH department with 30 beds for providing treatment facilities in traditional system of medicine.



The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population while also help create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions / facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM).


ACCRA, Ghana - A social incubator programme that helps social entrepreneurs scale their business models in Africa, is making an impact on the lives of over a million children across seven African countries.

More than one million African children have benefitted from social enterprise development in Africa in the last five years, according to a new report released by Reach for Change Africa. The non-profit organisation, which, this year, is marking its 5th anniversary themed Accelerating Impact. Driving Change, also reported that over 300 early-stage social entrepreneurs were supported to develop organisations that are improving the lives of children, youth and women in seven African countries.

Since it was first launched in Accra, Ghana in 2012, Reach for Change Africa has provided crucial business development support for social entrepreneurs who, in turn, used their social businesse to impact over one million children.

As a result, over 435,000 African children were protected from mental abuse and threats, over 308,000 children were provided with high quality education, and over 156,000 children were supported to develop and live healthy lives.

The social enterprise movement is really starting to take off in Africa, and we are honoured to be a part of this movement for change, said Amma Lartey, Reach for Change Africas regional director. With the right supports, social entrepreneurs have the potential to lead Africas development and impact millions along the way.

Reach for Change Africa is a non-profit organisation that runs incubators, accelerators and other customised programs to help local social entrepreneurs develop sustainable organisations that impact the lives of children, youth and women.

In the report, a number of social entrepreneurs from the seven countries where Reach for Change Africa operates, explained how the organisations programs helped them to develop their social ventures.

Scalable model

Being in the incubator has helped me develop a scalable model, said Carolyne Ekyarisiima, the founder of Apps & Girls in Tanzania. Apps & Girls is a social enterprise that is bridging the gender gap in ICT through coding clubs, workshops, exhibitions, hackathons, bootcamps and competitions for girls and young women. Since joining the Reach for Change Incubator, Ekyarisiima has scaled her organisation from just one location to 21 clubs in Dar es Salaam.

This year, I spoke with my mentor at Reach for Change about the possibility of franchising my social enterprise and got great feedback. This led me to apply for the NEXTGEN franchising competition and because of the great influence and impact of the Reach for Change Incubator, I was among the winners! Now I am looking into scaling Apps & Girls across all of Tanzania and other African countries, she added.

The Reach for Change incubator also helped James Kofi Annan build a social enterprise thats fighting child-trafficking in Ghana. I owe a debt of gratitude to Reach for Change. Its incubator program brought direct benefits to me and to Challenging Heights. Today, Challenging Heights is a well-respected global leader in the fight against child trafficking. said Kofi Annan.

From the age of six to 16, James Kofi Annan was enslaved, starved, abused and forced to work in appalling conditions. After managing to escape and turning his life around, Kofi Annan was determined to prevent other children from experiencing the same thing. He founded Challenging Heights, an organisation that rescues and rehabilitates children from slavery, identifies and educates vulnerable children and establishes income-generating initiatives in at-risk communities and empowers youth and families to help prevent child trafficking.

Since joining the Reach for Change Incubator in 2013, Kofi Annan has more than quadrupled Challenging Heights annual budget and is implementing a five year strategic plan, developed with support from Reach for Change. Most importantly, he has impacted the lives of over 8,000 Ghanaian children.

The five year anniversary report also details Reach for Changes plans for the future. Over the course of the next five years, the organisation plans to run additional accelerators to increase the number of African social entrepreneurs that they reach, enriching the social enterprise ecosystem across Africa through research, and implement new programming, such as the rapid scale program for more established social entrepreneurs in the growth phase of their development.

To read the full impact report, visit: http://Africa.ReachForChange.org/impact.
On May 22, 2017, security operatives and officials of the Nasarawa State Urban Development Board - acting on orders from the governor of Nasarawa State in North Central Nigeria, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura - stormed the premises of privately-owned Breeze FM and razed the building.

The ruins of Breeze FM. Credit: mfwa.org/bellanaija.com.

Ahmed Tukur, special assistant to Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, said the action was not political but a regulatory measure against illegal constructions. He maintained that the site was approved for residential purposes and that the station's mast was hazardous to people in the area.

If tomorrow the station acquires an appropriate site, [the] government will approve it immediately. The governor has no ulterior motive against the station, he said.

Ironically, the police had to resort to sporadic warning shots to disperse hundreds of neighbouring residents  the victims of the supposed hazard  who gathered at the premises to prevent the security officials from demolishing the radio station.

In response to Ahmed Tukur's claims, the owner of Breeze FM, Nawani Aboki, said the reason for the demolition was political and that it was aimed at gagging the radio station. He said the demolition was as a result of the work of the radio station  which Umaru Tanko Al-Makura is not happy about.

Due process was not followed. You can see that the wall is down now. It was marked yesterday and was demolished this morning. Whatever reason he (Umaru Tanko Al-Makura) gives officially is not the real one, Nawani Aboki said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) branch in Nasarawa State has condemned the action. The state NUJ chairman, Dogo Shama, described the demolition as an open attack on the press which has the potential to deprive citizens of the right to balanced reports.

If there was any problem with the station or its location, [the] government should have resolved the matter in a mature manner, he said.

The MFWA is equally concerned about the action of the state authorities: We believe that dialogue could have settled the issues better than this brutal show of force against the media house. We therefore call for an investigation into the matter.

This statement was originally published on mfwa.org.
Nowadays, many businesses have websites built on the WordPress content management system (CMS). This CMS is not only user-friendly but also comes with a wide range of free plugins and themes that can help customise your site.

 choreograph via 123RF

Here are some of the ways you can maintain your WordPress business site to ensure optimal performance:

1. Keep it safe

If you dont protect your site, hackers can get access to it and cause a lot of damage. Therefore, you need to take proactive steps to ensure that your site is secured.

Choose a strong password which cannot be guessed easily. Remove the default admin user and create a new one with a unique name. In addition, you need to get rid of any old WordPress installations. Installing a security plugin such as Better WP Security will help seal common loopholes and protect you from automated attacks.

Dont forget to enable automatic backup of your site. This will ensure that you dont lose valuable information in case your site is hacked.

2. Speed up your site

Web users are usually very impatient. If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, your customers and prospects might just leave and go elsewhere. To avoid losing visitors, you need to find ways of speeding up your site.

Be sure to optimise your photos and graphics before uploading them. You can use plugins such as WP Smush It to compress all your existing large images without compromising their quality. Installing a content delivery network (CDN) plugin can also help boost your WordPress site speed significantly. If your web host is the problem, it would be advisable to migrate to a more reliable host.

3. Improve your SEO

One of the best ways of improving WordPress SEO is by using relevant and short permalinks. For example, a permalink such as yoursite.com/?p=64745921 should be changed to something like yoursite.com/5-ways-to-improve-your-SEO. This will make it easier for Google robots to crawl and index your pages.

Dont forget to add Alt tags containing relevant keywords to all your images. The content of your website should also be optimised for search engines.

4. Keep it clean

You should always make an effort to ensure that your dashboard is as clean as possible. Either publish your trackbacks and comments or delete them. Get rid of unused or old themes. Uninstall unused or old plugins. Whenever updates are available, be sure to update your theme and plugins. Dont forget to turn on the auto-update feature for your WordPress core.

Taking these simple steps will not only make your dashboard clean but will also lower your vulnerability to hackers.

5. Create useful content

Content can either make or break your business website. If visitors cannot find the information they are looking for, they might never return. Take time to find out the topics that interest your target audience. Establish a content creation schedule and stick to it. For example, you could decide to publish new posts twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.

Remember to add social media buttons to your posts to allow sharing. If you dont have the time or skill to create content, consider hiring a freelance writer or agency.
In the midst of tough economic conditions, businesses seeking growth must constantly re-examine and refine strategies to ensure efforts are contributing to the bottom line. In the South African retail and manufacturing sectors, promotions have become a popular tool to attain this growth.

Rene van den Berg via 123RF

If we look at a typical South African basket and we look at the percentage of unit sales from promotions over the last year, it has gone from 22% to 45%. Promotions are becoming a much bigger part of where our volumes are coming from. Its therefore important to understand how we can drive them most effectively.

This is according to Liezel Matthee, head of analytics and consulting at IRI South Africa. She spoke at a recent breakfast hosted by the company, offering guidance on using shopper data strategically to define a price and promo strategy, with a specific focus on multi-buys.

Multi-buys are a hot topic in South Africa. All you have to do is open up a newspaper and youre inundated with multi-buy promotions used to drive sales and growth, and increase the average rate of purchase.

One simply needs to look at the crowd-drawing power of Buy 2, get 1 free deals, for example, to understand why brands do them. Competition is fierce, and businesses are competing for a share of the customers wallet.

Promoting profitably

But promotions come at a high cost for retailers and manufacturers alike, and requires an understanding of the true opportunities and return on investment. At the end of the day, promotions are meant to be profitable.

Referencing the 7 Ps of marketing, Matthee stated, A lot of times price and promo are easy levers we can use to get short-term uplift. But we also need to consider how our pricing and promotional strategies impact the long-term growth of our brand.

She stressed the importance of leveraging ALL sales levers to drive this growth, and urged event attendees to ask questions such as:

Which depth of promotion delivers the highest incremental sales, the best repurchase rate and attracts new clients? If we reduced the frequency of promotions  or increased the frequency at a slightly higher price  what is likely to happen? What about bringing in the rest of the marketing mix? What if we time-aligned our below-the-line and above-the-line marketing? Which works best to attract customers into the store and drives a higher repurchase rate?

Customer data as a driver

Despite pressure to reach targets and the resultant appeal to simply drop prices, Matthee said companies need to go beyond driving volume. In South Africa, we have found that retailers and manufacturers are extremely good at measuring results, but not as good at measuring the drivers. Shopper data drives all the results that were measuring  it tells us the why.

For example, before concocting a promotion its important that one looks at the frequency of purchases and the amount purchased, and then build upon that knowledge. Customer behaviour needs to be at the centre of all decision-making.

Shopper data is going to become more and more important. You can either embrace it or be left behind. If you need to win in this industry for the next five to ten years, you have to measure the drivers and not just the results.

Key considerations for multi-buys

Matthee offered the following three considerations when designing effective multi-buys, based on her findings analysing over 2,000 promotions in the last four years.

1. Actual deal offering

Combo deals: When looking at combo deals (e.g. 'buy a box of nappies and get toiletries for free') she said that redemption rates tend to be low when the deal is too complex. Ideally, items forming the combo should be situated in the same section of the store for convenience, and these items should be frequently purchased together as part of the same basket. Think about the items relevance to each other and to the customer.

Size of the deal: When determining the size of the deal, its important to look at the average basket. A promotion involving five deodorants for R100 is likely to show a poor redemption rate because the average shopper purchases a maximum of two units at a time. The likelihood of a retailer uptrading shoppers from one or two units to five units is slim.

Practical issues: A combo deal on bulk items, like a 2kg bag of frozen chips, shows low redemption rates due to the average customers lack of storage space.

What works: Expandable categories  soft drinks, ice-cream, chips and biscuits  work especially well for multi-buys, but Matthee suggests not limiting customers to one flavour and offering a variety to choose from instead.

2. Timing

When timing promotions, Matthees first point was that if a number one brand and a number two brand are on promotion at the same time, number one will win. While the number two brand may get sales uplift, it wont be as high. Staggering the promotions would prove more effective. Secondly, multibuys are especially effective for driving trial on any newly launched products. And thirdly, consumers are most likely to redeem multibuys during tough times. This means that for the next year or two well continue to see redemption, we just have to be smart about which multibuys we do on and how we use it to drive margin.

3. Marketing

Matthee couldnt stress the importance of marketing enough, stating that the most effective promotions are backed by marketing communications by the retailer. Understanding your shopper is key and talking to your customers sets you apart, she noted.

Looking ahead

While multi-buys are driving volume for South Africa at the moment, Matthee mentioned that in the UK theyre rethinking their approach to pricing and promotion; theyve got less volume on deal, but theyve increased their price reductions. Theyre also adopting the stance of everyday low prices, with some UK supermarket chains like Sainsburys ending multibuys altogether.

But she was quick to make it known that the South African market is different. In the UK, customers buy frequently, shopping as the need arises. In SA, however, we often still see the bulk grocery shop, which is where multi-buys work.

Ultimately she said a mixture of these two approaches is ideal in South Africa, but businesses need to avoid entering into a price war.

Descending into a price war is not the goal, its a dangerous situation to be in. The entire European FMCG industry was in decline amid its price war. We have a real responsibility in our industry to ensure that we price and promote responsibly and effectively.
Disinformation has been used as a tactic in both politics and marketing for as long as we have had unscrupulous politicians and overly opportunistic marketers. But the rise and pervasiveness of social media has made disinformation - in the form of propaganda or fake news - a force that is capable of influencing elections and harming the bottom line of some the strongest corporations.

The role of fake news in the US elections has been studied at length and is now the subject of a Senate Intelligence Committee Investigation. But what concerns me is that in the post-truth era, the same techniques of psychological warfare are being used against brands. The perpetrators? One can but guess  its hard to tell where these stories originate. Your competitor isnt likely to brag about how they dealt a body-blow to your business in such an underhanded way.

Late last year both Pepsi and New Balance were the targets of consumer boycotts, due to falsified reports that misquoted both companies' executives. Pro-Trump websites misquoted Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi as saying that Trump supporters should take their business elsewhere, and pro-Democratic Party websites falsely quoted New Balances VP of public affairs as saying that New Balance was the official brand of the Trump revolution.

And they werent alone. Macys, Oreo and Ford Motors all suffered damage to their reputations [and bottom lines] when fake news stories made assertions that were clearly false, yet hard to counter.

The best defence

Your brands reputation is one of your most valuable assets, and directly influences brand equity. Not only is your brand equity a measurable asset on your balance sheet, its also a measure of the strength of your customers attachment to your brand, as well as all the associations and beliefs (such as perceived value) that your customer has about the brand. Its something you've built up over the years, and yet one bad news story can set you right back in terms of customer loyalty and goodwill.

Rumour, gossip and bad news can spread like wildfire. Its important to have the fire-extinguishers ready and primed as soon as there is the first sign of smoke. You cant predict what form the attack will take, but you can still be prepared with some basic strategies.

In practical terms, what does one do to counter an attack that comes out of the blue and seems to have no rationale behind it? The following steps may seem familiar  they are essentially the same as any kind of reputational damage control.

Step 1: Examine the issue and assess the extent of the damage

Is this some isolated comment by an unhappy customer, or does there seem to be something more nefarious afoot? And lets not discount the possibility that your competitor may have hired a third force to launch a concerted attack on your brand. If the allegation concerns a quote by someone in your company, find out what was said, by whom, and when. Get the facts straight first.

Step 2: Plan your response

Before the crisis begins ensure your company has a solid, well thought through crisis plan for social media. When the event happens, whatever you do, dont let emotion rule your reaction. If its one or two unhappy customers, deal with them on the same channel  be it Facebook, Twitter or Hello Peter. It is also a great idea to invite them to interact on a more personal level. Get your most charming representative to call them and give them the one-on-one. Listen to the customer, relay to them that you've understood their problem, and find a solution.

If the negativity looks like its coming from a more credible source like a fake news site that might fool the average reader, or a well-followed blogger  a quick Google search should establish how far the story has spread. Again, no matter how irritating the false accusations may be, dont have a knee-jerk reaction  dont do 'a Donald and fire off a rude tweet. You have to smile in the face of adversity, or youll come off looking pompous or defensive, or guilty.

It is possible for a fake news story to die out on its own, while overreacting could have a Streisand effect, i.e. your protestations of innocence and threats to sue the site, blogger or journalist could add fuel to the fire and draw attention to the negative message  the opposite of what you want. No, you want to charm your once-loyal customers back to the safe space of loving your brand. Much as people love to gossip, they also love the warm, fuzzy feeling of loyalty to an exclusive brand.

Step 3: Take action

The charm offensive should be carefully orchestrated with your PR team, and this is where PR can really come into its own to protect your reputation. Use the same channel to publish the facts. If the disinformation can be identified as coming from a prominent source, like a major Twitter influencer, blogger or opinionista, direct message them and post a calm, clearly-worded response to clear up the misconception. Appeal to their sense of fairness. Give them the opportunity to be the hero that presents their followers with the update.

Do not call them names like fake news or accuse them of lying. The last thing you want is a flame war, and its safest to work from the assumption that there has been a misunderstanding or miscommunication. Where possible [and this is tricky], use humour to defuse the situation, but only if youre sure it wont be taken the wrong way. Diplomacy is key. Speak to the individual as an individual, and research their writing to see if they have published other comments elsewhere. Use a little personalised and emotive language, like I was saddened to read...'. But of course, dont overdo it.

Use your good relationships with reputable news outlets to send out a positive message about your brand, to counteract the negative effect. Bad news tends to have more traction than good, so be prepared to spend a little to create a newsworthy message.

When Google executive Sundar Pichai was misquoted on the French blog FrAndroid about the security of the Android operating system, Google worked with TechCrunch to clarify what Pichai had said, and provided a full transcript of the speech for anyone to scrutinise. Due to TechCrunchs profile, the story was repeated on sites like BG, Mashable and NetworkWorld.com  a nett win for Google in terms of good publicity.

Step 4: If you find evidence of a deliberate, malicious attack, then consider legal action

The evidence needed will have to be considerable, however, and you will have to prove damage. Invest in your advertising in terms of raising brand awareness, and use your existing channels to communicate with your customers, shareholders and staff. Having the truth on your side will give you a powerful advantage  use this as an opportunity to build your brand.

In the battle to win and retain customers, building brand loyalty is just part of the picture. Its essential that your marketing communications strategy provides for an attack on the fake news front. In a large organisation this means that a significant attack on the brand will have to be escalated to the c-suite, in order to ensure that a coherent, focussed message is disseminated throughout the organisation, and all channels (social media, online and conventional media) need to provide an integrated message.
The 4th annual Manufacturing Indaba, a two-day conference and exhibition, will be hosted at Emperors Palace, Ekurhuleni from 27-28 June 2017.

The event is hosted in partnership with the (Department of Trade and Industry) dti, the Department of Science & Technology, the Department of Public Enterprises, the Manufacturing Circle, the City of Ekurhuleni as the host city and the NCPC-SA.

The aim of the Indaba is to focus on and boost the growth potential of key industry sectors within manufacturing, including automotive, construction, metals, forestry, paper & packaging, chemicals, aerospace & defence, industry products and services, and to provide a platform for informative and interactive sessions with the prime movers of the nations manufacturing sectors.

Manufacturing underlies the success of the most developed economies and it can do the same for South Africa. South African manufacturing continues to be heavily dominated by resource-processing sectors that are capital- and energy-intensive. A structural shift towards higher growth in more value adding and a higher labour-absorbing manufacturing sector is essential for South Africa to shift to a development path that generates more growth and higher levels of employment.

The importance of building capacity and improving strategic sourcing and supplier development across government departments and State Owned Companies (SOC) remains another key focus. Private sector support for local procurement is showing progress, seeing a renewed focus on developments that will ensure that industrialisation and manufacturing happen locally.

Global manufacturing is changing at an exponential rate; and to be competitive, both locally and globally, manufacturers need to be in touch with changes in customer needs, the business environment and evolving manufacturing technologies.

Now more than ever, collaboration between the stakeholders is tantamount to the mobilisation of a manufacturing sector that is a growth engine for economic development, directly affecting employment creation in South Africa.

The Manufacturing Indaba provides a platform to drive Africas growth through productive interaction between the relevant stakeholders in the manufacturing industry. It is a launch pad for key players to have their say and be a part of the way forward for this essential sector.
A high-level memorandum of understanding (MoU) for medical research and development has been signed between the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the department of science and technology (DST) and Swiss drug firm, Novartis.

Minister of science and technology, Naledi Pandoor

The MoU, a public private partnership (PPP), aims to establish a framework for potential cooperation between the parties. This will allow for joint research programmes in selected communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCD), improve South African patients access to innovative medicines and build up the research & development capabilities and ecosystem in South Africa and Africa.

Public private partnerships, such as what we are about to embark on, are catalysts that enhance our scientific research and innovation capabilities. These partnerships are visionary and aim to change lives in the present and future, said Professor Richard Gordon, SAMRCs executive director: grants, innovation and product development (GIPD).

Innovation chasm

The MoU will position South Africa as an innovative hub for Africa. Government will continue to work hard to promote partnerships that focus on growing our R&D capability. I am confident that the DST is on track to achieving the governments goal for greater investment in R&D as well as a GDP spend of 1.5% by 2019, said minister of science and technology, Naledi Pandoo, adding this type of agreement was pointless without action and a solid working partnership. We dont want friendships for their own sake, but ones that are meaningful.

She said that Africa was losing too many of its young scientists to other countries. We dont want to to be emigrants. We want Novartis to build an innovation hub in Africa that produces technology of the first rank and sends it out to the rest of the world. At the moment, these efforts are fragmented and underfunded. There is an innovation chasm that we have to close at some point.

In addition, there is a significant burden of disease in South Africa, and there needed to be more research into traditional remedies in a way that was inclusive of communities and indigenous knowledge.

When it comes to public health, the minister explained that more focus on the human and societal roles in health and the burden of disease was needed. We need to understand why young women between 16 and 24 are still unaware of the dangers of HIV.

Part of global strategy

Novartis invests in scientific capability development as part of an integrated strategy to strengthen healthcare systems in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Over the past several years, the company has established a portfolio of healthcare-related capacity/capability development initiatives to advance basic and clinical research capacity in emerging markets.

Thomas Kowallik, Novartis South Africa country president, notes that the company has made significant investment in the area of R&D within the South African healthcare and pharmaceutical space in recent years and is firmly committed to continue to do so. As part of our global strategy, we are highly committed to developing markets. Our hub in Hyderabad India is a nice success model.

He pointed out that unlike other locales where the company has initiated these hubs, South Africa has a young population and good existing infrastructure. So, theres nothing to stop it. Africa is a big market going forward.

Although Kowallik didnt put a figure to the investment his company would make, he did allude to a similar project in China, to which Novartis provided $1bn for a biomedical research hub.
Global commodities miner and marketer Glencore fielded a number of questions from shareholders, trade unionists and environmentalists at its AGM in Switzerland, including several about the 16 fatalities at its operations last year.

Source: Glencore

Chairman Anthony Hayward opened the meeting with condolences to the families of the employees who died, which included 10 people in two separate incidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. He said management had visited the sites and families to try to understand the causes and apply the lessons learned across the operations.

Local corporate activist Theo Botha asked what the causes of the 16 fatalities were and whether anyone was held to account. Peter Coates, chair of the health and safety committee, said management was held accountable and some lessons from successful, mature businesses, such as ways to identify potentially fatal hazards, were introduced to other operations. The next step would be to introduce behavioural change in developing country operations.

CEO Ivan Glasenberg said Glencore operated in countries such as Kazakhstan, the DRC and Zambia where safety was not a way of life and it was working towards a target of zero harm in those countries. So far this year, there have been two fatalities across the global operations.

Botha also questioned the compensation made to families. Glasenberg said the company took care of the families of the bereaved to ensure their income was maintained despite the death of their breadwinner. But there was no global compensation norm. Compensation to families is site-specific.

Hayward also had to defend the company's coal-demand projections from criticisms by climate change activists and was questioned by the representative of a global mineworkers trade union about the group's current labour disputes in countries such as Australia, Canada and Peru, on issues such as wages and unfair dismissals.

Hayward said many Glencore employees chose not to join trades unions so there would be no global negotiations. It would continue to follow a site-by-site approach.

Glasenberg said China was moving towards consumption of mid-cycle commodities such as copper, zinc, nickel and aluminium which were key in Glencore's portfolio. If the roll-out of electric vehicles followed projections over the next few years, there would be a substantial increase in demand for copper, cobalt and nickel mined by Glencore.
The Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront announced that it is closing the hotel's swimming pool until further notice, due to the proposed level 4 water restrictions to come into effect on 1 June 2017. In the past few days, the City of Cape Town issued a critical warning with regards to water usage, as usable dam water levels reached 11.2%.

Commenting on the closure of the pool at the Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, general manager Debra Sivertsen says: The severity of the situation has led us to take this step. As concerned Cape Town citizens, we would like to minimise our water usage as and when we can.

She adds: As a hotel group we are acutely aware of acting in a sustainable manner where possible. We believe local and international guests will understand, as we are facing a drastic situation in Cape Town. We will be monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis and, if the water situation improves, we will revisit opening the pool."

Every drop wasted or saved makes a difference

Councillor Xanthea Limberg says: Every single drop that is wasted or saved is making a difference to our dam levels. Councillor Limberg is the citys mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy.

The latest figures around the consumption of water in Cape Town are 720m litres of collective use per day, which is 120m litres over the citys target of 600m. The proposed Level 4 water restrictions state that No topping of swimming pools at all, either manually or automatically.

Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy, commented: In light of the level 4 water restrictions, its imperative that all tourism businesses play a role in conserving our valuable resources, not only as a contribution to sustainable and responsible tourism but also as ambassadors of our city. We trust that our visitors will respect that these efforts are made to ensure the long-term continued enjoyment of Cape Town as a world-class destination, said

Sivertsen, added that This is a critical time for water in the city and we would ask that all guests at the hotel help us to help Cape Town."
The recent case of ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited v NUMSA, unpacked what is meant by avoiding job losses indicating a possible change in section 189 requirements.

Judge Van Niekerk held that s189 of the Labour Relations Act, Specifically contemplates that prior to a formal invitation to consult being issued, measures to avoid job losses are to be considered and, where necessary, implemented. Indeed, a failure to do so undermines the notion of retrenchment, as a measure of last resort and amounts to breach of this section.

What does this mean for employers?

The employer sought to restructure its operations in order to avoid retrenchments. It had not issued any s189(3) notices. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa sought to halt the redeployments to consult further with ArcelorMittal.

Their application was dismissed. The Court held that an employer must embark on measures to avoid job losses even before a s189(3) notice is issued. Such measures include the redeployment of employees from one job to another.

In light of this recent decision, could an employer offer voluntary severance packages to employees in order to avoid job losses prior to issuing s189(3) notices. Current case authority seems to suggest otherwise.
Franschhoek - the world renowned and picturesque food and wine capital of South Africa, is abuzz with the imminent opening of the iconic La Colombe's new La Petite Colombe, which is replacing The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais - an exciting new partnership with the owners of the stylish and luxurious Leeu Collection.

Proprietor chefs and business partners, Scot Kirton (Eat Out Chef of the Year 2015) and Head Chef, James Gaag, will be directing a highly talented and select team, to honour the heritage of this fine venue, and marry it with the La Colombe magic. The Franschhoek kitchen will be headed up by the talented, young La Colombe chef, John Norris-Rogers, who will be working side-by-side with chefs Scot and James.

La Petite Colombe will have a striking new interior, styled by architects Rohan Young and the Leeu Collections interior designer, Beverley Boswell. The interiors will be classic, with a modern-country accent.

The innovative 8- and 12-course tasting menus will welcome guests with a stylistic and flavour familiarity to that of the award-winning La Colombe, focusing on the finest local and seasonal produce, and recommended with a rare and fine wine selection.

La Petite Colombe will open on the Tuesday, 1 August 2017, with online reservations now available via the website.

With La Colombe being a perennial fine-dining favourite for locals and international guests alike, one should expect a culinary extravaganza, with a hint of familiarity, and perhaps a surprise or two
In celebration of Africa Day, here's a compilation of songs inspired by this magnificent continent.

Africa - Toto

This is the bands most popular song (it reached number one the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1983) and was written by songwriter and vocalist David Paich after he watched a documentary about the continent, which he said both moved and appalled him. Though the song mostly deals with the love of a man for a woman, Paich has indicated that its more about the love of the continent than romantic love.

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon

Released as one of the lead singles off Paul Simons acclaimed but controversial Graceland, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes features Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing about the strength of women in Zulu. Simon had come to work with South African musicians in the mid-80s after listening to a bootleg cassette of South African music. The move was considered controversial as the country was under a cultural boycott at the time.

Jain  Makeba

The French-born and Africa-raised Jain pays tribute to Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba in this catchy tune. Hailed as one of her heroes, Jain sings the praises of a woman she regarded as a strong woman and an incredible performer. Jain filmed the visually striking music video in Johannesburg.

Solange  Losing You

Okay, so while the song itself doesnt have anything to do with Africa, Solanges Losing You video was shot in Cape Town. Solange had planned to come to the country for her cover shoot with Elle SA and decided to film the video in Langa. Solange will be making her return to the country in December so you might as well start singing her tunes now.
Various new taxes aimed specifically at the country's wealthiest are in the pipeline, according to indications from the Davis Tax Committee, which is reviewing the current tax situation in the country.

While the details around these new taxes are still to be finalised, there were various budget amendments impacting on higher income earners that have now come into effect, which should be incorporated into financial plans in order to maximise tax benefits and safeguard wealth generation, says Henry van Deventer, Head of Wealth Strategy at Old Mutual Wealth.

Judge Dennis Davis, head of the Davis Tax Committee

Taxing trusts

The most significant impact of the 2017 budget on high income earners is the new super tax bracket requiring taxpayers earning more than R1.5m to pay tax at a rate of 45%. Although this seems harsh for those impacted, the implications are even more severe when considering that this new rate also applies to trusts.

There is no sliding scale for trusts, which means only the higher flat rate of 45%, previously 41%, applies.

He adds: This also means that high-net earners have seen an increase in their tax levied on capital gains, as the effective rate of capital gains tax for individuals is increased from 16.4% to 18% and for trusts from 32.8 to 36%.

Van Deventer goes on to say that the Davis Tax Committee has indicated that the manner in which trusts are being taxed is not optimal at present. Exactly what future measures will be taken to address this is still uncertain, but the question of reviewing the so-called conduit principle (currently in force) has been raised.

As things stand, incomes and capital gains earned in trusts are taxed in the hands of beneficiaries if theyre distributed to the beneficiaries in the same tax year. This effectively means that Sars collects less tax if the beneficiaries pay less tax than the trust. Should the conduit principle fall away, all incomes and capital gains earned in trusts will be taxed at the (typically) more punitive rates than those that apply to beneficiaries.

Estate duties

Another area that Van Deventer says is currently being looked at carefully is estate duty. Members of the Davis Tax Committee have also indicated that Sars is not as effective as it could be when it comes to collecting estate duties. Early indications are that there could be more generous abatements (thresholds) in the pipeline, but that a hard look will be taken at ensuring that more assets are effectively captured amongst high net worth individuals for estate duty purposes.

Utilising tax-fee savings vehicles

In light of these new dynamics, Van Deventer says that utilising tax-free savings vehicles to their full advantage has never been more attractive, and shouldnt be ignored.

Given the new super tax bracket and in preparation for any further punitive tax amendments in the future, high income earning clients can maximise their contributions to retirement funds. "Individuals can now deduct up to 27.5%, with a maximum annual amount of R350,000, of their earnings from their taxable income, if this portion is invested in a retirement fund.

In addition to there being no tax payable on interest, incomes, dividends or capital gains made in these vehicles, they are also exempted from estate duty and completely protected against claims by creditors to settle outstanding debts.

Although there are tax implications for these funds upon and during retirement, our studies have found that the net lifetime benefit of maximising the use of these vehicles can add up to an additional 1.8% after-tax growth per year.

In terms of tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), he says the annual amount that investors can contribute towards TFSAs was increased to R33,000 in the recent budget. Although the investment limits of TFSAs may seem trivial to high net worth investors, it is important to think of this investment in terms of its long-term benefit. This investment vehicle provides a significant long-term benefit for a fairly insignificant short-term savings strategy.

The fact of the matter is that all South African income earners, regardless of their current tax rate, should therefore be capitalising on tax-free savings vehicles, van Deventer concludes.
Tanzania is struggling to find financiers for its proposed $1.2bn standard gauge railway as leaders continue to raise questions about the viability of the project.

Image: Daily Monitor

A group of MPs recently said the project is likely to stall due to lack of financing unless the government considers alternative sources of funds outside low-interest loans such as a 15-year railway bond.

President John Magufuli has in the past few months been lobbying heads of state and international financial institutions to help his government raise money.

Last week, he asked his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma who was visiting Dar es Salaam to help Tanzania secure low-interest loans from the Brics Development Bank. Brics is an association of emerging economies, Brazil Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

"I have asked president Jacob Zuma to help us secure a low-interest loan from Brics to finance particularly the SGR project," Magufuli said.

About the project

The 1,200km railway line, which is expected to handle 17 million tonnes of cargo per annum, will be built parallel to the existing central railway and the government believes that its completion will increase trade volumes between the country and its landlocked neighbours.

However, it is unclear whether Brics will agree to finance the project. A Chinese company awarded the contract to build the railway by the Jakaya Kikwete government had its contract suspended by Magufuli over alleged irregularities in the tendering process.

Magufuli also asked the World Bank Group president Dr Jim Yong Kim who visited Tanzania in March for money to finance the project. The World Bank has already set aside $200m for the rehabilitation of the central railway.

"Not viable in the region"

"The World Bank has in the past said that SGR is not viable in the region. The government had been hesitating to use the $200m to rehabilitate the central railway and it is clear that the World Bank can't agree to have the money diverted to SGR," a source with knowledge of the project told The EastAfrican.

However, the government says it will use own domestic resources to build the first phase of the project consisting 300km and costing $1.2bn and that the government had already provided $1.22m for the start of the construction of the first phase in the 2016/2017 budget allocations.

However, budget records indicate that the government had only disbursed Tshs290bn ($129m) until March this year. The budget estimates for 2017/18 show that the government has only allocated Tshs290bn for the project.

The first phase of the project will run from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro and will involve a dry port project and six stations.
South Africa's leading quick service restaurant in the pizza sector for some 25 years, Debonairs Pizza, is getting the country moving with a fast-paced radio commercial.

Upping the tempo and grabbing attention by featuring the energetic tune made famous in 1958 by Mexican-American musician Ritchie Valens, La Bamba, the commercial nevertheless has true South Africa appeal as it replaces the word La Bamba with Lambile, which is Zulu for hungry.

Just 30-seconds long, it urges all South Africans to beat their hunger with Debonairs Pizzas latest Real Deal for a steal - a choice of one of three delicious lamba busters for only R21.90.

The concept was devised by FCB Creative Director Greg Cameron, Art Director Mpumi Ngwenya and Copywriter Mbeu Kambuwa, and the ad recorded in Bryanston at Rob Roy Music.

The ad is the first in a series of Lambile ads that will roll out over the course of the rest of year. Keep an ear open.

Credits:

Client: Famous Brands

Brand: Debonairs Pizza

Creative agency: FCB Joburg

Business Unit Director: Mogani Naidoo

Group Account Director: Sarah Rae

Account Executive: Kaylyn Naicker

Chief Creative Officer: Ahmed Tilly

Creative Director: Greg Cameron

Copywriter: Mbeu Kambuwa

Art director: Mpumi Ngwenya

Strategic planner: Stuart Sims and Katherine Anousakis

Radio Production: Nakita Bolus

Media planners: Jedd Cokayne - The Media Shop

Production companies: Rob Roy Music

Editor: Rob Roy Music

Post production: Rob Roy Music




Finland is the best country for love-making, stated in this campaign video that has gained a million organic views in Finland alone.

The uniqueness of the Finnish love-making culture starts with liberal education on intimacy and gender equality, but is also affected by a relaxed attitude towards nudity and being comfortable with ones own body (and each other).

Being the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence, the brand behind the campaign, Sultan, is also celebrating its 50th anniversary, and therefore all that is wonderful about Finnish sex.

The condom brand has put together a kit for romancing the Finnish way, including the likes of salty liquorice, woolen socks, a flashlight, mosquito repellent and a seat cover.
Microsoft's new investment in datacentres in Africa, will provide highly available, scalable, and secure cloud services across Africa with the option of data residency in South Africa.

 melpomen via 123RF

Microsoft has revealed plans to deliver the complete, intelligent Microsoft Cloud for the first time from datacentres located in Africa. This new investment is a major milestone in the companys mission to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more, and a recognition of the enormous opportunity for digital transformation in Africa.

Expanding on existing investments, Microsoft will deliver cloud services, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365, from datacentres located in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, with initial availability anticipated in 2018. The new cloud regions will offer enterprise-grade reliability and performance combined with data residency to help enable the tremendous opportunity for economic growth, and increase access to cloud and internet services for organisations and people across the African continent.

Were excited by the growing demand for cloud services in Africa and their ability to be a catalyst for new economic opportunities, said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud and Enterprise Group, Microsoft Corp. With cloud services ranging from intelligent collaboration to predictive analytics, the Microsoft Cloud delivered from Africa will enable developers to build new and innovative apps, customers to transform their businesses, and governments to better serve the needs of their citizens.

Currently many companies in Africa rely on cloud services delivered from outside of the continent. Microsofts new investment will provide highly available, scalable, and secure cloud services across Africa with the option of data residency in South Africa. With the introduction of these new cloud regions, Microsoft has now announced 40 regions around the world  more than any major cloud provider.

The combination of Microsofts global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will connect businesses with opportunity across the globe, help accelerate new investments, and improve access to cloud and internet services for people and organisations from Cairo to Cape Town.

Investing in African Innovation

This announcement expands on ongoing investments in Africa, where organisations are using currently available cloud and mobile services as a platform for innovation in health care, agriculture, education, and entrepreneurship. Microsoft has been working to support local start-ups and NGOs, unleashing innovation that has the potential to solve some of the biggest problems facing humanity, such as the scarcity of water and food, and economic and environmental sustainability.

One start-up, M-KOPA Solar, provides affordable pay-as-you-go solar energy to over 500,000 homes using mobile and cloud technology. AGIN has built an app connecting 140,000 smallholder farmers to key services, enabling them to share data and facilitating $1.3 million per month in finance, insurance and other services.

Across Africa, Microsoft has brought 728,000 small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) online to help them transform and modernise their businesses, and over 500,000 are now utilising Microsoft cloud services, with 17,000 using the 4Afrika hub to promote and grow their businesses.

The Microsoft Cloud is also helping Africans build job skills, with 775,000 trained on subjects ranging from digital literacy to software development.

This development broadens the options available to us in our modernisation journey of Government ICT infrastructure and services. It allows us to take advantage of new opportunities to develop innovative government solutions at manageable costs, as well as drive overall improvements in operations management, while improving transparency and accountability, says Dr Setumo Mohapi, CEO at SITA.

By establishing hyperscale cloud datacentre capacity in South Africa, Microsoft is directly addressing customers concerns, and demonstrating commitment to the delivery of cloud services within the country and the region as a whole, says Jon Tullett, senior research manager, IDC MEA. The presence of local facilities will be greatly encouraging to South African customers, particularly those in regulated industries such as financial services and the public sector where data sovereignty concerns are paramount. This is a strongly positive development for the cloud industry in Africa, and particularly Microsofts ecosystem of partners, ISVs and customers.
To mark Africa Day today, Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, said all of humanity will benefit by listening, learning and working with the people of Africa.

Antonio Guterres.

This is the full text of Guterres message on this auspicious day for the continent:

Africa Day 2017 comes at an important moment in the continents endeavours towards peace, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.

The international community has entered the second year of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an all-out effort to tackle global poverty, inequality, instability and injustice. Africa has adopted its own complementary and ambitious plan: Agenda 2063.

For the people of Africa to fully benefit from these important efforts, these two agendas need to be strategically aligned.

Just last month, we held the first-ever United Nations-African Union Annual Conference, a unique opportunity to strengthen our partnership and establish a higher platform of cooperation. Our work is based on four driving principles: mutual respect, solidarity, complementarity and interdependence.

More than three out of five Africans are under 35 years of age

The UN partnership with Africa is also rooted in a deep sense of gratitude. Africa provides the majority of United Nations peacekeepers around the world. African nations are among the worlds largest and most generous hosts of refugees. Africa includes some of the worlds fastest growing economies.

All of humanity will benefit by listening, learning and working with the people of Africa.

It starts with prevention. Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. We need to break the cycle of responding too late and too little.

Most of todays conflicts are internal, triggered by competition for power and resources, inequality, marginalisation, disrespect for human rights and sectarian divides. Often, they are inflamed by violent extremism or provide the fuel for it.

Sustainable development

But prevention goes far beyond focusing solely on conflict. The best means of prevention and the surest path to durable peace is inclusive and sustainable development. It is critical to continue building more effective and accountable institutions to address governance challenges, advance the rule of law and promote civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

We can speed progress by doing more to provide opportunities and hope to young people. More than three out of five Africans are under 35 years of age. Making the most of this tremendous asset means more investment in education, training, decent work, and engaging young people in shaping their future.

We must also do our utmost to empower women so they can play a full role in sustainable development and sustainable peace. I am pleased that the African Union has consistently placed a special focus on gender equality and womens empowerment.

On this Africa Day, I reaffirm my commitment as a partner, friend and committed advocate for changing the narrative about this diverse and vital continent.

Crises represent at best a partial view. But from a higher platform of cooperation, we can see the whole picture  one that recognises the enormous potential and remarkable success stories throughout the African continent.
Mega8 E-Sports has partnered with UK-based Ginx TV in an effort to make e-sports broadcasts more accessible to a South African audience as well as introducing the local gaming industry to a global audience. The partnership is to include a dedicated e-sports channel, which will broadcast the Mega8 Dota 2 Winter Cup tournament.

Ginx TV also recently expanded its reach to the country through its partnership with Supersport.
The state [government] set out a total of 864 acres for 30 farmers from Kayin Lai Village in the Dar Li forest reserve in 2015, said Saw Phoe Naing, chair of the local tree planting association.

He said villagers had planned to plant rubber, teak, pyinkado, and mahogany trees on the land, but BGF officials halted the planting activities last month, and when villagers resumed the work this month, they were arrested.

Over 20 soldiers from the BGFs 1021st battalion put handcuffs on U Tayoke and his nephews and car drivers and arrested them, Saw Phoe Naing said. He added that a complaint will be filed with the Ministry of Home Affairs about the incident.

Major Mann Win Yone, deputy commander of the BGFs 1021st battalion, confirmed the recent arrest of the villagers, but declined to comment on the reason for it.

Mon State Land Network Committee member Saw Kyaw Kaung Myat said local residents have been working on land inside and outside the Dar Li forest reserve since the days of their ancestors. He accused the BGF officials of fuelling conflict in their attempts to seize the land.

The public suffers because they are seizing the land along with [a private organization]. Even though we have submitted complaints about this, they continue to expand the seizure, he said.



Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
Building upon the shared commitment of those in attendance to resolving grievances through dialogue rather than armed conflict, this session of the Conference offers a unique opportunity for all actors to work together to advance sustainable peace, equitable development and the wider consolidation of the democratic reform process, as sought by the people of Myanmar.

As a formal witness to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, the European Union encourages all stakeholders, including the Government, the armed forces and ethnic armed groups, both signatory and non-signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, to further intensify efforts towards increasing the inclusive nature of the peace process and to work together constructively and in a spirit of compromise to secure a peaceful and prosperous future.

Although much has already been achieved, the main task now is to put an end to conflict. The cessation of hostilities by all sides would send a very positive signal in this respect, would open the way for dialogue and negotiation, and would help to foster stability in the country.

The European Union will continue to support Myanmar's journey towards peace and national reconciliation. This is a commitment that was reiterated by the High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini, in her meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during the State Counsellor's visit to Brussels at the beginning of May. Only in a peaceful and stable Myanmar can socio -economic development be successful, create opportunities for all, and bring tangible improvements to the lives of the people.
The president's office announced late Tuesday it would release 186 Myanmar nationals and 73 foreigners as a gesture of goodwill.

Among them were activists Zaw Zaw Latt and Pwint Phyu Latt, who were detained in 2015 after they travelled to the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army to deliver a Christian cross and a statue of Buddha as symbols of peace.

Last year they were jailed for two years with hard labour in a case that human rights activists slammed as politically motivated and pandering to a hate campaign by Buddhist nationalists.

They were among some 40 political prisoners, land activists, student activists and farmers greeted by jubilant well-wishers as they walked out of prison in Mandalay on Wednesday morning.

"I am very happy (but) they should not have been in prison in the first place," said Harry Myo Lin, director of human rights advocacy group The Seagull, who went down to meet them.

Myanmar has released more than a thousand prisoners since the former junta ceded power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011.

Hundreds were pardoned shortly after Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government took over in 2016 after winning the first free elections in generations.

The veteran democracy activist spent more than 15 years under house arrest ordered by the then-military junta, and her party is stacked with former political prisoners jailed for their activism.

But the initial wave of releases has ebbed and a surge in prosecutions under a controversial online defamation law has raised concerns about lingering curbs on free expression.

Around 100 people are still being held as political prisoners, while more than 200 are awaiting trial for political crimes, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners watchdog.

Harry Myo Lin said the civilian government's hands were tied by the military, which still controls key levers of power under a junta-era constitution.

"One of the difficulties almost all the time here is the government doesn't have control of the home ministry," he told AFP.

"Also, the judiciary is not as independent as it should be."
A fresh round of hostilities erupted between erstwhile foes the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) earlier this month.

The displaced residents of Kun Kaw Village Group and Loi An Village Group are taking shelter in Kyaukme, according to locals.

Ninety-five villagers from Tawt Hpei and Ong Awee villages under the Kun Kaw Village Group, as well as some families from Hkon Ngin and Wan Kan villages under the Loi An Village Group are taking shelter in Ward 8. Villagers living near the shelter went to see them and gave them foodThere may be difficulties if there is an increase, Sai Par, a Kyaukme resident, told S.H.A.N.

The TNLA has accused the RCSS of invading its territory. The RCSS claims that clashes broke out due to a landmine clearance project.

We are clearing the landmines in line with the NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement]. Clashes broke out when we confronted the TNLA. There are many landmines. Its been over a month since we started clearing the landmines in accord with public demand, said Lieutenant Colonel Sai Nguen, the RCSS spokesperson.

The Tatmadaw, the TNLA, the RCSS, and the Shan State Progressive Party all have active units in the Kyaukme are.

Kyaukme residents said the newly displaced villagers reported heavy fighting.

More than 300 civilians from eight villages in northern Shan States Namtu township also fled an outbreak of fighting between the RCSS and the TNLA earlier this month.

Fighting between the RCSS, a ceasefire signatory, and the TNLA, a non-signatory, sporadically erupted in both 2015 and 2015

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
Nineteen representatives from the ALP are currently attending the second session of the Union Peace Conference, also known as the 21st-Century Panglong Conference, in Nay Pyi Taw.

KIC News sat down with U Khaing Soe Naing Aung, vice chair of the ALP and leader of the ALPs delegation to the conference, to talk about what the ALP hopes to discuss at the event and what can be achieved through these conferences. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why did the ALP decide to attend the 21st-Century Panglong Conference? What did you do to prepare in advance?

A: The decision to hold the 21st-Century Panglong [Conference] on May 24, 2017 was announced at the JICM [the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting in April]. This same meeting didnt allow the ALP to hold a national-level political dialogue, but did allow the RCSS to hold one. They didnt allow the RCSS to hold [the dialogue] at the venue [of their choice], but instead allowed the RCSS to hold it only within areas under its control where there are just 30 or 40 houses. So the RCSS didnt hold it. As for the ALP, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said Arakan State is a sensitive region so its not easy to allow us to hold a national-level political dialogueWe submitted our request three times but it wasnt accepted.

We discussed not attending the conference if political parties and social organizations from Arakan State had no desire to attend it. But, we also knew the other seven signatory groups would be attending the Union Peace Conference.

An emergency meeting of the PPST (Peace Process Steering Team) was held on May 13 and 14. At the meeting, we discussed the need for the NCA signatory groups to present a unified voice, which was hard since the ALP was not allowed to hold the national-level political dialogue. I pressed for us to be allowed to hold the national-level political dialogue in a suitable place since the Union Peace Conference was drawing nearer. The leaders of all eight NCA signatory groups, including the ABSDF (All Burma Students Democratic Front), wrote a letter to the State Counsellor. A copy of the letter was also sent to Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Another copy was sent to the [Peace] committees chair. But, this letter hasnt been answered yet.

[So we thought] what could we submit to the second session of the 21st-Century Union Peace Conference when we couldnt hold the national-level political dialogue? Theres nothing to submit. We could choose not to attend the conference. But, some ethnic groups such as the Karen, PaO, Chin, and the ABSDF have held their national-level political dialogues so they have something to submit. We [are attending] the 21st-Century Panglong Conference in order to show support for and contribute to the efforts of all ethnic people.

Q: Which topics will the ALP discuss at the conference?

A: As I have said, we have nothing to submit since we have not held a national-level political dialogueWe were told that we could still submit [a paper] from our party. So, Im thinking about discussing the requirements in establishing a genuine federal Union. There needs to be a distribution of power between the central government and the state governments in a federal Union. When our federal Union is built, it will need to be a genuine federal Union that is built on the desires and views of the ethnic people such as the Shan, the Kachin, the Karenni, the Arakan, and the Mon people.

Q: Among three groups in Rakhine State  the ALP, the Arakan Army (AA) and the Arakan National Council (ANC)  the remaining two groups have not signed the ceasefire. How will the ALP cooperate with them?

A: All stakeholders need to be involved in the conference if they want peace. I have met with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the State Counsellor two or three times. The Tatmadaw especially needs to be broadminded. Everyone needs to be involved.

Q: What outcomes can be expected from the Union Peace Conference, or the 21st-Century Panglong Conference, if it does not involve input from all ethnic people? What does the ALP expect?

A: I dont think there will be a good outcome from the Panglong Conference. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said the conference will be held twice a year during her four-year term. The KNPP is not attending it. Other groups might not attend it as well. Thats why the upcoming conference cannot give a beneficial or even comprehensive perspective on nation-building. The eight signatory group will try to approve policies that can be accepted by everyone, while not accepting points or polices that are less commonly acceptable.

What I want to say is that this peace process wont end quickly. If I were to quote Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, at least 75 percent [of all groups] need to participate. The country can be built if only there is a minimum of 75 percent participation. Burmas independence was gained with only the Shan, the Kachin, the Chin and the Burmese. Peace wasnt obtained even though a country was forged.

Q: The 21st-Century Panglong Conference has been criticized for following a roadmap laid by the previous government and the Tatmadaw. Whats your opinion on this?

A: This was pointed out in a speech given by General Mutu Say Poe at the JICM meeting held on April 24. What he has pointed out is true, but I dont care. I believe we should not act hastily. Unity needs to be built between the NCA signatory groups and the non-signatory groups. If there is unity between the EAOs [ethnic armed organization], they will not cave to international pressure or public pressure [and agree to things that] dont fulfill our demandsThe EAOs need to unite and strive together. Otherwise [peace] will prove elusive.

Q: Critics say that no matter how many political dialogues are held in Myanmar, there is less chance of affecting peace without amending the 2008 Constitution. Whats your view on this?

A: Yes, we understand that every action we make for the peace process under the 2008 Constitution has been met with difficulties. All the eight EAOs who signed the ceasefire understand this. Members of the public who want democracy understand this. The Burmese understand this and other ethnic people understand this. In international experts view, the 2008 Constitution is a constitution that protects and prolongs military dictatorship. They have pointed out that we need to try to change it using various methods. These international experts advised us to make changes like what occurred in Indonesia. They told us that we need to make the changes slowly over time. It took over 20 years for Indonesia to gain a civilian government and good governance. Experts have advised us to follow this pattern. It wont be easy.

Q: What should be done to make the Union Peace Conference all-inclusive?

A: Its difficult to make it all-inclusive. But we need to start with policies that are accepted by everyone. Then, we need to take the time to negotiate the policies that are not agreed by everyone. We need to use the force of the public and the international [community to our advantage]. The military generals from the Tatmadaw need to relax some of their concerns. If we can do this, [peace] will be closer.

Q: Anything else you want to add about the Union Peace Conference?

A: Decisions on issues that are common understanding between the ethnic people need to be set down at this conference. The public and international countries need to show support. We need to amplify the voice of the CSOs and women. Only then can we mature this process.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron


A file photo.

SINGAPORE (PTI): The Indian Navy and the Singapore Navy have concluded a week-long bilateral military exercise in the South China Sea, during which they conducted a series of advanced naval warfare drills, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings.



The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded yesterday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapore's F-15SG fighter jets, Singapore's Ministry of Defence said in a statement here.



This year's exercise is the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.



Hosted by Singapore, the exercise comprised a shore phase held at renamed 'RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base' and a sea phase in the South China Sea.



The Singapore Navy deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti) and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.



The drills also saw the inaugural participation of the Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-15SG fighter aircraft.



Aside from the two F-15SG fighter aircraft, the RSAF also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircraft and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.



"During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings," the statement said.



"The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions," it added.



Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.



"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years from a serial-based exercise to today's mission- based exercise incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," said CO RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Albert Khoo.



Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses.



Testament to the warm and long-standing defence ties between both countries, INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the Singapore Navy's Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura Changi Naval Base on May 15, and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) Asia from May 16 to 18.



Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said.






MOSCOW (BNS): The Russian military will start receiving the advanced T-50 fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) in 2019 and the S-500 air defence system in 2020, the country's Defence Minister and General of the Army, Sergei Shoigu, has said.



"The deliveries of the T-50 prospective aerial complex of frontline aviation and the S-500 SAM system since 2019 and 2020 (respectively) to the military will increase the effectiveness of protection against modern aerospace attack assets," Shoigu said on Wednesday during a 'government hour' at the Federation Council of Russian Parliament, Itar-Tass news agency reported.



The implementation of the intended plans would establish a reliable cover against enemy's "instant global strike" and provide a non-nuclear deterrence against any high-technological aggressor, the Minister said.



"The gained rates will ensure the implementation of the task set by the President of the Russian Federation and to reach the 70% share of modern hardware in service with the (Russian) Armed Forces by end-2020. It will maintain Russia's position as a leading state with developed military," Shoigu added.



Meanwhile, the Russian Navy will receive seven Borey-class nuclear submarines armed with new Bulava missiles by 2021.



"Thirteen submarines, including seven prospective Borey-class ships armed with new Bulava missiles, are planned to be in service with the naval strategic nuclear forcesby 2021," Shoigu said.




A file photo.

NEW DELHI (PTI): In a major step for defence indigenisation, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its go ahead to the 'strategic partnership' model under which select private firms will be engaged to build military platforms like fighter jets, submarines and battle tanks.



The new policy is expected to attract (rpt) attract billions of dollars of investment in defence manufacturing by private defence majors including leading foreign firms.



After the cabinet meeting, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the government wants to implement at the earliest the new model which is aimed at production of major defence platforms and equipment by Indian companies in collaboration with leading foreign firms.



Jaitley said the strategic partnership model is part of the Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) and the cabinet was apprised about it considering its importance.



"The cabinet took note of the decision of the defence ministry. As it is an important issue, the cabinet took note of it," Jaitley told reporters.



The new policy was also discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday. The defence ministry had approved the much-awaited policy on Saturday.



"We would like to start it as fast as we can," Jaitley said in reply to a question on when the new model will be implemented.



He said four segments -- submarines, fighter aircraft, helicopters and armoured carriers/main battle tanks -- were identified under the new policy.



One Indian private defence manufacturer will be selected for each of the four segments and the Indian entity will tie- up with the select foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to produce platforms under the 'Make in India' initiative.



Jaitley said the strategic partner for each category will be selected through a bidding process.



The defence minister said the private sector and state- run defence PSUs can co-exist and that government is going to increase its spendings in defence procurement from domestic industries.



"Defence preparedness itself necessitates that you procure domestically and manufacture domestically. These are sectors in which I anticipate government spendings to increase in years to come," he said.



The private sector has been pushing for the SP model and even a number of foreign defence majors were looking forward to it.



"With all the effort that has gone into finalising the policy, it can potentially be a turning point in India's endeavour to have a robust homegrown private defence industrial base.



"We hope the segments that have been identified under the strategic partnership model will provide the much needed spark to kick-start the 'Make in India' initiative, which we espouse wholeheartedly," said Pierre de Bausset, President and Managing Director, Airbus in India.



The SP model was proposed by the Dhirendra Singh Committee in July, 2015. It had said that for the 'Make in India' initiative to become wider in the defence sector, the government should adopt a strategic partnership model, whereby a private firm is chosen for the development of a specific identified platform.



Last year, the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had announced that the policy on SP model would be unveiled soon.


Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man on trial for setting his co-worker on fire has admitted he sparked the lighter that caused the flames, but says he didnt know his colleague had been sprayed with flammable liquid beforehand.

He had no clue of the risk, his lawyer argued.

He had no idea that this brake cleaner had been introduced, Kim Ross said during his closing argument in Brandon Court of Queens Bench.

His client is 33-year-old Justin Robert Lundstrom who is on trial on counts of assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Three former co-workers who witnessed the incident testified that, prior to the fire, Lundstrom had sprayed the victim, Glenn Finlayson, in the crotch to make it look like hed wet himself.

Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup argued that Lundstrom, while the group of workers were talking about flame-retardant coveralls, played with the lighter near Finlayson as a joke.

Or, Lonstrup suggested, perhaps Lundstrom had actually tried to light the coveralls on fire in the mistaken belief that the victim would be protected by the flame-resistant coveralls.

Were asking your lord to accept that what happened here was a badly conceived prank gone terribly wrong, Lonstrup said, arguing that it was a mistake that warranted convictions.

Lundstrom, Finlayson and co-workers Aaron Holbrook and Mackenzie Miller worked for an oilfield service company.

The day of the incident, they were at an oil well in the RM of Archie, near Virden when they found themselves with some down time.

They were tasked with flushing a well head, but had to wait (either for acid used in the task to be delivered, or because theyd pumped acid into the well and were waiting for it to take effect.)

They were waiting inside a small coil cab  an enclosed space that housed the controls for the equipment they used.

Its admitted that Lundstrom played a prank on Finlayson by using a marker to draw penises on his hard hat.

Finlayson, Holbrook and Miller have each testified, delivering largely consistent accounts of what happened next.

They said Finlayson asked Miller to retrieve a can of aerosol brake cleaner so he could wipe the graffiti off his helmet.

All three said that Lundstrom then picked up the can of cleaner, and sprayed Finlayson in the crotch as a second joke.

Somehow, the conversation then turned to whether the coveralls they wore were flame retardant, and Lundstrom pulled out a lighter and uttered a comment to the effect of wondering whether Finlaysons coveralls would light on fire.

Lundstrom either sparked or lit the lighter as me moved toward Finlayson whose coveralls were instantly aflame, the witnesses said.

Screaming with pain, Finlayson was taken to hospital with second-degree burns to his hands, stomach and crotch. He testified that his left hand still troubles him to this day  he underwent physiotherapy so he could use it again, but it remains weak and is sensitive to temperature.

While there was no written policy at Canyon Technical Services  the company the men worked for  a former company health and safety official who investigated the incident said it was an unwritten rule in the oilpatch that you dont bring lighters onto such a work site.

Miller and Holbrook testified that, following the incident, Lundstrom asked them to tell company officials that Finlayson had set himself on fire.

The teams supervisor at the time, George Bond, who wasnt present at the time of the fire, testified that Lundstrom initially told him that Finlayson had been lit on fire, but then admitted that hed flicked the lighter that started the fire.

Bond said that Lundstrom also told him that he and Finlayson had been spraying each other with brake fluid.

Lonstrup argued that Lundstrom was trying to downplay what had happened, but on the stand Lundstrom denied making the statements to Bond.

In court, Lundstrom said he told Bond that Finlayson had been lit on fire and denied outright that hed said he and Finlayson were spraying each other.

He also told court that he didnt ask his coworkers to say Finlayson set himself alight. He testified that he told them to tell the truth: that hed lit the lighter.

However  while his three former co-workers testified otherwise  Lundstrom maintained that he wasnt in the coil cab when Finlayson had cleaned his helmet.

Lundstrom denied spraying Finlaysons crotch with the brake cleaner, and his lawyer contends that it was Finlayson who got the fluid on his coveralls when he cleaned the graffiti off his helmet earlier.

Lundstrom testified that hed been outside, preparing for the arrival of the acid, then entered the cab to find the other three workers talking about the fire-retardant coveralls.

He flicked the lighter as a joke, he said, but didnt know about the flammable brake cleaner on Finlaysons work clothes. It was only after, he said, that hed found out that Finlayson had used the chemical to clean his helmet.

Justice John Menzies is expected to deliver verdicts today.

 ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandons own Angelina Zhang is already earning top honours for her math skills, and shes just finishing up Grade 1.

Back in March, Zhang took part in the Canadian Math Kangaroo Contest, a worldwide competition that attracts more than six million students from Grades 1 through 12 each year.

Not only did she earn Brandon Regional First Place for her age group  she also got the third-highest score in Canada.

Erin DeBooy/The Brandon Sun Angelina Zhang, a Grade 1 student at Ecole New Era School, got the third-highest score in the Canadian Math Kangaroo Contest. This is the second year Brandon has taken part in the contest, which sees almost 5,000 students from Grades 1 through 12 compete across Canada.

Zhang said she didnt expect to do so well, considering this was her first time competing in the contest.

It was a lot of fun. I want to do it again next year, she said. I started reading when I was two years old and I started learning a lot of things, now my mom is teaching me about money and time.

Rita Yang, Zhangs mother, said she was also blown away with her daughters success.

I want the kids to participate  so they can taste the math. I want them to feel the fun of math, I know they are good at math but sometimes they dont find it fun. Yang said. So with this being Angelinas first year, she said she was a little bit afraid, so I told her, dont be afraid, just go and have fun, and she had lots of fun. She did really good.

Yang believes that Zhangs young introduction to reading has helped her with math, especially problem solving.

Early years reading really builds up your kids foundation, Yang said. She started reading really early, so by Grade 1 she can read the questions and understand them well, and that helps her solve the problems.

The Math Kangaroo Contest has been around since 1991, founded in France and based on an Australian model of a national competition  hence the name.

This is only the second year the contest has been held locally, according to Brandon University math and computer science professor Gautam Srivastava, and enrolment is slowly climbing.

Last year I started (the contest) here on the suggestion of the chair of the math department. We had just under 20 participants. This year we had just over 20 participants, so were slowly growing, Srivastava said. One of the main reasons I thought this would be a good idea to bring to Brandon is that kids can lose touch with mathematics, they dont think its a cool subject. If they have some fun with mathematics through these contests, maybe theyll love math  and if they love math then maybe theyll come to university and pursue it.

So far, Brandon has been bringing out the big guns. Zhang is the second Brandon student to hit the national stage, putting the city at two for two.

(Zhang) is in Grade 1, but she wrote a test that was meant for Grades 1 and 2  and she only got three questions wrong, Srivastava said. I wasnt expecting anyone to get the third score in Canada from here, but its always nice to see theres a diamond in the rough. Who would think that the third best score in Canada is going to come from Brandon? But it happened, and its really exciting.

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Downtown Brandons Greyhound bus terminal has been put up for sale, but the company is stressing that it has no intention of leaving the Wheat City.

The current 10,734-square-foot building is larger than the companys current needs require, Greyhound Lines Inc. communications specialist Allison Morrison wrote in emailed correspondence on Wednesday.

Greyhound is considering multiple locations for our move that will be convenient for customers and our operations in Brandon, Morrison said.

Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun A car passes the Greyhound bus depot on Sixth Street in Brandon on Wednesday evening. The Greyhound building is up for sale with a listed price of $995,000.

Given Brandons wealth of post-secondary institutions, Brandon University Students Union president Nick Brown said that its important for the citys student population that intercity passenger services continue.

I dont have a vehicle, so when I want to go to Winnipeg I get a bus ticket, he said, adding that many other cash-strapped students are also without vehicles and rely on this affordable means of transportation.

Every time Im on the bus there are five or six other students with me, Brown said.

In the event Greyhound were to shut down intercity passenger service to and from Brandon, the city would become more isolated from Winnipeg, he said.

While Brown said that hes prefer to see service expand between the provinces two largest cities, The status quo is fine.

In 2015, Browns predecessors on the unions executive spoke out against Greyhound service reductions between Brandon and Winnipeg that were being made at the time.

The province had a Service Maintenance Agreement with Greyhound Canada between January 2010 to June 2012, during which the company received $8.4 million to continue providing its 2009 levels of scheduled service.

A government spokesperson clarified on Wednesday that since this agreement expired on July 1, 2012, market forces have dictated the now-deregulated operations of privately held intercity bus carrier services.

Winnipeg-based Avison Young broker Wes Schollenberg is handling the Greyhound terminal listing in partnership with the local brokerage community.

Having marketed the building both locally and nationally, Schollenberg said that he has already received some early interest in the building, but that the interested partys timing wasnt ideal for Greyhound.

Its a great building; a great location, he said, adding that its commercial general zoning allows a wide range of things to operate out of the space.

Listing a health club, restaurant and medical offices as a few potentials, he said that the adaptable downtown space carries many possibilities.

The terminal building, at 121 Sixth St., abuts Rosser Avenue. It was built in 1982 and has been listed at $995,000.

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Elvis has left the building  and hes found a new one.

The King of Rock and Roll, or rather, one of his tribute artists, discovered perhaps a surprising home for himself in Roblin.

It was a bit like a camp, a little piece of heaven, explained Eric Gustafson, who has toured concert halls, cruise ships and churches as Elvis Presley, of finding Roblin.

File photo Eric Gustafson performs at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium in Brandon. Gustafson, a tribute artist who often tours concert halls, cruise ships and churches as Elvis Presley, has found his little piece of heaven in Roblin.

Known by his stage name Daylin James, a couple of his fans  a husband and wife in a nursing home  were struggling to get their Roblin home off the market, when they suggested to Gustafson, who once lived in Marquette and was seeking a quiet life around Winnipeg, to look at their home.

He loved it, and fell in love with the community in the process. He moved to Roblin last December.

They are super friendly, people wave at you driving down the street, Gustafson said, almost in disbelief.

At first I didnt want anybody knowing what I did for a living, but I ended up doing a show here and it sold out a week before the performance.

Initially, Gustafson was hesitant to disclose his job, knowing people may draw conclusions between his private life and his stage persona, when, as Gustafson puts it, Daylin is only a bar of soap I put on the shelf for sale.

But Roblin has proven to be welcoming, which he appreciates.

His tenure as Elvis dates back to grade school, when Gustafson, growing up in Thunder Bay, Ont., made his first fan. His mother enjoyed listening to Elvis, so her son would lip sync the Kings songs.

I did it to get in her good books, Gustafson chuckled.

By 16, he added a guitar to his repertoire, and started playing shows around town. Hed visit nursing homes where people said he sounded like Elvis.

Im pretty sure I sucked badly, but people liked it.

Gustafson didnt stick with it. He jumped from a wedding band to a rock band and then a heavy rock band, before his wife-to-be said he had to give up his time-consuming hobby for the sake of his family.

She was right, he said.

Ten years after putting away his Elvis impersonation for good, or so he thought, Gustafson, now with a two-year-old son, was asked if hed bring his tribute out of retirement for a house party. He didnt want to, but was eventually convinced  good money for a half-hour of work does that.

It went well, and his phone rang from there.

Wanting to know if he really looked and sounded like Elvis, Gustafson entered his first sanctioned competition. He was named the Canadian national and international Elvis Tribute Artist grand champion in 1997.

Submitted Eric Gustafson, a tribute artist who often tours concert halls, cruise ships and churches as Elvis Presley, has found his little piece of heaven in Roblin.

He soon flew to Japan for a four-month contract and was eventually recruited to join Legends in Concert, a live show featuring numerous tribute artists, based in Las Vegas. Gustafson did intermittent work for them, throughout the United States, for seven or eight years.

For the last 15 years, Gustafson has largely stayed in the Prairie provinces  with numerous shows in Brandon, including one production earlier this month  though he does odd shows across the border, in Costa Rica and a yearly trip on Royal Caribbean cruise lines where hes the main attraction  Sailin with Daylin, its called.

Im still active but Im getting to the point now where I know my days of Elvis are pretty much done, he said. I dont want to do Elvis much longer; thats why I have so many other shows now, so I can diversify.

Daylin James holds a country western show, a gospel performance, a rhythm and blues show and a celebration of Broadway music, among others.

He has long yearned, however, for a simpler life, pulling him away from the 120-140 shows he does annually.

Its what helped him settle in Roblin in the first place.

The lure of moving to Roblin, having a regular life, working at the Co-op, its  very compelling to want to be like everybody else, he said. Every time I think Ive gotten to that point, my rock, which he defines as Jesus Christ, tells me youre not done, youve got to go back and perform.

The positive reaction he hears, certainly while visiting hospitals or nursing homes, makes it all worth it, he said.

On the personal side of things, hes got a mortgage for a new home and there are nuptials to plan.

Like I say, Im waiting for the safe to fall because my life has never been this smooth.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/05/2017 (1995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A one-of-a-kind vocational class now being offered in Birtle cannot hold on to its students.

The new nature studies program is so successful, in fact, two students have already left for jobs in related fields.

One student accepted a full-time position with Prairie View Municipality, while another person is employed as a surveyor for the provinces highways department. Both positions are seasonal.

Submitted photo Park West School Division students enjoy the great outdoors as part of their Nature Studies program, a one-of-a-kind vocational option now being offered. The class touches on outdoor education, resource and habitat management, wildlife management and tourism.

Teacher Alan Wilson said losing students is confirmation enough that pathways to employment exist.

Im getting emails saying, well hire these kids for summer employment right away, Wilson said. Theyre already doing the work and they already know what they would be up against as a summer student.

This semester, Park West School Division introduced a nature studies offering to complement the divisions existing vocational programming, such as building construction, health-care aide and cosmetology. Students from all division schools can attend.

In total, 13 students are in Wilsons nature studies class, with 16 people capping the list for the introductory year.

Theyll have no trouble filling seats next time around. So far, theres a waiting list of 50 students hoping to join the 2018 class, also offered from February to June.

The class is definitely unique in Manitoba, one of the only ones that I know of that offer something as broad in scope as this, Wilson said.

Theres lots of environmental courses and things like that, but to have it all day, every day for a whole entire semester and a pathway to employment is rare.

The class, which runs five days a week, is broken into four components, each a credit toward graduation. Students focus on outdoor education, resource and habitat management, wildlife management and tourism.

The class is all encompassing. Students are kayaking and backpacking, planting trees, working with GPS programs, tracking habitat populations and promoting local habitats like a tourism official.

There is a classroom component as well, Wilson said, but the intention is getting students into nature.

Thankfully, they dont have to walk far from Birtle Collegiate.

Situated in the Birdtail Valley, near Riding Mountain National Park and Duck Mountain Provincial Park, students in the class also have the luxury of being close to Fort Ellice, a historical trading post near St. Lazare, and numerous other properties overseen by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, too.

Were in a pretty pristine area, Wilson said. Our classroom, our lab is basically right out our doors.

The new program builds upon the existing wildlife management and outdoor education courses Wilson  a teacher with an obvious appreciation for the open prairie  began offering a couple years ago. Last year, he received approval from the provinces education department to create a vocational program centred on the outdoors.

By launching a vocational option, they can delve into the subject matter deeper, essentially providing hands-on training toward a future job.

Wilson mentioned that one student, who hopes to pursue study in environmental engineering, has had the chance to team up with former biologists and engineers.

A lot of (the industry professionals) that work with us are saying youre doing the stuff right now that in five years after university or college, youll be doing.

The class has cultivated partnerships, particularly with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Reached by phone earlier this month, Marci Zimmer, a Grade 10 student from Russell, was speaking from Fort Ellice, where her class was helping NCC with a five-year inventory of the animals living there.

Every two months, they visit Fort Ellice and pull memory cards from the stationed cameras. Later, the students look at the data and record the animals they see.

As part of the class, Zimmers also enjoyed hiking, making maple syrup and bleaching animal skulls so they can be displayed in their classroom.

Its something you usually wouldnt learn in school, something different, she said.

A number of her classmates are considering careers in the industry, while Zimmer is unsure where shell go.

Whats clear among her class, she explains, is a shared understanding of the potential the outdoors has in store.

Its an experience that might make more sedentary classrooms dull in comparison.

It might be pretty boring, she said, being inside all day.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
An award-winning Cork food company has predicted the gluten-free food industry will expand exponentially in the coming years, defying critics who say it is a passing fad, writes Padraig Hoare.

The Kinsale Bay Food Company, which crafts the finest gluten-free Irish food products, scooped three awards at the recent FreeFrom Food Awards 2017.

Having originated in the UK, the awards came to Ireland in 2016 to promote free from foods such as gluten, dairy or sugar-free breads, treats and meals.

The market has become massive globally, defying expectations from evidence-based food scientists that it would fizzle out after the initial boom. Sceptics argue there is little need for the majority of the population to eliminate ingredients such as gluten, a protein in grains that gives dough its elasticity. An allergy to gluten causes serious health issues, such as coeliac disease, a disorder of the autoimmune system.

However the explosion in demand for such products has shown no sign of abating, said Kinsale Bay Food company.

General Manager Tommy Doyle said: In 2006 when our company started making gluten-free products, it was a totally new concept. At that point in time there was really no way of knowing what size the gluten free market in Ireland was. But over the years we have seen the gluten-free market grow not just with Kinsale Bay Food Company, but with other food producers coming to the market, introducing gluten-free products or making their existing products gluten-free.

He pointed to Bord Bia research showing one in five Irish people buy gluten-free products every week despite only 1% of the population being diagnosed with coeliac disease.

What has really driven our volumes and our commitment to staying gluten-free is our quality of taste and our appeal to the mainstream market. It is estimated in approximately 20 years 90% of the products we eat will be gluten free thus keeping in tandem with Kinsale Bay Food Companys dedication to quality, wholesomeness and delicious foods, Mr Doyle added.

With over 100 brands competing against each other at the FreeFrom awards, Kinsale Bay Food Company came out on top with its mushroom soup which received the gold, while its cottage and shepherds pie each received a silver.

From humble beginnings in 2008, selling various products in the Kinsale town market, the independently family-owned company is now selling its gluten free range to supermarket and independent stores nationwide.

Owner Jim OMahoney said: So much hard work and dedication is put into producing the finest quality gluten free products and it is fantastic to see our teams hard work being recognised. Being gluten free does not mean you have to sacrifice on quality or taste, and our products are an exact representation of this.

A new packaging design and new website will launch in June. Products from the Kinsale Bay Food Company are available in selected Supervalu, Tesco, Centra and Artisan stores across Ireland.
CSO figures for overseas tourism have shown a mixed picture for February to April 2017.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said he was pleased with the performance from North America as CSO figures confirmed an increase of almost 26%.

Visitor numbers from Australia and developing markets are up almost 17%. Mainland Europe grew by over 2%.

Building on the success of recent years and sustaining growth into the future is our focus now. The challenge of Brexit is very real and the drop in British visitor numbers (-10.7%) for the February to April period reflects that.

"We continue to work with our industry partners, to diversify our tourism markets. Some years back, Tourism Ireland identified North America and Mainland Europe as the markets which offer the strongest return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure," he said.
Lawyers for the Director of Public Prosecutions have sought access for the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to transcripts of the Sean FitzPatrick trial.

The trial collapsed earlier this week after 127 days when Judge John Aylmer heavily criticised the ODCE investigation and directed an acquittal on all charges.

Mr FitzPatrick (68) of Whitshed Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow had denied misleading Anglo's auditors about multi-million euro loans linked to him and his family.

This morning at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court Dominic McGinn SC told Judge Aylmer that the ODCE wanted access to transcripts of the trial. ODCE staff were excluded for much of the extensive legal argument that was a feature of this trial.

The details of coaching of witnesses from Anglo's auditors Ernst & Young and contamination of their statements by lawyers for Ernst & Young and ODCE investigators only emerged during this legal argument when defence lawyers cross-examined State witnesses.

Mr McGinn today told Judge Aylmer that the DPP have a copy of the trial transcripts and can liaise with the ODCE.

Judge Aylmer said he didn't think the court needed to give permission as the documents are a public record of a trial held in open court. He said in case permission was needed, the court had no issue with the ODCE getting the transcripts.

On Wednesday the ODCE stated that it would prepare, with the highest priority, a report into the collapse of the trial and would seek transcripts of the trial to do this.

Mr FitzPatrick had pleaded not guilty to 27 offences under the 1990 Companies Act. These included 22 charges of making a misleading, false or deceptive statement to auditors and five charges of furnishing false information in the years 2002 to 2007. The DPP withdrew nine of these charges earlier this month after conceding there was insufficient evidence for those.

The prosecution came on foot of an investigation by the ODCE that began shortly after the full size of Mr FitzPatrick's personal loans emerged in December 2008.

Loans taken out by Mr FitzPatrick, his wife and family members increased from in the region of 10 million in 2002 to around 100 million in 2007.
Three people have been arrested after drugs worth nearly half a million euro were seized in Dublin.

Gardai conducted searches in Clondalkin earlier today and discovered cannabis herb, a small amount of cannabis resin and cocaine and a quantity of cash.
Firefighters have warned of exploding aerosols and dangerously positioned mirrors starting house blazes as temperatures soar across the country.

As the mini-heatwave kicked in, Dublin Fire Brigade cautioned against putting potentially lethal everyday objects in direct sunlight.

Got any of these in your window? Move them before you go to bed tonight. Direct strong sunlight on them can cause a fire or explosion. pic.twitter.com/TLlfnUyw90  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) May 24, 2017

On its Twitter account, it posted pictures of hanging crystal beads, table mirrors and cans of deodorant.

It stated: "It's going to be another sunny day. Have you any of these in your window? Move them. Direct strong sunlight can cause a fire or explosion."

The firefighters said they are trying to raise awareness of how the sun can cause fires.

Footage of the charred aftermath of one house fire, where a mirror had been positioned in the window, was also uploaded.

We're trying to raise awareness of how the sun can cause fires... This domestic was most likely caused by this mirror. Watch. #heatwave pic.twitter.com/dQcVlkSXFI  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) May 25, 2017

The fire brigade said: "This domestic was most likely caused by this mirror. Watch."

The warning comes as forecasters predict top temperatures of up to 25c in certain parts of the country during Thursday.

The mercury is set to rise even further on Friday, to as high as 26c.

They also added a warning for those blessed with a pale complexion.

Loads of factor 50 today, avoid exposure to the midday sun, and stay well hydrated (H2O!) People with "Irish" skin may melt. #heatwave  pic.twitter.com/tTyNSS8PFa  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) May 25, 2017

However, Met Eireann has also warned of outbreaks of showery and possibly heavy and thundery rain.

The midlands and the east are predicted to stay dry with good sunny spells with cooler weather along the south and west.
Government ministers have been advised that Garda authorities are working closely with event organisers to ensure that appropriate safety and security measures are in place at forthcoming events in the summer period

In a statement following a meeting of Ministers and senior officials this morning in the wake of the Manchester terrorist attack to review the States arrangements and level of preparedness in the event of an attack here Tanaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald TD said the Gardai are asking the public to remain vigilant and to immediately report any issue which gives rise to concern.
Update 3.45pm: A Supreme court ruling which means the state is potentially liable for up to 90m worth of claims against collapsed insurer has been described by one insurer as a good day for Irish motorists.

Earlier today the Supreme Court overturned a finding that the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was potentially liable for an estimated 1,750 claims - which could run to about 90m - against collapsed Maltese-registered insurance company Setanta.

Jonathan Hehir the Managing Director of www.insuremyvan.ie said the decision should help to remove the threat of premium increases as a result of this issue.

"We believe many insurers had planned for the eventuality whereby the MIBI would carry the costs involved (and possibly those of future failures) and would have added 40-50 insolvent insurer cost to all car and van policies. Thankfully situation has been avoided by todays ruling.

"The decision of the courts today seems wholly logical given that the Compensation Fund was set up with the specific role of providing for policyholders in the event or an Irish or EU authorised Insurer going into Liquidation."

Mr Hehir said the issue of responsibility was still outstanding and suggested the responsibility for the failure of Setanta Insurance rests with The Maltese Government.

"They failed in their duty to provide the appropriate supervision of this insurer.

"We would argue that the next step for the Irish Government should be to recover their costs from Malta.

"The Irish people should not be held responsible for the Maltese Governments lack of supervision."

Earlier: The State is potentially liable for hundreds of claims against collapsed insurer Setanta after the Supreme Court overturned a finding the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was potentially liable.

The liquidator of Maltese-registered Setanta, which sold insurance policies exclusively in Ireland before it collapsed in 2014, has determined the cost of an estaimated 1,750 claims could run to about 90m.

The Supreme Court 5/2 majority ruling upheld the MIBI argument that various agreements with the Minister for Transport did not cover insolvent insurers.

The MIBI had argued the State's Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF) should pick up the Setanta bill, as was done in the cases of PMPA and Quinn Insurance and the Supreme Court ruling means claims against Setanta will be met from the ICF, set up under the Insurance Act 1964.

The court noted the relevant scheme means claimants against Setanta policy holders will recover no more than 65 per cent, as opposed to a potential 100 per cent if the MIBI was held liable.

Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell said the logic of limiting claims in respect of insolvent insurers makes some sense in the context of claims by Setanta policy holders to whom "some moral hazard" may be considered to apply.

However, there was a "strong and perhaps unanswerable case in equity" for amendment of the scheme to permit full recovery of claims against Setanta policy holders.

"A victim does not choose the party with whom he or she collides, and still less his or her insurer," he said.

If such victims continue to be limited to 65 per cent recovery, the constitutional validity of applying that limit to third party claimants "would clearly arise".

He was giving judgment allowing the MIBI's appeal against a Court of Appeal decision rejecting the MIB's interpretation of agreements between the MIBI and Minister for Transport between 1955 and 2009, referred to as the MIBI agreement.

The case - brought by the Law Society on foot of a court order - was essentially aimed at preventing the accountant of the High Court making payments from the ICF to claimants on the basis it appeared the MIBI could instead pay out.

The core issue was whether the MIBI agreement - particularly Clause 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 - covered claims to be met by an insolvent insurer.

Mr Justice O'Donnell said the agreements were "ambiguous" and like a "freeform jigsaw" with pieces that could be arranged in at least two different patterns and some pieces difficult to fit into the overall pattern.

When considering the "overall picture", he concluded the MIBI interpretation - the agreement does not extend to liability for claims against drivers whose insurer had become insolvent - was "more plausible" and correct.

The complex arguments concerning the agreement were only necessary because of the "substantial difference" between the available recovery under the ICF (limited to 65 per cent or 830,000) and the near full indemnity available against the MIBI.

While the Law Society had argued a finding the ICF was liable "would be to the benfit of insurers at the expense of victims", the court was not being asked to decide if a victim should be partly or fully compensated but rather to interpret an agreement in line with principles applicable to every contract.

What interpretation was given, there would be consequences including, if claims were to be met from the ICF, there woud be pressure for amendment of the relevant scheme.

The Chief Justice, Ms Justice Susan Denham, Mr Justice William McKechnie, Mr Justice Peter Charleton and Ms Justice Iseult O'Malley also agreed the appeal should be allowed.

Mr Justice McKechnie, in a separate concurring judgment, said, "not without some diffucult" he preferred Mr Justcie O'Donnell's approach to construing the agreement to that adopted by Mr Justice Frank Clarke in his dissenting judgment.

Mr Justice Clarke found the agreement obliged the MIBI to cover claims against drivers insured with Setanta. He said it was "particularly unfortunate", when the ICF came into existence udner the 1964 Insurance Act, the then MIBI agreement or its successors were not amended to make clear where liability for victims of drivers insured by insolvent insurers would lie.

Mr Justice MacMenamin, who also dissented, said the most important part of the MIBI agreement was Clause 4.1 which, in his view, creates a liability against the MIBI. It was open to the parties to revise the relevant agreements, he also noted.
A mother has claimed her former partner only wants to use their toddler to get an Irish visa, a court heard today.

The mother told the Dublin District Family Court her young son was premature and was therefore quite poorly when he was born. She said the father left Ireland for the UK when the baby was just four weeks old, and never contacted them to enquire about his health.

He then returned to Ireland and contacted them  but was only interested in the child to get his papers, the mother told Judge David Waters.

The father was also convicted of breaching a safety order the mother obtained against him, in December 2015, and he was ordered to not be in contact with her.

In October 2015, the father was granted monthly one-hour visits with the son, and so he saw the child three times before he breached the Safety Order in December. Visits stopped after that.

The mother, who works as a health care assistant, said she would have serious safety concerns if the father were to see her son.

For one year, he didnt ask if the baby was alive, she said. It was when he came to prepare his papers that he started to threaten me.

Im not safe. My baby is not safe.  Even when Im looking at him, Im scared.

She said her former partner has threatened to kill her if she tries to stop him from getting his visa.

He wants to kill me  how can he with [my son]? she asked the court.

Jennifer Cuffe, BL, for the mother, said echoed her clients evidence, telling Judge Waters that the father has no interest or input into the childs life.

He only wants guardianship for visa purposes, she said. He doesnt want anything to do with the child.

She said the child currently has no passport, and but that the dad only wants a certified copy of a passport for his visa application.

The father said he would be happy to see his son once a month, in a centre that offers supervision services to families. He said he wanted to be a father in his life.

Judge Waters told him he hadn't gotten off to a very good start and was convicted of breaching a safety order. The father said he loves his son and would never pose a risk to him.

Judge Waters struck out the mothers application to remove guardianship from the father. He said the father, as a guardian, can apply to have the mothers consent waived in a passport application.

He granted the father, who began to cry into a facecloth, monthly supervised access for one hour with his son, to take place in a centre.

Neither party seems to be putting the health and welfare of the child first, the judge said, referring to the astonishing attitudes from both parties.
A federal appeals court has dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six-Muslim majority countries.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican's administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which President Trump's administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L Gregory wrote.

President Trump will likely appeal to the US Supreme Court.

A central question in the case is whether courts should consider President Trump's past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country.

The federal judge in Maryland who blocked the travel ban cited comments made by President Trump and his aides during the campaign and after the election as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Mr Trump's administration argued that the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which does not mention religion.

The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration says.

Some of the 13 judges on the appeals court that heard arguments earlier this month seemed sceptical of the administration's argument.

"Don't we get to consider what was actually said here and said very explicitly?" said Judge James Wynn Jr, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Other judges worried about using a candidate's word to evaluate a policy's motive.

"Can we look at his college speeches? How about his speeches to businessmen 20 years ago?" said Judge Paul Niemeyer, who was tapped by President George HW Bush, a Republican.

These Muslim Americans share stories about loved ones affected by Trump's travel ban. pic.twitter.com/GGwwaQfDFP  AJ+ (@ajplus) May 25, 2017

AP
Greek police say former prime minister Lucas Papademos has been wounded in an explosion in a car in central Athens.

Authorities said the daytime blast left 69-year-old Mr Papademos with non-life-threatening injuries.
The editor of a local newspaper in Siberia has been shot dead, Russian investigators said.

The investigative committee in the Krasnoyarsk region said 42-year-old Dmitry Popkov, editor of the Ton-M newspaper, was found dead with gunshot wounds outside his home in the city of Minusinsk.
A second man has been arrested after counter-terrorism police stopped a man from boarding a plane to Turkey.

A 37-year-old man was arrested at Stansted Airport on Tuesday night on suspicion he planned to travel to Syria.
A woman arrested over the Manchester Arena attack has been released without charge, leaving six people in UK custody as counter-terrorism police swooped on the suicide bomber's suspected "network".

The woman was arrested in the Blackley area of Manchester on Wednesday after a series of raids across Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton, Warwickshire, while relatives of bomber Salman Abedi were detained in Libya.

Six men arrested in the UK remain in custody, while the woman was released, Greater Manchester Police said on Thursday.

Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli with his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was "aware of all the details" of the attack.

A 23-year-old man - named in reports as Abedi's older brother Ismail - was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Tuesday.

Ramadan Abedi had earlier claimed his son Salman was innocent, saying: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."

The developments came as the police investigation was hit by further leaks to the US media, with the New York Times releasing crime scene photos appearing to show bomb fragments and the backpack used to conceal the explosive.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said the leak of the pictures breached trust and "undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families".

Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise UK concerns when she meets US President Donald Trump at a Nato meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

Twenty-two people were killed and dozens seriously injured when Abedi, 22, detonated a device as fans left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

With Britain on critical alert for further attacks:

Three men were arrested after police executed warrants in south Manchester, while officers entered an address in the city centre using a controlled explosion on Wednesday afternoon.

Two further arrests included a man carrying a suspect package in Wigan and a man at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Detectives carried out a controlled explosion as they searched a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Sky News said it had obtained CCTV images which showed Abedi at Manchester's Arndale shopping centre on Friday after he bought the rucksack used in the attack.

Cheshire Police confirmed that one of its female officers died while off-duty at the concert but have not named her.

Almost 1,000 military personnel were being deployed around the country, including to key sites such as Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, after the official terror threat assessment was raised to critical, the highest level, indicating that a further attack may be imminent.

France's interior minister disclosed that the bomber is believed to have travelled to Syria and claimed he had "proven" links with Islamic State (IS), which has claimed the attack.

Claims emerged in America, reported by NBC News, that members of the bomber's family had warned security officials Abedi was "dangerous".

Management for US singer Grande, whose concert had just finished when the bomb went off, said her world tour including upcoming gigs at the O2 in London had been postponed.

The Government announced that a minute's silence will be held at 11am on Thursday in remembrance of those who died or were affected by the attack.

The bombing was the deadliest terrorist incident to hit the UK since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005 and sparked a nationwide security operation amid fears further strikes could be imminent.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating and as I've said, it continues at pace, this extensive investigation is going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak."

The force said it was "confident" it had identified every victim but they would not be formally identified until after post-mortem examinations were completed in four to five days.

There were reports that members of the public blew the whistle on Abedi several years ago by reporting him to the anti-terrorism hotline.

An unnamed Muslim community worker told the BBC two people who knew the attacker at college tipped off officers after he made statements "supporting terrorism" and expressing the view that "being a suicide bomber was okay".

The calls are thought to have been made five years ago after Abedi left school, the community worker added.

Mrs May will chair a fourth meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee since the Manchester attack, on Thursday morning, Downing Street said.

In response to the heightened threat, the Government has activated Operation Temperer, providing up to 3,800 troops to support the police in security operations.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said 984 military personnel were being deployed around the country, which the Metropolitan Police said had freed up 1,000 armed officers to carry out patrols.

She confirmed Abedi had recently returned from a visit to Libya, and said the nature of the attack suggested he may have had support.

A spokesman for Libyan authorities said one of Abedi's final acts before the murders was to ring his mother.

He told BBC2's Newsnight: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack. So after that, he told us, 'Having internet, I see the attack in Manchester and I knew that's my brother'."

The spokesman added that Libyan authorities were aware of Abedi going to the capital of Tripoli on April 18 and believed he stayed for two or three weeks.

He revealed that Abedi's younger brother Hashim had been investigated for about a month and a half over suspicions that he was linked to IS.

"We were not quite sure about this, but when we arrested and we asked him, he told us, 'I have ideology with my brother'. Hashim told us, 'I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester'."
He is understated and humble but Canberra Airport owner Terry Snow is now, according to the annual Rich List, Canberra's new - and only - billion dollar man.

The 2017 Financial Review Rich List, to be released in full on Friday, put Snow's wealth at $1 billion for the first time, up from $685 million in last year's list.

Terry Snow (left) and Willinga Park eqestrian centre architect Chris Millman with dogs China and Holly. Credit:Alina Gozin'a

He's also moved up the rankings in the list of Australia's 200 richest people from No.84 last year to No.59 this year,

Rich List editor John Stensholt said the sudden rise in Snow's wealth was due less to any financial windfalls and more to previous rich lists under-valuing the airport and surrounding precinct, which continued to appreciate.
It was a chaotic drive to work or school for many in south Canberra on Thursday morning after a crash at the intersection of Hindmarsh Drive and Jerrabomberra Avenue at Narrabundah.

Traffic was banked up along the eastbound lanes of Hindmarsh Drive and northbound lanes of Jerrabomberra Avenue as the traffic lights at the intersection were brought down by the collision.

The accident scene at the corner of Hindmarsh Drive and Jerrabomberra Avenue on Thursday morning.

An ACT Emergency Services Agency spokesman said it received the call for assistance at 7.30am.

Three vehicles were involved - two cars collided, knocking over the traffic lights, which then fell on a third car.
A Canberra woman accused of stabbing her elderly mother in the chest was heard to yell "die" when she returned home to find the woman still alive, prosecutors told a court.

Mary Ivanisevic, 45, is then alleged to have forced her mother to record a fake confession on her mobile phone to say she stabbed herself as a neighbour tried desperately to render first aid.

The case ended with a judgment by consent before Justice John Burns in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday. Credit:Graham Tidy

Ivanisevic was charged after her mother, then aged 74, was found curled on the floor of her Curtin home, still attached to an oxygen machine and with a deep wound to her chest, shortly after 1pm on December 6, 2015.

Her ACT Supreme Court trial began on Thursday, when jury members heard they would have the option of finding the defendant guilty of attempted murder, or a lesser charge of assault causing grievous bodily harm.
The Newman and Palaszczuk Queensland governments and their "pro-coal" policies are to blame for the failure of the Kogan Creek Solar Boost project, scrapped last year at a cost to taxpayers of at least $45 million, the technology's inventor says.

State-owned utility CS Energy blamed contractual and technical problems, including rusting pipes and "fast-moving clouds", for the project's failure.

But Australian scientist David Mills, whose pioneering solar thermal technology was to be used at Kogan Creek, said although former Labor premier Anna Bligh had been supportive in the scheme's early stages, subsequent governments had failed to get state-owned power companies to buy the electricity produced, dooming the scheme.

"It's clear that there's protection of existing companies going on here for the local industry," Dr Mills said.
"George M's comment regarding stray leaves (C8) reminds me of a cheerful observation made by a Greenethorpe farmer during a severe dust storm that we were witnessing a large transfer of prime real estate without any commission payable to estate agents." 'Roger'.

"I have four Chinese Tallow trees outside my house," reports Ian Stevenson of Gladesville. "Their roots damage the footpath and their leaves block street and house gutters. I have asked our council without success to replace them with natives, such as bottlebrush, which attract lorikeets."

There's more. "I wonder if George's neighbours are getting ready for a concerted bout of leaf-blowing this Sunday morning?" John Christie, Oatley.

"Hasn't anyone told George that liquidambars are noxious weeds?" asks Peter Miniutti, Ashbury.

Moving on. "My pet hate when travelling is the amount of baggage that people are allowed to stow after boarding a plane. Why isn't it limited to one small pack? Instead one sees small bags with wheels and front and back packs shoved into overhead lockers .Last on board  and if you are carrying something small yourself  bad luck. Bah! Humbug!" Stewart Copper, Maroubra.
Asked late on Wednesday if he supported One Nation's proposed ban on Muslim immigration, the Western Australian senator said every person seeking to live in Australia should face strict background checks.

Senator Georgiou, who replaced his brother-in-law Rodney Culleton in the Senate after Mr Culleton's election was declared invalid, is the son of Greek migrants and has previously described former Labor prime minister Paul Keating as a politician he admires.

Newly installed One Nation senator Peter Georgiou has rejected his party's opposition to Muslim migration, a central tenet of leader Pauline Hanson's policy platform.

"If they are Muslim and they've passed the checks that the Australian government has on it, then I don't see it as an issue," he told ABC radio.

Senator Brian Burston and Senator Pauline Hanson welcomed Senator Peter Georgiou to the Senate, as he replaced Rod Culleton as WA in March. Credit:Andrew Meares

"That is different to my party's policy and everyone has their own ... everyone thinks differently in the party [about] policy and we all have different thoughts on different policies."

Since re-emerging as a force in federal politics, Senator Hanson has advocated the so-called "Muslim ban", and called for a royal commission into Islam.

The One Nation leader controversially compared Islam to a disease that needs to be vaccinated against.
Let's be clear, contain and negotiate had, as its intended objective, the non-violent resolution of the stand-off. It failed. Leaving aside the fatal collateral wounding of Ms Dawson in the police raid, it must be acknowledged that waiting-it-out may itself have increased the likelihood of homicide by gradually ratcheting up the anxiety and fatigue factor in the cafe. In any case, the waiting period concluded with the unprovoked firing of Monis' shotgun and then the callous murder of Mr Johnson.

Armed police in Martin Place during the Lindt cafe siege. Credit:Mark Metcalfe

From the mind-set of patience - apposite for domestic siege situations but demonstrably ill-suited in the case of a suicidal terrorist - everything else flowed, including a refusal to properly weigh the first-hand warnings of imminent murder provided by hostages who had just escaped, and of course the fact that negotiations had signally failed to progress at all. Remember, no direct police-to-terrorist conversations took place at any point.

Moreover, as a result of this mind-set, considerations about: military assistance; the use of police or possibly army snipers; clear lines of fire; using "bonded" rounds for piercing commercial grade plate-glass versus standard police ammunition; and the legal bases of all of the above, were never progressed either. Nor were detailed contingency plans seriously developed.

The coroner dismissed claims that the military's actual experience of storming strongholds might have been accessed, citing Part IIIAAA of the Defence Act.
Wilson Three, Rebel Wilson, thought that Wilson One had been harassing her grandmother. But it was actually Wilson Two doing the alleged hrrassing, and now the accused Wilson One is suing Wilson Three, while Wilson Three is suing the company that employs Wilsons One and Two.

Got that?

A very odd and confusing case of mistaken identity dominated day four of Rebel Wilson's defamation trial in the Supreme Court against Bauer Media, the publisher of Woman's Day.

She says a series of articles published in Bauer magazines in May 2015 claimed she lied about her name, age and background, badly damaging a career that was just starting to blossom.
More than 100 licensed venues will have "strikes" against them wiped from the record by the NSW government under controversial changes to the penalty regime covering misbehaving pubs and clubs.

Racing Minister Paul Toole has confirmed that under amendments to the "three strikes" law passed by Parliament this week, strikes in force against pubs and clubs for serious breaches of the Liquor Act will be removed.

However, he said any licence conditions imposed on venues along with a strike will remain in place, subject to an application to the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority for their alteration or removal.

Since the scheme began in 2012, more than 100 venues have received strikes that remain in place for breaches including selling alcohol outside of authorised hours, failing to comply with lockout laws and supplying alcohol to a minor.
In 2003, Keith Rabois, a long-time Silicon Valley investor and executive, had an ambitious idea: he wanted to start a website that would instantly offer a fair price for your home. If you accepted the offer, the site would agree to buy your house immediately, closing the deal in a matter of days.

To Rabois, the plan seemed obvious: homes are the most expensive possession many of us own, yet they are the most difficult to trade on to sell in a hurry if you need to relocate or are otherwise looking for quick cash. But tech could solve that. By analysing sales data, a company could come up with an accurate price for most homes, then the start-up could buy houses quickly, charge people a convenience fee and sell the homes over a longer period of time.

Opendoor just might epitomise the 'fat' start-up. Credit:Kate Monakhova

There was just one problem. Back then, Silicon Valley was in the middle of a post-dot-com bust and nobody would fund such an expensive plan. So Rabois sat on the idea for more than a decade. Then in 2014, amid more prosperous times, he and several partners opened the home-buying company Opendoor. Opendoor has since raised more than $300 million in equity and has also taken out more than $500 million in debt. It plans to be in 10 markets by the end of the year.

A model for a new kind of start-up
The former partner of a woman found dead in their Sunshine West home has been arrested in Queensland.

Mehmed Solmaz, 60, has been on the run since Tuesday after police were called to the home in Hall Street in Melbourne's west at 9pm on Tuesday.

Fatma Solmaz was found dead inside a Sunshine West home on Tuesday night.

They found the body of his former partner Fatma Solmaz, 61.

Police said Mr Solmaz was arrested on Thursday morning in Goondiwindi, which is on the NSW border.
A horse-drawn buggy driver in Melbourne's CBD denies operators are "cowboys" and has vowed to fight a decision by lord mayor Robert Doyle to stop issuing carriage permits next month.

On Tuesday Cr Doyle announced Melbourne City Council would no longer issue permits to horse-drawn carriage operators as of June 30, and suggested buggy drivers move to parks.

People on a horse drawn carriage between Flinders Street Station and Federation Square. Credit:Scott Barbour

As part of works on the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, operators will soon be moved to the Arts Centre on St Kilda Road following the removal of the existing parking area at Swanston Street and Flinders Lane.

The mayor took a swipe at operators who he described as "cowboys" and pointed to several incidents where horses had made U-turns in front of trams and another where one horse bolted on Swanston Street.
Police chiefs should consider arming Melbourne's officers on the beat with assault rifles, lord mayor Robert Doyle has suggested.

Cr Doyle said it was "not a look I'd particularly enjoy on our streets", but after the explosion that killed 22 people leaving a pop concert in Manchester, Melbourne's general duties officers might need to carry assault weapons.

Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said he would prefer that everyday access to such weapons remained with the force's tactical unit, while Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt called for general duties officers to have "ready access" to long-arm rifles.
The grandparents of a missing WA girl say they are hopeful a newly released age-progressed image of her may give them answers as to her whereabouts.

The new age-enhanced image of Leela McDougall was one of six images of missing children released on Thursday as part of International Missing Children's Day.

On the left a picture of Leela around the time she went missing. On the right the new age progressed image of what she may look like today. Credit:Australian Federal Police

Forensic artists from the United States National Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped create the age-progressed image of Leela, who would now be 15.

Her image, and that of five other missing children, were released at the International Missing Children's Day launch in Canberra.
Phnom Penh: He has been convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail over the deaths of at least 1.7 million people.

But though he is ailing and frail, 90-year-old Nuon Chea has still been able to latch onto the latest media trend, recently lashing out at the partly Australian-funded tribunal into Khmer Rouge crimes in Cambodia by labelling its allegations "fake news".

In a leaked confidential 550-page closing paper, Pol Pot's second-in-command attempts to rewrite the history of the Khmer Rouge's demented pursuit of an agrarian utopia in the 1970s.

The tribunal had "blindly regurgitated" historically inaccurate and false claims by Vietnam, the former US-backed Cambodian government and a handful of Anglo-French books, films and exhibitions that painted the organisation as a "monstrous regime intent on harming its people", Nuon Chea's lawyers write.
Missoula, Montana: Greg Gianforte, the Montana Republican charged with body-slamming a reporter on the eve of the state's special congressional election, has won a US House seat.

The tech millionaire won the statewide contest for Montana's only House seat over Democrat Rob Quist, a political novice and musician.

Gianforte had 50.6 per cent of the vote to Quist's 43.5 per cent, according to the Associated Press, with 77 per cent of precincts reporting. The seat had been held by Ryan Zinke, appointed by Trump as interior secretary.

Gianforte's victory was a setback for Democrats who hoped to capitalise on Trump's low approval ratings, unpopular GOP healthcare legislation and the misdemeanor assault charge against him.
Latest News ubank launches $6,000 cashback offer Digital bank hopes to entice new home loan borrowers

AFG appoints three new managers Aggregator's move to boost broker recruitment, support

A number of peak industry bodies have come together with a joint statement criticising the governments proposed one stop shop for external dispute resolution (EDR).The final Ramsey Report into Australias three financial sector ombudsman schemes recommends replacing the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO), and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) with a single scheme, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).The joint statement rejecting this proposal was written by the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia ( MFAA ), the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the Australian Collectors & Debt Buyers Association (ACDBA), the Association of Securities and Derivatives Advisers of Australia (ASDAA), the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC), and the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP).These bodies represent about 80% of all financial firms in the Australian market and are members of either the FOS or the CIO.The Associations believe the one stop shop will undermine the fabric of external dispute resolution (EDR) in the financial services sector because, as the weight of evidence submitted by industry suggests, the continued and separate existence of FOS, CIO and the SCT is vital in ensuring accountability, innovation and cost control in EDR.The Ramsey review based most of its recommendations on insights from consumer advocates who represent fewer than 5% of all complaints taken to the FOS or the CIO, the statement said.The Associations are also disappointed in the way the Ramsay review was conducted. The panel only held two public consultations with industry, during which it refused to articulate the reasons for proposing a single monopoly scheme and failed to engage with the credible arguments put forward by the Associations.EDR success relies on both consumers and financial institutions trusting the schemes processes at a high enough level to commit to resolve their disputes through these means, the statement continued.Submissions made by the Associations to the Ramsay review expressed the view that a single monopoly scheme would not have the trust or support of over 80% of all financial firms represented by the Associations.Furthermore, a one stop shop would benefit large financial firms over smaller ones with thinner margins and lower market share which may struggle to absorb or pass on any additional costs related to the proposed scheme, the associations said.In a submission delivered to the Treasury earlier this year, the MFAA slammed the recommendation as going against the vast majority of evidence provided, adding that it was designed to fix a problem that does not exist.The proposed monopoly scheme would be focused on the needs of the big banks rather than the brokers since the former generate the most complaints, the MFAA added.Adverse findings from a monopoly scheme focused on the big end of town could end a brokers business, and we dont believe such a scheme would have the expertise to deal with disputes appropriately.
Counterpoint, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00  9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org 1) Professor Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, talks about the Republican Party's embrace of "white replacement theory," WRTs fascist origins, why Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has become a role model for much of the GOP -- and the dangerous rise of rightwing extremist political violence in the US.2) Cody Hounanian, Executive Director of the Student Debt Crisis Center discusses his group's response to President Biden's announced plan to address student loan debt, which includes forgiving up to $20,000 for millions of borrowers and extending the payment freeze one final time until the end of the year.3) Jenna Grande, Press Secretary with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) discuss CREW's recent article, "Big Oil Has Given $1 Million to Fuel Seditionists," and related issues of Big Oil's influence on US energy, environment and climate policy.4) Liz Dupont-Diehl, Associate Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group discusses her group's recent reporting on CT based health insurance companies that are requesting double-digit premium increases for individuals and small businesses, as they spend billions on stock buybacks and excessive executive salaries, and lobbying.Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 2-hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint
Mary Tsiongas, courtesy of Richard Levy Gallery

In Mary Tsiongas' Mountain Park a house surfaces from the flat blackness of night that surrounds it. The shadows of trees climb to its pitched roof, reach their viny arms through the windows, then fade again into the dark sky. Eerily devoid of human presencenot nightmarish, just suggestivethe black lake that reflects the scene reiterates the photographs meditative blankness. The more I look at the work, Tsiongas described of this series of photographs, which will make their debut at Richard Levy Gallery on May 27, it begins to bring me back to ideas of grief and loss.  There's something about them that because they're so enveloped in darkness, and they're reflected in this pool, they almost seem like tombs or monuments, there's something lonely about them because there's nothing else there. They each seem like the last building standing.

When I sat down with Tsiongas on a rainy afternoon, I thought I knew the substance of her most recent workand in a sense, I did. What I saw were giant, nondescript buildings, frames emptied of windows, rooms never occupied, the walls strikingly white. In actuality, the origins of these photographs came from the now-defunct slide library of UNM's art department. Tsiongas works as a professor at UNM, where she came across the abandoned scaled-down models of buildings, which she found interesting and decided to keep. Later, as the little-used collection of art slides was being disbanded, she scavenged a plethora of those, as well. What happened next is what Tsiongas described as a playful experiment. She had intended to project the slides onto the buildings and photograph them to later incorporate into the medium she usually works in, that is, film. Yet, as she began snapping pictures, she realized how provocative and mysterious they were. And so, she became much more interested in them as photographs, Tsiongas explained.

Tsiongas sort of expects viewers to not quite be able to place these images. Where are these buildings? Why are they so devoid of humans? What scale do they exist on? That's why I call them aporia, she said, a greek word that means a kind of puzzle. And Tsiongas expects what viewers will see in this body of work to be appropriately varied. As for Tsiongas herself, she sees some of the elements that I'm always interested inenvironmental concerns, the way we relate to landscape, where we live  and how we experience the landscape. Going on, she wondered aloud, I thought it was interesting that the building kind of consumed the landscape, but at the same time, in some of the imagery, it looks like the landscape is returning and consuming the building. I like that back and forth that it has.

In part, these scenes are difficult to situate because of their sharp contrasts and the consummate presence of darkness. (Tsiongas laughed about many of the photos being seven-eighths black.) As Tsiongas mentioned, to some the pictures may conjure fittingly dark visions of tombs and mausoleums, but importantly, running parallel to those notions are ideas of loss. To the artist, this equates to the loss of nature. And, poetically, in that loss of nature, the loss of home. Tsiongas recently returned from a residency in Wyoming, where she worked on the pieces. Before I went there, I was thinking about these images as sort of dreamscapes or nightscapes, but with no stars in the sky, she said. While reading up on light pollution, she discovered that it may soon be impossible to experience true earthly nighttime darkness anymore. Glimpsing the closest thing to a really dark night that I had seen in a long time, that loss felt compounded. Engulfing these pieces there is a black that is impossible to see now.

Yet, bisecting the darkness of Tsiongas' work is a beam of light from an obsolete machine that allows nature to take its stand in the frame. There's vibrancy in these scenes, too, and a multitude of conceptual takes that surface from them. These ideas have revealed themselves in the process of creation to Tsiongas. I've always been interested in beauty and mystery, she said of her inquiry. And so, I've always wanted to create imagery that lingers. In these photographs, it is the questions accompanying them that make Tsiongas so successful in doing just that.
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.
JT Dove sends a message to government during visit by MP

Following the General Election, the new government must remember that housing is not built and homes are not improved without the involvement of builders,' plumbers' and timber merchants.

That was the message from independent merchant JT Dove to Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Conservative MP for Berwick Upon Tweed, when she visited the 148-year old business.

Mrs Trevelyan was shown around JT Dove by its managing director, Steve Robinson. Together, they discussed the role, value and importance of merchants in creating local jobs and growth.

Mr Robinson explained how the company is investing in its 17-strong branch network throughout the North East, Cumbria and Scottish Borders. He also raised several key issues facing the construction industry including housing demand and supply, vocational training and skills (especially apprentices), and the consequences of the vote to leave the European Union.

Mr Robinson is also regional chairman of the Builders Merchants' Federation, which represents the interests of merchants and manufacturers with a combined annual worth of 24.6bn. Mrs Trevelyan was particularly interested in the latest BMF economic data, which shows sales figures across the UK in February were up nearly 8% in total, compared to the same time in 2016.

Touring the four-acre site, Mrs Trevelyan said: "I was delighted to visit JT Dove here in the constituency and learn of their contribution to not only rural Northumberland's prosperity, but also the wider North Eastern economy. I pay tribute to branch manager Eddie Burness and his team in helping customers with their building projects.

"Housing and home-ownership are central to my Party's thinking and our work on the Northern Powerhouse. I want to see a modern Industrial Strategy continue to succeed here in the North East. Boosting output and employment, educational achievement, and the quality of life in less-well performing parts of the country, compared to London and the South East, must continue to be our aim."

Concluding the visit, Mr Robinson said: "I was grateful to Anne-Marie for taking time to come today and gain insight into our supply chain. We wanted to show her that builders' merchants create meaningful jobs, at all levels, in every constituency. Apprentices are central to this and we want to see the next Government doing more to redress the parity of esteem between academic and vocational training."
Matthew Pitt, commercial and operations director of Abode, has just completed a 90 mile walk along the Dales Way, a long distance footpath, raising over 2,500 for the Alzheimers Society.

The Dales Way is a demanding but rewarding route, taking five and a half days through the Yorkshire countryside. Highlights en-route were seeing the Flying Scotsman train cross the Ribblehead viaduct, looking over the scenic Lake Windermere from the fells and watching the sun set over the Wharfe valley.

We met some great characters from all over the world. When we reached Ilkley in West Yorkshire, I celebrated with a much-needed pint of Wharfedale bitter. Thanks to everyone who donated money for dementia research, said Mr Pitt.

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Matthew-Pitt5.
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Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt's trip to India to promote his upcoming Netflix film, "War Machine", was a well-kept secret, revealed at the very last minute. The Hollywood star was at his charming best as he joined superstar Shah Rukh Khan for an exciting discussion on their careers and the prospect of cinema. During this meet SRK and Pitt chatted on various issues.
German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz is slashing prices of its vehicles produced in India by up to Rs 7 lakh to pass on benefits of new tax rate under GST due in July.

The new prices will be effective from Friday through the whole of June, but in case GST is deferred, the company said it would revert to the old prices till its rollout.

Mercedes Benz India locally produces nine models  CLA sedan, SUVs GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS, luxury sedans C-Class, E- Class, S -Class and Maybach S 500  which are priced between Rs 32 lakh and Rs 1.87 crore (ex-showroom Delhi).

The price reduction will range from Rs 1.4 lakh on the CLA sedan to Rs 7 lakh on Maybach S 500.

Commenting on the decision, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Roland Folger told PTI, "It looks really reasonable now that the government will stick to its decision to implement GST from July 1."

He further said, "We now know more in details what taxations are going to be in various states. We have a clear picture of the road ahead. So we have decided to compensate the difference between the current and post GST prices for our entire Made in India range."

On an average, there will be a reduction of 4 per cent in the transaction prices for customers of all models produced in India, Folger added.

Price reduction varies by state between 2 per cent to 9 per cent and is dependent on current tax structure and local body taxes of states, the company said.

Folger, however, hastened to add that if for "any reason GST is not implemented by July 1, then we will revert to the old pricing till the time it is implemented".

"Our decision to go ahead and reduce the price is also a reflection of our confidence in this government," Folger added.

For the other models which are fully imported, Mercedes-Benz India is currently discussing its pricing strategy under the GST regime.

"The impact on the prices on CBU vehicles is yet to be evaluated. We think the implementation of the GST structure is a landmark achievement for the Indian economy, which will support the ease of doing business in India," Folger said.

Under the GST rates announced last week, large luxury cars and SUVs with engine capacity of over 1,500 cc have been slated to attract a 15 per cent cess over and above peak rate of 28 per cent thereby bringing down the overall tax incidence compared to the present of around 50 per cent.
ended FY17 on a strong note, delivering better than estimated financials for the quarter ended March. The strong results saw the stock gain 4.6 per cent in trade on Thursday.
Cognizant Technology Solutions' has reached out to employees saying the firm is not planning layoffs and has dismissed concerns among engineers in India that they were being eased out in favour of hiring more resources in the US.
DLF, the real estate giant, plans a major entry into the co-work space business. It aims to lease 100,000 sq ft of prime commercial space, initially in the Delhi region and Chennai, to start-ups in the co-working sector over the next couple of years. And, is in talks with New York-based WeWork and other US and Europe-based co-work service entities.
Infosys Ltd, the India-based computer services giant, on Wednesday touted its new strategy to hire and train 10,000 American workers over the next two years at the company's annual leadership meeting in San Francisco.

Infosys is the largest employer of workers under the U.S. H1-B visa program for skilled workers, which has been under fire as the Trump Administration moves to tighten a range of immigration laws. Many large hire so-called outsourcing firms such as Infosys to manage their computer operations.

Infosys announced three weeks ago that it would hire 10,000 Americans, and said on Monday that it had leased 35,000 square feet of office space in downtown Indianapolis.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, who succeeded Vice President Mike Pence in the state's top office, and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie appeared at the San Francisco event to voice their support.

Ravi Kumar, Infosys's deputy chief operating officer, said the company will be looking to hire both experienced professionals and recent college graduates at a range of skill levels.

Each month, Kumar said, the company plans to put large batches of prospective employees through training courses of eight to 10 weeks that will prepare them for positions in fields like data analytics, enterprise cloud applications and cybersecurity.

Kumar said the new moves did not reflect any major change in the company's business model, with U.S. workers being compensated at the same level as H1-B visa professionals.

The company also used the meeting to highlight the launch of Infosys Nia, a new artificially intelligent service that is designed to allow IT professionals to automate more of their tasks. Infosys stressed that AI and automation are the future of technology, and that innovations in these areas will allow enterprises to be more productive without having to hire more people.

"If problem solving is going to be done by machines, then problem finding is the human frontier," said Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka in his keynote.
The Karnataka government says it is looking to reach and aid at least 1,000 from smaller cities and towns over the next two months.

This is part of its 'Elevate' programme, to identify 100 of the most innovative across sectors in the state.

The government is partnering with the Deshpande Foundation and The Indus Entrepreneurs in this regard. Once identified, these will get funds from the state or through venture capitalists (VCs) or angel investors.

Were trying to identify the top 100 innovative and see how we can help them. Whether in the form of funding, mentoring, legal help or anything else they would want, said Priyank Kharge, minister for information technology and tourism. I know most of them will be looking for funding. So, we are trying to bring in local VCs, as well as HNIs (high net worth individuals) and some from the private eco-system.

Elevate will see the state setting up camps at Mangaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi and in Bengaluru. The government aims to expand the start-up system beyond this city. In the past six months, it says it has funded around 55 start-ups, giving out around Rs 17 crores. More than on fund has been established for this backing. One of these gives Rs 50 lakh to a start-up that can build a prototype of its product and prove its worthiness. Around Rs 200 crore has been set aside for a 'fund of funds'.

I might be looking for the 100 most innovative but in the process, I might end up finding the next 200. I dont know the numbers but we might even be able to validate some of these ideas that can then come back to us maybe a year later, added Kharge.

His government is looking to be a facilitator, rather than an investor itself. Elevate hopes to bring in a trove of investors and mentors, to help the chosen start-ups grow their ideas and eventually become businesses.

Kharge says hes seen many start-ups fail not because of lack of money but the lack of mentorship. That includes support in legal matters, in accounting and in applying for patents. While investments will definitely be on tap, the government wants to help put in place the rest of the eco-system, to work independently of the government.

For smaller entities looking to tackle grassroot problems, the government says it has so far backed 163 such projects, 18 of which have been incorporated and having produced three patents so far. The size of an investment in such firms is roughly around Rs 3 lakh each, which the state says it is more than happy to plough in if it continues to see results.
Want to buy brand new flats in South Mumbais Breach Candy, where realty prices quote in lakhs of rupees per square foot (psf), at Rs 9,200 psf? That is what textile major is planning to offer its chairman Gautam Hari Singhania and his close relatives.

The deal, a part of a decades-old family agreement, which has been put for shareholder approval in the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM), has drawn the ire of proxy firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS). While the deal raises corporate governance issues, it also brings to the fore a legal battle over the iconic property  named after initials of the groups founding fathers Juggilal and Kamalpat between two branches of the Singhania family.

IiAS has slammed the move as a rip-off and questioned the quality of board oversight in the company. Estimating that the move will cost over Rs 650 crore in opportunity lost, IiAS has asked shareholders to vote against the resolution, which is coming up for vote on June 5.

The resolution seeks shareholder approval for offer by the company to each of the family members: Chairman emeritus and Gautam's father Vijaypat Singhania, Gautam Hari Singhania, Akshaypat Singhania and Veenadevi Singhania along with Anant Singhania (collectively referred as 'sublessees') for the purchase of premises in the new building known as 'J K House' at Rs 9,200 psf.

The 1,916-square yard property was acquired by in the 1940s to be used as the residence of its directors. Of the 12 floors, the first four floors had a shop and a museum, and the remaining eight floors comprise four duplex flats. Gautams grandfather, Kailashpat, had acquired woollen mills from its British owners around this time.

Kailashpat had two sons, Vijaypat and Ajaypat. Like in some other business families, the brothers were married to sisters Asha Devi and Veena Devi, respectively.

In the mid-1990s, the brothers and their families had agreed to take two duplex flats each.

Accordingly, Ajaypat and Veena Devis sons, Akshaypat and Anant, had rights over two duplex flats in the old building and have staked claims for possession of floors 21, 22, 23 and 24 in the new building.

The proposed sale is in accordance with the terms of the agreements dated November 6, 2007 executed between the company, Pashmina Holdings, a Raymond subsidiary, and the sublessees, who had surrendered their tenancy rights to enable the demolition of the old structure and construct a new structure. In July last year, Raymond received the occupancy certificate for the new building.

The recently rebuilt JK House is valued at Rs 1,17,000 psf (built up), putting a value on the entire transaction at Rs 710 crore.

Raymond, however, proposes to sell the property to the Singhania family factions for Rs 9,200 psf of carpet area  an over 90 per cent discount to market rates.

The sale price doesnt even cover JK Houses average cost of construction, estimated at over Rs 11,000 psf. Raymond has spent Rs 270 crore, not including the cost of land, in rebuilding JK House.

If the company were to sell the residential properties at market value, it would more than recover its cost of development, IiAS said.

The opportunity loss at over Rs 650 crore was large in the context of Raymonds own limited size: it aggregates over Rs 100 a share, it said.

The deal raised several corporate governance issues, including conflict of interest of Vijaypat Singhania who was part of the audit committee.

IiAS believes the board has failed to protect the interests of the minority shareholders. The company and directors must be prepared for shareholders seeking recompense, the report warned.

In an emailed statement, Gautam Hari Singhania, chairman and managing director, Raymond, said, We adhere to the highest level of corporate governance. Consequently, and given that offer required to be made by the company under the tripartite agreement pertaining to J K House, related party transaction which is in not in the ordinary course of business, the Raymond audit committee and board of directors have, based on legal advice and fiduciary duty to the shareholders, deferred the matter to shareholders for decision. All relevant facts pertaining to this matter have been set out in the AGM notice for shareholders to take a considered view. Needless to say, the promoters, being interested parties, will abstain from voting on this matter.

I assure you that the company is committed to protect interest of all its shareholders and is taking all appropriate steps, including legal measures, towards this objective. As also mentioned in the notice, the company will raise all defences in the legal proceedings that have been initiated and will undertake all steps to protect and preserve the property of the company.

Governance issues apart, if the minority shareholders vote the proposal out, it would weaken the claims of the family of late Ajaypat, according to a source close to the family. Emails sent to Akshaypat and Anant did not elicit any response.

The move by Raymond closely follows an April hearing at the Bombay High Court, where Akshaypat and Anant have moved arbitration petitions. Raymonds counsels had agreed not to create third party rights on properties claimed by the two.

At the hearing held on April 12, 2017, the learned senior counsels assured the honorable judge of high court that the company will not, till further orders, create any third party rights or alienate or encumber or part with possession of the two apartments, situated on the 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th floors of the new building, and will continue the leave and license agreement for the alternate premises occupied by the sub-lessees, the AGM notice said. The next hearing is scheduled on June 14.

Though Raymond shares fell by up to 10% in early trade on Thursday, they recovered handsomely to close with gains of 2.5 per cent at Rs 680.5 on the BSE.

Some questions Raymond shareholders should ask, according to IiAS
Reliance Communication (RCom), part of the Anil Ambani group, is under renewed pressure on Dalal Street over its financial health. RComs market cap declined by 48 per cent from Rs 12,444.9 crore at the end of March 2016 to Rs 6,458.9 crore on May 25, 2017.
Indian aviation has witnessed one of the fastest phases of its growth in the last three years. With the governments policy reviving the regional aviation market,India has become the third-largest market globally in terms of domestic traffic. However, the market continues to face a massive infrastructure crunch. Jayant Sinha, minister of state for civil aviation, speaks to Arindam Majumder on a wide range of issues -- from regional aviation to infrastructure and bilateral rights. Edited excerpts of the interview:

I would begin with an anecdote. Close to your media address announcing the guidelines for the UDAN scheme, which aims to boost regional air connectivity, a regional airline was grounded. It is yet to get off the ground. Isn't there a dichotomy here?

This is about the airline business as a whole. I thought you wanted to know what we have done through Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme to make regional aviation successful, even as people had not succeeded in the past.

We have done four things to reduce the cost but make regional aviation profitable and attractive. One is through a cut in taxes on aviation turbine fuel from over 20 per cent to 3 per cent.

Two, we have eliminated all airport navigation and landing charges for Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) flights from both the origin and destination airports.

Three, we have given exclusivity for three years. For instance, Alliance Air won the bid for Delhi-Shimla. They will be the only one to operate on that route for three years.

And four, we have put in place a number of steps for lessors that makes it easier for them to repossess a plane if an airline defaults. As a result, leasing cost has come down. Lessors are now charging you less because their risks have come down.

Additionally, we are giving viability gap funding (VGF). The first three things are themselves so attractive that we have many routes awarded at zero VGF.

In the first round of bidding, we have put 1. 3 million seats into the regional aviation with a total subsidy of Rs 205 crore. Thats how well designed the scheme is, as this money will be recovered from passengers flying in national markets.

There has been an opposition to this part as passengers on trunk routes are being charged for this.

This is cross-subsidy which is common in a network business. Today, when you purchase a telecom minute, you pay five per cent charge as USOP. In such a business, one has to look if the network is profitable, and not universal routes.

To build a large aviation network in India, it is necessary to cross-subsidise the most profitable routes as it will be an advantage for everyone in the long run. There is a very famous law, the Metcalfs Law, which says the power of network grows exponentially as you add more nodes to it.

So, clearly, UDAN has been the largest achievement of the civil aviation ministry?

Well, we can talk about three years of achievements and then last years achievement. If we talk about the former, we have the national civil aviation policy, affordable flying, no-fly list, Digi Yatra and Air Sewa.

In the past year, the single biggest thing that has happened is UDAN. We had a situation where in the 75 years since independence, we had only 75 airports. In one year, at a cost of Rs 205 crore cross-subsidy, we have added 33 more.

At the speed with which UDAN is going and the bet that IndiGo has taken to add 50 ATRs, we are going to rapidly add airports and we will hopefully have 200 airports in near future.

So the governments policy has nudged a reluctant operator to make a strategy shift?

No. Its not about a reluctant operator. Every company wants to run a profitable business. The role of the government is to create a framework that makes it attractive and viable for a company to run its business. The latent demand was already there. You have to know how to create a policy that will unleash the market.

If an airline like IndiGo, which is one of the best in the world in terms of operating performance, is taking a Rs 10,000-crore bet on UDAN, it is doing so because it believes there is a potential in the market. It is going to create a hub and a model that India needs for passenger traffic to take off.

With big players present in UDAN and a three-year exclusivity model, has it become difficult for new operators now?

In these situations, you have to balance things like consumer interest and company interest. I think we have got a good balance right now.

Sharp growth in passenger numbers and regional aviation taking off are positive signs. However, it seems we have a bottleneck in terms of infrastructure. Airport in Mumbai has saturated and Delhi is hitting a tipping point. Do we have the facility to handle this growth?

Thats a complicated issue that you are bringing up. There are ways in which we are tackling that. In Mumbai, which is a single-runway airport, we are looking to add another airport in Navi Mumbai. We are looking at an efficient use of airspace.

In Delhi, we have three runways, so we are looking at improving utilisation there and looking at the prospect of a new airport in western Uttar Pradesh.

At present, we have 450 planes in the sky at any given time, It is going to triple over the next 15 years. Besides this, we are looking at what can be done in terms of better air traffic management across the entire airspace and how to utilise the restricted airspace to accommodate more planes in the sky.

Then, we are also looking at improving ground infrastructure in terms of radar and train our people better. It requires multi-dimensional work over a long period of time so that we can improve efficiency of our entire aviation system.

How much of that has been achieved?

A lot of work has been done. Look at the fact that Mumbai is one of the most efficiently managed airports in the world. Look at how we are expanding the number of slots Delhi has, even as we hit a bottleneck. Look at the fast growth of airports and the number of air traffic controllers that we have recruited.

What steps have you taken to attract investors to Indian airports?

We have just started the process of issuing management contracts and operation & maintenance (O&M) contracts for the Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports. We have 12 bidders for Ahmedabad and eight for Jaipur and it includes all the best airport operators in the world.

This is because we have set up the bidding criteria in such a way that they will find it attractive. We would see how these bids work out. In terms of greenfield airports, the rules are well established. The operations, management and development agreement (OMDA) model is tested and tried. Navi Mumbai and Goa have been bid out that way.

We are continuously looking at what we can do to strengthen the OMDA agreements to make them more predictable and attractive for all types of players. Basically, the notion is to make it very predictable and stable so that there is less uncertainty for investors.

What are your plans regarding Air India?

We have a robust transformation plan for Air India which includes a winning strategy for improving operational performance, corporate governance and management performance.

With successive governments, this answer has become repetitive now, isn't it?

The incredible debt burden that Air India has is a tremendous difficulty for the company to bear. It has done a tremendous job in terms of coming back to operating profitability, but ultimately we will have to restructure the debt for them to become competitive and a world-class option.

But banks are reluctant to restructure the debt...

We are considering a range of alternatives.

Is privatisation an option?

We are considering a range of alternatives.

Indian airlines have been opposing a change in norms for foreign direct investment (FDI) rules. What is the governments take on this?

I think for any government, we really want to make sure that we maximise our national interest and strengthen our aviation industry.

We are already the third-largest market in terms of domestic traffic. We are going to be one of the most important aviation markets in the world.

As a government protecting the national interest, we need to make sure that we take the right decision; that also includes how we think about our bilateral rights.
In a highly commoditised market, is looking to differentiate its brand and establish its premium positioning by focusing on in-flight experience. With a new fleet that offers more comfortable seats and promises fliers a more pleasurable experience, it hopes to move away from the price and discount led differentiation policy that all Indian airline brands have been forced to adopt in recent years.
For more than five decades, India ignored the roads along its 4,056 kilometre-long (2,520 mile) disputed border with China. The logic was simple: the South Asian nation didnt want to give Chinese troops an easy path if Beijing ever tried to repeat the brief 1962 border war and encroach into the territory India sees as its own.
After Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), yet another Sangh Parivar affiliate, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), has lashed out at the NITI Aayog for "giving an anti-labour face" to the Narendra Modi government with its "misguided" and "directionless" reforms.
Fresh violence was witnessed in Saharanpur in which three persons were injured on Wednesday, prompting the government to suspend the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police (SSP). The Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) were transfered in the wake of the continuing violence in this district of Uttar Pradesh which has been hit by caste-based clashes.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to transfer the property of Hotel Janpath in the capital to the Ministry of Urban Development, an official said.

"The Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its 'in principle' approval to transfer the property of Hotel Janpath, New Delhi, to the Ministry of Urban Development," said a statement.

"The property can be considered for construction of government offices and similar purposes which would save government funds spent in hiring of government offices," it added.

The statement mentioned the details of implementation of the project and land usages would be taken subsequently by a Committee of Secretaries to be constituted under the chairmanship of cabinet secretary.

"The building of Hotel Janpath has to undergo major rehabilitation work since the building structure has been found to be unserviceable, in distressed condition and deficit in the context of seismic requirements, according to the inspection report of IIT Roorkee," read the statement.

The government has initiated the process of disinvestment of hotels/properties of the India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ITDC).

In the first stage of the disinvestment process, it was decided to disinvest in three hotels, namely Hotel Lake View Ashok, Bhopal; Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati; and Hotel Bharatpur Ashok, Bharatpur. Hotel Janpath, New Delhi, was next on the list.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday had a close shave, when his helicopter got entangled in overhead wires and crash-landed in Latur district, after the pilot tried to descend due to bad weather.

The CM didnt suffer any injury in the incident and all six persons on board were safe.

The crash-landing occurred soon after the chopper took off at around 12 noon from Nilanga, around 45 km from Latur, for Mumbai.

It was a crash-landing. When we took off, we noticed that the chopper was slanting. There was air pressure. It brushed against (electric) wires, Fadnavis said, after reaching Mumbai by another aircraft from Latur.

The CMs wife Amruta Fadnavis expressed relief that her husband had escaped unhurt in the crash.

Devendraji called me and informed he was safe. He also spoke to (his) mother, Amruta said, adding the CM was calm when he spoke.

Among those who called up Fadnavis to inquire about his well-being were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, an official said.



The state governments six-year-old Sikorsky chopper was damaged beyond repair, an official of civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI.

The incident will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which comes under the civil aviation ministry, the official said. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.



Fadnavis tweeted after the accident that he was safe.



The chief minister later proceeded by road to Latur and boarded an aircraft to fly to Mumbai.



The DGCA official said the six-seater helicopter suffered substantial damage and would have to be written off.
Chinese people cheering on their countrys ascent sometimes comfort themselves with the idea that Asias other behemoth, India, is years from surpassing Chinas population and decades from emerging as a potential economic peer.
The bosses of four subsidiaries of Coal India are in the race to bag the top job in the mother company, as Sutirtha Bhattacharya, chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Coal India, heads towards retirement in August this year.
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Suhail Aman on Wednesday said the PAF was activating all forward bases in response to purported Indian "threats". His statement came even as tensions escalated on Wednesday with reportedly flying over the Siachen glacier, violating Indian airspace, a claim New Delhi has dismissed.
"Pakistan is like a well of death", said Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman repatriated to the country from Pakistan where she was allegedly forced and duped into marrying against her choice.

"I am an orphan. I am an adopted child and have nobody," Uzma told reporters in New Delhi, hours after she crossed into India through the Wagah border, a day after the Islamabad High Court permitted her to travel home.

The woman broke down several times and said "it is easy to go, but tough to return", sharing her ordeal of living in Pakistan with media.

"They could have sold me or used me in a risky operation," she said about a family in Buner, Pakistan.

Uzma said she was not the only woman duped into marrying a man from Buner.

"There may be lots of girls in Buner. Buner people are mostly in Malaysia and they get girls from Malaysia. It is a dangerous area. You hear gunshots everyday. Every (man) has two wives there. I don't want this to happen with everyone," she claimed.

The woman said she saw women who went to Pakistan after their arranged marriages also crying.

She thanked the Government of India, particularly External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for making her return possible and making her realise "the value of my life as an Indian citizen".

"I am proud to be an Indian citizen. Sushma madam would call me every day to say we are fighting for you, you are our daughter, you are India's daughter," she said, recounting the days she spent at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Uzma travelled to Lahore from Islamabad and was accompanied by Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh. She stayed in Pakistan for 25 days. Near the Wagah border she was escorted by Pakistani security personnel. She prostrated and kissed the ground as soon as she entered Indian territory.

The woman claimed she was forced at gunpoint to marry Buner resident Tahir Ali. During the court hearing, Pakistani judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani asked Uzma if she wanted to meet her husband in the chamber but she refused the offer, saying she did not want to talk to him.

The high court ordered that Uzma can go back to her country and the case will be processed in her absence.

Uzma had taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad because she felt threatened, and wanted to return to her country of birth.

Ali had filed a petition claiming that she was being forcibly kept at the Indian High Commission and that the marriage was not under coercion.

Uzma, who belongs to New Delhi, and Ali "fell in love" in Malaysia, after which she travelled to Pakistan on May 1, via the Wagah border.
The Indian Air Force showcasing its firepower during exercise Iron Fist. According to US officials, India could take punitive actions against Pakistan in the event of any terrorist attack or violence along the LoC. File photo
Chief Minister today said he is not afraid of threats to his life from pro-Khalistan elements and that there was no question of enhancing his security.

Three videos are rocketing around the Internet in which men, suspected to be based in Canada, are seen giving threats to the chief minister and MP Ravneet Singh Bittu.

He dismissed media reports that the has sought Z-plus security from the Centre for him and Bittu, saying the state police was "more than capable of protecting the people, including leaders".

"There is no question of approaching the central for more security. I have full faith in the capabilities of police, which is doing an excellent job," the chief minister said.

Singh in a statement said he was more than ready to take on "such forces which are trying hard to disrupt peace and harmony in Punjab. I will do everything in my power to thwart their nefarious designs".

The chief minister said he and his will not be cowed down by the threats from such "spineless people who do not have the courage to come to Punjab and openly confront him".

He said if pro-Khalistan elements came to Punjab, his government will "take suitable action to ensure that they do not get away with their cowardly threats and attempts to revive terrorism in the state".

The Punjab government will retaliate in a suitable manner to ensure that peace in the state is not disturbed at any cost, he said.

An official spokesperson in the Chief Minister's Office also said Singh was not going seek additional security in the wake of the threats.

The chief minister has clearly told his officials and colleagues in the government that there should be no move on their part to scale up his security cover, the spokesperson said.

He said that organisations like Sikhs for Justice, which was purportedly behind some of the videos doing the rounds on social media, "were being supported, overtly or covertly, by certain Indian-origin members of Canadian Parliament".

These elements were bringing a bad name to the NRI Sikh community and diluting the latter's contribution to the development and progress of those countries, including Canada, he added.
At a time when practitioners in India are exercised at the cultural appropriation of by the West, the Narendra Modi government has launched extensive preparations to mark the third International Day of (IDY) at a much grander scale than its previous two editions, particularly in major North American, European and Chinese cities.
Armed robbers struck a group of eight people travelling to in a vehicle on the Yamuna Expressway in the wee hours on Thursday, shooting dead a man and looting cash and jewellery.

Four women, who were travelling in the car along with as many men, alleged that they were raped at gunpoint after they tried to resist the robbery bid.

Police, however, were yet to confirm sexual assault and said the women were misbehaved with.

They have been sent for medical examination.

Police said the incident took place near Sabota village in Jewar around 2 am when the eight people were going to visit a relative undergoing treatment at a hospital in in western Uttar Pradesh.

The gang of five robbers targeted the vehicle after the driver stopped it to fix a flat tyre. They attacked the occupants and took away with jewellery and Rs 44,000 in cash.

The deceased has been identified as Shakeel Quraishi.

The incident reminded the horrific gang rape of a woman and her 13-year-old daughter in July last year when they were travelling in a car from Noida to Shahjahanpur. The incident took place on the highway passing through .
US President on Thursday met leaders of the main European Union institutions here as part of his first international tour after taking office in January.

Trump arrived in the Belgian capital to attend a NATO summit and was received by EU Council President Donald Tusk.

After Tusk, Trump met European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and they were later joined by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, Efe news reported.

"EU and the US must remain close allies to protect citizens against terrorism, boost growth and jobs for future generations," Taajni posted on Twitter alongside images of the talks.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis, Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accompanied Trump.

"Transatlantic relations key to world safety, prosperity," posted EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on Twitter.

"Strong EU/US ties at the heart of global agenda," he added.

The US President will have lunch with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the American Embassy before the NATO meeting.

Trump will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May during the summit, where she was expected to confront him about confidential information leak on the Manchester bombing to the US press.

Trump previously visited Saudi Arabia, where he signed several lucrative arms deals with Middle Eastern countries before heading on to Israel and the Vatican.

--IANS

soni/dg
Union minister Uma Bharti set off on a tour on Thursday to inspect execution of the Centre's 'Namami Gange' programme at various places along the Ganga in a bid to amplify efforts to clean up the heavily polluted river.

Bharti will begin her 15-day trip from Ganga Sagar in West Bengal and culminate the same at Gangotri in Uttarakhand.

During the nearly 2,500-km tour, the water resources minister will also cover 25 other locations from the basin states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, besides Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Apart from this, she will interact with various stakeholders during 'Ganga Chaupal' (meetings on issues relating to the river) at 24 locations in the five states to make the central programme a success.

Bharti will travel by road, boat, air and on foot during the journey, ministry spokesperson Samir Sinha said.

The minister will also visit Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute located in West Bengal's Barrackpore, he added.

The institute specialises in fisheries research on the Ganga river.

The government has set itself a deadline of October, 2018 to clean the ailing river.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indias aviation watchdog, recently issued a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) regarding the handling of unruly and disruptive passengers. Issued under the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and framed in pursuance of the Indian Aircraft Act, 1934, the CAR acknowledges that unruly behaviour of any sort, on board an aircraft or during embarkation and disembarkation, interferes with the performance of crew members duties. It also notes that such disruptive behaviour jeopardises the safety of the aircraft, the persons on board and, most importantly, affects good order and discipline on a plane. Recognising the potential harm, any kind of disruptive behaviour is now likely to invite penal action in accordance with these proposed requirements.
to Israel grew up by more than six times in April this year over the same month in 2016, a key economic development which augurs very well for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impending visit to the country, engineering exporters' apex body EEPC India said in Mumbai on Thursday.

According to EEPC, as against of just about $20 million in April 2016, the shipments of these goods have gone up significantly to $146.42 million in April this fiscal, which is a whopping 640 per cent or more than six times growth.

Moreover, Israel ranks at 12th position among India's engineering export destination and has figured prominently among the top 25 destinations, according to the latest data analysis done by the EEPC India.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction that to Israel are doing so well, just ahead of the Prime Minister Modi's impending visit. The fact that Modi would be the first Prime Minister to visit Israel is a great positive for the Indian industry and exporting community," EEPC India Chairman TS Bhasin said.

He further said the Indian engineering industry can enhance its level of engagement with Israel in a number of high-tech areas like defence production, steel, automobile and auto components, aircraft components and ship-building and ship boats.

In fact, the bulk of the engineering exports to Israel for the month of April are listed against the broad group of ships, boats, floating structures and parts, which is nearly $122 million, the apex body said.

"We need to diversify our export basket to Israel; no doubt and would be working towards that end," Bhasin added.
With three per cent increase in service tax likely after the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) from July 1, the expense ratio of mutual fund houses across the country will also go up by 3 per cent.

Expense ratio is the measure of the cost incurred by an investment company to operate its mutual fund (MF).

The will, however, benefit small MF distributors having an annual income of up to Rs 20 lakh.

The government has exempted distributors' annual earning up to Rs 20 lakh from paying service tax. Currently, distributors earning up to Rs 10 lakh as a commission are exempted from paying service tax.

"We should wait for the fine print before we jump to any conclusion. However, what I understand for now, is that expense ratio will increase marginally," PPFAS Mutual Fund chairman and chief executive (CEO), Neil Parag Parikh told PTI in Mumbai on Thursday.

"At my company, the expense ratio for direct plans is currently 1.8 per cent, and 2.3 per cent in case of regular plans plus the existing service tax of 15 per cent. In case service tax increases to 18 per cent than the expense ratio of these two plans will also go up accordingly," he added.

Taurus Mutual Fund CEO, Waqar Naqvi said that "with the implementation of GST, the total expense ratio of my company will go up, though marginally."



"However, small distributors with an annual income of up to Rs 20 lakh and who comprise around 80 per cent of total distribution force in the industry will get benefited out of the new tax regime," he added.

Industry experts also feel that mutual fund products are set to become costlier on the implementation of .

At present, mutual fund attracts 15 per cent service tax. However, under GST, it would be increased by 3 per cent to 18 per cent.

Still, fund houses are bullish about .

"GST implementation will surprise positively as everyone is getting ready for a smooth transition," Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund chief executive A Balasubramanian said.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy providing preference to domestically manufactured goods for government procurements, in a major step to boost the governments initiative. It also approved the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which has, for 25 years, been the single-point window for clearing foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals requiring government nod.
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government has said that it will preserve the special position of the state when goods and services tax (GST) is implemented all over India.

Public Works minister Naeem Akhtar said the government will bring a special bill in the state Assembly and there will be a comprehensive debate on it by lawmakers regarding an imposition of .

"The government is committed to preserve the special position of the state and the same will be taken care of when is implemented all over India," Akhtar, who is also a spokesman of the government, said in a statement last night.

"Nothing will be allowed which will compromise the special constitutional position of the state," he said.

Akhtar said in the case of Food Security Act or Panchayati Act, the state Legislature brought in its own act.

He said a similar approach will be adopted in case of .

"The government will uphold all the principles of democracy while deciding on the issue of the imposition of GST in the state," he said.

The minister said with the imposition of GST, products will become cheaper as it will do away with the archaic practice of double taxation because of its cascading effect.

He said for a consumer state like Jammu and Kashmir, people will be benefited by the implementation of GST.

"If there is any loss of revenue to the state, the Union government will reimburse the same," he said.

Akhtar said GST has become a norm in the entire world as it greatly benefits the economy.

He said the state cannot remain isolated from the new tax order but at the same time all the interests of the state will be safeguarded.

The minister called upon the people not to lend ears to unfounded arguments from certain quarters who have always been against the interests of the state and have done enormous damage to it in the past too.

He said that no erosion of special status guaranteed in the Indian Constitution will be allowed.
The World Gold Council on Thursday urged the government to reduce the tax incidence on gold and gold products under the new Goods and Sevices Tax regime.

"In the regime, we urge and expect that the total tax burden on gold be halved from the current level of around 12 per cent," WGC managing director Somasundaram PR said here today during launch of a new comprehensive India gold report in Bengali.

The report is published after 15 years and is also available in English, Hindi, Malayam and Tamil for a ready reference to Indian gold industry.

Currently, total taxation comes to between 12 and 13 per cent. Custom duty is 10 per cent, excise is one per cent and VAT of 1-1.5 per cent depending upon states.

"In the regime, we demand the total tax burden on gold to be not more than 6-7 per cent. But, we have to wait for a few days more when the rates on gold is expected to be announced," Somasundaram said.

He tried to convince that gold import was not as bad as was perceived to be when asked why the government should offer low tax on gold which is an idle asset and contribute a lot for current account deficit.

"According to a 2014-15 report of PWC, value addition in gold is to the tune of USD 30 billion with a lot more scope. Gold loan is also to the tune of around USD 10 billion with about 1,250 tonne as collateral allowing persons access to credit be it formal or informal," Somasundaram said.

Hoping GST will bring lot of transparency in the gold industry including check on illgeal imports which is about 120 tonnes a year now. But it will take few months industry to get stabilised, the WGC official said.

Somasundaram said government should promote gold investment through ETF with tax breaks rather than physical gold.

He reteriated that the country needed a gold policy that would help all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the gold demand during Q1 (January-March, 2017) grew by 15 per cent to 123 tonnes, but it was 18 per cent down compared to the corresponding period in the last five years on average.
African Development Banks President Thanks India for success of the Annual Meeting of the Bank held in Gandhinagar

The President of the African Development Bank Shri Akinwumi Adesina expresses happiness at the outcome of the annual meeting of the bank held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Addressing a press conference at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar today the Banks President thanked India and the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for the success of its annual meeting. Shri Adesina said that he had fruitful meetings with Shri Modi, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitely, the Power Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and other Indian Ministers during the meeting. He said all these meetings are expeceds to substantially contribute to the banks new transformation agenda encapsulated in the high 5s related to the fields of power, agriculture(food security), connectivity (transportation), industrialization(skill development) and health.

Shri Adesina also said that he is happy that the Prime Minster Shri Modi had mentioned of India and Japan considering the Asia Africa Growth Corridor and he is now more confident that all this should contribute to greater development in Africa. He said the bank is looking forward to scaling up of technologies and for investments in future technologies for skilling African youth. He said that he also expects youth in Africa to more actively participate in agricultural activities to fight poverty in Africa. The President of the bank said that he even sees possibilities of films- bollywood contributing to encouraging African youth towards Agriculture.

Shri Adesina thanked the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Roopani and all others who helped in making the meetings of the bank a great success

The Presidents of Benin and Senegal, the Vice President of Cote DIvoire, the Secretary-General of the African Union, the Commissioner of the African Union Commission and the Chief Minister of Gujarat, State Government ministers were among other dignitaries who graced the bank meetings.
African development Banks President thanks India for success of the annual meetings of the bank held in Gandhinagar; Expects that all these meetings would substantially contribute to the AFDBS new transformation agenda encapsulated in the High 5s related to the fields of power, Agriculture(food security), connectivity (Transportation), industrialization(Skill Development) and Health. .

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Shri Akinwumi Adesina expresses happiness at the outcome of the Annual Meetings of the bank held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Addressing a Press Conference at Mahatma Mandir International Convention cum Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat today, the Banks President thanked India and the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in particular for the success of its Annual Meetings. Shri Adesina said that he had fruitful meetings with Shri Modi, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitely, the Power Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and other Indian Ministers during the five day Annual Meetings of the bank. He said all these meetings are expected to substantially contribute to the banks New Transformation Agenda encapsulated in the High 5s related to the fields of power, agriculture(food security), connectivity (transportation), industrialization(skill development) and health. Shri Adesina also said that he is happy that the Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modi had mentioned of India and Japan considering the Asia Africa Growth Corridor and he is now more confident that all this should contribute to greater development in Africa. He said the AfDB is looking forward to scaling-up of technologies and for investments in future technologies for skilling African youth. He said that he also expects youth in Africa to more actively participate in agricultural activities to fight poverty in Africa. The President of the AfDB said that he even sees possibilities of bollywood films contributing to encourage African youth towards Agriculture. .

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Shri Adesina thanked the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Roopani and all others who helped in making the meetings of the bank a great success.

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The Presidents of Benin and Senegal, the Vice President of Cote DIvoire, the Secretary-General of the African Union, the Commissioner of the African Union Commission and the Chief Minister of Gujarat and State Government Ministers were among other dignitaries who graced the AfDB Annual Meetings being held from 22nd May, 2017 onwards at Mahatma Mandir International Convention cum Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.. .

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It is indeed a privilege as well as a pleasure for me to be invited to deliver the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture. .

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When I think of The Indian Express, I think of Shri Ramnath Goenka..

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Ramnath ji embodied the finest virtues of journalism: fierce independence, fearlessness and a determination to always stand up to the powerful and fight against the abuse or misuse of power. In fact, there was nothing he enjoyed more than a fight to protect the right of The Indian Express to publish what he thought was proper and just. .

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He was a fighter. In the face of attempts to control the press, exemplified his willingness to stake all for his principles and to set the highest standards for press freedom in India. The blank editorial published by The Indian Express during Emergency, under the leadership of Ramnath ji, was perhaps one of the strongest protests ever published against censorship in India. .

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It spoke more loudly than any words could have. .

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As Ramnath ji wrote in an editorial in August 1942 when he announced suspension of the paper rather than give in to censorship by the British authorities. He said and I quote: The hard fact of the situation is that if we went on publishing, The Indian Express maybe called a paper, but cannot be a newspaper." (unquote).

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It is also worth remembering today that Ramnath ji was a true patriot. When he founded The Indian Express in 1936 it was in response to a need articulated by Mahatma Gandhi for a national newspaper. He fought for the freedom of the country and for freedom of the press. He took on the Establishment in colonial times and after Independence to make democracy more secure and zealously guard the right to free speech as is enshrined in our Constitution. Better than most, he realized that democracy without a free press was like a blank piece of paper. .

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The ideals he personified need to be reiterated time and again, cast in stone and followed by all journalists who love democracy and freedom. .

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I am happy to say that The Indian Express has maintained the standards under the leadership of Ramnathjis son, Shri Viveck Goenka. It has not wavered in its commitment to fairness and accuracy, to independence and a pursuit of the truth. .

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These are not old-fashioned values. .

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In fact, the values espoused by Ramnath ji were relevant then, are relevant now and will remain relevant in times to come. .

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In a way, everyone with a phone can be a publisher and a broadcaster, a schoolteacher, a mother, a student and a political activist..

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Technology has led to a phenomenal growth in the means of communication, bombarding the public with unprecedented volumes of data, information and, not least, opinion. This has had many positive outcomes: foremost, it has broken the shackles of silence imposed on the powerless. The sense of liberation that the Internet and social media especially, allows, has ensured that everyone has a voice and that even small voices in the remotest areas can be heard. .

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The average citizen has been truly empowered in her ability to speak out and to find out. All of this growth has resulted in a plurality and diversity in the access to information. There is a whole new information world out there to be tapped by our people across the length and breadth of the country. .

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However, the downside is that the sheer scale and volume of data and information means that much of what is available today remains unfiltered and unmediated. In many cases, even unchecked..

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Take the case of recent developments in the United States of America and France, where personal communications of political leaders during an election were leaked and made available freely to anyone roaming the Internet. .

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Such information, in order to make sense needs to be carefully vetted checked and rechecked -- contextualized and made sense of for it to have value or equally importantly, not be misused. .

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When so many people speak in so many voices across mediums, many voices are drowned out in the cacophony that is created: and in that noise it is difficult to hear or make sense of what is being said. .

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This is where good journalism plays a vital and irreplaceable role: it intervenes. It sifts through all the data, separates facts from what is now described as fake news," ensures accuracy and provides context, analysis and opinion so that the public can be better informed and form informed opinions. .

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Aggregation and algorithms, the multiplicity of choices, have meant that while our access to the is unfettered and vast, it has become increasingly, personalized. People now have the choice to read only what they want to and more importantly, only what they agree with. Inherent in this process of selective sourcing of news, is the danger of people turning a deaf ear to one another, and a refusal to listen to points of view that may differ from our own. This in turn diminishes the room for agreement and can increase intolerance. .

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As I have said on many occasions earlier, discussion, dissension are crucial to public debate for decision-making in a vibrant, healthy democracy such as Indias. There should always be room for the Argumentative Indian but not for the Intolerant Indian. .

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That would be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of India, to the very idea of India itself. .

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I believe that the bedrock of Indian civilization has been its pluralism and its social, cultural, linguistic and racial diversity. It mesmerises me when I shut my eyes and think that in our country 1.3 billion people who are using more than 200 languages, practicing 7 major religions, belonging to 3 major ethnic groups are residing under one system, one flag and one identity of being Indian. That is the celebration of our diversity. Thats why we need to be sensitive to dominant narratives, of those who make the loudest noise, drowning out those who disagree. Thats why social media and broadcast have seen angry, aggressive posturing by state and non-state players literally hounding out contrarian opinions. .

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People in power, across the spectrum of politics, business or civil society, by virtue of the position they enjoy, tend to dominate the discussions and influence its direction. Due to technological advancement, they can now reach out directly to their audience, completely bypassing this crucial process of filtration and mediation. .

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This often becomes a one-way only communication from the powerful to the less privileged, and an effort to push the narrative in one direction. Indian civilization has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance. These have been at the core of our very existence as a people, binding us together for centuries despite our many differences. We must continue to throw open the windows for fresh breezes" as Mahatma Gandhi observed, without being blown away. .

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Thus the need to ask questions of those in power is fundamental for the preservation of our nation and of a truly democratic society. .

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This is a role that the media has traditionally played and must carry on playing..

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All stakeholders in the democratic system, from parties to business leaders, citizens to institutions, have to realize that asking questions is good, asking questions is healthy and, in fact, is fundamental to the health of our democracy..

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As its role of the primary source of information has diminished due to the variety of mediums now available, the medias other responsibilities have increased: it must be the watchdog, the gatekeeper and the mediator between the leaders and the public. .

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It must raise and create awareness about issues concerning public welfare, hold public or private institutions and their representatives accountable for all their actions or indeed, their inactions. .

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In particular, the media has a duty to give space to the millions who still face the injustices of deprivation, gender discrimination, caste and social bias. .

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I believe the media must safeguard the public interest, and provide a voice to the marginalized in our society. Our people face enormous inequalities which need to be articulated and highlighted continuously by the media -- in order to ensure they are addressed by those who govern. .

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The media can help the one-way communication become a multi-faceted, multi-layered conversation between those who exercise any form of power and the average citizen. It can build a thoroughfare where ideas can travel up and down, to and fro, as it strives continually for accountability and transparency in public life. .

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I have said before that the media plays a crucial role in educating Indians and providing space for the expression of diverse views. This role of giving a voice to all has become more important than ever before in an atmosphere where there is too much noise out there jostling for our attention. .

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At the same time, more than ever before, the media needs to play its role with greater responsibility and the utmost respect for facts. I believe fact-checking is one of the most significant roles the media can play in the contemporary space where extreme opinions to the left and to the right, present what is now called 'alternative facts. .

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When opinion is deeply divided on issues of public importance, be they related to governance, the law, social change or personal beliefs and conduct, objectivity is at a premium. Facts must never be sacrificed to elevated opinions as truth. .

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In such a situation, journalists must strive as I know many of you do to obtain the facts and restore their sanctity..

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For it to be able to aim for the highest standards of professionalism, journalists and media organizations must turn the spotlight inwards, on themselves. They must hold themselves to the standards they demand of others. .

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There is the ever present danger of paid . Ownership of media, concentration of ownership and distribution platforms in a few hands, and the personal beliefs of individual journalists can and do create conflicts of interest. They also reduce the plurality and diversity of the media. Objectivity has to be restored to regain public trust..

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As Ramnathji showed us, the moral courage of the owner or the publisher is fundamental to the level of freedom in the newsroom. .

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The sheer scale and diversity of growth in media has been breath-taking and had its own consequences. India already has 400 million Internet users, 300 million smartpthone users; Facebook and Whatsapp have close to 200 million users in India while Twitter has become the most immediate source of information and opinion..

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The media too, has witnessed continuous growth, although not on the same scale. Print media continues to grow at a healthy 5 per cent the regional language press has been at the vanguard of this growth. There are over 400 TV channels which carry news and over 150 dedicated news channels in all regions and languages. .

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This abundance of media outlets has led to a highly competitive media environment which often results in the survival of the shrillest voices rising above the others to be heard. Dumbing down the news to attract an audience is another consequence of the phenomenal growth of the media. .

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Together, these compulsions have led to complex issues being reduced to binary opposites which, in turn, create a polarity of views and distort the facts. .

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Media houses need to ask themselves how they can find sustainable economic models that will allow them to resist all kinds of pressures and let them perform their role with honesty and transparency..

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We are living in challenging times, globally and nationally. In India, as awareness has grown and spread through literacy and technology, the peoples aspirations have increased. A young and vibrant populationover 65 per cent of Indians are below the age of 35 -- is eagerly looking towards a future which will offer it sufficient opportunities to fulfil its ambitions. .

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Even as the youth look to the future, there has been considerable questioning of the past in the public discourse over the last few years. Each generation has the right to look back and reassess the strengths and weaknesses of the past. Let the brave new India draw its own conclusions..

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However, such inquiry should not be blinkered by biases or resisted with a closed mind. Indian history and centuries old civilization is replete with examples of a willingness of the people to, as I have said, 'doubt, disagree and dispute intellectually. This is the bedrock of our nation; our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India. What makes us Indians is our spirit of tolerance and accommodation towards each other and those who differ from us. That has been the survival mantra of our civilization over generations. Dear Friends, .

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The Press and the media are considered to be the fourth pillar of the democracy. It wields extra ordinary powers of not only holding the other three pillars accountable, but also influencing and shaping public opinion like no other institution of democracy can. While this enormous power, to sustain itself requires the basic dictum of freedom of expression, at the same time it puts an equally enormous responsibility of accountability and credibility on the media itself. To my mind, while the press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to the powers that be, it will have to simultaneously judge the frivolous from the factual and publicity from reportage. .

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This is a tremendous challenge for the media and one that it must stand up to. It must resist the temptation to take the path of least resistance which is to allow a dominant viewpoint to prevail without questioning it or allowing others the opportunity to question it. .

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Media must learn the art of withstanding pulls and pressures without sacrificing its commitment to free and fair reportage and always remain on guard against conformity. Because any tendency towards conformity to be enforced, often requires disguising or dissembling the truth and the facts. This is completely alien to the ideals which inform professional journalism which lives and even dies by chasing the facts and the truth. .

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The question that faces all of us including the media is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative? .

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We ought to remember that democracy will be the loser when and if we cease to hear voices other than our own. .

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For centuries, India has witnessed a clash of civilizations and philosophies and survived it all to grow into the worlds largest functioning democracy. .

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As we go forward as a nation we face contradictory forces: on the one hand is a country with immense potential for growth and prosperity; on the other is a growing sense of unequal distribution of resources and opportunities. The media should reflect both in equal measure but it can only do so if it truthfully reflects the reality on the ground. .

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Such a reality is a contested space where different points of view jostle to be heard. Will the media give a hearing to the voices from Ground Zero? Will it continue to be a forum where people debate, disagree, dissent? .

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If the media believes in the freedom of expression, a free and a fearless independent media as Ramnath Goenka did, it must choose to reflect a plurality of opinions for that is what breathes life into our democracy and has defined us as Indians. It must always remember that its fundamental task is to stand up and ask questions with honesty and fairness. Thats the sacred compact it has with citizens in a democracy. .

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Thank you..

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Jai Hind!.

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Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, Mines and New & Renewable Energy said that International Solar Alliance ( ISA) can act as a medium to spread lessons on energy security which can help achieve universal energy access target set up in SDGs before 2030. He was speaking at the launch of Scaling Solar MiniGrids by France and India on the sidelines of 52nd Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Ahmedabad yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Goyal called for deeper Indo-African cooperation. He said that Indian renewable energy sector offers lessons such as lower and innovative financing models, risk reduction, setting up large scale solar projects through energy parks. India has achieved grid parity in solar tariffs, he added.

Shri Piyush Goyal also said that Scaling Solar MiniGrids shall work in tandem with ISAs over all objectives and already existing two programmes, namely Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use and Affordable Finance at Scale launched on 22nd April, 2016. The main activities under the programme shall include-design and deploy small grids, adopt common standards, aggregate demand, help establish global credit enhancement and de-risking mechanisms, call for expression of interest, assess demand and costs requirement for mini grid projects, identify/develop attractive payment models for consumers, and persuade member countries with overseas assistance budgets to earmark a portion of their soft loan for the Third Programme.

The objective of the event is to cater to the energy needs of ISA Member states in identified areas with unreliable or no grid(s), and in island member states having abundant potential to tap solar energy. Such participating member countries can take advantage of the available solutions to promote universal energy access and reduce electricity costs and tariffs through introduction and promotion of mini, micro, and nano grids with smart features for harnessing solar power, in a time bound manner.

Mr. Ahmed Said Hassaini Djaffar, Vice President of the Republic of Comoros in his address welcomed the ISA initiative and stated that Africa is a solar resource rich region and can help achieve targets in solar energy.

ISAs third programme is an attempt to address the challenges in integrating solar energy into insular or unconnected electricity grids. The challenges mainly include iniquitous electricity tariff regimes, small and disaggregated size of the markets, building up of local skill sets, lack of access to low cost capital, effective interconnection to grids in rural, remote and urban areas etc. In addition management of variability, intermittency and its impact on the stability of small-scale electricity systems also add to the woes.

Recently Expression of Interest have been received from Indian companies to install 664,000 solar pumps, install 56 MW of Minigrids and train 5400 solar mechanics in the African countries who have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement. Government of India is extending a US $ 10 billion line of credit for undertaking developmental work in African countries. On the request of ISA, Government of India has agreed to earmark 15-20% of this line of credit for undertaking solar related projects. H.E. Mrs. Segolene Royal, Minister for Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs of France, in charge of International Relations on climate change, was the main architect and motivator to launch this programme during such a short period. Delegation from the French Embassy was present too on this occasion.

The International Solar Alliance is an initiative jointly launched by the Honourable Prime Minister of India and Honourable President of France on 30th November 2015 at Paris, in the presence of the Secretary General of the UN, on the side lines of COP21. The main objective of ISA is to undertake joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and the cost of technology, mobilize more than US $ 1000 billion of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy, and pave the way for future technologies adapted to the needs of 121 countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics. So far 31 countries have signed the Framework Agreement of the ISA, which is the first international and intergovernmental organization to be headquartered in India.
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee delivered the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture today (May 25, 2017) in New Delhi..

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Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Shri Ramnath Goenka embodied the finest virtues of journalism: fierce independence, fearlessness and a determination to always stand up to the powerful and fight against the abuse or misuse of power. In fact, there was nothing he enjoyed more than a fight to protect the right of The Indian Express to publish what he thought was proper and just. .

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The President said that technology has led to a phenomenal growth in the means of communication, bombarding the public with unprecedented volumes of data, information and, not least, opinion. This has had many positive outcomes: foremost, it has broken the shackles of silence imposed on the powerless. The sense of liberation that the Internet and social media especially, allows, has ensured that everyone has a voice and that even small voices in the remotest areas can be heard. The average citizen has been truly empowered in her ability to speak out and to find out. All of this growth has resulted in a plurality and diversity in the access to information. There is a whole new information world out there to be tapped by our people across the length and breadth of the country. However, the downside is that the sheer scale and volume of data and information means that much of what is available today remains unfiltered and unmediated. In many cases, even unchecked..

.

The President said that he believes the media must safeguard the public interest, and provide a voice to the marginalized in our society. Our people face enormous inequalities which need to be articulated and highlighted continuously by the media -- in order to ensure they are addressed by those who govern. For it to be able to aim for the highest standards of professionalism, journalists and media organizations must turn the spotlight inwards, on themselves. They must hold themselves to the standards they demand of others..

.

The President said that the Press and the media are considered to be the fourth pillar of the democracy. It wields extra ordinary powers of not only holding the other three pillars accountable, but also influencing and shaping public opinion like no other institution of democracy can. While this enormous power, to sustain itself requires the basic dictum of freedom of expression, at the same time it puts an equally enormous responsibility of accountability and credibility on the media itself. To my mind, while the press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to the powers that be, it will have to simultaneously judge the frivolous from the factual and publicity from reportage. .

.

The President said that media must learn the art of withstanding pulls and pressures without sacrificing its commitment to free and fair reportage and always remain on guard against conformity. Because any tendency towards conformity to be enforced, often requires disguising or dissembling the truth and the facts. This is completely alien to the ideals which inform professional journalism which lives and even dies by chasing the facts and the truth..

.

The President said that as we go forward as a nation we face contradictory forces: on the one hand is a country with immense potential for growth and prosperity; on the other is a growing sense of unequal distribution of resources and opportunities. The media should reflect both in equal measure but it can only do so if it truthfully reflects the reality on the ground. If the media believes in the freedom of expression, a free and a fearless independent media as Ramnath Goenka did, it must choose to reflect a plurality of opinions for that is what breathes life into our democracy and has defined us as Indians. It must always remember that its fundamental task is to stand up and ask questions with honesty and fairness. Thats the sacred compact it has with citizens in a democracy..

.
National Commission for Women holds Interactive Meeting with State Commissions for Women Important issues of safety, protection and rights of women discussed at the meeting

The National Commission for Women organised an Interactive Meeting of the State Commissions for Women in New Delhi today with a view to strengthening the process of NCWs networking with State Commissions for Women and to gain from each others experience. The primary mandate of the National Commission for Women and State Commissions for Women Commission is to safeguard and protect the interests of women. It has wide responsibility covering almost all aspects of women development.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairperson NCW Smt. Lalitha Kumaramangalam, reiterated on the need for strengthening the process of NCWs networking with State Commissions and to gain from each others experiences. Smt. Rekha Sharma, Member, NCW in her address emphasized on the need of setting up of womens hostels in the States. Smt.

Sushma Sahu, Member, NCW addressing gathering raised the issue of Acid Attack and implementation of Supreme Court guidelines on ban of unregulated sale of acid. Shri Alok Rawat, Member , NCW pointed out the problems and issues of women and girls from the North east who migrate to cities for employment and studies.

The meeting was attended by Chairpersons, Members and Member secretaries of various State Commissions for Women. 18 States were represented i.e. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Mizoram, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Sikkim, etc. During the meeting participants deliberated on - Safeguards provided for women under various statutes working in the States, recommendations for effective implementation of safeguards for improving the condition of women in States, issues and challenges before the State Commissions for Women, suggestions on how to strengthen convergence between the Commissions. After the day long deliberations, Dr. Satbir Bedi, Member Secretary, NCW summed up the recommendations as below:-

i) State Commissions for Women should take up with their respective State Government for setting up of Hostels for girls and women.

ii) State Commission should pro-actively coordinate and send feedback on the complaint matters forwarded to them by NCW in the last six months.

iii) SCWs may pursue with the state Government on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on ban of un-regulated sale of acids with a view to prevent horrific crimes against women specifically acid attacks.

Initiatives by Maharashtra State Commission for Women were applauded by all and it was decided by other members to initiate similar ones in their states. Other States, especially from the North East, raised the need for providing vocational guidance to women. Suggestions about setting up Womens courts" and premarital counselling were also discussed.
President of India to receive books Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio and Marching with a Billion - Analysing Narendra Modis Government at Midterm Tomorrow

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will receive the first copies of books Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio and Marching with a Billion- Analysing Narendra Modis Government at Midterm from Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker Lok Sabha who will formally release it at a function to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow (May 26, 2017) in the presence of Mohd. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India, Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance and Defence and other dignitaries. The book Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio by Shri Rajesh Jain is a compilation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modis addresses to the nation on radio every month under the programme Mann Ki Baat.

It contains a comprehensive, qualitative and academic analysis of Mann Ki Baat  the themes, the choice of topics, the salient features. It illustrates how Mann Ki Baat has connected with the New India  the youth in particular. It also presents a coherent narrative about the manner in which Mann Ki Baat has created mass movements, be it in cleanliness, in promoting Indias tourism potential, safer roads, drugs free India etc. The book Marching with a Billion- Analysing Narendra Modis Government at Midterm written by eminent journalist Shri Uday Mahurkar analyses the monumental changes that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has brought on multiple fronts as Prime Minister on Indias governance landscape by ushering in an unprecedented culture of transparency to create a level playing field so necessary in a developing country.
President of Indias Message on the eve of Independence Day of Guyana

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana on the eve of their Independence Day (May 26, 2017). In a message to His Excellency Brig. (Retd) David Arthur Granger, the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the President has said, It gives me great pleasure to felicitate you on behalf of people and Government of India and on my own behalf on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Bilateral relations between India and Guyana are based on the solid foundations of our shared history and culture. Both our countries can look forward to further co-operation in various sectors of shared interest to the benefit of our two peoples.

Our close cooperation in international fora is an important dimension of our strengthening ties. The recent visit of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo to India has deepened our mutual understanding. I am glad to learn that Guyana holds the current Presidency of CARICOM. I am confident under your presidency, Indias engagement with the Caribbean Community will be further enhanced. I take this opportunity to convey to Your Excellency my best wishes for your personal well-being and for the continued progress and prosperity of the friendly people of Guyana.
Space Chief of Sweden calls on Dr Jitendra Singh

Space Chief of Sweden, Mr Peter Egardt called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here yesterday.

Dr Jitendra Singh shared with Mr Peter Egardt the details regarding the various on-going and perspective programmes to be taken up jointly by Indian Space Research Programme (ISRO) and Swedish National Space Board (SNSB).

Referring to three decades of space technology collaboration between the two countries, Dr Jitendra Singh told Mr Peter Egardt that during the last three years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Indias space programme has received a special impetus which is now being acknowledged even by the countries like USA and Russia which were amongst the earliest to venture into space missions. He disclosed that pictures received from the Mangalyaan" are now being obtained by even NASA, whereas the South-Asian satellite launched recently is offering vital inputs to all the countries in the region. He also informed that under the current Government, Indias space programme has been made applicable to a wide range of infrastructural development projects including building of roads and bridges as well as mapping of soil etc. in the agriculture sector.

Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the Swedish Governments initiative in having sent a high-level delegation of Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) to ISRO in January last year with the motive of exploring new areas of innovation through launch services, cross utilization of ground stations, satellite navigation, atmospheric research and future exploration missions.

As a follow up to this visit, he recalled that in May last year, Chairman ISRO Shri A. S. Kiran Kumar had written to Swedish Ambassador in India for proposals for some of the common areas of interest including green propulsion technologies and GNSS remote sensing.

Mr Peter Egardt appreciated the warm response and enthusiastic interest shown by Dr Jitendra Singh to make the space programme much more wider based with universal applications. He also extended to Dr Jitendra Singh an invitation to visit Sweden and spare some time to interact with scientists at Swedish Space Centre (SSC).
This post was written by Benoit Rochon, president of Wikimedia Canada; Jean-Philippe Beland, vice president of Wikimedia Canada; and Nathalie Casemajor, a professor at the Urbanization, Culture and Societycenter at the National Institute of Scientific Research. It originally appeared on the Wikimedia Blog and is republished with the authors permission and under a CC BY-SA license.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) will formally join the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State extremist group, DW reported, citing sources.

The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday at the meeting of the Nato leaders in Brussels.

Reportedly, Germany and France will formally agree to the plan during the talks attended by US President Donald Trump, who arrived in Brussels on Wednesday.

The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday at the meeting of Nato leaders in Brussels, the sources said.

Diplomats said the decision was mainly political because all 28 Nato members already contributed to the coalition fighting to retake areas of Iraq and Syria from the extremist group.

The decision to formally join the coalition follows pressure from Trump, who has previously accused the Nato of being "obsolete" and called for European countries to step up their funding of the military group, according to the DW.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that it would be an important step for the alliance to join the 68-nation anti-IS coalition.
The US has sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea. The warship is sent as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump prompting the Chinese government to say that the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty.

The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, conducted a patrol within 20 kilometres of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims.

The exercise is the first since October and comes after friendly exchanges between the US and China to settle trade issues and vows to cooperate to contain the nuclear programme of North Korea, a Chinese ally.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with law."



The patrols are "not about any one country, or any one body of water," he told the Wall Street Journal.

But China reacted promptly to the action saying the US warship had entered the South China Sea "without permission".

"The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines China's sovereignty and security interests," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.

"We urge the US to correct this mistake," he said.

"Stop taking further provocative actions that hurt China's sovereignty and maritime interests, so as to avoid hurting peace and security of the region and long-term cooperation between the two countries."



In another report, to American news website The Hill reported that the "freedom of navigation" operation was a signal intended by the US to assert its intention to keep critical sea lanes open.

"In conducting the freedom of navigation patrol, President Trump is likely to anger China at a time when the US is seeking increased cooperation with the country to help rein in North Korea," it said.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. But Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam have rival claims over the region.

A Pentagon official said, however, said that since 1979, the freedom of navigation programme has demonstrated non- acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world. It includes consultations and representation by American diplomats and operational activities by the US military forces.

In February USS Carl Vinson Strike Group arrived in South China Sea but did not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) against Chinese maritime claims around its artificial-island bases in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Early this month, Pentagon spokesman Davis told foreign journalist that the FONOPS is a "routine activity" carried out by the US around the world.

"We did it last year, freedom of navigation assertions against 22 different countries all over the world. Many of those countries are friends and allies," he said.

"Unfortunately, I think the public narrative has made it about China and the South China Sea. It's not that. It's about asserting rights to navigate in waters that law accepts, and these are rights and benefits that benefit all countries on Earth, to include China," Davis said.

"We will continue to do them," he said.

In an annual FNOPS report released by the Pentagon in February, the Department of Defence said that in 2016 it carried out freedom of navigation operations against 22 countries, including India. Other major countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
An army bomb disposal unit was sent to a college in Trafford in Manchester on Thursday, Greater Manchester Police said.

It is too early to say whether the alert is linked with investigation into Monday's suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, BBC quoted the police as saying.

According to the police, there was an incident in Linby Street, Hulme.

Several roads are closed and officers are "assessing the situation".

Meanwhile, the threat level "will remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant", British Prime Minister Theresa May has said.
Ford Motor Co, which earlier this week named turnaround expert James Hackett as its chief executive officer, will announce replacements for some of its key executive positions as early as Thursday, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.

The No 2 US automaker will name Steven Armstrong as the new head of Europe, Middle East and Africa and Peter Fleet as the new head of Asia Pacific and China, according to three people familiar with the plans, FT said.

Ford is under pressure from investors over its slumping stock price and its ability to counter threats from longtime rivals and Silicon Valley.

Hackett, who replaced Mark Fields, is the latest in a line of non-family CEOs brought in with a mandate to change the management culture at one of the auto industry's oldest institutions.

The company announced plans to cut 1,400 white-collar positions last week and is expected to look at further significant cost cuts in the coming months.
Company will slash headcount in its headquarters in Singapore as part of its efforts to reduce exposure to unprofitable and unpromising markets.

GM - which oversees markets such as India, Southeast Asia, and South Korea, among others - will reduce its staff to about 50 from 180 by the year end, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

About 90 employees will leave the company by the end of June and 40 by the end of 2017.

Last week, the Detroit-based automaker said it would take a $500 million charge in the second quarter to restructure operations in India, Africa and Singapore.

The company plans to stop selling Chevrolet brand vehicles in India by the end of the year and will produce vehicles only for export.

Since Mary Barra took over as GM's chief executive in 2014, the company has doubled down on a bet that it can win by being less global but more profitable in an auto industry increasingly dependent on software and services.

The automaker has taken aggressive steps to narrow its focus on China, the highly-profitable North American light truck and sport utility market, Latin America, vehicle financing and transportation services.
Two more men were arrested on Thursday by the UK police after searches in Manchester in connection with a deadly suicide bombing at a pop concert this week, while a woman arrested last night was released without charges.

The latest arrests take the total number of men in custody over the terror attack to eight. All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester where the suicide bombing took place on Monday night.

"We have been carrying out searches at an address in the Withington area and a man has been arrested. These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena. Another man has been arrested in the Manchester area in connection with this investigation, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight," Greater Manchester Police said.

The woman, whose identity was not immediately known, was released without charges a few hours after her arrest last night in connection with the explosion, the deadlies terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings.

The arrests came after detectives carried out a controlled explosion as they searched a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Thursday.

They continue to investigate the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, and his suspected links to a wider extremist "network".

His father, Ramadan Abedi, and brother, Hashim, have also been arrested in Libya. Another brother, 23-year-old Ismail, was arrested on Tuesday in Manchester.

The anti-terror force that took Hashim into custody in Libya said the teenager had confessed that both he and his brother, Salman, were members of the Islamic State group and that he "knew all the details" of the Manchester attack plot.

Aspokesperson for the Libyan authorities told BBC: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack."

Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafii's security authorities issued an arrest warrant. He spent 25 years in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi was ousted and killed in the civil war.

Abedi is now a manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.

Earlier, Sky News had claimed that they have found evidence linking Salman Abedi to an Islamic State (ISIS) cell operating in Manchester.

The channel said its investigation reveals how Salman grew up on the same housing estates in south Manchester as a group of young men who radicalised each other - with some fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Information in so-called "IS Files" - a huge cache of documents obtained by 'Sky News' - shows how an ISIS fighter called Raphael Hostey, from Moss Side in the south of Manchester, sponsored hundreds of terror recruits.

Salman and Hostey hung around on the same estates and worshipped in the same Didsbury mosque in Manchester, before they reportedly became disaffected with life in the West.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to take up the issue of evidence leaks over the Manchester bombing in the US media with President Donald Trump when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels later on Thursday.

The leaks have opened a diplomatic row as UK officials are said to be "furious" that their investigation was compromised when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the 'New York Times'.

Monday night's attack at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured 119. Sixty four injured still remain hospitalised.
President Donald Trump said the US will investigate intelligence leaks about the Manchester bombing as Prime Minister Theresa May complained to him about the lapses.
The cost of an under-sea natural gas pipeline, being constructed by Delhi-based South Asia Gas Enterprises (SAGE), between Iran and India will go up by $500-600 million because the company is planning to change its route to avoid crossing Pakistans path.
US President Donald Trump launched an extraordinary broadside at allies for failing to pay their fair share of the defence bill.

The billionaire leader used the highest possible profile platform of his first summit in Brussels to accuse members of the alliance of owing "massive amounts of money.

Unveiling a memorial to the 9/11 attacks at NATO's new headquarters on Thursday, Trump also urged the alliance to get tougher on tackling terrorism and immigration in the wake of the Manchester attack.

Allies who had hoped to hear Trump publicly declare his commitment to NATO's Article 5 collective defence guarantee were left disappointed as he made no mention of it and instead castigated them on their home turf.

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they're supposed to be paying for their defence," the president said as fellow leaders looked on grim faced.

Trump said that even if they met the commitment they made in 2014 to allocate two percent of GDP to defence, it would still not be enough to meet the challenges faces.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years," Trump added.

The diatribe stirred memories of his campaign trail comments branding NATO "obsolete" and threatening that states that did not pay their way would not necessarily be defended, which deeply alarmed allies.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg was repeatedly asked at a closing news conference about Trump's comments but insisted that while the president might have been "blunt" his message was unchanged -- the allies had to do more.

In dedicating the 9/11 Article 5 memorial, the president was "sending a strong signal" of his commitment to NATO, Stoltenberg said.

"And it is not possible to be committed to NATO without being committed to Article 5.

Trump said the bombing of a pop concert in the British city of Manchester on Monday, claimed by the Islamic State group, showed that "terrorism must be stopped in its tracks.

"The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and NATO's eastern and southern borders," the president said.

The surprising focus on immigration echoed another key feature of Trump's campaign, which included a vow to build a border wall with Mexico, a measure derided in Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an entirely different note as she unveiled a memorial made up of a section of the Berlin Wall to mark the end of the Cold War.

"Germany will not forget the contribution NATO made in order to reunify our country. This is why we will indeed make our contribution to security and solidarity in the common alliance," she said.

Trump's rebuke came despite NATO saying it would formally join the US-led coalition against IS at the summit, despite reservations in France and Germany about getting involved in another conflict.
Conservatives used to love to lambaste Barack Obama for traveling abroad and apologizing for U.S. conduct. Mitt Romney popularized the argument during one of the presidential debates in 2012. The apology tour became an oft-repeated meme among the presidents critics.
President Donald Trump's revised travel ban "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination," a federal appeals court has in ruling against the executive order targeting six Muslim-majority countries.Trump's administration vowed to take the fight to the US Supreme Court.

In a 10-3 vote yesterday, the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the ban likely violates the Constitution. And it upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican administration from cutting off visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban unveiled in March. Trump's administration had hoped it would avoid the legal problems that the first version from January encountered.

A second appeals court, the 9th US Circuit based in San Francisco, is also weighing the revised travel ban after a federal judge in Hawaii blocked it.

The Supreme Court almost certainly would step into the case if asked. The justices almost always have the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.

Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe. If the administration does ask the court to step in, the justices' first vote could signal the court's ultimate decision.

A central question in the case before the 4th Circuit was whether courts should consider Trump's public statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trump's administration argued the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesn't mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration said.

But Chief Judge Roger L Gregory wrote that the government's "asserted national security interest ... Appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country."



Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the court's ruling blocks Trump's "efforts to strengthen this country's national security."



Trump is not required to admit people from "countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism until he determines that they can be properly vetted" and don't pose a security threat, Sessions said.

The three dissenting judges, all appointed by Republican presidents, said the majority was wrong to look beyond the text of the order. Calling the executive order a "modest action," Judge Paul V Niemeyer wrote that Supreme Court precedent required the court to consider the order "on its face." Looked at that way, the executive order "is entirely without constitutional fault," he wrote.

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, said if the Supreme Court follows a partisan divide, the Trump administration may fare better since five of the nine are Republican nominees. Still, he said, it's difficult to make a confident prediction because "Supreme Court justices don't always vote in ideological lockstep."



The first travel ban issued January 27 was aimed at seven countries and triggered chaos and protests across the country as travellers were stopped from boarding flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesn't apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes don't erase the legal problems with the ban.

The case ruled on by the 4th Circuit was originally brought in Maryland by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Centre on behalf of organisations as well as people who live in the US and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

"President Trump's Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who argued the case. "The Constitution's prohibition on actions disfavouring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the government's request to set that principle aside.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will confront United States President Donald Trump over the leak of information about the Manchester Arena attack when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.

The UK government has expressed its anger after a US newspaper publishing photos apparently showing the scene of the Manchester Arena attack that left 22 dead and several injured.

"We are furious. This is completely unacceptable. These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public. The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts," The Guardian quoted a Whitehall source as saying.

The New York Times had published photos which it said were gathered by UK authorities at the scene of the Manchester Arena attack.

The photos were also consequently published in the UK media.

The details about the attack emerged in American media before being confirmed by British police.

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was irritated with the early release of information about bomber Salman Abedi by the United States and told her American counterparts that no further leaks should happen.

Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham, also expressed his anger over the leaking of information from the investigation.





Complained to acting US Ambassador about leaks out of US & was assured they would stop. They haven't. Arrogant, wrong & disrespectful to GM. https://t.co/teHhVGwYsh  Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) May 24, 2017

"We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world," said a National Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson.
Shares of Lupin dipped 7.7% to Rs 1,134, its lowest level since August 2014 on BSE in early morning trade, after the companys quarterly net profit nearly halved to Rs 380 crore in March quarter (Q4FY17) from a year ago. The pharmaceutical company had reported net profit of Rs 748 crore in a year ago quarter.
Against the backdrop of improving sentiment and the equity hitting highs, the domestic retail investors have been investing nearly Rs 4,000 crore a month in various mutual fund instruments.
The S&P BSE Sensex hits its record high in late afternoon deals as traders seemed to have been covering their short positions before expiry of the May series of derivative contracts due later today.
zoomed 85% to Rs 34.50 from its opening level of Rs 18.65 on BSE on back of heavy volumes. The stock has started trading ex-scheme of arrangement with effect from today.
The 'Saturday Night Live' star and comedian Leslie Jones will be the host of the 2017 BET Awards.

The show will air live from Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater on Sunday 27.

The BET Africa on Thursday revealed that the actress will host the event, which will broadcast across Africa.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 'Ghostbusters' said that she is very excited to host The BET Awards this year, adding, "BET was the first network and place where I was on TV. I am looking to turn this whole experience into a joyful homecoming."

The BET Awards are handed out in 19 categories and is honoring best entertainers, artists and athletes.

This year's awards are dominated by Beyonce, who is nominated for seven categories, including, Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, Best Collaboration with Kendrick Lamar for Freedom, Video of the Year and Album of the Year for 'Lemonade'.

Following closely behind is Bruno Mars, Beyonce's sister Solange, Chance the Rapper and Migos.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Slamming the Uttar Pradesh Government for its failure to maintain law and order in the state, the Congress Party on Friday said the Yogi Adityanath-led Government is working towards dividing the society.

Congress leader Mallikarujun Kharge said this government used to accuse the previous government of failing to maintain law and order in the state, but it is no less.

Kharge further said that the Greater Noida rape and the recent Saharanpur clash have proved the failure of the government to maintain law and order in Uttar Pradesh.

"This is true that there is no law and order in Uttar Pradesh. Every person is taking law in his own hands and running the law and order in the state. A state of fear has developed in peoples' minds since this government has come to power. This government used to accuse the previous government of failing to maintain law and order in the state, but it is doing the same. They are creating fear in the minds of the people and working towards dividing the society," Kharge told ANI.

Another Congress leader Pramod Tiwari urged the government to make efforts towards getting the guilty punished and stopping any such incidents from taking place in future.

"The incident is such which has shocked the people of Uttar Pradesh. Law and order should be the topmost priority and the government should focus on that. The guilty must be punished. Efforts should be made to stop any such incident from happening in future," Tiwari told ANI.

As many as six criminals looted a family at the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida region yesterday night.

According to primary information, the criminals held the family (four men and four women) hostage and allegedly molested and raped the women.

The confirmation on the rape, however, is yet to be ascertained.

The criminals also shot a person dead after he raised objection against the crime.

The police have lodged an FIR against the accused.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rakesh Kapur, Joint Managing Director, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), has been elected as the Chairman of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) at the recent IFA's Annual Conference held from May 22nd - 24th in Marrakech, Morocco in which 1400 participants were present.

Paris based IFA is the global Fertilizer Association having about 500 Members Worldwide representing 68 countries including 24 Members from India. Mr. Kapur is the third Indian to hold this prestigious position in IFA's 90 years' history.

Mr Kapur is currently also the Chairman of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI). IFFCO, now World's largest fertilizer and marketing Cooperative represents 50 Million farmers across the country. The election of Mr. Kapur as IFA Chairman brought double celebration for IFFCO, which is currently celebrating its glorious 50thGolden Jubilee. IFFCO also hold a strong position in International Cooperative Alliance ICA.

IFA has been actively involved in propagating sustainable agriculture, fertiliser use efficiency, enhancing farm productivity apart from its active participation in the implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as 'Zero Hunger' as well as environmental issues.

IFA has wide level of engagement with International Initiatives and entities such as UNEP, FAO, OECD, IFAD, World Bank, WTO, WCO etc. for emphasizing the need for effective and efficient fertilizer application.

The Prime Minister of India has given a call to address two major factors i.e. soil and water critical to agricultural production. On his election as Chairman, IFA, Mr. Rakesh Kapur said that his dual role would be to strengthen collaboration between FAI and IFA in encouraging innovative products and adoption of Fertilizer Best Management Practices, strengthening outreach to farmers for rapid dissemination of agri technologies; and raising awareness globally among decision makers about the crucial role that soil health plays in food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

Mr. Rakesh Kapur is a Mechanical Engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. Mr. Kapur joined as CFO of IFFCO in 2005 before that he served in senior position in the Income Tax Deptt. of the Govt. of India and several Public Sector Undertakings. A Post Graduate in Management, Mr. Kapur is on the Board of several companies including various IFFCO's subsidiaries like IFFCO Kisan Special Economic Zone (IKSEZ), Nellore and IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Janata Dal (United) on Friday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Government in Jammu and Kashmir for not fulfilling its promise to talk to all stakeholders, including the Hurriyat leaders.

JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav said senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar meeting the Hurriyat leaders is not surprising, adding that even veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L. K. Advani and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also met them.

"What is the big deal in that? It is not something to be surprised about. Even Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also met Hurriyat. It is not a new thing. In their alliance, BJP and PDP had said they would talk to all stakeholders, including Hurriyat, including Pakistan. They have not fulfilled their own promise," Yadav told ANI.

Another JD (U) leader K. C. Tyagi also opined the same and said, "It is a part of the BJP-PDP's joint programme that they would talk to all stakeholders, including Hurriyat Conference, for Kashmir resolution. I don't know if it is a part of backdoor politics."

In an effort to resume dialogue with the stakeholders in Kashmir, a five-member delegation led by Aiyar yesterday called on moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and discussed ways to calm down the protestors.

The delegation reached at the Nigeen residence of Mirwaiz at 10.30 a.m. to discuss the prevailing situation in the Valley and the necessary steps to be initiated for bringing peace in Kashmir, which has been marred by violent protests since July 2016.

Considering the situation very critical where students and youth have joined the protests, Aiyar insisted that the Central Government should hold dialogue with all the stakeholders in Kashmir as it would bring enduring solutions by bringing peace in the Valley as well as reduce tensions between India and Pakistan.

The five member delegation that includes O.P. Shah, Air Vice Marshal (retd.) Kapil Kak and Vinod Sharma, are likely to meet hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Aiyar also showed his willingness to meet the pro-independence JKLF chief Yasin Malik, but he refused to meet the delegation.

The meetings with Hurriyat leaders assume significance after the group insisted that the Central Government should hold talks with Pakistan including separatists for resolution of the Kashmir issue.

The delegation participated in a seminar organised by an NGO, Peace and Progress, where they proposed that government of India should talk to Kashmiri people including gunmen, protesters, stone pelters and should take the support from academics, clerics to calm down the unrest.

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Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will pay a two-day visit to India from May 26 to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

This would be Jugnauth's first abroad visit after taking over as Prime Minister from his father, Anerood Jugnauth, in January.

Shortly after landing, the Mauritius Prime Minister would visit the Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Among his officials engagement, Jugnauth would call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Besides this, the Mauritius Prime Minister will also hold delegation-level talks with his counterpart, which would also be attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmnedra Pradhan, among other leaders.

On May 26, Prime Minister Jugnauth will also address a business event in New Delhi, jointly organised by Charmers and Commerce of Industry (CII), FICCI and ASSOCHAM.

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Following the worrisome Saharanpur clashes, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday has denied any connection with the unfortunate incident, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to "defame" them in order to "cover up their own misdeeds."

"There is no truth in the allegations that our party has a connection with the Saharanpur incident. My brother and senior leaders of the BSP have no connection with the Bhim Army. Our party condemns the clash and the allegations that are being put forward," Mayawati said while addressing media here.

She further said that if the BSP had any involvement in the incident, then why this wasn't told in the media before her visit to Saharanpur.

"The Uttar Pradesh BJP government, in order to cover up their own misdeeds, has made such false allegations on our party which is a shameful act. We feel that 'Bhim Army' is a product of BJP to defame our party and through this corrupt organization the saffron party is trying to destroy the harmonious environment which was created by our party in the state," she asserted.

The BSP chief added that she would recommend her party leaders to be wary of the BJP and Bhim Army.

"I appeal to the people of Uttar Pradesh, belonging to all religions and castes, to live harmoniously with each other," she concluded.

The clashes broke out on Tuesday after BSP supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, whereinone person was killed and several others were injured.

In the wake of the incident, District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked over his inability to control the fresh bout of violence in the area.

The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.

While in other incident of violence, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured on May 5 in clashes between Dalits and Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages of Uttar Pradesh.

Taking cognizance of the incidents of violence in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned it while saying that "strict action will be taken against the culprits.

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President Pranab Mukherjee will receive the first copies of books 'Mann Ki Baat

The book 'Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio' by Rajesh Jain is a compilation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's addresses to the nation on radio every month under the programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.

It contains a comprehensive, qualitative and academic analysis of 'Mann Ki Baat' - the themes, the choice of topics, the salient features.

It illustrates how 'Mann Ki Baat' has connected with the 'New India' - the youth in particular. It also presents a coherent narrative about the manner in which 'Mann Ki Baat' has created mass movements, be it in cleanliness, in promoting India's tourism potential, safer roads, drugs free India etc.

The book 'Marching with a Billion- Analysing Narendra Modi's Government at Midterm' written by eminent journalist Uday Mahurkar analyses the monumental changes that Prime Minister Modi has brought on multiple fronts as Prime Minister on India's governance landscape by ushering in an unprecedented culture of transparency to create a level playing field so necessary in a developing country.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has rebuked his fellow alliance leaders for not being 'fair' to the U.S. taxpayers.

Speaking at a ceremony on Thursday to dedicate a memorial to NATO's resolve in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Trump used the occasion to remind the alliance that "23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying," and that they owe "massive amounts" from past years, the Washington Post reported.

It was Trump's maiden summit with the NATO leaders in Brussels, where he was invited to dedicate the September 2001 memorial.

Trump had begun his speech by asking for a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester, England, that killed 22 and wounded many more.

Addressing British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump said, "May all the nations here grieve with you and stand with you." The attack, he said, "demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism."

In a presidential statement issued while Trump was at the ceremony, he called the Manchester leaks "deeply troubling," vowed to "get to the bottom" of them and called for a full investigation by U.S. agencies.

The statement added: "The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

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Dramatic developments shook Tampa as a Florida man, Devon Arthurs, shot two of his neo-nazi roommates on Friday.

Arthurs, 18, told the police that he had recently converted to Islam and was living with three roommates who followed neo-nazism.

Arthurs, who himself was also a follower of neo-nazism earlier, alleged that his roommates had disparaged his new religion and blamed them for his actions.

Arthurs was arrested at a smoke shop, where he briefly held three people at gunpoint.

After surrendering to officers, Arthurs conceded that he had already killed people in an apartment across the street.

The police found bodies of Jeremy Himmelman (22) and Andrew Oneschuk (18) with gunshot wounds. They also found a fourth roommate, Brandon Russell, outside the apartment 'crying and visibly upset,' according to the Washington Post.

According to the New York Times, the affidavit stated that 'all four roommates had been friends, with a common neo-Nazi belief until Arthurs's recent conversion to Islam.'

The police also recovered Nazi and white supremacist propaganda, firearms and ammunition as well as materials used to construct bombs from a garage below the apartment. The New York Times reported that the police found explosives, including ammonium nitrate in a package addressed to Russell.

Russell was also arrested on Sunday, where upon he conceded that he belonged to Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi group. He stated that he was planning to use the recovered materials to "boost homemade rockets and to send balloons into the atmosphere for testing," according to the New York Times. The F.B.I. repeatedly expressed skepticism on the explanation.

Arthurs has been charged without bail on two counts of murder, two accounts of aggravated assault and three counts of armed kidnapping.

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In the wake of clashes between two communities in Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh Government on Thursday transferred 174 Sub-Divisional Magistrates.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit report on the recent worrisome clashes in Saharanpur.

Earlier, Saharanpur District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked after he was unable to control the clashes between two communities in the area.

Clashes occurred on Tuesday after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.

The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.

On May 5, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.

Reports said that the police stopped the Maharana Pratap procession after some Dalits informed the police. This angered Rajputs, who allegedly resorted to violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Thursday launched a scathing attack at the Uttar Pradesh Government over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, while saying that 'Uttam Pradesh' is turning into 'crime Pradesh.'

"'Uttam Pradesh' is turning into 'Crime Pradesh'. The Saharanpur incident is very painful and heart wrenching. Such incidents never happened before. This all happened at the behest of government," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told ANI.

Echoing similar views, Congress leader Kapil Sibbal said the incidents of violence were increasing in the state because of the negligence of the government.

"The incidents of violence and Saharanpur incident happened because they think that nobody will question and stop them. There is no development in the state. They used to talk about Kabristan and Shamshan. This is the consequence," he told ANI.

Clashes broke out on Tuesday after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.

In the wake of the incident, District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked over his inability to control the fresh bout of violence in the area.

The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.

While in other incident of violence, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured on May 5 in clashes between Dalits and Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages of Uttar Pradesh.

Taking cognizance of the incidents of violence in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned it while saying that 'strict action will be taken against the culprits'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Traditional black and white silver prints by prominent Finnish photographer Pentti Sammallahti. Runs through 6/24.

ABOUT THE EVENT

photo-eye Gallery will host an Opening for the exhibition Friday April 28th from 5 7pm, corresponding with the Railyard Arts Districts Last Friday Art Walk. Warm Regards will remain on view through June 24th, 2017.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Pentti Sammallahti is a traveler and a visual poet. Endowed with an extraordinary 15-year grant from the Finnish government Sammallahti has travelled widely from his native Scandinavia, across the Soviet Republics through Siberia, to Japan, India, Nepal, Morocco, Turkey, throughout Europe, Great Britain, and South Africa. Meticulously well-seen, Sammallahtis photographs are imbued with a sense of wonder, delight, and reverence for the world at large while reflecting on both beauty and the human condition. He focuses on the people and animals of far off places recording the relationships between them and their environment. A master craftsman, Sammallahti is always in pursuit of the perfect means to communicate his intentions by subtly toning each of his rich silver gelatin prints. Over the years, photo-eye Gallery has had the pleasure to receive Penttis prints in treasured bundles signed with "Warm Regards".

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Inspired by his grandmother Hildur Larsson, a newspaper photographer, and viewing Edward Steichens seminal The Family of Man at Helsinki Art Hall in 1961 Pentti Sammallahti began making images at the age of 11. At 21, Sammallahti was featured in his first solo exhibition marking the beginning of a professional career that would come to influence an entire generation of Finnish photographers. Prior to receiving the Finnish States 15-year artist grant, Sammallahti taught at the Helsinki University of Art and Design, and has released thirteen portfolios and monographs since 1979 including The Russian Way and Here Far Away. In 2003, at the opening of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris, France, Pentti was named one of Cartier-Bressons 100 favorite photographers, and works by Sammallahti where exhibited from Cartier-Bressons personal collection. Penttis work can be found at the Museum of Modern Art, the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France, Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia, among others, and he has received awards such as the Samuli Paulaharju Prize of the Finnish Literature Society, State Prizes for Photography, Uusimaa Province Art Prize, Daniel Nyblin Prize, and the Finnish Critics Association Annual.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The MoU was signed at New Delhi in April, 2017.

This MoU shall enable the areas of cooperation such as, space science, technology and applications including remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication and satellite based navigation; Space science and planetary exploration; use of spacecraft and space systems and ground system; and application of space technology.

The MoU would lead to set up a Joint Working Group, drawing members from Department of Space/ Indian Space Research Organisation (DOS/ISRO), and the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC), which will further work out the plan of action including the time-frame and the means of implementing this MoU.

It will provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication; satellite navigation; space science and exploration of outer space.

Financing of works carried out under this MoU shall be provided by the respective executive organisation with due consideration of national norms and rules concerning budgetary regulations in force in their respective States and within the limits of available resources. Joint projects and works carried out under this MoU depending on the type and field of activity shall be on non-commercial or commercial basis and shall be executed either without mutual payments or on the basis of compensatory arrangements or contracts.

The MoU would lead to develop a joint activity in the field of application of space technologies for the benefit of humanity.

Thus all sections and regions of the country will get benefited.

Background:

India and Bangladesh have expressed interest to cooperate with each other in the area of space. Accordingly, a template of framework MoU for space cooperation was provided to Indian High Commission to Bangladesh & MEA in August 2016 for further processing at Government level, for which Bangladesh side has given its concurrence in December 2016. Accordingly, an MoU between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, signed at New Delhi on April 08, 2017.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between Germany and India regarding cooperation in the sector of alternative medicine.

The signing of the JDl will enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the areas of traditional/alternative medicine. Initiation of collaborative research, training and scientific capacity building in the field of alternative medicine under the JDI between the two countries would contribute to the enhanced employment opportunities in the AYUSH sector.

There are no additional financial implications involved. The financial resources necessary to conduct research, training courses, conferences / meetings will be met from the existing allocated budget and existing plan schemes of Ministry of AYUSH.

Background:

India is blessed with well-developed systems of traditional medicine which hold tremendous potential in the global health scenario. Germany has considerable interest in Traditional Systems of Medicine. The Ministry of AYUSH as a part of its mandate to propagate Indian systems of Medicine globally has taken effective steps by entering into MoU with China, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago Hungary, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Mongolia and Myanmar.

The Ministry has taken many initiatives for promotion of Ayurveda in Germany with the recommendation and cooperation of the Indian Embassy in Berlin. One of the major initiatives is the collaborative research Project between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and Charite University, Berlin on Osteoarthritis of the knee.

The results of the trial are encouraging and the clinical trial demonstrates significant improvement in patients. The study has been completed successfully and is under publication.

A delegation led by Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Hon'ble Minister of State, (Independent Charge). Ministry of AYUSH had visited Germany from 15-19 October 2016 to participate in the 2nd European World Ayurveda Congress (EWAC) and have interactions with the authorities in Germany. The Congress was supported by the Ministry of AYUSH. During the visit a bilateral meeting was held between Hon'ble MoS(IC), AYUSH with the Parliamentary State Secretary Ms. Ingrid Fischbach during which both sides had unanimously agreed to begin the process of drafting and negotiating a JDl in the field of AYUSH and Natural medicine. It is expected that the JDI would give a boost to India-Germany ties and enhance cooperation between the two countries.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the phasing out of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The proposal entails abolishing the FIPB and allowing administrative Ministries/Departments to process applications for FDI requiring government approval.

Henceforth, the work relating to processing of applications for FDI and approval of the Government thereon under the extant FDI Policy and FEMA, shall now be handled by the concerned Ministries/Departments in consultation with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP), Ministry of Commerce, which will also issue the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing of applications and decision of the Government under the extant FDI policy.

In addition, Foreign Investors will find India more attractive destination and this will result in more inflow of FDI.

The move will provide ease of doing business and will help in promoting the principle of Maximum Governance and Minimum Government.

Background

The proposal for abolition of FIPB was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting on 24-05-2017. Presently, applications are considered by FIPB in Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance comprising of various Secretaries of Government of India for making recommendation on FDI applications. After the Cabinet decision, it would be handled independently by Administrative Ministries as per Sector.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its 'In Principle' approval to transfer the property of Hotel Janpath, New Delhi to Ministry of Urban Development.

Hotel Janpath is located in a prime central location of the city. The property can be considered for construction of Government offices and similar purposes which would save government funds spent in hiring of government offices.

Details of implementation of the project, land usages, etc. would be taken subsequently by a Committee of Secretaries to be constituted under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary.

The building of Hotel Janpath has to undergo major rehabilitation work since the building structure of Hotel Janpath has been found to be unserviceable, in distressed condition and deficit in the context of seismic requirements, according to the inspection report of IIT Roorkee.

Background:

The Government of India has initiated the process of disinvestment of hotels / properties of the India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ITDC). The decision on disinvestment-has been made, keeping in view that running and managing hotels on professional lines is not the work of the Government or its entities.

As part of the disinvestment policy, it has been decided to lease/sub-lease the hotels / properties jointly with the concerned States or return the properties to the States, after fair valuation.

The States would then, have the option to upgrade and operate the Motels by involving the private sector or to utilize the properties as per their requirements. States have exercised their options accordingly, in each case going forward with, the option best suited to their needs.

In the first stage of the disinvestment process, it was decided to disinvest three hotels, viz. Hotel Lake View Ashok, Bhopal, Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati and Hotel Bharatpur Ashok. Hotel Janpath, New Delhi is next in the list.

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Sales rise 28.57% to Rs 9.72 crore

Net profit of Cambridge Technology Enterprises declined 42.31% to Rs 0.30 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 0.52 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016. Sales rose 28.57% to Rs 9.72 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 7.56 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016.

For the full year,net profit declined 24.15% to Rs 4.24 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 5.59 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. Sales rose 31.27% to Rs 38.66 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 29.45 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Mar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Sales9.727.56 29 38.6629.45 31 OPM %0.3113.49 -12.1316.37 - PBDT0.261.27 -80 5.466.23 -12 PBT0.580.41 41 4.503.13 44 NP0.300.52 -42 4.245.59 -24

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Indian Oil Corporation rose 1.04% to Rs 435.15 at 15:00 IST on BSE after net profit jumped 85.48% to Rs 3721 crore on 25.01% rise in total income to Rs 124344.64 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

The result was announced during market hours today, 25 May 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 357.33 points or 1.18% at 30,658.97.

On the BSE, 2.18 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far as against average daily volume of 3.37 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 436 and a low of Rs 423.55 so far during the day.

The stock had hit a record high of Rs 450.65 on 16 May 2017. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 196.33 on 24 May 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 24 May 2017, rising 2.09% compared with 2.18% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 11.83% as against Sensex's 4.88% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 4855.90 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Indian Oil Corporation said that average gross refining margin rose to $7.77 per barrel in Q4 March 2017 from $5.06 per barrel in Q4 March 2016.

The net under realisation suffered by the company in Q4 March 2017 was nil.

The board of directors of Indian Oil Corporation recommended a final dividend of Re 1 per share for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY 2017).

IOCL is India's flagship national oil company, with business interests that straddle the entire hydrocarbon value chain - from refining, pipeline transportation and marketing of petroleum products to exploration & production of crude oil & gas as well as marketing of natural gas and petrochemicals.

The Government of India held 57.34% stake in IOCL (as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 March 2017).

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Sets higher targets in production, productivity, turnover and CAPEX for the FY 2017-18

National Aluminium Company has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India setting higher targets in production, productivity, turnover and CAPEX for the FY 2017-18.

The MoU was formulated as per the new Department of Public Enterprise guidelines and finalized after discussions with both Inter-Ministerial Committee as well as Ministry of Mines.

As per the MoU, the target for revenue from operations has been fixed at Rs.8100 crore (net of excise) which is Rs 700 cr more than previous year.

The MoU has also set 100% targets for production of both bauxite and alumina i.e. 6.825 million tonnes and 2.1 million tonnes, respectively. Aluminium production target is set at 4.4 lakh tonnes as compared to the previous fiscal. The targets are an all time high for the company and is expected to push the profitability of NALCO despite increase in expenses on account of enhanced electricity duty, RPO obligations, employee wage revision and power & fuel oil.

The Company has a CAPEX target of Rs.1158 crore against Rs.873 crore achieved in 2016-17. The expenses are to be incurred in several new and ongoing projects like the 1 million tonne refinery, Utkal-D&E coal blocks, solar and wind power projects, modernization and upgradation of Plant & equipments.

In yet another strategic move on the human resource front, the company has set a new HR succession plan, HR Audit, online ACR and training in reputed business institutes for its employees. The plan will enable the company to synchronize its workforce and skill set in line with the new business plan which is already in an advanced stage finalization.

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Sales rise 17.48% to Rs 159.96 crore

Net profit of Zee Media Corporation declined 75.93% to Rs 4.47 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 18.57 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016. Sales rose 17.48% to Rs 159.96 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 136.16 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016.

For the full year,net loss reported to Rs 19.70 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against net loss of Rs 8.47 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. Sales rose 1.35% to Rs 550.28 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 542.96 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Mar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Sales159.96136.16 17 550.28542.96 1 OPM %15.2025.39 -11.8814.50 - PBDT21.0934.58 -39 38.5048.68 -21 PBT11.0924.97 -56 -2.032.11 PL NP4.4718.57 -76 -19.70-8.47 -133

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Permitting foreign firms to fully own a domestic airline could have serious security implications, besides giving rise to other issues, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has told the government.

"The decision to relax the foreign investment norm (in aviation) to 100 per cent is unprecedented. No substantive country allows this," the FIA wrote in a recent letter to the government.

"By India permitting 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in scheduled airlines, the Indian government will have no visibility on where control lies. Such a move could also have serious repercussions on India's national security."

According to the FIA, such "foreign owned and controlled domestic airlines" will also gain unhindered access to defence airfields.

Last year, foreign investors, except overseas airlines, were allowed to own up to 100 per cent stake in local air carriers by liberalising the country's FDI regulations.

However, existing rules mandate that substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC) of an airline must vest with Indian nationals, and the Chairman and two-thirds of the Board of Directors of the airline must be Indian citizens.

"It must be noted that permitting 100 per cent FDI in scheduled airlines and removing the SOEC requirement skews the creation of a level playing field," the FIA said.

The airlines' association also said the decision to allow foreign carriers own airlines in India will create an inequitable competitive environment.

"If India dilutes the SOEC provisions (as proposed), foreign airlines will be allowed access to bilaterals from their country to India and also bilateral from India to their country. This will create a very inequitable competitive environment for Indian carriers," it added.

Besides, the FIA said that the decision could not have come at a more inopportune time, as many domestic air carriers have placed orders for hundreds of aircraft.

"In fact, the deficient aviation infrastructure is hindering growth of domestic carriers. Despite the constraints, the Indian carriers have positioned India as the fastest growing aviation market,".

"Introducing financially stronger 100 per cent foreign owned airlines, in some cases, state-owned, will create a -non- level playing field for domestic airlines, cause tremendous losses and put even greater strain on the existing aviation infrastructure."

--IANS

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Two more persons, a man and a woman, have been arrested in connection with the Manchester bombing attack in Britain, media reports said.

The woman was arrested after armed police raided a block of flats in the north of Manchester, Sky News reported on Wednesday.

The male suspect was arrested at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches connected to the attack, police said.

This has made the total number of suspects linked to the attack rise to seven so far, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Senior police chiefs in Britain reacted with anger Wednesday night after sensitive details of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing were leaked to media in the US.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the leaks undermines the investigation into the terror attack.

According to the Guardian, Prime Minister Theresa May will confront US President Donald Trump over the stream of leaks of crucial intelligence when the pair meet Thursday at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.

A suicide bombing attack on Manchester Arena on Monday evening has led to 22 deaths and 64 injuries. The suicide bomber's identity has been revealed by the police as Salman Abedi, 22, a son of Libyan parents who fled their native country and sought refuge in Britain.

Abedi's father and younger brother have also been arrested in Libya following the attack.

--IANS

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Elated over the outcome of the five-day annual meeting of African Development Bank (AfDB) and interaction with the Union Ministers, bank President Akinwumi Adesina on Thursday said he hoped India will substantially contribute towards its transformation agenda in skill development, power and agriculture.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of its annual meeting, Adesina said: "... had fruitful meetings with Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, and other Indian Ministers. All these meetings are expected to substantially contribute to the bank's new transformation agenda encapsulated in the high 5s -- related to the fields of power, agriculture (food security), connectivity (transportation), industrialisation (skill development), and health."

He was addressing a press conference at the Mahatma Mandir here. This is the first time that an AfDB annual meeting has been held outside the African continent.

The AfDB annual meeting started here from May 22.

"The bank is looking forward to scaling up technologies and investments in future technologies for skilling African youths," he said.

He said the youths in Africa should actively participate in agricultural activities.

The bank President said he even sees the possibilities of Bollywood films contributing to encouragement to the African youths.

--IANS

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A delegation of peace activists led by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday called on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and senior separatist leaders in an effort to create space for dialogue in the unrest-wracked state.

Besides Aiyar, the delegation comprised O.P. Shah, Air Vice Marshal (retired) Kapil Kak, Vinod Sharma and Khalid Tufail.

The team called on Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group in the morning at his city outskirts Nigeen residence in Srinagar.

The delegation later called on another senior separatist leader, Shabir Shah, chairman of Democratic Freedom Party.

In the afternoon the delegation members met the octogenarian hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Geelani at his uptown Hyderpora residence in Srinagar.

The delegation called on Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the evening.

An official statement said here: "The delegation had an extensive discussion on wide ranging issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir with the Chief Minister.

"Members of the delegation informed the Chief Minister about the impressions of their visit to the Valley.

"Mehbooba Mufti appreciated the initiative taken by them and informed them that she has been advocating for long that dialogue and peaceful means of engagement are the only ways ahead to get the issues resolved.

"The Chief Minister thanked the delegation for taking interest in the difficulties being faced by the people of the State".

Earlier this week, the delegation members attended a seminar in Srinagar organized by an NGO, Centre for Peace and Progress.

The seminar discussed ways and means to create space for dialogue to end violence and uncertainty in the state.

--IANS

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BJP President met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here on Thursday.

After winding up three-day visit to Telangana, Shah reached here along with Naidu from Hyderabad in the same flight. They were accompanied by central ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and YS Chowdary.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief later met the Telugu Desam Party president over lunch at Naidu's residence. Central ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu and YS Chowdary, Naidu's son Nara Lokesh and TDP's Andhra Pradesh unit President Kala Venkat Rao were also present during the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour.

According to sources in the TDP, they discussed the political developments, the alliance between the two parties and the ensuing presidential election.

Naidu urged to ensure that the Centre takes early steps to fulfill all the commitments made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Earlier, the BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit leaders met Shah and discussed strengthening of the party in the state and the relations with TDP.

The BJP chief is scheduled to address a public meeting in Vijayawada Thursday evening as part of the party's efforts to expand base in the state.

Shah's visit comes a few days after the relations between the two allies turned somewhat strained when some TDP leaders criticised the BJP for allowing YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The TDP is a partner in BJP-led NDA government at the Centre while the BJP is an ally of the TDP in the ruling coalition in Andhra Pradesh.

During his visit to Telangana, Shah hinted that the alliance will continue in Andhra Pradesh but the BJP may go alone in Telangana in 2019 elections.

Interestingly, Naidu was in Hyderabad on Wednesday to address the annual conclave of the TDP's Telangana unit while at the same time addressed a meeting of BJP workers in Hyderabad, asking them to gear up to bring the party to power in the state.
Even before the state BJP's march to the city police headquarters formally started, a group of its party workers on Thursday surprised the police by suddenly arriving near Lalbazar in a private bus.

Around 20 Bharatiya Janata Party activists from Nadia district's Haringhata, travelling in a private bus, reached the Bipin Behari Ganguly street crossing near the city police headquarters Lalbazar.

However, they were immediately intercepted and detained by the police personnel posted there.

Lalbazar, situated in central Kolkata, was turned into a fortress since the morning. A huge number of police personnel were deployed near three major interception points at Phears lane, Tea Board of India office and Bentinck Street connector to stop the BJP rallies.

Barricades, guard rails, and around 200 heavily armed personnel including combat forces, Rapid Action Force and commandos have been deployed to check any untoward incidents.

The protest, coming only three days after the Left peasant unions' "March to Nabanna (state secretariat") that left nearly 200 injured following trouble, has kept the police on its toes

Leading a massive rally of around 20,000 activists from Howrah station, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said they would start sit-in protests on the street if the party workers are stopped anywhere by the police.

"Our aim is to reach Lalbazar. If police stop us anywhere, we would start sit-in demonstration on the spot. Police would do their job and our party workers would do theirs," Ghosh said.

"We want to tell the administration that their brutality, torture and intimidation would not be tolerated anymore," he added.

Protesting the law and order situation in the state and fake cases lodged against their party workers among other issues, the state unit of BJP has promised to rally around one lakh people to the city police headquarters Lalbazar on Thursday.

--IANS

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BJP activists on Thursday clashed with security personnel here on Thursday during a protest march that turned parts of the city hub into war zones, and left over 50 BJP workers and 21 police personnel injured. One police vehicle was torched, and a number of government and private cars damaged in the violence.

While the BJP claimed 200 of its workers were injured and charged the police with making "unprovoked attacks" by roping in the state's ruling Trinamool Congress cadres, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rejected allegations of police excesses. Instead, she accused the BJP of unleashing violence.

"We have arrested 141 people, including prominent BJP leaders. They are still in custody," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), Supratim Sarkar at the end of day that saw the police use water canons, batons and lob teargas shells on BJP activists, who hurled bricks to protest the law and order situation and "fake cases" lodged against party workers,

Sarkar accused the BJP of indulging in "planned lawlessness" during the party's 'March to Lalbazar' (city police headquarters), and throwing a "petrol bomb" at the police.

"Over 50 BJP workers and 21 police personnel were injured. Several of the injured police personnel were women. Some have head injuries. We will file cases under non-bailable sections against those activists against whom we find prima facie evidence of violence based on our video footage," said Sarkar.

Among the arrested BJP leaders were its national General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, national secretary Rahul Sinha, party's state unit chief Dilip Ghosh, Rajya Sabha MP Rupa Ganguly and state secretary Locket Chatterjee.

"Four cars were damaged. The vehicle of the Officer-in-charge of the Amherst Street Police station was torched," Sarkar said.

Actress-turned-politicians Ganguly and Chatterjee were taken ill after scuffling and jostling with the police personnel who faced a torrid time reining in the rampaging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers.

Chatterjee had to be taken to the Kolkata Medical College for treatment after her arrest.

A police vehicle was torched on B.B. Ganguly Street close to Lalbazar. A number of police personnel also sustained injuries from the stone missiles hurled at them.

However, Sinha denied their workers had thrown bombs.

"Police are trying to mislead everybody by claiming that bombs were hurled, while actually it was only the sound of teargas shells lobbed by the police," said an injured Sinha.

Near Bentinck Street, a number of BJP activists lay wounded after a round of baton charge. A couple of women activists were seen resting beside the police guard rail with head injuries.

After being driven away by the police and Rapid Action Force personnel from Central Avenue, some BJP activists took shelter inside the Central Metro Station and pelted stones from there. They were detained later.

"They (BJP workers) damaged the metro station and brick-batted the police from the terrace of their state party headquarters," said Sarkar.

Earlier, before the march formally started, around 20 BJP workers surprised police personnel by suddenly arriving in a private bus near Lalbazar that was turned into a fortress since morning. They were immediately taken into custody.

Later in the day, the BJP supporters made more attempts to storm the police headquarters and reached its vicinity, only to be arrested.

Barricades, guard rails and iron scaffolding were set up and around 2,000 heavily armed personnel, including combat forces, Rapid Action Force and commandos, deployed to check any untoward incident. Drones kept a tab on the movement of protesters.

Thursday's protest came only three days after the Left peasant unions' 'March to Nabanna' (state secretariat) that had left nearly 200 people -- protesters and police -- injured.

The Chief Minister, who is in Delhi, showed pictures and videos of the violence on her mobile, and claimed police personnel including women were assaulted by BJP and Left activists during the respective protest marches.

"It is BJP and the CPI-M who have unleashed violence," Banerjee told the media in New Delhi after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On the other hand, state BJP spokesman Samik Bhattacharya called the state police "unprofessional" and "ferocious".

"What we saw today, is the police - unable to control our movement - brought in Trinamool-backed hooligans. Nothing can be more condemnable than this.

"They carried out unprovoked baton charge. Around 200 BJP workers, including women, were injured. Two of our workers admitted at the SSKM Hospital are very serious. One of them has internal haemorrhage, while a 27-year-old man vomited blood," he said.

--IANS

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A number of workers and policemen were injured and a police vehicle was torched as parts of central Kolkata resembled a war zone with security forces using water canons and batons and lobbying tear gas shells on the activists who also hurled bricks during a protest march here on Thursday.

Senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, state chief Dilip Ghosh, party MP Rupa Ganguly and former Kolkata Deputy Mayor Meena Devi Purohit were arrested after the party workers led by them broke barricades while trying to march to the city police headquarters Lalbazar.

The police used drones to keep a tab on the movement of the protesters.

Actress-turned politician and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rupa Ganguly during the party's proposed rally 'March to Lalbazar (Kolkata police headquarters)', to press for their various demands

Actress-turned-BJP leader Ganguly fell ill after scuffling and jostling with the police personnel who faced a torrid time in reining in the rampaging Bharatiya Janata Party workers.

Another actress-turned-political activist Locket Chatterjee had to be taken to the Kolkata Medical College for treatment.

A police vehicle was torched and another government vehicle damaged on BB Ganguly Street close to Lalbazar. A substantial number of police personnel also sustained injuries from the missiles hurled at them.

There were allegations that the activists had thrown bombs which injured policemen, but BJP Secretary Rahul Sinha denied it.

"Police are trying to mislead everybody by claiming bombs were hurled, while actually it was only the sound of tear gas shells lobbed by the police," said Sinha, who also sustained injuries and was arrested.

Shouting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Jai Sri Ram' and 'Vande Mataram', the BJP supporters assembled in large numbers at three points -- Dharmatala Y channel in central Kolkata, Howrah station and College Square in the northern part of the city, where rallies began around 1 p.m.

Ghosh, who led a large procession from Howrah, was arrested from Brabourne Road, where police used water canons, batons and tear gas to disperse the mob.

However, even before the march formally started, a group of BJP workers surprised the police by suddenly arriving near Lalbazar in a private bus.

Around 20 Bharatiya Janata Party activists from Nadia district's Haringhata, travelling in a private bus, reached B.B. Ganguly street crossing near Lalbazar.

But they were immediately intercepted and detained.

BJP state Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had lost control of the state administration and claimed the government was actually being run by the police.

"Banerjee has no control over law and order. Some senior police and IAS officers are running this government and Mamata is sitting at the helm without any power," Majumdar said.

"This government has no idea how to control a democratic movement."

Lalbazar, situated in central Kolkata, was turned into a fortress since the morning. Police personnel were deployed near three major interception points at Phears lane, Tea Board of India office and Bentinck Street connector to stop the rallies.

Barricades, guard rails, and around 2,000 heavily armed personnel, including combat forces, Rapid Action Force and commandos, were deployed to check any untoward incident.

Thursday's protest came only three days after the Left peasant unions' "March to Nabanna" (state secretariat) that left nearly 200  protesters and police  injured.
Eight persons, among them a bride-to-be, were killed and 22 injured in a ghastly head-on collision between a bus and a van in north Karnataka, the police said on Thursday.

The accident occurred when a speeding private bus collided head-on with a van carrying a marriage party on Thursday morning at Annabeelu Cross in Uttara Kannada (North Canara) district, Bhatkal Deputy Superintendent of Police P.O. Shivakumar told IANS over phone.

Honnavara is about 490 km from Bengaluru in the state's northwest coastal region.

N. Palakshi, 42, Baby Kom, 38, N.B. Ganigera, 44 (van driver), A.S. Sunil Seth, 25, Divya Kuradekar, 28 (bride-to-be), Pooja Seth, 24, R. Krishnappa Seth, 65, and Umesha Valmiki, 35 (bus driver) were killed in the crash.

Two children aged 9 and 6 years were among the injured. They were admitted to a private hospital in Kundapur.

At least 30 passengers in the bus, however, escaped unhurt.

"The van with the marriage party was going to Dharmasthala from Honnavara while the bus was in the opposite direction from Bhatkal to Honnavara when the collision took place," said Shivakumar.

Divya Kuradekar's wedding was fixed for Friday at Dharmasthala, a pilgrim centre in Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district.

An FIR has been registered against the owners of the bus and the van as the drivers were among the dead, the official said.

--IANS

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China on Thursday was evasive about a UN report stating that the CPEC could fuel tensions between India and Pakistan, denying there was any "specific" document.

"As far as I have learned, the ESCAP (the Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific) did not issue any specific report on the Belt and Road initiative," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press conference.

"Indian media is reporting on this, but we have not seen the full text of the report but I can give you some response in general and principle," Lu said.

A report, released by a UN body on Tuesday, said the over $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, "might create geo-political tension with India and ignite further political instability".

India lays claim to Pakistan-administered Kashmir and has opposed the economic corridor passing through the region, a key artery of China's Belt and Road project.

"The dispute over Kashmir is also of concern since the crossing of the (CPEC) in the region might create geopolitical tension with India and ignite further political instability," the Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (ESCAP), a UN body said.

Lu, however, said that all parties in the just-concluded meet of ESCAP "spoke highly of the Belt and Road initiative in promoting development in Asia and the Pacific".

He reiterated Beijing's stance that CPEC will not affect its stance on the Kashmir dispute between Indian and Pakistan.

"As far as the CPEC passes through the controversial territory, I have said this many times that it is an economic initiative and it will not affect our position on the Kashmir issue."

The CPEC has become a sore point between India and China. New Delhi made it quite evident when it did not attend China's Belt and Road summit this month in opposition to the CPEC.

--IANS

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Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday accepted the proposal to rename the party's Legal and Human Rights Department as the Legal, Human Rights and RTI Department.

This was announced by party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi in a statement.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has approved the names of the office-bearers of the department.

Mukul Gupta has been named Secretary (Court cases and Election matters); Vipul Maheshwari, Secretary (Coordination) and Anoop G. Chaudhuri, Chairman (Supreme Court Unit).

Vivek Tankha was already appointed earlier the Chairman of the Legal, Human Rights and RTI Department.

--IANS

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South Delhi's notorious gangster Ravi Gangwal, involved in over a dozen cases of murder, attempt to murder, and assault, has been arrested with his two accomplices, the city police said on Thursday.

A pistol made in Turkey, eight cartridges and two knives were seized from Gangwal's possession, the police said.

Gangwal, 30, Sunny, 32, and Nakul, 31, were arrested late Wednesday night when they were sitting in an SUV near Iskcon temple in south Delhi.

"During night patrol, the police came across a Scorpio SUV parked near the Iskcon temple. When police asked its occupants to come out, they tried to speed away. Police chased and intercepted them in Garhi village," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said.

He said Gangwal brandished a pistol and threatened to open fire on the police but was overpowered along with his accomplices.

The police officer said Gangwal was waiting for the release of Deepak Pandit of a rival gang from Tihar jail to ensure his dominance in south Delhi's Ambedkar Nagar area.

Gangwal was currently out on bail in the case of murder of Banno in 2014 over her property in Devli area.

--IANS

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A group of German lawmakers have called off a visit to Turkey due to the pressure exerted by Turkish authorities, Bundestag's Vice President Claudia Roth has said.

The delegation of four parliamentarians, headed by Roth, intended to visit Turkey this week to hold talks with Turkish officials, but cancelled the visit on Wednesday after Ankara refused the delegation's request of meeting with Turkish officials and access to the parliament building, Xinhua news agency quoted Roth as saying here.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) we were informed that it was currently not considered opportune for Turkey's highest level to hold political talks with the German parliamentary side in Turkey," Roth said, describing the situation as "political provocation".

The cancellation adds to a list of issues since last week that has increased the diplomatic tensions between the two NATO members.

Last Monday, Turkey refused the visit by another group of German lawmakers to Turkey's Incirlik air base, where over 200 German troops were stationed as part of the military coalition against the Islamic State group.

The visit, scheduled also this week, was "considered inappropriate for the time being", a Turkish diplomatic source told Xinhua.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week said that she was considering a relocation of the German Army currently based in Incirlik, adding that Jordan, one of Turkey's neighbouring countries, could be an alternative.

Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Defence Minister, was "impressed" after paying a visit to Jordan's Azraq airbase, although a final decision was yet to be taken on the transfer of the German air force deployment.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Germany was free to remove their troops from Turkey and the withdrawal would not be a problem to Ankara.

"We have not received official notice by Germany that it is going to transfer troops from the Incirlik base to Jordan," said Erdogan before leaving for Brussels to attend the NATO summit.

"But if they do so, it will not be a problem to us. If they leave, we will say 'happy journey' to them."

Meanwhile, Germany and Turkey are negotiating over this mounting diplomatic chaos to work out a resolution, German ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann said on Tuesday.

Merkel and Erdogan have both confirmed presence at the NATO summit, where the German Chancellor intends to meet her Turkish counterpart.

Relations have worsened between Germany and Turkey since last year, when Germany granted asylum petitions to those who allegedly participated in the failed coup attempt in Turkey last July, and the German parliament agreed to define the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as "genocide".

The Incirlik airbase is one of NATO's crucial military bases in the Middle East.

The NATO aircraft, used in air strikes against the IS, are deployed at the base.

According to the agreement between Berlin and Ankara, German jets and hundreds of personnel will be stationed at the base until the end of 2017.

--IANS

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO allies should show more solidarity in the global counter-terror fight.

"Terrorism is not the problem of a single country, but a problem of entire world. Global problems can only be solved through global cooperation," Erdogan addressed a press conference here on Wednesday before his departure to Brussels for the NATO summit.

Erdogan noted that terrorism is the biggest threaten to both national and international security, and the recent terror attacks in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Paris and Manchester showed the terrorism has become a global problem, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also complained that some countries "are still making distinctions between terror groups," distinguishing "my terrorist, your terrorist".

"Solidarity is the only antidote for terror," Erdogan said. "Instant sharing intelligence is obligatory and NATO should be more active and give more support to allied countries."

Turkish government and Western countries have different opinions on the identification of some terrorism organization.

For instance, Turkey accuses Gulen movement group of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt. However, the German government on May 11 accepted asylum application of some former military personnel affiliated with the Gulen Movement, and the US has refused to extradite preacher Fethullah Gulen from Pennsylvania back to Turkey until now.

Turkey also regards the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), deemed a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and the European Union. But Washington sees the YPG distinct from the PKK and as a valuable partner in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.

--IANS

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Five persons were injured in a brawl and shooting over plying of trucks here, the police said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday night when 39-year-old Harpal, a resident of Vasant Kunj area in south Delhi, asked Vinod Khatri not to ply trucks carrying building materials through the colony as it may damage the road.

Khatri later in the night returned with his son and around 15 others equipped with sticks, rods and guns. They assaulted Harpal and tried to shoot him, the police said.

Harpal's tenants, who had come to rescue him, were also attacked, said the police.

"It has not been established whether the injuries involve shooting. We are waiting for the medical examination results," a senior police officer said.

One live cartridge was recovered from the spot, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said.

The police have registered an FIR and launched investigations.

--IANS

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At least four militants belonging to the banned Neo-JMB outfit were arrested by Bangladesh's anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Thursday.

Huge quantities of firearms and explosives were recovered from the militants linked with an offshoot of the banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh militant group, Xinhua news agency cited an RAB statement as saying.

The group is blamed for the July 1 deadly attack at the Holey Aritsan Spanish Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan that left 20 persons, mostly foreigners, dead.

The arrests were made during raids here and two adjoining districts, it said.

The JMB carried out a series of bombings, including in capital Dhaka, on August 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 injured.

Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up and six top leaders, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.

Against the backdrop of a new wave of militancy, Bangladesh stepped up drive aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country.

--IANS

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The government will look into the proposal of the Indian telecom regulator on penalising three companies for not providing adequate points of interconnections (PoI) to industry newcomer Reliance Jio and will take a decision at the proper time.

"Let the proposal come, we will look into it. We will decide in proper time," Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said on the sidelines of a press meet here on Thursday, when asked what will be the government's stand regarding penalising Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has put a penalty of Rs 3,050 crore collectively on these three telecom operators.

In similarly worded decisions against the three operators, the TRAI on Wednesday said it "considered it appropriate to recommend penal action... in view of the large public interest involved."

The regulator sent the letter to the telecom department on Wednesday.

The regulator, in response to queries by the DoT, said on Wednesday that its earlier penalties imposed on the three companies on the basis of licence service areas (LSA) were being confirmed. It had proposed penalties of Rs 1,050 crore each on Airtel and Vodafone and Rs 950 crore on Idea for 21 and 19 licence service areas.

The sector regulator in October said the top three telecom operators in the country had violated licence norms by denying adequate PoI to Jio.

The TRAI said the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may appreciate the fact that Airtel, Vodafone and Idea were "intentionally denying and delaying the provision/augmentation of PoIs to RJIL (Reliance Jio Infocomm), only to restrict a new entrant, thus violating the terms and conditions of licence and regulations/directions of the Authority, which also caused a lot of inconvenience to consumers."

--IANS

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India on Thursday sought from Pakistan consular access to Sheikh Nabi, a Mumbai resident arrested in Islamabad for not possessing travel documents, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday.

"We have contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the matter of Sheikh Nabi and sought facts of the case. We have also sought consular access and are awaiting their response," said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay.

Nabi was arrested on May 19 and booked under the Foreigners Act, 1946.

--IANS

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An Indian woman who alleged she was forced and duped into marrying a Pakistani man was repatriated to her country through the Wagah border on Thursday, a day after the Islamabad High Court permitted her to travel home.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma Ahmed to India, minutes after she crossed into India from the Wagah border in Amritsar.

"Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through," Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

Uzma travelled to Lahore from Islamabad and was accompanied by Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh, who bid her farewell at the border. She had stayed in Pakistan for 25 days.

Uzma, who was escorted by Pakistani security personnel till the Wagah border crossing, was debriefed by Indian officials for a while.

The woman claimed she was forced to marry Buner resident Tahir Ali at gunpoint. During the court hearing, Pakistani judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani asked Uzma if she wanted to meet her husband in the chamber but she refused the offer, saying she did not want to talk to him.

The High Court ordered that Uzma can go back to her country and the case will be processed in her absence.

Uzma had taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad because she felt threatened, and wanted to return to her country of birth.

Ali had filed a petition claiming that she was being forcibly kept at the Indian High Commission and that the marriage was not under coercion.

Uzma, who belongs to New Delhi, and Ali "fell in love" in Malaysia, after which she travelled to Pakistan on May 1, via the Wagah border.

--IANS

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Iraq's Interior Ministry on Wednesday ordered an investigation into reports that security forces battling Islamic State (IS) militants in western Mosul tortured and killed civilians suspected to be IS members.

"The Interior Minister ordered to form a committee to verify the credibility of the reports by the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, including information about violation of human rights by the Rapid Response forces in Nineveh Province," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, the minister instructed the investigators to conduct a clear and impartial investigation and present the facts before the minister once completed in order to take legal proceedings against the perpetrators, Xinhua news agency reported.

The German magazine first reported the allegations last weekend, releasing photos of an Iraqi photographer embedded with the Rapid Response forces as evidence.

The allegations 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, the capital of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh.

--IANS

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Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units on Thursday initiated a new advance to recapture areas near the Iraqi-Syrian border west of Mosul in an operation to dislodge the Islamic State militant group from the Iraqi side of the border.

They began their progress to recapture the IS-held town of Baaj, about 25 km west of the newly-freed town of al-Qairwan, Xinhua news agency cited a military statement as saying.

The two towns are located in the rugged sprawling area about 100 km west of Mosul.

In the early morning hours, the paramilitary units, backed by the army's helicopter gunships, freed four villages in west of al-Qairwan as they are advancing westward in the open land to free Baaj.

The Hashd Shaabi forces have surrounded three more militant-seized villages in the area between al-Qairwan and Baaj, the statement said.

The helicopter gunships destroyed a booby-trapped car during the fighting with the IS, and are searching for seven IS vehicles carrying heavy machine guns spotted near one of the villages, it added.

The Hashd Shaabi units on Tuesday liberated al-Qairwan and many villages around the town from the IS and announced that the forces had ended the first stage of major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighbouring Syria and cut off the IS' supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of the IS' self-declared caliphate.

The forces are now advancing to free the villages and take control of the IS supply routes around Baaj to isolate it and liberate the town later.

Furthermore, the operation came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge the IS from their major stronghold in western Mosul.

Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling the group to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday evening toured several villages in outer Delhi and discussed the government's land pooling scheme with farmers.

"Land pooling will develop and urbanise Delhi's villages and it will bring lakhs of jobs and employment," Kejriwal told the farmers.

He visited Chhawla, Repla, Paprawat, Pandwala Kala, Kharkhari Jatmal and Kheda Dabar villages in outer Delhi's Najafgarh and Matiala to talk about the government's land pooling scheme with farmers.

"Minister Kailash Gahlot will work on the settlement of all problems of villagers and I'll supervise it myself," the Delhi Chief Minister told villagers.

Under the scheme, land owners in villages can pool their land and give it to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which would develop basic facilities like roads and drains, and return 48 to 60 per cent of the land to villagers.

Rest of the land would be used to build parks, roads, schools and other public facilities.

The returned land would then be used by owners only for building multi-storeyed flats, which would provide affordable housing to the people of Delhi.

The government expects around 20 to 25 lakh houses would be built under the scheme over the next 10 years, on around 40,000 acres of land.

Referring to Kailash Gahlot, Kejriwal said: "Now that your son has become a minister in the cabinet, it's like everyone in the villages of Delhi has become a minister."

Taking a dig at the Congress, the AAP chief said: "After 15 years of governance, Sheila Dikshit didn't even know that there were farmers in Delhi. But only three months after coming to power, we paid farmers the highest compensation in the country when their harvest got damaged."

--IANS

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Four children were killed in Bihar's Bhagalpur district on Thursday when they were struck by a lightning, the police said.

Three other children were injured in the incident that took place at Siya village of Bhagalpur district.

According to Kahalgaon police, the lightning hit the children when they were collecting mangoes under a tree in the village. Four children died on the spot, while others suffered severe burn injuries.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the victims' families.

--IANS

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and again sought the restructuring of the state's debts and release of Rs 8,000 crore due to Bengal under various Centre-sponsored schemes.

During the over 30-minute meeting here, she expressed concern over decreased flow of Atrai river water from Bangladesh into her state, and urged Modi to raise the issue with the neighbouring country.

Banerjee, who has long been seeking a loan waiver for West Bengal, told the media that she again raised the matter with Modi.

"I told the Prime Minister that it is imperative to restructure the debt of several states, particularly West Bengal. Rs 10,500 is due to Bengal under various central schemes, of which we have got only Rs 2,000 crore. I urged him to release the funds at the earliest. He said he will look into the matter."

Banerjee earlier met Modi on April 10 to seek release of funds.

As for the river water issue, she said: "Because Bangladesh has constructed a rubber dam on Atrai river, South Dinajpur is not getting water. On the other hand, there is flood when excess water is released from the dam. This has caused huge problems for our people. I urged the Prime Minister to take up the matter with Bangladesh," Banerjee said.

"Also, Bangladesh has doubled import duty on mangoes, causing distress to Bengal growers. I urged the Prime Minister if he could take up this issue also with the Bangladesh government," she said.

Banerjee also too up with Modi the issue of pollution of Churni river in Nadia district of Bengal due to pollutants flowing in from Bangladesh. Churni is a distributory of the Mathabhanga river originating in Bangladesh.

The Trinamool Congress supremo, who is slated to attend a luncheon meet hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday, said she had no discussions with Modi on the July presidential election.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man was hacked to death in full public view by four unidentified persons in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district on Thursday, police said.

The shocking incident occurred near a court in Produttur town. The assailants repeatedly stabbed the man in the middle of the road as people watched in horror. Nobody came forward to save the victim.

The man identified as B. Maruti Reddy (32) was attacked by four persons as soon as he got down from an auto-rickshaw. He tried to escape but fell down near the road divider. The assailants pounced on him and stabbed him repeatedly.

The gory visuals were recorded on the CCTV cameras in the area. Police said the man was coming to court to appear in connection with a case.

Police suspect old enmity led to the murder. A police officer said they were investigating the incident from all angles.
Actor Manchu Manoj will give 10 per cent of each films earnings to the 'Save the Farmers initiative to provide relief to Indian farmers.

He has started 'Manoj Kumar's Unity' in order to collect funds for the development of farmers in India. The foundation started an initiative called 'Save the Farmers'. Its basic aim is to get more and more people to donate a day of their annual salary to the farmers.

He has nominated five people for the initiative. They are politician K.T.R. (Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi), filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, actors Rana Daggubati and Sai Dharam Tej and entrepreneur G.V. Keshav.

Manchu, known for Telugu films like "Bindaas" and "Jhummandi Naadam", said in a statement: "The farmers in India are the ones feeding us. It is our duty and responsibility to feed them."

"I know that farmers won't accept any donations or giving money won't suffice. Money raised will be used for the welfare and betterment of farmers. The money will be used to create a robust system for farmers for soil testing and to sell the crop at a better price in the market."

"The money will be used to provide families a better standard of living, proper education for their children, restoring water bodies and providing farm equipment," he added.

--IANS

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Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will arrive here on Friday on a three-day state visit to India, it was announced on Thursday.

"This will be his (Jugnauth's) first visit abroad since he assumed office in January this year," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in his weekly media briefing here.

On Saturday, Jugnauth will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari and hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will also call on the visiting dignitary, who is a person of Indian origin.

He will also address a business event organised by industry lobbies CII, Ficci and Assocham on Friday.

"India and Mauritius have indelible linkages of history, ethnicity, culture and language which have shaped the unique between the two countries over the years," Baglay said.

He said that the diverse and multi-faceted bilateral ties gained significant momentum following Modi's "momentous visit" to Mauritius in March 2015.

"Prime Minister Jugnauth's forthcoming visit to India is a part of our continuous engagement with the government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects the special ties between our two countries," the spokesperson said.

During his visit, Jugnauth will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Collendavelloo, and the cabinet and finance secretaries.

--IANS

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Asking the to practise "good journalism", President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that the Press will be failing in its duty if does not ask questions to those in power.

Delivering the second Ramnath Goenka Lecture here, the President said the should not take the path of least resistance, as it allows the dominant viewpoint to prevail on an issue.

He talked about the challenges and opportunities provided by social and its impact on the traditional media.

Mukherjee said the media is considered the fourth pillar of democracy, as it seeks to hold the three other pillars -- executive, legislature and judiciary -- accountable and shapes public opinion.

He said that media has the responsibility of ensuring accountability and credibility of information it puts out, and asking questions to those in power is fundamental to democracy.

"Press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to powers that be," he said.

Mukherjee, whose term ends in about two months, said that social media has enabled the powerless to come out of their "imposed silence" but also resulted in cacophony with so many people speaking out.

He said "good journalism" sifts and interprets the data and separates facts from what is described as "fake news".

"It ensures accuracy so that public can be better informed," he said, adding that facts must never be sacrificed.

The President said India's civilisation has always celebrated plurality.

--IANS

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In a scathing attack, the Congress on Thursday said the Modi government's three years in office were full of "distractions, propaganda, falsification of facts, intolerance, and betrayal" and demanded a White Paper on the economy.

The Congress said it will launch a nationwide campaign to inform people on how the union government will spend Rs 1,500 crore to mislead them about its performance through false publicity.

"It is a struggling and gasping economy. Firstly, on the Gross Domestic Product numbers, they changed the old methodology and thus there is a difference of two per cent. There is no economic growth. It is a flat growth," Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma told media while dwelling on "the failure of three years of BJP government at the Centre".

"We demand, and we challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley -- as they celebrate the looting of the treasury to build a personality cult around one man -- to publish tomorrow (Friday) GDP numbers for the last 10 years, both as per the old and the new methodologies."

Sharma said it will help reveal the truth and show what the government is saying is false.

Taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party on its 2014 poll promise of generating two crore jobs every year if it came to power at the Centre, the Congress leader said the government should also make public the names, addresses and vocations of Indians who have been provided jobs in the three years of the National Democratic Alliance government.

Sharma said the government was embarking on a propaganda and publicity blitz -- a hallmark of the Modi government.

"Three years of this government is also marked by insults to political opponents, insulting all predecessors, questioning the wisdom of intellectuals, false claims, and betrayal," the Congress leader said.

He said there are also serious concerns on the internal security of the country.

"Our security is under grave threat. Modi's Pakistan policy has been a diplomatic disaster and we have asked him to have a clear roadmap on Pakistan. But there is no roadmap," said Sharma.

"When our Prime Minister goes to other countries, or when a Prime Minister of another country comes here, he is given a Guard of Honour. But when Modi went to Lahore in December 2015, the chiefs of Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force did not offer him a Guard of Honour," Sharma said.

"He became the first Indian Prime Minister not to be given a Guard of Honour. But he is unapologetic since he is carried away by the propaganda of his party, his government and the ministers, most of whom are rubber stamps and have nothing much to do," the Congress leader added.

Sharma said there is a fall of at least 8 percentage points in national investment rate. "How can an economy grow? Despite tall claims on financial inclusion and Jan-Dhan Yojana, savings rate has fallen by 2 percentage points in three years," he said.

He said bank credit off-take is also in the negative. "It has continuously been declining. It has fallen by 7 percentage points. Gross capital formation has gone down for the first time below zero and it was minus 3 per cent last year."

The Congress leader said: "Manufacturing of numbers and falsification of facts is not going to work anymore. Truth cannot be altered; it will triumph."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Osteoarthritis, a disease of joints, is reported more among women than men, says a study conducted by the Foundation of India (AFI).

The study suggested that the severity of is also much higher in females as compared to males. It found an alarmingly high incidence of arthritis; 26.5 per cent among younger people in their 30s.

"In all, 55 per cent of the patients (with osteoarthritis) were females, as compared to 45 per cent males," said the AFI study conducted among 600 OPD patients in Doctor Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan, Vir Savarkar Hospital, Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital and R.K. Hospital here.

The AFI, Indian member of International Osteoporosis Foundation and the World Organization (WHO), conducted an epidemiological study on the situation of osteoarthritis in Delhi and found obesity and lack of awareness as a leading factor contributing to its prevalence.

"Obesity was a major contributing factor, with 53 per cent of the respondents found to be obese," the study said.

Also, with the risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, thyroid and others, the progress of the diseases was much quicker in many cases within two years, it added.

The study also considered the socio-economic background of the patients and found that 70 per cent of the total participants (in the study) belonged to less than Rs 25,000 per month income group, while the remaining 30 per cent belonged to above Rs 25,000 a month bracket.

"The marginally high severe cases can be attributed to the lifestyle in lower socio-economic group like elevator-less multi-storied housing, Indian toilets and more of them sitting frequently on the floor, etc."

In terms of the age bracket, 73.5 per cent patients, who attended the OPD for knee arthritis, were more than 40 years of age.

"This study throws light on the prevalence of osteoarthritis in Delhi, and the general public's response to the disease. Unfortunately, there is very little awareness among the masses, which is not a good sign and is preventing people from getting the right treatment at the right time," said Dr. Sushil Sharma, Senior Orthopedician and AFI Chairman.

The study noted that progression of the disease could have been prevented and the suffering minimised to quite an extent had it been reported in the mild stage.
In a scathing attack, the Congress on Thursday said the Modi government's three years in power were full of "distractions, propaganda, falsification of facts, intoleranace, manufacturing of numbers and betrayal" and demanded a White Paper on the economy.

"It is a struggling and gasping economy. Firstly, on the Gross Domestic Product numbers, they changed the old methodology and thus there is a difference of two per cent. There is no economic growth. It is a flat growth," Congress Spokesperson Anand Sharma told media while dwelling on 'the failure of three years of BJP government at the Centre'.

"We demand, and we challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley -- as they celebrate the looting of the treasury to build a personality cult around one man -- to publish tomorrow (Friday) GDP numbers for the last 10 years, both as per the old and the new methodology."

Sharma said it will help reveal the truth and reveal that what they (government) are saying is false.

Taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party on its 2014 poll promise of generating two crore jobs every year if it came to power at the Centre, the Congress leader said the government should also make public the names, addresses and vocations of Indians who have been provided jobs in the three years of the National Democratic Alliance government so far.

Sharma said the government was embarking on a propaganda and publicity blitz -- a hallmark of the Modi government.

"Three years of this government is also marked by insults to political opponents, false claims and betrayal," the Congress leader said.

He said there are also serious concerns on the internal security of the country.

"Our security is under grave threat. Modi's Pakistan policy has been a diplomatic disaster and we have asked him to have a clear roadmap on Pakistan. But there is no roadmap," said Sharma.

"When our Prime Minister goes to other countries, or when a Prime Minister of another country comes here, he is given a Guard of Honour. But when Modi went to Lahore in December 2015, the chiefs of Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force did not offer him a Guard of Honour," Sharma said.

"He became the first Indian Prime Minister not to be given a Guard of Honour. But he is unapologetic since he is carried away by the propaganda of his party, his government and the ministers, most of whom are rubber stamps and have nothing much to do," the Congress leader added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday ruled out any talks with the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, at least for now.

"In this current atmosphere of violence, we will not hold talks with separatists who are instigating violence. Not for now," he told TimesNow news channel.

Jaitley said the government will definitely talk to the people of Kashmir and would like to address their grievances.

Asked if this included Hurriyat, he said, "I am not saying that."

Jaitley also said the NDA government would neither compromise with separatists nor with terrorists.

"As per as my views are concerned or of the government we will not compromise with the separatists. We will not compromise with terrorists. But as far as the average people of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned we want them to be on our side because they are also suffering from terrorism and violence," Jaitley said.

"They must realise that their day-to-day life is disrupted by these kinds of elements," he said.

Jaitley also defended Indian Army's Major Leetul Gogoi, who was involved in tying up a Kashmiri man to an army jeep in Budgam as a shield against stone pelters. Gogoi has been awarded the Army Chief's Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter insurgency operations.

"To deal with a situation of this kind (stone pelting), subsequent political or media reactions can't determine the military strategy. That has to be decided by the officer on the spot. If we are going to cripple our military officers in deciding as to what kind of strategy they must adopt at a given moment then I think we are playing with national security," Jaitley said.

A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-polls held amid violent incidents, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, being tied to the bonnet of an army jeep in Badgam of Jammu and Kashmir to ward off stone pelters.

The video went viral on social media and created an uproar. An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the security forces.

On April 15, the Army constituted a court of inquiry in the incident, and its final report is pending.

Defending Gogoi, Jaitley said the officer had the responsibility to save the lives of Election Commission officials and Indo-Tibetan Border Police officials as well as the crowd that had gathered.

"Now this officer uses his common sense at that stage and he manages to escape. How should a military officer deal with a situation of this kind? It was his duty to rescue the Election Commission officials and the ITBP," Jaitley said.

"Should he have fired at the crowd? Was that a preferred option? Should he have created a stampede? Was that a preferred option? He used his discretion in the larger national interest in order to defuse the situation without causing any loss of life and property," he said.

"I don't think the officer really can be faulted for that. The other options would have been far worse," he added.

--IANS

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President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday probably gave enough hints that he may not be in the race for another term in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"I have exactly two months to go. July 25, a new President will assume office. I am sending back officials who have worked with me, back to their ministries and departments. One has gone to the Commerce Ministry, two to the Ministry of External Affairs," he said.

The President was speaking at a farewell tea organised for the media by President's Secretary Omita Paul for his Press Secretary Venu Rajamony, a career diplomat who has been appointed the Ambassador to The Netherlands. Rajamony will assume his new office in The Hague early next month.

Mukherjee's remarks assume significance in the context of the ongoing hectic political activities centred around a candidate for the President's election slated in July. The Congress-led Opposition has given enough indications that it will not be averse to a second term for Mukherjee if the government is acceptable to it. But the ruling dispensation has not given any hints about who it has in mind for the top post.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is hosting a lunch for Opposition leaders here on Friday as part of efforts to arrive at a consensus over the Opposition candidate. Trinamool Congress, whose leader Mamata Banerjee has also been invited for the lunch and has met Gandhi recently, is known to be okay with another term for Mukherjee.

In his remarks, Mukherjee said after a hectic political life he had been wondering whether he would fit into the President's post where the incumbent has to work under Constitutional rules.

In her speech, Paul described Rajamony as an excellent communicator and complimented him for a good job of putting across the President and Rashtrapati Bhavan activities to the people through the media.

Senior journalist Sachidananda Murthy praised Rajamony's role in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying he broke new grounds. Rajamony had also contributed to making the Rashtrapati Bhavan library one of the best in the city.

Thanking the President for the opportunity provided to him, Rajamony said he had worked with Mukherjee for two years in the Finance Ministry before his election as President and nearly five years in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and that had given him wonderful insight into Mukherjee as a public functionary, who the outside world called a "walking encylopedia".

--IANS

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Former US President Barack Obama, in a first speaking event in Europe since leaving the White House in January, received an exuberant welcome in the German capital on Thursday as he took part in a public debate with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Obama made a plea for international engagement as he told an audience of tens of thousands in Berlin that "we can't hide behind a wall".

"In this new world we live in, we can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall," Obama said, sitting on stage next to Merkel in front of the Brandenburg Gate at an event that's part of "Kirchentag", a multi-day meeting sponsored by the Protestant church in Germany.

Security was tight, with police helicopters patrolling the skies and snipers with balaclavas watching the scene from rooftops, Politico reported.

Obama praised Merkel as someone who had done "outstanding work", and defended his own presidency and the values of liberal democracy that both he and the German leader championed.

Obama made the comments as his successor Donald Trump, in Brussels for his first NATO leaders summit, was meeting with European Council leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

Obama addressed a rapt crowd of Germans lining the streets from blocks away, some holding signs like, "Welcome Home", "You're Looking Great", and "Du Bist Ein Berliner" (You are a Berliner).

The former US leader attended the event at Merkel's invitation -- there's no foreign leader that he was closer with during his time in the White House -- and she's hoping for a boost from his still sky-high popularity in Germany in her own re-election campaign in the fall.

Obama warned against leaders who don't question themselves.

"If I become so convinced that 'I'm always right'," Obama said, "the logical conclusion of that often ends up being great cruelty and great violence."

Merkel had breakfast with Obama in Berlin before the event, and she was set to fly to Brussels later Thursday to have dinner with Trump.

--IANS

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday requested the Centre to construct a new bridge over Brahmani river in Rourkela to facilitate vehicular communication.

"There is an old, narrow two-lane bridge over Brahmani river on the NH 143, located near Panposh of Rourkela, connecting Biramitrapur and Barkote," Patnaik wrote in a letter to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

"The bridge is in a dilapidated condition and is not at all adequate to meet the requirement of safe and swift movement of people and freight," he said.

Informing that the road carries a heavy and congested mining and commercial traffic, the Chief Minister said the road is the economic lifeline of this part of the state and is catering to the rapid industrialisation process.

"I apprehend that communication between Sambalpur and Rourkela may be severed at anytime, thereby abruptly disrupting the movement of coal, minerals and other produces in this part of the state," he added.

He said that it would have a detrimental impact on the economy of the state.

"I would request you to intervene in the matter urgently and direct the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) for taking immediate action towards construction of a 2nd bridge over river Brahmani near Panposh on the NH-143 so as to alleviate the traffic congestion on the existing old and weak bridge, in the larger public interest," Patnaik stated in his letter.

Earlier, BJP legislator from Rourkela Dilip Ray had expressed his dissatisfaction with the Centre for not constructing the second bridge even after assurance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

--IANS

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Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Balbir Singh Dhol submitted his resignation following Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's order on Thursday after poor results of Class X board examinations.

The Chief Minister's directive was communicated to Dhol by Education Minister Aruna Chaudhry.

Dhol's resignation was immediately accepted, an official spokesperson said.

Only 52 per cent candidates passed the Class 10th board exams.

The PSEB shakeup came two days after the Chief Minister sought a report from the Education Minister on the poor results.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Rajasthan government signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth over Rs 955 crore at the Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) here on Thursday.

The 21 MoUs, signed in the presence of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, are expected to provide direct employment to 9,488 people and indirect employment to 17,850 people, according to the state government.

After the signing of the MoUs, Raje said implementation on the ground of the proposed projects was more important than the value.

Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said that out of the 38 MoUs signed at Jaipur GRAM in November last year, 25 were already being implemented and many were already showing results.

Raje said while the government expected around 30,000 farmers to visit the GRAM meet over the three days, the footfall had already exceeded expectations on its second day.

"This shows that our farmers want to embrace the modern technology. Our biggest takeaway from this meet is the enthusiastic participation of the farmers," she said.

The Chief Minister added that while people thought of Rajasthan as a desert region and that farmers had little scope to thrive here, "there are different climate zones here".

"The intention is to utilise all these zones to their full potential," she said.

The proposed projects include those for agro-processing industries, agri-cluster including cold chain, and animal husbandry.

These would be set up at various locations in the state, including Udaipur, Kota, Bundi, Bikaner, Baran, Jaipur, Sikar, Banswara and Dholpur.

The three-day GRAM meet, being jointly organised by the Rajasthan government and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), concludes 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.)
A Chinese spokesperson on Thursday warned that the Taiwan administration's attempt to resist reunification by the use of force will get the island nowhere.

The Democratic Progressive Party administration should abandon its "Taiwan independence" stance and antagonistic mentality, Xinhua news agency quoted An Fengshan, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, as saying.

"Only by recognising the common political foundation of the 1992 Consensus can the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations be maintained."

The 1992 Consensus embodies the one-China principle.

An made the remarks when asked to comment on an ongoing military drill in Taiwan, which simulated an attack from the mainland.

"Taiwan independence secessionist forces and their activities are the biggest threats to peaceful development of cross-Strait relations," An said.

He said China opposed any "Taiwan independence" activities, no matter if they were radical or soft.

Responding to questions on relations between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Kuomintang (KMT), An said the two parties would adhere to the 1992 Consensus and oppose "Taiwan independence".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South Korea's Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-hwa on Thursday said the humanitarian aid to North Korea should be provided without political considerations.

Kang, a veteran diplomat at the UN, said the aid to Pyongyang should be provided separately from political considerations as it is a matter of the universal value of humanity that should be done towards people who are suffering from pain.

Over the weekend, President Moon Jae-in appointed Kang as the country's first female Foreign Minister. The post does not require a parliamentary approval, but she will be subject to the National Assembly hearing, XInhua news agency reported.

Asked about North Korea's recent missile launch provocations, Kang said that if provocations were conducted further, more powerful sanctions would be required.

Her comments were in line with the new government's policy stance. Moon indicated a firm response to provocations while seeking dialogue for the denuclearised Korean peninsula.

Moon was widely forecast to inherit a so-called sunshine policy of engagement with North Korea through economic cooperation.

Seoul's unification ministry was reviewing the resumption of civilian exchanges with Pyongyang, which had been suspended under the previous government following North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January 2016.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An eerie calm prevailed in violence-hit villages of Saharanpur on Thursday, a day after two men were killed and over two dozen injured in caste clashes, the police said. District officials said they are hopeful of normalcy to return soon.

Patrolling has been intensified in the region and the police are on the lookout for people suspected to be behind the violence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), meanwhile, traded charges against each other over the violence.

Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and state BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya held Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati directly responsible for the clashes and accused her of funding the Bheem Army in the region.

Mayawati snapped back by saying that neither she nor any leader of her party was linked to the Bheem Army -- a regional outfit accused of stoking the fires between the Dalits and the Rajputs.

She also said that it was only during her visit to Saharanpur on Tuesday that she learned of this outfit using the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the BSP to exploit the poor Dalits.

Earlier, the state government transferred the Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Indpector General of Police our of Saharanpur, and flew in new officials to contain the spread of violence.

Mobile internet services and social networking sites have also been blocked in the violence-singed areas. According to the District Magistrate's orders, this got necessitated to block rumours spreading through these means and inciting further violence.

A team of high-ranking officials from the Police and Home Departments is camping in the district to monitor the situation.

Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra told IANS that they would be camping there till things completely turn to normal.

The Union Home Ministry has also sought a report from the state government on the Saharanpur violence.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Newly formed Dalits' rights group Bhim Army on Thursday issued ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring the perpetrators of the May 5 Saharanpur violence to book.

The group also said if the government fails to provide justice, they would not shy away from taking up arms.

"If pressed against the wall, they must know that we do not only follow B.R. Ambedkar but Udham Singh as well... If we do take up arms, then it will be for justice and peace for our community," Ravi Kumar Gautam of the Bhim Army told the media.

He also urged the state government to do justice "so that peace can be maintained".

The members of the radical "apolitical" group accused the district administration of colluding with the upper caste members and giving them a free rein during which they "ransacked and burnt down 65 houses and 25 shops" belonging to Dalits.

"The biggest failure of the administration was not confiscating the arms after May 5. At present, people are roaming around freely with their swords drawn. We are under a great danger of being attacked again," Jai Bhagwan Jatav, Patron of Bhim Army, said during a press conference.

Counsel for the group pointed out the disproportionate charges under which members of both the factions have been booked after violence.

"The severest charge levelled against any upper caste member is IPC 395, which spells dacoity, while Dalits have been booked for 'murder' and 'attempt to murder'," advocate Mohammad Shehenshah Khan said.

Clashes had broken out in Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur district between the upper caste Thakurs and Dalits on May 5.

Tempers rose allegedly when on the occasion of Maharana Pratap's birth anniversary, the Rajput community members insisted on playing loud music during a procession, despite a remonstration from Dalits against it.

In the ensuing violence, one person was killed and 16 were reportedly injured.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three suspected Pakistan nationals, including two women, were arrested in the city with fake Indian identity cards and fake passports, police said on Thursday.

"The suspects from Karachi in Pakistan have been identified as Khasif Shamshuddin, 30, his wife Kiron Gulam Ali, 25, and another woman -- Sameera Abdul Rehman, 25," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Praveen Sood told reporters here.

An Indian -- Mohammed Sihad, 30, from Kochi in the neighbouring Kerala state and husband of Sameera -- was also arrested as their accomplice.

The city Crime Branch police found the accused staying in a rented house in the city's south-west suburb following a raid after a tip-off.

"Preliminary inquiry revealed that the Pakistani suspects obtained Aadhar cards and voter's card (EPIC-Elector Photo Identity Card) to fake their identity as Indians," said Sood.

On interrogation, police learnt that Sihad married Sameera while he was working in Qatar in the Gulf region two years ago despite opposition from her parents.

The Pakistani trio first reached Patna in Bihar after crossing the Indo-Nepal border from Kathmandu a year ago. They came to Nepal from Qatar via Muscat in Oman.

"We also learnt that the accused have been living in the city over the past nine months, with fabricated documents that were made with the help of local agents," said Sood.

A case has been registered against the accused under the relevant sections of the Passport Act and the Foreigners' Act.

"We will do the formalities, including informing the Pakistani Embassy and producing them in a local court for remand to investigate their presence in the city," added Sood.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senate Democrats have urged US President Donald Trump to remain a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. The White House has said that the President is yet to make up his mind.

During a press conference on Wednesday, the White House said Trump was still deciding even as 40 Senate Democrats signed and sent a letter to him to not back out of the international climate change pact.

This was in anticipation of the Group of Seven (G7) conference in Sicily this week, which would be Trump's first appearance at an international summit, CBSNews reported.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that the Trump administration was "leaning towards withdrawing the US from the pact.

The group of Senate Democrats also said that the US participation in the climate pact was key to American competition and leadership on the international stage, especially with regard to China.

"Imagine that: Donald Trump, who campaigned repeatedly that China was eating our lunch and taking our jobs, is willing to cede both economic and moral ground to China," Schumer added.

The climate agreement was signed in 2016, during Barack Obama's presidency at the COP21 conference in Paris, where nations committed to slowing the effects of climate change through cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier in May, Trump delayed a meeting on the Paris Climate Agreement, citing "scheduling conflicts" for the postponement.

The White House has said the President will announce the US' position on the agreement after the G7 conference, the CBSNews report said.

If the Trump administration were to pull out of the pact, the US would join just two other nations --Syria and Nicaragua -- that have not signed the agreement.

Critics of the Paris Climate Agreement argue that the promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent was too steep of a promise and may jeopardize the US economy.

These critics argue that the US should either back out of the agreement or go to the Senate for a vote. If the agreement did reach the Republican-controlled Senate for ratification, it would likely fail, the CBSNews report said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
People from two communities came to blows and pelted stones at each other in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district, triggering panic, police said on Thursday.

The melee started with a minor accident late on Wednesday night after which people from both sides clashed and pelted stones at each other in Ladia locality.

The locality is considered 'hyper sensitive' communally and as the news of the clashes reached the district officials, police reinforcements were sent and the situation brought under control. District officials pacified the angry mob and asked them to return to their homes.

Dhruv Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Sasni Gate area where clashes took place, informed IANS that police was identifying mischievous elements and will take action against them.

The situation is tense but under control, he further added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who lied during his confirmation about his alleged Russian ties, also omitted the meetings with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak from the Justice Department documents upon taking office, media reports said.

Both CNN and ABC on Wednesday disclosed that Sessions did not mention his meetings with Kislyak in the security clearance form that he had to fill out upon taking office in the Justice Department.

The official document required him to list "any contact" he or his family had with foreign governments or their representatives in the past seven years, Efe news reported.

Sessions had met Kislyak in July and September 2016, only a few months before the White House elections on November 8, when he was a senator and advisor to Republican candidate Donald Trump and his campaign.

The meetings were later revealed by The Washington Post in March.

Democrat senators then raised questions about his communications with the Kremlin, during the investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia.

"If there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?" asked Senator Al Franken.

To which, Sessions had replied: "I am not aware of any of those activities". He also said that he did not have "communications with the Russians".

After the meetings were revealed by The Washington Post, Sessions was forced to refrain from engaging "in any existing or future investigation" of the Justice Department over possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential polls.

At the time, it was still unknown that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating the alleged Russian interference, including possible links between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

The Justice Department on Wednesday responded to the CNN reporting that Sessions did not require to list "every" meeting he held as a senator.

"As a US Senator, the Attorney General met hundreds -- if not thousands -- of foreign dignitaries and their staff," the Department said.

"In filling out the SF-86 form, the Attorney General's staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities," the Department added.

Despite his recusal from the Russian interference investigation, Sessions, two weeks ago, also took part in Trump's decision to dismiss FBI Director James Comey, who was leading the investigations into the matter.

--IANS

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A US federal appellate court upheld an injunction issued by a lower court blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order barring issuance of visas to residents of six Muslim-majority countries.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Virginia, voted 10-3 on Thursday to uphold a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland who declared in March that the President's revised travel order amounted to unconstitutional religious discrimination, NBC news reported.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," said Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory.

The Justice Department urged the court to lift the ban on enforcement. It said the executive order had a legitimate national security purpose, allowing the government to assess the reliability of background information on visa applicants from six countries associated with terrorism.

But that argument, the court said, "is belied by evidence in the record that President Trump issued the first executive order without consulting with the relevant security agencies."

Among the alterations made in the revised order were the removal of Iraq from the list of targeted nations and an exemption for lawful permanent residents and travelers who obtained US visas ahead of the January 27 announcement.

The revised order also did not indefinitely bar Syrian refugees from entering the US.

In Thursday's decision, the appellate court explicitly referred to Trump's advocacy of a Muslim ban during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"The evidence in the record, viewed from the standpoint of the reasonable observer, creates a compelling case that (the executive order's) primary purpose is religious," the 4th Circuit said.

"Then-candidate Trump's campaign statements reveal that on numerous occasions, he expressed anti-Muslim sentiment, as well as his intent, if elected, to ban Muslims from the United States," it added.

Trump's March 6 executive order sought to ban people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days and to bar all refugees for 120 days.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The House Intelligence Committee will subpoena former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump Michael Flynn, in its investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Congressman Adam Schiff, the top-ranking Democrat on the committee, on Wednesday confirmed that the subpoena is being prepared and could be issued this week despite the retired general's refusal to turn over documents lawmakers have requested in the probe, Efe news reported.

At first, the committee will ask for Flynn's voluntary participation and, if he refuses to agree, they will issue him with a subpoena, said Schiff.

"I think we need to use whatever compulsory mechanism (is) necessary to get the information that he possesses," the lawmaker said.

Schiff made the committee's subpoena plans known after the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday ordered Flynn to hand over documents from two of his businesses due to their possible links with Russia.

The attorneys said that Flynn had decided to avail himself of Fifth Amendment protection and refuse to provide documents requested by the Senate and considered to be relevant to its own investigation into the Russian matter.

Flynn was forced to resign after it became public knowledge that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during the transition period.

Last week, US media outlets revealed intelligence information indicating that the Russians privately were hoping to be able to influence the Trump administration through Flynn.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged the Congress to raise the debt limit before its August recess to avoid a potential federal government default.

"I urge you to raise the debt limit before you leave for the summer," Xinhua news agency quoted Mnuchin as saying before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.

He said that he would prefer a "clean" debt limit increase, which would not include any additional provisions.

The US Treasury has begun using bookkeeping manoeuvre to continue to finance the government's activities since the federal government's outstanding debt reached its statutory limit on March 15.

These measures could help the Treasury have sufficient cash to make essential payments "until sometime in the fall of 2017" without increasing the debt limit, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said.

But Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, warned on Wednesday that the Congress may have to raise the debt limit sooner than previously expected.

"The (tax) receipts, currently, are coming in slower than expected and you may soon hear from Mnuchin about a change in the date," Mulvaney said.

The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury can issue to the public and other federal agencies. The amount of outstanding debt subject to limit has risen to about $19.9 trillion.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Friday promises to be a day of hectic political activity in New Delhi. Congress President Sonia Gandhi will host several Opposition leaders to a lunch. The objective is to build consensus on a common Opposition presidential candidate. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah will hold a press conference to mark three years of the Narendra Modi government. Some fear the BJP presidents press conference may blank out media coverage of the luncheon meeting of the Congress president. Shahs press conference will start around the time that Opposition leaders are likely to finish their lunch.
A day before Congress President Sonia Gandhi will host leaders of opposition parties to build consensus on a possible common presidential nominee of the opposition, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday indicated that he wasn't running for a second term.
Haryana police today seized 1056 boxes of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) liquor being smuggled in a truck near Naraingarh.

The police has arrested the truck diver-- Ram Kumar of Sonipat for carrying the liquor illegally.

He was produced before an Ambala court here which remanded him to three-day police custody.

On the basis of tip-off, police intercepted the vehicle at a check-barrier and recovered liquor cartons which were hidden under some boxes of seeds and pesticides.

The truck was also impounded by the police when Kumar was not able to furnish documents required for carrying liquor.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
National carrier Air India today operated a special charter aircraft to ferry the bodies of 22 pilgrims, who died in a bus accident in Uttarakhand, to Indore.

The special Air India flight AI 1645, carrying 22 bodies, besides six injured persons, landed at Indore at 3 pm, an Air India official said.

According to the official, the charter plane, an Airbus A319, departed from Delhi at 10.26 am and landed at Dehradun at 11.25 am.

The aircraft carrying bodies of 22 pilgrims, six injured pilgrims, a team of two doctors, and eight officials, including three staff on-duty from the government-run carrier, took off from Dehradun at 13.27 pm and landed at Indore at 3 pm.

Twenty-four pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed when their bus fell into the Bhagirathi river near Nalupani in Uttarkashi district on Tuesday night.

The accident took place when the pilgrims were returning from Gangotri shrine in the Himalayas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today launched a campaign to eradicate the deadly encephalitis disease that claims the lives of hundreds of children every year in Uttar Pradesh.

He stressed on awareness and public participation for the success of the campaign that has been rolled out in 38 districts in the worst-affected eastern region of the state.

"We eradicated diseases like polio and filaria and now encephalitis is our target," he said after launching the campaign here.

Some 40,000 children have died of the disease in the past four decades in the region.

"Today's campaign has been started with the aim of eradicating encephalitis of all kinds -- Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)-- and making the state encephalitis-free in the coming few years," he said.

The chief minister said that though the programme was on all over the country with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is being taken up with special vigour in the state where more than 38 districts have been hit by the killer disease.

"Besides awareness (about the disease), people's participation is essential (to overcome the challenge) and we will make an appeal to common people to pay importance to hygiene and consume only clean drinking water.

"We are trying to provide piped water supply but it may take some time...But in areas which have handpumps, people should consume boiled water," the chief minister said, adding that the disease can be checked through clean potable water, effective cleanliness programmes and through such immunisation schemes.

"There is another effort to provide proper treatment to those affected by the disease at the community health centres and district hospitals and see that only the serious patients reach BRD medical college hospital in Gorakhpur," he said.

He added that a special training programme for doctors and para-medical staff is being held in the BRD medical college for the purpose.

The immunisation campaign will continue till June 11. Children up to 15 years of age have been included in it.

The drive will cover over 88 lakh children for which the central government has provided one crore vaccines.

Though vaccines are available for JE, there is no such vaccine for checking AES and better hygiene is the only way to ward it off.

Around 85 per cent cases of JE and AES are reported among Dalits and minorities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bolstering counter-terror cooperation and highlighting India's economic reforms to woo investment will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's six-day visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France beginning May 29.

In Russia, Modi is likely to take up with President Vladimir Putin India's concerns over China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative, besides exploring ways to further boost ties in defence and civil nuclear sectors.

Asked whether India and Russia will be able to finalise the General Framework Agreement (GFA) for units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry's Eurasia division G V Srinivas only said it is "work in progress" and added, "I do not want to steal the thunder of the meeting."



On whether Indo-Russia ties are losing warmth, Srinivas cited the strategic partnership between the two countries and holding of annual Summit between their leadership in the last 18 years, besides signing of pacts in March for long-term maintenance for Russian origin Su-30MKI fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.

In the Summit talks to be held in St Petersburg, Modi and Putin are expected to review the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations and the progress made since the last Summit held in Goa on October 15, 2016.

It is the first time that the annual Summit will be held in Russia outside Moscow.

The Summit is also likely to focus on strengthen of trade ties.

Exploring ways to strengthen counter-terror cooperation and projecting India as an attractive investment destination, will be a major focus area of the prime minister's visit to the four countries, external affairs ministry officials said.

Modi will arrive in Berlin on May 29 where he will hold extensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on range of key issues, besides a series of other engagements including meeting CEOs of leading German companies.

The issue of an Indo-EU free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to figure in Modi's talks with leadership in Germany, Spain and France -- three key Europeans countries, the ministry officials said.

The talks on FTA, launched in June 2007, have been stalled since May 2013, when India and the EU failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status in the IT sector.

A number of MoUs are expected to be signed during Modi's visit to Germany. Union ministers Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and M J Akbar will be part of the PM's delegation in Germany.

From Berlin, Modi will travel to Spain on the evening of May 30. This will be first visit by an Indian prime minister since 1988.

Modi will discuss with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy ways to deepen bilateral engagement, including in the high-tech sector.

Modi will travel to St Petersburg in Russia on June 1 where he will hold the 18th India-Russia annual Summit with Putin and attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum the next day.

The prime minister will be in Paris on June 2 and 3 where he will hold official talks with French President Emmanuel Macron with a view to further strengthening India-France strategic ties.

This is Modi's first meeting with Macron, who was elected as the French president earlier this month.

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Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat today met Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and briefed him about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting came a day after Jaitley said Army officers were free to take decisions in a "war-like" zone, in comments which appeared to justify Major Leetul Gogoi's action of tying a man to a jeep in Kashmir as a human shield to deter stone- pelting protesters.

Sources said it was a "routine" meeting during which Gen Rawat apprised Jaitley of the security situation in the troubled state besides discussing some other issues.

"Well, military solutions are to be provided by military officers. How a situation is to be dealt with when you are in a war-like zone. We should allow our army officers to take a decision.

"They don't have to consult members of Parliament as to what they should do under such circumstances," Jaitley had said yesterday, amid the raging controversy over Gogoi's action as well as the Army chief's commendation card to him.

The Army's decision to honour Gogoi which, according to it, was for his "sustained efforts" in counter-insurgency operations, has come in for criticism from some quarters.

The meeting also came two days after Indian Army said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the Line of Control, inflicting "some damage".

It had on Tuesday also released a video of the military action which showed some structures in a forested area crumbling in a heap under the impact of repeated shelling by the Indian Army.

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A US court has issued an arrest warrant for Bikram Choudhury, the Indian-American "hot" yoga guru who was ordered in 2016 to pay over USD 7 million in connection with a sexual harassment case, a media report said.

Choudhury, the millionaire founder of global fitness business, has not paid the amount and last year claimed he was nearly bankrupt.

Authorities believe the 69-year-old has hid his assets and left the country, the ABC reported.

According to the report, the warrant allows authorities to arrest him if he returns to the US or, possibly, in Mexico.

In January last year, a jury determined that Choudhury had sexually harassed and then unfairly fired Minakshi "Miki" Jafa-Bodden, his onetime lawyer. He was ordered to pay nearly USD 6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to USD 924,000 in compensatory damages.

Jafa-Bodden was general counsel to Bikram's Yoga College of India but was fired after refusing to cover up allegations that Bikram had raped and sexually assaulted a yoga student.

"I feel vindicated," she told ABC in 2016. "I'm elated."



She convinced the jury that Choudhury had repeatedly sexually harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women.

She also claimed she was fired after she tried to investigate another woman's sexual harassment and rape allegations against him. During the trial over Jafa-Bodden's allegations, Bikram strongly denied sexually assaulting any women. He also denied to ABC ever having any sexual contact with his students or followers.

Bail was set at USD 8 million, the report said.

Choudhury was one of the pioneers of yoga in the US, setting up shop in Beverly Hills in the 1970s. Celebrities including Madonna, Andy Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow and Goldie have all participated in Bikram yoga.

Now his yoga studios are franchised worldwide.

Created by Choudhury 'Bikram Yoga', as this form of yoga is known, is made up of a series of 26 postures which are performed in an extremely hot room.

The 90-minute classes are taught in in rooms heated to 40.5C exactly. Because of this consistency across the world, Choudhury refers to the practice as McYoga.

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Calling himself "a go-getter" who believes in "bulldozing" obstacles, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said his target is to award work worth Rs 31 lakh crore by the time the government completes 5 years.

These include contracts worth Rs 15 lakh crore to transform India's National Highways network and another Rs 16 lakh crore in the shipping area to bring water transport, on the back-burner so far, right in the front.

"I am a go getter... Obstacles keep on coming but I believe in bulldozing road blocks... It is my target to award work worth Rs 31 lakh crore in both highways and shipping sectors when we complete five years," the road transport, highways and shipping minister told PTI in an interview.

Listing details of work by his ministries on completion of three-years, Gadkari said contracts worth Rs 6 lakh crore has already been awarded in both the sectors out of Rs 31 lakh crore.

Work of this magnitude will create 2.5 crore jobs directly and another 2.5 crore indirectly besides contributing 3 per cent to GDP growth, he said.

"My aim is to build 1 lakh km of new National Highways. We have brought the road building pace to 23 km a day at present from a mere 2 km a day when our government took over," Gadkari said, exuding confidence to take it to 40 km a day by the end of next March.

He said it is his endeavour to take the National Highways length to 2 lakh km from about 1 lakh km so that 80 per cent the country's traffic comes on NHs.

"We have already identified NHs of 1.7 lakh km. I have a target of completing 1 lakh km of roads in my regime this is my target," he said.

Claiming to build a world record of sorts, Gadkari said that in 2016-17, the government awarded contracts for building 16,800 km of highways.

"People in London, where I had been recently to launch NHAI's Masala bond, said this is Guinness world record that in a country 16,800 km of awards for highways have been given in a year."



He said on a cumulative basis the highways ministry has awarded contracts worth for 32,000 km in the last three years.

"Next year our target is 25,000 km. Next to next year we will award 30-35,000 km of work. We want to accomplish 1 lakh km of work in five years," he said.

He elaborated that his ministry has taken a decision to widen roads to four-lane highways where there is a traffic of 10,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units) and build six-lane highways where there is 20,000 PCUs.

He said emphasis was on building cement concrete roads which are durable.

Besides, he said the government is building 13 expressways along the country that include Eastern Peripheral Expressway to ease the traffic of the national capital at least by 50 per cent.

The expressway is likely to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on August 15 this year, he said.

Claiming to his credit building the first express highway in the country, Mumbai-Pune express highway in Maharashtra, Gadkari said: "We are also building Western Peripheral Expressway and both will ease 50 per cent traffic from Delhi and minimise pollution as people going or coming from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan need not cross through Delhi.

Work on Dwarka express highway will start in 3-4 months and a green highway between Delhi-Meerut will be completed till December, he said.

Vadodara-Mumbai expressway will be built at a cost of Rs 44,000 crore and work on the project will be started in three months, he said adding Vijaywada-Amrawati expressway will be access-controlled.

The Minister said alignment for Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi- Katra expressways have been finalised besides work is in pipeline for Hyderabad-Chennai and Chennai-Bangalore projects.

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Bajaj Hindusthan Sugars today reported a net loss of Rs 91.98 crore for the 2016-17 fiscal.

Its net loss stood at Rs 212.10 crore in the previous financial year.

The company's total income also fell to Rs 4,729.75 crore in the last fiscal from Rs 4,979.66 crore in the 2015-16 fiscal.

Bajaj Hindusthan has 14 sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh with cane crushing capacity of 1.36 lakh tonnes per day and alcohol distillation capacity of 800 kilo litres per day.

The company has recently announced plans to sell its co- generation power business to group firm Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd (LPGCL) for about Rs 1,200 crore.

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The bodies of 22 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh, who were killed in a bus accident in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand on May 23, were brought here this afternoon in a special flight.

Five others, who were injured in the accident, were also brought in the same plane under the supervision of a medical team.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Indore to receive the mortal remains of the deceased.

After paying tributes to the departed souls, Chouhan told reporters that 15 persons from Indore district and seven from Dhar district died in the accident during their pilgrimage in Uttarakhand.

Earlier, the state government had planned to bring the mortal remains in a train from Dehradun, Chouhan said.

"However, Air India MD Ashwini Lohani arranged the plane, so that the bodies can reach to the family members at the earliest," Chouhan added.

The chief minister also met the injured people and enquired about their health.

"All the injured are out of danger. The state government would bear all the expenses of their treatment. One more injured is still admitted in a hospital in Uttarakhand, as doctors did not allow him to travel," he added.

Chouhan informed that two more persons from Madhya Pradesh are still missing and their search is underway with the help of Uttarakhand government.

The group from Indore had gone on 'Chardham Yatra' in Uttarakhand when the bus plunged into a deep gorge near Gangotri.

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Brazil's President Michel Temer called troops off the streets of the capital, backtracking after deploying them to guard government buildings following riots by protesters demanding his resignation.

Critics interpreted the troop deployment as a sign of desperation by a president fighting for his political life after a corruption scandal reached his doorstep.

A decree published online in the official journal yesterday said the president had revoked a measure to deploy 1,500 federal troops -- a delicate issue in a country with living memory of a military dictatorship.

Soldiers shortly afterwards began to withdraw from around government buildings which they had spent the night guarding in Brasilia.

The facades of some of the buildings were visibly damaged and burned from Wednesday's riots.

Protesters smashed their way into ministries and fought with riot police on Wednesday in some of the most violent scenes yet in a year of political turbulence.

Defense Minister Raul Jungmann insisted yesterday the deployment was necessary "to stop the barbarity" of the riots.

"We had no choice in order to prevent casualties among public servants and the destruction of public heritage," Jungmann said.

But the issue of troops is sensitive in a country that lived under military rule from 1964-1985.

Columnist Maria Cristina Fernandes in economic daily Valor described the deployment as "the last chance for a show of authority by a government that is finished."



Conservative former vice-president Temer stepped up to replace leftist president Dilma Rousseff last year.

She was impeached for illegally manipulating government accounts, but said the charges were politically trumped up.

Now Temer faces impeachment requests from his own political rivals.

Violence erupted on Wednesday after a crowd of demonstrators, estimated by police at 45,000, marched toward the presidential palace, which is flanked by Congress and the government buildings.

Most of the protesters were peaceful but small groups wearing masks threw stones at police and smashed their way into the agriculture ministry and reportedly also the culture and planning ministries.

Riot police crouching behind black shields lobbed tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd.

When protesters set a fire in the agriculture ministry, employees were forced to flee, a spokesman for the ministry told AFP.

In the lower house of Congress, the session was temporarily suspended after leftist deputies took over the speaker's podium, brandishing signs saying "Temer out."



According to a count released by authorities, 49 people were injured and seven detained in the protests.

Leftist groups and trade unions organized the protests a week after Temer was placed under a corruption probe.

They are demanding his resignation and an end to austerity reforms centered on cuts to the pension system.

Stuck in deep recession for two years, Latin America's biggest economy is just showing signs of returning to growth, although unemployment stands at nearly 14 percent.

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The Delhi High Court today asked the CBI to conduct a probe to find out the names of officials who gave licences to run industrial units in a residential area in the city where carcinogenic bye-products are polluting ground water.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar decided to order an enquiry after it found that the Delhi Police had failed in its duty and remained a mute spectator as such activities were carried out.

It found that a CBI enquiry was necessary as one person had died due to discharge of carcinogenic chemicals by cloth dyeing units in Mustafabad locality of northeast Delhi.

It also noted that in the Mustafabad locality, the genesis of the abnormal rate of cancer was due to toxic chemicals used by the denim dyeing units operating illegally.

"So long people are alive in that area, it is alright. But people have died, that too poor people," the bench said and directed the CBI to initiate criminal proceedings against the offenders and file a status report by August 10 giving all particulars of the officials who allowed these industries to operate in the area where "innocent poor people reside".

It asked the agency to find out how many of the residents are suffering from cancer, the reason behind the disease and death caused due to it.

The court also directed it to take action against the owners of the property, who have allowed running of such industries.

It asked the Central Ground Water Board, Delhi government, Delhi Pollution Control Board and the civic bodies about the steps they have taken in this regard.

It queried the authorities after taking cognisance of a report about discharge of carcinogenic chemicals by cloth dyeing units in Mustafabad locality of northeast Delhi.

The report published in a daily stated that the untreated effluents are contaminating ground water, which is the main source of drinking water in the area, and it was inked to the high rate of cancer there.

The bench expressed displeasure over the dyeing units operating in residential area and said, "This is happening because nobody wants to get out of their offices and see what is happening in the areas under their jurisdiction".

"None of the agencies are working properly, even the MCDs are not performing their duty as per the statutory provisions under the law," it said, adding that there is not even a water policy in the country.

Shocked to learn from the report that the locality is known as 'cancer colony', the bench observed, "the issue is of large environment concern".

Two deaths and eight suspected tumour cases have been detected in the locality.

"Release of poisonous substance from these industries may not only impact the ground water in that area, but it may soon spread over other part of the city," the bench said.

It also asked the Delhi government to ensure proper medical facility for the residents of the area, while also observing that the "genesis of the problem is misuse of properties by the people".

Meanwhile, the east Delhi municipal corporation informed the court that sealed 43 such units and emptied 24 more after these were found to be operating without valid permissions.

The corporation has also submitted that soon after the high court's order, it had issued show cause notices directing polluting units to stop work within 24 hours.

Since these units had no permission to use residential areas as industrial units engaged in colouring and dyeing activities, the corporation claimed that it has put a ban on all such activities involving harmful chemicals.

The bench, however, termed the report as an eyewash and observed that if this they would have done earlier, the life of the illiterate poor people would have been saved.

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BJP president Amit Shah today met TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu amid reports of souring ties between their parties, with the two breaking bread together and dedicating to people ambulances equipped with modern life support systems.

Apart from discussing the political scenario in the country at a luncheon meeting, the two leaders exchanged their views on the upcoming presidential election.

"There was a general discussion on the political scenario in AP and also about the forthcoming presidential election," a TDP leader, who attended the lunch hosted by the chief minister said.

Union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu, Y S Chowdary, state TDP president K Kala Venkata Rao, state ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Kamineni Srinivas, Nara Lokesh and state BJP president Kambhampati Hari Babu were also present.

Shah was on a day-long visit to Vijayawada to address the party's polling booth-level workers, as part of his nationwide outreach exercise.

The meeting came in the wake of the BJP's Telangana unit severing its ties with the TDP and acrimony between the second-rung leaders of the two parties in Andhra Pradesh.

The two sides have sparred over a host of issues, particularly on the demand for special category status to the state and financial aid by the Centre.

A fresh round of squabble between the two parties began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi granted audience to YSR Congress president and state opposition leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy early this month. Reddy has said his party would back the NDA's presidential nominee.

The second-rung leaders of these parties have engaged in a slanging match in the last few days.

Chandrababu was said to be livid over his partymen openly criticising the BJP.

Earlier in the day, Chandrababu and Shah flew down from Hyderabad together and dedicated to people 13 advanced life support ambulances at Vijayawada airport.

The ambulances were purchased at a cost of Rs 4.16 crore from the MPLADS funds of Suresh Prabhu, who is a member of Rajya Sabha from the state.

These would cater to the people of 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh and help patients in far flung areas, Prabhu said.

He said he had plans to set up hightech trauma centres along highways from MPLADS funds.

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Three dailt families in Chhattisgarh's Korba district have alleged that they are ostracised by the panchayat of Kurudih village for filing a police complaint against local youths who allegedly molested some women at a marriage ceremony recently, an officer said today.

A complaint alleging social boycott was filed yesterday, following which the local police were directed to conduct investigation.

According to the officer, some people, including women from Kurudih village under Urga police station limits, filed the complaint alleging boycott by the village panchayat.

"Local police has been asked to investigate the matter and take further action accordingly," said Additional Superintendent of Police Tarkeshwar Patel.

Patel said some girls and women were allegedly molested by 'inebriated' youths recently during the marriage ceremony of a woman at the house of one of the complainants in the village, located around 15 kms away from here.

The women who were allegedly molested belonged to the family of the groom who had visited the bride's house as revellers, the officer said.

Following the incident, the bride's mother lodged a complaint against the youths, who also belonged to Kurudih village, with Urga police, he said.

Annoyed with filing of the complaint, a panchayat was called in the village which decided to boycott the family of the complainant and two more families of their relatives.

The bride's mother who complained of molestation today told reporters that they came to know about the the boycott yesterday only when a local priest refused to visit their house for performing some rituals for another marriage ceremony in the family.

"The priest refused to come to our house on Wednesday saying our family has been ostracised. Subsequently, we reached Korba to raise our plight before superintendent of police," she said, adding that consent of entire village was not taken at the panchayat meeting and their families were also not informed that they were being ostracised.

At least six Chauhan families reside in the village.

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Authorities from China and Pakistan are working together to rescue a Chinese couple abducted in southwest Pakistan, a Chinese government spokesman said today.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had asked Pakistani authorities to "take all necessary measures and do their best to rescue the kidnapped Chinese."



Lu added that the two governments were coordinating to ensure the safety of other Chinese citizens in Pakistan.

Pakistani police were searching for the two teachers from a private language school after they were abducted in the city of Quetta yesterday.

Gunmen dressed as police stopped the couple's car and shot and wounded a man who intervened after he rescued a third person who was in the car, according to Pakistani police and China's official Xinhua agency.

No one immediately claimed responsibility and the motive behind the abduction was unclear.

Thousands of Chinese nationals work in Pakistan and have sometimes been targeted in attacks by anti-government militants.

China is a longtime ally of Pakistan and is currently building a network of roads and power plants under a project known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Gunmen attacked a highway construction site that is part of the economic initiative earlier this month, killing at least 10 Pakistani workers.

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China should grant "genuine" autonomy to Tibet within the framework of the Chinese Constitution and the Dalai Lama is not an "obstacle" to resolving the vexed issue, according to the leader of the Tibetan government in exile.

"If the Chinese government implement their own laws listed in the Constitution and minorities nationalities act, we could take that as genuine autonomy," the president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) Lobsang Sangay said.

Reiterating that the "middle way" approach of the spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in addressing the Tibet issue, he said Tibetans should be granted "genuine" autonomy within China and within the framework of the Chinese Constitution.

"We do believe that the Tibetan cause would prevail," Sangay said yesterday at a public event organised by The Heritage Foundation, a prominent American think tank.

He also said that United States supports the middle way approach of the Tibetan people.

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not an obstacle to the solution of Tibet. He is the solution," he said.

Beijing views the 14th Dalai Lama as a "separatist" working to split Tibet from China. During the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama fled to India.

Earlier this month, China's ruling Communist party for the first time publicly said some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to the 81-year-old exiled spiritual leader, undermining Beijing's fight against "separatist" forces.

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 won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the spiritual leader.

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Energy solutions provider CleanMax Solar today said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi High-Tech) to jointly offer high-end rooftop solar solutions to Japanese companies across India.

Under the partnership, CleanMax Solar and Hitachi High-Tech aims to enable Japanese corporates in India to adopt green energy practices by providing them solar power in a low-risk, economical and reliable manner, the company said in a statement issued here.

"The partnership would build on recent industry trends which make rooftop solar significantly cheaper than grid tariffs in the country. Through the partnership, the companies will also offer both capex as well as opex solutions for Japanese corporates to adopt solar power," it said.

As per the agreement, Hitachi High-Tech's role in the partnership will include approaching Japanese clients based on customer basis already established thorough existing business in various field, supplying cutting edge technology solar PV panels and considering low-cost Japanese financing.

CleanMax Solar, on the other hand, will offer its expertise in developing, building and maintaining solar projects in India. The partnership also envisions possible expansions to other international markets in the future.

"In our experience, Japanese MNCs are typically unwilling to cut corners when it comes to their facilities, and this plays well to our strengths in building and operating high-performance. Our partnership with Hitachi High-Tech will help us to leverage the strengths towards the solar sector," CleanMax Solar Managing Director Kuldeep Jain said.

Commenting on the partnership, Hitachi High-Tech General Manager, Electronic Components and Materials Department said, "we have been evaluating the Indian solar market very closely. This partnership will add significant value to Japanese companies in India through a deep understanding of their requirement for very high quality solar power plants and reliable energy delivered from them.

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The Congress today distanced itself from its leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's meeting with Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, saying it never recognised those who are "unelectable and unrepresentative".

It also accused the prime minister of not coming out with a clear policy on Kashmir and asked if the government had any roadmap for dialogue to restore peace in the Valley.

AICC senior spokesperson Anand Sharma criticised the releasing of videos of the Army's punitive action against Pakistani posts across LoC and said there was no clear plan of this government on Pakistan either.

The truth must come out as to what the government is proposing to do, he said, adding that the Centre has been "opaque" on the issue.

Seeking to evade questions on Aiyar-Mirwaiz meeting, which he called an action by an "individual", Sharma said, "There are enough leaders of BJP who are meeting separatists and the prime minister is silent."



He was referring to the efforts of former Union Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha to initiate dialogue in Kashmir.

"We believe that BJP has displayed naked political opportunism to form a coalition government in the state of Jammu and Kashmir which has not performed and is unable to handle the situation and this is a matter of national concern," he said.

The Congress leader said an individal's viewpoint may be different from that of the Congress party's view.

"I cannot comment on individual citizen's actions. We are commenting about the government of the day, as to how they are engaging and do they have a roadmap for dialogue," he said on Aiyar's meeting with moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as part of an NGO.

Sharma said the Congress has been saying repeatedly that if the prime minister has a plan or a roadmap, he should at least in camera sit with the opposition leaders and discuss as there are issues of concerns of national security and territorial integrity.

He also criticised the release of video of the punitive strike by the Indian Army, but clarified that the party is not against the Army action.

"Has India released films or videos in the past of the Army action? The fact is that there is escalation of attacks from across the border. The fact is that we are losing more soldiers.

"We have never questioned the authenticity of the Indian Army action but we are saying is that it is for the PM now to address this issue because it is not the Army but it is Shri Doval who talked to Mr Janjua. It is based on this understanding that Prime Minister went to Lahore," he said.

Sharma said if the opposition will not ask this question from the Prime Minister, then the truth will be lost.

There has to be a coherent policy to resolve the issue, which can ensure stability and return of peace in the Valley and which secures the country and strengthen India's security, he said.

Takinga swipe at the Centre he said, "If government agencies can be used against political opponents, then they can be used against anti-national elements also".

He said the Army will continue to do its duty and belongs to the people of India.

"What is the Government doing? Please let us not make departure in our mind from what this Prime Minister had promised in 2014 and where are we in 2017? Does this Government have a concerted, strategic policy? That is why the questions will be asked.

"We do not want the truth to be lost in the release of videos by both the sides. The truth must come out as to what the government is proposing to do and that is why we have said that there has to be a complete national consensus," he said.

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Ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections, due later this year, the opposition which is facing a power drought in the BJP-ruled state for over two decades is betting big on crucial Patidar vote bank to tilt the scales in its favour, party leaders said today.

The is also looking forward to increase its tally of tribal seats, they said.

Senior party leader and Gujarat election in-charge Ashok Gehlot on Thursday separately met local leaders representing Patidar, tribal and dalit communities and sought their views on the strategy to be adopted to contest upcoming polls.

In a series of meetings held at circuit house here, the leaders also discussed various ways that can be used to bring Patidar community members under the Congress' fold, party leaders said.

Patidars, considered as loyal voters of the BJP, have been demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions under OBC quota, and held violent agitations for their demand in 2015.

Prahlad Ptel, a MLA from Vijapur constituency, said that to woo Patidar voters in the state, the party should consider giving tickets to leaders from the community on at least 33 per cent seats. Gujarat has 182 seats.

The MLA said he had made a similar suggestion to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during the recent meetings.

"If Congress wants to form government, it will have to offer tickets to members of Patidar community on 33 per cent seats. Ashok Gehlotji is positive about this suggestion. I had said the same thing to Rahulji. I told him that Patidar candidates should be given tickets on 55 seats," Patel told reporters after his meeting with Gehlot.

He claimed Rahul has also taken his suggestion to give more representation to Patidars positively.

Tushar Chaudhary, a former Congress MP and a tribal leader from south Gujarat, also called on Gehlot and assured him of loyalty of tribal voters to the Congress in upcoming elections.

"Congress won 16 tribal-majority seats in 2012, six more than BJP. In the past too, Congress continued to win more seats. Traditionally, tribals have remained loyal to the party and will continue to do so despite the BJP's efforts to lure them with false promises. We have to increase the tally (of tribal seats)," Chaudhary said.

Some local dalit leaders also raised a pitch seeking more representation for the community leaders at local level, a move they said will send a positive signal to the community.

Congress had won 60 seats in 2012 assembly elections.

Patidar community members have been at loggerheads with the state government since they held state-wide agitations under Hardik Patel, for their inclusion in OBC category.

Congress is looking forward to create a political space for itself in prime minister Narendra Modi's home state by trying to win Patidars.
"The Strain" actor Jack Kesy has been announced as the major villain for "Deadpool 2".

Although it is not yet clear which villain Kesy will play, there are rumours of him being Black Tom, Digital Spy.

Black Tom appears in comics as a general enemy of the X- Men and has battled Deadpool several times. Originating in Dublin, he has a unique relationship with plant life, being able to use it to project energy.

Ryan Reynolds will return in the sequel as the foul- mouthed superhero with Josh Brolin recently having signed on as Cable. The film is in pre-production with shooting expected to start in June.

"Deadpool 2", to be directed by David Leitch, will hit the US theatres next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today had a narrow escape when his helicopter got entangled in overhead wires and crash-landed in Latur district after the pilot tried to descend due to bad weather, soon after take-off.

The state government's six-year-old Sikorsky chopper was damaged beyond repair, an official of civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI.

The accident occurred when the helicopter, which had six persons on board including two crew members, was landing at Nilanga town of the district where the CM had held a programme.

The incident will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which comes under the civil aviation ministry, the official said. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is (sic) absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry," Fadnavis tweeted after the accident.

The chief minister later proceeded by road to Latur city, which is about 40 kms from the crash site, and boarded a specially arranged aircraft to fly to Mumbai.

The DGCA official said the six-seater helicopter suffered substantial damage and would have to be "written off".

After taking-off at around 12 noon, the pilot observed a variable wind pattern and decided to land. In the process, the helicopter got entangled in wires, the official said, adding that all on board are safe and escaped without any serious injury.

The aviation authorities spoke to the commander of the flight as well as the chief minister, he said, noting that they confirmed the well-being of all the occupants.

The chopper was scheduled to land at the governor's house and from there proceed to its designated parking bay at the Juhu aerodrome here, a state government official said.

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada region for the BJP's 'Shivar Samwad Sabha', a state-wide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Those aboard the helicopter along with the CM included senior IAS officer and his personal secretary Praveen Pardeshi, his personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar, and media adviser Ketan Pathak.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn't believe in rumours," Fadnavis later told reporters at Nilanga.

"Nobody got hurt. Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," Fadnavis said, added that the pilot also did not have any major injury.

"We will seek information from the police on this incident," the chief minister said.

Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical problem, following which he had to travel by road to Nagpur.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao telephoned Fadnavis from Chennai and enquired about his well-being.

The governor said he was shocked to hear the of the crash-landing and that he was relieved after being informed by Fadnavis that everyone was safe.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed relief that Fadnavis escaped unhurt.

"Spoke to CM Maharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis, thank god he is safe after his helicopter crash lands (sic)," he tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The suspected bomber in the concert attack in Britain passed through a German airport before the attack, police said on Thursday.

Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airport's transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.

"According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area," police said in a statement.

Police didn't provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.

Focus magazine, citing unnamed federal security sources, had earlier reported that British-born Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and that he wasn't on any watch list.

A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't been cleared for public release.

Focus reported that Abedi previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015. The magazine also wrote that German authorities are trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany.

The report said that British police informed their German counterparts that Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria beforehand.
Google's vice-president for Southeast Asia and India, Rajan Anandan, has been appointed new chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). He took over charge from FreeCharge's co-founder and chief executive officer, Kunal Shah.

MakeMyTrip chairman and group chief executive Deep Kalra has taken over as vice-chairman from music app Saavn co-founder and president Vinodh Bhat.

Facebook managing director, India and South Asia, Umang Bedi, has been elected as the new treasurer of the association.

Subho Ray continues to be the president of the association, IAMAI said in a statement.

The tenure of the new council is for two years.

"Anandan assumes office at a time when the industry is going through a growth trajectory with more than 400 million Internet users and with more than 300 million mobile Internet users," the statement said.

In Rural India, with an estimated population of 906 million, have only 156 million Internet users.

"Thus, there are potential 750 million users still in rural heartlands; if only they can be reached out properly. Thus, the new council will work towards increasing the Internet users' base, especially in rural areas," the statement said.

Another key focus area of work for the new council would be the promotion of local language content. Currently, much of the content on the Internet is in English. English language accounts for nearly 56 per cent of the content on the worldwide web, while Indian languages account for less than 0.1 per cent, the statement said.

Enabling Indic content on the Internet will lead to a growth of 39 per cent with the current Internet user base of India.

IAMAI, which helps Internet based firms in handling industry and policy issues, said that the new council would also work towards promoting the digital startup ecosystem in India.

"The Council believes that apps economy in India will drive the next level of Internet growth, along with Indic. With over 300 million mobile Internet users and more than 200 million local language consumers on the Internet, the growth trajectory for apps development is bound to be exponential," IAMAI said.

The companies in the new council include Times Internet, OLX, Policy Bazaar, Yatra, Paytm, Hungama, Mobikwik, Indiamart, Itzcash and Pepperfry.
The government is contemplating incentivising manufacturers to set up facilities for making lithium-ion batteries in India to lower the cost of electric vehicles, a move likely to discourage Chinese car makers seeking to enter the market.

Elaborating on the plans to develop low-cost lithium-ion batteries in India, Union Heavy Industry Minister Anant Geete said efforts are being made to remodel the battery made by Indian Space Research Organisation so that it can be used in electric vehicles.

"We are trying to establish a manufacturing facility with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited entailing an investment of Rs 100 crore. Maruti also wants to invest Rs 2 lakh crore for manufacturing lithium batteries," Geete told PTI.

He said the government is also mulling over incentives for domestic car makers, who invest in setting up facilities to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in India.

The government is aggressively trying to push the sales and production of electric vehicles in the country through schemes such as FAME India, which may have caught the fancy of Chinese automobile manufacturers such as BYD and SAIC who are already investing heavily in electric technology.

"Today the only country manufacturing lithium batteries is China, so business will increase for them as we push electric mobility in India. This is a matter of happiness for them. However, their happiness will be short-lived. We do not want to give this happiness to China for a long time therefore we are making efforts for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries in India," Geete said.

A 12 per cent levy on pure electric vehicles (EVs) has been proposed under the Goods and Services Tax regime, a move that reflects the government's intention to push its adoption.

Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry Girish Shankar said since the lithium-ion battery is not manufactured in India and the automobile industry has to depend on imports.

"We need to develop indigenous production capabilities for lithium-ion batteries so that electric vehicles can become affordable," Shankar said while addressing a conclave here.

With an aim to promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government had launched the FAME India scheme in 2015 offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As it gears up for mega Yoga Day celebrations, the government has plans to declare a hundred parks especially dedicated for yoga activities across the country to promote this traditional practice.

Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow will host the main event of the International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21 this year where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate.

Around 150 countries are expected to participate in the mega event, with Indian Missions in those nations coordinating the activities. IDY will be observed at some of the major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trafalgar Square in London and the Central Park in New York among others.

"It would be no exaggeration to say that the world has acknowledged the supremacy of India in the field of yoga. Last two years, the IDY was celebrated across the globe with active participation of more than 190 countries," Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said.

The Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of Yoga at national and international level will be given to individuals or organisations who have made significant impact on the society for a sustained period of time by way of promotion and development of Yoga, Naik said.

A screening committee chaired by AYUSH secretary has been constituted to recommend the names and the the jury headed by Cabinet Secretary will finalise the four winners, two in each category.

The ministry is also planning to have 100 Yoga parks across the country which will be managed by Yoga or other organisations voluntarily.

The prime minister, senior ministers, Uttar Pradesh chief minister and yoga gurus along with nearly 51,000 people are expected to take part in the event.

In Delhi, seven main events are being planned in different places in association with NDMC, DDA and Yoga organisations.

Apart from this, yoga events will be held in different parts of the country as well as main cities like Paris, London and New York across the globe.

The ministry on its official website has requested the people visiting the web page related to IDY to take a pledge to make yoga an integral part of their daily life.

The first IDY celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015 in which representatives of 191 countries had participated. Last year, the main function was in Chandigarh.

The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 every year as IDY.

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The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea of shop owners of Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah for modification of its order directing the removal of encroachments in 500 square metre area of the 700-year old historic shrine.

The apex court had directed the Dargah Trust to remove the encroachments by May 30 or face removal by a joint task force.

A vacation bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha said the apex court had already considered the matter in detail and passed the order.

"We cannot entertain the petition as the other bench of this court has already considered the matter in detail and passed the orders," the bench said.

Counsel appearing for some shop owners said they have been running their shops since 1942 and have been regularly paying rent to the trust.

He said several civil proceedings were also going on with regard to the shops and injunctions have been passed.

To this, the bench said the apex court has already passed the order that no other authority can deal with the issue when it is seized of the matter.

On May 9, the apex court had asked the trust to remove encroachments in a 500 square metre area in the historic shrine within four weeks, while lauding its efforts in this regard so far.

It had said that if the encroachers failed to comply with the order to remove the encroachments by June 6, then the Joint Task Force set up by the Bombay High Court will come into the picture and begin the work of removing them from June 10 and complete the task by June 30.

The apex court had directed that the beautification plan around the shrine, built in 1431 AD, has to be placed on record before the apex court on or before June 30.

It had the sentiments of the people of the community should be kept in mind while carrying out the plan.

The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in the memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who had given up all his possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Haji Ali Dargah Trust had on April 13 relented to the tough stand taken by the apex court against large-scale encroachments around the historic Mumbai mosque and volunteered to remove them by May 8.

The offer to remove and demolish encroachments came after the apex court made it clear that only the mosque, located on an area of around 171 sq metres since 1931, would remain protected, while the rest of the area, measuring 908 sq metres, should be cleared of squatters.

The High Court had ordered the formation of a joint task force comprising the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Collector to remove illegal encroachments on the approach road leading to the Haji Ali Dargah.

It had made it clear that no other court, other than the apex court, will entertain the petition relating to the removal of encroachments around the shrine.

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Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, called Pakistan a "well of death" while narrating her ordeal on her return today.

Seated with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad J P Singh, and other senior ministry officials, an emotional Uzma said, "It's easy to enter Pakistan but nearly impossible to leave that place."



"Pakistan is a 'maut ka kuan' (well of death). I've seen women who go there after arranged marriages. They're miserable and living in terrible condition. There are two, three, even four wives in every house," she said.

She said 'Buner', the area where Tahir, the Pakistani man who married her at gunpoint, took her after giving her sleeping pills, was like a "Taliban-controlled" region.

Uzma said had she stayed there for a few more days she would have been dead. She broke down several times while recalling the horror in front of the national media.

She profusely thanked Swaraj, Indian mission officials and other staffers for making her comfortable and ensuring her return.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She was allowed by the Islamabad High Court yesterday to return to India following a plea she filed with the court seeking its direction after her husband Tahir Ali "seized" her immigration papers and refused to return the document.

She crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar. She was accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scorching weather tightened its grip on northern and eastern India with mercury soaring in most areas and crossing the 46-degree mark in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district, even as four children were killed in Bihar when lightening struck them.

The national capital reeled under intense heat as the maximum temperature settled at 41.3 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 28.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal. The humidity levels oscillated between 28 and 51 per cent.

The mercury continued its upward trend in the desert state of Rajasthan, affecting normal life. The maximum temperatures rose by at least three degrees across the state.

Places that sweltered under the scorching sun included Jaisalmer (46.4) Ganganagar (46), Barmer (45.7), Churu (45.5), Bikaner (44.6), Kota (44.3), Jodhpur (42.9), Pilani (42.7), Jaipur (42.3) and Ajmer (41.9). Traces of rainfall were recorded in Tonk, Piplu and Uniyara.

In Punjab and Haryana, intense heatwave conditions prevailed with the mercury soaring to several notches above normal in both states.

Hisar was the hottest place in the two states at 45 degrees Celsius. Narnaul, Ambala and Karnal recorded the maximum temperatures at 43.5, 41.4 and 42 respectively.

Chandigarh had a high of 41.2 degrees Celsius. Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala braved a hot day at 41.5, 42.2 and 42.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

In Bihar's Bhagalpur district, four children, aged between 10 and 14, were killed and as many were injured when lightning struck them.

The incident occurred when the children were plucking mangos in an orchard in Siya village.

The mercury crossed the 40-degree mark at several places, including Patna (42) and Bhagalpur (40). Gaya was the hottest place in the state at 44.1 degrees Celsius.

Heavy rains in North Sikkim district led to a massive rockslide which has blocked Toong-Sankalang road between Saffo and Ship-Gyer.

Officials said due to the large size of the rockslide and the difficult terrain, it is not possible to even cross it on foot. There is danger of more rocks and stones falling from the mountain at the spot.

There was, however, no report of any injury or loss of life as the area is uninhabited.

The weatherman has forecast heavy rains at isolated places in Assam, Meghalaya, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and south interior Karnataka.

It predicted severe heat wave conditions in Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Telangana.

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The Hotel Owners Association in Tamil Nadu will again put forward a demand to maintain a 5 per cent slab, instead of proposed maximum of 18 per cent, during GST review meeting to be held on June 3 in Delhi.

The association has announced a State-wide bandh on May 30 to protest the proposed increase in tax under GST for hotels, which it felt was too high.

Despite representation to keep the slab at five per cent across the board, the GST panel had proposed minimal taxes for the business turnover of below Rs.20 lakh - five per cent; for turnover between Rs.20 lakh and Rs. 50 lakh, Non-AC restaurants - 12 per cent and for AC restaurants - 18 per cent (from the existing eight per cent), Coimbatore District Hoteliers Association president D Srinivasan told reporters here today.

Owners have decided to close nearly 1,500 bakeries, 400 restaurants and 300 small eateries in and around Coimbatore in response to the call given by Tamil Nadu Hoteliers Association on May 30, he said.

Stating that Tamil Nadu has a VAT rate of two per cent, which would go up to 10 per cent once GST is implemented, Srinivasan said the common man will be hit hard due to proposed increase in the slab on hotel caterogy.

Business to the tune of Rs.Four crore to Rs.Five crore would be affected due to the bandh in Coimbatore district, he said.

Hoteliers associations in Puducherry and Kerala have extended their support to the bandh, he said adding that the Traders Association, led by Vikramaraja, which is meeting here tomorrow, is expected to lend its support, he said.

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Co-operative IFFCO's joint Managing Director Rakesh Kapur has been elected as the Chairman of International Fertiliser Association (IFA).

Paris-based IFA is the global fertiliser association with 500 members representing 68 countries, including 24 members from India.

Kapur was elected at the IFA's annual conference held from May 22-24 in Morocco attended by 1,400 participants.

"Kapur is the third Indian to hold this prestigious position in IFA's 90 years' history," IFFCO said in a statement.

Kapur is also the Chairman of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI).

IFFCO, which is celebrating its 50th Golden Jubilee, is the world's largest fertiliser and marketing cooperative representing 50 million farmers across the country.

Kapur said that his role would be to strengthen collaboration between FAI and IFA in encouraging innovative products and adoption of fertiliser best management practices and strengthening outreach to farmers for rapid dissemination of agri-technologies.

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India retained its numero uno position being the world's top most greenfield investment destination for the second consecutive year, attracting $62.3 billion in 2016, says a report.

India has remained ahead of China and the US as far as inflows were concerned in the last year, said the Report 2017 compiled by fDi Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times Ltd.

FDI by capital investment saw an increase of 2 per cent to $62.3 billion in 809 projects during 2016 in India.

"India managed to keep the crown as the world's number one location for greenfield capital investment for the second year running  ahead of China and the US," the report said.

The global investment landscape, the report said, has changed considerably in 2016 as FDI gravitated to locations experiencing the strongest economic growth, while locations in recession or facing high levels of uncertainty saw major declines.

In 2016, greenfield FDI continued to rise worldwide, with capital investment increasing by more than 6 per cent to $776.2 billion, its highest since 2011, alongside an increase in job creation by 5 per cent to 2.02 million. However, the number of FDI projects declined 3 per cent to 12,644.

China has overtaken the US to become the second biggest country for FDI by capital investment, recording $59 billion of announced FDI, compared with $48 billion-worth in the US.

Globally, the real estate sector has claimed the top spot for capital investment, with $157.5 billion of announced FDI recorded in 2016, following an increase of 58 per cent.

In value terms, coal and natural gas witnessed an inflow of $121 billion, followed by alternate and renewable energy at $77 billion.
Over 100 Chinese and several Indian companies attended a business meet organised by the Indian Consulate in Shanghai in the Chinese city of Suqian to highlight investment opportunities in India.

The objective of the Business and Investment Forum held yesterday was introduce the investment opportunities available to Chinese firms in India in sectors like renewable energy, smart cities, power sector, urban transportation and infrastructure, as part of the 'Make in India' initiative, a press release by the Indian Consulate said today.

About 126 Chinese firms took part in the meeting.

A delegation of more than 12 Indian companies comprising CEO's of Larsen & Toubro, CII, Sterlite, NIIT, IFS Films, Top Travel & Tours along with Legal Consulting and Business Advisory Firms like H K Acharya & Co., Link Legal and Banks like ICICI made presentations during the meet.

Consul General Prakash Gupta led the Indian delegation and gave an overview of the investment climate in India and called on Chinese companies to make full use of the investment opportunities available in India.

Mayor of Suqian Wang Tianqi urged business leaders to establish greater synergies between Indian and Chinese industries and encouraged Suqian companies to aggressively explore investment opportunities in the Indian market.

During the forum, a presentation on the Indian Buddhist Tourism Circuit was also made, given the significant interest Chinese tourists have displayed in visiting Buddhist sites in India, the press release said.

A series of business meetings were also held between participating Indian companies and their Chinese counterparts from Suqian, which generated significant business leads for the participating companies.

It is expected that as a follow up to the business forum, Suqian city leadership is likely to lead an investors' delegation to India in second half of 2017 to explore tangible investment opportunities in upcoming SEZ's in India.

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An Indian woman who has been staying at the Indian mission here after accusing a Pakistani man of marrying her at gun point is expected to return home today, said an Indian High Commission official.

"Uzma is expected to go back today but I can't confirm the time," the official said on condition of anonymity.

He said Uzma, who is in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi, would return through the Wagah Border crossing which she had used to enter Pakistan.

Islamabad High Court yesterday issued orders for her safe return after she had petitioned to go back to see her ailing daughter in India.

The court yesterday also asked police to escort her up to the Wagah Border.

Uzma arrived in Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Tahir Ali on May 3.

Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in Indian High Commission alleging that she was forced to marry at gun point.

Tahir not only rejected the allegations but expressed his desire to repair the relationship.

"She is still my wife. Neither she has asked for divorce nor I have divorced her," Tahir told PTI yesterday after the court verdict.

He also said that once she was back in India, he would try to win her.

According to Tahir, he met Uzma in Malaysia where they fell in "love" and decided to marry.

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Indian nationals were issued the maximum number of skilled to live and work in the UK last year, according to statistics released on Thursday.

Indians accounted for 58 per cent of the total skilled granted last year  53,863 of a total of 93,566.

Americans were the second largest community with 9,255 visas.

"The information technology sector sponsored 42 per cent of skilled work visa applications, followed by professional, scientific and technical activities (18 per cent) and financial and insurance activities (12 per cent)," the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said.

The figure for Indian students coming to study in the UK stood at 11,642, marginally up from the 2015 figure of 11,160.

The latest figures reflect an overall drop in net migration figures for the UK  estimated to be 248,000 in 2016 which registers a fall of 84,000 from 2015.

This drop indicates a Brexit effect as 117,000 European Union (EU) citizens emigrated out of the UK in 2016, up 31,000 from 2015.

This gives the fullest picture yet of the impact on immigration around the EU referendum vote in June last year.

Immigration from EU8 states  the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia  was down by 25,000 to 48,000, while those leaving the country increased by 16,000 in 2015, to 43,000 in 2016.

The figures will come as some relief to the ruling Conservative party, which has made cutting net migration an election pledge for the June 8 snap general election.

The Conservatives' aim since 2010 has been to reduce net migration to "the tens of thousands".

"It's good that the overall figure has come down now by nearly a quarter in a year. We're determined to make sure that we do continue to reduce the overall net migration number," said UK home secretary Amber Rudd.

Work remains the most common reason for migration, with 275,000 people coming to the UK for work in 2016  down 33,000 from 2015.

A total of 9,634 people were granted asylum or an alternative form of protection in the year ending March 2017.

In addition, 5,453 people were granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme over the same period.
Japla Cement Factory, which has been closed for years, will re-open soon, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said.

Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation has talked to SAIL and soon raw materials would be made available to the cement factory, which would provide employment to thousands of people, Das said.

Addressing at "Samuhik Vivah" (mass marriage) at Hariharganj block in Palamau district, Das said 'vidyadan' (imparting education) was more important than "kanyadan" (marriage of girl) and it has become more necessary to educate girl children so that they could have a better future.

He sought the people's support to develop every village of the state as without public support a prosperous Jharkhand was not possible, an official release said.

At least 100 youth from every panchayat were being imparted skill training to prevent migration, he said adding several initiatives were being taken to usher in development and would soon be visible.

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Motorcycle borne miscreants looted a jeweller at gun point in Mirganj police station area here today morning.

At around 10 AM Sunil Gupta had left home for his jewellery shop in Hurhuri area. On the way his bike was stopped by motorcycle borne miscreants who snatched his bag containing cash and ornaments at gun point, the police said.

The total cost of the valuables and cash looted was not immediately known, police said.

A case has been lodged and SSP Jogendra Kumar has directed the district police to launch combing operations to nab the culprits.

The incident occurred at a time when the issue of law and order has been under focus in the Uttar Pradesh.

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A Bangladeshi court today sentenced the chief of the banned JMB group to over seven years in prison for heading the terror outfit linked to a series of attacks, including the one on a popular Dhaka cafe that killed an Indian woman along with 17 other foreigners.

Maulana Saidur Rahman, the former head of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, who was arrested exactly seven years ago on this day in 2010 has already spent seven years behind bars. He will now serve the remaining six months in jail for this case, bdnews reported.

Two of Rahman's associates were also sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison, the report quoted police as saying.

Citing the anti-terror law, the judge sentenced the convicts to the strictest punishment applicable for such acts.

"The convicts, despite having knowledge of the Quran and Hadiths, invented their own analysis of the religion in the leaflets they distributed," the court said.

Rahman has been spearheading a number of attacks against minorities, secular activists and foreigners, and also for recruiting men to carry out such attacks.

In the deadliest attack, 22 people, including an 18- year-old Indian woman, were killed when militant stormed the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery and Kitchen restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone on July 1 last year.

The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the cafe attack. But police believe that New-JMB, which is close to the ISIS, was involved in organising the attack.

The country's security forces have launched a crackdown against militants following the attack.

The three were arrested in a police raid on a house near Dhaka's Donia Nur Mosque in 2010. Police found booklets of extremist propaganda and anti-government publications in their possession.

The two others who were convicted went into hiding after securing bail.

Since 2013, Bangladesh has witnessed a number of Islamist attacks on foreigners, liberals and religious minority with the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda making competing claims.

The government, however, has consistently dismissed their claims, saying foreign terrorist groups have no presence in Bangladesh and the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jindal Steel and Power subsidiary Power Plant Engineers has forayed into emission control manufacturing by signing a technical cooperation agreement with Germany's VPC.

JSPL's foray is in line with the Make in India programme and is expected to give an impetus to India's commitment to United Nations COP21 for improving emission intensity, a company statement said today.

"Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) announces the signing of a technical cooperation agreement with German Emission Control Systems major - VPC GmbH -- and JSPL's EPC arm Power Plant Engineers (PPEL)," a company statement said.

"This first-of-its-kind engagement leverages the strengths of JSPL and VPC to provide cost-effective solutions to power producers, with an estimated market size of Rs 20,000 crore targeting a power generation capacity of 1,00,000 mw."



This mandate to reduce environmental pollution necessitates power generation companies to upgrade their existing emission control systems.

Under this alliance, the manufacturing lines will be set up at JSPL's existing facilities in Raipur and Punjipatra to harness emerging opportunities in the fast-growing market for emission control systems among power producers in India and key global geographies.

JSPL aims to start manufacturing and commercial despatch of Made in India emission control systems by December 2017.

In the first phase, the focus will be on manufacturing and supplying such systems to the existing power generation capacities in excess of 5,000 mw owned and operated by JSPL and its subsidiary Jindal Power.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi government has decided to appoint a new medical superintendent at the city-run Sanjay Gandhi Hospital after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today found that it had failed to comply with his direction to provide free medicines and diagnostic test facilities.

The chief minister, who paid a surprise visit to the hospital, expressed "displeasure" over the functioning of the hospital and warned of action against officials.

According to a senior official, "the government has decided to appoint a new medical superintendent, following the visit".

The hospital currently has an acting medical superintendent, according to officials.

"During my visit, I came to know that patients were being asked to get tests done, including some of the basic ones, and buy medicines and consumables from outside the hospital. This means the policy is not being implemented at the lower level," Kejriwal said after the inspection.

"Some cases of money being taken at some level was also reported to me by the patients," Kejriwal alleged, adding, "Such people will be identified and stern action will be taken against them."



The chief minister was accompanied by Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, health secretary and other officials of the health department, during his visit to the 100-bed hospital, which was opened in 1986.

Kejriwal asked the authorities to pull up their socks and warned that more such surprise visits would take place.

"I have asked the MS to take action. I will also talk to the LG on this issue. I will make more such surprise checks in the days to come. We will make all the systemic changes required," the chief minister was quoted as saying in a statement.

Three days ago, the chief minister had directed the chief secretary to ensure 100 per cent availability of medicines, consumables and functioning equipment in all Delhi government hospitals and to certify it.

During the inspection, Kejriwal visited all departments of the hospital, apart from the wards and pharmacy and talked to several patients.

Kejriwal said all medicines and medical tests at Delhi government hospitals are to be provided for free.

The chief minister in a tweet said that he found "several deficiencies" at the hospital. He directed health officials to remove them while asserting that he was committed to provide best health services to the poorest.

"Yehan sab theek hai(Is everything fine here)?" Kejriwal asked a patient in a ward.

Kejriwal moved from one ward to another, catching many doctors and officials by surprise, even as curious onlookers gathered around him, taking his pictures or approached him to share their problems.

"Are you getting free medicines here or you have to pay for it," he asked another patient.

"#AAP will ensure free medicines and treatment to all people visiting government hospital without any discrimination - @ArvindKejriwal," the party later tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 5 per cent on coal will help state-owned CIL to find consumers for its 62 million tonnes of stock piled up at its pithead, an official said.

Coal pithead is where the mine is located and the mined coal is kept usually before being transported to power companies.

"With coal being put in the lowest tax slab of 5 per cent under the the market will respond positively. The inventories will go down," the official said.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) on coal has been brought down to 5 per cent from the current tax incidence of 11.69 per cent.

The official further said that with the lower rate on coal, the net value of dry fuel to the consumer is likely to come down.

As on April 30, Coal India's (CIL) pithead stock was at 61.9 million tonnes (MT), said another official.

Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said that the 5 per cent GST rate on coal will make electricity more affordable for poor people and farmers.

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal production. The company is eyeing one billon tonens of production target by 2020.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a meeting with representatives of city-based private educational institutions next week.

Sources in the state Education Ministry gave no hint of the topic to be discussed in the meeting on Wednesday, but sometime back the chief minister had flagged the issue of exhorbitant student fees demanded by private schools.

She had told the Assembly in March during winter session, "We have very good private schools, colleges and universities in our state. But there are some which are charging so much... Demand so much. I think there must be control at some point."



During the meeting, Banerjee is likely to ask school representatives to chalk out a guideline to serve as a basis on which the state government will formulate a policy on fees.

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Breaking News: Unearthed from beneath a pile of debris and primeval survival tools was recently found an ancient explorer's journal full of fascinating details of primitive nomadic life. Archeologists carbon-dated the document to about two weeks ago, then used a chemical bath to clean and preserve the fibers of the text that were made fragile by time and BBQ chip-stained fingers. Weekly Alibi won the rights to print the harrowing diary entries that put the explorations of Robert Falcon Scott to shame. Read on to bear witness to the high adventure, damning failures and triumphs of the human spirit of two intrepid women and one neurotic dog who set out to experience the glorious, swollen moon floating over the shifting dunes of White Sands.

Day 1

8:30am God bless Lew Wallace, author of Ben-Hur and inventor of the snooze button.

10:00am Planned time of departure. I'm actually just running around the house in my pjs gathering the ephemera of travel such as 1 baggie of ground coffee, 4 forks, sunscreen, 4 slices of bread wrapped in plastic, 2 headlamps, 1 knife, 4 eggs, 1 jam jar of whisky, 2 pens, 1 book, 1 black bandanna, etc.

12:00pm Takeoff achieved to the roiling tunes of Flogging Molly and the beat of gray rain on the windows. Not exactly a warm open road but we'll take it. The crew is especially heartened as we pass a motorcyclist in the rain and remember to count our blessings.

1:06pm We pass the time reading aloud the awful true crime story of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard, then discuss the chilling nightmare of being trapped in your own body and the sad state of mental health and justice in the US.

2:56pm Pick up water in Las Cruces. Debate the merits of simply going to see a movie, eating New York-style cheesecake pancakes at IHOP and heading back home to sleep in real beds. Perhaps we could carry the dog inside in a bag?

Renee Chavez

3:47pm We arrive at White Sands National Monument. I am William Herschel discovering Uranus. I am Matthew Henson discovering the North Pole. I am Percy Fawcett finding the headwaters of the Amazon. I am 

3:49pm  disappointed. All our hopes have been dashed. There will be no back country camping as there is a missile test in the morning. Why don't they post a schedule online? [Editor's Note: They do post alerts with a schedule of closure dates. The writer just didn't notice.] And, no, I don't want to pay $5 per person to play in the sand and then leave in a few hours. Damn. Winston Churchill said, Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. We must soldier on into the desert to find a home for the night, refugees of our own plans.

4:05pm We consult our map and decide to head to City of Rocks, but we've eaten way too many Twizzlers and BBQ chips and are ready to run free. So we shed our dissatisfaction and play on a roadside overflow of White Sands, giving the bird to whatever nincompoop decided missile testing during the full moon was a good idea. The hill is steep, and Lulu (the dog) imitates the tweeting of a small baby bird, confused by the white substance that is neither snow nor dirt. She musters her courage and scrambles up. We ditch our flip-flops and grin at the sensation of warm sand between our toes.

Renee Chavez

Driving into the hot sun and crunching on a bag of carrot sticks, we pass a blue sign for Hidden Valley Ranch. We contemplate turning in butdebating the possibility that it's a trapwe forge ahead.

7:12pm Land ho! We ease past a wood-and-rock sign proclaiming, Welcome to City of Rocks State Park. The site looks so much smaller than our childhood memories recall. We cough up $10 for one night of camping. The area is empty except for a few loners. We chose the Lupus camp siteperfect for a pack of wandering wolves ready to bay at the lunar orb.

7:49pm Moon rise. The crew observes, The sky is, like, really big. We laugh until tears flow from our eyes, then feast on gourmet Spam sandwiches and neon Cheetos. Once the moon crests the towering columns of the craggy city of stone, we let loose a few obligatory howls. Trick photography is a must, resulting in pictures of us eating the heavenly body and catching it in or hands. Then we settle in the back of the 4-Runner with the windows down, cocooned in slithery sleeping bags, and stare at the sky, taking in the moons hypnotizing energy and alabaster light. We sip from a jam jar of Kentucky whisky. Our minds wander, dreaming of back road motorcycle trips to Cape Horn, Chile and Deadhorse, Alaska.

Renee Chavez

We fall prey to the Sandman, Lulu curled up on our toes.

Day 2

10:00am A black bandanna over my eyes and a pair of earplugs ensured a restful slumber and kept the rays of the slow and silent sun at bay. It was the heat that eventually woke me.

10:20am I wander the rock formations in my flip-flops. I only planned to be walking barefoot in the sand, and therefore didn't bring real shoes. Stupid? Absolutely. A boy scout I am not. Staring up at the volcanic columns and peeking through crevices, I wonder at the strange outcropping of stone in the parched Chihuahuan desert. It's taken around 34.9 million years for the volcanic rock beneath my feet to be weathered and sculpted into its current form.

10:41am Sheltered in a cool basin of stone and shadow, we feast on three eggs (one broke), sharp white cheddar and crispy bacon. Chewing slowly, we gaze out at the pastel horizon and wish every breakfast came with such an intensely peaceful view. Lulu beadily eyes the bacon and whines.

11:12am Leaving camp. We've thrown everything back in the truck, tossed our trash in the bins and made one last stop at the cleanest campsite bathroom ever. Seriously, you could probably eat off the floor. Maybe.

11:28am Blasted through a rogue swarm of insects. The whole windshield as well as my left arm is speckled with vibrant yellow goo. Lovely.

11:50am This feels like the kind of desert you see in films with bovine bones half buried in dusty sands and the shadows of circling hawks and vultures brushing your face. We drive past fields of solar panels, the Nutt (aka Middle of Nowhere) Bar, gargantuan wind turbines lazily spinning. I feel like I'm in some post-apocalyptic future where the Earth is covered in silent energy machines, and the only habitation to be found is in dusty outpost bars full of electricity farmers, space cowboys and cyborg barmaids.

12:05pm We cruise through Hatch and stare at all of the giant roadside statues of dinosaurs, hamburgers, robots, chile and more. They're entirely unexpected and fun. These are precisely the reason people should stop in small towns.

12:22pm We pass a sign for Arrey Derry.

12:24pm We pass a sign for Derry Arrey. Weird. [Editors Note: There are two separate towns, Arrey and Derry. The writer was confused about this her whole life and believed the towns were Arrey Derry and Derry Arrey. Weird.]

3:14pm We arrive home, triumphant despite our change in plans, knots in our wind-blown hair, dirt under our nails, dust on our feet; a breath of freedom still trapped in our lungs.
A mobile phone is believed to have saved the life of a British woman, who was badly injured in the Manchester suicide attack when a flying shrapnel hit her, media reports said today.

Pictures have emerged showing the damaged mobile phone which is believed to have saved the life of Lisa Bridgett, who was seriously wounded in the incident on Monday.

Bridgett, of Pwllheli, had been using the phone after the Ariana Grande concert when the massive explosion caused a steel nut to hit her.

She lost a middle finger before the nut went through her phone and her cheek, ending up lodged in her nose, the BBC reported.

Her husband Steve said the phone probably diverted and slowed down the nut.

The bomb attack at the Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured 64 others.

Bridgett, the manager of the Blue Water Marine boatyard in Pwllheli who was at the concert with her daughter and her daughter's friend, was in a "positive mood" and felt "very lucky to be alive", Steve said.

She had surgery on Tuesday and was due to have another operation after suffering multiple injuries, including a fractured ankle and a large wound on her thigh.

"The fact that she was on the phone at the time probably saved her life," Steve said in a Facebook post.

"The nut has hit her phone which has more than likely not only diverted it, but also slowed it down considerably," he said.

Eight men are in custody in the UK following the attack, carried out by Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Libyan-origin man.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 22-year-old man who carried out the Manchester concert suicide bombing that left 22 people dead transited through Istanbul airport ahead of carrying out the attack, a Turkish official said.

"I can confirm that he transited through Istanbul Ataturk" airport, the official told AFP, asking not to be named and referring to the country's main international airport.

The official said no intelligence had been shared with Turkey concerning the bomber, Salman Abedi, ahead of his presence in Istanbul.

There was no immediate indication from the Turkish authorities where he had been travelling from or if he had crossed the border or merely changed planes at the airport.

Abedi, 22, grew up in a Libyan family that reportedly fled to Manchester to escape the now-fallen regime of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

A relative told AFP that Abedi had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before the bombing.

German police have said he had made a brief stopover at Duesseldorf Airport to change planes.

Istanbul is a popular transit point for Libyans flying from their country to Europe, given the lack of direct flights from Libyan cities to most destinations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Prime Minister Theresa May today confirmed that a total of eight men were in custody in the UK in connection with the deadly suicide bombing at a pop concert this week and asserted that the threat level in the country will remain at "critical".

Speaking from Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) emergency response committee, the British Prime Minister said as many as 1,000 Army troops have already been deployed to boost security operations.

"The police have confirmed that eight suspects remain in custody and that progress is being made in the case but the threat level, as assessed by the independent joint terrorism analysis centre, will remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant," May said in a video message, before leaving for Brussels to attend a NATO summit.

"I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure," she said, in reference to an escalating diplomatic row between the UK and the US.

UK officials are said to be "furious" that their investigation was compromised when photos appearing to show debris from Monday's attack appeared in the 'New York Times'.

Greater Manchester Police indicated that information will no longer be shared with US counterparts as the force described the eight men who remain in custody as "significant" arrests in their "fast-moving investigation".

"As regards the full ongoing investigation, we currently have eight people who have been arrested in connection with Monday's attack. They are all men. A woman who was arrested yesterday has since been released. The arrests have taken place in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton. We are now carrying out associated searches at a number of addresses," said Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in a statement.

"I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation," he said.

A further two people were arrested in Libya, taking the total number of people in custody in connection with the bombing worldwide to 10.

Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, and brother, Hashim, are the two arrests in Libya. Another brother, 23-year-old Ismail, was arrested soon after the attack and is among the eight men currently in custody in Manchester.

The anti-terror force that took Hashim Abedi into custody in Libya said the teenager had confessed that both he and his brother, Salman, were members of the Islamic State (ISIS) group and that he "knew all the details" of the Manchester attack plot.

A spokesperson for the Libyan authorities told BBC that, "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack."



Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafi's security authorities issued an arrest warrant.

He spent 25 years in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi was ousted and killed in the country's civil war. He is now a manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.

Police continue to investigate contacts that suicide bomber Salman Abedi had in the UK and his suspected link to a wider extremist "network".

Earlier, Sky had claimed that they have found evidence linking Salman Abedi to an Islamic State (ISIS) cell operating in Manchester.

The channel said its investigation reveals how Abedi grew up on the same housing estates in south Manchester as a group of young men who radicalised each other with some fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Information in so-called 'IS Files' -- a huge cache of documents obtained by 'Sky News' - shows how an ISIS fighter called Raphael Hostey, from Moss Side in the south of Manchester, sponsored hundreds of terror recruits.

Abedi and Hostey hung around on the same estates and worshipped in the same Didsbury mosque in Manchester, before they reportedly became disaffected with life in the West.

According to latest data from National Health Service England, Monday night's attack at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and 116 people were treated in hospital -- of those 75 remain in hospital and 23 are in critical care, five of them children.

Abedi had detonated a "nuts-and-bolts" bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert as children, teenagers and others were making their way out of Manchester Arena.

Others, including parents, were waiting in the foyer to pick up family and friends when the bomb went off.

Grande has since suspended her remaining Europe-wide tour until June 7.

"We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence. Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together," her management said.

Manchester City and Manchester United have jointly pledged 1 million pounds to an emergency fund set up to support the victims of Monday's attack in the city.

The announcement came as the UK observed a one-minute silence at 11 AM local time today in the memory of all those affected.

Soon after, Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to visit the children injured in the attack and the staff at the hospital. Her visit was described as a morale boosting tour for the patients and healthcare professionals caring for them.

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The ED today raided 10 locations in Delhi and Haryana, including residence of an IAS officer serving in the Union government here, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 1,500- crore alleged illegal land acquisition in Gurgaon's Manesar.

Several farmers and land owners are alleged to have been cheated in this case, in which former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is one of the accused.

The ED teams swooped down on various premises of at least eight people, including a retired IAS officer, in Panchkula, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and the official residence of IAS officer Rajeev Arora in New Moti Bagh area in Lutyens' Delhi.

Arora, a 1987-batch Haryana cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has served as the Managing Director of the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) between 2005-2011.

At present, he is serving as a Joint Secretary in the Union Labour ministry on central deputation.

When contacted by PTI, Arora said he has "nothing to say as the inquiry is going on".

The ED questioned Arora during the raids and is probing his role in granting approvals in this case during his tenure at the HSIIDC.

A CBI probe is also on in the matter.

The other officials raided by ED include Surjit Singh, Chief Town Planner and Director Planning of the HSIIDC, and retired IAS officer D R Dhingra, who served as Director of Industry and Commerce in Haryana government.

The ED also raided K Lamba, then Superintendent of Department of Industries and Commerce, an official identified as Jaswant Singh and two directors of a real estate firm based in Gurgaon.

Congress leader Hooda has been named as an accused in the FIR registered by the Enforcement Directorate in September last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in this case.

The former CM has been questioned by the CBI in this case and it is expected that the ED will also record his statement soon.

The ED has filed the criminal complaint against Hooda and others based on a FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It suspects that illegal money made from this land deal was "laundered" by the accused officials and real estate developers and a number of movable and immovable assets were created by them.

The agency is working to prepare a list of these assets to subsequently attach them under PMLA law.

The CBI had last year registered a case on allegations that some private builders, in conspiracy with unidentified public servants of the Haryana government, had purchased around 400 acres of land in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula villages in Gurgaon district at throwaway prices between 2004 and 2007, after threatening the land owners that the plots would otherwise be acquired by the government.

It was alleged that a loss of Rs 1,500 crore was caused to the land owners.

The CBI had alleged that initially the Haryana government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act (section 4) for acquiring land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township.

After this, all the plots had allegedly been grabbed from the land owners by private builders atmeagrerates.

It was also alleged that an order was then passed by the thecompetent authority, i.E. The Director of Industries, on August 24, 2007 releasing this land from the acquisition process in violation of the government policy, in favour of the builders, their companies and agents, instead of the original land owners.

The CBI has alleged in its FIR that in this manner land measuring about 400 acres, the market value of which at that time was above Rs 4 crore per acre, was allegedly purchased by the private builders and others from the innocent land owners for only about Rs 100 crore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India starting tomorrow.

Jugnauth will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The Mauritius premier, who will be in India from May 26 to 28, will address a business event and will be felicitated by the India Foundation.

This will be Jugnauth's first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year.

The Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) leader will be accompanied by his deputy Ivan Collendavelloo, senior officials including the cabinet secretary and finance secretary of Mauritius.

Modi had visited the island nation in March, 2015, as Chief Guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.

During his visit, Modi commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.

"The Mauritian PM's forthcoming visit to India is part of our continuing engagement with the Government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects special ties between our two countries," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Prime Minister Theresa May, arriving at a NATO summit in Brussels, said the countries' partnership on defence and security was built on trust, but "part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently."



May discussed the matter privately with Trump later in the day.

British officials were particularly angry over photos published by The New York Times showing remnants of a blue backpack which may have held the explosive, a 12-volt battery that apparently powered the device and a possible switch in the left hand of the alleged bomber that could have ignited it.

But it wasn't clear US officials were the source of the images, which the Times defended as "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims" and consistent with basic reporting "on weapons used in horrific crimes."



British security services were also upset that 22-year- old Abedi's name was apparently leaked by US officials while police in the UK continued withholding it and while raids were underway in Manchester and in Libya. Hopkins said the leaks "caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss."



Trump today pledged to "get to the bottom" of the leaks, calling them "deeply troubling" and asking the Justice Department and other agencies to "launch a complete review of this matter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Chief Minister on Thursday said she discussed "development and not politics" at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The Trinamool Congress chief's meeting with Modi came amid efforts by opposition leaders to choose a consensus candidate for the coming presidential polls. The ruling Democratic Alliance is yet to announce its presidential candidate.

"This was not a political meeting, (but an) absolutely development oriented meeting. I have taken up several issues with the prime minister," Banerjee told reporters, describing it as a "customary" meeting between the state government and the Centre.

Banerjee, who was a bitter critic of Modi's demonetisation drive, said she discussed a range of issues related to soil erosion caused by the Ganga in West Bengal and restructuring of the state's debt.

Issues such as the Farakka barrage, the heavy export duty imposed by Bangladesh on mangoes from West Bengal and the construction of a dam over the Atrai River by Bangladesh were also discussed.

She also demanded a restructuring of the central government's loan to the state, which has been reeling under financial problems.

"I have to pay Rs 40,000 crore. How do we work in such a scenario," she said outside South Block, where the prime minister's office is situated, after the meeting.

Banerjee also demanded that India take up with Bangladesh the issues of heavy export duty on West Bengal mangoes and the Atrai dam construction, which had led to a water shortage in the state's West Midnapore district.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today had a close shave when his helicopter got entangled in overhead wires and crash-landed in Latur district after the pilot tried to descend due to bad weather, soon after take-off.

The chief minister didn't suffer any injury in the incident and all the six persons on board are safe.

The crash-landing occurred soon after the chopper with six persons on board, including three CMO officials and two crew, took off at around 12 noon from Nilanga, around 45 km from Latur, for Mumbai.

"It was a crash-landing. When we took off, we noticed that the chopper was slanting. There was air pressure. It brushed against (electric) wires," Fadnavis said, after reaching Mumbai by another aircraft from Latur.

The CM's banker wife Amruta Fadnavis expressed relief that her husband had escaped unhurt in the crash.

"Devendra ji called me and informed that he was safe. He also spoke to (his) mother," Amruta said, adding the CM was very calm when he spoke.

Among those who called up Fadnavis to inquire about his well being were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, an official said.

The state government's six-year-old Sikorsky chopper was damaged beyond repair, an official of civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI.

The incident will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which comes under the civil aviation ministry, the official said. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

Fadnavis tweeted after the accident that he was safe.

The chief minister later proceeded by road to Latur and boarded an aircraft to fly to Mumbai.

The DGCA official said the six-seater helicopter suffered substantial damage and would have to be "written off".

"After taking-off at around 12 noon, the pilot observed a variable wind pattern and decided to land. In the process, the helicopter got entangled in wires," the official said, adding that all on board are safe and escaped without any serious injury.

The aviation authorities spoke to the commander of the flight as well as the chief minister, he said, noting that they confirmed the well-being of all the occupants.

The chopper was scheduled to land at the governor's house Raj Bhavan, near the CM's official residence 'Varsha' in Mumbai, as usual, an official said.

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada region for the BJP's 'Shivar Sanwad Sabha', a state-wide campaign to reach out to farmers.

Those aboard the helicopter along with the chief minister included senior IAS officer Praveen Pardeshi, his personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar and media adviser Ketan Pathak.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn't believe in rumours. Nobody got hurt. Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," Fadnavis told reporters in Nilanga.

He said information will be sought from the police on this incident.

Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, Fadnavis' helicopter had suffered a technical problem, following which he had to travel by road to Nagpur.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao telephoned Fadnavis from Chennai and enquired about his well-being.

The governor said he was shocked to hear the of the crash-landing and that he was relieved after being informed by Fadnavis that everyone was safe.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed relief that Fadnavis escaped unhurt.

Former deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the government should take extra precaution in ensuring proper maintenance of helicopters deployed for VIP duty.

"I thank almighty that CM is unhurt in today's accident. It is to be checked whether the periodic maintenance of choppers, flying VVIPs or any other person, is done or not," Pawar told reporters in Pune.

He demanded that there should be two pilots on a chopper carrying VVIPs. "New technology should be used in the maintenance of choppers," Pawar added.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao telephoned Fadnavis after coming to know about the incident and expressed happiness over the Maharashtra CM escaping safely, a release from Rao's office in Hyderabad said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rebel AAP MLA and former minister Kapil Mishra today gave his statement to the Delhi Lokayukta over his allegations of corruption against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others.

Mishra has mentioned seven matters of "corruption" including an "exchange" of Rs two crore between Kejriwal and Health minister Satyendar Jain.

"I have given statement on 7 serious issues of corruption by @ArvindKejriwal and his associates before Hon'ble Lokayukta," he said in a tweet.

The Lokayukta is mandated to enquire into corruption cases at state level.

However, Mishra did not submit any evidence with Lokayukta Reva Khetrapal, saying he would do so later as some of the evidences were with his associate and "independent investigator" Neil Haslam, who was out of town.

Mishra said he would provide the date and the time of his visit to the chief minister's residence when Jain allegedly gave Rs 2 crore to Kejriwal in his presence after completion of the CBI investigation in the matter.

Latching on to the rebel AAP leader's statement, the Delhi unit of the BJP demanded that Kejriwal step down as the chief minister on "moral grounds".

"It is a very serious matter that a public representative has given a statement before the Lokayukta against Kejriwal and now he has no moral right to continue as Chief Minister," BJP's Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari said.

The matters of corruption raised by Mishra in his statement included the water tanker "scam", PWD "scam" which involved Kejriwal's relative late Surender Bansal, foreign trips by five AAP leaders and funds obtained by the party allegedly from "shell" companies.

Mishra was removed as Water Resources and Tourism minster from the Delhi cabinet on May 6 and had made the startling corruption allegation against Kejriwal the next day.

A complaint of "corruption" against Kejriwal and Jain was filed by the Delhi BJP's legal cell following Mishra's allegation before the Lokayukta.

The Lokayukta had sent a notice to Mishra for recording his statement in connection with his allegation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mizoram assembly unanimously passed the Mizoram Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2017 in a one-day special session of the legislature today.

State Taxation Mminister Lalsawta, who introduced the bill, hoped that the new tax regime under GST to be in place in the country from July one would help in substantial increase in revenue for the state government and broadening the tax base while decreasing prices of commodities for the common people.

Cutting across party lines members of the state legislature supported the bill and hoped that the new law would be beneficial for both the state government and the people.

The assembly also unanimously passed the amendment bill to the Mizoram Value Added Tax (VAT) Act as introduced by Lalsawta.

The amendment was made to include items like alcoholic liquor, petroleum crude, motor spirit, high speed diesel, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel in the Mizoram VAT Act as the items were left out of the purview of the GST Act.

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With the NDA government completing three years in office, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has said the BJP-led alliance will return to power at the Centre in 2019 with a stronger mandate.

Rawat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "established India" as an economic and military power in the world map in the last three years.

"I am fully confident that the next government at the Centre will be formed by the NDA under the leadership of Modi with a stronger mandate," he told PTI in an interview.

Rawat, who assumed the charge of chief minister of Uttarakhand on March 18 after the BJP won 57 of the 70 assembly seats, ousting the Congress, said the Opposition was "no where to be seen" in the country and they were in a "pathetic stage".

The 56 year-old chief minister said Modi has been running the government with everyone's cooperation and he would continue to do so in the future.

"Modi is running the government with a big heart. Many people when assumes power, become arrogant, forget their own colleagues or friends. But the prime minister has never given such an impression. He likes to work with everyone's cooperation," he said.

Rawat hailed the Centre's move to convene a meeting of five Himalayan states to take stock of the security and development activities along the 3,488 km long Sino-Indian border.

"We have not given attention to the issues concerning our border with China. It was for the first time such a meeting was held in Gangtok. It was also decided that every year such a meeting will be held in future," he said.

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The 21-year-old son of a city police inspector, whose wife was found brutally murdered in their flat in suburban Santa Cruz on Tuesday night, was detained in Jodhpur today by a team of Mumbai police in connection with the crime, a senior officer said.

Siddhant Ganore, who has emerged as the prime suspect in the case, was detained by a special team of Vakola police who are probing the case.

Deepali Ganore (42), wife of Dnyaneshwar Ganore (49) who was part of a team that had probed the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, was found dead with her throat slit in their flat located at A G Park in Prabhat Colony.

Dyaneshwar is currently attached with Khar police station.

"We tracked him (Sidhant) to Jaipur yesterday and sent a special team of Vakola police. We came to know this morning that he has fled to Jodhpur and is putting up in a hotel there. Since it would have taken six hours to reach Jodhpur via road from Jaipur, we sought the help of local police in Jodhpur," said Anil Kumbhare, DCP, Zone VIII.

Based on our request, Jodhpur police detained him from the hotel and handed him to our police team, he said, adding that Sidhant is being brought to Mumbai and further action will be taken against him following his interrogation.

According to police, Sidhant has discontinued his engineering and had not been on good terms with his mother.

The murder came to light on Tuesday night when the police officer returned home after finishing his duty and found the door of the flat locked from inside.

He then tried to contact Deepali on her mobile phone but it was switched off, police said yesterday.

Meanwhile, he spotted the key in the shoe rack and entered his flat after opening the door where he found his wife lying in a pool of blood.

Police had found a blood-soaked message: 'Tired of her, catch and hang me', written on the floor and a smiley drawn near Deepali's body.

A case of murder was registered at Vakola Police Station against unidentified person(s) and an investigation is underway, police said.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today hosted a lunch for BJP national president Amit Shah at his riverfront residence here.

Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of State Y S Chowdary, state TDP president K Kala Venkata Rao, state ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Kamineni Srinivas, Nara Lokesh and state BJP president Kambhampati Hari Babu also attended.

"There was a general discussion on the political scenario in AP and also about the forthcoming presidential election," a TDP leader, who attended the luncheon said.

Shah and others were treated to a wide variety of Andhra veg and non-veg delicacies.

There was no information on whether Chandrababu and Shah had a one-on-one chat, as widely expected.

Earlier in the day, Chandrababu and Shah flew down from Hyderabad together in a special aircraft and inaugurated 13 advanced life support ambulances at the Vijayawada airport.

The ambulances were purchased at a cost of Rs 4.16 crore from the MPLADS funds of Suresh Prabhu, who is a member of Rajya Sabha from the state.

The 13 ambulances would cater to the people of 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh and help patients in far flung areas, Suresh Prabhu said on the occasion.

He said there were plans to provide Hitec Trauma Centers along highways from MPLADS funds.

Prabhu also discussed future health-related funds allocation with the Chief Minister and state health minister Kamineni Srinivas.

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The government today introduced rules to regulate dog breeders, aquarium owners and livestock markets by bringing them under the ambit of a law to check cruelty to animals.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) issued a series of notifications under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Under the new rules, it will be mandatory for all dog breeders and aquarium owners and their establishments to register themselves with the state Animal Welfare Board of the respective states.

The rules also define the requirements to be met by the breeders and the establishments used for breeding, such as those related to health, housing facilities and conditions for sale.

The ministry also notified the livestock markets rules which recommend an animal market monitoring committee to be formed in every district, headed by the district magistrate. There are also extensive conditions to ensure that smuggling of cattle is checked.

The new rules have been framed under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act - The Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Aquarium and Fish Tank Animals Shop) Rules.

"This was an area where no regulation existed. Despite the government spending huge amounts for neutering dogs in India, breeding of pedigreed dogs was going on unabated in extremely cruel and unsanitary conditions in puppy mills," said activist Gauri Mulekhi, who had moved court demanding that such regulations be put in place.

The breeders openly advertisedin newspapers and even provide home delivery of pups, without disclosing to customers that the mothers of such pups are often kept on a short chain for all their lives and subjected to heinous contraptions such as the 'Rape Stand" to induce back to back pregnancies, she said.

"The commercially driven pet industry often kills the unsold animals and is currently answerable to no one," said the activist



Aquarium owners too sell fishes which may be prohibited or endangered. In fact, activists say that while breeding and selling of aquarium fish is a big business, in this process coral reefs have been damaged and many fish brought to near extinction.

There is a tendency to regard fish as non-beings therefore they are sold as commodities, kept in unsuitable conditions, activists say.

It was in 2014 that Gauri Mulekhi of People for Animals filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court to prevent smuggling of animals across the Indo-Nepal Border.

In May 2016, the SC gave directions to the government to form an interministerial committee with the petitioner to recommend ways to prevent the smuggling of cattle.

The committee recommended, among other things, Rules to be framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 to regulate Livestock Markets and for maintenance of case property.

"This was a huge gap which is being filled by the government," Mulekhi said on livestock markets rules.

Till now, no regulations existed to check how many animals are sold at animal markets and for what purposes.

"They are neither screened for diseases, nor is any step taken to ensure that minimum welfare standards are met.

"Likewise, despite orders of the Supreme Court, in many instances, animals that are victims of cruelty are returned to original custodians by magistrates disregarding their welfare," she said.

The case property animals rules are also likely to be notified soon. These lay down a systematic procedure to ensure that such animals get veterinary attention and are kept safe in an infirmary or an animal shelter.

"It is a much to prevent cattle smugglers from getting the intercepted cattle back, once they are caught by the state law enforcement agencies or the Border Security Force," said Mulekhi.

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Barack Obama received a rock-star welcome in Berlin as he appeared at a public debate today with Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he praised as one of his "favorite partners" during his presidency.

Security was tight in front of the German capital's iconic Brandenburg Gate, where Obama and Merkel appeared on a podium before thousands of people attending a gathering marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Police helicopters patrolled the skies and snipers with balaclavas watched the scene from nearby rooftops.

After lauding Merkel as someone who had done "outstanding work," Obama launched a defense of his own presidency and the values of liberal democracy championed by both leaders.

Citing the rise of nationalism and xenophobia in parts of the world, Obama told the crowd that "we have to push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms."



In a veiled reference to his successor Donald Trump, Obama also spoke of the need to see development aid and diplomacy as essential aspects of national security policy.

"We can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall," he said, to cheers from the audience.

Merkel, who hosted Obama at the same spot four years ago, was due to travel to Brussels later Thursday for a meeting with leaders of fellow NATO member states, including President Trump.

Today's appearance with Obama was criticized by some German opposition politicians as a publicity stunt ahead of September's general election, in which Merkel aims to win a fourth term.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has dared BJP president Amit Shah to contest from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, saying it is not as easy as "eating cake".

Owaisi, the sitting MP from Hyderabad, said his party would ensure that the BJP lost from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, held by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and five assembly seats the saffron party has in the city.

"You (BJP) want to contest Hyderabad....You are welcome. But why are you planning to field somebody else? You (Shah) come and contest.

"Hyderabad ki seat jeetenge....Is it like eating a cake? We have worked a lot here for several years," the three-term Hyderabad MP told a gathering here last night, referring to Shah's reported statement that BJP will win the seat.

Ridiculing Shah's claim that BJP would form its government in Telangana after the 2019 assembly elections, Owaisi said, "You are dreaming".

"God willing, we will ensure BJP loses Secunderabad and also the five assembly seats held by them," he said.

"I am telling you Mr (Narendra) Modi and Mr (Amit) Shah...Mark my words...We will ensure that BJP is defeated from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat. The people of Hyderabad will tell you. You will lose deposit from Goshamahal.. You (BJP) will lose Amberpet, Musheerabad, Khairtabad and also Uppal Assembly seats (in Hyderabad). You will face big loss in Telangana...Insha Allah," Owaisi added.

On Shah's three-day visit to Telangana, Owaisi said, "The BJP President is on Telangana tour...There's sudden love (that he has developed) for Telangana."



The AIMIM leader said Shah went to Nalgonda and had lunch at a Dalit home about which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said was prepared by a member of a forward community.

"What kind of love you (Shah) have? You have food at the residences of Dalits which has been prepared somewhere else. What kind of love you have for (B R) Ambedkar?" he said.

He rejected Shah's claim that the Centre had allocated Rs 1 lakh crore to Telangana, and insisted it got only Rs 24,000 crore.

"Ok, even if you gave (Rs 1 lakh crore) did you give it from your pocket. We are not beggars...It is our (Telangana's) constitutional right to get (central funds). It is the right of the Telangana government to get not just Rs 1 lakh crore but Rs 10 lakh crore," he said.

Meanwhile, reacting to Shah's challenge, BJP floor leader in the Telangana assembly G Kishan Reddy dared the Hyderabad MP to contest from his constituency Amberpet.

"Amit Shah is based in northern India. There are thousands of BJP workers here who can defeat Owaisi. I dare him to contest from my constituency Amberpet," Reddy said. Amberpet was among the five assembly seats Owaisi had said his party would ensure BJP's defeat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan today condemned the honouring of an Indian Army officer who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as human shield.

"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing here.

The international community, particularly, the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added.

Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chief's commendation card for his "sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations".

Zakaria accused India of perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement of Indian prisoner on death row Kulbushan Jadhav confirms it.

Talking about the International Court of Justice ruling in the Jadhav case, he said Pakistan is preparing for the next hearing of the case.

Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implement UNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self determination.

On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it would bring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistan and China. He said several countries have expressed desire to join the project.

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Cash-strapped Pakistan's economy for the first time crossed the USD 300-billion mark and achieved over five per cent GDP growth.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar today announced that Pakistan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had grown 5.28 per cent in fiscal year 2016-17, against the target of 5.7 per cent.

The finance minister shared the report of National Economy Survey 2016-17 ahead of federal budget which he would present before the parliament tomorrow.

"The 5.28 per cent growth is less than our target but still is huge improvement to the 3.5 per cent when the government took over in 2013," he said.

"We had set a challenging target and I am satisfied with the growth," Dar said.

"There has been a visible growth in the national economy. This is the first time in 10 years that we have crossed the five per cent GDP growth mark," Dar said.

"For the first time, Pakistan's economy crossed the USD 300-billion mark," he added.

The industrial sector grew 5.02 per cent, agriculture 3.46 per cent and services 5.98 per cent, the finance minister said.

He said the growth rate for the next fiscal year has been set over 6 per cent.

"Pakistan's growth is far better than the global growth," he said.

The government also met its budget deficit target of 3.8 per cent, with the actual deficit registering at 3.7 per cent.

Proudly sharing the massive recovery of the economy, Dar said by 2030 Pakistan would be part of G20 group of nations.

"By 2050, Pakistan would surpass Canada, Italy and South Korea," he said.

He also said that by 2019 Pakistan would not need to go the IMF for loans.

He said there was 22 per cent growth in per capita income which has increased from USD 1,333 last year to USD 1629.

Dar said the FDI inflow would also double to USD 2.58 by the end of current fiscal year on June 30. Foreign reserves have increased to USD 21 billion from paltry USD 6 billion in 2013.

"When we took over, there was danger of default. And now we are being branded as one of the leading economy," he said.

The remittances are expected to reach USD 19.5 billion for this year.

Talking about growth of utilities, he said there was 3.4 per cent increase recorded in electricity, gas supply in the existing fiscal year.

He said so far the country has lost USD 123.13 billion due to war on terror.

He also said that 25,000 security personnel were killed and as many were injured since the start of crackdown against terrorists post 9/11.

Talking about debt, he said public debt was at 53.1 per cent of GDP in 2008, which went up to 60.2 per cent of GDP and it was now at 59.3.

The import of heavy machinery surged 70 per cent, textile sector showed a 23 per cent increase while the construction increased by 67 per cent and agriculture 37 per cent.

"As far as (lower-than-expected) exports are concerned, as oil prices declined so did the prices of commodities (which Pakistan exports)," Dar said.

"Our future is in diversified exports and we are focusing on IT exports for this purpose. We have announced an IT park with Korea in Islamabad - we will replicate the model in Karachi and Lahore," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On Thursday, Chinese military said that it was paying "close attention" to the incident in which an Indian Air Force fighter jet with two pilots on board went missing along the Sino-India border two days ago.

Chinese defence spokesman Col Ren Guochang said they were paying close attention to it, when asked at a briefing about whether the Chinese military would help trace the missing Sukhoi fighter jet.

However, he declined to give any details and said that the foreign ministry has reacted on the issue yesterday.

Ren's remarks appeared slightly positive compared to the comments of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang who had said that he has no information on the missing plane and warned India that it should avoid disrupting peace and stability in Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as 'South Tibet'.

"For the situation you mentioned, I have no relevant information to offer at the moment," Lu had told the media when asked about the missing Indian Air Force plane along the India-China border.

At the same time, he referred to the border dispute between India and China, saying that "first of all on the eastern section of the India-China border, China's position is consistent and clear."

"We hope India can stick to the arrangements reached between the two sides and avoid disrupting peace and stability at the border areas," Lu had said.

The SU-30 MKI plane had lost contact with the Tezpur Salonibari Air Force station from where it took off at 10.30 am on Tuesday.
Philippine security forces bombed a southern city today as they battled Islamist militants who were holding hostages and reported to have murdered at least 11 civilians.

An initial rampage by the gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, through the mainly Muslim city of Marawi on Tuesday prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law across the southern third of the Philippines.

Authorities said ending the crisis was proving extremely hard because, although there were only 30 to 40 remaining gunmen, the militants were moving nimbly through homes, had planted bombs in the streets and were holding hostages.

Intense gunfighting could be heard constantly throughout the day, according to an AFP reporter in the city, and the military said it had dropped bombs on residential neighbourhoods.

"We are using surgical airstrikes," local military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera told reporters in Marawi shortly before big clouds of black smoke rose from a bombed area near the provincial government building.

Most of Marawi's 200,000 residents had fled the city, which is about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Manila, but Herrera said those who remained had been warned to get out of the areas where there was bombing and fighting.

"We are requesting our people in Marawi to go to safe places... And to stay indoors," he said.

Five soldiers, two policemen and 13 militants have died in the three days of fighting, according to authorities.

Herrera said two civilians had also been killed inside a hospital that the gunmen had occupied on Tuesday, and the military was investigating reports that nine people had been murdered at a checkpoint the militants had set up.

Local GMA television network showed images of nine bullet-riddled bodies lying in a field with their hands tied together.

Duterte said today that one of the policemen killed was similarly caught at a checkpoint set up by the militants, then beheaded.

The militants are also holding between 12 and 15 Catholic hostages abducted from a church, according to the local bishop, Edwin Dela Pena.

The fighting erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.

The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.

The raid went spectacularly wrong as dozens of gunmen emerged to repel the security forces, then went on a rampage across the city while flying black IS flags.

The gunmen belonged to the Maute group, which along with Hapilon's faction of the Abu Sayyaf, had pledged allegiance to IS, authorities said.

The militants raided two jails, leading to the escape of more than 100 inmates, according to Mujiv Hataman, the governor of a Muslim self-rule area that includes Marawi.

They also set fire to many buildings, including a church and a university.

An enraged Duterte, who was in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, declared martial law shortly after the fighting erupted and cut short his trip to fly home and deal with the crisis.

"It is brutality, cruelty," Duterte said on Wednesday after flying back to Manila.

Duterte said martial law was required throughout the southern region of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, to stop the rising threat of hardline militants aligned to IS.

Muslim rebels have been fighting since the 1970s for an independent or autonomous homeland in Mindanao, with the conflict claiming more than 120,000 lives.

The main Muslim rebel groups are now involved in peace talks with the government.

But the Abu Sayyaf, Maute and other hardline groups want to set up an Islamic caliphate in the south for IS, according to Duterte and security analysts.

Duterte said yesterday he may impose martial law throughout the rest of the country if he believed the terrorism threat was spreading.

The president, who has waged a controversial war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives, warned martial law would be "harsh" and similar to military rule imposed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago.

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President Pranab Mukherjee will visit village Daula in Gurgaon district on June 2 and lay the foundation stones of a Government Senior Secondary School building and a driving school there.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said this in a meeting here, an official release said.

The Chief Minister held the meeting after his return from a five-day visit to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Chief Secretary, D S Dhesi, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rajesh Khullar and Principal Secretary, Monitoring and Coordination Department, T C Gupta were among those present in the meeting.

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The Indian Railways will export 18 modern diesel locomotives to Myanmar soon.

The engines worth about Rs 200 crore are manufactured at the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi.

The first lot of six locomotives are ready to be shipped next month, while the rest will be delivered by December this year.

A high-level team of Myanmar Railways led by the chief of its mechanical and electrical department had recently inspected the locomotives that are equipped with latest features.

The state-of-the-art DLW has been exporting locos to many countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

The export orders are executed by RITES, the export arm of the Indian Railways.

RITES has exported over 60 locomotives, besides various other rolling stock and machinery, to Myanmar in the past 18 years.

The DLW-build locomotives are preferred in Mynamar due to their good hauling capacity and easy maintenance, said a senior RITES official.

These locos will be operational with better optimisation of power transfer to wheel.

The locos have many other features such as roof-mounted dynamic brake grids, panel-mounted brake system, fabricated bogies, and higher rating traction motors with speed sensing mechanism.

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The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan is due to begin Saturday in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, religious authorities in both countries announced.

The announcements came after religious authorities in the two Gulf Arab countries failed to sight the crescent moon today night, state media reported.

The Sunni mufti of Lebanon, Abdullatif Deryan, also announced that Saturday would be the start of Ramadan.

There was no immediate announcement from other Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

During Ramadan, Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk.

They break the fast with a meal known as iftar and before dawn they have a second opportunity to eat and drink during suhur.

Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed during that month.

Ramadan is followed by the feast of Eid al-Fitr.

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Euronet Worldwide subsidiary Ria Money has forged alliance with three agency partners to expand its remittance services in India.

Transcorp International, Wiezmann Forex and Paul Merchants are the new partners who have expertise in local market and add value to Ria's network in India, Ria Money said at an event here to announce the partnerships.

In the next 12 months, Ria will upgrade its cash payout network in the country by adding thousands of high-quality retail and non-banking financial company locations.

"India is the top receiving market for migrant remittances, receiving USD 62.7 billion in 2016. Million of households, mainly rural, are largely dependent on these transfers. Our service and combined network will provide a greater access to customers to receive remittances," Ria Money Transfer CEO and President Juan Binachi said post- announcement.

The company has a good presence in the gulf region. To provide good service, it is key to have capillarity in the destination market, he added.

When asked about why the company chose to partner with three entities at a time, Binachi said that to reach to every nook and corner in this country, Ria looked at it strategically and decided to partner with three than a single entity.

The Euronet Worldwide subsidiary had also acquired IME of Malaysia in 2015 that helped it to increase its footprint in South East Asia, adding almost 20,000 new locations.

Ria has presence in 146 countries, having almost 3.21 lakh locations under its fold.

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Senior bureaucrat Sanjay Mitra has taken over as defence secretary, succeeding G Mohan Kumar.

A 1982-batch IAS officer, Mitra earlier served as secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He will have a fixed tenure of two years as defence secretary.

He had also served as chief secretary of West Bengal.

As defence secretary, his immediate priority is likely to be the roll out of the ambitious Starategic Partnership (SP) model, besides handling various other key issues relating to the armed forces.

The Union Cabinet had yesterday given a go ahead to the SP model under which select private firms will be engaged to build military platforms like fighter jets, submarines and battle tanks.

Mitra is a post-graduate in physics and economics. He also did his Mason Fellowship at the prestigious John F Kennedy School of Governance in Harvard University.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) had approved his appointment initially as officer on special duty (OSD) in the Defence Ministry.

Kumar's term had come to an end yesterday.

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Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote today claimed the Karnataka police stopped him from entering Belgaum district, where he wanted to take part in a protest organised by Marathi-speaking people.

Belgaum, which has a large Marathi-speaking population, has been the bone of contention between the two states since long.

There are more than 850 villages spread across Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar and Gulberga districts in Karnataka over which Maharashtra has been staking claim for the past six decades on linguistic grounds.

"Myself along with an MLA and other Sena leaders were stopped at the border of Belgaum by police and served a notice to not enter the area for three days. I had gone there as a representative of the Maharashtra government and not as a Sena leader," Raote told PTI.

The protest was organised to denounce "atrocities" committed by the Karnataka government against Marathi-speaking people in Belgaum and adjoining areas, he said.

Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' today said party chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to reach out to Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka in the backdrop of the controversial comments reportedly made by a Congress minister against the chanting of "Jai Maharashtra" slogan in the adjoining state.

Last week, Karnataka's Urban Development minister R Roshan Baig had reportedly said in Belgaum that elected representatives found raising the slogan would lose their elected posts in the southern state.

Baig had also allegedly said the Congress-led Karnataka government intended to bring in a new legislation to check "anti-Karnataka activities" by elected representatives.

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A man who allegedly murdered his mother, wife of a police officer associated with the probe of the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, was arrested today from a hotel here.

Siddhant Ganore, 20, had fled his house after allegedly killing his mother and took a train to reach Jodhpur on Wednesday, police said.

After arriving here, he stayed in a hotel opposite the city railway station, where the Jodhpur police arrested him this afternoon, they said.

Jodhpur police, after their preliminary investigation, informed their Mumbai counterpart, whose officials would be arriving Jodhpur to take his custody, they added.

The wife of a police inspector, who was part of the Sheena Bora case probe, was found brutally killed with her throat slit at their Vakola residence in suburban Santa Cruz in Mumbai yesterday.

"Siddhant had stayed in a hotel opposite the railway station. He purchased a new mobile phone and as soon as he connected with wi-fi and accessed internet, Mumbai police got his location," SHO (Udaimandir) Madan Beniwal said.

"On receiving the information from Mumbai police, we reached the hotel and detained him and brought him to the police station, where he confessed to have killed his mother," the officer said, adding the accused did not put up any resistance and accompanied police to the police station without any hesitation or fear.

According to police, after killing his mother with a kitchen knife, Siddhant had tried to slit his wrist but could not do so and fled leaving her mother behind in a pool of blood.

The officer said that he left his cell phone there and did not contact any known all this while.

"On Tuesday, his mother had asked for his progress report and was also to accompany him to college. This scared him and brought him under severe stress, under which, he decided to kill his mother," Beniwal said.

"We have arrested him and are awaiting Mumbai police to arrive in Jodhpur," said Beniwal, adding that his family members have also been informed, who also are reaching Jodhpur.

Meanwhile talking to media, Siddhant, a student of BSc Ist year, expressed no regret and alleged that he killed his mother because she was quite querulous and had made his and his father's life miserable.

"I was under severe stress because of her nature. She would always quarrel with my father and keep scolding me for my studies. On Tuesday, she was to go with me to my college and did not want her to, so I killed her," he said.

After killing her mother Dipali Ganore, he had a bath, gathered his clothes, stuffed them in a bag and fled. He took a train from Mumbai and reached Jodhpur on Wednesday through Surat.
Amid continued tensions with Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today profusely thanked the Pakistani establishment and judiciary for facilitating Indian citizen Uzma Ahmed's return.

She said though there is tension between the two neighbours, the Pakistan foreign office and the home ministry played a key role in her return.

Swaraj had words of praise for Uzma's counsel Barrister Shahnawaz and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of the Islamabad High Court.

She said while the counsel treated Uzma as his child, the judge dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations as some people wanted him to.

"I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she crossed the Wagah border," Swaraj told reporters here.

Uzma, a Delhi woman, who had said she was forced to marry a man at gunpoint, returned home earlier in the day.

The minister also thanked officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, especially Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid continued tension in Indo- Pak ties, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today thanked the Pakistani establishment and judiciary for facilitating the return of Indian national Uzma Ahmed, whom she described as a "daughter of India".

The minister said she "heaved a sigh of relief" as soon as Uzma, who had alleged that she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, crossed the Wagah border earlier in the day.

Political relations have their own place, Swaraj said.

"Without considering the current state of tense Indo-Pak ties, I would like to say that if Uzma is back it is with big help from Pakistan foreign office. Pakistan home ministry has also helped us a great deal," the minister asserted.

Swaraj had words of praise for Uzma's counsel Barrister Shahnawaz Moon and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of the Islamabad High Court.

She said while the counsel treated Uzma as his child, the judge dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations.

"The Pakistani judge was told by Tahir that this case was a matter of 'Pakistan's prestige' but he asked how is it about India and Pakistan?," the minister said.

She also thanked Uzma to trust the Indian High Commission and said it was heartening to know that an Indian when trapped in a foreign land relies on Indian missions as a "ray of hope".

Uzma had also maintained that if she was sent back from the High Commission, she will commit suicide, Swaraj said, adding that the government was even ready to keep her for 2 or 3 years at the Indian High Commission but will not send her back to the person who tortured her.

The minister also thanked officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, especially Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh, who recalled his first meeting with a traumatised Uzma which made it easier for him to take a decision to give her shelter in the mission.

Swaraj said the moment Uzma said she is an Indian, all other questions became redundant about her language and her religion.

"When I saw Uzma kiss the Indian ground at Wagah border, that picture speaks a thousand words itself. That gesture alone won the hearts of all Indians," the minister added.

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Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari today presented the government's policy and programme for the next fiscal year and said it is committed to complete the three-tier election process by January 2018.

"The government had successfully concluded the first phase of local level elections and was committed to conduct the second round of polls on June 14," Bhandari said as she read out the document handed over by Prime Minister 'Prachanda'.

She also presented the government's policy and programme for the fiscal year 2017/18 at the Parliament.

"Only after the election in all three levels -- local, provincial and federal -- the Constitution would be fully implemented," she said.

"So the government has expressed commitment to hold the three-tier of elections by January 21, 2018, by providing necessary logistics to the Election Commission," she added.

The policy document also includes "restructuring of bureaucracy in line with the federal set up in the country."



"The government aim to give a logical conclusion to the 'Comprehensive Peace Process' started in 2006 by carrying out the remaining tasks and for this aim, resources would be allocated to the 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission' and the 'Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons' so as to make them effective," the President said.

Millions of Nepalese on May 14 voted in the country's first local-level polls in two decades as the Himalayan nation took a crucial step towards cementing democracy amid political turmoil.

Local-level elections could not be held after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives in Nepal.

Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the new Constitution is amended to accommodate their views, more representation in the Parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.

The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesis.

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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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make his first official visit to Britain tomorrow in an expression of solidarity following the Manchester terror attack, the Foreign Office in London said.

Relations between London and Washington have been strained by repeated leaks emanating from the United States of shared material from the British investigation into Monday's suicide bombing at a pop concert, which killed 22 people.

The visit to meet his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, will be "an expression of UK-US solidarity following the terrorist attack in Manchester", the Foreign Office said.

During the visit, they will write messages of condolence for the victims of the attack, and "hold talks on a range of foreign policy issues" before delivering short statements to media.

US President Donald Trump has described the intelligence leaks as "deeply troubling" and threatened to prosecute those responsible, after a warning by British Prime Minister Theresa May to keep shared data "secure".

The pair met at the summit of NATO allies in Brussels yesterday.

The British government has voiced its fury at the release in US media of details from the investigation.

Arriving in Brussels, May warned that intelligence sharing with the United States was "built on trust".

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A 50-year old town inspector (TI) of Madhya Pradesh Police allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a service revolver at his residence here, police said.

The incident occurred at around 11 AM. The TI was posted as in-charge of Gairaganj police station, located about 95 kms from state capital Bhopal.

"Gairatganj Police Station in-charge Sanjay Dubey shot himself by using the service revolver at his residence. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead," Raisen Superintendent of Police, Jagat Singh said.

Prima facie, it appears that he took the extreme step due to some domestic strife, he said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem and further investigations are underway.

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US President Donald Trump pressed nervous allies today to do more on terrorism after the Manchester bombing as he met EU and NATO leaders for the first time.

Trump faced protests on his arrival in Brussels but he is getting a red-carpet welcome from Western allies eager to persuade him that his earlier harsh criticisms of them were misplaced.

Despite Trump having backed Britain's Brexit vote last year, it was all smiles at the headquarters of the European Union as Trump met the bloc's top two officials, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

"I'll aim to convince POTUS that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent (a) post-West world order," European Council chief Tusk, a former Polish premier, tweeted before the meeting.

Trump's focus is however on terrorism, with the deadly attack on a pop concert in Manchester, England this week adding to the urgency of his calls for NATO to step up the fight against the jihadis.

"When you see something like what happened a few days ago you realise how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," said Trump Wednesday after meeting Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, whose own country suffered Islamic State suicide attacks in March 2016.

The NATO military alliance -- which Trump on the campaign trail dismissed as "obsolete" for focusing on Russia instead of terrorism -- is set to bow to his demands that it formally join the US-led coalition against IS.

"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of Trump's meeting with the alliance's other 27 leaders.

France, Germany and Italy dropped their objections so long as it was made clear that the alliance would have no combat role, with NATO only providing increased AWACS surveillance planes, support and training.

In return they are hoping for a public display of commitment from Trump to Article 5, the alliance's one-for-all collective defence pledge. Trump had suggested this could depend on when allies paid their dues.

Trump's entourage warned that the billionaire president would push allies heavily on meeting their commitment to spend 2.0 percent of GDP on defence, agreed in 2014.

"I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters travelling with Trump.

But Trump is set to face pressure from British Prime Minister Theresa May over leaks to the US media of details of the probe into the Manchester attack.

British police said the leaks have "undermined" the investigation.

Brussels could be the toughest leg yet of what has so far been a largely trouble-free first foreign trip for Trump, who came direct from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, and previously visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

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US President Donald Trump today met his newly-elected French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels.

Trump's wife Melania Trump was with the president as they welcomed Macron to the US embassy in Brussels ahead of the NATO summit today, an AFP journalist said.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was confronted by key allies France and Germany with diplomatic complaints despite him traveling to Brussels to celebrate the unity of the NATO alliance.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both raised the issue of nationals from their countries currently held in custody in Turkey. It was the latest example of steadily decreasing relations between Erdogan and several of his European allies in the wake of last year's coup attempt.

French photojournalist Mathias Depardon was taken into custody in Turkey early this month and started a hunger strike to protest his detention, and Macron confronted Erdogan with his plight.

A senior French official, who could not be publicly named in line with standard practice, said Erdogan indicated he would quickly look into the situation.

The photographer was on assignment for National Geographic magazine when he was detained in the mainly Kurdish province of Batman on May 8.

And Merkel met with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit to talk about the "current strains in the relations" between the two countries, which center on Nazi insults Erdogan has targeted at Germany and limits set on German lawmakers on visiting troops in Turkey.

Merkel also especially pushed for the release of German- Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, who was arrested over 100 days ago and has been imprisoned in Turkey without a trial.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in the statement that "in addition, the chancellor again demanded that imprisoned German citizens receive fair treatment."



Merkel also insisted it was indispensable that German lawmakers can visit the German soldiers on the Turkish air base in Incirlik.

"For us it is indispensable, because we have a parliament's army, that our soldiers can be visited by members of the German Parliament. Otherwise, we need to leave Incirlik," she said.

Erdogan also met with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, even though it was stressed that the encounter in no way meant that relations had returned to "business as usual."



Even though the EU and Turkey have an agreement that has stemmed the flow of people fleeing war and poverty coming into the European heartland, relations have worsened following the suppression and mass arrests in the wake of last year's failed coup attempt in Turkey.

Erdogan has insulted EU nations like Germany and the Netherlands by comparing them with Nazis and has hinted that he is seeking to bring back the death penalty, which would doom Turkey's EU membership aspirations.

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Two people have been arrested in connection with the attack on 30 dogs at a private shelter in Punjab's Mohali in which one canine was killed and several others were injured, animal rights body PETA today said.

The Punjab Police have arrested the duo for allegedly attacking the dogs with sticks and acid on Tuesday, while their third associate is still at large, it said.

"The attack resulted in death of one dog, 19 missing, probably killed, and 11 with grievous injuries.

"Following the complaint by PETA, Punjab police arrested two of the three attackers and filed an FIR. The third attacker is on the run and police expect to nab him soon," the animal rights body said in a statement.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India had shot off a letter to Punjab Director of General of Police (DGP) demanding immediate action against the attackers.

PETA had come to know about the incident through reports besides calls and emails from various concerned citizens.

In the letter, PETA India pointed out that causing animals to suffer in this manner is a punishable offence under law and attracts imprisonment for a term of five to seven years, and the guilty is also liable for fine.

It had urged the DGP to take steps to help ensure that the strongest police action is taken by registering an FIR against the attackers of the dogs under the IPC.

PETA had also asked the Punjab police to ensure that the attackers undergo psychiatric counselling and evaluation.

"PETA commends and thanks Punjab police for devoting the serious attention to this case that it deserves. The attackers may now be prevented from harming more animals and humans thanks to the police.

"PETA encourage everyone to stop and speak up for animals who are subjected to pain or suffering, because if you don't, maybe no one else will," said Meet Ashar, PETA India's Emergency Response Coordinator.

Currently, the penalty for cruelty to animals under the PCA Act, 1960, is between Rs 10 and 50 for the first offence, which may go up to a mere Rs 100 or up to three months in prison for a subsequent offence.

Lately, numerous extreme cruelty to animals cases have come to light -- including one from Bangalore where a woman killed eight puppies, Chennai where medical students threw a puppy from a roof, and Vellore where medical students killed a monkey -- proving the need for stronger penalties.

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A number of anti-Muslim incidents have been reported in the UK after the Manchester bombing with a Muslim woman spat on while a teenaged Muslim girl taunted by a passer-by who said, "when are you going to stop bombing people".

A 14-year-old pupil at Manchester Islamic High School for girls was taunted while on her way to school by a passer- by.

Mona Mohamed, head teacher at the school, told Radio 4's Today programme that the teenager had been "upset and hurt" by the comment, "when are you going to stop bombing people", but had not responded.

Mohamed was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that she advised her pupils to keep quiet if they are subjected to Islamophobic abuse. "What's the point of reacting?" she said. "That's not the way we're going to tackle terrorism."



A few hours after the Manchester concert attack an unidentified figure was caught on CCTV attempting to set fire to the door of a mosque in Oldham.

On Tuesday, a Muslim woman was spat on by a stranger on Manchester's Oxford Road, the Tab reported.

The stranger approached the student and spat on her. She told the daily that she was "upset and shook up".

The student, who asked to remain anonymous, said she took a taxi straight home.

"These kind of attacks aim to disrupt and divide our society. An incident that attempts to divide us will only make us stronger," the University of Manchester said in a statement.

"We have faith in the strength and resilience of the people of Manchester, and implore students and the wider community to come together at this difficult time," it said.

"With over 200,000 pounds raised and the hundreds that have queued at the blood banks show that no matter what -- #WeStandTogether," it added.

The racially-motivated incidents occurred in the wake of Monday's suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena claimed by the Islamic State, in which 22 people were killed and dozens more injured shortly after the end of a pop concert by Ariana Grande.

The bombing was carried out by 22-year-old Salman Abedi, a British Muslim man of Libyan heritage.

"To us, Islam is peaceful. If someone claimed to be Muslim and carried out an act of that kind, they're not part of us...We're not going to stand here and apologise for them," Mohamed said.

Many Muslim groups across the UK have condemned the bombing.
Two more men were arrested today by the UK police after searches in Manchester in connection with a deadly suicide bombing at a pop concert this week, taking the total number of men in custody to eight.

All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester where the suicide bombing took place on Monday.

"We have been carrying out searches at an address in the Withington area and a man has been arrested. These searches are connected to Monday's attack on Manchester Arena. Another man has been arrested in the Manchester area in connection with this investigation, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight," Greater Manchester Police said.

A woman, whose identity was not known, arrested last night in connection with the deadliest attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings, was released a few hours later.

The arrests came after detectives carried out a controlled explosion as they searched a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Thursday.

They continue to investigate the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, and his suspected links to a wider extremist "network".

His father, Ramadan Abedi, and brother, Hashim, have also been arrested in Libya. Another brother, 23-year-old Ismail, was arrested on Tuesday in Manchester.

The anti-terror force that took Hashim into custody in Libya said the teenager had confessed that both he and his brother, Salman, were members of the Islamic State group and that he "knew all the details" of the Manchester attack plot.

A spokesperson for the Libyan authorities told BBC: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack."



Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafii's security authorities issued an arrest warrant. He spent 25 years in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi was ousted and killed in the civil war.

Abedi is now a manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.

Earlier, Sky News had claimed that they have found evidence linking Salman Abedi to an Islamic State (ISIS) cell operating in Manchester.

The channel said its investigation reveals how Salman grew up on the same housing estates in south Manchester as a group of young men who radicalised each other - with some fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Information in so-called "IS Files" - a huge cache of documents obtained by 'Sky News' - shows how an ISIS fighter called Raphael Hostey, from Moss Side in the south of Manchester, sponsored hundreds of terror recruits.

Salman and Hostey hung around on the same estates and worshipped in the same Didsbury mosque in Manchester, before they reportedly became disaffected with life in the West.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to take up the issue of evidence leaks over the Manchester bombing in the US media with President Donald Trump when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels later on Thursday.

The leaks have opened a diplomatic row as UK officials are said to be "furious" that their investigation was compromised when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the 'New York Times'.

Monday night's attack at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured 119. Sixty four injured still remain hospitalised.
It is unfair to link cow vigilante groups to BJP as the party does not back them, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today as he stoutly defended the government's development agenda.

In an interview to PTI, the former BJP president said the government was focused on 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Together with all, Development for all) and its policies have not discriminated against religious minorities.

"Any saffron clad person on television is immediately related to us (BJP) whereas the fact is that we don't have any relation with that person," he said. "We don't support such people."



Gadkari said violence in the name of protecting cows "should not have happened".

"This is not our agenda. Those who are doing this are not our people. Those who did it are wrong. We are not with them. Prime Minister had condemned (them)...We all have condemned (such violence). Why then are they being hoisted as our name," he said.

Stating that it was not fair to link such groups with the BJP, he alleged that the move was part of a Left campaign to malign the party and project it as anti-minority and anti- Dalit.

Certain sections of 'Gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) have reportedly stopped vehicles, beaten people, extorted money and in some cases stolen animals -- all in the name of protecting cows. This has inflamed tensions, risking undermining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to focus on economic advancement.

Some foreign commentators have linked the rise in cow- related violence, alcohol bans and 'anti-Romeo' police squads supposedly aimed at protecting a woman's honour as signs of rising political risk in Asia's third-largest economy.

"BJP, VHP, Sangh (parivar) and our government do not support such elements," Gadkari said, adding that the party was, however, against cow slaughter.

It a matter of belief, he said, adding that he himself uses 'gomutra ark' or cow urine for therapeutic purposes.

He said such incidents of violence had happened in the past as well during Samajwadi Party and Congress rules.

"Our government has not discriminated against any caste, creed or religion in the last three years," he said.

Gadkari further said that free LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana were not just given to Hindus but also to Muslims and so were the zero balance bank accounts under Jan Dhan yojana.

"Our fight is against poverty, hunger and disease. Poor is poor and cannot be discriminated against on caste, creed, religion and language.

"We have not lent our shoulders to anyone for use against minorities," he said.

Indians, he said, are genetically tolerant as was reflected in 4,000 year history when not a single mosque was demolished. "We do not discriminate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The family of an Indian woman who claimed she was forced by a Pakistani man to marry him at gunpoint today said it never thought she would be back home "this soon".

The woman, identified as Uzma Ahmad, reached India this morning, crossing the Wagah Border near Amritsar from Pakistan, after being allowed to return home by the Islamabad High Court.

She was accompanied by Indian Mission officials.

"We did not expect that she would back this soon," Uzma's brother Wasim Ahmad, happy at the quick turn of events, told reporters here.

He added that the family had to do little for her return.

"We did not have to do any running around. We got a call from (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj that Uzma had contacted the Indian Mission in Islamabad and her return to the country was being facilitated," Ahmad said, expressing the family's gratitude to the Indian government.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s and belongs to New Delhi, is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir Ali in Malaysia.

She told the Islamabad High Court that Ali forced her into marrying him in Pakistan on May 3, when she was visiting that country.

She petitioned the court on May 12, requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassaemia -- a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

The court ordered Ali to return her immigration papers which she said had been taken away from her. Ali submitted the documents, enabling her to leave Pakistan.

Ahmad said it was not clear what had happened to Uzma during her Pakistan visit.

"We don't know what exactly happened with her there. We will get to know the truth from her when she is back here. So far we have only been hearing from the media," he said.

Minister Swaraj welcomed Uzma back home, calling her "India's daughter".

"I am sorry for all that you have gone through," she tweeted.

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today informed the state assembly that he would take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of release of priest Tom Uzhunnalil, abducted by IS terrorists in war-torn Yemen last year.

Replying to a calling attention motion in the House, he said the government was viewing the matter with utmost seriousness and would inform the state's concern over the issue to the prime minister in the next meeting with him.

Father Uzhunnalil hails from Ramapuram in Kottayam district of the state.

"As per reports, the plight of Fr Tom, who was abducted by IS terrorists on March 4, 2016, is serious. We have already sent letters and memorandum to the Centre seeking intervention for his release," Vijayan said.

"I will directly request Prime Minister to speed up efforts for his rescue during our next meeting in New Delhi," he said.

Though it had been confirmed that the priest is in the captivity of terrorists, there is no information about where he is being kept, Vijayan said.

The state has limitations in directly intervening in an issue in strife-torn Yemen, he said.

Moving the motion, Kerala Congress (M) chief K M Mani alleged that the centre was not showing any interest to speed up efforts for the priest's release.

If necessary, the centre should seek the help of the United Nations for his rescue from Yemen, he said.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala also wanted the state to take up the matter with the centre seriously.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It has put plans to build a biotech plant in South Africa, its third-largest market, on hold, and will soon start looking for partners for its existing biosimilars programme, CEO Umang Vohra said at a press conference.

"We may play a smaller portion of the overall development and let a partner take on a larger portion," he said. "We believe that the profile of the biosimilars market today has become fairly competitive."

He did not say by how much the company would trim investment in biosimilars. It had planned to invest 1.3 billion rupees ($20.14 million) in the South African plant.

The move signals a shift in Cipla's strategy from just three years ago, when Chairman and founder Yusuf Hamied said the company aimed to replicate its success at launching cut-price AIDS drugs in Africa in 2001 with cheap biosimilars.

Copies of biotechnology drugs, however, are harder to make, command much higher research and development investments, and have a much tougher regulatory process. They account for a growing share of new drugs, and the future sales of copycat products are set to switch to these from simple small-molecule pills like aspirin.

Indian drugmakers have been relatively slow compared with European, American and South Korean companies in the U.S. biosimilars market, the most lucrative for such drugs.

Some Indian firms such as Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and Biocon Ltd have been working on biosimilars for U.S. and Europe, but with larger Western partners.

Cipla has been on its own so far, and said on Thursday that the programme was "squeezing" its investments in respiratory and other niche, so-called specialty programmes.

"We are not moving away from biosimilars. However, we are not in the aim to make them at $1 a day," Vohra said.

Cipla's focus on niche products comes as it tries to improve its footprint in the United States at an increasingly challenging time.

Drugmakers are spending more than ever on factory upkeep after a string of U.S. bans on Indian sites due to poor quality control standards, and a consolidation between drug distributors has caused price erosion.

Vohra said he expected pricing pressure to continue, but not impact the company much yet as its U.S. business is small relative to peers. It expects to start filing for U.S. approval of inhalers in a year, he added.

In its largest market, India, Cipla has been among the hardest hit in the past year from government-imposed price caps, and expects further disruptions from a nationwide tax reform plan in the coming months, Vohra said.

Citing increasing volatility across markets, the company declined to give a financial forecast.

It reported a fourth-quarter loss of 617.9 million rupees ($9.56 million), way below analysts' expectations of a profit of 3.45 billion rupees, due to one-off charges and a provision related to its biotech programme.

($1 = 64.6125 Indian rupees)

($1 = 64.5500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Edmund Blair and Susan Thomas)

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By Sweta Singh and Joseph White

BENGALURU/DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Thursday reshuffled senior management and brought back a former executive from Uber Technologies Inc, signaling its new chief executive officer will rely on tested company veterans to turn Ford around rather than outside talent.

James Hackett, named CEO on Monday, has said he wants to streamline Ford's hierarchy and speed up decision-making, as the No. 2 U.S. automaker faces threats from Silicon Valley's self-driving technology and resurgent rival General Motors Co in its traditional markets.

Ford said it hired Sherif Marakby as its new vice president in charge of its autonomous and electric vehicle efforts. Marakby had been hired away from ride-hailing company Uber, where he was vice president of global vehicle programs. Prior to joining Uber last year, Marakby was at Ford for more than 25 years and worked on hybrid and electric vehicles.

The automaker said it will also combine its purchasing and product development operations under Hau Thai-Tang, previously head of global purchasing. Thai-Tang, 50, will have the task of simultaneously accelerating vehicle development and reining in costs as rival GM unleashes a volley of models aimed at the heart of Ford's product lineup.

Raj Nair, currently Ford's executive vice president of product development and chief technical officer, will take over as president, North America, effective June 1, the company said. He will be responsible for operations that generate about 90 percent of Ford's global profits.

In other moves, Ford named Steven Armstrong as head of Europe, Middle East and Africa and Peter Fleet as chief of Asia Pacific and China.

Armstrong is currently chief operating officer for Ford of Europe, while Fleet is in charge of sales and marketing for the Asia-Pacific region.

Last week, the company announced plans to cut 1,400 white-collar positions and is expected to make significant cost cuts in the coming months.

Hackett, who replaced Mark Fields, is the latest in a line of non-family CEOs given a mandate to change the management culture at one of the auto industry's oldest institutions.

Ford shares fell 1.7 percent to $10.77. The stock is down about 36 percent since Fields took over three years ago at the peak of the U.S. auto industry's recovery from the crisis of the last decade.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bill Rigby)

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Infosys chief executive Vishal Sikka's high salary, which had prompted the founder members to voice concerns, has dropped over 67 per cent in 2016-17 on lower bonus payout.

Also read: Infosys to ramp up local hiring in US amid visa concerns



According to the annual report of Infosys, the cash component of Sikka's salary was Rs 16.01 crore, down from Rs 48.73 crore in 2015-16. His total compensation, including bonus and grant of stocks, fell 7 per cent to Rs 45.11 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 48.41 crore in the previous fiscal. Sikka received a base salary of $1 million in FY17, up from $900,000 in previous year.

His bonus and incentives dropped to $0.82 million ($4.36 million in FY16) as against the target of $3 million.

He also received restricted stock units worth $2 million, same as the previous year, and performance based stock incentives of $2.88 million (nil last year). The remuneration of Sikka for last fiscal remains 283.07 times higher than the median remuneration of employees (MRE) of Infosys.



Also read: Journey ahead 'challenging', worth fighting for, says Vishal Sikka



The MRE of Infosys for FY17 stood at Rs 5,65,585. According to the annual report, while the total compensation of Sikka has fallen other senior executives witnessed a rise.

Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao's total salary increased to Rs 11.80 crore in FY17 from Rs 8.14 crore in the previous year. Likewise, compensation of deputy chief operating officer, Ravi Kumar S, went up to Rs 14.87 crore from Rs 8.27 crore. Last month, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, who had previously questioned the principles on which the Board was paying a high salary to Sikka, had expressed anger over the steep hike in compensation to COO Rao.

Also, presidents Mohit Joshi, Sandeep Dadlani and Rajesh Murthy received total compensation of over Rs 14 crore. Joshi got Rs 14.62 crore in 2016-17, up from Rs 9.02 crore in the previous year, Dadlani got Rs 14.97 crore as against Rs 8.4 crore in the previous year and Murthy got Rs 14.25 crore as compared to Rs 8.55 crore. Hike was mainly because of increased performance-based stock incentives.

In the letter to shareholders, Sikka said the best and most talented employees want to be measured on performance -not role maturity or tenure. So in fiscal 2017, stock incentives plan for top performers was introduced.

"It has been my personal endeavour since joining Infosys to enable all employees to share in the successes of the company, and in fiscal 2017, we made the first step of this a reality. In addition, we restructured the compensation of senior leaders to be more performance-based, with a significant portion of their compensation now coming through stock incentives, creating a more direct alignment with the interest shareholders," he wrote.

Non-executive chairman R Seshasayee got Rs 1.95 crore in remuneration in 2016-17 as compared to Rs 1.84 crore in the previous year. Other independent directors too got a remuneration of over Rs 1 crore.


In less than 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will complete three years in power. Three years ago when Narendra Modi took over he inherited a baggage of issues that were contentious in nature but needed to be resolved.



But given the strong political differences among all opposition parties at that time one would not have imagined that the Prime Minister would succeed in executing the tasks.



However, here we are after three years and let's see how the Prime Minister succeeded in striking some of the deals that were waiting to see the light of the day for decades.



Goods and Services Tax: Come July, India will have an uniform tax structure - Goods and Services Tax. The idea to do away with multiple levies was introduced by former Finance Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh in 1986. Singh, who was the Finance Minister in Rajiv Gandhi government, wanted to replace the multiple tax system with a Modified Value Added Tax or MODVAT.

The new scheme was to be implemented on March 1, 1986. However, government after government formed several committees to study the feasibility and implementation but it took more than three decades for the governments to turn Vishwanath Pratap's a single taxation idea into a reality. When Prime Minister Modi took over in 2014, the possibility of GST roll out was very slim as there were many provisions on which political parties had serious reservations.

However, the Prime Minister personally met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to break the deadlock over the GST. PM Modi also reached out other political parties and succeeded in taking all of them on board for the historic tax reform.



One-Rank-One-Pension: The One-Rank-One-Pension was a longstanding demand of the ex-servicemen from Indian armed forces. It became a contentious issue in 1973 when the Indira Gandhi government drastically reduced armed forces pensions. She did it without consulting the Armed Forces headquarters or veteran representatives.

The army veterans protested against the move and said there should be same pension for same rank, irrespective of the date of retirement. The latest round of protest over OROP started in 2008 when Manmohan Singh led UPA government created hundreds of new posts of Secretaries, Special Secretaries, Director General of Police at the apex grade pay level to ensure that all police officers retire at the highest pension scale. This decision fuelled the perception among veterans of the government's neglect. The Congress-led UPA-I promised to act on the OROP but nothing happened.

During the general election in 2014, the BJP government hit out at the Congress for its failure in meeting the demand. Soon after taking over, Prime Minister Modi decided to address the issue and announced from the Red Fort that he would make it a reality. Last year in 2016, the government implementated the OROP. However, the army veterans are still not satisfied with some of the provisions made in new pension policy.



India-Bangladesh land boundary agreement: Earlier in 2015, Prime Minister Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Hheikh Hasina signed an agreement to simplify 4,000-km border and settling the identities of 52,000 people living in enclaves over four decades. The land accord was originally agreed in 1974 by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh.

However, progress on accord stopped for a long time as India failed to ratify the agreement and the issue of the un-demarcated land boundary of approximately 6.1 kilometres remained unresolved. Four decades later on 6 June 2015, Prime Minister Modi ratified the agreement during his visit to the Bangladesh.


Sarvvijayee, Partner with one of the big four strategic consulting firm has over two decades of rich experience in consulting with metal and infrastructure industries. He has worked on varied domains including industry consolidation, assessing the impact of economic cycles, suggesting holistic go-to-market strategies to working with major industrial firms in improving their key performance indicators (KPIs).

Off late, one of the largest steel player in India has approached him with a tender enquiry. The enquiry has been initiated by the steelmaker, post the announcement by Indian Railways citing the intention to end its exclusive contract of rails purchase with SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) and opening the doors to invite private players for meeting domestic rail requirements.

The steel player wanted to engage Sarvvijayee in assessing the potential of the opportunity and also to suggest ways to align the same with the product portfolio, financial standing and potential profitability of the firm. Similar is the case with other Indian steel players who are eyeing this opportunity and are re-assessing their strengths and weaknesses to leverage the same.

Sarvvijayee and other strategy consultants who have been approached for this are comprehending the complexity of this enquiry given the huge opportunity underneath and the competitive intensity to convert the same by the steel players. They are pondering over the multi-dimensionality of the issue, analyzing and re-analyzing the sentiments for Indian economy and the steel companies before suggesting anything to the aspiring steel players.

What are the growth plans of Indian Railways? What shall be the quantum of the resource and investment requirements for the steel players to cater to this opportunity? Whether companies should respond by promising installation of new capacity to take on SAIL's monopoly all alone or should they partner with some experienced player to expand their product range? Will they be able to install dedicated steel plants for Indian Railways?

Government to end monopoly of state-owned enterprise over rail supplies

With the increase of 25 per cent in train accidents due to track defects in past two years (2014-2016), the government had to introduce a $15 billion safety fund. Now, the state rail operator (under the aegis of Ministry of Railways) has undertaken a mammoth task of modernizing the Indian rail network (the fourth largest globally) over a five year period at an estimated cost of $130 billion. Indian Railways have audacious plans to revamp 3,500 kilometre long tracks by the end of 2018. Railways need to cough up Rs 10,513 crore for this project. However, this drive is currently facing the heat due to ageing tracks and saturated capacities.

The SAIL's Experience



SAIL, a public sector steel producer has enjoyed the monopoly in supplying all the rail requirements for rail tracks for past 30 years. This was the result of an exclusive supply contract entered by Ministry of Railways with SAIL in 2003. However, in 2016 for the eighth time in past ten years, SAIL once again has failed to meet the demand for rails by Indian Railways to the tune of 250,000 tonnes, which is highest in terms of volume since the inception of the contract in 2003.

Additionally, the sudden and massive jump (45 per cent) in demand for steel (for rails) by Indian Railways since 2015, aggravated by the delay on part of SAIL to revamp its production has forced Ministry of Indian Railways to look for other private steelmakers for supplying enough rails. As per the report by Business Standard, Ministry of Indian Railways may soon come up with a global tender in order to procure 250,000 tonnes of rail tracks from private players across the world. This may imply opening up plethora of opportunities amounting to $700 million per annum for the private players.

This policy intervention might promote steel demand in the country and benefit the private steel players who are ailing due to cheap imports of long and flat products from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia (the cheap imports have forced domestic steel industry to cut their prices, which has further squeezed their margins).

Present Scenario of Rails in India

The rails are considered to be the most important component of railway system. The standard length of rail in India is 13 m, although 26 m-long rails are also used at some locations. The rails are welded by aluminothermic welding process and the normal rails are made of steel containing 0.7 per cent carbon (C) and 1 per cent manganese (Mn) and are called 'C-Mn' rail steel. From a strength perspective (ultimate tensile strength of 880 Mega Pascal (MPa) or 90 kg/mm2), the 'C-Mn' rail is popularly known as '90 UTS' rail or 'Grade 880' rail.

Safety concerns and economy of operations has forced railway operators world over to switch to long rails with limited weld joints. Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) is currently producing 65 meter single piece rail, which are welded to 130 or 260 m as per the order with the modern machine supplied by Elektriska Svetsnings-Aktiebolaget (ESAB), Sweden. Another type of rails that have gained prominence lately are 'head hardened rails'. Head hardened rails are typically used in metro rail projects and for high speed freight corridors. They are manufactured through a special heat treatment process which requires precise temperature control to achieve nearly 50 per cent higher hardness as compared to a normal rail. The landed price of imported head hardened rails hovered around Rs 75,000 per ton in September 2016, while imported normal rails costed Rs 50-55,000 per ton during the same period.

Recently, SAIL has commissioned a new Universal Rolling Mill (URM) at the cost of Rs 1,200 crore. This new URM shall be able to produce world's longest single piece rail of 135 meter as rolled length and 130 meters as finished length. This new URM will be world's largest in terms of its rated capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

For laying a kilometre of rail line, railways use 260 tonnes of steel. Government has set the target of laying 7 kilometres of new rail tracks everyday (or 2800 kilometres for fiscal 2016-17) and has envisaged target of19 kilometres per day in 2018-19 . The demand for rails by Indian Railways is expected to be around 1.35 million tonnes this year, whereas SAIL can supply 1.1 million tonnes only. This clearly highlights the gap which needs to be bridged.



The domestic steel industry has been in stress from past three years (2014-2016) due to the global recession witnessed by the industry, worsened by the onslaught on margins of domestic steel players due to dumping of the steel products by countries like China, Japan & Russia.

However, the industry has shown some signs of recovery after the policy interventions and anti-dumping measures by the government agencies. Industry experts are of the opinion that government's effort in increasing infrastructure spending is going to give a major boost to steel demand in the country through 2020-21.

The biggest problem for the steel players is their gigantic contribution to the non-performing assets (NPAs) of some of the major banks of the country. Most of the major and small private steel players, except Tata Steel & JSW (Jindal South West) are today under the debt restructuring plan of the banks. The industry is bound to witness a significant consolidation in the market over the next two or three years, marked by paradigm shifts in the strategies and management of the major steel players.

Company Profiles of Major Steel Players:

1. JSW: O.P. Jindal group's entity JSW Steel Limited (JSW) is engaged in the manufacturing of iron and steel products . The company currently manufactures hot rolled steel strips sheets/plates, MS cold rolled coils/sheets, MS galvanized plain/corrugated/colour coated coils/sheet, steel billet, bars and rods. The company is not engaged in manufacturing of rails or related products as of now. As on date, JSW's steel plants are located in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Their combined installed capacity is 18 mtpa.

2. Tata Steel: Tata Steel Limited (TSL) has an annual crude steel capacity of ~29.0 mt at present, which may decrease to ~18.9 mtpa post the proposed exit from the UK long and flat steel businesses. The domestic crude steel capacity of the company stands at 16.0 mt of crude steel. The company is also running operations in Thailand and Singapore. TSL has production units at Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) &Kalingnagar (Odisha).The product range of company comprises of both long and flat products and is currently not having any facility to manufacture rails in India .

3. SAIL: SAIL has five integrated steel plants (with an installed capacity of 12.8 mtpa of saleable steel and is currently undergoing expansion) and three special steel plants for manufacturing alloy steels and stainless steel. The Bokaro (Jharkhand) and Rourkela (Odisha) units are engaged in manufacturing of flat products; the Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and Durgapur (West Bengal) units manufacture long products and rails; and the IISCO steel plant at Burnpur (West Bengal)manufactures structural products.

The other three plants are special steel plants viz., Alloy steel plant (ASP) at Durgapur in West Bengal with an installed capacity of 184,000 tonnes per annum (tpa); the Stainless steel plant (SSP) at Salem in Tamil Nadu with an installed capacity of 175,000 tpa; and Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL) at Bhadravati in Karnatakawith an installed capacity of 98,000 tpa . The Government of India (GoI) currently holds 75 per cent stake in the equity capital of the company and has plans to disinvest three special steel plants in the near future .

4. JSPL: Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) is one of the major steel companies in India that manufactures wide range of steel products such as sponge iron, mild steel, structural, rails, pellets & plates. It has two production units, one in Raigarh (Chattisgarh) and the other in Angul (Odisha). They both have a combined capacity close to 5 million tonnes. The company is also having a manufacturing unit in Oman.

Naveen Jindal-led JSPL has a total rail manufacturing capacity of 60,000 tonnes per month including 30,000 tonnes for head-hardened rails. JSPL is eyeing addition of Rs 3,500 crore in its turnover figures from rails division in next 2-3 years.

Currently apart from SAIL, it is JSPL only that has facilities to manufacture rails. JSPL has bagged a contract of supplying 150,000 tonne of rails to Iran, comprising 130,000 tonnes of normal rails and 20,000 tonnes of specialized head hardened rails .

JSPL: Experienced a failed attempt to put brakes on SAIL's monopoly Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. (JSPL) after starting operations of rail and universal mill strived hard to get supply contracts from Indian Railways for the same. However, JSPL's concerted efforts could not garner orders due to the exclusive service agreement that Indian Railways entered with SAIL in 2003. In order to bring down the entry barrier, JSPL approached Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2009 with the following demands :

a. To direct SAIL to end the exclusivity obligations with Indian Railways

b. To impose fines on SAIL in accordance with Section 27 of the Act for entering into an anti-competitive agreement

c. To introduce competitive bidding arrangement in the relevant market for the purchase of rails

d. To pay relevant costs to the information provider

e. To pass any order the Commission deems fit.

After several round of deliberations, CCI held the view that agreement between SAIL & Indian Railways was not anti-competitive due to following reasons:

a. Indian Railways action in selecting SAIL for the supply of rails was justified at that time, as there was no competition in the market. It provided security for supply of Research Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO)compliant rails to minimize the transaction cost and the cost of uncertainty, which is of immense importance for a national transport network like Indian Railways. SAIL is a more efficient supplier of rails than JSPL because of its welding capability deepened by the fact that it has been continuously upgrading its quality of rails to provide for longer rails capable of taking heavy loads, whereas JSPL's rails were still under field test. The report on the rail market exhibited that the supply of rails to non-Indian Railways entities amounts to 25 per cent of the total rails market and hence, SAIL cannot be said to be hindering competition or creating AAEC (Appreciable Adverse Effect on Competition) in India.

b. The MOU between SAIL and Indian Railways is rational on the basis of both price and quality and is not anti competitive. SAIL has continuously upgraded to meet the standards which are internationally comparable. Large scale operations of SAIL reflected that its profitability would not be affected even if the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was not signed. Therefore, no intention of anti-competitiveness can be inferred from the MOU.

Consequentially, the CCI held that neither SAIL nor Indian Railways had contravened any provisions of Competition Act. Although JSPL could not enter into contract with Indian Railway seven after approaching CCI, however, it has been supplying rail tracks to leading infrastructure companies such as Delhi Metro, Kochi Metro, L&T, NTPC, Tata Steel, JSW etc. JSW is keen to supply the new rail products for metro rails and bullet train and has bagged order from the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) & railway projects in Iran.

The current opportunity of opening the doors to private steel players by Indian Railways, has once again raised the hope of JSPL to supply the rails to Indian Railways. Further, due to modernization and other visionary projects initiated at JSPL, it may enter into contract with Indian Railways which may now be of comparatively higher volume than that of the past.

Road Ahead:

The domestic steel industry has been under pressure due to cheap imports in the past decade. Government has taken concerted efforts in past one year to protect the steel industry. Steel companies have recovered from the slump, but they are still looking for a push to promote steel consumption in country. Would the Government's initiatives to spur economic growth with key focus on infrastructure and affordable housing, coupled with opening up of Indian railways rail supplies help the steelmakers in accelerating their turnover at an unprecedented phase?


To address concerns of regarding reports of massive layoffs, Cognizant President Rajeev Mehta has written to employees of the company.

According to ET Now, Mehta in an email told the employees that Cognizant has not done any layoffs. "Each year, in line with industry best practices, we conduct performance reviews to reflect on the work of last year and ensure goals for the subsequent year are clear. We are being committed to being a meritocracy. We believe that's good for all associates around the world."

The IT company also denied speculations that such measures are being undertaken to allow more hiring in the US. "We continue to hire in local markets around the world. We have been ramping up our recruiting efforts in US for a number of years and will continue to do so while hiring in most other parts of the world including India," the letter said.

The US-headquartered IT firm had earlier offered its top executives - directors, associate VPs and senior VPs - a voluntary separation package, a part of its plan to shift operations to automation and digital technology.

The IT major did not disclose the number of people that have been offered this option but indicated that it represents a very small percentage of its workforce.

Cognizant President Rajeev Mehta had said the company expects to significantly ramp up its US-based workforce by hiring experienced professionals in the open market as well as make more use of university, veteran, and related programmes.

While the company is hiring more locals, it is also consciously reducing its dependence on H-1B visas. Cognizant expects its visa requirements to go down further going forward.

Trump administration had accused Cognizant, along with its Indian counterparts Infosys and TCS, of unfairly cornering the lion's share of America's H-1B work visas.

Cognizant employs over 2,62,000 people globally of which over 1,50,000 are in India.


About a year ago the cobra-style street lights that had been in place for decades on Logans 400 North near the University were replaced by more attractive, soothing street lights that transform the four-lane thoroughfare to look more like an old-town avenue.

According to Logan Mayor Craig Petersen, the city has received many compliments about the change. But on KVNUs Speak to the Mayor hour on <a href=http://610kvnu.com/assets/podcaster/324/2017_05_25_324_58039_2867.mp3 target=_blank>For the People on Wednesday</a>, he said another improvement project will probably go on the back burner for now.

Mayor Petersen said, one of the plans wed had would put some medians along 400 North for beautification, also to calm traffic. And we had that actually planned and put it out to bid this summer and we had a Community Development Block Grant funds and some other money.

The architects estimate was that the project would cost about $380,000, which is not a trivial sum but at least we had identified the money. We got the bids back, we got a single bid. And the single bid was $650,000.

The mayor said that seems to be characteristic of whats happening right now with construction as activity is way up and other communities have experienced something similar. So that project has been put on hold for now and the money that was allocated will instead go to a sidewalk project in another part of town.

Mayor Petersen also paid tribute to two long-time KVNU broadcasters about to be inducted into the Utah Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

I just wanted to commentIve known Al and Jennie for a long time in a lot of different ways. And I really applaud this, theyve been great contributors to the community. Jennie and I have been on her Cross Talk show many times; she covers the city council. And Al has been the voice of USU Sports.

That induction ceremony for Al Lewis and Jennie Christensen is Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Riverwoods Conference Center and a public reception will follow from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Judges at the Yaounde Military Court have adjourned the case pitting the State and some Anglophone leaders to June 7, 2017, same day the Higher Judicial Council Meets.

The Public Prosecutor did not accept nor reject the appeal by Defense Counsel for the leaders and others to be released. However the court showed signs it was ready to release Barrister Agbo Balla and Dr Fontem Neba and put them under judicial surveillance.

There are speculations that the leaders and others may be granted Amnesty on June 7 when members of the Higher Judicial Council meets. But Defense Counsel says is it preoccupied with the freedom of all detained and not only the leaders.

Barrister Claude ASSIRA expressed wish for the military court to consider this when the third hearing for Joinder of Proceedings to decide the fate of the detained.
| BY Kim Shaw |

In the lead-up to the AWARD Awards the CB/LIA Legendary Lunch was held today at Kingsleys on Woolloomooloo Wharf in Sydney.

The lunch  which was attended by Australias top creative directors and selected production company executive producers  was generously sponsored by New York-based Barbara Levy, president of the London International Awards, who is visiting Sydney to catch up with top creative directors and to attend the AWARD Awards.

Says Levy (left): LIA is both proud and honoured to be co-hosting the LIA/CB Legendary Lunch during AWARD week in Sydney. Over the years, LIA has had a front row seat in watching the Australian advertising community grow to become a Top 3 global powerhouse.

Co-hosting is our way of giving thanks to those who have supported us throughout the years. It is a privilege for LIA to be part of this event, a way of showing the respect and admiration we have for the creatives who have led the way. What better time and place to do this than during AWARD week when the Australian creative community celebrates its achievements within this great industry.

In 2017, LIA will continue its Creative LIAisons programme that runs concurrent with the Judging in October in Las Vegas. Creative LIAisons was launched in 2012 as a way of giving back to the industry, targeted to Young Creatives from around the globe. LIA coordinates 4 days of educational and enriching seminars, lunches and dinners filled with stimulating discussions centered on the experiences and ideas of the speakers in their respective fields.

The entire initiative, including travel, meals and hotel expenses, is fully funded by LIA.One young Aussie and one young Kiwi creative will be chosen later in the year to attend this educational and thought-inspiring event.
| BY Kim Shaw |

Case Study: Earlier this year Coastguard Northern Region and DDB New Zealand pioneered a new way to raise funds for the life-saving organisation. Instead of asking the donation-fatigued public for spare cash, they asked boaties for a donation much closer to their heart  their freshly caught fish.

Coastguard is the only emergency service that operates on the water, saving thousands of kiwis lives every year, but as a not-for-profit, non-government organisation they are heavily reliant on the generosity of the New Zealand public to maintain operations.

To help make sure the organisations fundraising stays relevant and continues to get in front of the right people  boaties and water users  DDB New Zealand worked with Coastguard Northern Region to trial an innovative way to raise moneywithout collecting money.

The Donate a Fish campaign took Coastguards volunteer teams to some of Aucklands busiest marinas with ice chests, asking boaties returning from their morning fish to donate a portion of their haul.

The donation activation happened on a single Saturday with teams operating over the peak hours that fishos returned to shore, interacting with hundreds of kiwis out enjoying the water who were willing spare some of their hard-earned catch.

By the time the Donate A Fish volunteers headed home, the coolers were packed full of donated fish including local favourites like Snapper, Tarakihi (and even the odd Kingy)  all of which they sold the very next day at the special Coastguard fishmonger stall located in Silo Parks Sunday produce market, with all the money raised going to directly to Coastguard.

Damon Stapleton, DDB Chief Creative Officer, says the campaign demonstrates how a fresh approach can counteract the well-documented effects of donor fatigue.

There are currently 30,000 charities operating in New Zealand, which is one for every 160 people  a higher ratio than the US, UK or Canada, says Damon. So, for charities which rely on donations from the public, like Coastguard, they need to do something that stands out while also going directly to the people that care about their cause  not just anybody walking by on their lunch break.

Georgie Smith, Coastguard Northern Region Marketing and Funding Manager, says the Donate a Fish fundraising initiative was a fresh and engaging new campaign that was a top match and something really relevant for the kiwi boatie, giving them a way to make a difference and help Coastguard.

We were thrilled with how generous boaties were on the day, says Georgie. Its a great new take on community fundraising, supplementing the tried-and-true with something fresh, new and with the potential to scale up each year.

Agency: DDB NZ Ltd

Damon Stapleton  Chief Creative Officer

Shane Bradnick  Executive Creative Director

Brett Colliver  Creative Director

Mike Felix  Creative Director

Amy-Rose Lynch  Creative

Elliott White  Creative

Kate Lines  Lead Business Partner

Arameh Bozorgi  Business Manager

Michael Doolan  Business Manager

Liz Knox  Digital Director

Harvey Hayes  Director of Photography

Julz Lane  Print Producer

Client: Coastguard Northern Region

Georgie Smith  Marketing & Funding Manager
| BY Ricki Green |

Newly positioned cultural branding agency Initiative has today named Sian Thomas as head of brand and content partnerships. She will be based in Melbourne and will work with Initiative clients on a national level.

Thomas is currently head of mobile and technology at Initiatives sister mobile solutions agency Ansible Melbourne. Before that she was creative solutions director at Ensemble, the activations and sponsorship agency and prior to that she was digital strategy and integration manager at Yahoo7/Seven West Media.

Says Shaun Briggs, managing director, Initiative: Sian will be very effective in this new role at Initiative Melbourne as we dive deeper into our cultural branding positioning. She has a strong track record in business success in her previous roles and is a highly creative thinker in the rapidly growing brand and content space.

At Ansible Melbourne Thomas was responsible for driving the growth of mobile media and marketing solutions, often by defining the role of mobile and technology for clients and their strategic partners across fully integrated communications plans. At Ensemble Thomas worked on the formation, scope and effectiveness of brand partnerships with a focus on digital channels to accelerate effectiveness.

Melissa Fein, CEO of Initiative Australia, said Thomas new role would both enhance the agencys client and team leadership, as well as help drive the agencys new positioning.

Says Fein: We have introduced new talents across all Initiative to help brands connect with people through cultural relevance. Sians skills will help us considerably to ensure this positioning is both attractive and effective in the market.
| BY Lynchy |

R/GA has opened an office in Tokyo, strengthening its APAC presence and further expanding the global network.

Japan is an epicenter of design and technology, and a very long-desired location for R/GA, said Founder, Chairman and CEO of R/GA, Bob Greenberg. I believe it is an ideal market to introduce our unique model for innovation, and an ideal place for R/GA to learn new methods and evolve even further.

EVP Managing Director APAC, Jim Moffatt, added that careful planning underpinned the launch. Since announcing plans for Japan-based operations last year, weve focused on determining how to best serve the market, and assembling the right leadership team to enable that offering. Weve brought together an exciting group of multi-disciplined home-grown and network talent, creating a balance of insight and experience needed to hit the ground running here.

At the helm of R/GA Tokyo is Managing Director, Masami Sammy Hazui (pictured above); a senior brand marketer with over 20 years experience leading digital transformation in Japan. Hazui joins from Rakuten Group, where he spent 6 years as Head of Mobile Strategy before launching their Next Generation Center of Excellence, developing group-wide IoT strategy, building AI, AR and VR capabilities and forging relationships with the local start-up ecosystem. Previously, Hazui also held marketing management roles with Dell and NCR.

Executive Creative Director, George Sugitomo, (pictured left) is a multi-award-winning former Dentsu Creative Director who led their virtual creative solution team in Japan and worked within the network at Isobar London and as ECD of Isobar Budapest.

Executive Strategy Director, Yosuke Suzuki, brings a deep understanding of global culture and insights from an international career spanning Japan, the USA, UK and Southeast Asia. He has held senior strategy positions with Dentsu, Naked Communications and DDB, leading local and regional planning for multinational automotive, beverage and FMCG clients.

Recruiting from within R/GAs global network has also helped build the dynamic, experienced and awarded team in Tokyo. Emmy-winning Executive Producer, Jon Hingston, joins from R/GA New York, as does Creative Technology Director, Kumi Tominaga. Group Technology Director, Anthony Baker, hails from R/GA London.
Abortion rights on the ballot in these 5 states. Here's what happened.
He said "possibility will be given to the consideration of including powered stretchers" in the five new vehicles scheduled to join the fleet in 2016-17. While these ambulances had already been ordered, Mr Quiggin said the internal fit out will happen after the trial has been reviewed.
"Just the asset value of the airport is amazing," Stensholt said, adding Snow bought the airport from the federal government in 1998 for $65 million in what turned out to be a canny deal.
It could be a while before ratepayers find out the real cost of the new public transport interchange at Dickson after the ACT government revealed the family they acquired the land from are yet to name a price for it.
"With eight weekly return services from Melbourne and three from Brisbane, Tigerair Australia will be providing close to 4000 seats weekly through Canberra Airport or more than 200,000 seats annually to the doorstep of the nation's capital city."
Mathieu-Pierre Macintosh, who was last seen by his father in September 2013, abducted by his mother who is believed to be in France or Belgium. He was last seen by his father when he was nine. An aged-progressed photograph shows what he would look like now at 13. Photo: Supplied
"It takes a number of years to bring up to speed new scientific people within our regulatory environment. It's not just understanding the science of what we do, but how that actually fits in with regulation of agricultural and veterinary chemicals as well," he said.
Todays backhaul networks may not be fit for purpose for 5G services and the internet of things (IoT). This warning comes from the worlds largest technical professional organisation.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) set out its concerns in a study, 5G Backhaul Challenges and Emerging Research Directions: A Survey.

This explored the practical challenges that need to be addressed as the telecoms industry aligns itself to take advantage of 5G  in particular, the potential backhaul bottleneck.

As ultra-dense and heavy traffic cells try to connect to the core network, with substantial requirements around capacity, latency, availability, energy and cost efficiency, the vision for innovative new services based on the IoT and beyond will be hard to realise unless backhaul networks are fit for purpose.

The IEEE report, published in 2016, concludes that no single solution can solve the overall 5G backhaul problem. It advocates an optimised backhaul

that is dynamic, adaptive and self-organising

which blends the best of existing transport network architecture with new technologies;

where radio access networks are fused with the backhaul  they are jointly designed, operated and optimised;

where IT techniques such as SDN are instrumental.

Spectrum in proportionHanna Maurer Sibley, head of network products for central Europe at Ericsson, agrees that there is little point worrying about 5G spectrum until the backhaul is ready. This includes meeting the need for radio base station synchronisation, to minimise interference once uplinks and downlinks are on the same spectrum.

Its easy to just talk about the radio front-end, and of course operators are traditionally organised by radio and transport, but to make 5G happen the two ends need to talk to each other, she says. Ericsson can help with that, she says, because it caters for both in its technologies and services.

If my salary depended on it, Id be focusing on synchronisation, latency and security, she says of where wholesale infrastructure providers should be focusing their efforts currently  for example to support the kinds of applications 5G will be used for  such as connected cars, smart cities and wider IoT deployments.

Beyond highly populated urban areas, likely use cases could mean targeting location-based investments in areas close to transport networks.

Germany is very strong on automotive, so is an obvious market for connected cars, so it makes sense to ensure infrastructure next to highways, Maurer Sibley says. Train networks could be another focal point, as well as major transport and logistics hubs such as busy shipping ports. Weve just helped Rotterdam harbour put in a private LTE network, she says.In developing regions, opportunities may be more linked to solving practical issues  connecting the unconnected and getting services out to hard-to-reach areas. Investment here is likely to be guided by government priorities and grants.

Satellite connections have traditionally provided the only real answer to getting connections to hard-to-reach regions, though hardly the cheapest or highest-performing. Issues beyond unsustainable costs include high latency and bottlenecks, notes Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Core Network Dynamics.

We need to take the strain off the satellite network, he says, pointing to virtualisation and mobile edge computing (MEC  now also known as multi-access edge computing) as a more viable alternative. This offers an IT service environment with cloud-computing capabilities at the edge of the network, enabling decentralised core networks which provide connectivity and computing to the edge, running applications and even the evolved packet core (EPC) close to devices.

By using the satellite network for off-net traffic only, this approach keeps local voice and data communications local, avoiding backhaul wherever possible and offers greater resilience and more reliable connectivity, Brinkschulte says.

Alternative deliveries by satellite

Another option is to combine broadband satellite services with small cells. This is a scenario supported by satellite services provider Hughes Network Systems, which is also a member of the Small Cell Forum. Targeting specific areas, rather than extending mobile networks indiscriminately, can help to make the cost versus returns add up  especially in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and Latin America.

Hughes supports this kind of model via its Jupiter satellite backhaul system, which provides dynamic bandwidth allocation matched to cell site needs. It has now enhanced the Jupiter system with 4G LTE acceleration, enabling mobile operators to deploy fast mobile services anywhere in the world, says the company.

In Bolivia, state-owned fixed and mobile operator Entel has already signed up to use Hughess platform at more than 500 deployed sites to extend cellular provision, including LTE access and internet access, to remote areas of the country.

The harder they save

The harder case for carriers to make is for capex investment in new 5G fibre networks. Ceragon Networks, a specialist in high-capacity microwave Ethernet and TDM wireless backhaul, recently announced that a tier-one mobile operator in India had already placed over $60 million in new orders so far this year, in a further wave of wireless backhaul deployments using its IP-20 platform.

The operator wants to connect 4G LTE sites and deliver subscriber-based HD multimedia services across India.

While fibre backhaul undoubtedly makes sense for some use cases, total cost of ownership is much higher than wireless backhaul technology in use today and, in terms of practicality, particularly where the IoT is concerned, it doesnt make monetary or logistical sense, says Ravi Palepu, global head of telco solutions at VirtusaPolaris, a global IT services company. Carriers must look to a combination of wireless backhaul options as future-proof and scalable alternatives.

Yes, investment will be needed to build the greater numbers of base stations that 5G will call for, he says, but its likely that most will run point-to-multipoint connections, allowing carriers to aggregate backhaul traffic from numerous base stations at a fraction of the cost of fibre.

He cites the potential of small cells, which will increasingly become an integral part of wireless networks, providing additional pockets of capacity as needed.

By appearing in non-traditional locations such as utility poles or street lamps, or on the sides of buildings, carriers can avoid many location and other charges too, Palepu says. With this added capacity, plus the savings made from avoiding costly fibre projects, wireless backhaul will remain the most cost-effective and pragmatic approach to managing 5Gs massive data demands.

Self-organising and self-sealing

Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS), a multipoint-to-multipoint wireless backhaul and transport systems provider, offers a self-organising microwave backhaul system  Metnet.

FiberTower in the US, which has just been acquired by AT&T, recently announced plans to use this to provide a wireless backhaul, transport and 5G infrastructure solution with line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight connectivity. The carrier owns wide-area authorisations in the 24GHz and 39GHz bands. The microwave backhaul system is FCC-certified for operation in the 24GHz spectrum band, where application opportunities include small cell and fixed wireless broadband backhaul, and fibre extension.

Its nodes connect autonomously to form self-organising, self-healing links that dynamically reconfigure to optimise performance and spectral efficiency as line-of-sight circumstances or traffic levels change. This happens while still minimising interference.

So what of the need for the front-haul and backhaul providers to come together to smooth the way for 5G? It begins with thinking differently.

The new way of thinking

Carriers are turning to new ways of investing to cut down costs, says Shany Elkarat, director of product and technology at Colt. First they are beginning to plan more around long-term investments when looking for IRUs [indefeasible rights of use] over 15 years to get fibre in the ground. Carriers are also moving to a shared backhaul approach such as a cloud radio access network and shared infrastructure, rather than sole investments. Moving assets and infrastructure to neutral data centres is a further option, aiding cost-effectiveness and flexibility, he says.

One option for backhaul optimisation, according to Jon Baldry, head of marketing for Infineras metro business unit, is packet-optical solutions. This can remove the need for some dedicated Layer 3 IP devices within the network, while also improving the transport performance of the network regarding latency and synchronisation support, which will be essential in 5G networks, he says.

Supporting increased bandwidth

These networks can help address the economic pressures on backhaul links and lay the foundations for software defined networks, and future moves to networks functions virtualisation. Operators dont need to wait for 5G to evaluate these approaches to mobile transport, he says.

Supporting the increased bandwidth of 5G will require wide-scale network evolution, says Lionel Chmilewsky, CEO of CBNL. He claims the companys point-to-multipoint technology enables carriers to deploy a licensed backhaul or fixed wireless network in half the time, and with half the TCO compared to more traditional point-to-point technology.

He says that adding this technology is already driving some of the largest and most modern backhaul networks in regions such as the Middle East and Africa, where CBNLs customers include MTN, Airtel, Vodacom and Mobily.

Wherever they are, carriers dont and shouldnt wait for 5G to deploy high-capacity services, he says. They should act now, or they run the risk of risk being left behind.
Earlier this month, the broadcast networks dumped their underperforming shows (Frequency, we hardly knew ye), making room for plenty of new series (many of which will also underperform). These new sitcoms, dramas, game shows and reality series were unveiled in what the networks call upfront season, an annual press/ad industry bonanza featuring splashy trailers, celebrity appearances and (no doubt) plenty of snacks. So what can we look forward to watching (or not) this fall/spring? Lets take a gander, starting with ABC and CBS.

ABCThe Alphabet Net has made a couple surprise announcements during upfronts about the networks future. In 2018, for example, we can look for a rebooted (and transplanted from FOX) version of American Idol featuring Katy Perry. Also, hot on the heels of NBCs reunited Will & Grace, comes news that ABC is bringing back the cast of Roseanne (including John Goodmans character, who died in Season 8) for an 8-episode arc sometime next year. As far as the fall/spring shows? Alex, Inc. is a workplace comedy about a podcast company with Zach Braff. The Bachelor Winter Games is a spinoff of the undeservedly popular dating show The Bachelor. Sci-fi thriller The Crossing relates the story of war refugees who show up in small-town America. The sci-fi twist: The war doesnt take place for another 250 years. Dancing With the Stars Junior is pretty self-explanatory. A disgraced magician solves crimes in Deception. Super-producer Shonda Rhimes offers For the People, described as Greys Anatomy with lawyers. The Good Doctor is about a brilliant but autistic young doctor. The Gospel of Kevin has Jason Ritter (Parenthood) as an ordinary guy who talks to God, Joan of Arcadia-style. Marvels Inhumans continues the Marvel Comics superhero tradition on TV. An aspiring young rapper becomes mayor of small town in The Mayor. Jenna Fischer (The Office) and Oliver Hudson (Rules of Engagement) are a divorced couple who get back together in Splitting Up Together. Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) stars in the 10-episode missing child thriller Ten Days in the Valley. Theres also an Untitled Greys Anatomy Spinoff, ensuring Shonda Rhimes continued dominance on ABC.

CBSThe Eyeball Network continued to hype Star Trek: Discoverybut you can only see that on CBSs subscription streaming on-demand service CBS All Access. So what will we be watching for free? 9JKL is a sitcom about a guy living in an apartment between his parents and his brother. By The Book is based on a book from Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs in which he spent a year trying to live according to the rules of the Bible. In Instinct Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) takes the lead in an adaptation of James Pattersons book about a former CIA agent helping the NYPD hunt a serial killer. Me, Myself and I is a uniquely structured sitcom about a man at three different points in his life (65-year-old John Larroquette, 40-year-old Bobby Moynihan and 14-year-old Jack Dylan Grazer). SEAL Team is a patriotic military drama about Navy SEALs starring David Boreanaz (Bones). S.W.A.T. reboots the mid-70s cop drama of the same name. Wisdom of the Crowd is a high-tech crime procedural (starring Jeremy Piven) in which computers (once again) magically solve crimes so that writers dont have to come up with realistic solutions to problems. Young Sheldon is a spinoff of Big Bang Theory concentrating on 9-year-old genius Sheldon Cooper.
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The Karnataka Examination authority (KEA) has suspended the announcement of results for Common Entrance Test (CET) 2017.

Nearly two lakh students will be affected by this decision. KEA has decided to postpone the announcement of results owing to delay in declaration of class 12 Central Board of Secondary Education and Indian School Certificate examinations.

CET rankings that were scheduled to be released on Saturday will now be announced only after CBSE and ISC examination results are once declared. About 1.8 lakh candidates have appeared for KCET, a qualifying exam in the state for admissions to engineering, agriculture, and AYUSH courses.

With NEET being introduced for medical and dental courses, CET will now qualify candidates for engineering and allied courses.

Officials of the Karnataka Examination authority claimed that every year, CET results were announced without waiting for CBSE and ICS results but with NEET things have changed.

As admissions to medical courses are based on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) it has been decided to wait for the CBSE and the ISC results. KEA claims that it will require less than a day to compute CET results once the Class 12 marks are announced.

This academic year, the CBSE and the ISC exams were postponed because of Legislative Assembly elections in five States.

With the Delhi High Court refusing to allow the CBSE to withdraw its moderation policy for the exams held this year, there has been a further delay in announcing the results.

CBSE Class 12 Board Exam Results Withheld: Know More!
A Rolls-Royce may be customized. A Rolls-Royce may be personalized. But modified? Tuned? Never!



Well the folks at Forgiato apparently didnt get that particular memo as theyre currently showcasing a Ghost saloon thats been dropped and fitted with an oversized set of alloys.

Situated in Japan (where else?), this white and silver luxury sedan is wearing 24-inch Forgiato Capolavaro-ECL wheels with white spokes and chrome rims to compliment the bodywork. The result is a very different take on the Rolls than even the most heavily personalized by the factorys own Bespoke division in Goodwood.

As if that werent enough, weve also included another Rolls-Royce from the same series  this time a Dawn convertible  thats been completely murdered out by LA tuner RDB, with a rather different set of Forgiato Undice wheels (in the same 24-inch diameter) done up all in black to match.

What do you think, baller or blasphemy? Check em out in the images below and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Photo Gallery
Hyundais South Korean arm has released a bunch of teaser videos for their all-new Kona.



Some of them are food-themed and others bring a touch of the Hawaii islands, as the automaker has chosen one of the US states districts to name the subcompact SUV, and a final film previews its profile.

Although its final design is not visible in these clips, we already know that the Kona will get a set of slim LEDs, positioned right on top of the headlamps, plastic body cladding all around, courtesy of a few leaked images taken during a commercial shoot, earlier this month.

The brands challenger to the likes of the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008, and others in the B-segment SUVs, is underpinned by the same platform as the i20. Its also expected to use some nuts and bolts from the supermini and the larger i30, and to borrow some of the latters engines.

Hyundai will lift the veils off the Kona in the coming weeks, but the vehicles official premiere will take place at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, this fall.

VIDEOS
An East Kelowna woman had a rude, and violent, awakening in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Susanna Drewes was lying in her bed in the McCulloch Heights mobile home park on McClain Road, while her husband Roger was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, when they heard a loud crash and their home shook violently.

At first I thought we were having an earthquake or something, Roger said.

The crash turned out to have come from a large tree snapping in the wind and crashing onto their home and three vehicles. It landed mere feet from where Susanna was lying.

Three feet over and it would have been curtains for me, Susanna said. I'm glad to be alive.

The tree also took down a nearby power line, prompting a response from the fire department and eventually FortisBC.

I was sitting here for several hours waiting for Fortis to come to redo the wire, because Fortis was really busy, Roger said.

The Drewes have insurance on their home, but they say it might not get figured out for a few days.

I hope it doesn't rain, Roger said.
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Photo: Jackie Sieg Reagan Sieg wowed the crowd at Polson Park on Canada Day last year.

Plans have expanded for the Canada Day experience in Polson Park.

Last year's event was a huge success. We expect it to be even bigger this year, said David Frost, president of the North Okanagan Canada Day Society.

Frost said approximately 10,000 people attended the events in the park throughout the day last year.

Many of the same events will be back, he said, including an extreme motocross display by Reagan Sieg that wowed the crowd in 2016.

Frost told city council the committee was also hoping to hold the first ever skateboard competition, to appeal to young people, as well as horsedrawn carriage rides and possibly short ATV rides in part of the park.

While a fireworks display sponsored by Craftsman Collision will be held, organizers are keeping quiet about where that will happen, hoping people will enter a contest to guess the location.
Photo: The Canadian Press Republican candidate for Montana's only U.S. House seat, Greg Gianforte, sits in a vehicle near a Discovery Drive building Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in Bozeman, Mont. A reporter said Gianforte "body-slammed" him Wednesday, the day before the special election. (Freddy Monares/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP)

A reporter said the Republican candidate for Montana's sole congressional seat body-slammed him Wednesday, the day before the polls close in the nationally watched special election.

Greg Gianforte was in a private office giving an interview when Guardian newspaper reporter Ben Jacobs came in without permission, campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon said.

In an audio recording posted by the Guardian, the reporter asks the congressional candidate about the GOP's health care bill, which was just evaluated hours earlier by the Congressional Budget Office.

"We'll talk to you about that later," Gianforte says on the recording, referring Jacobs to a spokesman.

When Jacobs says that there won't be time, Gianforte says "Just--" and there is a crashing sound. Gianforte yells, "The last guy who came here did the same thing," and a shaken-sounded Jacobs tells the candidate he just body-slammed him.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says.

The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office said it's investigating allegations of an assault involving the wealthy Bozeman businessman. At a news conference, Sheriff Brian Gootkin said authorities were interviewing witnesses and Jacobs and plan to talk with Gianforte but that he has right to decline. He says the office hasn't seen any video of the incident.

It is a last-minute curveball in Thursday's race, which was partly seen as a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency. The majority of voters were expected to have already cast ballots through early voting, and it was unclear how much of an effect it may have.

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist, who declined to comment, are seeking to fill the state's seat in the U.S. House left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join Trump's Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department.

The Gianforte campaign released a statement blaming the incident on Jacobs. It contends he "aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face and began asking badgering questions" before being asked to leave.

Gianforte asked Jacobs to lower a phone that was being used as an audio recorder, then tried to grab it, the campaign said in a statement. Jacobs then grabbed Gianforte's wrist and both fell to the ground, Scanlon said.

The 45-second recording does not contain a request from Gianforte that Jacobs lower his phone.

Alexis Levinson, a reporter for Buzzfeed who was outside the office where the incident occurred, tweeted that she heard angry yelling and saw Jacobs' "feet fly in the air as he hit the floor."
Photo: The Canadian Press This May 19, 2017, photo provided by Jaime Reznick shows Anil Uskanli being escorted off an American Airlines flight in Honolulu, Hawaii. Uskanli has been charged with interfering with a flight crew, and a federal judge has ordered he undergo a competency evaluation. (Jamie Reznick via AP)

Before a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu took off carrying a passenger whose inflight behaviour prompted bomb-threat procedures and military fighter jets to escort the plane, passengers complained to American Airlines workers that the man was scaring them, a woman who was on the flight said Wednesday.

Anil Uskanli, 25, of Turkey, tried to get to the front of the plane during last week's flight and crewmembers feared his laptop contained explosives, said a criminal complaint charging him with interfering with a flight crew.

Jaime Reznick, of Los Angeles, said when she arrived at the gate Friday morning Uskanli was pacing, laughing to himself and staring down passengers.

He boarded the plane first even though he was assigned an economy seat.

"We're all really worried about him being on the plane," Reznick said she told an employee who let Uskanli board. "He's a threat. He's acting weird. He's scaring us."

None of the passengers interviewed by the AP after the flight landed in Honolulu Friday said they complained about being afraid of him before the plane took off.

American spokesman Ross Feinstein said the airline will look into Reznick's allegations.

Reznick said she wrote to American Airlines Friday to complain that allowing Uskanli to fly put people in danger.

"We understand the situation may have caused you discomfort; and for that, we apologize," the airline said in a response giving her 10,000 bonus miles.

Uskanli raised other red flags while still at Los Angeles International Airport, but experts say a lack of communication and an airline's hesitancy to be caught on video booting a passenger played a role in allowing him to fly.

He had purchased a ticket at an airline counter in the middle of the night with no luggage and had been arrested after opening a door to a restricted airfield.

Because of the prior incident involving the restricted area and because he was determined to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, crewmembers took Uskanli to the plane in a wheelchair, the FBI complaint said.

He was not in a wheelchair at the gate, Reznick said.

FBI spokesman Arnold Laanui declined to comment on the discrepancy. "Police, media and eye witness accounts often conflict," he said in an email. "This is not unusual, especially in the aftermath of chaotic, traumatic and/or frightening situations."

A federal judge in Honolulu on Monday ordered that Uskanli undergo a mental competency evaluation after his federal public defender requested it.

Uskanli left Hawaii on a government flight for prisoners on Wednesday, a lawyer said.
Photo: The Canadian Press B.C. Green party leader Andrew Weaver speaks to media outside the legislature, Wednesday.

British Columbia entered a new stage of political uncertainty Wednesday as the final vote count from an election held more than two weeks ago confirmed the province's first minority government in 65 years.

But with the balance of power firmly in his grasp, Green Leader Andrew Weaver indicated he wants to end the confusion that has gripped the province since May 9 by trying to reach a deal with either the Liberals or the NDP on a minority government by next Wednesday.

"We're committed to bring stability to this province and we're committed to ensuring the decisions we make in the next few days are those that actually make government work in British Columbia," he told a news conference.

"We recognize it's important over the next week or so ... to give certainty to British Columbia and that's our target as we stand today."

Weaver said he's aiming for Wednesday or earlier to broker a working agreement with either the Liberals or the NDP, but he's open to an extension if required.

"It's not a deal breaker if we're so close and we still need more time," he said.

The Liberals finished one seat short of a majority, with 43 seats in the 87-seat legislature. The NDP has 41 seats and the Greens have three  a historic achievement for the party as it built on the lone seat held by Weaver before the election.

The focus during the final count was on the riding of Courtenay-Comox, which the NDP won by 189 votes after holding a slim nine-vote lead on election night. The Liberals had hoped to swing the riding in their favour once absentee ballots were counted.

Elections BC says none of the races finished close enough to trigger automatic applications for judicial recounts.

Exploratory talks involving possible political collaborations with the Greens have been underway since the election, but the parties have said they were awaiting the final results to begin the talks in earnest on the shape of a minority government.
Photo: The Canadian Press Several prison guards and inmates were taken to hospitals after a fight raged out of control.

In a brawl that officials say was extreme even by the violent standard of California prisons, correctional officers had to open fire to stop a melee that sent eight guards and seven inmates to hospitals.

Pelican Bay State Prison guards in three gun towers fired 19 rifle bullets and three hard foam rounds to stop large groups of prisoners from attacking other correctional officers Wednesday.

The guards had been using pepper spray and batons to break up a fistfight between two inmates when they were swarmed by other felons in an exercise yard teeming with several hundred high-security inmates.

"They just ran toward the incident from several areas of the yard and just rushed the officers," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. "They overwhelmed them. Overwhelmed is the word I heard again and again."

The eight guards were treated at hospitals and released, though one will have to have shoulder surgery. All eight had facial injuries, bumps, bruises and contusions, Thornton said.

Five of the seven injured inmates suffered gunshot wounds at the prison, which houses about 2,000 inmates near the Oregon border. Four were admitted, including one who was airlifted to a different hospital for a higher level of care. Three were discharged back to prison.

Ninety-seven inmates were isolated in disciplinary housing units after the assault because they are believed to have participated.
Photo: NATO

NATO's chief affirmed Thursday that the alliance will join the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group but will not wage direct war against the extremists  an announcement timed for U.S. President Donald Trump's first appearance at a summit of the alliance's leaders.

In the wake of this week's suicide bomb attack at a concert in Manchester, NATO leaders are keen to show that the alliance born in the Cold War is responding to today's security threats as they meet in Brussels. Trump has questioned its relevance and pushed members to do more to defend themselves.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that joining the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition "will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our co-ordination within the coalition."

But he underlined that "it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations."
Photo: The Canadian Press Crowd observes minute of silence in Manchester, Thursday.

Home searches across Manchester have uncovered important items for the investigation into the concert bombing that left 22 people dead, Manchester's police chief announced Thursday. A British official said Manchester police have decided not to share further information on the probe with the United States due to leaks blamed on U.S. officials.

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the eight suspects detained so far were "significant" arrests and said the searches will take several more days to complete. Police have swooped in on multiple addresses in the northwestern city since Tuesday and those arrested include bomber Salman Abedi's brother Ismail.

Hopkins did not elaborate on the material that has been found so far.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to discuss the leaks with President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels. She said she plans to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published in The New York Times, although it's not clear that the paper obtained the photos from U.S. officials.

British police and security services were also upset that Abedi's name was apparently leaked by U.S. officials and published while British police were withholding it  and while raids were underway in Manchester and in Libya, where the bomber's father lives.

The White House had no immediate comment on the Manchester decision. Trump, in Brussels, ignored two questions from journalists on whether Britain can trust the U.S. with sensitive information.
Photo: The Canadian Press

President Donald Trump's proposal to sell nearly half the U.S. emergency oil stockpile is sparking renewed debate about whether the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is still needed amid an ongoing oil production boom that has seen U.S. imports drop sharply in the past decade.

Trump's budget, unveiled on Tuesday, calls for selling an additional 270 million barrels of oil over the next decade, raising an estimated $16.6 billion. The proposal, on top of planned auctions expected over the next few years, could push the reserve below 300 million barrels by 2025. It now is at 688 million barrels.

The petroleum reserve, created in the wake of the 1970s Arab oil embargo, stores oil at four underground sites in Texas and Louisiana. The reserve guards against disruptions in the flow of oil from the Middle East and other countries, and lawmakers from both parties have long warned against using it to raise money.

But some Republicans say North Dakota's oil-rich Bakken region offers a de facto reserve that can be tapped if needed.

"You know the world's changed a lot in the last decade," said Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., a senior member of the House energy committee. "We're one of the largest oil producers in the world."

Asked if he was worried that Trump's proposal could deplete the reserve, Shimkus laughed. "Not when you have North Dakota and the Dakota (Access) Pipeline," he said.
Birds, especially youngsters, took the brunt of the windstorm that swept through the Okanagan Valley on Tuesday night.

The blue heron rookery at the north end of Vernon took a battering, with a number of dead trees falling that held nests of chicks.

We received a call that several of the trees at the north end of the Great Blue Heron rookery had blown over in the windstorm, said wildlife expert Pete Wise, who checked out the situation on Wednesday. My staff and I walked the area looking for downed nests and injured birds.

We did find multiple nests (on the ground) and unfortunately no live birds. We found 29 chicks and one adult, all of which succumbed to impact injuries or died of hypothermia.

Wise believes about one-third of the colony could have been impacted by the storm.

Despite the decimation to this year's brood, Wise reported that all was not lost as there were still a lot of nesting adults in the trees.

Wise had better luck when a juvenile Great Horned owl was brought to him Wednesday after being found in a swimming pool. The bird showed no signs of life.

The owl appeared to be dead and showed no reflective action. He was wet and cold.

Wise used his wife's hair dryer to slowly warm the animal and gave it CPR.

After an hour or so, he wrapped the unresponsive owl in a towel and put him atop the washing machine.

A while later my wife came in and asked 'what are you going to do with that owl'. I said I might freeze it as an exhibit and she said 'oh no you won't, it's sitting up'.

Wise immediately got the six-week-old bird to the Vernon Veterinary Clinic where two vets and other staff worked on stabilizing the creature and feeding it a warm mixture.

The bird was put in an incubator.

On Thursday, Wise delivered the owl to the animal hospital at the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops.

It's a juvenile and can't fly. It's possible the wind blew him out of a nest or he attempted to fly and plunked down in a swimming pool.
Photo: Google Maps

Police in Abbotsford say the overall crime rate in the city is dropping, compared with the 2016 rate, but theft from vehicles could drive the rate in the opposite direction.

The Abbotsford Police Department says in a news release that 859 thefts from vehicles have been reported this year, an eight per cent hike over the same period last year.

Police say April and May have seen the most alarming increases, with 207 incidents reported in April, making it the worst month for thefts from auto in a year.

In the first three weeks of May, 182 reports have been received, which police say marks a 48 per cent increase over the 123 incidents reported in May 2016.

Abbotsford police say they are using bait cars and bait merchandise to target the hardest hit areas of the city, and they are also focusing on known prolific criminals.

But they say vehicle owners must also do their part by locking vehicles and remove valuables.
Australia became the first World Trade Organization member to eliminate its farm export subsidies, meeting its obligation to the 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference, the WTO said in a statement.



Australia became the first World Trade Organization member to eliminate its farm export subsidies, meeting its obligation to the 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference.

At the conference, WTO members agreed to end their agricultural export subsidies and set disciplines on export measures.

By eliminating export subsidies, WTO members have made a collective and historic contribution to delivering on a key target of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition, the WTO said in a statement.

Australia is the first WTO member among the 16 members with export subsidy entitlements that obligated themselves in 2015 to eliminate them. Australias modified schedule is effective May 22, three months after the document outlining the changes was circulated to WTO members, the trade body said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Mayors across Canada are calling for federal leadership on the "national emergency" of overdoses by ensuring provinces provide timely access to addiction treatment and by launching public education campaigns.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who heads a task force of the big city mayors caucus on the opioid crisis, said he and his counterparts in 12 other cities agree the situation is so dire that Ottawa must take a leadership role if jurisdictions are not moving fast enough to save lives.

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott said last month she's frustrated with provinces and territories that have not provided her with information on overdose deaths despite repeated requests.

Robertson said some provinces are "dragging their feet" on data collection but the federal government must step in with a standardized format to gather the information, which should be reported publicly at least every quarter.

"It's shocking when this epidemic is sweeping across Canada, when facts are being withheld," he said in an interview, noting Vancouver collects weekly information on the number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses while the provincial coroner's service publishes monthly updates on its website.

The service said there were 347 drug overdose fatalities in British Columbia between January and March, putting the total on track to surpass the record 931 illicit drug deaths last year, many involving the painkiller fentanyl.

The Vancouver Police Department issued its own report Wednesday calling for treatment on demand, saying the opioid crisis is taxing officers who can't immediately refer people who need help and that reviving them with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone isn't good enough.
Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen Photo: Ragnar Haagen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Hundreds of people gathered in Kelowna Saturday morning to demonstrate against Monsanto and genetically modified foods.

The group of over 300 people  many of whom wore the colour red and held signs  formed at the Parkinson Recreation Centre and proceeded to cross the overpass and march to the farmers market.

Its all part of a united stand against Monsanto and a call to demand labeling on all products that contain genetically modified foods, while supporting the local farmers of the Okanagan Valley.

Similar marches were organized across the globe in 500 cities spanning over 50 counties, including demonstrations in Vernon and Penticton.

Organizers believe Monsanto is destroying farmers lives across the globe and making headway into owning the seeds that farmers are forced to use  which would be GMO.

Monsanto is a publicly traded multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation and a leading producer of genetically engineered seeds. You can learn more about Monsanto and the many demonstrations here.
Not so long ago few people outside of the rail industry had even heard of Mick Lynch, but in the space of a week, the head of the RMT union ...
Pakistan cement exports continue to disappoint

25 May 2017

Pakistan exported 225,778t cement in April on revenues of US$13.49m, down 25.28 and 18.54 per cent, respectively compared to the previous month. Compared to April 2016, export volumes were down by 49.65 per cent from 507,958t and revenues fell by 49.65 per cent (US$26.31m) a year earlier, data from Pakistan's Federal Bureau of Statistics shows.



In the first 10 months of FY16-17, the country exported 3.9Mt of cement at a total value of US$205m, considerably lower than the 5.06Mt at US$274.34m in the corresponding period of the previous year. This represents a YoY contraction of 22.91 and 25.27 per cent, in volume and value terms, respectively. Exports of cement also fell to US$52.51/t from US$54.18/t over the period.



A breakdown of export figures shows that dispatches from Pakistan to Afghanistan were down by 29.11 per cent to 1.49Mt, but exports to India rose by 43.78 per cent to 1.051Mt. Exports via sea fell by 30 per cent to 1.4Mt.



Pakistan cement producers are hoping that the government's FY17-18 budget, due to be announced tomorrow, will include some relief measures that will help mitigate the decline in the country's cement exports.

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Finland will host the second UArctic Congress on September 3-7, 2018, the university's website reports. For the first four days, the congress will convene at the University of Oulu, and the closing day will be held at the University of Helsinki.

"The Congress is an integral part of Finland's Arctic Council chairmanship program, and is open to the public. The event will highlight the themes and priorities of the Finnish chairmanship, including the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change," the university said on its website.

The second UArctic Congress will include a science conference and key UArctic meetings, such as business meetings of the Council of UArctic, Rectors' Forum, Student Forum, and Thematic Networks & UArctic Institutes Leadership Team.

The biennial UArctic Congress aims to foster contacts and enhance networking, bring together institutional leaders, indigenous representatives, academics and students from the Circumpolar North and beyond. The Congress is working together with its partners, policy makers and other actors to promote the Arctic agenda by developing and strengthening cooperation to encourage the sustainable development of the Arctic.

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is a cooperative network of over 180 universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations from 16 countries concerned with education and research in the interests of sustainable development of the North and indigenous people of the North. Through cooperation in education, research and outreach, UArctic is enhancing human capacity in the North and promoting viable communities and sustainable economies.

The first UArctic Congress was held at St. Petersburg State University on September 12-16, 2016. Its agenda included several academic events dealing with a wide range of Arctic issues.
Debra Winger (working on the comeback shes been developing since 2008s Rachel Getting Married) and Tracy Letts (the Pulitzer Prize-winning actor/writer behind August: Osage County) join forces as an unhappily married couple in the mildly amusing, but mostly painful domestic drama The Lovers. While the film strives for domestic realism in all its messy, flawed, overweight glory, it lacks that voyeuristic thrill you get from spying on your suburban neighbors in real life. (Dont act like you dont know what Im talking about.)

For Michael (Letts) and Mary (Winger), the passion has long since evaporated from their longtime relationship. With their son off at college, middle age staring at them from the rearview mirror and their white collar careers stalled in office buildings somewhere in suburbia, Michael and Mary have turned elsewhere for excitement. Hes having a serious affair with a tightly wound dance instructor (Melora Walters from Big Love). Coincidentally, conveniently and perhaps mercifully, shes having a long-term affair with a touchy writer (Aidan Gillen from Game of Thrones). Unbeknownst to one another, theyre both secretly texting their lovers, coming home late at night, making up lies and looking for an out. Theyre also bothcoincidentally, once againsimply waiting for their son to return home in a couple of weeks to spring the news on one another that they want a divorce. Theyre both unhappy, theyre both cheating, theyre both trying to break up. So whats the problem?

This all-too-symmetrical setup is the centerpiece of filmmaker Azazel Jacobs latest effort. After writing and directing such ultra-independent dramedies as Mommas Man and Terri, Jacobs climbs up a rung of the Hollywood outsider ladder with a slightly bigger budget, a recognizable cast and a more commercial premise. But does he wring enough from the opportunity? The joke of The Lovers comes in when, on the verge of admitting their matrimonial defeat, Michael and Mary find that certain spark that brought them together in the first place suddenly and improbably re-ignited. Just as theyre about to call it quits, the long-distant spouses fall back in bed (and possibly in love) with one another and start cheating on the people theyre cheating with. Call it double infidelity.

There is some intermittent amusement to be found in the films slight twist of a premise. Unfortunately, Jacobs seems to put far more weight on his actors than on his script, which barely tells us anything concrete about Michael or Mary and their near-identical romantic crossroads. Its up to Winger and Letts to impart crucial information with knowing glances, regretful stares, painful silences and twitchy reactions. Theyre both great actors and more than up to the task. But its, ultimately, a lazy way of making a film. Its great watching Winger and Letts interact. But as the thin premise wears on, you cant help but wish Jacobs had given them a bit more to work with. The dialogue is all so discursive. The characters just talk around the subject at handwhich is not all that unrealistic, of course. Rarely do people address the elephant in the living room. But here the actors are reduced to reciting page after page of neutral dialogue, hoping that an occasional double entendre or cutting turn of phrase will accidentally form.

Jacobs keeps his camera pointed directly in the faces of his actorsperfectly befitting the claustrophobic confines of this domestic situation. But mostly it feels like hes afraid to look away from his leads, wary of missing some deeply meaningful facial expression that might come along and cover the dead zones in his script. The humor is clearly not in the dialogue either, but in the situation; and if the same story were developed as some sort of manic French farce, it might fly higher.

Glum, middle-aged and drably realistic, The Lovers never feels like its had its morning cup of coffee. Michael and Marys reverse-infidelity isnt quite naughty or thrilling or transgressive or comical enough. If their rekindled attraction had been accompanied by some sort of active discussion or acknowledgment, the emotional stakes might have been elevated. Their secret lovers are both rather unappealing, so kickstarting their joyless marriage seems like no better or worse choice than pizza vs. burgers for dinner.

Dont get me wrong: The Lovers is smart and honest and probably pretty accurate. The leads are strong, and the filmmaker behind it all has got plenty of potential. Its just not quite as satisfying as you might hopekinda like middle-aged infidelity itself. Im guessing.
On May 25, 2017, in accordance with the agreements reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh Republic), the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, to the west of Seysulan settlement of the Martakert region, the foreign ministry of Artsakh told.

May 25, 2017, 14:26 Azerbaijan violates OSCE Artsakh monitoring procedure agreement

STEPANAKERT, MAY 25 , ARTSAKHPRESS: From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and Personal Assistant to the OSCE CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain).

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova) and staff member of the Office of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative Martin Schuster (Germany).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-line positions and in violation of agreements reached on the procedure of conducting a monitoring used a surveillance aerostat.

From the Artsakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the Republic of Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.
THE COMMONWEALTH

FORMER Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand, will lead the Commonwealth Observer Group for the national elections taking place in Papua New Guinea in June-July 2017.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland is deploying a 12-member observer mission following an invitation from the PNG government.

I am delighted that Sir Anand has accepted my invitation to lead the Commonwealth Observer Group, said Secretary-General Scotland.

His considerable experience in the Pacific region, including previously serving as Governor-General of New Zealand and as Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation, will be of immense value in this important assignment.
New York will award grants to small businesses along Lake Ontario that have been impacted by flooding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.

The state will provide up to $5 million to assist small businesses that have suffered physical damage or loss due to flooding. Companies will eligible for up to $20,000 grants to repair or replace equipment, furniture, inventory and other property.

Empire State Development, the state's economic development agency, will administer the program. Applications will be available in June.

The program will be open to businesses in eight counties  Cayuga, Jefferson, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence and Wayne  covered by the state of emergency Cuomo declared in early May.

The funding may be used by businesses for flood-related expenses not covered by other government recovery programs or insurance.

"We are doing everything in our power to help New Yorkers impacted by flooding," Cuomo said in a statement. "Small businesses are the backbone of communities across the state, and these grants will help businesses and residents rebuild and get back to their everyday lives."

Lake Ontario has reached its highest recorded level, which is more than 33 inches above levels this time last year. Communities along the lake, including Fair Haven in northern Cayuga County, have been affected by the rising water.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Fair Haven Monday to survey the flooding in the village. Nearly 20 members of the National Guard were at the village hall filling sandbags.

The state sent a new sandbagging machine to the village last week.

During her visit, Hochul announced a $10 million grant program for municipalities along the lake that need to make infrastructure repairs due to flooding.

The additional $5 million program for small businesses will "bring much-needed relief to alleviate the damages and assist in recovering their losses," she said.

Cuomo also announced that the state Department of Environmental Conservation's permitting offices and the mobile command centers that have been visiting Fair Haven and other Lake Ontario communities will offer weekend hours over the summer. The office hours will begin over Memorial Day weekend.

If you're unable to go to a DEC office or mobile command center, you can call the Lake Ontario flood assistance hotline at 1-866-244-3839. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. Representatives will be available to answer questions about insurance-related issues and flood mitigation efforts.

The mobile command centers will be traveling to several communities in the coming days. One of the centers will be available from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Fair Haven Village Hall, 14523 Cayuga St.
A Cayuga County student beat out nearly 50 other submissions to win U.S. Rep. John Katko's annual art competition.

Emily Irving, a senior at Union Springs High School, was selected by a panel of judges for the top honor in recognition of her artwork titled "Kelly," an oil on wood painting.

"Central New York is home to many young, talented artists. Each year, my office receives a number of remarkable pieces of artwork, and this year was no exception," Katko, R-Camillus, said in a statement.

"I am pleased to announce Emily Irving from Union Springs has been named this year's winner. I look forward to seeing Emily's piece in Washington, where it will be on display in the U.S. Capitol for visitors to view."

Irving's piece will be displayed in the Capitol for one year. Congressional Art Competition winners also receive an invitation to attend a reception in Washington. The reception will be held in June.

It's the first time in Katko's three years in Congress that a Cayuga County student has won the competition. The 2015 and 2016 winners both hailed from Onondaga County.

A wide range of entries were accepted. The competition invited participants to submit collages, computer-generated art, drawings, mixed media, paintings, photography and prints.

There were requirements for the student artists. The work needed to be two-dimensional, "original in concept, design and execution" and couldn't violate copyright laws. The size was limited to no more than 26 inches wide by 26 inches tall and four inches thick. The artwork couldn't weigh more than 15 pounds.

The contest was open to high school students in the 24th Congressional District, which includes all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties, plus the western part of Oswego County.
Covalence (formerly Depot/U) announced the commencement of its first class at the companys brand new location in Chattanooga. The Coding bootcamp will begin their Chattanooga program with a 10-week Full Stack Development course focused on creating end-to-end web applications. Students will learn the basics of front end development, create custom application programing interfaces (APIs), and connect to backend SQL and NoSQL databases. The course is set to begin Tuesday, May 30th in both the Chattanooga and Birmingham locations.

The success of Covalences business model in Birmingham led the company to pursue new opportunities in cities with similar demands for tech jobs and untapped potential for the growth of the local tech industry. The coding bootcamp helps citys economies prosper by keeping jobs and talent local. Covalences expansion is backed by Chattanooga mayor, Andy Berke, Lamp Post Group, Bellhops, and the Enterprise Center. Directly partnering with the city has allowed Covalence to keep the cost of tuition around $8,000 which is well below the industry standard.

With the hard work of The Enterprise Center and the invaluable expertise Covalence brings to the table, this partnership means more Chattanoogans will soon learn those very specific skills necessary to fill open IT positions and, ultimately, create a better life for themselves and their families, said Mayor Andy Berke

A Code School in our Innovation District is an extraordinary development for both our city and companies like Bellhops because it makes the decision easier for business and additional talent to move here. We're thrilled that this initiative will be developing young tech talent for our city, and of course, for businesses with needs like ours," said Cameron Doody, co-founder and president of Bellhops.

Covalences new space is in the heart of downtown Chattanoogas Innovation District. Chattanooga is the first mid-sized city with an established innovation district, which makes it a perfect location for the companys first expansion. The new location puts students at the epicenter of Chattanoogas tech scene and provides easy access to other assets including coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, and multimodal transportation. Covalences space in Chattanooga is at 1001 Lindsay Street Chattanooga, TN 37402.

Im incredibly excited about expanding to Chattanooga because of the immense amount of support behind their technology community. Chattanoogas local tech industry needs a pool of talented developers to thrive, and were poised to produce high quality, eager developers to send into the workforce. said Matt Landers, CEO of Covalence.

In addition to the course launching on May 30, Covalence will be offering a Full Stack Development course set to start on Sept. 5, at both locations and three additional locations that will be announced soon. Applications for the September course are already being accepted and those interested in enrolling in the fall class can visit https://covalence.io/ to apply or find more information.
The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced Thursday that the unemployment rate in the Northwest Georgia region in April was 4.6 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from 4.9 percent in March. In April 2016, the rate was 5 percent.

The rate declined as more people became employed and employers reduced the number of new layoffs. Also, there was a decline in the labor force.

There were 462 more Northwest Georgia area residents employed in April than in March, pushing the total number to 393,826. There were 10,533 more people employed in April than in April 2016.

Although there were more employed residents, the labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed and actively looking for jobs, declined by 447 to 412,991. That total represents an increase of 9,420 over the past 12 months.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 1,582, or 43.1 percent, to 2,087. The decrease came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 699, or 25.1 percent, from 2,786 in April 2016.

Metro Daltons unemployment rate in April was 5.2 percent, down six-tenths of a percentage point from 5.8 percent in March. In April 2016, the rate was 5.5 percent.

The rate declined as employers created more jobs and reduced the number of new layoffs.

The number of jobs in Dalton increased by 200, or 0.3 percent, to 70,200. The job growth came in textile manufacturing and trade, transportation and warehousing.

Over-the-year, a total of 400 jobs were added, a 0.6 percent growth rate, up from 69,800, in April 2016. The job growth came in manufacturing, trade, transportation and warehousing, along with professional and business services.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 576, or 45.6 percent, to 688. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing. Over the year, claims were down by 362, or 34.5 percent, from 1,050 in April 2016.

Between March and April, the labor force, which consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed and actively looking for jobs, declined by 427 to 62,528. As the labor force decreased, so did the numbers of employed and unemployed residents. There were 86 fewer employed and 341 fewer unemployed residents.

However, compared to April a year ago, the labor force had a net increase of 563, the number of employed grew by 679, and there were 116 fewer unemployed.

Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 3.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia and River Valley regions had the highest at 5.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgias seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for April was 5 percent, down from 5.1 percent in March. It was 5.4 percent in April 2016.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to use GDOLs online job listing service employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In April, 3,723 new job openings in the Northwest Georgia region were posted on Employ Georgia. Throughout the state, 75,183 new job openings were posted.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available atdol.georgia.gov




When I sat down to write this months CEO column, I knew I wanted to talk about something that excited passions and the intense interest of our members. Tax reform immediately sprang to mind.

Last month, the White House released a tax plan, but it left more questions than answers. Now, Congress holds the fate of real, reputable, and trusted news in their hands. On May 18, to get the ball rolling it officially embarked on the long-awaited attempt at comprehensive tax reform with a hearing, How Tax Reform Will Grow the Economy and Create Jobs.

It is vital to remember that members of the news media industry utilize their deductions to reinvest in the quality journalism that every American relies on. The News Media Alliance agrees that creating a pro-growth simplified system would benefit individuals and corporations alike. As members of Congress proceed, we ask them to continue providing certain tax incentives to the news media industry that allow companies to reinvest in the tremendous resources necessary to produce the verifiable, high-quality journalism that citizens trust  be it covering the local school board or the White House.

Past tax reform proposals have called to limit or eliminate the advertising deduction to offset a lowered corporate tax rate. The News Media Alliance unwaveringly supports maintaining the current treatment of advertising costs as an immediately deductible ordinary and necessary business expense. Advertising creates 20 million jobs and adds $5.8 trillion to the U.S. economy, benefiting all levels of economic growth from national manufacturers to local businesses to newspapers. If Congress were to alter this deduction it would distort business decisions and undermine the pro-growth goals of any new bill.

There is a public interest in newspaper companies reinvesting in high-quality, vetted news. Americans may be receiving their news from more sources than ever before, but studies show that news received by premium publishers has a higher level of trust among consumers. That trust comes from knowing that professional journalists and publishers are driven by an ethical standard to report the truth. Gaining the trust of their readership increases subscriptions and has a positive impact on overall revenue. The aforementioned tax deductions allow for newspapers to continually reinvest in the quality news that communities rely on.

The Alliance will continue to advocate for the current treatment of ad tax, Sec. 199, which allows us to write off costs associated with printing the paper, and Sec. 173, the circulation deduction for expenses that help increase subscriber growth. We pride ourselves on supporting real news  our members  so you can trust we will continue to support and champion the industry on Capitol Hill.
The Tesla Model S is among the black cars approved for Lyft's new Lyft Lux service, the company's new top-tier ride-hailing service. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Lyft is introducing a black car service Thursday in five American cities, including Chicago  the same type of service Uber launched with in 2010.

Lyft Lux and Lyft Lux SUV are the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company's newest and most expensive tiers of service. Riders in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose can use the Lyft app to request luxury rides  at luxury prices.

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Riders already had access to a high-end tier called Lyft Premier, but the company said this will be a step above that, with a more exclusive collection of vehicles.

David Katcher, general manager of Lyft's Midwest operations, positioned the move as a response to customer demand.

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"The competition has this and we've heard it from passengers ourselves that this is something that they desire," he said.

Uber, Lyft's main competitor, started with black car rides and later added lower-priced tiers. Lyft is expanding its offerings in the reverse order.

Volume isn't the goal with the Lux tier  it's making sure Lyft offers enough types of service that users don't turn to competitors for rides.

"Our hope is we have services for folks for every single use case," Katcher said. "So if they're deciding they want a ride, they can absolutely default to Lyft and we'll have the service that they need."

Katcher said Lyft Lux rides will cost 3 to 4 times a basic Lyft fare, and 1.5 to 2 times a Lyft Premier fare. Lyft Lux SUV rides will be "slightly higher" than that, he said, though he did not share details.

For reference, a ride from Michigan and Wacker to O'Hare Airport would cost about $35 in a regular Lyft, about $28 in a shared Lyft Line and about $64 in a Lyft Premier. The same ride in a Lyft Lux would cost about $92, and about $115 in the larger Lyft Lux SUV.

Katcher said drivers will be compensated more for Lyft Lux rides since it costs more for them to maintain higher-end cars and they are providing a luxury service. He declined to say how many Lux-eligible drivers there are in Chicago, but said there was a "big contingent" and that riders can reasonably expect to get a Lux ride anywhere in Chicago starting Thursday.

Vehicle qualifications for the Lux services are stricter than for Lyft Premier: The list of approved vehicles is shorter and includes makes including Maserati and Rolls-Royce. Cars must have black exteriors and leather or leather-like seats. Makes including BMW and Jaguar appear on both lists, with fewer models and model years eligible for Lux. A minimum 4.7 star rating from passengers is a prerequisite for driving at the Lux and Premier tiers.

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Drivers of luxury vehicles can also opt to make themselves available at lower tiers, Katcher said. They may choose do to this if there aren't enough requests for Lux rides.

Katcher said there are some Lyft drivers who offer ultra-luxury cars such as Maseratis and Rolls-Royces but declined to say how many there are and where they're located.

Lyft intends Lux to be on par with the high-end black car service most riders may choose for special occasions, such as transporting clients, nights out on the town or airport rides, Katcher said.

aelahi@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @aminamania
WASHINGTON  Arizonas top environmental official told separate House and Senate committees Tuesday that the federal government needs to back off and let states take care of environmental regulation on their own.

Misael Cabrera, the director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, said the Environmental Protection Agency is well-intentioned but the agency is unnecessarily bureaucratic and does not prioritize the needs of the states.

He pointed to a complex, multiyear federal effort to increase visibility in the Grand Canyon that resulted in no visible improvement.

After 20 years, four lawsuits, lots of activity, lots of waste by both the state and the federal government and lots of stakeholders, the result is no visible improvement, Cabrera said in testimony to a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee. And so we think that EPAs engagement in that arena has not produced the desired result.

But a University of Arizona physician, who testified alongside Cabrera at a Senate panel later Tuesday, defended the importance of strict federal missions regulations.

Dr. Monica Kraft was testifying against a pair of Senate bills that would delay EPA ozone standards from taking effect and delay re-evaluation of other criteria pollutants as defined by the Clean Air Act. Those delays could have grave consequences, Kraft told a Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee.

The American people would not receive the benefits of up-to-date science in identifying and protecting them from harmful health effects of these pollutants if the bills go through, said Kraft, a former president of the American Thoracic Society.

This means pollutants like lead, particulate matter and carbon monoxide will remain in the air longer  needlessly exposing the American public to dangerous pollution and their adverse health effects, she said.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, set the tone for the day with his opening statement at the House hearing, in which he blasted what he called complete control over states and their economies by the administration of former President Barack Obama.

In implementing nationwide ozone standards, to use one significant example, the agency chose an uninformed one-size-fits-all regulatory agenda without regard to the unique challenges each state may face, Biggs statement said.

Cabrera cited the EPAs Regional Haze Program  what he called the Regional Haze Maze  as an example of federal interference with state-level environmental initiatives.

The EPAs website says the program calls for state and federal agencies to work together to improve visibility in 156 national parks and wilderness areas, including the Grand Canyon. But Cabrera testified that the federal government has only hindered efforts of a state-level commission to combat pollution-induced haze dating back to the 1990s.

He said the regional haze program is well-intentioned, and we do not disagree with it. But he said that in 1997, the EPA proposed regulations that totally ignored the findings of the state commission.

When EPA completely ignored the Grand Canyon Transport Commissions recommendations, what it did is it put us on a lengthy, 20-year process that resulted in no visible improvement to the Grand Canyon, Cabrera said.

But Kraft defended the agency, saying that public health is often at stake.

In the 10-year review lag called for in this bill, a child will grow from a newborn to a 10-year-old, she said. In that time, the lungs, like the rest of the body, will see tremendous changes that will determine life-long health prospects of that child.

By delaying improvements in air quality, we are literally burdening our children with life-long health issues, she said.

Cabrera did not dismiss federal collaboration out of hand.

I believe in competition, he said at the House hearing. I believe in diversity of ideas. I think that with competition and diversity of ideas, we get to the best solutions.

But he said it may be time to turn the tables.

As we discuss expanding the role of states in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule-making, we should also discuss its corollary: Reducing the role of EPA in state rule-making, he said. When EPA rejects a state plan, or when it issues its own, it effectively coerces states to write state rules in the specific way that EPA sees fit.
So you want to rent out your condo, but it's annoying and time-consuming to list it, vet tenants and collect monthly payments from them. Chicago-based Rentalutions says its cloud-based platform can help landlords do all that, on a budget.

Rentalutions has raised $2 million to add features to its platform and grow its team, the company announced Thursday.

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CEO and co-founder Ryan Coon said Rentalutions' target user is what he calls a "do-it-yourself" landlord  who rent out their properties for income on the side, but not as a full-time job.

Coon said there are some 8 million such property owners who own about 24 million housing units in the United States, according to the company's analysis of Census data. That amounts to more than half of the rental properties in the country, he said.

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"We provide them an all-in-one platform that helps them find, screen and keep tenants," Coon said.

Landlords can use Rentalutions to automatically post their listings to a variety of rental sites  such as Zillow, Trulia and PadMapper  and manage the requests that come in through the platform. They can also use the platform to request rental applications, credit reports, background checks and eviction reports.

On the flip side, tenants can use the platform to set up automatic online payments and to request maintenance help. Tenants can pay rent by credit or debit card, along with a 3.5 percent fee to cover the cost of the transaction, a spokesman said.

"Every feature that the owner has, there's an inverse for the tenant," Coon said.

Rentalutions today works with about 30,000 DIY landlords, Coon said. He said he plans to use the new funding to add features such as accounting and finance tools, and to hire people in areas such as design and engineering. The company employs nine today and plans to approach a headcount of 20 by the end of the year, he said.

Of Rentalutions users, only about 10 percent pay for the product, Coon said. That's because landlords who use the platform to manage a single property can use it for free. Those managing two to five pay $25 a month, and up to 15 properties costs $50 a month. Coon said the platform's biggest user manages 200 properties with it  that owner and others with more than 15 properties pay $50 plus $2 for each additional unit per month  but Rentalutions' sweet spot is owners with 10 or fewer properties.

Coon said he wants the platform's nonpaying users to get used to the platform as they start renting properties, in hopes they will upgrade to a subscription when they add more units. The company also brings in revenue from referral fees paid by companies such as State Farm and Two Men and A Truck, where it refers tenants for renter's insurance or moving bookings.

Rentalutions competes with similar companies such as Cozy, whose base platform is free, but charges landlords and tenants for optional services such as rent estimates, property analyses and background checks. Other companies, such as Buildium, provide tools and services to property management companies.

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Coon said Rentalutions competes with handwritten or spreadsheet-based systems as well. Compared to those tools, he said Rentalutions offers an additional perk: efficiency.

"The big thing that people underestimate is the time savings, both for the owner and for the renter," he said.

He declined to provide specifics about Rentalutions' revenue, but said the company reached break-even by the end of 2016, after which it set out to seek this round of venture funding. Rentalutions previously raised about $1 million in seed funding, the company said.

Coon said Rentalutions' biggest markets are Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Austin and Seattle  all cities where renting is popular and residents are familiar and comfortable with technology.

Cultivation Capital, based in St. Louis, led the round, with participation from Chicago-based M25 Group and Sandalphon Capital.

aelahi@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @aminamania
Cut outs of Rauner campaign donor Ken Griffin, Gov. Bruce Rauner, and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan are held up as marchers and activists begin a two-week, 200-mile march from Chicago to Springfield as they rally for a state budget that works, Monday, May 15, 2017. The marchers rallied outside the Thompson Center before heading toward the Board of Trade building. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

A group of influential Chicago-area business leaders  folks not known for being alarmist or imprudent  is slapping a warning label on Illinois.

They're rightfully predicting unprecedented calamity and economic turmoil if the state's budget stalemate, along with billions of dollars in unpaid bills, is allowed to continue.

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Did you hear that, Republican Gov. Rauner? Got that, Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan?

This dire warning permeates a recent report from the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a nonprofit assembly of the area's top-shelf investors, entrepreneurs and corporate chiefs, including those running large employers like Northern Trust, Illinois Tool Works and Madison Dearborn Partners.

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This team screams middle-of-the-road corporate establishment and yet, like so many of us, it's lost patience with Illinois' budget drama and a growing backlog of unpaid bills that now hovers at $13 billion. It joins a chorus of other statewide interests that want a balanced spending plan hammered out between the governor and lawmakers before the General Assembly officially adjourns by month's end.

The Civic Committee report calls for annually raising about $8 billion more in state revenue  that's code for some new and higher taxes  while trimming $2 billion in government spending. It also recommends methods to improve Illinois' fiscal planning and advocates passing legislation to boost the business climate.

Details of the Civic Committee findings can and should be debated, but it's hard to dispute its on-the-ground, pragmatic assessment of Illinois' tragic finances, which the report correctly describes as an "unprecedented fiscal crisis."

We know the melody of this sorry song: Unpaid bills rising by $500,000 a month; unfunded public pension obligations of $130 billion; declining credit agency ratings on state debt and universities; and less access to critical human services for more than 1 million people.

Yet if this weren't bad enough, it could get worse should the budget impasse continue until the 2018 gubernatorial election, as some skeptics have suggested.

If so, that's a whopping mistake.

The ongoing saga of a dysfunctional Illinois  more than concern over rising corporate tax rates, onerous regulations or even those roiling public pensions threatens the state's economic prospects and commercial attractiveness.

As a central U.S. transportation hub that for decades has lured all types of companies and projects, Illinois has long been a contender for new or expanding companies. But the state's budget instability, and lack of any financial blueprint, is hurting the cause.

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For sure, those backing the Civic Committee report fear the instability will get totally out of hand.

If so, that will severely discourage investors from backing Illinois-based companies; suppress financial lenders' appetite for making business loans; and stop young people and professionals from coming here to study or work.

"Increasing uncertainty about the State's fiscal future  makes Illinois less attractive to businesses considering where to locate or expand jobs," the Civic Committee report contends.

Some interpret the Civic Committee's initiative as a backhanded slap at Rauner's insistence on attaching his "change" agenda to any budget deal with Speaker Madigan and the Democrats.

Since his election, the first-time governor has fervently supported institutional overhauls including term limits, revamped worker compensation rules and a property tax freeze.

You've probably seen those duct-tape TV commercials.

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Still, the Civic Committee isn't backing away from the Rauner agenda, especially workers' compensation changes.

But its business leaders have come to an important realization that the time has passed for gluing such demands onto an already complicated state budget and repairing the state's reputation is a much more urgent matter.

It sure is.

This week, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a budget that includes tax hikes.

It's now up to the House, where Speaker Madigan rules the roost.

Rest assured there will be plenty of time for a Rauner vs. Madigan blood feud when the election season really ramps up.

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Before then, both should take the Civic Committee's business advice and get on with the crucial task of passing a state budget and restoring a semblance of stability to Illinois governance.

Let's face it, what good are deal-makers if they won't make a deal?

roreed@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @reedtribbiz
Michael Ferranti, head of people and performance for Kraft Heinzs U.S. commercial business, stands April 27, 2017, between photos of company founders James Lewis Kraft, left, and Henry John Heinz, at the companys offices inside the Aon Center in Chicago. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune )

Certain kinds of people thrive at Kraft Heinz, one of the most ambitious and polarizing companies in the American food industry.

They're the types who can keep their desk clutter-free save for no more than two personal items, per company policy. The types who get amped up gazing upon charts of sales data posted on the walls at both headquarters locations, in Chicago and Pittsburgh, to see how they measure up to other teams, knowing a sizable bonus awaits the winner.

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More than money is at stake, though. Those who succeed at Kraft Heinz relish the battle to be the best.

"It's part of the culture and in the blood to be competitive, always fighting for that next win," said Michael Ferranti, Kraft Heinz's head of people and performance for the U.S. commercial business.

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Working at Kraft Heinz isn't for everyone, as executives readily admit. The company, backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, has a well-earned reputation for vigorous cost-cutting  good for shareholders, not so much for the hundreds of people laid off since Heinz, already owned by Buffett's firm and 3G, acquired Kraft in 2015. Those who survived the cuts have been challenged to do more with less.

Kraft Heinz, which reported about $26 billion in sales last year, isn't apologizing for any of that, though executives say the company doesn't get enough credit for investing money back into the business. In recent weeks, the Tribune interviewed six Kraft Heinz employees provided by the company at its Chicago headquarters in the downtown Aon Center skyscraper, as well as another six current and former employees who spoke on condition of anonymity.

From those talks, a clear picture emerged: Kraft Heinz is a company where the young and hungry can thrive, where those who don't buy in are left behind and where results matter above all else.

"We want to win," Ferranti said. "And frankly, there are some who will adapt and there are many who won't. That evolution over several years and quarters will determine who's really in for the long haul."

Ferranti's own trajectory provides a glimpse into the Kraft Heinz culture. Before the merger, he worked in Asia as a finance and operations executive for Burger King, another 3G-controlled company.

Now, at age 34 and with only about two years of human resources experience, he oversees the professional development of some 4,000 salaried workers in the U.S., where the company conducts the majority of its business.

Experience doesn't mean much at Kraft Heinz. Far more important are buy-in, ambition and, ultimately, results. And while Ferranti declined to provide an average age or tenure for Kraft Heinz employees, former employees interviewed for this story said many of the more experienced workers had been laid off or left on their own since the merger.

Of course, that's meant opportunity for others. Alyssa Bronikowski, 29, previously worked at Walgreens' corporate headquarters in Deerfield before coming to Kraft Heinz. Beyond the shorter commute, Bronikowski said she likes that she's rewarded with financial incentives for hitting certain clearly stated goals.

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"One of the things I really struggled with in some of my previous roles is that you work twice as hard as the person next to you but you might be compensated the same. I love at Kraft Heinz that you are compensated for the work you put in," said Bronikowski, senior manager of industry relations and sales communications.

That, in short, sums up the philosophy behind Kraft Heinz's system of meritocracy.

Work hard. Hit your goals. Good things will happen.

"The Kraft Heinz system and monetary rewards have been life-changing for me," said Stacey Johnson, 32, head of leadership and inclusion. After working for Teach for America for 10 years, Johnson said she was able to buy a new condo after only about one year at Kraft Heinz.

These warm and fuzzy feelings aren't shared companywide. One current employee in the Glenview research and development office said the reality of merit-based pay hasn't lived up to its promise  a view shared by some others who have since left the company. Despite a generous bonus for all employees last year, raises and promotions have been few and far between in the research and development office, even for people hitting their goals.

"I certainly think morale has taken a hit," said the employee, who asked not to be named out of concern for his job.

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Limit of 2 personal items

Visitors to the Aon Center's 76th floor are greeted by a bronze statue of the monocled Mr. Peanut doffing his top hat. The colorful room opens up to a public area where employees gather with laptops near shelves of discounted products. A giant replica Kool-Aid Man, the iconic mascot forever busting through walls, cheerfully waves from the corner.

Roughly 700 people were laid off in August 2015 when the company decided, after the merger, that it would move its Chicago-area headquarters to the Aon Center from Northfield. Smaller rounds of job cuts have since followed.

About 1,500 people now work in the five-floor Aon Center office, with another 600 to 700 people in the company's research and development office in Glenview, according to spokesman Michael Mullen.

The company's extreme cost-cutting has gone under the microscope since its failed bid to acquire Unilever for $143 billion in February. Some analysts have questioned whether Kraft Heinz's reputation is now hindering its ability to make a deal. After a recent disappointing quarterly earnings report, CEO Bernardo Hees found himself defending the company's business model and philosophy.

Kraft Heinz is widely expected to make another acquisition, sooner rather than later, because that's the established 3G pattern: Buy a company, cut costs, expand profit margins, acquire another company. Repeat.

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Company executives, meanwhile, insist they don't need another acquisition to grow the company's top line through increased investment in marketing and launching new products.

What's clear is the 3G method of zero-based budgeting  a cost-cutting mentality that calls on employees to think of company dollars as their own  has roiled change in the historically stodgy processed food industry, forcing other food companies to sharpen their own knives in order to compete. None has proven as adept at expanding profit margins as Kraft Heinz.

What does this mean for employees? As one example, workers are only allowed to print up to 100 pages per month, black and white, double-sided. And as part of a new pilot program to eliminate distractions and increase efficiency, employees can have no more than two personal items on their desk.

"I think (Kraft Heinz) has had a beneficial impact throughout the industry, pressuring other companies to operate more efficiently. ... The downside, of course, is when you go to zero-based budgeting, some jobs will be lost," said David Kass, a finance professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, who is also a Kraft Heinz shareholder.

All told, the company plans to eliminate 5,150 positions  a figure that includes both factory and salaried jobs  in its post-merger restructuring in the U.S. and Canada, according to its annual report.

But Kraft Heinz execs bristle at the notion that the company is only focused on cutting costs. Money saved is invested back into the company's brands and its employees, Mullen said.

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For example  even as the company shutters some older factories, such as the Oscar Mayer plant in Madison, Wis.  it spent $1 billion upgrading manufacturing facilities globally last year, including plants in Missouri and Iowa.

Kraft Heinz also increased its ad spending by $100 million over the past two years, Mullen said, and, in January, announced the launch of a new joint venture with Oprah Winfrey to sell refrigerated meals. Last year, the company paid out the largest bonuses in company history  including when both Kraft and Heinz were separate companies, he said.

In some cases, there's clearly a disconnect, though, between the company's decisions and how they are perceived by some employees. Former employees interviewed for this story lamented that their respective workloads ballooned  but their pay did not  as colleagues departed through the layoffs.

A former sales executive who worked at Kraft for 21 years  and who was laid off after the merger  said the snack bars where employees could get free coffee, Jell-O and other Kraft products were suddenly removed, a step he felt was less about cost-savings and more about showing employees that nothing was free.

Not so, Mullen said. The free snack bars in Chicago and Pittsburgh were actually replaced by two programs that represent a larger total investment, a company store with discounted products and monthly events with free products intended to bring workers together, he said.

Mullen, a 48-year-old native Irishman who worked at Heinz for 18 years, said he's had to work harder since the merger too, but said the rewards are "exponentially greater."

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"And when people just paint us as, hey, they're amazing at cost-cutting, they do an amazing job driving profit growth  there's so much more to our story than that," Mullen said. "That is a part of our story. We're not going to hide from that. But to say that's our story, it's incredibly naive."

Quick moves up ladder

There are no corner offices at Kraft Heinz. There are no offices at all.

In fact, there are hardly any doors to speak of, though there are some privacy rooms for employees to duck into for brief personal business. There are no chairs in those rooms, though. The message: Do not tarry.

Throughout the office, employees' personal goals are publicly displayed on placards on their desks; top executives, including CEO Bernardo Hees, have their goals posted on the wall.

The goals, part of company's "management by objectives" system, are data-driven and measurable, Ferranti said. They're also intertwined with those of other employees, which encourages teamwork, he said.

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All of this is designed to promote the company values of transparency, meritocracy and ownership.

Whether this system works as Kraft Heinz executives claim depends largely on how it's being executed, said Nicholas Pearce, clinical associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

A merit-based system for pay and promotions that's perceived as transparent can help the bottom line, but doesn't eliminate the possibility of bias and favoritism in determining which employees advance, Pearce said.

Last year, Kraft Heinz promoted 1,700 people globally, Ferranti said. And that's part of the appeal, particularly for younger employees: It's possible to move up the ladder quickly without years of paying dues.

And the grim headlines about the company's layoffs and austerity measures don't seem to have hurt recruiting efforts. Last year, 81,000 applicants from 22 different countries, including 17,000 from the U.S., vied for one of the 170 openings in the management trainee program that is Hees' baby.

The future leaders of Kraft Heinz look like Juliet Levine and Oliver Joost, ages 24 and 25 respectively.

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Both Ivy League college graduates, Levine and Joost also matriculated through Hees' six-month program. Both spoke enthusiastically about the company's culture and the opportunities it's afforded them.

"When you compare this company to other companies in the industry, I don't think there are many places where you could see 24-year-olds managing hundreds of millions of dollars of brands three years out of college," said Levine, senior associate and brand manager on the frozen snacks team. "I see endless opportunity for me here."

gtrotter@chicagotribune.com

aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GregTrotterTrib

Twitter @alexiaer
Navy Pier security officers with Teamsters Local 727 picket May 18, 2017, to protest a new contractor they say wants to replace them at a little more than half the pay. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune )

Navy Pier sued Teamsters Local 727 on Wednesday, with the popular tourist attraction saying it's concerned about unruly, access-blocking protests heading into the Memorial Day weekend.

Navy Pier, which says it attracts as many as 85,000 visitors a day, says in its lawsuit that for the past week, union members have "been standing in the street, physically blocking delivery trucks, buses and other vehicles that seek access to the Pier under the guise of a 'labor dispute' with a contractor that provides security services."

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Security guards at Navy Pier on May 18 began protesting plans by new security contractor Allied Universal to replace them. The union, which represents 43 security, fire and safety workers, says the company plans to replace its members, who make $24 an hour, with workers making a little more than half their wage.

Local 727 members have gone as far as standing in the street, "in front of the truck, forcing it to stop," according to the lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court. "They then surround the cab and harangue and coerce the driver in an attempt to stop the driver from coming into Navy Pier."

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Teamsters also park their personal vehicles in crosswalks, blocking traffic, the suit says.

Navy Pier wants the court to immediately issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Teamsters from blocking any part of Grand Avenue, Illinois Street or Streeter Drive and from parking any vehicles in no-parking zones in those areas, among other things.

The pier says in the suit that it's "not seeking to stop Local 727 from engaging in peaceful, lawful picketing" but rather "from physically blocking the streets leading into Navy Pier with their persons, their vehicles, or any other objects."

Navy Pier's lawsuit says it has called the Chicago Police Department, but union members "have persisted in impeding access," including "preventing the delivery of necessary supplies such as food and beverages" to the pier's 80 attractions, theaters, vendors, restaurants and bars.

Teamsters Local 727 couldn't be reached late Wednesday for comment.

The union wants Allied to retain Navy Pier's current security workforce and recognize the five-year contract it negotiated in June with previous contractor SMG, which had provided security at the pier since 2011.

Angela Burrell, public relations manager for Allied, said last week that the company is still setting up its staffing at Navy Pier and "any statement regarding the representation of those employees would be premature."

byerak@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @beckyyerak
Groupon co-founder and chairman Eric Lefkofsky and his wife, Elizabeth, on Wednesday sold their longtime six-bedroom, 11,029-square-foot mansion and estate in Glencoe for $5.175 million.

Lefkofsky, 47, co-founded Chicago-based marketing execution firm InnerWorkings in 2001 and then started several other companies before co-founding Groupon under its previous name, ThePoint.com, in 2007. He was Groupon's CEO from 2013 until late 2015, when he stepped back to resume his previous role as chairman.

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In 2014, Lefkofsky and his wife set a Chicago-area home purchase price record when they paid $19.5 million in cash through a Delaware limited liability company for a vintage, 15,800-square-foot mansion on 4 acres on Lake Michigan in Glencoe.

That purchase made the Lefkofskys' longtime estate in Glencoe expendable. They first marketed it as a so-called "pocket listing"  or not in the real estate multiple listing service  in 2015 for $6.45 million. They then listed it publicly for $6.49 million in February 2016 and reduced their asking price to $5.9 million a little over four months later.

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Over more than a decade, the Lefkofskys assembled their estate property in Glencoe, which is relatively large by Glencoe standards. They paid $1.525 million in 2003 for a 1.56-acre property on which now stands their six-bedroom mansion, which they had built in 2008. Features in the mansion include nine full baths, two half baths, an open floor plan, a two-story paneled library, an indoor spa, a large screened porch, a sport court, an exercise room and a movie theater.

The couple subsequently expanded their property by paying $630,000 in 2010 to buy a 0.29-acre property at the rear of their estate. Other features on the property include a tree-lined driveway, a modern barn that was built in 2010, a two-car garage, an in-ground pool, a pool pavilion and a bluestone patio.

Public records do not yet identify the buyer.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.







Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 16 (VHT Studios)

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 5 Billionaire Ken Griffin, Illinois richest man, paid $58.75 million in November for the top four floors in the Near North condominium building at 9 W. Walton St., known as No. 9 Walton. This photo shows a rendering of the lobby. (JDL Development / E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune (inset))
Film director and playwright Neil LaBute's longtime four-bedroom, Cape Cod-style house in North Barrington, which he owned for many years until deeding it to his ex-wife in March, came on the market this month for $898,000.

LaBute, 54, and his former wife, Lisa, owned the house until their divorce, said listing agent Heidi Seagren of Jameson Sotheby's International Realty. In March, LaBute deeded the house to his ex-wife, so she now is the house's sole owner, and she is ready to move on, Seagren said. She listed the house May 5.

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LaBute, best known for his play-turned-film "In the Company of Men," originally moved to North Barrington in the late 1990s from Fort Wayne, Ind., to be closer to a major airport, he told the Chicago Tribune in 2000.

Built in 1935, the house has 3 baths, a fireplace, hardwood floors, a kitchen with an apron sink and a Sub-Zero refrigerator, a dining area with a bay window, and a library. Outside on the 1.6-acre property are a guest cottage, a studio and a pool. Across all structures, the property has more than 5,200 square feet of livable space.

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"They both have loved this home, and they raised their family there. It's a very special spot with very special memories," Seagren said. "They've been divorced for a while, and it's time for her to move on with her life. It is a really special home. It's like you're stepping back in time when you're there."

Seagren said the LaButes updated many features in the home that "make it warm and comforting and reminiscent of a day gone by." They also gutted and remodeled the house, so while its construction date is 1935, its "effective date" feels more like the 1990s, she said.

"They just did it right," Seagren said. "It's been lovingly updated to its true farmhouse feel."

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.







Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 16 (VHT Studios)

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 5 Billionaire Ken Griffin, Illinois richest man, paid $58.75 million in November for the top four floors in the Near North condominium building at 9 W. Walton St., known as No. 9 Walton. This photo shows a rendering of the lobby. (JDL Development / E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune (inset))
The man who helped hold up two Northwest Indiana CVS drug stores was sentenced to 12 years in prison with no probation Monday for a Porter County robbery.

John J. Meister III, 35, of the 500 block of West Griffith Street in Galveston, Ind., now faces similar charges in Lake County for the robbery, his attorney, Mitch Peters, said.

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Meister was one of three people charged in the Feb. 9, 2016, robberies.

Stefannie Lockard 26, who told the Valparaiso CVS pharmacist, "I have a gun. I want all your pain medications," was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Aug. 8.

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Lockard, of the north 3400 block of County Road in Rensselaer, pleaded to Level 2 felony dealing in a controlled substance and Level 5 felony robbery.

The third person charged, Nicole Elizabeth Cooper, 22, of the North 7500 block of County Road 400 West in Rensselaer, is set to appear in court June 19 on robbery, theft and dealing felonies, according to court records.

The three were the CVS pharmacy at 1805 Calumet Ave. about 11:20 p.m., entering the store together.

After being told of a possible gun, the pharmacist put 10 bottles of Oxycotin with 100 pills each into a shopping bag, court documents state.

The pharmacy estimated the loss at $20,000.

Police identified the three from the surveillance video and followed their footprints to the west, then followed tire tracks from there towards Town & Country grocery store, where that store's videos showed a dark pickup truck drive south from the lot, records state.

Police apprehended them on Feb. 13, after officers responded to a report of a black Chevy Silverado driving eastbound in the westbound U.S. 30 lanes near County Road 250 West, the probable cause affidavit states.

Officers who stopped the vehicle near Lynwood Avenue identified three from the CVS video, and the three allegedly admitted to renting rooms in Merrillville and allegedly admitted robbing a CVS store in Merrillville the same night, according to charging information.

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Cooper told police that Lockard was trying to raise bail money for her boyfriend in Jasper County Jail, according to court documents.

Meister told police that most of the pills were still in their hotel rooms because they had trouble selling them, and police found the most pills in a warrant search, records state.

James D. Wolf Jr. is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Theres a right rose for every situation you might find yourself in during a Chicago summer. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

The old adage says happy people see life through rose-colored glasses, but I'd rather be looking through the bottom of a rose-filled glass. I advocate drinking rose year-round  why limit a good thing?  but there's something about warmer temps that especially call for a lip-puckering, mouth-watering rose.

You can pair wine with food, sure, but it's more memorable to match your bottle with whatever shenanigans you're getting up to, from pounding back a few glasses on your back porch to sharing a bottle with friends at Ravinia. Use the guide below to choose the right wine for Chicago's most common summer adventures.

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(A note on methodology: I picked the 17 bottles below after enlisting the Tribune Food & Dining team into an exhaustive tasting of nearly 50 roses, which were chosen based on local availability, variety in region of production, variety in wine style (there are many shades of rose, literally and figuratively), and with the exception of a few showstoppers, affordability  most of these bottles cost less than $20. The prices listed reflect the average price according to www.wine-searcher.com.)

IF YOU'RE ... HANGING ON A BACK PORCH

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If you're going to lose your weekend to day drinking, you may as well seek out low-alcohol bottlings. Session drinking is all the rage with the beer and cocktail crowds, so why not wine? These bottles have a lighter alcohol content, which means you can keep drinking long past sundown.

Teres "Le Secret Du Antiques Terroir" (Vin de Pays, France): This easygoing table wine's pale pink hue is like the blush of a baby's cheeks after waking from a nap. Young flavors of lime and citrus lift up the palate  it's as refreshing as a spritz, even though it's a still wine. $12.

Nortico Vinho Minho (Portugal): Hailing from northern Portugal  right on the border with the famed Spanish region of Galicia  this wine is light on its feet, a sipper if there ever was one. A blend of indigenous grapes, it's redolent with aromas of violet and oranges, with a zippy, uncomplicated palate, just the thing to cool you down while reading your book out in the sun. $14.

... WATCHING MOVIES AND CONCERTS OUTDOORS

You and a couple of friends have a blanket on the lawn at Ravinia or Millennium Park, catching Aretha Franklin, Common or "La La Land." You're here for the show, and the last thing you need is to fuss with accouterments like corkscrews, or open any ultra-serious wines. Grab some plastic cups and pour these bad boys.

Juve & Camps Pinot Noir Brut Rose Cava (Catalonia, Spain): A fizzy, pale ruby sparkler, this is a dry, easy sipper with pleasant floral and strawberry flavors. It's not a wine you need to linger over and discuss ad nauseam  it tastes like a boozy version of the South's favorite regional soda, Cheerwine. Just be sure to pop the cork before the movie starts. $16.

Domaine Montrose (Cotes de Thongue, France): The signature bottle from Domaine Montrose, a family estate that has operated in southern France since the 18th century, this rose is a quaffable blend of grenache, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. If Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in "La La Land" were a wine, this would be it: a kicky little number with friendly overtones (peach and berries), but with a peppery finish and lingering acidity. $10.

La Crema Pinot Noir Rose (Monterrey, California): All the hallmarks of cool-climate California rose are here, from the refreshing acidity to ripe, youthful flavors  think bright, juicy red cherries versus plush black ones. This bottle is perfect with picnic foods like creamy cheeses, chips and dip, BLTs and more. $20.

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... THROWING A SUMMER PARTY FOR 100 OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS

The guest list started small, but suddenly everyone from your college friends to their friends to the (super-fun) strangers who walked by and heard a party are in your backyard. The good news: Rose makes wonderful sangria. Snag a few bottles of any of these selections, mix them with gin and ripe berries (or any summer fruit), and you'll have a seemingly endless supply of party-friendly punch. Or you can jazz your glass up with a shock of soda water and farmers market fruit for a quick, light-as-air spritzer.

Three Rivers Winery Rose (Columbia Valley, Washington): The blend of syrah, sangiovese and cabernet franc has a rounded mouthfeel, juicy with raspberry flavors and an almost bubblegum aroma. $14.

Mathilde Chapoutier Grand Ferrage 2016 (Provence, France): Easygoing on the palate, with delicate flavors of peaches and tangerines, this wine is for those who can't get through Sunday brunch without a mimosa. It's classic in almost every sense, down to its bright pink hue and pleasing freshness. $18.

Fleur de Mer Rose Cotes de Provence (France): A classic Provence rose, long considered the category-defining region for roses, this bottle is crisp and fresh, with citrus and watermelon flavors, and a softly textured finish. $15.

... WIGGLING YOUR WAY ONTO A BOAT

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A friend with a boat is as near a unicorn as you're gonna get in Chicago. If you can somehow finagle your way onto a lakebound watercraft, these are the bottles that will impress your captain and snag you a return invite.

Charles Heidsieck 2006 Champagne (Champagne, France): A shimmering veil of salmon pink, this sweet-smelling Champagne is anything but sweet on the palate, with an aggressive, mouth-pleasing bubble and complex flavors. A sip is like eating toasted brioche smeared with currant preserves. $90.

Valle Reale Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo (Italy): Made with the montepulciano grape (called "cerasuolo" when made as a rose in the Abruzzo region), this deep, cranberry rose is darker than most. On the nose and palate, you taste a fun wash of flavors, like strawberry daiquiri with a sprinkle of savory cinnamon, or even a freshly baked bumbleberry pie. It's super zesty, kind of geeky, and just a neat wine to share with people who appreciate that kind of thing. $15.

J Christopher Cristo Irresisto 2016 (Oregon): A blend of grenache and syrah, this rose is an arrestingly ghostly pink, almost as clear and pale as a dragonfly's wing. It's not groundbreaking, but there's an interesting hint of salinity that dances across the tongue, creating an intriguing element that has you returning to the glass to figure out just what you're tasting. $16.

... DRINKING WITH YOUR FRIENDS WHO ONLY LIKE BEER

Sometimes, spending an afternoon putting back beers can be a bit much. You feel oogy, bloated and a little delirious (though that could also be sunstroke). These bottles are lighter alternatives for beer lovers looking for flavors beyond cliched floral, insipid offerings.

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Loimer Rose 2016 (Niederosterriech, Austria): Farmed biodynamically by one of Austria's leading winemakers, this rose is hued like fresh salmon  not the skin, but the flesh, almost shimmery in its oiliness. Clean and youthful flavors of a strawberry patch  leaves, berries and all  with a sharp aroma of white pepper make this wine a hint savory and rustic, while the lifting acidity almost makes you believe it's fizzy. $20.

Pagos de Nona 2015 "Mil Razas" (Bierzo, Spain): It's as if a ruby were melted into liquid. This dry wine, made from a dozen grape varieties, comes in a unique, thin-necked bottle holding a wild, savory potion. Light on the fruit flavors, it instead tastes of wild herbs, like rosemary and thyme, with just the slightest hint of red cherries. $17.

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Bonavita 2015 Terre Siciliane (Sicily, Italy): Hailing from a small family vineyard in Sicily, and made from handpicked, wild-fermented indigenous grapes, this wine is plush and full-bodied. There's a bit of volatile acid on opening up the bottle  a flaw to some people, but to others, a scent reminiscent of sour beers and ales. If you like those beer styles, give this a whiff, with its pronounced sour cherry nose and a bit of a Red Hots-cinnamony palate. $18.

... GRILLING AND CHILLING

Bring these wines to your next barbecue sesh  the refreshing acidity is perfect for prepping your palate between bites of saucy pork ribs or beefy, juicy steak.

Bedrock "Ode to Lulu" 2015 (California): A blend of old-vine mouvedre, carignan and grenache grapes, this wine practically begs for smoky pork and tangy barbecue sauce. Domestic roses get a bad rap, thanks to years of sticky-sweet white zinfandel, but this homage to French Bandol-style wine proves that pink doesn't mean swill. It's simultaneously fun and serious, full of fresh grapefruit, blood orange and cranberry flavors that can be mulled over or chugged  up to you. $22.

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Castello di Bossi Rosato Toscana 2016 (Tuscany, Italy): A blend of sangiovese and cabernet saugvignon, this rose is kind of muscular, meaning it offers more than just floral and fruit notes. A dusting of sage, thyme and other herbs lead the forefront before giving way to some of those lighter flavors on the finish. This is a rose that can match anything you throw on the grill  charred veg, herby chicken, lighter fish  but it's just as good on its own for the post-grilling part of the cookout. $17.

Lapostolle 2016 "Le Rose" (Chile): Made in Chile with Mediterranean grapes (cinsault, syrah, grenache and mourvedre), this wine echoes classic Provence-style wine. Lightly perfumed with cool floral notes, like a rose flower, its palate is slightly riper than the wines it is paying homage to. Silky and fruited with late-summer strawberries and slightly green apricots, it's zippy and a good match for creamy slaws and slow-cooked, dry-rub meats. $14.

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85






Kedgeree, a classic English breakfast dish that traces its roots to India's rice-and-lentil comfort food, khichri, is equally good for lunch or dinner. (Chicago Tribune )

A crisp, cleansing wine is what you'll want to quaff with this salmon and rice dish dressed with palate-coating yogurt and mayonnaise sauce. Look to France, with wines from the Loire, Beaujolais and Languedoc.

MAKE THIS

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Quick kedgeree with yogurt sauce

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 small yellow onion, finely diced; cook, stirring, until softened. Stir in 6 cups cooked rice; cook, 2 minutes. Add 14 ounces cooked salmon, skin removed, flaked; 2 cups frozen peas; 1/3 cup chicken broth; 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Cover; heat through over medium, 5-10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup each, chopped, cilantro and parsley. For the sauce, blend 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon each mayonnaise and lemon juice, and 1 clove garlic, minced. Serve over kedgeree. Makes: 4 servings

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Recipe by Judy Hevrdejs

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DRINK THIS

Pairings by sommelier Nate Redner, of Oyster Bah, as told to Michael Austin:

2015 Louis Metaireau Sur Lie Grand Mouton, Muscadet Sevre et Maine, Loire Valley, France: Muscadet is incredibly versatile with most seafood, especially richer fish like salmon. Made from the grape variety melon de Bourgogne, this muscadet displays notes of under-ripe orchard fruit (apple/pear/quince) and, due to the proximity to the ocean, carries a touch of salinity as well. The wine's tart acidity will bring our the lemon in the yogurt sauce.

2014 Guy Breton Vieilles Vignes Morgon, Beaujolais, France: Morgon Beaujolais leans to the masculine side of gamay, and this one's fine tannins will help cut through the fatty salmon and rich yogurt sauce. Notes of Chinese five spice in the wine will complement the mild spice profile of the dish too. Chill the wine before serving to accentuate the tart cranberry, pomegranate and cherry, and to bring out a touch more tannin.

2016 Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris, Corbieres, Languedoc-Roussillon France: Vin gris is rose's cool cousin, and this one is a blend of grenache gris, grenache noir, carignan, syrah and mourvedre, with lots of ripe citrus and notes of cantaloupe. The wine's loads of ripe fruit and acidity and just a bit of tannin will help counter the richness and weight of the dish's rice, fatty fish and yogurt.

food@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @pour_man
The strawberry sherbet from Dana Crees Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream is best made with fresh, local strawberries, but only after you have frozen them to help release more flavor, says the pastry chef. ( Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune )

You may have tasted ice creams by pastry chef Dana Cree if you've ordered dessert at any of the four Publican restaurants or Dove's Luncheonette since last May when she returned to the restaurant world after accepting an invitation by executive chef Paul Kahan.

Or you may have found Cree's premium pints with unusual flavors handwritten on "Hello My Name Is" stickers, the line on which she worked while culinary director at 1871 Dairy, the organic company named after the year that Mrs. O'Leary's cow was accused of causing the Great Chicago Fire.

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But now you can create her flavors yourself from her first cookbook "Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream: The Art and Science of the Scoop" (Clarkson Potter, $25), released this spring just in time for you to get in shape for ice cream season. (Cree will demo from her cookbook on the Food & Dining stage, 12:45-1:15 p.m. June 11, during Printers Row Lit Fest. For more details, see www.printersrowlitfest.org.)

Cree celebrated the launch with a pop-up ice cream shop at Publican Quality Meats where friends scooped a dozen flavors from the book, including Ricky's pretzel coffee toffee, salted creme fraiche caramel and chocolate peanut butter brownie crunch. While all the flavors found fans that night, the last one was by far the favorite, clear because it drew the longest line. It is one of what she calls composed scoops.

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"As someone who came of age in the day of Ben & Jerry's, I love chunks and ripples, nuts and bits, and bobs and chews in my ice cream," she said when we met for a tasting, "So the section we call composed scoops considers ice cream to be the whole dessert."

"There are some flavors inspired by desserts I've made in the past, like Kid's Play, which is a goat cheese ice cream with chunks of marzipan cake and a raspberry ripple. I used to serve an almond cake with fresh raspberries and whipped goat cheese."

Cree reveals in the book that when she made the dessert at Avec (where she worked, as well as at sister restaurant Blackbird, before 1871 Dairy), they would also feed scoops of the ice cream to "adorable baby goats" and one is adorably drawn as if licking a cone by illustrator Anna Posey, former fellow Blackbird alumna, now co-owner and pastry chef at Elske restaurant in the West Loop.

With more than 100 recipes in the book, it might be difficult to pick a favorite, but Cree allowed that there is one she likes to make the most for other people: strawberry sherbet.

"Mostly because most people have never had a strawberry ice cream that is that strawberry-forward," she said. "Most of the strawberry ice creams that we eat, that we buy commercially, have strawberry flavoring in them because it's so hard to add all the water from strawberries into ice cream without making it icy."

That problem of how to keep ice cream turning from creamy to icy leads to the S word: stabilizers.

"There's a whole section on stabilizers, which I know is the big nasty word in ice cream," said Cree. "All a stabilizer does is hold the water in place. There are a lot of different ingredients that can stabilize your ice cream and many of them are already in your cupboards or refrigerator, egg yolks for example in the custard ice cream bases, but corn starch, tapioca starch, pectin and milk proteins too."

Pastry chef Dana Cree will demo a recipe from her cookbook Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream on the Food & Dining stage at Printers Row Lit Fest on June 11. (Chicago Tribune )

By the way, what is a sherbet? "They're almost a lost art at this point," she said. "They're very low butterfat, have a little bit of buttermilk in them for tang, and they're very high in fruit, up to 25 percent of the base is made of fruit. They're the best way to showcase a fruit in my opinion."

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A note to home cooks. Cree is smart. Very smart. She's the kind of chef who really wants us to understand her food and does an excellent job of translating. But do understand that some of her recipes get seriously involved with detailed compositions. This is not a fast and easy ice cream cookbook, which is precisely why you may appreciate it too.

After you've tried some of Cree's recipes, maybe you'll come up with your own flavors. Cree is encouraging home cooks to use her guidelines to get creative, then share the results on her website (www.hellomynameisicecream.com).

"This book is about the readers," she said. "Everything I did was to empower readers to make any ice cream that their heart desires no matter what their skill level is, and I would really just love for that community of ice cream makers to connect to each other, so we can inspire each other and see what everybody's doing, learn from each other's mistakes or help each other out when somebody's having a problem."

But dripping ice cream on the book won't be one of them. Said the thoughtful pastry chef, "I chose a finish that would be the easiest to wipe drips of ice cream off."

lchu@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @louisachu

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#8220;Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream contains more than 100 recipes for ice cream (custard and Philadelphia styles), sherbets, frozen yogurts and add-ins. ( Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune )

Strawberry sherbet

Prep: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Freeze: 12 hours or more

Makes: 1 to 1 1/2 quarts

From "Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream" by Dana Cree, who writes, "It's bursting with more strawberry flavor than any ice cream you've tasted." She prefers to make the puree from frozen berries, even in strawberry season, so she freezes fresh-from-the market strawberries overnight. The freezing turns the water in the berries to ice crystals, she writes, which puncture the cell walls, causing an enzymatic reaction that makes thawed frozen strawberries "taste more like strawberries." If you don't have time for the freeze-thaw cycle, use fresh berries.

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1 1/4 cups (250 grams) strawberry puree, see below

 cup (100 grams) buttermilk

 teaspoon (3 grams) malic or citric acid, optional, or lemon juice to taste

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) milk

 cup (100 grams) cream

 cup (150 grams) sugar

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 cup (100 grams) glucose, see below

Texture agent of your choice, see below

1 Make the strawberry mixture. Whisk together the puree, buttermilk and malic acid in a small bowl. Set in the refrigerator.

2 Boil the dairy. Place the milk, cream, sugar and glucose in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking occasionally to discourage the milk from scorching. When the dairy comes to a full rolling boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from heat. (This is your sherbet base.)

3 Chill. Immediately pour the sherbet base into a shallow metal or glass bowl. Working quickly, fill a large bowl two-thirds of the way with very icy ice water. Nest the hot bowl into this ice bath, stirring occasionally until it cools down.

4 Mix the base with the strawberry mixture. When the base is cool to the touch (50 degrees or below), remove the bowl from the ice bath. Add the strawberry mixture to the base, whisking until evenly combined.

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5 Strain. Strain the sherbet through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the particles of strawberry that may remain intact. (This step is optional, but will help ensure the smoothest sherbet possible.)

6 Cure. Transfer the sherbet base to the refrigerator to cure for 4 hours, or preferably overnight. (This step is also optional, but the texture will be much improved with it.)

7 Churn. When you are ready to churn your sherbet, place it into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. The sherbet is finished churning when it thickens into the texture of soft-serve ice cream and holds its shape, typically 20 to 30 minutes.

8 Harden. To freeze your sherbet in the American hard-pack style, immediately transfer your finished sherbet to a container with an airtight lid. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the sherbet to prevent ice crystals from forming, cover and store it in your freezer until it hardens completely, between 4 and 12 hours. Or, feel free to enjoy your sherbet immediately; the texture will be similar to soft serve.

Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serving: 144 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 17 mg cholesterol, 25 g carbohydrates, 24 g sugar, 2 g protein, 27 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Strawberry puree

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Makes: about 2 cups

1 pound strawberries

1 Prep and freeze. Cut off the hulls or leaves; rinse berries in cold water. Drain and slice the berries in half, or, if very large, in quarters. Put the strawberries on a sheet pan and place in the freezer. Freeze for 4 hours, until completely solid, then remove and place in a blender.

2 Thaw and blend. Let the fruit thaw in the blender for 30 to 45 minutes, until 75 percent thawed. (If you don't wish to wait, skip the freezing step, and blend the raw fruit; but this freeze thaw-cycle breaks open the berries' cells for more intense flavor.) Blend the berries on medium speed until they start to break down, then increase the speed to high and liquefy them. Stop the blender to press the fruit to the bottom of the blender, if necessary.

3 Strain and store. When the puree is smooth, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve to catch as many seeds as possible. Store the puree in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for 3 months.

Glucose and its counterparts

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Cree uses glucose in many of her recipes. It can be ordered online or purchased in stores with candy-making supplies. If you cannot find glucose, you can sub corn syrup or the same weight of granulated sugar. "Your ice cream won't be as soft, and it will be more sweet," Cree writes. "But it will still be fine."

Texture agents

Cree suggests a number of options:

Commercial stabilizer: 1 teaspoon (3 grams) mixed with the sugar before it is added to the dairy.

Guar or xanthan gum: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) whirled in a blender with the sherbet base after it is chilled in the ice bath. (We used guar gum in the Tribune test kitchen.)

Tapioca starch: 2 teaspoons (5 grams) mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water, whisked into the dairy after it is finished cooking.

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Cornstarch: 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (10 grams), mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water, whisked into the simmering dairy, then cooked for 1 minute.






At the beginning of this month, a new company took operational control of Good Earth Power AZ, holder of the largest contract on the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. Officials with the new company, NewLife Forest Products, have pledged to get Good Earths troubled forest thinning track record back on track.

But along with Good Earth's habitual underperformance and lingering debt that NewLife will have to address, the 4FRI contract holder just got hit with another lawsuit filed by two former employees claiming nonpayment and breach of contract. That makes at least three lawsuits that have been filed against Good Earth by former employees or contractors.

Plaintiffs Martin Gillard, who worked as Good Earths chief operating officer, and Darren Gurner, who was the managing director, stated they had not received the full value of their promised salaries during their tenure at the company. Gillard was terminated from the company and Gurner was relieved of all day-to-day duties without notice in December.

Together the men claim they are owed more than $4.3 million in unpaid wages and associated damages, as well as attorneys fees, incentives and equity and unreimbursed expenses.

Jay Smith, senior forester with NewLife, said he could not comment on the lawsuit when asked about it at a 4FRI meeting Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit, the pay Gurner and Gillard received was erratic. The document details one instance in early June when Gillard received a payment of $250 for a week when he worked 70 hours. Over the rest of that month, he received payments of $750, $220 and $240, none of which matched his established compensation, which was an annual salary of $250,000.

Both employees allege they had been notified by Good Earth that the company would not be able to pay them their full salary. Jason Rosamond, who served as Good Earths CEO before NewLife took over operations, then promised they would be made whole, which he did not fulfill in full, the lawsuit states.

According to the document, both Gurner and Gillard agreed to continue working for GEPAZ despite receiving substantially less than their contracts had promised after hearing from Rosamond that the company was facing financial difficulties in its primary forestry contract.

They were then frustrated when, over the last three years, the company and related entities received millions of dollars in capital infusions from various investors.

The lawsuit also stated that the Department of Labor impounded timber harvested by Good Earth because the company had not paid wages owed to certain employees. It said that after that incident Good Earth did not conduct any investigation into wage payment practices, including salary or overtime payment practices.

In an email Department of Labor spokesman Jose Carnevali confirmed the departments Wage and Hour Division investigated Good Earth Power Arizona in the summer of 2016. The investigation resulted in Good Earth agreeing to pay $182,150 in back wages to 59 employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act that resulted from missed payroll. During negotiations with the department to resolve the violations, Good Earth voluntarily agreed not to ship product that had been produced in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Carnevali wrote.

Another investigation initiated by the Department of Labor in September 2016 disclosed additional federal violations also resulting from missed payroll, Carnevali wrote. In that case, he wrote that, Good Earth agreed to comply and paid $184,843 in back wages to 44 employees.

Since June of last year, the Forest Service reported it has been contacted 10 times with complaints about nonpayment or late payment by Good Earth. The agency also said that the company is complying with the terms and conditions of its 4FRI contract, though the acreage it can be awarded by the Forest Service is now limited under an acre-for-acre contract modification. That means the only acreage assigned to Good Earth in the future will be in an amount equivalent to the acres of forest the company has thinned the year prior.
What bread would you travel across town to taste? If you're like many Chicagoans, you're more likely to pick up a loaf at your neighborhood grocery store than trek to the bakery with the best dough starter.

But when convenience wins, you lose. Our city is in the midst of a great bread renaissance, one marked by sunflower ryes and nutty sourdoughs worth traveling for. In bakeries, restaurants and new bakery/restaurant hybrids, Chicago bakers are, while respecting tradition and craft, making breads unlike what you'll find anywhere else in the world.

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Take chef Ethan Pikas and baker Tony Bezsylko, co-owners of Cellar Door Provisions in Logan Square. The two are widely considered trailblazers in bread, offering everything from a coriander and fennel-seed sourdough to a savory-sweet brioche made with koji, the starter used to ferment miso and soy sauce.

Their business model is also a bit revolutionary: They sell to-go orders by the slice, but not the loaf. This stems from necessity  "We have very limited oven space, and even more so, a small staff and no fridge space," Pikas says  but it's also the way he, as a consumer, prefers to buy bread.

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"I do every now and again buy a loaf from Pleasant House (bakery) at the Dill Pickle (co-op)," he says. "It's really excellent bread. But what happens at home is I don't end up eating a whole loaf before it stales, and then my wife and I have to figure out a way to use it."

Makes sense. Or maybe, for you, it doesn't. The good news: Whether you're seeking a slice, loaf or eat-in bread plate paired with a glass of wine, you have plenty of destination-worthy options. I recently polled local bakers, chefs and critics on their favorite breads being made right now in the Chicago area, and tasted them all to pick my top 12. Five are restaurant/bakery hybrids, where you can order bread by the plate or buy it to go. Five are restaurants where you can order extraordinary bread that's best while dining in. The final two are bakeries only, each with a few seats, but primarily offering loaves to take home.

Just remember: Bread, unlike our love for it, is fleeting. Menus change, and some popular spots sell out quickly  it's always smart to call first.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 12 Coriander and fennel-seed sourdough, currently the house bread at Cellar Door Provisions, is served with a quenelle of soft, house-made cultured butter. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)

BAKERY/RESTAURANT HYBRIDS

Toast plate at Baker Miller Three slices of bread ($6), all different types, will be lightly toasted in the open kitchen at this Lincoln Square spot. But there are homey toasters on each table for guests who want a little more crunch. Once the bread is to your taste, hit the jam and butter bar, featuring house-made, seasonal options. I asked owner David Miller to dress my breads, which he did beautifully. Rugbrod, a hearty Danish seeded rye and oat bread, came spread with orange butter and tart lingonberries in honey; savory sunflower rye got fragrant herb butter and house-fermented hot sauce; and his signature bread, whole-wheat sourdough, was the perfect canvas for classic salted butter and preserved, sweetened rhubarb. Bread options change daily and are also sold by the loaf ($9) or half-loaf ($5). 4610 N. Western Ave., 773-654-3610, www.bakermillerchicago.com

Country bread and cultured butter at Cellar Door Provisions A big chewy slice halved in two of the always-changing house bread ($3) is served with what seems to be a too-big quenelle of soft, house-made cultured butter. But as you eat the last crumb of bread, you'll realize that you've used  and savored  every single swipe of butter too. This order is also readily available to-go; take the slices home and use them to make an epic sandwich. 3025 W. Diversey Ave., 773-697-8337, www.cellardoorprovisions.com

Bread basket at Floriole The assortment of breads in the basket ($6) from wife and husband Sandra and Matthieu Holl can change not just daily, but with each person who orders it. Recently, mine came with a thick slice of sweet and nutty sourdough, a crisp-crusted sesame-seed baguette, crunch-flecked seeded sourdough and a classic baguette, plus sweet butter and house-made tangerine jam. Prices vary for whole loaves, from house sourdough ($5.50) to semolina ($10); the semolina is the only bread available by the half-loaf too ($5.50). 1220 W. Webster Ave., 773-883-1313, www.floriole.com

Toast and butter plate at Pleasant House Pub You will almost always find the house whole or durum wheat sourdough on the toast plate ($3.50) at this Pilsen pub, served with butter and seasonal jam, recently strawberry basil. Owner Art Jackson built his own bakery at The Plant in Back of the Yards even before he opened the pub in Pilsen. Head baker Alexander Roman, formerly of Floriole, sells whole loaves to go (multigrain, $7; whole wheat, durum wheat or rugbrod, $6; baguette or ciabatta, $4) at The Plant (1400 W. 46th St.) on bake days: Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays. You can also buy loaves Saturdays at the 61st Street Farmers Market (6100 S. Blackstone Ave.); plus look at some local stores, including Dill Pickle Food Co-op (3039 W. Fullerton Ave.). Pleasant House Pub, 2119 S. Halsted St., 773-523-7437, www.pleasanthousepub.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 6 Baker Alexander Roman pulls a tray of bread out of the oven at Pleasant House Bakery's space inside The Plant in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Some of this bread will be sold by the plate at Pleasant House Pub in Pilsen, while other loaves will be kept here to be sold whole. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune)

Bread plate at The Publican You can order just the bread alone ($4) at the West Loop restaurant, thick yet airy slabs of barely toasted Spence Farm multigrain 1979 sourdough (the year an inside joke referencing the many grains and the decade of love for all things granola and grainy). It's the signature bake by Publican Quality Bread head baker Greg Wade, this year's James Beard award Outstanding Baker nominee. But I highly recommend adding all three available spreads ($7 extra) for the full sensory experience: creamy cultured butter with sea salt, intriguing sunflower seed sikil pak dip with mint, and chunky white cheddar pimento cheese. You can also buy whole loaves, including the 1979 ($7.50), an olive bread ($9) and ciabatta ($4), across the street at Publican Quality Meats (825 W. Fulton Market), but remember it closes at 6 p.m. daily, and 5 p.m. Sundays. The Publican, 837 W. Fulton Market, 312-733-9555, www.thepublicanrestaurant.com

RESTAURANTS

Pita at Avec The delicate, wood-oven-baked pita rises so dramatically that heads turn and conversations stop, improbably, when it's brought into the dining room. After I tasted the impossibly thin and tender puff recently, a communal table neighbor from Syria decided to order it as well. Chef Perry Hendrix serves the bread with silken hummus, intensely roasted carrots, pickled egg and chile almond sauce ($14), but a bread lover's secret: You can order pita separately ($2) if you're compelled. 615 W. Randolph St., 312-377-2002, www.avecrestaurant.com

Naan at Giant Described as naan or pita by staff and fans, this puffed, crisp-crusted, fatty and flavorful flatbread from chef and owner Jason Vincent is like nothing else in Logan Square, or perhaps anywhere. And it's not even mentioned on the menu, served only with the sweet-and-sour eggplant dish garnished with cashews and pancetta ($14). Giant, 3209 W. Armitage Ave., 773-252-0997, www.giantrestaurant.com

Wild rice and koji porridge bread at Kitsune Butter molded into the face of a fox, adorable yet boasting a sophisticated aged flavor, accompanies this daring Japanese-Midwestern bread ($10) in North Center. It's studded with soft, sweet koji porridge pockets and punctuated by crisp, puffed wild rice grains. Add complex house pickles ($6), which really means pickled vegetables that change seasonally  recently, carrots, chile asparagus, watermelon radish and molasses maitake mushrooms. 4229 N. Lincoln Ave., www.kitsunerestaurant.com

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Tigelle at Monteverde The warm, made-to-order, lard-laced rounds of Italian flatbread are only available with the burrata and ham plate ($20) at the West Loop restaurant. Stuff your own sandwiches with Broadbent country ham from Kentucky, creamy burrata cheese from California and charred local Mighty Vine tomatoes. Seasonal garnishes change, currently grilled and pickled ramps, but in the summer, find Grueneberg's favorite Italian-inspired variation with melon and country ham. 1020 W. Madison St., 312-888-3041, www.monteverdechicago.com

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Baked potato bing bread at Parachute Breathtakingly beautiful and skillet-cooked to a golden crunchy crust, this lovely Asian-inspired bread ($10) interpreted by chefs and owners Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark boasts chunks of fatty bacon and tender baked potato. Bright chive plus tangy, whipped sour cream butter complement the plate. 3500 N. Elston Ave., 773-654-1460, www.parachuterestaurant.com

BAKERIES

Bostock at Hewn

Slices of brioche baked with cherries, almonds, frangipane and powdered sugar make the lesser-known cousin to French toast known as bostock ($4.15), a good reason to eat too much bread. Owner and baker Ellen King also offers buttery brioche, the same kind used to make the bostock, by the whole loaf ($8), as well as many naturally fermented breads on a daily-changing menu. 810 Dempster St., Evanston, 847-869-4396, www.hewnbread.com

Ensaymada at La Patisserie P The pastrylike bread originally from Spain, then brought to Latin America by explorers, is served here in a Filipino-inspired variation ($1.25 small, $4.50 large), using sugar with butter instead of lard, by classically French trained baker and owner Peter Yuen. It's sweet and soft, with a hint of savory. 1050 W. Argyle St., 773-878-3226, www.lapatisseriepbakery.com

lchu@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @louisachu






Nowadays, closing-credit scrolls on Hollywood movies can run upward of 10 minutes, with every executive, caterer and cashier who came within shouting distance of the production name-checked. It wasn't this way back in the Golden Age, or even during the heady rush of the New Hollywood era. And as Daniel Raim's captivating documentary "Harold and Lillian" makes clear, the legions of uncredited craftspeople and sources of inspiration included key contributors to some of the American movie industry's most enduring creations.

The delightful duo at the center of Raim's film are storyboard artist Harold Michelson and researcher Lillian Michelson, whose 60-year marriage began in 1947 and ended with Harold's death at age 87. Subtitled "A Hollywood Love Story," the documentary chronicles not just their mutual adoration and respect, but also Hollywood's love for them, and the joy they derived from their work. Their personal story is no less fascinating than their experiences working on hundreds of movies, together and separately  among them "Spartacus," "The Birds," "Full Metal Jacket" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."

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You might want to check your auteur theory at the door; there have been few more potent examples of the below-the-line group effort that moviemaking entails. That image from "The Graduate" of Dustin Hoffman, framed by Anne Bancroft's seductively angled leg? Harold Michelson dreamed it up, along with hundreds of other visual ideas that served as blueprints for art directors, production designers, cinematographers and editors as well as directors. Frame-by-frame comparisons between finished films and Michelson's storyboards provide powerful evidence of those sketches' significance.

Raim, who previously profiled production designer Robert Boyle ("North by Northwest"), a contemporary of Harold's, organizes his new and archival material with a casual flow that echoes the down-to-earth warmth of his two terrifically witty subjects.

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It was soon after his service in World War II that Harold, a gifted artist, took a chance on Hollywood. From struggling apprentice illustrator he became an in-demand storyboard artist and eventually an art director and production designer, twice nominated for an Academy Award. Lillian took a chance on him, following him out to the coast from Miami to elope, determined to show his disapproving family that a "poor orphan" could build a good life with their nice Jewish boy. Having grown up in tough circumstances that she declines to detail, the elegant Lillian, who retired in 2010, has a scrapper's resilience.

Her doggedness proved essential to her work as a film researcher on Hollywood lots, as filmmakers Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks and Francis Ford Coppola attest. The Goldwyn library that she began working in as a volunteer and which now bears her name (and resides at the Art Directors Guild, after numerous moves around town) was, in the words of production designer Rick Carter, an "alchemist's lab" for artistic inspiration.

Through it all, Lillian and Harold were true partners, supporting each other's work in the fullest sense while raising three sons, one of them with autism. (Her characterization of the painfully benighted approach to the condition in the '50s is as damning as it is succinct.) On the evidence of Raim's film, they did indeed build a good life together. If they were unsung in the public eye, they were legendary within the business; their fans at DreamWorks named the king and queen in "Shrek 2" after them. With "Harold and Lillian," Raim gives these perfectly matched behind-the-scenes stars the spotlight they've long deserved.

Sheri Linden is a freelance writer.

"Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story"  3.5 stars

No MPAA rating

Running time: 1:34

Opens: Friday

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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 challenge I present myself with is to get out of my own way," says Benjamin Montalbano, founder and frontman of Matthaus. "At the end of the day, that's my MO and my reason for doing this project: to present songs that are digestible but also satisfy my own inner nerdiness."

Montalbano'snerdiness stems from his background in the classical music world. After getting an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in music composition, he briefly attended graduate school in San Francisco. Although he chose the location because of a professor who once studied under classical composer Nadia Boulanger, the overall experience proved to be too rigid for the musician.

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"It was very classical. And when I say classical, I mean Beethoven. It was very, very steeped in all of the classical traditions," Montalbano says. "I think having that knowledge base is really important but it just wasn't the right fit for what I was trying to do." He left graduate school after one semester.

Chicago was a unique challenge for Montalbano, and a surprise. Despite growing up in a small town in central Illinois with, as he claimed, about 4,000 people, he was hesitant to call Chicago his home. He did not believe the city could offer much creatively and artistically. "For some reason, I was just turned off from Chicago," he said. "I didn't realize how great of a city this is for art and culture and music. I guess the grass is greener."

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Four years after his move to the city, Montalbano appreciates what the city has offered him, namely room to grow and experiment as an artist. "I like that Chicago is sort of an underdog. Everyone talks about LA and New York and Nashville and having been to those places, I prefer Chicago," he said.

There are multiple, burgeoning music scenes in the city. For young artists especially, Chicago offers a place to test new sounds. A wealth of performance venues, underground spaces and accessibility to information and technology have made the city a prime spot for breeding successful musicians of all genres. Montalbano might be one of them.

On his latest EP, "Effigy," Montalbano takes his classical, orchestral roots and transfers them to the chamber pop world. Listeners will hear an array of influences, from folk and chamber music to rock, emo and bluegrass. On paper it might seem strange but Montalbano makes it work, precisely because he (and his bandmates) are willing to dig deep into their sound, inserting and removing what does and does not work. The result is a nearly 20-minute epic, filled with airy vocals, acoustic guitars, softly rumbling percussion, sensuous brass elements and effective melodies.

And despite his current music's distance from the classical world, Montalbano includes those compositional practices in his songwriting. "I like having all of those different colors," Montalbano says about his large collective of musicians. "We've been working and writing more, sort of just exploring the different ways we can manipulate those textures. And I see, for me, all of these people."

Many elements work in tandem to create a Matthaus song which, upon first listen, sounds simple and straightforward. Each song, he says, is its own universe. There is great effort to make the result sound rather effortless. For Montalbano, that is the goal. "No one at our show at the Empty Bottle is going to go, 'Oh, I see what he's doing here'," he says. "The most important thing is that it sounds good and doesn't sound nerdy. Like that's always the most important thing."

Britt Julious is a freelance writer.

onthetown@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @chitribent

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When: 9 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave.

Tickets: $10$12;(21+); www.emptybottle.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Earlier this month, Nigerian bandleader Femi Kuti held a saxophone note (A, if you must know) for 46 minutes, 38 seconds  which was big news to Kenny G. According to reports, Kuti's accomplishment broke the Guinness World Record previously owned by the floppy-haired '90s star who has sold 75 million albums.

"Oh, yeah, of course it matters to me. I'm very competitive," says the sax player born Kenneth Gorelick. "If it's true the record's broken, just know I'm coming for you, and I'm going to win."

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But footnotes and asterisks may apply to this one-note rivalry. NPR reported that yet another saxophonist, Vann Burchfield, of Birmingham, Ala., broke Kenny G's record 17 years ago, rendering moot any Kenny-Kuti rivalry. And Gorelick questions whether either of them is official, since he set his 1997 record beside Guinness reps with timers. "If Guinness isn't there, I'm not sure it counts. When I did my thing, Guinness was very specific about what the volume was. I couldn't change the notes," he says of his E-flat held for 45 minutes, 47 seconds. "But my plan is, I'm going to break every record."

Gorelick, 60, may play some of the most lighthearted smooth jazz ever created, and he's amiable and funny in a 20-minute phone interview, but he is intense when it comes to his career and achievements. Throughout the conversation, from an Atlanta movie set that he is forbidden from talking about, he casually reels off box-office numbers for tours he did early in his solo career (like eight sold-out nights in 1990 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, co-headlining with fellow '90s over-the-top megastar Michael Bolton). Asked about his latest release, 2015's "Brazilian Nights," he is borderline cocky.

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The bossa nova album is characteristically inoffensive, dragging Antonio Carlos Jobim's 1964 classic "Girl from Ipanema" back into elevators. Gorelick made it after listening to "Getz for Lovers," by Stan Getz, whom he first heard as a student in the University of Washington jazz band. That led to Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley.

"I never really thought about doing anything of theirs until recently," he says. "Part of my motivation was sharing this love of these great saxophonists with people who wouldn't necessarily reach that far back into the jazz world.

"It's very tricky, technically, especially if you're going to do it (in) the old style. You're not playing bossa nova, you're playing traditional jazz music," he adds. "I worked really hard to learn the licks and study the vibe and the nuances.  I felt like, let's say you play my song called 'Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars),' and you still don't like my sax-playing, or you say you don't like me  it's basically a preconceived notion, because a lot of those notes are so on-the-money, and basically the same notes Cannonball Adderley played. That was one of the fringe benefits of doing it that well, I felt."

Gorelick's popularity peaked in the era of grunge and gangsta rap, and his super sweet sax tone and speedy solos led to ferocious critical reviews despite his undeniable super popularity. The vitriol lingered into the 21st century, as the New Yorker's Evan Osnos traveled to China and heard Kenny G on a transistor radio held by a Great Wall guard who "smiled so graciously that I couldn't bear to ask him to throw it over the edge."

"It really never bugged me at all. Not at all," he says. "Some people are very protective of traditional jazz, and anything that's not sounding traditional-jazz, they just don't like. They have the right to feel that way. I just didn't take it personally. I didn't think they were correct."

Born in Seattle, Gorelick picked up the sax when he was 10, then bought his first soprano saxophone (for $300, from a guy he found through the classifieds) at age 17. When R&B star Barry White toured the Northwest, he lacked a saxophonist who could play soulfully and sight-read music; Gorelick's Franklin High School band director pushed him for the gig, and he performed to a standing ovation. Gorelick played more shows with White's Love Unlimited Orchestra, and that led to a string of guest-sax appearances on albums by Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and others. Kenny G went solo in 1982 and toured relentlessly, slowly growing into the absurdly big-haired star who sold millions of copies of 1992's "Breathless" and 1994's inescapable "Miracles: The Holiday Album."

It wouldn't be quite accurate to say Kenny G has had a career renaissance, a la Tony Bennett in the '90s, but his good-natured social media presence and ability to laugh at himself has made him a target of gentle pop-culture mockery. ("I'd rather be dragged down the aisle," somebody on Twitter wrote after Gorelick entertained airline customers on a recent flight.) On his website, he posts a 2016 "Saturday Night Live" clip of comics Danny McBride and James Corden lampooning him and Bolton:

"His tone was horrible," Gorelick wrote of McBride's evil-grinning, off-key skronk merchant, "but his hair was magnificent." He and Bolton remain friends, although they don't sell like they used to. "We were selling 6-7-8-9 million records and playing before 6-7-8-9 thousand people," he says. "Now it's super hard. That was nothing, to us, back in those days."

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Steve Knopper is a freelance writer.

onthetown@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @chitribent

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St.

Tickets: $69-$154; 312-462-6300 or www.thechicagotheatre.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Covering the current health-care debate in Washington, I hear politicians every day (and read them on Twitter) describing our current system as a disaster. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price informed a key House Appropriations panel recently that the Affordable Care Act is making health "unaffordable for so many Americans." President Trump has predicted that the federal insurance exchanges the ACA has created will both "explode" and "implode" (in which order, I'm still unclear). Having just passed the American Health Care Act through the House, congressional leaders and administration officials have promised that the legislation will return the country to "patient-centered care" and lower the costs of premiums for Americans in some states who have seen them spike, once it's eventually signed into law.

But with just one exception - Trump's call for lower prescription drug prices - almost no one inside the Beltway is coming up with plausible ideas to cut the cost of health care. Luckily, Elisabeth Rosenthal, a longtime health-care journalist and former emergency room physician, has tackled this question in her new book, "An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back." Reading it is a sobering experience, one that shows what's really at stake when it comes to our sprawling, costly and illogical health-care system.

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Other authors have taken on this territory before: David Goldhill's 2013 book, "Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father - and How We Can Fix It," provided a persuasive case for applying free-market principles and greater transparency to the health-care industry. But Rosenthal - who practiced medicine before entering journalism and now serves as editor in chief of Kaiser Health News - combines her reportorial and medical skills to provide an authoritative account of the distorted financial incentives that drive medical care in the United States. As a result, she has produced a fairly grim tale of how patients - and at times, insurers - are getting ripped off, sometimes with devastating consequences. In short, this is the antithesis of a feel-good book.

Yet it is illuminating, because Rosenthal does plenty of digging to explain the puzzling outcomes that patients and those who care for them often encounter. How does the American Medical Association determine the value of specific services that are entered as codes in a given bill? The AMA convenes the Relative Value Scale Update Committee three times a year, where representatives from different specialties argue over how much they're worth. One former committee member, a dermatologist, tells her it's like having "26 sharks in a tank with nothing to eat but each other." Why did the reimbursement rate for immunological tests done by pathologists drop? Rosenthal offers one theory: "Pathologists tend to be quiet, antisocial types and have never been very good at forming alliances or lobbying." Why doesn't the Food and Drug Administration have more tools to ensure that drug development is cost effective? Because Congress was in a rush to respond to the thalidomide tragedy in the early 1960s, when the babies of some women who took the morning-sickness drug were left with permanent birth defects.

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Plenty of Americans are familiar with the idea that pharmaceutical drugs are vastly more expensive in the United States than in other nations and that drugmakers spend enormous sums on advertising their wares while keeping generic versions of these same medicines off the market. But few probably know that many medical devices get scant scrutiny from the FDA because they fit into the "Class 2" category of devices, which are "substantially similar" to ones on the market and used for a similar purpose. While this might sound reasonable in theory, it means different versions of a vaginal mesh taken off the market in 2002 continued to sell, even though the original one had caused a significant number of internal injuries.

Throughout the book, Rosenthal intersperses human stories that demonstrate what happens when the medical profession fails us. Wanda Wickizer was a healthy 50-year-old until she had "a random explosion deep within her skull" on Christmas in 2013; since she was uninsured, her physical injuries were accompanied by hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills. At one point, a hospital official suggested seizing her home as a way to help erase the debt. A 36-year-old diabetic in Memphis, Catherine Hayley, noted that the insulin pump she wears on the waistband of her jeans is "made of plastic and runs on triple-A batteries, but it's the most expensive thing I own, aside from my house."

While Rosenthal does her best to squeeze in a few jokes (mostly lighthearted references at pathologists' expense), the subject matter makes for dense reading at times. This is a thorough book, but it's hard to envision a casual reader picking it up and whiling away the weekend with it. And on occasion her obvious immersion in the medical field slows the writing down a bit, as when she decries the disappearance of two anti-nausea generic drugs. "Not having prochlorperazine available in an emergency room is like not having acetaminophen (Tylenol) in a drugstore." I couldn't help wondering why the book's editor hadn't just struck "acetaminophen" and left "Tylenol" in its place.

Still, Rosenthal does include a set of very practical tips at the end of the book for ensuring that individual patients lower their bills and obtain the treatment they need. This sort of "news you can use" served as a pick-me-up after the parade of horribles that preceded it. She provides smart questions consumers can ask not just their doctors, but also hospitals and insurers. She even strikes a rebellious tone by suggesting that readers consider importing "long-term medicines whose efficacy can be clearly measured" since that's an easy way to cut costs. "Importing drugs for personal use is technically illegal," she notes blithely, "but intercepting small packages of medicine is impossible from a practical standpoint - and the U.S. government has for a long time intentionally turned a blind eye to the practice."

There are several policy prescriptions at the end, too, but even Rosenthal acknowledges that most of them aren't going to be adopted anytime soon. And that's the irony of this book: At a time when the national health debate is largely centered on how to manage insurance rules for about 15 percent of Americans, Rosenthal has made a powerful case for everything else that's wrong in the way that we treat illness in this country. Maybe every lawmaker and administration official should pick up a copy of "An American Sickness." Then, at last, the serious debate could begin.

An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

Penguin Press. 416 pp. $28






Don Harvill, a veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been training and living with his service dog Sierra and finds that she calms his post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Veteran Don Harvill leaned on alcohol and medication to cope with his PTSD, hoping that he could forget what happened in Iraq 12 years ago.

He was drunk for two days after he returned from the war, where he felt some responsibility for the death of a fellow soldier. Harvill turned to a therapist for help, but he still couldn't move forward.

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This spring, more than a decade after he went in Iraq, his nightmares finally stopped.

Harvill, 47, says a three-week intensive program at the Center for Veterans and Their Families at Rush University Medical Center helped ease years of persistent pain.

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But nothing helped more with his healing, he said, than an exuberant, golden Labrador and mastiff mix named Sierra.

"She has changed my life," Harvill said of Sierra, who was given to him by K9s for Veterans and has been trained to help with the Wilsonville, Ill., vet's specific needs. Sierra senses his anxiety and stands protectively nearby, as Harvill talks about his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The big thing that I feel with her is there's a bond. When I left the military, you lose part of it. But now it's like I have it with her. She's got my back at all times."

Michael Tellerino, CEO and founder of K9s for Veterans, said the organization travels to kill shelters, looking for animals with a calm and eager-to-learn temperament. It matches bloodhounds and Labradors, and even a Yorkie, to a veteran's lifestyle  city or town, apartment or home with a yard. K9s also ensures that veterans have a letter from a psychiatrist recommending the dog. The service is free to soldiers.

People with PTSD tend to self-isolate, says psychologist Michael Brennan, associate clinical director for Rush's Road Home Program. He says having a dog means an owner must walk it outdoors. For a veteran like Harvill, who is nervous around crowds, the canine companion may make him feel more comfortable in public spaces.

"Particularly combat vets, they have associated crowded places with danger," Brennan said. "In crowded places where a dog would go with them, then they're retraining and relearning that crowded places aren't necessarily dangerous."

Veterans who attend the free intensive program are receiving therapy and taking part in fitness and stress reduction programs. They stay in the Illinois Medical District Guest House, near Rush.

Of the 120 people who have graduated from the program since January 2016, 92 percent are post-9/11 veterans. Many veterans join the program years after their tours. It takes time to understand symptoms or acknowledge a need for help.

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"I think we have only begun to see what PTSD looks like from Iraq and Afghanistan," Brennan said.

Harvill served seven years in the Navy before enlisting in the Illinois Army National Guard. In 2004, he deployed to Iraq with the Illinois Army National Guard's 1644th Transportation Company, helping to transport equipment.

A trained mechanic, Harvill took pride in ensuring trucks were as equipped and safe as possible. He recalls how his team spent Christmas Day fixing a Humvee crippled by an explosive device. When one soldier felt unprotected on all sides while holding a gun on top of a truck, he added steel to one side.

"Anything you wanted, I did," he said.

On Feb. 9, 2005, Sgt. Jessica M. Housby was riding in a cargo truck when an improvised explosive device detonated near the convoy, according to an Illinois Army National Guard spokesperson. The 23-year-old Rock Island, Ill., native was killed.

Housby's mother, Deborah Housby-Bundy, said her daughter was an outgoing person who got along with everyone she came in contact with. More than 1,000 people attended her funeral.

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"She was a very bubbly, I'm talking a very bubbly person," Housby-Bundy said.

Her fellow soldiers didn't find out about her death until hours later, Harvill said, when they were told by superiors to head toward the chapel.

Harvill said he knows he did everything he could to make the trucks safe. And a therapist helped him understand he should let the enemy, not himself, shoulder the blame. But the responsibility he felt shadowed him long after  through his 2008 deployment to Afghanistan, and even during times spent with his family.

Night terrors started when Harvill returned from Iraq. His boss told him he had changed. He and his wife sought marriage counseling.

At Rush, after years of avoiding talking about what he was experiencing, he found himself holding a stress ball and water bottle and telling a group his story. They were silent. But later, many shared the same feelings.

His wife, Amy, recalls that when he met Sierra, it only took a few minutes before they were playing catch and rolling around on the floor. She watched, crying.

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She says her husband is a different man from the one who could barely get out of bed. Sierra has given him purpose.

"It's keeping him occupied," she said. "He likes to have that responsibility of taking care of someone else. (He's) taking care of himself now too.

"We've got an adorable little blonde at home that I don't have to worry about," she said.

On a recent afternoon driving through stressful Chicago traffic, Sierra placed her nose on his shoulder the entire way. She sleeps between them at night, the back of her head nestled on Don's chest and her paws on Amy's back.

Harvill wants other soldiers to know that there are many options available to help with healing. Before, he said, he didn't care if he lived or died. He barely talked to his adult daughter or son. "It's hard to explain, because I felt like a failure," he said, choking up.

Now, his daughter jokes that he calls too often, bragging about what tricks Sierra has learned.

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"She's bringing me closer to my kids," he said, "because they can't wait to meet her."

abowen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @byalisonbowen

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Chicagoan Tamar Manasseh is a real live superhero.

But you may be aware of that already.

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She, on the other hand, recently found out.

You may have heard about her work as founder of Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK). As one of many women fed up with Chicago's violence, her group of moms sat down in Englewood in an effort to stand up to deter would-be troublemakers. That was three years ago. Since then, the mothers have hosted regular block party-style sit-ins at a number of intersections in the city. This summer will be no different, Manasseh says. Women and volunteers will be out there every day trying to make a difference.

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"There are no days off," Manasseh said. "I didn't start out to be an activist; I'm not an activist. I'm just a mom."

Her efforts have been noticed locally and now nationally. Studio Movie Grill (SMG), a Dallas-based movie theater brand with a location in the Chatham neighborhood, selected Manasseh as Chicago's "Real Life Woman Superhero." The mother of two was one of more than 700 nominees in the nationwide search for everyday women making a difference in their communities.

"I couldn't believe I won. I thought it was a prank," Manasseh recalled upon hearing the news.

Inspired by the upcoming "Wonder Woman" film, SMG paired with Warner Bros. Pictures for the national campaign to find women with the most inspiring stories from each of SMG's 11 markets, including Chicago. Winners were chosen based on their dedication to helping others and resiliency in the face of tough circumstances.

Manasseh and the other winners will be flown to Dallas to attend a red-carpet screening of the film about the DC Comics heroine, presented with SMG's Opening Hearts and Minds Award, and receive a $1,000 donation for the charity of their choice May 31.

"What put Tamar apart was she actually put her life on the line  it's one thing to be doing something as your occupation or your job; it's quite another to go out in a community and make a change," said Lynne McQuaker, SMG senior director of public relations and outreach.

Mya Seals, assistant to the news director of WFLD-TV, nominated Manasseh for the award. Seals said that when she thinks of a modern-day female superhero, her mind goes to Manasseh.

"I can't think of anybody besides my mama that is more deserving than Tamar," Seals said. "I think she's super deserving of any accolades that she gets. A story came out about the most dangerous block in Chicago. She saw that story and said we have to do something to help these residents. Tamar and her army of moms went out and sat on that corner and began to develop a relationship over there. And that's not even something we see the police or aldermen doing. She's really taken this mantle up and run with it. I'm just in awe of the woman she is and the work that she does."

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Seals said Manasseh had no idea she was nominated. But that's not stopping her excitement for the recognition.

"Wonder Woman? What girl in the '70s didn't want to be Wonder Woman? I know I did," she said. "I started thinking about if I should wear a cape to the premiere! How cool would that be?" Manasseh jokes.

She said she's erring on the side of caution in her fashion choices but not on where the award money will be spent. She said the money will either all go toward MASK's planned green space and playlot for children at 75th Street and Stewart Avenue or she will split the money  half for MASK, half for an animal charity.

"I've been showing plans of the playlot around to everybody like it's one of my kids," she said excitedly. "We're excavating the space now, cleaning it up, so we can use it. We'll be ready to go as soon as we get the deeds for the land."

MASK has become Manasseh's full-time job. Four chapters currently exist, but she's looking to add more, including one in Jackson, Miss., over Memorial Day weekend.

"I'm proud to be a part of helping create a blueprint for other communities to copy," Manasseh said. "When you build community, violence doesn't have a chance to get in."

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drockett@chicagotribune.com

@DarcelTribune

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This 2013 photo shows the ICU nurses station at the University of Chicagos Center for Care and Discovery. Germ samples were collected for two months before the hospital opened in February 2013, and for 10 months after the opening. (Tom Rossiter / University of Chicago)

One hospital's germ history may help doctors curb infections in all hospitals, researchers report.

Scientists analyzed more than 10,000 samples collected over 12 months from surfaces, air and water in the University of Chicago's new hospital, the Center for Care and Discovery. Samples were also taken from 252 patients. The samples were collected for two months before the hospital opened in February 2013, and for 10 months after the opening.

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Germ DNA was detected in 6,523 of the samples.

But the makeup of those germs changed drastically once there were humans in the building.

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"Before it opened, the hospital had a relatively low diversity of bacteria," said study author Jack Gilbert, director of the Microbiome Center at the University of Chicago. "But as soon as it was populated with patients, doctors and nurses, the bacteria from their skin took over."

Another interesting finding was that germ movement reversed quickly in hospital rooms.

On a patient's first day in the hospital, germs tended to move from surfaces in the room to the patient. But after that, most germs moved from the patient to the room, the investigators found.

"Within 24 hours, the patient's microbiome [germ makeup] takes over the hospital [room] space," Gilbert said.

And the longer a patient was in the room, the more drug-resistant dangerous germs became, the findings showed.

Samples from the rooms of 92 patients who had longer hospital stays showed bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis managed to acquire genes that could boost antibiotic resistance and promote host infection.

"This requires further study, but if it proves to be true, then these genetic changes could affect the bacteria's ability to invade tissue or to escape standard treatments," Gilbert noted.

The researchers believe these findings could help other hospitals battle the spread of infections among patients.

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"The Hospital Microbiome Project is the single biggest microbiome analysis of a hospital performed, and one of the largest microbiome studies ever," explained Gilbert, who is also group leader in microbial ecology at Argonne National Laboratory.

"We've created a detailed map, highly relevant to clinical practice, of microbial exchange and interaction in a large hospital environment," he said in a university news release.

"This describes the ecology of a building, a thriving microbial ecosystem that regularly interacts with patients in a seemingly benign way  at least most people don't appear to be negatively affected. It gives us a framework, something we can build on, showing how microorganisms enter and colonize a hospital environment," Gilbert noted.

The study was published in May in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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Every once in a while, you meet someone who makes you grateful to be walking around on Earth right now, sharing space and time with such a delightful character.

Marley Dias is one of those people. She's the 12-year-old force of nature behind #1000BlackGirlBooks, a grass-roots campaign to collect and donate children's books that feature black girls as protagonists. She hoped to collect 1,000. She's up to 9,500.

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Dias will be in Chicago on June 6 and 7 for the Social Innovation Summit, where a bunch of grown-ups will talk about "sparking social action" and "driving change" and use phrases like "increasingly complex global landscape."

"I'll be talking about how to use frustration as fuel to help others," Dias told me. "And how I was able to use the problem of only seeing white boys and their dogs as characters as a way to uplift and elevate the stories of black girls."

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I adore this kid.

Dias began her campaign to diversify reading lists in 2015 when she was a sixth-grader tasked with reading a whole lotta "Old Yeller," "Shiloh" and "Where the Red Fern Grows" and not enough (meaning zero) "Brown Girl Dreaming" and other tales with girls of color at the center.

With the help of her mom, Janice Johnson Dias, co-founder of GrassROOTS Community Foundation, she launched a social media campaign to collect 1,000 books with black girl main characters to donate to libraries.

Booksellers and authors quickly jumped on board with donations. Ellen DeGeneres gave her a check for $10,000 to buy books. Dias, who lives in West Orange, N.J., discovered authors and titles she never knew existed.

"I normally got books from big publishing companies like Penguin, Simon & Schuster and Scholastic," she said. "I didn't know there were so many independent authors out there making books. Now I want to promote their stories even more."

Of the 9,500 books she's collected, she said 1,500 are unique titles. One of her favorites is "Aya: Life in Yop City," a graphic novel by author Marguerite Abouet, who was born and raised on the Ivory Coast.

"My goal is to promote the stories of black girls, not only for black girls, but for other kids who are different," she told me. "I come from a community that has a lot of white kids, and I notice how a lot of times they don't understand our differences and how I come from a different culture and my ancestors are different and my history is different. I want to create mirrors and windows for people in communities all across the world."

Mirrors and windows  I love that, I told her. Tell me more.

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"When I say mirrors, I mean I want these stories to be reflected for the black girls who are reading them, so they can see themselves and identify themselves and learn about their history," she said. "When I say windows I mean open up to people who are different, to understand and to see and grow from those things we don't understand.

"If I meet someone who's Native American, and I don't know anything about indigenous people in New Jersey  which I kind of don't, which is not really good  I can learn more and more about their lives and that makes me a more open person and a more accepting person," she said. "And at the same time, I'm showing others that I can be kind, I can be caring, I can be special."

I asked her about her real-life heroes, as opposed to the fictional heroes she reads about in books.

"I have role models," she said. "But I take the attributes of the people that I admire, and I use them to create my best self. I can look at Madam C.J. Walker, who was one of the first (black, female) millionaires, and I can say, 'I want to be as industrious and I want to be as motivated as her.' Not that I want to live the life she did, but that I want to be my best self and have those traits and abilities of Madam C.J. Walker to allow me to do that."

Dias said that when she's 63 years old, sitting on her front porch  "hopefully in Massachusetts"  she'll ask herself if she did all she could to channel her inner Madam C.J. Walker.

"Was I able to reach my goals and be a TV producer or film producer or a magazine editor for my own magazine?" she said. "Was I able to use those skills in my role model toolbox or my activist toolbox?"

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Dias has a book coming out in January. "Marley Dias Gets It Done  And So Can You" will be published by Scholastic. "It's a guide for everyone to use their gifts and talents to make the world a better place," she said.

Also in January, she'll head to Paris with her mom  a long-promised 13th birthday present.

"I've been reading a bunch of stories about young girls going to Paris, and now it's actually going to happen," she said. "I want other kids to see the joy in reading and literacy and how if you read about things they become so much closer, and if you're willing to put in the effort and time and passion, you can really understand them.

"That doesn't just go for places," she said. "That also goes for people."

Watch out, world. This kid is changing you for the better.

hstevens@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @heidistevens13

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The National Weather Service has issued another Red Flag Warning Friday for the Little Colorado River Valley and the White Mountains amid strong winds and low humidity.

Gusts could top 40 mph beginning around 8 a.m., when a wind advisory will take effect.

In Flagstaff, the Friday forecast calls for winds of 30 mph and cooler weather, with temperatures rising again through the weekend. There is a chance of afternoon thunderstorms in the region beginning Monday.

6 a.m. Thursday: Strong winds in Flagstaff region prompt Red Flag Warning Thursday

Much of northern Arizona will be under a Red Flag Warning for critical fire conditions today as winds gusting to 40 mph move into the region.

The National Weather Service says winds will pick up in the afternoon across a wide area stretching from western Coconino County to the New Mexico line. Temperatures in some places will reach 90 degrees with low relative humidity.

Winds will continue strong Friday across the region, especially in southern Navajo and Apache counties.

Although no formal fire restrictions are in effect on the Coconino and Kaibab national forests, campfires and open flames in the forest are discouraged on Red Flag Warning days. Drivers of high-profile vehicles should use caution amid gusty winds and blowing dust.

Winds will decrease by 8 p.m. today, with the holiday weekend forecast in Flagstaff calling for sunny, warm weather. There will be a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoons early next week.

Following is the detailed National Weather Service forecast for Flagstaff through next week:

Today

Sunny, with a high near 74. Breezy, with a southwest wind 20 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph.

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 43. Breezy, with a southwest wind 19 to 24 mph decreasing to 13 to 18 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 68. Southwest wind 11 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.

Friday Night

Clear, with a low around 39. Southwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 40.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 75.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 43.

Memorial Day

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.

Monday Night

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Tuesday

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.

Tuesday Night

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Wednesday

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 73.
The Farnsworth House is a modernist masterpiece designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The house museum in Plano is opening an exhibition, "Edith Farnsworth's Country House," that displays replicas of furnishings of the house's original owner. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Leave it to filmmakers to sex up steel and glass  we're talking Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House.

"Mies van der Rohe's masterpiece is a juicy tale of sex and real estate," reads a teaser for an upcoming movie about the modernist icon.

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Big things are on the horizon for the minimalist glass house in Plano, 60 miles southwest of the Loop, and not just the film, which will star Jeff Bridges as the legendary German-American architect and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Edith Farnsworth, the client and Chicago doctor with whom Mies is said to have had an affair.

After years of weighing alternatives to protect the riverfront home from flooding, its owner has settled on the controversial idea of installing hydraulic jacks beneath it. Before or during severe flooding, the jacks would lift the Farnsworth, which already is raised on stiltlike columns, even farther into the air. The idea is to avoid a repeat of the damage done when the Fox River inundated the house in 1996 and 2008.

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"The hydraulic option is both innovative and as elegantly simple as the house itself," said Katherine Malone-France, vice president for historic sites at the Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation, the house's owner.

Completed in 1951 as a weekend getaway for its namesake, a nationally renowned kidney specialist who had met Mies at the home of a mutual friend, the Farnsworth House has long cast a special spell. Thousands have visited since the National Trust joined with local preservationists to buy the house for more than $7.5 million at a tension-filled 2003 New York auction, then opened the house for tours.

With its walls of glass and its white framework of exposed steel, the house has the austere elegance of a Greek temple and the spiritual quality of a Shinto shrine. Independent New York filmmaker Richard Press, who is working with producer Matt Flanders on the Farnsworth House movie, describes the house with similar reverence.

The first time he saw it, he said in a telephone interview Wednesday, "I got teary. I have never wept over a piece of architecture before. The person who showed me the house said that happens all the time."

By virtue of his artistic sensibility and experience, Press seems well-qualified for this directing assignment. His credits include an award-winning feature film about the late New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. About 10 years ago, he and his partner commissioned an upstate New York glass house inspired by the Farnsworth House and architect Philip Johnson's equally famous Glass House in Connecticut.

There is likely to be a Johnson character in the film, Press said, as well as a dramatic version of the ugly court battle between Mies and Farnsworth over the house's unexpectedly high cost. The film, Press said, would be a "two-hander," focusing as much as Farnsworth as on Mies.

"What fascinates me with the story is that you've got these two formidable people in this really interesting, complicated relationship, which was essentially a romance," Press said. "It ended really tragically and sadly, but out of this really complicated relationship came one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever created."

Bridges and Gyllenhaal, who both appeared in the Oscar-winning 2009 film "Crazy Heart," are the confirmed co-stars, but much is still to be resolved, including the film's title; where and when it will be shot; and when it will appear in theaters.

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If the film is a hit, it could boost attendance at the Farnsworth House, which, according to the National Trust, draws about 9,000 to 10,000 visitors a year  solid, but hardly off the charts.

More important, the film could help the trust raise money for the network hydraulic jacks, which would be built in a pit beneath the house. The project is expected to cost at least $10 million when design, construction and maintenance costs are accounted for.

Climate change and rapid suburban development, it's thought, have brought the Fox River's waters higher than the level Mies anticipated.

The National Trust floated the hydraulic jacks option in 2014 but preservationists objected, saying lifting the house would create an undignified "Jack-in-the-Box" effect. They also complained that the plan would separate the house's upper portion, which would have been lifted by the jacks, from its lower terrace, which would have remained in place.

In 2015, the trust pondered another plan that would have moved the Farnsworth House to a nearby riverfront site that was on higher ground and considered less flood-prone. Yet the setting felt "completely manufactured," said Bonnie McDonald, president of Landmarks Illinois, the Chicago-based historic preservation advocacy group that oversees restoration efforts at the Farnsworth through a legal arrangement known as as facade easement.

The current concept calls for the hydraulic jacks to be placed beneath the entire house, which would have to be moved and then returned to its original site when construction of the underground network was complete. Yet the trust needs to raise $750,000 to pay for construction drawings that would show exactly how the plan would work. Landmarks Illinois would have to give final approval.

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There is still no construction timetable, which clears the way for possible on-site filming. It would be wonderful, would it not, if a fictional account of the Farnsworth House were to help bankroll the safekeeping of the real thing?

Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.

bkamin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @BlairKamin
Harold Katz didn't require a crash course in Hebrew before his bar mitzvah next week in Wilmette. He started preparing 76 years ago, and his skills never got rusty.

Katz, 89, who lives in a North Side retirement home, was to have celebrated the occasion in Czechoslovakia back in 1941. But that plan  like so many others  was upended by the Holocaust. The Nazis ultimately murdered his father, mother, three brothers and four sisters.

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Now his belated bar mitzvah, the Jewish ceremony that marks the transition to manhood, takes place under the shadow of a theological puzzle.

"Why did God let this happen?" he asked me. "For all these years, I've been asking that. I will never understand."

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One brother survived the Holocaust. Katz's own survival came through a chain of happenstance just short of miraculous.

If a single link had broken, he wouldn't be spending Memorial Day reading from a Torah scroll he commissioned and in a synagogue  Chabad of Wilmette  built of imported Jerusalem stone that he donated.

The distinctive, whitish stone is freighted with meaning for Katz. Virtually every building in Jerusalem is clad in it. When the sun hits at the right angle, the city seems to shimmer, like the storybook city of Oz.

Amid the horrors of the Holocaust, Katz desperately wanted to take refuge in Jerusalem, but the Germans were determined that he wouldn't escape, and the British were determined that he wouldn't reach Jerusalem, which they then ruled.

At the time Katz's bar mitzvah was originally scheduled, his hometown of Tarn, Czechoslovakia, was occupied by Hungarian troops allied with Hitler. They were determined to be rid of the Jewish townspeople.

"They went up and down the streets, ordering the Jews to get dressed quickly and come to the synagogue," Katz said.

"I remember it as if it was yesterday," he said. "The trucks coming down the street. How we were loaded up."

They were taken to a larger city and, eventually, across the border to Poland. There they were ordered out of the trucks and left beside the road without food, water or shelter.

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"We ate out of garbage cans," Katz said.

His father had a sister living in Poland, and Katz's family moved in with her. Then his father thought they had a better chance of surviving back in Czechoslovakia. He took the family across the border to Chust, as they feared being recognized in their hometown.

From that point, his family's saga has to be told as separate chapters.

A Hungarian woman offered to smuggle Harold Katz into Budapest, where she was going to rejoin her husband. Katz's father didn't object. Perhaps he thought it increased the odds that someone would live to tell the story? So the woman hid Katz under a wagonload of lumber and got him to Hungary.

The rest of the family remained in Chust. In 1944, they were sent to Auschwitz, where more than a million Jews were killed.

"I think: 'Why didn't I save them?'" Katz said.

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His daughter, Lila Katz, said it's futile to try and reassure her father: "I tell him: 'You were a boy, barely 13. What could you do?'"

In Hungary, Katz made contact with an underground Zionist group that provided him with false identity papers. He wore a cross and a red-and-white armband, posing as a member of the Hungarian army's youth group.

"Three times I was caught," Katz said. "And three times I got away."

In one jail, he said, he bribed a guard with a wristwatch not to cut his hair off; a bald head was a telltale sign of an escaped prisoner. Another time, after being put to work unloading supply wagons, he took off running.

But he couldn't escape Nazi-occupied Europe. In 1944, he was on a list of people awaiting passage to Palestine, but the boat sailed before his number came up.

As the war was drawing to a close, he was hiding in an abandoned building in Budapest. So, too, he said, was a deserter from the German army, who bragged about killing Jews and Russians.

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Liberated by a Russian detachment, Katz told the Jewish commander about the German in the building. He said the Russian soldiers dragged the German out and blindfolded him. The commander handed Katz a pistol.

"I shot him in the back," Katz said.

Did that dissipate his anger? No, he replied. To this day, he feels it.

Katz, then 17, assumed the rest of his family was dead until a survivor of Auschwitz said Katz's oldest brother was alive. Harold and Maurie Katz found each other, then joined the myriad displaced persons wandering Europe after World War II.

When one fellow traveler said he was going to New York, Harold Katz recalled that his mother had relatives in the United States. So he gave the fellow an ad to place in the Forvertz, a Yiddish newspaper published in New York.

"Ich zich mein feter und tante," the ad began. "I'm looking for my uncle and aunt."

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Wonder of wonders, an aunt and uncle in Chicago happened to read the Forvertz the day the ad ran. They sent Harold and Maurie a telegram, followed by a food package, then airline tickets.

The brothers lived with their newfound relatives on Evergreen Street. Harold found work as a sewing machine operator while Maurie learned the building trades. He established a construction business, and Harold joined him. They built homes all over the Chicago area.

Along the way, Harold learned English at the Jewish People's Institute, a West Side community center. There he met his wife, Judy, a survivor of Auschwitz. They had a daughter, Lila, and two sons.

Lila Katz said her parents didn't talk about the Holocaust until 13 years ago, when she saw a movie about Budapest in World War II.

"I knew my Dad had been there, so I told him: 'You're going to show me Budapest,'" Lila Katz said.

There Harold Katz took her to where he had witnessed Jewish children being killed. Pointing to a watch in a jeweler's window, he said: "A watch like that saved my life."

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Last year, the family threw a big birthday party for Katz. "My dad got up and, out of the blue, announced: 'I'm going to have a bar mitzvah,'" Lila Katz said.

And so he will. The celebration is scheduled to begin the Sunday before Memorial Day, with the completion of the Torah scroll that Katz commissioned. By tradition, the final letters will be written in memory of congregants and friends' loved ones.

In this case, there is a long list of people Katz could honor: his martyred parents, brothers and sisters. The aunt who sheltered his family in Poland. The Hungarian woman who smuggled him under a pile of lumber. Members of the underground who gave him forged papers. The fellow survivor who carried his ad to the Forvertz. The aunt and uncle who brought him to America.

"They're always with me," he said. "In dreams, I see them."

In recent years, Katz's wife and brother died, which got him thinking about how he'd like to be remembered. Not just by a memorial plaque or a beautiful scroll, but a more personal memory. He wanted it to be a story his grandchildren would want to tell their children:

Grandpa Katz, full of years, stepped up to the readers' platform in synagogue on Memorial Day. He touched the Torah scroll with the corner of his prayer shawl and kissed it, as is customary. Then reading a passage, he honored the ancient injunction to pass on the Lord's commandments, as the Bible says: "And ye shall teach them to your children, talking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way."

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rgrossman@chicagotribune.com
Elgin Police Detective Tony Rigano (left) and Lt. Frank Trost talk about the departments We Can Help program at a summit for area police departments held at The Centre of Elgin Wednesday. ( Handout/Elgin Police Department )

While Elgin Police Chief Jeff Swoboda prepared to brief the City Council on youth-related department programming Wednesday evening, earlier in the day he was part of a summit the Elgin Police Department hosted on the nationwide heroin problem.

According to Swoboda, 75 police officers from departments across Kane County or near Elgin attended the gathering, which was held in the ballroom at The Centre downtown.

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"A goal was to see if we're on the same page in addressing this issue," Swoboda said. "Another purpose was to share information, ideas and details of programs being run."

Among programs covered, Swoboda said, was the Elgin department's We Can Help program, which Elgin police started in early 2016. The offering invites heroin users to come to the Police Department at 151 Douglas Ave. to turn over any drugs and paraphernalia they have.

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Officers working in the program try to get those people into drug rehabilitation, and Wednesday Elgin Detective Tony Rigano and Lt. Frank Trost talked about the effort, Swoboda said.

In January, Rigano and Trost told The Courier-News how they worked together to build the We Can Help program by researching and talking with other departments and social services about what they were doing to address opioid addiction.

Someone arrested on the street with heroin or who has an outstanding arrest warrant is not a candidate for the program, Trost said. Those people are possible candidates for the Kane County Drug Court program.

"But you can come in with family, friends, a support group. They have to be an adult. There are not juvenile facilities" for the program, he said. "But if it happens to be a juvenile we will do our best to get them placed" in treatment, Trost said.

Wednesday, speakers discussed how to get out in front with parents about the heroin problem, Swoboda said.

Representatives from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency discussed how heroin makes its way to the area, the number of deaths attributed to heroin and even more powerful opiates and how people across generations are becoming addicted to such drugs, Swoboda said.

Points covered by the DEA also included information about how use of prescribed painkillers is contributing to heroin addiction, Swoboda said, and how heroin's potency/purity has dramatically increased since the 1980s and 1990s.

The session Wednesday was the result of Elgin Police Cmdr. Colin Fleury meeting with all Kane County departments to talk about what programs other departments are using to prevent drug abuse and deaths and what they are seeing in their respective communities, Swoboda said.

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"This was our first meeting, which was just for police officers," Swoboda said. "We're figuring out where we will go from here and what we might hold for the public."

mdanahey@tribpub.com

Freelance reporter Janelle Walker contributed to this article.
Chicago was the only city among the nation's 20 largest to lose population in 2016  and it lost nearly double the number of residents as the year before, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

It's the city's third consecutive year of population loss. Chicago's population fell by 8,638 residents between 2015 and 2016, to 2,704,958. The year before, it declined by 4,934.

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The population of the greater Chicago area, defined by the Census Bureau as the city and suburbs extending into Wisconsin and Indiana, is also declining. Numbers made available in March showed a drop of 19,570 residents in 2016  the greatest loss of any metropolitan area in the country.

Illinois' population fell by more than any other state in 2016, down 37,508 people, according to census data released in December.

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Chicago's population drop is part of a larger pattern of slowed urban growth in 2016. The country's top cities did not see the same surge as in previous years, experts say.

During the recession of 2008, families chose to stay in or move to core urban areas, and migration to the suburbs decelerated. Now, as families recover economically, they're deciding it's time to move back to the suburbs  a trend experts say may keep city populations where they are for the next few years.

Illinoisans in recent years have flocked to Sun Belt states, such as Texas, Arizona and Florida, contributing to the local population loss. During the years after the recession, migration to those states slowed, but then it heated up again as states in the South and West had greater job opportunities and affordable housing.

While the major cities in those states continue to grow, they aren't growing as rapidly as they have in recent years. Houston, which saw the second-largest increase among major cities in 2015, when it gained 40,817 residents, gained 18,666 residents in 2016.

Demographers last year told the Tribune that Houston's growth in 2015 was a sign it could overtake Chicago in a decade as the nation's third-largest-city. But with the slowing growth of big cities overall, experts aren't sure it will happen so soon.

Even New York didn't see as much growth in 2016 as it had in previous years. It grew by 21,171 people, compared with 44,512 people in 2015 and 49,530 in 2014.

"The big city growth we saw at the beginning of the decade is not quite as evident in the last couple years," said William Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution who analyzes census data.

By most estimates, Chicago's population will continue to decline. Over the past year, the Tribune surveyed dozens of former residents who said they have packed their bags for a variety of reasons: high taxes, the state budget stalemate, crime, the unemployment rate and weather.

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Black residents have been among those leaving in search of safe neighborhoods and prosperity, with many heading to the suburbs and warm-weather states. Chicago lost 181,000 black residents between 2000 and 2010, according to census data.

Chicago's population plunge continues to be a result, mostly, of losing residents to other states. About 89,547 residents left Chicago and its surrounding suburbs for other states in 2016, a number that couldn't be offset by new residents and births, according to an analysis of census data released in March. The number of people leaving the Chicago region is the highest since at least 1990.

More than any other city, Chicago has depended on Mexican immigrants to balance the slow growth of its native-born population. During the 1990s, immigration accounted for most of Chicago's growth. After 2007, when Mexican-born populations began to fall across the nation's major metropolitan areas, most cities managed to make up for the loss with the growth of their native populations. Chicago couldn't.

The entire Midwest has been losing residents, census data show. Detroit lost 3,541 residents from 2015 to 2016, and Milwaukee lost 4,366. But job and business opportunities are still stronger in neighboring Midwestern states than in Illinois, sending more Chicagoans to other parts of the Midwest than vice versa, experts said.

The greatest number of Illinois residents in recent years went to Texas, followed by Florida, Indiana, California and Arizona, according to 2013 Internal Revenue Service migration data.

Chicagoans are likely to continue heading to those warmer states, as the South in 2016 was home to 10 of the 15 fastest-growing large cities. The population of Texas as a whole continues to rise, and the Census Bureau placed five Texas cities on its list of major cities with the largest population increases.

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Michael Bennett, 43, moved to Houston for a job in 2008, but was so committed to staying a Chicagoan that he kept his Lincoln Park home, and would fly back on spare weekends and holidays. He sold his property and settled in Houston for good in 2015, saying his "romance and love for Chicago couldn't outweigh" his concerns about the city.

The cost of living was too high, he said. Property taxes kept rising. His home was robbed twice. "It's not just limited to poor neighborhoods. Trouble could strike anywhere," he said.

He had moved to Chicago in 2005 after spending most of his life in Michigan. Living in Chicago was always his dream, and he still misses being on the lakefront and strolling down Michigan Avenue. But Houston offers a diverse, cultural lifestyle similar to that of Chicago, he said. He's received job offers to return to Chicago, but even a higher salary couldn't balance increasing property taxes, he said.

Bennett said he thinks there will soon be a "tipping point" in Chicago, when more residents realize it's time to go.

"It's just sad to see that people have to leave the city to protect their own future cost of living," he said.

meltagouri@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @marwaeltagouri
The Chicago Board of Education unanimously authorized borrowing close to $900 million Wednesday after the district's finance chief warned of "dire" consequences if the school system didn't add to the system's already substantial financial burdens.

Board President Frank Clark asked Chicago Public Schools finance chief Ron DeNard whether failing to approve the loans would leave the district "facing the real likelihood of simply running out of money."

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"Yes," DeNard replied.

The borrowing plan continued to elicit criticism from activists and politicians, in part because Mayor Rahm Emanuel has declined to publicly outline his plans to bring more revenue into the district as long as a budget battle continues to rage in Springfield.

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"I look at the Board of Education, and they're responsible for the financial oversight of CPS, but I don't think they're pushing the mayor to respond to the need for sustainable revenue," said Jennifer Jones, a CPS parent and member of the Raise Your Hand parent advocacy group, who voiced similar concerns during the public comment portion of the board meeting. "It's always just a temporary fix. Even if we got the additional money from the state, it still wouldn't be enough."

Emanuel didn't budge on the idea of tipping his hand, while continuing to place blame for the district's problems with lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

"If you think in the final seven days, I'm going to tell Springfield everything I'm going to do while they're negotiating an education budget, you've got to get yourself another negotiator," Emanuel told reporters Wednesday.

"That would be the dumbest thing you could do. I'm supposed to sit there and figure out and give them a road map of how to take them off their responsibility, which is in the constitution to fund education?" the mayor said. "I'm supposed to tell them what I'm going to do, so they don't do their job? Not a chance."

School board members approved adding two loads of debt to the district's books: An up to $397 million short-term loan backed by delayed state grant payments; and as much as a half-billion dollars in long-term bonds meant to bring more cash into the system and modify the terms of some of the district's existing bond debts.

The terms of both deals are pending.

City and schools officials have said the state owes CPS $467 million in state block grant payments that are nine months behind schedule because of the long-running Illinois budget impasse.

In a letter sent to CPS this week, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza's office said it was "committed" to transmitting state aid payments "as soon as cash flow circumstances permit." But the office said the magnitude of the state budget backlog meant it "could not predict with any certainty the timing of these future non-general state aid payments."

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The district plans to borrow around $389 million against the late grant payments. Officials have said that short-term borrowing against the grants which will likely come at a hefty cost, will allow the district to make much of a $700 million-plus contribution owed the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund by June 30.

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The half-billion in new bond debt approved by the board would be used in the district's coming budget year, which begins July 1, to bring cash into the system and modify the terms of some of the district's bond debts, a district spokeswoman said.

"We probably won't go out at $500 million, but we'll size the bond based on what our underwriters say the market capacity is," DeNard told board members of the plans for additional bonds. "But if we see that opportunity, then we will seize it, and that brings cash into our operating account and helps us out in fiscal year '18."

The Rev. Michael Garanzini, a board member, asked "what's the consequence" if the board didn't authorize the borrowing.

"The consequences would be that we would be in dire financial shape in June, because again, the state owes us $467 million, and then this second bond deal helps from July and going forward," DeNard said. "So it bridges us in July and gets us to our property taxes coming in and then we re-finance that short-term loan. Both loans are items very critical to our cash flow."

Chicago Tribune's Bill Ruthhart contributed

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jjperez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @PerezJr
The woman waved her driver's license in the air, trying to prove she was the mother of the man lying shot on the other side of the yellow tape in Washington Park.



"Let me see my baby! I have my ID! I need to see my child," she shouted in a hoarse voice at Chicago police late Thursday.



They tried to reassure the woman, dressed in a black sweater and a white shirt, rocking on her feet. She didn't leave until the ambulance did several minutes later.



"He's going to Stroger," one officer told her. "Let us do our job. We're taking care of your baby."



The 23-year-old man had been shot several times. He was found on the ground in the 5600 block of South Wabash Avenue about 11:50 p.m and taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital.



The man was among six people shot in Chicago on Thursday through early Friday, three of them fatally, police said.



 One of the fatal attacks was a double shooting around 2:30 p.m. in the South Side's Avalon Park neighborhood, police said.



An 18-year-old woman was killed and a 17-year-old boy was wounded when two people approached them and opened fire in the 8100 block of South Kimbark Avenue, police said.



Chastity Johnson was hit in the chest, and the boy suffered wounds to the back and leg, authorities said. Both were taken to Stroger Hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead, officials said.

Johnson lived about a mile away, in the 7900 block of South Drexel Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.



 About 11:45 a.m. on the South Side, a 30-year-old man was shot and killed two blocks west of Ogden Park in the Englewood neighborhood.



Police said Bobby Lloyd was arguing with someone in the 6500 block of South Laflin Avenue when the other person shot him in the chest and torso. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office.



Lloyd lived on the block where he was shot. A person was in custody, and charges were pending, police said.



 Another fatal attack happened about a block from Ninos Heroes Elementary School in the South Chicago neighborhood Thursday morning.



Officers found 27-year-old Scott T.L. Coleman slumped over in a vehicle with a gunshot wound to his body about 8 a.m. in the 8200 block of South Escanaba Avenue.



Coleman, of the 8100 block of South Muskegon Avenue, was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital and pronounced dead at 8:08 a.m., the medical examiner's office said.



Police had been called to check someone's well-being and found the man in the vehicle, police said. Police did not release information on the circumstances of the shooting.



Tribune data show the last time someone was shot on the block was in February 2013, and there have been no homicides on the block since the Tribune began keeping detailed homicide data Jan. 1, 2013.



 Around 4:53 a.m. Friday, a 31-year-old man was shot while sitting in a vehicle in the 3800 block of West North Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood, police said. A dark gray car with tinted windows pulled up alongside him, and a man in the passenger seat fired. The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the right buttock. His condition was stabilized.
A Waukegan man accused of stabbing his two cousins, one fatally, said from the witness stand Wednesday that he'd acted out of self-defense but admitted he'd first lied to authorities because he was in the country illegally and was using an assumed name.

Juan Guajardo, 41, is accused of killing his cousin and housemate Manuel Alaniz and seriously injuring Alaniz's brother Ignacio Alaniz-Hernandez during a 2014 altercation following a night of heavy drinking.

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Guajardo's lawyer, Jed Stone, said Alaniz had placed his client in a chokehold and that Guajardo "had no choice but to defend himself."

"I thought they would kill me," Guajardo testified of his cousins. "I was terrified."

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The defense also suggested that Guajardo didn't set out to stab his cousin but that Alaniz basically fell into the knife while the two tussled.

Prosecutors countered that Guarjardo charged Alaniz with a knife, forcing Alaniz to grab his cousin, but they said he was not choking Guajardo.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Scott Hoffert said the notion that Alaniz walked or fell into the knife is "not credible."

In closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors underscored how Guajardo gave differing versions of events to authorities, including that he was not involved at all, that he intervened to try to break up a fight between the brothers and that he acted in self-defense.

"That's why the story keeps changing. The reason is because it's not true," Hoffert said.

Guajardo said from the witness stand Wednesday that he initially lied to authorities because he had previously been deported to Mexico. When he returned to the U.S., he took on the name Jose Guajardo and was working in construction under that name. He feared that authorities investigating the stabbings would learn his true identity, he said.

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Guajardo had hired Alaniz to work with him on his concrete crew.

Both Alaniz and his brother were stabbed in the torso and were bleeding profusely when responders arrived to the Waukegan home the three men shared. Prosecutors said Guajardo, by contrast, appeared to be in "pristine" condition, though Stone submitted photographs that he said showed Guajardo had red marks on his neck and a swollen eye.

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Alaniz-Hernandez testified for the prosecution Tuesday, admitting that he and his brother had been drinking heavily and had ingested cocaine. He said the three men had been together at a local bar earlier in the evening and that, upon arriving home, Guarjardo starting yelling at Alaniz and then pushed him.

Alaniz-Hernandez said he attempted to separate the two men when he felt what he thought at first was a punch to his stomach.

Stone sought to point out inconsistencies between Alaniz-Hernandez's testimony and other evidence in the case, and said Alaniz-Hernandez was too intoxicated at the time for his recollections to be taken as fact.

Judge Daniel Shanes is expected to announce his verdict Thursday.

Susan Berger is a freelance reporter.
A Waukegan man who fatally stabbed his cousin during a fight has been found guilty of second-degree murder.

Juan Guajardo, 41, claimed he acted in self-defense when he stabbed his two cousins in the home the three shared in 2014, following a night of heavy drinking.

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Manuel Alaniz, 39, died of his injuries while his brother, Ignacio Alaniz-Hernandez, was seriously wounded but survived to testify against Guajardo.

Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes said the severity of the brothers' injuries suggested more than self-defense on Guajardo's part. The defendant didn't just graze them with the knife, he "impaled" them, the judge said.

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Yet Shanes stopped short of a first-degree murder verdict  opening up the possibility that Guajardo could receive probation at his future sentencing, though he could also receive up to 20 years in prison, plus additional time for the aggravated battery conviction Shanes also handed down.

In deciding against first-degree murder, Shanes said Guajardo knew "the probable results" of his actions, "but that is different than specific intent."

Despite the prospect of probation, Guajardo's attorney Jed Stone said the verdict will be appealed.

Guajardo said he first lied to investigators about his involvement because he had been previously deported, had returned to the U.S. and was working under a different first name.

"We are very satisfied with the verdict," said Jaime Contreras, who is married to Alaniz's sister Letitia Alaniz. "We think the Waukegan police did an excellent job, and the state's attorney did a fantastic job with the case. We are ready to heal. We get no satisfaction, no joy from this. Just glad it's over."

Guajardo chose to let a judge, rather than a jury, decide the verdict.

Susan Berger is a freelance reporter.
Franshuan Myles is seen at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago onAug. 4, 2016. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune )

A federal jury needed only 40 minutes Thursday to convict the head of a small West Side nonprofit of fraud for spending state grant money on herself that was intended to give summer training jobs to teenagers.

Franshuan Myles, 39, who was found guilty of one count each of wire and mail fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 6.

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In closing arguments earlier Thursday, Myles' lawyer tried to portray her as guilty of only sloppy bookkeeping. As a product of Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood, she had lofty goals to keep the area's at-risk youth away from drugs and gangs when she applied for a new $60,000 state grant, according to attorney Michael Petro.

But in reality, Myles' Divine Praise Inc. was struggling. When the state funds arrived, bank records showed the nonprofit had a negative account balance, canceled payments and pending overdraft fees.

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While she tried to administer the grant as intended, it soon devolved into a mess of bad accounting and commingling of funds, Petro said.

"Unfortunately for Ms. Myles, she did not have the financial stability or the business skills needed to pull off such ambitious goals," Petro told jurors. "Her business plan was the plan of a young, starry-eyed student, not a professional person."

Prosecutors, however, argued that what Myles did with the grant money was straight-up fraud.

Bank records showed that in September 2011, long after the grant program had wrapped up, Myles made 41 purchases for herself using state funds, prosecutors said. She bought shoes and clothing at retail stores, home improvement supplies from Home Depot, paid down her car loan and paid for her cellphone plan, all using a bank account containing state funds.

"This wasn't an accident," Assistant U.S. Attorney Abigail Peluso said in her closing remarks. "The defendant knew exactly what she was doing."

The case sparked interest because of ties to several current and former Chicago-area politicians.

Last May, the Tribune revealed that Myles wrote a Divine Praise check for $4,932 to 28th Ward Ald. Jason Ervin, identified by authorities only as "Individual A," just two days after the state money landed in her bank account.

The check  which was displayed for jurors on a video screen during the trial  was one of numerous expenditures from a Divine Praise bank account highlighted by prosecutors in the second day of Myles' trial.

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Ervin was not accused of wrongdoing, and prosecutors have not alleged there was anything illegal about the check Myles sent to him.

Prosecutors alleged the $60,000 Illinois Youth Recreation Corps grant, administered by the state Department of Natural Resources, was a pilot program intended to employ 20 youths ages 16 to 19 to instruct other kids in physical activities, arts and crafts, and other programs.

Although Myles submitted paperwork to the state showing she'd hired 22 instructors, jurors heard testimony that at least two of them actually spent their summers doing other jobs.

One teen purportedly on the grant payroll actually worked that summer as an intern for longtime state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, answering phones and performing clerical duties in the senator's west suburban office, testified Marla Skinner, a longtime aide to Lightford.

Another teen purportedly hired by Myles that summer  who records show is the grandson of former state Rep. Coy Pugh  had instead spent his time as a paid intern for a private accounting firm that had done business with Pugh, according to testimony.

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Also shown to the jury was a $100 check from Divine Praise to a campaign fund controlled by then-state Sen. Annazette Collins  a contribution that prosecutors argued had nothing to do with the youth training the state money was intended for.

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Records also showed Myles' grant application was faxed to state officials from Collins' West Side office.

In his closing argument Thursday, Petro accused prosecutors of going "overboard" in bringing the fraud charges, saying whatever problems there were with the way the grant money was spent were "the product of ignorance and mistakes by a person who was in over her head."

In rebuttal, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu pointed out a $4,000 cash withdrawal made by Myles in September 2011 after Chicago Public Schools students were already back in school.

"Did she lose sight of the fact that that money wasn't hers?" Bhachu said.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jmetr22b
Activists hold a rally and news conference May 25, 2017. Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is charged with first-degree murder in Laquan McDonald's fatal shooting, was at the courthouse for a hearing. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) ((Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)/Chicago Tribune)

In perhaps a hint of his trial strategy, the lawyer for the Chicago police officer charged in Laquan McDonald 's killing argued Thursday in court that the shooting was required by law, calling the officer's actions "business as usual."

"Yes, it was an ugly shooting, ugly from the standpoint it showed a graphic image  not unlike most shootings where a police officer shoots at an individual," Daniel Herbert said in making a long-shot and unsuccessful bid to throw out the indictment of Officer Jason Van Dyke on claims that prosecutors misled the grand jury. "The point is it was business as usual.

"If a firefighter arrives on the scene of a fire and climbs up on the roof and takes the ax out and cuts the roof open to ventilate the roof ... are we going to charge that firefighter with criminal damage to property? Of course not. It's preposterous," he said. "You cannot be charged criminally for duties you are required by law to do."

A special prosecutor appointed in the case quickly jumped on the characterization, calling it "chilling."

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"The defendant has really made a chilling argument here this morning, that this was business as usual," said Joseph McMahon, the Kane County's state's attorney who was brought in to handle the prosecution. "If the defendant is arguing that it was his duty to shoot Laquan McDonald, that is a chilling and scary proposition."

The court-ordered release of a video showing the white officer shooting the black teenager 16 times has roiled the Police Department in the 18 months since and provoked the greatest crisis of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's tenure.

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In bringing the first murder charges against a Chicago police officer for an on-duty fatality in nearly 35 years, prosecutors said Van Dyke opened fire six seconds after exiting his squad car. McDonald was holding a knife with a 3-inch blade and walking in the middle of 41st Street and Pulaski Road shortly before 10 p.m. Oct. 20, 2014.

As McDonald walked away from him, Van Dyke took at least one step forward and emptied his gun in about 14 seconds and was reloading when another officer told him to hold his fire, prosecutors said.

In arguing his point Thursday, Herbert blamed the news media for creating "this fury in the public" over the video.

"The public was told essentially you're going to be appalled when you see this, you'd better be appalled when you see this," Herbert told Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan.

He also implied that the state's attorney's office had been swayed by public opinion to criminally charge Van Dyke.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 33 Steven Randy Rueckert, left, and Daniel Herbert, attorneys for Jason Van Dyke, confer with Van Dyke during court Aug. 11, 2017. Van Dyke was at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building in Chicago for a hearing on the shooting of Laquan McDonald. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

"What changed was the way the state's attorney has conducted business," Herbert said. "... Why did it change? It changed not because of the law. The law didn't change. It changed because there was outside factors."

Herbert said McDonald's actions that night  including popping the tire of a squad car with the knife  were criminal and that Van Dyke had a duty by law to shoot him since he was fleeing arrest.

"It was a forcible felony, and he was fleeing arrest," he said. "The legislators who created this law told police officers, in this situation, you can shoot 'em. Not only can you shoot 'em, it's your duty to shoot 'em. You have to prevent the escape of this dangerous armed criminal."

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The extensive arguments came as Herbert sought to dismiss the indictment, contending it was invalid in part because prosecutors didn't inform grand jurors of a state law setting limits on police officers' authority to use force.

But McMahon, the special prosecutor in the high-profile case, argued that a grand jury is an "accusatory body" that by nature hears only one side of a case.

"The grand jury proceedings are not intended to approximate a trial on the merits. They're not intended to weigh potential defenses," he said. "They hear one side of the evidence, just from the prosecutor, and they make a decision of whether a threshold of probable cause has been satisfied."

The defense had filed two separate motions on the issue, but neither has been made public by the judge  highly unusual ordinarily, but not for Gaughan, whose penchant for secrecy was the subject of a front-page Chicago Tribune article in February.

In denying the motions to dismiss, Gaughan said the grand jury had "sufficient evidence" to indict Van Dyke, who has been suspended without pay since soon after he was charged on the same day in November 2015 that the video was released. The judge also found no misconduct on the part of prosecutors.

This excerpt from video released to the public shows the most complete version of the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. It is edited for length by the Chicago Tribune. Warning: This video contains graphic images. (Chicago Tribune)

As Gaughan announced in the packed courtroom that both motions had been denied, one man apparently snapped his fingers multiple times in approval.

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"Get up here, sir," Gaughan ordered.

The man, identified as Moises Bernal, stepped up to the bench, and Gaughan asked him why he came to the hearing.

Bernal paused and looked at the defense table.

"To see a racist murderer on trial," he said to gasps from the courtroom gallery.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 48 Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, center, arrives for a hearing on Sept. 14, 2018 at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. His attorney announced that a jury will decide his fate. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Gaughan found Bernal in contempt of court and ordered him jailed on $40,000 bail.

"This is not going to be some type of nonjudicial type thing where people are screaming," the judge said. "For the rest of you who've been acting like ladies and gentlemen, God love you, and I hope you come back."

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With the defense repeatedly raising concerns about Van Dyke's security at the courthouse, significant safeguards had been added for Thursday's hearing. Spectators entered through a side door after passing through metal detectors. Sheriff's deputies stood by the courtroom doors throughout the hearing.

Before the proceedings began, a deputy warned spectators not to stand or talk while court was in session or to speak to Van Dyke. The deputy also cautioned that signs were prohibited. Some attendees had been told to button up their jackets to cover up shirts with slogans on them.

Activist William Calloway, who helped force the release of the McDonald video, told reporters later that protesters would show up at all future court hearings to object to the fact that no trial date has been set 1 1/2 years after Van Dyke's indictment.

It isn't uncommon for "heater" cases in Cook County to take several years to go to trial, however.

"We won't rest until we get justice for Laquan," Calloway, 28, said outside the courthouse after Van Dyke had been escorted by sheriff's deputies into a waiting car on California Avenue.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

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WASHINGTON  The White House said its proposed $4.09 trillion budget shows respect for the people who pay the bills, but Arizona Democrats said deep domestic cuts make it a dangerous plan that will hurt the most vulnerable Americans.

The fiscal 2018 budget President Donald Trump unveiled Tuesday uses what the administration called targeted reductions to move funds from healthcare and social programs to defense and homeland security initiatives.

The White House said its plan, A New Foundation for American Greatness, could lead to a balanced budget within 10 years. But critics said that would come at the cost of cuts in the billions of dollars to Medicaid, nutrition, environmental and farm programs, and more.

Its a dangerous plan that would raise the number of uninsured Americans, take food out of the mouths of hungry children, and drive more families into poverty, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, said in a statement Tuesday.

Gallego called the presidents budget plan a slap in the face to those who voted for Trump.

But some Republican lawmakers in the state welcomed what Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, called a serious proposal from the White House to tackle our countrys spending crisis and put us on sustainable path toward economic growth.

Kudos to the Trump Administration for reducing bureaucratic blight within the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), supporting a true all-of-the-above energy strategy and providing much needed relief to rural communities and local stakeholders, said Gosar in a statement from the Congressional Western Caucus, which he chairs.

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters Tuesday that the government should show compassion for Americans in need but it should have compassion for folks who are paying (for) it, according to a White House transcript of that briefing.

In a message with the budget, Trump called it a chance to reprioritize federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people.

He defended the cuts to domestic programs, saying the government must reform our welfare system so that it does not discourage able-bodied adults from working, which takes away scarce resources from those in real need.

But published reports put the scope of those cuts at $3.6 trillion over a decade, including $800 billion cuts to Medicaid funding in that span, a $1.92 billion cut from food stamps and a $38 billion reduction to farm subsidies, as well as cuts to student aid, science funding and more.

The savings would be used to fund defense and homeland security initiatives, which Trump called vital to rebuilding, modernizing, and preparing our Armed Forces for the future so that our military remains the worlds preeminent fighting force.

That includes $1.6 billion to begin building the presidents promised border wall with Mexico and an increase of $52 billion in defense funding next year, bringing the Pentagons budget to $639 billion, the administration said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said in a statement that the defense increase is inadequate to the challenges we face. McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said defense spending is part of an overall budget proposal that is dead on arrival in Congress.

But Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, welcomed the budget, saying the previous administration failed to protect Americans, by allowing the U.S. military to deteriorate and failing to protect our border.

Specifically, I am encouraged to see President Trumps inclusion of $2.6 billion for Customs and Border Protection, Biggs said in a statement released by his office. We must not make any more excuses for our failure to keep our commitments to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws.

Biggs said the budget could reverse the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare that would have left our grandchildren  with an unpayable debt.

Democrats, however, attacked the budget, saying the planned cuts represent a significant step backwards for our country.

This budget disproportionately impacts those who can least afford it, said Rep. Tom OHalleran, D  Sedona. It will devastate rural economies and put critical programs on the chopping block.

Among those programs is Medicaid, which critics noted serves 1.7 million people in Arizona. Democrats said cuts to Medicaid would hit Trumps supporters hard.

Anyone who supports this budget or the rest of this administrations disturbing agenda has shown disdain for the American people, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson.

Angie Rodgers, president and CEO of the Association of Arizona Food Banks, said in a statement Tuesday that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  food stamps  serves 1 million Arizonans, half of whom are children and many who are seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.

These cuts will push low-income Americans farther down the economic ladder by ripping apart nutrition programs that help provide a path out of hunger, her statement said.
A Massachusetts man who is in the DuPage County Jail accused of threatening a Naperville Catholic school and Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich was ordered Wednesday to have a mental health evaluation.

Judge Liam Brennan ordered that the probation department psychologist meet with William MacKinnon, 48, who is being held on felony disorderly conduct charges.

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Also at Wednesday's hearing, MacKinnon entered a not guilty plea to four felony indictments handed down last week by a DuPage grand jury.

Authorities allege that MacKinnon left a profanity-laced message on an answering machine at St. Raphael Catholic School in February in which he vowed to "terrorize" the school over a grievance with a teacher.

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The recording also contained a threat against Cupich, according to court records.

MacKinnon also is facing charges related to threatening phone calls he made to a Wheaton police officer and fire official last year.

Part of the psychological exam will be to help officials assess the level of threat MacKinnon may pose, prosecutors said. MacKinnon is being held in lieu of $130,000 bond and is due back in court June 15.
The Illinois Tollway board on Thursday unanimously approved spending $25 million for an environmental impact study on a long-discussed proposed extension of Route 53 from Cook County into Lake County.

The 8-0 vote came after more than two hours of comments from people for and against the controversial project. Representatives from several construction companies spoke in favor of the study, saying the extension would bring jobs and relieve congestion in a growing region. Environmental groups and officials from the suburbs of Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove spoke against, noting the extension's projected $2.65 billion cost and its potential negative impact on wetlands.

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The contract to study the extension was awarded to two engineering firms  CH2M Hill and Knight E/A Inc., based in Englewood, Colo., and Chicago, respectively. Both have worked with the Tollway before.

Board chairman Robert Schillerstrom said the study, which is expected to take three to five years, will provide a fact-based evaluation on alternatives that will achieve the most congestion relief for the region while balancing environmental impacts.

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"Every day, Lake and McHenry County families and businesses are faced with traffic congestion that means time away from their families and lost productivity at work," said Schillerstrom in a statement. "The region needs a comprehensive, long-term solution to reduce traffic gridlock."

Discussed since the 1960s, the proposed project would create a T-shaped tollway, with an extended Route 53 making up the north/south portion and a widened Illinois Route 120 creating the top east/west portion, for about 25 miles of new and improved roads. The Route 53 extension would run from suburban Arlington Heights to Grayslake.

The proposal has already seen three previous environmental impact studies. A blue ribbon advisory council formed in 2011 of public officials and representatives from business, environmental and other interest groups favored a four-lane boulevard with a maximum speed of 45 mph and a number of environmental features.

The planning has never gotten to shovels in the ground, and some key backers have withdrawn their support, including the two council co-chairs, George Ranney and Lake County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor. Some Lake County officials have turned their attention to pushing for improvements to congested Route 120, whether or not the 53 extension ever happens.

Former Tollway board member Bill Morris of Grayslake told the Tollway board that Lake County is being held prisoner by the Route 53 proposal, which has delayed other needed projects like Route 120 and Route 83 improvements.

"Please let us out of Route 53 prison," said Morris.

The Tollway board heard from multiple proponents of the extension on Thursday and also received 250 letters in favor of the environmental impact study, as opposed to 60 letters against.

Among those writing in favor was Leon Rockingham, Jr., mayor of North Chicago and chair of the Lake Council of Mayors. Rockingham noted that the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has listed the project as a priority in their "Go to 2040" regional plan.

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"Of all the capital projects in the region, it appears that this one has the largest congestion reduction benefits and the largest economic impact," Rockingham wrote. He noted that congestion and travel times continue to increase in the region, with studies showing a 98-minute commute from Grayslake to Schaumburg.

"It's no secret that traffic congestion is only going to get worse," said Illinois Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Council Executive Director Ben Brockschmidt, in a statement. "Reducing congestion is not only good for the environment, it's also good for economic development."

Long Grove President Bill Jacob told the board that the extension would increase traffic on already strained east/west routes in the region and attract unwanted sprawl.

Last month, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization, included the proposed Route 53 extension in its list of the country's most wasteful highway boondoggles.

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Livable Lake County, a coalition that opposes the extension, has charged that moving ahead with the project violates the Illinois Tollway Act, in part because there is no Lake County representative on the board.

Backers for the project include the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, a think tank whose board members include representatives of the construction industry and labor unions. The institute did a poll last month, which found that 66 percent of 400 voters favored the extension.

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Under the blue ribbon advisory council's framework, the road could be funded with tolls of 20 cents per mile  about three times the Tollway average  a 4 cent per gallon fuel tax and a capture of real estate tax revenues.

Tollway board member and Elk Grove Village President Craig Johnson said the study would allow those with questions and concerns about the extension to be part of the discussion.

"We will guarantee you are part of the process," said Johnson, who noted that the study may conclude that the extension should not be built.

mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marywizchicago
WASHINGTON  Illinois Democrats in Congress called House Republicans' health care plan approved this month a "disaster" and a "zombie bill" after a new analysis predicted it would mean 23 million more people will be uninsured by 2026.

Democrats didn't vote for the plan and have used it to try to put political pressure on Republicans. The proposal is likely to change in the U.S. Senate.

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"TrumpCare is a disaster and if enacted will kill thousands of Americans every year," Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson said after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released its analysis Wednesday.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky called the GOP measure, which narrowly passed the House on May 4, a "zombie bill." Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville called it an "irresponsible affront to hard-working Americans."

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All seven House Republicans from Illinois voted in favor of the bill, including Chicago-area Reps. Peter Roskam of Wheaton, Randy Hultgren of Plano and Adam Kinzinger of Channahon. None responded to a request for comment.

But Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria said his party's proposal, "while not perfect, is the first step in a process that will roll back the Obamacare regulations that are burdening our health care system." He said the health care law commonly known as Obamacare left his constituents with higher costs, less access and lower quality health care.

One bright spot for Republicans in Wednesday's analysis is that the House bill would reduce federal deficits by $119 billion over the coming decade.

The analysis also said Medicaid enrollment would decline. The Senate now is trying to reform President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement but an overhaul faces tougher prospects there than in the House.

kskiba@tribpub.com

Twitter @KatherineSkiba
SPRINGFIELD  Supporters of legislation to crack down on repeat gun offenders continued to tweak the measure Wednesday to try to win over reluctant African-American lawmakers who fear the proposal will land more minorities in jail without addressing underlying causes of violence.

A deal has yet to be reached on the measure, which is being pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. One version has cleared the Senate but faces a tougher hurdle in the House. In that chamber, debates on gun restrictions often fall among economic and regional divides, as Downstate lawmakers push to protect the rights of hunters amid the concerns of city and some suburban legislators who want to tackle gun crime.

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Under the changes proposed by House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs, the state would set up a trial program for first-time, nonviolent offenders charged with certain weapons crimes that is focused on rehabilitation and keeping them out of the prison system.

Durkin's amendment says the program is designed to recognize that some people, "particularly young adults in areas of high crime or poverty, may have experienced trauma that contributes to poor decision making skills, and the creation of a diversionary program poses a greater benefit to the community" than a jail sentence.

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That effort is aimed at addressing concerns of black lawmakers who say the real drivers of crime are a lack of economic opportunity and programs to prevent what has become an ingrained cycle of violence in some communities. Many also have raised concerns that the bill does not go after the gun dealers and shops thatsupply the firearms.

While Durkin is working with Chicago Democrats Sen. Kwame Raoul and Rep. Art Turner to try to finalize an agreement, differences remained late Wednesday.

"A lot of our concerns revolve around the fact that there's no data to suggest that enhanced penalties will lead to less gun violence," said Turner, who serves as a House deputy majority leader. "And I don't believe you can have a thoughtful discussion about reducing gun violence without addressing the illegal trafficking of guns and the issues around gun dealers and straw purchasers."

Even so, Durkin's changes could get a committee hearing as soon as Thursday. Other new provisions include allowing the Illinois State Police to create a statewide task force to combat gun violence and a clause that would require the legislation to be reviewed in five years.

In the version that passed the Senate, the core of the bill seeks to go after habitual offenders by increasing the sentencing guidelines for judges deciding punishment for some repeat gun felons. Instead of a range of three to 14 years, judges would hand out sentences in the range of seven to 14 years. If they wanted to depart from that guideline, they would have to explain why.

The measure also includes several other changes to the criminal justice system that arose out of a bipartisan panel put in place by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in an effort to reduce the state's prison population. Those include relaxing the size of "drug-free" zones from 1,000 to 500 feet and no longer labeling public housing as a protected area to try to reduce the impact the law has on poor and minority communities.

For his part, Emanuel said Wednesday that he was working to create bipartisan support for the legislation. He said that "without it, Illinois will continue to be having a revolving door in the criminal justice system." Emanuel said Johnson was expected to appear in Springfield to lead the push.

"The gang members know that when it comes to judges, the courts and the sentencing, it's a joke, and that should not exist. They are very smart. They understand what's happening, and they know where the system is porous," Emanuel said. "I fully support lowering sentences for minor drug offenses, but I support absolute, tough, certain sentencing for repeat gun offenders. I don't understand what it takes for legislators  the repeat part is your first signal that they don't belong on the streets terrorizing kids and families who can't just sit on their front porch."

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Ruthhart reported from Chicago.

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com

bruthhart@chicagotribune.com
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger talks about the way forward in the nearly 16-year-old conflict in Afghanistan, now the country's longest war, during a conversation with with former Rep. Jane Harman at the Wilson Center in Washington on May 25, 2017. (Olivier Douliery / Tribune News Services)

WASHINGTON  As President Donald Trump's administration weighs sending up to 5,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, Rep. Adam Kinzinger Thursday called for more military personnel and expanded operations there.

Kinzinger, a Republican from Channahon, has visited Afghanistan as a congressman and flown missions there as an Air National Guard pilot. He urged more help for Afghan defense forces during remarks at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

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Kinzinger did not say how many U.S. troops should join the roughly 8,400 already on the ground. At peak, there were about 100,000 troops there. He said the drop off sent a message to the enemy: "You can out wait us."

As the Afghan military fights the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, Kinzinger also wants the rules of engagement loosened to allow for more U.S. and NATO air strikes. The rules seek to limit civilian casualties.

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The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces historically have been beset by problems. But Kinzinger said the favorability rating of the U.S. is high in Afghanistan and "for the most part, we have a partner that wants to work with us to bring stability, but there's huge challenges."

He said the danger of abandoning the country was it could return to being a safe haven for terror networks that would strike the U.S. again, as on 9-11. "The Taliban has been saying America has the watches, but we have the time," Kinzinger said, making the case for the U.S. and its partners to ratchet up the fight. "Well, I think we have the time too."

Kinzinger, a 39-year-old major in Air National Guard, said the war on terror, to some extent, would last for the rest of his life. He called military power "an essential piece" in a war against an extremist ideology but also made the case for soft power.

He pointed to 7- and 8-year-olds in refugee camps or misplaced by the civil war in Syria, where said he said Western countries have failed to take decisive action. Kinzinger supported Trump's air strikes in Syria but criticized his budget proposal calling for cuts to the State Department and foreign aid.

The lawmaker, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, praised the work of pro-democracy groups such as the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute and said spending on such non-governmental groups "is lot cheaper than a 500-pound, laser-guided bomb."

Kinzinger's remarks were billed as a conversation on the way forward for "America's longest war," which began nearly 16 years ago after al-Qaeda plotted and directed the 9-11 attacks from Afghanistan.

"There's not going to be a moment where the Taliban signs the surrender on the ship like World War II," he said after his talk. "It's going to be a moment where they decide to negotiate, and reintegrate, and be part of a government that actually recognizes the rights of all people."

To do that the Afghan military, with backing from Western allies, has to keep the pressure up against the Taliban "so that they realize that they simply can't win. And at some point (they) decide to integrate versus to continue to fight a losing war."

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Twitter: @KatherineSkiba
President Donald Trump arrives for a working session with outreach countries and international organizations at day two of the G-7 summit, in Taormina, Italy on May 27, 2017. (Ciro Fusco / EPA)

BRUSSELS  President Donald Trump exported the confrontational, nationalist rhetoric of his campaign across the Atlantic on Thursday, scolding European leaders for not footing more of the bill for their own defense and lecturing them to stop taking advantage of U.S. taxpayers.

Speaking in front of a twisted shard of the World Trade Center at NATO's gleaming new headquarters in Brussels, Trump upbraided America's longtime allies for "not paying what they should be paying." He used a ceremony to dedicate the memorial to NATO's resolve in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States as a platform from which to exhort leaders to "focus on terrorism and immigration" to ensure their security.

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And he held back from the one pledge NATO leaders most wanted to hear: an unconditional embrace of the organization's solemn treaty commitment that an attack on a single alliance nation is an attack on all of them.

Instead, European leaders gazed unsmilingly at Trump while he said that "23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying," and that they owe "massive amounts" from past years - a misstatement of NATO's spending targets, which guide individual nations' own domestic spending decisions.

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The harsh tone had a toll, as Trump was left largely on his own after the speech as leaders mingled and laughed with each other, leaving the U.S. president to stand silently on a stage ahead of a group photo.

The long day of gruff Brussels meetings was a contrast to his friendlier Middle East encounters, where Trump last weekend embraced the authoritarian Saudi monarchy and said he had been wowed by Saudi King Salman's wisdom.

In Brussels, Trump sat in a morning meeting with top European Union leaders, where one emerged to say that his message to Trump was that the West should concentrate more on values such as human rights and less on "interests." The president lunched with French President Emmanuel Macron, an encounter in which the two leaders shook hands in a tense, white-knuckled embrace. And he sped across Brussels to NATO, where British Prime Minister Theresa May, the leader of Washington's closest ally, buttonholed him about her anger over intelligence leaks following Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, traveling with the president, downplayed the absence of Trump's formal commitment to security guarantees during the speech, saying that there was no question of U.S. support for NATO and all of the obligations that are entailed in membership.

"Having to reaffirm something by the very nature of being here and speaking at a ceremony about it is almost laughable," Spicer said after the speech.

In a news conference after the leaders had held a working dinner, and Trump departed for a meeting of the Group of 7 in Sicily, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "we have seen that plain speaking of President Trump before."

Even if Trump did not say it, Stoltenberg said, he "has been clear on his commitment to NATO. But President Trump has also been clear in the message to all allies that we have to deliver on the pledge we made to increase defense spending. He was blunt on that message today."

Leaders offered modest applause at the end of a speech that Trump began by asking for a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester, England, that killed 22 and wounded many more.

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Addressing the British, Trump said, "May all the nations here grieve with you and stand with you." The attack, he said, "demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism."

Trump did not refer to British prime minister's irritation, expressed earlier in the day, over what officials in England have said was the leak to U.S. news media of intelligence information that Britain gathered in the investigation of the Manchester case and shared with the United States.

"We have strong relations with the United States, our closest partner," May told reporters as she entered NATO's $1.2 billion new headquarters for the ceremony, "and that is, of course, built on trust. Part of that is knowing intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence shared with law enforcement agencies must be secure."

May talked with Trump about the issue inside the closed meetings, a senior British government official said.

Trump is already under fire at home for violating intelligence agreements, following a Washington Post report that he revealed sensitive information on the Islamic State, obtained from Israel, to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador to Washington.

In a presidential statement issued while Trump was at the ceremony, he called the Manchester leaks "deeply troubling," vowed to "get to the bottom" of them and called for a full investigation by U.S. agencies, one that could end with prosecutions, he said.

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During last year's campaign, Trump called into question the U.S. commitment to NATO's security guarantees, saying he would check a member's defense commitment before coming to its aid. Since then, Cabinet officials have pledged to defend the alliance, but top officials of other NATO allies said that Trump's personal guarantee would eliminate any lingering doubts.

In the speech, Trump gave no specific commitment to Article 5, the collective security provision that has been invoked only once - following the September 2001 attacks.

A senior administration official said that "the intent was to deliver a direct message, which he's done before. He's been direct with them in rallies in speeches. He wanted to give the same message that he's been giving when NATO leaders are present or are not present," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to expand on Trump's remarks. "It's the same message he gave on the campaign trail, it's the same message he gives to the American people, and it's the same message he gives to leaders one on one."

Trump began his day in Brussels at a meeting with European Union leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

"Values and principles first, this is what we - Europe and America - should be saying," Tusk told reporters after the meeting. Tusk, who has expressed concern before about the new U.S. administration, said he and Trump agreed on counterterrorism, but did not see eye to eye on a number of other issues, including climate change, trade and Russia.

Europe has been concerned about Trump's relationship with Russia, particularly over sanctions imposed after its 2014 military involvement in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. Some U.S. lawmakers have proposed additional sanctions in response to what U.S. intelligence has said was Russia's interference in the U.S. elections.

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National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who briefed reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the G-7, said that the president is "looking" at sanctions against Russia. "Right now," he said, "we don't have a position."

At lunch with Trump, Macron repeated France's urging that the United States not pull out of the 2015 Paris climate accord, a decision he has hinted at but that the administration says has not yet been made.

On this fourth and penultimate stop on Trump's nine-day trip, the first overseas travel of his presidency, Trump did not appear to find the near adulation he experienced from Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, and from the Israeli government in Jerusalem.

At those stops, they agreed with Trump's call to concentrate on counterterrorism and economic growth, with no discussion, at least in public, about human and civil rights concerns that had dogged U.S.-Middle East relationships under President Barack Obama. Compared to his clear ebullience and declarations of personal friendship with leaders in the Middle East, Trump appeared standoffish and solitary glum among his NATO colleagues.

NATO's leaders used the excuse of the vast new headquarters to invite the former real estate mogul for a ribbon-cutting, even though construction on the site - a former military airfield - is not yet finished. Beyond its official purpose, however, the meeting was designed to allow Trump and NATO to take the measure of each other.

Some allies have felt the golden word of the president would finalize the message to Russia and others across the NATO border that the United States had their backs.

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"That would be important if the president personally and explicitly states it," said Latvian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andrejs Pildegovics, who was in Brussels for the meeting. "At the end of the day, all important decisions are made by the president. And usually the president has a few options on the table."

NATO pledged in 2014 that all members will reach the goal of spending at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense within 10 years. Stoltenberg noted Thursday morning that overall spending among members has been up for two years in a row, and he said he anticipated that increases would now speed up as the alliance addresses the terrorist threat.

He also said NATO was ready to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State - to which all individual members already belong. Among other increased contributions to counterterrorism - which Trump has urged - he said the alliance would step up support of NATO AWACS planes and intelligence-sharing, and provide refueling capabilities.

"We will now establish a new intelligence fusion cell at the headquarters addressing terrorism, including foreign fights," and appoint a special coordinator for NATO's counterterrorism efforts, Stoltenburg said. He called it a "strong political message," as well as a practical one.

Stoltenberg also said NATO would consider increasing its noncombat troop presence in Afghanistan. The administration is currently reviewing its own presence there, including adding up to 5,000 troops to the nearly 10,000 already on the ground and expanding their role assisting Afghan government forces fighting both the Taliban and a local Islamic State presence.
BRUSSELS  President Donald Trump's push to get in front of the pack at a NATO summit generated indignation in the Balkans and garnered attention on social media  but the man he shoved aside took it in stride.

At Thursday's gathering in Brussels, Trump put his right hand on the right arm of Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and pushed himself ahead as NATO leaders walked inside the alliance's new headquarters and prepared for a group photo.

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Trump then stood near Markovic and spoke to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Video of the incident spread on social networks in multiple languages.

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"It seems Donald Trump did not want that anyone overshadows his presence at the summit," said the Montenegro newspaper Vijesti.

Other Balkan websites ran headlines such as "America First" and "Where do you think you are going?"

Markovic himself, however, shrugged off the slight.

"It didn't really register. I just saw reactions about it on social networks. It is simply a harmless situation," he told reporters after the summit.

Instead of being insulted, he took the opportunity to thank Trump for supporting Montenegro's membership in NATO. The small former Yugoslav republic is slated to become NATO's 29th member next month.

And in any case, Markovic said, "it is natural that the president of the United States is in the front row."
Levon Demerdjian and his brother opened their first restaurant in 1964. (Family photo)

Levon Demerdjian came to Chicago to study engineering, but soon teamed up with his brother Arsen to run authentic Armenian restaurants, serving the food of their heritage.

The first of the restaurants all called Sayat Nova for a famous Armenian poet and musician  was on Sheridan Road near Loyola University's Lake Shore Campus. The second still operates on Ohio Street off Michigan Avenue and is run by a nephew. The third was started by Levon Demerdjian in Des Plaines.

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"He and his brother had the vision to open an Armenian restaurant," said Rouben Terzian, a friend since the two were in high school. Terzian said Armenian food is similar to Middle Eastern cuisine, but with some special touches.

Demerdjian embraced friends, employees and customers, inviting them to be part of his family.

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"He became like a second father to many of us," said Paul Seitz, who first met him 40 years ago when Seitz went to work as a busboy in the Des Plaines restaurant. "You could see in him the things that were good and right."

Demerdjian, 80, died of lymphoma May 17 in the Oak Park home where he'd lived for more than 40 years, according to his son, Raffi.

He was born in Beirut, where his family settled after fleeing the Armenian genocide. As a teenager, he made his way to the U.S. through Canada, intent on furthering his education by enrolling in an engineering program at what is now the University of Illinois at Chicago.

But his formal schooling ended as he teamed up with his brother to go into the restaurant business. Arsen, who spelled his last name Demirdjian, died in 2013.

Their first venture was called the Auto Grill, a place near a row of car dealers around Irving Park Road and Western Avenue that Terzian said served shots and beers and simple sandwiches. They opened it in 1964 and ran it for two years.

"That was a stepping stone," Terzian said with a laugh. "They learned there what not to do."

The next stepping stone was the first Sayat Nova, on North Sheridan Road. Terzian said he designed the restaurant, and he, Demerdjian and his brother built out the space with plywood, drywall and lighting, including raised panels commemorating the poet.

Lease and landlord issues eventually led the brothers to close that location and move downtown, opening their second Sayat Nova around 1970. The restaurant is still operated by Arsen Demirdjian's son.

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Levon Demerdjian eventually decided to open his own Sayat Nova restaurant and in 1977 he began the Des Plaines operation, continuing it until retiring in 1999.

Terzian said Demerdjian was a storyteller who sometimes drifted into telling jokes and was always smiling. "Very personable," Terzian said. "If you got to know him, you would love him."

John Tilkian, who knew Demerdjian from when both were teenagers in Lebanon, said his friend was proud of the Armenian cuisine his restaurant featured and was meticulous about ingredients and preparation. The restaurant, he said, included a number of regulars, including some characters, many of whom contributed material for Demerdjian's stories.

Seitz said the respect his customers had for Demerdjian was apparent. "Everybody who knew him respected him because he was such a fair guy. He had an impact on many lives."

Seitz said Demerdjian set an example in his openness to the people he met and worked with. "I've wondered, 'how do I become more like that,'" Seitz said. "Just one of those rare individuals who stood out."

In addition to his son, Demerdjian is survived by daughters Tania, Nadia and Tamara ; a granddaughter; and a brother, Dr. Armen Demerdjian.

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His wife, Marjorie, died in 2014.

There were no services.

Megan is a freelance reporter.
The moment my son was born, he was placed on my chest and covered with a blanket. I saw people bustling at my periphery, but I remember only stillness as I tried to process that the baby squirming on top of me was not a foreign object. Fifty-five minutes passed before my husband, who had taken notes during our breastfeeding class, shot me a worried look and pointed at the clock: The baby should try to latch in its first hour of life, he said.

I had every intention of breastfeeding, and of doing so until the magical, doctor-recommended six-month mark. I had skimmed the important studies, had familiarized myself with the data. Six months of breastfeeding, several medical institutions had personally assured me, would help ward off infections, obesity, cancer, allergies, hyperactivity and even low IQ. It's this mainstream medical consensus that now leads more than 75% of American mothers to breastfeed their babies, up from fewer than 25% in 1971.

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As a millennial mother, I had also picked up on something else: For my generation, breastfeeding has become the ultimate status symbol. I could not possibly count the number of times I was asked while pregnant if I intended to breastfeed my child. Each time, I answered appropriately. Each time, I was met with reinforcing smiles. Though I probably will never be asked if I graduated college with honors, I will be asked how I fed my child for decades to come. Breastfeeding is the Phi Beta Kappa of millennial motherhood. I wanted membership.

But as I would soon learn, deciding to breastfeed is one thing, doing it quite another. The initial process was tiring, uncomfortable and puzzlingly not intuitive. My efforts those first few days required the precision I would imagine is needed to refuel an airplane midair and the technical assistance and sage counsel of lactation consultants, nurses, friends and, of course, Google.

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I was able to get a good latch early, though, and at least in the beginning, I felt superior. Not only was I meeting yet another formidable physical challenge, I was nourishing my child with the best possible ingredients, ensuring that he would pass future algebra tests. For extra credit, I pumped and froze a sizable backlog of liquid gold. As weeks became months, my milk supply stayed strong and the baby and I got into a good rhythm. But I would be lying if I said breastfeeding was ecstasy. I would also be lying if I said it was agony. I thought it was fine.

By the three-month mark, however, I was physically and mentally depleted. I started to hope in secret that my supply would dwindle. After managing through two blocked ducts, I switched to pumping into bottles exclusively. My nipples were sore and my breasts ached, but the pain and fatigue were still worth it because, I thought, the baby was much better for it.

I was also bolstered by the company I was in, for we are a generation of addled pumpers. America's retrograde lack of federal paid leave, combined with the standard recommendation that mothers breastfeed for six months, made this so. Working mothers pump in office broom closets and germy airplane lavatories. To make it all worth it, we trade war stories. The main humblebrag of millennial motherhood is the outlandish place where you've had to pump. I had a friend tell me she shorted out the electricity on an entire floor of a Russian hotel with a hospital-grade pump. Another told of pumping in a cornfield surrounded by stray dogs while on a work trip in Guatemala. Of course, a cottage industry exists to support all this, hawking pumps, nursing bras, pricey classes and oat-filled lactation cookies that promise to enhance one's supply. The go-to spot for lactating moms in Los Angeles is the Pump Station, a boutique with two locations and an REI-grade selection of gear. (Tagline: "Where nurturing happens.")

After around four months, we traveled beyond county lines, and the logistical planning required in order to be mobile was dizzying. There were cooler bags of milk that would expire in five days. There were frozen bags of milk that would expire in 24 hours, but which could be used as ice packs for other milk between refrigerators. There were freshly pumped road bottles that would keep for eight hours at room temperature. And there were new bottles that would reenter the system every five to six hours, when I had a chance to pump. One morning at 6 a.m., as I stared mindlessly into the makeshift science lab I had installed in a friend's refrigerator, I decided: I'm done.

When I began to vocalize my intention to wean my son, desperate for reassurance, I didn't get any. Instead, I got a refrain: "You have to get to six months." I got it from friends, from family, from strangers. Only a year and a half earlier, I had made the painful choice to have an abortion due to a very rare birth defect, and was met with profound sisterly support. Now, shy of the standard recommendation by less than two months, the spirit of support had vanished. Did a woman's right to choose not apply to breastfeeding?

I soldiered on, but other things started to nag at me. There is an entire generation, Generation X, that was mostly formula-fed. If only one in every four 45-year-olds in this country was breastfed, why aren't there pronounced generational consequences? I unearthed a 2014 study done by researchers at Ohio State University and published in the journal Social Science & Medicine that found the benefits of breastfeeding are indeed overstated. I read Emily Oster's report for fivethirtyeight.com, aptly titled "Everybody Calm Down About Breastfeeding," which explains that much of the data on the benefits is flawed in that women who breastfeed are typically different from those who do not in race, income and education  variables that could affect overall health, in other words. Another recent study out of Ireland raised questions about the IQ correlation. The mounting evidence began to make my 3 a.m. pump sessions, done by the glow of an iPhone flashlight while my husband and baby slept, seem very much for naught.

Somewhere around the five-month mark, I strapped the baby to my body and took him for a hike in Griffith Park. While I negotiated a narrow trail down a steep drop into a canyon, other hikers commented on how cute the baby was, his bootie-clad feet dangling from the carrier. Though I traversed the edge of a vast, wild, sandy canyon, possibly full of sleeping coyotes and rattlesnakes, I was greeted with the smiles and fawning of strangers. Suddenly it hit me: What I was willing to do  and unwilling to do  was downright absurd.

The next afternoon, as I shook up the first bottle of formula and made a weaning plan, I felt free. I imagined uninterrupted sleep, a life untethered by the tubing of a breast pump. The baby sucked down the formula and drifted off into a two-hour nap.

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When he woke up, I laid him on the changing table and gasped. A dark red, blotchy rash covered his belly and mouth. I placed a panicky evening call to our pediatrician, who suggested the baby may be allergic to formula or even lactose. Return to breastfeeding immediately until we can assess further, he said. Doctor's orders.

Lizzie Garrett Mettler is a writer in Los Angeles.

To read the article in Spanish, click here
Incoming freshman Debbie Cardinal, left, selects her elective classes with the help of her sister Courtney and their mother, Debbie Kearns, during a course selection night at Shepard High School in Palos Heights on Jan 24, 2017. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)

Every year thousands of Illinois students find they're not prepared for the academic rigors of college, even though they tackled general-level classes that school officials labeled as "college prep."

Why not? One big reason: Those general-level classes  typically neither remedial nor advanced  weren't tough enough.

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Some of those general classes were dumbed down so that schools could continue to churn out grads and report rising graduation rates. Or because teachers fear harsh evaluations if too many kids stumble. And some of those classes were remedial courses in disguise.

That's what Tribune reporter Diane Rado found in a groundbreaking analysis of 4.2 million public high school classes taken by more than 150,000 Illinois students from 2011 to 2015. Dozens of high school courses "with obscure titles were labeled general by school officials, though they were not in the usual course sequence leading to graduation," Rado writes.

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That's a clue that those classes  in core subjects math, science, social studies and English  were likely to be less rigorous and more remedial. Some science courses  often labeled as general-level  were so rudimentary that one veteran Chicago area educator described them as a "death sentence" for students trying to get into college. But all of the classes allowed students to earn a diploma. Repeat: All of them counted toward a diploma.

Many of those high school grads  and their parents  assumed general-level courses would lead to success in college.

But the Tribune found:

Overall, 75 to 80 percent of students who took only general-level classes in math, social studies or science weren't prepared for key college classes in those subjects.

The vast majority of students who took all general classes failed to earn strong enough ACT scores to gain entrance to selective or highly selective colleges.

Conversely, students didn't have to take a heavy load of Advanced Placement courses to outperform their peers on standardized tests. Those who took just one advanced class along with general courses scored higher on average than students who stayed with general courses.

Some students were stuck in general-level classes because the school didn't offer more challenging courses. Many high schools downstate and in the Chicago area report high percentages of general courses. They include much of the Chicago Public Schools system and schools in Elgin, Aurora, Lockport, Bolingbrook, Marengo, Waukegan, West Chicago, Berwyn, Skokie and South Holland, Rado reports.

Parents in these districts should now be on alert. You know your child's teacher. But do you know how rigorous her English or math class is? Have you pressed your school board to make sure your district isn't dumbing down high school?

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It's not always easy to find out. Many districts have purged "remedial" from course descriptions, out of fear that the word stigmatizes students and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for failure.

Kevin O'Mara, superintendent of the south suburban Argo Community High School district and head of the Illinois High School District Organization, says changing the labeling of remedial classes is "fraudulent to the taxpayers, to the kids, to the parents, to the teachers."

He's right. This is an educational fraud that state lawmakers and educators should be working to erase. One idea: Some states demand that students pass annual "end of course" exams  statewide tests that demonstrate a student has mastered a subject before he or she is allowed to progress in that subject. It doesn't matter what the class is labeled. It matters what the student knows.

At this time of year, many politicians and educators in the Chicago area and across Illinois like to crow about rising graduation rates. But those diplomas won't mean much if the graduates aren't ready to succeed in college, career and life.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.

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PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Reel World Politics on the Big Screen Books on Screen returns to KiMo Theatre as part of the venues 90th Anniversary Events. This time around, organizers are amping it up with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Books on Film. On Sunday, May 28, from 2 to 4pm we get the 1949 classic All the Kings Men. John Ireland stars as a big-city newsman who follows the career of a small-town politician, played by Broderick Crawford. Our idealistic but ambitious politician finds himself attacked by rivals and loses the local election. Undaunted, he puts himself through law school and becomes a respected attorneyonly to be tricked into running as a patsy against the governors rival before descending into a world of political corruption. This triple Oscar winner is based on Robert Penn Warrens novel of the same name. Admission to this event is free. View in Alibi calendar

Feline Films Animal Humane New Mexico is bringing back its Feline Film Festival Saturday, June 24, at the KiMo Theatre. This Tuesday, May 30, at midnight (technically May 31, I guess) is the deadline to submit films to this years third annual festival. Local filmmakers looking for an opportunity to share stories of their favorite felines and help raise funds for homeless pets are encouraged to submit. This years theme is The Good, the Bad & the Cuddly. Filmmakers can use this theme as a jumping off point to get their creative juices flowing. Not all films must stick to the theme, but there will be a special award for best use of this years theme. Works can be animated, narrated, black & white, whatever. Just make sure your work is pet-positive. All films must be less than 5 minutes in length andof coursecat-centric. A $1,000 cash prize and the opportunity to name a litter of kittens at Animal Humane is up for grabs for the festivals Best in Show. For more details go to bit.ly/2qhCRKr or contact felinefilms@animalhumane. org.
I want to offer one more. Businesses can offer students something more valuable than money: their problems. How better to cultivate the next generation of innovators than to give them a peek inside the problems that exist in the real world  particularly in industries in need of their talents?

For the past few years, the Illinois Science & Technology Institute has been connecting some of the regions top companies, such as Archer Daniels Midland, Baxter International and Microsoft, with Illinois high schools to package challenges for students to tackle. For instance, working in partnership with Takeda Pharmaceuticals, students at four high schools devised solutions to improve medication adherence among diabetics and depression sufferers.

This process is beneficial in science, technology, engineering and math fields  especially among girls and students of color. Research suggests these students often dont have a line of sight or personal connection to these careers. Chicago and Illinois companies can be that connection.

 Mark Harris, president & CEO, Illinois Science & Technology Coalition and Institute
However, Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said that conceptual physics, taught usually without mathematics, may be offered. The language of physics is mathematics, and any physics course taught without a mathematical component is is essentially short-changing CPS students.

Unless a student can pass a college physics or chemistry sequence with a mathematical foundation, the future job prospects of that student are severely limited. All science, technology, engineering and math jobs  jobs with good salaries, essential for a good life  require an education based on mathematical physics and chemistry.

In the past a substantial number of students, majority and minority, were excluded from mathematical physics and chemistry because of weak mathematics backgrounds and therefore had limited job prospects. An extra effort must be made by CPS mathematics, physics and chemistry teachers to reach all students for successful physics and chemistry problem-solving capabilities.

As a former physics and chemistry teacher in CPS schools, I have found this can be accomplished with drills and practice in physics and chemistry problem solving, a simple calculator, and substantial teacher assistance.

 Stewart Brekke, Downers Grove
Festival season is a chance for all people from all walks of life to come together and celebrate the differences that make our city great. This weekend is host to a variety of different cultural festivals, from declaring Chicago's best mole maker to sipping on Greek wines and eating gyros.

Mole de Mayo

When: May 26-28, Friday 5-10 p.m., Saturday/Sunday noon-10 p.m.

Where: Ashland Avenue and 18th Street, Pilsen

How much: Free

The skinny: Decide which local chef best prepares the Mexican staple at the annual mole cook-off. The event will give two awards: the Mole de Mayo's best mole award and the people's choice award. Alongside booths dishing out mole, the festival will also have two stages of musical guests, visual artists and traditional Azteca danza.

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Randolph Street Market Outdoor Debut

When: May 27-28, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: 1340 W. Washington Blvd., West Loop

How much: $10

The skinny: Take your shopping outside when the Randolph Street Market returns to the great outdoors. Get your hands on antiques, handmade and vintage goods, local Chicago food favorites and drinks from over 300 vendors. This year will feature a vinyl swap meet and goods from across the globe. Admission is $8 online or $10 at the door and covers both days. Grab a leash and take your pup along too.



Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest

When: May 27-28, noon-10 p.m.

Where: 3200 N. Sheffield Ave., Lakeview

How much: Free

The skinny: Head to the Belmont Red Line stop for this Lakeview street party full of music, food and drinks. Watch your neighbors embarrass themselves at multiple rounds of karaoke courtesy of Trader Todd's, check out DJ sets from Grammy-nominated producer Ralphi Rosario or admire the killer make-up skills at two drag performances presented by Trannika Rex (8:15 p.m. Saturday) and Squad Goals (7 p.m. Sunday).



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Memorial Day Parade

When: May 27, 11 a.m.

Where: State St. from Lake St. to Van Buren St.

How much: Free

The skinny: The city of Chicago honors fallen heroes and their family members with one of the largest Memorial Day parades in the country. The festivities start with a wreath laying ceremony at Daley Plaza (at Dearborn and Washington streets) and will then make its way down State Street starting at Lake Street. The parade's Grand Marshal will be Lieutenant General Robert S. Walsh of the Marine Corps.

Bike the Drive

When: May 28

Where: Lake Shore Drive

How much: $17-$88

The skinny: For five whole hours, bicyclists will have free reign over Lake Shore Drive. Chicago bike enthusiasts can register to "bike the drive," with proceeds going to benefit the Active Transportation Alliance's work to improve various forms of transit (i.e. biking, walking and public transportation) throughout the city.

Greek and Mediterranean Wine Fest

When: May 27-28, noon-9 p.m.

Where: Van Buren and Halsted streets, West Loop

How much: $40

The skinny: This brand new festival is a celebration of all things Greek and boozy. Ticket holders can sample 15 types of wine and nosh on Greek staples. Learn about various wine and food pairings, watch traditional Greek bands and dancers and head home with your own case of vino from this inaugural West Loop fest.



@shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com

Want even more fests? Check out our ultimate guide to 135+ Chicago summer festivals.
Montgomery Village President Matt Brolley and members of the Montgomery Veterans of Foreign Wars post celebrate Montgomery being named a Purple Heart City. (Judy Pochel/The Beacon-News )

Aurora and Montgomery are now Purple Heart Cities.

The designation is bestowed by the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A. Inc., which was formed in 1932 for the interest of all combat wounded veterans and active duty men and women who have received the decoration.

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Chartered by Congress, the order is considered unique among Veteran Service Organizations in that all its members were wounded in combat. For this, they were awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Aurora being a Purple Heart City was declared through proclamation this week by Mayor Richard Irvin, a part of the many activities taking place during Veterans Week in the city, leading up to Memorial Day.

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Irvin pointed out that the Purple Heart is awarded to veterans who were killed or wounded in combat, and that it is the oldest American medal, created by George Washington.

"Aurora is a very highly decorated community," said Irvin, himself a U.S. Army veteran. "It's very important, that it is a Purple Heart city."

Irvin pointed out in his proclamation that the organization fosters goodwill, supports patriotism, supports legislation, and "most importantly," shows that "we never forget."

A representative from the state Purple Heart order presented the city with a plaque, and the city also showed a sign that will be placed at the city's entrances showing it is a Purple Heart City.

In Montgomery, a ceremony was held dedicating a plaque to the community, as well as unveiling road signs for the Purple Heart City designation.

A number of the members of the Montgomery Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7452 attended the ceremony.

Freelance reporter Judy Pochel contributed to this article.

slord@tribpub.com
Sean P. Murray announces a lawsuit filed on behalf of two nurses taken hostage by a Kane County jail inmate receiving treatment at Delnor Hospital. May 25, 2017. (Hannah Leone / Beacon-News)

Two nurses taken hostage after a Kane County inmate escaped his room at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital filed suit Thursday alleging the corrections deputy assigned to guard Tywon Salters left him unshackled, then ran and hid after the inmate took the officer's gun.

Identified only as Jane Doe 1 and 2, the nurses and their husbands are suing the Kane County Sheriff's Office, APEX3 security and corrections deputy Shawn Loomis in connection with the May 13 hostage situation at the Geneva hospital.

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Salters left the hospital room naked and sexually assaulted one of the nurses, who was also struck in the arm by the bullet that killed her captor, attorney Sean P. Murray said during a Thursday news conference. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks compensatory damages, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.

"I represent employees who just came to work that day to do their job, and they left traumatized for life," Murray said during a Thursday news conference. The nurses did not attend the news conference.

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On suicide watch at the jail, Salters' previous behavior showed he'd seek opportunities to escape custody, according to the lawsuit. The sheriff's office, Loomis and the private security company paid by the hospital knew Salters posed a danger to nurses and staff, yet failed to handle him properly, the lawsuit alleges.

Sheriff's officers assigned to monitor Salters around the clock should have maintained control over him and kept his leg shackled to his bed, the lawsuit argues.

Salters had been unshackled for about a half hour when he moved on Loomis, somehow taking the officer's 9mm handgun, the lawsuit claims.

The Kane County Sheriff's Office is referring questions to the office of Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon. McMahon declined to comment on the pending litigation or investigation.

According to the lawsuit, a nurse discovered a corrections officer asleep on the couch in Salters' room; sheriff's officers routinely unshackled Salters; and the morning of the hostage standoff, an unnamed officer tasked with guarding the inmate was sitting on a recliner, using his laptop.

When Loomis started his shift, he replaced that officer, eventually removing Salters' leg shackle so he could use bathroom and failing to replace it, according to the lawsuit.

Five days after Salters was hospitalized for eating plastic off a sandal from his jail uniform, authorities said the 21-year-old inmate from Chicago instigated the hostage scenario during which Delnor went on lockdown and evacuated patients from the emergency area.

Once he was disarmed, the lawsuit alleges Loomis ran to a room down the hallway, shut the door and hid, violating county policy by taking no action to protect others.

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Meanwhile, Salters found his way into an office, where a nurse said he made her take off her clothes, physically and verbally abused her, threatened her and held her at gunpoint.

When another nurse went into the office, Salters took her hostage as well. At some point, the second nurse convinced him to let her use the phone. She warned other hospital staff about the situation, setting in motion emergency procedures and making her "nothing short of a hero," Murray said.

"Her actions that day likely led to many other hospital employees not being harmed," Murray said.

A standoff involving a Kane County Jail inmate holding a Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital employee hostage ended on May 13, 2017, with the inmate dead. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Salters left the first nurse behind and took the other to a first-floor decontamination room, where he forced the second nurse to take off her clothes. The nurse led Salters to the lower room because she figured it would be empty, so the rest of the hospital staff would be safe, Murray said.

For more than three hours, Salters beat, abused, threatened and raped the nurse, the lawsuit states.

"The entire time that she was held captive, he held her hair with one hand and had the gun to her head with the other hand," Murray said. "She was told she was going to die, told she was going to leave in a body bag."

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Negotiators tried, unsuccessfully, to reason with Salters. He asked them for a car, Murray said.

A SWAT team of specially trained officers went into the area where he was holding the nurse hostage shortly before 4 p.m., officials said.

A shot fired from the gun Salters had taken lodged in a SWAT officer's bulletproof vest, McMahon said in a press briefing that day.

A North Aurora police officer on the team fired at least one shot at Salters, striking him in the head. Murray said that bullet also hit the nurse in her arm. Authorities have released limited information about the order of events.

On March 11, Salters was charged with two counts of class 2 felony receiving, possessing or selling a stolen motor vehicle in Elgin and booked in the Kane County Jail, where his bail was set at $75,000 with 10 percent to apply for bond. Salters had been on parole since October 2016, when records show he was released from the Hill Correctional Center. He was sentenced in May 2013 to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for charges related to a stolen vehicle out of downstate Vermilion County and a 48-month sentence for a robbery in Elgin, both committed in 2012 when he was 17 years old, at a time when he was automatically tried as an adult.

hleone@tribpub.com

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Twitter @hannahmleone
A dog that recently fled its own coop in Barrington Hills ended up killing a neighbor's 15 chickens while on the loose, police said.

Barrington Hills police said that as many as 20 additional chickens could be missing, injured or eaten in the incident that happened May 13 in the 500 block of West Cuba Road.

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The dog's owner, Timothy A. Mattson, 56, who lives in the 500 block of West Cuba Road, was cited for criminal damage to property under a local ordinance, said William Walsh, an officer with the Barrington Hills Police Department.

People commit criminal damage to property when they knowingly injure a domestic animal of another party without consent, under the ordinance, Walsh said.

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Mattson could not be reached for comment. Police didn't provide a description of the dog.

Police responded to the area May 13 after the owner of the chickens saw a dog on his property with a chicken in its mouth, Walsh said.

The property owner's estimated loss is $299, he said. The police report did not indicate whether the chickens were contained to a coop or roaming freely on the property.

Although the village does not have any ordinances on leashing dogs, owners are responsible for keeping their dogs under control, said Robert Kosin, director of administration for Barrington Hills.

Barrington Hills residents also have been allowed to raise certain agricultural animals, such as chickens, rabbits, llamas and horses, on their properties since 1957, when officials then approved a zoning standard that permitted the raising of those animals, Kosin said.

tshields@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @tshields19
So at the Notre Dame graduation ceremony, a gaggle of students walked out on Vice President Mike Pence's address. Knowing the cost of a Notre Dame education, and as an alumnus, I am sickened by this behavior. But I guess it is just the tolerance of these individuals who are so "left" that they don't even want to hear what this man was going to say. I guess it is just "critical thinking," criticizing that which you won't hear. I wonder how proud their parents are, who sent them to ND hoping that after graduation they would get a good career and become rich. Well ain't that just "rich."

Recently watched an old TV smash comedy, M.A.S.H. In it, they had a lunatic officer, Col. Flagg, from the CIA that saw a conspiracy behind everything. It made me think of the made-up conspiracies the current Democratic Party are accusing the president and everything he's trying to accomplish of doing. Flagg, never conceding his insanity, simply disappears. Hilarious. This could be the future of the Democratic Party too.

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Bob, Oak Forest

It is horrible what happened to the two poodles, but it could have been prevented if the person who found the dogs had taken them to a veterinarian or shelter to scan for chips. You do not have to surrender an animal to check for a chip. For those who haven't chipped their pets, please know that it can be done at your vet, at one of the monthly vaccine clinics at Chicago Animal Care and Control or at one of the low cost microchip clinics offered by Cook County Animal Control. Also, check with your local city/town to see if they offer micro chipping for your pets. Remember cats need to micro chipped as well as dogs, more cats are put down in shelters because they cannot locate the owner.

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Chicago

Just a reminder for those forgetting the true meaning of Memorial Day, please pass on your respects for all the nation's military that have kept this nation safe over the past 240 plus years. Also, a special debt of gratitude goes to all the World War II Vets (The Great Generation) who fought in places like Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Bataan, Guadal Canal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa in the Pacific and those on the Atlantic side in north Africa, Italy, Great Britain, on the beaches of Normandy, France and the Battle of the Bulge. We forever thank you for your service to this country. Let's thank all these heroes and brave patriots by flying our flags of the United States of America in acknowledgement.

Don, Orland Park

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Metropolitan, a new German-style brewer coming to the Grayslake Annual Craft Beer Festival June 3, will offer tastes of beers like this Krankshaft, a customer favorite. - Original Credit: Handout (Metropolitan Brewing / HANDOUT)

Beginners to the craft beer-tasting trend need no special techniques or knowledge before coming to Grayslake's Annual Craft Beer Festival on June 3, said Michael Pruitt, festival organizer and member of the Grayslake Exchange Club and the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce.

Though it may seem daunting to walk into tents filled with 80 breweries offering tastes of hundreds of IPAs, pale ales, stouts, pilsners, ciders and other beverages, Pruitt said the beginning beer taster can look through the free booklet that features the layout of brewery locations and names of beverages.

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"Then just try things you haven't had before. Just explore," said Pruitt, who owns The Vine restaurant in Grayslake.

You don't have to try a pale ale first and a dark beer second, or the other way around, he said. Even when it comes to tasting wine, following a certain order of varieties has "gone out the window," he said. "Everything's mixed up. You kind of just try."

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Tickets for the event beginning at 1 p.m. are $10 for designated drivers, $35 in advance, $45 at the door and $65 for VIP tasters, who can enter at noon and partake in appetizers. Admission includes commemorative glass and tastings of any of the beers and ciders offered. Designated drivers receive water and soda.

What brings the more than 2,000 participants to the annual festival is the chance to try new beers each year, "brews they couldn't try going into a liquor store," Pruitt said

"We also have access to a lot of new breweries items coming in the area." Fifteen new breweries will be at the event including Kings and Convicts from Highwood and Metropolitan from Chicago, he said. One of beer drinkers' favorites at Metropolitan is the lemony-flavored Krankshaft, according to the website. Some breweries also offer hard cider, which is gluten-free, Pruitt said. Most beers are not, he said.

Another reason folks come to the event, Pruitt said, "is because it's for a good cause," he said.

The proceeds benefit the Grayslake Exchange Club and Grayslake Chamber of Commerce's scholarship funds for high school students going to college. "The big thing is to raise enough to keep the event going so we can give out money for scholarships," Pruitt said.

Jack Richtman, a Grayslake lawyer who helps with the event, said the festival typically raises $100,000 annually for the scholarship funds.

Pruitt said he arranged for a diverse mix of music this year. "We have everything from reggae to hard rock to folk music to cover bands. We want to keep it fun and keep it different," he said.

The event also features vendors selling burgers, pizza, pita pockets, hot dogs and other food to pair with the beer.

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Though Pruitt said he does not drink at the beer festival because he's running it, he enjoys drinking a brew with "some type of carbohydrate, something substantial with bacon and cheese. Bacon pairs with any beer," he said.

Beer has been a passion for people from medieval days until now, Pruitt said. Today, it's easy to learn to make your own beer and more resources are available, he said.

Pruitt said the festival is a great place for people to learn about beer, its history and its flavors.

Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer for the News-Sun.

Grayslake Annual Craft Beer Festival

When: 1-5 p.m. June 3 (opens at 12 p.m. for VIPs)

Where: Whitney and Center Streets, downtown Grayslake

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Tickets: $10-$65
The Islamic Foundation North in Libertyville and its 600 members are set to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. (Luke Hammill/Lake County News-Sun )

Sundown Friday begins the Islamic holy month, Ramadan, a period of daily fasting and prayer for Muslims.

"Ramadan is a month where Muslims fast during the day from sunup to sundown, and they pray to get closer to God," said Azfar Uddin, the imam, or spiritual director of the Islamic Foundation North mosque, 1751 S. O'Plaine Road, Libertyville.

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Ramadan is "very significant" to Islam because it is one of the five pillars of the faith, Uddin said.

"Muslims believe God revealed the Quran during this month," he said.

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In chapter 2, verse 185 of the Quran, which Muslims believe is the literal word of God, Uddin said they are commanded by one word: fast. Muslims abstain not only from all food or liquid during daylight hours, but also to abstain from bad words and bad actions, he explained.

"The value of Ramadan is immense, because you are actually taking self control of your own self," said Vaseem Iftekhar, president of the Islamic Foundation North. It is a time for "purifying your heart, your soul and your body."

Uddin explained that this fasting is submission that can change not only how people eat, drink, sleep, speak and act, but also generally to correct bad habits.

"The purpose of fasting is to become more conscious of God," Uddin said. "God will give them strength that even they didn't know they had and the impossible will be possible."

Though some Muslims use moon settings to establish the start of Ramadan, members of the Islamic Foundation North mosque are among those who use astronomical calculations. This year, Ramadan occurs during the summer solstice, which features the longest daylight hours of the year. More daylight means longer periods of fasting for Muslims, which can be physically taxing, Uddin said.

Ramadan is a joyous occasion, not only because of the prayer, but also because families gather at meal times at night and before sunrise, Iftekhar said.

"It's not about fasting or the physical hardship  it's a joyous time," Iftkhar said.

Children, the elderly, people who are ill, breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women are not required to participate in the fasting ritual, Uddin said.

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Both Uddin and Iftekhar encouraged visitors to their mosque to increase understanding of their faith.

"Islam is misunderstood," Iftekhar said.

Radical organizations that associate themselves with Islam to commit violence in no way reflect the Islamic faith, Iftekhar said.

"We have always condemned violence," Iftekhar said. "Violence is not a part of Islam. We are not even supposed to kill a fly or destroy a tree unnecessarily. We respect everything that God created."

Uddin said it was very helpful to his Muslim community when leaders from other religions, including pastors and rabbis, contacted him with messages of support after President Donald Trump was elected in November. Many visited the mosque to learn more about Islam.

"The unknown can lead to fear, and fear can lead to hate," the Imam said.

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Although membership is not mandatory at a mosque, the Islamic Foundation North has about 600 members, with about 600 to 700 people coming for weekly Friday prayers, he said. On special events, there can be 2,500 to 3,000 people in attendance. On one occasion, they noted Muslims from more than 11 different countries, Iftekhar said.

"This is probably the best country to practice our religion," he said. "I have full faith that generally speaking, Americans are the greatest of people."

For the Muslims at Islamic Foundation North, this year's Ramadan will not be any different than other years due to the political or social climate because Islam has stood the test of time, Iftekhar said. He added that they set aside the political rhetoric and focus on prayer.

"This is a month of prayer for us, a month of fasting and submitting ourselves to God," he said.

To kick off Ramadan, Friday will include UMMA Fest, hosted by the Urban Muslim Minority Alliance Center, held at the intersection of Washington Street and Sheridan Road in Waukegan from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is scheduled to have yoga, live music, food, face painting, free haircuts and other activities, according to http://www.ummacenters.org.

Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham is scheduled to speak at12:30 p.m. and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, is scheduled to speak 1:30 p.m., according to event organizers.

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Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
When George W. Bush ran for president in the late 1990s, he did it on a platform of compassionate conservatism, a smooth-edged rebranding of the conservatism that had become synonymous with callousness in the age of Newt Gingrich. Bushs compassionate conservatism assured voters that he wasnt going to waste their money the way he said Democrats would, but that he also wasnt going to hurt people in the process, especially the least among us.

Bush won, but the concept of conservatism took a beating under his administration, as federal budgets ballooned and his vision of the role of government expanded at home and abroad.

Fast forward to Tuesday, when OMB Director Mick Mulvaney laid out the first Republican budget in nine years, and Mulvaney not only dumped the concept of compassionate conservatism, he literally redefined what compassion should mean in todays Washington.

Compassion has to be on both sides of the equation, Mulvaney explained to reporters at the White House. Yes, you have to have compassion for the people receiving federal funds, but you also have to have compassion for the folks who are paying it and that is one of the things that is new about this presidents budget.

So far, so good. As a taxpayer, I think I speak for all of us when I say we dont want our money wasted, lost or stolen. Why else would every politician in history promise to reduce the deficit by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse?

But Mulvaney went on to describe what compassion in Donald Trumps America will look like: Major funding boosts for programs that Trump promised on the campaign trail; huge cuts to safety net programs that neither Mulvaney nor Trump seem to understand very well; and a gigantic corporate and personal tax cut that most economists say will blow a hole in the federal budget, but that Mulvaney insists will boost the economy to 3 percent annual growth and somehow balance the budget in 10 years.

Of the programs that will get funding increases under Mulvaneys new definition of compassion are $1.6 billion for Trumps border wall, a $54 billion annual increase in military and defense spending, and significant plus-ups for law enforcement, veterans programs, paid parental leave, and school choice, namely taxpayer funding for charter and private schools. They are all campaign promises the president made while he was running for office, Mulvaney explained Tuesday.

On the block for historic cuts are Medicaid, which would be slashed by more than $800 billion, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, which would see a 29 percent cut, the Childrens Health Insurance Program, which would be cut by 19 percent, and an array of foreign assistance and medical research programs.

Again and again, Mulvaney described the safety net programs that millions of low income Americans rely on as rife with fraud and hucksters. We have plenty of money in this country to take care of the people who need help. And we will do that, he said. We dont have enough money to take care of people who dont need help.

But for a set of programs judged to be so newly un-compassionate, Mulvaney didnt seem to know much about them. When a reporter asked about the dozens of programs already in place to address fraud, Mulvaney said that was a good question. When he was asked about work requirements that the budget will phase in for food assistance, he said he didnt know the details.

He described the real problem with welfare as the folks who are out there who dont want to work, but he didnt mention that 32 percent of people on food stamps have jobs and are still living so near the poverty line, they still rely on SNAP, according to the Agriculture Departments own numbers.

What Mulvaney never addressed is the effect all of this would have on state budgets, 31 of which are run by Republican governors, and nearly all of which would have their budgets obliterated by the cost-shifting that the Trump budget achieves. For every dollar that the Trump budget cuts in Medicaid for safety net and rural hospitals, for example, it will fall to states to pay for or begin to close those hospitals.

Mulvaney also never talked about the effect this will have on parents and families, some of whom will not be able to pay for their childrens health insurance or put food on the table without the federal programs that support them. Those families may thrive under the pressure, or they may crumble, but this budget says its a risk worth taking.

Those are the values and priorities in Donald Trumps first budget as president. They may be exactly what his supporters voted for, and they may end up being the jolt the American economy needs to return to steady, upward growth. But this budget is not compassionate. To say otherwise is just dishonest.
Naperville Ribfest will host a July 1 final qualifier for Nathans Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. The top male and female winners will head to the July 4 Coney Island, N.Y., competition. In 2015, Joey Chestnut, left, was defeated Mike Stonie for the title and but came back in 2016, setting a world record by consuming 73 hot dogs in 10 minutes. ( Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images )

Big eaters can try their hand at qualifying for the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Contest July 1 at the Naperville Ribfest.

The festival will host the final qualifying round for the contest just three days before the July 4 event in Coney Island, N.Y.

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Top male and female eaters in the Naperville contest will qualify for a seat at the table at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest and a chance to become a champion.

"In talking to the people at Nathan's, I heard people are flying in for the event," said Erin O'Donnell, spokeswoman for Ribfest. "It's the last qualifying round before the finals in New York so this is really exciting."

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It's unclear if any big names in the competitive eating world will be at the Naperville qualifier. "As we get closer I'm sure we'll get more info," O'Donnell said.

Nathan's Famous has already held 10 qualifying events throughout the country, with 10 men and nine women headed to the competition so far.

"Competing in Coney Island on July 4th is item number one on most people's bucket list," said George Shea, Major League Eating chairman, in a news release. "Illinois is known for great eaters and we are confident that we will find a local athlete in Naperville who can represent the great state of Illinois on our nation's birthday."

Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger said he watches the July 4 contest every year and, after achieving his own success in a five-minute hot dog-eating contest in February, is debating whether he'll enter the Naperville qualifier.

"I am considering it and looking at the schedule," Krieger said. "At this time, I am leaning toward entering."

While Krieger is new to the world of competitive eating, it's something he's always wanted to do, he said.

Men who have already qualified for the Coney Island event have consumed anywhere from 22 to 33 dogs. The qualifying women have downed three to 29.

"The mid-20s would be in the ballpark of where somebody would need to be to qualify for Coney Island so I'll need to do a little bit of training to get there," Krieger said. "A lot of the training has to do with stretching your stomach."

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Despite what could be national interest in the qualifying event, O'Donnell said they're not worried it will draw attention from the festival's namesake fare.

"We have 12 rib vendors and 40 regular food vendors so we're offering every type of food anyway," O'Donnell said.

Joey Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., is the current hot dog-eating champion. He set a world record after eating 73 Nathan's Famous hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes last year. Miki Sudo, of Las Vegas, became the 2016 female champion when she consumed 381/2 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

The Nathan's Famous qualifier will be held at 3 p.m. at Ribfest's South Stage.

If hot dogs aren't enough, Ribfest also will host a corn-on-the-cob eating contest on the same stage. Champions will win a rib dinner.

ehegarty@tribpub.com
Edward Klein has been in custody since witnesses said he shot an Amtrak conductor May 23 at the train station near downtown Naperville. (Naperville Police Department photos)

A DuPage County judge on Thursday approved a mental health evaluation for the Wisconsin man charged with shooting and gravely wounding an Amtrak conductor last week in Naperville.

Judge Daniel Guerin granted a motion filed by the attorneys for Edward Klein, 79, who has been in custody since last week when he was charged in the attempted murder of Michael Case. The Homewood resident was shot once as he stood on the rail platform at the train station north of downtown Naperville.

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Case required emergency surgery and was initially listed in critical condition, but his status has been upgraded to serious, Edward Hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger said Wednesday. At Klein's bond hearing last week, prosecutors said the bullet fired by Klein struck Case in the torso and damaged internal organs.

Klein, a resident of an independent living center in suburban Milwaukee, was traveling May 16 from Kansas City back to Milwaukee and, according to authorities, tried to get off the train at its scheduled stop in Naperville. But Amtrak personnel, aware that Klein needed to switch trains at Union Station in Chicago in order to return home, closed the train's door to keep him from leaving.

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The retired federal law enforcement agent then retrieved a revolver he was carrying before leaning out a train window and shooting Case, authorities said.

"I had built up all this anger, and I blew him away," Klein reportedly told police.

Other passengers said Klein had exhibited disturbing behavior prior to the shooting and had caused a disturbance in Kansas City, when the Chicago-bound train was late getting into the station.

At his hearing May 19, Klein seemed unable to grasp the severity of the situation. He said several times that he would be leaving the following day, and he turned down the services of the public defender's office, saying he would not need counsel because he would be going.

The judge, however, appointed the public defender's office to represent Klein, who is being held in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

"After meeting with our client, we had immediate concerns about his fitness to stand trial," Assistant Public Defender Jennifer Maples said Wednesday.

At Thursday's hearing, Klein spoke several times. At one point, he told the judge that he had an appointment.

If Klein were to be found mentally unfit after the evalutation, he would likely be sent to a secure facility, like the Elgin Mental Health Center, to receive treatment. The court would receive periodic updates on his condition, and if doctors later determined Klein was mentally fit, then the criminal court proceedings against him would proceed.

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Klein formerly worked as an officer with the Federal Protective Service, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C.

Case's wife, Sara, spoke briefly last week about his condition and the shooting's effect on her and her family.

Klein's case will be back in court in late June.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. Naperville Sun reporter Bill Bird contributed.
Oak Brook Village Board member Michael Manzo spoke out Tuesday against a move that would make it harder for trustees to place items on the village agenda.

"The board majority does not have the courage to debate issues in public; that's why they passed this amendment to the ordinance," Manzo said.

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The board voted to increase the number of trustees needed to have items placed on an agenda from two to three. The amendment was suggested by board member John Baar and approved by a 5-1 vote.

"My motivation for this is that you have to develop a complete concept that requires educating other people; you have to get two other trustees up to speed," Baar said. "Having to get two other trustees up to speed before something goes on the agenda means it takes far less time to get others up to speed."

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Manzo doesn't buy Baar's explanation.

"I think we're sending the wrong message to the public by doing this," he said. "This is not about efficiency, it's about personal convenience and not wanting to discuss some things in public.

Manzo said the amendment concerns him most because he believes it reduces governmental transparency in Oak Brook.

"We are becoming less and less transparent every day," he said. "I don't understand how doing this benefits the public. Why should the barrier be so high, especially for items someone wants on the agenda only for a discussion?"

As an example, Manzo pointed to four items he and then board member Don Adler wanted on the April 25 board meeting agenda: reaffirming Oak Brook's red light camera ordinance; reaffirming moving ahead with the village's lawsuit against red light cameras at Route 83 and 22nd Street; seeking the Illinois Attorney General's Office assistance in removing redactions in documents obtained from the Illinois Department of Transportation; and discussion of closed session minutes related to the lawsuit from Feb. 7 an Feb. 14.

The board reaffirmed the village's ordinance prohibiting red light cameras in Oak Brook, but tabled a discussion and vote on the other matters.

"Those things never would have even been brought to the public's attention with the new restrictions for having items placed on the agenda," Manzo said. "Don Adler and I are the only ones who supported those items being on the agenda, and I thought it was important to bring them to the public's attention."

Trustee Asif Yusuf anything could be discussed as long as there are three trustees who are willing to have it on the agenda for discussion," he said.

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Baar said the village president still has the ability to place any item on the agenda, even if only one board member makes the request.

Manzo said he would use the trustee comments portion at the end of meetings to mention issues he is unable to have placed on the agenda.

"I can still bring things up during my comments, but that's not a time for public discussion, which, to me, is what is very important," he said. "I'm just hoping now that they don't try to restrict what board members can say during those comments."

cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @chuckwriting
A Hebron man has been charged with three felonies in connection with a fatal crash last fall that killed a 17-year-old pedestrian.

Christopher Eugene Campbell, 43, was charged in Lake Superior Court with causing death when operating a motor vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance in the blood, causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator.

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The charges were filed Monday in connection with the Oct. 17 crash that killed Andrew M. Salka.

Salka was walking eastbound at about 1 p.m. in the 800 block of East 73rd Avenue in Merrillville against traffic in the westbound lane of east 73rd Avenue when he was struck by a GMC Suburban driven by Campbell, the probable cause affidavit states.

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A Lake County police accident reconstruction investigator determined that Campbell was driving faster than the posted 30 mph speed limit when the crash occurred. Blood and urine tests showed that Campbell had hallucinogenic drugs and opiates in his system, the affidavit states.

At the time of the crash, Campbell's license had been suspended for 10 years starting in 2013 for being a habitual traffic violator. His license also was suspended in January for not having insurance. Since 1991, Campbell's license had been suspended 49 times.

Salka was initially transported to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary and then to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., where he died of his injuries later that day. The most serious of the charges is punishable by two to 12 years.

Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Two teens abducted from a Merrillville motel in the summer of 2015 were driven to a trailer park in Lake Station to see if a revolver that one of them had sold was there, according to a man who was there.

But when no one answered the door, two vehicles they were forced into began driving to a remote, wooded area in Hobart.

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Kiontay Lovell Cason provided the first eyewitness account of the killings of Arreon Lackey, 18, and his brother, Antonio Lackey, 16, during the trial of Jeri Woods.

Woods, 35, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of murder in perpetration of kidnapping and two counts of kidnapping in the execution-style shootings of the Lackey brothers.

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Cason, 23, who pleaded guilty last year to two counts of kidnapping, punishable by three to 16 years, has agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of his co-defendants, who include Woods' stepsons Arrion Greenwood, 19, and David Johnson V, 21, as well as Greenwood's girlfriend, Michelle Hughes, 28, Woods' husband, David Johnson IV, 39, and his father, David Johnson III.

After coming up empty at the trailer, Cason said David Johnson IV kept asking Arreon Lackey about a .38-caliber revolver that Lackey allegedly sold to another man in exchange for a .25-caliber pistol, some marijuana and cash. David Johnson IV wanted the gun returned, Cason said. Police have linked it to the April 28, 2015, killing of Alfred Wiley, 46, about two months before the Lackey brother homicides. David Johnson IV is charged with murder in Wiley's killing and Woods with conspiracy to commit murder. They have pleaded not guilty.

Cason said they drove to an area with a long, overgrown driveway. David Johnson III was driving a van with Woods, David Johnson IV and Arreon Lackey inside, and Antonio Lackey was in a car driven by Hughes with Greenwood and David Johnson V as passengers. Cason said Woods asked Arreon Lackey about an alleged plan to break into her home, and he denied that he would do that.

"You're like a mother to me," Cason recalled Arreon Lackey saying as he described him as "nervous, scared, on the verge of tears."

By this time, Woods had put a 10 mm semi-automatic handgun she'd borrowed from a Miller store owner in her shirt, Cason said. She told Cason to get Antonio Lackey from the car, as well as Hughes and Greenwood. She confronted Greenwood about the break-in plot, which Greenwood said Arreon Lackey had planned, Cason testified. Antonio Lackey kept saying he had nothing to do with it, Cason said.

Come on, let's go," Woods said as she, the Lackey brothers and Cason began traveling down a path in the woods. Greenwood followed them, but Woods told him she "knew he was in on it" and to leave "before I kill you," Cason recalled.

The teens, who were not allowed to get their shoes on June 26, 2015, before the defendants picked them up at the Country Inn & Suites in Merrillville, where they'd been staying with their family after the family home in the Glen Ryan section was shot up at the end of May, were barefoot as they walked the path. Woods was behind Arreon Lackey, and Cason was behind Antonio Lackey, Cason said. When they reached a board that spanned a creek on the property in the 7000 block of Grand Boulevard in Hobart, David Johnson III caught up with them, Cason said.

Woods told the teens to stop, and David Johnson III told them to take off their clothes.

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Woods ordered them to their knees. Antonio Lackey immediately complied, but Arreon didn't, "so I hit him with the gun and he fell to the ground," Cason said.

"After that, Jeri shot AT in the head. Then she shot Tone in the head. I told them let's go," Cason said.

Asked by deputy prosecutor Robert Persin of if Woods told the victims anything before she shot them, Cason said, "Hug your brother."

Afterward, David Johnson III told Woods to "hit them again", and she fired a shot at Arreon Lackey's torso, then at Antonio Lackey's torso, Cason said.

Cason said he had a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun in his hand, but he put the safety on "because I'm not a killer."

Testimony is expected to resume Thursday.

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Ruth Ann Krause is a freealance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Diners at the Burger Bar & Grill in LaPorte can pick their bread, cheeses, toppings and sauces to create their burgers. One possibility is this burger with egg, cheddar cheese and bacon plus homemade pub chips. - Original Credit: Handout (The Burger Bar amp Grill / HANDOUT)

With a maiden name of Burger, it was fitting that Shelly Tanksley along with her brother Todd Burger became partners in the Burger Bar & Grill in LaPorte.

"This whole thing started as a joke  for the burgers by the Burgers," said Tanksley, who also manages the Burger Bar & Grill.

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Here is the dish on this local eatery:

On the menu: Billed as "your beer and burger destination," the Burger Bar & Grill offers the chance to customize quarter-pound, third-pound or half-pound burgers or grilled or crispy chicken breast by picking the bread, cheese, toppings and sauces. "You can do it any way you want to do it," said Tanksley, of LaPorte. "The only time we name it is the burger and the chicken of the week. We change those on Mondays."

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About the partners: "I did the office thing for 12 years," said Tanksley, who started working in phone sales for a food warehouse. "I've been a bartender and server since. I also have a background in food, in what to do and not to do."

A mission statement: "It's a good, friendly, hometown feel. It's like everybody always says  the little mom-and-pop kind of place, except we're not mom and pop. We're brother and sister," said Tanksley. "Everybody's from around here and you have some sort of connection. It's not just a one-man show. Everybody's little parts have helped make us what we are. It's the whole big thing."

Decor: "It's a long history. The bar has changed hands quite a few times," said Tanksley. "It was also a sentimental thing. When our dad, Duane, worked at a factory behind the bar here, that was his hangout. The best of the old-school bars is what we try to keep, the good parts of what we grew up with. It's the good old days."

Specialties: "Good, hand-pattied burgers and made fresh every day and nothing frozen," said Tanksley, adding that the pulled pork by her husband, Phil, is also a standout. "Our Bloody Mary is pretty well-known around here. It has a little bitty burger on top of a bacon skewer."

We're different because: "We close early. Mom always said, 'Nothing good happens after midnight.' We close at 10 instead of finding out," said Tanksley, who added that the Burger Bar & Grill sponsors a Sunday men's softball team and participates in charitable poker runs for causes such as autism and cancer.

Prices: Start at $2.25 for pork sliders, $3 for Brew City appetizers, $4 for salads or hot dogs, $5.75 for burgers and $7.75 for chicken breast. Breakfast items, which are available until 11 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays, start at $3.95 for Phil's biscuits and gravy, $4.50 for build-a-breakfast sandwiches, $4.95 for eggs, $5.75 for French toast, $5.95 for omelets and $6.95 for Messes.

Logistics: The Burger Bar & Grill is at 821 E. Lincolnway, LaPorte. Hours are 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays and 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. Delivery is available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Call 219-324-1144 or go to www.facebook.com/pg/theburgerbng.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Kerry Fitch (from left), Kate Wiersema and Nelson Velazquez are the producers of Crown Point Do-It-Yourself Theatres Hysterical Figures on June 3 at Crown Point Community Theatre. ( Do-It-Yourself Theatre/HANDOUT )

A Shakespearean show about former President John F. Kennedy or a soap opera about TV personality Mr. Rogers are examples of what "Hysterical Figures" could produce.

Crown Point Do-It-Yourself Theatre closes its season with this show "where history meets hilarity" on June 3 at Crown Point Community Theatre.

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"I was thinking about 'Hamilton,' which puts history and rap together," said Kate Wiersema, who is producing "Hysterical Figures" with Crown Point residents Kerry Fitch and Nelson Velazquez.

"Wouldn't it be cool to do an event where we could have weird genres go together with historical figures and see what people get? This is one of those fun things where we just don't know what it's going to look like. That's super cool."

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The night of original historically themed plays written, rehearsed and performed in one day is directed by Chicago residents Josh Blair and Liz Powers and Marc Ryser, of Crown Point.

"We have three directors and they have three genres that they're directing. We're going to put them on teams in the beginning of the day. Directors are going to stick their hand in a bag of historical figures and pull that person out," said Wiersema, of Homewood, Ill.

"Say someone's genre is soap opera and they pull Amelia Earhart. They have to put together a 20-minute soap opera with Amelia Earhart's life. We're giving directors free rein. It can be over their whole life. It can be just one event of their life.

"We said, 'Bring your phones, bring your chargers and bring your computers.' They're going to have to research it and figure out what they're going to write. The first half of the day is writing and putting it together. The second half of the day will be rehearsing and getting it ready to go up that night."

Wiersema has been involved with Crown Point Community Theatre since first starring in "Love Boat: The Improvised Musical." That February 2016 production was directed by Velazquez, head of the theater's improvisation program.

"They have such an energy. They love creative people. I feel like they want people with different points of view," said Wiersema, who teaches second and third grade at George Washington Elementary School in Alsip, Ill.

"Their theater itself is a black box theater. It's a really cool space. The people have been nothing but supportive there with this improv thing. They're open to new ideas. A lot of theaters would not want to do that.

"It says a lot about that theater organization to hand over the reins and trust people to do new things."

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Wiersema said Crown Point DIY Theatre can be a good way for people to get their feet wet on stage.

"A lot of people are scared of improv. This is pretty much improv but it's in a structured way," said Wiersema, a member of Smeared Inc., which presents improv shows primarily at Tinley Park Performing Arts Center in Illinois and also does a podcast.

"People can be creative and create all this stuff but also have the safety net of some sense of backbone to it. It's cool that we're creating it and performing it all in one day."

Wiersema also is involved in the Tony Stanzas, which is billed as Northwest Indiana's best musical improv team.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

'Hysterical Figures'

When: 7:30 p.m. June 3

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Where: Crown Point Community Theatre, 1125 Merrillville Road, Crown Point

Tickets: $15

Information: 219-310-8556 or www.cpct.biz
Now in its 38th year, the internationally known program has mentored 1,100 medical students at St. Mary Medical Center (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)

One after another, the long-established physicians stood behind the podium to repeat the same mantra to the fresh-faced medical students.

Be passionate about your career, they insisted. Be compassionate with your patients, they added. And above all else, be human with everything you do.

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I didn't expect such a warm message at an otherwise technical-minded orientation for the summer shadowing program at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.

"If you're going into medicine for the money, please don't. Go sell stocks and you'll make more money than here," said Dr. Vijay Dave (pronounced Dah-vay), director of the long-running program.

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"It's very, very important to be a human being first and foremost," he told the students. "It's more important than anything else. You will learn this, and I hope that all of you will live this, too."

"If you don't like looking into a patient's eyes, you're in the wrong career. If you don't like holding their hand or finding out what ails them, don't waste your time here," Dave said.

Now in its 38th consecutive year, the internationally known program has educated more than 1,100 medical students from across Northwest Indiana and from several countries including Germany, Spain, Mexico. Nigeria and Macedonia.

The program invites aspiring doctors to study under established physicians for rigorous training in real-life hospital situations. This includes serving as a second assistant in surgeries, and other serious healthcare circumstances.

"When you study medicine, do it with passion," insisted Dr. Thach Nguyen, who co-directs the program each year. "It should not be a chore to study medicine. It should be a passion of yours. Use it to be a leader to pull everyone around you together."

This year's class of 31 students includes 13 third-year med students from Vietnam, who introduced themselves to the others in a customary humble, modest tone.

"Speak up! You need to be loud and clear," Dave told them from behind the podium in the hospital's auditorium, named in his honor.

The Vietnamese students, from Tan Tao University's School of Medicine, will learn critical thinking from different perspectives, and new sensitivities to other cultures, religions and gender issues.

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"They also will learn the most advanced aspect of medicine, and how to deliver it in a cost- and time-effective way," Nguyen said. "The greater challenge is how to communicate with patients, doctors and other students in order to move things further. Success is effective communication."

Vietnamese medical students, from left, Khanh Duong, Chau Nguyen, Nguyen Pham, and Dinh Truong fill out paperwork during orientation for the summer intern program Monday at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. (St. Mary Medical)

The two doctors, with assistance from other healthcare officials, outlined the eight-week program and its challenging goals, followed by a tour of the hospital.

Today's column will be the first in an occasional series as I shadow these students through the program. It partners with The Methodist Hospitals, Indiana University Northwest's School of Medicine and the Northwest Indiana Area Health Education Center, which serves eight counties in this area, among other medical groups.

"You will learn that sometimes a hug, a smile or a sincere thank you from a patient is worth more than a paycheck," Sandra Behrens, AHEC's director, told students. "You guys are our future. We want to train you and we want to keep you in Indiana."

Most of the pre-med students here are from Northwest Indiana, from communities as diverse as Gary, Munster, Schererville and Valparaiso. They're attending either Indiana University or Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

"It is a challenging and eye opening experience for many students," Nguyen said.

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"For the first- and second-year U.S. medical students, it is a reality check of what they learned in academia, and the real world of medicine from patient care to cost effectiveness and affordability," he added. "The students have to apply the theories they learn in school to the real patients and the raw reality they face."

The Vietnamese students have even harder challenges ahead of them.

They will also participate in the highly publicized cadaver prosection course offered by Dr. Ernest Talarico at Indiana University School of Medicine Northwest in Gary. This course has blossomed into international fame since I first wrote about it several years ago.

"The Vietnamese medical students are hard-working students," said Talarico, who recently returned from Vietnam to train students and physicians there. "They enter medical school directly out of high school, and often without a medical college admissions test or an interview."

Medical students and hospital staff pose for a class photo Monday at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)

"Students there also begin to see patients in the hospital during the first year  many with full-shifts," said Talarico, associate professor of anatomy and cell biology at IUN. "All of this, combined with English not being their primary language, these students must be at the top of their game."

The Vietnamese students here are the best of the best from their vaunted school. Some of them will obtain residencies abroad, though most will remain in Vietnam where there is an increased need for trained medical professionals, public health, and access to health care.

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"They are very interested in how the United States is doing things," Talarico told me. "In many ways, the Vietnamese model their anatomy education and medical school curricula from U.S. medical education programs."

During orientation, Talarico told all the students that some of their patients will badly need their medical help, some will refuse their help, and some will no longer be able to be helped by modern medicine  despite doctors' best attempts.

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"Be professional at all times," Talarico reminded them. "More importantly, do not forget your passion. Don't forget why you chose medicine, and translate what you learn here into your practices."

Even the hospital's CEO, Janice Ryba, echoed the doctors' repeated refrain: "You need to be extremely passionate about your calling in life."

Nguyen added, "Be a leader. Don't be just another chicken in a chicken farm."

Dave warned them to expect long hours, long days and long faces at times.

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"You're not done until I am done," he said. "And finally, don't believe what we tell you. Question it. Question everything."

jdavich@post-trib.com

Twitter@jdavich
The radio on a corner countertop is playing the song, "Burnin' for You" by Blue Oyster Cult.

While nothing is burning and there are no oysters around, things are definitely cooking in this kitchen classroom at the Lyons Township High School South Campus, where students in an advanced culinary arts course are competing in teams to see who has the best mock food truck fare and menu.

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This Food Truck Face-Off, held on a recent Wednesday in May, gives students a taste (pun intended) of what it's like to run a food truck. If you've been to a busy downtown Chicago street at lunchtime, a concert or other special sporting event, you know that food trucks are as hot right now, as, say, Nashville Hot Chicken or just-from-the-fryer doughnuts.

Doughnuts, in fact, are one dish that a group of students in this class have prepared for the challenge. They dubbed their food truck business Lil' Donuts, and they served up sugar-and-cinnamon dusted doughnut holes.

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Other food trucks in the 8th period advanced culinary arts class were Gyromeister, Mistaken Bacon, Good Dog hot dog pizza, Gusto Deli Italiano, Nifty Noodles and The Magic Burger Bus.

Students in another advanced culinary arts class prepped their own original food truck menus and samples earlier that same day.

The special event capped a semester of learning about and preparing a variety of foods in the class and followed a visit by the operator of Gino's Steaks food truck.

"Students had an opportunity to see and learn the ins and out of the business, and then had a chance to do the project," explains Lauren Engelhardt, family and consumer science teacher at LTHS, who leads the 5th period class.

"They had to come up with the concept, logo and name of the food truck business, create a menu and cookbook, and then make six samples of their star dish for judges to taste."

A group of judges, including principal Brian Waterman, director of curriculum and instruction Scott Eggerding and several teachers and paraprofessionals, sampled the fare, reviewed the menus and evaluated the students' respective projects. They dropped "Lion cash" (faux bills with a Lion head) into the mock cardboard food trucks designed by the student groups.

In the 8th period class, teacher Kate Mitchell said that the results from the judging will be used to determine which group had the most successful food truck concept from a real-life perspective.

"We'll count up the Lion cash from the judges and then look at other factors, like a profit-loss analysis that the students did. The real winner will be the food truck brought the most money brought in," says Mitchell.

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Given the fact that the classroom smelled like bacon and doughnuts, among other savory aromas, one can't help but wonder (and hope) for a real-life food truck to grace the curbside at LT's campus. I'd be one of the first in line.
Western Springs will go over budget to replace the heating and air conditioning system at the recreation center.

Officials said the aging unit is experiencing problems and a new unit will be more efficient, saving money in the long term.

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The Village Board approved a $232,000 contract Monday with Amber Mechanical Contractors, Inc., of Alsip, to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning at the center, 1500 Walker St.

The vote was part of the omnibus agenda at the meeting, and was one of the final items voted on before the new board members were seated later in the evening.

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Trustee Alice Gallagher said five bids came in for the project, with the lowest bid coming in at $232,000, and the highest at $304,484. She said $225,000 was budgeted for the project, and that all bids were over budget.

The Properties and Recreation Committee recommended going forward with the large project, which will completely revamp the entire HVAC system, said Gallagher, who was sworn in as village president later in the evening.

Village reserve funds will be used to offset the $7,000 over-budget cost, officials said.

Recreation Director Tracy Alden said the existing system in that building is more than 20 years old, is a the end of its life cycle, and is beginning to have some problems as a result of its age. He said last fall one of the issues was mold found in one of the day care rooms at, and that the new system will help alleviate the problem.

Alden said replacing it will make it run more efficiently, saving the village more money down the road.

The plan is to do the work in September, once the summer heat has subsided, officials said.

David Heitz is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press
Pueblo judge orders competency evaluation in election tampering case

A judge has issued a gag order in the election tampering case of Richard Patton and ordered Patton to be evaluated for competency to stand trial.
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The Independent, by Qasim Rashid. Excerptread on here.

The permission given in Quran 22:40-41 to fight in self-defence was not only granted to defend Muslims from persecution, but to defend Christians, Jews and people of all faiths from acts of terror like those committed by Isis today

People gather in memorial next to the Ahlens department store following the attack in central Stockholm on Friday Reuters/Gideon Malherbe

Only two groups in our society promote the Quran teaches terrorism myth: anti-Muslim pundits and Isis extremists. Both are wrong.

This simplistic conclusion ignores that many groups in many countries are experiencing terror right now. It ignores the international arms trade from powerful western nations that wholly disregards human rights and has caused the death of more than 60,000 children in Yemen. And it ignores the fact that as Somalians suffer a massive famine Western media virtually ignores them  as it has ignored the Syrian crisis for the last several years.

Yet with attacks in Egypt, London and Syria, critics default to blaming the Quran, citing its allegedly violent verses. We cannot resolve the Syrian, Yemeni and Somalia atrocities until we adhere to justice. Blaming the Quran for terrorism is not only demonstrably false, it wastes precious resources that could be spent on stopping war and famine.

Three critical facts demonstrate that nothing in the Quran permits terrorism. And while Islamophobes and Isis will both go on ignoring these three facts, the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad and Muslims worldwide continue to champion them.

Fact 1

The Quran requires that you read it in full. No cafeteria Quran here. As Quran 3:8 says, We believe in it, the whole is from our Lord. Isis and Islamophobes instead cherry pick. Quran 3:8 pre-emptively calls out people who cherry pick as perverse people, declaring, those in whose hearts is perversity seek discord and wrong interpretation of [the Quran].

But dont some verses of the Quran in fact say, kill them where ye find them?

Yes, hence we get to fact two.

Fact 2

Islam is a practical faith that permits self-defence in certain strict situations. When? Let the Quran explain.

First, the Prophet Muhammad and his companions patiently bore vehement persecution in Mecca for nearly 13 years. This included a three-year starvation boycott from which his wife Khadija later died. Muslims didnt fight back.

Next, Muhammad sent some companions to seek refuge in Abyssinia under a Christian King, and Muslims still didnt fight back. Third, when the Prophets companions even asked to fight back, Muhammad responded clearly, I have not been given permission to fight. And, finally, when the persecution became unbearable, Muhammad and the Muslims simply left Mecca  still refusing to fight back.

These refugees trekked 240 miles through the desert to escape terrorism, finally arriving in the predominantly Jewish city of Medina. If Islam taught terrorism and enforced Sharia, this was the time to demonstrate this. Instead, Prophet Muhammad formed the Constitution of Medina with the Jews, establishing a unified secular state.

Yet the extremists trying to kill Muslims in Mecca pursued the Muslims to kill them in Medina. And now  finally  the Quran addressed fighting for the first time, permitting Muslims to fight in self-defence. The permission given in Quran 22:40-41 to fight was only given to those against whom war is waged. And fighting wasnt just to defend Muslims from persecution  but to defend Christians, Jews, and people of all faiths. All subsequent verses addressing fighting are pre-conditioned on these clearly outlined rules of self-defense. Otherwise, its cherry picking, something the Quran forbids as perverse.

Additionally, Quran 2:193-194 declares that Muslims may only fight active combatants. Meaning, even if during battle an enemy combatant asks for amnesty, you must grant it. In Islam, theres no such thing as collateral damage, mutilation, or torture. All this notwithstanding, fact three issues the death blow to Daesh and Islamophobe ideology.

Fact 3

You might now understand who the Quran refers to when it says kill them where you find them. The them are those terrorists who persecuted people for their faith, exiled them from their homes and then pursued to kill innocent people in their new homes.

In other words, them is close to a modern day Isis. The Quran permits killing terrorists in self-defence because they have waged pre-emptive war against you, or against Christians, Jews, or people of any faith. Yet, even then, if terrorists desist, the Quran forbids aggression against them. This teaching is not mere theory, its Islamic history.

Prophet Muhammad did something remarkable when he returned to Mecca after 20 years. Having suffered brutal persecution and murder of even his own children, he offered blanket forgiveness, with the one condition that the Meccans accept universal freedom of conscience. He did not force Islam. He did not wage war. He did not imprison the city. He forgave.

As non-Muslim historian Stanley Lane-Poole attests: The day of Mohammad's greatest triumph over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over himself. He freely forgave the Koraysh all the years of sorrow and cruel scorn in which they had afflicted him and gave an amnesty to the whole population of Mecca.
By Alexander Chipman Koty

China and the US agreed to a trade deal on May 11 that will give US firms in certain industries increased access to the Chinese market. The deal is a result of the 100-day plan to resolve trade disagreements that Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump produced at their April meeting at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Most of the provisions have a July 16  the 100th day of the plan  deadline for concrete guidelines. The agreement benefits US beef producers, credit rating services, and credit card providers, among others, while Chinese cooked poultry producers can now sell their products to the US.

However, while the deal eases restrictions for US firms in a handful of industries, it does not tackle the larger structural issues affecting China-US trade, such as Chinas technology transfer requirements and the perceived unequal market access for US companies.

Further, many of the affected sectors already appeared on track to open to foreign participation, while the regulatory status of others remains unclear. Although these longstanding issues have yet to be resolved, US companies in relevant sectors will benefit from increased access to the vast Chinese market.

Ban on US beef lifted

As part of the deal, China is lifting its ban on US beef, which has been in place since a mad cow disease scare in 2003. In return, China will be able to sell cooked poultry products in the US.

The US has continuously lobbied China to regain market access since the ban in 2003, with little success. China conditionally lifted the ban on US beef in late 2016, but the two sides did not agree on specific regulatory requirements to resume trade. Many observers believe that China had been using the ban on US beef as a bargaining chip to gain access for Chinese cooked poultry in the US.

The US Department of Agriculture recently announced that talks to finalize technical details of the beef agreement have been progressing smoothly, and should be completed by early June. For its part, the US will publish a list of outstanding issues surrounding the import of Chinese cooked poultry, and allow imports as soon as possible.

US producers will be required to document where cattle used for beef exports to China were born and slaughtered. The beef must also undergo testing to ensure it is not contaminated with beta-agonists, a class of growth-enhancing drugs, and must be from cattle under the age of 30 months.

US beef exports to China will begin no later than July 16, re-opening what US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross calls a US$2.5 billion market. China is the worlds second largest beef consumer, consuming 5.4 kg per capita in 2015. Brazil, Uruguay, Australia, and New Zealand were the leading exporters of beef to China in 2016.

US poultry, however, remains banned in China. China instituted the ban in response to an avian flu scare in the US in 2015.

RELATED: Pre-Investment and Entry Strategy Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates

Restrictions on foreign credit rating services eased

All wholly foreign-owned financial services firms, not only US ones, will be able to provide credit rating services in China, and will also be able to apply for credit investigation licensing. Last year, China committed to fully open the sector to foreign firms in 2017. Previously, foreign credit rating services could only operate in China through a joint venture (JV) with a local partner.

The move comes at a time when the Chinese government is looking to curb financial risks and ballooning local debt.

Foreign credit rating agencies may encounter difficulties operating in China, however, as the entities that issue and hold the bulk of debt instruments are government-related and may be reticent to enlist a foreign credit rating agency over a domestic alternative.

US card payment services to gain access

Under the deal, US-owned electronic payment services (EPS) companies  bank and credit card suppliers like Visa and MasterCard  will be able to begin the licensing process to operate in China. China will develop implementation guidelines that will give EPS companies full market access. Local credit card issuers, principally Chinese banks, will continue to be able to issue dual brand-dual currency bankcards.

China committed to open access to its card market upon its accession to the WTO in 2001, but did not follow through. The Obama administration filed a complaint against China on this issue at the WTO, which mandated in 2012 that China open the sector. In response, Beijing issued guidelines to gradually open the sector in 2015, but has made little progress.

State-owned UnionPay has a virtual monopoly over Chinas card market, which was valued at RMB 55 trillion (US$8.4 trillion) in 2015. Notably, credit cards never became as widespread in China as in neighboring South Korea and Japan, while digital payment services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay have exploded in popularity.

Other measures

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, two US-owned banks, will be granted interbank bond underwriting and settlement licenses.

Meanwhile, the US has committed to eventually apply the same regulatory standards to Chinese banks as it does to other foreign banks. Ross stated that Chinese banks would get access if they comply with normal rules, though no timeline was given.

Further, Chinas National Biosafety Committee will make decisions on all eight pending US biotechnology product applications. If safety certificates are granted, US biotech companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow Chemical may be able to sell genetically modified seeds and other biotech products in China.

The deal also welcomes China to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US. While the statement encourages China to buy LNG from the US, China was not prohibited from doing so before, and has made no commitment to buy any. China, however, is the worlds third largest consumer of LNG, and is increasingly using it as an alternative to more highly polluting coal.

In the final point of the agreement, the US recognized the importance of Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative, and promised to send delegates to attend the OBOR forum in Beijing, which was held on May 14-15. The statement gives greater legitimacy to President Xis signature foreign policy initiative, which has had a muted response from Western countries.

RELATED: China  UK Trade: The Effects of Brexit

Modest gains for market access

The trade deal offers US businesses in the affected sectors new opportunities to penetrate the Chinese market, but they will encounter many challenges in the process.

Though the deal is a win for US beef producers, they will have to compete with other established producers, such as Brazil and Uruguay. Similarly, US LNG companies  who were already able to sell to China  will need to compete with suppliers from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, whose politics may be friendlier towards China.

For sectors such as card payments and credit rating, US companies will face considerable hurdles to compete with powerful domestic companies that have benefited from Chinas protectionist policies, such as UnionPay.

Additionally, the regulatory status in a number of sectors also remains unresolved. For example, though foreign financial firms will be able to provide credit rating services, they still have to apply for credit investigation licensing. If they are not granted such a license, their ability to operate will be severely limited in practice. Similarly, US biotechnology companies could still have their applications rejected  particularly if the China-US relationship sours.

Most of the measures in the deal either fast-track or put a deadline on existing commitments, such as allowing foreign credit rating and card payment services, and resolving outstanding biotech applications. However, fundamental issues affecting US businesses in China, including what US tech companies often consider discriminatory regulations, remain unresolved. As such, the deal is a win for US businesses in a few specific sectors, but does not resolve the issues affecting the majority.



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China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) performed well in the first four months of 2017, with their profits and operating income both posting brisk increases.

Combined profits of the country's 102 central SOEs rose 18.1 percent year on year to 445 billion yuan (about 64.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said Wednesday in a statement.

Among the 102 industry titans, 98 reported profits over the period, said the SASAC.

The total business revenue of these 102 SOEs topped 8 trillion yuan over the period, up 18.6 percent year on year, it said.

Stable production and sales growth were reported among companies in traditional sectors such as electricity, oil, and coal in the first four months, it added.

All Chinese SOEs administered by different levels of governments, including central SOEs, made combined profits of 825 billion yuan from January to April, up 24.8 percent year on year, the Ministry of Finance said in a separate statement Wednesday.

The rate outpaced the combined business revenue growth by all SOEs at 17.5 percent year on year to 15.6 trillion yuan over the period, said the ministry.
China's first demonstration nuclear power project using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design, is taking shape, with its containment dome expected to be installed within the next two days.

Yu Peigen, deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), said at a press conference Wednesday that its No. 5 unit in Fuqing in southeast China's Fujian Province is ready for dome installation, which is slated for Thursday or Friday.

A hemispherical dome, weighing 340 tonnes and 16.8 meters in diameter, will be installed by crane on the reactor featuring Hualong One design, according to Yang Ming, a member of the project management.

The dome will be used for protection against nuclear accidents under extreme conditions, and both its design and installation are very demanding processes.

Yang said the exact date would depend on weather conditions.

"The installation, if successful, will mark the completion of the construction work of the pilot and the beginning of the assembling stage," Yu said.

Started in May 2015, the pilot should take about 62 months to finish. Yu said the equipment manufacturing and construction work was on schedule.

He was confident that with continued improvement in risk control and project management, the first Hualong One project will be completed on time, although projects for other third-generation nuclear technologies have all faced delays in construction.

The Hualong One reactor was jointly designed by two nuclear power giants, China General Nuclear Power Group and CNNC, and passed inspection by a national panel in August 2014.

The government has since approved the use of Hualong One technology to build two reactors in Fujian Province, one being the No. 5 unit.

The country has actively promoted Hualong One at home and abroad. There are now four projects using Hualong One design under construction, including two reactors in Karachi, Pakistan.

During the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation earlier this month, the CNNC also signed a cooperation framework agreement with Argentina, a key emerging market for Chinese companies, which included using the Hualong One design for the country's fifth nuclear unit.

Yu said the CNNC would like to provide domestic clean energy solutions globally, as the company has both the technology and experience for overseas construction, operation and maintenance of nuclear projects.

Up to 85 percent of the Hualong One equipment is domestically manufactured, including core devices such as the reactor pressure vessel and steam generator, ensuring that Hualong One is safe and economical, according to Yu.

Xing Ji, chief designer of Hualong One, said the model incorporates unique safety designs that are able to deal with threats from extreme external damage such as the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Yu said the state-owned CNNC is ready to scale up production and construction of Hualong One reactors in accordance with government planning if the pilot projects are carried out smoothly.

There will also be new Hualong models as progress is made in new experience, new concepts and technological breakthroughs, he said.

China plans to reach 58 million kilowatts of installed nuclear capacity by 2020.
A senior Chinese official Wednesday defended the "Made in China 2025" plan and reassured foreign firms that the plan will treat all companies equally.

"Policies and measures under the 'Made in China 2025' are applicable to both domestic and foreign businesses, and all companies will be treated equally," Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said at a press conference.

The plan does not contain restrictions on foreign investment or policies to force out foreign companies, Xin said.

Unveiled in May 2015, the plan aims to boost manufacturing innovation in China and promote development in 10 key sectors, including robotics, aerospace equipment and new materials.

Xin noted many targets for market share of domestic brands under the plan are forecasts or expectations, rather than mandatory.

To step up financial support for the plan, Xin said China plans to set up an investment fund, which he said is still under discussion and has no timetable.
China will increase imports from the United States in wide-ranging areas including agricultural products, energy and high-tech equipment, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

In a research report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations, the MOC noted the growth potential in U.S. exports as China's total imports are expected to reach 8 trillion U.S. dollars in the coming five years, which will bring more opportunities for U.S. companies.

China would like to further increase imports of agricultural products such as soybeans and cotton from the United States and speed up negotiations on terms regarding traceability, inspection and quarantine for U.S. beef to enter China, which will benefit 6 million American farmers, according to the report.

China is also willing to have active discussions on imports of more aircraft, microchips, machine tools and other high-tech products, the report said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R, front), who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, shakes hands with delegates to the 12th Party congress of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, during an inspection of the PLA Navy headquarters, in Beijing, capital of China, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for efforts to build the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy into a strong and modern force to lend support for the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of a strong army.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks during an inspection of the PLA Navy headquarters.

Xi expressed congratulations on the 12th Party congress of the PLA Navy, met delegates to the congress and conveyed greetings to all navy members.

Noting that the navy is a strategic military service concerning national security and overall development, Xi asked naval authorities to build a world-class force by promoting political awareness, reforms and rule of law.

Xi visited the navy's operational command center, where he greeted via video navy officers who were performing duties at sea.

He first talked with members of flotilla 150, which was in an overseas journey of good-will visit. The members told Xi that they had visited five countries in more than one month and were warmly welcomed by the host countries. Xi asked them to pass on friendship and contribute to world peace.

Xi also talked with staff who were carrying out a patrol mission aboard ship 538.

"You continuously fight wind and waves. Thanks for your hard work!" Xi said. "I hope all you comrades perform duties loyally and merit the trust of the Party and the people."

After hearing a report on naval work, Xi said a strong navy is a symbol of a world-class army and is a pivot for building the nation into a great maritime power.

He asked navy authorities to advance the transformation of the PLA Navy and focus on combat capabilities.

He said the navy should improve overall fighting capacity by combining the "mechanization and informationization," promoting both offshore and high sea forces and balancing operations on the water surface, below the sea and in the air.

Innovation is key to improving and transforming the navy, according to Xi. He noted the transformation must be carried out in accordance with the law. The navy must resolutely safeguard the CPC Central Committee's authority and unwaveringly stick to the Party's absolute leadership, Xi stressed.

He called for efforts to thoroughly purge the pernicious influence of Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, former corrupt senior CMC officials, and promote the anti-corruption drive.

He asked naval authorities to improve their own abilities while training a large number of capable military staff.
China's first pilot nuclear power project using Hualong One technology, a domestically-developed third generation reactor design, will soon take shape with its containment dome expected to be installed within the next two days.

Yu Peigen, deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), told a press conference Wednesday that its No. 5 unit in Fuqing, southeast China's Fujian Province, was ready for the dome installation, slated for Thursday or Friday.

A hemispherical dome, 340 tonnes in weight and 16.8 meters in diameter, will be installed by crane on the reactor featuring Hualong One design, according to Yang Ming, a member of the project management.

Yang said the exact date would depend on weather conditions.

"The installation, if successful, will mark the completion of the construction work of the pilot and the beginning of the assembling stage," Yu said.

Started in May 2015, the pilot should take about 62 months to finish. Yu said the equipment manufacturing and construction work was on schedule, and he was confident that the project would be completed on time.

The Hualong One reactor was jointly designed by two nuclear power giants, China General Nuclear Power Group and CNNC, and passed inspection by a national panel in August 2014.

The government has since approved the use of Hualong One technology to build two reactors in Fujian Province, one being the No. 5 unit.
 Flash

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday met with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, pledging to further advance bilateral ties.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue, in Beijing, capital of China, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Li is scheduled to visit Germany and Belgium from next Tuesday to Friday. During the visit, he will attend an annual meeting between the Chinese premier and the German chancellor in Germany and the 19th China-EU leaders' meeting in Belgium.

Li said it is significant to both countries, Europe and the world for China and Germany to maintain a stable and healthy bilateral relationship.

He said he hoped his upcoming visit to Germany would help enhance political mutual trust, explore potential in cooperation, intensify people-to-people exchanges, and send a strong message to the world that China, Germany and Europe support economic globalization, free trade and investment and regional stability under the current unstable international circumstances.

Li called on China and Germany to treat each other equally, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, properly solve differences and forge ahead bilateral ties so as to benefit the two peoples.

Gabriel, who is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue, said a stable bilateral relationship is worth cherishing.

This year marks an important year in the history of bilateral ties with frequent high-level exchanges between the leaders of both countries, providing a good opportunity to enhance cooperation, he said.

The successful first meeting of the people-to-people exchange dialogue Wednesday morning opened a new chapter of bilateral exchanges and cooperation, he said.

Germany looks forward to Li's visit, said the vice chancellor, adding that the country is willing to deepen cooperation with China in various fields and is committed to building a multipolar world of free trade.
China Aviation Daily | May 25, 2017

In the first half of May, Ameco delivered a converted Boeing 757 aircraft to China Postal Airlines that is a new customer for Ameco's conversion business. The aircraft was converted by Ameco's Chengdu Branch.

On the delivering ceremony, China Postal Airlines highly recognized Ameco's international maintenance standard and the high quality conversion. It expressed that Ameco is a reliable partner for China Postal Airlines.

This is the sixth Boeing 757 aircraft delivered by Ameco Chengdu Branch since 2014 while another three 757s are in the progress in its facility. Ameco Chengdu Branch completed its first conversion in May of 2014 and the product has become one of star products in Ameco.

Besides conversion, Ameco in its Beijing Base supports overhaul of RB211 engines powering Boeing 757 aircraft, with more workload from this engine type in the first four months this year than a year ago. The increasing trend is driven by Chinese air transportation market as well as the new contracts signed last year. RB211s from Chinese freight carriers include SF Airlines, and China Postal Airlines. More business is also secured by Ameco from the international market. For example, Ameco has become a Rolls-Royce approved RB211 repair station to provide service from last year for this engine OEM.

It is reported that the global MRO market business is expected to keep 3.7% annual growth rate in next 10 years while Chinese economy keeps growing in a medium-high speed from 2016 to 2020, which will gear up the domestic civil aviation MRO business development. Under such an environment, Ameco will rapidly release its MRO resources integration advantage, providing competitive service for global customers.

Contributed by Ameco
Workers sort fresh salmon on a conveyor belt at Salmar ASA's InnovaMar harvesting and processing facility on the island of Froya, Norway. BLOOMBERG

Norway has come up with an ambitious plan to dramatically increase its seafood exports to China, and expects the trade to be worth 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) by 2025, the Norwegian Seafood Council said on Wednesday at a news conference in Beijing.

"The plan is based on Chinese consumers' preference for Norwegian seafood, coupled with projected growth in second- and third-tier cities in China," said the Norwegian Seafood Council's director for the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, Sigmund Bjorgo.

"Norway, famous for its excellent quality salmon  with around 55 percent of all farmed salmon globally, aims to solidify its position in the salmon market in China, while growing the markets for other top quality seafood products as well."

The council, which comes under the country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, said it aims to see Norwegian salmon consumption reach 156,000 metric tons in China and Norwegian arctic cod consumption to reach 40,000 tons by 2025, along with increased consumption of other species including halibut, mackerel, lumpfish, snow crab and king crab.

It also plans to establish a firm foothold in China for species including sea cucumber, blue mussels, mackerel and cold water shrimp.

Norway's seafood exports to China in 2016 were worth 2 billion yuan, and consumption of Norwegian salmon in China has grown 300 percent since 2011, it said.

It is believed China will become Norway's largest importer of its seafood soon as 51 percent of Chinese consumers already expressed a strong preference for Norwegian salmon in 2017, said the council.

"Norway is strongly committed to working with local government and business partners to ensure increased exports of seafood from Norway to China," said Per Sandberg, Norway's fisheries minister.

"Norwegian seafood companies are eager to supply Chinese consumers with more healthy and sustainable seafood."

The council's target for exports to China was unveiled one day after 140 Norwegian seafood industry representatives met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing, representing the industry's largest ever trade delegation to a foreign country.

The President of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance Cui He said with the growing spending power of China's middle class and the good quality of Norwegian salmon, seafood sales are expected to further expand in the coming years.

"It will take hard work from both the Chinese and Norwegian sides to achieve the goals, but given the market conditions in China and Norway's strong seafood infrastructure, it's just a matter of time."
A technician introduces how a robotic arm works at a machinery expo in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province.[Photo/Xinhua]

China will step up efforts to boost high-end and intelligent equipment manufacturing, and accelerate innovations in sensor and control system as well as industrial software to upgrade the country's traditional industries, said Xin Guobin, vice-minister of Industry and Information Technology.

"The major direction of the Made in China 2025 strategy is intelligent manufacturing, with a key issue of applying more sensors, industry control systems and an industry internet system to realize intelligent decision-making," Xin said, adding efforts in this regard should be strengthened.

"We will continue to promote the development of high-end numerical control machine tools, basic manufacturing equipment, domestically developed planes and other important technical innovation projects."

Xin said the ministry will carry out major equipment projects in areas where the country is at a disadvantage, mainly supporting engineering and industrialization projects that were required to boost innovation in key areas to transform traditional industry.

The ministry will also expedite the construction of manufacturing innovation centers for advanced materials and robotics, and press ahead with the formulation of industrial internet strategyas well as establishing a number of industrial internet platforms, according to Xin.

"The country attaches great importance to intelligent manufacturing, as 70 percent of intelligent equipment and components are imported," said Qu Xianming, an expert with the National Manufacturing Strategy Advisory Committee, who is also an analyst at the Chinese Machinery Industry Federation.

The Made in China 2025 strategy, designed to upgrade China's manufacturing capability, set a target that 40 percent of core equipment components and key infrastructure material will be China-made by 2020, with an increase to 70 percent by 2025.

Qu added with the ever-increasing demand from domestic consumers, companies must produce high-quality products to satisfy their requirements, adding that robotics was a sector related to intelligent manufacturing.

Siasun Robot and Automation Co Ltd, a major robot maker in China, said it is making great efforts to launch a new generation of robots, which could achieve communication between humans and machines.

The company said it has independently developed control panels, although speed reducers, servo motor are imported. In 2014, Siasun established a subsidiary engaged in producing core components for robot manufacturers, expanding to the upstream of the industrial chain.
A sales clerk from Tujia shows the interior design and layout of a short-term home in Chengdu. WANG TIANZHI / FOR CHINA DAILY

As a market with the largest number of outbound travelers in the world, China is increasingly attractive for global short-term accommodation rental platforms.

For instance, HomeAway.com Inc, a vacation rental service owned by travel search company Expedia Inc, is hoping to leverage local expertise in China through cooperation with Tujia, the Chinese mainland's leading short-term rental website.

HomeAway wants to grow its footprint in China's fast-growing travel market. Its partnership with Tujia targets China's outbound travelers.

Tujia translates each HomeAway listing into Chinese, and serves as an intermediary to help Chinese travelers book homes in countries where they are not familiar with the local languages.

"With more than 2 million unique places to stay around the world, we're bringing an incredible amount of inventory to Chinese tourists. Through the tie-up, HomeAway and Tujia help each other grow business and distribute inventory," said Jeff Hurst, chief commercial officer of HomeAway.

With more than 400,000 listings, Tujia accounts for more than 30 percent of the domestic market, according to a report by Jinlu Consulting.

Meanwhile, global market leader Airbnb Inc has aggressively rolled out a series of plans recently, including doubling of its investment in China and a new Chinese name Aibiying (which means "welcome each other with love"), signaling the unicorn's determination to succeed in the Chinese market.

An employee from Tujia shows how the security monitor works at their short-term homes at an international residential community in Chengdu, Sichuan province. WANG TIANZHI / FOR CHINA DAILY

To be sure, Airbnb has only 80,000 listings in the domestic market as of now and 3 million listings all over the world.

Thus, like HomeAway, its competitive advantage lies in the overseas market.

Hurst differentiates HomeAway from Airbnb by classifying them into separate market segments.

"HomeAway is about family and group travel," said Hurst. "But some of our competitors are probably more about short-stay, single travel. They started as providers of airbeds, couches and shared spaces. The two models overlap, but I think we've different target customers."

A February report by online consulting firm iResearch Consulting Group said the turnover of China's home stay market was 8.8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) in 2016, up 106 percent from the previous year, and that is expected to grow by around 50 percent this year.

The report said major platforms with more users and a wider range of services will continue to attract more landlords and users, gradually dominating the market, while at the other hand, some platforms will serve a particular group of customers. The two segments will coexist in the future.

China has been the world's largest outbound tourism market since 2012, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

The China Tourism Academy said outbound trips reached 122 million 2016, up 4 percent year-on-year.
By MENG FANBIN in Beijing and YUAN HUI in Hohhot | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-25 08:01

Steel giant Baogang Group is planning to integrate its overseas operations and expand its market share through the Belt and Road Initiative.

The State-owned iron and steel company will set up an international division from its Baotou headquarters in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

This is all part of a push by the group to seek overseas financing as it brings together its offices in the United States, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

"We will not only explore increasing global sales for our steel products, but also try to expand our role as an integrated trade service provider in the steel sector," said Wu Yongbo, deputy director of strategic development at Baogang.

Since being set up in 1954, the company has become one of the biggest steel conglomerates in Inner Mongolia and has around 50,000 employees.

In the first quarter, it reported profits of 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) an increase of 1.46 billion yuan compared with the same period last year.

Revenue topped 13.76 billion yuan, which was a rise of 98.76 percent, or 6.84 billion yuan, compared with the same period last year.

Increasing its global presence will help Baogang boost production as it taps into potential new markets through the Belt and Road Initiative.

"This will involve procurement and sales in the global market as well as in China," Wu said.

Other company plans include expanding iron ore operations in the Tumurtei mine in Mongolia as well as the anthracite project in Jargaland and the coking coal operation in Tavantolgoi, Mongolia.

Another key development will be to build advanced steel making factories overseas although the company has yet to reveal the global locations or time frames for the projects.

Still, Wu was quick to point out that Baogang is moving in the right direction.

"Last year, we signed a joint agreement with Salim Group, a multinational corporation in Indonesia, for iron and steel projects with annual production of 2 million metric tons," he said.

He also revealed that the company hopes to increase its market share by 10 percent of steel and nonferrous metal products to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America without disclosing detailed figures.

During the first quarter, Baogang exported 536,500 metric tons of steel, an increase of 23.41 percent compared with the same period last year.

Pipeline steel exports also hit 29,000 tons in the same three months with 90 percent exported to countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative, such as in South Asia and the Middle East.

"With the Belt and Road Initiative, the communication and transportation networks connecting eastern Europe, West Asia and Southeast Asia will be established, benefiting Baogang's economic ties with those countries and regions," Wu said.

Chen Ruhai, deputy manager of Baogang Group International and Trade Co, pointed out that the conglomerate was heavily involved in key infrastructure projects across the globe.

These include rail construction in East Africa countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
BEIJING - China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) performed well in the first four months of 2017, with their profits and operating income both posting brisk increases.

Combined profits of the country's 102 central SOEs rose 18.1 percent year on year to 445 billion yuan ($64.7 billion) in the first four months, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said Wednesday in a statement.

Among the 102 industry titans, 98 reported profits over the period, said the SASAC.

The total business revenue of these 102 SOEs topped 8 trillion yuan over the period, up 18.6 percent year on year, it said.

Stable production and sales growth were reported among companies in traditional sectors such as electricity, oil, and coal in the first four months, it added.

All Chinese SOEs administered by different levels of governments, including central SOEs, made combined profits of 825 billion yuan from January to April, up 24.8 percent year on year, the Ministry of Finance said in a separate statement Wednesday.

The rate outpaced the combined business revenue growth by all SOEs at 17.5 percent year on year to 15.6 trillion yuan over the period, said the ministry.
Workers on a motor vehicle production line at a factory in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - A senior Chinese official Wednesday defended the "Made in China 2025" plan and reassured foreign firms that the plan will treat all companies equally.

"Policies and measures under the 'Made in China 2025' are applicable to both domestic and foreign businesses, and all companies will be treated equally," Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said at a press conference.

The plan does not contain restrictions on foreign investment or policies to force out foreign companies, Xin said.

Unveiled in May 2015, the plan aims to boost manufacturing innovation in China and promote development in 10 key sectors, including robotics, aerospace equipment and new materials.

Xin noted many targets for market share of domestic brands under the plan are forecasts or expectations, rather than mandatory.

To step up financial support for the plan, Xin said China plans to set up an investment fund, which he said is still under discussion and has no timetable.
VALLETTA - Maltese Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said on Wednesday that the Mediterranean needs to strengthen its appeal for Chinese tourists.

He was speaking at a master class entitled "Attracting Chinese Tourism in the Mediterranean", organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

He added that it was significant this was taking place within the context of the EU-China Tourism year for 2018.

During this event the participants discussed the potential offered by the rapidly developing Chinese outbound tourism market, and what the Mediterranean countries need to do to strengthen their potential in the Chinese market.

Zammit Lewis added that there is a need to formulate realistic and workable ways of developing and projecting a Mediterranean brand in China.

"We need to be on the right 'Chinese tourist track', with the necessary infrastructure in place, have businesses and staff geared up to deal with Chinese visitors, and have the product that this market wants," he said.

"Aspects such as relevant product development, language training, and a stronger understanding of specific needs are considered imperative for attracting tourists from China," added the minister.
KUALA LUMPUR - Hengyuan Refining Company, previously known as Shell Refining Company before it was acquired by a Chinese company from Shell, is looking for options to export to China.

The refiner would leverage the knowledge of its major shareholder, China's state-owned Shandong Hengyuan Petrochemical in the Chinese market to find the right customers there, Hengyuan managing director and executive director Maarten Stals told reporters after the group's annual general meeting and extraordinary meeting on Wednesday.

Hengyuan Refining Company's complex oil refinery in Port Dickson is the second largest refinery in Malaysia. The refinery has a licensed production capacity of 156,000 barrels per day. Currently, about 90 percent of the group's refined products and liquefied petroleum gas are sold in Malaysia. Singapore is the group's major export market, accounting for about 10 percent of the group's revenue.

Meanwhile, Maarten is optimistic on the group's outlook following the management transition as the group is looking for more strategic opportunities with the strong support from Shandong Hengyuan Petrochemical.

"I am quite optimistic in the sense that our people are really engaged after the transition. They are positive about the (management) changes," Maarten said, adding the company is also seeking to reduce its material cost through its Chinese shareholder.
BEIJING - The United States' trade deficit with China is not directly related to the decline in US manufacturing jobs, according to a research report released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Thursday.

"A number of studies have shown that the reduction in US manufacturing jobs is ascribed to technological progress and industrial upgrading, which is not directly related to the US trade deficit with China," stated the Research Report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations.

China has made great efforts to cut the trade surplus. Focusing on expanding domestic demand, the Chinese government has intensified its economic restructuring via increased public investment and enhanced private investment in many aspects, with the aim to constantly expand its domestic market, said the report.
BEIJING - China will increase imports from the United States in wide-ranging areas including agricultural products, energy and high-tech equipment, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

In a research report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations, the MOC noted the growth potential in US exports as China's total imports are expected to reach $8 trillion in the coming five years, which will bring more opportunities for US companies.

China would like to further increase imports of agricultural products such as soybeans and cotton from the United States and speed up negotiations on terms regarding traceability, inspection and quarantine for US beef to enter China, which will benefit 6 million American farmers, according to the report.

China is also willing to have active discussions on imports of more aircraft, microchips, machine tools and other high-tech products, the report said.
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Have you fallen for China with your stomach? Chances could be high, as the country is known for its agricultural heritage and food culture.

Tea took 22 spots out of the top 50 most popular Chinese agriculture products, according to findings by Zhejiang University and e-commerce behemoth Alibaba's research arm.The ranking is compiled according to brand awareness, popularity and customer satisfaction, the research report said. Fruits and vegetables held 12 and 5 spots respectively, while traditional Chinese medicine contributed to five of the best-known products. Here let's take a look at the top 10 Chinese "celebrity" agriculture products.

10. Tanyang black tea
Thunder Power Chairman and CEO Wellen Sham gives a speech on May 23 in Beijing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Thunder Power, a Hong Kong-based startup carmaker, has debuted its brand in Beijing, unveiling ambitious plans to tap into the world's largest new-energy vehicle market.

It has been 21 months since the startup premiered its first concept vehicle at the 2015 Frankfurt International Motor Show.

A prototype electric sedan shown on May 23 features a 125 kWh battery capacity, providing a range of up to 650 km, a new benchmark in the EV industry. Half an hour charging will enable it to run 300 km, according to the carmaker.

The range is the result of its lightweight body, low air drag and more efficient battery pack, according to its Chairman & CEO Wellen Sham, a Chinese American born in Hong Kong.

With a choice of motor options available, the sedan offers system power of up to 430kW, ensuring no compromises in driving pleasure for tomorrow's striving consumer.

Sham said Thunder Power's core competence lies in its proprietary technologies in the fields of battery management, thermal management and chassis technologies.

With over 350 patents filed in the US and China, more than 70 have already been granted, including a modular chassis system which allows the development of future models in different segments in a faster and more cost-effective way than the traditional approach.

Thunder Power shows its prototype sedan on May 23 in Beijing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Production is due to start for Asian markets in late 2018 at its plant in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province  the result of a multibillion yuan partnership with a local industrial fund.

By 2022, the plant's production capacity is expected to reach 100,000 units a year, with its total investment to reach 7.2 billion yuan ($1.05 billion).

Sham said Thunder Power has also commissioned JP Morgan to finance $500 million for its development.

Christopher Nicoll, the carmaker's sales and marketing director, said the company will take a city-by-city approach and first target at non-first time car owners.

The automotive veteran, who worked at Jaguar Land Rover and Fiat, said the brand will build a network of 100 dealerships by 2021 in China and 50 dealerships in Europe.

Thunder Power has recently signed an agreement with the Catalan authorities in Spain to build its European manufacturing site in the country.

When asked about future products, Sham said they will feature more cutting-edge applications.

"Our next generation of products will continue to focus on incorporating technology to enhance the driving experience, but some of the key focal points will be to converge a selection of applications, electrification and autonomous driving capabilities, such as optimizing 3D parking and integrating biometric sensors."
SYDNEY - The Torch High Technology Industry Development program will bring eight, lucky Queensland entrepreneurs to China, as part of a long-term partnership strategy with Australia in the fields of science, technology, and innovation.

The chosen recipients were announced Wednesday at a special ceremony in Brisbane, with representatives from the Queensland government and China's Ministry of Science and Technology congratulating the successful companies.

Queensland Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch said in a statement that the aim of the partnership is for the participants to take advantage of the burgeoning science and technology sectors in both countries.

The eight recipients received funding under the first round of the government's A$480,000 ($357,594) Commercialization Partnership Program (CPP).

"The CPP is the product of our very strong relationship with China's prestigious Ministry of Science and Technology which leads and funds science and technology development in China through the Torch High Technology Industry Development program," Enoch said.

One of the lucky few chosen was Ocean Organics, a company from the Queensland city of Alexandria Hills, who are developing ways to extract pharmaceutical, and skincare benefits out of dried seagrass.

The founder of the company, Ross Meaclem, told Xinhua on Wednesday that he was "excited" for the opportunity that the Torch program would provide his company through partnership with China, and looks forward to establishing mutually beneficial outcomes with businesses in the Chinese market.

"I have done everything I can do within my financial means, and I just need a partner to fund it into market, hopefully a Chinese company," Meaclem said.

With his company focusing on natural healthcare solutions, as their products are derived from seagrass extracts, Meachem said there was great potential for his product within the Chinese market.

"Seagrass is a flowering plant, and herbal medicines are big, big business now," Meachem said.

Meachem said that the placement within the Guangdong High-Tech Industrial Park during the course of the program, will allow him to engage, and build his businesses in China, through establishing cooperation and exchanges with local companies who can share their expertise.

One of the other chosen start-ups, Applied Matter Systems, will be travelling instead to the Guangzhou Industrial Business Incubator, and founder David Inderias said the opportunity provided by the Torch High Technology Industry Development program was a "dream come true."

"This is an opportunity to commercialize on a scale we only previously imagined," Inderias said.

"We are applying technology honed in Queensland, on the world stage in China."

Current businesses that are found within the Torch precincts totalled 11.9 percent of the Chinese GDP in 2015, while also accounting for roughly 18.5 percent of exports to overseas markets.
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky speaks at an event to launch the brand's Chinese name Aibiying in Shanghai on March 22. REUTERS

Growing outbound Chinese tourists try out new apps offering innovative homestay services

Wang Xiaochuan, 40, a restaurant owner in Beijing, had visited Japan 15 times, but the very thought of her 16th trip made her nervous. Her anxiety during the run-up to the February visit arose from the realization that this time she would be traveling with her aged parents and in-laws. The four septuagenarians had never been abroad.

"The anxiety haunted me for weeks until my husband turned to Zhubaijia for help," she said. The Shenzhen-based company, usually seen as China's answer to Airbnb Inc, has gone far beyond simple offers of domestic and overseas vacation rentals.

"Its service is really impressive," Wang said. After she booked an old villa in Kyoto, the company's employees helped her deal with tasks like booking restaurants and hiring a car (whose driver later doubled up as a guide-cum-photographer).

"I used to resist the idea of renting someone's house. But this trip made me realize that the money saved in homestays can help pay for other value-added services."

Like many outbound Chinese tourists, Wang benefited from the new overseas butler service of Zhubaijia. It is part of broad efforts by online players in China's hospitality industry, including Tujia and Xiaozhu, to outshine competitors such as Airbnb in popular overseas tourist markets.

Last year, Chinese travelers made 122 million outbound trips, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, maintaining the country's position as the world's largest outbound tourism market, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

"Unlike foreign backpackers who look forward to do-it-yourself traveling experience, Chinese outbound travelers don't prefer uncertainty. They are eager to enjoy one-stop service," said Guo Xiao, executive vice-president of Zhubaijia.

The company, which has raised more than 600 million yuan ($87.24 million) from HNA Group, inked a deal with the latter's hotel unit in April to cooperate on products and sales channels, in a move to meet consumers' increasingly complex demands for personalized services.

To date, Zhubaijia has 270,000 overseas listings in 80 countries and regions. More importantly, it has about 10,000 part-time overseas butlers to better serve users and manage houses, the company said.

Sensing potential for growth in this segment, Xiaozhu, another player with focus on the domestic home-stay market, ventured into foreign countries this year. It started with South Korea, Japan and other neighboring Southeast Asian countries, all popular destinations for Chinese tourists.

With about 1,000 listings in Japan, Xiaozhu is growing, said Chen Chi, its CEO. "We plan to open a branch in Japan later this year. Japan has a long history of homestay services and it has abundant, good room resources."

A family find time to bond after dinner at a rented home booked through Zhubaijia, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, earlier this year. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

During the cherry blossom season in early spring (March-April), its room booking rate in Japan reached 100 percent. Unlike Zhubaijia that targets high-end travelers, Xiaozhu focuses on price-sensitive consumers.

"Chinese travelers, especially those born in the 1980s and the 1990s, are becoming increasingly accustomed to homestay in the domestic market. They are the main spenders. So, it would be unreasonable to ask them to use one app for booking rooms in China and another app in overseas markets. We're moving in advance to grow the supply of quality houses in foreign countries," Chen said.

But, according to Dang Jianwei, an expert on innovative economies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, it won't be easy for Chinese companies, especially startups that have no global influence, to persuade overseas homeowners to list their properties on their apps.

"Teaming up with local partners will be an essential approach to build up overseas listings," Dang said.

Tujia, the largest player in China's homestay market, is doing exactly that. It started its overseas business in 2012. It now has about 80,000 listings in foreign countries, complete with translation services for users who can't speak English.

One of its investors is HomeAway Inc, the US vacation rental marketplace with more than 1 million vacation rental listings in over 190 countries. All of them are backup housing resources now available on Tujia.

"Unlike our competitors, we've customer service people who are always ready to help users tackle problems encountered in booking and checking in," Tujia said in a written reply to China Daily.

Listing numbers alone don't tell the full story of overseas holiday home apps. For, owners typically list their properties on more than one online platform.

Zhubaijia's Guo said: "The common listings are about 10 percent in European and US markets. It is highly important to cultivate our core landlords who are willing to strictly follow our service standards, in return for assured traffic and better visibility on our platform."
Microsoft launches the latest Surface Pro laptop in Shanghai, May 23, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Microsoft Corp is betting that China will lead the way for its hardware sales revival with the tech giant launching the latest Surface Pro  the lightweight laptop that also works as a tabletamong other product lineups in the country that has experienced the category's fastest growth internationally in recent years.

From updated tablet-laptop hybrids to its latest games console, the US group hosted its first-ever global product launch fair on Tuesday in Shanghai, underscoring China's huge market potential to drive much bigger sales numbers, according to Panos Panay, corporate vice-president for Surface at Microsoft.

"China is our fastest-growing market. That's why we decided to share the new Surface Pro with the whole world from Shanghai," Panay told a packed audience near the Bund, an iconic waterfront area in central Shanghai.

Dubbed the New Surface Pro, the tablet, with a removable keyboard powered by a faster Intel 7th generation chip and an improved battery life of 13.5 hours, has Microsoft claiming it outperforms its main rivalApple Inc's iPad Pro.

Microsoft said it was also updated with a brighter screen, a new silent fanless option, and a stylus pen with improved latency and tilt functionality, giving users from artists to mobile professionals a more fluid experience.

Microsoft launches the latest Surface Pro laptop in Shanghai, May 23, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

The new device is available from June 15 in 26 markets including China, and is priced at 5,888 yuan ($799). On Wednesday, Microsoft also kicked off a two-week exclusive presale in China on the platform of JD.com Inc, the nation's second-biggest e-commerce platform.

China is the biggest market for Surface outside Microsoft's home turf, with sales growing at a compound annual rate of 50 percent, Panay said.

Also brought to China later this year are the new Surface Laptop, the HoloLens, Microsoft's augmented reality headset and the Project Scorpio games console. The Surface Studio, a device dedicated to creative processes, is also confirmed to be making its way to the country.

Surface has hit a bumpy road lately, with sales sliding 26 percent to $831 million in the last quarter, according to Microsoft's latest earnings report in April.

But it's not only Microsoft that is hurting. The tablet market experienced a 8.5 percent year-over-year decline in the first quarter of 2017, according to consultancy International Data Corp, marking the 10th quarter in a row that sales in this segment have dipped.
BEIJING - By 2020, the scale of China's satellite navigation business will surpass 400 billion yuan ($58 billion), said an official at an academic conference on Wednesday.

Ran Chengqi, an official at Beidou Navigation Satellite System, told the Eighth China Satellite Navigation Conference that the Beidou System would account for 240 billion to 320 billion yuan of the market in 2020.

According to Ran, over 30 million chip modules of the system were sold in April, while its high-precision board cards and antennas were exported to more than 70 countries and regions, over 30 of which are along the Belt and Road.

The Beidou System made people's lives easier through aided driving, accurate farming and intelligent real estate management, said Ran.

Also at the conference, it was announced by Wang Li, chairman of China Satellite Navigation System Committee on Tuesday, that China will launch 18 Beidou navigation satellites by 2019.

Six to eight Beidou satellites will be sent into orbit in the second half of 2017, said Wang, citing that the system will be able to provide services for the Belt and Road countries by 2018.

By 2020, the Beidou satellites will form a complete global satellite navigation system, Wang added.
The logo of Huawei is seen at a store in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Jan 19, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - China's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) giant Huawei has trained over 200 Malaysian college graduates to better prepare for the digital economy, officials said here Wednesday.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Graduate Employability program jointly held with Huawei, Deputy Minister of Higher Education Yap Kain Ching said the Chinese company has helped local students fit the national digital economy agenda.

"Our Malaysian youth need to learn and acquire technology skills in order to be valuable and relevant for workforce. Our training program with Huawei equips the youth with hands-on skills which are very relevant to the job scope requirements," said Yap.

As part of the program, the graduates were awarded the Huawei Certified Entry Networking Technician (HCENT), an internationally recognized entry level certification of fixed broadband network skills.

Over the course of five days with 12 training sessions, the program equipped local graduates with industry-relevant practical knowledge and skills possessed primarily for the development and implementation of Fixed Broadband Backbone (FBB). These trainees also had the opportunity to participate in a soft-skill session which involved the role play of customer management.

Some 240 local participants were certified as skilled technicians. Among them, 94 percent out of 163 ready-to-work participants have become employed or decided to pursue their further study.

Abraham Liu, Huawei Technologies Malaysia's CEO, said it was the company's aim to help local talents to align the ICT education with the real-life requirements of the ICT industry.
Satellite navigation system could be used for transport, mapping, surveys

China and Arab states will work together to promote the use of China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System in the Arab world, according to a statement following an industry forum on Wednesday.

The two sides have pledged to strengthen their communication and collaboration in satellite navigation and to bring Beidou-based services to Arab states to enhance social and economic development, according to the statement, which was released after the First China-Arab States Beidou System Cooperation Forum in Shanghai.

Cooperative projects based on the requirements and priorities of Arab states will be created, and joint efforts will be made to employ the Beidou system in a variety of sectors in the Arab world, such as transportation, land mapping, surveying, agriculture and public security, the statement said. China will assist Arab states in boosting the development of satellite navigation.

More than 80 representatives from the 21-member League of Arab States and about 120 Chinese officials, researchers and businesspeople took part in the event.

Wang Li, chairman of the China Satellite Navigation Committee, said at the forum that the Beidou system will be able to provide positioning and navigation services to Arab states starting at the end of 2018.

He said China has maintained regular contact since 2014 with Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria, as well as with regional organizations such as the Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization, to discuss the promotion, personnel training, joint research and development of the Beidou system.

Mohamed Ben Amor, secretary-general of the information organization, said a joint center of excellence for the Beidou system will be opened in November in Tunis, capital of Tunisia, and will serve Arab states through personnel training and technological research.

"We want to take advantage of all of Beidou's applications to benefit Arab states," he said.

Tests in Doha, Qatar, in May last year showed local ground facilities could receive signals from eight Beidou satellites at that time. That means the Beidou system can independently provide positioning, navigation and timing services to local users, with accuracy as good as other space-based navigation systems used there, said Ma Jiaqing, deputy director of the China Satellite Navigation Office.

Beidou is the fourth navigation satellite system in the world, following the United States' GPS, the Russian GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

So far, 23 Beidou satellites have been launched to create the space-based positioning and navigation network. The first was launched in 2000 and the most recent in June. The system began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.

The country plans to launch six to eight Beidou satellites into space this year.

According to plans from the China Satellite Navigation Office, the network will be made up of 35 satellites in 2020 to give Beidou global coverage.
Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily sent six reporters to villages nationwide to live for a month and take a look at how people are working under China's poverty eradication plan. Read more in our special coverage: Five Years On

Retired telecommunications worker has spent nearly two decades helping poverty-stricken areas 'stand on their own two feet'

Liu Zhengrong (left) visits a villager in Hongxing in Huanggang, Hubei province. WU YAN/CHINA DAILY

Some people see retirement as a chance to put their feet upbut not Liu Zhengrong.

Although he called it quits on a career in telecommunications 16 years ago, he has continued to help bring poor, remote villages in Hubei province into the modern age as part of a program that has run for almost two decades.

Liu, now 70, was among the first group of government and State-owned enterprise employees dispatched to the countryside by Huanggang city in 1999 to help with poverty alleviation efforts.

He has spent the past five years living and working in Yijiafan and Sikoutang, two villages which were combined in a boundary shake-up late last year to form Hongxing.

In that time, using his years of experience, he has helped improve the community's telephone system and secure 1.3 million yuan ($188,740) in investment from Hubei Telecommunication Co to install a broadband internet network.

"Every home will soon have internet access and web TV," he said, adding that 36 percent of households had a broadband connection as of March.

In addition to the telecom upgrade, he has also advised village cadres on urban planning and conducted door-to-door surveys on income, population, health, education and overall living conditions.

The area around Hongxing has seen major changes in recent years, not least because it sits along an expressway opened in 2015 that runs between Daqing in Heilongjiang province and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

Local tourist attractions such as the Hongxing Martyrs Memorial have been integrated into the "red tourism" route around the Dabie Mountains, which was one of the old revolutionary base areas, bringing an increase in visitors.

Better transportation links have also seen families move to homes built along new roads, while those who have stayed can now travel easier on flat, concrete roads rather than the old dirt trails.

"All homes have running tap water," Liu said, adding that the final house was connected last year. "Everyone can use electricity whenever they want and they don't have to worry about when it might be cut off."

As a result, at the end of last year, Hongxing was declared free of poverty. The average per capita net income has risen to 8,180 yuan a year, according to the authorities, nearly triple the poverty line figure of 3,000 yuan.
The Chinese embassy in Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that two Chinese nationals were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the country's southwest city of Quetta earlier in the day.

An official from the embassy said that they are trying to learn more details about the incident as well as about the abducted people, adding that they have urged Pakistan to rescue the abductees as quickly as possible.

The kidnappers forced the kidnapped Chinese man and woman into a vehicle at gunpoint and drove away, local media quoted the deputy inspector general of Quetta police as saying.

The two were returning from a restaurant when the incident happened in the Jinnah Town area of Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, local Urdu TV Aaj reported.

The kidnappers had initially attempted to take a second woman as well, but a passer-by helped her to escape, reports said.

The passer-by, Muhammad Zahir, was shot as he tried to prevent the abduction.

He told AFP he saw three men forcing a Chinese woman into a white car but she was resisting and crying.

"I stopped to observe the situation but they had forced the woman in the car by then and were pushing the man.

"So I rushed to them and asked what they were doing. One of them said, 'We are from the crime branch of the police and we are taking them for investigation' and I told them that they should not misbehave with people. Then the driver came out and shot me in my leg," the 35-year-old said.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri has directed police to search for the abductees, and a search operation has begun.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Xinhua - AFP
"Nothing unusual" was found in an initial check of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the city's development authority said on Wednesday, the day after Hong Kong's anti-graft watchdog arrested 21 of the quality control contractor's employees on suspicion of submitting fake test reports on concrete used in the massive project.

More detailed information is expected on Thursday at a Hong Kong Civil Engineering and Development Department news briefing.

The case marks the first quality issue to surface since construction of the bridge began in 2009.

Permanent Secretary for Development Hon Chi-keung said the government had never relaxed its commitment to prioritize safety and quality in infrastructure projects. He said the government will thoroughly test the bridge soon.

The quality control contractor was reportedly Jacobs China, a branch of one of the biggest global engineering and construction service providers - Jacobs Engineering Group-local reports said.

The government has not yet said who was contracted for quality control.

Jacobs said on its website that it signed an HK$85.2 million ($11 million) outsourcing contract with the CEDD in 2012 to provide management and operating services for the Public Works Regional Laboratory.

The company cooperates closely with the Hong Kong government. In 2009, it received a Highways Department contract to provide engineering services for design and site investigation in another project.

On Tuesday, the Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested two senior site laboratory technicians, 12 site laboratory technicians and five laboratory assistants from the company. They had conducted compression tests on samples of concrete used for the bridge project.

In the investigation that followed a CEDD corruption complaint, the ICAC found some laboratory employees might have replaced the concrete samples with a metal calibration cylinder and/or high strength concrete cubes for the tests. Two senior site laboratory technicians signed the reports.

Just how the alleged fake reports would affect the bridge's safety could not be ascertained because the ICAC had not revealed which part of the structure was involved, an engineering expert said.

Chairman of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency and engineering sector lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok said fake tests would not reflect the bridge's real situation, such as its bearing capacity.

In the worst-case scenario, use of substandard concrete would force the government to rebuild some parts of the bridge, Lo said.

But it might not be necessary to question the bridge's safety, he added, if the alleged fake test samples were of the paving instead of the pillars of the bridge.

He said further concrete sample tests were needed to assess whether the bridge needed further remedies, such as bracing, but the chances it needed to be rebuilt were slim.

Construction on the 55-kilometer-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project, first proposed in 1983, has been completed, and it is expected to open by the end of this year.

The project includes a 6.7-km underwater tunnel and a 22.9-km bridge that passes over the sea. The bridge would shorten the current four-hour drive from Hong Kong to Zhuhai to half an hour.
Beijing prosecutors are working with the municipal government and education institutes to set up a system to better protect children against abuse.

The city's procuratorate signed a framework agreement on Wednesday with several departments and agencies, including those responsible for schools, civil affairs and social security, to create a network to identify minors at risk.

"The system will help us spot clues as well as send advice on juvenile protection to schools and administrations," said Zhen Zhen, the deputy chief procurator. "We also hope departments will provide feedback and share information about juvenile cases through the system."

She added that the system will also be used to increase children's awareness of how to protect themselves.

News of the system came as the Beijing People's Procuratorate reported that courts citywide had handled 1,108 criminal cases that involved children age 17 or under between 2014 and 2016. The children had been injured or sexually assaulted by an adult.

"Cases in which adults harmed a juvenile have risen rapidly in the past three years," said Yue Huiqing, director of the procuratorate's juvenile crime department, which handles crimes committed by or against juveniles.

Abuse of a child accounts for about the two-thirds of the department's cases, "and the number is going up, with most offenses being sexual assaults", she said.

Some 1,255 offenders received "strict punishments" over the three years, Yue said. However, she added: "Child victims have little awareness of self-protection and are sometimes afraid to tell their parents after they are assaulted, which makes it difficult for us to investigate and collect evidence."

She said many sexual assaults of children were perpetrated by someone familiar to the victim, and that the age of minor victims is becoming younger.

In May last year, a 63-year-old man surnamed Li, who was responsible for facility management in a community, was sentenced to one year in jail for sexual assault by Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court.

Li found that the parents of a 5-year-old girl had gone to work and left her alone playing in the community. So he took her to his rental house and sexually assaulted her, the court said.

In another case, a man surnamed Wu, a native of Hebei province, forced his niece, who was less than 12 years old, to have sex with him when he lived in her home in 2014, according to a statement from Beijing Miyun District People's Court.

Wu was sentenced in March 2015 to five years and six months in prison for rape.
Many students want to learn more about the world first

Students, some in costume, attend a career fair in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, earlier this month. CUI XIAO/CHINA DAILY

With the job market becoming increasingly competitive every year, a growing number of fresh university graduates are opting for "delayed employment".

According to a survey released by online recruiter Zhaopin on Tuesday, about 9.8 percent of the 93,420 graduates who participated in a written survey said they would not begin working right after graduation.

Job consultants at Zhaopin explained that there are more choices for young people born after 1995. Jobs related to personal interests have greater attraction, and they are not willing to give in and take a job they don't like.

At the same time, they are also aware of tensions in the job market, and some have opted to delay job hunting to avoid the competition.

According to Beijing-based education consultancy MyCos, the number of students who have opted for delayed employment - or not starting their career in six months' time - has been growing steadily since 2011.

"Delayed employment is not that intimidating. Chinese university students have learned a lot from books but lack practice. Most of the graduates choosing to delay employment are hoping to increase their social experience," said Guo Sheng, chief executive officer of Zhaopin.

"Some young people who are not faced with a heavy economic burden are simply staying at home, relying on parents. But in general, the majority of university graduates are willing to get a job and work toward their goals. They just want to know more about the world first," he said.

Chen Nuan, 23, majors in product design at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts and will graduate this summer. While it is easy for students in this major to land a job, Chen said she is not in a hurry. Her first plan after graduation is to tour Europe.

"I will start up my own business after graduation, and life will be extremely busy then. So the ideal plan is to savor my life first. As the old Chinese saying goes, 'traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books'. It is especially true for students in my major," she said. "We need more input to refresh our minds and to know people better."

In contrast to some graduates' calm attitude is the grim job market. Statistics provided by the Ministry of Education show the number of new university graduates will reach a record 7.95 million in 2017.

According to Zhaopin, 27.7 percent of the new graduates surveyed had not received an offer as of April - up 2.9 percent year-on-year. Half the respondents said they have received one to three offers, down 5.2 percent from 2016. Meanwhile, only 26.7 percent of the new graduates had signed contracts with employers, down 8.7 percent year-on-year.
Top legislator Zhang Dejiang meets with a visiting delegation of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang on Wednesday met with a visiting delegation of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong.

Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, called on the chamber to hold to its principles of patriotism and loving Hong Kong.

He urged the chamber to give full support to the chief executive and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) in their administration according to law.

After hearing reports from the delegation, Zhang said that under central government support, the Hong Kong SAR government has united and led people from all walks of life to carry out the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law, cope with various challenges, and maintain prosperity and stability, since Hong Kong returned to the motherland 20 years ago.

Zhang said that the central government has always paid high attention to Hong Kong and cared about its development.

He expressed his hope that Hong Kong society will build consensus, seize opportunities, perform national development strategies, achieve better development and create new glory.
HANGZHOU -- China's eastern city of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province and location of the 2016 G20 summit, will expand e-payment service to the city's nearly 5,000 buses by the end of June.

Passengers, both local and non-local, will be able to pay via Alipay, the payment system of China's e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba.

Alipay has reached a cooperation agreement with Hangzhou Public Transport Group Co Ltd and Hangzhou Citizen Card Co Ltd, according to Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial.

Hangzhou started piloting the mobile payment service on 20 buses in August 2016 before the G20 summit.
Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, is about to dive into the Mariana Trench, May 23, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

ON BOARD SHIP XIANGYANGHONG -- China's manned submersible Jiaolong plans to descend to 6,300 in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest known trench, on Thursday.

Thursday's mission will be Jiaolong's second dive in the Mariana Trench this year, which is expected to take less than 10 hours.

The submersible will collect seawater, rocks and samples of marine life,and also conduct observation, measurement and photography near the seabed.

Chinese scientists plan to carry out a total of five dives in the Mariana Trench.

The first dive took place on Tuesday, with Xinhua News Agency journalist Liu Shiping descending inside the submersible along with scientists to 4,811 meters below the sea's surface.
BEIJING -- Shared bikes will be banned from military areas in Beijing starting Thursday, a military officer said Wednesday.

The off-limits zones include restricted military areas and hospitals, residential areas, and sanitariums administrated by the military in Beijing.

"Bike sharing has brought new problems to the management of military areas, such as illegal parking and entering and exiting without approval," said the officer with the training management department of the Central Military Commission.

"The army's image would be tainted once misuse like bike refitting or damage is found in military areas," the officer said.

Shared bikes are being moved away from military zones, and inspections will be carried out by the department.

The Ministry of Transport on Monday released draft rules requiring local governments to strengthen oversight of the sector.

Bike-sharing services took off in Chinese cities in the past two years. They allows riders to hire bikes for about one yuan (about 15 U.S. cents) per hour via a mobile app, and drop them off for the next user.

The service has reduced traffic congestion and cut auto emissions, but haphazardly parked bikes often block sidewalks, causing complaints.

There were 18.9 million users of shared bicycles nationwide at the end of 2016. The number is expected to hit 50 million by the end of this year, according to the China E-Commerce Research Center.
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's judicial body Wednesday ruled that the current laws that request "marriage between a man and a woman" must be amended, or a new law passed within two years to protect the rights of same-sex couples.

The ruling, or "constitutional interpretation," was requested by veteran gay rights advocate Chi Chia-wei, who failed in his marriage registration with his male partner in Taipei in 2013 and in subsequent court appeals.

According to the ruling, the current marriage law's failure to include same-sex marriage violated people's freedom of marriage and their right to equality.

It also said same-sex marriage would not affect the application of the current marriage laws for straight couples, and disallowing same-sex marriage due to reproduction arguments had "no apparent rational basis."

The judicial body therefore ruled that the authorities concerned "shall amend or enact relevant laws, in accordance with the ruling of the interpretation, within two years" to legalize same-sex marriage.

If relevant laws are not amended or enacted within two years, same-sex couples can register their marriage at authorities in charge of household registration in Taiwan.

Hundreds of gay-right supporters burst into cheers when they heard the ruling Wednesday afternoon. Chi said he was satisfied with the outcome and hoped relevant law amendments could be completed as soon as possible.

However, the ruling was strongly opposed by religious and parental groups. Dozens of anti-gay protesters held banners saying "Same-sex marriage unwelcome in Taiwan" or "Defend orthodox marriage," while shouting in front of the building of the judicial body, claiming that the issue should be left to the legislative body.

The move resulted in fierce debate on both sides.

In a survey of nearly 1,100 respondents last November by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, a non-governmental and non-profit institute, 46.3 percent said they supported same-sex marriage legalization, while 45.4 percent expressed opposition.
The 2017 China International Tourism Industry Expo will play a significant role in expanding tourism cooperation between countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, a senior tourism official has predicted.

Zeng Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Tourism Administration, said the event, to be held in Guangzhou from Sept 8 to 10, will present myriad opportunities for travel agencies and businesses from home and abroad.

"The tourism industry and Sino-foreign cooperation have great potential for development after the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing this month," Zeng said on Wednesday.

An estimated 150 million Chinese are expected to visit countries involved in the initiative by 2020, spending more than $200 billion, he said, adding that tourism departments and travel agencies should seize the opportunities to work with foreign counterparts.

Guangdong should also develop tourism by advancing cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao when the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opens this year, Zeng said.

The province is a major tourist destination, receiving 12.89 million visitors from home and abroad over the recent May Day holiday. The income from entrance tickets to scenic spots totaled 532 million yuan ($77.35 million).

Vasin Ruangprateepsaeng, Thailand's consul general in Guangzhou, said this year is the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and that there are many opportunities to strengthen industrial cooperation between member countries and China, especially in tourism.

"China is the world's largest outbound tourism market, with ASEAN countries popular destinations for Chinese," he said.

He added that 8.8 million Chinese visited Thailand last year, and the figure is expected to surpass 9.2 million this year.

The China International Tourism Industry Expo 2017 is to be held at the Guangzhou Pazhou International Convention and Exhibition Center and will include a Belt and Road international exhibition hall.

Covering an area of more than 90,000 square meters, the expo will host more than 4,500 booths. More than 20,000 professional buyers and 500,000 visitors from 60 countries and regions are expected to attend the event.
BEIJING -- Lu Enguang, a former ministerial-level official of the Ministry of Justice, was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office for faking personal documents, buying official positions and bribery.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement Thursday that an investigation of Lu, former member of the leading Party group within the ministry, found that he had provided fake information regarding his age, his family members, his education and employment background and documents for joining the CPC.

He was also found to have used money, personal connections and lobbying to "buy official positions and honorary titles along the way" and which enabled him to rise "from a private enterprise owner to a vice ministerial-level official," according to the CCDI.

The statement said Lu had been simultaneously acting as an official and a businessman controlling multiple enterprises and had sought benefits for these enterprises via dishonest means.

He was also found to have offered significant amounts of money and gifts to state officials to obtain promotions to official positions and benefits in business operations.

The statement accused Lu of resisting the investigation.

The CCDI said Lu's values were "severely twisted" and his actions have seriously violated the Party's code of conduct and involved criminal acts.

Such acts have tarnished the image and the personnel selection system of the CPC and undermined the "political environment of related regions and units," the CCDI statement said, noting that "the circumstances were serious."

His dishonestly obtained honorary titles will be revoked and his suspected crimes and illegal gains will be transferred to judicial organs, according to the CCDI.
BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping has asked society to learn from renowned geophysicist Huang Danian, who made outstanding contributions in education and scientific research.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a written instruction praising Huang's contributions to the nation.

Huang died of illness aged 58 on Jan 8.
Shanghai's first licensed bed-and-breakfast hotels will open next month just 4 kilometers from Disneyland, which is about to mark its first anniversary, Jiefang Daily reported.

The 11 new B&Bs are in Lianmin, a water town that forms part of Pudong New District, and each has a different theme, such as one that will teach guests how to bake cakes.

To reach the accommodation, guests will have to park their cars and take a motorboat along a creek. Other facilities include a play area for families with children.

Shanghai released its first set of standards and safety requirements for B&Bs last year.

The number of B&Bs in the village is expected to rise to 50 during this year, according to Jiefang Daily. The city government will decide whether to increase that further based on the response from the public.

Cheng Si contributed to this story.
The Chinese navy deployed two missile frigates on Thursday to expel a US Navy warship sailing close to China's Nansha Islands without permission, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said.

Guide-missile frigates Liuzhou and Luzhou were deployed to identify and warn the USS Dewey that entered waters of China's Nansha Islands to leave, ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said at a regular news conference.

Foreign media reported that the USS Dewey sailed less than 12 nautical miles from the Meiji reef of the Nansha Islands on Thursday morning, the first such practice under the administration of Donald Trump.

"China has undisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters," Ren said. "We strongly oppose such practice of the US military, which shows off its might, promotes regional militarization and easily causes unexpected air and sea accidents."

He said that China has made solemn representations to the US side over the matter.

Thanks to the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the situation in the South China Sea is cooling down and showing positive signs of development, Ren said.

"But the wrong practice of the US side disrupts the improving situation and goes against the peace and stability of the South China Sea," he added.

Ren said healthy and steady military relations between China and the US are in line with the common interests of two countries, and it needs the concerted efforts of both sides.

"We urge the US to take concrete measures to correct the mistake and inject positive energy into the development of bilateral military relations," he said.

"Such wrong conduct of the US military will only encourage the Chinese army to further strengthen its capacity building and firmly defend our national sovereignty and security," Ren said.
PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Food News Lucky Food Multibillion-dollar food distribution company Shamrock Foods announced this week that it has purchased Albuquerque-based Dee's FoodService. Shamrock said the deal will expand its reach in New Mexico and west Texas.

Lota-Space Blake's Lotaburger is opening its 75th location this month. The new Farmington restaurant will also be sporting a brand new design that includes a dining room that seats 58 people.

Work Makes Us Tired Pasion Latin Fusion (722 Lomas NW) officially shut down its restaurant this week. The good news is, they will continue catering. The owner cited grueling hours as one reason for the change.

Nickel and Diming Fred Nathan, the executive director of Think New Mexico spoke out this week against the food tax. Hear what he had to say.

Ah, The French French restaurant chain La Madeleine is opening its first New Mexico location in Uptown ABQ next to the Uptown Target store. Construction is slated to end in early September.
A Nebraska state senator has announced that he will not seek a second term in the Legislature next year.

Sen. Roy Baker of Lincoln said Wednesday that he and his wife, Paula, are leaving their home and establishing new residences in Minnesota and Arizona to be closer to family members. His term expires in January 2019.

Baker, a Republican, says he announced early so residents can decide whether they want to run for his seat. His southeast Nebraska district includes Gage and part of Lancaster counties.

Baker says he and his wife always intended to relocate after he retired as superintendent of Norris Public Schools, but they chose to stay in the area to help his wife's aging parents. Both of her parents died during his first year in office.
US dancer-choreographer Carolyn Carlson is touring China with Seed (Back to the Land). [Photo provided to China Daily]

Contemporary American dancer-choreographer Carolyn Carlson will premiere her work Seed (Back to the Land) in China on Saturday at the ongoing 17th Meet in Beijing Arts Festival, a major annual cultural event in the capital.

Premiered in Paris in 2016, Seed has been performed a number of times worldwide.

Inspired by nature, Carlson wanted to make a statement for the future generations to create greater awareness of environmental issues and the threat of extinction that many species feel.

"We are all seeds. If you think about it, seeds that give birth, even the stars are seeds, thus the title of the piece," Carlson, the 73-year-old Paris-based artist, says in an email.

"We all share the same sun, a heart of emotions and perceptions. I believe Seed will be understood by an open public ready to receive a message, with no words needed to describe this poem ... simply watch and enjoy," she adds.

The piece involves three dancers and a cartoon figure on video, named Elyx. Carlson's son, Aleksi Aubry-Carlson, composed the music for the piece.

French visual artist Yacine Ait Kaci is behind the image of Elyxa character that Carolyn Carlson describes as "innocent but not naive, and universal".

Carolyn Carlson has always loved to improvise, which is part of her nature.

During the past four decades and with more than 100 dance pieces in her career, she has had significant influence and success in many European countries.

In 2014, she founded her dance company when she left the National Choreographic Center in Roubaix, France, which she had been directing for 10 years.
T he Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble is one of the highlights at this year's modern music festival in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

This year's Beijing Modern Music Festival kicked off at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday with the concert The Far Away Mast, by the Central Conservatory of Music's symphony orchestra. The festival has presented modern music by musicians from home and abroad annually since 2002.

Under the baton of conductor Hu Yongyan, the concert featured works, including Olivier Messiaen's Les Offrandes Oubliees for orchestra, James MacMillan's The Keening for orchestra and Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang's Mount E'mei for the violin, percussion and orchestra, Op. 73.

Violinist Huang Mengla, percussionist Hu Shengnan, tenor Xie Tian and soprano Song Yuanming joined in the opening show, which was watched by more than 1,500 people.

During the weeklong festival, the audience is expected to enjoy shows staged by ensembles from more than 10 countries and get the chance to attend master classes by composers.

"When you see the performance list, you'll know what we are doing with this annual event," says Ye, a renowned composer and artistic director of the festival.

Musicians worldwide meet in Beijing to discuss the development of modern music and education.

Ye, who initiated the idea of the festival, says when he returned to China after studying music in Europe a decade ago, he thought Beijing should have a modern music festival like major European cities such as Paris and Vienna do.

The festival is seen as popularizing modern music, promoting cultural communication between China and the world, and providing a platform to young musicians and composers.

"Some of the composers will come to China for the first time. Their works will be performed at the festival, which is a great opportunity for the Chinese as well," says Ye, adding that Scottish classical composer and conductor James MacMillan and German composer and saxophonist Oliver Schneller will be at this year's festival.

Highlighted ensembles include Lyon-based Les Temps Modernes, the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble and China's own Amber Quartet.

A Sino-Indian cultural exchange concert, titled Raga Jasmine, will be staged on Thursday, featuring nearly 20 musicians from both countries, including santur player Tarun Bhattacharya, tabla player Subhankar Banerjee, cellist Chu Yi-Bing and pipa (Chinese lute) player Lan Weiwei.

The festival will end with a recital, titled Awakenings, by the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Tang Muhai, featuring contemporary British composer Joe Cutler's Awakenings for a large symphony orchestra, Russian composer Alfred Schnittke's concerto for piano and strings, and Chinese composer Chen Danbu's Dance of Sleeve Dagger and Warriors for orchestra.

"It's been 15 years since the festival started, and our vision has been fulfilled with many influential musicians from different countries joining us, and many young fans enjoying the music," says Ye.
Actresses move around the stage on self-balancing scooters, May 14, 2017. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/Asianewsphoto]

More than 360 actors staged a large-scale song and dance drama Colorful Western Region in Xinjiang Grand Theater on May 19.

Since its debut in August 2015, the show has welcomed over 600,000 visits and earned praises for involving diverse artistic elements.

Georgian director Frieden Pagova explained that the song and dance drama represents the prosperity of the Silk Road through acrobatics, martial arts, circus, instrumental performance, folk dance and ballet on ice.

Special lighting effects and sets also add to the show.
University of Maryland graduate Yang Shuping delivers a speech during the graduation ceremony on May 21, 2017. [Photo/weibo]

If Yang Shuping is asked a second time to give a commencement speech at the University of Maryland, she would probably not use the same tricks to win applause from her audience. The graduating senior with a double-major in theater and psychology displayed all her theatrical skills in her commencement speech on Sunday when she said the air in the US is "so sweet and fresh, and utterly luxurious". She continued: "I grew up in a city in China where I had to wear a face mask every time I went outside, otherwise, I might get sick."

Wait a minute. Yang grew up in Kunming, one of the least polluted cities in China. Having a mild, comfortable weather and famous for its flowers, Kunming is called the "City of Eternal Spring". So why did Yang say she couldn't step "outside" without wearing a face mask? Was she trying to please her audience by reinforcing US citizens' stereotype image of China?

Yang succeeded in drawing listeners' attention, but the trick she used could be self-defeating. What if the audience knew the air quality in Kunming and Maryland is almost the same?

She used symbolic references in the later part of speech, extending her appreciation for her university to the whole of the United States, and let her focus drift from "free breath" to "free speech". But the ploy she used (belittling China and praising the US) to grab attention is not new.

She said she was shocked to see the US students majoring in theater openly talk about racism, sexism and politics, something students in China could not discuss openly. This is lending credence to another stereotype about China. A big concern in China, one of the most socially connected countries thanks to the world's largest netizen population, is not that people talk too little, but too much without restrictions or thinking about the social consequences of their remarks.

There can be no integrity without honesty, and a graduating student should have both. Unfortunately, Yang lacks both, as her speech showed she is only good at capitalizing on her audience's lack of knowledge about China.

Yang has the right to air her views in public. But while doing so, she should make sure not to use lies and half-truths to win plaudits. Her artifice apparently failed, as she succeeded in enraging not only many Chinese people, but also some of her schoolmates.

To praise your alma mater, you don't have to present fiction as fact and belittle your motherland while standing on foreign soil. A day later, Yang said in her apology message on her micro blog that she had no intention of ridiculing her motherland. Let's hope the apology has come from the bottom of her heart and she will never use half-truths to win public applause.

Last year, He Jiang, a doctoral candidate in biochemistry from a rural area in Central China's Hunan province, delivered a graduation speech at Harvard University. Yang could have learned a lesson from He's speech that honesty prevails across all cultures. He started his speech with the touching story of how his mother set his hand on fire when he was a boy, after a poisonous spider bit him. Instead of looking down upon such practices, he used the incident as an inspiration to bring scientific knowledge to where it is needed the most, and urged all graduates to do the same to help make the world a better place for all.

Despite Yang's obvious mistake, some personal attacks against her on the internet are simply jingoistic and thus uncalled for. Rather that branding Yang a "traitor", those critics, including media outlets, need to reflect how we can break the stereotype image of our country and help the world better understand modern China, so that speakers like Yang do not disparage their motherland to win applause abroad.

The author is a writer with China Daily.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2-R) welcomes US President Donald Trump (L) with a coffee ceremony in the Royal Terminal after he arrived aboard Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

US President Donald Trump began his first overseas trip in Saudi Arabia, where he got a royal welcome on Saturday in stark contrast to the low-key reception offered to his predecessor Barack Obama last year, perhaps owing to the latter's nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015.

Trump could claim the fanfare with which he received in Riyadh reflects the success of his "Buy American, Hire American" policy, especially because he has cut a deal to sell US-made military arms to Saudi Arabia, worth $110 billion effective immediately and up to $350 billion over 10 years. Trump's ultimate aim is to promote US exports. He chose Saudi Arabia as his first stop on his first foreign trip as US president because the Saudis have both the motivation and the resources to buy US products and were intent on revitalizing Washington-Riyadh ties after the cooling of bilateral relations during Obama's presidency.

Despite his instable temperament, Trump, it has to be assumed, is also a politician. He wanted to assert his leadership qualities by meeting some Middle East leaders to urge them to fight terrorism, and to mobilize opposition against Iran so that it cannot develop missile and nuclear weapons technology. In this regard, Trump should appreciate the Saudi King's role as the host of an "Arab-American" meeting, which set the stage for him to sell his vision of forming a NATO-like organization in the Middle East.

First, the massive arms sale is expected to generate tens of thousands of jobs in the United States. And it's deals like this that Trump has tried to pursue. Since he has to honor his campaign promise of "making America great again" despite the US' slow growth rate, he has chosen his own way of doing it given the challenges facing him at home, including his recent controversial meeting with Russian officials in the Oval Office.

Many politicians and political observers have also criticized Trump's handling of international issues. His order to launch a Tomahawk missile attack on a Syrian air force base has soured US-Russia relations. And in the four months of his presidency, US relations with NATO, Germany and Australia have suffered some setbacks. That's why his visit to Saudi Arabia acquired greater significance.

Second, Trump's visit to the Middle East has a purpose: to bring Arab countries together to further his anti-terrorist mission. Since 2001, Washington has been trying without success to prevent the emergence of terrorists and new terrorist groups in the region, in order to safeguard its interests and prevent terrorist attacks on the US.

In response to the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, then US president George W. Bush declared a "war on terror", as part of which the US-led allied forces invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled the Saddam Hussein government, creating a security vacuum and a fertile soil for breeding terrorists. And Obama's decision to withdraw US troops from Iraq helped the Islamic State group gain immense strength and wreak havoc in the region, especially in Syria and Iraq.

By meeting leaders from the Middle East, Trump tried to drive home the point that the "war on terror" is to protect all countries from terrorist attacks. He reportedly also asked the Saudi leadership to set up a regional security organization modeled on NATO.

But since Teheran is wary of such developments and the Trump administration has been talking about pulling out of the Iran deal, newly re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani could come up with a strong response, which would further worsen the already tense situation in the Middle East.

From Saudi Arabia, Trump flew to Israel, where again he received a warm welcome on Monday. He even drove to the West Bank on Tuesday to meet Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas. These developments show the US foreign policy is shifting toward the Middle East, which traditionally had been the case before Obama implemented his "rebalancing to Asia" strategy.

The author is a professor at and associate dean of the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University.
A potential homebuyer checks out a property project in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec 17, 2016. [Asianewsphoto by Long Wei]

IN SHANGHAI, just 30 percent of those applying to the Housing Provident Fund for low-interest loans are low-income employees, while the percentage of middle-income applicants is much higher. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Wednesday:

That more people with middle-incomes rather than low-incomes are applying to the Housing Provident Fund for loans to purchase an apartment seems to go against the design of the fund.

The government introduced the Housing Provident Fund in Shanghai in 1991, requiring all employees of State-owned enterprises to contribute a proportion of their salaries to the fund with employers contributing a similar amount. Workers are allowed to withdraw their savings from the fund when they retire, alternatively they can use the money to purchase homes in the private housing market. They can also apply for low-interest loans from the fund to buy property.

Now the use of the fund is basically confined to home buying, with the majority of those applying for low-interest loans from the fund being middle-income homebuyers.

This situation is difficult to change. On the one hand, the local housing provident fund management authorities have loosened the limit on low-interest loans several times to help more urban employees with their down payments. On the other hand, with governments increasing the amount of down payment required as a measure to rein in housing prices, more low-income households can hardly make the monthly repayments on a loan.

In Shanghai first-time homebuyers have to pay down payments of at least 35 percent and those aiming at a second property 50 percent, while buyers of commercial properties need to pay 70 percent. It is basically the same case in other megacities, where the low-interest loan offered by the housing provident fund schemes can barely cover the down payment of most homes on sale.

That is why fewer low-income families apply for loans from the fund while more affluent homebuyers, who do not necessarily require extra financial support, are doing so. The trend, which has been noted in a 2015 report issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, warrants fresh actions to assist prospective low-income homebuyers.
A visitor checks a bracelet at a previous fair for small and medium-sized enterprises in Guangzhou. Photo provided to China Daily

When the Ningbo-based dyed melange yarn provider Bros Eastern first thought of investing in Vietnam, the company established a subsidiary as its production base in 2012.

In its early days in Vietnam, the manufacturer used a consulting service to help choose a site location, negotiate with the government and navigate legal and banking issues.

After the second phase of the subsidiary, Brotex (Viet Nam), went into operation and started selling.

During its third phase, the company secured a $40 million loan - $28 million from the Ningbo Branch of Bank of China and $12 million from Ho Chi Minh Branch.

Brotex later established the Phuoc Dong Business Park-Ningbo Park in cooperation with another Ningbo textile company, Shenzhou International Group. The park encouraged textile and clothing enterprises to move to the Vietnam industrial park to find their feet. Brotex started to act as the Vietnamese liaison office for its fellow Ningbo enterprises.

Brotex is just one example of a Chinese small and medium-sized company helping others in their field expand overseas to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"With the rising opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, a new trend on Chinese companies' road towards going global is that more small and medium-sized enterprises have been attracted to group together, heading to the overseas market,"said Ren Yueyuan, a researcher at the Center for China and Globalization.

Proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to promote the inter-connectivity between Asia and the rest of the world through two ancient trade routes, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

According to Ministry of Commerce data, China's trade with economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative grew 26.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017.

During the same period, China's non-financial outbound direct investment in 43 economies involved in the initiative reached $2.95 billion, accounting for 14.4 percent of the country's total outbound investment.

"Compared with large enterprises, SMEs are more cost sensitive and care more about short-term returns. In order to facilitate their overseas operations and solve their concerns, a good practice is for them to gather together to lower cost and risks," Ren said.

Chinas 2011 regulations on SMEs established different definitions of SMEs in different industries based on the number of employees, revenue and total assets.

For example, according to the guidelines for the industrial sector, SMEs employ a maximum of 2,000 people and have an annual revenue not exceeding 300 million yuan ($43.66 million), Professor Wei Jiang from the School of Management at Zhejiang University, said.

"Due to SME's limitation of size and capital, support from the government level and cooperation with public sectors are important for them to go global," Wei said.

"Apart from gathering together all the SMEs to forge an industrial park like what Bros Eastern did, SMEs could also integrate to projects opened up by SOEs (State-owned enterprises)," Ren said.

SOE's efforts should be matched with support from SMEs in the construction of infrastructure, such as high speed trains in Africa. For example, every high speed train needs more than 100,000 parts which is impossible for the CRRC Corporation alone. In that case, the CRRC Corporation could be the leading enterprise to guarantee financing and loans for its supporting SMEs, either domestic or overseas subsidiaries, to gain access to policy-based financial resources, according to Ren.

Advantages of SMEs, such as their fast production cycle, flexible corporate governance and low costs, could be maximized in their integration with the Belt and Road Initiative, Wei said.

However, Wei also warned that there are risks for SMEs, such as the painful localization process and adjusting to different cultures, values, and institutions. There are also different law systems and regulations in different countries, as well as the labor issue, and capital guarantee.

Wei believes that to solve such difficulties, a series of services ranging from international financial and business services to personnel training must be provided to facilitate the localization of Chinese companies.

According to Wei's newly released book, Innovation Globalization of Chinese Firms, Chinese technology SMEs are facing an unsymmetrical status quo of lagged technology, institution and marketing. With a lack of international talents, Chinese technology SMEs must adopt a smart and globalized administration system to catch up with their international peers.
A delegation of representatives of over 100 internet media outlets across the country visited the Tang West Market Museum in Xi'an on May 24.

The delegation visits the Tang West Market Museum in Xi'an, capital of Shanxi province, on May 24. (Photo/xiancity.cn)

West Market was flourishing during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) as a center of international trade. According to historical records it had over 40,000 shops offering 220 kinds of businesses covering every aspect of residents' lives.

A model of the West Market during the Tang Dynasty. (Photo/chinadaily.com.cn)

The Tang West Market Museum is built at the historic site of West Market, which was the starting point of the Silk Road. It was China's first civilian-run museum to be built on a historical site.

An exhibit shows the Silk Road. (Photo/chinadaily.com.cn)

The historic site of West Market houses the museum's main collection, and is its most important feature. An exhibition hall is set to display the site as it used to be in the Tang Dynasty. Thanks to China's leading protection methods and world advanced display technologies, the site will be well protected. The West Market will come alive once more.

The museum has over 20,000 artifacts that illustrate the Silk Road culture and the culture of the flourishing period of the Tang Dynasty. When it was upgraded into a national first-class museum checks and evaluations were made of over 900 items.

"This wonderful museum can be regarded as a great success in conserving Chinese cultural heritage," said the former chairman of the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
US President Donald Trump (R) walks with King Philippe of Belgium at the Palace in Brussels, Belgium, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

BRUSSELS - President Donald Trump arrived in Brussels here on Wednesday for his first trip to the European Union and NATO as the head of the United States and was met with protests against his fractious comments in the past.

Donald Trump and his wife Melania, who flew in from Rome, Italy, were greeted at the airport by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and met with King of the Belgians Philippe and his wife Queen Matilda later in the day.

Elsewhere in Brussels, however, some 6,000 protesters demonstrated in the streets to protest against Trump's presence, with placards letting the controversial leader know he was "not welcome here."

The US President has had a fractious relationship with Europe since his candidacy, in which he publicly applauded the pro-Brexit campaign before and after the referendum which saw Britain decide to leave the European Union.

In January, as president-elect, he rattled many European allies by stating in an interview that NATO (North Atlantic Trade Alliance) was obsolete, and indirectly threatening allies to leave the pact if they did not boost defense spending.

On Thursday, Trump will meet the President of the European Council Donald Tusk and the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, both of whom have been critical of the US president's remarks.

Afterwards, Trump and leaders of other NATO countries will meet for the first time to map out the future of the organization, and try to narrow their differences on its budget.

Donald Trump's first trip abroad as president has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank of the Palestinian territories, the Vatican before arriving in Brussels. His final leg of the journey will be in Sicily, Italy, where he will join a G7 summit in Taormina.
A community support officer carries flowers near Manchester Arena in Manchester, Britain May 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - A man in connection with the Manchester bombing attack has been arrested, according to a police statement released on late Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches connected to the attack, police said.

This has made the total number of suspects linked to the attack rise to seven so far.

Meanwhile, Senior police chiefs in Britain reacted with anger Wednesday night after sensitive details of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing were leaked to media in the US.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the leaks undermines the investigation into the Monday night terror attack which left 22 people dead and 64 injured.

The Guardian newspaper in London said that Prime Minister Theresa May will confront US President Donald Trump over the stream of leaks of crucial intelligence when the pair meet Thursday at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.
FARGO, N.D.  A court order issued by a North Dakota judge has saved about 70 horses from slaughter.

KFGO radio reports that the Stark County Sheriff's Office says it seized neglected and abused horses and some cattle from the ranch near Gladstone earlier this week. At least 30 of the horses are ready to give birth.

Authorities began an investigation into the case last month. Officials say the animals were to be sold to a feed lot and then sent to slaughter in Canada. However, after negotiations, a judge decided the horses would be turned over to an animal rescue group.

Alison Smith, Founder of Triple H Miniature Horse Rescue in Mandan, says the deal was finalized Tuesday night.

The case remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
British police fear the suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert hall in Manchester on Monday may have been backed by a network of accomplices.

Officials say the terrorist cell, if it exists, may want to carry out further attacks as Britain hosts a series of high-profile sporting events in the coming week. On Saturday, Arsenal plays Chelsea in London in the FA Cup Final, and next week, Juventus plays Real Madrid in Cardiff in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

British officials believe the sophistication of the bomb that Salman Abedi detonated at the Ariana Grande pop concert suggests he was not working alone, raising fears that the bomb maker behind him is at large and could send out other suicide bombers.

Ian Hopkins, the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said the force was urgently carrying out extensive searches at locations throughout the city.

"It is very clear that this is a network that we investigating, and, as I've said, it continues at a pace," he said. "There's extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak."

Police arrested three more people in the city on Wednesday. Ismail Abedi, the brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi was arrested on Tuesday.

Hashem Abedi, Salman's younger brother was also arrested in Tripoli, Libya on suspicion of having connections to Islamic State, Reuters reported. And the BBC was reporting on Wednesday evening that another arrest had been made, in Wigan, a town within Greater Manchester, bringing the number of UK arrests to five.

Last year, it emerged that Najim Laachraoui, 24, was the bomb maker who provided devices used in attacks in Paris and Brussels. Laachraoui later blew himself up at Brussels airport, possibly because he knew the network had been compromised and that he was at risk of being arrested.

In response to fears that further attacks may be coming in the United Kingdom, the British government raised the nation's terrorism threat level to "critical", which means that another attack could be imminent. Police leave has been cancelled and soldiers have been deployed to patrol civilian areas, both very unusual measures.

Almost 1,000 soldiers have been deployed at Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and other sites in London.

Soldiers with special forces equipment were also seen assisting police officers as they raided an apartment in central Manchester.

Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman, has meanwhile denied that his son was the bomber. The Associated Press contacted him in Tripoli, Libya, where he is the administrative manager of a security force. He told them that his son could not have carried out the bombing and confirmed that another of his sons had been arrested.

"We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us," he said.

Police, meanwhile, said they believe they have identified all 22 people killed in the bombing. They included two girls of primary school age, a Polish couple who were at the venue to pick up their daughters, and several women who were there to collect children who had been at the concert.

The UK government said on Wednesday evening there would be a minute's silence across the nation at 11 am on Thursday in honor of the victims of the Manchester attack.
A soldier and an armed policeman pass Big Ben in London, Britain May 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday the terror threat level will remain at critical, following a suicide bombing at a concert hall in Manchester on Monday.

The threat level was raised to critical, its highest level, on Tuesday, for the first time in 10 years.

"The threat level, as assessed by the independent joint terrorism analysis centre, will remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant," May said following a meeting of the government's emergency response committee.

Agencies
Several top Chinese and British universities established a network on Thursday to facilitate joint engineering research and the commercialization of breakthroughs.

The group comprises nine Chinese universities and six from Britain. Representatives signed an agreement to work together in Nanjing, following on from an initial idea proposed in 2016 by Jo Johnson, Britain's minister of state for universities and science. The British Council put up an initial 200,000 pounds ($260,000) to kick-start the cooperation project.

"Our network hopes to use cutting-edge academic research to help Chinese technology companies move up the value chain at a time when the Chinese economy is undergoing structural transformation," said Li Kang, a professor at Queen's University Belfast, which is part of the UK contingent.

"We believe network-wide large-scale sharing of knowledge and research resources will take collaboration to a different level, in contrast to the many collaboration projects initiated by individual Chinese and UK universities," said Li.

This network also includes Tianjin University, Tongji University, and the Beijing Institute of Technology on the China side, and University College London, and the University of Nottingham on the UK side.

Joint education for PhD students is another innovation that will see such students spending time at several universities and participating in a range of research projects "to gain a broader perspective". Li said it has not yet been decided which university will become the degree-awarding authority in such cases.

Research is yet to begin, but study areas are likely to include electric vehicle technology, industrial energy consumption, and artificial intelligence.

The network rides on a wave of China-UK research cooperation, which grew after the UK government committed in 2014 to a five-year 200 million pound funding program to finance joint research projects through the UK-China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund.

Many British universities now host research and development centers for Chinese companies, in sectors including technology, advanced manufacturing, automotive, nuclear, and high-speed rail.

Some cross-university collaboration also exist, the most successful is the China-UK Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN) that was established in 2008 by China's Ministry of Agriculture and the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

"Government support for the network has crucially helped us to transform academic research results into actual policy-making suggestions, while cross-university collaboration importantly facilitates interdisciplinary research," said Lu Yuelai, head of secretariat of the SAIN network. Its research has involved more than 40 British and Chinese universities, and almost 5 million pounds in government investment.

But Lu said the abundance of Sino-British university-level research projects would benefit from more coordination between different initiatives.
A man walks at the main entrance of the congress center where the World Economic Forum takes place in Davos, Switzerland, in this file photo taken on Jan 18, 2016. [Photo/IC]

When President Xi Jinping addresses the world's business and financial elites on Tuesday, he will have an opportunity to demonstrate China's commitment to globalization.

In light of the worrying, uncertain and often contradictory messages emanating from Trump Towers in recent weeks, political and business leaders attending Davos will ask each other just what US president-elect Donald Trump means for global political, economic, security and trade policies.

Trump's questioning of the existing multilateral economic system places a special responsibility on China and the EU. Both share a steadfast commitment to the centrality of the United Nations system, maintaining free trade, upholding the Paris climate change agreement and tackling regional security issues such as the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump is on record questioning the value of free trade, and has said he will drop the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

He has also threatened China with new tariffs contrary to World Trade Organization rules. He has scoffed at the UN and international institutions in general. He has said that he is not convinced of the evidence about climate change. He has also said that he intends to tear up the Iran agreement and reverse the recent United States opening to Cuba.

On all these issues, Beijing and Brussels have more in common with each other than with the incoming US administration. It is important that Chinese and the EU leaders make common cause to save the multilateral system from opposing forces in the US.

One cannot expect too much on the bilateral front in 2017 with both China and the EU preoccupied with internal issues. An additional priority is steering the Chinese economy to a soft landing after the heady years of double-digit growth.

For the EU, it is awaiting the outcome of elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands, and especially how the populist parties such as the Front National will perform in France. Migration remains a priority issue and the problems surrounding Brexit are just beginning.

But there are ongoing opportunities for the EU and China to deepen their relations this year. For example, there are the negotiations for a bilateral investment agreement which would provide increased market access and legal certainty for business.

There is also huge potential for cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) as China seeks to support transport, energy and infrastructure projects linking Asia and Europe. The EU has expressed its willingness to engage with the Belt and Road Initiative and the two sides are now discussing concrete proposals for joint support.

Both sides can leverage the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to support much needed development projects through Asia. They could also work together to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations achieve its economic integration plans.

Another important area for cooperation is Africa where there is considerable potential for the EU and China to cooperate in conflict prevention and peacekeeping. China is displaying a greater readiness to become involved in UN peacekeeping missions and is planning a standby force of 8,000 troops. The EU is the main supporter of the African Union and its peacekeeping activities. The two sides are already working together off the coast of Africa in anti-piracy maritime operations.

A EU-China summit is scheduled for the summer but there will also be a number of meetings at the ministerial and senior-official levels to prepare the ground and discuss opportunities for cooperation in new areas.

In a fast-changing and uncertain world, the EU and China are two much needed pillars to support the multilateral system.

The author is the director of the EU-Asia Centre.
By An Baijie in Davos, Switzerland | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-01-18 00:07

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets Belgium King Philippe on the side line of the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and Belgium should make joint efforts to oppose trade protectionism, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday while meeting with Belgium's King Philippe in Switzerland.

Both sides should maintain a fair and free global trade and investment system, Xi said.

The two leaders had a meeting during the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Davos World Economic Forum. Xi made a keynote speech during the open ceremony of the forum. About 3,000 political and business leaders attended the forum.

Xi spoke highly of Belgium's support toward the one-China principle, saying that Belgium has respected China's major concerns and core interests.

China hopes that Belgium could play a more positive role in deepening the China-European relationship, Xi told the King.

The two countries could enhance cooperation in areas including high-end manufacture, biological pharmacy, modern service industry and sustainable development, he said.

The Belgian monarch said that faced by the turmoil of the current global situation, Belgium is willing to make joint efforts with China to safeguard world peace.

Calling China a great nation, King Philippe said that Belgium and China hold similar views on many important global issues. He also expressed gratitude for being deemed by China as being at the heart of Europe.
An advertisement for discounting international roaming fees. [Photo/IC]

Mobile phone users in China will not have to pay roaming charges while travelling within the Chinese mainland from October and people in European Union member countries will start enjoying the same concession within the union from mid-June.

Many in China say the movemade by China Mobile Communications, China United Network Communications and China Telecommunicationswas influenced by cell phone users' shift to social media to communicate with friends and relatives. For example, there are more than 800 million WeChat users in China who can all use the app to send messages, buy tickets, order meals, book hotel rooms, and even hail taxis. Many other users prefer WhatsApp or Skype, which means the competitiveness of mobile phone service providers has been eroded.

To some extent, the same reason forced the EU telecom companies to scrap the roaming charges, although the Europeans generally spend less time on social media than their Chinese counterparts.

The EU has also been thinking of setting up a single digital market, which is high on the agenda of the European Commission. Cancelling the roaming charges is a decisive move by mobile phone service providers to unite the fragmented telecom market in the 28-member bloc, which is now facing tremendous existential challenges.

Of course, the move will slash the revenues of many telecom companies, because roaming charges account for nearly 10 percent of the net profits of China's big three telecom companies, and they are also a key source of revenue for EU companies. But the benefits of the cancellation of roaming charges to users will be immense as digital barriers will be lifted. For example, the monthly phone bill is likely to be less surprising for regular travellers, the cost of doing business may reduce and the communication flow could expand.

Operators in the EU and China should now consider other, bigger moves, since they have a combined market of 1.9 billion consumers.

China and the EU are now in tough negotiations to achieve a high-level investment agreement. Hopefully, the officials are also discussing the prospects of deeper market penetration by telecom companies in China and the EU. And now that Chinese and EU telecom companies have decided to cancel the roaming charges within their own economies, they should also consider cancelling international roaming charges for people travelling to and from the two economies.

Such a move has the potential to expand their digital markets. Although it may be difficult to persuade the telecom giants on both sides to do so, it will be worth the effort as it will make the use of mobile phones less taxing.

The telecom operators, in the long run, will have no reason to keep international roaming charges so high. Again, the benefits will be immense if a single EU-China digital market can be formed, as it will remove many communication barriers and help boost the flow of investments.

As the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) is aimed at bringing Asia, Europe and Africa closer, the formation of a EU-China digital market with free roaming will be an apt example of how to create an even bigger market.

Next year, the main theme of China-EU ties will be tourism. And the two sides would do better to discuss the possibility of cancelling roaming charges for mobile phone users travelling between the two economies, because it will help boost the tourism industries in both economies.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
People attend the "I Love Europe" march which was called to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday.[Photo/Agencies]

Citing data, some Belgian media outlets have reported that Chinese investors in Belgium have created up to 18,500 jobs for local residents. And on average one Chinese investor has contributed 1 million ($1.08 million) in revenue, reflecting the high productivity and profit-making capability of Chinese investment.

Some Central and Eastern European countries are facing labor shortages partly because of growing Chinese investment in manufacturing and the end of European Union's economic stagnation. In the past five years, Huawei, for example, has created up to 12,000 jobs in the EU.

Last week, Belgium and Hungary became full-time members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which means one-third of the bank's 70 members are from Europe. And the development path of the AIIB suggests cooperation among members will deepen to bring Asia, Europe and Africa closer.

But despite the EU marking its 60th anniversary, its leaders are in a somber mood, as European Commission President Jean-claude Juncker put it, because of the United Kingdom beginning the formal process to leave the EU and the uncertainties created by the United States administration under President Donald Trump.

After the EC's recent decision to assess China's investment activities in the EU more strictly, some members of the European Parliament have also proposed that foreign investment in Europe should be closely monitored in "strategic sectors" such as energy, water and telecommunications. Many observers say the move is targeted at China, where EU businesses, according to European politicians, don't have the same access that Chinese enterprises do in Europe. The politicians even claim that EU investment in China is falling.

The fact is, European investors, along with other foreign investors, are now being treated on par with domestic investors in China after having enjoyed preferential treatment for three decades since the beginning of reform and opening-up. And since the EU's accumulated investment in China is already huge, it is natural for it to maintain that level or even fall slightly. As far as expanding business and investment overseas is concerned, Europe is an old hand while China is a newcomer if one goes by the two sides' trading history.

Given the facts, perhaps this is the right time for China and the EU to discuss trade differences and make policy decisions. The understanding in Brussels now is that Beijing is promoting globalization and the world needs to support it. As part of its commitment to globalization, China has been encouraging overseas investment and offering public goods.

However, despite its history of strengthening regional integration, the EU, many suspect, is showing signs of resorting to protectionism ostensibly to protect European enterprises and products. It's another matter, though, that many European businesses and member states don't support it.

Advocating globalization is not the responsibility of China alone. The EU and the US and other global players should promote globalization more intensely than China.

The China-EU partnership is unique, as they work more cohesively during hard times, but not necessarily during normal times. A careful examination of the interactions and exchanges between Beijing and Brussels during the global financial and debt crises will prove the contention.

However true that may be, the priority for the EU now is to take swift, decisive and strategic measures to identify new areasChina's growing investment for exampleto help the Brussels-Beijing partnership to overcome the odds.

More importantly, the EU should realize that taking a hard line against Chinese products and investment at this critical time would be a big mistake. The reason is simple: more jobs and better livelihoods will make more Europeans, especially those youths struggling to earn a decent living, have more confidence in the EU as an economic union.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau.

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue, in Beijing, capital of China, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday met with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, pledging to further advance bilateral ties.

Li is scheduled to visit Germany and Belgium from next Tuesday to Friday. During the visit, he will attend an annual meeting between the Chinese premier and the German chancellor in Germany and the 19th China-EU leaders' meeting in Belgium.

Li said it is significant to both countries, Europe and the world for China and Germany to maintain a stable and healthy bilateral relationship.

He said he hoped his upcoming visit to Germany would help enhance political mutual trust, explore potential in cooperation, intensify people-to-people exchanges, and send a strong message to the world that China, Germany and Europe support economic globalization, free trade and investment and regional stability under the current unstable international circumstances.
MARTINSDALE  The Charles M. Bair Family Museums 2017 season begins Friday, May 26 with the opening of a major exhibition.

The museum will show photogravures from the Bair Collection in an exhibition titled "The Shadow Catcher: Edward Sheriff Curtis," from May 26 through Oct. 29 in the Montana Projects and Curtis Galleries. The selection includes more than 40 original images. Under Curtis direction, John Andrew & Son of Boston printed the photogravures circa 1906-1908 on delicate, almost transparent, Japanese tissue paper.

Over the winter, Bair Museum staff worked to install LED lighting in the exhibit spaces. Eliminating damaging UV light sources has provided additional exhibition space to showcase a larger selection of the museums 180-plus Curtis collection.

This summers exhibit includes images representing the following tribes: Apache, Jicarillas, Navajo, Pima, Papago, Qahatika, Mojave, Yuma, Maricopa, Walapai, Havasupai, Apache-Mojave (Yavapai), Teton Sioux, Yanktonai, Assiniboin, Apsaroke (Crows), Mandan, Arikara and Atsina.

A photographer and self-trained ethnographer, Curtis (1868-1952) met Charles Bair in Montana in the early 1900s. They became friends and their families would socialize in the winter months at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where Curtis had a studio and gallery, as did Charles M. Russell and Joseph Henry Sharp.

Between 1901 and 1930, Curtis photographed more than 80 tribes. To provide the funding for his planned series documenting all Native American tribes in North America, Curtis originally intended to sell subscriptions only to those who pre-purchased the 20-volume series. Due to the projects enormous scope and escalating costs, Curtis immediately ran into financial difficulties, and Bair likely offered to purchase the first five volumes to help out his friend.

Even with the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote the foreword for the first volume of The North American Indian series, as well as financial backing from J. Pierpont Morgan, the project took over 30 years to complete and eventually bankrupted Curtis and ruined his life and his health.

Located in Martinsdale, the Bair Museum features several galleries where visitors can enjoy the familys eclectic collection of Native American objects, Western and European paintings and Navajo weavings.

Tours of the Bair family home showcase Marguerite and Alberta Bairs collection of English silver and European antiques. This summer the museum also features work by Bozeman painter Harold Schlotzhauer in "Above and Beyond  Paintings as Kites," in the museums lobby.

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, the museum will be open daily through Labor Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 2751 Montana Hwy 294 in Martinsdale, which is between White Sulphur Springs and Harlowton. For more information, visit www.bairfamilymuseum.org.
When it comes to your China employment law matter, you should keep the following three important precepts always in mind:

1. Chinas employment laws and its legal system favor employees over employers. As in most countries, the employer is presumed to be the more powerful party, so the law provides the employee with many protections. Among other things, this means that in most employer-employee disputes, the employer (not the employee) will bear the burden of proving what actually happened, and if the employer cannot prove it (usually with written documentation in Chinese) the employee will prevail.

2. Chinas employment laws cannot usually be modified by contract.

3. China employment law is very local. What you can or cannot do in Shenzhen could be different from what you can or cannot do in Beijing. Before making any important employment move, you should check the rules for China, the rules for your province, the rules for your city and, in most cases, you should discuss with your local labor and employment authorities as well. Failing to do this is what causes foreign employers problems.

This post is about how the second rule impacts China employee vacation days  an often-litigated employment law issue in China.

Lets consider a hypothetical based on a question our China employment lawyers are often asked. A China employers Rules and Regulations provide that its employees are entitled to the statutory minimum number of vacation days and no carry-over of vacation time is allowed. Lets further assume that the Rules and Regulations state that the employees have the responsibility to make sure they take all their vacation days within the relevant calendar year and they are expected to keep track of their vacation days. Lastly, the Rules and Regulations provide that if the employee fails to take all or part of his or her vacation time, the employee will be deemed to have given up all unused vacation days and cannot claim any compensation for such days. A disgruntled employee then sues the employer for 300% pay for all of her unused vacation days. The employers response is to refer to its Rules and Regulations and the fact that this particular employee signed an acknowledgment of receipt form acknowledging receipt of these Rules and Regulations and refuses to pay the employee anything on the basis that she knowingly and voluntarily forfeited all her unused vacation days.

The employer then asks one of our China lawyers what it should do.

When I or another of our China lawyers gets this type of question, the first thing we do is gather up more facts. What city is it? What does the employment contract actually say? Is it in Chinese (which makes it a lot harder for the employee to deny knowing what he or she signed) and a lot easier for the court to know what it says. What do the Rules and Regulations actually say and is that in Chinese as well? Most importantly, what is actually going on with this employee and this employees anger with her employer and what actually happened regarding vacation time. Many times the best way to resolve a loaded employee-employer dispute like this is to get both parties to step away, calm down and compromise, realizing that full-on expensive litigation is not in anyones best interest.

For purposes of the discussion here, however, I am going to assume a number of things, like the following:

The employer Rules and Regulations were lawfully implemented. In other words, the employer followed all applicable national, state and local laws with respect to its implementation. This means it gave its employees prior notice of the Rules and Regulations and it gave them an opportunity to comment on them.

The employer never made any arrangements for the employee to take her vacation time or if it did, it does not have contemporaneous written proof of this;

The employer never obtained a written request from the employee expressly stating that she would not take those days for personal reasons (i.e., reasons not related to the employer).

Before I give my analysis, let me first give you our loyal readers a super quick review of the applicable China law on vacation time: All China employers are required to provide their employees with paid vacation days based on each employees total years of service. Employers are also legally obligated to ensure their employees take their vacation days and to the extent an employer fails to do so, it must pay the employee an additional 200% of her normal wages for each unused vacation day.

So, what has the employer in my hypothetical above done wrong? The below is an non-exhaustive list:

First, the employers vacation policy in its Rules and Regulations is probably illegal because it shifts the employers obligation to the employee. I say probably because the law on this, like so many other China employment laws is very localized. The law says the employer must ensure all employees take their legally entitled vacation time and if that is not possible, the employer must pay the employee in lieu of the vacation days. Many jurisdictions in China very strictly interpret this law. The Western mindset that if you dont exercise your legal rights, you waive or lose them does not comport with the legal reality here. It does not matter that the employee signed off on the receipt of the employers Rules and Regulations. The employee did not waive her rights to vacation time.

Even if the employers policy on vacation time were legal (which is not going to be the case just about everywhere in China), the employer (not the employees) should stay on top of tracking their employees vacation time. The employers failure to keep track of this particular employees vacation time, standing alone, would probably be enough for the employee to prevail in any litigated or arbitrated dispute. A laid-back management style does not work for China.

Second, the employer never obtained the employees written request expressly stating she would not take those vacation days for personal reasons. Of course, very few employees would go along with a voluntary forfeiture of their mandatory vacation days. If an employer is going to argue that one of its employees voluntarily relinquished her vacation days, the employer must be able to produce relevant evidence of this because the employer bears the burden of proving this. And without something in writing from the employee showing that she herself expressly requested that she be able to give up her vacation time, the employer is going to lose, and the employers Rules and Regulations and the employees signed acknowledgment of receipt form are not going to change this result.

Finally, suppose the employment relationship in the above hypothetical has been formally terminated and the employee has sued. The employer really should have dealt with this vacation issue before it got sued. China employees are getting increasingly serious about enforcing their legal rights under Chinese labor laws and this makes it essential that employers seek to resolve all outstanding issues between them and their employees before termination. Otherwise, there is a good chance the employee will bring a claim for whatever issues are outstanding, including unused vacation time. A well-crafted termination/separation agreement will ensure that the employee will not and cannot come back seeking payment for unused vacation time (or whatever) and that if she does, the court will rule against the employee because the parties have a legally binding and enforceable agreement covering the issue.

Bottom line: Employers too often believe they have China-centric and legally binding Rules and Regulations when they dont. They often also think they have great evidence against their employee(s) when they dont. Employers often blame their employees for not doing everything the employers are supposed to do under China employment laws and this will mean the employer will almost certainly lose in any dispute regarding the contested issue. Still think you are in compliance with Chinas employment laws? Maybe you should think again.
Divinity Roxx has performed for President Obama, Oprah, Ellen, and at the MTV Music Awards. Now, she's coming to Billings to perform from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Garage Pub on Wednesday, May 31.

Admission is $6.

Her journey started on the burgeoning music scene in Atlanta, Ga., after falling in love with the bass guitar while studying journalism at UC Berkeley.

Her career as a bass player skyrocketed after attending a bass camp led by the legendary Victor Wooten where she was invited to tour with him merely three months after the bass camp.

With limited funds, a heart full of passion and an energy that exudes resilience, she auditioned for Beyonce and was selected as a band member and assistant musical director. While touring and working with the superstar for over five years, Roxx appeared on television shows including The Grammys, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Saturday Night Live," "Good Morning America" with personal highlights including a special performance at the White House for President Barack Obama.

Roxx also acted as the musical director for K-Pop sensation 2NE1 and joined them on their first worldwide New Evolution Tour in 2012.

She played "The Arsenio Hall Show," "106 and Park" and "The Queen Latifah Show" with rapper B.o.B. and has backed legends like Patti LaBelle, Kelly Rowland, Erykah Badu and Gladys Knight on BETs "Black Girls Rock."

It is in her solo performance Roxx shines the brightest. Her ability to simultaneously play bass guitar while fronting her own band captivates audiences around the world.

Her 2012 "Roxx Boxx Experience" received critical acclaim as the ultimate funk mash-up of hip-hop and rock, featuring appearances by Grammy award winning artists and musicians Bootsy Collins and Killa Mike.

Trout Steak Revival

Trout Steak Revival returns to the Pub Station Ballroom on Saturday, May 27.

The show is for those 21 and older. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9. Tickets are $8 and $12.

Ever since winning the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Trout Steak Revival has quickly become the quintessential Colorado string band.

The band won an Emmy Award for a soundtrack they contributed to a Rocky Mountain PBS. They have collaborated with school children in mentoring programs in both Denver and the mountain communities. Their music is featured on Bank of Colorados radio and television advertisements. Most recently, Westword named them Denvers Best Bluegrass Band and they were nominated as a Momentum Band of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Defined more by expressive songwriting and heartfelt harmonies rather than any one genre, Trout Steak Revival crosses over and blends the bounds of folk, indie, bluegrass, and roots evoking its own style of Americana.

With five band members all contributing unique lyrics, lead vocals, acoustic instrumentation, and harmonies, Trout Steak Revival delivers memorable tunes to an energetic fan base that grows hand-in-hand with the band.
(Photo : PLAN) Shenyang J-15 fighters take-off from the CNS Liaoning.

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The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has a long way to go as it aims "for the top ranks in the world" thereby transforming China into a great maritime power, admitted Chinese president Xi Jinping.



Xi again called for more and greater efforts to build the PLAN into a strong and modern force to lend support for the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of a strong army, said Chinese state-run media.



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Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks yesterday during an inspection of PLAN headquarters.



"Building a strong and modern navy is an important mark of a top ranking global military," according to Xi.



He said PLAN is a "pivot" for transforming China into a great maritime power, an admission PLAN is still transitioning from a brown water or coastal navy into a true blue sea navy capable of sailing the world's oceans.



"Innovation is key to improving and transforming the navy," said Xi.



PLAN should be able to operate far out at sea, combining the strength of forces on the water, under it and in the skies above, he added. Xi said he is personally paying close attention to naval missions.



"You continuously fight wind and waves. Thanks for your hard work!" said Xi to the PLAN officers and men he talked to.



PLAN and its main rival, the U.S. Navy are engaged in a naval arms race to create the most powerful fleet in the world. The U.S. Navy currently holds this distinction and is seeking to maintain its qualitative and quantitative edge over PLAN with a furious warship building program over the next two decades.



PLAN currently operates some 490 ships and 700 aircraft. Its sea-going surface warships that will battle the U.S. Navy include two aircraft carriers (one of which is in sea trials); 32 destroyers; 51 frigates and 32 corvettes. It also operates 68 submarines (nuclear-powered and conventional).



The majority of the fleet, however, consists of small missile boats (109 in number), gunboats, submarine chasers, minesweepers, landing ships, replenishment ships, amphibious transport docks (four ships) and tank landing ships (32).



PLAN is the second largest navy in the world in terms of tonnage, only behind the U.S. Navy, and has the largest number of major combatants of any navy.



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TagsPeople's Liberation Army Navy, PLAN, Xi Jinping, Communist Party of China, great maritime power, U.S. Navy
(Photo : US Navy) Construction of the aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy.

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The U.S. Navy can only begin its ambitious program to increase its fleet size to over 350 warships by 2019 because it doesn't have the money to do so today.



This because there are no significant differences between the Trump administration's proposed 2018 navy budget and that of the Obama administration. The current navy budget of $71.5 billion won't be used to build more warships and aircraft but to fund warships currently building, according to navy sources.



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The $19.9 billion shipbuilding request is for the same eight ships in the plan a year ago. It will go to building one aircraft carrier; two Virginia-class submarines; two Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers; one littoral combat ship (LCS); one salvage tug and one fleet oiler.



About $15.1 billion has been set aside for naval aircraft and weapons in the 2018 aircraft procurement request. The navy will build four Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter carrier variants compared to the six originally planned.



The funds will build 20 F-35B Marine Corps stealth fighters; 14 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet strike fighters and five Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye tactical command and control aircraft.



One additional Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime multimission aircraft is added, bringing this fleet to a total of seven. The Marine Corps will still get two Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules aerial tankers and four Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters.



The request will build six Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft; three Northrop Grumman MQ-4 Triton maritime surveillance unmanned aircraft and four Boeing Insitu RQ-21A small UAVs.



The $3.4 billion weapons procurement will go to buy 125 RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), or Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), but cuts the number of RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) from 90 to 60 to invest in research and development upgrades to meet emerging threats.



The request for AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles rises to 185 from last year's 150, but the number of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAM, sees a significant cut to 120 from last year's 247. The number of Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles, or AARGM, was also slashed, dropping to 251 from 336.



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TagsU.S. Navy, fleet size, 2018 navy budget, Trump administration
A Billings man, who along with his brother, continued trafficking large amounts of meth after a search of their house turned meth, firearms and about $17,000 in cash, will spend 20 years in federal prison.

In sentencing Thomas Dean Smith, 43, on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Watters rejected a defense characterization that Smith was merely a drug user selling meth to support his habit.

While Smiths role in the conspiracy was less than that of his brother, Duane Timothy Smith Jr., Watters said there was no doubt Smith knew what was going on and was very involved.

When arrested in April 2016, Smith had meth on his person along with two firearms, both containing loaded magazines, Watters noted. Smith also told arresting officers that he was not going without a fight.

Locking you up for 20 years is sufficient, Watters told Smith.

Smith pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute meth and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Smith faced a guideline range of about 17 years to 21 years on the drug count plus a mandatory consecutive five years on the gun count. He has a previous conviction in Yellowstone County for failing to register as a sex offender.

Prosecutor Brendan McCarthy recommended a high-end sentence totaling more than 26 years.

Defense attorney Vern Woodward requested a total of 10 years.

Woodward disputed the quantity of meth attributed to Smith.

Evidence presented by the prosecution showed the conspiracy involved pounds of meth that were being supplied to the Smiths from about September 2015 until April 2016.

Watters ultimately held Smith responsible for more than 4.5 kilos, about 10 pounds.

The Smith brothers were indicted after agents with the Eastern Montana drug task force, with help from a local law enforcement SWAT team, executed a search warrant on Sept. 29, 2015 at their residence at 725 St. Johns Ave. Officers recovered almost 12 ounces of meth, $17,121 in currency, 14 firearms, video surveillance equipment, drug ledgers and packaging supplies, the prosecution said.

A task force agent testified at the sentencing that surveillance cameras covered a 360-degree view of the outside of the house. In addition, agents found by the door a sawed-off shotgun, which belonged to a nephew who acted as the doorman or bouncer.

The agent also said that through a separate drug investigation, law enforcement learned that the Smith brothers had moved after the September search to two other residences, at 4025 Second Ave. S. and at 602 S. 31st St., and were continuing to deal drugs and to possess firearms.

Smith apologized for hurting his family and said he took responsibility for his actions.

Smiths brother, Duane, is to be sentenced on June 7 for his conviction on the same crimes.
Human rights activists told Capitol Hill lawmakers that Christians in North Korea are facing persecution that is likely on par with the level of persecution that the Early Christian Church endured under Roman emperor Nero.

The activists, convened by International Christian Concern, told lawmakers about the human rights abuses that Christians face. They also asked lawmakers to support a resolution to reauthorize the North Korean Human Act of 2004.

"Our colleagues in South Korea have thoroughly documented cases of religious persecution, said Greg Scarlatoui, the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.

Organizations such as Database Center for North Korean Human Rights and the Korean Institution for National Unification [have] interviewed thousands of defectors who brought testimony of extremely severe religious persecution," Scarlatoiu said. "Like other Communist leaders, as mentioned earlier, Kim Il-sung and the Kim regime has rejected religion as the 'opium of the people.'"

For the past 15 years, North Korea has ranked as the top persecutor of Christians by Open Doors USA. Any Christian worship, or religious worship, is illegal and can be punished be arrest, torture or execution.

"One can confidently say that it is the Kim family regime that has taken religious persecution, in particular the persecution of Christians, to a level, perhaps, on par with Nero's Rome as well as the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian genocide of World War I or the Yazidi genocide today," Scarlatoiu said.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: May 25, 2017
An ascendant terrorist group in the Philippines that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) yesterday wreaked violence on the island of Mindanao, kidnapping a catholic priest and 13 members of his parish.



Soldiers engaged in firefights with the Maute Group (MG) in Marawi City as its militants reportedly beheaded a police chief, kidnapped the priest and others, burned their cathedral and other buildings and raised the black flag of IS. Marawi is predominantly Muslim.



Authorities identified the abducted priest as the Rev. Teresito Chito Suganob, vicar-general of the prelature of Marawi, who was at St. Marys Cathedral when a group of armed men barged in and abducted him and 13 other parishioners. Reports indicated 10 worshippers and three other church workers were abducted.



Suganob is well-known in Marawi, in Lanau Province, and parishioners appealed for prayers using social media.



Facebook user Maychal Gabonada wrote in the local dialect, I pray for their safety, especially Father Chit. He is a kind parish priest who is very close to our family.



A spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines appealed to the kidnappers in news reports, saying the priest was not a combatant and was not bearing arms, so he was a threat to no oneHis capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilized conflict.



Besides the cathedral, the assailants reportedly burned down three buildings of Dansalan College, which belongs to the Protestant United Church of Christ.



Prior to Tuesdays violence, police backed by Philippine soldiers in Marawi raided the hideout of suspected Islamic terrorist leader Isnilon Hapilon. The Maute Group on Tuesday (May 23) subsequently killed at least two soldiers and beheaded a policeman they had stopped at a checkpoint. Hapilon, a commander of the Islamic extremist Abu Sayyaf militant group, has a US$5 million reward offered by the U.S. State Department for information on his whereabouts.



We are in a state of emergency, President Rodrigo Duterte said today after flying back to Manila, having interrupted a trip to Moscow. I have a serious problem in Mindanao, and the ISIS footprints are everywhere.



Duterte said the report of a police officers mutilated body strengthened his resolve to declare martial law for 60 days in Mindanao, expanding the militarys power to detain suspects without charge. He said he may declare martial law nationwide if authorities confirm that IS is involved.



The sounds of gunfire caused the public to panic, and thousands fled Marawi City towards Iligan City and Malabang Municipality. Khye Amerol, who fled to Malabang, said that even though the military claimed that calm has been restored to Marawi, he had to leave for fear of stray bullets, according to the International Business Times. The mass evacuation caused traffic congestion from late morning to evening.



Clergymen have often become hostage victims of local terrorist groups operating in the southern Philippines. Last week Islamic extremists threatened Muslim preachers about to participate in an anti-terror summit organized by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). An ARMM official received an email from a local terrorist group ordering her to discourage Muslim leaders from attending the summit. The summit ended peacefully on Friday (May 19).



Maute Group

The Maute Group is one of the newest but most feared terror groups in the southern Philippines; it became better known in November last year when members raided Butig town in Lanao del Sur and raised an IS-similar flag in the town hall. MG engaged government soldiers, and since then the administration has not taken the group lightly.



Based in Central Mindanao, MG, locally known as the Islamic State in Lanao (ISIL), was founded by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute and originally had an estimated 100 members. Intelligence reports indicate that they have joined forces with other terror groups operating in the southern Philippines.



A number of the MG militants are erstwhile members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest Islamic revolutionary group, which has entered into a peace talks with the government. The military is expected to face a complex challenge as MG members are married to relatives of MILF militants now finalizing a peace pact with the government.



Moreover, the Philippine military has also arrested suspected members of MG who were responsible for the September 2016 bombing of a Davao City night market that killed 14 people. Davao is the hometown of Duterte.



Poverty in impoverished areas in the southern Philippines has contributed to ordinary civilians willing to fight the government. Feeling excluded, militant and revolutionary organizations in Mindanao would like to establish an autonomous government.





If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.o rg/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.



If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/don ate/ ?
At a ceremony which took place at a church on Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that prohibits the government from compelling clergy to testify regarding their sermons, or to produce copies of their sermons for a civil or administrative proceeding.

Senate Bill 24, also known as the Sermon Safeguard Bill, came about after the city of Houston issued subpoenas to five pastors when they tried to repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), a city ordinance which granted access to public facilities according to gender identity.

The city required the pastors to submit all speeches, presentations or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by or approved by them or in their possession.

You are freedom fighters, said Abbott at the bill-signing which took place at Grace Community Church in Woodlands, one of the churches to which a subpoena was issued. You realized that when subpoenas were issued on your own pastor, when you had to fight against your own government right here in Houston for your freedom  your freedom of religion.

Texas law will now be your strength and your sword and your shield, Abbott went on. You will be shielded from any effort by any other government official in any other part of the state of Texas from having subpoenas to try to pry into what youre doing here in your churches.

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who attended the ceremony with Abbott, said the new law will give pastors critical protection from forced testimony and shield sermons from government subpoena power.

Meanwhile, the bill-signing at Grace Community Church drew some protests, according to reports.

What we witnessed today was Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott giving active sermons before the signing of a bill, Joshua Douglas told KHOU. We had strong conflict with the choice of this venue. We felt it was infringing on the separation of church and state.
#AmplifyWomen is a two-month-long series running on CT Women, designed to generate a new conversation about womens leadership and discipleship. In the last four weeks, weve addressed ecclesial accountability, mentorship, platform, and hospitable orthodoxy. Today, Trillia Newbell invites men in the church to support womens discipleship.

When I first became a Christian at the age of 22, there were two things that I couldnt wait to do: learn about the Lord and share about him with others. As I dreamed about my future, I determined that I wanted to become a biblical counselor. I told a pastor about this desire, knowing that it would require more education through a counseling program, most likely at a seminary. His response to me was, Well, you are probably going to be a mom.

He was right. I did become a mom, one of my greatest joys and gifts in my life. Still, his statement deterred me from pursuing a counseling degree. Although I dont hold any grudge against that pastorhe was doing the best to counsel me at the timenonetheless his initial response was ill-advised and unhelpful.

My experience reflects a larger, more widespread challenge inside the church: Male clergy and lay leaders have the power to impact and support womens discipleship, but many of them (by their own account) fall short. When you consider how many ministries and committees depend upon the genius, generosity and sweat of our sisters, writes pastor Thabiti Anyabwile, its almost criminal that most any pastor you meet has no plan for discipling the women of his church apart from outsourcing to a womens ministry staff person or committee.

When men dont ...

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Qualitas Health, a Houston-based nutritional company known for its omega-3 supplements, has partnered with a New Mexico commercial crop producer to expand its algae production.

While omega-3 is often sourced from fish and krill, Qualitas Health derives it from algae.
BOZEMAN  Republican multimillionaire Greg Gianforte won Montana's only U.S. House seat on Thursday despite being charged a day earlier with assault after witnesses said he grabbed a reporter by the neck and threw him to the ground.

Gianforte, a technology entrepreneur, defeated Democrat Rob Quist to continue the GOP's two-decade stronghold on the congressional seat. Democrats had hoped Quist, a musician and first-time candidate, could have capitalized on a wave of activism following President Donald Trump's election.

[VIDEO] Watch Greg Gianforte's full victory speech and apology Republican multimillionaire Greg Gianforte won Montana's only U.S. House seat on Thursday despite being charged a day earlier with assault after witnesses said he grabbed a reporter by the neck and threw him to the ground.

Instead, the win reaffirmed Montana's voters support for Trump's young presidency in a conservative-leaning state that voted overwhelmingly for him in November.

Gianforte was a strong favorite throughout the campaign and that continued even after authorities charged him with misdemeanor assault on Wednesday. Witnesses said he grabbed Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian newspaper, and slammed him to the ground after being asked about the Republican health care bill.

Gianforte dropped out of sight after he was cited by police and ignored calls on Thursday by national Republicans for him to apologize to the reporter.

He emerged only at his victory celebration Thursday night, where he said he accepted responsibility for the incident. "Last night I made a mistake and I took an action I can't take back and I am not proud of what happened," Gianforte told the crowd. "I should not have responded the way I did and for that I am sorry."

The last-minute controversy unnerved Republicans, who also faced close calls this year in the traditionally Republican congressional districts in Kansas and Georgia. A runoff election is scheduled for next month in Georgia between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel after Ossoff fell just short of winning outright.

Quist told supporters that he called Gianforte to congratulate him on his win and to urge him to represent all Montanans. "I know that Montanans will hold Mr. Gianforte accountable," Quist said Thursday night.

Gianforte showed lukewarm support for Trump during his unsuccessful run for governor in Montana last fall but did an about-face and turned into an ebullient Trump supporter after he started campaigning for the congressional seat vacated by Republican Ryan Zinke, when he was tapped by Trump to serve as Interior Department secretary.

Gianforte urged Montana voters to send him to help Trump "drain the swamp," brought in Vice President Mike Pence and first son Donald Trump Jr. to campaign for him and was supported by millions of dollars of ads and mailers paid for by Republican groups.

But the theme of the election shifted Wednesday night when Jacobs walked into Gianforte's office as he was preparing for an interview with Fox News.

Jacobs began asking the candidate about the health care bill passed by the House when the crew and Jacobs say Gianforte slammed him to the floor, yelling "Get out of here!"

Gianforte's campaign issued a statement Wednesday blaming the incident on Jacobs. But on Thursday night, Gianforte apologized both to Jacobs and to the Fox News crew for having to witness the attack. "I should not have treated that reporter that way and for that I'm sorry, Mr. Jacobs."

It had been unclear if Gianforte's assault charge would impact the race. About a third of eligible voters in Montana had already cast their ballots in early voting, and others said it didn't influence their vote.

Shaun Scott, a computer science professor at Carroll College in Helena, said the assault charge was barely a factor in his decision.

"If you have somebody sticking a phone in your face, a mic in your face, over and over, and you don't know how to deal with the situation, you haven't really done that, you haven't dealt with that, I can see where it can ... make you a little angry," Scott said Thursday.

Quist, a popular 69-year-old singer and cowboy poet who was the front man for the Montana's Mission Mountain Wood Band, was helped by money that poured in from across the U.S. as Democrats seek to capture congressional seats that would have been considered safely Republican a year ago.

But Gianforte also benefited from millions of dollars spent on ads and mailers by GOP groups like the Conservative Leadership Fund.

Gianforte campaigned as a gun-loving Montanan endorsed by the National Rifle Association to build his credibility among hunting enthusiasts and to motivate gun rights activists to vote. He echoed the Republican Party mantras of cutting taxes, beefing up the military and securing the country's borders.

Montana is a conservative-leaning state that became even more so after voters last November overwhelmingly supported Trump, voted in Republican majorities in the state Legislature and elected GOP candidates to four of five statewide elected positions, leaving Gov. Steve Bullock as the only Democratic statewide elected official.

A Democrat has not held the Montana U.S. House seat since Pat Williams departed in 1997 after he decided not to seek re-election.

Quist ran a nontraditional populist campaign that saw appearances by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He stuck to issues that have broad appeal in Montana, such as maintaining and improving access to public land. He collected nearly $3.2 million from individual donors across the U.S.

But Quist had to overcome reports of financial problems that included unpaid taxes, a loan default and legal squabbles with a former band member over royalties and a contractor over payments. He tried to turn those negatives into positives by saying his story illustrated problems many Montanans face because of high health care costs.

Libertarian Mark Wicks was the third candidate in the race.
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A man was injured after shots were fired Wednesday near a northwest Harris County Fiesta Mart.

Deputies headed to the Fiesta Mart, off Highway 6, about 9:40 p.m after callers reported that people in two vehicles near the supermarket were shooting at each other, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

They found an injured person about a quarter mile down the road in the parking lot of an auto parts store, Carro Audio & Tint.

The person - described only as male - had been shot.

He was taken to a local hospital, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies spoke to a person - also described only as male - at the scene who said he was the shooter.

It was not immediately clear whether he was arrested or charged.
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Houston area venues are assuring fans that concerts will remain as safe as possible in the wake of a Manchester, England, concert bombing that killed 22 people and injured more than 100. But they've also enacted subtle security changes or increased awareness for some concerts this week, including Wednesday night's U2 concert at NRG Stadium.

"We are going to up our posture," Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said during a press conference, though he declined to offer specifics.

Tuesday evening's John Legend concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion included more entry point scrutiny by security and patrons were not allowed to bring in a bag larger than 8.5 by 11 inches. Bag size restrictions vary per show.

"Whenever we have guests, staff and artists on property we always are at heightened security," said a Woodlands Pavilion spokesperson. "The safety of our patrons is always a top priority at The Pavilion."

Matthew Keever, a freelance music writer in Houston who attended the Legend show, said fans seemed "excited" despite the bag restrictions.

"A bunch of fans were sent back to their cars to drop off their purses. Otherwise, it all seemed normal," Keever said. "The only noticeable change was that no one really put up much of a fuss when security sent them back to their cars."

The next concert at the Woodlands pavilion is a June 8 date with Jimmy Buffett.

Toyota Center and Houston Rockets CEO Tad Brown said his team has frequently met with the City of Houston over the last few years to address safety concerns, particularly in the wake of a 2016 attack in Nice, France, that killed 86 people and the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. that killed 49 people and injured 53.

"We've been concerned about just where the world has been going and potential soft target issues that we can face as an issue," Brown said. "Security is what keeps me up at night. It's something that we've been thinking about for many years."

To that end, Toyota Center has implemented "a series of upgrades," including magnetometers at every entrance during every event and increased police presence inside and outside the building.

The Toyota Center's concert schedule is open until a June 18 show with Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull. Ariana Grande, who was the star of the tragic concert in Manchester, performed at Toyota Center in April.

"You hope and pray that the systems you put in place work," Brown said.

A spokesperson for the upcoming Free Press Summer Festival, June 3-4 at Eleanor Tinsley Park, said the event does not publicly comment on its specific security plans. The festival has several security guidelines on its website.

"All patrons are subject to a full and complete search prior to entry," the FPSF site reads. "By purchasing a ticket, you agree to submit to a full body pat-down before entry. Persons that refuse to comply with the search policy will be refused entry into the event."

The Houston Office of Emergency Management, which focuses not on prevention but on disaster response efforts, referred specific questions to event venues and said it does not expect that the attack will have much impact on the office's work.

"What the City of Houston does is we continually prepare using an all hazards approach," said spokesman Mike Walter. "The presence of a terrorist attack in another part of the world doesn't necessarily change what we do but it does provide us information and best practices after the fact."

Chief Acevedo encouraged civilians to pitch in when attending concerts, looking out for unauthorized or empty vehicles, people who appear to be conducting surveillance and anyone wearing bulky clothes in hot weather.

"When you see something that doesn't look right, you know it," he said. "You know it in your gut."
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As the largest planet orbiting the sun, Jupiter has a profound effect on our solar system.

But until recently, scientists have known little about Jupiter's origins and structure. What they did know some might call boring - a gas planet that didn't vary much from pole to pole.

On Thursday, scientists unveiled the first in-depth science gathered by NASA's Juno mission, and it completely rewrites the Jupiter narrative. Turns out the planet is home to giant, swirling storms, has a magnetic field that's stronger than anyone imagined and a core scientists described as "fuzzy."

"We knew, going in, that Jupiter would throw us some curves," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "But now that we are here, we are finding that Jupiter can throw the heat, as well as knuckleballs and sliders. There is so much going on here that we didn't expect that we have had to take a step back and begin to rethink of this as a whole new Jupiter."

The Juno spacecraft was launched in 2011 and completed its first flyby of Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Since then, it's completed four more passes, traveling at mind-boggling speeds and passing just over the planet's clouds.

Each flyby, which occurs about every 53 days, reveals new insight, scientists said Thursday.

For example, Bolton described how images of Jupiter's previously unseen poles show a chaotic scene of bright oval features, very different from Saturn's polar regions.

A time-lapse of Juno images reveals that the ovals are cyclones, some of which reach diameters up to 1,400 kilometers across.

"The fact that there are a number of cyclones...it's not something we expected to see," Bolton said.

A separate analysis has revealed that close to the planet, the magnetic field greatly exceeded scientists' expectations. It has been measured at 7.766 Gauss, or roughly 10 times Earth's magnetic field.

"Juno is giving us a view of the magnetic field close to Jupiter that we've never had before," said Jack Connerney, Juno deputy principal investigator and the lead for the mission's magnetic field investigation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Already, we see that the magnetic field looks lumpy: it is stronger in some places and weaker in others. This uneven distribution suggests that the field might be generated by dynamo action closer to the surface, above the layer of metallic hydrogen. Every flyby we execute gets us closer to determining where and how Jupiter's dynamo works."

Not only is the Juno mission yielding a treasure trove of science, the solar-powered craft appears to be holding up well to the planet's radiation and after being pelted with specks of interplanetary dust traveling 10 times faster than a bullet.

"Juno is very healthy," said Heidi Becker of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. "Its suit of armor is working."

Scientists said Thursday that they can't wait to unlock even more Jovian mysteries - the next flyby is scheduled for July 11. By the time the mission wraps up in 2018, it will have completed at least 32 passes of Jupiter.
A Baytown police officer has been dismissed from the department and indicted for bribery after soliciting sexually explicit photos from a woman to whom he issued a citation, according to a news release from the Baytown Police Department.

The department was notified on March 28 about Michael Coppock allegedly asking for the photos from the woman in order to switch the citation to a warning, the news release stated. Police detectives presented evidence which on Thursday led to Coppock's indictment on bribery.
Summer isn't usually the best season for television. Traditionally, the networks have filled their schedules with reality shows and reruns, and that hasn't changed much this year. Fortunately, with the availability of streaming services and the cable, summer television has plenty to offer.

The highly anticipated penultimate season of Game of Thrones begins in July; the political drama House of Cards has never felt more relevant; and critically-acclaimed sci-fi thriller, Orphan Black, returns for its fifth and final season.
The father of a 31-year-old San Antonio man recently accused of sexually assaulting two of his minor relatives is himself a convicted sex offender who fled Bexar County after pleading guilty to sexual abuse charges.

Placido Garay, 68, a convicted sex offender who has been missing since March 2008, is the father of Anthony Garay, who was recently arrested on a charge of sexual assault after his minor relative was allegedly caught searching for pornography at school and told her teacher she was trying to learn about what Garay does to her at night.

Garay is accused of sexually assaulting two of his minor relatives, though he currently faces only one charge.

READ MORE: Affidavit: Girl caught searching porn at school was looking for what relative was doing to her

The accusations against him are strikingly similar to those against his father. Placido Garay pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault with a child in 2008 after he molested two of his minor relatives, who were about the same age as Anthony Garay's alleged victims at the time.

But Garay fled Bexar County just weeks before his 10-year sentence of deferred adjudication began.

"I trusted him with the most valuable parts of me," said Raquel Seeman, 41, a relative of the victims, "and it broke us."

Seeman says Garay's family members helped him cross the border into Mexico, where he has remained for over 9 years. She doesn't know his exact whereabouts, which makes it difficult for U.S. Marshals to extradite him back to the U.S. from Mexico, if that is indeed where he currently resides.

RELATED: Police: Men beat disabled man with crowbars for being a 'snitch,' threatened to kill him

In light of the new charges brought against Garay's son, Seeman believes his bond should be raised from $75,000 to something significantly higher, or for a judge to deny his bail, as he may represent a flight risk.

"If you let Anthony go, he'll go to Mexico so he and his dad can go molest girls over there," she said.

The Bexar County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether such information could affect Garay's bond amount.

"[My relatives] were probably the same age as those girls" at the time of the abuse, Seeman said. "My heart breaks for them."

RELATED: Firefighter injured in deadly Northwest Side fire has first surgery

The two victims are now in their 20s, and though they're making their way through adulthood, Seeman said the trauma caused by Garay is part of their daily struggle.

That struggle was especially difficult on Wednesday, Seeman said, as news about accusations of sexual assault against Garay's son, Anthony, reached the public.

"It seemed like were were back at square one," Seeman said through tears, adding one of her relatives will soon start seeing a counselor to help cope with the new revelations.

According to the arrest affidavit for Garay, Child Protective Services had previously investigated him for sexually abusing the same two relatives, though he apparently was not charged with any criminal activity as a result of the investigation.

A representative for CPS on Wednesday declined to comment on the investigation.
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A New Zealand man named Ben Kepes unwittingly found himself without his passport, wallet, and entire carry on bag at the San Francisco International Airport this week after a flight attendant mistakenly thought his luggage was left behind by a previous flier.

Kepes, who has been recounting the ordeal on Twitter, says his bag was underneath his Business Class seat while he was working on his laptop before a flight from Nashville to San Francisco when it was removed without his knowledge. As he writes, it wasn't until he was arriving at SFO that he noticed the bag was gone.

The flight attendant who made the error was, he says, visibly very upset about it to the point where she "felt terrible" and was "in tears."

"They didn't ask if it was my bag," Kepes told Stuff.co.nz. "This was a total screw up, but the individual who made the mistake felt bad and tried to help. It's what happens thereafter that is important."

Amazingly, things got worse from there. After Kepes arrived at his hotel (which, luckily he had booked ahead of time along with his airport shuttle), United attempted to send his carry on bag and all its important contents from where it was in Tennessee  to New Zealand.

He says that rather than being offered assistance in the days before he was due to board his international flight home Wednesday evening, he was repeatedly directed by United's customer service to fill out an online claim form for delayed baggage.

Kepes was able to speak to the right person in Nashville and get his bag sent back to San Francisco, but as he found out, it would take two flights to make it to California and he would have to somehow get himself back to the airport to get it, without his wallet.

"Expecting me to be happy to wait until I have to go down to the airport is... crazy," he told the New Zealand Herald.

Kepes' bag finally did arrive at SFO on Wednesday  which was surely a relief as it contained his passport  but the whole ordeal was, as he wrote, "abysmal."

"The luggage of a customer traveling from Nashville to San Francisco was mistakenly shipped to the wrong city," United Airlines spokesperson Jonathan Guerin said in a statement to SFGATE. "We located the customer's bag and rerouted it to San Francisco, where it arrived today at approximately 11:42 a.m. local time. We are in contact with our customer to apologize for our mistake and to coordinate the retrieval of his luggage."

The airline company has had to deal with a string of PR blows in recent months, beginning with the forcible removal of a doctor on a flight taking off from Chicago's O'Hare airport earlier this year. Just this week, the engine of a plane bound for San Francisco caught fire, injuring five people.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


U.S. House candidate Greg Gianforte has been cited for assaulting a reporter from the Guardian at the Republican's campaign headquarters in Bozeman.

Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault, according to the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.

In a recording of the incident, Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs said he was "body-slammed" by Gianforte and wanted to call police.

A Fox News TV crew in the room reported seeing Gianforte grab Jacobs by the neck and slam him to the ground.

The nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault, according to the office. He is scheduled to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court by June 7.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin told the press that Jacobs had been taken to the hospital and later released. The reporter was being interviewed by deputies three hours after the incident. Gootkin said that interview would take a couple hours.

Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, Gallatin County Sheriff's deputies responded to an incident at 212 Discovery Drive, Gootkin said.

The Guardian has released an audio recording of the incident. It's unclear if there is any additional audio or video of the incident.

The following is a transcript taken from the 45-second recording between Gianforte and Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs:

Jacobs: The (Congressional Budget Office) score, because you know you were waiting to make your decision about health care until you saw the bill and it just came out.

Gianforte: Well talk about that later.

Jacobs: Yeah but theres not going to be time. Im just curious about how youd react right now.

Gianforte: Speak with (Gianforte campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon), please.

Some garbled noises follow before Gianforte speaks again.

Gianforte: Im sick and tired of you guys, the last guy who came in here, you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here. The last guy did the same thing. You with the Guardian?

Jacobs: Yeah, you just broke my glasses.

Gianforte: The last guy did the same damn thing.

Jacobs: You just body slammed me and broke my glasses."

Gianforte: Get the hell out of here.

Jacobs: Youd like me to get the hell out of here, Id also like to call the police. Can I get your guys names? He just body slammed me.

Scanlon: "Youve got to leave.

In addition to Gianforte and Jacobs, four other people were in the room at the time of the incident, Gootkin said.

In a first-person account posted on its website, a Fox reporter says the three-person crew went to the Republican's campaign headquarters to interview him Wednesday.

Alicia Acuna wrote that they watched Gianforte in disbelief as he punched Jacobs after slamming him to the ground.

Jacobs had walked into the office and asked the candidate about the GOP's health care bill and persisted when Gianforte referred him to his spokesman.

After Jacobs left, Gianforte apologized to the Fox crew.

Shane Scanlon, spokesman with the Gianforte campaign, issued the following statement regarding the incident:

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."

Deputies briefly spoke with Gianforte after the incident. Gootkin said they would get back with him after interviewing other witnesses.

Effect at the polls
A Houston judge is under fire for a "snarky comment" in a highly-publicized murder-for-hire case that defense lawyers argue means the judge cannot be fair and impartial.

State District Judge Jim Wallace on Thursday denied a motion to recuse himself for a comment he made in the case against Leon Phillip Jacob.

Jacob, a 39-year-old failed doctor, was arrested earlier this year on a charge of solicitation of capital murder with prominent Montrose veterinarian Dr. Valerie Busick McDaniel, who killed herself March 27.

The couple were arrested after investigators say they paid an undercover police officer posing as a hitman to kill their exes. During the exchange, Jacob was already free on bail after being arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, so the judge refused to set bail in the new case.

The disputed comment came during a hearing in March on Jacob's request for bond. When defense attorney George Parnham argued that Jacob cared about the ex-girlfriend, the judge responded, "I mean, that's why you hire a hitman."

"Judge Wallace's comment was snide and in flagrant disregard to the defendant's fundamental protection of his presumed innocence," Jacob's attorney wrote in the motion for recusal filed last week. "It further reveals Judge Wallace's own personal prejudice towards this case."

Parnham also called the retort a "snarky comment."

In a closed hearing in the judge's quarters Thursday, Wallace denied the motion.

Parnham said he will appeal the ruling to the region's administrative judge, Olen Underwood.

Jacob remains in the Harris County jail without bail. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison.

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers
On Thursday the Houston Zoos newest expansion to its popular McNair Asian Elephant Habitat was unveiled to the media for the first time, just a day before its public debut.

Two bull elephants, Tucker and Baylor, got the run of the place in front of assembled media, inspecting their new digs. The expansion was a year in the works.
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Rep. Al Green recently appeared on C-SPAN to discuss the events that pushed him into the national spotlight.

Last week, Green became the first member of congress to officially ask for the impeachment of Donald Trump on the House floor.

The Houston-area representative made his case the day after news broke alleging Trump of asking now-fired FBI director James Comey to end the bureau's investigation into Michael Flynn.

"This is not something I wanted to do," Green told C-SPAN's Washington Journal host Pedro Echevarria. "It is something I feel compelled to do. I feel that I must do this because the president has obstructed justice."

TRUMP TO RUSSIANS: Firing 'nut job' Comey eased pressure from investigation

Green pointed to Trump's threatening tweet to Comey as evidence of obstruction of justice as well as what he described as the president's "confession" in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt.

Echevarria then asked Green about the reaction from fellow Democrats, who some criticized calls for impeachment as too early or premature.

"I don't square with Democrats because this is not about Democrats," Green said. "This is about democracy ... I'm a voice in the wilderness and I understand I may stand alone, but I still stand because the president has obstructed justice."

THREATENING RECORDINGS: Racial slurs thrown at Al Green after calling for impeachment

As for the racist phone calls Green received in response for his plans for impeachment, the lawmaker said he signed up for a job and that "this will in no way thwart our efforts to move forward," but lamented the fact that his staffers  some still in high school  had to "tolerate the ugliness."

Green also admitted that he is already drafting the articles of impeachment and asked for the country to weigh in and help.

SMALL WALL: Trump's budget request would build fragments of barrier

"This is a participatory democracy," Green said. "People have to participate not only on Election Day but on other occasions when democracy is at risk."

Click through above to see things to know about Rep. Al Green.
AUSTIN -- Reforms to the state's controversial A-F performance ratings for public schools were approved early Thursday by the Texas Senate, after tedious debate that ran long after a midnight procedural deadline.

As approved 29-2, House Bill 22 restructures campus and school district performance metrics by reducing the current five categories to four: student achievement, school performance, school climate and societal and demographic factors.

"These changes will improve this system," said Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor, a Friendswood Republican who is sponsor of the bill in the upper chamber. "The point of this system is to have a true measure for our teachers, our districts, for our parents, and for the community to know how their schools are doing."

He said the student achievement domain, which evaluates performance on assessments and on high school grades, will "incorporate graduation rates and other measures of post-secondary readiness."

School performance will measure improvement on students' state assessment tests and compare school performance with comparable schools, Taylor said. School climate includes self-evaluation by schools along with how well students fare on their curricular programs.

Taylor also said the new metrics will on students continuously enrolled in a school to ensure the data truly reflects the school's performance, so improvements and achievement goals can be realistically set and monitored.

Taylor amended the bill to address rules for the disposition process for failed charter schools, to implement new rules for teaching special-education students and to ensure that the revised metrics are evenly applied across the state.

The performance measurements for schools have been controversial, attracting complaints from school administrators and parents that the A-F ratings are an unfair label that can hurt schools and even their communities.

In the Senate-revised bill, Taylor said he made concessions to address concerns, but refused to delay the start of the rating system or limit how much of the ratings depend on standardized test results.

Because the bill was amended, it now goes back to the House for a final review and approval.

Seeking to make school performance more transparent for parents and taxpayers, lawmakers two years ago approved an A-F grade system for rating school districts and schools. The system is to go into effect next year.

While the Senate had been slated to stop voting on House bills at midnight Wednesday, senators suspended their rules and continued on until the wee hours.

The Senate was supposed to vote on bills before midnight Wednesday, but members suspended the rules and continued voting on legislation well after the deadline. The legislative session comes to a close Monday. The bill now goes back to the House, which will decide whether to approve the Senate's changes.
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In Alabama, a woman and her daughter have a bit of an opossum problem and it involves the mother's underwear drawer.

Judy McLaney had just undergone rotator cuff surgery and asked her daughter, Brittany, to get some clothes out of her dresser.

"When I reached in her panty drawer, there was this thing staring at me," Brittany told The Andalusia Star-News. "I could see beady eyes. So, I eased the drawer closed."

POLITICS AND ANIMALS: Border wall would block animals as well as immigrants

Judy told her daughter to get their neighbor for assistance, but unfortunately, the neighbor was sick and couldn't help. So Brittany did some problem-solving of her own.

She told The Andalusia Star-News she used "an old person grabber device", which I had to look up, and released the animal in the woods.

But the opossum story doesn't end there.

Judy posted on Facebook later that week that they had caught a third opossum.

"At 3 a.m., my mom scooped the third opossum up in some panties and released it into the woods," Brittany said.

After getting feedback they discovered that the opossums were coming in from under the house and through a trap door and headed for the panty drawer.
Being a Florida cop seems to be rather stressful at times what with all the "Florida Man" stories but sometimes it offers up some lighter moments.

OOPS: Florida man mistakes 66-year-old tourist for car thief, shoves his head into door

This week the Cape Coral Police Department shared a funny video of some of its officers apprehending a goat, known locally as Chill Bill, that was roaming along an area road.

It could have been potentially dangerous for the goat meandering in traffic so officers loaded him into police cruiser so they could relocate him.

"He's shaking," one of the officers says in the video. "He's probably never been in the back of a police car before."

RELATED: Love bite? Snake bites Florida man who tries to kiss it

He did appear to resist officers at one point but soothing words from an officer calmed him down. The goat was later handed over, literally, to area animal control for processing.

There was no word on bond or if any charges would be filed on the goat for impairing traffic.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
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Hyderabad, May 25 (IANS) Actor Manchu Manoj will give 10 per cent of each films earnings to the Save the Farmers initiative to provide relief to Indian farmers. He has started Manoj Kumar's Unity' in order to collect funds for the development of farmers in India.The foundation launched the initiative 'Save the Rears'. This is the primary goal of farmers to donate more people to their annual salary day. He has nominated five individuals for his initiative. They are politician K.T.R. (Calcutta Taraka Rama Rao of Telangana Rashtra Samithi), film producer SS Rajamouli, actors Rana Daggibati and Sai Dharam Tej and businessman GV Vasanthi. Keshav



Manchu, known for Telugu films like "Bindaas" and "Jhummandi Naadam", said in a statement: "The farmers in India are the ones feeding us. It is our duty and responsibility to feed them". "I know that farmers won't accept any donations or giving money won't suffice. Money raised will be used for the welfare and betterment of farmers. The money will be used to create a robust system for farmers for soil testing and to sell the crop at a better price in the market". "These families will have good living standards for families, proper education for children, restoration of water resources and providing agricultural equipment.
Six people queued Thursday morning in front of the MetraPark Pavilion, waiting to cast their vote in Montanas special election. The scene stood in stark contrast to the long lines at the same polling station last November.

I got up early this morning because I was here for the November election. I also wanted to be the first person to vote then, said Sarah Whittle, who was the first voter in line Thursday morning.

Whittle said she was surprised and disappointed in Thursday's early low turnout at MetraPark.

She studied journalism and communications at the University of Wyoming. She said shes concerned with the increasingly violent rhetoric directed at the news media and sees its extension in the alleged assault Gianforte committed on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs Wednesday during a barbecue at Gianfortes campaign headquarters.

The violent confrontation and Gianforte's subsequent misdemeanor assault charge became a trending topic on Twitter, prompting a 137,000 percent increase in searches for body slam on the Merriam Webster dictionary website and resulted in a barrage of cable news and national newspaper headlines. Its unclear how much effect the incident will have on the elections outcome.

At the Missoula County Fairgrounds Thursday morning, Tim Sayles voted for Gianforte, although he said the candidate's actions Wednesday disgusted him.

"He should have controlled himself," Sayles said.

But it didn't change how he felt about Quist as an alternative.

"Why did the Democratic Party pick Rob Quist?" Sayles said.

Sayles was a Trump supporter and had hoped to see a change in Washington under the president's leadership. He isn't sure he sees that happening. But he sees Quist as inexperienced compared to Gianforte.

Even as a Gianforte supporter, any move on the candidate's part to limit freedom of the press would be met with strong resistance from Sayles.

"It's unfortunate this country can't have candidates to rally around," Sayles said.

Marielle Gallaghers vote in Missoula also wasnt influenced by Gianforte being cited for assault.

"I don't think it really affected my voting choice, but I can see why it would affect a lot of people who might have been looking to vote a certain way," said Gallagher.

She said that "on a cynical level" she didn't find the news of Gianforte's alleged misdemeanor assault on a reporter surprising.

"I suppose I suffer from the same confirmation bias where whenever I hear something negative about a side I'm not a part of I go 'Of course that's what happened' so I'm surprised, disappointed and interested to see how it affects the outcome though," she said.

Erik Myhre in Missoula also said he wasn't surprised by the news.

"It didn't change the way I was thinking about voting," he said.

Kelly Benson, a Billings Clinic nurse, cast his vote after finishing a 12-hour shift. Benson said he saw the news of the dust-up break on cable TV overnight, but the assault charge didnt keep him from voting for Gianforte.

I felt he could have handled it differently but Im not running for election and I dont have people constantly in my face either, Benson said.

He said not all reporters are bad but there are reporters with bad behavior and the national press in particular showed some bias while covering the special election.

Mike Salmans, a Billings resident who's lived in Montana for almost two years, was at the Metra Thursday afternoon. He said the news Wednesday night of the fracas between Gianforte and Jacobs left him feeling dispirited.

"For the first time in my adult life I considered not voting," he said.

But when he woke up Thursday morning, it was his day off and he decided he needed to head down to his polling place.

"This is the only way I have a say," he said. "This is my chance to be part of the process."

He declined to say how he voted, but noted that Gianforte's alleged assault was a one-time incident. Quist's issues with debt and taxes showed a pattern of behavior, he said.

Cindi Gilles was at the Metra Thursday during the lunch hour. She had voted earlier at the courthouse but came to accompany friends as they voted.

Speaking of Wednesday night's news, she said, "It made me absolutely certain I voted for the right person. Violence has no place in public service."

Her friend Amanda Michael voted at the Metra and said she apologetically voted for Quist.

Wednesday night's news "definitely reinforced my decision," she said.

Bret Rutherford, Yellowstone County election administrator, said by press time Thursday night Yellowstone County reported 49,504 returned absentee ballots. Thats more than half of the 98,000 registered voters in the county.

Rutherford said people on the roll who dont vote are usually cleared, but regulations require the county to keep registrations intact 100 days before or after a federal election. Otherwise, only about 88,000 voters would be currently registered in Yellowstone County.

People who had already voted could not change their vote, but if a ballot was marked and not turned in, voters could file a provisional ballot at the polling station. These ballots are then counted statewide at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to ensure that no votes are counted twice.

Rutherford said provisional ballots usually account for just a few hundred of the total votes in typical elections in Yellowstone County. Though they usually dont have a large influence on the outcome, the votes are always counted, even in the event of a landslide.
One of at least 10 people apparently sickened by nacho-cheese dip sold at a California gas station has died, health officials said Monday.

The San Francisco County coroners office identified the victim as Martin Galindo-Larios Jr., 37. An online fundraising page that claimed to have been set up by his family said he was married and the father of two small children.

Authorities declined to release other information on his death, including when it occurred. Family members did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

California health officials say the illnesses appear caused by botulism carried in nacho-cheese dip sold at a gas station in the Sacramento suburb of Walnut Grove.

In a statement, the California Department of Public Health said the container and cheese dip were removed May 5, and authorities believe the contamination poses no further risk to the public.

Botulism, a kind of food poisoning, can lead to paralysis, breathing difficulty and sometimes death.

Authorities said Friday that all 10 people sickened were hospitalized. Spokesmen with the state health agency said they had no immediate updates on the conditions of the nine surviving victims.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AKRON, Ohio -- To serve the refugee community in Akron's North Hill, AxessPointe Community Health Centers will provide a weekly healthcare clinic at the Exchange House.

The Exchange House, created by the Better Block Foundation, serves as a community center for the large refugee population, predominantly Bhutanese, which travels mostly on foot and has a large number of children and senior citizens.

"We are trying our hardest to get a facility open in their area," said AxessPointe spokeswoman Stephanie Berry in an email. "For the meantime, our best option was the partnership with the Exchange House."

North Hill Community Meeting

May 31 from 10-11 a.m.

Exchange House, 760 Elma St.

Under the federal refugee resettlement program, refugees get short-term health insurance for up to eight months. Some refugees are also eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program for several years.

Beginning June 6, AxessPointe's clinic will be open every Tuesday from 1-5 p.m. at the Exchange House at 760 Elma St. offering:

immunizations, blood testing and basic health screenings

access to primary care providers at AxessPointe's

services for those with no health insurance

Nepali-speaking community health workers to interpret and provide case management and home health services

The clinic also plans to host workshops at the Exchange House to educate refugee patients on nutrition and preventive care for diabetes, hypertension, oral health, heart disease and other health issues.

"We have been doing our best to learn what the refugees' barriers to healthcare are and how we can address those barriers, along with listening to what their needs are and what services they would like to see provided," Berry said.

AxessPointe also offers behavioral health, case management, dental care, insurance enrollment, pharmacy, prenatal education and support, and specialty medical care.

A North Hill Community Meeting to discuss the new clinic is scheduled for May 31 from 10-11 a.m. at the Exchange House. Residents are encouraged to attend.

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.

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Stanley Ford appears in court by video during his second appearance in Akron Municipal Court.

AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron Municipal Court judge imposed a $7 million bond on the man charged with setting fire to his neighbors' home resulting in the death of seven people, including five children.

The move came a day after Judge Ann Marie O'Brien ordered Stanley Ford held without bond. Ford's attorney Joseph Gorman requested at least some bond for his client whom he described as a family man who has lived in the community for 49 years.

"He's married with two young children your honor," Gorman said. "It may not be attainable by him judge but I believe that given the fact that these are allegations at this time, he has not been convicted of anything, I think it's important to keep in mind that he's entitled to have a bond set."

The judge complied with Gorman's request and set a $1 million bond for each of the victims.

Gorman also said media went to Summit County Jail to speak with Ford. He asked that the court prevent the media from having access to Ford because he doesn't know what kinds of question the media is asking. O'Brien granted the request.

Ford is scheduled for a pretrial hearing June 9.

Ford is charged with seven counts of aggravated murdered and a single count of aggravated arson. Prosecutors have not determined if they will seek the death penalty in the case.

Authorities have not offered a motive in the fire that killed Dennis Huggins, Angela Boggs and five children.

Investigators raided Ford's home just days after the May 15 fire. It is tied as the deadliest blaze in Akron's history.

Officials won't comment on evidence found from the fire and Ford's home or if an accelerant was used to spread the blaze.

Investigators who searched the home were seen carrying gas containers out of Ford's home.

Jered Boggs, 14; Daisia Huggins, 6; Kylle Huggins, 5; Alivia Huggins, 3; and Cameron Huggins, 1 died in the fire. Their 38-year-old mother and her 35-year-old boyfriend also died. All seven victims died of smoke inhalation, the medical examiner's office said.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Thursday's crime and courts comments section.

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
AKRON, Ohio -- Family & Community Services Inc. announced a partnership with Summit County Job and Family Services to provide housing assistance to veterans in Summit County.

The Summit County Veteran Family Services program will provide services to veteran families with children who are at risk of becoming homeless.

Through the Summit County Job and Family Services Prevention, Retention and Contingency Program, Family & Community Services is able to help families overcome immediate barriers to achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency.

Services include:

Rapid re-housing services

Homeless prevention services

Case management

Temporary financial assistance

Landlord mediation

Income support services

Budgeting resources

Healthcare referrals

Referrals to local resources

Family & Community Services assisted more than 100,000 people in 2016 by providing food for the hungry, clothes for those in need, shelter for the homeless, counseling for individuals and families and guidance for local youth.

Family & Community Services is one of the largest social service agencies in Northeast Ohio and has spent the past 75 years helping individuals of all ages. The agency covers 21 counties and has more than 71 programs, including the Center of Hope, Kent Social Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the County Clothing Center.

Summit County Job and Family Services exists to serve the people of Summit County by providing social and career-development services to better the lives of those in the community.

The department's Prevention, Retention and Contingency Program provides short-term assistance to working families who may be experiencing urgent financial crises that could result in an interruption to gainful employment.

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
Fleeing & eluding, West Bagley Road: Police hope to identify and arrest the driver of a dark-colored Ford Explorer who led police on a high-speed chase at about 3:30 a.m. May 23.

Initially, the Explorer was moving at about 40 mph on eastbound West Bagley near Poertner Drive, a 25-mph zone. The vehicle was also weaving and braking.

When police tried to pull over the vehicle, it sped away, traveling at more than 75 mph on Bagley. The Explorer ran a red light at Engle Road, then turned onto Interstate 71 northbound. The vehicle accelerated to more than 100 mph, flying past Interstate 480.

On 71, police became stuck behind two drivers, occupying both lanes, who didn't yield to officers, despite the cruiser's flashing lights and blaring siren. Police ended the chase for safety purposes near 71's West 150th Street exit and notified Cleveland police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Attempted theft of motor vehicle, Lee Road: Someone tried to steal a sport-utility vehicle from a driveway at about 3 a.m. May 23.

The vehicle was left partially in the road near the driveway. Its rear tires were on the tree lawn and its engine was running. The SUV was in neutral and a key was in the ignition. Several items from the glove compartment, which was open, were strewn across the floor.

The victim said she had awoken to the sound of someone twice trying to start a vehicle. Then she heard a door slam and two people running. The victim said she didn't look outside because she was tired, and it wasn't unusual to hear people starting cars and parking in the street.

The victim said she had left the SUV unlocked. When told that a key was in the ignition, she said the dealership that sold her the vehicle had left a key in the glove compartment. However, the key, although it fit in the ignition, did not belong to the SUV and would not start the engine.

Arson, Front Street: A Cleveland boy, 14, faces criminal charges after he allegedly lit a Dumpster on fire outside Brennan Electric, 439 Front.

The fire was reported at about 1:45 p.m. May 20. Firefighters extinguished the fire. A witness saw three boys hanging around the Dumpster before the fire started. The boys then ran to a house on Front.

A woman living in the Front house said a Cleveland boy, later identified as the 14-year-old, was visiting her and her two young sons that weekend. She told police she was missing a lighter.

The three boys returned to the house while police interviewed the woman. They initially denied involvement in the fire, but the 14-year-old eventually admitted lighting a piece of cardboard on fire and tossing it into the Dumpster. He said he was "only playing."

Improper handling of firearm, Ohio 237: A Berea man, 21, was arrested at about 2 a.m. May 16 after police found a handgun in his Dodge Charger, two bullets in his shirt pocket and a marijuana cigarette in his sock.

Police stopped the Charger on 237 after checking the license-plate number and learning that a warrant had been issued for the car owner's arrest. Officers saw the handgun in a pouch attached to the rear of the passenger seat.

Heroin possession, West Bagley Road: A Vermilion man and daughter, 45 and 23, were arrested at about 8 p.m. May 19 after police found heroin and drug paraphernalia in their Chevrolet Impala.

Police had stopped the car because it was noisy, due to a damaged and low-hanging muffler. Also, the car's tires were almost completely bald, and metal wires on the vehicle were exposed.

Marijuana possession, Beeler Drive: A North Olmsted boy, 15, faces misdemeanor charges after police found a pipe containing marijuana in his backpack.

Someone called police at about 3:25 p.m. May 24 after the seeing the boy, with two 17-year-old Berea girls, smoking marijuana while walking on Beeler toward Race Street.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Prospect Street: Two Berea men, both 29, were arrested at about 1 a.m. May 24 after police saw their car straddling two westbound lanes of West Bridge Street near Prospect.

Police stopped the car in the parking lot of True North Shell on Prospect. They smelled alcohol and marijuana in the vehicle. When asked about the odor, the passenger handed over a plastic baggie containing marijuana.

Officers then learned that the driver's license had been suspended and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. The passenger was wanted in Orange. Police found marijuana candy and a half-empty bottle of cognac in the car's glove compartment.

Fraud, North Rocky River Drive: A scammer posing as an electric-utility worker stole $1,500 from the owner of a Sunoco station on North Rocky River.

It happened May 22. A woman claiming she worked for the "electric department" called the Sunoco owner and said he was past due on a bill. She said if he didn't pay $1,500 immediately, the electric department would turn off his electricity.

The woman instructed the owner to pay the bill by purchasing money cards. The owner bought three Moneypak cards - two at Rite Aid, one at Walgreens - and read the money-card numbers to the woman over the phone.

Marijuana possession, Sprague Road: A Euclid man, 26, was arrested at about 10:15 p.m. May 22 after police randomly checked the license-plate number of his Jeep and learned the plate was registered to an Oldsmobile - and that the Oldsmobile's owner was wanted in Euclid.

Police stopped the Jeep on Sprague near Convenient Food Mart. The man said he had recently purchased the Jeep and had moved the plates from his former vehicle, the Oldsmobile.

Officers smelled marijuana in the Jeep. The man admitted having a small baggie of marijuana under the driver's seat.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Lindberg Drive: A Parma man, 49, was arrested at about 2:30 a.m. May 21 after police saw his Jeep Wrangler drift left of center. The Jeep also abruptly changed lanes. The man reeked of alcohol.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.

Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Northeast Ohio isn't producing enough qualified workers to fill openings for good-paying jobs that require more than a high school diploma, but often less than a bachelor's degree, according to a recent report.

"Aligning Opportunities in Northeast Ohio," which was funded by the Cleveland Foundation and done by Team Northeast Ohio, an economic development organization, says that by 2020 65 percent of in-demand jobs in Ohio will require a post-secondary credential. Examples of such credentials include a certificate in web design and development, an associate's degree in nursing or a bachelor's degree in engineering.

However, there is a mismatch between the educational attainment level of Northeast Ohio residents and the training employers require. The report says that 46 percent of residents 25 and older have no post-secondary education. Another 33 percent have a post-secondary credential, but not necessarily in an in-demand field. Another 21 percent of residents have some college, but no degree.

The report only considered jobs with "family sustaining wages". For example, a Cuyahoga County resident would have to make at least $22.20 an hour to support a family of four, the report said. The report defines Northeast Ohio as the 18 counties Team NEO serves. They include the Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and Canton metro areas.

The mismatch between job openings and worker qualifications is even greater when the most in-demand fields are considered, said Jacob Duritsky, Team NEO's vice president of strategy and research.

"If you look at three categories: IT (information technology), manufacturing and health care, there is acute misalignment between the types of needs employers have and the degrees being conferred," said Duritsky, whose analysis included Census and Labor Department data.

The following examples show the misalignment in Northeast Ohio's labor market by comparing job openings for in-demand occupations and professions in 2015 with the post-secondary credentials, ranging from certificates to graduate degrees, awarded in 2014:

There was demand for 16,638 computer and IT workers, but only 5,995 credentials were awarded.

There was demand for 4,497 installation, maintenance and repair workers, but only 1,764 credentials were awarded.

There was demand for 20,122 health diagnosing and treating practitioners - a category that includes most health professions, ranging from doctors to registered nurses to physical therapists - but only 11,273 credentials were awarded.

There was demand for 5,538 skilled production workers - a category that includes repair technicians and workers with advanced manufacturing skills - but only 3,112 credentials awarded.

It may surprise many that manufacturing was included among the in-demand fields, said Michael Stanton, Team NEO's regional talent manager.

"The story that has been reported for 15 or 20 years now is that manufacturing is dying in Northeast Ohio," he said. "To some degree, when you look at the employment perspective on that, it's true. We lost a couple hundred thousand jobs in manufacturing since the 2001 recession.

"(However,) another report we did showed that over the next decade Northeast Ohio will need 50,000 new production workers," Stanton said, adding that many of the job openings will be to replace retiring workers.

The recent report updates a similar 2014 report the Cleveland Foundation paid FutureWorks, a New England-based company, to do. Shilpa Kedar, program director for economic development at the Cleveland Foundation, said updating the report was essential because the document was designed to spur businesses and educational institutions into action.

"This is the 30,000-foot view that shows this is a problem," she said of the report's findings about the demand and supply imbalance. "But it gives people the ammunition to go and actually do something about it."

Kedar said the initial report got many in the education and business communities thinking about solutions to the shortage of credentialed workers. Some were motivated to begin or revise programs aimed at training or re-training workers. She said the Early College Early Career program, spearheaded by MAGNET, or the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, is an example.

In the program, companies hire high school students to work one or two days a week.

"When the student graduates from high school, the companies will decide whether to extend a job offer, which may include full- or part-time employment, as the student continues toward a technical, two-year or four-year degree," states MAGNET's website.

Bill Koehler, chief executive officer of Team NEO, said his organization wants to help facilitate regional solutions aimed at bringing workers' skills and employers' needs into alignment. He said galvanizing employers and academic institutions for this mission is important. So is making sure the programs created or revamped complement, but not duplicate, each other.

"We have been thinking about how to play a value-added role in the workforce space," Koehler said of Team NEO. "Our observation -- and I think that the Cleveland Foundation would say the same thing -- is that there is a lot of really good work going on, but yet it is very fragmented.

"So, how do you bring a lot of the right strategic capabilities to the table as a community in a way that is helpful, efficient and impactful?" he said. "What we found is that a common dataset (the report) that helps create a common way of thinking about a problem is foundational to that effort."

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Nine years after passage of a state law that aimed to drive down customer electric bills and usher in an era of energy efficiency and green energy, a lone state lawmaker is trying to stop what has become a state-approved escalator of rising power bills.

State Rep. Mark Romanchuk, a Republican from Ontario, near Mansfield, on Wednesday introduced legislation that could turn the electric utility industry in Ohio on its head.

The bill has the backing of a coalition of customer groups, including the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, AARP Ohio, the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Ohio Manufacturers' Association.

The proposal, House Bill 247, would:

Eliminate Ohio's so-called "Electric Security Plans" or ESPs, rate plans which are usually overly complicated and debated for months or even years before approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The ESP option was included in Senate Bill 221, approved by a near unanimous vote in 2008. Its inclusion in the bill was overshadowed by intense debates over requiring power companies to start offering green energy

Romanchuk would require the traditional utilities, such as FirstEnergy, to base customer power prices solely on wholesale power prices. This "Market Rate Option" was created along side the ESP in SB 221. FirstEnergy tried it once, in 2008, but the PUCO rejected it as not meeting the letter of the law. The company then filed an ESP, which the PUCO re-wrote to slash proposed rate increases.

Determine delivery rates in distribution rate cases before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, open to more focused scrutiny and challenge. Under the 2008 legislation, the PUCO's use of the ESP has included a practice in which utilities pancake "riders" on top of base delivery rates, pushing the rates higher than power prices -- and helping the companies grow their revenues. FirstEnergy has about 30 rate "riders," though not all are active at any one time. A return to distribution rate case could end riders and simplify rates.

"These non-bypassable riders have not worked out very well for customers," said Romanchuk in an interview. "That's another reason to get rid of the ESPs because the ESP is the mechanism that allows the utilities to add, in my view, these unjust riders."

Require Ohio's utilities to get out of the power plant business. Romanchuk thinks the utilities should sell all of their power plants, as Duke Energy Ohio has already done, and concentrate on power delivery and energy efficiency services. Unlike many other states which required this complete separation when they adopted deregulation, Ohio has permitted the traditional utilities to move the ownership of the power plants to wholly owned subsidiaries.

"There is too much cross subsidization going on," Romanchuk said. "That needs to end. Texas has done it. If you are in the distribution and transmission business, you are not in generation. That's not good for the market."

Cross subsidization is precisely what FirstEnergy has tried to do in a very public way since 2014, first with proposed power purchase agreements between its power plant company and its delivery companies, Ohio Edison, the Illuminating Co. and Toledo Edison. The PUCO eventually approved the extraordinary PPAs, but federal regulators stepped in, saying the deal was something it should review because of its impact on interstate competitive markets.

Then last fall, FirstEnergy convinced the PUCO to approve a three-year "rider" on delivery rates that supposedly was to go to modernization of the local delivery system but could be used for whatever the company thought best. Now FirstEnergy is asking lawmakers to approve a special subsidy for its nuclear power plants, again with a rider on delivery rates. Opponents are ready to file federal lawsuits as they have in Illinois and New York where nuclear subsidies were first adopted.

Mandate that utilities must reimburse customers (with money not credit) when they have been found to have overcharged them. Romanchuk said he was surprised to learn that there is not amechanism in the law to require the utilities to just reimburse customers when it has been determined they have over-charged them.

Ohio Consumers' Counsel Bruce Weston, in a prepared statement called the bill "a major step toward consumer protection." Weston has been critical of the ESP provisions in the 2008 law for some time.

"Lower electric prices in the competitive market should translate to lower electric bills for Ohio families and businesses," Weston said, adding that Ohio consumers are paying higher electric rates than consumers in 33 other states.

Erik Burkland, president of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association, said the legislation, if approved, would "help protect manufacturers from unwarranted, anti-competitive, above-market charges."
Like many other creatives who came west at the start of the new millennium, Howard Wulkan saw Albuquerque and its surrounding environment as a perfect solution to a life fraught with the stresses and dangers of living in the big city. Interminable schedules, work that was often expensive to undertake and usually thankless, combined with the crush of a recording industry hell-bent on describing itself by the number of parties or the amount of drugs one could tolerate unnerved the longtime artist and recording engineer.

So Howard made the same choice that others have made. He abandoned the bright lights and a city founded upon principles that no longer spoke to him or his art. He came to Albuquerque and began again.

The result of that re-examination, of that re-booting of ones creative agency is Cinder Cone Media World Wide, a spiritually- conscious, globally-aware creative center in the middle of the Duke City.

Wulkan began his mission in Albuquerque by reaching out to some of this towns most notableand recordable musicianscrafting studio and recording experiences that speak to the depth of his artistic concerns while also raising the stakes for the local music community. Wulkan brings his formidable knowledge and practices into the studio to shape honest, affirmative and highly listenable documents that reflect the beauty and depth of the music found in these parts.

Weekly Alibi chatted with Wulkan over lunch, touching on his belief that music is not only a healing force, but one which, when properly applied, can lift the idea of sustainability out of rareified discussions and into actionable reality.

Weekly Alibi: What are you currently working on, Howard?

Im the creative director and producer behind a project called Music to Heal the Earth. Its a music collection that Im curating. I am also contributing to the project as a composer and producer. A film by Elizabeth Galen Baker, called We Know Not What We Do, inspired the project. Its an award-winning documentary about whats happening to the Earth and why that needs to stop.

What needs to stop?

Everything from fracking to the development of more oil pipelines, to the continued destruction of the natural environment for short-term or consumer-related needs.

That sounds like a rather important message. How is that message affected by the fact that our current government is in denial about climate change?

Its scary, I feel like theyre pulling us back toward the 50s. Theres really not a way back to gas and oil, theyre finite resources.

Well, given the fact that the Trump administration wants to roll back many environmental protections, how can your project get the message out?

Were in the early stages of development right now. Im reaching out to artists all over the world from here in Albuquerque. Regardless of genre  these are people that are high-vibrationalfor lack of a better termand have had careers in the music business, at all levels. We share common ground. I plan to work with a lot of local artists, as this is a point of origin for a lot of sustainability issues. Right now, for the next month or two, its about gathering content. The content gives us a platform  and its not just the energetic content of the music, its the words and ideas that these artists want to share with us in interviews and other formats that are an intrinsic part of the project.

So is this project going to be presented as a series of live concerts and recordings? What shape will it ultimately take?

The recording will be available digitally in a multiple CD set as well as on vinyl at the end of the year. I have a couple of partners coming on board, but the collection itself will consist of a wide range of musicians like Peter Jarvis, who has worked with Wes Andersen. Klaus Flouride [of the Dead Kennedys] has given me two songs to work with, theyre both bombastic instrumentals.

What else are you going to do to get the message out?

Therell be performances of course. Also, extensive liner notes, artist bios, contact information about the groups weve enlisted for support as part of the final product. The packaging for the project will be 100 percent bio-degradable and environmentally friendly.

What sort of local support have you gotten for the project?

Ive had the studio here in Burque for about five years and have been working with bands like Wild Humans and Still Closed for Repairs, a blues outfit. These artists are interested in spreading the word about sustainability. James Whiton, one of this towns best bassists, is helping out with the projecthes doing a collaboration with Eraldo Bernocchi, an Italian ambient and dark metal artist, for the project.

It sounds like you have a real connection to the music community and the issues that are affecting this Earth and its environment. How does that make you feel about the future?

I feel hopeful. I feel that music can and will be a force that can change things for the better. Being able to undertake this project in a place like Albuquerque makes it seem much more heavy, yet more attainable.
Bryan Paulson likes to dig in to a topic.

Hes maxed out his French classes at Skyview High. He learned an extra half-years worth of content in an accounting class. In paleontology, the field he actually plans to make a career of, hes sought out real-world field work.

He said, You know, I might get my CPA someday just for fun, said Skyview business teacher Molly Barta. I go, Well, Ive never heard somebody say that.

Paulson is one of the smartest students graduating from Skyview this year. His intrinsic motivation is off the charts, teachers say, and he asks unusual questions for a high school kid.

How to say this? said biology teacher Jeff Kinman. He did well, academically, grade-wise, but it was apparent he had a lot left in the tank  He was the kid who was always asking bigger questions.

Kinman, who taught Paulson during his sophomore year in an honors biology class, saw a student with near-limitless potential.

Paulson hasnt always seen it that way. When those bigger questions became reflective, examining himself, for the longest time I kind of internalized and repressed all that.

In January 2016, Paulson tried to kill himself, swallowing hundreds of pills.

I had been going through a major spiral of depression, which wasnt exactly new to me, he said, tracing depression back to age 12. I looked at myself (in the mirror) and said, 'I think Im going to kill myself tonight.' That was all it took.  It was like a weight lifted off of me.

He recalls blacking out around midnight, and waking up in the hospital. He spent time in the psychiatric center before returning to school.

It wasnt the first time hed had suicidal thoughts, though he described earlier experiences as more theoretical.

As a second grader, it was just over my head, he said. And just as often, hed been on the other side of the equation.

I had stayed up all night with friends, talking them down from it  Ive woken up for more days than I care to admit, wondering if I still had a friend, he said.

Paulson missed a significant chunk of school, and dropped a pair of classes to better manage catching up. Hes lived with different family members, in different housing settings, some more permanent than others.

I figured a lot of stuff out over the years, he said. More than anything, (I) understood myself a little bit better and those around me.

Sometimes it's difficult for educators to spot signs of trouble for students who excel in the classroom.

There are a lot of kids out there that struggle and we dont even know that they are struggling, said Marilyn Anderson, Paulson's guidance counselor at Skyview.

Coming back to school is about much more than healing physically.

He works on it every day," Anderson said. "He really has to dig deep and work and work every day on his mental health. Hes very positive right now.

Paleontology

Paulson, who plans to attend Montana State University, wanted to get a taste of the real thing when he was considering paleontology as a career path, so he sought out some field work. His first task: sift through hundreds of pieces of bone and find ones that fit together. He compared it to a 3-D jigsaw puzzle, with no picture on the box and a couple of hundred pieces missing.

Once you find the two parts that actually fit together, they lock together, he said. Watching it grow and become an actual specimen is fascinating.

Hes had a harder time pinning down why his initial interest in paleontology grew.

Everyone starts off with this bizarre fascination with the world of dinosaurs. (In) some people, this interest just sort of sticks, he said. But he liked the field's uncertainty.

No one knows for sure what is right and what is wrong. All you have is bones to go off," he said. "To me thats a far more exciting field.

Kinman didnt know that Paulson had settled, at least for now, on a career path.

That doesnt surprise me, honestly, he said. Paleontology is one of those things that requires you to pull a lot of different things from a lot of different directions.

Barta suggested, as did Paulson, that he would flourish as a university professor. Both used the phrase professional student.

This year Barta persuaded him to participate in Business Professionals of America competitions. He took sixth on accounting tests and 15th on finance tests  in the nation.

Hes very driven and very bright. He likes to learn everything, he wants to learn it all, Barta said. (He could) go audit every class he ever wanted.

Perhaps he could brush up on his French, though hes already conversant.

I dont think Im going to carry on with it in any sort of college career, but I find it enjoyable, he said. Who knows  maybe itll pay off sometime.
Montana State University Billings could leave hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table by failing to reach its performance funding goals for the next year.

Of the $1.4 million available, MSUB is set to receive just $760,807, according to Montana University System documents. That amount has already been worked into the budget planning process, in which MSUB faces a $617,000 shortfall next year.

That performance funding figure does not include City College, which has met the requirements to receive the full amount.

That funding stream is part of a $15 million allocation from the state to all colleges and universities. Its allocation to MSUB depends on the number of undergraduate degrees and certificates awarded, as well as retention rates.

MSUB will be one of two institutions that won't realize its full performance funding. The other is Montana State University-Northern.

In an email to The Gazette on Wednesday, Interim Chancellor Ron Larsen pointed to sliding enrollment at MSUB in recent years that, in time, affects performance funding.

"While I am hopeful that the enrollments are headed up, the fact that we had fewer entering students in recent years will inevitably show up as fewer degrees awarded for the next few years," he said.

MSUB's retention rate last fall was about 54.5 percent, though the school has been about 20 points below average. Larsen said this remains a point of focus, and the university will look to expand peer tutor and academic support in remedial math classes to boost those figures.

The good news is that the lost performance funding can be collected later. Last year, MSUB collected lost performance funding from a previous budget by meeting retention metrics. That helped the university weather a tough financial biennium.

But for next year, MSUB is still looking at "efficiencies" in its departments to make up for the budget gap. School officials say there aren't firm cuts yet, but there are no plans to remove any programs.

Larsen previously said that MSUB's own projections indicate a halt to annual enrollment drops, which could help to pad the budget and set the foundation for the future.

"Once we get sustained enrollment growth and better retention rates, our percentage of the performance funding will improve," he said on Wednesday. "That will likely take some time, but we are heading in the right direction."

Revenue projections, including tuition rates, will be firmed up at the MUS Board of Regents meeting that begins Thursday in Great Falls.
Rep. John K. Delaney, D-Md., wants to help the government to "get smart" about artificial intelligence.

On Wednesday, he announced the launch of the bipartisan Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus, which will look to inform lawmakers on the current state of AI and then push for policy that could boost economic activity around AI and help citizens whose jobs are being replaced by automation.

As part of the effort, Delaney told CNBC, he has met with Amazon and Google , he told CNBC in an interview. The next step is a congressional briefing hosted by IBM on June 28, according to a statement.

Despite some fears about the effects of automation and AI on the workforce, Delaney is optimistic. "Data clearly demonstrates that innovation creates more jobs than it takes away," Delaney told CNBC. The trouble is that people don't understand the nature of the jobs that will be created, he said. The caucus will focus on these issues, as well as education, immigration reform and funding basic research.

Delaney is familiar with the idea of universal basic income, where the government would pay all citizens a basic stipend to let them buy necessities. Some Silicon Valley leaders have discussed this as a way to help workers whose jobs will increasingly be replaced by automation.

But Delaney believes it's "way too early to throw in the towel on unemployment." If anything, he said, the government should be considering pilot programs with partners that would pay people who provide care for others but don't receive compensation.

Delaney is co-chair of the caucus with Republican Rep. Pete Olson of Texas. Other participants include Reps. Jared Polis of Colorado, Derek Kilmer of Washington, Anna Eshoo of California, Andre Carson of Indiana and Debbie Dingell of Michigan. Before getting elected to the House in 2012, Delaney founded two companies that later went public: CapitalSource and HealthCare Financial Partners.

"This stuff is happening really fast, and it's going to have implications on jobs, it's going to have implications on the day-to-day lives of our constituents, it's going to have implications on national defense," Delaney said. "Obviously we need to understand it better, and I don't think we're talking about it."
Should Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte implement nationwide martial law, as recently suggested, many fear an abuse of power as alleged political suppression and rights violations already dog his administration. The southern island of Mindanao was placed under military rule Tuesday following an attack on Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur province, by the Maute Group  a local affiliate of the Islamic State who is lesser known than fellow homegrown network Abu Sayyef. Martial law could be extended nationwide should terrorism risks spread, Duterte told reporters on Wednesday after cutting short his Russian trip to deal with the Mindanao issue.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte walks past honor guards as he arrives at Manila international airport in Manila on May 24, 2017, after returning from a visit to Russia. Duterte threatened on May 24 to impose martial law in Mindanao to combat the rising threat of terrorism, after Islamist militants beheaded a policeman and took Catholic hostages while rampaging through a southern city. NOEL CELIS / AFP / Getty Images

References are already being made to former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose 1972-1986 regime was characterized by martial law and synonymous with arbitrary arrests, detention, disappearances, as well as extrajudicial killings. "Martial law is martial law," Duterte was quoted by media as saying on Wednesday. "It will not be any different from what Marcos did. I'd be harsh." The president already faces widespread accusations of extrajudicial killings as well as silencing critics amid a campaign targeting drug users that has reportedly killed 7,000 to 8,000. And country-wide martial law could give Duterte a stronger platform to continue controversial policies unchecked, according to strategists. "Giving more powers to a president who is already being accused of human rights violations certainly raises anxiety for some groups," stated Jean Franco, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines. "There are official statements from union leaders and rights groups expressing unease and a throwback to Marcos' martial law. The opposition in Congress has already expressed this." Martial law would entail military control of movement, searches and arrest of detained people as well as suspension of writ of habeas corpus, defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana explained on Tuesday.

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"The alarm is very justified," said Joseph Franco, research fellow at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. "Duterte has not even assuaged fears of Marcos-style martial law." If Duterte does take action, it could lead to a decrease in political capital and foreign money, he continued. "The moment martial law is declared, investors will probably pack up. I think people overseas still remember how a lot of sequestrations occurred during the Marcos years." Under the Philippines' 1987 Constitution, Congress must approve or revoke any presidential proclamation of martial law by majority vote but commentators doubt existing laws can restrain Duterte. "Because the administration enjoys a super majority in Congress, I cannot say with great confidence that it can keep him in check," said Franco from the University of the Philippines. "The coming days and weeks will see if the Philippine Congress and courts are up to the task of keeping a wildly abusive president in check. Since Duterte took office nearly a year ago, they haven't been," echoed James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, in a recent statement. Some have warned that martial law may not be the right tool to fight extremist threats, which were the catalyst for Duterte's Wednesday comments.

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Orion Hindawi, the CEO and co-founder of cybersecurity start-up Tanium , wants to bring the company public -- but not quite yet.

Tanium announced on Thursday that it's selling $100 million of common shares to a group of investors led by TPG, which also led the company's last $148 million funding round in September 2015.

Unlike previous rounds, Tanium is not selling preferred shares (which give investors special rights) but common stock, and will use the money to give the ten-year-old company's early investors and employees -- including co-founder David Hindawi, Orion's father -- liquidity.

Orion Hindawi told CNBC that David is "taking about half of that, $50 million, and funding his charitable foundation, with that. The rest is going to early employees and investors." The foundation focuses on early childhood development and health, but the younger Hindawi declined to name it, saying that his father prefers to remain anonymous with his charitable giving.

Earlier this week, Hindawi told CNBC that going public is "the right thing for our company to do." He also said the company has more than $300 million in the bank and is cash-flow positive.

So if liquidity is the goal, and the company's finances are solid, why not go public now?

Hindawi said that he's looking for more predictable quarterly sales cycles. Right now the company's growth is driven mostly by new customers, and a huge deal at the end of the quarter could totally make or break the quarter, which could cause distracting swings in the stock price, he said.
All eyes are on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ahead of a highly-anticipated meeting later Thursday when the oil group looks set to extend their crude production cuts, but the big downside risk comes from China, an analyst said.

The OPEC and 11 non-members will be negotiating whether to extend an agreement reached in December to cut oil production by about 1.8 million barrels a day in the first half of this year.

"If you wanted to know where the downside risk is, it is not in OPEC's decision or in U.S. driving demand or in global inventories rebalancing. I think China is the big source of concern," said Prestige Economics President Jason Schenker.

Worries about slowing Chinese growth will affect the market, he told CNBC's "The Rundown". The world's second largest economy is also the second largest importer of crude oil behind the U.S.

"If China weakens further, that poses downside risk. But if we see the rebound in the (China Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index) and we see Chinese manufacturing PMI as a proxy for global growth improve, then we see some upside potential here," Schenker added.

Crude oil prices were higher on Thursday in Asia on hopes of an extended production cut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.7 percent at $51.74 a barrel while European Brent was up 0.8 percent at $54.38 a barrel at noon SIN/HK time.

IHS Energy vice president Victor Shum told CNBC that supply and demand will be balanced for the rest of 2017 with no sharp drawdowns in inventories even with the production cut extended for another six to nine months. Longer or deeper cuts will take "a lot of time and a lot of diplomacy," he said.
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The House-backed health care bill will make insurance costs leap for some older Americans, according to the government's own estimate, and the AARP is giving Republicans an earful. In a new report, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the American Health Care Act will lead to 23 million more uninsured people in 2026 than under current law. For some older Americans, insurance premiums will explode, the CBO says  increasing to almost 9 times what those people are currently paying in some cases The CBO found that average premiums for Americans will generally fall, though whether states decide to take waivers allowed under the plan will affect how much costs spike for older people. Overall, the CBO assessment does not bode well for coverage of older Americans with lower incomes. The AARP, the influential lobbying group that advocates for seniors, seized on the estimates, voicing "strong opposition" to what it called a "harmful bill."

"Putting a greater financial burden on older Americans is not the way to solve the problems in our health care system," the AARP said in a statement. The CBO estimates that the increase in the number of uninsured people "would be disproportionately larger among older people with lower income  particularly people between 50 and 64 years old with income of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level." Additionally, the CBO said one rule change under the plan, effective in 2019, "would directly alter the premiums faced by different age groups, substantially reducing premiums for young adults and raising premiums for older people." The CBO estimates that a 64-year-old with an income of $26,500, or 175 percent of the federal poverty level, could see premiums skyrocket by 800 percent or more in 2026 under the proposal, depending on whether states use waivers. Those premium estimates break down this way in 2026: A 64-year-old with $26,500 in income would pay a net premium of $1,700 under current law. That would spike to $16,100 in a state requesting no waivers and $13,600 in a state requesting "moderate" changes to regulations.

A 64-year-old with $68,200 in income would see a much smaller effect. A net premium of $15,300 under current law would rise to $16,100 in a state requesting no waivers and fall to $13,600 in a state with "moderate" revisions to regulations.

In contrast, a 21-year-old making $26,500 with a net premium of $1,700 under the law now would see it rise to $1,750 in states not requesting waivers and see it fall to $1,250 in states making "moderate" changes.

The CBO estimates that in states that make "moderate" revisions to regulations, premiums would largely fall  because plans would cover fewer benefits. But relatively healthy and young people are likely to prefer those plans more than older Americans, who "could face substantial out of-pocket costs," the CBO said. The CBO score did not explicitly clarify how the plan would affect people over 65, who are eligible for Medicare. However, AARP contended Wednesday that those Americans could also take a hit, saying more costs could potentially shift to seniors.

AARP has clout in Washington
An unexpected surge of shoppers spending their tax refunds on electronics helped boost Best Buy to a first-quarter earnings surprise, but sustaining that momentum in the current retail environment will be anything but easy.

Best Buy showed signs in the latest quarter that it has the right formula to go up against Amazon , as more shoppers ring up their purchases online.

Best Buy shares were up nearly 19 percent Thursday afternoon, reaching an all-time intraday high of $60.14.

The electronics retailer had warned in March that same-store sales could fall by 1 to 2 percent during the latest period, but on Thursday Best Buy reported growth of 1.6 percent at its established locations. Analysts were expecting a 1.5 percent decline, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.

The company's CEO, Hubert Joly, said the increase in sales benefited from the anticipated arrival of delayed federal tax refund checks, with more consumers picking up gaming and mobile products.

"We delivered a strong performance in gaming due to robust customer demand and good product allocations for the new hardware that launched during the quarter," Joly said on Thursday's earnings conference call.

"Second... while mobile was not a growth area due to last year's product recall and the fact that new phones launched later in the quarter than they did last year, sales in [the first] quarter were better than we expected as new unlimited data plan offers from the carriers generated increased demand across devices."

The 1,400-store chain also benefits from selling higher-margin electronics and appliances at a time that traditional appliance sellers like Sears Holdings Corp. are struggling

Best Buy added that it now expects second-quarter comparable sales to grow between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent.

"There is little doubt that the delayed arrival of tax refunds provided buoyancy to the [electronics] market later into this quarter," GlobalData Retail managing director Neil Saunders wrote in an email.

Nevertheless, "the impact was helpful but somewhat limited," Saunders said. "Best Buy's performance is down to more than just consumers temporarily having a bit more money to spend."

Like most retailers, Best Buy has been facing stiff competition from the likes of Amazon, as more consumers shop online, where they can do their homework on pricing. Many have feared Best Buy would fall victim to showrooming, where shoppers touch and feel products at a store, only to seal the final deal online.

Saunders said he has been encouraged by steps Best Buy is taking to deliver growth both in its store and online.

"Foremost among these is a view that sales of newer consumer technologies, like smart home, can be stimulated with good customer service, advice, and demonstrations," Saunders said. "From our data, we see that there is an appetite among consumers to know more about this sort of technology, and we believe Best Buy is in an ideal position to inform and engage."

During the first quarter, Best Buy delivered digital sales growth of more than 22 percent.

Notably, Best Buy is acknowledging that the retail landscape is shifting. As the company allocates more revenues toward its online channel, Best Buy said it's considering the "ongoing optimization of [its] store footprints."

"As you see the online business grow and you see the customer demands around speed and choice continued to evolve, we do believe that over time, we need to continue to invest and make sure that we're delivering in the ways that our customers want," CEO Joly said on the call with analysts and investors.

The retailer has outlined the next phases of its so-called turnaround efforts, which include increasing its in-home advisory program, accelerating growth in Canada and Mexico, and finding more ways to cut costs.

Best Buy has had Geek Squad agents and members of its Magnolia Design Centers team going to customers' homes for years  essentially receiving a free visit from an in-home adviser  to help with computing and home theater issues, the company said.

"There is no revenue associated with an in-home adviser visit specifically," Joly explained. "Remember this is a free visit from an in-home adviser who's going to come and help you... The revenue comes from what you would choose to purchase as a result of that visit, be it hardware or services."

Additionally, Best Buy is matching competitive online prices in its stores, renting portions of its floor space to Samsung and Microsoft , ditching an overseas expansion strategy and instead focusing on selling higher-margin electronics and appliances, at a time when department store chains like Sears are struggling.

"Q1 continued the trend of Best Buy enhancing its competitive position," Moody's lead retail analyst Charlie O'Shea wrote in a note to clients.

"Potential performance pressure points were evident during the quarter, including delays in income tax refunds and hhgregg 's bankruptcy and still-ongoing liquidation; however, Best Buy successfully avoided the trap of chasing low quality/margin sales," he said.

Best Buy's net income fell to $188 million, or 60 cents per share, in the latest quarter, from $229 million, or 70 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting earnings of 40 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates.

The retailer's revenue climbed 1 percent, to $8.53 billion, beating the average analysts' forecast for $8.28 billion.

"I think what Best Buy has figured out is where the store actually makes sense," versus putting consumer electronics online, Oppenheimer retail analyst Brian Nagel told CNBC on Thursday.

Best Buy has "figured out where to play" against e-commerce giant Amazon, making it a good example of a traditional retailer "really embracing online commerce," he added.

As of Wednesday's close, shares of Best Buy have climbed an eye-popping 57 percent over the past 12 months and are up about 18 percent for the year-to-date period.
President Donald Trump greets Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina CEO Brad Wilson during his meeting with health insurance company executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017.

North Carolina's largest Obamacare insurer wants to raise premiums by nearly 23 percent , but said most of the increase is due to the failure of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to guarantee crucial payments to insurers.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina said Thursday it would have asked the state regulators for an 8.8 percent increase if Trump and the GOP-led Congress agreed to continue funding payments to insurers for so-called cost-sharing reductions.

Instead, the insurer is requesting an average increase of 22.9 percent for Obamacare plans that now cover about 502,000 people.

Insurers currently are reimbursed for the costs of charging lower-income Obamacare customers reduced amounts for out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments.

But a legal dispute with Congress and the political stance of the Trump administration have raised the serious possibility that the federal government will stop paying insurers for the cost-sharing reductions.

Trump last month in a Wall Street Journal interview threatened to withhold the payments, as a tactic to get Democrats to negotiate with the administration on legislation to reform Obamacare.

If the government stops paying insurers, the insurers would still be on the hook for the cost of the CSRs because Obamacare requires them to offer low-income customers the discounts.

Many insurers are saying they will need to charge higher prices next year, or could possibly exit Obamacare markets, because of uncertainty over the reimbursements. Those payments are valued at $7 billion this year.

Andy Slavitt, who served as chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Obama administration, said earlier this week that uncertainty over CSRs would lead insurers to seek rates for next year that will be on average 19 percent higher than they otherwise would be if the payments were assured. Other experts said the surcharge could be up to 25 percent in some cases.

"The biggest single reason for the sharp increase in rates is the lack of federal funding for 'cost-sharing reductions' beginning in 2018," Blue Cross NC said.

Blue Cross NC also warned that while it "intends to sell health insurance plans" in all 100 counties in the Tar Heel State next year, the possibility of a Republican repeal of Obamacare "could impact whether or not Blue Cross NC can offer plans" next year.

"We'll continue to evaluate the market and make and announce a final decision this fall," the insurer said.

A Blue Cross and Blue Shield executive, Brian Tajlili, said that after three years of selling Obamacare plans in North Carolina, "we're seeing the market begin to stabilize." Blue Cross NC obtained average prices hikes of 24.3 percent for 2017 plans.

"Unfortunately, the lack of CSR funding significantly increases the rates for all ACA customers," said Tajlili, director of actuarial and pricing services for Blue Cross NC.

"We are still required to offer the additional CSR benefits to participate in the [federal Obamacare] exchange, so covering these costs without CSR funding will drive up our average rate next year."

The company also said that the return of the federal health insurance tax "accounts for roughly 3 percent of the total increase" being sought for next year.

Tajlili told CNBC in an interview that state insurance regulators have in past years allowed Blue Cross NC to resubmit rate requests. He said that if the insurer learns that CSRs will be fully funded in 2018 by the federal government, it expects to be able to refile its rate increase rates at a lower amount to reflect the availability of that money.

"We've had a conversation with them, and they're aware of the situation," Tajlili said, referring to state insurance officials.

The vast majority of Blue Cross NC customers qualify for federal tax credits that will largely, and possibly completely, insulate from the requested price hikes. Tajlili said that 94 percent of the company's 460,000 customers who buy coverage through the federal Obamacare marketplace qualify for those subsidies, whose value increases as premiums rise.

About 67 percent of those customers also qualify for cost-sharing reduction subsidies that lower their out-of-pocket health expenses due to their relatively low incomes.

Cigna, another insurer that sells plans Obamacare plans in North Carolina is requesting average rate increases of 31.9 percent for next year.

Cigna said it did not break out elements of its pricing decisions when CNBC asked what share of that requested hike was due to concerns about CSR funding.

"Pricing reflects market conditions and underlying economics," said Cigna spokesman Joe Mondy, whose company currently covers almost 21,400 North Carolina customers enrolled in plans sold on the federally run marketplace HealthCare.gov.

"Our 2018 rate filings are based on our customers' historical claims experience, expected medical costs trends, product changes, overall market performance, along with the evolving rules, regulations and design of the marketplace," Mondy said.

American Bridge, a progressive advocacy group, on Thursday said that "Donald Trump is sabotaging the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and now the people of North Carolina are going to pay the price."

"Trump's efforts to deliberately undermine the insurance markets are hurting people right now, and his reckless behavior is unconscionable," Andrew Bates, spokesman for American Bridge. "North Carolinians deserve far better. It's time for Donald Trump and Republicans in North Carolina to side with the majority of the American people who want them to work across the aisle to improve the Affordable Care Act instead of actively sabotaging the health insurance market."



The CSRs have become a major issue for insurers this year for several reasons.

The first is the election of Trump, a staunch Obamacare foe who wants to repeal and replace the health-care law.

The Republican bill pending in Congress to accomplish that goal would end cost-sharing subsidies to low-income customers.

But even before Trump's election, the CSRs were at risk.

House Republicans several years ago sued the Obama administration, claiming the federal government did not have the right to reimburse insurers for the CSRs because Congress never appropriated money for that purpose.

A federal judge agreed with that claim last year. But she allowed the Obama administration to keep paying insurers as it appealed her decision.

However, Trump's election raised the prospect that the new administration would drop its defense of the House's lawsuit, and stop paying the CSRs on its own accord.

But Trump has taken neither step.

Instead, both the administration and the House have asked a federal appeals court to delay action in the case while both sides discuss a possible resolution.

Their refusal to jointly end the CSRs despite their strong opposition to Obamacare suggests that they fear political backlash from ceasing the payments, and having insurance prices rise sharply as a result.

The parties are next supposed to update the appeals court on that progress, or seek another 90-day extension, in three months.

At the same time, the Trump administration has indicted it will continue making the CSR payments for at least the next three months.

Correction: This story was revised to correct that Blue Cross and Blue Shield NC wants an average rate hike of 22.9 percent.
Cameron (L) and Tyler (R) Winklevoss. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Would-be bitcoin ETF investors are in wait-and-see mode as the Securities and Exchange Commission reconsiders whether to allow the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund to come to fruition. To the dismay of many, the SEC rejected the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF (COIN) in a March 10 decision, citing a lack of regulation and surveillance-sharing agreements between exchanges. Bats Global Markets , operator of the exchange on which the ETF would trade and which is owned by the same parent company  CBOE  as ETF.com, responded to the SEC's verdict by filing a "petition for review" of the disapproval on March 24. Bats argued that the commission's initial conclusion "is clearly erroneous," "inconsistent with prior ETP [exchange-traded products] approval orders" and that "the manipulation concerns ... are overstated and largely theoretical." More from ETF.com:

Top tech ETFs of the year

SEC sends mixed signals about controversial ETFs

This Trump ETF trade completely unwinds Bats urged the SEC to approve its proposed rule change, which would open the door to the listing of the ETF and "provide investors access to bitcoin through a regulated and transparent investment vehicle." On April 24 the SEC agreed to consider Bats' petition for review and asked for public comments on the original disapproval order. The last of those comments was submitted on May 15, setting the stage for a new round of deliberations by the commission.

High bar for approval

Though hopes are high that the bitcoin ETF will eventually be approved  public comments on the fund have been largely positive  analysts aren't confident the SEC will turn around so soon after its previous negative ruling and suddenly give it the green light. Spencer Bogart, managing director and head of research for Blockchain Capital, is skeptical that the SEC will change its tune on the bitcoin ETF. "Their reason for disapproval was the underlying markets for bitcoin, which haven't changed in the weeks since they made their decision," he said. "One of the issues was that Bats hadn't set up surveillance-sharing agreements with the major exchanges on which bitcoin is traded, with the purpose of identifying and stomping out market manipulation. Even if they did, a lot of those exchanges reside in jurisdictions that don't have much of a regulatory body that can go and take action against people that are doing something bad to the market."

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However, Bogart did leave open the possibility that the SEC's thinking could change on the ETF if a new set of people look into the matter. "It is possible that, in the short time period from when the SEC disapproved to when the petition was granted, there was a significant regime change at the SEC," explained Bogart. "You could have a different group of people who want to review the matter because they aren't sure the decision to disapprove was a good choice. I've heard whisperings that there are many people within this administration who are friendly or at least amicable to digital currencies like bitcoin."

Bitcoin surging even without ETF
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Talk to a cryptocurrency enthusiast and there's a good chance you'll hear some version of this: It feels a lot like 1999. That's not to suggest that bitcoin and its ilk are the next Webvan or Pets.com, but looking more broadly at the current trend, the analogy makes sense. While bitcoin crossed $2,000 over the weekend and is up by almost 150 percent this year, other digital currencies have rallied even more. Ether has tripled in value in the past month and Ripple's XRP is up about tenfold. In 1999 we saw the speculative internet IPO. Today, it's the ICO -- initial coin offering. Companies built on blockchain , a digital database for recording financial transactions and other types of deals, are raising money by selling digital "tokens" that can typically be used to pay for goods and services on their platform, or just stashed away as an investment. Thus far in 2017, companies have raised $180 million in ICOs, compared to $101 million all of last year, according to Smith + Crown, a blockchain research, data and consulting group. Often, these are very early projects that are far from generating significant revenue. Sound familiar?

"We're in a very frothy phase of ICOs," said Naval Ravikant, a Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur who's also a venture partner at digital currency firm MetaStable Capital. "People are getting caught up in the vision and it's going to take 10 to 20 years to build out. In the meantime, people are throwing money at anything that looks like it has a shot." Interest in cryptocurrencies is reaching the masses. This week, New York is hosting two industry conferences -- Consensus and Token Summit. On Monday, 86 firms from Toyota to Merck joined a group called the Enterprise Etherium Alliance (EEA) to create standards for smart contracts. Meanwhile, 10 financial institutions signed up with cryptocurrency platform Ripple last month to send real-time international payments, joining a roster of clients that already included Bank of America and RBC. The ultimate vision is a world in which all data and transactions are trackable via an electronic ledger that eliminates delays caused by disparate currencies and financial systems. Blockchain currently claims to process 160,000 transactions a day across 140 countries.

'Trouble with the SEC'

Start-ups building applications on blockchain are launching ICOs to raise capital without giving up big equity stakes in their companies and to drive interest and usage of their product. Currently, the market is almost entirely unregulated. In its purest form, an ICO looks like a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which is a legal way for a company to raise money by having users fund an early-stage project in return for perks and early access. Crowdfunding can be risky, because if the company cannot deliver the product as promised, backers have no recourse. But unlike a campaign to fund a Pebble smartwatch or the development of a mobile game, ICOs are inherently financial in nature and can look more like securities, particularly when the tokens fluctuate in value. As ICOs gain popularity and dip more into the mainstream, look out for the regulators. "If anyone is selling these securities to U.S. citizens, you will get in trouble with the SEC for sure," said Pamela Morgan, an attorney and the CEO of consultancy Third Key Solutions, at a bitcoin meetup in Switzerland last month.

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Civic, the developer of a digital identity platform for online transactions, is aiming to raise $33 million in an ICO beginning Thursday, to build out its network. Vinny Lingham, Civic's co-founder and CEO, said the company is playing it straight and hired law firm Perkins Coie to try and stay out of the legal gray area. "These tokens are tokens you need to use to function within our platform," said Lingham, who started the company last year. Unlike the case with an IPO, Civic is booking the proceeds from the ICO (or token sale) as revenue, since it's selling a product that customers can eventually use. Investors in the ICO will pay with bitcoins or ether -- two popular types of cryptocurrency -- in exchange for Civic's tokens. Banks, travel companies and hotels can use the tokens as currency when clearing transactions, and customers can acquire more tokens by inviting friends. Stan Miroshnik started the Argon Group in 2016 as an investment bank focused on digital currencies. He's advising on the Civic offering and has plenty more in the pipeline, with an ICO scheduled about every three weeks. But Miroshnik said there's clearly excess in the market now, with companies that have no functional business and no real relation to blockchain looking to ICOs for a quick buck. "We are very cautious," said Miroshnik. "This is something that should be coming from the community and projects related to blockchain ." Prior to Civic, Miroshnik's biggest deal was last week, when Storj Labs initiated a $30 million token sale. Storj is a cloud storage company that uses the available capacity on lots of individual computers to store and secure data. Imagine Amazon Web Services, but instead of owning massive data centers full of servers, Storj pays individuals to let others rent space on their machines.

If the SEC doesn't crack down, this party will be amazing, the biggest party in town for a long time. If they do crack down, a lot of people are going to feel a lot of pain. Naval Ravikant Cryptocurrency investor

For Storj , the offering lets the company capitalize on the surging value of digital currencies. The company created the Storjcoin three years ago and sold a portion of them in a $500,000 crowd sale. The value of the currency has jumped 50-fold since then, leaving Storj with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of coins. Storj is selling 15 to 25 percent of outstanding Storjcoins , which are based on the Ethereum platform after migrating from bitcoin. "It's an asset on our balance sheet that has value and we're converting it into fiat," said John Quinn, co-founder of Storj . "Part of the rationale was to raise capital to accelerate development of the business."

A member of bitcoin trading club poses with bitcoin medals at the club's meeting in Tokyo. Yoshikazu Tsuno | AFP | Getty Images
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is close to hitting a price that could see a 47 percent correction, according to one analyst, following a huge rally for the cryptocurrency that has led it to record highs. On Thursday, bitcoin hit an all-time high of $2791.70, according to CoinDesk data, marking a 180 percent rally year-to-date. Meanwhile, the number of long positions  those betting on bitcoin to rise  has risen 18.2 percent, while short positions  those thinking the cryptocurrency will fall  have declined 10 percent since the start of the week, showing that traders are getting more bullish on the cryptocurrency, according to data from Bitfinex. One technical analyst, who looks at historical trading patterns to determine future price moves, told CNBC that the $2,800 could mark a level of resistance where the bitcoin pulls back. Bitcoin was as little as $9 off of that price on Thursday morning. Nicola Duke, an analyst at analysis platform Forex Analytix , uses a form of technical analysis known as Fibonacci retracement, which looks at the peaks and troughs of previous "waves" or rallies and falls in bitcoin to get a sense of where the future price of an asset could move.

A collection of bitcoin tokens stand in this arranged photograph. Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In "wave two" of bitcoin which began in the fall of 2013 and bottomed in January 2015, the price of the cryptocurrency rallied sharply for several months before seeing a steady decline. Following January 2015, the asset began to rally again. Currently, the bitcoin world is in "wave three" and according to Duke's analysis, $2,800 could be the level at which bitcoin begins its fall. The price is likely to hit $1,780, but could even fall as far as $1,470, Duke told CNBC. This would mark a 46.5 percent decline from Thursday's high. According to Fibonacci analysis, the way bull markets typically work is that you'll have a pullback that stops when it retraces a key percentage of a previous move higherthese key percentages all come from so-called Fibonacci ratios. One of those ratios is 61.8 percent. So she expects this particular wave, known as the fourth wave, to last 61.8 percent of how long wave two lasted , which means the rally after the correction would start in January. "We will see the bottom in start of January, that is when stock markets typically tend to have a correction as well," Duke said.

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But after that, there should be a sustained rally to $3,350 and then $4,480 in 2018, Duke said. So while the long-term prospect of bitcoin seems to be positive, in the near-term, traders could see a pull-back. However, not all agree with Duke's forecast.

Bitcoin to hit $6,000?
jumped more than 12 percent Thursday to an all-time high of $2,791.70 before plunging and giving up the day's gains.

The rise, based on strong demand out of Asia, had brought its gains for the month of May to more than 100 percent, according to CoinDesk.

But the digital currency's volatility became apparent later in the session as it suddenly sank by more than $315 to trade lower.

"It feels like 1999 right now," said Brock Pierce, managing partner of Blockchain Capital, from the sidelines of the Token Summit conference in New York Thursday. "We may end up having a similar outcome. We could see a big correction here."

Bitcoin, intraday

Source: CoinDesk

As of 4:46 p.m. in New York, bitcoin had recovered from that plunge, trading 3.18 percent higher at $2,555.13.

The earlier rollover came just as interest in bitcoin was peaking and apparently overwhelming some digital exchanges where the coins can be bought and sold. Coinbase told Reuters in the afternoon: "We're continuing to experience degraded performance on our website and mobile app."

At Thursday's record, bitcoin had gained more than 45 percent in a week and more than 180 percent this year.

"There is no question that we are in the middle of a price frenzy," Brian Kelly of BKCM said in a note to clients earlier Thursday. "There will be a correction and it could be severe, but it's unclear if that correction will start from current prices of $2700 or from some place much higher."

Kelly, a CNBC contributor, manages a hedge fund focused on digital currencies.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat lower at around 2.255 percent at 2:36 p.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also down at 2.925 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

U.S. government debt prices were higher on Thursday, as investors focused on remarks from leading Federal Reserve members.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is due to speak Thursday (U.S. time). Fed Governor Lael Brainard said in a speech earlier that the global economy is posing less risk to the central bank's U.S. outlook.

This comes after the U.S. central bank released minutes from its May meeting Wednesday, which showed that Fed officials seemed to be in sync with how they hope to reduce their $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

Fed watchers have showed concern that if the process of unwinding the balance sheet isn't done correctly, this could not only be disruptive but also drive rates up unexpectedly. Analysts are currently pricing in the next rate hike to take place at the Fed's next meeting in June.

Sticking with the U.S., investors will also be keeping a watchful eye on Donald Trump's first trip abroad as President, as the U.S. leader continues his visit through Europe on Thursday, meeting EU and NATO leaders in Brussels. During this visit, Trump is expected to discuss topics such as defense and environmental issues.

On Thursday, oil-producing nations reportedly agree to extend production cuts for nine months.

This comes as the group seeks to curb a global supply overhang which has depressed prices and revenues over the past three years.



The proposed cuts are expected to be shared again by non-OPEC producers later on Thursday. Led by Russia, non-OPEC producers had initially curbed output in conjunction with OPEC in a landmark deal for the first half of the year from January.

Investors also digested new supply into the bonds market.

The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in seven-year notes at a high yield of 2.06 percent, the lowest since October. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.54.

Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 61.2 percent, the highest since August 2014. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 17.2 percent.

The seven-year yield traded near 2.05 percent following the sale.
Proton Holdings Saga vehicles move along the assembly line at the company's factory in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Malaysian carmaker Proton finally landed a foreign partner in Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding, but not all analysts were convinced the deal marked a turnaround point for the one-time national powerhouse.

"After the acquisition, the biggest challenge for Zhejiang Geely is to turn around Proton," analysts at Singapore-based UOB KayHian said in a note on Thursday. "Proton has suffered sustained losses, and it received 1.5 billion ringgit (US$338 million) in government aid last year on condition that it pursues a turnaround plan and seeks a foreign partner."

The brokerage noted that it wasn't the first time Geely tried to enter the Malaysian market, previously attempting and failing to set up a plant with a local partner.

"If Zhejiang Geely is unable to turn Proton around in foreseeable future, Proton would become a burden," UOB KayHian said.

Another potential issue could come from Geely lacking majority control of Proton.

Geely Holding, which also owns Sweden-based Volvo, will take a 49.9 percent stake in Malaysia's iconic, home-grown, but long-struggling carmaker Proton. Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom will retain a 50.1 percent stake.

The deal marked the culmination of at least a decade of attempts to marry the politically sensitive Proton with a foreign carmaker, with GM and Volkswagen both walking away at different times.

In what might represent the concerns over Proton, Citi, for one, noted that the deal would improve the valuation of the seller, raising its target price for DRB-Hicom's shares to 2.30 ringgit from 1.86 ringgit, keeping a Buy/High Risk call on the stock.

"Re-rating is imminent with the stake sale removing DRB's largest overhang, as well as a more positive outlook for Proton," Citi said in a note late Wednesday.

Citi said the target increase was to reflect a higher implied valuation for DRB-Hicom's remaining Proton stake, a government grant accompanying the deal and the sale of a 51 percent stake in British sports-car brand Lotus to Geely for around 556 million ringgit, which was also part of the deal.
No one can be blamed for thinking the GOP is in big trouble after the new Congressional Budget Office report came out Wednesday with the politically ruinous news that the Republican's AHCA bill would eventually leave 23 million Americans without health insurance.

The good news is the report is a gift to a confused GOP that just got the message: The American people need two simple thingslower health insurance prices and a reasonable guarantee that they won't lose their coverage. And they need it fast.

Everything else (like declaring mission accomplished on an Obamacare repeal that never really happened) is meaningless politics.

As the Senate works on marking up the House Obamacare replacement bill, the CBO report has made it clear that there are only three things GOP Senators need to focus on:

1) Flood the market with as many kinds of health insurance plans as possible

Most Republicans have been correct in pointing out that the Obamacare "essential benefits" requirements for every health insurance plan jacked up premium costs for everyone. We can reduce a big chunk of the 23 million uninsured individuals if those people have a large number of newer and cheaper insurance plans to choose from.

The existing AHCA barely begins to loosen those requirements and adds the bureaucratic insult of making each state apply for waivers to offer these stripped down plans. That isn't simple and it isn't fast. If the GOP Senators aren't taking Wednesday's news as the final proof that they need to dump this waiver process and flood the country with as many possible plans to buy as possible, then they never will.

2) Only subsidize coverage for the poorest and sickest

Obamacare makes a big deal about providing subsidies so everyone can afford some kind of health insurance. That isn't working. The insurance companies pulling out of Obamacare exchanges still can't provide plans with premiums reasonable enough to cover more expensive customers with pre-existing conditions.

Senator Ted Cruz wants to fix this by focusing the government funding on creating what he calls "robust risk pools" that contain the costs of the people who need the most frequent and expensive care. This would again provide a more simple and immediate focus to the Republican efforts as opposed to the current House bill that includes a complicated and extensive subsidy plan that makes almost all Americans eligible for some kind of handout.

3) Do something for the doctors!

The need for simplicity and speed makes it harder to lower health costs by increasing health care supply in this bill. But ultimately, increasing supply by removing regulatory barriers and via medical innovation is the only real way to lower our medical and insurance costs. For now, the easiest thing to do would be helping existing physicians stay on the job.

The fastest way to do that would be to eliminate the requirement for doctors to file electronic medical records. Doctors have been complaining about this time consuming and costly process ever since it became mandatory. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine reports that emergency room doctors alone spend a whopping 43 percent of their time acting like minimum wage earning data entry clerks instead of seeing the patients who need that urgent care.

This has to stop or the number of doctors in America will continue to erode and drive up costs and waiting times. Again, the new Republican bill can't reinvent the wheel on this, but it can include at least a temporary suspension of the electronic health records requirements for a year or so and see what changes need to be made later.

Of course, no one should mistake this or any CBO report as really accurate. Economic models are typically the least reliable scientific data out there. But CBO analyses do generate headlines that the politicians fear.

In this case, it should put a cattle prod to the Republican Senators and the White House who now decide the fate of this bill. They can't go back and they can't stay still. Washington needs to patch this deflated health insurance tire and worry about a real replacement further down the road.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Couples prepare to have their photos taken on the Bund in Shanghai, China.

A Chinese consortium will pay $600m for an Australian condom manufacturer in a bet on growing demand for the contraceptives in China, where consumers are becoming more concerned about sexual health and upgrading to higher-end brands.

Humanwell Healthcare, a Shanghai-listed pharmaceuticals company, and state-owned Citic Capital China Partners will buy the century-old condoms and sexual health business of Ansell, whose Jissbon brand sheaths are already a mainstay in Chinese convenience stores.

China's condom market will almost triple in value to $5bn by 2024 from 2015, Transparency Market Research said in a report last year, as more liberal attitudes to sex among young people and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases through government campaigns outweigh the impact from the end of China's one-child policy.

More from Financial Times:

India may be more populous than China, research suggests

US Navy conducts first operation in South China Sea under Trump

Singapore shipyard orders hit by oil price slide



"Volumes are not expanding but there is massive upgrading," in search of higher quality and a superior feel, said Shaun Rein of China Market Research Group, a consultancy. "This is where the foreign brands definitely have the advantage. Consumers are moving up the value chain."

Chinese tourists to Japan have been returning home with bundles of condoms and Japanese manufacturers have been ramping up exports to China in recent years following a series of safety scandals that have reduced trust in local brands such as Donless, Double Butterfly and Gobon.

Last year Shanghai police said they seized 3m locally made condoms manufactured from inferior and in some cases foul-smelling materials, following a 2013 bust of 5m fakes. Counterfeit Chinese condoms have been found as far afield as Ghana and Puerto Rico in recent years.

Jissbon is a mid-level brand in China, appealing to lower-income workers and students who are wary of local products, said Mr Rein. "It's above the Chinese brands," he added.

China's young people are having sex earlier, state media reported last year, with the average age of the youngest generation's first sexual experience occurring at 17.

Ansell's main competitor in China is Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Durex, and has one of its largest factories in the Chinese city of Qingdao.

Ansell said on Thursday it would buy back up to 10 per cent of the company's shares following the sale of the condom business and is seeking acquisition opportunities as it refocuses its business on its medical and industrials division.

Based on Wednesday's closing share price, this implies a buy back worth US$265m. "Ansell will now turn its focus to the acceleration of the three business-to-business divisions while improving operating efficiencies further," said Magnus Nicolin, the company's chief executive.

The transaction was concluded at a multiple of 16 times 2016 full-year earnings. It is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2017.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., attend a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center to voice opposition to House Republican's health care plan, the American Health Care Act, March 14, 2017.

Beyond the blur of daily events, an unexpected shift is slowly coming into focus: the struggles of all-Republican governance have handed Democrats growing leverage over how policy gets shaped.

Eroding Republican strength has long since dashed initial hopes for enacting a new health-care plan to replace Obamacare by Easter and a new tax system by August. But four months into Donald Trump's presidency, his party faces growing skepticism that it can resolve major issues, which in turn would force concessions to Democrats in return for votes.

Consider the breadth of GOP problems:

President Trump and his associates face FBI and congressional investigations into their interactions with Russia. Trump is hiring outside counsel, and aides are preparing a White House "war room" to cope with the storm. Major Republican reforms on issues such as taxes or health care require strong, focused leadership from a Republican president.





The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the House-passed health bill would leave 23 million fewer people with coverage, and destabilize insurance markets in areas serving 1 in 6 Americans. Just 20 percent of the public supports it, a new Quinnipiac University national poll shows. Senate Republicans are meeting privately to craft a more politically viable approach, but haven't produced one yet.





The White House has opposed a critical piece of the House GOP tax plan, but neither the White House nor the Senate has produced a plan of its own yet. On Thursday, Trump Cabinet officials Steve Mnuchin and Mick Mulvaney gave contradictory accounts of the administration's intentions. Moreover, congressional rules prohibit Republican majorities from enacting tax reform under the expedited procedures until they complete action on health reform using those same procedures  and pass a new budget.





Trump's budget proposal, which contains priority shifts that would require Democratic backing in any event, has been declared dead on arrival by fellow Republicans. Internal splits over the extent and targeting of spending cuts threaten their ability to reach consensus not only on the budget, but also on an increase in the federal debt ceiling that the Treasury says it needs within a few months in order to avoid default. The House Freedom Caucus announced Wednesday it will not support an increase until its austerity demands are met, bolstering the likelihood that the White House and GOP leaders will be forced to obtain Democratic support.





These and other setbacks have diminished Trump's already-low political standing and rattled Republican confidence about holding their House majority in 2018 midterm elections. His approval rating in the Quinnipiac poll was 37 percent; only 28 percent strongly approve of the president, while 49 percent strongly disapprove, foreshadowing a 2018 gap in Republican and Democratic voter enthusiasm. For the same reason, the Democratic candidate in Georgia's special House election next month has a chance to win what the Republican candidate's pollster calls "a close race that shouldn't be."

Those stumbles give House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and her Senate counterpart Charles Schumer greater ability to influence policy in Washington that anyone expected as Trump took office. The principal question is where they can bring that influence to bear.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Life is first on the list of fundamental rights our Founding Fathers included in the document declaring our independence as a nation. But what did they mean by life? Does it simply refer to the right to exist? Or does it include the right to have a shot at a decent life? If our Founding Fathers were governing today, would they agree that access to health care is an unalienable right?

I strongly believe they would.

Although members of the House of Representatives absolved themselves of their duty to uphold these rights, the Senate now has an opportunity to make good on the promise of our Founding Fathers.

Its a promise our country has made to people like my son Bryan. Without major medical care and excellent health coverage through Medicare and Medicaid, he would have died at birth. He was born prematurely, suffering from kidney failure resulting from a birth defect. Because we had insurance, we were able to transfer him to a hospital that could provide him with the care he needed to stay alive. The doctors still didnt give him long to live.

But hes defied the odds. Bryan just turned 25 and he will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his kidney transplant next month. It hasnt been an easy road for Bryan  or for me and his dad.

Bryan has dealt with transplant, rejection, medication toxicity and other serious health scares. Because he was born with kidney failure, he now has osteoporosis, high cholesterol and diabetes. Hes also developmentally disabled and will never be able manage his own medical care. Bryans medical file is the very definition of a preexisting condition.

Despite these frightening moments when we have been so deeply scared that we would lose Bryan, we always knew we were lucky. Medicare covers dialysis. It covered his kidney transplant and the anti-rejection medications. Medicaid and private insurance help with the rest.

If Congress goes through with the proposed cuts to Medicaid, Bryan could die. Thats not an exaggeration. Its the simple truth. I shouldnt have to bury my son before his time because we cant afford his medical care. No parent should. Thats why the bill passed by the House  that will decimate Medicaid as we know it and strip coverage from an estimated 24 million people  keeps me up at night.

As the Senate takes up the health care debate, the idea that consumes my thoughts is life. That inalienable right that could be taken from my son if Congress repeals and replaces the Affordable Care Act with a law that erases coverage and raises costs for families like mine while giving a massive tax break to billionaires. I am pleading with Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines to remember the America our Founding Father envisioned, where no person should lose their fundamental right to live simply because they cant afford it. Please stand up for Montana families and reject these draconian cuts to coverage that millions of people rely on every day. For families like mine, its literally a matter of life and death.
Emmanuel Dunand | AFP | Getty Images

President Donald Trump might have once supported the British decision to leave the European Union, but he is now seemingly worried about the impact of Brexit for U.S. workers. "On Brexit, (Trump) expressed concern that jobs in the U.S. would be lost because of Brexit," a European official, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private, told journalists on Thursday morning in Brussels. The same official added that there was an agreement between the three leaders (Trump, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker) to step up the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State. A spokesperson for the U.S. president wasn't immediately available for comment for when contacted by CNBC. 'Cordial and friendly discussion' The comments came as the U.S. president was visiting the Belgium capital. Trump's protectionist approach has previously diminished European efforts to reach a trade deal with the U.S.

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Though the positions between the EU and the U.S. have not changed with Trump's first visit to Brussels, the European Commission has pressured Trump to increase cooperation in this area. "It was a good, cordial and friendly discussion," a spokesperson from the European Commission told CNBC on Thursday regarding Trump's meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk. The 45-minute meeting was a "first opportunity to get to know each other," the spokesperson said. "President Juncker insisted on intensifying trade cooperation which is a win-win situation for both sides. In this context, it was agreed to start on a joint action plan on trade," the spokesperson added. Meanwhile, European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday the European Union and the United States do not see relations with Russia in the same way. The former Polish prime minister received the U.S. president for the first time in Brussels. They found common ground on security and terrorism matters, but a gap remained when it came to relations with Russia, climate change, and trade, Tusk said.

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European markets struggled to end on a positive note Thursday as a sharp fall in oil prices weighed on sentiment, following news that OPEC would be extending its production cuts.

The pan-European failed to hold onto gains, closing 0.06 percent down in what had been a choppy trading session. Sectors finished mixed to lower, however, households goods and financial services closed with solid gains.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished roughly flat, up 0.04 percent, while the French CAC and German DAX fell, closing down 0.08 percent and 0.17 percent respectively. Peripheral indexes closed mixed.

Despite posting solid gains in early trade, oil came under sharp pressure after an OPEC delegate told reporters in Vienna that oil production would be cut for an additional nine months in a bid to stem a supply glut and boost struggling oil prices. At the European close, Reuters reported citing OPEC delegates, that non-OPEC producers had also agreed to join OPEC in extending production cuts.

The news dampened sentiment, as some investors' had hoped that the group might reduce output even more. Shortly after Europe's market close, oil prices hit fresh session lows, with Brent crude oil slumping to $52.98 at 4.30 p.m. BST before extending losses, while U.S. WTI hit $50.28 before going below $50 after the close.

Oil and gas stocks sank 1.19 percent by the close, with Amec Foster and Tullow Oil falling more than 3.5 percent each. Meanwhile, U.K. producer Petrofac finished off its lows but tanked 29.95 percent. This was primarily due however to an investigation by the U.K.'s fraud regulator into allegations of corruption and bribery. Its Chief Operating Officer Marwan Chedid has been suspended.
For health insurers, the Congressional Budget Office's report on the House's revised American Health Care Act presents a mixed bag.

Proposed rules let states opt out of some Obamacare health benefit requirements, and that could make the individual market more attractive for insurers, but not enough to offset the impact of big cuts to Medicaid funding.

The CBO and the Joint Center on Taxation estimate about 16 percent of the nation's Obamacare enrollees reside in states that would opt out of requirements to offer essential health benefits and allow insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions more if they lapse in coverage.

"From an insurer's point of view, states with waivers provide them a bigger range of options, so they'll have different price points compared to the standardized version (under the ACA)," making them more attractive, said Deep Banerjee, S&P Global credit analyst. "In the states that stay the same, those states might continue to see some issues with participation, which we are seeing today."

CBO analysts predict healthy younger people would see lower premiums in states that opt out, but "the non-group markets in those states would become unstable for people with higher-than-average expected health care costs," because insurers could charge older, sicker enrollees higher rates.

But the House bill also gets rid of the individual mandate, so for insurers there's the risk that they still would not attract enough young people to actually buy health coverage.

"There's nothing in the CBO that suggests that it's going to be easier for insurers to be in the non-group market," said Craig Garthwaite, health care economist at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. "It becomes very hard to offer any comprehensive insurance in those markets because you're going to attract all the sick people. You can charge them more, but you better hope that you're getting it right."

Garthwaite says the bigger issue near term for insurers in the individual market remains the fate of cost-sharing reduction subsidies, known as CSRs, which help lower out-of-pockets costs for lower-income enrollees. The Trump administration has not committed to funding the subsidies for 2018, which has insurers concerned they'll be left footing the bill.

On Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the CBO report Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City announced it would not offer Obamacare individual plans in Kansas or Missouri next year, a move that will potentially leave 19,000 northeast Missouri residents without an insurer.

"Through 2016, we have lost more than $100 million," Danette Wilson, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, said in a statement. "This is unsustainable for our company. We have a responsibility to our members and the greater community to remain stable and secure, and the uncertain direction of this market is a barrier to our continued participation."

For the larger, publicly traded insurers, the biggest impact of the House bill remains the cuts to Medicaid funding that would result in 14 million people losing coverage.

For Anthem , the safety-net program is estimated to represent about a third of revenues in 2017, more than three times its topline exposure to the individual market. For Centene and Molina Health , Medicaid represents more than two-thirds of revenues  while the individual market is in the single digits.

"The impact on Medicaid is fairly drastic," said Banerjee, adding that if reimbursement rates for the program are cut substantially insurers "may exit some Medicaid markets."

Yet, investors don't seem alarmed near term, because the Senate does not appear inclined to cut the safety net health program as deeply as the House. Shares of Anthem, Centene and Molina were up fractionally Thursday morning.
Successful people don't wait around to jump on a trend after it happens. They are the trailblazers, the innovators who set the stage and push beyond the boundaries. Today no one embodies the spirit of a visionary genius more than Elon Musk. Little did Chris Mittelstaedt know that one day their visionary genius' would align. A newly married 27-year-old in 1998, Mittelstaedt was working as a fax runner at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco while trying to land a job in advertising when he received the unexpected news that his wife was pregnant. "The clock just started ticking," Mittelstaedt said. "So I called up a couple of friends who were working downtown at the time and asked if there was anything I could do for them, and one of my friends said, 'Yeah. Everyone around here is eating really unhealthy food, drinking Jolt cola and eating chocolate-covered espresso beans. Could you bring us something healthy?'" It was long before Americans became health-obsessed and workplaces began instituting wellness programs and fitness facilities, yet Mittelstaedt saw an opportunity: Promote a healthy workforce and boost productivity by delivering fruit to offices and sourcing directly from small, independent, and family-run American farms. More from iCONIC:

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Why Peter Thiel believes in this 22-year-old's dream to clean up the oceans "Once I came up with the idea, I went to the phone book and just started cold-calling companies," said Mittelstaedt. A number of them were interested, but he had no funds to purchase the fruit. "I didn't have two pennies to rub together. But LGT Groupthe Bank of Liechtenstein at the timewanted six crates of fruit and were willing to give me an advance to purchase it." Soon after, he officially launched his company out of his one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. Now, 19 years later, The FruitGuys has 150 employees in 15 locations across the United States and provides smart snacking for 2,700 companies, including Tesla and SpaceX and a number of Fortune 500 firms. It pulls in just over $30 million annually, growing at a rate of 15 percent to 25 percent year-over-year, and it's made the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Companies for the past nine years.

Chris Mittelstaedt, founder and CEO of The FruitGuys, bootstrapped his company into a $30 million-a-year business. Source: The FruitGuys

Mittelstaedt believes that while his company's mission-driven philosophy played a key part in his success, he says timing also played a significant role. Because it was just the beginning of the dot-com boom, Mittelstaedt landed contracts with eBay , Napster and PayPal , long before they became household names. "We served eBay when Pierre Omidyar was there and there were only 12 people in the room, and we'd just walk in and say hello to everybody. At Napster we'd have to leave a box in front of the office and do a secret knock, because they were in stealth mode." Then, when the dot-com bust happened in 2001, it created further opportunities for The FruitGuys. When many of their clients lost their jobs and moved cross country, they started asking Mittelstaedt to ship their fruit. "That's how we ended up expanding nationwide," he said. The FruitGuys has never received any venture capital funding. The business was completely bootstrapped, says Mittelstaedt, adding, "People think I'm crazy, especially out here in the Bay Area in Silicon Valley." His advice to those starting out on their own: "Don't get distracted by the BS of fundraising as a marker of success. It's about are you creating a sustainable business that runs well, produces cash flow, can grow in multiple kinds of economies? Entrepreneurs should focus on execution rather than their ability to sell an idea. That's only the first step." Serving the community  and SpaceX Just as impressive as Mittelstaedt's revenue is the company's initiative designed to support local farms and feed the less fortunate. By sourcing from local growers, FruitGuys is providing opportunity for hundreds of small, independent, family-run farms across America, and in 2016 the fruit-at-work pioneer donated more than 2 million servings of fruit to soup kitchens and food pantries across the country. The company has also set up a community fund, which provides grants of up to $5,000 to small farms and agricultural nonprofits for sustainability projects that have large impacts on the environment, local food systems and farm diversity. Since 2012 The FruitGuys awarded more than $167,000 to 41 sustainable small farms. In 2010 The FruitGuys Community Fund awarded E & M Farm in Vernalis, California, and Kauffman's Fruit Farm in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, owl boxes as a natural approach to stave off pests. Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol, California, received four honey bee hives to pollinate their orchards.

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"Our whole philosophy comes from the idea of service leadership," said the founder and CEO. "We've always been mission-driven. Whether that's the people who are buying our fruit or the farmers and food pantries." One person who believes strongly in The FruitGuys' mission: Elon Musk. In July 2014, The FruitGuys began serving Tesla at its Palo Alto headquarters and its Fremont facility and was later introduced to Musk's sister company SpaceX, in Hawthorne, California. "The mission of the company really aligned with my own personal principles," says Ted Cizma, SpaceX's global executive chef. "The return on investment for keeping healthy food available for our employees is repaid many many times over through wellness and productivity and morale. And helping small American farmers is certainly one of the reasons why I continue to support them." The FruitGuys is now serving SpaceX's facilities in both Cape Canaveral and Texas.

The return on investment for keeping healthy food available for our employees is repaid many many times over through wellness and productivity and morale. And helping small American farmers is certainly one of the reasons why I continue to support them. Ted Cizma global executive chef, SpaceX

"We might pay a little bit more for it, but we know the fruit is being raised with integrity," said Cizma. "My boss is the poster child for disruptive technology for sure, and SpaceX is focused on trying to find a better, more efficient and different way to do something every day and that's every area of the company, including food and hospitality. It's never never OK to say, 'Well, that's the way we've always done it.'"

Choosing the growers

The company's decision to open additional facilities in America's business hubs  such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Phoenix  means reaching out to additional farms for sourcing. The FruitGuys base their decision on several factors, including the farm's longevity, the unique varieties and quality of their produce, their practices as well as the farm's history. "A lot of farms have been around for multigenerations," said Mittelstaedt. "Those farms are important to us because it's a preservation of American heritage. The 15 facilities represent not just the ability to be nationwide but the ability for us to support small agriculture across the U.S. If we have more facilities in a local format, we are then able to buy more produce from local growers in that region and use that product in our mixes." Jelich Ranch, a certified organic historic orchard in Portola Valley, California, which has been around since 1913, has been providing produce for The FruitGuys since 2009. "They not only help us out by buying our fruit, they are also good listeners," said Skip Parodi, the ranch manager. He told CNBC how, once a year, FruitGuys staff visits the farm to learn about any issues and listen to their needs.

Skip Parodi, the ranch manager, at Jelich Ranch. The certified organic historic orchard in Portola Valley, California, has been providing fruit for The FruitGuys since 2009. Source: The FruitGuys
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David Zalik has had numerous successes in his professional career, starting at a young age. Zalik, a math whiz, bypassed high school and began attending college at Auburn University  also Apple CEO Tim Cook's alma mater  at age 14. (He actually began taking courses at Auburn at 12 after scoring off the charts on a standardized test.) Following in his father's footsteps, Zalik studied mathematics and launched his first business, MicroTech Information Systems, while a freshman in college. MicroTech assembled computers and sold them to students. The business took off, and Zalik expanded, selling refurbished computers to corporations and eventually offering software as well. For eight years Zalik ran MicroTech Information Systems out of Auburn, Alabama. Like many tech success stories, Zalik was so successful so soon, he eventually dropped out of Auburn. In 1996 he sold the company, moved to Atlanta and founded two more companies  Phoenix and Outweb  using the MicroTech sale proceeds, which numbered "in the millions," Zalik told Bloomberg last year. (He actually first invested the proceeds in commercial real estate, a well-timed bet, before founding the additional companies.)

David Zalik, founder and CEO of GreenSky. Chris Hamilton | GreenSky

We've done eight-billion dollars. We have a trillion to go.

As a teen: "The most important thing is to get a mentor."

Being a young entrepreneur comes with many benefits, but inexperience is not one of them. Mentors can only help, and their perspective is key. With their help, your own knowledge and wisdom can only grow.

As a 20-something: "Figure out who you are  and aren't."

If you've tasted the success of an entrepreneur, it's time to accept that not everyone can fit every role. Identify where your own weaknesses lie, and partner or hire talent for what you cannot accomplish yourself.

As a 30-year-old success: "Have confidence in your instincts, but remain open and inquisitive."

Trust yourself, and approach problems and opportunities in a sequential manner. Also be open to ideas; some won't be yours. Test and fail.

And the first step for all '14-year-old' entrepreneurs: Find your passion.
This image shows Jupiters south pole, as seen by NASAs Juno spacecraft from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometers). The oval features are cyclones, up to 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) in diameter. Multiple images taken with the JunoCam instrument on three separate orbits were combined to show all areas in daylight, enhanced color, and stereographic projection.

Scientists just released a pile of more than 40 scientific papers discussing some stunning data from NASA's mission to Jupiter.

The Juno mission has observed huge cyclones at Jupiter's poles, and a magnetic field around the planet that is both larger than scientists expected, and surprisingly irregular in shape. The findings are the first of likely several papers revealing an unprecedented amount of information about the largest planet in the solar system.

The researchers published two papers Thursday in the journal Science, and 44 papers in the journal of Geophysical Research Letters.

"There is so much going on here that we didn't expect that we have had to take a step back and begin to rethink of this as a whole new Jupiter," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, in a news release.

In one paper published in Science, researchers said the spacecraft's JunoCam caught images of massive storms, one of which was 800 miles in diameter, at Jupiter's poles. The researchers said they are not sure as to how the cyclones are formed, how stable the configuration is, and why the north pole of the planet looks different than the south pole.

"We're questioning whether this is a dynamic system," said Bolton, who was lead author of the paper, "and are we seeing just one stage, and over the next year, we're going to watch it disappear, or is this a stable configuration and these storms are circulating around one another?"

Measurements of the thermal structure of Jupiter's atmosphere also revealed some unexpected structures beneath its cloud tops, which the researchers think is ammonia welling up from the deepest portions of the atmosphere and creating storms.

Scientists already knew Jupiter had a strong magnetic field, but new data discussed in the second Science paper say it is much larger than they had thought, and appeared to be irregularly shaped.

"Already we see that the magnetic field looks lumpy: it is stronger in some places and weaker in others," said that paper's lead author Jack Connerney, who is Juno deputy principal investigator and the lead for the mission's magnetic field investigation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "This uneven distribution suggests that the field might be generated by dynamo action closer to the surface, above the layer of metallic hydrogen. Every flyby we execute gets us closer to determining where and how Jupiter's dynamo works."

Data also seems to suggest Jupiter's auroras  sometimes compared to the northern and southern lights on Earth  are caused by an entirely different process. On Jupiter, the auroras are formed by particles that accrue energy and smash into molecules in the atmosphere.

The Juno mission launched in 2011 and reached Jupiter in 2016. Its primary goal is to understand how Jupiter formed and changed over time. The craft will orbit Jupiter 37 times, before descending into Jupiter's atmosphere in February 2018.
The carnival parading society Krewe D'Etat rolls its satirical float in New Orleans as part of the Mardi Gras celebrations on Feb. 23, 2017.

"Tainted leaks plant fakes in a forest of facts in an attempt to make them credible by association with genuine, stolen documents," Mr Scott-Railton said. "It gets around the problems you would have if you were to release a single falsified document. It allows you to subtly shape a narrative that an organisation may have difficulty directly confronting."

While the leaking was tailored for a Russian domestic audience in an apparent attempt to discredit the anti-Kremlin opposition, the scope and technique of the attack have potential wider consequences, said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab.

The attackers then released carefully falsified documents from one of the victims, which pro-Kremlin media reported on as if true.

The hackers have attempted to trick more than 200 confirmed targets from 39 countries into surrendering their email login details through phishing attacks, according to a report by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs published on Thursday.

Hackers are stepping up efforts to steal and manipulate emails from critics of the Russian government, security researchers say, using techniques that were hallmarks of a cyber attack on Emmanuel Macron's campaign on the eve of France's presidential election.

President of the political movement 'En Marche!' (On the move!) and candidate for the French presidential election Emmanuel Macron makes a statement after his visit to the 'Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation' (Deportation Memorial) on April 30, 2017 in Paris, France.

As well as having similarities with the interference in Mr Macron's election campaign, the attacks used a phishing method similar to the hacks on the Democratic party that coloured last year's US election. Intelligence officials and cyber security researchers say Russia's secret services were behind those leaks.

Citizen Lab says the targets included Mikhail Kasyanov, a former Russian prime minister now in opposition; cabinet members, ambassadors and military officers from 28 countries; senior corporate executives; and journalists and activists in Russia.

"Of course, governments spy on journalists and read all their emails," said Eva Galperin, director of cyber security at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. "The notion that they should do all of this and make the contents public  with or without changes  is a fairly new thing from the last couple of years in Russian information tactics."

CyberBerkut, an ostensibly independent hacking group that the US and Germany have said is a Russian intelligence operation, posted emails from one of the victims, former US journalist David Satter, alongside fake documents alleging a US government plot to undermine Russia. The same site previously posted fakes added to hacked documents from the Open Society Foundations, billionaire George Soros' philanthropy arm.

The range of targets, as well as significant resources required to process the information, suggests the hackers were acting in Russia's interests, said Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab.

"We have no conclusive evidence that links these operations to a particular Russian government agency; however, there is clear overlap between our evidence and that presented by numerous industry and government reports concerning Russian-affiliated threat actors," the organisation said.

Researchers discovered the attack while investigating a hack of Mr Satter, a prominent western critic of the Russian government. Hackers gained access to Mr Satter's email account when he clicked on a phishing link  the technique used in the attacks on the Democratic party.

Researchers compared the malicious link sent to Mr Satter with similar emails sent to Bellingcat, an open-source investigative journalism site.

ThreatConnect, a security firm, attributed them to APT 28, a group that US intelligence and security researchers say is a Russian intelligence operation behind hacks on the Democratic party, Mr Macron's campaign, the White House and Nato.

Researchers at the Citizen Lab identified patterns in the URLs to find that they had been sent to 198 other targets.

The documents that appeared on CyberBerkut's website included several forgeries, created by altering documents hacked from Mr Satter's emails. In the fake documents, Mr Satter, who advises an investigative journalism programme funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, was depicted as orchestrating a campaign to plant articles against Russian president Vladimir Putin in the Russian press.

Mr Satter believes the hack was aimed at discrediting Russia's opposition by association with him. "They're trying to create these bogeymen to link the opposition to undesirable people  me being the undesirable in this case," he said.
Lenovo , the world's largest maker of personal computers, is expecting profitability in its smartphone and server business where it has made large acquisitions, in the "near future", the company's finance chief told CNBC on Thursday.

The Chinese technology giant reported $9.6 billion in revenues for the three months ending March 31, a 5 percent year-on-year rise. For the full-year, however, revenue fell 4 percent to $43 billion. Meanwhile, profit for the full year was $535 million, a rise from the $128 million loss recorded in the previous fiscal year.

Lenovo's PC business, which represents around 70 percent of its total revenue, saw unit shipments decline 1 percent, a smaller fall than the overall global PC market which fell 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017, according to Gartner.

"We are always doing our business at a premium to the market," Wong Wai Ming, chief financial officer of Lenovo, told CNBC in an interview on Thursday.

But in the past few years, the company has tried to expand its presence in two areas: smartphones and data centers. In 2014, Lenovo bought Motorola's phone business from Google, and that same year purchased IBM's x86 server business.

Lenovo's mobile and data center businesses have been struggling as the company looks to integrate the acquisitions to create synergies. But in the mobile business it saw an operational loss of $566 million, widening from the $469 million loss in the year before. And the data center group recorded a loss of $343 million.
The newly elected French President has chosen pragmatism as a way to overcome divergences with the U.S. administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters he had a "very frank" discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump, following a meeting at the U.S. embassy in Brussels.

"We discussed all subjects with President Trump. We had a long discussion, which was very frank," Macron told reporters in Brussels.

"In the center of the discussion was pragmatism . We don't necessarily interpret things in the same way, but we were able to speak very frankly," he added.

The two leaders, who had a somewhat quick handshake at the start of their meeting, discussed issues such as terrorism and climate change. Macron told reporters that it was important that the U.S. should not take a "hasty decision" and withdraw their support for the Paris Climate agreement, which aims to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.

When asked about President Trump's personality, Macron said: "It's not for me to make any physiologic comments. I met an effective and open partner."
Today, as every day, teachers called the names of more than 140,000 students, as they took attendance in Montanas 821 public schools. For the thousands of children who file into our classrooms, school is more than a place to learn. In-school programs and practices ensure children across the state stay healthy, well fed, safe and enriched.

However, recent efforts by Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act could severely alter our public schools ability to foster all students development. In Montana, roughly $55 million in Medicaid funding flows into our schools, and more than $35 million of that is federal funding. State and federal Medicaid dollars fund critical in-school programs and services for our young students.

While Medicaid spending on school-based health services is a small part of Medicaid spending, it plays a significant role in our schools. The current plan to repeal the ACA also includes devastating cuts to federal Medicaid funds, and in-school services could be one of the first items on the chopping block.

Superintendents and school administrators know that Medicaid dollars are critical for making sure students have the resources, health care, and developmental screenings that will help them thrive. These funds are an essential component of the funding for students with disabilities. In Montana, nearly 16,000 students, or more than 1 in 10 students overall, have special education needs.

Therapist and wheelchairs

Because Medicaid is traditionally spent on high-cost services such as occupational and physical therapy, nursing, and specialized equipment like wheelchairs and power scooters, cuts to Medicaid would mean schools will have an even more difficult time providing a free and appropriate public education for all students.

Medicaid also helps defray costs of health-related services that our schools provide to students. This includes programs that monitor the needs of children with asthma and diabetes and, in a big way, school-based mental health services to Medicaid-eligible children. These programs are critical to ensuring our students are healthy and ready to learn.

Medicaid reimbursements ensure a school district can provide students with the services they need, and it also goes a long way toward helping districts meet their budgetary needs, without further shifting those costs to local taxpayers.

Ripple effects

Taking away Medicaid funding will result in cost shifting, diminished services, and the potential of additional litigation as schools are unable to meet the needs of the children who come to us every day expecting the best possible services.

The ripple effects of congressional plans to slash Medicaid funding would harm special education students, low-income families, and the hardworking staff in our public schools.

It is imperative that this funding remain in place for Montanas students and our public schools. If we want our schools to continue doing everything they can to make sure every student succeeds, we must demand that Congress abandon the idea of making structural changes to Medicaid and cutting the funding to states and our schools. Healthy kids make better students, and better students have more success in life.
President, Donald Trump and British Prime Minister, Theresa May are pictured ahead of a photo opportunity of leaders as they arrive for a NATO summit meeting on May 25, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that alleged intelligence leaks that have surfaced after the Manchester Arena bombing are "deeply troubling" and has ordered the Justice Department to review who's behind them.

Trump's statement, released by the White House during a summit with world leaders, didn't mention Monday night's terror attack in Manchester by name, but comes after British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would tell her American counterpart that security intelligence must remain tightly held between the longstanding allies.

British authorities are continuing to investigate the suicide bombing outside of an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 and was carried out by a Manchester-born man whose family is accused of having terrorist ties in Libya, officials said.

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Photos were published by The New York Times on Wednesday of evidence collected from the carnage  a public display that British counterterrorism officials strongly objected to because they said it "undermines our investigations."

A senior U.S. law enforcement official told NBC News that the same photos were provided by British authorities to American investigators. The Times didn't disclose how it obtained the photos.

Frustrated British police trying to determine a motive for the attack responded that they would stop sharing information with United States law enforcement, the BBC first reported.

May also said she will make clear to Trump during Thursday's NATO summit in Brussels that she wants the countries' shared intelligence to be protected.

"We have a special relationship with the USA. It is our deepest defense and security partnership that we have. Of course that partnership is built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently," May told reporters.

Trump reiterated in his statement that he wants the Justice Department to review the matter and any culprits would be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling," Trump said. "These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this."

The president has repeatedly expressed aggravation with high-profile leaks concerning his administration, some that played a part in the resignation of national security adviser Mike Flynn. In February, Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate "criminal leaks" and claimed those leakers were holdovers from the Obama administration.

Trump, while in Jerusalem on Tuesday, condemned the Manchester bombing and said "dozens of innocent people, beautiful young children, [were] savagely murdered in this heinous attack upon humanity."

The suspected bomber was identified as 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was previously on the radar of the U.S. intelligence community. Multiple U.S. officials told NBC News that he had traveled to Libya and may also have entered Syria.

But it was not immediately known whether Abedi had any training or specific ties to foreign terrorist groups.

At least six suspects have been arrested so far in the case, including the suspect's brother and father, both taken into custody in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, NBC News' U.K. partner ITV News reported Wednesday.

"It is very clear this is a network we are investigating," Manchester police chief Ian Hopkins said.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member, has signed a memorandum of understanding this week with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in order to encourage fintech innovation in Asia via the establishment of an Asean Financial Innovation Network (Afin).

The new Afin body, overseen by IFC and MAS, will set up a regional network this year to help financial institutions (FIs), financial technology (fintech) firms and regulators in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trading bloc address issues of cross-border compatibility in the region.

The Asean Bankers Association (ABA) was involved in the early discussions about the formation of Afin and it is hoped they will support the initiative in future as it attempts to roll out branches across Southeast Asia.

The key focus will be on:

Standardizing compliance duties and cross-border connectivity in order to ease customer end use journeys and improve competition.

Increasing financial inclusion and access for the poor.

Removing inappropriate national restrictions.

An Afin industry 'sandbox', which enables FIs and fintechs to develop, test and refine digital finance and inclusion software, apps and tools, may also follow later this year, but the initial focus is on enhancing economic integration, inclusion and the advancement of technology within the Asean region.

If a sandbox is introduced it would operate on a cloud computing platform that allowed participants to run their test scenarios on a shared, protected computer system that could aid collaboration and experimentation in a non-live environment.

Commenting on the establishment of Afin in a statement, Vivek Pathak, director of the East Asia and Pacific area at IFC, said: "The initiative builds on IFC's efforts to deepen access to finance for underserved segments of the population. In today's world it is feasible to reach these segments of the population at a fraction of the cost and at a speed that was not feasible earlier."

"New business models resulting from the digital transformation of financial services and fintech adoption in the region can create new markets that will lead to a higher level of prosperity," he added.

"The end desired state is for financial institutions to be able to embrace innovation and collaboration more easily, and for innovations to spread more easily across the region."

Other MAS collaboration deals

 The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) already has numerous fintech cooperation deals with other bodies around the world, including with the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGB).

It recently established a co-operation framework with France's respective banking / insurance and savings protection regulators  the Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution (ACPR) and Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF)  in March of this year.

The Singaporean regulator also has its own fintech innovation lab called Looking Glass @ MAS as part of its efforts to encourage fintech co-operation and innovation.

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Thousands of protesters took to the streets Wednesday to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's arrival in the city he previously likened to a "hellhole."

"If you don't want Trump in Belgium clap your hands," chanted some, while others opted for "hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go."

Marchers carried colorful flags and banners inscribed with slogans such as "Fight Donald Trump and his billionaire friends" and "stay out of our hole," a reference to an interview Trump gave last year in which he described Brussels as "like living in a hellhole right now."

According to capital police, 9,000 people attended the rally.

The president and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Brussels Wednesday for the fourth leg of his first foreign trip as commander-in-chief. He will spend just over 24 hours in the city before flying to Sicily for the G7 summit.
Merlon Intelligence, a U.S. headquartered provider of risk management and compliance solutions for financial services companies, has raised $7.65 million in seed financing.

The company, launched last year , has a range of anti-money laundering (AML) and other compliance tools on its analytical platform that can investigate 'big' unstructured data sources in social media and online in order to alert banks about any fraud, sanctions busting transactions, or other risks.

It will use the new growth capital from investors at DCVC, Fenway Summer, Nyca and Work-Bench to find potential customers for its analytical platform and expand and deepen its range of compliance solutions.

Bradford Cross, a partner at the venture capital (VC) firm Data Collective (DCVC) and well known technology investor, is leading the early stage investment round. He has previously invested in Flightcaster, a flight delay predictor, and Prismatic, a failed personalized news reader app that LinkedIn subsequently acquired. This is his first investment in a financial technology (fintech) company.

Regtech

Merlon Intelligence operates in the regulatory technology (regtech) sub-set that is focused on helping financial institutions (FIs) meet their statutory obligations. There is also insurance (insurtech) and a growing number of other fintech industry offshoots.

Fintech itself is increasingly used as a term specially aimed at bank end uses only, although it remains the over-arching name for this general investment arena. Many of the same technology companies offer similar artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, big data or cloud computing services across the different verticals as they are applicable for different end uses.

Big data

Merlon specializes in examining 'big' unstructured data pools, such as can be found on social media and on the 'dark web' that criminals use, and then using AI-inspired machine learning techniques to alert FIs about potential AML or fraud risks after it has run its analysis.

When this intelligence gathering capability is combined with FIs own 'big computing' number crunching abilities, in an era where the cost of computing power has fallen, the result can be effective in stopping money laundering and other nefarious activities. Users pay for access, rather than specific products or features.

The regtech firm's natural language processing (NLP) technology can aid automation in the regulatory compliance field and crucially enrich the analytical capabilities of Merlon's platform as NLP helps to make correlations and links between events and people plain, so that anything suspicious can be flagged up. Further investigation by a human FI employee can then follow.

Traditional AML, sanctions screening, on-boarding and internal Know Your Customer (KYC) analysts employed at FIs, and at their partners, can provide feedback to tweak and improve the functioning of the entire system.

The Merlon Intelligence platform should help banks to keep costs down in what is typically a non-differentiating area in which it is expensive to develop or maintain their own FI tools but where nonetheless banks have to meet minimum regulatory standards.

Compliance is a critical field because if banks get their systems wrong, or don't align their people, process and technology as they should, then large billion dollar fines can await.

So-called 'false positive' alerts where activity is incorrectly flagged as suspicious and valid customer transactions are stopped from going through, causing inconvenience and possibly reputational damage, is also a concern. If their intelligence gathering systems, such as the one on offer from Merlon, can reduce the number of these false positives it is beneficial to bank end users.

The regtech firm uses anonymized bank data to improve its functioning and says it is already working with a number of interested bank customers that are willing to share the data because the start-up doesn't actually export any data, just its analytical results. Mutual benefits accrue from sharing data in this manner. If Merlon gains traction and manages to scale up the power and capabilities of its analytical platform will benefit from the network effect of increased cooperation.

Others already operating in the 'big data' analysis compliance field include potential rival Palantir Technologies, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and established legacy players such as SAS, Oracle and Lexus Nexus.

Expanded team

Merlon Intelligence's operational team has expanded with this first round of VC fundraising. Financial services veteran Konrad Alt, formerly a managing director at Promontory Financial Group and ex-U.S. Department of the Treasury employee with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, joins as chief operating officer (COO). He will be part of Merlon's effort to win enterprise software contracts with large banks around the world. The start-up's board of advisors also includes:

Cantwell F. ('Chuck') Muckenfuss III, the former U.S. Deputy Comptroller of the Currency and now ex-partner at law firm, Gibson Dunn.

Neal Wolin, former Deputy Treasury Secretary and COO at the Hartford Financial Services Group.

Mike Marcus, former Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at HSBC.

Stuart Bell, consultant and former global sales manager at Bloomberg.

In a statement Merlon's new COO, Konrad Alt, claimed the regtech start-up is: "Building a modern compliance platform that can help control costs, strengthen risk management, and provide a great experience for the people who depend on it do their jobs."

"We can bring all the information that users need together in one system, and use artificial intelligence (AI) to make sure important details never get lost," he added. "When big financial institutions can meet their compliance obligations more effectively, at a lower cost, everybody benefits."

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The Silicon Valley funded space company, RocketLab, has fired a battery powered, 3-D printed rocket into space from a launch pad in New Zealand.

The successful test marks the arrival of another player in the race to launch cheap rockets that can carry small satellites or other cargo.

RocketLab says it is the first of three trial flights in the lead-up to full commercial take offs planned for later this year.

The launch was captured on Rocket Lab's official Twitter account.

Tweet 1

Space Race

SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are both attempting to develop reusable rockets in order to reduce the cost of space access.

But RocketLab is instead focussing on cheap, disposable rockets.

Their projectile, known as Electron, is 17 meters long and can carry a maximum payload of 225 kilograms.
The energy minister of Russia has underlined how global oil producers still have the flexibility to do more to help rebalance markets just hours after OPEC and non-OPEC members agreed to prolong their current agreement. Oil prices plunged nearly 5 percent on Thursday after major exporters extended their deal to limit oil production for nine months, disappointing investors who were anticipating deeper cuts. But Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told CNBC after the meeting that there were instruments in place to react to any situation, such as an aggressive fall in oil prices. "You know, we have the capability to react to any situation that might arise on the market. And to this end we have a technical committee working on this every month," he told CNBC in Vienna when asked about the possibility of deeper cuts to production. "The ministry committee will continue to work on this basis," he added. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee was recently established to watch compliance on a nation-by-nation basis and is a group composed of representatives from OPEC and non-OPEC nations. Its next meeting will take place in Moscow in July. "With regards my own forecasts, I think that within the next two months before the next meeting of the ministers in the JMMC, we will see a continuation of the rebalancing in the market, a reduction of inventories," he continued.

"Because there is a period of increase in demand and when excess volumes leave the market that has a positive influence on the rebalancing of the market," he said.



In December 2016, the producers decided to remove 1.8 million barrels a day from the market. Before Thursday, investors had hoped the cartel might reduce output even further to drain a global glut that has depressed the market for almost three years.



When asked whether Russia would be prepared to cut deeper than its current level of around 300,000 barrels a day, Novak said it would depend "on the goals the countries have set themselves and the goals that we want to achieve."



"Currently, we believe that the ceilings and figures that we have reached as a result of the memoir that we signed ... These levels are sufficient to continue to rebalance the market," he said.

Watch: Russian oil minister says unlikely oil will hit $100 soon
Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal has partnered with Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. to seize ownership from the Plaza's landlord Subrata Roy, who's been jailed in India for allegedly scamming investors in that country for billions of dollars, according to the New York Post .

A Saudi prince could lift New York's iconic Plaza Hotel out of a messy fraud scandal that's crumbled its appeal.

The Fifth Avenue hotel, both the setting for children's series "Eloise" as well as Donald Trump's second wedding, has fallen into disrepair amid its owner's legal troubles, the Post reports.

Ashkenazky, headed by Ben Ashkenazy and Michael Alpert, would purchase a controlling portion of Al-Waleed's stake in the hotel, the Post reports.

The hotel won't be Ashkenazy's first real estate move in Manhattan. The corporation also owns the NYLO and Marriott East Side hotels, office buildings 625 and 635 Madison Ave., and a building that houses Barneys New York flagship, along with residential property across the U.S.

The deal could also resurrect the Plaza's shuttered Oak Room and Oak Bar and Edwardian Room, an elegant suite where Italian designer Angelo Galasso once lived, the Post reports. The new owners also want to give the 282 rooms of the hotel, which opened in 1907, an update.
A Pryor man who admitted molesting the older sister of a teenager he previously sexually assaulted was sentenced to time served in U.S. District Court in Billings on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters, in sentencing Fred Smart Enemy Jr., 73, followed a plea agreement that recommended time served. The judge also imposed a lifetime of supervised release as requested by the prosecutor and ordered him to register as a sex offender.

Smart Enemy, who has spent about nine months in federal custody, has about three years remaining on a state sentence for his conviction for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the Wal-Mart parking lot in February 2015.

Watters said the federal sentence along with a lifetime of supervised release will ensure Smart Enemy gets treatment and will protect the public.

Smart Enemy made no statement at the hearing, which was attended by the victim.

Assistant Federal Defender Steve Babcock requested 10 years of supervised release, saying Smart Enemy was in poor health.

Smart Enemy faced a maximum two years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine and a guideline range of eight months to 14 months.

Smart Enemy pleaded guilty in January to abusive contact for touching the victims breast while she was asleep and without her permission in 2012, when the victim was 20 years old.

As the state case was prosecuted, the victim in the federal case disclosed that Smart Enemy also had sexually abused her. She had never disclosed the molestation until Smart Enemy abused her younger sister, prosecutors said.
"It doesn't have to be an either-or situation. It's possible to reform PSLF in a way that saves money and still provides an incentive for talented workers to accept lower pay in underserved communities."

Our support for these jobs and the people who choose them for the benefit of society speaks volumes to our priorities. Getting rid of PSLF would no longer provide a pathway for those who are willing to take less pay for the good of the communities they serve. Those who are passionate about helping still have to put food on the table and support their families.

It doesn't have to be an either-or situation. It's possible to reform the PSLF program so that it isn't as expensive, but still helps those who need it most. An Obama Administration proposal was to cap forgiveness at $57,500. It was never adopted, but a Congressional Budget Office analysis indicated that capping the benefit for PSLF could save $6.7 billion compared to current cost projections.

Because most borrowers graduate with less than $40,000 in debt, they could still benefit from the PSLF program with this change. Borrowers who graduate with balances greater than the $57,500 cap may still have their full balance paid off as many would pay down their balances over the 10-year repayment period prior to receiving forgiveness.

Additionally, it's important to make sure the borrowers who need this program the most have access. Borrowers in high-paying fields are less likely to need PSLF, but they are also more likely to drive costs and the budget up with six-figure student loan debt.

The Brookings Institute authors created an additional analysis through New America that included a lawyer as an example. The lawyer could start at $59,000, but make $121,000 annually at the end of 10 years. That lawyer would have $147,000 forgiven in loans tax-free (after making $49,000 in payments over 10 years under income-driven repayment). Capping the forgiveness at $57,500 would still provide a benefit to the lawyer for working in the public sector, but at the same time would also save taxpayers $89,500.

So we want to preserve access to lower-income professions, like teachers and social workers. The New America analysis also looks at a K-12 teacher starting at $35,000 a year and making $56,000 by the end of 10 years.

They would typically repay $16,000 under income-driven repayment over 10 years. The forgiveness amount would be $41,000. This would still allow the teacher, who has greater need, to have their loan forgiven.

PSLF provides communities all over the country with talented workers  and we all benefit from this. Whatever is decided with regard to the budget, it's vital that we consider the fact that investing in our people will likely provide a solid ROI.

Commentary by Andrew Josuweit, CEO of Student Loan Hero, a company that combines easy-to-use tools with financial education to help millions of Americans living with student loan debt. Follow him on Twitter @josablack.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.


Ready for the return of Marcus Lemonis?

On Tuesday, June 6, at 10P ET/PT, The Profit is back to fix small businesses in need. And this time, he's heading to Miami, Fl for SWIM by Chuck Handy, a family-run swimwear company that's struggling to connect with its target consumer. The business is drowning under poor leadership, outdated designs and misguided processes. Will Marcus be able to get them to swim with style?

Check out the clips above for a taste of what's in store for The Profit's premiere.

About The Profit

When Marcus Lemonis isn't running his multi-billion dollar company, Camping World, he goes on the hunt for struggling businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a deal. In each one-hour episode of The Profit, Lemonis makes an offer that's impossible to refuse; his cash for a piece of the business and a percentage of the profits. And once inside these companies, he'll do almost anything to save the business and make himself a profit; even if it means firing the president, promoting the secretary or doing the work himself.
When the city of Toledo temporarily lost access to clean drinking water several years ago after a bloom of toxic algae, the Environmental Protection Agency sent scientists from its Office of Research and Development to study health effects and formulate solutions.

The same office was on the front lines of the Flint water crisis and was a critical presence in handling medical waste from the U.S. Ebola cases in 2014.

Thomas Burke, who directed ORD during the last two years of the Obama administration and was the agency's science adviser, calls the office the nation's "scientific backstop in emergencies."

President Trump's 2018 budget would slash ORD's funding in half as part of an overall goal to cut the EPA's budget by 31 percent.

A statement from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt did not directly address the cuts to ORD, but offered broad defense of the proposed agency budget, saying it "respects the American taxpayer" and "supports EPA's highest priorities with federal funding for priority work in infrastructure, air and water quality, and ensuring the safety of chemicals in the marketplace."

ORD has no regulatory authority, but it conducts the bulk of the research that underlies EPA policies. ORD scientists are involved in "virtually every major environmental challenge the nation has," Burke said. Diminishing the role and input of the office, he said, risked leaving the country "uninformed about risks and public health."

"In time, you're flying blind," he said. "Everything becomes a mystery."

Trump's budget, released Tuesday, reflects the president's wish list. The numbers likely will change by the time it goes through the congressional appropriations process, but the proposed cuts are consistent with the administration's push against environmental regulation and scientific funding. Many of the cuts fall on agencies involved with climate change research, including the EPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.

Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters in a Tuesday briefing that the budget reduces climate science funding without eliminating it.

"Do we target it? Sure," Mulvaney said in response to a reporter's question. "Do a lot of the EPA reductions aim at reducing the focus on climate science? Yes. Does it mean that we are anti-science? Absolutely not. We're simply trying to get things back in order to where we can look at the folks who pay the taxes, and say, look, yeah, we want to do some climate science, but we're not going to do some of the crazy stuff the previous administration did."

Much of the EPA's climate research takes place in the Office of Air and Radiation, which is separate from ORD. But ORD studies the strategic, long-term effects of climate change, including the effects on agriculture and the oceans, Burke said.

Christine Todd Whitman, a former EPA administrator who worked for George W. Bush from 2001 to June 2003, said the proposed ORD cuts are more drastic than anything she can remember.

Whitman said she expects Congress will restore much of the funding, but she worries about the message behind the budget.

"A budget to me was always a policy document," she said. Regardless of what Congress does, this administration's policy "indicates to me [that] they'll be looking for other ways to  stifle the research and slow it down," she said.

OMB and the EPA did not return requests for comment about the ORD cuts.

ORD is one of several EPA programs listed under a section of the budget called "2018 major savings and reforms." The others include EPA enforcement (24 percent cut); Superfund, which cleans up toxic waste sites (30 percent); categorical state grants (45 percent); and funding for watershed protection, energy efficiency and voluntary climate programs, which would be eliminated.

The budget states the ORD reductions would allow the EPA to "focus on core Agency responsibilities  At lower funding levels for the Office of Research and Development, the Agency would prioritize intramural research activities that are either related to statutory requirements or that support basic and early stage research and development activities in the environmental and human health sciences."

Whitman and Burke said ORD already does that  and halving the budget would make it virtually impossible to meet EPA's regulatory mandate.

ORD is "the backbone of the scientific research that goes on," Whitman said. "Every regulation promulgated by EPA is based in science."

Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said he worries Congress will use the budget to justify serious but less drastic cuts to the agency. This administration's philosophy seems to be "if you don't measure it, you don't have to be held accountable for it."

ORD also helps regional EPA offices. Michael Mikulka, president of AFGE Local 704, a union representing scientists, engineers and attorneys at EPA's Region 5 office (in the Great Lakes area), said he relies on ORD's Cincinnati lab for advice on toxic waste cleanup. "If their staff is cut significantly, there would be less people to advise us."

Burke said ORD was always going to be a target. The office came under fire from environmentalists in 2015 when it released a draft study that said hydraulic fracturing had no "widespread, systemic impacts" on drinking water. After considering comments from the EPA's independent Science Advisory Board, the report authors reversed their findings, concluding there was insufficient evidence to support their previous statement. This time, the report was widely criticized by the oil and gas industry.

ORD is also home to the IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) program that sets exposure guidelines for chemicals. The program has been criticized for dragging its feet and bowing to the interests of the chemical industry.

"I'm very concerned the IRIS program will be zeroed out," Burke said. "There's an endless challenge by polluters to delay the science."

But aside from a few high-profile issues, much of ORD's work takes place under the radar. The office has laboratories all over the country, working on air pollution, ocean acidification and vehicle emissions.

One of ORD's lesser-known responsibilities is dealing with homeland security. "God forbid, if we have to clean up a water supply after a terrorist activity, it [would be] in this office," Burke said.

Whitman said the EPA was tasked with cleaning up the Hart Senate Office Building in 2001 after then-Sen. Tom Daschle received an envelope containing anthrax powder. Whitman remembers asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a safe standard of anthrax exposure. The CDC didn't know, she said, so ORD did the research and set it at zero.

"These are the kinds of things you lose" when you de-fund the "national nerve center of the science challenges facing not just the EPA, but all the states and all the communities," Burke said.
Trump said the U.S. would not "forsake the friends" who came to America's aid after the deadly terrorist attacks. He did not, however, explicitly mention and endorse "Article 5," the mutual assistance clause in the NATO charter that he was widely expected to back publicly for the first time .

The ceremony in Brussels dedicated a memorial to the only time NATO has invoked that automatic defense clause  after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks  when those same NATO nations came the America's defense by sending troops to Afghanistan and elsewhere.

President Donald Trump stood next to a twisted piece of the World Trade Center and addressed America's NATO allies on Thursday  but he didn't give them the assurance they wanted that the United States will automatically come to their defense.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd L) speaks as US President Donald Trump (C) arrives next to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (R) for a family picture during the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit at the NATO headquarters, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017.

Trump, who won the White House with an anti-global message, has repeatedly bashed NATO and the European Union, which have formed the basis of U.S.-Europe cooperation for decades. Trump's failure to commit to honoring Article 5 if a U.S. ally is attacked has come as Russia has become more militarily assertive.

His speech Thursday likely created more unease for the leaders of NATO countries, said Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to the alliance.

"The leaders of NATO were ... hoping to hear those words of affirmation. It didn't happen ... and that was a problem," he told MSNBC.

The White House insisted that Trump's mere presence at the meeting was an endorsement of Article 5. A senior White House official told NBC News that "participation alone" should "be seen as an endorsement of Article 5."

Explicitly endorsing it "would be redundant," the official said.

Hallie Jackson tweet: What's up w/lack of an explicit endorsement of Article 5 from @POTUS? A sr . WH official tells me "participation alone" affirms commitment:

"The mere fact" that allies looked for Trump to publicly reaffirm the commitment to Article 5 "is a testament to their concern about his support for NATO," said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former National Security Council official in the Obama and Clinton administrations.

Watch: Germany spending the least of GDP on defense: Expert
President Donald Trump called on his NATO allies to spend more on defense to fight terrorism.

Trump has said it is not fair for U.S. taxpayers that few NATO members respect the 2 percent of gross domestic product contribution and argued the threshold is not enough to fight terrorism.

"Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all NATO countries combined. If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense," Trump said as leaders arrived in Brussels for a NATO summit.

"We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness and the size of forces. We have to make up for the many years lost," Trump said.

Thursday's NATO meeting, the first for Trump, took place at the new headquarters of the defense alliance.

"I never asked once what the new NATO headquarters cost. I refuse to do that. But it is beautiful," Trump said.

The new building cost 1.12 billion euros ($1.26 billion), according to a NATO fact sheet.

Trump said the U.S. would not "forsake the friends," but he did not explicitly mention and endorse "Article 5," the mutual assistance clause in the NATO charter that he was widely expected to back publicly for the first time.

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President Donald Trump may find himself with some explaining to do during his visit to the European Union's de facto capital on Thursday  a place he called a "hellhole" just last year.

While Belgium may be smaller than Maryland and have a population of a little over 11 million, its capital is home to the headquarters of both NATO and the EU. Trump has been a vocal critic of both institutions.

"One thing is for sure, nobody is waiting for President Trump," said Lawrence Kerknawi, a political consultant who was taking a break from work before the 1,000-strong White House entourage arrived on Wednesday. "People are not excited that he is coming."

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As Trump touched down on Belgian soil, 9,000 demonstrators took to the streets to protest his trip.

The message was clear. "Get the hell out of our hole," one placard read. Another stated: "Mr. Trump, you are not welcome."

Even before barbed-wire barricades closed many roads, some residents weren't enthusiastic about their American guest.

"I don't want to waste my time thinking about Trump," said Philippe Dekeysery, who was flicking through CDs at a flea market. "It's all show and no substance. I'm sure after calling the city a hellhole he'll come here and say, 'it's fabulous.'"

The now-infamous "hellhole" comment still stings locals.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about," said Claude Decorte, 46, who had just cycled for 90 minutes to get to his job at a bank in central Brussels. "I'd like to see him point out where Belgium is on a map. I'm sure he doesn't know where it is."

Trump has encouraged other EU member states to follow Britain's lead and leave the bloc. "They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!" he tweeted in the wake of last summer's referendum in the U.K.

@realDonaldTrump: They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!

But visitors at Mini-Europe, an amusement park that features small versions of the continent's most iconic buildings, were convinced the EU would outlast Trump's presidency.

"He may have offended every nation in the European Union but then on a diplomatic level I think he will be quiet, because he has to be," predicted Thomas Mono, a 32-year-old Parisian who was admiring a version of Finland's Castle of Olavinlinna with his family.

"I don't think Trump is really a threat to Europe," added Israel Jofflot, a Belgian who was taking selfies in front of a tiny replica of his capital's Grande Place. "There's a lot of blah, blah, blah, that goes on but not much action."

Kerstin Maas-Enriquez, 29, a German who was visiting the park with her daughter and husband, suggested that Trump might even be a good thing for Europe.

"It might mean Europe has to be more independent and more united, and that can only be positive," she said.

"I think people are hoping for the best but we don't really trust him," added Christian Bonte, 50, who works for the European Council. "There is a sense that he wants to pick apart Europe and deal with countries individually, but that's the equivalent of the EU dealing with each of the 50 American states separately. It wouldn't work."

Some Belgians thought that Trump's trip  which has included stops in Riyadh, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Vatican  had shown a new side of the president.

Haouraji Brahil, 70, a self-described prolific stamp collector who was digging around for treasures at the flea market, thought Trump had turned a corner.

"I think since he has become president he has changed," he said. "I think he is becoming more diplomatic. It will be interesting to see how he acts here and what he is here for."

Trump was due to sit down with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker on Thursday.

He will have lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, who defeated far-right rival Marine Le Pen in last month's election. Before the vote, Trump described Le Pen whom a French court once ruled could be described as a "fascist"  as the "strongest" candidate in the race.

In the afternoon, he is scheduled to attend his first NATO summit, where he is expected to push for members to boost defense spending to the equivalent of two percent of GDP.

The president has had an uneasy relationship with the alliance, even describing it as "obsolete." While he has since changed his mind in April he said the organisation was "no longer obsolete"  his inconsistency has raised questions about whether the alliance can rely on America.

The president's next stop will be the G-7 summit on the Italian island of Sicily.

Kerknawi, the Belgian political consultant, suggested there was little Trump could do during his 29 hours in Brussels to improve his reputation.

"He's very unpopular in Europe," he added. "People don't think he's very intelligent. Brussels is a complex city and European society is different from American society and he doesn't seem to get it."
President Donald Trump appears on stage at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. April 29, 2017. Carlo Allegri | Reuters

It was the kind of utterance that makes professional transcribers question their career choice: "  there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself  and the Russians, zero." When President Trump offered that response to a question at a press conference last week, it was the latest example of his tortured syntax, mid-thought changes of subject, and apparent trouble formulating complete sentences, let alone a coherent paragraph, in unscripted speech.

For decades, studies have found that deterioration in the fluency, complexity, and vocabulary level of spontaneous speech can indicate slipping brain function due to normal aging or neurodegenerative disease.

Research has shown that changes in speaking style can result from cognitive decline. STAT therefore asked experts in neurolinguistics and cognitive assessment, as well as psychologists and psychiatrists, to compare Trump's speech from decades ago to that in 2017; they all agreed there had been a deterioration, and some said it could reflect changes in the health of Trump's brain. In interviews Trump gave in the 1980s and 1990s (with Tom Brokaw, David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Rose, and others), he spoke articulately, used sophisticated vocabulary, inserted dependent clauses into his sentences without losing his train of thought, and strung together sentences into a polished paragraph, which  and this is no mean feat  would have scanned just fine in print. This was so even when reporters asked tough questions about, for instance, his divorce, his brush with bankruptcy, and why he doesn't build housing for working-class Americans.

Trump fluently peppered his answers with words and phrases such as "subsided," "inclination," "discredited," "sparring session," and "a certain innate intelligence." He tossed off well-turned sentences such as, "It could have been a contentious route," and, "These are the only casinos in the United States that are so rated." He even offered thoughtful, articulate aphorisms: "If you get into what's missing, you don't appreciate what you have," and, "Adversity is a very funny thing."

Now, Trump's vocabulary is simpler. He repeats himself over and over, and lurches from one subject to an unrelated one, as in this answer during an interview with the Associated Press last month: "People want the border wall. My base definitely wants the border wall, my base really wants it  you've been to many of the rallies. OK, the thing they want more than anything is the wall. My base, which is a big base; I think my base is 45 percent. You know, it's funny. The Democrats, they have a big advantage in the Electoral College. Big, big, big advantage.  The Electoral College is very difficult for a Republican to win, and I will tell you, the people want to see it. They want to see the wall." For decades, studies have found that deterioration in the fluency, complexity, and vocabulary level of spontaneous speech can indicate slipping brain function due to normal aging or neurodegenerative disease. STAT and the experts therefore considered only unscripted utterances, not planned speeches and statements, since only the former tap the neural networks that offer a window into brain function. The experts noted clear changes from Trump's unscripted answers 30 years ago to those in 2017, in some cases stark enough to raise questions about his brain health. They noted, however, that the same sort of linguistic decline can also reflect stress, frustration, anger, or just plain fatigue. Ben Michaelis, a psychologist in New York City, performed cognitive assessments at the behest of the New York Supreme Court and criminal courts and taught the technique at a hospital and university. "There are clearly some changes in Trump as a speaker" since the 1980s, said Michaelis, who does not support Trump, including a "clear reduction in linguistic sophistication over time," with "simpler word choices and sentence structure.  In fairness to Trump, he's 70, so some decline in his cognitive functioning over time would be expected." Some sentences, or partial sentences, would, if written, make a second-grade teacher despair. "We'll do some questions, unless you have enough questions," Trump told a February press conference. And last week, he told NBC's Lester Holt, "When I did this now I said, I probably, maybe will confuse people, maybe I'll expand that, you know, lengthen the time because it should be over with, in my opinion, should have been over with a long time ago."

Other sentences are missing words. Again, from the AP: "If they don't treat fairly, I am terminating NAFTA," and, "I don't support or unsupport"  leaving out a "me" in the first and an "it" (or more specific noun) in the second. Other sentences simply don't track: "From the time I took office til now, you know, it's a very exact thing. It's not like generalities." There are numerous contrasting examples from decades ago, including this  with sophisticated grammar and syntax, and a coherent paragraph-length chain of thought  from a 1992 Charlie Rose interview: "Ross Perot, he made some monumental mistakes. Had he not dropped out of the election, had he not made the gaffes about the watch dogs and the guard dogs, if he didn't have three or four bad days  and they were real bad days  he could have conceivably won this crazy election." The change in linguistic facility could be strategic; maybe Trump thinks his supporters like to hear him speak simply and with more passion than proper syntax. "He may be using it as a strategy to appeal to certain types of people," said Michaelis. But linguistic decline is also obvious in two interviews with David Letterman, in 1988 and 2013, presumably with much the same kind of audience. In the first, Trump threw around words such as "aesthetically" and "precarious," and used long, complex sentences. In the second, he used simpler speech patterns, few polysyllabic words, and noticeably more fillers such as "uh" and "I mean."
President Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute the source of intelligence leaks to U.S. media after the U.K. warned it would stop sharing information with U.S. agencies.

The U.K. temporarily stopped intelligence sharing with the U.S. in relation to the Manchester terror attack, but lifted the ban several hours later.



"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling," Trump said in a statement released in Brussels on Thursday.



"I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

British officials were outraged when photos of debris from the attack were leaked and published in the New York Times, the BBC said on Thursday. The images vividly show part of the explosive device and jacket worn by the suicide bomber.

Though the Times did not disclose how it sourced the images, a senior U.S. law enforcement official authenticated the photos and said they had been provided to American investigators by British authorities.
President Donald Trump was meeting this morning with European Union leaders in Brussels, a city he once called a "hellhole." Later today, he meets with members of NATO, an alliance he once called 'obsolete." (CNBC)

Sen. Rand Paul, who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, is looking to block a key portion of a Saudi arms deal that was announced on Saturday when Trump was visiting the kingdom. (CNBC)

The CBO score of the health-care bill passed by House Republicans earlier this month would result in 23 million fewer Americans with insurance by 2026 than under Obamacare. (The Washington Post)

The GOP health-care measure would reduce the federal deficit by $119 billion over the next decade, the CBO estimated. Sick Americans in many states and people above 64 years old could see costs spike. (CNBC)

American spies reportedly collected information last summer revealing senior Russian intelligence and political officials had discussed how to exert influence over Trump through his advisors. (NY Times)

The U.K. has reportedly decided to stop sharing intelligence about the Manchester terrorist bombing with the United States following a series of leaks that British authorities called damaging to the investigation. (BBC News)

The GOP candidate in today's hotly contested special House election in Montana was charged with assaulting a journalist. The reporter from The Guardian said he was " body slammed " by the politician. (NY Times)

The TSA is testing tighter screening of carry-on bags at 10 airports, with the potential to expand the new procedures. The extra screening targets electronics larger than a cellphone for X-ray screening. (CNBC)

As an estimated 39 million Americans prepare to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, a new report paints a sobering picture of which vehicles have the worst track records for drivers being killed in accidents. (CNBC)

A new study by a worker advocacy group said Tesla (TSLA) saw higher-than-average injury rates at its electric auto plant in 2015. Tesla said it's made changes and now has "the lowest injury rate in the industry." (USA Today)

Two of the world's largest asset managers, BlackRock (BLK) and Vanguard, are strongly considering a public rebuke to Exxon Mobil over climate change at the company's annual meeting next week. (WSJ)

Harley-Davidson (HOG) plans to build a plant in Thailand to serve the Southeast Asian market. The move would help the company avoid Thailand tariffs of up to 60 percent imposed on imported motorcycles. (CNBC)

Facebook (FB) has signed deals with Vox Media, BuzzFeed and others to make shows for its upcoming video service, which will feature long and short-form content with commercial breaks. (Fortune)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the commencement address this afternoon at Harvard University. On Tuesday, the Harvard dropout visited his old dorm, where he started the social network in 2004. (Daily Mail)
Piper Jaffray told investors Netflix profits for 2020 could double the current expectations if the international growth path follows its domestic business.



The firm reiterated its overweight rating on the video streaming company's shares.



"While our Netflix EPS estimate is above consensus for 2020, it implies market penetration and contribution margin levels well below where domestic was at that stage in its lifecycle, suggesting we, and the Street, may be modeling 2020 profitability too low," analyst Michael Olson wrote in a note to clients Thursday entitled "If sequel is anything like the original, estimates way too low."



The analyst presented a scenario where Netflix could generate up to $11.15 in earnings per share for 2020 versus his $5.75 estimate and the Wall Street consensus of $4.98.



"If, in the 24 quarters after hitting 20M subs (which will occur at end of 2020), the int'l streaming business is anywhere close to the market share and margin levels achieved by domestic, then 2020 consensus EPS for Netflix would be ~100% too low," he wrote.



Olson estimates Netflix's international paid subscribers base will grow to 79.6 million accounts by 2020. At that level the company will reach 16 percent penetration of international households with broadband internet access, not including China. In comparison, Netflix's U.S. streaming business reached 51 percent of broadband households in the six years after first hitting the 20 million subscriber level.



"It's highly unlikely that Netflix will be at 51% int'l (penetration of broadband HHs) share by end of 2020, but we would also argue that a 35ppt difference in penetration between the two markets at that point in their respective life-cycles appears large," he wrote. "While int'l may not attain similar margin & penetration levels by 2020, we increasingly believe assumptions appear overly conservative."



As a result, Olson raised his price target for Netflix to $190 from $166, representing 20 percent upside from Wednesday's close.

In similar fashion Thursday, MKM Partners raised its Netflix price target to $195 from $175, saying Wall Street is too pessimistic in its domestic subscriber forecasts for the company.
BOZEMAN  The latest on the assault case against Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for a Montana congressional seat in a Thursday special election.:

5:15 p.m.: A county attorney in Montana says he will review the case involving a Republican congressional candidate accused of shoving a reporter to the ground on the eve of a special election.

Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert said Thursday he will set aside celebrity and hype and look at the facts surrounding Greg Gianforte's altercation with Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian.

Lambert, who was elected as a Republican, says he knows Gianforte but not well. He sometimes encounters Gianforte at church, social events and GOP functions.

Sheriff's officials have cited Gianforte for misdemeanor assault in the Wednesday altercation.

Lambert, who has not donated money to Gianforte's campaign, says he will review the sheriff's decision to pursue a misdemeanor and not a felony.

4:15 p.m.: The sheriff who cited a Montana congressional candidate for misdemeanor assault has apologized for not disclosing that he contributed $250 to the Republican's campaign.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Thursday that he should have revealed the donation at a previous news conference held after witnesses said candidate Greg Gianforte had grabbed a reporter by the neck on Wednesday and threw him to the ground at Gianforte's campaign headquarters.

Gootkin said the contribution had nothing to do with his duties as sheriff.

Gootkin said Gianforte left his campaign headquarters while deputies were investigating the case, and investigators later heard from Gianforte's attorney that they would need to contact him before speaking with Gianforte again.

Gianforte's campaign staff said the candidate plans to make a statement tonight and that he will not speak before that time.

3:45 p.m.: In a first from an official Republican group, the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee issued a statement affirming Gianforte, though it failed to address the candidate's current controversy.

"The Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee stands with Greg Gianforte and based upon the comments weve received from inside Yellowstone County and across the state, so do Montanans. The YCRCC (Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee) firmly believes that Greg Gianfortes strong track record as a successful job creator and generous servant will shine in Congress. We look forward to his ideas and how we can help him make Montana great again."

3:40 p.m.: The sheriff who cited a Montana congressional candidate for shoving a reporter to the ground says the Republican was charged with misdemeanor assault because there was no serious bodily injury.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Thursday that under Montana law, assaults that don't result in serious injuries or involve a weapon are considered misdemeanors. Assaults that cause serious physical injuries or involve weapons are treated as felonies.

Gootkin said he never considered pursuing a felony charge against Greg Gianforte based on evidence collected after the Wednesday incident.

The reporter, Ben Jacobs, didn't have any visible injuries when he spoke to "Good Morning America" on Thursday but said he was taking "a lot of Advil" for pain.

He said he trusted that investigators had made the right decision on how to handle the case.

1:18 p.m.: The Montana congressional candidate accused of assaulting a reporter hasn't been seen or heard from Thursday as voters go to the polls.

Repeated phone calls to Greg Gianforte's cellphone went unreturned Thursday. Twice it appeared someone picked up then immediately hung up.

His home in Bozeman is set back on property along the Gallatin River and isn't very visible from the road. Its gate was half-opened, with a sign thanking people for not trespassing.

People at Gianforte's campaign headquarters referred all questions to spokesman Shane Scanlon, who was not there. No one answered the door at Scanlon's home.

Gianforte has backed out of at least one planned television appearance. MSNBC's "MTP Daily" says he canceled on the show.

The Montana Republican Party, including chairman Jeff Essmann, have not issued statements or returned calls.

Noon: ACLU of Montana Executive Director Caitlin Borgmann released a statement that said in part:

The ACLU of Montana condemns in the strongest terms yesterdays apparent assault on reporter Ben Jacobs for doing his job on behalf of the public.Without a free press, government at all levels  from presidents to police officers  would rarely be held accountable to the people."

11:32 a.m.: Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a democrat, released a statement shortly before noon on Thursday.

"This is in the hands of law enforcement. But part of the job representing the people of Montana is answering basic questions on important topics, topics such as how a dangerous health care plan could impact the very people you are trying to represent. It's part of the job," he said in a release to The Gazette.

In addition to Republican figureheads like Paul Ryan, others in the party have weighed in on Gianforte. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse tweeted, "A big part of a public servant's job is teaching civics. If the First Amendment means anything, it means you can't body-slam a journalist."

Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis tweeted a statement from South Carolina Sen. Mark Sanford, who spoke more generally about the political climate: "There is total weirdness out there," he said.

11:03 a.m.: Democrat Montana Gov. Steve Bullock issued a statement condemning Gianforte's actions.

It is unsettling on many levels that Greg Gianforte physically assaulted a journalist and then lied, refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Yesterdays events serve as another wake up call to all Montanans and Americans that we must restore civility in politics and governing, and demand more from people who hold the publics trust, said Governor Steve Bullock. One thing is clear: no matter what happens today, the actions of Gianforte do not reflect the values of Montana or its people.

10:19 a.m.:

10:09 a.m.:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the GOP House candidate in Montana charged with assaulting a reporter is "a wannabe Trump."

"That's his model, Donald Trump," Pelosi said of Greg Gianforte, the wealthy Republican running in Thursday's special election for Montana's sole House seat.

House Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for the Republican candidate in Montana's special House election to apologize after allegedly attacking a reporter and getting charged with assault.

Ryan says "that's wrong and should not happen."

But Ryan wouldn't say if Greg Gianforte should be barred from joining the House GOP conference if he wins Thursday's election. Instead Ryan said, "I'm gonna let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative."

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Congressman Steve Stivers, also weighed in Thursday. Stivers said: "From what I know of Greg Gianforte, this was totally out of character, but we all make mistakes."

9:45 a.m.: U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana republican and close friend of Gianforte's, issued this statement Thursday morning:

"I have confidence in local law enforcement. I do know Greg Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault and will leave the questions and answers to local law enforcement. I do not condone violence in any way."

A Daines spokeswoman declined requests for further comment. The Montana Republican Party has also failed to respond to requests from The Gazette on the morning of an election day that has many wondering how much the alleged assault will affect the returns.

Montana's secretary of state's office says 37 percent of registered voters had returned absentee ballots as of Wednesday.

Montana has just over 699,000 registered voters.

Mark Wicks, the Libertarian candidate in the race, issued a statement that reads in part:

"While details are still not entirely clear about what happened between Greg Gianforte and the Guardian reporter, it is clear that Greg Gianforte lost his temper when he shouldnt have. Most days in Washington D.C. wont go as planned and obstacles will arise daily."

8:40 a.m.: GOP lawmakers emerging from a closed-door caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday said they didn't know the facts about Republican Greg Gianforte being charged with misdemeanor assault.

A reporter from the Guardian accused the tech millionaire of slamming him to the ground and breaking his glasses in an altercation at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman on Wednesday afternoon. The reporter had tried to ask Gianforte a question about the latest budget analysis of the GOP health care bill.

A few lawmakers did comment.

Asked if assaulting a reporter is appropriate behavior, California Rep. Duncan Hunter said, "Of course not. It's not appropriate behavior. Unless the reporter deserved it."

Indiana Rep. Luke Messer said he wasn't sure whether the incident would hurt or help Gianforte in Thursday's special election for the open House seat.

___

7:50 a.m.: The polls are open in a race for Montana's only congressional seat just hours after the front-running candidate was charged with beating up a reporter.

Republican Greg Gianforte has not appeared in public since he was charged with misdemeanor assault late Wednesday. A reporter from the Guardian accused the tech millionaire of slamming him to the ground and breaking his glasses in an altercation Wednesday afternoon at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman.

Gianforte's camp issued a statement hours before the charge was filed disputing reporter Ben Jacobs' account. But an audio recording Jacobs made and a Fox News crew that witnessed the altercation back up Jacobs' version.

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers pulled their endorsements of Gianforte but did not endorse his opponents.

Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was doing his job and asking a question.

___

5 a.m.: The Guardian reporter who authorities say was assaulted by a Montana Republican candidate for a U.S. House seat says he never touched the politician before he was thrown to the ground.

Ben Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was doing his job and asking a question of candidate Greg Gianforte as part of covering Thursday's special election.

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. He's accused of grabbing Jacobs by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. Gianforte's campaign blamed Jacobs, saying the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed Gianforte.

Jacobs said Thursday of Gianforte's account that "the only thing that is factually correct ... is my name and place of employment."

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist are seeking to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join Trump's Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department.

___

12:30 a.m.: Thursday's special election for Montana's sole congressional seat got a last-minute twist when the Republican candidate, Greg Gianforte, was charged with misdemeanor assault.

Greg Gianforte was cited for grabbing a reporter by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. The reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, was asking Gianforte about the Republican health care bill. Three Fox News employees witnessed the attack, which was also captured on an audio recording.

Gianforte's campaign blamed Jacobs for the incident.

Many voters cast their ballot early so it'll be hard to know the impact of the charge on the election results. Authorities said Jacobs' injuries weren't severe enough for a felony assault charge.
The Nestle bottled water plant near Stanwood, Mich., May 17, 2017. Nestle can package an average of 4.8 million bottles of water a day here with all lines running; in a state where access to clean, affordable water has dominated the news, the scale of the operation bothers many.

Actually, it is standard; landowners and commercial businesses have long had rights in much of the United States to use as much water as they want free if they drill and pump it themselves. Even customers on municipal water systems technically pay not for the water they use but for infrastructure and energy to deliver it.

"Having anybody take away some of the very best water that should be going into the creeks and the Muskegon River and eventually Lake Michigan, that's a big deal," said Jeff Ostahowski, vice president of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, who lives 25 miles from Evart. "That Nestle does it for free? That's just crazy."

And now Nestle wants more. It has applied to increase its pumping allowance at the well by 60 percent. The application, which the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is expected to rule on within months, has catalyzed opposition in part because of what Nestle pays for most of the water it bottles: nothing. That is, it pays only a $200 annual permit fee to pump from wells it owns (like this one) or leases.

Nestle can pump more than 130 million gallons of water a year from a well near this northwestern Michigan town to bottle and sell. It's a big business: Last year, for the first time, bottled water outsold carbonated soft drinks in the United States.

"What happened?" Ms. Borden asked. "Nestle happened. That's what I think." A lot of her neighbors think so, too.

The creek behind Maryann Borden's house was once "a lovely little stream that just babbled along and never changed for decades," she says. Now it is perhaps 12 feet across  half what it was, she reckons  with grassy islands impeding what used to be an uninterrupted flow.

Maryann Borden by the creek behind her home in Evart, Mich., May 17, 2017. Borden reckons that the creek is half the size it once was  a depletion she attributes to Nestles vast bottled water operations nearby. What happened? Borden asked. Nestle happened. Thats what I think.

Still, in a state where access to clean, affordable water, most notably in Flint and Detroit, has dominated the news, it offends many that a foreign company can profit from bottling so much for so little. Even in this deeply conservative corner of rural America, fear of environmental despoliation and a sense of being exploited is propelling many to denounce Nestle's demand for more.

Other major industries use far more water for the same $200 permit fee  Pfizer , for instance, used 6.9 billion gallons in 2015 for its medicine factory near Kalamazoo, according to state data  but most of that water is returned to the same watershed after use, Nestle critics note.

The scale of Nestle's operation in this sparsely populated region about 180 miles northwest of Detroit is immense. The company packages an average of 4.8 million bottles of water a day  more than 3,000 a minute  with all lines running at a plant about 40 miles south of Evart, said David Sommer, the factory manager.

That plant draws water from nine wells, including two owned by the City of Evart for which it pays the local municipal water rate of $3.50 per thousand gallons. Two are on the factory site and the other five are scattered around two rural counties, including the White Pines well near Evart that is the subject of the increase request.

All that pumping produces the spring water Ice Mountain label sold across the Upper Midwest and the filtered water line Pure Life, a national line. Spring water, defined as coming from sources that flow naturally at the land's surface, sells for more because it is perceived to be more authentic and healthier, Nestle officials say.

"Spring water is a very different thing, a precious source," said Nelson Switzer, chief sustainability officer for Nestle Waters North America. "We bring that to the people, that convenience, that ability to reseal, to take it with them, to have it when they need it. That's a very unique idea, a distinction."

To win over the state environmental agency, Nestle must convince officials that it is a good steward of the environment. Arlene Anderson-Vincent, Nestle's natural resources manager for Michigan, insisted, "We never take out more than nature's bringing back in."

Evart's city manager, Zackary Szakacs, supports Nestle, asserting that the company's purchase of water from city-owned wells keeps costs low for the 2,000 residents of a community with a $19,000 median income. The company also pays for an environmental protection fund, new public recreational facilities and, more recently, for scientists and expertise to purify a city well Nestle found to be tainted by perchlorate, a thyroid toxin.

"There's so much water in Osceola County, it's unbelievable," said Mr. Szakacs, who says he has not observed changes in the waterways. "We're so fortunate. We have a partnership with Nestle Ice Mountain. It's a good partnership. We're just trying to survive so the town will live another 100 years."

Opposition is strong, though. In April, the zoning board in Osceola Township, the unincorporated area outside Evart where the White Pines well sits, voted 5 to 0 to reject Nestle's application to build a $500,000 facility that would increase its current ability to pump if the state allows it.

Nestle is appealing that ruling, saying the booster station is the most efficient way to move the increased water. If the company is unable to build the station, it may widen an existing pipeline or truck the water to the factory, Ms. Anderson-Vincent said.

There is no conclusive scientific data that Nestle has depleted or altered the ecosystem. Even local hydrologists troubled by Nestle's operations acknowledge that the accusations of damage are supported largely by anecdotal observations like those of Ms. Borden or of anglers who say the creek's stock of trout has diminished.

"We've heard their arguments, but we haven't seen any of their science," Mr. Switzer said. "Believe me, over and over we've asked, invited them to come in and talk with us. Let's not forget we have 17 years of data, rigorous science with over 100 monitoring points that demonstrate rigorously that what we are doing does not have a significant impact."
watch now

The centerpiece of President Donald Trump's plan to revive the American economy is a package of massive tax cuts for businesses and households that the administration has promised will pay for itself. But after the White House released its budget this week, there's a lot of head-scratching over how that actually works. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has repeatedly emphasized that the administration expects the tax cuts to kick the economy into high gear: Businesses will invest and hire more workers. Those newly employed workers will spend their paychecks. The economy will grow, and the government will ultimately reap the benefits through higher tax revenues as a result. Mnuchin estimates that virtuous cycle  known in policy circles as "dynamic scoring"  will lead to sustained, 3 percent economic growth and generate an extra $2 trillion in tax revenue over the next decade.

watch now

"Any plan we put forward, we believe should be paid for with economic growth," he told lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week. So it was not surprising that the White House included an estimated $2 trillion in "economic effects" in its budget. The problem: The money isn't being used to pay for the tax cuts. It's being used to eliminate the deficit by 2027. That begs the question: How does the administration plan to pay for tax cuts?

The budget director says one thing ...

Economist Lawrence H. Summers, who served as director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama and Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, accused the administration of double-counting  applying the $2 trillion both toward paying for the tax cuts and toward paying down the deficit. Budget director Mick Mulvaney brushed aside that criticism Thursday during testimony on Capitol Hill. Pressed by lawmakers, Mulvaney said the budget assumes that the tax cuts will be paid for by raising taxes elsewhere  a different method of accounting known as "static scoring." "The actual policy that will be put in place, the way you put the budget together was that the tax reform package would be static," Republican Sen. Bob Corker said. "Correct," Mulvaney replied.

... and the Treasury secretary says another ...

One of the ways to raise revenue, outlined in the single page of tax reform principles released by the administration last month, is to eliminate nearly all personal deductions except for mortgage interest, charitable donations and retirement plans. The administration has not listed which corporate deductions will be headed for the chopping block. And it has not estimated how much any of these moves might raise  or whether they would indeed be enough to pay for the deep tax cuts that the administration has championed. Mnuchin attempted his own balancing act during his separate testimony Thursday before Congress. He said that the tax plan will be paid for both through economic growth and through increasing revenue in other ways, but he did not provide a breakdown. Mnuchin said the details have yet to be hashed out. "When the president's budget was done, we were not ready to have a full-blown tax reform plan that we could put into the budget," he said. "I assure you when we present a tax plan, we will not be double-counting the growth."

... and the Democrats pounce

Democrats seized on the discrepancy. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon called it "Bernie Madoff math." Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey compared it to Enron. And Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill chided the secretary for including the economic benefits from the tax plan in the budget without including any estimate of its cost. "How can this document even be taken seriously?" she asked. There is $2 trillion riding on the answer. Watch: Trump's tax plan math
News release from Dillon Gage Metals announces the May 22 release of a 1-ounce silver bullion round marking the centennial anniversary of the iconic James Montgomery Flagg 1917 World War I U.S. Army recruitment poster featuring Uncle Sam. The bullion pieces are being struck by Highland Mint:

Dillon Gage Metals, an international precious metals wholesaler, is set to release an exclusive and original one-ounce silver bullion medallion celebrating the 100th anniversary of Uncle Sams famous recruitment poster heralding, I Want You for U.S. Army. This iconic image is being portrayed for the first time in .999 fine silver and is being produced in the United States. Shipping of the rounds will be on a first come, first serve basis, expected to begin the week of May 22.

Were very proud to celebrate an iconic anniversary with the release of the I Want You commemorative silver medallion, said Terry Hanlon, president of Dillon Gage Metals. We have a great respect for all of our military institutions and feel that this silver medallion honors the service and sacrifice of the men and women who bravely answered its call to action.

The history of the famous I Want You poster goes back to 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I following a declaration of war against Germany. Designed by then famous 40-year-old magazine illustrator James Montgomery Flagg, four million of the recruitment posters were printed and then plastered on walls and lampposts in cities from coast to coast.

The iconic Uncle Sam posters were revived again in 1941 at the outset of Americas entrance into World War II and proved every bit as successful a recruitment tool as the first time around. Flaggs famous poster and other patriotic imagery even drew praise from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The I Want You silver rounds will be offered for sale only through Dillon Gage Metals network of authorized coin dealers, with pre-orders being accepted now. The coins are .999 fine silver and IRA Acceptable.

For more information, please visit the Uncle Sam silver medallion product sell sheet on the Dillon Gage website or call (800) 375-4653
As the end of 1905 approached, officials at the Denver Mint were getting ready for the new facilitys grand opening, testing the equipment to make sure the plant would be ready to start striking coins the next year.

The government had wanted a federal Mint established in Denver since the Civil War era, when the Colorado region was the center of a silver and gold rush. The government had even purchased a private mint in Denver in 1862, but officials chose not to strike federal coinage there, blaming the hostility of the Indian tribes along the routes for not beginning an official coinage. Instead, the building was first used as a refuge from the Indians for women and children and then as a federal assay office instead. Decades later, in December 1895, Congress authorized a Mint in Denver; nearly nine years later, in September 1904, operations of the old Assay Office were transferred to the new facility. However, the new Denver Mint was not ready to strike coinage yet.

Last minted in 1909, Indian Head cent still a collector favorite: Our first monthly issue of the summer is rich with Indian Head cent insights, along with State quarters for world coin collectors  a fascinating contrast.

The next year, 1905, saw the facility begin processing local silver and gold ore though the Mint still was not prepared to strike coins. Finally, on Nov. 1, 1905, a coinage press was fired up and the first pieces were struck. They were not coins, though.

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The press was used to strike uniface bronze medals the diameter of a gold double eagle. The design was exceedingly simple, with one side reading DENVER 1905 and the other side blank. The medal has a dentiled rim on both sides and a reeded edge. The striking of the medals was part of a ceremony celebrating the opening of the Mint. Colorados governor and other government officials participated in the event and examples of the medal were presumably passed out to attendees.

In a 2009 auction by Heritage, one of those medals was offered for sale. It realized $2,070.

Collectors have long categorized the 1905 Denver Mint Opening medal as a so-called dollar, a form of commemorative medal that is approximately the size of a standard silver dollar. In the standard reference for the series, the medal is cataloged as HK-876.

The piece sold in the auction is graded Mint State 63 red and brown by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

The Heritage lot description states: Struck in bronze with a reeded edge. This specimen exhibits pleasing reddish coloration throughout and lacks any serious flaws worthy of disclosure. This popular so-called dollar was the first issue produced at the newly constructed Denver Mint and, according to the newly released Hibler-Kappen reference (2008), less than 75 pieces are believed extant in all grades. Census: 2 in 63 Red and Brown, 3 finer (12/08).

According to the so-called dollar website, Despite the statement that thousands were struck, the medal was unobtainable at the Mint following the ceremonies and was decidedly scarce in Denver.
A Crow Agency woman who fired six rounds into a residence, striking a man prosecutors said she suspected of sexually abusing her son, will spend 30 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Wednesday sentenced Shawna Rae Wilson, 36, to 30 months in prison and ordered her to register as a violent offender.

Wilson pleaded guilty earlier to assault with a dangerous weapon for the Nov. 3, 2015 shooting. There was no plea agreement.

The sentence was the low end of a range that went to 37 months. Wilson had already been in custody for 421 days.

Wilson apologized for her actions. I do accept full responsibility, she said.

Watters said she had to balance the seriousness of the assault with Wilsons significant mental health problems, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, and her need for treatment.

People cant take the law into their own hands, obviously, Watters said.

Prosecutors said Wilson fired at least six shots from a 9 mm handgun into the victims trailer, where he had run after a confrontation with her outside. The victim, identified as L.W., was hit in the lower leg.

The shooting happened after Wilson and her boyfriend drove to the victims residence in Crow Agency, where Wilson accused the victim of sexually assaulting her son, the prosecution said. The discussion grew heated and Wilson grabbed a pistol from her vehicle and pointed it at the victim, who ran into his trailer.

Wilson earlier said she thought the victim had threatened, not sexually abused, her son.
The U.S. District Court in Montana named six high school students as winners of a civics contest.

Billings attorney Doug James, representing the Montana bar, presented the awards to two of the students, one from Billings and one from Park City, on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Billings.

Jack Davies, a sophomore at Billings West High School, won second place and $1,000, while Heidi Froelich, a senior at Park City High School, won third place and $500. The first place winner was Trinity Holden, a freshman at Great Falls Central Catholic High School. She won $2,000.

The three students competed in the essay category.

In addition, winners of the video category were Alexis Giles, first place; Coya Nack, second place; and Kaitlyn Bird, third place, all seniors from Fort Benton High School.

The theme of the contest was Not to Be Forgotten: Legal Lessons of the Japanese Internment. The contest focused on U.S. Supreme Court decisions related to the incarceration of Japanese-American citizens at the beginning of World War II.

Competing students in grades 9 to 12 in public, private, parochial schools and in home schools wrote an essay or produced a short video on the topic.

James praised the essays saying the lawyers and judges appreciated the students participation in the contest and interest in the courts. An independent judiciary and citizen participation are critical to democracy, James said.

The Montana contest winners will go on to compete in a circuit-wide competition of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Winners of the Ninth Circuit competition will be announced in June.
Dateline: England

Police in Leeds are searching for a man dressed as a giant penis, who is wanted in connection with a serious street assault. The 26-year-old victim was left with a shattered shin bone, torn ligaments and a dislocated knee after he was attacked by a group of 10 men in Leeds City Centre in the early morning hours of April 2. According to West Yorkshire Police, one member of the group was wearing a distinctive fancy dress outfit. Police issued a stock photo of a costume like the one worn during the assault. It consisted of a human-sized inflatable penis, complete with testicles. The victim was very badly injured in this attack and will still require further surgery, Det. Constable Gaynor Burt told BBC News. While the nature of costume worn by one of the group might be amusing to some, we are hoping that mentioning it will jog someones memory and assist in tracing those responsible for what was a serious assault that has left the victim with long-term consequences. The attacker in the penis costume is described as a white male, about 6 feet tall with a shaved head.

Dateline: Nevada

The Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas is being sued by a guest who claims he injured himself trying to flee a life-sized mannequin in his room. Kent Jacobs Boutwell, of southern California, filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Planet Hollywood seeking at least $10,000 in damages. Ive had some experience handling hotel casino cases, Boutwells lawyer, Richard Johnson, told the Associated Press. This was certainly a new set of facts. According to Boutwell he was shocked and surprised by a human figure when he entered his darkened hotel room in May 2015. As he tried to escape the room thinking there was a person inside who was there to hurt him, Boutwell says he suffered serious injuries. It turns out the human figure was a mannequin inside a locked glass cabinet displaying a Miller Lite racing suit. The lawsuit claims the mannequin caused Boutwell to suffer undefined injuries to his body, limbs, organs, mind and nervous system.

Dateline: Nebraska

A judge set bail earlier this month at $100,000 for a man accused of hiring prostitutes to strip on his neighbors front porch. According to the Omaha World-Herald, Elkhorn resident Douglas Goldsberry is charged with just one count of felony pandering. But authorities say that visits from strippers have occurred at least 75 times, going back as far as May 2013. The neighbors, a couple in their 30s with sons ages 3 and 1, said the stripper visits began about a month after they moved in. Sometimes they were alerted to the visitors by a kick to the door or a ringing doorbell. Sometimes pimps peered in their windows. Occasionally the women became irate because they expected to be paid by someone inside the house. The homeowners finally called police in March after strippers showed up at the house eight days that month. Deputies interviewed some of the women involved and learned that they were hired through Backpage, a classified advertising web site that features ads for escorts. The Sheriffs Office retrieved information from the womens phones that led to Goldsberry, who lives across the street from the house frequented by the stripping prostitutes. Goldsberry, 45, was arrested on Wednesday, May 10, by Douglas County sheriffs deputies. Prosecutor Eric Fabian said Goldsberry had fled from his house and was found at an Omaha hotel with a suicide note and a power cord tied into a noose. After his arrest Goldsberry allegedly admitted that he masturbated inside his home while watching the strippers. Goldsberrys lawyer, Nathan Lab, attempted to get his bail amount reduced, arguing that the manwho works as a chefis a productive member of society. Douglas County District Judge Derek Vaughn rejected Labs request for lower bail and ordered Goldsberry to have no contact with his neighbors.

Dateline: South Carolina

An online real estate listing is causing quite a stir thanks to the the realtors warning to potential buyers: Dont bother asking about the mysterious person living in the attic. The listing on Zillow is for a home in Cayce, S.C., near Columbia. Wording on the site says that the homes buyer cannot see the upstairs living space and will have to assume responsibility for the mysterious person living therewho does not pay rent. Upstairs apartment cannot be shown under any circumstances, states the listing. Buyer assumes responsibility for the month-to-month tenancy in the upstairs apartment. Occupant has never paid, and no security deposit is being held, but there is a lease in place. (Yes, it does not make sense, please dont bother asking.) The odd posting spread quickly thanks to Twitter, causing some online to dub the run-down residency the nightmare house. Owners are asking $156,293 for the partially viewable, partially occupied, four bedroom, three bath house.
We're at a loss for words.

And as people who wrangle words on a minute-by-minute basis, that doesn't happen often.

What happens even less  hopefully never again  is a Montana candidate assaulting a reporter. While there are still questions left unanswered about GOP House hopeful Greg Gianforte's altercation with Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, eyewitness accounts, law enforcement investigations and records are all shocking, disturbing and without precedent.

That's why The Billings Gazette editorial board is also doing something without precedent: We're rescinding our editorial endorsement of Greg Gianforte.

Although we're greatly troubled by this action against a member of the media who was just doing his job, to make this an issue of media intrusion or even a passionate defense of the role of a free press during an election would be to miss the point.

If what was heard on tape and described by eye-witnesses is accurate, the incident in Bozeman is nothing short of assault. We wouldn't condone it if it happened on the street. We wouldn't condone it if it happened in a home or even a late-night bar fight. And we couldn't accept it from a man who is running to become Montana's lone Congressional representative.

We will not stand by that kind of violence, period.

We previously supported Gianforte because he said he was ready to listen, to compromise, to take the tough questions. Everything he said was obliterated by his surprising actions that were recorded and witnessed Wednesday. We simply cannot trust him. Because trust  not agreement  is essential in the role of representative, we cannot stand by him.

While we clearly made a poor choice in our original endorsement, an even bigger mistake would have been to stand by it, or say nothing even though this editorial appears on Election Day and may open us to criticism of trying to unduly influence the outcome.

We'd point out that all the other questionable interactions Gianforte had with reporters, including one case where he joked about ganging up on a reporter, must now be seen through a much more sinister lens. What he passed off as a joke at the time now becomes much more serious.

To the voters who have not voted yet, we simply urge you to evaluate each candidate very carefully and make the best choice.

To those who have voted: Unfortunately, Montana does not allow those who voted early to reconsider and vote again. We're one of the few states that does not. This would seem to be the best reason we should urge our state leaders to change that law.

We understand that not all the facts about the case have come out, and that Gianforte should be allowed due process. But the eye-witness accounts and the recordings have stunned us. And a citation by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office makes this more than a misunderstanding that can be spun by campaign staff.

We also hope that other longer-term lessons can be realized from this bizarre, deplorable scuffle.

First, we hope that Republican party members and leaders call this for what it appears to be, an inexcusable act. We hope that partisan politics has not eroded our decency to the point where leaders and supporters feel the need to defend the indefensible.

Speaking of which, the Gianforte campaign should be appalled by its statement that would seem to justify the fight when it said the Bozeman Republican had tussled with a "liberal journalist." How would the campaign have known the reporter's political beliefs? And, is it suggesting that it's acceptable to put your hands on a reporter if you believe their political views are different from yours?

We also hope that this incident will cause us to take a long look in the mirror and a few deep breaths. This incident is not Montana. It's not America. It's not who we are, and attacking  literally  those with whom we disagree cannot be justified, tolerated or explained away. We must adopt zero tolerance for such behavior if freedom of expression means anything.

After voting, we'd suggest that residents in and around Billings attend the gathering at the Billings Public Library, "Civility in America" from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. It appears that we all need a refresher course on it.

We believe that you cannot love America, love the Constitution, talk about the importance of a free press and then pummel a reporter.

Beyond that, if Gianforte didn't have the good and common sense to simply walk away from questions he didn't like, we cannot believe he's going to be able to make much more difficult, complex decisions when he's in Congress.

In no way would we want our readers or our community to believe we stood behind what appears to be an assault or an attack.

We do not, and we do not endorse Gianforte.

Photos from the 2017 special election
Ben Roback is a Senior Account Executive at Cicero Group and a member of the US Embassys Young Leaders UK programme.

For a President who has become more famous for his poor choice of words than reassuring sense of calm, Donald Trump reacted to the horrific events in Manchester in a refreshingly measured way.

Murdered by evil losers, the president said, unwilling to gratify those responsible for bringing barbarism to innocent people who simply headed out to have a good time. I will call them, from now on, losers because thats what they are. Theyre losers. And well have more of them but theyre losers, just remember that. He had a point.

President Trump in effect conceded that the events that unfolded in Manchester have now become an horrific but present part of our lives. This represented considerable progress form a man who, in his campaign for the presidency, promised he had a secret plan to wipe out ISIS from the face of the earth.

Trumps remarks came during the second leg of the world tour that the White House hopes resets the conversation at home. Domestic issues will follow Trump around the world, but bilateral summits at least give us the opportunity to take a first look at Trump the world statesman.

The first leg of Trumps trip was Saudi Arabia, a bold choice for a new presidents inaugural international destination  the last five US presidents have all visited either Canada or Mexico on their first trip abroad, after President Carter came to London in 1977.

Trump was scheduled to deliver a speech on Islam and with Steve Bannon close by, the adults in the White House were worried. But in the meeting of more than 50 Arab leaders, Trump outlined a new course for Americas role in the worlds most complex region. The focus was to be on rooting out terrorism and not spreading democracy or promoting human rights.

In a clear diversion from his campaign rhetoric, Trumps language became much more fitting for his local audience. No mentions of the radical Islamic terrorism he abhorred in the campaign, but instead a shift to honestly confronting the crisis of Islamic extremism and the Islamists and Islamic terror of all kinds.

It is difficult to view all that Trump does outside of the globalist versus nationalist prism and this was another example of a victory for the sensible globalists.

Foreign policy leadership within the Government has struggled to make its voice heard of late, with the State Department losing $28.2bn (-29 per cent from current spending) in Trumps latest budget proposal. Despite a regression in States prowess, on his first foreign policy trip Trump displayed an understanding of Americas role in global affairs, placing his faith in son-in-law Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Meanwhile, no one looked more uncomfortable to be in the Middle East than Steve Bannon, who was reduced to a seen but not heard role in Riyadh.

So, did we learn anything about Trump this week that we didnt already know? In ideological and political terms, no. The root of Trumps core views on Islam probably remain in flux, changing as he realises solving global issues requires international coalitions across geographies and religions.

Long before officially seeking the Republican nomination for president, Trump pilloried President Obama for failing to acknowledge or even use the phrase radical Islamic terrorism. In a strategic sense, an ability to adjust his political approach according to a new setting revealed Trumps increasing willingness to listen to those around him who are best qualified to advise on the matter in hand.

At home, he remains distracted by an ongoing game of Russian roulette that he insists on playing with his own future at stake. With a packed schedule abroad, he appeared more focused and without the everyday distractions of the White House. His Twitter feed was affable, bereft of the controversial remarks that create new avenues for trouble on an almost daily basis in Washington.

Whilst looking busy on the world stage, the real policy implications remain to be seen. More important than grand speeches are how they are enacted at home, in the corridors of power in the White House and State Department. With the likes of Kushner and Tillerson close by, and Bannon kept at arms length, Trump is at least equipping himself with the external influence needed to address some of the worlds most intricate issues.

With domestic difficulties threatening to suck up almost all the oxygen in Washington, Trump may soon find that foreign policy is a welcome reprieve.

That is not to say international victories are any easier to come by. For a man driven by the art of winning, President Trump will find it infuriating that the compromise required to do international deals mean they rely on the art of the possible. Further, a new willingness to be the peace broker in the Middle East on Israel/Palestine and global terror would be a total departure from the America First policy on which Trump was elected.

It remains to be seen whether Trumps first international trip is a flash in the pan or a sign of things to come. For now, at least, America has a president who is beginning to learn the art of being presidential.
John Bald is a former Ofsted inspector and has written two books on the history of writing and spelling.

This article on Conservative education policy is the first of two, and will focus on our achievements to date, and the Manifesto. Next weeks article will describe some of the practical problems schools, teachers and parents have to deal with, and steps Conservative ministers might consider in tackling them.

In 2010, Katharine Birbalsingh stood up and told the truth at our Conference. She was sacked. Seven years on, Katharine is head of Michaela Free School. It has clear priorities for learning and behaviour, and far higher standards than those prevailing in Labours secondary modern comprehensives. Parents and the public are welcome to visit to see for themselves.

We have seen similar sea-changes in Sir Michael Wilshaws Mossbourne, in the best primary schools, and in the small number of comprehensive schools whose headteachers have had the confidence to stand up to the pressures imposed on them by local authorities.

Passmores School in Harlow, site of the first of Channel 4s Educating series, is now an Academy, with a new site, and free of the authoritarian, ideological influence that I experienced from Essex County Councils Education Department.

Before the first wave of Conservative education reforms, in the late eighties, some Essex schools had as few as five per cent of pupils leaving with five or more C grades at GCSE. At worst, and in a school an inspector recommended as an example of good work, teachers could not even keep pupils in the classroom. HMI reports on Brent and Ken Livingstones Inner London Education Authority painted a similar picture of profligate spending, poor behaviour, and minimal achievement. Lives were being wrecked every day.

Im currently teaching several pupils who have suffered from the fake qualifications and fraudulent examination systems established once New Labour got into its stride. Ed Balls abolished the Education Department to reflect his view that education was merely an element in the goal of moulding society. As a result of his folly, and that of Labours ill-informed strategies, I currently have to teach the 2x table to teenagers about to sit GCSE  and, in one case, to a young man who has already failed it twice. Our manifesto is absolutely right in insisting that all pupils should know their times tables off by heart by 11  if they dont, some of the simplest operations in other areas of maths take a huge effort.

Since 2010, Conservative Ministers, beginning with Michael Gove, with important contributions from Nick Gibb (especially, but not exclusively, on phonics) and Elizabeth Truss (maths, during her brief tenure) have restored education to its proper purpose. Faked coursework, rewritten by teachers and presented as controlled assessment, finishes this year, and the expensive, non-qualification of AS level, is now optional.

There is more to do on the design of tests and examinations, but these reforms will relieve teachers of pointless work and of threats to their integrity. Justine Greening has joined nearly every educational organisation in the country to produce excellent guidelines in this area.

The Manifestos proposals for education begin on page 48, and contain some pretty straight talking, beginning with the statement that, For too many children, a good school remains out of reach. Ill discuss this next week, as a good school is not just one with a good inspection report, but one that is actually meeting the needs of its pupils. I quoted in an earlier article the headteacher of a large London comprehensive who told the Westminster Forum that he maintained mixed ability teaching because he did not want to tell pupils that all that mattered was their attainment. He and his colleagues are no different in their thinking from the Bennite Dick Copland, who cut out the grammar school founded by miners in Ryhope, near Sunderland.

This school, Robert Richardson, is the clearest example of a grammar school as a vehicle for social mobility that we have. One of its former pupils, Sir Thomas Allen, who has described his childhood as something out of a Catherine Cookson novel, is now Chancellor of Durham University.

The issue requires careful handling, and flexible entry must mean more than the 13+, but the Manifesto makes it clear that bright children from working families can close the attainment gap more easily in grammar schools than in comprehensives.

The proposals for technical education, including the new T Levels, are almost as tricky. Labour endowed its vocational courses with GCSE equivalents  4 for each subject  that were transparently dishonest. T levels, with the participation from employers and FE colleges, are in a better position to succeed, particularly if those taking them can see clear paths to careers as well as just employment.

Finally, I like the idea of free breakfasts for primary children. It will take pressure off working parents in the morning, improve punctuality, and ensure that children dont start the day on an empty stomach. Getting to school early could even make more time for reading. As a teacher, I would never call the register. My pupils would come in, sit down and read, and I marked them present as I saw them. It made an enjoyable start to the day.
CORNWALL, Ontario  In one short month, Nova Scotia rapper, Classified is set to rock Lamoureux Park for this years Summer Beer Fest. Seaway News caught up with him before the show to talk music, collaboration, and life with kids.

With fans and beer enthusiasts now counting down the days like kids at Christmas, Classified says hes just as excited to take the stage.

Even if you dont know the music, were going to try to put on a show thats entertaining, crowd interactive, and just a good time, he said. Thats kinda the vibe we always grew up with.

Having released his last album, Greatful , in January 2016, Classified shows no signs of slowing up anytime soon. Spending a great deal of time in his home studio, he says that recording and playing music is a family affair, with his brother, Mike Boyd, being a frequent collaborator.

Its all I really know anymore. Working with my family has always been very natural for me, he said. It also makes the process go that much quicker, and its very honest  its easy to get where youre going.

While Classified has worked alongside the likes of Snoop Dogg and personal idol, Maestro Fresh Wes, he says that his brother is still his favourite collaborator.

Hes my partner in the studio, he laughed.

With technology making it easier for the Average Joe to navigate the world of music production, Classified says there is a pressure to stay on top of it.

Ten years ago, you had to go buy a drum machine at a music store, but now you can download a program in five minutes, figure out how to use it in 20 minutes, and be making beats in a half hour, he said.  Its good in a way, but it really takes away from having authentic shit because everyones using the same beats.

In terms of what hes listening to at any given time, Classified says it depends if his kids are in the car. Currently, its a Funkdoobiest album from the 90s.

The car is the main place I used to listen to music, but with the kids, I dont really to listen to a lot of rap, he laughed.

Excited for his debut in Cornwall, Classified will be serving up a tasty dose of East Coast hip hop on Saturday, June 24. For ticket info, visit https://seawayfoodfestival.ca/beerfest/shop.
The Central Dakota Chapter of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association is hosting its fourth annual Pointing the Way Conservation Day at 8:30 a.m. June 3.

The free event features education for youth and adults on North Dakota hunting heritage and ethics, wildlife habitat and the North American model for wildlife conservation.

Demonstrations will be performed by multiple breeds of versatile gun dogs:

 Safe and ethical retrieval of feathered game from land and water for the hunter conservationist.

 Finding and pointing game in the field.

 Tracking feathered game.

There also will be food, refreshments and fellowship.

We are happy to share our love for gun dogs, safe hunting practices with the Bismarck-Mandan community," said David Leighton, president of Central Dakota NAVHDA.

For information or to register for the event, visit www.centraldakotanavhda.org. Space is limited; the first 40 registered will be served.
City Current, a television and radio program discussing topics particular to municipal government, has been approved to air on Dakota Media Access following future Bismarck city commission meetings.

Often times, we hear citizens say, I wasnt aware of that, I didnt see that, I didnt hear about it,' said Jason Tomanek, Bismarck's assistant city administrator. This is one more platform for that message to get out and to turn the spotlight on neat things the city is doing.

Mary Van Sickle, executive director of Dakota Media Access, will host the 30-minute program.

We dont want to be the news media, she said. The job is to get more in depth on a few issues and hit some highlights, bringing in department heads and commissioners when necessary.

Its just one other aspect for the citizens to be able to catch our ideas and our thought process that goes behind some of our decisions  good, bad or ugly," said Commissioner Steve Marquardt, who voted in favor of the program.

The program will be broadcast on freetv.org, as well as other Dakota Media Access platforms.
North Dakota will be offering a brief window next month to allow parties interested in preserving the current governors residence to provide a plan for relocating the home after the governor moves out of it.

John Boyle, the state's facility management director, said an advertisement will be put out in mid-June to receive proposals for moving and preserving the 10,000-square-foot home.

Its like preserving a piece of history, said Boyle, adding that if it could be done, it wont be inexpensive.

In 2015, the Legislature authorized $4 million from the states Capitol Building Fund and $1 million from private donations to construct the new residence during the 2015-2017 biennium, a 13,600-square-foot home just to the north of the existing one.

Work is on track for the governor to move in by Thanksgiving.

The existing furniture will be placed in the new residence and the remaining unneeded furnishings will be sent to state surplus for sale.

For a residence that size to be moved, it would need to be split into two or three pieces, according to Boyle. If no proposals are received within a 30-day period ending mid-July, it would be demolished following the governors move to the new residence.

The existing residence was completed in 1960. Supporters of the project made the case that building a new home was more cost-effective rather than attend to a lengthy list of renovations for the aging home, including making it more handicap accessible.

From 1893 to 1960, the states governors resided in a Victorian home located at 320 E. Avenue B. The site was turned over to the State Historical Society of North Dakota in the 1970s.

Jim Poolman, co-chair of the task force raising the $1 million in public donations for the new residence, said about 65 percent of the money has been raised. Efforts were slowed during the legislative session since co-chair Rep. Pamela Anderson, D-Fargo, and a few other lawmakers that are part of the group clearly had other priorities, he said.

Weve got a couple large announcements were hoping to make early this summer, Poolman said of larger corporate donations.

Poolman said hes confident the group can reach its goal by sometime this summer.

This is North Dakotas calling card, Poolman said of such projects. I hope the people will want to participate in that.

The general contract was awarded to Northwest Contracting Inc. and the mechanical contractor is Northern Plains Heating, Cooling and Air. Both are Bismarck-based companies.

The electrical contract went to Fargo-based Magnum Electric Inc., which has an office in Bismarck.

Boyle said the companies have done a great job staying on track, with about 70 percent of the construction complete.

He said their work on keeping on task was impressive given the series of large storms that blanketed the area with snow from late November through the end of 2016 and into early January. A large portion of the roughly 70 inches of snow this past winter in the Bismarck area came during that several week stretch.

With all the snow we had in November and December, they only missed one day of construction, Boyle said.

More information on the residence or to donate to the construction of the residence, visit www.friendsoftheresidence.com.
Security News

Security Partners Spotlight GDPR Regs As Deadline Nears, Data Protection Mandate Could Spur Cultural Changes

Sarah Kuranda

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The countdown has begun, with less than a year until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect, and solution providers said the clock is ticking for customers to get up to speed.

"If they haven't started yet, they have a problem," Andrew Howard, CTO of Switzerland-based global security solution provider Kudelski Security, said. "The deadlines are fast approaching."

GDPR officially takes effect on May 25, 2018  one year from now - bringing new requirements and regulations around data privacy, collection, management, and more for companies collecting and processing data on European Union citizens. The ultimate goal is to create better data privacy and protections.

[Related: 5 Things Partners Need To Know About New GDPR Regulations]

The regulations apply to companies that collect data on EU citizens and those that process data on behalf of those companies. That means the new regulations could impact both solution providers and their customers.

Penalties for not complying are steep  ranging from a written warning to mandated regular data protection audits, to financial sanctions of up to 4 percent of a company's yearly revenues. The penalties are tiered based on what measure companies failed to meet.

For that reason, partners said they are making GDPR a top priority for their customers.

"There's not a company we meet that does not have this on their risk register," Kudelski's Howard said. "It's a pretty common topic with CISOs and CIOs about strategy. They're all talking about it."

Howard said there is a "heavy paranoia" by customers around how they are protecting their data, and if it will comply with the new regulations. Kudelski does a significant portion of its business in Europe, though the regulations will also impact the multi-national companies it works with. For most companies, he said it means a big shift in how they deal with their data, with major implications if they don't comply or experience a data breach.

"The issues that are important to CIOs and CISOs are important to us," Howard said. "As long as this stays on their radar and is top of mind to them, it is top of mind for us."

All these changes are expensive  costing a company "easily" hundreds of thousands of dollars, Howard said. The updates are also time-consuming, requiring assessments, technology updates, and on-going maintenance. He said that's particularly challenging for small and medium-sized companies, which also must meet compliance standards.

Much of the challenge in meeting the regulations comes from the GDPR wording itself, which broadly - and fairly vaguely - outline who must meet compliance, what compliance means, and what constitutes a failure to meet compliance. That attempted simplicity makes it extremely complex to meet compliance, Dawn-Marie Hutchinson, executive director of the Office of the CISO at Denver, Co.-based Optiv Security, said.

Hutchinson said the generalized requirements, rather than specific technical requirements, mean companies more generally need to have "data protection by design and default." That means mapping data flows, applying controls across data lifecycle, and building a strong data classification program, policies for lawful collection, data protections, and data destruction, she said.

Kudelski's Howard said most clients fall into four categories: some are doing a good job and are ahead of the curve when it comes to being ready to meet GDPR requirements; some are halfway to where they need to be but still have room to improve; some are halfway where they need to be but accept the risk of not meeting compliance; and others have not started at all. He said most clients fall into the category he called "pre-GDPR," where they do a good job protecting their so-called data "crown jewels" but need to expand that across their environment to meet GDPR regulations.

To get clients started, Howard said Kudelski first starts with a data discovery assessment and data classification. That can be a challenge, he said, giving an example of one recent client with more than a billion files to classify. From there, he said Kudelski works to help clients build data standards, policies, and implement data protection technologies. He said Kudselski has hired employees with expertise in data standards and data protection for these capabilities, as well as partnered with boutique security firms in Europe where necessary.

"As VAR players, we're trying to provide the holistic package, including the technology and advisory services, and supplementing that with specialized R&D if that needs to be done," Howard said.

Hutchinson said Optiv follows a similar strategy, starting clients with an assessment of their information security program, then doing data mapping, data classification, and third-party risk management projects. With all that work to be done, and the steep risk of penalties, Hutchinson said it is important for clients to consult with a trusted advisor, like a solution provider, to make sure they are meeting all aspects of the GDPR.

While GDPR is forcing companies to update their data security strategies in a big  and often costly  way, solution providers agreed that it is a good shift in the long run. Optiv's Hutchinson said the GDPR would force companies to undergo a "cultural shift" when it comes to security, focusing on data-centric security rather than architecture-centric security. She said that would "force a more holistic improvement to the data security program."

Kudelski's Howard agreed, saying the GDPR seems to put in place protections that will at a high level help the average consumer when it comes to data privacy.

"As a consumer, I certainly want companies that have my data to take care of it. As a business, you have an obligation to protect your customers. The hope is that the GDPR allows that to happen," Howard said. "Our job [as a solution provider] is to make this shift easier for clients."
Although the number of abortion clinics in the U.S. is decreasing, there are still 1,800 clinics remaining, and, perhaps not surprisingly, only one of these clinics includes the word abortion in its name.



Writing for The Christian Post, Jay Hobbs notes that these abortion clinics names point clearly to their wish to whitewash the gruesome nature of what they do.



Besides the one clinic in Oklahoma which is called the Abortion Surgery Center, other clinics have names such as Emerg-A-Care Family & Medical Care in Wyoming, EMW Womens Surgical Center in Louisville, Kentucky, North Dakotas Red River Womens Clinic, or Mississippis Jackson Womens Health Organization.



On the other hand, despite airbrushing the names of their abortion centers, abortion advocates accuse pro-life pregnancy centers of mislabeling.



"We have a neighbor, a crisis pregnancy center, that changed their name to Women's Choice to confuse patients who intend to come here and end up in their doorway," said Sharon Lewis, the director of Womens Health Center of West Virginia, the states last abortion clinic. "They have a marquee out front that says, 'Considering abortion? Free pregnancy test.'"



Hobbs notes that the pro-life clinics full name is actually Woman's Choice Pregnancy Resource Center, and that they do offer free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, as well as counseling for pregnant women.



Hobbs says Lewis also fails to note that the Woman's Choice Pregnancy Resource Center has been serving the community since 1977 and moved next door to Womens Health Center of West Virginia in 2013.

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Publication date: May 25, 2017
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WASHINGTON  Joe Lieberman has formally taken himself out of the running for FBI director, telling President Donald Trump in a letter that it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Lieberman was referring to Marc Kasowitz, the lead lawyer in the Manhattan firm where the Stamford-born former senator is senior counsel. Earlier this week the president brought in Kasowitz, his longtime lawyer, to represent him in the FBI investigation of Trump campaign connections to Russia.

Just being thought of for this position was a great honor because of my enormous respect for the men and women of the FBI and the critical and courageous work they do in protecting the American people from criminals and terrorists, and upholding our finest values, Lieberman wrote in the letter.

His withdrawal was the conclusion of a roller-coaster ride, which took Lieberman to the summit of being front-runner for the nomination a week ago before he fell to also-ran status this week.

In an interview on MSNBC, Lieberman said it would have been an honor to be selected. But, on the other hand, he said, honestly, Im very happy with my life now.

Lieberman, who lives in the Riverdale section of the Bronx with his wife, Hadassah, near children and grandchildren, said Trump never formally offered him the job but told him, I think youd be good at it.

Lieberman recounted how Trump called him out of the blue early last week on his cell phone.

Its in my blood to say when the president of the United States asks you to do something to serve your country, you better think about it seriously, Lieberman said.

Whatever misgivings he had about the circumstances of the possible offer  replacing former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump had fired  were alleviated when the Justice Department named Robert Mueller as special prosecutor, Lieberman said.

Mueller taking over the Trump-Russia investigation reduced potential pressure and FBI director might face from the White House.

It made me feel a lot better, said Lieberman, who said Mueller was a former neighbor of his in Washington.

Although Trump had told reporters on May 18 that Lieberman was his top pick, the 75-year-old Democrat-turned-independent had faced questions about conflict of interest, his age and the desire of Democrats including Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, to see a career law-enforcement professional in the position and not a lifelong politician.

Even before Trump picked Kasowitz to represent him in the ongoing Russia investigation, there had been questions about Liebermans role at the Kasowitz firm. Kasowitz has served as Trumps personal lawyer for years and has represented him on real estate transactions, divorce records and the fraud case against Trump University.

The potential conflict of interest for Lieberman came to a head Tuesday with news of Kasowitz representing Trump on the Russia investigation, which Trump has called a hoax and a taxpayer-funded charade.

The FBI, under Muellers direction now, is probing Trump campaign contacts with Russian intelligence, possibly aimed at Russias effort to tip the 2016 election to Trump.

Liebermans star had been in decline since Trump defied expectations and departed on Air Force One on May 19 without nominating him.

Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9. The president and his press office offered wide-ranging explanations for the dismissal, including Comey losing respect within the FBI, and holding an unusual press conference last summer to announce no prosecution of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over her private e-mail server.

But Trump also mused publicly that this Russia thing was in the mix of motivations, leading to charges of obstruction of justice in the firing.

Many in the Senate, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.  who Lieberman endorsed in the 2008 presidential election  praised Lieberman, Connecticuts attorney general in the 1980s, as a natural to lead the FBI.

But Democrats signaled opposition to any career politician. And although Lieberman was a Democrat for the majority of his 24 years in the U.S. Senate, he distanced himself from the party with his win as an independent in 2006 after losing to former Greenwich Ned Lamont in the Senate primary.

If he had been nominated and confirmed by the Senate, Lieberman would have been 85 by the time he completed the full 10-year term as FBI director. In addition to his work for the Kasowitz law firm, Lieberman is co-chair of No Labels, an organization seeking middle-ground bipartisan solutions to divisive political and social problems.

Email: dan@hearstdc.com
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HARTFORD  The state Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to prohibit the study of a so-called mileage tax, but leaders warned that other long-term funding mechanisms must be considered  including tolls  to support Connecticuts failing fund for transportation infrastructure projects.

The vote continued the backlash against a 2015 offer by the federal government to fund most of a study on taxing motorists for their daily mileage.

It would have required a $300,000 investment by the state, and Transportation Commissioner James Redeker had planned to do the study before lawmakers got wind of the plan.

Under the bill, which heads to the House, state transportation officials could not participate in such studies  or even attend conferences on the mileage tax  without a request from the Department of Transportation while the part-time General Assembly is in session. If lawmakers dont act on such requests within 30 days, an automatic rejection would result.

Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, co-chairman of the legislative Transportation Committee, said that the initial reports of the possible study caused a huge public outcry throughout the state.

It truly fired up taxpayers of all ages from both parties who are fed up with tax hikes and tax trial balloons, Boucher said. The tax would have hit drivers every day, it would have hit them everywhere they went, even if they were driving to a hospital emergency room.

Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the committee, said lawmakers were aware of the 2015 issue, which was part of a federal effort to gauge the transportation needs of the Northeast.

I think it has been clear that everyone has addressed and acknowledged that not only is our infrastructure crumbling, but ... manpower and resources are just not there, Leone said.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said the bill is to ensure that the study that we know is never going to happen, never happens once and for all.

He said that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been united for the last two years in opposition to the mileage tax.

I think we all acknowledge that transportation is a major issue for our economic growth in the state of Connecticut, and we must address those issues in order to grow our economy, Duff said.

The states fund for transportation projects, fueled by taxes on gasoline and petroleum sales, is on track to go broke within the next few years, as more fuel-efficient and electric cars mean less revenue.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, warned that prohibiting the mileage tax actually brings the state closer to electronic highway tolls.

We will have to engage in a difficult discussion about what will be the way in which we will fund those transportation needs, Looney said. I for one think that tolling has to be part of the answer, at some point.

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT
Editor's Note: Entrepreneur's "20 Questions" series features both established and up-and-coming entrepreneurs and asks them a number of questions about what makes them tick, their everyday success strategies and advice for aspiring founders

Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra is a big believer in the power of the mind-body connection. It influences everything he does, from his teaching and writing to his spiritual practice and his fascination with wearable technology.

The bestselling author -- he has written 86 books and counting is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing as well as a medical doctor, professor at University of California, San Diego, Health Sciences and researcher in neurology and psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.

If that wasnt enough on his plate, he recently moved into the tech space with wellness hub Jiyo.com and in partnership with VR content studio, Wevr, to build the first-ever virtual reality meditation experience.

It seems that its impossible to be as wildly prolific as Chopra -- or be friends with Oprah -- without a degree of discipline and an understanding of where your work and presence fits into the grander scheme of things.

We caught up with Chopra to ask him 20 Questions and find out what makes him tick.

1. How do you start your day?

I start my around 4:30, 5:00 in the morning. I meditate for two hour; its a practice of reflection and also of transcendence and experiencing the simplicity of awareness. Then I do 45 minutes to an hour of yoga either in a class or by myself depending on where I am. I then take a shower, get dressed and do a daily podcast on Facebook which is put on YouTube, answering peoples questions. Then Im done. The rest of the day is whatever comes along, and I live it to the fullest with no resistance.

2. How do you end your day?

I end my evenings by going for a long walk, unless Im at a social engagement. After the walk, I will reflect on the wonderful things that happened during the day and experience gratitude for them. I then close my eyes, observe my breathe and go to sleep -- 10:00 at the latest.

3. Whats a book that changed your mind?

A book by the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti called Freedom from the Known. I read it in medical school more than 45 years ago. It made me realize that every thought we have is the result of centuries of conditioning. We dont have to own it, identify it or be victimized by it. We can observe it, let it go and live our lives totally free of resistance in every moment.

4. Whats a book you always recommend?

I recommend a book called I Am That by an Indian teacher whose name is Nisargadatta Maharaj. Its about how to realize non-dual being. I also recommend the writings of relatively modern philosophers like Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein. I have some favorite fiction books by Somerset Maugham. There was also a book called Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Its about an idyllic place called Shangri-La where no one ever ages.

Related: Why Everyone Can Use Randi Zuckerberg's Number One Focus Tip

5. Whats a strategy to keep focused?

Actually, I stay unfocused, with only awareness of the moment, and its possibilities. I call that experience choiceless awareness. I believe in the experience of effortless spontaneity, getting rid of the notion of separateness and the richness of sensory experience in every moment.

6. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a journalist or writer of fiction. When I was 14 years of age, my father, who was a cardiologist, wanted me to do be a doctor. He gave me a bunch of books by Somerset Maugham, a novelist who was also a physician. Many of the books were about doctors. I switched, but I became a doctor to return to being a writer much later.

7. What did you learn from the worst boss you ever had?

I had a very traumatic experience with a very famous researcher in my field, which is endocrinology and neuroendocrinology. I was training as a fellow at a very prestigious academic institution. My boss was probably the most famous person in his field at the time but was also extremely unhappy.

My boss would lose his temper every time we didnt perform to perfection in our research or publishing. So one day, I impulsively dumped my research materials on his head and walked out. I realized you could be very smart and even get a Nobel Prize but be extremely unhappy at the same time.

8. Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

My parents. My mother was an amazing storyteller. When I was young, My brother and I would listen to her stories every night, and she would stop at a crisis or a cliffhanger, with the heroine and hero about to be killed. She said tomorrow, when we met again, come up with a happy ending to this. So we learned to imagine happy endings to all crises.

My father was a cardiologist and on weekends he saw patients free of charge. People would come to our little town in India from all over the country. My mother would cook food for them, and they would both make sure the patients had enough fare for the bus or train when they left. My father was an army doctor, and we moved from town to town every few years. Whenever we left there would be thousands of people to wish us off at the train station.

9. Whats a trip that changed you?

LSD. It was literally a trip. At the age 19, some other medical students, and I experimented with LSD. I remember being on a train with them going to South India, and I had a feeling intense compassion from looking at a poster of Mother Theresa. She was kissing children with leprosy. It moved me.

10. What inspires you?

These days it's mostly children. My grandchildren are the best example of that. They inspire me a lot with their innocence, joy, curiosity, wonder and playfulness.

11. What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?

I did self-publish my first book (can you link to it? Maybe in Wikipedia or ask PR person), which no one would publish for me. I felt I was learning so much from my patients -- they were telling me stories that were never written about in textbooks or journals. I tried my best to get those insights published in professionals journals but no one would accept them. Through a series of coincidences it ended up becoming a bestseller.

12. What was an early job that taught you something important or useful?

While I was a resident because there wasnt enough money to pay rent or buy food. I had two little kids and a family to support. I used to work in an emergency room in Melrose, Massachusetts, and Everett, Massachusetts. The pay was $4 to $6 an hour, but it was enough to make ends meet. You saw gunshot wounds and people dying all the time, so I learned to keep my head cool and centered.

13. Whats the best advice you ever took?

From my parents. My mother always said to commit to something bigger than yourself.

14. What's the worst piece of advice you ever got?

Driving ambition, hard work and exacting plans are the way to succeed. Its part of the cultural ethic and mindset that I dont believe in anymore.

Related: This Founder Shares How to Tailor Your Schedule to Fit Your Brain

15. Whats a productivity tip you swear by?

I have only a few simple rules. Is what Im doing fun? Number two, are the people I work with fun to be with and derive joy from that? And number three, is it making a difference in the quality of peoples lives for the better?

16. Is there an app or tool you use in a surprising way to get things done or stay on track?

I wear wearables, like my Fitbit. I enjoy looking at them in the morning to see if I slept enough, and in the evening to see if I walked enough. Im fond of devices, especially ones that monitor brain biofeedback. Ive created a few of my own.

17. What does work-life balance mean to you?

I think its an oxymoron. I think work and life and enjoyment of life should all be part of your life experience. For me, work is what you do for one third of your life, so it better be something you are engaged in and enjoying. When people ask, I suggest that their job and career, and higher purpose or calling, whatever that is should be in alignment, otherwise you will constantly feel worried about work life imbalance. There is a concept in Eastern wisdom traditions called Dharma. It implies many things, but one thing it does imply is how you fit in the big scheme of things. Imagine that the whole universe is a jigsaw puzzle and every part fits somehow.

18. How do you prevent burnout?

Its been said before in all the spiritual traditions: your life passes by very quickly, like a dream. Every moment is born and dies as soon as it happens. When you realize that every moment is precious and not to be taken for granted, thats how you prevent feeling burned out.

19. When youre faced with a creativity block, whats your strategy to get innovating?

I have not experienced that. I have done over 85 books. But I do ask myself, these days more than ever before, when I am I going to stop writing? I have the intuition that maybe two or three books from now, if I have nothing more to say. Right now I just share my own experiences, thats how my writing comes.

20. What are you learning now?

If you think that there was ever a peaceful world, its an illusion.

Humans are most violent of all creatures. When we idealize a past civilization as being amazing, its because we are looking at luminaries or philosophers throughout the ages. What Im learning: stop fooling yourself, human beings are predators, the most dangerous animal on this planet, and now we have the capacity for extinction. Im being realistic that unless we all drastically have some kind of spiritual mutation, we are heading for an extinction.

It sounds dire, morbid, doomsday. I tweeted asking everyone if they could commit today to total non-violence in their lives, in every aspect of their lives. It seems that a lot of people want to do that.

Can we commit today to total renunciation of violence in every aspect of our own lives ? It may be the only salvation for humanity. #Love  Deepak Chopra (@DeepakChopra) May 23, 2017

Related:

Deepak Chopra Has 3 Simple and Surprising Productivity Secrets for You

This Founder Has a 5-Minute Secret Weapon That Helps Her Focus Every Day

Here's What Work-Life Balance Means to These 20 Founders



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Law meant to clarify ownership of minerals under Lake Sakakawea may have bearing in a number of state court battles, according to Gov. Doug Burgum.

The North Dakota Land Board discussed, Wilkinson v. Board of University and School Lands of the State of North Dakota, a dispute between the state and private mineral owners set to go before the North Dakota Supreme Court next month, and a number of other cases involving lake mineral right ownership in a closed-door meeting on Thursday. The governor said he could not comment further on ongoing litigation.

Joshua Swanson, an attorney for the Wilkinson family, said he was disappointed but not surprised that the board did not take a firm stand.

"If there was a time to say enough is enough, now's that time," he said.

After the passage of Senate Bill 2134, embattled private mineral rights owners thought a solution had been found. The law provided a process to return as much as $187 million in mineral payments received by the state that, in some cases, may have belonged to private citizens who retained their mineral rights when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bought the land for Lake Sakakawea.

"I think everyone thought it was resolved," Swanson said.

But the North Dakota Attorney General's office argued in a brief filed Monday that the law did not apply in the case that inspired it, saying the land in question fell upstream and was not "inundated" by Lake Sakakawea.

The Wilkinson property is west of the Highway 85 bridge, which the Attorney General's office argued puts it west of where the river transitions into the lake. It goes on to say the property was never inundated by the lake, even during the 2011 flood, despite aerial photos submitted by the Wilkinsons to the contrary.

Swanson called the argument "mind boggling."

"The maps speak for themselves and show the attorney general is flat wrong," said Swanson, adding that the threat of inundation is exactly why the corps acquired the surface of the Wilkinsons property in June 1958.
The North Dakota state auditor said Wednesday there are no plans for a performance audit of the states oil and gas regulator after a Bismarck attorney alleged the office improperly deleted thousands of emails.

In a May 8 letter to a Bismarck Tribune reporter, Derrick Braaten, a partner in the Baumstark Braaten law firm, summarized the results of a large open records request to the Oil and Gas Division in the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. He said division and management and staff tried to permanently delete 38,700 emails over a two-week period last year.

The attempted destruction of these emails is deeply concerning to us, Braaten wrote in the letter, which he provided to Forum News Service this week. It is also a Class C felony.

Braatens firm represents North Dakota landowners with oil and gas interests who could be affected if any documents were destroyed, he wrote.

Alison Ritter, spokeswoman for the Department of Mineral Resources, said emails are routinely deleted according to a state retention policy.

Emails are deleted by every state agency every single day. However, the information within them thats relevant to this office is maintained, she said. Just because its getting deleted, does not mean anything illegal happened and does not mean it wasnt retained somewhere.

Braaten also provided hand-written notes from an Oil and Gas Division staff meeting from last year that shows DMR Director Lynn Helms suggested that staff remove unnecessary emails. Ritter said that conversation was about being prudent with server space.

It was all in that context of being good stewards of public records, she said.

That staff meeting came a day before two candidates for North Dakota governor at the time, Democrat Marvin Nelson and Republican Paul Sorum, held a joint press conference and cited a tip that Oil and Gas employees were ordered to destroy public records, an allegation Ritter disputed. The two candidates called for a performance audit of the division.

In an email to Gov. Doug Burgums office this month, Sorum said the press conference was an attempt to undermine Wayne Stenehjems primary campaign against Burgum. As attorney general, Stenehjem is a member of the Industrial Commission, which oversees the Department of Mineral Resources.

Nelson, a state representative from Rolla and a member of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee, is still hopeful for a performance audit based on news of the deleted emails and other issues he sees with production figures. He said undermining Stenehjems campaign wasnt his motivation for participating in the press conference.

Were dealing with a department thats responsible for overseeing billions of dollars, Nelson said.

State Auditor Josh Gallion said Wednesday there are no specific plans for a performance audit for now, although he expects the issue to be raised in a future meeting of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee.

Thats a discussion that we would be more than willing to have with (the committee), Ritter said.
PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Letters Live Simply, Love Others Dear Alibi, Do most college graduates live more wisely than minimum wage workers who never went to high school? Do most college graduates travel less, pollute less, cause less global climate chaos? Do most college graduates pay less federal income tax for war? Do most college graduates consume less and live more simply and fairly in our world family of more than 7 billion people? Do most college graduates take strong public stands against US greed and wars? Do most college graduates choose jobs that help more than harm? When Gandhi was asked what worried him the most, he said, The hardness of heart of the educated. Albert Einstein said, More and more I have come to value charity and love of others above everything else. All our lauded technological progress, our very civilization, is an ax in the hand of a pathological criminal. As long as the main motive for most students to get a college degree is to get more money than anyone needs, big power and worldly prestige, higher education is no sure path to a better world of fairness and compassion for all people! Gandhi said, Be the change you want to see in the world  My life is my message. I was a college dropout, but in the university of life, I constantly collect wisdom on how to live and how not to live. I collect wisdom in order to live it every day. I lived well in 2016 on $4,946.00 for my total living expenses, less than half the US poverty level and less than half the federal income taxable level for me as a single person. I enjoy living simply and healthy!

Doctors & Drug Reimbursement Dear Alibi, I'm writing about a paragraph in your article about healthcare on page 28 of the April 13-19, 2017 edition. It says that doctors get reimbursed more when they prescribe more expensive medication. I've heard this myth before, and I'd like to know where you get your information*. I'm a family physician and was in practice in California up to 2011. I did not get any rewards from the insurance plans, in fact I got negative feedback for prescribing expensive medication when equivalent cheaper options were available. When I used medication in the office, like depoprovera, which cost me $150 a dose, I did not get reimbursed at all. When primary care providers realized this, we all started giving patients prescriptions to take to the pharmacy, which was reimbursed for the depoprovera, and the patients brought the bottle into the office where we injected it. Only oncologists as far as I know, got paid more for the more expensive chemotherapy they administrated in their office. And they also had to buy the drugs first and only got paid for their overhead for drugs after the patient was treated and the bill went through probably at least a three month processing period. My dad was a family physician, and I graduated from residency in 1990, just as manage care companies were getting started. I feel for-profit insurance is a crime against humanity. Every penny of the health care dollar all these years should have been reinvested in treatment, research, prevention and long-term care. These companies have raped America through their outrageous premiums and ruined the medical profession by their low reimbursement to those who are actually providing the service and their audacity in thinking they have the right, the skills and the knowledge to oversee and make decisions on patient care that should only be made by trained medical professionals. I think a lot of doctors feel like slaves and that patient management guidelines have become mandates and are profit-driven and developed with questionable research and data. I think this system will eventually destroy itself, but in the meantime, primary care has become in some places not unlike a fast food restaurant. We have so little time to do a safe and thorough job that sometimes it's like we might as well not do anything as the care is superficial and in the end ineffective and unsatisfactory for both the patient and the provider.
Opening dates, hours and new policies set for 2022 ski season

A price increase on all day and season passes at Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain ski areas goes into effect on Nov. 20.
Economic growth is so vibrant in Europe that it is time to begin redistributing all the excess wealth, according to EU officials in Brussels. The European Commission issued its country-specific resolutions on Monday, and it believes the recovery from the Great Recession has been robust enough for EU members to turn their vision toward combating economic inequality.

This year, addressing inequality is firmly at the heart of our assessment, said Marianne Thyssen, the ECs Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility.

However, new data from numerous sources  including the EU  suggest that a great deal of income inequality can be explained by a simple factor: time. The Life-Cycle Hypothesis holds that people begin with few assets and gradually accumulate more wealth until retirement.

A new study from Germany shows that the risk of poverty in old age is clearly below the average of younger comparative groups. By 1993, those age 55 and older pulled away from the rest of society with the highest rates of income growth.

In 1984, more than 31 percent of people aged 65 and over were in the lower half of the total population economically, compared with just under 19 percent in 2014, according to a new study from the Cologne Institute for Economic Research. At the same time, their membership in the highest income [bracket] has increased from 12 to 14 percent.

The institute points out that real income has increased apart from mandatory state pension levels. More women are working; the elderly are working later in life; more people invested in private retirement funds; and fewer people live alone.

Of course, certain other, remarkable historical changes took place in Germany between 1984 and 2014, as well.

The following chart illustrates the change in the economic fortunes of each generation of Germans over two decades:

The Life-Cycle Hypothesis is at the heart of a new report from Canadas Fraser Institute on wealth inequality. Scholars Philip Booth and Ben Southwood of Londons Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) made a similar critique of Oxfams report on global inequality.

Their work confirms work produced by the European Commission itself, surveying statistics from Germany, Italy, and the United States. The EC found that wealth accumulation hits its peak in the 55-64 demographic in Germany and Italy, or the 65-74 demographic in the United States. (The difference can presumably be explained by the fact that Europeans qualify for state pension programs at a younger age than Americans.) Home ownership likewise peaks in the mid-50s to mid-60s, then declines after retirement, as large homes become a burden rather than a necessity.

The report also revealed the greatest inequality existed in the United States  but that the average American has twice as much wealth as either the average German or Italian. Combating income inequality can harm the economic dynamism that allows wealth creation in the first place. Equality in poverty ought to be no ones goal.

These reports from across the transatlantic sphere show that diligence, perseverance, thrift, savings, and prudence are rewarded in the long run. This is a practical example of the Biblical admonition to go to the ant to learn how he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest (Proverbs 6:6-9). The thought concludes in verse 11  but the second half of the verse is found only in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) and the Latin Vulgate (Douay-Rheims) versions of the Scriptures: If thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee.

Those who care about human flourishing should not want to see Europeans and Americans who have followed that precept have their lifes work redistributed to others who have not, especially if it encourages the recipients to fold their hands for a bit of slumber (Proverbs 6:9-10).

(Photo credit: Rogacheva Elena. This photo has been cropped. CC BY-SA 3.0)
Will June 17's Trooping the Colour, starring the Queen, be cancelled because of the 'critical' terrorist threat? (It's happened once before, due to a 1955 train strike.)

'It's under serious review,' says a royal source.

'Viewing areas along the Mall and approach roads are open to the public. They're difficult to police in the age of lone suicide bombers.'

Trooping the Colour in 2013, above. There are fears it could be cancelled this year amid terror concerns

On the other hand, Trooping the Colour is a major crowd-puller for London in June.

On the 10th, Prince William is expected to take the salute as Colonel of the Irish Guards.

Introduced as the former director of Liberty rather than Labour's shadow attorney general, Shami Chakrabarti suggests on BBC2's Newsnight that her party's shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, should be consulted on security after Manchester.

If doolally Diane is the answer, what's the question?

Shami Chakrabarti suggests on BBC2's Newsnight that her party's shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, should be consulted on security after Manchester

Speaker John Bercow, recently made a professor at Manchester University's school of political sciences, was seen grinning on the dais at Manchester's City Hall while local poet Tony Walsh performed an uplifting and amusing piece about the city. Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham were also on the dais but they managed to avoid the TV cameras.

Stephen Fry, 59, talks at this weekend's Hay literary festival about Twitter, saying it began marvellously. 'Then somehow the box got opened. Trolls flew out (along with) bullies, tyrants, extortionists, thieves, pornographers I wonder has the lid closed on hope?'

Fry quit Twitter 'for good' last year after his ill-judged Baftas joke about winning costume designer Jenny Beavan looking like a 'bag lady' backfired. Now he's back on it.

Does its usefulness as a self-promotional tool outweigh for him its ghastliness?

The Star Wars franchise, 40 years old today, introduced the late Carrie Fisher as sci-fi pin-up Princess Leia, who wore a white dress.

Ms Fisher, who died aged 60 last December, said director George Lucas banned her from wearing a bra and knickers, claiming there was 'no underwear in space'.

The Star Wars franchise, 40 years old today, introduced the late Carrie Fisher as sci-fi pin-up Princess Leia, who wore a white dress

She noted in her memoirs: 'And he said it with such conviction too! Like he had been to space and looked around and he didn't see any bras or panties.'

While the royal family cosies up to the military, the police are unloved by comparison. But Prince William is making amends. In January, he became patron of the Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund.

Now he is backing a 4million permanent police memorial to be installed at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. William and Kate have hinted that they're open to the idea of something other than a military career for their children.

Might PC George Cambridge pound the Kensington beat one day?
NATOs decision to launch a ferocious bombing campaign to help Islamist rebels overthrow Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 hangs over Britain today like a toxic cloud. For the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, hailed from a Libyan family accused of being aligned to one of the many jihadist movements in that country.

The strategy to send in the RAF against Gaddafis forces was most enthusiastically promoted, to his eternal shame, by then Prime Minister David Cameron. His reckless policy brought about regime change as the Islamists came to power, along with their violent henchmen.

As was the case with opposition groups in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria before the so-called Arab Spring, those who were set against Gaddafis rule were extreme in their ideology, blinded by a hatred of secularist, non-religious governments.

Clueless: Beaming David Cameron in Libya after the fall of Gaddafi in 2011

But despite all evidence to the contrary, Cameron and his deluded European partners lied to us that they were actually pro-democracy Western allies, champions of tolerance and plurality.

Some of us  including me and other Middle East experts writing for this paper  warned repeatedly that their agenda was far more sinister, and we would pay a terrible price for Camerons naivety.

For those of us who had studied the history and lived in the region, it was obvious that, despite their internal divisions and rivalries, all those disparate jihadist groups in Libya had one overriding and very dark ambition: to replace Gaddafis secular regime with one based on their own mercilessly hardline interpretation of Sharia law, before seizing the countrys oilfields and finally cutting all ties with Western countries they openly despised.

For this reason, the groups had been banned and their members ruthlessly persecuted by Gaddafi and other secular Arab leaders, and they were viewed with deep suspicion in the West  with one notable exception.

The British government welcomed Salman Abedis father Ramadan into our country with open arms in 1993 as part of a reckless liberal policy of granting political sanctuary to Islamist activists from Libya and other Arab nations.

'Mr Cameron had neither understood nor considered the aftermath of enforced regime change'

The misguided belief was that they would warm to the host nation that offered them sanctuary, and modify their opinions through the new experience of living in an open democracy.

Instead, many of them not only continued stirring up rebellion in the countries they came from, but called openly for Islamist rule in their adopted homeland. Successive British governments turned a blind eye to this treachery.

And finally, after being given refuge here to cultivate their hatred of everything we hold dear, the Islamists found the perfect dupe in David Cameron as they sought to fulfil their dream of creating an Islamist state in Libya.

Salman Abedis father returned to Libya in 2011 to fight alongside Al-Qaeda-affiliated forces against Gaddafi, supported by Nato airstrikes. After Gaddafi was killed, the Abedi family spent more time in Libya.

Thanks to Cameron, they could at last immerse themselves in what was now a blood-soaked, chaotic country with no functioning government, awash with arms seized from abandoned Libyan Army depots and mired in tribal and religious upheaval which each day left hundreds of corpses lining the streets. And it was one where the Islamists were about to emerge triumphant.

Astonishingly, it was at this juncture that Cameron travelled to Libya to glory in his great victory, hailing the dawn of a new democratic era before abandoning it to a chaotic, impoverished and blood-soaked fate.

Like Tony Blair in Iraq, he had neither understood nor considered the aftermath of enforced regime change.

Shell-shocked Libyans were bequeathed a new and terrifying reality by Cameron and his Nato allies, as Libya became a breeding ground for Islamist terror.

In some ways, the consequences of that have culminated in the Manchester bombing. For this insanely ungovernable Libya is where Salman Abedi, paying frequent visits to his family, was able to cultivate his murderous hatred of the West.

(We now learn, too, that his father is said to have fought with a group linked to Al-Qaeda, and his younger brother is alleged to have Islamic State connections.)

That loathing for our values came to a horrifying climax this week, just days after he travelled back to Manchester from Libya.

The benighted country has taken on a growing significance for Islamist jihadis as the self-declared caliphate of Islamic State in Syria, and Iraq has gradually been overwhelmed by a Western coalition. Islamic State hoped to establish a new base in Libya, where Al-Qaeda also has a strong presence.

As Islamic State territory elsewhere shrank, thousands of jihadis fled towards Libya in the hope of establishing another Islamist redoubt, from where murderous attacks  like that which took place in Manchester  could be launched against Europe.

Jihadist leaders sought to forge a sort of corridor between Libya and Syria  where Cameron, as Prime Minister, was also itching to overthrow secular dictator Bashar Al-Assad, while championing the cause of non-existent moderate rebels.

This corridor facilitated the flow of money, men and weapons between Syria and Libya.

'Manchester bomber Salman Abedi found himself immersed in a Libya fast becoming the new crucible of terror on Europes doorstep'

So it was that the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, found himself immersed in a Libya fast becoming the new crucible of terror on Europes doorstep.

Abedi  as part, it now appears, of a wider British-Libyan jihadi cell  was able to use the jihadi corridor to travel between Libya and Syria and receive additional and extensive training in Syrian terror camps.

And his get-of-out-jail-free card? A prized British passport, which meant he could fly back to this country from Libya whenever he chose, free to unleash death upon his fellow citizens.

As well as the terrorists who now operate with impunity in Libya, the country has become a major arms-dealing hub and the centre of a massive smuggling operation in which hundreds of thousands of migrants have been sent across the Mediterranean in boats to flood into Europe virtually unchecked.

This, then, is Mr Camerons legacy  though Tony Blair must take some of the responsibility for unleashing chaos in Iraq by helping to topple Saddam Hussein, whose old generals were involved in the creation of Islamic State.

These revelations are a huge embarrassment for the political leaders and military strategists who orchestrated the Libya debacle in 2011. Our current Government and intelligence leaders should be furious they have been left to face the terrible consequences.

To say Cameron has the blood of the Manchester victims on his hands may be too stark a conclusion. What is indisputable, though, as our country remains on its highest state of terror alert and the remaining jihadi cell members are hunted down, is that if wiser heads than David Camerons had prevailed six years ago, the suicide bombing in Manchester would probably not have taken place.

John R. Bradleys latest book is After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked The Middle East Revolts.
Manchester bomber Salman Abedi

Theres one question about the Manchester atrocity infinitely more pressing than any other. Why did a young man brought up in the city murder 22 of his fellow citizens in cold blood, many of them children, who had breathed the same air and walked the same streets?

It is curious how people skirt around this conundrum when offering an answer. Many partial explanations are given  many of them fine as far as they go, but incomplete, and therefore inadequate.

Donald Trump says terrorists such as Salman Abedi are losers worthy of our contempt. So they are. Many of them are pathetic types, often with histories of petty crime. Yet there are lots of such people in the world, and most of them dont contemplate mass murder.

Barbarity

Others reasonably point out many terrorists are drug takers, as Abedi is alleged to have been. They rightly say repeated drug abuse warps minds and can induce paranoia. All true, but it still does not take us to the heart of the matter.

Still others spread the net of blame wider, and cite the failures of recent British foreign policy, and in particular the destabilisation by Western forces of Muammar Gaddafis regime in Libya, which has led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalists who may have nurtured Salman Abedi.

And so it goes on. One explanation comes hard on the heels of another. Each sounds plausible. Each is part of the truth. But without one crucial factor they would not, even in combination, have led to the barbarity of the Manchester attack.

No, the point we must address squarely is Abedi was an Islamic fanatic. Not only that. All recent attacks  in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Stockholm and anywhere else you care to think of  were done in the name of Islam.

Perhaps the point that the perpetrators have all been Muslim is such an obvious one that commentators dont feel it worth mentioning. But I rather think most prefer not to grapple with an uncomfortable truth which is hard to make sense of.

Lets be honest and admit that none of these outrages has been committed by Sikhs or Hindus or Christians, though it is perfectly true that some members of the IRA who planted bombs over 20 years ago regarded themselves as devout Roman Catholics.

To illustrate the problem, one only had to listen to Andy Burnham, the newly elected Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, on Radio 4s Today programme yesterday morning. He is, Ive no doubt, a decent and generally sensible man.

Yet he did all he could to represent Salman Abedi as a one-man band acting on his own account or with a handful of similarly deluded accomplices. Burnham said he disapproved of the term Islamic terrorism. Abedi was a terrorist, an extremist, not a Muslim.

The newly elected Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham

According to Burnham, the Manchester bomber no more represented the Muslim community in that city than the killer of the Labour MP Jo Cox last June represented the white Christian community.

If only he were right! Thomas Mair, who murdered Jo Cox, was a lunatic who spoke for virtually no one and enjoyed no support from his community. Im afraid the same cant be said of Salman Abedi.

It now transpires that his father is suspected of having links to an Al-Qaeda-related group in Libya, while his younger brother was arrested in Tripoli last night over alleged support for ISIS.

Needless to say, I accept that almost every Muslim in this country will be as appalled by the bombing as everyone else. I believe the many Muslims in Manchester and elsewhere who say they are shocked. It has been cheering to see them condemning the outrage. But I fear there is a small minority which feels a degree of sympathy with Abedi, and an even tinier one which actively supports him, and wants this country to be a Caliphate under Sharia law. However misguidedly, they find in parts of the Koran and some Islamic teaching a justification for violent action.

How can I say this? There can be little dispute as to the existence of a hardcore of Islamic extremists. The almost weekly uncovering of terror plots by the authorities, and the exodus of up to 1,000 British Muslims to fight with ISIS in Syria, is proof enough.

The size of a larger (though, numerically, relatively small) group of sympathisers is harder to gauge. After the July 2005 bombing in London which killed 52 people, a YouGov poll found that 6 per cent of British Muslims supported the bombing. That equates to around 100,000 people.

In 2015, a BBC poll found that just over a quarter of Muslims in this country had some sympathy with the terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris in which 12 people died, after the satirical magazine published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. This was a disturbing finding.

Sympathy

Of course, tacit support doesnt amount to active engagement. But unless there has been an inexplicable shift in sentiment, there may be thousands of Muslims (most of them probably young) in this country with at least some sympathy for what Salman Abedi did on Monday night.

If this is the case, what should the Government do? Its absolutely right to distinguish between decent, moderate Muslims and violent extremists. Ordinary, peace-loving Muslims must be kept on side, not least because the security services depend on them for much of the intelligence they receive about terrorist plots.

Some reasonably point out many terrorists are drug takers, as Abedi is alleged to have been

The nightmare scenario would be to provoke a hardening of opinion so that the mainstream actively supported terrorism. This happened with a sizeable number of Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland, who provided succour to, and cover for, the IRA. Such an outcome in the Muslim community would be a disaster.

But the authorities should nonetheless continue to do what they can to identify extremists under the so-called Prevent counter-terror programme, which seeks to combat radicalisation. Burnham has criticised it in the past, and did so again yesterday, on the basis that the requirement on Muslims to report extremism is discriminatory.

Reality

Thats nonsense. If I discovered a terrorist cell in my Anglican church (hardly very likely, I admit) I would unhesitatingly inform the police. Why cant Muslims be expected to do the same?

And didnt Sheikh Mohammed Saeed, a local imam in Manchester, have a moral obligation to alert the police two years ago, after he had seen Abedi show the face of hate when he delivered an anti-ISIS speech in his mosque?

'The reluctance of intelligent politicians such as Andy Burnham, and some Muslim leaders, to admit there is problem peculiar to the Muslim community is alarming'

Its not a form of persecution, but a reflection of reality, to admit the presence of extremists in some Muslim communities. I repeat: such people are not usually found among Christians, Hindus or Sikhs.

Only yesterday, I heard a Muslim chaplain on Radio 5 who had visited Albert Square in Manchester to offer his respects. Yet in the same breath he complained about Prevent, which he described as toxic.

When pressed, however, he wouldnt come up with an alternative. Good for the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, who says the scheme will be expanded if the Tories win on June 8.

The reluctance of intelligent politicians such as Andy Burnham, and some Muslim leaders, to admit there is problem peculiar to the Muslim community is alarming. How can this enormous challenge ever be met if there is a widespread pretence that it doesnt exist?
Manchester bomber Salman Abedi

How many boxes does an Islamist extremist have to tick before he qualifies for close surveillance by the security services?

Nobody needs the wisdom of hindsight to see that Salman Abedi posed a grave threat to public safety.

Indeed, he was known to have travelled to Libya and Syria, where it now emerges he trained with Islamic State. At home, in a part of Manchester notorious for spawning jihadis, he had attracted attention by chanting Islamic prayers in the street and raging against Western decadence.

He is even said to have been reported to the authorities by his own family. And like many suicide bombers before him, he had a history of smoking cannabis, with its proven links to psychosis and schizophrenia.

This is not to mention his father, a Libyan given refuge in Britain (why?), who is said to have stopped work in Manchester  reportedly as an airport security officer!  to fight alongside Islamic fundamentalists against Colonel Gaddafi.

Yet extraordinarily, the security services didnt see Abedi as a serious enough threat to place him on their watch list.

This paper is the first to acknowledge Britains debt to MI5 and the police, who have foiled dozens of terror plots. We also accept its a tall order to expect them to keep round-the-clock tabs on all 3,000 jihadis in the UK  and counting, as more brainwashed fighters and their families return from the Middle East.

But as the Manchester atrocity underlines horrifically, it takes only one extremist to slip through the net to inflict unimaginable suffering on scores of families.

That a danger as obvious as Abedi was left free to travel, gain access to explosives and execute mass murder in the heart of a British city leaves the authorities with serious questions to answer.

As for how we came to harbour thousands of Islamists dedicated to destroying our way of life, the mass immigration begun in the Blair years clearly has much to do with it (and how profoundly disturbing that, according to German intelligence, six million more migrants are currently massing on the shores of the Mediterranean, hoping to flee to Europe).

Coupled with the Leftist doctrine of multiculturalism, the sheer scale of the influx has made integration impossible, creating communities cut off from our values and traditions.

Another powerful factor in encouraging extremism, as this paper has so often warned, has been the Wests reckless intervention in foreign wars.

Beaming David Cameron in Libya after the fall of Gaddafi in 2011

Though this in no way excuses Abedi, the Manchester victims would almost certainly be alive today if it hadnt been for David Camerons crass bid to impress America by helping to topple Gaddafi.

Thus, he destabilised the entire region, leaving a vacuum to be filled by Islamic State and turning Libya into a haven for global terrorists, arms dealers and people traffickers.

But with the damage to our security done, the priority now is to stop it spreading. Inevitably, this could mean compromising some cherished liberties, with much wider use of tagging and house arrest under terrorist prevention orders with real bite.

It must also mean rigorous border controls and hammering down hard on tax-avoiding, lethally irresponsible social media firms  still spreading guidance for terrorists after Mondays atrocity.

Nobody will be sadder than the Mail if the balance between civil liberties and citizens protection has to be slightly recalibrated. But for too long, the liberal Left has argued that those liberties matter more than anything else.

The relatives of this weeks victims in Manchester will doubtless take a different view. Under the incoming government, this vital debate must begin on day one.
What can our government realistically do to curb US spooks leaking to the New York Times details of the Manchester bombing that inhibit ongoing inquiries? We might withhold any future honour destined for Mark Thompson (above) for a start

What can our government realistically do to curb American spooks leaking to the New York Times details of the Manchester bombing that inhibit ongoing inquiries?

We might withhold any future honour destined for Mark Thompson, former director general of the BBC, for a start.

Hes the chap who said en poste that he hadnt heard about Jimmy Saviles Top of the Pops seductions of girl fans.

Hes the Timess 7million-a-year chief executive these days.

Saying shes against terrorism, Labours shadow home secretary Diane Abbott is reminded by Channel 4s Jon Snow  regarded as a Left-winger, by the way  that she voted against anti-terror measures 30 times, surpassed only by her leader Jeremy Corbyns 56.

That doesnt show a particularly tough devotion to keeping terrorists at bay, chided even-handed (on this occasion) Snow.

Prince William has a dilemma at tomorrows FA Cup Final. As an Aston Villa fan, who does the FA president support  Arsenal or Chelsea?

Hes neutral, of course, but might cheer on Chelsea, just to annoy Arsenal-supporting Harry, says a royal source.

Hed better not. His grandmother is the Gunners most distinguished supporter, HM the Queen. She might not be amused.

Prince William has a dilemma at tomorrows FA Cup Final. As an Aston Villa fan, who does the FA president support  Arsenal or Chelsea? (Above, William at the FA Cup in 2015)

President Bill Clintons sexual shenanigans in the White House kick-started Rupert Murdochs 2billion-a-year Fox News channel 20 years ago.

So claims Monica Lewinsky, the then 22-year-old aide with whom Clinton dallied, sharing a cigar.

Now a campaigner against social media bullying, Monica, pictured, says: I ceased being a three-dimensional person. Instead I became a whore, a bimbo, a slut and worse.

Still, at the risk of seeming cynical, didnt it set her up for life as an all-American celebrity?

Melania Trump defiantly declined to cover her head when in Saudi Arabia, which demands this pious gesture from ordinary women.

Yet she was veiled and in black to meet the Pope. Foxy Melanias a Roman Catholic, of course.

But so is Cherie Blair. In 2006, she turned up at the Vatican unveiled and in white, a privilege reserved for Roman Catholic queens.

Wayne Rooney, the 260,000-a-week Manchester United captain, is praised for donating 100,000 to the citys terrorist victims.

He is also reported to have donated 500,000 to a local casino during a recent two-hour gambling session.

Be that as it may, surely an honours gong is coming his way.

Perhaps David Beckham, having made his money-spinning name at Manchester, might revive his own knighthood hopes with a judicious bung.

Wayne Rooney, the 260,000-a-week Manchester United captain, is praised for donating 100,000 to the citys terrorist victims. He is also reported to have donated 500,000 to a local casino during a recent two-hour gambling session

Cast to play Jeremy Thorpe in an upcoming BBC1 film, Hugh Grant, 56, must empathise with the late Liberal leader.

Thorpe was embroiled in a gay sex scandal involving ex-male model Norman Scott, whom he was acquitted of plotting to murder.

Grant was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department after misbehaving in a car with local prostitute Divine Brown, whom he referred to as Cherry Red.
As a plus-size woman, bridal gown shopping can be a nightmare, but two fashion entrepreneurs are determined to make the struggle a thing of the past.

Partners in fashion, Alison Law, 40, and Jo Cooke, 48, from Essex, are the proud owners of the only wedding store in the UK that caters specifically to bigger brides, Curves and Couture.

The unique boutique is the focus of new series Curvy Brides Boutique on TLC UK, and it sees plus-size brides who struggled to find their dream dresses in tears of joy as they find their perfect fit.

Jo Cooke (left) and Alison Law (right) own Curves and Couture in Essex - the only shop in the UK that caters exclusively to plus size brides. The dup pride themselves on being able to provide plus-size dresses to bigger brides

The women explain that they want women of all shapes and sizes to feel their best on their big day and offer dresses up to size 40 in their bridal boutique

Speaking about the inspiration behind their business, Jo said: 'Unless you have walked in a plus-size ladies shoes, you will never know how they feel. We have; we know.'

'What makes us different from the other regular run of the mill bridal shops is, weve been there. We can empathise with our brides,' said Alison.

With rails full of wedding dresses from size 16 to 40 ready to try on - with some starting at just 500 - the Essex duo want to make brides feel 'amazing on the inside as well as look incredible on the outside'.

Inspired by difficult experiences of searching for their own wedding gowns, they set up the shop a few years ago.

Bride-to-be Lauren, 27, is a size 28 and tells the women she hasn't found a dress to suit her. 'I literally looked like a Teletubby in a wedding dress or a slug, as my mum said.'

The show sees Lauren break down in tears as Alison and Jo help her find the dream dress - without sleeves

Their no-nonsense approach is evident in the first episode of the series when they help 'body conscious' size 28 bride Lauren, 27, who is hoping to find the right dress for her wedding in eight months to fiance Matt.

He popped the question in Amsterdam - although it wasn't quite the fairytale proposal she expected.

'It wasnt the most romantic thing, we were on a boat that was all you can eat and drink and he got the captain to bring my engagement ring on top of a tub of Ben & Jerrys,' he said.

'And then he said will you put up with me forever?. He didnt actually ask me to marry him but I hope thats what he means,' she joked.

Lauren is determined to cover up her arms and had been unsuccessful in her dress hunt thus far.

She explained: 'I have been dress shopping in another shop that didnt specialise in plus size brides so none of the dresses suited me.

'I literally looked like a Teletubby in a wedding dress or a slug, as my mum said.'

The businesswomen are the stars of new TLC UK reality show, Curvy Brides Boutique, where they help women on the hunt for their wedding dress

Jo Cooke says that they know what it feels like to be bigger and so can give the right advice to brides when it comes to their wedding dress

Charlotte (pictured left with her mother) is conscious of her size and shared her worries with her husband-to-be but he told her he wouldn't change a thing

And Alison doesn't hold back when she tells Lauren why her fixation on sleeves isn't right for her.

'By slinging a white rose on a fat arm it doesnt make it a thin arm, it makes it a fat arm with a rose on it,' she told the bride-to-be.

The cameras captured Lauren breaking down in tears as Alison and Jo helped her to find the dream dress.

'When you're a big girl you deserve to be a princess, just because you're a big girl doesn't mean you deserve it any less,' said Alison.

Another bride to feature on the show is 24-year-old Charlotte, who explained how she hates her size 20 body - especially her lack of breasts - and struggles to find clothes that fit properly.

But her husband-to-be Nick doesn't care about how she looks and said he wouldn't change a thing about her.

'I was stood in front of the mirror and I was just looking and I was like why do you love me, Im so fat and Im so ugly, Ive got spots, Ive got a big bum and he just came up behind me and said I love you for you.

'We are just the perfect match.'

Alison (right, with a customer) has a no-nonsense approach and tells her clients exactly what she thinks will look good and what will not

Charlotte struggled to find anything that fit her because of her small bust but she is thrilled when Jo and Alison get her to try on several dresses that make the most of her curves

Charlotte, was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome nine years ago, and struggles to lose weight as a result..

She explained: 'I am feeling quite nervous, because I dont know if there is going to be something that suits my figure. But if I found the perfect dress, then I wouldnt feel the need to lose weight.

'Being big and then having no boobs, nothing fits. I know if I was alright [gestures to chest] then it would stretch out a bit. Dress shopping was awkward But I just make jokes about it.'

The masters get to work and Charlotte is the second bride left in tears when she finds a dress for her big day in two years time.

Curvy Brides Boutique airs Fridays from 26th May, 8pm on TLC UK.
Melbourne Grammar prefect Rich Bartlett, 17, used his school assembly to deliver a heartwarming coming out speech.

The vice-captain proudly addressed an 800-strong cohort of fellow students and teachers to explain why he tells people he is gay.

The Anglican school was celebrating its inaugural pride week when Mr Bartlett decided to share a seven minute speech that has since been watched by 7,000 people online.

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Melbourne Grammar prefect Rich Bartlett, 17, (pictured) used his school assembly to deliver a heartwarming coming out speech

The vice-captain proudly addressed an 800-strong cohort of fellow students and teachers to explain why he tells people he is gay

'Why do you tell people that you're gay?' The speech began.

'To understand this responsibility that I have to myself let me take you back to year seven as it was around this point in my life that even though I didn't necessarily feel all that different from my peers they were starting to see me as different,' he continued.

The now Year 12 student stood bravely at the podium, with many of the esteemed faculty on stage transfixed by him, explaining why revealing his sexuality was so important.

'I remember the first time someone asked me why I talked the way I do. With this one remark I suddenly became very conscious of every single syllable,' he said.

'Actions I had previously taken for granted like walking, something we normally do without hesitation, where on my mind every second.'

Mr Bartlett said he was 'ashamed' of his identity and back in seventh grade would have 'done anything to change it.' But as he makes clear to the audience this is something he was born with and would learn to embrace.

For a long time the 17-year-old pretended he was the same as everybody else.

'By the time I reached year 10, the constant charade that was my life had become too much, impacting my physical and mental health.'

'The more I learnt about the gay community the more I had to tell people I was a part of it. Not only to honour the many people that had lost their lives but also to make sure their actions were not in vain,' he said

What eventually helped Mr Bartlett realise the truth could set him free was researching the community he was so desperately trying to hide from.

'The more I learnt about the gay community the more I had to tell people I was a part of it. Not only to honour the many people that had lost their lives but also to make sure their actions were not in vain.'

He referenced the 49 deaths at the Orlando nightclub shooting in the US as an example of who he needed to raise awareness for. But first he needed to tell his best friends.

'It was terrifying that relationships spanning more than half my life could be broken by my friend's reactions,' he said.

'Thanks to these legends for this reception!' Mr Bartlett wrote on Instagram following the assembly

'Once I told them I at last felt released.'

Mr Bartlett, who has a twin brother at the school, went on to say that his responsibility to open up about who he is became even more imperative for future generations.

'To those in the community who do not have a safe place to be their truth self. For these people I see it as my obligation to be visible and to own my identity unapologetically,' he said.

'Here at our school we recognise diversity because it's important to our culture where people feel valued and accepted for who they are.'

'Here at our school we recognise diversity because it's important to our culture where people feel valued and accepted for who they are,' he said

But most importantly Mr Bartlett needed to release himself from the 'charade' he'd lived with his entire life.

'So to answer my initial question, I tell people I'm gay because I cannot get married in any state or territory in Australia.

'I tell people I'm gay because one in 14 transgender people will be murdered.

'I tell people I'm gay because not to would be to render a disservice to who I am.'

Since the video went viral online Mr Bartlett has spoken about what that speech meant to him

Since the video went viral online Mr Bartlett has spoken about what that speech meant to him.

'I just wish someone had delivered a similar speech to show that it was okay to be who I was and didnt have to be ashamed of myself, hate myself or change the person I was,' he told the Herald Sun.

'It was taboo to mention homosexuality three years ago. This shift has been amazing. Hopefully younger boys can feel accepted within the school. I definitely appreciate the significance of what happened,' he said.

You can follow Rich on Instagram here
A New Zealand breakfast host sparked a heated online debate after saying those who think there's a link between autism and vaccines are 'wrong and stupid'.

Hilary Barry and her co host on New Zealand's morning show Breakfast, Jack Tame, were talking about the screening of the anti-vaccination movie Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.

'Those of you who still actually think that there is a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, you are wrong,' Ms Barry said.

'You are wrong and if you believe that you are stupid. Just keep that in mind at one of these movie screenings,' she added.

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Hilary Barry is a 47 year old journalist living in New Zealand and is currently one of the hosts for the morning program Breakfast

Ms Barry spoke on the show about how she deems vaccines necessary and called those who don't 'wrong and stupid'

The controversial film was organised to have screenings in some of the world's major cities which were abandoned after facing pressure from community leaders and health officials.

Due to this response the movie is screening at secret locations across New Zealand that patrons will be notified of beforehand.

'Most reasonable people agree on free speech but there is something that just doesnt seem - I think  morally right about screening it up and down the country, particularly in communities where you want those vaccination rates to be pretty high. Its just not right,' Ms Barry said on the program.

'Ill get a lot of hate but I dont care. Vaccinate your kids, be responsible,' Ms Barry said.

Ms Barry also said that those who are going to see the anti-vaccinaton movie Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe are misinformed

The hosts encouraged people to comment on social media with their opinions, with the Facebook post receiving a barrage of responses.

'What would you know Hilary?! Your child all of a sudden gets ill straight after being immunised then told it happens to some and they never come back from it!!' one commenter wrote.

'He wasn't sick when I got him vaccinated but he was after! A mother knows when somethings not right.

'I didn't have problems with my other kids but with our youngest we did. I never thought a child would react that badly to vaccination but I know that's why he got sick and what triggered the Neurological disability ie Autism.'

Vaccination continues to be a contentious issue with some people worried that there is a link between autism and vaccines

What are the vaccination facts? If your child has had a severe reaction to a previous dose or an allergy to eggs, then there are some vaccines that cannot be given.

To keep an epidemic at bay, 95% of the population must be immunised.

Because of the fears over autism, only 86% of babies are having the MMR vaccine.

Two doses of MMR gives 99 per cent protection against measles - the most serious of the diseases immunised against.

Parents first voiced concerns over links between MMR and autism and the bowel condition Crohn's disease in the mid-1990s. Advertisement

'No person who witnessed the polio outbreak here in the early fifties would turn away a vaccine,' responded another commenter.

'No one seeing the loss of life and limb due to the horrific outcomes of Meningococcal disease would not vaccinate

'We have been protected by vaccines to fight these and other diseases,' they continued.

The movie has proved to be a contentious issue, with the Facebook group Bring Vaxxed to Australia/New Zealand garnering over 10,000 members who share support and ideas in their community.

In contrast, the New Zealand group Autistic Collective called for the movie to be banned earlier this year.

'Hilary was absolutely right. If you don't vaccinate, you're stupid. You're trusting a proven fraud over the scientific community. You're risking the lives of your kids and the lives of kids who for what ever reason are too fragile to get vaccinated themselves,' another commenter on the posted on the Facebook thread.

Ms Barry's commented sparked a heated debate online between those pro vaccincaton and those who show concern over their legitimacy

'There is nothing wrong with looking at evidence from both sides. Trusting doctors blindly is a very dangerous and irresponsible thing to do,' another disagreed.

Health authorities around the world say there is no link between vaccinations and autism, while campaigners against vaccination point to a growing autism epidemic.

The film was directed by discredited anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield, who was struck off by the United Kingdom's General Medical Council in 2010, after a panel found he had acted dishonestly and irresponsibly in conducting unethical research.
She's one of the most fashion forward monarchs in Europe, shunning the sensible heels and colour-block suits familiar from many a royal wardrobe in favour of daring dresses and skyscraper stilettos.

So it was no surprise to see Queen Letizia of Spain step out in a pair of skinny black leather trousers in Madrid on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old mother-of-two added a sharply tailored sleeveless white jacket and a pair of towering black heels for a visit to the city's National Museum of Science and Technology.

Queen Letizia was in Madrid to attend Famelab 2017 at the National Museum of Science and Technology

The Queen's offset her understated, monochrome outfit with a pair of simple drop earrings

Letizia carried a sleek snakeskin clutch, wore her hair loose and accessorised with a pair of simple drop earrings.

She was in Madrid to unveil the winner of the 2017 Famelab, a science and communication competition.

The Queen was snapped handing over the first prize to a male scientist, who will now go on to compete in the international contest in Cheltenham in the UK next month.

Queen Letizia of Spain looked glamorous in skinny black leather trousers and a sharply tailored white sleeveless jacket

Queen Letizia claps after handing over the first prize to a young scientist in Madrid

The winner took the chance to give the glamorous Queen a peck on the cheek as she presented his prize

The winner will take part in the Famelab International final in Cheltenham next month

Famelab is a science communication competition. A total of 80 scientists entered for the chance to win

It's not the first time the stylish Queen has added a dash of leather to her look at an official engagement.

Earlier this month she attended an event at Spain's National Library with her husband King Felipe VI wearing a figure-skimming leather pencil skirt, and this week she made an appearance at a reception hosted by her mother-in-law, former Queen Sofia, in a burgundy leather peplum jacket.

Last year she was snapped in a pair of leather culottes on several occasions.
After one 25-year-old Australian mother had her first child, Levi, she was unsure whether she would be able to love her second just as much.

Jessiika Wilson found out she was pregnant with her second child when Levi was only four months old.

'The day I found out I was pregnant with Bowie was not a good day for me,' Ms Wilson said in a blog post.

The young mother felt that she still needed time to bond with her first child before her time and energy was split between two

'My heart sank, and I know that makes me sound like a terrible, terrible person but at the time that was my reaction. Levi was only four months old, my body had barely recovered from the last time I gave birth and I was about to do it again'.

Ms Wilson didn't tell her husband Phil when she was taking the test as she couldn't even believe that being pregnant for a second time, and so soon, was a possibility.

This young mother felt that she still needed time to bond with her first child before her time and energy was split between two.

'I know this makes me sound terrible but at the time I just wasnt ready, Levi was still a baby, MY baby and I wasnt ready for another on,' she said.

'I didnt want him to have to share me, I didnt want this new baby to take up any time that we would normally spend together. Levi was my whole world, how could I love another baby as much as I love him? I couldnt, no way.'

'The day I found out I was pregnant with Bowie was not a good day for me,' Ms Wilson said in a blog post

Ms Wilson's husband was positive about the second pregnancy which angered her even more.

'For days I didnt even want to talk about it, I wasnt happy, I didnt want anyone to know. This wasnt what I wanted and so I thought something had to be done,' she said.

After speaking with Phil she made the decision to make an appointment to terminate the pregnancy. Although he was disheartened he supported her decision.

'I just couldnt wrap my head around having another baby in my life and thought that it had to be done. I went to work and carried on like nothing was different, I didnt tell anyone.'

It was the day before her appointment when she received a text from the clinic to confirm her decision she had a change of heart.

The main question that lingered in Jessiika's mind during the pregnancy was whether she could love her second baby as much as the first

'Something just came over me when I was reading that text message, this little person was apart of me, apart of Phil and apart of Levi who I can not love enough, how could I just throw that away without giving it a second thought? I couldnt,' said Jessiika.

The main question that lingered in Jessiika's mind during the pregnancy was whether she could love her second baby as much as the first.

She said that it isn't that she didn't care, she would still wait to hear his heartbeat at appointment's and was nervous if Levi was playing near her belly.

In her blog post on Oh My Mumsy she details how Bowie's birth was a traumatic one. The complications meant she had to go to theatre and wasn't able to hold her baby for a four day period, which meant she had no initial burst of love.

'I was happy he was here and he was okay but there was no urgency to pick him up or attempt to feed him. I laid there wondering, why is this happening? Why didnt I cry when he was born, why dont i feel the way Im suppose too? Whats wrong with me?' she said.

Baby Bowie had to sleep on a light blanket and wear a mask to shield him from the light as he had jaundice

This all changed when a nurse told her that Bowie had jaundice and they would have to stay another night. This also involved him having to sleep on a light blanket and wear a mask over his eyes to protect them from the light.

Jessiika said she burst into tears at that moment and was worried whether he was scared, sick or whether she had done something that allowed him to get sick.

'I picked up Bowie and I kissed him and hugged him like I never had before. I told him I loved him, that everything was going to be okay and that I was so so sorry. That was the turning point for me. That was when I knew everything was going to be okay, this was my baby and he was meant to be here all along.'

'Every little bit of worry or self doubt I had ever had was gone, I didnt have to half the love I had for Levi to love Bowie because the Love just doubles, triples, quad-ripples even,' she said

Jessiika has said that her love grew stronger for Bowie every day and is proud of how her son Levi gushes over his baby brother.

Jessiika has said that her love grew stronger for Bowie every day and is proud of how her son Levi gushes over his baby brother.

'He always check on Bowie and kisses Bowie and Hugs Bowie and smothers Bowie with endless amounts of love,' she said.

'Every little bit of worry or self doubt I had ever had was gone, I didnt have to half the love I had for Levi to love Bowie because the Love just doubles, triples, quad-ripples even.

'Its indescribable and its the best feeling in the whole word. I dont remember life before Bowie and I never want too.'
Dame Helen Mirren shared her five rules for a 'happy life' in a speech to students at a US university - and top of her list was not being in a rush to get married.

The acclaimed actress, 71, wed her long-term partner, the director Taylor Hackford, on new year's eve 1997, when she was 52.

Dame Helen made her five rules the basis for her 2017 commencement address at Tulane University in Louisiana, then offered a host of additional life tips to the students, urging them not to confuse sex with love, to ignore anyone who judges the way they look, and to call their parents once a week.

Dame Helen Mirren and Director Taylor Hackford (above) have been married for twenty years and she says 'it's worked out great'

The British actress told the audience: 'I married Taylor a lot later in my life and its worked out great.

'And always give your partner the freedom and support to achieve their ambitions.'

Dame Helen's second rule revolved around treating 'people like people'.

She revealed how, at the start of her career, she was in the back seat of a car with a fellow actress en route to a location when her co-star offered the driver a cigarette.

The actress said it taught her a lesson she's never forgotten.

'To her, he wasn't a "driver person", but a "person person" who might want a smoke.'

DAME HELEN MIRREN'S 'TOP FIVE RULES FOR A HAPPY LIFE' 1. Don't be in a rush to get married 2. Treat people like people (and be a feminist) 3. Ignore anyone who judges the way you look 4. Confront your fears 5. Don't over-complicate things Advertisement

She drew a laugh when she joked that today her friend 'would probably be arrested for attempted murder' for offering around cigarettes.

'Thats a lesson I never forgot, and I am grateful to my actress friend to this day,' she said.

She elaborated further on rule two by encouraging everyone listening to define themselves as a feminist, adding that it had taken her a while.

Her third rule was to 'ignore anyone who judges the way you look, especially if he or she is some anonymous creep lurking on the Internet'.

'And if you are that person lurking on the Internet  stop it, just stop it, go outside and do something,' the actress said.

Dame Helen, while presenting the speech at Tulane University, shared tips that included not being afraid of fear and not over-complicating things

Dame Helen also said in her speech to 'ignore anyone who judges the way you look, especially if he or she is some anonymous creep lurking on the Internet'

The acclaimed actress (left) wed her long-term partner, the director Taylor Hackford (right), on new year's eve 1997, when she was 52

The Oscar winner said her fourth rule was to always confront your fears, and her fifth was 'don't over complicate things', a rule she followed up with a string of helpful dos and don'ts.

She advised her audience not to smoke, procrastinate, confuse sex with love, or put hot cups on waxed surfaces.

Her list of 'dos' included remembering to call parents once a week, saying 'thank you', and opening your heart to love.

But despite her tips, it seems that Dame Helen has not always managed to stick to her own rules. Although she warned the graduates not to smoke, the Prime Suspect star has also confessed that she used to smoke marijuana.
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Melania Trump spent her second day in Belgium visiting the Queen Fabiolo Children's Hospital in Brussels, where she spent time doing arts and crafts with the young patients.

The 47-year-old First Lady was all smiles as she took selfies with the children while presenting them with several gifts, including Dr. Seuss books and souvenirs from the White House.

Melania was presented a bouquet of paper flowers during her visit, and she happily gave one to each child before posing for photos with them.

Melania Trump spent her second day in Belgium visiting the Queen Fabiolo Children's Hospital in Brussels, where she happily snapped selfies with the patients

The First Lady and the children made a bouquet of paper flowers during her visit, which she happily passed around to the patients on Thursday

Melania, 47, warmly embraced the patients during the trip, which was her second visit to a children's hospital in as many days

After passing the paper flowers around, Melania posed for photos with the children she had met

Melania was all smiles as she sat down and spoke with the children while doing arts and crafts with them

For the visit, Melania was the picture of elegance, donning a tan skirt suit and Manolo Blahnik snakeskin heels, but her outfit didn't stop her from joining the children in an arts and craft project.

Melania was photographed sitting down with the patients to make paper flowers together, and she carefully constructed a red flower for herself using tissue paper and a wooden skewer.

The First Lady was completely focused on the children, and she was photographed squatting down and putting her arm around their backs as she spoke to them.

She took to Twitter after the trip to speak about her wonderful experience visiting the hospital.

'Thank u to Queen Fabiola University Hospital! Enjoyed creating paper flowers with amazing patients & getting a tour. #Brussels #Belgium,' she tweeted.

The First Lady arrived in Brussels on Air Force One with her husband President Trump on Wednesday evening, stepping off the aircraft in a navy and blue gingham gingham coat.

Yesterday, Melania visited the Vatican's children's hospital during her trip to Italy with her husband, President Donald Trump, where she was also pictured snapping selfies with the patients

Melania is pictured taking a photo with a little girl named Chelsea Claire, one of the patients she met on Thursday

Melania warmly placed her arm around a little girl's waist while squatting down to speak with her

The First Lady was the picture of elegance in a tan skirt suit, which was belted at the waist

Melania presented them the children several gifts, including some souvenirs from the White House

In addition to the White House souvenirs, Melania also gave the kids a stack of books by Dr. Seuss

Brussels is the fourth stop on Trump and Melania's first international trip as President and First Lady

Brussels is the fourth stop on the couple's first international trip as President and First Lady, and they were immediately greeted by Prime Minister Charles Michel and his partner Amelie Derbaudrenghien when they deplaned.

Trump and Melania then headed straight to a meeting with King Philippe of Belgium and his wife, Queen Mathilde.

They were pictured with the couple at the Royal Palace in Brussels; while Melania looked smart in her suit, Queen Mathilde opted for a pale pink dress, which featured a lace overlay.

On Thursday, Trump will attend a meeting with NATO leaders following talks with leaders from the European Union, including France's new president, Emmanuel Macron.

During Trump's meeting, Melania and Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, will visit a museum devoted to the works of Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte.

The two first ladies will be also joined by the Belgian prime minister's partner, Amelie Derbaudrenghien, NATO chief Jens Stoltenbergs wife, Ingrid Schulerud, and the country's fine arts museums chief, during their tour of the Rene Magritte Museum.

During her visit, Melania sat down and made paper flowers with the children and hospital staffers

Melania left her golden hair down and wore minimal jewelry for her visit aside from her engagement ring and a diamond band

Melania looked like she truly enjoyed her time chatting with the children and taking part in the arts and crafts project

Melania chose to construct a red flower using tissue paper and a wooden skewer while at the hospital

Melania listened intently as she sat at the table with the children who showed her how to make the paper flowers

They are then expected to visit the Delvaux luxury handbag shop, which is said to be the oldest in the world, before joining King Philippe of Belgium's wife, Queen Mathilde, on a tour of the 19th century royal greenhouses at Laeken.

Melania's trip to Queen Fabiola Children's Hospital is her second children's hospital visit in as many days; on Wednesday the First Lady visited the Vatican's children's hospital, meeting with patients, painting pictures with them and once again taking selfies with several patients who were eager to capture the moment.

Melania spent time visiting with a group of young patients at the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) pediatric hospital after she and President Trump met with Pope Francis earlier at the Vatican.

She also toured the hospital's cardiac intensive unit, as well as the recreation room, where she painted with children from nine different countries, pausing to snap a series of selfies with them.

She ended the visit by praying in the hospital chapel, while also pausing in front of a Madonna statue located outside of the hospital for a quiet moment of reflection.

Melania was very affectionate with the children, putting her arm around them while they spoke or offering them a hug

Melania carefully moved her hair out of her face, offering a glimpse at her large diamond engagement ring

Melania stood in the center of the group, holding her bouquet of paper flowers, while posing for a picture

At the end of her visit, Melania looked deep in thought as she signed a message in the hospital's guide book

Melania paired her tan skirt suit with Manolo Blahnik snakeskin heels for her second children's hospital visit

Melania also appeared to cross herself while standing in front of the statue; the First Lady grew up in the predominantly Catholic country of Slovenia, and she is a practicing Roman Catholic.

Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grishma confirmed that to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, hours after Pope Francis blessed a rosary for her at the Vatican.

However, Melania married her Presbyterian-born husband in an Episcopal church, and she has since attended several services with Trump. The couple is also sending their son Barron to an Episcopal school in Washington, D.C.

Having appeared relatively somber and straight-faced during her meeting with Pope Francis earlier in the day, Melania looked much more relaxed and happy as she sat down with the group of children at the hospital, some of whom presented her with artwork that they had made especially for her visit.

One piece, which the First Lady happily held up for the cameras with a smile read: 'Welcome in Italia! Hy Milania! I want talk for you!'

The multicolored creation also featured several hearts drawn in blue and pink.

Melania and President Trump arrived in Brussels on Air Force One on Wednesday evening after spending the day at the Vatican in Italy

The couple headed straight to a meeting with King Philippe of Belgium (center right) and his wife Queen Mathilde (far left) at the Royal Palace of Brussels

On Wednesday, Melania met with children in the recreation room of the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) pediatric hospital at the Vatican, where they enjoyed a painting session

Melania was all smiles as she held up one child's artwork, which welcomed her to Italy

The First Lady beamed with joy as she posed with the children for a group picture

Melania happily showed off her artistic skills as she joined the children in the recreation room at the hospital

Melania looked totally at ease while sitting down and chatting with the young patients, at one point pausing to snap some selfies with them, and also offering one young child a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

She also beamed with joy as she was presented with a bouquet of flowers by hospital staff, looking delighted with the token of appreciation offered to her during her visit.

Before leaving, Melania penned a brief note in the guest book, writing: 'Great visiting you. Stay strong and positive. Much love, Melania Trump.'

With a red pen, she also drew a small flower and heart.

The First Lady wore the same demure black dress design she had donned for her meeting with Pope Francis earlier in the day; however, she removed the veil she had added to the outfit out of respect for Vatican tradition.

'My visit to Bambino Gesu Childrens Hospital today was very moving. To spend time speaking to and coloring with children who have such a positive spirit despite illness was an amazing gift,' Melania said in a statement.

The First Lady wore the same demure black lace frock she had donned for her meeting with Pope Francis earlier in the day

The children looked enthralled as Melania joined them for their art session, drawing what appeared to be a flower on a blue piece of paper

Melania penned a brief note in the guest book, writing: 'Great visiting you. Stay strong and positive. Much love, Melania Trump'

The First Lady was photographed giving the children in the hospital what looked like gifts for their art room

'The time I spent with the little ones in the Intensive Care Unit is something I will never forget, and I will pray for each of them daily. I want to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of the hospital, who all do such beautiful and critical work.'

'Stay strong!' Melania left a note in the guest book at the hospital, and also drew a heart and flower in red pen

The First Lady added: 'Upon landing in Belgium, I learned a young boy and his family who had been waiting for a heart transplant was informed that the hospital has found a donor.

'I read a book and held hands with this special little one just a few hours ago, and now my own heart is filled with joy over this news.'

Grisham said the visit had been 'very emotional' for Melania who had spoken Italian with the children.

The First Lady, who speaks several other languages besides English and her native Slovenian including German, French, Italian and Serbo-Croatian, had personally written to the Pope personally ahead of her arrival in Rome to request a visit to the hospital.

'She spoke to them in Italian, she signed bandages and she took lots of selfies,' Grisham added.

She had then met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, before going to Bambin Gesu, where she told him that she was looking forward to going to the hospital 'for the bambinos.' She later called the visit 'very moving.'

Melania, her stepdaughter Ivanka Trump, and Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner traveled to the Vatican with President Trump on Wednesday.

Melania and Ivanka wore the same all-black dresses for the meeting, and they kept with tradition and wore veils to meet Francis. The veil, or mantilla, is traditionally worn by women as a sign of respect when meeting the Pope. Trump senior aide Hope Hicks wore one as well.

Melania stood in front of a Madonna statue and appeared to be praying as she visited the children's hospital

At one point, Melania, who is a practicng Roman Catholic, took a quiet moment to herself to pray in front of the statue

The First Lady was given an extensive tour of the hospital

Melania ended her visit by praying in the hospital chapel

One young boy seemed particularly taken with the First Lady, who offered him a sweet kiss on the cheek

Other children were far more interested in snapping selfies with Melania

Neither woman, however, wore a head scarf in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, despite the local custom of Muslim women wearing hijabs in public.

Melania's predecessor Michelle Obama did not cover her head when she accompanied then-President Barack Obama on a condolence visit in January 2015 after the death of King Abdullah.

Trump tweeted his disapproval at the time, saying: 'Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted. We have enuf (sic) enemies.'

Melania, Ivanka and her husband Jared sat in an anteroom while the pope and the president held their audience, speaking with Gentlemen of His Holiness members and Gaenswein.

Pope Francis also shared a light moment with Melania.

Family portrait: Donald and Melania were joined by Ivanka and Jared during their visit to the Sistine Chapel

Donald and Melania clasped hands as the family posed for a portrait

President Trump and Melania held hands as they looked up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (left), while Ivanka touched a statue of seated St. Peter by Arnolfo di Cambio in the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (right)

Melania wore the same demure black dress design she had donned for her meeting with Pope Francis earlier in the day, however, she removed the veil she had added to the outfit out of respect for Vatican tradition

The Pope asked Melania whether she feeds her husband 'potizza', a type of Italian cake during their visit

After Francis met with the president he was introduced to members of Trump's delegation, including Melania.

Smiling for the staff, Francis asked via translator, 'What do you give him to eat, potizza?'

He was referring to a local pastry - though some thought he'd said 'pizza.'

When it comes to food, the president is known for his traditional American palette. When he traveled in Saudi Arabia, caterers ensured that his favorite meal - steak with a side of ketchup - would be offered alongside the traditional local cuisine.

Later in the day on Wednesday, after her visit to the children's hospital, President Trump and his wife boarded Air Force One at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome ahead of their flight to Brussels, Belgium.

Melania boarded the plain in a sleeveless, black lace dress, donning oversize sunglasses to shield her eyes from the sun.

Earlier in the day, she had worn a black lace coat during her trip to the Vatican, which she appeared to have taken off for her flight.
A sugar daddy dating site has launched a range of perfumes for rich men seeking younger girlfriends.

Arrangement.com's fragrances are targeted at 'sugar daddies' and 'sugar babies' looking to attract a partner.

They promise their new perfumes will 'make your senses waltz to a pheromonic symphony' and spark a 'revolution of passion'.

Currently only available for pre-order by members, there are three fragrances for 'Papa-gateaus' and three for 'Sugar drops'.

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Liquid Assets, one of the six bottles of perfume released by sugar daddy dating site Seeking Arrangement to help rich older men snare a younger girlfriend

The male fragrances, which promise to help members conquer the dating world are called opulence, No Strings Attached and Liquid Assets.

Meanwhile women looking for an older man can snap up Billionaire Baby and Sweet Hustle - with the latter being touted as 'the new symbol of femininity'.

Filthy Rich, meanwhile, is described as being 'reminiscent of the most memorable nights, the bright and robust Filthy Rich combines powerful hints of berry and sea splash with an undertone of freshly printed money.'

The bottle looks remarkably similar to Lancome's La Vie Est Belle perfume.

The Cyprus-based dating site teamed up with parfumier Remi Basquiat-Duchamp to create the scents, which cost around 75 a bottle.

Filthy Rich, left, and Billionaire Baby, right, are packed with pheromones to help women attract a wealthy older man according to Arrangement.com - but will they work?

Arrangement.com claim each bottle contains 'pheromone-based aphrodisiac compounds that are scientifically proven to increase sexual attraction and appeal'.

Speaking about the fragrance line, chief marketing officer Andrea Johnson said: 'Cash has a distinct smell, and some people are better than others at sniffing out potential mates who have it.

'Our scents undeniably capture the seductive fragrance of wealth, and the desire for it, so sugar babies and daddies can simply follow their nose to their next arrangement.'

The site reportedly has some 2,000 members and its tagline is 'sugar daddy dating: Where the young spoil the beautiful'.
Getting engaged is likely to set anyone's heart racing. But getting engaged while plunging down a theme park waterfall? That's sure to be a thrill unlike any other.

On Monday, Eugene Williams proposed to his boyfriend Chris on Splash Mountain, Disney's famously exciting log flume ride, by holding up a colorful sign that read, 'Chris, will you marry me?'

During the climactic, 50-foot drop at the end of the ride, passengers have their photo taken by an automated camera. While the snapshot is intended to capture thrill-seekers' excited faces, many have used the photo-op as a chance to stage hilarious and heartwarming scenes.

He said yes! Eugene Williams and his boyfriend Chris recently became engaged after Williams proposed using this picture taken on the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain

Williams felt Disneyland the perfect place for a proposal. He told HuffPost that he and his now-fiance are Disney fanatics, who have annual passes to the California theme park and visit at least once a month.

When it came to choosing Splash Mountain for the proposal - as opposed to a more traditionally romantic Disney location - Williams said he was inspired by a 16-year-old girl who used the Splash Mountain photo-op to come out as gay to her family.

Yet, even after planning the perfect proposal, Williams said that the execution proved to be a little bit trickier than he had hoped.

'I wanted to get to the park before it opened, but Chris and I overslept and ran into traffic on the way,' he told HuffPost. 'I was very angsty and nervous the whole time leading to him seeing the photo. I was worried my plan wouldnt work and the park would be too crowded to get our own log - after all, it was a hot day.'

Fortunately, Disneyland proved to be the place where dreams really can come true. After Williams told a park employee about his proposal plans, they helped ensure that the two would have the ride all to themselves.

'I told [Chris] that we should pretend to be shocked for the photo,' Williams explained, hence Chris's startled expression in the picture. 'When the ride was over we walked to see our photo and he said he immediately knew when he saw the sign in the photo what it was and he cried!'

The photo has gone on to touch many others. After Williams posted the picture to Reddit, more than 41,000 people 'up-voted' the image, and thousands of others have left comments in support of the new engagement.

'Seeing post like this makes me unreasonably happy,' said one Reddit user. 'This is beyond wonderful. I'm so happy for you both,' said another.

Unfortunately, one individual is less than excited about the impending nuptials. On Reddit, Williams said he didn't posted the engagement picture to Facebook because 'my mom is ashamed of me.'

He went on to explain that she is very religious and conservative, and that she is 'concerned my extended family will "gossip."' He admitted that it has been 'upsetting' to have his mother not show 'any sort of joy for what's supposed to be a happy moment.'

Still, Williams is remaining focused on the happy future ahead with his new fiance. Hopefully, the Splash Mountain proposal will set the foundation for a truly magical marriage to come.
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Melania Trump did a quick change before meeting Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Royal Castle of Laeken on Thursday evening.

Earlier in the day, the 47-year-old donned a leather skirt suit by Belgian designer Maison Ullens and Manolo Blahnik snakeskin heels to visit to a children's hospital before meeting a group of NATO spouses, including French First Lady Brigitte Macron, to tour the Magritte Museum in Brussels.

And while Brigitte, 64, and a few of the other women opted to leave on what they wore to the museum, Melania slipped on an off-the-shoulder, black lace gown and scrappy stiletto sandals before rejoining the rest of the group at the royal residence.

Melania Trump changed into an off-the-shoulder, black lace gown to meet Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Royal Castle of Laeken on Thursday evening after spending the afternoon at the Magritte Museum in Brussels with other NATO spouses

At the palace, Melania posed for photos with (front row from L to R) First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Jens Stoltenberg's partner Ingrid Schulerud, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev's partner Desislava Radeva, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's partner Amelie Derbaudrenghien and (back row L to R) First Gentleman of Luxembourg Gauthier Destenay, partner of Slovenia's Prime Minister Cerar's wife Mojca Stropnik and First Lady of Iceland Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir

French First Lady Brigitte Macron donned the same Louis Vuitton frock she wore visit Magritte Museum in Brussels earlier in the day. However, Melania slipped out of her leather suit and changed into a lace dress before reuniting with the group

A glamorous-looking Melania posed next to Emine Erdogan, the devoutly Muslim wife of Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, a NATO member

Melania smiled while posing next to Queen Mathilde as Gauthier Desteney, the husband of Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who spent the day with the group of spouses, stood behind them

Melania wore a diamond eternity band on her right hand during the evening trip to the castle

Melania was all smiles she posed for pictures with group at the castle, which located near Brussels. However, she wasn't the only one to change her outfit.

Ingrid Schulerud, whose husband is Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, traded her black dress and cardigan from earlier in the day for an electric blue dress.

During their visit to the castle, the group was given a tour of by Queen Mathilde, who was pictured escorting them around a lush-looking garden, walking alongside Melania and Ingrid.

But Melania certainly wasn't finished wowing the crowds with her sartorial prowess; later in the day, the First Lady changed into a third ensemble, just in time for her arrival in Sicily alongside her husband President Trump.

Melania was pictured disembarking Air Force One, hand in hand with Trump, while wearing a short black dress, complete with thick straps.

Her hair remained in perfectly-coiffed waves around her shoulders, while her smokey eye make-up from earlier in the day was also still very much in place - no doubt having been touched up once or twice after a lengthy day of activities.

Melania, Queen Mathilde, and Ingrid Schulerud are pictured arriving before posing for photos together

Emine, and Melania walked together after posing for photographers during the spouse and partner program at the Royal Castle of Laeken

The Queen was pictured giving the spouses a tour of the castle grounds, with Melania showing off her lacy frock while striding alongside the royal and Jens Stoltenberg's partner Ingrid

Melania struck a pose with France's new first lady at the museum earlier in the day

Brigitte was the epitome of French chic in a $2,960 Louis Vuitton mini-dress that had a low-waisted belt featuring a jewel clasp with a signature gold V motif

Another change! Melania put on a third outfit - another black dress - for her arrival in Sicily on Air Force One alongside her husband President Trump

The pair were seen clasping hands as they disembarked the aircraft, making their way down the stairs onto the runway

Both Melania and Trump paused at the top of the steps to wave to the waiting photographers

Before heading to the palace and then flying to Sicily, Melania and fellow first lady Brigitte enjoyed a private tour of the Magritte Museum, which is devoted to the works of Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte; also there was Emine Erdogan, the devoutly Muslim wife of Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey.

The three were joined by other NATO spouses, including Gauthier Destenay, who is married to Luxembourg's gay prime minister; and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's partner, Amelie Derbaudrenghien.

Famed for works like the 1964 'self-portrait' of a bowler-hatted man whose face is hidden by an apple or the image of a pipe subtitled 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe' (This is not a Pipe), Magritte has much to teach the world about questioning outward appearances, and about self-effacement, Belgian organizers said.

'You never know,' museum director Michel Draguet said ahead of the first lady's visit. 'Maybe Donald Trump will move from one kind of surrealism to another, thanks to Magritte's ideas.'

Earlier in the day, Melania visited the Queen Fabiolo Children's Hospital in Brussels, where she spent time doing arts and crafts with the young patients.

The pair seemed to be enjoying a very friendly chat, while Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg's prime minister, Xavier Bettel, watched on

The two were joined by the spouses of other national leaders who attended Thursday's NATO summit

Emine Erdogan, the first lady of Turkey, a NATO member, posed with Melania in front of a painting at the museum, which is devoted to the works of Belgian painter Rene Magritte

Melania looked elegant in a tan skirt suit and Manolo Blahnik snakeskin heels, the same outfit she wore to visit a children's hospital during the day

The first lady wore minimal jewelry during the visit aside from her diamond eternity band

The 47-year-old was all smiles as she took selfies with the children while presenting them with several gifts, including Dr. Seuss books and souvenirs from the White House.

Melania was presented a bouquet of paper flowers during her visit, and she happily gave one to each child before posing for photos with them.

For the visit, Melania was the picture of elegance in a leather suit, but her outfit didn't stop her from joining the children in an arts and craft project.

Melania was photographed sitting down with the patients to make paper flowers together, and she carefully constructed a red flower for herself using tissue paper and a wooden skewer.

The first lady was completely focused on the children, and she was photographed squatting down and putting her arm around their backs as she spoke to them.

Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg's prime minister, Xavier Bettel, also posed alongside the group of women for a photo

Melania wore her golden brown hair down in loose waves around her shoulder for the trip

Melania gave a wide smile as she posed in front of one of the paintings hanging in the museum

After their visit to the museum, the spouses of the world leaders will visit the Delvaux luxury handbag shop, which is said to be the oldest in the world

As they toured the museum, President Trump met with France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels

Melania had a small smile on her face as she arrived at the museum on Thursday afternoon

Melania shook hands with Michel Draguet, director general of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium upon her arrival

Amelie and Melania both turned around and posed for a photo before heading into the museum for their tour

As they toured the museum, President Trump met with France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels.

At their first meeting, the two men locked hands for so long that knuckles started turning white.

Trump finally seemed ready to pull away - but Macron evidently wasn't. The French leader held the shake for a few seconds more. Both men's jaws seemed to clench.

Macron won France's election this month by positioning himself as the anti-Trump, embracing globalization and open borders and quoting philosophers.

But as a 39-year-old who has never held elected office, Macron clearly was excited about the appearance with the U.S. president, which cemented his status as a new global player - and as a formidable hand-shaker.

Earlier in the day, Melania visted the Queen Fabiolo Children's Hospital in Brussels, where she happily snapped selfies with the patients

The first lady and the children made a bouquet of paper flowers during her visit, which she happily passed around to the patients on Thursday

Melania, 47, warmly embraced the patients during the trip, which was her second visit to a children's hospital in as many days

After passing the paper flowers around, Melania posed for photos with the children she had met

Melania's sharp leather suit was custom-made by Belgian designer Maison Ullens

Yesterday, Melania visited the Vatican's children's hospital during her trip to Italy with her husband, President Donald Trump, where she was also pictured snapping selfies with the patients

Melania is pictured taking a photo with a little girl named Chelsea Claire, one of the patients she met on Thursday

Melania warmly placed her arm around a little girl's waist while squatting down to speak with her

The first lady was the picture of elegance in a tan skirt suit, which was belted at the waist

Melania presented them the children several gifts, including some souvenirs from the White House

She took to Twitter after the trip to speak about her wonderful experience visiting the hospital.

'Thank u to Queen Fabiola University Hospital! Enjoyed creating paper flowers with amazing patients & getting a tour. #Brussels #Belgium,' she tweeted.

The first lady arrived in Brussels on Air Force One with her husband President Trump on Wednesday evening, stepping off the aircraft in a navy and blue gingham gingham coat.

Brussels is the fourth stop on the couple's first international trip as president and first lady, and they were immediately greeted by Prime Minister Charles Michel and his partner Amelie when they deplaned.

Trump and Melania then headed straight to a meeting with King Philippe of Belgium and his wife, Queen Mathilde.

They were pictured with the couple at the Royal Palace in Brussels; while Melania looked smart in her suit, Queen Mathilde opted for a pale pink dress, which featured a lace overlay.

Melania's trip to Queen Fabiola Children's Hospital is her second children's hospital visit in as many days; on Wednesday the first lady visited the Vatican's children's hospital, meeting with patients, painting pictures with them and once again taking selfies with several patients who were eager to capture the moment.

Melania spent time visiting with a group of young patients at the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) pediatric hospital after she and President Trump met with Pope Francis earlier at the Vatican.

She also toured the hospital's cardiac intensive unit, as well as the recreation room, where she painted with children from nine different countries, pausing to snap a series of selfies with them.

She ended the visit by praying in the hospital chapel, while also pausing in front of a Madonna statue located outside of the hospital for a quiet moment of reflection.

In addition to the White House souvenirs, Melania also gave the kids a stack of books by Dr. Seuss

During her visit, Melania sat down and made paper flowers with the children and hospital staffers

Melania left her golden hair down and wore minimal jewelry for her visit aside from her engagement ring and a diamond band

Melania looked like she truly enjoyed her time chatting with the children and taking part in the arts and crafts project

Melania chose to construct a red flower using tissue paper and a wooden skewer while at the hospital

Melania listened intently as she sat at the table with the children who showed her how to make the paper flowers

Melania carefully moved her hair out of her face, offering a glimpse at her large diamond engagement ring

Melania also appeared to cross herself while standing in front of the statue; the first lady grew up in the predominantly Catholic country of Slovenia, and she is a practicing Roman Catholic.

Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grishma confirmed that to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, hours after Pope Francis blessed a rosary for her at the Vatican.

However, Melania married her Presbyterian-born husband in an Episcopal church, and she has since attended several services with Trump. The couple is also sending their son Barron to an Episcopal school in Washington, D.C.

Having appeared relatively somber and straight-faced during her meeting with Pope Francis earlier in the day, Melania looked much more relaxed and happy as she sat down with the group of children at the hospital, some of whom presented her with artwork that they had made especially for her visit.

One piece, which the first lady happily held up for the cameras with a smile read: 'Welcome in Italia! Hy Milania! I want talk for you!'

The multicolored creation also featured several hearts drawn in blue and pink.

Melania looked totally at ease while sitting down and chatting with the young patients, at one point pausing to snap some selfies with them, and also offering one young child a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

She also beamed with joy as she was presented with a bouquet of flowers by hospital staff, looking delighted with the token of appreciation offered to her during her visit.

Before leaving, Melania penned a brief note in the guest book, writing: 'Great visiting you. Stay strong and positive. Much love, Melania Trump.'

With a red pen, she also drew a small flower and heart.

The first lady wore the same demure black dress design she had donned for her meeting with Pope Francis earlier in the day; however, she removed the veil she had added to the outfit out of respect for Vatican tradition.

'My visit to Bambino Gesu Childrens Hospital today was very moving. To spend time speaking to and coloring with children who have such a positive spirit despite illness was an amazing gift,' Melania said in a statement.

Melania was very affectionate with the children, putting her arm around them while they spoke or offering them a hug

Melania stood in the center of the group, holding her bouquet of paper flowers, while posing for a picture

At the end of her visit, Melania looked deep in thought as she signed a message in the hospital's guide book

Melania and President Trump arrived in Brussels on Air Force One on Wednesday evening after spending the day at the Vatican in Italy

The couple headed straight to a meeting with King Philippe of Belgium (center right) and his wife Queen Mathilde (far left) at the Royal Palace of Brussels on Wednesday evening

'The time I spent with the little ones in the Intensive Care Unit is something I will never forget, and I will pray for each of them daily. I want to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of the hospital, who all do such beautiful and critical work.'

The first lady added: 'Upon landing in Belgium, I learned a young boy and his family who had been waiting for a heart transplant was informed that the hospital has found a donor.

'I read a book and held hands with this special little one just a few hours ago, and now my own heart is filled with joy over this news.'

Grisham said the visit had been 'very emotional' for Melania who had spoken Italian with the children.

The first lady, who speaks several other languages besides English and her native Slovenian including German, French, Italian and Serbo-Croatian, had personally written to the Pope personally ahead of her arrival in Rome to request a visit to the hospital.

'She spoke to them in Italian, she signed bandages and she took lots of selfies,' Grisham added.

She had then met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, before going to Bambin Gesu, where she told him that she was looking forward to going to the hospital 'for the bambinos.' She later called the visit 'very moving.'

Melania, her stepdaughter Ivanka Trump, and Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner traveled to the Vatican with President Trump on Wednesday.

Melania and Ivanka wore the same all-black dresses for the meeting, and they kept with tradition and wore veils to meet Francis. The veil, or mantilla, is traditionally worn by women as a sign of respect when meeting the Pope. Trump senior aide Hope Hicks wore one as well.
A teen who was born without a jaw is hoping to inspire other youngsters who have been victims of bullying after fulfilling his dream of becoming a rap artist.

Last year, Isaiah Acosta, 17, of Phoenix, was attending a Childrens Miracle Network function in Washington, D.C. as a part of his role as a Phoenix Childrens Hospital ambassador when he revealed to a few friends that he had ambitions to become a rapper.

Topher Horman, who works as a creative producer for Childrens Miracle Network, caught wind of the news over text from Isaiah, and decided to lend a hand.

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Dreamer: Isaiah Acosta, 17, of Phoenix, Arizona, was born without a lower jaw, but as a teen developed ambitions to become a rap artist

Coming true: He was introduced to Phoenix rapper Trap House, and the pair collaborated on a song entitled Oxygen to Fly

He introduced the teen to Tikey Patterson, a rapper known as Trap House in Phoenix, and the pair got to collaborating.

Isaiah was born with a condition called situs inversus, where the internal organs develop in a mirror image of normal anatomy. The condition saw him born without a lower jaw, and left him unable to speak.

Despite this disability, Isaiah was still able to express his creative side as he grew up, mainly through writing. It was this aspect of his life he had in mind when he wrote the lyrics to Oxygen to Fly, the song he eventually recorded with Trap House.

'I dont care what people think of me/Proud and honored that they carry me/Jaw gone but I love myself/Like a lion to my family,' Isaiah wrote.

'Couldve died but Im still here/Couldve cried but Im still here/Bullies try but Im still here/Mother tries so Im still here.'

Pen to paper: Despite being born unable to speak, Isaiah found his creative voice through writing, developing a passion for poetry

Star on the rise: The music video for the song, released in March, went viral with over 15 million views online

Finding a passion: When he was 15, Isaiah fell in love with rap music because of its 'energy'

And it wasn't just the lyrics that Isaiah had a hand in. He also picked the beats and oversaw the production on the tune.

Speaking to People, Isaiah's mother Tarah Acosta said that every time she hears the song on the radio, she feels 'emotional'.

'My sons words have been brought to life,' she said. 'Writing is his hobby and his way of self-expression. If you ask him, he will say that hes always had a voice. But the voice is inside him.'

A music video for the song released in March eventually went viral with over 15 million views, and while it was met with plenty of positivity, the popularity of the video also opened the teen up to further online bullying.

However, in an interview with ABC15 Arizona, he refused to let the cruel trolls bring him down, writing to his fans in a text: 'Keep your head up, just keep fighting through it and never give up.'

Working together: It wasn't just the lyrics that Isaiah worked on. He also picked the beats and oversaw production

Looking ahead: The high school senior hopes to work in the music business after college

Support: Isaiah's mother Tarah Acosta (bottom left in purple) says that she feels 'emotional' every time she hears the song on the radio

In a documentary made about his story, Isaiah's mother and friends describe the teen as someone who is always true to himself and is comfortable with who he is.

His family revealed that the teen has been offered a jaw by doctors, but as it would not help him eat, talk or breath any differently than he already does, he has refused the surgery.

After he was born, Isaiah condition was so serious that he was initially not expected to survive, but he beat the odds. As a teenager, he fell in love with rap music, connecting to its particular kind of 'energy.'

'And Ive always loved writing lyrics and quotes and putting down what bothers me into poems. Music has changed my life and now (with help from Trap House), I feel like Im helping people with no voice,' he said.

'I want to keep writing music and I want to help children who get bullied. I want to help fix the world in any way I can.'

Currently a senior at Apollo High School, Isaiah now has ambitions to work in the music industry as a writer or producer after he goes to college.
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She's been a plus-one at an almost royal wedding, dodged paparazzi cameras and even attended a polo match where she was spotted kissing Prince Harry.

Now it seems Meghan Markles next advance into British hearts could be via her wardrobe.

The glamorous American actress, whos been dating the Prince for more than a year, has been flying the flag for British home-grown luxury fashion brands including Hunter, Barbour and Burberry, and is rarely spotted without a Mulberry handbag hooked over one arm.

In fact, its fair to say the 35-year-old Los Angeles native is looking more like a Sloane Ranger by the day.

Leaving behind the tiny body-con dresses and high heels that made her every inch the Hollywood bombshell, shes now more likely to be spotted in wellington boots and a wax jacket, which will undoubtedly go down much better with the Firm.

And the more time she spends this side of the Atlantic, the more British her wardrobe becomes  or could it be that the brands themselves have cottoned onto the Meghan effect, whereby anything she wears sells out instantly, and are showering the potential new royal with lavish gifts?

Either way, suddenly Los Angeles seems a very long way away. Here we reveal the brands that could be the making of a British princess.

Burberry and posh wellies: The only wellington boot fit for a Sloane is the Hunter  and Meghan has clearly done her research. In February, the 35-year-old was spotted shopping for flowers on Londons Kensington High Street sporting a pair of their 95 Original Tall boots in black  appropriate attire for a winters day in windswept London. But someone should warn her that Kate Middleton has recently updated her gumboots to a leather-lined pair from fancy French company Le Chameau that are triple the price at 300. Taking notes Harry? She is also a fan of Burberry - as seen when she wore their stylish navy suede ankle boots (right 750)

Mulberry mad: No points for guessing Meghans favourite accessory brand. The actress has acquired quite a hoard of expensive Mulberry handbags from creative director Johnny Cocas most recent collections. She has two Bayswaters, a large 1,195 version in oxblood (above left) and a smaller porcelain blue bag (second left) worth 995. The Meghan effect caused it to sell out in minutes after she was spotted carrying it in December 2016. Most recently shes been seen with the sought-after Clifton in Rosewater, 725, and also in Clay (both above right). Mulberry  whose classic clutch in burgundy (right, 397) could be seen clamped in one hand on a West End date with Harry last Christmas  was founded in 1971 and is known the world over for its luxury leather goods.

Perfect for polo and following Kate's lead: The pressure was on to decide what to wear for her first public event with Prince Harry. But Meghan stole the show at the Audi Polo Challenge earlier this month (left) in an elegant 2,197 Antonio Berardi sleeveless dress from the British brands 2017 resort collection. Known for his figure-hugging designs, Berardi is usually more Hollywood than British society. But so is Meghan, and this navy design with ruffled, asymmetrical skirt worked a treat. And when Erdem Moralioglu chose the UK as home for his first and only solo label in 2005, he quickly became one of our best-loved designers. Hes certainly one of Kate Middletons favourites but its Meghan who has most recently delighted fans in his eye-catching floral creations. She wore a striking full-length gown to accompany Harry to his friends wedding in Jamaica earlier this year (right). The blue, green and yellow silk design, with ruffled sleeves and a high-neck, has a price tag of around 3,000. She completed the look with her signature oversized sunglasses

Best of Burberry: From their traditional cream-coloured mac (1,395), to the fabulous, grey, belted coat (above right, 700), and stylish navy suede ankle boots, Meghans wardrobe boasts several pieces from iconic brand Burberry. Their coats are another favourite among the hunting-and-shooting set. Rachel Zane  the character she plays in American TV legal drama Suits  is also a fan. I wear a lot of Burberry on the show because Rachels whole aesthetic is someone who comes from money and has a real classic design sensibility, Meghan has said. One memorable piece was a 150 beige silk, plaid dressing gown (above left). Could the worlds most Googled actress be trying to channel the character that made her name? Shed be in good company. Before she became a Duchess, Kate Middleton was often spotted around town with a Burberry bag on her arm.

Three Barbour jackets: Famed for their weather-proof outerwear, you might not think classic English brand Barbour would be glamorous Meghans first fashion choice. But she is often spotted in a 200 waxed or 129 Flyweight Cavalry quilted jacket (above left)  a style favoured by Kate Middleton and the Queen. In fact, Barbour hold a royal warrant to supply waterproof and protective clothing to the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. And Meghan doesnt just own the obvious designs. Her collection also includes a sleek hooded jacket in cream (above right) worth 179. But some LA habits are hard to break: Megan tends to wear her Barbours with a yoga mat, not a shotgun, tucked under her arm.

The classic Mulberry clutch in burgundy, 397 and Burberry's stylish navy suede ankle boots, 750

Striking gold and the Queen of fragrances: Harrys girl prompted a stampede when she was photographed near Kensington Palace wearing a stack of 18ct gold band rings from small London brand Missoma. With a surge of 5,000 visitors to their website in little more than an hour, theyre lucky it didnt crash. The rings, worth 59 each, are just a few of the items she has snapped up from the jewellery brand, founded by British designer Marisa Hordern ten years ago and now stocked in Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. And long before her relationship with Harry became public, Meghan gushed about Jo Malone perfume on her lifestyle blog. The British-born perfumer started in London in 1994

Pedalling a pricey pashley: When Meghan posted a picture of herself cycling with Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh last year, she even got the bike right. She was on a Pashley, which can cost up to 1,600 and are popular with wealthy ladies about town. The company was founded in Birmingham in the Twenties

PICTURE RESEARCH: Claire Cisotti
A lucky little girl in Upstate New York had the kind of slumber party that could make even grown-ups a bit jealous.

When Makenzie Richie planned to have five friends sleep over earlier this month, her mom Shenea decided to upgrade the fete from a classic sleeping-bags-and-candy-bars bash to a much fancier affair.

She enlisted her friend Theresa Thomas  who owns a local business called Once Upon a Sleepover  to throw the kind of glitzy pink glamping-themed party that dreams are made of.

Too cute! Five-year-old Makenzie Richie had a glamping-themed slumber party, and the pictures from it are going viral on social media and making adults jealous

Not exactly roughing it! Makenzie and each of her five guests had a tee-pee with a table of personalized goodies

Must-have PJs: The girls all got glittery T-shirts and eye masks with their names on them, as well as slippers and leggings to sleep in

Sleep tight! The tee-pees were set up with small mattresses, pillows, and blankets

The girls were invited with 'Night Under the Stars' invitations to Camp Kenzie, hosted by 'Camp Counselor' mom Shenea.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a living room where all of the regular furniture had been pushed aside. In its place were six mini tee-pees, each made of printed pink fabric and big enough to fit one guest.

Inside the tee-pees were small pink mattresses and blankets, and the tops of the tee-pees and ceiling were strung up with lights and balloons. There were also dream catchers hanging from the fronts.

But the VIP treatment didn't end there. In front of each of the tee-pees  which were open, so the girls could lay there and stay up late talking and giggling  were personal tables set up with goodies.

Lucky little ladies: The perfect pink snack station had cupcakes, a glittery full-size cake, frosted animal crackers, and cookies

No campfire, but... There was also an indoor s'mores station

Seriously trendy: The party was planned by a local Buffalo business called Once Upon a Sleepover

The room was decorated with white lights, balloons, and dream catchers

Adorable: The tables were set up with PJs, lanterns, canteens, and flashlights

They each received a personalized matching night shirt with their names in gold glitter, a monogrammed eye mask, a flashlight, fuzzy pink slippers, a pink canteen, and a white lantern night light.

After the girls were dressed in their special PJs and slippers, they snacked on iced tee-pee cookies, treats from an indoor s'mores station, cake, and frosted animal crackers.

There were goody bags, too, stuffed with washcloths, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bubbles, and candy.

The party was so glamorous that it bore a striking resemblance to Kim Kardashian's Troop Beverly Hills-themed baby shower, which was thrown for her when she was pregnant with Saint in 2015.

This was Once Upon a Sleepover's first party, and the base cost for five people is $250

The guests were all invited to Camp Kenzie and their 'counselor' was Mackenzie's mom

Impressive: The owner of the business hand-made each of the tents with her husband while her own eight kids were asleep

Throwback: The party looked similar to the Kim Kardashian's baby shower when she was pregnant with Saint in 2015

Similar: Kim's theme was Troop Beverly Hills, the '80s movie

Amazingly, Once Upon a Sleepover owner Theresa made the tents herself, along with her husband  and all while their own eight children were sleeping.

'I decided to expand my cake business to include themed sleepovers after reading about a similar idea in Australia,' she told Yahoo.

So far, the new company offers the glamping theme, as well as Parisian and Star Wars-themed parties.

The glamping party package costs $250 for five guests, plus $50 for each additional guest and $100 for set-up.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- With the countdown on to the June 6 municipal elections, concerns have been raised over the residency of one of the candidates for the Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen.

Ward 2 resident Leigh Coleman said she has recently filed complaints with the Ocean Springs City Clerk, Secretary of State and Ocean Springs Election Commission over the residency status of Ward 2 candidate Michael Pleasant, an Ocean Springs business owner who is set to face Republican candidate Rickey Authement in the general election.

According to Coleman, Pleasant does not reside inside the Ocean Springs city limits, but rather at a home on Pleasant Lane in the St. Martin community north of Ocean Springs. She said she and several other Ward 2 residents, including outgoing Ward 2 Republican alderman Matt McDonnell, have brought their concerns to city clerk Shelly Ferguson.

Coleman said Pleasant is using a DeSoto Avenue address inside the city as his primary place of residency for the purposes of qualifying for the election. As evidence, Coleman provided The Mississippi Press with county tax records showing ownership of both the DeSoto Avenue home and the home in St. Martin.

According to those records, the DeSoto Avenue home is owned by the estate of Pleasant's late grandmother, Odelia Burns, with all utilities under the name of the estate's executor, Charles Burns, Pleasant's uncle.

Records also indicate Pleasant is the owner of the St. Martin home on Pleasant Lane.

Under state law, municipal candidates are not required to provide proof of residency, such as tax documents or utility bills, but instead are required to sign an affidavit asserting they are qualified electors of the city and, in the case of candidates for aldermen, the ward they seek to represent.

Coleman, in an exchange of emails with the newspaper, said she has followed Pleasant and has photos of his truck parked at the St. Martin home five nights a week.

She also accused members of Pleasant's family of committing voter fraud by using the address of Pleasant's BBQ on Government Street to register to vote in city elections despite living outside the city limits.

"Michael Pleasant is an honorable man and has served this community through his business for many years," Coleman wrote in an email to Ferguson, the Ocean Springs Election Commission, Secretary of State, and the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

"I reached out to him and informed him of the Mississippi Code," Coleman's email continued "and that his candidacy was being challenged. He did not comment. I would not want anything negative to impact the Pleasant family, or their business, that is why is it imperative that this issue be resolved before it becomes a widespread concern and confuses the populace."

Multiple attempts by The Mississippi Press to speak with Pleasant this week were unsuccessful.

Ferguson said the city is aware of the complaint and has investigated. She said the DeSoto Avenue home, while owned by Pleasant's grandmother's estate, is occupied by Michael Pleasant and two of his sisters. She said she has spoken to Burns and he confirmed Michael Pleasant's residency there.

Additionally, the St. Martin home owned by Pleasant is currently occupied by renters.

Ferguson said she and the election commissioners consider the matter to have been investigated and resolved.

"I'm certainly willing to look at whatever evidence (Coleman) has," Ferguson said, "but we believe this issue has been fully vetted and we have found no evidence that would disqualify Mr. Pleasant from running for office."
In Wednesdays Mail, writer Shona Sibary caused a storm when she wrote that uprooting her family from Surrey to Devon was one of the worst mistakes of her life.

Rude locals, awful weather and a cultural wasteland with no Waitrose or Wagamama left her feeling so depressed, she wrote, that after four years she decided to move back to Surrey.

Here, a writer who also moved to Devon  but loves it  bites back 

Paradise found: Rebecca Evans with husband Adrian, daughter Rosalyn and dogs Bess and Penny at their home in North Devon

Shona Sibary wrote that uprooting her family from Surrey to Devon was one of the worst mistakes of her life

The screeching bang in the street woke me from an already restless nights sleep. I peered through the window of my West London home and saw a car turned upside down.

It had ricocheted off several parked cars before coming to a halt. Joy-riders high on drugs, I later learned.

I stroked the swell of my stomach  the life which had been growing inside me for three months  and decided there and then that we were leaving London for good.

Sleep was impossible. Sirens, noisy neighbours and planes from nearby Heathrow Airport, their engines loud enough to make the windows vibrate, made life intolerable.

I buried my head in my husbands chest and started to cry. I cant take it any more, I sobbed.

Its all right, Adrian reassured me. Well move. Lets start looking.

And so began a journey which ended where I am today, living more or less as a single parent in the remote wilds of North Devon with Rosalyn, our 22-month-old daughter. Meanwhile, my 39-year-old husband, a business executive, works in London during the week to pay the mortgage and the household bills.

This week, writer Shona Sibary gave an unflinching account of how moving from the Home Counties to the hell of godforsaken rural Devon had destroyed her family life and left her a broken woman.

Rude locals, terrible weather, crippling boredom and a cultural wasteland with, shock-horror, no Waitrose or Wagamama, conspired, wrote Shona, to drive her out of her mind and all the way back to Surrey after what she described as four catastrophic years.

Devon devotee Rebecca Evans has come back with a blistering response to Shona's piece

Reading her account, anyone who has not visited this magical part of the British Isles could be forgiven for thinking that Devon is the capital of the small-minded and the down-trodden, where the wind howls, the rain lashes down and the sea is too cold to enjoy  except, if youre lucky, for two days of the year.

Well, my experience could not be more different.

In the 18 months since I moved, with a newborn baby, to one of the most beautiful, but isolated, places in England, I have encountered kindness, strength and a sense of community spirit which has left me truly humbled.

Sure, there has been the odd night when I have been pushed to the limit, nights when  spooked by whatever it is the dogs are barking at outside  I have armed myself with an axe. Trees have fallen down in storms and there have been power cuts, plunging us into chaos.

But there is nowhere I would rather live than where I am now. For me, it is paradise  albeit one with an atrocious internet connection and no mobile signal. I cant help but feel that Shona  who lived 20 miles from me  may have moved here, like so many others, with unrealistic expectations, believing life in the West Country to be an extension of the perfect seaside holiday.

We all know the type. Pampered middle-class women who see it as their birthright to decamp to Devon each year, braying about exquisite crab suppers and simply super surfing  all the while having two weeks lined up in Umbria in case the weather is simply foul.

At some coastal resorts, as soon as the school holiday season starts, you cant move for Breton-top blondes and their Boden-clad children. Its as if they move in packs, arriving en masse in their 4x4s for their oh-so- hearty stint of British summer.

But what happens when the tourists leave and the tearooms close for winter? When it rains so hard the pot-holed roads become impassable rivers and you feel like there is nothing to do but bolt the door and light a fire?

There are times when if I dont make the 45-minute round trip for a pint of milk, days would go by where I wouldnt see another soul apart from my daughter.

But like the smell of manure on farmers fields, which Shona found so abhorrent, the solitude is part and parcel of living in the English countryside and something in which I find great solace.

Rebecca says, God has not forsaken this county, Shona: it is His and it is awesome

The tranquility has certainly helped me come to terms with the tragedy of losing our first daughter, Marianne, in 2013, almost 24 weeks into my pregnancy. For me, the harshness of city life was not conducive to recovery.

I used to enjoy London  such a vibrant city, with all the culture and opportunity it brings. And while I also once loved the five-bedroom Edwardian house we bought in Ealing, I grew to resent that, too.

It was beautiful, with high ceilings and grand marble fireplaces, but I felt shackled by it. We had spent so much money buying and doing it up, our mortgage was eye-watering. All I wanted was to run for the hills and leave it all behind.

I wanted a simpler life: to walk my cocker spaniel in a park where she wouldnt be attacked by some maltreated pitbull; to look up at the night sky and see the stars.

As a freelance writer, I could write from wherever home happened to be, but after making the decision to move out of London, we had to find somewhere still commutable for Adrian, the main breadwinner.

Bizarre, then, that we were both irresistably drawn to a sprawling property in a remote coastal village not far from Bude. It was within our budget and came with acres of ancient woodland.

Yes, it really was too far and too remote  a four-hour drive from London and an hour and a half from the nearest railway station  but we both kept returning to it, day-dreaming about what it would be like to live there.

We decided to view the property so we could rule it out, we fooled ourselves. It needed a lot of work and, with a new baby on the way, surely this would be too much to take on.

Rude locals, terrible weather, crippling boredom and a cultural wasteland with, shock-horror, no Waitrose or Wagamama, conspired, wrote Shona

But as soon as we descended the winding driveway, lined with ancient beech trees, my heart soared.

The house  once lived in by Thirties crime writer Anthony Berkeley Cox and regularly visited by Agatha Christie  was more than I could even have dreamed of. The grounds were stunning: woods full of bluebells and wild orchids, dormice, rare butterflies and deer.

There were meandering paths down to the river and the beach, and an old boating lake. The nearest house was half a mile away.

We both left without any doubt that this is where we wanted to live. Within six months, wed sold our house in Ealing and bought this one for exactly the same price.

Family and friends thought we were mad. Move to the middle of nowhere, without knowing anyone  away from your husband all week and with a newborn baby? Some said our marriage wouldnt survive.

But 18 months on, here we are. We have three new additions to our family, an energetic cocker spaniel called Penny and two cats who help keep the mice at bay.

Some also said that we would find the locals unwelcoming. Indeed, in her article, Shona accused the people of North Devon as being the most small-minded, miserable, whingeing bunch of people she had ever met in her entire life.

I wonder what they made of her.

I do agree there is a lot of poverty in rural Devon, but for what people lack in money, they make up for ten-fold in generosity of spirit.

From the day we arrived, we have been bowled over by the kindness of strangers who have welcomed us into their hearts and homes.

Rebecca writes: For me, I found what I was looking for the day I made North Devon my home

Shona poses with her family. She says of Devon natives: 'I have never met a more miserable, whingeing bunch of people in my life'

I remember one young mother messaging me to ask how I was doing. Id only met her once before, but within minutes of my replying to say I was struggling as my baby would only stop crying if I held her, she was on my doorstep, patiently teaching me how to tie a reef knot in a scarf so I could wear it as a makeshift baby sling and thus reclaim my arms.

Its the women of Devon  the ones who live here all year round and who can rise above the perils of wind-lashed hair and no local branch of Wagamama (two of Shonas biggest gripes)  who have impressed me the most. Strong and fearless, they inspire total awe.

No chattering classes here. They can change tyres, chop wood and put up shelves, while sewing their own clothes, growing vegetables, keeping chickens and baking cakes worthy of Mary Berrys approval. Shonas description of the Devonians having TMT (Too Much Time) could not be further from the truth.

These are women who devote every hour of the day to urgent practicalities  not vacuous vanities. Their nails may have never seen a manicure and many cut their own hair, but so what?

Their children live in villages where there has never been a crime. The kids dont rely on computer games for fun, but run around in fields and on the beach, growing fit and strong with ruddy cheeks and dirty knees, while breathing in the clean sea air.

Shona says she pined for shops such as John Lewis. But how sad to cling to consumerism and its unsatisfying allure when living amid such natural beauty. Besides, hasnt she heard of online shopping?

Similarly, its true that no one drives a nice car  but what is the point when it will get pranged on the narrow, hedge-lined lanes?

And when it comes to clothes, who cares what youre wearing? The main thing is youve got your wellies and raincoat. (Shona is right: it does rain an awful lot.)

And, yes, there is no point in wearing your hair any other way than scraped back, as the blustery weather makes quick work of wrecking any attempt to style it.

Nor can I recall the last time I wore make-up. But do you know what? I dont care one jot.

Unpolished, in Shonas eyes, they may be. But for the people of Devon, its not what you look like, but whats inside that counts.

Of course, I have had to make an effort, too  something that perhaps Shona failed to do.

I remember one freezing February morning a month after we had arrived when I finally mustered the courage to go to a toddler group at the village hall.

I was in desperate need of some adult conversation, but hadnt slept the night before and felt nervous and exhausted. No pushy or judgmental mums here; I was immediately made to feel like I was at home  and I will always be grateful for this.

Aware of how important a lifeline it can be in isolated rural communities, I now run the toddler group each week. I am part of a childrens committee for the village, have volunteered at the local school and have helped organise various fundraising fetes for a new playground.

Maybe I am being unfair on Shona, but Im a firm believer that you get back what you put in.

Maybe I am being unfair on Shona, but Im a firm believer that you get back what you put in

As my daughter Rosalyn gets older, perhaps things will be more difficult. When she can ask where Daddy is and I have to explain he is away working to pay for our life here. And when she is a teenager, maybe I will tire of driving her around. Or maybe she will feel bored with living in a place where there is little to do other than enjoy the great outdoors.

Yet both Adrian and I believe the life we are giving her is the best one possible. We believe she will grow up happier, away from the adult lures of the city, with an appreciation of nature and the exhilaration of walking on a windswept beach.

Of course, Id be lying if I said I didnt miss my friends in London, the theatre and nice restaurants. There have been times when I am spooked by the bats swooping around the lounge or scared by the howling winds outside.

But then I step outside and the rugged, majestic beauty right on my doorstep instantly calms me. So, too, does the sea, which  bafflingly  Shona so grew to hate.

God has not forsaken this county, Shona: it is His and it is awesome.

I am sorry you were so unhappy here, that you felt you had no choice but to go back to Surrey  leaving two of your four children behind.

I hope that you find what youre looking for. For me, I found what I was looking for the day I made North Devon my home.
He became a Michelin star chef at his family's Yorkshire restaurant after teaching himself to cook at the age of 17.

But though Tommy Banks has earned a reputation for producing perfect plates of food, it isn't just his stunning dishes that's grabbing the attention of viewers of the Great British Menu.

The 27-year-old's boyish good looks and cheeky smile have won him dozens of male and female fans while cooking on the BBC Two show every night this week, in a bid to win a place in Friday's north-east regional final.

Tommy Banks (pictured) has returned to Great British Menu for a second year after cooking at the final banquet in 2016

His fanbase have been tweeting heart emojis at him non-stop on Twitter while he has been competing this week against two other chefs from the north-east: Josh Overington and Danny Parker.

But rising star Tommy, who is head chef at The Black Swan in Oldstead, doesn't seem to mind the attention, as he's 'liked' almost every tweet praising both his skills and his handsome looks.

Tommy returns to the Great British Menu this year after going all the way through the competition to cook at the final banquet in 2016, where four chefs cooked a course each at an elaborate dinner to celebrate 'great Britons'.

This year, he's hoping to replicate his success to cook at a lavish supper to pay homage to 140 years of Wimbledon.

Tommy Banks prepares his 'Guard of Honour' lamb main dish on last night's Great British Menu

Tommy Banks (left) has been competing against fellow north-east chefs Josh Overington (centre) and Danny Parker (right) this week on the Great British Menu

Farmer's son Tommy has been head chef at his restaurant since 2013 aged 24, when he became the youngest chef ever to run a Michelin star kitchen.

The Black Swan is very much a family affair as his brother James heads up front of house, while his parents Anne and Tom run the restaurant.

It had already won a Michelin star when Tommy took over the helm, but despite his young age he managed to win it back and keep the restaurant's star every year since.

He's been working there since he was 17, when he left school.

Tommy Banks served up his main course dish, Guard of Honour, on an old-school tennis racket. It was given 10/10 by veteran chef Jeremy Lee

Dozens of people have been admiring Tommy Banks on Great British Menu this week

He never had an interest in becoming a chef, but he was drafted in to help out in the kitchen and soon fell in love with the profession.

Despite maintaining a Michelin star, the chef has never had any formal training - though he has worked unpaid in some of the top kitchens in the country, including a week at Raymond Blancs Le Manoir aux QuatSaisons restaurant in Oxfordshire.

Now he has plans for a cookbook and to continue improving the food at the Black Swan to make it one of the best restaurants in the world.

Many people have picked up on Tommy Banks' boyish good looks and cheeky smile this week

It hasn't always been an easy road for the young chef.

When he was younger and helping out in the kitchen at his parent's restaurant, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and underwent several operations.

He told the Yorkshire Post: 'I had a lot of time away from work. Having everything taken away from you makes you realise how much you really want it.

'Up to that point I was thinking that I didnt really want to be a chef. It helped me to grow up really.'

Tommy Banks will cook again on tonight's Great British Menu at 7.30pm on BBC Two.
Sick children could be facing death as drug firms across the world are clamping down on their production of antibiotics, experts warn.

Medicines used to treat a variety of bacterial bugs do not provide manufacturers with enough profit to keep on producing them, scientists claim.

This is making them more difficult for patients to access, especially youngsters, and causing doctors to prescribe problematic alternative treatments.

Yet these can worsen side effects for patients and encourage antibiotic resistance, deemed one of the biggest threats to human health.

Antibiotics do not provide manufacturers with enough profit to keep on producing them

Children are worst hit by the restriction of antibiotics, according to St George's University of London researchers.

This is because there is a much bigger market for antibiotics aimed at adults, but even this provides them with no profit margin.

While the child's market, which is considerably smaller and more niche with drugs aimed at certain age ranges, has an even smaller profit potential.

Drug giants are therefore choosing to market newer drugs which can be sold for 10 times the value of older ones, such as penicillin.

Once the patent expires on these medicines, pharmaceuticals tend to avoid mass producing them as the resale value shrinks.

Writing in a commentary in the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection, experts warned of this decision.

Professor Mike Sharland, co-author of the study, said: 'Considerable attention has been correctly focused on the need to develop new antibiotics.

'However it is increasingly clear that insufficient attention has been paid to the optimal use of older off-patent antibiotics.

This is making antibiotics difficult to access, especially for younger patients, experts warn

'Many older narrow-spectrum antibiotics are becoming unavailable, forcing wider use of broader-spectrum agents.'

Many manufacturers are not producing older antibiotics due to the high costs involved, the researchers found.

DRUG GIANT 'PLOTTED TO DESTROY CANCER DRUGS' One of the world's leading drug companies 'plotted to destroy supplies of life-saving cancer medicines' over a battle to drive up prices in Europe, it was claimed last month. South African firm Aspen Pharmacare is understood to have proposed the wastage during a row with the Spanish health service in 2014. It was also believed that it threatened to stop supplying medicines to Italian authorities a year earlier. The price drive began after the firm, whose European headquarters is based in Dublin, bought the rights to five cancer medicines from British firm GlaxoSmithKline. Advertisement

This is combined with the relatively small demand for these drugs, which are sold mainly for short treatment courses.

However, some of these drugs, including fosfomycin and colistin, have an important role to play in treating resistant bacteria.

The researchers said the problem is especially serious for formulations needed to treat sick babies and children.

However, Professor Mike Sharland was keen to point out that it poses no immediate threat in the UK, but is of growing concern in the future.

Previous research in 38 countries, including the UK, US and Australia, showed the deteriorating situation of antibiotic access.

Out of 33 older but still clinically effective antibiotics, 22 were marketed in fewer than 20 countries.

This is down to the 'time-consuming, complex and financially tricky' process of obtaining a licence, Professor Sharland said.

Many drug firms see no potential market for supplying the drugs in some areas, with profit margins known to be relatively small, he added.

Other research has also revealed repeated and prolonged shortages of many of the drugs.

For example, in the US between 2001 and 2013, 148 different antibiotics were in short supply, many on multiple occasions.

The authors say little is known about the situation in poorer nations but evidence suggests it is even worse.
Sepsis must become a priority for every country on the planet, the World Health Organisation said yesterday.

The United Nations agency passed a resolution in Geneva launching a global public awareness campaign on the life-threatening condition.

The resolution, which came about after months of campaigning by the UK Sepsis Trust, urges governments to do far more to tackle the silent killer.

E. coli is one of the germs that can cause sepsis, above. The Mail has been at the forefront of a drive to raise awareness of symptoms

The Daily Mail has been at the forefront of the drive to raise awareness of the symptoms among patients and medical staff since launching its End the Sepsis Scandal campaign with the trust more than a year ago.

Sepsis develops when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.

It is the leading cause of avoidable death in the UK but is difficult to diagnose until it has spread throughout the body.

As part of the WHO package the organisation agreed to put 3.5million into a campaign to raise awareness of sepsis around the world, including persuading its 194 member countries to always treat sepsis as an emergency.

It will also fund a joint task force, to be set up in collaboration with the Global Sepsis Alliance, to help every country to publish an action plan on tackling sepsis.

The resolution also urges governments to teach their people about the symptoms of sepsis, improve effective use of antibiotics and extend use of vaccines against the diseases that trigger sepsis.

Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, helped draft yesterdays resolution. He said Britain is leading the way on sepsis  and the new resolution urges other countries to follow the UKs lead.

Dr Daniels said: The adoption of this sepsis resolution is a crucial step in the right direction for countries all over the world who urgently require focus and resources to reclaim the millions of lives lost unnecessarily to sepsis each year.

Sepsis affects around 260,000 people a year in the UK, killing at least 44,000. Worldwide, it kills six million every year.

Bereaved mother, Melissa Mead, outside the department of Health with Dr Ron Daniels after their meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss a national campaign on Sepsis

If it is caught early, antibiotics can control the infection. If not, there is little doctors can do. Yet awareness of the condition is poor, meaning it is often mistaken for milder conditions.

The Mails End the Sepsis Scandal campaign was triggered in January 2016 by revelations over the death in 2014 of 12-month-old William Mead after a catalogue of errors, misdiagnoses and missed opportunities by doctors and NHS helpline staff.

Last December, in a significant victory for the campaign, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced a major public awareness drive on sepsis.

Dr Daniels said improved awareness could save 14,000 lives a year in Britain.

Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO, last night praised the efforts of the UK and other countries in tackling the disease.
Manchester bomber Salman Abedi

What was going through Salman Abedis mind when he made that journey to Manchester Arena on Monday night? How does someone do something so unspeakably evil as to slaughter and grievously injure innocent young children in this way?

Was he a psychopath? Was he evil? I do not know the answer but I do know, as the Mail reports today, that according to his friends Abedi was a frequent and heavy cannabis smoker.

Religious belief tends to be associated with lower rates of alcohol and drug use, but cannabis has been shown to increase peoples preoccupation with religion, especially in young men.

Surely, it is no coincidence that time and time again, in the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks, as we learn more about the perpetrators and try to understand their motivation, we discover that cannabis was a part of their daily lives.

Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John  the man who murdered hostages James Foley, Alan Henning and David Haines, among others  was reportedly a heavy cannabis smoker.

Richard Reid, the shoe bomber who tried to blow up a plane flying from Paris to Miami in 2001, smoked cannabis as a youngster, as did the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.

London Tube knifeman Muhaydin Mire, left, and San Bernardino massacre perpetrator Tashfeen Malik, right

French train terrorist Ayoub El Khazzani, left, and Charlie Hebdo killer Said Kouachi, right

Amal el-Wahabi, one of the first British women to be convicted of terror offences  she was raising funds for her husband who was fighting for ISIS  since the Syrian conflict began, smoked the drug, as did Paris bomber Ibrahim Abdeslam.

Aine Davis, the British jihadi convicted in Turkey on terrorist offences earlier this year, was a former drug dealer and cannabis addict. Police raids on the apartments of those involved in the terrorist atrocity in Paris in 2015, found they were littered with joints and other evidence of the drugs use.

Orlando club killer Omar Mateen, left, and Tunisia beach gunman Seifeddine Rezgui, right

Tunis beach killer Seifeddine Rezgui; the Belgian train terrorist Ayoub El-Khazzani; the Leytonstone knife attacker Muhaydin Mire; Khalid Masood, who carried out the Westminster attack in March; ringleader of the 7/7 London bombings, Mohammad Sidique Khan . . . I could go on.

It is a roll call of horror that should shame the liberal elite who push for a loosening of drug laws. It is their complacency and ignorance that has led to the epidemic of cannabis use that clinicians like me encounter on a daily basis and are powerless to stop.

Ive seen so many lives wrecked by the drug  but they are the tip of the iceberg. The collateral damage is equally as devastating.The evidence for the dangerous effect of cannabis could not be clearer. The link between the drug and psychosis is well established.

Isis monster 'Jihadi John', left, and Germany bomber Mohammad Daleet, right

While the pro-cannabis lobby does its best to minimise the evidence for effects on mental health, The Royal College of Psychiatrists backs current research showing that regular use has been found to double the risk of a psychotic episode or of developing schizophrenia.

All too frequently, courts hear how individuals have become psychotic after smoking the drug and, in the grips of paranoia and delusions, have committed murder in cold blood.

It is impossible to know if Salman Abedi was psychotic when he blew himself and his victims up. But there is emerging evidence that cannabis does far more than elevate the risk of psychosis.

The drug also has a profound and serious impact on the users psychology, affecting the way they behave and think and, most chillingly, view others.

We know cannabis can make people feel apathetic and withdrawn and that these effects can last for years, even if they have stopped using. However, developments in brain scanning techniques show the drugs impact on specific parts of the brain, and it is this that is ringing alarm bells.

Jailed Isis member Aine Davis, left, and Nice atrocity perpetrator Mohamed Lahouaiej, right

Research by Texas University in 2014 found cannabis causes the orbitofrontal cortex to shrink, the area of the brain involved in mental processing and decision-making. It also plays a crucial role in empathy. Shrinkage can have a devastating effect, stunting someones ability to engage with the emotional responses of others. They become more callous.

Without the ability to empathise, not only is it easier to disregard the welfare of others, but also to understand the consequence of their actions. It deadens people to the impact of their behaviour.

Cannabis has also been shown to make people more suggestible and compliant  making users vulnerable to those looking for young, weak, pliable minds to brainwash. And there is evidence suggesting the damage to the brain is long lasting. Of course, I am not suggesting cannabis use can turn someone into a suicide bomber or terrorist.

Nor am I suggesting that using cannabis absolves people of responsibility. But I believe we cant ignore the common thread running through the history of many of these extremists who have brought death and mayhem to cities around the world.

Lee Rigby killers: Michael Adebolajo, left, and right Michael Adebowale

Given what we know about the effects of cannabis, is it possible that the drug makes some users more susceptible to the warped, twisted ideology of hate that the Islamists promote by stripping the users of their usual empathy?

Studies into the personality type of would-be jihadi terrorists have found some recurring themes that make an individual ripe for radicalisation. They tend to feel angry, alienated or disenfranchised.

There is also a strong sense of victimhood and that they are fighting for a social injustice.

They have a poor sense of identity and tend to be adolescent and petulant. This kind of personality type, combined with cannabis use, surely produces an individual more receptive to the kind of hate-filled rhetoric peddled by radical Islamists.

For too long, we have ignored the terrible toll of this drug. Too many people have dismissed cannabis as harmless  something to help you relax and chill  and that an individual should be free to buy and use as they choose.

Now, more than ever, we need to wake up to a pernicious substance that ruins not just the lives of those that take it, but countless others around them in ways we might never have imagined.
Children with divorced parents are twice as likely to have health problems than those from united families, according to new research.

Parental separation leaves children at double the risk of developing issues with their gut, skin, nervous system and even their genitals and urinary organs, the study found.

Experts believe it is the way parents handle the situation, not the divorce itself, that causes these negative health effects.

Study author Maria Dolores Seijo Martinez, from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, said: 'It is not the break up in itself that has negative effects on the children's health, but improper handling of the situation by the parents.

'Poor handling involves very high levels of interparental conflict, which makes it very difficult to maintain a good relationship. If children are exposed to these family situations for prolonged periods, they often experience toxic stress.'

Children with divorced parents are twice as likely to have health problems, new study reveals

DIVORCE BLAMED AS MORE MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN SUFFER EATING DISORDERS Divorce may be triggering eating disorders in middle-aged women, experts say. They warn that those in their forties are in danger of bulimia and anorexia from life changes including a marriage breakdown and the death of a parent. A study by University College London and Icahn School of Medicine in New York earlier this year found that 15 per cent of middle-aged women have battled an eating disorder and almost a quarter of these have suffered in the past year. It was previously thought that by middle age women had passed the window of risk for eating disorders, which are most frequently associated with teenagers. The higher-than-expected figures are being blamed, at least in part, on emotional upheaval in later life. Advertisement

Researchers from the universities of Santiago de Compostela and Vigo in Spain conducted a study with 467 children aged between two and 18 with either divorced or together parents.

Results, published in the European Journal of Education and Psychology, revealed children with separated parents are twice as lively to have health issues related to the gut, skin, nervous system and genital or urinary organs.

Divorced parents did not increase a child's risk of developing problems with their breathing, heart, muscles, hearing or sight.

Their susceptibility to allergies was also unaffected, the study found.

Although it is unclear why divorce affects a child's health in some ways but not others, experts believe it is how the parents handle the situation, and not the divorce itself, that causes issues.

Ms Seijo Martinez said: 'It is not the break up in itself that has negative effects on the children's health, but improper handling of the situation by the parents.'

'Poor handling involves very high levels of interparental conflict, which makes it very difficult to maintain a good relationship.

'If children are exposed to these family situations for prolonged periods, they often experience toxic stress.'

Intense, prolonged stress is the main cause of such a child's subsequent poor health, according to Ms Seijo Martinez.

She said: 'We need to support families in order to reduce these consequences.

'Professionals in direct contact with children, such as primary care workers or school staff, have a very important role in reducing toxic stress, as they are in a position to design and implement new interventions oriented towards protection and prevention.'

This comes after researchers from the University of Arizona found writing a diary while going through a divorce could improve your heart health and your ability to adapt to new situations.

The benefits of keeping a journal were seen among those who expressed their feelings by writing the story of their relationship.

Previous research has found that divorced parents are often in denial about how badly the break-up has damaged their children.

A study found that more than three quarters believed their children had coped well  even though only 18 per cent of youngsters said they were happy with the situation.

Many parents fail to notice that their children are turning to drink and drugs, or even considering suicide. The survey, published in 2013 by parenting website Netmums, polled about 1,000 divorced parents and 100 children aged eight to 18 from broken homes.
A high school student who was hospitalized with botulism after eating a poisonous batch of nacho cheese has finally opened his eyes - but still cannot talk.

Jonathan Villasenor, 16, was left fighting for his life in the ICU after he ate the poisoned dip at a gas station in Sacramento, California, last month.

The teenager was recently taken off a ventilator but progress is still slow. He can barely move his hips and communicates by squeezing hands.

He was poisoned by the same batch that killed father-of-one Martin Galindo-Larios Jr., 37, earlier this week, left one woman paralyzed and six other hospitalized.

Jonathan is the latest victim to be named as his family turns to social media to raise funds for his mounting medical expenses while he recovers.

Jonathan Villasenor, 16, was left fighting for his life in the ICU after he ate a gas station's cheese that had botulism last month in Sacramento, California. He can barely move his arms

The teenager (pictured on April 26) was recently taken off a ventilator but progress is still slow. He can barely move his hips and communicates by squeezing hands

Botulism is a rare but serious illness which can lead to paralysis.

It can be caused either by ingesting the botulinum toxin or by contamination in a wound. It cannot be transferred from person to person.

Botulism can lead to paralysis which usually starts with the muscles in the face - particularly those in the eyes and those used for chewing - and spreads towards the limbs.

WHAT IS BOTULISM? Botulism is an extremely rare form of poisoning that can be deadly. It can be caused either by ingesting the botulinum toxin or by contamination in a wound. Botulism cannot be transferred from person to person. Botulism can lead to paralysis which usually starts with the muscles in the face. Symptoms include pain in the stomach, vision problems, difficulty swallowing or speaking, facial weakness and paralysis. The symptoms typically begin between 12 and 36 hours after eating a contaminated meal. Advertisement

In severe cases the breathing muscles can become paralyzed, causing respiratory failure.

Jonathan is a sophomore at Delta High School and was being a normal teenager when he stopped at the Valley Oak Food and Fuel gas station in Walnut Grove for a snack.

Sister Anna Villasenor said her younger brother is slowly getting better. He can open his eyes now but still has a long way to go.

Jonathan is the youngest victim to be named so far of the botulism outbreak.

Martin Galindo-Larios Jr., 37, died on May 22, from the poisoning and mother-of-three Lavinia Kelly, 33, has spent three weeks in intensive care, unable to speak or keep her eyelids open.

Kelly has spent three weeks in intensive care, unable to speak or keep her eyelids open. Family said her symptoms began with slurred speech.

All victims are believed to have contracted the botulism at the gas station from nacho cheese dip sold between April 22 and May 5, the state health agency said in a statement.

There are reports that a total of nine people became sick from the cheese dip.

The agency said last week the container and cheese dip were removed May 5, and that authorities believe the contamination posed no further risk to the public.

Father of two Martin Galindo-Larios, 37, above, is the first victim to die of the nacho cheese botulism contamination linked to the Valley Oak Food & Fuel gas station in California

Lavinia Kelly, 33 (pictured), has spent the past three weeks in the intensive care unit after getting botulism. Kelly is unable to speak or keep her eyelids open, her partner said

BEWARE OF THIS REHEATED FOOD Experts are warning against reheating a certain food that most people don't consider dangerous. Eating leftover rice can make you sick with food poisoning if it's not stored properly. This is because cooking rice doesn't always kill the pathogens living on it. This risk of getting food poisoning from rice is raised when it's left at room temperature. Experts say never reheat these foods in the microwave: Celery, Spinach and Beets: Reheating these vegetables can turn the nitrate within them toxic, which are carcinogenic. Mushrooms: The proteins in mushrooms can break down immediately after they are cut. If prepared mushrooms are stored in the fridge for no more than 24 hours, it's safe to eat them after they're reheated to a high temperature. Chicken: The protein in chicken changes when cold chicken is reheated, which can lead to digestive problems unless it's reheated to a very hot temperature. Potatoes: Potatoes can host a bacteria called Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, if they aren't refrigerated soon after they're cooked. Advertisement

Symptoms of food-borne botulism include blurred vision and difficulty swallowing and speaking, which can rapidly get worse.

Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or paralysis in areas of the face.

The symptoms typically begin between 12 and 36 hours after eating a contaminated meal, but may appear in as little as six hours.

Treatment for respiratory paralysis can require a patient to be on a ventilator for weeks as well as being treated in intensive care.

After several weeks, the paralysis usually slowly improves.

Another person in northern California died from an unrelated botulism case within the past month, authorities said.

Napa County officials said the death was confirmed as botulism but no further details were given.

Napa County is about an hour away from Sacramento and officials said there was no connection to the cheese dip botulism.

A major outbreak of food-borne botulism stemmed from a church potluck in Ohio in 2015, when at least 29 people fell ill.

Authorities blamed potato salad made from potatoes that had been canned improperly at home.

In 2014, there were 161 reported cases of botulism in the U.S. Only 15 of them were food-borne, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The first thought Molly MacDonald had when she was diagnosed with breast cancer was that her children would be better off if she died.

A routine mammogram in 2005 revealed signs of breast cancer at a very early stage but she still would need surgery and radiation.

The Beverly Hills, Michigan, mother-of-five, now 66, had gone through a divorce, was in a financial hole and didn't know how she would afford treatment and pay the bills.

Trying to find some financial assistance, MacDonald vowed that if she could prevent at least one woman from going through what she was, her diagnosis would be worth it.

Now MacDonald credits that moment as her awakening and has since launched The Pink Fund, a non-profit to help those who are in a similar situation.

MacDonald says she is more confident than before and helps other breast cancer survivors find that same attitude by encouraging them to go dancing.

Molly MacDonald, 66, was diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer in 2005. She was recently divorced and financially unstable. The mother-of-five later launched The Pink Fund, a non-profit to help those who are in a similar situation

MacDonald says she is more confident than before and helps other breast cancer survivors find that same attitude by encouraging them to go dancing

ONE GLASS OF WINE A DAY CAN INCREASE BREAST CANCER RISK, STUDY CLAIMS Drinking just one small glass of wine a day raises a woman's risk of breast cancer, a major report concluded. It means even following safe drinking guidelines of 14 units a week could be enough to endanger health. A review of 119 studies, involving 12 million women, found a daily glass of wine raises the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer by five percent and post-menopausal breast cancer by nine percent. There is a 12 percent chance risk of women both in the US and UK for developing breast cancer in their lifetime. The study found frequent, intense exercise reduces the risk by 17 percent in pre-menopausal women and 10 percent for post-menopausal women. Advertisement

MacDonald said a large hurdle for women who have had mastectomies, was a lack of confidence because some of their self-esteem was tied to their bodies.

She encourages women to go dancing, even when they don't feel attractive.

MacDonald said: 'Dancing is an antidote for healing. These women lose their confidence in their sexuality and attractiveness.

'They don't want to show that part of themselves. But when dancing with a partner out on the dance floor, they feel safe.

'Women tell me that they forget about everything, even cancer, when dancing. It allows them to feel attractive and sexual while still feeling safe.'

MacDonald said her breast cancer was caught early on and doctors were able to identify the beginning stages by seeing 'grains of salt'.

After having two surgeries and six weeks of daily radiation, MacDonald has been in remission ever since.

But MacDonald says her cancer wasn't her biggest issue, it was the financial burden.

She was fighting off a car repossession, visiting a local food bank and trying to pay mounting bills.

MacDonald underwent a partial mastectomy and opted not to have a reconstruction for financial reasons.

She decided that no one should compromise their health over a lack of money.

The Pink Fund was started in 2006 and has since paid $2.2 million in covering bills for women.

MacDonald said: 'Some people stop treatment all together because they can't afford it. We want to provide them with some sort of financial relief, even if it's just for an amount of time.'

MacDonald (pictured with her children) says her cancer wasn't her biggest issue, it was the financial burden. She was fighting off a car repossession, visiting a local food bank and trying to pay mounting bills

EIGHT KEY BREAST CANCER SIGNS 1. A change in size or shape of the breast 2. Redness or a rash on the skin and/or around the nipple 3. Discharge that comes from the nipple without squeezing 4. A swelling in your armpit or around your collarbone 5. A lump or thickening that feels different from the rest of the breast tissue 6. A change in skin texture, such as puckering or dimpling - similar to orange skin 7. Your nipple becoming inverted (pulled in) or changing its position or shape 8. Constant pain in your breast or armpit Source: Breast Cancer Care Advertisement

MacDonald said before she got sick, she never imagined of launching a charity.

She was once living a life of luxury in an exclusive California neighborhood, with fancy cars, $2,500 dresses and children in private school.

All of a sudden her life shifted; she was hit with a divorce, no sustainable income and was told she had cancer.

The grandmother said: 'To get some money I had taken clothes to a resell shop. They called and said some of the things didn't sell and asked if I wanted them back.

'I saw that one of my dresses, a $2,500 day dress, was marked for $60 and I would have gotten $30 for it. I was at a red light in a gas-guzzling suburban and a red Honda Civic pulled up with a sign that said it was for sale for $2,500.

'I thought about jumping out and trying to convince him to trade the car for the dress. It was a real wake up call. I had invested in things that were worthless.'

Now MacDonald describes her diagnosis as the greatest gift, because is able to leave behind a legacy.

She added: 'It's a final act. I was able to take a situation and turn it around. The minute you decide to do something, that's when a change happens. This is what builds confidence - believing in yourself.'

Breast cancer occurs when cells divide and grow in an irregular way. Breast tumors grow slowly and by the time a lump can be felt, it could have been growing for up to 10 years, according to Susan G Komen.

Between 50-75 percent of breast cancers begin in the milk ducts, about 10-15 percent begin in the lobules and a few begin in other breast tissues.

When a person is diagnosed with cancer, of any form, they are staged - a process by which doctors judge the severity of the disease.

For those who are in stage 0 or stage 1 breast cancer, the survival rate is close to 100 percent and those with stage 2, the survival rate is around 93 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

Around one in eight American women will develop breast cancer over the course of their lifetime.
FOR THE GLORY: THE LIFE OF ERIC LIDDELL by Duncan Hamilton (Black Swan 9.99)

FOR THE GLORY: THE LIFE OF ERIC LIDDELL

by Duncan Hamilton (Black Swan 9.99)

At the end of the 1981 film Chariots Of Fire, which celebrates the triumph of British runners at the 1924 Paris Olympics, a stark message appears: Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.

The story behind that enigmatic epitaph is told in Hamiltons bestselling biography of Liddell.

While Ian Charlesons film performance unforgettably conveyed Liddells gentleness and unshakeable Christian faith, Hamiltons vivid book reveals that these qualities informed every aspect of his life, from his devoted love for his wife, Florence, and their three daughters, to his courageous work in China.

There, cruelty against missionaries and the native population were common, and we read of his heroic efforts to comfort his fellow inmates at the Japanese internment camp at Weihsien, where he died of a brain tumour aged just 43.

A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HEDGEROW by John Wright (Profile 9.99)

A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HEDGEROW

by John Wright (Profile 9.99)

Most people who live in towns, John Wright suggests, think about hedges no more than a couple of times a year when, returning from a holiday, they look out the aircraft window and see an extraordinary patchwork of green and gold, separated by thin lines of darker green  the fields and hedgerows of home.

The history of our field boundaries  not just hedges, but hurdles, fences and dry stone walls  is ancient and intriguing.

The grubbing-up of hedges by farmers, so often lamented by nature-lovers, is only the latest event in a cycle of planting and eradicating that goes back to Neolithic times.

After reading this delightful book, youll see those humble boundaries as living archives of our island story.

NO NEED FOR GENUISES by Steve Jones (Abacus 10.99)

NO NEED FOR GENUISES

by Steve Jones (Abacus 10.99)

Late 18th-century France was a place of political turmoil and scientific ferment.

In his entertaining history of the remarkable discoveries and innovations of the time, Professor Steve Jones writes: The nations literature and music were rather in eclipse . . . Instead, science became the language of intellectual life.

Technical advances in every field were made by scientists such as the mathematician Nicolas de Condorcet and the aristocratic chemist and politician Antoine Lavoisier.

Alas, the life of the latter, and many others, would be ended by the brainchild of another prominent figure of the time  the physician and anatomist (and opponent of the death penalty), Joseph-Ignace Guillotin.

A diverting guide to the history of science in the City of Light.
SIRACUSA B y Delia Ephron (Point Blank 12.99)

SIRACUSA

By Delia Ephron (Point Blank 12.99)

Do you marry someone who knows you or someone from whom you can remain hidden? This is just one of the telling questions raised in this brilliant, biting take on modern relationships.

Two unhappily married, fortysomething American couples are on holiday together in Syracuse in Sicily with Snow, the splendidly creepy ten-year-old daughter of restaurateur Finn and smothering mother Taylor.

Michael, a famous writer, and Lizzie, a fading journalist, are childless. Both couples excel at finding ways of not confronting the problems in their marriages.

Everything changes  with devastating consequences  when Michaels secret mistress Kath suddenly turns up at their hotel.

The characters take it in turn to tell the gripping story in which there is really no hero. And you dont always know who to believe.

Ephron, the sister of the late novelist Nora who co-wrote the film Youve Got Mail with her, has conjured a minor masterpiece that reads like a mash-up of Henry James and Raymond Chandler.

It leaves you longing for the film  which is already in the works.

THE TROLL by D. B. Thorne (Corvus 12.99)

THE TROLL

by D. B. Thorne (Corvus 12.99)

A guilt-ridden father and successful banker who has long neglected his troubled daughter returns from Dubai to London to search for her after she goes missing.

When the police assume that Sophie, a celebrity journalist with a history of suicide attempts, has killed herself, her father is determined to find her himself. This is a dark story and takes the reader inside the mind of an internet troll.

It is a chilling account of what motivates these monsters and how they revel in their anonymous power.

There are interesting themes here, but the over-the-top ending leaves you feeling short-changed.

THE DAY SHE DISAPPEARED by Christobel Kent (Sphere 12.99)

THE DAY SHE DISAPPEARED

by Christobel Kent (Sphere 12.99)

A young barmaid called Nat is suspicious when her best friend suddenly disappears after texting to say she has met the perfect man. The shocking description of a murdered young woman right at the start of the book means the reader is one step ahead of Nat.

The tension mounts when Nat suspects she is being watched. So is she next?

Kent is clever at creating an atmosphere of intense suspicion around all the male protagonists, mostly because she has the rare skill of making her male characters as convincing as her female ones.

The writing is breezy and confident, but fans of her powerful bestseller The Loving Husband might be a little disappointed.
GAUTIER, Mississippi -- Four Mobile, Ala., residents were killed when their SUV was crushed between two 18-wheelers on Interstate 10 near Gautier Wednesday morning.

According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the crash involved four vehicles: the Ford Expedition in which the victims were riding, the two 18-wheelers, and a pickup truck pulling an RV which steered off the roadway into the woods to avoid the accident.

The accident occurred Wednesday morning on I-10 west near exit 68 into Gautier. Traffic on the westbound side of the interstate remained at a dead stop for hours as emergency crews at the MHP worked to clear the scene.

The four victims were identified as the SUV driver, Ruth M. Clark, 55; Jacob Williams, 63; Diane Williams, 57; and Takisha Mosley, 43.

The wreck caused diesel fuel from the 18-wheelers to spill onto the interstate. A clean-up crew from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was dispatched to clean up the fuel.

A second accident on I-10 Wednesday involved two vehicles, including a Jackson County truck driven by Jackson County Emergency Management Director Earl Etheridge. Etheridge was taken by stretcher to a local hospital, but family members told WLOX he suffered only minor injuries.
SUMMER IN THE ISLANDS

by Matthew Fort (Penguin 14.99)

Matthew Fort may be best known as a writer on food and wine (and a judge on the BBCs Great British Menu), but hes also passionate about all things Italian  a legacy of various holidays, first with his parents and later with his own family and friends.

Now in his 67th year, he sets out on a gently meandering trip to revisit some of the countrys islands  Sicily, Elba, Sardinia and beyond  on his trusty Vespa, Nicoletta.

At least thats the idea. But halfway through his odyssey in the summer of 2014, he snaps his Achilles tendon and finds himself back at home in Gloucestershire with his plans on hold and his left leg in a surgical boot.

So the next summer he continues where he left off; and like a meal left to simmer, his enforced hiatus only enriches the flavour.

BBC Great British Menu judge, Matthew Fort, samples Italian areas and their cultures - and in doing so he reassesses his own past

His culinary adventures necessarily take pride of place, though few achieve the intensity of a spaghetti ai ricci he samples on Ustica  rank and rich, slippery, oily . . . a distillation of marine life, meaty with mineral traces, notes of iodine and seaweed.

But Fort also samples the distinct culture and history of each island, and in doing so reassesses his own past.

He attends a chaotic dress rehearsal of La Boheme at Taormina on Sicily, which ends at half past midnight (I was surprised that Mimi hadnt died of old age long before consumption took hold of her), he climbs hills, visits ancient fortresses, converses with fishermen, wanders round Napoleon Bonapartes house on Elba and whiles away hours on ferries as he journeys to his next destination, devoid of motivation, compulsion or anxiety.

He also visits the tiny island of Lampedusa, now notorious for being mainland Europes jumping-off spot for immigrants seeking a new life, and observes a local population far more forgiving and generous than many might imagine. Like so much in this book, its heart-warming.

Mostly, Forts progress is stately, and only once does he sample the sort of crisis never far from the unwary traveller.

Arriving in Caltanissetta, a large town in Sicily, Fort realises his notebook with six weeks of observations has fallen from his pocket some time during the 30km journey.

Its enough to suggest the age of miracles is still with us' - Michael writes as he finds his lost notebook containing all his thoughts

Torn between fury and wretchedness, he retraces his steps in a hopeless quest to find the journal, and just as hes about to give up, he locates it, forlorn and scuffed.

Its enough to suggest the age of miracles is still with us, he writes with obvious joy.

This is a beguiling chronicle of time spent away from humdrum everyday life. Inevitably, though, the ability to conjure up sights, sounds and flavours is the yardstick of success; and in this, Fort proves masterful.

Octopus as soft as kid gloves; bougainvillea like feather boas; elderly men nattering like rooks  Fort has a deft way of describing the Med in all its sensory glory.

If you cant afford a foreign holiday this summer, this is the next best thing. Last one in the waters Assisi 
SCIENCE

Admissions

by Henry Marsh (Orion, 16.99)

We say of easy things: Its not brain surgery! Its a fitting expression because, as Henry Marshs extraordinary memoir of neurosurgery reminds us, this dangerous wave of medical science drifts us towards many unanswerable philosophical questions.

Brain surgery contains riddles and speculations far beyond the technicalities of lobes and fibres.

What are we? Are we more than chemical factories? What is consciousness? What is personality? What is thought itself when we know that visible changes and damage to the brain can alter all of these things irrevocably?

Marshs life-work, skill, fascination and sometimes torment lie in this craft of working on the brain, so soft and fragile, with instruments of immense delicacy.

This book takes Henry Marsh into his own ageing, with a degree of disillusion and anxiety about the state of hospital organisation, and his decision to retire

His first book, Do No Harm, was received as an instant classic. One of those rare moments when someone at the summit of medical science speaks to us clearly, emotionally and wisely about the glory, mystery and tragedy of the extraordinary bodies we live in.

This one takes him into his own ageing, with a degree of disillusion and anxiety about the state of hospital organisation, and his decision to retire.

A spell working in Nepal follows, and all of it lies interwoven with memories of his childhood, training, family difficulties and many, many patients. He does not spare himself regrets and personal misjudgements.

He, as we all do, has to make sense of it, even as he sees the age-wrinkled skin of my hands . . . through the rubber of my surgical gloves and wonders if he will miss the strange, unnatural place that is an operating theatre.

Near retirement, infuriated at a nurse who is ignoring his instructions to remove a nasogastric tube, he actually tweaks the nurses nose and shouts  later apologising also to the man in the bed with a rueful: Im not supposed to attack the nurses in front of patients.

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As I say, he spares himself little: we are offered the whole human being, not just the revered expert. He begins, startlingly, by admitting that among his most treasured possessions is a suicide kit, in case of a malignant brain tumour  too familiar to him  or dementia.

Endearingly, though, he doesnt know if hed ever have the nerve to use it, and reflects on whether we ever really want death.

He talks of a girl, an attempted suicide he once tended. We became friends of a kind for the two days that she was on the ward. And although he never knew what happened to her, it is one of many moments of involved empathy with patients.

In Nepal, he hated operating on people he was not able to talk to beforehand  like a vet.

But there are costs to this human feeling.

He notes, as many older doctors do, that you can lose your professional detachment as you age, and sorrow too much for the losses and disablements you see.

Buying a derelict lock-keepers cottage, which he renovates with his own, precious surgeons hands, he finds himself looking at old men in wards and wondering about the one who must have died in his cottage.

We are offered the whole human being, not just the revered expert. He begins, startlingly, by admitting that among his most treasured possessions is a suicide kit, in case of a malignant brain tumour  too familiar to him  or dementia

Real streaks of pain run through his distress at children who will never see or speak again, tumours whose outcome will be grim and personalities that are altered as the brain changes from a bleed or tumour, but also, he reflects, with ageing. Including his own.

How can I know if I am the same person I was yesterday? This fragile, conscious self writing these words that seems to sail so uncertainly on the surface of an unfathomable electrochemical sea is the product of countless millions of years of evolution  as great a mystery as the universe itself.

To sail on that strange sea with Marsh and his memories, to share his pities and indignations at bureaucratic heartlessness and disease itself is both exhilarating and alarming. Some of the technical detail I had to force myself not to skim over; some was so fascinating it drew me on.

There are moments of charm, not least when, 25 years after he finished school, he sees the brain scan of his sadistic former PE teacher and a colleague says that maybe its the tumour that makes the patient so unpleasant. Marsh says: Its not and decides that he is not the man to do the biopsy.

He talks of a girl, an attempted suicide he once tended. We became friends of a kind for the two days that she was on the ward. And although he never knew what happened to her, it is one of many moments of involved empathy with patients

The Nepal work is harrowing but, again, fascinating. Relatives will take a brain-dead patient home, using a hand-squeezed air bag to keep them breathing, so they can die in peace.

And the patients meet his immense respect (I like the 65-year-old man complaining that he has difficulty climbing trees and milking buffalo, sir.)

He notes the local stigma against psychiatry and regretfully allows a woman an MRI scan even though it wont show anything, but she hopes it will make her unhappiness real.

Back home he inveighs against the whiplash industry, and snaps: Never, ever operate on the spine of somebody involved in compensation litigation. They never, ever get better.

He is, he says, denied the comfort of believing in an afterlife. But there is a gentle conclusion; Marsh stands by his river, ready for the retired life in his lock-keepers cottage and one day the dissolution of his physical atoms.

When my brain dies, I will die . . . I am a transient, electrochemical dance.

Maybe. But it is a privilege to dance it with him through these engrossing, revealing pages.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

Where has all the money gone? AAP government ministers, legislators and local coordinators are at a loss, unable to explain the mystery of the missing mohalla sabha funds.

More than two years after the first ever meetings of the local governance bodies in a dozen assembly constituencies, the money allocated remains unaccounted for and so does the work promised by the administration, an India Today TV investigation has found.

AAP called the mohalla sabhas a revolutionary concept to bring swaraj, or participatory democracy. In fact, party convenor and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a book on it.

For the first meeting of the bodies, which have the power to choose and start development projects in their areas, the Delhi government set aside a sum of Rs 20 crore for each of the 12 shortlisted assembly seats during the budget session of 2015.

The released money also reached the mohalla sabhas: each of them got Rs 55 lakh. Asked about the details of the funds, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said, 'It is not in my ambit. I can't comment on it.'

The India Today TV investigation found that mohalla sabha coordinators, as well as the minister and MLAs of the chosen constituencies don't know where the money is.

Also, during visits to the Patparganj, Kirari and Chhatarpur assembly seats the reporter learnt that the first mohalla sabhas used less than 10 per cent of the funds.

AAP called the mohalla sabhas a revolutionary concept and want to use them to create what they call participatory democracy

'During the first mohalla sabha, in which the local MLA, sub-divisional magistrate and a number of residents participated in April 2015, as many as 12 development works were identified,' said Anil Kumar Dikshit, former coordinator of the mohalla sabha at Pratap Nagar in Sisodia's constituency.

'A priority-wise list was made and construction of metal gates was started. But after this, the work was halted.' He said construction of toilets, a library, a community centre and a parking lot as well as laying of sewers and covering of drains never began.

'We don't know where the money is. We are sure that Rs 55 lakh was released for development of our colony and only gates were installed.

'I repeatedly requested local MLA and deputy CM Manish Sisodia about the promises, but all in vain,' Dikshit said.

The investigation also found that the plots to be used for library, parks and community centre are lying vacant.

Also, no new sewers were constructed and the drains were not covered either.

India Today TV then visited Kirari assembly constituency, considered the most backward part of north Delhi. Here, less than one per cent of the sum allocated was utilised.

Locals have a list of 15 promises that were made at the gathering in June 2015. RWA president of Indra Enclave phase 2 Sanjay Sharma said, 'Installation of iron gates, dustbins and signage was decided during the mohalla sabha.

Also, it was decided that a marriage hall, library and park will be developed on either DDA land or land of the gram sabha.

'It has been two years since the funds were allocated in front of us but we don't know where the money has gone.'

Only a few signboards had been installed in the area, while from the list of 14-15 projects just one had been initiated. The residents say they don't know where the allocated funds are.

Under pressure: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, followed by his deputy Manish Sisodia

'Every year during monsoon, dengue and chikungunya spread here. During the mohalla sabha meeting, funds were allocated for 40 sanitation workers and also for construction of drains. Nothing has happened so far and people are still at risk,' said Aftab, a local resident who survived chikungunya last year.

The area mohalla sabha coordinator refused to comment, claiming he is not aware of the current status of the funds.

Next on the list was Sanjay Colony at Bhati Mines of Chhatarpur assembly constituency in south Delhi.

Residents say two major promises were made during the mohalla sabha meet two years ago: construction of roads as well as drains.

'I will have to check with the MLA,' said mohalla sabha coordinator Rampal.

However, after half a dozen fumbling attempts, he was unable to locate the money. 'For two colonies of Bhati Mines, Rs 1.10 crore was allocated for construction of roads. We don't know what happened,' said local resident and activist Hira Lal.
The alleged robbery and gang rape on the Jewar-Bulandshahr road near Greater Noida could potentially be a case of personal enmity or a property dispute, suspect police officials associated with the investigation.

A senior police official, speaking to Mail Today on condition of anonymity, said the differing statements of the alleged victims and preliminary investigation point at certain discrepancies.

The incident took place in the early hours of Thursday when a family of eight, travelling from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandshahr, were robbed of Rs 1.5 lakh cash and other valuables by a group of six robbers who also allegedly raped the women in the family by taking their vehicle off road.

Police are also questioning one more person who was working in a tube-well near the spot when the incident happened

One man was killed by the robbers for resisting the rapists. 'The police team that first reached the spot took a video recording of the surroundings as well as the statements of the victims,' said the police officer.

'In that statement, the victims only talked about robbery and murder by a group of unidentified persons. There was no mention of rape. The circumstantial evidence does not hint rape.

'However, there is nothing conclusive and we are investigating all angles.'

Later in the afternoon when the victims filed a written complaint at Jewar police station, the complainants said the accused first robbed the cash, jewellery and mobile phones and then raped the women in the family.

Mail Today has a copy of the handwritten complaint. However, within hours of their medical test, one of the victims claimed that two of the robbers and rapists were known to them and the family had a running property dispute with the accused.

The medical report has not confirmed any assault, police sources said.

Police are also questioning one more person who was working in a tube-well near the spot when the incident happened.

When the person intervened he was also kept hostage. In the statement given by this local, there is no mention of rape or assault.

'He only told police that the armed assailants were asking for cash and jewellery, and killed a man while asking him for about Rs 45,000,' the police official said.

The alleged robbery and gang rape on Jewar-Bulandshahr road near Greater Noida (pictured - police take away the body)

One of the male victims told Mail Today that at around 1.30am, when the family reached near Sabauta village, the road was sprayed with nails.

When the occupants got down of the car to inspect and make a call for help, they were intercepted by a group of six men who demanded money and jewellery with the family.

The victim said: 'They took us inside an agricultural land so that we remain untraceable from the highway, where they tied us using dupattas of the women of our family.

They then dragged our female members and raped them one by one,' he said. A case under the relevant sections of rape has been registered based on the written complaint filed by the victims.
The owner of British Airways has attacked Heathrows plan to build a third runway across the M25, saying it would add 3bn to an over-inflated bill.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, which owns BA, said Heathrows third landing strip was over-complicated and would mean extra costs, saying it should be shorter, to make sure it doesnt breach the motorway.

Tailspin: Willie Walsh said Heathrows third landing strip was over-complicated and would mean extra costs

BA claimed Heathrows plan for the runway to bridge the M25 would add 2bn- 3bn to a 17bn bill.

Heathrow said the shorter option was ruled out as it didnt comply with noise and environmental laws.
The price of bitcoin has doubled in a month and is up 180 per cent since the start of 2017 thanks to surging demand for the cryptocurrency.

That means if you had bought just 1.38 worth of bitcoin in May 2010 you would now be a millionaire.

At the end of last year, one bitcoin was trading for 730, at the time a record high. However, it is up 30 per cent since Friday and has hit 2,050.

Bitcoin boom: The online-currency is trading at 2,050 for one bitcoin - up 180% in a year

Incredibly, according to Reuters those who bought $100 (77) of bitcoin at the 0.003 cent price on May 22, 2010, would now be sitting on more than $73million (56million).

Created in 2009, bitcoin is a type of virtual currency that is free from government interference and can be shared instantly online.

To ensure the system has value, no more than 21million bitcoin can ever be created, so values can fluctuate wildly depending on supply and demand.

The underlying technology is blockchain, a financial ledger maintained by a network of computers that can track the movement of any asset without the need for a central regulator.

The online cash system soared in popularity at launch with the price of a single coin reaching a previous peak of 916 in November 2013.

But a series of hack attacks and ongoing concerns about fraud and safety dragged the value of the currency back. The cost of one bitcoin was 354 at the start of 2016.

Surge: How the virtual currency has soared in the last few weeks

However, a number of factors  including a spike in demand from China - has seen the cryptocurrency surge in value.

Chinese stocks are down around eight per cent in the last month and gold remains flat - meaning investors are finding returns hard to obtain.

Experts believe this is encouraging the Chinese to head elsewhere, including bitcoin, despite the Government's efforts to restrict domestic capital leaving the country.

Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive at DoubleLine Capital tweeted earlier in the week: 'Bitcoin up 100 per cent in under 2 months.

WHAT IS BITCOIN? Bitcoin are lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to the next. They are the basic unit of a new online economy which runs independently of any company, bank, or government. Because bitcoins allow people to trade money without a third party getting involved, they have become popular with libertarians as well as technophiles, speculators  and criminals. Ex-This is Money man Marc Shoffman bought 10 worth of bitcoin in November 2013 - today, he tells us it is worth 346.43.

'Shanghai down almost 10 percent same timeframe, compared to most global stocks up. Probably not a coincidence!'

Additionally, moves by the Indian government last year to control its paper currency is another driving factor in bitcoin surging in value as traders move to secure the value of their cash, according to experts.

Strong demand for the virtual currency in Japan has also fueled the rise, as retailers in the country can now accept bitcoin as legal currency.

Chris Sedgwick, who works in cyber security, said: 'People in China and Japan are keen to move their money outside of the capitals controls of their government.

'A number of years ago you would see Chinese citizens boarding planes and flying to Australia in order to buy property.

'Nowadays they don't to go to the bother of strapping money to themselves, rather they just need to transfer money into a bitcoin exchange, swapping their fiat money for the cryptocurrency and remember a password to their wallet.

'China has devalued the yuan extensively since 2015. The Chinese government has attempted to shut down bitcoin exchanges to stem this flow out of the country however this is akin to whack-a-mole as new ones pop up.

'Japan is relatively new to the mass purchashing of Bitcoin when compared to China however over the past month there has been increased buying activity from their citizens, both as a "flight to safety" and also as an extremely good investment.'

Currency: According to Reuters, 77 of bitcoin in 2010 is now worth 56m

Another big part of bitcoin's recent surge is the increase in demand for other digital currencies being sold in so-called 'initial coin offerings', or ICOs.

Under ICOs, blockchain start-ups sell their tokens directly to the public to raise capital without any regulatory oversight.

Investing in bitcoins - which can be moved like money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for a central authority - is seen as risky.

It is not the same as putting money into a share, fund or bond, which will tend to be backed by some solid fundamentals and numbers you can scrutinise.

It is a volatile investment which is not backed by any regulation so would not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Bitcoin is subject to wild swings in value.

For example, in 2013, the currency plunged 29 per cent after a ban in China.

On Tuesday, Fidelity Investments chief executive Abigail Johnson said it will allow its clients to see their holdings of bitcoin and other virtual currencies held on digital asset exchange Coinbase on the company's website.

The move will make the Boston-based asset manager one of a handful of large financial services firms to have integrated digital currencies into its website.
He might be playing a lifeguard in this summers kickoff blockbuster but Baywatch star Dwayne The Rock Johnson isnt a strong swimmer in real life, DailyMail.com can reveal.

But Ocean Rescue Chief Mike Brown, 43, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, admits the 45-year-old would make a better lifeguard than co-star Zac Efron, 29  and is the nicest guy in the world on set.

Brown, who worked as a consultant on the film, said: Im not sure he can swim well. Hes so ripped, sometimes guys with the big muscles Muscles sink in the ocean.

But he added: He would absolutely be better [at being a lifeguard] than [Efron]. And I think hed be more of an enforcer out here when were trying to enforce our ordinances.

Lifeguard in training: Rescue chief Mike Brown (left) worked as a technical expert on the set of Baywatch, where he consulted Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson how to perform onscreen rescues

Brown said The Rock would still serve as a better lifeguard than his co-star Zac Efron, since 'hed be more of an enforcer'

People would probably obey that lifeguard more than some of the others.

The new Baywatch movie, which is set to be released Thursday, follows Mitch Buchannon - played by Johnson - as he and new recruit Matt Brady - played by Efron - attempt to foil a criminal scheme dreamt up by the nefarious Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra).

While the original TV series was shot at Zuma Beach in California, the reboot was partially filmed in Deerfield Beach which stands in for the fictional town of Emerald Bay.

Delaware-born Brown, who has been a lifeguard since he was 18, was a technical expert on the film and spent days on set with Johnson and Alexandra Daddario who plays rookie Summer Quinn.

Brown revealed an early rescue scene had to be repeated because Johnson proved a little too enthusiastic when it came to putting a victim on a backboard - he then taught the actor how to 'ease them onto the stretcher' (Pictured with actress Belinda Peregrin)

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, he told how he taught Johnson to perform ocean rescues and revealed that the former WWE star genuinely enjoyed himself during the shoot.

I gotta say, [Johnson] is nicest guy in the world. Hes down to earth, shook my hand the first time I met him and said, "its a privilege and I really respect and appreciate everything you guys do,"' Brown said.

So from there, I was like, this guy is a class act. He is actually very serious about what he does. I remember, before they shot a scene, he would kind of look out at the ocean, breathe in and kind of get in his zone.

He gets his game face on. It wasnt a joke to this guy  hes very serious about what he does.

Brown first became involved in the film following a chance meeting with production designer Shepherd Frankel in late 2015 while he was scouting for locations.

Frankel took a walk on the pier and was introduced to Brown, who then offered to show him the area in the Ocean Rescue truck.

[Frankel] was pretty excited about it, pretty enthused about it and ended up contacting our city and saying, "hey  were really interested in filming the movie in Deerfield Beach". It kind of went from there, Brown told Dailymail.com.

Although the actor plays an overzealous lifeguard in the film, Brown revealed the actor is not a strong swimmer in real life

Brown then began working with prop master Michael Bates on dressing the set  helping him source authentic buoys and rescue boards.

Bates then introduced him to senior producer Beau Flynn who asked him to come onboard for the March 2016 shoot as a technical adviser for Johnson.

Mike Brown, 43, worked with producers and provided technical advice to the team

According to Brown, an early rescue scene had to be repeated because Johnson proved a little too enthusiastic when it came to putting a victim on a backboard.

He said: The scene was he was going to bring the guy out of the water and put someone on the backboard and load him onto the ambulance. Thats a spinal immobilization.

So I went over with them how to remove [the victim] from the truck onto the ambulance and the seriousness of it but on the first take, he [Johnson] just went over there and kind of threw him onto the stretcher.

I went over there, got The Rocks attention and said, really  "because its spinal, we dont want to throw that. We want to kind of ease them onto the stretcher." And he listened to me.'

Brown added: What was funny about that was that the prop master [Bates] came over to me and he was like, "Mike, a lot of times, they dont really want you to tell the actors what to do."

I thought Id better back off a little bit. But [Johnson] was appreciative of it and in the next shot, he looked at me and asked: "how was that?" I was like, excellent! Perfect! He was very cool about it.

He continued: [Johnson] was just excited to be there and a lot of times in ocean rescue, its all about rapid response  get the person, get them out of the water and load and go for fire and rescue.

Then and now: Johnson is set to play gung-ho leader of the pack Mitch Buchannon, who was first played by David Hasselhoff in the original series

The new film featuring a star studded cast including Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, and Hannibal Buress, is set to hit theaters May 25

The original cast of the 1989 series included (left to right bottom) Yasmine Bleeth, David Charvet, Pamela Anderson, Jaason Simmons, David Hasselhoff, Alexandra Paul

We are basic life support where fire and rescue have the more advanced interventions. Theres that mentality  lets get it done.

But when youre dealing with someone on the backboard, you have to be careful and take your time.

Johnson, whose character is partially based on Brown, would arrive each day in his Cadillac Escalade  pulling up only after the set had been dressed  and offering a wink and a smile to female beachgoers as he did.

Brown said: He would pull up [each day] in his Escalade, get out of the car, wave to the crowd and smile to the ladies.

He really embraced Deerfield Beach. When it came to filming, he was very serious but in between takes and things like that, hed send a smile and a wave over to the crowd.

By no means was he a stuck up actor  he was a down-to-earth pretty cool guy.

The film shows the cast recreate the iconic scene where the lifeguards run by the shore in slow motion

But while Johnson was the main attraction, Brown also proved a hit with the crowd after performing a real life rescue during filming.

On set early one morning, he and Bates were prepping one of the Baywatch jet skis when a call came in about a kite surfer in trouble, forcing him to swing into action.

The Rock was literally about to pull up, when a call goes over the radio  a kiteboarder has lost her kite, Brown told DailyMail.com.

It was blowing away, shes out there floating and she was probably 400ft off the end of our pier which is a pretty long distance.

She definitely needed assistance. So, at that point, you gotta launch the [jet]ski  the ski is rapid response, you can get out through the waves faster than a normal lifeguard on a rescue board.

So I looked at the producers and said, "do you guys got gas in this thing?"

'Along with my rescue swimmer Jeff Noell, we put on the Baywatch vest, the Baywatch helmet, launched the jet ski and we jumped on.

It was a brand new model so I hadnt figured out how to start it  the things not going in gear and Im like, oh no, what am I doing?

Then finally, I got it in gear, we went out to her and we got to her right before she got to the end of the pier.

We loaded her on to the back of our rescue sled, she was very appreciative. But by the time we were bringing her into shore, a crowd had gathered, the movie cameras were there.

The film takes place in fictional Emerald Bay, but the movie was actually shot at Deerfield Beach, Florida. The original series was shot in Zuma Beach, California

We get to shore, everyones clapping. The producers are like, "do you mind going back out there and playing around on the jet ski?" And Im like, sure.

So I went out there, caught a couple of airs off of the waves, doing 360s and having fun. And we came in and it was just kind of made a real buzz around town.

Brown, who is now back doing his day job, later received a letter from producers thanking him for his efforts behind the scenes and his invaluable technical advice.

And he says from what he has seen of the film so far, his work appears to have paid off  not least Efrons tire-flipping training scene which Brown says is similar to the courses he runs himself.

Brown said: We have an initial physical test, which is a 500m swim under 10 minutes. If you dont make that cut, youre done.

Then we perform two rescues and then we have a run. Everybody has to pass those physical qualifications which you are graded on.

Once you make it to lifeguard, you go through this training academy which is what they were showing with Zac Efron  we kind of push them to their limits.

Its not hardcore like the Navy Seals Hell week but we go over and over rescues, jumping off the pier, spinal [rescues], non-spinal, repetitions, conscious, unconscious. We run and do push-ups.

He added: I wouldnt mind getting a tire out here to flip. We had one a couple of months ago. We also have these big logs which we put harnesses on and drag.

But while the rescue scenes are authentic, Brown said uncovering criminal syndicates has never been part of his work.

And he says he has never allowed anyone to ride a jet ski with a flamethrower in their hands  as Johnsons character does in one scene.

For the movie, I approve of it, but a flamethrower with a jet ski, for real?

You wouldnt see anything like that in Deerfield Beach. Wed be calling the sheriff really quick if we did.
Corruption and misuse of funding by senior staff at the Australian National University could have cost taxpayers millions, a former staff member has alleged.

Peter Tregear, formerly head of the university's School of Music, has filed a public interest disclosure to the Commonwealth Ombudsman for investigation, the ABC reports.

ANU denies the allegations saying there is no material basis to them.

Eleven senior members of staff were named in the disclosure, which includes allegations of 'multiple instances' of negligence, maladministration and abuse of position by senior management between 2012 and 2015.

Peter Tregear (pictured), formerly head of the university's School of Music, has filed a public interest disclosure to the Commonwealth Ombudsman for investigation

The allegations, outlined in 252 pages, include misusing government arts funding, undeclared conflicts of interest and questionable hiring decisions.

Dr Tregear says he was obligated to go public with the allegations after the university refused to investigate concerns a number of staff member had brought up.

He had been hired in 2012 to improve the School of Music after he school's curriculum was overhauled following budget cuts  but he resigned three years later.

'It's ultimately very difficult to put an absolute figure on it, but we're talking quite reasonable a multi-million dollar loss over 18 months to two years,' he told the ABC.

Eleven senior members of staff were named in the disclosure, which includes allegations of 'multiple instances' of negligence, maladministration and abuse of position by management

'Were academic staff in the school generally aware of these sorts of issues? You bet they were.'

But the ANU denied the allegations and said it had not been contacted by the Ombudsman's office.

In a statement, the school said: 'The allegations contain material that is deeply defamatory towards multiple staff and have no basis in fact.'
In a case straight out of the HBO hit series The Wire, a Baltimore defense lawyer and a man acting as his interpreter have been charged with trying to bribe, then intimidate a rape victim by raising the possibility of deportation if she testified against their client.

Attorney Christos Vasiliades was arrested when he showed up Tuesday at the Baltimore courthouse for the scheduled start of the rape trial.

A Baltimore grand jury indicted Vasiliades and interpreter Edgar Rodriguez on a dozen charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and intimidate a victim and a witness.

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Lawyer up: Baltimore defense attorney Christos Vasiliades, 38, has been charged with trying to bribe, then intimidate a rape victim by raising the possibility of deportation if she testified against his client

Vasiliades and Rodriguez also allegedly told the woman and her husband that their client, Mario Aguilar-Delossantos, could get them $3,000 if the case got 'thrown out' because they didn't show up.

'Part of it, we allege, is a good old fashioned bribe, but the threat that the witness would be deported is sadly new, and I think it arises out of the climate of fear in the immigrant community over the change in policy for deportations,' Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh told The Associated Press in an interview.

Video courtesy WJZ TV CBS

According to the nine-page indictment, the attorney and interpreter called the husband to say his wife's case had become 'more complicated', and the couple, who both primarily speak Spanish, agreed to meet with the men.

Feeling threatened after that initial meeting, they sought help from law enforcement, and authorities had them meet again, this time wearing a wire to record what was said.

On May 18, the men told the couple that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is 'looking at this case', and referred to President Donald Trump's policies as creating a hostile environment for immigrants in the United States, the indictment said.

'You know how things are with Trump's laws now; someone goes to court, and boom, they get taken away,' Rodriguez is quoted as saying during the meeting.

Rodriquez added: 'They're going to ask, "you have your documents?"'

Vasiliades was arrested when he showed up Tuesday at the Baltimore courthouse (pictured) for the scheduled start of his client Mario Aguilar-Delossantos' rape trial

Vasiliades then summed up the situation: 'Then everybody's f***ed.'

Frosh said his office wrote to the US Department of Homeland Security several months ago to ask them not to pick up immigrants at courthouses, schools or hospitals.

'If crime victims feel that they're in jeopardy of being deported if they report a crime, we're going to get more crime,' said Frosh, whose office worked with Baltimore prosecutors and police on this case. 'And I just really give a lot of props to the victim of this crime.

'She was victimized twice, but had the courage to report it to law enforcement, and it makes us safer when she can do that.'

Vasiliades urged the woman and her husband to take the $3,000 in hush money and then beat up his client, whom he called an 'a**hole,' rather than testify against him.

More over, Saul Goodman: Vasiliades allegedly suggested to the victim and her husband to ambush his 'a**hole' client 'and kick his a**' instead of testifying against him in court

'I think you should find him and kick his a**, personally,' Vasiliades told the couple, according to the indictment.

'Find him and wear him out,' Vasiliades reiterated. 'If we were back home where I'm from, from Greece... we would go f*** him up, that's it, if you want to do that, that's fine.'

The indictment states that after explaining to the couple that all he and the interpreter wanted is for them no to show up in court for the trial, Vasiliades said: 'I did my job... and I can go home and go to sleep, OK... and then you find him [the client] outside, brother, and you f*** him up, that's it.'

The lawyer concluded the meeting by instructing the victim and her spouse, 'Please, don't day nothing on the phones.

On Tuesday, the grand jury indicted Vasiliades, who turns 39 on Friday, on a charge of conspiracy; four counts of witness intimidation; two counts of solicitation to intimidate witness; two counts each of influence and induce witness and victim to withhold testimony and be absent from proceeding, and one count of obstruction of justice.

If convicted of all 12 charges against him, Vasiliades could face up to 205 years in prison.

Billy Murphy, the lawyer's attorney, said in a statement that 'unless and until the State proves each and every allegation to a near certitude, Mr. Vasiliades is innocent.'

Joseph Murtha, an attorney for Rodriquez, said 'it's too early to reach any conclusions about Mr. Rodriquez's involvement until all the information that was collected in the investigation is reviewed.'

Vasiliades started his own firm in 2015 on South Haven Street in Baltimore (pictured)

Both Vasiliades and Rodriguez pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday and was released under supervision, reported Baltimore Sun.

The client, Aguilar-Delosantos, is charged with rape, assault and other sex offenses stemming from an incident that took place in March 2016.

In light of his defense lawyer's arrest this week, the suspect's rape trial has been delayed until August. He remains free on $250,000 bond.

Vasiliades graduated from Morgan State University summa cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in philosophy in 2006 and then went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore's School of Law in 2010.

After becoming a member of the Maryland State Bar Association in 2011, he joined the law firm Murtha, Psoras and Lanasa LLC, where he worked until 2015, when he launched his own legal practice in Baltimore, specializing in criminal defense, personal injury and real estate.

Around the same time, Vasiliades' brother, Anthony, the owner of the popular Baltimore eatery Sip & Bite, was arrested in Virginia after handing over $50,000 in cash to an informant in exchange for two kilograms of cocaine.

In March of this year, Anthony Vasiliades pleaded guilty to a charge of cocaine conspiracy carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1million fine.
Police say an officer responding to a 911 call in Ohio shot and killed a man who was holding an 18-year-old woman by the neck.

Canton's police chief says the man refused to let go and moved like he was going to hurt the woman before an officer shot him in the head early Wednesday.

Police identified the man as 24-year-old Hayden Stutz.

Police Chief Bruce Lawver says Stutz had said several times that he had a pistol and he didn't care what happened.

Authorities did not find a gun at the scene, according to The Repository.

Court records say Stutz was released from jail Monday and due in court Wednesday on a disorderly conduct charge.

Hayden Stutz (above), 24, was shot and killed by police after he said several times that he had a pistol while holding his 18-year-old girlfriend against her will in Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday

Police bodycam footage shows Stutz holding his girlfriend just outside his father's house in Canton early Wednesday morning

Police in North Canton say Stutz was arrested Monday at a park where he was challenging people to fight.

'He was saying some really off-the-wall stuff,' the acting North Canton police chief, John Minock, said.

'[It was] mostly erratic behavior and trying to Snapchat everything. He was challenging some people to fight and taking video.'

Minock said that Stutz admitted to smoking marijuana.

When he refused police orders to let his girlfriend go free, an officer shot him in the head thinking that he was reaching for a pistol he claimed to have

Moments before the shooting, Stutz is heard on the 911 call saying he has asthma.

He asks police to provide an inhaler, an ambulance, and a fire truck.

Stutz also claims to have a pistol, saying that the weapon is 'actually on me.

'I don't do well around cops, for real,' he is heard saying on the 911 call.

The officers who responded to the scene did not know that Stutz was bluffing.

When a female officer arrives on the scene, Stutz, who still has his girlfriend in his grasp, is heard on the police body camera saying: 'Tell him to stay right (expletive) there.'

Stutz hangs up from the dispatcher.

When he tells the officer that he needs an inhaler, she responds: 'We'll have to call an ambulance for you, hon. OK?'

At this point, the officer invites Stutz to sit down.

Stutz then asks if he can sit with his girlfriend.

'Sure,' the officer tells him. 'Whatever makes you comfortable. OK? ... Just stay away from the pistol.'

The cop then yells at Stutz: 'Stay away from the pistol.'

'He's going for the gun!' the officer says.

The other office who also arrived on the scene then orders Stutz to release the woman.

On Monday, Stutz was arrested for disorderly conduct after witnesses said he challenged a number of them to a fight while uttering obscenities

'Officers attempted to get the suspect to release the victim,' Lawver said.

'However, the suspect refused and made several movements indicating he was going to inflict serious physical harm to the victim.

'During the exchange an officer approached the suspect and fired one shot, striking the suspect in the head.'

Stutz was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The girlfriend was interviewed by police after the incident.

In tears, she told officers that Stutz 'just started freaking out' as they sat together on the porch of his father's home.

'This is his dad's house,' she told police.

'I don't know if he got locked out or what. He said he needed my phone.'

She said Stutz was diagnosed three years ago with a bipolar disorder.

She also referred to the arrest in North Canton as a 'psychotic incident.'

The two officers who responded to the scene have been placed on administrative leave pending a review.

Lawver said he believes the officers acted appropriately within the rules of engagement.
Russian intelligence agents and politicians discussed how to manipulate President Trump through connections with his top aides, it has been reported.

Kremlin insiders identified former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn as targets during talks last summer that were intercepted by security agencies and passed to the FBI, it is claimed.

Russian officials with indirect ties to both men were allegedly confident that the advisers could be used to help shape Trump's opinion of the country.

Russian intelligence agents and politicians discussed ways to influence Trump's opinion of their country using his top advisers, it has been reported

Kremlin officials were allegedly 'confident' that Paul Manafort (left), Trump's former campaign manager, and Michael Flynn (right), his former national security adviser, could be leveraged

The claims were published by the New York Times which said it spoke to three current and former US officials familiar with the intelligence.

The paper claims the information was collected last summer and passed to the FBI, around the time the agency opened its own probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

U.S. congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department this month are also now investigating whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

The controversy has engulfed Trump's young administration since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agency's investigation.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

The Russians discussed leveraging Manafort's connections to deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych as a way to influence him, it is reported

Last week Reuters reported that Flynn and other Trump advisers called and emailed Russian officials at least 18 times during the end-stage of the 2016 election, citing current and former US officials.

On Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan told lawmakers he had noticed contacts between associates of Trump's campaign and Russia during the campaign and grew concerned Moscow sought to lure Americans down 'a treasonous path.'

In its report, the New York Times said some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, who was subsequently named Trump's national security adviser before being dismissed less than a month after the Republican took office.

Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Manafort, who was dismissed from Trump's campaign, the newspaper reported.

Separately, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, told Reuters via text message that he would testify before the House Intelligence Committee but was 'still working out details.'

'Nothing (is) fully confirmed at this stage,' Page wrote, adding that if invited, he would also testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but had yet to receive such a request.

ABC News, which first reported on Page's planned testimony, said he would testify before the House panel on June 6 . A spokesman for the committee declined comment on whether Page would testify.

In a letter to the panel seen by Reuters, Page accused Brennan of offering a 'biased viewpoint' in Tuesday's testimony.

Former CIA Director John Brennan (left) testified on Wednesday that he noticed contacts between Trump associates and Russia during the election, while ex-Trump adviser Carter Page (right) raised the prospect of testifying himself, saying Brennan has a 'biased viewpoint'

On Wednesday morning, the top Democrat on the committee said it would subpoena Flynn in its probe into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election after he declined to appear before the panel.

'We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information that we need,' Representative Adam Schiff told journalists at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday they would subpoena two of Flynn's businesses after he declined to hand over documents in its separate Russia probe.

Flynn, a retired general, is a key witness in the Russia investigations because of his ties to Moscow.

He was fired from his position at the White House in February, after less than a month on the job, for failing to disclose the content of talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
Attorneys for Donald Trump have asked a federal court judge to pause the ongoing legal battle between protesters and his campaign, saying the president needs to focus on running the country.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled the case can proceed after Trump sought to dismiss the lawsuit brought on by three protesters who say they were roughed up by his supporters at a March 1, 2016 rally in Louisville, Kentucky.

Court documents obtained by Dailymail.com state Trump's legal team is now demanding the suit be put on hold because it can 'impose a substantial burden on the Trump defendants and society at large' since it involves the Commander in Chief.

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President Trump had sought to dismiss the lawsuit brought on by three protesters who say they were roughed up by his supporters at a March 1, 2016 rally in Louisville, Kentucky

Protester Kashiya Nwanguma (center) sued Trump and Matthew Heimbach, the leader of a white nationalist group, claiming she was attacked by audience members at the president's command

Anti-Trump protesters Kashiya Nwanguma, Molly Shah, and Henry Brousseau allege that they were physically attacked by several members of the audience, at the president's command.

Nwanguma filed a lawsuit against Trump, his campaign, and a white supremacist, claiming the president's speech 'incited violence' after he pointed at the protesters and repeated 'get them out.'

Matthew Heimbach, the leader of a white nationalist group Traditional Youth Network, then filed a counter claim saying the president should be responsible for his legal expenses.

He cited Trump's comments at another rally where he told the crowd to force protesters out stating, 'I promise you. I will pay for the legal fees.'

Nwanguma alleged Trump's speech 'incited violence' after he pointed at the protesters and repeated 'get them out'

Trump's lawyers attempted to have the suit thrown out stating there were no facts to suggest the president or his campaign had control over Heimbach and said he cannot be liable for their actions.

They argued that 'under the First Amendment, speech cannot be punished as 'incitement' unless it includes some 'advocacy of the use of force or of law violation,' according to court papers.

They also state that allegations of incitement are 'particularly far-fetched' since the president also told supporters, 'Dont hurt em,'

Following the judge's decision to continue on with the suit, Nwanguma's lawyer also requested dates to depose Trump.

Kashiya Nwanguma (left) Henry Brousseau (center) and Molly Shah (right) accused Heimbach of attacking them at a Trump rally last year. A judge has ordered the president to hand over written discovery responses to Nwanguma by May 30

The order states Trump is to hand over written discovery responses to Nwanguma by May 30 and briefing on whether the plaintiffs can depose the president are set to begin July 17.

Now, Trump is headed back to court to have his lawyers demand the judge either put the case on hold or dismiss it, stating '[t]his danger is all the more real in this case because it involves the sitting President of the United States.'

Courts determine whether delaying the discovery is appropriate by weighing 'the burden' of proceeding or not proceeding with the suit upon each party, according to the documents.

But Trump's team argues that the court must 'give more weight to interests that have a distinctively social value than to purely private interests.'

Trump believes the substantial discovery requests by the Nwanguma, including her insistence on deposing him, will inevitably give rise to disputes requiring the court's resolution.

Papers state the president believes the court should not have to take on 'that burden and responsibility' until they decided whether those legal issues merit 'appellate consideration.'
The wait has lasted more than 12-and-a-half years but Schapelle Corby, 39, is finally days away from her return home and a lawyer has claimed her family could make money off her high-profile story.

Schapelle's mother, Rosleigh Rose, has claimed she is 'getting excited' for her daughter's return back to Australia this weekend after she is deported from Bali and will be forced to leave her boyfriend Ben Panangian behind.

'We talk all the time by phone or Skype but it's going to be wonderful to finally have her home,' Rose told The Courier Mail.

Schapelle's mother Rose (pictured) said it will be wonderful to have her daughter home

Schapelle Corby (pictured) spent nine-and-a-half years in prison and three years on parole in Bali after she was found with marijuana in her boogie board in 2005

'She's got mixed emotions (about leaving boyfriend Panangian), but it's out of her hands.'

Upon her return, a Melbourne lawyer has claimed Corby's family can profit from her story as long as the money or any benefits don't flow back to Schapelle herself.

But if the family is paid for media interviews when Corby returns authorities will keep a close eye on the money trail, proceeds of crime expert Christian Juebner told AAP.

'Schapelle Corby can't make money as a result of her notoriety ... arising from her offending but other people can,' he said.

'If, ultimately, it's proved that the money flowed back to Schapelle Corby or she received some benefit - it doesn't have to be actual money, just some commercial benefit - then the restraining order [on the funds] could be made.'

Media outlets will have an 'enormous appetite' for the Corby story, publicist and celebrity booker Max Markson said.

'There is not a newspaper, magazine, radio station or website in Australia who won't want to sit down with her, talk to her,' he said.

'She will be invited to go on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! She will be invited to go on all sorts of weird and wonderful programs.'

Rose (pictured) is excited to take Schapelle out of the house following the media attention she has received in Bali

Schapelle will be leaving behind her boyfriend, Ben Panangian, (pictured left) in Bali

Mercedes, Schapelle's sister, is currently in Bali to chaperone her sister home on Sunday morning, but the family have not decided where she will live at this moment.

Her mother said everyone is excited to get Schapelle out of the house, back at home, following her becoming stranded inside her home in Bali.

'She hasn't been able to leave the house in Bali for a couple of weeks because all the media have been camped outside.'

Mr Markson said it was unclear what price a Corby exclusive would fetch.

'I don't think there are millions of dollars around in the media to pay for a one-off story,' he said.

Rosleigh Rose (pictured left) said her daughter's return will be wonderful

In 2006, Corby co-wrote My Story, an account of her life in Kerobokan Prison published by Pan Macmillian.

Her family pocketed $270,000 but the Commonwealth recovered about $128,000 in proceeds in 2009.

'This order related to benefits derived by Ms Corby from the publication of her biography My Story by Pan Macmillan, and from an article published in the New Idea magazine,' the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement.

Corby was in 2005 sentenced to 20 years jail for smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Denpasar Airport the previous year.

She was released on parole in 2014 and will be deported to Australia on May 27.

Corby has always maintained her innocence.
Walmart said they would ban a female shopper who was caught on camera going on a tirade against black and Hispanic shoppers in Arkansas on Monday.

A spokesperson for the retail chain told CNN they were still working to identify the woman who accosted Eva Hicks and called another shopper a 'n*****'.

Hicks, a Mexican American who has been living in the US for more than 30 years, said she politely asked the white woman to step aside so she could grab her medicine in the pharmacy aisle.

But the white woman did not take to her request kindly, and instead told her to 'go back to Mexico' before adding: 'It's not your country...we don't want you here.'

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A woman shopping at a Walmart in Centerton, Arkansas, has been filmed going on a racist rant on Monday. Walmart said it will ban her from the store once they identify her

Eva Hicks (left and right) was a victim of the abuse after she stopped in at a Walmart on the way home from work on Monday

Walmart also responded to activist Shuan King and said it had 'no tolerance for the language and actions of this customer'

Walmart issued a statement saying it had 'no tolerance for the language and actions of this customer', adding that they were proud the Centerton store's assistant manager stepped in and asked her to leave.

A spokesperson told CNN they were still looking to identify the woman and said 'once identified we will ask she no longer shops at our stores'.

Hicks started filming the woman with her mobile phone and shared the shocking footage to Facebook, writing: 'I never in my life thought this would happen to me. Yes me.

'Just on a simple trip to the grocery store after a hard day of work. I love this country and I will stay in this country.'

In the three-minute clip, Hicks can be heard saying, 'Listen, I said excuse me, don't be rude.'

But the woman responded: 'Go back, wherever you're from. You're the one that's rude.

'You're in America, you are in America.'

A third woman, who is off-screen, is then heard saying: 'Are you serious right now?'

The racist woman was seen in the video abusing Hicks (left). She also waved her arm at her (right) - seemingly in an attempt to shoo her away

The angry white shopper quickly switches her attention to the black woman off-camera, saying: 'That's none of your business right now, stay out of it.'

The third woman replies: 'I don't need to stay out of it. You are yelling loud enough for everyone to hear, stop being ignorant.'

That remark prompts the elderly woman to fire off an incredibly offensive attack.

'A n*****'s calling me ignorant?'

Hicks, who is clearly shocked by the comment towards the third woman, is heard saying: 'Oh my goodness, you are very rude.'

The racist woman then waves her arm in the direction of Hicks, adding: 'Just go away, just get your stuff and get out of here. Then go back to Mexico.'

The woman continued in her rant for about three minutes. She repeatedly told Hicks to leave the country and 'go back where she came from'

'No, I will not get out of here, no,' Hicks replies. 'No I'm not, because this is my country, yes it is.'

The elderly woman again cuts her off, saying: 'It's not your country, oh no, we don't want you here.'

At that point, a store manager can be heard off camera saying: 'That's not true, we want you here.'

The manager then begins speaking to the white woman, telling her: 'This is inappropriate.'

Thinking she had a defender, the woman pointed at Hicks and said for the manager to 'tell her'.

'No ma'am, it's inappropriate speak for the store,' he replied.

Confused, the racist woman is then heard saying: 'I'm not here for the store, I'm spending money in the store.'

When a manger arrived the woman tried to point the finger at Hicks (left). However, the employee, asked the woman to leave the store instead

Hicks, who sounds in the video as though she is holding back tears, then said, 'so am I', before the white woman turned to her again and tried to wave her away while rudely saying: 'please go, go.'

Mocking Hicks for being emotional about the situation, the woman then said, 'wah, wah, wah,' and pretending to cry.

The black woman who was abused earlier in the clip is then heard asking the manager, identified only as Wes, if the woman 'still had a right to be in the store'.

Wes said no, and then asked the racist woman to leave the store.

'It's not my fault you going to make her leave too?' she asked.

'Well, you're the one causing a scene in the store I heard you, I heard you from the office,' Wes said.

'I'm just trying to resolve a conflict here.'

The racist woman then shot back: 'No you're not, the conflict is her.'

But a few seconds later, the woman surrenders and stormed out of the store.

Hicks said she was planning to meet the woman who tried to step in and defend her, saying she hoped to give her a hug.
Islamic State followers yesterday urged thousands of would-be jihadis to shed the blood of the non-believers on a messaging app repeatedly linked to terrorism.

The Telegram site  which is used by 100million people each month  has failed to remove IS groups despite repeated complaints.

Users who sign up to the free service can read and post anonymously in secure encrypted groups known as channels, which have been hijacked by jihadis.

Yesterday, in sickening conversations seen by the Daily Mail, extremists defended the murder of children at Ariana Grandes concert in Manchester, claiming they had instead been sent to Jannah  the Islamic concept of heaven  with Allah.

As police revealed British-born Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was part of a UK terror network, Telegram users warned of further attacks

As police revealed British-born Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was part of a UK terror network, Telegram users warned of further attacks.

In one channel boasting 169 members, an anonymous poster said: We will continue to terrorize you and ruin your lives. Links to an IS magazine article justifying the killing of innocent civilians were also shared.

An image of an unsuspecting flower seller from Cheshire, taken from the internet by the terror group last year, was accompanied by text reading: Muslims currently living in Dar al-Kufr [the land of disbelief] must be reminded that the blood of the disbelievers is halal and killing them is a form of worship to Allah.

Another excerpt said shedding the blood of non-believers is permissible without exception.

A Telegram channel made up of more than 6,000 IS fanatics hosted comments under the hashtags #MANCHESTER and #MANCHESTERARENA, insisting the attack was in retaliation for bombings on Mosul, Iraq.

An image purportedly of a suicide vest was posted in response to IS claiming responsibility.

A caption read: The sword has been swung and in shaa Allah [God willing] it will keep swinging until the head of every crusader is chopped.

Terrorists have been disseminating information over Telegram since 2015, when the apps founders were forced to block 78 IS-related channels in 12 different languages.

Under its libertarian founder Pavel Durov, Telegram refuses to crack down on extremism

But thousands of new channels simply pop up in their place.

Launched in 2013, Telegram aims to be the most secure private messaging service in the world.

The app revels in the fact texts between users are encrypted so they can only be accessed from the two devices involved and leave no trace on the companys servers.

This means they cannot be read by security services or even the Berlin-based apps staff  with the firm even offering a $300,000 (234,000) reward to any hacker who can crack its encryption.

Telegram aims to be the most secure private messaging service in the world

The claims have made it very popular with jihadis, but under its libertarian founder Pavel Durov, Telegram refuses to crack down on extremism.

It has also hosted vile threads urging other terror attacks, including after Marchs Westminster atrocity.

Steve Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute in Washington DC, said he had alerted Telegraph to the problem but they are simply not interested in addressing it.

He added: Groups such as IS can thrive on Telegram and know nothing is going to happen and its a safe place for them.

Last night, Telegram, which did not respond to request for comment, removed a number of pro-IS channels after they were reported as abusive, but new channels pop up all the time.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't disclose meetings he had with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance, CNN has learned.

While Sessions met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least two times last year, he didn't include that name on a form, which requires officials to go back seven years and list the names of 'any contact' they've had with a 'foreign government' or 'representatives' of another government.

CNN got information on the disclosures, or lack thereof, from the Justice Department.

Scroll down for video

The Justice Department told CNN on Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't include meetings with the Russian ambassador on his security clearance forms

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (second from right) had already gotten in trouble for not disclosing the same meetings to the Senate panel that confirmed him

This is the second time Sessions has been caught not being forthcoming about his meetings with Kislyak, which took place during the course of the presidential campaign.

Sessions didn't mention the get-togethers when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in order to be confirmed to his current post.

Sessions later confirmed the meetings, after the Washington Post revealed them.

That omission led to Sessions having to recuse himself from the Justice Department's investigation into Russian meddling.

That investigation is now in the hands of ex-FBI head Robert Mueller, a move made by Sessions No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

President Trump has largely criticized Rosenstein's decision to appoint a special counsel.

The decision would have been in Sessions' hands had he not had to recuse himself over Russians ties.

According to Sessions' spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores, the senator-turned-attorney general had initially listed a year's worth of meeting with foreign officials on his security clearance form.

But then, an FBI employee who was helping Sessions fill out the documents said that he didn't need to list the dozens of meetings he had with foreign ambassadors while serving in the U.S. Senate.

Federal officials don't have to disclose meetings with foreign officials if those meetings were part of a conference abroad, attended as part of normal government business.

Sessions meetings with Kislyak don't look to fit that description.
Topshop Australia has collapsed under debts because shoppers aren't buying enough and Australia is a tough market to survive in, retail experts say.

The fashion giant went into voluntary administration on Wednesday. Administrator James Stewart, of Ferrier Hodgson, said stores would continue to trade as normal.

TODAY show finance editor Ross Greenwood said Topshop had struggled to make the Australian market work.

'The problem was basically people not buying enough stuff,' Mr Greenwood said.

Topshop Australia has collapsed under debts because shoppers aren't buying enough and Australia is an expensive place to do business, retail experts say (stock of Topshop model)

Topshop Australia operates nine standalone stores across the country, as well as 17 concessions in Myer and an online business (models are pictured wearing Topshop in February this year)

Retail expert Steve Ogden-Barnes told 3AW radio hosts Ross and John Australia has always been a tough market to survive in.

'Australia is still an expensive place to do business,' Mr Ogden-Barnes said.

Topshop Australia operates nine standalone stores across the country, as well as 17 concessions in Myer and an online business.

Myer invested a 25 per cent stake in the Australian Topshop and Topman franchises as part of a $600 million plan.

'The problem is sales inside Myer have been struggling. They have been losing money inside Myer, so eventually they have called in the voluntary administrators,' Mr Greenwood said.

'Really they've struggled because a lot of retailers are struggling,' he said.

'It is pretty tough.'

Topshop's collapse into administration follows other major retailers in Australia this year, including Marcs, David Lawrence and Herringbone.

Shoppers are pictured making their way through the store at Australia's first Topshop-Topman in South Yarra, Melbourne, in 2011

Customers look at clothes on display on the first day of trading at the Topshop Sydney store in 2012

A stock of models wearing Topshop products are pictured

American Apparel recently closed its Australian stores, before shutting down shops and factories abroad.

Mr Greenwood said he expected more retailers to go under this year.

He pointed out underemployment meant the struggles families face are being passed onto retailers.

Both retail experts said the market had been flooded with fast-fashion competitors like H&M, Zara and Uniqlo, while Target struggles to keep afloat.

Topshop Australia administrator Mr Stewart said employees will be paid by the administrators and customer policies, including gift cards and product returns, will continue during the administration period.

'It will be business as usual as the administrators work closely with Arcadia Group on supporting and right-sizing the Australian business to a sustainable platform going forward,' he said.

He said the management team are working closely with administrators to ensure the best outcome for the business.

Topshop and Topman has 760 employees and annual sales of approximately $960million in Australia after launching in 2011.
A row between UK and US officials erupted last night after evidence from the suicide bombing crime scene was leaked by America.

Highly sensitive images of the blood-smeared remnants of attacker Salman Abedi's backpack and a diagram showing precisely where his victims died were handed to a US newspaper.

It is understood American law enforcement agencies had the pictures for only a matter of hours before they were leaked to a journalist from the New York Times.

Shrapnel: Tightly packed nuts and screws caused horrific injuries after the bomb was detonated in the arena

Backpack: The Karrimor rucksack in which the bomb was packed, before Salman entered the venue in Manchester

Whitehall sources said there was an investigation into who was behind the leaks after another US media outlet had been told the name of the killer hours before British police had raided his home. A spokesman for Counter Terrorism Policing, the body that includes the police, security and intelligence agencies, tweeted: 'Unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major investigation undermines our work.'

Last night there were concerns the leaks are threatening to damage one of the closest intelligence-sharing relationships in the world. Prime Minister Theresa May, who will attend a Nato summit in Brussels today, is expected to raise the issue with US President Donald Trump.

In an unprecedented move, the British Attorney General, National Security Adviser and senior security officials and police officers have all raised their fury with their US counterparts. Strong concerns were raised that leaks risk compromising the investigation.

A senior Whitehall source said: 'These leaks from inside the US system are likely to deeply distress the victims, their families and the wider public. Information has also been leaked which risks compromising the investigation into this appalling crime.

ABEDI'S 'SOPHISTICATED' BOMB Bomber Salman Abedi carried his bomb in a common Karrimor rucksack which was triggered with a switch held in his left hand, leaked crime scene photographs suggest. Detonator: The sophisticated device may have been triggered remotely Experts who analysed the photographs last night said that the mechanisms raised the possibility that someone else could have detonated the explosives for Abedi  which could explain why Islamic State did not describe his barbaric attack as a suicide. The photographs, which were leaked to the New York Times, were described as law enforcement images  apparently leaked after being shared between British and US security agencies. Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former head of the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment for the Army, said its sophistication pointed to an Islamic State device. He said: The sophistication of this is absolutely key. Of all the detonators Ive seen in Syria, this one leads me to believe it is the handiwork of IS. The photographs also showed the metal nuts and screws that were blasted out of the bag, turning them into deadly shrapnel. And police found the remnants of a Yuasa 12 volt, 2.1amp lead acid battery, said to be more powerful  and, at 12, more expensive  than batteries found in other suicide bombs. The batteries, which are similar to a small car battery in appearance, are sometimes used to power emergency lighting. The evidence helps to explain why the security services are so convinced Abedi had travelled to a conflict zone in which he received training and was part of a wider terrorist cell. Advertisement

'Protests have been lodged at every relevant level between the British authorities and our US counterparts. They are in no doubt about our huge strength of feeling on this issue. It is unacceptable.'

The photographs, published in the New York Times last night, came just hours after the Government warned the US authorities not to leak details of the Manchester terror investigation.

The US newspaper said they showed a blood-stained silver detonator, said to have been held in the bomber's left hand, with wires trailing from one end lying on the floor. There were also images of torn scraps from a blue Karrimor rucksack as well as screws and nuts used as shrapnel.

The paper described them as 'law enforcement images' but did not make clear how they had been obtained.

Battery: The 12-volt battery was more powerful than usually used. The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence

The nature of the photographs left no doubt that they were taken as part of the forensic investigation of the scene, and were not snapshots taken by members of the public. The paper also published a map showing the location of the victims of the bombing, positioned in a circle around the presumed site of the explosion in the arena foyer, as well as what is thought to be Abedi's torso some distance away.

The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence. In a rare public slapdown, she said it was 'irritating' that facts including the identity of Abedi and death toll had been made public to US media ahead of its release in the UK.

Miss Rudd said the British police had wanted to control the flow of information so Abedi's accomplices were not tipped off  and warned Washington that 'it should not happen again'.

Miss Rudd told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she intends to look again at the issue of information-sharing if it works against the wishes of the police.

PM calls for Nato to join military campaign against ISIS to show unity with Britain after Manchester attack

Theresa May will today call on Nato to join the military campaign against Islamic State terrorists to show unity with Britain in the wake of the Manchester attack.

Although many Nato countries are already part of the coalition targeting IS forces in Iraq and Syria, the military alliance itself has so far been reluctant to join in.

Speaking at a Nato summit in Brussels today, the Prime Minister will urge fellow leaders to reconsider, telling them: Our unity in responding to common threats is our most potent weapon.

Theresa May, writes a message at Manchester Town Hall after the attack at the city's arena on Monday night

Mrs May will then travel to Sicily for the G7 summit of world leaders, but will cut short her attendance to return to the UK tomorrow night to oversee the response to the Manchester attack.

Military experts believe Nato involvement could allow the coalition to step up drone strikes against jihadis plotting attacks against the West. But France and Germany are pushing for the alliances role to be limited to training and intelligence sharing, fearing that any more could see it sucked into an open-ended military campaign. However, senior diplomats last night suggested they were willing to drop their opposition to the move in response to pressure from the US and UK.

Last night, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said: I expect Nato allies to step up and agree to do more in the fight against terrorism, not least because of the attack we saw in Manchester.

Many allies would like to see Nato as a full member of the coalition, because it sends a strong message of unity.

Officials said Mrs Mays push on counter-terrorism would not just focus on the military effort but would also argue for an international clampdown on jihadi propaganda and for new initiatives to address the root causes and address the spread of this poisonous ideology online.

But during the Nato summit, the PM will also underline to Donald Trump the growing threat posed by Russia. The US president, who declared Nato obsolete while on the campaign trail last year, , is under pressure at home over alleged links between members of his team and Moscow. Speaking today, Mrs May will make it clear she views the threat posed by Russian president Vladimir Putin to be on a par with that of terrorism, saying: We must redouble our resolve to meet the threats to our shared security, whether from terrorism or Russia.
A father and daughter were saved from the Manchester stadium bombing when they hung around hoping Ariana Grande would sing one more song.

David Black and his daughter Peta, 12, from Palmerston in the Northern Territory would have headed for the exit where the bomb exploded but 'hung on' a bit longer.

'We were very lucky. It's the old Darwin way when we weren't really in a rush to leave,' Mr Black told MIX 104.9 radio.

Darwin father David Black and his daughter Peta, 12, were saved from the Manchester stadium bombing when they hung around hoping Ariana Grande would sing one more song

Ariana Grande singing at Manchester Arena soon before the bomb exploded

'If we had've left 10 minutes earlier, we would have been right where it was.

'When the concert ended, I said to Peta, 'let's hang on, because sometimes they come and do a few more songs'.'

The pair were in Britain visiting family when they decided to catch the gig at Manchester Arena and bought seats at the very back.

They heard the sound of the homemade backpack bomb explode from their seats, and initially though it was a balloon popping.

This graphic shows where the explosion took place - right at the exit where Peta and her father would have been had they left at the end of the concert

This photo shows the aftermath of the suicide bomb which ripped through the foyer of the venue killing parents and children

The suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded another 59 as the explosive fired nuts and bolts through a crowd packed with children like Peta.

'We heard a bit of a bang go off and because we were... at the top of the stadium, we saw everybody running in different directions,' Mr Black said.

'I thought it was a crushing situation so I got Peta to walk over to empty seats and sit down. I told her we should sit down for a minute and actually see what was going on.

'As we got halfway down, we were heading towards the Victoria Station exit, which is where it went off, so that's when I could smell smoke and stuff like that and realised that something happened.'

Ariana Grande pictured two years ago with the first named victim of the attack, 18-year-old Georgina Callander
Australian Islamic leaders have traded barbs in a fiery debate about the role religion played in the Manchester terrorist atrocity.

Prominent Lebanese Muslim figure Doctor Jamal Rifi and the controversial Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi clashed discussing the massacre on Sunrise.

Host David Koch pulled no punches as he grilled his guests about whether the Muslim community does enough to condemn the reign of terror.

Koch went on to question if the two leading Muslim clerics had themselves played a part in the radicalisation of Australian youths.

Host David Koch (centre) asked Doctor Jamal Rifi (left) and Sheikh Imam Tawhidi (right) if the Muslim community has done enough to condemn the reign of terror

The Sheikh showed an Al-Qaeda flag he claims he bought this week in a Melbourne shop to prove his point about radicalisation

Koch asked Sheikh Tawhidi, who has been disowned by many Australian Muslims for his views, what he personally does to stop radicalisation.

'It is very hard being a peaceful moderate person within a society that is infested by extremist Muslims,' Sheikh Tawhidi conceded.

Sheikh Tawhidi, who was filmed this month being spat at on the streets of Sydney after speaking out against sharia law, said Australia has a problem.

'I will not deny this fact, we have a large number of Muslims that are extremist.'

Koch then asked if the infestation of radical clerics could lay behind the mounting threat of terrorism.

'Yes,' said the Adelaide Sheikh, who is celebrated by some as 'the renegade imam'

To prove his point, the Sheikh then presented something he claimed to have bought this week from a Melbourne shop: an Al-Qaeda flag.

'You are lying to the Australian people' Sheikh Tawhidi said to Dr Rifi. 'Our books teach the beheading of people.'

The men clashed over the part Islamic scriptures play in terror attacks like the abomination in Manchester

Sheikh Tawhidi (right) was filmed this month being spat at on the streets of Sydney because of his views on sharia law

Dr Jamal Rifi arrives at the Supreme Court in 2015 to oppose plans from a far-right group to celebrate the Cronulla riots

Who is Sheikh Tawhidi? An Islamic Sheikh from Adelaide

He moved to Australia from Iraq when he was 12 in 1995

He speaks out against radicalisation and sharia law

He was filmed this month being spat at in the Muslim suburb of Lakemba

Imam Tawhidi said he was labelled a 'fake' Sheikh because he prioritised Australian law over Sharia law Advertisement

But Dr Rifi, who won the 2015 Australian Father of the Year award, was quick to hit back.

'We don't live in fear...I don't know where the Imams got his information from,' the Sydney General Practitioner said.

'The scriptures existed for hundreds of years, they did not incite violence or terror acts, it is an ideology of the so-called Islamic State and they are actually targeting the vulnerable young people.'

Dr Rifi noted Australia's Grand Mufti and Australia's Muslim community condemned the Manchester attack.

'We have shouted from the rooftops over condemnation of these acts. What more can we do?.

But Sheikh Tawhidi shook his head, prompting Koch to ask: 'Imam, is there a disconnect between Muslim leaders?' Koch asked.

Dr Rifi (left) and the Sheikh Tawhidi (right) clashed while discussing the role of religion in terrorism

People light candles in front of messages and floral tributes in Albert Square in Manchester

Who is Doctor Jamal Rifi? A prominent Lebanese Muslim figure

He openly denounces ISIS and radicalisation

Works as a general practitioner in Sydney

Won the 2015 Australian Father of the Year award

Once received death threats from ISIS terrorist Mohamed Elomar

Was a finalist in the 2009 Australian Local Hero awards Advertisement

Sheikh Tawhidi said there is never a month that goes by without a terror attack somewhere in the world.

'The scriptures are exactly what is pushing these people to behead the infidel,' he said..

'Our books teach the beheading of people ... You cannot sit there and lie to the Australian people.'

But Doctor Rifi disagreed once more, arguing the attackers were not following the scriptures at all.

'I always said what I believe in and what I believe in is the truth.

'These suicide bombers we saw in Manchester, everyone in the Muslim community said that he is going to hell because he killed in innocent people, it is a horrific act.'
Power is yet to be regular or stable in Nigeria. Hence, Nigerians are searching for alternatives to keep their phones, laptops and other devices charged. Interestingly, it seems phones are getting more attention as there are now power banks which you can use to charge your phone when there is prolonged lack of power. As power banks have become very useful, it is very important that users know some things when they are buying one. This is important because there are many complaints about power banks like it takes ages to charge, it is substandard and/or its efficiency is less than 50%. You don't want to spend money on this.



Weight

Power banks come in different sizes and weight. You buy a portable one over a bulky one so that it will not become a burden when moving around.

Brand

The brand of a power bank is vital. You already know the reliable brands that are popular for quality, durability, and resale value. Some of these brands may be expensive but you are guaranteed that you will use it for a long time. Despite this, you still have to be careful so that the brand name is not different from the package. Hence, don't patronize touts.

Power output

The power output of a power bank is the reason you are buying it. If the power output is low, you don't need to buy it. A power bank needs at least 2 amperages to charge. So you should check if the power bank is has 2.1 amp output.





Power capacity

For every power bank you want to buy, it must be 2.5 times more than the capacity of your phone. In other words, if the battery of your phone is 4000mAh, you should buy a power bank that is 10,000 mAh. You will only use about 6,700 mAh to charge. This is better than buying the one with the same mAh with your phone.

Quality

Nigeria has become a dumping ground for different substandard products including power banks. Besides buying a brand, it is important to be careful not to buy a fake one because you have many in the market.
Theresa May will today call on Nato to join the military campaign against Islamic State terrorists to show 'unity' with Britain in the wake of the Manchester attack.

Although many Nato countries are already part of the coalition targeting IS forces in Iraq and Syria, the military alliance itself has so far been reluctant to join in.

Speaking at a Nato summit in Brussels today, the Prime Minister will urge fellow leaders to reconsider, telling them: 'Our unity in responding to common threats is our most potent weapon.'

Theresa May, writes a message at Manchester Town Hall after the attack at the city's arena on Monday night

Mrs May will then travel to Sicily for the G7 summit of world leaders, but will cut short her attendance to return to the UK tomorrow night to oversee the response to the Manchester attack.

Military experts believe Nato involvement could allow the coalition to step up drone strikes against jihadis plotting attacks against the West.

But France and Germany are pushing for the alliance's role to be limited to training and intelligence sharing, fearing that any more could see it sucked into an open-ended military campaign.

However, senior diplomats last night suggested they were willing to drop their opposition to the move in response to pressure from the US and UK.

Last night, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said: 'I expect Nato allies to step up and agree to do more in the fight against terrorism, not least because of the attack we saw in Manchester.

Armed police guard Greater Manchester Police station as a flag flies at half-mast in the background

'Many allies would like to see Nato as a full member of the coalition, because it sends a strong message of unity.'

Officials said Mrs May's push on counter-terrorism would 'not just focus on the military effort' but would also argue for an international clampdown on jihadi propaganda and for new initiatives to 'address the root causes and address the spread of this poisonous ideology online'.

But during the Nato summit, the PM will also underline to Donald Trump the growing threat posed by Russia.

The US president, who declared Nato 'obsolete' while on the campaign trail last year, is under pressure at home over alleged links between members of his team and Moscow.

Speaking today, Mrs May will make it clear she views the threat posed by Russian president Vladimir Putin to be on a par with that of terrorism, saying: 'We must redouble our resolve to meet the threats to our shared security, whether from terrorism or Russia.'
The Manchester bomber's sister has claimed he was driven to murder because he wanted revenge for 'the explosives America drops on children in Syria'.

Jomana Abedi, 18, described her older brother Salman as kind and loving and said she was surprised that he had detonated a suicide bomb, killing 22 people after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal she said she thought he was driven by what he saw as injustices.

Salman Abedi (pictured) had only just returned from war-torn Libya before launching his horrific attack. His sister said she thought he was driven by what he saw as injustices

'I think he saw childrenMuslim childrendying everywhere, and wanted revenge', Miss Abedi told the paper.

'He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God,' she added.

A family friend also alleged that it was the murder of Abedi's teenage friend that caused him to kill.

The teenager was run over and stabbed in Manchester in May 2016 in what is believed to have been a gangland killing.

An unnamed family friend said Abedi was 'vowing revenge' at the funeral and he viewed the murder as a hate crime.

They added that Abedi became increasingly religious and interested in extremist groups.

Before his arrest in Tripoli yesterday, Abedi's father said his son had been affected by the death.

He told the New York Times: 'Yes, a friend of his was killed by the gangs of Manchester, but that doesn't mean that he carried out an attack for it.'

Ramadan Abedi, was arrested by masked gunmen in Tripoli while recording TV interviews in the country.

He had claimed his son seemed 'normal' when they spoke five days ago and insisted: 'We don't believe in killing innocents.'

Before his arrest in Tripoli yesterday, Abedi's father, Ramadan (pictured), said his son had been affected by his friend's death

Ramadan Albedi published a picture of his son Hashem holding a machine gun. Underneath the picture he wrote: 'The lion Hashem... is training'

Abedi's younger brother Hashem has also been arrested in Libya, on suspicion of having links to ISIS, who claimed responsibility for Monday night's atrocity.

He was 'aware of all the details' of his brother's plans, a Libyan security force official said and had been 'under surveillance for a month and a half' before his arrest today.

The Deterrence Force said on its Facebook page that 'investigation teams supplied intelligence that he was planning a terrorist attack in the capital Tripoli'.

Abedi's older brother Ismail, 23, was arrested on Tuesday in Chorlton, south Manchester.

His uncle was detained yesterday in Manchester, while there are conflicting reports that the killer's mother is also in police custody.

Leaked photos of the devastation inside Manchester Arena show the 22-year-old suicide bomber carried a powerful explosive in a metal container, which was inside a blue Karrimor backpack (pictured)

A small handhelddetonator was used to explode the bomb, investigators believe

Attention has been focused on how the bomber had been allowed to slip through the net and why warnings about his descent into jihadism were apparently overlooked.

Yesterday it was alleged that two calls about his conduct had been made to a police anti-terror hotline and that his family had repeatedly raised concerns he was 'dangerous'.

It was also claimed the Salford university drop-out had travelled extensively in the Middle East and received terror training in Syria.

He is believed to have returned to the UK from Libya just days before the attack.

It has also emerged that detectives were probing possible links between the Manchester Arena atrocity and the Paris and Brussels terror attacks.

Sources said officers are exploring whether the same cell was responsible for all three outrages.
Hollywood star Rebel Wilson says she was dumped from the role of Jack Black's love interest in Kung Fu Panda 3, because of a series of 'malicious' magazine articles.

The Pitch Perfect actress - who has returned to the witness box on Thursday for her defamation trial against the publishers of Woman's Day - said DreamWorks fired her in person because she'd become 'too divisive' for a family movie.

She said she burst into tears and was 'shocked and blindsided' by losing a role she so 'desperately' wanted, before the voice of Mei Mei was re-recorded by Kate Hudson.

Rebel Wilson (pictured outside court on Thursday) says she was dumped from the role of Jack Black's panda love interest in Kung Fu Panda 3 after a series of 'malicious' magazine articles

The Pitch Perfect star said DreamWorks fired her in person because she'd become 'too divisive' for a family movie. New images of Wilson from her childhood days were also revealed in court

Wilson told the Supreme Court of Victoria directors had loved her performance in the film so much she'd reminded them of when Robin Williams recorded.

She said she was then fired from another DreamWorks animated film, Trolls, and that she wasn't offered any more roles once the articles were published in May 2015.

The 37-year-old California resident cried again in court on Thursday as she disclosed her reasons for suing Bauer Media, who she claims painted her as a fake and a serial liar by telling 'pork pies' about her real name, age and childhood.

Wilson claims she has never lied and says she knows the identity of an 'obsessed and weirdly jealous' former schoolmate who'd given dubious information to journalists.

She said if she didn't stand up for herself and her family, who she says were harassed by journalists following the 'media firestorm', the magazines would simply publish more articles with even worse accusations.

Wilson said she didn't want the same thing to happen to other Australian stars trying to make it in Hollywood.

'Not everyone has the strength to stand up for themselves, but I do,' she said while sobbing.

Wilson, who has a law degree from the University of New South Wales, said she had the money and education to take on the 'harrowing' and 'very expensive' fight.

Rebel Wilson will return to the witness box for the fourth day of her defamation trial against the publishers of Woman's Day.

Wilson returned to the witness box on Thursday for the fourth day of a defamation trial against the publishers of Woman's Day. The photos released included shots of a trip to Disneyland

The 37-year-old California resident cried again in court on Thursday as she disclosed her reasons for suing Bauer Media, who she claims painted her as a fake and a serial liar

On Wednesday, the Pitch Perfect star sobbed repeatedly in court as she said the gossip magazine staff orchestrated a 'coordinated attack' upon her.

She said they ruined her career by claiming she told 'pork pies' about her name, age and background.

The 37-year-old spoke at length on how she had never lied about her age or claimed she was 29, when she was in fact 36.

She said on moving to Hollywood, she followed her agent's advice and stopped mentioning her age during castings and in media interviews.

Wilson also said she had not lied about being related to Walt Disney, telling the court her grandmother told her the children's animation pioneer married their relative Lillian.

The 37-year-old spoke at length in the Supreme Court of Victoria on how she had never lied about her age or claimed she was 29 when she was in fact 36

'I'm kind of known in Hollywood for being a very candid, authentic person and there are parts of my life that would maybe be called colourful and interesting,' she said.

'But that is what happened to me and that is my life story, so that is why I tell it,' she told the court.'

Wilson told the court she was born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds, but her mum wanted to name her Rebel after a little girl that sang at her wedding.

She legally changed her name to Rebel Wilson in 2002.

The court heard Wilson's siblings had similarly themed names or nicknames - Liberty, Annarchi and Ryot.

The trial against Woman's Day publisher Bauer Media is expected to last three weeks.
Video has captured the dramatic moment a woman jumped onto the hood of her SUV to stop a carjacking.

Melissa Smith, 28, was pumping gas in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when two men drove up next to her and attempted to steal her vehicle on Tuesday.

Security camera footage recorded Smith leaping onto the hood and slamming her fists on the windshield in an effort to keep the thief from fleeing.

The man eventually gave up and fled - leaving the car in gear - which forced Smith to jump into her moving vehicle and break it before it crashed.

Melissa Smith, 28, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was pumping gas at a BP station at 2pm on Tuesday when two men in a Cadillac approached and one got in her SUV in an attempt to carjack it (left). She told DailyMail.com: 'My first thought was "This is not happening to me today" and I guess my first reaction was to jump on top of the car (right)'

Smith (seen in red), jumped onto the hood instinctively and pumped her fists against the windshield. The thief is seen abruptly breaking twice in an attempt to throw Smith off the hood

Smith was at a BP gas station on St Paul's Avenue around 2pm on Tuesday when the incident occurred.

She told DailyMail.com she was checking and returning work emails so she didn't see the Cadillac approach.

'My first thought was "This is not happening to me today" and I guess my first reaction was to jump on of the car,' Smith said.

'I just has zero thoughts about how they could hurt me.'

Smith, seen in red, instinctively jumped onto the hood of her SUV to prevent the vehicle from being driven off.

The driver is seen abruptly breaking twice in an attempt to throw Smith off the vehicle.

'I realize as this was happening that, "Okay, I could be going for a ride and I better think of when I should be getting off",' she said.

Smith said the thief then grabbed her purse off the floor and got out of the SUV - leaving it in gear - and jumped back into the getaway car. And although Smith wanted to run after him to get her purse, she knew she had to stop the car.

'I realized my car was still moving. So I tried to stop it, but I obviously I couldn't,' she said.

'So I had to hop in and I managed to stop it just before it hit a light post.'

The thief grabbed Smith's purse and iPhone from the floor of her car, jumped into the getaway car and fled

Smith said she realized the car was still moving and had to hop in to break it, managing to do so just before it hit a lamp post. The suspects are still at large but police who arrived at the scene fingerprinted her car

Smith said she shared the video on Facebook to warn her larger network about carjackings and to tell teens: 'This will not make your life easier, it will only make it harder'

The suspects are still at large, but police who arrived on the scene fingerprinted Smith's car.

They also told her that the Cadillac they drove up in was itself stolen earlier that day.

She shared video of the incident both to warn her larger network about carjackings and to send a message to teenagers possibly involved in this type of behavior.

'I think teens do it because they think it's cool,' Smith said.

'But it's just like you get told by your mom when you're a kid, "If everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you do it too?"

'It will not make you good, honest money. It will not make your life easier, it will only make it harder.'
Lisa Spoonauer, who became an unlikely star of the 1994 cult classic 'Clerks,' and who died at the age of 44 on Saturday in New Jersey, passed away from a degenerative disease, her brother said.

Mike Spoonauer gave slightly more details about the actress' death, saying on a fundraising page that she had a 'chronic illness.'

TMZ reported that emergency crews responded to a 911 call at her house in Jackson, New Jersey at 11:05pm but she was not breathing.

'Our sister Lisa, if she had gotten better, was going to devote the rest of her life to fighting for those with chronic illness who didn't have the strength or the resources to get the right answers and ultimately obtain the correct course of treatment for themselves,' he wrote on JustGiving.

Lisa Spoonauer's brother Mike said on a fundraising page that the actress and entrepreneur and devoted mom died of a 'chronic illness'

Friends and family said Lisa (middle) was a caring advocate and dedicated mother

Lisa Spoonauer, who was one of the stars of the 1994 cult classic 'Clerks' (pictured with costar Brian O'Halloran), died at her home in Jackson Township, New Jersey on Saturday; she was 44 years old

The fundraiser, which will benefit the Patient Advocacy Foundation, has raised over $1,500 in one day.

Though Spoonauer quickly gained a fan following for her role as Caitlin Bree in the iconic film Clerks, she only appeared in one other movie during her career: 1997's 'Bartender.'

She later became a restaurant manager and event planner, according to her obituary.

Although the nature of her illness remains unclear, in June 2015, she posted a meme on Facebook that said, 'It's a daily struggle being in pain or feeling sick on the inside while you look fine on the outside.'

While Spoonauer married her Clerks costar Jeff Anderson in 1998, the couple split a year later. She went on to marry Tom Caron, and had a daughter named Mia and a stepson named Tyler.

Low budget movie Clerks was an unexpected hit for director Kevin Smith and launched his career

Spoonauer (left) married her Clerks costar Jeff Anderso (second to left) in 1998, but the couple split a year later. She went on to marry Tom Caron and had a daughter named Mia

Writer and director of Clerks, Kevin Smith (center), described how he found the actress in 1992

Kevin Smith, the writer and director of Clerks, wrote a truly touching post on Tuesday about Spoonauer and how he discovered the young actress when she was just 20 years old.

'In 1992, I went looking for Lisa without knowing either who she was or the integral role she'd play in my life,' Smith wrote on Instagram.

'I'd held a night of open auditions at the #firstavenueplayhouse (where we found @briancohalloran and @marilynghigliotti) but the perfect Caitlin Bree never walked through the door.

'So I popped into an acting class at Brookdale Community College and watched the students from the back.'

The unconventional casting move worked for Smith, who said he knew immediately that Spoonauer could convincingly play Caitlin.

'Lisa was easily the most natural and authentic voice in the room. She didn't sound like she was acting at all; she delivered scripted dialogue as if she was inventing her conversation in the moment, like people do in real life.

'In 1992, I went looking for Lisa without knowing either who she was or the integral role she'd play in my life,' he wrote on Tuesday

'Captivated, I approached Lisa cold in the parking lot after the class and said "This is gonna sound creepy but... Do you wanna be in a movie?" Fearlessly, she replied "Not if it's porn."'

'I told her a bit about Clerks and gave her a copy of the script and my phone number. She called me a few days later and said "Well it's not porn, but everybody talks like it is. It's funny. I'll do it."'

'As strong an actress as she was, Lisa [pictured recently] was an even more excellent Mother to her daughter Mia,' Smith wrote

Clerks was also the first film Smith had done, and both him and Spoonauer rose to the occasion together.

'A complete stranger at first, Lisa quickly became one of the most important people I'd ever meet,' he wrote.

Smith detailed Spoonauer's natural acting skills, but added that she always seemed to be the most proud of her family and daughter.

'As strong an actress as she was, Lisa was an even more excellent Mother to her daughter Mia. Whenever we'd Facebook later in life, she'd gush about her baby girl proudly. My heart goes out to Tom, Mia and Lisa's family.

'Thank you for dreaming my dream with me. You changed my life, Lisa,' Smith said.

Other Clerks actors also paid tribute to the late actress after the news of her death.

'I'm truly gutted by this news. My deepest condolences and prayers to her husband Tom and his family,' O'Halloran, who played Dante Hicks in the film, wrote on Tuesday.

'She always had a wicked sense of humor and smile. I was blessed to have been part of an incredible life changing adventure with her. To this day it is a part of my life.

Lisa Spoonauer, above, passed away at her home in Jackson, New Jersey after a struggle with a degenerative disease, revealed her brother

'Not a day goes by that she was mentioned or remembered in some fashion. She will live on in my heart and in the hearts of millions. Always in my heart. Rest in Peace Lisa.'

Spoonauer died at her home in Jackson Township, New Jersey; it is unknown how she died.

She is survived by her husband, Tom; her daughter, Mia; her stepson, Tyler; her mother, Dolores; her twin brothers, Michael and Mark Spoonauer; and her grandfather, Frank Figurelli.
Police were hunting for the mastermind of the attack last night as it emerged that the suicide bomber was part of a wider network and the bomb maker is still at large.

Investigators believe that Salman Abedi, 22, may have just been a 'mule' and that the specialist who prepared his sophisticated device is plotting further bloodshed.

Yesterday armed police and the military stormed a series of addresses in Manchester, arresting a number of Abedi's family members. Three people were held, following the arrest of Abedi's brother, Ismail, the previous day.

Investigators believe Salman Abedi, above, may have just been a mule and that a mastermind behind the plot is planning more deaths

It is understood that no bomb-making equipment was found at Abedi's home, and intelligence officials now believe he either made the bomb elsewhere or was given the device and trigger mechanism by an accomplice, possibly during his visit to London in the days before the attack.

Armed police later swooped on a street in Wigan as they made their fifth arrest in the investigation.

The town centre was in lockdown as officers carrying automatic weapons carried out the raid.

Witnesses said a man was tackled to the ground after he was seen with a suspicious package.

Painstaking forensic examination is now being carried out to determine if Abedi's bomb was made of components such as hydrogen peroxide or a powerful explosive such as PETN, meaning it is likely to have been brought in from abroad.

It is understood no bomb-making equipment was found at Salman's house after his brother Hashem, above left, admitted he knew about the plot in April

One former intelligence official said: 'While it is possible to teach yourself to make a bomb, it is probable someone else made the device for Abedi and he is still at large, probably in this country, which is why the level of threat has been raised.'

He added: 'The reality we face is that if a bomb maker is at large it is highly likely he is linked to a cell with a support network, all of whom have not been compromised  and that is disturbing. It means there are likely to be more devices until the person making them is detained or stopped.'

Yesterday armed police stormed two addresses in Manchester, including a flat just a mile from the Manchester Arena which Abedi or one of his accomplices may have rented as he carried out reconnaissance and made final preparations before carrying out his attack on Monday.

Police believe the central Manchester flat was visited by Abedi just hours before he carried out the atrocity.

Fire crews were placed on standby and Manchester Piccadilly Station was shut as police burst into the block that backs on to the railway, suggesting officers expected to find bomb-making equipment.

A counter terrorism source said last night: 'Significant progress has been made today but this is only just the beginning.' Officers are now preparing to make further arrests.
Gable Tostee has opened up about his return to dating app Tinder in his first-ever interview since being cleared of Warriena Wright's death on October 30 last year.

Speaking with radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson on Thursday, Tostee said he proved popular since resurfacing on Tinder  where he met Ms Wright before she fell to her death from his Gold Coast balcony on August 8, 2014.

Tostee, who now goes by the name Eric Thomas, said he was approached by 'a lot of people' on the dating app since his sensational rise to fame, but the murder trial was rarely spoken about.

'A lot of people don't mention it, although a lot of the time I wonder "do they recognise me or know who I am?"' he told KIIS 1065.

Scroll down for video

Appearing on the Kyle and Jackie O show on Tuesday, Tostee said he was approached by 'a lot of people' on the dating app Tinder

'Some might not bring it up out of politeness, sometimes it's an elephant in the room.'

When KIIS 1065 host Kyle Sandilands asked Tostee, 30, how many people he had sex with from the dating app, he said 'no comment'.

'I don't kiss and tell, not anymore,' he said.

Tostee stood trial for the death of Ms Wright, a 26-year-old New Zealand tourist, after she fell 14 storeys to her death.

The pair was on a first date after they met through dating app Tinder.

He was cleared of all charges in October 2016.

Tostee stood trial for the death of Ms Wright, a 26-year-old New Zealand tourist, after she fell 14 storeys to her death

When KIIS 1065 host Kyle Sandilands (left and Jackie O right) asked Tostee, 30, how many people he had sex with from the dating app, he said 'no comment'

Tostee appears to be holding three water bottles as he is pictured outside the KIIS FM studio on Thursday

Tostee said he was approached by women on Tinder who had 'done their research on the case'.

'A lot of people who have approached me in a friendly way have done their research, they've read the transcripts, listened to the audio,' he said.

Tostee said the audio recording he made the night of Ms Wright's death played a role in his acquittal.

He said everyone should secretly record their interactions.

Tostee (left and right) appeared at the KIIS studio on Thursday in a conservative black button up and blue jeans

Gable Tostee and Warriena Wright inside his 14th floor Surfers Paradise apartment just hours before the New Zealand tourist plummeted to her death from the balcony on August 8, 2014

'It's good practice to cover yourself, it's so easy to hit record and leave your phone in your pocket, as I have in the past,' he said.

'Footage can save people.

'I recommend everyone does it.'

Tostee said he had no regrets about audio recordings he made and said he wished he made more.

'I wish I had video cameras in there,' he said.

Tostee said he had no regrets about audio recordings he made and said he wished he made more during his date with Warriena Wright

Gable Tostee reacts as he leaves the Supreme Court after jurors found him not guilty of killing New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright, whom he met via the dating app Tinder on the Gold Coast in 2014

Tostee told KIIS he was the victim of online abuse from people who were ignorant to 'the facts'.

'People who say "stay away from this creep, he's devoid of feelings, be warned". Some people have suggested chopping me up into little pieces, pulling my fingernails off, psychopathic stuff,' he said.

He said he took offence to the harsh online comments.

'It absolutely disgusts me and confuses me and it continually perplexes me how people can sit behind a screen pointing the finger and not knowing the facts,' he said.

An image of a photograph tendered to court of Gable Tostee's injuries take by police on August 8, 2014

Tostee defended his own social media presence which proved controversial since his acquittal.

Highlighting a Facebook post he made on March 8, Tostee said it was just 'a joke'.

'I make a joke about International Women's Day. I put a post on my Facebook saying "Happy International Women's Day to all my hoes", it was obviously a joke,' he said.

Gable Tostee leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Thursday, October 20

Kyle Sandilands told Tostee his appearance on the radio show was prompted by another social media post he made in April.

On April 24 Tostee said: 'Since the media seems so infatuated with me, instead of making misleading fake news stories every time I scratch my back, I challenge any outlet to hold a live, unedited discussion with me. I'll bet they are too chicken shit'.

In response to his post, Mr Sandilands said 'we stepped up to the plate'.

Regardless of his live interview, Tostee urged people not to trust the media.

'The media is not there to inform, it's there to make a profit,' he said.

Tostee told KIIS he was the victim of online abuse from people who were ignorant to 'the facts'

The interview received a huge backlash from listeners online.

'He is appalling! The fact he shows no regret or sympathy for anyone except himself! I'm calling it now, narcissistic personality disorder,' one person said.

'When he requoted his Facebook quote you could see him smirking... what a despicable evil man,' another said.

Listeners took to Twitter to express their frustrations with the interview on Thursday

Others called out the radio station for giving Tostee 'air time'.

'Gable Tostee given air time on Kyle and Jackie O is gorss. Jackie didn't look impressed but Kyle "yep yep I get it",' one person said.

'Kyle and Jackie O, disappointed with your choice to give Gable Tostee a voice and possibly profiting from the terrible death of a young woman,' they said.
Sources said it would make it easier for the police to prosecute the likes of Anjem Choudary and his followers

New criminal offences designed to ensnare Islamist hate preachers are being drawn up by ministers, the Daily Mail understands.

Downing Street is planning a major counter-extremism offensive if the Conservatives win the general election on June 8.

Sources said ministers were determined to drive extremism out of society. The proposals pre-date the Manchester terror attack, but the bombing will give them further impetus.

The new offences will target extremists who attempt to skirt the law by endorsing radical views but stop short of directly advocating violence.

Sources said it would make it easier for the police to prosecute the likes of Anjem Choudary and his followers.

A new government agency  a Commission for Countering Extremism  would identify extremists, counter their message and promote British values.

A Conservative source said: Just like racism, extremism can be defeated. But it will take sustained effort to change cultural and social norms amongst certain sections of the population.

We know that extremism is not confined to any one community and we want to use a Commission, like the Commission for Racial Equality, to drive extremism out of our society.

New powers to compel tech companies to hand over encrypted data to the police and security services are also being drawn up. They would allow security officials to insist services such as WhatsApp and Facebook remove all encryption from suspect messages.

It came as ministers were urged to expand the use of control-order style powers. Former government counter-terrorism adviser Lord Carlile said greater use of the orders against extremists might have prevented the Manchester bombing.

Currently, only seven extremists are subject to T-Pims  Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, civil orders which put legal restrictions on the activities of terror suspects.

Lord Carlile said: T-Pims should be used in a proper way, by being toughened up with a relocation package.

'I think there is a strong case for using them much more extensively as long as they are strong enough.

Downing Street is planning a major counter-extremism offensive if the Conservatives win the general election on June 8

He said Islamists who had been to Libya  which he described as an international testing ground for Islamic State recruits  should be considered for T-Pims which ordered them away from their communities.

Manchester bomber Salman Abedi had recently returned from the North African country.

Last night Home Secretary Amber Rudd vowed to pour more money into Britains flagship counter-extremism programme when it is relaunched next month.

Insisting the Prevent strategy was a success, she said it had stopped 150 people travelling to Syria last year and that 142 community organisations were doing good work.

The Prevent scheme aims to stop people being drawn into or supporting terrorism.
New York police arrested a man who allegedly beat a woman unconscious after shouting homophobic slurs at her and her girlfriend on a subway, the New York Daily News reported on Wednesday.

The alleged incident took place on a Q subway train as it was pulling into the DeKalb Avenue station in Brooklyn at 7:30pm on Saturday, according to police.

The man, Antoine Thomas, 27, got into an argument with a woman, 24, over a seat, the Daily News reported.

'F----t! De!' Thomas is alleged to have screamed at the woman and her female companion who was sitting next to her.

Thomas is said to have physically bumped into the women on purpose.

New York police arrested a man who allegedly beat a woman unconscious after shouting homophobic slurs at her and her girlfriend on a subway. The incident took place on a Q subway train (seen in the above stock image) near the DeKalb Avenue station in Brooklyn on Saturday

When the women asked Thomas to calm down, he assaulted one of them, according to police.

Thomas repeatedly hit the woman until she lost consciousness, police said.

The woman was rushed to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where she was treated for a concussion, a broken eye socket, and a number of cuts that required stiches.

Thomas tried to flee, but was arrested by a transit cop.

He faces charges of assault, menacing, and harassment. Those charges could be upgraded to hate crimes given the alleged remarks he made about the women's sexual orientation, according to investigators.

He was released without bail after an arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Sunday.
A sick little boy who has been waiting for a new heart has been told a donor has been found - just hours after Melania Trump visited him in hospital.

The first lady had visited Vatican-affiliated Bambin Gesu (Baby Jesus) Hospital in Rome following an audience with Pope Francis on Wednesday.

The 47-year-old had read to the young Greek boy, who has been waiting for a heart transplant, holding his hand in the Intensive Care Unit while camera shutters snapped.

Melania Trump tweeted her joy after learning that a sick little boy who she visited in hospital on Wednesday, pictured with him, had finally found a heart donor just hours later

The first lady hugged the young boy in need of a heart transplant at the hospital on Wednesday

Hours later she learned that doctors had found a donor organ for the child

Melania also spent time in prayer at the hospital chapel and laid flowers at the feet of a statue of the Madonna.

It appears the almighty may have heard her.

She released a statement later that day saying her 'heart was filled with joy' after learning the hospital had since found a donor for the boy.

'Upon landing in Belgium, I learned a young boy and his family who had been waiting for a heart transplant was informed that the hospital has found a donor,' she said in a statement.

'I read a book and held hands with this special little one just a few hours ago, and now my own heart is filled with joy over this news.'

Mrs. Trump spent part of the afternoon coloring with the kids and praised their 'positive spirit despite illness'

Message: This was the message of support left by Melania for the children

Melania prayed in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary on Wednesday at the Bambin Gesu children's hospital in Rome

Mrs. Trump also prayed in the hospital's chapel on Wednesday

The first lady later tweeted about the development with the hashtags '#Blessings' and '#Faith.'

Trump's spokesman Stephanie Grisham said the visit had been 'very emotional' for Melania who had spoken Italian with the children.

The first lady, who speaks several other languages besides English and her native Slovenian including German, French, Italian and Serbo-Croatian, had personally written to the Pope personally ahead of her arrival in Rome to request a visit to the hospital.

'She spoke to them in Italian, she signed bandages and she took lots of selfies,' Grisham added.

She had then met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, before going to Bambin Gesu, where she told him that she was looking forward to going to the hospital 'for the bambinos.' She later called the visit 'very moving.'

'To spend time speaking to and coloring with children who have such a positive spirit despite illness was an amazing gift,' she said.

'The time I spent with the little ones in the Intensive Care Unit is something I will never forget, and I will pray for each of them daily.'

In another tweet, she sent 'blessings to all' after her Papal audience.

Trump has now flown to Brussels, Belgium, where she will attend spousal programs at the NATO and G-7 summits.
By now you may have seen and heard plenty about President Donald Trumps proposed education budget for fiscal 2018 . You may have seen the proposed funding levels for the U.S. Department of Education. You may have watched Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos discuss (and argue about) the budget with House lawmakers yesterday. But you may not have seen an analysis from someone actually working in schools.

On Wednesday, a few hours after DeVos testimony in the House, we sat down to discuss the budget proposal with Kevin Maxwell, the CEO of Prince Georges County Public Schools in Maryland, for a Facebook Live video . Maxwell is in charge of the second-largest school district in the state, with 132,000 students enrolled in just over 200 schools.

We asked Maxwell about the cuts to Title II teacher development grants, what he would tell Prince Georges County parents who would want to use a new public school choice program in Trumps budget, and other funding areas hes concerned about. The video runs for just under 12 minutesyou can watch it below.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Fundraising website JustGiving has come under fire for taking more than 100,000 in fees from money donated to help those affected by the Manchester Arena bombing.

In the hours after the attack, the public rushed to set up donation pages for the victims families and a British Red Cross emergency fund.

By last night nearly 2million had been donated via the website to appeals related to the atrocity.

But JustGiving, which lets people raise money at the click of a button, pockets 5 per cent fees on what is raised through its pages.

Fundraising website JustGiving has come under fire for taking more than 100,000 in fees from money donated to help those affected by the Manchester Arena bombing. Pictured is a fundraising page for a homeless man, who helped victims

That means an estimated 100,000 will have gone into the websites coffers, rather than to the intended causes.

Last night JustGiving refused to waive its fee. A spokesman said the website was donating 50,000 to the Red Cross Manchester Emergency Fund.

It also pointed out that the balance of its fees would be spent on administrative expenses so it would make no profit.

James Daley, managing director of campaign group Fairer Finance, said: I think most people would be shocked to find out JustGiving is taking so much from their donations.

This shouldnt be buried in the small print. There is an element of opportunism about the business model and it doesnt feel right.

JustGiving is used by millions of people to manage donations from friends and family when they are raising money for charity.

Around 440million was raised through the website in 2016, up from 404million in 2015.

Its donation pages do not declare the exact cut the firm will take. Instead, they show small print at the bottom which states: Charities pay a small fee for our service.

A link is then provided alongside the words: Find out how much it is and what we do for it.

On top of its 5 per cent cut, JustGiving charges subscription fees to charities which use the site.

Small charities raising up to 15,000 in a year have to pay 15 per month plus VAT. Larger charities pay 39 per month plus VAT.

In February a Daily Mail investigation revealed one of JustGivings founders took home a pay packet of nearly 200,000 in 2015.

A page set up by the Manchester Evening News to raise money for the British Red Crosss Manchester Emergency Fund has already raised over 1.1 million.

Another page set up by Manchester City Council feeding into the same fund has raised more than 630,000.

JustGiving charges its fees on the total donation plus Gift Aid - the income tax charities can reclaim on your donation - so the total taken from these donations could reach 100,000 alone.

This graphic shows where the explosion took place on Monday, in the foyer area, leading towards Victoria railway station

A number of pages have also been set up to support individuals. More than 57,000 has been raised for homeless man Stephen Jones, 35, who helped panicked and injured girls in the aftermath of the attack.

Graeme Seddon, who set up one of the pages, posted that the money was help to get Mr Jones back on his feet, saying his good deeds had restored some faith back in humanity after Mondays terrible events.

Of the money raised for Mr Jones, JustGiving stands to earn 2,856 so far.

Another page set up to raise money for the funeral of schoolgirl Megan Hurley has raised 5,640.

The fundraising appeals founder Helen McDermott, from Halewood near Liverpool, posted: Help fund a beautiful send off for Megan who was taken far too early due to the awful attacks.

A further 5,737 has been raised for Alex Klis, 20, and her 12 year-old sister Patrycia, who have been orphaned after their parents Angelika, 39, and Marcin, 42 were killed while waiting in the foyer to pick the girls up.

A Muslim community group has raised 14,000 for affected families on a page called Muslims For Manchester victims, set up by Shazad Amin, chief executive of Muslim Engagement and Development.

Another page for families has raised a further 15,000. Meanwhile, more than 11,000 has been donated to set up a bar tab for hospital staff at the pub next to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Fundraiser Edmund Hall posted: I know alcohol isnt the answer to the stress and trauma that the emergency services have experienced today, but it seems a simple and easy way to say thank you.

Panicked families have turned to social media in a desperate attempt to locate their loved ones (man pictured comforting young girl outside Manchester Arena)

A spokesman for JustGiving said: JustGiving has been working day and night to support fundraising efforts for the victims and their families.

As we did following the attack on Westminster, we are dedicating our staff and resources to making sure we raise as much for Manchester as we can.

We also wanted to show our solidarity with the people of Manchester by giving a donation as a company to the Emergency Fund of 50,000.

All of our thoughts go out to people of Manchester in the face of this awful attack  we will continue to support them in the days and weeks ahead.

Mark Astarita, executive director of fundraising for the British Red Cross, said: We are grateful to anyone that has chosen to donate to the Manchester Emergency Fund, whether via JustGiving or our own website.

To donate direcly to the British Red Cross Manchester Emergency Fund visit redcross.org.uk or call 0300 456 4999.

JustGiving takes less commission from donations to charities receiving a large volume of donations, making it difficult to put an exact number on its cut.

The spokesman for JustGiving said: Due to the level of infrastructure required to maintain these pages, not to mention the donation weve made to the appeal, we will make no money from this appeal.
A Muslim doctor has rushed to the aid of a contracted worker and father who collapsed on the street when his heart suddenly stopped.

The doctor was enrolling his children at the Islamic College of Brisbane when he ran over to the stranger and began performing CPR, stirring CCTV footage shows.

Family of the contractor are crediting his survival to the doctor who resuscitated him on the footpath until ambulance arrived.

The man is still recovering in hospital after the incident last week.

Ali Kadri shared the CCTV video on Facebook and said the doctor's heroism is what Islam is about

Ali Kadri, acting chairman of the school board and a spokesperson for the Islamic Council of Queensland, said the doctor's heroism is what Islam is about.

'For those who are blaming Islam for #Manchester, that act was against Islam. This act by a Muslim doctor in #Brisbane is Islam and most Muslims live by this every day of their lives,' Mr Kadri wrote on Facebook alongside the video.

Explaining why he was moved to share the footage, he told Daily Mail Australia: 'Mainly because it was an incident of human generosity and secondly because the doctor or the patient didn't care or think about each other's faith or ethnicity.'

'Some people blame Islam for terrorism but in fact Islam like other great faiths encourages charity and kindness. Almost all Muslims live by it and those who commit terrorism in the name of any religion are in fact acting against the teaching of faiths,' Mr Kadri said.

The Muslim doctor was enrolling his children at the school when the stranger collapsed. The doctor ran over and began performing CPR

In the comment section of the Facebook video, one said it was sad Mr Kadri even had to point out the terrorist acts of extremists were not representative of Islam.

'You should even have to post that. A sad state of affairs. Thankfully majority of people appreciate we are all human members of society,' the man wrote in the comments.

Another pointed out the doctor's religion was not relevant, and that he had a duty to help the contractor.

'Muslim or no Muslim it is a duty of a human to help fellow humans irrespective of their faith. More over he was a doctor, so double responsibility.'

But another said mentioning his religion was necessary in current times: 'Only problem is when a Muslim does a bad thing it's a Muslim thing, when a Muslim does a good thing religion isn't mentioned.'

The patient's family have credited his survival to the Muslim doctor's actions.

The man, a father and contractor working at the school, collapsed and his heart stopped

The Muslim doctor ran over and performed CPR until the ambulance arrived

In an email, the wife of the patient is claimed to have said: 'His doctors have told that without you and [the doctor], we'd be without him today and it's thanks to you all that my son still has his father.'

Video of the incident has been shared over Facebook more than 1,000 times.

Following the Manchester Arena massacre, Mr Kadri said the suicide bomber who killed 22 people was a 'dog of hell' and that Islam teaches every life is sacred.

'To ISIS and its sympathisers. Killing innocent children does not make you a martyr, it makes you a fool and a dog of hell,' the spokesperson wrote on Facebook.

'If someone is telling you that you are exerting revenge of Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Burma and Kashmir by killing innocent people, know that they are taking you for a ride. A ride straight to hell because the very religion you think you are defending tells you that every life is sacred and you have no right to take it away.

'Open your eyes and mind, don't let your care turn into hatred. Find peace by understanding your religion from proper sources rather than through the interpretations of those who have hijacked it for their own political goals.'
A Republican candidate in Montana has been accused of body-slamming a Guardian reporter.

Tech mogul Greg Gianforte, who is running in the Montana special election, was recorded on audio allegedly slamming reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground on Wednesday.

Jacobs' glasses were smashed and he was carted off in an ambulance as a result.

The political reporter had been trying to ask Gianforte about his stance on healthcare when he lashed out.

The audio recording, which The Guardian swiftly published after the incident, reveals their conversation.

Scroll down for audio of 'body-slam'

Greg Gianforte (left) 'body-slammed' Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in Montana on Wednesday

Jacobs took to Twitter immediately after the incident, revealing that his glasses had been broken

'I'll talk to you about that later,' Gianforte, 56, said before allegedly attacking him.

'There's not gonna be time later so...' Jacobs responded before a sudden scuffled ensued.

Gianforte roared: 'I'm sick and tired of you guys! Get the hell outta here! You're with The Guardian right?'

Jacobs was taken away in an ambulance

'Yeah and you just broke my glasses!' a shocked Jacobs replied.

'The last guy did the same thing,' Gianforte carried on, referring to another of the newspaper's reporters.

'You just bodyslammed me and broke my glasses,' the journalist said again.

The incident took place at Gianforte's campaign HQ in Bozeman, Montana. He had been setting up for an interview with a local news crew when Jacobs approached him.

Afterwards, the journalist told his own employer: 'He took me to the ground. This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.'

Gallatin County Sheriff is now investigating the incident. Gianforte did not immediately respond to requests on Wednesday night.

Gianforte has roped Donald Trump Jr. into his campaign.
People with shop loyalty cards will soon have their purchases tracked by Google whenever they buy goods in bricks-and-mortar shops.

In a move that will alarm privacy campaigners, the technology giant will use the information to work out when users who click on online adverts make an offline purchase as a result.

The technology has been described as the holy grail for advertisers because companies will finally know exactly how effective their online adverts are.

The scheme is being launched in the US, where Google will be able to access peoples credit and debit card data to provide even more detailed information about their spending.

People with shop loyalty cards will soon have their purchases tracked by Google whenever they buy goods in bricks-and-mortar shops

The company will not have quite that level of access in the UK, where privacy laws are much stricter. But it will be able to track purchases via the loyalty cards of any store that signs up for the scheme.

It raises grave questions over privacy yet again with Google, which has in the past shown a worrying disregard to users personal information.

Renate Samson of Big Brother Watch said: The one thing people regularly state as creepy online is when an advert follows them around the internet. These plans appear to extend creepy into the physical world.

If people want to avoid having their shopping habits monitored on the high street by Google, by shops or by banks they should restrict the amount of data they hand over.

Companies track and monitor in order to advertise to us. If we dont want them to do that, take control; dont give your email address for a digital receipt, check the terms and conditions, avoid using loyalty cards and where possible choose to pay with cash.

Google made 60 billion in revenue last year, a quarter of which was from advertising and the company rakes in 40 per cent of the entire online advertising market.

Yesterday Google championed the technology at Google Marketing Next, its annual event where it reveals new advertising technologies.

It said that currently advertisers know how many times a person clicks on an advert and if they buy something online but they do not know if that same person buys something at a real store.

The new system, called Google Attribution, solves this problem for the first time.

Google currently builds profiles of users based on every time they use a Google product, such as a search on Google.co.uk or a video they watch on YouTube.

Google uses this to target adverts based on what people look at.

The company will now match the profiles up with credit and debit card information given to them by third party companies.

This will allow Google to show clearly if somebody buys something in real life after seeing an advert for it online.

Google says that it will not be able to identify who each person is as their Google profile is anonymous.

The spending data from the third party companies is anonymous and encrypted.

Google will also not tell advertisers who the individual consumers are.

Jerry Dischler, vice president of product management for AdWords, Googles online advertising service, described it as double-blind matching.

He said that neither gets to the see the encrypted data that the other side brings.

In a move that will alarm privacy campaigners, the technology giant will use the information to work out when users who click on online adverts make an offline purchase as a result

In the US Google says that it will have access to 70 per cent of all credit and debit card transaction.

The company was not able to provide information on how much store card data it would have in the UK.

Privacy advocates were alarmed and Paul Stephens, of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer advocacy group based in San Diego, said that the system could be vulnerable to hackers.

He said: What we have learned is that its extremely difficult to anonymize data. If you care about your privacy, you definitely need to be concerned.

Yet Google has a chequered record on privacy on projects including its Street View cars which siphoned off private wi-fi data, leading to fines from regulators in the US and Europe.

Google was recently criticised after its DeepMind division was given access NHS patient records without their full consent.

A Google spokesman said that it would only use store loyalty cards if consumers had given permission for their data to be shared, which would likely be in the terms and conditions.

He said: While we developed the concept for this product years ago, it required years of effort to develop a solution that could meet our stringent user privacy requirements.

To accomplish this, we developed a new, custom encryption technology that ensures users data remains private, secure, and anonymous.
Keeping teenagers happy could be the secret to stopping them from taking up drinking and smoking.

The least happy schoolchildren are almost twice as likely to take up alcohol and cigarettes, a study by University College London has found.

But those who are content with their family, friendships and life have 25 per cent lower odds of trying them before the age of 16.

Researchers say this is because children, like adults, have learned to associate alcohol with feeling joyful and less anxious.

Keeping teenagers happy could be the secret to stopping them from taking up drinking and smoking

The study of 1,729 children aged 10 to 15 clearly suggests those who are happy already dont need the extra help, with a less than 10 per cent chance of being regular drinkers or smokers.

Lead author Dr Noriko Cable, from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health, said: Positive alcohol expectancy works if the person is using alcohol to ease their feelings of emotional inadequacy.

Based on that we think children feeling happy in all aspects of life, with friends, school and home, may not have a reason to drink. They dont need a substance to compensate for a lack of emotional wellbeing. The same principle applies to smoking.

The rates of smoking, drinking and teenage pregnancy are falling among British schoolchildren, in a phenomenon blamed partly on the fact that they are spending less time in groups and more in front of social media.

However researchers wanted to know if happiness and awareness of the risks influenced their behaviour.

The study is based on data from the UK Longitudinal Household Study, where youngsters were asked to rate their happiness related to school performance, looks, family, friends, school and life in general.

The researchers found the happiest had a 10.8 per cent chance of having tried alcohol and cigarettes. The odds were almost doubled for the least happy however, whose chances were 21.5 per cent.

Children were judged to have tried, or initiated drinking and smoking if, in the first round of the survey they had not done so, only to say they had when asked again a year later.

The least happy schoolchildren are almost twice as likely to take up alcohol and cigarettes, a study by University College London has found

They were classed as persistent users if they were smoking and drinking at both time points, and persistent non-users if they were not at either.

The UK study found almost 70 per cent of 10 to 15-year-olds did not use alcohol and cigarettes, with 13 per cent persistent users.

The happiest children had a 74.4 per cent chance of being non-drinkers and smokers, compared to 43.7 per cent of the least happy.

The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, also found making them aware of the risks could stop them from risking their health.

Those that defined themselves as persistent non-users scored highest on harm awareness and happiness tests compared to the rest of the groups. However having supportive friends did not appear to affect their behaviour.

Dr Cable said: Because the information used in this study is self-reported, the findings should be interpreted with caution, but they do suggest that making adolescents aware of alcohol and smoking related harm can be helpful in preventing them from engaging in risky health behaviours.
The six victims of a horror motorway smash on the M6 yesterday are Romanian, police have revealed.

A lorry ploughed into a five-seater Nissan Micra car at 4.30am, killing four women and man and injuring one man who is now in stable condition in hospital.

Officers are investigating whether the lorry driver had been using his mobile phone.

Police are investigating whether the driver of a lorry that ploughed into a car on a motorway leaving five people dead had been using his mobile phone

The 60-year-old trucker from the West Midlands was uninjured, and was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Police said their investigation would look at several possible causes, including the use of mobile devices.

The motorway was closed southbound in Staffordshire between junctions 15 and 14 near Stoke following the crash at 4.30am near Seighford, causing chaos on other roads.

Delays stretched back to junction 16 and motorists were urged to follow diversions or look for alternative routes.

Five people were killed in a horror crash between a lorry and car on the M6 near Stoke

Many were trapped for hours in the tailback. Police eventually cut the barrier on the central reservation to allow vehicles to join the northbound section.

Rescue crews, including three doctors, tried to save the occupants of the blue Nissan.

Firefighters cut off the roof and doors so rescuers could get to them. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: When emergency services arrived they discovered a car with six occupants which had been involved in a significant collision with an HGV.

Sadly, it quickly became apparent that nothing could be done to save the driver and four passengers. All five were confirmed dead on scene.

Many were trapped for hours in the tailback. Police eventually cut the barrier on the central reservation to allow vehicles to join the northbound section

The sixth occupant, a man in his forties, suffered multiple serious injuries and received advanced trauma care by the team of medics at the scene.

Once stabilised, the man was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital for further care.

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: The lorry driver involved in this collision has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The man has been taken into custody for questioning.

Four females and a male, all believed to be adults, died in the car. We are trying to trace their next of kin and formal ID has not been done. A sixth person was taken to hospital and his condition is described as serious but stable.

Police closed a large stretch of the M6 southbound near junction 15 after yesterday's collision

A colleague added: The vehicles were recovered for a forensic examination. There will be various lines of enquiry followed to establish whats happened.

Use of mobile devices will be covered in the investigation.

The carriageway was reopened at 1pm  eight and a half hours after the crash.

The severe gridlock was made worse by a crash involving several lorries between junctions 11A and 12 of the motorway.

Delays stretched back to junction 16 and motorists were urged to follow diversions or look for alternative routes

Two lanes were closed between the exits for the M6 toll and Gailey at around the same time after the lorries collided, causing delays back to junction 1.

With its End The Mobile Madness campaign, the Daily Mail has led the way in highlighting the danger of drivers who risk the lives of others by using their mobile phones at the wheel.

Lorry driver Tomasz Kroker was jailed for ten years in November last year after causing the deaths of four people in a crash while using his phone.

Under tougher rules introduced in March, drivers face six points on their licence and a 200 fine if caught using a mobile phone while driving  double the previous punishment.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has applauded the cancellation of Yassmin Abdel-Magied's ABC TV program, but claims the public broadcaster needs to axe more employees.

Mr Dutton said removing the Muslim activist's show was a 'good start' but argued additional changes needed to be made.

'One down, many to go,' he told 2GB radio.

Scroll down for video

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton (pictured) has applauded the cancellation of Yassmin Abdel-Magied's ABC TV program, but claims the public broadcaster needs to axe additional employees

'One down, many to go,' Mr Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday of Yassmin's show (pictured)

Mr Dutton has been vocal about his distaste for ABC's panel show Q&A - on which Yassmin had been a guest - calling it a 'waste of taxpayer money.'

Monday's Q&A episode focused on the threat of terrorism in the U.S, during which an American physicist claimed citizens are more likely to be killed by a fridge falling on top of them.

'If you're a young black American, you're more likely to be killed by policeman,' the show's host Tony Jones said at the time.

Mr Dutton disagreed with Mr Jones' comments on Thursday.

'Tony Jones, who is obviously a well credentialed, experienced journalist, I mean his behaviour in that instance I think is a disgrace,' Mr Dutton said.

'I actually think there is a fundamental problem with the ABC, particularly around Q&A, the composition of the audience, the selection of these people on the panel and the direction it's given by Tony Jones. You're right you've raised my blood pressure.'

Up to 200 jobs are reportedly set to be cut and changes to programming at regional and national level will be made under the ABC's sweeping changes.

However, insiders at the ABC reportedly claimed to The Age the widespread changes were a convenient way to get rid of Ms Abdel-Magied, or minimise her airtime.

Muslim activist Ms Abdel-Magied sparked widespread calls for the national broadcaster to sack her in April, after posting on Facebook: 'Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)'.

And now it seems the wishes of politicians, broadcasters and social media users are set to come true, with Ms Abdel-Magied's 'Australia Wide' program to be among $50 million in cuts made by the ABC, The Age reports.

Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied (pictured) has had her ABC TV program axed, less than a month after making controversial comments about Anzac Day

The 26-year-old sparked widespread calls for the national broadcaster to sack her in April, after posting on Facebook: 'Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)'

The ABC's hierarchy initially moved to stand by Ms Abdel-Magied in the wake of her social media controversy, however that appears to have been shortlived.

The national broadcaster has reportedly cut the program she has hosted since 2016, however they claim it has nothing to do with her Anzac Day comments.

'This decision has been under consideration for some time and was not to do with any controversy over presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied,' an ABC spokeswoman said.

'Yassmin was aware the program was under review, and we are discussing with her future opportunities at the ABC.'

Ms Abdel-Magied's ABC axing comes just a day after she defended her 'disrespectful' comments on Anzac Day, claiming she was a victim of double standards.

The outspoken Muslim activist addressed the controversy while speaking to a group of 60 high school students at a Sydney Writers Festival workshop on Monday.

'I posted an apology very quickly afterwards, but one of our senior cabinet members said 'Well Yassmin is un-Australian for saying this',' Abdel-Magied told the students.

'Who is anyone to tell me what it means to be Australian?'

After making the comments Ms Abdel Magied offered an apology, but was quickly met with widespread condemnation online and through media.

Ms Abdel-Magied said the only people who could tell her what it meant to be Australian were indigenous people

Ms Abdel-Magied (right) also enjoyed a taxpayer funded tour of Muslim-majority nations to promote her book in 2016, the true cost of which has never been revealed by DFAT

It's not the first time the Muslim activist has found herself in the midst of controversy, with an appearance on the ABC's flagship show Q&A leading to calls for her sacking.

She was also a national finalist for 2015 Young Australian of the Year for her work as a member of the Federal Anzac Centenary Commemoration Youth Working Group.

In 2016, Ms Abdel-Magied went on a taxpayer paid trip to repressive Muslim-majority nations to promote her book.

The true cost of her trip to nations including Saudi Arabia - which flogs women for adultery - has not been revealed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Ms Abdel-Magied (right) with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (centre), The Project host Waleed Aly (left) and his wife academic Susan Carland at Sydney's Kirribilli House last year

Also in 2016, the Sudanese-born writer again faced calls for her firing, following a heated clash with senator Jackie Lambie on Q&A.

The debate between the pair raged when Ms Abdel-Magied she observed Islam as a 'most feminist religion' in response to Senator Lambie's call to deport all Muslims who support 'Sharia law'.

A Change.org petition calling on the ABC to 'publicly condemn and fire Yassmin Abdel-Magied over pro-Sharia law comments' received some 20,000 signatures.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Abdel-Magied for comment.
A radical reform to the benefits system promoted by Labour leaders would bring sweeping tax rises while only worsening poverty, an authoritative international report has warned.

The findings are a blow to the dream of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell that a basic income system would leave no family at risk of penury and hunger.

Both the Labour leader and Shadow Chancellor have raised the idea of a universal basic income, which would see most means-tested state benefits abolished and replaced with a taxpayer-funded handout paid to everyone.

A radical reform to the benefits system promoted by Labour leaders would bring sweeping tax rises while only worsening poverty

The Green Party has included the proposal in its election manifesto, promising that a Green government would run basic income pilot programmes as a means to increase security and avoid the poverty trap.

The scathing analysis of the basic income idea was carried out by economists at the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, the Paris-based organisation of wealthy countries.

It shredded the claims that poverty would be defeated if everyone were to be paid by the state.

A basic income would simplify benefits and make sure everyone had some money, the report said.

But it warned: An unconditional payment to everyone at meaningful but fiscally realistic levels would require tax rises as well as reductions in existing benefits, and would often not be an effective tool for reducing income poverty.

The OECD report said that the poverty line in Britain  which it puts at half average household income  is 702 a month for a single person.

However without tax increases the highest universal basic income that the Treasury could afford would be 230 a month for a single adult and 189 for a child  less than a third of poverty-level income.

The findings are a blow to the dream of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell that a basic income system would leave no family at risk of penury and hunger

Comparing basic income to the amounts provided to claimants by means-tested benefits, which it calls guaranteed minimum income, the report said: In the United Kingdom, the cost of a basic income at GMI levels would significantly exceed current spending on cash benefits and tax-free allowances.

A budget-neutral basic income reform in the United Kingdomwould require a more sizeable reduction of the basic income amount below GMI levels, or additional tax increases.

If a basic income was introduced in Britain without major tax increases, the OECD said, poverty rates would increase significantly as a result.

The big winners from a basic income, the report said, would not be the poor but middle-earners.

In Britain, it found, with a basic income scheme income gains are most common in middle-income households. They do not qualify for means-tested benefits under existing systems, but do receive basic income after a reform.

The OECD economists added: Lower-income households are more likely to receive means-tested income support and therefore less likely to gain if basic income is set at similar levels to GMI.

Only the very poorest in Britain would be better off, the report said, because the bottom income group includes large numbers of people who do not claim means-tested benefits and who would be winners under a universal state wage scheme.

Whitehall officials have long regarded the declared incomes of the very poorest people in the country as deeply suspect.

Many are thought to be self-employed people who do not wish their real incomes to be known.

The OECD report also warned that a basic income system could undermine incentives to work.

Labours election manifesto does not directly refer to a basic income scheme, but says a Labour government would change the culture of the social security system, from one that demonises people not in work to one that is supportive and enabling'

An entirely unconditional basic income would sever links between carefully balanced rights and responsibilities of job seekers, it said, adding that giving workless people incentives to take jobs would become more difficult if everyone is a benefit recipient and benefit conditionality is no longer there.

Politicians have been experimenting with basic income schemes in the Netherlands, France, some US states and Canada.

Tesla car tycoon Elon Musk has backed the idea and run a small-scale trial, and Swiss voters rejected a basic income scheme in a referendum last year.

Jeremy Corbyn said last year that I am looking at policies that can help provide more security for working households. One such possible answer may be the often discussed suggestion of a universal basic income.

But we need to research and test this policy before we can just adopt it. That is why I am looking at the party holding a review to consult widely on this policy. Mr McDonnell floated the idea at the Labour conference last September.

Labours election manifesto does not directly refer to a basic income scheme, but says a Labour government would change the culture of the social security system, from one that demonises people not in work to one that is supportive and enabling.
Mark Zuckerberg, 38, apologised for 'getting it wrong' after employees were informed about the cuts in a company-wide email at 11am on Wednesday. In a message to Meta employees, Zuckerberg said that he had decided to reduce the size of the team by about 13 per cent, which could mean there will be 650 job losses in the UK. Facebook's UK employee headcount swelled from 3,745 in 2020 to 5,148 in 2021, with the vast majority based in London. Meta said it would pay 16 weeks of base pay to those affected in the US plus two additional weeks for every year of service as a part of the severance package and all remaining paid time off. The company said that the arrangements would be similar elsewhere, though it was unclear how many UK jobs would be affected. In Ireland, where Meta has its European HQ, the company has already begun restructuring its content moderation team. The Irish Times reported that the company could be seeking to shed up to 1,000 roles from its Irish operations. It employs more than 3,000 people directly in Ireland, with an additional 6,000 people employed at operations across multiple sites including Meta's international headquarters in Dublin, Clonee data centre in Co Meath and Reality Labs in Cork.
Complaints that British workers are lazy compared to Eastern Europeans are misconceived, a ground-breaking study has found.

Academics discovered that the strong work ethic identified among migrants by bosses actually disappeared after just two years.

By then, foreign workers are taking as many sick days as their UK counterparts.

It means native workers could be missing out on jobs because their nationality is wrongly not associated with hard work, say researchers from the University of Bath.

The paper comes as ministers are urged to put in place policies to wean businesses off cheap foreign labour after Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech to workers at a company in Stoke-on-Trent

Employers have warned that some sectors of the economy, such as construction, agriculture and horticulture, rely heavily on EU workers and could struggle if the labour supply dries up.

But campaign groups have argued what the latest study shows - that, beyond the short-term, UK workers are as diligent as Eastern Europeans.

Research carried out for the first time found that workers from Poland and seven other eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 were initially more than three times less likely to be absent from work than native UK workers.

Economists equate work attendance  one of the most valued attributes for employers  with work ethic.

The report suggests that the extra effort put in by migrant workers is intended to signal their worth to employers  compensating for limited English language skills and to reflect higher pay relative to their homeland.

But after a little as two years, the number of sick days taken by them has increased to levels recorded by those from the UK.

Dr Chris Dawson, senior lecturer in business economics at the University of Bath, said: This is the first study with concrete evidence on the existence of the migrant work ethic.

It backs up managers perceptions that Polish and other Central and Eastern European migrants are harder working than UK employees, but importantly only for around two years from their arrival in the UK.

The study shows that the common view that UK workers are lazy compared to migrant workers is misconceived: In fact migrants are temporarily working extra hard to offset the challenges they face when they first enter the UK job market.

We clearly see in the research that migrants new to the UK put in a couple of years of hard work, before a better understanding of our culture and job market means they adopt the same work ethic as native workers.

Research carried out for the first time found that workers from Poland and seven other eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 were initially more than three times less likely to be absent from work than native UK workers

The research studied 113,804 people, of which 1,396 were workers from the so-called A8 ex-Eastern Bloc countries  Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The study, published in the Journal Work, Employment and Society, used data from the Office for National Statics UK Labour Force Survey from 2005 to 2012.

Alp Mehmet, vice-chairman of think-tank Migrationwatch which campaigns for balanced immigration, said: It is a fallacy that UK workers are any less keen, diligent or hard-working than any other nationality. If anything, they are harder workers.

But companies often use this as an excuse to have access to cheap labour, who are also more likely to be pushed around.

Recent figures showed that manufacturing in Britain employs some 332,000 EU nationals while the wholesale and retail trade has 508,000.

In March, Pret A Manger bosses told a House of Lords committee that only one in 50 applicants for jobs at the chain was British.
The underlying principle of the Trump administrations approach to K-12 education is the need to give parents more ability to choose their childs school.

In defending the Presidents proposed 2018 budget before a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos repeatedly cited the need for parent choice : We cannot allow any parent to feel their child is trapped in a school that isnt meeting his or her unique needs.

Yet new research suggests that parents pick schools for widely diverse reasons, and low-income parents in particular may need support to understand what different schools have to offer. For example, low- and high-income parents both select schools based on school qualitybut they use different measures of quality, according to a new study of school choice in the journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

Mathematica researchers Steven Glazerman and Dallas Dotter analyzed how more than 22,000 applicants to the District of Columbias citywide lottery ranked their preferences among more than 200 regular and charter public schools in the district. They looked at school demographics, how close schools were to students homes, as well as several measures of schools academic quality: academic proficiency and growth rates, the districts three-tiered charter quality ratings, and the districtwide five-tier accountability ratings for all schools.

The assumption was income might be a proxy for different types of social capital: access to information and the ability to use information to make decisions for your kids, Glazerman said.

They found that in middle schools, for example, low-income parents ranked schools higher if they had higher academic proficiency ratesinformation that was easily available on the MySchoolDC websitebut high-income parents tended to rank schools based on their accountability ratings, information that tended to be harder to find.

Similarly, parents of incoming kindergartners were also more likely to rank schools based on academic proficiency rates, while parents of high school studentswho likely were more familiar with the school systemmore often ranked their school choices based on the accountability ratings.

Its somewhat of a hard pattern to explain, Glazerman said. Its likely people consume information in very different ways, and we need to understand how we present that information.

Commute time played a role, too. Parents rated schools higher if they were within a mile of their homespresumably walking or biking distancebut the commute was less important if the distance was longer and parents would likely need to drive. The researchers were not able to triangulate schools to parents work locations, so they were not able to tell how families broader transportation needs affected their school choices.

Reasons for School Choice

The findings back up a 2014 study of school choice in Canada , which also found that in addition to academic quality, parents gave weight to a schools concentration of students in poverty or special education, and to commute time to get their children there.

Theres lots of things we need to explore in more depth, Glazerman said. One of the things that was most surprising is we expected neighborhood characteristics would influence peoples decisions. You would expect if a neighborhood had higher violent crime, you would be less likely to send your children there.

But neighborhoods with lower crime or higher-income families werent neccessarily more likely to draw students if other schools had attractive academic ratings and demographics, they found. There are a lot of charter schools whose location might be based on the availability of real estate, Glazerman noted, and successful charter schools might drive parents interest in locations they wouldnt otherwise consider.

And again, the study noted that crime statistics for the area around a particular school would not be easy for parents to find; the researchers had to request data from the Federal Bureau of Investigations uniform crime statistics and map it to each schools location.

I dont think theres an easy answer, but there are some useful clues in our research about how choice can sort kids in different ways than if you just had neighborhood schools, Glazerman said.

The researchers are working on a follow-up study based on 2015, 2016, and 2017 lotteries to understand more about how students own achievement levels affect their parents school choices, and how they do at their new schools.

They are also exploring how different ways of presenting information about the schools could affect parents choices. They created a mock website based on the MySchoolDC platform, with 72 different variations in how school information was presented. Some 3,500 parents of school-age children in all 50 states were randomly assigned to use the website and rank a selection of schools they would want their child to attend.

We wanted to really understand how these really subtle factors affect how people engage with information, Glazerman said. We want to understand, could you get parents to make different choices by sorting differently, or using graphs versus numbers?

The next studies are expected to be out in mid-fall.
Radio host Kate Langbroek has opened up on a jail visit she paid to Schapelle Corby more than a decade ago, as the bitter war of words between the pair continues.

The convicted drug smuggler is due to arrive back home next week, after serving a 12-year sentence for carrying 4.2 kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia in 2004.

In her 2006 autobiography, Corby, from Queensland, spoke of a visit she was paid by Langbroek while inside Kerobokan prison - but claimed they only met after the radio host lied about who she was.

But the KIIS FM star has hit back at Australia's most notorious drug smuggler, saying on-air on Wednesday night she never deceived Corby about who she was and hadn't used their meeting to promote her own agenda.

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Radio host Kate Langbroek (pictured) has opened up on a jail visit she paid to Schapelle Corby more than a decade ago, denying she lied about who she was just to score an exclusive chat

In her 2006 autobiography, Corby (pictured) spoke of a visit she received from Langbroek at Kerobokan prison - but claimed it only happened after the radio host lied about her media role

Reading an excerpt from Corby's book about the meeting, Langbroek's co-host Dave Hughes told how the drug smuggler claimed she recognised the media personality.

Claiming her 'bulls**t radar' went off when Langbroek introduced herself as a 'sister to a Gold Coast politician', Corby said she fled their chat instantly.

'I found out she was Kate Langbroek... she milked our brief chat for her own publicity and went on Rove talking about how she'd met Schapelle Corby,' Hughes read out.

But Langbroek slammed Corby's claims, saying she and her friend Georgie had not lied to her or bribed their way into the jail.

'For starters, we did not pay anyone to see her and we met her in the security head's lounge, and she had the vibe that she ran that joint,' the media star said.

'Crock of s***, nearly every word of that,' her friend Georgie added.

Speaking alongsider her KIIS FM co-host Dave Hughes (left), Langbroek and her friend Georgie slammed Corby's claims, saying they hadn't lied to her or bribed their way inside the jail

Corby, who was paroled in February 2014, is due to be sent home to Australia on May 27, 2017

Claiming that Corby had 'loved' and even 'hugged' them, the pair slammed her claim that she had run away from them.

Asked whether she'd hid the fact that she was on TV, Langbroek said it hadn't come up in conversation and that she was on maternity leave at the time.

Corby, who was paroled in February 2014, is due to be sent home to Australia on May 27.
When Schapelle Corby finally sets foot back in Australia at the weekend, she'll want to stroll along the beach with the sand between her toes, perhaps chow into a hamburger and chips - and relax with her family.

That's according to two authors who have had rare access to the Bali drug identity over the years, who spoke to Daily Mail Australia just days before Ms Corby's deportation from Indonesia.

Their remarks came as happy pictures surfaced of Schapelle's biggest supporter, Mercedes, sipping espresso martinis with her coterie of Indonesian friends on Wednesday - a celebration ahead of a seismic change in her younger sister's life.

The family's 'excited' matriarch, Rosleigh Rose, has also hinted a big celebration might be on the cards after Schapelle finally touches down in Queensland at the weekend.

All smiles! Mercedes Corby this week met with some girlfriends for cocktails, posting pictures on the happy encounter on Thursday morning

Good times: Mercedes and friends tuck into a scrumptious dinner at a Kuta restaurant this week

Free at last: Schapelle Corby, seen on left behind bars at Kerokoban Prison (stock photo), will be deported from Indonesia at the weekend. Sister Mercedes posted a video of a 'ceremony' in Indonesia this week

Speaking on Thursday, Kathryn Bonella, who co-wrote Schapelle's autobiography My Story, said hitting the beach would likely be a big priority for the convict, home at last.

'The thing was, when she was in jail, was 'I can't wait to feel the sand between my toes,' she said.

But Ms Bonella said that really, the 'homebody' former prisoner will just want to spend time with her family.

'Her family is everything. They're such a close family. They got her through this... Mercedes has been such a godsend'.

Speaking to the Courier Mail this week, Ms Rose foreshadowed a possible huge celebration for her daughter.

'What do you think?' an 'excited' Ms Rose told the Queensland newspaper - reportedly with a smile - when asked if the family were planning a big party.

The family do like a good party - with social media littered with pictures of Rosleigh and Schapelle's mother having a good time on a Hawaiian holiday last year.

Party time! Schapelle's brother Michael and mother Rosleigh pose for photographs during a trip to the Pacific isles during the last Australian winter

A more recent photograph of Ms Corby, who spent nine years behind bars in a Bali prison

The Corby estate posted a warning to an A Current Affair crew prowling outside their property

A growing crowd of media has assembled out the front of the Kuta estate where Corby is living

Meantime, this week Schapelle's brother Michael has popped out of their Kuta compound to go surfing

Schapelle Corby supporters have posted video of media lurking out the front of the home

Another author, Tony Wilson, who wrote Schapelle: The Final Chapter, said he believed Schapelle's first meal would be something quintessentially Australian like a hamburger and chips.

'I'm guessing it's an Aussie hamburger and chips - and she'll probably look forward to walking along Tugun beach with the sand between her toes. She thought about that a lot.'

Ms Bonella argued that while readjusting to Australia would be difficult, it pales into comparison with what she's been through.

'She's been to hell and back!' she said. 'She lived in Hotel K, Kerokoban prison.

'She shared a cell with up to fifteen people, with one single squat toilet, caged in like an animal for years and years.

'Yes, it's going to be a difficult transition out of jail,' she said.

She will have to adjust to an Australia that has radically changed, and has a very different climate.

'She's going to be free of all that. Really free': Ms Corby is pictured in 2005, being led from a holding cell, in the middle of the legal saga that saw her sentenced to a lengthy stay in Indonesia

Corby books: Her autobiography, 'My Story', with Kathryn Bonella (left), and right, Schapelle The Final Chapter Coming Home, New Holland Publishers RRP$32.99

'But shes been in Bali and she has to be careful with what she says, what she does.

'(Now) she's going to be free of all that. Really free.

For Schapelle's final stretch, the clan has split up - with Ms Rose remaining behind in Queensland while Mercedes and brother Michael live with the parolee.

The Corby clan did not respond to Daily Mail Australia's requests for comment this week.
Hundreds of students and staff have been evacuated from at least four high schools in Adelaide after bomb threats were sent via email on Thursday morning.

Emergency services were sent to Adelaide Secondary School of English, in the city's west, after a threat was reportedly emailed to the school, 7 News reports.

Daily Mail Australia understands that at least three other schools received similar threats.

Hundreds of students and staff were evacuated from Adelaide Secondary School of English after a bomb threat was sent via email

Daily Mail Australia understands at least three other schools were sent similar threats

Students and staff from Adelaide School of English returned to class by midday after the threat was reportedly deemed a hoax.

South Australia Police said they were aware of the threats but provided no comment on reports of further bomb scares at nearby schools.

'Police are aware of threats made to schools today,' a spokesperson said in a statement.

'SAPOL takes all threats such as this seriously and can assure the community its working with partner agencies across Australia and overseas to pursue those who make such threats.

'There are serious penalties, including imprisonment for persons convicted of creating a false belief.'
William Ren Ford, 47, of Sandy, Utah, was arrested and charged with theft

One of four suspects was arrested for stealing an 800-pound statue of Mormon founder Joseph Smith and Brigham Young on Wednesday.

William Ren Ford, 47, of Sandy, Utah, was arrested and charged with theft after the bronze statue, said to be worth $125,000, was found in the back of a truck at his parents' house, according to a booking report.

A second man was taken into custody on outstanding warrants, but police declined to release his name after they said he was not arrested in connection to the stolen statue, according toDeseret News.

Security cameras caught the thieves - a blonde woman and three men - stealing the statue from Salt Lake City's Northgate Business Park at about 4am on Tuesday.

Police were worried the thieves would cut the statue down into pieces and sell it to a scrap metal yard, but it was recovered in good condition after Michele Wilson called the police, KUTV reported.

Michele Wilson called the police after spotting the missing statue. Pictured, detectives posing after the 800-pound sculpture was found in good condition

The Salt Lake city police department also issued a plea seeking Larry Forness, 52, as a person of interest in the case on Wednesday. Earlier, they were looking for 'Larry and Traci'

Security cameras caught the thieves - a blonde woman and three men - loading the statue (pictured in the back of the truck) into single-axle utility trailer hitched to an older model white Ford Explorer at about 4am on Tuesday

The statue of Mormon founder Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, which is believed to be worth $125,000, was stolen by four people on Tuesday from Salt Lake City's Northgate Business Park

Wilson saw the statue in the back of a truck in West Jordan and alerted the police saying she believed one of her neighbors was trying to hide it in a garage.

'After a long day of #detective work we're happy to report that the bronze statue has been recovered,' the police tweeted on Tuesday.

Ford, who has a lengthy history of theft and shoplifting charges, was arrested on Wednesday.

The Salt Lake city police department also issued a plea seeking Larry Forness, 52, as a person of interest in the case on Wednesday.

Earlier, the police tweeted they were searching for two outstanding suspects, who they named as Larry and Traci. Their last names were not released.

Security cameras caught the thieves loading the statue into single-axle utility trailer hitched to an older model white Ford Explorer at about 4am on Tuesday.

The statue depicts Mormon founder Smith and his Latter-day Saints sidekick Young together on a park bench.

Ford, who has was a lengthy history of theft and shoplifting charges, was arrested on Wednesday

Police said earlier on Tuesday that they worried that the thieves would cut the statue down into pieces and sell it to a scrap metal yard

After loading the statue the group jumped back into their vehicle and drove away (pictured above)

The sculpture, owned by the owner of the Northgate business center, was commissioned by Young Fine Art Studio sculptors Lena Toritch and Richard Young, according toKUTV.

After being recovered, the statue was returned to its owner unharmed.

The case drew the attention of Utah politicians ranging from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch and Salt Lake City Mayor Jacke Biskupski.

Years ago, another bronze sculpture was never recovered after it was stolen from a school, and Detective Robert Ungricht told the LA Times: 'We wanted to get to the statute before the unthinkable happened and it was melted down.

'I didnt want the dirtbags to get away with it.'
A new 50-cent coin and stamp are going into circulation to commemorate strides in Indigenous rights.

Their release marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and on the 25th anniversary of the High Court Mabo decision - named after Indigenous land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo.

His granddaughter, Piadram and Mumbarra artist Boneta-Marie Mabo, designed the coin which will come into circulation across Australia within weeks.

The coin features a picture of her father, as well as pamphlets from the 1967 referendum campaign with the words: 'Right wrongs, write "yes" for Aborigines!'

A new 50 cent coin is going into circulation, featuring Eddie Koiki Mabo (centre), the Aboriginal flag (bottom) and the Torres Strait Islander flag (top left). It also features pamphlets from the 1967 referendum with the words: 'Right wrongs write YES for Aborigines'

The Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal flags are also pictured on the coin.

The stamp has the word 'YES' written across it, in honour of the 1967 referendum

A collectible alternative has also been released for purchase for $80.

The stamp has the word 'YES' written across it, in honour of the 1967 referendum.

Minister for Indigenous affairs Nigel Scullion launched the commemorative coin and stamp on Wednesday at Old Parliament House at a luncheon with surviving 1967 referendum campaigners, Mabo decision plaintiffs and their families.

Ms Mabo said she was proud to represent her family to commemorate such significant milestones in Australia's history.

'I am so honoured that the Royal Australian Mint invited me to work with them as an artist to design the coin and that they have given me the opportunity to be a part of such a nationally recognised celebration which means so much to me and my family,' Ms Mabo said.

Boneta-Marie Mabo is pictured right holding the commemorative coin

A collectible alternative has also been released for purchase for $80

Mr Scullion said the coin and stamp honour the campaigners.

'The High Court plaintiffs, led by Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo, and the referendum campaigners showed extraordinary determination to win their respective battles and change the nation's history. I am delighted to officially launch today the commemorative coin and stamp in their honour,' Mr Scullion said.

'As Australians apply the anniversary postage stamp to letters and pay for goods using the 50 cent coin, they will be prompted to reflect on the efforts of those who fought so hard to make those two historical events a reality.'

Minister for Communications and the Arts, Mitch Fifield, congratulated the Indigenous artists for their work that now features on the coin and stamp.

Surviving campaigners for the 1967 referendum are pictured at Old Parliament House on Wednesday

Eddie Kaiko Mabo (left) is pictured with Jack Wailu at home on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait Islands in 1990 during the High Court hearings in the Mabo Case

'I congratulate and thank Boneta-Marie Mabo, granddaughter of Eddie Mabo, for her moving portrait of Eddie Mabo with the Torres Strait Islander flag, and depiction of the 1967 referendum flyer with the Aboriginal flag on the commemorative circulating coin,' Minister Fifield said.

'And Rachael Sarra from Goreng Goreng country, Graphic Designer of Indigenous Creative Agency Galimbaa, has done a spectacular job of capturing the unifying ambition and optimism of the 1967 referendum through the merging of two fingerprints in a colourful design.'

Minister for Small Business, Michael McCormack, said he was pleased that the Royal Australian Mint was marking these important anniversaries through a coin and stamp.

'The Government and the Mint take great pride in commemorating two significant events in our nation's journey to reconciliation,' Minister McCormack said.

'I am delighted these pivotal events in our country's history will be immortalised forever with a commemorative circulating coin, which will be a great keepsake.

The poster for the 1997 documentary 'Mabo' is pictured

The 50 cent coin will begin circulating Australia within the next few weeks

Royal Australian Mint Chief Executive Officer Ross MacDiarmid said the anniversaries were two of the most significant events in Australia's history.

'The 1967 Referendum recognised First Australians in the Census and gave the Commonwealth a Constitutional role in relation to their fellow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the Mabo High Court case was a landmark moment in the history of Indigenous land rights,' Mr MacDiarmid said.

'When people receive this coin in their change, they will be prompted to take some time to learn about the progress of reconciliation and our shared histories.'

Mr MacDiarmid said the commemorative coin will go out into circulation over the coming weeks however, they will first be seen in the tills around the nation's capital.

'The national cultural institutions have formed a National Reconciliation Week Trail delivering a week-long program of special events to the public, who may find one of these coins in their change after making transactions with these institutions,' said Mr MacDiarmid.

The official Twitter account for Reconciliation Australia, which wants constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples said the coin is 'pretty cool' on Twitter.
A grieving mother has revealed her heartbreak after being told to tone down her daughter's colourful grave five years after the teen died in a car crash.

Kirra Rose Sim was just 19 years old when she tragically died in a car accident on Father's Day in 2012.

Since then, her mother has visited her final resting place at the Bendigo Cemetery, in central Victoria, almost every day.

A grieving mother has revealed her heartbreak after being told to tone down her daughter's colourful grave (pictured)

Kirra Sims was just 19 years old when she tragically died in a car crash in 2012. Over the years her family have painted her gravesite purple - her favourite colour - and added mementos

But the cemetery sent Ms Sim a letter claiming the decorations were in breach of policy guidelines

Over the years, her family have added mementos, flowers and installed a seat for public use - all painted her favourite colour purple and decorated with butterflies.

But on Friday, Ms Sim received a letter claiming the vibrant gravesite had been the subject of numerous complaints and were in breach of policy guidelines.

She has been given 21 days to take them down or face further action. Adding more to the misery, the ultimatum ends on what would have been Kirra's 24th birthday.

Kirra's brother Trent Sim has since started a petition begging the cemetery to leave his sister's gravesite alone. Over 1600 people have already signed it.

'Kirra's grave is a place for us all to go and be close to her, a place that we keep in the best possible condition and is a reflection of her,' he said.

'Mum visits almost daily and always makes sure that everything is neat, tidy and clean.

Kirra's (pictured before tragic death) family have been given 21 days to change her gravesite or face further action. Adding to the misery, the ultimatum ends on what would have been Kirra's 24th birthday

The family had a purple chair installed in the cemetery with council permission and for public use

'She trims and waters the grass and wipes down the chair we had installed (with permission), this seat is for anyone to use.'

Mr Sim said the grave was being unfairly 'singled out' because it was 'a little brighter than most'.

Remembrance Parks Central Victoria boss Graham Fountain told The Age the only issue he had was with the concrete colour of her grave.

'Every grave and every funeral we have at the cemetery is a tragedy for the family,' he told the publication.

Mr Fountain said he couldn't possibly let everyone paint their grave's a different colour because it was not 'conducive of the appearance that people expect.'

'There are other ways to recognise someone's favourite colours. We just ask the community to work with us so it's a win-win for everyone and complies with our safety guidelines,' he said.

Kirra's brother Trent Sim (pictured) said the grave was being unfairly 'singled out' because it was 'a little brighter than most
CCTV footage has emerged of the moment before two people died and one man was taken into police custody following a crash involving an alleged stolen vehicle on the Princes Highway near Sydney Airport.

The two-car, high-speed collision occurred at St Peters on the intersection of Princes Highway and Canal Road at about 4.30am on Thursday.

Police believe one of the cars, a grey four-wheel-drive, had been stolen earlier in the night. The driver has been arrested and is in police custody with injuries to his leg.

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Two people have died and one man has been taken into police custody following a crash involving a stolen vehicle (pictured)

The two-car, high-speed collision occurred at St Peters on the intersection of Princes Highway and Canal Road in Sydney's south

Tragically, the driver and passenger of the other car, a blue Hyundai sedan, both died at the scene of the crash, a NSW Police spokesperson confirmed.

All city-bound lanes and one south-bound lane of the highway have been closed, and are expected to remain so for several hours.

The 4WD is believed to have been involved in a police pursuit earlier in the night, but was not being pursued at the time of the crash, a police spokesman told AAP.

Police are urging motorists to avoid the area completely.

North-bound traffic is being diverted into Canal Road, Burrows Road, Huntley Street and Sydney Park Road to return to the Princes Highway.

All city-bound lanes and one south-bound lane of the highway have been closed

The 4WD is believed to have been involved in a police pursuit earlier in the night
An arrest warrant has been issued for hot yoga founder Bikram Choudhury for failing to pay a penny of the more than $7 million he owes in a sexual harassment suit.

Authorities believe that the successful yogi hid his assets and fled the country. The warrant will allow him to be arrested if he returns to the US or if he can be found in Mexico, according to ABC News.

If arrested, bail would be set at $8million, according to ABC 7. It's unclear where he might be.

Fitness guru Bikram Choudhury (left) had been ordered to turn over the proceeds from his yoga business to go toward a $6.8million judgment in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Minakshi 'Miki' Jafa-Bodden (right)

The Bikram yoga founder has 700 franchises all over the world that pay him to license his name

He was ordered to pay $7million to his former lawyer; six other women filed harassment lawsuits, five accusing him of rape

The embattled 70-year-old founder of Bikram yoga had been ordered to turn over the proceeds from his global fitness business to go toward a pay $6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $924,000 in compensatory damages after he was found guilty of sexually harassing then wrongly firing his lawyer, Minakshi 'Miki' Jafa-Bodden.

'I feel vindicated. I'm elated,' she told ABC at the time of the 2016 judgement. She said she had repeatedly harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women, then fired her when she tried to investigate another woman's rape claims.

'The hardest problem in my life is stay away from women,' he told ABC News five years ago, when allegations were circling even then that he was harassing and groping students and colleagues. 'Women like me but yogi supposed to be yogi.'

Bikram yoga is regular Hatha yoga but done in high temperatures which are said to make participants more flexible and able to lose weight

Choudhury also has been ordered to turn over his collection of luxury cars, some of which are pictured above

In December, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Choudhury to hand over to a court-appointed receiver funds from his book sales and from the nearly 700 yoga studios in Europe, Asia and the Americas that pay to use his name.

Carla Minnard, Jafa-Bodden's attorney, said that the series of orders issued included Choudhury turning over a collection of 43 luxury supercars he owns, including 13 Rolls-Royces, eight Bentleys and three Ferraris.

Jafa-Bodden, 47, said in the civil complaint that Choudhury abruptly fired her from her six-figure position when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation made by another woman.

Jafa-Bodden said in the civil complaint that Choudhury, pictured here leading a class in 2003, fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation

The suit also said he inappropriately touched her and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite.

She was awarded close to $1million in compensatory damages and more than $6million in punitive damages.

'This is a good day for women,' Jafa-Bodden said in a statement following the verdict.

The Oxford-educated lawyer and mother-of-one had worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013.

Jafa-Bodden's suit claimed the yogi, pictured above in 2000 in Beverly Hills, inappropriately touched her and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite

Guru: Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India, Choudhury, 70, has cobbled together an empire around Bikram yoga, which is taught at 700 studios worldwide

The plaintiff and her legal team are now in the process of trying to locate some of the fitness guru's property, including a diamond-encrusted watch and the fleet of luxury cars, which reportedly had gone missing.

Jafa-Bodden's wrongful termination lawsuit is separate from sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse Choudhury of raping them.

Plaintiff: Jill Lawler filed a lawsuit in 2015 accusing Choudhury of raping her

The most recent complaint, filed in February 2015, accused Choudhury of raping Jill Lawler, a Canadian woman who was just 18 at the time.

Lawler used $10,000 from her college fund to pay for a nine-week class so she could teach Bikram yoga to others.

She said she went into the class elated, but things quickly soured as she was expected to massage him while watching Bollywood movies late into the night.

As they watched the films, he groped her, she said. He apologized but weeks later, he asked Lawler to come to his hotel room where he sexually assaulted her, it is claimed.

The fitness guru's attorneys have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him and that prosecutors had declined to bring criminal charges in those cases.

Choudhury told CNN in 2015: 'Women likes me. Women loves me. So if I really wanted to involve the women, I don't have to assault the women.'

In the same interview, he said: 'My wife never look at me anymore.'

In December, it was reported that Rajashree Choudhury (pictured with him above in an undated photo), his wife of 31 years, filed for legal separation, citing irreconcilable differences

Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India, Choudhury has cobbled together an empire around Bikram yoga, an intense, sweat-soaked 90-minute routine performed in a room that can reach more than 100 degrees.

The exercise technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide and has drawn a throng of devoted followers, among them such A-listers as Lady Gaga, Madonna and David Beckham.

He contended at the time the judgement was given last January that he is nearly bankrupt.

In December 2015, it was reported that the yogi's wife's of 31 years, Rajashree Choudhury, filed for legal separation, citing irreconcilable differences.
The family of an elderly woman and her disabled daughter, who have been missing for four days, made an emotional plea for information on Thursday.

Benella's Isabel Stephens, 89, and her daughter Judy Stephens, 53, were last seen on Sunday afternoon in regional north-east Victoria after ordering a small meal, without alcohol, at Tatong Tavern.

Ms Stephens' other daughters, Helen Stephens and Barbara Walter, said their disappearance was 'bizarre' and very out of character.

'It's almost like you're in a bad movie and you're going to wake up and it'll be okay,' Barbara told 9News.

A desperate search is underway for intellectually impaired woman Judy Stephens (left) and her mother Isabel (right), who went missing near Benalla in Victoria

Ms Stephens' other daughters, Helen Stephens and Barbara Walter (left to right), said their disappearance was 'bizarre' and very out of character

Barbara said her mother and sister didn't take any belongings with them - such as Judy's medication, which she needs twice a day.

'Jude not having her medication that's got serious health implications for her,' Barbara said.

'Mum's elderly and fairly frail, but she's very tough and she's mentally very active.'

The sisters said Jude and their mother had been very close their entire lives and would often go out for a Sunday lunch.

Jude lives on her own with carers, but both women are well-known and active within the community, they said.

Helen said she believes the pair are close by because they don't often drive for long periods of time, especially at night.

Helen (pictured) said she believes the pair are close by because they don't often drive for long periods of time, especially at night

Tatong Tavern owner Christopher McCabe said the women ordered the small meal as they were 'visiting a relative for dinner that evening'.

'They did not seem distressed in any way. Isabel is a reserved elderly lady but Jude is a bit more outgoing because of her intellectual disability,' he told AAP.

Mr McCabe said his wife watched as the pair drove off towards their home town of Benalla in a white car they had parked opposite the tavern.

It was the last time they were seen.

Benalla Local Area Commander Inspector Troy Hargadon said there were 'serious concerns for both ladies' due to Ms Stephens' age and her daughter's intellectual disability and insulin dependency.

Inspector Hargadon said it was believed Judy Stephens had not accessed her medication, required twice daily.

They were last seen after ordering a small meal at Tatong Tavern (pictured) in regional north-east Victoria

'The circumstances are out of character for the women,' he said on Wednesday.

'There is nothing to say they have been met with foul play.'

The pair were reported missing about noon on Tuesday and a search involving the Air Wing, State Emergency Service and Benalla police started about four hours later.

Insp Hargadon said a 'comprehensive search of Benella and the surrounding area' had been unsuccessful in locating the women but investigations were ongoing.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria and the SES are helping in the search, and Insp Hargadon says the family are assisting police.

The women are believed to be travelling in a 2007 Toyota Yaris with the registration number WAB580.

Police previously reported that the women were last seen at on Clarke Street in Benalla.
A joyous celebration quickly turned into a nightmare after a stranger pulled the plug and deflated a bounce house during a birthday party with children still inside it.

The surveillance video captured a man committing the act before disappearing across the street to his own house.

The heavy collapsing plastic sent two children to the hospital as police continue to search for the grumpy neighbor.

Surveillance video captured a man pulling the plug and deflating a bounce house during a birthday party on Sunday in Port St Lucie, Florida, with children still inside it

The unknown neighbor, in his 60s, watched the party from a fence before unplugging it and disappearing across the street back to his own house

Deborah Romero said kids were bouncing in the inflatable house during her daughter's birthday party on Sunday when it suddenly started to sink.

'We were very nervous about the kids because it was extremely hot, and they were trapped inside the bounce house,' she told WPEC.

'We couldn't really reach for all the kids, and we unfortunately had to pull one of the kids by his leg.'

Parents worked to rescue approximately a dozen kids between ages two and three.

Two children had to be taken to the hospital, one for distress and the other to check for possible injuries.

Surveillance footage, watched later, captured an unknown man in his 60s looking at the party over a fence for a few seconds.

About a dozen kids had to be rescued from the collapsing bounce house (left) and two children (not pictured) had to be taken to the hospital, one for distress and the other for possible injuries

Deborah Romero (pictured, with her daughter), who was hosting the party, said that during the holidays, the family's cord to their Christmas lights outside was cut as well. A police spokesperson said the area was canvased, but man in the video was not identified

He then heads to the backyard and unplugs the bounce house, before walking back across the street.

A YouTube video was created calling the man a 'bad neighbor' and a 'piece of trash'.

A police spokesperson told WPEC that the area was was canvased, but that the man in the video was never identified.

Romero said that this is not the first time her family had suffered from an incident like this.

She said during the holidays, the family's cord to their Christmas lights outside was cut.

That led them to install the security cameras which caught the neighbor.

Port St Lucie Police say charges for an incident like this vary depending on the situation but, in this case, a trespassing charge would apply.
The people of Delaware have long looked for ways to make their state first and started that tradition by being the first state to join the union in 1787. In keeping with that history, they were among the first to adopt the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning and certainly among the first to build a comprehensive redesigned learning system aligned to them.

Their statewide grant initiative, Reimagining Professional Learning , is investing in professional capital to achieve extraordinary outcomes for students and their teachers. Im grateful to Chief Academic Officer Michael Watson for his advocacy and leadership of this initiative to support teachers and leaders and impact student achievement. Through Watsons leadership and with tremendous efforts by Shelley Rouser and Theresa Bennett, the Delaware Department of Education is demonstrating how a state education agency can be an enabler for substantive change. Their efforts are in stark contrast to the role of regulator or monitor, which is reflected in the work they have done as thought partners and critical friends to school-based practitioners. As a result, teachers and leaders view the Delaware Department of Education staff as valued colleagues.

Recently, I had the privilege of visiting McCullough Middle School, St. Georges Technical High School, and Bunker Hill Elementary School on a trip to learn more about the impact from Delawares big bet on professional learning. I met with teachers who shared video clips of implementing in their classrooms what they had learned through professional learning. I also met with teachers who are leading the schools professional learning efforts who recognized the power of inquiry as an instructional strategy to engage students in their own learning.

I also had the honor of serving as the keynote speaker at the Professional Learning Exhibition which brought together the 21 schools that have received Reimagining Professional Learning grants from the Delaware Department of Education funded by the Delaware legislature. During the event, I watched schools showcase their work with other schools and learn from each other. I was inspired to meet Delawares new Secretary of Education, Susan Bunting, and watch as she participated as a learner in the event.

The foundation of Delawares reimagine journey is truly to begin with the end in mind. School teams reimagined professional learning that would demonstrate impact on all five levels of the well-known Guskey framework - teacher satisfaction, new learning by educators, organizational change, changes in educator practice, and ultimately student results.. In addition, they are ensuring that the Professional Learning Standards are embedded in professional learning experienced by teachers and leaders. Their commitment to the standards was evident in the schools I visited and in the presentations made at the Exhibition.

At the end of the event, I had the honor of awarding Learning Forwards Learnies awards to the schools participating in the Reimagining Professional Learning Initiative. These awards were made based on evidence of the way the schools have incorporated the standards into their practice. The schools and awards given are:

Standard 1 - Learning Communities



Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center

Benjamin Banneker Elementary School

George Read Middle School

Standard 2 - Leadership



Mispillion Elementary School

W.Reily Brown Elementary School

Standard 3 - Resources



Gunning Bedford Middle School

Harry O. Eisenberg Elementary School

Lulu Ross Elementary School

Standard 4 - Data



Wilmington Manor Elementary School

William Penn High School

Nellie Hughes Stokes Elementary School

Dover High School

Standard 5 - Learning Designs



W.B. Simpson Elementary School

Smyrna High School

Central Middle School

Standard 6 - Implementation



St. Georges Technical High School

Allen Frear Elementary School

Bunker Hill Elementary School

Standard 7 - Outcomes
Seven companies announced Wednesday that they will no longer advertise on Sean Hannity's nightly show on Fox News.

Cars.com, the automotive classified site, was the first to announce that it was pulling its commercials from the popular 10pm nightly talk show Hannity, which has devoted extensive airtime to a conspiracy theory surrounding a murdered Democratic Party official.

'The fact that we advertise on a particular program doesnt mean that we agree or disagree, or support or oppose, the content,' Cars.com said Wednesday in a statement.

'We dont have the ability to influence content at the time we make our advertising purchase. In this case, weve been watching closely and have recently made the decision to pull our advertising from Hannity.'

Six other advertisers followed suit, according to BuzzFeed.

They include two mattress companies, Leesa and Casper; exercise bike maker Peloton; military family insurer USAA; Crowne Plaza Hotels; and Ring, which provides outdoor home security.

Seven companies announced Wednesday that they will no longer advertise on Sean Hannity's nightly show on Fox News

Hannity has come under fire in recent weeks for actively promoting an unproven theory that Seth Rich (above), a Democratic National Committee staffer who was shot to death in Washington, DC, last year, had ties to WikiLeaks

'We can confirm that we are no longer advertising on Sean Hannity,' the e-commerce mattress company Leesa tweeted on Wednesday

In a late night tweet, Hannity did not mention the advertiser exodus. 'Uh oh My ANNUAL Memorial Day long weekend starts NOW,' Hannity tweeted. 'Destroy Trump/Conservative media breathless coverage starts! Did Hannity do last show?'

In a late night tweet, Hannity did not mention the advertiser exodus, though he did say that he was going on a 'Memorial Day long weekend.'

'Uh oh My ANNUAL Memorial Day long weekend starts NOW,' Hannity tweeted.

'Destroy Trump/Conservative media breathless coverage starts! Did Hannity do last show?'

A former colleague of Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, famously went on vacation last month after dozens of companies pulled ads from his show in response to reports that he paid $13million to settle sexual harassment claims made against him by a number of women.

O'Reilly did not return to his show, as Fox News fired him.

Hannity earlier Wednesday blamed Media Matters for America, a non-profit organization, for orchestrating the backlash against him in an attempt to have him fired.

COMPANIES WHO PULLED THEIR ADVERTISING FROM HANNITY Cars.com is a website which was launched in June 1998. It is the second largest automotive classified site. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. Leesa Sleep is an e-commerce mattress brand. Founded in 2014, the company offers mattresses and blankets to customers online. Peloton is a New York-based start-up that sells an Internet-connected fitness bicycle. The United Services Automobile Association is a financial services company that offers specialized rates for military families. Crowne Plaza is a chain of upscale hotels that offers accomodations in over 400 locations spread across 52 countries. Ring is a Santa Monica-based company that markets innovative outdoor home security systems. Casper is a San Francisco-based e-commerce firm that sells mattresses. Advertisement

The Fox News anchor started furiously tweeting early Wednesday morning, after the progressive media watchdog group published a list of his advertisers for a boycott of his show.

Hannity has come under fire in recent weeks for actively promoting an unproven theory that Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer who was shot to death in Washington, DC, last year, had ties to WikiLeaks.

The conservative host has been on the defensive, particularly since his bosses at Fox News retracted the story about Rich following public outcry.

Hannity said Tuesday he's backing off his speculation about the murder after talking with Rich's family, which had appealed to the media to stop.

The decision took Hannity off a potential collision course with his network, which earlier Tuesday had removed a week-old story about the case from its website because 'it was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting.'

Earlier on Wednesday, Hannity blamed Media Matters For America, a non-profit media watchdog, and its 'liberal fascism' for its boycott campaign

The report quoted a private investigator suggesting that Rich had some connection to WikiLeaks and its leaks of Democratic National Committee emails during the last campaign.

Rich's family has said they don't believe their son, who was shot in July 2016 in Washington, gave any information to WikiLeaks.

The investigator has since recanted his claim, and the independent researcher Politifact.com has said the notion that Rich was involved in the leak was flimsy and illogical.

No arrests have been made in the shooting. Washington police have said they think Rich was killed in a random robbery attempt.

Hannity blames MMFA and its 'liberal fascism' for its boycott campaign.

'Liberal Fascism. Mmfa is targeting my advertisers to silence my voice. They hope to get me fired. Rush, O'Reilly, Beck, Imus, & now me.

'Notice MMFA only does this to conservatives. Smear, slander, malice, half truths, purposefully taking things out of context. Why...

'Why do they not go after NBC hosts or CNN hosts? Serious questions will now be raised on funding, tax status, and political agenda.

'Why didn't they go after HBO Real Time? Colbert? Simple, MMFA only wants to silence conservatives. Who funds them? Who are political friends,' Hannity wrote.

He then went on to post several stories about the organization to his Twitter, including articles about George Soros' connection to the organization.

Media Matters denied that it was mounting a pressure campaign focusing on Hannity's advertisers.

The organization's president Angelo Carusone said he hadn't spoken to any sponsors.

He said he wanted advertisers to be aware of Hannity's 'volatility' as part of a general Media Matters campaign to get them to think about advertising on Fox; Media Matters hasn't posted a list of sponsors for any other specific show.
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It is no secret that influential people are a tough lot to manage but for Melbourne-based butler Crispin Hannibelsz, it's all in a day's work.

From flying in a specific abalone from Perth to organising an in-shopping experience or planning a surprise medieval-themed birthday party, there have been some of the many 'diva demands' that Hannibelsz has had to coordinate for his guests in the last 20 years.

Crown Towers Melbourne butler Hannibelsz who works at its exclusive villas, where a night stay is priced at $25,000 said the demanding job requires patience as well as a good knowledge of the city and Australia.

The interiors of the Crown Towers Melbourne hotel exclusive villas which goes for $25,000 a night

Among the quirky request that Hannibelsz has had to deal with in the past was to organise a local Aussie wild-life showcase within the comforts of guest bedroom who were not keen on venturing out to see them.

'A family requested to see Australian wildlife during their stay but wouldn't leave their room,' he tells escape.com.au.

'We contacted a registered wildlife handler and arranged to have a wombat and koala brought into the hotel. Trying to keep the wombat from eating the $10,000 couch was an interesting task,' he recalls.

He said confidentiality was also another very important trait of the job when dealing with celebrities such as Bill Gates, Beyonce and Jay Z, George Clooney and Elton John.

As for his best guest, Hannibelsz said it would be former American President Bill Clinton who made a visit to the hotel in 2012.

'He was a lovely, down to earth man,' Hannibelsz says of President Clinton.

Melbourne-based Crispin Hannibelsz has been butler for the well-heeled for the past 20 years

Fancy a private wildlife show, well the butlers in Crown Towers Melbourne can organise it for you

Some of the world's most notable celebrities have walked through these corridors

Clinton was also in awe with Hannibelsz and even sent him a thank you note at the end of his visit.

However, not all the guests were a breeze to work with but thankfully dealing with 'rock star requests' is what Hannibelsz is best known for.

He says although it was hard being on call 24/7 but it was the challenged of the job that had kept him going in the role for all these years.




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A number of terror suspects have been arrested in dramatic raids as police hunt for the bomb factory where the device used by Manchester terrorist Salman Abedi was made.

Bomb disposal experts were this evening called to an address in Wigan which was raided in connection with the atrocity, and homes surrounding it were evacuated.

Greater Manchester Police said 'potentially suspicious items' were found at the terraced house, which witnesses say was raided by armed officers at around 1.30am.

Residents described the area, close to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, as being 'in lockdown' with helicopters overhead. Nurses arriving for their shifts were unable to get into work because the road was blocked.

A man was arrested yesterday afternoon in the town, but it is not known whether the address - 17 miles from the Manchester Arena - is directly linked to him. Witnesses on the scene say a bomb disposal robot was seen on the street, but a controlled explosion was not carried out.

It comes after a series of operations were carried out across the Manchester area today, with a huge controlled explosion in Moss Side shaking neighbouring houses. Teams of armed police also descended on a school in Hulme in Manchester today.

Eight suspects have been arrested in the UK in connection with the terror attack, and the killer's father and brother have been detained in Libya.

Homes in Moss Side and Withington in Manchester are also being searched, while there is still a police presence in the Blackley area of the city, where a woman was arrested at a block of flats last night but later released without charge.

Last night a man was arrested by armed officers in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where witnesses said he was told: 'Do not move or I will fire.' He is still being questioned by police.

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Bomb disposal teams have been called to Springfield Street in Wigan, where a home was raided today in connection with Monday's atrocity

Locals have said the area around the home raided by police in Wigan is 'in lockdown', and neighbours have been evacuated from their homes

Springfield Street in Wigan was closed this evening and a bomb disposal unit was called to the scene

Army and police officers were called to the home this evening. Locals said police had been at Springfield Street all day following a raid in the early hours of the morning

A statement from Greater Manchester Police this evening said: 'We made an arrest in Wigan yesterday in connection with the investigation into the incident at Manchester Arena. Following this arrest a house in Wigan was raided this morning and is currently being searched.

POLICE PUT ROW WITH US OVER LEAKS ASIDE British police have reopened information-sharing ties with the US following a spat over leaked evidence from the Manchester bombing, police chiefs said. Mark Rowley, the country's most senior counter-terrorism officer, confirmed they had "received fresh assurances" from their foreign counterparts and were now "working closely" with them. An extraordinary row erupted between the US and British authorities after a host of sensitive information was leaked to American news outlets in the wake of Monday's attack. Advertisement

'Potentially suspicious items were found at the address and a large cordon has been put in place as EOD make an assessment.

'We have a number of officers on the ground and are evacuating people as a matter of precaution as public safety is paramount to our investigation. We are working with the local authority to accommodate those who have been evacuated.'

Dozens of residents were told to leave their homes shortly after 5pm, several hours after the property was originally raided.

They were eventually told they could return at around 9.10pm. The home itself is still cordoned off.

A robotic device to deal with potential explosives was seen on the scene, while children remained playing out in the streets surrounding the cordon.

Yesterday afternoon footage emerged of a man being arrested in Wigan by a team of officers who wrestled him to the ground.

Police said he was carrying a suspicious package when he was tackled yesterday afternoon. He remains in police custody.

Neighbours in Springfield Street have said there have been officers on the road all day, and this evening the road and sections of neighbouring Wigan Road were closed off.

A woman who lives along the road told MailOnline: 'There's been a police presence here all day. From what I've gathered the raid happened in the early hours of the morning. I've been told someone's been arrested.'

Residents were told to evacuate their homes in Springfield Street, Wigan, at around 5pm after a search of the flat by forensics officers

The flat is believed to have been raided at around 1.30am in connection with the Manchester Arena suicide attack, which claimed 22 innocent lives on Monday night

An army bomb disposal unit is parked nearby during a security operation at Springfield Street in Wigan, Greater Manchester

Tom Piper, who lives on Springfield Street, said the whole street had been evacuated.

The 25-year-old told the Press Association: 'The police apparently turned up at 1.30am in the morning with guns and stormed the place. But I never heard it.

'Then they've been there all day, mainly just one or two police sat outside. Then about four or five-ish it looked like forensic people were there and then all of a sudden, about half-six, we all got told to evacuate.'

Residents were left frustrated at the lack of information provided during the evacuation.

Ian and Monica Darrington of Wigan Lane were evacuated at 5pm. Ian, 62, director of Wigan Jazz Festival, said: 'The police said it should be two hours at 7pm but another member of the public said prepare to find somewhere for the night.

'I just worry about other people. One man who was evacuated just said "where do I go? I have nobody". We only live about 25 yards away from where the raid is taking place.

'Last night we saw the armed police walking around, they were being very thorough. Then there were just ordinary police outside the property all night.

'For me, it's been amazing how people from all over the world have been in touch to check we're okay. Peoples from LA, Germany, everywhere, have been showing solidarity with Manchester. It's just a massive shock and I think the people of Wigan are so shocked that it could happen here.'

FULL LIST OF ARRESTS SO FAR FOLLOWING ATTACK Ismael Abedi, 23, bomber Salman Adebi's older brother, was arrested outside a Morrison's in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy at around 10.30am on Tuesday morning, 12 hours after the explosion at the Manchester Arena

A further three men were arrested in Fallowfield, Manchester, at around 2.30am on Wednesday morning

A suspect was detained in Wigan on Wednesday afternoon after he allegedly approached a bus with a suspicious package. Footage showed him being being led away by officers.

A woman was arrested in another raid in Blackley at around 6.30pm on Wednesday, but was later released without charge

Hashem and Ramadan Abedi, Salman's younger brother and father respectively, were detained in Libya. The country's police claimed knew Hashem knew his brother was going to carry out the atrocity more than a month ago

Just after 9pm on Wednesday, police raided a property in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and pursued a man who attempted to flee. He was Tasered to the floor by officers and has been taken to Manchester for questioning.

Police arrested a man in Egerton Crescent, Withington following a raid in the early hours of Thursday morning. Another man was arrested in a separate raid in an unknown location in Manchester Advertisement

Police and soldiers were called to Springfield Street in Wigan tonight, where an address linked to the Manchester terror attack has been raided

There has been a police presence in Springfield Street, Wigan, all day. Police have confirmed that an address in the Greater Manchester town has been raided, but declined to reveal where it was

NHS bosses said patients and staff were having trouble accessing the hospital as a result of the raid in Wigan

Another witness said they had seen a bomb disposal squad unloading what appeared to be a specialist remote device to assist their search.

Craig Shaw, 32, of Wigan Lane, said: 'I'm really surprised. It's shocked me that this has happened just near my flat.

'It's a quiet area, even the pub next door is quiet. I just saw a police car at the bottom about 19 minutes ago [7pm] and I came down and the next minute they are condoning it off.'

Binman Shaun O'Brien, of Swinley Road, 52, said: 'I'm a bit shaken really. It feels real now. More than on Monday.

'There's bomb disposal units, I can hear sirens and there's a fire engine. You just can't believe it. They're even letting an ambulance in now.

'Every area has a bit of trouble but it's never been too bad. That area has a lot of flats for students and professionals I think.

'There's a lot of people who rent and that's become more common in the past few years.'

Graphic designer Jack Green, of Earl Street, 21, said: 'The flats are three or four storeys high and when I was younger I was banned from playing there because it's a sketchy area.

'They had weird basements and you could just see people sat in them. I never thought anything of it when I was younger but they were dodgy people. It's grim.'

A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said the force could not reveal details of the search, and said the total number of arrests still stands at eight.

The Ministry of Defence was unable to provide further information about the operation when contacted by MailOnline.

The scene in Nuneaton as police with Taser and firearms drawn arrest a man

A terror suspect was arrested in the street after he fled a house raided by police in connection with the Manchester attack

Armed police chased the man around the corner from the property in Nuneaton and he was later detained

Armed officers last night chased one man half a mile from a home they raided in the Midlands, but police are still searching for a 'factory' where the bomb was made.

In last night's operation, witnesses have said the suspect was told by an armed officer: 'Do not move or I will fire.'

Shocked locals in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, have told how officers pointed guns at a man to make him stop running before he was Tasered yesterday evening.

Pinning him to the floor for several minutes, they then covered his arms and legs in bags, stripped him and put him in a white forensics suit.

Police arrived at the address just after 9pm and yelled at those inside to open the door. Three cars blocked off the road with a group of around five armed officers going through the front door.

The man in his 20s is believed to have escaped over the back fence into the grounds of Manor Hospital before he was arrested half a mile away.

Stacey Clarke was alerted when she heard shouting outside her home, which is close to the 210,000 raided property, which is registered to father-of-five Naser Elshetwi, 48.

She said: 'I went out and I saw a man, he was lying on the floor spread out.. They had their guns pointing at him.

'He lay on the floor for about 20 minutes and then the forensics people were there, with blue suits on, and they put bags on his arms and legs.

'Then they got him to stand up and put him in a white suit and then put him in the car and took him away.'

Another resident added: 'Armed police kept him face down on the floor for almost 15 minutes until the forensic police showed up.

'All the while armed police had him face down with four huge guns pointed at him.

'Eventually they got him to his feet where they slowly stripped him and placed him in a white suit. All of his clothes and belonging were put into evidence bags.'

Police enter the address in Nuneaton after a man was arrested in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing

It comes as police made a string of arrests in connection with Monday's terror attack

Police have not confirmed if Mr Elshetwi, who is on the electoral register as living at the property, has been arrested.

Earlier this year Mr Elshetwi told of how he suffered horrific injuries after being hit by seven bullets during a kidnapping attempt last year.

Mr Elshetwi, who was born in Libyan capital Tripoli, came to Britain 20 years ago and studied at Coventry Technical College.

After being granted citizenship under then Home Secretary David Blunkett's amnesty for families seeking asylum, he set up home in Nuneaton.

He married and had five children, who are aged between seven and 21 years old, and worked as a builder, but in 2012 went back to his home country to take part in a four-year project to build a petrol station with his father.

On January 31 last year, Mr Elshetwi claimed he was nearly killed in a kidnapping attempt, which left him with a broken leg.

The man was arrested by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and Warwickshire Police officers and is believed to have been transferred to a police station in the Greater Manchester area.

Armed police point a gun at the head of a man in Hulme during a bomb scare in a street near a school

Police were scouring through objects within the college and are pictured going through a Nike rucksack

Meanwhile, back in Manchester, army bomb disposal experts rushed to Hulme, where officers were pictured pointing a gun at a man's head on the floor.

Police later announced that a man had been arrested in the same area on suspicion of cannabis possession, but declined to confirm whether the two incidents were linked.

A helicopter flew over Castlefield Campus, in the Hulme area of south Manchester, a specialist school which, according to its website, deals with students with 'social, emotional and mental health difficulties'.

Teams were searching the school for suspicious items, while witnesses reported seeing 10 police vans arriving in the area, and one local wrote online that they saw a man being 'pinned to the ground' by a team of officers.

Police placed a wide cordon around the college and Mancunian Way, one the main traffic routes through the city, was closed, but this has now been lifted.

Army bomb disposal teams arrive at a college in Hulme, South Manchester, as investigations continue

Police placed a wide cordon around the college and Mancunian Way, one the main traffic routes through the city, was closed

Witnesses reported seeing 10 police vans arriving in the area, and one local wrote online that they saw a man being 'pinned to the ground' by a team of officers

The raid took place at Castlefield Campus, in the Hulme area of south Manchester, a specialist school which, according to its website, deals with students with 'social, emotional and mental health difficulties'

Three roads were closed off in Hulme, south of Manchester city centre, this morning

Residents were forced to evacuate their homes as the dramatic operation unfolded, but it was later declared safe

Armed police wearing balaclavas blasted open the front door of a terraced house in Moss Side in an early-morning raid in connection with the Manchester Arena suicide bombing.

Neighbours said they were 'frightened to death' and 'terrified' as a controlled explosion took place at an address in Lindum Street at about 1.50am on Thursday.

Up to seven armed officers swooped on the address and shouted to concerned onlookers to stay away from their windows.

Lorna Reilly, 26, described being woken up by 'a massive bang'.

She said: 'The house shook. I ran to my front bedroom window and armed police were stood outside and one shouted 'back from the window'.

'I didn't see anything after that. I went into my back bedroom and stayed there. It was terrifying, I was shaking. I think it was the not knowing what that was going on.

'Then 10/15 minutes later everything went really quiet. I heard a door open outside so I decided to go down and have a look, and a detective - he was really nice - said there was nothing to worry about.'

Ms Reilly said her four-year-old son slept through the entire incident.

She also passed on her concerns to police at the scene about a lime green Seat Ibiza which has been parked near to the blast-damaged house since last week.

She said: 'I rang 101 on the Tuesday after what happened on Monday night because we know all the cars in the street and this one suddenly appeared during the night and has stayed there since.'

A police officer stands outside a door which has been smashed away following a controlled explosion in Moss Side, Manchester

The raid took place in the early hours of the morning but police are still guarding the scene as investigations continue

An explosion was heard by neighbours in the Moss Side area as GMP carry on raids all across the country

The vehicle remained at the scene on Thursday morning with uniformed officers guarding the front and rear of the red-brick property. No cordon was in place.

Ms Reilly said she knew 'absolutely nothing' about who lived at the property.

She said: ' I know the majority of people on the street. I think I saw a couple aged in their 30s or 40s last go in there about four to five weeks ago.'

A next-door neighbour to the damaged property said there had been 'lots of comings and goings of different people' there over the last two to three years.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said most had been young or middle-aged men of Middle Eastern appearance.

She said she thought the house was privately rented.

Parts of the debris from the blast had flown into her front doorway, she said.

She added: 'I heard a commotion and went to the window. I thought it was young boys messing about. I looked out and saw six or seven armed policemen with balaclavas on.

'I was frightened to death. They were shining lights up at me and at a car.

'I could hear military-style voices, like authority. I came away from the window. I didn't dare go back to the window after that so I didn't see if the police took anything out of the building.'

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: 'This morning we have been carrying out searches at an address in the Moss Side area during which a controlled explosion took place.

'These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage.'

One man was detained when officers searched a property in Withington, south Manchester.

A police officer stands on duty outside a residential property in Withington, Manchester, where a man was arrested

The house in Withington was being guarded throughout the morning following the raid

The suspect is believed to be a relative of the suicide bomber Salman Abedi, which would make him him the third member of the Abedi family to be in custody.

The killer's elder brother Ismail was held after being stopped in the street in Manchester while his father and younger brother were held by anti terror police in Tripoli, Libya.

Police in the war ravaged North African country said Hashem had been planning his own terror attack and had been briefed by his elder brother of the bomb plot over a month ago.

His father Ramadan is said to have links to an an al Qaeda-inspired terror group. The arrested man's name has not been confirmed but friends said he was Libyan and a father of three.

Local people said a man and woman lived there, with twin boys aged about four and an elder daughter aged between 10 and 15.

Sanghamitra Das, 35, said her children use the same nursery school as the woman who lives at the address and she had spoken to her at a local park.

She said: 'That lady is from Libya, once I had a chat, one-and-a-half months ago maybe, she said she came here six months before from Libya.

'She doesn't speak English, because she is not that good at English, her elder daughter was translating everything to me.

'I never see her husband coming to the school or park, ever.

'I think maybe they came here maybe they are refugees, actually I don't know their visa status.'

Another neighbour said police carrying 'big guns' went inside last night and this morning an officer stood guard outside the entrance.

Police and bomb disposal officers stood outside at a property in Wigan on Wedesnday afternoon

Police also carried out an armed raid on a block of flats in Blackley, in the north of the city, but she was released without charge.

Police swooped on a block of flats in the Blackley area of Manchester last night and a woman was held but later released

Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told a press conference that 'significant' progress has been made in the investigation, but also criticised the publication of intelligence in America.

'These have been an intense three days for the officers and staff of Greater Manchester Police, along with the National Counter Terrorist Policing Network and UK intelligence services,' he said.

'I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation.

'These searches will take several days to complete, as you would expect, therefore there will be some disruption. However, it is important that we continue with these searches.

'Alongside the investigation we have a team of specially trained officers who have been supporting the families of those who tragically lost their lives.

'Last night the family liaison officers shared with them the fact that intelligence had been leaked and published in the New York Times. It is absolutely understandable that this has caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.'

Salman Abedi (pictured) had only just returned from war-torn Libya before launching his horrific attack and is believed to have undergone secret jihadi training

Abedi's father, Ramadan, was himself arrested by masked gunmen in Tripoli this evening while recording TV interviews in the country

Ismail (pictured), the older brother of Salman, was arrested in south Manchester on Tuesday as the first of nine arrests in the UK

Abedi's younger brother Hashem (pictured) was arrested in Tripoli, Libya, on suspicion of having links to the ISIS, that claimed responsibility for the atrocity

Eighteen terror plots have been foiled since 2013, including five since the Westminster attack in March, a senior Whitehall source has said.

The Whitehall source said Salman Abedi was 'one of a larger pool of former subjects of interest whose risk remained subject to review' by the security service and its partners.

They added MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest at any one time.

Police also carried out an armed raid on a block of flats in Blackley, in the north of the city, and a woman was held but later released without charge.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'This morning we have been carrying out searches at an address in the Withington area and a man has been arrested.

'These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage.

'Another man has also been arrested in the Manchester area this morning in connection with the investigation, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight.

'A woman who was arrested in Blackley on Wednesday evening has since been released without charge.'

There was also an incident in Maida Vale, north London, where a bag is believed to have been left in a taxi

An incident outside Swansea Magistrates' Court was also deemed safe after an investigation this morning

This photo shows the aftermath of the suicide bomb which ripped through the foyer of the venue killing parents and children

There have also been incidents in Maida Vale, north London, where a bag is believed to have been left in a taxi, and outside Swansea Magistrates' Court, but both of these incidents have been declared safe.

Abedi's brother, Ismail, was the first person to be arrested in connection with the atrocity on Tuesday. He is still being questioned by detectives.

The explosive, which was packed in a 20 Karrimor backpack and taken to the Manchester Arena by suicide bomber Salman Abedi, was probably made by a team of professionals and could have been triggered remotely, investigators believe.

Photos of bloodstained fragments of the device leaked in the US last night show a piece of the bag which contained the bomb, the detonator and some of the nails and screws packed around it to cause maximum injury to young music fans and their parents.

Experts who have analysed the pictures believe the bomb could have been detonated by somebody else - a technique used by terror groups to avoid suicide bombers losing their nerve before blowing themselves up.

But it is possible Abedi did not set out to be a suicide bomber - and had intended to leave the bomb at the site - as ISIS's claim of responsibility does not mention 'martyrdom'.

Circuit boards found at the scene suggest the makers may have included a fail-safe mechanism, allowing it to be detonated remotely if not set off by Abedi.

Bloodied concertgoers were pictured being helped by armed police outside the arena after explosions rang out at the gig

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi carried the explosive in a metal container, believed to have been in a Karrimor backpack

Investigators found a destroyed 12-volt lead acid battery (pictured) after the attack in Manchester Arena, suggesting measures were taken to make sure the bomb didn't fail. It is thought the bomb was made by a professional

Pictures of pieces of the device, first published by the New York Times, emerged just hours after the UK Government issued a warning to US authorities not to release details of the terror investigation.

The newspaper reported that screws and shrapnel dispersed by the bomb were found deeply embedded in brick walls and metal doors, suggesting a very powerful blast.

Also leaked was a diagram showing the location of the bodies of those killed. The fact that they were found in a circle around where the bomb is believed to have gone off suggests the bomb was evenly-packed, experts say.

The leaked photos show the remains of a small detonator used to explode the bomb, which security specialists think is similar in design to those used in attack on Brussels last year.

Former army officer Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said the bomb suggested Abedi had 'significant help', adding: 'This is not something you can knock up in your back shed.'

He told MailOnline the unusual thing about the bomb was that it appeared to have two detonators, one held by Abedi and another controlled remotely, potentially by other members of Abedi's terror cell.

Mr de Bretton-Gordon, now director of Avon Protection Systems, said: 'I would suspect that they didn't have confidence he was going to go through with it. He might not even have known that it had a remote detonator or that they could blow him up themselves.'
The family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich believe his email was targeted by hacker Kim Dotcom in a malicious attempt to link him to the leak of thousands of emails that were provided to WikiLeaks last year.

Rich was shot dead as he walked home from a bar in Washington DC in July. Police say it was an attempted robbery and his killer has never been found.

In recent weeks, his grieving family has passionately fought a growing conspiracy theory that he was murdered for supplying thousands of DNC emails to WikiLeaks ahead of the election.

Kim Dotcom, the businessman-turned hacker, started the theory by tweeting that he knew who was in contact with Rich before his death and knew him to be the source of the leak.

It gained traction when Fox News host Sean Hannity had Dotcom on to his show to back up his claims.

The family of Seth Rich (left), the murdered DNC staffer, say notorious hacker Kim Dotcom (right) tried to hack into his gmail account this week to plant evidence to back up his claim that Seth was behind the DNC leak of thousands of emails

Fox retracted an article on the subject out of respect for the Rich family and other Democrats have slammed those breathing life in to the theory as 'disgusting'.

On Wednesday, The Washington Post published claims by the murdered 27-year-old's family that Dotcom tried to hack into his emails to plant evidence to back up his false claim.

The alleged attempt came by way of a request sent to Rich's gmail account from the email address welcome@mega.nz. Mega is the New Zealand-based cloud storage company that Dotcom used to work for and resigned from in 2013.

Rich's father, who has been monitoring his email account since his death, believes the invitation was an attempt to hack into the account and the family has consulted specialists.

Rich was shot in the back as he made his way home from a bar in July last year while working for the DNC

In a statement, they said; 'We are outraged that certain individuals continue to try to use Seths name and memory to advance their political and ideological agendas.

Sean Hannity was caught up in the scandal last week when he invited Dotcom onto his show to discuss his theory

'We hope people will think twice the next time someone makes an outlandish claim to have discovered new evidence in this case.'

Dotcom is standing by his theory and denies the accusation that he planted evidence.

'Several #fakenews stories today saying that I hacked the email accounts of #SethRich,' he wrote in one tweet.

He says the allegation that he tried to hack the gmail account is an attempt to cover up any involvement Rich ha.

Later, he said he was dedicated to 'solving' Rich's murder and has offered to submit material to former FBI Director Robert Mueller who has been assigned as a special prosecutor to investigate Russian interference in the US election and any ties they may have had with the Trump campaign.

The theory reportedly sparked 'complete panic' among senior DNC officials when it emerged last week.

The Rich family is begging for the conspiracy theory to be shut down. Pictured, his father Joel, mother Mary and brother Aaron

No evidence has been presented that Rich was in contact with WikiLeaks before his death.

The hack has been pinned to Russian cyber terrorists who were eager to down Hillary Clinton's chances of winning.

The result of it was a dump of emails, some 53,000, which were published en masse in the weeks before the election.
The family of a 15-year-old girl who is fighting for her life in intensive care have voiced their horror over the Manchester suicide bombing, which claimed the life of her best friend.

Laura MacIntyre was critically injured in Monday's blast, and remains in hospital.

She had travelled 400 miles to the Manchester Arena from Barra in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland with best friend Eilidh MacLeod to watch pop star Ariana Grande perform.

Eilidh, 14, who received the tickets as a birthday present, was killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi set off a device in the foyer, claiming 22 innocent lives.

Eilidh MacLeod (right) has become the latest teenage victim to be confirmed dead following the terror attack on Monday night. Her friend Laura MacIntyre (left) remains in hospital

Her parents today confirmed their daughter had died in the attack and said: 'Words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh.'

Laura's family revealed the 'funny and strong willed' teenager is still in intensive care.

In a statement, parents Michael and Nan said: Our daughter Laura is a funny and witty young girl who excels at everything she does.

Laura and her friend Eilidh were so looking forward to the concert, but that night has now ended in a tragedy where Eilidh has lost her life and Laura is in a critical condition.

Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh's family since we heard their news. We want to thank everybody for their support including the emergency services for all that they have done and continue to do.

We know that Laura is in the best possible place and is receiving the best care that she can.

Laura is strong-willed and a fighter, and while she continues this battle we ask that all media respect our privacy at this extremely difficult time.

Her parents today confirmed Eilidh (pictured) had died in the attack and said: 'Words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh'

FINAL VICTIM NAMED The final victim of the Manchester Arena terror attack has been named as 15-year-old Megan Hurley, a 'gentle and unassuming girl' who loved music and animals. She had attended the concert with her older brother Brad, 20, who was seriously injured in the attack. Her parents, Michael and Joanne, run a sandwich shop in Hunts Cross, in Liverpool, and are understood to be at their son's bedside as he recovers from the blast. On Thursday pupils at Megan's school Halewood Academy, could be seen standing in silence, paying their respects at a tribute of pink balloons lined at the entrance to the school. She was confirmed dead by her aunt Maxine Benson who said she was 'heartbroken' by the devastating news. Advertisement

In a statement, Eilidh's parents Roddy and Marion said: 'Our family is devastated and words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh.

'Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band.

'As a family we would like to express our thanks and gratitude for the support and kind messages we have received at this difficult time.'

Eilidh's mother Marion had travelled with the girls from the Isle of Barra and was due to meet them outside the arena.

When the show finished, Eilidh texted her mother to say they were ready to be collected. She was never heard from again.

Mrs Macleod and her husband Roddy mounted a frantic search of hotels and hospitals and was asked by police for detailed descriptions of the girls' clothing in a bid to help locate them.

Eilidhs great uncle, Donald Manford, had earlier described her as a vibrant young girl who took part in voluntary work on the island and was happy to give up her time to help the elderly.

As the couple, and Laura's parents Michael and Nan, arranged to fly to Manchester, islanders in the close-knit community of around 1,000 feared the worst.

The tiny island community of just 1,100 was gripped by grief as news of her death was announced. At Castlebay Community School, where Eilidh should have been sharing stories of her trip with classmates, the Saltire flew at half mast.

Pupils attended a special mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea church yesterday, and have been offered counselling.

The village of Castlebay ground to a halt when the church clock struck 11am as a minutes silence in remembrance of the victims was observed.

The community group Voluntary Action Barra and Vatersay had raised more than 28,000 last night from a fundraising page set up in the hours after Eilidhs death was announced.

It reads: The incident has left the communities of Barra and Vatersay deeply shocked, with heavy hearts. Show your support for the families and donate what you can.

Another fundraising page, set up on by family friend Alan Anderson, had raised more than 30,000.

Laura's father Michael said earlier that it was his daughter's first concert and a birthday present for Eilidh and the pair were 'big fans' of Ariana.
Gable Tostee has remained tight-lipped over his new Tinder conquests, telling KISS FM's Kyle and Jackie O: 'I don't kiss and tell anymore.'

Tostee appeared on the KIIS FM program with Sandilands and Jackie O in his first interview since being cleared of Warriena Wright's death.

But he was unusually reserved, replying 'no comment' to many of their questions.

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Appearing on the Kyle and Jackie O show on Tuesday, Tostee said he was approached by 'a lot of people' on the dating app Tinder

Tostee stood trial for the death of Ms Wright, a 26-year-old New Zealand tourist, after she fell 14 storeys to her death

Tostee stood trial for the death of Ms Wright, a 26-year-old New Zealand tourist after she fell 14 storeys to her death from his Gold Coast apartment.

The pair was on a first date after they met through dating app Tinder.

Tostee, who now goes by the name Eric Thomas, said on Thursday he has proved popular since resurfacing on the dating app and has been approached by 'a lot of people' since his sensational rise to infamy.

He said 'a lot of people don't mention' the incident and wonders 'do they recognise me or know who I am?'

'Some might not bring it up out of politeness, sometimes it's an elephant in the room.'

Tostee said he was approached by women on Tinder who had 'done their research on the case'.

'A lot of people who have approached me in a friendly way have done their research, they've read the transcripts, listened to the audio,' he said.

Tostee said the audio recording he made the night of Ms Wright's death played a role in his acquittal.

He said everyone should secretly record their interactions.

'Some might not bring it up out of politeness, sometimes it's an elephant in the room.'

When KIIS 1065 host Kyle Sandilands (left and Jackie O right) asked Tostee, 30, how many people he had sex with from the dating app, he said 'no comment'

Tostee appears to be holding three water bottles as he is pictured outside the KIIS FM studio on Thursday

Tostee (left and right) appeared at the KIIS studio on Thursday in a conservative black button up and blue jeans

Gable Tostee and Warriena Wright inside his 14th floor Surfers Paradise apartment just hours before the New Zealand tourist plummeted to her death from the balcony on August 8, 2014

'It's good practice to cover yourself, it's so easy to hit record and leave your phone in your pocket, as I have in the past,' he said.

'Footage can save people.

'I recommend everyone does it.'

Tostee said he had no regrets about audio recordings he made and said he wished he made more.

'I wish I had video cameras in there,' he said.

Tostee said he had no regrets about audio recordings he made and said he wished he made more during his date with Warriena Wright

Gable Tostee reacts as he leaves the Supreme Court after jurors found him not guilty of killing New Zealand tourist Warriena Wright, whom he met via the dating app Tinder on the Gold Coast in 2014

Tostee told KIIS he was the victim of online abuse from people who were ignorant to 'the facts'.

'People who say 'stay away from this creep, he's devoid of feelings, be warned'. Some people have suggested chopping me up into little pieces, pulling my fingernails off, psychopathic stuff,' he said.

He said he took offence to the harsh online comments.

'It absolutely disgusts me and confuses me and it continually perplexes me how people can sit behind a screen pointing the finger and not knowing the facts,' he said.

An image of a photograph tendered to court of Gable Tostee's injuries take by police on August 8, 2014

Tostee defended his own social media presence which proved controversial since his acquittal.

Highlighting a Facebook post he made on March 8, Tostee said it was just 'a joke'.

'I make a joke about International Women's Day. I put a post on my Facebook saying 'Happy International Women's Day to all my hoes', it was obviously a joke,' he said.

Gable Tostee leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Thursday, October 20

Kyle Sandilands told Tostee his appearance on the radio show was prompted by another social media post he made in April.

On April 24 Tostee said: 'Since the media seems so infatuated with me, instead of making misleading fake news stories every time I scratch my back, I challenge any outlet to hold a live, unedited discussion with me. I'll bet they are too chicken shit'.

In response to his post, Mr Sandilands said 'we stepped up to the plate'.

Regardless of his live interview, Tostee urged people not to trust the media.

'The media is not there to inform, it's there to make a profit,' he said.

Tostee told KIIS he was the victim of online abuse from people who were ignorant to 'the facts'

The interview received a huge backlash from listeners online.

'He is appalling! The fact he shows no regret or sympathy for anyone except himself! I'm calling it now, narcissistic personality disorder,' one person said.

'When he requoted his Facebook quote you could see him smirking... what a despicable evil man,' another said.

Listeners took to Twitter to express their frustrations with the interview on Thursday

Others called out the radio station for giving Tostee 'air time'.

'Gable Tostee given air time on Kyle and Jackie O is gorss. Jackie didn't look impressed but Kyle 'yep yep I get it',' one person said.

'Kyle and Jackie O, disappointed with your choice to give Gable Tostee a voice and possibly profiting from the terrible death of a young woman,' they said.
Military forces in Taiwan have today simulated a 'Chinese invasion' as part of live-fire war games amid rising tensions with Beijing.

The drills held annually are Taiwan's biggest military exercise and mock up a scenario in which Chinese troops launched an amphibious assault.

The nation is boosting its firepower to counteract the risk of military threat from China.

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Taiwan conducted live-fire war games in its biggest annual military exercise on May 25

Watching over: The military drill was presided over by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen

Attack helicopters fired missiles and jet fighters including eight F-16s dropped bombs

The simulated invasion took place today on the outlying Penghu Islands which sit in the strait that separates Taiwan from China.

Attack helicopters fired missiles and jet fighters including eight F-16s dropped bombs in the waters south of the archipelago to 'repel the enemy.'

Taiwan's defence ministry has warned of rising military threat from China, which still sees Taiwan as part of its territory.

China has said in the past that it should be unified with Taiwan, by force if necessary.

Preparing for attack: The simulated invasion took place today on the outlying Penghu Islands

Taiwan's defence ministry has warned of rising military threat from China

The island has been boosting its firepower to counteract the possibility of an attack. It has launched its first ever home-grown submarine project and has built a new generation of jet trainers.

President Tsai Ing-wen presided over the drills and emphasised the importance of building up Taiwan's defence industry.

She said while overseeing the exercise: 'When Taiwan shows its determination to take the road of defensive autonomy, it is putting on a display to the world of our determination to protect our home and land.'

Relations with China and Tsai Ing-wen have deteriorated as she is seen as pro independence. Tsai refuses to acknowledge that both sides belong to 'one China'.

Taiwan is expected to continue the war games for the next week.
He's the world's most iconic big wave surfer, but Laird Hamilton may still have a way to go in the realm of science.

The Hawaiian athlete has made waves by weighing in on the threat of sharks after a spate of attacks in California, reports TMZ.

Hamilton downplayed the danger, with the exception of women on their period  in which case he said swimming was like walking through a storm with a lightning rod.

Laird Hamilton has weighed in on the threat of sharks with some bizarre comments

'The biggest most common reason to be bitten is a woman with her period,' Hamilton said.

'Obviously if a woman has her period there's a certain amount of blood in the water.'

The 53-year-old then compared the danger of a shark attack to being struck by lightning on a clear, blue day.

'The chances of you getting bit are greater than you getting stuck by lightning on a day like today,'

Hamilton downplayed the danger for beachgoers, with the exception of women on their period

Hamilton, the world's most iconic big wave surfer, surfing in the norious waters of Teahupoo

'So, obviously if you're a fisherman with bloody fish in the water, or you're in a position where you're mistaken for a seal, these are all incidents to increase your odds.

'It's kind of like running around with a lightning rod and wondering why you were stuck by lightning.'

A 2015 report found that since 1941 there have been 1132 recorded shark attacks in Australia, of which 968 involved men, and only 64 women.

Any correlation between the attacks and the time of the month remains to be seen.
Schapelle Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose is still convinced her youngest daughter is innocent of drug smuggling as she prepares to welcome the 39-year-old home from Bali.

Schapelle Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose, pictured, still claims her daughter is innocent

Ms Rose revived claims the Australian Federal Police and the Federal Government had withheld proof of her daughter's innocence.

Corby, 39, is set to be deported from Bali on the weekend after her parole ends for smuggling 4.1kg of cannabis in a boogie board bag in 2004.

Ms Rose claims former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty, ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and former Customs Minister Chris Ellison all knew the truth about her Corby's innocence.

'Why don't you ask Mick Keelty and Downer and Ellison why they kept vital information about the boogie board bag and the airport?' Ms Rose asked reporters on Thursday.

'They know Schapelle was innocent.'

Lawyers for Corby claimed in 2005 that she'd been unknowingly used as a courier by organised interstate drug smugglers.

Mr Keelty said in March 2005 an affidavit naming three baggage handlers as those who had planted the drugs was 'hearsay' that contained no direct evidence to Corby's case.

The mother claims former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty, ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and former Customs Minister Chris Ellison all knew the truth about her Corby's, pictured, innocence

The mother is preparing for the woman to come home after being imprisoned for drug smuggling after she was found with cannabis in her boogie board bag in 2004

Schapelle Corby in tears after reading her defence submission at the Denpasar District Court for her sentencing where she was handed down 20 years for the crime

Ms Rose has also expressed her concern about how her daughter will adjust to life back in Australia more than a decade after her arrest.

'When she gets here and settles in, we'll just have to make sure we get her out and about,' she told The Courier-Mail on Thursday.

She said Schapelle had been holed up in her Bali home because of the media attention.

'We'll be trying to get her back into the swing of things so she feels confident.'

She said no media deal had been made for Corby to discuss her return to Australia, but would not rule out one in the future.

Corby will now have to readjust to life in Australia after being an inmate at one of Indonesia's most notorious prisons

Corby was arrested at Denpasar airport with 4.2kg of high-grade cannabis in her bodyboard bag - she always maintained it wasn't hers

Corby stands behind the bars in the holding cell at Denpasar District Court August 25, 2006

It also hasn't been determined where she will stay once she returns. Her mother lives in Loganlea, south of Brisbane, and sister Mercedes lives on the Gold Coast.

She said Schapelle had 'mixed emotions' about returning to Australia.

But Ms Rose, who has not seen Schapelle in person for two years, is thrilled she is coming home.

'I'm getting excited now - it's been 12-and-a-half years coming,' she said.

Corby was sentenced to 20 years' in Bali's notorious Kerobokan jail before being released on parole in February 2014.

The home Corby will leave behind when she leaves Bali on the weekend

When the 39-year-old gets home she'll want to stroll along the beach with the sand between her toes, perhaps chow into a hamburger and chips - and relax with her family.

That's according to two authors who have had rare access to the Bali drug identity over the years, who spoke to Daily Mail Australia just days before Ms Corby's deportation from Indonesia.

Their remarks came as happy pictures surfaced of Schapelle's biggest supporter, Mercedes, sipping espresso martinis with her coterie of Indonesian friends on Wednesday - a celebration ahead of a seismic change in her younger sister's life.

The family's 'excited' matriarch, Rosleigh Rose, has also hinted a big celebration might be on the cards after Schapelle finally touches down in Queensland at the weekend.

Mercedes Corby this week met with some girlfriends for cocktails, posting pictures on the happy encounter on Thursday morning

Mercedes and friends tuck into a scrumptious dinner at a Kuta restaurant this week

Speaking on Thursday, Kathryn Bonella, who co-wrote Schapelle's autobiography My Story, said hitting the beach would likely be a big priority for the convict, home at last.

'The thing was, when she was in jail, was 'I can't wait to feel the sand between my toes,' she said.

But Ms Bonella said that really, the 'homebody' former prisoner will just want to spend time with her family.

'Her family is everything. They're such a close family. They got her through this... Mercedes has been such a godsend'.

Speaking to the Courier Mail this week, Ms Rose foreshadowed a possible huge celebration for her daughter.

'What do you think?' an 'excited' Ms Rose told the Queensland newspaper - reportedly with a smile - when asked if the family were planning a big party.

The family do like a good party - with social media littered with pictures of Rosleigh and Schapelle's mother having a good time on a Hawaiian holiday last year.

Another author, Tony Wilson, who wrote Schapelle: The Final Chapter, said he believed Schapelle's first meal would be something quintessentially Australian like a hamburger and chips.

Corby books: Her autobiography, 'My Story', with Kathryn Bonella (left), and right, Schapelle The Final Chapter Coming Home, New Holland Publishers RRP$32.99

'I'm guessing it's an Aussie hamburger and chips - and she'll probably look forward to walking along Tugun beach with the sand between her toes. She thought about that a lot.'

Ms Bonella argued that while readjusting to Australia would be difficult, it pales into comparison with what she's been through.

'She's been to hell and back!' she said. 'She lived in Hotel K, Kerokoban prison.

'She shared a cell with up to fifteen people, with one single squat toilet, caged in like an animal for years and years.

Party time! Schapelle's brother Michael and mother Rosleigh pose for photographs during a trip to the Pacific isles during the last Australian winter

'Yes, it's going to be a difficult transition out of jail,' she said.

She will have to adjust to an Australia that has radically changed, and has a very different climate.

'But shes been in Bali and she has to be careful with what she says, what she does.

'(Now) she's going to be free of all that. Really free.

For Schapelle's final stretch, the clan has split up - with Ms Rose remaining behind in Queensland while Mercedes and brother Michael live with the parolee.

The Corby clan did not respond to Daily Mail Australia's requests for comment this week.
A Lorna Jane area manager has denied bullying a staff member who is suing the brand for $500,000.

Amy Robinson has taken the brand to the Brisbane District Court and is seeking damages over claims area manager Megan McCarthy bullied her via social media and fat-shamed her between July and December 2012.

In February, Ms Robinson told the court, Ms McCarthy instructed her to skip lunch, questioned whether she should be eating certain foods, and unfairly assigned tasks that resulted in physical injuries and caused problems with child-care arrangements.

Amy Robinson (pictured) was a former store manager at Lorna Jane and is suing the company for $500,000 in the Brisbane District Court

Amy Robinson leaving Brisbane District Court claims she was bullied on social media while working in 2012

Lorna Jane company has strongly rejected Ms Robinson's claims.

Giving evidence before Judge Gregory Koppenol on Thursday, Ms McCarthy repeatedly denied remarking about Ms Robinson's age, appearance and eating habits.

She told the court Ms Robinson 'seemed happy' when she started.

'She was great, Amy loved her role,' Ms McCarthy said.

Amy Robinson (pictured) is suing Lorna Jane for $500,000

Lorna Jane is the driver behind self-titled global activewear brand Lorna Jane

Lorna Jane Clarkson in front of her global active living retail shop

But she later became intimidating, called Ms McCarthy a 'bitch', and hung up on her during a phone conversation, the court heard.

'I was quite offended by it,' Ms McCarthy said.

Ms Robinson, who ran a Lorna Jane store at the Brisbane Airport DFO, said among the weight-related bullying she was also called a 'generator'.

The term relates to a Facebook post Ms McCarthy made in September 2012 after her first day back at work following a three-week holiday in Thailand.

'I have discovered a new name for the people I despise - I call them 'generators' purely because they fill their days generating more problems for me to deal with,' she posted.

Lorna Jane is a growing global female activewear retailer

'Generators are similar to mutants - people who are genuinely oxygen thieves.'

Ms Robinson said she thought the comment was directed at her and believed Ms McCarthy wanted her dead.

But Ms McCarthy denied it was aimed at anyone specifically and told the court she wasn't Facebook friends with Ms Robinson.

'I posted it as a venting of me being frustrated at work,' she said.

'I thought only my friends could see it.'

The trial continues.
Whether private schools that disciminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students should get vouchers is a decision best left to states, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Wednesday.

But its not clear whether DeVos was referring to proposed federal voucher programs or existing state vouchers.

Her statement came in response to a question from Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass, during a House subcommittee hearing on the U.S. Department of Educations budget proposal , which would cut or elimate many programs and direct $1.4 billion to expand school choice, including a program to research and expand vouchers.

Clark referred to Lighthouse Christian Academy, a private school in Indiana that recieves state vouchers. They are also clear in their handbook and their guidance that if you are from a family where there is homosexual or bisexual activity, their word not mine, or practicing alternate gender identity, you may be denied admissions, Clark said. If this school, which obviously is approved to discriminate against LGBT students in Indiana, if Indiana applies for this federal funding, will you stand up that this school be open to all students?

In her answer, DeVos sought to pivot to her thoughts on school choice more generally, but Clark interrupted her.

Is there a line for you on states when it comes to equality? You are the backstop for students and their right to access equal education, Clark said.

For states that have programs that allow parents to make choices, they set up the rules around that, DeVos said.

So thats a no. Do you see any circumstance where the federal department of education under your leadership would say that a school was not qualified? Clark asked. She also asked DeVos about a school that hypothetically would not admit African-American studentsif that was okay with the state, could it receive federal voucher money?

After some additional back and forth, DeVos dodged, sharing her broader philosophy of school choice.

The bottom line is we believe that parents are the best equipped to make choices for their students schooling and education, she said. And too many children today are trapped in schools that dont work for them. We have to do something different. We have to do something different than continuing a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach... and states and local communities are best equipped to make these decision and frameworks on behalf of their students.

There is some ambiguity in DeVoss response that some media outlets did not acknowledge.

Its clear that Clark was asking if federal anti-discrimination laws would apply to schools that recieve federal voucher funding. This has been a concern for critics of the Trump administration, who argue that it has de-emphasized civil rights.

Whats not clear is whether DeVos was describing the rules for a new federal program or for existing state voucher programs. Existing state programs are not beholden to federal anti-discrimination laws. And, as my colleague Christina Samuels has written, students with disabilities waive some their IDEA rights when they accept state vouchers to attend private schools.

But advocates for LBGT students are concerned about the Trump administrations approach to their rights and into civil rights in general after it rescinded guidance on the rights of transgender students and signaled a less aggressive approach to enforcement.

You can watch the whole exchange here:

Further reading about civil rights, LGBT students, and vouchers:

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A brave first aider has tearfully described the moment he battled in vain to save the youngest victim of the Manchester terror attack.

Saffie, eight, was close to the foyer when bomber Salman Abedi detonated an improvised explosive device which killed 22 people - including eight teenagers.

Forklift truck driver Paul Reid, 43, had been at the Ariana Grande concert and sprinted back into Manchester Arena after hearing the bomb go off.

Mr Reid picked up the dying girl, from Tarleton, Lancashire, who called out for her mother and he tried to calm her down during the chaos on Monday night.

Saffie Roussos (pictured) became the youngest victim of the Manchester terror attack

Forklift truck driver Paul Reid, 43, (left) picked up Saffie, from Leyland, Lancashire, in his arms

Mr Reid (pictured), from Darlaston, West Midlands, added that Saffie 'did not cry one tear'

He has described the 'devastating' moment he saw people's bodies strewn across the floor just inside the doors of the 21-000 capacity venue.

Speaking through tears, Mr Reid, from Darlaston, West Midlands, told The Sun: 'She was a dying little girl and she just wanted her mum. It was devastating.'

He was one of the first people to alert the police to the atrocity and described seeing a 'boom' before smoke started to fill the room.

'I knew it had been a bomb'

Mr Reid, who has had first aid training, added: 'I ran back up the stairs and I was actually looking for a terrorist. I knew it had been a bomb.

'People were shouting, running and screaming. I will never forget the sounds. Inside the hall was absolute chaos. There were people lying all over the place.

'I looked at my phone, it was 10.32. I dialled 999 and was telling the woman, "Just send everything and anybody to the Manchester Arena, a big thing has happened".

'I must have been one of the first callers because it was seconds after the bomb went off.

'There were people dead everywhere and people running in a panic towards the train station.'

It comes as the youngster's heartbroken family placed a teddy bear outside their fish and chip shop with a card attached on the front in Leyland, Lancashire, today.

'Happy memories will help to keep you near'

The heartfelt message read: 'In memory of a special daughter.

'It's sometimes hard to know why some things happen as they do for so much joy and happiness was centered around you.

'It seems so hard to comprehend that you're no longer here but all the happy memories will help to keep you near.

'You're thought of often, Daughter, with each mention of your name death cannot change a single thing the love will still remain.'

Her parents left a teddy bear outside the family's fish and chip shop in Leyland, Lancashire

Dozens of colourful floral tributes to Saffie Rose Roussos were placed outside her Greek-Cypriot father Andreas's fish and chip shop in Leyland, Lancashire

PARENTS MESSAGE IN MEMORY OF THEIR 'SPECIAL DAUGHTER' The youngster's heartbroken parents placed a teddy bear outside their fish and chip shop with a card attached on the front in Leyland, Lancashire, today. The heartfelt message read: 'In memory of a special daughter. 'It's sometimes hard to know why some things happen as they do for so much joy and happiness was centered around you. 'It seems so hard to comprehend that you're no longer here but all the happy memories will help to keep you near. 'You're thought of often, Daughter, with each mention of your name death cannot change a single thing the love will still remain.' Advertisement

Mr Reid recalled the moment he saw Saffie, who attended the event with her mother Lisa and her half-sister Ashlee Bromwich, 25.

Her mother is in intensive care, and may not know her daughter was killed.

Mr Reid added: 'I saw the little girl was conscious and I said, "What's your name?"

'I thought she said Sophie. When I asked her how old she was she said she was eight.

'I wanted to keep her talking and asked her if she had enjoyed the concert but then I realised she was having difficulty breathing.

'I cannot bear to think about it'

'She said "where's my mum?" I said to her "I don't know but we are going to find her in a minute. Don't worry, we are going to sort it out. You are going to be all right".'

He later wept while describing seeing a teenage girl who was dying just a few feet away from him on the floor.

Mr Reid added: 'She kept drifting into unconsciousness. I cannot bear to think about it. Then she started shivering and told me she felt cold. I took my coat off and put it over her but she was still shaking a bit.'

He then made a stretcher with police officers using an advertising board and placed the youngster on it.

She was placed in ambulance and he said that he will 'never forget her'.

People left flowers and messages outside the family's fish and chip shop after it was revealed the youngster had died

Locals gathered outside the chip shop to pay their respects to the eight-year-old girl who lost her life

Mr Reid told the BBC: 'She (Saffie) never cried one tear. She was there, I spoke to her, talked to her and comforted her.

'She was asking for her mother and saying what had happened and I said that she would be all right and not to worry.

'We had to get her to hospital and then we put her into an ambulance. I just can't believe it.'

Her mother is still in hospital

A family friend of tragic Saffie also described her father as 'completely broken.'

The group were due to be collected by Saffie's Greek Cypriot dad Andreas - known as Andrew - on Monday.

Family friend Salman Patel, 33, works at the Post Office as a counter clerk opposite the family home in Leyland.

Mr Patel said: 'Andrew is completely broken and last night he was in the chip shop but I didn't speak to him.'

People left flowers outside close to Saffie's home in Tarleton, Lancashire, from Wednesday morning

A heartfelt tribute stands outside a shop in the centre of the Lancashire village of Tarleton

He said he understood Ashlee is recovering well, even though she is still suffering from 'shock'.

But he could not confirm if Lisa was still in a coma but previously said it was understood that she was unaware her daughter is dead.

Mr Patel added: 'I know the girls quite well, they would come into the shop and buy sweets.

'I was disappointed, these things are unacceptable. These things really annoy me, she was just a little girl.

'I spoke to Andrew just last week, we see each other every day. The other daughter is fine now, she's injured and is still in shock.

'She was a really nice girl, I have seen her playing outside the chippy on her scooter and with other girls in the local area. They are in my prayers.'
A homeless man who rushed to help the injured and dying following the Manchester bomb blast says 'I'm not a hero, just a person.'

Rough sleeper Stephen Jones revealed how he pulled nails out of a little girl's face after terrorist Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured 119 when he detonated a nail bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.

Mr Jones, who had been sleeping nearby, recalled watching in horror as children covered in blood began pouring out of the arena, leaving behind 'lifeless' bodies surrounded by 'hysterical' mothers.

Mr Jones has now told MailOnline: 'People are saying I'm a hero, but I'm not - I'm just a person. There were people in suits who are meant to be the pillars of society who were walking over dead children.

'Us homeless guys, we get slagged off all the time over this, that and the other. But we were the first ones in there to help.

Rough sleeper Stephen Jones revealed how he pulled nails out of a little girl's face after terrorist Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured 119 when he detonated a nail bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena

On Tuesday West Ham's owner and his son vowed to pay for Mr Jones's rent for six months to thank him for helping the victims of the Manchester suicide bombing.

The club's co-chairman David Sullivan and his son Dave Jnr revealed they wanted to help reward Mr Jones, 35, for his selfless actions.

Dave Jnr tweeted: 'Me and dad want to rent the homeless man in Manchester a house for 6 months to help him get on his feet.

'If anyone can help us get in touch much much appreciated. Such a selfless act needs rewarding. Please tag anyone who can help us.'

Just a few hours later and with the help of social media and Manchester's Booth Centre, a day centre which helps the city's homeless, the pair managed to successfully track Mr Jones down.

Dave Jnr wrote: 'WE HAVE FOUND STEVE! Shows the power for good social media has. Thank you to all those involved, you have helped change a mans life.'

Now West Ham's co-chairman David Sullivan and his son Dave Jnr have revealed they want to help reward Mr Jones, 35, for his selfless actions - while Mr Parker's estranged mother has come forward to say she wants to be reunited with her hero son

Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Jones said: 'I'm overwhelmed by the support and help, and that people have been setting up money for me. It's incredible.

'I've just been on Skype to the West Ham guy, he was in his Bentley in London.

'We've been having a chat and stuff. He said that he would pay me for six months on a place here, if I find a private landlord.

'Next season when United play West Ham or City he's going to have me as his guest of honour in his box or fly me down to London to watch it there.

Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Jones said: 'I'm overwhelmed by the support and help, and that people have been setting up money for me. It's incredible'

'I want to stay here in Manchester. I've had lot of calls from people who have set pages up for me get me own place. I've got no family but my nana. She had a male friend who I want to stay near and with.

'This is why we love Manchester the support that everyone gives. It's incredible.'

Later he spoke to ITV's This Morning. He said: 'I was sleeping outside the Arena that night, and I heard a first bang which I thought was a firecracker, and then heard a big explosion and felt the shockwave of the explosion.

'Well me and my friend, we got up and ran at first, then we realised we had to go back and help people. We could see kids with blood on them. The mums were more frantic than the kids were.'

He added: 'People do look at homeless people and tarnish all with the same brush and think that we haven't got a heart. I saw people stepping over children that night, stepping over them to get away and leaving children, and to me that wasn't the right thing to be done.'

When asked about recent job offers and the help he is now receiving from the public after his good deed, Stephen said: 'While I've been waiting here, I've had people stop to shake my hand and people asking me for selfies! So compared to being sat there and no one takes any notice of you, it's weird, it's different and yes, I'm meeting somebody today for a restaurant interview.'

Before adding, 'I'm really pleased my love goes out to them all [that have put together Just Giving pages] thank you very much and for all the kind comments, I did what anyone else would've done I suppose.'

Another homeless man, Chris Parker, was begging in the stadium foyer when he heard the explosion. He described in graphic detail cradling a young girl who had been separated from her parents and lost both her legs in the blast.

Yesterday Mr Parker's estranged mother has come forward to say she wants to be reunited with her hero son.

Homeless man Stephen Jones, 35, has recalled the haunting moment he pulled nails and shards of glass from the faces of dying children in wake of Manchester Arena terror attack

Dave Jnr tweeted: 'Me and dad want to rent the homeless man in Manchester a house for 6 months to help him get on his feet'

Mr Parker's mother Jessica, 57, contacted the M.E.N. after spotting the story - and her son's picture - on Facebook.

She said she had no idea he was homeless after losing contact with him a few years ago. She is now pleading for help to get back in touch with her son and is planning to travel to Manchester from her home in Norfolk to see him.

She used to live in Walkden in Salford with Chris and her other son before moving back to her home county of Norfolk.

Jessica lost touch with Chris some years ago - and had no idea he was sleeping rough on the streets of Manchester.

She told the M.E.N: 'Chris sporadically gets in touch, but I haven't heard from him for a while. When I saw the story about what he had done and how brave he had been, I was floored. I was so proud.

'I thought 'that's my boy'. I just want to talk to him - and I want to meet up with him. I was totally shocked when I saw the stories about Chris, but I knew it was something he'd do.

'He's fallen on hard times, but he has a heart of gold. I'm so proud of how brave he was trying to help people.'

Chris Parker, described cradling a young girl who had lost both of her legs as he waited for paramedics to arrive, is pictured here as a boy

Jessica Parker - her son Chris helped victims of the terrorist attack in Manchester

Mr Jones, who has been homeless for over a year and used to work as a bricklayer, spoke to ITV about Monday evening's horrific events.

'We were having to pull nails and bits of glass out of their arms and faces,' he told ITV News. 'We haven't slept most of the night because of what we've seen.'

'I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I'd just walked away. Just because I'm homeless, it doesn't mean I haven't got a heart.

'There's a lot of good people in Manchester who help us out and we need to give back too. I'd like to think someone would come and help me if I needed the help.'

Mr Parker selflessly raced towards the blast and described holding a young girl who had lost both of her legs while he waited for paramedics to arrive.

'It knocked me to the floor and then I got up and instead of running away my gut instinct was to run back and try and help,' he told the Press Association.

'We haven't slept most of the night because of what we've seen': Mr Jones spoke humbly about his bravery

'There was people lying on the floor everywhere. I saw a little girl - she had no legs. I wrapped her in one of the merchandise T-shirts and I said 'where is your mum and daddy?' She said 'my dad is at work, my mum is up there.'

He said he thought the child's mother had died from her injuries following the incident which left at least 119 people injured.

Mr Parker, who has slept rough in the city for about a year, said he also tended to a woman aged in her 60s who was badly hurt from the bombing with serious leg and head injuries.

He said: 'She passed away in my arms. She was in her 60s and said she had been with her family. I haven't stopped crying. The most shocking part of it is that it was a kids' concert.

Supporters have given generously in a bid to help the homeless heroes get back on their feet (left, Chris Parker page, right, Stephen Jones page)

A suicide bomber detonated an improvised device inside Manchester Arena on Tuesday night, killing at least 22 people and injuring 119. A man is pictured holding onto a young girl outside the stadium after explosion

A police officer comforts a woman outside the Manchester Arena following the terror attack
Donald Trump vowed to 'get to the bottom' of US leaks about the Manchester bombing probe today.

The pledge came after Theresa May warned that the flagrant breaches were undermining the Special Relationship.

Mr Trump, who is in Brussels for a Nato summit where the two leaders are due to hold talks, said the leaks posed a 'grave threat' to American national security and he would ensure the culprit was found.

Earlier, the Prime Minister told reporters that the Transatlantic ties were 'built on trust' in a pointed rebuke.

A major row has broken out over the leaks, with UK police temporarily stopping sharing intelligence about the terror investigation with our closest ally.

Highly sensitive images of the blood-smeared remnants of attacker Salman Abedi's backpack and a diagram showing precisely where his victims died were handed to a US newspaper.

The US President and Theresa May were positioned next to each other at the unveiling of memorials at the new Nato HQ today

Mrs May and Mr Trump found time to share a joke as they attended the ceremony today

Mrs May was among the leaders gathered as Mr Trump unveiled memorials to 9/11 and the Berlin Wall at Nato's new HQ

The US and UK premiers were seen deep in conversation at the Nato event today

It is understood American law enforcement agencies had the pictures for only a matter of hours before they were leaked to a journalist from the New York Times.

Mrs May told reporters the Special Relationship was the 'deepest defence and security partnership that we have' and it was 'built on trust'.

'Part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure,' she added.

Mr Trump said there was 'no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom'.

'The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,' he said.

'These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this.

'SOPHISTICATED' BOMB USED BY ABEDI Detonator: The sophisticated device may have been triggered remotely Bomber Salman Abedi carried his bomb in a common Karrimor rucksack which was triggered with a switch held in his left hand, leaked crime scene photographs suggest. Experts who analysed the photographs last night said that the mechanisms raised the possibility that someone else could have detonated the explosives for Abedi  which could explain why Islamic State did not describe his barbaric attack as a suicide. The photographs, which were leaked to the New York Times, were described as 'law enforcement' images  apparently leaked after being shared between British and US security agencies. Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former head of the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment for the Army, said its 'sophistication' pointed to an Islamic State device. He said: 'The sophistication of this is absolutely key. Of all the detonators I've seen in Syria, this one leads me to believe it is the handiwork of IS.' The photographs also showed the metal nuts and screws that were blasted out of the bag, turning them into deadly shrapnel. And police found the remnants of a Yuasa 12 volt, 2.1amp lead acid battery, said to be more powerful  and, at 12, more expensive  than batteries found in other suicide bombs. The batteries, which are similar to a small car battery in appearance, are sometimes used to power emergency lighting. The evidence helps to explain why the security services are so convinced Abedi had travelled to a conflict zone in which he received training and was part of a wider terrorist cell. Advertisement

'The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security.

'I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was 'confident' that the breaches would now stop and the suspension of intelligence-sharing would be temporary.

She said: 'Greater Manchester Police and the counter-terrorism police have taken a view. We hope that it is just going to be temporary, but it has been worrying, the leaks.

'But we are confident that will now end.'

Speaking at Downing Street earlier today, Mrs May said the terror threat level would remain at critical.

Addressing the issue of the leaks, she said: 'I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.'

Whitehall sources said there was an investigation into who was behind the leaks after another US media outlet had been told the name of the killer hours before British police had raided his home.

A spokesman for Counter Terrorism Policing, the body that includes the police, security and intelligence agencies, tweeted: 'Unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major investigation undermines our work.'

There are concerns the leaks could do lasting damage to one of the closest intelligence-sharing relationships in the world.

Mr Trump unveiled a memorial to the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington at the new Nato headquarters today.

In a tough message in a speech to the assembled leaders, he warned that terrorism 'must be stopped or ... the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever'.

He said the unveiling of the memorial is 'a day for both remembrance and resolve'.

'We will never waiver in our determination to defeat terrorism and achieve lasting security, prosperity and peace,' he said.

In an unprecedented move, the British Attorney General, National Security Adviser and senior security officials and police officers have all raised their fury with their US counterparts.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: 'These leaks are completely unacceptable and must stop immediately.

'This behaviour is arrogant and is undermining the investigation into the horrific attack on the city of Manchester.'

Mr Trump and Mrs May are expected to discuss the damaging US leaks about the Manchester bombings later

Donald Trump, pictured at the Nato summit in Brussels today, has vowed to 'get to the bottom of' leaks about the Manchester bombing

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said he shared the 'anger and disbelief' over the leaks.

'I think the UK Government is right to, hopefully for a short period, stop sharing intelligence information like this with the American government,' she said.

A statement from the National Police Chiefs Council said: 'We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world.

Mrs May arrived in Brussels on the official government plane today for the Nato summit

The PM has been accompanied by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon (seen descending the steps behind her)

Mrs May has said she wants to focus Nato's efforts on improving the security situation

Arriving at the Nato summit in Brussels today, Theresa May said the special relationship was based on 'trust'

Donald Trump was welcomed by EU council president Donald Tusk as he arrived in Belgium today for the Nato summit

'These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information, that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

'When that trust is breached, it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

'This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation.'

NEW YORK TIMES DEFENDS LEAKED BOMB PHOTOS The publication of leaked evidence photographs from the scene of the Manchester terror attack was 'neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims', the New York Times said today. Images believed to have been handed to the paper by US police officials caused outrage when they surfaced on yesterday. The New York Times said in a statement: 'The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes. 'We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories. Our coverage of Monday's horrific attack has been both comprehensive and responsible.' Advertisement

Lord Carlile, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, described the leaks as 'very unusual and irresponsible' and called for those responsible to be 'called to account'.

'Photos of the backpack after the event could be of utility to future bomb makers, for obvious reasons,' he said.

'Also, it damages decades of confidence between the UK and US services, the cohesion of the 'Five Eyes' group, and sharing of information with French, German and other security services.

'These leaks made yesterday a very bad day for national security in several countries, and those responsible should be called to account.'

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Blair said the leak of images from the attack was a 'grievous breach' although something similar had happened after the London 7/7 bombings.

Lord Blair, who was head of the Metropolitan Police during the deadly 2005 attacks, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I'm afraid it just reminds me exactly of what happened after 7/7 when the United States published a complete picture of the way the bombs in 7/7 had been made up.

'And we had the same protests. It's a different world in which the United States operate in the sense of how they publish things, and this is a very grievous breach, but I'm afraid it's the same as before.'

The photographs, published in the New York Times last night, came just hours after the Government warned the US authorities not to leak details of the Manchester terror investigation.

Shrapnel: Tightly packed nuts and screws caused horrific injuries after the bomb was detonated in the arena

Backpack: The Karrimor rucksack in which the bomb was packed, before Salman entered the venue in Manchester

Battery: The 12-volt battery was more powerful than usually used. The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence

The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd, pictured in Downing Street today, blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence

Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham said the 'arrogant' leaks in the US were undermining the police investigation

The US newspaper said they showed a blood-stained silver detonator, said to have been held in the bomber's left hand, with wires trailing from one end lying on the floor. There were also images of torn scraps from a blue Karrimor rucksack as well as screws and nuts used as shrapnel.

The paper described them as 'law enforcement images' but did not make clear how they had been obtained.

The nature of the photographs left no doubt that they were taken as part of the forensic investigation of the scene, and were not snapshots taken by members of the public. The paper also published a map showing the location of the victims of the bombing, positioned in a circle around the presumed site of the explosion in the arena foyer, as well as what is thought to be Abedi's torso some distance away.

US congressman Mike McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the bomb was of a 'level of sophistication' that might indicate its maker had foreign training.

He described it as 'a classic explosive device used by terrorists', using the same substance as the one used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels.

Mr McCaul said evidence so far suggests 'we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation', adding: 'There's a network - a cell of Isis-inspired terrorists.'

The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence. In a rare public slapdown, she said it was 'irritating' that facts including the identity of Abedi and death toll had been made public to US media ahead of its release in the UK.

Mrs May chaired a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee in Downing Street this morning

The Prime Minister pictured entering Downing Street this morning, before she headed for the Nato summit in Brussels

After chairing a Cobra meeting in Downing Street this morning, the PM said she would 'make clear' to Mr Trump that 'intelligence which is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure'

THE US LEAKS THAT HAVE ENRAGED BRITISH AUTHORITIES Tuesday Crucial details about the attack, including that 22 people were killed and that it was a suicide bombing, were leaked to the American media NBC and CBS. The name of the killer, Salman Abedis, was reported on US breakfast television at least six hours before the British authorities confirmed it. Secret British analysis revealing that the suicide bomb was a sophisticated device was leaked to NBC. The Politico website reported that the suicide bombers brother, Ismail Abedi, had been arrested as part of a series of police swoops on suspects. US security officials briefed NBC News that Abedi had ties to Al Qaeda and had received terrorist training abroad, according to a report in The same official told the new channel that the 22 year-old killer had been identified by a bank card found in his pocket at the scene after the explosion. Wednesday: The New York Times ran forensic photographs of the crime scene including the bombers charred backpack which carried the bomb had been carried in, and the nuts and bolts used for shrapnel which the explosive was stuffed with. ABC News reported that police discovered a bomb-making factory inside Abedis home in Manchester. Advertisement

PM calls for Nato to join military campaign against ISIS to show 'unity' with Britain after Manchester attack

Theresa May will today call on Nato to join the military campaign against Islamic State terrorists to show 'unity' with Britain in the wake of the Manchester attack.

Although many Nato countries are already part of the coalition targeting IS forces in Iraq and Syria, the military alliance itself has so far been reluctant to join in.

At a summit of the alliance in Brussels today, the Prime Minister will urge fellow leaders to reconsider, telling them: 'Our unity in responding to common threats is our most potent weapon.'

Theresa May, writes a message at Manchester Town Hall after the attack at the city's arena on Monday night

Mrs May will then travel to Sicily for the G7 summit of world leaders, but will cut short her attendance to return to the UK tomorrow night to oversee the response to the Manchester attack.

Military experts believe Nato involvement could allow the coalition to step up drone strikes against jihadis plotting attacks against the West. But France and Germany are pushing for the alliance's role to be limited to training and intelligence sharing, fearing that any more could see it sucked into an open-ended military campaign. However, senior diplomats last night suggested they were willing to drop their opposition to the move in response to pressure from the US and UK.

Officials said Mrs May's push on counter-terrorism would 'not just focus on the military effort' but would also argue for an international clampdown on jihadi propaganda and for new initiatives to 'address the root causes and address the spread of this poisonous ideology online'.

But during the Nato summit, the PM will also underline to Donald Trump the growing threat posed by Russia.

The US president, who declared Nato 'obsolete' while on the campaign trail last year, is under pressure at home over alleged links between members of his team and Moscow.

Mrs May will make it clear she views the threat posed by Russian president Vladimir Putin to be on a par with that of terrorism, saying: 'We must redouble our resolve to meet the threats to our shared security, whether from terrorism or Russia.'
Rebel Wilson says she 'had to beg' to be let inside back studio doors in Hollywood to impress producers after a series of defamatory articles were published about her in 2015.

'Month after month, doors that used to be open were shut,' the Pitch Perfect star said through tears in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday.

Wilson returned to the witness box for the fourth day of her defamation trial against Bauer Media, publishers of Woman's Day, who she says took away two years of her limited time in the Hollywood limelight.

She said she was dumped from the role of Jack Black's panda love interest in Kung Fu Panda 3 after a series of 'malicious' articles that American magazines had picked up from Woman's Day.

Rebel Wilson (pictured outside court on Thursday) says she was dumped from the role of Jack Black's panda love interest in Kung Fu Panda 3 after a series of 'malicious' magazine articles

She said the head of DreamWorks sacked her because she'd become 'too divisive' for a family movie.

She said was 'shocked and blindsided' by losing the role, which she so 'desperately' wanted. Her role of Mei Mei was then re-recorded by actress Kate Hudson.

Wilson told the court directors had loved her performance so much, she'd reminded them of comic great Robin Williams.

She said she was then sacked from another DreamWorks animated film, Trolls, and that she wasn't offered any more roles once the articles were published in May 2015.

The 37-year-old California resident cried again in court as she claimed Bauer Media painted her as a fake, and a serial liar by telling 'pork pies' about her real name, age and childhood.

The Pitch Perfect star said DreamWorks fired her in person because she'd become 'too divisive' for a family movie. New images of Wilson from her childhood days were also revealed in court

Wilson returned to the witness box on Thursday for the fourth day of a defamation trial against the publishers of Woman's Day. The photos released included shots of a trip to Disneyland

Wilson claims she has never lied and says she knows the identity of an 'obsessed and weirdly jealous' former schoolmate who'd given dubious information to journalists.

She said she wasn't offered any more movie roles after the articles were published in May 2015 and that she had to beg to be let inside back studio doors to impress producers with her ideas.

She said if she didn't stand up for herself and her family, who she says were harassed by journalists following the 'media firestorm', the magazines would simply publish more articles with even worse accusations.

She said she didn't want the same thing to happen to other Australians trying to make it in Hollywood.

'You're not popular for long in Hollywood, you have a few years until you go out of fashion. They took those two years away from me doing what I love, which is entertaining people and making people laugh,' she said through tears.

The 37-year-old California resident cried again in court on Thursday as she disclosed her reasons for suing Bauer Media, who she claims painted her as a fake and a serial liar

The 37-year-old spoke at length in the Supreme Court of Victoria on how she had never lied about her age or claimed she was 29 when she was in fact 36

'Not everyone has the strength to stand up for themselves, but I do.'

Wilson, who has a law degree from the University of New South Wales, said she had the money and education to take on the 'harrowing' and 'very expensive' fight.

The court heard of a Twitter stoush between the star and Bauer Media after a journalist named Elizabeth Wilson contacted her grandmother amid the 'media firestorm'.

Wilson says her 'extremely fragile' grandmother was terrified receiving aggressive phone calls from the woman.

Wilson responded by tweeting about the journalist and outing her with a photograph to her many online followers.

However, she got the wrong Elizabeth Wilson, with Bauer subsequently sending through legal threats to sue her 'for a large amount of money'.

Wilson said those proceedings took her 'over the line' and she decided to take action herself.

Wilson told the court she was born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds, but her mother wanted to name her Rebel after a little girl that sang at her wedding

The court heard Wilson plans to develop her own films rather than wait to be cast in movies.

She said she will know this week whether her idea of remaking Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a 1988 Steve Martin and Michael Caine comedy, will get the green light.

On Wednesday, the Pitch Perfect star sobbed repeatedly in court as she said the gossip magazine staff orchestrated a 'coordinated attack' upon her.

She said they ruined her career by claiming she told 'pork pies' about her name, age and background.

Wilson spoke at length on how she had never lied about her age or claimed she was 29, when she was in fact 36.

She said on moving to Hollywood, she followed her agent's advice and stopped mentioning her age during castings and in media interviews.

Wilson told the court she was born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds, but her mum wanted to name her Rebel after a girl that sang at her wedding. Above, Wilson as a young girl at Disneyland

Wilson also said she had not lied about being related to Walt Disney, telling the court her grandmother told her the children's animation pioneer married their relative Lillian

Wilson also said she had not lied about being related to Walt Disney, telling the court her grandmother told her the children's animation pioneer married their relative Lillian.

'I'm kind of known in Hollywood for being a very candid, authentic person and there are parts of my life that would maybe be called colourful and interesting,' she said.

'But that is what happened to me and that is my life story, so that is why I tell it,' she told the court.'

Wilson told the court she was born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds, but her mum wanted to name her Rebel after a little girl that sang at her wedding. She legally changed her name to Rebel Wilson in 2002.

The court heard Wilson's siblings had similarly themed names or nicknames - Liberty, Annarchi and Ryot.

The trial against Woman's Day publisher Bauer Media is expected to last three weeks.




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This is the 75-a-night flat used by the Manchester Arena attacker in the hours before the atrocity.

Police raided the apartment on Granby Row in Manchester's Gay Village yesterday lunchtime in the hunt for accomplices of Salman Abedi.

It is the last place the attacker is known to have visited before launching a devastating attack after an Ariana Grande concert.

He is thought to have been in the modern-looking apartment as late as 7pm on Monday - just over three hours before he carried out the massacre.

Pictures have emerged showing the 75-a-night flat used by the Manchester Arena attacker in the hours before the atrocity

Police raided the apartment on Granby Row in Manchester's Gay Village yesterday lunchtime in the hunt for accomplices of Salman Abedi

It is the last place the attacker is known to have visited before launching a devastating attack after an Ariana Grande concert

It is not yet clear why he was at the apartment, which has one bedroom, a bathroom and kitchen-living area. It is understood that a couple owned the flat and rented it for either 75 a night or 300 a week.

There were claims yesterday that it was available through AirBnB - but at since emerged that this is not the case.

Heavily armed police and special service soldiers were involved in the raid on the city centre flat in Manchester..

Officers were seen coming out of a block of flats situated less than two miles from Manchester Arena, where 22 people were killed and at least 119 injured when Abedi blew himself up.

Greater Manchester Police said they closed a railway in order to carry out what has been described as a 'massive raid' in Granby House, Granby Row.

Residents reported how a swathe of massive containers had been arriving recently at the shared accommodation.

Earlier yesterday, three men were arrested in the Fallowfield area of Manchester and neighbours described a 'super-religious Libyan' being frogmarched from his house, which is two streets down from Abedi's.

A fifth man was arrested by undercover police in Wigan yesterday after he allegedly approached a bus with a suspicious package.

Chief constable Ian Hopkins said it is 'very clear' that police are investigating 'a network' linked to the bomber.

Armed officers, believed to include special forces soldiers, raid a property in central Manchester less than two miles from Manchester Arena. Soldiers, deployed all over the UK, were involved in the raid and BBC diplomatic editor Mark Urban said one trooper was carrying UK Special Forces gear and a jamming backpack

Soldiers and police officers combine to raid the flat in a counter-terror raid in Manchester city centre this afternoon

Officers leaving the block of flats, named Granby House, in the heart of Manchester as a raid is carried out in connection with the Manchester Arena attack

Soldiers pile out of a silver Volkswagen as police officers in high visibility vests are seen behind them next to a riot van

Officers in blue overalls walk towards the building in central Manchester (left) and another officers carries in a black bag

The police chief added: 'You will be aware that the level of activity in this investigation is intense and is continuing at pace.

'We made three arrests in connection with the attacks overnight and this afternoon we entered an address in Manchester City Centre using a controlled explosion.

'Officers are currently at the scene but in order to do this safely we briefly had to close a nearby mainline railway, which has now been reopened. Those extensive searches will now continue.'

Reports of suspicious packages at the building were said to have been investigated by police officers.

Adam Prince, 38, who lives on the third floor where the raid is said to have happened, said he had been allowed into the building by police and smelt 'gunpowder'.

TASERS AND A DRAMATIC POLICE CHASE AS POLICE HUNT FOR SALMAN ABEDI'S JIHADI NETWORK A police hunt for the network linked to Salman Abedi gathered pace today amid fears the jihadist who made his deadly suicide bomb is still on the loose. Last night armed police chased a terror suspect half a mile from a home in Nuneaton, Warwickshire before he was Tasered to the ground. The dramatic arrest means eight suspects are now in UK custody over the atrocity on Monday night. Two of the bomber's relatives have also been detained in Libya. But there are fears that others linked to the bombing are still at large and police are still searching for the factory where Abedi's explosive device was made. Last night armed police chased a terror suspect half a mile from a home in Nuneaton, Warwickshire before he was Tasered to the ground The following is a summary of the arrests made so far: Ismael Abedi, 23, bomber Salman Adebi's older brother, was arrested outside a Morrison's in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy at around 10.30am on Tuesday morning, 12 hours after the explosion at the Manchester Arena

A further three men were arrested in Fallowfield, Manchester, at around 2.30am on Wednesday morning

A suspect was detained in Wigan on Wednesday afternoon after he allegedly approached a bus with a suspicious package. Footage showed him being being led away by officers

A woman was arrested in another raid in Blackley at around 6.30pm on Wednesday, but was later released without charge

Hashem and Ramadan Abedi, Salman's younger brother and father respectively, were detained in Libya. The country's police claimed knew Hashem knew his brother was going to carry out the atrocity more than a month ago

Just after 9pm on Wednesday, police raided a property in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and pursued a man who attempted to flee. He was Tasered to the floor by officers and has been taken to Manchester for questioning.

Police arrested a man in Egerton Crescent, Withington following a raid in the early hours of Thursday morning. Another man was arrested in a separate raid in an unknown location in Manchester. A terror suspect was arrested in the street after he fled a house raided by police in connection with the Manchester attack Police enter the address in Nuneaton after a man was arrested in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing Advertisement

'The flat has been entered, forcibly, there's the smell of gunpowder because they've pushed it in or I don't know what they've done up there,' he said.

'There's dust on the floor. It smells. Splatters on the wall, ash. They are taking different items in and out.

'There's always different people coming in and out. It is usually booked quite a lot. I think it's quite affordable.

'If people had wanted a base for something as evil as this it's a good hideaway isn't it?

'You go into this place and you see a huge amount of packages and stuff like that. I've seen packages in the post room, but that's kind of an afterthought.

'I've seen things that I think are quite unnerving but that's after the fact. There's been huge amounts posted, massive containers.

'I live on the same floor. It has been rented out for about four or five years now.

'The woman who looks after it is always changing the sheets, coming up and down, it's a money-spinner for her.

'But I don't think there's anything you can do to protect against something like this if it's been a hideout or whatever - its very basic but reasonable.'

Soldiers, deployed all over the UK, were involved in the city-centre raid and BBC diplomatic editor Mark Urban said one trooper was carrying UK Special Forces gear and a jamming backpack.

Three officers stand in the doorway of Granby House where an anti-terror raid was carried out on Wednesday afternoon

An officer points his finger to direct his fellow officers (pictured left) while a colleague enters the building (pictured, right)

A line of officers walk along Granby Row in Manchester where a raid was carried out in the city centre near the site of the attack

Bomb maker may still be at large, say police The bomb maker who provided Salman Abedi with the explosive device used to cause carnage at Manchester Arena may still at large, police have revealed. There are now reports police believe the 22-year-old terrorist had been given the explosive - packed with nuts and bolts - by a bomb maker who is still at large and preparing to mastermind further attacks. It is thought that experts found no traces of explosives or equipment at Abedi's house. According to NBC, a senior US intelligence official said Abedi had used a 'big and sophisticated bomb' made of materials not widely available in Britain. It is understood that bomb making equipment and traces of materials needed to make the type of device used on Monday night were not found at Abedi's home following the raid by armed police in Manchester hours after the outrage. Military specialists had made an electronic sweep of the property to show there was no IED booby trap waiting for the police assault team who raided it. Intelligence officials say they believe the 22 year-old terrorist either made the bomb elsewhere with the help of others or was given the device and trigger mechanism by someone else, possibly during his visit to London in the days before the attack. Advertisement

Louise Bolotin, a freelance journalist who lives in the building in Granby Row and was first on the scene, described how the fire alarm went off before police stormed the building and broke into a flat on the third floor.

'I came running down the front staircase, six floors, and got to the front entrance and was met by a police officer in full-on tactical helmet, face mask, machine gun. I was expecting to see the fire brigade.'

She added: 'I said 'What's happening?' and he just said 'Out'.'

Ms Bolotin said there were 62 flats in the building with a 'transient population'.

Around half of the apartments are owner-occupied while the rest are rented out, she added.

Ms Bolotin described the raid as 'absolutely massive'.

She said: 'I saw down there about four armed officers coming out from the back of the building.

'Again, helmets, face masks, machine guns and getting into two unmarked cars and driving away.

'After that about half a dozen army came out in camouflage, weapons.

'There's still a lot of armed officers in the building, some have left. We've had the fire brigade here, at least one fire officer is still in the building.'

She added: 'As far as I know no one has been arrested and brought out of the building.'

It's understood the officers raided a third-floor flat and resident witnesses say they heard explosions as police raided a block of flats in central Manchester following Monday's attack.

Muye Li, a 23-year-old student who lives on the third floor, says he heard an explosion as police stormed an apartment on his floor.

He says officers knocked on his door and 'asked me if I had seen the lady next door', and believed police were looking for a woman.

Salman Abedi (pictured) had only just returned from war-torn Libya before launching his horrific attack and is believed to have undergone secret jihadi training

Lynne Deakin, 53, who lives on the ground floor of the flats, said she was 'not at all surprised' by the raid.

'I've often said, if I wanted to take out Piccadilly Station, because the line is right at the back, I would put a bomb in that building,' she said.

'I'd park a car underneath. It's been so obvious to me for years.'

She told how she turned off the fire alarm and headed upstairs, where she saw five or six 'army' men outside the raided flat.

'I'd gone up the stairs - I was at one end of the corridor and they were at the other through a fire door,' she said.

'So one of the guys came out and he said 'get downstairs'.

'It was the proper guys that I've seen on the TV with the balaclavas and the big helmets.'

Ms Deakin said while she knew her neighbours she did not know many people in the building.

She said she believed the raided flat had been rented out on property site Airbnb - but it is now understood this is not the case.

Marcus Murray, 27, who lives on the first floor of the building was looking on as officers went in and out.

'I wanted to come back into my flat but there were unmarked cars,' he said.

'I got to the front door and there was a guy with a gun who said I can't go in.'

Mr Murray, a software engineer, added: 'I feel a bit uneasy. Going to sleep is going to be a bit difficult. It just feels unsafe.

'You just don't expect it do you? It's very strange,' he said.

Mr Murray said it is common for people to come and stay in flats in the building just for the weekend.

'It's usually a very quiet street,' he said, adding: 'I felt safe before, but not now.'
A Christian school that banned an 18-year-old senior from her graduation ceremony because she was expecting a baby said the decision was entirely down to her 'immorality' rather than her pregnancy.

Heritage Academy in Hagerstown, Maryland told Maddi Runkles she would not be permitted to graduate along with her class next month because she breached the school's code of conduct concerning 'pre-marital sex'.

In a letter to parents, the school's administrator David R Hobbs said: 'Let me clarify some facts. Maddi is being disciplined, not because she's pregnant, but because she was immoral.'

Maddi Runkles, pictured, has been banned from attending her high school graduation after she informed staff at the Heritage Academy in Hagerstown, Maryland, that she was pregnant

The school said her pregnancy was not the issue rather it was due to her 'immorality'

Runkles is expecting her son later this year and is expecting to go to college

He continued: 'Heritage is also pleased that she has chosen to not abort her son. However, her immorality is the original choice she made that began the situation.'

He stressed she will receive her high school diploma, but will not be allowed to attend next week's graduation ceremony.

Outlining the reason behind his decision, Hobbs said: 'A wise man told me that discipline is not the absence of love, but the application of love. We love Maddi Runkles. The best way to love her right now is to hold her accountable for her immorality that began this situation.'

He added: 'I am concerned that my Heritage family feels the Board and I are harsh, cruel, hard-hearted men. Nothing can be further from the truth.

'We have spent countless hours in prayer and discussion. The Board has listened to three appeals from the Runkles family and compromised all three times. Secondly I'm concerned about our graduation ceremony on the evening of June 2. That night, I want God to be glorified in a dignified manner. Please enable us to do this.'

Runkles discovered she was pregnant in January.

After the pregnancy became known, officials at the small private Christian school suspended Runkles for two days and removed her from her student council position.

The school claimed they are simply 'holding her accountable for her immorality'

The teenager, pictured, said she is being punished by the school for not opting for an abortion

Runkles' father once sat on the Heritage board and recused himself from decisions involving his daughter. But he ultimately quit the board to protest how she was treated.

Runkles says she feels she has been treated more harshly than students who have been suspended for other reasons. The baby's father doesn't attend Heritage Academy, Runkles said.

The two don't plan on marrying. Anti-abortion organization Students for Life said Runkles should not be punished for her pregnancy, but should be praised for choosing to keep the baby.

Commenting on the controversy herself, Runkles earlier told the New York Times: 'Some pro-life people are against the killing of unborn babies, but they won't speak out in support of the girl who chooses to keep her baby.

'Honestly, that makes me feel like maybe the abortion would have been better. Then they would have just forgiven me, rather than deal with this visible consequence.'
ISIS-linked militants reportedly captured nine Christians, tied their hands together and shot them dead in a city in the Philippines.

The Maute group forced the civilians off their truck at a roadside checkpoint in Marawi City on Wednesday and murdered them after they were identified as Christian, local media reported.

Harrowing images show the group lying dead face-down in the grass, amid reports that villagers are afraid to move the bodies because terrorists are still in the area.

One policeman was similarly caught at a checkpoint set up by the militants and beheaded on Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

It comes as 100 US-trained special forces aboard helicopters and armoured tanks battled to retake the besieged southern city from rampaging jihadis.

ISIS-linked militants reportedly captured nine Christians, tied their hands together and shot them dead in a city in the Philippines. The television network GMA published this photo which claims to show them lying dead face-down in the grass

The Maute group forced the civilians off their truck at a roadside checkpoint in Marawi City on Wednesday and murdered them after they were identified as Christian, local media reported. Pictured, ISIS media shows an extremist waving the ISIS flag

It comes as 100 US-trained special forces battled to retake the besieged southern city from rampaging jihadis

An armoured tank and government troops march to begin their assault against insurgents from the Maute group

Wounded Filipino soldiers are carried onto a military helicopter amid clashes with ISIS-linked rebels

Armoured tanks make their way through a queue of vehicles with fleeing residents that stretches for miles

Hundreds of cars pull over to make way for droves of armored tanks

Soldiers were seen crouched behind armoured vehicles and walls around lunchtime on Thursday, firing volleys of gunshots towards elevated positions occupied by Maute rebels. Smoke could also be seen on the horizon.

Five soldiers and one policemen died in the clashes, while 13 gunmen were killed, according to the military.

'We're confronting maybe 30 to 40 remaining from the local terrorist group,' said Jo-Ar Herrera, a spokesman for the military's First Infantry Regiment.

'The military is conducting precise, surgical operations to flush them out ... The situation is very fluid and movements are dynamic because we wanted to out-step and out-manoeuvre them,' he said.

An initial rampage by the gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, through the mainly Muslim city of Marawi on Tuesday prompted President Duterte to impose martial law across the southern third of the Philippines.

Extremists from the Maute group waved black ISIS flags as they stormed the streets of Marawi City after government troops conducted a raid on the hideout of the Filipino leader of ISIS

One image put out by ISIS media purports to show militants rampaging through the southern city

Filipino soldiers hold on to fleeing children following reports of fresh clashes between government troops and rebels in Marawi City

Horrified villagers look as smoke billows from a house that caught fire during the clashes

Male residents are frisked by police at a checkpoint as they leave Marawi city

Local police and soldiers screen vehicles and traffic in the streets going out of the city for escaping militants

Authorities said ending the crisis was proving extremely hard because the militants were holed up in residential buildings, had planted improvised bombs in the streets and had taken Catholic hostages.

'People are afraid. They do not want to open establishments. Offices are closed. We do not want people to be used as human shields,' Marawi mayor Majul Usman Gandamra said.

Two military helicopters flew above Marawi and armoured tanks churned through its streets as automatic rifle firing could be heard on Thursday, according to an AFP photographer in the city.

Marawi has about 200,000 residents but many of them have fled because of the fighting.

Five soldiers and one policemen have died in the clashes, while 13 gunmen were killed, according to the military

Soldiers were seen crouched behind armoured vehicles and walls around lunchtime on Thursday, firing volleys of gunshots towards elevated positions occupied by Maute rebels

Government troops frisk a Muslim man at a checkpoint in Marawi City on Thursday

A soldier taking a look at enemy positions, while they try to clear the city of armed militants, one street at a time

A rosary is seen hanging from the a vest of a government soldier, who prays before their assault with insurgents

Soldiers take positions while evading sniper fire during clashes with armed militants

It is located in Lanao del Sur province, a stronghold of the Maute, a fierce, but little-known group that has been a tricky opponent for the military.

There are only between 50 and 100 gunmen, according to various military officials.

The militants are also holding between 12 and 15 Catholic hostages abducted from a church, according to the local bishop, Edwin Dela Pena.

Its activities are a source of concern for Mindanao native Duterte, who is familiar with separatist unrest but alarmed by the prospect of Islamic State's radical ideology spreading in the Philippines.

'One of Washington's most-wanted terrorists: Who is Isnilon Hapilon?' Isnilon Hapilon, an Arabic-speaking Islamic preacher known for his expertise in commando assaults, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2014. He was purportedly designated leader of the Islamic State group's Southeast Asia branch in 2016 but has long had ties to local extremist movements. He is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group and was wounded by a military airstrike in January. Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of Islamic State group's Southeast Asia branch, is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5million bounty on his head Hapilon gained notoriety beyond the Philippines when he allegedly helped Abu Sayyaf kidnap 20 hostages from a Filipino resort in 2001. At least 21 people have died in fighting that erupted late Tuesday, when the army raided the Marawi hideout of Hapilon. The military had for months been conducting offensives against Islamist militants in nearby mountains, and came close to killing Hapilon during a bombing raid in January. After receiving intelligence that he had come to Marawi for medical treatment and was hiding in a house, a small group of security forces conducted what two military spokespeople described as a 'surgical operation' to get him. But the operation quickly went wrong. Rebels called in reinforcements and swept through the streets, torching buildings, taking a Catholic priest and his worshippers hostage and sealing off much of the city to the outside world. The military said their intelligence revealed Hapilon was still in the area, but there was no indication he had been captured. Hapilon is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5million bounty on his head. Advertisement

Hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in a military camp in Marawi City on Thursday.

The Maute had taken more than a dozen Christians hostage and set free 107 prisoners from two jails since Tuesday.

Bishops and cardinals had pleaded with the Maute rebels, who they said were using Christians and a priest as human shields. The status of the captives was unknown.

The fighting erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.

Fleeing villagers run during a military assault following reports of fresh clashes between government troops and rebels

Panicked residents carry as much of their belongings as they can while fleeing to safety

Hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in a military camp in Marawi City

Residents walk through a grassy area to the evacuation centre as they flee the conflict

The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.

However the raid went spectacularly wrong as dozens of gunmen emerged to repel the security forces, then went on a rampage across the city while flying black IS flags.

They also set fire to many buildings, including a church and a university.

A police chief has been beheaded and 21 people killed when more than 100 ISIS-linked militants stormed a city in the Philippines.

Members of the Maute Islamist group overran Marawi on Mindanao island leading to hours of pitched gun battles in the streets.

'The chief of police in Malabang on his way home, going back he was stopped by a checkpoint manned by terrorists and I think they decapitated them right then and there,' Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said.

Philippine troops arrive at their barracks to reinforce fellow troops following the siege by Muslim militants in Marawi where 21 people were killed

Chilling photographs from Marawi City in the Philippines, where an Islamist group has taken a priest hostage, show militants planting the ISIS flag on top of buildings

Terrorists also attacked the Cathedral of Our Lady Help and abducted church staff including Father Chito Suganob and worshipers.

'They have threatened to kill the hostages if the government forces unleashed against them are not recalled,' Filipino Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.

National military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said 13 government soldiers were killed along with 13 militants.

President Duterte, who declared martial law in parts of Mindanao after militants clashed with soldiers in Marawi yesterday, said he may extend it to other parts of the country if extremists seek sanctuary elsewhere.

Several online posts appeared to show the black and white flag used by ISIS hung from buildings in Marawi

Soldiers search vehicles of fleeing residents at a checkpoint following militants overrunning Filipino city

Filipino government troops stand guard at a government facility following President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in Davao city, Mindanao Island

'We are in state of emergency,' he told reporters in Manila after a state visit to Moscow, adding he would deal with militants 'harshly'.

Chilling photos on social media purported to show Maute gunmen planting an ISIS-style black and white flag on top of a building in the middle of the city.

'At the time of his capture, Father Chito was in the performance of his ministry as a priest,' Archbishop Villegas said.

Islamist gunmen have taken hostages including a Catholic priest in Marawi, Philippines, shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law to combat extremism. Pictured: Troops evacuating people from Marawi

Members of the ISIS-inspired Maute Islamist group stormed the Cathedral of Our Lady Help, on Mindanao island (pictured)

Duterte (pictured) declared martial law across the southern region of Mindanao last night after Islamist militants rampaged through the city of Marawi

'He was not a combatant. He was not bearing arms. He was a threat to none. His capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilised conflict.'

But Marawi Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra has refused to confirm reports the terror group took hostages and insisted that the local government has the situation under control.

In a telephone interview with national broadcaster ANC, Gandamra said he was working with the military to bring peace and order to the city.

Police and military spokesmen were not immediately available to comment on Villegas's report of the hostage taking.

Filipino Archbishop Socrates Villegas said the extremists have threatened to kill the hostages if the government forces unleashed against them are not recalled

Archbishop Villegas went on to say the extremists took an undisclosed number of hostages to a secret location and the abductees have not been heard from since

'He was not a combatant,' said Archbishop Villegas. 'He was not bearing arms. He was a threat to none. His capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilised conflict'

But Marawi Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra has refused to confirm reports the terror group took hostages in Marawi

The fighting in Marawi erupted yesterday when security forces raided a house they believed Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang

More than 100 gunmen responded to the raid by burning buildings and conducting other diversionary tactics

President Duterte says he may extend it to other parts of the country if extremists seek sanctuary elsewhere

The fighting in Marawi erupted yesterday when security forces raided a house they believed Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang and Philippine head of ISIS, was hiding.

WHAT HAPPENS UNDER MARTIAL LAW? Martial law allows the president to 'call out the armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion', according to the constitution. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said security forces would be able to arrest suspected militants and hold them for three days without charge. During the nine years of martial law under former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, police and troops tortured, abducted and killed thousands of people who were critical of the dictatorship, according to rights groups and historians. Duterte said his version of martial law would be 'harsh' and similar to that under Marcos. Advertisement

The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $6 million for his capture.

More than 100 gunmen responded to the raid by burning buildings and conducting other diversionary tactics, according to Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Security analysts say Hapilon has been trying to unite Filipino militant groups that have professed allegiance to IS.

These include the Maute group, named after two brothers who lead it and which is based near Marawi.

Duterte had repeatedly said the growing influence of Islamic State was one of the nation's top security concerns, and martial law was necessary to stop it.

However Islamist militancy is not new to the southern Philippines, where a decades-long Muslim separatist insurgency claimed more than 120,000 lives.

Muslim rebels orchestrated a siege in the southern city of Zamboanga in 2013 that left more than 200 people dead.

Duterte had repeatedly said the growing influence of Islamic State was one of the nation's top security concerns

Martial law allows the president to 'call out the armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion', according to the Filipino constitution

ISIS KILLS FIVE IN FIRST SUICIDE ATTACK IN SOMALIA ISIS has claimed responsibility for its first ever suicide attack in the troubled African nation of Somalia. Police said five people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a checkpoint in the north-eastern port city of Bosaso, in Puntland, today. Witnesses told of how the blast occurred near a hotel often used as a meeting place for local officials. 'I think the bomber was trying to target the hotel but he was stopped at the checkpoint close to the hotel and he decided to detonate his explosives,' said witness Awke Mohamed. Puntland, which set up its own government in 1998, often comes under attack from Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militants. It is also home to a breakaway group of fighters who have declared allegiance to ISIS - but failed to gather much support. Advertisement

But the government of then-president Benigno Aquino did not declare martial law.

Aquino also said he had considered imposing martial law just before standing down last year in Sulu, island strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf in the far south of Mindanao.

But Aquino said he decided against it partly because military rule could spark resentment among local people.
A supporter of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has dumped a large bucket of soapy water on a cameraman outside Ms Corby's home.

The incident, which was captured by 9 News, took place on Thursday as cameras waited outside her home in Bali, just days before Corby, 39, is due to be deported.

Corby is set to be deported back to Australia on the weekend after her parole ends for smuggling 4.1kg of cannabis in a boogie board bag in 2004.

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A supporter of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby (pictured) has dumped a bucket of water over a cameraman outside Ms Corby's home in Bali

Ms Corby has spent the last three years on parole in Bali after serving almost 10 years of her original 20-year jail sentence in Kerobokan prison.

Footage showed a handwritten note pinned to a wooden door on the edge of her property which read: 'Crew - stop invading our privacy! Immigration have been notified with footage of you putting the GoPro over our fence and camera over the fence. So rude!'

The note was signed by Ms Corby's sister Mercedes.

Footage from a camera shows the exterior of the house with the note pinned on a door, before a sudden shower of water completely obscures the lens and a splashing noise is heard.

The incident took place on Thurday, just days before Ms Corby is due to be deported back to Australia. Pictured are cameramen outside Ms Corby's villa in Bali

Ms Corby is reportedly reluctant to leave the house for feat of media attention. Pictured is a handwritten note from Ms Corby's sister Mercedes, warning journalists and cameras to stay away

Someone in the background can be heard saying: 'I heard the big splash!'

Ms Corby is reportedly reluctant to leave the house for fear of media attention.

Her mother, Rosaleigh Rose, told 9 News she was concerned at how her daughter would adjust to life back in Australia.

While a cameraman was filming to door where the note was fixed a large bucket of water cascades down, obscuring the camera lens and making a loud splashing sound

She also said she still believed her daughter was innocent, claiming former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty, ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and former Customs Minister Chris Ellison all knew the truth.

'Why don't you ask Mick Keelty and Downer and Ellison why they kept vital information about the boogie board bag and the airport?' Ms Rose asked reporters on Thursday.

'They know Schapelle was innocent.'

Ms Corby's mother Rosaleigh Rose (pictured) has maintained her daughter's innocence and told 9 News she was concerned at how she would adjust to life back in Australia
India may have taken over China as the world's most populous nation, according to an independent Chinese demographer.

Yi Fuxian, a University of Wisconsin-Madison academic who has campaigned against Beijing's family planning laws for years, claims that China's population is far smaller than the 1.37billion official figure.

The independent demographer claims that the population is closer to 1.29billion, which is less than India's population, which is sits officially at 1.31billion.

Yi Fuxian, a University of Wisconsin-Madison academic who has campaigned against Beijing's family planning laws for years, claims that China's population is far smaller than the 1.37billion official figure. Pictured above, crowds in Shanghai, China

Yi, who has warned against a potential ageing crisis in China, claimed that the government has overstated China's population since 1990.

Based on his numbers, India has taken over China as the world's most populous country five years ahead of forecasts.

'China's real population may have been about 1.29 billion last year, 90 million fewer people than the official figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics,' the South China Morning Post quoted Yi as saying on Monday.

Beijing dropped its notorious one-child-per-family policy in 2015 and has since adopted a two children per family policy.

Yi warned that an ageing crisis in China might be more severe than people expect.

He said 'there were 377.6 million new births from 1991 to 2016, less than the official figure of 464.8 million', according to India Today.

Chinese scholars have long warned that with fears of a rapidly declining workforce as people age, there is more concern of supporting the country's massive population.

The independent demographer claims that the population is closer to 1.29billion, which is less than India's population, which is sits officially at 1.31billion. Pictured above, Old Delhi, India

Another scholar, Li Jianxin of Peking University, also warned of a declining population.

'The government has overestimated the birth rate and underestimated the speed of demographic changes,' Li said.

Wang Feng, a leading demographer from the University of California, Irvine, has, however, dismissed Yi's claims about the shrinking population.

'He's a person with a political agenda and [who has been] a consistent critic of the Chinese government's policy ... [so] his numbers should not be taken at face value,' he told The Guardian.

'I don't disagree with his general criticisms [of China's birth control policy],' Wang added. 'But ... we have to speak from facts or we just speak from conjecture ... I think he just wants to make a point to say that fertility is very low in China, the government has inflated the birth numbers, and [therefore] China should have no birth control policy.'

Wang said he believes that the official government number - 1.37billion - is likely an accurate estimate of the population.

Meanwhile in India, the population has quadrupled since 1947 and is still growing.

The World Health Organization estimates that it will reach a peak 1.7billion in 2050 and then start to decline.
A man who was left wheelchair-bound and fighting for his life after a freak accident on his stag do has learnt to stand again  just in time to say his vows.

James Thorpe, 29, and Michaela Watson, 33, were forced to postpone their wedding after he broke his neck weeks before they were due to marry on July 16.

A month earlier, while on his stag do in Magaluf, Majorca, James nearly died after tripping as he entered the sea.

James, of Boston, Lincolnshire, was rushed to a hospital in Palma de Mallorca and would spend two weeks there in a critical condition.

James Thorpe, 29, and Michaela Watson, 33, were forced to postpone their wedding after he broke his neck weeks before they were due to marry on July 16

While on his stag do in Magaluf, Majorca, James nearly died after tripping as he entered the sea, breaking a vertebrae in his back

After arriving back in the UK, doctors told Michaela that her husband-to-be was unlikely to stand again.

But now, following months of intensive rehabilitation, James has defied the odds and now plans to tie the knot at Grantham's Belvoir Castle on July 16.

While he will be unable to walk down the aisle, he plans to declare his love for Michaela while standing for a few minutes.

Reflecting on the news that he wouldn't be able to stand, James said: 'I was absolutely devastated.

'I knew my life would change completely. I wouldn't be able to do the job that I loved doing. Life would get a lot harder.'

The firefighter, currently on long-term sick leave, will even have another stag do, only this time he will be staying in the UK.

Following months of intensive rehabilitation (pictured), James has defied the odds and now plans to tie the knot at Grantham's Belvoir Castle on July 16

He added: 'It'll be tamer. We'll be staying in Boston, and just going for a few drinks.'

James, who met assistant technical manager, Michaela in 2012 and proposed to her in 2014, was initially set to marry his sweetheart on June 24, 2016.

But on June 2, 2016, disaster struck when, hours after landing at Palma Airport in Majorca, he slipped as he ran into the sea.

He recalled: 'Our flight was delayed, so we arrived late. We had a few drinks, not many, and decided to jump into the sea.'

James and Michaela get engaged while on holiday in 2014

He ran in once, and got out. But racing in the second time, he stumbled.

He continued: 'I knew instantly I had broken my neck. I crawled as best I could along the seabed and eventually managed to grab hold of my mate's legs.'

Pals pulled him out of the water, and an ambulance was called.

Michaela heard of James' accident after his best man Ash rang her, and she arrived in Magaluf a day later.

James said: 'She was beside herself. She didn't want to believe it and asked for a second opinion. She broke down.'

At hospital he underwent scans, where it emerged he had suffered a snap to the vertebrae.

'It affected everything,' he said. 'My temperature controls, my breathing. I was fighting for my life, although I didn't realise it at the time.'

A few weeks ago, he learnt, with the aid of a walker and therapists, to stand for the first time.

'It was the greatest achievement. I was definitely very tearful when it happened. I felt like I was making some real progress and it's given me hope.'

And now, he is looking forward to the wedding. 'It's terrible what happened,' he said. 'But I'm looking to the future. It could've been worse. 'I can't wait to marry Michaela.'
Arizona Summit Law School Survives Another Lawsuit -- for Now

It was a two-fer at embattled Arizona Summit Law School.

Two former professors sued the law school for breach of their employment contracts, but a federal appeals court affirmed the dismissal of their case. It was the second win this year for the school, which has been embroiled in litigation with both faculty and students.

The complaints expose, however, an ugly underbelly at the struggling law school. It is one of three for-profit law schools run by InfiLaw Systems, which is reportedly trying to unload them in the midst of controversy.

Contracts 101

Law professors Michael O'Connor and Celia Rumann filed suit against the law school and its parent company, InfiLaw, in 2013. They alleged the school -- named Phoenix School of Law at the time -- breached their tenure agreements.

O'Connor and Rumann, a married couple, received tenure in 2010 and 2011 respectively. However, they alleged, their contracts for the 2013-2014 school year conflicted with the faculty handbook. They also complained about the school's policies on student transfers and other concerns.

A district court judge dismissed their case in 2014, and they appealed to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. The professors contended that the school effectively terminated them with an employment offer that changed their tenure terms.

The appeals court said the professors' interpretation of their appointment letters was "unreasonable." The offers incorporated the faculty handbook, the court said, and any differences did not apply to tenured faculty. The professors basically terminated themselves when they refused the offers.

Controversy 202

InfiLaw's attorney applauded the victory, which included an attorney's fee award of $41,739.75. It was the school's second courtroom victory since January, when another court dismissed fraud claims alleged by a former employee but allowed the case to proceed on other grounds.

Meanwhile, all of the InfiLaw schools -- Arizona Summit, Charlotte School of Law, and Florida Coastal School of Law -- have serious problems across the board. Arizona and Charlotte have been placed on accreditation probation, and Charlotte has lost federal funding for student loans.

Students have also sued Charlotte and Florida Coastal for allegedly misleading them to rake in tuition. And in an expose by the Atlantic, the InfiLaw schools were cited as examples of the "law school scam" that sells students on the idea that they can become lawyers without preparing them for the reality.

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More than half of Britons believe their culture is threatened by ethnic minorities living in the UK, a report revealed.

A quarter feel migrants take jobs away and a third think they remove more from society than they contribute, according to the Aurora Humanitarian Index public opinion survey.

Britons think the UK will be less capable of helping the global refugee crisis after Brexit, partly because the appetite for humanitarian action is in steep decline.

More than half of Britons believe their culture is threatened by ethnic minorities living in the UK, a report said. Pictured: A New Mosque opens in London's Whitechapel Road

And only 15 per cent believe Prime Minister Theresa May is the global leader best positioned to resolve the crisis.

The report said: 'This year's findings demonstrate an overall decline in the support for humanitarian action based on scepticism in the ability to make an impact and ambivalence in defending social values over self-interest.'

THE FINDINGS 56 per cent of people felt local culture was threatened by ethnic minorities in the UK 24 per cent felt migrants took jobs away but half believed their impact was neutral 34 per cent thought minorities took more from society than they contributed Advertisement

The Conservative General Election manifesto has said the current figure of 273,000 people heading to Britain was 'still too high' and promised to slash the number to 'sustainable levels'. No timetable has been set.

The 2017 Aurora Humanitarian Index surveyed nearly 6,500 people in 12 countries.

Only 15 per cent named Theresa May as best positioned to solve the challenge surrounding people displaced by war and conflict - the same proportion as those favouring Syrian president Bashar Assad.

The research was carried out before the Manchester bombing but terrorism was regarded as the most pressing global humanitarian challenge by two thirds of those surveyed in Britain.

Forced migration and hunger were also seen as important issues.

World experts will gather in Armenia this weekend as part of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative to mark the contribution of those who help in the direst of circumstances.

Co-founder Ruben Vardanyan said: 'The sense of apathy towards humanitarianism today highlights an urgent need for engagement in every sector.

'However, this negativity is counter-balanced by the incredibly positive attitudes of youth towards humanitarianism and the individual impact on the refugee crisis.

'All of us need to educate and motivate the young people around the world so they not only understand their capacity for meaningful impact, but are inspired to act upon it.'
Net migration has fallen to 248,000 a year in the wake of the Brexit vote - but is still more than double Theresa May's target of the tens of thousands.

The difference between inflows and outflows to the UK in 2016 was down from 273,000 in the 12 months to September.

Long-term immigration was estimated to be 588,000 and emigration 339,000.

Underlining the impact of the EU referendum result, net numbers coming from EU dropped sharply to 133,00, offsetting a slight rise in the figure from the rest of the world to 175,000.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are likely to refocus attention on the key election issue.

The ONS said the net migration figure for 2016 was 248,000, down from 273,000 in the year to last September

The latest figures underline the drop since the Brexit vote on June 23 last year. The impact has fed through to the ONS numbers despite them including six months leading up to the poll

Mrs May has insisted her party remains 'committed' hitting the tens of thousands level.

By contrast Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of a soft approach after he refused to commit to a target and repeatedly dodged questions about whether current inflows are too high.

The ONS recorded a fall in inflows and a rise in outflows during 2016 to bring the net figure down sharply. It is the first time in three years it has been below 250,000.

In the 12 months to September, immigration had been 596,000 and emigration 323,000 - giving a net figure of 273,000.

Numbers coming from the EU fell from 268,000 to 250,000, with arrivals from the newest states Romania and Bulgaria dipping from 74,000 to 67,000.

Arrivals from the EU8 countries, such as Poland, also slumped by around a sixth from 58,000 to 48,000.

The figure for EU citizens leaving the country rose from 103,000 in the year to September to 117,00 in the year to December.

HOW THE FIGURES BREAK DOWN Net migration to the UK in 2016 was estimated to be 248,000 - the lowest level for almost three years.

Net migration from the EU was 133,000 in 2016, down 28 per cent on 2015. Immigration from the EU8 countries - Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia - was 5,000, the lowest since they joined the EU in 2004.

Net immigration from Romania and Bulgaria - the latest to join the EU - was 54,000. The number of people coming to the UK to study was 136,000, down 19 per cent on 2015.

There were 95,000 arrivals looking for work, down 27 per cent on 2015 and the lowest since 2014.

Some 43,000 non-British EU citizens 'returned home to live' in 2016, the ONS said. That was double the number for 2015, and the highest figure since 2008. Advertisement

Alp Mehmet, Vice Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: 'This reduction in net migration is welcome but it is still running at a quarter of a million a year  a level that would have once have been dismissed as incredible.

'This means, broadly, a UK population increase of nearly half a million, every year. This is not a situation that can be allowed to slide. A strong focus by the next government on reducing immigration will be essential if the growing strains on our public services and society are to be relieved.'

Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva, acting director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: 'While public opinion in the UK has supported reductions in immigration for many years, achieving these sorts of cuts is difficult in practice.

'It seems unlikely that we will see net migration in the 'tens of thousands' in the near future without either an economic downturn, or a new set of much more restrictive immigration policies.

'Even with the current low levels of net migration from the EU8 countries, the total estimate is still more than twice the Government's target.'

The number of European nationals granted certificates confirming their right to live in the UK surged in the first three months of 2017.

A total of 51,695 documents and cards certifying permanent residence were granted to citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) and relatives between January and March.

This was a 59 per cent rise on the previous three months, and a fivefold increase on the same period in 2016.

SURGE IN EU CITIZENS GETTING RIGHT TO STAY IN THE UK The number of European nationals granted certificates confirming their right to live in the UK surged in the first three months of 2017. A total of 51,695 documents and cards certifying permanent residence were granted to citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) and relatives between January and March. That was a 59 per cent rise on the previous three months, and a fivefold increase on the same period in 2016. It was also the highest quarterly number since current records began in 2006. The figures cover the months leading up to the UK's formal notification on March 29 of its intention to leave the European Union. The announcement triggered a two-year countdown to Britain's exit, which is scheduled to take place at the end of March 2019. EU citizens who have lived continuously in the UK for at least five years automatically have a permanent right to live in Britain. People from countries in the EEA - EU states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - plus Swiss nationals can apply for a document which confirms their right of permanent residence in the UK. Non-European family members of EEA citizens can apply for a permanent residence card. Of the 51,695 certificates granted in the first three months of 2017, roughly one in five went to Polish nationals. Some 11 per cent went to Romanian nationals, 9 per cent were granted to Italian nationals, while French nationals accounted for 6 per cent. Advertisement

It was also the highest quarterly number since current records began in 2006.

The figures cover the months leading up to the UK's formal notification on March 29 of its intention to leave the European Union.

The announcement triggered a two-year countdown to Britain's exit, which is scheduled to take place at the end of March 2019.

EU citizens who have lived continuously in the UK for at least five years automatically have a permanent right to live in Britain.

People from countries in the EEA - EU states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - plus Swiss nationals can apply for a document which confirms their right of permanent residence in the UK.

Non-European family members of EEA citizens can apply for a permanent residence card.

Of the 51,695 certificates granted in the first three months of 2017, roughly one in five went to Polish nationals.

Some 11 per cent went to Romanian nationals, 9 per cent were granted to Italian nationals, while French nationals accounted for 6 per cent.

Speaking during a BBC interview with Andrew Neil earlier this week, Mrs May said: 'People do support the immigration target and what they're supporting is the view of the British people.

'That's what we're supporting, because the British people want to see us controlling migration.

'We have brought in new rules. We've ruled out a lot of abuse that was taking place in the system, but you have consistently to work at that.'

She added: 'We'll get the ability to work at it in relation to the numbers of people coming from the EU, but we're the party - it's me and my party, me and my team, that are committed to saying we want to control migration, whereas Labour want uncontrolled migration.'

The Prime Minister sought to defend the party's record on lowering immigration, having twice promised to reduce it to the tens of thousands.

She said the Tories had 'ensured that we are working to reduce immigration' and would 'have the opportunity... to bring in rules for those who are coming from the European Union countries into the United Kingdom' after Brexit.

Theresa May, pictured writing a condolence message at Manchester Town Hall this week, has reiterated her commitment to bringing net migration below 100,000

Challenged over why the party had not lowered non-EU migration to the tens of thousands, she said: 'We've seen it come down and we have seen it... and we have seen it go up.'

She said: 'We haven't got down to the tens of thousands.

'We will be able to introduce rules for people coming from inside the European Union when we leave the European Union, but this is an area in immigration, as I've said many times before, where you have to be consistently working at it.

'That includes looking at non-EU migration as well as EU migration in the future.'
Donald Trump met European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker in Brussels  a city he once called a 'hellhole'  on Thursday.

The President was filmed walking down a red carpet and into the headquarters of the European Council, an institution he has openly attacked in the past.

He is later scheduled to attend his first NATO meeting, another organization he questioned the value of during his election campaign.

Trump came to Brussels from Vatican City where he had a private audience with the Pope, whom he declared was 'terrific' during a morning meeting with Tusk and Juncker.

And the president said a 55-nation meeting during the first stop along his diplomacy tour,Saudi Arabia, 'was very spectacular. I don't think there was ever anything like that. That was beyond anything anyone's seen.'

But Trump also reminded the pair about his stunning election victory in November, according to a source with knowledge of their discussion. It's a subject that he returns to in meeting after meeting with foreign leaders.

Donald Trump arrived at the headquarters of the European Council, in Brussels, on Thursday where he was met by President Donald Tusk (pictured together)

Trump will attempt to mend ties during his meeting with EU leaders after he branded himself Mr Brexit following the UK's exit from the union

Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meets with EU leaders including Mr Tusk and Jean-Claude Junker (left)

'You know, Mr President, we have two presidents in the EU,' Tusk said as they posed for photos before their meeting.

'I know that,' Trump said.

Juncker joked: 'There is one too much.'

While in Brussels, Trump will meet with several European heads of state, including France's newly elected president Emmanuel Macron, who has been critical of Trump, over lunch.

It is not known if the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal, one of Obama's flagship trade deals with the EU bloc, will be on the agenda.

While Trump has not officially killed the deal, Ted Malloch, the President's reported pick for EU ambassador, has previously said it is 'dead and buried'.

In total, Trump will spend about 24 hours in Brussels, a city where he said making a home would be 'like living in a hellhole', largely because of Muslim immigration.

Protesters gathered in Brussels early on Thursday, angry at the President's visit.

It remains to be seen if Trump will change his tone on Brussels the way he did about Pope Francis, who he attacked after the pontiff criticized his plans for a border wall.

Trump has already changed tone on NATO, having previously mused about pulling out of the pact because some member countries are not paying their fair share.

The NATO alliance is seen as key in guarding Europe against an increasingly aggressive Russia.

NATO partners will be hoping for reassurance at the meeting after Trump recently praised the alliance as 'necessary.'

But Tusk said he is 'not 100 per cent sure that we can say today  we meaning Mr. President and myself  that we have [a] common position, [a] common opinion about Russia.'

'Although when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, it seems that we were on the same line,' he added.

The President will also attend his first NATO meeting later on Thursday, another organisation he has questioned in the past (pictured, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg)

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that 'of course' the United States supports Article 5, a key part of the NATO treaty in which partners are compelled to come to the defense of member states.

Trump has refused to say himself whether he would honor the pledge.

Tusk also cautioned that the Trump administration and Europe are still at odds in many ways.

'Some issues remain open like climate and trade,' he warned, referring to the EU's push for full respect of the Paris Agreement on global warming and open multilateral trade deals.

But he insisted there is full agreement elsewhere  'first and foremost, on counter terrorism.'

The 45th President was welcomed to Belgium by Queen Mathilde (left) and King Philippe (second right) during his first foreign trip on Wednesday

The First Lady was also on official duties in Brussels on Thursday, visiting the Queen Fabiola Children's University hospital

Tillerson said: 'I think you can expect the President to be very tough on them, saying, "Look the U.S. is spending 4 per cent. We're doing a lot. The American people are doing a lot for your security for our joint security. You need to make sure youre doing your share for your own security as well." So I think thats going to be the core of his message to NATO.'

He added that it would be 'a very important step' for NATO to join the 68-nation international coalition fighting ISIS.

'NATO joining the ISIS coalition, we do think that would be a really important step for them to take,' Tillerson said. 'They've been an observer. But theyve become more and more engaged in the actual fight.'

'I think Secretary Stoltenberg feels that would be an important step for them to take. There are a couple of countries that are still thinking it over.'

The move, which is expected during Thursday's meeting, is symbolically important, especially since the terror group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a deadly explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

While in Belgium, Trump will unveil a memorial to the September 11 attacks, the only time in the alliance's history that the Article 5 pledge has been invoked.

He will also speak at NATO's gleaming new $1.2 billion headquarters.

Trump visited the facility on Thursday morning and told Tusk and Juncker: 'It's beautiful.'

Trump labelled himself 'Mr. Brexit' when Great Britain left the EU, and said his own election would be 'Brexit plus, plus, plus' on the eve of his victory.

Mr Trump has previously visited Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Vatican City, where he was warmly welcomed, and will travel to Italy after Belgium for meetings with the G7 leaders

Hundreds of protesters gathered to mark Trump's arrival in Brussels, where he is deeply unpopular because of remarks made during his election campaign last year

Those rallies will likely take place outside the heavily guarded security perimeter near the city's airport and downtown.

In the wake of this week's Manchester bombing, Belgium will remain on security Level 3 - meaning that the threat of an extremist attack 'is possible and likely.'

The country has been on that level of alert since suicide-bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and subway killed 32 people last year.

Trump is slated to leave Brussels late Thursday for the final piece of his trip, a two-day stay in Sicily for G-7 meetings.
The mother of an infant boy claims staff at Lismore Base Hospital used a sticky-taped on bottle teat to treat his herniated obstructed bowel in 2015.

She also said the hospital then told her the boy's condition was 'just a virus', and advised her to drive her child to Lady Cilento hospital in Brisbane, almost two hours away, if they wanted better care.

'As long as you are breathing you're fine in [Lismore] hospital,' she told Nine News.

'If you take a turn for the worst, you have no way of surviving. None.'

A two-month-old baby presented to Lismore Base Hospital in January 2015 with a hernia which was obstructing his bowel (pictured)

The family had initially brought their son, then two months old, to the hospital the year before when 'his bowels started coming out of his belly button', but were told he had stopped eating 'because he was a premature baby' and sent home.

They returned in January 2015 when a 'purple and green' mass of skin began to protrude through the boy's belly button. After multiple rounds of medication, the teat was brought out by nurses.

As staff tried to push the mass back inside the infant, they asked the mother to hold the teat as they put it over the pushed-in mass, and attached it with sticky tape.

Nurses then said they could not do more until doctors returned to the hospital, and advised the boy would likely be discharged.

The family fought to stay and were admitted, but when the woman checked her son's nappy later in the evening and found it full of blood, she decided to make the lengthy drive to Lady Cilento in Brisbane.

The infant's mother claims nurses pushed the hernia inside his body before securing it with a bottle teat and sticky tape. She says the family were then told they would likely be discharged and should return the next day when doctors were available

After discovering blood in her child's nappy following the moving of her son's hernia, the woman drove him two hours away from Lismore Base (pictured) to Lady Cilento in Brisbane, which she said was a 'resort' in comparison

She said the care was notably better at the Brisbane hospital, and described it as a 'resort' in comparison to Lismore Base.

'We had amazing care to the point where we told our friends don't go to Lismore Base go straight to Brisbane,' she said.

'Your kids are in a lot of danger if you go to that place.'

The mother claims she is now in the process of preparing to take legal action against the hospital.

Earlier this month, it was revealed Miriam Merten, a mother-of-two, died after falling and hitting her head repeatedly while wandering the halls of Lismore Base Hospital's Adult Mental Health Unit as nurses ignored her cries for help in 2014.

Daily Mail Australia have contacted Lismore Base Hospital and the NSW Medical Association for comment.
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A network of extremists including ISIS fighters, top recruiters and teenage jihadi brides has emerged from just a few square miles in Manchester in recent years, it has emerged.

Suburbs across the south of the city, including Moss Side and Fallowfield, have produced up to 16 jihadis who have either fled to Syria or Iraq, been killed fighting for their warped ideology or are now in jail.

Salman Abedi, who murdered 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night, grew up around the same estates as a group of young men who radicalised each other, it has been claimed.

There are fears he was part of a wider network of fanatics in Manchester - a cell that once included key ISIS recruiter, Raphael Hostey, who grew up less than a mile from the suicide bomber's home in Fallowfield.

A network of extremists including ISIS fighters, top recruiters and teenage jihadi brides has emerged from just a few square miles in Manchester in recent years, it has emerged

There are fears Abedi was part of a wider network of fanatics in Manchester - a cell that once included top ISIS recruiter, Raphael Hostey (pictured), who grew up less than a mile from the suicide bomber's home in Fallowfield

Salman Abedi (pictured) murdered 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night when he detonated a suicide bomb. He is believed to have had links to a Manchester terror cell

Twin pupils, aspiring medical students Zahra (right) and Salma (left) Halane, left their homes in Manchester and moved to ISIS-controlled Syria

Hostey, a one-time rapper boasted of smuggling 'hundreds' of people into Syria before he was killed in a drone strike in April 2016.

He sponsored a number of young men from Moss Side, including former RAF gunner and Muslim convert Stephen Gray and Raymond Matimba in their attempts to join ISIS.

Hostey left Liverpool John Moores University and fled to Syria with 20-year-old students Khalil Raoufi, from Didsbury, and Mohammed Javeed, from Levenshulme.

Javeed was killed in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2014 while Raoufi died in combat in February the same year.

It was not the last time Hostey was linked to suspected jihadi recruitment.

Abedi's sister Jomana, 18, was in the same year at the same school in Whalley Range that hit headlines in 2015 when 16-year-old 'terror twins' Zahra and Salma Halane moved to Syria to become jihadi brides - reportedly recruited by Hostey. It is unclear whether they are still alive.

Moss Side was also home to 50-year-old former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Ronald Fiddler, also known as Jamal al-Harith (pictured)

Investigators were also looking into possible links between Abedi and Abdalraouf Abdallah (pictured), a Libyan refugee, also from Moss Side in Manchester

Abdallah was shot in Libya and later jailed in the U.K. for terror offenses, including helping Stephen Gray (pictured), a British Iraqi war veteran and Muslim covert, to join fighters in Syria

The Manchester Arena bomber went to school with their brother Ahmed Halane, 24, at Burnage Academy, a boy's school catering largely to the city's Asian community. Ahmed is a terror suspect himself, banned from Britain under an exclusion order.

The twins' cousin, student Abdullahi Ahmed Jama Farah, from Longsight, Manchester, was jailed for seven years in 2016 for acting as a communications chief for a battalion of British ISIS fighters known as the 'Britanni Brigade.'

He was prosecuted after helping his friend Nur Hassan, 19, from Manchester, travel to Syria to join ISIS.

Five other friends from Manchester with links to extremism kept close contact with Farah as he ran communications for their 'Britanni Brigade', many from Moss Side, Whalley Range, Didsbury and nearby Heaton Moor.

Moss Side was also home to 50-year-old former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Ronald Fiddler, also known as Jamal al-Harith.

The Briton blew himself up at a military base in Iraq in February after fleeing to the country to join ISIS.

He was one of 16 men awarded a total of 10million in compensation in 2010, when the British government settled a lawsuit alleging its intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. It is thought Abedi may also have been inspired by his action.

Hostey sponsored a number of young men from Moss Side, including former RAF gunner and Muslim convert Stephen Gray and Raymond Matimba (pictured) in their attempts to join ISIS

The Manchester Arena bomber went to school with their brother Ahmed Halane, 24, at Burnage Academy, a boy's school catering largely to the city's Asian community. Ahmed is a terror suspect himself, banned from Britain under an exclusion order

Investigators were also looking into possible links between Abedi and Abdalraouf Abdallah, a Libyan refugee, also from Moss Side in Manchester.

Abdallah was shot in Libya and later jailed in the U.K. for terror offenses, including helping Stephen Gray, a British Iraqi war veteran and Muslim covert, to join fighters in Syria.

Gray was sentenced for five years for attempting to join fanatics in Syria.

Abdallah's brother Mohammed and his friend Nezar Khalifa, were also radicalised in communities in South Manchester.

Meanwhile, the south Manchester neighbourhood of Whalley Range was also home to a group of men belonging to an outlawed Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

One member, Abd al-Baset Azzouz, left to oversee a terror cell in Libya under Osama bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Mirror reports.

It was claimed last night that Salman Abed's mother Samia Tabbal is a 50-year-old nuclear scientist who is a close friend of the wife of former Al Qaeda commander Abu Anas Al-Libi.

Al-Libi once featured on the FBI most wanted terrorists list, with a 20million bounty. He spent five years in Manchester, having won asylum in Britain in 1995.

He was later suspected of helping to plot the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, which killed a total of 224.

Al-Libi returned to Libya in 2000, and was captured by US Special Forces in Tripoli in 2013. He died in custody two years later.

His wife Umm Abdul Rahman said she went to college in Tripoli with Abedis mother, who studied nuclear engineering, and that the women had lived together in Manchester.
Wendy Fawell, 50, has been named among those killed in the Manchester terror blast

A mother whose daughter was hospitalised from the Manchester terror blast has been named among those killed.

Wendy Fawell, 50, from Otley in West Yorkshire, was at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena with her daughter Charlotte, 15, and her friend.

Charlotte had been taken to a hospital after the group was separated during the explosion but Ms Fawell had been missing ever since.

Twenty people remain in critical condition after the attack, with the youngest fatal victim of the blast being an eight-year-old girl.

Salman Abedi, 22, a Mancunian of Libyan descent, had since been revealed as the terrorist behind the explosion.

This morning former colleagues of Ms Fawell confirmed her death after posting a tribute to the teacher on Twitter.

Her son Adam, 29, confirmed his mother had died and said last night: Me and my family are truly devastated by the news. Mum was a wonderful woman. So kind and generous and touched the lives of so many.

Kara Lamb, 16, who goes to school with Charlotte, said the mother and daughter were really close and spent a lot of time together.

The teenager regularly went to concerts with her 'young-at-heart mum', she said.

Staff at St Oswald's C of E Primary School, in Guiseley, wrote: 'It is with deepest sadness that I confirm that our former colleague Wendy Fawell was killed in the Manchester bombing. RIP, Wendy.'

It is believed that Ms Fawell was just about to leave the gig when she was caught up in the blast.

Twenty two people were killed and 119 injured in the attack at Manchester Arena. Pictured, emergency services at the scene on Monday night

Charlotte was taken to hospital in Oldham and her brother, Adam Fawell, 29, began a desperate search for his mother.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this week, Mr Fawell said: 'We are just hoping for anything and something but there is just nothing, nothing, nothing.'

He said: 'The support we are getting from friends and family is unbelievable and the stuff that is going around generally is incredible and a little bit overwhelming.'

More than 100 people attended a vigil for Ms Fawell in Otley on Tuesday evening.
A six-year-old boy visited a hospital to hand out sweets and chocolate to victims of the Manchester terror bombing after being told he was too young to give blood.

Little Joseph Griffiths begged his mother to let him donate after hearing that his best friend's sister and mother were caught up in the incident, which left 22 people dead.

As he has a rare O-negative blood type, Joseph, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, asked if he could join his mother in giving blood after she saw appeals on social media - but when doctors confirmed he was too young to donate he was devastated.

Knowing he had the rare blood type O-negative, Joseph, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, asked if he could join his mum in giving blood after seeing appeals on social media

Instead, his mother Leah Griffiths, 28, suggested they go to their local hospital and hand out snacks to the emergency services who had been working tirelessly to care for those injured in Monday nights' events.

According to Ms Griffiths, nurses at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester burst into tears as Joseph visited the nurses station and handed out cakes and biscuits praising them for their hard work over the last 24 hours, treating numerous patients.

Delighted nurses open the bag of sweets and chocolates little Joseph brought them

She said: 'Joseph's best friend's sister and mother were involved in the attack at Manchester arena and straight away he wanted to help.

'I said that I was going to go and give blood and Joseph asked me if he could give blood too as he is O-negative. I wasn't sure if he'd able to do because he's so young so we rang the doctor's but he told Joe he couldn't because he was too young.

'He was pretty devastated and was in tears after he was told he couldn't help, so I told him we would go and get some sweets and snacks from Tesco after he finished school and that we would take them to the staff in A&E at Wythenshawe hospital as I knew they would have been working non-stop.

'When we arrived there was a police van parked up outside so Joe went over and offered them some chocolate and they let him get in the van and let him wear their hats. Although they must have been shattered they were really friendly and just tried to make this a better situation that it was.

'Then we went to A+E and walked over to the nurses station and gave them cakes and biscuits. They asked why we were doing that and Joseph replied saying: 'Because I want to say thank you for everything you have done and all of your hard work.

'The nurses all started to get upset and were so grateful for this small act of kindness.'

Joseph with parents Leah and Chris. Nurses at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester burst into tears as Joseph visited the nurses station and handed out cakes and biscuits

One nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital took to social media to praise Joseph's actions.

She said: 'A six year-old boy came into A&E today with his mum and wanted to donate blood but was too young so he then bought in a load of goodies in for us... I can't explain how this affected us apart from we cried... His mum must be so proud of him and I certainly would be if he was mine.'

Victims of the attack, which is the worst terror related incident since the London Bombings in 2005, were taken to hospitals across the city, including Manchester Royal Infirmary, Salford Royal and Wythenshawe Hospital.

There have been 22 people confirmed dead with details of the victims emerging whilst 20 people, including children remain in a critical condition.
Police say a stolen ute was pursued three times by officers in the half hour before it slammed into a car in Sydney's innerwest, killing two middle-aged men on their way to work.

Alex Theodore, 62, and Junior Saini, 49, were killed when the ute allegedly ran a red light at a major intersection of the Princes Highway at Canal Road in St Peters, near Sydney Airport at 4.30am on Thursday, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The two workmates in the blue sedan died - one at the scene, the other a short time later.

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Two people have died and one man has been taken into police custody following a crash involving a stolen vehicle (pictured)

Junior Saini, 49, was killed when the ute allegedly ran a red light at a major intersection of the Princes Highway at Canal Road in St Peters, near Sydney Airport at 4.30am on Thursday

Alex Theodore, 62, was killed in a car crash on his way to work

The two-car, high-speed collision occurred at St Peters on the intersection of Princes Highway and Canal Road in Sydney's south

Photos from the crash show the damaged car resting next to a power pole and clothing strewn across the road.

Police allege the male driver of the 4WD grey ute ran a red light moments before crashing into the sedan, then attempted to flee the scene before being brought down by police dogs.

A critical incident has been established to investigate the collision that occurred 10 minutes after the final pursuit.

The stolen vehicle was pursued at 4am, 4.15am and 4.20am but not at the time of the crash, said Acting Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald.

'I want to make this very clear, police were not actively involved in a pursuit of that vehicle when it collided with the vehicle containing the two victims of this incident,' he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday afternoon.

'Police were actively looking for that vehicle and were undertaking a police operation at the time.

'The pursuit was terminated 10 minutes prior to this incident.'

Police allege the male driver of the 4WD grey ute ran a red light moments before crashing into the sedan

The stolen vehicle was pursued at 4am, 4.15am and 4.20am but not at the time of the crash (collision pictured)

A dog squad vehicle was stopped at the highway intersection when the incident occurred and was not in pursuit, he said.

The driver, believed to be aged in his 30s, sustained injuries to his leg as a result of his arrest and is in hospital where he'll later be interviewed by police.

The 4WD was stolen during a home invasion in Mosman on Sydney's north shore on Wednesday night, Mr Fitzgerald said.

Mr Fitzgerald said the matter will be investigated transparently and clearly.

Police are trying to contact the two victims' next of kin.
A pigeon suspected of being a Chinese spy has been caught in the disputed Sino-Indian border region.

The bird, with a tag bearing Chinese numbers, was seized by villagers in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh on the Sino-Indian border on May 20, Indian media reports.

It has become a full-blown suspect of Chinese espionage amid recent calls from government to remain 'very vigilant' against Chinese transgression along the border.

The alleged spy, with a tag bearing Chinese numbers, was seized by villagers in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh on the Sino-Indian border on May 20, Indian media reports

The incident had caught public attention as the pigeon was captured in Arunachal Pradesh, an area at the heart of India-China boundary conflict.

As fears spread that the feathered prisoner could be a Chinese spy, villagers immediately reported the incident to the district officials.

It was the first recorded capture of an animal suspected to be a spy in the area, a district official told reporter of Hindustan Times.

The case has been referred to the forest department to investigate on the use of the Chinese-numbered tag on the pigeon's left leg.

The officials suggested that it might be for research purposes, without disclosing if the bird was also equipped with transmitters or cameras.

The incident had also highlighted recent tension between China and India.

In mid May, India refused to participate in China's Silk road project 'One Belt, One Road' conference in Beijing.

The country has signaled its strong opposition to the multi-million dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which cuts through the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region that is claimed by India.

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lamas visit to Arunachal Pradesh in April also added to the tensions between the two neighbours, according to Northeast Today.

Citing 'perceptional differences' between the two countries, India's Union Home minister Rajnath Singh has warned the country to be 'very vigilant' against Chinese transgression to guard the 2,167-mile long border,The Times of India reports.
Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, reportedly met with an American spy in Malaysia just four days before he was poisoned.

CCTV purports to shows the 45-year-old, who was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur airport, with a 'middle-aged Korean-American' man in a hotel lift at the resort island of Langkawi in northern Malaysia on February 9.

Kim, who had allegedly met the contact several times before, stayed in a hotel suite with him for two hours, according to The Asahi Shimbun.

His computer showed a record of a USB memory stick being inserted into it, which may have been used to pass on crucial information to the suspected US agent, the Asian news outlet reported.

Malaysian authorities speculated that North Korea's secret police became aware of the meeting and decided to silence Kim.

Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, reportedly met with an American spy in Malaysia just four days before he was killed. This CCTV image purports to show Kim (left) with the Korean-American suspected agent in a hotel lift

He was poisoned with a lethal nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur airport just four days later. Pictured, slumped in a chair after he was assassinated

Kim, who had allegedly met the suspected spy several times before, stayed in a hotel suite with him for two hours during which time he may have passed on crucial information, an Asian news outlet claimed

According to the report, Kim arrived alone at Kuala Lumpur without telling anyone on February 6 from Macau, where he was living in exile with his family.

He returned from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur on the evening of February 12.

A day later, he was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in a brazen Cold War-style assassination using a lethal nerve agent banned by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.

There have been claims that Kim Jong-un had his brother killed because he feared he was part of a US-backed coup.

The US and even China may want to groom Kim Jong-nam in an effort to remove his brother from power, Business Insider reported.

The North Korean dictator has caused global concern with his ballistic missile demonstrations and reported violent purges of top officials.

At 33, he could rule North Korea for up to five decades with a leadership that is openly hostile to the US.

North Korea also has little contact with China. Kim has never visited Beijing just like Chinese President Xi Jinping has never been to Pyongyang.

CCTV appears to show (circled in red) a man purported to be Kim Jong Nam being accosted by a woman in a white shirt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on February 13. It emerged that he had been poisoned with a lethal nerve agent

Pictured, Kim telling security about the attack just minutes afterward it happened

Kim has also had top officials with ties to China brutally killed with packs of dogs or anti-aircraft guns, according to reports.

North Korea executed five senior security officials in February because they made false reports that 'enraged' Kim Jong Un, South Korea's spy agency said.

With little influence over Jong-un, Chinese diplomats could have persuaded generals and senior officials in North Korea to back Kim Jong-nam in a coup, Business Insider speculated.

The assassin used the world's deadliest chemical weapon that needs just a drop to kill someone, it has emerged.

CCTV footage of Jong-Nam's final minutes shows one female assassin wiping a fast-acting poison on his face from behind.

Other shots show him stumbling, wiping his face, and seeking help from people while gesturing to his eyes before being escorted to a clinic.

He later slumped in a chair after he suffered a seizure and died on February 13.

Traces of VX, considered one of the five most deadly chemical weapons of war that produces a feeling of drowning before death, were detected on swabs of the dead man's face and eyes.

Kim had traces of VX, which is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations, on his face and his eyes after being targeted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah (left), 25, and Doan Thi Huong (right), 28, from Vietnam, were charged with murder in the case and could be hanged if found guilty

Experts say only a minute amount of the banned nerve agent is needed to kill.

Police said one of two women suspected of the killing was vomiting profusely afterwards and experts says that his murderers were probably wearing thin gloves and washed their hands afterwards to avoid killing themselves.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is believed to have a large stockpile of the poison among a terrifying arsenal of up to 5,000-tonnes of chemical weapons.

South Korea has blamed Pyongyang for Kim's death, but the North has rejected those claims and has never confirmed the identity of the victim, who was carrying a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked.

Pyongyang had denounced Malaysia's investigation as an attempt to smear the secretive regime, insisting that Kim most likely died of a heart attack.

Two women - Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam - have been arrested and charged with the murder.

They could be hanged if found guilty.

Aishah has already admitted that she worked in a massage parlour, while Huong has told police that she earned money for her family back in Vietnam by escorting men in night clubs and being paid well for her services.

They told officials from their embassies in Malaysia that they believed the entire operation was a harmless prank for a reality show.

Malaysian police say the attackers knew what they were doing and had been trained to go immediately to the bathroom and clean their hands.

Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing's protection, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.
One of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's government ministers told a reporter from The Sun that the government is planning on invoking the "Technical Capabilities Orders" section of the Snoopers Charter, a 2016 domestic spying bill; the "orders" allow the government to demand that companies cease using working cryptography in their products and services, substituting it with deliberately defective code that can be broken.



The source told The Sun that the government would cite the Manchester bombing as pretense for invoking the orders, though there's no indication that the security services' failure to prevent the bombing was caused by their inability to pierce cryptographically protected communications.





The measure  which the government is planning on implementing after the election to prevent political blowback  is just one of many long-planned, long-advocated authoritarian measures that Theresa May and her party have used the bodies of dead children to launch. The day after the attacks, May's government promised to send up to 5,000 armed, uniformed soldiers into British streets.

The Snoopers Charter was held to be illegal by the European Court of Justice's Advocate General. Shortly before passing the bill Members of Parliament voted an amendment that exempted them from its spying powers.



There has been no suggestion yet that encryption, which keeps messages from being read by hackers, played any part in the attack. Neither has it been suggested that the extended powers would have prevented such an attack. Internet companies have repeatedly argued that the powers made possible under the Investigatory Powers Act will make everyone less safe. While building "backdoors" into security will mean that intelligence agencies can read messages, it will also mean that those messages can potentially be read by anyone else, too. Technology companies have told The Independent that it is still impossible to know whether it would be possible to legally comply with such orders. Weakening encryption in one country like the UK might lead the companies to be in breach of  and it still isn't clear whether the UK government could force them to break security across the world, as has been suggested.



Manchester attack could lead Theresa May's government to launch huge internet crackdown [Andrew Griffin/The Independent]

(Image: Policy Exchange, CC-BY)
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These are the fascinating pictures of students from the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania - which was tasked with eradicating the Native American culture.

The images, which have been released from the Library of Congress, show how over the period of 40 years, 10,000 Native American children attended the school.

The institution was founded in 1879 by Captain Henry Pratt - under the slogan - 'Kill the Indian: Save the Man'.

Children at the school were regularly beaten if they spoke in their own language or expressed any of their tribe's religious beliefs.

To show how well the school worked, many of the children were photographed entering and leaving the school.

When arriving at the school, the children were wearing Native American clothing and sporting traditional hairstyles. Upon leaving, those same children, following a harsh regime, look completely different.

 Slide me  Tom Torlino, pictured left upon his arrival at the Carlisle school in Tom Torlino in 1883 and then three years later after he had been transformed from a man wearing tribal clothing to someone who had been 'assimilated' under the controversial plan

These children, pictured, left, were members of the Sioux tribe before their assimilation into white society

 Slide me  The school was founded by Captain Henry Pratt who claimed he wanted to 'kill the Indian to save the man'

This student was known as 'White Buffalo' when he arrived at the school in Pennsylvania in 1881 before his transformation

Thomas Moore pictured around 1897 was one of the 10,000 children to undergo a forced assimilation at the school

Students at the school were beaten if they spoke their native languages or were deemed too slow with their assimilation

Captain Henry Pratt, pictured with a student in 1880, ran his school along incredibly harsh military lines
President Donald Trump's budget proposal calls for saving $10 million next year by selling wild horses captured throughout the West without a guarantee from buyers that the animals won't be resold for slaughter.

Wild horse advocates say the change would gut nearly a half-century of protection for wild horses and could send thousands of free-roaming mustangs to foreign slaughterhouses for processing as food.

They say the Trump administration is kowtowing to livestock interests who don't want the region's estimated 59,000 mustangs competing for precious forage across more than 40,000 square miles of rangeland in 10 states managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

President Donald Trump's budget proposal calls for saving $10 million next year by selling wild horses captured throughout the West without a guarantee from buyers that the animals won't be resold for slaughter

Trump's budget anticipates the savings would come through a reduction in the cost of containing and feeding the animals. The savings also would include cutbacks involving roundups and contraception programs.

The horses are protected by a 1971 law that tasks BLM and U.S. Forest Service with studying and managing the wild mustang population. Excess horses are captured and sold to private owners.

Adoption rates have not been as rapid as breeding, and captured horses have ending up at costly long-term facilities or the slaughterhouse.

Trump's budget would cut costs by allowing the horses to be purchased without a guarantee that they won't be killed and turned into meat.

Republicans in the Congressional West Caucus signaled their approval in a statement that praised Trump's budget and mentioned the horses.

Caucus Chairman Paul Gosar of Arizona, Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, also of California, and Rep. Rick Crawford of Arizona lauded Trump's proposed spending reductions that would balance the budget in 10 years and save $3.6 trillion.

It specifically highlights the section of Trump's budget that 'eliminates appropriations language restricting BLM from using all of the management tools provided for in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.'

Wild horse advocates say President Trump's new budget proposal would undermine protection of an icon of the American West in place for nearly a half century and could send up sending thousands of free-roaming mustangs to slaughter houses in Canada and Mexico

Court rulings forced the closure of the three remaining horse slaughterhouses in the US in 2007. Horses could be exported and sold for slaughter outside the US, however.

The animal rights activist group Peta has lobbied in favor of legislation that would prevent horses from being sold for this purpose and exported to Mexico and Canada. So has the Humane Society.

The Humane Society estimates that 130,000 horses are exported to the United States' neighbors each year, where they are killed and then processed as meat.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has sponsored legislation - the SAFE Act - to end the practice.

'The slaughter of horses for human consumption is a barbaric practice that must end,' Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida said earlier this year as the lawmakers reintroduced the legislation.
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Rebels living in England have claimed the UK Government waived travel bans to let them fight Colonel Gaddafi in Libya as investigators probe the Manchester bomber's visits to Tripoli.

Fighters which included Libyan exiles and British-Libyan residents have described how MI5 operated an open door policy for those willing to travel to North Africa to topple the dictator.

It comes as Home Secretary Amber Rudd admitted Salman Abedi, who killed 22 and injured at least 119 people when he blew himself up at Manchester Arena, was known to counter-terror authorities.

Those who travelled to Libya to fight alongside Islamic rebel groups have described how, even though they were subject to counter-terror orders banning them from leaving their homes because they posed a security threat, they were allowed to travel to the hostile warzone.

When they returned to the UK, having spent months alongside groups thought by British intelligence to have links with Al-Qaeda, rebels were said to have been allowed back into the country without hesitation.

Libyan officials have backed up the claims, saying the British government were 'fully aware' of young men being sent to fight, turning the North African country into an 'exporter of terror'.

Salman Abedi may have been part of a larger cell that included Mohamed Abrini, the 'Man in the Hat', with connections to the mass murders in Paris and Brussels. His father Ramadan (right) was arrested in Tripoli yesterday evening

Lounging on the beach in Libya with friends and hanging out with his mates in Manchester, this is Salman Abedi (circled) as a teenage boy before he became a suicide bomber. There is a no suggestion any of the friends he is pictured with have been involved in any wrong doing

Abedi's younger brother Hashem (pictured) was arrested in Tripoli, Libya, on suspicion of having links to the ISIS, that claimed responsibility for the atrocity

Abedi's father Ramadan and younger brother Hashem were in custody in Libya last night after being arrested by counter-terror police a day after elder brother Ismail, 23, was detained in Manchester.

Detectives said Hashem had links to ISIS and was planning to carry out a terror attack in Tripoli.

Hashem was accused of having known about his brother's murderous plans for more than a month, while it emerged his father had been a revolutionary fighter against Gaddafi who publicly voiced support for an Al Qaeda-linked group in Syria.

In the wake of Monday night's atrocity, former rebel fighters have talked of how easily they were able to slip free from their travel bans and leap into battle.

Sources, some of whom met Abedi and described him as a hothead, told the Middle Eastern Eye claim these trips were facilitated by the British government, something the Home Office said it could not comment on when contacted by MailOnline.

Abdel Hakim Belhadj, commander of the Tripoli Military Council and former head of the now-defunct Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), who was rendered by the CIA from Bangkok to Libya in 2004 and imprisoned for seven years, speaks to thousands of Libyans rallying for their revolution in Martyrs' Square September 9, 2011 in Tripoli, Libya

One Brit who travelled to Libya despite being on house arrest over fears he would join militant groups in Iraq expressed his surprise at being given the green light.

'I was allowed to go, no questions asked,' the source told MEE.

He described how he fought alongside people from Manchester and London as well as local rebels from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which descended from a group of Islamist militants thought to have links with Al-Qaeda, according to MI5.

Another British fighter told how he was stopped entering the UK having visited Libya in 2011, but when he told them the name of the MI5 officer he had talked to about fighting in the war-torn country, he was allowed to board the plane and said the security services had 'sorted it'.

The bulk of the fighters, described to be in their late teens or early 20s, flew to Tunisia before crossing the border while others went via Malta.

'The whole Libyan diaspora were out there fighting alongside the rebel groups,' another source told MEE.

One source said he met Abedi at their local mosque in Didsbury, and another said he was a 'hot head' with a reputation for involvement in petty crime.

A statement from the rival interim government in Beida, Eastern Libya, and separate to the Government of National Accord in Tripoli appeared to back up the sources' reports.

It said: 'The Libyan government denounces the terror attack that occurred in Manchester.

'This cowardly attack was an imminent result of terrorist groups' actions that have been operating for decades in the UK.

'That includes the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group which has been recruiting Libyan and Muslim youth in the UK and Europe and sending them to Libya and other countries to deliver terrorism and death with the prior knowledge of the British government which provided a safe haven.

'These groups have been destroying our cities and towns in an attempt to shape Libya into an exporter of terror to the whole planet.

'Whilst British officials are fully aware of what the legitimate government of Libya and the Libyan National Army are conducting in fighting and combating these organisations and the terrorist militias they harbour, they insist deliberately to support these groups and encourage them to operate and attempt to control the Libyan people and their resources.

'It is now crucial and imperative for all countries to establish and begin fighting terrorists and their financers through a clear partnership that the Libyan government is willing and ready to participate in.'

Although the LIFG disbanded, Haroun said the father belongs to the Salafi Jihadi movement, the most extreme sect of Salafism and from which Al-Qaeda and ISIS (pictured in Libya) hail

Last night, attention focused on how the bomber had been allowed to slip through the net. Key warnings about his descent into jihadism were apparently overlooked.

Yesterday it was alleged that two calls about his conduct had been made to a police anti-terror hotline and that his family had repeatedly raised concerns he was 'dangerous'.

It was also claimed the university drop-out had travelled extensively in the Middle East and received terror training in Syria and that he returned to the UK from Libya just days before the attack.

Meanwhile, the bomber's father Ramadan Abedi was arrested yesterday outside his home in a suburb of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

A witness said the 51-year-old, who had earlier insisted his son was innocent of the Manchester bombing, was handcuffed by armed men and whisked away. An official did not explain why he was arrested.

Earlier he had claimed his son seemed 'normal' when they last spoke five days ago and insisted: 'We don't believe in killing innocents.'

A former Libyan security official Abdel-Basit Haroun said Ramadan, a former airport security worker, was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s. The group had links to Al-Qaeda.

Although the LIFG disbanded, Haroun said the father belongs to the Salafi Jihadi movement, the most extreme sect of Salafism and from which Al-Qaeda and ISIS hail.

He once worked for the Gaddafi regime's security apparatus before turning towards hardline Islam: one of his associates once ran a group called the Islamic Martyrs' Movement.

He had also publicly voiced his support for an extremist group fighting in Syria. He posted photos of soldiers clad in black uniforms from the Al-Nusra Front, which was the official Syrian branch of al Qaeda until it broke up last July, on his Facebook page five years ago.

Underneath the photo, he wrote: 'Victorious against the infidels...say Amen!'

Ramadan, a former airport security worker in the UK, also published a picture of Hashem holding a machine gun while wearing a Nike t-shirt and combat trousers. Underneath the picture he write: 'The lion Hashem... is training'.

Ramadan fled Tripoli in 1993 after Moammar Gadhafi's security authorities issued an arrest warrant and eventually sought political asylum in Britain.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi during an hour long break of their talks, stroll together to a separate tent for a lunch in Tripoli Thursday March 25, 2004. The dictator warned the former Labour leader that if he was removed from power Islamic extremists would take over Libya with the ultimate goal of conquering Europe

Colonel Gaddafi warned Tony Blair that if he was removed from power Islamic extremists would take over Libya with the ultimate goal of conquering Europe.

Newly released transcripts of 2011 phone calls between the pair reveal the ousted Libyan leader's anxieties about the growing influence Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were having in Africa and the Middle East.

He warned jihadis were already wreaking havoc in the North African state despite his governance - and that if he was to be toppled it would pave the way for the rise of an Islamic State that would open the doors to a deluge of migrants heading for mainland Europe.

Blair contacted the dictator and urged him to flee for a 'safe place' in two calls on February 25 2011, eight months before he was beaten to death after being found in a sewer.

Transcripts of the conversations were published for the first time yesterday and MPs said the dictator's fears extremists would take Libya may have been 'wrongly ignored' because he was usually 'delusional'.

However, hindsight appears to prove the former dictator foretold the rise of ISIS - and the knock-on effect it would have on displacing the Libyan people and millions more across Iraq and Syria.

Here we examine the key points covered in the telephone exchanges between Gaddafi and Mr Blair.
Theresa May 'must bear some responsibility' for the terror attack in Manchester, Ukip deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans today said.

Ukip's leadership took aim at the PM over her track record on policing and protecting Britain's borders as they accused politicians of being 'too cowardly' to tackle Islamist terrorism.

Speaking at the party's manifesto launch in central London this morning, Ms Evans launched into a shocking attack on Mrs May.

The remarks sparked a furious response from Home Secretary Amber Rudd hit back and said it is 'not the time to make political points'.

The Ukip's Suzanne Evans tore into Theresa May's record on security as she said the PM bore some responsibility for the Manchester terror attack

Theresa May, pictured arriving at the Nato summit in Brussels today, where she will discuss terrorism and security. Ukip have launched an outspoken attack on her record

Asked if she thought the PM bore some responsibility for the terror atrocity which killed 22 innocent victims, Ms Evans said: 'I think she (Mrs May) must bear some responsibility.

'All politicians who voted against measures or voted for measures to make cuts bear some responsibility.

'As I said, I think when 9/11 happened we should have had a serious rethink about immigration, it didn't happen.'

She added: 'Frankly, if they're not prepared to stand up and do what needs to be done to keep people safe then they're simply not fit to govern.

FIVE OF UKIP'S MOST MEMORABLE MANIFESTO PLEDGES Give women a vitamin D boost  by banning the burqa and niqab, therefore allowing vital sunlight to reach their skin. Cut the price of fish and chips by scrapping VAT on hot takeaways. Pubs could be closed down under the partys plans to crackdown on late opening and reduce the density of outlets selling alcohol. Ban the EU flag from being flown from any public building after Britain formally leaves the European Union Declare June 23 independence day to mark the historic Brexit vote and make it a bank holiday Advertisement

'I stand by what I say.'

Ukip batted away accusations that they were trying to exploit the atrocity, in which 22 innocent victims were killed and 119 seriously injured when Salman Abedi blew himself up at the end of a teen pop concert.

And Ms Evans quickly tried to backtrack on her pointed comments on the PM and said blame lies with the suicide bomber.

'The only person who is responsible, or people who were responsible, for what happened in Manchester are the terrorists, let me make that absolutely clear', she said.

'But the circumstances that allowed them their ideology to breed, that allowed their hatred to spread, politicians should of taken action on that long ago.

The Home Secretary hit out at the comments.

She said: 'I think it's entirely the wrong approach. What we're trying to do now is support police, the intelligence services and of course the victims.

'We need to make sure they're getting all the help they need; this is not the time to make political points.'

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, pictured in Westminster today, hit out at Ukip's comments and said that it is not the right time to make political points

The shock attack on the PM came as Ukip became the first party to break the suspension of General Election campaigning which had been called in the wake of the attack.

UKIP HINT THAT THEY COULD CLOSE DOWN PUBS AND BARS Former Kip leader Nigel Farage, pictured enjoying a pint at an Essex pub in 2014 Ukip have suggested that they could close down pubs and bars if they are elected. Their former leader Nigel Farage was often photographed enjoying a pint. But their manifesto promises to crackdown on late opening and reduce the density of alcohol outlets. The party also pledged to repeal the 2003 Licencing Act which brought in 24 -hour drinking. The partys manifesto said the law had failed to usher in the continental style cafe culture Tony Blair claimed it would. Instead it has fuelled excessive drinking and attacks on paramedics and A&E staff, the party said. Advertisement

Most political parties agreed to stick to the truce until after the minute's silence at 11am this morning, but Ukip broke ranks by launching their manifesto earlier this morning.

launching their blueprint for power, the party's leader Paul Nuttall laid into the political establishment for failing to root out the homegrown terror threat.

He launched a scathing attack on politicians accusing them of being 'too cowardly' to confront the threat which lies in communities across Britain.

And he said that words of sympathy on social media and lighting candles of tribute at vigils are 'not enough' and that a drastic security measures should be imposed.

He said: 'Expressing sympathy with those killed and maimed in Manchester is important, but it is not enough to light candles or express our upset on social media.

'When you are a leader of a political party you have a duty to set out how you are going to protect the people of your country from a threat to their way of life.

'There is no magic solution to turning back to tide of Islamist terrorism.'

He added: 'But be in no doubt, the problem will not be solved if politicians are too cowardly to confront or even identify where the problem lies.

'Moreover, without the political will to take difficult decisions, challenge communities and most importantly secure our borders, things are only going to get worse.'

He said that 'anyone who leaves this country to fight for Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS) should forfeit their passport, their citizenship and never be allowed to return'.

The Ukip leader said a fare more 'muscular approach' is needed to tackling the homegrown terror threat.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall with Suzanne Evans at the party's manifesto launch. They batted off suggestions they are trying to exploit the atrocity for votes at the upcoming election

The Ukip leader, pictured at the manifesto launch in London today, promised to recruit thousands more police and troops to protect Britain

He said: 'The fact that this Islamist terrorist targeted a concert which was primarily attended by children and teenagers simply proves that there is no depth to which these evil and warped individuals will not stoop.

'When I was elected leader of Ukip six months ago, I was clear right away that the threat posed to our people by Islamic fundamentalism was one of the major issues I and indeed all politicians would face in the coming years.

THE UKIP MANIFESTO AT A GLANCE Immigration: Create a one in one out migration system over the next five years. Ban the burqa and niqab: Ukip say this will liberate women and allow them to get essential vitamin D from the sunlight. Housing: Build up to 100,000 affordable pre-fab homes to be made available to under 40s. Health: Pump 11billion into the NHS and social care by 2021/22. Crackdown on NHS tourism and scrap hospital car parking charges. Police: An 20,000 more police officers, 7,000 more prison officers, and 4,000 more border force staff. Education: End sex education in schools, open a grammar in every town, crackdown on soft university courses. Benefits: Keep the pensions triple lock, protect the winter fuel allowance, scrap the bedroom tax. Advertisement

'I also identified the need to take a far more muscular approach to social integration and against segregation as a key policy area.'

He said the fault lay with the 'failure of politicians too cowardly to confront or identify the problem'.

He added: 'I was criticised by certain sections of the media for calling radical Islam a cancer in our country following the Westminster attack.

'I make no apology, I repeat it today. It is a cancer that needs to be cut out.

Mr Nuttall said the 'political establishment' has been 'failing the British public' by not tackling the issue of integration and social cohesion head on.

He said: 'These are issues that the other political parties would rather brush under the carpet and the Westminster chatterati would rather ignore because it makes them feel uncomfortable.'

He promised that Ukip would fund an extra 20,000 troops, 20,000 police officers, 7,000 prison officers and 4,000 extra borer guards if they are elected on June 8.

The Ukip leader added: 'It is not the British way to turn a blind eye to evil in our midst. It is not good enough to light candles and proclaim that extremists will not beat us. Action is required on multiple fronts.

Travellers at Kings Cross station in London stopped to mark the minute's silence to remember to victims of the Manchester terror attack, which left 22 victims dead

A woman wipes away a tear as she remembers the dead and their families at the minute' silence in St Ann's Square in Manchester to mark Monday night's attack

In an extremely rare move, UK troops have been deployed to guard landmarks on the streets of Britain after the terror threat was raised to 'critical' - meaning another attack could be imminent - in the wake of the Manchester atrocity which killed 22 people and injured over 100

'I am proud Ukip is setting out its patriotic agenda for defending our country and our way of life.'

And he criticised Theresa May for presiding over cuts to police numbers.

Political parties had suspended General Election campaigning in the wake of Monday night's atrocity, which was the worst terrorist attack in Britain since the July 2005 suicide bombings.

Ukip was the first party to break the suspension with its manifesto launch this morning, while all the others are due to resume local campaigning today following the 11am minute's silence.

National campaigning starts again tomorrow.
A Frenchman whose hoverboard invention is being considered by the US Army for usage by combat soldiers was spotted flying his super-fast device over a lake in Arizona.

Franky Zapata, a former professional jet ski driver, was seen flying his Flyboard Air hoverboard over Lake Havasu earlier this month.

In footage of the flight, Zapata is seen hovering dozens of feet above the Lake Havasu beach as onlookers watched the amazing flight.

Franky Zapata, a 37-year-old former professional jet ski driver, was seen flying his Flyboard Air hoverboard over Lake Havasu, Arizona, earlier this month

In footage of the flight, Zapata is seen hovering dozens of feet above the Lake Havasu beach as onlookers watched the amazing flight. Wearing a protective helmet and flight suit, he zooms past palm trees and over water and sand during the minute-long video

Wearing a protective helmet and flight suit, he zooms past palm trees and over water and sand during the minute-long video.

Upon finishing the flight, Zapata lands on a nearby platform and is helped down by a nearby onlooker.

FLYBOARD AIR: KEY STATS The Flyboard Air claims to allow users to fly untethered through the sky to an incredible height of 10,000ft (3,048m). That's equal to the height of nearly seven Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other. It uses an 'Independent Propulsion Unit' to fly for about 10 minutes and has a top speed of 93mph (150 km/h). Advertisement

It's unclear how Zapata takes off on his hoverboard, as the video starts after his is in the air.

There are also no specific details on how Zapata is controlling the Flyboard or what exactly is powering it.

But Zapata spent several days in Lake Havasu City testing out his new board during air shows in Sara Park and on a nearby beach, according to Havasu News.

Residents of the city came out to watch him soar through the air and do tricks on his futuristic board.

The Flyboard Air allows users to fly untethered through the sky to an incredible height of 10,000ft (3,048m), which is almost seven times that of the Empire State Building.

The 37-year-old's original Water Flyboards are popular with the likes of Justin Bieber and Kylie Jenner - but his latest invention puts Marty McFly's hoverboard to shame.

The Flyboard Air allows users to fly untethered through the sky to an incredible height of 10,000ft (3,048m), which is almost seven times that of the Empire State Building

The device uses an 'Independent Propulsion Unit' to fly for about ten minutes and has a top speed of 93mph (150 km/h), Zapata Racing claims. Zapata is working with the US Army on uses for the Flyboard Air, but details of their collaboration are classified

The Flyboard Air (pictured above) is not yet on sale to the public in the US or the UK and it is not known how much it will cost

The device uses an 'Independent Propulsion Unit' to fly for about ten minutes and has a top speed of 93mph (150 km/h), Zapata Racing claims.

Zapata is working with the US Army on uses for the Flyboard Air, but details of their collaboration are classified.

The former jet skier did say, however, that the plans are to make the boards available to combat soldiers.

Last year it was revealed that he had sold his company, Zapata Racing, to Implant Science, a Department of Homeland Security supplier.

The Flyboard Air is not yet on sale to the public in the US or the UK and it is not known how much it will cost.

Earlier versions of the Flyboards are available to buy worldwide for between $2,675 (1,577) and $12,000 (9,626) and can also be rented from various centers in the US and the UK.

Zapata, pictured left last year, holds a Guinness record for doing 26 backflips with a water jet pack in a single minute

The 37-year-old also recently used his Flyboard Air to travel more than 7,388ft (2,252 meters) off the French Atlantic coastal town of Sausset-les-Pins (pictured above)

'Since 2016, we have fulfilled man's dream, by giving him the possibility to move through the air, thanks to a totally autonomous flying board,' said Zapata.

'Our adventure is not about to stop there. Never stop dreaming,' he added.

The 37-year-old also used his Flyboard Air to travel more than 7,388ft (2,252 meters) off the French Atlantic coastal town of Sausset-les-Pins last year.

A video shows him reaching a height of 165ft (50 meters) above the surface in a flight that lasted just under seven minutes.

Zapata achieved the feat on a craft developed by his company Zapata Racing.

He also holds an earlier Guinness record for doing 26 backflips with a water jet pack in a single minute.

Speaking at a press conference following the successful attempt, a delighted Zapata told reporters: 'This has really been a life's work.
New Zealand has launched a rocket into space that could turn the small Pacific nation into a world leader in satellite technology.

A pocket rocket, with 3D printed engines, was fired into space from a remote part of the North Island on Thursday afternoon.

Californian aerospace company Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket from the Mahia Peninsula, which reached space three minutes after it was launched at 4.20pm local time.

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Rocket Lab launched this Electron rocket into space from the North Island's Mahia Peninsula

A distant image of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket at New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula

This image could mark New Zealand's entry into the global space race with the United States

The Electron rocket moments before its launch into space on Thursday afternoon

It has a payload of just 150kg, or the weigh of two average-sized men.

While it didn't reach orbit, as hoped, Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck said the early stages of the mission went well, with the rocket reaching space after three previously failed launches.

'We didn't quite reach orbit and we'll be investigating why however, reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position,' he said in a statement.

Rocket Lab, which has a New Zealand subsidiary, is a dedicated satellite launch company.

Rocket Lab's long, black rocket manoeuvres into place ahead of its launch

The underside of an Electron rocket before liftout from the Mahia Peninsula on the North Island

It was given official approval last month to carry out three test launches, and the company founded in 2006 hopes to start commercial launches in late 2017 with the aim of launching a rocket every week.

Rocket Lab said it would target getting to orbit on the second test and will look to carry the maximum payload.

New Zealand has never had a space program but officials hope regular launches could change perceptions of the South Pacific nation and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Rocket Lab plans to keep costs low by using lightweight, disposable rockets with 3D-printed engines.

It sees an emerging market in delivering lots of small devices into low Earth orbit.

The Electron rocket being transported to the launch pad at the Mahia Peninsula

New Zealand has never had a space program but is hoping to have a commercial industry

Light from the rocket engines are visible from 85 kilometres away from the launch site

The satellites would be used for everything from monitoring crops to providing internet service.

The New Zealand parliament has rushed through new space laws and the government has set up a boutique space agency, which employs 10 people.

The nation's Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said New Zealand wanted to join an elite group of nations with a space program.

'So far, it's only superpowers that have gone into space,' he told the Associated Press last week.

'For us to do it, and be in the first couple of handfuls of countries in the world, is pretty impressive.'

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is unusual in many respects.

It carries only a small payload of about 150kg, is made from carbon fibre and uses an electric engine.

Rocket Lab says each launch will cost just $US5 million, a tiny fraction of a typical rocket launch.
Almost 150 cannabis plants were seized on Wednesday morning after an anonymous tip off.

Police raided a home in Ashfield about 7.30am and removed 143 plants from a hydroponic set-up, with an estimated street value of $490,000.

Pictures show a forest of plants, sitting under lights powered by what appeared to be a very overworked set of power boards.

Police seized 143 cannabis plants from a home in Ashfield about 7.30am on Wednesday

Officers estimate the street value of the crop is $490,000, and have arrested a 23-year-old man

The seizure comes after a tip-off made to Crime Stoppers in March.

Further investigation by police lead to the discovery of the home on Frederick Street.

A 23-year-old man from Condell Park was arrested and taken to Bankstown Police Station.

He was charged with Cultivate Commercial quantity  Prohibited plant, for which there is a maximum sentence of 15 years.

The man has been refused bail, and appeared at Bankstown Local Court on Thursday.

He will face Burwood Local Court on Wednesday July 19.
A nurse claims she has been left branded with a nightclub stamp after she believes she suffered a chemical burn.

Emily Butler, from Rubery, in Birmingham, was stamped as she entered Snobs nightclub on Saturday.

The 28 year-old had visited the club with a group of friend and her boyfriend Mitchell, 27, when she was stamped.

She said: 'The bouncer just pulled my arm out and stamped me. He never asked me if I wanted it and there was no consent given.'

Emily Butler, from Rubery, in Birmingham, was stamped as she entered Snobs nightclub on Saturday

However five days on, Emily claims she was left with a chemical burn which has left a scar, resembling a brand.

Emily had been on a night out celebrating both her and her sisters birthday but it was not until the following evening she knew something was wrong.

She said: 'I noticed the stamp was raised when I tired to wash it off. Later on I noticed it had gotten more swollen and itchy.'

Emily, who works at Queen Elizabeth, in Birmingham, was at work Monday morning when other medical staff suggested she go down to A&E.

She was told she had suffered an allergic reaction which had caused a chemical burn on her and it was likely to scar.

Emily, who knew she was allergic to Henna, claims she contacted the nightclub herself to ask what substances the stamps contained.

She said: 'When I called they told me it wasn't possible and that the stamps were water based. I told them that it couldn't be otherwise I would have the burn.

Emily explained that she was a medically trained nurse and knew this wasn't right.

Emily was told she had suffered an allergic reaction which had caused a chemical burn on her and it was likely to scar

She said: 'I asked for the manufacturer's details and they confirmed that the ink should have only been used on paper.

Emily said: 'The nightclub told me it wasn't possible and if I was looking for compensation I wouldn't get any.'

'I was never bothered about money, I wanted to make people aware so they don't have to go through what I'm going through.'

Emily is now taking medication and applying cream to the burn to help reduce the swelling and itching, and said that the burn has effected her job.

She said: 'I have been left with no apology and extremely disappointed.

'But most importantly I'm physically hurt by this and I am unable to fulfill my role as a nurse, as the burn limits my cleanliness when washing my hands sufficiently and gloves irritate the burn and cause me pain.'

Snobs nightclub declined to comment.
Seven members of a notorious tattooed criminal gang were sentenced to 390 years in prison for their part in a horrific massacre of 11 innocent workers.

Members of the 'Barrio 18 Revolutionaries' received a 35-year sentence for each of the 11 victims, plus five years for their links with illegal gangs, at a court in El Salvador.

Police said they kidnapped and killed three laborers and eight workers of an electric company in the quiet town of San Juan Opico in March 2016.

Seven members of notorious tattooed criminal gang 'Barrio 18 Revolutionaries' (pictured) were sentenced to 390 years in prison for their part in a horrific massacre of 11 innocent workers

Police said they kidnapped and killed three laborers and eight workers (pictured) of an electric company in the quiet town of San Juan Opico in March 2016

Members of the 'Barrio 18 Revolutionaries' received a 35-year sentence for each of the 11 victims, plus five years for their links with illegal gangs, at a court in El Salvador

The murders, carried out in a rural spot 27 miles northeast of the capital San Salvador, shocked the crime-ravaged Central American country.

The killers were thought to be looking to slay members of the rival gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

They came across the 11 workers instead and reportedly killed them in a case of mistaken identity or to eliminate any witnesses.

Those sentenced were David 'Baba' Antonio Anaya Acosta, Rene 'Street boy' Mauricio Huezo Landaverde, Hector 'Flaco' Mario Baiza Martinez, Douglas 'Horse' Alexander Montano Duran, Nelson 'Triste' Lobo Salgado Merino, Diego 'Diego'Armando Acevedo Serrano and Arnoldo de Jesus Dubon Castaneda.

Barrio 18 Revolutionaries is a faction that broke off from Barrio 18 and now operates separately. Barrio 18 gang members have distinctive tattoos showing their allegiance (pictured)

The massacre, carried out in a rural spot 27 miles northeast of the capital San Salvador, shocked the crime-ravaged Central American country. A police officer takes a picture with of a gang member of the El Barrio 18, Revolucionarios in San Salvado

The massacre horrified the nation and prompted a government crackdown on street gangs just weeks later. Pictured, Barrio 18 gang members are arrested during a street patrol of the Halcones

An arrest warrant was also ordered against Jose 'Enano' Luis Polanco Escalante and Jorge 'Fiera' Alberto Lozano Ramirez on Wednesday.

In October 2016, the Juvenile Court of Santa Tecla declared criminal responsibility for two adolescents for their part in the massacre.

Defense attorney Carlos Mejia said he would seek an appeal because a key witness had not been sworn in.

The massacre horrified the nation and prompted a government crackdown on street gangs just weeks later.

El Salvador ranks among the world's most murderous countries, with criminal gangs fighting over territory and threatening intruders with death.

El Salvador ranks among the world's most murderous countries, with criminal gangs fighting over territory and threatening intruders with death

Violence has surged since a 2012 truce between rival gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha MS-13 began to unravel in 2014. Pictured, a former MS-13 member in prison in El Salvador

Violence has surged since a 2012 truce between Barrio 18 and MS-13 began to unravel in 2014.

Barrio 18 Revolutionaries is a faction that broke off from Barrio 18 and now operates separately.

Barrio 18 was formed in Los Angeles in the 1960s. It is believed that there are 35,000 members across Canada, the United States and Central America.

Gang violence was so rife in Los Angeles in the 1990s that officials started to deport members back to Central America.

The longest prison sentence in El Salvador was given to a member of Mara Salvatrucha in 2014, when he was ordered to spend 730 years behind bars for convictions that included 15 homicides.
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A six-year-old girl who was attacked by a sea lion and dragged underwater at a pier in British Columbia is being treated for a rare disease which can lead to amputation and death.

The youngster was bitten by the animal as she sat near her family in Richmond, British Columbia, last weekend.

The girl's grandfather jumped into the water and rescued the girl, who received minor injuries to her back.

The father of a six-year-old girl who was pulled into a Canadian harbor by a seal has pushed back against criticism of his family. The man, identified only as Mr Lau, denied claims they had been feeding the animal

The girl was seen on video shrieking as she was dragged into the cold water. Lau said another family had been feeding the sea lion, despite claims the the man who filmed the incident - but admitted his daughter did get too close

However, the girl is now being treated in case she has contracted a rare bacteria, mycoplasma phocacerebrale, which has a high degree of antibiotic resistance.

According to ABC News, Vancouver Aquarium's Deana Lancaster said the bacteria is incredibly harmful to humans.

She said: 'If any member of our animal care team receives a bite from a sea or sea lion, they take a letter from our vet with them to the hospital, which explains that the infection is resistant to some antibiotics. The family saw the media reports and got in touch with us. She did get a superficial wound, and she's going to get the right treatment.'

The Lau family, who live in Vancouver were on a day trip to the Steveston Fisherman's Wharf in Richmond when the sea lion grabbed the girl.

They denied they had tried to feed the animal.

But speaking to CBC, Lau denied the claims, saying 'There was somebody beside them that was trying to feed them. Also, they weren't trying to take pictures or anything.'

The video shows the girl laughing at the sea lion's head bobbing in the water before turning to sit down at the edge of the pier.

At that point the sea lion then leaps from the water and grabs her by the dress, pulling her into the water backwards.

The girl is quickly rescued by an older man - whom Lau has revealed to be the girl's grandfather - who plunges into the water and pulls her up, then leads the startled girl away.

The video, filmed by a bystander who said he thought the family were feeding the creature, quickly went viral, and family found themselves slammed from all sides - including by employees of the Steveston Harbor Authority.

One such employee, Bob Baziuk, told The New York Post that he believed the family were feeding the sea lions prior to the incident, despite signs in the harbor warning people not to do so.

'This is where fishermen sell their catch direct to public, it's not SeaWorld,' he said. 'Some people don't read signs or don't care, they're blockheads, they think it's OK for kids to get close to the sea lions.'

He added that while he hoped the girl was OK, he believed the family were not 'wise'. He added: 'If youre incredibly stupid, watch this video and maybe this will help you.'

Although Lau denied that his family had been feeding the beast, he admitted that his daughter had got too close, and 'That's a lesson she took and she has taken that lesson in a hard way.'

The girl was only in the water for a couple of seconds before being rescued. She suffered a superficial injury on her back and was given antibiotics immediately after the incident. A harbor worker called the family 'blockheads' and not 'wise'

The girl's grandfather - who is seen in the video diving into the water within a split second of the girl being submerged - also came under criticism from members of the public.

They complained that he did not thank the members of the public who helped him out of the water.

Lau said that the family were grateful for the assistance, but that the family wanted to get the girl - who was absolutely drenched - away to dry her off as fast as possible.

He added that the grandfather's quick thinking likely saved his daughter's life.

'If he had one- or two-second doubt about that, my girl could have been gone by then,' Lau said. 'That reaction makes him a hero.'

The girl was given a dose of antibiotics at BC Children's Hospital immediately after falling into the water, Lau said, and suffered a superficial wound that was two inches wide and four inches tall.

'Only thing I care is God, she is safe. God, I didn't miss out anyone from my family at that moment,' he said. 'I could have gone organizing a funeral by now rather than doing interview.'

The girl's grandfather immediately leaped into the water fully clothed and rescued the girl. Viewers complained he didn't thank the public who helped pull them out, but Mr Lau said they just wanted to get the girl out of the water as soon as possible

The video was captured by Michael Fujiwara, from Vancouver, who told the Vancouver Sun: 'I was just sitting by the dock and then this sea lion popped its head out of the water just in front of me. I just took out my cell phone and started filming.

'The sea lion actually attracted a lot of attention from the visitors there, including the young girl.

'She and her family, I guess, they came, they started feeding the animal bread crumbs or whatever it was, and then I guess the animal got a little too comfortable.'

Sea Lions are highly intelligent creatures and are generally thought to be timid in nature.

There have been reports of aggressive attacks on humans in the past though it is not known if the animal was trying to harm the girl.
Bikram Choudhury, the founder of Bikram yoga, is out of money, even though he claims in the video above that women are clamoring to pay him $1,000,000 for a single drop of his sperm. To make matters worse for Mr. Choudhury, who was ordered to pay millions for sexually harassing women, there's now a warrant for his arrest.

Via SF Gate:

A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued the warrant for Bikram Choudhury and set bail at $8 million.

No lawyers appeared for Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt.
A man with a need for speed and perhaps limited resources has taken to the streets of Brisbane on a mobility scooter.

He was spotted 'zooming' down Coronation Drive in Milton on Thursday at about 10.30am by accounts manager Chris Jones.

Mr Jones told Fairfax Media he was spending time in the office lunchroom when the man on the scooter caught his eye.

A man was spotted travelling down a busy Brisbane road on Thursday morning riding a motorised scooter at about 10km an hour

'There was a bus behind him trying to get past and a whole lot of traffic behind him,' he said.

'It went from laughter to I hope he doesn't get injured.'

Video shows the man driving in the right hand lane of the busy road, and a bus moving to overtake him.

While Mr Jones and his colleagues were initially concerned for the man's safety, their worries were soon allayed by his return.

The man was seen driving back in the opposite direction a short time later, but this time he was off the road and out of danger.

'He came zooming past on the footpath so he obviously didn't get into any trouble,' Mr Jones said.
A man at a wedding in Vietnam stabbed a fellow guest to death and seriously injured another after he was booed off stage during a karaoke performance.

Nguyen Ngoc Diep, 44, started brawling with a guest who mocked his singing and stole his microphone at a ceremony in Tien Giang, southern Vietnam, on Thursday.

When a third guest, Le Hong An, 35, tried to break up the fight, Diep stabbed him several times. He later died in hospital, according to VNExpress news portal.

Nguyen Ngoc Diep, 44, from Vietnam, stabbed a fellow guest to death and seriously injured another after he was booed off stage during a karaoke performance (stock photo)

An autopsy revealed that An died of a cardiac arrest after Diep stabbed him in the chest.

The man who snatched the microphone remains in hospital, according to Tien Giang province Senior Lieutenant Colonel Truong Van Sau.

Diep has been arrested, reported by Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Karaoke is popular across Vietnam, and the singing sessions are often fuelled by heavy alcohol consumption.

Wedding parties - also often booze-soaked events - are frequently accompanied by karaoke performances.

In April, two men were detained for murdering another patron after a heated argument at a karaoke bar in southern Ninh Thuan province.
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Barack Obama received a rock-star welcome in Berlin as he appeared at a public debate Thursday with Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he praised as one of his 'favorite partners' during his presidency.

Obama's trip comes at the same time President Trump is making his inaugural excursion to Europe as president, visiting the European Union and NATO Thursday.

Merkel will leave Obama's side to go visit with NATO leaders in Brussels, including Trump.

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President Obama surfaced Thursday in Germany for an appearance alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he railed against the Trump administration's plan to build a Southern border wall

Former American President Barack Obama (right) smiles as he hands over a set of headphones to German Chancellor Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) was criticized by some for inviting former President Obama (right) to Germany, as they called it a publicity stunt to attract votes for her election this fall

Without using President Trump's name, President Obama criticized his successor's plan to build a border wall

Former President Obama (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) greet the large crowd gathered to hear them speak in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate

Thursday's event with President Obama (middle right) is the first of two events where Angela Merkel (center left) will be with an American president. She meets with President Trump later on Thursday in Brussels

Germans hold signs as they attend an event that attracted former President Obama, who sat alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Crowds packed the streets of Berlin for the opportunity to see the former American president speak alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel

President Obama's appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin was set before the iconic Brandenburg Gate

Attendees at a speech Thursday in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former U.S. President Barack Obama hold up a 'We Love Obama' sign

Security was tight in front of the German capital's iconic Brandenburg Gate, where Obama and Merkel appeared on a podium before thousands of people attending a gathering marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Police helicopters patrolled the skies and snipers with balaclavas watched the scene from nearby rooftops.

After lauding Merkel as someone who had done 'outstanding work,' Obama launched a defense of his own presidency and the values of liberal democracy championed by both leaders.

Citing the rise of nationalism and xenophobia in parts of the world, Obama told the crowd that 'we have to push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms.'

In a veiled reference to his successor Donald Trump, Obama also spoke of the need to see development aid and diplomacy as essential aspects of national security policy.

'We can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall,' he said, to cheers from the audience.

Merkel, who has taken political heat for her open door policy on refugees, including from Trump who called it a 'catastrophic mistake,' got reassurance from Obama.

'In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child,' Obama said. 'You can't distinguish between them in terms of their worth or inherent dignity.'

Obama also talked about how leaders also had to be responsible for taking care of their own people, explaining that more needed to be done for people in their own countries so they didn't want to leave.

He also defended his signature health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed 'Obamacare.'

'My hope was that I was able to get 100% of people health care while I was president. We didn't quite achieve that, but we were able to get 20 million people health care who didn't have health care,' Obama said.

'Certainly I have some regrets,' he continued. 'Obviously some of the progress that we made is now in peril ... but the point really is for those 20 million people, their lives have been better.'

Obama also talked generally about his leadership philosophy.

Former President Obama (left) gives a wave to the large crowd gathered to see him speak in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right)

Former U.S. President Obama (pictured) grins as he participates in a discussion with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the world leaders he bonded with while serving as president

Former President Obama (left) cheeses for the camera as he stands alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) in Berlin on Thursday

Former President Obama appeared in Berlin Thursday and spoke about health care, refugees and dismissed President Trump's plans for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico

The event with President Obama (center) and Angela Merkel (right) was to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. They stand alongside theologian Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (left)

'I often say that in politics or at least what I used to say about the presidency is that I saw myself as a relay runner,' he said. 'I would take the baton and I would run my leg of the race. and then I'd pass along the baton to someone else.'

'And again that's part of the reason why I'm so interested in talking to young people today, because each generation tries to make progress knowing that what we do is not going to be perfect is not going to solve every problem,' Obama added.

Since leaving office in January, Obama has spoken at several public events, which usually center around political discussions with young people.

Merkel, who hosted Obama at the same spot four years ago, was due to travel to Brussels later Thursday for a meeting with leaders of fellow NATO member states, including President Trump.

Trump will also lunch with France's new leader, President Emmanuel Macron, who won over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Thursday's appearance with Obama was criticized by some German opposition politicians as a publicity stunt ahead of September's general election, in which Merkel aims to win a fourth term.

How Obama and Trump ended up in Europe on the same day was a calendar 'quirk,' as CNN put it, with Obama being invited to speak by the German evangelical protestant church a year ago, before Trump was even elected.

'When we agreed to do this, they had not yet set the Trump schedule, we did not in fact know he would be there when we made this decision,' an Obama foundation official told CNN.
A Korean man has told a judge he put his Sydney housemate into two plastic bags after thinking he had bashed him to death, then hit the bags with a sledgehammer after hearing a scream.

'I totally believed he was dead,' Tai Jin Park told the New South Wales Supreme Court.

He also described feeling scared, 'like it was a movie' and wanting to stop the screaming and movement from the bags, before dumping the body in a rubbish bin.

The body of the slain housemate in Sydney's Epping was found in a garbage bin in 2015

The crime scene at Epping, in Sydney's north, where a Korean housemate was killed in 2015

After Park answered further questions about why he did this, Justice Megan Latham said she may not be able to accept his guilty plea to murder.

Adjourning the hearing to May 29, Justice Latham referred to the issue of intent and noted Park said he did not know what part of the body he was striking through the plastic bags.

Park, 27, has pleaded guilty to murdering Korean student Suyoung An in the early hours of August 19, 2015 at Epping, in Sydney's north, before withdrawing money from his bank account.

Park, whose visa had expired in 2014, said he thought Mr An was dead after he repeatedly punched and kicked him, leaving blood everywhere in the house.

The house at Epping in Sydney's north where Korean student Suyoung An was killed in 2015

Tai Jin Park told a judge he used a sledgehammer (stock image) to kill his housemates after hearing him scream from inside two plastic bags

He panicked, squeezed him into two plastic bags and planned to put him in a neighbour's wheelie bin which he had shifted into the backyard.

But suddenly he felt something moving against his leg and heard screaming.

'He shocked me, I thought it can't be happening, it was like watching a movie.'

He picked up the tool nearest to him, a sledgehammer, and he 'hit two times, random place'.

Earlier, a victim impact statement was read out on behalf of Mr An's father, Seung Man An, who travelled to Sydney from Korea with other family members for the hearing.

The victims father had travelled to Sydney from Korea to see his son's killer in the New South Wales Supreme Court

He told of the deep, unbearable pain he was suffering over the murder of his eldest son.

'Every day is a struggle,' he said, asking whether his son had called out for him as he was dying.

'Why did you have to go to Australia? Why didn't I stop you from going? I miss you so much, my son.'

As a father 'I am ashamed and cannot look at you when we eventually meet in heaven' and the image of his dying son 'will torment me for the rest of my days'.

'I live, but at the same time, I too am dead.'

Park was charged with murdering Mr An between August 18 and August 22.

Mr An told of his despair at not knowing the exact day of death, which meant he could not commemorate his son according to Korean culture.

Park then got in the witness box and told the court he killed Mr An at 1.30am on August 19.
Four people accused of plotting a second Russian terror atrocity have been arrested in Moscow weeks after an Islamist nail bomb attack killed 15 in St Petersburg.

The group were said to have been managed by an ISIS network in Syria and were planning another deadly attack on the country's public transport system.

The Russian Security Service (FSB) said the suspected terrorists' plans involved what they described as 'improvised explosive devices'.

The doors blown out on the train which was the target of a terrorist attack in St Petersburg

Russian president Vladimir Putin puts flowers down outside Tekhnologicheskiy Institut metro station in St Petersburg, Russia, April 3, 2017, in memory of those who lost their lives

An FSB statement said: The Russian Federal Security Service has detained four members of a terrorist group that consists of citizens of Russia and countries of the Central Asian region on May 25, 2017 in Moscow.

'They were preparing terrorist attacks on Moscow transport infrastructure using improvised explosive devices,' according to Russia Today, adding that they were ISIS militants.

On April 3, 15 people were murdered when a Russian citizen from former Soviet state Kyrgyzstan detonated a bomb inside a St Petersburg metro train.

Fifty were also injured in the blast as bodies, blood and wreckage were strewn across the carriage of the train blown up between Sennaya Ploshchad and Sadovaya metro stations in Russia's second city.

Russian citizen Akbarzhon Jalilov, 22, who was born in Kyrgyzstan, was named by security services as the attacker who also planted a second device hidden in a fire extinguisher that failed to explode.
The Manchester bomb atrocity may have inspired the suicide attack by ISIS militants at a Jakarta bus station that killed three policemen, Indonesian officials have said.

Six policemen and six civilians were also wounded in the twin blasts set off five minutes apart by two attackers in the Kampung Melayu area of Jakarta on Wednesday.

Police said the suicide bombing that killed 22 people after an Ariana Grande gig in Manchester on Monday may have 'triggered' a 'passion' within extremist cells in Indonesia.

The horrifying scene after two suspected suicide bombers blasted a Jakarta bus station. Bodies are seen littered in the parking lot

Pictured: Ichwan Nurul Salam (left), 34, and Solihin, the suspected Jakarta bombers, are both from West Java. Police are trying to verify the personal details of the suspects but said the suspects had ties to ISIS

Police officers carry a body bag containing body parts after two suicide bombers let off twin blasts at a bus station in Jakarta on Wednesday

Three police officers and two attackers have been confirmed dead in the blasts, which went off five minutes apart at Kampung Melayu terminal

A National Police spokesman said the horrific nail bombing - which left 116 people wounded - in the crowded concert hall could have inspired militants.

'After what happened in Manchester, in Marawi in the Philippines, maybe the cells here were triggered by the bombs and that lifted their passion to start bombing again,' Awi Setyono told television station TVOne.

Ichwan Nurul Salam, 34, and Solihin have been named as the suspected bombers.

Solihin is an administrative worker at the Darul Anshor, an Islamic boarding school in Poso. Both men are from West Java.

Police are trying to verify their personal details but said they have ties to ISIS.

In a raid Thursday morning of one bombing suspects' house in the city of Bandung, police discovered documents about Islamic teaching and two bladed weapons.

The man was married with two children and used to work as a herbal medicine seller, said the spokesman.

Indonesian National Police spokesperson Setyo Wasisto shows a picture of evidence collected from Kampung Melayu bomb blast site at police headquarters in Jakarta

An traumatised Indonesian woman weeps as a policeman guards the site of the suspected suicide bomb

The mother (centre) of Indonesia policeman Imam Gilang Adinata, a victim of a bomb blast at Kampung Melayu bus station, mourns near his coffin in Jakarta

The father of Indonesia policeman Imam Gilang Adinata, a victim of a bomb blast at Kampung Melayu bus station, prays near the coffin of his son, in Jakarta

Indonesia policemen carry the coffin of their colleague Imam Gilang Adinata at his funeral on Thursday

Imam Gilang Adinata was on duty to guard a traditional torch parade when he was killed by the blast on Wednesday

The second suspect's house in the city of Cimahi, outside Bandung, was also searched and his mother and sister were found to be living there.

Asked whether there was a link between ISIS and the group behind the attack, national police spokesman Awi Setyono responded 'yes there is', without giving further details.

The first bomb was detonated outside a public toilet and the second near a bus stop some 10 metres away, The Straits Times reported.

Police found an invoice at the site dated May 22 from a store in Padalarang, West Java, for a pressure cooker, as well as aluminum plates, nails, ball bearings, cable-switcher, to make the bomb.

It comes as children as young as eight were killed when Salman Abedi, 22, detonated an improvised explosive device minutes after Ariana Grande finished performing at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

A further 116 people were injured in the attack, with 75 admitted to eight hospitals across the region.

At least 10 people are injured, including five officers and five civilians, according to reports

The scene of the bomb explosion is pictured near the Kampung Melayu bus stop in Jakarta

A member of the police bomb squad inspects the site of the explosion

It was 'highly likely' an Islamic State-linked group was behind Wednesday's attack, Indonesian officials said.

'There's a link, but we're still studying whether it's an international network,' Setyono said.

Earlier, he said police were investigating whether the attackers had direct orders from Syria or elsewhere.

A law enforcement source said they may have been linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, an umbrella organisation on a US 'terrorist' list that is estimated to have drawn hundreds of Islamic State sympathisers in Indonesia.

Police officers inspect the scene and search for evidence after two blasts went off

A crowd gathers near a bus terminal after the suspected suicide bombs went off

The police's elite anti-terror squad Densus 88, which has played a leading role in tracking down and killing some of Indonesia's most wanted militants, is now taking the lead in the investigation.

Indonesia has suffered a series of mostly low-level attacks by Islamic State sympathisers in the past 17 months.

Three police officers and the two suspected suicide bombers - both male - were confirmed dead in the blasts in Jakarta on Wednesday night.

The blasts went off five minutes apart at Kampung Melayu terminal.

Residents helped clean up debris on Thursday at the East Jakarta bus terminal, littered with bloodstains and broken glass after the attacks.

The police officers killed were on duty to guard a traditional torch parade, which had not passed yet.

Police and bomb sniffer dogs inspect the site of the explosion

Indonesian police investigators check a body part found at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal

Police secure the site of the bomb explosions in Jakarta, Indonesia

Three police officers were killed and at least 10 others have been injured

Police officers stand guard at the site after the Wednesday night attack

Police investigators check a body part found after two suspected suicide bomb blasts went off

Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit raided the home of a suspected suicide bomber on Thursday as authorities linked attacks that killed three police officers at a Jakarta bus station a day earlier to the Islamic State militant group.

The attack was the deadliest in Indonesia since January 2016, when eight people were killed, four of them attackers, after suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the capital.

In a televised address, President Joko Widodo said he had ordered a thorough probe and was 'urging all citizens across the nation to stay calm and remain united'.

'I convey my deepest condolences to the victims and their families - especially the police officers who passed away while performing their duty,' he added.

While most recent attacks in Indonesia have been poorly organised, authorities believe about 400 Indonesians have joined Islamic State in Syria and could pose a more lethal threat if they come home.

Officers and police dogs are pictured at the scene

Police secure the area at Kampung Melayu bus terminal in east Jakarta

Police officers search for evidence after the twin blasts went off

Indonesian locals watch on behind police tape as officers secure the scene

Police said Wednesday's attack had targeted officers, using pressure cookers packed with explosives.

Police have now become the 'primary target' of militants in Indonesia, said Stanis Riyanta, a Jakarta-based security analyst.

Police raided the home of a suspected suicide bomber in the Indonesian city of Bandung and said they had found a receipt for a pressure cooker at the blast site bought on Monday in the capital of the West Java province.

'We wanted to look for instructions at that location, or evidence ... linked to the Kampung Melayu incident,' said National Police spokesman Martinus Sitompul.

A similar type of bomb was used in Bandung in February by a lone attacker, killed by police, who was suspected of links to a radical network sympathetic to Islamic State.

'There were similarities,' Setyono said, 'only yesterday's (attack) had been more perfected.'

An Indonesian bomb squad officer checks for other explosive device

Police guard the scene after the twin suspected suicide bombs went off

Police officers clear the scene after the explosions went off five minutes apart
Iran has built a third underground ballistic missile production factory and will keep developing its missile program, a Iranian semi-official news agency reported on Thursday.

'Iran's third underground factory has been built by the Guards in recent years ... We will continue to further develop our missile capabilities forcefully,' Fars news agency, quoted the head of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution airspace division, Amirali Hajizadeh, as saying.

The report did not provide more details, say where it's located and if and how many missiles have already been produced there, but the development will likely to fuel tension with Arab neighbors and Washington.

The head of the Iranian Republican Guards airspace division, Amirali Hajizadeh, announced that the third underground ballistic missile production factory was built in 'recent years'

A staple of annual military parades is a medium-range ballistic missile rolling on a truck, with the words 'Death to Israel' painted on it in Arabic (pictured above)

The report did not provide more details, say where it's located and if and how many missiles have already been produced there, but the development will likely to fuel tension between Iran (its president, Hassan Rouhani, pictured above) with Arab neighbors and Washington

Iran's Armed Forces have long boasted of having missiles that can travel 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, within range.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran's recent missile launches, putting Tehran 'on notice'.

When Trump was in Jerusalem earlier this week, he demanded that Tehran 'must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias. And it must cease immediately'.

'The United States and Israel can declare with one voice that Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon  never ever!' Trump said outside Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's ceremonial residence in Jerusalem.

Trump previously said in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv that Iran should have thanked the United States for the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers because it led to the lifting of sanctions.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran's recent missile launches, putting Tehran 'on notice'

When Trump was in Jerusalem earlier this week visiting President Reuven Rivlin (right), he demanded that Tehran 'must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias. And it must cease immediately'

'Instead of saying thank you to the United States, they now feel emboldened,' Trump said.

Iran's Sunni Gulf neighbours and its arch-enemy Israel have expressed concerns over Tehran's ballistic missile programme, seeing it as a threat to regional security.

'It is natural that our enemies America and the Zionist regime (Israel) are angry with our missile programme because they want Iran to be in a weak position,' Hajizadeh said.

In retaliation for the new US sanctions, Iran added nine American individuals and companies to its own list of 15 US companies for alleged human rights violations and cooperation with Israel.

Iran has spent years building a nuclear program with the goal of producing a weapon capable of reaching Israel, according to international observers.

A staple of annual military parades is a medium-range ballistic missile rolling on a truck, with the words 'Death to Israel' painted on it in Arabic.
BBC presenter John Humphreys, pictured with his journalist of the year award, made the blunder on live radio this morning

John Humphreys made an embarrassing gaffe this morning when he asked Ukip's Paul Nuttall if he is on a 'suicide mission' just days after the Manchester terror atrocity.

Listeners to the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme told of their outrage after hearing the comments live on air this morning.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured at least 119 more when he blew himself up after a teen pop concert in Manchester on Monday night.

Mr Humpreys made the gaffe as he questioned the Ukip leader about the party's manifesto and its prospects in the General Election amid predictions they will flop.

The veteran presenter said: Bit of a suicide mission for you isnt it, this campaign?'

Listeners to the flagship current affairs show could not believe their ears.

Ken Coates wrote on Twitter: 'Carefully chosen words or insensitivity from ego mind?'

Michael Hush wrote: 'Unfortunate question from Humphreys to Ukip leader after discussing Manchester attack, 'A bit of a suicide mission, this campaign isn't it?'

Another took to the social networking site to criticise his 'tasteless choice of words'.

Another wrote: 'I won't vote for Ukip but Humphreys suggesting they are on a "suicide mission" is in very poor taste.'

Britain fell silent at 11am to remember the victims of the Manchester atrocity, which was the worst terror attack on UK soil since the July 2005 bombings.

Abedi was known to security services and is believed to have links to terror group ISIS and to have travelled to Syria.

One Twitter user expressed their shock at the blunder, made on live radio

Another Twitter user criticised the BBC presenter's choice of words

Another listener said the analogy was in very poor taste

His attack, which deliberately targeted young children and their parents as they left what should have been a carefree night of fun, has horrified the world.

Political parties had agreed to suspend their General Election campaign in the wake of the terror attack out of respect for the victims and their families.

Ukip was the first party to break the suspension by launching its manifesto in central London this morning.

The other political parties returned to local campaigning after the minute's silence at 11am.

And they will return to national campaigning tomorrow.
This is the moment a woman preoccupied with her phone crashes into a stationary truck.

The footage posted online today was taken in Anhui Province, eastern China and posted online today to social media.

She was sent to hospital where she was treated for her injuries and had 30 stitches.

A woman was riding her electric scooter on a road while using her phone on a road in China

Slowly she skid off the main road and went sideways to the right, crashing into a parked truck

Surveillance camera footage shows the woman riding on a pastel blue electric scooter.

She slowly moves into another lane and off to the right. and slowly skids off the lane to the right.

She then hits the back of a stationary sand tipper truck and falls off her bike instantly.

According to a report in Jiangsu Television, she was sent to the hospital where the doctors gave her 30 stitches in her head without life-threatening risks.

The moment after she hit her head onto the metal panel at the back of a truck, she fell instantly

She was sent to the hospital for 30 stitches in her head while her scooter left at the scene

Police arrived and investigated the scene where they found a damaged pastel blue scooter

Wang MingHo, deputy chief of Anhui's Xuancheng traffic police explained to the reporter that the woman suffered a light injury as she was driving at a low speed.

The incident is suggested to take place in Xuancheng city at around 11:00am.

The woman admitted to the police that she was looking at her mobile phone while driving the scooter.

Local policemen investigated and confirmed the injured woman to take full responsibility on the incident.
Taylor Broussard, 21, was arrested in Baton Rogue, Louisiana on Wednesday - three weeks after he beat his ex-girlfriend and police learned he had been secretly living in her attic

A woman discovered that her ex-boyfriend had been secretly living in her attic and stalking her after he attacked her and stole her car earlier this month.

Police reported to the unidentified woman's house in Larose, Louisiana the morning of May 3, after getting a report that the woman's ex, 21-year-old Taylor Broussard, had forced his way into the home to beat her.

The woman was alone with a child in the home at the time, and reportedly shielded the kid while Broussard continued to strike her, after the two got into a verbal argument.

At one point Broussard took out a knife and threatened her, then used it to slash through her mattress and damage several other items in her bedroom.

The woman was eventually able to escape to a neighbor's house where she called for help.

By the time police arrived, Broussard had already fled the scene in his ex's SUV, also stealing her purse and cellphone while he was at it.

Police then looked through the home and found evidence that Broussard had been secretly living in the attic for some time.

Inside the attic, they found bedding, water bottles, food, and plastic bottles filled with urine, suggesting that he had been camped out in the space for an extended period of time - but they weren't certain for how long exactly.

They say they had also been called to the home just days before, on April 29, when Broussard showed up unannounced.

Inside the attic, police found bedding, water bottles, food, and plastic bottles filled with urine, suggesting that Broussard (left and right) had been camped out in the space for an extended period of time

Lafource Parish Sheriff's Office deputies tried to contact and locate Broussard after the attack but had no luck.

That was until Wednesday, when they finally tracked him down to Baton Rogue, where he was arrested.

He had nine active warrants out for his arrest including two counts of stalking, domestic abuse battery with child endangerment, domestic abuse aggravated assault, theft of a motor vehicle, felony theft, home invasion, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, and simple criminal damage to property.


and they're likely to vote for the "unelectable" Jeremy Corbyn, a guy significantly to the left of, say, Bernie Sanders, who has survived multiple attempts by the finance-capital wing of his own party to unseat him, and who is riding on a national wave of disillusionment with Thatherism, Neo-Thatcherism, and May-Thatcherism.

I just sent 100 each to Momentum and Jeremy for Labour.



Speaking this morning Mr Corbyn accused the Conservatives of having "held students back for too long" by helping to treble tuition fees to more than 9,000 a year, claiming Labour wants to "lift this cloud of debt" by making it free for people to study at university in England. His party is seeking to tap into the student vote, including those 18-year-olds sitting their A-levels and about to start university, as it bids to secure power at the General Election. Commenting on the latest registration figures, Professor John Curtice, a political scientist at the University of Strathclyde, told The Independent: "It is disproportionately younger people [who have applied to appear on the register], but you have to realise that it's disproportionately younger people who are most likely to be missed off the register in the first place.

Boost for Jeremy Corbyn as 90,000 young people register to vote in just one day

[Laura Hughes/Telegraph]

(via Naked Capitalism)
A massive fire raged through a building site near London's King's Cross Station today.

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters rushed to the site in Islington at 12pm to reports that a building was on fire. The flames were under control an hour later.

One construction worker escaped from the cab of a 100ft crane and was treated for smoke inhalation.

A massive fire raged through a building site near London's King's Cross Station today. Pictured: The crane whose driver escaped with his life and was treated for smoke inhilation

The Brigade's 999 control officers were inundated with more than 20 calls to reports of the blaze.

Fire crews from Islington, Kentish Town, Holloway, Paddington and Lambeth fire stations were at the scene.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said: 'We were called today at 12.15 to reports of a fire on Balfe Street.

'We sent an ambulance crew and an incident response officer to the scene, with the first of our medics arriving within seven minutes.

'We have treated a patient at the scene for smoke inhalation, and still remain at the scene.'
Fred Talbot (pictured) has been convicted of a string of sex offences against young boys

TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been convicted of carrying out a string of sex offences against young boys during camping trips to Scotland.

Talbot, 67, indecently assaulted seven boys during school trips when working as a biology teacher between 1978 and 1981.

The former This Morning star had denied the offences and forced his victims to give evidence at Lanark Sheriff Court during a two-week trial.

But a jury found him guilty of seven charges and he is facing jail when he is sentenced next month. Talbot showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out.

It can now be revealed Talbot is already serving a five year sentence for sex attacks on two boys while he was a teacher.

He was jailed in 2015 for the indecent assaults on two pupils from Altrincham Grammar School.

Talbot's trial heard he targeted pupils on school trips to Moffat, Dumfriesshire, and the Caledonian Canal in Inverness.

He urged young boys to drink alcohol before attempting to molest them in a string of incidents.

Last week, Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown, 54, appeared as a witness and told the court Talbot attempted to carry out a sex act on his friend during a school trip.

Brown said the boy had gone into a tent with Talbot but then rushed back claiming he had tried to molest him.

But under questioning from depute fiscal Imran Bashir, Talbot denied all the allegations against him and dismissed Brown's evidence against him.

Talbot is best known for his former job giving weather forecasts on ITV's This Morning (shown)

Brown had told the jury Talbot had been his biology teacher and taught him for four years in the Manchester area.

Under questioning he said Talbot had tried to sexually assault a fellow pupil during an organised trip.

Brown told the court the boy alleged Talbot had attempted to commit a sex act on him before he ran away.

He also told the court he had 'waited 40 years to speak to a policeman' about the allegations facing Talbot.

The offences, against boys aged 15 to 17, all took place between 1978 and 1981 and happened during separate trips to two locations in Scotland.

Talbot's mugshot after his conviction in 2015

During the trial, a succession of witnesses, now men in their 50s who cannot be named for legal reasons, told of their initial excitement at going on the trips - sometimes the first time away from their parents.

At the time, Talbot was a young teacher with a more relaxed attitude than others and would talk to the boys about topics such as pop music, alcohol and sex, the court heard.

The men went on to recount how Talbot abused his position of trust to attack them more than 35 years ago.

One man told the court he was indecently assaulted as a teenage boy after a visit to the pub on a camping trip left him 'very much the worse for wear'.

The witness told of his 'horror' when he awoke - after being 'singled out' to go to the pub - to find Talbot touching him in a tent when he was partially clothed.

Another witness gave evidence over a video link from Australia to recount how he awoke in his tent to find Talbot making a sexual advance on him.

A further witness said he was left 'petrified' when Talbot indecently assaulted him on a trip to the Caledonian Canal in 1979.

The jury found Talbot unanimously guilty of two of the charges against him. The remaining five guilty verdicts were by majority.

He was cleared of two charges - one of indecent assault and one of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices - on not proven verdicts.

Talbot, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and tie, sat impassively as the verdict was delivered.

Sentence was deferred until June 15.
Eerie footage has emerged of the remains of an armed British cargo ship that sank after being bombed by the Nazis in World War Two.

The Merchant Navy ship SS Thistlegorm now lies in a 'ship graveyard' off the coast of Ras Mohammed, Egypt, around 50 miles from the popular tourist destination of Sharm El-Sheik.

Revealing footage captured yesterday by Russian scuba diver, Vital Bazarov, shows many of the vehicles carried by the ship remain intact, lying undisturbed at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez.

Sleeping with the fishes: Eerie footage has emerged of the remains of an armed British cargo ship that sank after being bombed by the Nazis in World War Two

Creepy: The Merchant Navy ship SS Thistlegorm lies in a 'ship graveyard' off the coast of Ras Mohammed, Egypt, around 50 miles from the popular tourist destination of Sharm El-Sheik

As the diver approached the ship, surrounded by schools of fish, the wreckage loomed out of the water.

Its rusted hull is covered in sea life and algae, with other parts of the wreck buried in the sand.

In one eerie shot, an almost completely intact jeep is spotted resting on the seabed with its tire tread still visible.

Revealing: Footage shows many of the vehicles remained intact and lie undisturbed at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez

In one shot, an almost intact jeep is spotted resting on the seabed with its tire tread still visible

Other vehicles long-lost under the seas include barnacle-encrusted motorcycles.

The scale of the wreck appears huge, spreading far underneath and beyond the divers as they descend towards it and pick their way through.

SS Thistlegorm has been underwater since the early 1940s.

After its launch from Sunderland where it was built at the start of the decade, the ship set sail for Alexandria, Egypt.

Other vehicles long-lost under the seas include barnacle-encrusted motorcycles

It was carrying Bedford trucks, Universal Carrier armoured vehicles, Norton 16H and BSA motorcycles, Bren guns and cases of ammunition to support Britain's fight against General Rommel's forces in Africa.

But once the ship reached Egypt, it was located alongside other cargo ships by Luftwaffe bombers.

They struck the rear of the ship, where ammunition was stored, causing the ship to explode and sink.
Ukip supporters this morning heckled and hurled abuse at the BBC's political editor after she asked if the party was trying to exploit the Manchester terror attack.

The stormy scenes engulfed the party's manifesto launch, where leader Paul Nuttall had launched a furious attack on Theresa May who he said had failed to keep Britain safe from terror attacks.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said it 'sounds as if you are near as damn it blaming the Prime Minister for this attack and the circumstances that led to it'.

But her question was immediately drowned out with heckles from the angry Ukip supporters who were at the launch in central London this miring.

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The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg was hissed at and heckled when she asked a question at Ukip's manifesto launch in London this morning. Other journalists were also heckled

There were loud hisses as one man angrily shouted 'is that the BBC' while another shouted at her to 'crawl back down your hole'.

Another cried out 'fake news' and another declared 'what a stupid question' and 'Don't you understand English? another interjected.

Mr Nuttall tried to calm the abuse down, waving his hand and saying no as he stood on the stage.

He said: 'Please, please, please, please, please be respectful.'

The UKip leader then replied: 'No, I'm not accusing the Prime Minister.

'I'm saying that politicians in this country have been weak on this issue for many, many years.

'In terms of her record as home secretary I think it's appalling.

Ukip leader, pictured at the launch in London this morning as his supporters were booing reporters, urged them to calm down and respectful

'This is a home secretary who cut the numbers of police officers, cut the number of border guards, cut the number of prison officers.

'I'm sorry, it isn't a good record at all.

'But as for blaming her personally for the attack - absolutely not, I'm not doing that.

'What I'm saying is the politicians in this country are too cowardly at the moment to actually face up to what the real Britain is.'

Ukip supporters earlier booed after broadcast journalists - including Channel 4's Michael Crick - asked if Mr Nuttall was 'blatantly exploiting Manchester' for the General Election.

Journalists were also heckled at the Labour Party's manifesto launch earlier this morning.

Reporters have come under increased abuse in recent years.
Police in China claim they have cracked the country's biggest ever case of a knock-off shoe production.

Officers raided a warehouse in Benbu, China's Anhui province on May 23 and found it contained over half a million products thought to be worth 6 billion yuan (673 million).

According to the report, the production line was so big that it had a monopoly on all fake shoes sold in Africa and the Middle East.

Big business: The stock in the warehouses were said to be worth some 673 million

Ready to be sent abroad: Many of the shoes were bound for the Middle East or Africa

The goods were destined for sale in the Middle East and Africa and were estimated to be worth some 673 million.

Nike, Converse and Vans products can all be seen in the footage.

Investigations into the production line began in December 2015 when Nike representatives complained to Chinese authorities about large numbers of fake shoes being found in Middle East markets.

The shoes were marked 'Made in Vietnam' or 'Made in Malaysia' however Nike traced them all back to the same source in Bengbu City, China's Anhui province.

Fake Nike, Converse and Vans shoes were found inside the giant warehouse in China

According to police, the fakes are so accurate that buyers were unable to tell the difference

10 suspects have been arrested so far however police are looking for the head of the operation thought to be surnamed Dai.

According to police, the fakes are so accurate that buyers were unable to tell the fakes from the originals.

The cost of making the shoes is thought ti be just 10 yuan (1.12).

Police have collected mountains of evidence against several factories in the city of Bengbu. It's thought that these factories employed more than 1,000 people to create the shoes.

The operation was so big that it had branches in a number of Chinese provinces.

Officers say Dai, the ringleader, has a criminal record and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008 for selling fake shoes.
Australia's first female Muslim MP says terrorists see non-believers as cockroaches and admits there is a link between terrorism and Islam.

Labor's Anne Aly, who was a counter-terrorism expert before being elected to federal parliament last year, said religiously-motivated murderers saw non-believers as sub-human.

'So if you see a cockroach and squish it, you don't squish the cockroach because you're angry at it,' she told Sky News on Thursday night.

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Labor MP Anne Aly, who is Muslim, says don't dismiss the link between terrorism and Islam

Anne Aly (pictured right with David Speers) said terrorists saw non-believers as cockroaches

'You don't squish the cockroach because you have an issue with it.

'You squish the cockroach because you're disgusted by it.'

In a break with many left-wing politicians, who deny the link between Islam and terrorism, the Egyptian-born politician said the Koran was often used to justify violence.

'It would be wrong to completely dismiss ideology and the role of ideology and religion in this,' she said.

'There are certainly parts of the religion that do justify or that can be used, that are easily manipulated to justify violence.'

The Perth-based politician said the Islamic Hadith, which chronicles aspects of the Prophet Mohammad's life, was also used to justify terrorism.

Labor MP and radicalisatoin expert Anne Aly says there is a link between terrorism and Islam

The Labor politician said terrorists were often violent people who had turned to religion

Walking the walk: Former counter-terrorism expert Anne Aly says they're getting younger

Dr Aly, who was a counter-terrorism professor at Edith Cowan University, said terrorists were getting younger as ISIS targeted violent youths.

'They were already known to law enforcement, not necessarily for terrorism behaviours, possibly for other kinds of violent or criminal behaviours and they didn't really have a lot of knowledge of religion,' she said.

'They smoked or they took drugs, drank alcohol.

'They were behaviourally radicalised to violence first and then come to the religion to justify their violence.'

She has made the observations only days after a 22-year-old British-born suicide bomber from a Libyan family, Salman Abedi, killed 22 people, including teenagers, at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester in the United Kingdom.
An 'intoxicated' woman, who claimed she was blind, allegedly robbed a waitress at knifepoint in a Massachusetts restaurant.

Police are searching for the unidentified woman who they say approached a waitress in a Friendly's located at 699 Hancock Street in Quincy around 8pm on Sunday.

The woman told the waitress that she was partially blind and asked the employee to lead her to the restroom, according to a police statement.

Police are searching for the unidentified woman (left and right) who approached a waitress in Friendly's restaurant and told a waitress that she was partially blind. Police said the woman asked the employee to lead her to the restroom

Once they got to the restroom door, police said the suspect pulled out a black knife and demanded the victim's money.

The victim handed the money to the suspect and walked calmly toward the front door as the suspect followed her.

Police said the suspect fled the scene on foot heading south on Hancock Street.

The waitress described the suspect to police as a white female, medium build with dark hair.

She was wearing black pants and a black jacket, with a pink t-shirt underneath.

Witnesses described the suspect as being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Police released blurry photos of the suspect from surveillance footage, making it hard to identify her.

However, authorities are asking the public to contact Detective Monteith at 617.745.5767 with any information that may assist in the investigation.
Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was friends with a notorious ISIS jihadi who boasted of luring hundreds of Britons to Syria before being wiped out in an air strike, it has emerged.

Abedi, who massacred 22 in a bomb attack at a concert on Monday night, grew up in an area of the city that was home to a number of other future extremists.

One of those was Raphael Hostey, also known as Abu Qaqa al-Britani, who claimed to have convinced hundreds of Britons to join him in Syria before he was killed in a drone strike in 2016.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi may have been part of an an ISIS cell operating in Manchester and was friends with the network's top recruiter Raphael Hostey (pictured), it has emerged

Abedi (pictured), who massacred 22 in a bomb attack at a concert on Monday night, grew up in an area of south Manchester that was home to a number of other future jihadis, it has emerged

Hostey, a baby-faced one-time rapper, lived close to Abedi in Moss Side and they worshipped in the same Didsbury mosque.

But in 2013, the graphic design student left his wife and child to travel to Syria.

Leaked ISIS files show Hostey - nom de guerre Abu Qaqaa al Britani - recruited hundreds of terror recruits to join the warped caliphate, including at least 16 from Manchester, a Sky News investigation found.

He is believed to have been killed in a drone strike last year aged 24.

Yesterday counter-terrorism sources said they had established a 'significant' connection between the two men.

Hostey left to join ISIS in 2013 with his two friends Mohammed Javeed and Khalil Raoufi, both 20. All three were students at John Moores University in Liverpool.

Javeed was killed in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2014 while Raoufi died in combat in February the same year.

Hostey is also said to have known former Guantanamo detainee Ronald Fiddler - otherwise known as Jamal al Harith (pictured)

The news came as an Imam at the mosque regularly attended by Abedi and Hostey was also alleged to be a rebel who fought against Colonel Gaddafis regime.

Mustafa Abdullah Graf, stood alongside members of the steps of Didsbury Mosque in Manchester, on Wednesday, when they made a statement condemning the slaughter Abedi had caused.

It emerged last night that a person who resembled Iman Graf, who stood alongside the mosques spokesman, had been seen on camera in the desert when he fought in the Arab Spring, Newsnight reported.

Dressed in military fatigues, with a Libyan flag flying in the background, a man with the same name spoke to the Al-Jazeera News channel in 2011 and was also seen stood amongst other Libyan rebels as they prepared to fight Colonel Gaddafis government forces.

It is not clear which group he fought for, or whether the two men are in fact the same person.

Twin pupils, aspiring medical students Zahra (right) and Salma (left) Halane, left their homes in Manchester and moved to ISIS-controlled Syria

Hostey sponsored a number of other young men from Moss Side, including former RAF gunner and Muslim convert Stephen Gray and Raymond Matimba, in their attempts to join ISIS.

He is also said to have known former Guantanamo detainee Ronald Fiddler - otherwise known as Jamal al Harith.

The 50-year-old Briton blew himself up at a military base in Iraq in February after fleeing to the country to join ISIS.

He was one of 16 men awarded a total of 10million in compensation in 2010, when the British government settled a lawsuit alleging its intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. It is thought Abedi may also have been inspired by his action.

Hostey, who neighbours remembered as an 'innocent-looking 12-year-old' reportedly had a hand in recruiting two jihadi brides from the city in 2015.

Hostey sponsored a number of young men from Moss Side, including former RAF gunner and Muslim convert Stephen Gray (right) and Raymond Matimba (left) in their attempts to join ISIS

Abedi's sister Jomana, 18, was in the same year at the same school in Whalley Range that hit headlines two years ago when 'terror twins' Zahra and Salma Halane - then 16 - moved to Syria to become jihadi brides. It is unclear whether they are still alive.

In 2015, n icknamed 'al-Britani Afro' because of his hairstyle, was believed to be a member of a five-strong online ISIS recruiting team and boasted of smuggling 'hundreds' into Syria.

Today it emerged that Abedi was a 'former subject of interest' to the security services whose risk 'remained subject to review', a Whitehall source has revealed.

Details of the intelligence agencies' knowledge of Abedi came as police hunting the network behind his attack said they had made 'significant' arrests and seized 'very important' items in raids linked to the investigation.

The senior source revealed that 18 plots had been foiled since 2013 in Britain. Those included five since the Westminster attack in March this year.

It is understood the scale of the threat being dealt with by counter-terror agencies is on an 'unprecedented' scale.

The source said at any one time there could be 3,000 subjects of interest to MI5 and Abedi was part of a 'larger pool' of people formerly classed in that category.

They said: 'MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest (SOIs) at any one time.

'Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

'Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider re-opening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgement based on partial information.'

A spokesman for Didsbury Mosque was last night unavailable for comment.
Joanny Castillo, 18, was arrested and charged last month with invasive visual recording

A lawsuit filed against Chipotle accuses a former manager of repeatedly installing a video camera in the women's restroom at a Texas restaurant location.

Joanny Castillo, 18, was arrested and charged last month with invasive visual recording after the camera was found inside the restroom at the 6245 Highway 6 location in Missouri City.

Castillo, who was a manager at the eatery, was immediately terminated by the company, and the lawsuit claims that he set up the hidden device and intended to sell the recordings.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which has been filed against the company and two managers, are seeking more than $1 million in damages, KPRC reported.

A woman and her five-year-old daughter were secretly filmed undressing and using the restroom at the location, according to the lawsuit.

The camera was found on February 24 by a female employee who noticed it being aimed at her while using the restroom, the lawsuit says.

That employee removed the camera after using the restroom and noticed that Castillo had volunteered to clean the women's restroom the evening before, the lawsuit says.

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Charges against Castillo come after a hidden camera (right) was found inside the women's restroom under the sink (left) at the 6245 Highway 6 Chipotle location in Missouri City where he worked as a manager

Castillo, who was a manager at the eatery, was immediately terminated by Chipotle (above), and the lawsuit claims that he 'repeatedly' installed the hidden device as the recordings were to be sold. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking more than $1 million in damages

Castillo went into the restroom after the employee left with the camera, according to the lawsuit.

The employee claims that when he came out of the restroom, she observed Castillo frantically running around telling fellow workers that a customer called to say they left a small recording device in the bathroom, the lawsuit says.

The female employee who found the camera gave it to Castillo only after he claimed that it had a GPS tracker, according to the lawsuit.

He then ran out of the fast-food restaurant and claimed to have given it to the allege customer that called about it.

But three days later, that same employee found the same camera back inside the woman's restroom.

Castillo (above) was arrested after another employee turned the camera over to police

The lawsuit says the female employee found the camera hidden in a new location - discreetly placed under the restroom sink aimed at the toilet.

She handed the camera over to the general manager who was on duty that day.

But the general manager didn't turn the camera over to police, but instead took it home, the lawsuit says.

The female employee called the police and the camera along with its SIM card was given to authorities; Castillo was arrested by Fort Bend County investigators.

The lawsuit claims that Chipotle tried to cover up the incident in several ways including: attempting to blame customers for planting the recording device, destroying SIM cards that contained images of women and children undressing and using the restroom and mandating that no Chipotle managers or employees with knowledge of the recordings notify anyone, including law enforcement.

The lawsuit claims that Chipotle (file above) tried to cover up the incident in several ways including: attempting to blame customers for planting the recording device

It also claims the eatery tried to cover up the issue by removing incriminating emails and by refusing to notify employees or customers of the video-recording scandal

Following the lawsuit, Chipotle released a statement: 'We were shocked and appalled to learn that one of our employees may have been involved in this incident.

'When it was brought to our attention, we took swift and decisive action to terminate that employee, and pledged our full cooperation with the law enforcement investigation and prosecution of the individual who is allegedly involved.

'It has always been our aim to work with individuals who may have been impacted by this issue to see that it is resolved, and that continues to be our focus.

'We maintain zero-tolerance policies for behaviors that compromise the safety and well-being of our customers or employees, and will continue to enforce those policies if ever they are violated."
Community activists in New York City say an attempt to rebrand a section of Harlem is insulting and another sign of gentrification run amok.

Realtors and store owners are attempting to rename the area between 110th and 125th Streets in Manhattan as 'SoHa,' or 'South Harlem,' in an effort to make the area more upscale or 'trendy'.

Community leaders, such board member Danni Tyson, blasted the effort at a news conference Wednesday, reported New York 1.

Community leaders, such board member Danni Tyson (pictured center right), blasted the effort at a news conference Wednesday

Realtors and store owners are attempting to rename the area between 110th and 125th Streets in Manhattan as 'SoHa,' or 'South Harlem,' in an effort to make the area more upscale or 'trendy'. Pictured is one of the coffee shops trying to enforce the new 'SoHa' name

Tyson said no real estate company, coffee shop or business should be using the term SoHa to refer to Harlem.

Democrat Brian Benjamin, who won Tuesday's special election for Harlem's state senate seat, says the rebranding effort is akin to someone trying to rob Harlem residents of their culture.

'How dare someone try to act as if we were not here, and create a new name, a new reality as if the clock started when other people showed up?' Benjamin exclaimed.

Another woman, who was unnamed, said: 'It's like a slap in the face to me.'

Harlem is considered by many to be one of the most historically rich neighborhoods in New York, if not in America, and community leaders told New York 1 trying to rename it bulldozes its history as the capital of black America.

There are some fears rebranding could lead to an increase in high-end development, which has already started to push black residents out of the area, bringing in rich white condo owners in their place

Residents believe its name is more powerful than anything a developer or real estate agent can create or change

There are also fears rebranding could lead to an increase in high-end development, which has already started to push black residents out of the area, bringing in rich white condo owners in their place.

Residents believe its name is more powerful than anything a developer or real estate agent can create or change.

Nicknames such as TriBeCa, Nolita and SoHo have been in vogue for those trendy Manhattan neighborhoods for years.

The names started to change as money started pouring into the areas, and the name SoHa actually appeared for the first time in 1999 in a New York Times article about gentrification in Harlem.
In the late 19th century, travel times became a thing of fascination as modes of transportation improved by leaps and bounds (e.g., Around the World in 80 Days, published in 1873). Great thinkers of the day like Francis Galton even devised isochrone maps, which showed how long it would take to get from a central point to other points of interest.

Via Cara Giaimo at Atlas Obscura:

Now compare it to Bartholomew's 1914 update, below, which shows a rapid improvement in travel times, at least in certain placesparts of Japan are now accessible within 20 days, and the pink-colored "five to ten days" category, which previously barely stretched to New York, now goes all the way past Chicago. (The big difference, as Simon Willis explains in The Economist, is the sudden proliferation of railroads.)

 Traveling Back in Time With Colorful Isochrone Maps (Atlas Obscura)
Authorities say an ambulance transporting a man home has crashed on an upstate New York road, killing the patient.

The Schenectady County sheriff's office says the crash occurred Wednesday evening in the town of Duanesburg, about 20 miles northwest of Albany.

The Mohawk Ambulance Service vehicle was traveling on the Western Turnpike when it smashed into a tree.

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A patient has died after an ambulance hit a tree in Duanesburg, in upstate New York

A Mohawk ambulance hit a tree, and the patient inside the ambulance, identified as Christopher Aernecke, 64, of Sloansville, was killed

Police say the patient being transported died and has been identified as 64-year-old Christopher J Aernecke of Sloansville.

Brad Richmond sent cell phone video to WNYT and says when he arrived, he ran to his car to get a tire iron to smash the driver's side window.

The driver was able to make it out and helped open the back doors of the ambulance open.

Inside was another female EMT bleeding from her head and a the patient who had been thrown from his stretcher.

Bystanders helped get the passenger out of the ambulance, who was being transported home when suddenly he went into cardiac arrest.

Bystanders helped get the passenger out of the ambulance, who was being transported home

Accident reconstruction lasted several hours. The body of the man was taken by the coroners

The two ambulance workers were taken to area hospitals. One was sent to Albany Medical Center; the other was taken to Ellis Hospital. They have both since been released

The ambulance driver and an emergency medical technician riding with the patient were injured and treated at hospitals.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

'On behalf of Mohawk Ambulance Service and all of our employees, I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family in this very difficult time,' said James P. McPartlon, III, president, Mohawk Ambulance Service.

'Safety and patient care remain our top priority and we commit to holding our employees to the highest standards. We are working in full cooperation with law enforcement and together our agencies are investigating what happened surrounding this terrible event.'

It's not clear what caused the accident. The investigation is ongoing
Regular passenger trains will return to a railway line ripped up in the 'Beeching Axe' thanks to an army of volunteers who have spent 45 years rebuilding it.

Swanage in Dorset was disconnected from the mainline in 1972 after Dr Richard Beeching, a government railway advisor, recommended it be one of hundreds of loss-making rural lines axed.

It will be reconnected with the main rail network next month when a timetabled train service will launch.

Swanage will be reconnected with the main rail network next month. Pictured: The track being restored in 2015 with coal placed around it

Back in the day: Members of the public board the last train to leave Wareham in 1972

Operator West Coast Railways will run diesel trains four times a day along the 10 miles of re-built track that runs from Wareham to the Victorian resort.

Since the 87-year old line was axed in 1972, hundreds of volunteers and rail enthusiasts have worked tirelessly restore the track and build new signal boxes, a level crossing and embankments.

Picking up pieces of old British Rail materials, the volunteers first installed 5.5 miles of track to run the Swanage Railway, a steam heritage railway that is a thriving tourist attraction today with more than 200,000 passengers a year.

But to enable a public train service to run from the mainline they had to restore and upgrade three miles of former Network Rail track from Worgret Junction, near Wareham, to the heritage railway line.

Some 3.2m had to be spent on upgrading the track, installing new signalling equipment, laying 1,200 wooden sleepers, building embankments and improving undergrowth and drainage ditches.

A map showing where the line will run when it is opened next month. The red dotted line shows the newly restored track which will connect Swanage to the main network once more

Since the 87-year old line was axed in 1972, hundreds of volunteers and rail enthusiasts have worked tirelessly restore the track. Pictured: Part of the track that was not axed

This picture shows Worget Junction on 1 January, 1972, just before the track was axed

This picture shows volunteers re-building the line near East of Furzebrook in December 2014

The final ticket: This is the last Swanage branch train ticket from 1972 when the track was closed

Trevor Parsons, the chairman of Swanage Railway Company, said: 'The public service will be historic because it has been our ambition to return passenger trains from Swanage to Wareham for more than 40 years - with several generations of volunteers working to achieve this.

'It is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work by our dedicated volunteers.

Swanage branch closure poster from 1971

'Visitors from London and stations across the country will be able to visit Swanage and Corfe Castle by train.

'It is also the culmination of a far-sighted investment by our stakeholders of 5.5 million to re-connect Swanage with the main line at Wareham.'

The new level crossing west of Nordon station cost 500,000 which was donated by BP, which has an oilfield locally.

The Government's Coastal Communities Fund awarded the project a 1.8m grant and 3.2m came from money housing developers across the Isle of Purbeck had given.

The timetabled service will run this summer and then again in summer 2018.

There will be four return trains a day that will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from June 13 through to September 3.

Tickets will cost 15 for an adult return from Swanage to Wareham and 9 for a single.

West Coast Railways will supply two diesel locomotives and train crews to operate the service this summer. There will be four carriages per service.

Spring 2015: The volunteers made great progress in 2015 to get the track ready for summer 2017
If you love a latte in the comfort of your own home, you don't need to fork out for a fancy coffee machine.

Australia's best home appliances have been revealed by customer satisfaction researchers Canstar Blue  and cheaper products fared better than some of their more expensive rivals.

Aldi's Expressi coffee machine  retailing at just $79.99  was top for value for money, but tied overall with Nespresso, whose capsule machines range from $159 for the Essenza Mini to the Lattissima Pro for an eye-watering $899.

Aldi's Expressi coffee machine (left)  priced $79.99  was top for value for money, but tied overall with Nespresso, whose capsule machines range from $159 for the Essenza Mini (right)

But it was Nescafe's Dolce Gusto machines, starting from just $99, that came out on top for overall customer satisfaction.

That's far less than the average $287 Australians spend on espresso coffee machines, with a further $35 every month on capsules.

Canstar Blue asked thousands of customers to report their experiences with home appliances, including televisions, dishwashers and vacuum cleaners.

Brands were rated on ease of use, reliability, ease of cleaning, design, value for money, overall satisfaction  as well taste for the coffee machines.

Nescafe's Dolce Gusto machines, starting from just $99, that came out on top overall

In the blender category, Nutri Ninjas beat out NutriBullet overall, but Russell Hobbs was top for value for money.

Simpson, an Australian brand known for offering some of the cheapest clothes dryers on the market, received five-star reviews for reliability, drying time as well as overall customer satisfaction.

It topped the list in the category, beating out New Zealand brand Fisher & Paykel and Bosch.

Samsung topped the list for televisions, Panasonic for air conditioners and Miele won for vacuum cleaners, front loader washing machines and dishwashers.
President Trump has only one app downloaded to his iPhone  Twitter  Axios reported on Thursday.

The revelation came as part of a discussion on how White House aides are better trying to control the message coming from the administration.

One of the biggest keys, wrote Axios' Mike Allen, is to keep Trump away from the TV, as his cable news watching often leads him to tweet, and thus muddy up the White House's message.

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White House aides are trying to get President Trump, seen in Brussels today, away from cable television, which causes him to tweet

On his own iPhone, President Trump only has one app - Twitter - which he uses frequently and sometimes get him in trouble

Two big examples of that came last week, when Trump first, tweeted about why he gave classified information about ISIS to the Russians, basically confirming a story written by the Washington Post.

'As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism,' he wrote in two tweets, as the morning shows aired.

The night before the White House had sent out National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster to deny the Post's account.

Then Trump, in another series of early morning tweets, criticized the decision of his Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to handle the Russia probe.

'This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!' Trump wrote.

'With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special counsel appointed!' the president added.

The White House had originally downplayed the appointment of ex-FBI chief Robert Mueller as special counsel, releasing a measured statement from the president several hours after they were informed of the deputy attorney general's decision.

Then, the next morning, Trump went rogue on Twitter.

Axios reported that the president is asking his aides to schedule him more free time.

But they don't want his TV watching and restless thumbs to continue to plague his presidency, so they're trying to keep him as fully booked as possible.

Since Friday, Trump has been traveling through Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy, Vatican City and now he's in Brussels, Belgium.

While he may have ruffled the feathers of some European leaders today at the NATO headquarters, demanding they pay their fair share, overall the trip has been viewed as a positive development, after almost two weeks of negative news coverage.

This has happened, in part, because Trump has been restrained on Twitter, posting video snippets and pictures and saying thanks to the various world leaders who have hosted the new U.S. president.
A Civil War museum at a battlefield in Georgia is closing next month, after its curator and main donor came to heads with a local county official over the museum's Confederate flags.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the board for the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum said that they would be closing June 1 after their curator, Bill Dodd, decided to quit.

In interviews with local outlets, Dodd said that he got a request in March from District 2 Commissioner Dee Clemmons asking that he take down a Confederate flag outside the museum, which is on county property.

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The Nash Farm Battlefield Museum is closing next month, after its curator came to heads with a local county commissioner in Georgia

In March, curator Bill Dodd said he got a request from District 2 County Commissioner Dee Clemmons, asking that he take down a Confederate flag that was hanging outside the museum (the flag's old pole, right)

Dodd (pictured) says he complied with Clemmon's request, but says she came back two weeks ago and asked that he remove all of the Confederate flags from inside the museum

'I had asked that the [Confederate] flag be taken down and placed inside of the museum. I'm working really hard to create a community that does not harbor divisiveness,' Clemmons told Fox 5 Atlanta.

Dodd said he complied, but Clemmons returned to the museum two weeks ago and demanded that he remove all of the Confederate flags inside the museum - both historical and novelty.

That was the last straw for Dodd, who said he couldn't tell the story of the Civil War without telling the Confederate side.

Clemmons (pictured) has denied Dodd's claims that she asked him to remove the Confederate flags inside the museum

'The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. What do they have on display? They have swastikas on display in the Holocaust Museum,' Dodd told WSB-TV.

He added: 'I was frustrated when I was told to remove Confederate flags from the museum. But after, I realized if I take out the flags, I can take me out too and get my weekends back.'

Fox 5 reached out to Clemmons for comment, and she denied ever asking Dodd to remove the Confederate flags inside the museum.

'Henry County in no way asked them to remove their things,' county spokeswoman Melissa Robinson added. 'We did not request that. It was a voluntary move to leave the museum.'

In a post on her Facebook page, Clemmons said she would not 'apologize for asking that the CONFEDERATE FLAG be removed FROM A COUNTY OWNED PARK'.

'This has caused me to receive hundreds of nasty emails and Facebook posts. Over the years, the Confederate battle flag has come to mean different things to different people.

'To me and many other United States Citizens it is emblematic of slavery, racism and the bloody battles that made the Civil War the deadliest conflict in U.S. history. WE CAN NOT ERASE HISTORY BUT WE DONT HAVE TO RE-Live it,' she wrote.

The museum's closing has outraged some in the community.

The second request was the final straw for Dodd, who said he couldn't tell the Civil War story without the Confederate side. Above, a view inside the museum

He quit and has taken most of his personal artifact collection from the museum

The museum is on county land, but run by private citizens. Above, the August 1864 Nash Farm Battlefield which has been turned into a public park

'You have a museum in this time period to honor both Union and Confederate veterans,' local resident Chuck Johnson said. 'No matter which side they fought on, they were all Americans.'

'Sure I understand some people find the imaging of (the Confederacy) offensive,' Stuart Carter, a supporter of the museum told WXIA. 'But if we try and erase it from history, then we cant remember how we messed up and why we shouldn't go back there again.'

The museum building is owned by the county, but is run by private citizens who donate their time and personal collection of artifacts. The museum was only open Fridays and Saturdays.

Most of the museum had already been cleared out as of Wednesday this week. The remaining items were relocated to Nash Farm from Heritage Park and about 3,000 artifacts belong to Henry County. They were discovered during archaeological digs at the August 1864 battle site

The farm was the site of a August 20, 1864 battle between U.S. General Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry and a group of Texas calvalry. Kilpatrick's unit was trying to cause damage to Confederate railways around Atlanta. Kilpatrick's unit and the Texans met at Nash farm and the Union soldiers were able to fight their way out and back to the front line. However, the Confederate soldiers were quick to make repairs on their railway.
Disturbing video footage shows the moment an endangered elephant's corpse is dragged through the lanes of a village in eastern India after it was apparently electrocuted.

The elephant had wandered into the rice fields in Debi Simul village in West Bengal in eastern India when it accidentally touched the electric fence put up around the farms, was electrocuted and died.

A team of forest officials rushed immediately to the spot after learning of the incident and helped move the elephant's corpse from the field.

Officials lifted the body of an elephant out of a rice field in Debi Simul village in West Bengal in eastern India after it was electrocuted

The elephant was electrocuted after wandering into the field and accidentally touching the electric fence put up around the farms

They lifted the body using a pick up truck and sent it for a postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.

'There are no external injuries but we have seen some burn marks on the trunk,' Shri Haris, a senior forest official,' said.

'The initial reports suggest that the elephant has died of electrocution but the exact cause of the death can be confirmed only after a postmortem,' Haris added.

A police complaint was registered against two land owners where the elephant's body was found.

Elephants have been troubling the farmers as they stray into the fields from the nearby jungles in search of food but end up wrecking the whole field and the harvest.

Officials lifted the body using a pick up truck and sent it for a postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death

A police complaint was registered against two land owners where the elephant's body was found

Crowds of people in the eastern India village watched as the elephant's body was removed from the field

To keep them away from their farms, some frustrated farmers put up illegal electric fencing around their fields by tapping electricity from cables passing through the village.

'We have no other way to save our farms,' one villager said. 'When they come in a herd of 100, we cannot think of fighting with these giants. They not only damage the crops but also out houses and attacks us.'

Indian elephants have been listed as endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature since 1986.

There are only 600 elephants left in the wild in the state and around 30,711 in the country as per 2012 census.

But on an average 100 elephants die every year in human-animal conflict raising concerns about their survival.
President Donald Trump dodged a question Thursday about the effect that leaks of sensitive information in the US would have on intelligence sharing with Britain.

The US president acknowledged a reporter asking about British Prime Minister Theresa May's stern warning that information 'must remain secure' but did not comment.

'Thank you,' Trump said, instead, as media filed out of his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels.

President Donald Trump dodged a question Thursday about the effect that leaks of sensitive information in the US would have on intelligence sharing with Britain

Trump had ignored a shouted question about the information sharing relationship with Britain minutes before during Macron's arrival at the US Ambassador to Belgium's residence.

Authorities in the UK were fuming today after crime scene pictures from the Manchester bombing appeared in The New York Times. The name of suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, had also leaked to US media.

The BBC reports that police have stopped sharing information about the bombing that killed 22 people with their US counterparts following the incidents.

Officials in the UK believe that law enforcement officials in the US are responsible for the leak, the BBC reported, not the White House, and all other intelligence sharing continues.

British PM Theresa May says she will confront Trump about the leaks at the NATO summit in Belgium

Authorities in the UK were fuming today after crime scene pictures from the Manchester bombing appeared in The New York Times. Among them: photos of the backpack the suicide bomber hid the detonator in

Officials in the UK were fuming after the name of bomber, Salman Abedi, leaked to US media

May told reporters she will confront Trump about the leaks at the NATO summit in Belgium.

'I will make clear to President Trump that the information shared between our law-enforcement agencies must remain secure,' she said.

UK officials are furious over the leaks that Home Secretary Amber Rudd called 'irritating' and Manchester's Mayor Andy Burnham classified as 'arrogant.'

The disclosures followed a report last week that Trump shared top secret information on Middle East terror that had been provided to the US by the Israelis with the Russians.

Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a Today show appearance Thursday that the president has the ability to declassify information and share it with other countries, but he should be careful.

'Obviously intelligence is not to be shared outside of close sallies,' the former US official said.

'Thank you,' Trump told media who filed out of his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels - ignoring the question about intelligence sharing with the UK

Drawing on his experience as the US ambassador to NATO, Rumsfeld said, 'When you deal with those NATO countries, they do have interests, and they do share a great deal of intelligence, and it is important that it be handled carefully.'

Trump said this week that reporting on his conversation with the Russians was 'wrong' because he 'never mentioned' Israel, even though that was not in dispute.

The original write up of his leaked Oval Office conversation with two Russian diplomats said the shared information came from a foreign ally. A subsequent report merely said that it came from Israel.

Neither report alleged that Trump revealed the source of the information.

Trump's national security advisor, HR McMaster, offered that Trump did not know where the information came from after the reports ran and could not have disclosed where it came from. McMaster would not confirm that it was Israel, either.
The sand on Siesta Beach on Florida's Gulf Coast is as fine as powdered sugar, a pure, sparkling white and soft as a kitten's fur - all because it's comprised of 99 percent pure crushed quartz.

For that reason, and many others, it was selected this year as the best beach in America by a professor who has made a career ranking and studying beaches around the United States.

'The sand is outstanding,' said Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, a professor at Miami's Florida International University. 'Every time I go there, I've got to take a bag home with me. It's almost sacrilegious to walk on it with shoes on.'

Three Florida beaches, two Hawaii beaches and numerous East Coast beaches top this year's list of America's best beaches

Other beaches that made the list this year, in order of ranking, are: Kapalua Bay Beach in Maui, Hawaii; Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Grayton Beach State Park on the Florida Panhandle; Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York; Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod in Massachusetts; Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida; Hapuna Beach State Park, Big Island, Hawaii; Coronado Beach in San Diego, California; and Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

On a recent workday, Siesta Beach was packed with people, even though it wasn't particularly sunny. The turquoise water was still gorgeous, the sand still fine. The beach is about 200-300 feet wide in some places, which means people can stretch out and not feel crowded. The beach was last year's runner up and one of three in Florida on this year's top 10 list.

'It's nice and clean, that's what I look for,' said Jamie Gaskin, a 59-year-old retiree from Lakeland, Florida, who was scoping out the beach for a family Memorial Day party. She especially liked the two-story pavilion, which boasts a snack bar and restrooms. It's only two years old and even offers sweet crepes for breakfast and tapas dishes in the early evening.

Florida's Siesta Beach (above) has been named the best in the country, according to a professor who's made a career of studying beaches

Kapalua Bay Beach on the Hawaiian Island of Maui (above) came in second place. The beach doesn't have many large waves which makes it perfect for save swimming

The third beach on the list, Ocracoke, is unique in its history since it was the pirate Blackbeard's old haunt

Grayton Beach State Park is popular with campers and features sugar-white sand and emerald green water

The Hamptons are a popular summer destination for New Yorkers. Coopers Beach (above) in Southhampton is a gem with water warmer than usual since it's shielded form the cold Labrador currents

'There's plenty of tables to barbecue and to hang out. And the restrooms were nice and clean. I'd definitely recommend this,' she said.

Siesta Beach is on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, and is located just southwest of downtown Sarasota. The water is placid on most days - Leatherman says you can measure the waves 'in inches' - and is shallow and safe for swimming, with no sharp drop-offs. Added bonuses include lots of parking, a trolley service to and from the island's adorable downtown area and plenty of lifeguards. The beach also has natural dunes, which is a bit rare for Florida, and the fine sand is excellent for building sand castles.

'I look for kind of a balance between nature and a developed environment,' said Leatherman, who lives on the other side of the state, closer to Miami Beach. 'Fourteen million people go to Miami Beach every year. There's just too many people there. I think a lot of people are looking for more of a getaway.'

Leatherman, who is director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, uses about 50 criteria to assess and rank beaches across the country. In recent years, he has given extra points to beaches that prohibit smoking, saying cigarette butts are not only environmentally damaging, but can ruin the experience for beach-goers. Safety and environmental management are other major factors, he said.

Coast Guard Beach on Massachusetts' Cape Cod is breathtakingly beautiful, but the water remains cold in the summer and great white sharks have been known to hunt seal in the area

Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin, Florida is accessed by pedestrian ferry boat, private boat or a long walk north from Clearwater Beach

Hapuna Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii has white coral sand beaches and some of the best reefs for scuba diving

Coronado Beach in California is perhaps best known for its Victorian era hotel and evening sunsets over the water

Beachwalker Park on Kiaweh Island, South Carolina (pictured) is popular with kayakers who explore the tidal inlets

He's rated beaches since 1991.

The Maui beach that came in at No. 2 on the list, Kapalua Bay Beach, is smaller than Siesta Beach. It's crescent-shaped and flanked by palm trees. Unlike lots of Hawaii beaches, there aren't many waves at Kapalua, he said, making it perfect for safe swimming.

'The coral reefs almost go right to the beach. There are tropical fish swimming all around.'

The third beach on the list, Ocracoke, is unique in both history and location. Leatherman points out that it was once the pirate Blackbeard's old haunt. And it's only accessible by a state ferry.

'The only negative I have, it seems like too many cars,' he said. 'I wish they would turn car ferries to pedestrian ferries.'

Leatherman says he tries to select locations that are a bit off the beaten path, yet immensely rewarding once visitors arrive. Siesta Beach, he points out, is an outstanding place to watch the sun dip below the Gulf horizon - one more reason why it made the top of this year's list.
The desperate parents of an extremely ill nine-month-old baby have lost an appeal court battle they hoped would let them fly him to the US for treatment but have vowed to continue their fight.

Little Charlie Gard suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage. He is so ill that he cannot see, hear or move, a court has heard.

His parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates want him to undergo a therapy trial in the US in a bid to keep him alive, but specialists at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital say therapy proposed will not help. They say life-support treatment should stop.

A High Court judge last month ruled against a trip to America and in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates want nine-month-old Charlie Gard, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, to undergo a therapy trial

Charlie's parents want to 'exhaust all possible options', their lawyer has told the court

In the previous ruling, Mr Justice Francis said Charlie should be allowed die with dignity.

But Charlie's parents, who are in their 30s and come from Bedfont, west London, had asked three Appeal Court judges to overturn Mr Justice Francis's decision.

But Lord Justice McFarlane, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Sales, who analysed evidence at a Court of Appeal hearing in London on Tuesday, have backed the previous ruling.

Lawyers representing the couple told appeal court judges that they would like the Supreme Court to consider the case.

Lord Justice McFarlane praised Charlie's parents' composure and dignity and said: 'My heart goes out to them.'

Mr Gard shook his head as appeal judges announced their decision. Charlie's parents then left court to hold discussions with lawyers.

The three judges have yet to outline the reasons for dismissing the couple's challenge. They are expected to do that shortly.

It is understood the couple may now try to take the case to the Supreme Court, the UK's highest.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates want permission to take son Charlie (pictured) to America for a therapy trial

The judge in the previous case, Mr Justice Francis had concluded that life-support treatment should end and said a move to a palliative care regime would be in Charlie's best interests.

He said he had made the decision with the 'heaviest of hearts' but with 'complete conviction' for Charlie's best interests.

'All of Charlie's treating doctors at Great Ormond Street are agreed that Charlie has reached the stage where artificial ventilation should be withdrawn, that he should be given palliative care only and that he should be allowed to die peacefully and with dignity,' Mr Justice Francis had said.

Experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is being cared for, say life-support treatment should stop

'Charlie has been served by the most experienced and sophisticated team that our excellent hospitals can offer.'

The judge said experts in Spain had also considered Chaarlie's case and reached the same conclusion.

He had added: 'Charlie's condition is exceptionally rare and I am confident that I have had reports from around the world from those who know it as well as anyone can.'

Richard Gordon QC, who led Charlie's parents' legal team, told appeal judges that the case raised 'very serious legal issues'.

'They wish to exhaust all possible options,' Mr Gordon said in a written outline of Charlie's parents' case.

'They don't want to look back and think 'what if?'. This court should not stand in the way of their only remaining hope.'

Mr Gordon suggested that Charlie might be being unlawfully detained and denied his right to liberty.

He said judges should not interfere with parents' exercise of parental rights and added: 'What is really at stake in this case is the State, on a massive scale, intruding in your right to private and family life.'

Lawyers, who represented Charlie's parents for free, said Mr Justice Francis had not given enough weight to Charlie's human right to life.

They said there was no risk that the proposed therapy in the US would cause Charlie 'significant harm'.
President Donald Trump put his weight behind his first handshake with France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, gripping and torquing his way on Thursday through the crucial moment in their budding relationship.

They shook hands for a full five seconds while camera shutters clicked, pumping their fists 16 times in a seeming battle of the phalanges.

Their knuckles turned white, their eyes met, their jaws clenched.

Trump ultimately released first, leaving Macron to hang on to his open hand.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron pumped fists for a full five seconds on Thursday in Brussels as the two leaders seemed to be locked into a battle of the phalanges

In we go: Macron, France's youngest-ever president and youngest leader since Napoleon, had the upper hand as the grip began

Keep pumping: The grip and grin went on for a solid five seconds as Trump met Macron, the new French leader for the first time

French don't retreat this time: Trump appeared to be the first to try to end the handshake - but Macron kept gripping

That handshake in full: How the five seconds progressed was revealed in this composite photograph

The president and first lady Melania Trump greeted Macron at the U.S. ambassador's residence in the Belgian capital in advance of a NATO summit. He did not bring the French first lady to the meeting

Macron, the youngest French head of state since Napoleon, has held office for just 11 days.

But Trump, who is fond of winners and considers 'loser' to be the ultimate insult for murderous terrorists, seemed to give him his stamp of approval  moments before the younger president brought up global warming to jab him.

Just a month ago, he suggested that far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was the 'strongest' candidate 'on borders, and she's the strongest on what's been going on in France  a reference to terrorism.

Thursday he was firmly on Team Macron.

'It is my great honor to be with the newly elected president of France, who ran an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory,' he said. 'All over the world they're talking about it.'

'We have a lot to discuss,' Trump added, 'including terrorism and other things. Congratulations. Great job.'

The two men did their best grip-and-grin at the Brussels residence of the U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

Macron is just 39, but he's married to 64-year-old Brigitte Trogneux (right), who was his drama teacher 24 years ago at a Catholic school

The 70-year-old Trump listened to the baby-faced Macron say that 'climate and energy' was among his top priorities

Macron returned Trump's compliment, saying that 'for my part, I'm also very happy to be with President Trump.'

'We have an extremely large agenda to discuss: the fight against terrorism, the economy, [and] climate and energy.'

Macron continued, 'The occasion of the NATO summit also allows us to have a first meeting, and I am very happy to be able to change many things together.'

President Trump and first lady Melania met Macron at the residence's front door for their first face-to-face greeting.

But the groundwork has been underway for most of the past week, a senior French official said Thursday, with both nations' teams meeting in Paris to prepare for Thursday's bilateral meeting.

At the top of Macron's agenda, the official said, are counter-terrorism and the Paris climate agreement.

The French official said Marcon, 39, wants the U.S. to remain in the treaty. The White House says Trump hasn't yet decided what to do.

Macron's wife, Brigitte Trogneux, was not at the meeting.

The 64-year-old former Catholic school drama teacher was 40 when Macron was a student in her class at the tender young age of 15.
Advisors to President Trump are preparing for a multi-year battle to counter a handful of Russia-related probes, and are bringing on 'street fighters' to try to counter the constant barrage of information.

The a special counsel Robert Mueller heading a new probe of Russian election interference, along with multiple congressional probes, the White House is drawing new plans that will push back in the press, in committee rooms, and in the courts.

'We're getting street fighters ready to go,' one Trump ally told Axios.

'The White House is embracing the fight, which is going to last as long as Donald Trump is president,' said the ally.

The White House is preparing to bring on 'street fighters' skilled in rapid response under a new structure to help counter Russia investigations and daily revelations

Trump is already bringing on longtime attorney Marc Kasowitz, as part of a new personal legal team.

'He's the type of lawyer Trump likes - tough, litigious, threatens all the time,' one GOP official told DailyMail.com.

New rapid response teams will fill an organizational structure meant to to counter the daily onslaught of bad headlines about burgeoning Russia probes.

Just Wednesday, it was revealed by CNN that Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't disclose his Russia contacts when applying for a security clearance, while the New York Times reported how Russian spies boasted about their ability to manipulate Trump associates during the campaign.

The plan, according to the report, is to have dedicated staff handle the incoming. With staff able to 'compartmentalize' the scandal pushback, other officials would be freed up to do their regular jobs.

Senior Counselor to the President Stephen Bannon returned early from Trump's international trip

Trump is reportedly displeased with how his staff has countered the daily revelations

President Trump, seen here leaving the Europa building in Brussels with European Council President Donald Tusk, center, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, right, is expected to decide on the new staff structure upon his return

Trump is bringing on Marc Kasowitz, his longtime lawyer, to assist in his defense from government Russia probes

Trump brought family and close staff members with him to meet Pope Francis in Rome

Proposed new organizational charts have been prepared. The plan is for Trump to make final decisions when he returns from his international trip this weekend.

Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and advisor Stephen Bannon returned to the White House early during Trump's trip, in part to oversee the planning, according to the report.

Trump has expressed dissatisfaction both with how the media have cast accusations, and how his team has handled it.

During an interview before his trip, he even spoke about cancelling daily press briefings and instead doing his own press conferences every other week.

Leaks from within the administration have buffeted the president with unwelcome disclosures. Even his private Oval Office conversation with top Russia officials got revealed, following the leak of notes on the meeting that ended up in the New York Times.

The Trump ally called them 'nameless, faceless, deep-state types' who needed to be countered.

The plan appears to have the hallmark of previous 'war rooms,' including one set up in the White House to counter daily disclosures during Bill Clinton's impeachment. It would consist of lawyers, PR professionals, and surrogates.

The current plan would be both to organize existing staff in the White House as well as outside supporters.
A heartbroken mother is still searching for answers nearly four years after her son was found dead in the California desert with his organs missing.

Ryan Singleton, a 24-year-old aspiring writer and filmmaker, vanished in July 2013 after flying from Atlanta, Georgia to Los Angeles.

He rented a car for a trip to Las Vegas, but as he drove through the Mojave Desert on July 9, 2013, his car broke down near Baker.

Singleton was picked up by a Highway Patrol Officer and driven to a rest stop in Baker.

Ryan Singleton (pictured), a 24-year-old aspiring model and filmmaker, was found dead with his organs missing in the Mojave Desert after vanishing in July 2013

His mother, Iris Flowers (pictured together), is searching for answers for what happened to her son nearly four years after his horrific death

Once there, he called a friend who lived three hours away and asked for help, his family said.

But when the friend arrived, there was no sign of Singleton and a missing person's report was filed.

It was two months before joggers came across Singleton's decomposing body, which was missing its organs, in an area that had been extensively searched by detectives and investigators.

His mother, Iris Flowers, said at the time that investigators called her and said: ' Ma'am, there were no eyes, there was no heart, there were no lungs, there was no liver, there were no kidneys.'

The San Bernardino County Coroner's Office said there was no official cause of death after the body was found, but that 'the body was severely decomposed. Animals might have been involved.'

Flowers said she wants to know what happened to her son, who had recently married and separated from his husband, Kythe Brewster.

His decomposing body was found by joggers in an area (above) that had been extensively searched by detectives and investigators when he was reported missing two months prior

Flowers said she wants to know what happened to her son (left), who had recently married and separated from his husband, Kythe Brewster (right)

'The truth. The answers. The justice. The accountability of what happened to my child really,' she told WXIA.

Flowers explained that her son left her home in Georgia to move to New York to chase his dreams of becoming a male model in 2010, but later ended up in Los Angeles to pursue film production.

'I'm glad that he did go. He took the courage and he went. He was brave. Ryan was never afraid to try anything. He was never afraid. Most things he tried, he mastered,' Flowers said.

But in December 2012, he left Los Angeles to move back to New York where he married Brewster, who at the time worked as a celebrity stylist.

Singleton left New York a few months later and returned back to his mother's home in Atlanta to separate himself from Brewster.

His mother, Iris Flowers, said at the time that investigators called her and said: ' Ma'am, there were no eyes, there was no heart, there were no lungs, there was no liver, there were no kidneys.' Four years later, she said she is still searching for the truth

The last time his mother saw him alive before he left for California in July 2013, she said he was worried something bad was going to happen.

'Something bad is going to happen to me isn't it?' he asked his mother, she told WXIA.

Flowers asked him what he was talking about and asked if he owed someone money, to which he said no.

'I've done a lot of things to hurt a lot of people,' he told his mother she said.

Flowers said that she never understood what exactly her son was talking about.

'I don't know if he felt some kind of way because he left the (production) team, married Kythe and it didn't work out with Kythe and now he's home. He knew he hurt me by disappearing and not communicating with me. Anybody outside of that, I couldn't figure out who it could be,' Flowers said.

His mother said she's unable to afford an attorney and her son's case is still an open death investigation in the state of California.

She said that she thinks her son was killed for his organs.
A nurse has claimed she shouldn't be blamed for a 'botched' abortion that led to a woman bleeding to death in a taxi.

Margaret Miller, 55, was acquitted of manslaughter by gross negligence after the death of 32-year-old Aisha Chithira, who had travelled from Ireland where abortion is illegal.

Ms Chithira left the private Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Ealing, west London on 21 January 2012 but suffered an internal tear and collapsed later that day while in a taxi to meet a friend in Slough, Berkshire.

Walking free: Gemma Pullen, 32, and Margaret Miller, 55, were accused of the manslaughter of Aisha Chithira, 32, but the case was dropped at the last minute

Ms Miller is due to be a key witness at an inquest into her death, and was summoned by the Coroner to attend a pre-inquest review hearing at West London Coroner's Court.

She told the hearing yesterday that evidence against her was 'not passable.'

Ms Miller was acquitted last year alongside Dr Adedayo Adedeji and fellow nurse Gemma Pullen when the prosecution offered no evidence.

She claimed that two nurses who gave evidence compiled by police before the case at the Old Bailey went 'off on a tangent' and didn't know what it was like working in a private abortion clinic.

Asked by Assistant Coroner Sean Cummings if he should appoint new experts rather than use those compiled by police, she said: 'I do not think that either of the nurses that gave statements were passable.

'They have never worked within the private sector. They went off on a tangent to a nurse in an ICU situation.

Cleared: The case against Dr Adedayo Adedeji was also dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence

'If you get expert witnesses it has to be people who know what happens in that field.'

Ms Miller will be representing herself at the full inquest which is due to take place over six days later this year.

The hearing was told that reports from 11 experts may have to be redacted because they point to an element of culpability.

Corinne Slingo, representing Marie Stopes International, said : 'I would encourage a nurse expert and an obstetrician who has experience in this case.

'If you consider some of these expert reports are of interest to your factual inquest I would ask that anything that is used will need redactions because they are improper for your court.'

Martin Forde, representing Aisha's family, said: 'I think there is a way of doing it, but it might mean taking the experts to one side and warning them that they are not here to ascertain culpability.

'We are here to talk about process and systems and if they were followed.'

Dr Cummings said: 'The expert evidence from the police had a certain direction.

'Even though we are a long way from the date of death I have seriously considered the approach of appointing new experts to look at this afresh.

'Finding the relevant experts with the relevant expertise and experience of the private sector will be difficult.'

All parties agreed there was no need for a jury at the full inquest.
Firefighters were held back from helping victims of the Manchester Arena bomb for 90 minutes by bosses - despite being based just half a mile from the incident.

Crews have spoken of their 'shame' as they revealed that while they knew that paramedics were in urgent need of back up in the aftermath of the bomb, which killed 22 people, they were prevented from going in and helping amid fears the site was unsafe.

Eventually five appliances from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were dispatched, but by then the dangerous work of entering the blasted Arena foyer to tend to badly hurt and dying victims had been done.

One firefighter slammed brigade bosses saying: 'Their lack of leadership was reflected in the desperate pleas of North West Ambulance Service staff shouting that firefighters were needed at the scene.

Casualties are stretchered out of the concert on Monday evening after the terror attack

'They were sat at Manchester Central fire station watching the incident unfold on TV. The station is half a mile from the incident.'

The nearest crews - based at Manchester Central - were sent two 'pre-alerts' by their regional control room within a few minutes of the bomb going off.

They prepared to go to the scene, but were instead told to rendezvous at Philips Park station.

They waited there for an hour, and were then told they had to wait for 'specialists' who had bulletproof overalls to arrive from Leigh and Heywood before being sent back to Manchester Central, before they finally got the go-ahead to go.

The nearest crews - based at Manchester Central - were sent two 'pre-alerts' by their regional control room within a few minutes of the bomb going off (Pictured: Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service's headquarters)

Concert-goers and witnesses described the chaos after a bomb went off at the massive arena

Now Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham who has responsibility for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, is to order an independent review into decision making by brigade managers on the night of the attack.

When MailOnline contacted the fire service for comment, they were sent a statement from Mr Burnham, which said: 'I am aware of concerns from firefighters about the speed of the response to the terror attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday night. I am taking these concerns seriously and, at the appropriate time, they will be subject to a full evaluation and briefing.

'But they have to be seen in context. Large numbers of highly-trained professionals were on site within minutes providing support to people. I could not be more proud of all of Greater Manchester's emergency services who, over the last 48 hours, have gone to incredible lengths to carry the city through this dark time.'

Mr Burnham could decide to call for a full independent review after the evaluation.

Bloodied concertgoers were pictured being helped by armed police outside the arena

On an internal brigade website, Save The UK Fire Service, there had been a call for the mayor to launch an investigation.

Gary Keary, Fire Brigades Union, Brigade Secretary, said: 'We have had a meeting with the County Fire Officer and we have raised initial concerns which will be included in a joint investigation.'

Matt Wrack, the national leader of the FBU attended the meeting between Manchester union officials and County Fire Officer, Peter O'Reilly.

In an email to Mr O'Reilly just hours after the attack, one fireman says: 'The more I see of the news the angrier I'm getting!

'What are we employed for if not to help people? I always classed us as the best emergency service, the people who would put ourselves at risk before any other service. I feel ashamed today.

This graphic shows where the explosion took place, in the foyer, leading towards the station

'Yes, it's terrifying for us as much as the next person but that's what we're employed for, to take the risk that others can't or won't. We have the training and resources to respond correctly and that's exactly what we should have done.'

'Mr Burnham added: 'My first concern will always be for the families affected and I would ask everybody not to jump to conclusions in this moment when we're still coming to terms with what has happened.

'What we can say is that this was an extremely serious, fast moving situation and the full nature of it did not become clear for a number of hours. In coming weeks we will have to understand what decisions were made and why.'
A 41-year-old woman has been charged following the alleged theft of a charity tin in broad daylight.

Police took the woman, from Shepparton, into custody at a shopping centre in Glen Waverley this evening.

Earlier this month, a Melbourne family were devastated to find their charity tin, which had 'more than a few hundred dollars' inside, had gone missing from the store.

A woman, 41, has been arrested following the theft of a charity tin from a bakery in Melbourne's Airport West

Analyce Grech, 21, says the tin had been placed on the counter of their Ferguson Plarre store about a month ago to raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital.

CCTV footage from May 14 shows a brunette woman look around her before reaching over, grabbing the tin and stuffing it into a brown handbag sitting under her vest just after 10am.

'I was so shocked, I was really shocked,' Ms Grech told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

'I would assume she has her own issues which I appreciate and understand... I would love to help her seek help but from our end it is very shocking and very disappointing.'

The 21-year-old estimated there was 'more than a few hundred dollars' in the stolen tin.

'Every customer donated very generously to the jar, we put almost every bit of change in there and all of our tips,' she said.

CCTV footage from a Ferguson Plarre store in Airport West shows a woman stuffing a charity tin into her handbag before leaving the bakery

Ms Grech also said many customers had also donated notes to the tin, which would have substantially increased the amount inside.

She advised the woman who had allegedly pocketed the tin to hand it back, saying: 'Please from the kindness of your heart, please return this money, it's not going to us, it's going to sick kids - and please get help.'

A spokesperson from Victoria Police previously told Daily Mail Australia officers had received a call from a potential witness not long after launching an investigation.

The woman in custody faced an out of sessions hearing on Thursday and was charged with theft and obtain property by deception.

She has been remanded to appear at the Ringwood Magistrates Court on Friday.
This is the stomach-churning moment a prison fight ends with one of the men being thrown over the edge of a railing - very possibly to his death.

The video footage, recorded from within a cell in a US prison and posted on LiveLeak, is just ten seconds long, but the horror is quite clear.

The two men are seen tussling, but within ten seconds the fight is over in the worst possible way.

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The video, filmed from within a prison cell, shows one prisoner pick up the other around the waist and fling him over a railing, causing him to fall at least two stories, initially head-first

The location of the prison is unclear; the uploader claims it was sent to him by his 'cousin Spanky' in a prison in Lompoc, California, although some commenters questioned that.

What isn't in question is the horrific nature of the video.

It begins with the two prisoners grappling on a walkway outside a prison cell.

One loops his hands around the other prisoner's waist and hoists him up and toward the railing they are on.

Then he throws him over - head first.

The victim manages to briefly grab the railing pivoting around it - but that only means he drops feet first.

Spectators can be heard shouting as the man tumbles - and the camera pans down to show that the man has fallen at least two floors.

After the man falls, his attacker leans over the railing, screaming: 'F**k you, blood, you f**king b***h.'

Cell phones are not allowed to be possessed by inmates in California prisons; it's unclear how the person who filmed this video had his phone.

In August last year, authorities began reducing penalties for prisoners found to have phones after confusion about how the rule should be applied, the Sacramento Bee reported.
President Trump is vowing to 'get to the bottom' of leaks about the Manchester bombing probe, ordering an investigation into whoever gave out the sensitive information.

Calling leaks a 'grave threat' to national security, Trump ordered the Justice Department to conduct a probe of the matter  which caused a strain with Great Britain, even as U.K. authorities were trying to hunt down accomplices for the attack.

The White House issued a tough statement after British Prime Minister Theresa May complained about the disclosure to the president at a NATO meeting.

'The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,' Trump said.

Donald Trump arrived in Belgium today for the Nato summit.President Donald Trump stands with British Prime Minister Theresa May during a group photo with NATO leaders

The White House statement notably didn't confine itself to the disclosure of terror-related information from a key ally, but also mentioned leaks generally  something that have been the bane of Trump's young presidency.

'These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security,' Trump continued.

Hours after Trump's strong message, British police reopened information sharing ties with the US.

Mark Rowley, the country's most senior counter-terrorism officer, confirmed they had 'received fresh assurances' from Washington and were now 'working closely' with them.

He added: 'We greatly value the crucial relationship with our trusted partners around the world so we can collaborate and share sensitive information to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

'While we do not usually comment on information-sharing arrangements with international law enforcement organisations, we want to emphasize that, having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.'

Trump has repeatedly complained about other unauthorized disclosures, which have included notes on White House meetings and transcripts of his own conversations with world leaders and top foreign officials.

US President Donald Trump, right, speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner

Even his frank assurances to Russia's foreign minister  where he reportedly called fired FBI Director James Comey a 'nut job'  have made it into the paper.

'I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' he said.

His language about other agencies is a likely reference to intelligence agencies, who might have capabilities to track the information as it made its way through U.S. channels.

Then, pointing to the row with Britain over the subject, he said: 'There is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.'

US President Donald Trump, center, speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner

The pledge came as Trump was visiting NATO headquarters, and after British Prime Minister Theresa May warned that the flagrant breaches were undermining the Special Relationship.

She vowed to 'make it clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.'

The New York Times on Wednesday published images of blood-smeared remnants of Salman Abedi's backpack, along with shrapnel and a battery.

The images were deemed highly sensitive, and were published even as an international manhunt in connection with the bombing continued.

Earlier, the top U.S. diplomat in Britain issued a tough statement of his own. 'These leaks were reprehensible, deeply distressing,' said charge d'affaires Lewis Lukens, the New York Times reported. 'We unequivocally condemn them.'

Shrapnel: Tightly packed nuts and screws caused horrific injuries after the bomb was detonated in the arena

Arriving for a NATO summit in Brussels where the two leaders are expected to hold talks, Trump said that the leaks posed a 'grave threat' to American national security and he would ensure the culprit was found.

Earlier, the Prime Minister told reporters that the Transatlantic ties were 'built on trust' in a pointed rebuke.

A major row has broken out over the leaks, with UK police temporarily stopping sharing intelligence about the terror investigation with our closest ally.

It is understood American law enforcement agencies had the pictures for only a matter of hours before they were leaked to a journalist from the New York Times.

May told reporters the Special Relationship was the 'deepest defense and security partnership that we have' and it was 'built on trust'.

'Part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure,' she added.

Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday May 22, 2017

The acting US ambassador in London, Lewis Lukens said the breaches were 'reprehensible and deeply distressing'.

'We unequivocally condemn them,' he said. 'The United States government is launching an investigation into these leaks and will take appropriate action once we identify the source of the leaks,' he said. 'We are determined to identify these leaks and to stop them.'

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was 'confident' that the breaches would stop and the suspension of intelligence-sharing would be temporary.

She said: 'Greater Manchester Police and the counter-terrorism police have taken a view. We hope that it is just going to be temporary, but it has been worrying, the leaks.

Statement from President Trump on leaks The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. Advertisement

'But we are confident that will now end.'

'SOPHISTICATED' BOMB USED BY ABEDI Detonator: The sophisticated device may have been triggered remotely Bomber Salman Abedi carried his bomb in a common Karrimor rucksack which was triggered with a switch held in his left hand, leaked crime scene photographs suggest. Experts who analysed the photographs last night said that the mechanisms raised the possibility that someone else could have detonated the explosives for Abedi  which could explain why Islamic State did not describe his barbaric attack as a suicide. The photographs, which were leaked to the New York Times, were described as 'law enforcement' images  apparently leaked after being shared between British and US security agencies. Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former head of the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment for the Army, said its 'sophistication' pointed to an Islamic State device. He said: 'The sophistication of this is absolutely key. Of all the detonators I've seen in Syria, this one leads me to believe it is the handiwork of IS.' The photographs also showed the metal nuts and screws that were blasted out of the bag, turning them into deadly shrapnel. And police found the remnants of a Yuasa 12 volt, 2.1amp lead acid battery, said to be more powerful  and, at 12, more expensive  than batteries found in other suicide bombs. The batteries, which are similar to a small car battery in appearance, are sometimes used to power emergency lighting. The evidence helps to explain why the security services are so convinced Abedi had travelled to a conflict zone in which he received training and was part of a wider terrorist cell. Advertisement

Speaking at Downing Street earlier today, May said the terror threat level would remain at critical.

Addressing the issue of the leaks, she said: 'I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.'

Whitehall sources said there was an investigation into who was behind the leaks after another US media outlet had been told the name of the killer hours before British police had raided his home.

A spokesman for Counter Terrorism Policing, the body that includes the police, security and intelligence agencies, tweeted: 'Unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major investigation undermines our work.'

There are concerns the leaks could do lasting damage to one of the closest intelligence-sharing relationships in the world.

In an unprecedented move, the British Attorney General, National Security Adviser and senior security officials and police officers have all raised their fury with their US counterparts.

Strong concerns were raised that leaks risk compromising the investigation.

On the US side, fury over the unauthorized disclosure was also strong.

Trump's call for prosecution of the leakers was his most pointed call to action yet.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the highest ranking Democrat on the House's Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that the British government has every right to be furious.

'Controlling the flow of information early in an investigation is critical to the identification and arrest of other potential suspects before they are tipped off,' he said.

Schiff stressed the special relationship between the US and the UK that is 'critical to our security and theirs.'

'Any break or deviation from that relationship or the profound trust we have in the British and they have in us, would be a grave loss for both countries. We must take any steps necessary to remedy this problem immediately,' he stated.

A senior Whitehall source also emphasized the negative effect that leaks could have on catching culprits.

'These leaks from inside the US system are likely to deeply distress the victims, their families and the wider public. Information has also been leaked which risks compromising the investigation into this appalling crime.

'Protests have been lodged at every relevant level between the British authorities and our US counterparts. They are in no doubt about our huge strength of feeling on this issue. It is unacceptable.'

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: 'These leaks are completely unacceptable and must stop immediately.

'This behavior is arrogant and is undermining the investigation into the horrific attack on the city of Manchester.'

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said he shared the 'anger and disbelief' over the leaks.

'I think the UK Government is right to, hopefully for a short period, stop sharing intelligence information like this with the American government,' she said.

A statement from the National Police Chiefs Council said: 'We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world.

'These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information, that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

'When that trust is breached, it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

'This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation.'

Mrs May arrived in Brussels on the official government plane today for the Nato summit

NEW YORK TIMES DEFENDS LEAKED BOMB PHOTOS The publication of leaked evidence photographs from the scene of the Manchester terror attack was 'neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims', the New York Times said today. Images believed to have been handed to the paper by US police officials caused outrage when they surfaced on yesterday. The New York Times said in a statement: 'The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes. 'We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories. Our coverage of Monday's horrific attack has been both comprehensive and responsible.' Advertisement

Lord Carlile, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, described the leaks as 'very unusual and irresponsible' and called for those responsible to be 'called to account'.

'Photos of the backpack after the event could be of utility to future bomb makers, for obvious reasons,' he said.

'Also, it damages decades of confidence between the UK and US services, the cohesion of the 'Five Eyes' group, and sharing of information with French, German and other security services.

'These leaks made yesterday a very bad day for national security in several countries, and those responsible should be called to account.'

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Blair said the leak of images from the attack was a 'grievous breach' although something similar had happened after the London 7/7 bombings.

Lord Blair, who was head of the Metropolitan Police during the deadly 2005 attacks, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I'm afraid it just reminds me exactly of what happened after 7/7 when the United States published a complete picture of the way the bombs in 7/7 had been made up.

'And we had the same protests. It's a different world in which the United States operate in the sense of how they publish things, and this is a very grievous breach, but I'm afraid it's the same as before.'

The photographs, published in the New York Times last night, came just hours after the Government warned the US authorities not to leak details of the Manchester terror investigation.

Backpack: The Karrimor rucksack in which the bomb was packed, before Salman entered the venue in Manchester

Battery: The 12-volt battery was more powerful than usually used. The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence

The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd, pictured in Downing Street today, blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence

Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham said the 'arrogant' leaks in the US were undermining the police investigation

The US newspaper said they showed a blood-stained silver detonator, said to have been held in the bomber's left hand, with wires trailing from one end lying on the floor. There were also images of torn scraps from a blue Karrimor rucksack as well as screws and nuts used as shrapnel.

The paper described them as 'law enforcement images' but did not make clear how they had been obtained.

The nature of the photographs left no doubt that they were taken as part of the forensic investigation of the scene, and were not snapshots taken by members of the public. The paper also published a map showing the location of the victims of the bombing, positioned in a circle around the presumed site of the explosion in the arena foyer, as well as what is thought to be Abedi's torso some distance away.

US congressman Mike McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the bomb was of a 'level of sophistication' that might indicate its maker had foreign training.

He described it as 'a classic explosive device used by terrorists', using the same substance as the one used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels.

Mr McCaul said evidence so far suggests 'we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation', adding: 'There's a network - a cell of Isis-inspired terrorists.'

The leak came after Home Secretary Amber Rudd blasted American security officials for disclosing sensitive intelligence. In a rare public slapdown, she said it was 'irritating' that facts including the identity of Abedi and death toll had been made public to US media ahead of its release in the UK.

Miss Rudd said the British police had wanted to control the flow of information so Abedi's accomplices were not tipped off  and warned Washington that 'it should not happen again'.

Miss Rudd told BBC Radio 4's Today program she intends to look again at the issue of information-sharing if it works against the wishes of the police.
President Donald Trump told leaders of the NATO alliance on Thursday that the Manchester bombing that killed 22 earlier this week demonstrates the depths of the evils of terrorism.

After leading a moment of silence at the NATO headquarters in Brussels for victims of Monday night's bombing, Trump said that attacks will continue unless steps are taken to counter terrorism strikes.

He said that the United States would never stop fighting terrorism, calling the Manchester attacks 'savage' and 'barbaric'.

Meanwhile he called the alleged US intelligence leaks 'deeply troubling' and called for US officials to launch a full investigation hours before British authorities announced they were once again sharing information with the US.

After leading a moment of silence for victims of Monday night's bombing, President Donald Trump said that attacks will continue unless steps are taken to counter terrorism strikes

Pictured above, (Front row from L) Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, King Philippe - Filip of Belgium, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, (second row from L) French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Iceland's Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, (third row from L) Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, Slovakia's President Andrej Kiska

Trump, pictured alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during the moment of silence, said that the United States would never stop fighting terrorism, calling the Manchester attacks 'savage' and 'barbaric'

Trump also lectured members of the NATO alliance to pay their fair share on defense during the ceremony

'Terrorism must be stopped or ... the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever,' Trump said, referring to Monday's suicide bomb in the northern English city that killed 22 people, including children.

His comments came after he unveiled a memorial to the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington at the NATO headquarters.

Meanwhile the President went viral for the wrong reasons when he appeared to 'shove' Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic.

It was during a NATO 'family photo' planned with assigned positions for 31 people: the 28 heads of state and the Montenegrin, plus Stoltenberg, and the king and prime minister of Belgium, the host country.

Trump, Stoltenberg and the Belgians were set to be front-row center, with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Trump's other side.

NATO protocol calls for the participants to be alphabetical order of country, with a few exceptions, including the U.S. having a place of honor in the front, next to the UK.

Meanwhile Trump told NATO leaders that the unveiling is 'a day for both remembrance and resolve'.

'We will never waiver in our determination to defeat terrorism and achieve lasting security, prosperity and peace,' he said.

Trump also lectured Nato leaders on their open borders, tying terror attacks like last week's carnage in the United Kingdom to the unchecked flow of migrants throughout Europe.

He said: 'You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases we have no idea who they are. We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant.'

'The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration,' he said.

Trump acted like nothing had happened after pushing his way to the front for the NATO 'family photo'

The official seating chart put Trump (US) in the front row and Markovic ('MON') in the corner. NATO protocol calls for alphabetical order with a few exceptions, including the U.S. having a place of honor in the front, next to the UK

Trump hammered home the same anti-terror themes he has flogged since his inaugural foreign trip began last Saturday  saying of suicide bombers and other jihadis that 'wherever they exist in our societies, we must drive them out and never, ever let them back in.'

Trump said he has been 'very, very direct' with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and other nations 'in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations.'

'But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying, and what they are supposed to be paying, for their defense.'

'This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States,' he said, 'and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money for past years, and not paying in those past years.'

TRUMP'S SPEECH TO NATO On the 'evils of terrorism': 'Innocent little girls and so many others were horribly murdered and badly injured whilst attending a concert. 'Beautiful lives with so much great potential, torn from their families for ever and ever. It was a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilisation. 'All people who cherish life must unite in finding, exposing and removing these killers and extremists, and yes, losers, they are losers. 'Wherever they exist in our societies we must drive them out and never, ever let them back in.' On 'unchecked immigration in Europe: 'Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks or the horror we saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever. 'You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout and in many cases we have no idea who they are. 'We must be tough. We must be strong. And we must be vigilant. 'The Nato of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as on threats from Russia and on Nato's eastern and southern borders.' Donald Trump, left, and Theresa May, right, were believed to have discussed the issue of US intelligence leaks on the Manchester bombing yesterday in Brussels, pictured On the US intelligence 'leaks': 'The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. 'The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. 'I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 'There is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.' On NATO members's financial contributions: 'I have been very very direct with [Nato general secretary] Jens Stoltenberg and members of the alliance in saying Nato members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations. 'But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they're supposed to be paying for their defence. 'This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years. 'Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defence than all other Nato countries combined. 'We have to make up for the many years lost  two per cent is the bare minimum for confronting today's very real and very vicious threats. 'If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism.' Advertisement

Trump said the U.S. has spent more money on defense in the past eight years than the combined spending of all other NATO members.

And he called on them to make good on pledges to spend at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product  'the bare minimum,' he said  on defense, including becoming current with their NATO dues.

'If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today  especially from the threat of terrorism,' Trump insisted.'

British police have made significant arrests and have uncovered important items as they investigate the suicide bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, the head of the city's police said.

Greater Manchester police are holding eight people in custody, having released a woman without charge on Thursday.

British police have made significant arrests and have uncovered important items as they investigate the suicide bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, the head of the city's police said

Greater Manchester police are holding eight people in custody in connection to the attack (a scene from the attack pictured above), having released a woman without charge on Thursday

Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British-born man with Libyan parents, blew himself up on Monday night at the Manchester Arena indoor venue after a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande, whose fans are mostly children and teenagers.

The explosion killed 22 people, ranging from an eight-year-old schoolgirl to parents who had come to pick up their children.

With the official threat level raised to 'critical', meaning a further attack could be imminent, troops have been deployed to free up police, and armed officers patrolled trains for the first time in Britain.

Police, who believe Abedi was part of a network, are holding eight people in custody in connection with the attack.

'I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation,' Manchester's police chief Ian Hopkins said.

'These searches will take several days to complete.'

Trump said on Thursday that it was 'deeply troubling' that leaks to the US media about the Manchester suicide bombing would be investigated, after irate British police stopped sharing information with US agencies.

His comments came after he unveiled a memorial to the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington at the NATO headquarters

Trump (pictured walking past Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May) told NATO leaders that the unveiling is 'a day for both remembrance and resolve'

British Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier she would tell Trump that intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure, in a rare public show of dissatisfaction with Britain's closest security ally.

'The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,' Trump said in a statement released after he arrived in Brussels for a NATO summit, also attended by May.

'I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'

It comes as British police have reopened information-sharing ties with the US following a spat over leaked evidence from the Manchester bombing, police chiefs said.

SECRET DETAILS THAT AMERICANS LET SLIP British spies and police were forced to suspend sharing intelligence with the US about the Manchester attack. The unprecedented decision to interrupt the UKs closest intelligence arrangement with any country came after a series of highly sensitive leaks from Americas law enforcement agencies to US media. Aside from damaging the trust between the two countries, UK security agencies believe the leaks undermined their work and harmed their investigations. Here is the list of leaks from the attack: As the attack unfolded, US law enforcement sources briefed TV network CBS that a suicide bomber carried out the attack. Two sources told them about how the bomber travelled by train to Victoria station and how the explosions contained nails. Another broadcaster, NBC, was also given details about the attack method.

Bomber Salman Abedis name was provided to US media. UK police did not release it initially because they wanted to get ahead in the investigation. But it was reported on American breakfast television at least six hours before British authorities released it.

The fact the bomber was identified by a bank card in his pocket was leaked to NBC. Citing a US intelligence official, it reported members of the bombers family had warned security officials about him in the past, saying he was dangerous. The official said Abedi likely had help making the big and sophisticated bomb.

According to the broadcaster, a US intelligence official, said to have direct knowledge of the investigation, revealed how Abedi had ties to Al Qaeda and had received terrorist training abroad.

Photographs taken from the crime scene were leaked to the New York Times. The images showed blood-smeared fragments from the bomb, the backpack used to conceal it and a diagram showing where the bodies were.

Authorities revealed to ABC News how detectives apparently found a bomb-making workshop in Abedis home. Details included how he apparently stockpiled enough chemicals to make more bombs. Advertisement

Mark Rowley, the country's most senior counter-terrorism officer, confirmed they had 'received fresh assurances' from their foreign counterparts and were now 'working closely' with them.

Mr Rowley said: 'We greatly value the crucial relationship with our trusted partners around the world so we can collaborate and share sensitive information to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

'While we do not usually comment on information-sharing arrangements with international law enforcement organisations, we want to emphasise that, having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.'

Lewis Lukens, acting US ambassador to the UK, yesterday apologised for the reprehensible leaks, thought to have stemmed from material shared with the FBI.

He added: At all levels of government we have heard the message loud and clear from Her Majestys Government and we agree with their concerns and were determined to take action.

The Home Secretary said she was confident the leaks would stop and the suspension of intelligence-sharing would be temporary.

Miss Rudd added: Greater Manchester Police and the counter-terrorism police have taken a view. We hope that it is just going to be temporary, but it has been worrying, the leaks. But we are confident that will now end.

In addition to tackling terrorism, Trump used his first NATO summit to urge the alliance to do more to tackle immigration and Russian threats.

'The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and NATO's eastern and southern borders,' Trump said.

Trump does, however, stand united with other NATO countries in defending all members of the Western military alliance, a senior White House official said on Thursday, despite the president making no mention of NATO's Article V in a speech.

'It's the core of the alliance,' the official said after Trump gave a speech to fellow NATO leaders in Brussels.

NATO's founding treaty states that an attack on one ally is an attack on all, but Trump questioned that in his election campaign. Article 5 has only been activated once, after 9/11.

Trump has so far refused to personally commit to abiding by Article 5, which commits allies to defend any of the 28 members that come under attack.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer, however, said that 'It goes without saying' that Trump's presence at the event underscores the White House's 'commitments and treaty obligations'.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that 'of course' the United States supports Article 5.

But European Council President Donald Tusk indicated there were divisions between Europe and the US on trade and other issues.

Trump used his first NATO summit to urge the alliance to do more to tackle immigration and Russian threats

Trump, second left, speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, accompanied by Croatian President Kalinda Grabar-Kitarovic, second right, and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels

Trump talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May during a transfer ceremony at the new NATO headquarters

He said: 'We agreed on many areas, first and foremost on counter-terrorism,' after he and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker met Trump for over an hour.

'But some issues remain open, like climate and trade.'

European leaders have been urging Trump not to abandon the U.S. commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions made when his predecessor Barack Obama signed up to the U.N. Paris accord.

Tusk also said he did not feel he and Trump were 'on exactly the same page' in terms of dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although they agreed on efforts to end conflict in Ukraine which the West blames on Moscow and which has resulted in both EU and U.S. economic sanctions on Russia.

A spokeswoman for Juncker, the president of the European Commission which had been negotiating an ambitious free trade deal with Washington before Trump's upset election victory, said the two sides would work to increase trade.

'Intensifying trade cooperation ... is a win-win situation for both sides,' the EU spokeswoman said.

'It was agreed to start work on a joint action plan on trade.'

Juncker declined comment on whether talks in the coming weeks might revive the TTIP trade deal.

Trump has made clear his dislike of multilateral trade agreements, pulling out of the TPP agreement with Asian states.

However, European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have suggested he is warming to trade talks with the EU, which unifies trade rules for all 28 states.

Trump irritated EU leaders during his election campaign last year by hailing Brexit and suggesting other countries might follow Britain out of the 28-nation bloc.

Eurosceptic leaders said he would offer Britain a free trade deal once it left.

However, EU officials believe Trump has come to appreciate more since taking office the value of European integration to U.S. interests.

U.S. businesses have taken advantage of its single market to reduce the costs of exporting to Europe.

An EU source said Trump had told Tusk and Juncker he was now worried that Americans may lose jobs as a result of Britain leaving the EU in 2019:

He 'expressed concern that jobs in the U.S. would be lost because of Brexit', the source said.

Trump shoves European leader aside to find his place at the center of NATO group photo

By David Martosko, US Political Editor for DailyMail.com in Brussels

A Trump moment went viral for the wrong reason on Thursday as he and the leaders of 27 other NATO member countries assembled for a photo at the treaty organization's gleaming new Brussels, Belgium headquarters.

As Trump made his way through the group to take his position in the front row next to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic was in his way.

So Trump put his hand on Markovic's upper arm and shoved him aside.

COMING THROUGH: Donald Trump saw Montenegro's prime minister in his way before a 'family photo' of NATO leaders, so he shoved him aside

The U.S. president tried to be nonchalant, but the resulting moment caught fire on Twitter

Montenegro is not yet a NATO country. Its membership becomes official on June 5.

The 'family photo' was planned with assigned positions for 31 people: the 28 heads of state and the Montenegrin, plus Stoltenberg, and the king and prime minister of Belgium, the host country.

Trump, Stoltenberg and the Belgians were set to be front-row center, with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Trump's other side.

Markovic  the new guy  was placed in the back row on the far right end.

Trump was seen as a party pooper at the NATO summit, lecturing his fellow heads of state about their deadbeat nature and the need to secure their borders in the fight against terror.

Trump had earlier put his weight behind his first handshake with France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, gripping and torquing his way on Thursday through the crucial moment in their budding relationship.

They shook hands for a full five seconds while camera shutters clicked, pumping their fists 16 times in a seeming battle of the phalanges.

Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron pumped fists for a full five seconds on Thursday in Brussels as the two leaders seemed to be locked into a battle of the phalanges

Keep pumping: The grip and grin went on for a solid five seconds as Trump met Macron, the new French leader for the first time

Their knuckles turned white, their eyes met, their jaws clenched.

Trump ultimately released first, leaving Macron to hang on to his open hand.

Macron, the youngest French head of state since Napoleon, has held office for just 11 days.

But Trump, who is fond of winners and considers 'loser' to be the ultimate insult for murderous terrorists, seemed to give him his stamp of approval  moments before the younger president brought up global warming to jab him.

Just a month ago, he suggested that far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was the 'strongest' candidate 'on borders, and she's the strongest on what's been going on in France  a reference to terrorism.

Thursday he was firmly on Team Macron.

'It is my great honor to be with the newly elected president of France, who ran an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory,' he said. 'All over the world they're talking about it.'

'We have a lot to discuss,' Trump added, 'including terrorism and other things. Congratulations. Great job.'
Australian company Ansell has sold its condom business to Chinese interests in a move worth more than $800million.

The company announced the sale of its Sexual Wellness business to a Chinese consortium of Humanwell Healthcare and Hong Kong-based conglomerate CITIC on Wednesday.

The sale includes all of Ansell's condom, lubricant and devices businesses along with manufacturing sites, with the exception of a joint venture between the Medical and Sexual Wellness division in India.

Ansell has sold its condom business to Chinese interests for more than $800million. File photo

Ansell will use much of the money made from the sale to buy back up to 10 per cent of its shares, or approximately 14.75million shares, over the next 12 months.

Ansell CEO Magnus Nicolin said: 'We are delighted with this outcome, following a thorough and competitive process, which realises significant value for Ansell shareholders.

'We see Humanwell as a natural home for the business and wish them well with their purchase.

The sale includes all of Ansell's condom, lubricant and devices businesses. Pictured, Ansell LifeStyles condoms

'Ansell will now turn its focus to the acceleration of the three B2B divisions while improving operating efficiencies further.'

The announcement saw a surge in the company's share prices it's the end of an era in Australian manufacturing that dates back to 1905 - making Ansell the world's longest-operating condom business.

Eric Norman Ansell left his job at the Old Dunlop Company of Australasia to manufacture condoms but didn't register the business with the Ansell name until 1929.
President Donald Trump lectured more than two dozen world leaders Thursday during a NATO conference, hammering them for open-borders policies and for failing to pay their fair share of the organization's defense costs.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and others stared at the brash U.S. president with a mixture of indignation and disbelief at the stunning dressing-down.

Merkel had moments earlier declared, in remarks about a section of the Berlin Wall that stands in a courtyard of NATO's new Brussels headquarters, that 'it is not isolation and the building of walls that make us successful, but open societies and the sharing of values.'

That seemed to be a veiled slap at Trump for insisting that a wall separating the U.S. from Mexico would be an effective terror deterrent by controlling immigration.

Trump seemed ready for the challenge, tying terror attacks like last week's carnage in the United Kingdom to the unchecked flow of migrants throughout Europe.

President Donald Trump spoke next to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a NATO ceremony on Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, criticizing other heads of state for being soft on immigration and for not paying their fair share to the organization

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron were less than thrilled to see Trump calling them and their colleagues out

The entire panel of heads of state looked on and cringed as the President of the United States lectured them like children

'Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever,' Trump said.

'You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases we have no idea who they are. We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant.'

'The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration,' he said.

Trump hammered home the same anti-terror themes he has flogged since his inaugural foreign trip began last Saturday  saying of suicide bombers and other jihadis that 'wherever they exist in our societies, we must drive them out and never, ever let them back in.'

But it was Trump's rhetorical finger wagging on NATO's budget that left heads of state dealing with grimaces, facial contortions.

British PM Theresa May looked none too pleased with Trump as he took his place with the group following his remarks

Trump said he has been 'very, very direct' with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and other nations 'in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations.'

'But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying, and what they are supposed to be paying, for their defense.'

'This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States,' he said, 'and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money for past years, and not paying in those past years.'

Trump said the U.S. has spent more money on defense in the past eight years than the combined spending of all other NATO members.

And he called on them to make good on pledges to spend at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product  'the bare minimum,' he said  on defense, including becoming current with their NATO dues.

'If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today  especially from the threat of terrorism,' Trump insisted.'

Trump spoke in front of the new NATO headquarters building and made a point of snarking about how much it cost

Merkel (in red) was seen voicing her displeasure after Trump's speech, while NATO leaders lined up for a group photo

Trump emerged as the tongue-lasher-in-chief, drawing awkward looks from more than two dozen world leaders

He remarked on the splendor of NATO's shimmering new complex in Belgium, a 2.7 million square-foot glass and steel creation, which the nation of Belgium officially handed over to NATO on Thursday.

'I never asked once what the new NATO headquarters cost,' Trump snarked.

'I refuse to do that. But it is beautiful.'

Trump claimed during his presidential campaign that NATO had grown 'obsolete' and full of bureaucrats living off American generosity.

He has also refused to commit to defending other member nations if one of them is attacked  something required under 'Article 5' of NATO's charter.

After Trump's speech, Stoltenberg was seen inside the headquarters lobby showing the president the copy of Article 5 that hands on one wall.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said this week that 'It goes without saying" that Trump's presence in Brussels underscores the White House's 'commitments and treaty obligations.'

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that 'of course' the U.S. supports Article 5.
The family of a Texas principal who committed suicide in a high school parking lot moments after resigning say he gave no signs he was unhappy with his life.

Dennis Reeves, 45, shot himself in his truck at Kirbyville High School, north-east of Houston, on Tuesday afternoon.

Reeves had just come out of a meeting with the district's superintendent and assistant superintendent in which he had told them he was resigning.

Dennis Reeves, 45, shot himself in his truck at Kirbyville High School, north-east of Houston, on Tuesday afternoon just moments after he resigned from his job

His brother-in-law, Trey Ainsworth, told the New York Post the family were at a loss as to why the married father-of-two would take his own life.

Ainsworth said the family were unaware of any legal troubles Reeves may have been facing or whether he was suffering from medical conditions like depression.

'There's nothing that indicated that he would do this. We don't know of anything,' he said.

'It's kind of a shock to everyone. Everybody loved Dennis. He was a great guy. It seemed like in recent years he was like citizen of the year in Kirbyville. The kids loved him, and his teachers loved him, too.'

Reeves was married to his wife Tammy and they had two sons - one of whom had just graduated from high school.

Superintendent Tommy Wallis and Assistant Superintendent Georgia Sayers told KFDM they had met with Reeves on Tuesday for a 'basic meeting' to discuss a number of things before he told them he was quitting.

They would not elaborate on the reasons behind his resignation.

Reeves' family say he gave no signs that he was unhappy with his life. The father-of-two is pictured above with his wife Tammy just weeks before he died

Reeves had just come out of a meeting with district officials in which he had told them he was resigning. He was found soon after in his truck in the school's parking lot

'We had several things to discuss. We called the meeting to visit with him about a couple of things - summer school, staffing patterns, several things to discuss,' Wallis said.

When asked if something in the meeting could have provoked Reeves to commit suicide, Wallis said: 'I don't have any idea what Mr Reeves was thinking. I can't get into anybody's head.'

Wallis and Sayers said they noticed the principal's truck still sitting in the parking lot an hour after he left the meeting and notified police.

Authorities said they found Reeves in the truck with the .380-caliber semi automatic pistol he used to kill himself.

The engine of his truck was still running and the transmission was in reverse but Reeves' foot was on the brake.

The superintendent and assistant superintendent were the only ones left at the school when Reeves was found dead.

Kirbyville Police Chief Paul Brister told DailyMail.com they had not found a suicide note.

Brister said it was unclear what happened in the meeting and the school administrators had not told them.

The engine of his truck (above) was still running when he was found shortly before 5pm. Police said the transmission was in reverse but Reeves' foot was on the brake

Tributes flowed in on social media from devastated students and colleagues following news of Reeves' death.

'Dennis Reeves was more than a principal. He was the kids supporter, voice, cheerleader, backbone if needed and disciplinarian if necessary! He did all of it out of love,' one parent wrote.

'Mr Reeves showed up when he didn't have too, he fought for his students when no one else would... My heart hurts for everyone's lives that he touched as well as my daughter! He was her principal and was wonderful! I am so hurt by his lost!'

One of his students wrote: 'Breaks my heart. My principal for three years, he put up with a lot from me but through it all he believed in me. I remember a conversation between us when he broke down in tears and encouraged me. Dennis Reeves was a great man. You just never know what people are going through.'

If anyone is seeking help please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1 800 273 8255 or visiting the website.
A Muslim sheikh who campaigns against extremism says Australia has backyard mosques that aren't on the radar of Australia's security agencies.

Shia imam Mohammad Tawhidi said that while the Australian Federal Police and spies could keep an eye on street mosques, there were many houses that operated as extremist cells.

'What are you going to do about a backyard mosque? How do you know which house has a mosque?,' he asked in a Facebook video made under the cover of darkness.

Scroll down for video

Adelaide Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi has made an emotional video about terror

An image of police raiding a home at Marsfield in Sydney's north in October 2015

Sheikh Tawhidi, who lives in hiding in Adelaide, said Australia's Muslim leaders needed to stop lying.

We have a big problem in our religion. We have a serious problem,' he said.

'Were infested with radicals. Infested with radicals. The police force know this very well. Which country on earth has the amount of people under watch as we do?

'Why would you lie? Why lie? Its not good to lie.'

Sheikh Tawhidi (right) is upset that Dr Jamal Rifi (left) said Australia was 'very peaceful'

Sheikh Tawhidi showed an Al-Qaeda flag he had bought this week at a Melbourne shop

The Iranian-born religious leader, who moved to Australia from Iraq when he was 12, made his late-night video after a heated exchange with Lebanese Muslim doctor and western Sydney community leader Jamal Rifi, on the Seven Network's Sunrise program.

Dr Rifi told David Koch Muslims lived in a 'very peaceful country'.

'These scriptures existed for hundreds of years. They didn't incite violence or terror act,' he said.

Sheikh Tawhidi was so incensed by that statement he made an emotional Facebook video on Thursday night, after appearing on Sunrise to show how easy it was to buy an Al-Qaeda flag at a Muslim store in Melbourne.

'It really hurts. You have a Muslim leader that doesn't want to admit to a problem,' he said.

'We have a radical Muslim community. What do you say to that?'

'All the Australian victims of terrorism, their blood goes down the drain and turn around and say we live in peace.'

The Shia imam from Adelaide said there were hundreds of potential terrorists in Australia

With 300 terror suspects in one state at any given time, Sheikh Tawhidi said it was delusional for Muslim leaders to deny there was a problem.

'All of them could possibly undertake an attack at any time. Potential terrorists in one state,' he said.

'Perhaps you guys have been getting away with lying all these years.'

The imam, who wants a reform of Islam, has taken a stand days after a British-born suicide bomber from a Libyan family, Salman Abedi, killed 22 people watching an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told the ABC's Lateline program on Thursday night that Australia was in danger of a European-style terrorist attack.

'We're not immune from what we've seen in Paris, in Brussels, in Manchester, in London,' she said.
A drunken smoker who sparked terror on an airplane when a cigarette he threw in a bin caused it to catch fire has had his 'unduly lenient' sentence more than doubled.

John Cox, 46, was travelling from Birmingham to Sharm El-Sheikh at 33,000 feet on board a Monarch Airlines jet when he threw the cigarette butt in a toilet bin.

John Cox (pictured) pleaded guilty to reckless arson at Birmingham Crown Court in March and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison

The blaze that ensued caused mass panic and some of the airline staff even began to weep.

Shockingly, the drama unfolded just one hour after a similar 'unrelated' toilet blaze broke out in the aircraft, London's Appeal Court heard.

One passenger said the incident was 'absolutely terrifying'.

They added: 'Everyone was panicking. I was so scared that words just can't express how I felt.

'My holiday was badly affected because I didn't want to fly home, and when I think about it even now I feel physically and emotionally sick.'

Cabin crew had already used up one fire extinguisher and additional water fighting the first fire, Lady Justice Sharp said.

Several of the crew reported being traumatised, and witnesses spoke of cabin crew weeping and of screaming adults and children.

The pilot had feared that the crew might not be able to quell the second blaze that Fox started.

After calling Mayday, put the plane into a sharp descent to stage an emergency landing.

Luckily a fire safety expert was on board who helped crew members tackle the blaze and bring it under control.

He was belligerent and aggressive when confronted, but pleaded guilty to reckless arson at Birmingham Crown Court in March.

Cox, of Kidderminster, was jailed for four and a half years.

But his case reached the Appeal Court as lawyers for the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, attacked his punishment as far too lenient.

Lady Justice Sharp agreed that his sentence was much too light - and upped the term to nine and a half years.

'The potential for causing disaster here was plain and obvious,' she told the court.

But a top judge said the sentence passed down to Cox, described as a 'hard-working family man', was 'unduly lenient' and his term was upped to nine and a half years

'The sentence passed was unduly lenient, this offence called for a deterrent sentence and condign punishment.'

Cox, a 'hard-working family man' of previous good character, was under stress at the time due to the break-up of his marriage.

He had started knocking back drinks in the Airport departure lounge, and kept topping up while in the air.

He did not intend to start a blaze, but the judge said throwing a cigarette into the bin at 33,000 feet 'came very close to deliberate fire-setting'.
Horrific details about the night a wealthy South African family were butchered in their bedrooms were laid bare in court on Thursday, including how a schoolgirl fought desperately for her life and the slow, agonising death of her brother.

Henri Van Breda, who is on trial for the axe murder of three members of his family and attempting to murder his sister, looked anguished as he sat through an account of their last hours of terror and suffering from the pathologist who examined their bodies.

Dr Daphne Anthony told the high court in Cape Town how Marli Van Breda, then 16, had fought back harder than any of her loved ones during the early-hours attack in January 2015.

Pathologist reports from the autopsies of the Van Breda family (pictured) show they died slowly and in agonising pain

Henri Van Breda (pictured) stands accused of murdering his family with an axe weighing nine lbs (four kgs)

She suffered multiple defensive wounds in 'a severe and significant struggle' in addition to axe blows to her head and a slashed jugular vein, but somehow survived her ordeal.

Van Breda allegedly wielded a nine lbs (four kilos) axe first and with more blows against his older brother Rudi, who took two hours and 40 minutes to die a lingering, painful death from multiple 'chop wounds' to his skull and neck, the pathologist reported.

Twenty-two year-old Van Breda denies attacking his loved ones with an axe at their home on an exclusive security estate following a blazing family row.

He claims a masked mystery intruder broke in and murdered them in their bedrooms as he watched helpless through a crack in the bathroom door.

Pictured: The axe allegedly used to murder the Van Breda family in January 2015

Pathology reports (pictured) show the extensive injuries inflicted on the Van Breda family as they were attacked one by one

A pathology sketch (pictured) shows the extensive damage done to Martin Van Breda's skull during the attack

As the pathologist picked her way through three post mortem reports and an album of pictures from the crime scene and mortuary, which the judge ruled too graphic for publication, Van Breda sat as far from the witness as he could.

At one point, he even ducked out of sight on the stairs leading from the dock to the holding cells, to spare himself the gruesome details.

Dr Anthony told prosecutor Susan Galloway that the killer would have wielded the murder weapon 'with a tremendous amount of force and a high rate of speed' to inflict the level of injuries she had examined on the Van Bredas' corpses.

Postgraduate student Rudi was attacked as he lay in his single bed, the court heard, and suffered two heavy blows to his head, before he had time to raise his hands in defence.

The axe was brought down so hard that his skull was smashed and brain tissue could be seen with the naked eye, the pathologist said.

Martin Van Breda, 54, 'was most likely surprised and not aware' that his killer was coming for him, the trial heard, and was whacked 'with large force' four times from behind with the axe, including to the back of his neck.

Martin Van Breda (left) and his wife Teresa were both struck down by an axe inside their South African home

In a statement to the court, Van Breda (pictured) claims he heard his older brother dying, but did not know the right number to call for help, and then passed out

The father-of-three was cut down in his sons' room, and also took some time to die. He may have been conscious enough to hear the gurgling and thrashing of his son, Rudi, who was fighting for life nearby.

It was the defence's own pathologist who estimated it took Rudi two hours and 40 minutes to die, the court heard.

Asked by Judge Siraj Desai if the 22 year-old would have suffered as he succumbed to his injuries, the pathologist replied, 'yes, he would have suffered, it would have been very painful'.

During his own statement to the court, Van Breda recalled hearing his older brother's last sounds and movements, but claimed he had not known the right number to phone for help, and then had passed out himself before he could raise the alarm.

Marli Van Breda (pictured) fought back harder than any member of the family and survived the ordeal despite wounds to her skull and jugular

According to the young accused, who stands to inherit a share of his parents' vast wealth if he is cleared of their murders, he fell unconscious from a blow to his head after falling as he chased the fleeing masked killer.

Like her daughter, Teresa Van Breda, 55, had also put up a fight for her life, the pathologist reported, and had defensive wounds to her hands as she helplessly shielded her head from the blade of her killer's axe.

Mrs Van Breda was wearing a dark blue singlet and beige coloured underwear when she was found face down on the landing, next to her dying daughter.

The keen cook had been face to face with her attacker as he chopped at her head with such force that, like her husband, her brain tissue was left exposed by the force of the axe, the pathologist told the prosecutor.

'While the wound to the top of her head was inflicted she was likely raising her hand to ward off the attack,' Dr Anthony said.

Van Breda has maintained his innocence throughout the lengthy trial, at which he stands accused of three counts of murder, one of attempted murder and one of perverting the course of justice

Despite his dramatic account of single-handedly disarming a dangerous axeman who lunged at him with a knife, a number of the state's expert witnesses have denounced Van Breda's own injuries as 'superficial', 'self-inflicted', and inconsistent with the life-and-death struggle he described.

On Thursday, his lawyer Pieter Botha also mounted a challenge to the inclusion as evidence of a statement his young client made to police on the day after the mass murders. It is thought the account he gave to officers at that time is now at odds with his more recent explanation of events.

Marli, now 18, is listed to give evidence for the prosecution at the trial, which is expected to last another two months.

Van Breda denies three counts of murder, one of attempted murder and one of perverting the course of justice.

Expert witnesses have labelled Van Breda's wounds (pictured) as 'superficial' and 'self inflicted'

Van Breda claims he single-handedly disarmed a dangerous axeman who lunged at him with a knife on the night his family died
A 13-year-old girl in Maine committed suicide this week, just weeks after school district officials sent out a letter to parents, warning them about the new Netflix series about teen suicide.

Students at Lewiston Middle School learned about seventh-grader Anie Graham's death on Tuesday.

No details have been released about how Anie killed herself, but local emergency alerts show that a teen killed herself by hanging that day.

Lewiston, Maine middle school student Anie Graham committed suicide this week, just weeks after school district officials warned parents about the new Netflix series on suicide, 13 Reasons Why

Anie's parents and friends said that she had been picked on at school and on social media.

She received messages like 'have fun in hell,' friends told the Sun Journal.

'When you think bullying, you think pushing around and harassing, but the words that were said to her were harassing,' Anie's friend Felicity Sanborn, 13, told the Press Herald. 'Id rather have all my teeth knocked out than be called some of those names.'

Felicity added: 'I hope people think about how their disrespectful words affected her, how she felt she was a piece of dust. She felt as though she had nothing to live for.'

Anie's suicide comes just weeks after school district officials sent a letter home to parents, warning them about the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

The series, based on a book by the same name, details the reasons why a teen girl decides to kill herself.

On Wednesday, some 50 students walked out of class to make a statement against bullying at Lewiston Middle School

The students were given an unexcused absence, but school officials say they will not be further punished

'This series focuses on topics of bullying, sexual assault, depression and suicide.

'While these are topics that are important to discuss and bring awareness to, a point of concern among the show's critics is the graphic nature of some of the scenes in the series.

'Content of this nature can be difficult to watch and can trigger strong emotions in some viewers, especially children and young adolescents,' the letter read.

It's unclear whether Anie had watched the series. The character who kills herself in the series does not do so by hanging.

School Principal Jake Langlais says he doesn't believe there is a connection.

'When there's a terrible event like this usually means there's a number of things that led to that place,' he told WCSH.

Anie's heartbroken father spoke out about her death on Wednesday, saying that both the school and healthcare providers failed his daughter.

Eighth-grader Lillyanna Torres receives a hug from a classmate Wednesday morning outside Lewiston Middle School. Torres helped organize the protest

Seventh-grader Aisha Caron receives a hug from classmate Felicity Sanborn on Wednesday morning outside Lewiston Middle School

Lewiston Middle School principal Jake Langlais is pictured above speaking to students at the protest on Wednesday. He said he doesn't think there's a connection between Anie's death and the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why

'We tried so hard, we tried everything. When it got serious, when it got real, no one helped us,' Matt Graham said.

'The school and the hospital and the insurance company all told us they couldnt help,' he added. 'Every system we have in place failed our daughter.'

Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster said he was not aware of any report that Anie was being bullied.

Anie's father and Webster had a meeting on Wednesday, during which Mr. Graham made suggestions on how the school could improve it's response to suicidal children.

The character who kills herself in 13 Reasons Why (above) did not commit suicide by hanging, as Anie did

He said the school should immediately send a child to the hospital if they mention being suicidal. According to the current policy, if a student made such comments, school officials would provide their family with a list of resources and then refer them to counseling services.

Mr Graham says he wants people to know that his daughter was beautiful and popular but was still a victim of bullying.

Students who knew the girl described her as a 'friendly' and bubbly' person who frequently hosted pool parties and was good at math.

On Wednesday, about 50 students walked out of school during classes to remember Anie. They were all given unexcused absences but the school is not going to punish them for the statement.

 For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here

 For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here
A four-year-old girl had to be rescued on May 18 after she got her head stuck in a gap between two walls in northeastern China's Liaoning province.

Her mother and a few onlookers attempted to pour oil to reduce friction but firefighters had to be brought in to help.

Firefighters broke a section of the wall to free the girl's head and rescued her out of danger.

The four-year-old girl struggled to get her head out after sticking inside a gap in a kindergarten

The incident occurred at a kindergarten in the Jinzhou district of Dalian City on May 18.

Footage uploaded by New China TV, shows the girl crying in pain while her mother staying close to her.

Huashuang Morning Post reported that seven firefighters were at the scene 16 minutes after receiving the call.

Firefighters had to use hand tools to break the wall and took out pieces from it to free the girl

After five minutes, rescuers freed the girl and her mother comforted her immediately

The girl can be heard saying 'Mum, I want to go home.'

Rescuers could only use hand tools to break the wall from a four-inch gap.

The girl was freed without injuries after around five minutes.

However, it was unknown how the girl got her head in the gap.
Dramatic dashcam footage captured the moment a police motorbike came within inches of causing a serious crash when it swerved across lanes on the M8 near Glasgow.

Traffic moving steadily along the M8 shortly after morning rush hour was disrupted by the police motorbike which swerved across three lanes of traffic after joining the motorway at junction 21, near Govan, southwest Glasgow.

The car fitted with a dashcam, travelling at around 40mph, was forced to dodge to the right as the police bike careered in front of the oncoming vehicle with just inches to spare.

Near-miss: Traffic moving steadily along the M8 shortly after morning rush hour was disrupted by the police motorbike which swerved across three lanes of traffic after joining the motorway at junction 21, near Govan, southwest Glasgow

A black Renault in the middle lane was forced to slam on its brakes as two police motorbikes came into view.

The first bike moved across the inside lane into the middle of the carriageway before edging over the lines into the outside.

The driver of the dashcam vehicle was forced to hit the brakes, letting out a sound of shock as they moved to the right to avoid a collision with the police bike which pulled out inches in front of them.

The driver then said: 'F*****g hell. Wow, wow.'

Emergency diverted: The car fitted with a dashcam, travelling at around 40mph, was forced to move to the right to dodge the police bike moving in front with just inches to spare

'F*****g hell. Wow, wow': The driver of the dashcam vehicle was forced to hit the brakes, letting out a sound of shock as they moved to the right to avoid a collision with the police bike which pulled out inches in front of them

After the incident the driver of the dashcam vehicle, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'There was absolutely no reason that I could see for this police biker to merge immediately into outside lane.

'Thankfully traffic was a little bit behind me otherwise there could have been a serious crash.

'You'll notice the other biker doesn't swerve as aggressively, and it clearly wasn't an emergency as they don't pass me until several minutes later.'

The driver, who filmed the scene at the end of April, added: 'I drive a small red car and I personally think he didn't look properly and didn't see me.'

Confusing convoy: Six police motorcycles then appeared, with two police cars following

What's the rush? The dashcam owner said: 'It clearly wasn't an emergency as they don't pass me until several minutes later'

Two minutes later, six police motorcycles appeared, travelling two-by-two, with two police cars following.

It is not clear what the dramatic procession was for.

A spokesman for Scotland's Worst Drivers, who obtained the footage, said: 'While the police biker had his blue lights on, he nearly ended up under the wheels of the dashcam car.

'Bearing in mind the road conditions were damp, by merging from the slip road across the entire carriageway was reckless.

'Clearly the driver of the dashcam car was not expecting him to do this either.'

'It's concerning that a police officer would attempt such a manoeuvre in what was clearly not an emergency situation.'
A businessman and his son were jailed for a total of 21 years in their absence for masterminding an 80million money laundering operation for organised criminals across the UK.

Bhadresh Shah, 49 - branded a 'disgrace' by his own barrister - and son Abhishek Shah, 24, helped to siphon profits for organised crime gangs around the country through their hub at the Chandi Bazar in Wembley, northwest London.

Police found ten false company stamps used to create legitimate business documents at the Bazar in Ealing Road which were linked to at least 10million in dodgy transfers.

Bhadresh Shah (left), 49, and son Abhishek Shah (right), 24, helped to siphon profits for organised crime gangs around the country through their hub at the Chandi Bazar in Wembley, northwest London. Bhadresh was given a 12-year sentence in his absence, while Abhishek was jailed for nine years

Cash was also laundered through three legitimate money service bureaus, who were duped with false invoices from multiple companies using the same cut-and-paste templates.

Bhadresh and Abhishek were today found guilty of money laundering offences following a trial at Southwark Crown Court - but the pair were not in the dock to hear the verdicts.

They attended the first week of the trial but fled while on bail and remain at large.

Bhadresh was given a 12-year sentence in his absence, after he was branded a 'disgrace' by his defence barrister Leonard Smith QC, while Abhishek was jailed for nine years.

Bhadresh's wife Falguni Shah, 45, was jailed for four years.

She, along with Dipak Doshi, 57, and Dinesh Parmar, 35, were found guilty of helping to launder millions of pounds between September 2011 and April 2014.

Parmar and Doshi, of Wembley, were each jailed for five years for one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; they, along with Bhadresh, Abhishek and Falguni, were also convicted of one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

Bhadresh Shah alone was also convicted of possessing mephedrone and ketamine with intent to supply.

Adrian Keeling, QC, prosecuting, said up to 80million in sterling and other denominations was funnelled through the three front companies and the unsuspecting money transfer companies in less than three years.

Bhadresh's wife Falguni Shah (right), 45, was jailed for four years. She, along with Dipak Doshi, 57, and Dinesh Parmar (left), 35, were found guilty of helping to launder millions of pounds between September 2011 and April 2014

He said 'just under $40million (31m)' was moved through Usmans, while ANZ and Durga sent around $26million (20m) and $15million (11m) respectively through the same unwitting bureau.

False documents were churned out 'to persuade the money service bureaus to move the money on'.

Flicking through the invoices with jurors, Mr Keeling said: 'We've gone from Hanoi all the way to Gujarat in India. We've now gone to Colombo in Sri Lanka... we are now in Guangzhou in China.'

Investigators noticed 'with remarkable regularity that same style [of invoice].

'They are just cutting and pasting them and put them in a new document. It is the same false template being recycled again and again,' said Mr Keeling.

'What you are dealing with is not just three companies. It is the same group of people operating in the same way. You can see it is a great big global operation.'

Judge Andrew Goymer said: 'The amounts of money that were laundered through those companies are quite staggering.

'There's no doubt in my mind that this money has come predominantly from the sale of controlled drugs.

'Two of the defendants, Bhadresh and Abhishek Shah, have deliberately absconded.

'I'm not able to deal with them for the breach of bail - that will have to await the future until such time as they are apprehended and brought back before this court.'

The judge said Bhadresh Shah posed as a pious Hindu and was well-respected around Wembley.

But he was laundering millions of pounds worth of criminal profits and pressing his family and 'gullible' businessmen to take part in the crooked scheme.

Judge Goymer continued: 'He involved others through pressure and influence, he involved his own son Abhishek and his wife Falguni, but he also drew into that web those defendants who were acquitted by the jury.

'Each of those defendants in turn told the jury that they had been deluded by him, led to believe that he was a respectable person in the community.'

Abhishek Shah was given a nine-year sentence for one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

His mother Falguni appeared to be taken ill in the dock as she was jailed for four years.

'I have no doubt she knows much and she says nothing,' said Judge Goymer.

'I have no doubt that there was considerable pressure put on her by Bhadresh to take part in this.'

Ketan Varma, 36, Tarun Patel, 37, Bhanuben Patel, 52, Nirav Raval, 52, and Naresh Patel, 56, all from Wembley, were all cleared of involvement.
Monterey Sheriff's department was forced to allow a machete-wielding clown continue on his way after he waved his weapon at motorists on a busy highway as he wasn't breaking the law.

The clown, Larry Tovey from Gilroy was standing at the side of the road on Highway 101 while waving his large knife.

Tovey was wearing full make up and a clown suit when officers approached him with their guns drawn.

Larry Tovey, pictured, waved a large machete at passing motorists in Monterey, California

The sheriff's office briefly detained him before letting him go as he had not broken the law

According to a spokesman for the Sheriff's office: 'The guy wasn't charged because we didn't have a victim that was threatened by him with the machete. We are still actively investigating the case. If anyone has any information please don't hesitate to call the Sheriff's Office.

'The information provided to the Sheriff's Office reported no one was threatened by Larry on the side of the road.'

The sheriff's office admitted dressing up as a clown may be fun, but not to do it with a large knife on the side of the highway.

The spokesman added: 'Two deputies contacted Larry, with their guns drawn, and eventually figured out what he was up to.'

Passing motorists reported the machete was covered in blood, but this was proved to be a red-colored liquid.

Monterey County Sheriff's Commander John Thornburg told WTAE.com, at one stage the 61-year-old clown was attempting to hitchhike.

He said: 'He didn't actually threaten anybody. He just had a sick sense of humor.'

He confirmed his officers let him go home in his car which was parked nearby.
A 61-year-old man dressed as a clown and carrying a 'bloody' machete has been arrested in California.

Larry Allen Tovey, from Gilroy - about 40 miles northeast of Monterey - was arrested after horrified drivers on Highway 101 reported seeing him in his costume about 3pm on Wednesday.

Police raced to the scene where they found the 61-year-old wearing a pale blue clown suit with green, purple, and yellow spots, while he was holding a large machete in the air above his head.

He also had on a haunting clown mask, and the knife was covered in fake blood.

A 61-year-old man dressed as a clown and carrying a 'bloody' machete has been arrested in California

Officers drew their guns on the fake clown, but ultimately they figured out the incident was all part of the 61-year-old's 'sense of humor'.

Monterey County Sheriff's Office released a statement that read: 'It can be fun to dress up as a clown, right? However, if you do please don't stand in (sic) the side of highway 101 at San Juan Rd holding a machete.

'Two deputies contacted Larry, with their guns drawn, and eventually figured out what he was up to.

Larry Allen Tovey (pictured kneeling down) was arrested after horrified drivers on Highway 101 reported seeing him in his costume about 3pm on Wednesday

Officers drew their guns on the fake clown, but ultimately they figured out the incident was all part of the 61-year-old's 'sense of humor'. Pictured is a Monterey County Sheriff's Office car

'The deputies discovered Larry hadn't broken any laws and the red on the machete, who some thought might be blood, was cotton with red dye.'

The statement added Tovey was not charged because there was no victim who had been threatened by him.

KSBW reports Tovey was holding his thumb out to cars as they drove past, as a potential hitchhiker would, but no one stopped.
A former Greek prime minister has been injured in a car bombing in Athens today.

Greek police say Lucas Papademos, 69, was targeted in the attack in central Athens.

An explosive device was said to have been hidden in an envelope detonated inside the car of former Greek central bank chief.

State TV ERT said Papademos had chest and leg wounds and trouble breathing, but his life was not in danger.

Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos, pictured, was targeted in a car bombing in central Athens today

Police were quickly on the scene and it is understood the explosive device had been 'hidden in an envelope or parcel' in the car, pictured

Authorities said doctors were concerned about Mr Papademos's eyesight following the attack on his car, pictured

The Greek media minister described the incident, pictured, as a 'heinous act'

The attack happened in central Athens, pictured, earlier this afternoon

'Mr Papademos and his driver are being rushed to hospital,' a police official said, declining to be named.

Authorities also said doctors were concerned about the politicians eyesight following the blast.

Mr Papademos has served as vice president of the European Central Bank.

It is believed two other people in the car were also injured.

'We are shocked. I wish to condemn this heinous act,' media minister Nikos Pappas told the station.

Mr Papademos headed an interim coalition government at the height of Greece's fiscal crisis that in 2012 negotiated a massive write-down of the country's privately-held debt.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Police said Mr Papademos's police escort had been in a car behind the former prime minister's vehicle, and that the other two wounded were Bank of Greece employees.

Authorities cordoned off the area, and forensics experts were investigating the scene for evidence.

The scene remains cordoned off with a heavy police presence still in the area, pictured

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the blast, which also injured two other people

The former prime minister's car was parked by the side of the road, in front of its escort vehicle. Mr Papademos's car bore little sign of damage, except for buckling on two doors.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos called the blast an 'attack' and said he had been given an update from doctors treating the wounded.

He said all were 'in a stable condition, are conscious, and are undergoing all the necessary medical tests so that their treatment can be determined'.

'With all out heart, we wish Mr Papademos and his companions a speedy recovery. The prime minister has been updated about all the events by the minister of public order and he will continue to receive updates,' Mr Tzanakopoulos said.

It is understood Mr Papademos, pictured, suffered chest and leg injuries which are 'not life-threatening'

In March, Greek anarchist group Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei mailed a letter bomb that injured a secretary at the International Monetary Fund in Paris.

The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei had earlier claimed responsibility for an explosive device, also sent from Greece, that was discovered by the police at the offices of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

The group, which is considered a terror organisation by Washington, sent letter bombs to foreign embassies in Greece and to European leaders in 2010.
House Speaker Paul Ryan had harsh words for the Republican congressional candidate who last night 'body slammed' a reporter, with the GOP leader saying Greg Gianforte should apologize.

Ryan, however, didn't call for the tech mogul to drop out.

'I do not think that is acceptable behavior,' Ryan said at a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday, though added, 'but the choice will be made by the people of Montana.'

Scroll down for audio of the 'body slam'

House Speaker Paul Ryan wagged his finger at Montana Congressional candidate Greg Gianforte for 'body slamming' Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs saying 'I do not think that is acceptable behavior'

Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs (left) was allegedly attacked by Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte (right) after asking him a question about the GOP House health care bill Wednesday night

Jacobs took to Twitter immediately after the incident, revealing that his glasses had been broken

Voters head to the polls today on the heels of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs being grabbed and allegedly slammed to the ground by Gianforte, who's running for the seat vacated by Trump's Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Jacobs' glasses were smashed amid the scuffle and the political scribe was carted off in an ambulance after the incident, which was recorded by Jacobs and then released online by the Guardian.

Jacobs was taken away in an ambulance

At Ryan's press conference, the speaker was asked about the incident right out of the gate.

'There is no time where a physical altercation should occur with the press or just between human beings,' Ryan said.

When a reporter in the audience pointed out that the Republicans in the House could choose not to have Gianforte as part of their caucus, Ryan pivoted and pointed to Montana's voters.

'I'm going to let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative, that's not our choice, that's the people of Montana who choose that,' Ryan said.

Gianforte was charged with assault for attacking Jacobs who had stepped into a room with the congressional candidate and a camera crew from Fox News.

Jacobs wanted to press Gianforte on the Congressional Budget Office's score of the second version of the House Republicans' Obamacare repeal bill, which had dropped earlier Wednesday afternoon.

Gianforte had told voters his stance on that particular health care bill was up in the air, until he could see the CBO report.

In the audio, Gianforte is heard telling Jacobs, 'I'll talk to you about that later.'

'There's not gonna be time later so...' Jacobs responded before a sudden scuffled ensued.

Gianforte roared: 'I'm sick and tired of you guys! Get the hell outta here! You're with The Guardian right?'

'Yeah and you just broke my glasses!' a shocked Jacobs replied.

'The last guy did the same thing,' Gianforte carried on, referring to another of the British newspaper's reporters.

Gianforte counts Donald Trump Jr. among his supporters. He is running for the seat of Montana

'You just bodyslammed me and broke my glasses,' the journalist said again.

Jacobs is then heard asking for the names of the eyewitnesses in the room, who later corroborated his report.

'Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him,' reported Fox News' Alicia Acuna, who works for Bret Baier. 'Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter,' she continued, referencing other members of her crew.

'As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "Im sick and tired of this!"' Acuna added.

A statement from Gianforte's campaign put the blame on Jacobs for the squirmish, saying the Guardian reporter 'aggressively shoved' a recorder in the Republican candidate's face.

'Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground,' the statement read. 'Its unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.'

The incident took place at Gianforte's campaign HQ in Bozeman, Montana.

Afterwards, the journalist told his own employer: 'He took me to the ground. This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.'

Speaking Thursday morning to ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Jacobs explained that the encounter was 'something that turned on a dime, into the type of brief encounter I never expected to have with a politician and one that's very disappointing for what it means for the press and what the role reporters are to ask questions of politicians in the United States.'

He wouldn't say whether or not he had been punched by the politician, as Fox News' team attested.

'I was on the ground at that point, so it was a little bit sudden, I went from being vertical one moment to horizontal the next,' Jacobs added.

Jacobs also said he had no previous 'history' with that candidate and had simply covered a handful of Gianforte's campaign events.

'I think there may have been some discontent with an article done by a colleague of mine,' Jacobs said.

Jacobs said the incident was still fresh and he hadn't thought about pursuing further civil legal action.

Gianforte has been endorsed by President Trump and has had Donald Trump Jr. appear at campaign events on his behalf.
A US strike targeting Islamic State fighters in a Mosul building in Iraq killed at least 105 civilians when the blast caused ISIS weapons to explode.

US Air Force Brigadier General Matt Isler confirmed the incident on March 17 claimed the lives of at least 105 civilians - adding a further 36 remain unaccounted for.

According to Isler, Iraqi counterterrorism service troops and coalition forces were not aware civilians were in the building, and ordered an air strike.

People inspect the rubble of destroyed houses in the Mosul al-Jadida area, following air strikes in which civilians were killed during an ongoing offensive against ISIS

A survivor (pictured) said 27 members of his family were in one of the buildings and only one had been pulled out alive from the rubble

According to reports at the time, civilians - mostly women and children - who were being used as 'human shields' by ISIS were killed in the blast.

One man who survived the blast told reporters: 'The entire neighbourhood was fleeing because of missiles so people had taken refuge here.

'I didn't know if it was a shelter. I didn't know we couldn't go there. My entire family is inside, 27 people. We pulled only one of them out. We don't know about the rest.'

Brigadier Mohammed al-Jawari told reporters in March: 'Finding survivors is very difficult because the area is completely destroyed.

'It's a very big disaster, indeed we can describe it as a disaster.'

Iraqi counter-terrorism service vehicles advance towards the Yabasat neighborhood during the ongoing offensive to push ISIS fighters out of Mosul

An Iraqi man inspects the damage in Mosul's al-Jadida area following the devastating air strikes

More than 105 people are believed to have been killed in the airstrikes on al-Jadida (pictured)

Brigadier Isler said: 'The secondary explosion triggered a rapid failure of the structure which killed the two ISIS snipers, 101 civilians sheltered in the bottom floors of the structure and four civilians in the neighboring structure to the west.

'An additional 36 civilians who are believed to be connected to the structure remain unaccounted for.'

The United States has previously acknowledged that it 'probably' had a role in the civilian deaths, but it has always said this was unintentional.

Local MP Faris al-Sanjari had claimed the coalition air strike had targeted a truck bomb causing a huge explosion.

He said: 'You can't kill dozens just to destroy a booby-trapped truck parked near houses.'

According to Isler, Iraqi counterterrorism service (CTS) troops had been moving into the al-Jadida neighborhood in west Mosul on the morning of March 17 when they came under fire from ISIS snipers hiding on the second story of a large structure, part of which was residential.

Iraqi federal police are pictured here firing at Islamic State targets

The airstrike set off a huge explosion which destroyed several buildings (pictured)

CTS and coalition forces did not know civilians were in the building, Isler said, and ultimately a strike was called in.

The precision-guided bomb selected - a GBU-38 - was set up to cause only localized damage to the building, but it ignited a large amount of explosive material which IS fighters had previously placed inside.

'Post-blast analysis detected residues common to explosives used by ISIS, but not consistent with the explosive content of a GBU-38 munition,' Central Command said in a statement.

'Our condolences go out to all those that were affected,' said Major General Joe Martin.

'The coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat ISIS.'
An elderly woman has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after sending a death threat to Theresa May, emailing bomb threats and sending white powder to a police station.

Isabella Jackson, 73, sent a threat by email in 2014 when Mrs May was Home Secretary and also made bomb threats to Harrods, King's Cross Station and Edinburgh Airport, the Judiciary of Scotland said.

Jackson, of Buckhaven, Fife, had already spent a year in jail for breaching her probation after making a number of hoax bomb calls in 2011, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard.

In 2015, she was placed on bail for the threat to Mrs May and for falsely telling Fife Council that a resident in her home had died, Sheriff Grant McCulloch said.

Isabella Jackson (left), 73, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for sending a death threat to Theresa May. She sent a threat by email in 2014 when Mrs May was Home Secretary

Conditions were put on her use of the internet but Jackson still made hoax threats to London and Edinburgh earlier this year.

The sheriff said he found it 'hard to accept' that Jackson had acted out of loneliness to get attention, instead describing it as 'the deliberate act of a twisted mind'.

He told the court: 'Of course, these threats had to be taken seriously, resulting in police searches and considerable work to see how viable the threat might be.

'Finally, perhaps annoyed by the police removing your internet router, you sent a card to Levenmouth Police Office, containing powder, and the word "death".

'That resulted in several police personnel, and the postman, being subjected to medical quarantine and isolation, not to mention fear and alarm, for many hours.

'Your actions have deprived the public of police and security service availability, with the potential of allowing real terrorists to go about their evil business.

Jackson also made bomb threats to Harrods, King's Cross Station and Edinburgh Airport, the Judiciary of Scotland said. (File image)

'You claim that this is done out of loneliness, to gain attention. I find that hard to accept.

'To me, it is the deliberate act of a twisted mind, quite content to cause the utmost disruption of normal society, from the comfort of your own sofa.

'You used specialist software to hide your IP identity, showing a degree of sophistication and deceit.'

Jackson pleaded guilty to four offences and was sentenced to 45 months by Mr McCulloch on Thursday.

He said: 'Notwithstanding your age and infirmity, the public requires protection from you and the discouragement of others who might consider the same path. Only a custodial sentence is apt for these offending.

'You did plead guilty, thus avoiding a trial. Thus what would have been a five-year cumulo sentence is restricted to 45 months, backdated to May 2.'
RAF crew scrawled a message on a missile on its way to blast ISIS targets in Syria that read 'Love from Manchester.'

The defiant note was initially believed to be a social media hoax but RAF bosses confirmed its veracity later today.

It is understood it was the brainchild of a drone squadron based at a secret location in the Middle East, in response to Monday night's terror attack at Manchester Arena that claimed 22 innocent victims.

It was reported to be a Hellfire missile on social media, although it was later confirmed as a Paveway IV bomb.

The message 'Love from Manchester' was written on a Hellfire missile destined for ISIS

The picture appeared on Twitter with the caption: 'RAF Armourer on a Reaper UAV squadron wrote this on a Hellfire (sic) missile before taking off on a Syria mission'.

An RAF spokesman told MailOnline: 'The RAF can confirm the photo was genuine'.

A source said: 'The sentiment of the message is understandable under the circumstances.

'There's a history of messages being written on missiles in the RAF.

'It's unlikely the individual responsible for it will be disciplined.'

The tradition of writing messages on bombs dates back to the Second World War and has featured in every conflict since.

Following the terror attacks in Paris in November 2015 that left 130 dead, the message 'From Paris, With Love' daubed on American bombs and missiles bound for ISIS strongholds.

Russian military also inscribed 'For Paris' on bombs destined for ISIS targets in Syria, in solidarity with the victims of those horrifying attacks in the French capital.
David King, 27, was spared jail after breaching a previous court order by downloading Snapchat on his phone

A convicted pervert who breached a court order by downloading the Snapchat app has been spared jail in a landmark case.

It was the first time a sex offender had been prosecuted in the UK for flouting a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) for having the popular image messaging and multimedia platform on his mobile phone.

David King, 27, was banned from using a device incapable of retaining and displaying its internet history after he was convicted in September 2013 of sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent photographs.

But during a routine check by police on April 1 last year it was discovered he had downloaded Snapchat, on which images, videos and messages self-destruct automatically and within seconds unless saved by the user.

He admitting knowing how the app worked but thought its history would be retained 'somewhere'.

King, formerly of Tunbridge Wells in Kent but now said to be living in a caravan in a private car park in Bexhill, Sussex, originally denied breaching the SOPO.

His defence argued that having the Snapchat app did not make the device itself - an LG mobile phone - incapable of retaining internet history and he was therefore not guilty of the offence alleged.

However, King pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent today after hearing two experts had concluded that material destroyed by Snapchat could only be viewed by using specialist forensic software.

But while a judge concluded that Snapchat was 'precisely the kind of app sex offenders should conscientiously avoid', he said he had to give King the benefit of doubt.

'I sentence you on the basis you acted naively and recklessly rather than with malevolent intent,' said Judge David Griffith-Jones QC.

He therefore imposed a sentence of 10 weeks' jail suspended for 12 months, to which King promptly left the court building grinning and waving his arms jubilantly in the air.

It is the second suspended sentence King has been given and was imposed at today's hearing despite previous SOPO breaches.

The original order was made at the same court after King was handed 16 months imprisonment suspended for two years in September 2013 for two offences of sexual activity with a child and two of possessing indecent photographs of her.

As well as internet use restrictions, it banned him from having unsupervised contact with under 16s.

But within a month of it being made he contacted his teenage victim - with whom he said he was in a relationship despite her age - on five occasions and they met up while he was staying at a bail hostel.

When arrested, King introduced the girl to officers as his partner.

He later admitted the breach and was jailed for 16 months in February 2014, with the judge remarking on his 'arrogant approach'.

Having been released, he was still subject to the SOPO and signing on the sex offenders' register.

Prosecutor Catherine Donnelly said King was being closely monitored by police and the Snapchat app was discovered when he handed over his phone at the request of an officer during a home visit on April 1 last year.

Miss Donnelly said: 'A number of conditions were imposed by the order and the relevant condition was being prohibited from owning or using any device capable of accessing the internet unless it had the capacity to retain and display the history of the internet use and to make the device available on request by police.

'He was also prohibited from deleting the history,' explained Miss Donnelly.

'He admitted downloading and using the Snapchat app and said he didn't realise it wasn't able to retain internet history.

'He knew pictures and messages disappeared but he thought they were retained 'somewhere' but couldn't say where.'

Miss Donnelly added there was some argument over whether any partial recovery could be made of deleted material but told the court it required specialist forensic software.

'By downloading that app, which uses the internet to send and receive, the defendant's mobile phone no longer had the capacity to retain or display the internet history as required,' she said.

At a previous hearing, King said he was 'gobsmacked' when he discovered Snapchat put him in breach of the order.

Maidstone Crown Court, pictured, heard King was banned from using a device incapable of retaining and displaying its internet history, with Snapchat automatically deleting messages, images and videos unless saved by the user

But Ben Irwin, defending, said that King had now 'learnt an important lesson' as to what apps he could have on his phone.

'He is under no illusions that he cannot have any apps like Snapchat,' he added.

The court heard unemployed King was no longer in contact with the teenage girl from his original offences.

Passing sentence, Judge Griffith-Jones said Snapchat was popular 'precisely because of its temporal features'.

'Communications will be routinely destroyed automatically, leaving no, or no significant, trace.

'It's precisely the kind of application which offenders such as yourself, subject to restrictions, should conscientiously avoid,' he said.

Explaining why he felt able to impose a suspended sentence, the judge said there was no evidence King had used Snapchat, or his phone, inappropriately.

But he added: 'The extent of your recklessness is disturbing, especially in the light of your history and breaches more serious than this.

'That should have been a salutary lesson to you and caused you to be meticulous in the care in which you went about your life and in particular the care which you applied in the use of devices capable of accessing the internet.

'As it is, you showed a distinct lack of care.'

King continues to be subject to the same SOPO and sex offender registration for 10 years.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was armed with two different colored jackets on Thursday as she met with both Barack Obama and Donald Trump just hours apart.

Merkel opted for a bright pastel green jacket when she appeared alongside the former US president at a public debate in Berlin on Thursday morning.

The pair received a rock star welcome when they arrived at the German capital's iconic Brandenburg Gate and Obama praised the German Chancellor as one of his 'favorite partners' during his presidency.

When Merkel popped up by President Trump's side in Brussels just a few hours later, she had changed her jacket to suit up in power red.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was armed with two different colored jackets on Thursday as she met with both Barack Obama and Donald Trump just hours apart

Her beige trousers, necklace and dark low-heeled shoes remained unchanged.

Merkel had joined Trump and dozens of other world leaders in Brussels for a NATO conference.

In stark contrast to the smiles she gave Obama earlier in the day, Merkel stared on as Trump gave his fellow leaders a stunning dressing-down for their open-borders policies.

Merkel, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May, stared at the brash US president with a mixture of indignation and disbelief as he lectured them.

Merkel opted for a bright pastel green jacket when she appeared alongside the former US president at a public debate in Berlin on Thursday morning

During their appearance in Berlin on Thursday, Obama praised the German Chancellor as one of his 'favorite partners' during his presidency

When Merkel popped up by President Trump's side in Brussels on Thursday afternoon, she had changed her jacket to suit up in power red. They are pictured walking with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

Merkel had joined Trump and dozens of other world leaders in Brussels for a NATO conference

Merkel had moments earlier declared, in remarks about a section of the Berlin Wall that stands in a courtyard of NATO's new Brussels headquarters, that 'it is not isolation and the building of walls that make us successful, but open societies and the sharing of values.'

It appeared to be a veiled slap at Trump for insisting that a wall separating the US from Mexico would be an effective terror deterrent by controlling immigration.

Trump seemed ready for the challenge, tying terror attacks like last week's carnage in the United Kingdom to the unchecked flow of migrants throughout Europe.

'Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever,' Trump said.

'You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases we have no idea who they are. We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant.'

'The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration.'

Former American President Barack Obama (right) smiles as he hands over a set of headphones to German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Pictured above, (Front row from L) Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, King Philippe - Filip of Belgium, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, (second row from L) French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Iceland's Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, (third row from L) Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, Slovakia's President Andrej Kiska
Former Senator Joe Lieberman has withdrawn from consideration to be President Trump's FBI director  citing Trump's hiring of his law partner to defend against a series of Russia probes.

'I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for this nomination,' Lieberman said in a statement.

'With your selection of Marc Kasowitz to represent you in the various investigations that have begun, I do believe it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, given my role as senior counsel in the law firm of which Marc is the senior partner.'

Lieberman's letter is dated Wednesday, when it was revealed that Trump was widening his search in order to generate more options, after several other top picks dropped out.

Former Senator Joe Lieberman waves as he leaves after a meeting with President Donald Trump for candidates for FBI director at the White House in Washington. He took himself out of consideration to run the FBI

Lieberman was a Democratic senator who later became and independent, and was Al Gore's running mate in 2000. But many of his former colleagues were cool to the idea, fearing Trump would use Lieberman for political cover. They advocated instead for a law enforcement professional to lead the agency after James Comey's firing.

Several prominent potential candidates took themselves out of consideration for the post. The White House had indicated Lieberman was a leading candidate.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that Trump had tapped longtime Kasowitz to serve as his private attorney while a special counsel investigates whether his campaign worked withRussia in last year's election.

Kasowitz works at the same firm as Lieberman. Democrats had already raised the issue in arguing against Lieberman  saying Trump was trying to insulate himself by installing a politician with ties to him.

CNN reported on air Wednesday that the White House 'has essentially hit the reset button on the search for a new FBI director' and that Trump was interested in 'expanding the pool,' the network reported.

Another candidate, former FBI official Richard McFeely, told the administration over the weekend he was taking himself out of consideration.

The remaining publicly mentioned candidates are former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and acting FBI director Andrew McCabe.

Fox Business Network and ABC first reported that Trump hired Kasowitz, a New York-based trial lawyer known as a tenacious litigator, to represent him in a Justice Department investigation headed by former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller.

Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating leaves the West Wing of the White House after meeting with US President Donald Trump on May 17, 2017 in Washington, DC.Keating is under consideration for the position of FBI Director

Former FBI Official Richard McFeely leaves the West Wing of the White House after meeting with US President Donald Trump on May 17, 2017. He took himself out of consideration

Trump fired former FBI director James Comey, but has denied his action had anything to do with the FBI's Russia probe. 'No, next question,' he said at a press conference before heading overseas.

The appointment of a private attorney may indicate that Trump is seriously considering the impact the federal investigation could have on him personally and that he may wish to protect himself should others in his administration turn against him.

The source said Kasowitz is expected to bring other lawyers on to work as a team to protect Trump.

Trump indicated last week that he was close to finding a selection, and said Lieberman was a finalist.

'We need a great director of the FBI. I cherish the FBI. It's special. All over the world no matter where you go, the FBI is special,' Trump said at a press conference.

'The FBI has not had that special reputation with what happened in the campaign, what happened with respect to the Clinton campaign and even, you could say, directly or indirectly, with respect to the much more successful Trump campaign."

'I think the people in the FBI will be very, very, very, very thrilled' with the selection, Trump said.

Other candidates for the job, including Brendan Sullivan and Robert Giuffra, withdrew their names from consideration, the source said.

'He can be aggressive - he's got that in him for sure,' said John Quinn of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, who has worked with and opposite Kasowitz. 'He also can be smooth as silk, respectful and deferential.'

Kasowitz and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Kasowitz has represented Trump for more than 15 years but he is not known as a criminal defense lawyer. During last year's presidential campaign, Kasowitz threatened to sue the New York Times if it did not retract a story about women who accused Trump of touching them inappropriately. The Times did not retract the story.

He also assisted in the defense of fraud claims against Trump University, a series of real-estate seminars. After the election, Trump settled the claims for $25 million.

Trump has looked to Kasowitz's firm to fill positions in his administration. He has described former Senator Joseph Lieberman, a senior counsel at the firm, as a top candidate to serve as FBI director and is considering Edward McNally, a white-collar defense lawyer at the firm, as the next U.S. attorney in Manhattan. A former partner at the firm, David Friedman, was chosen by Trump as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Kasowitz also represents OJSC Sberbank of Russia, the country's largest bank, which is being accused in a U.S. federal court of conspiring with granite company executives and others to raid the assets of a competitor.

The outside counsel would be separate from the White House Counsel's Office, led by Donald McGahn.

Mueller was appointed as special counsel by the Justice Department last week to investigate the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia. Several congressional committees and the FBI are also investigating the matter.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in January that Moscow tried to sway the November vote in Trump's favor. Russia has denied involvement, and Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Controversy has engulfed Trump since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago as Comey oversaw an investigation into possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia.
Rolf Harris pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Court

The jury in the indecent assault trial of former entertainer Rolf Harris have been told he is either an innocent man or an 'idiot'.

Harris denies four charges of indecent assault against three women between 1971 and 1983.

The Australia-born former television star, 87, who was freed from HMP Stafford on Friday, sat with a hearing loop in the dock at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Stephen Vullo QC, defending, said Harris is so certain of his innocence that throughout the investigation of all the charges he wanted to find as many witnesses as possible.

Mr Vullo said of Harris that 'if he is an idiot then he got lucky'.

Investigators tried to find people who were at a venue where an alleged incident took place, the court was told.

Mr Vullo said: 'If he is guilty, or suspects he is guilty, why has he embarked or allowed investigators to embark on such an investigation?

'Why make efforts to trace eyewitnesses who were there at the time of the events?'

Mr Vullo suggested two types of people would take this approach.

He said: '(It is) a man who is innocent and knows he is innocent and knows that if a witness who is there with him on the day was found that she would be able to help him - or a total idiot because you would have to be a total idiot to ask for her to be found.'

Harris is accused of groping a schoolgirl after he appeared in a broadcast of the BBC's Saturday Superstore in 1983.

The Australia-born former television star, 87, who was freed from HMP Stafford on Friday, sat with a hearing loop in the dock at London's Southwark Crown Court

Harris denies four charges of indecent assault against three women between 1971 and 1983

He is also alleged to have indecently touched a 14-year-old girl in 1971 after she asked him for an autograph at a music event for children in London.

The musician and artist is also accused of twice groping a third teenage girl after being paid 100 to appear on ITV celebrity show Star Games in 1978, and telling her she was 'a little bit irresistible', the court heard.

Jurors have been told Harris had already been convicted and sentenced for other offences in 2014.

They were told Harris did not give evidence at this trial because he could not remember the alleged incidents and has always insisted his innocence of all claims against him.

Mr Vullo began his closing speech by addressing the jury about what he called 'the elephant in the room'.

He told them: 'You are a jury trying Mr Harris on sexual offences.

'Unless in the last few years you have been on a desert island you would have read many things in the media about Mr Harris. We accept that is the case.'

Harris was helped up the stairs to his Berkshire home after his release from prison on Friday. A friend carried a bag of his belongings from jail, including a collection of Australian stamps

Noting the legal system relies on the principle of trust, he said: 'The test of a system comes when it is not easy to apply the law but when it is more difficult to do so - to put out of your mind anything you may have seen in the newspapers and before you came through that door to become our jury.'

He said their role was to follow legal directions and give true verdicts according to the evidence they had heard.

As to whether or not Harris had a reasonable explanation for not taking the stand, Mr Vullo said: 'If he cannot remember anything of them (the allegations) then what can he say other than he cannot remember.'

He asked the jury to consider whether there had been any 'inconsistent accounts' of what is said to have happened.

He also said the evidence of one of the alleged victims and the witnesses who supported her might have to be treated with 'suspicion'.

This may be the approach if it was felt, as argued by the defence, the woman had 'manipulated and changed evidence to force you to agree with her', according to Mr Vullo.
Bomber Salman Adebi phoned his nuclear scientist mother hours before his deadly attack and said 'forgive me', a Libyan anti-terror official has said.

A Libyan security source revealed Abedi rang his younger brother Hashem in Libya, telling him to get their mother Samia Tabbal, 50, to call him.

Details of his plea for forgiveness emerged after Tabbal was quizzed by police in Tripoli.

News sources in the US, citing intelligence officials, have said Abedi's mother was fearful her son had been radicalised and it has been claimed she alerted authorities.

It has also been claimed she left her eldest son's wedding because western music was being played.

The terrorist's family had informed on the 22-year-old as they feared he had become 'dangerous', a US intelligence official said.

Salman Abedi, the suicide bomber who took the lives of 22 people in Manchester. His mother is a graduate who left Tripoli University at the top of her class

According to The Mirror, Tabbal hated Western songs and wanted traditional drum music to be played during her son Ismail's wedding.

The religious mother-of-four was told to leave the ceremony after she expressed her feelings about the music.

She did not like living in Britain and had complained about the 'West', the paper reports.

Meanwhile, Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem said Tabbal told interrogators her son left Libya for England only four days before the bombing and called her on the same day of the attack.

Bin Salem said: 'He was giving farewell.'

Another sibling, 20-year-old brother Hashem, and Abedi's father, Ramadan, were arrested in Tripoli on Wednesday.

Speaking yesterday, Ramadan had claimed his son seemed 'normal' when they last spoke five days ago and insisted: 'We don't believe in killing innocents.'

A third relative, Abedi's older brother Ismail, was arrested in Manchester on Tuesday.

Details of the call emerged after Miss Tabbal, 50, was quizzed by police in Tripoli yesterday.

She was accompanied by Abedis Manchester-born sister Jomana, 20, who said he acted out of revenge for America dropping explosives on Muslim children.

She told the Wall Street Journal that her brother was kind and loving, and she failed to apologise to those he slaughtered.

I think he saw children  Muslim children  dying everywhere, and wanted revenge.

'He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God.

It is not known what his involvement, if any, was. He was once reported to a counter-terrorism unit after concerns were raised by members of the Muslim community.

Bin Salem said Libyan investigators think, based on what Hashem told them, 'the bomber acted alone.'

He said Hashem told them that Salman learned how to make explosives on the internet and wanted to 'seek victory for the ISIS.'

Salman Abedi may have been part of a larger cell that included Mohamed Abrini, the 'Man in the Hat', with connections to the mass murders in Paris and Brussels. His father Ramadan (right) was arrested in Tripoli yesterday evening

Abedi's younger brother Hashem (pictured) was arrested in Tripoli, Libya, on suspicion of having links to the ISIS, that claimed responsibility for the atrocity

Speaking to MailOnline earlier today, Bin Salem said: 'We cannot discuss all the allegations at this point because both suspects are still under investigation.

'We had them under surveillance for a month and a half and we arrested Hashem on 23 May at 8.30pm and Ramadan on 25 May at 6pm.

'According to our investigations, Hashem is a member of ISIS and he was planning to carry out a terrorist bombing in Tripoli.

'Hashem denies having undergone any ISIS training, in either SIrte, Sabratha [two former ISIS hotbeds in Libya] or Syria.

'We are sure Hashem is with ISIS, as was his brother Salman, but the father Ramadan is still under investigation at this point.'

Ramadan, 51, was arrested this afternoon  hours after insisting his son Salman had nothing to do with the suicide bombing

Hashem (pictured after his arrest in Libya) was 'aware of all the details' of his plans, Libyan security forces said

Ismail (pictured), the older brother of Salman, was arrested in south Manchester yesterday

Hashem Abedi, 20, the younger brother of Manchester suicide bomber Salman, has been arrested in Libya (pictured left with brother Ismail, centre, who has been arrested in England)

Hashem is said to have been in contact with Salman and is suspected of planning to carry out an attack in the Libyan capital, police said.

He was 'aware of all the details' of his plans, a Libyan security force said. Hashem had been 'under surveillance for a month and a half' and 'investigation teams supplied intelligence that he was planning a terrorist attack in the capital Tripoli', the Deterrence Force said on its Facebook page.

The Special Deterrent anti-terror force said Hashem was receiving cash transferred from his brother, Salman.

The SDF said Hashem had been under surveillance for about a month-and-a-half before the Manchester terror attack.

But Libyan detectives are not thought to have told their British counterparts about the operation because they only suspected Hashem of planning an attack in Tripoli.

An SDF spokesman said: 'Hashem confessed to being in the UK while the terrorist operation was being planned. And it is clear that he was fully aware of all the details of the [Manchester] terrorist operation.

'It is also important to note that Hashem left the UK on April 16 and said he was in constant contact with his brother, the executor of the operation.'

The Libyan security force claimed Hashem told authorities both he and his brother belonged to ISIS.

Lounging on the beach in Libya with friends and hanging out with his mates in Manchester, this is Salman Abedi (circled) as a teenage boy before he became a suicide bomber. There is a no suggestion any of the friends he is pictured with have been involved in any wrong doing

After spending five and a half weeks in Libya, the 22-year-old killer tricked his mother into handing him back his passport after his parents confiscated it to make sure he did not abscond.

Salman Abedi and his brother Hashem were taken to North Africa by their father amid fears one of them would stab a rival two weeks after he was kicked out of a mosque in Manchester, MailOnline can reveal.

Abedi said he was going to Mecca on an Islamic pilgrimage, but he flew to Manchester via Istanbul and Dusseldorf to blow himself up, killing 22 and injuring at least 119, as thousands of fans piled out of Manchester Arena having watched Ariana Grande.

Abedi transited through Germany and Turkey days before he carried out his attack - an atrocity possibly connected to the Paris and Brussels terror attacks, detectives have said.

One theory is Abedi may have been part of a larger cell that included Mohamed Abrini, the 'Man in the Hat', with connections to the mass murders in France and Belgium. Abrini is known to have visited Manchester in 2015.

German anti-terror experts from the police and the domestic intelligence service are also probing his potential contacts with radical German Islamists in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Focus Magazine reported that British intelligence have shared with the Germans details of his military training in Syria.

He was not on any German watchlists or subject to any international manhunt appeals, explaining why he was not detained at Dusseldorf airport, which he had flown to from Istanbul.

Intelligence agents in Dusseldorf are scouring CCTV footage to see if Abedi was joined by any fellow Islamic State disciples during a brief stopover in the city's airport.

Two years ago Dusseldorf featured on the international terror network when it emerged that British ISIS executioner 'Jihadi John' - real name Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria  had travelled with a German jihadi from the city.

It is also in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia where Berlin Christmas market killer Anis Amri worshipped at jihadist mosques.

A Turkish security official also said that authorities there had not been made aware to look out for Abedi.

A senior Turkish official told the Financial Times the government in Ankara sent a file on Abedi to the British authorities yesterday morning. He refused to discuss the details of the communication.

POLICE INVESTIGATE ABEDI'S ASSOCIATES As police and security services continue to investigate Abedi's associates, one of them is said to be 24 year-old Abdalraouf Abdallah, who was jailed for nine years after being convicted of preparing acts of terrorism and funding terrorism. Abdallah, who is partially paralysed after being shot during the Libyan Revolution, is said to have helped men travel to Syria to fight. Inquiries led officials at the time to believe Abedi was not of significance to that operation. Abedi was also friends with Raphael Hostey, also known as Abu Qaqa al-Britani, who served as an ISIS recruiter until he was killed in 2016 in Syria by a drone strike. They were said to be family friends and it is feared Hostey may have helped radicalise Abedi. There are fears Abedi may have been inspired by Manchester-born 50-year-old former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Ronald Fiddler, also known as Jamal al-Harith. The Briton blew himself up at a military base in Iraq in February. He was one of 16 men awarded a total of 10million in compensation in 2010, when the British government settled a lawsuit alleging its intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Salman may also have had links with other cells across Europe and North Africa, according to two officials familiar with the case. They said one thread of the investigation involves pursuing whether Abedi could have been part of a larger terror cell that included Mohamed Abrini, otherwise known as 'the man in the hat,' with connections to the Brussels and Paris attacks. Abrini visited Manchester in 2015. Advertisement

It was also claimed Salman had travelled by train from London to Manchester on Monday in advance of the attack.

This has raised suspicions that he may have met co-conspirators or been supplied with his explosive device.

The device, a metal container stuffed with bolts and nails, was apparently hooked to a powerful battery and featured a remote, cell-phone detonator with built-in redundancies to ensure a blast even if a first attempt failed.

The design was sophisticated enough to bolster the theory that Abedi did not act alone.

Speaking to ABC, a terrorism expert said this suggested 'there's a bomb maker on the loose'.

The American network also claimed investigators had found a bomb workshop at his house and a 'huge load of unused chemicals.'

A senior Whitehall source confirmed Salman Abedi was 'one of a larger pool of former subjects of interest whose risk remained subject to review' by the security service and its partners.

MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations involving some 3,000 subjects of interest at any one time, the source said, who added eighteen terror plots have been foiled since 2013.

This included five since the Westminster attack in March.

SALMAN ABEDI'S MOTHER AND FATHER'S LINKS TO AL-QAEDA It emerged yesterday that Tabbal, 50, graduated from Tripoli university 'top of her class'. She is a close friend of the wife of a former Al Qaeda commander who once featured on the FBI's World's Most Wanted Terrorists list with a 20million bounty on his head. The Al Qaeda veteran, Abu Anas al-Libi, spent five years in Manchester - having won political asylum in Britain in 1995. He was later suspected of helping to plot the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The near-simultaneous atrocities in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi killed 224 people and left 4,500 people injured. His wife Umm Abdul Rahman revealed yesterday she went to college in the Libyan capital with Abedi's mother, who was studying nuclear engineering. She said the two women also lived together in Manchester for a number of years. Al-Libi returned to Libya from the UK in 2000, and was captured by U.S. Special Forces from a street in Tripoli in 2013. He died in custody two years later aged 50. Last night a close family friend told the Mail: 'I am sure Salman's mother and father are very shocked by what he did. 'It is very sad because their mother is very intelligent. She told my wife that she was a nuclear science engineer and that she got excellent marks in her exams. She graduated top of her class from Tripoli University.' A former Libyan security official Abdel-Basit Haroun said Ramadan, a former airport security worker, was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s. The group had links to Al-Qaeda. Although the LIFG disbanded, Haroun said the father belongs to the Salafi Jihadi movement, the most extreme sect of Salafism and from which Al-Qaeda and ISIS hail. He once worked for the Gaddafi regime's security apparatus before turning towards hardline Islam: one of his associates once ran a group called the Islamic Martyrs' Movement. He had also publicly voiced his support for an extremist group fighting in Syria. He posted photos of soldiers clad in black uniforms from the Al-Nusra Front, which was the official Syrian branch of al Qaeda until it broke up last July, on his Facebook page five years ago. Speaking yesterday, he had claimed his son seemed 'normal' when they last spoke five days ago and insisted: 'We don't believe in killing innocents.' Advertisement
I didnt think I could ever feel angrier than I did on Tuesday when I first heard an ISIS suicide bomber had deliberately targeted, murdered and maimed young girls as they left a pop concert.

Its impossible to imagine a more heinous, sickening and pathetically cowardly act on so many vulnerable, innocent and defenceless people.

Yet today my initial rage has manifested into cold fury and revulsion that the medieval barbarian who committed this atrocity wasnt stopped long before he ever had the chance to detonate his death and destruction.

Salman Abedi (pictured left and right) was known to authorities had only just returned from war-torn Libya before launching his horrific attack in Manchester Arena

Its not unusual after these terror attacks for details to emerge from the perpetrators background that should have sparked red flags of concern.

But in Manchester killer Salman Abedis case, there were so many red flags its an incomprehensible scandal how he was able to evade detection and apprehension.

Short of this loathsome monster standing on the roof of his house waving an ISIS flag and screaming Death to the infidels!, Im not sure what more Abedi could have done to self-identify as a would-be terrorist.

His parents are Libyan-born refugees who fled to the UK to escape dictator Muammar Gaddafi. They returned after Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, leaving Abedi with siblings in Manchester.

For a while, he was a normal happy young kid who supported Manchester United, drank and smoked weed at parties, and who studied hard to win a place on a business course at Greater Manchesters Salford University.

Then two years ago, everything suddenly changed.

Abedi began travelling more often to Libya, where ISIS and Al-Qaeda are known to have numerous training camps and where his own father was linked to the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

Pictures, first published by the New York Times, show the remnants of the backpack bomb terrorist Salman Abedi used to kill at least 22 people as they left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night

He dropped out of University.

He began to dress in long Islamic robes.

He grew a beard.

He stopped drinking alcohol.

He fell off public radar, shunning the social life he once so enthusiastically enjoyed and appearing more often at his local Didsbury Mosque.

He became withdrawn and angry.

Around this time in 2015, Mohammed Saeed, an imam at the mosque, delivered a sermon attacking ISIS.

Abedi didnt like what he heard.

Salman showed me a face of hate after that sermon, said Saeed this week, adding its not a surprise to me that he carried out the attack.

The leaked photos show the remains of a small handheld detonator used to explode the bomb, which contained nails, nuts and bolts

Akram Ramadan, a member of south Manchesters large Libyan community, claimed Abedi was subsequently banned from the mosque for the incident. He told the Imam youre talking b*****s and he gave a good stare, a threatening stare right into the Imams eyes.

Ramadan also claimed the mosque reported him to Home Offices Prevent anti-radicalisation programme.

Family friend Adel Elghrani disclosed that Abedis parents became so worried about his behaviour they ordered him to leave the UK and live with them in Libya.

He said: The father was so concerned he confiscated his passport.

'But then Salman went to his mother and said he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia so she gave him back his passport and he came to England instead.

Lina Ahmed, another member of south Manchesters Libyan community, said Abedis grew increasingly erratic in the period leading up to the attack.

A couple of months ago, he was chanting the first kalma (Islamic prayer) really loudly in the street, she said.

He was chanting in Arabic. He was saying There is only one God and the prophet Mohammed is his messenger.

For a while, Abedi (circled) was a normal happy young kid who supported Manchester United, drank and smoked weed at parties. There is a no suggestion any of the friends he is pictured with have been involved in any wrongdoing

Frances interior minister Gerard Collomb revealed that both British and French intelligence services had information Abedi had been in Syria.

All of a sudden, he travelled to Libya, said Mr Collomb, and then most likely to Syria, became radicalised and decided to commit this attack.

Abedis sister Jomana suggested yesterday he wanted revenge for US air strikes in Syria.

It also emerged that his brother Hisham, who was photographed on social media brandishing an assault rifle, had been under investigation by Libyan authorities because they suspected links to ISIS.

He has now been arrested on suspicion of knowing all about the forthcoming attack and planning one of his own in Tripoli.

Two friends of Abedi allegedly became so worried they separately phoned the police counter-terrorism hotline five years ago and again last year.

Theyd been worried he was supporting terrorism and had expressed the view that being a suicide bomber was OK", a source told the BBC.

The bomber's father, Ramadan Albedi, published a picture of his son Hashem holding a machine gun while wearing a Nike t-shirt and combat trousers

A US official even briefed that members of Abedis own family had also contacted British police saying he was 'dangerous'.

This all prompts one simple question, doesnt it - how the hell did Salman Abedi not get caught?

Today, much of the news coverage has been devoted to outrage over how and why US media have been able to publish highly confidential photographic material from the scene of the attack.

I agree its wrong and bloody annoying that US intelligence agencies have leaked this stuff from their British counterparts in this way.

But theyre acting purely from self-interest; they dont want this happening in America. Every government is going to prioritise the safety of its own citizens right now.

What worries me far more than a few dumb leaks is the abject failure by our law enforcement and intelligence authorities to stop this utterly predictable mass murderer before he set off his bomb.

Salman Abedi was the perfect template for a radicalised Islamist terrorist, the exact type we had all been repeatedly warned about: a young, well-educated Muslim man drawn to the bright, brutal, barbaric lights of ISIS by anger and a twisted, deviant concept of what his religion stands for.

There are at least 3,000 others like Abedi in Britain right now; people whom our authorities have serious concern are radicalised jihadists.

Meanwhile, we have far fewer people to monitor them.

A US official briefed that members of Abedis own family had contacted British police saying he was 'dangerous'

British Prime Minister Theresa May was Home Secretary when police numbers were slashed by 20,000.

She was publicly warned, by a Manchester policeman whod just quit in helpless disgust, that this draconian move would dramatically reduce the ability of police in the city to work out what was really happening in the community. He specifically said it would imperil police ability to protect the country from terror attacks.

Mrs May ignored that warning and is now reduced to sending soldiers onto the streets after that warning came back to haunt her.

Her government can boast, as it has been all week, about the many attacks Britains security forces have foiled.

But the hard reality is that ISIS-inspired terrorists have now committed two appalling outrages in Britain within a few weeks. Once on Londons Westminster Bridge, now in Manchester.

There will be more, of that we can all sadly be certain.

The big question is how to stop them?

First, hire many more police. Flood the damn streets with them, with orders to constantly poke their noses into every community where radicalisation has happened or is feared to be taking place.

Second, hire many more spooks. ISIS uses modern technology to communicate, so we need to get into that communication faster and more efficiently. That also means tech giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter doing far more to crack down on terrorists using their platforms to spread their evil message and instruct followers on how to commit terror.

Third, toughen the laws to make it easier to arrest, detain and if necessary deport those who are suspected of being ISIS sympathisers. They are far too weak at the moment, as any police officer will tell you.

Fourth, I repeat that the Muslim community is not doing nearly enough to identify and expose radicalized extremists hiding in their midst. Nor to prevent the disturbing growth in extreme Wahhabi-inspired teachings of the type ISIS encourages, in Islamic mosques and Muslim homes.

If the reports I mentioned earlier are true  and none has yet been officially confirmed by the authorities - then it would appear some members of the Muslim community DID do the right thing and reported Abedi for his suspicious behaviour.

I applaud this. Its what HAS to happen.

But its not happening nearly enough.

Whether this is out of understandable fear of retribution, apathy or in a few cases, tacit support for what ISIS is fighting for, I dont know.

But the situation has to change, not least because decent, law-abiding Muslims themselves are the biggest global victims of ISIS violence.

CCTV (left and right) taken in Manchester's Arndale Centre allegedly shows Salman Abedi shopping just three days before he blew himself up after an Ariana Grande concert. The thin man, wearing trainers and a baseball cap, was caught on camera on Friday night

The chairman of a second south Manchester mosque at the Salaam Community centre today revealed he also ejected Abedi just two months ago for staying over in the mosque.

I told him he had to leave, said Abdullah Muhsin Norris. He said dont treat me like a child. He is very easy to upset.

He was then asked if enough was being done to tackle hugely dangerous extremist brainwashing of young Muslim men.

I dont think you can ever do enough, he admitted. Sometimes it goes in one ear and out the other. You have to keep trying.

Norris added that he was changing his own personal reporting threshold in light of Abedis terror attack.

But its all too late for those poor young people slaughtered on Monday night.

This dreadful attack should and could have been stopped.

That is wasnt, is a shameful dereliction of duty by every single person who had suspicions about Abedi but said nothing, who was given information and failed to act on it, or who inexplicably reduced our ability to investigate radicalism.

The blood of those poor young girls is on all their hands today.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's extensive art collection wasn't recorded on Kushner's financial disclosure forms, artnet News has learned.

The couple owns pieces from a variety of artists, including Dan Colen, Alex Da Corte, David Ostrowski, Jan Yoors, Christopher Wool, John Baldessari, Nate Lowman and Alex Israel, which have been frequently featured in Ivanka Trump's Instagram posts.

When speaking to an attorney that represents Kushner, the lawyer said the couple's holdings would be added to a new version of the form.

'Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump display their art for decorative purposes and have made only a single sale,' the lawyer said through a statement issued by the White House to artnet News. 'To avoid any doubt, however, they will report their art collections.'

The two paintings behind Ivanka Trump are likely worth more than a million dollars. On the left, a Nate Lowman, in which a similar work went for $665,000 in 2013 and on the right a 'chewing gum' Dan Colen, which artnet News suggested would be worth around $578,500

The Nate Lowman and the Dan Colen piece are again seen in this picture that Ivanka Trump posted to Instagram of her kids

Ivanka Trump poses with Joseph and Arabella in front of a Christopher Wool painting, which is often used as a backdrop in her Instagram posts

Government employees don't have to disclose artwork hung for 'decorative purposes,' though Ivanka Trump has tied in her art purchases to her personal brand

The couple's Manhattan apartment boasts a Lindsey Adelman, light fixture. They have a similar one, worth $22,500, in their new D.C. home

Behind Ivanka Trump and the kids is a David Ostrowski. He's a modern painter from Germany, who's around the same age as the couple

Ivanka Trump, because she's the spouse of Kushner, is covered under her husband's disclosures.

He became an official White House adviser first and then she was brought up.

Neither take a salary.

The attorney phrased the response in such a way because the Office of Government Ethics differentiates between art for pleasure and art as an investment.

If the art is considered an investment, than a collection values above $1,000 must be disclosed on government forms.

On one wall alone of Kushner and Trump's Manhattan condo, there's a bullet-hole shaped Nate Lowman, in which a similar work went for $665,000 in 2013, and a colorful 'chewing gum' Dan Colen, which artnet News suggested would be worth around $578,500.

Once again the piece by David Ostrowski, hung in Kushner and Trump's Manhattan living room, is seen prominently in an Instagram post

Ivanka Trump is a big fan of the artist Dan Colen and has posted about his work on social media, though the couple didn't disclose his works on government forms

Ivanka Trump modeled the gown she wore to the Tony Awards in front of an Alex Da Corte piece hung in her Manhattan apartment

The Office of Government Ethics said art displayed for 'decorative or artistic purposes' is 'not normally' considered an investment, and thus doesn't need to be disclosed.

How the ethics office determines the difference is whether the government employee has engaged in 'periodic sales from a collection of artwork.'

While, Kushner's attorney said the couple has only engaged in one sale, Ivanka Trump has used the art work to promote her lifestyle brand.

She brings up Dan Colen by name in one Instagram post, as she promotes the website Artsy.

Artsy's Elena Soboleva wrote a blog post for Ivanka Trump's site in 2015, advising that interested buyers should 'think of art as an investment.'

Ivanka Trump's former art director Katie Evans had even explained that the mixing of some of the first daughter's merchandise with her art collection was on purpose.

The apartment shots, Evans wrote, according to artnet News, 'weave in our contents and products in an authentic way while still incorporating [Trump] as a person.'

The Christopher Wool painting has been used as a backdrop for family snaps and for pictures of bags from Ivanka Trump's line.

Evans removed the text from online several hours after artnet News inquired about her statements.

Ethics expert Craig Holman, of Public Citizen, told artnet News that since the collection is being used in branding, it should be disclosed.

'The art is being used to promote the business interests,' Holman pointed out. 'It may draw people into it, especially for something like a line of clothing, and cultural business activities that Ivanka Trump stands for.'

'It should be fully disclosed,' he added.

And there's precedent too.

Other high-ranking members of the Trump administration have gone ahead and put down the value of art on their disclosure forms.

For example, according to artnet, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reported that he owned a stake in a $14.7 million Willem de Kooning painting, among other pieces, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said his art collection was valued at $50 million.
A student has relived the devastating moment she found out she had an incurable brain tumour - after being dismissed by doctors more than 30 times.

Jennifer McCrea started suffering from headaches, fainting episodes, dizzy spells and sudden changes in personality when she was just 13.

However for two years doctors repeatedly told Jennifer her symptoms were merely caused by puberty, before she received the news at the age of 15 that she had a slow-growing cancerous brain tumour.

Jennifer McCrea was simply dismissed as a stroppy teenager when started experiencing sudden changes in personality when she was just 13

For two years doctors told Jennifer her symptoms were caused by puberty, before she received the news at the age of 15 that she had a slow-growing cancerous brain tumour

Jennifer was told by medics and a paediatrician they were '100 per cent' sure she was experiencing normal teenage hormones.

OLIGODENDROGLIOMAS TUMOURS Oligodendrogliomas are a type of brain tumour that belongs to a group of tumours called gliomas. They develop from the cells that make up the fatty covering of nerve cells. The symptoms can include: To find out more about the tumour you will need different tests. This can include a MRI scan, a CT scan, or a biopsy. There are only two grades of oligodendrogliomas. Grade 2 are low-grade tumours that develop slowly while grade 3 tumours are high grade and grow more quickly. Source: Macmillan Advertisement

She told The Sun: 'They made me feel like I was just a stroppy teenager.

'I even started doubting myself, thinking there was nothing wrong me with.'

Jennifer only found out she had an Oligodendrogliomas brain tumour when, aged 15, she was transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and a doctor made reference to her tumour - assuming she already knew she had one.

Speaking about her symptoms, Jennifer said: 'I started becoming very confused when alone in public and exhausted easily.

'There were a few occasions I'd lost touch with what was real in my episodes, convinced my head had fallen off.

'I had a follow up meeting with a surgeon in April 2010 who told me I had what he believed to be a brain tumour.

'At the time, 15-year-old me just laughed at the doctor but was in tears before I'd left the hospital.'

Now 22, Jennifer is a young ambassador with The Brain Tumour Charity and has raised thousands of pounds through The Jennifer Amy Fund

Now 22, Jennifer is a young ambassador for HeadSmart with The Brain Tumour Charity and has raised thousands of pounds through The Jennifer Amy Fund to help other people facing a similar diagnosis.

Jennifer is studying an Open University degree in English Literature and creative writing, but will need bi-annual scans and may need surgery every few years.

But she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by her tumour, surgery and delayed diagnosis.

Speaking on her fundraising page, she adds: 'In hindsight there were many symptoms from very early childhood, if my parents had had access to an awareness campaign like HeadSmart maybe my condition could have been spotted sooner, our hope is that many in the future with be found early and helped.'

However she remains positive about the future, adding: 'Now two operations and five years later I'm ready to get my life back.'

Jennifer pictured at the age of 15 - when she received the devastating news she had a brain tumour

Hayley Epps, campaign manager for The Brain Tumour Charity, said: 'We are grateful to Jennifer for sharing her story to help us raise vital awareness about teenagers' brain tumour symptoms.

'Brain tumours kill more teenagers and adults under 40 in the UK than any other form of cancer.

'HeadSmart has two aims: to save lives and reduce long-term disability by bringing down diagnosis times.

'A key part of that is to make sure healthcare professionals and young people themselves are aware of the warning signs of a brain tumour in this age group.

The brave student remains positive about the future, adding: 'Now two operations and five years later I'm ready to get my life back'

'As Jennifer and her family's ordeal shows, these symptoms can easily be mistaken for other problems that typically affect teenagers  for example, mood swings caused by hormonal changes or headaches caused by the stress of exam-related pressure.

'Another issue is that teenagers tend to be reluctant to talk to their parents about health issues. By the time it becomes obvious to the rest of the family that something is very wrong, the tumour may be more difficult to treat than it would have been a few weeks earlier.

'In some cases, a delay to diagnosis can even mean the difference between life and death.'
Days after Billy Bush gave his first interview after being kicked off the Today show seven months ago over the Trump p****gate scandal, it appears the former anchor does have some friends at NBC.

Hoda Kotb posted two photos on Instagram Thursday that show Bush, 45, with her three-month-old daughter Haley Joy, with the caption: 'Haley met Billy. Sweet Day xo.'

Bush, who has three daughters of his own, has slowly been reentering the public sphere after being let go from his position on the Today show in October.

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Billy Bush went to meet Hoda Kotb's three-month-old daughter Haley Joy on Thursday

Kotb, who still works at NBC, posted photos of Bush and Haley Joy on Instagram with the caption: 'Haley met Billy. Sweet Day xo'

His firing happened following the leak of a 2005 tape exposing the then-Access Hollywood host laughing alongside Donald Trump as he made sexually aggressive comments about Nancy O'Dell and Arianne Zucker while filming a segment.

On Monday, the shamed host told the Hollywood Reporter how his life changed since the pre-election link, and revealed plans for a TV comeback, saying: 'I plan to return to the job that I love.'

He also explained watching the video of himself from 2005 left him 'totally and completely gutted.'

Billy Bush and Hoda Kotb have remained friends despite Bush's firing from the Today show on NBC in October. They are pictured before he was fired

His firing happened following the leak of a 2005 tape exposing the then-Access Hollywood host laughing alongside Donald Trump as he made sexually aggressive comments about Nancy O'Dell and Arianne Zucker (center) while filming a segment

Bush also gave his first televised interview earlier this week, telling ABC News the lewd conversation with the now President brought his 16-year-old daughter to tears.

'She said, "No. Why were you laughing at the things that he was saying on the bus? Why were you playing along with it, Dad? It wasn't funny,'" he explained.

'I said, "Mary, I am sorry. And there is no good answer for that,' Bush continued.

At the time Bush was a host on Access Hollywood and Trump was the guest star. The tape was leaked before the election and threatened to thwart the Republican's chances.

Trump, on the cusp of election victory despite being simultaneously plagued by the accusations he had sexually assaulted other women, apologized.

Bush also gave his first televised interview earlier this week, telling ABC News the lewd conversation with the now President brought his 16-year-old Mary (pictured) daughter to tears

Bush lost his job before he could go back on air to apologize for the tape - an opportunity he said he would have relished

He said it was 'locker room talk' and despite global outrage over the comments, went on to win the White House.

Bush, on the other hand, lost his job before he could go back on air to apologize for the tape - an opportunity he said he would have relished.

The irony of their two drastically different fates is 'glaring', he said, but the experience has given him a newfound appreciation for the challenges women face.

In his interview with the Hollywood Reporter that was published on Sunday, the TV host disagreed with the president's characterization of their now infamous conversation.

While bosses didn't give him a chance to apologize, Bush's NBC on-screen colleagues including Tamron Hall, Hoda Kotb (pictured second from the left), Kathie Lee Gifford, Matt Lauer (right), Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker (left) got in touch to offer him their support

Bush, pictured with Donald and Melania Trump years before the election, commented on the irony of their two drastically different fates, saying the experience has given him a newfound appreciation for the challenges women face

'I'm in a lot of locker rooms, I am an athlete, and no, that is not the type of conversation that goes on or that I've participated in,' he said.

While bosses didn't give him a chance to apologize, Bush's NBC on-screen colleagues including Tamron Hall, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford, Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker got in touch to offer him their support.

He has been in touch with Nancy O'Dell, whose appearance sparked the conversation with Trump, but he chose not to reveal details of their conversation.
Moped gangs are pocketing 2,000 an hour snatching phones from people on the street, police revealed yesterday as they warned it is no longer safe to walk and talk on your mobile.

As officers battle an epidemic of moped muggings, police are now warning the public not to stand on a curb or street corner with their phone in their hand or risk having it torn from their grasp by thugs who can sell on a single handset for 100.

Up to 50,000 offences a year are being committed by thieves on scooters and mopeds in the capital, while some teenage thieves are being arrested up to 80 times but not sent to jail.

Motorbike gang with hammers seen riding around near the BBC Broadcasting studios in a threatening manner and trying to steal people mobile phones at the beginning of May

Most of the muggings are committed by gangs on stolen vehicles and officers have seen a spike in moped thefts which has rocketed by 41 per cent in the last 12 months.

Now police are warning it is dangerous to get your phone out in public and they are advising pedestrians to use hands free headsets instead to deter criminals.

Scotland Yard superintendent Mark Payne claimed yesterday that moped muggers are snatching 20 phones an hour.

The robbers, who usually operate with a pillion passenger, are capable of recognising a mobile phone in a target's pocket from 30 metres away.

They even practice with friends to perfect their crime before going out on the streets to steal.

Superintendent Payne said: 'It's a good idea not to stand next to a curb or street corner, those are easy places for someone to snatch it out of your hand.

'We did a test and thieves can recognise an expensive phone from 30 metres away.

'We've tested and asked "what sort of phone do I have in my pocket" and often they can.

'They practice taking phones off their friends before going out and stealing them for real and they are mainly going for iPhones.

'If they can snatch it out of your hand while it's still turned on they will re-programme it but if they can't they will sell it off for parts.

'There is a big market for phone parts as well and it is all being driven by the fact that you can steal a moped.

'They drive along the pavement or the road and take it out of your hand, they can take around 20 an hour and an iPhone 7 can go for around 100.'

File image. Met Police warn that so many offences are taking place a day, it's no longer safe to use a phone as you walk through London

He said: 'Using a hands free would make it more difficult, they are looking for someone with a phone in their hand so anything like that would make it more difficult for thieves.'

Over the last 12 months a total of 15,100 mopeds and motorbikes were stolen in London compared to 10,704 the previous year.

Gangs of mainly teenage boys can steal scooters by simply breaking their steering locks.

Detectives are targeting at least 500 known offenders behind the spree.

Yesterday Superintendent Payne compared the desirability of mopeds to thieves as the ubiquitous Ford Cortina in the 1980s, saying: 'This is the Ford Cortina of the 21st century, they are easy to steal and when we spoke to the manufacturer they said they can fix the problem but it's going to be three or four years away.

'They are in the Ford Cortina bracket, you do not need any skill to ride them, you don't even have to change gear.

'The theft is all done on a stolen bike.

'Thieves can steal these bikes in less than 60 seconds, it's really quick.

'Thieves take hold of the handlebars and break the steering wheel lock by pulling it, it's like a lump of metal.

'Most bikes are then stolen by just walking it round the corner and they either sell it on or use it to commit crime.'

The warning come after a spate of muggings in central London, with riders using weapons such as machetes and hammers to intimidate and injure their victims as they try and snatch their mobile phones.

File image. Police chiefs warn that gang members practice the offences on each other before they go out to the streets

Earlier this month a gang of up to eight people on mopeds broke a tourist's leg as they tried to steal his watch on upmarket Park Lane.

Just one day later, residents in Battersea complained that moped gangs armed with machetes were terrorising them.

Among those targeted is former politician George Osborne, who revealed this month he had been the subject of an unsuccessful mugging.

Similar crimes have taken place in Birmingham, Newcastle and Manchester.

In an alarming new tactic one moped gang blasted a fire extinguisher at a motorcyclist in a bid to steal his bike in lford, East London.

In other incidents, masked thugs have wielded hammers and crowbars as in attempts to rob tourists on the West End.
A federal appeals court dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six-Muslim majority countries on Thursday, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican's administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Trump's administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

Losing: Trump's travel ban was ruled on for the first time by a federal appeals circuit Thursday and the case did not go his administration's way. Chief Justice Roger Gregory said the president's power over the entry of aliens was 'not absolute'

'Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation,' the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory wrote.

Trump will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A central question in the case is whether courts should consider Trump's past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country.

The federal judge in Maryland who blocked the travel ban cited comments made by Trump and his aides during the campaign and after the election as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Protests: The travel ban was widely demonstrated against when it was brought in at the end of January and quickly stalled by courts

Trump's administration argued that the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesn't mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration says.

The first travel ban in January triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesn't apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes don't erase the legal problems with the ban.

The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

The judge who made the ruling was appointed to the seat by Bill Clinton in 2000 as a recess appointment, but then nominated by George W. Bush in 2001 and confirmed by the Senate 93-1.
President Donald Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron that he had been a supporter in his race against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, although Trump's only comment on the race had him hailing Le Pen.

Trump told Macron of his views in comments relayed by an official in the French government's office  after a bilateral meeting where the two men engaged in a vigorous handshake that lasted more than five seconds.

'You were my guy,' Trump assured the new French president during their first time meeting in Brussels, the official from the French president's office said, according to French media reports.

Trump told Macron that, contrary to media reports during the race, he had not backed Le Pen and had followed Macron's campaign with great attention, the source said, adding that the two leaders had spoken in English.

MY GUY: President Trump reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron he supported him during the recent elections, despite his comments calling rival Marine Le Pen 'the strongest'

Although Trump didn't endorse Le Pen, he praised her in comments to the Associated Press shortly before the runoff election, following an attack on a French policeman.

'She's the strongest on borders and she's the strongest on what's been going on in France,' Trump said.

'Whoever is the toughest on radical Islamic terrorism, and whoever is the toughest at the borders, will do well in the election,' he added, speaking in late April.

In contrast, former President Obama explicitly endorsed Macron in the race, appearing in an a video for Macron days after the Trump spoke.

NO MUSCLE-BOUND MAN COULD TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY GUY: The two leaders shared a prolonged handshake in Brussels

'I have admired the campaign that Emmanuel Macron has run,' Obama said in the video shared by Macron.

'He has stood up for liberal values, he put forward a vision for the important role that France plays in Europe and around the world. And he is committed to a better future for the French people. He appeals to people's hopes and not their fears,' Obama said.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he did not know if Trump had said this to Macron but indicated the two men got along.

'When they were walking out, they seemed to have real, great chemistry, when he was sending him off. From everything I heard, it seemed to go very well,' Spicer told reporters traveling with the president.

Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party candidate for French 2017 presidential election, concedes defeat at the Chalet du Lac in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris after the second round of 2017 French presidential election, France, May 7, 2017

Centrist Macron beat National Front leader Le Pen in a May 7 run-off vote after a hard-fought campaign that pitted Macron's pro-European views against Le Pen's anti-globalization, anti-EU and anti-immigration stance.

After a policeman was killed in Paris in April by a suspected militant, Trump told the Associated Press he thought the attack would 'probably help' Le Pen because she was the candidate who is 'strongest on borders'. However, he said he was not explicitly endorsing Le Pen.

Le Pen said she was best placed to defend France's interests in what she called the 'new world' of Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

In we go: Macron, France's youngest-ever president and youngest leader since Napoleon, had the upper hand as the grip began

Keep pumping: The grip and grin went on for a solid five seconds as Trump met Macron, the new French leader for the first time

Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron pumped fists for a full five seconds on Thursday in Brussels as the two leaders seemed to be locked into a battle of the phalanges

The president and first lady Melania Trump greeted Macron at the U.S. ambassador's residence in the Belgian capital in advance of a NATO summit. He did not bring the French first lady to the meeting

Earlier Thursday, Trump put his weight behind his first handshake with France's new president, gripping and torquing his way on Thursday through the crucial moment in their budding relationship.

They shook hands for a full five seconds while camera shutters clicked, pumping their fists 16 times in a seeming battle of the phalanges.

Macron, the youngest French head of state since Napoleon, has held office for just 11 days.

'It is my great honor to be with the newly elected president of France, who ran an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory,' he said. 'All over the world they're talking about it.'

'We have a lot to discuss,' Trump added, 'including terrorism and other things. Congratulations. Great job.'
Lucy Richards (pictured), who believes the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, is set to enter a guilty plea to threatening the father of a boy who died in the 2012 school shooting

An attorney for a woman who believes the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax says she will plead guilty to threatening a man whose 6-year-old son was killed in the 2012 mass shooting at a school in Connecticut.

The public defender for 57-year-old Lucy Richards said in court papers filed Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that the case will be resolved in a guilty plea.

Richards had previously planned to plead guilty, but failed to appear at a March plea hearing and was later arrested at her Tampa-area home.

Under the previous agreement, Richards was to plead guilty to a federal charge of interstate transmission of a threat to injure for threatening Lenny Pozner, the father of Noah Pozner, 6, who died in the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Richards, 57, is set to plead guilty to threat charges in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida federal court, her lawyer revealed in filings on Wednesday. She is pictured in December 2016

Richards had previously been set to plead guilty to a charge of interstate transmission of a threat to injure for threatening Lenny Pozner, the father of six-year-old Noah Pozner (both pictured) who died in the Sandy Hook massacre, but was arrested on April 1 for skipping court

Under that agreement, she had faced up to five years in prison. Terms of the new plea agreement have not been made public.

Lucy Richards is seen in an undated photo

Authorities say Richards made four voicemail and email threats to Pozner on January 10, 2016, including messages that said 'you gonna die, death is coming to you real soon' and 'LOOK BEHIND YOU IT IS DEATH.'

Another threat ended with, 'and there's nothing you can do about it.'

Prosecutors said Richards told them she believed the shooting was a hoax.

It the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, in which 20 children and seven adults were murdered, false conspiracy theories surfaced claiming that those affected were 'crisis actors' hired to stage the massacre.

Last month, Richards' lawyer told US District Judge James Cohn that she had contacted his office and said she was refusing to come to court for her scheduled hearing to plead guilty.

When Richards failed to appear, Cohn issued a warrant for her arrest.

Authorities say Richards made four voicemail and email threats to Pozner (pictured with his son) on January 10, 2016, including messages that said 'you gonna die, death is coming to you real soon' and 'LOOK BEHIND YOU IT IS DEATH'

Mourners embrace following services for six year-old Noah Pozner on December 17, 2012

The 57-year-old woman lives in Brandon, Florida, on the state's west coast about four hours from the Fort Lauderdale federal courthouse - where she was meant to appear in April.

In previous court appearances she used a walker and wheelchair to get around and said she was on disability.

Others linked to the Sandy Hook massacre have reported harassment by conspiracy theorists who argue it was staged to erode support for Second Amendment gun rights.

While free on bond, Richards previously was barred from visiting websites that promote conspiracy theories and ordered to have no contact with anyone connected to the Sandy Hook mass shooting.
A little boy was trapped under a car when it drove over him as he played on the pavement.

Horrified pedestrians rushed to rescue the child by lifting a car which had slowly mown him down.

The accident was caught on CCTV in Wuxi County, Chongqing Municipality, south-western China.

The boy (circled) can be seen playing on a pavement in Wuxi County, in south-western China

The driver, who says he did not see the boy, runs him over from behind

More than 10 strangers came to the boy's aid before he was taken to hospital.

In the video the unnamed boy can be seen crouched down on the pavement when suddenly he is hit from behind by the car.

A woman rushes over holding her hands up to stop the driver, who said he did not see the boy, from moving any further, while another man runs over and beckons for others to help.

Within seconds a group has assembled to lift the heavy vehicle and rush the boy to doctors.

Emergency services were called and police attended the scene. It is believed they are investigating the incident.

The little boy is reportedly still in hospital receiving treatment.

The car drives over the boy as horrified pedestrians spot what has happened

Several passers-by rush to the aid of the child and try to lift the vehicle off him

Police officer Wang Jianglin said: 'The doctor said that luckily the kid did not suffer a fracture or internal bleeding but only little cuts and bruises.

'As he is a small boy, we suggested him to stay in the hospital for observation. We questioned the driver, he said that he didn't see the child when he was driving in the morning.

'The accident happened on a slope road. When the driver was driving upwards, he failed to see the child who was squatting in front of his car because he could only see upward.'
Entertainment / Celebrity

by Arts Correspondent

THE Miss World Zimbabwe UK (MWZUK) has entered the final phase of its search with finalists being announced next Friday.The grand finale is set for the 1st of July in London, and the organisers have promised a world-class event.Pageant Director Chiedza Ziyambe said that the casting roadshows have been successful and a host of young, talented girls have turned out in their numbers to be in with a chance to be part of the pageant this year."The last few weeks have been fantastic and an eye opener," said Ziyambe."Having conversations with these young women, who have such high aspirations for their lives has kept us in sync with what kind of woman we are looking for to represent us, not only in the UK but on an international platform.We are in the process of finalising the shortlist of contestants and we will be revealing them shortly," she added.The Miss Zimbabwe UK winner and her two princesses will be flown to Zimbabwe to compete for the Miss Zimbabwe 2017 title, with the overall winner being entered into the Miss World competition later in the year.Tickets for the event are now on sale, with standard tickets available for 35. VIP tickets, which will guarantee guests front row seats, as well as a meal are available for 60 and can be purchased from the website at http://zimbabwefashionshowcase.com/miss-world-zim-uk/The pageant this year will be held at the prestigious De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in LondonPrizes for the pageant will include a character building session with FOSTA. The winner will also become the Face of Cherrielle Cosmetics.Casting roadshows began in April and covered a number of cities including London, Nottingham and Manchester.Profiles of this year's contestants will be featured on the website and will highlight stories of their modelling careers and community based initiatives.The Miss World Zimbabwe UK campaign is a celebration of Zimbabwe, its culture and of women.
A mother who fell asleep on the couch after drinking and smoking marijuana is accused of rolling onto her two-month-old son and smothering him to death.

Arissa Ward, 23, of Middletown, Pennsylvania, was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the December 30 death of her son.

The baby was also found with traces of marijuana in his system from his mother's breast milk, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico.

Arissa Ward (left, in mugshot, right at the hospital) is accused of rolling onto her two-month-old son in her sleep and smothering him to death

Ward was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the December 30 death of her son (above)

Police received reports of an unresponsive infant on December 30, 2016 and arrived at the 300 block of Lawrence Street.

Ward had been drinking with Arthur Livering, her boyfriend and the baby's father, before they returned home and smoked marijuana, she told police.

Ward laid on the the couch with her baby and passed out. She later told police she thought she rolled onto him, according to court records.

An autopsy revealed the baby died from complications of traumatic asphyxia and smothering.

The baby was also found with 0.65 nanograms of THC in his system, according to Marisco.

Marisco said the baby's death was 'caused by a reckless act', but added: 'It wasn't her intent to kill her child.'

Ward had been drinking with Arthur Livering (above), her boyfriend and the baby's father, before they returned home and smoked marijuana, she told police

Ward's blood alcohol levels are not available, according to Jennifer Gettle, the chief deputy district attorney.

Ward was arraigned on Thursday and remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail, while Livering was charged with drug possession and endangering the welfare of a child.

Ward's attorney Casey Shore called it 'a horrible tragedy', Pennlive.com reported.

Marsico says the county is forming a task force to combat co-sleeping since deaths have been on the rise.

Ward has another daughter who remains in her custody after an investigation by Children and Youth Services.
A Michigan restaurant owner says US immigration agents who were conducting enforcement at the business ate breakfast before detaining four workers.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say agents were doing 'a targeted enforcement action' at the Ann Arbor restaurant, Sava.

ICE officials say two of the men entered the country illegally and another overstayed his visa.

One of the men had proper documentation. Authorities say the men tried to leave the restaurant before being arrested.

Restaurant owner Sava Lelcaj-Farah said several agents ate breakfast at the restaurant before entering the kitchen area.

She says her company vets employees to determine their eligibility and that she had believed they were in the country legally.

Its scary and everyone is shaken up by it, Lelcaj-Farah told WJBK-TV.

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The owner of a Michigan eatery, Sava's Restaurant (above), says US immigration agents who were conducting enforcement at the business ate breakfast before arresting four workers

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say agents were doing 'a targeted enforcement action' at the Ann Arbor restaurant

Restaurant owner Sava Lelcaj-Farah said several agents ate breakfast at the restaurant before entering the kitchen area

At approximately 11:30am on Wednesday, at least five ICE agents entered the restaurant in search of an employee who was not there at the time.

The agents took seats at the bar and ate breakfast, according to WJBK-TV.

Workers at the restaurant said that while agents at the bar kept an eye on the kitchen, other agents were on the lookout near the front and back exits.

One of the restaurants employees, Carlos, was detained after he stepped out to the back to empty the trash.

Lelcaj-Farah said that Carlos was detained even though he showed the agents proper documents.

It was a mistaken identity which is really sad for us, she said.

This is supposed to be a sanctuary for our employees and they are to feel safe and protected and of course that didnt happen today.

Moments later, as word of Carlos arrest spread, three employees tried to leave the restaurant through the front door.

All three were detained.

'These guys are living under fear and there are enough stories of innocent people getting arrested that they freaked out and ran out the front door where they were apprehended,' Lelcaj-Farah told the New York Daily News.

Lelcaj-Farah has said that she vets her employees by using a third party that determines whether they can legally work in the country.

We of course respect the law but we understand that there are certain situations that we are not aware of, she said.

Lelcaj-Farah said that while most customers have been supportive of the restaurant, a number of Ann Arbor residents have told her they plan to boycott her establishment because it employed undocumented migrants.

'Now people are saying, "Im never going to eat at your restaurant because you hire illegal immigrants",' she said.

Lelcaj-Farah has said that she vets her employees by using a third party that determines whether they can legally work in the country. The above stock image shows an ICE agent detaining an immigrant in Los Angeles in 2015

'I myself was an illegal immigrant, and if thats how you feel, we are not the restaurant for you.'

ICE released a statement about the incident, according to WEMU.

While conducting a targeted enforcement action at Sava's restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers encountered and arrested three individuals on immigration violations.

Sergio Cardenas Rubio and Jesus Ortiz Hernandez unlawfully entered the United States without inspection at an unknown date and location.

Mohamed Souman lawfully entered the country, but did not depart in accordance with the terms of his status. All three are currently in ICE custody.

Lelcaj-Farah said that three of those detained either have been released or are due to be released on Thursday, while the fourth detainee is likely to remain in custody at least until Friday.
Miss Black Texas 2016 claims she was harassed by a North Texas police chief who called her a 'black b****,' before being unlawfully detained and arrested.

Carmen Ponder, 23, shared her version of an interaction she had with Commerce Police Chief Kerry Crews in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

Ponder is suing the police force, and says she wants police accountability and formal charges to be filed against Crews.

Miss Black Texas 2016 claims she was harassed by a North Texas police chief who called her a 'black b****,' before being unlawfully detained and arrested

Carmen Ponder is suing the police force, and says she wants police accountability and formal charges to be filed against Crews

In her account, Ponder said she was driving to Walmart on Saturday when a black pickup truck cut in front of her and began driving erratically.

She said the car was braking and accelerating dangerously, and she worried it was a drunk driver.

Ponder wrote that she put her blinker on, pulled around to pass the truck and drove into the superstore parking lot.

Commerce Police Chief Kerry Crews allegedly verbally attacked Ponder, leading to what she believes is a wrongful arrest

According to her, the black truck followed her into the lot and pulled up next to where she'd parked her car.

She said the passenger, who was later identified as Crews, got out of the truck and started yelling and screaming that he was teaching his 14-year-old daughter how to drive, saying Ponder shouldn't have passed his truck.

Ponder wrote that she ignored the man at first, but eventually turned to tell him 'it's illegal about a 14-year-old driving, before walking into the store.

'That's when he screamed "oh whatever, you black b****.'

After making her purchase at the store, which she said did not take long as she only had to get one thing,

She said when she walked out she saw Crews there and was quickly charged by several other officers in street clothes.

'One guy showed me his police badge and started screaming at me. HE told me this guy was his chief and I better apologize to him now. I told him I was going to do that and was walking to my car,' she explained.

Ponder wrote about the interaction on Twitter, and explained how it started when she was driving to Wal-Mart on Saturday and black pickup truck cut in front of her and began driving erratically

Next, one of the men grabbed her by the arm and pulled her roughly back into Wal-Mart, telling her she was being detained

When police came, she said: 'I began walking to the policeman when the aggressive guy pulled me by my arm again, told the cop that I was resisting arrest and demanded he arrest me.'

Her lawyer, Lee Merritt, told NBC New York she had bruises from where she was grabbed.

Ponder was then handcuffed and booked into jail, where she spent 24 hours. She was charged with evading arrest.

Ponder was then handcuffed and booked into jail, where she spent 24 hours. She was charged with evading arrest

Authorities told NBC Crews was placed on administrative leave while an outside organization looks into the altercation.

Ponder is calling attention to the incident to hold the officer accountable, and has started a crowdfunding page to raise money for her attorney's fees.

She wrote on her youcaring.com account that she will not take a plea deal, and is 'more than willing' to take it to trial.

'My only crime... the color of my skin,' she wrote.

Ponder's You Caring page also says she is a Dean's List student at Texas A&M University- Commerce and an intern with the Hunt County District Attorney.
While revenge may be a dish best served cold, police in Florida say a woman's retribution against her ex-boyfriend was hot and spiked with a spicy red sauce.

Sheriffs deputies in Vero Beach on Thursday arrested 31-year-old Samantha Wilson on a charge of domestic battery for allegedly throwing a plate of pork fried rice at her ex-boyfriend, Brian Kusmer.

According to an arrest affidavit from Indian River County Sheriff's Office, cited by The Smoking Gun, the incident took place just before noon at China No 1 restaurant on South US Highway, where Wilson and Kusmer had agreed to meet so that the woman could drop off their eight-year-old son.

Hell hath no fury...: Samantha Wilson, 31, of Florida, has been charged with domestic battery for allegedly hurling a platter of pork fried rice at her ex-boyfriend

A deputy who responded to the eatery after getting a report about a couple's quarrel found the victim 'covered from head to toe in pork fried rice and a red sauce'.

When interviewed by the officer, Kusmer explained that when his ex-girlfriend arrived, he asked her why she had been keeping their son out of school and warned her that she could not continue to allow the boy to stay home.

Kusmer said Wilson became irate and began screaming at him, which prompted the man to ask her to leave.

Public scene: The incident took place at China No 1 in Vero Beach, where Wilson and Brian Kusmer had agreed to meet so the woman could drop off their son

That is when, according to the victim, Wilson shoved the plate of pork fried rice he had ordered for lunch at him, sending the food flying at him.

'When asked if the food was hot Kusmer stated the sauce burned a little, according to the affidavit.

Kusmer declined medical attention and told the deputy he did not wish to press charges against the mother of his child.

When law enforcement officials tracked down Wilson and questioned her, she admitted to throwing the food at Kusmer but claimed that she had been battered by him in the past, and that her conduct was a 'reactionary response' meant to distract him.

Tasty projectile: Kusmer told police Wilson became angry at him when he told her to stop keeping their son out of school and threw a dish of pork fried ride at him (stock photo)

The woman noted that she never physically touched Kusmer.

Wilson was then arrested on a misdemeanor count of domestic battery and transported to the county jail. She was later released on her own recognizance and ordered to have no contact with Kusmer.

Wilsons criminal record includes past arrests on charges of criminal mischief, child abuse and negligence.
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The husband of Luxembourg's gay Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has been mingling with the wives and girlfriends of other world leaders during the NATO conference.

Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect, joined the likes of US First Lady Melania Trump in Brussels on Thursday while their partners were off discussing world matters.

The First Gentleman, who married his Prime Minister husband in 2015, posed for photos with the group of women at Royal Castle of Laeken on Thursday evening ahead of a dinner especially for spouses.

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Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg's gay Prime Minister, posed for photos in Brussels on Thursday with (front row from L to R) First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Jens Stoltenberg's partner Ingrid Schulerud, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev's partner Desislava Radeva, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's partner Amelie Derbaudrenghien and (back row L to R) partner of Slovenia's Prime Minister Cerar's wife Mojca Stropnik and First Lady of Iceland Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir

Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect, joined the likes of US First Lady Melania Trump in Brussels on Thursday while their partners were off discussing world matters

Dressed in a black suit with a grey tie, Destenay stood among the world leader's glamorous spouses.

He stood directly behind Mrs Trump and the none-too-pleased Emine Erdogan, the devoutly Muslim wife of Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey.

Unlike some of the women, Destenay opted to stay in the same suit-tie combination he had worn earlier in the day when he was given a tour of the Magritte Museum, which is devoted to the works of Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte.

He was joined by other NATO spouses including Mrs Trump, Mrs Erdogan, French First Lady Brigitte Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's partner, Amelie Derbaudrenghien.

Gauthier Destenay married Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in 2015. They are pictured above on their wedding day at Luxembourg's town hall

First Gentleman of Luxembourg Gauthier Destenay, partner of Slovenia's Prime Minister Mojca Stropnik and First Lady of Iceland Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir pose for a photo

Front row: First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, First Lady of the US Melania Trump, Queen Mathilde of Belgium. Back row: First Gentleman of Luxembourg Gauthier Destenay, partner of Slovenia's Prime Minister Mojca Stropnik and First Lady of Iceland Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir

Destenay stood with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's partner Amelie Derbaudrenghien and First Lady of Turkey Emine Erdogan at a shop of Belgian fashion label Delvaux

Destenay was pictured enjoying a friendly chat with the French and US first ladies at the museum, which is famed for works like the 1964 'self-portrait' of a bowler-hatted man whose face is hidden by an apple.

His husband became the first gay EU leader to enter into a same-sex union when the couple married in a low key ceremony two years ago.

Their wedding came just months after Luxembourg legalized same-sex marriage.

Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg's prime minister, Xavier Bettel, posed alongside the group of women for a photo at the Magritte Museum earlier on Thursday

Destenay seemed to be enjoying a friendly chat with US First Lady Melania Trump and French First Lady Brigitte Macron

Luxembourg's Gauthier Destenay, Slovenia's Mojca Stropnik and Iceland's Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir arrived for a group picture at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels

Destenay appeared to be looking at something on French First Lady Brigitte Macron's phone
A prankster father has pulled one over on his 15-year-old son by arriving to pick him up from the last day of school wearing only a speedo.

Father Justin Beadles is seen running manically toward his son Jack's high school in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in a video with over 15million views since it was posted on Tuesday.

The dad, who is a pastor at Countryside Church, and his wife of 20 years Heather have four kids together, including 15-year-old Jack, the target of the speedo prank.

'This isn't the first dumb thing I've ever done,' Justin told News9, explaining that his family is used to his wacky pranks and antics.

Justin Beadles is seen jogging across the school parking lot at classes are letting out for the summer, wearing only a speedo, swim cap, and chest full of medals. He darts past the students, who shoot the scantily clad man sideways looks.

In the video, Justin is seen jogging across the school parking lot at classes are letting out for the summer, wearing only a speedo, swim cap, and chest full of medals.

'Jack, Jack,' the dad screams out to his son as he darts past the students, who shoot the scantily clad man sideways looks.

Putting his arm around the chagrined boy, Justin gestures magnanimously toward the family car, indicating his ride home awaits.

Grinning stiffly and suppressing his laughter, Jack walks with his dad over to his mom, who has been filming the unusual events.

'See you at church!' a kid's voice can be heard calling off camera.

Jack shakes his head stoically as his dad darts ahead to the car. 'It wasn't my idea,' mom Heather says from behind the camera.

Grinning stiffly and suppressing his laughter, Jack walks with his dad over to his mom, who has been filming the unusual events

'This isn't the first dumb thing I've ever done,' dad Justin, a pastor at an area church, said

A good sport, Jack gave permission for the embarrassing video to be posted, explaining: 'I just thought it's the last day of school and no one can make fun of me because it's the last day of school.'

The dad Justin said his own father 'was the guy who always said make a memory every day and since he's been gone particularly I've tried to do that'.

Getting views on the video was hardly the point, the minister said.

'If nobody had seen it I'd do it a million times again, just because it was so much fun seeing the look on a son - who I love - just seeing his face and him looking at me and us knowing deep down inside that dad's an idiot but he's also kind of ok.'

Jack has vowed a revenge prank upon his father.
UKIP yesterday claimed Theresa May 'must bear some responsibility' for the Manchester terror attack, as it ended the election truce by accusing her of allowing jihadists into the country.

Leader Paul Nuttall said 'lighting candles is not enough' as he vowed to provide tens of thousands more police and soldiers, and seize passports from Britons who go to fight for Islamic State.

In a swipe at the Prime Minister, Ukip deputy chairman Suzanne Evans said Mrs May had allowed the spread of extremism and cut police numbers during her six years as home secretary.

The Ukip's Suzanne Evans tore into Theresa May's record on security as she said the PM bore some responsibility for the Manchester terror attack

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall with Suzanne Evans at the party's manifesto launch. They batted off suggestions they are trying to exploit the atrocity for votes at the upcoming election

Miss Evans, who wrote the party's manifesto, said: 'I think she must bear some responsibility  all politicians who voted against measures or voted for measures to make cuts bear some responsibility. I think when 9/11 happened we should have had a serious rethink about immigration.

She added: 'Theresa May might like to portray herself as a strong and stable leader who can tackle extremism, but her record suggests otherwise.

'She has allowed jihadists who fought alongside Islamic State back into our country. She has failed to prevent extremists spreading hatred in our universities and our mosques.

Under her watch, even non-EU migration spiralled out of control and net migration reached record highs.

'A growing backlog of failed asylum seekers and a failure to deport illegal immigrants or foreign criminals were further hallmarks of her time as home secretary.'

Theresa May, pictured arriving at the Nato summit in Brussels today, where she will discuss terrorism and security. Ukip have launched an outspoken attack on her record

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, pictured in Westminster today, hit out at Ukip's comments and said that it is not the right time to make political points

Ahead of the other parties resuming national campaigning today, Home Secretary Amber Rudd last night said it was 'not the time to make political points'.

'I think it's entirely the wrong approach. What we're trying to do now is support police, the intelligence services and of course the victims,' she added.

Mr Nuttall branded radical Islam 'a cancer that needs to be cut out' and promised 'a far more muscular approach' to extremism and integration. 'I believe that anyone who leaves this country to fight for Islamic State should forfeit their passport, their citizenship, and never be allowed to return,' he added.

Flagship policies in the manifesto include recruiting 20,000 police officers, 20,000 soldiers, 7,000 more prison officers and 4,000 border guards.

Mr Nuttall said: 'It is not the British way to turn a blind eye to evil in our midst. It is not good enough to light candles and proclaim that extremists will not beat us. Action is required on multiple fronts.'

Ukip has seen its poll ratings fall into the low single figures since the vote for Brexit and it took a hammering at local elections earlier this month as many voters believe its main purpose has gone.

Yesterday's manifesto launch descended into chaos as supporters booed when Mr Nuttall was asked if he was seeking to exploit the Manchester attack.

The Ukip leader, pictured at the manifesto launch in London today, promised to recruit thousands more police and troops to protect Britain

Shouts including 'crawl back down your hole', 'fake news', 'What a stupid question' and 'Don't you understand English?' were aimed at the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.

Miss Evans later appeared to backtrack on her comments blaming Mrs May for the Manchester attack.

She said: 'The only person who is responsible, or people who were responsible, for what happened in Manchester are the terrorists, let me make that absolutely clear.'
A massage therapist has been arrested on charges of raping a customer inside a studio at Boston's Logan Airport Sunday night.

Darnell E Williams, 29, of Boston was arraigned Thursday in East Boston District Court on a single charge of rape.

On Sunday, a 25-year-old woman from out of state went to the Be Relax studio for a massage while she waited to board her flight home, according to a police statement.

On Sunday, a 25-year-old woman from out of state went to the Be Relax studio (pictured in a Yelp image) for a massage while she waited to board her flight home, according to a police statement

Darnell E Williams, 29, pictured in a dated Facebook photo, of Boston was arraigned Thursday in East Boston District Court on a single charge of rape

Williams allegedly led the woman to a back corner room, and about halfway into the massage, raped her as she laid on her stomach, according to police.

He allegedly continued to touch her inappropriately after she asked him to stop.

The woman left the studio and got sick in the airport and throughout the length of her flight.

She told family members about it when she arrived home, and they contacted Massachusetts state police.

Williams, pictured in a dated Facebook photo, allegedly led the woman to a back corner room, and about halfway into the massage, raped her as she laid on her stomach, according to police

The woman left the studio and got sick in the airport and throughout the length of her flight. Pictured is a stock image of Logan International Airport

Investigators said Williams was the only Be Relax employee working when the alleged rape took place who matched the description given to them.

Williams was being held Thursday, and it was not clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the case.

The Be Relax studio issued a statement saying it is cooperating with authorities.

Studio officials say Williams has worked at the company for more than five years and has never had a disciplinary issue.

A spokeswoman for Massachusetts Port Authority said in a statement that Williams's access badge has been permanently removed, according to the Boston Globe.
A student is suing a New Jersey college, claiming her professor gave her an F in a course because she is Muslim.

Sahna ElBanna alleges that her professor at Union County College, New Jersey, Toby Grodner, made racist comments towards her and failed her after she told him to stop.

ElBanna's lawyer, Tariq Hussain, says she received an F for that class, even though she had gotten two As on assignments worth 60 percent of her grade, nj.com reports.

Sahna ElBanna alleges that her professor at Union County College (pictured), New Jersey, made racist comments towards her

'You're in the classroom each week. The instructor is using the terms Muslim and and terrorist interchangeably. Every moment you are in that class, you feel subhuman. You feel you are a terrorist,' Hussain said.

The alleged insults apparently began when Elbanna took a spring semester course, Organization and Management, with Grodner last year.

She says she never responded to the comments out of fear it could jeopardize her grade.

She took another business class with him that fall and the alleged comments continued. This time, Elbanna told him to stop. She says her professor became defensive and would embarrass her with questions like, 'Doesn't your religion believe men are superior to women?' and 'Do you even pray five times a day?'

By the end of the course, she realized Grodner had failed her. According to the lawsuit, she tried to appeal but she couldn't go ahead without Grodner signing the appeal form. When she asked him to do so, she says he refused, even when school administrators spoke to him on her behalf.

Elbanna may graduate late because she may have to sign up for the course again. A spokesman for the college says they are investigating a complaint she filed against the professor. Grodner has declined to comment on the lawsuit but says Elbanna received an F because she apparently failed eight of her multimedia assignments.
Police say Brian Brandt plowed an 18-wheeler truck into The Moonlight BunnyRanch Brothel

The infamous Moonlight Bunny Ranch Brothel has been destroyed after a man wearing body armor plowed a 'stolen' big rig into the brothel as owner Dennis Hof calls it 'a terrorist act on the friendliest place on Earth'.

The incident happened around 4am Thursday in Mound House, Nevada when police say Brian Brandt plowed the huge truck straight through the Bunny Ranch's front gate and into the front door.

Police arrested Brandt and charged him with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony count of destroying property and a felony count of possession of property valued at $3500 or more.

His bail is currently set at $95,000 and he is being held at the Yerington Detention Facility.

Surveillance video of the terrifying moment shows the 18-wheeler traveling at full speed at the time of the accident leaving a path of destruction.

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The incident happened around 4am Thursday in Mound House, Nevada when the huge truck crashed straight through the Bunny Ranch's front gate and into the front door. Pictured above is the truck after the crash

Police arrested Brandt and charged him with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony count of destroying property and a felony count of possession of property valued at $3500 or more. His bail is currently set at $95,000. (scene above)

Surveillance video of the terrifying moment shows the 18-wheeler traveling at full speed at the time of the accident leaving a path of destruction (damage pictured)

The truck smashed through the front gates and into the front of the building

Hof told DailyMail.com that Brandt was wearing full body armor, a mask and helmet at the time of the incident which he calls 'brutal.'

'He stole a truck full of Amazon Prime products and boxes and came to my Bunny ranch and destroyed our building, in full body armor and a mask,' Hof told DailyMail.com.

'No one knows him, none of the girls said he was a customer.'

The trucking company, Central Transport LLC, said Brandt was a former employee.

The company said a manager found a semi-truck missing early Thursday morning, and that the truck's number matches the one stolen.

The Director of Community Relations for Central Transport Mickey Blashfield told the Reno Gazette-Journal: 'He showed up early this morning at the terminal and commandeered a truck.

Owner Dennis Hof owner said that at the time of the crash, he was inside the BunnyRanch asleep. 'It woke me up, I got my gun and went out there. It was a terrorist act at the friendliest place on Earth,' Hof said (damage pictured)

Hof (center in 2008 with his Bunnies) said: 'So far, it thankfully appears to be only property damage. But, who knows what was happening during that time before he crashed or what his ultimate intentions were.'

'The next thing we heard was a call from the Bunny Ranch about an incident taking place there.

'So far, it thankfully appears to be only property damage. But, who knows what was happening during that time before he crashed or what his ultimate intentions were.'

Hof said that at the time of the crash, he was inside the Bunny Ranch asleep.

'It woke me up, I got my gun and went out there. It was a terrorist act at the friendliest place on Earth,' Hof said while sounding upset and angry.

'We don't know why this happened. It's brutal, absolutely brutal what's going on.'

Hof said no one was hurt, including the five employees, 30 female prostitutes and 10 customers in the building.

The 70-year-old brothel owner said that some of the girls were 'having sex when this happened.'

The 70-year-old brothel owner said that some of the girls were 'having sex when this happened' and that no one was hurt (damage pictured)

Hof said: 'We don't know why this happened. It's brutal, absolutely brutal what's going on.' (damage pictured)

Hof estimates that over $100,000 in damage was caused at the Bunny Ranch (pictured above in 2008)

Despite the massive hole in the front of the Ranch, Hof said it will still be open for business and serve free drinks for the inconvenience.

He estimates that over $100,000 in damage was caused at the Bunny Ranch, which opened for business 1955 and was featured on the HBO series Cathouse.

This is not Brandt's first run-in with the law. He arrested just last week on May 17 and booked into the Washoe County jail on two charges including conspiracy to destroy another's property and battery.

Ex-NBA player Lamar Odom consumed a mystery cocktail of drinks and drugs before being found unconscious inside a suite at Hof's Love Ranch Vegas brothel in 2015.

Hof employs more than 500 women across his seven bordellos in Nevada, where prostitution is legal in the state.

Despite the massive hole in the front of the Ranch, Hof said it will still be open for business and serve free drinks for the inconvenience. Pictured above are 'Bunnies' at the Ranch in a file photo
News / National

by Staff reporter

EMBATTLED Zanu-PF national political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere, has come under fire for trashing the party's communication channels and party procedures after he unilaterally disqualified Pearson Meeting Mbalekwa from contesting the Chiwundura by-elections set for July 15.Kasukuwere disqualified Mbalekwa via a text message from Mexico where he is accompanying President Mugabe who is attending the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.The disqualification of Mbalekwa who prevailed in party primaries has intensified calls by some party insiders that Kasukuwere should recuse himself from commissariat duties till his case is finalised.The commissar, party members said, had no locus standi having been rejected by nine of the party's 10 provinces.Zanu-PF Politburo member and a senior official from Midlands province Joram Gumbo, said he was not aware where the directive to disqualify Mbalekwa came from because the Politburo never sat to discuss Mbalekwa's matter.Omega Hungwe (Zanu-PF deputy national commissar) who was the returning officer in the elections, yesterday said Kasukuwere never communicated with her but chose to send a text message to one of the directors in the commissariat department identified as Gwazemba announcing that Mbalekwa was no longer eligible to stand for primaries.Mbalekwa who later recused himself from the elections, had won the primaries with 1 551 votes against his closest rival Brown Ndlovu who got 1 196. He contested the primaries after his name together with 20 others were approved by the Provincial Elections Directorate that submitted his name to the National Elections Directorate which did not contest his candidature.Procedurally, if the National Elections Directorate had misgivings with any of the candidates submitted to it, it was supposed to write back to the Provincial Elections Directorate through the secretary for administration. However, out of the blue, Kasukuwere texted his directive to a junior officer in the commissariat department for onward submission to Hungwe.Gumbo yesterday dismissed Kasukuwere's text message saying: "I don't subscribe to instructions given through the media. I think communication must be done through the relevant party channels. The correct procedure was to write to the Provincial Elections Directorate if there were concerns about a particular candidate. As far as I know, the Politburo never met because I represent Midlands in the Politburo as its leader."It was important to contact us as Midlands leadership and get our opinion rather than to use the media. It shows that there is some disorder in our house. I am happy that the Provincial Elections Directorate without me as its leader and for the sake of the party and unity Mbalekwa voluntarily recused himself. There is no individual winner here but the ultimate winner is Zanu-PF."However, the communication channel that was used is not correct. It's like we are fighting and that kind of communication was unfortunate. We remain resolute to win the elections under the wise leadership of President Mugabe."He said although Mbalekwa was once suspended from Zanu-PF in 2004 and contested elections on an MDC-T ticket, some of those suspended together with him were now sitting Members of Parliament while others had risen to the Politburo and Central Committee.Hungwe said Kasukuwere's directive on the Mbalekwa issue came while she was already deploying people to supervise the elections in various stations. "I was already deploying people when one of the directors in the commissariat department Gwazemba said she had received a text message from the national political commissar saying Mbalekwa should not stand. He did not talk to me and I was the only Politburo member there."I then called the provincial chairman (Mackenzie Ncube) to inform him. The chairman said you are the boss and senior member here and we then conclude that the Provincial Coordinating Committee, which is the highest decision making organ in the province had approved all the candidates so they should all contest. Mbalekwa emerged as the winner but I was told yesterday that he had decided to withdraw his candidature."Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said: "There are laid down rules that should be followed when disqualifying a candidate. You cannot make an independent decision. You go by the rules."A provincial member from Midlands who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "When we realised that the NPC was heavily involved in the process, we resolved that Mbalekwa should recuse himself because we didn't want to cause unnecessary controversy. We strongly believe that it was his (Kasukuwere's) personal decision because it was not formally communicated. When a decision is being communicated it should be communicated to an organ and not to an individual like what we saw on Monday."Kasukuwere was rejected by the party's provinces on a litany of allegations.He is awaiting his fate once the Politburo meets.This followed a report that was prepared by a probe team set by President Mugabe to investigate charges being levelled against him.Efforts to get comment from Kasukuwere were fruitless.
Theresa May will today urge world leaders to crack down on social media giants that refuse to co-operate on terror

Theresa May will today urge world leaders to crack down on social media giants that refuse to co-operate on terror.

The Prime Minister, who will say the fight against Islamic State is moving from the battlefield to the internet, is said to be infuriated by the feet-dragging of technology firms whose outlets host sick videos, provide a platform for hate preachers and allow the circulation of terror manuals.

As it was revealed that MI5 was managing a staggering 500 active terror investigations, Mrs May will tell leaders at the G7 summit in Sicily today that this weeks atrocity in Manchester should mark an end to the softly-softly approach to policing the internet.

In the wake of the attacks, it took the Daily Mail less than 30 seconds to find links to handbooks imploring extremists to murder children and target concerts, and providing instructions for building home-made bombs.

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The Prime Minister will tell world leaders at the G7 summit (above, arriving yesterday) that the fight against Islamic State is moving from the battlefield to the internet. She is said to be infuriated by the feet-dragging of technology firms whose outlets host sick videos, provide a platform for hate preachers and allow the circulation of terror manuals

As it was revealed that MI5 was managing a staggering 500 active terror investigations, Mrs May will tell leaders at the G7 summit in Sicily today that this weeks atrocity in Manchester (pictured, outside the arena) should mark an end to the softly-softly approach to policing the internet

While technology firms have already started tackling the threat posed by the spread of extremist material online, sources said Mrs May (above, talking to Donald Trump at the Nato summit) believes they must be required to do much more to counter the online threat posed by IS, also known as Daesh

Last night, a senior government source said Mrs May would tell world leaders that technology firms had a social responsibility to remove harmful content. Those that refused should be held to account.

Her call comes as Whitehall sources warn that the security services are facing an unprecedented threat and have foiled five terror plots in the past two months.

A source said MI5 was managing 500 investigations, involving 3,000 subjects of interest. On another dramatic day, it also emerged that:

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi allegedly took up arms in Libya during a teenage gap year and was injured fighting alongside jihadis;

He travelled to Libya, Turkey and Germany before the bombing and bought his bomb rucksack for 22 in a Manchester branch of Sports Direct;

Just before the atrocity, he phoned his mother to beg for forgiveness;

Abedis sister tried to defend his actions by saying he wanted revenge for Western military strikes in the Middle East;

Eight members of a suspected Middle England Libyan terror cell  including some of the bombers relatives  were being held after a series of dramatic raids;

But police fear accomplices could still be on the loose after raids in Manchester uncovered materials similar to those used on Monday;

The Queen visited some of the youngsters injured in the blast in hospital and condemned the very wicked attack;

Hospitals were told to prepare for a second terrorist atrocity over the bank holiday;

Donald Trump lectured Nato leaders on their open borders as he appeared to link mass migrant flows to the Manchester blast;

He also pledged to end the very troubling intelligence leaks about the bombing, after Britain took the unprecedented step of briefly suspending co-operation;

A major anti-terror power introduced by David Cameron to stop British jihadis coming back from Syria has not been used once;

Armed police began patrolling on trains travelling across the country for the first time;

Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi (above) allegedly took up arms in Libya during a teenage gap year and was injured fighting alongside jihadis. He travelled to Libya, Turkey and Germany before the bombing and bought his bomb rucksack for 22 in a Manchester branch of Sports Direct

Donald Trump lectured Nato leaders on their open borders as he appeared to link mass migrant flows to the Manchester blast

While technology firms have already started tackling the threat posed by the spread of extremist material online, sources said Mrs May believes they must be required to do much more to counter the online threat posed by IS, also known as Daesh.

She will demand action in four key areas  forcing firms to develop technology to automatically remove hate-filled material; requiring them to ban users who post or share extremist material and report it to the authorities; telling them they must pass on material that could prevent an attack; and demanding they toughen up feeble rules about what constitutes harmful content.

A source said: The threat we face is evolving rather than disappearing as Daesh loses ground in Iraq and Syria. The fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet.

A young woman by the floral tributes for the victims of Monday's explosion in Manchester

The political debate surrounding the attacks will be ignited today when Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will controversially accuse successive governments of putting the country at risk by sending troops to fight abroad.

A Government source said last night a co-ordinated international action was the only way to force multinational technology firms to listen.

If we have unity at the G7 level, that will send a powerful message, he added.

The availability of this material on the internet is obviously harmful. Its linked to acts of violence and the less of it there is out there, the better.
Seven months ago, Karina Silva Poirier, an aerial performer with Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba in Orlando, Florida, fell during a rehearsal.

The 30-foot drop resulted in her skull and face being fractured, and she slipped in and out of a coma three times.

But after several surgeries and months of rehabilitation, Silva Poirier is speaking out about her incredible recovery.

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Karina Silva Poirer, 39, a Cirque du Soleil aerial performer from Florida, is speaking out after falling 30 feet during a rehearsal in October 2016 (pictured in May 2014)

The drop fractured Silva Poirer's skull and face, and she slipped in and out of a coma three times (pictured in May 2017 with husband Daniel Poirer)

But after several surgeries and months of rehabilitation, doctors say she is making tremendous stories (pictured with her son, Kyle)

Silva Poirier, 39, comes from six generations of circus performers. Her husband, David Poirier, was also in La Nouba as an aerial performer. Just six months before the accident, their son, Kyle, was born.

According to 911 calls, Silva Poirier fell around 10:15pm on October 20, 2016 as she was rehearsing an aerial silk act.

She was flown to Osceola Regional Medical Center, in Kissimmee, where a trauma team worked to save her life.

A YouCaring page was set up to cover medical expenses and help support Daniel and Kyle - surpassing the $25,000 goal.

'When I saw her she was in coma like three times during the hospitalization. I did three surgeries on her, and every time she came back,' Dr Pedro Ramirez, Silva Poirier's neurosurgeon, told News 6.

Doctors say that they are amazed by her recovery.

'I have this opportunity to talk to you and to have the opportunity to hold my son, and see him grow and see my husband, and be with my family,' Silva Poirier said.

'I'm very happy to be here today,'

She said her now one-year-old son was her reason for fighting.

A YouCaring page was set up to cover medical expenses and help support Daniel and Kyle - surpassing the $25,000 goal (Silva Poirer pictured with her husband)

Silva Poirer's neurosurgeon says her strength to fly on aerial silks may never return, but she is speaking all five languages she knew before the accident and doctors expect her to walk again (pictured, training with her husband)

She said: 'I have this opportunity to...hold my son, and see him grow and see my husband, and be with my family. I'm very happy to be here today'

Dr Ramirez says Silva Poirier's strength to fly on aerial silks may never return, but that her progress is astonishing.

She is speaking all five languages she knew before the accident and doctors expect her to walk again.

An investigation carried out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found no major safety violations in the accident.

Disney Springs announced the final curtain call for La Nouba on December 21

Cirque du Soleil has had a number of serious accidents make headlines,

In November, Australian aerialist and former Olympic gymnast Lisa Skinner fractured her neck after falling during a solo performance in the show, Kooza, in Brisbane.

And this March, in Washington, an unnamed performer was injured taking part in a swing-to-swing act during the opening night of the show, Luzia.

She was flying from one swing to the other when she fell and landed on her back. Witnesses say the show was stopped and the woman was taken away on a gurney.
Bernaton Whisenant Jr., 37, was found dead on Hollywood Beach in Miami on Wednesday morning

A federal prosecutor was found dead on a Miami beach on Wednesday.

Beranton J. Whisenant Jr was discovered in the water by a passer-by on Hollywood Beach on Wednesday at 4.30am.

The 37-year-old prosecutor had suffered significant head injuries which police say are consistent with a gunshot wound.

They have not yet revealed whether his death is being treated as a murder, suicide or accident.

Whisenant was 'very well dressed' when he was found, wearing a business shirt and black pants.

Residents told NBC he had all of his personal effects on him when he was discovered.

Whisenant worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami in its major crimes unit.

In a statement, it said of him: 'The U.S. Attorney's Office family is deeply saddened by his death.

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Whisenant's body was discovered in water by a passer-by at around 4.30am. Police identified him after pulling him to shore

Authorities said the prosecutor suffered head injuries but they have not yet revealed whether they believe his death was a murder, suicide or accident

'He was a wonderful lawyer and great colleague. We will miss him deeply.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.'

NBC journalist Katie Phang said she was 'horrified' by news of his death.

'I am horrified by this news. Beranton Whisenant was a friend and colleague.

'I pray that the authorities can find out what happened,' she wrote on Facebook.
The bodies of a woman and her son have been found inside their Adelaide suburban home after a suspected murder-suicide.

Police were called to the home on Shannon Avenue in Glenelg North, Adelaide for a welfare check when they made the grim discovery at 11pm on Thursday night.

The woman - aged in her 40s - and child, nine, were both killed in what police are treating as a tragic murder-suicide incident and there is no suspicion of foul play from any third party, Adelaide Now reports.

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The woman and child were found dead inside the Glenelg property (pictured) after police were called for a welfare check

Police were seen leaving the home with evidence bags and are treating the deaths as a murder-suicide

'Police went inside the house and located a deceased woman who is aged in her 40s and a young male child who is aged approximately nine years,' Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Overmeyer said.

Officers were seen leaving the property with evidence bags and police have confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths, Nine News reports.

The street has been cordoned off and a crime scene has been set up at the Glenelg North property.

Exact details about the cause of the deaths will not be known until a report is prepared for the coroner.

Officers were seen leaving the property (pictured) with evidence bags and police have confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the death
A two-year-old girl who died in Brisbane's north on Thursday was just shy of celebrating her third birthday.

The toddler, from Northgate, suffered severe burns to her back, buttocks and legs for several days before she died  injuries her parents claim were the result of scalding hot bath water.

Queensland police confirmed on Friday they were treating the girl's death as suspicious and her parents were persons of interest in the case.

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Police were called to the Northgate home on Thursday afternoon when paramedics found significant injuries to the toddler's body

Detective Inspector Tim Trezise said the girl's parents were 'traumatised' following the death of their daughter on Thursday.

'No one is more traumatised than her parents, they're very traumatised,' Detective Inspector Trezise said.

Emergency services were called to the housing commission complex in Northgate at 4.30pm on Thursday when the two-year-old went into cardiac arrest.

Paramedics worked on the girl for 30 minutes before rushing her to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, where she later died.

Paramedics alerted the police to the girl's critical condition when they discovered her severe injuries.

Ambulance paramedics alerted police to the girl's critical condition when they discovered the injuries - police launched an immediate investigation

Detective Inspectore Trezise said the girl's medical care was a 'prominent part of the investigation'.

He said the burns were extremely severe and were 'quite possibly' the cause of her death.

'The injuries were so severe that death is a likely consequence medical attention was required,' he said.

'We haven't been able to ascertain where there was any medical treatment [given to the girl], none that we're aware of.'

Police were called to the Northgate home in Brisbane when paramedics discovered the girl's injuries

Detective Inspector Trezise said the toddler's five-year-old sister was no longer in her parents' care 'for obvious reasons'.

He said the cause of death could only be confirmed after a post mortem was done.

The parents reportedly said the girl's death was the result of 'a terrible accident'.

The girl's death sent shockwaves through the community.

Police remain on the scene on Friday to investigate circumstances surrounding the toddler's death

Neighbour Rhonda Jones has lived in the complex for a decade and would enjoy hearing the sandy-haired little girl 'chattering up the driveway' most days.

'She was just like any other child - she was always laughing and sounded happy,' Mrs Jones told Daily Mail Australia.

'The last time I saw her, well hear her, was on Wednesday she was going up to look in the letterbox.'

Mrs Jones said she was shocked when she realised the Ambulances were for the 'quiet house down the back'.

'Everything was very quiet. I was quite amazing because there was no noise. All of a sudden, all these ambulances were everywhere,' a neighbour said

Police officers are working alongside child protection officers to establish what happened to the toddler

'I first thought it was for my neighbour who has a dodgy heart - then I heard about all this.

'I feel really sad because I didn't know what was going on down there, she was always so happy looking.'

The young girl's family have lived in the seven-apartment complex for 'a year or two' according to the worried neighbour.

'They just seemed normal there was the little blonde girl and two other kids, but the young one definitely took after her mother.

'She went to daycare a few times a week and always sounded happy.

'I have never spoken to her or the family but used to wave and smile as they wandered past.'

Police arrived at the Northgate home on Thursday afternoon after paramedics found significant injuries on the young girl's body

Another neighbour told the Today Show on Friday there was no indication anything was wrong at the home until the street was inundated with emergency service workers.

'Everything was very quiet. I was quite amazed because there was no noise. All of a sudden, all these ambulances were everywhere,' she said.

'There's never any sound that comes from there, nothing that gave me any indication something was wrong yesterday.'

The neighbour said she believed three children lived at the home.

The Queensland Child Protection unit is working alongside police in the investigation.
The estranged wife of former Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks says bees are more deadly than terrorism, and a lack of 'war on bees' shows counter-terrorism is politically driven.

Aloysia Brooks, a human rights activist, made the claims in a 360-page PhD thesis for Wollongong University in New South Wales, first reported by Daily Telegraph.

'More people die in car accidents, from domestic murders and bee stings in Australia than terrorist attacks,' Dr Brooks wrote in the thesis.

David Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and was detained at the U.S. run Guantanamo Bay in Cuba until 2007

Aloysia Brooks says bees are more deadly than terrorism, and a lack of 'war on bees' shows counter-terrorism is politically driven

'However, the resources provided to prevent domestic murder, car accidents and bee stings are proportionately miniscule compared with the mammoth resources given to counter-terrorism.

'One could hardly imagine a war on bees occurring any time soon, and therefore, it can be concluded, that the counter-terrorism laws have been largely politically driven, rather than as a result of the need for legislation against new criminal acts.'

Bees and wasps have killed 27 Australians between 2000 - 2013. A further 12,351 people have been hospitalised over that same period, according to research by the Australian Venom Unit at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Brooks' 2016 thesis was titled, 'The annihilation of memory and silent suffering: inhibiting outrage at the injustice of torture in the War on Terror in Australia'.

Mr Hicks claims to have been beaten, sexually assaulted and tortured while he was detained (he is pictured in February this year)

Dr Brooks' 2016 thesis was titled, 'The annihilation of memory and silent suffering: inhibiting outrage at the injustice of torture in the War on Terror in Australia'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Brooks and the University of Wollongong.

Mr Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and was detained at the U.S. run Guantanamo Bay in Cuba until 2007.

He claimed to have been beaten, sexually abused and tortured while detained.

In 2007, he pleaded guilty to 'providing material support for terrorism' and Mr Hicks was transferred to Australia to serve his remaining sentence. He was released later that year.

In 2015, his terror conviction was quashed by a U.S. military court.
Jeremy Corbyn will make a controversial intervention in the terror debate today by claiming that Britains foreign policy has heightened the risk of attacks on home soil.

Four days after the suicide bombing that killed 22 people, the Labour leader will claim successive governments have put the country at risk by sending troops to fight Islamic State and other extremists abroad.

He will also accuse the Conservatives of trying to protect Britain on the cheap by making cuts to the police.

Jeremy Corbyn will claim Britains foreign policy has heightened the risk of attacks on home soil

Returning to the election campaign trail after a three-day truce, Mr Corbyn is likely to face claims that he is using the Manchester tragedy to boost his campaign.

In a speech in Westminster, the Labour leader will say: No government can prevent every terrorist attack  if an individual is determined enough and callous enough, sometimes they will get through.

But the responsibility of government is to minimise that chance  to ensure the police have the resources they need, that our foreign policy reduces rather than increases the threat to this country and that at home we never surrender the freedoms we have won and that terrorists are so determined to take away.

Mr Corbyn will highlight how police numbers have fallen, saying: To keep you and your family safe, our approach will involve change at home and change abroad.

At home, Labour will reverse the cuts to our emergency services and police. Once again in Manchester, they have proved to be the best of us. Austerity has to stop at the A&E ward and at the police station door. We cannot be protected and cared for on the cheap.

Mr Corbyn will also link military interventions in other countries with atrocities by jihadists in the UK

There will be more police on the streets under a Labour government. And if the security services need more resources to keep track of those who wish to murder and maim, then they should get them.

Mr Corbyn, who has signalled that he could bring home all British soldiers from abroad, will also link military interventions in other countries with atrocities by jihadists in the UK.

Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home, he will say. That assessment in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children. Those terrorists will forever be reviled and held to account for their actions.

Home Secretary denies police cuts contributed to Monday's attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd has denied that cuts in police numbers contributed to Monday's terror atrocity in Manchester. Ms Rudd was confronted on BBC1's Question Time by a member of the studio audience who said Theresa May had been warned by the Police Federation that cuts in frontline officers would undermine their ability to gather low-level intelligence about possible threats. She insisted that the majority of such intelligence came from community leaders operating within the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, rather than from police officers on the street. The audience member said: 'We are 20,000 police officers down and we get atrocities like this. Does the Government not expect this?' Ms Rudd responded: 'I don't accept that. I have asked the head of counter-terrorism whether this is about resources. It is not. 'There may a conversation to have about policing, we may have that at some stage. But now is not that conversation. We must not imply that this terrorist activity may not have taken place if there had been more policing.' The Home Secretary added: 'Good counter-terrorism is when you have close relationships between the policing and intelligence services. That is what we have. That is why the UK has a strong counter-terrorism network. 'It's also about making sure we get in early on radicalisation. But it's not about those pure numbers on the street.' Advertisement

But an informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is an essential part of an effective response that will protect the security of our people that fights rather than fuels terrorism.

We must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working.

'We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism. Labour Party candidates reacted with fury last night to Mr Corbyns planned intervention.

Theresa May will be in Sicily later for a meeting of the G7

One said: What does he want to do? Hug a terrorist?

The world is a dangerous place. The idea you can hide under the duvet and these threats go away is worse than naive.

Mr Corbyn, who is a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, threw Labours defence policy into chaos earlier this month after he refused to commit to sending British troops to defend a Nato ally.

The party leader also declined to declare that he supported the UKs liberation of the Falklands and suggested he would hold a review into the nuclear deterrent within weeks of moving into No 10. Last weekend, Mr Corbyn was accused of siding with Britains enemies after repeatedly refusing to condemn the IRA in a TV interview.

His speech today comes after political parties agreed to postpone national campaigning for three days in the wake of the bombing at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Mr Corbyn will also take part in an interview with Andrew Neil tonight on BBC1 at 7pm.

Theresa May, who attended the opening of the new Nato headquarters in Brussels yesterday, will fly to Sicily later for a meeting of the G7.

Brexit Secretary David Davis will this morning restart the Tory national campaign with a speech on the countrys exit from the EU.
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The Manchester suicide bomber was linked to a group of disaffected young men who went to fight in Libya with their fathers before switching allegiance to ISIS, it has been revealed.

Salaman Abedi is understood to have been in Libya at the same time as some of the youths, all around the same age, who later faced terrorism charges.

The bomber travelled to fight on the frontline during the 2011 Arab Spring to topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi alongside his father Ramadan Abedi, a 51-year-old airport security guard with links to Al Qaeda.

Ramadan was one of the men from the North West in Libya who called themselves the 'Manchester Fighters'.

It is thought that one of the counter terrorism raids launched yesterday was connected to the gang of Libyan extremists after police received a tip-off.

Greater Manchester police have been told that Abedi was friends with at least two members of the group, who are all linked to Manchester.

The younger generation are understood to have switched allegiance to Isis after travelling to Libya with their fathers, all members of the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group [LIFG], which helped to overthrow the Gaddafi regime. The group is banned in Britain.

There is no suggestion that the Forjani family, relatives of the bomber's mother Samia Tabba, are part of the group being linked with ISIS.

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Terror arrests: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi's family tree shows his father Ramadan and two brothers Hashem and Ismail have all been arrested. The bomber's cousin Abdalla Forjani was held on Wednesday in Moss Side, Manchester

On the frontline: Salman, pictured, was linked to a group of disaffected young men who went to fight in Libya with their fathers before switching allegiance to ISIS . He fought alongside his father Ramandan during the 2011 Arab Spring

Links to Al-Qaeda: Ramadan, pictured, 51, an airport security worker, was one of the men from the North West in Libya who called themselves the ' Manchester Fighters'. He has been arrested in Tripoli and MI6 officers are in Libya to speak to him

Held: Salman's younger brother Hashem, 20, pictured, has also been arrested in Tripoli. He has reportedly told investigators in Libya that he was 'aware of all the details' of his plans

Raids: Greater Manchester Police today confirmed that they had arrested 10 people in connection with the incident across Manchester and parts of the North West of England. A 16-year-old boy and a woman, 34, have been released without charged

One of the men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted three years ago of helping jihadist recruits to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight for the terrorists.

He had dropped out of college in Manchester and joined the western-backed uprising in Libya in 2011 at the age of 17.

The second man was charged with terrorism offences and spent time in prison on remand before the prosecution offered no evidence. His father was sanctioned by the US more than a decade ago for financing the LIFG.

The revelation provides a further insight into Abedi's path to radicalisation before he blew himself up on Monday night. Investigators are trying to discover what ties the bomber established with Isis extremists in Libya and Britain as he travelled between both countries.

A friend of Salman's father, Akram Ramadan, 49, said: 'A lot of dads went to fight Gaddafi in 2011.

'We went and fought together, we were really known, our unit fighting in the hills was called the Manchester Fighters.'

It comes as eight men arrested in connection with the Manchester bomb attack are all suspected of terror offences and are aged between 18 and 38, Greater Manchester Police said. A 16-year-old boy has been released without charge.

A barber's shop belonging to the killer's cousin, 24-year-old Abdallah Forjani, was raided in Moss Side, Manchester, as part of the ongoing investigation this morning.

He was arrested in Fallowfield on Wednesday and the barber shop, on a parade of shops on a busy main road, immediately closed.

It remains shut following the early morning raid which local businesses and neighbours did not witness. A police van remains stationed outside.

Abdallah Forjani (circled, second left) has been arrested and is the cousin of 22-year-old suicide bomber Salman Abedi (right)

Fade'Away barber shop is rented by 24-year-old Abdallah Forjani (pictured) who is a cousin of the evil 22-year-old bomber

An officer was seen leaving the Fade'Away barber shop in Moss Side with a bag full of evidence (left and right) on Friday morning

Two police officers stood guard next to a barber shop in Moss Side after being raided by anti-terror police on Friday morning

The newsagent owner, who is an occasional client, told MailOnline: 'I know he was arrested and that was the right thing for police to do following the atrocity that has sickened us all.

'But it's unfair to tar Abs with the same brush just because he's related. He is being roped in by association.

'He'll have his cousin's number in his phone and that's the cue for police to pound. He comes from a hard working family and has two younger student brothers aged about 13 and 15 who he is training as barbers.

'They often help in the shop. He has a girlfriend who is a non Muslim. Abs thinks more as an Englishman than a foreigner.'

The shop boss fears for Abs' livelihood. He said: 'I'm sure he will be released without charge but his name and reputation will be tarnished.

'His business has been closed all week and his livelihood will be ruined because of all this. 'Are police or the Government going to pay him compensation for loss of earnings?'

Police have this morning raided a property in St Helens, Merseyside, in connection with Monday's terror attack in Manchester

Officers carried out a search in St Helens after they arrested another man in Moss Side, Manchester, on Friday morning

Several items were seized from the shop, which is less than half a mile from the Forjani home in Moss Side.

Neighbour Mohammed Mubarak, 19, told MailOnline: 'I spoke with the father Adel and he told me police were still questioning his son after they raided the home.

'He said he had been arrested but later released. Everyone around here knows Abdallah as he runs the barbershop called Fade'Away.'

Forjani lives with seven other siblings, including two girls who were aged about 14. Mr Mubarak said he knew Abedi from attending the same school.

'I last saw him a few months ago. We nodded to say hello. We were not friends but we went to the same school, although he was three years ahead of me.

'You would see his brother Hashem at the house and he would tell me he was driving his aunt around.'

FULL LIST OF THE 10 PEOPLE WHO WERE ARRESTED IN BRITAIN ON SUSPICION OF TERRORISM OFFENCES Ismael Abedi, 24, bomber Salman Adebi's older brother, was arrested outside a Morrison's in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy at around 10.30am on Tuesday morning, 12 hours after the explosion at the Manchester Arena.

A further three men, aged 18, 21 and 24, were arrested in Fallowfield, Manchester, at around 2.30am on Wednesday morning.

A 33-year-old suspect was detained in Wigan on Wednesday afternoon after he allegedly approached a bus with a suspicious package. Footage showed him being being led away by officers.

Just after 9pm on Wednesday, police raided a property in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and pursued a man who attempted to flee. The 22-year-old was Tasered to the ground by officers and arrested.

A 34-year-old woman was arrested in another raid in Blackley at around 6.30pm on Wednesday, but was later released without charge.

Police arrested a 38-year-old man n Blackley on Thursday who remains in custody.

Officers later arrested a 16-year-old boy in Withington but the teenager was released with charge.

Greater Manchester Police arrested a 30-year-old man in Moss Side in the early hours of Friday morning - bringing the total number of those arrested in the UK to 10.

In Libya, Hashem and Ramadan Abedi, Salman's younger brother and father respectively, have been detained. The country's police claimed knew Hashem knew his brother was going to carry out the atrocity more than a month ago. Advertisement

Large crowds of residents were forced from their homes last night when a property in Wigan was searched by police, who ordered neighbouring streets should be evacuated

Bomb disposal officers were last night called to a terraced house in Wigan, where police said 'significant items' were discovered in the investigation into Monday's attack

A bomb disposal robot was seen in the street as residents were evacuated last night from their homes in Wigan after a home was raided by armed police

Mr Mubarak said Forjani 'wasn't religious' and was always very relaxed. He added: 'I went to the barbershop a few times and he was an okay guy.

'He wasn't religious in any way and think he had a white girlfriend. His father was more religious and wore the traditional clothing.'

When he saw Abedi he was dressed in western clothes and not traditional Muslim clothing. Police stood guard outside the Forjani home in Aston Avenue while forensic teams worked inside.

Earlier in the morning, police raided fast food outlet Lorenzo Pizza in St Helens, Merseyside, in connection with the attack which killed 22 people - including nine teenagers. Police are currently at another property in Moss Side.

Evidence from the crime scene leaked in the US apparently pointed to a remote mobile-phone detonator with built-in redundancies to enable someone else to set it off

Officers who searched Abedi's home earlier this week allegedly discovered a huge stash of explosive chemicals and other components. He had apparently been to B&Q and Screwfix to buy nuts, bolts and screws for his bomb.

The quantity of material has led to fears that he could have built more than one device and has distributed them to other British-based extremists.

Another concern is that the bomber may have been given the improvised explosive device and security officials are probing the possibility the bomb maker has fled overseas.

Before officers searched the barber shop, police made another arrest in Moss Side - bringing the total number of those detained to 10. Eight men remain in custody.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed this morning that they have all been detained 'on suspicion of offences contrary to the Terrorism Act'. One was a 16-year-old boy who was later released without charge.

Police and army officers were called to Springfield Street in Wigan, where they discovered 'potentially suspicious items' linked to Monday's terror attack

On Wednesday night a man was arrested in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Following a series of raids across Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton in Warwickshire, police said they had made 'significant' arrests and seized 'very important' items

Police are believed to have found bomb components in a flat in Granby House in Manchester, which is believed to have been rented by Abedi in the build-up to the suicide bombing. It is pictured during Wednesday's terror raid

Army bomb disposal teams arrive at a college in Hulme, South Manchester, yesterday as investigations into Monday's attack continue

Officers in Hulme, Manchester, was yesterday pictured pointing a gun at a man's head as he lay on the floor. It was later announced that a man was arrested in the same area on suspicion of cannabis possession, but the force declined to confirm whether the two incidents were linked
Federal investigators are focusing on President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

Authorities are probing meetings Kushner had with top Russian officials during the presidential transition, when Kushner became known as a top facilitator for foreign governments looking to make contacts to the new administration.

Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Kushner at that time, the Washington Post reported late Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The paper reported last week that a senior White House advisor close to the president was a focus of the probe, but declined to identify Kushner.

Federal investigators are focusing on President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election. He is seen getting off Air Force One in Rome with wife Ivanka in Rome on Tuesday

In looking at Kushner, investigators are now looking at someone who Trump has made indispensable to his White House, entrusting him with tasks ranging from Middle East Peace to Saudi arms deals and China relations.

A fellow real estate developer like Trump, Kushner is also married to Ivanka Trump, herself a White House advisor.

Kushner was revealed to have met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December.

He also met with the head of a top Russian bank, reportedly at Kislyak's urging, after discussing ways to set up a channel of communications to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

NBC reported that investigators believe Kushner has 'significant information' that would be relevant, which doesn't mean they suspect him with wrongdoing.

One of Kushner's attorneys, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement her client would cooperate with the investigation.

'Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry,' she said.

Authorities are probing meetings Kushner had with top Russian officials during the presidential transition, when Kushner became known as a top facilitator for foreign governments looking to make contacts to the new administration. He is seen taking party in a bilateral meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Wednesday

Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Kushner at that time, according to reports that surfaced late on Thursday

In looking at Kushner, investigators are now looking at someone who Trump has made indispensable to his White House, entrusting him with tasks ranging from Middle East Peace to Saudi arms deals and China relations

Trump last week at a press conference denied any collusion with the Russians, but also said he was speaking 'for myself.'

'There is no collusion between, certainly myself and my campaign  but I can always speak for myself  and the Russians  zero,' Trump said.

Previous reports have indicated a focus on campaign officials and Trump associates who are no longer there.

Investigators also focusing on fired national security aide Mike Flynn and former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort.

The probe is being led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller. President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. The president has cited Comey's poor performance and his handling of the Clinton email investigation, but he also said the FBI's Russia probe was on his mind when he made the decision.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement in response to the Post's story last week about the focus on a senior White House official: 'As the President has stated before  a thorough investigation will confirm that there was no collusion between the campaign and any foreign entity.'

Following his meeting with Kislyak during the transition, Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, president of Russia's largest state-owned commercial bank, CNN reported in March.

The bank has been under U.S. sanctions for three years. Gorkov got promoted to his post as chairman of VneshEconomBank, or VEB, by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gorkov graduated from the Russian academy of Federal Security Service, which trains people to serve in the FSB, Russia's security service.

The bank said in a statement to CNN that the company met with Kushner in his business role, not in his role as a Trump advisor.

'During 2016 the bank's management repeatedly met with representatives of the world's leading financial institutions in Europe, Asia and America ... including the head of Kushner Companies, Jared Kushner,' the bank said.

President Donald Trump (L) of the United States and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House. Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Paul Manafort, advisor to Donald Trump, is seen on the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 19, 2016

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters in Moscow in March that the Kremlin was not aware of the meeting between Kushner and Sergey Gorkov, head of Russia's Vnesheconombank at the time and that it was routine.

The bank said in a statement the conversation was about the practices of 'foreign development banks and promising trends.'

VBN held meetings on the topic on three continents with the heads of financial institutions and large businesses, the statement said. Gorkov met with Kushner because he was in charge of a major real estate company, the bank claimed.

Kushner joins a handful of other top Trump figures under scrutiny for their Russia ties.

Flynn made a 2015 to Moscow where he got paid $45,000 by RT, plus hotel and other costs, and got seated next to Putin at a banquet.

Investigators remain interested in former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, whose ties to a pro-Moscow Ukrainian political party drew scrutiny even while he was helping helm Trump's campaign.

Senate Intelligence Committee investigators are seeking documents from longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone.

Former campaign foreign policy advisor Carter Page has said he will testify before a House Intelligence panel.

It was reported in April that the FBI got a federal court order to monitor Page's communications as part of its investigation.

In April, it was disclosed that the FBI had obtained a federal court order last summer to monitor Page's communications as part of its investigation into possible collusion between the campaign and Russia.

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told the paper: 'I can't confirm or deny the existence or nonexistence of investigations or subjects of investigations.'

Flynn was also present during Kushner's meeting with Kislyak. Flynn ultimately got fired for failing to disclose the contents of his conversations to Vice President Mike Pence. It was reported that Flynn spoke to Kislyak about U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia.
Lord Blair said internment for potential Islamic jihadists could fuel anger and grievance among the countrys Muslims

Sweeping up large numbers of terror suspects and putting them under house arrest or in prison would worsen the threat to Britain, an ex-Scotland Yard chief has warned.

Lord Blair said internment for potential Islamic jihadists could lead to hunger strikes, fuelling anger and grievance among the countrys Muslims.

In the wake of the Manchester attack, there have been calls to imprison hundreds of British-based extremists without charge to end the risk of them wreaking carnage.

Champions of this policy claim that taking dangerous individuals off the streets would ensure they could not murder and maim innocent citizens.

But the peer, who as Ian Blair was Britains most senior police officer at the time of the July 7 bombings in London in 2005, insisted it would be counter-productive.

The policy of internment in Northern Ireland lasted from August 1971 until December 1975.

During that time 1,981 people were locked up, the vast majority of them young Roman Catholic men. The tough action was taken on the grounds that the terror threat justified it. But the legislation allowing it undermined civil liberties, causing uproar and making things worse by sparking a violent backlash.

Lord Blair was questioned on Radio 4s Today programme about the prospect of new measures after Mondays atrocity.

He said: We must not move to a situation where we are just sweeping up people.

I mean, it reminds one of the events in Northern Ireland which led to the hunger strikes where you started to sweep up whole sets of a community, you angered that community enormously.

'The internment was not effective. The absolute thing we need now is the co-operation of the communities of Britain, particularly, Im afraid its clear, the Muslim community.

Lord Blair (pictured in 2008) an Blair was Britains most senior police officer at the time of the July 7 bombings in London in 2005

All of that is really, really important and to do anything completely counter-productive like house arrest and so on I would absolutely be against.

In the months after the Paris terror attacks in November 2015, almost 400 suspects were put under house arrest.

But critics said communities felt victimised and ended co-operation with the police and security services, while French jails had become a jihadist breeding ground.
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by Staff reporter

Leader of Zanu-PF women's wing and First Lady Grace Mugabe, could be elevated to the cabinet of her husband, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, in order to give her some political strength.According to News24 , the Institute for Security Studies consultant Derek Matyszak told a seminar in Pretoria on Tuesday that Grace was concerned about her future after her husband is no longer president."She once expressed the fear that when Mugabe dies she might be dragged along the tarmac behind a truck, so there are these fears and dynamics behind the scenes," he said.In the past few months, there have been rumours that a member of Zanu-PF's so-called G40 faction, which has fallen out of favour with Mugabe, could be removed from Parliament to make place for her to step in via a by-election.Ministers can only be appointed from amongst MPs.The idea would be "to improve her political capital so that she has some kind of political strength", Matyszak said.Political weightThis could have been part of a speculated deal struck between the Mugabes and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in October last year to protect Grace.Her future, however, remained problematic. "Even if a deal with Mnangagwa was struck, what guarantee does she have that he will adhere to such an arrangement?," Matyszak asked.He said most people thought she derived her political capital entirely from her marriage to the president, but her getting a doctorate three years ago and becoming women's league president have given her political weight in her own right.Grace's political ambitions emerged around Zanu-PF's 2014 conference, when some of the temporary roads around the conference venue were named after her.She also helped with the purging of then vice president Joice Mujuru from the party by holding various rallies in which she attacked Mujuru, who was later expelled from the party.Matyszak said it was difficult to tell who was actually running the government in Zimbabwe, and to what extent Mugabe still exercised power."Mugabe appears so frail that it doesn't' look like he can juggle between intriate manoevers needed to keep things in keel," Matyszak said.Many of the decisions seem to be made by the Office of the President and Cabinet, which is run by a relation of Mnangagwa, he said."They claim to be passing on Mugabe's instructions, but actually they are passing on their own instructions."
Britain's overstretched security services are managing a staggering 500 active terror investigations, senior Whitehall sources said yesterday.

They have foiled five plots in the past two months alone and are investigating around 3,000 subjects of interest  or possible terrorists.

Defending accusations that MI5 had missed repeated warnings about Salman Abedi, a source emphasised the scale of the job facing counter- terrorism officials.

The source revealed the bomber, 22, was among a larger pool of former subjects of interest on MI5s radar and the risk he posed was subject to review.

Defending accusations that MI5 had missed repeated warnings about Salman Abedi (pictured), a source emphasised the scale of the job facing counter- terrorism officials

Deciding whether to monitor a person around the clock relies on difficult professional judgments based on partial information, the source stressed.

Officials said 18 plots had been thwarted since 2013. Five had been disrupted since the Westminster attack on March 22, compared with 13 in the three years before.

As the security services faced questions about how the Manchester bomber was able to slip through the net, a Whitehall source pointed to the unprecedented scale of threat.

Britains security services are considered among the worlds best but are struggling to monitor the flood of potential terrorists returning from Syria and Iraq.

A senior Whitehall source said: MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest at any one time.Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider re-opening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgments based on partial information.

Earlier in the week Home Secretary Amber Rudd admitted that Abedi was known to the security services.

More than 3,000 jihadists are thought to be in the UK, stretching the security services to breaking point

Counter-terrorism agencies were facing questions after it emerged he was repeatedly flagged to the authorities over his extremist views but was not stopped.

It is understood he told friends that being a suicide bomber was OK, prompting them to call the Governments anti-terrorism hotline. There were suggestions the authorities were told of the danger posed by Abedi on at least five occasions in the five years prior to the attack.

More than 3,000 jihadists are thought to be in the UK, stretching the security services to breaking point. Up to 30 officers are required to provide 24-hour monitoring of just one suspect.

Restricted resources mean MI5 can watch around 50 suspected terrorists around the clock.

Spies and counter-terror police are struggling to monitor the flood of suspects, mainly radicalised men and women in their teens and early 20s. About 850 Britons are thought to have gone abroad to fight with so-called Islamic State as it took control of large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

But with the terror group being pushed out, extremists with British passports are fleeing back to the UK where authorities fear they may unleash a new wave of attacks.

Although more than 100 have been killed, around half have returned home with battle experience and training in the use of explosives and firearms.

The RAF is targeting UK jihadists in Syria and Iraq to stop them coming back to the UK and plotting attacks against Britain from the war-ravaged nations.

In October 2015, MI5 director-general Andrew Parker said the threat from jihadists was on a scale he had never seen in his 32-year career.
Tenants are able to live rent-free for up to almost year if they're in dispute with their landlord about moving out, experts have warned.

Strict laws about evicting a tenant means it can take weeks, if not months, for a landlord to repossess a property.

Arla Propertymark, the industry body for the lettings agency, described the eviction process as 'a chaotic mess' and is calling for new housing courts to be established to help speed it up.

Arla Propertymark, the industry body for the lettings agency, is calling for new housing courts to be established to speed up the eviction process

If a landlord decides to evict a tenant and the tenant disagrees, a landlord must begin a process that includes issuing notices requesting possession of the property to going to court to obtain an order for possession.

But often, the process is delayed due to the backlog of cases going through the county courts.

It means that the whole process combined can take months - and many tenants do not pay rent during this time even though they are legally required to do so.

This is because the law states that a tenant can legally stay in a property during the repossession process - even if they are not paying the rent - until they are forcibly evicted by bailiffs.

CURRENT PROCEDURES FOR EVICTING A TENANT FROM A PROPERTY Section 21 'no fault' procedure Time frame Rent arrears procedure Step 1. Issue notice requesting possession of property - giving at least two months' notice Two months Step 1. Issue notice requesting possession of property and rent arrears - giving at least two months notice Step 2. Using possession claim online, issue possession proceeding under Section 21 of Housing Act 1988 Two weeks Step 2. Using possession claim online, issue possession proceeding under Section 8 Of Housing Act 1988 Step 3. If the tenant defends the eviction you will go to a court hearing, otherwise await Possession Order from the court No fault: Usually around six weeks to two months (without a hearing) or up to six months (with a hearing)

Rent arrears: Anytime from six weeks to six months Step 3. To obtain possession through this route, a court hearing is required. However, the tenant must remain at least two months in rent arrears during the whole process. If the tenant pays (at the door of the court) which reduces them to just 1 under two months' rent arrears, the case will fail and the process must start again. As long as the tenant remains in two months of rent arrears, the court must issue a Possession Order. Step 4. Issue Possession Order to tenant, giving them 14 days to leave the property Two weeks Step 4. Issue Possession Order to tenant, giving them 14 days to leave the property Step 5. If tenant refuses to leave, return to court for a Warrant of Possession Two weeks Step 5. If tenant refuses to leave, return to court for a Warrant of Possession Step 6. Once Warrant of Possession is obtained, instruct bailiff to enforce eviction Anytime from one week to one year Step 6. Once Warrant of Possession is obtained, instruct bailiff to enforce eviction. If the rent arrears are above 650 you can ask the County Court Judge to send the case to the High Court so that a High Court Enforcement Officer (High Court Sherriff) can enforce eviction for quickly - but this incurs additional costs in terms of both a court fees and High Court Sherriff costs. S tep 7. Await Bailiff to enforce eviction Bailiff: Anytime from two week to six months

High Court Sherriff: Usually just over one week Step 7. Await Bailiff or High Court Sherriff to enforce eviction. Source: Arla Propertymark

Arla Propertymark is calling for all landlord and tenant claims to be taken out of the county court and put into a specialist housing tribunal. It means specialist housing judges would deal with the cases.

A similar process already exists in Scotland, although that system has come under fire due to rental caps.

One option for landlords is to make tenants leave of their own accord by increasing the rents to a level that they cannot afford and the Scottish system will stop them from doing this in some parts of the country when it comes into force next year.

Arla Propertymark is also calling for the pressure on bailiffs to be reduced by allowing the automatic use of High Court Enforcement Officers for all possession claims.

Under the current system, it can take more than six months for a bailiff to enforce an order for possession.

David Cox, chief executive of Arla Propertymark, said: 'These sensible changes will vastly improve the process and encourage more landlords to offer longer-term tenancies.

'Unless these changes happen, the chaotic mess of the eviction process will only continue to get worse.'

However, there is a small glimmer of hope for those landlords who have protected the tenant's deposit in a Government-authorised scheme.

Mr Cox explained: 'When using the accelerated possession (fast-track) procedure, you don't need a court hearing.

HOW TO START A FAST-TRACK CLAIM A landlord can begin a fast-track procedure to regain possession of their property by visiting the Possession Claim Online service. Advertisement

Everything is completed using paperwork and is only available when the landlord isn't claiming rent arrears, and they just want repossession of the property. This is now the route most landlords go down when they are trying to regain possession of their property. It's only necessary to go down the standard route if a tenant is defending the claim.'

However, he added: 'In order to begin the process of regaining possession of their property, the landlord must have protected the tenant's deposit in a Government-authorised scheme and served the following documents on the tenant: Deposit Protection Certificate, Prescribed Information, Government's How to Rent Guide, Gas Safety Certificate and any landlord license from the local authority (if necessary). If a landlord does not comply with these rules, they will be unable to 'no-fault' route to regain possession of their property.'

The so-called 'prescribed information' is the information of how to go about claiming back a deposit. This includes a booklet provided by the tenancy deposit schemes, which explains the rights and responsibilities over deposits, and how to go about claiming them back. Each scheme has a different booklet that is required to be served to the tenant under the Housing Act 2004. Here is the prescribed information for the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme).
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Nasa's Juno has made its first close pass to Jupiter, revealing secrets about its atmosphere and interior that challenge previous assumptions about the giant gas planet.

The Juno mission, which launched in 2011 and began its first orbit last year, allows scientists to view Jupiter in new ways thanks to the probe's highly elliptical orbit, which passes over the planet's poles and dives within 5,000km (3,100 miles) of its cloud tops.

Now the Nasa probe has captured new images of the gas giant's chaotic cyclones, which are up to 1,400km (870 miles) across, roughly the length of Japan.

This image shows Jupiter's south pole, as seen by NASA's Juno spacecraft from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometers). The oval features are cyclones, up to 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) in diameter. Multiple images taken with the JunoCam instrument on three separate orbits were combined to show all areas in daylight, enhanced color, and stereographic projection.

JUPITER'S CYCLONES Turning counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere just like on Earth, the cyclones are clearly clustered near the poles. The diameters of some of these cyclones stretch 870 miles (1,400 kilometers). Even bigger, though shapeless weather systems are present in both polar regions. At the same time, the two poles don't really resemble each other, which is puzzling experts. Jupiter's poles appear dramatically different from neighboring Saturn's, according to the scientists, with nothing like the hexagon-shaped cloud system over Saturn's north pole. Advertisement

A NASA statement described the planet as 'a complex, gigantic, turbulent world' that is far different than scientists previously thought.

Two papers in the journal Science and 44 papers in Geophysical Research Letters describe a trove of discoveries made since Juno began orbiting Jupiter last year.

'We knew, going in, that Jupiter would throw us some curves,' said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

'There is so much going on here that we didn't expect that we have had to take a step back and begin to rethink of this as a whole new Jupiter.

Juno's findings are 'really going to force us to rethink not only how Jupiter works, but how do we explore Saturn, Uranus and Neptune,' Bolton added.

With dozens of cyclones hundreds of miles across - alongside unidentifiable weather systems stretching thousands of miles - the poles look nothing like Jupiter's equatorial region, instantly recognizable by its stripes and Great Red Spot, a raging hurricane-like storm.

'That's the Jupiter we've all known and grown to love,' Bolton said.

'And when you look from the pole, it looks totally different ... I don't think anybody would have guessed this is Jupiter.'

He calls these first major findings 'Earth-shattering. Or should I say, Jupiter-shattering.'

This sequence of enhanced-color images shows how quickly the viewing geometry changes for NASA?s Juno spacecraft as it swoops by Jupiter. The images were obtained by JunoCam. Once every 53 days the Juno spacecraft swings close to Jupiter, speeding over its clouds.

A look at Jupiter's poles has shown they are covered with dozens of densely clustered storms, possibly dropping hail or snow.

'Images of Jupiter's previously-unseen poles show a chaotic scene of bright oval features,' said one of the studies in the journal Science.

These ovals, it turns out, are huge swirling storms, some of which measure up to 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) across.

Researchers found 'signs of ammonia welling up from the deep atmosphere and forming giant weather systems.'

Now, more study is needed to better understand the nature of Jupiter's storms, and why the planet acts this way.

A cylindrical map of the infrared emission from Jupiter as detected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), an instrument on the Juno spacecraft

Juno has also revealed data regarding Jupiter's swirling magnetic fields, which are up to ten times stronger than the magnetic forces acting on Earth.

This will help understand the structure of the planet's atmosphere and whether it has a solid core, as models have predicted.

Analysis of the gas giant's magnetic field reveals that close to the planet, the field greatly exceeded expectations - it is substantially stronger than models predicted, at 7.766 Gauss, or roughly ten times Earth's magnetic field.

'Juno is giving us a view of the magnetic field close to Jupiter that we've never had before,' said Jack Connerney, Juno deputy principal investigator and the lead for the mission's magnetic field investigation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

'Already we see that the magnetic field looks lumpy: it is stronger in some places and weaker in others.

'This uneven distribution suggests that the field might be generated by dynamo action closer to the surface, above the layer of metallic hydrogen.

'Every flyby we execute gets us closer to determining where and how Jupiter's dynamo works.'

NASA's enhanced-color image of a mysterious dark spot on Jupiter shows a Jovian 'galaxy' of swirling storms in this image captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft on February 2, 2017, at 5:13 a.m. PDT (8:13 a.m. EDT), at an altitude of 9,000 miles (14,500 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloud tops.

The complexity and richness of Jupiter's 'southern lights' are on display in this image of false-color maps from Nasa's Juno spacecraft

Juno also is designed to study the polar magnetosphere and the origin of Jupiter's powerful aurorasits northern and southern lights.

These auroral emissions are caused by particles that pick up energy, slamming into atmospheric molecules.

Juno's initial observations indicate that the process seems to work differently at Jupiter than at Earth.

Juno is in a polar orbit around Jupiter, and the majority of each orbit is spent well away from the gas giant.

But, once every 53 days, its trajectory approaches Jupiter from above its north pole, where it begins a two-hour transit (from pole to pole) flying north to south with its eight science instruments collecting data and its JunoCam public outreach camera snapping pictures.

The download of six megabytes of data collected during the transit can take 1.5 days.

'Every 53 days, we go screaming by Jupiter, get doused by a fire hose of Jovian science, and there is always something new,' said Bolton.

'On our next flyby on July 11, we will fly directly over one of the most iconic features in the entire solar system -- one that every school kid knows - Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

'If anybody is going to get to the bottom of what is going on below those mammoth swirling crimson cloud tops, it's Juno and her cloud-piercing science instruments.'

In one study, researchers analysed results from Juno's flight just above the cloud tops.

JunoCam colour composite images of the north and south polar regions of Jupiter obtained on August 27 2016. The north polar image was taken at 11:59 UT when the spacecraft was 73,009km (45,365 miles) from Jupiter's cloud deck; the south polar image was taken at 13:56 UT when the spacecraft was 95,096km (59,090 miles) from the cloud deck

Images of Jupiter's previously-unseen poles show a chaotic scene of bright oval features, very different from Saturn's polar regions.

A time-lapse of Juno images reveals that the ovals are cyclones, some of which reach diameters up to 1,400km (870 miles) across.

Juno measured the thermal structure of Jupiter's deep atmosphere as it passed over the cloud tops.

These data show unexpected structures, which the authors interpret as signs of ammonia welling up from the deep atmosphere and forming giant weather systems.

In a second study, researchers studied Jupiter's auroras and its magnetosphere, the region where the planet's magnetic field dominates over the solar wind.

NASA'S JUNO MISSION Nasa's Juno spacecraft (pictured, a graphic representation) reached Jupiter last year after a five-year, 1.8 billion-mile journey from Earth The Juno probe reached Jupiter last year after a five-year, 1.8 billion-mile journey from Earth. Following a successful braking manoeuvre, it has now entered into a long polar orbit flying to within 3,100 miles (5,000 km) of the planet's swirling cloud tops. The probe will skim to within just 4,200 km of the planet's clouds once a fortnight - too close to provide global coverage in a single image. No previous spacecraft has orbited so close to Jupiter, although two others have been sent plunging to their destruction through its atmosphere. To complete its risky mission Juno will have to survive a circuit-frying radiation storm generated by Jupiter's powerful magnetic field. The maelstrom of high energy particles travelling at nearly the speed of light is the harshest radiation environment in the Solar System. To cope with the conditions, the spacecraft is protected with special radiation-hardened wiring and sensor shielding. Its all-important 'brain' - the spacecraft's flight computer - is housed in an armoured vault made of titanium and weighing almost 400 pounds (172kg). Juno is in a harsh radiation environment, so its delicate electronics are housed in a special titanium vault. Eventually, Juno will succumb to the intense radiation and will be commanded to plunge into Jupiter's atmosphere to avoid any collision with the planet's moons. Pictured is a 1/5 scale model size of the solar-powered Juno spacecraft Advertisement

Juno encountered the giant planet's bow shock, essentially a stationary shockwave, as it entered the magnetosphere on 24 June 2016.

Since the spacecraft only encountered one bow shock as it approached the planet, compared to multiple encounters on subsequent orbits, this suggests that the magnetosphere was expanding in size at the time, according to researchers.

Taking advantage of its unique perspective when positioned above the poles, Juno detected downward-travelling electron beams that shower energy into Jupiter's upper atmosphere, potentially powering the huge auroras that Juno saw in ultraviolet and infrared images.

Intriguingly these electron showers appear to have a different distribution from those that occur on Earth, suggesting a radically different conceptual model of Jupiter's interaction with its space environment, researchers said.

'The results from Juno's initial close passes of Jupiter are changing our understanding of this gas giant,' researchers from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, said in a scientific paper.

JUPITER'S GIANT AURORA The huge aurora on Jupiter (pictured) are thought to be caused by solar particles and volcanic debris in the space around the giant planet being accelerated towards the poles by its powerful magnetic field Jupiter's auroras were first discovered by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1979. A thin ring of light on Jupiter's nightside looked like a stretched-out version of our own auroras on Earth. But later, astronomers discovered the auroras were best visible in the ultraviolet. Scientists also discovered the planet has X-ray aurora too. Jupiter's aurora are larger than our entire planet and unlike those on Earth, occur almost continuously. This suggests that the mechanism causing this light show is different from that on Earth. While Earth's Northern and Southern lights are triggered by energetic particles from the sun slamming into gas atoms high in the atmosphere, Jupiter appears to have another source. Scientists believe its powerful magnetic field accellerates charged particles from the space around it towards its poles, to cause similar interactions. The volcanic moon Io spews oxygen and sulfur ions into Jupiter's spinning magnetic field, which sends them hurtling towards the planet below. Upon entering the atmosphere, their electrons are first stripped away by molecules they run into, but as they slow down they start grabbing electrons back. The 'charge exchange reaction' produces intense X-ray auroras. Yet scientists have been baffled as to how Jupiter's magnetic field accelerates these particles. Advertisement

'Juno's direct glimpse of Jupiter's poles shows numerous cyclonic storms clustered together and a storm illuminated in Jupiter's nightside that provided a measurement of its vertical extent.

'The deep microwave sounding of Jupiter by Juno demonstrates the power of this technique for unveiling spatial and temporal structure in the ammonia abundance.

'The initial measurement of Jupiter's gravity will inform interior models with implications for the extent, existence, and mass of Jupiter's core.'

The research was published in the journal Science.

The solar-powered Juno spacecraft launched in 2011, and made its first tour around Jupiter on August 27, 2016.

Juno moves in an elliptical orbit, skimming within 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) of Jupiter's cloud tops and passing over the poles.

Juno's mission is scheduled to end in February 2018, when the probe will self-destruct by diving into the planet's atmosphere.

The $1.1 billion project aims to peer beneath the clouds around Jupiter for the first time to learn more about the planet's atmosphere and how much water the planet contains.
The mysterious X-37b spaceplane has captured the imagination of many, with some suggesting it is a spy plane and others who think it could be a space bomber.

But now its big brother is one step closer to being built.

The project, known as XS-1, is expected to debut in 2020, and military bosses claim it will 'bolster national security by providing short-notice, low-cost access to space.'

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About the size of a business jet, it will take off like a rocket, boost itself beyond the atmosphere and release an expendable second-stage rocket and satellite, then and land like an airplane on a runway.

Boeing declined to say how much it will put into development of the vehicle, which it calls Phantom Express, with DARPA, which is an agency under the U.S. Department of Defense.

About the size of a business jet, Phantom Express will take off like a rocket, boost itself beyond the atmosphere and release an expendable second-stage rocket and satellite, then turn around and land like an airplane on a runway.

The DARPA-Boeing venture joins a race to design a generation of reusable launch vehicles designed to cut the cost of putting payloads into space.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Blue Origin, a venture backed by Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, are working on reusable launch vehicles.

'The reusable first stage ... would be prepared for the next flight, potentially within hours,' DARPA spokesman Jared Adams wrote in an email.

The goal of the XS-1 program is to fly 10 flights within 10 days.

Boeing said it is still evaluating launch sites, but DARPAs Adams said Phantom Express would fly from Cape Canaveral, where two other Boeing space programs are based.

The company took over one of the hangars used by NASAs now-retired space shuttles for a commercial space taxi that will ferry astronauts and potentially paying passengers to and from the International Space Station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

The first flight of Boeings CST-100 Starliner is scheduled for next year.

HOW THE PHANTOM EXPRESS WILL MAKE SPACE AFFORDABLE The XS-1 program envisions a fully reusable unmanned vehicle, roughly the size of a business jet, which would take off vertically like a rocket and fly to hypersonic speeds. The vehicle would be launched with no external boosters, powered solely by self-contained cryogenic propellants. Once it reaches the correct altitude, the booster would release an expendable upper stage able to deploy a 3,000-pound satellite to polar orbit Upon reaching a high suborbital altitude, the booster would release an expendable upper stage able to deploy a 3,000-pound satellite to polar orbit. The reusable first stage would then bank and return to Earth, landing horizontally like an aircraft, and be prepared for the next flight, potentially within hours. Advertisement

Two other former shuttle hangers house a pair of Boeing-built robotic spaceplanes developed and operated under the Air Forces X-37B program.

The vehicles, which resemble miniature space shuttles, have made four flights so far, the last of which ended on May 8 after a secretive two-year mission.

Unlike the X-37B which is launched aboard an expendable rocket, Phantom Express will get itself into space.

The vehicle will be powered by a liquid-fueled Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-22 engine, which is based on the now-retired space shuttle main engine.

An upper-stage motor for Phantom Express has not yet been announced.

The spaceplane is designed to loft satellites weighing up to 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) into low-altitude orbits around Earth.

The project has the with the goal of lowering launch costs by a factor of ten

The reusable first stage would then bank and return to Earth, landing horizontally like an aircraft, and be prepared for the next flight, potentially within hours.

'The program aims to achieve a capability well out of reach todaylaunches to low Earth orbit in days, as compared to the months or years of preparation currently needed to get a single satellite on orbit,' DARPA says.

It claims the plane would 'revolutionize the Nation's ability to recover from a catastrophic loss of military or commercial satellites, upon which the Nation today is critically dependent.'

'The XS-1 would be neither a traditional airplane nor a conventional launch vehicle but rather a combination of the two, with the goal of lowering launch costs by a factor of ten and replacing today's frustratingly long wait time with launch on demand,' said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager.

'We're very pleased with Boeing's progress on the XS-1 through Phase 1 of the program and look forward to continuing our close collaboration in this newly funded progression to Phases 2 and 3fabrication and flight.'

In its pursuit of aircraft-like operability, reliability, and cost-efficiency, DARPA and Boeing are planning to conduct a flight test demonstration of XS-1 technology, flying 10 times in 10 days, with an additional final flight carrying the upper-stage payload delivery system.

THE X-37B SECRET SPACEPLANE The reusable X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle's (OTV-4) return earlier this month concluded an almost two-year mission in orbit, according to the US Air Force. The Air Force tweeted shortly after 8am that the vehicle had landed safely, marking the conclusion of its fourth classified mission, which lasted more than 700 days. The unmanned X-37B, which resembles a mini space shuttle, landing on a runway used by the now-mothballed craft. The Boeing-built space plane blasted off in May 2015 from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard an Atlas 5 rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. Like a shuttle, X-37B (picutred) is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite The X-37B, one of two in the Air Force fleet, conducted unspecified experiments for more than 700 days while in orbit. It was the fourth and lengthiest mission so far for the secretive program, managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The Air Force said the orbiters 'perform risk reduction, experimentation and concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.' However, the exact nature of the mission and its cost is classified. Advertisement

If successful, the program could help enable a commercial service in the future that could operate with recurring costs of as little as $5 million or less per launch, including the cost of an expendable upper stage, assuming a recurring flight rate of at least ten flights per yeara small fraction of the cost of launch systems the U.S. military currently uses for similarly sized payloads.

XS-1 Phase 2 includes design, construction, and testing of the technology demonstration vehicle through 2019. It calls for initially firing the vehicle's engine on the ground 10 times in 10 days to demonstrate propulsion readiness for flight tests.

Phase 3 objectives include 12 to 15 flight tests, currently scheduled for 2020.

After multiple shakedown flights to reduce risk, the XS-1 would aim to fly 10 times over 10 consecutive days, at first without payloads and at speeds as fast as Mach 5.

Subsequent flights are planned to fly as fast as Mach 10, and deliver a demonstration payload between 900 pounds and 3,000 pounds into low Earth orbit.

DARPA intends to release selected data from its tests and will provide to all interested commercial entities the relevant specs for potential payloads.

'We're delighted to see this truly futuristic capability coming closer to reality,' said Brad Tousley, director of DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO), which oversees XS-1.

'Demonstration of aircraft-like, on-demand, and routine access to space is important for meeting critical Defense Department needs and could help open the door to a range of next-generation commercial opportunities.'

Darpa launched the XS-1 program in 2014.

Over the past two years, Darpa has funded Phase 1 studies by three companies: Boeing, partnered with Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, partnered with XCOR Aerospace and Northrop Grumman, partnered with Virgin Galactic.

The US Air Force's top secret X-37B space plane was caught on camera by a team of amateur astronomers last year. South African astronomer Greg Roberts captured this of the space plane in two-secondlong exposures just a few weeks after launch

The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite.

According to X-37B manufacturer Boeing, the space plane operates in low-earth orbit, between 110 (177km) and 500 miles (800km) above earth.
The rate of serious injuries at a Tesla factory is double the industry average, a worker advocacy group has claimed in a report calling for better workplace protections.

Total injuries at the plant are a third higher than the industry average, the report said.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), the industry's largest union in the United States, commissioned the report.

A study by Worksafe has used Tesla's own internal data to show injury rates at the company's plant in Fremont, California are well above average. CEO Elon Musk (pictured) acknowledged that employees at his company have been 'having a hard time' (stock image)

THE STUDY California non-profit group Worksafe used Tesla's internal data to show injury rates at the company's plant in Fremont. It used data from 2015, the last year for which industry-wide comparative figures are available. The rate of serious injuries, those involving job transfers or missed days, was 7.9 per 100 workers, compared to the industry average of 3.9. The data, which compared injury rates among auto assembly workers, not suppliers, also found a total incidence rate of 8.8 injuries per 100 workers, compared to 6.7 for the industry as a whole. Tesla responded to the report by saying its accident rate in the first quarter of 2017 was 32 per cent better than the industry average, due in part to adding a third shift at the plant. Advertisement

The study by Worksafe, a nonprofit group, used Tesla's own internal data to show injury rates at the company's plant in Fremont, California.

It used data from 2015, the last year for which industry-wide comparative figures are available.

The rate of serious injuries, those involving job transfers or missed days, was 7.9 per 100 workers, compared to the industry average of 3.9.

The data, which compared injury rates among auto assembly workers, not suppliers, also found a total incidence rate of 8.8 injuries per 100 workers, compared to 6.7 for the industry as a whole.

Tesla responded to the report by saying its accident rate in the first quarter of 2017 was 32 per cent better than the industry average, due in part to adding a third shift at the plant.

A spokesman for the firm said in a statement: 'We may have had some challenges in the past as we were learning how to become a car company.

'But what matters is the future and with the changes weve made, we now have the lowest injury rate in the industry by far,' said Tesla in a statement.

The UAW has an intense effort underway to organise workers at the Tesla plant, as the company is the only US-based car manufacturer without union representation.

Employees backing the union have filed numerous charges with the National Labor Relations Board in Oakland, claiming harassment for pro-union activities.

Tesla has denied those allegations.

Frank Hammer, a former UAW staff member and veteran auto plant organizer, said Tesla is in the midst of steadily rising production as it builds more vehicles and prepares for the production of its $35,000 (27,000) Model 3.

'I'm sure everyone in California wants to see Tesla succeed,' he said.

The rate of serious injuries was 7.9 per 100 workers, compared to the industry average of 3.9. Tesla responded to the report by saying its accident rate at the factory (pictured) in the first quarter of 2017 was 32 per cent better than the industry average (stock image)

'But when you raise production, that translates into more pressure for workers on the shop floor.'

Employees have previously reported that ambulances have been called to the site more than 100 times since 2014 and workers, who said they've worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week, have experienced fainting spells, dizziness, seizures, abnormal breathing and chest pains.

In 2013 three employees were severely burned while working at the factory, after they were sprayed by molten aluminium.

In 2013 three employees were severely burned while working at the factory (pictured), after they were sprayed by molten aluminium. The company was fined $71,000 after a state investigation revealed that Tesla had failed to maintain its equipment (stock image)

The company was fined $71,000 (55,000) after a state investigation revealed that Tesla had failed to maintain its equipment

Tesla recently announced it would begin recruiting engineers in Mexico because it couldn't find enough qualified applicants to staff the Fremont plant.

Meanwhile, the company is under significant financial duress, as losses rose by 40 percent during the first quarter.

However, Musk said that sales and revenues had grown with production, with sales up by about 65 percent from the first quarter of last year to 25,000 vehicles, while revenue doubled to $2.7 billion.
They are the golden rules of cooking, from continuously stirring risotto to soaking onions to avoid tears.

But kitchen tips passed down the generations are in danger of being debunked by know-all scientists who have examined the chemistry behind them.

It turns out that your risotto will be perfectly creamy if you just stir it for a couple of minutes at the end, while peeling and soaking an onion will do nothing to protect your eyes when chopping it.

It turns out that your risotto will be perfectly creamy if you just stir it for a couple of minutes at the end

A piping hot tray is not essential for Yorkshire puddings - the pan does not have to be piping hot before the batter goes in, which makes little difference for small puddings in a muffin tin

Not only that but a piping hot tray is not essential for Yorkshire puddings and a small pan of boiling pasta is just as good as a large one.

New Scientist magazine investigated 16 kitchen shibboleths, to test if they were correct, and consulted food scientists too.

It states: Home cooks can learn a lot from science, especially when it comes to knowing which bits of kitchen folklore are worth swallowing.

The article may shed some light on the debate over whether to store tomatoes in the fridge or on the worktop, citing an opinion from Trevor Suslow and Marita Cantwell at the University of California, Davis, that the ideal temperature for firm, ripe tomatoes is 7 to 10C.

Unfortunately a refrigerator or a kitchen do not fall within that range, but the best compromise may be to keep them in the warmer parts of the refrigerator, on the top shelf or near the door.

Eggs do not need to be refrigerated in 90 per cent of cases, as hens are now vaccinated against salmonella.

However leftovers, despite most peoples beliefs, can go straight in the fridge unless you have a piping hot vat of soup.

The risk of raising the temperature in the fridge, potentially putting the rest of the food at risk of bacterial growth, is dwarfed by the food poisoning danger of leaving leftovers out in a warm room, where bacteria can double every hour.

Many cooks will have learned to sear meat first to lock in the juices, but the New Scientist says a cold steak takes longer to sear, with the heat contracting its muscle fibres and forcing heat out.

On risotto, it quotes Dr Matt Hartings, who teaches chemistry of cooking at the American University in Washington and states: If you control your ingredients just right from the outset, a no-stir method should give you the creaminess that youre looking for.

Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt, author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, points out that most of the starch which thickens risotto comes from fine particles on the grains surface so that it is the addition of stock, not stirring, which mostly affects its release. A better tip for creaminess, apparently, is to wash the rice beforehand.

Italian chefs say people should add pasta to a big boiling pot of water to stop it sticking together and bring it back to the boil more quickly. However science dictates that it might actually be quicker in a small pot, because it has less surface area, while stirring the pasta for the first minute will stop it sticking.

The scientific advice even has an answer for the dreaded souffle, which so many chefs fear. It is not a recipe for failure after all, with cooks able to avoid a collapsed souffle if they are prepared for it to rise a little less and cook it at a lower temperature for longer so that the heat can penetrate and firm up the centre.

Eggs do not need to be refrigerated in 90 per cent of cases, as hens are now vaccinated against salmonella

Peeling and soaking an onion will do nothing to protect your eyes when chopping it

On Yorkshire puddings, US chef Lopez-Alt has the bravery to challenge the received wisdom on a British classic. His advice is that the pan does not have to be piping hot before the batter goes in, which makes little difference for small puddings in a muffin tin.

It is better to let them rest after being cooked, and, despite what your mother said, it doesnt matter if you open the oven door while they are cooking.

The magazine says peeling and soaking an onion for 10 minutes for chopping wont affect the volatile chemical which makes chefs cry as it is on the inside and exposed by chopping.

Providing new cooking tips, it advises fresh eggs for perfect poached eggs and rubbing spices onto meat instead of marinating it.
A newly found flaw in widely used networking software leaves tens of thousands of computers potentially vulnerable to an attack similar to that caused by WannaCry, which infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide, cybersecurity researchers have warned.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced the vulnerability, which could be exploited to take control of an affected computer, and urged users and administrators to apply a patch.

Rebekah Brown of Rapid7, a cybersecurity company, told Reuters that there were no signs yet of attackers exploiting the vulnerability in the 12 hours since its discovery was announced.

Screen that appeared on hacked computers when the WannaCry ransomware encrypted files. A newly found flaw in widely used networking software leaves tens of thousands of computers potentially vulnerable to an attack similar to that caused by WannaCry

THE WANNACRY ATTACK WannaCry infected more than 200,000 systems in more than 150 countries with demands for payments of $300 (230) in Bitcoin per victim in exchange for the decryption of the files it had taken hostage. Victims received warnings on their computer screens that if they did not pay the ransom within three days, the demand would double. If no ransom was paid, the victim's data would be deleted. Few victims of the WannaCry attack appear to have paid up. As of Friday, only $91,000 (70,000) had been deposited in the three Bitcoin 'wallet' accounts associated with the ransom demands, according to London-based Elliptic Enterprises, which tracks illicit Bitcoin activity. Advertisement

But she said it had taken researchers only 15 minutes to develop malware that made use of the hole.

'This one seems to be very, very easy to exploit,' she said.

Rapid7 said it had found more than 100,000 computers running vulnerable versions of the software, Samba, free networking software developed for Linux and Unix computers.

There are likely to be many more, it said in response to emailed questions.

Most of the computers found are running older versions of the software and cannot be patched, said Brown.

Some of the computers appear to belong to organisations and companies, she said, but most were home users.

The vulnerability could potentially be used to create a worm like the one which allowed WannaCry to spread so quickly, Brown said, but that would require an extra step for the attacker.

Cybersecurity researchers have said they believe North Korean hackers were behind the WannaCry malware, which encrypted data on victims' computers and demanded bitcoin in return for a decryption key.

Experts are questioning whether North Korea was behind the WannaCry cyber attack amid suggestions it does not fit the pattern of previous hacks blamed on Pyongyang.

Some suspect a group known as Lazarus, believed to be a mixture of North Korean hackers operating in tandem with Chinese 'cyber mercenaries'.

But identifying hackers behind sophisticated attacks is difficult, and proving they are acting under the explicit orders of a nation state is almost impossible.

Despite some evidence that suggests a possible North Korea link, experts warn there is nothing conclusive yet.

Some experts see the latest attack as an anomaly by North Korean hacking standards.

Security researchers argue that Pyongyang is unlikely to have carried out a big hack that damaged its two closest strategic partners in China and Russia more than any other nations.

And the poor financial returns also throw doubt over a North Korea link - as of Friday the total of ransom paid was less than $91,000 (70,000).

Michael Madden, a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, said if North Korea was responsible, it would be a novel form of Pyongyang attack.

'This is not part of the previously observed behaviour of DPRK cyberwar units and hacking groups,' Mr Madden said.
Google has banned an army of Android apps that use ultrasonic sounds to spy on users without their knowledge.

The moves comes after researchers revealed that hundreds of Android applications are embedded with ultrasonic cross-device tracking technology that pick up inaudible 'beacons' emitted from advertisements.

This allows marketers to create personalised ads based on your interests, as they are able to determine your location and what activities you may be engaged in.

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Google has banned an army of Android apps that use ultrasonic sounds to spy on users without their knowledge (stock image of the Galaxy S8 smartphone)

HOW YOUR DEVICES COULD BE SPYING ON YOU Inaudible signals could be tracking your TV and web surfing habits more closely than ever before. Researchers revealed that hundreds of Android apps are embedded with ultrasonic cross-device tracking technology that pick up inaudible 'beacons' emitted from advertisements. This allows marketers to create personalised ads based on your interests, as they are able to determine your location and what activities you may be engaged in. These signals can be picked up by a range of devices, including phones and TVs. Signals are sent without the user's permission or knowledge. Advertisement

'A recent practice embeds ultrasonic beacons in audio and tracks them using the microphone on mobile devices,' reads a study from Braunschweig University of Technology, Germany.

'This side channel allows an adversary to identify a user's current location, spy on her TV viewing happens or link together her different mobile devices'.

While conducting their investigation, the team found 234 Android apps were made using the publicly available tracking software.

And these apps were found to listen 'in the background without the user's knowledge'.

The researchers from Braunschweig University of Technology found many of the apps that contain the code were developed for large companies such as McDonald's and Krispy Kreme.

The app ShopKick, which rewards users with discounts, was found to be one of the spy apps that monitors the user's location.

Researchers have discovered hundreds of Android applications are embedded with ultrasonic cross-device tracking technology (stock image)

Instead of tracking the user with the smartphone's GPS it uses the audio beacon emitted from the loudspeakers positioned at the entrance of a store to determine whether the consumer had walked into the store.

Game apps were also found to partake in this 'threat to privacy'.

ZDNET reported that games, such as Pino Henyo, are designed to open a user's smartphone microphone without them knowing and listen for ultrasonic tones.

But Google has now announced that all the apps discovered in the study have been either suspended or updated to meet privacy policies, according to CBS News.

They added that apps must now ask users' permission in order to use ultrasonic beacons.
Area 51 is one of the most secretive locations in the world.

Now, UFO hunters at SecureTeam 10 have released leaked footage which they claim shows an alien craft is hiding in the Nevada-based military facility.

The strange video appears to show a flying object hovering in the sky and then flying away - emitting a strange light as it sporadically moves side to side.

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UFO hunters SecureTeam 10 have now released leaked footage which they claim shows an alien craft is hiding in the Nevada military facility

SECURETEAM 10 CONTROVERSY SectureTeam10 is one of the most viewed YouTube channels, with over 785,000 people subscribing to its conspiracy videos. But the channel has come under fire, as Lions Ground, a rival channel, claims that it has been intentionally fooling its viewers. According to Lions Ground, SecureTeam10 has been raking in an estimated 600 ($745) a day by posting fake videos that 'outsmart UFO believers.' Advertisement

'It's one of the mysterious pieces in UFOlogy', said Tyler Glockner who runs SecureTeam 10 on the YouTube clip.

He described the footage, which was believed to have been filmed in the 1980s or 1990s, as a 'hidden gem'.

The unexplained object appears to be getting higher and higher and releases a strange light as the footage goes on.

The Nevada-based military testing facility has been a focal point of many conspiracy theorists and UFOlogists since the late 1970s, who claim that the base houses secretive alien technology.

The sprawling military complex sits between a dry lake bed to the North East, and a small mountain to the West.

Area 51 has been a hot spot for extra terrestrial enthusiasts because the government did not acknowledge its existence until 2013.

It has long been fenced off from the prying eyes of the public, with armed guards swarming the surrounding area.

'Area 51 has always been a magnet for those who believe the US Government knows a lot more about UFOs than they are prepared to reveal to the public,' Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual, told MailOnline.

'People like the late Boyd Bushman, a senior scientist who worked for Lockheed Martin, have declared that Area 51 is a base where extraterrestrial spacecraft and technology is stored and examined.'

The strange video appears to show a flying object hovering in the sky and then flying away - emitting a strange light as it sporadically moves side to side

'It's one of the mysterious pieces in UFOlogy', said Tyler Glockner who runs SecureTeam 10 on the clip. He described the footage, which was believed to have been filmed in the 1980s or 1990s as a 'hidden gem'

The Nevada-based military testing facility has been a focal point of many conspiracy theorists and UFOlogists since the late 1970s, who claim that the base houses secretive alien technology. Pictured is the most recent sighting by SecureTeam 10

Claims of alien conspiracies around Area 51 have largely been debunked.

But the site has been confirmed as a historic test site for military aircraft.

Famous machines developed there include the U-2 spy plane, SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter.

The unexplained object appears to be getting higher and higher and releases a strange light as the footage goes on

In this image, the base is shown in a small yellow square within the massive Air Force base at Nevada's Groom Lake. Area 51 is blanketed by a strict 23 by 25-mile (37 by 40km) no-fly zone for civilian aircraft

The extraterrestrial Highway is between Highway 6 and Highway 93 in Nevada, and is the closest main road to Area 51. The sprawling military complex sits between a dry lake bed to the North East, and a small mountain to the West

Area 51 is blanketed by a strict 23 by 25-mile (37 by 40km) no-fly zone for civilian aircraft, and nearby viewpoints Freedom Ridge and White Sides Peak, which provide vantage points looking down on the base, are off-limits to the public

Images of the base are extremely rare, with any photographers brave enough to travel there kept far back from the perimeter by the base's many armed guards.

Area 51 is blanketed by a strict 23 by 25-mile (37 by 40km) no-fly zone for civilian aircraft.

Nearby viewpoints Freedom Ridge and White Sides Peak, which offer vantage points looking down on the base, are off-limits to the public.

After a series of declassifications, official details of Area 51 only came to light in 2011. This image shows a suspended, upside-down titanium A-12 spy-plane prototype as it is 'prepped' for radar testing

The U-2 spy plane is photographed as it is tested at Area 51 in 1955. Early missions involving the plane were used throughout the Cold War for surveillance over Cuba, the Soviet Union and China

The U.S. Air Force's SR-71 (double cockpit training version pictured) was in many ways a product of Area 51 testing and an evolution of the A-12, which was decommissioned in 1968
Tribal warriors who faced an opposing Roman army in battle almost 2,000 years ago were stricken down by a hail of bullets as powerful as those in a modern handgun.

That is the finding of research which analysed slingshot ammunition found at an archaeological site last summer.

The stones, which h urtled along at up to 100mph (160km/h), could take the top of your head off with nearly as much force as a .44 Magnum.

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German researcher and slingshot enthusiast Jorg Sprave has analysed the kinetic energy of ancient slingshot bullets found in Scotland (pictured) to make the startling discovery about their stopping power

ANCIENT BULLETS In the second century AD, the Romans used slings to launch the bullets, which were drilled to produce a buzzing sound compared to an agitated wasp. Archaeologists believe they were an early form of psychological warfare employed by the Romans. And they would have proved a deadly weapon against the Scottish clansmen who faced them with swords and other simple armaments. A collection of over 400 of the bullets were discovered by the Trimontium Trust, a Scottish archaeological society, at Burnswark Hill located just west of Dumfries, last June. And German researcher and slingshot enthusiast Jorg Sprave has since analysed their kinetic energy to make the startling discovery that they would have had the same stopping power as a modern .44 Magnum handgun. Advertisement

In the second century AD, the Romans used slings to launch the bullets, which were drilled to produce a buzzing sound compared to an agitated wasp.

Archaeologists originally thought the holes were to hold poison, but discovered they were an early form of psychological warfare employed by the Romans, creating a sound designed to intimidate their enemies.

And they would have proved a deadly weapon against the Scottish clansmen who faced them with swords and other simple armaments.

A collection of over 400 of the bullets was discovered by the Trimontium Trust, a Scottish archaeological society, at Burnswark Hill located just west of Dumfries, last June.

And German researcher and slingshot enthusiast Jorg Sprave has since analysed their kinetic energy to make the startling discovery.

He believes they would have had the same stopping power as a modern .44 Magnum handgun, which fires bullets at speeds of around 1,475 feet per second (450 metres per second) and imparts 1,160 foot-pound force (1,570 joules) of energy.

Speaking to National Geographic John Reid, chairman of the Trust, said: 'Were fairly sure that the natives on top of the hill werent allowed to survive.

'This is beginning to look like Romes Afghanistan.'

The hill where the whistling bullets were discovered was the site of an assault by Roman legions against native tribes people.

Weighing about one ounce (30 grams), each of the bullets had been drilled with a 0.2-inch (five millimetre) hole.

A collection of over 400 of the bullets (pictured) were discovered by the Trimontium Trust, a Scottish archaeological society, at Burnswark Hill located just west of Dumfries, last June

A German researcher believes the bullets would have had the same stopping power as a Magnum 44 handgun (pictured), which fires bullets at speeds of 1,475 feet per second (450 metres per second) and imparts 1,160 foot-pound force (1,570 joules) of energy (stock image)

Dr Reid believes the holes converted the bullets into a 'terror weapon.'

Speaking at the time of the discovery, he told LiveScience: 'You don't just have these silent but deadly bullets flying over; you've got a sound effect coming off them that would keep the defenders' heads down.

'Every army likes an edge over its opponents, so this was an ingenious edge on the permutation of sling bullets.'

The noise was a kind of buzzing which sounds like an 'agitated wasp' according to Dr Reid.

The idea of terrorising enemies using weapons that make a horrific noise was more recently adopted by the Nazis in World War II.

Weighing about 1 ounce (30 grams), each of the bullets had been drilled with a 0.2-inch (5 millimeters) hole, which created a noise as the bullets travelled through the air

This left image shows a replica Roman Scorpio crossbow, one type of small artillery weapon used by Roman forces. Among the finds was ammunition from Roman artillery weapons, such as this stone ball (right) which may have been fired from a ballista

The bullets were found on Burnswark Hill is located west of Dumfries in Scotland, shown on map. It was possibly the site of a siege during the early conquest of Scotland

HOW DID THE SLING BULLETS WHISTLE? Together with arrows and catapults, sling-shots formed a key part of the long-range fire of the Roman army. Lead bullets were cast in the shape of lemons or 'acorns', which would weigh around 1.7 ounces (50g). Weighing around 0.7 ounces (20g), the holes were around a fifth of an inch (5mm) wide and the same deep. While the size of these bullets would have made them not terribly dangerous, experiments using replicas of these small bullets showed that they produced a whistling noise while in flight. It is thought the sound is produced by the air moving over the small opening, much like when blowing over the top of a milk bottle. This has led some theories that these smaller bullets were used to invoke terror in the enemy. It is a tactic that has been used by military forces around the world. Mongolian archers were said to have used whistling arrows before they were later adopted by the Chinese and later the Japanese Samurai. The Nazis used whistling weapons to great effect during the Second World War, fitting Stuka bombers with sirens to strike fear into the enemy as they dive bombed. The V1 Flying bomb also produced a distinct buzzing noise that could be heard from miles away. When the noise stopped, it signalled the weapon was dropping to the ground. Advertisement

The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft which first flew in 1935 and had unmistakable wailing sirens.

According to Dr Reid, the bullets could be fired in groups of three or four, creating a slingshot effect.

About 20 per cent of the lead sling bullets found at Burnswark Hill had been drilled with holes.

This was a significant amount of effort to prepare enough ammunition for an assault, Dr Reid said. 'It's a tremendous amount of work to do, to just chuck them away.'

'Even more intriguingly, the mysterious holes proved to confer an aerophonic quality,' Dr Reid said in Current Archaeology.

'In flight, these lead shot whistled, or more accurately gave off a mechanical buzzing sound eerily reminiscent of an agitated wasp.'

Rising nearly 1,000 feet from the rolling countryside around it, Burnswark Hill in Dumfriesshire were an imposing defensive position. The fort and the camps date from around the time when the Roman emperor Antonius Pius ordered the reconquest of Scotland during the 140s AD

Burnswark Hill (pictured) in the Dumfreisshire region of south-western Scotland is thought to have been the site of an assault by Roman legions in the second Century AD against native tribespeople defending the hilltop fort

The Trimontium Trust is directing a year-long archaeological investigation of Burnswark Hill. At the time of the Roman attack on Burnswark Hill, slings were used mainly by specialized units of auxiliary troops who had been recruited to fight alongside the Roman legions

At the time of the Roman attack on Burnswark Hill, slings were used mainly by specialised units of auxiliary troops who had been recruited to fight alongside the Roman legions, according to Dr Reid.

The most feared slingers came from the Balearic Islands.

They had fought for the Roman general Julius Caesar in his invasions of Britain in 55 BC and 54 BC.

'These guys were expert slingers; they'd been doing this the whole of their lives,' Dr Reid said.

A heavy sling bullet or stone could reach speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) in the right hands.

WAS BURNSWARK THE SITE OF A BATTLE OR A TRAINING CAMP? Rising nearly 1,000 feet from the rolling countryside around it, Burnswark Hill in Dumfriesshire were an imposing defensive position. Archaeologists have found evidence for an Iron Age hill fort and settlement that crowned the top of the lumpy formation, which lies just ten miles north of Hadrian's Wall. Either side of the fort are the remains of what appear to be two Roman camps  one to the north and one to the south. Historians have argued over this unusual configuration of Roman military camps on either side of the hill fort since it was first discovered in 1785. The earliest interpretations claimed that it was the site of a siege as the Roman army attempted to capture the imposing fort. The fort and the camps are thought to date from around a time when the Roman emperor Antonius Pius ordered the reconquest of Scotland during the 140sAD. However, in 1964, further excavations led to the suggestion that the fort had been abandoned by the second century AD when the Roman army is thought to have set up the camps. This has led to the theory that the hill fort was actually being used as a training site for the Romans, partly due to the unusual shape of the camps. They were unlike any other Roman military camp  rather than having a centrally placed entrance on each side of the square camp, the North camp had a smaller rectangular square tacked onto the side. The presence of 'obsolete' acorn shaped lead sling bullets has also led to claims that the site was used for training rather than a real battle. However, others have pointed to the scatter of sling bullets around the site and say they match what would be expected from a besieging attack rather than target practice. Advertisement

'We undertook a ballistic assessment of the lead sling-bullets previously found on the site in order to assess the performance of this ammunition,' Dr Reid said.

The group made replica bullets cast in lead and high-density clay and used a volunteer to weave slings from various materials.

'We found that the larger 1.7 ounce (50g) bullets could be cast at least 656ft (200 metres) depending on whether the low-trajectory direct (more accurate) or lob style (greater distance) of slinging was used.'

The Trimontium Trust is directing a year-long archaeological investigation of Burnswark Hill.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A 17-YEAR-OLD girl, who scalded her mother with water before she later died in hospital, confessed before a church congregation that she was into Satanism.Zvikomborero has since dropped out of school after she was initiated into Satanism by one of her colleagues, at least according to her confession before House of Grace Ministries church service."I was forced to join Satanism by one of my friends in boarding school."I felt possessed by the spirit after I ate food she gave me and from that day, I was in my own world," said Zvikomborero."My parents were informed of strange things I was experiencing and they took me but it became worse that I scalded my mother with hot water and the wounds led to her death."Most of my relatives rose against me and I left home and had to sleep at market places before I met a lady who took me to Prophet Hungwe."He looked after me along with his wife, praying for me, feeding me and counselling me and today we had a meeting with some of my relatives that my future looks bright and I want to continue with my education," said Zvikomborero.Zvikomborero's mother died in March.In a separate interview with H-Metro after the church service, Prophet Hungwe urged parents to visit their children at schools."We managed to deliver that lady and I believe all is well with her now that my meeting with part of her family was successful," said Prophet Hungwe."Children are feeling comfortable in sharing with me challenges they are facing at schools, colleges and in families that I see the need for more counsellors to arrest terrible situations facing young generation."Parents must take school visits seriously and be introduced to friends of their children and get an opportunity to pray for them."The Holy Spirit is there to convict people and sign of repentance shows that one needs assistance and I have been anointed to help such people and use spiritual eyes to see beyond human eye."It is important to know where your children are spending time and with who, doing what because the use of dangerous drugs is rampant and we should arrest this collectively," said Prophet Hungwe referring to an incident of one who surrendered marijuana in his service.
A comet which lights up the night sky each year with hundreds of fireballs could be hiding doomsday asteroids.

That is the finding of a team of researchers who have been investigating the annual Taurids meteor shower.

And they are warning that the cosmic fragments of ice and rock could be large enough to wipe out whole continents.

One of these fragments could hit Earth in 2022, 2025, 2032 or 2039, researchers predict.

Researchers from the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Science have discovered a new debris field in an annual meteor shower that could be hiding asteroids which could wipe out whole continents (stock image)

DOOMSDAY DEBRIS Each year, from the end of October, the skies play host to the meteor shower, dubbed 'nature's fireworks'. The Taurids display is created by debris left behind by Encke's comet, named after the astronomer who discovered it's annual trajectory in 1819. Researchers from the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Science have been keeping track of these fragments. They have found two asteroids, called 2015 TX24 and 2005 UR, which are part of a previously undiscovered branch of the Taurids' debris. The space rocks measure 650 feet to 900 feet (200 to 300 meters) across and have been registered on the International Astronomical Unions list of "potentially hazardous" asteroids. But the Czech team is concerned that the hidden debris field may contain even larger objects. Advertisement

Each year, from the end of October, the skies play host to the meteor shower, dubbed 'nature's fireworks'.

The Taurids display is created by debris left behind by Encke's comet, named after the astronomer who discovered it's annual trajectory in 1819.

Researchers from the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Science have been keeping track of these fragments.

They have found two asteroids, called 2015 TX24 and 2005 UR, which are part of a previously undiscovered branch of the Taurids' debris.

The Earth only passes through this potentially dangerous branch once every few years, causing greater numbers of shooting stars.

Future encounters are predicted for 2022, 2025, 2032 and 2039.

The space rocks measure 650 feet to 900 feet (200 to 300 meters) across and have been registered on the International Astronomical Unions list of "potentially hazardous" asteroids.

But the Czech team is concerned that the hidden debris field may contain even larger objects.

Writing in a paper published on Arxiv, the study's authors said: 'Since asteroids of sizes of tens to hundreds meters pose a treat to the ground even if they are intrinsically weak, impact hazard increases significantly when the Earth encounters the Taurid new branch every few years.

'Further studies leading to better description of this real source of potentially hazardous objects, which can be large enough to cause significant regional or even continental damage on the Earth, are therefore extremely important.'

The biggest ever documented explosion, a blast in Russia the size of 185 Hiroshima bombs that was felt as far away as Britain and the US, has been blamed on the Taurids meteors.

Known as the Tunguska event, the blast happened after a large fireball was seen crossing the Siberian sky on June 20, 1908.

Each year, from the end of October, the skies play host to the meteor shower, dubbed 'nature's fireworks'. It is created by Earth passing through debris left behind by Encke's comet (stock image)

A large fireball was seen crossing the Siberian sky on June 20, 1908 before an eruption six miles above ground flattened 80 million trees and left charred reindeer carcasses. Some experts believe this was a Taurids object (stock image)

There were reports at the time that the blast was felt as far away as Britain while the explosion lit up the sky in the US

An eruption six miles above ground flattened 80 million trees and left charred reindeer carcasses.

The blast is thought to have been produced by a Taurids comet or asteroid hurtling through Earth's atmosphere at over 33,500 miles per hour.

Whatever caused the event likely entered the atmosphere at 9 to 19 miles per second, and would have been extremely fragile, destroying itself roughly six miles above Earth.

If a Taurids object large enough to make it through the atmosphere in one piece struck the ground, the damage would be catastrophic.
On May 25, Google Street View celebrates its 10th birthday.

A feature of Google Maps, it lets users explore cities and towns around the world  and even peer inside businesses and government institutions (including the White House).

Games have sprouted out of Street View  like Geoguessr, in which players guess where in the world they've been randomly placed  while some users have documented funny images captured by the roving cameras of Google's cars.

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Michael Wolf's project 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' curates arresting images from Google Street View, ranging from bike accidents to fires and scuffles on the street (pictured)

HOW ARTISTS USE GOOGLE STREET VIEW Michael Wolf's project 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' curates arresting images from Google Street View, ranging from bike accidents to fires. Jon Rafman's ongoing project 'The Nine Eyes of Google Street View' reflects the unsettling relationship between humans and surveillance. (The 'nine eyes' in the title refers to the number of cameras on the pole attached to the top of a Google Street View car, although the number has since increased to 15.) Doug Rickard, in an exhibition called 'A New American Picture,' documented the 'forgotten streets' of America by curating images of the disenfranchised in their downtrodden neighborhoods. Halley Docherty has used Google Street View to superimpose famous paintings and album covers on their modern settings (for example, the Beatles crossing the street on today's Abbey Road). And Justin Blinder's 'Vacated' project turns Google Street View images into GIFs that alternate between before-and-after photos of gentrified street corners in New York City. Advertisement

But Google Street View has also provided ample fodder for artists of all stripes, inspiring a range of creative works that include photographic curation, music videos and impromptu performances.

What, exactly, is it about Google Street View that makes it so appealing to creative types?

Perhaps it allows us to experience the fantasy of what scholar Donna Haraway called 'the God's trick'  the impossible desire to see everything.

Never before have people had such easy, on-demand visual access to public spaces all over the globe, and over the past decade artists have wielded this immense power to comment on issues ranging from surveillance to sex work.

The sheer magnitude of Google Street View's all-seeing power is a subject for some artists.

Michael Wolf's project 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' curates arresting images from Google Street View, ranging from bike accidents to fires.

Taken as a whole, Wolf's collection from Google's vast archive gestures toward the vastness of the world itself.

Taken individually, his images are both haunting and familiar.

Sometimes Google Street View appeals to artists for more political reasons.

There can be a real discomfort with the technology, given that it amounts to one of the most comprehensive surveillance mechanisms in human history.

Jon Rafman's ongoing project 'The Nine Eyes of Google Street View' reflects the unsettling relationship between humans and surveillance.

(The 'nine eyes' in the title refers to the number of cameras on the pole attached to the top of a Google Street View car, although the number has since increased to 15.)

In 2008, one year after the launch of Street View, Google incorporated face-blurring technology to protect the identities of passersby captured by its cameras.

But the technology isn't without glitches.

Jon Rafman's ongoing project 'The Nine Eyes of Google Street View', has an image of a man in a bunny costume with a blurred face next to a 'real' person's face draws an unsettling juxtaposition

What is it about Google Street View that makes it so appealing to creative types? Perhaps it allows us to experience the fantasy of what scholar Donna Haraway called 'the God's trick'  the impossible desire to see everything. Pictured is an image from Michael Wolf's project

Rafman's image of a man in a bunny costume with a blurred face next to a 'real' person's face draws an unsettling juxtaposition; it's a reminder that Google Street View is incapable of telling the difference between this masked person and you.

In so doing, Rafman's image exploits the most basic fear of mass surveillance regimes: that you'll be just another faceless entity.

Some images show the reflecting the unsettling relationship between humans and surveillance, as Google's cameras are always watching

Other artists have taken a different approach.

Doug Rickard, in an exhibition called 'A New American Picture,' documented the 'forgotten streets' of America by curating images of the disenfranchised in their downtrodden neighborhoods.

Halley Docherty has used Google Street View to superimpose famous paintings and album covers on their modern settings (for example, the Beatles crossing the street on today's Abbey Road).

And Justin Blinder's 'Vacated' project turns Google Street View images into GIFs that alternate between before-and-after photos of gentrified street corners in New York City.

Then there are the people that try to act out scenes in front of the passing cameras. While they may not identify as artists, they respond with an artist's impromptu, creative ingenuity.

Everyday folks see the Google car approaching and think up a scene  a staged birth in Berlin or a staged death in Scotland  and quickly react.

Justin Blinder's 'Vacated' project turns Google Street View images into GIFs that alternate between before-and-after photos of gentrified street corners in New York City

Artist have used Google Street View to superimpose famous paintings and album covers on their modern settings. Michael Wolf has captures a series of unfortunate events (pictured)

In our research, we call these performance-events tableaux vivants ('living pictures') in a nod to the evanescent vitality of scenes that come to life only to dissolve as quickly as they've been formed.

GOOGLE STREET VIEW CONTROVERSIES Controversy raged about Google Street View when it was launched in 2009. Previously, the service has come under fire for some of the content that found its way onto the maps. A dead body, albeit covered, was published in South America. In Manchester, a couple were also snapped in the middle of a sex act down a quiet backstreet (pictured below). Shortly after it was rolled out, the privacy watchdog ejected calls to shut it down after complaints that it intruded unfairly into people's lives. The Information Commissioner said the free online service, which features millions of detailed photographs of streets, homes, cars and passers-by, carried a 'small risk' of privacy invasion. Users are able to request an object be removed from the site by highlighting its co-ordinates and sending it to the company. Advertisement

Street View art has its detractors.

Mishka Henner, for his show 'No Man's Land,' cruised Street View for known 'John' sites in Italy and Spain and culled images of women who may be sex workers.

Although the show was shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize, it was also subject to mixed reviews.

Some thought it was sexist to assume that the women depicted were, in fact, prostitutes, though they praised the way the images communicated the everyday vulnerability (and boredom) involved with sex work.

Perhaps most of all, the show inspired questions about the authorship of photographers who merely curate images taken by Google's cameras.

Nonetheless, as one critic pointed out, Google Street View has forced us to reconsider what street photography as a genre now means in light of Google's roving cameras.

What's next for this strange intersection of a mapping tool and art?

We hesitate to make firm predictions, but we wouldn't be surprised to see more collaborations between Google and artists, like Arcade Fire's experimental music video that populates Google Street View images of the viewer's childhood neighborhood in a nostalgic montage.

We would also like to see more involvement by women, as most of the artists who work with Google Street View have tended to represent a male perspective.

After a decade, Google Street View is no longer new. But that doesn't mean its potential for artistic action and intervention will subside.

As the platform collects more and more images of the Earth's public spaces  and as mixed, augmented and virtual reality technologies become more pervasive  we expect that people will find new and inventive ways to make art out of a platform that has, from the start, been a surprising muse.
Poachers are using data from wildlife scientists to target and kill rare species.

Experts have sent out a warning about publishing the location and habitat of endangered animals because of the threat.

It follows poachers targeting species within months of information about them being published in scientific journals.

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Academics were delighted when they announced the the rare colubrid snake Archelaphe bella chapaensis had been rediscovered in Vietnam in 2010, but within a year advertisements were offering farmed specimens from Vietnam, priced at up to more than 1,400 ($1,800) a pair

CASE OF THE RARE COLUBRID SNAKE A study last year described the case of the rare colubrid snake Archelaphe bella chapaensis, which had not been seen in Vietnam since its description in the 1930s and was thought to be extinct. Academics were delighted when they announced it had been rediscovered in northern Vietnam in 2010, but within a year advertisements were offering farmed specimens from Vietnam, priced at up to more than 1,400 ($1,800) a pair. Advertisement

Scientists believe their papers, which are increasingly publicly available, are being trawled by criminals wanting to track expensive wildlife.

More than 20 newly described reptile species have been targeted by poachers, putting them at serious threat of extinction.

These include the Chinese cave gecko, reportedly worth more than 1,500 ($1,940) as a rare, exotic pet on the black market.

It comes as poachers are becoming increasingly bold, killing rhinos and brutally hacking off their horns after illegally entering game reserves where the animals are meant to be protected.

The call for scientists to keep their information on rare animals secret comes from biologists Professor David Lindenmayer and Dr Ben Scheele, both from the Australian National University.

Writing in the journal Science, they say: Biologists must urgently unlearn parts of their centuries-old publishing culture and rethink the benefits of publishing location data and habitat descriptions for rare and endangered species to avoid unwittingly contributing to further species declines.

Restricting information entails some costs, but these must be weighed against the increasing harm of unrestricted information accessibility.

The news comes as poachers are becoming increasingly bold, killing rhinos and brutally hacking off their horns after illegally entering game reserves where the animals are meant to be protected

Biologists have long published detailed information on rare and endangered species but this was previously accessible only through specialised scientific journals in university libraries.

The increasing information now publically available through online reports and wildlife atlases is of much more help to poachers.

The authors warn that unrestricted access to species location information is facilitating a surge in wildlife poaching, with many species at risk.

A study last year described the case of the rare colubrid snake Archelaphe bella chapaensis, which had not been seen in Vietnam since its description in the 1930s and was thought to be extinct.

Academics were delighted when they announced it had been rediscovered in northern Vietnam in 2010, but within a year advertisements were offering farmed specimens from Vietnam, priced at up to more than 1,400 ($1,800) a pair.

A scientific publication in 2012 about the Borneo earless monitor lizard was followed up by dozens being sold by traders from the Czech Republic and Germany.

Meanwhile many giant lizards called Varanus bitatawa, discovered by scientists in 2010, were dumped on the pet market after being caught in violation of the Philippines' Wildlife Act.

The authors, both from the Australian National University said: Poaching has been documented in species within months of their taxonomic description in journals.

For example, more than 20 newly described reptile species have been targeted in this way, potentially leading to extinction in the wild.

The essay in Science warns that even wildlife lovers are threatening rare animals after reading about their location and habitat, then creating disturbance and habitat loss by going to observe and photograph them.

The authors call for self-censorship among authors, adding: Although much information on endangered and rare species is already available online, it remains crucial to change our actions now to avoid unwittingly contributing to further species declines.
The Samsung Note 7 fiasco may be over, but it seems the South Korean firm's troubles are just starting.

The electronics maker has been hit with multiple lawsuits following reports that other smartphone models are plagued with similar battery issues  including the Galaxy S6, S7 Edge and Note 5.

Cases in three US states have claimed that Samsung was aware of the battery issues and fire hazards for years, but opted not to inform its customers.

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Samsung has been hit with multiple lawsuits following reports that other smartphone models are plagued with similar battery issues  including the Galaxy S6, S7 Edge (pictured) and Note 5

SAMSUNG LAWSUITS Samsung has been hit with multiple lawsuits following reports of other smartphone models that were plagued with similar battery issues. These Samsung smartphones include the S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S6 Active, S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active and Note 5. Cases in three US states have claimed that Samsung was aware of the battery issues and fire hazards for years, but opted not to inform its customers. Plaintiffs have proposed that users with the older models should be provided with the same refund and exchange program set for the Note 7. An MIT professor noted that when the battery overheats, oxygen is released inside. And combining oxygen with the fuel turns the battery into a 'bomb'  an effect known as 'thermal runway'. When this happens, temperatures can drastically increase, sometimes reaching as much as 1100 degrees Fahrenheit (593 Celsius). Advertisement

Approximately 112 Galaxy Note 7 fires were reported worldwide within a month of the smartphone's launch in August.

Five months later, the Samsung announced an official recall of all the 2.5 million devices sold - blaming the incidents on 'irregularly sized batteries'.

After doing damage control and once the dust had cleared, it seemed Samsung's woes were finally over  it even announced that refurbished Galaxy Note 7 handsets would be released to the South Korean market this summer.

However, it seems that the firm may have been cutting corners long before the Note 7, as reports have begun to surface that other models were having similar issues, reported Daniel Eran Dilger with AppleInsider.

DailyMail.com has contacted Samsung for comment and has yet to receive a response.

Earlier this month, Dale Holzworth from Massachusetts filed a class action lawsuit that claimed the Galaxy S7 Edge he had purchased last year burst into flames while it sat charging in his son's bedroom.

The fire allegedly spread to the bed and the melting parts of the phone burnt holes in the carpet.

'Samsung manufactures and sells smartphones which pose a threat to the safety of consumers,' reads the Samsung class action complaint, which was published by TopClassActions.com.

'Samsung recalled the Note 7 while leaving other dangerous products in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the problem is not limited to the Note 7.'

He continued to claim that other Samsung smartphone owners have experienced similar issues since 2011.

These Samsung smartphones include the S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S6 Active, S7, S7 Edge (pictured), S7 Active and Note 5

But despite knowing the risks, the firm proceeded to increase the size of the battery, even though it knew that was the cause behind the fires, Holzworth stated in the complaint.

The lawsuit has also stated that Samsung's solution was to use a 'thermal spreading', which according to the firm, the thermal spreader it designed was 'unlike conventional thermal spread technology'.

'Samsung's team responsible for designing the system further stated that 'due to the spatial limits of smartphones, the cooling system's cooling capacity alone is not enough to cool the device,' explained the plaintiff.

Earlier this month, Dale Holzworth from Massachusetts filed a class action lawsuit that claimed the Galaxy S7 Edge (pictured) he had purchased last year burst into flames while it sat charging in his son's bedroom.

'We need to calculate the amount of electric current and optimize the heat control algorithm to minimize occurring heat.'

'In other words, the new thermal spreader hardware controls the heat more effectively but the software heat-control algorithm must be made compatible to ensure best performance.'

Four other lawsuits have come out of New York and California, and all have noted similar events with the same series of Galaxy smartphones sold in the last two years.

Claire Gilligan has also supported Holzworth in stating that the issues extend to other products beyond the Note 7.

He continued to claim that other Samsung smartphone owners have experienced similar issues since 2011. But despite knowing the risks, the firm proceeded to increase the size of the battery, even though it knew that was the cause behind the fires, Holzworth stated

Gilligan's lawsuit has noted that the other smartphones use similar or identical batteries to those used in the Note 7, which is why they too have become fire hazards.

These Samsung smartphones include the S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S6 Active, S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active and Note 5.

She claimed that it is the issue of manufacturing batteries to have the longest life with the shortest amount of time to charge that are causing them to explode.

From March to December of last year, Gilligan had to replace her Galaxy S7 four times because each one had overheated  causing malfunctions that hindered operation.

And what she has proposed in the claims is that the court order Samsung to provide her and other unfortunate users with the same refund and exchange program set for the Note 7.

Four plaintiffs had filed one case together in California, citing work from a materials chemistry professor from MIT, which proposed Samsung stop selling certain phones and refund those who have purchased them.

NOTE 7 FIASCO Samsung blamed two separate battery issues for the fires that hit its flagship Galaxy Note 7 device last year, as it sought to draw a line under the humiliating recall. The first issue was that the battery components in the Galaxy Note 7 did not fit in the battery's casing. Samsung has stated that its Galaxy customers do not have the right to sue for fire-related damages and should handles any complains through private arbitration - not in court. However, plaintiffs want the same treatment as those with the Note 7 (pictured) This caused the battery cell's upper right corner to be crimped by the casing. The second round affected the devices sent to replace the original faulty phones. These were caused by manufacturing issues, including poor welding at the battery manufacturer. Advertisement

The MIT professor noted that when the battery overheats, oxygen is released inside.

And combining oxygen with the fuel turns the battery into a 'bomb'  an effect known as 'thermal runway'.

When this happens, temperatures can drastically increase, sometimes reaching as much as 1100 degrees Fahrenheit (593 Celsius), the plaintiffs explained.

Samsung has stated that its Galaxy customers do not have the right to sue for fire-related damages and should handles any complains through private arbitration - not in court.

Prior to the Samsung Galaxy S8 release, the firm had made it clear that it was changing the size of the battery to fit the smartphone properly.

But despite these efforts, there have been reports of the handset overheating.

This has suggested that Samsung may again have cut corners in order to release another handset to make up for the Note 7 fiasco.
Nuclear waste-fires at any of the dozens of reactor sites across the US could spread radioactive material throughout an area twice the size of New Jersey, scientists warn.

And, they say the US Nuclear Regulatory Commissions failure to adopt a critical protection measure has left Americans at risk of such a catastrophic event.

Scientists argue that the NRC used a faulty analysis to justify its decision  and they warn that if a fire were to break out among cooling pools of spent nuclear fuel, it could be even larger than the emissions let off by the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The image shows how radioactive material would spread from a hypothetical fire in a high-density spent-fuel pool at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. People in areas shown in red and orange would have to relocate for years, they say

WHAT THEY FOUND The scientists say the NRCs analysis was biased, and excluded the possibility of terrorism, and the potential for damage from fires beyond 50 miles from a plant. According to the scientists, the analysis by the NRC found that a fire at one of these pools would cause an average of $125 billion in damages, and that the expedited transfer of the spent fuel to dry casks could reduce radioactive release from a fire by 99 percent. But, they concluded that the possibility of a nuclear waste-fire was unlikely, and would not justify the estimated $50 million per pool it would cost plant owners to implement the new measure. In the new analyses, however, the concerned scientists found that a fire of this kind could force an average of 8 million people to relocate for years. And, it would result in total damages of $2 trillion. This is nearly 20 times the result from the NRC analysis, they note. Advertisement

In the new article published in Science, researchers from Princeton University and the Union of Concerned Scientists warn that fires of this kind could be set off by a number of events, including an earthquake or terrorist attack.

But, the scientists say the NRCs analysis was biased, and excluded the possibility of terrorism, and the potential for damage from fires beyond 50 miles from a plant.

The NRC has been pressured by the nuclear industry, directly and through Congress, to low-ball the potential consequences of a fire because of concerns that increased costs could result in shutting down more nuclear power plants, said Frank von Hippel, a senior research physicist at Princetons Program on Science and Global Security (SGS) and co-author on the paper.

Unfortunately, if there is no public outcry about this dangerous situation, the NRC will continue to bend to the industrys wishes.

The researchers say the cooling pools at reactor sites are densely packed with nuclear waste, giving them the potential to release massive amounts of radioactive material.

These pools are filled with water in efforts to store and cool the spent fuel rods.

This could force an average of 8 million people to relocate, and cause $2 trillion in damage, they argue.

Following the disaster in Fukushima, Japan, in which a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami, and consequently devastated the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the NRC considered proposals for new safety requirements in the US, according to the researchers.

One of these would be to prohibit plant owners from over-packing the waste pools.

Instead, they would have to expedite transfer of the spent fuel that has already cooled in pools for at least five years to dry storage casks.

Researcher say the NRC's failure to adopt a critical protection measure has left Americans at risk of such a catastrophic event. This scenario shows the hypothetical spread of material from the same power plant, based on real weather patterns that occured in January 2015

These, the scientists say, are safer.

The Fukushima accident could have been a hundred times worse had there been a loss of the water covering the spent fuel in pools associated with each reactor, von Hippel said.

That almost happened at Fukushima in Unit 4.

According to the scientists, the analysis by the NRC found that a fire at one of these pools would cause an average of $125 billion in damages, and that the expedited transfer of the spent fuel to dry casks could reduce radioactive release from a fire by 99 percent.

They recommend that Congress consider allocating $5 billion for casks to store spent fuel, noting that the federal government already reimburses nuclear utilities nearly $1 billion per year for casks needed to store older spent fuel.

FUKUSHIMA'S NUCLEAR DISASTER The Fukushima nuclear disaster was a failure at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on 11 March 2011. It was caused when the plant was hit by a tsunami, triggered by the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake. This led to three of the plants six nuclear reactors going into meltdown and releasing radioactive materials. Reports claim the soil and water in the region still contains high levels of radiation which makes the clean-up effort difficult. A total of 300,000 people evacuated the Fukushima area on the east coast and 15,884 people died due to the earthquake and tsunami. The Fukushima nuclear disaster was a failure at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on 11 March 2011. It was caused when the plant was hit by a tsunami, triggered by the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake. Shown are radiation levels immediately after the accident in 2011 Advertisement

But, they concluded that the possibility of a nuclear waste-fire was unlikely, and would not justify the estimated $50 million per pool it would cost plant owners to implement the new measure.

The scientists argue that this analysis assumed the fire would not have any consequences further than 50 miles from the plant, and that all contaminated areas could be cleaned within a year.

Researchers from Princeton University and the Union of Concerned Scientists warn that fires of this kind could be set off by a number of events, including an earthquake or terrorist attack. People in areas shown in yellow would likely relocate voluntarily, they say

If the NRC doesnt make efforts to reduce the risk, the researcher say Congress can.

And, states could take action as well, by providing subsidies to reactors within their borders if theyve agreed to take part in the expedited transfer of spent fuel plan.

In far too many instances, the NRC has used flawed analysis to justify inaction, leaving millions of Americans at risk of a radiological release that could contaminate their homes and destroy their livelihoods, said Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist at the union of Concerned Scientists.

It is time for the NRC to employ sound science and common-sense policy judgements in its decision-making process.
During Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, The Veronica's twins were heavily criticised by fans after they cut ended their topless, $165-per ticket concert after just one song.

But on Tuesday, Lisa Origliasso, 32, appears to have taken a dig at fans who often imply they're too entrenched in the high-life to be relatable.

Taking to Instagram, the songstress revealed the shabby mattress she was sleeping on with her twin sister (and girlfriend to Ruby Rose) Jessica, captioning the snap 'No one is ever allowed to call us high maintenance.'

Slammed!The Veronica's Lisa Origliasso appears to have taken a dig at fans by captioning a snap of her modest sleeping arrangement 'No one is ever allowed to call us high maintenance'

In the image, Lisa was pictured laying on just a mattress that lacked a bed to hold it up.

The arrangement looked comfortable, yet modest, with a warm pink throw rug, a thin white blanket and a tartan coat being used as makeshift blankets.

'7 cities in 4 days and now @jessicaveronica & I are sharing a floor matress covered in coats as blankets,' the raven-haired beauty began the caption.

'No one is ever allowed to call us high maintenance,'

Busy! '7 cities in 4 days and now @jessicaveronica & I are sharing a floor matress covered in coats as blankets,' the 32-year-old began the caption

Appearance! The caption revealed her Twin sister Jessica (pictured) was also sharing the makeshift sleeping arrangement

Lisa and Jessica are known to unashamedly flaunt their lavish lives on Instagram, with Jessica in particular sitting pretty alongside Hollywood star girlfriend Ruby Rose.

Snaps from festivals and lavish hotels and images of the pop duo's lavish and no-doubt expensive outfits litter their Instagram accounts.

While their fans are mostly supportive, the group are no strangers to receiving comments that suggest they're drifting too far from reliability.

Relatable? While their fans are mostly supportive, the group are no strangers to receiving comments that suggest they're drifting too far from reliability

If you've got it! Lisa and Jessica are known to unashamedly flaunt their lavish lives on Instagram, with Jessica in particular sitting pretty alongside Hollywood star girlfriend Ruby Rose

Even Lisa's touchy tone appeared in Tuesday's post appeared to generate scoffs from some social media users.

'Been on the floor for yrs babe,' one wrote, with a love-heart emoji being thrown in for a touch of extra shade.

Perhaps their biggest public ribbing came at the Mardi Gras this year, when fans took to Twitter to slam them after they left a $165 event after just one song.

Hook me up with a refund? Perhaps their biggest public ribbing came at the Mardi Gras this year, when fans took to Twitter to slam them after they left a $165 event after just one song

The raven-haired beauties were called up for the gig after fellow twins Tegan and Sarah had to pull out due to health reasons.

In a throwback to their scantily clad ARIAS outfits, they went completely topless, covering their modesty with nothing but black glitter.

After performing new single In My Blood alongside a group of also shirtless male models, they shocked the paying crowd by abruptly exiting the stage without explanation.

When a Mardi Gras source explained the short performance to SameSame, some fans still weren't satisfied with the response.

One and done: Fans quickly voiced their anger and frustration online after the incident

Not alone: The 32-year-old twins performed their new single In My Blood alongside a group of also shirtless male models

Not good enough! When a Mardi Gras source claimed: 'The Veronicas were topless just wearing glitter body paint, and it was hot in the RHI so it wouldnt last long!' Many fans still weren't satisfied with the response

'The Veronicas were topless just wearing glitter body paint, and it was hot in the RHI so it wouldnt last long!' the source reportedly told the publication.

Upset fans took to Instagram and Twitter also to voice their displeasure, while a smaller group rallied behind the twins.

'Is anyone else disappointed that the Veronica's played one song at #MardiGras2017 @TheVeronicas,' one user Tweeted.

Disappointing: One fan looked for fellow disgruntled paying fans online with this comment

Not happy at all: Another user was a little more perturbed at the one performance

Doesn't cut it: Robert responded directly to the source's explanation with this message

'Me when The Veronicas opened their Mardi Gras "set" with In My Blood vs when The Veronicas finished their "set" after In My Blood,' said another more perturbed critic.

Responding directly to SameSame's source statement, one commenter jabbed: 'Um, you don't actual give a reason for why the performance was short sooooo'.

Some of The Veronicas' 97,000 Instagram followers also weighed in, with one sarcastically writing : 'A truly magical 9 minutes'.

'Magical': Some of The Veronicas 97,000 Instagram followers also weighed in, with one sarcastically writing : 'A truly magical 9 minutes'

'Everyone I have spoken to said it was disappointing, I stayed in the hall waiting for you both when I could have went watched other shows or DJs,' a more disgruntled user added.

'If you want fans to love you give them ur heart and soul or don't waist your time and there. THATS ALL'.

A more forgiving portion of fans used the words 'amazing,' and 'beautiful' to describe the performance, with one addressing critics directly, reminding them the gig was taking place at 3am.

'Your frustration should be aimed at the Mardi Gras Committee, and not Lisa & Jess. THAT'S ALL,' they fired back.

'That's All': 'If you want fans to love you give them ur heart and soul or don't waist your time and there. THATS ALL,' a commenter vented

No, it's not! A supportive group of fans made sure to remind the angry fans that the performance took place at 3am, adding: 'Your frustration should be aimed at the Mardi Gras Committee, and not Lisa & Jess. THAT'S ALL'

Flying in! Flying in to see the divisive performance was Jessica's Hollywood A-list girlfriend Ruby Rose (L)
They had numerous arguments during Real Housewives Of Sydney's debut season.

And Krissy Marsh has spoken out about Lisa Oldfield's expletive-laden rants against her during the show and on social media.

The 45-year-old also revealed to The Daily Telegraph on Thursday 'the girls would love' if Lisa didn't return to the reality series for a second season.

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Fed up: Krissy Marsh has spoken out about Lisa Oldfield's expletive-laden rants against her during the show and on social media

'She called me a s***, a whore, a mole - it did not stop and it still does not stop today,' she stated.

The former model added Lisa, who became her fierce rival as soon as the show started, has 'nothing else going on in her life' and described her antics as 'bullying'.

'I was everything she wanted to be and wants to be,' she declared.

'She called me a s***, a whore, a mole - it did not stop and it still does not stop today,' she stated

'I was everything she wanted to be and wants to be,' she declared

She detailed how Lisa desired her 'wonderful family', including her husband and 'kind and loving kids'.

The Brisbane-born real estate agent made clear she didn't want 'any association at all' with Lisa, even if she does return for a speculated second season of the show.

'Personally the girls would love it if she wasnt [returning] but then she probably makes good TV with the dead cat and the lies, it is fodder,' she stated.

Frenemies: The Brisbane-born real estate agent made clear she didn't want 'any association at all' with Lisa, even if she does return for a speculated second season of the show

Krissy recently hosted a charity breakfast at Peters Of Kensington in Sydney, with co-stars Nicole O'Neil, Victoria Rees and Matty Samaei in attendance.

She told The Daily Telegraph she wanted the event to be a 'lovely, and fun time' so she didn't invite Lisa, Melissa Tkautz and Athena X.

Referring to the post-finale drama which saw the cast divided into two camps, she stated the show might be over 'but the bulls*** continues'.
Four of the adorably precocious stars of Netflix's Stranger Things reunited to compete against each other on this Thursday's Lip Sync Battle.

Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp faced off on the Spike competition but one might have a distinct advantage due to co-host LL Cool J.

15-year-old Caleb donned the two-time Grammy winner's signature red tracksuit, bucket hat, and gold chain to expertly mime his 1987 rap anthem I'm Bad.

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Charismatic child stars: Four of the adorably precocious stars of Netflix's Stranger Things reunited to compete against each other on this Thursday's Lip Sync Battle

Who will win? Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, and Finn Wolfhard faced off on the Spike competition but one might have a distinct advantage due to co-host LL Cool J

He plays Lucas: 15-year-old Caleb donned the two-time Grammy winner's signature red tracksuit, bucket hat, and gold chain to expertly mime his 1987 rap anthem I'm Bad

14-year-old Gaten rocked a Hawaiian shirt for a lightheated rendition of Train's 2012 track 50 Ways to Say Goodbye.

During the pre-show, 14-year-old Finn poked fun of Matarazzo's role as the ill-fated Gavroche in Les Miserables on Broadway last year.

'Gaten, your character in Les Miserables died every night, and that's going to happen again tonight because I'm going to murder you,' the Canadian hilariously deadpanned.

Wolfhard did double duty both lip-syncing and playing air guitar for Weezer's preppy-punk 1994 chestnut, Buddy Holly.

He plays Dustin: 14-year-old Gaten rocked a Hawaiian shirt for a lightheated rendition of Train's 2012 track 50 Ways to Say Goodbye

Triple threat: During the pre-show, 14-year-old Finn poked fun of Matarazzo's role as the ill-fated Gavroche in Les Miserables on Broadway last year

The Canadian hilariously deadpanned: 'Gaten, your character in Les Miserables died every night, and that's going to happen again tonight because I'm going to murder you'

He plays Mike: Wolfhard did double duty both lip-syncing and playing air guitar for Weezer's preppy-punk 1994 chestnut, Buddy Holly

And the youngest of the talented tweens, 12-year-old Noah, wigged out and shook his little booty in leather pants for Maroon 5's 2010 song Moves Like Jagger.

Meanwhile, co-host Chrissy Teigen dressed like fan favorite Barbara Holland (Shannon Purser), the seemingly-ignored dead teenager last seen in the Upside Down.

Noticeably missing was Millie Bobby Brown, who memorably covered Mark Ronson's UpTown Funk! at last year's Emmy Awards with McLaughlin and Matarazzo.

Catch more of the SAG Award winners on the nine-episode second season - set in 1984 - which begins streaming Halloween on Netflix.

He plays Will: And the youngest of the talented tweens, 12-year-old Noah, wigged out and shook his little booty in leather pants for Maroon 5's 2010 song Moves Like Jagger

Justice! Meanwhile, co-host Chrissy Teigen dressed like fan favorite Barbara Holland (Shannon Purser), the seemingly-ignored dead teenager last seen in the Upside Down

Karaoke: Noticeably missing was Millie Bobby Brown (M), who memorably covered Mark Ronson's UpTown Funk! at last year's Emmy Awards with McLaughlin and Matarazzo

'Will Byers (played by Schnapp) is very much at the center of several intersecting challenges, threats in season two,' producer/director Shawn Levy told Gold Derby on Wednesday.

'I think overall the forces of evil that are inherent in season two make that Demogorgon look quaint in retrospect.'

On May 3, TV Line reported that Nashville's Will Chase will play a 'pivotal recurring role' likely Neil Mayfield, the father of newcomers Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery.

Directing duo Ross & Matt Duffer's binge-watching favourite will also introduce Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Linnea Berthelsen, and Brett Gelman to Hawkins in season two.

'Will Byers is very much at the center': Catch more of the SAG Award winners on the nine-episode second season - set in 1984 - which begins streaming Halloween on Netflix

California family? On May 3, TV Line reported that Nashville's Will Chase (L) will play a 'pivotal recurring role' likely Neil Mayfield, the father of newcomers Dacre Montgomery and Sadie Sink
Rosario Dawson briefly opened up about her late cousin Vaneza Ines Vazquez, who died at the age of 26 earlier this month, during an appearance in New York on Wednesday.

The actress, 38, reportedly found Vaneza unresponsive in her home, yet tragically the star's cousin was unable to be resuscitated after she was transported to the hospital, according to TMZ.

Rosario returned to work for an appearance on AOL's series BUILD, where she spoke about her cousin.

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'You just don't know when your time is': Rosario Dawson spoke about her late cousin Vaneza Ines Vazquez, who died at the age of 26 earlier this month, during an appearance at AOL's BUILD Series in New York on Wednesday

'My cousin just died, Vaneza, and I'm coming up on the six year anniversary of my grandmother's passing,' she said during her appearance, where she promoted The Lower Eastside Girls Club.

'And from 75 to 26, you just don't know when your time is. I just don't want to be in any kind of position where I'm looking back going, "Ah, I should've, could've, would've, didn't, d*mn!"'

Rosario appeared to be in good spirits for her appearance as well.

The actress looked cheerful as she spoke with the host about her early life and The Lower Eastside Girls Club.

Doing her part: Rosario appeared to be in good spirits for her appearance as well as she promoted The Lower Eastside Girls Club

Arriving in style: Dawson wore a black halter jumpsuit, combat boots, and styled her long flowing locks in loose and natural waves

Rosario wore a black halter jumpsuit, combat boots, and styled her long flowing locks in loose and natural waves.

She added a pop of color with her canary yellow manicure.

The appearance comes over a week after TMZ reported Rosario's traumatizing experience of finding her cousin in her home.

Doing good: The actress looked cheerful as she spoke with the host about her family life and her charitable pursuits

Opening up: Rosario returned to work for an appearance on AOL's web series BUILD, where she spoke about her cousin

Earlier in April, the actress discovered her cousin Vaneza unconscious downstairs in the star's Venice Beach apartment.

The star is said to have immediately called paramedics, but the team tragically could not resuscitate Vaneza after transporting her to hospital.

Rosario's cousin - who also worked for the starlet - had reportedly been suffering from migraines and also had hypertension.

The site reports that autopsy results indicate Vaneza died from natural causes, and sources claimed she did not have any history of substance abuse.

All ears: The actress became animated as she discussed multiple topics
She always manages to look effortlessly chic.

But Winnie Harlow suffered an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction at the L'Oreal Paris Cinema Club Party at The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

Clad in a cream co-ord that showed off her phenomenal frame, the 22-year-old model accidentally flashed her underwear as she posed for snaps.

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That's pants: Winnie Harlow suffered an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction at the L'Oreal Paris Cinema Club Party at The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday

Showing off her enviably long legs, Winnie - who suffers with skin condition vitiligo - donned a floor length cream skirt with a daringly high front split.

Seemingly unbeknownst to her, the garment flashed her beige underwear as she hit the red carpet and posed for snaps.

Flashing a hint of her taut stomach, the star - who soared to fame after appearing on America's Next Top Model - teamed the skirt with a matching crop top which featured a plunging bandeau neckline.

Glam: Earlier in the day, Winnie walked in the Phillip Plein show which had been held at Cannes and looked sensational as she arrived in a little black dress

Leggy lady! Showing off her enviably long legs, Winnie - who suffers with skin condition vitiligo - donned a floor length cream skirt with a daringly high front split

Oops: Seemingly unbeknownst to her, the garment flashed her beige underwear as she hit the red carpet and posed for snaps

Top of the crops: Flashing a hint of her taut stomach, the star - who soared to fame after appearing on America's Next Top Model - teamed the skirt with a matching crop top

Earlier in the day, Winnie walked in the Phillip Plein show which had been held at Cannes and looked sensational as she arrived in a little black dress.

As she stormed the catwalk, the model also showed off her new shorter locks, which had been styled in a chic pixie cut.

Sashaying down the runway, the starlet was a vision of beauty at the show.

Bridal chic: Winnie showed off her slender legs in the front split gown

Strike a pose: The former ANTM contestant displayed her best model moves

Backstage glamour: Winnie had looked just as sensational at the Phillip Plein show where she showed off her physique in a figure-hugging maxi dress

Hair she comes: The model also showed off her new shorter locks, which had been styled in a chic pixie cut

Winnie shot to fame after being discovered by supermodel and entrepreneur Tyra Banks on her hit reality show - but recently revealed she had never believed she would make it on the show.

She said: 'When America's Next Top Model was casting for the new season I asked all my fans online to tag Tyra Banks so she could see my photos - and they did!'

'My little sister started a Facebook page for me and one of the producers from the show sent a message showing interest.

'Initially I didn't believe it but I followed through and ended up being on the show for season 21. After Tyra gave me that opportunity it was my time.'

Famous friends: Winnie posed with Paris Hilton who also walked in the show

Double trouble: The pair seemed in great spirits as they cuddled up for snaps

While she has now shot to prominence as a hugely successful model with vitiligo, the catwalk beauty recent admitted she is not a fan of being branded a 'role model' -as people shouldn't want to emulate others.

She told Elle Canada: 'I feel like I am an inspiration. Thats the word I prefer.

'I dont believe that I have to be a role model, someone to be emulated. My mom inspires me, and I take great things from her, but there are things from my mom that I would never do.'

Work it! Winnie looked incredible as she stormed the runway
News / National

by Mike Cohen and Paul Vecchiatto, Bloomberg

President Jacob Zuma faces a key battle for his political survival this weekend when senior members of his ruling party say they'll push for its decision-making National Executive Committee to order him to step down.Zuma goes into the meeting of the committee facing an unprecedented level of opposition from within the African National Congress and its labour and communist supporters following a series of scandals he's faced since he took office in 2009.Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa echoed the South African Council of Churches on Sunday by saying the nation is at risk of becoming a "mafia state".While ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa denied that the option of Zuma's ouster will feature at the three-day executive committee meeting that starts on Friday, four members of the panel said they would force it onto the agenda. They asked not to be named because they aren't authorised to speak on the matter."This will be a critical meeting for the NEC," said Ongama Mtimka, a political science lecturer at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, who says there is probably an even chance of him being removed. "We have the balance of power shifting within the ANC. More and more people have begun to speak out."ANC leadershipEven though Zuma withstood a bid to remove him at an NEC meeting in November, criticism of him is rising as he prepares to relinquish the ANC leadership in December. His March 31 decision to fire the respected Pravin Gordhan as finance minister and make 19 other changes to his executive swelled the ranks of his opponents and prompted S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings to downgrade the nation's sovereign credit rating to junk.While only Parliament can legally force the president from office, the NEC could instruct Zuma to resign, as it did Thabo Mbeki in 2008, or tell its MPs who occupy 62% of the seats in the national legislature, to remove him. Zuma has said he'll quit if the party orders him to.The rand gained the most among major currencies on Tuesday and Wednesday after Bloomberg reported the ANC leadership may discuss Zuma's ouster. Yields on benchmark government bonds due 2026 dropped six basis points to 8.49% on Wednesday in Johannesburg. Foreign investors bought a net R3.65bn of South African bonds on Tuesday, the biggest inflow since April 5."My working assumption is that there are some on the NEC that want to discuss this, but more that are happy for Zuma to stay," Kieran Curtis, a London-based director of investment at Standard Life Investments, which manages about $340bn in assets. "The ANC is divided on the matter, and the division goes to the top."Sliding voteSome ANC leaders have openly expressed concern that if the party doesn't change its ways, it may lose power in the next general elections in 2019. It suffered its worst-ever electoral performance in an August municipal vote when it lost control of Johannesburg and Pretoria.In recent weeks, Zuma's government has suffered a series of stinging rebukes.The ANC ordered his administration to reverse the reappointment of Brian Molefe as chief executive of Eskom, who's been implicated alongside the president in a graft probe. Trade union federation Cosatu, the nation's biggest labour group, barred Zuma from speaking at its rallies. And a group of 101 ANC veterans and anti-apartheid activists issued a renewed plea to the NEC to hold a conference to discuss calls for the president to step down.The South African Council of Churches said it collated testimony showing that a powerful elite centred around Zuma has been systematically siphoning off state assets.Zuma is facing "an acute conflation of forces" from all sides, said Jason Robinson, Africa analyst at Oxford Analytica in the UK. While he says it's unlikely the NEC will agree to immediately oust Zuma, party divisions have widened since it last met.Even if Zuma fends off his challengers this weekend, he'll still face a bid by opposition parties to remove him through a motion of no confidence in Parliament. The Constitutional Court is considering whether to rule that the vote can be held by secret ballot, which would allow ANC MPs to cast their ballots without fear of losing their seats.Within the party, challenges to Zuma's authority are likely to continue should he manage to cling to office, according to Mtimka."Logic says that an ANC-based solution that results in Zuma being recalled is the best solution for the ANC and the country," Mtimka said. "But we can't take it as a given that the party will act."
She broke down on Wednesday's Kyle and Jackie O Show following the devastating Manchester terror attack during an Ariana Grande concert which claimed the lives of 22 people and injured 120.

And a day later, Jackie 'O' Henderson could not hide her emotion as she and co-host Kyle Sandilands paid tribute to the victims during a touching segment on their radio show.

The mother-of-one cried as the pair read out the names of those who lost their lives, while a version of Amazing Grace played in the background.

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Emotional: Jackie 'O' Henderson could not hide her emotion as she and co-host Kyle Sandilands paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester terror attack during a segment on their radio show on Thursday

Following the tribute, Kyle revealed that Jackie was still very emotional and had teared up several times.

He also admitted that he too had also shed some tears and was finding it difficult to think about anything else over the last few days: 'I'm a bit choked up.'

Shortly after the segment, a caller discussed the devastation caused by Monday night's terror attack with the radio duo.

Reflecting on last year's Nice terror attack that saw 84 confirmed dead, she admitted she still gets upset up while thinking of her friend who almost lost her life during the ordeal.

Tragedy: Monday night saw 22 people die and 120 injured after a bomb went off outside of Ariana Grande's Manchester concert

On Wednesday, Jackie broke down on-air discussing the attack in Manchester.

She tearfully revealed her own daughter Kitty, six, was planning to see Ariana as her first concert in September.

Jackie said: 'I just think of all those families that are in the same situation, little kids that have gone to their first concert, and they're so young.'

Tearful: Jackie 'O' broke down on Wednesday's radio show, discussing the Manchester terrorist attack which killed 22 people, including an eight-year-old

She continued: '(Kitty) loves Ariana Grande, she watches her, she's on those kids' shows... it's why she has so many young fans.

'She adores her. We were going to go to Ariana Grande as her first concert. (We talked about it) before what happened yesterday.

'And I just think of all those families that are in the same situation, little kids that have gone to their first concert, and they're so young, you know?

'An eight year old was killed. An eight year old! And to deliberately target young girls like that is just so horrific, I can't...' she said, before trailing off.

Family: She tearfully revealed her own daughter Kitty, six, was planning to see Ariana as her first concert in September

Later Jackie expressed her shock and disbelief that a suicide bomber would specifically target innocent young people.

'To be in that mindset where you would want to target those kids, you know, it's just pure evil.

'And it just disappoints me that he's dead. I think a suicide bomber, that's the easy way out. I want him to be alive. I want him to see what he's done.

'(I want him) to look at those pictures of who he killed. But he's dead now, so...'

'I just think of all those families that are in the same situation, little kids that have gone to their first concert, and they're so young': The tragedy deeply affected the Sydney radio personality

Her co-host Kyle said: 'That's what he wanted. He wanted them dead.'

Jackie replied: 'I know, but he should be alive to face it. (To) actually see the reality.'

Afterwards, during a light-hearted Google Predicts segment, Jackie sounded emotional and distracted and was clearly still affected by the tragedy.

A ball bearing bomb was detonated at Ariana's Manchester Arena concert on Monday night, killing 22 people and injuring 120 others.

The terrorist was later named as Salman Abedi, a Mancunian of Libyan descent who was known to the security services.
She's renown for her public displays of affection on the red carpet with husband Keith Urban.

And Nicole Kidman continued to share her public amity at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday with her colleagues.

The 49-year-old was seen getting overly affectionate with her The Beguiled co-stars Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning during a photocall in France on Wednesday.

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Public affection: Nicole Kidman was seen putting on an amorous show with her The Beguiled co-stars Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning during a photocall in France on Wednesday

The blonde trio looked a picture of happiness, with leading lady Nicole in the middle as she posed for photographers and wrapped her arms around Kirsten and Elle.

At one point she gently leaned in towards Elle, 19, and gave her a tender motherly kiss on top of her head.

She nuzzled into the teenager as she held onto her tightly, with Elle leaning in towards the veteran actress at the same time.

Endearing: The blonde trio looked a picture of happiness, with leading lady Nicole in the middle as she posed for photographers and wrapped her arms around Kirsten and Elle

Amorous: The actress is renown for displaying affection on the red carpet with husband Keith Urban

Nicole was also seen getting close to Kirsten, 35, hours later during the premiere for the film, which is up for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize.

She tightly squeezed her younger co-star as they both held onto each other, smiling widely with their eyes closed.

At an earlier event, Nicole was seen sharing a cuddle with Naomi Campbell, 47, moving in towards her closely as they beamed for photos.

Bliss: She tightly squeezed her younger co-star Kirsten later in the evening at a premiere for the film

Besties: Nicole was also seen getting close to Kirsten, 35, during the red carpet premiere for the film, which is up for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize

Hugging it out: Kristen and Nicole shared a sweet cuddle on the carpet

Celebrating: The trio held their hands in the air as they left the coveted premiere together

Near at hand: At an earlier event, Nicole was seen sharing a cuddle with Naomi Campbell, 47, moving in towards her closely as they beamed for photos

In addition to her unabashed exhibitions of endearment, Nicole has also been showcasing her enviable style at any cost during the 70th iteration of the festival.

Continuing to wow the fashion police, Nicole stepped out in a flapper inspired gown by Michael Kors as she attended the official premiere of The Beguiled at the renowned cinematic event on Wednesday.

It's the Oscar winner's second screening at the Palais des Festivals in a matter of days after she attended the premiere for the The Killing Of A Sacred Deer alongside her co-star Colin Farrell - who stars in both.

Show-stopping: Nicole stepped out in a flapper inspired gown by Michael Kors as she attended the screening of The Beguiled at the renowned cinematic event in the South of France on Wednesday

The flawless Australian actress stunned in her metallic show-stopper which featured fringe detail down the bodice and skirt that moved as she sashayed to the venue.

Her choice of designer garment highlighted her slender figure with its column silhouette and intricate crystal beading.

The sleeveless look exhibited her toned arms while she posed up a storm alongside her co-stars Addison Riecke, Angourie Rice, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and director Sofia Coppola.

Flawless: She added to glamorous beauty look with a blood red lip which complemented her alabaster complexion

Fringe benefits: The flawless Australian actress stunned in her metallic show-stopper which featured fringe detail down the bodice and skirt that moved as she sashayed to the venue

Sparkling: Nicole showcased her many eye-catching jewels as she arrived at the premiere

Walk this way: Nicole's darling number moved as she walked and added volume to her ensemble

Making a statement: Her charming look featured layered crystal detailing and sequin fringing

All that glitters: Nicole was completely mesmerising in her couture gown

Support: The Aussie star held onto co-star Elle's hand as they arrived at the exclusive screening

Australia star Nicole worked her blonde tresses into a soft curl before slipping her mane into a ponytail which cascaded down her back and highlighted her statement drop diamond earrings.

She added to glamorous beauty look with a blood red lip which complemented her alabaster complexion.

The Beguiled is a thriller from Sofia Coppola and is set during the Civil War, at a Southern girls boarding school, and will go up against The Killing Of A Sacred Deer for the Palme d'Or.

Getting chic done: Elle Fanning, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farrell, Nicole, director Sofia Coppola, Angourie Rice and Addison Riecke showcased their incredible looks at the top of the carpet together (Pictured L-R)

Crystal clear: Her choice of designer garment highlighted her slender figure with its column silhouette and intricate crystal beading

Movement: The flawless Australian actress stunned in her metallic show-stopper which featured fringe detail down the bodice and skirt that moved as she sashayed to the venue

The sleeveless look exhibited her toned arms while she posed up a storm alongside her co-stars Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, director Sofia Coppola, Youree Henley, Angousie Rice and Addison Riecke (Pictured L-R)

Picture perfect: Nicole placed a helping hand on her young co-star Angourie's shoulder while posing for photos

Breath-taking: Nicole appeared at ease as she stood inbetween acclaimed film maker Sofia and actress Elle

Party people: Nicole's beauty was apparent as she posed with her pastel coloured clad co-stars

The plot sees the head of the house [Kidman] take in an injured enemy soldier [Farrell] to provide refuge and tend to his wounds.

However, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events.

Directed by Don Siegel, the 1971 film starred Eastwood as John McBurney, Geraldine Page as Martha, Elizabeth Hartman as Edwina, Jo Ann Harris as Carol and Pamelyn Ferdin as Amy.

At ease: The mother-of-four accentuated her statuesque beauty alongside her co-stars

Fashion forward: Nicole slipped on a matching metallic heel as she walked up the red carpet

Holding dear: The film darling wrapped her arms around Sofia and Colin before they headed inside

Suit up: The movie star stood proudly alongside her co-star Dubliner Colin, who looked dapper in a simple tuxedo

The new version, which Coppola's also written and helped produce, will be out June 23 in Britain and June 30 in America.

Asked how she selects acting projects by TV host Graham Norton recently, Nicole admitted she keeps an open mind when choosing her scripts.

She said: 'I am spontaneous and like to chose a script and visionary directors and I dont mind if they are divisive.'

Metallic muse! The beauty stood out amongst her co-stars in her breath taking dress

Au revoir! Nicole waved goodbye to the crowd alongside Colin, Kristen and Elle
Their long-running feud has long-dominated headlines.

Yet Katy Perry's recent revelation that she 'has no beef' with Taylor Swift has stunned fans, although she appeared to be far away from thoughts of fights as she headed out for dinner at London's China Tang restaurant on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Roar hitmaker looked stunning in a leopard print top and leather trousers, seemingly in a nod to her beloved cats and potentially her 'cat fight' with Taylor - the row which has raged on for some time.

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Say what!? Katy Perry's recent revelation that she 'has no beef' with Taylor Swift has stunned fans, although she appeared to be far away from thoughts of fights as she headed out for dinner at London's China Tang restaurant on Wednesday

Katy has been blazing the promotional trail with her new music, during which she has finally discussed her fight with Taylor.

As she took a break from promo for a dinner in the capital, the stunner looked incredibly chic in brown leather trousers with a velvet leopard print top.

The trousers sat loosely on her slender legs while the top also acted to mask her buxom assets - yet the looked was stunning over all.

Her chic blonde crop looked funky while her skin and eye make-up were flawless - making for an polished and stylish finish.

That was then... The 32-year-old Roar hitmaker looked stunning in a leopard print top and leather trousers, seemingly in a nod to her beloved cats and potentially her 'cat fight' with Taylor (pictured together in 2009) - the row which has raged on for some time

Stunner: Katy has been blazing the promotional trail with her new music, during which she has finally discussed her fight with Taylor

Leather lady: As she took a break from promo for a dinner in the capital, the stunner looked incredibly chic in brown leather trousers with a velvet leopard print top

Beef: Rumours of a rift initially surfaced in 2014, shortly before the release of Taylor's controversial and divisive hit Bad Blood

Rumours of a rift initially surfaced in 2014, shortly before the release of Taylor's controversial and divisive hit Bad Blood.

Back when the 'beef' arose, Taylor alluded to the fact the song was about a fellow musician with whom she locked horns in a professional dispute after rowing over back dancers for their respective tours.

After the article, Katy took to Twitter to share a post referencing Mean Girls antagonist Regina George: 'Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing.'

After talk of the row died down for some time, the reports soared back to prominence upon the release of her new hit Swish Swish, rumoured to be a hit back at Bad Blood, as she sang the track in James Corden's Carpool Karaoke.

Chatting away: After talk of the row died down for some time, the reports soared back to prominence upon the release of her new hit Swish Swish, rumoured to be a hit back at Bad Blood, as she sang the track in James Corden's Carpool Karaoke

Way back when: Back when the 'beef' arose, Taylor alluded to the fact the song was about a fellow musician with whom she locked horns in a professional dispute after rowing over back dancers for their respective tours

Finish it: When asked about the fight, she said: 'For sure, that's true. There's a situation, she started it and it's time for her to finish it'

When asked about the fight, she said: 'For sure, that's true. There's a situation, she started it and it's time for her to finish it...

'It is about backing dancers, it's so crazy. There are three backing dancers that went on tour with her and they asked me before, if they could they go and I was like: "Of course."'

Despite this, a later radio interview saw the star admit she was ready to drop the fight: 'I am ready because I think when women unite, the world is going to heal. I dont have any beef really with anyone.

'I love everyone, and honestly I love everyone and I think we need to unite more than ever. I think we see that today especially  like we need to come together and love on each other today.'
He's been enjoying a romantic jaunt across Canada with Ash Toweel.

And Tim Dormer, 31, and his smitten boyfriend put on a very cheeky display while bidding farewell to the city of Salmon Arm on Thursday.

The happy couple flashed their bottoms while holding hands on a mountain top as they shared a moment while hiking.

That's cheeky: Tim Dormer, 31, and his smitten boyfriend put on a very cheeky display while bidding farewell to the city of Salmon Arm on Thursday

'Bummed to be leaving Salmon Arm, had an amazing time with the Davies, our adopted Canadian family!! Stoked to head to Whistler today! #Hiking,' the curly-haired star captioned.

Former Big Brother winner Tim later apologised to his photographer friend for 'ruining the view' in a snap taken at Blind Bay.

'We would have never seen this amazing view if not for you and scott so thankyou!! Sorry for ruining your view with our butts,' he wrote in the comments section.

Smitten: Tim has been enjoying a romantic jaunt across Canada with Ash Toweel in recent weeks

The cheeky snap comes after Tim posted a photo of him and Ash in a tender embrace during a stop in Banff, Alberta on Tuesday.

The former reality star, who made a recent plea for marriage equality in Australia, described how the couple paid a visit to the resort town 'for a fun romantic getaway.'

'Stopped off in beautiful Banff last night for a fun romantic getaway,' he wrote in the snap's caption, which featured the happy twosome gazing into each other's eyes.

Lovebirds: The cheeky snap comes after Tim posted a photo of him and Ash in a tender embrace during a stop in Banff, Alberta on Tuesday

He then divulged the pair were only in town for one night and were headed to British Columbia 'for some wilderness hiking' next.

They also made a brief stop in Calgary with a group of friends prior to Banff and had initially landed in Toronto to kick off their Canadian adventure.

While in Toronto, Tim was part of Big Brother Canada's finale jury round table, a show he participated in last year after winning the Australian version in 2013.

On the move: The 31-year-old, who made a recent plea for marriage equality in Australia, described how the couple paid a visit to the resort town 'for a fun romantic getaway'

Though he was eliminated he was an audience favourite on the show, with many Canadian viewers hoping he would win.

'I screamed when I saw you on my screen! So good to see your face again!' gushed one fan on social media regarding his guest appearance this month.

Steamy images emerged earlier this month of Tim engaged in a passionate beach romp with Ash.

'I screamed when I saw you on my screen! So good to see your face again!' gushed one fan on social media regarding his guest appearance this month

In the images it appeared that Tim was wearing an engagement ring.

In direct response to the photos, the television personality took to his Instagram to reference the fight for marriage equality in Australia.

'Whether or not I got engaged...IT'S STILL BLOODY ILLEGAL FOR ME TO PUT A RING ON IT IN AUSTRALIA!!!' he wrote.
The stalker who broke into Sandra Bullock's home is to be released after striking a plea deal.

Joshua James Corbett was being held in jail on $2.185 million bail for charges of felony stalking and burglary over the 2014 incident.

However he is now free to walk the streets after a judge ordered him to serve five years probation under the terms of the deal.

Stalked: The man who broke into Sandra Bullock's home in 2014 is to be released on probation

According to TMZ, he will have to attend a mental health facility for in-patient treatment, while he will be monitored by a probation officer to make sure he is taking his medication.

In addition, the judge ruled that Corbett has to stay away from the 52-year-old Miss Congeniality star for 10 years.

The terrified Oscar winner, who lives with her adopted children Louis and Laila, bumped into the intruder when she was awakened by a loud noise.

She was forced to hide in a closet while she guided police to her home.

Free: Joshua James Corbett was charged with felony stalking and burglary

Corbett was clutching a black notebook with a two-page letter to Bullock and magazine photos of the actress when he was arrested.

He was unarmed, but police later found several automatic weapons and illegal tracer ammunition in his home.

The illegal weapons were found while officers were trying to find eight legal firearms Corbett owned, but needed to surrender due to temporary restraining order issued against him.

However an appeals court later ruled Los Angeles police detectives illegally searched his home, and prosecutors were not be able to submit the as evidence at his trial.

Corbett previously expressed remorse for going to the star's home., saying: I'd already hurt somebody that I didn't intend to. I did not want to affect my family with my actions.'
She is known for expressing the joys of motherhood.

And Teresa Palmer was every inch the doting mother when she stepped out with her two boys in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old was seen showering her baby boy Forest Sage with kisses as they picked up his brother Bodhi Rain, three, from school.

Look of love! Teresa Palmer dotes over newborn son Forest Sage and Bodhi Rain, 3, while stepping out for school pick-up in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Kisses! The Hacksaw Ridge actress doted over her cherubic newborn Forest Sage by lifting him up to give him loving kisses and cuddles

New bub! Teresa welcomed her second child, Forest Sage, last December in Australia

The svelte actress, 31, appeared to have her hands full as she carried Forest on her hip while Bondi walked happily beside her.

The growing brood were in high spirits as they took a leisurely stroll to their luxury Land Rover.

The Australian star cut a casual figure in a polka dot silk blouse and a pair of tight jeans.

Teresa teamed her chic ensemble with blue cat-eye sunglasses from Sunday Somewhere and black flats.

Yummy mummy! The Australian star showed off her post-baby body in a polka dot silk blouse and a pair of tight jeans

The Hacksaw Ridge actress doted over her two children, including cherubic newborn Forest Sage, who she gave birth to in December.

She was seen holding up the bub to give him plenty of loving kisses.

Her relaxed boho style during the afternoon outing was highlighted by her choice of hair styling, placing her messy blonde locks into a low ponytail.

Proud mother! She was spotted cuddling up to her two adorable children, who she shares with director husband Mark Webber, in LA

Playful! It's believed she had just picked up Bodhi from school, who was bouncing around with lots of energy

It's believed she had just picked up Bodhi from school, who was bouncing around with lots of energy.

Her young son looked equally as trendy in a pair of blue-printed shorts, tiger T-shirt and blue shoes as he walked with his famous mum.

Keeping an eye on him, Teresa was also seen juggling Forest's baby carrier as they walked towards the car.

Adorable! Her young son looked equally as trendy in a pair of blue-printed shorts, tiger T-shirt and blue shoes as he walked with his famous mum

Don't go too far! Keeping an eye on him, Teresa was also seen juggling Forest's baby carrier as they walked towards the car

Teresa's makeup appeared flawlessly applied, as she opted for a light foundation and a nude lip.

She chose to forgo a handbag and accessorise her look by layering a stone necklace with a gold necklace.

Her impressive post-baby body was evident in her figure-hugging outfit.

Looking good! Her impressive post-baby body was evident in her figure-hugging outfit

She shares the two adorable children with her director husband Mark Webber.

The pair met over Twitter in 2012, when Teresa tweeted her support for his movie End of Love after seeing its trailer.

After writing letters to each other over email, the couple eventually tied the knot in Mexico in 2013, before welcoming their first child shortly after.

Details: She chose to forgo a handbag and accessorise her look by layering a stone necklace with a gold necklace

Relaxed: Teresa's makeup application appeared minimal, as she opted to place her blonde locks into a messy low ponytail
He became known in the nineties as the pop star who often went shirtless in his music videos.

But as Peter Andre prepares for his first Australian tour this November, in over 20 years, the 44-year-old revealed to News Corp that his six-pack won't make a return.

'The last thing I'd want to do now is take my shirt off,' the UK-based personality admitted.

'I won't be taking my shirt off': Peter Andre, 44, announced his Australian tour in over 20 YEARS, but admitted to News Corp his trademark six-pack is long gone. Pictured on the left in 1996 and on the right in 2016

'The nineties  they were the days. My videos were actually banned in a lot of countries because of the toplessness,' Peter told the publication.

'I still work out, I train, I keep trim, but the six-pack will never be like it was in my 20s.

'I'm not sure I could put that much effort in. I do exercise a lot. I keep active. For 44, I'm OK,' the Mysterious Girl star continued.

Prime: 'The nineties  they were the days. My videos were actually banned in a lot of countries because of the toplessness,' Peter told the publication

Active: 'I still work out, I train, I keep trim, but the six-pack will never be like it was in my 20s,' the Mysterious Girl star shared

Peter will tour Australia in November, for the first time in over 20 years.

Performing hits including Gimme Little Sign, Let's Get It On, Get Down On It and All Night All Night, the father-of-four with vocal quartet CDB, will hit the road in Brisbane on November 18.

Peter will then perform in the Gold Coast on November 19, followed by shows in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

While he's become a television personality in the UK, hosting a home renovation series and presenting regularly on UK breakfast television, Peter's personal life has made countless headlines.

Candid: 'I'm not sure I could put that much effort in. I do exercise a lot. I keep active. For 44, I'm OK,' Peter added

Signature: The UK-based personality's trademark in the nineties was his six-pack abs

His disagreements with ex-wife and glamour model Katie Price, 39, are often aired in the press, since the couple called time on their five-year marriage in 2009.

During their union, the pair welcomed two children, son Junior, 11, and daughter Princess Tiaamii, nine.

Peter found love again with doctor Emily MacDonagh, tying the knot in 2015.

The couple share two children together, daughter Amelia, three, and son Theodore, six months.

Headlines: Peter's disagreements with ex-wife and glamour model Katie Price, 39, are often aired in the press, since the couple called time on their five-year marriage in 2009
She's shown strength and resilience in recent months since she suffering a very public meltdown.

And Mischa Barton, 31, attended the L'Oreal Cinema Club party in Cannes, wearing a 70s inspired semi-sheer gown on Wednesday night.

The former OC star - who had made an appearance during the festival earlier in the week - looked chic in her light orange full-length garment which teased at her slender pins.

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Serene: Mischa Barton, 31, attended the L'Oreal Cinema Club party in Cannes, wearing a seventies inspired semi-sheer gown on Wednesday night

Oozing bohemian vibes, her floor-grazing garment featured eye-catching ruffle detailing down her skirt alongside floral pastel embroidery which accentuated her honed pins.

The British-born beauty - who grew up in New York - commanded the spotlight in her dazzling ensemble that mimicked the same intricate colourful accents across the bodice.

Her spaghetti-strapped dress was teamed with statement drop-earrings and charming chain inspired bracelet as she posed for cameras with ease.

The TV star accentuated her glowing beauty look by styling her honey-hued locks into a soft curl, showcasing her model features.

Boho chic: The former OC star - who had made an appearance during the festival earlier in the week - looked effortlessly chic in her light orange full-length garment which teased at her slender pins

Mischa's latest outing came after she bounced back from a series of setbacks.

Last month, DailyMail.com revealed that she had been granted an extension to restraining orders against two former boyfriends she believes are trying to sell an explicit sex tape of her, according to legal documents.

The footage was being touted to online porn companies, with a number of porn industry giants still considering the offer.

The legal filing shows that the two men are at loggerheads, blaming each other for trying to shop the x-rated material.

Chic: The former child star's outing also came after she had a 'meltdown' at the beginning of the year - pictured the night before, in Cannes

According to the paperwork, filed by Barton's lawyer Lisa Bloom at Los Angeles Superior Court, the requests for extended domestic violence restraining orders against Jon Zacharias and Adam Spaw, previously known as Adam Shaw, were submitted to the court.

The requests, DailyMail.com learned, were both approved by the judge the same day.

The former child star's outing also came after she had a 'meltdown' at the beginning of the year, when two of her neighbors called 911 saying that she had threatened to kill herself.

'My downstairs neighbor is hysterically crying in the backyard and says she's going to kill herself,' said a female neighbor in a 911 tape obtained by TMZ.

Looking great: Two of Mischa's neighbors called 911 saying that she had threatened to kill herself

'She's screaming and she just keeps on saying 'I want to die' and then she's like 'I'm going to kill myself' and then she just keeps on, yeah, it's all nonsensical. But I'm very concerned.'

Mischa claimed that she had been given the date rape drug GHB following the incident, which led to her being hospitalized after paramedics arrived on the scene.

In previously released footage of the meltdown, which appeared to be filmed by a neighbor, she could be seen ranting and raving while she hang over a fence in her backyard.

The actress, wearing a loose white t-shirt, could be heard wailing as she rocked back and forth. 'Ah, planet Earth. Um, bye,' says Barton at the top of the video. 'Like, like anybody. Oh my God, it's over. I feel it. And it's angry.'
Despite being the only original star of the Great British Bake Off to return to the new series, Paul Hollywood has reportedly found it a little awkward.

According to a source, he has most notably struggled to forge a connection with the new presenter Noel Fielding, who will co-host the show with Sandi Toksvig on it's new Channel 4 home.

The Sun reports that 'Noel has confided in pals that he and Paul werent instantly on the same page.'

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'Theyre chalk and cheese!' Noel Fielding and Paul Hollywood have 'struggled to bond' on the new Great British Bake Off thanks to their polar 'offbeat and gruff' personalities

The baking veteran Paul is known for his penchant to cars - and was at one point tipped to take the helm of the rebooted Top Gear following Jeremy Clarkson's departure.

And according to The Sun's spy, Paul tried to chat to Noel about motoring, only to be met with an unenthusiastic reply.

'Theyre chalk and cheese. Noel is offbeat, whereas Paul can be gruff and by-the- book. When they met, Noel realised how little they have in common,' the source added.

'There were a few tumbleweed moments like that. There was never any tension but it wasnt the love-in Paul had with Mel and Sue and Mary Berry.'

The new team: Recruiting Prue Leith as Mary's replacement was a reasonably unsurprising decision, but teaming Noel and Sandi up raised one or two eyebrows

As they were: The comedian - who is known for his bizarre sitcom The Mighty Boosh and his adult humour - was a shock appointment after Love Productions sold the show to Channel 4, leaving Mel and Sue sticking around at the BBC out of solidarity

Noel's appointment as the new presenter of the show ruffled feathers with fans of the show who were concerned he wasn't an appropriate fit for the job.

The comedian - who is known for his bizarre sitcom The Mighty Boosh and his adult humour - was a shock appointment after Love Productions sold the show to Channel 4, leaving Mel and Sue sticking around at the BBC out of solidarity.

With Mary Berry abandoning ship too, Channel 4 had the daunting task of replacing the three women, who were all fan favourites.

Shock appointment: The Sun reports also that things have fallen into place despite the early awkwardness between Paul and Noel - and that Noel gets on famously with Prue

Awks: Despite being the only original star of the Great British Bake Off to return to the new series, Paul Hollywood has reportedly found it a little weird

Recruiting Prue Leith as Mary's replacement was a reasonably unsurprising decision, but teaming Noel and Sandi up raised one or two eyebrows.

The Sun reports also that things have fallen into place despite the early awkwardness between Paul and Noel - and that Noel gets on famously with Prue.

The new series is set to return to screens in the late summer.
It's been an busy month for The Bachelor couples, with Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski announcing they are expecting a baby, and Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich finally getting engaged.

And last year's Bachelorette Georgia Love congratulated the reality TV couples on Wednesday while joking about her own relationship with Lee Elliott.

The 28-year-old TV journalist took to her Instagram Story to reveal the Melbourne-based pair were 'kicking goals too' with their tasty home-made lasagna.

Don't forget us! After a busy month of Bachelor announcements - including a pregnancy and engagement - The Bachelorette's Georgia Love and Lee Elliott joked they were 'kicking goals'

Georgia and Lee, who have been dating since The Bachelorette's finale in Singapore last year, are known for their quirky humour.

Georgia started off her video sincerely as she expressed her happiness for her fellow reality TV stars, who she tagged in the post.

'So this week we found out Sam and Snez are having a baby - congratulations! Tim and Anna just got engaged - yay, congratulations!,' she said excitedly.

Georgia then joked the couple had their own announcement to make, saying: 'Meanwhile I just made a lasagna and he really likes it!'

'Meanwhile I just made a lasagna and he really likes it!' While congratulating 2013 couple Tim and Anna, and 2015's Sam and Snezana, Georgia made a 'big announcement' about her dinner

Panning the camera to an unimpressed Lee, he admits the dish is 'alright' before she shakes off his comment and tells fans: 'Well we're kicking goals too!'

On Wednesday night, The Bachelor Australia's original couple - Anna and Tim - announced their long-awaited engagement.

Anna proudly flashed her diamond ring on Instagram, and a jewellery expert later told Daily Mail Australia it could be worth up to $173,000.

'Officially forever': On Wednesday night, The Bachelor Australia's original couple - Anna Heinrich and Tim Robards - announced their long-awaited engagement

Two weeks ago, The Bachelor 2015's Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski announced they were expecting their first child together.

They are the first couple from the TV dating series to announce a pregnancy.

In the past two years, Sam has taken on a stepfather role to Snezana's 12-year-old daughter Eve.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

A tout from Burnside in Bulawayo is in trouble after he allegedly assaulted a police officer when he wanted to arrest him for touting for passengers which is illegal in Zimbabwe.Mathias Mugandi (23) appeared in court charged with assaulting a peace officer. Allegations against him is that on May 22 at 11:44 am the police officer Elias Dzongomani was on duty with other police officers at Egodini terminus when they saw the accused touting for passengers.He approached him and told him that he was under arrest. He tried to run away but was caught by other police officers after he tried to resist arrest.He allegedly head-butted the police officer on the mouth once. He was arrested leading to his court appearance.
Rosario Dawson stepped out for the Lower East Side Girls Club Spring Fling charity event in NYC on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old actress stunned in a yellow couture gown as she posed for the fundraiser to help connect underprivileged girls to healthy and successful futures.

The outing comes after Dawson found her cousin Vaneza Ines Vazquez dead at her home in Los Angeles area on May 11.

Ray of sunshine: Rosario Dawson, 38, stepped out for the Lower East Side Girls Club Spring Fling charity event in NYC on Wednesday

The New York native looked ravishing in the form fitting dress.

The couture gown cut a high neckline and draped down to her knees while opening in the back.

Dawson kept her trademark locks long and loose and swept to one side.

She paired the golden hued gown with shiny gold high heels and nary an accessory.

Peace and love: The actress stunned in a yellow couture gown as she posed for the fundraiser to help connect underprivileged girls to healthy and successful futures

Peek-a-boo: The couture gown cut a high neckline and draped down to her knees while opening in the back

Dawson is a huge advocate of the Lower East Side Girls Club and the Spring Fling charity event.

The annual event brings together more than 400 of New York Citys most influential and connected business leaders, artists and philanthropists to raise funding for the Club programs benefiting at-risk girls.

Last year, Emmy-award winner (for Sex and the City costume design) Patricia Field, and financial wizard, Kimberley Hatchet were honored.

Stunner: Dawson kept her trademark locks long and loose and swept to one side

Earlier in May, the actress discovered her cousin Vaneza unconscious downstairs in the star's Venice Beach apartment according to TMZ.

The star is said to have immediately called paramedics, but the team tragically could not resuscitate Vaneza after transporting her to hospital.

Rosario's cousin - who also worked for the starlet - had reportedly been suffering from migraines and also had hypertension.

Giving back: Dawson is a huge advocate of the Lower East Side Girls Club and the Spring Fling charity event

The autopsy results indicate Vaneza died from natural causes, and sources claimed she did not have any history of substance abuse.

Rosario returned to work for an appearance on AOL's series BUILD today, where she spoke about her cousin.

'My cousin just died, Vaneza, and I'm coming up on the six year anniversary of my grandmother's passing,' she said during her appearance, where she promoted The Lower Eastside Girls Club.

'And from 75 to 26, you just don't know when your time is. I just don't want to be in any kind of position where I'm looking back going, "Ah, I should've, could've, would've, didn't, d*mn!"'

Strength in numbers: The annual event brings together more than 400 of New York Citys most influential and connected business leaders, artists and philanthropists to raise funding for the Club programs benefiting at-risk girls
She officially became Mrs. Worthington in 2014 after a secret wedding to actor Sam.

But on Wednesday, it was back to Bingle for Lara, who reverted to her maiden name during a family outing at Disney World.

The 29-year-old proudly flashed her maiden name on a pass and shared a snap to Instagram while exploring Pandora - The World of Avatar in Florida.

Back to Bing: Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) reverted back to her maiden name during a family outing at Disney World

Sporting blue denim skinny jeans and a loose-fitting black and white shirt, Lara cut a relaxed figure as she snapped a photo of her lower body.

The mother-of-two joined her Hollywood actor husband Sam, 40, and their two-year-old son Rocket Zot for the outing at Disney World.

The trio checked out a new 12-acre themed area that is based on James Cameron's Avatar film series, which Sam starred in back in 2009.

Wedded bliss: The New York-based couple tied the knot in December 2014 and share two sons Rocket, two, (pictured) and seven-month-old Racer

The outing comes days after Lara was pictured enjoying a very lavish getaway in the South of France without her husband of two and half years Sam.

The New York-based couple tied the knot in December 2014 and share two sons Rocket, two, and seven-month-old Racer.

The Cronulla-native said living in the Big Apple allows her family more privacy.

Happy abroad: The Cronulla-native said living in the Big Apple allows her family more privacy

'Living away has made me softer and being able to raise the boys here, I haven't had as much scrutiny,' she previously told Fairfax.

'It's amazing. Two children under the age of two definitely keeps us busy, but it's the most rewarding thing ever.'

Hacksaw Ridge star Sam added: 'My happy place is with my family wherever they are, especially with my wife.'
She fell in love with personal trainer Sam Wood on The Bachelor, and now they are expecting a baby together.

But it hasn't been smooth sailing for Snezana Markoski, who told OK! magazine she is experiencing severe morning sickness.

The 36-year-old, who has a daughter from a previous relationship, said: 'I don't remember being this sick with Eve'.

'I don't remember being this sick with Eve': The Bachelor's Snezana Markoski told OK! she is experiencing severe morning sickness, after revealing she is pregnant with her second child

Speaking of her pregnancy with Eve, who recently turned 12, Snezana admitted things have been quite different this time.

'I was sick with Eve, I felt nauseous the whole way through. But I don't remember being as sick as I was the first few months as I am now,' she said.

Meanwhile, Snezana was seen looking rather tired and sleep-deprived while leaving her Melbourne home on Tuesday.

Nauseous: Speaking of her pregnancy with first daughter Eve, who recently turned 12, Snezana admitted things have been quite different this time. Pictured with fiance Sam Wood (right)

Snezana and Sam fell in love on the third series of The Bachelor Australia in 2015.

The reality TV couple were in the middle of planning their European wedding when her pregnancy put the plans on hold.

Sam, 37, recently told NW the plan was to get married and then try for a baby.

What a surprise! Sam and Snezana, who met on The Bachelor in 2015, were in the middle of planning their European wedding when her pregnancy put the plans on hold

He said: 'We went to Europe and we found a tentative venue on the Amalfi Coast, and I said to Snez, "I bet you as soon as we find something and pick a date, you'll be pregnant." And sure enough, she did.'

Snezana, who spent the weekend celebrating Eve's 12th birthday, discovered she was pregnant when she was eight weeks along.

After feeling extremely tired and nauseous, she took four different tests to confirm she was definitely expecting.
She's a business mogul whose time is precious.

And Bethenny Frankel didn't have a moment to spare as she changed her outfit in a car before her appearance on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old Real Housewife of New York went from a black tank top and jeans to a tight white top and sparkly skirt in a matter of seconds.

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Quick change artist: Bethenny Frankel, 49, changed her outfit in a car before her appearance on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday

The Skinny Girl boss started off her Snapchat story by saying: 'I don't have much time before Watch What Happens Live.'

She began to undress as she added: 'This is all for you Andy Cohen!' referencing the host of the talk show.

At one point, the reality star covered her breasts as she awaited her tight white top to be passed to her by an assistant.

Frankel then was left without pants for a moment and crossed her hands over her private area.

Jokester: The Skinny Girl boss started off her Snapchat story by saying: 'I don't have much time before Watch What Happens Live'

Shout out: She began to undress as she added: 'This is all for you Andy Cohen!' referencing the host of the talk show

Magician: Real Housewife of New York went from a black tank top and jeans to a tight white top and sparkly skirt in a matter of seconds

Soon she struggled to fit into the sparkly tight mini skirt.

Frankel added '#carchangechronicles' over the hilarious video.

On Monday, the brunette beauty posted a selfie of her posing with fellow Real Housewife Nene Leakes in Los Angeles.

Demure damsel: Frankel then was left without pants for a moment and crossed her hands over her private area

Tight quarters: Soon she struggled to fit into the sparkly tight mini skirt

'About last night,' she captioned the photo, but did not give any details as to where the ladies had their get together.

Bethenny is in Los Angeles for a series of interviews to promote the latest addition to her Skinnygirl brand, deli meats.

NeNe frequently travels to Los Angeles to film Fashion Police on the E! network.

Warrior princess: A real battle ensued with the miniskirt

Keep strong: It was an epic war for the ages

Rump shot: Bethenny came out victorious in the battle of the outfit
It's the time of year when the cast and producers of television shows lobby for consideration for the Emmy Awards, handed out in September.

And on Wednesday night, British actress Claire Foy made a red carpet appearance as part of the month-long FYSee event by streaming service Netflix.

The 33-year-old hoped to persuade Emmy voters to consider The Crown when it comes to nominations set to be announced July 13.

For your consideration: British actress Claire Foy made a red carpet appearance in LA Wednesday as part of the FYSee event by Netflix in support of her drama series The Crown

Duo: Foy, 33, was joined at the event seeking Emmy nominations for the series by her co-star Matt Smith, 34

Foy starred as Queen Elizabeth II in the drama that recounted the accession of the young monarch following the death of her father King George VI and the early years of her marriage to Prince Philip.

She is currently shooting a second season of the series.

The actress was joined at the event in LA by her co-star Matt Smith.

On screen couple: Foy stars as Queen Elizabeth II and Smith stars as Prince Philip in the historical drama created by Peter Morgan. They are currently filming a second season

Gone to the dogs: She sat on a throne with two Corgis, Queen Elizabeth's pets of choice, as she gazed at Smith

Red carpet casual: Foy wore a black and white striped sweater with black slacks and platform sandals while Smith was dapper in a blue suit with black t-shirt and black boots

Foy was dressed in a black and white striped sweater paired with black slacks.

She added black platform sandals which revealed her matching black pedicure.

Her dark blonde hair was styled with a side parting and she added bright red lip color and dark red rouge.

Laughing out loud: James Corden hosted the event and had the show's stars in stitches

Gigglefit: Foy was doubled over with laughter at one point

Bringing the drama: Smith appeared to be singing into a microphone, amusing his co-star

On-screen couple: The pair appeared to have plenty of chemistry in real life too

Former Dr. Who star Smith, 34, was dapper in a blue two-piece suit with a black t-shirt and black boots.

They sat on a panel with late night host James Corden and appeared to be having a blast.

The gang struck a series of dramatic poses as they laughed it up the British comedian.

All smiles: After the panel Corden, Foy and Smith posed together for a photo backstage

Pretty: The actress's dark blonde hair was styled with a side parting and she added bright red lip color and dark red rouge

Making new friends: The pair couldn't resist fussing over the cute pooch
It was an oversight many a man has unfortunately fallen victim to.

And Scott Disick proved he is not above forgetful wardrobe blunders as he stepped out with his fly down in Cannes on Wednesday evening.

The self-proclaimed sex addict appeared completely ignorant of the malfunction, which appeared to be the result of a broken Zipper, as he was seen in a suit for a night of partying in the French Riviera.

Solo: Scott Disick partied without his new fling Bella Thorne on Wednesday night in Cannes

Lord Disick was a single man out on the town without his latest fling, 19-year-old actress Bella Thorne.

The 34-year-old ex of Kourtney Kardashian hit the nightlife in France wearing a grey suit with his white shirt unbuttoned underneath.

He held a cigarette as he made his way around town with a bodyguard and a pal.

Proving that he'll always have himself to love, he wore a pair of red velvet smoking shoes that were embroidered with his nickname Lord Disick.

His fly appeared to be unzipped as he left Baoli nightclub and his pants had a stain on the right knee.

He's a big fan: His red velvet smoking shoes were embroidered with his nickname Lord Disick

Oops: His fly appeared to be unzipped as he left the Baoli nightclub in Cannes

Bella was seen leaving the villa that they were sharing together after their PDA-fest on Wednesday.

She wore a tiara with an eye-catching silver dress and looked like she was on her way to an event with her sister Dani.

It is unclear where she ended up but she was not seen with Scott as he had a night out on the town.

Hot new fling: Scott and Bella Thorne spent the day together soaking up the sun before parting ways that night

Joining forces: A source revealed to People magazine that they're both 'enjoying the attention' they've generated by being together as his ex Kourtney Kardashian dates a 23-year-old

A source tells People Magazine that both stars are enjoying the attention that has been generated by them spending time together.

His ex Kourtney Kardashian has recently gone public with 23-year-old model Younes Bendjima and it's possible that Scott is using much younger Bella to 'one-up' her, as both couples are currently in Cannes.

Scott and Kourtney have three children together from their nine year, on-again, off again relationship, but they never married.

Ready for bed?: The reality star looked ready to hit the hay after a wild night out

They ended things for good in 2015 after he was spotted on vacation getting grabby with another woman, he entered rehab for alcohol addiction soon after the split.

Bella appears to be very eager to shake her child star image, having starred in Disney's Shake It Up in her early teens.

The Famous In Love star often shows off her pierced nipples through sheer shirts on Snapchat and recently uploaded a video of herself getting a bikini wax on the social media app.
A preview of the 2017 Financial Review Rich List was published on Thursday and it holds a few surprises.

Nicole Kidman is the only celebrity on the list a net worth of $347 million.

The 49-year-old came in at number 97 on the list of Australia's richest people.

Money money money: A preview of the 2017 Financial Review Rich List was published on Thursday and Nicole Kidman is the only celebrity on the list a net worth of $347 million

However, her wealth looks like pennies beside the women on the top five.

Gina Rinehart, chairman of Hancock Prospecting, is worth a cool $10.41 billion according to the 2017 Financial Review Rich List, and tops the list as Australia's richest woman.

The 63-year-old is third on the list of richest Australians overall.

Cashed up: The 49-year-old came in at number 97 on the list of Australia's richest people

Vicky Teoh, wife of TPG boss David Teoh, is worth $1.91 billion thanks to her telecommunications shareholdings.

In 2014, Vicky was named was named Australia's richest self-made woman by the BRW Rich List.

Richest of all: Gina Rinehart, chairman of Hancock Prospecting tops the list as Australia's richest woman

This year she has been named as Australia's third richest woman.

Australian mining heiress Angela Bennett is worth $1.76 billion, placing her fourth on the prestigious list.

Daughters the of late, Peter Wright one of Australias most successful mining prospectors, Alexandra Burt & Leonie Baldock, come in at number five.

Their combined wealth is estimated at $1.55 billion.
He's the KIIS FM host who often talks to his audience about his physical appearance.

And Kyle Sandilands was recently gifted a portrait by Melbourne artist Lou Sheldon that featured the shock jock looking notably different.

The 45-year-old was happily given the painting after co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson was approached by Lou to sketch her first.

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Art imitating life? Kyle Sandilands was recently gifted a portrait by Melbourne artist Lou Sheldon that featured the shock jock looking notably different

The Kyle & Jackie O Show's official Instagram account posted a photo of the morning radio personalities with the artist and their individual art works on Thursday.

'Was lovely meeting the artist behind the work,' read the image's caption.

'Kyle demanded this be put on our office walls immediately, coz she made us look way hotter than we actually are,' it continued.

'Kyle demanded this be put on our office walls immediately, coz she made us look way hotter than we actually are,' it continued

Fans of the show immediately took to the snap's comments section to point out how different Kyle looked.

'Kyle looks like Ronan Keating!' observed one follower.

'Awesome, probably because she took 20kg off him,' added another supporter.

'Kyle looks like Ronan Keating!' observed one follower

The artist completed a painting of Jackie four months earlier 'because I thought her face would come up really well,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I approached her to see if she minded me using a photo not expecting a response, but she was so lovely and grateful,' she continued.

She then sent it to Jackie as a gift and had KIIS FM reach out to her to do one of Kyle so they could have both next to each other in the studio.

Generous: She then sent it to Jackie as a gift and had KIIS FM reach out to her to do one of Kyle so they could have both next to each other in the studio.

'Im a big fan of them both, so I was more than happy to do it,' she explained.

They were so genuinely grateful for the paintings and were extremely down to earth and approachable,' she added.

When Lou originally posted Jackie's painting to her social media accounts, the bubbly personality showed her gratitude in the picture's comment section.

'Thank you so much, this portrait is beyond amazing and photos don't even do it justice,' she gushed.
She is one of the big beasts of reality television.

But Kourtney Kardashian, 38, was positively dwarfed by toyboy lover Younes Bendjima as they continued to live the high life in Cannes on Wednesday night.

The pint-sized mother-of-three grinned with glee ahead of a night of fun and frolics with her 24-year-old beau, who manfully pulled her along by the hand.

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One man and a little lady: Kourtney Kardashian, 38, was positively dwarfed by her toyboy lover Younes Bendjima, 24, as they continued their wild time in Cannes on Wednesday night

Cougar Kourtney, who claims to be five foot tall, looked like she was having the time of her life as she followed the professional clotheshorse into a club.

She had certainly dressed to impress, the braless wonder providing a visual assault on two fronts with her pink minidress' plunging neckline and dangerously high hemline.

Earlier in the day Kourtney had been indulging in a water sports session with the self-styled male model, but she seemed much more in her element as she prepared for yet another boozy night on the tiles.

She was not the only member of her uncoventional family unit who was enjoying a big night out on the French Riviera.

Say hello to his little friend: Kourtney, who claims to be five foot tall, looked like she was having the time of her life as she followed her beau into a club

Not slowing down: She seems to relish partying as much as ever despite being nearly 40

A war on two fronts: She was wearing a minidress that sported a plunging neckline and dangerously high hemline

For while she focused on her romance with her toyboy, the star's ex Scott Disick was also in town flaunting his fling with teenager Bella Thorne.

The self-proclaimed sex addict was even spotted stepping out with his fly down as he got ready for a fun-filled evening of his own.

He appeared completely ignorant of his zip blunder as he headed out in a leisure suit for a night of partying.

Scott has been dabbling in the much younger market himself, though he had stepped out without 19-year-old actress Bella.

Short and sweet: Kourtney may reach her claimed height of five feet in her high heels

Making a splash: Kourtney had earlier been partaking in a water sports session with her lover

Kourtney split from the self-proclaimed Lord in in July 2015 after photos emerged of him canoodling with stylist Chloe Bartoli in Monaco.

It brought to an end a nine-year relationship that has spawned three children - seven-year-old Mason, Penelope, four, and two-year-old Reign.

Despite the fact he is romancing a young starlet, his ex's romance with Younes is said to have left Kourtney's former partner 'devastated' .

He had been left upset after seeing pictures of the pair out together earlier this month, despite the fact he had been spotted with a string of lovelies over the last year.
It's her seventh international trip of the year.

And Millie Mackintosh seemed thrilled at her latest jaunt as she arrived in style to the L'Oreal Paris Cinema Club Party At The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, proved hard to miss in a striking thigh-skimming glittering dress which flaunted her enviably toned, bronzed legs.

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Sexy: Millie Mackintosh seemed thrilled at her seventh international jaunt of the year as she arrived to the L'Oreal Paris Cinema Club Party At The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday

Knowing full well how to dress for the socialite scene back in London, Millie amped up the glamour as she made her way to the bash.

Millie, who's in a romance with Hugo Taylor, worked her endless pins in the multi-coloured dress which boated eye-catching floral applique.

The risque level of the number placed prominence on her sensational stems, which were boosted in a pair of towering strappy heels.

The TV sensation's centre parted brunette mane framed her striking features which were boosted with a coat of dewy make-up.

Pins on parade: The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, proved hard to miss in a striking thigh-skimming glittering dress which flaunted her enviably toned, bronzed legs

Glamorous: Knowing full well how to dress for the socialite scene back in London, Millie amped up the glamour as she made her way to the bash

Enviable frame: Millie worked her endless pins in the multi-coloured dress which boated eye-catching floral applique

Millie seemed in high spirits as she mingled with other a-list actors and top model as she continued her seventh jet-setting trip.

Her trip to the star-studded festival comes after trips to Monaco, Dubai, South Africa, two trips to Paris and a stay in Los Angeles.

It appears she is now on track to rival her record of taking a whopping 18 trips abroad in 2016.

Racy lady: The risque level of the number placed prominence on her sensational stems, which were boosted in a pair of towering strappy heels

Loved-up: Millie is in a relationship with Hugo Taylor and the two have moved in together

Chest a glimpse! Daring to go braless beneath a risque gown with sheer panels, Eva Longoria left little to the imagination at the bash

Model moment: Eva was joined by a host of models (L-R) Alexina Graham, Neelam Gill, Maria Borges, Bianca Balti, Eva, Doutzen Kroes, Cindy Bruna, Lara Stone and Irina Shayk

Yummy mummies: Irina Shayk (M) proved she's had no trouble snapping back into shape as she joined Doutzen Kroes (L) and Lara Stone at the bash

Millie's appearance comes shortly after she revealed she had moved in with her boyfriend Hugo Taylor.

Millie first dated Hugo in 2011 when they first made their names on the E4 show, yet their relationship was brutally cut short when she discovered he slept with her best friend Rosie Fortescue.

After the disintegration of their romance, Millie began dating Professor Green the following year - to much shock from commentators - yet the couple defied the odds and announced their engagement in 2013.

Meanwhile, a whole host of other celebrities turned out to the bash inclduign

Sealed with a kiss: Paris Hilton, 36, packed on the PDA with her long-term love as they attended the L'Oreal Cinema Club party in Cannes locking lips

Two of a kind: Lady Victoria was joined by Hofit Golan who dazzled in a pink ball gown
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that there are at least three ruling party offices within Mbare Musika.The organisation said these offices are used as party bases by the ruling party youths."In Koffman Plot where a liquor store was attacked a few weeks ago there is a Zanu-PF office nearby. Ruling party youths declared the area a no go area for MDC-T supporters. There is no other political party that has an office in the area except the ruling Zanu-PF," said ZPP.The party activists always reportedly force residents to attend party meetings.ZPP said registers are kept at cell level and those who do not attendparty sanctioned events risk losing their trading spaces."During President Mugabe's million men march (2016) event traders were also forced to close shop and attend the event. Cell meetings are also regularly held at Mbare musika and traders are required to attend," said ZPP.
She's small but perfectly formed, standing at a diminutive 5ft1in.

And Eva Longoria cheekily poked fun at her petite frame as statuesque models towered over her on the red carpet at the L'Oreal Paris Cinema Club Party at the 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival in the South of France on Wednesday night.

Despite wearing five-inch heels in a bed to keep up with her lofty companions, the actress, 42, was dwarfed by the likes of catwalk queens Irina Shayk, Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone.

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Cheeky: Eva Longoria poked fun at her petite frame as statuesque models towered over her at the L'Oreal Paris Cinema Club Party at the 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday

Posting an hilarious snap on her Instagram page, Eva wrote alongside a winking emoji: 'Just us models. #Wore5InchHeelsAndStillCouldntKeepUp #SeriouslyShort.'

Posting an hilarious snap on her Instagram page, Eva wrote alongside a winking emoji: 'Just us models. #Wore5InchHeelsAndStillCouldntKeepUp #SeriouslyShort.'

The star stood out on the red carpet for more than just her height, ensuring all eyes were on her thanks to her incredible party attire.

Daring to go braless beneath a risque gown with sheer panels, Eva left little to the imagination at the bash.

Petite: Despite wearing five-inch heels in a bed to keep up with her lofty companions, the actress, 42, was dwarfed by the likes of Irina Shayk, Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone

Stealing the spotlight: The star stood out on the red carpet for more than just her height, ensuring all eyes were on her thanks to her incredible party attire

Flashing both her cleavage and serious sideboob, the Desperate Housewives star came dangerously close to a wardrobe malfunction as she posed for snaps on the red carpet.





Showing off even more of her sensational frame, the gown featured sheer panels running across the full length of the garment, exposing her enviably lean legs and peachy posterior.

A strip of false lashes were used to accentuate her hazel coloured peepers, whilst a slick of crimson gloss lined her plump pout.

Model moment: (L-R) Alexina Graham, Neelam Gill, Maria Borges, Bianca Balti, Eva Longoria, Doutzen Kroes, Cindy Bruna, Lara Stone and Irina Shayk

Dressed to impress: The group certainly turned heads thanks to their glamorous red carpet display as they enjoyed their night out in Cannes

Sexy look: Daring to go braless beneath a risque gown with sheer panels, the 42-year-old actress left little to the imagination at the bash

Chest a glimpse! Flashing both her cleavage and sideboob, the Desperate Housewives star came dangerously close to a wardrobe malfunction as she posed for snaps on the red carpet

Dynamic duo: Eva was joined at the bash by Balmain's Olivier Rousteing

Laugh a minute: The pair were in great spirits as they posed for snaps at the bash

Loving it: Eva was beaming broadly as she chatted with fellow guests at the event

Loving life! Eva threw her arms up in the air as she danced around the room

Strike a pose: The star snuggled up to Alexina Graham and Barbara Palvin

Diminutive figure: Model Alexina towered above Eva in a semi-sheer gold dress

Adding to the glamour, Eva was dripping in diamonds, donning a sparkling ear cuff and a myriad of glittering bracelets.

Eva is in Cannes promoting new flick Lowriders, which tells the story of a teen graffiti artist who paints murals on the hoods of cars in a bid to help his older brother win an upcoming competition.

Her husband businessman Jose Antonio Baston, 49, has joined her in the south of France for the duration of her stay, but was not present at the L'Oreal bash.

Big smile: Eva later attended a yacht party with her husband Jose Antonio Baston

Loved-up; The pair celebrated their first wedding anniversary in Cannes over the weekend

Handsome couple: The Mexican businessman looked dapper in a checked tailored suit

Night out: Eva covered up in a black double-breasted blazer later on in the evening to fend off the night-time chill

They couple recently celebrated their first anniversary of marriage together after getting hitch in Mexico last May, with the pair spotted packing on the PDA on the sandy beach.

She has had two previous marriages, first tying the knot with General Hospital star Tyler Christopher, 44, in 2002.

Irina Shayk, 31, proved she's had no trouble snapping back into shape as she slipped into a barely there gown at the bash just two months after welcoming her first child.

Yummy mummies: Irina Shayk (M) proved she's had no trouble snapping back into shape as she joined Doutzen Kroes (L) and Lara Stone at the bash

Back of the net: Leaving nowhere to hide, the Vogue covergirl donned a risque black gown in a fishnet design that offered a look at her svelte frame

Chest a glimpse! Worn over a skimpy black bandeau and large matching briefs, the gown offered a look at her sensational physique without doing away with her modesty

Joining fellow yummy mummies Doutzen Kroes, 32, and Lara Stone, 33, at the Martinez Hotel Beach, the Russian supermodel was a vision of beauty as she posed for snaps with her equally as glamorous fellow models.

Leaving nowhere to hide, the Vogue covergirl donned a risque black gown in a fishnet design that offered a look at her svelte frame.

Worn over a skimpy black bandeau and large matching briefs, the gown offered a look at her sensational physique without doing away with her modesty.

Sizzling in sequins! Doutzen Kroes flaunted her tanned and toned pins in a tiny metallic black and gold dress which clung to her model frame

Blonde bombshell! The starlet wore her glossy locks loose and tousled on the outing

Legs eleven! Lara Stone flaunted her supermodel pins in a thigh-skimming sequinned gown

Glam: Lara looked sensational as she smouldered down the lens

Terrific trio: The girls were in great spirits as they left the bash together

Three of a kind: The trio looked sensational as they strolled arm in arm out of the bash

Model moment: The models turned heads as they stormed out of the high profile bash

Legs eleven: The ladies' enviably long legs were on display as they strutted past

Gorgeous: The starlets turned heads as they strutted down the street together

Dainty descending: The models held on as they walked down the staircase in towering heels

Leggy lady! Bianca Balti sizzled in a sequinned thigh-grazing mini dress on the night

Slicking her chestnut locks away from her face, the stunning star framed her flawless features, whilst she was still radiating with the glow of new motherhood.

She has been flying solo since arriving in Cannes earlier this week, and has been without her actor beau Bradley Cooper, 42.

Irinia and the Silver Linings Playbook star have been dating since early 2015 and sparked engagement rumours in December last year, after the brunette beauty was spotted sporting an emerald-and-diamond ring on her wedding finger.

Sealed with a kiss: Paris Hilton, 36, packed on the PDA with her long-term love as they attended the L'Oreal Cinema Club party in Cannes locking lips

Figure-flaunting: The reality star put on an eye-popping display as she sizzled in her plunging maxi lace dress which flaunting her cleavage

Passionate: Leaning in for a passionate smooch, the former Simple Life star stunned in her daring floor-length garment which boasted sexy sheer panels that highlighted her tiny waist

Eye-popping: Flaring out into full length, the garment also featured a thigh high split which flashed a glimpse of her tanned and toned pins

Walk this way: Adding to the glamour, the socialite peered over her shoulder on the red carpet

The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Lea de Seine, together in March earlier this year.

A source close to the couple told People at the time: 'They are both extremely thrilled and feel so blessed.'

Irina had confirmed her pregnancy at last year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show by debuting her baby bump.

Sizzling in sequins: Millie Mackintosh dazzled in a colourful mini dress

Orange you glad to see her: Lady Victoria Hervey dazzled in a sheer orange gown

Two of a kind: Lady Victoria was joined by Hofit Golan who dazzled in a pink ball gown

The model has remained silent about her new arrival on her social media pages, but she had expressed her desire to start a family in an interview with Hello! magazine.

Describing becoming a mother as the 'most important thing on this earth', she said: 'I think family is the reason why why we are here.

'I really enjoy what I'm doing but it's not the most important thing in my life - family is... friends, people who I love.'

Full of heart: Petra Nemcova dazzled in a crimson lace dress as she posed for snaps
She's had a busy schedule at the Cannes Film Festival so far this year.

And Marion Cotillard put in another stylish appearance as she attended the Chopard and Annabel's bash on Wednesday night.

The actress, 41, looked chic in a one-shoulder tunic dress, which featured a dramatic ruffled neckline.

Stylish: Marion Cotillard looked chic in a one-shoulder tunic dress as she attended the Chopard and Annabel's bash on Wednesday night

The structured frock by Self-Portrait showed off her slender figure, with the lace-up detailing cinching in her tiny waist.

Keeping to a monochrome theme, she teamed the mini-dress with black tights and a pair of embellished heels, elongating her pins even further.

Wearing her brunette tresses in an elegant up-do, she completed the glamorous look with a pair of diamond earrings, framing her face.

Svelte: The structured frock showed off her slender figure, with the lace-up detailing cinching in her tiny waist

Monochrome theme: She teamed the mini-dress with black tights and a pair of embellished heels, elongating her pins even further

Opting for a bold make-up look, she added a pop of colour to the ensemble with a bright red lipstick, before adding a light coating of mascara and blush to finish.

Marion had a starring role in the opening night of Cannes Film Festival, with her new film Ismael's Ghosts premiering last Wednesday.

The film, which also stars fellow French actress Charlotte Gainsborough, follows a filmmaker whose life is sent into chaos by the return of a former lover - who arrives just as he is about to get to work on his new blockbuster.

Away from her work, Marion and her partner Guillaume Canet welcomed baby girl Louise into the world in March.

French beauty: Wearing her brunette tresses in an elegant up-do, she completed the glamorous look with a pair of diamond earrings, framing her face

Finishing touches: Opting for a bold make-up look, she added a pop of colour to the ensemble with a bright red lipstick

She and her actor beau, who have been together for ten years, also have a five-year-old son named Marcel.

The couple star in the meta-showbiz comedy Rock'N Roll together, which was released earlier this year.

They are no strangers to starring in films side by side - having previously played a couple in 2003's Love Me If You Dare as well as 2009's The Last Flight.

Marion met Canet, then married to Diane Kruger, on the set of Love Me If You Dare, and the friends reconnected after Canets divorce from Kruger in 2006.

Glamorous event: Marion posed with Chopard co-president Caroline Scheufele at the bash

Star-studded: The Oscar-winner was also pictured with Christoph Waltz at the glitzy bash

Night out: Fashion editor Veronika Heilbrunner (L), Caroline, Marion and model Liu Wen (R)

Other guests at the star-studded event included model Winnie Harlow, who commanded attention in a strapless bandeau and matching jacquard skirt.

The model, 22, flashed her pins through a very daring split at the front of the skirt, while showing a hint of her midriff.

Actress Salma Hayek was also at the bash, opting for a plunging black jumpsuit for the occasion.

Wearing her raven locks pulled back into a high ponytail, the 50-year-old accentuated her eyes with a smoky eyeshadow and lashings of mascara.

Actors Will Smith, Colin Farrell and Christoph Waltz also attended the Gentlemen's Evening hosted by Chopard and Annabel's.

Stunning: Other guests at the star-studded event included model Winnie Harlow, who commanded attention in a strapless bandeau and matching jacquard skirt

Glam: Actress Salma Hayek was also at the bash, opting for a plunging black jumpsuit for the occasion

Elegant: Veronika (L) opted for a sleek white gown for the evening, while model Liu Wen (R) opted for a ruffled floral dress

Dapper: Will Smith looked dapper in a sharp navy suit at the Gentlemen's Evening

Looking smart: Will was joined by fellow actor Colin Farrell at the bash on Wednesday night

Fun evening: Colin looked dapper in a tuxedo jacket and bow tie as he posed with Chopard's Caroline Scheufele

All smiles: Christoph, who starred in Spectre, opted for a blue suit and patterned tie

Guests: Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (second from R) was also at the bash

Busy week: The Swiss jewellery brand has hosted a number of glitzy events during this year's Cannes Film Festival
'Extremely jealous' Johnny Depp ordered Amber Heard to pull out of a film over its provocative sex scenes, a lawsuit has claimed.

Producer Christopher Hanley claims that the pressure Depp put on his then wife to bow out of unreleased movie London Fields played a part in their divorce.

The new papers filed are part of a legal minefield surrounding the project; producers are suing Heard for $10 million over a contract dispute, while she is counter-suing over accusations she was the victim of sexploitation.

Drama: 'Extremely jealous' Johnny Depp ordered Amber Heard to pull out of a film over its provocative sex scenes, a lawsuit has claimed

In Hanley's latest response he claims 'Heards misconduct' on the film 'might have resulted, at least in part, from her tumultuous relationship with Mr. Depp'.

The sex scenes are said to be at the centre of the issue as the actress 'reversed course, apparently under perceived or actual pressure from Depp (who, according to Heard, was extremely jealous).'

He then adds: 'The provocative nature of Heards femme fatale role in the film was a factor leading to her divorce from Depp.'

A representative for the Pirates of the Caribbean star has dismissed the claims, insisting there is no reason for Depp to be dragged into an contractual lawsuit involving his ex wife.

A statement to PageSix reads: 'The dispute between the producers and Amber Heard has nothing to do with Johnny Depp. We are informed that the producers have also been sued by the director and another producer. The statements about Johnny are ridiculous.'

Behind the scenes: Producer Christopher Hanley claims that the pressure Depp put on his then wife to bow out of unreleased movie London Fields played a part in their divorce

Earlier this year, Hanley launched legal action against Heard over claims she made unauthorised changes to the script and refusing to promote the film as per her contract.

In her counter-suit Heard then accused the producer of breaking her nudity clause by secretly using a body double to film an 'explicit pornographic sex scene'.

She claimed Hanley did this to deliberately mislead audiences into believing she had filmed the scene.

The scene involves a female police officer, a female detainee, the hood of a car and a police baton.

'This case shines a spotlight on the dark underbelly of Hollywood,' her lawyers told a judge on Thursday. 'Amber Heard is the latest victim of this lascivious and sexploitive couple.'

Legal trouble: The new papers filed are part of a legal minefield surrounding the project; producers are suing Heard for $10 million over a contract dispute, while she is counter-suing over accusations she was the victim of sexploitation

Counter-suit: Hanley is already suing the 30-year-old for making unauthorized changes to the script and refusing to promote the film as per her contract

In the noirish dark thriller, based on Martin Amiss 1989 novel, focuses on Amber's Nicola Six, a clairvoyant femme fatale who has a premonition of her impending murder. She begins a tangled love affair with three men, one of whom she knows will kill her.

It also stars Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess, Theo James, Jason Isaacs, Cara Delevingne and Jaimie Alexander, as well as ex-husband Johnny Depp in a cameo role.

But the film has yet to see the light of day, after a bust up between Hanley and director Mathew Cullen.

Plot thickens: In the noirish dark thriller, based on Martin Amiss 1989 novel, focuses on Amber's Nicola Six, a clairvoyant femme fatale who has a premonition of her impending murder. She begins a tangled love affair with three men, one of whom she knows will kill her

It was pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 after Cullen filed a lawsuit against for fraud, failure pay him, and taking away final cut.

Prior to that the film had already spent a decade in production limbo, with directors like David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom and David Mackenzie all walking away at some stage.

Heard also accused Hanley of demanding 'continuity photos' of her during filming, supposedly for ensuring her make-up was consistent from scene to scene.

Row: The film has yet to see the light of day, after a bust up between Hanley and director Mathew Cullen (pictured)

She claimed he and his wife Roberta retain these pictures - which feature her in various states of undress - yet have no legitimate reason to do so.

'The Hanleys' prurient interest in exploiting Heard  both on and off camera  speaks volumes about their values,' the complaint claims.

In response, lawyers for Nicola Six - confusingly the production company and also the name of Heard's character in the film - claimed the cross-complaint was a 'work of fiction' worthy of said character.

Limbo: It was pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 after Cullen filed a lawsuit against for fraud, failure pay him, and taking away final cut (stars Billy Bob Thornton and Jim Sturgess pictured filming in London in 2013)

'It marks the latest in a series of fantastical allegations she has made, including in connection with her high-profile divorce,' attorney Mathew Rosengart said, dragging her nasty split from Depp into it.

'It is nothing more than a meritless smear tactic designed to distract from her own misconduct.'

'Seeking the limelight, Ms. Heard excitedly signed onto the starring role in London Fields... and then for her own reasons, she illicitly tried to change the role and hijack the movie,' he added.

'Chris Hanley has an established track record as a supportive, talent-friendly producer, which makes the allegations all the more absurd. We look forward to taking Ms. Heards deposition shortly, when she will have to account, under oath, for her claims and misconduct.'
He landed himself in hot water last week, when he got Chiltern Firehouse waitress Viviana Ross fired for allegedly sleeping with him.

But it looks as though Orlando Bloom is now looking for something more serious, after he admitted he is keen to have more children.

The 40-year-old actor, who is father to six-year-old Flynn with ex-wife Miranda Kerr, has revealed he is ready to settle down.

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Ready to be a family man again: Father-of-one Orlando Bloom is keen to settle down, after he admitted he is keen to have more children

The 40-year-old actor made the admission as he was interviewed by a seven-year-old girl near the red carpet at a special 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' screening in New York's SoHo.

Opening up to the little girl- at first a little tentatively, he asked: 'Do you have a question? Is it a nice, friendly question? Because you can ask me anything you like as long as it's nice and friendly.'

And when asked by the young fan if he wanted any more children, he shared: 'Yes, I do. Can you find me someone who's really sweet, kind and lovely to have kids with?'

Oops! He landed himself in hot water last week, when he got Chiltern Firehouse waitress Viviana Ross fired for allegedly sleeping with him

It comes after Orlando appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show this week and admitted he sacrificed career opportunities for the sake of his son.

He shared: 'I'm grafting. You know, I took a window of time over the last few years to be present for my son and for my ex-partner, who ... we have a great relationship raising our son.'

And the British actor explained that now Miranda, 34, is engaged to Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel, 26, he feels more comfortable with the idea of being at work.

Ready to expand his brood: The 40-year-old actor, who is father to six-year-old Flynn with ex-wife Miranda Kerr, has revealed he is ready to settle down

' I do (want more children). Can you find me someone who's really sweet, kind and lovely to have kids with?' he told a young girl on the red carpet (pictured on Jimmy Fallon this week)

He added: 'In recent times, she's settled and happy in a relationship and I've felt more readily available to really feel like I could leave to go to work.

'But it's hard. The marketplace is full and there's a lot of fantastic talent out there. People always want the new and so there's a handful of really great films that get made, and it's a very competitive market.'

Orlando split with girlfriend of one year Katy Perry, 32, in March, with rumours rife that they were on different pages regarding marriage.

Exes: Orlando split with girlfriend of one year Katy Perry, 32, in March, with rumours rife that they were on different pages regarding marriage

More recently Orlando ruffled a few feathers after he reportedly enjoyed 'a night of passion' with waitress Viviana at the Chiltern Firehouse where he was staying.

After serving him drinks throughout the night, Orlanda reportedly invited her back to his luxury suite at the end of her shift, but was found by her manager after the Hollywood actor had left the next day.

Despite being given the sack for 'fraternising with clients', a close friend said Viviana- who is an aspiring actress recently arrived from Romania, was 'hurt' by the sacking but did not regret the 'night of incredible sex'.

Fired: More recently Orlando ruffled a few feathers after he reportedly enjoyed 'a night of passion' with waitress Viviana at the Chiltern Firehouse where he was staying

'She said she had an amazing time and his body was very good. He was an exceptionally good lover,' they revealed.

And ever the gentleman Orlando reportedly called Viviana to apologise after discovering her fate.

A close source told The Sun: 'Orlando got her number from the Chiltern Firehouse in London and called to make sure that Viviana was okay.

'The call will have come out of the blue - he is a gentleman and he genuinely had no idea what had happened after he left he Chiltern Firehouse.

'He just said, "I am sorry about what happened."'
They won fans when they fell in love on The Bachelor.

And this month, couples Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski and Tom Robards and Anna Heinrich made some shock announcements, just ten days apart.

Sam and Snezana announced they were expecting their first baby, while Tim and Anna shared their engagement news, sending fans into meltdown.

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From baby news to wedding bells: How Bachelor couples Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski (pictured) and Anna and Tim sent fans into meltdown with their shock announcements

Sam shared to Instagram last week, a snap of him and Snezana and her baby bump to announce the news, with the image getting over 43,000 likes.

'Snez ........... a) has just eaten a bowl of pasta bigger than her head b) can't do up her pants c) is having a BABY!!! d) all of the above #theanswerisd #happymothersday #soexcited,' he wrote on Mother's Day.

'This is the best preg (sic) announcement ever,' one fan commented.

Going to the chapel! Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich shared their engagement news on Wednesday evening

Sweet: Sam shared to Instagram last week, a snap of him and Snezana and her baby bump to announce the news, with the image getting over 43,000 likes

Another fan wrote: 'Oh wow congratulations. It feels just like yesterday when Snezana was walking towards Sam on The Bachelor time flies.'

Snezana also shared to Instagram a shot of herself and daughter Eve, 12, cradling her baby bump.

'We're so excited to be able to let the world know that our little family of 3 is soon to become 4. @samjameswood you are going to make an incredible father,' she wrote, with the post getting over 60,000 likes.

Anna and Tim meanwhile shared their shock announcement on social media on Wednesday evening, thrilling fans.

'LOVE made me do it! On the weekend... in a little dinghy... floating on a secluded river...I asked this amazing woman to marry me... she said YES!!! Woohoo!! #ENGAGED,' Tim wrote on Instagram, alongside a sweet snap of Anna and himself and her new diamond sparkler.

'LOVE made me do it!' Tim proposed to Anna on a boat, and she shared this image to Instagram to share the happy news

The post gained almost 40,000 likes.

Anna kept her social media announcement more simple, sharing a shot of the pair on a boat and writing: 'Officially forever. #Engaged,' getting over 59,000 likes.

'Finally!!! Yayy!! Huge congrats (sic),' one fan wrote, after mounting pressure on Tim to propose in recent years.

'Seriously!!! I've been waiting for this!! Hahaha,' another commented underneath.

Last month, Tim delighted fans when he hinted at an upcoming marriage proposal to Anna.

In the public eye: Last month, Tim delighted fans when he hinted at an upcoming marriage proposal to Anna

'Let's just say 2017 is going to be a good year,' the fitness entrepreneur told TV Week magazine.

Anna meanwhile, was thrilled to hear the hunk's comment.

'That's the first I've heard of it. But it obviously it would be great,' she gushed.

The personal trainer previously spoke candidly to KIIS FM's Kyle And Jackie O about popping the question, saying it's 'getting around that time.'

'It's three years on, so probably getting around that time,' he said in October.

'Three years on': The personal trainer previously spoke candidly to KIIS FM's Kyle And Jackie O about popping the question, saying it's 'getting around that time'

'I know where I'd probably go to get [the ring] ... I know what she likes. I need to steal one of her other ones to find out the size.'

Back in 2013, Sparks flew on The Bachelor from the moment the handsome chiropractor, 33, locked eyes with the 30-year-old criminal lawyer.

Sam and Snez meanwhile, met on The Bachelor in 2015 and by that December, had proposed, saying: 'When you know, you know.'
He's had a busy year so far, releasing chart-topping album Divide in March.

And Ed Sheeran took a well-deserved break from his world tour as he arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old looked to be in high spirits as he headed straight to beach with pals after jetting into the Brazilian city.

Day off: Ed Sheeran looked to be in high spirits as he took a well-deserved break from his world tour as he visited Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday

The Shape Of You hitmaker emerged from the sea in a skin-tight surf top and black shorts, shielding his eyes from the sun with a pair of sunglasses.

Clearly enjoying the outing, he flashed a big smile as he took a dip in the Atlantic ocean.

While he and a male friend enjoyed larking around in the water, his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn did not appear to have joined him.

Big smile: The Shape Of You hitmaker emerged from the sea in a skin-tight surf top and black shorts, flashing a big smile

He has been dating his childhood sweetheart for nearly two years, after reuniting with her in 2015.

His Divide World tour, which sees him performing dates right across the globe, is said to be a 'big test' for their relationship, as Ed had been on a year off when the pair first got together.

However, Ed described everything as 'a lot easier' with Cherry by his side, crediting her for helping him chill out.

Speaking about their relationship earlier this year, he told Today: 'This is actually the first time I've been away and I'm just chilled, and nothing's going wrong and everything's great.

Larking around: He and a male friend enjoyed larking around in the water during the day out

'That side of my life is meant to be the part that chills you out, and it definitely is.'

There were rumours that Ed and Cherry could be engaged, after Russell Crowe described Cherry as his 'fiancee' during an interview with an Australian radio station last Friday.

Speaking about their friendship, the Gladiator star said: 'He was on tour here and he was getting a bit burned out so he came up and stayed at the farm for a couple of days to get some sleep and then we became conversational mates.

'He has subsequently gone back to the farm with his fiancee for more time.'

Other half: His girlfriend Cherry Seaborn (R) did not appear to have joined him on the outing
His swansong outing as the clawed superhero Wolverine has been doing big business since its US release in March.

Now it seems that excitement around Logan and its star Hugh Jackman, 48, is far from dying down with the film enjoying its Tokyo premiere this week.

Hugh cut a dashing figure as he turned out for a press conference for the film at Tokyo's Peninsula Hotel on Thursday.

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Konnichiwa: Hugh Jackman cut a dashing figure as he turned out for a press conference for Logan at Tokyo's Peninsula Hotel on Thursday

The Australian star looked dapper in an ash-grey suit as he posed for photographers at the event.

Sporting a smattering of designer stubble, the actor matched his suit with a black T-shirt and a pair of black leather boots.

Hugh looked excited to be giving back to his Japanese fans with the star offering a cool 'finger pointing' gesture at one point during the event.

Dapper: The Australian star looked dapper in an ash-grey suit as he posed for photographers at the event

Superhero: Sporting a smattering of designer stubble, the actor matched his suit with a black T-shirt and a pair of black leather boots

Handsome: Japanese fans of the Wolverine film franchise were out in full force when the actor touched down for the premiere for his final film as the clawed mutant

Arriving in Japan on Tuesday, with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, to continue the global press tour for Logan, Hugh received a welcome fit for a superhero when he touched down at Narita International Airport, with hundreds of fans turning out to meet the star.

It was the same situation on Wednesday, when he was mobbed by a legion of fans at Logan's Tokyo premiere.

While he has played the iconic Wolverine character for 17 years across eight films, Hugh recently admitted that he didn't know what a wolverine was when he first signed on for the role.

Popular: Hugh received a welcome fit for a superhero when he touched down at Narita airport, with hundreds of fans turning out to meet the star

Frenzy: It was the same situation on Wednesday, when he was mobbed by a legion of fans at Logan's Tokyo premiere

Love for Japan: Hugh has a special place in the hearts of Japanese fans, given that his 2013 X-Men spin-off The Wolverine was filmed there

'I didn't even know there was a wolverine,' Hugh told Associated Press. 'I literally, embarrassingly did about two weeks of research on wolves.'

Hugh has a special place in the hearts of Japanese fans, given that his 2013 X-Men spin-off The Wolverine was filmed there.

Logan, which will be the last time that Hugh will don the trademark claws and winged hairdo has been doing big business for the star, with the film raking in more than $88 million on its US opening weekend.

Hugh will next be seen on the big screen as legendary circus impresario P.T Barnum in The Greatest Showman, alongside Zac Efron and Michelle Williams.

Blockbuster: The film racked in more than $88 million on its US opening weekend
She has been crowned Australia's richest celebrity, earning a whopping $347 million and hitting number 97 on the Australian Financial Review's 2017 rich list.

And Nicole Kidman, 49, certainly isn't afraid to splash her cash on the finer things in life.

From her sprawling property portfolio to her eye-wateringly expensive jewellery collection, we've taken a look inside the glittering lifestyle of Australia's golden girl.

The life of Australia's richest celebrity! From her sprawling property portfolio to her eye-wateringly expensive jewelry collection, we've taken a look inside the glittering lifestyle of Australia's golden girl, Nicole Kidman

Over the past decade, Nicole has been quietly bolstering her personal property empire, having snapped up a slew of lavish properties across the globe.

Down Under, the mother-of-four owns a 110 acre spread called Bunya Hill in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.

The family-friendly mansion was purchased by the Big Little Lies star and her husband Keith Urban in 2008 and is worth around $6.5 million.

Big spender: Over the past decade, Nicole has been quietly bolstering her personal property empire, having snapped up a slew of lavish properties across the globe

In 2015, the notoriously private actress opened up the idyllic farmhouse in a video released by Vogue Australia.

In the impressive one-shot video the Moulin Rouge! actress is seen answering an array of quick-fire questions while swanning through the estate's airy lounge room, library, sitting area, kitchen and dining room, before moving outside to the farming area.

During interview, Nicole she was asked what was the coolest part about her home to which she responded: 'My six alpacas.'

Farm girl at heart! During interview, Nicole she was asked what was the coolest part about her home to which she responded: 'My six alpacas'

Down South: Nicole also spends much of her time in her Nashville home

Not too shabby! In 2008, Nicole and Keith snapped up a contemporary Beverly Hills mansion for $4.7 million

Nicole also spends much of her time in Tennessee, where she and Keith own two enviable estates.

The couple's 16-hectare purchased a farm in Leiper's Fork worth $3.5 million in 2007.

It's located just 25km from their luxury $4.9 million dollar mansion in Nashville.

A year later, the pair snapped up a contemporary Beverly Hills mansion for $4.7 million.

Spacious: The lavish house boasts five bathrooms, public areas opening to a covered terrace, a pool, spa, and a three-car garage

Room to spare! In 2010, Nicole and Keith expanded their empire once again by splashing out $10 million on a lavish Manhattan penthouse apartment

Fancy! The Manhattan property features a suspended car space inside the penthouse property

Breezy: The building boasts stunning Hudson River views

Situated in a gated, guard-attended area near the top of Coldwater Canyon, this exquisite home is boasts five bedrooms, four bathrooms, an outdoor pool, spa and a spacious sitting area.

In 2010, Nicole and Keith expanded their empire once again by splashing out $10 million on a lavish Manhattan penthouse apartment- which features a suspended car space inside the property.

Nicole is known to drive a Q7 SUV manufactured by Audi, worth around $54,000.

Razzle dazzle! But the Eyes Wide Shut star has more than a predilection for penthouses- she is also a fan of expensive jewels and watches

All that glitters! As a seasoned red carpet-goer, Nicole has been sighted wearing millions of dollars worth of jewels in her time, including a rare a vintage design Omega watch, worth around $75,000 (pictured left)

Most recently, Nicole has been buying up top-floor apartments in Milsons Point, Sydney.

But the Eyes Wide Shut star has more than a predilection for penthouses- she is also a fan of expensive jewels and watches.

As a seasoned red carpet-goer, Nicole has been sighted wearing millions of dollars worth of jewels in her time, including a rare a vintage design Omega watch, worth around $75,000.

Expensive taste! Her jewellery made headlines last year after Nicole was spotted clapping awkwardly at the Oscars, dripping in $7 million worth of Harry Winston diamonds

Her jewellery made headlines last year after Nicole was spotted clapping awkwardly at the Oscars, dripping in $7 million worth of Harry Winston diamonds.

When jetting between red carpets Nicole travels in style, having recently shared a glimpse at her private Etihad Airways suite, worth over $20,000 per night.

Taking to Facebook in March last year, the Australian actress shared a picture of a double bed inside her private suite, which is branded as The Residence, captioning the snap with: 'WOW!!! The most amazing flight ever! Thank you to all the Etihad Airways staff #theresidence'.

'The most amazing flight ever!' Taking to Facebook in March last year, the Australian actress shared a picture of a double bed inside her private Etihand Airways suite, which is branded as The Residence

High flying: According to Etihad Airways, The Residence 'is the only three-room suite on a commercial airline', boasting a living room, separate bedroom and ensuite shower room'

According to Etihad Airways, The Residence 'is the only three-room suite on a commercial airline', boasting a living room, separate bedroom and ensuite shower room. '

In the summer months, the Academy Awardwinning actress also enjoys travelling around in her luxury yacht 'Sunseeker Manhattan 74'.

Estimated at $4.5 million, the majestic vessel features five cabins and separate crew quarters.

It also offers a spacious living area and a complete kitchen.

Smooth cruising: In the summer months, the Academy Awardwinning actress also enjoys travelling around in her luxury yacht 'Sunseeker Manhattan 74'

Home on the sea: Estimated at $4.5 million, the majestic vessel features five cabins and separate crew quarters

Five star getaway! Nicole is also known to frequent some of the world's most exclusive hotel destinations, including the St. Regis resort Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Nicole is also known to frequent some of the world's most exclusive hotel destinations, including the St. Regis resort Bora Bora, French Polynesia.

Covering 44 acres within a turquoise lagoon, the hotel's villas are positioned either on the beach or over the water and offer views of Mount Otemanu.

Celebrity visitors often opt to stay in one of the five Royal Overwater Pool Villas, each offering two bedrooms and a private swimming pool suspended over the lagoon.

Tropical opulence: Covering 44 acres within a turquoise lagoon, the hotel's villas are positioned either on the beach or over the water and offer views of Mount Otemanu
She made a fashion faux pas by wearing a cream coat dress to Pippa Middleton's wedding on Saturday.

But Donna Air was on much safer ground as she attended the British Fashion Council's 2017 Fashion Trust event in London on Wednesday night.

The 37-year-old was the picture of elegance in a red maxi dress, featuring puffed sleeves and a subtle pie crust collar.

Elegant: Donna Air was the picture of elegance in a red maxi dress as she attended the British Fashion Council's 2017 Fashion Trust event in London on Wednesday night

The actress showed off her slender figure in the demure dress, with her tiny waist accentuated by the ruched detailing beneath the bust.

She teamed the stylish frock with a pair of silver heeled sandals, accessorising her ensemble with the same pink clutch bag she was seen carrying at Pippa's wedding in Berkshire on Saturday.

Wearing her blonde locks down over her shoulders, she displayed her natural beauty with a subtle make-up look, opting for a rose-tinted lipstick and a light coating of mascara.

Faux pas: The 37-year-old, who has been dating James Middleton since 2013, caused controversy at the weekend by choosing to wear a cream dress to Pippa Middleton's wedding

Donna, who has been dating James Middleton since 2013, caused controversy at the weekend by choosing to wear a cream dress by Emilia Wickstead to Pippa's wedding to James Matthews.

While the former Byker Grove star undeniably looked stunning in the elegant number, she flaunted the traditional wedding etiquette of not wearing anything too close to white.

The BFC event on Wednesday night saw the winners of this year's Fashion Trust grants being announced.

The glamorous bash was attended by famous faces from the fashion industry, including stylist Martha Ward and Livia Firth, the wife of Colin Firth.

Stylish: Donna, pictured with Martha Ward, was on safer ground on Wednesday as she showed off her slender figure in a demure red dress

Re-cycling: She teamed the stylish frock with a pair of silver heeled sandals, accessorising her ensemble with the same pink clutch bag she was seen carrying at Saturday's wedding

Following Pippa's wedding on Saturday, there have been suggestions that Donna and James could be next to get married, after the couple reunited following their 'relationship sabbatical' last year.

In an interview last November, James hinted that there could be wedding bells in the future for him and Donna, who is mother to 13-year-old Freya from her previous relationship with Damian Aspinall.

He told YOU magazine: 'I cant say everything that is happening with us. We are thinking about where we are going next.

'Marriage is absolutely not something Im scared of [but it] isnt necessarily the be all and end all.

Fashionable guests: Stylist Martha Ward looked effortlessly chic in a black ruffled dress

Prints galore: Livia Firth, pictured with Megha Mittal, looked stylish in a a printed red dress, teamed with silver sandals

Stylish: Model Laura Mullen (L) wore a black jumpsuit to the event; while BFC's chief executive Caroline Rush opted for a chic shirt dress
They have both found fame in two of the UK's biggest reality shows.

And Holly Hagan and Chloe Sims were keen on leaving their mark in Ibiza, as they were spotted heading off to enjoy a day on a luxury yacht on Wednesday.

Former Geordie Shore star Holly, 24, showcased her busty assets in a skimpy blue bikini, while her TOWIE companion, 34, opted for a sexy plunging swimsuit for the day of leisure.

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Babes: Holly Hagan and Chloe Sims were keen on leaving their mark in Ibiza, as they were spotted heading off to enjoy a day on a luxury yacht on Wednesday

Eye-popping: Former Geordie Shore star Holly, 24, showcased her busty assets and pert derriere in a skimpy blue bikini

Holly looked sensational in the beachy attire, which worked effortlessly to show off her eye-popping cleavage.

The plunging bikini top, which featured silver detailing, also flaunted her toned abs - which is a result of her recent efforts at an intensive fitness bootcamp.

Holly teamed the look with a floating leopard print maxi-skirt, which boasted a soaring thigh high split and showcased her toned legs to perfection.

Opting for a more low-key vibe to the day, Holly went for hardly any make-up and allowed her long luscious blonde locks to cascade down her back.

Summery: Holly looked sensational in the beachy attire, which worked effortlessly to show off her eye-popping cleavage

Gym-honed: The plunging bikini top, which featured silver detailing, also flaunted her toned abs - which is a result of her recent efforts at an intensive fitness bootcamp

Trendy: Holly teamed the look with a floating leopard print maxi-skirt, which boasted a soaring thigh high split and showcased her toned legs to perfection

Meanwhile, Chloe also ensured to put on a sizzling display in a black one-piece, which perfectly flattered her frame.

The Essex based beauty's swimwear featured heavy tassel detailing from behind - doubling up as a cover-up for her legs.

The girls came prepared for the day on the boat as they toted their belongings in large handbags and brought along towels with them.

Once on the boat they were spotted topping up their tans as they enjoyed lively chatter.

Looking good: The girls shared this snap of themselves in their casual garb on Instagram

Mane attraction: Holly allowed her long luscious blonde locks to cascade down her back

Natural: Opting for a more low-key vibe to the day, Holly went for hardly any make-up

No doubt: Holly looked sensational after recently putting herself through a gruelling regime at a fitness boot camp in Thailand, where she trained for up to six hours a day

Speaking to MailOnline last month: The fitness fanatic revealed that she has been spending plenty of time focusing on herself and getting back into shape, in order to get over her former flame

Image overhaul: Admitting she now goes to the gym every day, she explained: 'I did put on a little bit of weight when I was in a relationship, but it didn't bother me because I was happy!'

She continued: 'I don't think it's a bad thing at all, it's a sign of happiness. If you lose weight in a relationship youre probably not very happy!'

No doubt, Holly looked sensational after recently putting herself through a gruelling regime at a fitness boot camp in Thailand, where she trained for up to six hours a day.

Speaking to MailOnline last month, the fitness fanatic revealed that she has been spending plenty of time focusing on herself and getting back into shape, in order to get over her former flame.

Admitting she now goes to the gym every day, she explained: 'I did put on a little bit of weight when I was in a relationship, but it didn't bother me because I was happy!'

'I don't think it's a bad thing at all, it's a sign of happiness. If you lose weight in a relationship youre probably not very happy!'

Glam: Holly looked incredible as she made her way on board the yacht for the low-key day

Getting that golden glow: She was spotted perched at the edge of the boat to top up her tan

Sexy pal: Meanwhile, Chloe also ensured to put on a sizzling display in a black one-piece, which perfectly flattered her frame

Stylish: The Essex based beauty's swimwear featured heavy tassel detailing from behind - doubling up as a cover-up for her legs

Not having it: While Holly feels confident in herself however, she was forced to take a stand against trolls recently after they slammed her appearance on social media

However she added she now feels in a good place, both in terms of her health and heartache, continuing: 'I'm feeling much healthier and happier and everything's great.'

While Holly feels confident in herself however, she was forced to take a stand against trolls recently after they slammed her appearance on social media.

Having shared a selfie in a plunging pink bikini, the former MTV star was hit with cruel comments regarding her figure and bust size.

Not letting the haters get her down however, Holly immediately responded to the criticism by writing on Twitter: 'When you comment something negative on someone's photo you may as well just write IM JEALOUS you look like a freak! Be nice or scroll past' (sic).

After a follower retorted that everyone was entitled to an opinion, she fiercely hit back: 'Why would you condone being unnecessarily mean to someone you don't even know? don't like the way someone looks scroll past! No need for it'.

Horrible: Having shared a selfie in a plunging pink bikini, the former MTV star was hit with cruel comments regarding her figure and bust size

Sticking up for herself: Not letting the haters get her down however, Holly immediately responded to the criticism on Twitter

Meanwhile, Chloe saw herself in a major storyline in the last season of TOWIE.

Chloe has been embroiled in a feud with Megan McKenna since she accused the former of getting close to her ex beau Pete Wicks from photographs that appeared to make the pair look intimate, a claim that Chloe vehemently denied.

While the pair insisted there was nothing romantic going on between them and their friendship is strictly platonic, Megan had questioned why Chloe hadn't called her to give her a 'heads up' about the photos.

Tension grew between the girls, prompting both of them to speak about each other behind one another's back, with Chloe branding Megan an attention-seeker.

Drama: Chloe has been embroiled in a feud with Megan since Megan McKenna accused the former of getting close to her ex beau Pete Wicks from photographs that appeared to make the pair look intimate, a claim that Chloe vehemently denied
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Mthweakazi Liberation Front has said the government of Zimbabwe's plans to close some of the schools in Matabeleland South legitimises its resolve to push for a separate Mthwakazi state.Primary and Secondary Schools Ministry has announced that it was not economic for the government to continue running some schools in the province due to law enrollment rate and there was a possibility to close some of these institutions.MLF said in a statement that the move by the government to close some schools was confirming the need for Matabeleland people to stand for themselves and push for a separate state which will ensure that those schools remain in operation.The party said the move may be a blessing in disguise for the people in the region and this would enable people to pull resources together and run their schools without the aid from the Zimbabwean government thereby facilitating the revival of Mthwakazi state."We have been eagerly awaiting this day to come and show the world what we can do for our nation. Zimbabwe must realise that it can not in any means deprive our children of education," MLF said.
She frequently parades her enviable figure by storming down the catwalks of endless fashion shows.

But Bella Hadid showed off her sensationally slender physique in a more eye-catching manner on Thursday, as she posed for Giuseppe Zanottis striking AW17 campaign.

The model, 20, set pulses racing with her impressively leggy figure in various skimpy briefs, as she contorted her body and limbs in the high-fashion shoot.

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Bold: Bella Hadid showed off her sensationally slender physique in a more eye-catching manner on Thursday, as she posed for Giuseppe Zanottis striking AW17 campaign

The brunette beauty flaunted her svelte frame and impossibly long legs in the shoot, which saw her pose with her legs jutted out in a skimpy pair of hot pants.

Rising high at her hip, the briefs left almost all of her slender pins on show, which she added further height to with quirky pink fluffy heels.

Covering her top with a chic navy shirt, complete with a scalloped collar and peplum hem, the former Model Of The Year ensured all eyes were on her enviably toned body as she fiercely posed for the camera.

Sexy: The brunette beauty flaunted her svelte frame and impossibly long legs in the shoot, which saw her pose with her legs jutted out in a skimpy pair of hot pants

Putting her best foot forward: Bella only elongated her already leggy frame further in a second shot - which saw her swap her towering heels for risque thigh-high boots

Reclining against a wall in the snap, Bella bent over dramatically on the floor in the briefs, to tease a glimpse of her peachy derriere as well as her lean pins.

Bella only elongated her already leggy frame further in a second shot - which saw her swap her towering heels for risque thigh-high boots, embellished with silver studs all over.

Meanwhile further shots saw her utilising a staircase to pose for the gorgous shoot, where she slipped into a glamorous red dress lined with feathers as she smouldered for the camera.

Flexy: Covering her top with a demure dress, the former Model Of The Year ensured all eyes were on her enviably toned and pins as she fiercely posed for the camera

Red hot: Further shots saw her utilising a staircase to pose for the gorgous shoot, where she slipped into a glamorous red dress lined with feathers as she smouldered for the camera

The stunning images were shot in New York by Mario Sorrenti, and represent the Italian shoe designer's new collection.

Bella jetted to Rome from Cannes this week, in order to launch her new Bvlgari Goldea Roman Night perfume.

Attending the big unveiling on Wednesday night, the sister of model Gigi made sure to steal the spotlight in a strapless satin gown and bold new fringe.

Taking the lead: Bella jetted to Rome from Cannes this week, in order to launch her new Bvlgari Goldea Roman Night perfume

Who's that girl? Bella stunned in the pale pink Galliano dress and striking new 'do, which saw her tresses styled into a bob with an old-fashioned fringe

The beauty made jaws drop as she stepped out for the coveted event in a figure-flaunting vintage Galliano dress with a full-length lace skirt, as she descended down the city's Spanish Steps.

She has since been seen shooting multiple times for the jewellery brand in the capital - first taking to a rooftop in a slinky metallic dress, before posing on a balcony in a striking blue suit.

The star looked stunning in the trendy two-piece - which cut open on the arms and featured chunky silver and blue embellishments across the front.

Feeling blue? She has since been seen shooting multiple times for the jewellery brand in the capital - taking to the camera in a striking blue suit on Thursday (above)

With such a sensational figure, it is no wonder Bella has seemingly caught the attention of multiple suitors in recent weeks.

On Tuesday night the brunette was seen enjoying an intimate dinner with a mystery man, while it was claimed she had enjoyed a 'flirty exchange' with boxer Anthony Joshua last month.

A source told The Sun of the pair, who met at the GQ Awards: 'Bella has made it clear shes focused on doing whatever she wants to  so things could easily happen.'

The rumoured flings follow her long-term relationship with The Weeknd, which came to an end in November.
She issued a public apology earlier this week for offending her social media followers by posting a bikini snap in the wake of the devastating Manchester terror attack.

But shameless Louise Thompson was back to doing what she does best - plugging swimwear brands on Instagram - as she uploaded another shot from her holiday in Isla de Holbox, Mexico, on Thursday.

Once again posing up a storm at the Holbox Hotel Casa Las Tortugas, while making sure she linked to every single brand she was wearing, the reality star, 27, displayed her golden glow in a skimpy white bikini.

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Back to it: Louise Thompson was back to doing what she does best - plugging swimwear brands - as she uploaded another shot from her holiday in Isla de Holbox, Mexico, on Thursday

The Made In Chelsea star wrote alongside the shot: 'Let's go where the stars kiss the ocean (and squint).'

Louise's latest holiday snap comes just two days after she apologised for sharing a bikini image just hours following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, which killed 22 people.

The Edinburgh University graduate insisted 'news hadn't travelled' when she shared the image while drinking a margarita and wearing a bikini.

Despite Louise's apology for 'ignorance' and 'being offensive', her personal trainer boyfriend Ryan Libbey, 26, continued to post images in his swimwear - with a beachside image coming just seven minutes after his girlfriend's lament-filled post.

Apology: The ,Made In Chelsea star, 27, was forced to issue a public apology for offending her social media followers by posting a bikini snap in the wake of the Manchester terror attack

Holiday: The Edinburgh University graduate insisted 'news hadn't travelled' when she shared the image while drinking a margarita and wearing a bikini

At least 22 people, including an eight-year-old girl, were left dead and more than 119 injured after a suicide bomber targeted gig-goers at a packed Ariana Grande gig in Manchester Arena on Monday night.

As families continue to hunt for lost relatives while others mourn the dead, celebrities have been swarming social media to extend their sympathies to all involved, with many sharing images centered around Manchester.

In the midst of the social media tributes, Louise shared one of her now-trademark bikini images - much to the chagrin of fans, with users penning: 'Couldn't think to pay tribute given the current events?

'Vile, self-absorbed narcissistic creature. Get your head out of your own a**ehole.... Do you see beauty in anything else but yourself? Just for one day could you have not posted such a shallow post.'

Not heard? Despite the news seemingly just arriving at Louise's door, Ryan continued to share images of himself on the beach

Six hours after she posted the image, Louise shared a shot posted by many - depicting a black and white line drawing of a stick-woman holding a heart-shaped balloon with the word Manchester etched across.

She added a caption on the image reading: 'I am very sad to hear of the devastating news back home ! I'm sorry to have offended anyone with my last picture...

'I didn't mean to be so ignorant - I know it doesn't mean much but the news hadn't travelled. Anyway this isn't about me, but the bigger picture...

'Sending lots of love and prayers to the victims families as they are the ones hurting. Please may this cruelty stop, nothing is being achieved. We must put an end to terrorism.'

Despite the news seemingly just arriving at Louise's door, Ryan continued to share images of himself - this time posing topless while promoting the fitness retreat they are visiting while adding a caption: 'I fit right into this island life ~ Louise I'm staying'.

Abs on display: Sitting in between her personal trainer partner's legs, the social media savvy star made sure to show off her figure in all its glory

Still going strong: Louise and Ryan began dating last summer, just months after the brunette split from long-term ex Alik Alfus in May

Prior to her apology, Louise was once again sending her followers wild with envy as she holidayed with her Ryan in Mexico, posting an array of bikini snaps on her Instagram account.

The star can be seen holding a cocktail aloft while posing in a neon trimmed two-piece, looking a deep shade of mahogany. She posted: 'When in Mexico.... drink frozen margharitas on tap also, how sick is this swimsuit with a tan @misspap'.

Another snap saw the lovebirds cosying up on the steps of their hotel, with the brunette flashing her enviable abs in a white bikini.

Sitting in between her personal trainer partner's legs, the social media savvy star made sure to show off her figure in all its glory.

She captioned the snap: 'airway to HEAVEN. aka our room at @casalastortugas this has to be one of the coolest hotels I've ever seen multicoloured buildings, beautiful tapestries, balconies, mezzanines, hammocks, shell lamps, and every room is different!'

Here we go again: The couple showed no signs of stopping their usual bikini displays on Sunday as they documented even more of their Mexico break on Instagram

Bikini babe: Proving her more playful side however, she then shared a further image which saw her fail to pull off one of her trademark sexy poses in the sea

'I also had the most beautiful bikini left on my bed to wear from the boutique shop this is a honeymooners dream.'

Louise and Ryan began dating last summer, just months after the brunette split from long-term ex Alik Alfus in May.

Speaking to OK! earlier this year, the reality star admitted she had kept her relationship with Ryan a secret at first in order to avoid judgment - with the pair staying in separate hotels while they filmed in the South of France last year.

She explained: The production team found out I had a secret boyfriend while we were over there and were pretty annoyed at me! But they said theyd forgive me if I got Ryan to join the show.

Happy: Louise then responded by paying tribute to her boyfriend in one final post - captioning a post of her smiling off camera: 'When you're with the right person it shines right through you'

Way back when: Admitting she had wanted to avoid inevitable backlash for embarking on a romance so soon after Alik, she continued: 'We actually kept our relationship to ourselves for about five months

Admitting she had wanted to avoid inevitable backlash for embarking on a romance so soon after Alik, she continued: 'We actually kept our relationship to ourselves for about five months.

I didnt want people judging me for moving on so quickly after Alik. Ryan didnt even come to my house for the first five months because I didnt know how my brother Sam would react.

The pair have put on a united front ever since, and are now known for their selection of holiday photos and fitness videos on their Instagram pages.

Yet, their activities online have not come without scrutiny - after Louise's brother Sam exposed their methods of capturing such idyllic snaps.

Taking to Snapchat in January, the blond MIC star shared a snap of the couple posing in the pool - flanked with professional photographers and a full lighting team to capture the winning shot.

Sam, who is currently dating co-star Tiffany Watson, has since embarked on a number of parodies of his sibling - slipping into several of her bikinis and mocking her sexy poses on his own page.

Getting involved: Personal trainer Ryan, 26, displayed his own impressively muscular chest in a pool snap of his own
She had dazzled in a glittering mini dress on the red carpet of the star-studded L'Oreal bash the previous evening.

But Lara Stone proved she was just as stunning when more casual on Thursday, after she was spotted relaxing on her balcony in Cannes, France.

The blonde beauty, 33, displayed her radiant natural beauty in nothing but a white shirt, which gave a sexy flash of her briefs underneath, as she admired the sea view with friends.

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Relaxing: Lara Stone proved she was just as stunning when more casual on Thursday, after she was spotted relaxing on her balcony in Cannes, France

The mother-of-one looked utterly relaxed as she spent a morning on her balcony in the thigh-skimming white shirt, worn with her underwear only to display her famously long legs to all.

Leaving the smock unbuttoned at the top, the star then teased at her bust underneath as she caught up with friends in the sunshine.

Keeping her face mostly fresh, Lara showed off the enviably clear and glowing complexion that has scored her so many campaigns over the years as she laughed with a pal in her apartment, who drew on a cigarette as they chatted.

Sexy: The mother-of-one looked utterly relaxed as she spent a morning on her balcony in the thigh-skimming white shirt, worn with her underwear only to display her famously long legs

Later returning to what she does best, the beauty was then seen in a double denim ensemble as she embarked on a shoot during another busy day at the festival.

Posing fiercely with one hand on the railing, the blonde exuded confidence and elegance as she effortlessly smouldered for the camera.

Jetting to Cannes with L'Oreal, Lara showed no signs of fatigue on her balcony - despite having partied the night away at their star-studded Cinema Club anniversary the previous evening.

Trendy: Later returning to what she does best, the beauty was then seen in a double denim ensemble as she embarked on a shoot during another busy day at the festival

The Dutch model had dazzled in a glittering bodycon dress, complete with saucy fishnet sleeves, and a slick of red lipstick as she joined a number of other models at the bash - including Doutzen Kroes, Irina Shayk and actress Eva Longoria.

The blonde shot to fame as a model at the age of 12 when she was scouted in Paris, and has gone on to score a number of contracts all over the globe.

Known for her seemingly stern expression, Lara recently admitted that the look was just her natural face - and causes many to think she is constantly angry.

Professional: Posing fiercely with one hand on the railing, the blonde exuded confidence and elegance as she effortlessly smouldered for the camera

Easy: Lara showed no signs of fatigue on her balcony - despite having partied the night away at their star-studded Cinema Club anniversary the previous evening

She explained of her pout: 'That's just the way my face looks. I haven't got a naturally smiley face.

'But then there are some people who have really friendly faces, even when they're pissed off, and I imagine that would be more annoying.'

Aside from modelling, Lara is also a devoted mother to her four-year-old son Alfred, who she shares with ex-husband David Walliams.

Fierce: The Dutch model had dazzled in a glittering bodycon dress, complete with saucy fishnet sleeves, and a slick of red lipstick as she joined a number of other models at the bash

The model married the comedian at London's Claridge's Hotel back in 2010, but the pair split five years later.

She has been spotted on a number of dates since her divorce, but Lara appeared completely infatuated last month, as she smooched new man Andrew Gray, 30, at a pub in North London.

The pair were first linked in February 2016, when they attended the BRIT Awards together and reportedly indulged in a spot of PDA at their table during Adele's performance.
She has made no secret of her ongoing feud with Real Housewives Of Sydney rival Krissy Marsh.

And Lisa Oldfield took another stab at the former model by sharing an expletive-ridden rant on Instagram this Thursday.

In the impassioned essay, Lisa refers to previous statements made by Krissy implying that the entire RHOS cast wanted to boot Lisa from the franchise.

'Heartily sick of a jealous former rhos insinuating I am not liked by my cast mates': Lisa Oldfield took another stab at fellow RHOS star Krissy Marsh by sharing an expletive-ridden rant on Instagram this Thursday

'Like Voldemort, I don't like to invoke her name, but heartily sick of a jealous former rhos insinuating I am not liked by my cast mates,' began the mother-of-two.

'@athenaxlevendi@mattysamaei @melissatkautz (quoted) and I are all very good friends - yes it's true that I'm not fond of #victoriabitter and @nicolegazaloneil - who I find an intolerable and entitled nouveauriche snob - but I don't engage in isolationist bullying tactics because that s*** is year 9 playground nastiness.'

'I'm a full-time working mum with multiple media commitments and endorsements.'

She went on to take a stab at Krissy, who she not-so-affectionately dubbed 'Chewbacca' during RHOS.

'Like Voldemort, I don't like to invoke her name': She went on to take a stab at Krissy, who she not-so-affectionately dubbed 'Chewbacca' during RHOS

The plot thickens: Next to the caption was a screen grab of what appeared to be a message sent from an irate RHOS star to Lisa

'I almost envy Chewbacca who enjoys the luxury of sitting on her hairy ar** in her (rented) ivory tower and takes potshots at working moms but then I remember she's an idiot who hires a publicist to desperately drum up any interest in her boring a**.

Next to the caption was a screen grab of what appeared to be a message sent from an irate RHOS star to Lisa, seemingly complaining about Krissy's recent comments to the media.

In the comments section, Lisa confirmed to fans that the message was indeed sent to her by Melissa Tkautz.

'I'm so sick of her dragging me into her s***!' In the comments section, Lisa confirmed to fans that the message was indeed sent to her by Melissa Tkautz

'I'm so sick of her dragging me into her s***!' exclaimed Melissa.

It comes days after Krissy told Confidential that Lisa's fellow cast-mates wanted her to quit the franchise ahead of the next season.

'Personally the girls would love it if she wasnt [returning to the show] but then she probably makes good TV with the dead cat and the lies, it is fodder.'

Meanwhile, Krissy has hinted that she may not return for another season of the wildly popular reality show.
They are the fan favourite Bachelor couple who are about to welcome their first child together.

And Sam Wood, 37, took to Instagram on Thursday to post a throwback childhood of his fiancee Snezana Markoski, 36, who bore more than a striking resemblance to her daughter Eve.

The photo showed a pre-teen Snezana who was sporting much shorter locks than she wears in 2017.

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Eerie: Sam Wood took to Instagram on Thursday to post a throwback childhood photo of his fiancee Snezana Markosk who bore more than a striking resemblance to her daughter Eve

While Sam's followers were quick to gush over the adorable photo, many also could not mistake the resemblance to daughter Eve.

'So like Eve, both beauties,' one fan said, while others offered similar sentiments with: 'Gorgeous Snez! Eve looks just like her mama,' and: 'Aww gorgeous pic of Snez. Twinning with Eve.'

Snezana's trademark full lips and wide eyes made an appearance in the photo.

Doppelganger: While Sam's followers were quick to gush over the adorable photo, many also could not mistake the resemblance to daughter Eve

'Had that unique beauty evens as a young girl!!! Brunette stunner!!! Classy lady elegance!!!' one follower said.

It was a big weekend for the pair with Eve celebrating her 12th birthday on Saturday and Sam celebrating his 37th on Sunday.

The lovebirds headed back to work on Monday, with Sam teasing his pregnant fiancee in an Instagram post for sleeping on the job.

Manic Monday: Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski headed back to work after weekend birthday celebrations, with Sam teasing his pregnant fiancee for sleeping on the job

The stunning brunette appeared to be enjoying a nap as she reclined on a camel-coloured sofa while her partner held his Apple MacBook and posed for the camera.

'After a big weekend of birthday parties Snez came into the 28 office today to do some "work",' he joked in the photo's caption, adding the hashtag '#tiredmama'.

The lifestyle specialist referenced his fitness business, 28 By Sam Wood, where he provides clients with training, nutrition and wellbeing programs.

Party time: The Bachelor lovebirds appear to be recovering from weekend celebrations for his 37th birthday and her daughter Eve's 12th birthday

Fans of the twosome took to the image's comments section to show their support for Snezana and poke fun at Sam.

'Never wake a sleeping mumma!' one follower admonished him.

'Shouldn't you be giving the tired expectant mumma a foot rub instead of checking your Insta and FB?' suggested another.

Touching: They enjoyed a more intimate party for Sam's birthday the following day, with Snezana calling him 'the love of my life' in a social media tribute

During Eve's birthday celebrations on Saturday, Sam posted a touching tribute to her on his Instagram of the trio dancing with the caption: 'We love you beautiful girl'.

They enjoyed a more intimate party for Sam's birthday the following day, with Snezana calling him 'the love of my life' in a social media tribute.

She gushed over her future husband and called him 'a man I love with all my heart and can't live without'.
She has sported a number of different coloured wigs ever since she shaved her head for her dying woman role.

And Cara Delevingne opted for a vibrant pink number on Thursday as she filmed new flick Life In A Year, in Canada.

The model turned actress, 24, was hard to miss in her candy pink headpiece as she cackled with laughter with the film crew while on location at Cherry Beach, Toronto.

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Model material: Cara Delevingne sported a vibrant pink wig on Thursday as she filmed new flick Life In A Year in Canada

The Burberry model looked in very high spirits as she relaxed inbetween takes - chatting and laughing animatedly with her co-stars and production team.

Joined by fellow lead Jaden Smith, 18, the Suicide Squad star was even seen falling flat on her back in laughter, as the youngster joked around on set.

Later getting back to business however, the pair then embarked on a seemingly tense scene on the murky beach - with Cara staring at her co-star intently as they held emotional conversation for the camera.

Having a ball: Joined by fellow lead Jaden Smith, 18, the Suicide Squad star was seen falling flat on her back in laughter, as the youngster joked around on set in Toronto

Wrapping up warm in a large puffer coat and tracksuit bottoms, it was Cara's vibrant wig that caught attention - standing out from the darkness with its pink hue.

Sporting minimal make-up as her character in the scene, the supermodel proved her natural beauty and radiant complexion despite the kooky hair as she spent another busy day of filming.

The British star is currently filming Life In A Year, directed by Mitja Okorn - which follows Cara as a terminally ill woman, with one year left to live.

Bold: Wrapping up warm in a large puffer coat and tracksuit bottoms, it was Cara's vibrant wig that caught attention - standing out from the darkness with its pink hue

In a bid to make her last months her best yet her boyfriend Daryn, played by Jaden, vows to give her an 'entire life' in the time she has left.

Fully committing to her character, Cara debuted her fully shaved head for the first time on set last month, and has since showed off her new look at a number of red carpet events, including the glitzy 2017 Met Gala in New York City.

Only weeks before the film, Cara had been seen dying her trademark tresses a bright hue of pink - which she explained was in preparation of the big shave.

Commitment: The British star shaved her head for her role in Life In A Year, directed by Mitja Okorn - which follows Cara as a terminally ill woman, with one year left to live

She told US Weekly magazine of the shake up at the time: 'I have to shave my head for my next part, so I have to do something different.

'So I dyed it. Just for fun. Just to change it up.'

Making the transition from modelling to acting in recent years, Cara is also set to make an appearance in anticipated sci-fi thriller Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets, set in the 28th century.

The star, who landed her first acting role in 2012 flick Anna Karenina opposite Keira Knightley, plays feisty Agent Laureline, who keep order in the human territories alongside Dane Dehaans Valerian.
When they first fell in love, she was a 28-year-old photography student and he an established rock god in his 50s.

And it seems Penny Lancaster, 46, and Rod Stewart, 72, are as loved-up as ever almost two decades on, with the Loose Women panelist lavishing praise on her husband during the show on Thursday.

The model celebrated the Maggie May hitmaker's 'naughty schoolboy side', and said the fact he worked out regularly made him 'very sexy and appealing'.

Loved up: Penny Lancaster, 46, lavished praise on 'sexy' Rod Stewart, 72, on Thursday's Loose Women and revealed she once gave him an ultimatum over straying

And Penny remembered how as a 'down to earth Essex girl' she tamed Rod's bachelor ways to convince him to settle down.

She said: 'He was still playing games when I met him he didn't think he had settled down. I didn't want to be a girlfriend I wanted to be "the" girlfriend.

'I said from the beginning - please don't do that to me. I understand if you want to go about with other girls, but I dont want to play games.

'I remember finding a photo of him with another woman and I said, I warned you, goodbye and I walked.'

Old days: The model remembered how as a 'down to earth Essex girl' she tamed Rod's bachelor ways to convince him to settle down

Recollections: Penny said putting her foot down was vital to the success of their relationship, adding: 'He panicked and said I didn't know whether to take you seriously'

Penny - who first met Rod back in 1999 - said putting her foot down was vital to the success of their relationship, adding: 'He panicked and said I didn't know whether to take you seriously.

'The fact that I spoke up for myself meant he respected me and we ended up being a perfect match.'

Rod, who made Penny his third wife in Portofino, Italy, in June 2007 - eight years after they first met - has previously spoken about how she managed to tame the Lothario ways he was famed for in his heyday.

Penning a touching tale about his first impressions of Penny in his 2012 memoir, Rod recalled: 'She was tall and blonde, with a drop-dead figure.

Better man: Rod, who made Penny his third wife in June 2007, has previously spoken about how she managed to tame the Lothario ways he was famed for in his heyday (pictured 2003)

'But what I was also attracted to was the obvious warmth she had about her, and the kindness in her face.'

Penny has successfully brought together Rod's brood of children from previous relationships and maintained good relationships with his exes.

The model shares two sons with her rocker husband - Alastair, 11, and Aiden, six.

Alastair has shown great promise as a swimmer, convincing his father to invest in a 50ft swimming pool at his 5m historic mansion in Harlow, Essex.

Rod - who has eight children with five different women - has previously credited Penny for bringing his family together as one.

Happy family: The model shares two sons with her rocker husband - Alastair, 11, and Aiden, six (pictured at Sir Rod's knighthood ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October 2016)

Speaking on ITV1's Lorraine, he said: 'She literally did bring the family together.

'I've got eight children and I think I am appreciating it more now in old age than I ever did before. I really cherish those moments.'

Rod fathered his first child, Sarah Streeter, 53 - who was raised by adoptive parents - in his twenties with art student Susannah Boffey.

The rocker raises daughter Kimberly, 37, and son Sean, 36, from his first marriage to former model Alana Hamilton, 71.

Rod also has daughter Ruby, 29, with model ex-girlfriend Kelly Emberg, 57.

Before Penny, the musician was married to Australian model Rachel Hunter, 47, from 1990 to 2006, with whom he shares son Liam, 24, and daughter Renee, 22.
It's the reality TV series that dished up its fair share of cat fights.

But it appears the drama has proved too much for Real Housewives Of Sydney, US networks rejecting the chance to broadcast the series, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The shock decision comes as Foxtel concedes some of the housewives have 'no redeeming features', hinting at a major cast overhaul for season two.

'Behaviour throughout the series did go too far': Foxtel hints at Real Housewives Of Sydney cast overhaul after US networks reject the series because cat fights were 'too extreme'

While The Real Housewives Of Melbourne has been broadcast in US primetime, American TV networks shunned the Sydney series for being 'too extreme' and not featuring enough lighthearted moments.

The disappointing decision has caused Foxtel's head of television Brian Walsh to concede he is concerned about the cast, hinting changes would have be made to the housewives line up.

'A lot of the women in this show were nasty for nastys sake and have no redeeming features,' he said.

Too heavy? American TV networks shunned the Sydney series for being 'too extreme' and not featuring enough lighthearted moments

'A lot of the women in this show were nasty for nastys sake': Foxtel's head of television Brian Walsh voiced concern about the cast

'I particularly felt Lisa Oldfield and AthenaX Levendi were driving their own agendas.'

Brian said he would be steering changes in the second series to make sure the women were better behaved and more friendly towards each other.

'Ive raised my concerns with the production team from this season. I felt the bad language and behaviour throughout the series did go too far,' he told News Corp.

Driving her own agenda? Brian accused Athena of having an ulterior motive for appearing on the series

Switching things up? Brian said he would be steering changes in the second series to make sure the women were better behaved

The first season of RHOS features its fair share of dramatic moments, with much of the fighting involving Athena and Lisa verbally sparring with other housewives.

Fights between the two women and the rest of the cast, in particular Krissy Marsh and Victoria Rees, have since spilled off screen, with Victoria filing a police report accusing Lisa of online bullying last month.

Meanwhile Krissy reignited her feud with Lisa this week, telling News Corp she continues to call her a 'sl*t' and claiming most of the housewives would prefer her not to return for season two.
On Monday, Tom Cruise's security team blocked a major Sydney tunnel in a bid to avoid paparazzi as he touched down in Australia.

And now The Daily Telegraph are reporting that his team have been issued a $252 in relation to the incident.

A 38-year-old man believed to be from the Hollywood star's team, has reportedly been handed the fine.

Small change for Tom! Cruise's security team fined just $252 for blocking Sydney's Cross City tunnel to avoid paparazzi

A NSW policeman confirmed to the publication the fine was for 'the offence of unreasonably obstruct the path of the driver'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tom's representatives for comment in relation to this story.

The Cross City Tunnel, a 2.1 km tunnel tollway, was momentarily blocked by cars at around 10.30 am, so no one could pass or follow the actor and his team from the airport.

High-profile: On Monday, Tom Cruise's security team blocked a major Sydney tunnel in a bid to avoid paparazzi as he touched down in Australia

Making headlines: The Cross City Tunnel, a 2.1 km tunnel tollway, was momentarily blocked by cars at around 10.30 am, so no one could pass or follow the actor and his team from the airport

A video obtained exclusively by Daily Mail Australia, saw the Cross City Tunnel, which connects the Western and Eastern Distributors blocked off.

Several black Range Rovers were seen stationed at the entrance for a period of time, blocking traffic, before eventually proceeding through the tunnel.

It is believed that Tom was in the first vehicle, followed by his security team.

A spokesperson for Transurban, in control of the Cross City Tunnel told Daily Mail Australia shortly after: 'From the footage shown in the data control room, there is no way of identifying the passenger.

And from a privacy issue, should the identity be known, it would be withheld. There was congestion for around five to 10 seconds.'

On the job: Several black Range Rovers were seen stationed at the entrance for a period of time, blocking traffic, before eventually proceeding through the tunnel

This is not the first time that Tom has blocked off traffic.

In 2012, the Mission Impossible star shut down London's bustling Trafalgar Square, to film scenes for All You Need is Kill.

As reported at the time by CBS News, Tom arrived on-set in a helicopter, while a series of military vehicles surrounded the empty area.

Roads leading up to the popular landmark were closed to the public, leaving only a few members of cast and crew present upon Tom's arrival.

Tom was in Sydney this week for the Australian premiere of The Mummy, and has since jetted to Taiwan to promote the film.
It's taken the internet by storm.

And Howie Mandel, 61, jumped on the male romper bandwagon as he expressed his excitement for the trend by joyfully running around Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show set after changing into a romper.

The America's Got Talent judge pulled a Tom Cruise couch moment as he shot out of his chair during their interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show multiple times for the little escapade.

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He's excited! Howie Mandel, 61, couldn't contain his excitement over the latest men's fashion craze by frolicking around Ellen DeGeneres' talk show set wearing a black romper

So much fun! Howie tried out the trend that's taken the internet by storm

'A man's gotta romp while he's wearing a romper,' the star gushed.

He started off wearing a chef's jacket at the beginning of the segment, explaining that it was his wife's birthday and he is bringing her to a fine dining restaurant in Los Angeles later that day.

He walked out onto Ellen's set holding a look-a-like doll, which he never explained.

He revealed he's not much of a foodie, but thought the appropriate outfit would make the people working there think he was.

Chef's ensemble: He walked out onto Ellen's setwearing a chef's jacket and holding a look-a-like doll, which he never explained

'I reserved a table near the kitchen,' he explained. 'In my mind, when they see me, they're going to feel like, 'oh this guy knows what he's talking about.' And they're going to put a special effort, like they don't for anybody else'

Ellen later asked the funnyman if he knows about the latest fashion trend: male rompers.

She then proceeded to convince him to put one on to test it out.

Tricky: He revealed he's not much of a foodie, but thought the appropriate outfit would make the people working there think he was

Howie obliged and went backstage to change into the black one-piece ensemble.

'I saw these on the internet and it's called a romper, and you go, 'why is it a romper?' And it's because it's for romping,' he gushed as he sat down in his new wardrobe.

'Do you feel like romping?,' Ellen asked her guest.

Howie replied 'I do' and proceeded to jump out of his chair and frolic around the set multiple times, kicking his knees up high and jovially prancing about.

It's comfortable! Howie proceeded to jump out of his chair and frolic around the set multiple times, kicking his knees up high and jovially prancing about

Unable to contain his excitement, the Canadian comedian exclaimed: 'I want to get this for all my friends and you know what, I'm going to build a room in my house, it's going to be a Romper Room and everybody can come over!'

He sits down again for a few seconds before jumping back up and performing the whole charade all over again.

Remembering he was there to promote his show, Howie pushes the date of the show's premiere.

Epiphany: 'I want to get this for all my friends and you know what, I'm going to build a room in my house, it's going to be a Romper Room and everybody can come over,' he exclaimed

Crazy! He finally sat down for a few minutes to chat, only to get back up and run around the room again

He continued: 'I'm going to wear this to the premiere.'

Ellen informs him that he is bleeding all over her chair after he cut his hand during his crazy antics.

'I've been in a terrible romper accident,' he exclaimed.

America's Got Talent premiere May 30 on NBC.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

A political analyst Vince Musewe has said the Zimbabwean leadership is only obsessed with harnessing power and wealth at the expense of development and this has crumbled the nation."The question is what must we do to create the Zimbabwe we want? First, we must understand why we are where we are now. For me, the fundamental cause is that of predatory leadership. We have a political leadership that is clearly more concerned with the accumulation of personal power and wealth at the expense of development," Musewe said."Until that changes, we are bound not to witness any significant allocation and efficient use of state resources for infrastructure development. Even if that happens, we have seen how large infrastructure projects are undertaken as a source of enrichment. This compromises their cost of delivery and quality. As a result, the country will not necessarily be better off, but will end up with expensive low-quality infrastructure that needs constant maintenance and repairs at a very high cost."Musewe said the government must create an environment that encourages domestic savings and attract long-term infrastructure development."We tend to rely too much on borrowing for our developmental projects and this continuously compromises what we can do and how we can do it. In most cases those countries that lend us money insist of merely transferring their technologies to us thus limiting our choices," he said."We need an accountable government that collects and manages resources efficiently. This goes back to ethical and competent political leadership. Our taxes must be collected efficiently and fairly while our natural and mining resources must be managed effectively to generate revenue that can be reinvested in the economy and increase its productive capacity. There must be accountability on how our resources are used and this must be underpinned by punishing those that are found to be corrupt. Zimbabwe has too many secret infrastructure deals that create massive future liabilities for tax payers without accountability."He said once the country has done that it can then look at the various infrastructure development models that are appropriate for our country."According to international research developing countries such as Zimbabwe should be investing at least 6% of GDP in capital formation. We are far away from this figure as the economy collapses due to de-industrialisation," he said.
She's the Australian actress who had to master a Brooklyn accent for her role on Orange Is The New Black.

And Yael Stone has had plenty of practice getting her Australian accent back, with the 32 year old revisiting her homeland to shoot the anticipated miniseries reboot of the classic film Picnic at Hanging Rock this year.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Yael said that while there was trepidation surrounding the retelling of such a classic Australian film, she believed the reboot will do the film and the book justice.

Back home: Yael Stone has revisited her native Australia to shoot the anticipated miniseries reboot of the classic film Picnic at Hanging Rock

Nerves: Yael told The Daily Telegraph that, while there was trepidation surrounding the retelling of such a classic Australian film, she believed the reboot will do the film and the book justice.

'You never want to be the remake that misses the point, but I don't think we are in danger of that,' she said.

Yael added that producers remained faithful to the source material when filming the reboot, which also stars Natalie Dormer and Samara Weaving.

'It is a beautiful and mysterious and whimsical tale and theyre doing a really fantastic job by acknowledging the film and the book, but also having this whole new life thrown into it,' she said.

Big shoes: 'You never want to be the remake that misses the point, but I don't think we are in danger of that,' she said

Based on a novel by Joan Lindsay, the 1975 Picnic at Hanging Rock was directed by Peter Weir and tells the eerie and ethereal story of a group of students and a teacher from a girls' school vanish without a trace while on an excursion to Hanging Rock, Victoria in 1900.

It won best film, best direction and best screenplay at the 1976 Australian Film Institute awards.

Yael is best known as the sassy inmate Lorna Morello on the hit Netflix female prison dramedy Orange Is The New Black.

Yael is best known as the sassy inmate Lorna Morello on the hit Netflix female prison dramedy Orange Is The New Black

With a hacker, known as the Dark Overlord, releasing the majority of the show's yet-to-be-screened fifth season recently, Yael told the publication that she did not succumb to pirating the show.

'I didnt give in to the Dark Overlord,' she said. 'I am so technologically inept Ive actually never been attracted to pirating things anyway,'

It was also reported that Yael will head back to the US this week to film the next season of HBO's High Maintenance and will return Down Under in July for the Video Junkee Festival in Sydney.

Yael was last in Australia when she attended the Logie Awards in April - despite being hospitalised with pneumonia the night before.
It is one of the most iconic swimsuits of all time.

But Ashley James gave Pamela Anderson her run for her money in a modern take on that red one-piece.

The former Made In Chelsea beauty, 30, has given the Baywatch slow-motion run her best go in a new video.

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Ashley James gave Pamela Anderson her run for her money in a modern take on that red one-piece

The buxom blonde came close to popping out of the extremely plunging swimsuit as she walked sexily out of the sea.

Sharing the seductive footage online, she told fans: 'BAE WATCH! Found a red swimsuit so naturally I had to be really basic and give my best Pamela Anderson impression, especially as we're DJ'ing in Marbella this weekend at a beach party she's attending!'

Back home in London last week, the star was much more covered up than usual as she parted ways with her normal bikini-clad looks.

The former Made In Chelsea beauty, 30, has given the Baywatch slow-motion run her best go in a new video

The buxom blonde came close to popping out of the extremely plunging swimsuit as she walked sexily out of the sea

Sharing the seductive footage online, she told fans: 'BAE WATCH! Found a red swimsuit so naturally I had to be really basic and give my best Pamela Anderson impression

She looked super funky for her outing in the figure-hugging black top which was clad in the logo 'Goal Digger' in large green lettering.

The DJ teamed the look with a pair of high-waisted slim-leg blue denims, which were slightly rolled up underneath.

Strolling along in a pair of comfortable black trainers, Ashley looked very much trendy as she also sported a pair of rose gold headphones around her neck.

Taking into consideration the low-key aspect to the day, Ashley wore her blonde locks in a messy bun - complementing her bronzed make-up look.

Statement style: Back home in London last week, the star was much more covered up than usual as she parted ways with her normal bikini-clad looks

Trendy: The former Made In Chelsea star donned a figure-hugging black top which was clad in the logo 'Goal Digger' in large green lettering

Fashionista: The DJ teamed the look with a pair of high-waisted slim-leg blue denims, which were slightly rolled up underneath

Ashley regularly puts out unretouched images of her slim bikini body out on her social media as part of a fight against unrealistic body image.

But even she was shocked at her immediate reaction to the now-famous unairbrushed Kim Kardashian bikini photos which were taken during her recent trip to Mexico.

Posting a lengthy caption with a sexy shot of her in a revealing red swimming costume, Ashley admitted that she had to scold herself over judging Kim's 'cellulite'.

Wistfully penning a memory of her time on holiday in Holbox Island, Ashley turned her commentary to the subject of Kim's derriere.

Style star: Strolling along in a pair of comfortable black trainers, Ashley looked very much trendy as she also sported a pair of rose gold headphones around her neck

'To be honest, when I first saw the photos I thought two things. Firstly, I loved seeing cellulite because I thought it was great that she could of edited images and she didn't,' the model began.

'Secondly, my immediate subconscious reaction was to be judgmental of her body, and I had to stop myself because I realise - why do we do this or care about how another woman's body looks?'

Ashley's post then became philosophical in nature, and she proffered some advice for her fans that she follows herself.

'Does judging Kim Kardashian make me feel better about myself? I think judgement is natural, but I always to train myself not to think it and I never say it out loud to others.'

Having her say: Ashley regularly puts out unretouched images of her slim bikini body out on her social media as part of a fight against unrealistic body image

'I train myself to not think about it': Even she was shocked at her immediate reaction to the now-famous unairbrushed Kim Kardashian bikini photos which were taken during her recent trip to Mexico

Ashley is herself a victim of body shaming, claiming last month that a taxi driver 'slut-shamed' her for wearing a plunging black crop top.

Penning another commentary on an Instagram post about the incident, she revealed that she 'broke down in tears' and 'was made to feel like a cheap whore'.

Luckily, she decided to ignore the taxi driver, and bravely went on with her evening in the revealing top after deciding she shouldn't feel ashamed about her 'natural, God-given body'.
Sony held the party to show off its assets.

And Vanessa Williams clearly got the memo as she arrived for the studio's Screening's Party in LA on Wednesday night.

The 54-year-old looked hot as she flaunted her impressive cleavage in a plunging black catsuit.

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Daytime Diva! Vanessa Williams flaunted her impressive cleavage in a plunging catsuit at a Sony screenings party in LA on Wednesday night

The sexy number also left her toned arms exposed and featured a choker detail.

She accessorized with dainty black heels and a large white purse, tying her hair back to reveal gold hoop earrings.

The actress was on hand for the screening of her upcoming comedy series Daytime Divas, centered around a popular daytime chat show.

In it, Vanessa plays the creator and main host of The Lunch Hour; her four co-hosts are all best of friends on air, but behind the scenes is a world of power struggles and super egos

Gorgeous: The sexy number also left her toned arms exposed and featured a choker detail

Back in black: Vanessa posed with her pal and Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor co-star Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Cheese! They snapped a selfie together for her Instagram. 'Sony party !#daytimedivas meets #theunderground Love me some mommy time with @jurneebell,' she wrote

Squad: Vanessa joined Daytime Diva cast and crew including (L-R) Producers Mike Chessler and Chris Alberghini, Fiona Gubelmann, McKinley Freeman, and producer Josh Berman

Based on a true story: In the show Vanessa plays the creator and main host of The Lunch Hour; her four co-hosts are all best of friends on air, but behind the scenes is a world of power struggles and super egos

The show is based on the book Satan's Sisters by former The View-host Star Jones.

Tichina Arnold, Chloe Bridges, Camille Guaty as Nina and Fiona Gubelmann play the four co-hosts.

Patti LaBelle, Eve and La La Anthony all have recurring roles, while real-life hosts Kelly Osbourne, Joy Behar and Jones herself will guest star as themselves.

Current show: guests included Anna Paquin (L) and Rachelle Lefevre, stars of the new Sony Pictures Television series Philip K Dick's Electric Dreams

Gold and silver: Rhea Seehorn and Erinn Hayes looked like a million bucks each in metallic dresses

Start me up: Start Up stars Zach Braff and Tiya Sircar united

Lookers: Patrick Heusinger (L) and Josh Hutcherson upped the handsome quotient

Spot the Psycho: Hill Harper, Daniel Dae Kim, Freddie Highmore joined their Good Doctor producer David Shore

Also at the party on Wednesday was McKinley Freeman, who plays Vanessa's son and The Lunch Hour's producer on the show.

Vanessa posed with her pal and Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor co-star Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and snapped a selfie together for her Instagram.

'Sony party !#daytimedivas meets #theunderground Love me some mommy time with @jurneebell,' she wrote.

They were joined by a host of stars starring in shows Sony has lined up in the coming season, including Anna Paquin, Zach Braff, Will Arnett, Josh Hutcherson, Daniel Dae Kim and Freddie Highmore.

Lego of me: Zach cosied up to Will Arnett

Shut Eye and Timeless: Isabella Rossellini and Abigail Spencer were also on hand

Huddle: S.W.A.T stars Shemar Moore, Kenny Johnson, Alex Russell and Peter Onorati looked like a close knit team
She's spent many a holiday in Marbella, the TOWIE cast's home away from home.

And Amber Turner turned heads as she enjoyed a night out in the Spanish resort town on Wednesday, showing off her mahogany tan in a skimpy halterneck dress.

The 24-year-old reality star looked ultra bronzed in the silk patterned number, which boasted a vibrant red, white and red pattern.

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Ultra bronzed: Amber Turner turned heads as she enjoyed a night out in the Spanish resort town on Wednesday, showing off her mahogany tan in a skimpy halterneck dress

Amber's handkerchief style dress served to enhance her golden glow while making the most of her shapely legs.

The blonde beauty completed her holiday ensemble with silver studded wedges and carried a simple clutch bag.

Megan McKenna's best friend went hand-in-hand with her gal pal as they prepared to party the night away.

Night out: The 24-year-old reality star looked ultra bronzed in the silk patterned number, which boasted a vibrant red, white and red pattern

Gal pals: Megan McKenna's best friend went hand-in-hand with her gal pal as they prepared to party the night away

Earlier in the week, Amber showed off her slender curves in a show-stopping bright blue bikini.

The low-cut bottoms sat high on her hips making the most of her toned legs.

Showcasing her toned and tiny waist, the halterneck top showcased her natural curves perfectly.

Making waves! Earlier in the week, Amber showed off her slender curves in a show-stopping bright blue bikini

And wearing her blonde hair in long golden curls, she appeared sport a full face of make up as she captioned the snap, 'Back in a bikini!'.

This comes after Amber's ex Jamie admitted he found it hard being around her.

Jamie Reed took a five year break from The Only Way Is Essex following an explosive final appearance in 2012.

'I'd like her to move to Australia!' TOWIE's Jamie Reed says he'd like ex Amber to leave the country... and reveals that he confides in Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan

And having returned to the structured reality series in its latest season, Jamie has opened up about the state of his relationships following the finale episode two weeks ago.

Of most note was what he had to say about his now-over relationship with Amber Turner, despite things fizzling out between the pair weeks ago.

'Its all kind of settling down now,' he told Simon Gross, speaking on The Showbiz Show. 'With my ex girlfriend and what she did - the Twitter response has been so nice; the people on the streets have been so nice.

'I dont want to say that it has wasted 4 years... I just hope that she is happy.'

Confidantes: Jamie explained that Mark Wright, the former TOWIE front man, helped him through his and Amber's split, along with his wife Michelle Keegan

Jamie was referring to the fact that Amber, who he dated for a long time, seemingly betrayed him to be with another TOWIE hunk Dan Edgar - in what turned out to just be a casual fling.

'Its difficult to see [Amber] as much I see her. I dont think that's normal. I dont think that in the normal world you would bump into your ex as much as I have.

'I would rather not see her everyday so I can move on. I would like her to move on as well and I dont need that constant reminder.'

Honest: Jamie Reed has opened up about the state of his relationships following the finale episode two weeks ago

The reality star wasn't shy about expressing his feelings for Amber now that the dust has settled - namely that he would like to see her flee the country.

'I would like Amber to spend a couple of years in Australia,' he told Simon in the one-to-one. 'In the nicest possible way! So in a couple of years time we could meet and say what happened.'

Jamie explained that Mark Wright, the former TOWIE front man, helped him through his and Amber's split, along with his wife Michelle Keegan.

'Mark and Michelle had a good chat with me about the Amber situation and he helps out a lot,' he recalled. 'If I could bring back a former TOWIE cast member it would be Mark. I think the viewers would like to see him again and I think we would bounce off each other.'

Opening up: 'Its all kind of settling down now,' he told Simon Gross [L], speaking on The Showbiz Show. 'With my ex girlfriend and what she did - the Twitter response has been so nice; the people on the streets have been so nice'

He wants you back: 'If I could bring back a former TOWIE cast member it would be Mark. I think the viewers would like to see him again and I think we would bounce off each other,' Jamie admitted

Jamie also divulged his thoughts on his ex Amber's friend Megan McKenna.

'I have always had a good relationship with Megan, she used to work at a bar that I ran. Me and Megan are okay. I dont think that she has been 100 per cent supportive of my relationship with Amber, but Megan tells it how it is.'

Despite his apparent chagrin that Amber is still a UK resident, Jamie has since found a new romance in the form of Jade Lewis.

'She has basically changed my whole life,' he gushed of the brunette Kendall Jenner lookalike. 'Jade has joined me now on TOWIE. Amber is there and that's where all the conflict comes from. Jade has been amazing for me, she is a lot of fun.'

Saying it how it is: Jamie also divulged his thoughts on his ex Amber's friend Megan McKenna

Bitter: The reality star wasn't shy about expressing his feelings for Amber now that the dust has settled - namely that he would like to see her flee the country

Jamie also touched upon his last moments on TOWIE in 2012 in which he threw a drink at Frankie Essex.

'I think everyone remembers the punch bowl incident!' he said sheepishly.

While Jamie and Jade were last seen at the end of season pool party on TOWIE's finale episode, Amber was left sour-faced as she watched Lauren Pope return on the scene, with her sights set on Dan.

Unlikely to take Jamie's advice and immigrate Down Under, Amber, Dan and Lauren are bound to be the source of drama when TOWIE returns again later in the year.
They're in the early days of their blossoming romance.

And Jeremy Clarkson and new girlfriend Lisa Hogan looked every inch the happy couple as they enjoyed a day out in London on Monday.

Putting on a cosy display, The Grand Tour host, 57, appeared smitten with the Irish beauty, 46, as they held hands over lunch.

Loved up: Jeremy Clarkson and new girlfriend Lisa Hogan looked every inch the happy couple as they enjoyed a day out in London on Monday

The new couple were later seen linking arms as they enjoyed a stroll in the sunshine during the romantic day out.

Jeremy opted for a casual look for the outing, teaming a blue shirt with a pair of jeans and brown loafers.

His girlfriend Lisa meanwhile looked chic in a semi-sheer blue blouse, which she wore with jeans and trainers.

Cosy display: The Grand Tour host, 57, appeared smitten with the Irish beauty, 46, as they held hands over lunch

Blossoming romance: The couple definitely looked to be enjoying each other's company

The actress slung a cream jumper over her shoulders to complete the casual look, with the pair both wearing their shades to shield their eyes from the sun.

The couple first went public with their romance during a getaway to Barbados in February.

Since then, the pair have enjoyed spending time together as they go on date nights as well as showbiz events.

Enjoying the sun: Lisa was seen peeling off her cream jumper as they soaked up the sunshine

Lisa broke her silence on the new romance for the first time in March, telling the Sunday Mirror: 'I'm very happy. He's really great.'

The former model separated from Baron Steven Bentinck in 2005, with whom she shares three children.

Jeremy has three children, Emily, 21, Finlo, 19, and Kataya, 16, with his ex-wife of 22 years Frances Cain.

Close: The new couple were later seen linking arms as they enjoyed a stroll through the city during the romantic day out
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Yachting by day, partying by night - that appears to be Kourtney Kardashian's motto for her stint in Cannes.

The mother-of-three, 38, is having a ball while on the French Riviera with her new toyboy Younes Bendjima, 24, who certainly looked like he was enjoying the view as they spent another day sunning themselves on a luxury liner on Thursday.

Kourtney was a sight for sore eyes as she showed off her sensational figure in her skimpiest swimwear so far; an itsy-bitsy sequinned thong bikini.

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Some-thing to smile about! Kourtney Kardashian is having a ball while on the French Riviera with her new toyboy Younes Bendjima, 24, who certainly looked like he was enjoying the view as they spent another day sunning themselves on a luxury liner on Thursday

The brunette beauty showed off the famous Kardashian behind as she sported the tiny bottoms, giving her new man a cheeky look at her impressively peachy derriere.

Meanwhile, male model Younes showed off his equally tanned and toned body in a pair of tropical shorts.

The pair only had eyes for each other as they tactfully touched while chatting on the deck, and were also joined by Kendall, who was wearing a matching bikini in a blue colour.

It's just another day in paradise for the new couple.

Hot stuff: Kourtney was a sight for sore eyes as she showed off her sensational figure in her skimpiest swimwear so far; an itsy-bitsy sequinned thong bikini

Woah mama! Kourtney looked incredible in her barely-there bikini - which made the most of her entire shape (pictured with Simon Huck)

No bum deal: The brunette beauty showed off the famous Kardashian behind as she sported the tiny bottoms, giving her new man a cheeky look at her impressively peachy derriere

Tie me up! Meanwhile, male model Younes showed off his equally tanned and toned body in a pair of tropical shorts as he helped do up her bikini

Deep in chat: As she reclined on the sofa, she was chatting away with her long time friend and PR maven Simon Huck

Close: The pair only had eyes for each other as they tactfully touched while chatting on the deck

Sister act: Kendall was also onboard the yacht and was wearing a matching bikini in a blue colour

Run for her money: Kourtney showed off her flawless body in front of her supermodel sibling

Trio: The pair cosied up to a hunky pal Simon while Kendall's boyfriend ASAP Rocky was in the background talking to Younes

Sizzling: Kendall wrapped up her famous frame in a barely-there getup

Legs eleven! She looked nothing short of incredible in her sexy getup

Sister act: The girls enjoyed a chat on the boat as they sipped delicious looking cocktails

Taking the lead: Kourtney was joined by Younes Bendjima as he followed her up the stairs of the yacht

Keeping busy: Kourtney was on her phone as Younes chatted away to his glamorous girlfriend

Climbing in: Limber Kendall climbed back on to the boat after a dip in the ocean

Lithe and elegant: The stunner made the most of her frame in the beach while splashing around

Struggling? While all her attention was on getting in the boat, fellow beachgoers attention was no doubt on her derriere

Perky! The stunning star looked incredible as she hit the beach while displaying her perky derriere

On Wednesday, they enjoyed yet another day out in the celebrity hotspot, leaving the Eden Roc Hotel in Antibes together on Wednesday and heading out for a day of adventures at sea.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star showed off her fabulous figure in a black swimsuit as she took to the waters with Younes on a jet ski.

The reality star displayed her perfectly toned physique in the skimpy one-piece, which boasted a sexy cut-outs running down the sides.

Kourtney's swimwear made the most of her gym-honed derriere thanks to its thong cut.

She was seen picking out a lifejacket on board the boat, getting a helping hand and a kiss from her toyboy boyfriend.

The pair then headed out on a jet ski, with Kourtney cackling with glee as she took the driving seat.

Lovebirds: It's just another day in paradise for the new couple, who looked blissfully happy as they packed on the PDA on Wednesday

Cheeky: Kourtney's swimwear made the most of her gym-honed derriere thanks to its thong cut

Helping hand: She was seen picking out a lifejacket on board the boat, getting a helping hand and a kiss from her toyboy

Checking in: Kourtney and Younes couldn't resist having a look a social media during their boat trip

Natural look: Kourtney showcased her natural beauty by going make-up free and wearing her hair down loose

Handsome: Younes showed off his muscular physique in a pair of black board shorts

Full speed ahead: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star showed off her fabulous figure in a black swimsuit as she took to the water with Younes

Earlier in the day, Kourtney was dressed to impress in a tiny bralet from Chan Luu and coordinating, high-waisted trousers.

She kept her look casual by dressing down her oversized flares with simple trainers and wearing a grey satchel slung over her back.

The mother-of-three completed her effortlessly chic attire with a pair of tinted shades and wore her dark hair down loose.

Younes was displaying his flair for fashion in a tropical print shirt and light denim jeans with rips on the knees.

Loving life: The pair couldn't contain their glee as they zoomed along on a jet ski

Hold on tight! Younes let Kourtney take the lead as she controlled the vehicle

Bulging biceps: The star's impressive muscles were on full display in his life jacket

Out and about: The pair enjoyed yet another day out together in the celebrity hotspot, leaving the Eden Roc Hotel in Antibes together by boat on Wednesday

Tactile: The couple were very touchy feely as they cosied up together on board the boat heading towards the mainland

The pair looked totally into one another as they strolled along the jetty together, laughing and joking.

Younes' romance with the star is said to have left Kourtney's former partner Scott Disick 'devastated' .

He had been left upset after seeing pictures of the pair out together earlier this month, despite the fact he had been spotted with numerous young women over the last year.

The star partied at 1Oak Las Vegas earlier this month, celebrating his 34th birthday with Brody Jenner and other pals.

Super chic: Kourtney kept her look casual by dressing down her oversized flares and Chan Luu bra with simple trainers and wearing a grey satchel slung over her back

Summer style: The mother-of-three completed her effortlessly chic attire with a pair of tinted shades and wore her dark hair down loose

Making herself cosy: Kourtney rested her feet on Younes' lap as they headed off on a speed boat

Daring to be different: Younes was displaying his flair for fashion in a tropical print shirt and light denim jeans with rips on the knees

Cute couple: Kourtney lead the way as Younes followed on later in the day carrying a yellow windbreaker

Loving life: The pair strolled along together as they headed away from the yacht

Jean-ius! Kourtney dazzled in a black satin shirt that she teamed with distressed jeans and lace up black heels

All aboard: Kourtney received a helping hand as she maneuvered herself on and off the boat

Cute: Kourtney stretched a hand out towards her beau as he carried the jacket for her on the journey

He reportedly stopped drinking and partying in the hope of a reconciliation with his ex - who he shares three children with - after they split two years ago.

But, as an insider explained to Us Weekly: 'Scott is being more open about his partying because he's realizing that getting back with Kourtney isn't going to happen.'

Fellow party-goers said that the reality star 'wasn't his usual happy-go-lucky self,' as he hung out at the party venue, despite being surrounded by many attractive young ladies.

While at the club, Scott was seen slapping a woman's backside, according to TMZ. The woman was shaking her body for fellow party goers in a tiny ensemble.

However, Scott, 33, seems determined to prove he had moved on, arriving in the French resort on Wednesday with former Disney star Bella, 19, amid claims she is his latest squeeze.

The pair were spotted lounging around together in the sun, with actress Bella slipping into a bikini.

The star seductively lay over the father-of-three as he lounged around shirtless on a huge sunbed.
As Yoda once said: Difficult to see... always in motion, is the future.

Disney has confirmed the final Star Wars film would have been centered around Princess Leia had Carrie Fisher not tragically passed away.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said the late actress wanted to be 'at the forefront' of the as-yet-unnamed Episode IX  adding that her wish would have been granted.

Missed: Disney has confirmed the final Star Wars film would have centered around Princess Leia had Carrie Fisher not died

The producer said Fisher was 'having a blast' filming her scenes for Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, and was keen to get started on the final chapter.

'The minute she finished, she grabbed me and said, 'I'd better be at the forefront of IX!',' Kennedy recalled.

'Because Harrison was front and center on VII, and Mark is front and center on VIII. She thought IX would be her movie. And it would have been.'

Kennedy confirmed that the studio had a mapped out a story a year ago that would 'really significantly' feature Fisher, which Episode IX writer and director Colin Trevorrow had been working on.

'In fact, he delivered a script to us in early December. So her death was a real shock, and changed things quite dramatically,' she said.

General Leia Organa is only seen in a handful of scenes in The Force Awakens, while her onscreen brother Luke Skywalker - played by Mark Hamill - only features in the film's very last shot.

The boss: Speaking to Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said the late actress wanted to be 'at the forefront' of the as-yet-unnamed Episode IX  adding that her wish would have been granted

Ready for more: The producer said Fisher was 'having a blast' filming her scenes for Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, and was keen to get started on the final chapter (pictured filming in a sneak peek shown at this year's Star Wars Celebration)

Front and center: 'The minute she finished, she grabbed me and said, 'I'd better be at the forefront of IX!',' Kennedy recalled

Fisher will feature heavily in The Last Jedi, but the middle installment of the final trilogy is expected to center on the Hamill's self-exiled war hero.

Carrie died of cardiac arrest on December 27, 2016, at age 60, four days after a medical emergency during a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles. She had, at that stage, finished filming all her scenes for The Last Jedi.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, she was set to feature in at least two pivotal scenes in the continuing story arc: her reunion with long lost brother Luke, and her confrontation with son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) after he murdered his father Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in the climax of The Force Awakens.

It is not known if she filmed either for The Last Jedi.

Spotted: In first trailer for The Last Jedi, only the briefest glimpse of General Leia is seen

The end: After Fisher died, Kennedy confirmed Princess Leia would not feature at all in Episode IX

After Fisher died, Kennedy confirmed Princess Leia would not feature at all in Episode IX.

The role would not be recast, nor would the studio consider using CGI, as they had to allow Fisher play a younger version of the character in 2016's Rogue One.

The only option was for Trevorrow to rewrite what he had already written.

Rewrites are not unheard of in the Star Wars universe: Rogue One for example, which reportedly ran into screenplay problems, was given a massive overhaul, with the eventual end result delighting critics and fans alike.

Oh brother: Fisher will feature heavily in The Last Jedi, but the middle installment of the final trilogy is expected to center on the Hamill's self-exiled war hero

Rian Johnson - who is directing Episode VIII - also admitted revamping his film after he based the story on an early draft of JJ Abrams's The Force Awakens, which ended up being a very different film upon completion.

At this year's 40th anniversary Star Wars Celebration, both Kennedy and Hamill gushed over Fisher's performance in what will be her final film.

'Wait until you see her in The Last Jedi, ' Hamill said. 'You're going to love her.'

'Carrie is remarkable in the movie,' Kennedy added. 'You guys are going to find it an amazing tribute to her talent.'
She's a Golden Globe Award winning actress and stars on the mega hit show Empire.

But in 1988, Taraji P. Henson was just an aspiring actress with a dream.

The 46-year-old shared her senior picture to Instagram on throwback Thursday, captioning it: 'You couldn't tell her ISH!!!!'

Flashback: Taraji P. Henson hared her senior picture to Instagram in honor of throwback Thursday with a sassy caption

Taraji added: 'She knew she belonged in #Hollywood right here, she just didn't know how she was getting there but she DREAMED BIG AF!!!!'

The actress finished off the sassy caption with: '#DidntKnowIn91BetchaKnowMeNow *Diddy voice*.'

The TV star graduated in 1988 from Oxon Hill High School in Maryland.

For her senior picture, Taraji wore a white blouse with layers of gold jewelry, including chunky hoops; she also rocked glasses and red lipstick.

Even though it was about 26 years before she landed the role on Empire, the star was giving off Cookie vibes in her senior portrait.

She's a winner: She's a Golden Globe Awards winning actress and stars on the mega hit show Empire; seen holding her Golden Globe in January 2016 at a post show party in Beverly HIlls

Following her high school graduation, Taraji went to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and studied electrical engineering.

She switched to a drama major after transferring to Howard University soon after.

In 1994, at the age of 24, she gave birth to her son Marcel with her high school sweetheart William Lamar Johnson; William was murdered in 2003.

Her breakthrough role was in the 2001 film Baby Boy, where she played the lead character Yvette with Tyrese Gibson.

Taraji first played Cookie in January 2015 alongside co-star Terrence Howard. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work as the character in January 2016.

The TV star graduated in 1988 from Oxon Hill HIgh School in Maryland in 1988.

In character: Her breakthrough role was in the 2001 film Baby Boy, where she played the lead with Tyrese Gibson; seen in the film with her co-star

In a 2008 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed that she auditioned for a performing arts school in her hometown of Washington D.C. but didn't get in - although her best friend did.

The Hidden Figures star recalled: 'I auditioned, but I didn't make it. I thought that meant I couldn't act, so I was crushed.'

She was so devastated that she said she 'wanted to throw myself under a bus; I wanted to slit my wrists because my best friend got accepted. I didn't.'

Because of that, she 'had to go to a regular school, and I never toyed with the idea again.'

She told THR that she quit the engineering route while in college because she failed a class.

Taraji explained: 'I get to college and I failed precalc. No calculus. Precalc! The class that preps you for all the math you have to do.'

After she failed, she called her dad and told him she wanted to leave; Taraji said: 'He knew that wasn't what I wanted to do. So he said "Come back home. I always knew you were an actor.'"

Focused: Taraji first played Cookie in January 2015, alongside co-star Terrence Howard. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work as the character in January 2016; seen on the hit Fox show with co-star Ta'Rhonda Jones
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It's one of the most highly-anticipated nights in the Cannes Film Festival calendar, attracting the biggest names in showbiz.

And the world's most recognisable faces arrived in style at amfAR's 24th Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc near Cannes in Cap d'Antibes on Thursday evening.

Setting a glamorous tone for the evening, new mother Irina Shayk, 31, flaunted her enviable cleavage as she stepped out in a sensational cleavage-flaunting look alongside model beauties Izabel Goulart, 32 and Lara Stone, 33, who were clad in an eye-catching sequin.

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All that glitters: New mother Irina Shayk (L) 31, flaunted her enviable cleavage as she stepped out in a sensational cleavage-flaunting look alongside model beauties Izabel Goulart, 32 and Lara Stone, 33, who were clad in an eye-catching sequin

Russian beauty Irina flaunted her ample cleavage and incredible post-baby body in a floor-length large sequin Prada number which hugged her slender torso before falling into a ombre decorated skirt in duck egg blue and bronze.

The full-length skirt followed behind her as she made her way inside the party, and highlighted her statuesque figure with ease thanks to her lofty height while she looked fresh-faced to let her striking garment do the talking.

Irina's dazzling displays comes as she continues to flaunt her incredible post-baby body in the South of France after stepping out in a jaw-dropping Balmain gown for the premiere of The Beguiled at the 70th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

She was flying solo as she arrived in Nice and was without her actor beau Bradley Cooper, 42, earlier this week.

Irinia and the Silver Linings Playbook star have been dating since early 2015 and sparked engagement rumours in December last year, after the brunette beauty was spotted sporting an emerald-and-diamond ring on her wedding finger.

The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Lea de Seine, together in March earlier this year.

Head-turning: Russian Irina flaunted her ample cleavage and incredible post-baby body in a floor-length large sequin Prada number which hugged her slender torso before falling into a ombre decorated skirt in duck egg blue and bronze

Fashion fiends: The trio looked a vision of style in their clashing looks as they made their way indoors

Pink to make 'em wink: The VS Angel's attention grabbing look featured a soft pink hue as she posed in the idyllic garden

A source close to the couple told People at the time: 'They are both extremely thrilled and feel so blessed.'

Irina had confirmed her pregnancy at last year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show by debuting her baby bump.

The model has remained silent about her new arrival on her social media pages, but she had expressed her desire to start a family in an interview with Hello! magazine.

Describing becoming a mother as the 'most important thing on this earth', she said: 'I think family is the reason why why we are here.

'I really enjoy what I'm doing but it's not the most important thing in my life - family is... friends, people who I love.'



Dazzling the style watchers on the grey carpet, Izabel highlighted her slender model frame as she donned a sheer fishtail custom Zuhair Murad gown which flaunted a veritable amount of skin following her see-through display at Wednesday night's The Beguiled premiere.

She scored major fashion points once again on Thursday as she arrived at amfAR's event, stepping out in revealling sheer gown which featured intricate sequin beading across the bodice and down her figure-flaunting skirt.

The Brazilian babe's look protected her modesty with cleverly placed crystals across her cleavage while baring a nude mesh inbetween her bust as she posed for cameras with ease.

Crystal clear: The Brazilian babe's look protected her modesty with cleverly placed crystals across her cleavage while baring a nude mesh inbetween her bust as she posed for cameras with ease

Making a statement: Dazzling the style watchers on the grey carpet, Izabel highlighted her slender model frame as she donned a sheer fishtail custom Zuhair Murad gown which flaunted a veritable amount of skin following her see-through display at Wednesday night's The Beguiled premiere

Metallic muse: Making a similar sequin statement as Izabel, Dutch model Lara flashed her honed pins in a flirty thigh-grazing metallic Chanel mini dress which featured a playful pink feather trimmed hem that added volume to her slender hips

Thighs the limit: The model beauty stopped for a snap with pal and singer Rita Ora who complemented her thigh-grazing style

Style stars: Lara, Doutzen Kroes, 32, and Irina Shayk looked picture perfect as they grazed the grey carpet together in their show-stopping ensembles

Her striking look boasted an eye-catching diamond backlace which drew attention to her low-cut silhouette and perky derriere as she sauntered inside the exclusive party with her brunette locks swept up into a voluminous ponytail.

Izabel was discovered in a supermarket at the age of 14, and moved to France to pursue modelling. However her career did not get off to the best start, after her top fell open to reveal her bare chest during her first ever catwalk appearance.

Yet, the South American stunner has put the embarrassing malfunction behind her to find success - going on to model for the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and Balmain.

And Izabel certainly stole the show on Wednesday evening as she appeared to go totally naked beneath a dazzling sheer gown for The Beguiled screening at the Palais des Festivals.

The star naturally oozed body confidence as she displayed the near-entirety of her assets from beneath the sheer ensemble which had all the hallmarks of a sexy red carpet triumph. Her golden gown was adorned with intricate bead work which displayed all her best bits - in intricate detail due to her decision to seemingly go lingerie-free.

Skin-flashing: The Australian supermodel put on a flesh-flaunting display as she slipped into a side-baring dress that highlighted her long legs and plenty of sideboob as she arrived at the event, ready to command attention

Dare to bare! Her daring designer ensemble highlighted her slender waist while she carried her skirt in her hands, navigating the carpet as she stopped for photos while flaunting her subtle skin and strappy silver heels

Step to it! Shanina showcased her incredible figure and peachy derriere as she posed for photos

Oh my! Shanina left hardly anything to the imagination in her silver gown which featured jagged edges

Lady in red! Doutzen Kroes stunned in her one-shouldered red gown which featured a daring thigh-high slit that teased at her pins

Red alert! Doutzen's head-turning look featured a full-length pleated skirt which moved as she teetered up the carpet

Balmain beauties: Doutzen Kroes, Maria Borges, Irina Shayk, Bianca Balti, Neelam Gill in Kaufman Franco, Olivier Rousteing, Alexina Graham and Lara Stone arrives at the amfAR Gala (Pictured L-R)

Woah! Bella Hadid headed to the glitzy amfAR Gala Cannes 2017 during the annual film festival in Ralph & Russo

Making a similar sequin statement as Izabel, Dutch model Lara flashed her honed pins in a flirty thigh-grazing metallic Chanel mini dress which featured a playful pink feather trimmed hem that added volume to her slender hips.

The mother-of-one slipped on the plunging garment that was sure to draw attention to her eye-popping cleavage while she accentuated her narrow waist with a contrasting wide pink belt as she worked the cameras.

Elongating her lean limbs, she adorned her feet with a pair of matching pointed silver stilettos that brought out the metallic detailing immersed in her feather-covered skirt.

Shanina Shaik, 26, put on a flesh-flaunting display as she slipped into a side-baring dress that highlighted her long legs and plenty of sideboob as she arrived at the event, ready to command attention.

The Australian supermodel daring designer ensemble highlighted her slender waist while she carried her skirt in her hands, navigating the carpet as she stopped for photos while flaunting her subtle skin and strappy silver heels.

Woah mama: Last year, Bella stole the show at the Unknown Girl premiere on 18 May 2016 as she sported the red gown which showed off her endless legs, perky cleavage and ultimately her lingerie when she unwittingly flashed the world's press.

All eyes on me: The stunning star dazzled in her slinky getup as she made her way through the party

Cheeky! The stunning star oozed body confidence while sashaying along the red carpet

Woah there! She once again ensured she commanded full attention in the sizzling gown

Laughing it off: Bella laughed off the hate as she sashayed along the red carpet

Capturing the attention: The stunning star was drawing every eye onto her

Dazzling display: The acres of sheer material building up the train and the delicate yet stunning beadwork complete with jewels and sequins being the only detail atop the totally sheer body and waist-enhancing corset

Pretty as a plum: Hailey Baldwin's Elie Saab garment featured a thigh-high slit that showcased her honed golden pins to perfection while mesmerising tulle surrounded her waist with eye-catching gold detail peeping out on either side of the accessory

Going for gold: Joan Smalls strutted to the event in a pair of striking gold heels as she posed up a storm in her navy Elie Saab dress

In the blue: VS model Jessica Hart, 31, sported a sweet heart neckline Alexandre Vauthier mini dress with eye-catching blue sash around her waist which trailed behind her in a chic train

Adding drama: The Aussie's striking sash was dramatic addition to her otherwise simple ensemble

Sheer bliss: Canadian model Winnie Harlow, 22, dared to bare at the event as she donned a sheer strapless gown that showcased her nude underwear

Sensational: Her look featured leaf detailing all over which she teamed with diamond accessories

Striking: Kate Upton, 24, worked a beige fitted frock that fell into a number of exquisite fringing that trailed the ground as she arrived

Out out: The stunner looked as striking as ever as she once again flashed her eye-popping assets

Style maven: Italian model Bianca Balti dazzled in her velvet floor length Dolce & Gabbana dress that featured a plunging neckline

Sparkle: British model Neelam Gill sported a daring Kaufman Franco cutout dress that highlighted her slender frame

Bella Hadid also headed to the glitzy amfAR Gala Cannes 2017 at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc during the annual film festival.

The 20-year-old supermodel looked phenomenal in a sheer white number adorned with intricate jewelled adornments, yet the embellishment did nothing to protect her bare bust while the slashed leg gave a glimpse of her entire frame.

Last year, Bella stole the show at the Unknown Girl premiere on 18 May 2016 as she sported the red gown which showed off her endless legs, perky cleavage and ultimately her lingerie when she unwittingly flashed the world's press.

She admitted after the appearance that wearing the gown was 'a bit scary' yet she was delighted to have 'so much nice feedback which was exciting.'

Getting chic done: Bregje Heinen (L) and Coco Rocha complemented each other in all black looks

All smiles: Jean-Paul Gaultier (L) posed with Coca at the star-studded event appearing in high spirits

Eek! Elsa meanwhile went for a princess style gown - although the finishing effect failed to boast the refined nature of a royal as she grappled with the sheer skirt while cupping her bustier-clad top half

Going... going... gone: Her dress seemed to battle against staying in place on the red carpet as she dazzled in her gown

Oh wow! The exquisite dress was frothy and flirty with masses of material gathering around her slender figure

Out and a pout: The blonde beauty went for a sex kitten style look with her plump pout dabbed with pink gloss while her hair was teased into a chic half-beehive

She must go to the ball: VS model Barbara Palvin, 23, rocked a ballgown inspired look for the stylish soiree in the South of France

A vision: Karolina Kurkova, 33, wowed the fashion police in her spectacular Marchesa gown that teased at her honed pins

Pastel: Petra Nemcova, 37, donned a daring Celia Kritharioti gown in pastel blue as she flashed her undergarment unexpectantly

For the frill of it: Her one-shouldered look featured frill detailng over her shoulder and across the waist

Stunner: The supermodel dazzled in a blue frothy gown with a billowing skirt and racy slit while boasting a slinky diamante belt with a textured handbag

It seems Bella got the bug for baring all, as her amfAR look was possibly the sauciest to date as she sizzled in the racy getup - complete with a boned corset, modesty-protecting nude underwear and a perilous slash.

The acres of sheer material building up the train and the delicate yet stunning beadwork complete with jewels and sequins being the only detail atop the totally sheer body and waist-enhancing corset.

Her perky bust was on display for the entire red carpet, with her assets flattered and enhanced by the stiff shape of the top of the gown.

One strap of the gown sat on her slender shoulder, while the other cascaded neatly off her frame to best flaunt even more skin.

The fundraiser, which raises money for AIDS research, saw celebrities make their way into a lavish dinner which is followed by a no expense spared auction, with last year's event raising a staggering $30 million.

The event, which takes place just outside of Cannes, attracts the biggest stars in showbiz in order to raise money for the worthwhile cause.

Oh my: Shunning the frothy looks of the evening, Anja Rubik went for an edgy blazer dress

Pin-credible! New Zealand beauty Georgia Fowler, 24, was breath-taking in her double split metallic beaded gown

Model behaviour: Daphne Groeneveld, 22, and Julia Restoin Roitfeld, 36, dazzled in their chic looks while Cindy Bruna, 22, sported Ulyana Sergeenko at the soiree (Picture L-R)
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It's a fun charity event launched in the UK in 1988 that spread to the U.S. in 2015.

And Jennifer Garner, her five-year-old son Samuel and her mom Patricia all got into the spirit by wearing clown noses to support Red Nose Day as they left the Brentwood Country Mart in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The 45-year-old actress, who donned a white padded jacket over a black T-shirt and black leggings, fiddled with her prominent proboscis as she walked along carrying a coffee.

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You gotta laugh: Jennifer Garner, her five-year-old son Samuel and mom Patricia all got into the spirit of Red Nose Day when they were seen out in Brentwood, Los Angeles on Thurday

Then she helped Sam put his on properly before hoisting the little cutie into her arms.

Patricia, who wore a blue jacket over a red T-shirt and black pants, had no trouble with her red nose, fitting it perfectly and smiling happily.

Jennifer put aside her divorce from Ben Affleck, her husband of 10 years and the father of her three children, to enjoy the fun day.

Red Nose Day was launched by the charity Comic Relief, founded by Love Actually writer Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry, to raise both awareness of child poverty and funds to counteract it.

Making sure it's firmly planted: The 45-year-old actress fiddled with her prominent proboscis as she walked along carrying a coffee

He's barely got a nose to fit it to: Then she helped Sam put his clown snoot on properly

And the bi-yearly event has become a phenom with folks even buying large red noses to fit on the fronts of their cars or their houses.

The BBC supports it by airing an evening of specially created comedy skits, persuading viewers to send money in and raising more than $1 billion globally in the last 29 years.

It is now in its third year in the U.S. where it has brought in some $60 million.

Nostrils up: The trio wore their noses with pride, proving they had donated to the charity Comic Relief, which raises both awareness of child poverty and funds to counteract it

NBC is celebrating Red Nose Day with a night of special programming.

It includes Running Wild With Bear Grylls as he and actress Julia Roberts go to Kenya to deliver vaccines; and The Red Nose Day Special, hosted by comedian Chris Hardwick.

Meanwhile, Walgreens will donate 50 cents to Comic Relief for each red nose sold until June 3.

Because it's fun: Jennifer and Patricia couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces and little Samuel grinned
Paula (BBC2)

Rating:

A Tale Of Two Sisters (Yesterday Channel)

Rating:

The only good thing about Paula (BBC2), a truly bleak drama about the dire fallout from a one-night stand, is that anything else you ever experience will feel more cheerful than this.

You could put on damp clothes and read French philosophy while listening to Leonard Cohen songs and it would put a smile on your face after Paula.

Denise Gough stars as the title character in Paula, alongside Tom Hughes who plays James

Denise Gough stars as the title character, a chemistry teacher. She wears a face so glum, she must have weighted her cheeks with lumps of lead. She looked as if shed been copying a sad-face emoji when the wind changed.

Tom Hughes, last seen as Prince Albert in Victoria, played handyman James, who kept two wives in a dingy slum flat and battered them, when he wasnt off blackmailing schoolteachers or beating them to death with bricks.

In this first instalment of the three-part drama, which features Paulas liaison with James, the whole shambles was filmed with a murky net curtain over the lens and the lights out.

Every now and then, one of the cast would emerge into daylight and blink: Paula went for a slow, miserable trudge on the beach with her earphones in and scowled at the sea for a couple of minutes without saying a word.

Mostly, though, this was set in darkness. Jamess flat only seemed to exist at night, when he mooched sulkily between his wives mattresses on the floor.

He drove round in a van with a haunted cement mixer in the back  it would start banging ominously, then a child with a blood-smeared face would leap out at him.

Gough, who plays a chemistry teacher, wears a face so glum, she must have weighted her cheeks with lumps of lead

Paula had a rat-infested basement where she went when she wasnt feeling miserable enough.

Eventually, she called James to come and block up the rat-holes: he didnt give her a quote but later charged her more than 500. Paula seemed to think this was quite normal, which suggests that either she doesnt hire many builders or she had an awful lot of rats in that cellar.

Tall tale of the week Comedian Vic Reeves is to guest star in Coronation Street (ITV), playing a telly presenter. Vic says hes been a Corrie fan since Episode 1... screened when he was not quite two. A likely story. Advertisement

The action did pick up slightly in the final 15 minutes, after James had beaten Paulas ex-lover to pulp and dumped his body in a quarry.

A detective, who had apparently been sitting in a nearby cinema throughout, waiting for his cue, arrived to start questioning people. He hasnt interviewed the ghost in the cement mixer yet  thatll probably happen next week.

If its glum you want, the excellent history series A Tale Of Two Sisters (Yesterday Channel) recounted the cautionary story of Unity Mitford, who fell in love with Adolf Hitler and ran away to Berlin, where she lurked in his favourite restaurants until he noticed her. Unity truly believed that her boyfriend meant no harm to anyone, which just goes to show that some girls have terrible judgment when it comes to men.

A Tale Of Two Sisters recounted the story of Unity Mitford (right), who fell in love with Adolf Hitler and ran away to Berlin, where she lurked in his favourite restaurants until he noticed her

When Hitler invaded Poland, she was so aghast that she sat on a bench in a Munich park and shot herself in the head.

The truly awful twist was that, although the bullet lodged in her skull, she didnt die but lingered with brain damage for a further nine years.

Oddly, Unity wasnt one of the two sisters of the title. The documentary focused mostly on Fascist Diana, who married Oswald Mosley (a sort of pound-shop Hitler) and Communist Jessica, who was so determined to live a working-class life that she took her baby and moved to a terrace in Rotherhithe, in Londons Docklands, where the child died of measles.

The archive footage, including clips of the Mitford familys home cine-film from the Twenties, was expertly restored if sometimes replayed too often. Top-notch stuff.
She arrived early to set and just wanted to relax in the parking lot.

But Paris Jackson, 19, reveals she was mistaken for a homeless person and told she was not allowed to be there.

The daughter of Michael Jackson recapped the encounter Thursday with a post on Twitter along with a photo of herself in baggy pants and a blue crop top.

Mistaken identity! Paris Jackson, 19, reveals she was mistaken for a homeless person and told she was not allowed to be on set Thursday as she sat on the concrete ground waiting for hair and makeup

The model appears to be sitting on a concrete ground with no shoes on either.

'One of the first people on set, sitting in the parking lot and this dude comes up to me and says homeless people aren't allowed in this area,' she tweeted.

The actress continued: 'I said I'm waiting for hair and makeup, should I wait somewhere else? Also why do you assume I'm homeless?'

She had a multi-colored cloth backpack around her shoulders and had a pair of bright purple underwear peeking out through the top of the pants.

Early arrival: This is what she was wearing when a 'dude' thought she was homeless

Different look: Before the awkward encounter, Paris was spotted out in Los Angeles in a burgundy tank top and loose-fitting patchwork jeans

It's unclear exactly what Paris, who signed with IMG Models in March, is shooting, but it could be either a film or photo shoot.

It was recently announced that she would be making her film debut as an 'an edgy 20-year-old' in a dark comedy, according to Deadline.

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.

Before the awkward encounter, Paris was spotted out in Los Angeles Wednesday in a burgundy tank top and loose-fitting patchwork jeans.

Casual and chic: She paired the casual look with flat gladiator-style sandals and wore a coordinating multi-colored backpack slung over one shoulder

She paired the casual look with flat gladiator-style sandals and wore a coordinating multi-colored backpack slung over one shoulder.

The IMG model is a fan of homemade bracelets and necklaces and wore many to complete her hipster look.

Previously a brunette, Paris recently dyed her hair blonde and had it cut into a shaggy bob that she casually swooped over in a dramatic side part.

Showing off her hippie-style, she wore round sunglasses reminiscent of her favorite band, The Beatles.

Edgy: Previously a brunette, Paris recently dyed her hair blonde and had it cut into a shaggy bob that she casually swooped over in a dramatic side part

Paris was out and about enjoying the Los Angeles sunshine just days before the biopic featuring her father Michael Jackson is due to premiere on Lifetime.

The TV movie follows the last three years of Michael's life until his overdose death in 2009 and is told through the eyes of his two bodyguards, Javon Beard and Bill Whitfield.

Navi, who is a successful Michael Jackson impersonator, stepped into his idol's shoes to film biopic Michael Jackson: Searching For Neverland, which airs May 29 on Lifetime.

Paris was out and about enjoying the Los Angeles sunshine just days before the biopic featuring her father Michael Jackson is due to premiere on Lifetime (the actress who plays Paris in the film is pictured)
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It looks like Scott Disick has no intention of slowing down his bad boy ways now that Kourtney Kardashian has finally called it quits on their on-off relationship.

The self confessed sex addict has now been pictured getting very handsy with stylist Chloe Bartoli, 26 - his ex-girlfriend and the same woman he was caught cheating with in 2015, triggering his split with Kourtney.

Scott put on a very amorous display with the pretty brunette in Cannes on Wednesday - just a day after he was pictured cuddling up to former Disney actress Bella Thorne, 19.

Onto the next! Scott Disick put on an amorous display with stylist Chloe Bartoli in Cannes on Wednesday

He can't help it! The 33-year-old kissed and cuddled his 26-year-old ex girlfriend in the pool of a private villa

Hands on! Scott didn't waste any time getting re-acquainted with his ex

Scott and Chloe kissed in the pool of a luxury villa and at one point the cheeky TV star placed both his hands on her bottom as she perched on the ledge.

Chloe showed off her fantastic figure in a grey one-piece with cut-outs around her waist.

Scott couldn't keep his hands off his lovely companion and appeared to follow her around the patio, eventually coaxing her onto a sunbed.

Scott's seemingly rampant Lothario ways show no signs of slowing down, especially now as Kourtney, 38 has moved onto model beau Younes Bendjima, 23.

Going in for a kiss: The reality star playboy went in for the kill

Old friends: They seemed very comfortable in each other's company

Cheeky! The fashionista showed off her figure in a grey one-piece

Blast from the past! Chloe was first pictured with Scott in 2015 but the duo go way back, having first dated before he got together with Kourtney

Showing his appreciation: Scott wasn't shy around Chloe, who along with her twin sister is a stylist to the stars

Touchy feely: The father-of-three couldn't keep his hands of Chloe as they hung out at a luxury villa

Kourtney has spent much of this week on a yacht with her French beau who she's reportedly been dating for several months.

And it's been rumored that Scott - who shares children Mason, seven, Reign, two and Penelope, four, with Kourtney - is on a mission to make his ex jealous.

An insider revealed to E! News this week that Scott bringing Bella to Cannes 'is 100 percent to piss Kourtney off,'

'It's a very "Let's see how it makes you feel" kind of thing. It's immature, but that's Scott.' they added.

They look good together! Scott wrapped his arm around Chloe as they walked around the patio

Like white on rice: Scott was all over the pretty fashionista who is in Cannes to dress some of her famous clients

Chloe accessorized her pool look with a couple of chains and some trendy sunglasses

It seems Bella has already been cast aside after Scott enjoyed some pool time with the Blended star - even grabbing her breast at one point - on Tuesday.

And on Thursday evening Bella took to Twitter to post that she feels 'uncomfortable' in Cannes.

She shared with her 6.59million fans: 'Yo this #cannes fancy life isn't for me.'

She later took to her Snapchat to share a selfie while posing with her index finger in her mouth and wrote the caption: 'Amfar ready in bed haha.'

This all comes after a source told People Magazine that the Famous In Love actress 'really likes the attention' that comes with being seen with Kourtney Kardashian's ex.

Something's funny: The twosome shared a giggle as Chloe sipped on a chilled drink

All eyes on her: The KUWTK star fixed his gaze on his pretty companion

His favorite position: The duo then hopped on a sun lounger for a little chit chat

Meanwhile, Scott was apparently devastated when he saw photos of Kourtney and new man Younes together last month.

He also looked downcast at his birthday celebrations at 1Oak in Las Vegas over the weekend, just as photos of Kourtney and Younes in Cannes surfaced.

Scott split with Kourtney, after nine years together, when photos emerged of Scott and Chloe canoodling in Monaco in 2015.

Don't leave! Chloe hopped up out of Scott's clutches

Dumped: Scott was pictured canoodling with Bella Thorne, 19, on the very same sun lounger just 24 hours earlier

Not having fun anymore: The teenager retreated to bed on Thursday night (left) after being cast off by Scott. She appeared to have a blast during their day of poolside fun with Scott on Tuesday (right) and even shared a snap from the day on Instagram

And since then, as well as helping to co-parent their three children, Scott had been trying to prove to Kourtney he could stop his hard partying ways in an effort to win her back.

But Kourtney finally called an end to their longtime relationship with sources telling TMZ she was done with 'treating Scott like a baby' and 'worrying how he'll react to her every move'.

Chloe was an old flame that Scott dated years ago, before he got together with Kourtney, and it was reported at the time byUsWeekly that the KUWTK star hated Scott flirting with her.

Bikini babe! Chloe flaunted her toned figure in they stylish cut-out swimsuit

Quite the party: The duo weren't alone at the villa as a couple of Scott's pals joined them

Fun in the sun: The E! star is showing no signs of slowing down his party boy ways

Hanging out: Earlier the pretty stylist had her locks up in a bun as she chatted to Scott

And now Scott's reunited with Chloe there's no doubt Kourtney will be getting some unpleasant feelings of deja vu once she sees the pictures.

Chloe, along with her twin sister Marie-Lou Bartoli, run a joint business as stylists to the stars.

Among the clients of the Los Angeles-based sister act are Sofia Richie, Chrissy Teigen, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale, Miranda Kerr, Nicole Richie and Poppy Delevingne.

Deja vu: It was these photos of Scott with Chloe in 2015 that triggered Scott's split from the mother of his three children Kourtney Kardashian

She's moved on: Scott's ex Kourtney, 38, has been enjoying the company of her new boyfriend Younes Bendjima, 23 on a yacht in Cannes this week
The original Star Wars trilogy had a power-hungry, military-obsessed villain who tried to wipe out an entire religion.

But there will be no allusion to Donald Trump in The Last Jedi.

Director Rian Johnson revealed to Vanity Fair some of plot points that will and will not be included in Episode VIII - and modern political allegory is a definite no.

Apolitical: Director Rian Johnson has revealed to Vanity Fair some of plot points that will and will not be included in Episode VIII - and modern political allegory is a definite no

'To me, the power is greatly diminished if suddenly you have a character stand up in front of the Imperial Senate who has orange hair and is saying, "Let's make the galaxy great again",' he said.

'It just cheapens it all and divides the audience. What actually matters, and what these films can actually speak to, are the fundamental building blocks of what makes people good, what makes people brave, what are the things we should be fighting for.'

Also missing from the penultimate chapter is a one-on-one love story, which were central to the previous two trilogies.

We're going to build a Death Star: 'To me, the power is greatly diminished if suddenly you have a character stand up in front of the Imperial Senate who has orange hair and is saying, "Let's make the galaxy great again",' he said

The many fans who were holding out for a Finn - Poe Dameron romance will be disappointed, as the director confirmed there is 'no one-to-one equivalent of the Han-to-Leia, burning, unrequited love. In our story, that's not a centerpiece.'

He also confirmed there would be no alien main characters, akin to Yoda or Jar Jar Binks.

'Most of the creatures are peripheral characters, but they're throughout the entire film,' he revealed.

Another plot point that will not be followed up on is Finn's potential Force sensitivity.

I know: Also missing from the penultimate chapter is a one-on-one love story, which were central to the previous two trilogies

Just friends: The many fans who were holding out for a Finn - Poe Dameron romance will be disappointed, as the director confirmed there is 'no one-to-one equivalent of the Han-to-Leia, burning, unrequited love. In our story, that's not a centerpiece'

While he had Stormtrooper training, the defector managed to hold his own with a lightsaber for an impressive amount of time against the Force-powerful Kylo Ren.

'But you never know,' John Boyega told the magazine. 'I talk to Mark Hamill sometimes and he tells me stories about how he wasn't told about the 'Darth Vader is his father' situation until he got on set.

'I feel like there must be something going on, something that makes me go, 'Huh, why does he wield one, and what's that all about?' It'll be interesting to see if that's ever explored.'

Very lonely Luke: Luke Skywalker's forlorn self-imposed exile to Ahch-To is not as lonely as it looks: the island is populated by an indigenous race of little caretaker creatures that are 'not Ewoks', according to Johnson

Vanity Fair also revealed the first ever look at Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro in character, along with new details.

Del Toro, who plays a 'shady character' of unclear allegiances, has yet to be named  nor will he be in the film.

The filmmakers however refer to him as 'DJ'  with director Rian Johnson confirming audiences will know why when they see the film.

In the Star Wars universe, DJ could refer to Dark Jedi, a practitioner of the Force who turned to the Dark Side, but was not a Sith lord.

In the first released photo  shot, like the rest of the shoot by Annie Leibovitz  a rugged Del Toro certainly looks shady in a long, well-worn leather trench coat, dark pants and boots, with what may be a blaster holster on his right thigh.

Dern meanwhile will play 'a prominent officer in the Resistance named Vice Admiral Holdo.'

RIP: The star also discussed the loss of his dear friend and on-screen sister, Carrie Fisher, who died suddenly of a heart attack shortly after filming her scenes for The Last Jedi

Her picture shows her regally dressed in a long lavender gown, with matching lavender hair.

There were plenty of other The Last Jedi secrets revealed by Vanity Fair besides.

Luke Skywalker's forlorn self-imposed exile to Ahch-To is not as lonely as it looks: the island is populated by an indigenous race of little caretaker creatures that are 'not Ewoks', according to Johnson.

As previously revealed, Episode VIII's biggest new role is a Resistance maintenance worker named Rose Tico who is thrust into a much bigger role; she is played by Kelly Marie Tran, who is also one of the Vanity Fair cover stars.

Dark Jedi? Vanity Fair also gave the first look at Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro in character, as Vice Admiral Holdo, and an unnamed character known by the filmmakers as 'DJ'

The mag also reveals her sister is a Resistance gunner under the tutelage of Poe Dameron, and will be played by Vietnamese actress Veronica Ngo.

Johnson also discussed one of the new locales: the casino city of Canto Bight, 'a Star Wars Monte Carlotype environment, a little James Bondish, a little To Catch a Thief.'

'It was an interesting challenge, portraying luxury and wealth in this universe,' he said. 'I was thinking, O.K., lets go ultra-glamour. Lets create a playground, basically, for rich a**holes.'
She's known for her enviable sartorial displays around the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Yet, Millie Mackintosh, 27, swapped her usual SW3 London postcode for an even more glamorous affair as she made a surprise arrival at the amfAR Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 25, 2017 in Cap d'Antibes, France on Thursday night.

The former Made In Chelsea star commanded attention as she arrived the exclusive charity bash dressed in a sheer fishtail gown that boasted zig zag sequin detail all over.

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Surprise! Millie Mackintosh, 27, swapped her usual SW3 London postcode for an even more glamorous affair as she made a surprise arrival at the amfAR Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 25, 2017 in Cap d'Antibes, France on Thursday night

The reality-star-turned-fashion-entrepreneur appeared to get the see-through memo favoured by many of the A list attendees at the event as she wowed style lovers in her appealing look.

Millie's boat necklined garment skimmed her slight curves while exhibiting her honed pins and pert posterior as it fell into a pointed scallop hem that grazed the party's grey carpet.

Demurely flashing the flesh, she wore a skimpy strapless bodysuit underneath while a sleek silk white belt wrapped around her narrow waist to pull the racy dress together.

Stunning: The reality-star-turned-fashion-entrepreneur appeared to get the see-through memo favoured by many of the A list attendees at the event as she wowed style lovers in her appealing look

A vision: The former Made In Chelsea star commanded attention as she arrived the exclusive charity bash dressed in a sheer fishtail gown that boasted zig zag sequin detail all over

Equipped with a daring low-back, the British beauty worked an old Hollywood inspired long scarf which she transformed into a chic cape later in the evening.

The stunner injected height into ethereal themed gown with a pair of complementing strappy white heels while she accessorised with a box clutch and silver ring.

Working her brown locks into a centre parting, she slicked back her tresses into a slick 'do to showcase her vibrant red lip.

Cheeky: Millie's boat necklined garment skimmed her slight curves while exhibiting her honed pins and pert posterior as it fell into a pointed scallop hem that grazed the party's grey carpet

Elsewhere, Millie seemed in high spirits as she mingled with other a-list actors and top model as she continued her seventh jet-setting trip.

Her trip to the star-studded festival comes after trips to Monaco, Dubai, South Africa, two trips to Paris and a stay in Los Angeles.

It appears she is now on track to rival her record of taking a whopping 18 trips abroad in 2016.

Sizzling in sequin: Demurely flashing the flesh, she wore a skimpy strapless bodysuit underneath while a sleek silk white belt wrapped around her narrow waist to pull the racy dress together

Glamour: Equipped with a daring low-back, the British beauty worked an old Hollywood inspired long scarf which she transformed into a chic cape later in the evening

Millie's appearance comes shortly after she revealed she had moved in with her boyfriend Hugo Taylor.

Millie first dated Hugo in 2011 when they first made their names on the E4 show, yet their relationship was brutally cut short when she discovered he slept with her best friend Rosie Fortescue.

After the disintegration of their romance, Millie began dating Professor Green the following year - to much shock from commentators - yet the couple defied the odds and announced their engagement in 2013.

Stepping out: The stunner injected height into ethereal themed gown with a pair of complementing strappy white heels while she accessorised with a box clutch and silver ring

Meanwhile, a whole host of other celebrities turned out to the bash including Bella Hadid, David Beckham and Eva Longoria.

The fundraiser, which raises money for AIDS research, saw celebrities make their way into a lavish dinner which is followed by a no expense spared auction, with last year's event raising a staggering $30 million.

The event, which takes place just outside of Cannes, attracts the biggest stars in showbiz in order to raise money for the worthwhile cause.
She's had a difficult year, having in March begged Australia for help in her custody battle over her sons with ex-Jean David Blanc.

But Melissa George was standing tall at the amfAR Gala in Cannes on Thursday, in a stunning, floor-length gown that featured a dramatic thigh-high split.

The 40-year-old's theatrical dress featured layers of lace and soft, floating sheer panels with subtle gold embroidery.

Stunner: Melissa George was standing tall at the amfAR Gala in Cannes on Thursday, in a stunning, floor-length gown that featured a dramatic thigh-high split

The frock also featured a structured, boned bodice in a golden tone with a sheer lace overlay, giving it an antique feel.

The lace portion of the overlay had a gently frayed edge, and golden embroidery around the bust.

The former Home and Away star's slender, porcelain arms and shoulders were on display in the strapless dress, and a hint of thigh peeked through the layers of the dramatic split.

Drama: The 40-year-old's theatrical dress featured layers of lace and soft, floating sheer panels with subtle gold embroidery

She accessorised with matching gold bangles, three intricate and dainty pieces stacked upon her wrist.

A stack of gold rings on one finger completed the opulent but classic look of the ensemble.

The actress wore her hair in a tousled up to, with two wavy strands framing her face, adding to the antique feel of the complete look.

Drama: In March, the Dark City star gave a tearful tell-all interview with Channel Seven current affairs show Sunday Night about her relationship and custody battle over her sons, Sola, 1 and Raphael, 3

She kept her make up simple, with a very natural wash of colour of her cheeks, a peachy-pink, matte lip and a touch of dark eyeliner.

Melissa's turn on the red carpet marks one of the few times the Mulholland Drive star has made a public appearance since becoming embroiled in a custody battle with her French former partner, Jean David Blanc.

In March, the Dark City star gave a tearful tell-all interview with Channel Seven current affairs show Sunday Night about her relationship and custody battle over her sons, Sola, 1 and Raphael, 3.
They've been acting as jurors at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival.

But Jessica Chastain, 40, and Will Smith, 48, let their hair down on Thursday as they attended the amfAR's 24th Cinema Against AIDS Gala, sponsored by Moncler and held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday night.

Looking in great spirits as they hit the red carpet, the duo couldn't contain their giggles as they headed inside.

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Loving life: Jessica Chastain and Will Smith let their hair down on Thursday as they attended the amfAR's 24th Cinema Against AIDS Gala, at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday night

Turning heads on the outing, Jessica dazzled in a black backless gown which clung to her enviable figure and flared out into an elegant floor length skirt.

With the gown being backless in design, the Zero Dark Thirty starlet flashed some flesh whilst remaining demure, upping the glamour with a dazzling pendant.

Sweeping her trademark auburn locks away from her face, Jessica wore her glossy locks in a chic chignon which complemented her ensemble and exposed a pair of delicate stud earrings.

Gorgeous: Turning heads on the outing, Jessica dazzled in a black backless gown which clung to her enviable figure and flared out into an elegant floor length skirt

Double trouble: Looking in great spirits, the duo couldn't contain their giggles on the night

All eyes on her: With the gown being backless in design, the Zero Dark Thirty starlet flashed some flesh whilst remaining demure, upping the glamour with a dazzling pendant

She finished off the look with a slick of pink lipstick on her plump pout.

Meanwhile, Will looked dapper in a white tuxedo that complemented his date's outfit on the night.

Jessica and Will have been acting as jurors at Cannes alongside Maren Ade, Fan Bingbing, Agnes Jaoui, Park Chan-wook, Will Smith, Paolo Sorrentino and Gabriel Yared.

Radiant redhead: Sweeping her trademark auburn locks away from her face, Jessica wore her glossy locks in a chic chignon which complemented her ensemble

Pout it out: Jessica finished off the look with a slick of scarlet lipstick on her plump pout

Suited and booted: Will looked dapper in a white tuxedo that complemented his date's outfit on the night

Laugh a minute: Will and Jessica were in fits of giggles as they hit the red carpet

Looking good: The pair seemed in great spirits on the night as they posed for snaps

Every year the Festival's board of directors appoints the juries who hold sole responsibility for choosing which films will receive an award.

They are chosen from a wide range of international artists, based on their body of work and respect from their peers.

The jury president is an internationally recognised personality of cinema - with Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar taking on the role this year.

Holding it in: Jessica was unable to stop laughing as she joined Will on the red carpet

Two of a kind: Jessica was in peals of laughter as she leant on Will

They are chosen from a wide range of international artists, based on their body of work and respect from their peers.

The jury president is an internationally recognized personality of cinema - this year it's Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar.

They will have to decide between 18 films in competition that include Sofia Coppola's American Civil War thriller The Beguiled, where Colin Farrell plays a soldier who seduces all the women around him, including Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning.

Joaquin Phoenix returns in You Were Never Really Here as a war veteran who tries to save women from sex-trafficking, while Jake Gyllenhaal makes his Cannes debut in the Netflix-backed creature feature "Okja" from South Korea's Bong Joon-ho.

Sitting pretty: Jessica and Will joined Uma Thurman and Remo Ruffini on the table

Looking good: The group seemed in great spirits as they settled in at the table

The Cannes film festival - which is celebrating its 70th year - is regarded as the most prestigious in the world.

Festival boss Thierry Fremaux said that for such a big anniversary he wanted 'to include people who were part of the history of the festival, who had been discovered by it, and who wanted to be with us.'

He said Jessica in particular had been 'literally discovered by the festival in (Terrence Malick's 2011 film) The Tree of Life.'

Holla! The pair were in great spirits as they whooped and clapped

Clapping along: The pair were in great spirits on the night

Loving life: Chris Tucker, Uma Thurman, Will Smith and Jessica Chastain posed with winners of one of the lots of the auction

Fantastic four: The pair were joined by Eva Cavalli and Rula Jebreal

Drink up: The pair beamed as they posed for snaps behind the ice bucket
With a star-packed cast and edge-of-your-seat story, Big Little Lies was an instant TV sensation.

And now CBS Films is hoping to recreate the success of HBO's dark suburban thriller with a brand new adaptation from author Liana Moriarty.

Blake Lively is set to star in the new project, The Husband's Secret, which the 29-year-old beauty will also executive produce, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Thrilling! Blake Lively is set to star in The Husband's Secret, a new CBS series based of a book from the author of Big Little Lies, Liana Moriarty

She will play Cecilia Fitzpatrick in the series, which is being created for CBS Films and produced by Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz and Andrew Miano.

Must read: The book is full of the same thrills that made Big Little Lies so compelling

Adapted from a #1 New York Times bestseller, the project features the same thrills and suspense as HBO's Big Little Lies, following the ideal life of a chipper suburban mom as it gets turned upside down.

After finding a note from her still-living husband meant to be read after his death, Blake's character realizes the secrets hiding behind her picture perfect life.

The studio grabbed rights for the book back in 2013, but now hope to follow in the Big Little Lies very successful footsteps with the Moriarty project.

Talking about the project, CBS Film president Terry Press said, 'Blake Lively's unique combination of vulnerability, strength and extraordinary talent makes her the perfect actress to realize Moriarty's creation.'

He added, 'Liane Moriarty has established herself as one of the defining voices of the modern woman.'

Awesome author: CBS called the NY Times bestseller 'one of the defining voices of the modern woman.' Above, Liana poses with Big Little Lies star and executive producer Reese Witherspoon

Perfect pick! Blake was chosen for the project because of her 'unique combination of vulnerability, strength and extraordinary talent,' according to CBS Films president Terry Press

The Husband's Secret isn't the only book by the Big Little Lies author heading to Hollywood.

HBO stars Nicole Kidman and Witherspoon already optioned Moriary's 2016 novel Truly Madly Guilty and the rights for the book What Alice Forgot were scooped up by Sony's TriStar.

Lively stars in this summer's All I See Is You, out August 4.
OPEC members and Russia are expected to agree an extension of production curbs aimed at easing a global supply glut when they meet on Thursday

Oil producers inside and outside the OPEC cartel began gathering in Vienna on Tuesday ahead of a meeting expected to agree an extension of production curbs aimed at easing a global supply glut.

Less predictable however is the extent to which this likely agreement from Thursday's talks will boost the price of oil, particularly with US shale producers back from the dead and pumping at near-record levels.

In November the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to slash output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

The following month several nations outside the cartel, notably including Russia, agreed with OPEC to reduce their production by 600,000 bpd.

The low price, close to just $25 per barrel in early 2016, had battered the finances of all producers, not just stricken Venezuela but even rich-as-Croesus Saudi Arabia.

The agreement helped lift the oil price to the current level of just above $50 per barrel, although this is still less than half that of 2014.

The pact was also a dramatic policy turnaround for OPEC that even had regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, at daggers drawn otherwise, see eye to eye.

The deal, lasting for six months, is due to expire on June 30. An agreement to renew it is widely expected, the only question being for how long.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the biggest of the producers, agreed last week that it should be rolled over for nine months, an idea backed by Iraq's oil minister on Monday.

"Nine months seems good to me," Algeria's energy minister Noureddine Boutarfa told reporters as he arrived in Vienna on Tuesday.

But Kuwait's Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said before leaving his country for Austria on Tuesday said that "not everybody" was on board yet, Bloomberg News reported.

Bloomberg also quoted unnamed delegates as saying that producers would study on Wednesday the merits of extentions of six months and a year as well.

- Victims of success -

Analysts said that, assuming the deal is extended, the impact in reducing crude inventories should become more apparent from July because of a seasonal pick-up in demand.

However OPEC and the other producers run the risk of being victims of their own success because of shale oil producers in the United States, which are not part of the accord.

Before, OPEC's strategy was to keep pumping at full tilt in order to push the oil price lower and make life difficult for the Americans, who need a higher price to make money.

When the oil price was at its nadir in 2016, scores of US firms went bankrupt. But with the recent rise, many have returned to the market -- and with a vengeance.

US production has risen 850,000 bpd from its 2016 lows to 9.3 million bpd now, not far from the all-time record set in 2015 and just shy of Saudi output levels.

According to Valentin Bissat at Mirabaud Asset Management, this shows that OPEC "has lost some its ability to fix (oil) prices".

And according to Commerzbank, rising US production, which will reduce OPEC's market share, will make "discipline... gradually crumble" among its members to stick to the curbs.

"We therefore still expect to see a Brent oil price of less than $50 a barrel at the end of the year," the German bank said in a research note.
Monitors says more civilians are dying in US air strikes under President Donald Trump, particularly near the IS stronghold of Raqa. The Pentagon disputes that. A woman who was among Syrians who fled Raqa is seen here at a temporary camp

A top US Air Force official on Wednesday denied claims that civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria are soaring under President Donald Trump, who has given greater leeway to battlefield commanders.

Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, this week said it has seen numbers jump since Trump came into power.

The group estimates as many as 366 civilians were killed in Iraq and Syria in April alone.

Another Britain-based group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, on Tuesday said US-led air strikes killed 225 civilians in Syria over the past month.

"I am not going to agree to those numbers," said Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command.

"We have different numbers that we have garnered through our assessments and our analysis of it."

As of the most recent Centcom count at the end of April, a total of 396 civilians had been killed since the beginning of the bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria nearly three years ago.

The US military insists that its precision targeting abilities are the best in the world and that it takes every measure to avoid hitting civilians, including by aborting missile strikes at the last moment if a civilian unexpectedly wanders into the target zone.

But Airwars Director Chris Wood said a rise in civilian deaths has been particularly noticeable around the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria, where thousands of jihadists are dug in ahead of an upcoming offensive to recapture the city.

"With three full months of airstrike and civilian casualty data from Donald Trumps presidency, we are now seeing the emergence of clear trends," Woods said.

Raqa provides "the clearest evidence yet that protections for civilians on the battlefield appear to have been scaled back -- with the inevitable consequence of higher deaths and injuries," he added.

The coalition has sharply increased the number of bombs it is dropping, and Trump has allowed commanders to more quickly approve strikes and fulfil a plan to "annihilate" IS.

Harrigian insisted fatalities have not risen as a result.

"My direct answer to that is no," he said.

"With respect to the administration's guidance to us, the rules of engagement have not changed. So, we are executing those (strikes) in accordance with the training that we've had and the deliberate process that we use to target military-appropriate targets."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that employees at his company have been 'having a hard time'

The rate of serious injuries at a Tesla factory in California is double the industry average, a worker advocacy group said Wednesday in a report calling for better workplace protections.

The study by Worksafe, a California nonprofit group, used Tesla's own internal data to show injury rates at the company's plant in Fremont, California.

Total injuries at the plant are a third higher than the industry average, the report said.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), the industry's largest union in the United States, commissioned the report.

It uses data from 2015, the last year for which industry-wide comparative figures are available.

The rate of serious injuries -- those involving job transfers or missed days -- was 7.9 per 100 workers, compared to the industry average of 3.9, Worksafe wrote.

The data -- which compared injury rates among auto assembly workers, not suppliers -- also found a recordable total incidence rate of 8.8 injuries per 100 workers, compared to 6.7 for the industry as a whole.

The UAW has an intense effort underway to organize workers at the Tesla plant in Fremont, where employees backing the union have filed numerous charges with the National Labor Relations Board in Oakland, claiming harassment for pro-union activities. Tesla has denied those allegations.

In a recent interview with The Guardian newspaper, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that employees at his company have been "having a hard time, working long hours, and on hard jobs."

But he also insisted he "cared deeply" about their health and well-being and said the safety record was improving.

"We're a money-losing company," Musk told the British daily.

"This is not some situation where, for example, we are just greedy capitalists who decided to skimp on safety in order to have more profits and dividends and that kind of thing."

Frank Hammer, a former UAW staff member and veteran auto plant organizer, said Tesla is in the midst of steadily rising production as it builds more vehicles and prepares for the production of its $35,000 Model 3.

"I'm sure everyone in California wants to see Tesla succeed," he said. "But when you raise production, that translates into more pressure for workers on the shop floor."

Tesla recently announced it would begin recruiting engineers in Mexico because it couldn't find enough qualified applicants to staff the Fremont plant.

Meanwhile, the company is under significant financial duress, as losses rose by 40 percent during the first quarter.

However, Musk said that sales and revenues had grown with production, with sales up by about 65 percent from the first quarter of last year to 25,000 vehicles, while revenue doubled to $2.7 billion.
Donnie Dunangan, now 82, voiced young Bambi after impressing with a role in "Son of Frankenstein" (1939) opposite Boris Karloff

A timeless tale of an adorable fawn and his forest pals, or the death of childhood innocence? Either way, and nearly 75 years on, Disney classic "Bambi" packs as powerful a punch as it ever has.

The Walt Disney Company bewitched generations of children and children-at-heart with its pioneering animated film, released in August 1942, about a wide-eyed young deer and his doting mom.

But the shocking image of young Bambi curled up next to the doe after she is slain by hunters has become as iconic as any scene in cinema history, credited with opening up taboo conversations about death and helping youngsters cope with bereavement.

It also kindled former Beatle Paul McCartney's interest in animal rights and has served as the template for every harrowing Disney death since, from Mufasa in "The Lion King" to Hiro's brother Tadashi in "Big Hero 6."

"You're creating a sense of what life was like for these animals in the forest and loss was part of it," production designer Paul Felix told journalists at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California.

"To be honest about the vision you had for the film, you couldn't leave that out. It's just a question of how it's done, how you prepare an audience for something like that."

- Horror movie? -

Felix, who has been touching up the animation for a diamond anniversary Blu-ray and DVD version on sale in June, first saw Bambi as an adult and says the movie remains "deeply revered, a real touchstone" at Disney.

(L-R) Voice actors Donnie Dunagan and Peter Behn; animators Andreas Deja, Paul Felix and critic Leonard Maltin attend the special 75th Anniversary Screening of "Bambi"

"It's just a master class. It also had this most amazing use of color in it but I couldn't even think about that for, like, 10 more years because there was so much to be learned," he says.

Even at Disney, "Bambi" was hardly alone in exploring childhood trauma, following the dead parents, murderous stepmothers and children-donkey transformations of "Dumbo," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio."

But "Bambi" often leads lists of the saddest moments in cinema, and even moved Time magazine to include the movie among its top 25 horror movies of all time, alongside "Frankenstein," "The Exorcist" and "Night of the Living Dead."

In a departure from form, Walt Disney used real children to voice the young characters in what became -- and would remain -- the impresario's favorite of the company's groundbreaking animated films.

Born in Depression-era Texas and raised in Memphis, Donnie Dunagan, now 82, was brought in to voice young Bambi after impressing with a role in "Son of Frankenstein" (1939) opposite Boris Karloff.

It proved to be his fifth and final credited role and, by the age of 13, he was earning a full time living as a lathe operator before enlisting as a Marine and becoming a war hero.

- 'Good eye contact' -

Dunagan remembers the company -- and Walt Disney himself -- as lacking in the pomposity the young star had seen at other studios during his short film career.

"I didn't know he was the captain of the whole thing. He was a worker, he was all over the place, helping, pitching in, a very keen personality, good eye contact all the time," Dunagan told AFP.

Production designer Paul Felix says the animated film "Bambi" created a sense of what life was like for forest animals

Peter Behn, also 82, was four when he went for the part of Bambi. He didn't get it due to what Disney describes as an "overly rambunctious" voice but was instead offered the role of the deer's playful rabbit companion Thumper.

The son of a successful screenwriter, Behn had already appeared in three short films but, like Dunagan, went into the military and then worked as a real estate broker before retiring to the mountains of Utah with his second wife.

"If you go out in public, I guarantee you, you can ask 10 people if they have ever seen the movie and at least nine of them will say they have," he said.

"It's very hard to find anyone who hasn't seen the movie and hasn't been impacted by it one way or another."
Eight-year-old Tom Wuestenberg plays with a fidget spinner in a park in New York on May 23, 2017

It was supposed to calm nerves, relieve stress and improve concentration but a new anti-fidget toy spreading fast through US and European schools is whipping up anger among teachers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Just months after the "fidget spinner" first whirled its way into the hands of antsy youngsters, some schools have already banned it -- prompting a debate about difficulties children experience concentrating.

"The fidget spinners came out of nowhere, and then it seemed every other kid had them," said Meredith Daly, a sixth-grade teacher at a public school outside Phoenix, Arizona. "The kids would say, 'Oh it helps me calm down.' I did not really know what to think at first."

Sold for just a few dollars, the spinning top-like gadget divided into two or three branches, has proved a surprise hit this spring, first in the United States and then across Europe after its release on the continent last month.

The spinners have the advantage of being silent, Daly says -- a relief to many grown-ups after months of "bottle flip," a popular game that involves spinning a bottle of water until it lands upright.

But it quickly became clear that with "the fidget spinner, you need to keep it going, they want to look at it spinning around... it is too distracting if you are trying to learn something new," she said.

"So we all decided 'No fidget spinners -- keep them in your backpacks!'"

Like many American teachers who have recently vented their irritation on Twitter, Daly tolerates them only at parents' express request. Or when the need arises, as is sometimes the case for children with attention problems, hyperactivity or certain forms of autism.

Just months after the "hand spinner" or "fidget spinner" first whirled its way into the hands of antsy youngsters, some schools have already banned it

Other schools in the United States, France and England have banned them, even during recess, much to the annoyance of children like Tom Wuesteberg.

"It would help (to have them in school)... if I don't want to do my work anymore, I take my fidget, do a little spin and then get back to work," the eight-year-old New originally from Belgium says.

Noelle Cullimore, who lives in Long Island with her two children, says spinning helps her 10-year-old son, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), to relax.

"He spins it at the bus stop or in the car, it really does keep him occupied, and for the most part it has been good for him."

- Burning out stress -

It's not just for kids. Adults also like to use spinners as a way "to burn out stress," says Richard Gottlieb, CEO of Global Toy Expert.

The fidget spinner costs just a few dollars and has proved a surprise hit this spring

"People do want to fidget," he says. "There is so much to worry about the world right now that people need a way to work out stress."

As annoying as it may be, many teachers recognize that a growing number of children need to play with something in their hands to concentrate better and are now more tolerant of students clicking pens or tapping their feet.

Stress balls and wiggle seats have become common in schools, Daly says.

"We could probably make a lot of money if we could come up with that quiet, effective toy that kids could do while they are writing an essay."

One of the contenders to fill that void is the Fidget Cube, a small plastic box whose every side offers a new possibility to keep fidgety fingers occupied.

A runaway success on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter, it has spawned multiple imitations.

"This behavior (fidgeting) isn't one that should continue to be stigmatized and mocked as unbecoming or inappropriate," the inventors of the Fidget Cube said in a press release.

"We are passionate about the idea that fidgeting is a process that, with the right tools and outlet, can have positive and real-life applications."
Yoga guru Bikram Choudhury was sued in 2013 by his onetime legal adviser Minakshi "Mikki" Jafa-Bodden, who accused him of sexual harassment

A California judge issued an arrest warrant for the yoga guru Bikram Choudhury after he failed to pay nearly $6.5 million to a former legal adviser in a sexual harassment case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton also set bail at $8 million for the founder of the Bikram yoga empire, which involves practicing yoga in sweltering rooms.

Choudhury was sued in 2013 by his onetime legal adviser Minakshi "Mikki" Jafa-Bodden, who accused him of sexual harassment, saying he fired her after she refused to help him cover up allegations that he raped a yoga student.

Ordered to pay $6.47 million in punitive damages in January of last year, he fled California shortly after the verdict, Jafa-Bodden's attorney, Carla Minnard, told AFP.

The guru -- who had no attorney representing him in court Wednesday -- first traveled to India and then Thailand and Japan before heading to Mexico, where he was served court papers in May, Minnard said.

"He is currently in Acapulco conducting teacher training classes," she said. "Our intent is to have him arrested before he leaves Mexico."

The 70-year-old Choudhury had managed to move some of his assets, including a fleet of luxury cars, to Nevada and Florida, but court orders were issued to prevent him moving property out of the country, Minnard said.

"We will keep pursuing him however long it takes, wherever it takes," she said. "I don't care where he goes, how much money it costs us, how many lawsuits we have to file, how many hundreds of hours we have to spend -- we are going to collect on this judgment and see that Mikki gets justice."

Originally from India, Choudhury is said to have made a fortune after he moved to California.

He claimed during his trial that he was nearly bankrupt after spending millions of dollars in legal fees and because his business was no longer thriving.

His yoga routine involves 26 posture exercises performed over 90 minutes in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius.)
The historic ruling in favour of gay marriage by Taiwan's top court marked the culmination of 30 years of campaigning for 59-year-old Chi Chia-wei

Draped with rainbow flags and waving a huge rainbow banner, celebrated activist Chi Chia-wei stood triumphant in front of cheering crowds after Taiwan's top court ruled in favour of gay marriage.

"Today's victory is for everybody!" he declared to the emotional rally Wednesday night after a historic ruling that marked the culmination of 30 years of campaigning for 59-year-old Chi.

After multiple failed attempts to get same-sex unions recognised, Chi petitioned Taiwan's highest court which ruled current laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman violate the freedom and equality guaranteed by the constitution.

Chi had been optimistic but philosophical before the decision -- that soon turned to elation.

"I'm leaping with joy like a bird," Chi told AFP after the ruling.

Angry conservative and religious groups protested against the decision, saying same-sex unions would destroy family values.

In response, Chi told reporters: "I hope we will forgive and communicate with those who oppose gay marriages. I thank God as he's on our side."

The court ruled that Taiwan's government must make the change within two years.

If it does not meet that deadline, same-sex couples can register to marry regardless, based on the court's interpretation.

Taiwan's top court ruled the government must change the law to recognise same-sex unions within two years.

"I hope parliament will prioritise the bill instead of dragging it on for another two years," Chi told AFP.

It has been a long road for Chi, who says he was the first Taiwanese person ever to publicly come out as gay in 1986.

As a fledgling activist championing rights for HIV and AIDs sufferers, he called a press conference to make his declaration.

In the same year, when Taiwan was still under martial law, Chi says he was imprisoned for five months after submitting his first petition asking for gay marriage to be recognised.

The charges linked him with a robbery and were entirely fabricated, he says.

That heralded decades of campaigning in the face of staunch opposition.

"I wasn't discouraged by the setbacks. That's how I have been able to carry on for so long," says Chi.

"My belief is that if you can do one right thing in this life, it's all worth it."

- 'Not alone' -

Over the past 30 years, momentum has grown behind the push for gay marriage.

Chi says he started as a one-man force -- now, he has hundreds of thousands of supporters.

"I am not alone in doing what is right," Chi said.

Raised by liberal-minded parents supportive of his sexual orientation, they encouraged him to fight for his beliefs.

He came out to friends at high school and says he was surprised by how accepting they were.

Chi became a full-time advocate for gay rights after meeting his partner 29 years ago -- though he has never revealed his lover's identity.

After multiple failed attempts to get same-sex unions recognised, Chi Chia-wei petitioned Taiwan's highest court which ruled current laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman violate the freedom and equality guaranteed by the constitution.

When asked Wednesday how his partner felt about the gay marriage ruling, Chi said simply: "He told me to get home earlier!"

Chi's appeals for a change in the marriage law had previously been rejected by government agencies and courts, including a failed petition to the constitutional court in 2001.

A lack of support in parliament also meant the gay marriage debate stalled.

However, campaigners were given new hope when Tsai Ing-wen won the presidency last year and openly supported marriage equality.

With her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the majority, parliament passed the first draft of a bill to legalise gay marriage in December, but it has yet to progress further.

The court pointed out that attempts in parliament to legalise gay marriage have stalled for more than a decade, affecting people's fundamental rights.

While there is more support than ever for gay marriage in Taiwan, recent debate has also exposed deep divisions in society, with hundreds of thousands rallying against gay marriage.

Chi says those who are against him accuse him of "spreading heresy" and attention-seeking. They belittle his relationship with his partner, comparing it to children playing house, he says.

"I am not doing this for my own interests," Chi said.

"My partner and I are an old couple now and getting married is not a priority for us. But other gay couples need legal protection."
Indonesia's elite anti-terror squad was Thursday investigating a suicide bombing attack near a busy Jakarta bus station that killed three policemen.

Indonesia's elite anti-terror squad was Thursday investigating a suicide bombing near a Jakarta bus station that killed three policemen in an assault authorities believe is linked to the Islamic State group.

Authorities raided the houses on Java island of two men suspected of being the bombers who unleashed carnage outside the busy terminal late Wednesday, sending huge clouds of black smoke into the sky and people fleeing in panic.

Three policemen were killed, while six other officers and five civilians were injured in an assault that left body parts and shattered glass strewn across the road.

Police said they believed there was a link between the attackers and the Islamic State (IS) group, without giving further details. Hundreds of Indonesians have flocked abroad to fight with the jihadists and IS-supporting militants have been behind a series of recent plots and attacks in the archipelago.

The bus station bombing was the deadliest attack in Indonesia since January 2016, when a suicide blast and gun assault claimed by IS in downtown Jakarta left four attackers and four civilians dead.

In a televised address, President Joko Widodo said he had ordered a thorough probe and was "urging all citizens across the nation to stay calm and remain united".

Relatives and colleagues of the policemen killed attended a memorial ceremony in Jakarta on Thursday

"I convey my deepest condolences to the victims and their families -- especially the police officers who passed away while performing their duty," he added.

Police believe they were specifically targeted in the bombing. The attack came as they were preparing to provide security for a traditional torch parade near the Kampung Melayu terminal, which is an area frequented by locals but not foreigners.

The police's elite anti-terror squad Densus 88, which has played a leading role in tracking down and killing some of Indonesia's most wanted militants, is now taking the lead in the investigation.

- Struggle with militancy -

In a raid Thursday morning of one bombing suspects' house in the city of Bandung, police discovered documents about Islamic teaching and two bladed weapons, West Java province police spokesman Yusri Yunus told AFP.

The man was married with two children and used to work as a herbal medicine seller, said the spokesman.

The second suspect's house in the city of Cimahi, outside Bandung, was also searched and his mother and sister were found to be living there, said Yunus.

Relatives of both men, whose identities have not been released, were taken in for questioning, he said.

Asked whether there was a link between IS and the group behind the attack, national police spokesman Awi Setyono responded "yes there is", without giving further details.

Suspicion is likely to fall on local network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which supports IS and has been blamed for recent, mostly low-impact, attacks.

The bombs used in Wednesday's attacks were made from pressure cookers, similar to a device used in an attack by a JAD militant in the Indonesian city of Bandung in February.

Another figure who may come under scrutiny is Indonesian radical Bahrun Naim, who is fighting with IS in Syria and has been accused of directing a series of mostly botched terror plots in his homeland.

The Jakarta terminal is a local hub served by minibuses and buses and is not popular with foreigners

Police said the first bomb in the latest Jakarta attack was detonated at 9:00 pm (1400 GMT) in an area where police officers were on duty. Five minutes later the second bomber struck about 10 metres (32 feet) away.

The Kampung Melayu terminal is a local hub served by minibuses and buses.

Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered a series of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

A sustained crackdown weakened the most dangerous networks but the emergence of IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for radicals.
Syrians take part in a horse race for thoroughbred Arabian horses sponsored by Turkish NGO IHH, on May 12, 2017, in the southern Aleppo countryside

Perched on his chestnut steed Shams, teenager Munzer triumphantly held up his first place trophy at a rare horse race staged in an opposition-held area of Syria.

Dozens of men and young children, their faces enveloped in red checkered keffiyehs, looked on as about 20 horses raced each other in the northern Syrian desert this month.

The spectators broke out into a lively line-dance and shot celebratory gunfire into the air as each muscled creature blasted past the finish line, kicking up clouds of golden sand.

Munzer Jahjah, only 14, was one of the youngest jockeys in the race outside the rebel-controlled village of Buwaider, in Aleppo province.

"This is the first time I'm participating in a horse race, and I won first place!" said Munzer, affectionately patting Shams, whose name means "sun" in Arabic.

His jet-black hair fell into his eyes, and instead of riding boots he wore a pair of sandals.

Forgoing the traditional saddle, Munzer had hung a colourful rug over the six-year-old mare -- an Arabian purebred.

Arabians are one of the oldest horse breeds in the world, known widely to be friendly, strong and excellent racers.

The horses are thought to originate from the Arabian Peninsula, but it was Bedouin tribes in the northern Syrian desert who became famous for maintaining their pure pedigree.

In 2010, Syria had nearly 750 breeding Arabian horses, according to the World Arabian Horse Organisation (WAHO), which aims to preserve Arabian purebreds around the globe.

- 'Rooted in Arab history' -

In 2010, Syria had nearly 750 breeding Arabian horses, according to the World Arabian Horse Organisation (WAHO), which aims to preserve Arabian purebreds around the globe

But there have been no new WAHO reports on Syria's Arabian horses since 2011, when the country's devastating conflict broke out with widespread protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

Since then, more than 320,000 people have been killed and half the country's population displaced.

The war has also taken a toll on Syria's Arabian horses, many of which have been killed or wounded in fighting.

Proper veterinarian care and vaccines in particular are hard to come by, race organiser Mohammad Naanaa told AFP.

Naanaa is the deputy chair of "Dawn for Arabian Horses," an opposition-run organisation founded in 2016.

"Equestrianism is rooted in our Arab history," Naanaa said.

"Our goal is to preserve the pure breed of Arabian horses and try to provide them with health care and food," he told AFP.

To do so, they are registering any new Arabian horses born after Syria's conflict began.

The Syrian war has also taken a toll on its Arabian horses, many of which have been killed or wounded in fighting

That registration process is a key part of preserving purebreds, said Yehya al-Afandi, who heads Dawn for Arabian Horses.

"Since the war broke out, WAHO only registers horses in regime-controlled areas (where races are held on a regular basis). It doesn't interact with anyone in our (opposition) zones," Afandi said.

As a result, no Arabian foals born in opposition-held territory after 2011 -- including Shams -- have been officially registered.

"We are organising ourselves, we're aiming to get these horses registered with WAHO," Afandi said.

- 'Forget the war' -

Races like the one held outside Buwaider help draw attention to the horses' plight, Afandi added.

In line with Islamic tradition and state laws across the region, betting is not allowed at the horse races, which are split into two rounds: the first for purebreds, and the second for hybrids

In line with Islamic tradition and state laws across the region, betting is not allowed at the horse races, which are split into two rounds: the first for purebreds, and the second for hybrids.

The hybrid round was won by the stallion Buraaq -- whose Arabic name translates to "shining" -- and his grinning 34-year-old jockey Ramadan al-Issa.

"This is the third time I win first place. I can't describe how happy I am," said Issa, who hails from neighbouring Idlib province.

Mustapha, 33, traveled from Idlib to cheer on Buraaq, his favourite horse.

"Before the war, we would go to races each year. But now, they're about every two years," Issa told AFP.

"You can feel people's joy all around you, and for a moment it makes you forget the atmosphere of war."
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Jude Ratnam is worried how his film might go down with his fellow Sri Lankan Tamils. And he has a point.

"Demons in Paradise", which is premiering at the Cannes film festival, tells of the bloodbath that drove some Tamils to take up arms in the three decade-long insurgency that tore the island apart.

But the documentary also shatters a taboo by insisting that some of most horrific violence the minority endured was at the hands of their supposed defenders, the Tamil Tigers.

And the "hard truth" comes from the mouths of former Tamil fighters themselves.

"By making this film I know that I will have to face harsh, perhaps even hateful criticism from both communities," Ratnam said.

"The Sinhalese will claim that I am betraying my country by stirring up the past that is best forgotten. The Tamils will insist that I betrayed our cause by revealing the atrocities committed by the Tamil Tigers."

Ratnam was five when the anti-Tamil pogroms of "Black July" began in 1983, sending him and his family fleeing north from the massacres in the capital Colombo.

Tamil grievances and suffering were real, the director insisted.

Sri Lankan director Jude Ratnam says he will face harsh criticism for his film "Demons in Paradise", which is premiering at the Cannes film festival

The problem was "the Tamil liberation movement turned out to be complete madness" with many groups vying for control.

- 'Sun God' leader -

As many as 20,000 civilians died as the Tigers -- led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose supporters venerated him as the "Sun God" -- imposed their will through a bloody reign of terror in the Tamil-dominated north.

Ratnam believes another 10,000 disappeared after being tortured or taken to camps.

"If you don't recognise that madness and just keep saying we were the victims, you are not facing the truth," he added.

By 1986, less than three years into the civil war, "people were more afraid of the Tigers than the army," he told AFP. "People were terrified of them... they reigned supreme as the gods of revolutionary justice."

In the film, witnesses talk of the almost daily public executions of "spies" and "traitors" in the Tigers' stronghold of Jaffna. Opponents were also "necklaced" with burning car tyres.

In one electric scene Ratnam brings together rival former fighters to talk for the first time around a campfire about what they saw and did.

If the film has a hero, it is his uncle, a former fighter who grew disillusioned with the struggle and risked his life to smuggle civilians out of Jaffna.

He returned from Canada with Ratnam to the family's ancestral village near Kandy for an emotional reunion with the Sinhalese neighbours who hid him during earlier anti-Tamil violence in 1977.

"He's a great man," Ratnam said. "When I was 16 and I saw my people dying I wanted to fight. But he was the first to return and say, 'This wrong, it's messed up. What is going on is madness'."

- 'Silence is imposed' -

Ratnam, the son of an Anglican priest, said facing up to the "hard truth of what happened is essential" if Tamils and the majority Sinhalese are to move on.

"Seven years after the end of the war, the victors are celebrated, general amnesia is encouraged and silence is imposed," he added.

"In a conflict that went on 30 years nobody is innocent."

Because of the Tigers' iron grip, "everybody got sucked into the ideology. The Tigers came to represent the Tamils, so if you are a Tamil you had to be a Tiger".

Ratnam took a decade to complete the film. Given the new Sri Lankan government's commitment to freedom of speech, he said he hoped "they will allow the film to be shown".

"It is not going to be easy. Some of my close friends will be upset by it. It's a big taboo. I don't think I will be able to show my face in Tamil diaspora areas abroad (where support for the Tigers is still strong)... nor Tamil Nadu in India.

"I am a Tamil, I don't deny my identity, but identity also gets us into some lunatic positions that deny the facts or inconvenient truths. 'Our people can't be wrong!' is the attitude."

Ratnam said he would be "much more comfortable back home" in Sri Lanka where people lived with the war to the bitter end in 2009.

"Fear destroyed the lives of three generations" in Sri Lanka since British colonial rule, Ratnam said, when ethnic differences were used to "divide and rule".

"My uncle had a gun. I have a camera... I want to avoid a fourth generation being trapped in the snare."
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas is one of the most fortified locations in the world

North Korea on Thursday accused the South of unleashing more than 450 machine gun rounds at a flock of birds in an "armed provocation" at the tense Demilitarized Zone, after Seoul's forces fired warning shots at an object flying over the border.

Seoul military officials initially suggested the item was a drone from North following the incident on Tuesday, before saying Wednesday that balloons carrying propaganda leaflets had blown in across the frontier, one of the most fortified locations in the world.

Pyongyang weighed in on the issue Thursday, with a spokesman for its military telling the official Korean Central News Agency that the mysterious flying shape was simply "a flock of birds flying in the sky".

The South was "caught by mental derangement" and "confrontation hysteria", it said, describing the DMZ as "the most acute hotspot where huge troops of both sides constantly level their guns at each other".

Tensions have spiked in the region over the nuclear-armed North's weapons ambitions and a series of missile launches.

Seoul has repeatedly accused the North of flying suspected spy drones across the border, and both Koreas -- plus anti-Pyongyang activists based in the South -- send leaflets across the border tied to gas-filled balloons.

South Korean reports said only 90 rounds were fired on Tuesday, and a military spokesman told AFP Thursday that it stood by its conclusion that balloons were involved.

Both Koreas -- plus anti-Pyongyang activists based in the South -- send leaflets across the border tied to gas-filled balloons

Seoul's forces have previously opened fire at feathered flyers.

Hours after the Cheonan corvette was sunk in 2010 by what Seoul later said was a North Korean torpedo attack, killing 46 sailors, the patrol boat Sokcho "spotted unidentified objects which were moving north at a great speed and she opened up with 76 mm cannon", Yonhap news agency reported.

The military later concluded from radar images -- showing the objects split into two and merge back into one, before disappearing after reaching land -- that "such a movement is typical for a flock of birds".

"The military baptised innocent birds flying peacefully on their course with 135 rounds of formidable cannon fire," Yonhap said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would step up its fight against Islamic State

NATO will join the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State jihadis, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump.

"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said.

He stressed this did not involve NATO taking on a combat role in the fight against IS and other Islamist terror groups in Syria and Iraq.

Trump came to Brussels on his first foreign trip as president to push NATO allies to take on a more active role, having dubbed the Cold War-era alliance "obsolete" for failing to focus on the threat from Islamist terrorism.

Arriving in the city Wednesday, Trump said Monday's deadly bomb attack in Manchester only showed how dangerous the threat was and that the fight against terror had to be won.

All 28 allies have individually joined the anti-IS coalition of more than 60 countries, but NATO as an institution has not followed suit until now despite intense pressure from Washington.

Diplomatic sources say some member states such as France, Germany and Italy had opposed such a move for fear the alliance would be dragged into a ground war and risk relations with Arab powers.

NATO sources told AFP Wednesday those reservations had now been overcome.

Stoltenberg said NATO would expand the role of its AWACS surveillance planes in supporting anti-IS operations and step up its training programmes in Iraq.

A special cell would be set up at NATO headquarters in Brussels to coordinate anti-terror intelligence and planning, he said.

He said the allies would also meet Tusk's demands to share more of the security burden and reaffirm a commitment to spend two percent of annual GDP on defence.
An initial rampage by the gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, through the mainly Muslim city of Marawi on Tuesday prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law across the southern third of the Philippines.

Philippine security forces bombed residential areas in a southern city on Thursday as they battled Islamist militants who were holding hostages and reported to have murdered at least 11 civilians.

An initial rampage by gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, through the mainly Muslim city of Marawi on Tuesday prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law across the southern third of the Philippines.

Authorities said ending the crisis was proving extremely hard because, although there were only 30 to 40 remaining gunmen, the militants were moving nimbly through homes, had planted bombs in the streets and were holding hostages.

Intense gunfighting could be heard constantly throughout the day, according to an AFP reporter in the city, and the military said it had dropped bombs on residential neighbourhoods.

The southern city of Marawi has about 200,000 residents but many of them have fled because of the fighting

"We are using surgical airstrikes," local military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera told reporters in Marawi shortly before big clouds of black smoke rose from a bombed area near the provincial government building.

Most of Marawi's 200,000 residents had fled the city, which is about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Manila, but Herrera said those who remained had been warned to get out of the areas where there was bombing and fighting.

"We are requesting our people in Marawi to go to safe places... and to stay indoors," he said.

Five soldiers, two policemen and 26 militants have died in the three days of fighting, according to authorities. Thirty-nine soldiers have been wounded, the military said.

Herrera said two civilians had also been killed inside a hospital that the gunmen had occupied on Tuesday, and the military was investigating reports that nine people had been murdered at a checkpoint the militants had set up.

Local GMA television network showed images of nine bullet-riddled bodies lying in a field with their hands tied together.

Black smoke billows from burning houses as fighting between Philippine soldiers and the IS-affiliated Maute group rages in the city of Marawi

Duterte said on Wednesday that one of the policemen killed was similarly caught at a checkpoint set up by the militants, then beheaded.

The militants are also holding between 12 and 15 Catholic hostages abducted from a church, according to the local bishop, Edwin Dela Pena.

- Failed raid -

The fighting erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.

The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.

The raid went spectacularly wrong as dozens of gunmen emerged to repel the security forces, then went on a rampage across the city while flying black IS flags.

A military helicopter flies out of a Philippine miliary camp as fighting rages nearby in the southern city of Marawi

The gunmen belonged to the Maute group, which along with Hapilon's faction of the Abu Sayyaf, had pledged allegiance to IS, authorities said.

The militants raided two jails, leading to the escape of more than 100 inmates, according to Mujiv Hataman, the governor of a Muslim self-rule area that includes Marawi.

They also set fire to many buildings, including a church and a university.

An enraged Duterte, who was in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, declared martial law shortly after the fighting erupted and cut short his trip to fly home and deal with the crisis.

"It is brutality, cruelty," Duterte said on Wednesday after flying back to Manila.

- Rise of IS -

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says martial law is required throughout a southern region of the country to stop the rising threat of hardline militants aligned to IS

Duterte said martial law was required throughout the southern region of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, to stop the rising threat of hardline militants aligned to IS.

Muslim rebels have been fighting since the 1970s for an independent or autonomous homeland in Mindanao, with the conflict claiming more than 120,000 lives.

The main Muslim rebel groups are now involved in peace talks with the government.

But the Abu Sayyaf, Maute and other hardline groups want to set up an Islamic caliphate in the south for IS, according to Duterte and security analysts.

Duterte said Wednesday he may impose martial law throughout the rest of the country if he believed the terrorism threat was spreading.

The president, who has waged a controversial war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives, warned martial law would be "harsh" and similar to military rule imposed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago.
People carry effigies of US President Donald Trump (L) and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel during a demonstration against the US president in Brussels

Donald Trump meets NATO and EU leaders for the first time Thursday with the US president set to press nervous allies to do more on terrorism after the Manchester bombing.

Trump faced protests on his arrival in Brussels, but he is getting a red-carpet welcome from Western allies eager to persuade him that his earlier criticisms of them were misplaced.

NATO, which Trump on the campaign trail dismissed as "obsolete" for focusing on Russia instead of terrorism, is set to bow to his demands that it join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.

"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference ahead of the summit.

Trump's entourage however warned that the billionaire president will once again press the 28-nation alliance to pay their full share of the alliance's financial burden.

"I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters travelling with Trump.

Trump himself however is set to face pressure from British Prime Minister Theresa May over leaks to the US media of details of the probe into the bombing of a pop concert Monday in Manchester that killed 22 people.

Brussels could be the toughest leg yet of what has so far been a largely trouble-free first foreign trip for Trump, who came direct from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

- 'Hellhole' Brussels -

On his arrival on Wednesday in Brussels, the city he once said had been turned into a "hellhole" by Muslim immigration, the president was greeted by thousands of protesters saying "Trump not welcome."

Further protests were expected Thursday and security was tight across the city with helicopters flying overhead and key roads shut down.

The European Union, like NATO credited with keeping the peace in Europe since World War II, will also be hoping to convince Trump that it remains relevant.

EU President Donald Tusk, who will meet Trump along with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, tweeted that "I'll aim to convince POTUS that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent (a) post-West world order".

Trump alarmed the EU by backing further countries to follow Britain's lead in quitting the bloc, and by calling it a vehicle for German dominance of the continent.

Tusk and Juncker will tell the US president that since last year's shock Brexit vote, the EU is "in a completely different place" after populist candidates lost in France and the Netherlands, a senior EU official said.

Trump will have a private lunch with new French President Emmanuel Macron, whose recent victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been seen as a beacon of hope by Brussels, before heading to NATO.

- 'Win this fight' -

Trump set out his stall on terrorism as he met Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel shortly after his arrival on Wednesday night, saying that the most important issue was terrorism after the "horrible situation" in Manchester.

NATO

"When you see something like what happened a few days ago you realise how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," said Trump.

At least 9,000 people marched through Brussels on Wednesday night waving blond-haired effigies of the reality TV star president.

The NATO summit will however be full of pomp and symbolism, with the keen-to-impress alliance showing off its new $1.2-billion (1.1 billion-euro) headquarters and staging a flypast.

At a ceremony with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump will unveil a memorial to the September 11, 2001 attacks featuring part of the destroyed World Trade Center, while Merkel does the same for a fragment of the Berlin Wall.

US President Donald Trump (L) is on a two day visit to Belgium, to attend a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit on May 25, 2017.

In return, allies rattled by a resurgent Russia will hope for a public display of commitment from Trump to Article 5, the alliance's one-for-all collective defence pledge.

While this has been triggered only once, by the US after 9/11, Trump has said that any future use might depend on whether a NATO member had met its spending commitments.

The alliance is now set to formally join the anti-IS coalition after France, Germany and Italy dropped their opposition, diplomatic sources said.

But while it will provide help including the use of AWACS surveillance aircraft it will not join combat operations, Stoltenberg insisted.

Trump's wife Melania, meanwhile, is set to visit a museum dedicated to the surrealist artist Rene Magritte and a leading leather store while in Brussels.

Trump's sweep through Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, centres of three of the world's main religions, is being followed by Brussels and a trip to Italy for the G7 leaders summit on Friday.

The high-profile trip has diverted attention from Trump's domestic pressures amid the probe into alleged Russian ties with his campaign.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will depart for a four-nation tour of Europe that will include talks with Russia and Germany

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will depart Monday for a four-nation tour of Europe that will include strategic talks with historic ally Russia and with key trading partner Germany.

Modi will first be hosted by Chancellor Angela Merkel at Germany's official state guest house in Brandenburg, where the two leaders will jointly address a meeting of top business leaders.

Germany is India's number-one trading partner in Europe, and Modi has been seeking greater investment and business arrangements between local and foreign firms under his "Make in India" campaign.

Modi will then depart for Spain for further business talks in a roundtable with CEOs, India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The longstanding strategic alliance between Russia and India will be canvassed when Modi meets President Vladimir Putin ahead of the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg on June 2.

India has enjoyed historically close ties with Russia, which for years was a key ally and top arms supplier, but Moscow's recent decision to support the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has rattled New Delhi.

India has voiced displeasure at the project aimed at linking northwestern China to the Arabian Sea, as it passes through the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Modi will wrap up his six-day tour with a stop in France to meet newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron.
Pakistani soldiers stand guard at the site where a Chinese couple was kidnapped in Balochistan province, which is at the heart of a $50-billion project by Beijing but is racked by separatist and Islamist insurgencies

China condemned on Thursday the armed kidnapping of a Chinese couple in Pakistan, after the abduction raised safety concerns for Beijing's multi-billion dollar investments in the country.

"The Chinese government attaches high importance to the safety of Chinese citizens overseas," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a regular press briefing.

"We condemn all forms of kidnapping activities," Lu said, adding that the government was working closely with Pakistani authorities to ensure their release.

The abduction happened Wednesday afternoon in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Balochistan, which is at the heart of the $50-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project but is racked by separatist and Islamist insurgencies.

"They were dragged into a vehicle without number plates by three unknown men," senior local police official Aitzaz Goraya told AFP.

One Chinese woman managed to escape as the men began firing in the air to scare off onlookers.

A passer-by, Muhammad Zahir, was shot as he tried to prevent the abduction.

He told AFP he saw three men forcing a Chinese woman into a white car but she was resisting and crying.

"I stopped to observe the situation but they had forced the woman in the car by then and were pushing the man.

"So I rushed to them and asked what they were doing. One of them said, 'We are from the crime branch of the police and we are taking them for investigation' and I told them that they should not misbehave with people. Then the driver came out and shot me in my leg," the 35-year-old said.

China's deputy chief of mission in Islamabad, Zhao Lijian, said the kidnapped pair had been studying Urdu at a language centre. Local police had earlier said they were teaching Chinese.

China is ramping up investment in Pakistan as part of a plan unveiled in 2015 that will link its far-western Xinjiang region to Gwadar port in Balochistan with a series of infrastructure, power and transport upgrades.

Mineral-rich Balochistan has been plagued by Islamist and separatist insurgencies since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

A greater push towards peace and development by Pakistani authorities, including with CPEC, has reduced the violence considerably in recent years.
Protesters took to the streets in Manipur in August 2015 to voice anger against planned legislation that local indigenous communities feared would compromise their ancestral ownership rights

The bodies of eight people shot dead during an anti-government protest in northeast India have been buried after 632 days, authorities said Thursday, ending a long confrontation.

The victims' families were refusing to bury the bodies until their demands for proper compensation and action against the government officials who ordered the firing had been met.

They finally laid their loved ones to rest on Wednesday after a deal with the local government in the restive state of Manipur.

The state's chief minister, N Biren Singh, tweeted photos showing hundreds of people paying their tributes to the dead.

"I salute you... for your love and understanding in solving the 620 days long crisis," he tweeted.

The bodies had been in a hospital mortuary since the killings in August 2015 during protests over planned legislation that local indigenous communities feared would compromise their ancestral ownership rights.

Like much of India's northeast, Manipur -- which shares its eastern border with Myanmar -- has long been plagued by sporadic separatist unrest and ongoing feuds between different tribal and ethnic groups.

Singh's government reached an agreement with the protesters earlier this month, promising jobs and compensation to those bereaved or disabled in the incident.

The government also agreed to build a memorial for the victims and to hold discussions with the community on any future legislative changes.

Protest leader H. Mangchinkhup said it was not the end of their movement.

"We are giving rest to the martyrs. The families have been in mourning for the last 632 days. They too need rest. Our movement will continue," he told AFP by phone.
US President Donald Trump urged NATO states to spend more

US President Donald Trump on Thursday launched an extraordinary broadside at NATO allies for failing to pay their fair share of the defence bill.

The billionaire leader used the highest possible profile platform of his first NATO summit in Brussels to accuse members of the alliance of owing "massive amounts of money".

Unveiling a memorial to the 9/11 attacks at NATO's new headquarters, Trump also urged the alliance to get tougher on tackling terrorism and immigration in the wake of the Manchester attack.

Allies who had hoped to hear Trump publicly declare his commitment to NATO's Article 5 collective defence guarantee were left disappointed as he made no mention of it and instead castigated them on their home turf.

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they're supposed to be paying for their defence," the president said as fellow leaders looked on grim faced.

Trump said that even if they met the commitment they made in 2014 to allocate two percent of GDP to defence, it would still not be enough to meet the challenges NATO faces.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years," Trump added.

The diatribe stirred memories of his campaign trail comments branding NATO "obsolete" and threatening that states that did not pay their way would not necessarily be defended, which deeply alarmed allies.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg was repeatedly asked at a closing news conference about Trump's comments but insisted that while the president might have been "blunt" his message was unchanged -- the allies had to do more.

In dedicating the 9/11 Article 5 memorial, the president was "sending a strong signal" of his commitment to NATO, Stoltenberg said.

"And it is not possible to be committed to NATO without being committed to Article 5."

- Terrorism 'must be stopped' -

Trump said the bombing of a pop concert in the British city of Manchester on Monday, claimed by the Islamic State group, showed that "terrorism must be stopped in its tracks".

"The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and NATO's eastern and southern borders," the president said.

The surprising focus on immigration echoed another key feature of Trump's campaign, which included a vow to build a border wall with Mexico, a measure derided in Europe.

Protesters carried effigies of Trump and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an entirely different note as she unveiled a memorial made up of a section of the Berlin Wall to mark the end of the Cold War.

"Germany will not forget the contribution NATO made in order to reunify our country. This is why we will indeed make our contribution to security and solidarity in the common alliance," she said.

Trump's rebuke came despite NATO saying it would formally join the US-led coalition against IS at the summit, despite reservations in France and Germany about getting involved in another conflict.

Article 5 has been invoked only once in NATO's six-decade history -- after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Analyst Thomas Wright of the Washington-based Brookings Institution said Trump's failure to publicly declare this was "shocking and damaging".

Brussels presented Trump with the first problems of a landmark foreign trip, including tense moments with the head of the European Union and with key ally Britain.

Trump announced a review of "deeply troubling" US intelligence leaks over the Manchester bombing, in which 22 people died, and warned that those responsible could face prosecution, the White House said.

He later discussed the row with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, who had condemned the leaks that left British authorities infuriated with their US counterparts.

- EU Russia tensions -

A meeting with European Council chief Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker did not go smoothly either, despite hopes it could clear the bad blood caused by Trump backing Britain's Brexit vote.

During his meeting with the two top EU officials, Trump launched a salvo against Germany and its car sales in the United States, Der Spiegel reported.

"The Germans are bad, very bad," he said, according to the German weekly's online edition.

"See the millions of cars they are selling in the US. Terrible. We will stop this," he reportedly said.

Tusk had earlier said there were differences on climate change and trade but above all Russia.

"I'm not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- 'we' means Mr President and myself -- that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia," said Tusk, a former Polish premier who grew up protesting against Soviet domination of his country.

Before the NATO summit, US President Donald Trump held a working lunch with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron

Trump on the campaign trail made restoring relations with Russia a key promise but he has faced bitter opposition in Washington and has since become embroiled in a scandal over alleged links to Moscow.

Trump also held talks with new French President Emmanuel Macron, with the pair appearing to engage in a brief yet bizarre battle to see who could shake hands the hardest.

Trump came to Brussels direct from a "fantastic" meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, after visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Human rights activists in South Korea, whose flag is displayed on a smartphone screen in this photo, say cases of sexual violence within the military occur persistently despite government efforts to curb them

A South Korean female naval officer apparently killed herself after being allegedly raped by a senior colleague, a defence ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The victim, a lieutenant, was found dead in her single-room apartment on Wednesday, where a message was found reading: "Tomorrow, I won't be in this world any longer."

"The lieutenant appeared to have committed suicide," a military spokesman told AFP.

She had reportedly told her boyfriend that she had been raped.

Military police have arrested a navy captain as a suspect. He admitted to having sex with her but denied the rape allegation, the spokesman said.

Human rights activists say cases of sexual violence within the military occur persistently despite government efforts to curb them.

"This appears to be a typical case in which a male superior abused his power to violate a female subordinate," Bang Hye-Lim at the Military Human Rights Centre told AFP.

"It is not rare at all that male chauvinism translates into sex crimes in the military", she said.

A parliamentary probe revealed last year that a total of 111 female soldiers had fallen victim to rape by their seniors over the previous five years.

The latest alleged incident emerged a day after a South Korean army officer was sentenced to six months in prison for having consensual gay sex with a colleague.
Marawi, the centre of Islam in the mainly Catholic Philippines, was swarmed by tanks, attack helicopters and thousands of troops fighting Islamic State-linked combatants holed up in homes and buildings

It was meant to be a "surgical operation" to capture one of the world's most wanted terrorists, who was hiding and wounded in a southern Philippine city. But it went spectacularly wrong.

Three days later Marawi, the centre of Islam in the mainly Catholic Asian nation was swarmed by tanks, attack helicopters and thousands of troops fighting Islamic State-linked fighters holed up in homes and buildings.

President Rodrigo Duterte had also declared martial law across the southern third of the country to quell the crisis, while many of the 200,000 residents had fled... and security forces had lost their target: Isnilon Hapilon.

Forces had initially been confident they would capture or kill the elusive Hapilon, regarded by the United States as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. The US government offers a $5-million bounty for his capture.

The military had for months been conducting offensives against Islamist militants in nearby mountains, and came close to killing Hapilon during a bombing raid in January.

Philippines

After receiving intelligence that he had come to Marawi for medical treatment and was hiding in a house, a small group of security forces conducted what two military spokespeople described as a "surgical operation" to get him.

But, even though the region is a known hotbed of Islamist militants, the troops were taken by surprise when dozens of gunmen emerged to defend Hapilon, then go on a deadly rampage throughout the city.

"We had been pummelling them in the mountains, but were caught unaware when they entered Marawi," Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana conceded in a briefing to reporters on Wednesday.

Compounding the problem was the support for the gunmen from locals, connected by clan ties.

"The problem here is they have a lot of relatives inside Marawi city," Lorenzana said.

Five soldiers, two policemen and 13 militants have died in the ensuing clashes, according to authorities, with up to 40 gunmen still believed to be hiding in the city holding a priest and other people abducted from a Church as human shields.

If Hapilon does escape, it would be a huge blow for the Philippine authorities in their efforts to stamp out what Duterte has said is a fast-rising threat from the Islamic State group.

- IS linchpin -

The government and security analysts consider him the linchpin of an effort to unite various small Muslim armed groups in the country's lawless south and neighbouring countries under the black IS flag.

Hapilon, 51, initially gained notoriety as leader of the Abu Sayyaf, a US-listed terrorist organisation that was founded with seed money from Al-Qaeda in the early 1990s.

Hapilon's escape on Tuesday has had broader implications than IS's prospects in the Philippines, with Duterte citing the ensuing violence as justification to declare martial law over Mindanao and threaten military rule for the rest of the country

The Abu Sayyaf, based on remote, Muslim-populated islands in the far south of the Philippines, has earned many millions of dollars by kidnapping hundreds of Filipinos and foreigners, and demanding ransoms.

In 2001 he helped lead the abduction from a western Philippine resort island of a group of local and foreign tourists. Two American hostages eventually died, one of whom was beheaded.

The Abu Sayyaf is also blamed for the Philippines' deadliest terror attacks, including the 2004 bombing of a ferry in Manila that claimed 116 lives.

Black smoke billows from burning houses as fighting between Philippine soldiers and the IS-affiliated Maute group rages near the provincial capitol in Marawi, on the southern island of Mindanao

In mid-2014 Hapilon, an engineering graduate from the University of the Philippines, showed up in a YouTube video as one of the first Islamist militant leaders in the Philippines to pledge allegiance to IS.

Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict director Sidney Jones, an expert on Asian jihadist movements, said Hapilon was endorsed by the IS as its "amir", or top leader for Southeast Asia.

Lorenzana said IS leaders in the Middle East had ordered Hapilon to move off his tiny island base of Basilan and into more populated areas of the southern Philippines near Marawi "to increase the mass base" of IS.

Hapilon's escape on Tuesday has had broader implications than IS's prospects in the Philippines, with Duterte citing the ensuing violence as justification to declare martial law over Mindanao and threaten military rule for the rest of the country.
Police sources said they were keen to interview Galagodaatte Gnanasara after receiving more than a dozen complaints of hate speech against him

Sri Lanka's police launched a major manhunt Thursday for a controversial Buddhist monk wanted in connection with a spate of attacks against mosques and Muslim-owned business.

Police said they were working to track down and arrest Galagodaatte Gnanasara, head of the radical Buddhist Force or BBS, after he went into hiding.

His party is accused of instigating a recent wave of hate attacks against the country's Muslim minority.

Police said in a statement they had secured a court order to prevent him from leaving the country.

"He is wanted in connection with obstruction of justice, hate speech and several other crimes," said the statement.

It came shortly after the BBS announced that Gnanasara had gone into hiding, fearing he could be assassinated.

"The monk is at a secret location," BBS spokesman Dilantha Vithanage told reporters in Colombo.

"We have told him not to venture out as he could be assassinated after he is arrested."

Police sources said they had received more than a dozen complaints of hate speech against Gnanasara, who already faces charges of contempt for causing a disturbance inside a court.

His party denies orchestrating the attacks against Muslims, who account for just 10 percent of the country's 21 million people but are a formidable political force.

The BBS was accused of instigating religious riots in mid-2014 that left four people dead, but the then government of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse did not prosecute them.

Rajapakse's brother Gotabhaya, a former defence minister, was said to be close to the party.

A new government has since been elected and this week it debated the latest wave of anti-Muslim attacks and ordered tough action to prevent an escalation.
-Zambia is considering moving its capital Lusaka to a nearly uninhabited area

Zambia is considering a proposal to move its capital from fast-developing Lusaka to a nearly uninhabited marshland district in the centre of the country, a minister said Thursday.

Lusaka has been the national capital since 1935 when Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia under British colonial rule.

"Within the next 10 years, you will not be able to conduct business in Lusaka because of congestion," national planning and development minister Lucky Mulusa told AFP.

"The city is over-crowded, and so the sensible thing to do is move the capital out."

Mulusa said that President Edgar Lungu's cabinet was due to discuss the move to Ngabwe district within the next two weeks.

Ngabwe is a little-known rural district in Zambia's Central Province, close to Kabwe town and about 120 kilometres (75 miles) -- or two hours' drive -- north of Lusaka.

It is often cut off when roads flood during rains, but Mulusa said the district was well-positioned in the middle of the country.

He added that Ngabwe would be planned to ensure it could host regional bodies such as the African Union (AU), based in Addis Ababa, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), based in Gaborone, Botswana.

"If Lusaka was properly situated, it would have benefited many institutions," he said.

Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991, while Myanmar's military rulers moved its capital 200 miles north from Yangon to a new site at Naypyidaw in 2005.

Tanzania's capital Dodoma was designed in the 1980s but many government activities remain in Dar es Salaam.

Lungu's critics have accused him of suppressing dissent, while the main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has been in detention for more than six weeks on treason charges.
Former US president Barack Obama said the Manchester attack was a reminder of the "great danger" of terrorism

Former United States President Barack Obama said at a Berlin reunion with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday he was "heartbroken" by a suicide bombing that killed 22 people in Manchester.

"We can see the terrible violence that took place just recently in Manchester... it's a reminder that there is great danger of terrorism and people who would do great harm to others just because they're different," Obama told a crowd at the German capital's Brandenburg Gate.

He and Merkel had sent a joint message of condolence to the families of those killed in the Monday attack during a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande, he added.

"We had a chance backstage to send a message to the people of Manchester about how heartbroken we are by the loss of life," Obama said.

Some 70,000 people had gathered at the central Berlin landmark to see Obama reunited with Merkel for the Evangelical Church's biennial gathering, German public television reported.

The 44th President offered a valuable boost to Merkel ahead of parliamentary elections in September, labelling her "one of my favourite partners throughout my presidency".

"Chancellor Merkel has done outstanding work, not just here in Germany but around the world," he said.

Over 90 minutes, the pair faced questions about the importance of their Christian faith to their politics from church leaders and young people from Germany and Chicago, including on tough moral issues such as lethal drone strikes and the deaths of migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Obama is set to travel to Baden-Baden, southwest Germany, later Thursday to accept the German Media Prize.
Kam Air, a private carrier, said they were indefinitely suspending all flights to Bamiyan, adding that the incident could have risked the lives of the passengers and airport workers

Supporters of two Afghan MPs who missed a domestic flight from Kabul blocked an airport runway with rocks, forcing the plane to return for the lawmakers, officials said.

The Kam Air flight was abruptly forced to fly back from central Bamiyan province earlier this week, triggering uproar and ridicule on social media with many accusing the lawmakers of abusing their powers.

Five people, including airport security officials, have been arrested over the "illegal diversion", the interior ministry said Thursday.

"When the two MPs arrived at Kabul airport, the plane was on the runway and ready to take off," Humayun Stanakzai, a director of civil aviation, told AFP.

"The MPs got angry and called their men in Bamiyan. When the plane approached Bamiyan airport, their men were at the airport blocking the runway with rocks. The plane could not land and had to be diverted back to Kabul."

The plane carrying 30 passengers had to be refuelled and took off again for Bamiyan with the two MPs on board.

The lawmakers, Abdul Rahman Shaheedani and Hussain Naseri, were not immediately reachable for comment.

Kam Air, a private carrier, on Wednesday said they were indefinitely suspending all flights to Bamiyan, adding that the incident could have risked the lives of the passengers and airport workers.

Afghan lawmakers are regularly accused of corruption, nepotism and abusing their authority to enrich themselves.

Civil aviation has been expanding rapidly in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, with several private airlines operating in the country.

Flight safety remains a concern but aviation disasters are relatively rare in Afghanistan, where travel by road through vast and remote terrain is made more hazardous by the Taliban insurgency.

emh-mam-us-ac/st/amu
Kenyan police have warned of increased Islamist activity in the restive northeast, close to the border with Somalia

Five police officers were killed Thursday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Kenya in an attack claimed by Shabaab Islamists a day after nine police died in similar blasts.

The officers had been deployed to the restive northeastern region to take part in an operation against the Somali-led militants after two separate roadside bombs on Wednesday.

"The five police officers killed in the attack were headed to boost the ongoing operation in Liboi," said North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Ali Saleh referring to a town on the border with Somalia.

The Kenya Red Cross said the latest attack occurred between Malelei and Kulan in Garissa county when a vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED).

The blast flipped over the green police pickup and tore its rear end off.

The Shabaab, a Somali-led jihadist group linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack -- as well as for the previous two -- in a statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.

On Wednesday morning four police officers were killed when their vehicle drove over a roadside bomb near the Liboi border post.

Three were killed instantly and a fourth died of his injuries later, according to a police report seen Thursday by AFP that revised the initial toll of three.

Later in the day a convoy accompanying a local governor was struck, killing five officers including his bodyguard.

- More attacks predicted -

Earlier this week Kenyan police issued a statement warning of increased militant activity in the area, specifically mentioning the threat of IEDs.

On Thursday, Inspector General Joseph Boinnet of the Kenyan police said "several terror suspects" had been arrested in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties over the past two days, including one it identified as a "high-ranking Al-Shabaab explosives expert" named Ahmed Abdi Yare.

Weapons and material for making IEDs were also recovered, Boinnet said.

He warned that more attacks were likely during the holy month of Ramadan which begins this weekend.

The Kenyan government has yet to comment on the upsurge in attacks in the region bordering Somalia.

On May 16, four people were killed near Liboi when their car hit an IED.

Several other incidents took place last week in Mandera county when suspected Shabaab fighters attacked a village, killed a traditional chief and kidnapped two police reservists, according to local police.

In October 2016, the government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Mandera after Shabaab fighters killed 12 people at a hotel. The authorities also stepped up security in the region, with the curfew extended in April.

Since 2007, the Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Somalia but began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-member African Union mission fighting in Somalia.

In 2013, Shabaab gunmen raided a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi killing 67 people, and in 2015 a similar attack on a university in Garissa left 148 dead.
A medium-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016

Iran has built a third underground plant to manufacture ballistic missiles, the head of its Revolutionary Guards aerospace division General Amir-Ali Hadjizadeh said on Thursday.

The announcement as US President Donald Trump makes a maiden foreign tour in which Saudi and Israeli concerns about Iran have loomed large is likely to stoke new tensions with Washington.

"Step by step, we are developing our defensive capability and I announce today that in recent years we have built a third underground factory for the manufacture of missiles," Iran's Fars news agency quoted Hadjizadeh as saying.

"We are going to develop our ballistic power. It's normal that our enemies, that is to say the United States and Israel, are angry when we show off our underground missile bases because they want the Iranian people to be in a position of weakness," he added.

In October 2015, state television aired footage for the first time of a base that Hadjizadeh said was 500 metres (1,600 feet) underground and stocked with a range of different missiles.

Armed forces spokesman General Masoud Jazayeri said earlier this month that Iran had a number of such underground silos which were an "important deterrent factor against the sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The United States says Iran's missile programme is a breach of international law because the missiles could carry nuclear warheads in the future.

Iran denies ever seeking nuclear weapons and says the missiles are designed to carry conventional warheads only and are a legitimate part of it defensive capabilities.

The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Iran following a missile test in late January.

It added more last week at the same time as it renewed a waiver of sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme.

In Saudi Arabia on Saturday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged newly re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to end ballistic missile testing.

On Monday, Rouhani retorted that Iran did not need US permission to conduct missile tests and that they would continue "if technically necessary".

Iran has developed various designs of ballistic missiles, some with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) -- sufficient to reach both Israel and US bases in the region.
Armed police patrol near Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 following a deadly terror attack in the city in northwest England

The father of suspected Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi was once part of a Libyan militant group with alleged ties to Al-Qaeda, a Libyan security source said Thursday.

Abedi's father Ramadan "was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)," said Ahmed bin Salem, spokesman for Libya's Deterrence Force, which acts as the police for Libya's unity government.

The Tripoli-based force arrested Abedi's father and brother after Monday's attack at a pop concert which killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Ramadan Abedi was hunted by the regime of Moamer Kadhafi for his ties to the group, finding refuge in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 to join the NATO-backed uprising that finally overthrew the dictator, British media have reported.

The now-disbanded LIFG was founded in 1995 by Libyans who had fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan and stayed on after their withdrawal. The group's sole aim was to topple Kadhafi.

After thwarting an attempt to assassinate the Libyan strongman, Kadhafi's security services launched a merciless pursuit of the group's members, most of whom had fled the country.

After the dictator's ouster and death, Abedi served in the Tripoli police department, Bin Salem said, without providing further information.

"The investigation is ongoing and he is still being questioned by the relevant services. I cannot give more details," Bin Salem said.

LIFG members have allegedly maintained murky links with Al-Qaeda.

Some of its members joined the international jihadist network.

They allegedly include Abu Anas al-Libi, who died in US custody in early 2015, days before facing trial for bombing US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

Al-Qaeda in 2007 announced that the LIFG had joined its ranks -- something the Libyan group later denied, saying it had no ties to international organisations.

LIFG leader Abdelhakim Belhaj was handed over to Kadhafi in 2004 by American intelligence agencies.

Files unearthed from Kadhafi's archives after his fall suggest he was captured due to a British tip-off.

Freed a few months before the 2011 uprising, Belhaj fought with rebel forces alongside other LIFG fighters, and became Tripoli's military commander after Kadhafi was ousted.

He later formed a political party, Al-Watan.

A British court in January ruled that he could sue former foreign minister Jack Straw and an ex-MI6 officer over his rendition, in a landmark case that could pave the way for more lawsuits.

Critics accuse Belhaj and other members of the group of maintaining secretive links with Islamist groups.
Activists fear the family will face persecution for alleged links to Fethullah Gulen, a preacher accused of trying to overthrow the Turkish government

Myanmar authorities have detained a Turkish family and are trying to deport them to Turkey, where activists fear they will face persecution for alleged links to a preacher accused of trying to overthrow the government.

Teacher Muhammed Furkan Sokmen, his wife and their two-year-old daughter were stopped at Yangon airport on Wednesday evening as they tried to board a plane to Bangkok.

Sokmen used to work at an international school that local media report has been investigated for links to a Muslim preacher accused of plotting a failed coup against Turkey's president.

A video posted online appeared to show the family being held in a room inside the airport.

"The Turkish ambassador has put pressure on the Myanmar police to try to seize my passport," Muhammed Furkan Sokmen says into the camera.

"Please help me. I await your help."

Government spokesman Zaw Htay said the family were stopped after Turkey cancelled Sokmen's passport.

"It has nothing to do with the Myanmar government," he told AFP.

"He and his family will be deported as their passports are invalid."

Immigration police at the airport and in Naypyidaw refused to speak to AFP. Several calls to the Turkish embassy went unanswered.

More than 100,000 people have been dismissed or detained in Turkey since a failed attempt to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year.

Erdogan blames the coup on US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen -- a claim he strongly denies -- and has launched a relentless purge against those deemed to have backed the plot.

Earlier this month Malaysia deported three Turkish nationals wanted by Ankara for alleged links to Gullen.

A friend of Sokmen's family who lives in Yangon said authorities had twice tried to put them on a plane to Turkey, but they had refused.

Human Rights Watch warned the family could face possible torture and prolonged detention, followed by an unfair trial, if sent back to Turkey.

"The Myanmar government should not let itself become complicit in endangering this family," said fellow Richard Weir.

Their detention comes after three branches of the Horizon International School, where Sokmen used to work, were recently shut down.

Local magazine Frontier reported police had launched an investigation into the school for links to "terrorist organisations" shortly after Turkey's failed coup.
The Boko Haram insurgency has left tens of thousands of people dependent on food aid

Lack of funding is forcing aid agencies to cut feeding programmes for starving people in northeast Nigeria, the UN said Thursday, warning of growing pressure on resources as refugees return.

The World Food Programme last week said nearly two million people were living on the brink of famine in the remote region, which has been devastated by Boko Haram violence since 2009.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 5.2 million people could need life-saving food aid in three northeast states from June to August.

OCHA said a massive funding shortfall had "forced some organisations to review plans and targets and in some cases reduce food distribution for the upcoming critical lean season".

That "might negatively affect some of the progress made so far", it added in its latest situation report.

"This, paired with recent nutrition assessments indicating deteriorating nutrition levels in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (states), is putting increased pressure on food security and nutrition responders," the agency said.

- 'Looming famine' -

Boko Haram's insurgency has left more than 2.6 million homeless and hungry

Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people in northeast Nigeria and forced millions of others from their homes.

Lack of security, plus restrictions on travel and trade, have hit agriculture in a desperately poor region dependent on subsistence farming and fishing.

That has led to food shortages and driven up prices.

The UN says Nigeria needs $1.05 billion this year to fund vital humanitarian projects including food and healthcare provision, clean water, sanitation and education.

But on Tuesday it said the plan to tackle "the looming famine" was only about 20 percent-funded at $24 million.

"We need to do more, we need to do it quicker and we can always do better," said the UN's deputy humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Peter Lundberg.

Lundberg called the situation in the northeast "Africa's worst humanitarian crisis" and said funding was "pivotal" as Nigeria faces up to the aftermath of the conflict.

Aid agencies working the region have stepped up their efforts with the approach of the rainy season, which sees already hard-to-reach rural areas cut off by flooding.

Makeshift dwellings are threatened with damage from heavy rains while the risk of disease -- especially malaria and water-borne conditions such as typhoid and cholera -- increases.

- 'Precarious state' -

Nearly two million people are on the brink of famine in northeast Nigeria but there are not enough funds to feed them

Nigeria's government had wanted to shut camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in and around the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, by the end of May but was forced to abandon the plan.

Humanitarian agencies say camps elsewhere in Borno are facing increasing pressure because of the return of refugees from neighbouring Cameroon.

More than 6,000 people have registered with the immigration service since early April; 1,500 arrived in the first two weeks of May and 2,500 more are expected in border areas in the coming weeks.

"Returnees are arriving in areas where aid partners may not be fully prepared to provide assistance due to lack of presence and funding", said OCHA.

"The conditions in return areas are very poor and camps are overcrowded. The situation continues to deteriorate with serious protection implications.

"The returnees are in a precarious state, lacking all basic life necessities, including shelter, food and water."

Security also remains a persistent problem, with regular suicide and bomb attacks, despite military claims the militants have been weakened to the point of defeat.

Earlier this month, Britain and the United States warned that foreign aid workers were at increased risk of kidnapping in border areas where people are most in need of help.
An Indian woman who said she was forced to marry a Pakistani at gunpoint returned to India on Thursday after a court ordered her release.

Uzma Ahmad was reunited with her family at the Wagah border crossing near Amritsar in northern Punjab state before heading to New Delhi where she called on Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The case became a national rallying cry against arch-rival Pakistan with Swaraj calling Ahmad 'India's daughter' and promising to leave no stone unturned in the fight for her release.

Uzma Ahmad, a 20-year-old Indian who reported being forced at gunpoint to marry a Pakistani citizen while on a visit to Pakistan has arrived back in India

'I want to thank the foreign ministry and the home ministry of Pakistan. If Uzma is with us today, they have a role too,' Swaraj told reporters in Delhi in a rare display of amity between the foes.

Ahmad, who is in her early 20s, met Pakistani Tahir Ali in Malaysia, according to Indian media.

She told the Islamabad high court that Ali forced her to marry him at gunpoint on May 3 when she was visiting Pakistan.

Ahmad has made headlines in India since making her plea to the court on May 12 to be allowed to return.

Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death in Pakistan on spying charges

Her allegations emerged as tensions mounted between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region and the case of an Indian national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death in Pakistan on spying charges.

Ahmad had been staying at the Indian mission in Islamabad since making the accusation.

The Islamabad court ordered Ali to return the woman's immigration documents so she could leave.

Ahmad fought back tears as she recalled Swaraj ringing to assure her everything was being done to bring her home.

'For the first time I felt as if my life too has a value,' Ahmad said after touching Swaraj's feet, a traditional gesture of respect in India.

'I have been really lucky as there are many girls over there who are are abused and harassed but they are not able to get out.'

In 2015, a deaf and mute Indian girl returned to India after more than 10 years trapped in Pakistan.

Relations between India and Pakistan have plummeted since a deadly attack on an Indian army base in the disputed region of Kashmir in September, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

There have since been repeated outbreaks of cross-border firing, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries.

Uzma glad to be back, calls Pakistan a well of death

By Manjeet Sehgal in New Delhi

Indian national Uzma Ahmed, who claimed to have been forced to marry a Pakistani man and was later allowed to return to India, has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj helping her.

She recounted her ordeal at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. 'Pakistan is like a well of death. I am an orphan. I was adopted,' Uzma said as she broke down several times at the press conference.

'It is easy to go (to Pakistan) but tough to return,' she said. 'They could have sold me or used me in some risky business,' Uzma, in her late 20s, said about a family in Pakistan's Buner.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with Indian woman Uzma and her daughter at Jawahar Bhawan after she reached Delhi on Thursday

Uzma said she was not the only woman duped into marrying a man from Buner. She has seen women around her suffering.

'People in Buner people get girls from Malaysia. It is a dangerous area. You hear gunshots everyday. Every (man) has more than one wife there,' she claimed.

She thanked the government of India, particularly Swaraj for making her return possible and making her realise the value of her life.

'I am proud to be an Indian citizen. Sushma madam would call me every day to say we are fighting for you, you are our daughter, you are India's daughter,' she said, recounting the days she spent at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Uzma reached home on early Thursday, after the Islamabad High Court granted her the permission on the previous day.

Uzma's husband Tahir Ali, who belongs to Buner had 'forced' her to marry him at gunpoint and used to harass her.

Uzma had approached the Islamabad High Court on May 12 to provide security for her journey back to Delhi and to issue duplicate travel documents which were allegedly stolen by Tahir.

She revealed the physical and emotional trauma to the court which not only rescued her but also ordered the police to escort her up to Attari- Wagah border.

Despite having received an emotional setback in the name of love and marriage, Uzma's national and patriotic emotions were visible when she touched the ground with hands immediately after entering Indian territory.
US President Donald Trump as vowed to cut off international climate funding, and has already undercut domestic efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- the two main pillars of the Paris pact

At every stop in Donald Trump's whirlwind of summit meetings in Europe, the issue of climate change -- and the US president's threat to ditch the 196-nation Paris Agreement -- is never far from the surface.

Terrorism and trade may top the agendas, especially in the wake of Monday's Manchester massacre that left at least 22 dead.

But European leaders have promised to pressure Trump, an avowed sceptic, on the need to maintain a united front in the fight against global warming.

"I am still trying to convince the doubters," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday at informal 30-nation climate talks in Berlin, where China's climate tzar, Xie Zhenhua, also urged the United States to stay the course.

Newly minted French President Emmanuel Macron, on the eve of his May 7 victory, likewise vowed to "do everything possible" to keep the former reality TV star on board. Macron intended to press the climate case at a one-on-one "working luncheon" in Brussels on Thursday, an Elysee advisor told AFP.

Even Pope Francis made a point on Wednesday of giving Trump a copy of Laudato Si, the Pontiff's impassioned plea for preventing the planet from overheating.

Trump has said he will pass judgement on the landmark 2015 climate treaty -- which he trashed as a candidate -- upon returning to Washington. There are hints he may show his hand during Friday's G7 summit in Sicily, the last stop on his 10-day foreign foray.

Simply ignoring the topic at the rich-nation summit is not really an option, said David Waskow, a veteran climate analyst at the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

- Sign of disaccord -

"Climate change has been mentioned in every G7 and G8 outcome over the past 30 years, and over the past decade it has been a central part of every communique," Waskow told journalists in a briefing.

Global warming changing Antarctica new study shows

If climate change goes unmentioned, in other words, it would be an unmistakable sign of disaccord.

Any end-of-summit joint statement will probably seek to remain strategically vague, analysts said.

In their role as hosts, "the challenge for the Italians is to let the American president go away saying 'we didn't go any further,' and for the rest of the countries to be able to say 'we didn't go backwards'," said Tom Burke, Chairman of E3G, a London-based climate policy think tank.

If the US president is to be swayed, it may be pressure from business interests that makes the difference.

European leaders have promised to pressure US President Donald Trump, an avowed sceptic, on the need to maintain a united front in the fight against global warming

A host of metrics -- the stabilisation of CO2 emissions from energy production, investment in renewables outstripping fossil fuels -- point to a decisive shift in the global economy towards clean energy, and for many businesses the risk of getting left behind now outweighs the cost of joining in that transition.

Even big oil and coal have backed the Paris Agreement, which leaves room for technologies that would allow these industries to grow in a low-carbon economy.

A major report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released this week underscores that change.

"Far from being a dampener on growth, integrating climate action into growth policies can have a positive economic impact," said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria.

- Threat multiplier -

The report calculates that merging growth and climate agendas could add one percent to average economic output in G20 countries -- which account for 85 percent of global GDP, and 80 percent of CO2 emissions -- by 2021.

By mid-century, output could go up by 2.8 percent, the report finds. And if the benefits of avoiding impacts such as coastal flooding and sea level rise are factored in, the net increase in GDP would be nearly double that figure.

"The real world has already made up its mind," said Burke. "The flows of capital have made it clear that we are looking at a landscape of economic opportunity, not economic constraint."

Climate change has also emerged as a "threat multiplier" for illegal migration and terrorism, both key issues on the table as Trump met with NATO leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

New research, for example, is detailing how conflict and water shortages in the Middle East and north Africa -- with five percent of the world's population but less than one percent of its renewable water supply -- could trigger a mass exodus from affected areas.

No matter what Trump decides to do, the potential for disruption remains.

"Even if the US stays in the Paris Agreement, no one really knows what the administration's stance will be," said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington.

Trump has vowed to cut off international climate funding, and has already undercut domestic efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- the two main pillars of the Paris pact.
Armed police stand secure a street in central Manchester, on May 24, 2017

Libya is working closely with Britain to identify possible "terrorist networks" involved in the attack at a pop concert in Manchester, a senior Libyan official said Thursday.

"We are working closely and intensively with our British partners to probe possible terrorist networks and we have achieved important progress," deputy interior minister Abdelsalam Ashour told reporters.

Britain has named the suspected suicide bomber who killed 22 people in an attack on a Manchester concert Monday as Salman Abedi, who was born in Britain of Libyan origin.

Ashour, a member of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), said the interior ministry's Deterrence Force was in charge of the investigation but gave no further details.

"We have strong and close ties with our (British) friends," he told reporters, reading from a statement.

Libyan authorities have detained the alleged suicide bomber's father as well as a brother, sources in Libya have said.

Investigators in Britain were trying to track down a jihadist network suspected of having orchestrated the attack which also wounded dozens.

After arresting a 23-year-old man on Tuesday, British police said they had taken three more men into custody on Wednesday in south Manchester, where Abedi lived.

Monday's attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
The Iraqi Rapid Response Division is one of two special forces units at the forefront of the operation to recapture Mosul

Iraq is investigating a report that members of a special forces unit carried out torture, summary killings and rapes during the operation to retake Mosul, the interior ministry said Thursday.

The Islamic State jihadist group seized Mosul and swathes of other territory in 2014 in an offensive aided by widespread anti-government sentiment among Sunni Arabs angered by their political marginalisation and by security forces operating with impunity.

Abuses such as those described in the report in German magazine Der Spiegel that sparked the investigation could sow the seeds of future conflict even as security forces near the end of the battle for Mosul, IS's most emblematic stronghold.

"The Internal Affairs Directorate is carrying out the investigations and all the details will be announced upon completion," interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told AFP.

Maan said in an earlier statement that the interior minister had ordered an investigation into the veracity of the Der Spiegel report.

In the report, Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady -- who has left the country with his family -- said that Rapid Response Division officers and their men "torture, rape but also kill people", even when they had only "vague suspicious facts" about links to IS.

The Rapid Response Division is one of two special forces units at the forefront of the operation to recapture Mosul.

Arkady gave examples of people he said were tortured or killed, often including the victims' names, and said there was a "kind of contest" between the police and Rapid Response forces over rapes and murders.

He wrote that what he had initially envisioned as a positive story featuring two members of the Rapid Response force who were friends became something else after what he witnessed, and the article was headlined "Not Heroes, But Monsters."

The Rapid Response Division released a video aimed at refuting Arkady's reporting in which alleged victims speak on camera in the presence of an officer who the journalist had said was involved in abuses.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul in October, advancing to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.

More than seven months into the operation, IS now controls just a handful of areas around the Old City, a warren of narrow streets and closely spaced buildings that provides an ideal environment for the jihadists' defence.
North Korean soldiers march in village of Panmunjom on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea in November 2005. US lawmakers have submitted a bill to tightly restrict US travel to North Korea

US lawmakers submitted a bill Thursday to tightly restrict travel and ban tourism to North Korea, citing the risk that Pyongyang will arrest Americans for use as diplomatic "bargaining chips."

The "North Korea Travel Control Act" proposed by Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and Republican Joe Wilson would block all US tourist visits to the country and force other visitors to obtain permission via a US Treasury licensing system.

The move comes a tensions between the two countries continue to rise over Pyongyang's push to build a nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program capable of threatening the United States.

Multiple test missile launches, including one last Sunday, have increased calls for more sanctions pressure on the country.

"Tourist travel to North Korea does nothing but provide funds to a tyrannical regime -- that will in turn be used to develop weapons to threaten the United States and our allies," Wilson said in a statement.

"Worse, the regime has routinely imprisoned innocent foreign civilians and used them as bargaining chips to gain credibility with the West. We should not enable them any longer," he said.

They said at least 17 Americans have been detained in North Korea in the past decade, and that four are still imprisoned.

Pyongyang has been able to use some of those cases to get former top officials, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, to travel to the country to negotiate their releases.

According to media reports, several hundred Americans have visited North Korea as tourists each year in recent years, in addition to relief workers, religious groups, and others.

There are currently no restrictions on visits. By comparison, despite a warming of relations, the United States continues to ban outright tourism to Cuba and keeps in place a licensing regime for other travel, albeit one loosely enforced, under laws set by Congress.
US President Trump's envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt (L) meets with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 25, 2017

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Thursday that he had asked the United States to help end a weeks-long hunger strike by Palestinians held in Israeli jails, as the Red Cross warned the strikers were entering a "critical phase".

Hundreds of the prisoners have been refusing food since April 17 over conditions for about 6,500 Palestinian inmates.

Speaking to senior members of his Fatah party in Ramallah after meeting President Donald Trump's special representative Jason Greenblatt, Abbas said

he had spelt out his position to the envoy who would convey it to the Israelis.

"We have explained in detail to American envoy Jason Greenblatt the issue of the prisoner strike and we have called for American intervention to ensure that the rights of prisoners are protected and their humanitarian demands are granted," he said.

"We shall be in touch with him to give us the answer of the Israeli side," he said, adding he hoped to announce a response "in the evening or tomorrow".

Greenblatt is in Israel and the Palestinian territories to follow up on Trump's visit earlier in the week and to build on his plans for a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative, according to Israeli media.

The hunger strike is being led by prominent Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for murders committed during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

Among the strikers' demands are access to telephones, more family visits, improved medical care and an end to punitive solitary confinement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that its doctors who have been visiting the prisoners were concerned about "potential irreversible health consequences".

"From a medical standpoint, we are entering a critical phase," it added, urging the authorities on both sides to find a solution to the standoff.
Hamas police secure the area as an ambulance, reportedly carrying the bodies of men accused of assassinating one of its military leaders, leaves the main police building in Gaza City on May 25, 2017

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas executed three people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday over the assassination of one of its military leaders allegedly on behalf of Israel.

Two men were hanged to death in Gaza City over the killing of Mazen Faqha in March, while a third was executed by firing squad, said an AFP correspondent who attended the executions.

Hundreds of people were allowed to watch the executions, though the streets around the site were closed to the public.

One of those executed, Ashraf Abu Leila, was named as the alleged assassin while the other two men, who were not named, were convicted of assisting him.

The executions, which come only two weeks after the announcement of their arrests, were immediately condemned by human rights activists.

Human Rights Watch said the "rush" to kill the men "smacks of militia rule, not the rule of law".

Mazen Faqha was shot dead on March 24 near his house in Gaza City.

He had been in charge of forming cells for Hamas's military wing in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas immediately blamed its arch-enemy Israel, with which it has fought three wars since 2008, and implemented strict border restrictions on those seeking to leave the Palestinian enclave.
Members of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar, fire a tank during fighting against jihadists in Benghazi on May 20, 2017

Forces led by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar on Thursday seized control of the Tamenhant airbase in the south of the country from rival forces, a spokesman said.

"Our forces... took full control of Tamenhant airbase in the south of Libya," said Khalifa al-Obeidi, spokesman of Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.

An LNA officer, who declined to be named, said Haftar's forces had pounded the airbase on previous days and surrounded fighters from the Third Force militia.

Haftar's forces persuaded the fighters to evacuate the airbase, which they did, allowing the LNA to take over the facility without any resistance, said the officer.

The Third Force is loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord not recognised by the LNA.

Last week Third Force fighters attacked Brak al-Shati airbase, also in southern Libya, which is controlled by Haftar forces, killing 140 people, including civilians.

The attack was condemned by the United Nations, the European Union and the GNA.

The United Nations and Human Rights Watch said summary executions may have taken place at Brak al-Shati.

The unity government, the rival administration in eastern Libya and their respective backers are battling for influence in the North African country, which has been wracked by chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The LNA does not recognise the authority of the GNA, and instead supports the rival authorities based in the east.
A mughsot of death-rown inmate Tommy Arthur, facing his eight scheduled execution Thursday, courtesy of Alabama Department of Corrections

Tommy Arthur was executed late Thursday after his eighth, and final, rendezvous with the US state of Alabama's capital punishment system.

The 75-year-old was given a lethal injection after the US Supreme Court allowed the execution to proceed by denying the inmate's stay requests.

Arthur's death ends a legal saga spanning more than three decades in which he became known by some as the Houdini of death row, managing to evade his final sentence seven times.

He was first sentenced to death back in 1983 for a murder he denies committing. Since then, the southern US state has executed 58 people -- an end Arthur had until now dodged.

"Thomas Arthur's protracted attempt to escape justice is finally at an end," Alabama's Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement released following the execution.

In last-minute appeals Arthur's lawyers had challenged the injection method to be used on Thursday and asked that a cellphone be put in the death chamber in the event that something went awry -- requests the nation's highest court denied.

In her dissenting opinion Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted the risks of the lethal injection protocols, writing: "When Thomas Arthur enters the execution chamber tonight, he will leave his constitutional rights at the door."

- 'Houdini no more' -

His case had angered both opponents and supporters of the death sentence: the former saw his endless run-ins with execution as a form of psychological torture, while those who supported the sentence see Arthur and his legal team as constantly playing the system to cheat justice.

"Thomas Arthur is an escape artist," said Janette Grantham, director of the advocacy group Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL).

"He has used every trick in the books to manipulate the courts for over 34 years. He has used every trick possible to manipulate the public into believing he is innocent," she said.

"Hopefully Houdini's bag of tricks is empty and he is finally going down. No Houdini no more."

Arthur was found guilty of conspiring with his then-lover Judy Wicker to murder her husband Troy so that she could cash in on his life insurance. She was accused of paying Arthur $10,000 for the hit.

Arthur had already served five years for the 1977 murder of his sister-in-law and was out of jail on work release at the time. He admitted to the previous killing, which he says was an accident and blames on being drunk. But he has always denied murdering Wicker.

Prior to the execution Troy Wicker's niece had told Alabama media that the execution would give surviving family members closure after decades of pain.

"There are no words to describe the living hell that this has been for the Wicker family. We are hoping and praying that the execution is not delayed any further," Vicky Wilkerson told AL.com.

"Our family deserves closure and justice for the loss of (Wicker) and the nightmare that we have lived through," she said. "Tommy Arthur placed our family through a living hell for a pathetic $10,000 payout."
Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Lebanon's militant Shiite movement Hezbollah, gives a televised address from an undisclosed location in Lebanon

The head of Lebanese movement Hezbollah said Thursday he was unfazed by "threats" of attacks or fresh sanctions, days after US President Donald Trump slammed the group and its sponsor Iran.

On his visit to Riyadh last week, Trump blamed Iran for destabilising the Middle East and called for a crackdown on its allies, including Shiite movement Hezbollah.

But party chief Hassan Nasrallah struck a defiant tone on Thursday, saying Hezbollah was "not afraid of any war, sanctions, or intimidation in the media."

"Threats of killing or dying do not scare us... No one scares us at all. They are weaker than ever," Nasrallah said.

He spoke via video-link to hundreds of supporters gathered in the northeast Lebanese town of Hermel to commemorate the 17th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

But the border remains unstable, rocked by occasional skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Hezbollah and its sponsor Iran are also fiercely despised by Saudi Arabia -- which Trump chose as his first foreign destination since he took office.

During a joint summit there last weekend, the US leader pointed the finger at Iran for destabilising the region.

"From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms, and trains terrorists, militias, and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region," Trump said.

He called on all countries to work together to isolate Tehran "until the Iranian regime is willing to be a partner for peace".

Saudi's King Salman also lambasted the Iranian government as "the spearhead of global terrorism".

Ahead of the summit, Washington and Riyadh issued their first "joint terrorist designation" against a top Hezbollah official.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards created Hezbollah (Party of God) in the 1980s.

With political and military support from Iran, it remains the only side not to have put down weapons after Lebanon's civil war from 1975 to 1990.

The United States, Canada and Australia have listed Hezbollah as a "terrorist" group. The European Union has also blacklisted its military wing.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says medical facilities in war zones are increasingly being targeteds, like this one in Syria's Idlib province which was destroyed in April 2017 after a suspected chemical weapons attack

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that attacks on medical facilities are on the rise in war zones, and urged belligerents to do more to limit harm to civilians.

Guterres made the remarks at the opening of a UN Security Council session devoted to the protection of civilians during armed conflicts.

Citing the World Health Organization, he said there were attacks on hospitals, doctors, ambulances, and on the sick and wounded in at least 20 countries last year.

He singled out Syria and Afghanistan as countries where such attacks have risen sharply.

"These attacks are evidence of a broader trend: parties to conflict are treating hospitals and health clinics as targets, rather than respecting them as sanctuaries," he said.

In Syria, Physicians for Human Rights has documented 400 attacks on medical facilities since the conflict there began in 2011.

Guterres said more than half the country's medical facilities are closed or only partially functioning. Two-thirds of specialized medical personnel have fled the country.

A similar scenario he said is occurring in South Sudan, where less than half the medical facilities in areas affected by the conflict are operating.

"I urge parties to conflict to take concrete steps to limit harm to civilians in their military operations, as they are obliged to do under international law," Guterres said.

"And I call on all member states to use their influence to promote respect for international law and ensure accountability for violations," he said.

Countries supplying arms used in these conflicts, he said, should "show greater responsibility and consider the potential consequences of those sales, for human lives and for our common security."

Guterres also urged support for international efforts, including the International Criminal Court, to hold violators accountable.

Christine Beerli, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said attacks on medical facilities had been carried out by states as well as by armed groups.

Bruno Stagno Ugarte of Human Rights Watch said that in order to introduce more accountability for such attacks, the UN secretary general should "commit to alerting the Security Council of all future attacks on healthcare facilities on an ongoing rather than annual basis."

He said the UN should also gather more information about such attacks and push states to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Iraqis inspect the rubble of destroyed houses in the Mosul al-Jadida area, following air strikes in March 2017

A Pentagon investigation has concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-IS strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March, officials said Thursday, but they blamed the toll on a secondary explosion of jihadist munitions.

A US aircraft delivered a single precision-guided bomb into a building in west Mosul on March 17, with the aim of killing a pair of snipers on the second story of the structure in the al-Jadida neighborhood, which at the time was under Islamic State control.

But the bomb also caused a large cache of IS explosives to detonate, leading to the catastrophic collapse of the building that had civilians sheltering downstairs, officials said.

"The secondary explosion triggered a rapid failure of the structure which killed the two ISIS snipers, 101 civilians sheltered in the bottom floors of the structure and four civilians in the neighboring structure to the west," said US Air Force Brigadier General Matt Isler, the lead investigator.

Isler said another 36 civilians who are "believed to be connected" to the building remained unaccounted for, but they had likely fled the area shortly before the strike. He said he was "very confident" in the final toll.

It was the single deadliest incident for civilians stemming from a coalition strike since anti-IS operations in Iraq and Syria began nearly three years ago.

The United States had previously only acknowledged that it "probably" had a role in the civilian deaths.

The investigation comes amid broader claims that US forces under President Donald Trump are killing more civilians as the military fulfills a plan to "annihilate" the Islamic State group.

The Pentagon denies this and says its rules of engagement remain unchanged and insists its precision-targeting abilities are the best in the world.

- 'Defeat ISIS' -

Officials say the US takes every precaution to avoid hitting civilians, including by aborting missile strikes at the last moment if a civilian unexpectedly wanders into the target zone.

The battle for Mosul

"Our condolences go out to all those that were affected," said Major General Joe Martin.

"The coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat ISIS."

No condolence payments have been made, Isler said, though such a move has not been ruled out.

According to Isler, Iraqi counterterrorism service (CTS) troops had been moving into the al-Jadida neighborhood in west Mosul when they came under fire from the IS snipers.

Mosul was a former IS bastion but the jihadists now only control about 10 percent of the city.

Bad weather had kept surveillance drones from gathering video of the area for two days, and CTS and coalition forces -- not knowing civilians were in the building -- ultimately called in a strike, Isler said.

The precision-guided bomb selected -- a GBU-38 carrying 192 pounds of explosives -- was rigged to cause only localized damage to the building, but it ignited a large amount of ordnance which, unbeknownst to the coalition, IS fighters had previously placed inside.

"Post-blast analysis detected residues common to explosives used by ISIS, but not consistent with the explosive content of a GBU-38 munition," Central Command said in a statement.

"Engineering and weapons analysis indicates that the GBU-38 should have resulted in no more than 16-20 percent damage to the structure, localized to the front of the second floor."

Officials said IS may have deliberately rigged the building to explode and then used the snipers to intentionally provoke an air strike.

As of the most recent Centcom official tally, at least 352 civilians had been killed since the beginning of the bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria nearly three years ago.

Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,350 people have died in coalition strikes.
Manchester is home to the largest cluster of Libyans in Europe, numbering 21,000 according to British media

The terror attack in Manchester has thrown a spotlight on hardline Islamist exiles among opponents of former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi who live in the northwestern English city, experts said.

Manchester is home to the largest cluster of Libyans in Europe, numbering 21,000 according to British media.

The community became a hotbed of opposition to dictator Kadhafi, who was ousted in 2011.

It contains a diverse range of people from doctors to experienced members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which fought alongside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"If you were a Libyan living outside Libya, you were probably someone who was not very friendly to Kadhafi," Raffaello Pantucci, a specialist in British suburban terrorism, told AFP.

"Within that spectrum, you'd have everyone from secular nationalists to violent Islamists and jihadists," said Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute security think-tank in London.

"And because they are all fighting the same fight against the same regime, they tend to group together," he said, describing the overlapping circles between Libyan exiles, Libyan militant Islamist groups and other Islamic extremists.

- Britain 'paying the price' -

The LIFG was founded by Libyans who fought against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan and, back home, sought to overthrow Kadhafi and replace his regime with an Islamic one.

LIFG has been banned in Britain since 2005, meaning it is considered a terrorist organisation and it is an offence to be a member, support it or encourage support.

"In the case of the LIFG, quite a lot of them ended up coming to the UK, where they were taking advantage of the fact that the country has a fairly open approach to political dissidents," said Pantucci.

A police officer stands on duty outside the door of a raided residential property on Lindum Street in Moss Side, Manchester, on May 25, 2017

Monday's deadly attack on a pop concert was perpetrated by Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old born and raised in a Libyan family in the south of the city.

Abedi's father Ramadan was a member of LIFG who found refuge in Britain before returning to fight against Kadhafi in 2011, police in Tripoli told AFP. He is now in Libyan custody following the Manchester attack.

Pantucci said there was clearly a family environment where armed struggle was "fairly normalised".

Reda Fhelboom, a Libyan journalist who has spent many years living in Manchester, said Britain was paying an "entirely predictable" price for allowing Libyan Islamists into the country.

"Everyone knows that hundreds of extremists have taken refuge in Britain," he told AFP in Tripoli.

"For several years, Britain has protected hundreds of extremists who are wanted in their own countries.

"The attack carried out by a Libyan was entirely predictable. I was not surprised, because every day in Manchester I see Libyan extremists from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and others walking around at liberty.

"Britain has harboured extremists and now it is paying the price."

- Network of radicalisation -

Detectives are trying to work out where Abedi slotted in to the picture of radicalisation among the overlapping circles of allegiance in and around Manchester.

Libyan refugee Abdalraouf Abdallah, 23, was jailed for five and a half years in July 2016, having been convicted of trying to help other Manchester-based extremists to join the Islamic State jihadist group.

He lived in Moss Side in south Manchester, a short drive from the Abedi family home.

Members of the pubic interact with people at an Islam Against Extremeism information stall near the Arndale Centre in Manchester, northwest England on May 25, 2017

Meanwhile fellow Mancunian Raphael Hostey, who left Britain in 2013 and is believed to have been killed in a 2016 drone strike, is thought to have recruited several young Britons to fight for IS.

SkyNews cited counter-terrorism sources saying they had established a "significant connection" between Hostey and Abedi.

Salah Suhbi, an MP in Libya who grew up in Sheffield, northern England, said Manchester Libyans had grown increasingly concerned about radicalisation in the city.

"They know exactly what's happening, there's a recruitment policy, we've been warning about it for years," he told The Guardian newspaper.

"People have been talking about this for the past three or four years, how ruthless they (Islamist recruiters) are. These people are recruiting from the second and third generation Libyan Brits or Arab Brits."

Mohamed Fadil, spokesman for the Libyan community in Manchester, said they were shocked by Monday's attack but admitted there was a problem in their midst that needed to be dealt with.

"The community here, it's all working people, like doctors and researchers, just normal people," he told AFP.

"The Libyan community is not an environment for extremism," he insisted.

Fadil said the community met in the aftermath of the suicide attack to address the issue.

"The general consensus is there is a problem. Maybe we're not reaching out enough to our young people," he said.

"You'll see very active steps from the community in the very near future: more activities and more involvement."
Raids by federal agents resulted in arrests of nearly 200 people in southern California amid a continuing crackdown on illegal immigrants

Nearly 200 people have been arrested by federal agents in southern California as part of a five-day operation targeting immigrants convicted of crimes or in the country illegally, officials said Thursday.

The crackdown, which ended Wednesday and was spearheaded by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), focused on people with prior criminal offenses including for drug trafficking, rape and domestic violence, authorities said.

"Operations like this are emblematic of the vital work ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers do every day, seeking to locate, arrest, and ultimately deport at-large convicted criminals and other immigration fugitives who pose a threat to public safety," David Marin, the ERO director in Los Angeles, said in a statement.

"By taking these individuals off the streets and removing them from the country, were making our communities safer for everyone," he added.

The raids took place amid a surge in such operations since President Donald Trump took office in January vowing to deport as many as three million undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

A similar large-scale crackdown in February in at least half a dozen states netted hundreds of undocumented immigrants including some without criminal records, prompting an uproar among rights groups.

Authorities said the latest crackdown led to the arrest of a 29-year-old Salvadoran national convicted of rape in California and a previously deported 51-year-old Mexican man who had been convicted of cocaine trafficking.

More than two dozen of those arrested also had been convicted of domestic violence and driving under the influence.

The suspects -- 177 men and 11 women -- included nationals from 11 countries.

The majority -- 146 -- are from Mexico while two are from Russia and one from Cambodia.

Most of the arrests took place in the Los Angeles area.

According to federal authorities, more than 41,000 people have been arrested by ICE since Trump signed an executive order in January strengthening immigration enforcement policies.

The number represents a 40 percent increase over the same period in 2016.
People protest outside the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, Washington on May 15, 2017

A US federal appeals court on Thursday dealt a fresh setback to President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, upholding a lower court's decision to block the measure targeting travelers from six Muslim majority countries.

The government quickly announced its intention to appeal the decision -- the latest in a series of stinging judicial defeats for the Republican billionaire, who took office in January -- to the Supreme Court.

At issue was the intent behind the measure -- whether or not it deliberately singled out Muslims by targeting nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The US Constitution forbids religious discrimination.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said it "remained unconvinced" that the part of the measure naming the specific countries had "more to do with national security than it does with effectuating the president's promised Muslim ban."

The court -- based in Richmond, Virginia -- said it could not find that the government's security concerns outweighed the plaintiffs' concerns about discrimination.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute," Chief Judge Roger Gregory said in the 10-3 ruling.

"It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation."

Gregory said the order "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions countered that the court's move "blocks the president's efforts to strengthen this country's national security."

"This Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the power and duty of the executive branch to protect the people of this country from danger, and will seek review of this case in the United States Supreme Court," he said.

- 'We won' -

Trump issued his initial travel ban by executive order in January, but that measure -- which banned entry to nationals from seven countries for 90 days and suspended the nation's refugee program for 120 days -- was quickly halted by the courts.

Attorneys for the ACLU, Omar Jadwat (L) and Justin Cox (R) deliver remarks to the media outside US District Court, Southern District of Maryland in March 2017, in Greenbelt, Maryland

A revised executive order announced in March, meant to address the issues raised by the federal judges, deleted Iraq from the list and removed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees.

It earned widespread scorn nevertheless, including from human rights activists and states led by Democrats.

A district court judge in Maryland issued a nationwide block on the ban's core provision concerning travel from the short list of countries, sending the issue to the Fourth Circuit.

Given the case's high-profile nature, the full appeals court in Richmond heard the arguments -- bypassing the usual initial three-judge panel -- for the first time in a quarter-century.

Thirteen of the court's 15 active judges took part. Two recused themselves over potential conflicts of interest.

In a May 8 hearing, acting solicitor general Jeffrey Wall, representing the government, insisted that Trump "never intended for that to discriminate on the basis of any particular religion."

"He made clear he was not talking about Muslims all over the world," he said. "That's why it's not a Muslim ban."

But Omar Jadwat, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union -- which represented the associations who were the plaintiffs in the case -- argued that Trump the candidate made clear he wanted to ban all Muslims for a time while studying enhanced immigration vetting.

"We won," the ACLU and Jadwat tweeted Thursday.

"The Constitution's prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the government's request to set that principle aside," Jadwat said.

A federal court in Hawaii has issued a broader injunction that halted both the travel ban and the suspension of the US refugee admissions program.

The White House is fighting that ruling in the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, which heard the case on May 15. A decision is pending.
Smoke billows from buildings in the residential district of Gandoufa, in southwestern Benghazi, during clashes between Islamic State group's jihadists and the Libyan National Army

Feeding on the chaos that has gripped Libya since the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, jihadists have used the country to recruit and export militants.

Salman Abedi, the man suspected of carrying out the attack on a pop concert in Manchester that killed 22 people and wounded dozens, was born in Britain but visited Libya before the bombing that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

- Rebellion to jihad -

At the start of the uprising against Kadhafi, dozens of Libyans who lived abroad travelled home to take up arms alongside other Muslim extremists against the veteran strongman.

They were supplied weapons by Western countries and fought the regime as NATO warplanes provided them with air cover.

Post-Kadhadi Libya quickly turned into a breeding ground for heavily armed groups, including Islamists, some of whom were paid by transitional authorities to secure the country's borders.

Among them was the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia which wooed jihadists and slowly spread its presence from Libya's second city Benghazi to Derna in the east.

Ansar al-Sharia was also present in Sirte, Kadhafi's hometown which was the Islamic State group controlled for more than a year before they were routed by Libyan pro-government forces late last year.

The Islamists who fought Kadhafi controlled army barracks and installations in the east and south of the country after his demise and transformed them into training camps.

Hundreds of jihadists were trained to fight in Iraq and Syria.

- Military and ideology -

The recruits first received ideological guidance and then military training, experts say.

Thanks to Libya's long and porous borders with Egypt and Tunisia, networks were able to radicalise, train and send fighters to battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

Foreign jihadists flooded Libya to prepare for battle.

Some joined Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate now known as Fateh al-Sham, while others joined ranks with its rival the Islamic State group.

As IS faced repeated setbacks in Syria and Iraq at the hands of the US-led international coalition, some fighters returned to Libya.

- IS still active -

Despite losing Sirte to pro-government forces in December, IS continues to be active in Libya, particularly in the country's remote south and in the east.

According to analysts, IS diehards in Libya consist of fighters from many nationalities.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Manchester bombing suspect Abedi could have been trained in an IS camp before the jihadists were routed from Sirte.

The Washington Institute think-tank says that "previously, most of the foreign fighters travelling to Libya hailed from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, and Tunisia.

"Yet once IS became the main recruiter there, individuals from Europe, North America, South Asia, and other parts of the Middle East and Africa began to show up as well."

Although the Islamic State group claimed the Manchester bombing there has been no confirmation it was behind the attack.

"If the Manchester attack is definitively tied to IS cells in Libya, it would show that the group can still be a lethal actor even without holding territory there," said the Washington Institute.
US-led coalition air strikes have killed at least 106 civilians, including 42 children, in an eastern Syrian town held by the Islamic State group, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes on Thursday hit a series of residential buildings in Mayadeen, a town in Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

'Among the dead are at least 26 relatives of IS fighters, many of them women and children, including Syrians and Moroccans,' said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The US-led air campaign against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria began on September 23, 2014

'The other nine are Syrian civilians and include five children,' Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Thursday's toll brought the known deaths from two days of coalition bombing raids on Mayadeen to 50, the Observatory said, after 15 people were killed in US-led strikes on the town on Wednesday.

The UK-based monitor this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition since it began bombing Syria on September 23, 2014.

Between April 23 and May 23 of this year, coalition strikes killed a total of 225 civilians in Syria, the Observatory said.

The international alliance is providing air cover for twin offensives on IS's remaining bastion cities: Raqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq.

On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-jihadist air strike on an IS weapons cache in Mosul in March.

Prior to the new revelation, the US military had said coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria had 'unintentionally' killed a total of 352 civilians since 2014.

US forces were accused of killing at least 40 civilians by dropping a bomb on a Syrian mosque in western Aleppo in April. which they reportedly believed was an Al Qaeda meeting. Pictured, volunteers sorting through the rubble after the reported airstrike

Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks non-combatant deaths in Iraq and Syria, estimated earlier this week that as many as 366 civilians were killed in Iraq and Syria in April alone.

It said it had seen civilian fatalities surge since US President Donald Trump came to power and gave greater leeway to battlefield commanders.

Airwars' figure and its claim that fatalities had risen under Trump were denied by Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command.

The US military insists that its precision targeting abilities are the best in the world and that it takes every measure to avoid hitting civilians, including by aborting missile strikes at the last moment if a civilian unexpectedly wanders into the target zone.

More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced since Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man acted strangely long before he caused a disturbance on a plane that prompted fighter jets to accompany it to Hawaii, but a lack of communication and an airline's hesitancy to be caught on video booting a passenger could have played a role in allowing him to fly, experts say.

Anil Uskanli, 25, of Turkey, had purchased a ticket at an airline counter in the middle of the night with no luggage and had been arrested after opening a door to a restricted airfield at Los Angeles International Airport. Airport police did not notify the airline, but they said it isn't common practice.

After bizarre behavior on board Friday, including trying to get to the front of the jet, he was arrested by FBI agents and charged with interfering with a flight crew.

FILE- In this file photo provided by Donna Basden, a man is escorted off an American Airlines flight after it landed in Honolulu, Friday, May 19, 2017. Court records say the man who caused a disturbance on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu had no luggage other than a laptop and needed a wheelchair to board the plane because he appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.(Donna Basden via AP, File)

A federal judge on Monday ordered him to undergo a mental competency evaluation, which Uskanli's attorney said he requested based on conversations with his client that he would not detail.

The first alarm should have been Uskanli buying his ticket around midnight with no bags other than a laptop, a phone and items in his pocket, said Doron Pely, a director at TAL Global, an international security consulting firm focusing on aviation security.

"Right there, that's enough red flags to really look into this guy with curiosity," Pely said. "He had trouble written all over him."

But Uskanli went through a security screening without raising suspicion and only drew the attention when he opened a door leading to an airfield ramp around 2:45 a.m.

Airport police said he smelled of alcohol but was not intoxicated enough to be charged with public drunkenness, so he was given a summons to appear in court and released.

Police said officers confiscated his boarding pass and walked him to a public area of the airport. He got another boarding pass and went through security again.

It isn't uncommon for people to open doors to restricted areas, airport police spokesman Rob Pedregon said, and Uskanli said he was looking for food when he was stopped by officers.

"Had it not been serious, it would have been comical," Pely said. "How many times do passengers go back to the check-in counter and say, 'Police confiscated my boarding pass. Can you please reissue a boarding pass for me?'"

Uskanli went to a different airport terminal, requested a wheelchair and was brought to the gate, American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said. Flight attendants helped Uskanli at the door of the plane, authorities said.

Before takeoff, he sat in first-class and had to be asked several times to move to his economy seat, according to a criminal complaint.

"This is a situation where red flags were not accumulating properly because they were not transferred," Pely said. "If you see one red flag, you may let it go, but if you see three red flags and you let it go, you should be let go."

Airline employees may have been worried about preventing Uskanli from flying because of recent viral videos of flight crews ejecting passengers and may have been more tolerant of his behavior because they didn't know about his airport arrest, he said.

During the six-hour flight, Uskanli had his head swathed in a blanket and passengers said he pounded on walls after someone opened the restroom door he had left unlocked.

He tried to get to the front of the plane, and a flight attendant used a drink cart to block Uskanli. He placed his laptop on the cart, and flight attendants feared it might contain explosives.

That prompted the captain to initiate bomb-threat procedures, and fighter jets escorted the plane to Honolulu. The secretary of Homeland Security was briefed.

Police, TSA and the airline should have been communicating more efficiently, said Richard Bloom, a security expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

"The end result was an incredible cost. If you add up the delays and the jet scrambling, etc., a lot of money was expended on him, a lot of emotions, a lot of people felt uncomfortable," Pely said.

Uskanli's urine test revealed the presence benzodiazepine, a tranquilizer, and a field sobriety test indicated possible use of stimulants or cannabis, authorities said.

Jeffrey Price, an aviation security professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the recent spate of online videos showing airlines mistreating customers may have played a role, making airline employees less likely to confront a passenger or eject Uskanli from the plane.

"There is probably some hesitancy, a little more tolerance even, of passenger behavior," he said. "Nobody wants to be the next YouTube star."

___

Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu and AP Airlines Writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Pely's first name is Doron, not Doren.
NEW YORK (AP) - Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93.

Merrill, raised in part on the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida now owned by President Donald Trump, died Monday, according to a family spokeswoman. The cause of death and other details were not immediately available Tuesday.

Starting in the 1950s, Merrill appeared in more than 100 films and television programs, her break coming after Katharine Hepburn recommended her for the 1957 Tracy-Hepburn comedy "The Desk Set." Merrill, who had the poised, aristocratic beauty of fellow blonde Grace Kelly, co-starred with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in "Operation Petticoat," Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr in "The Sundowners" and Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor in "Butterfield 8." More recently, she was part of Robert Altman's ensemble cast for the Hollywood satire "The Player" and in television programs such as "Murder, She Wrote" and "The Nanny."

FILE - In this April 6, 1962 file photo, socialite-actress Dina Merrill models the gown she will wear at the Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles. Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become an actress, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at age 93. (AP Photo/Harold P. Matosian, File)

But becoming an actress was not considered proper for someone of Merrill's privileged status. Her mother was Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune and one of the nation's richest women. Her father was E.F. Hutton, founder of the stockbroker firm that bore his name. Heiress Barbara Hutton was a cousin.

"Mother was politically and diplomatically and every which way well connected," Merrill remarked in 2000, "but she didn't know anyone in show business. Of course my parents' eyebrows shot up when I said I wanted to be an actress. And I guess they said, really between themselves, 'Let the dear girl try and fall on her face.'"

Merrill left George Washington University after a year to enroll at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. During the summer she worked at a regional theater where she painted scenery, sewed costumes and played occasional small roles.

She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with "The Mermaids Singing" and followed with "George Washington Slept Here" and off-Broadway plays. She quit acting in 1946, partly because of her mother's pressure.

"My mother brainwashed me," she said. "I turned down my career to marry my Marine."

He was Stanley Rumbough Jr., heir to a Colgate fortune who had been serving as a White House aide. After his Marine Corps' service he became head of the Metal Containers Corp. and a company that made pari-mutuel betting machines. The couple had three children - Stanley, David and Nina. After the birth of her daughter, Merrill resumed her acting and modeling career and was invited to Hollywood by Dick Powell for appearances in his television series.

Merrill and Rumbough divorced in 1966, the same year she married actor Cliff Robertson. As a result, her name was dropped from the snobbish Social Register, which excluded actors.

"I was thrilled when they dropped me," she said in 1983. "I was particularly thrilled because (Robertson) was furious. He wanted to be in the Social Register."

Merrill and Robertson had a daughter, Heather, but divorced in 1989. In the same year she married Ted Hartley, a former pilot and actor turned investment banker.

With other investors, Hartley and Merrill in 1989 acquired RKO Pictures, the onetime major Hollywood studio that had been moribund for many years. The major asset was remake rights to RKO movies, and the revived company put together a 1998 version of the 1949 movie "Mighty Joe Young."

She was born Nedenia Hutton in New York City, and was drawn to the acting life at age 8, when she played an Indian in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta at Greenvale School. She grew up in lavish surroundings, particularly Mar-a-Lago, her parents' 118-room Mediterranean-Moorish estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The property was later purchased by Trump, who as president has made Mar-a-Lago an unofficial weekend White House.

When Hutton began her acting career, she chose to call herself Dina Merrill, a combination of her and a brother-in-law's names.

"I didn't want to trade on the Hutton name," she explained. "I always wanted to make it on my own."

In becoming a businesswoman, Merrill was emulating her mother, who in the 1920s had helped build her late father's cereal business into the giant General Foods Corp. Her fortune was estimated at more than $250 million when she died in 1973 at age 86. Most of her estate went to Merrill and her two sisters.

Merrill was involved in numerous charitable and artistic causes. Her son David's diabetes inspired her to establish the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. She chaired the New York City Mission Society, which supports young people living in poverty. She was a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and served on the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Merrill had few acting credits in recent years, but never regretted her career.

"I loved the make-believe," she commented in 1993, "and I still do. I love the part about it where you can be somebody else, and not be you all the time. It's interesting to lead other people lives."

___

The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report.

FILe - In this March 17, 2008 file photo, actress Dina Merrill attends the 4th Annual Stella by Starlight benefit in New York. Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become an actress, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at age 93. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

FILE - In this April 18, 2005 file photo, actress Dina Merrill arrives to the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Tribute to Dustin Hoffman in New York. Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become an actress, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at age 93. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, File)

FILE - In this April 6, 1962 file photo, socialite-actress Dina Merrill models the gown she will wear at the Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles. Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become an actress, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at age 93. (AP Photo/Harold P. Matosian, File)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazilian President Michel Temer has been fighting to save his job since last week's release of a recording that appeared to capture him endorsing hush money for an ex-lawmaker now serving a 15-year prison sentence. The allegation is the latest fallout from a mammoth investigation into billions of dollars in kickbacks and illegal campaign financing.

HOW DID IT START?

Launched in March 2014, the "Car Wash" probe began as an investigation into money laundering in the southwestern state of Parana. Investigators realized it was much bigger than just a few bad actors when they discovered that convicted money launderer Alberto Youssef had bought a Range Rover for Paulo Roberto Costa, a former executive at Petrobras, the state oil company. Yousseff and Costa would reach plea bargains that provided a window into the immensity of the graft.

Demonstrators shout slogans and carry poster written in Portuguese that read "Temer Out" in front of the Planalto Presidential Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, May 22, 2017. Embattled Brazilian President Michel Temer is rejecting growing calls for him to resign over a corruption scandal. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

HOW DID THE SCHEME WORK?

Executives of major construction companies such as Odebrecht, OAS and Andrade Gutierrez effectively formed a cartel that decided which firms would be awarded Petrobras contracts, often worth billions of dollars, and how inflated they would be. The padded prices were used to pay off scores of politicians and executives.

WHO HAS BEEN CAUGHT?

The dozens of top businessmen and politicians who have been convicted or are being investigated is a who's who of Brazil's elite. Among them are former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht and ex-House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, both serving long prison sentences. Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is facing charges in several related cases.

HOW IS TEMER CONNECTED?

Joesley Batista, chairman of meat-packing company JBS, was being investigated since last year for allegedly bribing Cunha. During a meeting with Temer, Batista told Temer about the bribing and Temer told him to keep it up, according to the recording. The allegations against Temer go beyond the audio. He has been accused in plea bargains by Odebrecht executives of taking bribes and illegal campaign financing. Attorney General Rodrigo Janot is also investigating Temer for allegedly trying to impede Car Wash investigations through changes in laws and influencing police investigations.

CONNECTIONS OUTSIDE BRAZIL?

The initial investigation has mushroomed into related probes across Brazil and abroad because companies like Odebrecht operated across Latin America. Fallout from the probe is starting to affect several nations, including Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina and the Dominican Republic.

WHY NOW?

Graft has long been part of doing business in Brazil, and historically the elite have operated with impunity. Previous corruption investigations, including into Odebrecht, have ended with prosecution of a few lower-level people. This time it is different, thanks to several factors: a young and crusading group of prosecutors and judges, plea bargains that have helped investigators uncover white-collar crimes normally hard to prove and the practice of keeping defendants in jail while they await trial.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, coordinator of the Car Wash task force in the state of Parana, told The Associated Press in late January that plea bargains could more than double the size of the investigation. The last few months have made clear that there is no end in sight.

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Follow Peter Prengaman at twitter.com/peterprengaman

Demonstrators march against Brazil's President Michel Temer, holding banners that reads in Portuguese "Temer Out", in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, May 21, 2017. Temer has been under siege since the newspaper O Globo reported last week that he was recorded endorsing hush money for a former lawmaker who has been jailed for graft. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
BANGOR, Maine (AP) - Horror author Stephen King says Islamic State is a "rogue cult" and that the group's bombings will eventually lead to its undoing.

King made the comments via his Twitter account on Tuesday morning in the aftermath of a suicide bombing attack at an Ariana Grande show on Monday night that left 22 people dead in Manchester, England.

King's tweet says Islamic State "has substituted superstition and murder for spirituality" and "every bombing hastens the day when they will be no more."

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2013 file photo, author Stephen King poses for the cameras, during a promotional tour in Paris. King wrote on Twitter on May 23, 2017, that Islamic State is a "rogue cult" and that the group's bombings will eventually lead to its undoing. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

The United States' top intelligence official said Tuesday morning that the U.S. government had not yet verified that the Islamic State group is responsible for the bombing. The group has said one of its members planted the bomb.
MIAMI (AP) - A defense attorney says a plea agreement is near for a man accused of plotting to bomb a South Florida synagogue and Jewish school in support of the Islamic State extremist group.

The attorney for 41-year-old James Medina said in court papers filed Tuesday that negotiations with prosecutors on a proposed guilty plea are nearly complete. Medina previously pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and to damage religious property.

The FBI says Medina plotted with an undercover informant to bomb the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center in April 2016 during Passover. Medina was arrested after the informant provided him with a real-looking dummy bomb.

FBI recordings show Medina allegedly supported the Islamic State group and claimed an obligation to attack Jews in the U.S.
BRUSSELS (AP) - NATO is not only rolling out the red carpet for President Donald Trump in Brussels Thursday, the military alliance - which Trump once declared obsolete - has been busy repackaging its image and is ready to unveil a new headquarters worth more than 1 billion euros.

In recent months, member nations have strained to show they are ramping up defense spending as Trump has demanded, even though they have been doing so for a few years in response to an aggressive Russia. And while they agree with the chief of the alliance's most powerful member that NATO can do more to fight terrorism, they say it can be achieved with more of the same; training and mentoring troops in Afghanistan, and equipping local forces in Iraq so they can better fight the Islamic State group themselves.

"They'll only talk about what he cares about, so really he should come out of this meeting feeling as though NATO responds to him," said Kristine Berzina, NATO analyst at the German Marshall Fund think tank. "At least that's what they hope here."

US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive at Fiumicino's Leonardo Da Vinci International airport, near Rome, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Trump is in Italy for a two day visit, including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, ahead of his participation in a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Indeed, the NATO leaders will agree to join the 68-nation international coalition fighting IS, after Germany and France were no longer raising any objections about announcing the decision on Thursday.

The move is symbolically important, especially since the group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

An anti-terror coordinator may also be named, but most changes will be cosmetic, as NATO allies have no intention of going to war against IS.

"It's totally out of the question for NATO to engage in any combat operations," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday, on the eve of the meeting.

The 28 member nations, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, will renew an old vow to move toward spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Still, many are skeptical about this arbitrary bottom line that takes no account of effective military spending where it's needed most. Germany would have to virtually double its military budget and spend more than Russia.

Putting some meat on the pledge, the leaders will agree to prepare action plans by the end of the year, plotting how to reach 2 percent over the next seven years, and show how they will use the money and contribute troops to NATO operations.

Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.

"It's not fair that we're paying close to 4 percent and other countries that are more directly affected are paying 1 percent when they're supposed to be paying 2 percent," Trump told the Associated Press in an interview last month.

Tomas Valasek from the Carnegie Europe think tank says the president's demands on overdue debts have shaken up the other allies.

"Trump has challenged the idea that active engagement in Europe is a core U.S. interest," Valasek said. "He appears to regard all foreign relations as zero-sum transactions, in which each contribution to someone else's security represents a net loss to the United States."

The Europeans, Valasek said, should respond in two ways: "In the short term, focus on preventing the president from abandoning the alliance and, in the long term, prepare to assume a bigger role in defending the European continent."

The short working-dinner meeting will be high on symbolism. At the entry to the new premises - a village-sized complex that should be in full use early next year - Trump and Stoltenberg will unveil a piece of the World Trade Center.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, NATO activated its collective defense clause for the first and only time, with member nations pledging to help their beleaguered ally.

Stoltenberg and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also unveil a part of the Berlin Wall that once divided East and West Germany.

But the ceremonies and symbolism will do little to hide the divisions running through NATO. Trump wants more from the alliance, while countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia want iron-clad assurances that they won't be left alone should Russia cross their borders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, has purged around 11,000 military personnel from its armed forces since last July's thwarted coup. Hundreds of western-educated senior officers were removed from posts at NATO, severely weakening the army.

Yet it's a subject that is almost taboo at NATO headquarters; a national affair to be dealt with internally.

Tensions have also mounted between Erdogan and Merkel since Germany offered asylum to some of the officers. Belgium has publicly warned against any pro-Erdogan rallies during his visit.

Outside the heavily guarded security perimeter near the city's airport and in downtown Brussels, peace groups have planned rallies of their own.

But, as the Manchester bombing remains fresh in mind, Belgium will remain on security Level 3 - meaning that the threat of an extremist attack "is possible and likely" - as it has since the suicide-bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and subway killed 32 people last year.

___

Raf Casert contributed to this report.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. NATO will host a Heads of State summit in Brussels on Thursday. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. NATO will host a Heads of State summit in Brussels on Thursday. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Eight Kenyan police officers were killed when their vehicles ran over improvised bombs in two separate incidents near the border with Somalia, officials said Wednesday.

The dead included a personal bodyguard for a local governor whose convoy was targeted in what officials said was the seventh assassination attempt on the governor's life.

The deaths came a day after Kenya's police chief Joseph Boinnet announced that al-Shabab extremists based in Somalia were stepping up attacks inside the country. He said al-Shabab is under pressure from African Union troops supporting Somalia's government, which recently declared a new offensive against the extremist group.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks on the governor's convoy and said seven Kenyan police officers were killed, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist groups.

In the first incident, a police vehicle heading toward the border town of Liboi was blown apart by an improvised explosive device, North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh said.

Later Wednesday, the governor of Mandera County, Ali Roba, said in a Facebook posting that five members of his security detail were killed when their vehicle was struck by a bomb. The dead included his personal bodyguard.

Two other officers were injured in the attacks.

The Council of Governors said it was the seventh attempt to kill Roba in a span of three years. Governor Joseph Nanok, the council's chairman, called on the interior ministry to take the attempted assassinations and deaths of residents in Mandera from al-Shabab attacks seriously.

Local reporter Manase Otsialo, who was in the governor's convoy, said the vehicle in which the governor was riding was behind the one that was blown up.

Al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the first attack in a report by its news agency, saying it had killed at least five Kenyan police officers, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremists.

In the last two weeks, attacks by al-Shabab in Kenya's Garissa and Mandera counties have increased after a lull. Last week, an improvised bomb killed four people in a vehicle, including a child.

Mandera County has been hardest hit in recent years by an al-Shabab campaign to avenge Kenyan troop presence in Somalia since 2011. Kenya's troops are part of the AU force there.

Kenya has managed to stop the frequency of al-Shabab attacks in its capital, Nairobi, and major towns, but human rights groups say the government uses methods such as extrajudicial killings that can fuel revenge attacks.
ROME (AP) - Ivanka Trump met Wednesday with a group of African women in Rome who were trafficked into prostitution rings, a private encounter said to have moved her to tears.

Trump visited the Rome headquarters of the Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic humanitarian organization that serves the poor, the elderly and migrants, after a morning visit to the Vatican.

Sant'Egidio official Daniela Pompei said the closed-door encounter lasted 40 minutes and Trump asked the 10 African women for suggestions on what the U.S. government, led by her father, President Donald Trump, can do to help others like them.

Ivanka Trump leaves after her visit to the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Trump, who serves as adviser to her father, "listened very carefully to all the stories, but she also asked some questions," Pompei said after their guest had departed. Trump and others who heard the accounts "were moved to tears."

"She asked what could be done on a government and legislative level, but also what could be done to stop human trafficking, especially of women," Pompei said.

Trump told reporters before the meeting she was eager to meet these "remarkable women, who are testament to strength, faith, perseverance in the face of unspeakable adversity and challenge."

Ivanka Trump has held meetings at the White House on human trafficking.

The women she met with Wednesday, most of them from Nigeria, have been freed from their traffickers. Some of them praised an Italian law that allows trafficked persons to receive residency permits if they denounce their traffickers and cooperate with investigative authorities, Sant'Egidio officials said.

Some of the prostitution rings operating in Italy are run by Nigerians or people of other nationalities, and officials noted that many of these women were sold from ring to ring, like slaves.

The officials said Ivanka Trump was keenly interested to learn about the law.

Pompei said Trump also told the women that Pope Francis "is an advocate for your stories" of suffering, referring to the pontiff's oft-made appeals to nations to do more to fight human traffickers.

Later, Ivanka Trump tweeted she was "inspired to visit Sant'Egidio and learn about their remarkable work with survivals of human trafficking and with those still suffering."

In the evening, the news service of the pontifical academies of sciences and social sciences tweeted that in a visit to the Vatican institution, Ivanka Trump signed a declaration from the pope and other religious leaders affirming in God's name that human trafficking is a crime against humanity.

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Frances D'Emilio can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio

Ivanka Trump sits prior to deliver her speech at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Ivanka Trump sits prior to deliver her speech at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Ivanka Trump looks up during her visit to the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Ivanka Trump arrives at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Ivanka Trump waves as she arrives at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Ivanka Trump waves as she arrives at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Ivanka Trump, center left, shakes hands with Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Catholic group Sant' Egidio, where she delivered her speech, in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Yara Nardi/Pool Photo via AP)

Ivanka Trump, right, is flanked by Marco Impagliazzo, left, and Andrea Riccardi, respectively director and founder of the Catholic group Sant' Egidio, as she arrives to talk about human trafficking, in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Ivanka Trump waves as she arrives at the Catholic group Sant' Egidio to talk about human trafficking, in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
PRAGUE (AP) - The Czech Republic's president has fired Finance Minister Andrej Babis and appointed his replacement, a move that ends the country's political crisis.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka requested that President Milos Zeman fire Babis, one of the richest men in the country, over unexplained business dealings.

Babis denied wrongdoing and initially said he wouldn't resign. Zeman initially refused to fire him, saying he considered Babis a successful minister.

But in an effort to solve the crisis, Babis backtracked and himself proposed Ivan Pilny, the former head of Microsoft's operations in the Czech Republic, as a replacement. Zeman appointed him Wednesday.

Pilny is a member of Babis' ANO centrist movement that is favored to win an October parliamentary election well ahead of Sobotka's leftist Social Democrats.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Officials in Puerto Rico have indefinitely suspended a mayor accused of sexually harassing a policewoman who filed a complaint against him.

The Independent Special Prosecutor Office said Wednesday that Hector O'Neill also must turn over any government property including cars and cellphones.

Authorities say they also are investigating claims that O'Neill paid nearly half a million dollars to the police officer and her boyfriend.

O'Neill has refused to resign as requested by Puerto Rico's governor and rejects the allegations. He has said the case has been privately resolved and that no public funds were used.

O'Neill has been mayor of the wealthy city of Guaynabo located just southwest of the capital for more than two decades.
LONDON (AP) - Britain's home secretary criticized U.S. officials on Wednesday for leaking sensitive information about the inquiry into the extremist attack that killed 22 people at a Manchester concert arena.

Amber Rudd told Sky News that U.S. officials provided information to the news media that Britain preferred to keep confidential for reasons of operational security. Britain has raised its official terror threat to "critical" - meaning it is likely an attack is imminent - and is trying to uncover a suspected extremist network before it strikes again.

Rudd said the "element of surprise" in the police and security service measures could be compromised by information being released too quickly. Rudd said she had complained to U.S. officials to make sure the flow of information is staunched.

Police forensic investigators search the property of Salmon Abedi in connection with the explosion that took place at the Manchester Arena, in Greater Manchester, England, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Official records show that Salmon Abedi was registered as living at the Manchester house raided by armed police investigating Monday night's deadly concert blast. The electoral register shows that Abedi - named by U.S. officials as the suspect in the suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert - lived at the house in Fallowfield in southern Manchester where police carried out a controlled explosion Tuesday. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

British officials hadn't, for example, released the name of the bomber until it surfaced in the U.S. media based on leaks from U.S. officials briefed by their British counterparts. Other details also surfaced first because of leaks in Washington.

It comes at a time when European security officials have expressed concern about sharing intelligence with the U.S. after President Donald Trump discussed highly classified intelligence about the Islamic State group with senior Russian officials visiting the White House.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, told reporters Wednesday he understands the concern about U.S. leaks possibly harming the U.K. police operation.

"If that's something that we did, I think that's a real problem," he said. "If we gave up information that has interfered in any way with their investigation because it tipped off people in Britain - perhaps associates of this person that we identified as the bomber - then that's a real problem and they have every right to be furious."

He said, however, that even if U.S. intelligence sources shared vital information with the media, it likely would not affect the strong intelligence sharing relationship between the U.S. and Britain because it helps both countries.

A European security official said "having a U.S. leak when the situation has developed in the U.K. is nothing new.

"Historically, and nearly philosophically, the U.S. and U.K. intel services follow different paths," the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak about the investigation. "The U.S. have adopted a "zero risk" approach meaning that the U.S. services have a much shorter trigger when it comes to stop an ongoing operation. The U.K. services play it totally differently."

This was highlighted in the 2006 trans-Atlantic liquid bomb plot. Americans wanted to pounce to quickly stop the plot whereas British authorities were trying to better determine the suspects' capability and wider terror connections, according to two British officials who worked on the case at the time.

U.S. Homeland Security Department spokesman David Lapan declined to say Wednesday if suspected bomber in the Manchester attack, Salman Abedi, had been placed on the U.S. no-fly list. Under normal circumstances, he said, Abedi may have been able to travel to the United States because he was from Britain, a visa-waiver country, but he would have been subjected to a background check via the U.S. government's Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA.

Lapan said the Homeland Security Department has shared some information about Abedi's travel with the British government, but declined to offer specifics. Customs and Border Protection has access to a broad array of air travel information through the U.S. government's National Targeting Center.

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Associated Press writer Paisley Dodds in London, and Alicia Caldwelll in Washington, contributed to this report.

Police forensic investigators search the property of Salmon Abedi in connection with the explosion that took place at the Manchester Arena, in Greater Manchester, England, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Official records show that Salmon Abedi was registered as living at the Manchester house raided by armed police investigating Monday night's deadly concert blast. The electoral register shows that Abedi - named by U.S. officials as the suspect in the suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert - lived at the house in Fallowfield in southern Manchester where police carried out a controlled explosion Tuesday. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
HONOLULU (AP) - Federal forecasters warn that Hawaii's shorelines will likely flood over the weekend as record-level spring "king tides" combine with a large summer swell.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu posted a statement Wednesday warning of coastal flooding and erosion across the island chain for the holiday weekend. South shore beaches like Oahu's Waikiki are most at risk.

An ocean swell is expected to build from the south on Friday and continue through Memorial Day, generating advisory-level waves for south-facing coastlines. Combined with the highest tides of the year, known as king tides, forecasters expect water levels in Honolulu to reach peak levels Friday and Saturday evenings.

A similar tide was experienced on the last weekend of April, when Honolulu reported its highest tide on record.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued the warrant for Bikram Choudhury and set bail at $8 million.

No lawyers appeared for Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt.

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2003, file photo, Bikram Choudhury, front, founder of the Yoga College of India and creator and producer of Yoga Expo 2003, leads a yoga class at the Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A California judge issued an arrest warrant Wednesday, May 24, 2017, for Bikram Choudhury, the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

The award was won by Minakshi "Micki" Jafa-Bodden, who claimed Choudhury fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation.

Her attorney, Carla Minnard, says they've tracked luxury vehicles and other property that Choudhury moved out of state and have court orders in Nevada and Florida preventing him from moving property from warehouses.

Jafa-Bodden worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013, when she said she was abruptly fired from her six-figure position.

Jafa-Bodden also said Choudhury sexually harassed and inappropriately touched her, and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite.

She called it a "great day for women" when she was awarded a victory over Choudhury.

Choudhury has built an empire around Bikram yoga, a rigorous, 90-minute routine performed in a room that can reach more than 100 degrees. The technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide and has drawn devoted followers.

He faces sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse Choudhury of raping them. One of those lawsuits is in the process of being settled while the rest are set for trial later this year.

His attorneys have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him, pointing out that prosecutors had declined to bring charges in the cases.
NEW YORK (AP) - Toni Morrison praised the power of literature and the "community" of writers. James Patterson told some jokes, and even sang.

Both received Distinguished Service Awards Wednesday night at the 25th annual Authors Guild dinner gala, held in Manhattan. The Guild, which represents thousands of published writers, also gave a service award to the heads of the self-publishing platform IngramSpark.

The 86-year-old Morrison, who won the Nobel literature prize in 1993, was cited by longtime editor Robert Gottlieb for literary achievements in such novels as "Beloved" and "Song of Solomon," and for her contributions as an editor and educator.

FILE - In this May 29, 2012 file photo, author Toni Morrison receives her Medal of Freedom award during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Nobel literature laureate Morrison and James Patterson received Distinguished Service Awards at the Authors Guild's 25th annual gala in New York City on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

"We're all here together," Morrison reminded the audience, which included such fellow authors as Erica Jong and Walter Mosley. "We are a necessary community."

Morrison warned of the dangers of "ignorance," and called for language to be given its rightful place as a force of "power" and "eloquence," rendered "one book at a time."

Patterson, 70, was honored not only for his extraordinary commercial success, more than 300 million books sold worldwide, but also for donating millions of dollars to librarians, booksellers and schools.

Patterson's productivity is hard to match. He sometimes turns out best-sellers on a monthly basis. The man who negotiates his book deals, Washington attorney Robert Barnett, was not kidding Wednesday night when he said that Patterson's latest contract called for 22 books, to come out in two years.

Patterson spent much of his speech mocking his own image. He conjured a daily ritual in which he wrote multiple outlines for novels in the morning and ordered a gaggle of co-writers, kept under lock and key, to finish the job.

There were jokes about Republican President Donald Trump, a gag about writing a "truer than truer crime" book with Russian President Vladimir Putin, some profanity and, to top it off, a few words from the song "You Light Up My Life."

"I did not steal that from Will Ferrell's speech at USC," he added.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel is marking this week the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war - an event it celebrates as the "unification" of its eternal capital.

But for Palestinians, there is little to celebrate. They also claim east Jerusalem as their capital, and live in neighborhoods under Israeli control that suffer from poverty, neglect and poor services.

These stark contrasts are on display this week. Parades, light shows and festivals are being held throughout the city as Israeli Jews celebrate the capture of Jerusalem's Old City from Jordanian troops half a century ago. The victory was hailed by Jews as marking the symbolic return of control over Judaism's holiest sites after 2,000 years in exile.

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo, a Palestinian woman rides the light train in down town Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The Old City is home to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and the adjacent hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the spot where the biblical Temples once stood. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Jerusalem.

Palestinians revere the same hilltop compound as the "Noble Sanctuary." This compound, home to the Al Aqsa Mosque and gold-topped Dome of the Rock, is Islam's third-holiest site.

The conflicting claims to this tiny patch of land lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They also have helped turn Jerusalem into a city of jarring contradictions - from beautifully restored archaeological sites, gleaming pedestrian malls and bustling nightspots in renovated Jewish areas to the potholed streets, overcrowded classrooms and impoverished neighborhoods in Arab sections of east Jerusalem.

After the 1967 war, Israel annexed east Jerusalem and some neighboring West Bank villages and declared all of expanded Jerusalem to be its capital. The international community has never recognized that annexation and considers east Jerusalem, like the West Bank, to be occupied territory.

Even this week's visit by President Donald Trump failed to put the issue to rest. Despite professing his deep support for Israel, he has backed away from a campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy to the city and pointedly rebuffed Israeli requests to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the city.

After 50 years of Israeli control, Jerusalem remains deeply divided in many ways. Here is a look at the contradictions of modern Jerusalem:

POPULATION

The city has 883,000 residents as of the end of 2016, according to provisional figures provided by the Jerusalem Center for Policy Research, a research center that compiles data for the municipality. Sixty-three percent of the population is Jewish, while 37 percent are Palestinian Arabs. Many of the Jews - some 200,000 - live in new Jewish areas in the occupied east.

STATUS

Jewish Jerusalemites have automatic Israeli citizenship. Palestinians hold residency rights, allowing them to work and granting them access to Israeli health care and social benefits. They also can vote in municipal elections, though most boycott the balloting. But they are not citizens and cannot vote in national elections. A small but growing number of Jerusalem Palestinians have begun to apply for Israeli citizenship - a process that they say is bureaucratic and far from certain.

POVERTY

Seventy-nine percent of Arab families lived in what Israel defines as poverty in 2015, according to the Jerusalem center. The definition is around $2,000 a month for a family of four. Only 27 percent of Jewish families are in poverty, the center said.

EDUCATION

The average class size in a Palestinian classroom is 37 students, compared to 22 in state-run Jewish schools, according to the center. While the city has begun to build additional classrooms for Arab students, Ir Amim, an advocacy group that promotes coexistence and equality in the system, estimates that there is a shortage of 2,672 classrooms. Some 13 percent of Palestinians drop out of school, compared to 1 percent in state-run Jewish schools, the group says.

LAND

Before the June 1967 war, Jerusalem was just 38 square kilometers (15 square miles) in area. After the postwar annexation, its area expanded to 108 square kilometers (42 square miles). Jews and Arabs overwhelmingly live in separate neighborhoods, with nearly all Palestinians located in the eastern part of the city. Israel has also ringed east Jerusalem with Jewish housing developments to cement its control. These developments are de facto neighborhoods of the city, enjoying the same schools and public services as other areas, despite being considered illegal settlements by the Palestinians and most of the world. Palestinians, meanwhile, struggle to get permissions to develop their areas and in dozens of cases each year, their homes are demolished for illegal construction.

BUDGET

Just 10 percent of the municipal budget is devoted to Palestinian areas of the city, resulting in reduced services across the board, according to Ir Amim. As a result, Palestinian areas receive disproportionately fewer services across the board, including education, fire and rescue and health care. For example, there are about 1,000 public parks in west Jerusalem. East Jerusalem has just 45, according to the B'tselem human rights group. Among those hardest hit: the estimated 80,000 Palestinians living in neighborhoods placed behind the Israeli-built separation barrier.

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Yair Assaf-Shapira, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, prefers to think of the city's problems as "gaps," not divisions.

"Are Jerusalem residents of all kinds and all groups receiving the proper level of services? Are there people who should be receiving specific help who are not receiving it?" he asked. "This is the conversation we should have."

Assaf-Shapira said the problems plaguing the Palestinians include neglect and discrimination, but also go further. A historically high birthrate and low participation in the work force, particularly among Arab women, have also contributed to the high poverty rate.

Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox population also suffers from poverty, in large part because of the decision by many males to spend their days studying religious texts instead of working.

But Assaf-Shapira sees some hope for the city. Jews and Arabs mingle in public spaces like malls and playgrounds far more than they used to, the education rate is improving in the Arab sector and the birthrate among Palestinian women has slowed.

"The gaps are huge. Huge challenges are faced by the municipality and the state trying to narrow or close these gaps," he said. "Still, I think there are many reasons for optimism."

In this Wednesday, May 17, 2017 photo, Shaft refugee camp is seen behind the security barrier in Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo, a street artist performs during Jerusalem Day celebration downtown Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

This Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo shows a view of Jerusalem's Old City. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this Wednesday, May 17, 2017 photo, Shaft refugee camp is seen behind the security barrier in Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, Palestinians walk through a security fence to Israeli checkpoint in Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, people walk past a billboard promoting luxury apartments in central Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo, Israeli youth wave national flags inside the Old City's Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Monday, May 15, 2017, people cross the light train track in down town Jerusalem in Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
MARAWI, Philippines (AP) - The Latest on the siege of a southern Philippine city by militants linked to the Islamic State group (all times local):

9 a.m.

A police chief in the southern Philippines says he's safe after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced earlier that the chief had been beheaded.

Armored Personnel Carriers make their way through a queue of vehicles with fleeing residents that stretches for miles (kilometers) as Muslim militants lay siege in Marawi city in southern Philippines for the third day Thursday, May 25, 2017. Army tanks packed with soldiers rolled into the southern Philippine city Thursday to try to restore control after ISIS-linked militants launched a violent siege that sent thousands of people fleeing for their lives and raised fears of extremists gaining traction in the country. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Duterte said Wednesday that militants who have laid siege to the city of Marawi had decapitated the police chief of Malabang.

Malabang Police Chief Romeo Enriquez told The Associated on Friday that he is fine. He said there may have been confusion because a former Malabang police chief was killed in the fighting - but he was not beheaded.

According to Enriquez, the former chief was fatally shot in a clash with the extremists on Tuesday outside a Marawi hospital.

The city of Marawi has been wracked by violence since Tuesday night, when militants swept through the city.

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11:30 p.m.

Philippine army generals say 31 Islamic State group-linked extremists have been killed in two days of fighting in a southern city that has been under siege since one of Asia's most-wanted militants evaded capture and dozens of rebels came to his aid.

Army officials said 13 fighters were killed Thursday by troops backed by rocket-firing helicopters in Marawi city, an important hub for the Islamic faith that now resembles a war zone. They said six soldiers perished in Thursday's fighting.

The latest deaths raise the overall death toll to more than 40 from the urban fighting, which has sparked an exodus of Marawi residents and prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial rule in the country's restive south.

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4:15 p.m.

A military spokesman says troops are using helicopters to help clear militants from the besieged city of Marawi in the southern Philippines.

Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera says the helicopters are firing rockets in "a precision attack."

As gunfire crackled in the background, Herrera says authorities believe Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists, is still in the city.

The violence erupted Tuesday night when authorities launched an unsuccessful raid to capture Hapilon.

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1 p.m.

Catholics in the Philippine capital have attended a Mass for people in the southern region now under martial law and in Marawi.

The city of about 200,000 people was under attack by Muslim militants and people were packing into vehicles to flee the violence Thursday as army trucks rolled into the city center. The Philippines is Asia's largest Roman Catholic nation, but its southern region has a large Muslim minority.

At the Mass in Manila, nun Mary John Mananzan called on people to pray and noted that hostages had been taken, including a priest from the cathedral in Marawi.

People were also protesting out of concern the martial law was too broadly applied. Protest leader Teddy Casino warned that there might be more extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.

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12:30 p.m.

Army tanks packed with soldiers have rolled into a southern Philippine city to try to restore control after militants linked to Islamic State group launched a violent siege.

Thousands of civilians have been fleeing the city of some 200,000 people.

At least 21 people have died in fighting that erupted late Tuesday, when the army raided the Marawi hideout of Isnilon Hapilon. Hapilon is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head.

But the operation quickly went wrong as the militants called in reinforcements. The city of Marawi was still largely sealed off Thursday, although automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard. Plumes of black smoke rose from the direction of the city center and air force helicopters swooped overhead.

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The 11:30 p.m. item has been corrected to show that 13 militants and six soldiers were killed Thursday, not Wednesday.

Residents fleeing the besieged city of Marawi are questioned at a checkpoint by government soldiers, Friday, May 26, 2017, in Bal-oi township, southern Philippines. Philippine army generals say dozens of Islamic State group-linked extremists have been killed in two days of fighting in a southern city that has been under siege since one of Asia's most-wanted militants evaded capture and dozens of rebels came to his aid. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
BRUSSELS (AP) - In his first big tour on the world stage, President Donald Trump is choosing caution over his usual brand of chaos.

The early morning Twitter rants that so often rattle Washington have disappeared as Trump travels through the Middle East and Europe. The president has traded his free-wheeling speaking style for tightly scripted remarks. And with most of the traveling press corps being kept at a distance, the opportunities for him to be pressed on the controversies engulfing his administration back home are dramatically lessened.

Trump did briefly respond to one shouted question about his meeting with Pope Francis on Wednesday, offering this indisputable assessment of the pontiff: "He is something."

US President Donald Trump, right, and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

The president appears likely to go his entire nine-day trip without holding a full news conference, a break from presidential foreign travel precedent. That's allowed him to steer clear of the steady stream of new revelations about his dealings with ousted FBI Director James Comey and the federal investigations into his election campaign's possible ties to Russia. And it's left no real opportunities to push the president beyond his talking points on some of the trip's most complex issues, including the prospect of restarting Middle East peace talks and strengthening regional alliances to combat terrorism.

The White House has been jubilant over the trip's results so far, and content to let the images of Trump meeting with world leaders tell the story instead of the president's own unpredictable words. The White House did not respond to questions Wednesday about whether he might squeeze in a news conference on the final legs of the trip, his meetings with NATO and European leaders in Brussels and the Group of 7 summit in Sicily.

Jen Psaki, who served as White House communications director for President Barack Obama, said every White House has to contend with the risks of letting events at home step on a trip's message. But she said there's also value in an American president engaging with the press on foreign soil.

"We always saw press conferences as part of our objective: to send the message in countries without a free press, or with limitations on freedom of speech that the United States valued these sometimes-unpredictable interactions as a part of democracy," Psaki said.

Not that Trump has gone silent on his five-stop trip abroad. He called on Arab and Muslim leaders to step up in the fight against terrorism during an address in Saudi Arabia, and he called on Israelis and Palestinians to get back to the negotiating table during remarks Tuesday in Jerusalem. In both instances, he hewed closely to his prepared text - a rarity given his normal pattern of veering not only off script but sometimes wildly off topic.

There have been some self-inflicted wounds, most notably Trump's decision to field a journalist's question to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about concerns over the president's decision to share with Russia some classified intelligence that had been obtained by Israel. The president declared that he "never mentioned the word or the name Israel" in his discussions with the Russian officials.

In one short set of off-the-cuff remarks in Jerusalem, Trump told an Israeli delegation that he had just gotten back from the Middle East - despite the fact that Israel is squarely in the region. Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., can be seen in the video visibly reacting to the flub.

But some leaders Trump was slated to meet with on his trip had been preparing for far worse than the occasional Trump gaffe. At NATO headquarters, where he will visit Thursday, aides have prepped Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for the possibility that the president could try to pull off a stunt such as passing around invoices to member countries who have not met the alliance's financial guidelines, according to a person with knowledge of the planning.

Trump has been a sharp critic of NATO countries that don't spend the agreed-upon 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the president indeed planned to push allies hard on that issue. The person with knowledge of the NATO planning insisted on anonymity in order to disclose private discussions.

Trump advisers vigorously contest the idea that the president's more measured tenor abroad is the result of significant staff intervention, arguing that the president himself is behind the approach for his first foreign trip.

The final leg may be the most challenging. After warm embraces from the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Israel, Trump will be meeting with European leaders who are still skeptical of his untraditional approach to politics and his hard-to-pin-down policy positions. The arrangements for the summits will also put Trump's patience to the test, requiring him to spend hours locked in rooms listening to his foreign counterparts.

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AP writers Jonathan Lemire in Brussels and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's first trip abroad (all times local):

11:50 p.m.

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn says President Donald Trump is "looking at" the future of U.S. sanctions on Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump, center, center, flanked by British Prime Minister Theresa May, right, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, joins fellow leaders in a group photo at NATO headquarters during the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Asked what the current administration position is, Cohn said, "Right now, we don't have a position."

Cohn spoke to reporters on Air Force One as Trump headed to the Group of 7 summit in Sicily. G-7 leaders kicked Russia out of the group of wealthy nations for its annexation of Ukrainian territory.

Cohn says he expects Russia to be a topic during the two-day summit. Pressed on what specifically the White House was looking into on sanctions, Cohn would only say that Trump has "many options."

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11 p.m.

President Donald Trump is opening the final leg of his maiden international trip, landing in Italy for meetings with the Group of 7 leaders.

Trump and leaders from some of the world's wealthiest nations will hold wide-ranging talks on foreign affairs, including terrorism, trade and economic growth in Taormina, Italy.

The White House is expects Trump to be pressed by many of the G-7 leaders to stay in the Paris climate accord. Trump has said he's waiting until after he returns to Washington to make a decision on whether to withdraw from the deal, which was agreed to by the Obama administration.

The other G-7 leaders are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Trump flew to the Italian island of Sicily from Brussels, where he attended NATO meetings and met with European Union officials.

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8:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump has concluded his participation in a NATO summit in Brussels and is on his way to Sicily for further consultations with his world counterparts.

Trump is scheduled to participate in two days of talks in Taormina, Italy, with the leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. They are the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Sicily is the fifth and final stop on the first international trip Trump has taken since he became president in January.

Trump opened the trip in Saudi Arabia. He then traveled to Israel and Rome, to meet with the pope, before arriving in Brussels on Wednesday night for Thursday's NATO summit.

He is scheduled to return to Washington late Saturday.

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8:30 p.m.

Authorities have detained dozens of protesters who attempted to block a route to a summit at NATO headquarters by lying down.

The peace activists refused to move despite repeated police requests. They were detained during ceremonies at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Their actions did not appear to impede leaders arriving to dedicate a gleaming new headquarters building.

Thursday's demonstrations drew a few hundred protesters.

About 10,000 people attended an anti-Trump demonstration in Brussels on Wednesday.

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6:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump's push to get in front of the pack at the NATO summit in Belgium is getting attention.

Video footage from the gathering shows Trump putting his right hand on the right arm of Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and pushing himself ahead as NATO leaders walked inside the alliance's new headquarters in Brussels.

Trump then stands near Markovic and speaks to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. The video garnered attention on social media.

Montenegro is scheduled to formally become NATO's 29th member in early June.

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5:50 p.m.

The White House says U.S. first lady Melania Trump and Belgium's Queen Mathilde have participated in a forum on protecting children from online exploitation.

Mrs. Trump attended the forum at the queen's invitation after she arrived in Brussels late Wednesday with President Donald Trump. The presentation about Child Focus, a center for missing and sexually exploited children that was founded in Brussels, was held at the palace. It was closed to news media coverage.

Mrs. Trump said in a written statement afterward that it's important to teach children that computers are useful tools but that they can also be used by people who want to harm them.

She previously has identified cyberbullying as an issue she'll work on as first lady, but has yet to announce any initiatives on the issue.

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5:30 p.m.

The European Union and the United States will be making a fresh effort to align their commercial policies.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says after meeting with President Donald Trump that delegations from both sides will meet soon to review commercial issues. Juncker says "we think divergences were too big."

The 28-nation EU and the United States have been negotiating for years on a trans-Atlantic trade agreement that would bring the world's two biggest economic blocs closer together. Trump has shown little appetite for such deals and has said he would rather negotiate with individual nations.

Juncker says they discussed international trade and free trade, and stressed the need for "free but loyal competition."

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5:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump made no explicit mention of NATO's mutual defense pact on Thursday even as he spoke at a ceremony unveiling a memorial dedicated to it.

Trump has so far refused to personally commit to abiding by Article 5. U.S., which commits allies to defend any of the 28 members that come under attack. But Press Secretary Sean Spicer says, "It goes without saying" that Trump's presence at the event underscores the White House's "commitments and treaty obligations."

Trump spoke at the unveiling of a steel beam from the 107th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers at the new NATO headquarters in Brussels.

It's intended as a reminder of NATO's commitment to its collective defense clause. Article 5 has only been activated once, after 9/11.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that "of course" the United States supports Article 5.

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4:55 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron has lauded his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump as friendly and very frank, despite continued uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to a key climate change agreement.

Macron says he and Trump didn't see eye to eye on everything, but committed to reinforcing U.S. and French cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Macron added that he respects that Trump is still reviewing the U.S. stance on the Paris climate agreement. But Macron adds that he reinforced for Trump the importance that France and the rest of the world see in the U.S. sticking to the pact.

The French president called his lunch meeting with Trump "very direct and very frank" and says pragmatism was at the "heart" of their exchange.

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4:48 p.m.

President Donald Trump is lecturing members of the NATO alliance to pay their fair share on defense during a ceremony at NATO headquarters.

Trump says NATO members must "finally contribute their fair share" and meet their obligations.

The president has been urging NATO leaders to live up to a 2011 decision to increase spending on defense to 2 percent of GDP by 2024.

Trump says 23 of the 28 member nations are not paying what they should and he says it's "not fair" to the people of the United States. He says many of these nations owe "massive" amounts of money from previous years.

The president spoke as the other NATO leaders looked on.

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4:41 p.m.

President Donald is calling for a moment of silence for the victims of the Manchester concert attack.

The president is speaking at a dedication ceremony for a new 9/11 memorial at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

He says that "today is a day for both remembrance and resolve" and that the attack demonstrates "the depths of the evil we face with terrorism."

Trump has urged NATO members to spend more money on defense.

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4:37 p.m.

President Donald Trump is attending a dedication service for two new memorials at NATO headquarters.

Trump stood on as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg unveiled two sections of the Berlin Wall that divided the German city until 1989.

The pieces, standing together, form a monument that symbolizes the efforts to end the division of Europe.

Trump and Stoltenberg are also unveiling a steel beam from the 107th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers that collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.

It's a reminder of NATO's commitment to its collective defense clause - so called Article 5. It has only ever been activated once, after 9/11.

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4:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump is pledging to "get to the bottom" of leaks of sensitive information.

In a written statement Thursday, Trump called recent leaks "deeply troubling." He said he is asking the Justice Department and other agencies to "launch a complete review of this matter."

Trump adds that "if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Trump's comments come amid anger from Britain over intelligence leaks and a decision by Manchester police to withhold information from the United States about the investigation into this week's bombing.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will make it clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies "must remain secure."

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4:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump has arrived at NATO headquarters for an afternoon of meetings with fellow world leaders.

Trump was greeted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the organization's new headquarters in Brussels.

Stoltenberg visited the White House last month and touted NATO's benefits at a joint press conference with Trump.

Trump had previously questioned NATO's relevance.

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4:04 p.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will press U.S. President Donald Trump on keeping shared intelligence confidential, after leaks from the investigation of the Manchester concert attack.

Speaking to reporters upon arrival at a NATO summit in Brussels, May said that the U.S.-British defense and security partnership is built on trust.

But she says, "part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently."

She said that when she sees Trump at the summit Thursday she will stress "that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

She said the Manchester attack shows why it's important for the international community and NATO to do more about the fight against terrorism.

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3:59 p.m.

President Donald Trump is on his way to NATO headquarters in Brussels for his first meeting with a group he criticized mercilessly during his campaign.

Trump has rattled the group with musings about pulling out of the pact because other countries aren't dedicating enough money to defense and called the alliance "obsolete."

But he's softened his stance considerably since taking office in January.

Trump is set to deliver remarks at the unveiling of memorials dedicated to the Berlin Wall and one that will serve as a reminder of NATO's commitment to its collective defense clause - so called Article 5. It has only been activated once, after 9/11.

He'll also attend a working dinner with other member leaders.

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3:32 p.m.

Several hundred protesters have gathered outside the NATO summit in Brussels to demonstrate against NATO and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The group was tiny compared to the 10,000 demonstrators who came out Wednesday to protest Trump's visit. But the summit won't start until late afternoon, so the crowds could still swell.

Security officials have cordoned off a large protest zone outside NATO headquarters. Protesters there are holding banners that say "NATO game over" and "peace."

At one point, some 50 demonstrators tried to block a road using banners.

Stephanie Demblon of the "Agir pour la paix" pacifist group says Trump "makes people scared" and says he's "shown over the past months that he isn't a man of peace."

The anti-NATO activist says she's worried that Trump, who criticized NATO during his campaign, is now beginning to see the partnership as "something very useful to his aims."

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2:09 p.m.

The White House is condemning recent violence in the Philippines by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

In a statement released Thursday, the White House says "cowardly terrorists killed Philippine law enforcement officials and endangered the lives of innocent citizens."

It adds that the United States will provide "support and assistance to Philippine counterterrorism efforts." The statement from the press secretary says the United States is a "proud ally of the Philippines."

Army tanks packed with soldiers have rolled into a southern Philippine city to try to restore control after militants linked to the Islamic State group launched a violent siege. Thousands of civilians have been fleeing Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people.

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1:38 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he has a long list of issues to discuss with U.S. President Donald Trump, including the fight against terrorism, the economy and climate and energy issues.

The two leaders are meeting for the first time over lunch at the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium's residence. They'll dine on tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, veal filet with potatoes, tri-colored vegetables, and a duo of Belgian chocolate mousse.

The two also shared an intense handshake, gripping each other's hands so tightly that Trump's knuckles appeared to turn white.

Macron has been critical of Trump in the past, including denouncing Trump's musings on abandoning the Paris climate treaty. White House officials say Trump has not made a decision yet about whether the U.S. will fulfill its obligations under the deal.

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1:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump is praising newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron as the two leaders meet for the first time.

Trump and Macron met at the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium's residence Thursday for a working lunch.

Trump says Macron had an "incredible victory, all over the world they're talking about it." He added that the two have a lot to discuss, including terrorism.

Macron has said he expects to discuss defense and security issues during the pair's first face-to-face meeting. He has been critical of Trump in the past, including denouncing Trump's musings on abandoning the Paris climate treaty.

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1:19 p.m.

President Donald Trump did not respond to a shouted question about whether the British can trust America with intelligence following a series of leaks blamed on U.S. officials.

British authorities are livid over leaks related to the Manchester concert bombing. They include photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the attack that were published by The New York Times. It is not clear that the newspaper obtained the photos from U.S. officials.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to raise the issue with President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels later Thursday.

She says she plans to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

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1:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump is meeting with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump and Macron are holding a working lunch at the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium's residence Thursday.

Macron was elected over far-right opponent Marine Le Pen in the French presidential runoff earlier this month. Trump called him after his victory to congratulate him.

Macron has said he expects to discuss defense and security issues during the meeting. He has been critical of Trump in the past, including denouncing Trump's musings on abandoning the Paris climate treaty.

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12:43 p.m.

U.S. first lady Melania Trump cheered up children in a Belgian hospital with Dr. Seuss books and crepe paper flowers while her husband met with European Union leaders.

Young patients at the Queen Fabiola Children's University Hospital used a sketch toy to make a sign reading "Welcome Mrs. Trump."

The first lady, wearing a knee-length dusty rose leather jacket and skirt, toured the hospital Thursday and joined a group of children making paper flowers, a Belgian tradition. Two of the children sitting with her were hooked up to IVs.

They shared opinions on favorite flowers. The first lady said she likes peonies, tulips, roses and especially orchids.

Mrs. Trump also visited the Vatican's children's hospital earlier this week and gave the children Dr. Seuss books.

She's expected to join the spouses of other leaders in town for a NATO summit for a visit to the Magritte Museum and the Belgian royal palace later Thursday.

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12:31 p.m.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has joined President Donald Trump for the next leg of his trip and is participating in meetings with European leaders.

The composition of the U.S. delegation has evolved over the course of the president's maiden foreign trip.

Chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross all returned home after the president's first stop in Saudi Arabia.

And Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump broke off before Trump traveled to Brussels, as previously planned.

The president will be returning to Washington on Saturday after nine days abroad.

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12:00 p.m.

European Union Council President Donald Tusk says talks with President Donald Trump reveal differences on key issues, including how to deal with Russia.

Tusk said Thursday that he was not "100 percent sure" the two leaders have "a common position, a common opinion, about Russia." But he said that regarding Ukraine "it seems that we were on the same line."

Trump met with European Union leaders Thursday morning in Brussels.

Tusk also said that "Some issues remain open like climate and trade," where the EU is pushing for full respect of the Paris Agreement on climate and open multilateral trade deals.

But he insisted there was full agreement on many issues, including "first and foremost, on counter terrorism."

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11:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump got to meet two European Union Presidents at the same time.

Under the convoluted rules of the 28-nation bloc, Donald Tusk presides over the Council of EU leaders and chairs summit meetings while Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker heads the EU executive.

"You know, Mr President, we have two presidents in the EU," Tusk said as they started their meeting. "I know that," Trump said.

Juncker joked: "There is one too much."

Trump concluded his meeting at the European Union headquarters at about 11:30 a.m. He headed to the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium's residence where he was set to have a working lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

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11:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump is speaking with European Union leaders during a meeting in Brussels.

Trump sat down Thursday with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, and other officials.

Trump publicly cheered for the dissolution of the body when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU last summer.

Trump is in the midst of a nine-day international trip. It is his first foreign trip and has included stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican.

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10:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump is meeting with European Union leaders.

Trump arrived at European Union headquarters Thursday morning. He was greeted by the group's president.

Trump publicly cheered for the dissolution of the body when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU last summer.

The visit comes as part of Trump's first international trip. The nine-day tour has included rapturous receptions in Saudi Arabia and Israel, and a polite meeting with Pope Francis in Rome.

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8:30 a.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump woke to a gorgeous spring morning in Brussels - and a huge flag from Greenpeace criticizing his policies.

Around 7 a.m., the environmental group got on top of a construction crane close to the U.S. embassy where Trump stayed overnight and unfurled a huge banner saying "#RESIST."

Two activists were up in the air to make sure the flag hung straight and would be clearly visible.

Greenpeace has been an ardent critic of Trump's environmental views on climate change and global warming. Those issues will take central stage at the G7 summit in Sicily starting Friday.

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6:15 a.m.

President Donald Trump will be in the heart of Europe Thursday to address a continent still reeling from his election and anxious about his support.

Trump is slated to attend his first meeting of NATO, the decades-long partnership that has been rattled by the new president's wavering on honoring its bonds.

Trump has mused about pulling out of the pact because he believed other countries were not paying their fair share. He also has so far refused to commit to abiding by Article 5, in which member nations vow to come to each other's defense.

The president is slated to meet with the heads of European Union institutions after having publicly cheered for the dissolution of the body when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU.

US President Donald Trump, left, speaks with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite during a tour of the new NATO headquarters during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, greets US President Donald Trump during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

First lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump wait for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at the U.S. Embassy, Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Brussels. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Protesters gather during a demonstration in the center of Brussels on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Demonstrators marched in Brussels ahead of a visit of US President Donald Trump and a NATO heads of state summit which will take place on Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy, Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Brussels. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at the U.S. Embassy, Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Brussels. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet French President Emmanuel Macron before a meeting at the U.S. Embassy, Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Brussels. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

French President Emmanuel Macron, centre, poses for a selfie with members of the Turkish delegation during a meeting which is on the sidelines of the NATO summit, in Brussels, on Thursday May 25, 2017. (Eric Feferberg /Pool via AP)

A small child takes a selfie with Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, at the Queen Fabiola Childrens Hospital in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Melanie Trump visited children in a ward at the hospital on Thursday and participated in a crepe paper flower making workshop. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, hugs a patient after receiving a bouquet of crepe paper flowers at the Queen Fabiola Childrens Hospital in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Melanie Trump visited children in a ward at the hospital on Thursday and participated in a crepe paper flower making workshop. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, participates in a crepe paper flower making workshop at the Queen Fabiola Childrens Hospital in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Melanie Trump visited patients at the children's hospital on Thursday as US President Donald Trump met NATO heads of state and government. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, receives a crepe paper flower from a patient at the Queen Fabiola Childrens Hospital in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Melanie Trump visited children in a ward at the hospital on Thursday and participated in a crepe paper flower making workshop. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

US President Donald Trump, centre, US Defense Secretary, James Mattis, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, attend a meeting with EU leaders at the European Council, in Brussels, Belgium Thursday May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump arrived in Belgium Wednesday evening and will attend a NATO summit as well as meet EU and Belgian officials. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via AP)

US President Donald Trump, 3rd right, US Defense Secretary, James Mattis, 2nd right, attend a meeting European Council Presidet Donald Tusk, 3rd left, along with other officials at the European Council, in Brussels, Belgium Thursday May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump arrived in Belgium Wednesday evening and will attend a NATO summit as well as meet EU and Belgian officials. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via AP)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker and European Council President Donald Tusk at European Union headquarters, Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Brussels. From left, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Trump, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Donald Trump is greeted by European Council President Donald Tusk as he arrives at the Europa building in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump arrived in Belgium Wednesday evening and will attend a NATO summit as well as meet EU and Belgian officials. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

President Donald Trump walks with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel to a meeting at the Royal Palace, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in Brussels. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
TOKYO (AP) - Dozens of foreigners seeking permission to stay in Japan have staged a hunger strike while in detention, highlighting what human rights advocates say is shoddy treatment of foreigners here.

Supporter Mitsuru Miyasako told reporters Thursday many had been recruited to work in Japan during the "bubble economy" about 30 years ago but are now being told to go home.

None has been charged with a crime. About half are seeking refugee status, although only about 0.3 percent of such applicants are awarded asylum in Japan. Many have had children in the country.

Foreign residents rest in front of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Tokyo, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Dozens of people seeking to immigrate to Japan have staged a hunger strike while in detention, highlighting what human-rights advocates criticize as the shoddy treatment of foreigners here. Supporter Mitsuru Miyasako told reporters Thursday many had been recruited to work in Japan during the "bubble economy" about 30 years ago but now were being told to go home. None has been charged with a crime. About half are seeking refugee status, although only about 0.3 percent of such applicants are awarded asylum here. Many have had children in Japan. The hunger strike, which started May 9 with 22 people in a Tokyo center, expanded to 70 people there. Thirty people in another city joined. It ended Tuesday, May 23. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

The hunger strike, which started May 9 with 22 people in a Tokyo immigration detention center, expanded to 70 people there. Thirty people in another city joined. It ended Tuesday because they were suffering health problems and had "reached their limit," Miyasako said.

During the initial days of the hunger strike, some people didn't even drink water, and three - from China, Nigeria and Bangladesh - became unconscious and were hospitalized, Miyasako said in a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Tokyo. They have since recovered.

Immigration officials say such people simply need to leave Japan.

"The decision has been made that they are to return and so we keep talking to them to convince them of that," said Kazuyuki Tokui, a Justice Ministry official.

Miyasako, who heads a support group called Provisional Release Association in Japan, said the detention centers have insufficient medical care.

In March, a Vietnamese man in his 40s died of a stroke after being found unconscious in his room at an immigration facility in Ibaraki prefecture, near Tokyo. Tokui said the government saw the death as a serious problem and is investigating.

Although Japan has in recent years begun an aggressive campaign to welcome tourists to boost its economy, it has long had a reputation as insular and unfriendly to outsiders.

Nearly 1,300 people are being held at detention centers nationwide, according to the ministry. The largest number came from China. Those who staged the hunger strike came from China, Myanmar, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Ghana, Peru and other nations, according to Miyasako.

The hunger strike has not produced any change to their status, and a request that was submitted with the hunger strike for better conditions and a chance to live with visas in Japan has not even been officially accepted.

"I don't think the government of Japan has any intention to make improvements to the immigration system," said Shoichi Ibusuki, a lawyer who advises Miyasako's organization.

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Mitsuru Miyasako, director of an immigrants' lobby group, speaks on a recent hunger strike staged by dozens of people seeking to immigrate to Japan while in detention, during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Supporter Miyasako told reporters Thursday many had been recruited to work in Japan during the "bubble economy" about 30 years ago but now were being told to go home. None has been charged with a crime. About half are seeking refugee status, although only about 0.3 percent of such applicants are awarded asylum here. Many have had children in Japan. The hunger strike, which started on May 9 with 22 people in a Tokyo center, expanded to 70 people there. Thirty people in another city joined. It ended Tuesday, May 23. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Mitsuru Miyasako, director of an immigrants' lobby group, speaks on a recent hunger strike staged by dozens of people seeking to immigrate to Japan while in detention, during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Supporter Miyasako told reporters Thursday many had been recruited to work in Japan during the "bubble economy" about 30 years ago but now were being told to go home. None has been charged with a crime. About half are seeking refugee status, although only about 0.3 percent of such applicants are awarded asylum here. Many have had children in Japan. The hunger strike, which started on May 9 with 22 people in a Tokyo center, expanded to 70 people there. Thirty people in another city joined. It ended Tuesday, May 23. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
BRUSSELS (AP) - It sounds strange to characterize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a huge gun club, but the comparison can be useful in understanding the world's biggest military alliance.

Like many gun clubs, NATO actually has no weapons of its own. The battleships, war planes, missiles and potential pool of more than 3 million personnel are owned and brought to the range by the 28 member states, mostly at their own cost. The only military equipment NATO has is a fleet of early warning radar planes and, from next year, five surveillance drones.

Here's a look at how NATO works and why it matters:

FILE - In this Tuesday July 28, 2015 file photo NATO country flags wave outside NATO headquarters in Brussels. It sounds strange to characterize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a huge gun club, but the comparison can be useful in understanding the world's biggest military alliance. Like many gun clubs, NATO _ where President Donald Trump is meeting other alliance leaders for the first time Thursday _ actually has no weapons of its own. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

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WHAT IS IT?

This club, with main headquarters in Brussels and military HQ in Mons, Belgium, is open to any European nation that wants to join and can meet the requirements and obligations. Montenegro is set to join soon. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia and Macedonia are waiting in line.

The Soviet Union, during the Cold War, and Russia now have been major preoccupations since the organization was founded in 1949, and in many ways remain NATO's reason for existing.

The United States is without doubt the biggest and most influential member. It spends more on its own military budget than all the others combined. It also pays just over 22 percent of NATO common funding for infrastructure and collectively owned equipment. So Washington has a big say in how things are run.

Smaller allies long to train and work with U.S. forces because it gives them access to equipment and expertise they cannot afford alone.

But NATO's decisions are made by consensus and there is no majority voting of any kind. This means that Albania, for example, has a veto just as final as Washington's.

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WHO'S IN CHARGE?

The alliance's meetings - the North Atlantic Council, held at ambassadorial level almost weekly in Brussels, less often at the level of ministers or heads of state and government - are chaired by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

In essence, Stoltenberg runs the headquarters located near the Brussels airport, which is shifting just over the road this year to new premises being inaugurated by NATO leaders Thursday and estimated to have cost more than 1 billion euros.

He does not order the allies around. His job is to encourage consensus and speak on their behalf publicly as a single voice representing all 28 members.

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WHY SHOULD AMERICANS CARE?

With the United States clearly able to take care of itself most of the time in military terms, many wonder why Americans should even care about NATO.

But the alliance is the one international forum where Washington agrees to put its military might up for negotiation and can be persuaded to act differently by its allies.

It's also an organization that uses plenty of U.S. taxpayer dollars. That money, in part, drives military spending and defense research and so provides plenty of jobs.

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WHAT DOES IT DO?

On the ground, NATO has notably helped to keep peace in the Balkans and combat the Taliban-led insurgency in war-torn Afghanistan - the alliance's biggest ever operation, launched after the United States triggered its "all for one and one for all" common defense clause in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

It is the only time the clause, known as Article 5, has been activated.

While the Soviet Union is long gone, NATO continues to see Russia as a security threat and to offer protection to concerned member states near Russia's borders.

NATO is now joining the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group and setting up a counter-terrorism intelligence cell to improve information-sharing. It will notably focus on so-called foreign fighters who travel from Europe to train or fight with extremists in Iraq and Syria.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump arrived in Belgium Wednesday evening and will attend a NATO summit as well as meet EU and Belgian officials. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The Namibian harbor town of Luderitz is hoping to attract more tourists with the construction of a maritime museum.

Developers say the museum, slated to open in 2019, will be housed in an old power station following renovations. The site will also serve as a research center for the Namibia University of Science and Technology.

Last weekend, Sam Nujoma, Namibia's first president, attended a presentation about the project in Luderitz. The promoter is Angel Tordesillas, a former fishing company executive.

Luderitz was booming a century ago because of the discovery of diamonds in the area. Today, most shipping goes through Walvis Bay, further north on the Atlantic coast.

Luderitz resident Crispin Clay describes the maritime museum as a "magnificent project" and says: "I just hope it works."
PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) - NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation is attending the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. To get there, Montenegro has stood up against Russia, which has sought to maintain strong historic, political and cultural influence in the country it considers a zone of interest. Russia has threatened economic and political retaliation. Montenegro says Moscow was behind a foiled coup attempt in October, which Russia denies.

THE BLACK MOUNTAIN ON THE SEA

Montenegro - which means "Black Mountain" - is a small country in southeast Europe. It is a land of stunning natural beauty, squeezed between the Adriatic Sea and towering mountains, laced with green valleys and rushing rivers. The land area is nearly 14,000 square kilometers (5,300 square miles). Just over 600,000 people live in Montenegro, mostly in the capital Podgorica and along the coast. The economy is weak, relying largely on tourism.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 15, 2017, boys sit on a pontoon during the sunset in the seaside village of Bigova, 50 kilometers southwest of Podgorica, Montenegro. NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation will sit at NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday May 25, 2017, practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A MOSTLY CHRISTIAN NATION WITH A COMPLEX HISTORY

About 70 percent Montenegrins are Orthodox Christians, which partly explains strong links to Russia, also a predominantly Orthodox Christian country. Until recently, Montenegro had been a faithful ally of Russia in the Balkans. Montenegro was also a rare country in the region to have retained a level of autonomy during centuries-long Turkish Ottoman rule.

A DIVORCE FROM SERBIA, AND AN ODD RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA

Montenegro was part of Yugoslavia, which was dissolved in 1992. Montenegro then formed a union with Serbia. As a Serbian ally, Montenegro was bombed in 1999 by NATO which launched air strikes to stop a crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists. After deciding to split with Serbia in 2006 in a referendum, Montenegro took a strong turn toward Euro-Atlantic integration, despite Russia's bid to retain political and economic influence. Russian companies have invested millions in Montenegro, which has also become a favorite tourist destination. Russia recently has warned its citizens against traveling to Montenegro and has banned imports of Montenegrin wine.

HOW A TINY NATION IS DIMINISHING THE INFLUENCE OF A HUGE ONE

Montenegro has an army of just some 2,000 soldiers. But it is strategically located on the Adriatic sea, between NATO members Croatia and Albania, having deep-water navy bases that could be used for big navy ships and submarines. Bringing Montenegro into NATO further diminishes Russia's influence in southeast Europe, and blocks it from the so-called "warm seas" in Europe. The Russians are less worried about the strategic military loss than about their diminishing political influence on the region.

HOW GLOBAL TENSIONS PLAY OUT WITHIN MONTENEGRO

Montenegrin people remain deeply split over NATO and Russia relations. Pro-NATO government officials say membership in NATO will bring stability after a turbulent history and loss of independence in the 20th century. Pro-Russian opposition figures say NATO entry means the betrayal of traditional friends, Serbia and Russia. The divisions are likely to persist after Montenegro formally joins NATO, but officials hope they will ease over time.

Economic development will play a crucial role, and Montenegro began negotiations toward joining the European Union in 2012.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 15, 2017, ground crew stands on the tarmac by a Montenegrin army helicopter at Golubovci airport, near Podgorica, Montenegro. NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation will sit at NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday May 25, 2017, practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 15, 2017, a Montenegrin army helicopter takes off from Golubovci airport, near Podgorica, Montenegro. NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation will sit at NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday May 25, 2017, practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 15, 2017, a Montenegrin sailor stands at the light frigate "Kotor" in the harbour of Bar, Montenegro. NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation will sit at NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday May 25, 2017, practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) - The Latest on the investigation into the Manchester concert bombing (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

A relative of the man suspected in the deadly Manchester concert attack says he was driven to extremism after seeing a friend fatally stabbed last year.

A member of the public reacts at St Ann's Square in central Manchester, England Thursday May 25 2017. More than 20 people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, Monday evening. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

The relative spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter and concerns for her own security.

She said 22-year-old Salman Abedi complained of being treated badly in Britain and was troubled why there seemed to be no outrage over his friend's slaying. She says Abedi believed it was because the friend was Muslim.

The relative says Abedi, who was born in England to parents from Libya, referred to Britons as "infidels" who "are unjust to the Arabs."

She also defended him as "a great kid" and said he had no links to the Islamic State group or other militant groups.

Abedi died in the blast that killed 22 other people.

-By Maggie Michael

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6:42 p.m.

Prime Minister Theresa May has raised her concerns over alleged intelligence leaks from the Manchester bombing investigation with U.S. President Donald Trump.

A British official confirms that May discussed the matter with Trump after they posed with other NATO leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday. The official, who spoke on customary anonymity, did not provide details.

The U.S. and British leaders talked again later, sitting next to each other at a working dinner. May looked stern, while Trump waved his hands.

Manchester police stopped providing information to the United States about the Monday concert bombing after photos of the crime scene appeared in the New York Times, though it was not clear where the photos came from.

May said earlier Thursday that she would stress to Trump "that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

- By Angela Charlton and Sylvia Hui

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6:35 p.m.

A spokesman for an anti-terror force in Libya says the suspect in the Manchester bombing attack telephoned his mother hours before the attack and said, "Forgive me."

Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem said Thursday that 22-year-old Salman Abedi's mother and three of his siblings in Libya were summoned for questioning. Abedi died in the attack.

Bin Salem says the mother told interrogators that her son left Libya for England only four days before the bombing and called her on the same day of the attack.

Bin Salem said: "He was giving farewell."

Another sibling, 18-year-old brother Hashim, and Abedi's father were arrested in Tripoli on Wednesday.

Bin Salem said Libyan investigators think, based on what Hashim Abedi told them, "the bomber acted alone."

He says the brother told them that Salman learned how to make explosives on the internet and wanted to "seek victory for the Islamic State."

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5:55 p.m.

Libya's U.N.-backed government says it is working with British authorities to identify the "terrorist networks" behind the Manchester concert bombing.

Interior Ministry Undersecretary Col. Abdulsalam Ashour condemned the attack on Thursday and said the Tripoli-based government's anti-terror force is investigating.

British officials have said the attack was by British-born Salman Abedi, 22, whose family is from Libya. Abedi's father and younger brother were arrested in Tripoli on Wednesday.

Before his arrest, the father told The Associated Press that his son was innocent.

A statement from Libya's Special Deterrent Forces claims the brother told investigators both he and Salman belonged to the Islamic State group.

The Monday night bombing killed 22 people. Abedi died in the attack.

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5:40 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is making a snap visit to London on Friday to show America's support for Britain after the Manchester bomb attack that killed 22 people.

The trip comes as police and government officials in England have been angrily denouncing alleged leaks to U.S. media outlets of information from the attack investigation.

The alleged leaks led British authorities to suspend some information sharing with the U.S. on Thursday.

Britain's Foreign Office said Thursday that Tillerson and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will hold talks and write messages of condolence for the victims.

The Foreign Office says they plan to make brief statements to the press.

Tillerson does not plan to be accompanied by any journalists on the brief visit, after which he will return to Washington.

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4:00 p.m.

British Transport Police says armed officers will patrol some U.K. trains for the first time because of the increased threat of extremist attacks.

The patrols will begin Thursday afternoon.

Officials say the plan is to "ensure that the travelling public are kept safe on the rail network."

Armed officers have patrolled London Underground subway trains since December, but the move announced Thursday expands the security measure to train services elsewhere in the country.

British Transport Police Chief Constable Paul Crowther says the force has "radically increased" its presence since the Monday night attack in Manchester.

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3:55 p.m.

A Turkish official says the 22-year-old man suspected of bombing concertgoers in Manchester traveled through Istanbul and Dusseldorf, Germany on his way to Britain days before the attack.

The government official said Thursday that Salman Abedi flew into Istanbul on May 18 and later departed for Dusseldorf.

The official would not say which country Abedi had arrived from. The official said however, that the attacker had on several occasions in the past used Istanbul as a transit for flights between Libya and Europe.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without prior authorization.

- by Suzan Fraser

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3:45 p.m.

Universal Pictures has scrapped plans for the London premiere of Tom Cruise's "The Mummy," the latest big, glitzy event canceled following the Manchester attack.

In a statement, the studio says it was "devastated" by Monday attack's at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester: "Out of respect to those affected by this tragedy we have decided not to move forward with the London premiere."

That move comes a day after Warner Bros. scrapped its London premiere of "Wonder Woman" on May 31. Stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright had been scheduled to walk a red carpet.

Bands like Blondie and Take That canceled shows in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, and Netflix scrapped a few screenings. Grande's concerts through June 5 have been canceled.

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3:20 p.m.

Former President Barack Obama has appeared in a video alongside German Chancellor Merkel and the Archbishop of Canterbury condemning the deadly attack on a concert in Manchester.

Obama is in Berlin for a religious conference. He said in the video, posted Thursday by Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert, that "I'm heartbroken by the extraordinary tragedy that's occurred in Manchester."

He said that, "To all the families who have been affected, to those who lost loved ones: it's unimaginable to think about the cruelty, the violence the city of Manchester has suffered."

Merkel said that the thoughts of all Germans are "with you in Manchester after you had to go through this horrible incident."

She said that "we are mourning with you, but we also stand with you."

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3 p.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May says that she will make it clear to President Donald Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies "must remain secure."

May made the comments to reporters after entering NATO headquarters for a summit. Some British officials have suggested that U.S. officials are leaking sensitive information to American media outlets about the investigation into the Manchester attack.

May also said "we have a special relationship with the USA. It's our deepest defense and security partnership that we have."

"Of course that partnership is built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

___

2:05 p.m.

The New York Times has defended its publication of crime scene photographs showing evidence collected after the Manchester bombing, saying its reporting on the attack has been responsible.

Some British officials have suggested that the information was leaked by U.S. officials, but it isn't clear where The Times got the information. Manchester police chief Ian Hopkins said the story and photographs were "distressing" to victims' families. Prime Minister Theresa May is due to discuss the issue with President Donald Trump at a NATO summit in Brussels.

The Times said in a statement that "the images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims." It added that its coverage of the attack "has been both comprehensive and responsible."

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1:45 p.m.

Manchester's Premier League soccer clubs have combined to donate 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) to a victims' fund established after Monday's suicide bombing in the northern English city.

The cash pledge from Manchester United and Manchester City takes the "We Love Manchester Emergency Fund" over 3 million pounds.

United executive chairman Ed Woodward says "the barbarism of Monday evening's attack has shocked everyone. Our clubs are right at the heart of our local communities in Manchester and it is right that we present a unified response to this tragedy."

Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hopes the donation "will go some small way to alleviate the daunting challenges faced by those directly affected."

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1:05 p.m.

Queen Elizabeth II has told children injured in the Manchester bombing that the attack was "dreadful and wicked" as she visited a children's hospital to meet victims, families and medical staff.

The 91-year-old monarch told 14-year-old Evie Mills and her parents: "It's dreadful. Very wicked, to target that sort of thing." She also chatted and shook hands with hospital staff, and told the father of another teenager at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital: "It's not something you expect at all."

Twelve children under the age of 16 were taken to the hospital by ambulance following Monday's attack at Manchester Arena, where pop star Ariana Grande was finishing a concert when a powerful bomb killed 22.

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12:50 p.m.

The families of a teenage couple killed in the Manchester bombing say the pair "wanted to be together forever and now they are."

In a joint statement released through Manchester police, their families say 17-year-old Chloe Rutherford and 19-year-old Liam Curry were "perfect in every way for each other" and "inseparable."

The families said: "On the night our daughter Chloe died and our son Liam died, their wings were ready but our hearts were not."

The couple was among 22 people killed Monday night when bomber Salman Abedi targeted an Ariana Grande concert attended by many young people.

Others confirmed dead on Thursday included 14-year-old Sorrell Leczkowski. Her family, who went on Monday to collect her from the concert, said her grandmother is in intensive care and her mother is recovering from surgery.

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12:25 p.m.

A British official says police in Manchester will stop sharing information about their bombing investigation with the U.S. until they get a guarantee that there will be no more leaks to the news media.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said there is progress being made on the investigation despite the leaks.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise the issue of the leaks with President Donald Trump in Brussels later Thursday.

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published in The New York Times, though it was not clear where those came from.

Manchester police would not comment on information-sharing, but said at a news conference that the families of attack victims were distressed by leaks.

-By Paisley Dodds in London

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12:15 p.m.

The head of Manchester police says raids and searches across the city have uncovered items believed important to the investigation into the bombing at Manchester Arena.

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins added that the eight suspects detained so far were "significant" arrests, without elaborating. He said Thursday the searches will take several more days to complete.

Police have swooped in on multiple addresses in the city since Tuesday and those arrested include bomber Salman Abedi's brother.

Commenting on the leaking of evidence from the investigation to the New York Times, Hopkins said it was "absolutely understandable" that this caused "much distress" to families of victims already suffering with their loss.

___

12 p.m.

British police say an incident attended by officers and army bomb disposal teams in Manchester is now over and the area has been deemed safe.

Greater Manchester Police said officers and soldiers went to a street in Hulme, southwest of central Manchester, on Thursday to deal with a possible suspicious package.

The move sparked a brief period of alarm, coming amid a fast-moving investigation into Monday night's deadly bomb blast at Manchester Arena that killed 22. Police say the bomber belonged to a network and that investigations are taking place across Manchester.

Police said the cordon in the area has been removed.

___

12 p.m.

The family of an off-duty policewoman who died at the Manchester concert attack has paid tribute to her courage.

Elaine McIver, who served with Cheshire Police, was at the Ariana Grande concert with her partner, Paul, who was wounded in the deadly explosion.

In a statement Thursday, her family said she was "the best we could ever have wished for," adding: "Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics, instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it."

In total, 22 people - including teenagers and children - were killed in Monday night's blast.

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11:55 a.m.

Queen Elizabeth II has arrived at a children's hospital to visit those injured in the Manchester Arena blast and the medical staff treating them.

Earlier Thursday, at 11 a.m., many across Britain fell silent and bowed their heads for a minute in tribute to the victims caught up in Monday night's concert bombing. Crowds gathered at well-known sites including London's Parliament and Trafalgar Squares and Manchester's Albert Square.

The queen is expected to meet victims at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Twelve children under the age of 16 were taken to the hospital by ambulance following Monday night's attack, which saw 22 people in total killed and dozens more injured.

___

11:40 a.m.

A German magazine reports that the Manchester concert bomber passed through Duesseldorf airport four days before the attack.

Citing unnamed federal security sources, Focus reports that British-born Salman Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and wasn't on any international watch list.

A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't been cleared for public release.

Focus reported that German authorities are now trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany before flying to Manchester last week. It says he previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015.

The magazine also reports that British police informed their German counterparts Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria.

-By Frank Jordans in Berlin

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11:25 a.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May says progress is being made in the Manchester bombing investigation but the national threat level remains critical - meaning another attack may be imminent.

Speaking after a meeting of the government's COBRA crisis committee, May said "the public should remain vigilant." May said eight suspects are in custody and "progress is being made."

The threat level for Britain was raised to its highest level after bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people at a concert Monday night at Manchester Arena. Police say he was part of a network and they are racing to track down his links.

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11:05 a.m.

British police say officers and the army are responding to an incident at a college in Trafford, a district near Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed reports that an army bomb disposal team was at the scene Thursday. The force said it was too early to say whether the alert is linked to its investigation into the Manchester bomb attack.

It said several roads were closed and officers were "currently assessing the situation."

___

10:30 a.m.

Police arrested two more people and were on Thursday searching a new site in Manchester suspected of links to the bombing that killed 22 people at a pop concert, as British authorities complained bitterly about investigation leaks by U.S. officials.

Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise the issue of the leaks with President Donald Trump in Brussels later. British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the attack were published in the New York Times.

British security and law enforcement officials were reviewing whether other sensitive information involving the investigation should be shared, according to one official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.

The official added that the intelligence sharing agreement between Britain and the United States is built on trust and that leaks jeopardize active investigations.

___

9:30 a.m.

Greater Manchester Police have released a statement condemning U.S. intelligence leaks on the Manchester bombing on behalf of the National Counter-Terrorism Policing units. The note suggested a severe rupture in trust between Britain and the United States, who have traditionally shared intelligence at the highest levels.

"When the trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their family," the group said.

"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation."

Police and security services are also upset that the name of bomber Salman Abedi was apparently leaked by U.S. officials and published while police in Britain were withholding the name for what they said were reasons of operational security.

When the name of the bomber was allegedly released by U.S. officials, raids were underway both in Manchester and in Libya where the bomber's father lives.

___

8 a.m.

British police are rushing to uncover the network thought to have helped Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi in the attack on the Ariana Grande concert.

Greater Manchester Police say two men were arrested overnight Thursday in Manchester and in the Withington area south of the city. Officers also raided a property in the city's Moss Side neighborhood early Thursday and carried out a controlled explosion.

Eight men have now been detained in Britain connection with Monday's attack. Those include Abedi's brother Ismail, his father Ramadan Abedi told The Associated Press. A woman was arrested late Wednesday but was later released without charge.

The senior Abedi denied that his son Salman had links to militants, telling the AP in an interview "we don't believe in killing innocents" before being taken into custody in Libya, along with another son, Hashim.

Abedi died in Monday's blast the Grande concert. Grande has cancelled concerts scheduled for Thursday and Friday in London, and in several other sites in Europe.

British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

A woman reacts during a minute of silence in a square in central Manchester, Britain, Thursday, May 25, 2017, after the suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert that left more than 20 people dead and many more injured, as it ended on Monday night at the Manchester Arena. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A police officer patrol as people queue to place flowers at St Ann's square in central Manchester, England Thursday May 25 2017. More than 20 people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the venue late Monday evening. Britons will find armed troops at vital locations Wednesday after the official threat level was raised to its highest point. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People observe a minutes silence in Westminster in London, Thursday, May 25, 2017, after the suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert that left more than 20 people dead and many more injured, as it ended on Monday night at the Manchester Arena. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, right, speaks to Evie Mills, 14, from Harrogate, and her father Craig, as she visits the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in Manchester England, to meet victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week and to thank members of staff who treated them Thursday May 25, 2017. (Peter Byrne/Pool via AP)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, centre, speaks with hospital personnel as she visits the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to meet victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week and to thank members of staff who treated them Thursday May 25, 2017. (Peter Byrne/Pool via AP)

Undated handout photo issued by Greater Manchester Police on Thursday May 25, 2017 of Elaine McIver, who has been named as the off-duty police officer who died in the Manchester bombing. McIver, who served with Cheshire Police, was at the Ariana Grande concert with her partner, Paul, who was wounded in the deadly explosion. (Greater Manchester Police via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, writes a message at Manchester Town Hall in Manchester, England, Tuesday May 23, 2017, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with Monday's Manchester concert bomb attack. The attack killed more than 20 people, including children, and injured dozens more. (Ben Birchall/Pool via AP)

A woman looks at the floral tributes and messages left for the victims of the concert blast, during a vigil at St Ann's Square in central Manchester, England, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. British police say officers investigating the Manchester Arena concert blast have arrested a fifth suspect, and are assessing a package the suspect was carrying. Greater Manchester Police said the suspect was detained in Wigan, a town to the west of Manchester. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Police activity at an address in Elsmore Road, in connection with the concert blast at the Manchester Arena, in Manchester, England, Wednesday May 24, 2017. British police say officers investigating the Manchester Arena concert blast have arrested a fifth suspect, and are assessing a package the suspect was carrying. Greater Manchester Police said the suspect was detained in Wigan, a town to the west of Manchester. ( Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

Undated handout photo from an unnamed source made available on Wednesday May 24, 2017 of Salman Abedi. British authorities identified Salman Abedi as the bomber who was responsible for Monday's explosion in Manchester which killed more than 20 people. (AP)

A police officer at the scene at an address in Nuneaton, England Thursday May 25, 2017 where they arrested a seventh suspect in the investigation into the Manchester Arena bombing. British police have arrested a seventh person in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing. The man was held Wednesday after police carried out searches in the English town of Nuneaton, which is about 161 kilometers (100 miles) south of Manchester.(Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

Armed police patrol the streets in central Manchester, England Thursday May 25, 2017. British police arrested two more people Thursday and searched a new site in Manchester suspected of links to Monday's concert bombing that left more than 20 people dead. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

1. TRUMP SCOLDS NATO ALLIES

Surrounded by stone-faced allies, the president rebukes fellow NATO members for failing to meet the military alliance's financial benchmarks.

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2016 file photo, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Roger Gregory, gestures during an interview in his office in Richmond, Va. The 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six-Muslim majority countries on Thursday, May 25, 2017, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims. "Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," Gregory wrote. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

2. JARED KUSHNER IN MEDIA GLARE

Reports surface that the FBI is investigating meetings that Trump's son-in-law had in December with Russian officials.

3. FRESH SETBACK FOR TRUMP'S TRAVEL BAN

The revised ban vaguely invokes national security interests but is rooted in religious intolerance, a federal appeals court rules.

4. POSSIBLE MOTIVE EMERGES IN MANCHESTER BOMBING

The suspect in the deadly concert bombing was driven by what he saw as unjust treatment of Arabs in Britain, a relative says.

5. 'BODY SLAM' OF JOURNALIST PART OF TROUBLING TREND

The case of a Montana congressional candidate accused of body-slamming a reporter comes amid a wave of hostility toward journalists.

6. HOW OPEC IS TRYING TO PROP UP PRICES

An alliance of many of the world's biggest oil-producing nations extends its agreement to cut output for an additional nine months.

7. HEALTH OVERHAUL HITS HURDLE

Republican senators concede that a scathing analysis of the House GOP health care bill complicates their effort to dismantle "Obamacare."

8. WHAT US ADULTS BELIEVE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PAY FOR

A growing number of Americans age 40 and older think Medicare should cover the costs of long-term care for older adults, according to an AP poll.

9. CAROLINE KENNEDY MISSES JFK 'EVERY DAY'

President John F. Kennedy's daughter reminisces about her father in a video released ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday.

10. WHERE TO FIND BEST BEACH

Florida's Siesta Beach is named America's best beach on an annual top 10 list.

FILE - In this 1962 file photo, President John F. Kennedy and his daughter, Caroline, sail off Hyannis Port, Mass. Caroline Kennedy said in a video released by the JFK Library on May 25, 2017, that she thought about her father and "missed him every day of my life." The 100th anniversary of JFK's birth is Monday, May 29, 2017. (AP Photo, File)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian investigators say the editor of a local newspaper in Siberia has been shot dead.

The Investigative Committee in the Krasnoyarsk region said in a statement on Thursday that 42-year-old Dmitry Popkov, editor of the Ton-M newspaper, was found dead with gunshot wounds outside his home in the city of Minusinsk late on Wednesday. The investigators had no details of the killing but said they were looking into several possible motives, including Popkov's work.

Ton-M, founded by Popkov in 2014, is a rare regional publication that has been openly critical of local authorities and functionaries from the Kremlin-backed United Russia party.

Popkov held a brief tenure at the Minusinsk city council before he was stripped of his seat.
BEIJING (AP) - China protested a U.S. Navy patrol that sent a guided missile destroyer near a group of man-made islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, in the first American challenge to Beijing's claims to the waters since President Donald Trump took office.

China's Defense Ministry told reporters that it had sought an explanation with U.S. officials over the incident, which Beijing said involved the USS Dewey and took place around Mischief Reef, one of a chain of artificial islands China has built and fortified to assert its claims over the strategic waterway.

While U.S. officials did not immediately comment on Thursday's operation, Washington has in the past insisted that it has the right to conduct so-called freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPS, in the area because it is in international waters. The Navy conducted similar operations under former President Barack Obama, but had not done so since Trump took office and began talking up the prospect of warming ties with Beijing and cooperating over issues like North Korea.

Jan. 26, 2008, file photo, the USS Dewey (DDG 105), a United States Navy Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer, sits at the Northrop Grumman shipyard on its christening day in Pascagoula, Miss. China is protesting a U.S. Navy patrol that brought the USS Dewey near a group of manmade islands in the South China Sea that are controlled by Beijing. The Chinese defense ministry said Thursday that it had been in contact with U.S. officials over the matter. (AP/Nicole LaCour Young, File)

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the U.S. destroyer had "trespassed" near islands over which China has "indisputable sovereignty."

"We urge the U.S. to correct this mistake and stop taking further actions so as to avoid hurting peace and security in the region and long-term cooperation between the two countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Ren Guoqiang told reporters at a monthly news briefing that a pair of Chinese navy frigates had warned off the American ship after it entered the area without China's permission.

"We urge the American side to take concrete efforts to correct its wrongdoings and add more positive energy to the military-to-military relationship," Ren said.

The spokesman added that the U.S. actions not only posed the risk of sparking an accident at sea but would "only motivate the Chinese military to enhance its capacity."

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has aggressively tried to fortify its foothold in recent years by transforming seven mostly submerged reefs into island outposts, some with runways and radars and - more recently - weapons systems.

The work is opposed by the other claimants to the atolls and the United States, which are wary of restrictions on ship movements in a key waterway for world trade which boasts rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of undersea oil, gas and mineral deposits. An international tribunal last year rejected most of China's claims to the waters and said its land reclamation was aggravating tensions and violating the sovereignty of fellow claimant the Philippines. China has ignored the ruling.

China contends the man-made islands are primarily for civilian purposes and to increase safety for ships. It has said it won't interfere with freedom of navigation or overflight, but there have been questions about whether that includes military ships and aircraft.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators earlier this month urged Trump to resume freedom of navigation operations that had last been conducted in October. The senators described the South China Sea as critical to U.S. national security interests and to peace in the Asia-Pacific.

U.S. Defense Department spokesman Maj. Jamie Davis said in an emailed statement that U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region would continue to conduct freedom of navigation operations to "challenge excessive maritime claims in order to preserve the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law."

Davis gave no details of Thursday's operation, saying summaries would only be released in an annual report and adding that U.S. forces conducted such operations last year to challenge claims by 22 coastal states, including allies and partners.

"U.S. forces operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. All operations are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," Davis said.

"FONOPS are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements."
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) - Slovakia's prosecutor general has asked the Supreme Court to ban a parliamentary far-right party.

The spokeswoman for Jaromir Ciznar says the party Kotleba, or The People's Party Our Slovakia, is an extremist group whose activities violate the country's constitution.

The prosecutor general says the party's goal is to destroy the country's democratic system.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Sunday, March 6, 2016 of Marian Kotleba the extreme right Kotleba People's Party Our Slovakia as he arrives for a television debate after Saturday's parliamentary elections in Bratislava, Slovakia. Slovakia's Prosecution General has asked the country's Supreme Court to ban a parliamentary far-right party. Prosecution spokeswoman Andrea Predajnova says the party Kotleba - The People's Party Our Slovakia whose program and activities violate the Slovak Constitution, law and international treaties. It has 14 seats in the 150-seat parliament. (Vaclav Salek/CTK via AP, File)

The Kotleba party openly admires the Nazi puppet state that the country was during World War II. Party members use Nazi salutes, consider NATO a terror group and want the country out of the alliance and the European Union.

Party leader Marian Kotleba previously led the banned neo-Nazi Slovak Togetherness-National Party, which organized anti-Roma rallies and admired past Nazi rule.

The party has 14 lawmakers in the 150-seat parliament. It has not commented on the proposed ban.
TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) - A glance of the leaders meeting with Donald Trump during his first Group of Seven summit as U.S. president, in alphabetical order by country. The summit takes place Friday and Saturday in Taormina, on the Italian island of Sicily.

Trump joins the leaders of France, Britain and Italy in making their G-7 debuts this year, although he met some of them already on Thursday at the NATO summit in Brussels.

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FILE - In this May 23, 2017 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media outside 10 Downing Street. Four leaders are making their G7 premier in the Sicilian town of Taormina, southern Italy, on May 26 and 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and the Italian host, Paolo Gentiloni. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, files)

BRITAIN

Theresa May, 60, entered 10 Downing St. last July to shepherd Britain's exit from the European Union, as decided in a nationwide referendum. Despite backing the campaign to remain in the EU, May has pledged she will make a success of Brexit and is spearheading tough negotiations to untangle Britain from the EU apparatus after 44 years of ties, while forging new bilateral relationships with its neighbors. As part of that, May unexpectedly called a snap election for June 8, hoping to increase her parliamentary majority and strengthen her bargaining position. However, in recent days her attention has been on the suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester that killed 22 people.

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CANADA

Justin Trudeau, 45, became the second youngest prime minister in Canada's history in 2015. He is the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who brought glamor and excitement to Canadian politics in the late 1960s. Tall and trim, Trudeau channels the star power of his father, a liberal legend credited with making Canada what it is today. Opponents of Justin Trudeau pilloried him as too inexperienced and naive, but powered by his celebrity status and a popular message his Liberal party won the majority of seats in Parliament. Trudeau champions global free trade and has welcomed more than 40,000 Syrian refugees. He has plans to legalize marijuana. Women make up half of his Cabinet, and he has stressed the importance of gender balance.

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GERMANY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 62, is seeking a fourth term in September that would extend her run as Europe's dominant politician. As head of the largest country in the 28-member European Union and the 19-member euro currency union, she has had the major say in determining the continent's response to the crisis over debt in several member countries and to the influx of refugees fleeing turmoil in the Arab world. Merkel grew up in communist East Germany and entered politics only after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

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FRANCE

Emmanuel Macron, 39, is France's and the G-7's youngest head of state. He was elected earlier this month on a free-market, pro-European agenda. A former investment banker, Macron was economy minister from 2014-2016 under Socialist president Francois Hollande. He quit the government last year to launch his presidential bid as an independent candidate, campaigning on a promise to renew the country's political landscape. He has never held an elected office before. Among his top priorities are boosting the country's lagging economy and fighting terrorism. His political movement, Republic on the Move, is now competing to get a majority at France's lower house of parliament in elections next month.

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ITALY

Paolo Gentiloni, 62, became Italy's premier last December when Matteo Renzi resigned after losing a referendum on reforms key to his political platform. A member of Renzi's Democratic Party, Gentiloni was foreign minister under Renzi and previously was communications minister. He was born to an aristocratic family, studied political science and worked for an environmental magazine before his first foray into politics as spokesman to a former Rome mayor. Besides shepherding Italy's G-7 presidency and its one-year rotation on the U.N. Security Council, Gentiloni's main domestic tasks as premier are to see that a new electoral law gets passed ahead of new elections due next year and to manage Italy's banking crisis.

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JAPAN

Shinzo Abe, 62, is one of the longest serving Japanese prime ministers, having been in office first from 2006 to 2007, then again from 2012. A conservative hawk from the Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost incessantly for six decades, Abe is credited for jump-starting an ailing economy through his "Abenomics" program of loose lending and public spending. The grandson of a prime minister and son of a foreign minister, he has long been vocal about his desire to see Japan become more assertive diplomatically and militarily. Abe has argued Japan should write its own constitution, in place of what he sees as an outdated, pacifist one written during the U.S. occupation after World War II. Abe has also been aggressive about forging close relations with Trump.

FILE - In this May 18, 2017 file photo Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives a wave as he departs a hotel following a meeting with Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, in Seattle, WA, United States. Four leaders are making their G7 premier in the Sicilian town of Taormina, southern Italy, on May 26 and 27, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and the Italian host, Paolo Gentiloni. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, files)

FILE - In this May 22, 2017 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles behind a battery case during the groundbreaking ceremony for a new battery factory for German ACCUMOTIVE owned subsidiary of the Daimler AG in Kamenz, eastern Germany. Four leaders are making their G7 premier in the Sicilian town of Taormina, southern Italy, on May 26 and 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and the Italian host, Paolo Gentiloni. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, file)

FILE - In this May 16, 2017 file photo newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron waves to the media after a meeting with the International Olympic Committee at the Elysee palace in Paris. Four leaders are making their G7 premier, U.S. President Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and the Italian host, Paolo Gentiloni. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, files)

FILE - In this April 29, 2017 file photo, Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni arrives for an EU summit at the Europa building in Brussels, Belgium. Four leaders are making their G7 premier in the Sicilian town of Taormina, southern Italy, on May 26 and 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and the Italian host, Paolo Gentiloni. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, file)

FILE - In this May 1, 2017 file photo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a speech during the annual rally on revising Japan's constitution organized by ruling party lawmakers in Tokyo, Monday, May 1, 2017. Four leaders are making their G7 premier in the Sicilian town of Taormina, southern Italy, on May 26 and 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and the Italian host, Paolo Gentiloni. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, file)

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron at the top of a meeting at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Brussels, Thursday, May 25, 2017. World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump are in Belgium to attend a NATO summit. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)
NEW YORK (AP) - He has served a full-term as New York City mayor, but Bill de Blasio has never attended a New York Yankees game during his tenure. And he doesn't plan to break the streak now.

The Democratic mayor grew up outside Boston and is a fan of the Yankees' rival Boston Red Sox.

During events in the Bronx this week, the mayor was asked if he planned to attend a Yankees game in the Bronx at any point in the future. The New York Post reports (http://nyp.st/2rjV4fJ ) de Blasio gave a one-word answer: no.

Bronx Republican Chairman Michael Rendino says the mayor's refusal to attend a home game is one more reason he's endorsing Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey. Democratic state Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., of the Bronx, says de Blasio is insulting Bronx residents.

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Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - U.S. prosecutors say a Romanian man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for his role in a multi-state bank ATM skimming scheme.

Bogdan Mocanu, who was living in New York City, also was ordered Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, to pay nearly $343,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors say the 31-year-old Mocanu was part of a group that defrauded banks in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey by placing devices on automated-teller machines that recorded debit and credit card account numbers. They also installed cameras to capture customer personal identification numbers for those cards.

Mocanu pleaded guilty in August to bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. He faces deportation upon completion of his sentence.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has undergone a heart procedure and will remain hospitalized for a few days.

That's the word from Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. He says in a statement that he had what he calls a "minimally invasive medical procedure" on Wednesday - a transarterial aortic valve replacement - at Johns Hopkins Hospital to treat aortic stenosis.

The aortic valve is the heart's main doorway, and with age it can become too narrow, causing the heart to work harder to squeeze blood through. Open-heart surgery to replace that valve with an artificial one has long been the main treatment. But the less invasive option is becoming more common: Instead of cracking open the chest, a valve attached to a catheter is threaded through an artery to the heart and wedged inside the old valve to take over its job.

FILE - In this May 17, 2017 file photo, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Cummings has undergone a heart procedure and will remain hospitalized for a few days. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The lawmaker is expected to remain hospitalized for a few days.
A New Jersey nurse who has only been on the job for nine months is being credited with saving the life of a fellow airplane passenger in a medical emergency.

Twenty-two-year-old Courtney Donlon was awakened on a connecting flight home from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by the airplane's loudspeaker asking if anyone was a medical professional.

Donlon tells MyCentralJersey.com that she told a flight attendant she was a nurse and began tending to the ill passenger.

Scroll down for video

Courtney Donlon, 22, helped save a woman who was experiencing a heart attack on a flight

The woman from New Jersey only became a nurse nine months ago and put her skills to good use saving the life of a woman

'I stood up and went over to the flight attendant. As soon as I identified myself as a nurse, they let me start assessing the woman in distress,' she said.

'I introduced myself  told her I was Courtney and I worked at Robert Wood Johnson and what kind of floor I worked on so she would start to trust me a little bit. I told her she was in good hands. From there, I assessed her pain.'

Her nurse's training kicked in immediately, she said.

'Also, I was trying to think a step ahead  if she loses consciousness or a pulse and I have to give CPR,' Donlon said. 'I was thinking how do I make what I do have here work.'

She had only a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, oxygen, defibrillator and aspirin to begin treating the 57-year-old woman.

Donlon says after assessing the woman she believed she had the symptoms of a heart attack.

Courtney Donlon, left, with her sister Nicolle Black, comes from a family of nurses. She, her sister and mother work at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Donlon's training kicked in immediately during the flight emergency

'She didn't have any prior heart conditions, but it turns out the pain actually had started the day before, but she thought it was discomfort like maybe she slept wrong on her neck or maybe she pulled it in the garden or from or from carrying a heavy purse,' she said.

Donlon asked for some aspirin from fellow passengers and did her best to keep the woman calm by building a rapport.

She then told the pilot that it was a 'dire situation' and would need to make an emergency landing in Charleston, South Carolina, so the woman could receive expert treatment at a hospital.

'I got off the plane and onto the tarmac with her. She was nervous,' Donlon said.

'I gave a report to the paramedics. She asked me to get off with her and hold her hand until she was with the paramedics. She was travelling alone. And we really created a trusting relationship  a bond. She felt safe, I hope, that she was under my care.'

Donlon is unsure of the woman's condition but hopes she will reach out to her.

JetBlue released a statement regarding the incident: 'On May 22nd, a customer on board JetBlue flight 2006 from Fort Lauderdale, FL experienced a medical problem while en route to Newark, NJ. The flight diverted to Charleston, SC and landed shortly after 9:00am EDT, where it was met by medical crews. The customer was transported to a local hospital, and the flight continued on to Newark arriving at approximately 12:00pm EDT.'
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. JAMES COLEMAN, PlaintiffAppellant, v. LINCOLN PARISH DETENTION CENTER; ANNA RAWSON; JIM TUTEN; R. JOHNSON; CECIL SMITH; DEPUTY WARDEN YELVERTON; CHAPLAIN DENTON; JIM FORDHAM; LIEUTENANT OTWELL; DEPUTY A. QUALLS DefendantsAppellees. No. 16-30109 Decided: May 24, 2017

Before JOLLY, SMITH, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.

James Coleman, Louisiana prisoner # 214322, appeals the dismissal of his 42 U.S.C.  1983 complaint, which was filed in forma pauperis (IFP), as frivolous and for failure to state a claim. When a district court dismisses a complaint both as frivolous and as failing to state a claim under  1915(e)(2)(B)(i) & (ii), we review the dismissal de novo.

This court affords pro se pleadings liberal construction. But even for pro se plaintiffs, such as Coleman, conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as factual conclusions will not suffice to state a claim for relief.

By the time Coleman filed his original complaint, he had been trans-ferred from the Lincoln Parish Detention Center (LPDC) to the Jefferson Parish Detention Center. That transfer mooted his claims for declaratory and injunctive relief under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), and the possibility of his transfer back to the LPDC is too speculative to warrant relief. In addition, RLUIPA does not authorize a private cause of action for compensatory or punitive damages against the appellees in their individual or official capacities.

As for Coleman's claim that his right to exercise his religion freely under the First Amendment was violated because he was not allowed to attend Jumu'ah prayer services, he has identified no other restrictions on his ability to express or exercise his faith. Thus, the district court did not err in dismissing that claim.

Coleman's claims regarding the denial of medical care, negligent or delib-erately indifferent infliction of injury, interference with his mail/denial of access to the courts, denial of equal protection, and retaliation were either not briefed at all or not adequately briefed. Thus, they are deemed abandoned.

Finally, Coleman never filed a formal motion requesting leave to file his proposed third amended complaint, and his proposed order accompanying that complaint did not qualify as such a motion because it offered no arguments as to why good cause authorized the filing of the complaint. The proposed third amended complaint thus had no legal effect. As a result, the following per-sons, though named in the proposed third amended complaint and in the caption of this appeal, are not parties to this lawsuit: (1) Deputy Warden Yel-verton, (2) Chaplain Denton; (3) Jim Fordham; (4) Lieutenant Otwell; (5) Deputy A. Qualls; and (6) Jefferson Parish Detention Center.

Accordingly, the judgment is AFFIRMED. Coleman's motion for a proposed settlement is DENIED.

The dismissal of the complaint counts as a strike under 28 U.S.C.  1915(g). Coleman has at least three other strikes. As a result, he is BARRED from proceeding IFP in any civil action or appeal filed while he is incarcerated or detained in any facility unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.

FOOTNOTES

. See 28 U.S.C.  1915(e)(2)(B), 1915A(b)(1).

. Samford v. Dretke, 562 F.3d 674, 678 (5th Cir. 2009).

. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972).

. Taylor v. Books A Million, Inc., 296 F.3d 376, 378 (5th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

. See Cooper v. Sheriff, Lubbock Cty., 929 F.2d 1078, 1084 (5th Cir. 1991).

. See Herman v. Holiday, 238 F.3d 660, 665 (5th Cir. 2001).

. Sossamon v. Lone Star State of Tex., 560 F.3d 316, 32931 (5th Cir. 2009).

. See O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 35152 (1987).

. See Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 22425 (5th Cir. 1993) (stating that pro se appel-lants must brief arguments to preserve them); Brinkmann v. Dallas Cty. Deputy Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987) (holding that an appellant's failure to address the merits of a district court's decision or to identify any error in its legal analysis was the same as if he had not appealed that judgment).

. See Thomas v. Chevron, 832 F.3d 586, 59091 (5th Cir. 2016) (explaining that a motion for leave to amend must set forth good cause); United States ex rel. Mathews v. HealthSouth Corp., 332 F.3d 293, 296 (5th Cir. 2003) (holding that failure to obtain leave to file an amended complaint when required results in an amended complaint['s] having no legal effect); United States v. Jenkins, 780 F.2d 518, 520 (5th Cir. 1986) (stating that even pro se litigants must comply with relevant procedural rules).

. See Adepegba v. Hammons, 103 F.3d 383, 38788 (5th Cir. 1996).

. (1) Coleman v. Stalder, No. 5:96-cv-916 (W.D. La. Mar. 31, 1997) (dismissing the  1983 complaint as frivolous); (2) Coleman v. Stalder, No. 5:95-cv-1380 (W.D. La. June 4, 1996) (dismissing the  1983 complaint as frivolous); and (3) Coleman v. McMahen, No. 5:92-cv-97 (W.D. La. Sept. 24, 1992) (dismissing the  1983 complaint for failure to state a claim). See Adepegba, 103 F.3d at 386 (holding that civil actions that were dismissed before enact-ment of the Prison Litigation Reform Act may count as strikes).

. See  1915(g).

PER CURIAM:
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - Kosovo police say they have arrested four ethnic Albanians suspected of preparing terror acts.

A statement Thursday said police carried out a large operation checking five locations in the capital, Pristina, as well as Gjilan and Ferizaj in the south.

Police said they seized a revolver, a rifle, a computer, mobile phones and some notebooks.

Two of the arrested were later released after questioning.

It did not specify what terror plans they were accused of, adding the investigation is ongoing.

Kosovo authorities say that about 70 of the country's citizens are active in extremist groups in Syria and Iraq.
BERLIN (AP) - The suspected bomber in the concert attack in Britain passed through Germany and Turkey before the attack, authorities said Thursday.

Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airport's transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.

"According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area," police said in a statement. Police didn't provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.

Undated handout photo from an unnamed source made available on Wednesday May 24, 2017 of Salman Abedi. British authorities identified Salman Abedi as the bomber who was responsible for Monday's explosion in Manchester which killed more than 20 people. (AP)

A Turkish official told The Associated Press that the 22-year-old suspect traveled through Istanbul and Duesseldorf on his way to Britain.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without prior authorization, wouldn't say which country Abedi had arrived from to Istanbul. However, the official added that the attacker had on several occasions in the past used Istanbul as a transit for flights between Libya and Europe.

German magazine Focus, citing unnamed federal security sources, had earlier reported that British-born Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and that he wasn't on any international watch list.

A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't been cleared for public release.

Focus reported that Abedi previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015. The magazine also wrote that German authorities are trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany. The report said that British police informed their German counterparts that Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria beforehand.

The Czech Republic's interior minister, meanwhile, said a report by German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel claiming Abedi had traveled to Germany via Prague, wasn't correct.

Milan Chovanec tweeted that "I can confirm that information that this person was flying through Prague isn't true."

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Karel Janicek in Prague, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - The Latest on the assault case against Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for a Montana congressional seat in a Thursday special election. (all times local):

12 p.m.

The Montana congressional candidate accused of assaulting a reporter hasn't been seen or heard from Thursday as voters go to the polls.

FILE - In this March 6, 2017, file photo, Greg Gianforte, right, receives congratulations from a supporter in Helena, Mont. Montana voters are heading to the polls Thursday, May 25, 2017, to decide a nationally watched congressional election amid uncertainty in Washington over President Donald Trump's agenda and his handling of the country's affairs. (AP Photo/Matt Volz, File)

Repeated phone calls to Greg Gianforte's cellphone went unreturned Thursday. Twice it appeared someone picked up then immediately hung up.

His home in Bozeman is set back on property along the Gallatin River and isn't very visible from the road. Its gate was half-opened, with a sign thanking people for not trespassing.

People at Gianforte's campaign headquarters referred all questions to spokesman Shane Scanlon, who was not there. No one answered the door at Scanlon's home.

Gianforte has backed out of at least one planned television appearance. MSNBC's "MTP Daily" says he canceled on the show.

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11:15 a.m.

Montana's Democratic governor is condemning a GOP House candidate charged with assaulting a journalist.

Gov. Steve Bullock said Thursday it is "unsettling that Greg Gianforte physically assaulted a journalist and then lied, refusing to take responsibility for his actions."

Bullock defeated Gianforte in Montana's governor's race last fall.

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday after an audio recording and eye witnesses appeared to describe him slamming a reporter for the Guardian to the ground.

Bullock says that no matter the outcome of Thursday's vote, "the actions of Gianforte do not reflect the values of Montana or its people."

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist are vying to replace Ryan Zinke, who vacated Montana's lone House seat to become U.S. interior secretary.

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10:09 a.m.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the GOP House candidate in Montana charged with assaulting a reporter is "a wannabe Trump."

"That's his model, Donald Trump," Pelosi said of Greg Gianforte, the wealthy Republican running in Thursday's special election for Montana's sole House seat.

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday after an audio recording and eye witnesses appeared to describe him slamming a reporter for the Guardian to the ground.

Ben Jacobs had been trying to question Gianforte about a new Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House health care bill. Gianforte's campaign accused Jacobs of "badgering."

Some House Republicans were not eager to comment Thursday morning but Pelosi said: "We've really got say enough. Behave. That was outrageous."

House Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for Gianforte to apologize, saying "that's wrong and should not happen."

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9:56 a.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for the Republican candidate in Montana's special House election to apologize after allegedly attacking a reporter and getting charged with assault.

Ryan says "that's wrong and should not happen."

But Ryan wouldn't say if Greg Gianforte should be barred from joining the House GOP conference if he wins Thursday's election. Instead Ryan said, "I'm gonna let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative."

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Congressman Steve Stivers, also weighed in Thursday. Stivers said: "From what I know of Greg Gianforte, this was totally out of character, but we all make mistakes."

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9:20 a.m.

It's unclear how an alleged assault of a reporter by a Montana congressional candidate will affect the special election's outcome - in part because more than a third of the state's registered voters cast absentee ballots before polls opened Thursday.

Republican Greg Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly throwing a reporter for the Guardian to the ground at his campaign headquarters late Wednesday.

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist are seeking to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to become President Donald Trump's Interior secretary.

Montana's secretary of state's office says 37 percent of registered voters had returned absentee ballots as of Wednesday.

Montana has just over 699,000 registered voters.

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8:40 a.m.

GOP lawmakers emerging from a closed-door caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday said they didn't know the facts about Republican Greg Gianforte being charged with misdemeanor assault.

A reporter from the Guardian accused the tech millionaire of slamming him to the ground and breaking his glasses in an altercation at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman on Wednesday afternoon. The reporter had tried to ask Gianforte a question about the latest budget analysis of the GOP health care bill.

A few lawmakers did comment.

Asked if assaulting a reporter is appropriate behavior, California Rep. Duncan Hunter said, "Of course not. It's not appropriate behavior. Unless the reporter deserved it."

Indiana Rep. Luke Messer said he wasn't sure whether the incident would hurt or help Gianforte in Thursday's special election for the open House seat.

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7:50 a.m.

The polls are open in a race for Montana's only congressional seat just hours after the front-running candidate was charged with beating up a reporter.

Republican Greg Gianforte has not appeared in public since he was charged with misdemeanor assault late Wednesday. A reporter from the Guardian accused the tech millionaire of slamming him to the ground and breaking his glasses in an altercation Wednesday afternoon at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman.

Gianforte's camp issued a statement hours before the charge was filed disputing reporter Ben Jacobs' account. But an audio recording Jacobs made and a Fox News crew that witnessed the altercation back up Jacobs' version.

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers pulled their endorsements of Gianforte but did not endorse his opponents.

Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was doing his job and asking a question.

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5 a.m.

The Guardian reporter who authorities say was assaulted by a Montana Republican candidate for a U.S. House seat says he never touched the politician before he was thrown to the ground.

Ben Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was doing his job and asking a question of candidate Greg Gianforte as part of covering Thursday's special election.

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. He's accused of grabbing Jacobs by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. Gianforte's campaign blamed Jacobs, saying the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed Gianforte.

Jacobs said Thursday of Gianforte's account that "the only thing that is factually correct ... is my name and place of employment."

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist are seeking to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join Trump's Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department.

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12:30 a.m.

Thursday's special election for Montana's sole congressional seat got a last-minute twist when the Republican candidate, Greg Gianforte, was charged with misdemeanor assault.

Greg Gianforte was cited for grabbing a reporter by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. The reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, was asking Gianforte about the Republican health care bill. Three Fox News employees witnessed the attack, which was also captured on an audio recording.

Gianforte's campaign blamed Jacobs for the incident.

Many voters cast their ballot early so it'll be hard to know the impact of the charge on the election results. Authorities said Jacobs' injuries weren't severe enough for a felony assault charge.
ROME (AP) - An Italian administrative court has nixed the selection of five museum directors, siding with critics of a much-vaunted reform plan that allowed experts from other European Union countries to compete for top posts.

The ruling was an embarrassing setback for Italy's much-hailed effort to modernize its bureaucratic museum system. The Culture Ministry said it would appeal.

"I ask myself what image our country is giving to the rest of the world," Culture Minister Dario Francheschini, the museum modernization plan's architect, told reporters Thursday.

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 file photo, James Bradburne, Milan's Brera Art Gallery director, right, shakes hand with Italian Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini at the end of a news conference in the Sala Passione hall of the gallery, in Milan, Italy. An Italian administrative court has nixed the selection of five museum directors, siding with critics of a much-vaunted reform which allowed experts based abroad to compete for top posts. Culture Minister Dario Franceschini on Thursday, May 25, 2017 slammed the ruling by the Lazio region's administrative tribunal as an embarrassment to Italy. His ministry immediately launched an appeal to the Council of State, the highest administrative tribunal. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

The reform plan featured a high-profile search for top art and archaeology experts to run Italy's museums. The hiring of non-Italians for director posts disgruntled some Italians.

On Wednesday, the Lazio region's administrative tribunal threw out five of the 20 museum appointments made in 2015.

Among the 15 whose selections were unaffected by the tribunal's scrutiny are some of the first foreigners to be named to head Italy's most prestigious art institutions, including a German at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, a Briton at the Brera art museum in Milan and a Frenchman at the Capodimonte museum in Naples.

The exact reasons five of the appointments were declared invalid weren't immediately clear, but Italian news reports said the use of Skype to interview some of the candidates figured in the ruling.

Among the five appointees who were rejected was Peter Assmann, an Austrian art historian who has led the Ducal Palace in Mantua. Others included the directors of the Estense Gallery in Modena and archaeological museums in Naples, Taranto and Reggio Calabria.

The museum in Reggio Calabria is home to a pair of imposing bronze Greek statues, found in the sea off Italy in 1972. Known as the Riace bronzes, the nearly 2,500-year-old statues are a cherished national symbol of Italy's rich art history.

Two of the five museum directors whose appointments were suspended by the tribunal are Italians who made their reputations abroad, one in Baltimore, Maryland, and the other in France.

The museum reform project was a centerpiece of former Premier Matteo Renzi's government. Franceschini noted that opening up the competition to non-Italian European Union citizens was "so innovative, so courageous," it made headlines worldwide.

Uffizi director Eike Schmidt, one the non-Italians whose appointment resulted from the 2015 change, expressed concern the broader undertaking to enhance Italy's art institutions could unravel.

Schmidt has been working to make the venerable Florence art museum, famed for its Botticelli and other masterpieces, more visitor-friendly.

He used a soccer term to describe the ruling's effect.

"If they close in some way to borders toward Europe, and toward the world, it would really be an 'own goal' for Italian culture and for the economy," the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Schmidt as telling reporters in Florence.

Ministry figures released Thursday said that under Assmann's direction, attendance at the Ducal Palace increased by some 76 percent. The museum in southern Taranto, far from the beaten tourist path, saw a similar attendance boost..

Revenues from Italy's museums and archaeological sites increased by 38 percent since 2015, the ministry said. Italy's culture ministry budget is chronically strapped, and the reform plan allowed museums to invest much of their revenues into improvements.

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Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio
ORTISEI, Italy (AP) - Tejay van Garderen claimed his first grand tour victory on the tough 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia as Tom Dumoulin kept the pink jersey on Thursday.

Van Garderen, of the United States, came round the inside of the final corner to edge Mikel Landa at the uphill finish of the 137-kilometer (85-mile) leg from Moeana to Ortisei.

Thibaut Pinot was third, eight seconds behind the front two, after five categorized climbs through the Dolomites.

Tejay van Garderen, of the United States, celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Moena to Ortisei, Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP)

Van Garderen was clearly emotional after crossing the line, following a difficult couple of years.

He has had to abandon three of his past four grand tours. Van Garderen, who rides for BMC Racing, came to the Giro hoping to contest overall victory but lost valuable time early on.

Dumoulin took another step toward overall victory with an impressive ride to hold off his main rivals. The Dutch cyclist remained 31 seconds ahead of 2014 champion Nairo Quintana, with two-time champion Vincenzo Nibali third, 1:12 behind.

Pinot is only 24 seconds off a podium place.

Quintana and Nibali knew stage 18 would be their chance to close the gap to Dumoulin. It appeared as if they would do when Quintana attacked on the third climb and Nibali followed him, but Dumoulin paced himself back to them by the summit.

Quintana attacked again with 6 1/2 kilometers to go and opened up a small gap but the Colombian was once again reeled in by the rest of the title contenders.

Dumoulin attacked several more times as he appeared to almost be toying with his rivals. The Team Sunweb cyclist's grip on the overall lead looked strong as he managed to control the race and deliver a psychological blow to Quintana and Nibali.

Friday's 19th stage is a tough 191-kilometer (119-mile) route from San Candido to Piancavallo with another uphill finish.

The 100th Giro ends in Milan on Sunday.

Tejay van Garderen, of the United States celebrates as he crosses the finish line ahead of Spain's Mikel Landa to win the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Moena to Ortisei, Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP)

Belarus' Vasil Kiryienka, right, leads the pack of riders climbing the Pordoi pass, during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Moena to Ortisei, Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP)

Colombia's Nairo Quintana, left, leads Italy's Vincenzo Nibali as they climb the Pordoi pass, during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Moena to Ortisei, Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A judge has ordered Maine broadcasters to produce unaired tapes of prosecutor interviews in a murder case.

The Portland Press Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2qfZPqd ) the Maine Public Broadcasting Network and WGME-TV have seven days to comply with Monday's order to hand over outtakes from interviews with Pamela Ames. Ames is a former assistant attorney general who won a conviction against Anthony Sanborn Jr. in the 1989 murder of his childhood girlfriend Jessica Briggs.

Sanborn served 27 years in prison before being released on bail in April after a witness recanted.

Sanborn's attorney says Sanborn was the victim of prosecutorial misconduct. In interviews with MPBN and WGME, Ames says she never pressured witnesses.

News directors from both stations filed affidavits saying the release would create a "chilling effect" on future news gathering.
CINCINNATI (AP) - The Cincinnati Zoo's prematurely born hippo named Fiona is getting a new beer in her honor.

Listermann Brewing Company is releasing a Team Fiona New England-style IPA. The hippo's care team helped brew the beer.

And the brewing company says 25 percent of the beer sales proceeds is being donated to the zoo's care team.

This May 15, 2017, photo provided by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden shows a can for Listermann Brewing Company's Team Fiona beer, featuring an image of the Nile hippopotamus named Fiona born prematurely Jan. 24 at the zoo in Cincinnati. Zoo officials say the Cincinnati microbrewery's New England-style India pale ale will be introduced June 10 with 25 percent of proceeds from sales at seven Cincinnati-area stores earmarked for the zoo's #TeamFiona fundraising campaign. (Chad Yelton/Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden via AP)

The brewing company describes the beer as having a soft mouth feel, hazy appearance with a fruit-juice flavor.

Fiona was born at the zoo in January, weighing just 29 pounds (13 kilograms). She now weighs more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms). Zoo caretakers are preparing to move her to a group of hippos that includes her parents.

Listermann's general manager says watching Fiona grow up has been a joy.
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) - A loggerhead turtle is safely back in the water in Florida after getting help from police officers and wildlife officials.

Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said in a news release that someone called authorities early Wednesday after seeing the giant turtle laying eggs in a nest across a four-lane highway from the beach.

Crean says arriving officers blocked traffic while the turtle made her way back to the beach. But the entry into the water was blocked so she turned back to the road and began crossing again.

While two officers protected the turtle, Crean says other officers found the nest and contacted the Key West Sea Turtle Club for help.

The rescue group got the turtle in the water and relocated the nest to a safer area.
HELSINKI (AP) - Tens of thousands of Finns have lined the roads in central Helsinki to honor former President Mauno Koivisto as his coffin was borne from the Helsinki Cathedral to the city's main cemetery.

Koivisto, a World War II veteran who served two six-year terms as Finland's president between 1982 and 1994, was buried with full military honors on Thursday.

He died in Helsinki on May 12 at age 93 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The president of Finland Sauli Niinist stands next to the coffin of former President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto, at his funeral service at Helsinki Cathedral, Finland, Thursday, May 25, 2017. The former president died on May 12, 2017. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Pool Photo via AP)

Police estimated that more than 30,000 people watched the funeral procession. About 500 invited guests and members of the diplomatic corps attended the state funeral service.

The funeral procession of late President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto, makes a stop in front of the Presidential Castle in Helsinki, Finland Thursday, May 25, 2017. The former president died on May 12, 2017. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)

Honorary medals and wreaths are placed by the coffin of the late Finnish President Mauno Koivisto draped with the state flag of Finland at the Helsinki Cathedral in Helsinki before the state funeral Thursday, May 25, 2017. Koivisto, Finland's last president during the Cold War who led the Nordic nation out of the shadow of its huge eastern neighbor, the Soviet Union, and into the European Union, died on May 12, at the age of 93. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
MADRID (AP) - Spanish prosecutors are considering whether Cristiano Ronaldo should face charges over allegations by the country's tax agency that he defrauded the authorities of 15 million euros ($16.7 million) between 2011 and 2014.

Prosecutors said Thursday they have until the end of June to decide whether to charge the Real Madrid star, based on evidence from an investigation by tax officials.

The alleged irregularities were mostly related to money that Ronaldo had in the Virgin Islands.

Tax officials said Ronaldo adjusted his tax declarations and paid an extra 6 million euros ($6.7 million) in 2014.

Prosecutors said that if they decided to charge him, and if the Portugal captain was subsequently found guilty by a court, he would face a prison sentence of at least 15 months. However, it would be unlikely he would go to jail as a first-time offender.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi was convicted of tax fraud last year.
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BEIRUT (AP) - The chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah group is telling Saudi Arabia that dialogue with Iran is the only way forward, lashing out at the kingdom's lavish royal welcome of U.S. president Donald Trump.

In a speech Thursday, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the U.S. president is 'only interested in money' and is the most 'racist' U.S. president against Arabs and Muslims. He says the Saudi welcome and deals signed are a sign of the kingdom's weakness.

Nasrallah was speaking days after Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering Saudi security, and after the U.S. State Department announced sanctions on senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine.

Nasrallah dismissed the sanctions as laughable and said such summits and declarations "will not make any difference."
MADRID (AP) - A judge has ordered former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell to be held without bail as Spanish authorities continue to investigate his alleged involvement in a money-laundering scheme related to the television rights of Brazil's national team.

The judge made the ruling after questioning Rosell for nearly two hours on Thursday.

The former Nike executive was detained at his home on Tuesday as part of "Operation Rimet," which is looking into the alleged illegal payments received by Rosell and other people involved in promoting Brazil's games, including former Brazilian confederation president Ricardo Teixeira.

Authorities said nearly 15 million euros ($16.8 million) could have been laundered through tax havens.

The judge said Rosell could not be released because he is a flight risk and could potentially destroy evidence in the case.
NEW YORK (AP) - Three tracks at a time will be closed at Penn Station as part of extensive repair work there that is expected to inconvenience thousands of rail commuters this summer, an Amtrak official said Thursday.

Michael DeCataldo, the national passenger railroad's vice president of operations, offered details on the repair work, which Amtrak announced last month after two derailments and other major service disruptions highlighted the station's aging infrastructure.

It isn't known yet how train schedules will be affected since final details haven't been released. Amtrak has been negotiating with the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit, which combine to carry hundreds of thousands of people into and out of the station, the nation's busiest, each weekday.

Trains pass one another in Penn Station in New York, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Amtrak officials say three tracks at a time will be closed at Penn Station as part of extensive repair work there that is expected to inconvenience thousands of rail commuters this summer. They say the tracks will be closed so rails, switches and other aging equipment can be replaced. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

This week, Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unveiled a plan to divert some of NJ Transit's lines to Hoboken, while Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has predicted a "summer of hell" for commuters.

The bulk of the work will focus on an area just west of the passenger platforms known as A Interlocking, a crisscrossing series of tracks where trains emerge from a tunnel under the Hudson River. It's the spot where dispatchers route trains to the station's 21 tracks via switches, essentially movable pieces of rail.

Penn Station handles about 1,300 train movements per weekday, twice what it did in the 1970s, according to Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman.

Both recent derailments, one on March 24 and another on April 3, occurred in that general area, though they were unrelated and caused by different factors, Amtrak officials have said. The April derailment, caused by aging wooden cross-ties underneath the rails, knocked out eight of the station's 21 tracks for several days, causing extensive service disruptions.

Three tracks will be taken out of service at a time because two are needed for staging and removing old equipment while work proceeds on a third track, DeCataldo said Thursday. He added that the replacement of track switches will have a greater effect on service because it limits dispatchers' flexibility in routing trains.

Christie has been particularly harsh in his recent criticism of Amtrak, saying this week that the railroad couldn't be trusted because of its "duplicity, dishonesty and their inability to keep infrastructure in a state of good repair."

The replacement of aging tracks and other equipment, much of which dates to the 1970s, initially was scheduled to be completed over a two- or three-year period, mainly on nights and weekends. But the recent problems prompted Amtrak to condense the process to include weekdays.

A preliminary plan obtained by The Associated Press this month called for weekday work to be performed during six weeks spread across July and August.

"We are very confident in our time frame," DeCataldo said Thursday. "We recognize how much of an inconvenience this is going to be and wish there was another way we could do it, but the reality is this work has to be done. The idea of doing this in a compressed time frame is that we'll get it done much more quickly."

Maintenance workers stand on a platform in Penn Station in New York, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Amtrak officials are giving some more details about extensive repair work to Penn Station that is expected to inconvenience thousands of rail commuters this summer. They say three tracks at a time will be closed so that rails, switches and other aging equipment can be replaced. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A train enters Penn Station in New York, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Amtrak officials say three tracks at a time will be closed at Penn Station as part of extensive repair work there that is expected to inconvenience thousands of rail commuters this summer. They say the tracks will be closed so rails, switches and other aging equipment can be replaced. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Navy Fireman 3rd Class Glaydon I.C. Iverson will receive a full-honors military funeral Saturday in Emmons, Minnesota

The remains of a Minnesota sailor killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 are finally being returned to his hometown.

Navy Fireman 3rd Class Glaydon I.C. Iverson will receive a full-honors military funeral Saturday in Emmons, Minnesota, a tiny town along the border with Iowa.

Iverson died at the age of 24 aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was anchored at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.

The ship was hit by torpedoes and capsized, which led to almost 430 deaths.

Iverson had enlisted in the Navy in February of 1941 and was stationed to the Oklahoma on September 11 of that year, just two months before the ship's destruction.

The sailor was initially declared missing in action, but after an 'exhaustive search' failed to find him he was declared dead, the Navy told Iverson's father in a telegram on February 14, 1942.

Iverson had enlisted in the Navy in February of 1941 and was stationed to the USS Oklahoma just two months before the ship's destruction. His remains were only recently identified

An aerial view of 'Battleship Row' at Pearl Harbor, photographed from a Japanese aircraft, beside Ford Island as the bombing began. The USS Oklahoma is moored top right

The USS Oklahoma (pictured) was hit by multiple torpedoes and capsized quickly, which led to almost 430 deaths. Iverson was declared dead after an extensive search failed to find him

Iverson's remains were buried, unidentified, for more than 74 years at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

But in 2015, the deputy secretary of defense ordered the disinterment of unidentified remains associated with the USS Oklahoma.

Iverson's remains were buried, unidentified, for more than 74 years at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency analyzed the remains. Scientists used DNA analysis, circumstantial evidence and dental comparisons to identify Iverson.

'This is a tremendous honor for us,' said Capt. Nathaniel Strandquist, commanding officer of the Naval Operations Support Center Minneapolis, told the Pioneer Press.

'Being able to serve our fallen shipmates that have served honorably, and helping bring closure to their family is one of the most important duties we do here,' Strandquist said.

The funeral will be held at his family plot at a cemetery in Emmons.

TELEGRAM TO IVERSON PARENTS WASHINGTON DC 10 31 PM FEBRUARY 14 1942 MR EDWIN M IVERSON EMMONS, MINNESOTA AFTER AN EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH IT HAS BEEN FOUND IMPOSSIBLE TO LOCATE YOUR SON GLAYDON IGNATIUS CLEMENT IVERSON, FIREMAN THIRD CLASS, US NAVY, AND HE HAS THEREFORE BEEN OFFICIALLY DECLARED TO HAVE LOST HIS LIFE IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY AS OF DECEMBER 7 1941. THE DEPARTMENT EXPRESSES TO YOU ITS SINCERE SYMPATHY. REAR ADMIRAL RANDALL JACOBS, CHIEF OF BUREAU OF NAVIGATION. Source: Midttelstadt Funeral Home Advertisement
COMPTON, Calif. (AP) - A gunbattle during a traffic stop near Los Angeles left a suspect dead and a sheriff's deputy wounded, authorities said Thursday.

A man in the backseat of a sedan suddenly opened fire on two deputies shortly after they pulled over the car for traffic violations late Wednesday in Compton, officials said.

Both Los Angeles County deputies fired back. One of them was struck in the arm and the torso, "which thankfully was stopped by a bulletproof vest," Lt. Joe Mendoza said.

The deputy was hospitalized and was expected to survive, he said. The second deputy suffered minor injuries after falling backward during the shootout.

The suspect, described by authorities as a known gang member, was shot and died at a hospital.

Two women inside the car were detained and interviewed by detectives, and the suspect's handgun was recovered.
BOSTON (AP) - A massage therapist has been arrested on charges he raped a customer inside a massage studio at Boston's Logan Airport.

Police say 29-year-old Darnell Williams, of Boston, was arraigned Thursday on a count of rape.

Police say a 25-year-old woman was attacked during a massage while waiting to fly out of the airport on Sunday night.

She told family members about it when she arrived home, and they contacted state police.

Williams was being held Thursday, and it was not clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the case.

The Be Relax studio issued a statement saying they are cooperating with authorities.

Studio officials say Williams has worked at the company for more than five years and has never had a disciplinary issue.
The case of a Montana congressional candidate accused of body-slamming a reporter is being blamed by some media watchers on a wave of hostility toward journalists that President Donald Trump helped generate.

"It definitely started before Trump, but he definitely exacerbated it," said Kelly McBride, a vice president at the Poynter Institute, a media think tank and training center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

For months, Trump, first as a candidate, now as president, has attacked the media, calling it dishonest, branding it the "enemy of the people" and accusing it of putting out "fake news."

FILE - In this May 11, 2017, file photo Republican Greg Gianforte, right, welcomes Donald Trump Jr., the U.S. president's son, onto the stage at a rally in East Helena, Mont. Gianforte, charged with shoving a reporter to the ground on the eve of a special election kept a low profile Thursday, May 25, even as supporters prepared a hotel ballroom for a possible victory party. (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan,File)

During the White House campaign, reporters at Trump rallies were often confined to a penned-in area, vilified by the candidate and subjected to such insults and threats from his supporters that some members of the media feared for their safety. At one rally, a man was photographed in a shirt that read, "Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some Assembly Required."

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was arrested during the campaign on battery charges for grabbing a female reporter. A Florida prosecutor later dropped the charge.

On Wednesday, Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for a House seat in a special election Thursday, was charged in Montana with misdemeanor assault for allegedly grabbing Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs by the neck and slamming him to the ground after Jacobs asked him about the GOP health care bill. Gianforte could be fined up to $500 or get six months in jail if convicted.

Gianforte, who has tried to align himself with Trump, said the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed him by the wrist. Jacobs said he never touched Gianforte. And a Fox News reporter who witnessed the incident said Jacobs was not physically aggressive.

"The attack in Montana is only the crudest and most visible expression of the rising hostility toward the media," Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University, wrote in an email. "The chilling fact is that half of the people seeing the Guardian reporter being beaten may actually - if privately - relish the image."

Among other recent incidents, all of them reported in May:

- The editor of Alaska's largest newspaper said a state senator slapped one of his reporters when the reporter sought the lawmaker's opinion on a recently published article.

- A Washington-based reporter from CQ Roll Call said he was pinned against the wall by security guards and forced to leave the Federal Communications Commission headquarters after he tried to question an FCC commissioner after a news conference.

- A West Virginia journalist was arrested after yelling questions about the opioid epidemic at U.S. Health Secretary Tom Price.

McBride said that while the hostility toward the media really began decades ago with talk radio and the rise of Fox News, Trump has stoked it.

"Reporters are subject to abuse all the time. Most of it's verbal, but it's not hard to imagine some of that verbal abuse transitioning to physical abuse, especially when you have the president calling journalists scum, bad people, evil people and 'enemies of the people,'" McBride said.

Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog Media Research Center, said that while he is not condoning an attack on a reporter, it's "goofball analysis" to lay blame for the Montana episode at Trump's feet.

"If Ann Coulter gets hit by a pie, I'm blaming everyone who has ever criticized her," he said sarcastically.

Carlos Lauria of the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists wouldn't draw parallels between the U.S. political climate and what happened in Montana. But he said, "I think this incident sends an unacceptable signal that physical assault is an appropriate response by an unwanted question by a journalist."

"Everybody needs to take a step back and realize the press has a role to play. We have a right to do our jobs," said Bernie Lunzer, a former journalist and the president of the NewsGuild, a union representing some 25,000 journalists in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. "You don't have to like it and you don't have to talk to us. ... If you want to attack journalists for doing their job, then there's something very wrong."

Turley said something more chilling than the recent clashes between politicians and reporters might be underway.

"The White House has admitted that it is actively studying new avenues to increase the liability of journalists. President Trump reportedly pressed former FBI Director Comey to arrest reporters using leaked information," he said. "I don't think the U.S. media has ever faced this type of concentrated threat that runs the gamut from physical to legal actions."

He added: "I've tended not to be alarmist, but I think there's a real danger here."

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Associated Press writer David Bauder in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

FILE - In this March 6, 2017 file photo technology entrepreneur Greg Gianforte speaks to Republican delegates before a candidate forum in Helena, Mont. Gianforte, charged with shoving a reporter to the ground on the eve of a special election kept a low profile Thursday, May 25, even as supporters prepared a hotel ballroom for a possible victory party. (AP Photo/Matt Volz, File)

FILE - In this March 6, 2017, file photo, Greg Gianforte, right, receives congratulations from a supporter in Helena, Mont. Montana voters are heading to the polls Thursday, May 25, 2017, to decide a nationally watched congressional election amid uncertainty in Washington over President Donald Trump's agenda and his handling of the country's affairs. (AP Photo/Matt Volz, File)
NEW YORK (AP) - Seven ancient statues and pottery vessels are headed back to their homeland in Italy after authorities said they tracked down the stolen items in New York City.

Dating back as far as the eighth century B.C., the artifacts were looted by Italian tomb raiders in the 1990s, then were smuggled out of the country and eventually turned up at two New York art galleries, the Manhattan district attorney's office said Thursday while returning the artifacts to Italian officials.

"A big 'grazie,' " said Italian Consul General Francesco Genuardi, thanking the city. "These pieces of art are a powerful display of the importance we attach, together, to the preservation of art heritage."

This photo provided by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York shows seven stolen ancient artifacts that were recovered by authorities being displayed on a table at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Thursday, May 25, 2017. The ancient statues and pottery vessels are headed back to their homeland in Italy after authorities said they tracked down the stolen items in New York City. (Laura J. Badger/Manhattan District Attorney's Office via AP)

The three statues depict a rather friendly-looking ox, a warrior and the mythological hero Herakles, also known as Heracles and Hercules. The four pottery pieces include a wine jug decorated with rams and panthers, a drinking cup featuring two goats butting heads, and two oil flasks. The items, each from the third century B.C. or earlier, are valued at over $90,000 in all.

But "no price tag can be placed on cultural heritage," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

No one has been charged in the case, and prosecutors declined to identify the galleries. They voluntarily gave up the artifacts after authorities brought evidence of their origins, Friedman Agnifilo said. U.S. federal officials and Italian authorities also worked on the case.

Before going back to Italy, the objects will be displayed at the consulate on Italy's Republic Day holiday June 2, Genuardi said.

Italy and other countries have striven in recent years to reclaim looted and lost artifacts they consider part of their cultural patrimony.

Some museums have returned items, and Manhattan D.A. Cyrus R. Vance's office and other authorities in the U.S. have also played a role in arranging to send antiquities, fossils and other objects back to countries ranging from Pakistan to Peru . Vance's office returned a 2,500-year-old Etruscan vessel to Italy just this March.

There have been some prosecutions, including a case against a prominent coin collector who pleaded guilty in 2012 to trying to sell what he believed were ancient coins found in Italy after removing antiquities became illegal in 1909. Those coins turned out to be forgeries, but some authentic ancient Greek ones from his collection were returned to the country in 2014.

This photo provided by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York shows two pottery vessels displayed on a table at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York, Thursday, May 25, 2017. They are among the seven ancient statues and pottery vessels are headed back to their homeland in Italy after authorities said they tracked down the stolen items in New York City. (Laura J. Badger/Manhattan District Attorney's Office via AP)
NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - A medical helicopter crashed Thursday behind a postal facility in a Delaware industrial park, killing the pilot, authorities said.

The Eurocopter EC135, registered to the University of Pennsylvania, crashed just before noon about 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) southeast of New Castle Airport.

Delaware State Police spokesman Cpl. Jeffrey Hale said the pilot, 37-year-old Michael R. Murphy of Franklinville, New Jersey, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. Hale said the helicopter crashed into a ditch behind a U.S. Post office facility, causing minor damage to an outbuilding and vehicles parked behind the building.

James Salmon, a spokesman for the airport's operator, Delaware River and Bay Authority, said the helicopter was not engaged in life-saving operations at the time of the crash.

Troopers said Murphy had flown from the Atlantic City Airport and was conducting approach training in the area of the New Castle Airport.

Ryan Dillman, a worker at a nearby business, told The News Journal of Wilmington that he heard a noise outside that "kept getting stronger and stronger. "

"Right when we looked out, it crashed and exploded. There were flames everywhere, and smoke. My heart dropped," he said.

Susan Phillips, a spokeswoman for Penn Medicine, said in a prepared statement that the helicopter was operated by Metro Aviation, which provides aviation services for PennStar, the air transportation service for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

"The pilot of the helicopter was conducting a training flight. No patients or Penn Medicine employees were on board," Phillips said.

Kristen King Holmes, marking director for Metro Aviation, based in Shreveport, Louisiana, said in an email that the company has sent operations, safety and maintenance personnel to the scene.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our pilot's family and the entire Metro Aviation and PennSTAR family," Holmes wrote.
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) - Idaho officials say a man accused of convincing at least 42 boys across various states and countries to send him pornographic videos is facing new charges.

Judah Lyda, 44, of Twin Falls was charged with seven felony counts of possessing and inducing children to engage in sexually exploitative material, the Times-News reported (http://bit.ly/2qgUtLp). He was previously charged with 33 felony counts of possession of sexually exploitative material.

Lyda was arrested in February after investigators found child pornography on his Twitter account. Lyda connected with the youths while playing "Counter Strike," a video game that connects players to each other online, according to investigators.

Lyda told detectives after his arrest that he would also communicate with the boys on Skype and watch them perform sexual acts.

Investigators found evidence that showed Lyda had done this with at least 42 boys, nine who were identified and interviewed. The boys that came forward are from Idaho, California, Oregon, Florida, Canada and England, according to court documents.

The boys told police that Lyda had offered them money and in one case pizza for sexually explicit videos and images of them.

"Lyda would pose as a (17- to 19-year-old) male and befriend the boys and started grooming them by complimenting them, challenging them to friendly battles, donating money to their online gaming profiles, being someone they could talk to, buying them video game upgrades, sending gifts and generally gaining their trust," Caldwell Police Detective Aron Streibel wrote in his affidavit.

Lyda's trial is scheduled to begin next month. A preliminary hearing on the new charges is set for June 2.

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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com
NEW YORK (AP) - Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara (buh-RAH'-ruh) is praising government officials who challenge their superiors.

Manhattan's former top federal prosecutor didn't criticize his ex-boss, President Donald Trump, by name in Thursday's remarks to graduates at the New York Law School. But Bharara cited former FBI director James Comey's willingness to challenge then-President George W. Bush when he feared an anti-terrorism measure was unconstitutional.

Bharara warned that "groupthink is death to justice and to fairness."

He added: "Justice cannot tolerate fake news or alternate facts or abuse of power. I hope our leaders get this. I don't know if they all do."

The comments come roughly two months after the Trump administration forced Bharara from his post as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) - Anti-corruption prosecutors in Moldova have detained the mayor of Chisinau and three other city officials on suspicion of influence peddling and overstepping their authority.

Prosecutors detained Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, two advisers and a secretary in the city administration Thursday evening. Supporters gathered at the city hall and some tried to prevent the mayor's detention.

Chirtoaca and the officials were taken to the National Anti-Corruption Center. They have not been charged and no other details were immediately available.

The 38-year-old Chirtoaca has been mayor of Moldova's capital since 2007 and supports the small country's reunification with neighboring Romania. He is also the deputy chairman of the Liberal Party and has recently taken a stand against government plans to modify the electoral system.
SEATTLE (AP) - A Virginia-based federal appeals court pulled no punches in refusing to reinstate President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, with judges in the 10-3 majority calling the administration's action discriminatory and its reasoning nonsensical.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion Thursday upheld a Maryland judge's decision to block the travel ban from taking effect. It was the first appeals court to weigh in on the travel ban.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit is expected to rule soon after hearing arguments in Seattle this month, and the issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court.

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2016 file photo, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Roger Gregory, gestures during an interview in his office in Richmond, Va. The 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six-Muslim majority countries on Thursday, May 25, 2017, siding with groups that say the policy illegally targets Muslims. "Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," Gregory wrote. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Here's a look at what the 4th Circuit decided and what might come next.

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ARE TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS RELEVANT?

According to at least eight of the judges in the majority, yes. Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote that it was appropriate to consider Trump's comments calling for a Muslim ban.

But Gregory stressed there should be no bright-line rule governing when it's appropriate to consider an officeholder's campaign statements.

"A person's particular religious beliefs, her college essay on religious freedom, a speech she gave on the Free Exercise Clause - rarely, if ever, will such evidence reveal anything about that person's actions once in office," he wrote. "For a past statement to be relevant to the government's purpose, there must be a substantial, specific connection between it and the challenged government action."

The groups challenging the ban made a compelling case that the primary purpose of Trump's revised travel ban was to discriminate against Muslims, in violation of the Constitution's ban on the government favoring or disfavoring any religion, the majority said.

One judge, Stephanie Thacker, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said in a concurring opinion she would not consider statements by candidate Trump - but, she added, it wasn't necessary to. She cited Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani's comments following Trump's inauguration that the president had asked him to figure out how to legally implement a Muslim ban.

The three dissenting judges, Republican appointees Paul Niemeyer, Dennis Shedd and G. Steven Agee, accused the majority of "fabricating a new proposition of law." Campaign statements - often ambiguous, retracted, clarified and politically charged - might provide fertile ground for anyone who wanted to recast the intent of an official's action in an effort to show discrimination, they said.

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NATIONAL SECURITY

Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall argued that the president's directive falls squarely within his duty to secure the nation's borders and that it does not discriminate against Muslims in its language or in its operation.

The majority didn't buy it.

The only examples Trump's order cited of immigrants born abroad and convicted of terrorism-related crimes in the United States include two Iraqis and a Somalian refugee, Gregory wrote. Iraq is not among the six predominantly Muslim countries included in the travel ban, and the Somalian came to the U.S. as a child and was radicalized here as an adult.

The travel ban "appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country," he wrote.

In her concurrence, Thacker called the government's reasoning untenable. She noted that two non-Muslim nations, the Philippines and Venezuela, weren't included among the banned countries even though they are home to terrorist groups and fail to help verify information about people attempting to travel to the United States.

"The Government has not consistently applied the criteria it claims it used, and the reason seems obvious - and inappropriate," she wrote.

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SUPREME COURT

Attorney General Jeff Sessions swiftly said the Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to review the 4th Circuit's decision. Sessions says the Justice Department "strongly disagrees" and will continue to vigorously defend Trump's order. He says the court's ruling blocks Trump's "efforts to strengthen this country's national security."

The Supreme Court almost always has the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.

Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe.

A vote on whether to grant that request could signal the court's ultimate decision.

It takes a majority of the court, five votes, to put a lower court ruling on hold. One factor in that first vote is whether the government is likely to win in the end. If at least five justices vote to let the travel ban take effect, there's a good chance they also would uphold the policy later on.

Conversely, it's hard to imagine that a majority would uphold the travel ban if there are not five votes to let it take effect pending a final ruling.

___

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman in Washington, D.C., contributed.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump told France's new president that he was "my guy" in the recent election, a French official said Thursday. The record shows only favorable words from Trump for centrist Emmanuel Macron's opponent, the defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

A look at Trump's views, before and now, on this month's French vote:

TRUMP to Macron at a lunch meeting in Brussels on Thursday, according to a French official: "You were my guy" in the French campaign. Trump also said he didn't endorse Le Pen, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Brussels, Thursday, May 25, 2017. World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump are in Belgium to attend a NATO summit. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

THE FACTS: Trump may never have explicitly endorsed any candidate in France's election, but he had only nice things to say about one candidate: Le Pen. Whatever views he may have expressed privately are unknown.

In an April 21 interview with The Associated Press, Trump said he believed an attack that week on police officers in Paris would help the National Front leader because the violence played to her strengths.

"She's the strongest on borders, and she's the strongest on what's been going on in France," Trump said in the Oval Office interview. "Whoever is the toughest on radical Islamic terrorism, and whoever is the toughest at the borders, will do well in the election."

By contrast, Trump never spoke publicly about Macron before the vote. Former President Barack Obama endorsed Macron.

While Le Pen had echoed some of Trump's hardline rhetoric on immigration, the U.S. leader's words of support were surprising.

Le Pen had distanced herself from her father, National Front party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been convicted of crimes related to anti-Semitism and mocked the Holocaust as a "detail" of history. But she still drew criticism for denying during the campaign that the French state was responsible for the roundup of Jews during World War II, and maintained an inner circle of old friends from her student days that included members of a radical group known for violence and anti-Semitism.

Trump called Macron after his resounding victory. He also tweeted congratulations to the 39-year-old winner, saying he looked forward to working with him.

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Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Brussels contributed to this report.

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Find all AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
Islamic States claim it is behind the Manchester bombing has not been verified in the United States, intelligence chiefs have said.

The terror organisation, known as IS and Isis, claims responsibility for virtually every attack, US director of national intelligence Dan Coats said. He told the senate armed services committee the atrocity was tragic and a reminder of the real threat faced by the West and its allies.

Mr Coats said: Isis has claimed responsibility for the attack in Manchester, although they claim responsibility for virtually every attack. We have not verified yet the connection.

Dan Coats prepares to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Mr Coats said he had just returned to the US after a visit to London where he met intelligence counterparts.

We spent a significant amount of time discussing threats to our respective homelands. Its a tragic situation that we see all too much of in countries around the world, particularly our allies.

Once again, it reminds us that this threat is real, it is not going away and needs significant attention to do everything we can to protect our people from these kinds of attacks.

Committee chairman senator John McCain said the horrific attacks showed the world is on fire.

Last nights attack in #Manchester was a gruesome reminder that the world is on fire  we need a strategy to defeat worldwide threats pic.twitter.com/ZksjQN5YiF  John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) May 23, 2017

He said: Last nights horrific attack on Manchester was a gruesome reminder that the world is on fire. Everywhere we turn we can sees threats to the worlds rules-based order that underpins global security and prosperity.

Yet when it comes to the great national security challenges we face, US policy and strategy are consistently lacking.

Whether its China, Russia, North Korea, Iran or radical Islamist terrorism I have heard few compelling answers about how the United States intends to use its alliances, its trades, its diplomacy, its values but most of all its military to protect and defend our national interests and the rules-based order that supports them.

Police close to the Manchester Arena on Tuesday (Peter Byrne/PA)

The Republican senator pressed Mr Coats on whether the tragedy in Manchester should add urgency to efforts to re-taking Raqqa, the Isis-held stronghold in Syria.

Mr Coats replied: Well, that wont solve the problem, particularly the home-grown and inspired attacks. Clearly going to the heart of Isis and driving a stake through that heart, we assess, will significantly improve the situation.

The plotting and the planning that comes from a centralised caliphate or safe haven for Isis, we have seen the damage thats occurred.

We do assess, however, that its ideology and methods have spread like tentacles into many places, most of them ungoverned countries, and sent some foreign fighters back home that might want to carry on their mission.
Sir Sean Connery has paid tribute to fellow James Bond star Sir Roger Moore following his death aged 89.

The original big screen 007 said he will miss Sir Roger, with whom he enjoyed a long friendship filled with jokes and laughter.

The longest reigning James Bond died in Switzerland on Monday after a short but brave battle with cancer, his family said.

Sir Sean joined Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan in mourning their fellow 007 star.

With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated. pic.twitter.com/6dhiA6dnVg  Sir Roger Moore (Legacy) (@sirrogermoore) May 23, 2017

The Scottish actor, 86, said in a statement: I was very sad to hear of Rogers passing, we had an unusually long relationship by Hollywood standards, that was filled with jokes and laughter.

I will miss him.

In a reference to the theme of Sir Rogers The Spy Who Loved Me, Craig wrote: Nobody Does It Better  love Daniel.

Nobody Does It Better - love Daniel pic.twitter.com/lkeKirvt0l  James Bond (@007) May 23, 2017

Brosnan, who like Craig has starred as Bond four times, described Sir Roger as magnificent as he shared a photograph on Instagram of the pair together.

He wrote: It is indeed with a heavy heart that I hear the news of your passing this morning.

You were a magnificent James Bond and one that lead the way for me, the world will miss you and your unique sense of humour for years to come.

Sir Michael Caine, who enjoyed a close friendship with Sir Roger, posted on Twitter:

I am devastated today at loosing one of my oldest and closest friends ROGER MOORE, my world will never be the same again.  Michael Caine (@themichaelcaine) May 23, 2017

The actors three children Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian confirmed the actors death.

In a statement, they said: It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer.

They said they would focus their attentions on supporting his wife, Kristina, and added that there will be a private funeral held in Monaco in accordance with our fathers wishes.

The debonair star added a light-hearted touch to the 007 role during his seven performances.

Saddened to hear Sir Roger Moore has passed away. James Bond should never die.  Gary Lineker  (@GaryLineker) May 23, 2017

He will also be remembered for the 1960s TV series The Saint and for his early 1970s show The Persuaders! in which he starred alongside Tony Curtis.

Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson said Sir Rogers legacy shall live on through his films and the millions of lives he touched.

Jane Seymour, who starred with Sir Roger in 1973s Live And Let Die, remembered him as being funny, kind and thoughtful to everyone around him.

Roger Moore , loved him  Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) May 23, 2017

Among Sir Rogers Bond films were Moonraker, A View To A Kill and The Man With The Golden Gun.

Off-screen, he was respected for his charity work.

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 2003.
US company Rocket Lab has launched a test rocket into space from New Zealand, but it did not reach orbit as hoped.

The California-based firm said on Thursday that its Electron rocket lifted off at 4.20pm local time and reached space three minutes later.

It has been an incredible day and Im immensely proud of our talented team, company founder Peter Beck said in a statement.

The Electron rocket maneuvers to the launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand (Rocket Lab via AP)

Made it to space. Team delighted. More to follow! #ItsaTest  Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) May 25, 2017

Mr Beck, a New Zealander, said the early stages of the mission went well.

We didnt quite reach orbit and well be investigating why; however, reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position, he said.

Rocket Lab was given official approval last week to carry out three test launches from the remote Mahia Peninsula on the North Island.

The company hopes to begin commercial launches later this year and eventually launch about one rocket every week.

It said it will target getting to orbit on the second test and will look to carry the maximum payload.

New Zealand has never had a space programme but officials hope regular launches could change perceptions of the South Pacific nation and generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year in revenue.

Rocket Lab plans to keep costs low by using lightweight, disposable rockets with 3D-printed engines. It sees an emerging market in delivering lots of small devices into low Earth orbit. The satellites would be used for everything from monitoring crops to providing internet service.

Politicians are rushing through new space laws and the government has set up a boutique space agency, which employs 10 people.

So far, its only superpowers that have gone into space, Simon Bridges, New Zealands economic development minister, told the Associated Press last week. For us to do it, and be in the first couple of handfuls of countries in the world, is pretty impressive.

Rocket Labs Electron rocket is unusual in many respects. It carries only a small payload of about 331lb (150kg). Its made from carbon fibre and uses an electric engine. Rocket Lab says each launch will cost just 5 million US dollars (3.9 million), a tiny fraction of a typical rocket launch.
Barack Obama received a rock star welcome in Berlin as he appeared at a public debate with Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he praised as one of his favourite partners during his presidency.

Security was tight in front of the German capitals iconic Brandenburg Gate, where former US leader Mr Obama and Mrs Merkel appeared on a podium before thousands of people attending a gathering marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Police helicopters patrolled the skies and snipers with balaclavas watched the scene from nearby rooftops.

Referring to the terror attack in Manchester, Mr Obama said that he and the chancellor were heartbroken about the loss of life  and that its a reminder that there is great danger and terrorism and people who want to do great harm to others just because theyre different.

Through faith, love, and resolve the character of the people of Manchester has shown itself. Our thoughts & prayers are with you. https://t.co/rZyZaQVWT2  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2017

After lauding Mrs Merkel as someone who had done outstanding work, Mr Obama launched a defence of his own presidency and the values of liberal democracy championed by both leaders.

Citing the rise of nationalism and xenophobia in parts of the world, Mr Obama told the crowd that we have to push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms.

People gather in front of the Brandenburg Gate to see Barack Obama (Gero Breloer/AP)

In a veiled reference to his successor Donald Trump, Mr Obama also spoke of the need to see development aid and diplomacy as essential aspects of national security policy.

We cant isolate ourselves. We cant hide behind a wall, he said, to cheers from the audience.

Mrs Merkel, who hosted Mr Obama at the same spot four years ago, was due to travel to Brussels later for a meeting with leaders of fellow Nato member states, including Mr Trump.

The appearance with Mr Obama was criticised by some German opposition politicians as a publicity stunt ahead of Septembers general election, in which Mrs Merkel aims to win a fourth term.

People in Germany applaud and cheer Barack Obama (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Despite describing the world as a very complicated place, Mr Obama and Mrs Merkel still found time to joke with each other and made the crowd laugh several times.

The harmony and ease between the two leaders was a stark contrast to Mrs Merkels meeting with Donald Trump in Washington in March, when the US president appeared to refuse to shake Mrs Merkels hand in front of reporters. Mr Trump has said he did not hear a reporter calling for a handshake.

Mrs Merkel, who hosted Mr Obama at the same spot four years ago, was due to travel to Brussels later on Thursday for a meeting with Mr Trump and leader of other Nato-member states.
Heather Watson is one match away from qualifying for the French Open after beating Tereza Smitkova in Paris.

The British number two trailed 4-1 in the second set and was then broken serving for the match, but recovered to win 6-4 7-6 (7/3).

In the final qualifying round on Friday, Watson will take on fourth seed Richel Hogenkamp.

Heather Watson (Adam Davy/PA)

Actually three times Watson has qualified, and she's made the second round proper on five occasions  Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) May 25, 2017

The Dutchwoman won their only previous meeting in the first round of the US Open last year and is ranked 13 places higher than Watson at 105.

Watson has slipped down the standings this year and missed out on direct entry at a grand slam for the first time in three years.

She will have been buoyed by her record at Roland Garros, however. The 25-year-old has qualified successfully three times in the past and reached the second round on five previous occasions.
Erlanger Health Systems air medical program, LIFE FORCE, held a ceremony to honor local EMS heroes who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in the inaugural Call of the Year awards during national EMS Week. LIFE FORCE flight crew members and awards committee selected outstanding calls in the categories of Medical, Pediatric and Trauma.

Medical Call of the Year was awarded to Scott Garrison and Myron Schroepfer of Hamilton County EMS and Larry Robbins of the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office.

The patient suffered a heart attack while hunting alone in the woods. He was several miles away from help and traveled as far as he could. When he spoke with dispatch he was asked to fire his gun in order to help rescuers locate him. This gave a general direction, but he was not located until the responders heard him whistling in response to their calls as he was too weak to respond otherwise. The first responders perseverance to find his location and provide medical care before transport helped to keep the patient alive.



LIFE FORCE 2 crew members nomination for Pediatric Call of the Year recognized Jamie Hillis Parsley and Greta Stone of Dekalb County EMS and the St. Thomas Dekalb Emergency Room for their quick response and treatment of a 2-year-old child with inhalation burns from a house fire. This is a difficult diagnosis as the evidence of injury is not an immediate wound one can see with the naked eye. These EMS workers and Emergency Department personnel did not cease until the patient was stabilized.

Trauma Call of the Year went to Tim Nelson and Whitney Howard of AMR McMinn County and Paul Johnson, Brad Johnston, Brian Greenlaw, John Amos and Will Davis of the McMinn county Sheriffs Office. These first responders applied lifesaving tourniquets to a patient injured in a motor vehicle accident. The patient suffered multiple broken bones, a severe head injury and near amputation of both legs. Without this teams forethought and instinct to apply tourniquets, the patient would not have survived.

Erlangers Dr. Lisa Smith recognized the first responders who worked the Woodmore bus crash in November of 2016. Hamilton County EMS, Puckett EMS, Angel EMS, Chattanooga Police Department, Chattanooga Fire Department, CHI Memorial Hospital Ambulance Service, Southeast Ambulance Service and Bradley County EMS were are given a token of appreciate with the deepest gratitude and honor for their service in a tragic time for the area. Working together, these departments were able to save many lives that day and honor those lost.

The Erlanger Regional Operations Center (EROC) was dedicated in memory of the late Dr. James Creel with his family present to witness the honor. Dr. Creel will always be remembered as a pioneering physician and visionary leader in the Emergency Medicine community. He impacted thousands of lives as a leader, teacher and medical professional. Dr. Creel was ABEM certified for more than 30 years and certified in Undersea and Hyperbaric medicine. He was instrumental in designing and developing both an Emergency Medicine Residency and EMS Fellowship training and was the Medical Director of Pre Hospital and Disaster Medicine, EROC and Tennessees Region 3 Regional Medical Control Center at Erlanger. He held many leadership positions at Erlanger and within the community. From 2010 to 2012, he served as Medical Director of Puckett EMS and has served as Medical Director of Hamilton County EMS for the past 28 years. He laid the foundation for our current EMS system through vigilant training and support for our local EMS personnel.

EMS Week, May 21-27, honors the first responders, EMS workers and Emergency Medicine personnel in the nation. These men and women are responsible for delivering top-notch care to patients in their time of need. Erlanger is fortunate to work with these professionals, both on their team and in partnerships around the region. This year's theme is "EMS Strong: Always in Service."
Olympic sailing champion Giles Scott admits winning the Americas Cup this summer would cap a dream year.

Scott secured gold in the Finn class at Rio 2016 last August to banish the disappointment of missing out on qualification for London 2012.

Sir Ben Ainslie pipped the now 29-year-old to the one Team GB spot up for grabs five years ago to claim his fourth Olympic gold on home waters. However, the pair have joined forces in an attempt to bring the Americas Cup back to Britain aboard Land Rover BAR - a team founded by Ainslie.

Giles Scott (John Walton/PA)

Four-time world champion Scott had little time to relax after his Olympic success as he immediately joined Ainslies crew in the Americas Cup World Series. Scott now finds himself in Bermuda assisting his one-time rival in pursuit of Americas Cup glory but he insists he is driven by a personal desire.

Scott told Press Association Sport: Ive obviously won an Olympic gold and then, off the back of that, moved straight into the Americas Cup World Series. We won that, which was amazing for us, and now were into the nitty-gritty and the real important stuff of the Americas Cup.

The opportunity to win this in such a short space of time  you dont get opportunities like that often and you have to make the most of them. It would cap the dream year.

Ainslies six-man vessel - which includes tactician Scott - has come a long way since the teams inception back in 2012. Friday marks the start of the Americas Cup qualifiers, a process which could last until June 12 in order to determine the challengers to defending champions Oracle Team USA.

Should Land Rover BAR navigate their way through to the Americas Cup showdown, which starts from June 17, their chances of success in Bermuda will rely heavily on the relationship between helmsman Ainslie and Scott.

I do have a huge amount of respect and admiration for him, of course, said Scott, speaking from Land Rover BARs base on the tiny island in the North Atlantic. The way that I simply break it down is I wouldnt be as good of a sailor now had I not been through the history that we had in trying to qualify for that one Olympic spot.

Its water under the bridge. Its great to have that history behind us, knowing how each other responds in high-tempo environments. We talk a lot more frankly to one another than we did back then, but in terms of all the stuff away from sailing it was very amicable back then and it still is now.

Were both trying to get the exact same thing done. Hes got an awful lot on his plate, and I suppose all of us as sailors will just try and help out in our own way to get the job done.
Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been convicted of a string of historical sex offences against schoolboys in his care during trips to Scotland.

A jury found the 67-year-old guilty of indecently assaulting seven teenage boys during camping and boating trips in the 1970s and 1980s while he was a biology teacher at a school in the Manchester area.

Talbot, of Greater Manchester, had denied the allegations but was convicted of seven of nine charges after a nine-day trial at Lanark Sheriff Court.

Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot (Greater Manchester Police/PA)

The former television personality, who used to be a regular on the floating weather map in Liverpools Albert Dock for ITVs This Morning show, was previously jailed for five years in Manchester in 2015 for indecently assaulting two schoolboys, the court heard.

The jury took four hours over two days to consider their verdict.

Talbot, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and tie, sat impassively as the verdict was delivered.

Sentence was deferred until June 15.

After the verdicts were delivered, prosecutor Imran Bashir told the court Talbot is still serving the sentence imposed on him in England.

Sheriff Nikola Stewart called for a criminal justice social work report and a risk assessment to be carried out before she sentences Talbot in three weeks time.
Former DJ Jonathan King has been charged with 18 sexual offences against nine teenage boys dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.

The 72-year-old, of Bayswater, central London, is accused of the sex attacks between 1970 and 1986 when the victims were aged between 14 and 16.

King has been released on bail by Surrey Police, to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 26.

Jonathan King (Tim Ockenden/PA)

The charges are part of the forces Operation Ravine, which was launched in 2015 following a review by Merseyside Police into an earlier investigation, Operation Arundel, which dated back to 2000.

A Surrey Police spokesman said: The independent review was commissioned in January 2014 to ensure all lines of inquiry had been identified.

A number of actions have subsequently been progressed under Operation Ravine, leading to new allegations of sexual offences being identified.
A bomb exploded inside the car of former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos in central Athens, wounding him and two Bank of Greece employees, officials have said.

All three were described as being conscious and in hospital in a stable condition.

We are all in shock following this action, said Nikos Pappas, a government minister and close aide to Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras.

Lucas Papademos became prime minister in 2011, but served for just six months (Kostas Tsironis/AP)

Mr Papademos, 69, who served as prime minister for six months in 2011-2012 and is also a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank, had been inside his car when the device detonated.

Police have not officially confirmed reports that the blast was caused by a parcel bomb containing a small amount of explosives.

But a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not yet been made, said the explosion occurred when Mr Papademos opened an envelope inside the car.

Anti-terrorism police were at the hospital where Mr Papademos was being treated in order to interview him on the details of the envelope.

The device exploded in the former PM's vehicle (Yorgos Karahalis/AP)

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Greek politicians have been targeted in the past by militant far-left and anarchist groups.

Earlier this year, a group called Conspiracy Cells of Fire, claimed responsibility for sending parcel bombs to the German Finance Ministry and the Paris office of the International Monetary Fund, where a small explosion injured one person.

Police said Mr Papademoss police escort had been in a car behind the former prime ministers vehicle, and that the other two wounded were Bank of Greece employees.

Authorities cordoned off the area, and forensics experts were investigating the scene for evidence.

Forensic officers examined the vehicle (Yorgos Karahalis/AP)

The former prime ministers car was parked by the side of the road, in front of its escort vehicle. Mr Papademoss car bore little sign of damage, except for buckling on two doors.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos called the blast an attack and said he had been given an update from doctors treating the wounded.

He said all were in a stable condition, are conscious, and are undergoing all the necessary medical tests so that their treatment can be determined.

A respected economist, Mr Papademos headed a provisional coalition government credited with preventing the collapse of the countrys international bailout at the time.
By Dan Freed and David Henry

MEXICO CITY/NEW YORK, May 24 (Reuters) - The newly refurbished Citibanamex branch in Mexico City's affluent Del Valle neighborhood opens into a Scandinavian-chic space where salespeople chat with clients at touch screens. The next room, though, is filled with customers queueing up in front of tellers or waiting on benches. Outside, more line up to use the ATMs.

The facelift reflects Citigroup Chief Executive Michael Corbat's ambition to turn the group's Mexican operation into a "state-of-the-art bank."

The lines symbolize the challenge: overcoming the legacy of years of underinvestment and a series of scandals that left the 133-year-old institution lagging rivals in technology, profitability, market share and customer satisfaction. (Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2plZLom)

Despite upbeat assurances from Citi's New York headquarters, the view from the ground is that the bank has yet a lot of ground to recover and local and regional executives acknowledge they have catching up to do.

Jane Fraser, who heads Citigroup's Latin America businesses, told Reuters a visit to an overcrowded branch shortly after she took on her role in 2015 convinced her the bank's service required a thorough overhaul.

The ultimate goal was for people to say, "Okay, they're back to being the best bank again," Fraser said.

The bank is now reorganizing branches to make service more efficient, adding 2,500 ATMs to its network of 7,600 and partnering with startups to improve customer experience, she said.

To broaden its reach, Citibanamex introduced Saldazo, a card distributed at the OXXO convenience store chain, which allows for deposits and money transfers. Saldazo is not yet profitable, but it is popular, with 8,500 cards issued daily, said Pedro Solano, director of financial inclusion at Citibanamex.

Edgardo del Rincon, Citibanamex's general manager for consumer banking, said rivals now had an edge in digital services, but that should change once his bank adopts new, better systems.

"Most banks in Mexico updated their core technology platforms seven, eight, nine years ago. Were doing it now, but the technology thats available is much different," he said.

For Corbat, Mexico is a big bet.

Even as he disposed of nearly two dozen other foreign units, Corbat has resisted calls to sell the Mexican operation and return proceeds to shareholders, citing its hearty profit margins, strong local brand and growth potential.

Last October, he pledged to add $1 billion to a $1.5 billion extra outlay dedicated to Mexico and underscored his commitment by adding "Citi" to the bank's previous name - Banamex.

While Citi does not break out Citibanamex profits, analysts estimate that it delivers nearly one-tenth of Citigroup's profits and produces a 15 percent return on equity, almost double what the entire bank reported last year.

That makes Mexico crucial for the whole company to hit a 10 percent target Corbat initially set for 2015 but now aims to reach by 2019. Because of the missed targets, Citigroup's shares have lagged other big U.S. banks since Corbat took the helm in 2012. (Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2qAdmHQ)

SLIPPING SHARE

Much of Mexico's appeal is its potential for growth given that only half of its adult population has a bank account and many people visit banks to pay utility bills in cash.

In fact, its banking sector has been expanding by more than 10 percent a year, according to economic research from BBVA.

Yet a review of government data and dozens of interviews with current and former executives and competitors show Citi has struggled to capitalize on that growth. Citibanamex has lost market share to Spanish-owned BBVA Bancomer and Santander Mexico, as well as locally owned Banorte , and fallen behind in return on assets and service ratings.(Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2r9v32p)

Competitors are also spending more. BBVA, for instance, started investing $3.5 billion in Bancomer branches in 2013, and recently committed another $1.5 billion.

Citibanamex's lineage dates back to late 19th century and its assets include the Palace of Iturbide, where Mexico's first emperor lived, and one of the largest private collections of Mexican art. Previously owned by the federal government and known as Banco Nacional de Mexico, it was once the nation's No. 1 bank and enjoyed a high degree of autonomy even after Citi acquired it in 2001.

That changed three years ago after it was rocked by a $500 million loan fraud, a U.S. criminal investigation into possible money-laundering violations, losses on loans to Mexican homebuilders, and problems with expense reporting and rogue traders.

Citigroup responded by installing new local management, adopting new risk controls and starting to upgrade the bank's technology and its branches.

Francisco Tobias, Citibanamex's finance chief, said losing market share was an "inevitable consequence" of the changes, but they should pay off in the long run.

"I'm more focused on having a profitable business with the right metrics that will take us where we need to be than obsessing about the market share that we lost," Tobias said.

Young, educated Mexicans are a key target, said Citibanamex CEO Ernesto Cantu.

"Twenty-something years later, a little over half of them are still going to bank with the bank that gave them their first credit card," Cantu told Reuters.

To accomplish that, Cantu will have to win over people like Claudia Hernandez, a 26-year-old college student from Mexico City.

Hernandez said she switched to Citibanamex two years ago because her employer would only deposit paychecks at that one bank - a common practice among Mexican companies - and has been frustrated by slow service ever since.

"They took a whole month just to set up the account," she said. "I'd rather be at Santander or Bancomer. They don't have as much red tape."

At the Del Valle location, lines have not disappeared but more customers are using ATMs and waiting less, branch manager Maria Isabel Rodriguez Madrid said.

"Customers used to have to visit three different windows for three different transactions," she said. "Now they can get everything done by waiting in just one line."

(Reporting by Dan Freed and David Henry; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tomasz Janowski)
By Steve Scherer and Isla Binnie

ROME, May 24 (Reuters) - More than 30 migrants, mostly toddlers, drowned on Wednesday when about 200 people without life jackets fell from a boat into the sea off the Libyan coast before they could be hauled into waiting rescue boats.

Rescue group MOAS, which operates in the Mediterranean, said its staff were pulling bodies out of the water. "Most are toddlers," co-founder Chris Catrambone said on Twitter.

A total of 34 dead bodies were found in the water, and around 1,800 people rescued from four rubber dinghies and six wooden boats, the coastguard said later in a statement.

British and Spanish navy ships, aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), three merchant ships and a tug boat joined MOAS and the Italian coast guard and navy to carry out the rescues.

The ill-fated boat probably tipped because of a combination of weather conditions and the fact the migrants suddenly crowded to one side, sending just under half of the 500 on board into the water, the coastguard said.

More than 1,300 people have died this year on the world's most dangerous crossing for migrants, after boarding flimsy boats to flee poverty and war across Africa and the Middle East.

Last Friday, more than 150 disappeared at sea, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday, citing testimony collected after survivors disembarked in Italy.

In the past week, more than 7,000 migrants have been plucked from boats in international waters off the western coast of Libya, where people smugglers operate with impunity.

Despite efforts by Italy and the European Union to train and equip the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and its coastguard to fight traffickers, migrants are arriving in record numbers.

Disputes are also brewing between the Libyan coastguard and aid groups. MSF and SOS Mediteranee said officials from the Tripoli-based force had boarded a migrant boat during a rescue on Tuesday, robbing the migrants and firing shots into the air.

More than 60 people fell into the water in the ensuing panic, but no one was injured as life jackets had already been given out, MSF and SOS Mediteranee said, broadly corroborating an earlier report by humanitarian group Jugend Rettet.

"Italian and European authorities should not be providing support to the Libyan coastguard," MSF representative Annemarie Loof said. "This support is further endangering people's lives."

GROUP OF SEVEN SUMMIT

Italy is hosting a meeting of the world's seven major industrialised nations in Sicily on Friday and Saturday, and is pushing the group, which includes the United States, to put migration, Libya's stabilisation and African development at the top of the agenda.

"The tragedy of children dying in the Mediterranean is a wake-up call to leaders meeting in Sicily," the United Nations Children's Fund Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth, who is travelling to the summit, said in a statement.

Authorities have diverted rescue vessels to the mainland from their usual ports in Sicily during the summit, keeping the migration crisis out of sight but not out of mind.

More than 50,000 migrants have been rescued at sea and brought to Italy so far this year, a 46 percent increase on the same period of last year, the Interior Ministry said this week.

Most rescues take place just outside the 12-mile mark that separates Libyan territory from international waters.

It is a busy stretch of sea where humanitarian vessels and the Libyan Coast Guard are joined by scavengers hoping to recover abandoned migrant boats and their engines.

After Tuesday's skirmish, Jugend Rettet said the Libyans towed two migrant boats back to shore while humanitarian groups brought more than 1,000 on board. (Reporting by Steve Scherer and Isla Binnie; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Hugh Lawson)
By Sophie Hares

CANCUN, Mexico, May 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cutting human, economic and infrastructure losses caused by disasters is imperative, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto told the start of a U.N. conference, urging wealthy countries to help vulnerable nations limit their exposure to natural hazards.

Pena Nieto said on Wednesday that threats such as earthquakes and storms "recognise no national boundaries or frontiers or orders of government".

Ninety percent of deaths from disasters happen in low- and middle-income countries, he noted at the opening of the three-day conference on disasters in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

"In the Caribbean, there are some economies and societies that are especially vulnerable in light of disaster situations that have been aggravated as a result of climate change," he said, expressing a commitment to support neighbouring Caribbean nations.

Pena Nieto said Mexico was exposed to meteorological, geographical and volcanic risks, with a quarter of the population living under the threat of cyclones, while a third was vulnerable to earthquakes. At least 166 disasters had affected the country since 2012, he noted.

"In Mexico, we are well aware that we are fortunate, that we have the institutions available to us - notably our armed forces, our civil institutions, as well as the human and material resources necessary to have a national civil protection system," he said.

Running until Friday, the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is the first major meeting since the 15-year Sendai Framework was hammered out in Japan in 2015, setting targets for governments to cut deaths, economic losses and infrastructure damage from disasters by 2030.

The seven Sendai targets also include curbing disruption to services such as health and education, and widening access to early warning systems and public disaster risk information.

WATER WOES

Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, called for more assistance for poorer countries most impacted by disasters. Tackling climate and disaster risk was essential to meeting the world's development goals, she added.

Mohammed said the Cancun conference marked a move from commitment to action aimed at implementing the Sendai Framework goals, and a shift towards managing disaster risk rather than dealing with the aftermath of catastrophes.

"Human and economic losses from disasters cannot continue at current levels if we are going to progress with the Sustainable Development Goals," she told the conference.

Organisations - from governments to mayors and womens groups - needed to put more emphasis on trying to prevent disasters, which can wipe out a poor countrys entire gross domestic product (GDP) overnight, she added.

She highlighted the case of Haiti, which lost 120 percent of its GDP in a devastating 2010 earthquake, while last years Hurricane Matthew cost 32 percent of its GDP.

A communique released after a leaders' meeting led by Pena Nieto said countries recognised the fast-growing cost of natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, which was complicating efforts to put risk management measures in place.

Recognising the link between climate change and water-linked threats, it called on countries to manage their water resources in a way that enables them to adapt to climate shifts.

"We emphasise the urgency to take immediate actions to reverse the current trends of water scarcity, floods, degradation of sewer systems and sanitation, and water-related disasters," said the communique.

Urging countries to step up efforts to meet the Sendai goals, it called on them to assess the risks to critical infrastructure by 2019, improve collection of disaster data, allocate budgets for disaster risk reduction, and strengthen building codes and regulatory frameworks.

It also backed measures to transfer risk so as to better protect people and their livelihoods, while promoting resilient housing, infrastructure and social development. (Reporting by Sophie Hares, editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
MOSCOW, May 25 (Reuters) - The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- The Russian Grain Union has appealed to state monopoly Russian Railways, asking it to continue transportation of Russian grain to the Baltic Sea ports, including those located in Latvia, the newspaper said. Russia can channel through the Baltic ports 7 percent of its total grain exports. Only one Russia port on the Baltic Sea in Kaliningrad has a grain terminal, which is insufficient. The region is ready to attract investors to build a new grain terminal, the business daily said, citing the region's acting deputy governor, Alexandr Shenderyuk-Zhidkov, as saying.

- Russia's state-managed industrial conglomarate Rostec and state-run Rostelecom are creating a domestic analogue of Skype for public authorities and industry, the newspaper said.

- Russia's Finance Ministry experts advise against extending further an oil output cut deal involving OPEC and non-OPEC nations, as this could send crude prices falling to $30 per barrel, the daily reports, citing a ministry document which it saw.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- Ukraine may block railway links to Russia from July, the daily reports, citing its source. A refusal by state monopoly Russian Railways to stop transporting passengers to Russia from Ukraine's partly rebel-held Donetsk Region may be used by Kiev as a pretext for the move.

- Russians spent $870 million on buying real estate abroad in 2016, two times more compared to 2015, Russian central bank data show.

- Russia's contemporary art market is still in its infancy, the daily reports, citing the Russian director of auction house Sotheby's, Irina Stepanova, as saying.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- The share of non-residents holding Russian government debt exceeded 30 percent in the first quarter of this year, the daily reports, citing central bank data.

($1 = 56.2743 rub) (reporting by Margarita Popova; editing by Dmirty Solovyov)
By Daniel Wesangula

NAIROBI, May 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenya's hopes of ending incontinence caused by fistula, one of the most serious childbirth injuries, are rising as more women are receiving surgery, more local surgeons are being trained and awareness of the stigmatising condition grows.

Fistula repair surgeries have tripled to 1,500 a year nationwide since the start of the decade, said Hillary Mabeya, who founded Gynocare, one of Kenya's leading fistula treatment centres.

"The surge in numbers is due to the fact that we now have more surgeons and centres for the surgeries," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.

At least two million women globally live with fistula, which is caused by prolonged labour without access to caesarean section. Tissue dies due to pressure from the baby's head and a hole forms in the birth canal through which urine and/or faeces leak.

Women with fistula are subject to severe social stigma due to odour, which is constant and humiliating, and in many cases drives their family and friends away.

Kenya only had three internationally recognised fistula surgeons in 2014, plus seven to 10 surgeons who could perform simple operations, Mabeya said.

A $2 million grant to The Fistula Foundation from Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas proved a gamechanger, enabling the U.S.-based charity to train six more surgeons with a target of providing 1,200 free surgeries in three years.

"We more than doubled what we set out to achieve," said Kate Grant, The Fistula Foundation's chief executive, with almost 2,500 operations performed by 2017 thanks to funding by the organisation.

"We know that we cannot get rid of fistula in five or 10 years but we hope to end it in a generation."

She attributed the project's success to an increase in centres offering routine surgeries and outreach to identify and bring women in for treatment.

Kenya's First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, who runs a charity focused on improving maternal health, told a conference this week that prevention was key.

"I urge that we seek out more of our mothers who are hidden away while suffering this condition," she was quoted as saying.

Kenyatta called for all women in Kenya, where around half of births take place at home, to receive skilled care while giving birth and emergency treatment for complications.

Gynocare's Mabeya said the government must do more to equip hospitals and provide free deliveries in remote areas.

"If this does not happen, the problem will persist," he said, speaking by phone from Eldoret, 300 kilometres (186 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi. (Reporting by Daniel Wesangula. Editing by Katy Migiro and Astrid Zweynert; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories.)
HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters) - The 2016 Premier League champions Leicester City will join Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace for the next edition of the Asia Trophy in Hong Kong as the former British colony was named sole host of the 2017 event on Thursday.

Matches in the four-team tournament -- which has an all-Premier League lineup for the first time since the event began in 2003 -- will be played on July 19 and 22 at Hong Kong Stadium.

"We are very excited to be returning to Hong Kong this summer for the Premier League Asia Trophy," said Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore in a statement.

"We know from previous visits that fans in Hong Kong, and across the region, are passionate supporters of our clubs.

"In Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion we have a group of excellent clubs, players and managers who will give local fans a fantastic Premier League experience."

The biennial tournament is returning to Hong Kong for the first time since problems with the pitch at Hong Kong Stadium in 2013 saw the event switched to Singapore two years later. (Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Century Park Associates, a nationwide senior living company, presented its 2017 performance awards at its annual management Meeting in Nashville.Harbor Place at Cottesmore in Gig Harbor, Wa., won the Community of the Year Award.The building was praised for its resident satisfaction rates, operational success and maintaining its deficiency-free status for five consecutive years. Harbor Place also won the Assisted Living Facility of the Year Award in 2016.It was clear that Nicole and the team at Harbor Place at Cottesmore earned and deserved the Community of the Year award, said Jenny Graham, Century Park Associates director of operations.They are the team to look up to.Century Park also presented a customer service award, the Going the Extra Mile Award, to Kristie Tucker, lifestyle services director at The Bridge at Charleston, South Carolina.Ms. Tucker was nominated for a special act of caring in October 2016. When Hurricane Matthew was headed toward South Carolina and the state ordered evacuation of coastal areas, Ms. Tucker went beyond the call of duty. A single mother, she left that evening to drive her seven children to her sisters house more than 100 miles away. The traffic was so bad that she did not return to Charleston until 6:30 the next morning.Ms. Tucker then showed up at The Bridge ready to serve. The residents were moved to a sister assisted living facility in Georgia, and not only did Ms. Tucker do activities with them while in their temporary home, she also helped as a care aide.Kristie was selfless  she put her personal life on hold and put the residents first, to make sure they were safe and taken care of, said Michelle Nelson, executive director at The Bridge at Charleston. Her selfless act is a model of who we should be every day.With headquarters in Cleveland, Century Park Associates manages more than 40 senior living communities in 20 states. For more information about Century Park, visit CenturyPA.com.
By Kieran Guilbert

DAKAR, May 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could spread to the neighbouring Central African Republic, where militia violence has forced thousands of people to flee across the border, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

Two cases of the virus have been confirmed by the WHO in Congo's remote northeastern Bas-Uele province since early May. Four people have died so far among the 43 suspected and confirmed cases.

The affected area's isolation - it is about 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) from the capital Kinshasa - has helped contain the spread of the highly contagious hemorrhagic fever, experts say.

Yet recent attacks by Christian militias in Central African Republic's border town of Bangassou have driven about 2,750 people into Bas-Uele, raising the risk that the Ebola outbreak could spread across the border, a WHO representative said.

"There is a big concern about Ebola spreading to Central African Republic after this displacement," said Michel Yao, the WHO's representative in the Central African Republic.

"We are worried as the refugees are close to the epicentre of the outbreak," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding they could become infected and carry the virus back home.

While this latest Ebola outbreak is Congo's eighth - the most of any country - the Central African Republic lacks experience in dealing with such an epidemic, and its health system is weak after four years of conflict, Yao said.

More than two thirds of its health facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the violence since 2013, when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power, triggering reprisals by Christian "anti-balaka" militias, according to aid agencies.

The Central African Republic set up an Ebola treatment centre and rapid response team following the West Africa epidemic, which killed more than 11,300 people between 2014 and 2016, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the WHO said.

"But there is very limited capacity outside of Bangui (the capital) and it is difficult to travel around the country due to the insecurity," Yao said. "We are concerned about how easily Ebola may spread if it arrives in the Central African Republic."

Health authorities in Congo are monitoring about 365 people who came into contact with sufferers and have dispatched mobile laboratories to the area to speed up testing of people who display symptoms, the WHO said in its latest situation report.

Asked about the potential for using an experimental vaccine, the WHO last week said the logistics were "complex" but that it was working with Congo's government and regulatory authorities. (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Astrid Zweynert @azweynert.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of readers of a liberal-leaning Malaysian news site have backed former premier Mahathir Mohamad to be prime minister, the portal said on Thursday.

Mahathir, 91, served as prime minister for 22 years, earning a reputation as a no-nonsense authoritarian with little time for dissenters promoting liberal values.

But he has recently emerged as a prominent critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak, a former protege who last year became ensnared in controversy over a multi-billion dollar financial scandal at a state fund.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing.

Mahathir's criticism of the prime minister has endeared him to voters who in the past would have shunned both of them.

Malaysiakini.com news portal, which is often accused by government supporters of favouring the opposition, found in a poll that 69.9 percent of its readers would support Mahathir as opposition candidate for prime minister.

Malaysia is due to hold a general election next year. The opposition has yet to name its candidate, citing a need to avoid infighting between allied parties.

Malaysia's most prominent opposition politician, Anwar Ibrahim, is in prison serving five years for a sodomy conviction that he says was politically motivated.

Mahathir, who stepped down as prime minister in 2003, was not immediately available for comment.

He told Reuters in an interview in March he had no desire to return as prime minister but would be willing to serve as an adviser.

Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister quit the ruling United Malays National Organisation party last year in response to the graft allegations surrounding Najib.

Mahathir has formed a new party and joined an opposition coalition aiming to oust Najib.

The prime minister has weathered the calls to step down and is expected to call an early election this year to capitalise on disarray within the opposition.

According to the Malaysian Digital Association, which tracks top websites, Malaysiakini is Malaysia's second most popular news website, with nearly 700,000 unique visitors in March.

The portal conducted the survey from May 19 for six days.

About a quarter of the 12,777 people surveyed disagreed with idea of Mahathir for prime minister, it said. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Robert Birsel)
MADRID, May 25 (Reuters) - Spain's Banco Sabadell is considering listing its hotel investment company as part of its efforts to offload property assets, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Spanish banks are working on reducing property assets following the country's real estate bust in 2007 in an effort to preserve capital and restore their profitability.

Sabadell holds a 99 percent stake in HI Partners, which manages 31 hotels in Spain as well as 800 million euros ($897 million) of hotel loans. It has given several investment banks a mandate to explore floating the business, the sources said, confirming earlier reports in Expansion and El Confidencial.

Citi, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are among those mandated, one of the sources said, adding that the flotation could take place as soon as the third quarter of this year.

"The plan is still under discussion and at an early stage and no final decision has been reached yet," the source said, adding that a board meeting in July could sign off on the plan.

The three investment banks declined to comment.

Sabadell, which currently makes around a quarter of its profit in Britain following its acquisition of TSB in 2015, also declined to comment.

In the last year, Sabadell reduced its problematic assets by 2.75 billion euros to 18 billion euros as end-March.

The source said no decision had been taken on the size of the disposal of the hotel business but added that the bank would probably remain a big shareholder in order to benefit from an incipient real estate recovery in Spain.

The Spanish economy is also benefiting from a tourism boom which is expected to help its economy expand at an even quicker pace in the second quarter, after it picked up steam in the first three months of the year. ($1 = 0.8915 euros) (Reporting by Jesus Aguado and Andres Gonzalez; editing by Sarah White and Alexander Smith)
MANILA, May 25 (Reuters) - Hackers linked with Vietnam's government are likely targeting Philippine state agencies to gather intelligence related to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea, cybersecurity company FireEye said on Thursday.

Vietnam's government was not immediately available for comment - though it has regularly dismissed similar allegations in the past. The Philippines' foreign ministry told Reuters it would look into the report.

FireEye said the hackers, called APT32, had attacked a Philippine consumer products corporation and a Philippine technology infrastructure firm in 2016, alongside other companies, some doing business in Vietnam.

The attackers were also targeting Philippine government agencies, FireEye's chief technology officer for Asia Pacific, Bryce Boland, added in a media briefing.

"This is presumably in order to gain access to information about military preparation and understanding how the organisations within the government operate in order to be better prepared in case of potentially military conflict," Boland said.

"There are overlapping claims between Vietnam and the Philippines over some islands in the South China Sea and it is quite likely that intelligence gathering is starting around that," Boland said.

APT stands for advanced persistent threat, a term often used to describe state-sponsored hacker groups.

"We believe all of the activities of APT32 are aligned to the interests of the Vietnamese government," Boland said.

The Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei contest all or parts of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said this month the government of did not allow any form of cyber attacks against organisations or individuals.

"All cyber attacks or threats to cyber security must be condemned and severely punished in accordance with regulations and laws," spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said, responding to similar accusations.

Philippines foreign ministry spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said on Thursday the government took hacking allegations very seriously.

"Any credible information received will be investigated and addressed as necessary," he said in a text message. (Reporting by Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in HANOI; Editing by Nick Macfie and Andrew Heavens)
By Robin Emmott and Steve Holland

BRUSSELS, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday intensified his accusations that NATO allies were not spending enough on defence and warned of more attacks like this week's Manchester bombing unless the alliance did more to stop militants.

In unexpectedly abrupt remarks as NATO leaders stood alongside him, Trump said certain member countries owed "massive amounts of money" to the United States and NATO -- even though allied contributions are voluntary, with multiple budgets.

His scripted comments contrasted with NATO's choreographed efforts to play up the West's unity by inviting Trump to unveil a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States at the new NATO headquarters building in Brussels.

"Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever," Trump said, referring to Monday's suicide bombing in the English city that killed 22 people, including children.

"These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct ... in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share," Trump said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg defended Trump, saying that although he was "blunt" he had "a very plain and clear message on the expectations" of allies.

But one senior diplomat said Trump, who left the leaders' dinner before it ended to fly to Italy for Friday's Group of Seven summit, said the remarks did not go down well at all.

"This was not the right place or time," the diplomat said of the very public harangue. "We are left with nothing else but trying to put a brave face on it."

In another unexpected twist, Trump called on NATO, an organisation founded on collective defence against the Soviet threat, to include limiting immigration in its tasks.

And Trump did say that the United States "will never forsake the friends who stood by our side" but NATO leaders had hoped he would more explicitly support the mutual defence rules of a military alliance's he called "obsolete" during his campaign.

Instead, he returned to a grievance about Europe's drop in defence spending since the end of the Cold War and failed to publicly commit to NATO's founding Article V rule which stipulates that an attack on one ally is an attack against all.

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying for their defence," Trump said, standing by a piece of the wreckage of the Twin Towers.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years," Trump said as the other leaders watched.

Nicholas Burns, a former long-time diplomat and ambassador to NATO from 2001-2005, now a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, said every U.S. president since Harry Truman had pledged support for Article V and that the United States would defend Europe.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump was "100 percent" committed to collective defence. "We are not playing cutesie with this. He is fully committed," Spicer said.

"BARE MINIMUM"

Praise was always going to be in short supply after Trump's sharp election campaign criticism of the alliance, which he blamed for not doing more to combat terrorism.

Last year, Trump threatened to abandon U.S. allies in Europe if they did not spend enough on defence, comments that were particularly unnerving for the ex-Soviet Baltic states on Russia's border which fear Moscow might try a repeat of its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.

Although he has since softened his tone in phone calls and meetings with Western leaders, Trump's sharp words on Thursday recalled his awkward meeting with Angela Merkel in March, when he pressed the German chancellor for Germany to meet NATO's military spending target.

NATO diplomats planned to placate Trump with a pledge on Thursday to agree to national plans by the end of this year showing how NATO allies will meet a promise to spend 2 percent of economic output every year on defence by 2024.

But Trump increased the pressure, calling that agreement made at a summit in Wales in 2014 "the bare minimum".

"Even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient ... 2 percent is the bare minimum for confronting today's very real and very vicious threats," Trump said.

He also made his presence felt at his first NATO summit, literally, pushing his way past Montenegro's prime minister, Dusko Markovic, whose country joins the organisation next month, in footage that went viral.

Spicer said he had not seen the video but assumed the U.S. president was moving to his designated spot.

NATO nonetheless strived to impress Trump with allied jets flying overhead and a walk through the new glass headquarters, which replaces a 1960s prefab structure.

Trump, a real estate magnate, called the building "beautiful" and joked that he did not dare ask how much it cost. (Writing by Robin Emmott; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Gabriela Baczynska, Sabine Siebold, Phil Blenkinsop and Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alison Williams and Alastair Macdonald)
By Pawel Sobczak and Pawel Florkiewicz

WARSAW, May 25 (Reuters) - Poland's finance minister said on Thursday that the 2017 budget deficit will be lower than the planned 59.4 billion zloty, but its size depends on how many people take advantage of a lower retirement age in the autumn.

Finance minister Mateusz Morawiecki also said in an interview at the Reuters Central & Eastern Europe Investment Summit that he expects no changes to taxation next year and the deficit forecast for 2018 is likely to be lower than 2017.

The central budget deficit reached 1.5 percent of the full-year plan in the January-April period, the finance ministry said earlier this week. In comparison, in the corresponding period of 2016 the deficit reached 20.3 percent of the full year plan.

"Such a low deficit is not sustainable (in coming months), as there are a number of expenditures," Morawiecki said referring to planned spending on infrastructure projects and pensions.

"There is one big uncertainty. New pension bill (cutting the retirement age) comes into life in October and because of that 330,000 people get a right to retire," Morawiecki said.

This means Poland, with a population of 38 million, may see up to 550,000 new pensioners, Morawiecki added. He expects 80 percent of those that are eligible to retire. Every 10 percent will cost the state 1 billion zloty, he added.

"If it is 70 percent, then the deficit might be really significantly lower. This is why we are working with labour minister (Elzbieta) Rafalska on incentives for people who refrain from retiring," he said.

This factor will also determine the 2018 budget deficit forecast, Morawiecki said.

Analysts expect the full-year deficit may be lower than the full year plan by up to 15 billion zloty this year.

Morawiecki said budget forecasts will not be impacted by recent announcements from a number of state-run firms such as Energa, PGE, and KGHM to sharply cut their dividend payout plans.

He also did not envisage any change in the VAT tax rate next year and thinks the copper tax could be maintained in some form.

"We're continuing what we've inherited in terms of (VAT) rates levels," he said.

The copper tax, or levy on mining income, eats into profit at KGHM, which is Europe's second biggest copper producer as well as the world's largest silver miner.

The recent strengthening of the local currency, zloty, which rose against the euro five percent since beginning of the year to 4.18 zloty, is not yet a concern.

"I would say that the range 4.0-4.5 is a range which doesn't worry me," Morawiecki said.

($1 = 3.7263 zlotys) (Reporting by Marcin Goclowski, Pawel Florkiewicz, and Pawel Sobczak; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
By Alastair Macdonald and Michel Rose

BRUSSELS/PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron urged the European Commission on Thursday to do more to curb an influx of low-paid east Europeans working on temporary assignment in France, warning that it was sapping support for the European Union.

After meeting EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels for the first time since defeating anti-EU nationalist Marine Le Pen to win the presidency on May 7, Macron told reporters that he was determined to reform France to revive its economy but that the EU should also protect welfare standards.

"Alongside this France that reforms, that transforms, that overhauls, we need a Europe that protects," Macron said.

EU governments are divided, broadly speaking between poor east and rich west, on amendments to rules under which, say, Bulgarian truck drivers or Lithuanian bricklayers can be posted to France for limited periods and paid at eastern European wage levels which are often below guaranteed minimums in the west.

The so-called "posted workers" legislation faces a new round of decisions next month.

"When someone works in one country, for the same job, he must be paid the same salary," Macron said.

The pay gap with east European workers, particularly in France, undermined the "idea of Europe" and fed extremism, Macron said. "That's partly what Brexit fed on," the French leader added.

PROTECTION AGENDA

The issues of seconded workers and "social dumping" took centre-stage in France's presidential campaign last month after Le Pen used the relocation of a Whirlpool factory in northern France to Poland to paint Macron as a globalist who did not care about workers.

An ardent defender of globalisation as well as European integration, Macron refused then to be drawn into promising he would prevent the company moving its production.

But since his election he has sought to drum up support in Europe for what he calls a "protection agenda", which includes more stringent rules on welfare standards, a "European Buy Act" and a reinforcement of Europe's external borders.

"We need to show Europe is efficient, otherwise the temptation to get back to the national level, to national protectionism will become stronger and stronger," a source close to Macron said. "That's the message of our election."

French officials have taken heart from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's positive reaction to Macron's plan and the idea of creating a level playing field between European countries and other international trade partners.

But Macron is likely to face resistance from Poland, eastern Europe's biggest country and one of the main beneficiaries of posted or seconded workers.

The French president has also threatened to push for EU sanctions against the Polish governement on issues such as perceived infringements to the rule of law, which has infuriated Warsaw.

Macron will meet his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda for a working dinner in Brussels later on Thursday. (Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier; Editing by Adrian Croft)
DUBAI, May 25 (Reuters) - A Bahrain court fined a prominent journalist 1,000 dinars ($2,650) on Thursday for reporting in the kingdom without official permission, her lawyer said, after a trial seen by rights groups as an example of diminishing press freedom.

Nazeeha Saeed, an award-winning Bahrain correspondent for France 24 and the Arabic-language Monte Carlo Doualiya radio, was accused of working as a journalist without a permit, after authorities did not renew her accreditation in June 2016.

Her lawyer Hameed al-Mulla said Saeed, who had worked as an accredited correspondent for 12 years, would appeal against the verdict of the lower criminal court. Mulla has argued that Saeed had applied for the annual renewal of her permit before its expiry.

French public radio broadcaster France Medias Monde (FMM) and Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had urged the Gulf Arab country's authorities to abandon their prosecution of Saeed and allow her to continue her work as a reporter.

When prosecutors first outlined the charge against her last year, RSF accused Bahrain of hounding and harrassing Saeed. Bahrain has replied that it is simply applying the laws regulating the accreditation of international journalists.

Civil liberties monitors point to freedom of expression as a right increasingly constrained in Gulf Arab states.

RSF, which ranks Bahrain 164 on a list of the worst countries for press freedom in 2017, with Eritrea bottom on 180,

says 14 journalists and bloggers are currently detained.

Home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has carried out a crackdown on opposition political activity and dissent since a 2011 uprising by demonstrators from the Shi'ite Muslim majority seeking a greater role in government.

($1 = 0.3771 Bahraini dinars) (Reporting by Noah Browning, editing by John Stonestreet)
By Nita Bhalla

NEW DELHI, May 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An Indian woman who says she was drugged, kidnapped and forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint returned to India on Thursday amid much media fanfare and as tensions between the two South Asian neighbours rise. Uzma, whose family name cannot be given for legal reasons, said she met the Pakistani national in Malaysia and decided to travel to Pakistan on May 1 after he invited her to visit.

But when she arrived she said the man forced her to sign a marriage contract at gunpoint and that she suffered physical and emotional violence for five days until she managed to go to the Indian High Commision in Islamabad where she was given refuge.

"I went to Pakistan just for a visit. But the situation changed so quickly that I didn't even realise when (he) gave me sleeping pills. It was a kidnapping," Uzma, who is in her twenties, told a news conference.

"He tortured me in every way," said Uzma, who is from New Delhi.

Uzma stayed in a village in the northwest district of Buner and said other foreign women duped into forced marriage by Pakistani men working in Malaysia were also there. She did not provide any further details.

According to local media reports, the man denies the allegations.

Indian High Commission officials said they filed a petition in court seeking permission for Uzma to return to India. The court granted permission on Wednesday.

The incident comes amid increasing tension between India and Pakistan who have in recent weeks been trading accusations over cease-fire violations along their disputed border.

Both countries have also been at odds over an Indian national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, who Pakistan has sentenced to death on charges of spying. India has taken the case to the International Court of Justice.

India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who has been leading efforts to ensure the woman's safe return to India over the last two weeks, welcomed her home and expressed thanks to Pakistan for assisting the Indian High Commission.

"I want to say this, regardless of whatever the relationship is between India and Pakistan today, if Uzma is here today, it is because of the help given by Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Sushma said at the news conference. (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Astrid Zweynert @azweynert. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
BEIRUT, May 25 (Reuters) - The Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah said on Thursday Saudi Arabia was on a losing path to more bloodshed in its struggle with Iran and instead urged Riyadh to seek dialogue and negotiations with Tehran.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed group, said Riyadh aimed to pull the United States into its conflict with Tehran after a summit where President Donald Trump signalled firm backing for Saudi Arabia while criticising Iran.

Nasrallah's group is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States.

"I advise Saudi to set aside struggle, hatred and war. Your only solution for the sake of all Muslims, the whole region ... is dialogue with Iran and to negotiate with Iran," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

"This path you are taking will only lead to spending billions more dollars and spilling more blood and you will be the ones who lose. You will fail," he said.

Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is fuelling conflicts across the region, including the war in Syria where Hezbollah's powerful armed wing has played a critical role fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking at the Riyadh summit, Trump said the Iran was responsible for instability in the region and was funding, arming and training militias that spread destruction and chaos.

Trump signed a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia during his visit.

Trump's policy marks a repudiation of the regional policy of his predecessor Barack Obama, whose administration held the first direct talks with Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Although Washington and Tehran were still a long way from normalising their relations, Obama reached an accord to lift sanctions in return for Iran curbing its nuclear programme, which Trump condemned as "the worst deal ever signed".

Nasrallah said the goal of the Riyadh summit was to convince the United States "to intervene in direct confrontation" with "Iran and the resistance axis" - a reference to an Iran-backed regional alliance including Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to fight Israeli forces that had invaded Lebanon. Nasrallah was speaking on the anniversary of Israel's 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Tensions have climbed in recent months between Israel and Hezbollah, which last fought a major war in 2006. Nasrallah said this month that any future conflict could take place inside Israeli territory. (Writing by Tom Perry/Laila Bassam; Editing by Alison Williams)
We recognize the challenges that public schools face as well as the need for continued improvement. Our members are dedicated to reaching the goal of every child achieving at his or her highest potential. Every child in our country, no matter their socio-economic status, should have the right to receive a quality education.

Education must put children on a path to achieve their full economic potential when they reach adulthood. When every child is educated to their full potential, all of society will benefit. Our economy goes hand in hand with quality education. A strong educational system is essential not only to the successful functioning of a democracy, but also to its very future.

Education absolutely shapes childrens lives. A quality education will open doors for children and give them the essential skills for success in the future. In a perfect world, all children will become successful learners, as well as confident, resilient individuals and responsible citizens. It is why our organization, Professional Educators of Tennessee, advocates for the recruitment of quality educators in Tennessee schools, and we work for their retention. Teachers are the single most important resource we must ensure that our children learn. We need bright, passionate, inspired, and innovative people in our classrooms. If we empower our educators and engage them fully, we can change the trajectory for countless children in our state and nation.

In order to meet the needs of 21st century learners, schools need to be engaged, optimistic, vibrant, and stimulating places for children and teachers. We must develop a culture that inspires all children to do their best and a curriculum that is meaningful, relevant, and challenging. Schools must also be places where students are challenged to learn and to be encouraged by their success. We need to identify potential academic problems much earlier for our children, and address issues as they arise. This must be tied to our efforts in early childhood education. To keep students fully engaged, we must embrace the potential of technology and make optimal use of available digital devices.

Reading and literacy is perhaps the most critical step to building a quality education, which will enable children to reach their full academic and individual potential. Reading has a profound impact on academics and can affect us in all areas of our life. Unfortunately, Tennessees reading gaps are extensive for students who are economically disadvantaged, of racial minorities, disabled, and/or are English language learners. The States Read to be Ready initiative, along with dyslexia legislation, should help address some of those issues.

We have long contended that public education isn't broken. Public education policy is broken, and neighborhood public schools are suffering the consequences. Many times decades of societal issues are not addressed. These cultural issues get laid at the feet of public schools. Until we are willing to address those specific issues on a larger scale, our schools have their hands tied.

The problems many of our schools have developed (especially in our urban schools) did not occur overnight, so solutions will take time to evolve. We must have short-term objectives that produce immediate results and long-term objectives that may take time to develop. We should give our schools that time. Research indicates Tennessee is moving in the right direction, but with numerous concerns remaining. Our public schools are our future as a state and a nation.

We need civic organizations, the faith community, and businesses to work together. Together, we must fan the flames of hope and transformation in communities where optimism has been left behind. The importance of smart and effective policies cannot be overstated. Our effort must be strictly non-partisan. Public education is a federal concern, a state responsibility, and a local operation. A strong educational system is essential, and our commitment to shared values and a clear vision must encourage collaboration and teamwork.

J.C. Bowman

Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee
By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - The United States would impose new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile development, arms transfers, support for Islamist militant groups and human rights violations under legislation approved by a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday.

By an 18-3 vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee paved the way for full Senate consideration, despite objections from former Secretary of State John Kerry and others who served in Democratic President Barack Obama's administration that it might threaten the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran.

"We know that this in no way touches the nuclear deal," Senator Bob Corker, the committee's Republican chairman, told reporters.

If approved by the Senate, the bill would also have to pass the House of Representatives before being sent to President Donald Trump for it to be signed into law.

Republicans and Democrats have been clamoring for a response to Iran's missile program and other activities. The bill the committee passed on Thursday is co-sponsored by 48 of the 100 senators.

Some members had also sought to link the Iran bill with an effort to impose new sanctions on Russia, but the panel reached an agreement to delay the Russia measures.

The measure would impose mandatory sanctions on anyone involved with Iran's ballistic missile program, and those who do business with them. It would also apply sanctions to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's most powerful security force, which also is a major force in its economy.

The Trump administration has been considering whether to formally designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

The bill seeks to tighten an international arms embargo on Tehran by requiring Trump to block the property of any person or entity involved in activities related to the supply, sale or transfer of prohibited weapons to or from Iran.

The committee passed it on a day when the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard saying that Iran has built a third underground ballistic missile production factory and will keep developing its missile program.

The bill was introduced in March, but the Foreign Relations Committee waited to take it up until after Iran's election on Friday, when President Hassan Rouhani was re-elected with 57 percent of the vote.

Rouhani broke the taboo of holding direct talks with the United States and reached the deal to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

Trump, who succeeded Obama on Jan. 20, has criticized the nuclear deal, which was opposed by every Republican in Congress and several Democrats. But he has so far not moved to tear up the agreement.

Instead, his administration has said it would police Iran's compliance with the bill and review it, with an eye toward possibly modifying it to make it stronger.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday he would increase sanctions pressure on Iran, Syria and North Korea, and said the department was reviewing licenses for Boeing Co and Airbus to sell aircraft to Iran. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Grant McCool and Howard Goller)
Political parties involved in the Constitution Assembly Steering Committee (CASC) are expected to reach an agreement with regard to devolution of power and the nature of the State within the coming days, informed sources said yesterday.

A member of the steering committee, who did not wished to be named, told Daily Mirror that the members decided to discuss the two subjects in question in great detail as well and try to strike an agreement on the issue as soon as possible.

It was also reported that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had expressed its readiness to accept a devolution mechanism within the unitary status of the country.

The steering committee is expected to meet today (25) for another round of discussions. (Yohan Perera)
Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake who assumed duties today said the country would be taken forward not through loans but through foreign investments and innovative thinking.

He said the countries such as Japan and Vietnam which were lagging behind Sri Lanka in terms of development are today way ahead of Sri Lanka.

This is why we will focus on a commerce-based diplomacy. We will do what is best for our citizens and not take arbitrary or unpalatable decisions, he told those present at the Foreign Affairs Ministry soon after assuming duties.
On May 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka to attend the International Vesak Day celebrations, just two weeks after Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes five-day visit to New Delhi. PM Modis visit marked the seventh interaction between the Indian and Sri Lankan heads of state since 2015, which is suggestive of vigorous high-level

political engagement.

This political activism has mostly aimed at enhancing bilateral relations through increased economic, investment and development cooperation. Even though the need for engagement has remained strong, in practice, very little has been achieved on the economic front. Given the current trajectory, even less is expected to materialise on

the ground.

Cumulatively, the only significant economic arrangement realised by India and Sri Lanka in the past two years is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in economic projects, signed recently during PM Wickremesinghes visit to India. Media reports and official interviews, prior to his visit, highlighted the likelihood of an India-Sri Lanka deal for the development of the Trincomalee area as a regional hydrocarbon hub in the Bay of Bengal and eastern Indian Ocean. What ensued instead was the MoU  essentially in the nature of a roadmap for

the future.

Apart from outlining a few broader agendas (on the development of the transportation sector, agriculture and livestock, etc), the roadmap sketched out agreements in the power sector (a 50MW Solar Power Plant in Sampur, a regasified 500MW LNG Power Plant, an LNG Terminal/Floating Storage Regasification Unit in Colombo/Kerawalapitiya).

With Sri Lanka facing an acute power crisis, the emphasis on energy projects is no surprise. The spotlight on the proposed joint venture to develop the World War II-era oil storage facility in Trincomalee remains. While listing agendas, however, the roadmap remains oblivious to past trends and current realities.

The history of Indian involvement in Sri Lankas power sector provides a grim picture held back by domestic political concerns and a sluggish bureaucracy. For instance, the Sampur power plant, originally proposed as a coal-based project, has been in the pipeline since 2006 and still awaits execution. It has witnessed a series of delays for various reasons, including repeated requests by Colombo to change the location of the project due to the changes in local socio-economic conditions, mainly related to resettlement of Tamil families displaced by war. With most of the resettlement work still remaining, any new venture in Sampur will have a guaranteed pool of opposition from at least one section of the

Lankan population.

A major roadblock for Indian economic engagement in Sri Lanka is, and has been, the prevailing trust deficit amongst its people vis-a-vis India. There have been negative perceptions about Indias role on the island, for instance, with regard to tying their only supply of cooking gas or petroleum to New Delhis geopolitical games.

The April 2017 strikes by the workers of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) against the joint development of the Trincomalee oil farms serves as another instance indicating entrenched resistance to economic cooperation with India. The fact that it practically prevented PM Wickremesinghe from signing the Trincomalee deal during his India visit, followed by President Sirisenas official assurance that no deals would be signed during PM Modis visit to Sri Lanka, indicates the political strength of

such resistance.

With particular reference to Trincomalee, besides tackling apprehensions, there is a serious need to address stakeholder concerns about project ownership and operation. In 2003, as part of an MoU signed by the CPC and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Indias oil subsidiary in Sri Lanka  Lanka IOC (LIOC)  obtained a 35-year lease to develop the China Bay (Trincomalee) tank farm, with a total of 99 tanks.

However, implementation of the MoU was marred with reservations expressed by the CPC on the procedural aspects of implementation and against providing exclusive right to LIOC to run the installation. Due to internal political reasons, the lease agreement was not implemented in totality, such that LIOC has been able to use only 14 tanks in the lower farm area and the remaining 84 are unused.

The Common Workers Union (CWU) of the CPC alleges that since the lease agreement had to be signed within a period of six months, and was not signed, it is not legal. On the other hand, while speaking about the recently signed MoU, Indias Ministry of External Affairs has been clear in stating that Lanka IOC has had the rights to develop the tank farm since 2003 and the agreement to now develop the upper tank farm as a joint venture comes in light of our spirit of partnership. These differences in the narrative could be a recipe for conflict and needs to be addressed sensitively if a fruitful partnership is intended.

The India-Sri Lanka roadmap for cooperation in economic projects is, at best, a good first step since 2015 that has come after significant initial delays. Implementing its agenda will be a complex process. Nothing short of a serious attempt to pace the process of concluding agreements, learning from past lessons, reaching out to bridge the trust deficit and addressing stakeholder concerns in various projects, will enable forward movement.

(Husanjot Chahal is a Researcher and Programme Director at SEARP, IPCS)
The spiralling Lotus Tower is on its way to becoming South Asias tallest building, dominating the Colombo skyline. This 350 metre tall structure will serve as a transmission tower for several TV and FM broadcasting stations.

This towering structure which commenced its construction during the previous regime was quite an over-priced deal and halfway through, its construction was halted.

While the land it stands on belongs to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), there are allegations that the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure hasnt paid a cent for this transaction. In an attempt to shed light on this project and to uncover its current status, the Dailymirror spoke to a few individuals of varied expertise

Video :

Do you think the Lotus Tower is the need of the hour now that it seems to be a waste of public funds? a) Yes b) No c) Don't know online surveys

The construction

This Chinese EXIM bank-funded US $ 104.3 million project was commenced on January 20, 2012 and was expected to be completed within 912 days as per the initial plan, but by the said finishing date only the concrete structure was completed. Although its main function is that of a telecommunication tower, it will be designed to serve as a multi-functional building. Its three-storied tower base will house various shopping centres, food courts and possibly even a walk-through museum. The tower itself will house banquet halls and an observation deck on the eighth floor. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) estimates that its petals will be in place by August of this year. The TRC also has plans of building an interactive app to improve visitor experience in the tower. This app will enable users to, for instance, check the availability of seats for a movie and make immediate bookings or remotely reserve seats at a restaurant. According to the original plan the construction should have completed by 2014.



However, a recent media report indicated that it is expected to be completed by October this year.

The SLPA didnt receive a cent for the land

- Arjuna Ranatunga

In his comments to the Dailymirror, former Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said the constructions were going on and the project was done on land belonging to the SLPA. We never received a cent for it. Im still trying to get some money from the Telecommunications Ministry. I feel most of the decisions taken by the previous government were bad and we had to face many inconveniences because of that. Even the Htota Port could have been built at a lesser cost than what they have spent. They should have done a feasibility report and even projects such as the Port city could have been done in a proper way. Some of the contracts cannot be changed and we dont want to antagonize some of the countries. When a massive project comes in, governments from other countries get involved and we dont want to cause issues with them. They have started to build friendly ties with the new government and we want to strengthen these relationships.

We never received a cent for it. Im still trying to get some money from the Telecommunications Ministry. I feel most of the decisions taken by the previous government were bad and we had to face many inconveniences because of that

We need to move into digital broadcasting

-Prof. Rohan Samarajiva

The also contacted telecommunications expert Professor Rohan Samarajiva to find out whether this costly tower will serve its purpose in this digital era. Prof. Samarajiva is also the founding Chair of LIRNEasia, an ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia-Pacific region, The age of satellites was back in the 60s and 70s. Now we are in the age of smartphones. There are emerging trends in technology and we need to keep up with them. Satellites could be used for purposes such as remote sensing and GPS. This symbol of modernity was established after various other structures around the world. Although it was established as a solution for TV broadcasting tower many more additions will be done to it. Speaking in terms of broadcasting, we are using analogue broadcasting methods which are highly inefficient. This is mainly due to the interference in frequencies between towers. Once you get a conventional antenna, you need to adjust it to pair with the tower in either Depanama or Pannipitiya. Still you will not get a clear view of the channel you need to watch. This is old technology and we need to look at implementing digital broadcasting instead. If we auction the 700MHz band used for analogue broadcasting and instead use it for digital broadcasting it will be more convenient for the users and will generate more revenue as well. We also dont have people watching TV on big screens anymore. They watch TV on their smart devices. People are stuck in the thinking of the analogue age. On the other hand, Colombo is still not a very interesting city to tourists. There should be more restaurants and attractions to make it an interesting place to visit. The need of the hour is to move to digital broadcasting. There is a limited number of channels in advanced economies and they all use digital broadcasting. We are trying to find a solution through a method used back in the 60s. We could call in private broadcasters to buy frequencies and some frequencies will yield enormous benefits. Therefore we need to consider this option rather than investing on mega-scale projects such as this Lotus Tower.

Now we are in the age of smartphones. There are emerging trends in technology and we need to keep up with them. Satellites could be used for purposes such as remote sensing and GPS

There was a problem with the technology

-Rosmand Senaratne

The Dailymirror also learned that Rosmand Senaratne, the former Chairman of Independent Television Network (ITN) was one of the key persons who had requested for a tower of this nature during the previous regime. Speaking to the Daily Mirror Mr. Senaratne said that there was a need transfer telecommunication signals to a central point. In order to receive signals we had to turn our antennae in all directions. But in developed countries they have a central point in which they house a tower to transmit signals to all television channels. Therefore we too had to implement such a system. Through this the viewers will be greatly benefitted. The cost factor of course is a different topic.



When asked as to why they wanted to go proceed with an analog system in the digital age, Mr. Senaratne said that there was a prevailing issue about which technology they would implement. The Germans had one plan, the Chinese had another and the Japanese had their own system.

In order to receive signals we had to turn our antennae in all directions. But in developed countries they have a central point in which they house a tower to transmit signals to all television channels

The project is now under the purview of the President

-Harin Fernando

Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, Harin Fernando said the Lotus Tower Project was now under the purview of the President. The proposal was to establish a telecommunication tower, facilitating 50 TV channels and 35 FM radio stations. It will also house a shopping mall, restaurants and eventually develop into a tourist attraction. Since it was too costly, the construction was halted for a while but is now underway.
REUTERS, 24th MAY, 2017- Faced with mounting unrest, Venezuelas unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro vowed on Tuesday to push ahead in July with the formation of a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution before regional elections in December. The South American OPEC member has been racked by strife, with 55 people killed during unrest in the past two months as public anger boiled over due to an economic meltdown that has left many Venezuelans scrabbling to afford three meals a day.
Newly appointed Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera assumed duties yesterday at the Finance Ministry sans an official ceremony, something rare in Sri Lankan politics. Present at the occasion were Treasury Secretary Dr. D.H.S. Samaratunga and several other senior Finance Ministry officials PIc by Pradeep Pathirana
If the incumbent government continued to overlook the racist acts perpetrated on the Muslim community, it would lead to a situation to lodge the complaint with the international community, EPC Leader of the Opposition M.S Uthumalebbe said.

Hence, the government and the defence sector should take action to contain the racist acts inflicted upon the Muslim community, he said.

The EPC Leader of the Opposition made the above comments after presenting an emergency Bill on Tuesday to institute legal action on those who perpetrated racist acts on the Muslim community in various places across the country when the House met presided over by Chairman Chandradasa Galappaththi.

Muslims in Sri Lanka voted for a change of regime since the previous government did not take any action on the attacks inflicted upon the Muslim community and their places of worship. Sadly, even in the regime of good governance racist acts on Muslims were increasing at an alarming level. That had led to a situation for the Muslims to live in constant fear. Many business establishments owned by the Muslims and their places of worship were attacked during last month. Moreover, incidents of grabbing the ancestral lands owned by Muslims living in border villages continued unabated, the EPC Opposition Leader said.

He said that the EPC should appeal to the President and the Prime Minister to take legal action against the racist groups indulged in these unlawful acts and to bring the situation under control.

"Ampara is the only district where Muslims are in the majority. Lands in Ampara are not issued based on the ratio of the population. I have requested the District Secretary of Ampara to distribute lands based on the ratio of the population," he said. (Riyaz Adam)
Sri Lankas new Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday said he would appoint a qualified person with updated knowledge on the maritime sector as the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman.

He also said no political influence would be entertained in appointing a person to this important position.

The minister made these remarks at a special meeting held yesterday with the representatives of the port trade unions at the Ports and Shipping Ministry.

Samarasinghes predecessor, Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, was inducted as the Petroleum Resources Development Minister in the cabinet reshuffle carried out by President Maithripala Sirisena this week.

Ranatunga had appointed his brother Dammika Ranatunga as the SLPA Chairman.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld an attorneys five-year suspension and $7,500 in restitution, concluding that the sanctions were not arbitrary or capricious or characterized by an abuse of discretion.

This disciplinary matter arose out of an attorneys representation of his client in an employment claim. The matter ultimately was settled for $75,000, which was paid into the attorneys trust account. The attorney and client entered into an agreement by which the client would receive $40,000 of the settlement proceeds after payment to the attorney of remaining fees and expenses. A short time later, the attorney contacted the client stating that he had miscalculated his expenses and requested an additional $1,800 of the settlement proceeds, to which the client refused. Accordingly, the attorney refused to pay the client the $40,000 of the settlement proceeds.



The clients initial complaint filed with the Board of Professional Responsibility was dismissed. The client subsequently filed a lawsuit against the attorney to recover the settlement money. During a deposition of the attorney during the lawsuit, the attorney stated that none of the settlement proceeds remained in his trust account. The attorney also provided certain statements regarding previous ethical violations, bankruptcies, and IRS liens. The clients new counsel then filed a second complaint with the Board of Professional Responsibility against the attorney. Prior to the hearing of the disciplinary matter, the attorney and client entered into a settlement of the fee dispute lawsuit.



The hearing panel determined that the attorney lied under oath and failed to maintain disputed funds in his trust account, in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Accordingly, the panel suspended the attorneys law license for five years, probated after one year conditioned upon his payment of the remaining $7,500.00 owing to [the client] and restitution to the Board for all costs of this proceeding. The panel also ordered the attorney to perform 100 hours of public service work for each year of probated suspension and ordered that the attorney should never have control of his client trust account. The circuit court, on appeal, reversed the hearing panels decision that the attorney never should have control of his trust account, but affirmed the panels judgment in all other respects.

Both the attorney and the Board of Professional Responsibility appealed to the Supreme Court. In the unanimous opinion authored by Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, the Court determined that the doctrine of res judicata was inapplicable, given that the factual bases for the second disciplinary proceeding arose after the first complaint was dismissed. Additionally, the Court affirmed the restitution of $7,500, stating that the panel and courts were not bound by the terms of the fee dispute agreement. The Court then determined that the attorneys suspension was not arbitrary or capricious or characterized by an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the circuit courts judgment, with the exception of the imposition of a practice monitor for the attorneys years of probation upon successful reinstatement.


The European Union (EU) noted that the pace of reforms in Sri Lanka had slowed significantly with straightforward deliverables such as the operationalisation of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) yet to materialise.

Ambassador of the EU to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Tung-Lai Margue said that more needed to be done quickly to hasten reconciliation efforts.

He expressed these views when he met National Integration and Reconciliation State Minister A.H.M. Fowzie at his ministry last week.

Issuing a statement, the EU delegation yesterday said Ambassador Margue and Minister Fowzie had discussed the Government's priorities with regards to reconciliation as well as the EU's wide-ranging support to the Government's reforms.

During the discussion on resettlement, Minister Fowzie had noted the progress in land returns and underscored the complex realities of resettlement and land restitution in the former conflict zones.

Minister Fowzie had assured greater cooperation between his ministry and the EU and expressed the country's appreciation to it for funding already pledged towards strengthening the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka.

The EU is providing EUR 12 million to strengthen the reconciliation process by seeking institutional consensus across various government entities and civil society, in addition to contributing to strengthening the linkages between the government and the people at the grass-roots.

The programme will also facilitate initiatives that link reconciliation and non-recurrence by addressing language barriers and psycho-social needs as well as using arts and culture to break down barriers between communities.

The statement said the EU will provide a further EUR 8.1 million to support long-term peace-building efforts.
President Maithripala Sirisena met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the National Parliament building in Canberra and held bilateral talks today.

President Sirisena is scheduled to visit Sydney during the three-day official visit. This is the first time a Sri Lankan Head of State has made a state visit to Australia and it follows Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes Australian visit in February.

Australian Premier said in a media statement earlier that action against human smuggling, education, defence, science and technology, economic development and medical research were among the topics which would be discussed.
Supported by indifference of the law enforcement entities towards the violence against religious minorities

The Muslims, the media and the Government seem to be in a quandary in handling the current situation

A Muslim man inspects the charred remnants of a business following an attack in Aluthgama in 2014. File Photo

What could have been the reason behind recent spate of attacks against mosques and business establishments owned by Muslims and the resurgence of anti-Muslim verbal attacks by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS)? It is a very difficult question to answer this time.



When a similar situation prevailed during the last three years of former President Mahinda Rajapaksas regime, where not only Muslim religious places but also Christian churches and Hindu temples had also been attacked, a few theories-though contradictory to each other- had been floated by various groups.



As it was apparent that the BBS and its ferocious anti-Muslim propaganda campaign had the blessings of the Rajapaksa Government, some people, especially the minorities, argued that Rajapksas, after crushing the Tamil separatist rebellion, were attempting to totally annihilate the voice of other ethnic and religious minority groups as well.



Their contention was supported by indifference of the law enforcement entities towards the violence against religious minorities prevailed then.

However, the Government is also fast losing a major section of its vote base, while giving ammunition to the international human rights campaigners by its lethargy towards the untoward incidents. It is a Catch 22 situation for the Government.

Another school of thought was that the BBS and its anti-Muslim campaign was a conspiracy sponsored by Norway to oust Mahinda Rajapaksa from power as he had been rude to the West towards the end of the war against the LTTE, when the victory of the armed forces was imminent.

Main among those who held this view was the then Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Werawansa. The newspaper columnist and Rajapaksa loyalist C.A.Chandraprema also held a similar view.



It was a group of eight people who had been sponsored by Norwegian authorities for a tour in that country who, soon after that tour, launched the BBS in 2012. During their stay in Norway they had met Eric Solheim, the Norways controversial Special Envoy to Sri Lanka during the peace talks between the armed forces and the LTTE and even several LTTEers, according to Dr. DilanthaVithange, a leader of the BBS.



Some of those who mooted the Norwegian conspiracy theory were of the view that the Norwegian authorities, having well known about the ultra-nationalistic attitudes of Rajapaksas had used the BBS to stir up communal tension for which the blessings of the Rajapaksa Government was also expected. The ultimate outcome expected, according to the theory, was the total alienation of the Rajapaksa administration from the minorities, the Tamils, Muslims and Christians of various denominations. Weerawansa forecasted the impact of the BBS agitations against the Muslims on the next Presidential election.



In spite of the veracity of the Norwegian connection being still contested by the concerned parties, the outcome of the communal tension proved Weerawansas prediction to be true. Had Mahinda Rajapaksa had the support of the Muslims as he had at the 2010 President election he wouldnt have been defeated in 2015.



With the Yahapalanaya Government led by the United National Party (UNP) coming to power in January 2015, the extremist groups almost vanished from the scene despite their repeated warning earlier of a threat of extinction of Sinhala race and Buddhism at the hands of the minorities, especially the Muslims.

Minister Mano Ganesan, whose office was recently barged into by Ven. Gnanasara Thera, had told the Tamil media that 15 incidents had taken place in the last two months without the arrest of a single person.

However, after having shown the signs of its mere survival through several press conferences for the past two years, the BBS has sprung into action all of a sudden since last month, with inflammatory speeches being revived by its leader Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera and a wave of communal invectives in the social media and physical attacks against Muslims in various parts of the country spreading.



Against the backdrop of the Sri Lanka sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution having insisted on the prevention of recurrence of communal tension, the US and UK governments had last week expressed their concern over the heightening threats against the minorities by certain groups.

Hence, the Cabinet is said to have decided on Tuesday to take action against the rabble-rousers.

President Maithripala Sirisena during that Cabinet meeting had stated that the politically defeated elements were behind the recent communal stir in order to discredit his Government.



Interestingly on the other hand, Namal Rajapaksa, former Presidents son was of the view that it was these extremist groups that conspired against his fathers Government. He interpreted the current situation as one staged by the Government itself in order to justify what he said its intension to impose a State of Emergency, with a view to postpone the elections.



Since the beginning of the attacks on the religious places in 2012 the United National Party (UNP) has been careful not to be identified itself with the extremist groups and those groups, especially the BBS in turn has been vehemently critical of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe throughout.

Hence, both the main political parties, the SLFP and the UNP have now clearly disowned and dissociated from the BBS, though both parties shy of taking strong action against those groups.

The Muslims, the media and the Government seem to be in a quandary in handling the current situation. One section of the media is of the opinion that publicity to those incidents might contribute to the spreading of similar attacks, while the attackers seem to be taking advantage of the blackout.

However, the social media is greatly used for spreading hatred as well as blowing up of incidents, leaving the ethically concerned journalists in mainstream media helpless.



The Muslim community in the country is in utter confusion without knowing how to tackle the situation. They know even the slightest reaction on their part to the verbal and physical attacks on them except for the public statements in the media would be given a dangerous twist by certain media, especially the social media, leading to riots.



Also they are perturbed with the official reaction to the incidents as the investigations seem to be not moving ahead. National Co-existence, dialogue and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan, whose office was recently barged into by Ven. Gnanasara Thera had told the Tamil media that 15 incidents had taken place in the last two months without the arrest of a single person.



The pressure on the Muslim leaders from their community to take action to neutralise the situation forgetting their dog fights over matters of power politics is fast heightening.



The community is also divided over the actions to be taken, with one group suggesting drastic action while the majority includes the politicians and the religious leaders advising to be restraint. Some Muslim leaders from safe areas such as the Eastern Province seem to be very bold and blunt in responding to the attacks on the community, while the others rely totally on the Governments mercy.

However, it is evident through the Tamil media that the Muslim community is fast losing confidence in the Yahapalanaya Government for which they voted en-masse at the last Presidential and the Parliamentary elections. The pressure for their leaders to dissociate from the main political groups, the Maithri and Mahinda factions of the SLFP and the UNP and to act as an independent group forgetting petty political differences is also mounting. This is a shot in the arm of communal politics, thanks to the very actions of those against separate minority communalist politics and the indifference of the Government.



The Government is dragging its feet in taking action against the hate mongering incidents lest the Opposition, especially the Mahinda Rajapaksa group might capitalise on the situation by giving a different interpretation to it.



However, on the other hand the Government is also fast losing a major section of its vote base, while giving ammunition to the international human rights campaigners by its lethargy towards the untoward incidents. It is a Catch 22 situation for the Government.
There are 30 lichen species and more than 200 endolichen fungi species associated with such mangroves

This is the first time that a research of this kind is being carried out in Sri Lanka

By Gayan SURIYAARACHCHI

The Chemistry Department of the Kelaniya University has found that Endolichenic fungi that grows in Lichen of the vegetation in the wet zone has astounding properties that could help destroy cancer cells

Lichen is a living organism found on tree trunks and rocks. The fungi that develop and grow freely on the favourable background created by the cordial co-ordination of an algae and lichen is known as Endolichenic fungus.

The researchers say they are also studying the antioxidant, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties of the substance. This research is being conducted under Senior Professor Sriyani Paranagama of the Chemistry Department of Kelaniya University.

Prof. Paranagama is also known to have discovered that endolichen fungi are capable of developing bio-active compounds which are rich with medicinal properties, during a research carried out jointly with Professor Lesley Gunathilaka of the University of Arizona.

This is the first time that a research of this kind is being carried out in Sri Lanka. The National Research Council provided the financial contribution for the research, Prof. Paranagama said.

Professor Sriyani Paranagama

"As another stage of this research, we started to identify various compounds that are created and to identify the endolichen fungi species found in the mangrove environment"



The process of extracting from endolichen fungus is a result of the modern research work discovered through a programme to produce new medicinal compounds. Almost all medicine we use has its origins in properties found in flora, algae or aquatic organisms. Vincristine medicine often prescribed for cancer patients are produced from a certain flower (mineemal). The method of extracting medicinal properties from plants started with the discovery of Penicillin. The research reveals that bio-active constituents can be produced in the endolichen fungus that lives independently within the lichen found in the trees of the wet zone. It has been proved that the constituents are available in endolichen fungus that has not been identified so far, anywhere else in the world.

We started to cultivate endolichen fungus separately in our laboratory from lichen collected from the trees in Sinharaja, Haggala and Knuckles forests. We are trying to find out whether there is an anti-oxidant, cancer destruction quality in these constituents. We believe that we could develop and cultivate these properties or even develop them through synthesis process, by finding out constituents that could be used very successfully, Prof. Paranagama said.

"We started to cultivate endolichen fungus separately in our laboratory from lichen collected from the trees in Sinharaja, Haggala and Knuckles forests "



As another stage of this research, we started to identify various compounds that are created and to identify the endolichen fungi species found in the mangrove environment. We believe that there are unidentified constituents in such species in endolichen fungi that have adapted in the same way that the mangroves have, according to arid environments. Usually mangroves grow in environments with a high concentration of salt . So far, it has been identified that there are 30 lichen species and more than 200 endolichen fungi species associated with such mangroves.

Dr. (Mrs) Gothami Weerakoon, from the University of Chicago, USA has assisted the botanical identification of the lichen species that have been collected from this research. Dr. Renuka Attanayaka of the University of Kelaniya is meanwhile involved in identifying the endolichen fungus, Prof. Paranagama said.
All the Chinese projects, the Rajapaksas brought and the Yahapalanaya promised to close down, are back on track with harsher conditions

This Cabinet reshuffle will thus leave reconciliation and transitional justice in limbo

Public statements have blown off in the wind with Sinhala Buddhist extremism

As Finance Minister I reduced waste and corruption and earned more money for the Treasury, said outgoing Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake to BBC Sinhala service Sandeshaya the day after the much announced and much delayed, Mondays Cabinet reshuffle.

It is sad to note that some Ministers, who are involved in corruption, still remain in the Cabinet though they should be removed from it. UPFA General Secretary and Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, whose bonding with the President was further enhanced with the State Ministers portfolio for Mahaweli was quoted by the DM Online, on Monday morning.

That was the day of the reshuffle.



One thing is certain. Despite Ravi Karunanayakes claim he reduced waste and corruption, there are intolerably corrupt Ministers in this Yahapalana Government, with allegations also being levelled against him.



It is also clear the reshuffle has not been about cleaning up the Cabinet and the Government.

It is proved beyond doubt with a likely irrational assignment of subjects to Ministries. New Foreign Minister Karunanayake is speculated to be given Lotteries, Mahapola Scholarship Fund, Sri Lankan Airlines, Plantation Sector Institutes and possibly the SEC too. Land Minister Karunathilaka making amends for losing the Media Ministry wants Film Corporation and Govt. Printing Press under him.

There isnt any logic, or rationale in these asking and giving in a Cabinet reshuffle, and the Gazette is delayed.



All of it negates the Presidents statement that the Cabinet reshuffle was to further accelerate growth and development of the country. Even an illiterate would not accept that this assignment of subjects to Ministries can deliver anything other than more waste and corruption.



In 2008, calculation on running a Ministry excluding its rent was LKR 60 million a month at minimum from public funds.



The Rupee is far more devalued almost 10 years after and today, on a very conservative projection, that sum could be around LKR 80 million a month. With 47 Cabinet Ministers after the reshuffle, we would thus have to stomach a staggering LKR 3,760 million a month, not calculating the cost of maintaining Deputies and State Ministers.

Its not for the benefit of the majority. Its not for the benefit of the Tamil and Muslim people either. It is just reshuffling chaos for a Government without a vision



But that alone is not what this Cabinet reshuffle means to people. It means this reshuffle is not about getting the economy right and is not about creating space for de-polarising of society for reconciliation; the two major issues the country needs to correct course on.



Wickremesinghe led economic model on an accelerated free market economy has only two giant pillars to stand on. One is giving every possible tax concession, duty waivers and everything else to entice prospective investors for export manufacture. Those over the past 40 years, has not meant anything to the rural and urban poor despite what economists talk in terms of numbers.

The other is about selling anything saleable including culture and Archaeology.

Thus the compromise between President and PM was in swapping portfolios between FM Ravi Karunanayake and FM Mangala Samaraweera.



Therefore all that the PM needs in terms of economics will be brought under the new FM Karunanayake and may be with an amendment to make the portfolio look more decent. That again is the Rajapaksa way. The UDA and the Coast Conversation Department (CCD) were brought under the Defence Ministry and was termed Defence and Urban Development Ministry for Gothabaya to run the show as the Secretary. Thus in terms of the economy, this reshuffle would mean nothing more than plunder and looting.



While there is a proposal to establish under the Foreign Ministry an Economic Council for foreign investments and with a separate financial allocation too, a recent interest shown by an Indian media colleague, was to know how much the Tatas have invested in the plantation sector in Sri Lanka. Most plantation sector institutes are to be Gazetted under the Foreign Ministry.



All the Chinese projects, the Rajapaksas brought and the Yahapalanaya promised to close down, are back on track with harsher conditions.



Topping up are Cabinet Papers given approval, the Cabinet Spokesmen dont talk about and the media have not been able to keep pace with.

The Cabinet reshuffle means nothing to the minorities. The patronage the Sinhala Buddhist extremists would continue to have, after the Cabinet reshuffle, would also compel the President and the SLFP bloc in Government to bring pressure against power sharing in the draft Constitution.

Tourism seem one easy term for most corrupt projects. A Cabinet memorandum titled Developing a Cultural Hub of South Asia by the National Policies and Economic Affairs Minister was presented to Cabinet dated 27 March, 2017 for what had been already established in January 2017, housed at Visumpaya.



The Cabinet Paper says, .In this context, it is desirable to enter into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the CCHT to develop a Cultural Hub of South Asia in Colombo. (Page 02)

This Cabinet Paper sought Rs. 43,200,000 for rent and administrative cost for three years.

Yet, the Cabinet Paper does not give any details about the CCHT (Colombo Cultural Hub Trust). Who owns this Trust that has to be privately owned for the Cabinet Paper to propose a PPP with it? It is after this Cabinet Paper, much is speculated about the entire Museum, Art Gallery and John de Silva land expanse being identified for a long term lease to a big time businessman. The Cabinet Paper does give space for such speculation when it says, Colombo is already the focal point for artistic and cultural events given the infrastructure of performing art theatres, art galleries and conference venues.. All of it to develop a tourist segment the Cabinet Paper says is only 0.01 per cent (cultural & religious purpose) of tourist arrivals.



There is also speculation that some of the most premium ancient buildings with the Postal Department in Kandy, Galle and Nuwara Eliya will be sold out. The Joint Postal Trade Union had warned they would oppose any such deal.



There are also issues related to other archaeological sites in the East that go beyond the long standing dual for Digavapiya between Muslims and Buddhist monks. Minister Rauff Hakeem brought this to the notice of the House, requesting a Parliamentary Select Committee to discuss issues relating to archaeological sites across the country.



Nothing of any of those will be destined to change with this Cabinet reshuffle. That was not the intention of this Cabinet reshuffle. What was intended by President Sirisena was to steam off pressure the SLFP bloc with him kept increasing. Since the Galle Face May Day Rajapaksa feat, pressure was building up for some compromise with the Rajapaksas. With Chandrika Kumaratunga backing President Sirisena, this pressure had to be steamed off instead, with an apparent strengthening of the SLFP image within the government. That gave President Sirisena the opportunity to shift Mangala Samaraweera from the Foreign Ministry as well.



President Sirisena was often disturbed with Samaraweeras peddling of the OISL Resolution 30/1 and promises he makes to deliver on what was co-sponsored on war crimes and accou ntability issues. Karunanayake now as Foreign Minister, who had a Buddhist monk at the ministry to tie a pirithnoola before he assumed office and never forgets to project a Sinhala Buddhist facade for his electoral politics, is now a better fit for President Sirisenas Sinhala run against Rajapaksa.



This Cabinet reshuffle will thus leave reconciliation and transitional justice in limbo despite PM Wickremesinghes and Law and Order Ministers recent statements in support of national unity and peace. In fact they were compelled to make their position public against accelerated anti Muslim violence recording around two dozen incidents during the past three months.



Fact is, their public statements have blown off in the wind with Sinhala Buddhist extremism given patronage by other ministers and the President. The President is reported to have said no to his Muslim Ministers in cabinet, when asked for time to discuss the escalating violence against Muslim mosques, businesses and property, as he was busy with the Cabinet reshuffle and other work before leaving to Australia. An unmistaken indication as to where his priorities are when minority issues are thrust on him.



With that, the Law and Order Minister has not been able to direct the IGP to arrest the hate mongering monk Gnanasara to date though everything the law needs to arrest such violent hate campaigners are being played out in the open. What fate for the Muslim community who voted Maithripala Sirisena to power as President, defeating Rajapaksa? Where would they now turn to, for consolation, if not for safety and security?



The Cabinet reshuffle means nothing to the minorities. To the Tamil and the Muslim people. The patronage the Sinhala Buddhist extremists would continue to have, after the Cabinet reshuffle, would also compel the President and the SLFP bloc in Government to bring pressure against power sharing in the draft Constitution.



They will make every effort to have two thirds in parliament for a new draft Constitution that would first satisfy the Sinhala Constituency, even if it is not for the satisfaction of the Tamil voter.

That then is what the Cabinet reshuffle is. Its not for the benefit of the majority. Its not for the benefit of the Tamil and Muslim people either. Its just reshuffling chaos for a Government without a vision and a programme, to tide over another day.
The Arabic word Riyadh means meadow. A slight variation of the word, or if one adds the letter Ta Marbuta at the end, the word will read Riyadhah, meaning a sport. Well, what a spectacle Donald Trumps Riyadh reception last week was? Its dangerous repercussions were felt on Monday night in Manchester where during a pop concert, 22 people, mostly children, died in a suicide bomb attack carried out by a killer who allegedly professed the very extremism that Trump condemned and wanted his Arab-Islamic hosts to fight.

It was a spectacle, nay charade, because the Trump speech lacked depth and it sounded as though it was custom-made for the Saudis. There was more Iran bashing than ISIS bashing. In fact, Iran was projected as a bigger terrorist than ISIS. It made aging Saudi King Salman happy.

But no one is pointing a finger at Iran for the Manchester bomb. Instead, the focus should be on Saudi Arabia. But Britain, the United States or any other European power wont point the finger at Saudi Arabia because of economic relations. They all milk the Saudi cow which also offers ideological milk to terrorists.



No condemnation of extremism is complete if it does not denounce forces behind such extremism. Well, it is no secret that some of the Riyadh summit leaders are culpable for the spread of violence in the name of Islam to achieve political ends.

Money, munitions and ideological support from Gulf Arab nations and Sunni bigots sustain the monster the Manchester bomber represented. In its insatiable thirst for human blood, millions of people  both Muslims and non-Muslims -- in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, France, Belgium, Britain, the United States and scores of other countries have become its victims since 9/11.

Nevertheless, many Arab nations struck a strategic alliance with the extremists for a regime-change game first in Libya and then in Syria. Joining this unholy alliance was the West, including Britain and France. The Europe nations turned a blind eye when hundreds, if not thousands, of European-based jihadi extremists moved to Libya and Syria, while the United States sent special forces to train the extremists, whom the West, by way of deception, called moderate rebels.

After the success in Libya, the rich and powerful Arab nations together with the Western powers turned their attention to topple the Bashar al-Assad regime, and they did not mind even if it meant an alliance with the most ruthless terrorist groups. The Manchester massacre was a result of such myopic policies. It is said that Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was radicalised by Libyan extremists.

Trumps Riyadh speech was at best a sales talk, for it deliberately avoided including any mention of these home truths -- or where the roots of this dangerous ideology lay  and secured US$ 450 billion sales. Absent in Trumps fake speech was any mention that the ISIS follows the same Wahhabi-Salafi Islam that is zealously promoted by Saudi Arabia. It was an ideology rooted in Asharism that stopped the progressive march of Mutazilism or rational Islam, which, during the Abbasid Caliphate (from the 8th to 13th century), took the Islamic world to the peak of science and philosophy, and brought life to an intellectually dying world, especially Europe. Asharism, with its anthropomorphic interpretation of matters spiritual contributed to the intellectual fall of the Islamic world. With its rise, the method of inquiry-based Islamic learning disappeared. Taqlid, or blindly following so-called scholars, became established. The spirit of Islam was ignored and the letter was liberally misused to suit the agendas of the ruling elite. Centuries later, with the discovery of oil and the establishment of Wahhabism, the Arab world became servile to the technologically advanced and militarily superior West. With all the money generated from oil, none of the Arab states, which came into being after the Arab betrayal of the Ottoman Empire, could rise as a knowledge-based nation, capable of making discoveries in science and medicine. Since they emerged as independent nations, their statecraft has been putting their trusts in one big power or another for survival, while suppressing dissent and democracy at home.

The dependence was evident when Saudi Arabia signed US$ 450 billion worth deals with the United States during the visit of Trump. The leader of the worlds most vibrant democracy said nothing about the Arab worlds pathetic human rights record or lack of democracy. The US$ 450 billion deal was a form of bribe to keep the new US president, a maverick of sort, on the side of Saudi Arabia, vis-a-vis the Sunni kingdoms hostility towards Shiite Iran and the Assad regime in Syria. The bribe is also to buy the Trump administrations connivance so that the Saudis could continue their excesses with impunity in Yemen, where thousands of children die of cholera and malnutrition if they are not killed by Saudi bombs.

Days after selling US$ 110 billion worth of arms to the Saudis, Trump the arms salesman on Wednesday had no qualms about meeting Pope Francis, who has denounced the arms industry as an evil that promotes conflicts and prevents peace. The meeting with the pontiff came after his visits to Israel and the West Bank, where just as his fake speech in Riyadh, his pledge to revive the peace process sounded empty.

Incidentally, whatever the arms the Saudis buy from the US cannot be used against Israel: Thats the caveat linked to the deal. Even if they are allowed to, it is unlikely that the Saudis will take up arms against Israel to free Palestine.

They will fight only weak enemies  the poverty-stricken and under-nourished Yemenis or the unarmed pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain. Neither the Saudis nor any of the 50-odd Arab and Islamic leaders at the so-called Arab-Islamic-American summit corrected Trump for linking Palestinian group Hamas with al-Qaeda, Isis and Hezbollah. Ritualistic-minded Saudi King Salman told Trump not to drink from his left hand, but would not tell him that Hamas is a liberation movement. So much for their commitment to the liberation of Palestine!

Trump in his Sunday sermon to the Saudis said he did not come to lecture Arabs and Muslims what to do, but then he went on to give a lecture, urging the Muslims to condemn Islamic terrorism, and then assuming a holier-than-thou position, described the fight against Islamic terrorism as a war between good and evil.

In the runup to the presidential election, Trump had called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. He had said Islam hates us. Embattled at home for his alleged Russian connections, Trump is neither an Islamophobe nor an admirer of Islam, the faith of the worlds 1.7 billion people. He is a salesman and bully. And he got what he wanted from the Riyadh visit  billions of dollars and the Arab worlds submission.
Several police teams were deployed to arrest Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary the Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera on charges of disturbing, obstructing and threatening police officers and committing acts bound to cause racial and religious disharmony among various communities.

DIG Priyantha Jayakody in a statement said that following a request made by the Police, the Hulftsdorp No: 4 Magistrate issued a court order preventing the Thera from leaving the country.

He said there were several com-plaints lodged against him and the Thera had not reported to the Police Organized Crime Division when summoned to do so. (Chaturanga Pradeep)
Wajira Kaluarachchi from SWT Associates, Sri Lanka introducing her firm to delegates during the new members presentations

The UK based International Association of Practicing Accountants (IAPA) recently inducted the Chartered Accountant firm SWT Associates, as its member firm in Sri Lanka.

Martin Clapson, IAPA Vice-Chairman said, Success in a global market comes from local knowledge. We are delighted to recruit such a dynamic and progressive firm in Sri Lanka, a country where we have previously been unrepresented.

He added, The affiliation was cemented upon the recently concluded rigorous admission process by our South Asian partner. We were very much convinced that SWT Associates will fit perfectly into our eligibility criteria and their appointment is aligned with the efforts to grow IAPAs representation in Asia Pacific area.

The IAPA membership will lead to even greater opportunities for SWT Associates to serve our clients, especially when it comes to meeting their international business needs. Its a fantastic opportunity for us to gain new ideas and insights to re-evaluate our international growth strategies to attract new business. We look forward to leverage SWT Associates as the advisory firm of the future with successful, while maintaining IAPAs high standards of professionalism and integrity, said Wajira Kaluarachchi, Managing Partner of SWT Associates.

We share the same vision for continuing to provide clients with flexible, strategic, and groundbreaking tools to better serve international accounting needs. I see this affiliation as a win-win for both our outstanding memberships and, in particular, for the clients who rely on valuable and trusted resources around the world, she added.
DAILY MAIL, 24th MAY, 2017-Taiwan has become the first place in Asia to leaglise gay marriage today following a landmark ruling by the countrys top court. A panel of 14 grand justices made the ruling that current regulations prohibiting marriage between partners of the same sex are unconstitutional.



Campaigners gathered in central Taipei today to hear the ruling. The decision by Taiwans top court was posted online today. The countrys top court came to the decision that a clause in Taiwans Civil Code which stated marriage should be between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. Chi Chia-wei, one of the petitioners who brought the case to the constitutional court spent 30 years campaigning for same-sex marriage in the country. According to Hong Kong Free Press, the 59-year-old first attempted to register a marriage with his male partner in 1986. He was imprisoned for five months.
By Chandeepa Wettasinghe

The ostriches, lame ducks and Icaruses in the government must be caged for it to take flight like a flamingo and transform the dead economy into a competitive Asian Tiger, a senior economist in the country told a forum in Colombo, this week.

The Sri Lankan government is at present made up of these. We have the ostriches, we have lame ducks and Icarus, but for the flamingo to take flight, this (caging) must be (done), Former Central Bank Deputy Governor and leading economic commentator, W. A. Wijewardena said.

He said the government is like an ostrich, losing political capital defending wrongs which the whole world is aware of; a lame duck due to daily infighting and the mythical Grecian Icarus, who attempted to escape a prison with wax wings that melted when he flew close to the sun, which hurtled him to his death, akin to the government burning fingers through consistently weak policies.

Various quarters of the society have been complaining of these shortcomings of the government over the two years that it has been in power, although this is perhaps the first time that the South African Mont Fleur political scenarios have been applied to this regime so colourfully.

Wijewardena, who was speaking at the Logistics Leaders Evening organized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport at the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, did not have many kind things to say about the successive governments that ruled the country since its independence.

He pointed out that the import-dependent, debt-fuelled economy has not advanced due to government policies, which change after each election cycle.

According to him, the resulting hopelessness is portrayed through socio-economic indicators compiled locally and abroad, with primary education as the only undisputed redeeming quality of Sri Lanka.

In fact, its just like reading through an obituary notice, because everything presented in the Central Bank Annual Report doesnt talk about any happy news, he added.

Wijewardenas views appear slightly more extreme than those of Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, who early this year said that the economy was in the hospital but out of the ICU, a statement which drew the wrath of the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

Wijewardena said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes aim of achieving a 7 percent sustained growth, which would double the gross domestic product every decade to create a rich country within a generation similar to that of the Asian Tigers, is noble, but detached from the reality.

We have to give him credit for coming up with such an ambitious programme, but of course things are not very palatable, he said.

He pointed how multilateral agencies revise down Sri Lankas growth forecasts every time the Central Bank or the Finance Ministry comes up with unrealistic GDP growth numbers.

Sri Lanka is still a rural agriculture-based society, and we need to beat the middle income trap. So we need to tap into the 4th Industrial Revolution. So, there is a need for a quantum leap. This is only possible through policy consistency and technological changes, he said.

However, he said Sri Lankan society would face an extreme culture shock, if the government attempts to leapfrog straight past three industrial revolutions into the current 4th Industrial Revolution without a proper desensitization programme.

There will be a massive culture shock unless they grow up with it. I dont think we can avoid the shock and it will be a huge issue, unless tackled properly. There will be bloodshed on the streets, he said.

Wijewardena called for a policy making capsule, similar to one undertaken in Malaysia, to be implemented in Sri Lanka, where policy makers, bureaucrats, academics, the private sector and civil society leaders are all sent to a retreat until they come up with a sustainable growth strategy to ensure policy consistency and collective ownership of policies.

He said that they would have to identify potential globally competitive industries, foster innovation, manage the balance of payment crises, simplify taxation, deregulate the economy, reform the state-owned enterprises, the bureaucracy and the budget, and restructure the financial sector to maintain stability without the need for bailouts.

The policies need to be consistent and passed. One day a policy is announced, the next day its withdrawn and the following day its implemented again. The private sector and foreign investors are confused. There also needs to be transparency. The government needs to say why each policy is announced, he said.
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander on Wednesday warned that if Senate Democrats continue delaying the confirmations of presidential nominees, they would give President Trump an excuse to staff the government with about 350 key appointees who are unconfirmed and unaccountable to the United States Senate.

An administration mostly managed by acting presidential appointees who have not been confirmed by the Senate surely would be a first in American history, Senator Alexander said Wednesday in a speech on the Senate floor. Delaying the inevitable approval of nominations of a President you oppose may sound to your political base like good politics, but it would be supremely bad governing. Senate Democrats would actually be diminishing their influence and shooting themselves in both feet. They would be turning over to a President they dont like, an excuse to staff the government with about 350 key appointees who are unconfirmed and unaccountable to the United States Senate.

Senate Democratswho in 2013 changed the Senate rules to allow presidential nominees to be confirmed by a simple majorityused delaying tactics to stretch out confirmation of President Trumps cabinet longer than any other president in recent history.

Senator Alexander warned that if Democrats continue their delay tactics, then President Trump, who has been slow to make nominations to subcabinet positions, would have every excuse to stop nominating and simply appoint acting officials to about 350 of the remaining key positions.

Senator Alexander asked: What difference would it make to have an administration mostly unconfirmed by the Senate? It would mean that the Senate would be giving the executive more power at the expense of the legislative branch. This undermines the checks and balances created by our nations founders.

Below are the senators prepared remarks:



Here is the scorecard on 557 key presidential nominations during the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, through April 29, according to the Partnership for Public Service in collaboration with the Washington Post:



On cabinet appointments, President Trump did his job, but Senate Democrats did not. Trump announced all of his cabinet nominations before he was inaugurated on January 20, but Democrats delayed confirmation of cabinet nominations more than those of any other recent president.



On subcabinet appointments, President Trump did not do his job. He was slower than any other recent President to send his nominations to the Senate.



So, here is what could happen: If Democrats continue their delaying tactics when President Trump does send subcabinet nominees to the Senate, the President would have every excuse to stop nominating and simply appoint acting officials to about 350 of the remaining key positions. An administration mostly managed by acting presidential appointees who have not been confirmed by the Senate surely would be a first in American history.



Delaying the inevitable approval of nominations of a President you oppose may sound to your political base like good politics, but it would be supremely bad governing. Senate Democrats would actually be diminishing their influence and shooting themselves in both feet. They would be turning over to a President they dont like, an excuse to staff the government with about 350 key appointees who are unconfirmed and unaccountable to the United States Senate.



What difference would it make to have an administration mostly unconfirmed by the Senate?



It would mean that the Senate would be giving the executive more power at the expense of the legislative branch. This undermines the checks and balances created by our nations founders.



Democrats complain that Republicans delayed some of President Obamas nominees and that is true. In fact, this has always been true. My own nomination for U.S. Education Secretary in 1991 was delayed two months by a Democrat senator who put a hold on my nomination for unexplained reasons. President Fords nomination of Warren Rudman to the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1976 was blocked by Democrat New Hampshire senator John Durkin.



The rest of that story is that Rudman eventually asked President Ford to withdraw the nomination, ran against Durkin and defeated him in the next election.



There is a better way to resolve differences between senators and the President. In December 2015, President Obama seemed content to allow John King to serve as his Acting Secretary of Education for the last year of his term. I told the President I thought it was inappropriate for a President to have an Acting Cabinet member for so long and that, while I disagreed with King on many points, I urged him to nominate King and, if he did, I promised that I would hold a prompt hearing and see that he was confirmed.



President Obama nominated John King on February 11, 2016 and he was confirmed on March 14, 2016. I disagreed with King often but the Secretary was confirmed by and accountable to the Senate as the Constitution envisions.



All of President Trumps cabinet nominees are now confirmed, but this is how long it took compared with his three immediate predecessors: All of Trumps nominations were announced before his inauguration, but the Senate confirmed only two on Day 1 because Senate Democrats would not agree to any more than that. His third cabinet nominee was confirmed on January 31st.



To compare, by January 31st in prior administrations, President Obama had 10 nominees confirmed, and George W. Bush and Bill Clinton each had 13 confirmed.



Keep in mind that it is impossible for Democrat senators by themselves to defeat a Trump nominee. Confirmation requires only a majority present and voting to confirm, that is, usually 51. There are 52 Republican senators. In addition, Vice-President Pence can vote in case of a tie. There is no 60-vote filibuster available to block nominees because Democrats, when they were in the majority in 2013, changed Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster on nominations.



So, by their obstruction Democrats are only delaying the inevitable, using various tactics to require the Senate to use nearly a week of floor time to approve even non-controversial nominees.



We do not know how Democrats will treat President Trumps more than 350 remaining key nominees because President Trump has made so few of them. For example, I am chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Aside from the cabinet secretaries, of the 557 key positions identified by the Washington Post, 35 of them within the cabinet agencies require recommendations to the full Senate by the HELP committee.



Department of Health & Human Services8



Department of Education14



Department of Labor13



At the end of the first 100 days, April 29, our Committee had received just one subcabinet nominationthat of Dr. Scott Gottlieb for FDA commissioner who was promptly confirmed on May 9th.



Compared with President Trumps one subcabinet nomination sent to our committee in his first 100 days, President Obama made 13 subcabinet nominations in his first 100 days, President George W. Bush made 10 and President Clinton made 14 to our Committee.



(There actually are nearly 700 more presidential nominees requiring Senate confirmation that are not considered key by the Washington Post analysis.)



Unfortunately, there are ominous signs about how Democrats will treat non-cabinet nominees. Democrats required the Senate to take nearly a week of floor time to consider the nomination of Iowa governor Terry Branstad to serve as Ambassador to China. There was no excuse for this other than obstructionism. Branstad is the longest serving governor in American history. He has a well-documented relationship with the Chinese President.



He was approved by voice vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and ultimately approved by the full Senate earlier this week, 82 to 13.



If Democrats treat other non-controversial ambassadors and subcabinet nominees the way they treated Governor Branstadrequiring nearly a week of Senate floor time to consider a nomineethen President Trump almost certainly will bypass the Senate and name hundreds of acting heads of subcabinet departments. Under the Constitution, he may do that whenever he chooses. There are flexible limits on the time one may serve as an acting position, but if that time expires, the President can simply appoint someone else.



Hopefully, President Trump will speed up his nomination of subcabinet members. And hopefully, Democrats will return to the common practice of routine floor approval of presidential nominations when the confirmation process has determined that the nominee deserves to be approved.



Our founders created a system of government based on checks and balances of three co-equal branches of government. There has been much complaining recently about the rise of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch.



Having an executive branch and embassies mostly staffed by acting personnel not confirmed by, or accountable to the United States Senate undermines the principle of three co-equal branches of government.



The President should want his team in place and should speed up recommending key nominees to the Senate. And senators, especially those in the minority, should want to have a say in the vetting and accountability that comes with the Senate confirmation process.
Police scrambled to close down a network around the Manchester suicide bomber with arrests in Britain and Tripoli on Wednesday, as details about the investigation were leaked to U.S. media, infuriating authorities who fear a second attack is imminent.



British-born Salman Abedi, 22, who was known to security services, killed 22 people at a concert venue packed with children on Monday.



Authorities believe he had help in building the bomb, which photographs published by the New York Times showed was sophisticated and powerful, and that his accomplices could be ready to strike again.

-REUTERS
The recent Arab-Islamic-US Summit should serve as a reality check to Pakistan. The country's PM Nawaz Sharif, who has close ties with the Saudi royal family, did not get an opportunity to address the summit, as many had expected.

Saudi Arabia financed Pakistans nuclear programme in the eighties. Only recently, Pakistan's former army chief Raheel Sharif was chosen to head a military alliance of 41 Islamic nations. The so-called meeting between US president Donald Trump and the Pakistani PM did not materialise. All that did take place was a hand shake and exchange of pleasantries before the beginning of the summit.

A number of commentators in Pakistan have criticised Pakistan's foreign policy priorities in the aftermath of this snub.

The Pakistani media did circulate stories of Sharif dining with Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Crown Prince and defence minister Muhammad Bin Salman. But much to Pakistan's embarrassment, the US president mentioned India as one of the key victims of terrorism during the summit.

Mindset of the Pakistani elite

For very long, Islamabad has based its foreign policy on anti-India sentiment, Islamic identity, and being an appendage of one of the great powers. During the Cold War period, Islamabad sought to benefit from strained ties between New Delhi and the US.

Under General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan fished in troubled waters in Punjab in the 1980s; since the 1990s it has done the same in Kashmir (this is not to say that there were no internal dimensions to both problems - New Delhis approach to both issues has been far from flawless).

While there was immense hope that democratic leaders like the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif would turn a new leaf in ties with India, they have failed on numerous occasions. Sharif has failed in his current tenure, as he did earlier in the 1990s.

Much to Pakistan's embarrassment, the US president mentioned India as one of the key victims of terrorism during the summit. Photo: Reuters

Whenever their position gets weakened vis-a-vis the Army, civilian governments take a more anti-India stance. The civilian governments utterances on Kashmir, including the unequivocal support for elements responsible for violence in the Valley, is a strong reiteration of the same.

Of late, Islamabad has decided to pin-prick India, with Chinas fervent support. China, which has invested in the mega project termed China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) or One Belt, One Road, which passes through disputed territory (Gilgit-Baltistan), has repeatedly blocked a UN resolution to declare Masood Azhars Jaish-E-Mohammed (JEM) a terrorist organisation.

It would also be important to point out here, that it is not just the GHQ Rawalpindi, but even civilian politicians and diplomats who are stuck in old binaries, and have not understood some major transformations which have taken place over the last decade.

First, it is not just Indias ties with the US, but even GCC countries which have consolidated. Ties between New Delhi and Riyadh, or New Delhi and Abu Dhabi and New Delhi and Doha, are not just transactional buyer-seller relationships or driven by the diaspora.

On the other hand, India is deepening strategic ties with both countries. A glance at joint statements issued during PM Manmohan Singhs visit to Saudi Arabia in 2010, and visits by PM Narendra Modi to Gulf countries, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, strongly reiterate this point.

During these visits, numerous avenues of cooperation were identified, but the battle against terrorism, advanced energy cooperation and investment were key issues. In the energy sector, Indias ONGC and Saudis Aramco have been working towards setting up joint ventures in petrochemical complexes and joint exploration in other parts of the world.

India and UAE signed a deal, according to which UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will fill half of an underground crude oil storage facility at Mengaluru that is part of New Delhis strategic reserve system.

Interestingly, the other half is filled by Iran. Finally, India and UAE agreed to establish a UAE-India infrastructure investment fund of $75 billion to upgrade Indian infrastructure, which includes railways, ports, roads, airports, and industrial corridors and parks.

India managed to convince all countries on the issue of terrorism and succeeded in extracting explicit condemnation of terrorism in any manifestation - an allusion to Pakistan.

The synergy between both sides is the fundamental transformation taking place within these economies, and is aimed at addressing the aspirations of the youth in India as well as GCC countries. Both sides also realise the changing economic situation globally.

Second, the old ploy of building a trade union against India will not work. While New Delhi is keen to look at SAARC as a way of building bridges through connectivity, Pakistan has sought to obstruct connectivity initiatives within SAARC by refusing to sign the SAARC Motor Agreement, and even at the bilateral level it has denied India land access to Afghanistan and central Asia.

As a result, New Delhi and other countries have sought to follow the SAARC-Pakistan approach. Improvement of economic ties and enhanced connectivity with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal through projects like the BBIN Corridor. Even in the SAARC satellite all countries participated except for Pakistan. A number of these countries have strong economic relationships with China, but they also realise the importance of a strong relationship with India.

Third, while India-China ties may have soured and Beijing-Islamabad ties are on a high, economically India has much more to offer Beijing.

Both countries are working together at multilateral forums like BRICS and AIIB and have found common ground on issues like climate change. The Chinese also realise that India has a massive market; they do not need to go beyond the market share of smart phone companies like Xiaomi and Vivo.
In a painful reminder of last years double-rape of a mother-daughter duo, the Bulandshahr highway witnessed another gruesome incident as a family of four women travelling with four men were allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint in the wee hours of Thursday, May 25.

Not only was the family looted of its valuables and cash worth thousands, a man objecting to the criminals assaulting the women was shot dead by the armed goons.

Not a single day goes when a story of a woman being sexually abused doesnt give us a fresh jolt, doesnt gnaw at our senses.

The Bulandshahr-Jewar highway incident, too, is a sickening replay of that daily violence that women all over India, from every age group, go through, only to end up as rape stats in some hardly-cited bureau of crime records.

Though no complaint of rape has been registered in the case as of now  medical examination is going to ascertain sexual assault, as if a death from being shot and four women claiming they were sexually abused at gunpoint isnt enough for the police to file an FIR  the report of the incident has, predictably, become the rape story of the day.

The terrifying irony of sexual violence becoming the new normal in India, despite TV and social media outraging at maximum capacity, is telling.

Rape stories become archived as quickly as the new ones come in, and the current incident in Bulandshahr, which includes the tragic death of a conscionable objector to the crime  a man called Shakeel Quraishi  will not be spared that inevitable fate.

Only last week, we were upset that the term jilted lover appeared in the headline of a leading English-language news daily, while describing a stalker-murderer.

Exactly as salacious stories full of gory details of sexual crimes keep coming in, we obsess about the baroque violence instead of dealing with the deranged cultural mindset that ultimately produces that acts of gendered wrong.

The fact that in the Bulandshahr-Jewar highway alleged gang-rape, murder and loot incident, three separate crimes have been clubbed together in one despicable bundle of serial assault on a family from Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, shows the casual nature of the crimes, committed with the greatest thoughtlessness, despite being premeditated.

Reports suggest that the women claim they were raped as they objected to the robbery, in front of the men in the family, who were petrified and incapacitated by the guns pointing at them.

Not only does this go on to show the rape in this context is punitive, a matter of punishment  perhaps for the crime of simply being a woman  it also indicates that the cries of Jungle Raj to describe Uttar Pradesh under the newly-ensconced chief minister Yogi Adityanath are completely justified.

Whether its Yogi-led UP, or ML Khattar-led Haryana, from where we had the recent Rohtak gang-rape cum murder, which was just too horrific in its post-rape aftermath, reminiscent of the Nirbhaya case, the increasing confidence of barbaric men committing ever more violent sexual crimes with reckless abandon, is showing.

Why is there no fear of law in India? Is India no longer sickened by rapes? Does it need them to be competing against each other in a distorted game of sexual violence to register the urgency?

Why despite having a bolstered anti-rape law do we not see any reduction in the number of crimes committed against women, and the degree of that violence going down a bit?

With the images of violence all around  from the cow vigilante murders, to lynching of Dalit, Sikh, Muslim men as public spectacle in various BJP-ruled states, we need to understand how sexual violence too is not unconnected to this generalised, casualised, routinised culture of daily rapes.

From the Bangalore New Year's Eve mass molestation, to custodial rapes by Chhattisgarh cops, to rape videos and MMS clips doing rounds in social media, sold as part of collective voyeuristic pleasure of a deranged society, we see how violence on women is monetised for consumption.

The questions we need to ask  once again  as we grapple with one more alleged gang-rape incident, which also has a murder and robbery in it to boot, are the following:

A. Is womens security a matter of theory, to be indulged in air-conditioned seminar rooms of our outrageratti, or does it have a practical component as well? '

Does its availability on Indias national and state highways, arterial city roads, streets and narrow bylanes is even something our legislators and protectors bothered with? And, what have they done about it?

B. Why do we have an insidious rape hierarchy? Why do we tend to define and categorise rapes according to their location (plush South Delhi locality versus dingy West/East Delhi, metropolises versus small towns, cities versus villages, etc, etc), so that class and degree of violence become indicators of our own reactions?

Are we that blunted that a womans innards must be hanging out after her gang-rape for us to take notice?

C. Whom does the buck stop with? Does it stop with the station officer of the district where the crime is committed? With the MLA of the Assembly constituency? With the CM of the state? With the Union minister of women and child development? With the crime branch? With the cops who refuse to lodge FIRs to protect miscreants? With communal bigots who rape women belonging to a different religion, sect, group, language, ethnicity, culture?

When trumped up birth rates are paraded and rapes become a staple of the daily news grind, relegated to the backpages of our news dailies and websites because they get older than a piece of clothing, becoming stale news, what happens then?
One feels rather sorry for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had painstakingly nurtured and created the persona of a decisive head of the government whose philosophy is very different from that of the fatigued Congress leaders.

Now, the very mascots of Hindutva by their conduct, which is incompatible with all-inclusive development, are deconstructing this myth, bit by bit.

Even the die-hard sceptics had nursed a vain hope that Modi would change the national discourse and the Indian way of doing things.

Likewise, he struck a chord with his captive audiences overseas and was seen to be a pragmatic idealist who understood the Indian idiom.

But three years down the line demagogue Modi is beginning to look like a helpless swayamsewak who must stick to the RSS template and respond to the "hukam" from his feudal overlords.

Similar demands were made of the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, too, but he was emancipated enough to realise that this kind of template demands total conformism which will constrict his freedom of choice and tether his agenda of governance.

What is indeed surprising is a robust Prime Minister Modi's abject surrender to this saffron culture of totalitarianism and absolutism.

That between the BJP and the RSS there is an obvious convergence of interests is apparent to even a political greenhorn. That the RSS no longer has pretensions about being just a cultural mannequin is also no longer a matter of conjecture.

What is often debated in the corridors of power is the extent of the saffron overreach and the damage done to the credibility of the government.

What is indeed surprising is a robust Prime Minister Modi's abject surrender to this saffron culture of totalitarianism and absolutism. And, mind you, the same prime minister is perceived to be a no-nonsense authoritarian in the government. He is almost a mirror image of Indira Gandhi  both ministers and bureaucracy cringe in his presence. They have very little room to manoeuvre even in matters like choice of personal assistants.

Perhaps, political exigencies constrained PM Modi to sign a Faustian pact with the RSS. Ever since the saffron mentor has helped the BJP wrest power in Uttar Pradesh  which essentially means that Modi is assured of renewal of his tenancy rights at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg  the PM feels obliged to give the RSS a free run in implementing its saffron agenda. Riding on Yogi Adityanath, the RSS has for the first time trespassed into areas of actual governance.

With an accommodating prime minister at their beck and call  who maintains a stupefying silence at all times, despite his apparent eloquence on other matters  the RSS does not need minions like culture minister Mahesh Sharma or embarrassments like Sakshi Maharaj to implement its larger ideological agenda.

The ministers, too, can see the writing on the wall and are only too receptive; and the bureaucracy more than amenable; even the Opposition, unwittingly by its ineptitude and reluctance to take up such matters, helps in creating a climate of servitude.

Result: The BJP, which was adept at speaking in multiple voices, in the first two years of governance kept changing political gears with consummate ease  flitting from development to soft Hindutva and then back and forth.

But even this well-calibrated strategy, if not fine-tuned at intervals, starts backfiring at some point and then it seems the government is losing its poise and sense of equilibrium.

Though it was apparent from the word go that there was a severe talent deficit in the BJP, somehow all us were lulled into believing that Modi will deliver. Within this matrix, all of us were ready to make concessions for rhetoric and even grandstanding.

But what is finally beginning to tell on the domestic performance of the government is not the failure to deliver on promises, but the incompatibility between the demands of the Sangh Parivar and the agenda of development, which is eroding the credibility of the regime.

This could also mean a domino effect of lost opportunities in the global arena, despite PM Modi's much hyped shuttle diplomacy.

It is time the mandarins in South and North Block start wandering why these diplomatic forays seldom go beyond ceremony and pageantry. Somewhere, the saffron agenda is lurking at the back of the mind of foreign investors.

Also, at a micro-level, say in moffusil towns, prickly issues like beef, cow slaughter, love jihad, Romeo squads and forced conversions, have driven us to the point of distraction.
May 26-27 is the 1890s Day Jamboree in Ringgold. I encourage any reader to attend and enjoy that wonderful community. I love having grown up in Northwest Georgia and celebrating our veterans, including both of my grandfathers who served in WWII.

But I also want to describe how the 1890s were for my ancestors, living here in a singularly turbulent time. Based on, among other sources, History of Catoosa County and Into These Hills, my ancestors ate what they grew and little else, but would rather do that than work in a mill. Babies often slept naked on a pallet on the floor with flies covering him or her. Children never wore shoes. Everyone had lice; every bed had bedbugs. They used corn cobs as toilet paper. A doctors best method was simply encouraging the sick person to get well. Animal manure was often used as medicine.

People believed in signs from the sky. In turn, hogs were slaughtered, wood cut, holes dug, and sauerkraut made by the phase of the moon. They enjoyed cock-fighting, gander pulling, coon hunting, all rather violent activities.

The Deep South was a hot, humid, violent place without centers of culture. My ancestors were poor as dirt, but made it through. But it was worse for some. C. Vann Woodward, one of the greatest of Southern historians, describes the arc of the regions history. The 1890s saw the dying off of the Civil War generation, and a renewed focus on the young to honor that generations dying wish. Cotton prices went down creating additional fear and competition for scarce resources. The Populist movement threatened to split the white vote in a state that was over 40% black (blacks could and did vote at the time). While the rest of the nation was bursting at the seams economically and culturally, the Deep South was stagnant on both counts. Whereas about 20 percent of the population of the Northern states was foreign born, that number was only about 1 percent in the Deep South states.

Northwest Georgia was a land of moonshining and bootlegging. This was more profitable than farming, but destroyed families already living on the edge. It also led to radical organized crime and mob violence to punish informers. Most locals supported these whitecappers, called kukluxers

" by the local black folks. This crime syndicate also fancied itself the upholders of the law in a place with weak legal institutions. This violence was disproportionally aimed at the local black population. Nationwide, there were over 1,500 lynchings in the 1890s, more than ever before or since.

Although many whites in the South wanted black labor for farming, this wasnt true in the hill country of Northwest Georgia. Blacks were pressured to leave the area from the Reconstruction Era until they were all gone from much of Catoosa County by 1918. This was done through mob violence, hangings, and general cruelty. According to an 1890's New York newspaper, the area was known as one of the wickedest places in the country, due to its lynchings, cowhidings, and tar and featherings. A Catoosa legislator was responsible for drafting the Jim Crow law segregating public conveyances during this time.

To a black man, a flogging or lynching was a constant threat. Likewise was the fear of rape among black women. Twelve percent of all children born to black women were mulatto or mixed race at the time. Sex between a white man and black woman was illicit and illegal then. Thus, a substantial percentage of babies born by black women were the product of a coercive power differential. We might call that rape by todays standards.

Despite these conditions, there were heroes that emerged in these days among the black community. Many of them are unknown until the Kingdom comes, but some are. Richard Robert Wright was born to former slaves but studied at Harvard and became a bank president and met several presidents. March Thrash, who ate nothing but acorn soup during some of the Reconstruction years, was a joy to his neighbors and would tour Theodore Roosevelt around Fort Oglethorpe. His brother was a missionary to Liberia and returned to reunite when both were in their 100s. R. Alonzo Scott was perfecting his trade of storytelling, song writing and preaching such that he would travel around the world twice, and lead a big church in England. He was friends with Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony, before returning to Northwest Georgia to lead a church.

All that to say, my own ancestors had a work ethic, persistence and character that I truly envy. But they also had a blindness and cruelty that I worry might be in me. It is right and good to commemorate such a turbulent decade, but prudent to reflect on where we came from and where we must go. After all, we are our ancestors in another age.

Sources: The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward; History of Catoosa County by William H.H. Clark; Into These Hills by Floyd C. Watkins; Moonshining and Collective Violence by William F. Holmes; local newspapers and census records.

Samuel J. Gowin




Special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have obtained indictments for a former Clay County corrections officer accused of inappropriately touching an inmate.

At the request of 19th District Attorney General John Carney, TBI agents began investigating Spencer Mason, on March 9. During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that, on the previous day, while transporting an inmate in a van from the Robertson County Jail to the Clay County Jail, Mason inappropriately touched a female inmate. Clay County terminated Masons employment when the allegations surfaced.



On May 17, the Robertson County Grand Jury returned indictments, charging the Celina man with one count of sexual contact with an Inmate and one count of official misconduct. on Wednesday, authorities arrested Mason and booked him into the Robertson County Jail on $25,000 bond.


Randy Boyd announced Wednesday that nearly two dozen county mayors from across East Tennessee have endorsed and are already working in support of his Republican campaign for governor.

Mr. Boyd is the only gubernatorial candidate from East Tennessee. More than 40 percent of the projected 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary vote is expected to come from East Tennessee.

The East Tennessee Mayors publicly endorsing Boyd today include:

Mayor Terry Frank  Anderson County

Mayor Gregg Ridley  Bledsoe County

Mayor Ed Mitchell  Blount County

Mayor Gary Davis  Bradley County

Mayor Jack Daniels  Claiborne County

Mayor Crystal Ottinger  Cocke County

Mayor David Crum  Greene County

Mayor Bill Brittain  Hamblen County

Mayor Tom Harrison  Hancock County

Mayor Alan Palmieri  Jefferson County

Mayor Larry Potter  Johnson County

Mayor Buddy Bradshaw  Loudon County

Mayor Tim Yates  Monroe County

Mayor Don Edwards  Morgan County

Mayor George Thacker  Rhea County

Mayor Ron Woody  Roane County

Mayor Dale Perdue  Scott County

Mayor Keith Cartwright  Sequatchie County

Mayor Larry Waters  Sevier County

Mayor Greg Lynch  Unicoi County

Mayor Mike Williams  Union County

Mayor Dan Eldridge  Washington County

I am deeply honored by and grateful for this early vote of confidence and support from so many outstanding leaders from all across East Tennessee, said Mr. Boyd. County mayors go to work every day to help make Tennessee a great place to live, work and do business. But they cannot do it alone. They need the help and support of a governor that personally understands their needs and concerns.

"Ive worked with these mayors on economic development, education, workforce, transportation, broadband, and dozens of other issues, and I am confident that by working together, we truly will make Tennessee the State of Opportunity  for better education, for better jobs, for everyone.

Although the Republican primary election for governor is more than a year away, Mr. Boyd has already actively campaigned in more than 50 Tennessee counties, with multiple visits to most, as he fulfills his pledge to listen and learn in all 95 of the states counties during 2017.

Earlier this month, Mr. Boyd also set a fundraising record for a first-time candidate in Tennessee by raising more than $1.25 million at a single event during his first fundraiser in his hometown of Knoxville.

For more information about Mr. Boyd and his campaign for governor, please visit RandyBoyd.com -- like him on Facebook at RandyBoydTN, or follow him on Twitter @RandyBoyd.
The Mainstreet Cruise-In continues Saturday from 1-6 p.m. This will kick off the Cruise In season after rain dampened the April event. Car enthusiasts will show their vehicles as all types of cars are displayed from classics to special interest and current models.

Cleveland downtown streets will be filled with vehicles and spectators are invited to view the cars, shop, have dinner in one of the locally owned restaurants, and enjoy specialty foods such as funnel cakes, kettle corn, and fried apple pies from the vendors. Music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s fills the air adding to nostalgic atmosphere.

The swap meet is in the parking lot on Broad Street south of Inman Street. Spaces are free and are available on a first come bases.

The Cruise-In is free to enter a vehicle and free to spectators. It continues the fourth Saturday of each month through October. Anyone interested in joining the MainStreet Cruisers Car Club should contact Randy Howard at 595-2912.

For general information call the MainStreet office at 479-1000 or visit the website at www.mainstreetcleveland.com.
Nationwide, an estimated six million individuals are disenfranchised because of their criminal backgrounds and over three-quarters of these individuals have completed their sentences, reports the Sentencing Project. These data, as well as the complex process of restoring voting rights in Tennessee, will be the topic of the June League of Women Voters meeting, open to the public, in Chattanooga.

Chattanooga City Attorney Wade Hinton will speak about the restoration of voting rights and expungement of criminal records on June 8. The meeting will be on the 4th floor of the Chattanooga public library's downtown branch (1001 Broad St.) at 6 p.m., and the public is invited.

More than 7 percent of the adult population of Tennessee is estimated to be disenfranchised as the result of a past criminal conviction according to the Restore My Rights Initiative. This Initiative, launched in 2016, is a platform that assists individuals in navigating the process of restoring their rights to vote and/or having their records expunged reports Vanessa Meachen, legal assistant to the city attorney. The website (restoremyrights.com) includes a step-by-step guide, as well as information on how to contact the city attorneys office for help in the process.

At a recent City Council meeting, Demetrus Coonrod, new Chattanooga City Councilmember from District 9, thanked Mr. Hinton for all of [his] hard work in helping felons restore their rights. She continued to say You know thats something that I am very passionate about. I most definitely want the opportunity to work with [Mr. Hinton] to continue that moving forward, to make sure that convicted felons rights are restored and they become productive members of society and they are also getting their citizenship rights restored.
The Transportation Coalition of Tennessee said Wednesday that the IMPROVE Act will bring over $46 million in road projects to Marion County.

The total impact for Marion County is $10,015,859 for the combined revenue to cities and counties as well as the Tennessee Department of Transportation road and bridge projects, totaling $36,402,000 from the IMPROVE Act.



The three Marion County projects are:

1. Local Bridges 2153 ORME RD. BRIDGE OVER DRY CREEK 0.01 $418,000



2.

Rural Access SR-156 APPROX 1 MILE WEST OF CEDAR AVE IN SOUTH PITTSBURG TO 1.7 MILES WEST 0.7 $8,000,0003. Rural Access US-64/72 (SR- 2) FROM KIMBALL TO JASPER 3.19 $27,984,000
Representative JoAnne Favors is hosting a public forum on Thursday, June 1, in the auditorium at Dalewood Middle School, 1300 Shallowford Road, at 6 p.m.

This forum will focus on a proposal by the State of Tennessee to remove five priority schools from under the supervision of the local Hamilton County Board of Education and contracting with a private company to manage these schools.

The five schools are Brainerd High School, Dalewood Middle School, Orchard Knob Middle School, Orchard Knob Elementary School and Woodmore Elementary School. All parents and supporters of public education are invited to attend this meeting.

For additional information, call 423 624-5088.
DAYTON, Tenn. --- The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission established the states 2017-18 hunting and trapping seasons at its May meeting which concluded Wednesday on the campus of Bryan College.



Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency staff had recommended few changes to the 2017-18 regulations during its seasons preview held at the April meeting.

The TFWC voted to increase the total number of elk hunt permits from 11 to 15 and increase the three hunt segments to seven days each.

This will include seven archery permits, seven for gun (which includes the auctioned permit), and one youth permit.

The archery only elk hunt was increased from five to seven days and will be held beginning the last Saturday of September. The dates are Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.

The gun season hunt, with its increase of two days from previous years, will be held Oct. 14-20, 2017. Similar to last year, all hunt permits are valid on the North Cumberland WMA and can also be used on private lands (with landowner permission) within the Elk Restoration Zone in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Morgan and Scott counties.

The Young Sportsman hunt was previously a two-day weekend hunt and increases to seven days. It begins Oct. 7 and continues through Oct. 13.

No changes were made to the deer and turkey hunting seasons, limits and regulations though there was considerable discussion on the definition of antlered deer and turkey daily bag limits.

There were also no changes to the bear hunting dates but standardized bear seasons language was adopted. There were no changes to the furbearer proclamation other than removing some antiquated language in the proclamation regarding fox hunting.

Some slight changes were made requiring hunters to check in their big game animals prior to gifting an animal to another person and prior to a big game animal leaving Tennessee.

Due to removal of some language in a state law, the commission will now have more authority in determining the type, placement and inspection of traps utilized in furbearer trapping. All traps approved implement accepted Best Management Practices.

Various minor changes to several WMAs were made across the state. They will be posted soon on TWRAs website.

The commission also discussed a few fishing topics. Upper Chilhowee Reservoir has been closed to fishing during a dam maintenance project for about two years. The TFWC voted to amend the current sport fish proclamation opening Chilhowee Reservoir to fishing upon notification from Brookfield Renewable, which is the company that operates the dam. The TWRA will make a formal announcement on the date in the coming months.

The commission passed a rule in regard to commercial fishing and wholesale fish dealers. This rule addresses commercial fishing licenses, permits, and reporting requirements. Passage of this rule will not change these licenses or requirements as currently found in the proclamation. This rule also creates a new process to sell available resident commercial roe fish permits. When available, TWRA will announce a live drawing for eligible commercial fishers.

In another housekeeping item, the commission passed a rule in regard to commercial musseling. This rule addresses commercial mussel licenses, mussel fees, and importation and exportation procedures. Passage of this rule will not change licenses, fees or procedures as currently found in proclamation.

Former commissioner David Watson was recognized at the meeting. The Lookout Mountain resident had been elected as the TFWC vice chairman in February, but resigned from the commission due to health reasons.

Members of the Birchwood Area Society Improvement Council were recognized for their assistance. The TWRA and the council have worked together the past 26 years to host the annual Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival.

TWRA Boating and Law Enforcement Cpt. Matt Majors gave a report on the TWRA Honor Guard. The Honor Guard, formed in 2013, provides 3-tiered service to the fallen, ceremonial services, and assistance/support to other conservation law agencies. The TWRA Honor Guard recently participated in the National Police Week in Washington, D.C., which thousands of officers from around the world participate.

Brandt Information Services representatives presented details for a digital marketing proposal. Brandt became the agencys new license vendor last Oct. 31. Sportsmen now have the opportunity to purchase a new collectible hard card with revenue being used to invest in the marketing program.

Jennifer Wisniewski, the Georgia Department of marketing and communications director, gave a presentation on her Email marketing experience in her state. She explained the benefits, which includes the license sales increases that Georgia has enjoyed.
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a former Madison County sheriffs detective accused of sexually exploiting two teenage girls.

Earlier this month, authorities arrested Bruce A. Harvey, 41, charging him with four counts related to the sexual exploitation of minors. Harvey, of Reva, was a detective with the Madison County Sheriffs Office at the time of his arrest and was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He has since been suspended without pay.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Charlottesville indicted Harvey on nine counts of sexual exploitation of minors, according to a federal prosecutor. He faces three counts of transporting minors across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, three counts of interstate travel with minors with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that Harveys criminal activity involved two minor female victims who knew Harvey while he worked as a karate instructor at the Virginia Tong Leong School of Karate between 1998 and 2007.

According to a signed affidavit from an FBI investigator, the first alleged victim was taking karate lessons when the illicit conduct occurred between approximately 1998 and 2000. After taking group lessons, the victim then began taking private lessons with Harvey and competing in karate tournaments. Their training would occur after school and at night, several days a week, and would take place in a variety of locations, including the basement of the Our Lady of the Blue Ridge Catholic Church.

When the victim was 14 or 15 years old, she and Harvey took a trip to Maryland for a purpose that has been redacted from the affidavit. During that trip, and while sharing a hotel room, Harvey engaged in sexual activity with the victim. They did so again numerous times over a multi-year period in various locations, including an office that Harvey rented with another name-redacted Madison County deputy sheriff for a security firm they were jointly starting.

In a recent interview with authorities, that unnamed deputy said that he and his wife had at one time walked into the office and observed Harvey and the victim asleep on the couch together and believed that something inappropriate was going on.

The second alleged victim began lessons sometime after 2000, with the illicit conduct occurring between April 2004 and early 2007. Like the first victim, the second victim said that after taking group karate lessons, she began taking private lessons with Harvey that grew in frequency to three or four times a week, the affidavit states.

Eventually, [Harvey] and [the victim] would spend nearly every day together, for purposes other than karate, including sexual activity, the affidavit reads.

The second alleged victim also competed in out-of-state karate tournaments and would travel with Harvey for them. When she was approximately 13 or 14 years old, Harvey began engaging in sexual activity with the second victim at his residence, in his vehicle and in the bathroom of the church where they had karate practices.

The federal indictment alleges that in February 2007, Harvey created some form of child pornography with the second victim, and did so again between March 2007 and June 2007. On May 3, the day Harvey was arrested, authorities found at least one piece of child pornography in his possession.

The victims, who did not know each other, said Harvey was controlling and had professed his love for them. He also relayed to each of them that he could lose his job if their relationship was disclosed, the affidavit states.

Prior to becoming a Madison detective, Harvey worked as a Culpeper County Sheriffs Office deputy from September 1998 to July 2001 and from October 2001 to April 2004.

On May 12, Harvey waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and he has not sought release.

Authorities said the investigation, conducted by the FBI and Virginia State Police, is ongoing. Anyone with relevant information about the cases should call the FBI at (800) CALL-FBI.
11/9/2022

The Lee University women's soccer team looks to bounce back in the NCAA tournament after losing the GSC Championship game to Mississippi College on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Flames were ... more
The Southern Lit Alliance will welcome author Lisa Wingate for an afternoon book club and an evening reception event sponsored by the Monarch Financial Group. Ms. Wingate will be discussing and signing copies of her novel Before We Were Yours at both events Friday, June 14, at 3 and 6 p.m.

Ms. Wingate is a national bestselling author and the 2011 winner of the American Christian Fiction writers Book of the Year. Her novel Before We Were Yours delves into the true story of The Tennessee Childrens Home Society and Georgia, Tann, a woman involved with the kidnaping and exploitation of over 5,000 children in the 1920s  1950s. The book follows the journey of the stolen Foss siblings, and the life changing effect their lives have on attorney Avery Stanford as she investigates their pasts.

The afternoon book club and evening reception events will both be held in the Arts Building at 301 E. 11th St. in downtown Chattanooga. Tickets to the afternoon event at 3 p.m. are $10 and tickets to the evening event at 6 p.m. are $15. Seating is limited and reservations can be made online at www.SouthernLitAlliance.org or by calling Ann Johnson at 777-4223. There will be books for purchase and book signing at both events. Food and beverages will be served at the 6 p.m. event.
AN OPEN LETTER TO GOV. BILL HASLAM 

Greetings to you, my friend. You know with one more year on the course we have sailed during your two terms as the leader of our state you will go down as one of the greatest governors we have ever had. It stands to reason you eye Lamar Alexanders Senate seat, but whatever you do it will be hard to replicate your service to Tennessee and for this we are thankful.

That said, we need to avoid certain unpleasantness that has befallen Chattanooga.

I wrote you about 10 days ago over the absolute travesty your Commissioner of Education is attempting with five of our poorest schools in Chattanooga. One of the guys in your outer office sent me Form Letter B in return and thats okay.

What I must tell you is far more serious and the best way to do this is head on; lets get it out in the open. Its worse, yes sir, Im afraid she will be long remembered for much larger failures than the way she tore public education asunder in Memphis after splashing through that $500 million Reach for the Top federal grant.

Imagine how this reflects on your otherwise magnificent administration: For the past three years students across Tennessee have been promised by the State Department of Education that the results of one statewide test will factor into each ones final grades. Sir, for the third straight year your State Department of Education has failed to fulfill this promise. I am talking three straight years of no show to every graduating senior in the state. Comparatively, our five iZone schools aint yet goose eggs, 0.00 percent.

I believe the time has come, while it is regretful but necessary for you as our leader, to consider mandatory oversight for Commissioner Candice McQueen. Her success rate doesnt even have a pulse! Even if she is finally able to pull it off in Fiscal Year 2018, your Commissioner will depart her post with a paltry .250 success rate. You and I will agree that will most assuredly be in the bottom percentile of secondary education in all 49 of the other United States. This should be totally unacceptable to our Legislature but, hey, you know those people better than I do. Hubba, hubba, Bubba -- right?

Even non-Christians and Democrats most especially wonder how in the world this woman can sit in judgement of anyone. My goodness, she goes oh-for-three in a strike-out so glaring that we would not allow a similar child to advance to the next grade!

Just weeks ago McQueen publicly announced this years effort was a wonderful success yet not one of the states biggest school districts received results to be factored in their final report cards. Hello  there has never been a commissioner in state government so disillusioned. I mean this  No Mas as they yell in our second-language programs.

One metro superintendent noted, For the past three years, we have told students that their test scores will count in their final grade, but for the same three years, the state has not been able to get the grades back to us in time. Obviously, this misleads our students and creates a boy who cried wolf scenario.

In Memphis, Superintendent Dorsey Hopson was disappointed, Theres a lot of discussion about too many tests, and I think any time you have a situation where you advertise the tests are going to be used for one thing and then we dont get the data back, it becomes frustrating for students and families. But thats not in our control, he said Tuesday night.

Should McQueen be held accountable? Shes the captain of her ship. She was a reflection of state government in its very worst light with her partnership idea based on the Communist Party ideology. Were here to help, they beg us to believe, yet want to appoint a school board to supersede those who we, the people, have elected. She wants to give us $1 million in state money to plan followed by another $500,000 in 2019.

Stalin loved this trick, but in a five-year contract that Hamilton County is coerced to sign with the state, McQueen must know she will have no say after she departs her position after the first year. Thats when you see the hammer-and-cycle  or, as they say in the horror movies, when the gorilla gets you in the end!

And let me point this out, my friend, the next Tennessee governor aint about to touch anybody who cant deliver  I dont care who is her friend in Knoxville. Results are not McQueens strong suit.

The five schools Candice has stealthily eyed are most certainly in need of our attention. We know that far better than anyone outside of Hamilton Countys confines. But, if youll send Cissy (your lovely wife) down to tour any of the five with me instead of the state Department of Education photo-op crowd, Mrs. Haslam will be amazed by the truth. I can convince her and any doubters who may accompany her, this in short order, that we are most definitely making progress in our most-challenged poverty neighborhoods. I have personally seen it, I can prove it, and her eyes can confirm it.

To be totally frank, public education in Chattanooga has fallen badly in 10 of the last 11 years. Suffice it to say, in polite-speak, the last three superintendents have left prematurely in the last 10 and our School Board leadership has failed. But in the last year, with an intense light directed at public education due to public outrage, our County Department of Education has worked tirelessly to straighten out what we readily admit was a mess. If progress is needed to free our five hijacked schools, we can prove it is well underway. We have progress at our hijacked schools!

What so many are beginning to realize is that the face of education is changing dramatically. It is time for us to recognize the total child. In Memphis, Superintendent Hopson wants to begin 12-month schools. This would be a Godsend, not just educationally but morally and ethically as well. We have children in our iZones who dont eat after we provide breakfast and lunch each day. We have children who need, and want, and deserve structured day care, for lack of a better term.

I fear those in Nashville Ivory Towers cannot understand judging one and all by one test is a foolish exercise. Rather than put these schools in the now-doomed Achievement School District, we need to temper any five-year decision with far-reaching caution.

The new Washington budget allegedly calls for a $1 billion (with a b) cut to Title 1 monies. Sir, 46 of our 76 district schools are designated Title 1. They will most definitely need to be redefined. Any five-year plan is outrageous when you factor in the unknown consequences that will certainly accompany any federal education overhaul.

Tonight the Hamilton County School Board will narrow down the nine finalists to become our next Superintendent to five final finalists. (Whoa, you are in politics, far be it for me to explain!) They will soon schedule personal interviews, tours, and give four first runner-ups) a little thrill. The pick will peacock sometime in mid-June and it is only fair she has a chance to take Candices pulse (0.00) before we are forced to answer an ultimatum where no is not an option. (Beautiful, Just beautiful.)

Please Governor, I ask only that you place Candice McQueens terribly-tilted ultimatum to the Hamilton County School Board in front of your brother Jim and ask for his honest evaluation. Big Jim, your daddy, would not have tolerated this for five seconds and I know this because I have followed the Haslam men for 50 years.

McQueen had picked a group out of Boston to help chart our course when, in fact, they have only a two-year model to show. If they were the greatest miracle drug ever, not even the FDA would approve such a ridiculous rush. There is no possible way they can assure success in Chattanooga because they have no basis for fact. And, remember, this is the same member of your cabinet that has failed the states students final grades for the past three consecutive years. There is no way youd let her pick your gall stones doctor.

Bill, forgive me if I sound harsh but desperate men employ desperate measures. I feel sorry for you and Cissy, that McQueen has placed you and your cabinet under such a pall. It may be time for Mrs. Haslam to summon Candice to the mansion, to pour hot tea and tell her in Mrs. Haslams most motherly words, Quit acting like you are a Democrat. It is embarrassing. You mustnt be so foolish and reckless.

I join you in the hope Mrs. Haslam will have some success with Candice McQueen.

They are dedicating our new Childrens Hospital down here in a couple of weeks and I hope to see you there. It will be magnificent and a great credit to our region. It will serve every child in a 100-mile radius, including the 2,600 at the five iZone schools now imperiled by Candice McQueen. These are our very weakest children. They dont need any more trauma. Set these children free!

Lets talk some time about who you want to follow you. Your successor must be able to move the banner forward and our state must progress and thrive. This is where we live and Communist ideology will never work here.

You can count on me, Roy*

NOTE: * -- When Civil War hero J.E.B. Stuart would ride into battle, he cultivated a cavalier image (red-lined gray cape, yellow sash, hat cocked to the side with an ostrich plume, red flower in his lapel, often sporting cologne). He was sometimes called the Knight because he inspired Southern morale and was such a good rider on his equally-fabled horse, Skylark. Born on a Virginia plantation and a graduate of West Point, Jeb was widely considered to be the best cavalry officer ever foaled in the United States. He was also the only man who could  or dared  make Stonewall Jackson laugh. At the end of every message to General Lee, he would sign each the same way, to the delight of the entire Confederacy, You can count on me, Jeb.

royexum@aol.com
To celebrate June which is Men's Health Month the 100 Black Men of Chattanooga in partnership with the Tennessee Men's Health Network and Volkswagen Chattanooga will host its 22nd Annual Free Men's Health Screenings.

The screenings will be held on Wednesday, May 31, at Erlanger's Southside Community Health Center and Thursday, June 1, at Dodson Ave. Community Health Center. The times each evening are 5:30-7:30 p.m.



"Originally started out to focus on prostate cancer, the screenings has evolved to include blood pressure, body mass index, HIV, STD, dental, vision, foot care and much more with an emphasis on preventative health. No insurance is necessary to participate and women are encourage to bring that special man in their life and is invited to participate in the educational sessions and many of the screenings" said Erskine Oglesby, president of the 100 Black Men of Chattanooga.



Follow-up services if needed will be provided by Erlanger's Dodson Avenue and Southside Community Health Centers.



There will also be food and door prizes each evening with a TV Raffle at the end of the screenings. You need not have be present to win the TV but must have participated in the screenings on one of the evenings.



All are invited to take advantage of these totally free health screenings.



Support for this initiative is provided by the Erlanger Health System, CHI Memorial, Blue Cross Blue Shield Community Trust, Chattanooga Cares, Brewer Media, Hamilton County Health Department, First Tennessee Foundation, SunTrust Foundation, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Chattanooga News Chronicle.



For more information and to register contact Erskine Oglesby at 423 821-6700.


Warren Chapel Church AME will host Vacation Bible School Wednesday, May 31, through Friday, June 2, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

All ages are welcome and invited. There will be music, arts and crafts, Bible study, and warm and interesting fellowship.

The church is at 501 Market Street.

Fore more information, call 423-267-4992.
From shopping to business networking to local music and food, DIVERSIFY week June 19  23 offers themed daily pop-up markets and concludes with the Chattanooga Chambers annual DIVERSIFY Luncheon.

DIVERSIFY is how the Chamber is building an inclusive business community, said Maria Noel, Chattanooga Chamber director of Diversity and Inclusion. Chattanooga doesnt have anything else like this that brings together businesses representing all the different people here  from entrepreneurs to people who love the outdoors to all kinds of artists.

DIVERSIFYs daily pop-up markets, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 19-22 at Miller Plazas Waterhouse Pavilion, celebrate what makes the region special, showcasing small and large, rural and urban, multigenerational and multicultural, innovative, sustainable and creative businesses, as well as the nonprofits that support the communities.

DIVERSIFY markets give vendors an opportunity to sell merchandise, market services and promote events to thousands of area residents and visitors.

The markets are open to the public, and are a place to shop for unique gifts, enjoy cultural cuisine, discover new businesses and services, or network with business and government employees, innovators, startups and entrepreneurs.

Presented by EPB and the Chattanooga Chamber, the DIVERSIFY Luncheon & Business Fair concludes the week from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, June 23, highlighting diversity and inclusion strategies for local businesses.

The DIVERSIFY luncheon features a keynote by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson.

Ms. Wilkerson is the author of The New York Times bestseller "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration," which explores the cultural and political impact of decades of migration in which African-American citizens left the South.

The first African-American female journalist to win a Pulitzer prize, Ms. Wilkerson worked as Chicago Bureau Chief of The New York Times. A book-signing session with Ms. Wilkerson will follow the DIVERSIFY luncheon.

Corporate sponsor and major employer booths at the DIVERSIFY Business Fair promote supplier diversity, business opportunities and diversity and inclusion policies and practices.

To reserve a marketplace table, luncheon ticket or business fair booth, or for more information, visit chattanoogachamber.com/diversify or contact Maria Noel at mnoel@chattanoogachamber.com or 763-4338.

Learn more about keynote speaker Isabel Wilkerson at prhspeakers.com.



DIVERSIFY Week Schedule

Monday, June 19

What: Pop-up market featuring local retail vendors

When and where: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Miller Plazas Waterhouse Pavilion downtown

Look for vendors like:

What-a-Hat, offering traditional and contemporary, casual and dress hats for men and women

Tuesday, June 20

What: Buy local pop-up market

When and where: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Miller Plazas Waterhouse Pavilion downtown

Look for vendors like:

TrailDrops, offering dehydrated and freeze-dried meals for hiking and camping trips

Wednesday, June 21: Have Lunch with Us

What: Pop-up market featuring restaurants and food vendors

When and where: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Miller Plazas Waterhouse Pavilion downtown

Look for vendors like:

Calamansi Cafe, offering Filipino-American cuisine

Thursday, June 22

What: Pop-up market featuring a range of business services and nonprofits

When and where: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Miller Plazas Waterhouse Pavilion downtown

Look for vendors like:

Grand Finale Events and Decor, event-planning and design company planning everything from weddings to birthday parties

Friday, June 23

What: DIVERSIFY Luncheon & Business Fair

When and where: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center (Networking and trade show booths closed during the luncheon 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.)






New Delhi: State-run Coal India Ltd, saddled with millions of tonnes of unsold coal, is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of a controversial government decision to more than halve the sales tax on the fuel after a jump in local supplies.

The world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitting country said last Friday it would lower the duty on coal from July 1 and impose a new 18 percent tax on solar cells and modules as part of a broader tax overhaul.

The moves are seen as helping boost local sales of the fossil fuel, but hurting the young and booming renewable energy industry. Most of the solar cells and modules are imported from China.

Output by Coal India, the world's largest coal miner, has expanded rapidly as the government speeds up environmental and other clearances as part of its bid to provide electricity across the country. However, highly indebted power companies struggled to match the same growth rates.

The government recently reined in coal output, cutting Coal India's production target by about a tenth to 600 million tonnes for this fiscal year.

Coal India hopes the lowering of the coal sales tax to 5 percent from around 11 percent currently will help it find buyers for some 57 million tonnes of mined coal it has been struggling to sell, a senior company official told Reuters.

"As prices go down it should help us sell the stock," the official said, declining to be named. The company has also been trying to sell coal to neighboring Bangladesh, but has faced delays due to issues over quality.

New Delhi-based Jindal Steel and Power said the lowering of the duty on coal, which accounts for up to 60 percent of costs for power companies, will improve the health of merchant power companies and cut power tariffs for some users.

"The government is mining so much coal, they would like that be used," Jindal Steel Chief Executive Ravi Uppal told Reuters, adding that it was only fair that thermal power companies were being given some relief when renewable companies were enjoying numerous government incentives.

The government has facilitated capital subsidies and cheap loans for clean energy to help meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of raising renewable energy capacity by more than five times in the next five years to fight climate change.

Piyush Goyal, minister for power, coal and renewable energy, said after the tax announcement the government will stick to its clean energy goals, but environmental groups said India's progress on solar would be jeopardized.

"The international community will read this as India backtracking on its renewable energy commitments," said Nandikesh Sivalingam, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace India.

State-run Coal India Ltd, saddled with millions of tonnes of unsold coal, is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of a controversial government decision to more than halve the sales tax on the fuel after a jump in local supplies.

The world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitting country said last Friday it would lower the duty on coal from July 1 and impose a new 18 percent tax on solar cells and modules as part of a broader tax overhaul.

The moves are seen as helping boost local sales of the fossil fuel, but hurting the young and booming renewable energy industry. Most of the solar cells and modules are imported from China.

Output by Coal India, the world's largest coal miner, has expanded rapidly as the government speeds up environmental and other clearances as part of its bid to provide electricity across the country. However, highly indebted power companies struggled to match the same growth rates.

The government recently reined in coal output, cutting Coal India's production target by about a tenth to 600 million tonnes for this fiscal year.

Coal India hopes the lowering of the coal sales tax to 5 percent from around 11 percent currently will help it find buyers for some 57 million tonnes of mined coal it has been struggling to sell, a senior company official told Reuters.

"As prices go down it should help us sell the stock," the official said, declining to be named. The company has also been trying to sell coal to neighboring Bangladesh, but has faced delays due to issues over quality.

New Delhi-based Jindal Steel and Power said the lowering of the duty on coal, which accounts for up to 60 percent of costs for power companies, will improve the health of merchant power companies and cut power tariffs for some users.

"The government is mining so much coal, they would like that be used," Jindal Steel Chief Executive Ravi Uppal told Reuters, adding that it was only fair that thermal power companies were being given some relief when renewable companies were enjoying numerous government incentives.

The government has facilitated capital subsidies and cheap loans for clean energy to help meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of raising renewable energy capacity by more than five times in the next five years to fight climate change.

Piyush Goyal, minister for power, coal and renewable energy, said after the tax announcement the government will stick to its clean energy goals, but environmental groups said India's progress on solar would be jeopardized.

"The international community will read this as India backtracking on its renewable energy commitments," said Nandikesh Sivalingam, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace India.
During Collectors Challenge month in April, employees of North American Credit Services found many

ways to raise $1,772 including NACS annual donor match for a grand fundraising total of $3,544, all in

support of consumer financial literacy programs.

Our employees understand that it is important that we provide leadership and compassion in assisting consumers in the challenges often encountered in dealing with debt, said Dallas S. Bunton, Sr, CEO and chairman NACS and Medical Services, Inc. Providing tools and places of education provide hope and clarity for all involved.

Charity Challenge Hot Dog Picnic and Peoples Choice Chili Cook-Off Competition as well as through offering casual dress days. For a $3 ticket donation, employees were provided a hot dog picnic pack for the picnic and a $5 donation for the chili cook-off allowed employees the opportunity to cast a personal vote for the top employee chili chef. A dozen employees entered the competition to support the cause of scholarship opportunities through the ACA International Education Foundation.

Employees also made donations to dress casual in the office for up to 30 days and chances to win drawings.

Money raised from the month-long Collectors Charity Challenge events allows the ACA International

Education Foundation to expand and increase financial literacy initiatives through research, education, job training, and public advocacy.

To learn more about the ACA International Education Foundation charity or North American Credit Services, an internationally certified Professional Practices Management System accredited agency visit www.NACScom.com.
New Delhi: Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha today said he is monitoring developments in the sector on account of proposed increase in tax levy on operators under the GST regime, amid fears of hike in prices post July 1.

The government has proposed to levy 18 per cent tax on telecom services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. "Telecom operators have already been paying 15 per cent tax. 3 per cent difference is there. We are considering that at our level.

"They (telecom companies) will also meet GST Council members. We are monitoring it seriously at our level," Sinha said while sharing achievements of the government in the last three years. Telecom operators have said there will be an increase in the cost of phone services after GST is implemented from July 1.
Mumbai: Union Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha has assured that he will make it sure a final decision on report submitted by committee led by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa is taken by June 1, according to a report by news portal oneindia.com.

Sinha has expressed that once he decides on recommendations made by Lavasa panel over allowances for central government employees, final draft would be then sent to the Union Cabinet for getting a clearance.

The Cabinet Secretary has said that soon he will send a memo to the Union Cabinet for consideration of proposals made by Allowance Committee of Empowered Committee of Secretaries after thoroughly studying them on June 1.

Central government employees who were dismayed by low allowances proposed by 7th Pay Commission are now awaiting for some good news as the Lavasa Committee has incorporated certain demands made by them in its report.

"Over 50 lakh employees have complained about the delay in the report being submitted," the oneindia report said. it also adds that National Council (Staff Side) Joint Consultative Machinery took a representation to the Cabinet Secretary along with list of their demands.

NJCA secretary Gopal Mishra told the news portal, "Today I met the Cabinet Secretary and handed him over a copy of our letter regarding inordinate delay in implementation of the report of the Ashok Lavasa Committee on Allowances."
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is working on plans under which it is considering to allow flights under Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik or UDAN scheme for more smaller towns. The affordable regional flight scheme would now be extended to seasonal flights, according to a report in The Times of India.

"Allowing seasonal flights under regional connectivity scheme (RCS) is among the six changes being considered for which stakeholder views have been sought," TOI quoted aviation secretary R N Choubey as saying.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has also indicated it would rope in fixed wing planes for plying them on smaller routes under 150-km range in certain areas. It has also sought feedback on total number of seats available under the RCS plan.

"This would include conditions like whether the minimum number and maximum number of RCS seats could be stretched over a period of a week instead of a particular flight," the report said.

The ministry would also explore chances of bringing more number of under-served or unserved regional airports under the ambit of UDAN's RCS scheme. "This is being proposed to further encourage intra-regional connectivity," a government statement said.
New Delhi: Upheavals in the telecom sector following the entry of Reliance Jio will settled down once consolidation takes place and there is no threat to jobs, Union minister Manoj Sinha said today.

"Telecom sector is an open market. We cannot stop anyone from entering it. I would like to say one thing that in 2003, when new players entered the market similar upheaval took place but everything was settled in 1-2 years. I don't feel there is any threat to jobs," Sinha said while talking about the progress made by the Modi government in last three years.

Incumbent telecom operators -- Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular -- have seen decline in their business after the entry of Reliance Jio last September. It was offering free 4G services till March and voice calls free forever.

The competition benefited consumers as mobile data rates dipped to about Rs 10 per gigabyte from about Rs 200 per GB a year ago. Reliance Communications (RCom) and Idea posted losses for October-December quarter of last fiscal. Vodafone and Idea are in process of merging their business.

RCom, Sistema Shyam and Aircel are also merging their mobile business. RCom and Tata Teleservices have learned to have cut about 500-600 jobs on the basis of non-performance.

"In most parts of the world there are 2-3 companies and in this country also we feel there will be 4-5 operators with good and healthy competition," the telecom minister said in response to a query about his views on entry of new operators and threat to jobs in the sector.

There are currently 10 telecom operators in the country. Telecom operators have said that the financial crisis due to reduction in earnings has deepened for them and proposed 18 per cent tax will add to their woes.

"15 per cent tax is already imposed on telecom companies. It has now been brought under 18 per cent slab of GST. There is difference of three per cent. They (telecom companies) are planning to meet GST Council members. We are monitoring it seriously at our level," Sinha said.

He said that in last three years trust of investors in telecom sector has increased. "Now whether it be foreign investors or domestic investors, they believe that this government is a transparent government.

If you look at equity flow, then in 2016-17 it has reached USD 5,564 million which is four times more than annual flow of USD 1.3 billion in 2013-14. We conducted two spectrum auctions and none of our opponents could point fingers at it," Sinha said.

He said that net mobile phone addition in the country was 266.07 million from 2014-17, compared to 92.92 in 2011-14.

"Compared to 358 kilometre of optical fibre, 2,02,675 kilometres of OFC has been laid in last three years. By December 2018 all the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats will be connected with OFC," Sinha said.

When asked about the high number of unconnected villages in the country, at around 52,000, Sinha said he does not believe the number to be that low and his ministry has asked state governments to share the number of unconnected villages.

"Home Ministry had given us task to install 2,199 mobile towers in left wing extremist area. Out of this, we have 2,187 installed. Some towers are left to be installed because of the law and order situation in those area. We are about to close tender for mobile coverage in 8,621 villages in North Eastern states and national highways," Sinha said.

He said the government is in the process of issuing tender for providing connectivity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands through submarine cables. Talking about works at Department of Posts, Sinha said that out of 129 proposed Post office Passport Seva Kendra, 50 centres have been inaugurated and at many locations an average of 100 applications are being received on daily basis.
Mumbai: After the international media mistook Deepika Padukone for Priyanka Chopra, actress Sonam Kapoor yet again faced the consequences of western media's ignorance towards Bollywood.

Recently, at the 70th edition of Cannes Film Festival, fashionista Sonam was tagged as Deepika Padukone by a popular American photo stock agency, which later went viral.

The agency wrote, Indian actress Deepika Padukone arrives for the film The Meyerowitz Stories in competition at the 70th Annual International Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 21, 2017.

However, Sonam Kapoor made it clear on Twitter that this was merely an error.

She wrote, One picture in a milieu of 1000s tagged right is an error, not a misidentification. Gets your facts right don't believe Pr's.

Whereas Deepika had got so offended by that identity goof-up that she termed this antic by the international media as racist.

After Sonam made heads turn at the French Riviera with her fabulous fashion game, she is now prepping up for her upcoming film Veere di Wedding alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and Swara Bhaskar.

Sonams sister Rhea Kapoor, who also doubles up as her stylist, is producing the film.

Well, after making this mistake on more than two occasions, the international media should probably start using Google more often.
"I went to the audition hoping it would be good for my child, but instead got the shock of my life," said Nadia. (Representational image)

Mumbai: In a shocking turn of events, Pakistani actress Nadia Khan has accused a famous Hollywood actor for allegedly abusing her daughter physically during an audition in Dubai.

As reported by the Express Tribune, the renowned TV-host has registered a police complaint in this matter, which left Nadia's 14-year-old bruised and badly shaken.

She shared, "I went to the audition hoping it would be good for my child, but instead got the shock of my life. When my daughter's turn came, the judge (name withheld for legal reasons) grabbed her roughly from the shoulder and pulled her, leaving her with deep bruises on both arms."

The actress termed the audition as a "Disney" thing.

The medical report has confirmed that she had suffered multiple bruises.

As quoted by Gulf News, Nadia said, "It happened quickly and in front of me and at least 30-40 other parents. Before my daughter, they were auditioning small children. She was the first teenager in that batch. My daughter was given a two-line script but before she could read it, she was grabbed and pushed so hard she fell on one of the parents. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She is my daughter. No one has the right to touch my child let alone subject her to public humiliation and physical abuse. She was crying all day."

The 45-year-old-actress also said that it was not only her daughter abused during the audition, but another teenager boy was slapped multiple times by the same person and labelled the situation as "bizarre".

The report further says, parents arrived with their children for the audition after learning about the talent hunt from Facebook sponsored posts, inviting children to audition if they wished to meet Disney Channel stars.

However, Disney spokespersons have clarified that such talent hunt auditions are not associated by The Walt Disney Company or Disney Channel in any way.
Mumbai: After teasing the fans with the titbits of the film, at last 'Tubelight's' trailer got released amidst much fanfare on Thursday.

The teaser was highly appreciated by the audience and Salman Khan fans, followed by the much celebratory song 'The Radio Song'.

However 'Tubelight' trailer had nothing exceptional to showcase.

It's more of a two brother's tale, with Sohail Khan fighting the Indo-China war, and Salman Khan playing the role of a man-child, with exceptional supernatural powers.

Salman Khan's emotional side could probably come out with more finesse because of his own brother Sohail Khan starring alongside in the film.

The much-hyped part about Chinese actress Zhu Zhu in the film, merely had a blink of an eye appearance in the trailer.

Overall, the film is meant to be an out and out Salman Khan film, like his previous ones.

Watch the film for Salman's innocence personified act, after 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'.

The fans who struggled to spot Shah Rukh Khan in the teaser, will eventually get to see a glimpse of the superstar flaunting his trademark pose in the trailer.

Highlight of the trailer is late veteran Om Puri, who encourages Salman in the film to hope, which is the crux of the film.

He says, "When one hope's, nothing is unachievable."

Watch the film's trailer below:
San Antonio: Child sexual abuse is a grave issue all over the world with shocking incidents of children being assaulted by their own family member being increasingly reported from various parts of the world.

Easy access to internet has led to a rise in children as young as 13 viewing porn on the internet. But an appalling incident of child sexual abuse came to light in USs San Antonio when a nine-year-old was caught searching porn in her school. When asked why she was doing so, the girl replied that she was looking for what her dad does to her at night.

She told her teacher that her father sexually assaulted her all the time and night and this revealed how her father was abusing the girl and her sister for a year. After the shocking details came out, the 31-year-old father was arrested and remains in jail.

Child Protective Services, who interviewed the girl after the teacher called them, also found that the man had previously been investigated for sexual abuse of his daughters.
Bengaluru: Police in Bengaluru have arrested three Pakistani nationals, who were staying in the city under false identities, Kumaraswamy Layout. They have also arrested a man from Kerala on Wednesday night.

"We have arrested these four persons under various sections of passport (act), conspiracy and creation of false document and misrepresentation," PTI quoted city police commissioner Praveen Sood as saying.

"Interrogation is going on not only by the state police but also by the central agency to verify all the information given by them," he said.

According to a report in NDTV, the man arrested from Kerala, Mohd Shihaba, is suspected to have helped the three enter India. The three Pakistani nationals have been identified as Sameera, Kashif Shamshudin and Kiran Gulam Ali.

The three accused met Shihaba in Qatar and entered India via Nepal and Patna before coming to Bengaluru. They had obtained Passports, Aadhaar cards and other key documents under fake identities.

Police have booked the three Pakistani nationals under various acts Foreigners act, passport act and conspiracy. The central investigating agencies have also started an investigation against the three accused.

Meanwhile, police are investigating accuseds claims that the three came to India with Shihaba after he fell in love with one of them. As the girls family in Pakistan objected to their marriage, the duo came to India with the other two accused, a couple, whose parents had also objected to their love marriage.
Srinagar: A Kashmiri shawl weaver, who was tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep during the April 9 by-poll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, has filed a formal complaint against the officer involved in the act.

The incident had evoked rage across the country with human rights groups, including Amnesty International, demanding action against those responsible.

He has filed the complaint in the Jammu and Kashmirs State Human Rights Commission (J&KSHRC) against Army Major Leetul Gogoi by Farooq Ahmed Dar, a resident of Chhil Brass village of central Budgam district.

The commission, constituted in January 1997, is an autonomous state body with quasi-judicial powers tasked to investigate any violation of human rights in the restive State.

A video, which went viral soon after the April 9 incident in Badgam, showed Dar tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep with a placard. Dar had later said that he was caught by the troops in Gundipora village of the district, who tied him to the front of their jeep before proceeding towards Beerwah town.

An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the Army. On 15 April, the Army constituted a court of inquiry in the incident and a report is pending.

However, a major controversy surfaced earlier this week when Major Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was awarded Commendation Card for his sustained distinguished service in counterinsurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat.

That in spite of the fact that Army has yet to complete the inquiry into the incident and the police has said that the case registered against him in the local police station has not been quashed either.

Major Gogoi told a select group of media persons invited by the Army to interact with him at his camp in Budgam earlier this week that if he had not done what he did that day at least 12 or more lives would have been lost, and that had I fired there would have been many casualties.

Dar on Thursday said that the Army inquiry into his being used as a human shield is complete eyewash. He said, They were never serious. Im a small person and why should anyone care. He also said that he was yet to record his statement with the local police.

It has been over a month since then and I am yet to hear from the local police. Even my statement has not been registered, he complained. He also termed Major Gogois claim that he had chosen him for being strapped to the bonnet of the Army jeep because he was the ringleader of a stone-pelting gang as totally false and an attempt to justify the crime he committed.

He reiterated that he had gone to the polling station to cast his vote which has been corroborated by the concerned authorities. If I was a ringleader of the stone-pelters would I have cast my vote, he asked alleging that the Army officer is lying to save himself. He again said that he wont vote again in an election.

Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, had on Wednesday denounced as farce the Army's court of inquiry against Major Gogoi. He wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.com, In future, please don't bother with the farce of a military court of inquiry. Clearly the only court that matters is the court of public opinion. In another tweet, Abdullah alleged that the government was adopting double standards on issues of human rights violations. And international conventions like the Geneva/Vienna ones only count when India can accuse others of violations. Do as we say, not as we do," he said.

Syed Altaf Bukhari, a senior leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and J&Ks education minister, said the Army officers action was the worst form of human rights abuse. He told Greater Kashmir newspaper, I dont approve of it (giving Commendation Medal to Major Gogoi). I strongly condemn the action by the Army officer as it is a worst form of human rights violation and any human rights violation is condemnable."

Meanwhile, an alliance of key separatist leaders  Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik- has called for peaceful protests after Friday prayers against the Army Chiefs felicitating Major Gogoi. In a statement, the alliance termed the decision to give Commendation Card to the officer as Indian fascism.
Loftis Middle School students along with teachers and staff paid tribute to a former member of their school family on Tuesday.

Jonathan Charre lost his valiant fight against Ewing sarcoma cancer in February of 2015.



During his battle with the disease, the Loftis staff started the Jonathan Charre Links of Love campaign. Students donated $1 for a link in a chain to help his family during this time of adversity.



Since then, the school has continued the tradition honoring the 14-year-old through the Links of Love Campaign, each year they donate collected funds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation that helped Jonathan and his family during their difficult time.



Loftis Middle School Principal Brent Eller says the foundation helped Jonathan realize a long-time family dream by sending Jonathan, his parents and one his brothers to Cancun, Mexico where his father reunited with his relatives after many years away from his homeland. Principal Eller added, That is so typical of Jonathan, always thinking of others.



Eighth grade Math and Algebra 1 Teacher Deanna Rice is extremely proud of how the students have taken the fundraising to heart. I am so humbled to see how this school community cares, she said. We now raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that had a helping hand in Jonathan's journey, and the students continue to amaze me with their generosity.



This year, the school collected more than $4,000 in donations for Links of Love. Johnathans mother Heather Charre and the rest of his family remain very active in the campaign.



Principal Eller is not surprised by the generous spirit of his students. The mission of Loftis Middle School is to challenge our students to become independent thinkers, respectful individuals, and responsible citizens, he said. What better way to encourage responsibility and respect than to do something completely selfless for others?



Principal Eller says the donation has been earmarked to help a fellow Loftis Middle School student who is currently battling brain tumors.



Jonathans family continues to be advocates to help end Ewing sarcoma, the second most common bone cancer in children and young adults.


New Delhi: The ED on Thursday raided 10 locations in Delhi and Haryana, including residence of an IAS officer serving in the Union government in New Delhi, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 1,500-crore alleged illegal land acquisition in Gurgaon's Manesar.

Several farmers and land owners are alleged to have been cheated in this case, in which former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is one of the accused.

The ED teams swooped down on various premises of at least eight people, including a retired IAS officer, in Panchkula, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and the official residence of IAS officer Rajeev Arora in New Moti Bagh area in Lutyens' Delhi.

Arora, a 1987-batch Haryana cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has served as the Managing Director of the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) between 2005-2011.

At present, he is serving as a Joint Secretary in the Union Labour ministry on central deputation.

When contacted, Arora said he has "nothing to say as the inquiry is going on".

The ED questioned Arora during the raids and is probing his role in granting approvals in this case during his tenure at the HSIIDC.

A CBI probe is also on in the matter.

The other officials raided by ED include Surjit Singh, Chief Town Planner and Director Planning of the HSIIDC, and retired IAS officer D R Dhingra, who served as Director of Industry and Commerce in Haryana government.

The ED also raided K Lamba, then Superintendent of Department of Industries and Commerce, an official identified as Jaswant Singh and two directors of a real estate firm based in Gurgaon.

Congress leader Hooda has been named as an accused in the FIR registered by the Enforcement Directorate in September last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in this case.

The former CM has been questioned by the CBI in this case and it is expected that the ED will also record his statement soon.

The ED has filed the criminal complaint against Hooda and others based on a FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It suspects that illegal money made from this land deal was "laundered" by the accused officials and real estate developers and a number of movable and immovable assets were created by them.

The agency is working to prepare a list of these assets to subsequently attach them under PMLA law.

The CBI had last year registered a case on allegations that some private builders, in conspiracy with unidentified public servants of the Haryana government, had purchased around 400 acres of land in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula villages in Gurgaon district at throwaway prices between 2004 and 2007, after threatening the land owners that the plots would otherwise be acquired by the government.

It was alleged that a loss of Rs 1,500 crore was caused to the land owners.

The CBI had alleged that initially the Haryana government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act (section 4) for acquiring land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township.

After this, all the plots had allegedly been grabbed from the land owners by private builders at meagre rates.

It was also alleged that an order was then passed by the the competent authority, i.e. the Director of Industries, on August 24, 2007 releasing this land from the acquisition

process in violation of the government policy, in favour of the builders, their companies and agents, instead of the original land owners.

The CBI has alleged in its FIR that in this manner land measuring about 400 acres, the market value of which at that time was above Rs 4 crore per acre, was allegedly purchased by the private builders and others from the innocent land owners for only about Rs 100 crore.
Chennai: About 71 sovereigns of gold jewellery and silverware were stolen from the house of a senior official of Avadi Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Ambattur on Wednesday. The incident came to light on Thursday after house owner Chandran complained to the police.

Chandran (57) works as an additional general manager at the Heavy Vehicles Factory and lives on School road, Secretariat colony in Ambattur, with his wife, Sudha (50), a doctor at the Government hospital, Chromepet.

Police investigations revealed that Chandran along with his family left for Madurai on Monday (May 22) for vacation. The family had planned to tour southern districts, police sources said.

On Wednesday evening, the maid who came to clean outside the house found that the front door open. Alarmed, she informed the neighbours who alerted Chandran about it.

The family cut their tour short and returned home during the early hours of Thur-sday to find the locker broke open and things strewn on the floor. Ambattur police were informed and a team headed by Inspector Kanthakumar rushed to the scene to conduct investigations.

Police sources quoted the family as saying that about 70 sovereigns of gold jewellery, silverware and other items to be stolen from the house.

Officials from the fingerprint bureau were pressed into service to look for potential clues. Police are also checking the CCTV footage in the neighbourhood. Ambattur police have registered a case and are investigating.
Chennai: A 30-year-old autorickshaw driver was beaten to death on Thursday morning over a quarrel on petting a stray pup near Perambur. Police arrested a rag-picker in connection with the murder.

The deceased, Vijay, is a resident of Rajiv Gandhi Nagar near Perambur. The accused, Vellaiyappan (32) is a platform dweller who lives under the Perambur flyover. Vellaiyappan was raising stray dogs with him, police said.

One of the stray dogs had recently given birth to a litter of puppies. Vijay had taken one of the pups with him on Wednesday evening and fed it.

Later in the night, he brought the pup back to the platform.On seeing this, Velliyappan picked up an argument with Vijay for petting the pup claiming that it was his. The verbal feud escalated in a matter of time and Velliyappan, in a fit of rage slammed an iron rod on Vijays head, a police officer said.

Auto drivers from Vijays stand near the railway station rushed to his rescue and moved Vijay to a hospital nearby. He was later shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where he succumbed to injuries on Thursday morning around 5 am.

ICF police was informed of the incident and a team picked up the accused Vellaiyappan on Thursday evening.
Korba (Chhattisgarh): Three Dailt families in Chhattisgarhs Korba district have alleged that they are ostracised by the panchayat of Kurudih village for filing a police complaint against youths who allegedly molested some women at a marriage ceremony recently, an officer said.

A complaint alleging social boycott was filed on Wednesday, after which the police were directed to conduct investigation.

According to the officer, some people, including women from Kurudih village under Urga police station limits, filed the complaint alleging boycott by the village panchayat.

Additional Superinten-dent of Police Tarkeshwar Patel said some girls and women were allegedly molested by inebriated youths recently during the marriage ceremony of a woman at the house of one of the complainants in the village, located around 15 kms away from here.

The women who were allegedly molested belonged to the family of the groom who had visited the brides house as revellers, the officer said.

Following the incident, the brides mother lodged a complaint against the youths, who also belonged to Kurudih village, with Urga police, he said.

Annoyed with filing of the complaint, a panchayat was called in the village which decided to boycott the family of the complainant and two more families of their relatives.

The brides mother said that they came to know about the the boycott only when a local priest refused to visit their house for performing rituals for another marriage ceremony in the family.
Hyderabad: A resident of Vatepally was promised the job of a maid in Dubai and was told that she would get Rs 80,000 salary a month. Ms Rubina Fatima, 46, flew to Dubai on February 3 and from there she was taken to Oman by one Md Abdul Sattar of Ababil Group Tours and Travels.

In Oman she was sold to Rajat Arabi. Since three months she is being continuously transported from one place to another and is being forced to do odd jobs.

Ghulam Hyder, the husband of Rubina Fatima said, Since three months my wife is facing trouble and she is also being assaulted by people there. They are not providing her food and medicines. She is also not allowed to come back to India although her visit visa has expired. She is being detained there illegally.

He noted, We have filed a complaint to Falaknuma police about this with the help of Mr Amjadullah Khan. We never knew what to do. It was Mr Khan who helped us. He has also requested the external affairs minister to get my wife back to India.

Mr Amjadullah Khan said, Its very important to understand that the number of migrants facing problems is increasing in Telangana and its the need of the hour that the government of Telangana addresses this issue and orders the police to book these agents under the PD Act. The agents are now being booked only for cheating. They are coming out on bail and continuing their business. Strong action should be taken against the agents.

We have booked the agents under Section 420 and are hopeful that the external affairs ministry will help the family, Falaknuma inspector said.
An injured being treated at a hospital in Saharanpur on Wednesday, a day after fresh clashes. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow: Taking note of the violence in Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended the Superintendent of Police (SSP) and District Magistrate posted there while transferring the Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG).

"SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey and District Magistrate N P Singh have been suspended while Divisional Commissioner NP Agarwal and DIG JK Shahi have been transferred", an official spokesman told PTI.

While Bablu Kumar has been posted as SSP, Saharanpur, Pramod Kumar Pandey will be the new DM, the official said.

No official reason has been cited for the action, but it is believed that the top officials were removed after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed displeasure as they could not control the situation in Saharanpur district. Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste based clashes repeatedly this month.

Violence again erupted on Tuesday claiming the life of a man while unidentified gunmen shot and seriously injured another person Wednesday.

DIG, security, Vijay Bhushan who was sent by the government on Tuesday to camp in Saharanpur has been named the new DIG of the area while it is awaited as to who will be the new Divisional Commissioner.
New Delhi: Army officers are free to take decisions in a "war-like" zone, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday, amid raging controversy over a Major tying a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters.

Without specifically mentioning Major Leetul Gogoi's action, he said, "Well, military solutions are to be provided by military officers. How a situation is to be dealt with when you are in a war-like zone... we should allow our army officers to take a decision.

"They don't have to consult members of Parliament as to what they should do under such circumstances."

Jaitley was responding to a question on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after the Army went public on fire assaults on Pakistani posts along the LoC.

The Indian Army on Tuesday said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the Line of Control, inflicting "some damage", days after two of its troopers were beheaded.

It also released a video of the military action which showed some structures in a forested area crumbling in a heap under the impact of repeated shelling.
Chandrababu Naidu meets BJP President Amit Shah and other party leaders at Naidu's residence. (Photo: Twitter)

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday hosted a lunch for BJP national president Amit Shah at his riverfront residence in Amaravati.

Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of State YS Chowdary, state TDP president K Kala Venkata Rao, state ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Kamineni Srinivas, Nara Lokesh and state BJP president Kambhampati Hari Babu also attended the lunch.

"There was a general discussion on the political scenario in AP and also about the forthcoming presidential elections," a TDP leader, who attended the luncheon said.

Shah and others were treated to a wide variety of Andhra vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies.

There was no information on whether Chandrababu and Shah had a one-on-one chat, as widely expected.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chandrababu and Shah flew down from Hyderabad together in a special aircraft and inaugurated 13 advanced life support ambulances at the Vijayawada airport.

The ambulances were purchased at a cost of Rs 4.16 crore from the MPLADS funds of Suresh Prabhu, who is a member of Rajya Sabha from the state.

The 13 ambulances would cater to the people of 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh and help patients in far flung areas, Suresh Prabhu said on the occasion.

He said there were plans to provide Hitec Trauma Centres along highways from MPLADS funds.

Prabhu also discussed future health-related funds allocation with the Chief Minister and state health minister Kamineni Srinivas.
Latur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' helicopter crash landed at Nilanga in Latur district today after it suffered a snag, but he escaped unhurt.

"Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry," Fadnavis tweeted after the mishap.

A senior official of the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) said it was an accident and the chopper suffered substantial damage.

Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada for the BJP's 'Shivar Samwad Sabha', a statewide campaign to reach out to farmers.

"I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn't believe in rumours," Fadnavis later told mediapersons.

#WATCH: Dramatic visuals of crash-landing of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis's chopper in Latur, CM and team escaped unhurt. pic.twitter.com/xTikKyvkhg  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

The chopper developed a technical snag while taking off from the helipad at Nilanga where the chief minister had gone for an event.

"Nobody got hurt. My media advisor Ketan Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," he told reporters at Nilanga.

He added that the pilot too had not been injured seriously.

"This is a new helicopter. We will seek information from police on this incident," the chief minister said. Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical snag, following which he had travel by road to Nagpur.
Bengaluru: Tribal leader Muthamma, who has been fighting for the land rights of tribals living in line houses in plantations of Kodagu, claiming that they were treated as bonded labourers, complains that she is being restricted from being part of the tribal movement, and is prevented from meeting tribals relocated from Diddalli to Bedagudda and Basavanahalli in Kodagu.

According to Muthamma, the cops have filed cases against her accusing her of preventing them from arresting her sons and also for entering the reserve forest area in Diddalli. I am now being restricted from moving out of Virajpet taluk. I am deeply pained. This is being done to prevent me from being part of the movement. All these years, our tribals have suffered as bonded labourers, I only want future generations to be out of this system," she said.

Is bonded labour really a reality? A.K. Subbaiah who is leading the Bhoomi Maththu Vasathi Horata Samithi agrees that bonded labour continues to exist at some places in Kodagu to an extent. He says he will continue to fight for agricultural land and sites for the remaining 3,000 tribal families living in the line houses at plantations in Kodagu.

While dwelling on the plight of the tribals, Subbaiah said, "The Plantation Workers Act applies to only planters who own more than 20 acres. But 70 per cent of planters own less than that. Planters give loans to the workers but they hardly get cleared as the wages are very less.

Meanwhile, the Kodagu administration is slowly making arrangements for the tribals at Bedagudda and Basavanahalli. Swamy a tribal leader said, "Currently sites are being assured to 528 families (who were evicted from the reserve forest in December), the government has already given sites to 181 tribal families at Bedagudda including one site for a tribal leader Anitha, and to 177 families in Basavanahalli including one site for me. I and Anitha were labourers in the line houses in coffee plantations. At Bedagudda, there are seven bathrooms and 15 toilets. And at Basavanahalli there are four toilets and four bathrooms. Currently tribals have put up sheds using tarpaulin sheets given at Diddalli, but those tents have not been able withstand the severe wind and rain. The authorities are trying to build a temporary tent as the rainy season has begun and it will be another three months before they start constructing houses. They are also giving us rice, dal, oil, sugar, salt and tamarind."
The Snow Hill Bluegrass Jamboree is celebrating 14 years and 154 shows. Sponsored by the Highway 58 Fire Department, a special show will be presented on Saturday, June 3, at the fire department training center, 9100 Snow Hill Road in Ooltewah.

Food will be available at 5 p.m. Door prizes will be given away.

Normally, six or seven bands perform at the show giving each band about 40 minutes for their performance. During this special celebration, only four bands will play with each one performing for one hour.

The lineup for the show is as follows:

6-7 p.m. - The Double Cross Band

7:10-8:10 p.m. - Perry Suits and 3rd Degree

8:20-9:20 p.m.  Southwind Bluegrass Band

9:30-10:30 p.m.  The Ed James Bluegrass Band

In June of 2003, several musicians approached Highway 58 Fire Department Chief C.R. Harris about using the fire departments training center to play their music. This evolved into a monthly performance by various bands and has continued since. Shows are presented on the first Saturday of each month, except December.

Proceeds from the shows help to purchase food and toys for the needy families in the area the fire department serves. Once the food is packed and toys wrapped, the volunteer fire fighters load the fire trucks and make deliveries a few days before Christmas. The Highway 58 Volunteer Fire Department consists of some 65 volunteer fire fighters and covers about 112 square miles.






Mumbai: Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Girish Mahajan is in trouble for attending wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim's female relative's wedding at Nasik recently, said a report in DNA.

Some police officials also attended the marriage of the woman, whose family members are said to be distant relatives of Dawood Ibrahim.

Taking cognisance, city police commissioner Ravindra Singhal on Wednesday ordered an internal inquiry against the concerned police personnel.

Some personnel attached to Bhadrakali police station in Old City area reportedly attended the marriage ceremony held at a posh mall in Mahatma Nagar area on Monday.

The invitation for the marriage was reportedly given to the police personnel by some Muslim clerics.

The bridegroom is the son of a former local corporator.

Some other politicians, including MLAs and corporators, reportedly attended the function too.

"The invitation for the marriage was sent to some police officials of Bhadrakali police station and also to some corporators, political personalities, MLAs etc.," he told PTI.

Singhal, however, didn't specify the exact number of police personnel who attended the marriage.

According to sources in local police, an ACP-rank officer also attended the function.

Singhal said the statements of the police personnel who attended the marriage are being recorded.

"It will take two days to complete the internal enquiry against the officials as some of them are on leave," he said, adding that the police force was also busy in providing bandobast in Malegaon in the district where municipal corporation elections were held on Wednesday.

There is no report on whether any action will be initiated against the Maharashtra minister.
UP Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra talks to the persons affected by the violence in Saharanpur, in Shabbirpur on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)

Saharanpur (UP): Mobile internet and messaging services were on Wednesday suspended in this violence-hit district of Uttar Pradesh, with officials saying the decision was taken to maintain peace and ensure law and order.

Violence erupted for the second day on Wednesday as unidentified gunmen shot and seriously injured a member of the upper-caste Thakur community, which is embroiled in a bloody conflict with Dalits.

On Tuesday a man was killed in violence.

"In view of the present situation, CRPC section 144 has been invoked to control law and order. All telecom operators have been asked to suspend all forms of mobile internet and messaging services until further orders," N P Singh, outgoing district magistrate, said in an order.

"The decision has been taken to maintain peace and law and order," he said.

However, the order is not binding on police and administrative officials.

Those not following the order will be liable for action under section 188 of IPC, Singh said.
New Delhi: There should always be room for the "argumentative Indian" but not the "intolerant Indian", President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday, emphasising discussion and dissension as crucial for decision-making in the country.

"Our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India," Mukherjee said, delivering the first Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.

He said India's pluralism and its social, cultural, linguistic and racial diversity have been the bedrock of Indian civilisation.

"That's why we need to be sensitive to dominant narratives, of those who make the loudest noise, drowning out those who disagree.

"That's why social media and broadcast news have seen angry, aggressive posturing by state and non-state players literally hounding out contrarian opinions," the president said.

He said Indian civilisation has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance.

"As I have said before, discussion, dissension are crucial to public debate for decision-making in a vibrant, healthy democracy such as India's. There should always be room for the argumentative Indian but not for the intolerant Indian.

"That would be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of India, to the very idea of India," Mukherjee said.

He said people here and globally are living in challenging times.

"Even as the youth look to the future, there has been considerable questioning of the past in the public discourse over the last few years. Each generation has the right to look back and reassess the strengths and weaknesses of the past. Let the brave new India draw its own conclusions," the president said.

Mukherjee said the spirit of tolerance and accommodation towards each other and those who differ from us is "what makes us Indians".

Talking about the role of the media, he said the press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to the powers that be and it will have to simultaneously judge the frivolous from the factual and publicity from reportage.

Mukherjee said the news organisations need to ask themselves how they can find sustainable economic models that will allow them to resist all kinds of pressures and let them perform their role with honesty and transparency.

"However, such inquiry should not be blinkered by biases or resisted with a closed mind. Indian history and centuries' old civilisation is replete with examples of a willingness of the people to, as I have said, 'doubt, disagree and dispute intellectually'.

"This is the bedrock of our nation, our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India," the president said.

For centuries, India has witnessed a clash of civilisations and philosophies and survived it all to grow into the world's largest functioning democracy, he said.

"The question that faces all of us including the media is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative?" Mukherjee asked.

He said if the media believes in the freedom of expression, a free and a fearless independent media, it must choose to reflect a plurality of opinions for that is what breathes life into our democracy and has defined us as Indians.

"It must always remember that its fundamental task is to stand up and ask questions with honesty and fairness. That's the sacred compact it has with citizens in a democracy," the president said.
There were media reports on Wednesday that Rajnish Rai, CRPF IG North East Sector, Shillong, in a report told government that the two Bodo militants reported to have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Assam's Chirang district had been picked up earlier and allegedly shot in cold blood. (Photo: Representational Image)

Guwahati: The Assam Police on Wednesday said that attention of the state government has been drawn to allegations made by a CRPF IG in a section of media regarding death of two NDFB(S) militants in a police encounter at Simlaguri in Chirang district of Assam on March 30 last.

A press release by Assam Police said: "The attention of the Government of Assam is drawn to the allegations made by Rajnish Rai, IG, NES, CRPF, Shillong in a section of media regarding death of two NDFB(S) militants namely Lukash Narzary alias N.Langfa and Eyob Islary alias David alias Dayub in a police encounter at Simlaguri under Amguri PS, Distt-Chirang on 30/3/2017".

The District Magistrate of Chirang has already ordered the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Chirang, Jayanta Sarkar, to conduct a detailed Magisterial Inquiry as required under National Human Rights Commission guidelines in force.

"Further separately, the Director General of Police Assam has also directed Anurag Agarwal, Inspector General of Police, BTAD to conduct an enquiry and submit a factual report," the release said.

"Both the reports are awaited. The Government of Assam views the matter very seriously and is committed to take appropriate action on receipt of the Magisterial Enquiry Report and report of the DGP, Assam", it added.

There were media reports on Wednesday that Rajnish Rai, CRPF IG North East Sector, Shillong, in a report told government that the two Bodo militants reported to have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Assam's Chirang district had been picked up earlier and allegedly shot in cold blood.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday informed the state assembly that he would take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of release of priest Tom Uzhunnalil, abducted by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in war-torn Yemen last year.

Replying to a calling attention motion in the House, he said the government was viewing the matter with utmost seriousness and would inform the state's concern over the issue to the prime minister in the next meeting with him.

Father Uzhunnalil hails from Ramapuram in Kottayam district of the state.

"As per reports, the plight of Fr Tom, who was abducted by IS terrorists on March 4, 2016, is serious. We have already sent letters and memorandum to the Centre seeking intervention for his release," Vijayan said.

"I will directly request Prime Minister to speed up efforts for his rescue during our next meeting in New Delhi," he said.

Though it had been confirmed that the priest is in the captivity of terrorists, there is no information about where he is being kept, Vijayan said.

The state has limitations in directly intervening in an issue in strife-torn Yemen, he said.

Moving the motion, Kerala Congress (M) chief KM Mani alleged that the centre was not showing any interest to speed up efforts for the priest's release.

If necessary, the centre should seek the help of the United Nations for his rescue from Yemen, he said.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala also wanted the state to take up the matter with the centre seriously.
Chennai: With a view to reducing the number of road fatalities in the state where, as any as 4,148 persons were killed in 16,756 accidents in the first three months of this year, the state government on Thursday said that stringent action will be taken against violators of traffic rules. In the year 2016 alone a total of 17,218 persons died in 73,431 road accidents in the state.

Police are asked to initiate suspension/ cancellation of driving licenses of motorists in the case if they were found using a mobile phone while driving, over speeding, red light jumping, carrying an overload in goods carriages, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and carrying people in a goods carriage, a press release from the government said on Thursday.

As of now, the police are recommending suspension and cancellation of licenses if involved in drunken driving and fatal accidents.

The new direction from the government has now asked the police to suspend/ cancellation of license of motorists who were found over-speeding, signal jumping, carrying overload, using a mobile phone while driving and carrying people in a goods carrier. The police department has been requested to forward all the cases of above violations to respective regional transport officers for initiating action to suspend/cancel driving licenses by following due process of law, said the press note. The press release is issued as per guidelines of Supreme Court Committee on Road.
Guwahati: A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit, outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) rebels triggered a powerful bomb blast on an oil pipeline at Dikom Chariali in Assams Dibrugarh district on Thursday.

The outlawed Ulfa(I) also claimed responsibility for the blast, which they claimed to have triggered to oppose the PMs Assam visit.

Security sources said the police recovered the body of a suspected Ulfa (I) rebel from the blast site. He is suspected to have been killed in the blast, which may have been triggered accidentally.

Saying the blast had led to oil pilferage, the security sources said the deceased Ulfa (I) man was identified as Bobby Dahotia alias Palash Asom, who hails from Kakopathar area of Tinsukia district.

In an email to media organisations, Arunoday Asom, Ulfa (I) publicity secretary, accepted responsibility for the oil pipeline blast. It is significant that the Union home ministry had alerted the Assam police about a possible attack by Ulfa (I) rebels.
The smart family card with the name, picture and date of birth of a minor printed against family head title. (Photo: DC)

CHENNAI: A. Jayaseelan was agitated to see that the public distribution system (PDS) smart card that he received after long wait does not have his younger sons name in it.

The real shock was waiting in the next page where his elder son was mentioned as the head of the family.

I carefully entered all the details online and still this happens. The e-seva centers that are crowded with students wanting income certificates did not give proper response. They asked me to come back in June, said Jayaseelan.

Activist Gopalakrishnan has alleged that the staff issuing cards do not have complete knowledge about the process and are naming the first person to be the head of the family.

However, Jayaseelan said the smart card has not been activated yet and the real problems will start after it is activated.

This is not the first case where a user got disappointed. The problem of erroneous data collection has been persistent for a long time, users say and allege that the government has not taken enough steps to ensure error-free smart cards. The state government began distributing smart cards replacing ration cards from April 1 and cardholders were asked to register online.

One of the issues is the permissible size of photograph. For the new applications, picture size cannot exceed 10 kb. This way, the photo is very blurry and unrecognisable, said Pankaj Kumar, a student. Also, if the public miss even one document while submission, the authorities reject their application and nobody gives a proper response afterwards.

In the smart card, full name is never mentioned. We will face a problem in the long run, said Pankaj.

People complain that a bill is never issued in ration shops and the message confirming their transaction is received only after a day. Most of the time, the message will include goods we did not purchase for which we have to go back again, rued another resident.

When contacted, the officials from the Civil Supplies department said they would not like to comment on the issue. Repeated attempts to get reactions from the department failed.
Chennai: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Kancheepuram at Chengalpattu has directed a private hospital to pay a compensation of Rs 13.56 lakh to family members of a 22-year old techie who died following wrong treatment provided to her in the hospital. Four years after the treatment girl, who slipped into a coma, died in 2014 and family members sold properties and jewellery to meet the medical expense.

In the petition, N Kasi Vishwanathan of Thirukkuvalai, Nagapattinam district submitted that his daughter Revathy completed BE (computer science) course. His daughter became indisposed on June 24, 2010, and was rushed to Kedar Multi Speciality Hospital (KMSH), Moulivakkam.

Doctors at KMSH had, as part of the treatment, administered an injection and after which her condition became serious with blood vomiting and a heart condition. When she was rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in an ambulance, doctors there said that she has been administered a wrong treatment and the same has caused her to deteriorate. The patient went into a coma.

Petitioner had to sell his workshop and borrow money from several people for the medical expenses. His wife was also affected by the condition of the daughter. Revathy died on March 12, 2014.

Petitioner contended, his daughter died following wrong treatment provided to her by KMSH and due to the negligence of the hospital. He sought a compensation of Rs 20 lakh from the hospital for the death of his daughter. The hospital management had not appeared before the Forum.

The bench said Kedar hospital not issued a discharge summary and details of the treatment provided to her. The hospital is duty bound to issue the discharge summary and treatment details. Considering the circumstances and perusing the medical reports and documents, the forum holds that the hospital had committed negligence in providing treatment to Revathy. The petitioner proved his case and the hospital was directed to pay compensation of Rs 13.56 lakh with interest of 7 per cent per annum.
Chennai: NIA has filed the chargesheet against three men from Tamil Nadu belonging to Base Movement, an alleged terror group, before a special court in Bengaluru for triggering an explosion in court premise in Mysuru on August 1, last year.

According to a press release from NIA, the agency arrested five people and chargesheets were filed against N. Abbas Ali, 28, founder of Base Movement, of Madurai, Samsun Karim Raja, 23 of Madurai, and Dawood Sulaiman, 23, of Palavakkam, Chennai.

The NIA said that the investigation has revealed that the explosion of the bomb at a public toilet on Mysuru court premises was carried out by Base Movement as part of a larger conspiracy which includes sending threatening letters to various jails, senior government functionaries, a newspaper office and the French consulate, besides carrying out blasts at five different court premises in South India.

As per the plan the group had triggered the explosions in a gap of seven months starting with Chittoor court premises in Andhra Pradesh on April 7, 2016, then at Kollam court premises in Kerala on June 15, 2016, followed by the Mysuru court premises in Karnataka on August 1, 2016, later at Nellore court premises on September 12, 2016 and at Malappuram court in Kerala on November 1, 2016. Except for Mysuru blast, the state police is investigating other cases.

What is Base Movement?

Investigations by the NIA revealed that Abbas Ali had formed the outfit Base Movement with the objectives of international terror group Al-Qaeda. He had recruited four accused persons with a view to committing terrorist and anti-national activities.

The group was targeting the judiciary and had assembled improvised explosive devices and placed them in various court premises with the intention to terrorise people.

Though the agency is claiming that the outfit carried terror activities, the government has not yet banned Base Movement.
Americans' Responses To Jewish Refugees: Wrestling With Fear And Moral Responsibility

By Sponsor in Arts & Entertainment on May 25, 2017 5:00AM



Two Jewish refugees arrive in New York City after the war. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Centre dEtudes et de Documentation Guerre et Societe Contemporaines

Americans' Responses to Jewish Refugees: Wrestling with Fear and Moral Responsibility

PUBLIC PROGRAM

June 5, 2017, 7PM: Anshe AEmet Synagogue, Chicago IL

June 6, 2017, 7PM: Congregation Sukkat Shalom, Wilamette IL

June 7, 2017, 7PM: Am Shalom, Glencoe IL

Xenophobia, antisemitism, economic insecurity, and restrictive immigration laws. These were the barriers Jewish refugees faced in the 1930s and 1940s when seeking safe haven in the United States. More than 70 years later, how can this history help us think about the world we live in today?

Speaker: Rebecca Erbelding, archivist, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Learn more at the event website here.

This post is brought to you by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
UP Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra talks to the persons affected by the violence in Saharanpur, in Shabbirpur on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government has informed the Union home ministry that the situation in Sahara-npur was now under control after the recent violence witnessed in the area in which two persons have been killed and nearly 30 injured so far.

This is in response to a report sought by the home ministry from the state government on the Saharanpur riots. Ministry officials said the state sent a preliminary factual rep-ort on Thursday, while it is expected to send a detailed one in the next few days.

On its part, the Centre has rushed 400 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force to Saharanpur following a request from the UP government. The RAF, along with state polices PAC battalions, has now been deployed in the affected areas. In addition, senior officials from the police and administration are also camping in Saharanpur.

While narrating the se-quence of events, the state government informed the home ministry that trouble started on May 5 between two different groups over a procession.

This led to some clashes in parts of Saharanpur district, resulting in the death of one person, while 17 others were injured. The district police lodged nine different FIRs in connection with the May 5 violence.

Even while additional police reinforcements were rushed to the affected areas, violence once again erupted on May 9 in which a mob torched some vehicles and injured as many as 12 policemen, though no casualties were reported.

The third round of clashes were triggered on May 23 between two groups which resulted in the death of one person. In its initial report, the UP government has said that so far it has arrested 24 persons and registered more than 30 FIRs for Saharanpur riots.

Sources said the home ministry has advised the state to ensure adequate preventive measures are in place so that no more clashes erupt and build greater trust among communities who have resorted to violence. The Centre has assured all possible help to the state government, saying, if required, additional paramilitary forces will be deployed in the affected areas.
HYDERABAD: Teachers associations in Telangana are opposing the recent decision by the Union HRD ministry to conduct a common evaluation test for teacher recruitment. They say the Teacher Eligibility Test and the recruitment test held by the Telangana State Public Service Commission are enough for the purpose.

This move by the MHRD is an encroachment on the states powers as teacher recruitment and evaluation of their performance is each state governments prerogative. The TET, which was imposed on the process earlier, has itself become a hurdle to recruitment in Telangana, said Mr N. Narayana, a former leader of the teachers union.

Schools go by different criteria and do not think the centralised test will be a deciding factor in their recruitments. We recruit teachers on different parameters such as subject knowledge and language, so this test will not be a deciding factor for us, said Ms Sita Kiran, principal of DAV Public School.

Mr Anil Swarup, secretary, department of school education, said that it was not mandatory for the states to recruit teachers on the basis of this test and that they could conduct their own tests, too. This test has been proposed to ensure the quality of teachers.

The test is to be conducted on one syllabus nationally. Each state conducts its own recruitment, which suits its local interests. Therefore, the states might not recruit from the selected pool from this common test, Said Mr Chava Ravi, a member of TS United Teachers Federation.

However, a few schools said that if the Central tests wsa applicable to students, then teachers too should be assessed by a similar measure. A Centrally selected and published pool of teachers eligible for recruitment would smoothen the process, they said. The MHRD also plans to create a biometric system of attendance to monitor teachers.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has lamented the central governments delay in allotting funds for centrally- sponsored schemes. Replying to an adjournment motion in the Assembly on Thursday, he said that there was no lapse on the part of the state in utilising central funds. "During 2016-17, we have made budget allocation of Rs. 6,534 crore for various programmes expecting central funds and spent about Rs 6,800 crore. Even after submitting the utilisation certificates, the centre was not disbursing the funds in time. The reason for this has to be examined," he said.

The government would try other options to ensure that disbursements under various programmes were not affected due to the centres delay, he said. Mr K. Muraleedharan, Congress, who gave the notice for the adjournment motion, said that disbursements under various centrally- sponsored schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme were affected due to the states governments lapses. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the government should press the centre for releasing the funds.
Puducherry: Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi thanked the Central government and minister of road transport and highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari for sending hi-tech machines of Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) to Puducherry for the work of ambitious beach nourishment project.

Apart from the hi-tech cutter suction dredger, which is already in service, a trailer suction hopper drudger of DCI started operation in Puducherry port on Tuesday to dredge sand at the harbour mouth and deepen the mouth.

This year Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) was chosen for the dredging contract over private contractors on the instructions of the Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi.

Puducherry getting its pristine NATURE back. Thanks to @nitin_gadkari who sent Dredging Corporation of India to take up the challenge, Ms Bedi wrote in her twitter account.

This year Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) was chosen for the dredging contract over private contractors on the instructions of the Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi. Puducherry has already given contract to DCI to dredge 3 lakh cubic metre of sand and the excavated sand would be deposited behind the Gandhi Statue in the beach for the beach nourishment project.

The inland cutter suction dredger, Ganga, is dredging a channel of approximately 600 metres long, 100 metres wide and 5 metres deep. The new trailer suction hopper drudger with a capacity of 5,500 cubic meter sand, would spray the dredged sand to the coast, which is known as rainbow dredging, said a senior official in the port department.

Chennai Port and Puducherry govt had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for handling Exim cargo originating from Puducherry port. Before commencement of cargo movement to the port, the Ariankuppam River mouth had to be made free of sand. The government is planning to commence the operations of the port by the month of June, he added.

As part of the beach restoration project two submerged reefs would be construed; one near the chief secretariat that will be attached to the shore and another offshore reef opposite Hotel Ajantha at a distance of 200 m from the shore and construction of the reefs had already started.
New Delhi: Following the worrisome Saharanpur clashes, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday has denied any connection with the unfortunate incident, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to "defame" them in order to "cover up their own misdeeds."

"There is no truth in the allegations that our party has a connection with the Saharanpur incident. My brother and senior leaders of the BSP have no connection with the Bhim Army. Our party condemns the clash and the allegations that are being put forward," Mayawati said while addressing media here.

She further said that if BSP had any involvement in the incident, then why wasn't this told in the media before her visit to Saharanpur.

"The Uttar Pradesh BJP government, in order to cover up their own misdeeds, has made such false allegations on our party which is a shameful act. We feel that 'Bhim Army' is a product of BJP to defame our party and through this corrupt organization the saffron party is trying to destroy the harmonious environment which was created by our party in the state," she asserted.

The BSP chief added that she would recommend her party leaders to be wary of the BJP and Bhim Army.

"I appeal to the people of Uttar Pradesh, belonging to all religions and castes, to live harmoniously with each other," she concluded.

The clashes broke out on Tuesday after BSP supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, whereinone person was killed and several others were injured.

In the wake of the incident, District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked over his inability to control the fresh bout of violence in the area.

The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.

While in other incident of violence, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured on May 5 in clashes between Dalits and Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages of Uttar Pradesh.

Taking cognizance of the incidents of violence in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned it while saying that "strict action will be taken against the culprits."
Hyderabad: Muslim employees of the Telangana government will be allowed to leave offices early by an hour during the holy month of Ramzan.

The TRS government on Friday issued a circular in this regard. The festival begins from May 27.

In the circular, Chief Secretary SP Singh said the government has permitted all its employees belonging to Muslim religion, including teachers and outsourcing staff

members, to leave their offices/schools at 4PM on all working days during the holy month of Ramzan, from May 27 to June 25, to perform necessary rituals".

The permission is given except when the presence of employees is required due to exigencies of services during the said period, the circular said.
Hyderabad: Reacting to Amit Shahs claim that the BJP would win the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in 2019, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday challenged the BJP president to face him in the polls for the seat.

He said I dare you to contest the next elections against me from Hyderabad. Instead of finding a candidate, Amit Shah is welcome to contest against me. Winning the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat will remain a dream and a mirage for the BJP.

He said that not only would the MIM win the Hyderabad seat in 2019, it would also snatch the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat from the BJP.

The BJP will also face defeat in Goshamahal, Khairatabad, Amberpet, Musheerabad and Uppal Assembly constituencies in the city, the MIM chief said.

Reminding of the defeat of M. Venkaiah Naidu against his father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in 1996, the MIM chief cautioned the BJP that history would repeat itself.

Taking exception to Amit Shahs statement that the Union government had provided Rs 1 lakh-crore to TS, he said that in a federal setup, the Union government has to provide funds to every state and such funds is the right of the states. Every year, the Union government receives around Rs 50,000 crore from Telangana through various taxes, including Rs 32,000 crore as Income Tax, the MP said.

Are we beggars? It is our right! You have to give it to us, he said.

Alleging that the BJP has failed to fulfil its poll promises, the MP said that it had promised to create one crore jobs but only 2.03 lakh were provided jobs in the last three years.

He also alleged that Muslims were being targeted and lynched across the country by self-styled gau rakshaks.
Hyderabad: With BJP national president Amit Shah expressing doubts about the benefit to his party from delimitation, questions are being raised whether the Centre will introduce a Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament on the exercise eagerly awaited by the governments of AP and TS.

The outburst of TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao against Amit Shah on Wednesday, and the BJP chief discussing the issue with AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday in Amaravati has further fuelled doubts whether the Centre is really serious in pushing the Bill as desired by both the CMs.

Though Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu is quite firm on hiking the number of Assembly seats as sought by both the CMs, the fact remains that Amit Shah, being the national president of the BJP, will have the final say, considering the clout he enjoys with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During his luncheon meeting with Amit Shah at his residence, the AP CM discussed the delimitation issue and requested him to push the Bill in the monsoon session.

Increasing the number of Assembly seats requires an amendment to Section 26 of AP Reorganisation Act which clearly says subject to Article 170. This would have to be modified to notwithstanding anything contained in Article 170.

The question whether a Constitutional amendment is to be brought or a simple amendment to AP Reorganisation Act is enough remains.

The Attorney-General opines that it requires a Constitutional amendment which means it should be ratified by 50 per cent of State Legislatures across the country.

According to sources, Amit Shah assured the AP CM that he would convene a meeting before June 15 and take a final call on the issue.

However, he reiterated what he had earlier told a delegation of AP BJP leaders: What benefit will the BJP get if the number of Assembly seats is increased?

The AP CM told Amit Shah that several legislators had joined the TD and he needed to adjust them. This he said, could be done only with delimitation.

Sources said that Amit Shah then referred to the TS CMs outburst against him, and observed that there was no benefit for the TS BJP from delimitation while the TRS and MIM will be the major beneficiaries.

In case the Centre brings in an Amendment, it would be applicable to both the states.

The sources added that Amit Shah indicated that nothing could be done till elections for the President and Vice President are completed since the Central government doesnt want to keep all parties across the country in good humour.

If such an amendment is brought before the Parliament ahead of the Presidential and Vice Presidential polls, similar demands may crop up.
Hyderabad: BJP senior leader G. Kishan Reddy on Thursday cautioned Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao that would face a tough time ahead. However, he did not elaborate on the kind of challenges the CM would face.

Addressing a media conference here, Kishan Reddy pointed out that Amit Shah did not take the CMs name in any of the meetings he held in Nalgonda.

The BJPLP leader also demanded the CM resign from his post as Amit Shah not only cited the Rs 1 lakh-crore released to TS by the Centre, he had also challenged that he would prove it.

Instead of seeking an apology from Amit Shah, KCR must apologise for several things. What happened to the many promises he did not fulfil? Kishan Reddy asked.
TS BJP president K. Laxman speaks during a press conference at the party office in Hyderabad on Thursday. MLA G. Kishan Reddy and MLC N. Ramachandra Rao are also seen. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The TS BJP on Thursday decided not to release figures to answer Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Raos challenge on the Rs 1 lakh-crore funds which its national president Amit Shah claimed were released to TS.

Instead, the party asked the CM to either convene the Assembly for a special debate on the funds released by the Centre to TS, or take part in a debate at any other venue with a non-political person as the moderator.

He made a challenge as a Chief Minister. We, as members of a political party, cannot dispute his claim since it should be between the state and Central governments. Hence, we decided to challenge the CM to a public debate, a senior BJP functionary told DC, requesting anonymity.

On record, BJP state president K. Laxman said, The CM on Wednesday released data pertaining to Central funds totalling about Rs 67,000 crore. Earlier, in the Assembly he mentioned that Union minister Nitin Gadkari sanctioned Rs 47,000 crore for development of National Highways. Adding the two figures will tell you that the total crosses Rs 1 lakh-crore. He said that if the CM was not satisfied with the calculation, he should accept the BJPs challenge to a public debate.

The TS BJP chief added: KCR should keep in mind that his stature is below that of the BJP chief who knows more than him.

He said there was nothing wrong in Amit Shah touring Nalgonda district for three days to meet the people and know their problems they faced.

The people told him that the state government failed to construct individual household latrines under the Swachh Bharath mission for which funds were given by the Centre. Is it not the duty of the CM to ensure toilets are constructed to protect the dignity of rural women, instead of sitting in AC rooms and criticising Amit Shah? the TS BJP chief asked.

Instead of streamlining his administration, the CM levelling reckless allegations against the BJP chief is unwarranted, he said.
Judge Won't Toss Murder Charges Against Cop Who Killed Laquan McDonald

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 25, 2017 6:25PM



Jason Van Dyke, 2015 / Getty Images

Defense attorneys seeking to dismiss first-degree murder charges former police offer Jason Van Dyke saw their petition denied by Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan on Thursday, according to reports.

Van Dyke is accused of murder in the infamous, fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014. He faces six counts of murder in the first degree. Last March it was revealed that prosecutors had also hit Van Dyke with 16 counts of of aggravated battery with a firearm.

Van Dyke's attorney, Daniel Herbert, argued that his client's actions constituted "business as usual" in terms of use of force since McDonald was allegedly carrying a knife; and that former State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's decision to pursue murder charges were the result of political heat that stemmed from rampant public fallout, according to the Sun-Times. Alvarez lost her reelection bid to Kim Foxx, and the Van Dyke case is now being overseen by prosecutor Joseph McMahon.

Several protesters reportedly gathered both outside and inside the courtroom on Thursday. There was a metal detector set up before the courtroom entrance; and one demonstrator, identified as Moises Bernal by DNAinfo, was held in contempt after snapping his fingers at the judge's decision. Tribune reporter Megan Crepeau tweeted details in the thread below:

Extra security for Jason Van Dyke hearing this am: attendees have to go through metal detectors at side door before they can enter courtroom  Megan Crepeau (@crepeau) May 25, 2017

McDonald was shot 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014; but video of the shooting wasn't released to the public until more than a year later, in November 2015, immediately prior to Van Dyke being charged. The video sparked a massive wave of public protest and ultimately a yearlong investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The bombshell results of that federal probe found that the Chicago Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of using forceincluding use of deadly forcethat violates the Constitution.

You can check out coverage of today's courtroom decision in the Sun-Times and DNAinfo.
It appears that the star of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of the BJP is shining undimmed in 2017. It rose in 2014 when the BJP won a simple majority on its own  a first in three decades  in the Lok Sabha polls. The BJPs landslide victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in March this year is seen as a validation for the partys achievements at the Centre. Political pundits are veering around to the view that the 2019 Lok Sabha election is Mr Modis to take. The Prime Minister and the BJP relish the prospect, and the Opposition stands without hope. But politics goes beyond the fluctuating fortunes of political parties and their poll battles. The BJPs victories are its own, and it has every right to celebrate. The Opposition can mourn, but the country has a life of its own. The BJPs victories are not the countrys, neither is the Oppositions rout the nations despair. The question we must ask is whether the Modi government has managed to change the nations affairs for the better in the past three years. The Prime Minister and his colleagues are already engaged in touting their successes, and there is a feeble riposte from a weakened Opposition.

When Mr Modi took office in 2014 there was a great expectation that this man was different from the others, and the economic miracle he wrought in Gujarat would be replicated across India. Gujarats transformation under then chief minister Modi for over a decade  from 2001 to 2014  is based on perception rather than facts. Some economists working on a development-cum-governance metric came to the conclusion that Gujarat was the clear winner. There was no critical scrutiny of the claim by the independent economists. Gujarat should have been the crux of the debate of a liberalised economy. It was not done before Mr Modi became Prime Minister, and it was not done after he left the state. The interesting thing is that in his maiden speech in the Lok Sabha in June 2014, Mr Modi was modest in saying that the Gujarat model could not be universalised, and that India being a vast country, there was a need for many different models. So after three years, it wouldnt be fair to ask if Mr Modi has succeeded in extending the successes of Gujarat to the rest of the country. Gujarats economic success, and there has been no credible critical analysis of it so far, cant be used to attack the failures of Mr Modi as Prime Minister. The harsh truth seems to be that his claims of success as Gujarat CM were exaggerated.

The claim by the PM and others in his government, specially finance minister Arun Jaitley, that after May 2014 there has been a dramatic transformation in market sentiment  domestic and international  about India, and that this was entirely due to the charismatic political persona of Mr Modi, would bear scrutiny. When foreign exchange reserves buoyed up in the weeks from June 2014 to March 2015, it was attributed to the Modi magic. Of course, even the Modi loyalists could not give credit for the falling international crude oil prices of 2014 and 2015 to Mr Modi, though much of the pinkness of Indias economic health was due to the foreign exchange outflow saved and the improved trade balance due to the dip in the international oil market. In the summer of 2017, it is apparent that the last three years have not been good enough for the country. The enthusiasm that greeted Mr Modi in 2014 has ebbed, and this among his fan-following: the youth, middle class and business class. Young people havent found jobs or economic opportunities. The middle class is listless with the economy in doldrums, more due to the sluggish world economy than due to the failures of the Modi government. The business class is unhappy as Team Modi hasnt done anything substantive to further the ease of doing business in India.

Foreign and domestic investors had hoped Mr Modi would throw open the Indian markets. It hasnt happened, and the more-than-comfortable pile of foreign reserves of $370 billion is not a cause of much exultation any longer. The other major claim is that Indias image abroad is much higher than it was earlier, and this change is entirely due to the PMs assertive style of leadership. Its true Mr Modi didnt adapt himself to the established diplomatic norms, and inserted his own voice in articulating Indias position. But more than the elected heads of government and state, it was the American and Japanese businessmen who seemed to have been attracted to Mr Modis apparently business-friendly leadership. But this positive attitude stopped at friendly meetings, such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerbergs interactions with Mr Modi in New Delhi or California. These meetings were just photo-opportunities and didnt translate into big business deals.

The Modi government was found to be slow-footed on the diplomatic front as well. There have not been any breakthroughs with China, the United States, Japan, Russia, the European Union or Saarc. Relations with Pakistan have remained as they have always been, hot and cold in turn. The inference that can be drawn as the Modi government completes three years in power is that it has realised India and the world are complex places, and there is no way to change things with a wave of the Modi magic wand. It is learning to deal with the situation as it is, instead of betting on changing it. The Modi government has got down from the high horse of rhetorical claims. It is standing on the ground, but it is not yet clear if it is in a position to face the ground reality of the economy and Indias position in the world.
Not unaccountably, the focus of the BJP, and the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in celebrating the third anniversary of its formation today is Mr Modi himself. This points to the imperative of building a personality cult in a party like the BJP, and the desperate need to do so now. The Prime Minister has been a larger-than-life presence since leaving behind his deeply-contested legacy in Gujarat, winning election after major election. This underlines his critical importance not just for the BJP but to all those who seek to overturn the past associated with the era of the Congress system, which had an overlay of liberal and Left thought. Without Mr Modi, the BJP runs the risk of returning to being a ragtag outfit. No wonder the third anniversary celebrations are centred on the great leader  starting with the carefully thought-out acronym of MODI, which stands for the Making of Developed India.

The acronym explains itself, but it also betrays its innocence of the ideas of development. A developed India, as that word is understood by economists and social scientists, must be at least a few decades away if all goes well, and using it so freely to propel a political campaign is to mock the poor. MODI will be a three-week-long festival. It envisages some 450 senior ministers and BJP leaders hurling themselves at 900 points across the country to spread the achievements of the Modi government. What these might be is surely debatable. It is hard to arrive at clear answers. Should we look at registered successes, schemes which were a good idea but simply did not take off, or the passage of legislation like GST that could not be clinched earlier because the BJP itself was the principal opponent?

The successes are too few to name. Unemployment, according to the governments Labour Bureau, is the highest in three years, banks remain in crisis, businesses are not investing, farmer suicides have risen. On the whole, the overall economic picture does not offer too much reassurance. But prices are down, thanks to a drastic fall in petroleum prices. This helps improve the macroeconomic picture somewhat. On the political side, Kashmir is burning. In foreign affairs, relations with China, Pakistan and Nepal have slid badly. The idea of celebrating a mere three years in office is also a brand-new one. It object appears to be to create media hype for the next round of state elections, going into the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Laaffaire Kulbhushan Jadhav before the International Court of Justice was indeed a surgical strike. Its impact was more than the actual, immediate damage it caused. Pakistan was rattled, as is evident from the fact that the views expressed there were often conflicting. The damage done was to Pakistans ego  kindling a feeling of hurt that, perhaps, reminded them of their batsman missing a full toss, and getting stumped. The basic facts are that Mr Jadhav, a retired naval officer from India, was allegedly kidnapped by the Pakistani police from Iran, where he was on private business. Thereafter he was charged with various offences like espionage and terrorism. About a month ago, a military court in Pakistan sentenced him to death in secret proceedings. Despite repeated requests from India, no access was given to Indian diplomats in Pakistan to meet him. Eventually India moved the ICJ on May 8, complaining about a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, with the main prayer that Pakistan be restrained from giving effect to the sentence awarded by the military court, and that it be directed to take steps to annul the decision of the military court. If Pakistan was unable to annul the decision, then the ICJ was requested to declare the decision of sentencing Mr Jadhav as illegal for being violative of international law and treaty rights.

Along with this petition, India also made an application for provisional relief to direct Pakistan to take all measures necessary to ensure that Mr Jadhav is not executed during the pendency of the case before the ICJ. The foundation of Indias complaint was denial of consular access in violation of the Vienna Convention. In other words, if Pakistan had acceded to one of the many requests India made for access to Mr Jadhav, there would have been no basis for India to approach the ICJ. This is because the international court has no authority to overrule the decision of a state court, however atrocious it may be. The ICJ can only deal with international law, including treaty obligations. What will be the effect on the pending case before the ICJ if Pakistan grants consular access now? The possibilities are many and imponderable. Eleven of the 15 judges of the ICJ heard both India and Pakistan on May 15. The court pronounced the order on May 18, granting Indias prayer for a provisional order restraining Pakistan from executing the sentence of death until the matter is finally disposed of by it. India made no prayer for provisional access to Mr Jadhav  and rightly so  because the final relief sought is not access to the victim but nullifying Pakistan military courts decision.

On May 18, the president of the ICJ, Judge Ronny Abraham, a French national, pronounced the unanimous verdict of the 11-judge bench, which included a judge each from the five permanent members of the Security Council, including China. Judge Cancado Trindade, hailing from Brazil, pronounced a separate but concurring order  adding nothing of immediate relevance to the case. However, Judge Dalveer Bhandari from India could have avoided writing a separate opinion while agreeing with the rest  this has already invited criticism. His reported expression of joy to the media at the outcome from the ICJ has exposed him to the serious charge of bias. In this game of one-upmanship, Pakistan will not miss any opportunity to raise objections about him being a part of the bench that finally hears the case, if only to embarrass India. Is international law really a law? Or is it only morality? Basic textbooks on international law start with this question and no final answer has emerged. The question is posed because international law lacks sanction or power to enforce the dictates of law. Under national laws even a sitting judge of a high court in India is being sent to prison for violating the law. But in the present case, the question that arises is: what if Pakistan refuses to obey the final directions of the ICJ.

Rules state that if any party to a dispute before the ICJ disobeys its order, the aggrieved party can approach the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions against the defaulting party. The sanctions may include prohibiting other countries from dealing with the defaulting country. One may recall that sanctions were imposed in respect of Iraq for its alleged failure to disclose or destroy weapons of mass destruction that  as eventually proved  they did not have. Iraq, a country rich with resources, particularly crude oil, was starved to submission through sanctions. So sanctions can be effective, but there is one catch  any of the five permanent members of the Security Council can successfully scuttle such sanctions by vetoing the proposal. In the case of Pakistan, it is expected that China will veto any proposal for imposing sanctions against it. India has been the beneficiary of 100 vetoes by Russia opposing plebiscite in Kashmir. Very recently a proposal to impose sanctions against Syria was vetoed by both Russia and China.

The final decision about Mr Jadhavs fate will have to be taken by the Pakistani courts or authorities, not by the ICJ. Being fully conscious of this limitation, India moulded its prayer to the ICJ accordingly, requesting that Pakistan be directed to annul the death sentence in accordance with Pakistani laws. The best that India can achieve at the ICJ is a direction for Mr Jadhavs retrial in accordance with Pakistani laws and in Pakistani courts. The Pakistanis are therefore right in commenting that India is celebrating a little too soon. Yes, a direction not to hang Mr Jadhav until the ICJ passes a final verdict is a great relief  the court could have rejected Indias complaint at the onset. And the provisional order of May 18 is limited only in terms of its duration, not in terms of efficacy. Its direction will be in force for at least another year despite all efforts to expedite the final hearing. By that time, hopefully, Pakistan will have an effective civilian government. Or, who knows, the relations between India and Pakistan may become good enough to allow Mr Jadhav to get a free passage. The provisional order of May 18 has permitted nursing of such hopes.
The Samsung DeX dock comfortably accepts the Lumia 950 and lets the phone display a desktop interface of Windows Phone on the screen through Continuum.

Earlier in the year, Samsung unveiled its DeX adapter alongside the Galaxy S8 smartphone for extending the smartphones role to being more than just a pocket accessory. The DeX adapter can turn your Galaxy S8/S8+ into a makeshift desktop computer along with a mouse, keyboard and a monitor. However, tech experts around the world look at it as an inspiration from Microsofts Continuum feature from its Lumia series of phones launched a year ago.

Although the Windows Phone platform hasnt gained much attention in the recent months (with rumours suggesting a complete discarding of the platform by Microsoft), the Continuum feature is still a highlighting feature of the platform. This has led enthusiasts to try newer ways to pump interest in the fading Windows Mobile. One YouTuber by the name of gazcart has posted a video showing his Lumia 950 working fine with the Samsung DeX, which comes as a major surprise to the Android community.

There has been a considerable gap in the development time between these two docking stations. Both of them run a completely different software and provide a different desktop experience when connected to the dock. Despite all the differences, the DeX dock comfortably accepts the Lumia 950 and lets the phone display a desktop interface of Windows Phone on the screen through Continuum.

It is not yet known that whether Microsofts Continuum dock can accept the Samsung Galaxy S8 for showing its PC interface. However, this surely points towards the speculation of Microsoft developing a compatibility feature for popular devices and platforms. Microsoft has hinted at a connected ecosystem of connected devices, even though they run different software. The 2017 Samsung flagships have pre-installed Microsoft Office apps and are also sold in Microsoft stores across the US.

What do you think about the docking station compatibility? Let us know in the comments below.

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Washington: A US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, US officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since US President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey travelled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The so-called freedom of navigation operation, which is sure to anger China, comes as Trump is seeking Beijing's cooperation to rein in ally North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a state's coastline.

One US official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China's claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The US patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

The United States has criticized China's construction of the man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the new administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon, without offering any details.

Still, the US military has a long-standing position that these operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

The Pentagon said in a statement it was continuing regular freedom of navigation operations and would do more in the future but gave no details of the latest mission.

"We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in the statement.

US-China relations

Under the previous administration, the US Navy conducted several such voyages through the South China Sea. The last operation was approved by then-President Barack Obama.

China's claims to the South China Sea, which sees about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade pass every year, are challenged by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan.

The latest US patrol is likely to exacerbate US-China tensions that had eased since Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit at the US leader's Florida resort last month.

Trump lambasted China during the 2016 presidential campaign, accusing Beijing of stealing US jobs with unfair trade policies, manipulating its currency in its favor and militarizing parts of the South China Sea.

In December, after winning office, he upended protocol by taking a call from the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China regards as its own sacred territory.

But since meeting Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump has praised Xi for efforts to restrain North Korea, though Pyongyang has persisted with ballistic missile tests despite international condemnation.

US-based South China Sea expert Greg Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the operation was also the first conducted by the United States close to an artificial feature built by China not entitled to a territorial sea under international law.

Previous freedom of navigation operations have gone within 12 nautical miles of Subi and Fiery Cross reefs, two other features in the Spratlys built up by China, but both of those features are entitled to a territorial sea.

Mischief Reef was not entitled to a territorial sea as it was underwater at high tide before it was built up by China and was not close enough to another feature entitled to such a territorial sea, said Poling.

He said the key question was whether the US warship had engaged in a real challenge to the Chinese claims by turning on radar or launching a helicopter or boat -- actions not permitted in a territorial sea under international law.

Otherwise, critics say, the operation would have resembled what is known as "innocent passage" and could have reinforced rather than challenged China's claim to a territorial limit around the reef.
Washington: The Trump administration has proposed to give Pakistan US $800 million as reimbursement for its military and logistical support in counter-terrorism operations in the next fiscal, a defence department official has said.

The administration has proposed the amount - a cut of US $100 million compared to the previous time - in its annual budget proposals under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a Pentagon programme to reimburse US allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.

Pakistan is one of the largest recipient under the fund and has received US $14 billion since 2002. But for the past two years, the US Congress has imposed conditions on disbursal of money under the fund.

"The FY 2018 budget proposal seeks US $800 million in CSF for Pakistan. The CSF authority is not security assistance, but reimbursements to key cooperating nations for logistical, military, and other support provided to US combat operations," Adam Stump, Defence Department spokesman for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia told news agency PTI yesterday.

For 2016 fiscal year, Pakistan was authorised to receive up to US $900 million under CSF.

"The deputy secretary of defence signed the authorisation to disburse US $550 million in fiscal year 2016 coalition support fund to Pakistan for logistical, military, and other support provided to the US operations in Afghanistan for the period of January-June 2015," Mr Stump said.

"The Department recognises the significant sacrifices the Pakistan military has made in the fight against terrorism, and appreciates Pakistan's continued support for transit of materiel to coalition forces in Afghanistan," he said in response to a question.

"Disbursement of the remaining US $350 million requires the Secretary of Defence to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network. The Secretary has not yet made a decision on certification," Mr Stump said.

For the first time in 2016, then Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had declined to certify that Pakistan met the certification requirement, resulting in the loss of US $300 million fund for it. This amount was reprogrammed by the Pentagon for Department of Defence's Overseas Contingency Operations Funding, a second defence department official said.

In its latest budget, the Department of Defence has attached no conditions for disbursement of CSF to Pakistan. However, it was only the US Congress which imposes such strict conditions on giving CSF money to Pakistan.

Justifying the need to give such a huge amount of money to Pakistan, the Pentagon said Pakistan has served as a key ally in operation 'Enduring Freedom' since 2001 and will continue to play a key role in maintaining stability in the region.

"Pakistan's security forces regularly engage enemy forces, arrest and kill Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, and provide significant support to US forces operating in Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to meet the enemy insurgency and has made enormous sacrifices in support of these operations," it said.

"The expenses Pakistan incurs to conduct operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces include providing logistical support for its forces, manning observation posts along the Afghanistan border, and conducting maritime interdiction operations and combat air patrol," the Pentagon said.
Los Angeles: A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the yoga guru Bikram Choudhury after he failed to pay nearly $6.5 million to a former legal adviser in a sexual harassment case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton also set bail at $8 million for the founder of the Bikram yoga empire, which involves practicing yoga in sweltering rooms.

Choudhury was sued in 2013 by his onetime legal adviser Minakshi "Mikki" Jafa-Bodden, who accused him of sexual harassment, saying he fired her after she refused to help him cover up allegations that he raped a yoga student.

Ordered to pay $6.47 million in punitive damages in January of last year, he fled California shortly after the verdict, Jafa-Bodden's attorney, Carla Minnard, said.

The guru -- who had no attorney representing him in court Wednesday -- first traveled to India and then Thailand and Japan before heading to Mexico, where he was served court papers in May, Minnard said.

"He is currently in Acapulco conducting teacher training classes," she said. "Our intent is to have him arrested before he leaves Mexico."

The 70-year-old Choudhury had managed to move some of his assets, including a fleet of luxury cars, to Nevada and Florida, but court orders were issued to prevent him moving property out of the country, Minnard said.

"We will keep pursuing him however long it takes, wherever it takes," she said. "I don't care where he goes, how much money it costs us, how many lawsuits we have to file, how many hundreds of hours we have to spend -- we are going to collect on this judgment and see that Mikki gets justice."

Originally from India, Choudhury is said to have made a fortune after he moved to California.

He claimed during his trial that he was nearly bankrupt after spending millions of dollars in legal fees and because his business was no longer thriving.

His yoga routine involves 26 posture exercises performed over 90 minutes in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius.)
Police also seized electronic devices, drugs and weapons after searching six locations in four different districts of Berlin. (Photo: Representational/File)

Berlin: German police said they arrested nine drug trafficking suspects, including four suspected Islamist militants, in early morning raids on Wednesday.

Police arrested four "Islamists considered capable of resorting to violence", in the operation to dismantle a drug trafficking ring, said police and the Berlin public prosecutor's office in a statement. They also seized electronic devices, drugs and weapons after searching six locations in four different districts of Berlin.

Arrest warrants had already been issued for three of the suspected Islamist militants, and the fourth was to be served with one later Wednesday. Police did not provide further details about the profiles of the suspects or their possible intentions.

German authorities have drawn criticism since an Islamic State-claimed Christmas market attack in the capital in December when Tunisian Anis Amri ploughed a truck into a crowd of shoppers.

It has since emerged that several months before the attack, German police had ceased investigating Amri, even though he had been suspected of preparing an attack. Police could also have arrested him months earlier for commercial-scale, organised drug trafficking, the Berlin minister in charge of security, Andreas Geisel, has claimed.

Instead police later claimed Amri had just been a small-scale drug trafficker, he added. Geisel said that he has launched a criminal complaint against police in Berlin for having falsified a document after the attack in order to deflect blame.
Taormina (Italy): A glance of the leaders meeting with Donald Trump during his first Group of Seven summit as US president, in alphabetical order by country. Trump joins the leaders of France, Britain and Italy in making their G-7 debuts this year.

Britain

Theresa May, 60, entered 10 Downing St. last July to shepherd Britains exit from the European Union, as decided in a nationwide referendum. Despite backing the campaign to remain in the EU, May has pledged she will make a success of Brexit and is spearheading tough negotiations to untangle Britain from the EU apparatus after 44 years of ties, while forging new bilateral relationships with its neighbors. As part of that, May unexpectedly called a snap election for June 8, hoping to increase her parliamentary majority and strengthen her bargaining position. However, in recent days her attention has been on the suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester that killed 22 people.

Canada

Justin Trudeau, 45, became the second youngest prime minister in Canadas history in 2015. He is the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who brought glamor and excitement to Canadian politics in the late 1960s. Tall and trim, Trudeau channels the star power of his father, a liberal legend credited with making Canada what it is today. Opponents of Justin Trudeau pilloried him as too inexperienced and naive, but powered by his celebrity status and a popular message his Liberal party won the majority of seats in Parliament. Trudeau champions global free trade and has welcomed more than 40,000 Syrian refugees. He has plans to legalize marijuana. Women make up half of his Cabinet, and he has stressed the importance of gender balance.

Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 62, is seeking a fourth term in September that would extend her run as Europes dominant politician. As head of the largest country in the 28-member European Union and the 19-member euro currency union, she has had the major say in determining the continents response to the crisis over debt in several member countries and to the influx of refugees fleeing turmoil in the Arab world. Merkel grew up in communist East Germany and entered politics only after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

France

Emmanuel Macron, 39, is Frances and the G-7s youngest head of state. He was elected earlier this month on a free-market, pro-European agenda. A former investment banker, Macron was economy minister from 2014-2016 under Socialist president Francois Hollande. He quit the government last year to launch his presidential bid as an independent candidate, campaigning on a promise to renew the countrys political landscape. He has never held an elected office before. Among his top priorities are boosting the countrys lagging economy and fighting terrorism. His political movement, Republic on the Move, is now competing to get a majority at Frances lower house of parliament in elections next month.

Italy

Paolo Gentiloni, 62, became Italys premier last December when Matteo Renzi resigned after losing a referendum on reforms key to his political platform. A member of Renzis Democratic Party, Gentiloni was foreign minister under Renzi and previously was communications minister. He was born to an aristocratic family, studied political science and worked for an environmental magazine before his first foray into politics as spokesman to a former Rome mayor. Besides shepherding Italys G-7 presidency and its one-year rotation on the U.N. Security Council, Gentilonis main domestic tasks as premier are to see that a new electoral law gets passed ahead of new elections due next year and to manage Italys banking crisis.

Japan

Shinzo Abe, 62, is one of the longest serving Japanese prime ministers, having been in office first from 2006 to 2007, then again from 2012. A conservative hawk from the Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost incessantly for six decades, Abe is credited for jump-starting an ailing economy through his Abenomics program of loose lending and public spending. The grandson of a prime minister and son of a foreign minister, he has long been vocal about his desire to see Japan become more assertive diplomatically and militarily. Abe has argued Japan should write its own constitution, in place of what he sees as an outdated, pacifist one written during the US occupation after World War II. Abe has also been aggressive about forging close relations with Trump.
The blast rocked the foyer of the Manchester Arena as thousands of young fans and parents streamed out of the venue after the show. (Photo: AP)

London: A number of anti-Muslim incidents have been reported in the UK after the Manchester bombing with a Muslim woman spat on while a teenaged Muslim girl taunted by a passer-by who said, "when are you going to stop bombing people".

A 14-year-old pupil at Manchester Islamic High School for girls was taunted while on her way to school by a passer-by.

Mona Mohamed, head teacher at the school, told Radio 4's Today programme that the teenager had been "upset and hurt" by the comment, "when are you going to stop bombing people", but had not responded.

Mohamed was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that she advised her pupils to keep quiet if they are subjected to Islamophobic abuse. "What's the point of reacting?" she said.

"That's not the way we're going to tackle terrorism." A few hours after the Manchester concert attack an unidentified figure was caught on CCTV attempting to set fire to the door of a mosque in Oldham.

On Tuesday, a Muslim woman was spat on by a stranger on Manchester's Oxford Road, the Tab reported. The stranger approached the student and spat on her. She told the daily that she was "upset and shook up".

The student, who asked to remain anonymous, said she took a taxi straight home. "These kind of attacks aim to disrupt and divide our society. An incident that attempts to divide us will only make us stronger," the University of Manchester said in a statement.

"We have faith in the strength and resilience of the people of Manchester, and implore students and the wider community to come together at this difficult time," it said.

"With over 200,000 pounds raised and the hundreds that have queued at the blood banks show that no matter what -- #WeStandTogether," it added.

The racially-motivated incidents occurred in the wake of Monday's suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena claimed by the Islamic State, in which 22 people were killed and dozens more injured shortly after the end of a pop concert by Ariana Grande.

The bombing was carried out by 22-year-old Salman Abedi, a British Muslim man of Libyan heritage.

"To us, Islam is peaceful. If someone claimed to be Muslim and carried out an act of that kind, they're not part of us...We're not going to stand here and apologise for them," Mohamed said. Many Muslim groups across the UK have condemned the bombing.
Police Warn Of Armed Robberies Around Lincoln Park

By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 25, 2017 5:04PM



2300 block of North Halsted Street via Google.

Police are warning about a series of armed robberies around the North Side that were reported in the past week.

In each of at least six robberies, four men identified as African-American, 17 to 20 years of age, approached people on the street with a handgun and forcibly took their personal belongings. The robbers threatened to shoot their victims if they didn't give up their property, according to police.

The young men were seen fleeing in a silver car after one incident, police wrote in a Wednesday evening community alert. All of the robberies took place in a small area of Lincoln Park, in the 18th District's beat 1812. They took place in the following locations at the following times:

2300 block of North Halsted Street, Monday, May 22, 2017 between 10:15-10:30 p.m.

600 block of West Webster Avenue, Monday, May 22, 2017 at 10:15 p.m.

700 block of West Dickens Avenue, Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 3:35 p.m.

600 block of West Webster Avenue, Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 10:22 p.m.

500 block of West Belden Avenue, Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 10:48 p.m.

500 block of West Fullerton Parkway., Tuesday May 23, 2017 at 10:56 p.m
With the drama over Melania swatting off Donald Trumps hand in Riyadh still going viral on the social media, the first lady has done it yet again. As the US President along with wife Melania landed in Rome, the formers hand was ignored yet again by the first lady.

After waving at the crowd, President Trump reached out for Melanias hand, when she whisked it away to tuck her hair. The President then touched her on the back to hide the fumble  triggering sniggers and instantly generating memes on Twitter. The episode was almost a repeat telecast of what had happened in Israel a couple of days ago.
The identity of the mother of da Vinci has remained elusive, even though the artistic genius, who painted the Mona Lisa, is one of the greatest cultural figures in history.

Researchers have finally solved the mystery behind the identity of Leonardo da Vincis mother, nearly five centuries after the Italian artists death.The identity of the mother of da Vinci has remained elusive, even though the artistic genius, who painted the Mona Lisa, is one of the greatest cultural figures in history.

It is known that his mother Caterina gave birth to an illegitimate son after she was seduced by a lawyer at the age of 15. There has even been speculation in recent years that she was a slave.

Now, an art historian at the Oxford University in the UK has revealed that the full name of da Vincis mother was Caterina di Meo Lippi. Professor Martin Kemp found that Caterina was a poor peasant, probably an orphan, living with her grandmother in a decrepit farmhouse about a mile from Vinci in the Italian Tuscan hills, The Times reported.

The name emerged from previously overlooked archives in Florence and Vinci, including property tax records, Kemp said. Caterinas father disappeared when she was young, leaving her to be brought up by her grandmother. In 1451, when Caterina was 15, she became pregnant by Ser Piero da Vinci, 25, a lawyer working in Florence, Kemp said.

Caterina was a peasant fallen on bad times, and you cannot be much lower in the social pile than that. To be a 16-year-old with an illegitimate son and no house was about as bad as it gets, he said.

Ser Piero was due to get married, and Caterina was duly married off to Antonio di Piero Buti, a local farmer. Da Vinci was born on April 14, 1452, and brought up in the house of Ser Pieros father.

Kemp suggests that da Vinci was not born in Casa Natale in Anchiano, but in the house of his paternal grandfather in Vinci.
Manchester: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi was a British-born university dropout with Libyan jihadi links who, according to his sister, may have sought revenge for the deaths of Muslim children.

Abedi was named by British authorities the day after he detonated a bomb packed with nuts and screws at the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and maiming dozens more at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.

Born in Britain to a devoutly Muslim Libyan family, Abedi was an "isolated, quiet, reserved individual" according to Mohamed Fadil, a spokesman for the Libyan community in Manchester.

"Even when he came to mosque, he just kept to himself and quickly left. His friends are not in the Libyan community," Fadil told AFP, adding that locals said Abedi had a history of drinking and smoking cannabis.

Abdullah Muhsin Norris, 70, told Sky News that Abedi was ejected from his mosque in Moss Side two months ago after he had tried to hide in the mosque library to read religious books overnight.

"I was very annoyed with him," Norris said, adding that worshippers at his mosque were forbidden to engage in conversations or preaching about politics.

But the image of the awkward misfit stands in contrast to the picture which has emerged of the suicide bomber in recent days in British media of a man with links both to Islamist fighters in Libya and an Islamic State group recruiter.

The Wall Street Journal cited a family friend saying that Abedi had travelled to Libya with his father in 2011 to join the Tripoli Brigade militia as it battled the regime of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi. He returned to Britain in 2014 with his mother, the friend said.

Abedi was known to British intelligence services, interior minister Amber Rudd said this week, without giving further details.

Islamic State link

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Abedi had "likely" been to Syria after Libya, citing information provided by British intelligence services to their counterparts in Paris.

"In any case, the links with Daesh are proven," Collomb said, using another term for the Islamic State jihadist group which claimed responsibility for the Manchester Arena attack.

Links have also emerged between Abedi and a Manchester terror cell, according to counter-terrorism sources cited by Sky News television.

Investigators found a "significant" link between Abedi and Raphael Hostey, a young fellow Mancunian who allegedly recruited IS members before reportedly being killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.

Sky News said the two Islamists worshipped at Didsbury Mosque in the leafy Manchester suburbs, where trustees on Wednesday decried the "horrific atrocity" at the arena and denied any links to extremism.

Abedi's father Ramadan had sometimes performed the call to prayer at the mosque and his brother Ismael had been a volunteer.

However, Mohammed Saeed, a senior figure from the mosque, told The Guardian newspaper that when he once gave a sermon denouncing terror, Abedi stared him down.

"Salman showed me a face of hate after that sermon," Mohammed Saeed said of the 2015 encounter. "He was showing me hatred."

'He wanted revenge'

Libya arrested Abedi's father Ramadan and younger brother Hashem, who was also born in Britain, a relative and security sources said on Wednesday.

Ahmed bin Salem, a spokesman for the Deterrence Force, which supports Libya's UN-backed unity government, said Hashem Abedi was aware of his brother's attack plan and both were members of IS.

The relative said Salman had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before the bombing.

"His father wanted his son to stay in Libya but Salman insisted on going to Manchester."

While the precise details of when and how Salman Abedi decided to turn to violent extremist remain unknown, his sister said he was loving but driven by a desire for revenge.

"I think he saw children -- Muslim children -- dying everywhere, and wanted revenge. He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge," said Jomana Abedi, quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

Such anger was reportedly heightened when one of his friends, 18-year-old Abdul Wahab Hafidah, was murdered in the Moss Side area of Manchester a year ago.

"I remember Salman at his funeral vowing revenge," the family friend told the Journal.

Before carrying out the deadly attack at Manchester Arena, Abedi had joined Manchester's huge student population.

The University of Salford confirmed Abedi had studied there but a source told the Press Association news agency he dropped out two years into a business and management degree.
The four bodies two foreigners and two Nepalis were spotted by mountain guides inside a tent at camp IV at 7,950 metres on Wednesday while they were searching for the body of a Slovak mountaineer. (Representational Image)

Bodies of four climbers, including two foreigners and a woman, have been found at a high altitude camp on Mount Everest, taking the total number of fatalities on the worlds tallest peak to 10 this season.

The four bodies two foreigners and two Nepalis were spotted by mountain guides inside a tent at camp IV at 7,950 metres on Wednesday while they were searching for the body of a Slovak mountaineer.

Sherpa climbers from Seven Summit Treks who reached there to recover the body of a Slovak mountaineer spotted the four dead bodies inside a tent, said Mingma Sherpa, managing director Seven Summit Treks, a Kathmandu-based agency that runs expeditions and rescue operations on the 8,848 meters high Everest.

Six Sherpa climbers were there to recover the body of 49-year-old Slovakian solo climber Vladimir Strba who died at Camp IV on Sunday afternoon, he said, adding that Slovaks body was being brought to Camp II.

Earlier, an American climber Ronald Yearwood died of altitude sickness near South COl on Sunday. An Australian climber also died on the peak on Sunday while the identity of the fourth person was not immediately known.

A 27-year-old Indian climber, Ravi Kumar, who had gone missing on Mount Everest, died on Monday when he fell into a crevice after conquering the worlds tallest peak.

Octogenarian mountaineer Min Bahadur Serchan died at the base camp on May 6 while Swiss climber Ueli Steck lost his life in an accident on Everest on April 30.

Last year, five climbers lost their lives on Everest. A total of 640 people reached the summit. Climbers ascend Everest from two sides  the north face from China and the South face from Nepal.
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on Wednesday resigned after a brief stint of nine months, honouring a power sharing understanding with the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress to hand over the country's leadership to the largest party in Parliament.

His resignation has cleared way for his former political rival and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is expected to take over as the prime minister.

Prachanda announced his resignation while addressing the nation in a live telecast from his office at Singha Durbar here. He said that he would go to the Presidents Office to submit his resignation on Wednesday itself.

I announce my resignation from the post of the prime minister today, the 62-year-old Maoist leader said as he highlighted the achievements made by his government.

The prime minister said that he has followed a balanced foreign policy and succeeded in normalising relations with the neighbours as well as building confidence.

It was Prachandas second stint as the Prime Minister. He was elected as the 39th prime minister of Nepal after forging alliance with the Nepali Congress on August 3, 2016.

He is the only Communist leader to become the Prime Minister of the country twice. During his first tenure from 2008 to 2009, Prachanda was not on good terms with India.

However, during his second tenure Prachanda had chosen India as his first overseas destination rather than China. Indo-Nepal ties, which were strained during Prachandas predecessor K.P. Olis regime, also improved under the Maoist leaders second stint.

Prachandas successor Deubas appointment is likely to be confirmed in a parliamentary vote within the next 10 days. The Nepali Congress - the largest party in Parliament - and constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front, the Federal Alliance and some other parties had helped Prachanda in securing 363 votes in the 595-member House to form the government comfortably in 2016.

During the formation of the government, the Chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre) had reached an understanding with Deuba that he would step down as prime minister and hand over the leadership to the Nepali Congress after nine months.

The pact was to run the government on a rotational basis until elections to the parliament are held in February 2018. Prachanda was to hold office till local polls are held and remaining two elections provincial and central - were to be conducted under Deuba.

Millions of Nepalese on May 14 voted in the first local- level polls in two decades as the Himalayan nation took a crucial step towards cementing democracy amid political turmoil.

Local-level elections could not be held after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives in Nepal. The elections should be held in every five years but due to the political instability, they were halted since May 1997.

Prachanda, who led the Maoists during the armed struggle from 1996 to 2006, is credited with transforming the rebel movement into a political party after a 2006 peace deal.
The Maritime Security Agency had detained the fishermen along with their 60 boats after finding them fishing inside Pakistani territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. (Representational image)

Karachi: A Pakistani court has sentenced 350 Indian fishermen for fishing inside the country's territorial waters after they entered a guilty plea and ordered their repatriation, according to a media report.

Judicial magistrate Salman Amjad Siddiqui visited the district jail in Malir on Wednesday to indict 350 fishermen, who have been detained since January 27, Dawn newspaper reported.

When the magistrate read out the charges against them, all the fishermen pleaded guilty of fishing inside Pakistani territorial waters, it said.

The court then took a lenient view and convicted the fishermen for a period they have already spent in detention and also directed the jail authorities to approach the department concerned to make arrangements for their repatriation.

The Maritime Security Agency had detained the fishermen along with their 60 boats after finding them fishing inside Pakistani territorial waters in the Arabian Sea in separate actions taken between January 27 and May 4 this year.

The cases were registered against them at the Docks police station.
Civil and military leadership of Pakistan have assured China of providing security to her nationals working here after the historic $ 57 billion investment under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was announced.

Two Chinese nationals were abducted from Jinnah Town in Pakistans Quetta city area on Wednesday and their guard was injured. The miscreants resorted to fire upon foreign nationals resistance leaving their security guard wounded. Police have launched a search operation in light of witnesses statements.

Civil and military leadership of Pakistan have assured China of providing security to her nationals working here after the historic $ 57 billion investment under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was announced.
According to the Security Council mandate of 1971, UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the Line of Control. (Photo: Representational Image)

Islamabad: A vehicle carrying two officers of a UN military observer group came under attack by the Indian troops during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistan Army claimed on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the vehicle was carrying United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) officers Major Emmanuel of the Philippines and Major Mirko of Croatia.

The two officers, who were "on a visit to the LoC (came under attack by the Indian troops)," a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

According to the militarys media wing, their vehicle was flying a blue UNMOGIP flag in line with protocol.

"Both officers are safe. They got off the vehicle and moved away before later returning to their location," the Express Tribune reported, quoting the militarys statement.

On May 17, Pakistan Army had lodged a protest with the UN military observers against "unprovoked" Indian firing on civilians from across the Line of Control.

According to the Security Council mandate of 1971, UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the Line of Control and the working boundary between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.

India has maintained that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC).

The observer group is headed by Major General Per Lodin of Sweden. It currently has 38 military observers and 73 civilian personnel.
As many as 36 Democratic Senators have urged US President Donald Trump not to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, arguing that the historic climate change deal for the first time made major emitters like India and China acknowledge that they have a responsibility to curb carbon pollution.



"We write to express our strong support for the Paris Climate Agreement, and to urge you to keep the United States party to the agreement," the Democratic Senators wrote in a letter to Trump ahead of this week's G-7 meeting.



They argued in the letter that backing out of the agreement after years of negotiations and strong US leadership on the issue would be a self-inflicted injury to America's economy and leave its interests unrepresented on the world stage.



The Senators said that reneging on the agreement could put American health and safety at risk, and would leave the US economy and small businesses to miss out on vital investment and job opportunities while the rest of the world moves forward with trillions of dollars of investment in resilient infrastructure, low-carbon energy, sustainable agriculture and new technologies.



"While American communities and businesses grapple with the impacts of climate change, we know that this is a global challenge and it demands a global response," the letter said yesterday.



"That is why the Paris Climate Agreement is so vital. For the first time, the Paris Agreement provides a platform in which all countries acknowledge that they have a responsibility to do their fair share to curb the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, including other major emitters like China and India," the Senators wrote.



Over the next several years, parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet to determine how the Paris Agreement will be implemented when it goes into effect in 2020.



Issues of longstanding bipartisan interest will be discussed and decided in those meetings, including matters of transparency and verification of emissions reductions from other countries.



"A US retreat from the Paris Agreement would isolate us from the 196 nations working together within the framework of the Paris Agreement, reaching outcomes on international economic policy that will effect US interests whether we are party or not," the Senators warned.



"A retreat from Paris would harm the trust, faith, and goodwill that America has earned from other nations, and will inevitably harm our ability to work cooperatively to advance our foreign policy goals. Our allies were insulted by the Bush Administration's decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, and we suffered real foreign policy and diplomatic setbacks as a result," the Senators said.



According to a senior administrator, Trump believes that the Paris Agreement on climate change is not good for the US and he would stay in this international agreement only if he feels that it would improve the economy and create jobs.



"The President believes that the Paris agreement is not a great deal for America," the official said.

"I think that it's very simple: if the President could find a way to make it a good deal for America, then I'm sure he would be open-minded to potentially staying in, but if he feels like it's a deal where other countries do nothing and are able to keep up high levels of pollutants, and it really puts restrictions on American industry, then he's gonna get out," the official said, giving a sense of clarity into the thinking of the Trump Administration on this issue.



The Trump Administration is currently doing a review of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A decision on this is expected to be taken in the next few weeks.



Trump has "got the right to get out", the senior administration official asserted.



"So that's kind of where he's at. We're doing an internal review now, we've concluded that the agreements are not legally binding, so that's a good thing, and so we do have flexibility. For them now it's really a function of deciding what ultimately he wants to do," the official said.
The United Nations has dismissed Pakistan Army's claim that its military observers came under attack from Indian troops near the Line of Control, saying there was "no evidence" of them being targeted.



UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there was no evidence that an UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) vehicle was targeted by the Indian Army along the LoC near the Khanjar sector.



"I can say to you that this afternoon in Bhimber District, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, UNMOGIP military observers accompanied by Pakistani Army escorts heard gunshots in their vicinity. There is no evidence that the UNMOGIP military observers were targeted by the gunfire. No UN military observer was injured," he told reporters yesterday.



In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, had said that a vehicle carrying two officers of the UN military observer group came under attack by Indian troops during a visit to the LoC.



The Pakistan Army had claimed the vehicle was carrying UNMOGIP officers Major Emmanual of the Philippines and Major Mirko of Croatia.



Asked about the increasing tension between the south Asian neighbours and whether the UN secretary-general will look into the situation, Dujarric reiterated, "we're obviously concerned at the situation in Kashmir, and it's an issue that the secretary-general is following closely."



According to the UN Security Council mandate of 1971, UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the LoC and the Working Boundary between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.



India has maintained that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.



The observer group is headed by Major Gen Per Lodin of Sweden. It currently has 38 military observers and 73 civilian personnel.
Wisconsin Wants To Make Medicaid Applicants Take Drug Tests

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 25, 2017 8:45PM



Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at the American Action Forum, 2015 / Getty Images / Photo: Win McNamee

In what would be an unprecedented requirement, Wisconsin could mandate childless adults who apply for Medicaid to submit to drug screening. The proposed condition is part of budget being pushed by Gov. Scott Walker, who is gearing to run for a third term, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

According to to the Associated Press, while more than a dozen states use drug testing or screening for some benefits programs, none extend that requirement to Medicaid, the beleaguered social health-care program that remains popular with voters. Medicaid cuts under so-called Trumpcare would already see 14.4 million Americans lose coverage, if passed, according to the long-awaited CBO score.

Lawmakers in Wisconsin had previously laid the groundwork for such a mandate: Walker put forth a proposal to usher in the drug tests that was passed two years ago by the state's GOP-led Congress, according to the AP. Now it's "digging into the details." If the budget passes, the drug-test stipulation would need to get clearance at the federal level. With a seemingly friendly administration in the White House, such a go-ahead certainly seems plausible. (The Obama administration stalled Walker's previous efforts to require drug testing for food-stamp recipients.)

The proposal would also impose time limits for how long people can receive benefits without working or undergoing job training. "The changes could affect 148,000 childless adults in Wisconsin with incomes below the federal poverty level  $12,060 a year for a single adult and $16,240 a year for a couple," according to the MSJ.

Several other states, including Maine and Indiana, have also been pursuing the path of work mandatesa controversial call that has been advanced by President Donald Trump. The Washington Post notes:



"Although President Trump and his advisers talk of tailor-made innovation to match need, the states strategies draw on a similar repertoire  monthly premiums for people below the poverty line, time limits for coverage and fees for emergency room visits, among others. All are influenced by more conservative values that long ago filtered into welfare and other anti-poverty programs."

If Walker's proposal gets through the state and federal hurdles, it could still face a legal challenge. Courts in Florida and Michigan have ruled that requiring broad drug screening for people seeking welfare was unconstitutional. Under Wisconsin's push, those who refuse to be tested could not receive Medicaid for at least half a year; and people who test positive could keep benefits if they agree to treatmentalthough how that program would look would still need to be hammered out. Some 4,000 applicants would be given a drug test based on answers provided to questions about drug use, the MSJ reports.
The US has sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump, prompting the Chinese government to say that the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty.



The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, conducted a patrol within 20 kilometres of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims.



The exercise is the first since October and comes after friendly exchanges between the US and China to settle trade issues and vows to cooperate to contain the nuclear programme of North Korea, a Chinese ally.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law."



The patrols are "not about any one country or any one body of water," he told the Wall Street Journal.

But China reacted promptly to the action saying the US warship had entered the South China Sea "without permission".



"The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines China's sovereignty and security interests," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.



"We urge the US to correct this mistake," he said.



"Stop taking further provocative actions that hurt China's sovereignty and maritime interests, so as to avoid hurting peace and security of the region and long-term cooperation between the two countries."

In another report, to American news website, The Hill reported that the "freedom of navigation" operation was a signal intended by the US to assert its intention to keep critical sea lanes open.



"In conducting the freedom of navigation patrol, President Trump is likely to anger China at a time when the US is seeking increased cooperation with the country to help rein in North Korea," it said.



China claims almost all of the South China Sea. But Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam have rival claims over the region.



A Pentagon official said, however, said that since 1979, the freedom of navigation programme has demonstrated non- acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world. It includes consultations and representation by American diplomats and operational activities by the US military forces.



In February USS Carl Vinson Strike Group arrived in South China Sea but did not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) against Chinese maritime claims around its artificial island bases in the Spratly and Paracel islands.



Early this month, Pentagon spokesman Davis told a foreign journalist that the FONOPS is a "routine activity" carried out by the US around the world.



"We did it last year, freedom of navigation assertions against 22 different countries all over the world. Many of those countries are friends and allies," he said.



"Unfortunately, I think the public narrative has made it about China and the South China Sea. It's not that. It's about asserting international rights to navigate in waters that international law accepts, and these are rights and benefits that benefit all countries on Earth, to include China," Davis said.



"We will continue to do them," he said.



In an annual FNOPS report released by the Pentagon in February, the Department of Defence said that in 2016 it carried out freedom of navigation operations against 22 countries, including India. Other major countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Amid rising tensions on borders and continuing shelling by Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir government has approached the Center for the construction of community bunkers for border dwellers which could be used by the locals for their safety.



Earlier in 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had approved construction of 60 community bunkers at the cost of Rs five lakh each in Jammu region for safeguarding civilians during the cross-border firing.



Sources said the community bunkers were at the advanced stage of construction and their experiment seems to be successful as they can accommodate around 20 persons at a time along with their requirements like cooking material. "As the experiment seems successful, the J&K government wants construction of more such bunkers in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch to help the border people during shelling and firing by the Pakistani troops, they said.



Sources said the State government is vigorously pursuing the demand for construction of bunkers with the MHA in the wake of recent heavy shelling in Nowshera sector in which Pakistan army had directly targeted the civilian population.



The border residents have been demanding for construction of community bunkers in their villages for long after forced to flee their homes due to frequent shelling by Pakistan. For the thousands living in these vulnerable zones, fear creeps in when the sun sets as their hamlets come under intense shelling by the Pakistani army.



Most of the villages on the LoC and the IB are within the range of artillery firing from Pakistan. According to official figures more than four lakh people living near border areas in the districts of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch are vulnerable due to Pakistani firing and the government needs to construct more than 20,000 bunkers to safeguard them.



Official said the construction of bunkers will not only help avoid civilian casualties it will also ensure that government schools are not frequently converted into the migrant camps during the cross border shelling. During recent intense mortar shelling in Nowshera sector of Rajouri, four government run schools had been converted into the migrant camps while many more had been identified for use if the number of migrants increased, they said.



Following the ceasefire agreement of 2003, there was peace along the Line of Control and International Border in the state, apart from the occasional skirmishes at forward posts. However, after the latest increasing Indo-Pak hostilities, the villagers are preparing for the worst.


Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wont attend the meeting of non-NDA parties convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday.



Sources in the ruling camp said that Sonias close aide Ahmed Patel had made a telephone call to Nitish requesting him to attend the crucial meeting convened for talks on the likely Opposition candidate for the presidential poll. However, Nitish politely turned down the request citing prior engagements and said a representative from the JD (U) will attend the meet slated for May 26.



Nitishs no to Sonia invite to set the tongues wagging as it was the Bihar Chief Minister who last month met Congress president in New Delhi and mooted the idea that her party, being the largest outfit, should lead the non-BJP front in its fight against the NDA. This, Nitish suggested, should start with a united Opposition fielding a common candidate for the presidential polls, slated for July this year.



It was against this backdrop that Sonia convened a meeting on Friday (May 26) and invited all the non-NDA parties, including Trinamool and the CPM.



Her political secretary Ahmed Patel had urged Nitish ji to attend the meeting. But besides being the JD (U) president, Nitish Kumar is Bihar CM too and has prior engagements. He has authorised JD (U) Parliamentary Party leader Sharad Yadav to attend the meeting, said Neeraj Kumar, the JD (U) spokesperson, here on Thursday.



The BJP was quick to take a jibe at the crumbling citadel of Opposition unity. The more the non-NDA parties try to unite, the more they appear divided. Nitish knows well that the Opposition does not have the numbers to pose a challenge during presidential polls, so he does not want to burn his fingers. He is so conscious about his image that he would rather wait and watch before the so-called unity takes proper shape. After all, he has bitter experience of efforts made to unite Janata Parivar in 2015, averred senior BJP legislator Nand Kishore Yadav, who was Cabinet Minister in Nitish regime when JD (U) and BJP were alliance partners in Bihar.



However, former Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwary, who has worked closely with both Nitish and Lalu, said that not much should be read into Nitishs response to Sonias invitation. Nitish Ji has in fact given due respect to Sharad Yadav, who is former party president and quite senior Socialist leader, to represent him on behalf of the JD (U) at the meeting convened by Soniaji. The Opposition is completely united in its fight against the BJP-led fascist forces, Tiwary told Deccan Herald here on Thursday.
A five-member civil society group from New Delhi, led by senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, called on moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq here on Thursday.



Sources said that the delegation reached at Nigeen residence of Mirwaiz at 10:30 am to discuss the prevailing situation in the valley. "The delegation also discussed how could a dialogue be held with between the Centre and the Hurriyat leaders in the prevailing situation," they said.



The delegation, besides diplomat-turned-politician Aiyar comprises of O P Shah, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak and Vinod Sharma. They had earlier participated in a seminar organised by an NGO, Peace and Progress.



The leaders are likely to meet hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani later today. However, the pro-independence JKLF chief Yasin Malik has refused to meet the group.



The meetings assume significance after the group insisted on the government of India to hold dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat leaders for resolution of Kashmir at a seminar organised on Tuesday by the O P Shahs Centre for Peace and Progress in Srinagar.



The group is meeting people and attending academic seminars and events giving rise to voices hinting that it may be part of Narendra Modi government's back channel efforts to normalise the situation in the Valley.



Pertinently, the Hurriyat had met earlier the group led by former BJP minister, Yashwant Sinha at his residence during 2016 unrest but had refused to meet the members of the All Party Delegation led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in September.



Aiyar had on Tuesday said BJP chief Amit Shahs assessment of Kashmir situation was totally wrong because a British viceroy had once claimed that India's problem was confined to three districts only.



"Before the freedom (of India) then British viceroy Lord Linlithgow also claimed that that disturbance was only in two to three districts in India. Now Amit Shah is saying same that there is disturbance only in three districts in Kashmir, which is totally wrong, he said at a seminar in Srinagar.
Stressing the need to provide affordable health care to the poor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called on start-ups to make medical equipment indigenously to reduce dependence on import.



"More than 10 lakh people get detected with cancer every year and around 6.5 lakh die of the disease annually.



International Agency for Research on Cancer has expressed apprehensions that the figures will only double in 30 years," Modi said after launching a book to mark Tata Memorial Centre's 75 years of social service.

He was addressing the event held in Mumbai through video conferencing from New Delhi.



The prime minister said that 70 per cent of the equipments used to treat patients are imported from foreign countries, which raises the cost of treatment substantially.



"This situation has to change because it makes the treatment very costly," he said.



"I call on the start-up industry to come forward and do research on how can medical devices be manufactured indigenously. We want that devices get manufactured here so that patients can benefit," he said.



The prime minister said the government's aim is to provide cheapest and best of health facilities to the poor and needy and it has thus, come up with a national health policy using a holistic approach after a span of 15 years.



"We want to take preventive and promotive health care system to the masses. In the coming years, our aim is that 2.5 per cent of the GDP should be spent on health care," Modi said.



He said in order to provide the best facilities to cancer patients, different hospitals working in the field of cancer research and treatment should be brought together on one platform, wherein the treatment provided is cheap and the most modern technology is used.



"When my government came to power in 2014, there were 36 cancer hospitals associated with the cancer grid. In the last three years, the number has gone up to 108," he said.



Modi said with the help and expertise of Tata Memorial Centre, four more cancer research institutes are being developed in Varanasi, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati.



"These will prove to be immensely beneficial for cancer patients who have to travel far to get treatment. This will also give relief to their families," he said.



Modi said apart from these research institutes, a National Cancer Institute will also come up at Jhajjar in Haryana.

"We are coming up with new AIIMS and medical colleges across the country. We want every citizen to have access to best medical treatment," Modi said.



He lauded the efforts of the Tata Memorial Centre towards curing cancer.



"I congratulate Tata (Memorial) hospital on their platinum jubilee. I am happy to release this book," Modi said after releasing the book titled 'Indelible footprints on the sands of time'.



The book traces the journey of the hospital, identifying and defining its growth and development.



"After 75 years, this institute is known for education, human resource development and research. Very few hospitals in India have done so much for the human ailment," the prime minister said.



Pointing out that cancer was one of the biggest challenges of our times, he said it was vital to create a common platform where patients get affordable treatment. "Cancer is no less than an 'agnipariksha' for anyone," he said.

The contribution of the Tata Memorial Hospital towards its cure is laudable, he said.



"I congratulate Ratan Tata and Tata Memorial Hospital for serving the poor," Modi said.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police arrested three Pakistani nationals including two women, and an Indian man who not only helped the three to infiltrate and settle in the city over the last nine months but also to procure genuine identity documents after furnishing their fake names and other personal details.

The arrested have been identified as Sameera (26), Kiron Gulam Ali (25) and Khasif Shamshuddin (30) all three cousins from Karachi in Pakistan, and Mohammad Shihab (30), the native of Palghat in Kerala.

All the four, acting as married couples, had come to Bengaluru from Qatar where they all worked together.

According to police, Mohammad Shihab fell in love with Sameera who was staying behind his office. When Shihab expressed his desire to marry Sameera, her parents outrightly denied as they did not want to get their daughter married to an Indian. Subsequently, Sameeras two brothers thrashed Shihab and took her back to Karachi.





Sameera in Karachi, with the help of her cousin Kiron Gulam Ali in Qatar, was in touch with Shihab over the phone. The couple made plans so that she can get back to Qatar from where they planned to come to India, the police said.

Meanwhile, Kiron Gulam Ali was also in love with one of their cousins, Khasif Shamshuddin in Qatar. Both their parents too were objecting to their marriage.

Hence Sameera and Shihab along with Kiron and Khasif jointly planned to get away from Qatar and come down to India and settle down with the help of Shihab, the police said.

The four of them travelled from Qatar to Bengaluru, via Muscat in Oman, Kathmandu in Nepal and Patna in Bihar after which they rented out a double bedroom house in KS Layout and were living there for nearly nine months, the police said.

CCB on Monday night received a tip-off about the three Pakistanis staying illegally and they rounded up their house in KS Layout where they along with Shihab were arrested. The police also recovered genuine Aadhar cards that were made in fake names for the three Pakistani nationals and several other IDs they were trying to get but were unsuccessful.

The three have been booked under several sections of Passport Act and Foreigner's Act and Shihab has also been arrested for alleged conspiracy and abetment, the police said.

Preliminary investigations reveal that their coming to India was over their parents objecting to their respective marriages. This is their version, and we are yet to verify those details, and we are not convinced with their claims. The city police are investigating the case with the help of IB and other state intelligence. We have kept the central intelligence agencies in the loop, said Praveen Sood, City Police Commissioner to DH.
Veteran actor and senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday reached out to Tamil superstar Rajinikanth asking him to join politics after the latter held a series of meetings with fans last week.



In a series of tweets, ShotGun, as he is popularly known, urged Rajnikanth to join his party. Recently, BJP President Amit Shah had also reached out to him.

"Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu & son of India - dearest @superstarrajini #Rajinikanth! Rise, Rise, Rise!! It's high time & the right time! The nation is waiting with bated breath for @superstarrajini 's leap into constructive politics to shape the future of your people & nation," he said.

The people are with you and ready to join @superstarrajini and instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you. Hope, wish & pray that after consulting with your family, dear ones & experts, you take the right decision soon - sooner the better, Sinha, a former union Shipping Minister, tweeted.

"I have always stood by @superstarrajini as a friend, supporter, well wishers & even guide. Even today, if I can be of any help or support..you can bank on me. I'm bankable, dependable & available to you - anytime & everytime. Regards to your family & long live @superstarrajini," he said making a personal appeal.
Actors perform in song and dance drama Colorful Western Region.

More than 360 actors staged a large-scale song and dance drama Colorful Western Region in Xinjiang Grand Theater on May 19.

Since its debut in August 2015, the show has welcomed over 600,000 visits and earned praises for involving diverse artistic elements.

Georgian director Frieden Pagova explained that the song and dance drama represents the prosperity of the Silk Road through acrobatics, martial arts, circus, instrumental performance, folk dance and ballet on ice.

Special lighting effects and sets also add to the show.

"Different kinds of arts all have something in common. Through merging diverse elements, we hope to bring the audience visual enjoyment and show cultural coexistence and fusion," he said.

Enwer Samat, vice-president of Xinjiang Art Theater said: "The Belt and Road Initiative has promoted prosperity of multi-ethnic culture in Xinjiang, together with cultural exchanges along the Silk Road."

Recently, he led more than 100 actors and staff members to Beijing to perform the original song and dance drama Forever Meshrep, which means "forever gathering" in Uygur. This drama is Xinjiang's intangible cultural heritage which combines song, dance, folk music, drama and poetry. It is commonly seen during festivals, weddings and other occasions.

"In recent years, the state invested a lot of money in discovering, protecting and passing on more than 30 versions of the drama. Ours draws experience from at least five versions," Samat said.

Executive director Mikraj Ibras said that this drama reflects the true nature of life.

"We have been to Kazakhstan twice and received a warm welcome from the audience. We hope that more people can enjoy the original Uygur songs and dances in the future," he said.

The radio and television dubbing center of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region now has 12 studios which can produce and translate nearly 70 TV dramas each year.

Technical director Esqer said that dramas and children's shows are translated from Chinese into Uygur and Kazakh both for minority groups and audiences in foreign countries.

"As this initiative moves on, we should strive to meet different cultural needs," Esqer said.

Founded less than one year ago, Kazakh band DALA, based in Xinjiang Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, has been invited to perform in China, Thailand and other places.

Ruheya, one of the band members who graduated from the Central University for Nationalities, says they use 11 national musical instruments to perform. Many musical instruments are popular among professional musicians and ordinary people as they are rarely used and make a unique sound.
Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said his party would support any candidate selected by opposition parties for presidential polls.



"Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel met me and sought our party support for a joint candidate fielded by Opposition parties in the upcoming polls. I told him that my party will support any candidate fielded by opposition parties," Gowda told reporters here.



Though Sonia Gandhi invited him for a meeting of Opposition parties to discuss the candidate on Friday, he deputed Mandya M P C S Puttaraju to attend it since he will be returning to Bengaluru for some other pressing works, he added.



Top leaders of several opposition parties will go into a huddle on Friday at a luncheon hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi here where they would explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate for the election.



The meeting would be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav, who is himself a possible contender for the top constitutional post, sources said.



Apart from choosing a presidential candidate, the members will also discuss issues like forming a grand alliance for upcoming assembly polls in states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, besides Lok Sabha elections in 2019. In the meeting, others issues like violence in Kashmir and Saharanpur clashes may also come up for discussion.



Efforts are on to bring arch political rivals in Uttar Pradesh-- Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party--together on a common opposition platform ahead of the presidential poll.



Several names have been doing the rounds of political circles as probables, including Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former West Bengal Governor, Sharad Yadav, a former JD(U) president, ex-Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The NCP leader has, however, ruled himself out of the race.
The much talked about Tejas Express, flagged off by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday ended its first journey at Mumbai CST in a deplorable state.





Passengers allegedly thrashed the LCD screens on the seats and stole the headphones provided, reports The Asian Age. A senior railway official told The Mumbai Mirror that "at least a dozen headphones" were missing from the train after Monday's journey. He also said a couple of LED screens had scratch marks on them.





Praised as a flight on the rails, the Tejas Express was an experiment to boost tourism. If successful, the train will run on more routes in the future.



LCD screens, WiFi, food prepared by executive chefs, a network of CCTV cameras to enhance the security system on board, automatic doors, push button for the attendant to come to the seat were part of the train, says reports. The ticket price varies between 1185 in chair car to 2740 in executive class.




Fake government forms promising cash benefits in 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (BBBP) scheme surfaced in Nadia district, despite the government ordering a CBI investigation into such complaints last month.



Though there was no provision for cash incentive in the BBBP scheme, the women assembled before the head post office here since yesterday with filled up forms that falsely promised Rs 2 lakh incentive in the scheme.

Police personnel had to be posted before the head post office to maintain law and order.



"Women dropped the forms in stamped envelops in the letter box. Some sent them through registered post and we were bound to receive it," an official of the head post office said, refusing to be quoted.



"We had received over 200 application forms to be sent in registered post yesterday. We cannot tell you about today's figures," he said.



A District administration official said that there was a mad rush before Ranaghat head post office and the postal authorities sought help. "We sent some police personnel including women there."



Nadia District Magistrate Sumit Gupta said that the administration has used public address system since last evening to make people aware that it was all fake.



He said, "Government officials and people's representatives were also asked not to sign any such forms."

One of the applicants in the queue Shyamali Roy said that she came to know from someone that Narendra Modi government would provide Rs 2 lakh to each girl student aged between 18 and 25 years for their studies.

Another applicant Rita Roy said that she came to know about it from a neighbour who had got the information from the Internet.



Both said they got the forms from photocopy shops. The forms were being sold from the photocopy shops for a price between Rs 6 and Rs 20, according to the applicants.



District administration sources said they have closed several such shops in the area and warned the owners not to sell fake forms.



The DM said that he had heard about photocopy shops being the source of such forms and would initiate cases if any of them was caught.



Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Raj said in the Rajya Sabha on April 6 that the CBI probe was ordered after some fake BBBP forms with a false promise of cash incentive of Rs 2 lakh were received from Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal.




Paying "close attention" to it, Chinese defence spokesman Col Ren Guochang said when asked at a briefing about whether the Chinese military would help trace the missing Sukhoi fighter jet."





However, he declined to give any details and said that the foreign ministry has reacted on the issue yesterday.





Ren's remarks appeared slightly positive compared to the curt comments of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang who had said that he has no information on the missing plane and warned India that it should avoid disrupting peace and stability in Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as 'South Tibet'.





"For the situation you mentioned, I have no relevant information to offer at the moment," Lu had told the media here when asked about the missing Indian Air Force plane along the India-China border.





At the same time, he referred to the border dispute between India and China, saying that "first of all on the eastern section of the India-China border, China's position is consistent and clear."





"We hope India can stick to the arrangements reached between the two sides and avoid disrupting peace and stability at the border areas," Lu had said.





The SU-30 MKI plane had lost contact with the Tezpur Salonibari Air Force station from where it took off at 10.30 am on Tuesday.

Chinese military said today that it was paying "close attention" to the incident in which an Indian Air Force fighter jet with two pilots on board went missing along the Sino-India border two days ago.




The actor did not refer to any specific incident but the message comes close on the heels of his fans going into celebration mode over him hinting at a political entry, and pasting posters in parts of Chennai and elsewehere hailing him.





Some fans had also staged protests against fringe outfits opposing his political entry and tried to burn an effigy two days ago in retaliation to a group burning the actor's effigy.In a letter addressed to his fans and released to the media, Rajinikanth said he has authorised V M Sudhakar, a senior functionary in the All India Rajinikanth Fans Welfare Club, to remove persons indulging in any kind of indiscipline from it.





"I am authorising V M Sudhakar to remove functionaries and members of our club from its primary membership if they are found maligning its discipline and reputation," he said.





The actor had last week met his fans and said the "system is rotten" despite the presence of "efficient" leaders like DMK's M K Stalin and PMK's Anbumani Ramadoss.





He had also asserted his Tamil identity, saying "naan pachai Tamizhan" (I am a pure Tamil), in an apparent bid to respond to his critics and pro-Tamil groups who bring up his Kannada origins.

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth today issued a stern warning to his fans against indulging in any kind of indiscipline, saying those violating his fans club's code of conduct would be expelled from it.
Pakistan today condemned the honouring of an Indian Army officer who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as a human shield.





"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing here.



The international community, particularly, the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added.



Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chief's commendation card for his "sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations".



Zakaria accused India of perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement of Indian prisoner on death row Kulbushan Jadhav confirms it.



Talking about the International Court of Justice ruling in the Jadhav case, he said Pakistan is preparing for the next hearing of the case.



Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implement UNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self-determination.



On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it would bring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistan and China. He said several countries have expressed the desire to join the project.
In a shocking incident, a group of bandits allegedly gang raped four women of a family, killed one of the members, when he protested, and looted cash and valuables on the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar (Greater Noida) district, about 70 kilometres from Delhi, on Wednesday night.





The incident occurred near Sabauta village in the district around midnight, when the family was on way to Bulandshahar to see an ailing relative by a van.





The police said that the family members were assaulted and looted and also that one of the members was shot dead. They said that the women would be sent for medical examination to ascertain if they were gang raped.





Police officials said that the bandits had fired at one of the tyres of the vehicle forcing the driver to stop it. The bandits, who numbered around six, took the family, consisting of four women, two men and two children, away from the highway and looted cash and valuables besides shooting one of the men dead, when he protested.





The victims said that the bandits were armed with pistol and knives and they gang raped the women. ''One of the men was shot dead, when he asked the bandits not to harass the women,'' said a family member. The women have been admitted to hospital, police said.





Police said that a case had been registered and a massive hunt had been launched to nab the culprits. ''We have launched a hunt to nab the offenders...the victims told us that they seemed to be locals,'' said a police official in the district.





Former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP government for failing to ensure safety of women.





In July last year also a group of bandits had gang-raped a woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of their car in Bulandshahar on NH-91, when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.




Trump faced protests on his arrival in Brussels but he is getting a red-carpet welcome from Western allies eager to persuade him that his earlier harsh criticisms of them were misplaced.





Despite Trump having backed Britain's Brexit vote last year, it was all smiles at the headquarters of the European Union as Trump met the bloc's top two officials, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.





"I'll aim to convince POTUS that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent (a) post-West world order," European Council chief Tusk, a former Polish premier, tweeted before the meeting.





Trump's focus is however on terrorism, with the deadly attack on a pop concert in Manchester, England this week adding to the urgency of his calls for NATO to step up the fight against the jihadis.





"When you see something like what happened a few days ago you realise how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," said Trump Wednesday after meeting Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, whose own country suffered Islamic State suicide attacks in March 2016.





The NATO military alliance -- which Trump on the campaign trail dismissed as "obsolete" for focusing on Russia instead of terrorism -- is set to bow to his demands that it formally join the US-led coalition against IS.





"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of Trump's meeting with the alliance's other 27 leaders.





France, Germany and Italy dropped their objections so long as it was made clear that the alliance would have no combat role, with NATO only providing increased AWACS surveillance planes, support and training.





In return, they are hoping for a public display of commitment from Trump to Article 5, the alliance's one-for-all collective defence pledge. Trump had suggested this could depend on when allies paid their dues.





Trump's entourage warned that the billionaire president would push allies heavily on meeting their commitment to spend 2.0 percent of GDP on defence, agreed in 2014.





"I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters travelling with Trump.





But Trump is set to face pressure from British Prime Minister Theresa May over leaks to the US media of details of the probe into the Manchester attack.





British police said the leaks have "undermined" the investigation.





Brussels could be the toughest leg yet of what has so far been a largely trouble-free first foreign trip for Trump, who came directly from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican and previously visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

US President Donald Trump pressed nervous allies today to do more on terrorism after the Manchester bombing as he met EU and NATO leaders for the first time.
They perhaps feared that they could be acted against and wanted to ensure that chief minister Yogi Adityanath did not get ''stunk'', when he met these members of the dalit community.



In an incident reflective of the prevailing mindset of the people in the society today, authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district reportedly asked members of 'Mushar' (an untouchable community, whose members are traditionally rat-catchers) community to wash themselves with soaps and shampoos and use scents before meeting the chief minister.



Adityanath, who was in Kushinagar on Thursday, visited the 'Mushar Basti' at Mainpur Kot village in the district, about 325 kilometres from here.



The members of the community were surprised, when they found senior district officials thronging their otherwise neglected slum in the past couple of days.



''New toilets were constructed...dusty roads were made pitched and lights were installed within no time,'' said a resident of the slum.



''We were also given scented soaps, shampoos and perfumes and asked to use them before going to meet the chief minister,'' said an elder member of the community.



The residents said that the officials also asked them to keep their homes neat and clean.



Quite apparently the officials did not want Yogi Adityanath to get 'stinking feeling'. District officials, when asked, feigned ignorance about the reports.



The incident was somewhat reminiscent of a similar happening at another village in the neighboring Deoria district a few days back, when Adityanath had visited the home of the BSF jawan Prem Sagar, who had been martyred in Jammu & Kashmir a few days back.



The authorities had laid pitched road, installed lights and also an air conditioner in the room where the chief minister met the family of the martyr. It was another matter that they took away the AC soon after Adityanath left the village.
An outdoor concert in favor of same-sex marriage was held in Taipei in 2016. [Photo/ETtoday.net]

A top Taiwan court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage on Wednesday, a landmark ruling that paves the way for Taiwan to become the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex unions.

The court said Taiwan's current Civil Code provision, which does not allow two persons of the same sex to marry, is in violation of both the people's freedom of marriage and the people's right to equality as guaranteed by its constitutional rules.

The court rules that the authorities concerned shall complete the amendment of relevant laws in accordance with the ruling within two years. If the amendment of relevant laws is not completed within the two-year time frame, then two persons of the same sex may apply for marriage registration.

The case was brought by gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei after the Taipei city government rejected his and his long-time partner's application to marry in 2013.
Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on Thursday took the BBMP officials to task for the slow pace of TenderSURE project on Church Street and directed them to carry out the work in three shifts instead of one.



The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is constructing the TenderSURE road on Church Street at an estimated cost of Rs nine crores. The work started in February this year and was supposed to finish by June 1. The road has been dug up to lay sanitary pipes and other utilities where sewage is getting stagnated and has turned it into a pedestrians' nightmare.



Following complaints about the snail pace of work, George accompanied by Mayor G Padmavathi, BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad and other Palike officers visited Church Street.



Giving the officials an earful, the minister said, There is not much progress even after so many days of starting the work. Being a business area, this street had always been full of hustle bustle. Delay in the work will not be tolerated. Let the work happen round the clock. Serve notices on the shops and other business establishments who are letting the sewage into the trench dug up for utilities.



Responding quickly, the engineers directed the contractor to start the work in three shifts and finish it at the earliest.



Later speaking to reporters, he said the work has delayed but by August 1, the TenderSURE road would be ready for public use.



The Minister also visited Kino Theatre where the BBMP is laying a 820-metre pipeline till a stormwater drain near Mantri Mall to drain out water accumulating there during rainy season. So far 500 metres of pipe has been laid and rest will be completed. The Palike has requested the traffic police to block traffic for two days on the stretch to complete the project.



George said, Once the permission is granted, the work would finish at the earliest. The Minister also laid the foundation for development works at Kalasipalya at an estimated cost of Rs one crore.
The ED today raided 10 locations in Delhi and Haryana, including the residence of an IAS officer serving in the Union government here, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 1,500- crore alleged illegal land acquisition in Gurgaon's Manesar.



Several farmers and land owners are alleged to have been cheated in this case, in which former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is one of the accused.



The ED teams swooped down on various premises of at least eight people, including a retired IAS officer, in Panchkula, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and the official residence of IAS officer Rajeev Arora in New Moti Bagh area in Lutyens' Delhi.



Arora, a 1987-batch Haryana cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has served as the Managing Director of the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) between 2005-2011.



At present, he is serving as a Joint Secretary in the Union Labour ministry on central deputation.

When contacted by PTI, Arora said he has "nothing to say as the inquiry is going on".



The ED questioned Arora during the raids and is probing his role in granting approvals in this case during his tenure at the HSIIDC.



A CBI probe is also on in the matter. The other officials raided by ED include Surjit Singh, Chief Town Planner and Director Planning of the HSIIDC, and retired IAS officer D R Dhingra, who served as Director of Industry and Commerce in Haryana government.



The ED also raided K Lamba, then Superintendent of Department of Industries and Commerce, an official identified as Jaswant Singh and two directors of a real estate firm based in Gurgaon.



Congress leader Hooda has been named as an accused in the FIR registered by the Enforcement Directorate in September last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in this case.



The former CM has been questioned by the CBI in this case and it is expected that the ED will also record his statement soon. The ED has filed the criminal complaint against Hooda and others based on a FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).



It suspects that illegal money made from this land deal was "laundered" by the accused officials and real estate developers and a number of movable and immovable assets were created by them.



The agency is working to prepare a list of these assets to subsequently attach them under PMLA law.



The CBI had last year registered a case on allegations that some private builders, in conspiracy with unidentified public servants of the Haryana government, had purchased around 400 acres of land in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula villages in Gurgaon district at throwaway prices between 2004 and 2007, after threatening the land owners that the plots would otherwise be acquired by the government.



It was alleged that a loss of Rs 1,500 crore was caused to the land owners. The CBI had alleged that initially the Haryana government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act (section 4) for acquiring land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township.



After this, all the plots had allegedly been grabbed from the land owners by private builders at meagre rates.



It was also alleged that an order was then passed by the competent authority, i.e. the Director of Industries, on August 24, 2007, releasing this land from the acquisition process in violation of the government policy, in favour of the builders, their companies and agents, instead of the original land owners.



The CBI has alleged in its FIR that in this manner land measuring about 400 acres, the market value of which at that time was above Rs 4 crore per acre, was allegedly purchased by the private builders and others from the innocent land owners for only about Rs 100 crore.
Punjabs irrigation and power minister Rana Gurjit Singh is courting controversy for bidding and acquiring sand and gravel mines in the name of his cook and other office staff in Punjab.



The ministers chef outbid 32 other players to acquire a Rs 26.51 crore mining site in Punjab. The SAD has demanded immediate sacking of the minister. Party MP Prem Singh Chandumajra said the case should be handed over to the enforcement directorate for investigation.



The Akali Dal says it would raise the issue in Parliament. The Punjab government is answerable as to why it was letting cooks and employees of Rana Gurjit, who were paid a couple of thousand as salary, to participate and win auctions by submitting bids of Rs 50 crore. This amounts to encouraging benaami bids through hawala transactions which are even a threat to national security, he said.



Stating that the entire auction was an eye wash and reminiscent of Congress deceit and doubles standards, Chandumajra said it was condemnable that the state apparatus was used to further the business interests of the Congress minister.



If Capt Amarinder Singh had taken due note of the conflict of interest issues of Rana Gurjit, the minister would not have become emboldened enough to acquire sand mines in the name of his employees, including his Nepalese servant, he added.



He said earlier the CM had failed to take note that Rana Gurjit was producing power as an industrialist and also purchasing the same. Who will report any illegality in fixing of rates for this process as long as Rana is power minister, he asked.
Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who claimed she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint earlier this month returned home on Thursday, following the intervention of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.





Her return was made possible because of an order from the Islamabad High Court, which asked the Pakistan administration to facilitate her travel to India and ordered the police to accompany her up to Wagha border.





Soon after crossing over, she touched the Indian soil. Later she was received at the Ministry of External Affairs in the national capital. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj thanked Pakistan administration and judiciary for supporting Uzma in her legal battle.





I must thanked the Foreign and Interior ministries of Pakistan besides barrister Shahnawaz Noon, who fought her case like a father, Swaraj said. The minister also thanked Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani for considering the case on a humanitarian ground without resorting to politics.





As she narrated her horror stories in front of the media in Delhi, Uzma broke down. Pakistan is a well of death. Its easy to go to Pakistan but difficult to return. I am happy to breath in India. I am an orphan, this is the first time I realise that my life is valuable, she said holding back the tears.





In her twenties Uzma, who has a daughter from her earlier marriage, had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month on vacation. The visit happened after Tahir Ali, a Pakistani national, whom she reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love with, sponsored her.





Uzma said Ali forced her into marrying him in Pakistan on May 3 in a village in Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. But after the marriage she was harassed, intimidated and tortured. It was a strange village, which was once ruled by the Taliban. Everyone has multiple wives and guns at home. It was very difficult to come out of that place, she said.





The girl, who hails from Delhi, somehow managed to convince her husband to take her to the Indian High Commission in the pretext of extending her visa. At the High Commission, she disclosed her identity, narrated her story and sought help.





She told me and the Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh that if we didn't allow her to stay, she would commit suicide, but would not go back to Tahir. We housed her, Swaraj recalled.





Subsequently, the High Commission got in touch with the Pakistan government and a petition was filed in the court on behalf of Uzma on May 12 to counter the petition from Tahir. The two petitions were heard together and the judge decided in favour of her deportation to India on Wednesday.
The guided missile frigate, INS Ganga, will enter harbour under its own steam for the last time on 27 May.



It will certainly be a nostalgic moment for the Navy, for the ship will be placed in the non-operational category commencing 28 May, followed by decommissioning before the end of the year, after 32 years of glorious service.



The ship was commissioned on 30 December 1985 at Mumbai. Presently in her 24th Commission, the ship is commanded by Captain NP Pradeep. Despite her vintage, she still retains her capabilities in all three dimensions of naval warfare.



It is a testimony to the resilience of the ship and her crew that she will sail into Mumbai flying the flag of Rear Admiral RB Pandit, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet straight from a 45-day long active patrol in the Northern Arabian Sea guarding the nations maritime borders till her last operational day.



INS Ganga is also affiliated to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) of the Indian Army, and has built this association over many years.
Pinning responsibility for the "shockingly poor" Class X board exam results on the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today ordered its department chairman to resign.





This will pave way for a major overhaul of the school education system in the state, an official spokesman said here.



The chief minister's directive was communicated to PSEB chairman Balbir Singh Dhol by Education Minister Aruna Chaudhry, who obtained the resignation which was immediately accepted, he said.



The interim charge of the PSEB has been handed over to the additional chief secretary (ACS, school education) and a search committee has been ordered to be set up to find a new chairperson in the next 30 days, he added.



The committee will consist of chief secretary, Punjab, as chairman, ACS (school education) and vice-chancellor (Panjab University, Chandigarh) as members.



The shake-up in PSEB came two days after the chief minister sought a report from the education minister on the atrociously poor Class X results in the state.



The chief minister, the spokesman further said, has sent out a strong message that nobody would be allowed to play with the future of the children of Punjab.





Pointing out that Amarinder had taken a serious view of the poor Class X Board exam results, the spokesman said the chief minister has made it clear that he would not tolerate any further laxity in the matter of improving and upgrading the school education system.





Highly disturbed at the deteriorating standards of education in Punjab, the chief minister has ordered all concerned officials and departments to create a detailed roadmap for bringing the education system in the state on track.





He has also directed Choudhary to prepare a blueprint for raising the standards of education in the state.





In the wake of the appalling results, the chief minister had also directed the finance department to make available all necessary funds to the education department for undertaking urgent measures to improve the quality of education and infrastructure in government schools, the spokesman said.





Besides educational quality, the chief minister had directed immediate and proactive steps for infrastructure upgradations, and provision of basic amenities and facilities in all government schools in order to prepare students to meet the high standards of the competitive educational environment prevailing in the country today.





Dhol, who was appointed as chairman of PSEB in December last year immediately after his retirement as Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer by the previous Parkash Singh Badal government has resigned, a board spokesman told PTI.





"Yesterday, sleuths of Punjab vigilance bureau raided the premises of board and house of Dhol at Mohali," he said.





The raids were conducted in connection with the alleged irregularities in recruitment to various posts in cooperative banks when Dhol was the registrar in 2010, he said.





There was a shocking 15-point dip in students' performance in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class X exam, in which over 40 percent of the students have failed, an official spokesman said.





Around 57 per cent students of class X passed the board exam conducted by PSEB, the result of which was declared recently.
There is a need to question those in power as it is fundamental to preserving the nation and a truly democratic society, President Pranab Mukherjee said here today.



He also underscored the need for greater accommodation in public discourse as a democracy will be the "loser" if people refused to hear voices other than their own.



Delivering the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture, he said all stakeholders in a democratic system, from parties to business leaders, citizens to institutions, have to realise that asking questions is good and healthy.



Mukherjee said people in power, across the spectrum of politics, business or civil society, by virtue of the position they enjoy, tend to dominate the discourse and influence its direction.



He said Indian civilisation has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance as these have been binding people together for centuries despite many differences. "Thus the need to ask questions of those in power is fundamental for the preservation of our nation and a truly democratic society," the president said.



He said this role of asking questions has been traditionally played by the media. "It (media) must raise and create awareness about issues concerning public welfare, hold public or private institutions and their representatives accountable for their actions or indeed, their inaction.



"In particular, the media has a duty to give space to the millions who still face the injustices of deprivation, gender discrimination, caste and social bias," Mukherjee said.



He said media must learn the art of "withstanding pulls and pressures" without sacrificing its commitment to free and fair reportage and always remain on guard against conformity.



"The question that faces all of us including the media is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative?



"We ought to remember that democracy will be the loser when and if we cease to hear voices other than our own," the president said.



Mukherjee also raised concern over the danger of paid news and asked news organisations to restore objectivity to regain public trust. "There is the ever present danger of 'paid news'. Ownership of media, the concentration of ownership and distribution platforms in a few hands, and the personal beliefs of individual journalists can and do create conflicts of interest.



"They also reduce the plurality and diversity of the media. Objectivity has to be restored to regain public trust," he said.



Mukherjee said media houses needed to ask themselves how they can find sustainable economic models that will allow them to resist all kinds of pressures and let them perform their role with honesty and transparency.




The Trinamool Congress chief's meeting with Modi came amid efforts by opposition leaders to choose a consensus candidate for the coming presidential polls. The ruling National Democratic Alliance is yet to announce its presidential candidate.





"This was not a political meeting, (but an) absolutely development oriented meeting. I have taken up several issues with the prime minister," Banerjee told reporters, describing it as a "customary" meeting between the state government and the Centre.





Banerjee, who was a bitter critic of Modi's demonetisation drive, said she discussed a range of issues related to soil erosion caused by the Ganga in West Bengal and restructuring of the state's debt.





Issues such as the Farakka barrage, the heavy export duty imposed by Bangladesh on mangoes from West Bengal and the construction of a dam over the Atrai River by Bangladesh were also discussed.





She also demanded a restructuring of the central government's loan to the state, which has been reeling under financial problems.





"I have to pay Rs 40,000 crore. How do we work in such a scenario," she said outside South Block, where the prime minister's office is situated, after the meeting.





Banerjee also demanded that India takes up with Bangladesh the issues of heavy export duty on West Bengal mangoes and the Atrai dam construction, which had led to a water shortage in the state's West Midnapore district.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said she discussed "development and not politics" at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
Owaisi, the sitting MP from Hyderabad, said his party would ensure that the BJP lost from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, held by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and five assembly seats the saffron party has in the city.





"You (BJP) want to contest Hyderabad....you are welcome. But why are you planning to field somebody else? You (Shah) come and contest.





"Hyderabad ki seat jeetenge....is it like eating a cake? We have worked a lot here for several years," the three-term Hyderabad MP told a gathering here last night, referring to Shah's reported statement that BJP will win the seat.





Ridiculing Shah's claim that BJP would form its government in Telangana after the 2019 assembly elections, Owaisi said, "You are dreaming".





"God willing, we will ensure BJP loses Secunderabad and also the five assembly seats held by them," he said.





"I am telling you Mr (Narendra) Modi and Mr (Amit) Shah...mark my words...we will ensure that BJP is defeated from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat. The people of Hyderabad will tell you. You will lose deposit from Goshamahal.. you (BJP) will lose Amberpet, Musheerabad, Khairtabad and also Uppal Assembly seats (in Hyderabad). You will face big loss in Telangana...Insha Allah," Owaisi added.





On Shahs three-day visit to Telangana, Owaisi said, "The BJP President is on Telangana tour...there's sudden love (that he has developed) for Telangana."





The AIMIM leader said Shah went to Nalgonda and had lunch at a Dalit home about which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said was prepared by a member of a forward community.





"What kind of love you (Shah) have? You have food at the residences of Dalits which has been prepared somewhere else. What kind of love you have for (BR) Ambedkar?" he said.





He rejected Shah's claim that the Centre had allocated Rs 1 lakh crore to Telangana, and insisted it got only Rs 24,000 crore.





"Ok, even if you gave (Rs 1 lakh crore) did you give it from your pocket. We are not beggars...It is our (Telangana's) constitutional right to get (central funds). It is the right of the Telangana government to get not just Rs 1 lakh crore but Rs 10 lakh crore," he said.





Meanwhile, reacting to Shah's challenge, BJP floor leader in the Telangana assembly G Kishan Reddy dared the Hyderabad MP to contest from his constituency Amberpet.





"Amit Shah is based in northern India. There are thousands of BJP workers here who can defeat Owaisi. I dare him to contest from my constituency Amberpet," Reddy said. Amberpet was among the five assembly seats Owaisi had said his party would ensure BJP's defeat.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has dared BJP president Amit Shah to contest from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, saying it is not as easy as "eating cake".
US President Donald Trump met his match in a handshake showdown with France's new president, Emmanuel Macron.



At their first meeting, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels today, the two men locked hands for so long that knuckles started turning white.



Trump finally seemed ready to pull away but Macron evidently wasn't. The French leader held the shake for a few seconds more. Both men's jaws seemed to clench.



Trump has described himself as "a germ freak" and called handshakes "barbaric." In his 1997 book "The Art of the Comeback," Trump wrote he'd "often thought of taking out a series of newspaper ads encouraging the abolishment of the handshake."



Trump's aversion to hand-shaking seemed to lessen over the course of the US presidential campaign. He's now deep into an inaugural world tour that has forced him to exchange hand greetings with leaders from Israel to the Vatican.



Macron won France's election this month by positioning himself as the anti-Trump, embracing globalization and open borders and quoting philosophers.



But as a 39-year-old who has never held elected office, Macron clearly was excited about the appearance with the US president, which cemented his status as a new global player and as a formidable hand-shaker.
An international flight express connecting Chinas Beijing Capital International Airport and Germanys Frankfurt Airport was launched on May 22, making it Beijings first international flight express as well as the first international express from China to Europe.

Air China has had flights between Beijing and Frankfurt since 1989. The newly launched express will have regular and more frequent flights.

Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China and Frankfurt Airport signed a memorandum of understanding last year, deciding to integrate the aviation resources of China and Europe. The new service will facilitate the process of boarding and transfer and increase transport capacity. Besides, passengers can enjoy dedicated services along their journeys on this route.

A total of 3 million passengers travel annually between China and Germany, with one third of them traveling to or from Beijing and 600,000 traveling between Beijing and Frankfurt. The increasing number of international flight express is expected to build Beijing into a center for international exchange.
We could keenly sense the adventure as we got off the train at Corniglia with our big backpacks in the hope of hiking along all the villages. We had taken a domestic train from La Spezia and originally travelled from Milano.

Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline.



Cinque Terre consists of five villages which cling to the Ligurian cliffs along Italys Western coast. These five villages are close to each other and you can hike from one village to another in a matter of hours!



The Five Lands comprises five villages  Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The coastline, five villages are all part of Cinque Terre



National Park and this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Our booking was done in a hostel in Corniglia, hence we took a train straight to Corniglia from La Spezia. The train station is located at the foot of the hill and to reach the village, we had to climb around 400 stairs. You cannot escape these stairs as you will have to take the same to continue hiking.



Corniglia is located on top of a large hill and is surrounded by vineyards and terraces. It has a good number of hostels and many backpackers prefer to rest in this village. It is located 100 metres above sea level and doesnt face the sea directly.



It has a beautiful church  Church of San Pietro  right in the centre of the village. Walking along its tangled roads will take you to a terrace facing the sea.



We started our trek from Corniglia to Vernazza and the trail happened to be a bit difficult but it had some postcard worthy pictures. It took us around two hours to get there.



Vernazza features a small port with elegant architecture, all directing towards the most charming main plaza. This is the most scenic village with pastel-coloured buildings and an overlooking tower by the sea. This village has a small number of stairs with terraces at every point and some of the best pizzas Ive had!



The next village we hiked to was Monterosso al Mare. It is the only resort town with a sandy strip of beach and colourful umbrellas and records the maximum number of young visitors.



The next day we started our trek from Corniglia to Manarola and Riomaggiore. The trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola is called the love trail with a scenic view of the sea and villages.



Manarola is positioned on top of the cliff with some inspiring landscapes. It is best known for wines like Sciacchetra. The village has the main plaza and the port aligned with many fishing boats parked along.



Cinque Terre is one of the best places to visit if you love outdoor activities. It has some breathtaking views of landscapes, beaches and churches and is the closest piece of land to paradise. It is also among the most beautiful trails in Europe. You can even relish some delicious and authentic Italian meals on your way!



(The author can be contacted at samhitakishore92 @gmail.com)
A mining baron being probed in various cases of illegal mining in Karnataka has been ordered by an international arbitration tribunal in London to pay a comp-ensation of Rs 44 crore to a UAE-based firm through which he had supplied inferior quality iron ore to Pakistan.



The arbitration tribunal has passed two orders in the case of supplying inferior quality of iron ore to Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi, on the strength of forged quality certificates issued at Belekeri port in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka and Goa port.



The tribunal has ordered Twenty First Century Wire Rods Ltd owned by Vinod Goel, who faces various cases of illegal mining being probed by Special Investigating Team (SIT) in Karnataka, to pay compensation to Alsaa Petroleum and Shipping FZC based in the UAE. The case was also referred in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining.



Alsaa Petroleum had entered into a contract with Twenty First Century for supply of five shipments of 40,000 MT of iron ore to Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi. The first vessel with 39,240 MT of iron ore sailed off from the Belekeri port near Karwar in December 2009. However, Alsaa received a message from Pakistan Steel Mills that the cargo has been rejected because of inferior iron ore.



SGS Pakistan (quality confirmation certificate) confirmed that the certificate issued by SGS India was forged and fabricated. However, by then the second shipment of 39,470 MT had also left Goa port in January 2010 and that too was rejected by Pakistan Steel Mills. The issue was even raised in the Pakistan Parliament and, Pakistan Steel Mills, a state-owned company, terminated the contract with Alsaa.



Interestingly, in the two



orders, the tribunal has asserted that the iron ore shipments despatched from Belekeri and Goa were not only sub-standard but also that they were illegally mined.



The Lokayukta report (Part-2) had stated this and recommended thorough investigation into the criminal acts committed by Vinod Goel in all his mining businesses. The report stated: The supplier (Vinod Goel's firms) was supposed to supply the lumps from the Sri Hanuman Mines and Jantakal Enterprises. On verification at Tumakuru, Ballari and Goa, it is found that no permits were issued. This indicates that the export of iron ore lumps to Pakistan are from the illegal iron ore source. The iron ore lumps for export are either transported from Hanuman Mines or from the Jantakal Enterprises Mines or from any other unknown source illegally.






It was during the investigation of a break-in that police stumbled upon three Pakistanis illegally staying in Bengaluru.



The homicide and burglary squad of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) was investigating a break-in when it found out that a blue Maruti Swift was always parked outside a house in Kumaraswamy Layout, south Bengaluru. The sleuths suspected it to be a stolen vehicle. The CCB sleuths kept a watch on the car bearing a Tamil Nadu registration number (TN 67/AY 1569) and found out that a man named Mohammad Shihab drove it.



On Monday, the sleuths picked him up for questioning. He told them that the car belongs to one of his friends, Har-iprasad, who had given it as security against a loan he had taken from him. The sleuths then asked Shihab how did he get so much money. He said he had worked in Qatar.



As police kept digging, they learnt that Shihab was living with three Pakistanis whom he had met in Qatar. The sleuths became suspicious and started enquiring about the Pakistanis. They soon found out that Shihab had come to Bengaluru in 2008 at the age of 21 and lived here till 2012 when he went to Qatar to work there. But when he came back in September 2016, three people, including two women, accompanied him.



When questioned by police, the Pakistanis claimed they were Marwari Muslims. Police then got a few Marwari Muslims to interact with them who confirmed that the Marwari dialect these people spoke was native to Pakistan.



Police raided their house in Kumaraswamy Layout on Wednesday night and found three Pakistani passports that were not stamped in India.



We are verifying the Pakistanis claim as well as that of Shihab that they came to India to find love. Right now, we dont believe them. We are investigating if their stay in Bengaluru had any ulterior motive, S Ravi, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.


Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) celebrated 50 years of its existence on Thursday by launching a range of new products such as MSIL-Sand, beauty soaps, drinking water and cosmetics.



Chief Minister Siddaramaiah participated in the golden jubilee celebrations held at the Lalit Ashok Hotel on Kumara Krupa road.



He appreciated the MSIL, saying, Public sector companies are usually loss-making. MSIL stands as an exception to this. It is admirable that the company has been able to stand up to the tough competition in the market and has also retained the trust of its customers.



He said that there was a proposal for MSIL to open 174 medical stores across the state where essential drugs will

be provided at affordable prices. He said that this was to prevent customers from being overcharged by pharmacies.



The companys new venture MSIL-Sand was also unveiled at the ceremony. Large Scale Industries Minister R V Deshpande said, Despite several stringent measures taken by the state government, a solution has not been found for stopping illegal sand-mining. Therefore, MSIL has been assigned with the task of importing sand and supplying it in the state.



G C Prakash, managing director of MSIL, said that global tenders have been floated to import sand from countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines and Malaysia. He said that the state produces 50 lakh tonnes of sand as against the demand of five crore tonnes.



MSIL launched several new products such as bottled drinking water, beauty soaps, stationery kits, liquid handwash and cosmetics, at the event.




Three Pakistani nationals, including two women, have been arrested by police in Bengaluru for illegally staying in India for the past nine months. A man from Kerala, who married one of the women, is accused of facilitating the Pakistanis illegal entry and stay in India.



The Pakistanis have been identified as Sameera (26), Kiran Ghulam Ali (25) and Kashif Shamsuddin (30), all from Karachi. Kiran is married to Kashif while Sameera is the wife of Mohammad Shihab (30), a native of Palakkad, Kerala.



The four were arrested from a two-bedroom house in Kumaraswamy Layout, south Bengaluru, on Wednesday night. Bengaluru Police Commissioner, Praveen Sood, announced the arrests on Thursday.

Heres how and why the Pakistanis, along with the Kerala man, reached India.



In 2012, Shihab went to Qatar to work as an office assistant in a company. His father, who was working as a driver there, helped him get the job. Shihab fell in love with Sameera whose residence was just behind his workplace. One day, Shihab met Sameeras parents and asked her hand in marriage. They turned him away, saying they didnt want their daughter to marry an Indian.



Subsequently, Sameeras two brothers learnt that she had become pregnant and had a miscarriage. They thrashed Shihab and took her back to Karachi. But Sameera was too committed to the relationship to give it a silent burial. She, with the help of her cousin Kiran, stayed in touch with Shihab over phone. Kiran, who was living in Qatar at the time, had her own love story. She was dating her cousin, Kashif, but their parents opposed the alliance.



The two couples realised that the only way out for them was to flee to another country and settle there. Shihab suggested that India was a good option. Accordingly, Sameera and Kashif flew to Qatar and joined Kiran and Shihab. Travelling in a group ensured that the unmarried couples could evade scrutiny in conservative West Asian countries.



From Qatar, the four travelled to Muscat, Oman, and thence flew to Kathmandu, Nepal. Thereafter, they travelled by road to Patna, Bihar, through the porous Indo-Nepal border. In Patna, they took a train to Bengaluru. This was in September 2016.



Once in Bengaluru, the Pakistanis started living like Indian citizens. Kashif landed a job with a perfume factory in Kumaraswamy Layout. He had past experience in Qatar. Shihab, however, chose to stay at home to take care of his pregnant wife. Kiran, too, stayed at home. The Pakistanis managed to procure Aadhaar cards for themselves under fake identities.



Preliminary investigation shows that they decided to settle in India after their parents objected to their marriage. We are verifying their claim and are not convinced about it. We are investigating the case with the help of the Intelligence Bureau and other agencies. We have kept the central agencies in the loop, Sood said.



The homicide and burglary squad of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) received a tip-off on Monday night about the Pakistanis illegally staying in the city. The three possessed Pakistani passports. They have been booked under several sections of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act while Shihab faces charges of conspiracy and abetment.




AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal on Thursday said the party high command will take an appropriate decision on whether to appoint a new KPCC president or not by this month-end.



The party will take an appropriate decision before May 31. You (mediapersons) will hear about it in two to three days, he told reporters who sought to know when the party will appoint the new state president.



Venugopal hinted that the party might allow the incumbent G Parameshwara to continue when he said that the current team is working well.



Asked who will lead the party in the next elections, he said it will be decided soon.



This apart, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to meet the party high command in New Delhi on May 29 to

discuss whether to appoint a new KPCC president or allow Parameshwara to continue.



The chief minister had earlier recommended that Parameshwara, a Dalit, be replaced with a Lingayat leader.

Senior party leader S R Patil and Water Resources Minister M B Patil (both Lingayats)

are in the race for the top post.



Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, who is a Vokkaliga leader, is also aspiring to become the KPCC president. A section of Congress MLAs had recommended that the party make senior leader M Mallikarjun Kharge the state Congress chief.
With rising threat to womens safety in cities, a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur has invented a wearable gadget that works like an SOS alert system during emergencies.



The RedDot, on the press of an SOS button, alerts a network of the users family, friends or RedDot volunteers. The application has been nominated for the international Anu & Naveen Jain Womens Safety XPRIZE, a competition challenging teams around the world to develop an affordable technology solution that women can use to respond to increasing threats.



Vijay Mysore devised the application after being disturbed by the murder of a BPO employee in the city by a cab driver. The incident could have been prevented if she had access to a device to trigger an alarm or alert her near ones. Frequent incidents of rape, murder and crime have made this device the need of the hour. We plan to tie up with police stations and volunteer organisations to create a powerful safety volunteers network, he said.



Apart from womens safety concerns, the creator of the device aims to assist users during health emergencies. My ultimate goal is to be able to help people with special needs and patients who are vulnerable to health emergencies who can avail immediate help in times of need.



One of the key features of RedDot includes the activation of a virtual companion, wherein the users can be traced by their trusted companions who may be a friend or a family member and the users are continually tracked by their companions till the users feel it is necessary.



The user can be virtually accompanied by a companion through this feature which, when activated, will constantly update the users virtual companion about his or her whereabouts.



The feature is an exceptional safety feature for those who travel late at night or may feel they are vulnerable to unpleasant situations. The feature can be switched off once the user feels safe.



Our user base consists of parents who buy the device for their children and adults who buy the devices for their elderly parents who can reach out to them in times of an emergency, added Mysore.



How it works



The device is a red SOS button that can be worn in the form of a bracelet or a key chain.

It is linked to the RedDot application on the users mobile phone. When the user presses this SOS button in times of an emergency, the mobile sends a pre-configured SOS message to the preconfigured trusted contacts.



These trusted contacts receive an SMS with the location details of the user in the form of a link. The trusted contacts use the URL to find the users current location details.



The application currently has close to 2,000 users in Bengaluru and Mumbai. We have tied up with a few corporate houses and non-government organisations in Bengaluru and Pune wherein we provide tracking and safety services to them and have a network of customised RedDot volunteers network, he said.
Bengaluru Development Minister K J George warned zonal level joint commissioners and the joint commissioner, solid waste management, over uncleared waste and debris in the city.



Georges warning came at a meeting with Mayor G Padmavathi, additional chief secretary Mahendra Jain, BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad and other senior Palike officials.



He directed the officials to keep a strict vigil on the dumping of waste and debris at public places in the city. He told them to seize the vehicles and book criminal cases against them.



Waste-to-energy plant



Prasad and BBMP joint commissioner Sarfaraz Khan informed the minister that Essel Group would start its first waste-to-energy plant at Mavallipura which can process 500 tonnes of waste everyday. The Palike is also contemplating setting up small units of 50-tonne to 100-tonne capacity.


The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at 10 locations in Delhi and Haryana in connection with its money laundering probe into the irregularities in land acquisition in Gurugrams Manesar.



Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been named in the FIR filed by probe agency in September last year, which deals with financial irregularities in the acquisition of land wherein farmers were cheated to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore.



The searches were conducted on the premises of eight people  IAS officers, Haryana government officials and builders  across 10 locations in Delhi, Gurugram and a few places in Haryana, sources said.



The ED has filed the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis of a CBI FIR against Hooda and others.



The CBI FIR had said that private builders had entered into a conspiracy with Haryana government officials to purchase around 400 acres from farmers and land owners of Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula in Gurugram district at throwaway prices after showing the threat of acquisition by the government.



It said the state government had initially issued notifications for the acquisition of land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township. Following this, a large number of land owners sold their land at throwaway prices in haste.


Chinese and foreign top scholars and experts pose for group photo during the 3rd Dialogue of Civilizations - Chang'an Forum held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, May 21-22, 2017. [Photo/ China.org.cn]

Chinese and foreign scholars and experts gathered in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, this week for a dialogue of civilizations, and discussed how to build a community of a shared future for all humankind.

The 3rd Dialogue of Civilizations - Chang'an Forum was held May 21-22 at Northwest University in Xi'an, known Chang'an in Tang Dynasty when it was the capital. More than 30 representatives from academia, science institutes, think tanks, civil societies, diplomacy, business, translation and literature circles from eight countries discussed how to promote Chinese culture abroad, as well as dialogues among cultures and peoples from the countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative.

In a congratulatory message read out at the forum, Professor Yue Daiyun, chairman of Chinese Comparative Literature Academy and former head of Peking University Comparative Literature and Culture Institution, stated: "It seems we have entered a time of uncertainty when development and retrogression co-exist... We ought to stand firm and look further ahead, thinking how we can renew our actions and ideology within a much more complex context,"

Ambassador Mussie Hailu, regional director of the United Religions Initiative (URI) for Africa and Representative of URI to the African Union and United Nations, said there was "a strong need in our world more than ever to promote inter-religious and inter-cultural constructive dialogue to build understanding, trust and avoid holding a wrong image of others and overcome the fear of the unknown.

"We are constantly hearing of the challenges our world is facing. We must not wait for fundamental change to come from somewhere; meaningful change must come from within. If everyone does his or her bit, together we can accomplish what is necessary. This forum will help to create such awareness in people's minds."

Gong Jianzhong, former ambassador of China to Ghana and the executive vice president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, also pointed out that resolution of complicated global problems should adopt the wisdom of different cultures, and that China always wants to achieve harmony when engaged in diplomatic relationships and exchanges with other countries. He hoped China could learn from other cultures while maintaining the cultural confidence of its own development, build a diversified cultural environment and promote progress and development of all humankind.

Professor Zhang Xiping of Beijing Foreign Studies University, Professor Zhou Hong from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Xi'an's Vice Mayor Professor Fang Guanghua, German sinologist Wolfgang Kubin, Professor Russell Duncan from the University of Copenhagen, CERN physicist and researcher Ren Zhongliang, French Taoist Thomas Morillon, President of Northwest University Guo Lihong, Professor Hu Zongfeng, president of the School of Foreign Languages at Northwest University also attended and addressed the forum.

Gao Ping, president of the China's Qiaology Institute on Dialogue of Civilizations, told China.org.cn that dialogue at the spiritual and thinking level could guide human society, and dialogue in culture and belief areas bring about new ways of thinking, as well as understanding and reflecting the world and its meaning.

He pointed out that the renowned 20th Century British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889-1975) predicted, in his later years, that Western civilization had started to decline and Chinese civilization would take over and lead the world. "If Chinese people didn't realize their mission or they try hard but fail, the prospect of humankind indeed will be gloomy. "

His institute initiated the forum and has been promoting it for three years, "The dialogue of civilizations will be like the multifunctional and delicate Swiss Army knife to resolve human problems," he said, citing President Xi Jinping's speech at the Boao Forum for Asia in 2015 as his inspiration, in which President Xi proposed a conference of dialogue among Asian civilizations to be held with an aim to boost regional cooperation and development.

Gao later also proposed a Conference for Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be inaugurated in Xi'an in 2018 for the sake of its rich culture and history that was for long a capital of dialogue for civilizations from around the world.
In a bid to win over the disgruntled Patels, a Congress MLA has asked his party to field members of the community in 55 seats in the forthcoming Gujarat elections.



Prahlad Patel, who currently represents north Gujarats Vijapur constituency, has suggested the idea to the partys Gujarat in-charge Ashok Gehlot when he met him in Ahmedabad. Congress can take advantage of the widespread anger among the Patidar community that feels let-down by the ruling BJP, he said.
As incidents of acid attack continues to be a menace across the country, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has initiated a move to build pressure on the State Governments for a strict compliance of the ban on unregulated sale of acids in their respective jurisdictions.



The NCW on Thursday asked the State Commissions for Women to take up the issue with their respective State governments so that incidents of acid attack on women can be checked.

The issue came up at a meeting of the office bearers of the State Commissions for Women here. The meeting was convened by the NCW

NCW member Sushma Sahu raised the issue of acid attack and implementation of the Supreme Court's ban of unregulated sale of acid in open market.

The State Commissions for Women may pursue with the state Government on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on ban of un-regulated sale of acids with a view to prevent horrific crimes against women specifically acid attacks, the NCW member secretary Satbir Bedi said while summing the outcomes of the meeting.

The NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam reiterated on the need for strengthening the process of networking among all women commissions in the country so that they could gain from each others' experiences.

In 2013, the Supreme Court banned over-the-counter sales of acids in market, which could be used by assailants to maim, disfigure and even kill their victims, particularly women. The apex court also asked the States to frame guidelines for a regulated sale of such chemicals.

Four years after the ban, however, acids which can kill some one are still easily available in the open market in most of the States.
Former prime minister and Janata Dal(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said his party would support any candidate selected by the Opposition parties as the presidential nominee.



Congress president Sonia Gandhis political secretary Ahmed Patel met me and sought our partys support for a joint candidate fielded by the Opposition parties in the upcoming election. I told him that my party will support any candidate fielded by them, Gowda told reporters.



Though Sonia invited him to a meeting of the Opposition parties on Friday in New Delhi to discuss the candidature, Gowda deputed Mandya MP C S Puttaraju to attend it, as he will be returning to Bengaluru to take care of some pressing work.



The meeting will held as part of the luncheon hosted by Sonia, where the top leaders of several Opposition parties will explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate.



The meeting will be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav  who, according to sources, is a possible candidate for the top post  among others.



The leaders will also discuss issues such as a grand alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a six-day tour to Russia, Germany, Spain and France from May 29.



The focus of the visit is to improve Indias economic performance and push a free-trade agreement with the European Union. The prime minister is also likely to take up some strategic issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin.



The six-day tour will begin on May 29 with Modi travelling to Berlin. On the same day, he will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where the two leaders will discuss issues of mutual interest.



The formal engagements will take place the following day when the two delegations will hold the fourth India-Germany Inter-governmental Consultations. Union Ministers Harsh Vardhan Singh, Piyush Goel, Nirmala Sitharaman and M J Akbar will participate in the talks.



Modi and Merkel will jointly address a trade event on May 30. Spain will be the next stop for Modi.

He will be the first prime minister to visit Madrid in 30 years after Rajiv Gandhi in 1988.



From Spain, Modi will travel to St Petersburg in Russia on June 1 where he will hold the 18th India-Russia annual summit with Putin. This is for the first time the summit will be held outside Moscow.



The emphasis would be on enhancing the trade and economic relations as the bilateral trade has come down to $7 billion from the earlier position of $10 billion, said G B Srinivasn, joint secretary, Eurasia in the ministry of external affairs.




The Delhi High Court order staying scrapping of the marks moderation policy has not only left CBSE students in limbo, but also certain state boards that have already declared Class XII results.



The CBSE, which has 18,500 affiliated schools, has so far been silent on whether it will challenge the decision or follow it, amid indications that it would move the Supreme Court, which may further delay the announcement of results.



The CBSE along with 32 other boards had last month agreed to scrap the moderation policy. The HRD ministry had clarified that the states can take a call on the issue.



The Delhi High Court this week ordered the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) not to go ahead with the scrapping of its moderation policy.



Education boards in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab have already announced results without spiking marks in the name of moderation. Tamil Nadu and Haryana have also announced their results, but it is not clear whether they have followed the moderation policy or not.



Ashok Pandey, chairperson of the National Progressive Schools Conference, said, If CBSE decides to follow the policy, then students from state boards will suffer in undergraduate admissions as they will not meet the cut-offs.



Punjab School Education Board chairman S Balbir Singh Dhol said, We are just examining the situation and contents of the court order. A decision will be taken soon, after wide consultations.



B L Chaudhury, chairman, Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, said they never followed the moderation policy.



We never followed moderation, so the CBSE decision is not likely to impact prospects of our students positively or negatively, he said.



The Uttar Pradesh board, which is yet to announce the results, said it will follow the CBSEs decision in this regard.
An Indian woman, who claimed that she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint earlier this month, returned home on Thursday, following intervention by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.



Uzma Ahmeds return was possible after the Islamabad High Court ordered the Pakistani administration to facilitate her travel to India. The court also asked the police to accompany her up to the Wagah border.



After crossing over, Uzma expressed relief by touching Indian soil. She was later received at the ministry of external affairs in the national capital.



External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj thanked the Pakistani administration and judiciary for supporting Uzma in her legal battle.



I must thank the foreign and interior ministries of Pakistan, besides barrister Shahnawaz Noon, who fought her case like a father, Sushma said.



The minister also thanked Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani for considering the case on a humanitarian grounds without resorting to politics.



Uzma broke down as she narrated her plight to the media. Pakistan is a well of death. Its easy to go there, but difficult to return. I am happy to breath in India. I am an orphan... For the first time, I realise that my life is valuable, Uzma said holding back tears.



In her twenties, Uzma, who has a daughter from her earlier marriage, had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month on a vacation. Tahir Ali, a Pakistani national, who reportedly met her in Malaysia and fell in love with her, sponsored her visit.



Uzma said Ali forced her into marrying him on May 3 at a village in Buner district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. But after the marriage, she was harassed, intimidated and tortured.



It was a strange village, which was once ruled by the Taliban. Everyone has multiple wives and guns at home. It was very difficult to come out of that place, she said.




The meeting of non-NDA parties convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday will have a notable absentee.



Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that he will not be able to attend the meeting.



Ruling party sources said Sonias close aide Ahmed Patel had requested Nitish over the phone to attend the crucial meeting called to discuss the Opposition candidate for the Presidential poll. However, the chief minister politely turned down the request, citing prior engagements.



Her political secretary Ahmed Patel had urged Nitishji to attend the meet. But Nitish Kumar has prior engagements. He has authorised JD(U) parliamentary party leader Sharad Yadav to attend the meeting, said JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar here on Thursday.



Nitishs absence has set the tongues wagging as it was he who had met the Congress president in New Delhi last month and mooted the idea that her party should lead the non-BJP front in its fight against the NDA. This should start with the united Opposition fielding a common candidate for the Presidential poll, Nitish had suggested.



It is against this backdrop that Sonia has convened the meeting of all the non-NDA parties, including the Trinamool and the CPM.



The BJP was quick to take a jibe at the Opposition unity.The more the non-NDA parties try to unite, the more they appear divided. Nitish knows well that the Opposition does not have the numbers to pose a challenge during the presidential poll. So, he does not want to burn his fingers, said senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav.



Nitish is so conscious about his image that he would rather wait and watch before the so-called unity takes proper shape. After all, he has a bitter experience of making efforts to unite the Janata Parivar in 2015, he said.



However, former Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwary, who has worked closely with both Nitish and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, said not much should be read into his absence.


West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, a day ahead of Congress president Sonia Gandhis invite to Opposition leaders to discuss a joint candidate for the presidential poll.



Significantly, she had sought an appointment with Modi at a short notice, which was granted by the prime minister, leading to speculation in political circles. Mamata said she talked about developmental issues and stressed they did not discuss the upcoming presidential election.



However, Mamatas aides said the chief minister went to meet Modi to explore and understand the NDAs preference, which will be made public only after the Election Commission announces the presidential election process.



Interestingly, Mamatas talks with Modi came against the backdrop of the BJP stepping up protests against her government in the state. Several TMC leaders are under the CBI scanner for their role in the Sarada and Narada scams.



In fact, when the meeting was under way, hundreds of BJP workers clashed with the police during their march to the Kolkata Police headquarters. They were demanding the arrest of corrupt TMC

leaders.



The police had to use tear gas shells, water canons and baton charge to disperse them. Some TMC leaders said Mamata, who has been very critical of Modi, was not too happy with the Congress top brass willingness to go with the proposals of CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury. She was also upset with the Congress plan to back Yechurys re-election to the Rajya Sabha.



This was not a political meeting, absolutely development-oriented meeting. I have taken up several issues with the prime minister, she said.



Pranab not to give it another shot



Amid some Opposition parties pitching for a second term for Pranab Mukherjee, the President on Thursday gave broad hints that he is winding up his innings in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, reports DHNS from New Delhi.



Mukherjees remarks came at a farewell meeting organised for the Presidents press secretary, Venu Rajamony, who has been appointed as the ambassador to The Netherlands.



Today is May 25, and exactly two months from now, on July 25, a new President will assume office. Officers who have worked with me are being sent back to their ministries, Mukherjee said.



When asked about his future plans, he remarked, I will let you know. Recalling his election to the top post, he said, Being active in politics for years, I had wondered whether I would be able to fit into the strictly Constitutional role.


Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said that the results of CBSE Classes X and XII board examinations will be announced on time.



The minister, however, did not specify a date. Javadekar also asked students not to worry about the impact of a recent Delhi High Court order on the declaration of results. The CBSE results will be declared on time. The date will be told (announced) by the CBSE. No need to worry about (the) courts order. Justice will be done to everyone, a multimedia news agency quoted the minister as saying in Ahmedabad.



Uncertainty over the announcement of results prevailed after the high court on Tuesday directed the CBSE to continue with its moderation policy for this year. The court was hearing a petition filed by a parent and a lawyer against the CBSEs decision to scrap the moderation policy from this year.

The courts order came at a time when the board was reportedly gearing up to announce the results this week without moderation.



Under the moderation policy, grace marks are given to students in exams for difficult questions. It was scrapped last month by the CBSE, a decision termed irresponsible by the high court earlier this week.

The court had said it was unfair to students who had registered for the exam when the policy was still in place.



It also asked the board why it cannot implement the change in policy from next year as the results of the 2016-17 exams are expected to be announced in a few days.



To challenge order Javadekar called an urgent meeting with senior officials of his ministry and those of the CBSE on Monday. It was decided to seek legal opinion on the order to explore if it could be challenged in the Supreme Court.



According to official sources, the CBSE was likely to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court in this connection on Thursday.
The presidential race is hotting up with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi hosting a lunch for Opposition leaders on Friday to explore ways to puncture the NDAs unity.



The BJP also rolled out its process of consultations with NDA partners. Party president Amit Shah discussed the issue with TDP leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.



Congress arch-rival and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy will attend the luncheon in the dining hall of Parliament Library Building.



Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, who was also invited, has expressed his inability to attend the luncheon but promised to send a representative. Gowda announced his support for the joint Opposition nominee.



No revelations yet



Neither the NDA nor the Opposition has revealed its choice for the Presidents post. But names of former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar are doing the rounds to be the joint Opposition candidate.



Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu and Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao were being talked about as possible candidates from the governments side.



Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had pitched for a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee, which has been ruled out by the incumbent. I have exactly two months to go. On July 25, a new President will assume office, Mukherjee said at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.



Mamata meets PM



A day ahead of Sonias luncheon, Mamata met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss issues related to the development of the state. However, the buzz in political circles was that she wanted to convey her displeasure over the growing bonhomie between the Congress and the CPM in West Bengal.



The NDA on its own has 48.51% of votes in the electoral college of 10.98 lakh

votes.



Members of both Houses of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies are eligible to cast their vote in the Presidential election. Regional parties such as the TRS and the YSR Congress have already declared their support to the Modi government, which was also expecting support from the AIADMK and the BJD.



We are looking at a broad-based opposition unity, a senior Congress leader said adding it was also watching regional rivals BJD in Odisha and TRS in Telangana.



The BJPs aggressive moves to expand its foot print has unnerved BJD and TRS leadership, but they are still undecided on whether to make common cause with the Congress.



According to the rules, Election Commission can issue a notification for the Presidential election any time after May 25, which is two months before the end of the tenure of the incumbent.

In 2012, the presidential elections were announced on June 12.


Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the United States, Feb. 1, 2016. Former real estate tycoon Donald Trump has been elected the 45th president of the United States after a neck-and-neck race with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. [Photo/Xinhua]

A year and a half ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who is a Republican neo-conservative and was in the Never Trump movement  movement opposed to Trump winning the Republican nomination. That now seems like an eternity ago. I was chatting with him, and he said he was worried about his country's future and the possibility that a dictatorial leader might take charge of the world's foremost liberal democratic power. I told him not to worry. Even if you don't support a candidate like Trump, there is a system of checks and balance that will keep him in check. The biggest threat I mentioned to my friend is the domestic polarization in the United States.

This week, the U.S. Justice Department appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate connections between Trump's campaign and the Russian government. This comes after a week that rocked American politics almost as much as Bill Clinton's indiscretions did during the 1990s. While there hasn't been any proven collusion between Trump and Russia, things are slowly starting to look like the early stages of another Watergate.

This is an interesting development. On one hand, if there is any genuine collusion between Russia and Trump, it will eventually come out. The special director isn't just a random officer. He is entitled to demand registered documents as well as subpoena every available piece of evidence he finds suitable to the course of the investigation. While it is unlikely that any direct collusion between Russia and Trump will come to light, this will finally put to test the competing narratives regarding how much Trump owes his win to alleged Russian interference in the U.S. democracy. It will also either make or break Trump's presidency. If Trump is indeed culpable, he will be impeached. There will be no other options.

Unfortunately, there's something else in play as well.

The U.S. system is based on a transfer of power, which is peaceful. The government officials are supposed to be neutral in such a scenario. Unfortunately, this changed during the Obama years. The U.S. departments are manned by people who essentially started their career as ideological Obama appointees looking forward to their next president. That changed with Trump, who no one expected to win. The "resistance" started immediately afterwards, and leaks started to pour in.

The situation is so dire now that there isn't a single day without leaks. Every day, someone blabs to journalists about the severe dysfunction within the government, purporting to be performing idealistic acts of sabotage against the tyranny in D.C.

Now consider this. Even accepting that maybe, and I say maybe in the most skeptical possible way, Trump is compromised by Russia, imagine the precedent this is setting up.

The next administration will have ideological opponents in the government who will leak to newspapers. In short, every single action by the government, of whatever political party, can be undermined by any anonymous officer in an idealistic resistance to tyranny. This is utter chaos, and can only lead to perma-activism.

Trump will go. Either by impeachment or after a chaotic four years. Those who were fearful of Trump turning out to be a fascist should take solace in the fact that he can't even fill his cabinet. A fascist at least takes control of the government quickly. The chances of a fascist takeover in U.S. are minimal.

However, two things will result from this. First, the issues that gave rise to Trumpism will remain. Interventionism and liberal economy will continue to alienate the heartland conservative white population, the backbone of Trump's support. And the leaks will set a precedent for a more damaging legacy in which the very foundation of the American system faces threats. There's a reason officials are supposed to be neutral. In an era of hyperpartisanism, that is perhaps over.

Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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The Chinese embassy in Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed that two Chinese nationals were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the country's southwest Quetta city earlier in the day.

Pakistani soldiers stand guard near the site where two Chinese were kidnapped in the neighborhood of Jinnah town in southwest Pakistan's Quetta, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

An official from the embassy told Xinhua that they are trying to know more details about the incident as well as about the abducted persons, adding that they have urged the Pakistani side to rescue the abductees as quickly as possible.

The kidnappers forced the abductees into a vehicle on gunpoint and drove away, local media quoted Deputy Inspector General of Quetta Police as saying.

The kidnapped including a man and a woman were returning from a restaurant when the incident happened in Jinnah Town area of Quetta, the capital city of the country's southwestern Balochistan Province, local Urdu TV Aaj reported.

The kidnappers were initially taking away three Chinese including two women and the man, but a passerby helped one of the women escape, local reports said.

The passerby got injured in a shootout, who has been shifted to a nearby hospital where police recorded his statement for investigation.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri took notice of the incident and directed police to search the abductees. A search operation has been kicked off in the area.

He further directed to design a standard operating procedure for ensuring the security of foreigners working in the province.

On his direction, a heavy contingent of police has been deployed at all entry and exit points of the city for checking.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping yet.
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A man in connection with the Manchester bombing attack has been arrested, according to a police statement released on late Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches connected to the attack, police said.

This has made the total number of suspects linked to the attack rise to seven so far.

Meanwhile, senior police chiefs in Britain reacted with anger Wednesday night after sensitive details of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing were leaked to media in the U.S.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the leaks undermines the investigation into the Monday night terror attack which left 22 people dead and 64 injured.

The Guardian newspaper in London said that Prime Minister Theresa May will confront U.S. President Donald Trump over the stream of leaks of crucial intelligence when the pair meet Thursday at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.
The GLP-1 receptor agonist drug Bydureon has met targets for heart safety but has not managed to show that it significantly benefits heart health.

The results come from the Exenatide Study of Cardiovascular Event Lowering (EXSCEL) trial. Bydureo, marketed by AstraZenecan, is the trade name for a form of the drug exenatide. Bydureon is taken once weekly and acts to improve the bodys hormone response to meals, including improving satiety.

The trial involved 14,000 people with type 2 diabetes and a range of heart disease risks and divided people into those taking Bydureon with those taking a placebo. The researchers reviewed the number of major cardiovascular events such as death from heart disease, non-fatal heart attack and nonfatal stroke.

The results showed that Bydureon met the targets for cardiovascular risk safety but did not show that it had statistically significant benefits in terms of heart disease prevention.

Cardiovascular safety and benefit has become an important topic for diabetes medications since problems were found with Avandia in 2010. A post-marketing clinical trial (a trial that is run after the drug has been approved and is in public use) showed that people on Avandia were showing higher risks of heart disease and the drugs use was suspended in many countries.

Since then, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US required more evidence that drugs are not harmful to heart health.

To date, Jardiance, an SGLT2 inhibitor marketed by Lilly and Boehringer, is the only type 2 diabetes drug to be recognised showing distinct benefits for heart health.

On 9 June, a number of companies will present health data related to their medications at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
The policeman can detect gestures and hand signals, and can use facial recognition software to identify and catch offenders

The Dubai Police was already a force to be reckoned with thanks to its fleet of luxury and high performance cars, and now criminals in the city will have to contend with Robocop. The Khaleej Times reports that the police force has unveiled the worlds first operational robot policeman. The robot has officially joined the line of duty and was greeting guests at the 4th Gulf Information Security Exo and Conference (GISEC).

"With an aim to assist and help people in the malls or on the streets, the Robocop is the latest smart addition to the force and has been designed to help us fight crime, keep the city safe and improve happiness levels," said Brigadier-General Khalid Nasser Al Razzouqi, Director-General of Smart Services at Dubai Police.

While the robotic policeman deployed by the Dubai Police may not look as intimidating as Alex Murphy from the RoboCop franchise, the autonomous robot is still 170cm tall and weighs 100kg. It can detect gestures and hand signals from up to 1.5 meters. The robot is also capable of detecting a persons emotions and facial expressions, and can change its expressions or greetings accordingly. During patrols, it will be able to use facial recognition software to identify and catch offenders. It can also broadcast live video feeds. Further, the robot is capable of mapping the insides of buildings and navigate paths through its self-control and drive feature. There is a tablet built into the chest of the robot that will allow people to report crimes, pay fines or get information.

Image source: Khaleej Times
After months of announcements and waiting, PayTM is finally ready to launch its payments banks business. The company is transferring its wallets business from under One97 Communications to a new entity called PayTM Payments Banks Limited, which will run the payments banks business hereon.

That, probably has you wondering what will happen to your money. PayTM was at the forefront of digital payments systems when Prime Minister Modi announced his demonetisation initiative. The companys wallets service gained huge traction when 500 and 1000 rupee notes were made illegal by the government. Of course, the Payments Bank initiative has been a long time coming, but PayTMs move to that platform has more emphasis today than it would have at the beginning of 2016.

What happens to the money in my wallet?

As far as things on your end are concerned, nothing. However, the money held in wallets will now be transferred to PayTM Payments Bank Limited. Youll not feel a thing.

Its worth noting that you will have the option to opt out of this transfer.

So, do I have a bank account instead of wallet now?

Untrue once again, PayTM Payments Bank limited simply owns the wallet business, but its still a wallet. If youve used the ICICI Pockets app, the concept is somewhat similar here. PayTM payments bank is now a bank, which runs its own wallet services as well.

On the other hand, you will get a bank account on PayTM Payments Bank if you opt-in for it. PayTM isnt letting everyone sign up just yet, but you can request an invite on this website, or the app.

What happens to the PayTM app?

When Airtel announced its payments bank initiative, the wallet service on the My Airtel app was changed to Airtel Payments Bank. PayTM isnt going to do the same, at least not initially. The app will look and feel the same and usual services like booking movie tickets, paying bills etc. will remain.

And thats all folks. The inception of PayTMs payments bank initiative is going to have no impact on you, unless you so chose.

Wait, you havent told me what I get if I do have a payments bank account!

Yes, yes. So, if you do move to the PayTM Payments Banks segment, youll get a chequebook, a virtual debit card and of course, a real bank account. Most importantly, youll be earning interest on your money, at the rate of 4% per annum from PayTM Payments Bank limited.

Its worth noting that payments banks arent allowed to extend loans without partnering with some other entity. It can issue cheque books and debit cards, but credit cards are off the table.
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President Donald Trump arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for his first trip to the European Union and NATO as the head of the United States and was met with protests against his fractious comments in the past.

Donald Trump and his wife Melania, who flew in from Rome, Italy, were greeted at the airport by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and met with King of the Belgians Philippe and his wife Queen Matilda later in the day.

Elsewhere in Brussels, however, some 6,000 protesters demonstrated in the streets to protest against Trump's presence, with placards letting the controversial leader know he was "not welcome here."

The U.S. President has had a fractious relationship with Europe since his candidacy, in which he publicly applauded the pro-Brexit campaign before and after the referendum which saw Britain decide to leave the European Union.

In January, as president-elect, he rattled many European allies by stating in an interview that NATO (North Atlantic Trade Alliance) was obsolete, and indirectly threatening allies to leave the pact if they did not boost defense spending.

On Thursday, Trump will meet the President of the European Council Donald Tusk and the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, both of whom have been critical of the U.S. president's remarks.

Afterwards, Trump and leaders of other NATO countries will meet for the first time to map out the future of the organization, and try to narrow their differences on its budget.

Donald Trump's first trip abroad as president has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank of the Palestinian territories, the Vatican before arriving in Brussels. His final leg of the journey will be in Sicily, Italy, where he will join a G7 summit in Taormina.
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SITKA, Alaska (AP)  Residents of a Southern Alaska city are worried their herring population is on the verge of collapse, although state officials say the birds are bustling.

KTOO-FM reports a tradition of eating the fish eggs has been spread thin as of late, and residents are concerned it could mean then end of a delicacy. Alaska Native people have been harvesting herring eggs for thousands of years.





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Girl Scouts find new home at G2

Jones Lang LaSalle helped find a new home for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington. The organization sold its Uptown headquarters in November for $5.8 million, after owning and occupying the 1969 building for 17 years. This week the Girl Scouts moved into G2 (formerly the Seattle Design Center), at 5601 Sixth Ave. S. in Georgetown. G2, also called Georgetown Squared, was redeveloped by Greenbridge Investment Partners of Beverly Hills, California. JLL's Joe Gowan and Lloyd Low represented Greenbridge in the lease. Colliers' Greg Inglin and Charlie Farra represented the Girl Scouts. JLL's Kelly Monteiro and Piper Luhrs managed the tenant improvements for the Girl Scouts, working with Nelson Architects and Venture General Contracting.




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Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge] Ivars President Bob Donegan said, Weve been here since 1938. We intend to stay as long as possible.

Ivar's has sold its Pier 54 location at 1001 Alaskan Way for $39.5 million, according to King County records.





. . .
The United States has revived two major infrastructure projects in South and Southeast Asia in which India would be a vital player, a move that could potentially act as a counter to China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative. The Trump administration has resuscitated the 'New Silk Road' initiative, first announced in July 2011 by the then secretary of state Hillary Clinton, in a speech in Chennai, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor linking South and Southeast Asia. The NSR is a suite of joint investment projects and regional trade blocs that have the potential to bring economic growth and stability to Central Asia. Announcing her vision for a New Silk Road, Clinton had said, "Turkmen gas fields could help meet both Pakistan's and India's growing energy needs and provide significant transit revenues for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tajik cotton could be turned into Indian linens. Furniture and fruit from Afghanistan could find its way to the markets of Astana or Mumbai and beyond." But the NSR strategy, however, took a back seat during Obama's second term when John Kerry became secretary of state. India will play a significant role in both the projects that will link Europe with Central Asia and Southeast Asia. The Trump administration's maiden budget gives a brief outline of the two projects, which indicate that the 'New Silk Road' project would be a public- private initiative in which India would be an important player. The state department said the budgetary request of its South and Central Asia will support the two initiatives - the New Silk Road (NSR) focused on Afghanistan and its neighbours, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor linking South Asia with Southeast Asia. Besides US funding, the projects will leverage collaborative projects in countries if the region, other bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, and the private sector. It said "the importance of... The NSR grows" as the transition in Afghanistan continues and the US "strives to help the Afghan people succeed and stand on their own." The state department plans ''far-reaching'' public diplomacy programmes to support the objectives. It may be noted that India had boycotted the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) held in Beijing from 14-15 May due to its sovereignty concerns over the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). No Indian official of any level was present at the elaborate opening ceremony attended by 29 heads of state and government along with top officials of the world bodies like the UN, the World Bank and the IMF. The US had sent a delegation led by Matt Pottinger, special assistant to the President and senior director for Asia at the National Security Council. China's Belt and Road initiative includes a maze of roads and port projects, with CPEC as its "flagship project". The project also includes a Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor, New Eurasian Land Bridge, China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and 21st century Maritime Silk Road. Through the B&R initiative, China aims to link itself with markets in Europe and Africa through Asian countries and the Indian Ocean.








Donegal Airport at Carrickfinn next month hosts a collaborative exhibition of the work of three artists whose creations are inspired by and come from the beautiful west Donegal area.

The exhibition, entitled Landing, features the work of Kim Sharkey, Roisin Duffy, and Emily Bazeley. Poet and writer Maire Dinny Wren of Gaoth Dobhair will open the show on June 9th, at Donegal Airport.

Kim Sharkey lives adjacent to the airport, which was recently voted the second most scenic landing in the world, and will be showing her portrayals of the wildlife and landscapes of the area. Kim works in mixed media, with some digital pieces influenced by her training in animation. A skilled artist across many disciplines, including ceramics, sculpture, painting and animation, Kims beautifully rendered work is full of soul.

Roisin Duffy, an artist and poet from County Monaghan, has been coming to Carrickfinn beach for well over a decade. While here, she takes advantage of the inspirational landscape and peace and quiet to create the poetry that accompanies her paintings. Roisins work is intrinsically linked to this beautiful peninsula and its beaches. Her work has reached an international audience and is often exhibited in and around Dublin, but this show offers an opportunity to see some of her work on the west coast that inspired it.

Emily Bazeley, also known as The Faerie Tailor, has lived in Donegal for the past 13 years. Inspired by folk tales of the past and the unspoilt, wild faerie places around the county, Emily began producing couture and dwellings for the discerning sprite almost 10 years ago. With an endless source of materials and ideas gifted only from nature, her work takes on an organic and ethereal feel. Exhibiting up and down Irelands west coast, as well as in Belfast and Dublin, Emilys recognisable natural collage is unlike anything else.

Kim, Roisin and Emily have worked together creatively for a number of years, their very different styles complementing each other.

Award-winning writer and poet, Maire Dinny Wren of Gaoth Dobhair, who is to open the show, most recently won North West Words, Ealain na Gaeltachta, Aurivo poetry competition 2017 with her poem An Fidleir.

The exhibitions June 9th opening, which runs from 6 to 7.30pm, is sponsored by Kinnegar Brewing of Rathmullan.
Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- Patrick Cunningham, Glencar Scotch, Letterkenny

- James Gillham, Culdaff

- Michael Gerard McLaughlin, Moville

- Margaret Molloy, Burnfoot

- John Doogan, Ardsmore, Gortahork

- Danny Murray, Bomany, Letterkenny

Patrick Cunningham, Glencar Scotch, Letterkenny



The death has occurred of the late Patrick C. Cunningham, Glencar Scotch, Letterkenny and formerly of Carrick.



His remains are reposing at his late residence.

Funeral Mass is in St. Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny, on Friday 26th May at 12 noon with burial afterwards in Conwal Cemetery.

James Gillham, Culdaff

The death has taken place of Douglas James Gillham, Bonagee, Culdaff.

Reposing at Collins Funeral Home.

Funeral Service on Monday, May 29th, in St. Baudans Church of Ireland, Culdaff at 2pm with burial afterwards in the adjoining burial grounds.



Michael Gerard McLaughlin, Moville

The death has taken place of Michael Gerard Mclaughlin, Bath Terrace, Moville.

Reposing at Bath Terrace, Moville, and awaiting repatriation to his late home in Greennock, Scotland.

Margaret Molloy, Burnfoot

The death has taken place of Margaret Molloy, 12, The Cottages, Burnfoot, Donegal.

Reposing at her home Removal from there on Thursday evening, 25th May, at 7pm to St. Muras Church, Fahan. Requiem Mass on Friday morning, 26th May, at 11am with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Family time please from 10.30pm to 10am.



John Doogan, Gortahork

The death has taken place in London of John Doogan (John Moore), formerly of Ardsmore, Gortahork

His remains will arrive at his nephew Pat Ban Doogan's residence in Ardsmore, Gortahork.

Funeral from there on Friday, May 26th, for 11am Requiem Mass in Christ the King Church, Gortahork, with burial afterwards in the adjacent cemetery.

Rosary both nights at 10pm. House private after Rosary until 10am.



Danny Murray, Bomany, Letterkenny



The death has occurred at Letterkenny University Hospital of Danny Murray, Bomany, Letterkenny and formerly Rosemount, Letterkenny.



Reposing at The Eternal Light Chapel of Rest, Mountain Top, Letterkenny today, Thursday, (25th May) from 2pm with removal at 3pm to his late residence at Bomany.

Funeral on Sunday, 28th May going to St. Eunans Cathedral, Letterkenny for 12 noon Requiem Mass with burial afterwards in Conwal Cemetery.

Family flowers only please, donations in lieu, if desired, to the Oncology Unit, Letterkenny University Hospital or Pieta House c/o Paschal Blake, Funeral Director, Stoney Arch, New Line Road, Letterkenny.

Family time, please, from 10pm until 11am and on the morning of the funeral.



If you wish to have a death notice included here, email us at editorial@donegaldemocrat.com and include a phone number for verification purposes only.
The report of the review into allegations of planning irregularities in Donegal, some of which date back 20 years, is due to be delivered next month.

The probe was ordered in February 2015 and is looking at allegations made by Gerard Convie , a former senior planner with Donegal County Council who has made claims of alleged planning corruption in the county.

Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government Simon Coveney, TD, told the Dail that the report by the senior counsel who is carrying out an ongoing independent scoping review is due to be submitted in the middle of June.

The review was ordered by Minister Coveneys predecessor, Alan Kelly, who appointed the senior counsel in February 2015.

A departmental report in 2012 found that there was no evidence to back up Mr Convies claims. That report was overturned in June 2014 after Mr Convie took High Court action against the department. The report was withdrawn and the Department of the Environment apologised and paid him 25,000 compensation.Under the settlement the department acknowledged the sincerely held concerns of Mr Convie in relation to planning matters in Donegal and regretted any adverse comment on his motivation and any negative impact on his good name, professional integrity or reputation.

In 2010 a review into bad practice in seven local authorities, including Donegal, was ordered by former Environment Minister John Gormley.

But that review was stopped after the Fianna Fail/Green Party government was removed from power.

Minister Coveney made the comments about the release of the report following a question from Sinn Fein spokesperson on housing, planning and local government, Deputy Eoin O Broin.

Deputy O Broin told the Donegal Democrat that the delay in the report was unacceptable and such serious issues need to be dealt with thoroughly and in a timely fashion.

Part of the problem is that if anyone has concerns about planning regulations, the only thing they can do is make a formal complaint to the department and request an investigation, he said.

What all of us want to see is that there is a thorough and speedy investigation, and if it reveals malpractice, negligence or corruption we want to know what is going to be done about it.
After spending over 20 years of playing to packed audiences across the USA, Ballyshannon man Sean Daly is back on home soil and about to embark on his first Irish tour with his band, The Shams.

Sean is the frontman of the popular Irish rock band, The Shams, who were based in San Francisco- based.

He now is bringing the exciting and high energy act back to its roots in Ireland and they kick off their tour in Ballyshannon tonight, Thursday May 25th, in Owen Roes.

Daly is originally from Ballyshannon but is now based in Galway, but still manages to commute back the States once a month to manage a company he has there.

They started out playing a host of covers from bands like the Pogues but they now have a wealth of their own material and has gained them a loyal following in the US.

Im back in Ireland now with my wife Amy and our children and looking forward to playing the gigs here. Two of the band from America are coming over for them. I was hoping they all could have come over but we have a couple of Irish lads playing with us as well.

He formed The Shams in 2011 and with his fiery live performances and their popular original songs, such as "Go On Home Boys" off their EP "One and All", the band quickly garnered a loyal following throughout the States.

They have played along with Damien Dempsey, Mundy and the Wolf Tones among other well known acts and will also make an appearance at this years Rory Gallagher Festival in Seans home town.

Sean and The Shams in action.



Sean Daly and The Shams have a short West of Ireland tour, The Auld Sod Tour, kicking off tonight, Thursday with live performances at: Owen Roe's in Ballyshannon, May 25th, then Monroe's Live in Galway City on May 26th, The Harp Bar in Cork City on May 28th, The Chasin Bull in Bundoran, Donegal on June 2nd, The Wolfe Tone Bar in Letterkenny, Donegal on June 3rd

You can find their music, tour dates and other information on their website at www.theshamsmusic.com and on FaceBook at Sean Daly & The Shams and on Twitter @theshamsmusic.
Letterkenny artist Peadar McDaid has walked nearly 60 kilometres in the first two days of his eight-day trek across Donegal to raise awareness of mental health and the mental health services available in Donegal.

Peadars 150-mile Mental Health Awareness Walk aims to challenge people to think differently about their mental health, and to remind them that something as simple as getting outdoors and walking can be a great help in improving mental health.

He started his walk in Donegal town yesterday, Wednesday, and walked 30km to Glenties. In todays warm sunshine, Peadar walked 27km from Glenties to Dungloe.

Tomorrow, Friday, Peadar will walk from Dungloe to Gortahork.

Peadar McDaid, during the first day of his eight-day walk. Photo: Brian McDaid

With May being Green Ribbon Month, the mental health charity, Grow, is urging Donegal people to seek support if they are struggling with any aspect of their mental health and well-being.

Grow, which holds free weekly mental health support meetings across County Donegal, is among the partner organisations of the Green Ribbon campaign, which is aimed at promoting open conversation of mental health and challenging the stigma of mental health problems.

Grow holds 120 peer-support group meetings in communities across Ireland each week, including Dungloe, Letterkenny, Buncrana, Stranorlar, Donegal town, Carndonagh and Killybegs.

Grow meetings are free to attend and open to people over age 18. For more information on Grow meetings, visit the website, www.grow.ie.

Free green ribbons are available at Citizens Information Centres or at the Grow office on Pearse Road in Letterkenny.

Peadars walk takes him from Dungloe to Gortahork tomorrow, May 26th; from Gortahork to Fanad Lighthouse on Saturday, May 27th; from Ballygorman to Carndonagh on Sunday, May 28th; from Carndonagh to Moville on Monday, May 29th; from Moville to Burt on Tuesday, May 30th; and from Burt to Letterkenny on Wednesday, May 31st.

Peadar, on the road. Photo: Brian McDaid

During the walk there will also be activity and engagement between schools, communities and service providers, so we get the message out to as many local people as possible that help is out there, and there are ways in which you can also help yourself, Peadar said.

The walk is being held in conjunction with Mental Health Ireland, local service providers, the Green Ribbon project and HSE Health Promotion, and with support of the wider community.
During a lecture by the journalist and author, Robert Fisk, he responded to a question saying, To know about the real situation in the Middle East, people need to go there and learn for themselves.

This made complete sense to Noirin Healy-Magwa, and when she heard, through Trocaire, about the human rights monitoring programme, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), it felt like the right choice for her to pursue.

She sent an application form to the Quakers in London, and was accepted on the training programme. Within months she would leave her Wexford home and start an adventure that would literally change her life.

During her training with the Quakers, Noirin studied the history of the region and completed assignments to stimulate clear thinking on issues related to international and humanitarian law - conflict resolution, the principles and goals of the EAPPI programme and the practicalities of life in the West Bank.

As an EA, an Ecumenical Accompanier, she would live for three months in Palestine, monitoring checkpoints, witnessing demolition of houses and bearing witness to all aspects of life under occupation. On her return, she would be expected to share her experiences with the Irish public with a view to raising awareness and advocating for change.

Arriving and exploring the old city of Jerusalem reminded me of the stories and images of the Holy Land which featured in my Catholic upbringing, said Noirin.

I relished in absorbing the incredible sensory experiences through the cobbled streets of the souk in the ancient city and explored the sacred sites of Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

However, the constant presence of groups of armed Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and Border Police all over East Jerusalem reminded me that I was now in the occupied territories of Palestine.

My placement in a tiny remote Palestinian village in the heart of the West Bank demonstrated that the freedom and access to normal services are severely curtailed for Palestinians, who were surrounded by expanding outposts of Israeli settlers protected by the Israeli army, she said.

All across the West Bank, different kinds of settlements continue to grow, joined by military camps and roads for Israeli vehicles only, dividing the West Bank from West to East. In spite of the stresses with the occupation challenging the social and economic relations amongst Palestinians, the village community were very welcoming and appreciative of us, the EAs, and they shared their home produce of bread, cheese, fruits and nuts on a daily basis.

My three months as an EA in the West Bank has been a transformative journey for me, and since my return, and through my talks, I continue to learn, she said.

Having lived under military occupation and seeing the daily impact on Palestinian lives, it is difficult to maintain a sense of hope to bring about a just peace, based on international law and relevant United Nations Resolutions, Noirin said. But I cannot give up hope and I remain convinced that the solution will arise from Palestinian and Israeli peace organisations and academics exploring methods of resistance and peace.

This must include the pursuit of rights under international law and a new emphasis on global solidarity and non-violent resistance, she said.
A local dairy's second attempt at convincing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to reissue a permit needed to expand its herd and operations has again been denied.

What it all comes down to is the land on which the extra manure will be spread. Numerous irregularities caused the DNR to reject a revised version of Cranberry Creek Dairy's nutrient management plan (NMP).

In a May 3 letter, the DNR gave the Jeremy Radle family -- current owners of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) -- until May 17 to address the reasons that have so far impeded them from increasing its herd from 2,107 animals to to 7,250 in the southern Dunn County town of Rock Creek.

According to the DNR, there are landowners listed on the permit application as receiving manure who have contacted the agency requesting removal from the NMP. In addition, there are farm fields on the list for which there are no signed lease agreements as well as leases that did not include all the owners of land slated to receive manure.

Currently, Cranberry Creek Dairy (E7803 90th Ave., Mondovi) is home to a herd of 1,250 milking cows, 450 heifers and 250 calves. The proposed plan calls for an increase to 5,000 cows, 500 heifers and 1,250 calves along with construction of additional barns, feed storage and waste storage facilities.

If approved, CAFO will produce more than 51 million gallons of manure each year. NMP criteria requires around 4,800 acres of land on which to spread the waste. But to get the necessary thumbs up from the DNR, Cranberry Creek will need to have lease agreements in place to dispose of the manure.

Following a public hearing in September 2016, the News reported a number of nearby landowners told DNR representative Leah Nicol they were surprised -- and not just a little outraged -- to see their names and parcels listed in the NMP for the spreading of manure from the Cranberry Creek operation.

Representing the Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative-Western Wisconsin, Jeff Smith noted there is speculation that if the permit is approved, Grassland Dairy is poised to buy Cranberry Creek Dairy.

"Some property owners are uncomfortable with the prospect of renting farm land for manure spreading to a large corporation like Grassland, as opposed to a local family like the Radles," Smith noted, pointing out with its diminished staff, the DNR depends on self-reporting by CAFO operators to ensure compliance with the permits it issues.

"We are particularly impressed with, and grateful for, the property owners who have stood steadfast against allowing the excessive spreading on their lands," Smith said. "This is how neighbors stand together to protect the public trust and resources we all rely on."

Jeremy Radle was not able to be reached for comment.
State Superintendent Tony Evers recently celebrated River Heights Elementary for being among 178 schools in the state that received Wisconsin Title I School of Recognition honors for the 2016-17 school year during a special May 1 ceremony at the State Capitol in Madison. Evers presented a plaque to Principal Peg Kolden (left) and Title I teacher Jaimie Howe (right).

Our Schools of Recognition are staffed by dedicated educators, Evers said. Their success is something to celebrate; it serves as an example of the importance of schools, families, and communities working together to ensure that every child graduates ready for college and careers.
Modernisation of passenger terminal of countrys main air gateway

The EBRD is providing loan and grant financing to Manas Airport, the main air gateway in the Kyrgyz Republic, for the modernisation of the terminal building.

The airport operating company, MIA (International Airport Manas), will receive a loan of US$ 4.7 million and an investment grant of US$ 500,000 to address the growing demand for good quality airport services in the Kyrgyz Republic, and will assist the installation of a ventilation and heating system, which complies with international best practice and energy efficiency standards.

The loan and grant agreements were signed on May 25th, at the EBRD Headquarters in London, by Natalia Khanjenkova, EBRD Managing Director, Central Asia and Russia and Emir Chukuev, Chairman of the Board of JSC Manas International Airport.

Manas, the main airport in the Kyrgyz Republic, serves the capital Bishkek and is used by some international airlines as a transit airport.

Natalia Khanjenkova said: We are very pleased to support this project, because it signals the start of cooperation between Manas and the EBRD. Regional connectivity, including modernisation of regional airports, is an important part of the Banks transport strategy as well as the overall transition agenda.

The project will also be the first time in the Kyrgyz Republic that a majority state-owned enterprise borrows funds without a sovereign guarantee.

Emir Chukuev said: Development of airport infrastructure is one of the key strategic priorities in Kyrgyzstan. We believe cooperation with such a reputable international financial institution as the EBRD will facilitate Manass rapid growth and lay the foundation for future partnership.

In addition, the EBRD will provide technical assistance to the airport to improve financial management and efficiency of operations, as well as energy efficiency standards.

To date, the EBRD has invested about US$ 770 million in various sectors of the Kyrgyz economy, with projects in infrastructure accounting for a third of the total investment.
PRESS RELEASE

ESCB central banks welcome the publication of Foreign ExchangeGlobal Code of Conduct

The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) welcomes the publication of the Foreign Exchange Global Code of Conduct (Code) and related adherence mechanisms material. This is a significant global initiative to promote a robust, fair, liquid, open and transparent foreign exchange (FX) market underpinned by high ethical standards which benefits all wholesale FX market participants. Well-functioning financial markets are important to central banks in ensuring a smooth transmission of monetary policy to the real economy, from which all citizens should ultimately benefit.

The ESCB central banks are strongly committed to supporting and promoting adherence to the Code in their jurisdictions, which together play a key role in the global FX market. To that end, they are committed to adhering to the principles of the Code when acting as FX market participants and likewise expect their regular FX trading counterparties to adhere to the Code.

The ESCB central banks also encourage FX market participants in their jurisdictions to evolve their practices in such a way that they are consistent with the principles of the Code and to demonstrate their commitment by endorsing the Statement of Commitment annexed to the Code. The ESCB central banks look forward to witnessing the evolution of practices accordingly.

For media queries, please contact Lena-Sophie Demuth, tel.: +49 69 1344 5423.

Notes:
The Menomonie School Board is considering removing quote pages from future yearbooks after administration received a report last Friday about a racist message that was found in the Senior Notes section of the 2017 Yearbook.

The coded message used the first letter of the first word in each sentence to spell out I hate blacks. The student responsible for the quote was immediately suspended. A quote from Adolf Hitler was also included in the final copy of the yearbook.

Before Monday evenings scheduled school board meeting, a group of around 40 people of all ages from the community gathered on the sidewalk outside Menomonie High School in a peaceful demonstration of their support for students of color as school let out.

An associate professor of English at University of Wisconsin-Stout, Glenda Jones has two adopted children who are black and was one of the rally organizers.

I was really impressed that a few students came out after school and stood with the demonstrators, she said. We want a supportive environment for all students and that means an environment where race and ethnicity are acknowledged and valued.

This event as well as the recent discussions about diversity education and religion in the school have helped galvanize members of the community to make sure our curriculum is teaching students about racism and the value of living in a diverse society, Jones added.

Like many in Menomonie and those who attended the rally, Julie Miller, LGBTQIA+ program coordinator at Stout, said she is struggling with the defacement of MHS yearbooks.

Im told the young man meant no harm, but its clear a lot of thought and planning went into his actions, and he had an extended period of time to reflect and intervene before the actual damage was done, Miller said.

She said shes also troubled by its characterization as a prank. Referring to hate speech as a prank only creates more harm for those most directly affected, and the harm from this incident has spread far beyond the high school and Menomonie. As the parent of a middle schooler and a concerned member of this community who works with students of marginalized populations, I would like to see the school take the matter seriously.

In addition to an apology, I think a listening session with students of color at the high school is also in order, so school officials can hear what the students think would be helpful, both in dealing with the yearbooks and the person who defaced them.

Not a prank

The incident was reported as a senior prank, but Joe Zydowsky, superintendent of the School District of the Menomonie Area, was among the many who were not amused.

We did not think it was humorous or appropriate, Zydowsky said at Mondays school board meeting. We are extremely disappointed with the whole situation. Racism, hate speech and bullying of any kind is not tolerated.

Zydowsky said their main priority right now is to find the best way to remedy the situation, since the yearbooks have already been distributed.

District administration has contacted the company that makes the yearbooks to explore replacement options. Zydowsky said that replacement costs would be extremely expensive.

As a short-term solution, Zydowsky suggested those that already have the yearbook can tear the quote page out or cover up the inappropriate quotes with a marker or white out, if they so choose. The high school office will provide assistance to anyone who would like to bring their yearbook in for adjustments.

A letter was also sent out over the weekend to inform parents of the situation.

Board member Amy Riddle-Swanson said she appreciated the letter, but believes the school district has a responsibility to apologize. There was no apology in the letter, she said. Its something I think would be really good for the community.

Going forward

Another aspect that will be investigated and addressed is the yearbooks editing process. Currently, several students review the quotes and flag any violations. An advisor then edits before sending the pages for administrative review.

The editing process will receive more scrutiny in the future, Zydowsky said.

Board member Urs Haltinner recommended a different approach: This has great implications ... Im just going to ask you to seriously consider just having the quote pages removed, period.

Zydowksy agreed, saying, I dont think there will be quote pages in future yearbooks. ... Weve talked about goals for next year, goals with diversity, and this is another example of the work we need to do in this area.

Editor Barbara Lyon contributed to this report.
Here are three actions you can take this week, usually while only wearing your underwear.

We Will Be Outspent



We can still grab the GOP by Tom Price and Ryan Zinkes seats

A lot is made of how much money Democrats have been able to raise lots of grassroots money to support Rob Quist and Jon Ossoff. But both candidate are still being outspent by vast Republican forces gathering in an effort to hold off a righteous storm against the historically unpopular Republican president.

Giving is good and so is people power, people.

You can phonebank for Rob Quists campaign in Montana starting Tuesday night for Thursdays election.

After that you can phonebank for Jon Ossoff from the comfort of your own womancave.

13 Angry White Men

Congress takes a break from trying to uninsure you

If you arent already, its time to worry about Trumpcare in the Senate where 13 white male Senators are deciding how badly they want you uninsure you. Its a secretive process so offensive and anti-democratic that even a Republican is mad at it.

On this weeks The Sit and Spin Room we spoke to the Center for American Progress Topher Spiro about the GOPs hopes for getting this monstrosity passed: Basically, they need to get it done by summer. So we cant miss a chance to raise hell whenever our reps are in town for a recess and a recess starts this Friday.

Find a Town Hall to attend here.

If you cant make it or your rep is hiding, make sure you call and visit her office instead.

Focus is our only hope of stopping this thing and the Congressional Budget Report along with the special election in Montana could help bring to put a fine point on this debate. If we let up for even a day, they will win.
Comcast has led the way in cable television ever since it acquired AT&T Broadband a decade ago. However, in recent years, new technologies  like IPTV and wireless TV from new competitors like AT&T and DirecTV Now  have been eating away at Comcasts growth.

Thats why Comcast not only has introduced Xfinity Mobile, which is its new wireless service, but also is getting ready to launch its own IPTV service, Xfinity Instant TV.

I congratulate Comcast on this forward thinking, but there are no guarantees that IPTV will work for Comcast. That said, it is possible to make an educated guess.

Pay TV Is Changing

Cable TV has been a growth industry for decades, but in many ways that trend is deceiving. Cable television companies like Comcast, Charter, Cox, Time Warner Cable and others really had their markets all to themselves. There was no cable-TV competition in their regions. So, they kept growing, kept ignoring their responsibility to provide good customer care and customer service, and simply got fat and happy at the expense of the user.

That meant customers had no emotional connection with their cable television provider. While that didnt hurt them when there was no competition, things are changing. Thats a secret Apple learned as it grew to become the most valuable company in the U.S. The cable-TV industry should have learned that lesson but didnt. It waited until it was bleeding market share to notice and start to react.

In the last decade, IPTV entered the picture, and that started to eat away at traditional cable TVs market share. New services like AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS and CenturyLink Prism appeared, and customers who liked having choices started to move.

Changes continued as new technologies and new competitors continued to enter the space, with large and small providers of all sorts of television choices. Netflix, Amazon, Google, YouTube, Hulu, and many others have been rewriting the rules of cable TV.

IPTV, Wireless TV Crucial for Comcast

The landscape continues to change with AT&T acquiring DirecTV and creating DirecTV NOW, which gives customers choices of smaller and less expensive bundles of channels, as well as something new in the major television space: wireless TV, or mobile TV. This has really turned up the heat on traditional cable television.

Traditional cable television is not growing. Its growth wave has crested and now is falling. Consumers are switching to new competitors and new technologies. This is the new challenge for the industry. And this is why we are seeing Comcast starting to make such dramatic changes to its lineup with mobile TV and IPTV.

Can Comcast Succeed?

Comcast understands the need, but does the company have the right thinking to be successful at IPTV, wireless and mobile TV? It all depends. It depends on the service, how well its priced, how useful it is, how hot it is in a marketing sense, and more. To tell you the truth  while Id like to see Comcast succeed at this, its track record isnt the greatest in these new areas. To make matters worse, its customers really dont like the company.

It would be great if Comcast were successful with IPTV, wireless and mobile TV. It would be great if the company could turn the page on the past and jump-start the growth engines for this next generation of pay TV. It would be great if it could improve its customer satisfaction. All of that would be great. Well just have to wait and see.
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(Photo:  Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance, 2017)People receive food from the ACT Alliance in Rumading, South Sudan.  Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance, 2017

Global Christian organizations and churches are issuing a plea to the Group of Seven nations meeting in Italy to do all they can save the lives of 20 million people who face famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.

"Not nearly enough is being done to save the lives of the 20 million people who face famine....Among them are 1.4 million children, who are at imminent risk of death unless aid reaches them immediately," the group in a statement released by the group.

The Group of Seven developed nations, known as the G7 is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented within the G7.

The 43rd G7 summit will be held on May 2627, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily, Italy.

"In this day and age, famine cannot be tolerated, not just because every human being is valued in God's sight and has the right to eat but also because starvation

"It is the moral duty of wealthy nations to do all they can to provide life-saving funding and assistance and to work to end the underlying conditions that drive starvation: conflict, poor governance and climate change,"

The signatories of the plea include the ACT Alliance, Caritas in Veritate International-CiVI, Lutheran World Federation, The Salvation Army, World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance and World Vision International.

They noted that on Sunday, May 21, more than one billion Christians were called to take part in a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine.

"We as signatories helped lead that global event because we believe that this crisis demands our prayers and that governments, society and people of faith must act," they said.

WORSENING HUNGER

The current crisis is happening in a backdrop of worsening hunger and the number of people needing food assistance has risen by 35 per cent in the last year, from 80 to 108 million people.

"This appalling statistic flies in the face of global commitments to end poverty and hunger by 2030 and suggests that while things are improving for the vast majority of the world, things are worsening for the already worst off.

"Humanitarian organizations - and our church members on the ground - are warning of catastrophe.

"In East Africa hundreds of thousands of people are now on the move, fleeing starvation and conflict or displaced across borders into hardscrabble settlements. Uganda now hosts the world's largest refugee camp - Bidi Bidi, with more than 270,000 people.

"Every day thousands more South Sudanese arrive in Uganda, among them hundreds of unaccompanied children whose parents have been lost or killed. Food aid is desperately short."

They said that in Somalia, hundreds of thousands have fled the dry lands where drought has destroyed whole herds of livestock and left villages with nothing to stay for.

Aid workers report of mothers losing their children to hunger and thirst on the long trek to find food and water while cholera, diarrhea and other diseases are also killing children, their weakened bodies unable to cope with what otherwise is treatable.

"They and their families are dying silently in remote villages, on the march to find help, or trapped in conflict kill zones, where they are subject to bombings, kidnapping, rape and violence. Children are paying a particularly heavy price," said the message to the G7.

"The last time that the world heard of famine was in 2011, when 260,000 Somalis died - half of them children. The situation is worse now.

!The UN says it has not seen a humanitarian crisis of this scale since 1945. Even though we know the trajectory of this crisis, the response is far too slow. Why is it that we only respond when death is staring us in the face?"
(Screenshot from ABC News footage)Watched by U.S. President Donald Trump, Pope Francis blesses a rosary for First Lady Melania Trump at the Vatican on May 24, 2017.

Pope Francis urged U.S. President Donald Trump to be a peacemaker at their first meeting in the Vatican, but he was not all smiles throughout their meeting.

Trump had spoken sharp words about the Pope during the U.S. election campaign last year, but received a tribute from the Swiss Guard in a Vatican courtyard when he arrived on May 24.

"It is my desire that you become an olive tree to construct peace," the Pope said, speaking in Spanish, Reuters reported.

Trump responded: "We can use peace."

Francis once said that Christians must have "cheerful faces and eyes full of joy," The Guardian wrote, noting such emotions seemed absent when Trump descended on the Vatican.

The meeting was ultimately considered a success following the rocky start to the pair's relationship last year, when the Pope was seen to have questioned Trump's Christian credentials.

But despite a warm trading of gifts and humorous exchange between Pope Francis and the first lady, Melania Trump when the Pope asked if she fed him a popular kind of Slovenian cake  the meeting was notable for the somber tone at the start.

Francis gave Trump a signed copy of his 2017 peace message titled "Nonviolence - A Style of Politics for Peace," and a copy of his 2015 encyclical letter on the need to protect the environment from the effects of climate change.

"Well, I'll be reading them," said Trump who has made a number of utterances at odds with the notion that climate change is caused mostly by human activity.

When the two sat at the pontiff's desk watched by photographers and reporters, the Pope shunned the typical small talk that usually occurs before the media is ushered out.

MEXICAN WALL

Last year the Pope said a man who thinks about building walls and not bridges is "not Christian," seen as a sharp reprimand for Trump's pledge to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, Reuters reported.

Trump said it was "disgraceful" of the Argentine-born pope, who represents just over half of the world's two billion Christians, to question his faith.

"If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS' ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president," Trump said during the campaign.

The Pope and President talked privately for around 30 minutes with translators present.

When first lady Melania Trump accompanied the President to his meeting with the Pope, she wore a black long-sleeved Dolce and Gabbana dress with a veil.

Trump's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump was also dressed all in black with a head covering, ABC News Australia noted.

"Per Vatican protocol, women who have an audience with the Pope are required to wear long sleeves, formal black clothing, and a veil to cover the head," Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's communications director, told CNN.

Days earlier, during her visit to Saudi Arabia, a strict, conservative Muslim theocracy, the first lady avoided the customary headscarf, but arrived at the birthplace of Islam wearing a black suit reminiscent of the abaya worn by most women there.

Despite not covering her head, the first lady's outfit earned her glowing reviews quoted in the local press that lauded her responsiveness to the country's culture.

When asked why she wore a veil at the Vatican but overlooked a head covering in Saudi Arabia, Grisham said there was no request nor requirement for such attire from that country.
(Photo: Ecumenical News / Peter Kenny)World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, addresses journalists on November 7, 2013 during a media conference at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea.

Calling for an end to the war in South Sudan, the head of the World Council of Churches has expressed shock at how leaders of both sides of the conflict engulfing the world's newest country have led their people into suffering.

"The senseless war in South Sudan must end now," said the World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, following the visit of an ecumenical delegation to churches in Juba, South Sudan on May 2.

"It is shocking to see how leaders in both parties involved in the conflict have led their own people to such pain and suffering," Tveit said in a statement released Monday.

"From the stories I was told, it is impossible to comprehend the scale of killings and atrocities taking place."

South Sudan is a landlocked country in northeastern Africa inhabited my people who are mainly followers of Christianity or African traditional religions that gained its independence from mainly Islamic Sudan in 2011.

Independence was preceded by decades of civil war in which more than 2.5 million people were killed and millions became refugees both within and outside the country. Church leaders played a key role in the negotiations process for independence.

A Norwegian Lutheran, Tveit stressed the need for leaders on both sides to use negotiations set to resume this week as an opportunity to agree and implement a ceasefire immediately.

He said this will enable aid groups, including the WCC-supported ACT Alliance, to respond effectively to the humanitarian crisis resulting from the violence.

During their visit the group expressed support for local churches, advocated for a cease-fire, urged progress in the ongoing peace talks and encouraged support to humanitarian initiatives in the country.

SOUTH SUDAN VICE-PRESIDENT

They first met with the South Sudan vice-president, James Wani Igga, the U.N. representative to South Sudan, Hilde Frafjord Johnson and four political detainees from the opposition in Juba, released recently by the South Sudanese government.

Calling on South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and rebel commander Riek Machar to engage in peace talks, the group said the leaders must find a political solution to end the conflict, as enough damage has already been done.

Tveit noted that thousands of people have been killed and many have been displaced and warned that unless people can plant their seeds in the coming months, they will face an acute threat of famine."

One goal of the pastoral visit was to encourage the churches in Sudan to keep pressing for an end to the violence.

"The people and the churches in South Sudan should know they are not left alone as they cry for peace and justice," Tveit said. "The world cannot leave South Sudan alone."

"As we have supported South Sudanese in their struggles for independence, we must support them in this time of crisis. The international community must address the risks of famine and hunger," Tveit added.

The WCC head expressed his appreciation for humanitarian efforts by the United Nations and the ACT Alliance in South Sudan.

He said he hopes to see visible results from an upcoming meeting in May in Oslo aimed at providing an increase in humanitarian aid to the country.

"Churches in South Sudan have a significant role in national dialogue affirming unity and a sense of nation-building by strengthening a process of reconciliation," Tveit said. "In this process of reconciliation, youth and women must be empowered."

Tveit also urged that justice be restored after peace is established. He said that there should be a justice mechanism both at the national and international levels which should investigate atrocities in South Sudan and pave the way for reconciliation.

The delegates also met with South Sudanese Bishop Michael Taban Toro, Rev. Mark Akec Cien, and representatives of the ACT Alliance, Finnish Church Aid, Caritas Internationalis and Norwegian Church Aid in Juba.

The ecumenical delegation included, Tveit; WCC moderator Dr. Agnes Abuom; ACT Alliance general secretary John Nduna; general secretary of the World YWCA Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda; the WCC's former general secretary and ecumenical special envoy for South Sudan and Sudan, Rev. Samuel Kobia, who also represented the All Africa Conference of Churches; and the WCC programme executive for advocacy for Africa, Dr Nigussu Legesse.

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity and represents more than 500 faithful from Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other traditions in over 140 countries. The WCC works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church which serves on some of its bodies.
PALM BEACH, Fla.  By now youre exhausted by all the head-swiveling news  the terrorist slaughter in Manchester; the presidents trip to Everywhere; and investigation upon investigation of the possible collusion with Russia, obstruction of justice, and liars by the dozen.

Which is why Im sitting in Palm Beach practicing Lilly Pulitzers dictum: Being happy never goes out of style.

Also, President Trump is not here, which seems to please everyone since his frequent forays to his southern White House have meant nothing but roadblocks, impenetrable traffic and lousy retail sales.

The otherworldliness of the nations most glamorous beach town makes current events seem at times remote. This sense was magnified recently by visions of Trumps sword-dancing, orb-fondling, and demonstration of ugly Americanism in its latest iteration of massive wealth, arms deals and blind-eye talking  the presidents uncanny ability to see only what he chooses and to speak in terms compatible with that vision. Witness: His condemnation of Iran, which recently re-elected a moderate president, while schmoozing in autocratic Saudi Arabia, whence came 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists.

Other-awareness has never been Trumps strong suit, especially as concerns his wife, Melania, who forever-famously appeared to flick away the presidents hand when he reached toward her, seemingly trying to mimic Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was holding his own wifes hand.

Captured on film, it was the flick (or slap?) seen round the world  and in many cases, cheered. In that instant, the first lady became every American woman who donned a pink-kitten hat to protest the then-new president  and cemented her status as star of the show: Melania of Arabia, High Priestess of the Testosterone-Intoxicated, Tiny-Hands Revue. Or something like that.

All politics aside  Melania and Ivanka Trump stood as beacons of light in a part of the world that remains cloaked in the darkness of religious fundamentalism and oppression. Preternaturally beautiful, they seemed to glide as apparitions above the sea of dark suits and white robes and must have struck fear in the hearts of men whose culture demands that women be publicly invisible.

Yes, they were relegated to traditional role-playing in Saudi Arabia. Some might have wished theyd had more significant roles, though surely Melania and Ivanka were grateful to be excluded from the all-guy Toby Keith concert. Otherwise, the importance of adhering to protocol cant be exaggerated in diplomatic relations.

Many also noted that Melania declined to cover her head, which isnt required of visiting dignitaries. Nor is going bare-headed considered insulting despite citizen Trumps tweet criticizing Michelle Obama when she chose to leave her head uncovered. For the record, Laura Bush didnt cover her head either while in Saudi Arabia 10 years ago, despite breathless headlines to the contrary. Both Greta Van Susteren and I were present and can attest that Bush only briefly donned a black scarf festooned with pink ribbons as a gesture of gratitude for the gift. It came from Saudi women showing their appreciation for the first ladys efforts to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention and treatment in the Middle East, where, at the time, 80 percent of women with breast cancer died of the disease.

It is true that Western women are encouraged to dress modestly, as Melania and Ivanka did. It helps that both are beautiful and have fathomless wardrobe budgets. Despite their apparent ornamentalism, theres little doubt both women made a lasting impression on Saudi women, who would have recognized and identified with their feminine power. Wordlessly, they projected strength, intelligence, grace  and a timeless wisdom that all women share.

This was also the impression of a Palm Beach image consultant I interviewed here, Susan Bigsby, who for 30 years has dressed an elite, diverse clientele  from a transgender executive to first ladies to a Syrian Muslim seeking to Westernize her wardrobe with attention to her cultural modesty. Following the petite Bigsby up and down Worth Avenue as she shopped for a client was like tracking a hummingbird on a sugar spree.

Perfect and stunning, she said of Ivanka and Melania. Muslim women, while respecting their religion, also love glamour. You can be sure they were studying  and appreciating  Melania and Ivanka. ... They represented the American woman with appropriateness, elegance and style.

Thus, as your long-suffering Palm Beach correspondent, I propose a toast to Americas first ladies for showing the world that despite our coarse, ham-fisted president, we have not completely forsaken class.
If Levi Vaughan, a 5-year-old kindergartner in Braidwood, Ill., makes it through math class without a meltdown, its a good day.

The transition to school has been tough in other ways for Levi, said Stefanie Vaughan, his mother, but math has been uniquely challenging.

His math papers get pulled out and hes in full-blown crisis mode, Vaughan said. He has to leave the class.

So Vaughan reached out to a friend, Molly Jameson, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Northern Colorado who studies math anxiety in young children.

In 2013, Jameson developed a scale to help measure math anxiety in the youngest students. Vaughans hope is that the scale will help her and Levis teachers understand how much of Levis distress is specifically related to his anxiety about math.

Jameson is one of a number of researchers trying to gain a better understanding of math anxiety in children like Levi.

A growing body of research shows that many adults and older students have anxiety about math. But only in recent years have researchers been looking to early childhood to understand the roots of the problem and how it is entangled with math performance and other psychological challenges.

Its unclear in the literature if people who have low knowledge develop anxietyin which case, they need skillsor if a low feeling of confidence leads to lack of knowledge. Jameson said. She said that understanding math anxiety could help teachers identify how and where to intervene when students are struggling.

And, she said, its important to intervene early. For instance, adult women cite higher levels of anxiety in math than adult men, and women are also less likely to hold jobs in many science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or STEM, fieldsbut women who stay in STEM fields are less likely to report math anxiety, Jameson said.

I think a lot of it starts in early elementary school, she added.

Measuring Math Anxiety

Were consistently seeing we have a decent number of kids with math anxiety by 4th or 5th grades, said Colleen Ganley, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, but we dont know when it starts, how it develops, whats happening before that, and how do they get there.

A first step is determining how to measure how math-anxious young students are in the first place. But the scales used to measure anxiety in adults arent always appropriate for young children, and there is no single scale used by most researchers.

In her Childrens Anxiety in Math Scale, Jameson uses a series of facesa smiling face indicates a lack of anxiety, while a frowning face is associated with anxiety. Her scale has been used by researchers in the Philippines and Turkey, as well as the United States.

Ganley developed a different scale for her research that asks students to answer questions about their relationship with math on a scale of yes, kind of, not really, and no.

Ganley said that while some early research indicates that adults can self-identify as math anxious, a 1st grader is not likely to be familiar with the word anxietyor with some of the physical symptoms associated with it.

She said that some surveys ask if a child feels butterflies in his or her stomach in math class. But one child she surveyed said he felt butterflies because he loved math so much, and another associated that feeling with hunger.

Ganley said that on her scale, students are answering that they are anxious about math as early as 1st grade.

A Complex Link

Julianne Herts and Alana Foley, both researchers at the University of Chicago, recently published a paper showing that math anxiety can be present even in students who excel at mathand that anxiety can significantly impede their performance in the subject.

But that work focused on older students. Some researchers are beginning to look at how adults attitudes and dispositions affect children.

Herts said that teachers attitudes seem to matter, and that early-education majors tend to be very math-anxious as a group. Parents attitudes also seem to have an impact: In 2015, Sian Bielock, a professor at the University of Chicago, found that parental anxiety about math was tied to math anxiety among children. That effect can start early, even before school.

That finding lines up with Stefanie Vaughans experience. Vaughan said she struggled with math in school, and the difficulty is now compounded because Illinois math standards are a different approach than what I grew up with.

Still others are beginning to look at how to address math anxiety.

Last year, for instance, a team of researchers led by Vinod Menon, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, found that working with a tutor seemed to improve 3rd graders performance in math and reduce their anxiety.

The University of Chicagos Foley said that theres room for more research on whats happening in the earliest grades. Anxiety and performance are correlated, and in adults it tends to be bidirectional, Foley said. In children, we have the opportunity to ... tease out casual relationships.

The University of Northern Colorados Jameson said she could imagine individual school psychologists or teachers using the math-anxiety scale to understand when a students math struggles were related to emotions or to determine how an entire class was feeling about math.

Is it a lack of motivation or knowledge or an emotional block? she said.

But the University of Chicagos Herts said that even as more researchers develop tools to identify math anxiety, she would caution against overidentifying students as having math anxiety, because that could potentially foster even more wariness about the subject.

Meanwhile, Vaughan, the Illinois mother, hopes the research eventually translates into more-tangible approaches to helping children like Levi, who loves science and other subjects.

I hope he wouldnt feel immediately defeated when he sees math and just shuts down, she said. Id hope he would be able to realize that it might be tough, but to keep working and youll get through.
ILDEX Indonesia: Internationalising the livestock market in one of the fastest growing countries in Asia



Press release

For decades, Indonesia is considered as the largest economy in Southeast Asia. The middle class is set to become a prominent force in the country. This is due to not only to their huge demographic, but also to their strong income growth prospects. Investors will find in Indonesia the ideal balance between booming demand for livestock products and an abundance of agricultural and natural resources.

As Southeast Asia's largest country (and the world's fourth most populous at about 250 million people), Indonesia has witnessed a major boom in demand for livestock products such as red meat, milk, eggs and beef and cattle. Which the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture is more focused on strengthening at the moment.

"This effort is the government's commitment in pursuing self-sufficiency of cattle production, targeted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, to be reached in 2026. This effort is also to realize an independent country in terms of the fulfillment of livestock products, and at the same time, to improve the welfare of farmers," said the Minister of Agriculture. The Minister of Trade also stated that Indonesia should be self-sufficient on livestock and be able to export these products. "The welfare of farmers is rising, and the poverty rate is decreasing. That is the government's target," he said.



VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific (VNUEAP) and Federasi Masyarakat Perunggasan Indonesia (FMPI) together announced investment platform entitled, "ILDEX Indonesia 2017". It is the third edition of its kind focusing on International Livestock, Dairy, Meat Processing and Aquaculture Exposition. It will take place at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Hall D1 & D2, Jakarta, Indonesia on 18-20 October 2017.

More than 8,000 trade visitors are expected to participate and interact with 250 international brands. The show will feature three industry zones which include: Feed and Animal Health; Feed Milling and Farm Equipment; and Genetic, Breeding and Processing. The exhibition will also present two country pavilions (China and South Korea) and a special pavilion for Pet food.

Mrs. Panadda Atthakowit, Head of Competence Center Livestock of VNUEAP said that, "Indonesia represents 40% of ASEAN's total population and middle-income economies. It also represents a growing domestic and regional consumer base. With a professional and Industry partner, FMPI, we are strongly confident that we can offer the qualified market place that may create value and business opportunities for today's livestock market. At ILDEX Indonesia, visitors will be able to meet many top companies such as Big Dutchman, Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, Japfa, Famsum,. Cheil Jedang Corporation, Elanco, Emtech and King Techina."

ILDEX Indonesia 2017 will once again feature a long list of supporters from the Indonesian government and local associations including Department of Animal Husbandry (DISPET JABAR), Department of Marine, Agriculture and Food Security (DKI), Faculty of Animal Science, Bogor Agriculture University (FAPET IPB), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University (FKH IPB), Federation of Indonesia Poultry Society, Indonesia Layer Farmer Association (PPN), Indonesia Poultry Farmer Association (GOPAN), Indonesia Poultry Farmer Association and Information Centre (PINSAR), Indonesia Poultry Veterinarian Association (ADHPI), Indonesian Association of Veterinary Public Health (ASKESMAVETI), Indonesian Feed mills Association (GPMT), especially from Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Indonesia and more.

Deddy Kusmanagandi, Chairman of Indonesian Poultry Industry Association (ADHPI) shared that "ILDEX Indonesia is an event the Indonesia people waiting for. We inform our members and farmers in our Association to come to this event because this is the right platform where we will meet top quality exhibitors and buyers."



In the previous editions of ILDEX Indonesia, 94% of visitors gave positive feedback and recommended this show to their friends and colleagues. More than 88% were satisfied quality of trade visitor and they intend to visit ILDEX Indonesia again.

Edy Purwoko, country manager of PT.Ceva Animal Health Indonesia said that "The quality of the visitors is very good. It exceeded my expectation and Indonesia is one of the largest countries which we will continue to invest in next edition. Next year, I think the number of participants will grow significantly and even better so I'd like to invite everyone to come to ILDEX Indonesia 2017."



Visitor can also find more information by visiting www.ildex-indonesia.com. We encourage companies related to livestock, dairy, meat processing, aquaculture industry a to be part of this event to be able to introduce your brand to worldwide and be recognize in Asia region. Contact to our Sales Department via +662 670 0900 or email ildex@vnuexhibitionsap.com (International sale support)

ILDEX Indonesia 2017" which will take place at Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Hall D1 & D2, Jakarta, Indonesia from 18-20 October 2017.
'Our Calling to Health and Healing is as Strong as Ever'

Contact: World Council of Churches,

+41-79-507-6363;

www.oikoumene.org/press



GENEVE, May 25, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Convening a range of international representatives and partners in Geneva on 24 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) reiterated its commitment to the ministry of health and healing for all people, taking new steps towards a new Global Ecumenical Health Strategy.

Stressing the uniting power of the ecumenical community, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected that "while we acknowledge changing landscapes, we see that many health challenges still remain today."

"As the World Council of Churches, we commit ourselves to continue to play our role as convenor, facilitator and catalyst," said Tveit, and added, "we need to agree now, on how to gather data, to analyse them, to use our advocacy in the relevant contexts and towards key institutions, and to remain steadfast. Our calling to health and healing is as strong as ever."

"The church remains a key player in working for sustainable development, and particularly in health," added Dr Mwai Makoka, WCC programme executive for Health and Healing. "The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be reached without the active participation of the church, and it is clear that health is not just an add-on, but an integral part of the Church's ministry."

"We need to bring back 'the person' into our work on healthcare," said Dr Cherian Varghese, coordinator for Management of Non- communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization. "We can see that the policies we make are often for those who do not themselves have a voice in the policy-making process. The ecumenical movement can have an important role to play in changing this, to help bring them to the table."

Dr Christoph Benn, director of External Relations at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, further reflected on the value of the work done by Christian Health Associations around the world, and the role the WCC has played in helping to establish them. "We cannot underestimate the importance of that work in many countries," Benn said. "So the focus now needs to be on strengthening these networks, and reviewing, where do we need to add to such networks."

Benn also made the connection to issues of justice that so often hamper the work towards healthcare for all people. "Among the obstacles are often not just scarcity of resources or lack of health professionals. What is holding us back is often conflict. And faith communities are essential here, in creating environments for dialogue," Benn said.

"The work on the ecumenical health strategy will form part of the broader WCC's framework of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace," concluded WCC deputy general secretary responsible for Public Witness and Diakonia, Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri.

"We can see that partnerships are crucial in implementing such a health strategy, and as we have been reminded, in 2018 it will be 50 years since the Christian Medical Commission was first formed, as well as 70 years since the formation of the WCC. It will be a good time to launch and begin to implement a new ecumenical health strategy."

"Health and healing for all people, that is the challenge" (WCC press release of 28 February 2017)

WCC to develop Global Ecumenical Health Strategy, starting in Lesotho (WCC press release of 23 February 2017)

WCC work on Health and Healing
The conference, which is in its seventh year, saw more than 200 delegates who represent the countrys most respected companies and brands, in attendance.

The conference highlighted the state of the South African economy, the evolution of technology, retail and consumer trends. Among the informative speakers, duo from Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), Claudia De Gouveia-Macedo, Strategy and Transformation Manager and Joven Pillay, Customer and Digital Consulting Leader presented an interesting and thought-provoking discussion on Retail in 2030. Technology will dominate retail in 2030. PwC shared a closer look at the 2030 shopper, Shopping Centres and retailers and what we would require in order to offer a 360-degree interaction with their brand, store or product to customers-a complete evolution of todays version of the omnichannel approach.

Technology is here to stay and as customer trends evolve, the way retailers approach them need to evolve too says Odette Schwegler, founder of Bl!nk Pictures. Odette took delegates through Content Marketing and taking it to the next level. We need to do away with traditional media platforms and provide the customer with the creative freedom to share their interaction with your brand and products in ways not explored as yet, she said.

One of the omni-present themes echoed throughout the conference was knowing ones customer and the different techniques used to get to know them. The better informed one is with customers, the better equipped one is to cater for their needs. Kate Snyder, Head of Anthropology at Instant Grass International agrees. This is true among millennials and how they shop and influence their peers to also support a specific brand or company. Retailers need to know who these customers are, what they like, who they like and what makes them happy, she said.

The 2017 SACSC Research Conference was sponsored by Cushman & Wakefield Excellerate. Nomzamo Radebe, CEO of JHI Properties, a division of Cushman & Wakefield Excellerate opened the conference by saying, Knowledge is power. This statement dates back to 1957 and could not be truer than in todays rapidly-changing world; particularly so in the retail space. Importantly, it was Albert Einstein who declared that information was not knowledge. So, as we deliberate at this years conference its vital that we see research not as a tool for gathering information, but as a means of developing knowledge that can be used  in this case the retail environment  to serve out target audience better. We at Cushman and Wakefield Excellerate are proud to be the official sponsors of this years event and we look forward to sponsoring the 2018 Research Conference as well.

SACSC President, Jeff Zidel expressed how tumultuous the past year had been in terms of the economy but also how steadfast the shopping centre and retail industries had been in order to cope with these challenges. In its seventh year, the Research Conference has definitely grown in leaps and bounds. In spite of the challenges, the industry has advanced progressively and research-driven decisions have been crucial to paint a clear picture of the market and empower the retail and property industry, he said.
The Sukma incident of 24 April 2017, in which 25 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawans lost their lives, is yet another milestone in the cycle of violence and counter-violence in the 50-year history of the Indian Maoist movement. The reflective comments in the media on this have been far more introspective than the dominant security-centric line of analysis, propagated in recent years. But unfortunately, the principal policymakers of the Indian state continue to believe that militaristic counter-insurgency can wipe out the Maoist challenge. They plan to strengthen this perspective with an even more superior technology and a reorganisation of counter-insurgency strategies and personnel, with the help of global expertise. They refuse to reckon with the reasons the movement has gone on for five decades, at present covering, according to official figures, 104 districts in 13 states and much more unofficially.

The Times of India said in its editorial on 26 April 2017:
From the very beginning of the cloud computing era, security has been the biggest concern among enterprises considering the public cloud. For many organizations, the idea of storing data or running applications on infrastructure that they do not manage directly seems inherently insecure.

CloudPassages 2021 AWS Cloud Security Report found that misconfiguration of cloud platforms (71 percent), exfiltration of sensitive data (59 percent), and insecure APIs (54 percent) are the top cloud security threats facing cybersecurity professionals. In addition, 95 percent of survey respondents confirmed that they are extremely to moderately concerned about public cloud security.

Those concerns are certainly justified. According to IDCs 2021 State of Cloud Security Report, 79 percent of surveyed companies reported a cloud data breach in the last 18 months. Public cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) may be less vulnerable than traditional data centers, but that doesnt mean its without its own set of risks. Enterprises that dont want to be part of that statistic should understand and implement cybersecurity best practices when it comes to their cloud infrastructure.

What is cloud security?

Cloud security consists of all the technologies and processes that ensure an organizations cloud infrastructure is protected against internal and external cybersecurity threats. As more enterprises look to the cloud as the future of business, cloud security is an absolute necessity to maintain continuity. Cloud security makes sure the lights stay on so businesses can focus on driving progress.

12 steps of the best practices for cloud security

Cloud security is constantly evolving, but a handful of best practices have remained constant for ensuring the security of cloud environments. Organizations that have existing cloud solutions in place or are looking to implement them should consider these tips and tools to ensure that sensitive applications and data dont fall into the wrong hands.

Jump to each step of cloud security best practices:

1. Understand your shared responsibility model

In a private data center, the enterprise is solely responsible for all security issues. But in the public cloud, things are much more complicated. While the buck ultimately stops with the cloud customer, the cloud provider assumes the responsibility for some aspects of IT security. Cloud and security professionals call this a shared responsibility model.

Leading IaaS and platform as a service (PaaS) vendors like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure provide documentation to their customers so all parties understand where specific responsibilities lie according to different types of deployment. The diagram below, for example, shows that application-level controls are Microsofts responsibility with software as a service (SaaS) models, but it is the customers responsibility in IaaS deployments. For PaaS models, Microsoft and its customers share the responsibility.

Source: Microsoft

Enterprises that are considering a particular cloud vendor should review its policies about shared security responsibilities and understand who is handling the various aspects of cloud security. That can help prevent miscommunication and misunderstanding. More importantly, though, clarity about responsibilities can prevent security incidents that occur as a result of a particular security need falling through the cracks.

2. Ask your cloud provider detailed security questions

In addition to clarifying shared responsibilities, organizations should ask their public cloud vendors detailed questions about the security measures and processes they have in place. Its easy to assume that the leading vendors have security handled, but security methods and procedures can vary significantly from one vendor to the next.

To understand how a particular cloud provider compares, organizations should ask a wide range of questions, including:

Where do the providers servers reside geographically?

What is the providers protocol for suspected security incidents?

What is the providers disaster recovery plan?

What measures does the provider have in place to protect various access components?

What level of technical support is the provider willing to provide?

What are the results of the providers most recent penetration tests?

Does the provider encrypt data while in transit and at rest?

Which roles or individuals from the provider have access to the data stored in the cloud?

What authentication methods does the provider support?

What compliance requirements does the provider support?

Related: Cloud Security Standards: What You Should Know

3. Deploy an identity and access management solution

The fourth biggest threat to public cloud security identified in CloudPassages report is unauthorized access (and growing  53 percent, up from 42 percent in 2020). While hackers methods of gaining access to sensitive data are becoming more sophisticated with each new attack, a high-quality identity and access management (IAM) solution can help mitigate these threats.

Experts recommend that organizations look for an IAM solution that allows them to define and enforce access policies based on least privilege. These policies should also be based on role-based permission capabilities. Additionally, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can further reduce the risk of malicious actors gaining access to sensitive information, even if they manage to steal usernames and passwords.

Organizations may also want to look for an IAM solution that works in hybrid environments that include private data centers as well as cloud deployments. This can simplify authentication for end users and make it easier for security staff to ensure that they are enforcing consistent policies across all IT environments.

Read more: Best IAM Tools & Solutions for 2021

4. Train your staff

To prevent hackers from getting their hands on access credentials for cloud computing tools, organizations should train all workers on how to spot cybersecurity threats and how to respond to them. Comprehensive training should include basic security knowledge like how to create a strong password and identify possible social engineering attacks as well as more advanced topics like risk management.

Perhaps most importantly, cloud security training should help employees understand the inherent risk of shadow IT. At most organizations, its all too easy for staff to implement their own tools and systems without the knowledge or support of the IT department. Without top-to-bottom visibility of all systems that interact with the companys data, theres no way to take stock of all vulnerabilities. Enterprises need to explain this risk and hammer home the potential consequences for the organization.

Organizations also need to invest in specialized training for their security staff. The threat landscape shifts on a daily basis, and IT security professionals can only keep up if they are constantly learning about the newest threats and potential countermeasures.

Read more: Best Cybersecurity Awareness Training for Employees in 2021

5. Establish and enforce cloud security policies

All organizations should have written guidelines that specify who can use cloud services, how they can use them, and which data can be stored in the cloud. They also need to lay out the specific security technologies that employees must use to protect data and applications in the cloud.

Ideally, security staff should have automated solutions in place to ensure that everyone is following these policies. In some cases, the cloud vendor may have a policy enforcement feature that is sufficient to meet the organizations needs. In others, the organization may need to purchase a third party solution like CASB that offers policy enforcement capabilities.

Zero trust is one such technology that offers a refined control over policy enforcement. Tools in this category work with other systems to determine how much access each user needs, what they can do with that access, and what it means for the broader organization.

Read more: Best Zero Trust Security Solutions for 2021

6. Secure your endpoints

Using a cloud service doesnt eliminate the need for strong endpoint securityit intensifies it. New cloud computing projects offer an opportunity to revisit existing strategies and ensure the protections in place are adequate to address evolving threats.

A defense-in-depth strategy that includes firewalls, anti-malware, intrusion detection, and access control has long been the standard for endpoint security. However, the array of endpoint security concerns has become so complex that automation tools are required to keep up. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools and/or endpoint protection platforms (EPP) can help in this area.

EDR and EPP solutions combine traditional endpoint security capabilities with continuous monitoring and automated response. Specifically, these tools address a number of security requirements, including patch management, endpoint encryption, VPNs, and insider threat prevention among others.

Read more: Top Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) Solutions for 2021

7. Encrypt data in motion and at rest

Encryption is a key part of any cloud security strategy. Not only should organizations encrypt any data in a public cloud storage service, but they should also ensure that data is encrypted during transitwhen it may be most vulnerable to attacks.

Some cloud computing providers offer encryption and key management services. Some third-party cloud and traditional software companies offer encryption options as well. Experts recommend finding an encryption product that works seamlessly with existing work processes, eliminating the need for end users to take any extra actions to comply with company encryption policies.

Read more: Best Encryption Software & Tools for 2021

8. Use intrusion detection and prevention technology

Intrusion prevention and detection systems (IDPS) are among some of the most effective cloud security tools on the market. They monitor, analyze, and respond to network traffic across both on-premises and public cloud environments. When they encounter signature-based, protocol-based, or anomaly-based threats, IDPS solutions add them to a log, alert administrators to unusual activity, and block the threats so admins have enough time to take action.

These tools are important for round-the-clock monitoring and real-time alerts. Without IDPS, its nearly impossible to analyze network traffic for the telltale signs of a sophisticated attack.

Read more: Best Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems

9. Double-check your compliance requirements

Organizations that collect personally identifiable information (PII) like those in retail, healthcare, and financial services face strict regulations when it comes to customer privacy and data security. Some businesses in certain geographic locationsor businesses that store data in particular regionsmay have special compliance requirements from local or state governments as well.

Before establishing a new cloud computing service, organizations should review their particular compliance requirements and make sure that their service provider will meet their data security needs.

Related: Best Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) Tools of 2021

10. Consider a CASB or cloud security solution

Dozens of companies offer solutions or services specifically designed to enhance cloud security. If an organizations internal security staff doesnt have cloud expertise or if the existing security solutions dont support cloud environments, it may be time to bring in outside help.

Cloud access security brokers (CASBs) are tools purpose-built to enforce cloud security policies. They have become increasingly popular as more organizations have started using cloud services. Experts say that a CASB solution may make the most sense for organizations that use multiple cloud computing services from several different vendors. These solutions can also monitor for unauthorized apps and access too.

Read more: Best CASB Security Vendors for 2021

11. Conduct audits and penetration testing

Whether an organization chooses to partner with an outside security firm or keep security teams in-house, experts say all enterprises should run penetration testing to determine whether existing cloud security efforts are sufficient to protect data and applications.

Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security audits that include an analysis of all security vendors capabilities. This should confirm that they are meeting the agreed upon security terms. Access logs should also be audited to ensure only appropriate and authorized personnel are accessing sensitive data and applications in the cloud.

Read more: Best Penetration Testing Tools for 2021

12. Enable security logs

In addition to conducting audits, organizations should enable logging features for their cloud solutions. Logging helps system administrators keep track of which users are making changes to the environmentsomething that would be nearly impossible to do manually. If an attacker gains access and makes changes, the logs will illuminate all their activities so they can be remediated.

Misconfigurations are one of the most significant challenges of cloud security, and effective logging capabilities will help connect the changes that led to a particular vulnerability so they can be corrected and avoided in the future. Logging also helps identify individual users who may have more access than they actually need to do their jobs, so administrators can adjust those permissions to the bare minimum.

Cloud security requires the right tools

Experts emphasize that, in most cases, concerns about security should not prevent organizations from using public cloud services. Often, organizations actually have fewer security issues with cloud-based workloads than with those that run in traditional data centers.

If one thing is clear from our list of best practices, its that strong cloud security relies on having the right tools in place. By following cloud security best practices and implementing the appropriate security tools, businesses can minimize risks and take full advantage of the benefits cloud computing offers.

Read next: Top Cloud Security Companies & Tools for 2021

This article was originally published on May 24, 2017. It was updated by Kaiti Norton.
Christian Brothers Investment Services Appoints Jeffrey McCroy as CEO Reaffirms long-time commitment to Catholic Responsible Investing



Contact: Michael Castino, Director of Marketing & Communications, Christian Brothers Investment Services, 877-550-2247, mcastino@cbisonline.com



CHICAGO, May 25, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- After an extensive national search, the Board of Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) appointed Jeffrey McCroy as the firm's new CEO, effective May 18, 2017. Mr. McCroy joined CBIS from American Century Investments (ACI), where he served as Head of Global Client Relationship Management since 2012. McCroy succeeds Brother Michael O'Hern, who served as CBIS CEO for 28 years and played an integral role in the organization's CEO search and succession plan.



In discussing his new role, McCroy noted, "CBIS serves an important leadership role with Catholic investors globally who appreciate our distinctive Catholic Responsible Investing (CRI) approach. This places us at the intersection of social justice and finance  and it will continue to be our highest priority," he said. "I am proud to join an investment firm that has been among the leading advocates for positive action by corporate management and their boards and that has set such high standards of integrity and ethical and social impact."



Mr. McCroy brings extensive experience in the investment industry. Prior to ACI, he was President and Chief Operating Officer for Transamerica Investment Management (he also served as Chairman), where he worked extensively with various asset managers across distribution channels, grew the sales teams and improved the firm's profit margins. He was Managing Director and President for Bank of America's investment distribution unit (formed after the Fleet and Columbia acquisitions) that served the institutional and retirement segments. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Creighton University.



"I leave CBIS with great optimism for the future," said Brother Michael O'Hern. "For more than 35 years, we have remained steadfast in our mission to help Catholic organizations align their financial goals with their ethical and social beliefs. I am pleased that Jeff will be able to continue this legacy for the Christian Brothers," he said.



"We are grateful for Brother O'Hern's leadership and commitment to CBIS and delighted that Jeff has joined the firm," added William Rybak, CBIS Board Chair. "He will lead us as we continue to build the reputation of CBIS as a leading resource for Catholic investors worldwide. We welcome his commitment to our mission and his breadth of investment and leadership experience."



McCroy concluded, "Our mission remains clear  to work in partnership with Catholic investors to develop responsible investing strategies that help meet current and future financial needs. By focusing on critical aspects of our business  investing, distribution, infrastructure, in addition to our leadership with CRI  we can build on our legacy." McCroy's path to CBIS was driven by both his faith and his commitment to the asset management business. "I firmly believe that in CRI, the firm has a distinctive positioning in the Catholic market that is central to our future."



About CBIS

CBIS is a global asset management firm that has been a trusted partner for Catholic institutions and their advisors for over 35 years. The firm manages $6.9 billion (as of 3/31/2017) for Catholic organizations worldwide, including dioceses, schools, hospitals, and religious institutes. Specializing in Catholic Responsible Investing (CRI), CBIS combines research-driven stock screening with active ownership to help Catholic organizations align their investments with Catholic beliefs. CBIS is a Registered Investment Advisor owned by the De La Salle Christian Brothers in the U.S. and the Center of the Institute in Rome, with offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Rome.



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Italy and Libya have signed a migrant deal to tame the flow of refugees crossing the Mediterranean through newly opened reception centers in Chad and Niger and strengthened border controls. Both sub-Saharan African countries are important transit routes for migrants who travel to Libya and then subsequently on to Italy and the wider European Union.

Moreover, over the weekend the head of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi urged Libyan authorities to free all asylum seekers and refugees from detention centers, describing the conditions as shocking. Mr. Grandi also promised to increase his agencys presence in the country but admitted that this would take time for political and security reasons.

Libya has for long been the number one destination for migrants trying to reach Europe in search of a better life. Human traffickers and smugglers have stepped up their lucrative operations accordingly amidst the chaos that has been ruling in the country since the 2011 revolution. This year, Italy registered 50,000 migrant arrivals by sea by mid-April, 97% of them from Libya. In addition to those who reached Europe, the Libyan coastguard has picked up almost 6,000 migrants attempting the crossing this year and returned them to Libya, according to the International Organization for Migrations (IOM).

The biggest group of migrants heading to Italy this year came from Nigeria where it is estimated that two million people are on the brink of famine in the countrys northeastern regions  home to the jihadist group Boko Haram. The ruthless terrorist organization started an uprising in the region in 2009, which is now spilling over to Chad and Niger.
The European Union has hosted the second Libya Quartet meeting as a follow-up to the first meeting that took place in Cairo this year in March. The EU used the second meeting as an opportunity to discuss developments in Libya and coordinate the work to support the political process in the country with the ultimate goal of a democratic transition.

Leaders have once again committed to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Libya and its institutions under the Libyan Political Agreement. All sides emphasized the urgent need for a Libyan-led peaceful resolution of the political crisis and underscored the rejection of the threat or use of armed forces by any Libyan party. The EU also condemned the unprovoked attack on Brak al-Shati last week as well as all acts of violence that are so prevalent throughout the country. Brussels called on all parties to stop further violence and any act that could undermine ongoing work towards a negotiated solution to the conflict.

The Quarter also focused on bringing the attention to the importance of keeping stability and security along Libyas borders in order to prevent violence from spilling over to other countries, most notably Tunisia. Among other concerns the EU is mostly worried about the economic situation in the country. Brussels hopes that the Libyan authorities will be able to tackle the serious fiscal and monetary issues facing the country.

On the political front, the EU also seeks to prioritize the Constitutional Drafting Assembly to finalize a draft constitution to pave the way to general and presidential elections. EU leaders also encouraged all Libyan parties to engage in constructive and inclusive talks with an emphasis on the word inclusive. From the EUs point of view, inclusiveness is at the core of the political process in the North African country. The Libya Quartet consists of the EU, the United Nations, the African Union and the League of Arab States.
Gente

Eugenia Martinez de Irujo asegura que no le ha dado permiso a Patricia Donoso para llamarse Cayetana de Alba
Thursdays UK Q1 GDP forecast at 0.3% QoQ, 2.1% YoY

Terror attack in Manchester sees troops deployed to UK city streets.

Deutsche Bank release special report on slowing UK consumption harming GDP

UK Q1 GDP is expected to once again have posted an underwhelming 0.3% growth in Q1 QoQ, in line with the previous quarters growth while 2.1% growth is expected YoY. The economic data out of the UK has been somewhat volatile of late but in general it has been rather unimpressive. A bounce back in retail sales was a bright spot, but the overall picture has been negative.

The recent attack in Manchester will refocus the UK on the terror threat, as it follows on from the attack in Westminster earlier in the year. It will mean the already inconsistent mood in Great Britain will likely shift to downright sombre as PM May deploys soldiers to UK city streets and raises the terror threat level to its highest. The GBP has been choppy as a result but the FTSE 100 has remained relatively firm.

Deutsche Bank have released a special report on UK consumption in which they believe there is more than wage growth slowing to be concerned about for households in the Brexit beleaguered nation. They believe that household consumption growth will be the key dampener on GDP growth in the coming year and beyond,

Employment growth, a key contributor to overall consumption growth during the recovery, is slowing and structural factors may limit the UKs ability to generate stronger jobs growth. The household savings ratio is likely to be revised higher but has still fallen sharply as a result of declining income from investments. The ability of UK consumers to fund consumption via borrowing may be limited by tighter lending standards. UK consumer confidence has remained at robust levels but is trending lower, and Bank of England research suggests it would be very vulnerable if a Brexit-related income shock materializes.

We continue to expect slowing household consumption growth to be the main driver of slowing GDP. This is reflected in our latest forecasts, which show private consumption growth falling to 1.6% this year from 2.8% last year and further to 1.3% in 2018.

With Labour gaining in the polls, the reality of terrorism biting hard again and many in the City resigning themselves to face a hard Brexit, the performance of the GBP has been notable in the face of such adversity. If tomorrows GDP is a big miss, then the little sentiment that had built up could come crashing down in a hurry.
Hi all,



For those working for IAT, if you carry enough money to pay your accommodation, do they still take away your housing allowance?
There is a lot of confusion about the nationality status of those born in Northern Ireland. For those born prior to 2005 (when Good Friday Agreement became law), they are both British and Irish citizen. This is regardless of whether the person regards themselves as Irish or British (usually to do with their religion - Catholic = Irish, Protestant = British), or whether they have taken out Irish or British passport, or both (dual nationality allowed under both UK and Irish law). This doesn't normally create problems, as British and Irish citizenship both confer right to residence in either country, and up to now, both are part of EU.



Problem arises if the Northern Ireland person tries to sponsor a non-EU citizen for EEA family permit. Because of the 2012 McCarthy Judgment, which was subsequently incorporated into UK law, those born prior to 2005 are deemed to be British citizen, whether they regard themselves as British or have taken out British passport, so therefore cannot sponsor under EEA rules. The only thing they can do, if they want to use EU route to bring their family members into UK, is to try Surinder Singh route via another EEA country, or renounce their British citizenship and use their Irish nationality.



Now with Brexit becoming a reality, think very carefully if you are planning to renounce your citizenship. While Irish citizenship should not be unduly affected by Brexit, it would be foolish to give up a citizenship which alone guarantees your full citizen's right in UK.
My partner and I were thinking of writing our signatures on our own letters of introduction; is that of any importance? He is going to have to sign his letter, scan it, and send it to me to print; would that still be acceptable as being properly signed by him?
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
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AUSTIN  The Texas Senate let a major effort at school finance reform die Wednesday, deadlocked with the House over a relatively small-scale proposal to allow public money to go to private schools.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor said the upper chamber would not appoint members to a conference committee to work out differences between the two versions of House Bill 21, legislation that sought to change the states school funding formula and pump up to $1.9 billion into schools.

I think it's just dead, said Taylor, R-Friendswood, who blamed the House's order to its negotiators to refuse any so-called voucher program. A very quiet ending.

The Senate, which added the proposal to the bill early this week, has made voucher programs a priority and its leaders have insisted that such a program become law this year, although more than two-thirds of House members oppose vouchers. When the House refused to consider the Senates voucher bill, Taylor and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hijacked HB21, adding a voucher plan limited to students with disabilities in hopes it would break the logjam, Patrick said.

RELATED: A look at bills that have passed:

I simply did not believe they would vote against both disabled children and a substantial funding increase for public schools, Patrick said in an emailed statement. I was wrong.

The Senate voucher proposal would have subsidized private school tuition for only about 6,000 students with disabilities, Taylor had estimated. It brought down a bill whose House version would have added an estimated $1.9 billion for public education, cut recapture payments by property rich school districts to their poorer counterparts, helped dozens of school districts adjust to the loss of old funding streams and spend more money per student with dyslexia or learning English.

In an impassioned speech on the House floor earlier Wednesday, Rep. Dan Huberty, the House education chairman who has a son with dyslexia, took umbrage at the suggestion that he and the House cared less for students with disabilities. Even as he called for a conference committee, Huberty, R-Humble, said the inclusion of the voucher program had made it virtually impossible for us to come to some meaningful financial reform.

San Antonio area school district officials reacted with disappointment but not much surprise.

Greg Gibson, superintendent of Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District, said it was frustrating, especially in light of last summers Texas Supreme Court decision ruling that the states school finance system, though constitutional, was deeply flawed.

We hoped at that time the entire 85th Legislature was going to take seriously the opportunity they had to at least make a step in the right direction toward a permanent fix for this Byzantine formula, Gibson said. It appears to us that the Senate was never serious about that.

Texas continues to recruit businesses but wont adequately fund its public schools, he added.

Youve got 80,000 new schoolchildren a year moving to the state of Texas, and then were not providing educational infrastructure for them, Gibson said. Were just leaving it to the (local) taxpayers to take care of that.

Some officials, including North East ISD spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor, said their districts were proceeding with budget decisions for the coming fiscal year under the assumption that there will be no additional money from the state.

Legislators were in agreement that a fix was needed, and its disappointing that an agreement hasnt been reached, Chancellor said.

The bill would have provided funding to keep up with rising costs, said Leslie Price, spokeswoman for San Antonio ISD, in an email. The districts leaders had been so pessimistic last year about the chances of additional state funding that they asked voters to approve a tax rate increase of 13 cents per $100. It passed overwhelmingly in November.

In Alamo Heights ISD, a small, wealthy district, Superintendent Kevin Brown put the onus for the bills failure on Senate leaders and called it a major step backward.

Im very disappointed that the Senate has not taken school finance seriously nor have they made attempts to fund public schools adequately, he said.

Clearly theres a burden on all school districts in the state when the state doesnt do its share of the funding, and thats what the House was trying to achieve, Brown added. Its a missed opportunity. Everybody knows that the school finance system is broken.

After years of litigation by groups of hundreds of school districts, the Texas Supreme Court last year rejected a lower courts finding that the states school finance system was unconstitutional, though it agreed the system was too complicated and needed reform.

State spending makes up 37 percent of the states public school funding. Local property taxes and federal funds provide most of the rest, Huberty pointed out in his speech Wednesday.

In his statement, Patrick said he was appalled that the House would reject a proposal with an additional half-billion dollars for public schools simply because it included a program that might allow some disabled child somewhere in Texas to attend a private school that his parents believe would be better for him or her.

The special education voucher program would have affected only a small number of students, would not have fully covered their private school tuition and would have given false hope to parents, said Clay Robison, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association.

Many private schools do not provide special education services. Theyre not required to. Theyre not equipped to, he said.

In a statement issued Wednesday evening, House Speaker Joe Straus praised Huberty and Rep Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, for incredibly diligent and thoughtful work over the last year on school finance.

The House passed a bill that put more dollars into almost every district, made needed changes to our funding formulas, and kept more local dollars in local schools.  but we can't fix school finance by ourselves, and this hasn't been a priority for the Senate, Straus said.

Unfortunately, the Senate walked away and left the problems facing our schools to keep getting worse.

Staff Writers Lauren Caruba, Alia Malik, Silvia Foster-Frau contributed to this report from San Antonio.
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BROWNSVILLE - Pamela Taylor, 88, lives on a sliver of land between the Rio Grande and the border fence. A decade ago, as the path of the barrier was being hotly debated, Taylor worried she would be stranded in a no mans land.

The 18-foot bollard fence, built in some places as much as a mile north of the international line, required dozens of gates to access the property south of the fence. But before all of the gates were put in place, funding dried up and Taylor, along with many others, were spared.

Now it appears their luck has run out.

Earlier this month, tucked inside a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill, was $49 million for land acquisition and gates to close gaps in existing sections of border fence. A gate, Taylor says, that would seal off her home from the rest of the community.

We would definitely fight having our street blocked off, Taylor said. Why should we, the American people, be punished?

President Trump has failed, so far, to secure funding for his big, beautiful wall, which on this southern border is a see-through fence, not a solid wall. Plans for 34 miles of fencing in the Rio Grande Valley, originally authorized under the Secure Fence Act of 2006, were left off the spending bill, but are likely to be part of the $1.6 billion that the White House will request in the 2018 budget for materials to build the wall.

For now, the omnibus budget allocates $296 million to replace 40 miles of fencing in Arizona and California, and millions more for the border gates. While its unclear exactly where these gates will be installed, some if not all are destined for South Texas, where there are 35 gaps. Wherever the gates end up, thousands of acres of bucolic farmland, wildlife preserves and private property are certain to be marooned.

The Old Hidalgo Pumphouse World Birding Center, where a gate was installed years ago, offers a glimpse of what may lie ahead. The imposing structure blocks public access to trails on refuge land, and impedes free movement of endangered wildlife, such as the ocelot. As stacks of makeshift ladders can attest, the one thing the fence hasnt done is stop illegal immigration.

It looks like Trump wants to lock us out of the Sabal Palms Audubon Sanctuary, and cut off more homeowners and farmers from the rest of the country, said Scott Nichol, co-chair of the Borderlands Team for the Sierra Club.

Indeed, the Nature Conservancy, which manages more than 1,000 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley, most of it between the border fence and the Rio Grande, lamented the loss of ecosystem to waves of land conversion to agriculture, urbanization, dams and reduced river flows.

Though Department of Homeland Security officials have not contacted the Nature Conservancy regarding the installation of gates, there is little doubt that closing gaps in the fence that surrounds its preserve lands would further upset the ecosystem.

From an ecological perspective, the border wall fragments vital habitat and a globally significant wildlife corridor used by the ocelot and other wildlife, said Laura Huffman, Texas state director for The Nature Conservancy.

Between 2007 and 2015 the government spent $2.3 billion to construct pedestrian and vehicle fencing along the border, according to Congressman Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, who voted no on the omnibus spending bill. Vela called the border fence, which divided private property, a land grab that threatens the foundation of the rights of private property owners.

In my view, not only should we refrain from building additional structures dividing the two nations, but we should tear down any existing barriers, Vela said.

If the signage of Vela standing together with Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, displayed prominently across the region, touting Build Bridges, Not Walls isnt enough to cement his opposition to the wall, then his graphic suggestion about where Trump can stick his wall certainly will.

For Taylor, one of Velas constituents, the prospect of being hemmed in by the fence is not something she takes lightly. Shes lived on this spread since 1946, and bore witness to waves of migration and drug smuggling. Its not the fence that is responsible for the downturn in apprehensions of immigrants at the border in recent months, Taylor said.

How many millions of immigrants are in our country now since the fence was built?" Taylor questioned. How did they get in? Over or around the fence.

anelsen@express-news.net

Twitter: @amnelsen
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A judge Wednesday sentenced seven members of a South Texas family accused of laundering drug money through real estate, commercial fronts and horse breeding to prison terms of 18 months to eight years.

Members of the Villarreal Arelis family, known as Los Piojos, Spanish for the lice, were involved in drug trafficking for the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, prosecutors alleged in an indictment filed last year.

None of those sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez were involved in the drug side of the family business. Mostly younger children or in-laws of the family patriarchs, they were involved in laundering drug money through seemingly legitimate businesses.

The highest sentence of eight years went to Norma Leticia Villarreal Garcia, who managed the familys farms near the Mexican border city of Reynosa. Villarreal Garcia is married to Gilberto Beto Villarreal Arelis, a fugitive who prosecutors allege distributed cocaine for the Gulf Cartel before forming a direct link to one of the gangs South American suppliers, but her attorney said she had nothing to do with the drug side of the business.

She was very much engaged in running the legitimate family business, said lawyer Cynthia Orr. She did not meet with any Zetas or any Gulf Cartel members.

Orr said the family earned the name Los Piojos for the way they would return to their fields after the harvest to make sure every bit of produce had been collected.

Gilberto Villarreal Villarreal and Juan Antonio Villarreal, sons of Gilberto Villarreal Arelis who were involved in the familys quarter horse business, received five years in prison.

Rodriguez issued sentences of three years in prison to Iza Corina Flores Alanis, who married into the family and bought real estate for them in the Rio Grande Valley; and Raymundo Mundito Villarreal Jr., who was involved in breeding quarter horses for the family.

Both Raymundo Villarreal Jr. and Gilberto Villarreal Villarreal have had children born while theyve been in custody since their arrest last summer, their lawyers said.

Jose Luis Villarreal Arelis, a brother of Gilberto Villarreal Arelis who also oversaw the familys Mexico farming, and Nancy Isela Villarreal Gonzalez, his wife who was accused of using drug money to purchase farm equipment, were sentenced to 18 months in prison. Villarreal Gonzalez worked through her church group to help the elderly and infirm, including by volunteering rides to the hospital, her lawyer Michael Gross said.

All faced more prison time under federal sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors recommended they receiver lighter sentences.

Prosecutors have charged 16 people, almost all of them in McAllen and Mission, and five businesses in the case. Most have pleaded guilty.

jbuch@express-news.net

Twitter: @jlbuch
A 31-year-old San Antonio man was arrested Wednesday after a relative was allegedly caught at school searching for pornography so that she could learn about what he was doing to her, according to court documents.

Anthony Garay now faces a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. He remains in the Bexar County Jail on a $75,000 bond.

RELATED: 11 arrested in North Texas human trafficking, prostitution sting

According to his arrest affidavit, Garay has allegedly been sexually assaulting the girl and her sister for at least a year.

The abuse came to light on May 16, when a teacher at Elm Creek Elementary caught one of the victims searching for pornography on a school-issued iPad, according to documents.

When the teacher asked the girl why she was searching for pornography, the child told her that she was searching for what was being done to her at night. She said Garay sexually assaults her "all the time at night" and never lets her sleep.

RELATED: Arson investigators probe fire at abandoned warehouse in South Side

The teacher contacted Child Protective Services, and an investigator was sent to the school to interview the child. The girl told the investigator that Garay had sexually abused her from at least the age of 8, and that the abuse occurred in her home

The investigator later discovered Garay had previously been investigated by CPS for sexual abuse of two relatives.

Deputies with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office later obtained an arrest warrant for Garay and booked him into jail on Wednesday.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns
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American aviator Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. On May 20, he took off in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, from a field near New York City and landed at a field near Paris on May 21, flying more than 3,600 miles in 33.5 hours. Newspapers trumpeted Lindberghs triumph, and the San Antonio Express was no exception, devoted several pages to coverage. In honor of the flight, President Calvin Coolidge later awarded Lindbergh the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Five years later to the day, Amelia Earhart became not only the first woman to fly across the Atlantic but she did it solo as well. She took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, and landed in a pasture near Londonberry, Northern Ireland. Newspaper accounts from the time referred to her as Amelia Earhart, or simply Amelia, in headlines, and by her married name, Putnam, on second reference, in text. With this flight, she also became the first person, man or woman, to cross the Atlantic twice. She later became the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Regardless of whether Mayor Ivy Taylors use of LiberalRon.com to attack her runoff opponent is an act of desperation or an effective strategy, it is an accurate reflection of her conservative record as mayor.

This record was underscored this month by the removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans at the direction of that citys Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who gave a widely admired speech last week in defense of the controversial action.

On Wednesday, Taylor reiterated her reluctance to do the same here despite Councilman Alan Warricks request two years ago to consider it.

It wasnt a priority for me to move that forward, and I guess for a majority of council it wasnt as well, she told me.

Taylors avoidance of the issue was predictable.

In June 2015, about a week before Warrick made his request, I asked the mayor about a Confederate flag waving above a cemetery in the citys historically black District 2  the same district in which Taylor served as a councilwoman before becoming San Antonios first African-American mayor.

I was an American studies major in college and feel that the more history we know and remember, the better, Taylor said then in an emailed statement. Erasing historical monuments doesnt make our past any easier to understand or deal with today.

Two years later, Landrieu, who is a white mayor of a majority-black city, delivered what could be considered a rebuttal to Taylors excuse for inaction.

There is a difference between remembrance of history and reverance of it, Landrieu said upon the removal of the citys last Confederate monument, a statue of General Robert E. Lee.

These statues are not just stone and metal, he continued. They are not just innocent remembrances of a benign history. These monuments purposefully celebrate a fictional, sanitized Confederacy; ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, and the terror that it actually stood for.

Landrieu is a Democrat.

Although she serves in a nonpartisan office, Taylor votes in Democratic primaries. Before she ran for mayor in 2015  while still serving as interim mayor, having pledged not to run in order to secure the councils appointment  Taylor was widely expected to succeed former state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon as a Democrat.

Yet, the mayors inaction on Confederate monuments isnt the only way in which she has diverged from her Democratic peers. Another example is her fraught relationship with the LGBTQ community, a relationship that went south in 2013 when she voted against updating the citys nondiscrimination ordinance.

At the time, Taylor explained her opposition by suggesting that people might choose to be gay.

I feel that proponents of the ordinance are not just focused on equality, but they are looking for acceptance, endorsement, blessing, she told me then, and thats not mine to give, thats not the councils to give.

Taylor added that the author of the ordinance says that the purpose is to make it illegal to discriminate against people for being who they are. But I think that there are a substantial number of people who would instead phrase it, Choosing a lifestyle that they have.

That sort of rhetoric is far out of step with the modern Democratic Party.

It is in step, though, with the mayors attack on Councilman Ron Nirenberg as a liberal who would bring the nanny state to San Antonio.

On Wednesday, defending her reluctance to remove a statue in Travis Park that bears the inscription, Lest we forget our Confederate dead, Taylor told me, Were trying to focus on things that bring people together, so that hasnt been something thats been at the forefront for me.

But if Landrieus speech accomplished anything, it explained eloquently  and without any mention of political party or ideology  just how the removal of the monuments is an act of bringing people together.

It is our acknowledgment that now is the time to take stock of, and then move past, a painful part of our history, he said.

In Taylors case, pursuing the same end would needlessly alienate North Side voters, many of them Republicans who appreciate her conservative record. As LiberalRon.com makes clear, dividing people is simply a more effective way to win.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
What Trump Administration appointees lack in reticence they make up for in certitude. Take Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

Just two weeks after being shown his stately office at the USDAs South Building, Perdue announced a major makeover of it: he invoked a 2014 Farm Bill directive to create a new USDA post, undersecretary of trade, by eliminating an existing post, undersecretary of rural development.

Administration officials described this demotion of Rural Development as an elevation, explained the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), because the new trade salesperson would report directly to the Secretary 

But thats selling baloney as steak, commented the NSAC, because All undersecretaries, including the undersecretary of rural development, already report directly to the Secretary so the assertion  is misleading 

Chief advocate

Not to Secretary Perdue who mentions daily that his main goal as USDA boss is to be American agricultures unapologetic advocate and chief salesman around the world.

As such, creating an Undersecretary for Global Ag  even if you have to strip American rural communities of, first, their megaphone inside USDA and, later, their funding  is, well, apparently the way its going to be.

Besides, this is Americas destiny, explained Perdue when announcing the undersecretary swap May 11.

The men and women of American agriculture are hardy people, he said, many of whom were born into the calling of feeding America and the world.

Sonny the Salesman knows you have to sell the sizzle to sell the steak.

Trade goals

The USDA redo fits perfectly with the Administrations broader goal to revamp key U.S. trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, and the hope to negotiate more bilateral deals like the just-announced, 10-point deal with China that will reopen the nation to American beef exports.

Typical of this White Houses announcements, though, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, went overboard in his bragging about the China deal. It was a herculean accomplishment, claimed Ross, that amounted to more than has been done in the whole history of U.S.-China relations on trade.

That was too much even for the never-in-doubt editorialists at the Wall Street Journal who noted May 15 that the deal was modest and the move to open its beef markets was mostly a restatement of a promise made by the Chinese premier last September.

But the agreement does signal Mr. Trump has pulled back from protectionism, added the Journal  much to the relief of American farmers and ranchers.

U.S. ag exports, after all, have averaged about $140 billion per year since 2010. Still, if the White House is now in a trade-is-good phase  which easily could change the next time our mercurial president hops on Twitter  bigger trade deals, like the renegotiation of NAFTA, pose enormous challenges that wont be sorted out over the dessert course.

Milk trade

For example, American dairy groups want Canada to dismantle its milk quota system so U.S. fluid milk and dairy products can, literally, flood north.

What would American negotiators have to give the Canadian prime minister and his liberal colleagues for them to agree to that deal? Hint: The moon and stars would be the starting point, not the endpoint.

So, too, with Mexico where negotiators now are at an impasse on a standing U.S. deal that allots Mexico 53 percent of all U.S. refined sugar imports. The U.S. wants that promised access cut to 15 percent.

Mexicos reply, understandably, is Hey, pal, we had a deal.

Moreover, its ag minister defiantly noted May 16, that if the U.S. imposes import duties on any of the now-in-limbo Mexican sugar, he would be willing to react in-kind with duties  possibly targeting U.S. fructose.

That would slap U.S. corn growers silly because Mexico buys 79 percent of all American high-fructose corn syrup exports (1.1 million metric tons out of a total 1.4 MMT in calendar year 2015). Artfully, however, the Mexican ag minister never mentioned any wall.
The earlier I rise, the faster I get to being behinder, was a comment I remember my great-Grandpa Charlie saying.

Still, he loved to be the first one up, driving his red Studebaker truck in the wee hours to our place. He loved to make a racket in the old milk house that sat near our home in hopes of waking his grandson, my dad, just to be able to say, Hey, I beat you up this morning!

Fifty years later, I think of his silly sayings and the great personality traits that passed down through him to people I have loved. It is often with humor we all find a way to deal with some harsh truths of just the way it is.

Not many years after Grandpa Charlies death in 1968, I remember sensing the simmering anger in our community. The farm Charlie had worked for years had been sold and re-sold. The woman who owned it decided it was time to sell.

Changing direction

The county was the new owner, and word got out that the farm was to become a landfill. Even though I was still just a kid, I remember getting bits and pieces of conversation filled with seething words from upset people.

One night I asked Dad to tell me his thoughts on it, because, as usual, he was a man of few words. If you didnt ask, youd likely never know.

I know people are upset. I wish it didnt have to be on that farm, a great place that holds a lot of memories for me. But, the farm was for sale to anyone who wanted to buy it. The county is the buyer. Landfills have to go somewhere, whether we like it or not.

He went on to explain that neighborhood dumps had become a thing of the past almost overnight as society marched toward better regulation of what got pitched, and where.

Fast forward several decades.

The county closed the landfill and developed a plan that would benefit the people of the county in a whole different way. Named Byers Woods in honor of Ohio State Rep. Gene Byers, who, along with his wife, long-time Ashland County Commissioner Marilyn Byers, served our county and our state in many noble ways.

New hope

The county began transforming the landfill into a nature preserve with wildflowers, bird and wildlife sanctuaries and grassy hiking trails, and though it is now much different than it was in Grandpa Charlies day, it is lovely once again.

It is a great place for people to take their children, their dogs and their friends for a nice walk through nature. When I last walked the hiking trails of Byers Woods, I heard the laughter of children and the gleeful bark of their dog.

I thought of Grandpa Charlie once working that land with his horses, his dog always near, and I felt his joyful presence. If we dont like the way things are, it is up to us to decide whether we fight it, improve it or accept it.

Like many things in life, much is decided for us. And as time unfolds, even events which might seem a terrible turn can evolve into something good. Though he had no way of seeing that at the time, I realize now this is what my dad was trying to say to me. Sometimes things turn out better than we could have ever envisioned.

Keep the faith. The world is revolving just as it should.
By Susan Crowell / editor@farmanddairy.com

COLUMBIANA, Ohio  Ohio Ag Equipment, a division of Ohio CAT, has purchased the Witmers Inc. AGCO dealership on state Route 14 west of Columbiana, Ohio.

According to Nelson Witmer, company president, the agreement should be finalized June 9. The first day of operations will be June 12.

Witmer said the family sold the equipment dealership and is focusing on its construction business. Ohio Ag Equipment is leasing two-thirds of their building for the new dealership, and is maintaining current Witmers employees.

This will be Ohio Ags fifth location, in addition to facilities in Upper Sandusky, Washington Court House, Napoleon and Millersburg. The Salem store, as the branch will be known, will carry a full line of AGCO products, as well as lines from Challenger, Massey Ferguson, Gleaner, RoGator, TerraGator, Willmar, White Planters, Sunflower, Lexion, MacDon, Geringhoff and Unverferth.

The company is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.

There was a desire to grow our ag division, and to increase our ag footprint across the state, said Mike Mampieri, Ohio Ag Equipment general manager. It was a perfect fit, perfect timing.

Its a very difficult time in the ag industry, but were in it for the long haul, Mampieri said. Its just a great opportunity for us to come into.

I guess its time, said Ralph Witmer, who will soon celebrate his 90th birthday.

The economics of a single store dealership isnt there any more, he added, and growth by adding multiple locations just wasnt on our radar.

Its a win-win situation.

AGCO has given the manufacturers green light for the transfer.

Nelson Witmer said Ohio Ag brings strong management, and he expects equipment customers will see very little interruption in business. It was also important to the Witmer family that existing employees would keep their jobs with the new owner.

This is a decision we made; no one forced us to make it, Witmer said. We think its the best way to make sure our customers and our employees are served in this fast-paced environment.

He said they can now focus on their industrial, commercial and agricultural construction business  Witmers Construction Inc.  which extends in a 75-mile radius of Columbiana. Ralph Witmer started the construction company in 1969, and it has been Nelson Witmers focus since returning to the family businesses after graduating from college.

Witmer, now 52, said the dealership sale lets him focus on strategic growth of this enterprise, which will always include agricultural construction.

Were not losing our ag roots.
They were briefed and were given a time and had to present their display over three days and then were given an award.
To cement its return to the Gulf, Wellard has appointed a new Middle East marketing manager, who will be responsible for market development for live sheep and cattle and chilled and frozen lamb and sheepmeat produced by Wellards abattoir, Beaufort River Meats.
Liquid Systems provides the best knowledge and products on the market, he said. The companys development team are second to none and the use of only high quality componentry makes them clear leaders in the field of liquid injection.
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Oprah Winfrey staged an intervention to stop Jamie Foxx from "blowing it" with wild partying.

Jamie Foxx

The 45-year-old actor received the best reviews of his career and was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role in Ray Charles biopic 'Ray' in 2005, and though he was having a "good time" during awards season, he didn't realise how much he was "f***ing up" until he received a phone call from the iconic talk show host.

He recalled to Sirius XM DJ Howard Stern: "I'm having such a good time and I'm not knowing I'm f***ing up. I'm drinking ... I'm doing every f***ing thing you could possibly imagine."

He then explained how Oprah called him and warned: "You're blowing it, Jamie Foxx. All of this gallivanting and all this kind of s**t, that's not what you want to do ... I want to take you somewhere. Make you understand the significance of what you're doing."

The 49-year-old media mogul then organised a meeting for Jamie with several famous black actors at Quincy Jones' house in a bid for him to understand the seriousness of his actions.

He said: "We go in the house and there are all these old actors. Black actors from the '60s and the '70s. Who look like they just want to say, 'Good look.' They want to say, 'Don't blow it.' "

One of the people Jamie was introduced to was Sidney Poitier, who in 194 became the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in 'Lilies of the Field'.

The screen legend told him: "I want to give you responsibility ... When I saw your performance, it made me grow two inches.'"

It took the brief speech for the star to break down and understand he needed to curb his partying.

He said: "To this day, it's the most significant time in my life where it was, like, a chance to grow up."

Jamie went on to take the Best Actor award.
The Prince of Wales is looking to recruit a "talented Sous Chef".

Prince Charles

Prince Charles has advertised for a culinary mastermind to join The Household of the Prince of Wales and his wife The Duchess of Cornwall to take over the kitchen and rustle up a meals to the "highest standards" whether they are working independently over the stove or with a team of other experts.

The advertisement has been posted on the Clarence House website, and the job specification reads: "We are looking for a talented Sous Chef to join our team within The Household of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. The Sous Chef will be responsible for the supervision, preparation and service of food to the highest standards from private dining and staff meals, to receptions and events.

"You will be confident working alone in the provision of meals and also as part of the wider team."

The 68-year-old royal wants his candidate to be experienced and "passionate" about the quality of the food they provide and feed to the pair, and will be proficient in planning the menu, ordering the groceries and ensuring the supplies are fully stocked, and if not then they must be replenished within a set budget.

The post continued: "Working in Royal Residences across the UK, you will be passionate about the quality of the food you provide, including its origins and sustainability. You will be accustomed to planning menus, ordering and managing stock levels, budget control, health and safety (including hygiene standards and best practice), and of course delivering from menu conception through to service.

"Applicants must have demonstrable experience of working as a Sous Chef in a private house or in premier catering, or equivalent. They will have a City and Guilds Catering qualification, or equivalent, with an understanding, or working knowledge, of organic food. A flexible and adaptable approach is essential, as are excellent communication skills and the ability to work calmly under pressure."

The successful applicant will be willing to travel for work and undertake 40 hours per work as part of their permanent contract.

Although the salary has yet to be disclosed the closing date for applications to be submitted is Friday (26.05.17) just before midnight.
Channel 4 have got the nation talking this week with their landmark series, The Trial: A Murder in the Family. Presenting a fake case to a jury of 12 random jurors, the case is put forward that Simon Davis (played by actor Michael Gould) murdered his semi-estranged wife Carla, with real-life lawyers and a now-retired judge presiding over the proceedings.

Will Simon Davis be found guilty or not guilty?

As we saw in last nights (May 24) episode of the five-part show, closing statements were made and the jury were sent to deliberate on whether they would be finding the defendant guilty or not guilty for the murder of his wife. Its fair to say that they were incredibly split as to whether or not the evidence presented was enough to convict him on.

Defence barrister John Ryder introduced uncertainty for the first time when he introduced the jury to a second man in Carlas wife  the one she was having an affair with and eventually left Simon for  Lewis Skinner. As her new boyfriend, Skinner was for all those who saw him the perfect man. This didnt stop Carla from going back to Simon behind Skinners back however, with the estranged wife eventually falling pregnant with Simons baby.

So is Simon Davis guilty or not guilty? Like the jury members, were undecided. After all, weve only seen a couple of hours of actual testimony and evidence presented, whereas in reality, this fake case will have been going on for many hours over a period of many days. What were going to do however is look at some of the biggest pieces of evidence that have been presented, and hopefully they can help you come to a decision from the comfort of your own home

Simons DNA on Carlas neck

We saw in last nights (May 24) episode that there was a substantial amount of DNA evidence found on Carlas neck from Simon, as well as from Carla herself. Whilst this seems like it could be huge, the two were continuing to enjoy a sexual relationship behind Lewis back, and so the DNA could simply be from a night of passion. We also know that Carla and Lewis hadnt had sex for some time, so the same cannot be said for those two.

The pairs history of violence

Simon has a history of being violent to his partners when he snaps or is pushed into territory out of his control. He slapped an ex-wife of his and grabbed Carla around the mouth when she shouted at him, claiming it was out of annoyance that she could wake up their child.

Lewis meanwhile was expelled from the police force for excessively harming somebody he had in custody whilst serving as an officer. He plead not guilty during the trial against him but was found guilty and dismissed from the force. If the jury are to take violent history into account, theyll have to do so for both of the men.

Lewis phone being in airplane mode to save battery

Right around the time of the murder, when police would have loved to have known exactly what Lewis Skinner was up to and where he was, he decided to put his phone on airplane mode to save battery. He even admitted to knowing that when you put your mobile phone in airplane mode, your GPS tracker is disabled, so he could not be tracked. But what about some testimony he made earlier in the series? I was playing a game on my phone, he said, talking about his time in the park after he allegedly went to pick up his car from a garage, after a lengthy walk. Bit of an odd thing to do for somebody whos looking to save battery on their mobile device, no? What the jury must remember is theyre not there to put Lewis on trial, however, simply to see if theres any doubt at all that Simon killed his estranged wife.

Simon cannot recall eight minutes in-between phone calls to the authorities

When Simon first found Carlas body, he rang the police but hung up before they could answer the phone. He then waited eight minutes before calling once more to report he had found her on the kitchen floor, lifeless and not breathing. What exactly was he doing in that time? He says he cannot remember. His neighbour however reports seeing him stood in the doorway to an outside area, even going as far to say that he appeared out of breath. Could he have been having a panic attack because of what hed discovered, or be recovering from murdering Carla? These are questions the jury has to consider, but without any considerable proof, could they ever possibly convict?

So what do you think? Is Simon Davis guilty? Find out tonight when The Trial concludes at 9pm on Channel 4.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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European cities were the preferred new destination for international retailer expansion attracting 43 per cent of new retail brands in 2016, up from 36 per cent in the previous year, according to the CBREs annual report How Global is the Business of Retail? which found that Hong Kong was the worlds most popular destination for retailer expansion.European retailers are redirecting their focus on expansion in their home continent rather than on places where currencies have become more expensive, the report said.

European cities were the preferred new destination for international retailer expansion attracting 43 per cent of new retail brands in 2016, up from 36 per cent in the previous year, according to the CBRE's annual report 'How Global is the Business of Retail?' which found that Hong Kong was the world's most popular destination for retailer expansion.#

On a city level, Hong Kong retained its position as the worlds most popular destination for retailer expansion in 2016 attracting 87 new retailers, according to the report.Hong Kong was closely followed by London which witnessed the second highest presence of new retailer entrants, with a total of 65 international retailers opening stores in London for the first time in 2016. Retailers such as Nars, New Balance, and Dyson all opened new stores in London last year helping London to maintain its position as a global retail powerhouse.London was followed by Dubai who welcomed 59 new entrants. Doha moved up six places from last years new entrants ranking to take fourth place with 58 new retail brands and Tokyo being the fifth most sought after market with 48 new entrants to make up the top five most targeted retail cities globally. Notably, Paris jumped to seventh place (from 20th last year) attracting 36 new retailers as the French capital continued to attract international retailers due to its strong tourism market and stable economy. Thirty-three per cent of the new retailers to Paris were specialist clothing retailers such as Jordan, Rip Curl and Athletes Foot who are all targeting the large number of Parisian millennials.Moscow and Vienna also featured in the top 10 target markets with 33 and 29 new entrants, respectively.The latest CBRE report which tracked and identified the target cities for international retailers in 2016 found that the majority of the new retail brands that had opened in London originated from the United States, demonstrating that London continues to be a magnet for international retailers who want to establish their brand before expanding into Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The year 2016 also set a record for the amount of money invested in retail property in London with  two billion being spent by the end of last year.David Close, senior director, Cross Border Retail, EMEA, said, The current economic climate has led to retail brands targeting tried-and-tested retail locations. Retailers are increasingly looking at the traditional strongholds of London, Paris and Hong Kong and stores in the most prominent cities remain a strategic opportunity to attract consumers, build brand loyalty and generate sales off-line and on. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Huntsman Corporation and Clariant have announced that their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement to combine in a merger of equals through an all-stock transaction. The merged company will be named HuntsmanClariant and will benefit from each other's strengths. The transaction is targeted to close by year end 2017.The combined entity will have a significantly improved growth profile in highly attractive end markets and geographies. HuntsmanClariant will leverage shared knowledge in sustainability and boast a much stronger joint innovation platform. This will enable the development of new products in order to deliver superior returns and drive shareholder value.

Huntsman Corporation and Clariant have announced that their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement to combine in a merger of equals through an all-stock transaction. The merged company will be named HuntsmanClariant and will benefit from each other's strengths. The transaction is targeted to close by year end 2017.#

The transaction is targeted to close by year end 2017, subject to Clariant and Huntsman shareholder approvals, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Clariant and Huntsman are confident that the required regulatory approvals can be obtained in a timely manner."This is the perfect deal at the right time. Clariant and Huntsman are joining forces to gain much broader global reach, create more sustained innovation power and achieve new growth opportunities. This is in the best interest of all of our stakeholders. Peter Huntsman and I share the same strategic vision and I look forward to working with him," said Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant.Peter R Huntsman, president and CEO of Huntsman, commented: "I could not be more enthusiastic about this merger and look forward to working closely with Hariolf Kottmann, a man I have admired and trusted for the past decade. We also look forward to a close association with his immensely talented colleagues around the world. Together, we will create a global leader in specialty chemicals with a combined balance sheet providing substantial financial strength and flexibility."Huntsman shareholders receive 1.2196 shares in HuntsmanClariant for each Huntsman share. Each existing Clariant share will remain outstanding as a share in HuntsmanClariant.The board of directors of the new company, which will have global headquarters in Pratteln, Switzerland, and operational headquarters in the Woodlands, Texas, will have equal representation from Clariant and Huntsman. The company will follow Swiss corporate governance standards. Hariolf Kottmann, current Clariant CEO, shall become chairman of the board of HuntsmanClariant. Peter Huntsman, current Huntsman president and CEO, will become CEO of HuntsmanClariant.The new company will accelerate value creation for shareholders through a more robust combination of technology, products and talent. The combined company expects to realise more than $3.5 billion of value creation from approximately $400 million in annual cost synergies. The full synergy run-rate is likely to be achieved within two years of closing. These synergies will be realised by reducing operational costs and improving procurement. The targeted synergies represent roughly three per cent of total combined 2016 revenue with one-time costs up to $500 million. There will also be additional cash-tax savings. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Tizayuca Textil Vuva SA de CV, a vertically integrated producer of textiles located at Tizayuca, Mexico, has installed a Monforts Montex 6500 stenter equipped with a heat recovery system. The company has been running a direct energy usage comparison with the Montex 5000 stenter installed a decade earlier, but which has no heat recovery system.The comparison charts reveal that the heat recovery system is saving the company up to 20 per cent on gas consumption. Both of the machines are equipped with the Monforts Exxotherm indirect gas heating system, heating technology that avoids any yellowing of the fabric, which had proved very effective on the first installation.

Tizayuca Textil Vuva SA de CV, a vertically integrated producer of textiles located at Tizayuca, Mexico, has installed a Monforts Montex 6500 stenter equipped with a heat recovery system. The company has been running a direct energy usage comparison with the Montex 5000 stenter installed a decade earlier, but which has no heat recovery system.#

The Monforts 6500 unit is also equipped with a Compactomat 6000 system for the control of over-feeding and cloth weight integrated within the machine. The Exxotherm indirect gas heating system incorporates a gas-fired heat exchanger that eliminates the negative effects of combustion gases on fabrics, and thereby, removes combustion related problems such as yellowing or colour changes.This is particularly the case in the treatment of polyamide and elastane based fabrics, which form a large part of Tizayuca Textils output. Hot combustion air is fed from the gas burner through an isolated heat exchanger and passed into the stack via the independent exhaust duct, to ensure that no combustion gases come into contact with the fabric.Tizayuca Textil co-owner Salomon Romano said, About 80 per cent of our production here is for the domestic market and we produce everything including knitting, nylon, cotton, and polycotton. We have five stenters, of which the two most recent installations are Monforts machines. We were very happy with the first Monforts machine, the Exxotherm system being especially advantageous, and the good results encouraged us to invest in the 6500 with Exxotherm.This second installation has the integrated heat recovery system, and so we have been able to compare gas energy usage between the two machines. Our supplies are natural gas from the public utility supplier, and so we can see very clearly the savings we are making whilst using the same production process. We are now giving serious consideration to the possibility of installing a heat recovery system on the first Monforts stenter, he added. (GK)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Fans Think That Prabhas-Anushka Are Made For Each Other & They Have Proofs

According to India.com, ''For proof - fans pages of the two stars, who address them as darling' (Prabhas) and sweety' (Anushka), have been sharing images of them where the two are seen sharing a great off screen chemistry.''

These Questions Are Making Their Fans Restless

'Why then are they not admitting to the reality that is so evidently visible?' is a question giving all their fans sleepless nights. And they think these might be the reason of not making their relationship public. Check it out below.

Marriage Can Wait

According to the fan clubs, Prabhas had committed five important years of his life to Baahubali franchise. The actor had not signed any films and rejected many ads so that he could focus only on the magnum opus.

Prabhas Is Too Dedicated & Anushka Also Follows The Same Approach

This is a proof of how dedicated Prabhas is towards his work. Fans have it that Anushka might share the same approach towards work and they might not want to take risk at the peak of their careers by getting married.

Because They Are A Hot Jodi On-Screen

Both Prabhas and Anushka Shetty have been a hit couple in Telugu cinema. Their jodi in films like Mirchi and Billa received a lot of love, attention and appreciation from fans.

But Before Becoming One...

Now, after the unbelievable success of Baahubali franchise, they have become names to reckon with in not just the South but the whole of India.

Fans feel that the two stars don't want to lose this opportunity where their onscreen chemistry is receiving so much love and want to do a few more good films together as a couple on reel, before they become one in real.

Anushka & Prabhas To Team Up Again For Saaho & Bhagmati?

Anushka Shetty might get roped in to play the female lead in Prabhas' Saaho. Rumour has it that Prabhas might star in a small yet important role in Anushka starrer Bhagmati.

After Baahubali 2's Success

We all know that Prabhas has become a superstar after the mammoth success of Baahubali 2 and directors want to cash in on this opportunity.

They Both Are Waiting For Prabhas' Bollywood Debut?

Fans feel that since a star enjoys more stardom than one who is married, Prabhas and Anushka might just have pushed their marriage plans on the back burner till Prabhas makes his Bollywood foray!
Bollywood actor and BJP MP Paresh Rawal has deleted his controversial tweet suggesting that instead of a Kashmiri stone-pelter, author Arundhati Roy should be tied to an Army jeep.

"Instead of tying (a) stone-pelter on the Army jeep, tie Arundhati Roy," Paresh Rawal wrote on the micro-blogging site, triggering an online outrage. Roy has been a vocal supporter of Kashmir separatist campaign and alleged human rights abuses in the state.

However, the tweet is no longer visible in Rawal's account.

It came days after an Army Major in Kashmir trussed up a civilian, Farooq Dar, on his jeep bonnet using him as a human shield against a stone-pelting mob. The incident sparked a huge uproar, particularly after the officer was commended by Army chief General Bipin Rawat for his counter-insurgency service in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rawal's tweet came after the Pakistani media reported that Roy had said that the "Indian aggression in the Kashmir was shameful and that New Delhis "oppression cannot subdue Kashmiri struggle."

However, the news could not be verified and was reported to be a "fake news".
Sunil Grover has been in news for his live shows. But, his upcoming live show that was to happen in Ahmedabad on May 27, got into trouble because of the organiser Rajpal Shah!

The Ahmedabad-based organiser Rajpal Shah had filed a complaint of cheating and criminal conspiracy against Sunil and the show's organiser Devang Shah, regarding the show. Apparently, Rajpal had even threatened that he will not let the show happen in the city! Well, as per Rajpal's wish, it is said that the live show has been cancelled!



(Image Source: Twitter)

A few hours ago, TransStadia wrote on Facebook, "Due to unavoidable circumstances we have been forced to cancel The Comedy Family show at The Arena by TransStadia on 27th May 2016. Ticket refunds will be initiated by BookMyShow and the refund amount will be processed within 10 working days. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused." (There is an error in the post - the year should be 2017 and not 2016).

Officials at The Arena by TransStadia were quoted by a leading daily as saying, "Everything was perfect and running smooth. Most of the tickets for the show had been sold and due to so many nuances surrounding the show, yesterday we received an official confirmation that the show has been cancelled. The organisers cancelled the show due to some legal problems surrounding the show."

For the uninitiated, it was said that Devang and Sunil Grover's manager had promised to organise an event with the comedian. But they breached the contract and are now holding a similar event at a different location in Ahmedabad, at a higher price!

After Rajpal filed a complaint, a local magistrate in Ahmedabad had ordered an investigation against Sunil and Devang and had asked the police to investigate the allegations.

Apart from Sunil Grover, The Comedy Family Show starred actors who quit The Kapil Sharma Show - Chandan Prabhakar, Ali Asgar, Roshni Chopra, Sugandha Mishra and Sanket Bhosale.

Well, we are sure that Sunil won't disappoint us and will come up with another live show to entertain the audiences.
The global soymeal marketis expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 6% during the forecast period, according to Technavio's latest report.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170720005803/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global soymeal market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

In this report, Technavio covers the market outlook and growth prospects of the global soymeal market for 2017-2021. The market is segmented based on application, which includes animal feed and human consumption.

The demand for soymeal is expected to remain high in the coming years due to the rising demand from the feed sector. The majority of the soymeal produced globally is used for animal feed. The low cost and high protein content of soymeal make it ideal for use in animal feed. Soymeal is also used for making soy flour and soybean oils, which are used for human consumption. Sustainable soy cultivation and growing popularity of veganism among consumers are some of the trends emerging in the market that are expected to aid the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Technavio's food and beveragesresearch analysts categorize the global soymeal market into the following segments by regions:

APAC

Americas

EMEA

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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.

APAC: largest soymeal market

The demand for soymeal in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is expected to remain high during the forecast period due to the increasing demand from China, India, and Vietnam. China is one of the largest producers of soybean globally and is also the top consumer of the product. The increasing demand from the animal feed market is driving the growth of the market in the region. China and India are the two major producers of soymeal in APAC. India is also one of the top five exporters of soymeal globally.

"In China, consumers are using soymeal to replace other protein sources such as rapeseed, cottonseed, and distillers dried grains. The use of hog stocks, which account for about 40% of the livestock feeds in China, is decreasing, and consumers are increasingly using soymeal as animal feed due to its relatively low price," says Manjunath Reddy, a lead analyst at Technavio for research on food

This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing

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Soymeal market in the Americas

"The US is the largest market for soymeal in the Americas, and the demand for soymeal is driven by increasing demand from the animal feed sector. Argentina, Brazil, the US, and Paraguay are some of the leading exporters of soymeal globally. The export of soymeal from these countries is expected to rise further in the next five years," adds Manjunath.

Consumers are increasingly preferring soymeal for animal feed due to its relatively low cost. The rising demand from the animal feed sector is expected to increase the demand for soymeal in the Americas during the forecast period.

Soymeal market in EMEA

The European Union is the largest importer of soymeal globally and is also one of the largest producers of soymeal. Most of the soymeal imported to Europe is used in the animal feed industry. Soymeal is mainly used in poultry feed in Europe. The demand for soymeal is expected to remain high during the forecast period as the demand for soymeal from the feed sector is increasing.

The demand for soymeal in the Middle East is increasing due to the rising poultry production in the region. The demand for poultry products is growing in the region and is expected to remain high during the forecast period.

The top vendors in the global soymeal market highlighted in the report are:

Archer Daniels Midland

Bunge

Cargill

Wilmar International

Browse Related Reports:

Global Cinnamon Market 2017-2021

Global Vinegar Market 2017-2021

Global Organic Coffee Market 2017-2021

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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/20170720005803/en/

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Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/24/17 -- Earnest today announced the close of the $175 million Earnest 2017-A transaction backed by refinanced student loans. The offering received an AA (high) rating on the senior notes by DBRS which is now only one notch below the highest attainable rating of AAA. The transaction was three-times oversubscribed and traded at the tight end of market guidance.

Earnest has now completed five securitizations of refinanced student loans since February 2016 for a total value of over $877 million. In 15 months, the company has increased its rating on the senior notes from A to AA (high), a progression that often takes several years. This speaks to the quality of the underlying collateral and the advancement Earnest has made as a programmatic issuer in the capital markets.

"This marks another strong securitization for Earnest, providing us the opportunity to welcome new investors and continue building our capital markets program. We're thrilled at the appetite and investor confidence in our offerings," said Louis Beryl, CEO and co-founder of Earnest.

About Earnest

Earnest is a technology company using data science, smarter design, and exceptional service to rebuild financial services. Founded in 2013 on the belief that financially responsible people deserve better options and access to credit, Earnest's lending products are built for a new generation seeking to reach life's milestones. The company's mission is to democratize access to high-quality financial services.

Earnest is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by Maveron, Battery Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Accomplice Ventures, Wildcat Venture Partners, First Round Capital, and others. For more information, please visit earnest.com or follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and the Earnest Blog.

Contact

Earnest

Email Contact




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/24/17 -- Crescent Point Energy Corp. ("Crescent Point" or the "Company") (TSX: CPG)(NYSE: CPG) held its annual general meeting on May 24, 2017, in Calgary. Approximately 247 million shares, representing 45.25% of common shares, were represented in person or by proxy at the meeting.

During the regular business proceedings at the meeting, shareholders approved the election of all nominated directors.

Full voting results for all resolutions are below. For comparison, the Company has also included the voting results in favour of resolutions that were passed at last year's annual general meeting, which had 46.84% of common shares represented in person or by proxy.

1. Fixing Number of Directors

The appointment of 10 board members for the ensuing year was approved by a show of hands. Proxies and in-person votes were received as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Votes For Percent Against Percent 2016 Votes For ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 244,038,359 99.02% 2,423,725 0.98% 99.68% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Election of Directors

The 10 director nominees proposed by management were elected by a show of hands. Proxies and in-person votes were received as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Votes Nominee Votes For Percent Withheld Percent For ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rene Amirault 225,222,556 91.96% 19,692,511 8.04% 78.43% Peter Bannister 228,096,881 93.13% 16,818,186 6.87% 98.53% Laura A. Cillis 230,027,638 93.92% 14,887,429 6.08% 89.49% D. Hugh Gillard 225,870,725 92.22% 19,044,342 7.78% 88.46% Ted Goldthorpe 240,695,393 98.28% 4,219,674 1.72% N/A Robert F. Heinemann 222,532,395 90.86% 22,382,672 9.14% 89.29% Mike Jackson 232,957,004 95.12% 11,958,063 4.88% N/A Barbara Munroe 229,394,691 93.66% 15,520,376 6.34% 99.59% Gerald A. Romanzin 235,966,066 96.35% 8,949,001 3.65% 98.68% Scott Saxberg 230,364,374 94.06% 14,550,693 5.94% 97.04% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Appointment of Auditors

The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Crescent Point's auditors was approved by a show of hands. Proxies and in-person votes were received as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Votes For Percent Withheld Percent 2016 Votes For ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 244,568,538 99.23% 1,893,546 0.77% 99.31% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

The resolution to accept the Company's approach to executive compensation, the full text of which is set forth in the Information Circular, was approved. Proxies and in-person votes were received as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Votes For Percent Against Percent 2016 Votes For ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 211,568,818 86.36% 33,422,825 13.64% 31.00% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Throughout 2016, our Board and Compensation Committee worked with shareholders and incorporated their feedback in our revised compensation plan," said Scott Saxberg, president and CEO of Crescent Point. "We remain committed to being transparent and accountable with our investors and value ongoing feedback."

The biographies of Crescent Point's board members and more details about the Company's corporate governance practices are available on www.crescentpointenergy.com.

Crescent Point is one of Canada's largest light and medium oil producers, based in Calgary, Alberta. The Company is focused on growing its significant resource base in the Williston Basin, southwest Saskatchewan and the Uinta Basin in Utah. Crescent Point strives to maximize shareholder returns through its total return strategy of long-term growth plus dividend income.

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP.

Scott Saxberg, President and Chief Executive Officer

Crescent Point shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPG.

Contacts:

Crescent Point Energy Corp.

Ken Lamont

Chief Financial Officer

(403) 693-0020 or Toll-free (US & Canada): 888-693-0020



Crescent Point Energy Corp.

Brad Borggard

Vice President, Corporate Planning and Investor Relations

(403) 693-0020 or Toll-free (US & Canada): 888-693-0020

(403) 693-0070 (FAX)

www.crescentpointenergy.com




Regulatory News:

United Company RUSAL Plc (Paris:RUSAL) (Paris:RUAL):

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

UNITED COMPANY RUSAL PLC

(Incorporated under the laws of Jersey with limited liability)

(Stock Code: 486)

INSIDE INFORMATION

REFINANCING FACILITY

This announcement is made by the Company pursuant to Rule 13.09 of the Listing Rules and the Inside Information Provisions under Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong).

References are made to the previous announcements of the Company in relation to the USD4.75 Billion PXF, the USD400 Million PXF, the Amendment Agreement combining the USD4.75 Billion PXF and USD400 Million PXF into the Combined PXF Facility, the approvals by all its lenders under the Amendment Agreement, the effectiveness of the Amendment Agreement, and various other announcements in relation to, amongst others, the Combined PXF Facility.

The Company is pleased to announce that the new 2017 Pre-export Finance Term Facility Agreement between, among others, the Company as borrower, ING Bank N.V. as facility agent and security agent, and the Lenders as defined therein for an amount of up to USD2,000,000,000 ("PXF 2017"), was signed by the Company on 24 May 2017. The key terms and conditions of the PXF 2017 are described below.

(a) Borrower

The Company.

(b) Guarantors

Each of PJSC "RUSAL Bratsk Aluminium Smelter", JSC "RUSAL Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter", JSC "RUSAL Novokuznetsk Aluminium Smelter", JSC "RUSAL Sayanogorsk Aluminium Smelter", JSC "Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company", RS International GmbH, RTI Limited, RUSAL Marketing GmbH, JSC "Russian Aluminium" and JSC "United Company RUSAL Trading House" (each being a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) will provide a joint and several guarantee in respect of the Company's obligations under the PXF 2017.

(c) Amount

USD 1.7 billion.

(d) Use of proceeds

The proceeds of the PXF 2017 will be used primarily for the purpose of refinancing the outstanding balance under the Combined PXF Facility. Any proceeds not used for refinancing the Combined PXF Facility shall be applied towards refinancing of other indebtedness of the Company or any other member of the Group.

(e) Interest

The aggregate of:

(i) 3.00% per annum; and

(ii) 3 month LIBOR (if the rate is less than zero, this shall be deemed to be zero).

(f) Final maturity date and repayment schedule

The final maturity date will fall on the 60th calendar month, and quarterly repayments will start from the 27th calendar month after utilisation.

(g) Covenant package

In view of the improved financial condition of the Company, the covenant package was revised and certain restrictions were removed, as described in more detail below.

For the purposes of calculating the leverage ratio (as defined in PXF 2017), in view of the security given over certain NN Shares securing the relevant indebtedness of the Group, the amount of such secured indebtedness (or, if lower, the value of the NN Shares securing such indebtedness) is excluded from the total net debt (as defined in PXF 2017). Consequently, the Group's EBITDA is net of the impact of NN shareholding (i.e. excludes dividends paid on any of the NN Shares). The leverage ratio is, thus, tested on the basis of the Group's core operations.

The dividend covenant was revised to allow the Company to pay dividends to its shareholders in an amount not exceeding 15% of the Group's covenant EBITDA (as defined in PXF 2017, and includes for this purpose dividends paid on NN Shares) subject to certain conditions. This is in line with the dividend policy approved by the Board in August 2015. The key conditions of dividend payments include positive cash flow, a certain liquidity minimum being maintained, the leverage ratio on a pro forma basis being not more than 3:1 and no defaults outstanding or occurring as a result of dividend payments.

Certain components of the security package, including cash sweep, cash pooling arrangements, other additional restrictions and additional security implemented in 2014 were terminated.

DEFINITIONS

In this announcement, the following expressions have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Amendment Agreement" the agreement dated 18 August 2014 pursuant to which the USD4.75 Billion PXF and the USD400 Million PXF are combined into a single facility agreement. "Board" the Board of Directors. "Combined PXF Facility" the combined facility of USD4.75 Billion PXF and USD400 Million PXF. "Company" United Company RUSAL Plc, a limited liability company incorporated in Jersey, the shares of which are listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange. "Director(s)" the director(s) of the Company. "Group" the Company and its subsidiaries. "LIBOR" London Interbank Offered Rate. "Lenders" has the meaning given to it in the PXF 2017. "Listing Rules" the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. "NN Shares" shares in (or American depositary receipts issued by reference to) the share capital of Norilsk Nickel and owned by members of the Group (or, in the case of NN Shares securing repurchase (repo) transactions, which members of the Group are entitled to receive upon termination of the relevant repo or similar transaction). "Norilsk Nickel" or "NN" PJSC "Mining and Metallurgical Company "NORILSK NICKEL". "Stock Exchange" The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. "Pre-export Finance Term Facility Agreement" or the "PXF 2017" the pre-export finance term facility agreement dated 24 May 2017 between, among others, the Company as borrower, ING Bank N.V. as facility agent and security agent, and the Lenders as defined therein for an amount of up to USD2,000,000,000. "USD" United States dollars, the lawful currency of the United States of America. "USD4.75 Billion PXF" the up to USD4,750,000,000 aluminium pre-export finance facility agreement dated 29 September 2011 between, amongst others, BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA (as facility agent and security agent) and the Company (as borrower) as amended on each of 26 January 2012 and 9 November 2012, and consisting of two tranches, Tranche A and Tranche B. "USD400 Million PXF" the up to USD400,000,000 multicurrency aluminium pre-export finance facility agreement dated 30 January 2013 between, amongst others, ING BANK N.V. (as facility agent and security agent) and the Company (as borrower).

By Order of the Board of Directors of

United Company RUSAL Plc Aby Wong Po Ying

Company Secretary

25 May 2017

As at the date of this announcement, the executive Directors are Mr. Oleg Deripaska, Mr. Vladislav Soloviev and Mr. Siegfried Wolf, the non-executive Directors are Mr. Dmitry Afanasiev, Mr. Ivan Glasenberg, Mr. Maksim Goldman, Ms. Olga Mashkovskaya, Ms. Gulzhan Moldazhanova, Mr. Marco Musetti, Ms. Ekaterina Nikitina, Mr. Maxim Sokov, and Mr. Daniel Lesin Wolfe and the independent non-executive Directors are Mr. Mark Garber, Mr. Philip Lader, Dr. Elsie Leung Oi-sie, Mr. Dmitry Vasiliev, Mr. Matthias Warnig (Chairman) and Mr. Bernard Zonneveld.

All announcements and press releases published by the Company are available on its website under the links http://www.rusal.ru/en/investors/info.aspx,http://rusal.ru/investors/info/moex/ and http://www.rusal.ru/en/press-center/press-releases.aspx, respectively.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006336/en/

Contacts:

United Company RUSAL Plc




SINGAPORE, May 25, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - The Taiwan flag waved proudly at the opening of CommunicAsia 2017 as it showcased 50 Taiwanese technologies and innovations at the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion. This year's inaugural participation at Asia's premier sourcing and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge platform is part of the country's drive to lend support to Taiwanese companies in achieving regional competitiveness within the ICT sector. According to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the initiative is a key component of the Taiwan Industry Image Enhancement Project (IEP). 19 Taiwan Excellence Award winning brands on display at booth BQ2-01 feature technologies in the areas of enterprise mobility, green energy, smart cities and the Internet-of-Things (IoT). The exhibition runs until May 25, 2017 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore.Globally renowned Taiwanese companies Acer, Advantech, ASUS, Planet and VIVOTEK led the products showcase. Alongside these brands, Dr. Chiueh Tzi-Cker, Vice President & General Director of Information and Communications Research Laboratories at the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) spoke about integrating existing technologies and platforms in the push towards Smart Living. ITRI is part of the delegation led by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association at booth BQ3-13.Mr. Francis Liang Kuo-Hsin, Representative of the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore, graced the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion's maiden launch at CommunicAsia as its Guest-of-Honour. In his opening address, Mr. Liang said, "Singapore is an important trade partner of Taiwan, and we have long established a strong and close bilateral relation between the two countries. Through Taiwan Excellence's inaugural participation in CommunicAsia, we hope to promote partnerships, sharing of our cutting-edge technologies, and facilitate knowledge exchange between leading Taiwanese companies, innovators and members of the ICT industry in the Southeast Asia region", affirming Taiwan's focus in the region.Addressing a room full of partners, media and guests, Mr. Scott Yang, Deputy Director of Marketing at TAITRA, shared that "many Taiwan manufacturers possess ground-breaking research and development (R&D) findings and record strong international sales. Aligned with the government's initiatives, Taiwan Excellence aims to help these innovative products and brands break into the regional market in a bid to garner more opportunities for international cooperation."Situated conveniently by the entrance close to CommunicAsia's visitor registration, the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion features an interactive platform, offering visitors an up-close experience with the products on exhibit. This strategic location helps focus the spotlight on the innovative brilliance, further bolstering the eminence of the brands and the esteem in which they are held.Ranking 2nd in the world for three years on the trot and top in Asia in digital adoption encompassing areas such as consumer technology, e-commerce, financial services and interactive digital media and telecommunications, Singapore is the natural choice as a launch pad for Taiwan's Digital Nation Plan and New Southbound Policy. Over the three days at CommunicAsia, the expected visitor turnout north of 30,000 flaunts officials, C-Level executives and international buyers. Working in this space, Taiwanese manufacturers can expect to present their latest technology innovations in pursuit of the Asia.Silicon Valley vision of propelling Taiwanese manufacturers to the international forefront of IoT innovation.About the Taiwan Excellence AwardThe symbol of Taiwan Excellence honors Taiwan's most innovative products that provide tremendous value to users worldwide. All products carrying this symbol have been selected for specific Taiwan Excellence Awards based on their excellence in design, quality, marketing, Taiwanese R&D, and manufacturing. Initiated by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in 1992, the symbol of Taiwan Excellence is recognized in 100 countries.Supported by Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), MOEAThe Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), R.O.C. is responsible for implementing policies and regulations governing foreign trade and economic cooperation. Established in January 1969, the BOFT's role and position have been adjusted regularly to meet the needs of the ever changing international economic and trade environments. The BOFT has been guiding and working with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in numerous promotional trade projects and activities both internationally and domestically. Having worked closely with TAITRA for many decades, the BOFT continues to commission TAITRA for various critical government projects relating to business, trade and investment, while promoting Taiwan internationally.Organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations, TAITRA assists Taiwanese businesses and manufacturers with reinforcing their international competitiveness and in coping with the challenges they face in foreign markets. TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network of over 1,200 international marketing specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters and 50 offices worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies.For Media EnquiriesTAITRAYa Hsing LuStrategic Marketing Department, TAITRATel: +886 2 2725 5200 #1386Email: yahsing@taitra.org.twPRecious Communications for TAITRAMelinda IlaganTel: +65 6303 0567Email: taitra@preciouscomms.comSource: TAITRACopyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
EDINBURGH (dpa-AFX) - Standard Life plc (SL.L) noted the announcement today by Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited or 'HDFC' with reference to the scheme of amalgamation proposed by HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited or HDFC Life, involving HDFC Life, Max Life Insurance Company Limited, Max Financial Services Limited, and Max India Limited. Standard Life notes the announcement by HDFC that HDFC Life has become aware of recent media reports about certain developments on the proposed scheme but has not received any independent confirmation in this regard from any regulator / governmental authority. Earlier today, there were reports that Max Financial's merger with HDFC Life could be delayed further. Reports suggested the deal proposal was returned by the attorney general to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India or Irdai. without any comment. In August 2016, Standard Life noted the announcement by its Indian associate, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited or 'HDFC Life' that it agreed terms with Max Life Insurance Company Limited , Max Financial Services Limited and Max India Limited for the combination of the life insurance businesses of HDFC Life and Max Life. 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.


DEARBORN (dpa-AFX) - Ford Motor Co. (F) issued a safety compliance recall for approximately 2,500 2017 Ford F-150, Explorer and Super Duty vehicles for an inadequate weld between the driver seat back and the manually operated seat back recliner mechanism.



In the affected vehicles, a driver seat back frame that has been improperly welded may fail to comply with certain federal motor vehicle safety standards, and may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.



Ford noted that it is not aware of any accidents or injuries associated with this issue.



The recall involves approximately 2,418 vehicles in North America, including 2,195 in the United States, nine in federalized territories, 39 in Mexico and 175 in Canada. The Ford reference number for this recall is 17C08.



The company stated that dealers will inspect and replace the driver seat back frame as necessary at no cost to the customer.



In addition, Ford issued a safety compliance recall for certain 2015-17 Ford F-150 and 2017 F-250 to F-550 vehicles equipped with aftermarket chrome exterior door handle covers that were purchased as an accessory component from a Ford dealer.



In the affected vehicles, an exterior door handle fitted with an aftermarket chrome cover that was purchased as an accessory component from a Ford dealer may not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards, and may experience inertial loads that could cause it to unlatch during a side impact, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.



Ford said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries associated with this issue.



Ford has identified 551 kits sold through Ford dealerships. Dealers will be instructed to search their records and contact customers who purchased these Ford Licensed Accessory covers. Ford also plans to publish an awareness message that will be available to dealer service department personnel should an affected vehicle be brought to the dealer for unrelated service.



The recall involves approximately 551 vehicles in North America, including 247 in the United States and 304 in Canada. The Ford reference number for this recall is 17C09.



Dealers will remove the covers from affected units and reimburse customers for the cost of the covers and labor.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Blancco Technology Group Study Finds Global Organizations Don't Know Where All Customer Data Is Stored and Use Unreliable Data Removal Methods to Erase User Content

ATLANTA and LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --EU GDPR is a game-changing piece of data protection legislation that goes into effect one year from today on May 25, 2018. While the legislation includes various components related to how organizations collect, store, manage and protect customer data, the 'right to be forgotten' gives individuals the right to have personal data erased. But if most organizations cannot locate where their customer data is stored (both on-premise and offsite), it will be difficult to fulfill 'right to be forgotten' requests, according to the "EU GDPR: Countdown to Compliance" research study released by Blancco Technology Group today.

As our study found, most organizations struggle with identifying and locating where all customer data is stored. 15 percent of German organizations admitted they don't know where all customer data is stored, both on-premise and offsite. Plus, the United States (13 percent) and United Kingdom (12 percent) are the two countries with the second and third highest percentages of respondents who don't know where all of their customer data is stored. For French organizations, however, the problem is somewhat worse with 20 percent saying their confidence level in their ability to find all customer data is low - ranging from extremely unconfident to slightly unconfident.

Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer, Blancco Technology Group, said, "If an organization cannot find their customers' data, how will they be capable of erasing the data and complying with the EU GDPR's requirement? Once they do finally locate their customers' data, the next step is erasing the data permanently so that it can never be recovered. But as our study reveals, it's quite common for organizations to use insecure and unreliable data removal methods, such as basic deletion and free data wiping software, which further undermines their security and compliance to EU GDPR."

Key findings from the study include:

French, Spanish and German companies will beef up spending on EU GDPR-readiness technologies and processes. 85 percent of Spanish companies will spend up to $3.99 million , while 77 percent of French companies and 73 percent of German companies will spend the same amount. However, fewer American companies (65 percent) will spend this same amount.

85 percent of Spanish companies will spend up to , while 77 percent of French companies and 73 percent of German companies will spend the same amount. However, fewer American companies (65 percent) will spend this same amount. 72-hour breach notification, records maintenance of data processing activities and 'right to be forgotten' top the list of EU GDPR priorities. Meeting the 72-hour data breach notification rule (25 percent) and maintaining written records of data processing activities (25 percent) both ranked as the top priorities for American organizations. British organizations are most concerned with maintaining written records of data processing activities (22 percent). Conversely, 22 percent of Spanish organizations will prioritize the appointment of a Data Protection Officer.

Meeting the 72-hour data breach notification rule (25 percent) and maintaining written records of data processing activities (25 percent) both ranked as the top priorities for American organizations. British organizations are most concerned with maintaining written records of data processing activities (22 percent). Conversely, 22 percent of Spanish organizations will prioritize the appointment of a Data Protection Officer. Insufficient budgets, improper handling/storage of IT equipment and lack of data removal software are the biggest roadblocks to the 'right to be forgotten.' 12 percent of the American respondents cited insufficient budget as their biggest challenge, while it's also a challenge for French companies (17 percent), British companies (16 percent) and German companies (15 percent). Plus, improper handling/storage of IT equipment ranks as a major challenge for Spanish companies (28 percent), American companies (21 percent) and British companies (17 percent).

12 percent of the American respondents cited insufficient budget as their biggest challenge, while it's also a challenge for French companies (17 percent), British companies (16 percent) and German companies (15 percent). Plus, improper handling/storage of IT equipment ranks as a major challenge for Spanish companies (28 percent), American companies (21 percent) and British companies (17 percent). Insecure and unreliable data removal methods undermine security and compliance. Basic deletion is used by IT professionals in France (34 percent), US (28 percent), Spain (26 percent), UK (24 percent) and Germany (23 percent) to remove data. Meanwhile, free data wiping solutions (without proof) are used by organizations in Spain (35 percent), UK (33 percent), US (25 percent), Germany (27 percent), US (25 percent) and France (21 percent).

Basic deletion is used by IT professionals in (34 percent), US (28 percent), (26 percent), UK (24 percent) and (23 percent) to remove data. Meanwhile, free data wiping solutions (without proof) are used by organizations in (35 percent), UK (33 percent), US (25 percent), (27 percent), US (25 percent) and (21 percent). Data Protection Officers are uncommon and costly additions. 59 percent of American companies and 53 percent of British companies are most likely to assign the responsibilities of a DPO to an existing role. In Germany , however, companies would be somewhat inclined to hire a new, dedicated role (40 percent). Meanwhile, 16 percent of French companies would outsource the role to a consultant.

59 percent of American companies and 53 percent of British companies are most likely to assign the responsibilities of a DPO to an existing role. In , however, companies would be somewhat inclined to hire a new, dedicated role (40 percent). Meanwhile, 16 percent of French companies would outsource the role to a consultant. Change begins with a data protection gap analysis. 41 percent of American organizations are currently undergoing a gap analysis and 43 percent of British organizations plan to start in the second half of 2017. In addition, 50 percent of Spanish organizations will do so in the second half of this year. But 14 percent of the French respondents and 14 percent of the German respondents will wait until 2018.

Stiennon concluded, "The first priority for all companies should be to gain a complete picture of all data that is collected, stored or processed that contains EU citizen and residentinformation. After that, companies must ensure that adequate means of protecting that data have been implemented, such as access being restricted to authorized personnel, proper authentication being used and proper procedures for backing up and archiving data and data sanitization policies being implemented to remove data when it is no longer needed or requested by customers. In addition, any third parties that have access to the data must be evaluated to ensure they too have adequate controls in place."

For more details about the various requirements of the EU GDPR, visit the dedicated page on Blancco's website.

About Blancco Technology Group

Blancco Technology Group (AIM: BLTG) is the de facto standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics. The Blancco Data Eraser solutions provide thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail. Our data erasure solutions have been tested, certified, approved and recommended by 18 governing bodies around the world. No other security firm can boast this level of compliance with the most rigorous requirements set by government agencies, legal authorities and independent testing laboratories.

The Blancco Mobile Diagnostics solutions enable mobile network operators, retailers and insurers to easily, quickly and accurately identify and resolve performance issues on their customers' mobile devices. As a result, mobile service providers can spend less time dealing with technical issues and, in turn, reduce the quantity of NTF returns, save on operational costs and increase customer satisfaction.

For more information, visit our website at www.blancco.com.

Media Contacts:

SHIFT Communications for Blancco Technology Group (US)

David Heffernan, Account Manager

T: (617) 779-1839

E: blancco@shiftcomm.com

SAY Communications for Blancco Technology Group (Europe)

Robert Hickling, Senior Account Manager

T: 44 (0) 20 8971 6427

E: blancco@saycomms.co.uk

Blancco Technology Group

Ragini Bhalla, Senior Director of Global Communications

E: ragini.bhalla@blancco.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/274522/blancco_Logo.jpg
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Rockcliff Copper Corporation ("Rockcliff "or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RCU)(FRANKFURT: RO0)(WKN: A142TR) is pleased to report additional high gold grades from previous historical surface exploration at its gold-rich Dickstone North Property ("DSN"). The DSN Property, Laguna Property and SLG Property are high grade gold properties controlled by Rockcliff within its high grade precious and base metal Snow Lake Project ("Project") located in central Manitoba. The Project presently hosts the highest grade unmined copper rich and zinc rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") deposits and highest grade former gold mine within the world class Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt. The Project is located within trucking distances to mining infrastructure including base and precious metal mills at Snow Lake, Manitoba.

A fully permitted, surface exploration program will commence shortly on the gold properties of the Project in preparation for an initial Fall 2017 drill program. The three gold properties of the Project are briefly outlined below.

At the DSN Property, a major regional structural break called the Morton Lake Fault Zone, crosses the property for a distance 15 kilometres ("km"). The fault zone hosts multiple high grade gold showings with noted visible gold. Historical surface grab sample results ranging from trace to as high as 34.0 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and historical channel samples from trace to as high as 104.5 g/t gold across 0.25 metres ("m") have been identified in several mineralized quartz vein systems along a 3 km long section of the fault zone. Rockcliff's geological program will focus on the known area of gold mineralization within the fault zone and on the remaining 12 km strike length that was completely overlooked by previous operators. Rockcliff holds a 100% interest in the DSN Property.

At the Laguna Property, the Crowduck Bay Fault Zone, a major regional structural break with an associated gold-rich fault splay crosses through the property. A 6 km long fault splay termed the Laguna Gold Mine Trend hosts numerous high grade quartz vein systems and the former Laguna Gold Mine, the first and highest grade gold mine in Manitoba. Historical, intermittent gold mining from the Laguna vein between 1916 and 1939 produced over 60,000 ounces of gold grading 18.7g/t. Rockcliff's previously announced surface grab sample results ranging from trace to over 600 g/t gold were identified in narrow (less than 1.0 m) and up to 3-5 m wide quartz stockwork systems within the Laguna Gold Mine Trend. A surface and airborne geophysical program which began in early 2017 will be completed after winter break-up. Rockcliff's geological program will assist in the drilling planned for the Fall of 2017. Rockcliff has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Laguna Property. See the Company's Press Release dated September 12, 2016 for particulars.

At the SLG Property, the McLeod Road Thrust Fault, a major regional structural break, crosses through the property a distance of 9.0 km. The thrust fault and associated gold-rich fault splays host the former million ounce gold producer (New Britannia/Nor Acme Mine) which is located adjacent to the property. The mineralization and resources on the New Britannia/Nor Acme Mine are not necessarily indicative of the mineralization, if any, hosted on the Company's property. Within the property several areas of high grade gold potential associated with the thrust fault will be explored in the upcoming geological program. Rockcliff has an option to earn a 100% interest in the SLG Property. See the Company's Press Release dated October 5, 2016 for particulars.

Ken Lapierre, President and CEO commented, "The upside gold potential of our three gold properties within our Snow Lake Project is excellent. While we remain committed to advancing our core VMS properties we cannot underestimate the primary lode gold potential of our project which includes Manitoba's first and highest grade gold mine. The fact that the present Snow Lake VMS mining camp initially began as a gold mining camp and hosting a plus million ounce gold producer bodes well for the potential of our nearby gold properties. We look forward to advancing these gold properties through a systematic, scientific summer exploration program followed by a first phase Fall 2017 drill program."

Quality Control and Quality Assurance

Samples of half core are packaged and shipped directly from Rockcliff's field office to TSL Laboratories (TSL), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. TSL is a Canadian assay laboratory and is accredited under ISO/IEC 17025. Each bagged core sample is dried, crushed to 70% passing 10 mesh and a 250g pulp is pulverized to 95% passing 150 mesh for assaying. A 0.5g cut is taken from each pulp for base metal analyses and leached in a multi acid (total) digestion and then analyzed for copper, lead, zinc and silver by atomic absorption. Gold concentrations are determined by fire assay using a 30g charge followed by an atomic absorption finish. Samples greater than upper detection limit (3000 ppb) are reanalyzed using fire assay gravimetric using a 1 AT charge. Rockcliff inserted certified blanks and standards in the sample stream to ensure lab integrity. Rockcliff has no relationship with TSL other than TSL being a service provider to the Company.

Ken Lapierre P.Geo., President and CEO of Rockcliff, a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this press release.

About Rockcliff Copper Corporation

Rockcliff is a Canadian resource exploration company focused on the discovery, advancement and consolidation of the highest grade unmined metal deposits in the prolific Flin Flon - Snow Lake greenstone belt specifically centered on Snow Lake, Manitoba, Canada. The Snow Lake Project, totalling in excess of 45,000 collective hectares is located in and around the Snow Lake mining camp and hosts the highest grade unmined NI 43-101 copper deposits (the gold-rich Talbot copper deposit and the Rail copper deposit), and the highest grade unmined historical zinc deposits (the Lon zinc deposit, the Bur zinc deposit, the Morgan zinc deposit and the down dip continuation of the Pen zinc deposit). The Snow Lake Project also includes a high grade former lode gold producer (Laguna gold property), a Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) on the Tower property (the T-1 copper deposit) and the near surface MacBride zinc deposit located north of Snow Lake near Leaf Rapids, Manitoba.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Rockcliff 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.

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:

Rockcliff Copper Corporation

Ken Lapierre, P.Geo

President & CEO

Cell: (647) 678-3879

Off: (416) 644-1752

klapierre@rockcliffcoppercorp.com



CHF Capital Markets

Cathy Hume, CEO

Off: (416) 868-1079

cathy@chfir.com




China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) today announced the provisional end results for ChemChina's offer to acquire Syngenta. Based on preliminary numbers, at the end of the Additional Acceptance Period on May 24, around 92.2 percent of shares have been tendered.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006382/en/

The prospective timetable for the closing of the offers is as follows:

Wednesday, May 31, 2017 Definitive notice of the end result of the offers Wednesday, June 7, 2017 Second Settlement

Further, as soon as permitted by law and applicable regulations, it is intended to de-list the shares from the SIX and to de-list the ADSs from the NYSE.

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Syngenta.

About ChemChina

ChemChina, which is headquartered in Beijing, China, possesses production, R&D and marketing systems in 150 countries and regions. It is the largest chemical corporation in China, and occupies the 234th position among the Fortune Global 500. The company's main businesses include materials science, life science, high-end manufacturing and basic chemicals, among others. Previously, ChemChina has successfully acquired 9 leading industrial companies in France, United Kingdom, Israel, Italy and Germany, etc. To learn more visit www.chemchina.com and www.chemchina.com/press.

Disclaimer

This press release is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities.

Additional information and where to find it

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell company securities. The solicitation and offer to buy company securities is only made pursuant to the Swiss offer prospectus and the offer to purchase and other documents relating to the U.S. offer that have been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). At the time the US Public Tender Offer was commenced, ChemChina and a designated direct or indirect subsidiary filed a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the SEC and thereafter, the company filed a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14d-9 with respect to the offer. Investors and security holders are urged to read these materials carefully since they contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the offer. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of these materials and other documents filed by ChemChina and the company with the SEC at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Investors and security holders may also obtain free copies of the solicitation/recommendation statement and other documents filed with the SEC by the company at www.syngenta.com

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the expected consummation of the acquisition, which involves a number of risks and uncertainties, including the possibility that the transaction will not be completed and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the company's public filings with the SEC, including the "risk factors" section of the company's form 20-F filed on February 16, 2017 as well as the tender offer documents filed by the offeror and the solicitation/recommendation statement filed by the company. These statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any forward-looking statements. These statements are generally identified by words or phrases such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "should", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from the results and/or timing discussed in the forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these statements. The offeror, ChemChina and the company disclaim any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the period covered by this press release or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170524006382/en/

Contacts:

Syngenta International AG

Media Office

Tel: +41 61 323 2323

Fax: +41 61 323 2424

www.syngenta.com

or

Media:

Leandro Conti

Switzerland +41 61 323 2323

or

Paul Minehart

USA +1 202 737 8913

or

Analyst/Investors:

Jennifer Gough

Switzerland +41 61 323 5059

USA +1 202 737 6521
The 787 Dream Jet lands in Marrakech for a rare exhibition of arts and crafts

MARRAKECH, Morocco, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Deer Jet, first private jet company of China, flies the 787 Dream Jet to Marrakech, to uncover and display the history, culture and arts of this faraway lands. Deer Jet used the same "Majorelle blue" and "Marrakech red" to decorate the 787 Dream Jet.

The exhibition on board the 787 Dream Jet included 100% Moroccan handcrafted objects using 16th century Islamic art patterns and motives from the Jardin Majorelle. Textiles, precious tableware, exotic leathers and other objects of design decorated the splendid 220 sq metres of the Dream Jet's cabin.

The display is part of a series of showcases across the globe in Deer Jet's "Dreams Encounter the World" tour of emblematic destinations. On its mission to serve premium business travellers worldwide, Deer Jet had already displayed the 787 Dream Jet at Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Dublin and Seattle; showcasing its brand philosophy of "Making Travel an Art".

Deer Jet has a history of serving a clientele of premium business travellers, including Middle East royal families. The company is now set to serve the market across the globe.

Frank Fang, Vice President of Deer Jet said: "Marrakech is one of the world's most fascinating destinations, from its ancient walled Medina and bustling markets, it is a cultural fest. With the 787 Dream Jet, we want our customers to discover a stylish and culture-rich travel experience."

The 787 Dream Jet can fly continuously for 18.5 hours, or 16,000 kilometres, reaching any major city in the world non-stop from Casablanca, Marrakech or Rabat. Additionally, it comes with the comforts of unlimited luxury amenities on board.

After the global success of the first 787 "Dream Jet", HNA group, Deer Jet's parent company has announced the acquisition of the second B787 VVIP for Deer Jet to build up the largest 787 Dream Jet fleet in the world. "We will dedicate ourselves to serve the global premium travellers the ultimate travel experience through this fantastic fleet." added Fang.

"The Dream Jet is a tremendous feast of aeronautics and represents everything that is luxurious and impressive about our industry, as I'm convinced anyone who experiences it will agree. We are delighted to support Deer Jet on its "Dreams Encounter the World" exhibitions across the globe, and proud to be the exclusive charter sales partner for the Dream Jet in the MENA region." said Mr. Mohammed Husary, Co-Owner/Founder and Executive President of UAS.

Deer Jet is also launching exclusive, bespoke travel packages aboard the 787 Dream Jet starting with the "Hong Kong to Tahiti Dream Journey". It plans to add more itineraries in the future as part of its goal to create seamless travel to fulfill its vision of "Making travel an art", through best-in-class service inspired by Deer Jet's values of "elegance", "performance" and "distinction".
LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Investment to further develop Qlearsite's People Analytics, machine learning technologies and fund growth plans for a significant future expansion.

Qlearsite, a British HR technology company that builds People Analytics software used for advanced statistical analyses of employee data, today announced that it has raised $7.7m with Summa Digital, the big data platform recently established by Summa Equity.

Funds from the investment will be dedicated to extending the machine learning capabilities of Qlearsite's technologies as well as accelerating recruitment of key appointments to their London team. Plans include a move to a new, larger office to accommodate Qlearsite's expected growth.

Qlearsite is the pioneer of 'Organisational Science'; a proprietary approach to People Analytics and a set of machine learning technologies that are used by some of the world's best known employers to improve their organisations and working practices.

"We believe that People Analytics will be the single biggest enabler of competitive advantage for any modern business. Successful companies will scientifically optimise their organisations so that the people that work within them are happier, more productive and deliver better customer service. Qlearsite has spent the last few years building the foundational technology to enable this vision," said, Alex Borekull, Co-Founder of Qlearsite.

Alongside the investment, Qlearsite will be working with Summa Digital to build meaningful links with other big data analytics portfolio companies and other experts. Christian Melby of Summa Equity has joined the Qlearsite Board alongside Ivar Kroghrud, a successful serial entrepreneur and investor.

Christian Melby, Partner at Summa Equity, said, "Hiring the right people and making them thrive is a key value driver and crucial for the performance of any business. Companies worldwide are becoming increasingly aware of this strong connection between commercial success and proper management of employees, and thereby the value potential in being able to perform proper analysis on HR data. Qlearsite is at the forefront of this movement."

QLEARSITE AND ORGANISATIONAL SCIENCE

Qlearsite's technology is capable of analysing 'any and all' employee data, including the unique ability to incorporate unstructured, text based data into powerful automated statistical models capable of predicting future employee behaviours.

Qlearsite software have in-built knowledge of employee data and incorporate the latest advances in machine learning research. As a result, Qlearsite provides far deeper and more sophisticated People Analytics insights, with a significantly faster time to setup, than was previously possible.

Partnering with some of the world's best known employers to apply the Organisational Science approach and set of technologies, Qlearsite has helped its customers to improve working conditions, lower employment costs and increase productivity.

QLEARSITE TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO SURVEYING

Because of Qlearsite's ability to read and understand language found in very large unstructured datasets, a new employee surveying offering will soon be launched.

Capable of benchmarking culture, motivation and other intangible assets, the surveying offering will enable employers to measure and optimise the 'soft skills' within their businesses.

Qlearsite already provides surveying to selected large scale employers and is preparing for a wider market launch to employers of over 500 people beginning in June 2017.

FOUNDERS OF QLEARSITE, SAID:

Peter Clark, Co-Founder of Qlearsite, said, "People Analytics is an extremely fast growing HR discipline and if anything, that growth is set to accelerate. As the pioneers of Organisational Science, we are helping to define and push People Analytics to the furthest limits of what is computationally possible.

By placing the knowledge and techniques of Organisational Science within a set of intelligent technologies, we are making this extremely powerful analytical approach available to all employers who recognise the value of their people."

Alex Borekull, Co-Founder of Qlearsite, said, "This investment reflects the importance of People Analytics and its huge potential to transform businesses and organisations. At Qlearsite we are working to make this essential discipline ubiquitous in all modern companies.

Summa Equity and their new Summa Digital big data platform share our vision and can help us significantly accelerate our development. This investment allows us to grow and fulfil our ambitions."

CHRISTIAN MELBY, PARTNER OF SUMMA EQUITY, SAID:

"Qlearsite is at the forefront of People Analytics with their Organisational Science approach, helping companies to get a deep understanding of what influences their organisation, its people and how to improve performance. Their solution is state of the art within this field, and allows users to perform complete analysis that answers the most critical questions for any organisation. The products have proven to be highly competitive, providing important insights that allow customers to make the right priorities in creating stronger organisations, thereby gaining competitive advantages and avoiding unnecessary costs."

Notes to editors:

Qlearsite

Qlearsite, founded in March 2015, is a UK-based technology company which provides some of the world's largest and best known companies with analytics software built for employee 'big data'. Our industry is called 'People Analytics' and we describe ourselves as 'Organisational Scientists'.

Currently located in Old Street London, Qlearsite will employ more than 40 people in 2017 and anticipates significant further recruitment in 2018 to help meet growing demand. Qlearsite is built by people who are all either talented Technologists, Data Scientists or Organisation Experts.

For more information please go to http://www.qlearsite.com.

Summa Equity

Summa Equity was formed in 2016 by partners with a shared vision of building a leading specialised private equity firm in the Nordic lower mid-market, positioned to capture the investment opportunity provided by the thematic megatrends expected to drive growth over the long term. The Firm focuses on sectors related to four megatrend driven themes: resource scarcity, energy efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled businesses. Summa Equity closed its first fund in February 2017 with commitments of SEK 4.5 billion.

For more information please go to http://www.summaequity.com
ARIAN SILVER

Trading Symbols

AIM: AGQ

FWB: I3A



25 May 2017

Placing to raise 600,000

Arian Silver Corporation ("Arian Silver" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has raised 600,000, before expenses, through the placing of 120 million units ("Units") of 0.5p each ("the Placing") through its broker Beaufort Securities Limited ("Beaufort").

Each Unit comprises one new common share ("Placing Share") and one new share warrant ("Warrant"), which entitles the holder to subscribe for one Share at 0.6p. 12 million Warrants will be issued to Beaufort, each at an exercise price of 0.6p. The expiry date of each Warrant will be two years from the date of admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Placing to advance exploration of its mining concessions in Zacatecas, Mexico, and specifically to seek and assess the feasibility of additional lithium acquisitions, some of which are currently being negotiated as previously announced.

Jim Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Arian Silver, commented, "The continuing support of our investors has made it possible to once again strengthen our balance sheet and puts the Company in a stronger position to progress not only our silver projects but perhaps more importantly, given the current price and demand, our lithium assets. To fully evaluate our current lithium options requires exploration methods that have not been financially viable for us, until now. We believe greater lithium concentrations occur deeper within the salars and the results so far obtained from the surface exploration are merely indicative of the presence of lithium."

The Placing is conditional on the Shares being admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the 120,000,000 Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Admission of the Placing Shares is expected to become effective at 8:00am on or around 9 June 2017.

Following Admission and assuming no exercise of Warrants, the Company will have 303,694,941 common shares of no par value in issue. The Company has no shares in treasury, therefore the figure of 303,694,941 should be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change of their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.

For further information please contact:


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The safe-haven currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the yen weakened against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday, as Asian stock markets traded higher, though gains are modest in most markets, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street after the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes. Investors are looking ahead to an OPEC meeting later in the day, which is widely expected to extend output cuts.



The FOMC minutes were consistent with another hike in June, but conditional on recent economic softness proving transitory. Policy makers also discussed scaling back their $4 trillion-plus holdings of mortgage-backed bonds and longer-term U.S. government bonds.



Wednesday, the U.S. dollar had risen against its major rivals, while the yen had fallen.



The U.S. dollar rose rose 0.32 percent against the euro, 0.11 percent against the pound and 0.13 percent against the Swiss franc. The yen fell 0.01 percent against the euro, 0.18 percent against the pound and 0.07 percent against the Swiss franc.



In the Asian trading, the U.S. dollar fell to more than a 5-week low of 1.3394 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 1.3404. The greenback is likely to find support around the 1.32 region.



Against the euro, the Swiss franc and the Australian dollar, the greenback dropped to 2-day lows of 1.1245, 0.9717 and 0.7516,from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.1217, 0.9731 and 0.7503, respectively. If the greenback extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.14 against the euro, 0.95 against the franc and 0.76 against the aussie.



The greenback edged down to 1.2986 against the pound, from yesterday's closing value of 1.2976. On the downside, 1.30 is seen as the next support level for the greenback.



The yen fell to a 9-day low of 125.49 against the euro and an 8-day low of 83.88 against the Australian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 125.04 and 83.65, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 127.00 against the euro and 85.00 against the aussie.



Against the pound and the U.S. dollar, the yen dropped to 144.98 and 111.69 from an early 2-day highs of 144.49 and 111.47, respectively. The yen may test support near 148.00 against the pound and 114.00 against the greenback.



The yen edged down to 114.85 against the Swiss franc and 83.36 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 114.55 and 83.15, respectively. On the downside, 116.00 against the franc and 84.00 against the loonie are seen as the next support levels for the yen.



Looking ahead, U.K. GDP data for the first quarter and BBA mortgage approvals for April are due to be released at 4:30 am ET.



At 4:00 am ET, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Guy Debelle is expected to speak at the launch of the FX Global Code, in London.



In the New York session, U.S. advance goods trade balance for April, wholesale inventories data for April and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended May 20 are slated for release.



At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is expected to participate in a panel discussion titled 'A Conversation with former Treasury Under Secretaries for International Affairs,' in Washington DC.



At 12:00 pm ET, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Sylvain Leduc is expected to speak at The Payments Canada Summit, in Toronto.



At 1:00 pm ET, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio will give a lecture at Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao (ISEG) Master in Monetary and Financial Economics in Lisbon, Portugal.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Petrofac Ltd. (POFCF.PK, POFCY.PK, PFC.L) announced a Committee of the Board has been established to be solely responsible for the company's engagement with the SFO and to oversee the company's response to their investigation. The Committee comprises the Chairman, Independent Non-executive Directors and CFO. The Committee has decided to engage a senior external specialist to oversee the company's management of and response to the investigation. The Board of Petrofac has suspended Marwan Chedid as Group Chief Operating Officer until further notice. He has resigned from the Board. Ayman Asfari will continue in his role as Chief Executive Officer. The company said Ayman Asfari will not be involved in any matters connected to the SFO investigation. On 12 May 2017 the SFO confirmed that it is investigating the activities of Petrofac, its subsidiaries, and their officers, employees and agents. The investigation is related to the SFO's ongoing investigation into the activities of Unaoil. 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.
A research team at Lomonosov Moscow State University has developed a new process to obtain organic/inorganic crystalline perovskite films for solar cells. The team says that the process allows for the development of compositions with optimal stability, and that it's discovery could give fresh impetus to the research into perovskite solar cells.Processes for perovskite creation either take the approach of chemical vapor coating or solution crystallization. The team from the Moscow university has discovered that several new compounds, known as polyiodides, which are liquid at room temperature, react upon contact with a lead compound film, to form a film of interpenetrating perovskite ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Inchcape plc. (INCH.L), a multi-brand Automotive Distributor and Retailer, reported Thursday that its group revenues, for the four months ended April 30, were 2.91 billion pounds, a growth of 17.9% on a reported basis and 8.1% at constant currency. Distribution revenue was up by 30.0% at actual currency and 14.8% at constant currency. Retail revenue grew 9.8% at actual currency and 3.4% at constant currency. Looking ahead, the company said its performance this year is in line with expectations and that it continue to expect to deliver a resilient constant currency performance in 2017. With over three quarters of profits denominated in currencies other than Sterling, reported actual currency performance continues to benefit from Sterling's weakness and acts as an offset to the transactional currency headwind in Australia. Separately, Inchcape announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire premium Estonian automotive operations, focused on exclusive Distribution for BMW Group, from United Motors AS. The business to be acquired operates from four retail locations in Tallinn, Tartu, Parnu and Kohtla-Jarve, representing BMW in each location and Kia at two. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to complete during June 2017. 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.
SINGAPORE--(Marketwired - May 25, 2017) -Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ZMS) (FRANKFURT: W1I) (OTC PINK: ZMSPF), a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for healthcare, industrial and scientific markets, is pleased to announce that two additional Chinese, tier 1 positron emission tomography (PET) OEM integrators have successfully tested and qualified its patented LFS scintillation crystals for use in their current product lines of PET medical scanners.

"Our exclusive supply agreement with EBO Optoelectronics is starting to take shape with now three tier 1 PET OEMs having tested and qualified our patented LFS scintillation crystals for use in their respective medical scanners," said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics Inc. "These three tier 1 OEMs have decided that the LFS crystal has all the economical and physical characteristics needed for their long-term production of PET medical scanners."

EBO Optoelectronics is the largest crystal array producer and supplier in China and uses Zecotek's LFS scintillation crystals exclusively for their PET arrays. It has an extensive and impressive international customer list including the top PET OEMs in the world, and exclusively serves China, the second largest medical device market in the world. As China experiences rapid economic growth and an aging population, the Chinese government has made significant investments in the medical system directly and through regulations and incentives. Domestic OEMs have taken advantage of these resources and are now producing leading medical scanners. Medical administrators in North America and Europe now look to China for leading edge medical technology like PET scanning devices.

Zecotek has created a strategic partnership with EBO Optoelectronics with the goal of becoming the leading supplier of scintillation crystals and other the key components in China and around the world.

About Shanghai EBO Optoelectronics Co. Ltd.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Shanghai, EBO has more than 120 employees and 4,000 square meters of manufacturing space. Shanghai EBO fabricates and supplies crystal arrays to an extensive customer base which includes: Neusoft Medical Systems, Samsung Medical, Topgrade Healthcare, FMI Medical Systems, IHEP of CAS, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and many domestic and foreign universities and research institutions. EBO has the highest standard processing production line and offers shaped crystal customization and crystal array assembly to end users.

About Zecotek

Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ZMS) (FRANKFURT: W1I) (OTC PINK: ZMSPF) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance scintillation crystals, photo detectors, positron emission tomography scanning technologies, 3D auto-stereoscopic displays, 3D metal printing, and lasers for applications in medical, high-tech and industrial sectors. Founded in 2004, Zecotek operates three divisions: Imaging Systems, Optronics Systems and 3D Display Systems with labs located in Canada, Korea, Russia, Singapore and U.S.A. The management team is focused on building shareholder value by commercializing over 50 patented and patent pending novel photonic technologies directly and through strategic alliances and joint ventures with leading industry partners including Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Switzerland), Beijing Opto-Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. (China), NuCare Medical Systems (South Korea), the University of Washington (United States), and National NanoFab Center (South Korea). For more information visit www.zecotek.com, follow @zecotek on Twitter.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what may have been stated.

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 the content of this news release. If you would like to receive news from Zecotek in the future please visit the corporate website at www.zecotek.com.

For Additional Information Please Contact:



Zecotek Photonics Inc.

Michael Minder

T: (604) 783-8291

ir@zecotek.com
Set to change the colour industry forever, Coloro enables fashion and textile professionals to realise their creative potential

LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Ascential, the global b2b media company, home to trend authority WGSN and Festival of Creativity Cannes Lions,and China Textile Information Center (CTIC) areset to revolutionise the global colour industry with the launch of Coloro. Coloro is a radical new colour system that unleashes creativity by decoding colour as the human eye sees it.

Followinga100-year-old colour methodology,refined with 20 years of scientific innovationled by CTIC, Coloro uses logical codes and intuitive design to ensure fashion and textile professionals get the precise colour they planned for easily and accurately - first time around.

Coloro is based on a 3D colour model which defines colour based on a distinct 7-digit code representing the point where Hue, Lightness and Chroma intersect. Of the potential 1.6 million colours available in that system, 3,500 have been selected for showcase in the Coloro products, based on global input fromtrendforecasters at WGSN, color experts at CTIC and creative and fashion industry leaders.

The product - comprising physical and digital toolsand a comprehensive consulting programme- providesa new dimension of colour intelligence. The digital tool, Coloro Workspace, launching in June, is set to open a new level of creative potential by changing the digital experience of working with colour forever.

Thorsten Traugott, leader of the Coloro launch at Ascential said: "Coloro simplifies how we identify and create colours, enabling colour to be a truly strategic tool for the creative industry.Harnessing the colour expertise within CTIC, weworked closely with 80 leading influencers in the textile and fashion industry to ensure the product responded to their industry needs. The result is a product that is a true game changer."

Detlev Pross, leader of the Coloro launch at CTIC, added: "There is opportunity to add massive value to the fashion industry by improving colour decisions and making colour communication consistent and accurate. Coloro combines colour science, color technology and consumer research to dramatically change how creative professionals work with colour across industry functions, from creatives to supply chain to strategists, improving workflow at every step.

Hu Song, Vice President of CTIC, said: "CTIC has invested more than 20 years of deep colour analysis, leading to the development of this unrivalled colour coding system that will open a new level of confidence to brands making and implementing the right color decisions. Through our partnership with Ascential, global market leaders across industries will have immediate access to this innovative colour solution."

Duncan Painter, CEO of Ascentialcommented: "As a company, one of our key priorities is to bring innovation and value to the industries we serve.By listening to the needs ofourcustomers, weidentified a gap in the market for a product that would transform the global colour industry. This exciting new product will help us serve our customers even better."

For more information visitColoro.com

AboutAscentialplc:

Ascentialis a global business-to-business media company that informs and connects the business world in 150 countries through market-leading Exhibitions & Festivals and Information Services.

Ascentialpowers the prestigious Cannes Lions festival for the branded communications industry, the world's premier payments and financial services congress Money20/20, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, the global fashion trend forecasting service WGSN, environmental risk data businessGroundsure, e-commerce analytics provider One Click Retail andMediaLink, the strategic advisory and business services firm.

Ascential'spremium products enable focus, growth and value. The company provides customers with world class content and connections empowering their businesses to be the best informed and best connected.www.ascential.com

About WGSN:

WGSN (www.wgsn.com) is the world's leading trend authority for creative thinkers in over 94 countries. Our services cover consumer insights, fashion and lifestyle forecasting, data analytics, crowd-sourced design validation and expertadvisory services. We help drive our customers to greater success. Together, we createTomorrow. WGSN is part of WGSN Limited, comprising of market-leading products including WGSN Fashion, WGSNInstock, WGSN Barometer, WGSN Lifestyle & Interiors, WGSNStyletrialand WGSN Mindset, a custom advisory business. WGSN is anAscentialcompany.WGSN.com

About CTIC:

CTIC (China Textile Information Center, http://www.ctic.org.cn) is the central national-level research institution in the textile industry in China. CTIC's main products and services are business and technology information and solution; support and promotion of textile product development through the "Fabrics China" project; quality testing and CSR; publishing and consulting services; international academic and technological exchange and cooperation; and the research, development and application of colour and trends.

For more information, images or interview requests, please contact:

Karolina Kustusz

wgsn@finchfactor.com

+31 20 794 4734
ABU DHABI, UAE, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

One of the most intensely debated topics, the issue of food safety is gaining prominence worldwide as governments are taking uncompromising measures to ensure the welfare of its citizens and residents. The spread of foodborne illnesses and the overuse of harmful pesticides and chemicals have alerted individuals to the risks associated with consumption of contaminated food products.

World Health Organization estimates that over 125,000 young children under the age of 5 and 420,000 adults die due to consuming contaminated food each year. With over 200 diseases spread through food, pesticide chemicals which can cause severe long term negative health impacts and the worrying data which suggests that many harmful food bacteria are becoming resistant to treatment, the importance of food safety protocols cannot be underestimated.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environments (MOCCAE) in Dubai recently banned five countries from exporting certain foods and vegetables into the UAE, citing concerns regarding the overuse of pesticides. Countries affected by the ban included Egypt, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen. The Dubai municipality's commitment to food safety is also highlighted by the newly initiated food safety awareness program that is aimed at schools, helping educate children.

Noura Abdulla Al Shamsi, head of food permits and applied nutrition section in the Food Safety Department was quoted as saying "The Food Safety Department of the Dubai Municipality takes all the measures to ensure food safety along the food chain from farm to table. We aim to educate both parents and children about healthy eating and proper food handling practices which will compliment nutritional eating and food safety at the same time,"

Hydroponic farming tackles the issue of harmful pesticides and chemicals making it to our plates and into our bodies as the method of growing crops is pesticide free and uses no harmful chemicals. Plants grow faster using 90% less water as nutrients and water are received directly through the roots. Hydroponics farming also requires significantly less landmass.

Pegasus Agriculture Group, one of the leading pioneers of Hydroponic farming in the region has always reiterated its commitment towards food safety and growing pesticide free produce. Pegasus Group prides itself in abiding by the German food safety standards of 'LFGB'

'LFGB' is Germany's central food safety management act, serving as the core of other hygiene laws, regulations and guidelines. In recent years it has also been revised to match European standards. The comprehensive and extremely stringent testing procedure covers all food and food-related commodities which must pass related tests, to gain a report which states that, "The product does not contain chemical hazardous material." The 'LFGB' food security standard is visually represented by a "Knife and fork" symbol, which signifies that the product has passed the inspection raised by a number of European countries including Germany. The "knife and fork" logo is credited with enhancing consumer confidence worldwide.

Chairman of Pegasus Agriculture Group, Mr. Mahmood Almas said "Being compliant with the 'LFGB' German food safety standards is important, because the issue of food safety is a very prominent one for us. All our Hydroponic growing trays now adhere strictly to this standard as we continue to deliver high quality produce from our local Hydroponic farms, ensuring that UAE isn't heavily reliant on imports from other countries, which might contain very high pesticide levels. Every individual is entitled to hygienic and healthy food options."

Pegasus Agriculture continues to lead the countries of the MENA region in technologically advanced farming practices, helping countries to attain food safety and security.

If you're looking to gain more information on hydroponics, contact info@pegasusagriculturegroup.com or visit www.pegasusagriculturegroup.com for more details.
- Varroc Lighting Systems adds Brazil location with plans to hire 160 employees

- This move makes the company one of the world's only exterior lighting suppliers with capabilities on every continent where vehicles are produced

- Varroc Lighting Systems and MEKRA Lang enter a partnership and will share the existing MEKRA Lang facility in Sorocaba, Sao Paulo

PLYMOUTH, Michigan, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Varroc Lighting Systems today announced an expansion into the key market of Brazil, supporting the company's worldwide growth plans. The strategic expansion, made possible through partnering with German company, MEKRA Lang, further increases Varroc Lighting Systems' global competitive footprint.

"The primary intent of expanding to Brazil at this time is to support our customers with the right footprint for global vehicle platforms," said Stephane Vedie, CEO, Varroc Lighting Systems. "Global automakers are increasingly looking for ways to reduce cost and complexity and increase efficiencies. By building both a physical presence and team in this critical market, we have become one of the world's only exterior lighting suppliers with capabilities on every continent where vehicles are produced."

Under the partnership between Varroc Lighting Systems and MEKRA Lang, the companies are to share a 66,000 sq ft facility in Sorocaba where MEKRA Lang has been operating since 1998. In addition to sharing a space, MEKRA Lang will supply injection molding and administrative support for Varroc Lighting in Brazil.

"The partnership with an industry leader like MEKRA Lang in Brazil will allow us to ramp up our production much faster benefiting from their team expertise operating in Brazil for more than 15 years and will allow both companies to benefit from a cost competitive set up," continued Vedie.

The two companies have a history of working together in India, where Varroc Lighting Systems' parent company, Varroc Group, is headquartered.

"We are proud to continue our relationship with Varroc Lighting Systems, especially in Brazil," said Dr. Werner Lang of MEKRA Lang. "The partnership in Brazil uniquely positions us to work together to provide for our customers in the region. At MEKRA Lang, we always look to identify synergies and work with other leading companies."

Varroc Lighting Systems plans to hire more than 160 Brazilian production employees in the next years to manage key launches for several global automakers.

ABOUT VARROC LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Varroc Lighting Systems is a leading global supplier of innovative lighting solutions for automobiles and 2-wheelers contributing to ongoing improvement to safety, mobility, and style. Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, U.S., the company has more than 7,200 employees worldwide with operations in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, it brings leading-edge technology to the mainstream automotive market with high-quality cost competitive solutions. Varroc Lighting Systems is a key member of the $1.5 billion Varroc Group family of automotive-components business.

Visit www.varroclighting.com for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT

Susannah Wesley-Ahlschwede, Edelman

susannah.wesley@edelman.com, 313.394.9798

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516045/Varroc_Lighting_Systems_Brazil.jpg
ANTALYA, Turkey and LAUSANNE, Switzerland, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- 142 journalists from 50 countries introduced to Turkey

The International Media Forum, organized as part of the 'Turkey - Discover the Potential' (TDP) publicity campaign, has begun in Antalya with the participation of 142 journalists from 50 countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet AzimAYek, Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avci, TIM President BuyukekAYi, and Turkish Airlines CEO Alker Ayci were among the notable guests of the Forum, where they answered questions from international journalists.

The International Media Forum, realized under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkish Exporter's Assembly (TIM), and with the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines, Maxx Royal, IHKIB and Borsa Istanbul, was organized by the Switzerland-based international media group Global Connection Media SA (GC).

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516169/International_Media_Forum_Global_Connection_Media_SA_Image.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516168/International_Media_Forum_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516167/Global_Connection_Logo.jpg )

As part of the Forum - an event bringing together the world's media with the highest level of participation - topics such as Turkey's economy, its tourism and trade potential as well as culture and media in general will be discussed.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avci, who gave a speech at the opening session of the Forum - hosted by Maxx Royal Resort, the popular vacation destination in Antalya-Belek - stressed the need to discover Turkey's tourism potential.

A first for Turkey, the Forum is a platform where Turkey's leading representatives and foreign journalists can meet one on one, through interviews and round-table meetings.

High-level participants

The Forum, which began with the opening address of Global Connection CEO Jacques Pasche, was also attended by the President of the Turkish Exporter's Assembly Mehmet BuyukekAYi, President of Borsa Istanbul Himmet KaradaAY, Turkish Airlines CEO Alker Ayci, President of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey Arda Ermut, and President of the IstanbulApparelExporters' Association (IHKIB) Hikmet Tanriverdi.

All-round promotional campaign

The International Media Forum, organized as part of Global Connection's TDP promotional campaign, following the communication efforts conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, UAE, United Kingdom and USA, became a platform both for the promotion of the Turkish economy and for discussion relating to new approaches in media.

In 2016, GC had organized the Turkey-Russia Media Forum in Antalya, to improve Turkish-Russian relations. This Forum, which was attended by many high-level Russian and Turkish journalists, became the most important civil initiative between the two countries. The Turkey-Russia Media Forum and the International Media Forum will be annual events.
Forbes Ventures

("Forbes" or the "Company")

Investee Company Update

Forbes Ventures is pleased to announce that its investee company CivilisedBank released a statement on 23 May 2017 confirming that it had received its banking license from the Bank of England.

Forbes holds 4,545 ordinary shares in CivilisedBank.

Below is an extract of CivilisedBank's statement:

CivilisedBank receives banking licence as it reinvents traditional banking for businesses

CivilisedBank, the new branchless digital bank with a Local Banker network, today announced that it has received its banking licence from the Bank of England. The licence is a significant step for the bank and paves the way for it to build its infrastructure and launch to customers in early 2018.

Focused on the UK SME market and funded by retail savings, CivilisedBank will serve businesses through savings and loans, transaction banking, overdrafts, current accounts with deposits and foreign exchange. The new relationship banking service will cater to the SME market in a way that isn't currently offered by the incumbents or online-only banks. CivilisedBank will also address the UK retail market with a range of savings products.

CivilisedBank will reinvent traditional banking for businesses through a network of Local Bankers working in their communities and underpinned by the latest online technology. Its unique, branchless Local Banker network will help build one-to-one relationships with SMEs, without the high client volume per banker or the traditional costs associated with traditional high street banks. Within 5 years CivilisedBank aims to have a Local Banker, as opposed to a branch, in every major town and city in the UK.

Chris Jolly, Chairman, CivilisedBank said: "We are reinventing traditional banking for businesses by bringing back one-to-one relationship banking to SMEs, enabled by the very latest technology - both online and mobile. We want to return to a civilised way of banking with personal service backed by effective technology without any legacy issues. CivilisedBank represents a cultural innovation in banking and a genuinely new approach in the UK market."

"The majority of the funding for the build phase has come from Warwick Capital Partners, a London-based investment manager. They have developed a very good understanding of our business model and we look forward to continuing what is already an excellent working relationship with them."

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Forbes Ventures Peter Moss +44 20 3405 6214 NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser



Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited Guy Miller and Fungai Ndoro +44 20 7469 0930

About the Company

Forbes Ventures is an investment company with a focus on investing in companies in inefficient market sectors and using technology to improve those companies' efficiency and scalability. It is focused on three sectors: Leisure, Finance and Health and Social Care, and is targeting investments in residential and domiciliary healthcare, leisure and challenger companies/technologies disrupting the finance sector. Forbes Ventures' strategy is to invest, add value and pursue each of its investments up until profitable and then exit through IPO, Private Equity or Trade Sales within a 3-5 year time horizon.
LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Encouraging early results for the drug candidate discovered by artificial intelligence

The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), part of the University of Sheffield and one of the world's leading centres for research into Motor Neurone Disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, today announced that its research into a drug candidate discovered by British artificial intelligence firm BenevolentAI has delivered positive results.

The study, led by Dr. Richard Mead and Dr. Laura Ferraiuolo at SITraN, assessed the efficacy of a drug candidate proposed by BenevolentAI's artificial Intelligence technology for Motor Neuron Disease (MND), also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). SITraN found there are significant and reproducible indications that the drug prevents the death of motor neurones in patient cell models, and delayed the onset of the disease in the gold standard model of ALS.

SITraN are now moving to the next phase of their research, advancing the existing study and assessing the suitability and potential for clinical development. SITraN expect to publish an abstract at the Motor Neurone Disease Association 28th International Symposium in Boston in December 2017.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes muscle weakness, paralysis, and ultimately, respiratory failure. Life expectancy following diagnosis is two to five years. There are currently only two FDA approved drugs available to patients, Riluzole, approved in 1995, and Edaravone, approved only a few weeks ago.

Dr. Richard Mead of SITraN commented: "This is an exciting development in our research for a treatment for ALS. BenevolentAI came to us with some newly identified compounds discovered by their technology - two of which were new to us in the field and, following this research, are now looking very promising. Our plan now is to conduct further detailed testing and continue to quickly progress towards a potential treatment for ALS."

Ken Mulvany, Founder and Chairman of BenevolentAI commented: "We understand from SITraN their research demonstrates that the hypothesis and drug candidate that our technology identified has delayed the onset of cell death in the gold standard model of ALS. We are incredibly encouraged by these findings. We very much look forward to the results of SITraN's further studies and are hopeful for the positive impact that this drug could have for people living with ALS."
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Safdie Architects and Surbana Jurong Private Limited today announced the formation of Safdie Surbana Jurong (SSJ), a long-term collaboration to jointly pursue major design projects within Asia-Pacific.

SSJ will combine the strengths of each partner to achieve projects of the highest-quality design across a range of typologies. It will focus on residential, commercial and institutional projects which require unique planning and design expertise to create world class iconic architecture projects in Asia-Pacific.

The design effort will be led by Safdie Architects' Boston office, with Moshe Safdie providing design leadership for all projects undertaken by SSJ and be involved intimately throughout the construction of each project. Surbana Jurong will have a dedicated team to work directly with Safdie Architects to produce the detailed engineering and architectural design efforts, provide overall project management, and lead the construction documentation and administration efforts.

The milestone collaboration presents an opportunity for Surbana Jurong to further develop world-class design capabilities, and allows its younger architects and designers to learn directly from Safdie and his team.

The two partners bring complementary strengths to the collaboration. Safdie Architects is helmed by Moshe Safdie, the world renowned architect, urban planner, educator, theorist and author. The firm has designed and realised a wide range of projects around the world of which many have become beloved regional and national landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands, Sky Habitat Singapore, Jewel at Changi Airport Singapore, Habitat '67, Montreal; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas; Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem; and Raffles City mixed-use development in Chongqing, China. Surbana Jurong is one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms with a 50-year track record in both private and public projects in Singapore and globally such as Biopolis Phase 1, Health City Novena, MKH World, Cleantech I & II, and more.

"We are delighted to join forces with Surbana Jurong. Our teams have unique, complementary capabilities. Together we can expand the realisation of significant projects, embracing our design principles across Asia," said Moshe Safdie.

"Surbana Jurong is proud to partner with the illustrious Moshe Safdie, whose works have become architectural icons and national landmarks. Safdie Architects is world-renowned for their cutting-edge designs that embrace an inclusive and humane design philosophy. We share this design philosophy -- that building a city is about shaping lives. Through this collaboration, we will be able to provide world-class design and expert project delivery to a broad array of clients in Asia. We are looking forward to creating many iconic projects together," said Mr. Wong Heang Fine, Group Chief Executive Officer, Surbana Jurong.

About Moshe Safdie and Safdie Architects

Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author who embraces a comprehensive and humane design philosophy. He is committed to architecture that supports and enhances a project's program; that is informed by the geographic, social, and cultural elements that define a place; and that responds to human needs and aspirations. The design of each of his projects is responsive to local historic, cultural, and environmental contexts and grows out of a vision of the way it can affect the lives of the individuals for whom the buildings and public spaces are created. In recognition of his work's impact on the public and his lasting influence on generations of younger architects, Safdie was awarded the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the 2015 Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects, the organization's highest honor for an individual.

Safdie Architects is based in Boston, USA with offices in Singapore, Shanghai and Jerusalem. The firm has designed and realized a wide range of projects around the world, including cultural, civic, and educational institutions; mixed-use urban centers and airports; and master plans for existing neighborhoods and entirely new cities. Many of his buildings have become beloved regional and national landmarks, including Habitat '67, Montreal; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas; Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem; and Raffles City mixed-use development in Chongqing, China.

Safdie Architects' projects in Singapore include Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort; Sky Habitat residences, Bishan; and Jewel at Changi Airport, which is scheduled to open in 2019.

About Surbana Jurong

Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) is one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms. Leveraging technology and creativity, SJ provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of the urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.

Headquartered in Singapore, the SJ Group has a global workforce of 13,000 employees in 113 offices across 44 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, and an annual turnover of around S$1.3 billion.

SJ has a track record of over 50 years, and has built more than a million homes in Singapore, crafted master plans for more than 30 countries and developed over 50 industrial parks globally.

SJ's motto 'Building Cities, Shaping Lives' reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.

For media enquiries, please contact:



Safdie Architects

Christa Mahar

Director of Communications

T: +1-617-629-7264

E: Email Contact



Surbana Jurong

Jackie Yu

Deputy Director, Group Communications

T: +65 6839-7326 M: +65 9688-4269

E: Email Contact




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) - European stocks are trading broadly higher in mid-day trading on Thursday. Despite early losses in some markets, positive Wall Street cues have helped subsequent to the release of FOMC minutes.



The oil companies were in red as the investors await a production decision from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.



The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.0.04 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was moving up 0.11 percent to 7,523.24. The German DAX was up 0.13 percent to 12,659.67, after moving down in the early trading. France's CAC 40 index was moving up 0.305 percent to 5,357.37, after treading in the negative side earlier.



The investors are awaiting an OPEC meeting later in the day, which is widely expected to extend output cuts, possibly for 12 months. In an accord reached in December, OPEC and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.



OPEC's announcement related to production is expected after 11 a.m Eastern Time. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's oil minister reportedly ruled out deeper cuts to oil production.



In the oil companies, Anglo American was down 1.34 percent, Italy's Eni SpA was down 0.74 percent, BP Plc was down 0.68 percent and Total SA was down 0.05 percent.



In other sectors, travel giant TUI AG lost 1.4 percent and HIKMA Pharma was down 1.14 percent.



Shares of Petrofac Ltd. (POFCF.PK, POFCY.PK, PFC.L) plunged around 20 percent in London after the oil services company suspended Marwan Chedid as Group Chief Operating Officer until further notice. The company said it will cooperate with the SFO Investigation, and formed a Committee to be solely responsible for its engagement with the SFO and to oversee the company's response to their investigation.



Daily Mail and General Trust plc's shares were down around 9 percent after it reported a sharp decline in first-half statutory profit before tax and updated underlying revenue growth forecast for dmg information segment.



Meanwhile, 3i Group plc stock was up 2.32 percent, Unilever plc was up 1.72 percent, Burberry Group plc gained 1.14 percent and easyJet plc gained 1.12 percent.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Touchstone Exploration Inc. ("Touchstone" or the "Company") (TSX: TXP) announces that it is proposing to raise approximately $2.552 million through a private placement ("Private Placement"). A total of 20,000,000 new common shares have been conditionally placed ("Placing Shares"), at an issue price of 7.25 pence sterling (approximately C$0.1276) per Placing Share ("Placing Price") with new United Kingdom institutional investors.

In addition, the Company announces its intention to seek a dual listing by applying for admission of its issued and to be issued common shares of no par value ("Common Shares") to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission"). Dealings are expected to commence on AIM on June 26, 2017.

The issuance of the Placing Shares is conditional on customary closing conditions, including the Admission becoming effective and the approval of the Private Placement by the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). The Company's Common Shares will continue to trade on the TSX along with AIM under the trading symbol TXP. The Placing Price represents a 20 percent discount to C$0.1589, which is the volume weighted average price of the Company's Common Shares for the five trading days ending May 17, 2017. A price protection form was filed with the TSX on May 17, 2017. The Placing Price was negotiated at arm's length between the Company and the joint brokers.

Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer of Touchstone said, "I am delighted to announce our intention to dual list on AIM. We have a low risk, cash-generative production company in a proven petroleum region. Our growth strategy involves an initial program for the drilling of four new wells and 24 well recompletions in 2017, of which we are pleased to announce the first well has reached target depth. I look forward to welcoming our new investors when Touchstone lists on AIM."

Touchstone believes the dual listing provides a number of advantages, which includes:

-- enhancing liquidity for the Company's shareholders and providing direct access to the London capital markets; -- enabling the Company to access a wider range of potential investors and broaden its investor base; -- improving the Company's ability to access further funding from international capital markets and to finance the future growth of the business consistent with its current strategy; and -- enhancing the Company's reputation and financial standing within Trinidad.

The gross proceeds of the Private Placement are expected to be approximately $2.552 million which, together with existing cash balances, are expected to be used in drilling and development operations in 2017, for settlement of fees in respect of the transaction, and for general working capital purposes.

Shore Capital is acting as Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker to the Company alongside GMP FirstEnergy who is acting as Joint Broker. Additional information is available in the Appendix to the AIM Schedule One Pre-Admission Announcement, which will be available on the Company's website (www.touchstoneexploration.com).

Publication of Competent Person's Report ("CPR")

In conjunction with the dual-listing of the Company's Common Shares on AIM, the Company appointed GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. to prepare a CPR which estimated the reserves associated with the Company's interests in Trinidad as at December 31, 2016. A summary of the gross reserves associated with the Company's interests in Trinidad are presented in the table below.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Light and Medium Oil Heavy Oil Total Oil (Mbbl) (Mbbl) (Mbbl) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proved Proved producing 3,955 651 4,606 Proved non-producing 735 213 948 Proved undeveloped 2,890 533 3,423 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Proved 7,580 1,397 8,977 Probable 5,914 808 6,772 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Proved Plus Probable 13,494 2,205 15,698 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Possible 4,020 657 4,678 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Proved Plus Probable Plus Possible 17,514 2,862 20,376 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: 1. Gross Reserves are the Company's working interest share of the remaining reserves before deduction of any royalties. 2. Amounts may not add due to rounding. 3. See "Other Advisories".

The CPR will be filed under the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Company's website (www.touchstoneexploration.com).

About Touchstone

Touchstone Exploration Inc. is a Calgary based company engaged in the business of acquiring interests in petroleum and natural gas rights, and the exploration, development, production and sale of petroleum and natural gas. Touchstone is currently active in onshore properties located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Company's common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "TXP".

Advisories

For reference purposes in this press release, one British pound has been translated into Canadian dollars at a rate of 1 to 1.76.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information regarding Touchstone set forth in this press release, including assessments by the Company's Management of the Company's plans and future operations, contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and other similar expressions. Statements relating to "reserves" are deemed to be forward-looking statements, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the reserves described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated, and can be profitably produced in the future. Such statements represent the Company's internal projections, estimates or beliefs concerning future growth, results of operations based on information currently available to the Company based on assumptions that are subject to change and are beyond the Company's control, such as: production rates and production decline rates, the magnitude of and ability to recover oil and gas reserves, plans for and results of drilling activity, well abandonment costs and salvage value, the ability to secure necessary personnel, equipment and services, environmental matters, future commodity prices, changes to prevailing regulatory, royalty, tax and environmental laws and regulations, the impact of competition, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), future financing sources, business prospects and opportunities, among other things. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company.

In particular, forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the Private Placement, including the number of Placing Shares, the Placing Price, the gross proceeds generated therefrom and the anticipated uses of those proceeds; the Admission, including the expected commencement of dealings thereunder and benefits therefrom; projected production volumes; operating and development costs; estimated reserves, including the life index thereof and the discounted present value of future net revenues therefrom; exploration, development and associated operational plans and strategies (including planned drilling and recompletion programs), and the anticipated timing of, and sources of funding for, such activities; and the terms of the Company's contractual commitments and the Company's compliance therewith, including fulfilment of minimum work obligations and repayment of loans.

The Company is exposed to numerous operational, technical, financial and regulatory risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control and may significantly affect anticipated future results. The risk factors applicable to the Company are set out in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 21, 2017, which has been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). 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 any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Other Advisories

The disclosure in this press release summarizes certain information contained in the CPR and the Company's December 31, 2016 reserves report, but represents only a portion of the disclosure required under National Instrument 51-101 - Standards for Disclosure of Oil & Gas Activities. Full disclosure with respect to the Company's reserves as at December 31, 2016 is contained in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2016 which is filed under the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). All evaluations and reviews of future net revenues use GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd.'s standard price forecasts effective January 1, 2017 and are stated prior to any provision for finance expenses or general and administrative costs and after the deduction of estimated future capital expenditures and estimated future well abandonment costs. It should not be assumed that the present worth of estimated future net revenues contained in the CPR represent the fair market value of the reserves. There is no assurance that the forecast prices and costs assumptions will be attained and variances could be material. The recovery and reserves estimates of crude oil provided herein are estimates only, and there is no guarantee that the estimated reserves will be recovered. Actual crude oil reserves may be greater than or less than the estimates provided herein.

Possible reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than probable reserves. There is a 10% probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the sum of proved plus probable plus possible reserves.

Contacts:

Touchstone Exploration Inc.

Mr. Paul Baay

President and Chief Executive Officer

403.750.4487



Touchstone Exploration Inc.

Mr. Scott Budau

Chief Financial Officer

403.750.4487



Touchstone Exploration Inc.

Mr. James Shipka

Chief Operating Officer

403.750.4487

www.touchstoneexploration.com




MPM Capital, Arix Bioscience, New Leaf Venture Partners and Taiho Ventures Participate in Immuno-Oncology Financing

Harpoon Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel T-cell recruiting biologic therapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced the completion of a $45M Series B financing, which included Arix Bioscience, New Leaf Venture Partners and Taiho Ventures, who are all new investors in the company, and existing investor MPM Capital. The financing was co-led by Arix Bioscience and New Leaf Venture Partners. Mark Chin, Investment Manager at Arix, and Ron Hunt, Managing Director at New Leaf, will join the Harpoon Therapeutics board of directors. In addition, Sakae Asanuma, President of Taiho Ventures, will join the board of directors in an observer capacity.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Harpoon Therapeutics' novel, proprietary, tri-specific T-cell activating construct (TriTAC) immuno-oncology platform, including moving two lead programs into clinical trials and expanding the product pipeline through discovery and partnering initiatives. In addition, the company is increasing its commitment to developing additional therapeutic platforms including those that become activated by proteases present in the tumor microenvironment.

"We are delighted to have top-tier investors supporting the Series B financing, and welcome new investors as Harpoon shareholders," said Jerry McMahon, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harpoon Therapeutics. "This investment is a clear validation of Harpoon's TriTAC platform, which offers a new way to unleash the targeted cell-killing properties of a patient's own immune system with a potential best-in-class T-cell engager platform."

"We have been strong advocates of Harpoon Therapeutics from inception, and are pleased to participate in this latest round of financing, which provides capital to transition Harpoon to a clinical-stage company as well as to advance critical discovery and research efforts," said Luke Evnin, PhD, Co-Founder and Chairman of Harpoon, and Founder and Managing Director at MPM Capital.

"Harpoon Therapeutics has a novel, T-cell engager platform which we believe will be instrumental to the discovery and development of important new therapeutics in oncology," said Mark Chin, Investment Manager at Arix Bioscience, a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation. "Coupled with its scientific expertise and strong management team, Harpoon is well-positioned to play a leading role in the immuno-oncology field."

"New Leaf looks for experienced management teams, strong science and high-impact clinical benefit potential, all of which Harpoon Therapeutics significantly offers," said Ron Hunt, Managing Director at New Leaf Venture Partners, a leader in healthcare investing. "We are pleased to be co-leading this Harpoon investment with Arix and look forward to helping the company make important strides as it continues to advance its pipeline."

Harpoon's first clinical candidate, HPN424, is a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting TriTAC. HPN424 is in development for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer and is expected to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in 2018. The company anticipates identifying and moving into development additional clinical candidates within the next year.

About Harpoon Therapeutics Harpoon Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology company founded by Patrick Baeuerle, PhD, a pioneer in the development of T-cell engaging therapies, and MPM Capital. The company is focused on the discovery and development of novel T-cell engaging biologics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Harpoon Therapeutics created a novel antibody-based drug discovery platform called TriTAC (tri-specific T-cell activating construct) to unleash the targeted cell-killing properties of a patient's own immune system through T-cell activation. This approach has been optimized to penetrate tissues and extend serum exposure, and has the potential to address a broad range of cancers, including solid tumors, and immunologic diseases. HPN424, a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting TriTAC biologic, is in development for the treatment of prostate cancer and is expected to enter a clinical trial in 2018. For more information, please visit www.harpoontx.com.

About MPM Capital MPM Capital is an early-stage life sciences venture firm founding and investing in companies that seek to cure major diseases by translating scientific innovations into positive clinical outcomes. MPM's portfolio of companies aims to revolutionize the face of medicine across multiple areas including cancer, diabetes, obesity, pain, eHealth and more. With its experienced and dedicated team of operating executives and medical and scientific advisory board, MPM is powering novel medical breakthroughs that transform patients' lives. MPM is currently investing from two funds - the BV2014 and UBS Oncology Impact Fund. For further information, please visit www.mpmcapital.com.

About Arix Bioscience plc

Arix Bioscience plc is a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation. Headquartered in London and with an office in New York, Arix Bioscience sources, finances and builds world class healthcare and life science businesses addressing medical innovation at all stages of development. Operations are supported by privileged access to breakthrough academic science and strategic relationships with leading research accelerators and global pharmaceutical companies. Arix Bioscience plc is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit www.arixbioscience.com

About NLV Partners

New Leaf Venture Partners is a leader in healthcare technology venture investing. Our investment professionals bring a unique blend of technical, clinical and operational experience to our investments, working closely with our entrepreneurs and management teams to help build successful companies. New Leaf Ventures invests in both public and private biopharmaceutical companies as well as healthcare-related information technology companies. New Leaf currently manages over $1 billion in assets. This includes NLV's funds, New Leaf Ventures I, L.P., New Leaf Ventures II, L.P., New Leaf Ventures III, L.P. and New Leaf Growth Fund I, L.P. New Leaf was formed in 2005 as the healthcare spinoff from the Sprout Group, one of the oldest U.S. venture capital funds. For more information please visit www.nlvpartners.com.

About Taiho Ventures, LLC

Taiho Ventures, LLC is the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a Japanese specialty pharma focusing on oncology, allergy and immunology, and urology. Taiho Ventures is a newly-established strategic investor looking at early stage preclinical oncology companies as well as platform technology companies for our core therapeutic areas. Taiho Ventures will review the wide variety of modalities for both biologics and small molecules mainly in US and European countries. The company will also consider the option-type of investments and spin-outs, in addition to the pure equity investments. For more information about Taiho Ventures, please visit www.taihoventures.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005333/en/

Contacts:

For Harpoon Therapeutics:

Kinkead Communications, Inc.

Susan Kinkead, 415-509-3610

Susan@kinkeadcomm.com
LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

touchENDOCRINOLOGY has signed an agreement with The Obesity Society as media partners of their journal US Endocrinology, a peer reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the publication of topical articles in the endocrinology field.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/515766/Touch_Medical_Logo.jpg )



Whilst providing a platform for the peer-reviewed content from our industry-leading journals, touchENDOCRINOLOGY.com also provides physicians, clinicians and other healthcare professionals with the most important and salient developments in the field of endocrinology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from 'data-rich' primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion on how this information can help physicians in the day to day clinical setting. Editorials, special reports, case reports, and original research articles are also featured to promote discussion and learning amongst physicians, clinicians, researchers and related healthcare professionals. Multimedia also features including podcasts and carefully selected videos, developed in house and from our media partners, to further aide easy and effective learning.

"I'm excited to announce that The Obesity Society have signed a media agreement with touchENDOCRINOLOGY," said Barney Kent, Managing Director of Touch Medical Media. "This marks our 15th major partnership and will assist the Obesity Society with creating additional awareness of their annual meeting and mission. It will also increase the reach of touchENDOCRINOLOGY content, which currently is sent to our database of over 32,000 physicians. Our database is growing at a rate of knots which is testament to the quality of free to access content we are producing."

touchENDOCRINOLOGY (a division of Touch Medical Media) publishesUS Endocrinology, a peer-reviewed, open access, bi-annual journal specialising in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of endocrinology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from 'data-rich' primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion on how this information can help physicians in the day to day clinical setting. Practice guidelines, symposium write-ups, case reports, and original research articles are also featured to promote discussion and learning amongst physicians, clinicians, researchers and related healthcare professionals.

www.touchENDOCRINOLOGY.com

Touch Medical Media is a trading name of Touch Digital Media Limited, a private limited company registered in England and Wales at The White House Mill Road, Goring, Reading, England, RG8 9DD with registered number 08197142.

For inquires please contact:

Nicola Cartridge - Managing Editor

managingeditor@touchmedicalmedia.com



Providing practical opinion to support best practice for busy healthcare professionals.
HANGZHOU, China, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Organized by the Hangzhou Tourism Commission in a joint venture with Expedia Media Solutions, "Silk Road Race, Explore the Living Hangzhou" tourism campaign has officially come to an end. Hangzhou, China has successfully achieved a prestigious status as a global travel destination with the influence of the campaign; weaving China and Europe closer together for future interactions.

"The collaborated campaign has opened doors for European travelers to explore Hangzhou; promoting the province as a premier global travel and trade destination will economically benefit both China and Europe." Associate Director of Hangzhou Tourism Commission, Mr. Zhao expressed.

Reinstating the significance of the Silk Road, the "Silk Road Race, Explore the Living Hangzhou" campaign has deepened Europe-China relation, welcoming Europeans to Hangzhou. Over 30000 visitors have browsed the campaign website, while more than 16000 retweets were received in the competition between England, France, and Germany. France was first to reach 5,500 interactions to win the race; selected participant from the country has been rewarded with two return flights to Hangzhou courtesy of China Southern Airlines and a 5-night accommodation sponsored by JW Marriott Hotel Hangzhou.

The continued growth of visitors can be foreseen via the impact of the "Silk Road Race, Explore the Living Hangzhou" campaign and continued efforts in promoting Hangzhou, China. Since the G20 Summit, the long-term city planning that has taken place has further boosted Hangzhou's tourism development; exemplifying by upgraded city infrastructure and tourist attractions.

The active participation in the "Silk Road Race, Explore the Living Hangzhou" campaign has demonstrated the vision and wisdom of explorers who had created the Silk Road a thousand year ago. Bringing the Silk Road to life once again, adventures await in this dynamic city, Hangzhou's inspiring energy ensures to provide travelers memories that last a lifetime; marking the Paradise of China, a truly unique place to visit, explore, and then visit again.

For more update on Expedia's latest promotions and activities, visit via Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter:

twitter.com/ExpediaUK

twitter.com/ExpediaFR

twitter.com/ExpediaDE

Facebook:

facebook.com/Expedia

About Expedia

The Expedia group is the world's largest online travel company, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes leading online travel brands. For more information, please visit www.expediainc.com/
SAN DIEGO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Eco Building Products, Inc. (OTC PINK: ECOB) announced today that its subsidiary, Wood Protection Technologies, Inc., has filed a Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities (Form D) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the purposes of raising $3 million in conventional equity. Further, WPT announced that it will be a presenter at the Marcum MicroCap Conference, in New York City on June 15, 2017.

In February, WPT announced that it had secured $400,000 in term debt to fund the launch of the Company's suite of environmentally friendly, wood protection chemical formulations. In March the Company announced its first national distribution contract which has since commenced shipping with sales substantially ahead of forecast.

WPT has reached agreement with its term lenders to roll the entire $400,000 into the $3 million equity raise. The Company has already been approached by several interested parties and looks forward to a series of individual meetings at the upcoming Marcum Conference.

The Marcum MicroCap Conference is a nationally recognized forum to present to and network with fund managers and high net worth investors who focus on small cap equities. The Conference expects more than 2000 participants this year.

About Eco Building Products, Inc.

Eco Building Products, Inc. (Eco) is a manufacturer of proprietary, environmentally conscientious chemistry utilizing patent pending ECOB WoodSurfaceFilm and FRC technology (Fire Retardant Coating). Eco's products protect against fire, mold/mycotoxins, fungal-decay, wood ingesting insects and termites. Eco is headquartered in San Diego, CA and goes to market through licensed Affiliates nationwide.

Safe Harbor Statement: This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act, and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance that may be suggested in this release. ECOB takes no obligation to update or correct forward-looking statements, and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties.

Company Contact

Eco Building Products, Inc.

Phone: 1 (858.780.4747)

Email: info@ecob.net

Web Site: www.ecob.net




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 25, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has arranged a non-brokered private placement of up to 8,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.25 per Unit (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional share of the Company for a period of two years from the date of issuance at a price of $0.35 per share. In the event that the Company's shares trade at a closing price of greater than $0.60 per share for a period of 10 consecutive days at any time after the closing of the Offering, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by providing notice to the shareholders thereof and in such case the Warrants will expire on the 30th day after the date on which such notice is given by the Company.

Finder's fees may be payable to arm's length parties that have introduced the Company to certain subscribers participating in the Offering. All securities issued in the Offering are subject to a four-month hold period, during which time the securities may not be traded. Closing of the Offering is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The net proceeds from the Placement are intended to be used to fund the exploration costs related to the earn-in agreement on the Anumso property and the Kossanto East property, pursuant to the option agreement with Goldplat PLC announced on September 15, 2016 and pursuant to the option agreement with Alecto Minerals PLC announced on November 28, 2016, as well as for general corporate purposes.

This press release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD

Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kenieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

ASHANTI GOLD CORP.

"Tim McCutcheon"

Tim McCutcheon

CEO

For further information, please contact:

Ashanti Gold Corp.

2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street

Vancouver BC, V6E 2K3

Phone: 604-638-3847

Cautionary Statement 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.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.
Newegg to Host Day-long Event for European E-commerce Companies Interested in Selling Cross-border into North America and Beyond

Newegg, the leading tech-focused e-retailer in North America and a growing force in global e-commerce, today unveiled details of its forthcoming Newegg Seller Day (June 15 from 10am until 6pm at The Crystal, One Siemens Brothers Way, Royal Victoria Docks, London, E16 1GB). Newegg will welcome aspiring and seasoned e-commerce sellers to this day-long event to equip them with the knowledge and tools necessary to take their businesses to the North American market and beyond. The event coincides with London Tech Week, which is expected to draw 40,000 attendees from 70+ countries.

"London Tech Week gives us the perfect platform to reach a diverse cross-section of e-commerce sellers from around the world," said Danny Lee, CEO of Newegg. "Newegg Seller Day is a great opportunity for these businesses to embrace the concept of selling to customers in other parts of the world, and Newegg is the ideal partner to help them cross borders and expand their customer base."

Newegg's online retail platform has helped thousands of sellers expand their businesses into North America and other key markets. Newegg Seller Day is a free networking event for e-commerce sellers to learn about current cross-border and exporting opportunities, as well as trends driving the global e-commerce market. More than 200 UK/EU retailers and other brands are expected to attend.

Newegg Seller Day will feature a panel discussion at 3:25pm, Cross-border eCommerce Opportunities for UK Companies Looking to Maximize International Channels. Moderated by World First, the panel will feature e-commerce experts sharing their experience and perspectives on cross-border e-commerce, offering a multi-faceted view into one of the most dynamic aspects of global e-commerce.

Retailers interested in attending Newegg Seller Day can learn more and register by visiting http://www.newegg.com/newegg-seller-day. Like Newegg on Facebook and follow Newegg on Twitter to stay up to date on the company's latest news.

About Newegg Inc.

Newegg Inc. is the leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the United States. It owns and operates Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) which was founded in 2001 and regularly earns industry-leading customer service ratings. The award-winning website has more than 30 million registered users and offers customers a comprehensive selection of the latest consumer electronics products, detailed product descriptions and images, as well as how-to information and customer reviews. Using the site's online tech community, customers have the opportunity to interact with other computer, gaming and consumer electronics enthusiasts. Newegg Inc. is headquartered in City of Industry, California. Newegg operates Hybrid Centers in City of Industry, CA and Richmond Hill, Ontario.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005197/en/

Contacts:

Newegg Inc.

James Merk, 626-271-1420

james.j.merk@newegg.com


MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Geomega Resources Inc. ("GeoMegA" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: GMA) announces that Ms. Vicky Lavoie has resigned from the board of directors of the Corporation effective as of May 24, 2017.

Ms. Lavoie is stepping down from her role as a director to devote more time to her other business interests. She expressed confidence in GeoMegA's leadership and prospects and further indicated that she intends to remain an important shareholder of GeoMegA, through her control of Nexolia Investments Inc.

Kiril Mugerman, President & CEO commented that "Ms. Lavoie is a very active, enthusiastic and successful Quebec based entrepreneur that brought a different perspective to the company with her vast entrepreneurial experience. Her support and guidance have been an asset to GeoMegA and we wish her the best in her new and continued ventures."

The management and board of directors would like to thank Ms. Lavoie for her valuable contribution to the Corporation and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

About GeoMegA (www.geomega.ca)

GeoMegA is a mineral exploration and evaluation company focused on the discovery and sustainable development of economic deposits of metals in Quebec. GeoMegA is committed to meeting the Canadian mining industry standards and distinguishing itself with innovative engineering, stakeholders' engagement and dedication to local transformation benefits.

78,258,049 common shares of GeoMegA are currently issued and outstanding.

About Innord

Innord is a private subsidiary of GeoMegA of which GeoMegA owns 96.1%. The goal of Innord Inc. is to develop and optimize the proprietary separation process of rare earth elements based on electrophoresis, for which it holds all the rights. Electrophoresis is the migration of charged species (ions, proteins, particles) in solution in the presence of an electric field. Innord has filed patents in Canada and the United States to protect its novel separation process and is looking to file in other jurisdictions.

Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding our intentions and plans. The forward-looking statements that are contained in this news release are based on various assumptions and estimates by the Corporation and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from results forecasted or suggested in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We caution you that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as discussed in the Corporation's filings with Canadian securities agencies. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices, success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program, and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions. The Corporation expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward- looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Kiril Mugerman

President and CEO

Geomega

450-641-5119 ext.5653

kmugerman@geomega.ca




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Razor Energy Corp. ("Razor" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RZE) (www.razor-energy.com) is pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced strategic acquisition of light oil assets located in west central Alberta (the "Assets") for cash consideration of $9.6 million, subject to customary adjustments (the "Acquisition"). The Assets, situated within Razor's core area, are characterized by low decline, light oil focused production, which is primarily operated with abundant infrastructure to complement Razor's existing asset portfolio.

THE ACQUISITION

The purchase price for the Acquisition was $9.6 million, prior to closing adjustments (the "Purchase Price"). The Purchase Price was funded through a prospectus financing (the "Offering") through a syndicate of agents co-led by Haywood Securities Inc. and Jett Capital Advisors, LLC, together with Canaccord Genuity Corp., Eight Capital, National Bank Financial Inc., Acumen Capital Finance Partners Limited and Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. (collectively, the "Agents") of 5,750,000 subscription receipts of the Company ("Subscription Receipts") at a price of $3.00 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of $17.25 million, including the full exercise of the Agents' over-allotment option, which closed on May 15, 2017.

In accordance with their terms, each Subscription Receipt was exchanged for one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant") upon closing of the Acquisition and the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering were released from escrow. Holders of Subscription Receipts are not required to take any action in order to receive the Common Shares and Warrants to which they are entitled.

The Acquisition is complementary on a geographic, geological and operational basis and in terms of product mix with Razor's current assets and operations in the Swan Hills areas. On a pro forma basis, using February 2017 field estimated production, the Company anticipates production at or above 3,700 boe/d, of which 85% is light oil and natural gas liquids.

The Acquisition enhances Razor's existing asset base with similar reactivation and re-entry opportunities, in addition to future drilling upside with proven deliverability of light oil from the Montney formation. The primary fields within the Assets include Kaybob South Triassic Units No. 1 and 2, Kaybob Beaverhill Lake Unit No. 1 and Simonette/Karr Beaverhill Lake Oil Pools.

With 95,679 (33,542 net) acres of land, the majority held by production, Razor foresees ample drilling opportunities comprised of both vertical and horizontal wells. Management has currently identified over 15 net drilling locations including the potential for future horizontal targets. The development of these properties is expected to be part of the 2018 capital program.

ASSET SUMMARY(1)

Total purchase price $ 9.6 million Current production (Feb 2017 field) 759 boe/d Annual decline rate 15% 95,679 (33,542 net) Land acres Net locations 15 unbooked Forecast 2017 operating netback(2) $ 10.82/boe Reserves (Gross) Proved developed producing ("PDP") reserves(3) 1.5 MMboe Total Proved ("TP") reserves(1)(3) 2.8 MMboe Total proved plus probable ("P+P") reserves(3) 3.7 MMboe P+P RLI(4) 13 years Reserves Value Before Tax (PV10)(3): PDP reserve value $ 22.5 million TP reserve value $ 36.2 million P+P reserve value $ 44.7 million Run rate cash flow(5) $ 3.3 million

ACQUISITION METRICS(1)

Current production (Feb 2017 field) $ 12,652 per boe/d Proved developed producing reserves(3) $ 6.46 per boe Total proved reserves(3) $ 3.48 per boe Total proved plus probable reserves(3) $ 2.62 per boe Purchase price / PDP reserve value 43% Purchase price / TP reserve value 27% Purchase price / P+P reserve value 21% Run rate cash flow(5) 3.20x 1. Subject to normal adjustments for a transaction of this nature and adjustments related to the exercise of certain ROFRs. 2. Operating netback does not have any standard meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities. Operating netback equals total petroleum and natural gas sales less royalties and operating costs calculated on a boe basis. Razor considers operating netback as an important measure to evaluate its operational performance as it demonstrates its field level profitability relative to current commodity prices. The estimated operating netback was derived using the Company's 2017 commodity price forecast of US$52.50/Bbl WTI, $2.50/MCF AECO, and a US/Canadian dollar exchange rate of $0.75 with the average operating netback calculated from the closing date of the Acquisition to December 31, 2017. See "Reader Advisories - Non-IFRS Measures".Gross Company Reserves. Reserves based on the Kaybob Assets Reserves Report effective December 31, 2016 prepared in accordance with the requirements of the COGE Handbook as required by NI 51-101. 3. Gross Company Reserves means Razor's working interest reserves following completion of the Acquisition before the calculation of royalties, and before the consideration of the Company's royalty interests. 4. The reserve life index ("RLI") is calculated by dividing total proved plus probable reserves estimated at 3,683 MBoe with estimated current production of the Kaybob Assets of 759 boe/d. 5. Run rate cash flow does not have any standard meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities. Run rate cash flow is based on annualized current production of 759 boe/d multiplied by the operating netback for the Kaybob Assets of $10.82/boe (see Note 2 above).

2017 CAPITAL BUDGET AND REVISED GUIDANCE

Given the volatility in commodity prices and Razor's ability to grow production through high frequency / low capital intensive projects, Razor expects to take a disciplined and conservative approach to the 2017 budget. The capital budget will be reviewed continuously by management and the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") for changes in commodity price assumptions and project economics. Razor remains steadfast in its conviction to maintain its financial advantage and build a top-tier junior oil and gas company.

For fiscal 2017, the capital expenditure budget of $13.0 million, which was approved by the Board prior to the Acquisition, remains unchanged. Razor continues to invest in a combination of reactivations, re-entries, optimization activities and waterflood management. These initiatives will be split between Swan Hills and Kaybob areas at management's discretion. In addition, the budget addresses the Alberta Energy Regulator's requirement under the Inactive Well Compliance Program including end of life well and facility spending.

With innovative focus and disciplined capital deployment in its Swan Hills and Kaybob areas, the Company is well positioned to execute on its growth strategy while maintaining financial flexibility.

The Company's 2017 revised financial and operating guidance and assumptions are as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average daily production 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Light oil (bbls/d) 2,581 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NGLs (bbls/d) 716 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural gas (mcf/d) 3,319 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil equivalent (boe/d) 3,850 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital expenditures $13.0 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Term Loan (maturity January 31, 2021) $30.0 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Working capital, December 31, 2017 $13.5 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net debt, December 31, 2017 ("Exit Net Debt") $16.5 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Funds flow from operations in 2017 ("2017 FFO")(1) $9.5 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exit Net Debt to 2017 FFO(1) 1.7x ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assumptions: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WTI (US$/bbl) $52.50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exchange rate (US$/C$) 0.75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Light sweet oil differential to WTI (C$/bbl) ($4.00) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average corporate oil quality discount (C$/bbl) ($3.00) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AECO gas (C$/mcf) $2.50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. "Funds flow from operations" and "net debt" do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. See "Reader Advisories - Non-IFRS Measures".

Razor plans to continue to pursue value-driven acquisitions with a view towards consolidation of land and production within the Company's existing project areas in addition to complementary shallow, light oil horizons within its Alberta core region. Razor remains focused on adding to its inventory of high quality projects to sustain longer-term growth.

ABOUT RAZOR

Razor Energy Corp. is a light oil focused company operating predominantly in Alberta. Razor's full-cycle business plan provides an opportunity to reposition the Company as a disciplined and high-growth junior E&P company. With an experienced management team and a strong, committed Board, growth is anticipated to occur through timely strategic acquisitions and operations. Razor currently trades on TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker "RZE".

READER ADVISORIES

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning, but not limited to: the anticipated annual decline rate; capital program of the Company, including expected production and cash flow related to the Acquisition; expected number of future drilling locations related to the Acquisition; the Company's reactivation program; matters relating to the 2017 capital budget; the Company's 2017 guidance; and the Company's acquisition strategy. In addition, the use of any of the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "potential", "can", "will", "should", "continue", "may", "envision" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including but not limited to expectations and assumptions concerning the availability of capital, current legislation, receipt of required regulatory approval, the success of future drilling and development activities, the performance of existing wells, the performance of new wells, the Company's growth strategy, general economic conditions, availability of required equipment and services and prevailing commodity prices. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general (e.g., operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; as the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses, and health, safety and environmental risks), commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, changes in legislation affecting the oil and gas industry and uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures. Please refer to the risk factors identified in the annual information form and management discussion and analysis of the Company for the period ended December 31, 2016, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company 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.

NON-IFRS MEASURES: This press release contains the terms "funds flow from operations", "net debt", "operating netback" and "run rate cash flow", which do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures by other companies. Funds flow from operations represents cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and decommissioning expenditures. Management uses funds flow from operations to analyze operating performance and leverage. Net debt is calculated as long-term debt less working capital (or plus working capital deficiency), with working capital excluding mark-to-market risk management contracts. Management believes net debt is a useful supplemental measure of the total amount of current and long-term debt of the Company. Operating netback equals total petroleum and natural gas sales less royalties and operating costs calculated on a boe basis. Razor considers operating netback as an important measure to evaluate its operational performance as it demonstrates its field level profitability relative to current commodity prices. The estimated operating netback was derived using the Company's 2017 commodity price forecast of US$52.50/Bbl WTI, $2.50/MCF AECO, and a US/Canadian dollar exchange rate of $0.75 with the average operating netback calculated from the closing date of the Acquisition to December 31, 2017. Run rate cash flow is based on annualized current production of 759 boe/d multiplied by the operating netback for the Kaybob Assets of $10.82/boe.

ADVISORY ON PRODUCTION INFORMATION: Unless otherwise indicated herein, all production information presented herein has presented on a gross basis, which is the Company's working interest prior to deduction of royalties and without including any royalty interests.

DRILLING LOCATIONS. This press release discloses drilling inventory as unbooked locations. Unbooked locations are internal estimates based on our prospective acreage and an assumption as to the number of wells that can be drilled per section based on industry practice and internal review. Unbooked locations do not have attributed reserves or resources. Unbooked locations have been identified by management as an estimation of the Company's multi-year drilling activities based on evaluation of applicable geologic, seismic, engineering, production and reserves information. There is no certainty that the Company will drill all unbooked drilling locations and if drilled, there is no certainty that such locations will result in additional oil and gas reserves, resources or production. The drilling locations on which Razor actually drill wells will ultimately depend upon the availability of capital, regulatory approvals, seasonal restrictions, oil and natural gas prices, costs, actual drilling results, additional reservoir information that is obtained and other factors. While certain of the unbooked drilling locations have been de-risked by drilling existing wells in relative close proximity to such unbooked drilling locations, other unbooked drilling locations are farther away from existing wells where management has less information about the characteristics of the reservoir and therefore there is more uncertainty whether wells will be drilled in such locations and if drilled there is more uncertainty that such wells will result in additional oil and gas reserves, resources or production.

BARRELS OF OIL EQUIVALENT: The term "boe" or barrels of oil equivalent may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil equivalent (6 Mcf: 1 bbl) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Additionally, given that the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil, as compared to natural gas, is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1; utilizing a conversion ratio of 6:1 may be misleading as an indication of value.

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.

Contacts:

Doug Bailey

President and Chief Executive Officer



Kevin Braun

Chief Financial Officer



Razor Energy Corp.

1250, 645 7th Avenue S.W.

Calgary, Alberta T2P 4G8

(403) 262-0242

www.razor-energy.com




FROM: F&C Commercial Property Trust Limited

DATE:25 May 2017

Director Declaration

In accordance with the requirements of the Listing Rule 9.6.14, the Company advises the following change to directorships in other publicly quoted companies, held by the following member of the Board.

Paul Marcuse was appointed to the Board of Bizspace Holdings Limited on 18 May 2017.

All enquiries:

The Company Secretary

Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited

Trafalgar Court

Les Banques

St Peter Port

Guernsey

GY1 3QL

Sharon A Williams

Tel: 01481 745436

Fax: 01481 745051
SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Baristas Coffee Company (OTC PINK: BCCI) announced that it has secured two million dollars in media funding from Media Funding Group, a NWBB Company. The funds are to be used to pay for advertising campaigns supporting Baristas' current and future product offerings.

Baristas has recently refocused its business to focus on its wholesale and direct to consumer coffee based products such as single serve coffee pods compatible with the Keurig 2.0 brewing system. Baristas' special "Espresso Blend" and its revolutionary "White Coffee" have become strong sellers, with the lightly roasted 3X the caffeine, "White Coffee" becoming the number one white coffee Keurig compatible cup in the nation. To this date Baristas Coffee Company, Inc. is the only company on Amazon.com to offer white coffee compatible with the Keurig 2.0 brewing system. Sales have increased every quarter since introduction.

Barry Henthorn, CEO, stated: "Baristas is very excited to begin rolling out advertising that we expect to immediately increase revenues by driving sales to our products. We are now able to support our product and expand the Baristas brand by utilizing mainstream and cutting edge media. Securing this financing for placing media buys at substantial discounts will allow us to create awareness for our already profitable products and allow us to launch additional products properly."

Marc Hatch, MFG CMO, stated: "I have tremendous confidence in the products that Baristas will be launching and the management's ability to present their current offerings. Having worked with Baristas over the years I have been extremely impressed by the quality and uniqueness of their products and in their ability to market the Baristas Brand."

About Media Funding Group:

Media Funding Group provides advertising expertise and private funding access for Advertising and Marketing campaigns through media funding programs creating ad funding solutions that allow companies to reap the rewards of top tier advertising placements and industry expertise.

About Baristas Coffee Company:

Baristas is a national Coffee Company that is recognized throughout the US. It currently produces and sells coffee related products under the Baristas brand. The Baristas White Coffee single serve cups compatible with the Keurig 2.0 brewing system is the bestselling product in its category. Baristas also markets other coffee related products. Baristas gained mainstream exposure when it was the subject of "Grounded in Seattle" the reality show special feature which aired on WE tv.

Contact:

Barry Henthorn

barry@baristas.tv




WESTON, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Monaker Group (OTCQB: MKGI) has launched NextTrip, a new travel website and companion mobile app featuring instant Alternative Lodging Rentals (ALRs). The new releases of the NextTrip mobile app for iOS and Android are available for download today.

NextTrip is the first travel service to offer all its ALR properties as instantly bookable. Now travelers can book private vacation homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos and castles in combination with other major travel services, from conventional lodging and airlines to car rentals and tour packages.

The site and mobile app features more than 1.2 million instantly-bookable ALR properties, 200,000 hotels, 400 airlines, all major car rental companies, and 10,000 tourist activities. Most of the ALR properties are initially available in prime locations in Europe, Asia, and South America in anticipation of partner and customer demand, with an additional 1 million contracted properties being on boarded to fill out our North America and the Caribbean presence over the next several months.

NextTrip is powered by the Monaker Booking Engine (MBE), a new cloud-based technology platform that delivers ALR reservations that can be instantly confirmed. MBE delivers Monaker's global ALR inventory via a flexible application program interface (API), which also supports the distribution of Monaker's ALR products to its B2B travel industry partners.

"The launch of NextTrip demonstrates how Monaker has solved one of the biggest pain-points in the travel industry -- lack of access to instant booking of ALR," said Monaker CEO Bill Kerby. "So, if you book it, you've got it. No waiting minutes or hours as you wait to hear back from the property owner. You can now go ahead and book flight, car or tour packages at the same time of your ALR, all on the same site, and without hesitation."

The Monaker Booking Engine and API are built to the latest industry standards allowing for custom integration into virtually any existing booking system. Travelers booking with NextTrip, as well as online travel agents and other industry players with access to the MBE, can now book complete travel packages without the uncertainty traditionally associated with booking alternative lodging.

Given the long-standing industry need for instant booking ALR reservations, several leading travel service wholesalers, retailers and travel agents are currently working to integrate the company's MBE technology with their vacation and travel package distribution channels.

This summer Monaker is planning to enhance NextTrip with specialized artificial intelligence that will enable easier planning for business, group, and family travel.

With NextTrip and its MBE, Monaker is looking to take advantage of the growing demand for alternative lodging and the strong growth in digital travel sales. The ALR industry is expected to grow at more than 7% CAGR to $194 billion in 2021, according to Technavio, making it one of the fastest growing sectors of the travel industry. Meanwhile, worldwide digital travel sales will climb at a 9.7% CAGR to top $817 billion by 2020, says eMarketer.

About Monaker

Monaker Group is a technology-driven travel company focused on delivering innovation to alternative lodging rentals (ALR) market. The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) delivers instant booking of more than 1.2 million vacation rental homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos and castles. MBE offers travel distributors and agencies an industry-first: a customizable instant booking platform for ALR. Monaker's NextTrip.com B2C website, also powered by MBE, is the first to offer significant instantly-bookable ALR products along with mainstream travel products and services all on a single site. NextTrip also features rich content, imagery and high-quality video to enhance a traveler's booking experience and assist in the search, decision and buying process for both individuals and groups. For more information, visit www.monakergroup.com or www.nexttrip.com.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning the plans and expectations of Monaker Group. These statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are out of our control. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, or the expectations of future growth may not be realized. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and Monaker Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the "Risk Factors" and other cautionary statements included in Monaker Group's annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended February 28, 2017 which has been filed with the SEC and is available at www.sec.gov.

Company Contact

Richard Marshall

Director of Corporate Development

Monaker Group

Tel: (954) 888-9779

rmarshall@monakergroup.com



Investor Relations Contact

Ronald Both or Grant Stude

CMA

Tel (949) 432-7557

rb@cma.bz




TORONTO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 --Patriot One Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: PAT) (OTCQB: PTOTF) (FRANKFURT: 0PL) ("Patriot One" or the "Company"), developer of the revolutionary award-winning PATSCAN CMR concealed weapons detection system, announced today it has entered into a reseller agreement with systems integration experts SENGEX of McLean, Virginia.

SENGEX cyber security services and solutions combine industry expertise in government data security with innovative technologies, and provides security solutions to government, healthcare and commercial organizations. SENGEX has been awarded and maintains contracts within a number of U.S. government organizations to facilitate ongoing strategic and technical consulting services. In addition to direct contract capability, SENGEX maintains continuous relationships with a number of prime contractors on a preferred basis enabling potential clients to also acquire SENGEX services as a subcontractor. Clients include a number of agencies under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense and related intelligence community organizations.

Patriot One President and CTO Dinesh Kandanchatha notes, "Patriot One has seen huge demand in the market related to the PATSCAN CMR technology. Given our engineering resources are firmly concentrated on manufacturing scalability, new product evolutions, and advancing our weapons identification programs, we have determined our best approach is to focus on relationships with resellers who have committed sales, engineering, and financial resources to the promotion of PATSCAN CMR. This joint partnership with our resellers will guarantee that our clients will receive the best possible solution aimed at ensuring that we achieve our primary goal of ending the loss of life and property due to the unlawful use of guns, knives or explosive devices."

Conversations with SENGEX began in early March of this year allowing for a period of due diligence which culminated with Patriot One's award as winners of the Anti-Terrorism -- Force Protection category of the Security Industry Association's New Product Showcase in Las Vegas. Since receiving the award, discussions advanced quickly towards preparations for SENGEX to begin presenting PATSCAN CMR to a number of select federal agencies.

"The addition of Patriot One Technologies solutions to the SENGEX portfolio complements and enhances our early-warning threat detection offerings for DoD and government organizations," said Dave Boulos, SENGEX Director of Marketing and Business Development. "SENGEX concentrates on providing solutions that can detect threats and track their movement that would otherwise be missed or circumvented by conventional entryway detection solutions. Inclusion of the Patriot One PATSCAN CMR in our offerings fits well with the need to provide protection for our most precious resource -- human life."

Patriot One's Kandanchatha adds, "We are excited to begin presenting to specific federal agencies with immediate need. We will work with our partners to secure FCC waivers to ensure rapid installation at those federal departments where time is of the essence for deployment. It is our plan that the initial commitment of 50 units ship as fast as we can prepare them, potentially being installed as quickly as late summer -- much faster than any of our previous projections indicated. Our team is absolutely ready for the job ahead, and fully committed to solving the dilemma presented by the increasingly deadly acts of public violence which we hope to help bring to an end."

About SENGEX

SENGEX is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) focused on delivering data and wireless security solutions to government and commercial organizations. SENGEX's products and services enable organizations to implement leading edge security solutions quickly and economically, providing customers the comfort their mission critical data is safe from risk at rest or in transit across public and private networks. For more, please visit www.sengex.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Dinesh Kandanchatha"

President & Director

About Patriot One Technologies, Inc. (TSX VENTURE: PAT) (OTCQB: PTOTF) (FRA: 0PL):

Patriot One has developed PATSCAN the next generation of its award-winning Patriot One Technologies NForce CMR1000 software and radar solution. PATSCAN is a first-of-its-kind Cognitive Microwave Radar concealed weapons detection system as an effective tool to combat active shooter threats before they occur. Designed for cost-effective deployment in weapon-restricted buildings and facilities, the Patriot One software solution and related hardware can be installed in hallways and doorways to covertly identify weapons and to alert security of an active threat entering the premises. Owner/operators of private and certain public facilities can now prominently post anti-weapons policies with compliance assured. The Company's motto Deter, Detect and Defend is based on the belief that widespread use of its technology will act as an effective deterrent, thereby diminishing the epidemic phenomena of active shooters across the globe. For more information, visit: www.patriot1tech.com. Patriot One Technologies are proud winners of the 2017 Anti-Terrorism / Force Protection category of the Security Industry Association's New Product Showcase at ISC West.

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT:

No Securities Exchange has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to product development, licensing, commercialization and regulatory compliance issues and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the failure to satisfy the conditions of the relevant securities exchange(s) and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.

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.

For further information, please contact:

Patriot One Inquiries

+1 (888) 728-1832

info@patriot1tech.com

www.patriot1tech.com




LINCOLNSHIRE, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) ("Camping World"), the nation's largest network of RV-centric retail locations, announced plans for continued expansion in the state of Virginia, with the acquisition of Reines RV Center, with dealerships in northern and central Virginia.

"It's an exciting time for us, as we expand in the Virginia market with the wonderful people of Reines RV joining the Camping World family," said Marcus Lemonis, CEO and Chairman of Camping World. "We are elated to provide customers with top notch, convenient SuperCenters, across the state, that can fulfill all of their outdoor and RV needs, from thousands of accessories, to RV sales and service."

Camping World currently operates SuperCenters in the Roanoke and Winchester areas as well as Richmond with the recent acquisition of McGeorge's RVs and also in Thornburg with the recent acquisition of the Safford RV dealership. The Reines RV Center acquisition further expands the market footprint, increasing Camping World's current presence in the state of Virginia to six SuperCenter locations.

"Over the past 70 years, the Reines family and staff have been honored with many awards for sales and consumer excellence and we look forward to continuing their high standards of quality and service," said Brent Moody, Chief Operating Officer of Camping World and Good Sam. "This important acquisition reinforces our commitment to further expansion in the state of Virginia and our focus on increased market share with our country-wide expansion."

About Camping World Holdings, Inc.

Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is the only provider of a comprehensive portfolio of services, protection plans, products and resources for recreational vehicle ("RV") enthusiasts. Through its two iconic brands, Camping World and Good Sam, the company offers new and used RVs for sale, vehicle service and maintenance along with more than 10,000 products and services through its retail locations and membership clubs. Good Sam branded offerings provide the industry's broadest and deepest range of services, protection plans, products and resources while the Camping World brand operates the largest national network of RV-centric retail locations in the United States with over 125 retail locations in 36 states and an e-commerce platform. With both brands founded in 1966, product and service offerings are based on 50 years of experience and customer feedback from RV enthusiasts.

For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning Camping World and other matters. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "targets," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, including those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our public announcements and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For Media Outlets:

Contact

Karen Porter

Email Contact




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO)(CSE: BLO.CN)(OTC PINK: BLOZF) (the "Company or Cannabix") developer of the Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer for law enforcement and the workplace, is pleased to announce that Dr. David Hasman has joined its scientific team to initiate trials in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. David Hasman is with Forensic Science and Technology at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and has been providing his expertise in the LC/MS/MS method for fentanyl and analogues for the B.C. Provincial Toxicology Centre in Vancouver.

Dr. Hasman received his PhD in Chemical Physics from the University of California and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia. Joining a Vancouver based laboratory he was involved in method development for therapeutic drug monitoring and was part of an effort to develop a mass spectral drug library for Agriculture Canada.

After a career at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies Dr. Hasman taught chromatographic based analysis at BCIT and University of British Columbia. During that period, he joined BCIT Forensics Sciences and formed Procyon Research Inc. Procyon Research is involved in GC/MS and LC/MS/MS method development in forensics, natural products, and environmental disciplines.

Cannabix is developing its FAIMS- (field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry) based marijuana breathalyzer for the detection of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ("THC") in human breath. The addition of Dr. Hasman to our Florida-Vancouver scientific team, will broaden our testing capabilities in Vancouver with human subjects using the Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer Beta prototype. The Company is substantially increasing its testing ability with new equipment and staff joining the Vancouver operation. Over the last several weeks, the Company has been developing a new "front end" breath intake system and calibrating decay signal intensities.

Dr. Raj Attariwala, commented, "We are excited to have Dr. Hasman join our Vancouver team as we prepare for trials using the patented FAIMS device with court accepted techniques of mass spectroscopy. His expertise in toxicology and forensic mass spec have been instrumental with government toxicology labs during the recent fentanyl crisis in BC and his skills will be invaluable as we prepare for trials with the Cannabix marijuana breathalyzer device."

About Cannabix Technologies Inc.

Cannabix Technologies Inc. is a leader in marijuana breathalyzer development for law enforcement and the workplace. Cannabix has established breath testing technologies in the pursuit of bringing durable, portable hand-held tools to market to enhance detection of marijuana impaired driving offences on roads at a time when marijuana is becoming legal in many global jurisdictions. Cannabix is working to develop drug-testing devices that will detect THC- the psychoactive component of marijuana that causes intoxication- using breath samples. In particular, Cannabix is focused on developing breath testing devices for detection of recent use of THC, in contrast to urine testing for THC metabolite that requires an invasive collection and reflects use days or even weeks earlier. The devices will also be useful for other practical applications such as testing employees in the workplace where intoxication by THC can be hazardous.

We seek Safe Harbor.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Rav Mlait, CEO

Cannabix Technologies Inc.

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, such as final development of a commercial or prototype product(s), successful trial or pilot of company technologies, no assurance that commercial sales of any kind actually materialize; no assurance the Company will have sufficient funds to complete product development. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) risks regarding protection of proprietary technology; (iii) the ability of the Company to complete financings; (v) the ability of the Company to develop and market its future product; and (vi) risks regarding government regulation, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements and filings. There is no assurance that the marijuana breathalyzer business will provide any benefit to the Company, and no assurance that any proposed new products will be built or proceed. There is no assurance that existing "patent pending" technologies licensed by the Company will receive patent status by regulatory authorities. The Company is not currently selling commercial breathalyzers. 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 are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Cannabix Technologies Inc.

Phone: (604) 551-7831

Fax: 604-676-2767

info@cannabixtechnologies.com

www.cannabixtechnologies.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- All amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated

JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. ("JELD-WEN") (NYSE: JELD) announced the pricing of a secondary public offering of 14,000,000 shares of common stock by certain existing stockholders, including Onex Corporation ("Onex") (TSX: ONEX) and its affiliates (the "Onex Group") at an offering price of $30.75 per share. The underwriters were granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 2,100,000 additional shares of common stock from the Onex Group.

At the public offering price and before the underwriters' option, gross proceeds to the Onex Group will be approximately $418 million, of which Onex' share will be approximately $120 million, including carried interest of $17 million. The Onex Group will continue to hold approximately 49 million shares of JELD-WEN for an economic interest of 47%. Onex will continue to hold approximately 12 million shares for a 12% economic interest.

The offering is expected to close on May 31, 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 24, 2017. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Onex

Onex is one of the oldest and most successful private equity firms. Through its Onex Partners and ONCAP private equity funds, Onex acquires and builds high-quality businesses in partnership with talented management teams. At Onex Credit, Onex manages and invests in leveraged loans, collateralized loan obligations and other credit securities. Onex has approximately $25 billion of assets under management, including $6 billion of Onex proprietary capital, in private equity and credit securities. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex invests alongside its fund investors and is the largest limited partner in each of its private equity funds.

Onex' businesses have assets of $46 billion, generate annual revenues of $31 billion and employ approximately 166,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex' security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations and are subject to known and unknown uncertainties and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts:

Laura Carrigan

Director, Investor Relations

416.362.7711




LINCOLNSHIRE, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- The Marcus Lemonis Fashion Group, a collection of expanding fashion brands and retailer's locations across the U.S., is expanding its operations to include a new retail concept boutique in Minneapolis, Minnesota, called Union 73. The new retail store opened at the Minneapolis City Center at 40 South 7th Street, and is prepared to offer trendy, fast-fashion product at affordable prices. Union 73, the chic men's and women's retailer is the brainchild of entrepreneur, Marcus Lemonis, who is the star of CNBC's hit reality series, The Profit, in which he lends his expertise to assist struggling small businesses around the country.

"We are excited to open the new Union 73 boutique in the beautiful and energetic Minneapolis City Center," noted Lemonis. "Our goal is to be the go-to trendy retailer in this community with our ever-changing collection of top quality men's and women's fashions, and we are offering over 1,500 pairs of jeans in all styles, washes and price points to start this new concept."

The 7,000-square foot boutique will feature an extensive selection of denim, jackets, tops, sweaters, dresses and bottoms, as well as a wide range of shoes, accessories and handbags, comprised of well-known national brands. The product base is finely crafted merchandise and the business model is focused on a strong commitment to one-on-one customer relationships.

"We are thrilled to introduce Union 73 to the fun, fashionable and diverse consumer base in the greater Minneapolis area, with affordably priced apparel for our transient consumers," remarked, Stephanie Menkin, President of the Marcus Lemonis Fashion Group, "We look forward to offering monthly sales promotions for our customers and adding to our overall growth as a company, with additional locations of Union 73 already in the works in Jacksonville, FL and Chicago, IL."

Visit www.union73.com for more information.

About Marcus Lemonis

Marcus Lemonis is an entrepreneur, investor, television personality, and chairman and CEO of Marcus Lemonis LLC.

Lemonis is known as the "business turnaround king" and host of CNBC's prime time reality series 'The Profit', in which he lends his expertise to struggling small businesses around the country and judges' businesses based on a "Three P" principle: People, Process, and Product. The Profit's returns on Tuesday, June 6th at 10pm ET/PT on CNBC.

More about Marcus Lemonis can be found at http://www.marcuslemonis.com, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/marcus.lemonis and Twitter @MarcusLemonis

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For media, contact:

Karen L. Porter

Director of Media Services

Email Contact




143% Increase in Revenue for the Period Ending March 31, 2017 compared to March 31, 2016

NAPLES, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 25, 2017 / FTE Networks, Inc. (OTCQX: FTNW) (FTE or the Company), a leading network infrastructure solutions provider in the technology and communications industries, today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2017, and provided an update on its recent acquisition of Benchmark Builders, Inc. (Benchmark). The Company's results do not include Benchmark, as the acquisition closed after the quarter ended.

March 31, 2017, Financial Highlights

Telecom revenue of $5.1MM versus $2.1MM for same period 2016, a 143% increase

Telecom segment gross profit of $2.4MM versus $780,000 for same period 2016, a 207% increase

Gross margin increase of 100 basis points to 47% versus 37% for the period ending March 31, 2016

Recent Business Highlights

Launched transformative Edge Computing Technology, considered a 4th utility for industry segments such as commercial real estate developers and owners

Closed 100% acquisition of Benchmark on April 20, 2017

Benchmark Quality of Earnings from top registered account firm reported: Revenue of $389MM for full-year 2016; $40.4MM proforma adjusted EBITDA with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.4% for full-year 2016

The acquisition has immediately created a combined $261MM project backlog for FTE and Benchmark for 2017, as of April 20, 2017

Implemented key hires to deliver on execution of aggressive growth plan and realize synergies between FTE and Benchmark, initially in the technology and real estate sectors

Continuing efforts to list on major stock exchange

First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, total revenues were $5.1MM compared to $2.1MM in the same period of 2016, a 143% increase. Company management continued to strategically expand its telecom revenue and Inside Plant segment, contributing to a gross margin increase of 10% over the same period in 2016. Further, the Company continues to expand its footprint and services to Fortune 100/500 clients. A net loss of $3.9MM, compared to the prior year three months $1.11MM loss, was largely the result of the noncash warrant valuation adjustment and one time M&A costs. The Company expects to release audited consolidated 2016 financial results for the combined Benchmark and FTE entities on or about the end of June 2017.

Benchmark Builders Transaction

FTE completed the acquisition of privately held Benchmark, a leading provider of construction management services based in New York, for $75MM on April 20, 2017. Benchmark has an Unaudited Independent Valuation of Quality of Earnings from a top independent registered accounting firm, which verifies 2016 revenues of $389MM, $40.4MM pro forma adjusted EBITDA and an EBITDA margin of 10.4% for 2016. As of April 20, 2017, FTE and Benchmark had a combined nine-month backlog of $261MM. The Company expects this backlog to increase significantly as it progresses on its growth strategy. The completion of the transaction and the strength of the combined entity provides for an immediate platform to uplist to a major stock exchange.

FTE and Benchmark continue to integrate accretive synergies and support the expansion of their service offerings nationally. Benchmark, a wholly owned subsidiary of FTE, is offering FTEs transformational compute to the edge technology to the commercial property developers and owners in New York City and the surrounding region. Further, the transaction enables FTE to expand infrastructure services for Inside Plant (ISP) through the current and future Benchmark client base. Benchmark gives FTE access to major developers including the real estate investment trusts (REITs) as potential CrossLayer technology clients. Additionally, the transaction strengthens the opportunity to win contracts from Fortune 100/500 companies and enables Benchmark to access more clients as a public company. Benchmark will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, without disruption to customers or stakeholders, enabling FTE to leverage the expertise of the Benchmark team and expand its footprint in New York City.

"We continue to build on our industry-leading position with our partnership with Benchmark, a growing pipeline, and several upcoming contracts expected to close over the quarter," said Michael Palleschi, Chairman and CEO of FTE. "The first quarter of 2017 is now the third consecutive quarter in which we have reported positive operating income. We are pleased with our progress and expect this momentum to continue throughout 2017 and beyond, as we continue to control expenses and improve margins," Mr. Palleschi added.

About FTE Networks, Inc.

FTE Networks, Inc., and its subsidiaries provide end-to-end design, build, and support solutions for state-of-the-art network and commercial properties, creating the most advanced and transformative smart platforms and buildings. Working with some of the worlds leading Fortune 100/500 corporations and communications service providers, FTEs businesses are predicated on smart design and consistent standards that reduce deployment costs and accelerate delivery of innovative projects and services. FTE Networks and its subsidiaries operate 8 Lines of Business, including Data Center Infrastructure, Fiber Optics, Wireless Integration, Network Engineering, Internet Service Provider, Construction Management, General Contracting, and Pre-Construction Services. With approximately 200+ employees, FTE and its entities have operations in 17 states. For more information, please visit www.ftenet.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than historical facts are forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of words such as: believes, expects, opportunity, strategy, upcoming, intend, plan and similar expressions and/or references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, Implemented key hires to deliver on execution of aggressive growth plan; The Company expects to release audited consolidated 2016 financial results for the combined Benchmark and FTE entities on or about the end of June 2017; The Company expects this backlog to increase significantly as it progresses on its growth strategy; The completion of the transaction and the strength of the combined entity provides for an immediate platform to uplist to a major stock exchange; Additionally, the transaction strengthens the opportunity to win contracts from Fortune 100/500 companies and enables Benchmark to access more clients as a public company; We continue to build on our industry-leading position with our partnership with Benchmark, a growing pipeline, and several upcoming contracts expected to close over the quarter; and We are pleased with our progress and expect this momentum to continue throughout 2017 and beyond, as we continue to control expenses and improve margins.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on FTEs current expectations, beliefs and assumptions regarding future developments and their potential effects on FTE. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. These risks and uncertainties are described in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, there is no assurance that future developments affecting FTE will be those anticipated by FTE. FTE undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time-to-time, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws.

Media and Investor Relations:

FTE Networks, Inc.

999 Vanderbilt Beach Rd., Suite 601

Naples, FL 23108

(877) 850-4308

ir@ftenet.com

OTCQX: FTNW

SOURCE: FTE Networks, Inc.
QUEBEC, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Stelmine Canada Ltd. ("Stelmine" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: STH) announced today the closing of the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement concluded with investors including institutional funds.

The private placement (the "Placement") consists in the issuance of a maximum of 4,464,285 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.28 per unit, for total maximum placement of $1,250,000. Each Unit is composed of one (1) common share of Stelmine ("Share") and one half (1/2) warrant, each warrant entitling its holder to subscribe to one (1) Share at a price of $0.35 per Share during an 18-month period.

The first tranche of the Placement consisted in the issuance of 2,678,568 Units for a total placement of $750,000.

The following funds participated in the Placement, for a total amount of $612,800: CDPQ-Sodemex, Capital croissance PME II SEC, SIDEX (including $100,000 through its "Action-Terrain 2017" program), and Societe de developpement de la Baie-James (SDBJ).

"I am very pleased with this first participation by these important institutions in Stelmine's development", said Isabelle Proulx, the Company's President and CEO. "This financing will allow our company to initiate its work program during the summer of 2017."

Four (4) insiders of the Company participated to this Placement for proceeds of $137,200 (18.29% of the Placement). These insiders subscribed to the Units under the same terms as the other investors. The participation of these insiders is exempt from the formal valuation and shareholder approval requirements provided under Regulation 61-101 respecting Protection of Minority Holders in Special Transactions ("Regulation 61-101") in accordance with sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of said Regulation 61-101. The exemption is based on the fact that the market value of such participation or the consideration paid by each such insider does not exceed 25% of the market value of the Company.

All securities issued in connection with this Placement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day. The Placement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Stelmine has not filed a material change report in the 21 days preceding the Placement.

The proceeds of this Placement will be used for the Company's operating costs and working capital.

About Stelmine

Stelmine is a junior mining exploration company and its activities are located in the Province of Quebec. Stelmine holds 707 claims spanning 368 km(2) on the eastern part of the Opinaca metasedimentary basin, which contains zones with a high potential for gold deposit discovery in geological contexts similar to the one leading to discovery of the Eleonore Mine. Its capital stock consists of 18,353,884 issued and outstanding shares for a current market capitalization of $5 million. Following the closing of the first tranche of the Placement, 21,078,168 Shares are issued and outstanding.

About Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2016, it held $270,7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate. Through its CDPQ Sodemex mining portfolio, la Caisse contributes to the development of Quebec's mining industry by acquiring interests in junior mining companies and mining producers active in Quebec.

About CCPME

CCPME is a fund jointly set up by the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and by Capital Regional et Cooperatif Desjardins for the purpose of supporting the economic development of Quebec businesses and encouraging their growth. Desjardins Venture Capital Inc. acts as the manager of CCPME.

About the Societe de developpement de la Baie-James

Created in 1971 by the James Bay Region Development Act, the SDBJ's mission is to promote the James Bay territory's economic development and the development and use of its natural resources, other than hydroelectric resources, which are Hydro-Quebec's responsibility, from a sustainable development perspective. It can also generate, support and participate in projects for these purposes. www.sdbj.gouv.qc.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements set forth in this press release, which describes Stelmine's objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or forecasts, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of security legislation. Positive or negative verbs such as "believe", "can", "shall", "intend", "expect", "estimate", "assume" and other related expressions are used to identify such statements. Stelmine wishes to state that, by their very nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties such that its results, or the measures it adopts, could differ materially from those indicated or underlying these statements or could have an impact on the degree of realization of a particular projection. Major factors that may lead to a material difference between Stelmine's actual results and the projections or expectations set forth in the forward-looking statement include the risk that the Company does not complete the Placement as anticipated, and such other risks as described in detail from time to time in the reports filed by Stelmine with security authorities in Canada. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Stelmine disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information in this release is based on information available as of the date of this release.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Isabelle Proulx

President and CEO

581-998-1222

info@stelmine.com

www.stelmine.com



Christian Guilbaud

Director

514-813-7862




GRASS VALLEY, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Simlatus Corporation (OTC PINK: SIML) -- announces today that the Chairman Robert Stillwaugh has accepted and will be appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Simlatus.

Bob Stillwaugh, new CEO, stated, "I have a futuristic view of Simlatus and the impact our new products will have on our existing relationships with Warner Bros., CBS and FOX News. I will take the reins with our new SyncPal and drive sales, just as I have done time and time again over the past 40 years with our large studio customers. I have cut deals over the years with CBS, Warner Bros. and FOX News; and I plan to do the same with our immersive products."

On May 24, 2017, The Board of Directors of Simlatus Corporation have appointed Robert Stillwaugh as its new Chief Executive Officer and Chairman.

Mr. Stillwaugh is a recognized icon in the commercial broadcast and television industry. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor degree in Radio-Television Broadcasting, he spent the next 50 years in the broadcast and television industry gaining extensive experience in television station operations and management, product design and product integration. Bob served 24 years with Grass Valley Group, a widely recognized brand in the industry, located in Northern California's Tech Arena, where he specialized in engineering, product development and systems engineering as he managed the customs products group. After his tenure with the Grass Valley Group, he spent the next 17 years as a VP of Engineering as well as a founder and President of his own company where he developed proprietary broadcast systems for giants such as CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, Warner Bros., ESPN, and DirecTV. These products are the 'gold-standard' in today's market as Simlatus continues to expand its existing revenue stream, selling the legacy products developed by Mr. Stillwaugh. Today Mr. Stillwaugh is devoting his full time to Simlatus to grow its legacy products, and its new immersive product line to meet the future technology needs of the industry.

Mr. Stillwaugh stated, "I appreciate everything Mr. Tilden, our former CEO, has done to assist me in taking my company public. I was not that familiar with public companies since I have always remained in the private sector. Today, I am thoroughly familiar and prepared to drive this company into the $150B immersive industry. We have the IP, some of the best engineers in the world and infrastructure to launch our revenues in a direction that will please our investors and shareholders."

ABOUT SIMLATUS: www.simlatus.com

Simlatus Corporation's 18 year history as an audio/video icon, designs, manufactures and sells 55 commercial broadcast products worldwide. The company has a small revenue base in the broadcast industry with long-term national and international distribution. Our customers include large broadcast giants such as Warner Bros., CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN and DIRECTV, as well as many smaller broadcast customers which include religious facilities, international broadcast facilities, colleges, and radio stations. The new SyncPal, and our future Simlatus-IBS, will allow the company to capitalize in the $150B growing industry of augmented/virtual reality.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements. While these statements are made to convey to the public the company's progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management's opinion. Whereas management believes such representations to be true and accurate based on information and data available to the company at this time, actual results may differ materially from those described. The Company's operations and business prospects are always subject to risk and uncertainties. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ are and will be set forth in the company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Tom Nelson

Tenassociates33@gmail.com

1-480-326-8577




TORONTO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- WireIE, a wholesale network operator specialized in the deployment of MEF-Certified Carrier Ethernet networks to Canada's underserved markets, continues to expand its digital oil and gas telecommunications network management expertise in South America.

WireIE is operating in the Argentinian Bajada de Anelo gas shale field within the larger Vaca Muerta area. Using skilled local field technicians, WireIE is providing its partners with the overall expertise to configure and deploy the digital infrastructure necessary for project success.

"WireIE has been incredibly successful in providing integrated, reliable and secure networks for oil and gas fields in Canada's underserved regions," says Rob Barlow, President and Chief Executive Officer of WireIE. "We continue to prove that our model can be applied to challenging regions anywhere because our core set of capabilities has a high degree of flexibility and adaptability."

"We specialize in finding solutions for challenging telecommunications situations like the Bajada de Anelo shale fields," says Jon D'Alessandro, WireIE's Executive Vice President of Network and Operations. "Through our Day 2 support service, we provide our partners in Argentina and elsewhere in South America with continuous and integrated connectivity from their corporate headquarters to their exploratory and production oil fields."

WireIE's Day 2 service targets oil and gas producers who operate in increasingly remote and challenging locations, where it is difficult to staff project sites with skilled workers. Keeping the communications network up and running in the field can save companies thousands of dollars a day. As the responsible authority for its clients on the digital aspects of project, problem and incident management, WireIE lowers the risk of unplanned downtime and allows for greater efficiency in production.

"We are pleased to see Canadian companies like WireIE pursue an active presence in Argentina's energy sector," says Eleonore Rupprecht, Trade Commissioner with Global Affairs Canada. "Argentina is one of Canada's largest trading partners in South America and Canadian businesses recognize the potential for increased trade with Argentina."

Having calculated a need for a total long-term investment of US $200 billion to reverse its sustained energy crisis, the Argentinian government is encouraging foreign investment in its Vaca Muerta shale fields.

About WireIE:

WireIE is a Canadian telecommunications carrier, specialized in the deployment of MEF Certified Carrier Ethernet 2.0 networks to underserved markets. WireIE's proven network performance, backed by industry-leading SLAs, has been established as the provider of choice for mission critical network requirements, across all industry verticals. Believing in a strong partnership model allows WireIE to focus on building missing components of broadband network solutions while keeping the costs down and dramatically reducing delivery times.

sales@WireIE.com WireIE.com Twitter.com/WireIE LinkedIn.com/WireIE

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA)

+1.866.695.3629

Email Contact




CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- iManage, the leading provider of Work Product Management solutions, today announced from its ConnectLive 2017 user conference that new iManage solutions such as iManage Work 10 and iManage Cloud are receiving high praise from CIOs and CKOs based on their real-world experience with the products. The favorable reviews highlight the significant value that iManage brings to its extensive base of legal, accounting and financial services firms and corporate legal departments.

Many of the executives at ConnectLive focused their discussion on iManage Work 10, a complete redesign of iManage's flagship document and email management system which became available earlier in the year.

"Attorneys are not interested in 'upgrades' and are unwilling to spend time for marginal improvement," said Doug Caddell, Global CIO, Mayer Brown LLC. "We needed something with 'wow' to get their attention. iManage Work 10 provides that wow. In fact, during a demo one of our attorneys said 'wow' 12 times! Our focus now... project WOW combining iManage Work 10, Office 2016 and Windows 10."

iManage Cloud delivers all the Work Product Management capabilities of iManage via a monthly subscription. High velocity deployments speed the move to the industry's only cloud that utilizes the same technologies relied upon by leading Internet companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

"We went from initial implementation to going live on iManage Cloud within 90 days," said Tracy Hallenberger, Chief Knowledge Officer, Baker Botts LLP. "The actual transition time for all 14 of our worldwide offices was just over 24 hours in a single weekend. The whole experience was exceptionally quick and straightforward, enabling us to rapidly deliver the latest technological innovations to our organization."

"Our goal is to deliver a best-in-class platform for Work Product Management that fully meets the needs of modern businesses all over the world," said Dan Carmel, Chief Marketing Officer, iManage. "It's particularly rewarding for us as a company to hear directly from our customers about the different ways that iManage is helping them with all of the work they do, enabling them to be more agile, efficient and productive organizations."

About ConnectLive

ConnectLive 2017, the second annual iManage user conference, takes place in Chicago, May 24-25, 2017 at the Marriott Magnificent Mile and in London, June 27-28, 2017 at the InterContinental London -- The O2 hotel.

Across four days and two continents, ConnectLive 2017 brings together over one thousand people including CIOs, IT professionals, technical architects, legal administrators, and professional services firm executives to learn and share ideas on how professional work is changing and how the management of work product is adapting in response to those changes.

Learn more at https://imanage.com/connectlive/.

Follow iManage via:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/imanageinc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iManageinc/

Blog: https://imanage.com/blog/

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/imanage

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/imanage

About iManage

iManage is the leading provider of Work Product Management solutions for legal, accounting and financial services firms and the corporate departments they serve worldwide. Every day iManage helps professionals streamline the creation, sharing, governance and security of their work product. Over one million professionals at over 3,000 organizations around the world -- including more than 2,000 law firms and 500 corporate legal departments -- rely on iManage to help them deliver great client work. Headquartered in Chicago, iManage is a management-owned company.

Press Contact Information:

Manjul Gupta

Head of Corporate Communications

iManage

Phone: 669-777-3430

Email Contact




SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- CFN Media Group, the leading creative agency and digital media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces the publication of an article discussing Mexico's pending legalization of medical marijuana, and Medical Marijuana Inc.'s (OTC PINK: MJNA) established position as a leader in the country's nascent industry.

Mexico Approves Medical Marijuana

Mexico's Lower House of Congress recently passed a bill that legalizes the use of medical marijuana and scientific research. In particular, the bill classifies the controversial psychoactive component of marijuana -- tetrahydrocannabinol or THC -- as "therapeutic". The move is akin to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rescheduling marijuana to a controlled substance that has therapeutic value for patients.

"The ruling eliminates the prohibition and criminalization of acts related to the medicinal use of marijuana and its scientific research, and those relating to the production and distribution of the plant for these purposes," read a Congressional statement.

The bill will now be sent to President Enrique Pena Nieto who is expected to sign it into law. While Pena Nieto was once a vocal opponent to legalization, his viewpoint has shifted to view drug use as a "public health problem" where users should not be criminalized. He even proposed a bill last year that would have permitted Mexicans to carry up to an ounce of marijuana, but that measure has since stalled in Congress.

Medical Marijuana Inc. in Mexico

Medical Marijuana Inc. has remained the only legal provider of CBD oils in Mexico through its HempMeds Mexico subsidiary. The company's Real Scientific Hemp Oil -- or RSHO -- brand has become synonymous with ultra-high quality and reliability, which is why the government granted the company an exclusive import license for certain medical conditions including epilepsy and neuropathic pain. At the same time, RSHO-X (RSHO with absolutely no THC) has already been used in clinical studies evaluating the effects of CBD on epilepsy.

In March, HempMeds Mexico held a press conference in Mexico City revealing the positive results of a clinical study conducted by renowned physician Dr. Saul Garza Morales on the effects of RSHO-X in treating children with severe epilepsy. The 39-patient study of children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome showed an 84% reduction in motor seizures, 53% improvement in quality of life, and seven individuals that reported a complete elimination of seizures which was covered by the CW television network.

The combination of a product already on the market and clinical data supporting its efficacy marks a significant competitive advantage compared to other products on the market. Given this early lead, the company is well positioned to capitalize on the market as restrictions are lifted and wider access is granted for cannabidiol and other cannabinoids that may have additional uses across many different medical conditions.

Please follow the link to read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/mexicos-legalization-medical-marijuana-yields-opportunities/

Learn how to become a CFN Media featured 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 your smart phone: 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.

About Medical Marijuana Inc.

Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value. For details on Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s portfolio and investment companies, visit http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com.

To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s video statement, click here.

Shareholders are also encouraged to visit the Medical Marijuana, Inc. Shop for discounted products.

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




REDONDO BEACH, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- SECFilings.com, a leading financial news and information portal offering free real-time public company filing alerts, announces the publication of an article and exclusive CEO interview discussing Trimax Corporation Inc. (OTC PINK: TMXN) dba Saavy Naturals and its ambitious plans within the natural skin care industry. Saavy merged into the existing public entity in a transaction announced in early May.

The skin and body care industry generates over $100 billion in annual revenue with industry leaders generating billions of dollars per year. Despite its large size, the industry is undergoing significant change as consumer preferences shift to all-natural products. Larger incumbents have been slow to adapt to these new consumer preferences, which could create an opening for smaller companies to capture a significant portion of the market.

Building a Natural Brand

Saavy Naturals was created by husband and wife team, Hugo & Debra Saavedra, who have backgrounds in food cultivation and service. In the past, the two have owned and operated several restaurants, been personal chefs, and designed menus for other restaurants. They have even introduced and grown exotic edible flowers and baby greens that have become mainstays at many 5-star restaurants located throughout Southern California.

After years of cooking and growing herbs, the couple started experimenting with them in new ways, creating luxurious soaps, body creams, and body scrubs. They began selling these products at local farmer's markets. Their creations were so successful, they began selling them to national retailers. Their attention to detail sets their products apart from many others produced by larger national brands in the space.

The two showcased their products on the hit ABC show Shark Tank, where they received and turned down an investment offer. This national attention helped prove the concept as the team now looks to expand through a public entity. In particular, the access to capital will help the company execute its ambitious growth plans and scale up its successful small business into an equally successful larger enterprise on the national level.

Saavy products are currently available on Amazon, the company's own online retail site, and in retail stores such as Whole Foods Market and Vitamin Cottage. Additionally, the company recently announced agreements with top branding, marketing and retail accelerator firms to jumpstart the growth process.

Large & Growing Business

The skin and body care industry generates over $121 billion per year around the world and is expected to grow at a 3.8% compound annual growth rate between 2016 and 2021, according to MarketResearch.com. In the United States, the market is expected to reach $10.7 billion in size by next year as consumers increasingly seek out all-natural products designed to keep them healthy and their skin looking youthful and rejuvenated.

Several large multinational brands have been built in the skincare industry over the past several years, including names like Avon Products Inc. and Revlon Inc. These companies have historically relied on chemicals to achieve desired outcomes, such as texture, which can be difficult for increasingly health-conscious consumers to palette. This has created an opportunity for companies developing all-natural alternative products.

The rapid growth of all-natural products began in the food and beverage industry, but it's quickly gaining traction in skin and body care products. Farmers markets around the country have become a hotbed for purchasing natural products, while many national brands have been experimenting with cleaner all-natural products.

Please follow the link to read the full article and see the interview: http://analysis.secfilings.com/articles/176-saavy-naturals-targets-121b-skincare-industry

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.

SECFilings.com

Paul Archie

406-862-2242

parchie@secfilings.com




SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- CFN Media Group, the leading creative agency and digital media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article discussing Platinex Inc.'s (CSE: PTX) experienced team behind the launch of CannabisMall.Shop and CannabisMall.Org. The company will be featuring progressive advances on the two sites continuously prior to launch.

Despite the large forecast growth in Canada's cannabis industry over the coming years, finding ancillary products online can be difficult. With leading international e-commerce firms hesitant to sell cannabis-related products, there's a growing market opportunity for e-commerce and e-community companies to step in and fill the gap. Enter Platinex to capitalize on the hands-off and high-margin potential opportunities.

Proven Team Ready to Execute

On May 10, the company announced that it hired Hello Digital Marketing of Winnipeg, Manitoba to develop an online community platform targeting the cannabis industry. Management aims to develop the platform into the top marketplace and resource for a broad audience of marijuana and cannabis users, community ambassadors, and vendors. The platform is expected to generate revenue from non-controlled products related to the cannabis industry well in advance of legalization.

"We are pleased to be able to work with Hello Digital Marketing, a high profile, exuberant, enthusiastic, digital marketing and website design agency," said Platinex President & CEO James R. Trusler in the press release announcing the engagement. "In its brief history, Hello Digital Marketing has partnered with several industry-leading platforms with superb results."

Hello Digital Marketing is a website design and digital marketing agency founded in 2013. In the recent past, the company helped build out a website/network called Namaste Vapes. Through that process they have developed a proven track record within the cannabis space. The firm's other clients include companies ranging from luxury airlines to oil and gas exploration companies to construction companies, while its marketing services have generated proven results over time.

Platinex's management team is highly qualified to build out CannabisMall.Shop. President & CEO James R. Trusler has over 50 years of experience in working with Canadian public companies and has raised over $10 million for Platinex Inc. previously on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Rising Demand for Canna Commerce

Canada's cannabis industry is expected to surpass C$22.6 billion over the coming years, according to Deloitte Canada, following the legalization of recreational marijuana. While the retail market is expected to bring in C$4.9 billion to C$8.7 billion each year, ancillary products and services will increase that figure to between C$12.7 billion and C$22.6 billion. These ancillary products include things like lighting, security systems, and other growing materials.

Despite the industry's rapid growth, there is no established e-commerce portal where consumers and businesses can purchase these products and services. Health Canada requires consumers to purchase retail marijuana directly from licensed producers through mail order, but ancillary products - such as vaporizers or home-growing equipment - are more difficult to find and often require a trip to local brick-and-mortar retailers.

Many international retailers are hesitant to carry cannabis-related items due to the lack of regulatory clarity in other major markets where they operate. The good news is that this has created a compelling opportunity for companies willing to fill the void, where there is an opportunity to become the 'Amazon.com of Cannabis'. Platinex aims to do exactly that with the development of its CannabisMall.Shop platform that's set to launch before next year.

Please follow the link to read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/platinex-leverages-experienced-team-build-cannabis-destination/

Learn how to become a CFN Media featured 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 your smart phone: 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 U.S. 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/.

Frank Lane

President

CFN Media Group

206.369.7050

flane@cannabisfn.com




MONTREAL, QC--(Marketwired - May 25, 2017) - iPerceptions, a global leader in Voice of the Customer (VoC) solutions, today announced that The Henry Ford has selected iPerceptions as their preferred VoC solution. The Henry Ford welcomes nearly 1.8 million guests annually to its 250-acre campus in Dearborn, Michigan, and attracts 1.5 million viewers to its weekly Emmy-winning Saturday morning television show, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation. The Henry Ford is also the largest indoor-outdoor museum complex in the United States. With iPerceptions, The Henry Ford will collect customer feedback to measure the online experience of their customers, understand key experience drivers and improve site usability across desktop, tablet and mobile.

"The Henry Ford website takes the rich storytelling we provide our guests everyday here onsite, and puts it into a unique and shareable digital format," said Matt Majeski, Director, Digital and Emerging Media at The Henry Ford. "Using iPerceptions is critical in understanding our visitors' intentions, needs, and expectations to help us deliver a user-friendly website on any device that enhances The Henry Ford online experience. Also, iPerceptions is helping us pinpoint and prioritize key digital initiatives that will have the most impact on visitor satisfaction."

"Today, it is imperative to understand your customers, especially in developing a unique educational experience," said Duff Anderson, Co-Founder and SVP at iPerceptions. "We're delighted that The Henry Ford has chosen iPerceptions to measure and manage the effectiveness of their digital properties from their customers' perspective. We look forward to working with the team at The Henry Ford to help them increase customer satisfaction and loyalty."

Supporting resources

To learn more about iPerceptions - download iPerceptions' solutions brochure

To stay up to date on the latest in the world of customer experience - visit The Customer-Centric Marketer

To learn more about The Henry Ford - visit thehenryford.org

For more information about the TV show The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation - visit thehenryford.org/explore/innovation-nation/

About iPerceptions

iPerceptions is a global leader in Voice of the Customer (VoC) solutions, helping the world's most respected brands become customer-centric organizations. iPerceptions' enterprise platform collects and analyzes the feedback of real visitors in real situations across the customer lifecycle. With an experienced team that has managed 1000's of VoC programs since 1999, iPerceptions offers a full range of services from survey design to deployment to analysis. iPerceptions collects over 20M visitor feedback data-points every year across 1,200 brands and in 35 languages and is the trusted partner of world's most recognizable retail, hospitality, financial and automotive brands. To start doing marketing that's powered by the voice of your customers today, visit iPerceptions.com.

About The Henry Ford

The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan is an internationally-recognized history destination that explores the American experience of innovation, resourcefulness and ingenuity that helped shape America. A national historic landmark with an unparalleled Archive of American Innovation, The Henry Ford is a force for sparking curiosity and inspiring tomorrow's innovators. Nearly 1.8 million visitors annually experience its five attractions: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford Giant Screen Experience. A continually expanding array of content available online provides anytime, anywhere access. The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates over 500 students a year on the institution's campus. In 2014, The Henry Ford premiered its first-ever national television series, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, showcasing present-day change-makers and The Henry Ford's artifacts and unique visitor experiences. Hosted by news correspondent and humorist, Mo Rocca, this Emmy-winning weekly half-hour show airs Saturday mornings on CBS. For more information please visit our website thehenryford.org.

All trademarks and registered trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners.

Jonathan Fraser

iPerceptions

514-488-3600

marketing@iperceptions.com
SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - May 25, 2017) - Intrinsic ID, a leading provider of authentication technology for Internet of Things security and other embedded applications, today announced the availability of SPARTAN', a family of authentication solutions for IoT devices. SPARTAN enables device makers for the first time to ensure authentication based on digital identities derived from the silicon fingerprint of a chip that can be created at any point in the supply chain.

"SPARTAN is the logical next piece in our IoT security portfolio," said Pim Tuyls, chief executive officer of Intrinsic ID. "SPARTAN builds on the key creation capabilities of our BROADKEY product and the key provisioning of CITADEL to deliver strong, hardware-based authentication instantiated in software, which therefore escapes the availability, scalability and cost limitations that plague traditional security methods such as secure elements. This approach takes into account principles for IoT security issued by the Department of Homeland Security last year." In November 2016 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced issuance of Strategic Principles for Securing the Internet of Things (IoT), Version 1.0, which highlights approaches and suggested practices to fortify the security of the IoT and equip stakeholders to make responsible and risk-based security decisions as they design, manufacture, and use internet-connected devices and systems.

SPARTAN CLOUD: Connecting to Major Cloud Platforms

The first member of the SPARTAN product family is SPARTAN CLOUD, which is available immediately. SPARTAN CLOUD is embedded security software for IoT devices to establish a secure Transport Layer Security (TLS)-based connection to major cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure IoT Hub and Google Cloud Platform. It provides seamless integration with cloud-connected applications via a library based on the MQTT messaging protocol. Use cases include cloud-based data collection and processing from trusted IoT sensor nodes; smart home devices controlled from the cloud; smart city infrastructure; and smart health monitoring services.

SPARTAN CLOUD offers several advantages over traditional methods applied to similar use cases. The strong, SRAM PUF-derived chip identity means the chip cannot be cloned by copying non-volatile memory (NVM) information from one chip to another. No sensitive data is stored in NVM so the device's private key is reconstructed on the fly from SRAM PUF. Since standard SRAM memory is used, the solution can be widely deployed in nearly any digital chip. The reconstructed private key is used directly by the Transport Layer Security (TLS) stack for client authentication towards the cloud server. The solution integrates seamlessly with the MQTT protocol library that is offered by the cloud provider to connect to its services.

Intrinsic ID partners have expressed enthusiasm at the SPARTAN announcement. "The integration of Intrinsic ID's SRAM PUF technology in our eSecure module has resulted in very successful custom security development," said Thierry Watteyne, chief executive officer of Barco Silex. "I expect the extension of Intrinsic ID expertise which resulted in the SPARTAN authentication product family to benefit both our partnership and service to mutual customers."

"Authentico and Intrinsic ID have both focused on taking new approaches to longtime security issues, and the development of SPARTAN demonstrates their innovative mindset," said Philip Lundin, chief executive officer of Authentico. "We at Authentico are focused on bringing traditional password security to a much higher level by implementing state-of-the-art protected password storage schemes based on SRAM PUF. We look forward to working with the Intrinsic ID team to apply SRAM PUF to protect human authentication based on passwords."

"The need to guarantee the authenticity of IoT devices is bringing intense pressure to device and system manufacturers, and that pressure will only continue to increase," Tuyls said. "Device authentication must be both certain and cost effective as IoT devices continue to become not only more ubiquitous, but more critical."

SPARTAN utilizes Intrinsic ID's SRAM Physical Unclonable Function -- or SRAM PUF -- technology that forms the basis for other Intrinsic ID products. SRAM PUF technology extracts a chip's silicon fingerprint and derives from it a cryptographic root key, which is unique to a particular SRAM and hence a particular chip. Intrinsic ID products utilize the root key to derive additional cryptographic keys that serve as the foundation for ensuring a device's security.

Forthcoming members of the SPARTAN family include SPARTAN LIGHT, a small-footprint embedded authentication solution for securing an identity between a chip and a host. SPARTAN LIGHT embodies a number of advantages over traditional authentication -- it is more secure because it contains no sensitive data in the chip's NVM, and is unclonable because copying the NVM content does not copy the key. Because it works with standard SRAM, available in nearly any digital chip, it can be deployed widely. Furthermore it imposes only a small footprint on the authenticating device and therefore bears a low cost. Use cases include sensor authentication; microcontroller authentication; engine control unit (ECU) authentication, particularly suitable to automotive applications; and consumable authentication, applicable for batteries.

Other future members of the SPARTAN product family include SPARTAN BROADCAST, tailored to protection of broadcast data based on asymmetric cryptography, and SPARTAN SECURE CHANNEL, which provides mutual authentication between chips as part of establishing a Secure Authenticated Channel, a method of transferring data which is resistant to overhearing and tampering.

SPARTAN CLOUD is available now and will be demonstrated at Intrinsic ID's Spring Security Summit today in Mountain View.

About Intrinsic ID

Intrinsic ID is the world's leading digital authentication company for the Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded applications. It is the inventor of SRAM Physical Unclonable Function, or SRAM PUF, leveraging manufacturing variations in semiconductors to create unique IDs and keys to authenticate chips, data, devices and systems. Through its flexibility, scalability and low implementation cost, Intrinsic ID products address the security needs of the fast-growing IoT market. Its solutions are used to validate payment systems, secure connectivity, authenticate sensors, and protect sensitive government and military data and systems. Intrinsic ID's award recognition includes the EU 2016 Innovation Radar Prize, which honors high-potential innovations and innovators in EU-funded research. Intrinsic ID's SRAM PUF technology has been proven in millions of devices and in products that have passed certification by Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL6+), EMVCo, Visa and multiple governments. Visit Intrinsic ID online at www.Intrinsic-ID.com.

Intrinsic ID, the Intrinsic ID logo, BROADKEY, CITADEL and SPARTAN are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intrinsic ID, Inc., and are protected by trademark laws of the United States and other jurisdictions. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Media Contact for Intrinsic ID

Toni Sottak

Wired Island International

(408) 876-4418

press@intrinsic-id.com
Sapho's modern portal experience transforms how people work with a solution that is innovative, impactful and intriguing

SAN BRUNO, California, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Sapho, the company that provides employees a modern portal experience to triple productivity, today announced that it has been included in the list of "Cool Vendors in Mobile App Development, 2017" (May 2017) report by Gartner, Inc. The companies selected for this year's Cool Vendor list "look beyond traditional mobile app development tools and user experience to become a leader in the post-app era."

Sapho's modern portal experience surfaces relevant tasks and data using micro apps. These micro apps - built by IT on top of existing systems and delivered to any device, intranet, or messenger - simplify workflows and data access, allowing employees to complete work faster, make better decisions, and be more productive. Companies that use Sapho experience increased software utilization, lower helpdesk costs, reduced license costs, and fewer system bottlenecks as employees benefit from a single view into all the systems they need to excel at work.

According to the "Cool Vendors in Mobile App Development, 2017" report, in the post-app era, "mobile apps will never disappear, but the traditional app - obtained from a platform app store and installed onto a mobile device - will become just one of a wide range of ways that functionality and services will be delivered to mobile users. All of this is driving a change in the definition of "mobility" - Mobility will be ubiquitous services wherever we want them, delivered by many smart devices, not just smartwatches and phones, but all manner of Internet of Things (IoT) devices."

"We believe Gartner's recognition of Sapho as a Cool Vendor is confirmation of our mission to triple productivity and effectiveness of today's enterprise workforce," said Fouad ElNaggar, CEO and co-founder of Sapho. "Our event-triggered platform delivers a new system of engagement - one that sits on top of existing systems of record and aggregates data and tasks for simply delivery to employees. With Sapho, companies are able to modernize their legacy systems, simplify workflows, and enable smarter, data-based decisions by making their enterprise systems more user-friendly and accessible."

Since the company's launch in June 2016, Sapho has experienced significant momentum and recently announced its Series B funding round of $14M. Earlier this month at Microsoft Build, Sapho also announced its integration with Microsoft Office 365 to deliver a modern portal experience to Microsoft Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint. Sapho increased revenue growth by 320 percent and customer growth by 200 percent in 2016 and over the past year, has completed integrations with enterprise leaders like IBM, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, and Oracle to further improve productivity and effectiveness for its customers.

About Sapho

Sapho empowers the enterprise workforce with a modern portal experience that triples productivity and accelerates the speed of business. Using micro apps that surface personalized and relevant tasks from existing systems to any device, intranet, or messenger, Sapho gives employees a single view into the important information they need to complete work faster and make better decisions. Sapho is used by customers in all industries to streamline their internal workflows, enable smart decision-making, and increase employee effectiveness and productivity. Sapho was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in San Bruno, CA. For more information, visit www.sapho.com.

Gartner Disclaimer:

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Download the full report here: http://info.sapho.com/gartner-cool-vendor-mobile-app-development

Connect with Sapho:

Read our blog: http://blog.sapho.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sapho

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/3772537/

Like us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/saphoapp/

For Media Inquiries Please Contact:

InkHouse Media & Marketing

Sapho@inkhouse.com
MARKHAM, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- VIQ Solutions Inc. ("VIQ" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: VQS), a global expert in secure digital media technology and services, announced today that the Company will change the reporting currency of its financial statements from Canadian dollars ("CAD") to U.S. dollars ("USD") to reflect the evolving profile of the Company's revenue, sales pipeline and cash flows.

The change in reporting currency will provide shareholders with a more accurate reflection of the Company's financial performance and revenue, which is increasingly generated in USD. Currently, Canadian dollar denominated sales represent approximately 5% of total revenue.

The Company has multiple large scale projects with U.S. and international agencies that are expected to continue contributing significant revenue growth in 2017-2018. VIQ's U.S. dollar transactions include sales to U.S. customers and other international customers who transact with VIQ in USD.

"The US dollar is VIQ's primary currency for revenue, cash flow and future growth as we continue to win contracts with large U.S. and international agencies," said Sebastien Pare, President and CEO of VIQ. "As VIQ's business continues to grow and evolve, so has the currency in which we primarily transact. The transfer to USD reporting presents a more meaningful financial performance perspective as we continue on our growth trajectory."

The first reported results using USD will be Q1 2017, scheduled for release on Tuesday, May 30. All comparative figures will be converted into US dollars. The common shares of VIQ listed on the TSX Venture Exchange will continue to be quoted in Canadian dollars.

The Company also announced that George Kempff has joined VIQ as interim Chief Financial Officer, replacing Lawrence Tjan who resigned for personal reasons.

"Lawrence has done a tremendous job leading many key projects in VIQ's transition plan, including 2016's non brokered private placement and our conversion to a SaaS revenue model," said Mr. Pare. "On behalf of the entire VIQ team, I thank him for his important contribution and wish him success in his future endeavours."

Mr. Kempff will assume the CFO position on a part time basis until a permanent replacement can be found. He is a Certified Management Accountant who recently held the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ZoomerMedia Limited from 2010 until 2017. Mr. Kempff has been a member of the VIQ Board of Directors since 2005.

"George has a keen understanding of the VIQ business and his insight and experience will be extremely valuable as we initiate the search for a permanent replacement later this year," said Mr. Pare.

With Mr. Kempff's appointment, Larry Taylor, Chairman of VIQ's Board of Directors, will assume the position of head of the VIQ Audit Committee alongside fellow independent directors Joseph Quarin and Harvey Gordon.

About VIQ

VIQ is the leading technology and service platform provider for digital evidence capture and content management. Our secure modular software allows customers to onboard the VIQ platform at any stage of their organization's digitization, from the capture of digital content from video and audio devices through to online collaboration, mobility, data analytics and integration with sensors, facial recognition, speech recognition and case management or patient record systems. VIQ's technology leads the industry in security, meeting the highest international standards for digital cybersecurity and privacy, including military and medical regulations.

Our solutions are in use in over 20 countries with tens of thousands of users in over 200 government and private agencies including law enforcement, immigration, medical, legal, insurance, courts, transportation and transcription service providers. VIQ also provides end to end transcription services to several large government agencies through our Australia-based reporting and transcription partners. VIQ operates worldwide with partners like security integrators, audio-video specialists, and hardware and data storage suppliers. For more information about VIQ, please visit www.viqsolutions.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

VIQ Solutions Inc.

Sebastien Pare

(905) 948-8266 ext. 221

spare@viqsolutions.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Banro Corporation (the "Company" or "Banro") (NYSE MKT: BAA)(TSX: BAA) provides an update on the incident at its Namoya mine site reported in the Company's May 18, 2017 press release.

Mining day shift operations resumed at Namoya on Monday, May 22. Spraying of the heap leach facilities continued to extract gold. Following the precautionary measures taken last week, foreign nationals and non-essential local staff who left site on a temporary basis are expected to start returning to site tomorrow. It will take several days for all staff to arrive back on site, and a few days thereafter for full production operations to be achieved.

Banro would like to thank its local staff for their dedication and commitment in maintaining the Namoya operations during the last week. The Company would also like to thank all the service providers including the national security agencies who maintained their services at Namoya during the same period.

Banro Corporation is a Canadian gold mining company focused on production from the Twangiza mine, which began commercial production September 1, 2012, and on production at its second gold mine at Namoya, where commercial production was declared effective January 1, 2016. The Company's longer term objectives include the development of two additional major, wholly-owned gold projects, Lugushwa and Kamituga. The four projects, each of which has a mining license, are located along the 210 kilometre long Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All business activities are followed in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

For further information, please visit our website at www.banro.com.

Contacts:

Banro Corporation

Investor Relations

+1 (416) 366-2221

+1-800-714-7938

info@banro.com

www.banro.com




CRESCO, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Net Savings Link, Inc. (OTC: NSAV), announced today that FINRA has approved and made effective the Company's previously announced 10% common stock dividend, which has a record date of June 1, 2017. The public is advised that the final day to purchase NSAV shares in order to receive the dividend is Friday, May 26, 2017.

http://otce.finra.org/DLDividendsDistributionsSplit

NSAV, a cannabis technology and advisory company, previously announced the dividend on April 24, 2016 and disclosed the event in an SEC Form 8-K on the same date.

James Tilton, president of NSAV, stated, "I am extremely pleased that the FINRA approval of the Company's dividend came so quickly and well before the record date. This will certainly benefit all of our loyal NSAV shareholders."

NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the legal medical cannabis industry, as well as other areas of the medical industry. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services, patents and trademarks and information technology.

For further information please contact NSAV at 1 (570-595-2432) or jamestilton@netsavingslinkinc.com.

The NSAV corporate website can be accessed at http://netsavlink.com

The NSAV Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/NSAV_MJTechCo

The NSAV Facebook account can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/Net-Savings-Link-Inc-768628693317257/

This press release contains certain 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, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Net Savings Link, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Net Savings Link, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Net Savings Link, Inc. or any other person.

NSAV

1 (570-595-2432)

jamestilton@netsavingslinkinc.com




TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Fleet Complete & TELUS celebrate a decade together with Fleet Achievement Awards, recognizing their clients in Canada.

2017 marks the 10-year partnership anniversary between Fleet Complete, a global provider of comprehensive fleet telematics and mobile workforce technology, and TELUS, one of the largest Canadian telecom companies. Together, they have been helping Canadian businesses leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) platform to achieve unprecedented agility in their operations, outperform competitors and grow as companies.

To commemorate a decade of this successful partnership, Fleet Complete and TELUS are celebrating their clients across Canada by organizing Fleet Achievement Awards to recognize distinction in effective fleet management. The official ceremony took place on May 23, 2017, in Toronto and included nominations for Safety, Environment, and Innovation, awarding best practices and dedication in advancing the fleet industry. The nominees were selected from a pool of client submissions, where companies were tasked to outline their milestones in using IoT technology to make an impact and describe the measurement of their success. The applications were carefully examined by the teams of Fleet Complete and TELUS to select the most accomplished candidates.

"Our goal is to provide businesses with a competitive advantage in the current market by offering the best technology and network infrastructure to connect companies with their assets in the field," says Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete. "TELUS has been our partner in innovation in the telematics industry for 10 years and, together, we provide our mutual clients the reliability of a first-class mobile carrier, the most comprehensive solutions portfolio and personalized customer support. Our customers are some of the best in the industry and selecting award recipients was no easy task. It was a nice challenge to have and witnessing our customers taking such bold strides to success in the past decade is the biggest accolade this partnership could ever receive."

For their excellence in fleet management, Fleet Achievement Awards will be given to:

Fleet of the Year Award -Lowe's Canada

Fleet Safety Award -Les Constructions Edguy Inc

Environment Award -Telecon

Pioneer Award -Miller Paving Limited

Fleet Manager of the Year Award -Ledcor Group

Driver of the Year Award -APPS Express

Small Biz Fleet Award -Yummy Catering

About Fleet Complete

Based in Toronto, Fleet Completeis 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 visitfleetcomplete.com

David Prusinski, EVP, Sales and Marketing, Fleet Complete, david.prusinski@fleetcomplete.com, marketing@fleetcomplete.com
On May 24, 2017, the US FDA published the executive summary and research summaries supporting Philip Morris International Inc.'s (PMI) (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application for the company's EHTP. In doing so, the agency announced that it will publish a notice in the Federal Register establishing a formal docket for public comments on PMI's application at a later date.

PMI submitted the application to the FDA on December 5, 2016.

Publication of PMI's summaries initiates a substantive scientific review process by the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products.

The FDA has made PMI's application summaries publicly available here. The agency will publish additional modules of PMI's MRTP application on a rolling basis. The FDA has established a one-year timetable for reviewing MRTP applications. However, that timing is non-binding.

"We welcome FDA and public review of the comprehensive scientific evidence package that we submitted to the agency through its MRTP application process," said Dr. Moira Gilchrist, PMI Vice President Corporate Affairs of Reduced-Risk Products. "PMI's application demonstrates our commitment to develop innovative, smoke-free technologies that can ultimately replace combustible cigarettes to the benefit of smokers, public health and society at large."

Interested members of the scientific and public health communities can find more information on PMI's EHTP at: PMIScienceUSA.com.

About Philip Morris International Inc. ("PMI")

PMI is the world's leading international tobacco company, with six of the world's top 15 international brands and products sold in more than 180 markets. In addition to the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, including Marlboro, the number one global cigarette brand, and other tobacco products, PMI is engaged in the development and commercialization of reduced-risk products ("RRPs"). RRPs is the term PMI uses to refer to products that present, are likely to present, or have the potential to present less risk of harm to smokers who switch to these products versus continued smoking. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities, and industry-leading scientific substantiation, PMI aims to provide an RRP portfolio that meets a broad spectrum of adult smoker preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. For more information, see www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525005620/en/

Contacts:

Media enquiries

Philip Morris International

Media Office

T: +41 (0)58 242 4500

E: media@pmi.com
LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- The Gaming Standards Association (GSA) has welcomed seven new members from across the industry spectrum and around the world.

Joining as a Silver Member is DR Gaming Technology (DRGT) of Belgium, global supplier of integrated casino management solutions for the gaming industry.

Joining as Bronze Members are:

Foxwoods Resort Casino, Connecticut, US

House Advantage, Nevada, US

Paltronics Australasia, New South Wales, Australia

Sightline Payments, Nevada, US

TNDR, California, US

BHGLS Pty. Ltd., Adelaide, South Australia

GSA President Peter DeRaedt said, "It is very exciting to see such diversity in our new members -- operators and suppliers of a wide range of equipment from across the globe. This assortment underscores the importance of GSA's mission to bring comprehensive standards to the global gaming industry that help to make doing business better, more efficient and more profitable."

There is a level of membership for every budget. Visit www.gamingstandards.com to learn more. Join GSA as a member today, and join GSA on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

GSA Platinum members include: Aristocrat Technologies Inc.; International Game Technology (IGT); Konami Gaming Inc.; Microgaming; NOVOMATIC Gaming Industries Gmbh; Playtech, (PTEC.L); Scientific Games International (SGMS); & Sega Sammy Creation, Inc.

Other members include: Ainsworth Game Technology Inc.; Amatic Industries GmbH; APEX pro gaming; Appolonia; Ares Way; Atlantic Lottery Corporation; BHGLS Pty. Ltd.; BMM Testlabs; Casinos Austria; ComTrade Gaming; Combination AB; Crane Payment Innovations; DRGT Europe; eBet Gaming Systems Pty., Ltd.; European Casino Association; Everi; Fortunet, Inc.; Foxwoods Resort Casino; Gamblit Gaming, LLC; Gaming Laboratories International, LLC. (GLI); Gaming Consultants International; Gaming Technologies Association; Gauselman GmbH; Ganlot; Grand Vision Gaming; House Advantage; Intralot S.A. (INLr.AT); Inspired Gaming Group Ltd.; Interblock USA; JCM Global; Loto-Quebec; Macao Polytechnic Institute; Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association; Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation; Maxgaming; Multi-State Lottery Association; Nidec Sankyo Corporation; Oregon Lottery; Paltronics Australasia Pty. Ltd.; Radical Blue Gaming; Random Consulting; RAY; Seminole Tribe of Florida; Seoul National University of Science & Technology; Smartgames Software Hardware Systems Holdings Ltd.; Sightline Payments; techno-consult GmbH; TNDR, Inc.; U1 Gaming; Universal de Desarrollos Electronicos, S.A.; UNLV International Gaming Institute; Western Canada Lottery Corporation.

CONTACT:

Peter DeRaedt

Gaming Standards Association

President

Tel: +1 (775) 846-4422

E-mail: Email Contact



Paul Speirs-Hernandez

Steinbeck Communications

President

Tel: +1 (702) 413-4278

E-mail: Email Contact




Madrid (ots/PRNewswire) -PharmaMar (MCE:PHM) has announced today a licensing agreement with Eczacibasi Group to commercialize the marine-derived anticancer drug Aplidin (plitidepsin) in Turkey. Under the terms of the agreement, PharmaMar will receive an upfront payment as well as development milestones related to the health approval procedure of Aplidin in this country. PharmaMar will retain exclusive production rights and will supply the finished product to Eczacibasi for commercial use.(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150203/727958-b )Aplidin is PharmaMar's second most advanced anticancer drug currently under development for the treatment of multiple myeloma and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. The Company announced in March 2016 that plitidepsin has shown positive results in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial (ADMYRE) for multiple myeloma[i] and in September 2016, PharmaMar presented to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) the submission of the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for this drug in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM)[ii] ."The partnership with Eczacibasi will help in the commercialization in Turkey of plitidepsin, developed to tackle hematologic cancer. We are looking forward to working with one of the leading Health Care companies in this country", said Luis Mora, Managing Director of PharmaMar's Oncology Business Unit. "We are firmly committed to advancing in the development of innovative oncology therapies", he added.Atalay Gumrah, CEO and President of the Eczacibasi Group, stated that "the agreement between PharmaMar and Eczacibasi Pharmaceuticals Marketing (EIP) offered a major advance for healthcare in Turkey, as Aplidin represented the latest innovation in cancer treatment". Elif Celik, Executive Vice President of the Eczacibasi Healthcare Division, noted that "the agreement ensured that multiple myeloma patients in Turkey would have access to the most innovative treatment at the same time as patients in other EU countries". She added that "the two parties hoped to extend the partnership to innovative products in other treatment areas as well".i. https://www.pharmamar.com/2016/03/31/aplidin-shows-positive-res ults-in-pivotal-phase-iii-clinical-trial-for-multiple-myeloma/ii. http://www.pharmamar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/PharmaMar- submits-MAA-to-EMA-for-Aplidin.pdfCONTACT: Media Relations (+34-638-79-62-15) and Investor Relations (+34-914444500)ots Originaltext: PharmaMar Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de
NAPA, California, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

JFrog Brings Enterprise Software Distribution to C/C++ with Conan Repositories on Bintray

JFrog, the DevOps accelerator and creator of universal solutions for managing and distributing binaries, announces that JFrog Bintray, the company's Universal Distribution Platform, now supports Conan Repositories enabling fluid updates for C/C++ users.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141103/714835-a )



(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516181/JFrog_community.jpg )





Enterprise companies have millions of lines of C/C++ code in their software. Furthermore, today's hyper connected world pushes many technology companies to create IoT solutions and increase usage of C/C++ code. Using a C/C++ binary package repository is necessary to automate C/C++ code releases in the DevOps flow.

As part of its Universal approach, JFrog is embracing the world's C/C++ community, empowering millions of developers with advanced DevOps tools to help release code faster. Following the acquisition of Conan.io last November, JFrog added support for Conan repositories in JFrog Artifactory, the Universal Artifact Repository. Starting today, JFrog Bintray will offer C/C++ developers an end-to-end solution for the management and distribution of Conan C/C++ packages, offering a multitude of enhancements that C/C++ developers and DevOps engineers require, including reliability, accessibility, and convenience.

Conan is an open source C/C++ package manager providing a model that reduces the binary compatibility problem while simultaneously supporting all major systems. Conan helps C and C++ developers to build applications and automate their C++ dependencies across platforms. Thousands of developers are already using Conan on production and will soon enjoy the solution on Bintray.

Bintray is the world's biggest binaries hub, providing high quality distribution of popular packages for use by Maven, Gradle, Ivy, SBT, and more, accounting for over two billion downloads per month. In addition, JFrog Bintray natively supports all major package formats, including Docker registries, Vagrant, Debian, npm, RPM, Opkg, NuGet and more. Now, with Conan support, it will also provide superior quality distribution of packages for C/C++.

Native to Bintray, the ultra-fast CDN, with both US and European clusters, will provide the C/C++ programmers with enterprise grade performance and reliability, with data backed up and replicated over multiple cloud providers.

JFrog Bintray easily integrates with C/C++ programmers' existing DevOps ecosystems, such as continuous integration pipelines and internal repositories. A rich REST API will allow them to control every aspect of software distribution, manage who has access to content, collect logs and analytics, and much more, all with the full automation expected from a modern software distribution platform. Furthermore, they can exercise fine-grained access control over who can view, upload, or download from their private repositories.

"Over four million C/C++ developers around the world can now have a full solution that covers all their binary management needs from the development and build stage through distribution to end users and devices," said Shlomi Ben Haim, JFrog CEO and Co-Founder. "Bintray is a critical component of the DevOps ecosystem that C/C++ developers need to accelerate their software delivery while maintaining security and quality on a robust and scalable distribution platform."

In addition to supporting Conan repositories, JFrog is also launching a public C/C++ Conan repository to which Bintray users can freely upload or link their Conan packages. Following the success of JCenter, which is fully managed by Bintray and has become the world's largest public repository for Java packages, JFrog will incorporate quality packages from the public Conan repository, conan.io, into Bintray's Conan repository.

"Bintray is already the premier public resource for binary packages. With the launch of the Conan repository and inclusion of Conan C/C++ packages we already have in the conan.io public repository, Bintray will become the world's busiest hub for open source software, and the ultimate resource for C/C++ and Java developers alike," said Conan Co-founder, Diego Rodriguez-Losada.

This was one of the announcements JFrog made at swampUP, JFrog's Annual User Conference being held in Napa Valley.

About JFrog:

With more than 3,500 customers and over two billion monthly downloads on its binary hub, JFrog is the leading universal solution for the management and distribution of software binaries. JFrog's products, JFrog Artifactory, the Universal Artifact Repository; JFrog Bintray, the Universal Distribution Platform; JFrog Mission Control, for Universal DevOps flow Management; and JFrog Xray, Universal Component Analyzer, are used by DevOps engineers worldwide and are available as open-source, on-premise, and SaaS cloud solutions. Customers include some of the world's top brands, such as Amazon, Google, Uber, Netflix, EMC, Cisco, Oracle, Adobe, and VMware. The company is privately held and operated from California, France, and Israel. Find more information at jfrog.com.

JFrog Media Contact:

Lauren Perry

Blonde 2.0 for JFrog

Lauren@blonde20.com


TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- The Karma Kagyu Association of Canada (KKAC) is privileged to officially host the first Canadian tour of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje. The month long visit will begin with a large welcoming group upon his arrival at Toronto's, Pearson International Airport on May 29, http://www.karmapacanada.org. His Holiness's visit will proceed to Calgary and end in Vancouver while experiencing many of Canada's natural beauties in his travels across the country.

Born in June 1985, Karmapa was born into a nomad family in Lhatok, in the remote highlands of the region of Eastern Tibet. He was given the name, Apo Gaga, meaning "Happy Brother". In the months prior to his birth, his mother had wonderful, spiritual dreams. On the day of his birth, a cuckoo landed on the tent in which he was born, and many people in the area heard a mysterious trumpet-like sound, echoing throughout the valley. In Tibet, such events are considered auspicious portents of the birth of an enlightened teacher. At the age of seven, he was formally recognized and enthroned as the reincarnation of the 17th Karmapa.

Karmapa means the embodiment of all the activities of the Buddha's, (http://kagyuoffice.org/karmapa). His Holiness the 17th Karmapa has emerged as a dynamic thinker and has already become one of the leading figures to the younger generation of Tibetan Buddhist masters of our time. His thoughts and teachings have inspired millions of people worldwide.

His call to create a more compassionate, responsible future is addressed directly to our modern global society, and has influenced many free thinkers around the World. During the twelve years that the Karmapa has lived in India as a refugee, he has often called for attention and action on environmental and women's issues. As a practicing vegetarian, he has also spoken out against cruelty to animals. He was the first and only reincarnated Lama to be recognized by both His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese communist government.

As the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage, the 31 year old Karmapa lives in his temporary home at The Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala, India, after making a dramatic escape from Tibet in December 1999 as a fourteen-year-old. Karmapa's heroic and arduous journey 17 years ago became the story of news headlines all over the World.

His Holiness will speak on "Mindfulness and Environmental Responsibility", "Transforming Afflictive Emotions: Dialogue of the Three Major traditions of Buddhism", "How to Apply Ancient Wisdom in Modern Times", and a panel discussion on "Finding Freedom Through Meditation & Manjushri Empowerment". The KKAC is also offering free tickets for ordained nuns and monks.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

May 29, 7:30pm - 8:30pm Welcome Reception & Press Conference, Four Season's Hotel, Vinci Ballroom, 6thfloor 60 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, ON M4W 0A4 May 31, 3:00pm - 4:30pm Public Talk, "Mindfulness and Environmental Responsibility", University of Toronto, Convocation Hall, 31 King's College Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1 June 1, 9:30am - 12:30pm Panel discussion, "Transforming Afflictive Emotions: Dialogue of the Three Major Traditions of Buddhism", University of Toronto, Convocation Hall, 31 King's College Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1 June 2, 9:30am - 11:30am & 2:00pm - 4:30pm Public Talk, "How to Apply Ancient Wisdom in Modern Times", The Enercare Centre, Hall D, 100 Princes' Blvd #1, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3 June 3, 9:30am - 11:30am & 2:00pm - 4:30pm Public Talk, "Finding Freedom Through Meditation & Manjushri Empowerment", The Enercare Centre, Hall D, 100 Princes' Blvd #1, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3

Information on His Holiness the 17th Karmapa

NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/us/29lama.html

Morgan Freeman interview - National Geographic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcF1dLz6XWM

BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQQTlee5zA&t=67s

TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkKhI6-t40w

New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/11/karmapa-on-campus

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

Due to security purposes, all media persons wishing to attend any event must be accredited in advance. Media persons may only access entrance to any event with a registered media pass distributed by KKAC. Accreditation forms are available at http://www.karmapacanada.org. Detailed information on Media Pass distribution date and location will be directly emailed. Photographers/camera crew will be given photo-op access before and after the events at pre-designated periods and locations.

To view the Media Accreditation Form, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ACCREDITATION_FORM.pdf

Completed forms are due by 2 pm on Saturday, May 27, 2017.

Press Pass pick up - Monday, May 29 at 6:00pm at Four Season's Hotel, Vinci Ballroom, 6th floor.

INTERVIEWS: Lama Tenzin Dakpa, Chair of the Karma Kagyu Association of Canada, Toronto visit is available for interviews. Please contact media department to schedule an appointment. (Lama Tenzin was born in Eastern Tibet in 1978 into a nomadic family. At fifteen, he became a monk and studied for almost seven years before coming to Canada. He currently serves as President of KSDL).

Contacts:

Media Co-ordinators:

Woeser Jongdong

647.631.5105



Namgyal Nangsetsang

647.712.2557



Media email: torontomedia@karmapacanada.org

Event details: http://www.karmapacanada.org




-- Scott McMillan Named Chief Operating Officer --



-- Sander van Deventer Named Chief Scientific Officer, General Manager, Amsterdam --



-- Christian Klemt Promoted to Chief Accounting Officer --



-- Jeremy Springhorn and Madhavan Balachandran Nominated to Board of Directors --



-- Extraordinary Shareholder's Meeting to Appoint New Directors Scheduled for September 14 --



LEXINGTON, Mass. and AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Aug. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE), a leader in human gene therapy and AAV manufacturing, today announced new executive appointments to its Leadership Team and nominations to its Board of Directors. These actions further uniQure's expansion in the United States and add additional expertise in gene therapy research, development, operations, manufacturing and commercial readiness.



Photos accompanying this announcement are available at



http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/643d685c-7061-49ef-8380-505f4 8940859



http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/af4c8bfb-e2ef-4a0e-85e4-1f77b 837d89c



Appointment of Scott McMillan, Ph.D., as Chief Operating Officer



Scott McMillan, Ph.D., joins uniQure with more than 25 years of biotechnology experience in quality, process development, scale-up, technology transfer from bench to commercial scale as well as manufacturing operations for a variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished drug products including small molecules, proteins, antibodies and vaccines. Dr. McMillan will be responsible for all current Good Manufacturing Process (cGMP) activities at uniQure and all product development functions. He will be based in the Company's Lexington, Massachusetts facility and will report to Matt Kapusta, chief executive officer of uniQure.



"Scott brings to uniQure a strong track record of operational excellence that is highly relevant for uniQure as we ramp up GMP production to support our pivotal program in hemophilia B and advance our other gene therapy candidates into the clinic," said Matt Kapusta. "Scott's broad experience in operations and manufacturing will be instrumental as we further strengthen our leadership position in the production of AAV-based gene therapies," he added.



Dr. McMillan served most recently as Senior Vice President of Quality and Technical Operations at AMAG Pharmaceuticals where he also was a member of its Executive Management Team. Dr. McMillan held similar positions at AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc., and with Johnson Matthey Pharmaceutical Materials, Inc. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master's degree in Economics and Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.



Appointment of Sander van Deventer, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and General Manager, Amsterdam



Sander van Deventer, a co-founder of uniQure and Board member since 2010, will succeed Harald Petry, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer, effective immediately, and report directly to Mr. Kapusta. Dr. van Deventer will also resign from the Board of Directors upon the appointment by the shareholders of his replacement, which is expected to occur on September 14, 2017.



"The addition of Sander to our executive team allows us to take full advantage of his pioneering leadership and expertise in the field of gene therapy, as well as intimate knowledge of uniQure's technology and pipeline," stated Mr. Kapusta. "Sander shares our tireless commitment to deliver the promise of gene therapy to patients, and I am truly delighted to continue working with him in this new role. The breadth and depth of his experience will be invaluable as we advance our programs and build a leading gene therapy product company."



Dr. van Deventer is currently Managing Partner at Forbion Capital Partners and Professor of Translational Gastroenterology at Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden. He is a trained internist and board-certified gastroenterologist. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam, and became Director of the Laboratory for Experimental Internal Medicine at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam in 1995.



"On behalf of the company's Board of Directors, leadership team and employees, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Harald for his enormous contributions during the last decade of growth and transition at uniQure," added Mr. Kapusta. "Dr. Petry's accomplishments include the establishment of a world class research team, the identification of new gene therapy candidates, development of new AAV serotypes and promoters and the creation of a successful re-administration protocol. These accomplishments would not have been possible without Harald's dedicated leadership, and we wish him the best as he retires from uniQure."



Promotion of Christian Klemt to Chief Accounting Officer



Christian Klemt has been promoted from Global Controller to Chief Accounting Officer. Since joining uniQure in 2015, Christian has transformed the Finance and Accounting functions at uniQure, dramatically improved the internal control environment and enhanced the financial planning and analysis functions. Christian also oversaw the Company's transition to a domestic U.S. filer and conversion to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Christian holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Muenster, Germany and is qualified as a German Certified Public Accountant and Tax Advisor.



Nominations of Mr. Madhavan Balachandran and Dr. Jeremy P. Springhorn to Board of Directors



The Company announces the nominations of Mr. Madhavan Balachandran and Dr. Jeremy P. Springhorn, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. An Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) will be held on Thursday, September 14, 2017 for purposes of considering their elections to the Board. As previously disclosed, Will Lewis will be resigning from the Board of Directors effective at the EGM.



"I am very pleased to welcome Madhu and Jeremy, two seasoned and accomplished executives, to our Board of Directors at this exciting time for uniQure," stated Philip Astley-Sparke, chairman of uniQure's Board of Directors. "With the additions of Madhu and Jeremy, we are increasing the breadth of strategic leadership, industry experience and operational excellence on our Board of Directors. On behalf of the full Board, I would like to thank Will for his significant contributions to the Company over the past three years and Sander for his contributions as a member of the Board. It has been a pleasure to serve with both of them."



Mr. Balachandran is a pharmaceutical industry executive and has more than 40 years of experience in manufacturing and operations. He was previously with Amgen Inc., where he served as Executive Vice President of Operations, overseeing global operations and reporting directly to the CEO. Mr. Balachandran held similar positions at Copley Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Burroughs Wellcome Co. Mr. Balachandran holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from East Carolina University, a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from State University of New York and a Bachelor's degree in Technology from Indian Institute of Technology.



Dr. Springhorn is an industry veteran with 25 years of experience in leading scientific, business development, and corporate strategy organizations. Dr. Springhorn currently serves as Partner of Corporate Development with Flagship Pioneering and was previously at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as Vice President, Corporate Development. Dr. Springhorn holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Louisiana State University Medical Center and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Colby College.



Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)



As an inducement material to entering into employment with uniQure, the Company will grant to Dr. McMillan, subject to approval by the Board of Directors at the next regularly scheduled meeting, an option to purchase 150,000 ordinary shares of the Company. The exercise price will be the closing ordinary share price on the date of grant. The options shall vest over a four-year period, under which 25% of the shares will vest after 12 months of employment, with the remaining shares vesting quarterly thereafter over the remaining 36-month period, subject to the employee's continuous service. The stock options are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's 2014 Incentive Share Plan, as amended, and the terms and conditions of the stock option agreement covering such grant.



About uniQure uniQure is delivering on the promise of gene therapy - single treatments with potentially curative results. We are leveraging our modular and validated technology platform to rapidly advance a pipeline of proprietary and partnered gene therapies to treat patients with CNS, liver/metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. www.uniQure.com



uniQure Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to", "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the development of our gene therapy product candidates, the success of our collaborations and the risk of cessation, delay or lack of success of any of our ongoing or planned clinical studies and/or development of our product candidates. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, risks associated with corporate reorganizations and strategic shifts, collaboration arrangements, our and our collaborators' clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, product commercialization and intellectual property claims, as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in uniQure's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2017. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.



The photos are also available via AP PhotoExpress.



uniQure Contacts: FOR INVESTORS: Maria E. Cantor Direct: 339-970-7536 Mobile: 617-680-9452 m.cantor@uniQure.com Eva M. Mulder Direct: +31 20 240 6103 Mobile: +31 6 52 33 15 79 e.mulder@uniQure.com FOR MEDIA: Tom Malone Direct: 339-970-7558 Mobile: 339-223-8541 t.malone@uniQure.com

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Twilio (NYSE: TWLO), the leading cloud communications platform for developers, today announced Twilio Functions, a new serverless environment to build and run communications applications using the Twilio platform. With today's announcement, developers and businesses no longer need to navigate the complexity of setting up, configuring, managing and scaling web infrastructure for their communication applications. Twilio Functions is designed to handle all the necessary compute resources a developer needs in order to focus on innovating, iterating, and shipping new applications faster than ever before. Twilio announced Functions today at SIGNAL, the developer conference for communications. To learn more, please visit http://twilio.com/functions.

"Writing code is a creative endeavor," said Patrick Malatack, Twilio VP of Product. "The developers and businesses building cloud communications apps should be focusing on the customer experience, not managing servers. Fueling the future of communications starts with unleashing developer creativity, and that's exactly what Twilio Functions was designed to do. We can't wait to see what developers build next!"

Before Twilio Functions, developers would be forced to spend time on setting up, operating and securing web servers, or enlisting the help of infrastructure experts in order to run their communications code for their applications. With the launch of Twilio Functions, developers can now simply provide Twilio the code for handling communications events, such as an incoming phone call or SMS message, and Twilio Functions automatically handles the provisioning of the web infrastructure required to run that code securely, and at global scale.

"Twilio is effectively democratizing the ability to build and scale custom cloud communications apps," said John Karlo Torres, Digital Marketing Strategist at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). "Twilio Functions allows us to focus on building meaningful applications that further our mission, and Twilio automatically takes care of the rest."

With Twilio Functions, developers will benefit from new capabilities such as:

Complete runtime environment: Functions are part of Twilio Runtime, a pre-configured environment that includes helper libraries, API keys, media asset storage, debugging tools, and other resources developers need to get up and running quickly.





Zero operational burden: Developers can use Twilio Functions to run Twilio code without having to configure, launch, or install any additional infrastructure. Developers need only create a function using JavaScript and Twilio executes the code in a standard Node.js runtime environment.





Automatic Scaling: Because developers using Twilio Functions will be running code directly on Twilio, there's no need to worry about load testing or scaling dynamics. With Twilio Functions, developers need only write code once and the application will automatically scale, powered by the Twilio infrastructure.

Twilio Functions is now available to anyone with a Twilio account. Pricing is free for the first ten thousand requests per month and then $0.0001 for each request after that.

About Twilio

Twilio's mission is to fuel the future of communications. Developers and businesses use Twilio to make communications relevant and contextual by embedding messaging, voice, and video capabilities directly into their software applications. Founded in 2008, Twilio has over 800 employees, with headquarters in San Francisco and other offices in Bogota, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Malmo, Mountain View, Munich, New York City, Singapore and Tallinn.

Contact:

Twilio Press

Email Contact




SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Twilio, (NYSE: TWLO), the leading cloud communications platform for developers, today announced that as a part of the company's pledge to commit 1% of its equity to further social impact programs, it has awarded one million dollars in grants to eight nonprofits. The grants are awarded to organizations who are using innovative communications strategies to remove the friction for the people who participate in their programs and have demonstrated the potential to scale further through technology. To learn more about Twilio's social impact program visit, http://www.Twilio.org.

"Whether it's the message that reminds an at risk woman to get screened for cancer or the call that connects someone with their lawmaker, we have seen firsthand the impact the right communication at the right time creates," said Erin Reilly, Vice President of Social Impact at Twilio. "We are honored to play a role in helping these eight organizations scale their impact even further."

Recipients of Twilio.org Impact Fund grants include:

CareMessage is a nonprofit organization using mobile technology to make underserved populations healthier. Healthcare organizations use CareMessage to remind, inform and educate over 1 million patients about primary care appointments, preventive care screenings, and disease self-management. CareMessage plans to use funds from the Twilio.org Impact Fund to expand its go to market model using mobile messaging and voice to reach over 3 million people.

The OpenGov Foundation makes it easier for citizens to see, shape and understand their government while helping elected officials meaningfully engage at scale with their constituents. In partnership with legislatures across America, The OGF builds open-source tools that power inclusive, effective and digital democracy. They are currently leading bipartisan efforts to create a Congressional Digital Service modeled on President Obama's pioneering digital services teams.

Mission Asset Fund is a nonprofit that seeks to offer financial stability to low income families by facilitating zero-interest lending and credit building. Mission Asset Fund will use these funds to maximize client engagement via SMS and increase the number of families they lend to.

Fast Forward provides funding, training, mentorship, resources and community for tech-based nonprofits. Twilio.org's funding will support the Fast Forward Accelerator program, which equips entrepreneurs with the capital, curriculum and connections needed to scale their tech solutions to global social issues.

Democracy Works is a nonpartisan nonprofit committed to improving the voting experience for voters and election officials by upgrading our democracy's communication infrastructure. Democracy Works uses messaging to remind voters about election dates and registration information so that no one misses the opportunity to cast a ballot.

Trek Medics is dedicated to improving emergency medical systems in communities without reliable access to emergency care. Trek Medics plans to use the grant to expand its Beacon platform to make it easier for its partners to design, test, launch and manage emergency dispatching systems in over 50 countries.

Lesbians Who Tech is a global community of 25,000 queer women and allies in the technology industry who are committed to increasing the number of women and queer women in leadership positions. With this grant, Lesbians Who Tech will provide 50 scholarships to gender nonconforming and LGBTQ women to learn how to code and connect to professional opportunities that will kickstart their careers.

YesWeCode is a national initiative committed to helping 100,000 young women and men from underrepresented backgrounds find success in the tech sector. Twilio.org will support a national job training pilot that recruits underrepresented minorities to participate in coding bootcamps and then places them in 9-12 month apprenticeships with tech employers.

Twilio.org provides grants to nonprofits as well as investments to social enterprises. Twilio.org plans to award an additional one million dollars in impact funds by the end of the calendar year.

Financially supporting the institutions that strive for equity, equality, and a better future isn't enough. Twilio.org has also partnered with impact venture firms including Omidyar Network, Kapor Capital and Village Capital, venture philanthropy firm, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Fast Forward Accelerator and the Foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For more information on the Twilio.org Impact Fund, visit http://www.twilio.org/twilio-org-impact-fund.

About Twilio

Twilio's mission is to fuel the future of communications. Developers and businesses use Twilio to make communications relevant and contextual by embedding messaging, voice, and video capabilities directly into their software applications. Founded in 2008,Twilio has over 800 employees, with headquarters in San Francisco and other offices in Bogota, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Malmo, Mountain View, Munich, New York City, Singapore and Tallinn.

Contact:

Twilio Press

Email Contact




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Tesla Motors is currently under fire for its high injury rates at its Fremont, California plant. According to Worksafe, a California-based worker advocacy group, injury rates at Tesla's manufacturing facility in Freemont were higher than the industry average in 2014 and 2015. The report says that Tesla's incident rate in 2015 was even higher than some dangerous industries like sawmills and slaughterhouses. Tesla has not disputed that its incident rate was higher than industry average, however, the luxury electric carmaker says its factory conditions are improving. 'We may have had some challenges in the past as we were learning how to become a car company, but what matters is the future,' a company spokesman said. 'With the changes we've made, we now have the lowest injury rate in the industry by far.' In 2014, Tesla's total recordable incident rate or TRIR was 8.4 injuries per 100 workers, about 15% higher than the industry average of 7.3. In 2015, Tesla's TRIR was 8.8 injuries per 100 workers, 31% higher than the industry average of 6.7. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault late Wednesday, just hours before voters head to polls in a high-profile special election.



A statement from Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Gianforte was issued a citation after an alleged attack on a newspaper reporter.



Gianforte, a technology executive, is accused of 'body slamming' Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, at a campaign event in Bozeman, Montana.



Gootkin said there was probable cause to issue a citation to Gianforte for misdemeanor assault but noted the nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault.



A Fox News reporter who was due to interview Gianforte said the Republican candidate grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground.



'Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter,' Alicia Acuna wrote in an account of the event on the Fox News website.



She added, 'As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, 'I'm sick and tired of this!'



Meanwhile, a statement from Gianforte's campaign has sought to blame Jacobs' 'aggressive behavior' for the altercation.



The incident came on the eve of a special election between Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist in a race to replace Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.



Three of Montana's largest newspapers have subsequently rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte, although the impact on the race may be somewhat limited to due to significant mail-in voting in the state.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 25, 2017) - Rheingold Exploration Corp. (CSE: RGE) ("Rheingold") entered into an agreement with BeiSur OstBarat Agency Ltd. ("BeiSur") dated May 24, 2017 (the "Sub-Option Agreement") whereby BeiSur granted Rheingold the option to acquire all of BeiSur's benefits, rights and obligations under an agreement between BeiSur and Riverston Tin Pty Ltd. ("Riverston") dated as of November 2016, as amended (the "Underlying Agreement"). Riverston is a subsidiary of ASX listed company Thomson Resources Limited ("Thomson").

The Underlying Agreement provides that BeiSur has an option to earn 51% undivided legal and beneficial interest with an option to acquire up to a further 25% interest in 3 mineral tenements covering approximately 582 km2 comprising the Bygoo Tin project located in the central area of the state of New South Wales, Australia (the "Property").

The Sub-Option Agreement provides that Rheingold may exercise its option to acquire BeiSur's interest in and to the Property and be assigned the Underlying Agreement for the full price and consideration of the following: (i) payments to Riverston of the aggregate sum of AUD$2,880,000 (CDN$2,891,808) (the "Payment"), (ii) reimbursement of expenses of the BeiSur of the aggregate sum of CDN$210,000 inclusive of AUD$120,000 (CDN$120,492) already paid to Riverston, geotechnical and legal incurred fees and other general and administrative incurred expenses (collectively, the "Expenses") and (iii) the issuance to BeiSur of 3,000,000 common shares in the capital stock of Rheingold (the "Shares"), as set out below.

The Payment shall be made by Rheingold directly to Riverston in the following amounts on the following dates:

AUD$100,000 (CDN$100,410) on or before May 25, 2017;

AUD$480,000 (CDN$481,968) June 20, 2017;

AUD$800,000 (CDN$803,280) on or before August 31, 2017; and

AUD$1,500,000 (CDN$1,506,150) on or before January 31, 2018,

Rheingold has also agreed to make payments of AUD$40,000 (CDN$40,164) cash on or before June 20, 2017 and to issue common shares having an aggregate value of AUD$40,000 (CDN$40,164) on or before June 20, 2017, the number of which common shares shall be based on the closing market price of Rheingold as traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange on the trading day following the announcement of the Sub-Option Agreement.

Rheingold shall pay the Expenses to BeiSur within 5 business days of the acceptance for filing by the Canadian Securities Exchange of its prescribed notice describing this Agreement (the "Exchange Notice Filing Date"). The Shares shall then be issued to BeiSur as follows:

700,000 Shares within 5 business days of approval by the Canadian Securities Exchange;

800,000 Shares on or before July 31, 2017; and

1,500,000 Shares on or before January 31, 2018.

The Underlying Agreement provides that BeiSur may exercise its option to earn 51% legal and beneficial interest in and to the Property by making the same cash payments as Rheingold in addition to a payment of AUD$120,000 (CDN$120,492) which has already been paid to Riverston and which is reflected in the Expenses.

Rheingold has the option to acquire a further 25% interest in the Property for AUD$22,000,000 (CDN$22,090,200), the exercise of which will be based on economic feasibility.

Both the Sub-Option Agreement and the Underlying Agreement are options only and are not contracts of purchase and sale.

Thomson has had early success in discovering a new tin deposit in the Ardlethan tin field at Bygoo North.

Thomson acquired EL8260 and EL8531 which surround the Ardlethan mine leases in early 2015 and 2016 respectively. Ardlethan Tin Mine is recorded to have produced over 30,000 tonnes of tin concentrates between 1912 and 1985. EL8163 was acquired by Thomson in 2013 and surrounds the Gibsonvale Mine which produced in excess of 12,000 tonnes of tin concentrate between 1939 and 1985. At both mines. operations ceased in 1986 due to the collapse of tin prices.

The Ardlethan Granite is thought to be responsible for the tin mineralization and its contact with the overlying rocks is mineralized at several different prospects north and south of Ardlethan Mine. These prospects include Bygoo North, as well as Bald Hill, Big Bygoo, Lone Hand and Taylors Hill. All have shallow historic workings and the latter four have not had significant drill testing with only a handful of holes drilled to date.

Thomson's EL 8260 also includes a small part of the hard rock mineralization below and adjacent to the Ardlethan Mine Open-Cuts. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a mineral resource, and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a mineral resource. Should future drilling confirm the mineralisation it may have potential to be developed either separately or in tandem with a restart of the neighboring Ardlethan Mine operation.

The long term outlook for the tin market looks very favorable for two main reasons: 1) growing demand from electronics and growth in emerging markets for traditional uses such as tin plate; and 2) supply restrictions due to production problems, bans on mining and lack of tin projects coming on stream.

The technical content of this news release was reviewed, verified and approved by Gregory Keith Whitehouse, MAusIMM, CP (Geo), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Rheingold intends to investigate the acquisition of more tin properties in areas of historic production, including but not limited to South America, Indonesia, Central Africa and New South Wales, Australia.

About Rheingold Exploration

Rheingold is a Vancouver-based exploration company currently focused on the exploration and development of natural resource projects targeting metals used in the manufacturing of traditional and innovative batteries. For more information, please contact paul@greywood.ca.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Paul Pedersen"

Paul Pedersen, CEO

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release, which are not historical in nature, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under applicable Canadian securities law. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning future work programs, results and timing of any work programs, Rheingold's performance or events as of the date hereof. These statements reflect management's current assumptions and expectations and by their nature are subject to certain underlying assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Those risks include the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; and general market and mining exploration risks. Forward-looking statements should not be construed as investment advice. Readers should perform a detailed, independent investigation and analysis of Rheingold and are encouraged to seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, Rheingold disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or changes in circumstances that occur after the date hereof.
SUWANEE, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB: SNWV) is pleased to announce that the company has appointed LITHOMED to act as distributors for SANUWAVE's Orthopedic products in Taiwan.

Kevin Richardson II, CEO and Chairman, stated, "SANUWAVE has committed to deliver 3-5 new distribution partners in the second quarter and 7-10 by the end of the year. This is the first step in achieving or beating our target. We are also excited to be able to support our science advisor Dr. Chin-Jen Wang, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and his newly founded Shockwave Institute in BANG DONG, Taiwan."

Andre Mouton, V.P. International Sales and Relations of SANUWAVE, stated, "We are very pleased with this new relationship. LITHOMED has a wealth of experience within this specific indication and will be the right fit for our needs within the orthopedic market segment in Taiwan. Their access and relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOL's) will prove to be of immense value for market development and revenue growth. Taiwan is the first country where we shall have a definitive split within our distribution model. We recognize that Orthopedics and Wound Care have a different customer base and the designated distributor needs to address that. We are expecting sales from this region to be well over $500,000 within the next three years, with a maximum value of $3 million. We have more than 200 of our devices in use in Europe and we are sure the Asia market and usage will progress accordingly. Taiwan will be our second territory within Asia," concluded Andre Mouton.

William Kao, Managing Director: "LITHOMED is very pleased to be the distributor for SANUWAVE's orthopedic products in Taiwan. The orthoPACE device, with its patented focused shock wave technology, is an important advancement in orthopedic and musculoskeletal care and offers a wide range of non-invasive treatment procedures for hospitals and doctor's offices. I am certain it will be welcomed by Taiwanese orthopedists and their patients. These innovative products will fit perfectly within our portfolio and will be a welcomed addition to our current network of loyal customers and users. The orthoPACE device has been proven safe and effective for the treatment of chronic tendonitis and joint pain in the musculoskeletal environment. orthoPACE treatments have been especially effective in treating tendonitis and plantar fasciitis, which commonly require surgery. orthoPACE is designed to effectively treat bone conditions requiring osteogenesis, calcific joints, conditions causing painful joints, and chronic pain caused by musculoskeletal disorders. orthoPACE uses focused, shock wave treatments that are non-invasive which dramatically reduce the risk of infection. In many indications, orthoPACE has a proven success rate that is equal to or greater than that of surgery -- usually with just one procedure and without the inherent risks, complications, or lengthy recovery time of invasive surgery. orthoPACE treatments require a minimal amount of treatment time. In conditions such as plantar fasciitis, patients can bear weight immediately and return to pre-treatment activity within a few days of the procedure," concluded William Kao.

About SANUWAVE Health, Inc.

SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB: SNWV) (www.sanuwave.com) is a shock wave technology company initially focused on the development and commercialization of patented noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue and vascular structures. SANUWAVE's portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, producing new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, which helps restore the body's normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE applies its patented PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE, is CE Marked throughout Europe and has device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S., dermaPACE is currently under the FDA's de novo petition review process for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved OssaTron device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its OssaTron, Evotron and orthoPACE devices in Europe, Asia and Asia/Pacific. In addition, there are license/partnership opportunities for SANUWAVE's shock wave technology for non-medical uses, including energy, water, food and industrial markets.

About LITHOMED

Litho Med Trading Company has been established in 1994. The company specializes in distribution of medical equipment with a key focus on Shockwave Technology. It has been involved with clinical studies with OssaTron in 1998 and the company is closely working with the Key Opinion Leaders (KOL's) within Shockwave technology within Taiwan since. The company is the sole distributor for Edaptms for UST since 2010. The orthoPACE technology and usage will be an added indication to complete the current product offering.

Litho Med Trading Co., Ltd.

TEL:06-2903269 FAX:06-2903297

3F-7, No.293 Sec 3, Dung-Men Road.

Tainan 701, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. 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 the Company's ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Company's product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Company's ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

For additional information about the Company, visit www.sanuwave.com.

Millennium Park Capital LLC

Christopher Wynne

312-724-7845

cwynne@mparkcm.com



SANUWAVE Health, Inc.

Andre Mouton

Vice President International Sales and Relations

+1-615-823-9907 (Cell)

+1-678-569-0881(Fax)

Skype: andre.w.mouton

Andre.Mouton@sanuwave.com




For JWD InfoLogistics: Yuttachai ("Tle") Paikanahok MT Multimedia Co Ltd Tel: +66 0 2612 2081 #125 Mobile: +66 9 1736 2866 E-mail: yuttachai.p@mtmultimedia.com

BANGKOK, Nov 10, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - JWD InfoLogistics PCL (SET:JWD), a leading total logistics solutions provider, announced its Q3 results, which featured better-than-forecasted growth rates, with a net profit figure of THB 56.5m, up 131.6% y-o-y (after extraordinary items) and 14.1% q-o-q, driven by outstanding growths in the inland and cross-border transport, general warehousing, automotive storage and management and cold storage segments. It forecasted continuing growths over Q4 as revenue and profit from the acquisition of Ocean Air International in last October would be recognised and enable it to create new growths by offering total solutions to customers whose businesses involve cargo import and export activities.Dr Eakapong Tungsrisanguan, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), revealed that JWD recorded impressive revenue and net profit growth rates for Q3 (Jul-Sep) of 2017, with rental and service revenues reaching THB642m, up 15.1% y-o-y from THB558m and 11.1% q-o-q from THB577.8m, and net profit reaching THB56.5m, up 131.6% y-o-y from THB24.4m (after extraordinary items) and 14.1% q-o-q from THB49.5m.JWD's Q3 performances by segment include a revenue figure of THB107.2m for the cargo transport business, up 16.8% q-o-q from THB91.8m (due to an expansion of the cross-border transport operations, especially for Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as jobs from new customers of the JWD Express business), and a revenue figure of THB84.3m for the general warehousing segment, up 12.6% q-o-q from THB74.9m (due to near-full capacity of the JWD Chemical Supply Chain (JCS) business and a greater number of customers of the Less Container Load Freight (or LCL) Consolidation Hub).For the automotive storage and management business, revenue stood at THB110.1m, up 8.7% q-o-q from THB101.3m (due to increased orders driven by recovery in the automotive industry). The revenue figure for cold storage business was THB119.1m, up 6.1% q-o-q from THB112.2m. The revenue level of the hazardous cargo warehousing segment stood unchanged from the previous quarter.The strong Q3 growths contributed positively to the nine-month (Jan-Sep) results, with rental and service revenues reaching THB1.7926bn, up 7.9% y-o-y from THB1.6614bn, and net profit reaching THB146.4m, up 87.5% y-o-y from THB78.1m (after extraordinary items). These, in turn, will allow JWD to meet its full-year revenue target of 7%.Mr Charvanin Bunditkitsada, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JWD, said that Q4 results are forecasted to be improved by invested and planned projects, better overall national economy and export and the stream of revenue and profit from the acquisition of Ocean Air International Co Ltd, a freight forwarder firm, in last October.The acquisition has strengthened JWD's product portfolio as the company has become capable of offering freight forwarding services to importers and exporters, and has begun providing 'Total Solutions', or a comprehensive range of upstream and downstream business services, including importation, customs clearance, cargo storage and management and exportation, to customers. It has also reduced the freight forwarding cost incurred in running international moving business, and planned to offer freight services to customers of JWD's existing businesses, e.g. hazardous cargo warehousing, Free Zone warehousing and cold storage, etc., to promote JWD as the hub for consolidation and outbound cargo distribution.During Q4, JWD will build racking facilities for the JWD Chemical Supply Chain (JCS) business to increase warehousing space vertically and enhance revenue by 50% to 100%. It will also increase the number of four-wheel transport vehicles in its fleet from 20 to 40 by this yearend to facilitate order fulfilment."We expect to see sustained growths over the last quarter for all core segments in Thailand and other Asean countries, i.e. hazardous cargo management, cold storage, automotive and, most notably, transport segments. We predict to post the highest growth rate for the transport segment and to benefit from the continuous growths for warehousing and cold storage plants in other Asean countries, as well as from new investments in Indonesia and Vietnam", added Mr Charvanin.About JWD InfoLogistics PCLJWD InfoLogistics (SET:JWD) knows everything about logistics and supply chain management. The Group's fully integrated logistics and supply chain solutions cover all types of warehousing, including the free zone area, in fields where it has competitive advantage in terms of the ability to manage one-stop and unconditional service offers because it wholly own all warehouses. The Group is also proficient in customs procedures, product transportation and distribution, as well as logistics software development. Founded in 1979, the JWD Group has grown to comprise 18 subsidiaries and operates warehouses and yards covering a total storage space of approximately 800,000 sqm. The Group currently employs 1,300 staff and has branch offices in 32 countries. For more information, please visit www.jwd-group.com/en/.Source: JWD InfoLogistics PCLContact:Copyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
IRW-PRESS: Ucore Rare Metals Inc.: Ucore geht Entwicklungs-MOU mit Commerce Resources ein

Ucore geht Entwicklungs-MOU mit Commerce Resources ein

5. Juni 2017 - HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV:UCU) (OTCQX:UURAF) (Ucore oder das Unternehmen) freut sich, bekannt zu geben, dass es mit Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV:CCE) (OTC:CMRZF) (Commerce) eine Absichtserklarung (Memorandum of Understanding; MOU) unterzeichnet hat. Zweck der MOU ist die Verarbeitung von Rohmaterial aus dem Projekt Ashram von Commerce in Quebec (das Projekt Ashram) in Ucores vor Kurzem angekundigten Trennungsanlage fur Seltenerdmetalle (SEE) und dem strategischen Metallkomplex (Strategic Metals Complex; SMC).

Gema den Bedingungen der MOU wird Commerce ausreichende Mengen eines gemischten Seltenerdmetall-Carbonatkonzentrats, das aus dem Material aus der Lagerstatte Ashram hergestellt wird (das Ashram-Konzentrat), fur die Durchfuhrung von Testarbeiten im Labor- und Pilotmastab bereitstellen, um die metallurgischen Eigenschaften und die Eigenschaften in Bezug auf die Metallabscheidung des moglichen Rohmaterials zu ermitteln. Die Laborarbeiten werden von IBC Advanced Technologies aus American Fork (Utah) (IBC) durchgefuhrt. Die Testarbeiten im Pilotmastab werden voraussichtlich in der vor Kurzem abgeschlossenen SuperLig-One-MRT-Pilotanlage in Vineyard (Utah) (siehe Ucore-Pressemeldung vom 26. September 2016) stattfinden.

Ziel der Testarbeiten ist die abschlieende Prufung des Ashram-Konzentrats auf seine Eignung als mogliches Rohmaterial fur den SMC und schlussendlich der Aufbau einer langfristigen Liefer- und Abnahmepartnerschaft.

Dies ist eine bedeutende Entwicklungspartnerschaft fur Ucore und Commerce, sagte Jim McKenzie, President und CEO von Ucore. Commerce hat umfassende Forschungs- und Testarbeiten durchgefuhrt, die zur Herstellung eines hochwertigen und hochgradigen Mineralkonzentrats gefuhrt hat, das mittels kostengunstiger Verfahren zu unserem idealen Ausgangsmaterial verarbeitet werden konnte und deshalb ein sehr aussichtsreicher Kandidat fur die Verarbeitung in einem MRT-Trennkreislaufs sein durfte. Die Lagerstatte Ashram umfasst ein Seltenerdmetallvorkommen mit einer hohen Tonnage und gutem Erzgehalt, das eine ausgeglichene SEE-Verteilung und eine Anreicherung an den fur die Magnetherstellung wichtigen SEE aufweist. Von groter Bedeutung ist vielleicht sogar, dass die Lagerstatte gut zuganglich ist. In Verbindung mit dem SMC konnte Ashram sich als ein wichtiges Bindeglied in einer rein nordamerikanischen SEE-Lieferkette herausstellen.

Commerces metallurgische Tests und die Entwicklung des Fliebildes fur die Herstellung des Ashram-Konzentrats unter Anwendung konventioneller Verfahren, die von aktuellen und ehemaligen Seltenerdmetallproduzenten eingesetzt werden/wurden, sind weit fortgeschritten. Das Fliebild sieht eine erste Aufbereitungsphase, in der ein hochgradiges Mineralkonzentrat mit >45 % Seltenerdmetalloxiden mit einer hohen Gewinnungsrate von etwa 75 % hergestellt wird, gefolgt von einer hydrometallurgischen Phase vor, in der das Mineralkonzentrat zu einem gemischen Seltenerdmetall-Carbonatprodukt weiterverarbeitet wird. Dieses Seltenerdmetall-Carbonatprodukt eignet sich fur die Abscheidung. Die metallurgischen Testarbeiten fur Ashram finden in der Pilotanlage bei Hazen Research in Golden (Colorado) statt.

Wir freuen uns ungemein auf die Zusammenarbeit mit Ucore und werden so schnell wie moglich eine Probe unseres SEE-Mineralkonzentrats an die SuperLig-Testeinrichtungen in Utah liefern. Die Versorgungssicherheit ist von entscheidender Bedeutung. Wir konnten die einfach Mineralogie unseres Materials und den erfolgreichen Einsatz von Standard-Verarbeitungsverfahren bereits unter Beweis stellen und freuen uns darauf, das Ziel einer unabhangigen nordamerikanischen SEE-Lieferkette gemeinsam mit Ucore zu verwirklichen, sagte Chris Grove, President von Commerce Resources Corp.

Ucore hat nun mit der technischen Detailausarbeitung und Planung der SMC-Seltenerdmetallabscheidungsanlage, einem Joint Venture mit IBC (siehe Pressemeldungen vom 15. November 2016 und 25. Mai 2017), begonnen. Der SMC bedient sich fur die Trennung von SEE der SuperLig-Molekulerkennungstechnologie (Molecular Recognition Technology; MRT) und baut dabei auf den fortgeschrittenen Pilottestarbeiten der SuperLig-One-Pilotplattform auf. Der SMC wird als modulare Anlage entwickelt, die Rohmaterial von verschiedenen Versorgungsquellen und eine Reihe hochwertiger Konzentrate verarbeiten kann. Ucore erwartet die Veroffentlichung eines umfassenden Zeitplans fur die Entwicklung und den Bau der SMC-Anlage einschlielich einer wirtschaftlichen Analyse von Bezugsquellen in den kommenden Monaten. Nachdem man in Quebec, Alaska und dem Sudosten der USA mogliche Versorgungsquellen identifiziert hat, hangt die endgultige Wahl des Standorts des SMC aus verschiedenen konkurrierenden Rechtssystemen von Anreizen wie z.B. Fordergeldern und logistischen Uberlegungen ab.

Uber Ucore Ucore Rare Metals ist ein Unternehmen in der Entwicklungsphase, dessen Hauptaugenmerk auf Seltenerdmetallressourcen-, -gewinnungs- und -veredelungstechnologien mit kurzfristigem Potenzial fur Produktion, Wachstum und Skalierbarkeit gerichtet ist. Am 3. Marz 2015 meldete Ucore die Bildung eines Joint Ventures mit IBC hinsichtlich der Anwendung der SuperLig-Technologie bei Seltenerdmetallen sowie der Verarbeitung von Berge mit mehreren Metallen in Nordamerika und damit in Zusammenhang stehenden Weltmarkten. Das Unternehmen besitzt eine 100-Prozent-Beteiligung am Projekt Bokan. Am 31. Marz 2014 teilte Ucore mit, dass dem Unternehmen von Seiten der Rechtsprechung des Bundesstaates Alaska die einstimmige Genehmigung erteilt wurde, nach Ermessen der Alaska Import Development and Export Agency (AIDEA) bis zu 145 Millionen USD in das Projekt Bokan zu investieren. Uber Commerce Commerce Resources Corp. ist ein Explorations- und Erschlieungsunternehmen, das sich auf Vorkommen von seltenen Metallen und Seltenerdelementen konzentriert. Der Schwerpunkt des Unternehmens liegt auf der Erschlieung der Seltenerdmetalllagerstatte Ashram in Quebec und der Tantal- und Nioblagerstatte Upper Fir in British Columbia. Uber IBC IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. ist ein preisgekrontes, umweltfreundliches Unternehmen, das sich auf chemische Selektions- bzw. Trennungsverfahren unter Einsatz der innovativen MRT-Produkte spezialisiert hat. Mit seinem Hauptsitz in American Fork (Utah) und seinen Produktionsanlagen in Utah und Houston (Texas) beliefert IBC bereits seit mehr als 27 Jahren internationale Kunden in Industriebetrieben, Regierungsstellen und akademischen Forschungseinrichtungen mit seinen umweltfreundlichen Produkten, Verfahren und Dienstleistungen.

IBC hat sich auf die MRT-Technologie spezialisiert und setzt umweltvertragliche chemische Verfahren in der hochselektiven Trennung von Metallionen in einer komplexen Matrix ein. Basierend auf einer Technologie, die mit dem Nobelpreis ausgezeichnet wurde (1987), kommen die geschutzten IBC-Produkte und -Verfahren weltweit in der Metallveredelung und im Bergbau zum Einsatz und wurden bereits von Unternehmen wie Tanaka Kikinzoku K.K. (Japan), Asarco Grupo Mexico (USA), Impala Platinum Ltd. (Sudafrika) und Sino Platinum (China) verwendet. Die japanische Regierung (Mitsubishi Research, Inc.) hat IBC vor kurzem im Rahmen einer Ausschreibung eine begehrte Forderung fur ein Projekt zur selektiven Abscheidung der Radionuklide Strontium und Caesium aus kontaminiertem Meerwasser bei Fukushima (Japan) zuerkannt (Demonstration Project for Seawater Purification Technologies).

IBCs groe Erfahrung zeigt sich an der extensiven Entwicklung und Vermarktung von Trennungssystemen fur Platingruppenmetalle (PGM) auf internationaler Ebene. PGMs sind den Seltenen Erden insofern ahnlich, als sie aufgrund ahnlicher chemischer Bestandteile einer selektiven Trennung schwer zuganglich sind.

Die Allianz zwischen Ucore und IBC profitiert von IBCs nachweislichen Kompetenzen in der Entwicklung, Skalierung und Vermarktung von Systemen der selektiven Trennung fur eine Reihe unterschiedlicher und komplexer Anwendungsbereiche. Nahere Informationen erhalten Sie unter www.ibcmrt.com.

Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie uber Jim McKenzie, President und Chief Executive Officer von Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (Tel: +1 (902) 482-5214) oder auf http://www.ucore.com.

Vorsorglicher Hinweis

Diese Pressemeldung enthalt gewisse Aussagen, die als zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen zu werten sind. Mit Ausnahme von historischen Fakten sind alle Aussagen in dieser Pressemitteilung, welche sich auf zukunftige Explorationsbohrungen, Explorationsaktivitaten, den Zeitrahmen fur Forschung und Entwicklung, sowie vom Unternehmen erwartete Ereignisse oder Entwicklungen beziehen, zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen. Zu den zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen in dieser Pressemeldung gehoren u.a. Aussagen, wonach wir eine langfristige Liefer- und Abnahmepartnerschaft eingehen konnten, und die Moglichkeit einer unabhangigen nordamerikanischen SEE-Lieferkette. Obwohl das Unternehmen der Ansicht ist, dass die in solchen zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen zum Ausdruck gebrachten Erwartungen auf angemessenen Annahmen beruhen, sind die Aussagen nicht als Garantien zukunftiger Leistungen zu verstehen. Die eigentlichen Ergebnisse oder Entwicklungen konnten wesentlich von den in zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen zum Ausdruck gebrachten Erwartungen abweichen. Zu den Faktoren, aufgrund derer die tatsachlichen Ergebnisse wesentlich von diesen Erwartungen abweichen konnten, zahlen Erfolge oder Misserfolge im Rahmen der Gewinnung und Exploration, Erfolge oder Misserfolge im Rahmen der Forschung und Entwicklung, die dauerhafte Verfugbarkeit von Finanzmittel, das Unvermogen des Unternehmens, Vereinbarungen abzuschlieen, die Untauglichkeit des Produkts fur die beabsichtigten Verwendungszwecke und die allgemeine Wirtschafts-, Markt-oder Geschaftslage.

Die TSX Venture Exchange und deren Regulierungsorgane (in den Statuten der TSX Venture Exchange als Regulation Services Provider bezeichnet) ubernehmen keinerlei Verantwortung fur die Angemessenheit oder Genauigkeit dieser Meldung.

Die Ausgangssprache (in der Regel Englisch), in der der Originaltext veroffentlicht wird, ist die offizielle, autorisierte und rechtsgultige Version. Diese Ubersetzung wird zur besseren Verstandigung mitgeliefert. Die deutschsprachige Fassung kann gekurzt oder zusammengefasst sein. Es wird keine Verantwortung oder Haftung: fur den Inhalt, fur die Richtigkeit, der Angemessenheit oder der Genauigkeit dieser Ubersetzung ubernommen. Aus Sicht des Ubersetzers stellt die Meldung keine Kauf- oder Verkaufsempfehlung dar! Bitte beachten Sie die englische Originalmeldung auf www.sedar.com, www.sec.gov, www.asx.com.au/ oder auf der Firmenwebsite!

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. 210 Waterfront Drive Bedford, Nova Scotia Canada B4A0H3 902.482.5214 info@ucore.com www.ucore.com www.ucore.com/ucoretv

Die englische Originalmeldung finden Sie unter folgendem Link: http://www.irw-press.at/press_html.aspx?messageID=39978 Die ubersetzte Meldung finden Sie unter folgendem Link: http://www.irw-press.at/press_html.aspx?messageID=39978&tr=1

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AXC0052 2017-06-06/08:18


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed his call for other members of NATO to live up to commitments on defense spending.



Speaking to the leaders of NATO member nations, Trump said 23 of the 28 countries that make up the alliance are not meeting the target of spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense.



'This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States,' Trump said. 'And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years. Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined.'



He added, 'If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense and for the financing of additional NATO reserves.'



Trump argued that spending 2 percent of GDP on defense is the bare minimum to confront today's very real and very vicious threats, especially from terrorism.



The president pointed out that he was speaking from the beautiful new NATO headquarters but noted that he had never asked what the facility cost.



Trump said his call for increased defense spending by the member nations comes as NATO must focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and on NATO's eastern and southern borders.



'These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the Alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations,' Trump said.



Trump said the deadly attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, demonstrates the depths of evil the world faces with terrorism.



(Photo: Gage Skidmore)



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- K2 Gold Corporation ("K2" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: KTO) is pleased to announce that field preparations have commenced for a Phase 1 exploration program at the Wels Gold Property, and a diamond drilling program is anticipated to begin on or around June 6, 2017.

The Wels Property is located in west-central Yukon Territory in the Traditional Territory of White River First Nation ("WFRN"), approximately 45 kilometers east of Beaver Creek and 185 kilometers south of Dawson City (the "Wels Property"). It is a new gold discovery within the highly prolific 'Tintina Gold Belt' and exhibits characteristics of a reduced 'Intrusion Related Gold System' ("IRGS") similar to the multi-million ounce Fort Knox (Kinross) and Dublin Creek deposits (Victoria Gold). Please CLICK HERE to view an exploration program map of the Wels Property.

As previously disclosed in August 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with Gorilla Minerals Corp. ("Gorilla") which provides the Company with the option to acquire a 90% interest (subject to an existing 3% NSR) in the Wels Property. The Wels Property (total area 47.5km2) was staked in 2011 and to date only approximately 1km2 of the prospective area has undergone any significant exploration (soil, trench-rock sampling and diamond drilling). No work was undertaken at the Wels Property during 2016.

Highlights of previous work between 2011 and 2015 at the Wels Property include:

-- Drilling - A five-hole 442 metre diamond drill program in 2015 returned gold mineralization in all holes. Hole DDH01 recorded 0.76 g/t Au over 97.5m, including 19.50 m of 3.11 g/t Au starting at 31.5m. The holes were drilled at 90 degrees to the mineralized structure in the Saddle Zone area and the true width is estimated at 80% of intersected intervals. The five holes were drilled in an extremely limited area of approximately 100m x 100m and were located to only test the depth extent of high grade rock samples seen at surface in trenches and by no means tested the full extent of the Au-As soil anomaly which currently measures approximately 1,800m east-west by 400m north-south. -- Trenching - 155 metres of trenching including T14-01 4.53 g/t Au over 11.00m, T14-02 8.8 g/t Au over 45.00m and T14-03 3.04 g/t over 10.50m. -- Soil Sampling - 1,658 soil samples have been collected over a limited area of approximately 12km2and were the most useful exploration tool in identifying 3 prospective areas for further follow up in 2017. The most useful geochemical identifier elements besides gold were arsenic, antimony and bismuth. -- Rock Sampling - 28 'rock grab' samples from the Saddle zone have been taken from the property to date. One sample from Trench A ran 149.5 g/t Au and a composite of nine samples from the same hand-dug trench ran 32.8 g/t Au.

The Company's Board of Directors have approved an initial exploration budget of $750,000 for the Phase 1 2017 exploration program. Allan Doherty, P.Geo, who has 36 years experience managing exploration projects in the Yukon, will lead the exploration crew. A comprehensive and systematic program is planned; comprised of drilling, trenching, soil sampling, and prospecting. A description of the proposed 2017 Phase 1 exploration program is outlined below.

-- Drilling - 1200m of core drilling will be completed in 5-8 holes with the goal of extending the Saddle Zone mineralization, currently open in all directions. Core drilling to date had intersected the host granite with minor late mafic dykes. The contacts of the intrusion have not yet been cut by drilling, and are a target for this year's program. -- Trenching - Additional trenching will be completed on the Southwest Spur zone and the North Ridge zones which are located 1.0 km south and 1.5 km north respectively of the Saddle Zone, the site of the drilling in 2015. View map HERE. -- Soil Sampling - Up to 2,000 new grid auger soil samples will be collected on new claims added to the west of the original claim block. Soil sampling has proven effective on the Wels Property and led directly to the high grade sampling interval of 8.8 gm/t Au over 45.00m in Trench 2. Soil samples will be collected over the unglaciated areas primarily above the 750m elevation level contour elevation. -- Prospecting - Additional prospecting and mapping will be completed over the entire property.

The Company is also pleased to confirm that, once finalized, exploration programs will soon be announced at its other projects located in the Yukon Territory, including the Flume, Storck and Ladue Properties.

The company has adequate funds to complete its Wels Phase 1 exploration program.

About K2 Gold Corporation

K2 Gold Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on building a portfolio of gold exploration projects in the Yukon, including the Wels Property located approximately 185 km south of Dawson City, Yukon. The Company has assembled an experienced management team and board of directors with a track record of discovery success.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,"Stephen Swatton"President and CEOK2 Gold Corporation

Forward-Looking Caution:This news release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the 2017 exploration program at the Wels Gold Property and future exploration plans at the Company's other properties located in the Yukon. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's inability to reach satisfactory agreements with First Nations to facilitate its exploration and development plans for the Wels Property, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its planned activities, and the Company's inability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies. The reader is referred to the Company's public disclosure record which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except as required by securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. No securities of the Company have been or will, in the foreseeable future, be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

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.

Contacts:

Stephen Swatton

604-331-5090




QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Junex inc. (The "Company" or "Junex") (TSX VENTURE: JNX) announces that it has sold its 25% interest in a block of licenses located in Schleicher County, Western Texas for a cash amount of CAD$1,009,125.

"After having been involved in this project for several years, we concluded that it was time to divest ourselves of this investment in which we were a minority partner. The proceeds will contribute to the development of our Galt oil and natural gas production project, where we plan to drill at least one new horizontal well in 2017," said Junex's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jean-Yves Lavoie.

Junex has already received a drilling permit from the Quebec Department of Energy and Natural Resources for the Galt No 6 Hrz well and plans to start drilling later this summer.

About Junex

Junex is a junior oil and gas exploration company that holds exploration permits on more than 2.1 million acres of land in the Appalachian basin in the Province of Quebec, including the Galt Oil Property on the Gaspe Peninsula in eastern Quebec, landholdings on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and landholdings in the St. Lawrence Lowlands between Montreal and Quebec City. In parallel to its exploration efforts in Quebec, the company operates a drilling services division.

Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimer

Certain statements in this press release may be forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on the best estimates available to Junex at the time and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Junex's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. A description of the risks affecting Junex's business and activities appears under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" on pages 18 to 22 of Junex's 2016 annual management's discussion and analysis, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information in this press release will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that Junex will derive therefrom. In particular, no assurance can be given as to the future financial performance of Junex. Junex disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in order to account for any new information or any other event. The reader is warned against undue reliance on these 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 release.

Contacts:

Junex Inc.

Mr. Jean-Yves Lavoie

President & Chief Executive Officer

418-654-9661



Junex Inc.

Mr. Dave Pepin

Vice President - Corporate Affairs

418-654-9661




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B)(TSX: DII.A) is pleased to announce that all of the nominees listed in its management proxy circular dated April 11, 2017 were re-elected as directors at the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders held today in Montreal.

At the meeting, a ballot was conducted for the election of directors. According to proxies received and ballots cast, the following individuals were elected as directors of Dorel, with the following results:

Name of Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Schwartz 63,166,246 97.13 1,863,627 2.87 Alan Schwartz 63,621,625 97.83 1,408,248 2.17 Jeffrey Schwartz 62,307,439 95.81 2,722,434 4.19 Jeff Segel 63,622,876 97.84 1,406,997 2.16 Alain Benedetti 64,185,896 98.70 843,977 1.30 Dian Cohen 64,075,615 98.53 954,258 1.47 Michelle Cormier 64,590,578 99.32 439,295 0.68 Rupert Duchesne 63,990,325 98.40 1,039,548 1.60 Maurice Tousson 63,767,037 98.06 1,262,836 1.94

Director biographies are available in the Corporate Governance section of Dorel's website at www.dorel.com.

At the meeting, shareholders also reappointed KPMG LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as Dorel's auditors.

Profile

Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B)(TSX: DII.A) operates three distinct businesses in the juvenile products, bicycles and home products. The Company's safety and lifestyle leadership is pronounced in both its Juvenile and Bicycle categories with an array of trend-setting, innovative products. Dorel Juvenile's powerfully branded products include global juvenile brands Safety 1st, Quinny, Maxi-Cosi and Tiny Love, complemented by regional brands such as Cosco, Bebe Confort and Infanti. In Dorel Sports, brands include Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Mongoose, Caloi, IronHorse and SUGOI. Dorel Home markets a wide assortment of both domestically produced and imported furniture, principally within North America. Dorel Industries Inc. has annual sales of US$2.6 billion and employs approximately 10,000 people in facilities located in twenty-five countries worldwide.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, Dorel does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from Dorel's expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that the objectives, plans, strategic priorities and business outlook may not be achieved. As a result, Dorel cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, or if any of them do, what benefits Dorel will derive from them. Forward-looking statements are provided in this press release for the purpose of giving information about Management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Dorel's operating environment. However, readers are cautioned that it may not be appropriate to use such forward-looking statements for any other purpose.

Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on a number of assumptions that Dorel believed were reasonable on the day it made the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Dorel's expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements include: general economic conditions; changes in product costs and supply channels; foreign currency fluctuations; customer and credit risk, including the concentration of revenues with small number of customers; costs associated with product liability; changes in income tax legislation or the interpretation or application of those rules; the continued ability to develop products and support brand names; changes in the regulatory environment; continued access to capital resources and the related costs of borrowing; changes in assumptions in the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets; and there being no certainty that Dorel's current dividend policy will be maintained. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in Dorel's annual Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The risk factors outlined in the previously-mentioned documents are specifically incorporated herein by reference.

Dorel cautions readers that the risks described above are not the only ones that could impact it. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to Dorel or that Dorel currently deems to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on Dorel's business, financial condition or results of operations. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

Contacts:

MaisonBrison Communications

Rick Leckner

(514) 731-0000



Dorel Industries Inc.

Jeffrey Schwartz

(514) 934-3034




LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 25, 2017 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick" or the "Company") (NYSE: ABX) for possible violations of federal securities laws between February 16, 2017 through April 24, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period, should contact the firm prior to the July 10, 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 you can e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

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, Barrick made materially false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose: that the pipes and safety systems at the Veladero mine were not robust enough to prevent gold-bearing solution spills; that Argentinian authorities would restrict the addition of cyanide to the Veladero mine's heap leach facility and require remedial work; that these developments would impact the production capacity of the Veladero mine; that as a result of the above, Barrick's Veladero mine production guidance and total gold production guidance were overstated; and that as a result of the above, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

On April 24, 2017, Barrick revised its full year guidance, stating that "[f]ull-year gold production is now expected to be 5.3-5.6 million ounces, down from our previous range of 5.6-5.9 million ounces." Barrick attributed about two-thirds of the decrease to the planned sale of 50% percent of its Veladero mine. The Company also revised Veladero-specific guidance, forecasting full-year production at Veladero of 630,000-730,000 ounces, compared to its previously-issued guidance of 770,000-830,000 ounces. Following this news, Barrick's shares dropped in value materially, which harmed investors according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was established 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 ethics rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
LAVAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Urbanimmersive Inc. ("Urbanimmersive" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: UI)(OTC PINK: UBMRF), a real estate content marketing platform, is pleased to announce the signing of three (3) new affiliate program agreements with La Clic Mobile, a real estate photographer agency, Yvan Dube and Eric Laurin both freelance photographers for the use of Urbanimmersive's visual content marketing platform for 100% of their real estate business transactions.

All three of the new Affiliate vendors' customer business transactions will take place on the platform and will grow Urbanimmersive's top-line revenue. The Company will then take a transaction fee in line with its current pricing model on each transaction generated through its platform.

"We're excited to see that more and more visual content providers are realizing the value of our Affiliate Program and embracing it for their entire business," said Ghislain Lemire, CEO of Urbanimmersive. "All Affiliate vendors, whether small or large operations, are making a difference not only to our top-line revenue because they bring with them their existing customers, but also because they are creating a synergy between each other. This provides an enhanced buying experience for our marketplace's end users and ultimately helps spread our market reach much faster," added Mr. Lemire.

The Affiliate Program is offered to visual content providers ready to use Urbanimmersive's Marketplace for 100% of their real estate business transactions with existing and new customers. The program provides real estate photography agencies, photographers and 3D artists in Urbanimmersive's Marketplace with increased marketing visibility while enabling them to effectively manage their internal operations and account receivables. The Affiliate Program offers a white label ordering interface, presenting only services offered by the agency or by other Marketplace content providers selected by the agency. It also provides a dashboard to manage bookings and payments from the incoming customer's phone calls, emails and SMS. As part of the Affiliate Program, visual content providers become Urbanimmersive resellers of the Company's internal products and services.

About Urbanimmersive

Urbanimmersive is a content marketing platform for the real estate industry. The Company connects real estate professionals, photographers and writers in order to simplify and optimize original content production workflow. Urbanimmersive enables its customers to leverage their marketing investment while increasing productivity, competitiveness, their web visibility, consumer engagement with their brand and ultimately, their revenue.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties. Such statements relating to, among other things, the prospects for the company to enhance operating results, are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which are significant in scope and nature. These uncertainties may cause actual results to differ from information contained herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of the management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management estimates or opinions change. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other assumptions and risk factors, please refer to the last Corporation's MD&A filed with the Canadian securities commissions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our expectations as of the date hereof. We disclaim any intention and assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Urbanimmersive Inc.

Ghislain Lemire

President & CEO

514-394-7820 X 202

ghislainlemire@urbanimmersive.com

www.urbanimmersive.com



For investor relations:

Contact Financial Corp.

Frederick Chabot

438-863-7071

frederick@contactfinancial.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- (TSX: CMR) (TSX: CMR.A) -

BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited ("BlackRock Canada"), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), today announced the final May 2017 cash distributions for the iShares Premium Money Market ETF. Unitholders of record on May 26, 2017 will receive cash distributions payable on May 31, 2017.

Details regarding the final "per unit" distribution amounts are as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Distribution Fund Name Fund Ticker Per Unit ($) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- iShares Premium Money Market ETF CMR 0.02084 ---------------------------------------- CMR.A 0.00908 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further information on the iShares ETFs can be found at www.blackrock.com/ca.

About BlackRock

BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. At March 31, 2017, BlackRock's AUM was US$5.4 trillion. BlackRock helps clients around the world meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions. As of March 31, 2017, the firm had approximately 13,000 employees in more than 30 countries and a major presence in global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com/ca / Twitter: @BlackRockCA / Blog: www.blackrockblog.com/can

About iShares ETFs

iShares is a global leader in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with more than a decade of expertise and commitment to individual and institutional investors of all sizes. With over 700 funds globally across multiple asset classes and strategies and more than US$1.4 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017, iShares helps clients around the world build the core of their portfolios, meet specific investment goals and implement market views. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock, trusted to manage more money than any other investment firm(1).

(1) Based on US$5.4 trillion in AUM as of 3/31/17

iShares ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional.

Contacts:

Contact for Media:

Maeve Hannigan

T - 416-643-4058

Email: Maeve.Hannigan@blackrock.com




Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) today announced that Rohan De Rozario has joined as Senior Client Partner, based out of the firm's London office.

Dr. De Rozario has over 20 years of experience in the field of HR strategy and operations, joining Korn Ferry from Ernst Young, where he was Senior Director of Global People Advisory Services. Within this role, he built extensive advisory knowledge in HR functional improvement, organization design and change management.

Prior to Ernst Young, Dr. De Rozario was the Global Head of HR Service Quality at HSBC Bank, with a global remit that covered 80 countries. At HSBC, his role included defining and bridging the gap in customer experience across all global HR initiatives, policies, products and services. Previously, he also worked for Eli Lilly and ITC.

"Rohan brings a fantastic blend of client-facing and in-house experience to Korn Ferry and a deep understanding of the issues that global HR departments face. His awareness of these challenges, his expertise and confident guidance will benefit our client base greatly," said Bernard Zen-Ruffinen, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Korn Ferry. "I feel positive that Rohan will be a significant source of support and insight as we continue to expand and lead as a global people and organizational advisory firm."

Dr. De Rozario has a PhD in Economics and an MSc in International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management. He is also a member of the CIPD.

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry is the preeminent global people and organizational advisory firm. We help leaders, organizations, and societies succeed by releasing the full power and potential of people. Our nearly 7,000 colleagues deliver services through our Executive Search, Hay Group and Future step divisions.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170525006094/en/

Contacts:

Korn Ferry

Amy Thomas, +44 20 7024 9240

amy.thomas@kornferry.com
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/17 -- Aurvista Gold Corporation ("Aurvista" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AVA)(OTCQB: ARVSF)(FRANKFURT: AV2) is pleased to report that the Board of Directors has adopted amendments to the Aurvista Stock Option Plan which entered into effect on April 26, 2017 until ratified by shareholders at the next annual and special meeting of shareholders. The amendments include i) a clarification of language permitting the Board to accelerate vesting provisions in the event of a change of control; ii) providing that if an option is to expire within a blackout period or within two business days thereafter, the option expiry date will be automatically extended for 10 days; iii) providing that the Board of Directors may extend the 90 day period during which an optionee may exercise its options following ceasing to fulfill a function at Aurvista for up to a year; and finally, iv) providing that the stock option plan be changed from a 10% floating plan to a fixed number of options (16,740,000 options, equal to approximately 12.5% of the presently issued and outstanding shares).

In addition the Board of Directors has adopted an advance notice by-law (the "By-Law"). The By-Law requires that an advance notice be given to Aurvista when shareholders intend to nominate candidates for election as directors of the Corporation otherwise than pursuant to (i) a notice of meeting given in accordance with the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the "Act") or (ii) a shareholder proposal made in accordance with the provisions of the Act. In the case of an annual meeting of shareholders, the advance notice to Aurvista must be given at least 30 days and no more than 65 days before the date of the annual meeting, provided, however, that if the annual meeting of shareholders is to be held less than 50 days after the date of the first public announcement of the date of the annual meeting, a shareholder nominating a candidate may give notice no later than the close of business on the 10th day following the date of such public announcement. In the case of a special meeting (which is not also an annual meeting) of shareholders called for the purpose of electing directors (whether or not called for other purposes), the advance notice to Aurvista must be given no later than the close of business on the 15th day following the date of the first public announcement of the date of the special meeting of shareholders. The By-Law entered into effect on April 26, 2017 until ratified by shareholders at the next annual and special meeting of shareholders. The full text of the By-Law is available under the Corporation's profile in the SEDAR database at www.sedar.com.

Douay Gold Project and Company Profile:

Aurvista Gold Corporation is a leading junior gold exploration and development Company advancing the Douay Gold Project. Aurvista's 305 km2 Douay Gold Project hosts a large inferred gold resource with significant exploration upside along a 40 km segment of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt of northern Quebec. Douay is located 55 km SW of the Matagami Base Metal Camp and approx. 140 km N of the Val-d'Or - Malartic Gold Camp (both in Quebec). The Company has 142,855,299 shares outstanding trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and OTCQB in the US. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.aurvistagold.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 PRESS RELEASE.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. When used herein, words such as "anticipate", "will", "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Aurvista Gold Corporation's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.aurvistagold.com.

Contacts:

Aurvista Gold Corporation

Mr. David Johnston

Corporate Secretary

514 944 8690

johnston@johnston-law.ca

www.aurvistagold.com




DUBLIN, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Growth Opportunities for the Global Basic Petrochemical Market" report to their offering.

The global basic petrochemical industry is expected to reach an estimated $603.2 billion by 2021 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2016 to 2021.

The future of the global basic petrochemical market looks good with opportunities in construction, transportation, agriculture, textile, industrial, electronics, healthcare and consumer goods industries. The major growth drivers for this market are growing demand for basic petrochemicals in end use industries. Technological innovations aimed at improving manufacturing processes to increase product yield with higher quality are expected to have a positive impact on the petrochemical industry.

Emerging trends, which have a direct impact on the dynamics of the market, include capacity migration to low cost locations and US shale gas boom has renewed competitive advantage to the sector.

Basic petrochemical companies profiled in this market report include Saudi Basic Industry Corporation, LyondellBasell, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell.

The author predicts that the demand for ethylene is likely to experience the highest growth over the forecast period due to the growth in the polyethylene film for the food and non-food packaging applications.

Ethylene is expected to remain the largest segment due to increasing demand from various end use applications such as packaging and construction.

Asia Pacific is expected to remain the largest region and is expected to witness above average growth over the forecast period due to economic expansion in India and China and increasing usage of chemicals in different sectors, such as healthcare, automotive, construction, and others.

The study includes a forecast for the global basic petrochemical industry by chemical type, application type, and region, as follows:

Basic petrochemical market by chemical type [Volume (Million Tons) and $ Billion Shipment from 2010 to 2021]:

- Ethylene

- Propylene

- Butadiene

- Benzene

- Toluene

- Xylene

- Methanol

- Ammonia

Basic petrochemical market by application type [Volume (Million Tons) 2015]:

- Ethylene market by application

- Polyethylene

- Ethylene Oxide

- Ethylene Dichloride

- Others

Propylene market by application

- Polypropylene

- Propylene Oxide

- Acrylonitrile

- Others



Butadiene market by application

- Butadiene Rubber

- Styrene Butadiene Rubber

- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

- Styrene Butadiene Latex

- Hexamethylenediamine/Adiponitrile

- Others



Benzene market by application

- Styrene

- Cumene

- Cyclohexane

- Aniline

- Others



Toluene market by application

- Benzene

- Xylene

- Gasoline Blending

- Toluene Diisocyanates

- Solvent

- Others



Xylene market by application

- Para-Xylene

- Ortho-Xylene

- Mixed -Xylene & Others



Methanol market by application

- Formaldehyde

- Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether

- Fuel Blending

- Acetic Acid

- Methanol to Olefins

- Dimethyl Ether

- Biodiesel

- Other



Ammonia market by application

- Fertilizers

- Polyamides

- Nitric Acid

- Others



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Industry Background and Classifications



3. Market Trends and Forecast Analysis



4. Competitor Analysis



5. Growth Opportunities and Strategic Analysis



6. Company Profiles of Leading Players



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6cwndd/growth





Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of TechnipFMC plc ("TechnipFMC" or the "Company") (NYSE: FTI). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether TechnipFMC 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 July 24, 2017, post-market, TechnipFMC announced that the Company would restate its "unaudited interim condensed consolidated U.S. GAAP financial statements as of March 31, 2017 and for the three months ended March 21, 2017 included in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and prior year period prepared and included in the Company's Quarterly Report for comparison purposes for the quarter ended March 31, 2017" and that these statements could no longer be relied upon. TechnipFMC concluded that errors existed "within certain rates used in the calculations of the foreign currency effects on certain of its engineering and construction projects". As a result, the net income attributable to the Company in the quarter ending March 31, 2017, was overstated by $209.5 million.

On this news, TechnipFMC's share price has fallen as much as $1.63, or 5.81%, during intraday trading on July 25, 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

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
As if the turmoil in the information technology sector is not enough, the auto sector too seems to be bracing for job cuts.

Leading the trend is General Motors, the Detroit-based auto major that announced its decision to stop selling cars in India by this year's end.

According to a report in The Economic Times, the number of jobs that will be lost as a result of this move is 7,000. To be sure, these are not direct job losses but at dealerships.

According to the report, there are 120 outlets/ dealerships selling Chevrolet cars and each has 70-150 staff. So in total it is estimated that there could be about 10,000 people employed at these outlets/ dealerships. Of this, the dealers have told the newspaper, around 7,000 may lose their jobs.

Add to this the job loss at GM India, which is being estimated to be in the 400-500 range, and the total cuts due to the sudden decision by the company will be about 7,500.

The report also says that the GM employees in the Gurgaon head office have been told to find a new job and have been offered 45 days salary for each completed year.

The ET article also says that the dealerships are extremely irked with the company management's sudden decision to stop selling cars in India. They feel that they were tricked into believing that the company had grand plans for the country and kept the move secret.

Meanwhile, GM India said in a statement that it has initiated discussions with its dealerships regarding a transition plan following.

"We have this week begun discussions with our individual dealers about a transition plan that supports them and our customers," General Motors India President and Managing Director Kaher Kazem said in a statement.

The company greatly values the strong partnership it had with dealers over many years, he added.

"We are all working to ensure we put our customers at the center of everything we do," Kazem said.

The company is working directly with its dealers to transition to authorised service outlets and to recognise some of the investments made in dealerships, he added.

GM India said it has committed to honour all vehicle warranties and to provide service and parts to Chevrolet owners well beyond the warranty period.

"We are communicating directly with our customers through our call centre, direct mail and social media channels..if you are a Chevrolet customer you can have peace of mind that you and your vehicle will continue to be supported by Chevrolet," Kazem said.

Allaying fears, he added that the company continues to provide service center support along with 24/7 contact center and roadside assistance for Chevrolet owners.

"GM India is committed to maintaining a service network across key locations in the country with staff trained to take care of all the needs of Chevrolets maintenance and repair," Kazem said.

Last week, the automaker announced its decision to stop selling its vehicles in India by this year end. The company will now focus on exporting vehicles from its manufacturing plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra after it stopped production at its first plant at Halol in Gujarat last month.

With inputs from PTI
Bengaluru: Farmers should increasingly become entrepreneurs to find homegrown solutions to their problems rather than relying on the government, Helianti Hilman, a progressive natural farming expert from Indonesia, has urged.

"When you are an entrepreneur, you think of innovations. An entrepreneurial mindset is very important for farmers because most of the time they keep complaining that they are small farmers and do not have access to finance or markets.

"But if you introduce the concept of entrepreneurship among them, the more you have problems, the more excited and challenged you are to find solutions," Hilman told IANS on the sidelines of a natural farming summit organised by the Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences & Technology Trust (SSIAST) here.

Being an entrepreneur "you always think of solving problems. That is what entrepreneurs do. It is interesting to push yourself to solve problems and find solutions", Hilman said.

Hilman is Chief Executive Officer of Javara Indigenous, a social enterprise that works with over 52,000 small-scale farmers to preserve and promote Indonesia's food biodiversity, traditional techniques and indigenous wisdom and help farmers to get market opportunities at local and global levels.

Hilman spoke about how brainstorming over the immediate use of vegetables that may otherwise rot led to the creation of 14 types of vegetable noodles that became a huge success in Indonesia. Javara Indigenous produces about 747 different organic products, about 80 percent of which is exported.

According to Hilman, Indonesia has reduced to just 1,100 its rice varieties due to chemical fertilisers compared to 7,000 that existed before the Green Revolution in the 1950s.

She said there was need to influence and educate government as most of the time it is found "not to be helping farmers" but rather "bothering them".

"Government does not think like an entrepreneur. Their mindset is that they have a budget to spend."

Hilman said it was more difficult to get permission to sell organic products in her own country than in other countries due to stringent regulations, which other countries have done away with.

"Government's insensitivity is same everywhere. I had a privilege to meet the President of Indonesia about two years ago where he called me a front-runner for export of rural products. I told him that it was because it was more difficult to get a licence from the Indonesian government than getting it from the FDAs (Food and Drug Administrations) in countries like the US, Switzerland and Japan. He was shocked. He asked 'How come?'" she said.

Hilman said she then showed the President all the regulations that stopped Indonesian farmers from selling their organic products within the country.

She said governments across the world must be facing pressure from powerful global seeds and fertiliser companies, for whom organic farming may cause financial losses.

"I think it happens everywhere. But now, the Indonesian government has started realising the situation and has started promoting organic farming. Whether it is right or not, they have to safeguard that," she added.

Hilman said exchange of indigenous seeds among different countries helps in creating different kinds of breeds.

"There are small, tiny islands in Indonesia that have 14 different colours of corn, from black to orange, purple to white. It is not native to Indonesia. People do not know when it came to Indonesia. It is assimilating with the culture," she said.

"Seeds have been travelling around the world. There has been exchange of seeds, which have been assimilating and adapting with the local ecosystem and it created different kinds of breeds."

Hilman said she has been working with experts on ancient manuscripts in her country to to find what has been recorded in them on different types of plants, culinary practices and agricultural practices.

"I have been working with experts on ancient manuscripts to find any documentation of food systems we have had in the past. It is very interesting to know different types of techniques so we can adopt them," she said.
Beijing: India's plans to ban Chinese power firms due to concerns over cyber-attacks could backfire on India even though the move would cause losses to companies from China, a report in a state-run daily said today.

"India's reported move to block Chinese companies in the power sector seems to be new evidence of the country's overly suspicious attitude toward China, but this could backfire given that India is still plagued by electricity shortages and unstable supply," an article in the Global Times said today.

The article was commenting on the remarks by Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association Director General Sunil Misra that ban on Chinese equipment would protect India "from cyber-attacks because the power sector is increasingly software driven with intelligent technology and control systems being used."

Referring to criticism that China does not allow for overseas investment in its electricity grid, the article said, "the reciprocity argument is unreasonably idealistic and doesn't make any sense at all. Even if China allowed overseas investment in its power sector, could Indian power companies really make it into the Chinese market given their lack of development?"

For a long time, Indian power companies have been calling for a complete ban on Chinese companies in the domestic power sector, citing the threat to national security, it said.

"Of course, such a prohibition, if it became real, would cause losses for Chinese companies. But it is totally unrealistic and inefficient for a country that relies heavily on foreign technology and equipment due to its own underdeveloped power sector, because it would be hard and costly for India to seek substitutes for Chinese products," it said.

"At present, Chinese companies are the major suppliers of power generation equipment in India, accounting for about 40 percent of the traditional power equipment market, according to media reports. As such, India's boycott of Chinese equipment would be at the cost of its electricity infrastructure development, eventually making its people the biggest losers," it added.
New Delhi: India has removed or relaxed foreign investment caps in several sectors since last year and one such sector is domestic airlines. So as of today, a foreign airline can pick up 49 percent equity in an Indian carrier and then also collaborate with an investment firm from parent country to pick up the remaining 51 percent, effectively owning 100 percent of an airline in India. This proposal has been opposed tooth and nail by incumbent Indian airlines SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Airways and Go Air under the aegis of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA).

This airline lobby group was also similarly opposed to the entry of Singapore Airlines and AirAsia BhD in India earlier  both forged separate partnerships with Tata Sons to set up two new airlines from scratch, when the FDI caps were relaxed in the first round in 2012. At that time, the FIA had used every available means to thwart the Tatas plans and though both airlines did eventually get established, the matter is still pending resolution in the courts.

Now, when Qatar Airways has been hinting at starting an airline from scratch in India by using the newly opened 100 percent FDI route (along with Qatar Investment Authority), the FIA has upped the ante again. This time, the FIA has raised some valid points and the government would do well to listen to what it has to say. Why allow a powerful global airline, with deep pockets and a vast network, to come to India and provide unnecessary competition to local airlines when the latter are already suffering in a high-cost and hostile operating environment?

Besides, there has been growing rivalry between the powerful Gulf airlines and those from Europe and the USA on global routes, with non-Gulf airlines closing ranks against the rapidly advancing Gulf carriers. Why should India open its arms to airlines from the Gulf?

In a fresh letter to the government, the FIA has raised some valid points against allowing 100 percent foreign investment in airlines.

1) No major investment may come in with Qatar: In its letter, the FIA has said that while the purported objective appears to be to bring in substantial investment into India, in fact, little or no investment will result from this. Investments in airlines are largely made in acquiring aircraft. Foreign airlines that establish airlines in India will simply lease planes from their parent companies and start operations.

Similarly, a majority of services such as repair and maintenance of aircraft will be outsourced to their parent companies. In fact, revenue generated in the Indian market may be repatriated abroad to benefit the foreign / home economy of the investing carrier. Such a decision will result in permanent damage to the domestic aviation industry and to Indias aim of building global international hub airports and global airlines in India.

This decision has the potential to create permanent foreign monopolies on key routes into and out of India to the detriment of the Indian consumers. What the FIA has left unsaid though is this: How will this decision impact Air India, which is already on government dole, when foreign monopolies eat into its thin share of overseas traffic?

2) Reciprocity: The principles of reciprocity, nationality and sovereignty are enshrined in the Chicago Convention, a multilateral convention signed by most countries including India. This principle would require other countries to give the same privileges to Indian carriers that India provides to them. India would perhaps be the only country in the world that would have such a 100 percent FDI for their airlines. This would be a remarkable give to other countries in return for nothing. Should the Indian government permit 100 percent FDI in scheduled airlines, it must do so on a strictly reciprocal basis.

3) Indian airlines aircraft orders seem pointless: The relaxation of foreign investment norms could not have come at a more inopportune time. Indian carriers have placed orders for hundreds of aircraft; India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. Why relax investment norms at this juncture when the market is already extremely competitive and struggling with a high cost-structure. Introducing financially stronger 100 percent foreign owned airlines, in some cases, state-owned, will create a non- level playing field for domestic airlines, cause tremendous losses and put even greater strain on the existing aviation infrastructure.

4) Why kills Indian hubs: India has a robust domestic market unlike its immediate neighbours, who have little or no traffic of their own. Allowing this captive market to be moved to the Hubs of the investor airline would not only negatively impact Indias own airport hubs, their traffic and viability, but will also be to the detriment of Indias own indigenous aviation industry and would damage its tourism and job creation potential.

The FIA has also shown how other countries are more protective of their indigenous airlines. So the foreign investment limit in USA and Canada is just 25 percent of voting equity. Across the EU, 49 percent effective control has been codified to ensure that control of European airlines is vested with European nationals. In Brazil the cap is 20 percent, China 35 percent, Japan 33.33 percent and Malaysia 45 percent. So while Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia BhD collaborated with the Tatas to set up an airline from scratch in India, an Indian airline cannot set up a subsidiary in Malaysia, said the FIA letter.

Another strong point in FIAs favour is its assertion that countries permitting any FDI in civil aviation simultaneously ensure that substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC) of airlines vests in their own countries. This fundamental principle is zealously protected and it is ensured that there is no direct or indirect foreign control over airlines established in their countries. Effective control can be ascertained by studying board composition, the types of decisions likely to be taken by a foreign entity/ airline holding an interest in that airline, registered office, venue of board meetings, nature of commercial agreement etc, the FIA letter said.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has been interested in traffic from India for a long time. It was wooing Indias biggest domestic airline, IndiGo, for an equity partnership earlier but IndiGo did not respond to its overtures. Frustrated at this, Qatar has now come up with a proposal to set up an airline in India from scratch. But whether it will succeed in overcoming the myriad regulatory hurdles in this endeavour remains in doubt. There is no firm proposal from Qatar as of now with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Qatar likely wants to make Doha a bigger international aviation hub and the Indian narrow body traffic will likely feed into the existing global network of Qatar Airways. The focus of the government of Qatar (which wants to invest through its sovereign fund) and Qatar Airways is onward traffic from Doha; let us not be fooled about any intentions of a new airline in India setting up a wide domestic network or feeding domestic underserved routes.

Qatars desperation about India stems from the fact that it has, for long, been interested in increasing bilateral weekly seat entitlements but has been unsuccessful. Its entitlements stand at a little less than 25,000 seats a week when the airlines from neighbouring UAE  Emirates and Etihad  have almost double the weekly seat entitlements. The Indian government has not been keen to enhance Qatars entitlements, taking the plea that our airlines are not even using a bulk of their current seat entitlements and that an increase will only help Qatar. What better way to thwart this scenario than to set up an airline in India, use it feed own global network and enhance the hub appeal of Doha?
New Delhi: As the government gears up to push generic medicines to bring down costs for patients, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in India Henk Bekedam has stated that the move, if successfully implemented, will not only reduce the cost of medicines within the country but also globally.

The 59-year old global health leader -- who previously served in a similar capacity in Egypt -- said that there were several "pre-qualified" generic medicine companies in India producing quality medicines.

"Make in India is important as India will be able to produce a greater quantity of good quality generic medicines, which will bring down the cost of medicines globally and more people in India and globally will be able to afford quality medicines," Bekedam, who assumed his present job in November 2015, told IANS in an interview.

Asked whether the foreign pharmaceutical companies, which are major suppliers of branded medicines, will be affected if India steps into the picture, Bekedam said that India is already the world's pharmacy, exporting quality generic medicines and vaccines.

"And by bringing down the cost of normal medicines globally they will be accessible to every one," he maintained.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said on 17 April the government will bring legislation mandating doctors to prescribe generic medicines which are cheaper than their equivalent branded drugs.

Generic medicines are the cheaper versions of branded drugs and come into the market after the patent period of the branded medicines expires. Manufacturers then replicate the medicines and come up with the cheaper versions. Since generic drugs do not involve a repeat of the extensive clinical trials to prove their safety and efficacy, it costs less to develop them.

According to Bekedam, out-of-pocket expenditure on medicines and other treatments by patients was a burning issue that had affected India's health system.

Stating that generic medicines can help in increasing their accessibility, Bekedam said that currently in India, two-thirds of people's medical expenditure comes from their own pockets, which leads to hesitation among them to go for surgery and other treatment.

In such a situation, generic medicines can provide relief to the patients.

"If we compare India with other countries, the government's contribution to health is just over one percent of the GDP which is low by international standards. It results in people spending out of their pockets. Two-third of all health expenditure comes from people's own pockets. It also leads to hesitation among people to seek surgeries and other treatments," said Bekedam.

He also urged a hike in India's health budget at a time other countries such as China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh allocate at least three percent of their GDP dedicated to the sector.

The Union budget allocated Rs 47,352.51 crore for health in fiscal 2017-18, against Rs 37,061.55 crore in 2016-17.

"India is a fascinating country and has similarity with other Asian countries and in terms of economic growth. When there is economic growth then there is more room for investment in health. I can see the potential in India that it can now put more money in terms of health and economic growth," said Bekedam.

Noting that 60 million Indians are in poverty due to paying health bills, he said: "India should invest more in health."

Having closely monitored India's health sector for almost two years, Bekedam said such investment will help the country become less vulnerable in terms of health calamities. Investing in a surveillance system that can detect and respond to diseases is crucial.

Citing the example of three West African countries affected by Ebola, he said: "These countries lost 12 percent of their GDP. Such countries are not able to detect the disease because of which they have to suffer the loss."
India approved on Wednesday a long-awaited policy to boost local defence manufacturing by effectively picking industry champions that would tie up with foreign players to make submarines, fighter jets, helicopters and armoured vehicles.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to end India's role as the world's largest arms importer by asking foreign firms to share technology with local players and then manufacture in India - in return for a slice of the $250 billion analysts estimate New Delhi will spend on its military over the next decade.

Under the "Strategic Partnership" model, the government will shortlist and then pick Indian companies to join forces with foreign firms. The winners will be guaranteed billions of dollars of orders to incentivise them to manufacture.

"For each platform, one private sector strategic partner will be chosen," Defence Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "You don't set up a manufacturing facility if you don't have any hope of getting orders."

Government and industry representatives have been haggling over the details of the model for more than a year, delaying discussions for tens of billions of dollars worth of deals.

Indian defence manufacturing is small and dominated by state-run outfits, many of which have been criticised for poor performance. Private firms such as Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra Group, Tata Group and recent entrants Reliance Group and Adani Group are desperate to muscle in on their business.

Foreign manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, Airbus and Saab also see India as one of the biggest sources of future growth.

Modi was keen to get the project approved before he travels next Monday to Germany, France, Spain and Russia, where buying weapons will be high on the agenda.

Among the long-awaited orders that executives hope the new policy could kick-start are a multi-billion-dollar submarine tender and another for a large number of single-engine fighter jets the Indian Air Force says it needs.

Lockheed Martin and Saab are in the race for the fighter jets, while companies in Germany, Spain, Russia and France are likely to be interested in the submarine tender.

Actual orders could still be years away, as India's procurement process often moves slowly and specific details of how the policy will work have yet to be released.

In June, Modi is also expected to visit the United States, which has emerged as one of the top arms suppliers to India in recent years.

Final details

India wants to replicate other countries that have used state policy to build leading defence firms.

Some executives and analysts have said the new policy could undermine competition and hand winning Indian firms a virtual monopoly, but the government decided it has reached enough of a consensus to push the policy through.

"We see the policy as doing something good for indigenisation," Jayant Patil, Head of Defence and Aerospace at Larsen & Toubro, India's largest private sector engineering firm, told Reuters.

Patil said that industry representatives had raised concerns in recent meetings about how the policy would be structured, specifically on the financial and technical criteria used for selecting partners.

"The final details are still awaited. We discussed some roadblocks but we hope they will be addressed," he said.

Larsen's "unmatched competency" lay in submarines, Patil said, suggesting it would focus on winning that strategic partnership. Some Indian companies are unhappy with a rule restricting them to becoming a strategic partner in just one of four sectors that will be the first covered by the policy - submarines, fighter jets, helicopters and armoured vehicles.

Companies such as Reliance, a newcomer to defence, had laid out ambitious plans to build anything from submarines to helicopters and missiles, but the strategic partnership model will likely force it to narrow its focus.

Tata, Mahindra and Reliance have all invested money in building helicopters.

According to draft guidelines of the model seen by Reuters, the government will use a range of technical and financial criteria to shortlist six Indian companies and several foreign players.

The two groups of companies will then begin talks to pitch jointly to the government, with New Delhi choosing the winning team, based in part on how much technology the foreign companies are prepared to transfer to their Indian partners.

"With all the effort that has gone into finalising the policy, it can potentially be a turning point in India's endeavour to have a robust homegrown private defence industrial base," said Pierre de Bausset, President of Airbus in India.

"We will assess the policy fine print when it is released."
The border encounters with India is costing Pakistan economy dearly. Never-ending clashes with India on the eastern border and Afghanistan might force Pakistan to up its defence budget by at least 30 percent in the national budget set to be announced on this Friday, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, quoting Peshawar based defence analyst, Khadim Hussain. In 2016-17, Pakistan had increased its defence budget to Rs 860 billion compared with Rs 3.6 trillion of India.

A steeper-than-expected rise in defence spend wouldnt be good news for a crippled economy like Pakistan, largely running on Chinese aid. If one compares the key economic and social parameters of Pakistan, it isnt difficult for one to understand why that country should put more money on the table to repair its debt-ridden economy, alleviate poverty and generate employment opportunities for its millions of youngsters entering the workforce every year, instead of engaging in a never-ending, politically-motivated conflict with its mighty neighbour. Ideally, Pakistan should work on reducing its debt burden and develop economic self-sufficiency.

Here are a few numbers for Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to think over:

Debt bomb

Pakistan's modest economy, which grew at just above 5 percent last year, has seen its current account deficit tripling to $7.3 billion in the ten months through April. Its trade gap expanded to $3.2 billion in April, close to lowest level hit a month ago since Bloomberg started compiling data in 2003. The country has almost pledged itself to the Chinese banks with humongous amount of debt that will make its posterity indebted to the neighbour for many generations to come. The extent of the problem is such that besides the existing debt, the ongoing China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) will not only make Pakistan an economic debtor to China but is designed to have long-term military and culture influence on Pak soil that will eventually make it a new era Chinese colony.

According to reports, Chinas investment in its ambitious economic corridor project in Pakistan has reached $62 billion, more than 34 percent from its initial investment of $46 billion. Besides this, China has promised additional investments to the tune of billions of dollars to Pakistan as part of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) plan. Such high debt burden will push the already weak Pak economy into a deeper mess. It doesnt end there. The CPEC would cost Pakistan even more since it needs to offer and maintain the security cover to Chinese establishments being set up under the CPEC-OBORyet again an expensive exercise for a poverty-ridden country.

A long-term plan on CPEC accessed by Pakistani newspaper, The Dawn, China plans to deeply influence the Pakistan region with its power and culture, establishing a full system of monitoring and surveillance ... built in cities from Peshawar to Karachi, with 24 hour video recordings on roads and busy marketplaces for law and order. A national fibre optic backbone will be built for the country not only for internet traffic, but also terrestrial distribution of broadcast TV, which will cooperate with Chinese media in the dissemination of Chinese culture.

Also, the plan envisages a deep and broad based penetration of most sectors of Pakistans economy as well as its society by Chinese enterprises and culture, the Dawn report said. With OBOR a reality, China will have greater reasons to exert economic and military influence in Pakistan. Shouldnt Nawaz Sharif and the Pak military be more worried about permanently pledging the country to Chinese dominance rather than sending proxies and fighting shadows on the Indian border?

It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Pakistan economy is facing a debt-crisisthe impact of which would have been profound had there been no Chinese money.

Industries/employment

Pakistan is also fighting an internal crisis as far as employment generation is concerned. According to Pakistan government data, unemployment rate is around 6 percent but according to a report in the Nation, some independent economic think-tanks in that country estimate the unemployment rate in Pakistan to be nearly 10 percent.

Already, the textile sectorone of the largest employers in Pakistan--is facing one of the gravest crises in its history. A 21 September, Bloomberg report, last year quoted Saleem Saleh, acting secretary general of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, as saying that about 100 member factories in Pakistan have shut down and at least 500,000 people have lost jobs in the past two years alone, on account of power scarcity and with buyers having shifted to other markets.

Of course, this is also due to Pakistans infamous image of being a terror prone area, which makes foreigners scared to land in Karachi, which isnt the case with other markets such as India, the reports says. Shouldnt the Sharif government think of investing more in giving more jobs to the youth rather than beefing up the military?

Agriculture

There are other costs to antagonizing India. Agriculture, which constitutes an important link of Pakistans economy contributing 19.8 percent of that countrys GDP and is the largest employer (42.3 percent of the countrys total labour force), too isnt in good shape especially with India threatening to revisit the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). According to the 2015-16 Pakistan economic survey, the agriculture sector is a vital component of Pakistans economy as it provides the raw materials to down the line industries and helps in poverty alleviation impact. Last year, the farm sector contracted by -0.19 percent mainly due to decrease in production of cotton, rice and maize, the survey says. Escalation of tensions at the border can have its economic ramifications here, too.

Why should Pakistan fear IWT? Three rivers under the IWT pact in the Nehruvian era, whose rights went to Pakistan Indus, Chenab and Jhelum  are the life energy for the Indus region, which, according to various estimates, supports 90 percent of Pakistans agriculture. It also provides water for that country for industries and residential complexes as well.

A recent UN report has rightly warned that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) traversing through PoK might create "geo-political tension" in the region by igniting further tensions between India and Pakistan.

"The dispute over Kashmir is also of concern, since the crossing of the CPEC in the region might create geo-political tension with India and ignite further political instability," said the report on China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Making the all-dominating military even more powerful and escalating tensions with India would only harm Pakistan even more and its 195 million population. The threat India poses to Pakistans national security is far less than what it faces from the fast-spreading Chinese influence, mounting debt-trap, unemployment levels and deep-rooted poverty in that country. It is still not too late for the Sharif-government to wake up and fight the real enemy.
Washington - The Trump administration has proposed to reduce its developmental assistance to India from $85 million in 2016 to a mere $33.3 million in 2018.

A major portion of the proposed developmental assistance to India is the US Agency for International Development-led global health programme, which again has dropped from $35.5

million in 2016 to $19.6 million for the next fiscal beginning 1 October 2017.

In the budget proposal, the US' financial assistance to India for international military education and training has been slightly increased from $1.2 million to $1.3 million, whereas the financial assistance towards counter-terrorism cooperation has been retained at $2 million.

Overall, US President Donald Trump proposed a massive reduction in American aid to South Asian countries.

In his maiden annual budget, he has chopped off foreign military financing to all countries in South Asia except for Pakistan.

Afghanistan, where the US has stationed more than 8,000 troops and where the Trump administration is considering sending more soldiers on the ground, has managed to retain largest level of American funding for the fiscal year 2018.

According to the annual budget proposals sent by the State Department to the Congress, the entire foreign assistance to South and Central Asian countries have been reduced from about $2 billion in 2016 to $1.4 billion in 2018.

Of this, Afghanistan alone accounts for more than half $782 million for the fiscal year 2018.

For Bangladesh, the State Department has reduced the financial assistance from $210 million in 2016 to $138 million in 2018.

A major chunk ($95 million) of assistance to Bangladesh is towards strengthening of democracy and economic development of this South Asian country.

Maldives, which is facing extinction from the dangers of climate change, has received a massive cut in developmental assistance from $3.3 million in 2016 to a mere $440,000 in 2018, as per budgetary State Department proposals.

Nepal too is off the Trump's list of Foreign Military Financing as the budgetary proposal for 2018 indicates the figure to zero as against $18 million in 2016.

But it has maintained the same level of assistance towards military training and education: $0.8 million in 2016 to $0.9 million in 2018.

Sri Lanka is another country where Trump has proposed a massive budgetary cut in its financial assistance which has come down from $42.5 million in 2016 to a mere $3.3 million in 2018.

Most of the funding ($2.8 million) would towards peace and security including combating weapons of mass destruction, and stabilisation operations and security sector reform.

Military training and education accounts for another half a million dollar, according to US budgetary papers.
Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell said Wednesday they wanted to throw their star power behind more movies made by women, after the Cannes premiere of their battle-of-the-sexes thriller. The Beguiled, which drew warm applause, marks the third outing at the world's biggest film festival for Oscar-winner Sofia Coppola, one of three female directors vying for the Palme d'Or top prize this year. "We as women have to support female directors, that's just a given now," Kidman said, citing statistics that just over four percent of major US movies last year were made by women.

"Hopefully that will change over time but everyone says, 'Oh, it's so different now.' It isn't  listen to that."

Cannes this year has become a platform for stars to rail against Hollywood sexism, with Salma Hayek accusing the system of treating actresses like disposable "monkeys".

Kidman plays the headmistress of a Southern girls' boarding school during the US Civil War who takes in a wounded Yankee soldier (Farrell).

The handsome corporal's presence wreaks havoc in the all-female environment, stoking desires and rivalries that explode in a violent climax.

#VengefulB*tches

Farrell, who also stars with Kidman in the Cannes contender The Killing of a Sacred Deer, joked he was the "token male" on Coppola's set.

"I have a penis. Treachery and hilarity ensues," he quipped in summing up the movie.

Farrell admitted it was only his second time working with a woman director but said he aimed to pursue more female-led projects.

"I've been doing this 20 years and... I think this was my favourite experience, my favourite shoot," the Irish actor said.

"I grew up with three very strong and very brilliant, kind and smart women in my life  my mother and my two sisters. So to be surrounded by all of these incredible women who are amazingly talented and decent and creative and insightful and curious was just a treat for me."

He praised Coppola as "incredibly smart and elegant".

"She has a gentility to her which is not to say that she hasn't got a beast of an engine inside, an incredible creative engine."

Coppola said she set out to retell the story behind the 1971 Clint Eastwood movie of the same name, but from the women's perspective.

"At the core of it there's the power struggles between the male and female which I think are relevant but hopefully in an entertaining and juicy story," she said.

The film's marketing team has playfully embraced its feminist message, using the hashtag #VengefulBitches  one of Farrell's character's most memorable lines  on Twitter and YouTube.

Dark, dirty and hairy

Coppola said she had long hoped to work with Kidman, who she knew "would bring her little bit of twisted humour to the role."

And she picked Farrell, known for his bad-boy antics off-screen, because he was "connected to his dark side, which the character had to have".

"We had to find a man who could handle all these women and I wanted him to be a contrast to them  very masculine and dark and he's an exotic enemy soldier," he said.

"He comes into this feminine world and he's dark and dirty and hairy."

The picture also reunites Coppola with Kirsten Dunst for their third film, in which the US actress plays a teacher who falls hard for Farrell's soldier.

"I would do anything with Sofia," she said. "If she gave me the phone book I would do it."

Coppola first came to Cannes as a child with her father, two-time Palme d'Or winner Francis Ford Coppola.

Her last entry in the main competition at the festival, 2006's Marie Antoinette, was loudly booed and drew mixed reviews.

This time critics called The Beguiled the most likely commercial hit of the 19 movies in the running for the Palme d'Or.
It was a gang war sequence shot on the streets of Mumbai for Ram Gopal Varmas Company, which was largely responsible for turning Prawaal Raman into a director.

The sequence, shot over a span of 12 days, impressed Ram Gopal Varma so much that he asked Raman, the second unit director of Company, to helm their next film.

His first film, Darna Mana Hai, changed the viewers mindset towards horror films and the experiment initiated debates and discussion among film-goers. The quality horror genre would go on to become Raman's signature in coming years.

The filmmakers next Dobaara: See Your Evil is all set to hit the marquee in first week of June. When I sit with the filmmaker for a tete-a-tete, a camera crew is busy setting up equipments for those ubiquitous bytes.

The extremely shy and reclusive filmmaker is not known to talk to the media much. "A directors job is to be behind the camera and to make movies. Actors look for limelight (and its their job). Their work is done only if they are seen. I can write my stories without anyone, explains the filmmaker.

This would explain why Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are a strict no-no for Raman.

This is a conscious decision. I am just not interested in sharing my thoughts with others. I am more interested in real people. I have no inclination to buy likes and increase my followers. Its a separate world altogether. Its a great platform and I have no negative feelings towards it but I dont want to tell people that I am in London right now and am busy writing the script of my next film while sipping tea at the window, say Raman.

Prawaals next film is a remake of Oculus, a much loved Hollywood horror film, which earned ten times its budget.

When I saw Oculus the only expression which came out was what a smart film. I only make original content, in the sense that I always write my own stories but when I was approached with the remake concept, it took me by surprise. It was an offer I could not refuse and I willingly accepted it, he says.

Raman is all set to fly to LA to show the film to the director of Oculus, Mike Flanagan. I want to show the film to him as a mark of respect because he is the original filmmaker. I want Mike to be my first audience. I am just the narrator. I have credited Mike for original story in the film, reveals the filmmaker.

Prawaal has established a name for himself when it comes to quality horror. His experience on Raat brought him in contact with RGV and his debut assignment was Shool.

So does Prawaal consider RGV as his mentor? No, I dont consider anyone as a mentor. I admire his film and love him as a filmmaker from Shiva to Satya. I cannot learn filmmaking from him or anybody else, as its a very personal thing. What I have imbibed from him is discipline towards your craft. I wont call him as a mentor but as someone who influenced me, he says evasively, and claims he has not seen RGVs current work.

Having made quality horror with Darna Mana Hai and 404: Error Not Found, the three mantras that Raman reveals dont fit into the conventional mould. First would be that one should not try to play safe, which is rampant in conventional cinema. Second would be not to cater to marketing and distribution needs to attract the audiences and third would be to respect the budget of such a genre.

The setting of his next film is London which raises the obvious question: Why? Prawaal has an explanation for this too. It was a conscious decision to set the film in London and its the story of a family. Had the story been set in India, where there are always neighbors and too many people around, bringing out the isolation factor would have been a challenge, he explains.

Its also interesting to note here that Raman's next film is not a horror, and currently he is busy scripting a film based on Naela Quadri Baloch, a freedom fighter from Balochistan. The film is about a woman seeking freedom from Pakistan. My next might not be horror film but it might be a horror film in Pakistan, he laughs.

Almost all the films that Raman have made till date have been intense and dark in nature. Cinema has a created fake world. You are not what you are. Mario Puzo and Copolla are not gangsters and I think that answers your question, he says.

Fun fact: both Imtiaz Ali and Raman hail from the same town but while one is a sucker for love stories, the other is more inclined towards thrillers: Imtiaz has a knack for romance and I really like his work. We do keep in touch.
Cannon to right of them/ Cannon to left of them/ Cannon in front of them/ Volleyd and thunderd.

So runs a verse in Alfred Lord Tennyson's iconic poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Now that poem, about the courageous, yet doomed, charge of a battalion  poorly equipped with sabres against an enemy that has big guns, would have been a fitting ode to the episode known as The Battle of the Bastards, in season six of Game of Thrones.

And yet, it is these verses that come to mind, as Cersei Lannister takes centrestage at the start of the new trailer for Game of Thrones' season seven.

"Enemies to the east, enemies to the west, enemies to the North, enemies to the South," Cersei says to Jaime Lannister, as we see flashes of just the enemies she is talking about: Daenerys Targaryen, with her Dothraki and Unsullied armies, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, the Tyrells.

"We're the last Lannisters," Cersei tells Jaime, and then we see a shot of a worried looking Tyrion on a cliff  just as we cut to Cersei's dialogue once more: "The last ones who count."

Even as we see the Lannister armies marching forth in battle, we see Daenerys, setting foot on Dragonstone. "I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms," she says, as she touches home soil for the first time in her life. Then she promises, "And I will."

From the dragon queen, we move to another setting, one where the rousing cries of "the King in the North" hold sway. Jon Snow will have his own battles to wage in this new season, and some of these fights may be from within home. We know this because there's Littlefinger 'advising' Sansa Stark  "Your father and brother are dead, and yet here you stand... last best hope against the coming storm".

Cue epic battle sequences, with the Dothraki khalasar riding in ferociously, and pulling off some of the best fight moves we've seen on horseback.

The Unsullied aren't far behind either, and violent clashes with the Lanister army are in the offing.

And as we see Dany's dragons soar over the army, Jon's voice warns: "The great war is here."

The new season will air on HBO on 16 July. Watch the official Game of Thrones season seven trailer here:
In Nirmalyam  the 1973 Malayalam film scripted and directed by Jnanpith laureate MT Vasudevan Nair  the protagonist, who is an oracle, dances before the goddess at the temple, spits blood on her face, strikes his head and dies.

It went on to receive the National Award for the best film and the actor, PJ Antony, a Christian, was adjudged the Best Actor that year. The film was well-received, and it remains one of the classics in Malayalam.

But more than four decades later, the octogenarian writer-filmmaker has courted controversy for the very suggestion of his new films title - Mahabharata - for it demystifies the divine characters who are just humans for him.

Writers see it as a sign of growing intolerance in the Kerala society.

The Hindu Aikya Vedi, or Hindu United Front, backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had vowed to stall its screening, even before its shoot began if the films title remains the same.

The Rs 10-billion film is based on MTs award-winning novel Randamoozham, in which Bhima is suffering silently as the man destined to wait for the second turn (Randamoozham).

Bhima loved Draupadi, the wife of the five siblings, but she loved Arjuna the most, as portrayed by MT. He also plays a bigger role in the epic war the five had won than all others, including Arjuna.

The book distorts the epic, and it should not carry its name. I would like to humbly state that if such a film ever comes, it should be Randamoozham, not Mahabharata, says KP Shashikala, president of the Vedi, adding, If (you) are obstinate, I would like to inform you that it would never see the cinemas here. We would not allow it in the name of freedom of expression. Hindus face is not one that anybody can split at and go.

Its a matter of faith, she added at a public meeting in Kochi on her statewide Hindu Rights Protection March.

Several writers have come out against her statement describing it as a sign of growing intolerance in the country, which should be fought against and defeated.

There are several works of fiction based on the epic. Shashi Tharoors satirical work, The Great Indian Novel, retells Mahabharata as modern Indian history, CV Balakrishnan, author of 57 books and seven screenplays, told Firstpost, adding, There are several such works in Malayalam and other Indian languages, which recast it through the eyes of Karna, Arjuna and Draupadi. Thats the freedom our writers have been enjoying.

He remembers Peter Brook did not face such threats when he released his own The Mahabharata in 1989.

Its not a religious text. Its the worlds biggest epic that captures the imagination. It doesnt belong to any religious group or community, but the entire humanity, said Balakrishnan, adding, "Writers, filmmakers and all those who respect ones freedom of expression would stand by the writer and filmmaker on this.

But the BJP backed the Hindu group saying it had every right to voice against the tendency to distort epics.

We are not against the film, but dragging Mahabharata into it. Why does nobody dare to do it on other religions? Even political parties react when they are put in a bad light in films, said BJP spokesperson JR Padmakumar.

NRI billionaire BR Shetty, the producer of the Rs 10-billion movie, said he would go ahead with the multi-lingual film, Indias costliest, and the shooting would begin in Abu Dhabi, where he is based, sometime next year.

The films script is ready and its director, noted advertising filmmaker VA Shrikumar Menon, has begun other pre-production works. Mohanlal is playing the central character of Bhima, while it will have a multinational cast.

Mohanlals fans have also taken to the social media vowing to give protection to the cinemas screening the film.

Menon said the title in Malayalam would be Randamoozham while it would be released in other languages - English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu - as Mahabharata.

We need a globally accepted title, and we chose Mahabharata, which is appealing to all. Randamoozham is Mahabharata, and the title will be Mahabharata based on MTs Randamoozham, he said.

He has picked up an international casting agency to decide on other characters.

He plans to begin shooting in September next year, and the first part will hit the screens in the first quarter of 2020 and the next part in the second quarter of the same year.

But Hindu Aikya Vedi rejected his argument saying it would not tolerate dragging the Hindu epic into the title in any form.

We are not against naming it as Bhima or whatever you like. But not Mahabharata. We have registered our opposition, and we would decide on our plan of action when the film gets released, said RV Babu, general secretary of the Vedi.

Its not about this particular film alone. We are against depicting our gods and goddesses in a bad light. MF Hussain was at it. We were protesting their attitude. They think they can do anything against Hindu culture and beliefs and get away with it.

The late painter Hussain died while in self-imposed exile, aged 97, in London, after being charged with "hurting sentiments of people" because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.

We are going ahead with the film. The selection of artists is going on, said Shetty, who was here last week.

Im going to do press conferences worldwide. Los Angeles, Bombay, Singapore, Australia, Germany everywhere, he said further.

The people behind the project say it would be a coming together of the creme de la creme of Indian and global cinema, regarding its cast and crew and it will have some of the big names from Hollywood including some Academy winners.

Mohanlal, in a recent interview, had announced that he had signed to play the central character of Bhima, and Amitabh Bachchan would be playing Bhishma.

The rumour mills are abuzz with suggestions like Aishwarya Rai as Draupadi and Vikram as Arjuna, besides AR Rahman as the music composer, Sabu Cyril as art direction and KU Mohanan as cinematographer.

The promoters promise that it will have an identity across continents, with their representatives donning the myriad characters in The Mahabharata upholding sanctity and the iconic status of the epic and it will be true 'Make in India made for the world.'

Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty is the founder and chairman of Abu Dhabi-based nmc group, which includes NMC Healthcare, UAE Exchange and Travelex.

He expects the film will be adapted in over 100 languages and reach over three billion people across the world.
The title of Superstar Rajinikanths 164th film has been revealed and not surprisingly, it is trending worldwide. Kaala is the name chosen for the film  a contraction of his character's name in it, Karikalan. With the title being revealed, theres now extensive speculation as to what the film will be about.

There were rumours that Rajinikanth was playing well-known gangster Haji Mastan in this film, but those were laid to rest when the gangsters foster son sent him a legal notice. Actor, producer and director Dhanush, who is Rajinikanths son-in-law, is producing this film and his production house Wunderbar Productions, issued a statement denying this. While we know hes not playing Haji Mastan, hes definitely playing a Mumbai gangster.

Dhanush has tweeted that the first look of the film will be out this evening. And the audience cant wait!

But lets look at the title. Kaala can be interpreted in two different ways in Sanskrit  it means black and it also means destiny, fate or death. Yama, the god of death, is also referred to as Kaala.

The title in itself is quite powerful and conveys that Rajinikanth will be a force to contend with in the film. Kaala or Karikalan is from the Nellai community and hes likely to be the leader of this community. Hes going to be a gangster who is not just committed to a life of crime but someone who is committed to the welfare of his people.

But this is not the first time that the superstar has essayed such a role. Baasha (1995), in which he played a similar role went on to become one of the biggest films in Rajinis career. Manick Baasha lives in Mumbai and used to be a don. Loved by the people in his community, he does away the bad men and then reforms his ways to become an autodriver. He becomes a regular, simple man who just wants to live a peaceful life with his family. In fact, this movie is still such a big hit that it was re-released recently.

Another film in which Rajinikanth excelled as the 'bad man' was in Mani Ratnams Thalapathi. He plays Surya, Devas right-hand man, who has utmost loyalty and devotion to someone he regards as a brother. Surya goes to the extent of even trying to take a bullet for Deva. Such is his good nature.

In the recent Pa Ranjith film, Kabali, too Rajini plays the role of a reformed gangster but in Kulala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kabaleeswaran or Kabali is a don imprisoned on false charges but he spends 25 years in prison with no complaints. He comes out, a man wanting to reunite with his family and serve the community. And Kaala  again directed by Pa Ranjith  seems to be follow a similar theme. However, this time round, he will be an ageing don in Dharavi, Mumbai.

One important element to note when Rajinikanth plays a don is that he is someone who does good for the people. All his negative actions or crimes are only carried out only in retaliation and to deliver justice. He never sets out to kill someone or commit a crime just for the sake of money. And that is perhaps why he is seen as a saviour of the masses and loved for his actions, even if its criminal activity.

With Kaala, Rajinikanth seems to be all set to come back as a man whos desperately wanted by the police but unconditionally loved by the people.
Salman Khan's Tubelight is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of this year. Slated to be released worldwide during Salman's most-favourite release time Eid, this film has already set tremendous interest among the billions of Salman fans.

The makers of the film are all set to launch the much awaited trailer on 25 May 2017.

The film is based around the India-China and involves more than 600 actors who were cast to play army personnel. Sohail Khans character in the film is also an army officer.

Kabir Khan, the director of the film, came up with a unique yet effective idea to get include 600 real soldiers in Tubelight, to perform with conviction. He asked the Indian army to train these actors for the film, to which they readily agreed. They took the actors under their regime for a couple of weeks.

They organized a boot camp for the actors and trained them rigorously to make them look like real-life soldiers. The actors had a complete transformation and showcased the body language of a soldier that looks completely convincing. They even learnt to hold their weapons and armour perfectly.

Tubelight is produced by Salma Khan and Salman Khan. It stars Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and the Chinese actress Zhu Zhu. It is being co-produced by Amar Butala. Pritam has been roped in to compose music for the film.
Mumbai: Entrepreneur, producer and author Twinkle Khanna, who is producing a film titled Padman, is campaigning to urge people to talk about menstruation.

"No shame in menstruation. Join Water Aid India and Dasra to get talking menstruation," Twinkle tweeted on Thursday.

The page for the Water Aid India cause read: "There is no shame in menstruation. Join us on Menstrual Hygiene Day in ending stigma around periods.

"The importance of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is mostly neglected. Menstrual hygiene is a taboo subject; a topic that many women are uncomfortable discussing in public.

Girls and women continue to face significant challenges in managing menstruation  in a safe and hygienic manner because of low levels of awareness about menstruation and menstrual hygiene, lack of access to safe products, and lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

Underlying this are widely held beliefs that consider menstruation to be polluting and menstruating girls and women as impure."

WaterAid has been working in India since 1986. It focuses on water, sanitation and hygiene and seeks to improve access to safe water, sanitation and promote improved hygiene for all. Dasra is a strategic philanthropy foundation that nurtures partnerships to create social change.

Twinkle's Padman, a biopic on Arunachalam Muruganantham, a man who created a revolution in the field of affordable menstrual hygiene. The film is being helmed by R Balki and features Twinkle's husband Akshay Kumar (who recently won a National Film Award for his 2016 release Rustom) with actresses Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor.
As Priyanka Chopra does the rounds of chat shows to promote her latest Hollywood release, Baywatch, her latest pit-stop was The Wendy Williams Show.

The conversation started off innocuously enough, with Priyanka trotting out many of the same phrases to questions she's been asked ad nauseam  'big movie star in India, how do you deal with the fame?', 'would you want to go back home?', 'paparazzi intrusion', 'did parents flip out when you wanted to work in films?' etc. They also discussed her much-memed Met Gala trench coat dress.

It did get a little more interesting when Wendy asked her  so you had a great outfit, great hair, 'but where was your date'?

To which, Priyanka gave a 'dates are so overrated' reply, adding the zinger: 'My outfit, my moment!'

She went on to talk about how she's 'not not into dating' and also addressed the host's questions about pressures to get married, 'settle down' etc.

And then, Priyanka got grilled about her close friend, Suits actress Meghan Markle, and her relationship with Britain's Prince Harry  and whether or not she'd be a bridesmaid at the wedding, if it ever took place.

Here's what Priyanka had to say:
New Delhi: As it gears up for mega Yoga Day celebrations, the government has plans to declare a hundred parks especially dedicated for yoga activities across the country to promote this traditional practice.

Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow will host the main event of the International Day of Yoga (IDY) on 21 June this year where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate.

Around 150 countries are expected to participate in the mega event, with Indian Missions in those nations coordinating the activities. IDY will be observed at some of the major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trafalgar Square in London and the Central Park in New York among others.

"It would be no exaggeration to say that the world has acknowledged the supremacy of India in the field of yoga. Last two years, the IDY was celebrated across the globe with active participation of more than 190 countries," Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said.

The prime ministers award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of Yoga at national and international level will be given to individuals or organisations who have made significant impact on the society for a sustained period of time by way of promotion and development of Yoga, Naik said.

A screening committee chaired by AYUSH secretary has been constituted to recommend the names and the the jury headed by cabinet secretary will finalise the four winners, two in each category.

The ministry is also planning to have 100 Yoga parks across the country which will be managed by Yoga or other organisations voluntarily.

The prime minister, senior ministers, Uttar Pradesh chief minister and yoga gurus along with nearly 51,000 people are expected to take part in the event.

In Delhi, seven main events are being planned in different places in association with NDMC, DDA and Yoga organisations.

Apart from this, yoga events will be held in different parts of the country as well as main cities like Paris, London and New York across the globe.

The ministry on its official website has requested the people visiting the web page related to IDY to take a pledge to make yoga an integral part of their daily life.

The first IDY celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on 21 June, 2015 in which representatives of 191 countries had participated. Last year, the main function was in Chandigarh.

The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by prime minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 every year as IDY.
Amaravati: BJP President Amit Shah met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday.

After winding up three-day visit to Telangana, Shah reached along with Naidu from Hyderabad in the same flight. They were accompanied by central ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Y.S. Chowdary.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief later met the Telugu Desam Party president over lunch at Naidu's residence. Central ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu and Y.S. Chowdary, Naidu's son Nara Lokesh and TDP's Andhra Pradesh unit President Kala Venkat Rao were also present during the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour.

According to sources in the TDP, they discussed the political developments, the alliance between the two parties and the ensuing presidential election. Naidu urged Amit Shah to ensure that the Centre takes early steps to fulfill all the commitments made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Earlier, the BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit leaders met Shah and discussed strengthening of the party in the state and the relations with TDP.The BJP chief is scheduled to address a public meeting in Vijayawada Thursday evening as part of the party's efforts to expand base in the state.

Shah's visit comes a few days after the relations between the two allies turned somewhat strained when some TDP leaders criticised the BJP for allowing YSR Congress Party President YS Jaganmohan Reddy to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The TDP is a partner in BJP-led NDA government at the Centre while the BJP is an ally of the TDP in the ruling coalition in Andhra Pradesh.

During his visit to Telangana, Shah hinted that the alliance will continue in Andhra Pradesh but the BJP may go alone in Telangana in 2019 elections.

Interestingly, Naidu was in Hyderabad on Wednesday to address the annual conclave of the TDP's Telangana unit while at the same time Amit Shah addressed a meeting of BJP workers in Hyderabad, asking them to gear up to bring the party to power in the state.
An Indian and three Pakistani nationals were arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly staying in India under fake identities. The Bengaluru police raided their apartment after receiving a tip-off that some Pakistani nationals were illegally staying in Bengaluru's Yarab Nagara area. The suspects were arrested from Kumaraswamy Layout in the area by the Central Crime Bureau, after they failed to produce valid identity documents, according to NDTV.

According to Republic, they produced incomplete documents.

#BREAKING: Three Pakistani nationals arrested in Bengaluru for producing incomplete documents. More details awaited  Republic (@republic) May 25, 2017

The Pakistani nationals have been identified as Kirhon Ghulam Ali, Khasif Shamshuddin and Samira Abdul Rehman. The Indian national hails from Kerala and has been identified as Mohammed Shihaab, International Business Times reported.

News18 reports that the accused had been living in the area since the past nine months. The report adds that the Pakistani nationals were also able to create identity documents to prove they were from India. The had even managed to get Aadhaar cards made without providing any valid address proof.

Central agencies and the Pakistan Embassy have been informed of their arrests. We are verifying the information that the accused have given us. They allegedly flew to Nepal from where they reached Patna by road. And then reached Bengaluru, Praveen Sood, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru told News18.

Sources told News 18 that the Indian national, Mohammed met Samira, a Pakistani citizen last year and they fell in love. Mohammed later promised Samira that he would help her get into India.

Her cousin Shamshuddin and his wife also expressed their desire to come to India, and Shihaab is said to have allegedly helped the three reach India.

The NDTV report stated that the police have charged the three Pakistanis with the Foreigners Act and other laws, adding that the central intelligence agencies would continue to interrogate the Pakistanis to cross-check their version of the developments.
Patna: Nine passengers aboard a private bus were burnt alive and half a dozen were injured when it caught fire near Harnaaut area of Bihar's Nalanda district on Thursday, the state police said.

All the deceased and injured were rushed to a government hospital.

#Visuals from Bihar: Bus caught fire in Nalanda's Harnaut, Bihar govt announces ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of each of the 8 killed. pic.twitter.com/TywtyIE7wQ  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Over a dozen passengers got trapped in the rear side of the bus, said police officials. The bus which was heading towards Bihar Sharif from Patna, was not air-conditioned. The cause of the fire was being ascertained, they said.According to The Tribune, two gas cylinders which were placed on the roof of the bus caused the fire. It also states that the bus caught fire when passengers on the roof threw the cylinders down.However, a report in the Hindustan Times says that a malfunction in the engine was the cause for the fire.

Latest #visuals from Bihar's Nalanda: Bus gutted in fire, 8 killed, a dozen injured. pic.twitter.com/q6B0YjLDE2  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Expressing shock over the mishap, Bihar Disaster Management Minister Chandrasekhar has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the victims and promised to provide treatment to those sustained burns in the blaze.

With inputs from agencies
Patna: Eight more patients have died during the ongoing strike by junior doctors at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) since Wednesday night, taking the total deaths to 15, official sources said on Thursday.

The strike has left hundreds of other patients, many of them in serious condition, in a lurch. The attendants and family members do not know where to turn for medical attention. Seven patients died on Wednesday.

"Fifteen critical patients have so far died due to lack of treatment following the doctors' strike in the past 36 hours, which has badly hit the 'Emergency and Out Patient Department' services," a hospital official said.

More than 500 junior doctors, who have struck work since Wednesday, are in no mood to relent till action is taken against police officials who cane-charged them during a counselling session for admissions to post-graduate courses on Monday and left some of them injured, officials said.

PMCH superintendent Lakhinder Prasad, however, said: "We have no record of deaths due to the ongoing strike. But I have been told of some deaths. Most patients who died were serious/critical. It has nothing to do with the strike."

Prasad said senior doctors have been deployed in the emergency ward due to the ongoing strike of the junior doctors.

Junior doctors of Patna-based Nalanda Medical College and Hospital too joined in the protest on Thursday to express solidarity with those in the PMCH.

Earlier, Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) doctors also extended support to the PMCH junior doctors. They have stayed away from work since Wednesday morning.
Thiruvananthapuram: Youth activists of the opposition Congress and BJP on Thursday, clashed during an agitation before the Secretariat here against the CPI(M)-led LDF government, which is celebrating its first year in office.

Hundreds of Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha activists had gathered since Wednesday night in front of the Secretariat as part of a '24-hour siege' protest against the government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging that its one year rule was a "total failure."

Trouble started when the activists pelted stones at each other and tore flex boards. A policeman was injured in the stone throwing and police used water cannons to disperse them, police said.

Earlier, inaugurating the Yuva Morcha rally, Poonam Mahajan, national president, said the "red terror" unleashed by marxist workers against the cadres of saffron outfits should end.

Alleging that the attack against party workers had increased after LDF government came to power in May last year, Mahajan wanted the centre to hold a proper inquiry into the killings of RSS/BJP workers.

Since the 1960s, in Kannur, from where the chief minister hails, over 200 RSS/BJP workers have been killed, she alleged. "No FIRs have been registered," she said.

"We request the prime minister, home minister and Kerala governor to conduct a proper inquiry and set up a Special Investigation Team to fight the red terror," she said.

She said the one year rule of the Vijayan-led government was a failure on all fronts, and alleged that rape cases and atrocities against dalits were on the rise.

BJP leaders Ram Madhav and H Raja were among those who spoke.

BJP Kerala president Kummanam Rajasekharan said "there is no water nor rice in ration shops, and no jobs for the youth. What has the government done to celebrate its first year in office."

Youth Congress national president Amarinder Singh Raja inaugurated the youth congress rally.

Speaking at the rally, KPCC president MM Hassan said there was nothing for the LDF government to celebrate as its policies were all "anti-people."
After dragging himself into a controversy with his tweet where Bollywood actor and BJP MP Paresh Rawal suggested that the Indian Army should tie Indian author Arundhati Roy to an army jeep instead of stone-pelters, Rawal on Thursday justified his action and called the controversy "baseless" as his tweet was a message of "peace".

"This is a baseless argument. Arundhati is a well-wisher of the stone pelters. They are her followers. If she (Arundhati) sits on the jeep, there will be no pelting of stones. Arundhati will also understand, and get a first-hand experience of the conditions that the Army has to face," Rawal told CNN-News18 on Thursday.

Implying that the responses to his tweet should have rather been considered offensive, Rawal said, "Shehla Rashid also replied saying Gautam Gambhir should be tied to the jeep. She also provided a morphed picture to support the statement. But she is also revolutionary, so she won't be targeted."

Rawal also brought Congress MP Digvijay Singh's tweet into account. "Singh also asked to tie the person responsible for the BJP-PDP alliance (in Kashmir). Who is indulging in an inflammatory talk here? " he asked.

Rawal insisted that his statement was positive in nature and there weren't any wrong intentions behind it. "My comment was that of peace. Maine toh shanti ka kabootar choda tha. No one will pelt stones at Arundhati," the BJP MP said. "I am a citizen first and then a BJP MP. It is the duty of every citizen to support the army. I am a citizen of the country and will always be one," he added.

Rawal's tweet came on the lines of Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi's order of tying a Kashmiri man to the bonnet of an army jeep to deter stone-pelters from targeting the troops and election officials, and the subsequent commendation of the act from the Indian Army.

On Sunday, Rawal, a National Award-winner, suggested on Twitter that Roy should be tied to an army jeep instead of a stone-pelter. His tweet was widely condemned on social media, as many accused him of inciting violence.

The BJP also distanced itself from his remark. Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted saying, "Nowhere will we, in any way, support any violent message by anybody, against any individual of the country." Rawal later deleted his tweet.

Rawal later deleted his tweet.
Even before the state BJP's march to the Kolkata police headquarters formally started, a group of its party workers on Thursday surprised the police by suddenly arriving near Lalbazar in a private bus. The BJP workers were protesting against 'failing' law and order situation in Kolkata.

BJP MP Roopa Ganguly alleged that the party cadres were peacefully headed to submit a deputation at the Lalbazar police headquarters, however, the police detained them without any reason, according to The Financial Express.

At least 20 BJP activists reached the city police headquarters at Lalbazar in central Kolkata ahead of the schedule but they were immediately intercepted and detained by the police personnel posted there. Police resorted to lathicharge and used water cannons to disperse the protesters.

Following the clashes, Lalbazar turned into a fortress as a large number of police personnel were deployed near three major interception points  at Phears lane, Tea Board of India office and Bentinck Street connector  to prevent the BJP from holding its protest rallies.

Barricades, guard rails, and around 200 heavily armed personnel including combat forces, Rapid Action Force and commandos were deployed to check any untoward incidents.

The incident, comes only three days after another protest led by Left-wing activists was intercepted, resulting in a violent clash with the police, which left 200 people injured.

Leading a massive rally of around 20,000 activists from Howrah station, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said they would start sit-in protests on the street if the party workers are stopped anywhere by the police. Protesting the law and order situation in the state and fake cases lodged against their party workers among other issues, the state unit of BJP has promised to rally around one lakh people to the city police headquarters Lalbazar on Thursday.

With inputs from IANS
As the Delhi High Court and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board continue to be at loggerheads about the mark moderation policy, uncertainty looms over the dates of when the Class XII results will be announced.

Apprehensions over the results continue even as Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday that the CBSE would declare the results of Classes X and XII on time. "CBSE results will be declared on time, the date will be told by CBSE. No need to worry about the court's order, justice will be done for all," Javadekar told IANS. Javadekar's remarks came in the wake of the Delhi HC's direction to CBSE not to implement its decision to scrap its moderation policy on marks this year.

The court had noted that the CBSE had decided to do away with the moderation policy after the students had taken the examinations. CBSE had agreed to scrap its 'moderation policy' in April under which grace marks are given to students in exams for difficult questions. The court's direction came on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that contended that the policy should not be done away with this year since it will affect students of Class XII who have applied for admissions abroad. The petition was filed by a parent and a lawyer, saying the policy was changed by way of a notification after the exams for the year were held and hence would have a drastic impact on the students.

This move is expected to negatively affect the results, The Indian Express reported. The aim of moderation of marks is to bring uniformity in the evaluation process, wherein marks scored by students are changed to align with the marking standards of different examiners.

The CBSE along with 32 other boards had decided to do away with the marks moderation. However, some states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu had decided not to withdraw the moderation policy this year.

For now, Moneycontrol reports that Javadekar announced that that CBSE will continue to give grace marks. He added that spiking of marks will not be permitted.

The exams for Classes X and XII began on 9 March. A total of 10,98,981 students appeared for Class XII exams, an increase of 2.82 percent from 2016.

The examination schedule was already delayed this year due to Assembly elections that took place in five states  Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. But the HRD Ministry had asked all boards across the country to ensure this didn't impact declaration of results, as it would have had a knock-down effect on students seeking admissions into colleges for under-graduation degrees.

Even as uncertainty continues to loom about the result dates, students can check their marks on either of these two official websites: cbse.nic.in or cbseresults.nic.in when the results are out. All students have been requested to keep their relevant candidate information, like roll numbers, ready in order to avoid delays.

With inputs from agencies
Recently, the Supreme Court sought response from the Centre on a petition to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM) in India. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines FGM as all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The practice is condemned internationally on grounds that it is discriminatory and amounts to cruelty against girls. The US outlawed FGM in 1996 and recently, a doctor of Indian-origin was charged with performing FGM (believed to be the first such case in the US). Interestingly, the defence in the US trial case would be arguing that FGM is a religious right protected under the US Constitution.

Earlier this week, Lawyers Collective (a prominent NGO working on human rights issues in India) in collaboration with Speak Out on FGM (a group of women who have been victims of FGM in India) proposed a legislative framework to ban FGM in India. The Indian government must pay heed and take steps to ban FGM as it is unconstitutional and an egregious violation of human rights.

In India, FGM (also referred to as female khatna) is prevalent only in the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Shia Muslim sect with roots in Africa. FGM is carried out to control a womans sexuality, and young girls between infancy and the age of 15 are made to undergo this extremely painful (and traumatic) procedure. The consent of a girl is never taken, and the procedure is conducted forcefully, according to Al Jazeera, on the victims. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), one of the reasons for performing FGM is the belief that a womans sexuality is insatiable if parts of her genitalia (especially the clitoris) are not removed. Proponents of FGM believe that the practice helps ensure virginity before marriage and fidelity afterwards and increases male sexual pleasure.

Is female khatna obligatory under Islam?

Those who oppose female khatna, including certain Muslim scholars, argue that the practice does not find any mention in the Quran, and is merely a cultural practice (as opposed to a religious practice). According to Qasim Rashid, an Islamic scholar, the practice of FGM predated Islam and was practised by others such as Christians and Jews as well. Some scholars have also observed that although the Quran does not refer to khatna, this practice is understood as "sunnah" (a tradition derived from the life and teachings of Prophet Mohammad). Even then, the practice under the sunnah refers only to male khatna, ie, "male circumcision" (or the removal of the foreskin from the penis in men). Circumcision is understood to be one of the five Islamic "fitra" (acts of a refined character) prescribed for a male. Male circumcision, therefore, was historically carried out for the purpose of hygiene and to prevent sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Some people point out that it is wrong to compare male circumcision with FGM, as the former can be considered a religious or cultural practice, but the latter has no such basis. Further, while male circumcision is not known to cause any adverse health or psychological impact, FGM is both traumatic and medically undesirable.

The psychological and medical impact of khatna on women

FGM causes sexual intercourse among women to be painful and difficult and may result in serious medical complications such as urinary infections, septicemia and haemorrhage, says The Telegraph. FGM is also known to cause hepatitis and tetanus when performed in poor hygienic conditions. A WHO study states that FGM significantly increases risks associated with childbirth to both the mother and child.

Apart from health risks, FGM can also cause mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and memory loss, etc.

FGM as a violation of human rights and constitutional rights

In 1993, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Women recognised FGM as a form of "violence against women". The practice also goes against the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which India has signed and ratified. In particular, Article 19 of the convention obliges countries to take all appropriate legislative measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse while in the care of parents/legal guardian(s). Further, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Not only is FGM an act of cruelty, but also amounts to gender inequality and discrimination against women. The UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), although not expressly referring to FGM, is aimed at ending gender-discriminatory practices.

FGM violates several fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution including Article 14 (right to equality), Article 15 (prohibition against discrimination on the grounds of sex) and Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty of an individual). FGM can also be said to violate a womans right to privacy, freedom from violence and her physical integrity, all of which are aspects of an individuals right to life.

FGM banned in other countries

The practice of FGM is not endemic to India, and several countries have already banned this practice. Section 645 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 criminalises FGM in the United States. Britain criminalised FGM way back in 1985, and last year, Australia convicted the leader of an Islamic sect for FGM (the first ever conviction for FGM in Australia).

The central government recently asked the Dawoodi Bohra community to voluntary give up the practice of female khatna. Given that this practice is being carried out in secret (even in big cities like Mumbai), the Centre must be proactive and enact a legislation to ban this practice in the country. As proposed in the Lawyers Collective report, amendments must also be made in the Code of Ethics Regulations (2002) by the Medical Council of India, to define FGM as a "professional misconduct". This would ensure that doctors and health professionals refuse to perform FGM, and help eliminate this barbaric practice in India.

The author is a research fellow at Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. She is also a volunteer at Strategic Advocacy for Human Rights (SAHR)
Beijing: China on Thursday played down a UN report that cautioned that the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor could ignite "geo-political" tensions with India, saying it is an economic project and will not affect Beijing's stand on the Kashmir issue.

In an exhaustive report on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said, "the dispute over Kashmir is also of concern, since the crossing of the CPEC in the region might create geo-political tension with India and ignite further political instability".

Asked for his comments on the report which also warned Beijing that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) could also fuel the separatist movement in Pakistan's Balochistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing that the ESCAP did not issue any specific report on the CPEC but on the BRI.

," he said.

This shows the support of the international community towards the BRI and the report issued by ESCAP also gave a high evaluation for the positive role played by it and also expanded indeed how ESCAP can play a positive role in this initiative, Lu said.

Besides cautioning about geo-political tensions due to the CPEC traversing through the disputed regions, the ESCAP report also said the project may "ignite" further political instability besides fuelling the separatist movement in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The report prepared at the request of China also cautioned that the instability in Afghanistan could cast a shadow over the viability of the CPEC on which India has already raised protests with China and boycotted last week's BRI summit hosted by Beijing.

"Afghanistan's political instability could also limit the potential benefits of transit corridors to population centres near Kabul or Kandahar, as those routes traverse southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban are most active," the report said.

According to the report, while the CPEC could serve as the "driver for trade and economic integration" between China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Afghanistan and the Central Asian states, it could also cause many problems within Pakistan and reignite separatist movement in the country due to opposition in Balochistan.
New Delhi: A special court on Thursday granted bail to five accused named by the CBI in its supplementary charge sheet in a coal scam case against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and others.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar on Thursday granted relief to the accused - Jindal Steel's adviser Anand Goel, Gurgaon-based Green Infra's vice-president Siddharth Madra, Nihar Stocks Ltd director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE International's chief financial officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Mumbai's Essar Power Ltd executive vice-chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo.

The case pertains to allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

The names of these five people were revealed by Suresh Singhal, a chartered accountant, who was earlier chargesheeted by the CBI as accused in the case.

The court had summoned them also as accused after taking cognisance of the supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI on 24 March.

Besides Jindal, the case also involves former minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao and former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda.

The court had earlier directed the CBI to expeditiously file its further probe report.

CBI had alleged that Koda had favoured Jindal group firms  Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd  in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

All the accused had denied the allegations levelled against them and said there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process.
Lucknow: People from two communities came to blows and pelted stones at each other in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district, triggering panic, police said on Thursday.

The melee started with a minor accident late on Wednesday night after which people from both sides clashed and pelted stones at each other in Ladia locality.

The locality is considered 'hyper sensitive' communally and as the news of the clashes reached the district officials, police reinforcements were sent and the situation brought under control. District officials pacified the angry mob and asked them to return to their homes.

Dhruv Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Sasni Gate area where clashes took place, informed IANS that police was identifying mischievous elements and will take action against them.

The situation is tense but under control, he further added.
Kolkata: The opposition Congress and the Left Front decided to boycott the ongoing West Bengal Assembly session after speaker Biman Banerjee on Thurday refused to allow a "no-confidence motion" against the government - a decision which the two outfits described as 'unprecedented'.

The Speaker said while explaining his decision to not allow the motion and that there was not much time left before 29 May, when the current session is set to conclude.

The Leader of the Opposition, Abdul Mannan, said that the speaker's refusal to allow the no-confidence motion was tantamount to shielding the state government from facing uncomfortable questions.

"They do not have the courage to face us and thus the motion was disallowed. Therefore, we have decided to boycott the rest of the session," Mannan said.

He said that the Congress along with the Left Front would hold a mock session in front of the Assembly gate.

The no-confidence motion, as per the rules, is admitted for discussion in the House within 10 days of its introduction.

"We still have two more days in the ongoing session. There could be a discussion anytime during these two days. But the Speaker did not allow that. This is escapism," Mannan said.

The no-trust motion was moved by the two opposition outfits in protest against alleged rigging in the recent municipal polls and police assault on Left Front supporters and journalists during their march to the state secretariat on Monday.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday had a providential escape when his copter crash-landed. But many other leading Indian politicians have not been as lucky and got killed in air tragedies in the past few decades.

Fadnavis, 46, three officials, a pilot and co-pilot managed to emerge virtually unscathed after their US-made Sikorsky helicopter crash-landed from a height of almost 80 feet, or a ten-storied building, at a helipad in Nilanga, Latur district, on Thursday afternoon.

Some other politicians weren't so lucky.

Among possibly the earliest Indian politicians to be killed in a plane crash tragedy was the late revolutionary leader, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, on 18 August, 1945, in what is modern Taiwan.

Almost 37 years ago, firebrand Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and younger brother of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was killed when a small aircraft he was piloting crashed at the Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi on 23 June, 1980.

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia was killed when his Cessna aircraft crashed on 30 September, 2001, while he was flying to Kanpur for an election rally.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Telugu Desam Party leader GMC Balayogi was killed in a chopper crash on 3 March, 2002 in Andhra Pradesh.

Senior DMK leader and former Minister of State for Defence NVN Somu was killed in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on 14 November, 1997.

Then Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was killed in a chopper crash on 30 April, 2011.

Then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was killed in a chopper crash on 2 September, 2009.

However, there have been others as lucky as Fadnavis and managed to survive aircraft tragedies in the past.

They included former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who escaped unhurt when his special aircraft crashed in Assam in November 1977.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, and former union ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Kumari Selja escaped miraculously from a chopper crash in Gujarat in 2004.

In 2007, then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his cabinet colleague PS Bajwa survived after their chopper got entangled in overhead electrical cables in Gurdaspur.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis survived a major scare on Thursday, when a helicopter carrying him crash-landed in Latur. However, Fadnavis and his aides who were travelling with him all escaped unhurt.

The helicopter, which had six persons on board including two crew members, got entangled in overhead wires while landing at Nilanga area where the CM had held a programme.

"It was a crash-landing. When we took off, we noticed that the chopper was slanting. There was air pressure. It brushed against (electric) wires," Fadnavis said, after reaching Mumbai by another aircraft from Latur.

Chopper with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis onboard crash-lands in Latur, CM and team escapes unhurt pic.twitter.com/1tQ4NXqeoo  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Those aboard the helicopter along with the CM included senior IAS officer Praveen Pardeshi, his personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar, and media adviser Ketan Pathak. Speaking to the media after everybody's safety was assured, Fadnavis said there was nothing to worry about.

"Nobody got hurt. Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," he told reporters at Nilanga. He added that the pilot too had not been injured seriously.

"This is a new helicopter. We will seek information from police on this incident," the chief minister said. He also took to social media to announce the same. He tweeted:

Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok.

Nothing to worry.  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 25, 2017

The CM's banker wife Amruta Fadnavis expressed relief that her husband had escaped unhurt in the crash.

"Devendra ji called me and informed that he was safe. He also spoke to (his) mother," Amruta said, adding the CM was very calm when he spoke.

A senior official of the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) said the state government's Sikorsky helicopter suffered substantial damage in the accident.

The DGCA official said the six-seater helicopter suffered substantial damage and would have to be "written off".

After taking-off at around 12 pm on Thursday , the pilot observed a variable wind pattern and decided to land. During landing, the helicopter got entangled in wires, the official said, adding that all six persons who were on board are safe and escaped without serious injuries.

The authorities spoke to commander of the flight as well as the chief minister. Both informed about the well-being of all occupants, the official said.

The chopper was scheduled to land at the governor's house Raj Bhavan, near the CM's official residence 'Varsha' in Mumbai, as usual, an official said.

Fadnavis was travelling across the state's rural hinterland to reach out to farmers in order to assure them of his government's support. Thursday was Day One of this 'Samwad Sabha' rally. On the first day, Fadnavis was scheduled to meet farmers in Latur, while BJP state unit president Raosaheb Patil is to interact with cultivators in Nandurbar district of North Maharashtra.

The chief minister, during his speech at the BJP state working committee's meeting last month in Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune, had announced the 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' plans.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation (AIB) bureau, which comes under the Civil Aviation Ministry, will investigate the mishap. The AIB probes all accidents and serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

However, the helicopter accident will worry Fadnavis, especially because it comes close to another one last week. A report on NDTV mentioned how Fadnavis' helicopter developed a snag last week, forcing the chief minister to travel through road in an area with a major Maoist presence.

"The pilot of the chopper informed about the technical snag just before the take-off for Nagpur in the afternoon. Hence we had to take the decision of travelling by road," Gadchiroli superintendent of police Dr Abhinav Deshmukh said, referring to last week's incident.

Among those who called up Fadnavis to inquire about his well being were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, an official said.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao telephoned Fadnavis from Chennai and enquired about his well-being. The governor said he was shocked to hear the news of the crash-landing and that he was relieved after being informed by Fadnavis that everyone was safe.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed relief that Fadnavis escaped unhurt.

Former deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the government should take extra precaution in ensuring proper maintenance of helicopters deployed for VIP duty.

"I thank almighty that CM is unhurt in Thursday's accident. It is to be checked whether the periodic maintenance of

choppers, flying VVIPs or any other person, is done or not," Pawar told reporters in Pune.

He demanded that there should be two pilots on a chopper carrying VVIPs. "New technology should be used in the

maintenance of choppers," Pawar added.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao telephoned Fadnavis after coming to know about the incident and expressed happiness over the Maharashtra CM escaping safely, a release from Rao's office in Hyderabad said.

With inputs from PTI
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch a 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' today to reach out to farmers in the state and address their issues.

The four-day initiative is being launched amid the rising resentment among farmers across the state over delay in procurement of tur this year. Nearly 4,000 elected representatives of the party will participate in the campaign and hold meetings with farmers at various locations.

According to a press release issued by the BJP on Wednesday, the party's representatives, including MPs, MLAs, zilla parishad members and corporators, will engage in a dialogue with farmers to know about their issues and take their feedback on various decisions taken by the government in the last two-and-half years.

Each leader will hold four meetings everyday. On day one, Fadnavis will meet farmers in Latur district of Marathwada region, while BJP's state unit president Raosaheb Patil will interact with the cultivators in Nandurbar district in North Maharashtra.

Other leaders like Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil will meet farmers in Kolhapur, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in Chandrapur, Education Minister Vinod Tawde in Ratnagiri and Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde in Beed.

The chief minister, during his speech at BJP state working committee's meeting last month in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, had announced that the party will hold the 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' in the state.
Brussels: Donald Trump meets NATO and EU leaders for the first time Thursday with the US president set to press nervous allies to do more on terrorism after the Manchester bombing.

Trump faced protests on his arrival in Brussels, but he is getting a red-carpet welcome from Western allies eager to persuade him that his earlier criticisms of them were misplaced.

NATO, which Trump on the campaign trail dismissed as "obsolete" for focusing on Russia instead of terrorism, is set to bow to his demands that it join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.

"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference ahead of the summit.

Trump's entourage however warned that the billionaire president will once again press the 28-nation alliance to pay their full share of the alliance's financial burden.

"I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters travelling with Trump.

Trump himself however is set to face pressure from British Prime Minister Theresa May over leaks to the US media of details of the probe into the bombing of a pop concert Monday in Manchester that killed 22 people.

Brussels could be the toughest leg yet of what has so far been a largely trouble-free first foreign trip for Trump, who came direct from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

'Hellhole' Brussels

On his arrival on Wednesday in Brussels, the city he once said had been turned into a "hellhole" by Muslim immigration, the president was greeted by thousands of protesters saying "Trump not welcome."

Further protests were expected Thursday and security was tight across the city with helicopters flying overhead and key roads shut down.

The European Union, like NATO credited with keeping the peace in Europe since World War II, will also be hoping to convince Trump that it remains relevant.

EU President Donald Tusk, who will meet Trump along with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, tweeted that "I'll aim to convince POTUS that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent (a) post-West world order".

Trump alarmed the EU by backing further countries to follow Britain's lead in quitting the bloc, and by calling it a vehicle for German dominance of the continent.

Tusk and Juncker will tell the US president that since last year's shock Brexit vote, the EU is "in a completely different place" after populist candidates lost in France and the Netherlands, a senior EU official said.

Trump will have a private lunch with new French president Emmanuel Macron, whose recent victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been seen as a beacon of hope by Brussels, before heading to NATO.

'Win this fight'

Trump set out his stall on terrorism as he met Belgian prime minister Charles Michel shortly after his arrival on Wednesday night, saying that the most important issue was terrorism after the "horrible situation" in Manchester.

"When you see something like what happened a few days ago you realise how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," said Trump.

At least 9,000 people marched through Brussels on Wednesday night waving blond-haired effigies of the reality TV star president.

The NATO summit will however be full of pomp and symbolism, with the keen-to-impress alliance showing off its new $1.2-billion (1.1 billion-euro) headquarters and staging a flypast.

At a ceremony with German chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump will unveil a memorial to the 11 September, 2001 featuring part of the destroyed World Trade Center, while Merkel does the same for a fragment of the Berlin Wall.

In return, allies rattled by a resurgent Russia will hope for a public display of commitment from Trump to Article 5, the alliance's one-for-all collective defence pledge.

The alliance is now set to formally join the anti-IS coalition after France, Germany and Italy dropped their opposition, diplomatic sources said.

But while it will provide help including the use of AWACS surveillance aircraft it will not join combat operations, Stoltenberg insisted.

Trump's wife Melania, meanwhile, is set to visit a museum dedicated to the surrealist artist Rene Magritte and a leading leather store while in Brussels.

Trump's sweep through Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, centres of three of the world's main religions, is being followed by Brussels and a trip to Italy for the G7 leaders summit on Friday.

The high-profile trip has diverted attention from Trump's domestic pressures amid the probe into alleged Russian ties with his campaign.
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New Delhi: The family of an Indian woman who claimed she was forced by a Pakistani man to marry him at gunpoint said on Thursday it never thought she would be back home "this soon".

The woman, identified as Uzma Ahmad, reached India on Thursday morning, crossing the Wagah Border near Amritsar from Pakistan, after being allowed to return home by the Islamabad High Court. She was accompanied by Indian Mission officials.

"We did not expect that she would back this soon," Uzma's brother Wasim Ahmad, happy at the quick turn of events, told reporters. He added that the family had to do little for her return.

"We did not have to do any running around. We got a call from (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj that Uzma had contacted the Indian Mission in Islamabad and her return to the country was being facilitated," Ahmad said, expressing the family's gratitude to the Indian government.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s and belongs to New Delhi, is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir Ali in

Malaysia.

She told the Islamabad High Court that Ali forced her into marrying him in Pakistan on 3 May, when she was visiting that country.

She petitioned the court on 12 May, requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from Thalassaemia, a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

The court ordered Ali to return her immigration papers which she said had been taken away from her. Ali submitted the documents, enabling her to leave Pakistan.

Ahmad said it was not clear what had happened to Uzma during her Pakistan visit.

"We don't know what exactly happened with her there. We will get to know the truth from her when she is back here. So far we have only been hearing from the media," he said.

Minister Swaraj welcomed Uzma back home, calling her "India's daughter". "I am sorry for all that you have gone through," she tweeted.
Two Detroit-based defence lawyers are going to argue that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a religious right, according to a recent report. In this first-ever federal case, two doctors and one of their wives from Detroit were charged with "subjecting two seven-year-old girls to genital cutting." This is obviously not an isolated case. Banned in many countries as it a violation of human rights of girls and women, FGM is practiced behind closed doors in African and Asian countries and in some parts of West Asia.

In India, FGM is practiced in the Dawoodi Bohra community. Recently, Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi's strong words against the barbaric practice came across as refreshingly encouraging and reassuring.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, she said, We will write to respective state governments and Syedna, the Bohra high priest shortly to issue an edict to community members to give up FGM voluntarily as it is a crime under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012. If the Syedna does not respond then we will bring in a law to ban the practice in India.

The World Health Organisation defines FGM as all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The WHO website says the practice that is internationally considered as violation of human rights have affected 200 million girls and women across 30 countries  in Africa, Middle East and Asia. It is mostly performed on girls between the age of 1 and 15.

A report titled A Guide to Eliminating FGM in India prepared by Speak Out On FGM, a group of FGM survivors, and Lawyers Collective, a human rights NGO, calls for the need for a separate law the expands the definition of FGM and includes amendments and provisions for relief, rehabilitation and protection and go beyond what is covered currently under the IPC and POCSO.

Senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India, Indira Jaising, who guided the effort, stated: FGM is not only illegal as this report demonstrates but is also unconstitutional as it disproportionately impacts the girl child. It is also prohibited by international conventions which India has signed.

Health impact

The report explains the concept of "Khatna" which "involves cutting the tip of a girl's clitoris when she is 6-7 years old." It goes on to explain that though various socio-cultural reasons have been given to justify the practice, it is essentially rooted in the belief that female sexuality and desired need to be controlled and thereby, reduced.

The report states: "The perception is that a girl who is circumcised does not get as aroused as one who is in qalfa (meaning with a clitoral hood) or one whose clitoris is intact." The practice is also viewed as a cleansing procedure to purge the girls mind of impure thoughts and desires.

It goes on to list out the short and long term health risks like swelling and inflammation in the genital area, infection, urinary problems, complication during pregnancy, painful sexual intercourse and even psychological complications, which includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression.

The report also argues that FGM should be taken out of religious purview and states: "While the Quran does not sanction female circumcision/khatna/khafz, Daimul Islam, a religious text followed by Bohras, endorses the practice on girls after they reach the age of 7 for hygienic reasons."

Legal framework

FGM is a violation of rights like the right to be free from gender discrimination, the right to life, the right to physical integrity that is associated with the right to freedom from torture and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the report stated. It is also considered a form of child abuse.

The report further states that 20 countries across Africa and 13 countries elsewhere have laws that criminalise FGM. While some countries have specific Acts and provisions in the existing penal codes, some countries have special laws to deal with the issue.

Within the Indian legal framework, persons undertaking FGM may be prosecuted under the IPC, however, since it is "not explicitly an offence under the IPC", a complaint under Section 326 which covers causing grievous hurt can be registered, stated the report. It added that FGM may be covered under the POCSO Act.

Addressing FGM

The report recommends since the decision to carry out the practice rests on the parents or some elder in the family, provision should be made to penalise not just the cutters and propagators (Amils) but also the parents. It also suggests a legal provision that will enable informants whether it is the doctor, Amils, teachers or social workers to come forward and register a police complaint. Even the medical professionals involved in this practice should be held accountable for professional misconduct.

The report encourages sensitisation programmes for the Bohra community with pro-active participation from the community and religious leaders and timely and effective intervention right from the ward and panchayat levels.

The report further states: "It must be ensured that the girl child has the support of a robust system of protection once she/any other person on her behalf has complained of the offence, and that she can effectively realise her right to remedy, reparations and rehabilitation."

In a press release, Masooma Ranalvi, Convenor Speak out on FGM, said, "A law against the practice of FGM will serve as a strong deterrent in the otherwise law abiding bohra community... A law along with administrative measures of promoting awareness, sensitising the community on the subject and grassroots campaigning for social reform will help us eventually root out the practice of FGM.
Controversial Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik, who has remained out of India since June last year, has been granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, Middle East Monitor reported.

The Britain-based media monitoring site quoted Arab sources as saying that the decision to grant Naik Saudi citizenship had been taken by King Salman himself, in order to block his arrest by Interpol.

However, no Indian publication confirmed the news. According to a report in DNA, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) denied reports of Naik being granted Saudi Arabian citizenship.

"It (news of Saudi citizenship) is false, unless Allah wills. This is how media even prints gossip as facts," the foundation had said.

Naik had come under the scanner of the security agencies after Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star reported that one of the perpetrators of the 1 July terror attack in Dhaka, Rohan Imtiaz, was influenced from Naik. Imtiaz reportedly ran propaganda on Facebook quoting Naik.

The Islamic orator is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speech aimed against other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

On 15 November 2016, the government had decided to declare an NGO promoted by Naik as an outlawed organisation under the anti-terror law for five years for its alleged terror activities.

The Cabinet approved a proposal to declare IRF as an 'unlawful association' under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for five years, a home ministry official said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 21 March had issued notice to the televangelist to appear before it in a case where he stands accused of promoting enmity between groups on religious and racial grounds.

Naik had been summoned after failing to appear in person. Later, on 21 April, Naik was issued non-bailable warrant by a Mumbai NIA court.

Naik had also been under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner as the agency attached assets worth over Rs 18 crore belonging to his NGO and other entities.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM)  an economic think-tank associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)  has in a letter to the prime minister, written on 23rd May, upped the ante against the decision of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to grant approval for the introduction of genetically modified mustard (GM mustard) in India.

So far, green activists had been at the forefront to oppose GEAC's decision, taken earlier this month. But, given the fact that the governments premier think-tank, NITI Aayog, has strongly recommended technology-aided practices to increase agricultural productivity and the government-controlled GEAC has given the go-ahead for the introduction of GM mustard, it was only a matter of time before the environment ministry, in particular, and the government, in general, was expected to issue formal sanction for the roll-out of the first genetically modified crop in the country.

But SJMs move to jump into the multitude of protesting voices has somewhat queered the pitch for GM mustard enthusiasts. As the arguments and counter-arguments rage on, the prime minister has to take a call, as the decision will have far-reaching implications for the agricultural community as a whole.

Five years ago, the Manmohan Singh government had faced a similar dilemma, when opposition to its decision to introduce Bt Brinjal had reached a crescendo. The then environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, had held a public hearing on the objections raised by the social activists and had found merit in them. On the basis of the objections, he had subsequently deferred the decision.

That raises a pertinent question: Will the GM mustard recommendation go the Bt Brinjal way? Though both are genetically modified food crop, there is an essential difference between the two and that goes in favour of the former. This has something to do with our nationalistic pride. The Bt brinjal proposal had come to the government from a multinational corporation (MNC) and there was a widespread belief that the MNC concerned would rake in huge profit and the Indian farmer would face adverse consequences in the long run.

But the redeeming feature of the GM mustard proposal lies in it being a domestic proposition  that it is the product of a research team of Delhi University, headed by its former vice-chancellor, Deepak Pental.

The government agencies  which had found the Bt brinjal proposal environmentally acceptable and held the GM mustard in the same light  have argued that our nationalistic spirit has now been assuaged, as the latter is a product of internal research and the entire profit would remain at home.

But there lies a catch. What many activists are saying and what SJM has put forward rather forcefully is that Pental and his team are a mere front for an MNC, Bayer, which would benefit immensely from a positive decision.

The SJM puts it bluntly: "The claim that GM mustard is swadeshi (indigenous) and has been developed in India is completely untrue... In 2002, Proagro Seed Company (Bayers subsidiary), applied for commercial approval for a similar construct that Pental and his team are now promoting as HT mustard DMH 11. Bayers application at that point was turned down because the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said that their field trials "did not give evidence of superior yield."

The SJM letter goes on to say: "As is well-known, the hybridisation of GM mustard is achieved by means of the two genes barnase and barstar. The barstar-barnase gene is a patented technology of Bayer Crop Science. Bayer is not a swadeshi company. How is a product patented in their name termed as swadeshi? The fact that Bayer owns the patent of the genes used in Pentals mustard has been deliberately concealed from the people of India."

Having demolished the swadeshi tag of GM mustard, the SJM letter goes on to present the financial implications of going ahead with the product: "Not only that GM mustard is based on Bayers patented barnase-barstar gene system, for which royalty shall be paid, it is said to promote usage of glufosinate, a herbicide from which Bayer will benefit the most through its existing brands."

Clearly, Pentals team and the promoters of the Bayer company will have a lot to answer for.

It is simply not a question of the swadeshi-videshi debate. The government should consider the long-term implications of the genetically modified crops and, on balance, if it finds that the benefits outweigh the negative effects, it must go ahead irrespective of whether it is Indian or foreign technology.

The biggest factor in favour of the use of genetically modified seeds is that their productivity is supposed to be higher compared to the conventional seeds. The wise men in NITI Aayog believe that GM mustard would greatly enhance our mustard production and consequently, our huge edible oil import bill will come down, saving our precious foreign exchange reserve.

But even this claim has been sought to be demolished by the SJM in its letter. It quotes a report of the Data from Rapeseed Mustard Research (DRMR) to show that existing non-GM varieties of mustard give better yield than what Pentals GM mustard yields.

It is a dispute that cannot be settled by public debate. The government must do a credible public inquiry, taking both proponents and opponents of the GM mustard into confidence, and come to a definite conclusion  just as Ramesh had done in the case of Bt brinjal.

Another major consideration before a final decision is taken about the GM mustard ought to be the environmental implications. The SJM has made two important points in this regard: "The GM crops (along with the herbicides they promote) are injurious to honey bees, as has been proved the world over honey bees are important not only for producing honey but also for increasing agricultural yields."

The second point it has made is regarding the long-term effect of using the herbicide: It would "make the land under GM mustard cultivation and substantially the adjoining areas unfit for other crops."

This has serious environmental implications. Pental has, of course, rubbished the claims of environmental degradation, but the government has to come clean on the matter based on credible research and field study.

The proponents of GM technology adduce the example of the United States and Canada, which have been happily living with the genetically modified products  food and non-food variety  for decades without any apparent adverse environmental consequences.

But then the opponents of GM technology do cite the example of many European nations, who have banned the entry of GM products into their country, let alone producing them. In fact, 19 members of the European Union  including technology powerhouses like France and Germany  have taken a call to withdraw from the GM mandate, as increasing concerns about its impact on public health are being raised by green activists.

The government of India must, therefore, take a considered decision after weighing all options. It has to keep in mind that even Bt cotton  which is a genetically modified non-food product  that was introduced in India in 2002 by the erstwhile BJP-led government, has now been termed a disaster by the current BJP-led government.

The Union government in an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court last year made a candid admission: "Pink bollworm, a major pest to the cotton crop, has already developed resistance in the last two-three years; farmers are a worried lot having sown Bt cotton seeds purchased at a high price."

This is further buttressed by the fact that a majority of the farmers committing suicide are cotton growers.

There is, therefore, a need for the government to go slow on the issue of rolling out GM technology, in order to take a considered view based on both domestic and international concerns. If it decides in haste, it may have to repent at leisure.
By Maya Palit

"Most people were amazed that I came back home in one piece and asked me in hushed tones: How was it to live there? Not everyone in Pakistan was carrying a bazooka, I said, and yes, they seemed quite normal to me, just like us."

If longtime journalist Meena Menons responses to people asking her about her time as a correspondent in Pakistan seem to be full of platitudes, it's because they are replies to the most banal and bizarre questions about the country. "Go to Pakistan" might have become the

"Go to Pakistan" might have become the favourite national abuse against people who are, or perceived to be, expressing solidarity with the Muslim community in India. But it looks like people get neurotic if you actually do make your way over there.

And Menon being a woman meant that both the paranoia and the queues to shake her hand increased exponentially.

Menons recently-published book Reporting Pakistan is a chronicle of nine months spent as a reporter in Islamabad, between August 2013 and May 2014. In it, she recalls that she was the third woman correspondent to be posted in Pakistan by The Hindu (amongst her predecessors was the journalist Nirupama Subramanian, who reported first-hand and up-close on former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhuttos assassination in 2007). So, Menon assumed that Indians would be over the novelty. They werent.

"The curiosity was not only about how I managed as a woman... but as a woman in an 'enemy' country," Menon explains, describing how male colleagues assumed that Pakistan was deeply 'unsuitable' for women correspondents.

Menon's book reveals that not for a second did her position as a woman correspondent come in the way of her high-profile coverage of political events, like drone strikes, suicide bombings, and Pervez Musharrafs trial.

Some of her most interesting work focuses on under-reported instances, which indicate how the 'red tape, lethargy, and ill-will' between the two neighbouring countries makes a world of difference to minority communities.

Menon also explores human interest stories  like how fishermen and their families, from both India and Pakistan, get a very raw deal because you can be jailed indefinitely if you stray into each others waters by mistake, despite there being a judicial commission in place.

She also reports extensively on the plight of various minorities, from the persecuted Ahmadi community, who are viewed as a 'heretical minority' in Pakistan, to a colony of 400 Christian families living in a tent settlement in Islamabad.

It's not as if Menon doesnt acknowledge that there were difficult aspects to her time there, more so as it was her first posting outside India. Her book's first chapter recounts the visa troubles, faced at that time by both Indian journalists in Pakistan and vice-versa, which made it impossible for Menon to access and report out of multiple cities.

And visas could be revoked abruptly without reason, as was the case with Menon. She also experienced animosity from officials and endless red-tape bureaucracy on occasions when she was denied permission to meet the president or prime minister.

Again, this is faced so often by journalists on both sides of the border that Subramanian once called it the 'reciprocity principle' (a tit-for-tat dynamic where officials in Pakistan deny Indian journalists access because their journalists havent been allowed to foreign briefings).

Another unnerving and regular feature during her time in Pakistan was the spooks. Colleagues had warned her that she would be followed, as people would assume she was a Research and Intelligence Wing (RAW) agent. The situation wasnt as extreme as they made it out to be, but Menon realised in January 2014 that she was, in fact, being tailed by two gentlemen.

They followed her on hikes and into cafes where she was conducting interviews, grilled her interviewees and friends, and even barged into houses to ask for information about her. Although she was told to "pretend that they didnt exist", occasionally, she found herself giving into the exasperation, even asking one of the men to move out of the frame while she was taking a photograph, "as I didnt want my picture spoilt by a spook in a muffler". Later, she learned that they had rigorously tracked correspondents from other countries too  she hadnt been singled out as such.

Were things especially difficult for her as a woman reporter though? Not from the sound of it.

Menon says unequivocally that "being a woman was the least of my problems while living there". The lack of harassment shouldnt be the ideal yardstick for measuring a woman correspondent's experiences of navigating a country, but unfortunately, it is.

Menon recalls having no trouble despite being the only woman in several situations. For instance, she only saw one other woman, who was white, in the liquor shop she frequented, in the National Assembly Press room, and a diplomatic dinner party in Islamabad.

She details a few instances of repeated pestering from anonymous callers or from keen stalkers, but they weren't serious, and overall she didn't experience any harassment on the streets.

"I didnt come across men ogling me or pawing me [though journalist Kim Baker had some terrible experiences] or people humming songs and making vulgar noises behind me," she writes.

You could, of course, attribute Menon's sense of security in Islamabad in part to her circumstances as an extremely well-connected figure, moving in foreign diplomat circles, with access to a car and a stream of welcoming acquaintances, including TV anchors, newspaper editors, human rights activists, and politicians.

(Karachi, for instance, appears to have been more difficult for her because she had to be chaperoned by a policeman who "clearly disapproved of women walking".) So, when Menon reminisces about listening to Pink Floyd because feeling "comfortably numb" in Pakistan was what she had to do to survive, you do feel like a raised eyebrow is in order.

Menon, however, also acknowledges and explores the rampant sexism and violence against women in the country, from women's shelters in Karachi to girls being offered as compensation for murder and the impact of the blasphemy laws on Aasia Bibi.

Her book doesn't in the least dispel the testimony of women journalists based in Pakistan either, many of whom this March spoke up about the urgency of stepping up safety measures and combatting sexual harassment against its female staff.

All it does is fiercely negate the idea that you need dollops of sympathy if you're a woman correspondent in Pakistan, even if you hail from the 'enemy' country. The book's descriptions of the overwhelming and 'unconditional affection and warmth' displayed towards Menon during her time in Pakistan indicate how giant the misconceptions harboured about the country are. (She also affirms the stereotypes about strangers becoming deliriously affable once they realise you're from the country of Bollywood: Menon was once told by a TV anchor that if she brought Kareena Kapoor over the border she wouldnt face any suspicion).

Naturally, these suspicions aren't confined to Pakistan, the country. Menons book begins with a Shiv Sainik looking darkly over at Jogeshwari East in Mumbai and telling her not to venture into 'Pakistan' for her own good. It doesnt take a genius to gauge that the phrase "was synonymous with any large Muslim pocket", but Menon spells this out.

And since the first recourse to abusing 'anti-nationalist' Indians online still consists of telling them they are Pakistani supporters, we're trapped in a time that isn't above spelling it out. Menon manages to detail the deranged misconceptions that vast sections of India harbour about Pakistan, and questions your desire to shake her hand or tell her she's brave for doing it.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online women's magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
New Delhi: India on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to renewable energy with the promise to expand into all forms of energy that can reduce carbon footprint.

"India is fully committed to renewable energy for our future development, as are the Pacific island countries," Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh said in his keynote address at the 'India-Pacific Islands Sustainable Development Conference' being held in Suva, Fiji.

"We are looking at expanding renewable energy very rapidly. Solar, wind, hydro, biomass - all forms of energy which can reduce the carbon footprint and help us leave a better planet for the next generation - are receiving unprecedented attention in India," he said.

The conference is being held under the framework of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (Fipic) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) as the key knowledge partner.

The first Fipic summit was held at the level of Heads of Government in November 2014 in Suva and the second one in August 2015 in Jaipur, India.

"During the two Fipic summits that we have had so far, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly articulated that India wishes to be a close partner of the Pacific islands and would work closely to advance the developmental agenda of Pacific island countries," Singh said.

He added that India will also provide technical assistance and training for capacity building to Pacific island partners to address climate change issues.

In this connection, the minister referred to the International Solar Alliance, which was launched by India in partnership with France at the Conference of Parties (CoP) 21 climate summit in Paris in 2015 to develop and promote solar energy and and said it was an example of India's commitment to promoting the growth of renewable energy globally.

He said that India with its 7,500-km coastline and 1,000 islands has always been a maritime nation and has a lot in common with the Pacific island nations.

"Climate change related natural hazards threaten the existence of the Pacific Islands and is severely impacting millions back in India, especially those living near our shoreline and our islands," Singh said.

"We both seek to highlight this to the world to solicit their cooperation to build resilience and adaptation of our economies. We need to join hands through knowledge sharing, technology sharing and capacity building to minimise the serious impact of natural hazards, limiting human and economic loss."

Singh said that there was a need for cutting edge engineering and technology which was suitable for our economy.He said that this was an opportunity to leap frog the learning curve with the help of next generation technologies, to provide a sustainable energy future to every citizen.

"There are many challenges we face as we pursue economic development for our people using sustainable pathways. But this is also an opportunity for us to think out of the box, and to maximise resource utilisation for the common good," he said.

Stating that the fortunes of India and the Pacific island nations were linked by the Indian and Pacific Oceans, he said: "Oceans are critical to both yours and India's future and there is huge potential for cooperation in this area. In the 21st century, oceans have once again reclaimed their role of vital drivers of growth and economies."

He hailed Fiji's presidency of the CoP 23 climate summit to be held in Bonn, Germany, and announced India's contribution of $1 million to the Fiji Trust Fund for this.
A number of mainstream politicians, even from the ruling BJP, have recognised separatists as key stakeholders in the Kashmir resolution process. Though they have held meetings with the separatists, there has been no improvement in the situation in Kashmir Valley.

On Thursday, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Hurriyat (G) member Shabir Shah met a civil society group led by former minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, to hold discussions on a range of issues, including human rights violations by the armed forces.

The meetings that were earlier held between the civil society groups and Hurriyat have failed to make any impact as the recommendations made in these meetings were never implemented on the ground.

Senior BJP leader and former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha led the civil society group, Concerned Citizens Group, in October last year. The group met Hurriyat executive member Abdul Ghani Bhat and Democratic Freedom party chairman and Hurriyat (G) member, Shabir Ahmad Shah. They met both Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer and submitted recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office, but none of the recommendations were implemented.

The Sinha-led group had held that the separatists are seeking dialogue with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. They also highlighted that politicians have complained about the prevention of misuse of Public Safety Act (PSA) and pellet guns.

The group had observed in its report, The Kashmiri leaders want to ban pellet guns and cannot understand why the Government of India is delaying this decision and why the Indian security establishment is reluctant to give up the weapon. The use of pellet guns has led to several people, including children  some as young as 4-years-old  being blinded or partially blinded. These weapons, the Kashmiris pointed out, are not used in rest of India, even under grave provocation. They were not used in the Jat agitation in Haryana, the protests against Cauvery water sharing in Karnataka or the Patel agitation in Gujarat. All these agitations have resulted in large-scale damage to public property and in some cases even in gang rapes.

On the misuse of the PSA, it had held that it was not required for a victim to be produced before a magistrate and charged for up to a year. The amended juvenile justice act for the state does not allow the police to arrest minors under the PSA. Yet this has happened on a significant scale. The separatist leaders claim the number is about 6,000 while government sources place the figure at slightly less than half  at 2,500. Even this number is quite large.

The group had also held that Kashmiri separatist leaders believe that unless India and Pakistan talk there can be no permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.

Sushoba Bharve, member of the Sinha-led group, said that it was a matter of concern that the central government has not acted on the recommendations. No action has been initiated on starting a dialogue, however, some of the minor recommendations like the release of minors from the prisons have been accepted by the state government, she said.

The lack of action is despite the fact that many mainstream political representatives have reached out to the separatists. Last month, Sinha slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he had sought time for a meeting to discuss the Kashmir issue, but has not heard back from him.

Speaking at a seminar in Kashmir on Tuesday, Aiyar said that BJP president Amit Shahs assessment of the Kashmir situation was wrong as a British Viceroy had also claimed that Indias problem was confined to only few areas. Shah had earlier stated that the Kashmir problem was restricted to few districts only.

The Hurriyat, which had clearly laid out in its constitution that any engagement on Kashmir would be made through tripartite dialogue to implement the UN resolutions that seek a referendum on Kashmir to determine its final accession, is also trying now to engage with New Delhi for peace in Kashmir. Hurriyat (M) spokesperson, Sahihdul Islam, said that most of the recommendations of the civil society groups have not been accepted by the Government of India. We are meeting the civil society groups to make them aware of our position on Kashmir. We are highlighting the excesses which have been committed by the forces, he said.

The meeting between the Hurriyat and civil society groups and Congress' initiative to constitute a policy planning group on Kashmir headed by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, is to mount pressure on the BJP-led government at the Centre to bring peace in Kashmir.

Congress vice-president GN Monga said that they would try that the recommendations are implemented by the Modi government.  The government led by Modi has been reluctant to speak to all the stakeholders, but we will try and talk to Hurriyat as well as others for lasting peace, he said.
New Delhi: India has no information on the status of appeal or the petition given by the mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian national who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged espionage, to the Pakistan government.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said it was up to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to decide the future course in the case. "We have no information on the petition and appeal Jadav's mother had sent. Our high commission has handed over it to the Pakistan government. We do not know the charges against him. We had sought court documents which have not come to us," he said.

On the reports emerging from Pakistan quoting a former Pakistani army officer that Jadhav was arrested from Iran, Baglay said the government has been saying since last year that he had been kidnapped from Iran.

In the absence of the consular access to him, the circumstances of his presence in Pakistan remains unexplained, he added.

On the future course of action in the case, Baglay said, "ICJ matter is sub-judice. We had a great relief last week when the ICJ passed the order for provisional measures. It is up to the court to decide what will be in future... As the court proceedings unfold, we will have to see what facts to submit to ICJ. It is up to the legal team which the government has assembled."
BJP leader and a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet, Girish Mahajan, and 10 Nashik policemen are embroiled in a controversy as they were reportedly spotted at the wedding of a relative of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, according to DNA.

Mahajan, who is considered a key aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was seen at the wedding of Dawood's niece along with several other BJP leaders and several policemen attached to Bhadrakali police station in Old City area.

A well-known resident of Old Nashik, Jaggi Konkani's daughter got married to the son of spiritual guru Khatib, at an extravagant event on 19 May. The bride's aunt is married to Dawood's brother Ibrahim Kaskar, according to a report in The Times of India.

The wedding was held at a mall in the city's Mahatma Nagar area.

Taking cognisance, Nashik police commissioner Ravindra Singhal on Wednesday ordered an internal inquiry against the police personnel concerned. The statements of the policemen have also been recorded and preliminary enquiry suggested that although the police officers were present at the wedding, they have claimed that they did not know that the family was related to Dawood.

The invitation for the marriage was reportedly given to the police personnel by Khatib.

Some politicians, including MLAs and corporators, reportedly attended the function too. However, Singhal said he could not confirm this though he conceded that the invitation was indeed sent to some politicians.

"The invitation for the marriage was sent to some police officials of Bhadrakali police station and also to some corporators, political personalities, MLAs etc," he told PTI.

Singhal, however, didn't specify the exact number of police personnel who attended the marriage.

According to sources in local police, an ACP-rank officer also attended the function.

Singhal said the statements of the police personnel who attended the marriage are being recorded.

"It will take two days to complete the internal enquiry against the officials as some of them are on leave," he said, adding that the police force was also busy in providing bandobast in Malegaon in the district where municipal corporation elections were held on Wednesday.

Mahajan also denied knowledge of the fact that the family was related to Dawood. He told The Times of India that he knew Khatib personally as he is a respected member of the society, and he attended the wedding on his invitation. The medical education minister further said that being the guardian minister of Nashik, he receives many such invitations, which is why he couldn't possibly have traced the antecedents of all the people who invite him to various events.

Meanwhile, the police has confirmed that the bride's family was related to Dawood, however, there was nothing to indicate that the wanted criminal could have made an appearance.

Dawood is the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case in Mumbai in which around 260 people were killed, and more than 700 suffered injuries. He fled the country post the bombings and is understood to be hiding in Pakistan at present.

With inputs from agencies
After organising several protest marches since 2016, the Maratha community will now be taking out its biggest-ever protest rally in Mumbai on 9 August. The Maratha Kranti Morcha was formed last year by a number of organisations from the Marathi community.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sanjiv Bhor, a member of the steering committee said, "At recent meetings, Sakal Maratha Samaj  the apex body of the community, formed a steering committee to take the agitation forward and accordingly biggest ever march would be taken out in Mumbai to mark completion of one year of the protest marches. The community has already submitted memorandum with a list of 20 prime demands by the community to the state government."

The Indian Express had earlier reported that several rallies planned before had been cancelled due to several reasons. Its last biggest silent protest rally that was held on 25 September saw an attendance of 25 lakh, including women, children and the elderly. However since then, there have been no major rallies. The November rally in Delhi had to be cancelled due to demonetisation while its 6 March rally had clashed with board examinations. In total, 49 rallies have taken place in almost all districts of Maharashtra till now.

The Muk Morcha is known for holding rallies without any political support. Till now, it has not allowed any political leader to take part in its rallies. Sakal Maratha Samaj member Nanasaheb Patil told The Hindu, "The code of conduct for the rally will be the same. There will be no slogan-shouting and everyone will march silently and peacefully. A meeting will also be held on 6 June in Raigad fort, where the members will take a pledge to continue the struggle for the welfare of the community."

Although demands for reservations and amendments to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to prevent its misuse have been around for a while, it was last year that the dominant caste in Maharashtra  that makes up over 20 percent of the state's population  began mass agitations against the ruling BJP government. This was triggered by the gruesome rape and murder of a 15-year old girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district. They have also demanded loan waivers for farmers to curb suicides and guaranteed rates for agricultural produce.
The Nebraska Country School Association (NCSA) and University of Nebraska, Kearney (UNK) will be hosting the 2nd Nebraska Country School Conference this summer, July 14 and 15 at the UNK's Nebraskan Student Union. Details on NCSA, One Room Heroes and the 2017 NCSA Conference's online and mail-in registration form can be found at www.nebraskacountryschoolassociation.org

The conference on Friday will feature presentations by historians and experts about the Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, Kansas; the Genoa Indian Industrial School in Genoa, Nebraska; NET Productions, Last of the One Room Schools; The Willa Cather Foundation; The Blizzard of 1888, Games of Yesteryear and other various topics of interest. There is also an evening banquet featuring former Senator Sandy Scofield at the Arch Museum in Kearney. Saturday, features the UNK College of Education, the One Room One Teacher Wall of Honor and the Kearney County Historical Society and their country school buildings.

The 2016 conference was sponsored by Betty Stukenholtz, in association with the Otoe County Genealogical Society, and Peru State College. One of the biggest highlights of the 2016 conference was One Room Heroes.

NCSA founder Betty Stukenholtz, requested nominations and stories honoring the dedication of the people who taught in one room schools across Nebraska. We have extended the One Room Heroes request for teacher nominations and stories through this year. One Room Heroes will be published Spring/Summer 2018 in memory of Betty, with proceeds going to support the Nebraska Country School Association.

To submit nominations please send to necountryschoolassociation@windstream.net. Please include the years taught, name of school and district if possible. Photographs of schools, classrooms and teachers are welcome as Jpeg attachments. We welcome stories about a country school and a special teacher. Because of sheer volume of regular mail we received last year, we must request emails, word documents and scanned images only to the email address above.

Nebraska Country School Association was founded in August 2016. The mission of NCSA is to work with and provide information and support for individuals and organizations that are actively involved in or related to the ongoing preservation of country schools and their histories in the State of Nebraska. Nebraska Country School Association has been recognized as a nonprofit organization under IRS section 501 (c) (3). Your donations and gifts to NCSA are tax deductible.

Visit www.nebraskacountryschoolassociation.org for information on One Room Heroes, and the NCSA. Our conference agenda, directions and registration forms are provided there. NCSA has been created to promote and participate in the conservation of Nebraska Country Schools for future generations. We would love for you to join us at the conference and help our mission to preserve country school history.

Contact: Beth Stukenholtz at necountryschoolassociation@windstream.net, 515-480- 4575.
New Delhi: Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India starting on Friday.

Jugnauth will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The Mauritius premier, who will be in India from 26-28 May, will address a business event and will be felicitated by the India Foundation.

This will be Jugnauth's first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year.

The Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) leader will be accompanied by his deputy Ivan Collendavelloo, senior officials including the cabinet secretary and finance secretary of Mauritius.

Modi had visited the island nation in March 2015, as chief guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.

During his visit, Modi commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.

"The Mauritian PM's forthcoming visit to India is part of our continuing engagement with the Government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects special ties between our two countries," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
Beijing: Chinese military said on Thursday that it was paying "close attention" to the incident in which an Indian Air Force fighter jet with two pilots on board went missing along the Sino-Indian border two days ago.

"Paying close attention to it," Chinese defence spokesman Colonel Ren Guochang said when asked at a briefing about whether the Chinese military would help trace the missing Sukhoi fighter jet.

However, he declined to give any details and said that the foreign ministry has reacted on the issue on Wednesday.

Ren's remarks appeared slightly positive compared to the curt comments of Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang who had said that he has no information on the missing plane and warned India that it should avoid disrupting peace and stability in Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as 'South Tibet'.

"For the situation you mentioned, I have no relevant information to offer at the moment," Lu had told the media here when asked about the missing Indian Air Force plane along the India-China border.

At the same time, he referred to the border dispute between India and China, saying that "first of all on the eastern section of the India-China border, China's position is consistent and clear."

"We hope India can stick to the arrangements reached between the two sides and avoid disrupting peace and stability at the border areas," Lu had said.

The SU-30 MKI plane had lost contact with the Tezpur Salonibari Air Force station from where it took off at 10.30 am on Tuesday.
Guwahati: Mountainous terrain and thick forest cover were posing a challenge to several teams, including airborne, searching for the Indian Air Force's missing Sukhoi-30 fighter jet on Thursday, two days after it disappeared with two pilots close to the China border.

The Indian Air Force said the weather was "marginally better" on Thursday, and a C-130 aircraft with electro-optical payload and ALH helicopters of IAF are being utilised for the search mission.

However, the terrain and thick forest cover are posing a challenge in the search operations.

"Today, the weather was marginally better as a result more air effort could be put in. However, the terrain and thick foliage of the search area is a challenge to the ongoing operations," IAF said in a statement.

"Apart from the aerial assets, more personnel were added to the existing four ground parties of IAF personnel, nine parties of the Indian Army and two parties of the state administration which are already deployed to search the area," the statement said.

There has been no breakthrough so far.

The Su-30 jet with two pilots on board took off from the IAF Tezpur air base, located about 172 km from the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh around 9.30 am on a routine training mission on 23 May.

It lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station around 11.10 am near Arunachal Pradesh's Doulasang area, an area adjoining China, 60 km north of Tezpur.

Tezpur is one of the three IAF air bases in the country that host the Sukhois.

Last year, a Sukhoi-30MKI crashed near Nagaon town of Assam during a routine sortie. While the two pilots ejected safely, some locals suffered splinter injuries in the crash.
The massive search and rescue operation that has been going on for the missing Sukhoi Su-30 MKI since Tuesday afternoon may end on Thursday after reports began trickling in about some information about the jet.

"I cannot confirm (its location) to you now, but there is some positive information trickling in. I can confirm that only in the evening. When we were informed that the aircraft had gone missing we activated all our administrative network including gaon burhas (village heads) and circle offices for sightings of any wreckage or of the aircraft itself. However, the actual search and rescue information has to be provided by the Indian Air Force only," Sonitpur district deputy commissioner Manoj Kumar Deka told Firstpost from Tezpur in Assam.

The search for the missing aircraft was extended beyond the West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh right into Bhutan.

"We have deployed two teams one with 175 people and the other with 120 including personnel from Arunachal Pradesh Police. On Wednesday, there was a strong army contingent of 500 personnel as well. A team of nearly 700 people is looking for the aircraft. I cannot tell you about the strength of the army search team today. However, yesterday we have contacted our counterparts in the eastern Bhutan districts of Trashigang and Trashiyangtse and sought their help as well. In Arunachal Pradesh, the search is limited to the West Kameng district only. We are doing a dawn to dusk search and the weather is a concern as it is very cloudy. The terrain is also a challenge due to dense forest," said West Kameng district deputy commissioner Sonal Swaroop.

Helicopters and aircraft were pressed into service since Tuesday by the Indian Air Force to search for the Sukhoi fighter jet that went missing with two pilots onboard over Tezpur in Assam, but bad weather affected the operation.

The IAF had said the search operation was continuing despite overcast sky and spells of rains and thundershowers in parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh where the SU-30 MKI plane is suspected to have crashed.

An IAF spokesperson said in New Delhi that a Su-30 aircraft with recce capabilities is also being utilised for locating the missing plane.

According to reports on Wednesday, apart from the aerial assets, four groups of IAF personnel, nine parties of the Indian Army and two teams from the state administration have been deployed to look for the fighter jet.

"Search and rescue operations resumed at daybreak today. A C-130 transport aircraft with an electro-optical payload, an advanced light helicopter and Chetak helicopters of the IAF have been tasked for this mission," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee had said.

He, however, said "marginal weather" (adverse to a military operation) prevailing over the area being searched,

is hampering the operation.

The Sukhoi jet went missing after taking off from Tezpur Air Force station at 10:30 am on Tuesday. The plane, which was part of a two-aircraft formation, was on a routine training sortie and had lost radar and radio contact around 60 kilometres northeast of the airbase.

"Till now, no breakthrough has been made in locating the aircraft and its pilots," the IAF spokesperson had said on Wednesday.

The last contact with the plane was made when it was flying over Dubia in Gohpur sub-division of Biswanath district, adjacent to Sonitpur.

The first batch of the Russia-made fighter jet was inducted by the IAF in the late 1990s. Since their induction,

seven crashes have taken place.

The country's frontline SU-30 MKI aircraft were deployed in the Tezpur airbase on June 15, 2009 for guarding the Sino-India frontier in Arunachal Pradesh.

At present, two squadrons comprising around 36 aircraft are deployed at Tezpur.

With inputs from PTI
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday recorded the statement of Narada news CEO Mathew Samuel in connection with its money laundering probe, initiated after a sting operation purportedly showed a number of TMC leaders taking money.

Officials said Samuel was questioned at its zonal office in Kochi in Kerala for about nine hours.

They said his statement has been recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he is expected to be questioned again on Thursday.

Samuel had requested the ED to record his statement in Kochi as he is based there for somtime and could not travel to Kolkata due to some health-related issues.

The case is registered at Enforcement Directorate's zonal office in Kolkata.

Samuel is not an accused in the ED FIR, called the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), and the agency wants to get information from him about the sting and circumstances in which it was done. Samuel has been quizzed by the CBI in this case earlier.

The CBI too is probing the case separately on charges of alleged corruption.

The agency had registered a criminal complaint in this case last month under the provisions of the PMLA after studying the CBI FIR.

It will probe the proceeds of crime generated in this case.

While the CBI's criminal FIR had been registered against 12 TMC leaders and an IPS officer, the ECIR has been registered against 14 entities that includes a category of unknown persons apart from the 13 in the CBI complaint, they said.

The sting operation pertains to the secret filming of the TMC leaders, including MPs and ministers, and the IPS officer while they allegedly accepted money from the representatives of a fictitious company for extending favours to it.

The TMC leaders against whom the CBI has registered the FIR, now also booked by the ED, include Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy, Lok Sabha MPs--Saugata Roy, Aparupa Poddar, Sultan Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.

West Bengal ministers including Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Environment Minister Sovan Chatterjee, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee have also been named in the FIR.

Former minister Madan Mitra, MLA Iqbal Ahmed and IPS officer Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza have also been made accused in the case.

Mirza, who was then posted as the Superintendent of Police of Burdwan, was too purportedly seen accepting money on camera.

The Calcutta High Court had ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry in the matter and had later asked it to file an FIR to probe the incident.

The FIR was registered under section 120 (b) of IPC related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with bribery and criminal misconduct.

The sting operation was supposed to be published in a magazine where Samuel, the man behind it, was then working.

However, the tapes were later run on Naradanews.com.
New Delhi: Bolstering counter-terror cooperation and highlighting India's economic reforms to woo investment will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's six-day visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France beginning 29 May.

In Russia, Modi is likely to talk to President Vladimir Putin about concerns over China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative, besides exploring ways to further boost ties in defence and civil nuclear sectors.

Asked whether India and Russia will be able to finalise the General Framework Agreement (GFA) for units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry's Eurasia division GV Srinivas only said it is "work in progress" and added, "I do not want to steal the thunder of the meeting."

On whether Indo-Russia ties are losing warmth, Srinivas cited the strategic partnership between the two countries and holding of annual Summit between their leadership in the last 18 years, besides signing of pacts in March for long-term maintenance for Russian origin Su-30MKI fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.

In the Summit talks to be held in St Petersburg, Modi and Putin are expected to review the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations and the progress made since the last Summit held in Goa on 15 October, 2016.It is the first time that the annual Summit will be held in Russia outside Moscow.

The Summit is also likely to focus on strengthen of trade ties.

Exploring ways to strengthen counter-terror cooperation and projecting India as an attractive investment destination, will be a major focus area of the prime minister's visit to the four countries, external affairs ministry officials said.

Modi will arrive in Berlin on 29 May where he will hold extensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on range of key issues, besides a series of other engagements including meeting CEOs of leading German companies.

The issue of an Indo-EU free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to figure in Modi's talks with leadership in Germany, Spain and Francethree key Europeans countries, the ministry officials said.

The talks on FTA, launched in June 2007, have been stalled since May 2013, when India and the EU failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security

status in the IT sector.

A number of MoUs are expected to be signed during Modi's visit to Germany. Union ministers Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and MJ Akbar will be part of the PM's delegation in Germany.

From Berlin, Modi will travel to Spain on the evening of 30 May. This will be first visit by an Indian prime minister since 1988.

Modi will discuss with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy ways to deepen bilateral engagement, including in the high-tech sector.

Modi will travel to St Petersburg in Russia on 1 June where he will hold the 18th India-Russia annual Summit with Putin and attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum after that.

The prime minister will be in Paris on 2 and 3 June where he will hold official talks with French President Emmanuel Macron with a view to further strengthening India-France strategic ties.

This is Modi's first meeting with Macron, who was elected as the French president earlier this month.
New Delhi: Narendra Modi will depart Monday for a four-nation tour of Europe that will include strategic talks with historic ally Russia and with key trading partner Germany.

Modi will first be hosted by chancellor Angela Merkel at Germany's official state guest house in Brandenburg, where the two leaders will jointly address a meeting of top business leaders.

Germany is India's number-one trading partner in Europe, and Modi has been seeking greater investment and business arrangements between local and foreign firms under his "Make in India" campaign.

Modi will then depart for Spain for further business talks in a round-table with CEOs, India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The longstanding strategic alliance between Russia and India will be canvassed when Modi meets President Vladimir Putin ahead of the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg on 2 June.

India has enjoyed historically close ties with Russia, which for years was a key ally and top arms supplier, but Moscow's recent decision to support the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has rattled New Delhi.

India has voiced displeasure at the project aimed at linking northwestern China to the Arabian Sea, as it passes through the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Modi will wrap up his six-day tour with a stop in France to meet newly-elected president Emmanuel Macron.
New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) held a consultative meeting with its state counterparts to strengthen the mutual communication links and deliberate upon a series of issues concerning the fairer sex.

NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said there was a need to strengthen the process of the national commission's networking with state commissions and to gain from each other's experiences.

The consultations, attended by representatives of 18 states, also resulted in a set of recommendations for the state commissions, including setting up of hostels for girls and women, pro-active coordination and regular feedback reports of complaints forwarded by the NCW.

The state commissions were also told to pursue with their respective governments on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement on the ban of the unregulated sale of acids with a view to preventing acid attacks on women.
New Delhi: There should always be room for the "argumentative Indian" but not the "intolerant Indian", President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday, emphasising on discussion and dissension as crucial for decision-making in the country.

"Our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India," Mukherjee said, delivering the first Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.

He said India's pluralism and its social, cultural, linguistic and racial diversity have been the bedrock of Indian civilisation.

"That's why we need to be sensitive to dominant narratives, of those who make the loudest noise, drowning out those who disagree.

"That's why social media and broadcast news have seen angry, aggressive posturing by state and non-state players literally hounding out contrarian opinions," the president said.

He said Indian civilisation has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance.

"As I have said before, discussion, dissension are crucial to public debate for decision-making in a vibrant, healthy democracy such as India's. There should always be room for the argumentative Indian but not for the intolerant Indian.

"That would be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of India, to the very idea of India," Mukherjee said.

He said people in India and globally are living in challenging times.

"Even as the youth look to the future, there has been considerable questioning of the past in the public discourse over the last few years. Each generation has the right to look back and reassess the strengths and weaknesses of the past. Let the brave new India draw its own conclusions," the president said.

Mukherjee said the spirit of tolerance and accommodation towards each other and those who differ from us is "what makes us Indians".

Talking about the role of the media, he said the press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to the powers that be and it will have to simultaneously judge the frivolous from the factual and publicity from reportage.

Mukherjee said the news organisations need to ask themselves how they can find sustainable economic models that will allow them to resist all kinds of pressures and let them perform their role with honesty and transparency.

"However, such inquiry should not be blinkered by biases or resisted with a closed mind. Indian history and centuries' old civilisation is replete with examples of a willingness of the people to, as I have said, 'doubt, disagree and dispute intellectually'."

"This is the bedrock of our nation, our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India," the president said.

For centuries, India has witnessed a clash of civilisations and philosophies and survived it all to grow into the world's largest functioning democracy, he said.

"The question that faces all of us including the media is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative?" Mukherjee asked.

He said if the media believes in the freedom of expression, a free and a fearless independent media, it must choose to reflect a plurality of opinions for that is what breathes life into our democracy and has defined us as Indians.

"It must always remember that its fundamental task is to stand up and ask questions with honesty and fairness. That's the sacred compact it has with citizens in a democracy," the president said.
New Delhi: In an interview to PTI, the former Bharatiya Janata Party president said the government was focused on 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Together with all, Development for all) and its policies have not discriminated against religious minorities.

"Any saffron clad person on television is immediately related to us (BJP) whereas the fact is that we don't have any relation with that person," he said. He said that they did not support such people.

Gadkari said violence in the name of protecting cows should not have happened.

"This is not our agenda. Those who are doing this are not our people. Those who did it are wrong. We are not with them. Prime Minister had condemned (them).We all have condemned (such violence). Why are they being hoisted as our name?," he said.

He also alleged that the move was part of a campaign to malign the party and project it as anti-minority and anti-Dalit.

Certain sections of 'Gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) have reportedly stopped vehicles, beaten people, extorted money and in some cases stolen animals all in the name of protecting cows. This has inflamed tensions, risking undermining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to focus on economic advancement.

Some foreign commentators have linked the rise in cow-related violence, alcohol bans and 'anti-Romeo' police squads supposedly aimed at protecting a woman's honour as signs of rising political risk in Asia's third-largest economy.

"BJP, VHP, Sangh (parivar) and our government do not support such elements," Gadkari said, adding that the party was, however, against cow slaughter.

It a matter of belief, he said, adding that he himself uses 'gomutra ark' or cow urine for therapeutic purposes.

He said such incidents of violence had happened in the past as well during Samajwadi Party and Congress rules.

"Our government has not discriminated against any caste, creed or religion in the last three years," he said.

Gadkari further said that free LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana were not just given to Hindus but also to Muslims and so were the zero balance bank accounts under Jan Dhan yojana.

"Our fight is against poverty, hunger and disease. Poor is poor and cannot be discriminated against on caste, creed, religion and language.We have not lent our shoulders to anyone for use against

minorities," he said.

Indians, he said, are genetically tolerant as was reflected in 4,000 year history when not a single mosque was demolished and added that no discrimination was done.




1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
Indian national Uzma Ahmed, who was forced to marry a Pakistani national returned to India following an Islamabad High Court order via the Attari-Wagah border on Thursday.

"You can go to Pakistan easily, but you can't come out of it. Pakistan is like a well of death. Once you are stuck, you are stuck," Uzma said while sharing her harrowing experience in a press conference on Thursday.

A resident of Delhi, Uzma is in her early 20s and was forced to marry Tahir Ali on gunpoint on 3 May. Uzma had met Ali in Malaysia. On Thursday, she gave a detailed account of her experience in Pakistan and how she went to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission for 20 days before she could return home.

"I had gone to Pakistan for sightseeing. But none of that happened. I had gone there on 1 May and had plans to return on 10 or 12 May. The situation changed all of a sudden. When I reached there I realised it was a very strange village. The people were strange and spoke a strange language. Nothing was right there. I don't have words to explain it. If you search Guner, you will find out that it was under Taliban control from 2008 to 2010 and military exercises are conducted there.

"Tahir tortured me emotionally as well as physically. He even threatened to harm my child through his relatives in Delhi. He threatened to kidnap my child and kill her if I didn't do as they said. They beat me. It was because of my daughter that I signed (the marriage contract). It was because of fear that I signed. But I managed to escape the place," she said.

"If I was there for three-four more days I would not have survived. They would have either sold me or used me in some risky operation. Most people from Guner work in Malaysia. They bring girls from there. Every house has two-three wives. I don't want whatever that happened to me to happen to anyone else. There are many girls who are not able to escape the place," she added.

According to JP Singh, an Indian High Commission official, who managed her case, she reached the Indian High Commission on 5 May and told them that she was an Indian national. "I remember her scared face when she came to the window. It was a troubling time to make a decision and it was a difficult decision too. It was difficult because it was not easy to keep someone inside the commission. But once I saw her face, it became easy to keep her inside. It was a learning experience for all of us," he said.

"The High Commission trusted me instantly. When I told them that I am Indian and have come from India, he (Singh) immediately took me inside. I was safe inside," said Uzma who spent 20 days inside the Indian embassy before she was cleared to leave Pakistan.

According to reports, soon after she was taken inside the embassy, Ali filed a petition in Islamabad. Uzma petitioned the Islamabad High Court on May 12 that she was forced to marry. She filed another petition soon, asking "she be allowed to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from Thalassemia  a blood disorder". Ali petitioned the court requesting that he be allowed to Uzma. The court allowed the meeting but Uzma refused, the Times of India had said.

"Lots of girls think that it's Muslim culture and you will be safe. I will tell them not to go to Pakistan. Even men are not safe there. I am happy that I am here. All girls who have gone there even via arranged marriage are in a very bad condition. My experience has told me that there's no place like India. Women have a lot of power here," Uzma said on Thursday.

You can hear a detailed account of her experience in Pakistan here:

Speaking with the media, Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj said that she was relieved after Uzma crossed the Wagah border.

"It's a big thing that an Indian woman in a time of distress is able to look up to the Indian High Commission with hope. The common thread in all this is that once she said that she is Indian national everything else was not important. The embassy is made for Indian nationals."

Swaraj also stressed on how the Pakistan home ministry and foreign ministry helped Uzma despite the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan.

"If Uzma is here, it's also because Pakistan's foreign office and home ministry were very helpful. Our barrister Shah Nawaz Noon fought the case very well. I am also grateful to Justice Kayani who presided over the case. I remember when Tahir told him that Pakistan's prestige was involved. He replied asking how was it an India-Pakistan issue."

Swaraj added, "An estranged daughter has met his mother, the way an Indian daughter has come back, in all this, this is a sigh of relief. Two mothers-daughters have met today."
The communal flavour of western Uttar Pradesh is among its biggest issues and the recent Saharanpur violence  being dubbed communal riots  has reignited the debate about the volatility of this region.

Saharanpur caste clashes, which are being seen as the Yogi Adityanath government's first major law and order challenge, had political undercurrents, claim leaders of the Dalit and Thakur communities that were locked in a bloody conflict which also sucked Muslims into it.

The spiral of violence started from Shabbirpur village, home to around 600 Dalits and over 900 Thakurs.

Dalit victims of the clashes say upper caste Thakurs prevented them from installing a statue of BR Ambedkar on the premises of the Ravidas temple in the village. On 5 May, a Dalit group objected to a procession of Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap, triggering violence, in which one person was killed and over 15 were injured.

Jatav Dalits in the village say Thakurs bottled their feelings up till "Behenji (Mayawati) was in power, but things have changed now". "With Yogi Adityanath, a Thakur, at the helm of the government, members of his community are asserting their authority. During the BSP rule, they used to say, 'Do not even touch Dalits. They are high-voltage power lines'. Now, they have unleashed carnage. This government is barely two months old, five years is a long time," 62-year-old Dal Singh, who is nursing his injuries at the district hospital in Saharanpur, told PTI.

Shyam Singh, 55-year-old, whose house was torched in the clashes, told PTI, "The BJP is trying to consolidate its Thakur vote bank through violence since local body elections are around the corner."

"The BJP tried to pit Dalits against Muslims in Sadak Dudhli village, where clashes had erupted in April during a rally organised to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. They are eyeing Dalit votes," PTI quoted Swapnil Bhaskar, another victim of the clashes, as saying

Members of the Bheem Army, a Dalit group, had on 9 May torched a bus and set a number of two-wheelers afire after the administration had turned down their request to hold a mahapanchayat in Gandhi Park to demand compensation for those affected in the 5 May inter-caste clashes.

The political parties made matters only worse. Ruling and Opposition parties trained their guns at each other on the caste clashes, with Mayawati holding the government responsible for the violence and a senior minister accusing them of "shedding tears". During her visit to Saharanpur, Mayawati had accused the ruling party of failing to stop its own brigade from attacking weaker sections.

Western Uttar Pradesh is not new to communal upheavals, whether in Saharanpur, Meerut, Hashimpura, Muzaffarnagar. According to data provided by the Narendra Modi government in Lok Sabha in 2016, communal violence increased by 17 percent from 2014 to 2015. While there was an increase in the number of communal incidents from 2014 to 2015, this figure was less than the 823 incidents, 133 deaths and 2,269 injured in 2013, largely due to the Muzaffarnagar riots that occurred when the Congress Party led-UPA government was at the Centre.

Ruled by the Samajwadi Party then, Uttar Pradesh had topped the list with 155 riots that year. Uttar Pradesh not only retained its position as the state with the highest number of communal violence, but also showed higher incidents (155 as compared to 133 in 2014) and injured (up from 374 to 419). In fact, the number of injured in 2014 was higher than even 2013, when Muzaffarnagar riots contributed to the state's 360 non-fatal casualties. The state remained the worst-hit state in the first month in 2015 as well, having reported 12 incidents, one death and 64 injured.

Like this article in Quint argues, there is more than it meets the eye in the elusive western Uttar Pradesh. Despite fatigue after the riots, the "narrative of hatred" keeps the region on an edge. Saharanpur, Hashimpura and Muzaffarnagar, together (refer to the map) constitute the riot belt in Uttar Pradesh.

Western Uttar Pradesh is known for its fraught communal equations. Even though Hindus are still a majority in the region, reports have said that there are more Muslims in the area than in other parts of Uttar Pradesh, which makes the region religiously diverse. In a three-part investigative series, Hindustan Times reported that the more diverse the district, the higher the number of communal incidents. According to the report, the possible reason could be that a mixed demography produces more opportunities for conflict and politicking  for example, areas where Hindus are not in a substantial majority become "complex battlegrounds" (politically).

Economic development or the lack of it is what sustains this deeply divisive narrative. "Jats, by far the most influential groups in the region, have dominated the economic and political scene way beyond their numerical strength thanks to their significant landholdings and the benefits of the green revolution. Muslims used to be the trusted yet subordinate allies of the Jats during the days of former prime minister Charan Singh. But all is not well between the two communities anymore."

The development of Muslim community, economically and also politically, is defeating this alliance, following the death of Charan Singh in 1987. The Hashimpura massacre took place in 1987. However, experts feel the alliance has had its share of strains following the death of Charan Singh in 1987. "He was the one who kept it together and things started drifting after his death. Contesting claims by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ajit Singh to his legacy contributed to the rift," A K Verma, professor at Kanpur Christ Church College and part of many surveys conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), was quoted as saying by Business Standard.

"There is no denying that recent economic changes would have benefited Muslims. What is also very visible is their growing political clout. In areas seemingly considered strongholds of Jats, Muslims are getting elected as MLAs and pradhans," an article in Quint quoted a Muslim leader as saying.

Experts have attributed the overall development of Muslims to their changing economic status, which according to the 2006 report of the Sachar committee that mapped the socio-economic conditions of the community. It said, "While the share of Muslim workers engaged in agriculture is much lower than for other groups, their participation in manufacturing and trade (especially for males) is much higher than for other SRCs (socio religious categories). Besides, their participation in construction work is also high."

It is important to note here that in Assembly election 2017, BJP relied on upper castes, non-Yadav OBCs and non-Jatav Dalits through the election campaign. Together, they constitute close to 60 percent of the population. What this also meant was that three extremely powerful social groups voted against the party  Muslims, Yadavs, and Jatavs among Dalits. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the change in balance of power (Muslims, Yadavs, and Jatavs among Dalits have ruled Uttar Pradesh over the course of 15 years) and their exclusion will have an impact on the ground.

While the non-BJP parties accuse the saffron party of depending heavily on polarising politics, BJP, in turn, blames Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, of playing votebank politics. Either way, polarisation on religious lines is a reality in this turbulent region of western Uttar Pradesh.
Saharanpur: A local BJP MP has sent a proposal to the Centre to adopt Shabbirpur village, which has been witnessing inter-caste clashes, under the Adarsh Gram Yojna.

After a meeting with the officials concerned, BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma chose the village under scheme and sent a proposal for the same to the central government. He said he would not only restore harmony in the area but would also help develop it. Sharma said he would bring in many schemes for the betterment of youth, women and farmers.

He also said that he would ensure that schemes for roads, water supply, electricity, drainage system and irrigation are implemented effectively.

On 5 May, a Dalit group in Shabbirpur village had objected to a procession of Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap, triggering violence, in which one person was killed and over 15 were injured.

On Wednesday, some unidentified persons had set afire 12 houses of Thakurs in the village ahead of the arrival of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati there.

A mob later attacked a group of people returning from a rally of Mayawati, killing one Ashish (24), who hailed from Sarsawa town, on the spot and injuring four others.
Even as the Uttar Pradesh government scrambled with firefighting measures, violence-hit Saharanpur remained on the edge on Wednesday, after another murder was reported in the wake of inter-caste clashes that have rocked the city since early May.

The situation remained tense in the district, especially around Shabbirpur village, which is at the heart of the current crisis. In response, the state government imposed Section 144 in the region to clamp down on stray incidents of violence and to disrupt local leaders' attempts to mobilise crowds, according to DNA. Section 144 Section 144 of CrPC prohibits any assembly of five or more people in an area where the section has been imposed. Every member of such "unlawful assembly" can be booked for "engaging in rioting", maximum punishment for which is three years.

Mobile internet and messaging services were also suspended in the district to prevent rumour mongering. Besides this, the state government also sacked the district's top administrative officers. According to news agency ANI, the state government sacked Saharanpur District Magistrate (DM) NP Singh, SSP SC Dubey, divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general (DIG) in the wake of the continuing violence in the district.

Uttar Pradesh: Saharanpur SSP SC Dubey sacked over inability to control violence in the wake of clashes between two communities in the area.  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 24, 2017

UP: Saharanpur DM NP Singh also sacked over inability to control violence in the wake of clashes between two communities in the area.  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 24, 2017

Uttar Pradesh: Saharanpur Divisional Commissioner & DIG sacked, K S Emmanuel becomes new DIG  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 24, 2017

The report also said that KS Emmanuel, who was SSP of Ghaziabad, has been appointed as new DIG with immediate effect. Bablu Kumar has been posted as the new SSP of Saharanpur while Pramod Kumar Pandey will be the new DM, the official said.

No official reason has been cited for the action, but it is believed that the officials were removed after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed displeasure as they could not control the situation in Saharanpur.

Appealing to people to maintain peace and rule of law, Adityanath sought to reassure that strong action is being taken against all those responsible for the violence. He said people should not pay heed to inflammatory speeches and should help in maintaining peace and order. Adityanath also met governor Ram Naik late on Wednesday evening. They are understood to have discussed these developments.

The BJP-led governments at the Centre and the state had been drawing the Dalit community's ire, following accusations of high-handed police action against members of the community, especially in the wake of the recent bout of violence. After the Saharanpur incident, the police arrested 30 people, mostly Dalits, in connection with the violence. Following this, thousands of Dalit protesters swamped New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Monday, protesting against police action against the community and the state government's alleged silence on the issue.

The violence has also kicked up a political slugfest, with Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati blaming the BJP government, and a senior state minister in turn accusing the opposition party of "shedding tears". Earlier on Wednesday, one Pradeep Chauhan was shot at in Janakpuri area by some motorcycle-borne men, superintendent of police Prabal Pratap Singh said.

Chauhan was rushed to the district hospital, from where he was referred to a speciality centre. Members of the Thakur community protested against the incident outside the district hospital. In another incident, some persons attacked two men while they were sleeping near a brick kiln in Mirzapur village, the police said.

One Nitin was shot at, while another person Yashpal was severely beaten up by the attackers, the police said. They suffered serious injuries and have been admitted to the district hospital. The police, however, said the incident could not be linked to the ongoing violence.

On Tuesday, a few unidentified people had set afire 12 houses belonging to Thakurs in Shabbirpur village ahead of the arrival of BSP chief Mayawati. A mob later attacked a group of people returning from Mayawati's rally, killing one Ashish (24), who hailed from Sarsawa town, and injuring four others.

Saharanpur has been in the grip of sectarian violence since April, spurred by a minor scuffle between the Thakur and Dalit communities in Shabbirpur village.

Around 20-25 youths of the upper caste Thakur community were on their way to take part in a function to garland the statue of Rajput warrior-king Maharana Pratap, when Dalit locals objected to loud music being played by them. It soon snowballed into a full-blown clash with both the groups throwing stones and bricks at each other.

The Dalits asked the processionists to turn off the loudspeakers as they passed by a Ravidas temple.

A police team, which rushed to the spot, managed to pacify the Thakur youths and asked them to return to their village, but they soon returned with more people and indulged in brickbatting and arson, torching 15 to 20 Dalit houses as well as vehicles, including those of the police.

Before this, on 20 April, communal clashes had broken out in the district during a Dalit procession to celebrate BR Ambedkar's birth centenary. Around a dozen people were injured in the clashes that erupted after members of another community objected to the procession.

BJP MP from Saharanpur, Raghav Lakhanpal, was among those booked in connection with the incident.

With inputs from agencies
The jasmine scented smoke from the incense sticks clouds the office as K Jeeva puts away her work for the next meeting. Her hands move nimbly across the desk and sift through the files before recounting her time as a board member. The Transgender Welfare Board doesnt exist! she says, with a drawl in her voice.

Back in 2012, the office turned their file cabinets into drawers carrying safe sex kits and proposals. Many transgenders employed under Jeeva, a transgender herself, laid out pamphlets and sorted the condoms to dispatch among the participants in awareness marches. It was, according to her, a time of jubilance and incessant appreciation. She would chide the others not to let it get to their head.

The Transgender Welfare Board sign at the office on Patel street in Perambur has been taken down, and the flat now serves as Jeevas home and office. If one wants to visit the board, the members are absent, but anyone who wants to know the state of affair of the board meets the director of social welfare, who now functions as the entire board.

In 2008, we were elated to have a board working with us for our welfare. I, along with seven others, were part of it. One person was from Trichy, one from Salem and each represented a nodal district, she says. The board was constituted during the DMKs (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) regime between 2006 and 2011 and kicked off with meetings every six months. Work moved swiftly. We first went for the essentials  homes, ration cards and Aravani (Tamil for transgender) identity cards. The official members took our proposals seriously and regularly met to get a sense of problems at the grassroots, she recalls. Geetha Jeevan was then minister for social welfare spearheading the initiative.

But with the change in regime, the meetings trickled down. The AIADMK (All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) under Jayalalithaas leadership won the 2011 elections. Meetings were yearly and access to the official members were restricted, Jeeva says.

Why Tamil Nadu was once a model state for transgender welfare

In December 2007, a public hearing on the issues of Aravanis was organised by a federation of NGOs working with marginalised groups that included transgender community members issued several recommendations to various departments of the Tamil Nadu government  most of which were in line with the recommendations made in the 'sub-committee for rehabilitation of transgender people' (hereafter shortly sub-committee) under the Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department (Hereafter, shortly Department of Social Welfare). A government order dated 23 October 2003 was issued to authorise the formation of such a sub-committee, with the director of social welfare as its nodal officer. The sub-committee was asked to submit a report on the strategies for rehabilitation of transgender people within a month from the date of its formation. However, the second meeting involving this sub-committee did not happen until October 2006.

One of the jury members at the 2007 public meeting was RK Ramathal from the State Women Commission (SWC). After the hearing, the SWC took the lead in forming a four-member committee and submitted recommendations to various government departments, including the Department of Social Welfare. In relation to these recommendations, the director of social welfare wrote to the Tamil Nadu government, which led to the order that announced the formation of the Transgender Welfare Board on 15 April 2008. Later, the Tamil Nadu government officially announced 15 April as Thirunangai Day (Transgender Day) to commemorate the day in which the Transgender Welfare Board was formed.

How the board functions

Tamil Nadus Transgender Welfare Board functions under the leadership of the minister of social welfare, the special commissioner and secretary of social welfare and nutritious meal programme department as well as the director of social welfare, president, vice-president and member secretary, respectively, of the board. The board has a mix of official and non-official members.

The official members are the representatives from various government bodies including the Department of Finance, Department of Law, SWC, police, Human Rights and Social Justice Commission, Women Development Corporation, Department of Higher Education, Department of Medical Education, and Department of Employment and Training. Out of the eight non-official members, seven are transgender community leaders, and one person is from an NGO.

What changed since 2011

Laying out policy documents before a DMK meeting, former social welfare minister Geetha Jeevan hurriedly readies herself, tucking away her research and skimming over the pages. Things have changed since Valarmathi AIADMKs social welfare minister from 2011-2016 took over, she says.

The evidence is damning. Inconsistencies, money bouncing back to the government and a lack of initiative is evident in the states performance budget for the Transgender Welfare Board.

The AIADMKs defence

After a slew of womens day programmes, V Amudavalli, current director of social welfare pauses to take a look at the performance budget numbers from 2008-09 to 2016-17. According to the constitution of the Transgender Welfare Board, the director holds the post of member secretary. Explaining where the Rs 1 crore allotted for the past three years went, she says, There are two possibilities. We received the money and kept it aside for paying for sewing machines for which we had issued tenders. The machines have not yet been supplied. Asked where the rest of the money went, the director did not have an answer. Weve had a tumultuous few years in the government, you have to understand.

The past few years, we have not been using the money because the board has not been fully constituted. We had written to the government to ensure non-official members be elected. But the government has not responded to our proposals or requests. Asked why the non-official members were not constituted immediately after the three-year tenure of 2008-11, the deputy director answers that the government did not direct them to for the next three years. However, money was still spent despite the non-constitution of the panel.

Replying to the inconsistency in 2013-14, where the performance budget showed Rs 2.28 crore but the next year budget showed Rs 1 crore, the director called it another clerical error. She then explained that the pension amount of Rs 1.28 crore was taken into account because it was the first year pensions for transgender has been introduced.

That, though, is a wrong claim. The pension was introduced a year earlier in 2012 and Rs 1 crore was set aside for it. The director maintained it was simply a "human error". We also had a fire that destroyed a few documents. She was referring to a fire that broke out in 2014 in Ezhilagam. So that was an issue, she said.

In the fiscal year of 2015, the budget showed an achievement figure of Rs 35 lakh. But in the 2016 budget, the number seems to have changed to Rs 55.4 lakhs. It was money we spent later on. There is no other explanation for it. But since the fiscal year had ended and the next had begun, to change the figure in the next budget by carrying it over instead of adding it to the next fiscal year was again justified as a "clerical, human error".

Apathy towards schemes

It is not only clerical, human errors that appear to dog the Transgender Welfare Board. Apathy is equally crippling.

Noori is an AIADMK member who handled transit homes for transgenders, under a government scheme introduced in 2008. Pensions, Aravani identity cards and homes are the governments focus as outlined by Noori. The Transgender Welfare Board does not meet even though official members have called for meetings. We are all in different places and not all of us get along, she says.

Transit homes for trangenders who had fled home to seek refuge in Chennai were initially an important scheme of the governments. But Siva J, a transgender activist with Nirangal, an NGO which provides temporary shelters for transgenders, says the transit home that was once in Tambaram is non-existent now. It was a shelter for everyone, not just transgenders, which is unsafe. These are people who run away from their homes or even their jamaats (a traditional community with a head) which are themselves patriarchal in nature  and come to Tambaram to find a dirty, unprotected home, he says.

The SRS conundrum

Outside the newly built Burns Unit at Kilpauk Medical College (KMC), discharged patients rally for a checkup and a transgender woman leaves after consulting with the doctors about her date of procedure. It takes months. This isnt a procedure you just go in and get and come out of, says Nirmala P, head of the department at KMCs plastic surgery unit. Tamil Nadu is the first state in India to provide free sex-change surgeries at two government hospitals, KMC and Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital, since 2010.

Patients sit through a six-month psychiatric evaluation as per policy and some stay on but not for post-operative care. There are no specialised doctors to provide sex reassignment surgeries, and there is no special training either but Nirmala maintains that it isnt all that necessary. While burns patients are a priority, sex-reassignment surgeries have no designated doctors, thereby delaying the surgeries until patients choose to leave for private hospitals. Hospitals provide breast augmentation, emasculation (removal of penis and testicles), and vaginoplasty (creation of vagina) as part of SRS.

In 2012, the Madras High Court had called for a separate ward for transgenders which saw many transgenders walk in and demand that they receive priority treatment. But the government hospitals vehemently defied the order and placed patients in the male ward. The costs, they argue, are skyrocketing already, and money from the government is yet to come. They come back with complications and expect us to treat them for free, says Nirmala. These complications include painful urination due to the removal of the catheter in the urethra before healing has begun and a dysfunctional vagina due to the removal of the mould.

At the medical superintendents office in SRM University, Jayaraman P rests after his lunch break and meets with assistants who deliver to him the itinerary for the rest of the day. Retired from his post of plastic surgeon at the KMC Hospital, he now performs sex reassignment surgeries at Hope Hospital, a private entity that charges Rs 30,000 a procedure. But Jayaraman has gone pro bono and performs these surgeries for free. His clients, as a result, have followed him and moved from government SRS to private. I get a good 15 patients in a year, he says.

Madurai Home Guards: An exercise in tokenism

The Home Guards is a force that assists the police. What was a first-of-its-kind initiative in 2014 taken by no other police force across India soon became an exercise in tokenism.

Fifteen transgenders were selected of which nine dropped out and six are part of the initiative that predates the 15 April order by the Supreme Court that recognised transgenders as the third gender in a landmark ruling that promised rights such as the right to vote, own property, marry and to claim a formal identity to the community.

They left for home. We dont know why. We thought they liked the training but after six months they were all gone and they lost interest, says Madurai Home Guard deputy commissioner Indira Gandhi. The trainees were paid Rs 5,000 a month, barely enough to send back money to family. We werent given any direction to hire them back, so we left it at that, she says.

I heard of transgenders harassing men in Madurai and immediately took it upon myself to do something, says Mylapore deputy commissioner of police V Balakrishnan, who was then Madurais superintendent of police. I felt this was a constructive way of employing them to do something that actually matters, he says. But there are no plans of reviving this programme.

Balakrishnan had pioneered the model which later fell flat due to zero attendance and trainees reportedly going back to sex work, as per Madurai-based activist Gopi Shankar. The problem is, they have no sense or rather, dont want to engage with the transgender community to even ascertain their needs. They make Rs 15,000 a week just from sex work, how can they be retained here? he says. (He is the preferred pronoun of genderqueer and intersex people.)

Yasini (the first transgender police officer) had to fight it out. The state cannot take credit for her success. We dont get offered our share on a silver platter. We have to fight for it. Thats why these models dont work. We cant trust the system, the system wants us to put up a fight, he says.

A lackadaisical minister

P Valarmathis tenure as minister of social welfare ended with her loss in the 2016 elections in her constituency, Thousand Lights in Chennai. Her willingness to talk to the press about the board is a plus, but many questions were fielded with safe answers, revealing little of substance. The Rs 1 crore that drew a blank in terms of achievement from 2013 to the 2016 fiscal years is indicative that nothing was done during the time. Two conflicting answers emerged from Valarmathi  The money has been used somewhere else in another department, and The money may have not been released. The word may is cause for concern.

Weve done a lot for them  grants, pensions, cards and homes. What more? Weve given them sewing machines, she argues. Deep rooted stigma and a negative perception of transgenders as being incorrigible has clearly seeped into the the board and government at large. No effort has been made to reconstitute the board with non-official members since 2011. Asked why, she answered, There are no capable transgenders out there that I can see who can take up these roles.

But the community begs to differ. Sudha Palani speaks passionately about her event management venture which employs other transgenders looking for work other than begging or sex work. We enjoy planning and executing various events, particularly dance programmes. They are paid well and dont need to return to their previous jobs that we are so stereotyped with, she says. The self-help group programmes and the loan programmes by the government provide capital for jewellery making, tailoring and petty shops - but there are no takers for these. The problem is, they are completely out of touch (with reality). This is why non-official members need to be there. Official members (who are not themselves transgenders) in the comfort of their own offices will not fully understand, Sudha explains.

You should meet this person called Sudha, enthuses Valarmathi. She is a brilliant, sensible woman who will help a lot of transgenders. She then ponders on the suggestion on taking her on as a non-official member. Ill think about it. Good idea. But her ideas matter little. V Saroja is the new minister for social welfare. She could not be reached for comment.

The Kerala model

In 2015, Kerala chief secretary MK Muneer unveiled the 'State Policy for Transgenders in Kerala 2015' at the first International Conference on Gender Equality, held at Kovalam.

The schemes mirrored that of the Tamil Nadu Transgender Welfare Board - counselling, pension for destitute trangenders, free sex reassignment surgeries, ration cards, self-employment grants, free homes and transit homes.

At 31, Vijayraja Mallika forayed into the activism arena, and the state policy gave her space at the Planning Board. She, however, decided to go one step further. Travelling across the 14 districts of Kerala, she looked for rent for her school for transgender children. We were told that what would be a school, would turn into a brothel, she said. But thats telling of not just how transgenders are stereotyped, but also how their emotional and social space revolves around sex work. They get the love and care from their tai mas (mother figure) in a way they dont get from their biological families, she says. Mallika wanted to create this loving space while transgenders were young to nurture their ambitions of being integrated into society with jobs everyone else could access. I dont see any transgender women wanting to drive G Taxis or work at the Metro. They want to be teachers and businessmen. G Taxis is an intiative by Keralas Gender park, a civil society group, to provide jobs driving taxis. The school is Sahaja Foundation, and Mallika picked the name over the use of the word transgender. It means normal, like we should be. We shouldnt be seen as different from anyone else.

As for policy, Mallika says its too soon to tell if its tokenistic or watertight, but the first hurdle remains self-declaration. As per our survey, there are 25,000 transgenders in Kerala. The NALSA judgment of 2015, which I personally dont agree with in terms of its definition of transgenders, creates conflicts for us.

The NALSA judgements definition of gender identity is that Gender identity refers to each persons deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body which may involve a freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or functions by medical, surgical or other means and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms. Gender identity, therefore, refers to an individuals self-identification as a man, woman, transgender or other identified category.

What do we do when men who identify as men, wear sarees and ask us for benefits under the policy? she asks.

Classes start in June. Everyone keeps calling me the principal, laughs Mallika. What do I call myself? Hmm, secretary?

In Thiruvananthapuram, actor Anjali Ameer is recovering from a bad cold and a busy schedule. She's about to wrap up shooting for an upcoming Tamil film Peranbu. Starring alongside Mammooty, she's still over the moon about her big break. "Years ago, I was the boy crying over a broken makeup box. Now I'm doing movies!" she exclaims. Her laughter rings of relief as she tells a story of an effeminate boy who ran away from home to see a transgender woman she met during a school trip to Mysore. "I was armed with makeup from Dubai and my friends old skirts. Why can't you be like the others," my grandmother would tell me. Well, I'm not and I didn't want to be a burden anymore," she narrates. She joined a call centre in Coimbatore and paid for her surgery. In modelling and dancing, she found love. "I wanted to model and act, and be a woman while I did," she says. In a serial she shot for in Kochi, she was open about being a transgender woman, but her producers wouldn't have it. They kicked her out and she was back to auditions and screen tests. "I got through like anyone else. Director Ram liked my acting, and the rest happened just like that," she says. "I didn't act that well and all. But I'm happy I'm being seen as a woman now and not given a transgender role," she says.

A long way to go

We are people. We are not only male to female transitioned peoples, we are female to male transitioned, we are intersex, we are genderqueer, we are so much more than what the cis community portray us to be. (cis is the term for those who identify their gender with their biological sex), says Gopi Shankar. Shankar works tirelessly for Transgender India and for Srishti, a support, research and 24-hours helpline for genderqueer, gender-variants and LGBTQI and informational services for public. We are fragmented. Some popular faces attempt to represent us. But they will never know the patriarchal and shocking system of the jamaat, and the ground realities of it. The Board is for Transgenders but not by transgenders, he says. Jamaat is a collective of transgenders with a mother figure and is ideally a safe space for them, but most are usually engaged in begging or sex work or both.

In Chennai, Jeeva does her errands of the day and wears her floss pink sandals to sprint to the bank for some unfinished business. She stops in her tracks and turns, wearing a look of concern while appearing to have forgotten something important. If theres any one thing that hurt us, it is this. Even though our tenure was over, we made a regular visit to the director of social welfare. We were ear to a ton of excuses, and then conveniently turned away. All we wanted was a seat at the table, she says.
New Delhi: Days after a businessman alleged that he was beaten up by policemen, three officials posted at Prashant Vihar police station have been suspended.

Amit Jindal's car had allegedly rammed a police motorcycle on patrol last week and he alleged that he was roughed up by police personnel.

Rishi Pal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) confirmed that three policemen  one assistant sub-inspector and two constables have been suspended.

"They have been sent to the district lines and a departmental inquiry has been ordered against them," he said.

Jindal was returning home after work around 1.30 am last week. While crossing Rohini Sector 14, his car hit a police motorcycle which led to a heated argument.

He alleged that the policemen started threatening him.

According to Jindal, they first took him to a nearby hospital for medical examination and later to the police station where they switched off his mobile phone and demanded Rs 1.5 lakh for his release.

On Saturday, his family members visited the police station and gave Rs 60,000 for his release, Jindal claimed. He also alleged that they had beaten him up.

Police had claimed that Jindal was drunk when he hit the motorcycle and was taken for a medical examination. He was later handed over to his family members.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday informed the state assembly that he would take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of release of priest Tom Uzhunnalil, abducted by Islamic State terrorists in war-torn Yemen in 2016.

Replying to a calling attention motion in the House, he said the government was viewing the matter with utmost seriousness and would inform the state's concern over the issue to the prime minister in the next meeting with him.

Father Uzhunnalil hails from Ramapuram in Kottayam district of the state.

"As per reports, the plight of Father Tom, who was abducted by Islamic State terrorists on 4 March 2016, is serious. We have already sent letters and memorandum to the Centre seeking intervention for his release," Vijayan said.

"I will directly request Prime Minister to speed up efforts for his rescue during our next meeting in New Delhi," he said.

Though it had been confirmed that the priest is in the captivity of terrorists, there is no information about where he is being kept, Vijayan said.

The state has limitations in directly intervening in an issue in strife-torn Yemen, he said.

Moving the motion, Kerala Congress (M) chief KM Mani alleged that the Centre was not showing any interest to speed up efforts for the priest's release.

If necessary, the centre should seek the help of the United Nations for his rescue from Yemen, he said.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala also wanted the state to take up the matter with the centre seriously.
United Nations: The United Nations has dismissed Pakistan Army's claim that its military observers came under attack from Indian troops near the Line of Control (LoC), saying there was "no evidence" of them being targeted.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there was no evidence that an United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) vehicle was targeted by the Indian Army along the LoC near the Khanjar sector.

"I can say to you that on Wednesday afternoon in Bhimber district, in Pakistan-administered-Kashmir, UNMOGIP military observers accompanied by Pakistani Army escorts heard gunshots in their vicinity. There is no evidence that the UNMOGIP military observers were targeted by the gunfire. No United Nations military observer was injured," he told reporters on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, had said that a vehicle carrying two officers of the United Nations military observer group came under attack by Indian troops during a visit to the LoC.

The Pakistan Army had claimed the vehicle was carrying UNMOGIP officers Major Emmanual of the Philippines and Major Mirko of Croatia.

Asked about the increasing tension between the South Asian neighbours and whether the United Nations secretary-general will look into the situation, Dujarric reiterated, "We're obviously concerned at the situation in Kashmir, and it's an issue that the secretary-general is following closely."

According to the United Nations Security Council mandate of 1971, UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the LoC and the Working Boundary between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.

India has maintained that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC.

The observer group is headed by Major General Per Lodin of Sweden. It currently has 38 military observers and 73 civilian personnel.
In an incident, which is a horrific reminder of the 2016 Bulandshahr gangrape, four women were allegedly gang-raped and a man was shot dead by a group of armed criminals, who attacked them on the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway in Uttar Pradesh early on Thursday.

According to The Times of India, seven family members, along with a driver, were going from Jewar to Bulandshahr when they stopped their car at around 1 am when they noticed something stroking the car wheels.

As soon as they got out of the car, they were surrounded by a group of six to seven armed criminals, who robbed them and took the women at some distance and allegedly gangraped them.

Hindustan Times further reported that when one of the men tried to resist, he was shot dead by the criminals.

Another report in The Tribune also said that the police has yet to conmfirm sexual assault. The women have been sent for medical examination.

The Hindustan Times report also said that 80 percent of the 84,000 cases of dacoity and thefts on highways in India were recorded in Uttar Pradesh in 2014.

On 29 July, 2016, a group of dacoits had brutally raped the woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of a car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.

The crime had resulted in a lot of political mudslinging as opposition parties said that the incident showed that hooliganism was at its peak under the then Samajwadi Party government.

With inputs from PTI
Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh): Fresh violence was witnessed in Saharanpur in which three persons were injured on Wednesday, prompting the government to suspend the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police (SSP). The Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) were transfered in the wake of the continuing violence in this district of Uttar Pradesh which has been hit by caste-based clashes.

Mobile internet and messaging services were also suspended in the district to prevent rumour mongering. Later on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said strong action is being taken against all those responsible for the violence and appealed for calm.

He said people should not pay heed to inflammatory speeches and should help in maintaining peace and order. Adityanath also met Governer Ram Naik late on Wednesday evening. They are understood to have discussed developments in Saharanpur.

The caste violence has led to a political slugfest with Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati putting the blame on the BJP government and a senior state minister accusing the opposition party of "shedding tears". Earlier on Wednesday, one Pradeep Chauhan was shot at in Janakpuri area by some motorcycle-borne men, superintendent of police Prabal Pratap Singh said.

Chauhan was rushed to the district hospital, from where he was referred to a speciality centre. Members of the Thakur community protested against the incident outside the district hospital. In another incident, some persons attacked two men while they were sleeping near a brick kiln in Mirzapur village, the police said.

One Nitin was shot at, while another person Yashpal was severely beaten up by the attackers, the police said. They suffered serious injuries and have been admitted to the district hospital. The police, however, said the incident could not be linked to the ongoing caste violence.

On Tuesday, a few unidentified people had set afire 12 houses of Thakurs in Shabbirpur village ahead of the arrival of BSP chief Mayawati. A mob later attacked a group of people returning from a rally of Mayawati, killing one Ashish (24), who hailed from Sarsawa town, on the spot and injuring four others.

In view of the continuing violence, the government took some action on Wednesday.

"SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey and District Magistrate N P Singh have been suspended while Divisional Commissioner N P Agarwal and DIG J K Shahi have been transferred," an official spokesman told PTI in Lucknow.

Bablu Kumar has been posted as the new SSP of Saharanpur while Pramod Kumar Pandey will be the new DM, the official said. No official reason has been cited for the action, but it is believed that the top officials were removed after the chief minister expressed displeasure as they could not control the situation in Saharanpur district.

DIG, security, Vijay Bhushan who was sent by the government yesterday to camp in Saharanpur has been named the new DIG of the area.

This morning, a four-member team, led by home secretary Mani Prasad Mishra and comprising ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Mishra, IG STF Amitabh Yash and Vijay Bhushan arrived here to monitor the situation.

The ADG told PTI that the police is closely monitoring the situation and keeping a tight vigil on inflammatory messages on social media. Aditya said there is trust deficit among the people of different communities and the administration is working to reduce it.

The official warned of strict action against those trying to take the law into their hands.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the family of the man killed and Rs 50,000 each to those injured on Tuesday.
Indore: The bodies of 22 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh, who were killed in a bus accident in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand on 23 May, were brought to Indore on Thursday afternoon in a special flight.

Five others, who were injured in the accident, were also brought in the same plane under the supervision of a medical team.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Indore to receive the mortal remains of the deceased.

After paying tributes to the departed souls, Chouhan told reporters that 15 persons from Indore district and seven from Dhar district died in the accident during their pilgrimage in Uttarakhand.

Earlier, the state government had planned to bring the mortal remains in a train from Dehradun, Chouhan said.

"However, Air India MD Ashwini Lohani arranged the plane, so that the bodies can reach to the family members at the earliest," Chouhan added.

The chief minister also met the injured people and enquired about their health.

"All the injured are out of danger. The state government would bear all the expenses of their treatment. One more injured is still admitted in a hospital in Uttarakhand, as doctors did not allow him to travel," he added.

Chouhan informed that two more persons from Madhya Pradesh are still missing and their search is underway with the help of Uttarakhand government.

The group from Indore had gone on "Chardham Yatra" in Uttarakhand when the bus plunged into a deep gorge near Gangotri. PTI HWP ADU MAS NP 05252216 NNNN
An Indian woman who has been staying at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, after accusing a Pakistani man named Tahir Ali of marrying her at gun point, is returned to India on Thursday, said an official.

Accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel, she crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar.

"The Indian woman was happy and excited to leave for her homeland," a Pakistan Rangers official told PTI. Media was not allowed to interact with Uzma. She touched the ground after she entered the Indian territory.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma back home, calling her "India's daughter". "I am sorry for all that you have gone through," Swaraj tweeted.

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 25, 2017

Uzma had also petitioned the Islamabad High Court on 12 May requesting that Uzama be allowed to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia  a blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production.

Tahir had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet "his wife". A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the pleas and after hearing their arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.

The court issued orders for her safe return asking the police to escort her to the Wagah Border. The court also returned her the immigration papers which she had said was taken away by Ali, who had submitted the documents after being told by the court to do so.

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the high court and she can return to pursue the case.

Uzma arrived in Pakistan on 1 May and travelled to Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Ali on 3 May.

Later, she came to Islamabad and took refuge at the Indian High Commission alleging that she was forced to marry at gun-point.

Tahir not only rejected the allegations but expressed his desire to repair the relationship. "She is still my wife. Neither has she asked for divorce nor have I divorced her," Tahir told PTI on Wednesday after the court verdict.

He also said that once she was back in India, he would try to win her back. According to Tahir, he met Uzma in Malaysia where they fell in "love" and decided to marry.

With inputs from agencies
Singapore: The week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has come to a close.

The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded on Wednesday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapore's F-15SG fighter jets, Singapore's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and had a sea phase in the South China Sea. The 2017 exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.

The RSN deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti) and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircraft and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.

During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings, the defence ministry statement said.

The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions, it said.

Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years -- from a serial-based exercise to today's mission-based exercise -- incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," the commanding officer of RSS Formidable, Lieutenant Colonel Albert Khoo said.

Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses.

INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the RSN's Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura  Changi Naval Base on 15 May and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) Asia from 16 to 18 May.

Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said.
Mumbai: The wife of a police inspector, who was part of the Sheena Bora case probe, was found brutally killed with her throat slit at their Vakola residence in suburban Santa Cruz in Mumbai, the police said on Wednesday.

Deepali Ganore (42) was found dead in their flat located at AG Park in Prabhat Colony on Tuesday night, an official said.

The incident came to light when Deepali's husband, Dnyaneshwar Ganore (49), returned home after finishing his duty and found the door of the flat locked from inside, the official said.

Dnyaneshwar tried to contact Deepali on her mobile phone but it was found to be switched off, he said.

Meanwhile, he spotted the key in the shoe rack and entered his flat after opening the door where he found his wife lying in a pool of blood, he said.

He immediately contacted the control room of the Mumbai Police and informed them about the incident.

The official said that Dnyaneshwar's 21-year-old son, who is studying in college, reportedly went missing on Tuesday and his mobile phone was found at their flat.

Meanwhile, sources said the police found a blood-soaked message: 'Tired of her, catch and hang me', written on the floor of the flat near Deepali's body, with a smiley emoticon.

However, police officials remained tight-lipped about it.

The official said the investigators are looking for whereabouts of the son who they believe can throw light on the incident.

A case of murder was registered at Vakola Police Station against unidentified person(s) and investigation is on.

A team of the Mumbai Crime Branch is also assisting the police in investigation, according to the official.

"This is a sensitive case and our investigation is on," said Rashmi Karandikar, spokesperson and Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Sheena Bora, an executive working in Mumbai, was allegedly killed on 24 April, 2012. However, the incident came to light in August 2015.

The police have arrested Sheena's biological mother Indrani Mukerjea, her stepfather Sanjeev Khanna, and her mother's former driver, Shyamvar Rai, for allegedly abducting and killing her and subsequently burning her corpse.
The Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is Indias most popular queer cinema event. The inauguration and the closing ceremony especially are marked with the presence of tinsel town. As a queer person myself, it is heartening to see people whose voice can make a significant impact in shaping thoughts, attend the event year after year.

The best thing about a queer event in Mumbai  whether Dirty Talk or the Kashish inauguration or any of Sushant Divgikars dos  is that the discussion is uncensored and no one's taking a moral 'high ground'. People attending Mumbais queer events are uninhibited. Anyway, back to Kashish  I had the pleasure of meeting the hosts of the evening, Sushant Divgikar and Malishka, on the red carpet. Both of them were in drag and unidentifiable as themselves!

I've known Sushant Divgikar for the past five years, and can vouch that that he is an event by himself! He creates a kind of wave around him, of positivity  coupled with sarcasm and dollops of empathy  rarely found in todays times. Malishka, the popular RJ and actor, was his co-host, and ensured she played the perfect straight ally and allowed Sushant to take digs at her, whenever there was a bland moment in the script.

Representatives from different supportive corporate houses were present in large numbers but among all the videshi brands, it was heartening to see two shuddh desi companies  Godrej and VIP  as the principal sponsors of the event (IBM, the Canadian Embassy and Whistling Woods International were supporting partners). Nisaba Godrej, among the most powerful businesswomen in the country at this moment, with her having stepped into a leading role at Godrej Industries, was present at the event  just as down-to-earth as she always is.

Radhika Piramal is one of the only LGBTIQ persons from the corporate world who has dared to come out. She has joined us at pride marches and events. Truly, when someone at that level decides to come out, they become trailblazers for all things revolutionary.

On the performances front, the best thing was an Odissi dance set to a Marathi song. Another remarkable dance performance was by three gay men who call themselves High Heel Hotties; they wore fluorescent stilettos and twerked their way through the audience.

Coming to the films, there will be 147  from 45 countries  that will be showcased at Kashish. One of the films that I am eagerly looking forward to is Sisak, which happens to be Indias first silent LGBTIQ film. I am biased towards this film, because it also stars Jitin Gulati, who was cast in my biopic, Amen.

At Kashish this year, the country in focus is Britain, where it's been 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. The Sexual Offenses Act that was introduced in July 1967, decriminalised private homosexual acts between men over the age of 21, in England and Wales.

Sharon Memesis from the British Council spoke at length about Britans commitment to the cause. This was followed by a stand-up act by Nick and Navin who took a dig at Britain for giving us Section 377.

Similarly, Nik and Navins comic act was interrupted by the main guest of the event  actor Arjun Kapoor. Arjun, for whom Nik and Navin had to interrupt their act, received an apology from the actor as a part of his straight-from-the-heart speech.

Similarly, Parmesh Shahani of Godrej took at dig at foreign corporates by stating that while others make an effort to be inclusive, Godrej has taken the giant leap by including the rainbow in its logo itself. I could see Ritesh Rajani of IBM enjoying Parmeshs friendly banter. Everyone took the jokes in their stride and laughed along.

While everything was hunky dory at Kashish, it lacked the usual community feeling, that an organisation like Humsafar Trust ushers in. However, this also means the spotlight would be firmly on the queer films  Kashish will more seriously and primarily be seen as a socially conscious film festival rather than one of the tools for community mobilisation and advocacy.

The best part of the opening night was a statement by Shonali Bose, the director of Margarita With A Straw and Ammu, who told the audience that it's been 30 years that she came out as bisexual. She spoke about the biphobia that is prevalent in the gay community. She also called for greater empathy with other human rights violations on the basis of caste, class, religion and gender.
The ninth month of the Islamic calendar is Ramadan. It comes from the word Ramadhaa which means 'heat of the sun' and the month was named as such because it "burns the sins of the believers".

The ninth month  the month of Ramadan (according to the lunar calendar) was established as a Holy Month for Muslims after the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed in 610 CE. Muslims across the word observe a month-long fast to commemorate this first revelation. In 2017, the month of Ramzan begins on 26 May and ends on 24 June (Eid ul-Fitr).

However, these dates shift by approximately 11 days each year and there is a possibility that Ramadan could begin this year on 27 or 28 May.

What happens on Ramadan?

Muslims fast every day for month from dawn until sunset  this establishes the principle of abstinence during these hours. Muslims who are fasting wake up early to eat a pre-dawn meal called suhoor and then break their fast with a meal referred to as iftar. The number of hours of fasting are different across the world. In India, it is approximately 15 hours of fasting but in Australia it is only 11 hours.

How long is the world fasting this ramadan? We break it down for you: https://t.co/MFcIT1jkQp pic.twitter.com/xpEJLy2pcs  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 13, 2017

Ramzan month aligns itself with the basic Islamic tenets of charity, generosity. Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is seen as a way to channel patience and break bad habits. The other five pillars of Islam include the testimony of faith, prayer, charitable giving, and making pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims often give to charities during the month, and mosques and aid organisations organise free meals for the public every night. Fasting also is seen as a way to physically and spiritually detoxify through exercising self-restraint. Sexual intercourse between spouses also is off-limits during the day, while Muslims also are encouraged to be mindful of their behaviour and to avoid gossiping, cursing and quarrelling.

The purpose of the fast is to remind believers about the need for compassion and to help those less fortunate.

Is there a difference between how Sunnis and Shias observe Ramadan?

While the customs are similar, there are some minor differences such as Sunnis break their fast at sunset  when the sun is no longer visible, but Shias wait till the sky is completely dark.

Shias also mark an extra holiday for three days within the Ramadan  to commemorate the martyrdom of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of Sunni Islam and son-in-law of the Prophet.

What are the different traditions of Ramadan?

In some parts of Indonesia, Muslims immerse themselves in water to cleanse themselves spiritually and physically before the holy month begins, it is known as 'Padusan'. In West Asia, the 14th day of Ramadan is celebrated as Garangao where children dress up in traditional clothes and go around their neighbourhood with cloth bags (for collecting small goodies like dates etc) singing the Garangao songs.

In Egypt, big lanterns are lit up in the streets and during iftar. It comes from a legend that Egyptians had welcomed the arrival of Caliph Moezz Eddin Allah to Cairo by putting up lanterns.

In Tajakistan, Muslims are asked to donate goods to the poor and to lower prices on essential goods.

Bonus: All this is great but I am not a Muslim, what should I do?

Well, first of all be respectful towards your Muslim friends or coworkers who might be fasting during the month of Ramadan. If someone tells you they are fasting, don't be annoying and offer them food or drink, or tell them to 'take it easy'.
New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch a farmer outreach programme on Friday by holding meetings on the Land Pooling Policy (LPP) that was recently notified by the AAP government.

The move is intended to strengthen the Aam Aadmi Party which received a rout in the Delhi civic polls held last month.

A senior government official said the chief minister will hold six meetings with farmers in rural areas of Najafgarh and Matiala Assembly constituencies on Friday.

Among the villages where the chief minister is expected to hold meeting with the farmers are Chhawla, Revla, Kheda Dabor, Khadkadi Jatmal and Paprawat.

Last week, the Kejriwal government had declared 89 villages as urban areas under the LPP, which would help the authorities develop infrastructure projects in those localities.

Under the policy, the government agencies would develop infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals, community centres, on part of the pooled land and return a portion of the plot to the farmer who can later on execute housing projects with the help of private builders.

Around 20-25 lakh housing units will come up in these urbanised villages in the next 5-10 years and this will ensure that properties are available at affordable rates.

The main feature of the policy is that housing projects could be developed by builders on the returned agricultural land.

Earlier, building housing units on agricultural land of these 89 villages was not allowed as the LPP was not in place.
Patna: Lalu Prasad Yadav  a mass leader with rustic charm and a convict in the multi-million fodder scam  is all set to embark on a rather difficult political mission: Bringing the non-BJP parties on one platform ahead of 2019 general elections.

Lalu, also Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, is scheduled to visit Delhi later this week to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and others to start the process of forging a grand alliance of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political outfits.

The exercise is aimed at forging an alliance on the lines of one in Bihar that succeeded in defeating the BJP in state assembly polls in 2015.

Fully aware of the challenges involved in the arduous task of bringing together parties of all hues and views to counter the BJP, Lalu will call on Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on May 26 or 27 and personally extend her an invitation to join his party's rally here on 27 August.

According to insiders, he will request her to attend the rally to show off the "grand unity" of the opposition parties. The rally is likely to witness the attendance of the who's who of a number of non-BJP parties.

"Laluji has been busy for last few days with his coterie at 10, Circular Road  his official residence  to prepare a strategy for a grand alliance of non-BJP parties.

"Since his proximity to Sonia Gandhi is well known and the Congress is still the second-most powerful national political party after the BJP, Laluji has decided to work for the unity of non-BJP parties by meeting her and taking her party along to ensure that the idea translates into reality," an RJD leader close to the party chief told IANS here.

This is Lalu's first move to personally call on a top leader of a non-BJP party after the ruling party's massive victory in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which has led to panic among regional parties as well as the Congress.

Last week, Lalu had a telephonic interaction with Sonia Gandhi in connection with the unity plan. After that he had said the Congress was a national party and it should come forward to unite and lead non-BJP parties.

Lalu has already called up Mamata Banerjee and invited her to his party's rally, apart from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav  both former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh.

"Laluji is also in touch with DMK in Tamil Nadu, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and the leaders of Left parties to ensure unity of non-BJP parties," another RJD leader said.

When asked about his proposed rally in Patna and his bid to exhibit opposition unity, Lalu said: "I have invited top leaders of all non-BJP parties for my rally in August. All of them will attend it."

Keeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in focus, he has been appealing to all non-BJP parties to come together to counter the "aggressive Hindutva agenda" of the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party's President Amit Shah.

Sensing a tough challenge, Lalu has also cautioned the non-BJP parties that a united opposition would be the only option to take on the BJP and Narendra Modi in the next general elections.

"Unity among non-BJP parties is the only mantra now to defeat the BJP. If non-BJP parties remain divided and fail to unite as a political force, they will be finished," he said.

Lalu's major ally and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has already said that a "Mahagathbandhan" (grand alliance) of non-BJP parties was needed at the national level to defeat the BJP in the next parliamentary polls.

At a time when Lalu and his family, including his two sons and elder daughter, are under attack for benami property worth Rs 1,000 crore by the IT Department, Lalu appears to be playing it cool.

Refuting media reports about his and his family's involvement in the alleged benami property deals, he also vowed recently to "uproot" the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre before it completes its five-year term.

"Listen, you BJP and RSS people, Lalu will drag you off the seat of power in Delhi, no matter what happens to me. Get it straight... Don't you dare threaten me," he said.

Does Lalu, a man known for pulling off surprises in the past, including enthroning his wife Rabri Devi as proxy Chief Minister of Bihar when he faced the fodder scam, have something up his sleeves again? Political watchers in the state don't rule out the possibility.
Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday demanded an apology from BJP president Amit Shah for his remarks on the quantum of funds given to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS)-ruled state by the Centre. Rao offered to quit as the chief minister if the figures provided by Shah were proved to be correct.

Questioning the veracity of the figures provided by Shah on the funds given to Telangana, Rao reeled out statistics on the amounts for various schemes the state had received from the BJP-led NDA government. Shah, who was on a visit to Nalgonda district, in a press conference on Wednesday said the state had been given an additional amount of Rs 20,000 crore annually under various heads by the NDA government.

Telangana came into existence on 2 June, 2014.

"Those remarks are baseless. There is a limit for patience and tolerance whether it is Amit Shah or any Shah, for KCR (as the chief minister is popularly called) Telangana is Badshah. "We will not forgive anyone who tries to insult Telangana. I demand that Shah apologise to the people of Telangana for his false remarks," he said.

"These are unwarranted comments from a person who heads a party that rules this country," the chief minister said. "Such statements are bound to hamper the progress of Telangana...KCR will never keep silent. I hope wisdom will prevail on him and he will set himself right," said Rao, slamming the BJP chief.

Rao said Telangana has received Rs 67,390 crore under tax devolution and various central schemes till date from the Centre as its due share.

On the other hand, the state has contributed over Rs 1 lakh crore during the past three years to the central exchequer on account of Income Tax, Central Excise and Service tax collections, he said.

He also disagreed with Shah's observation that the TRS government had "failed" to implement the Centre's schemes at the grassroot level. Such comments would hamper investments in Telangana, he said.

"Shah says Telangana additionally gets Rs 20,000 crore annually (from the Centre). Mr Amit Shah should know what he is talking about. If figures given by me are wrong, I am ready to resign as chief minister," Rao asserted.

He advised Shah not to resort to "cheap political gimmicks" by falsifying facts and figures.

Rao, however, said he had great respect for Prime Minister Naredra Modi for running a "corruption-free" government at the Centre.

Replying to a query, he said his party TRS has not yet drawn its strategy for the upcoming presidential polls.

On Shah having lunch at SC colonies during his three-day visit to Nalgonda, Rao alleged the food the BJP leader had was prepared somewhere else and not at the residence of Dalits.

"We were informed that the members of Dalit community (in Theratpally village where Shah had lunch in SC colonies) expressed their displeasure over the issue," Rao claimed.

Mocking the BJP's claims that it would form the government in Telangana in the coming days, Rao said as per his latest survey the BJP would not be able retain even its present five seats in the Assembly.

On shifting of the state secretariat, Rao said there was proposal to construct one at Bison Polo Ground in Secunderabad, not at the historic Parade Grounds here, as reported in a section of media.
A large number of BJP workers and policemen were injured and a police vehicle was torched as BJP workers, protesting against the law and order situation in West Bengal and alleged fake cases lodged against some of the party workers, clashed with security personnel in Kolkata on Thursday.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, party's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh, Rajya Sabha MP Rupa Ganguly and former Kolkata deputy mayor Meena Devi Purohit were among those arrested under section 188 of CRPC after party workers led by them broke barricades in their bid to march to the Kolkata police headquarters in Lalbazar.

The affected parts of central Kolkata resembled a war zone, with security forces using water canons, batons and teargas shells on the activists, who also hurled bricks during their protest march.

Ganguly fell ill after scuffling and jostling with the police personnel who faced a torrid time reining in the rampaging BJP workers.

Terming the arrest as illegal, Ganguly said the TMC regime is using all methods possible to scuttle dissent, reported India.com.

Another actress-turned-political activist Locket Chatterjee had to be taken to the Kolkata Medical College for treatment after her arrest.

A police vehicle was torched and another government vehicle damaged on BB Ganguly Street close to Lalbazar. A number of police personnel also sustained injuries from the stone-missiles hurled at them.

The situation got heated up after the BJP activists assembled close to the Tea Board of India office on Brabourne Road and allegedly hurled a bomb which injured a policeman. However, the party's national Secretary Rahul Sinha denied it.

"Police are trying to mislead everybody by claiming that bombs were hurled, while actually it was only the sound of teargas shells lobbed by the police," said an injured Sinha, who was also arrested.

In a bid to keep the situation under control and disperse the mob, police resorted to baton charge and used water cannons on the BJP workers at Bentinck Street and Phears Lane.

Near Bentinck Street, a number of BJP activists lay wounded after a round of baton charge. A couple of women activists were seen resting beside the police guard rail with head injuries.

After being driven away by the police and Rapid Action Force personnel from Central Avenue, some BJP activists took shelter inside the Central Metro Station and pelted stones from there. They were detained later.

The Financial Express quoted Ganguly as saying that everyday a BJP worker is being put behind bars.

Shouting Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Jai Sri Ram and Vande Mataram, the BJP supporters assembled in large numbers at three points  Dharmatala Y Channel in central Kolkata, Howrah station and College Square in the northern part of the city, where rallies began around 1 pm.

Ghosh, who led a large procession from Howrah, was arrested from Brabourne Road.

However, even before the march formally started, around 20 BJP workers surprised police personnel by suddenly arriving in a private bus near Lalbazar that was turned into a fortress since morning. They were immediately taken into custody. Later in the day, the BJP supporters made more attempts to storm the police headquarters and reached its vicinity, only to be arrested.

BJP state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had lost control of the state administration and claimed that the government was actually being run by police.

"Banerjee has no control over law and order. Some senior police and IAS officers are running this government and Mamata is sitting at the helm without any power," Majumdar said.

Barricades, guard rails and iron scaffolding were set up and around 2,000 heavily armed personnel, including combat forces, Rapid Action Force and commandos, deployed to check any untoward incident. Drones kept a tab on the movement of protestors.

Thursday's protest came only three days after the Left peasant unions' 'March to Nabanna' (state secretariat) that left nearly 200 people  protesters and police  injured.

Meanwhile Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to discuss development issues. "This was not a political meeting, (but an) absolutely development oriented meeting. I have taken up several issues with the prime minister," Banerjee told reporters.

With inputs from IANS and PTI.
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Lucknow: A delegation of BSP leaders on Wednesday met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and alleged that party supremo Mayawati was "deliberately not provided security" by the administration during her Saharanpur visit.

They also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister in this regard.

"The party had requested the district magistrate and the SSP to build a helipad near Shabbirpur in Saharanpur for her (Mayawati's) visit yesterday but it was not allowed. The local administration said that for this they had to seek permission from the chief minister," the memorandum stated.

The delegation headed by party MP Satish Chandra Mishra, Laliji Verma and Ram Achal Rajbhar alleged that the former CM was not given adequate security and in absence of senior officers she could have been harmed by the crowd. "It appeared that the administration and police deliberately did not provide security to her," it said.

A mob had on Tuesday attacked a group of people returning from a rally of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, killing Ashish (24), who hailed from Sarsawa town, on the spot and injuring four others.

Saharanpur has been witnessing inter-caste clashes since April.

Earlier on Wednesday, one Pradeep Chauhan was shot at by some motorcycle-borne men. In another incident, some persons attacked two men while they were sleeping near a brick kiln in Mirzapur village, the police said.

One Nitin was shot at, while another person Yashpal was severely beaten up by the attackers, the police said, adding the incident could not be linked to the ongoing caste violence.

Claiming that the Dalits in Saharanpur are feeling insecure since police forces are not present there, the BSP leaders also demanded Rs five lakh compensation for those whose property was damaged and Rs one lakh for those injured in the violence.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the family of the man killed and Rs 50,000 each to those injured on Tuesday.
New Delhi: With the NDA government completing three years in office, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has said the BJP-led alliance will return to power at the Centre in 2019 with a stronger mandate.

Rawat said prime minister Narendra Modi has "established India" as an economic and military power in the world map in the last three years.

"I am fully confident that the next government at the Centre will be formed by the NDA under the leadership of Modi with a stronger mandate," he told PTI in an interview.

Rawat, who assumed the charge of chief minister of Uttarakhand on 18 March after the BJP won 57 of the 70 assembly seats, ousting the Congress, said the Opposition was "nowhere to be seen" in the country and they were in a "pathetic stage".

The 56 year-old chief minister said Modi has been running the government with everyone's cooperation and he would continue to do so in the future.

"Modi is running the government with a big heart. Many people when assume power, become arrogant, forget their own colleagues or friends. But the prime minister has never given such an impression. He likes to work with everyone's cooperation," he said.

Rawat hailed the Centre's move to convene a meeting of five Himalayan states to take stock of the security and development activities along the 3,488-kilometre-long India-China border.

"We have not given attention to the issues concerning our border with China. It was for the first time such a meeting was held in Gangtok. It was also decided that every year such a meeting will be held in future," he said.
The last three days have been hard for leaders and workers of the Telangana unit of the BJP. First party president Amit Shah reportedly gave them an earful, berating them for lost opportunities in taking on the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government. And just when his visit was coming to an end, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao tore into the BJP chief and the state unit of the party, accusing them of peddling lies.

The BJP versus TRS battle of words is now well and truly on.

During his visit to Nalgonda district, Shah among other things, had accused the KCR government of not spending enough on pensions and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Pointing to the 4.5 crore toilets being constructed across the country, Shah said there were no toilets in the homes he visited in the district. "This exposes the government's failure to take the scheme to the grassroots level,'' said Shah.

KCR did an NTR, calling Shah's charges an insult to Telangana atmagauravam (self-respect). The Telangana chief minister accused Shah of broadcasting falsehoods with fake statistics, belittling India's youngest state. Not only that, KCR also claimed he had proof that Shah had done a BS Yeddyurappa, who last week was accused of eating idlis brought from a hotel at a Dalit's home in Karnataka. KCR said Shah posed as if he was eating at a Dalit home when the food was in fact, cooked at the farmhouse of Manohar Reddy, a BJP candidate in the 2014 polls. The next day again, food that was eaten with Dalits was bought from a canteen.

The question is what exactly is cooking between the TRS and the BJP? Is this a fixed WWF-like bout where both opponents are behaving like fierce competitors in the ring or has a falling out seriously happened?

Rewind to November 2016, when KCR was the first non-BJP chief minister to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move. That signalled a bonhomie between KCR and Modi that left the BJP in Telangana confused on whether to attack the chief minister or stay neutral. The impression on the ground in Hyderabad has been such that should the BJP find itself short of numbers after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, KCR will extend support to New Delhi.

But Shah's three-day visit jolted the Telangana BJP from its stupor. At the meeting of office-bearers, Shah gave them a dressing down asking them why they did not make an issue of KCR building a palatial bungalow for the chief minister, spending Rs 40 crore. He took them to task for not protesting enough over the 12 percent reservation that Telangana assembly passed for Muslims in the state. He marked the Telangana unit for missing the opportunity to corner KCR for spending public money to fulfil a personal vow at Tirumala temple.

Sources say it was obvious that Shah was miffed that the unit, which the gateway to south India, was not fighting fit. He reportedly did not utter a word for most part of the 50-km long journey from Hyderabad to Nalgonda district, adding to the discomfiture of the bewildered state unit leaders accompanying him in the vehicle.

Shah wanted to go from five to 60 MLAs in Telangana. While that may be a pipe-dream, he has hit the ground running by trying to get a first hand feel of things in the districts.

There is a reason why the BJP has fast-forwarded into election gear at least a good two years before the polls are due in the state. It senses a political vacuum in the opposition space in the state. It also knows its cadre base is not as large as the other parties but it wants to punch above its weight so that it can at least emerge as the main opposition player in Telangana.

Telangana offers an opportunity because the BJP's erstwhile ally, the Telugu Desam Party is all but reduced to nothing, with 12 of its 15 MLAs and its sole MP, migrating to the TRS. The Congress strength in the Telangana assembly too is down from 21 MLAs to 12. The YSR Congress shop in Telangana has folded up, so have the BSP and CPI. The opposition space is up for grabs and the lotus wants to take roots.

The BJP believes the Congress with its internal differences in Telangana and a comatose state nationally, will be unable to pick itself beyond a point. So it aims to be the party of choice for any voter looking to vote the TRS out.

What's however adding to the suspicion of match fixing between TRS and BJP is the choice of Nalgonda district as Shah's first stop. This is a Congress dominated district with the party winning five of the seven seats that form part of the Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency. Both the Telangana Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy and CLP leader Jana Reddy hail from Nalgonda. So was Shah's 2-day visit an attempt at weakening the Congress in its citadel, even while attacking the TRS?

During closed-door discussions, Shah has assured the state leaders that there won't be any truck with TRS. This even while the party has opened channels of communication with disgruntled Congress leaders who are looking to exit.

Did KCR have to react in the blistering manner that he did? The verbal assault seems to be intended to convey that the TRS has not put its cards on the table as far as the Presidential elections are concerned. In a tight race, KCR's support will be critical and he clearly wanted to convey to Modi that Shah will have to be told to back off.

KCR did not miss an opportunity to get under Shah's skin by taunting him with the results of a survey he claimed to have commissioned on the occasion of three years in office. ``The BJP will not win even a single one of the five seats it holds now,'' he declared. But even while training his guns at Shah, KCR is all warmth when it comes to Modi, highlighting his good equation with the PM.

Last month, amidst the Baahubali fever, TRS leaders claimed KCR is their Baahubali. The BJP and the Congress can now only compete to be the political Kattappa of Telangana.
Civic elections in three municipal corporations in the state concluded on Wednesday with Panvel, Bhiwandi and Malegaon witnessing a voter turnout of 55, 53 and 60 percent respectively.

Panvel, a neighbouring town of Mumbai in Raigad district, went to the civic polls for the first time after its civic body was upgraded to Municipal Corporation in October last year.

According to a Hindustan Times report, In the 78-seat Panvel Municipal Corporation, the contest is between Shiv Sena, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peasants and Workers Party (PWP)  which has allied with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

BJP fielded its 60 candidates in Panvel Municipal Corporation which comprises of the town and 29 nearby villages where it had to face it's ally in the state government Shiv Sena which was in alliance with Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS).

Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation is currently being ruled by Congress-Shiv Sena alliance while an alliance of NCP and Teesra Mahaj rules Malegaon Municipal Corporation.

Approximately 12.96 lakh people were eligible voters in these elections, as informed by the state election commission officials.

According to the officials, a total of 1251 candidates contested the civic elections on 252 seats across the three civic bodies which included 189 candidates from BJP, 152 from Congress, 144 from Shiv Sena, 90 from NCP, 32 from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and 46 from All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Janata Dal (United) and Janata Dal (Secular) fielded 22, 4 and 10 candidates respectively and 355 independents candidates were also in the fray.

A report in The Times of India stated that a total of 195 candidates declared criminal cases registered against them and while 141 were facing serious criminal cases, according to an Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report.

The ADR report said that 27 of the BJP's candidates had serious criminal cases against them while the Congress has 25, Shiv Sena 14, NCP 13 and MNS had 6 such candidates.

The Chief Election Commissioner of India Naseem Zaidi had announced on 12 May that all future elections will be held with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) equipped with VVPAT (Voter-verifiable paper audit trail) machines amid concerns over tampering of EVMs. However, JS Saharia, the state election commissioner had said that use of VVPAT machines will not be possible in these civic elections.

The results of these elections will be declared on Friday.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she discussed "development and not politics" at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

The Trinamool Congress chief's meeting with Modi came amid efforts by opposition leaders to choose a consensus candidate for the coming presidential polls. The ruling National Democratic Alliance is yet to announce its presidential candidate.

"This was not a political meeting, (but an) absolutely development oriented meeting. I have taken up several issues with the prime minister," Banerjee told reporters, describing it as a customary meeting between the state government and the Centre.

Banerjee, who was a bitter critic of Modi's demonetisation drive, said she discussed a range of issues related to soil erosion caused by the Ganga in West Bengal and restructuring of the state's debt.

Issues such as the Farakka barrage, the heavy export duty imposed by Bangladesh on mangoes from West Bengal and the construction of a dam over the Atrai River by Bangladesh were also discussed.

She also demanded a restructuring of the central government's loan to the state, which has been reeling under financial problems.

"I have to pay Rs 40,000 crore. How do we work in such a scenario?," she said outside south block, where the prime minister's office is situated, after the meeting.

Banerjee also demanded that India take up with Bangladesh the issues of heavy export duty on West Bengal mangoes and the Atrai dam onstruction, which had led to a water shortage in the state's West Midnapore district.
Kolkata: The Left Front and the Congress on Wednesday expressed their apprehension over West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pointing out she was earlier in the NDA and also a member of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet.

The Modi-Mamata meeting on Thursday coincides with a protest march to the Kolkata police headquarters organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit.

"Modi and didi (elder sister, as Banerjee is affectionately called) are two flowers from the same stalk. She has been in the union cabinet during the BJP government earlier. Vajpayee had also visited her residence when he was the Prime Minister", said state Congress leader Manoj Chakravborty.

"She always does what suits her interest", he said.

Left Front legislature party leader Sujon Chakraborty wondered why Banerjee is not accompanied by her ministers and officials if she wanted to raise issues concerning the state.

"For raising issues concerning Bengal, she should have taken her aides. She says she wants to talk about central grants which her state is not getting. Then the Finance Minister and departmental officials should have accompanied her. If the CM is going without them, then one has to understand 'dal me bohut kuch kaala hai'," said Chakraborty.

The state BJP, however, said they were least concerned over the meeting.

"We aren't concerned over who is talking to whom on what issue. Such things happen.

"The BJP in West Bengal and its workers have started a struggle, which people of the state trust and support. Their trust is out strength and so we are marching to Lalbazar", said state party chief Dilip Ghosh.

On the other hand, the Trinamool pooh poohed the snide remarks of the Congress and the Left.

"We have always fought against communalism. We have never bowed our head. We will continue our fight. The Left and the Congress don't have have any programmes. When we oppose the BJP, then also they ask us why we are doing it", said Trinamool Secretary General Partha Chattjerjee.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee said she has sought an appointment with Modi to discuss the Ganga erosion issue, problems of other rivers and non-receipt of central grants.

It was later learnt, that the two leaders would meet on Thursday.
Mumbai: Around 55 per cent average voting was reported in municipal corporation elections in Bhiwandi, Malegaon and Panvel in Maharashtra on Wednesday, the State Election Commission said here.

Around 77.9 percent average polling was recorded in four nagar panchayat and nagar parishad elections in Chandrapur, Ahmednagar, Latur and Sangli districts, the SEC said.

Polling began at 7.30 am and ended at 5.30 pm. The results will be declared on 26 May. Altogether 1,251 candidates were in fray in the three municipal corporations. Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had its first election after it came into existence in October last year.

The BhiwandiNizampur City Municipal Corporation is ruled by the Congress-led alliance, while the Malegaon body has NCP-AIMIM alliance in power. There were altogether 12.96 lakh eligible voters for 252 seats in the polls to these civic bodies, a SEC official said.

BJP fielded 189, NCP 90, Congress 152, Shiv Sena 144 candidates across the three civic bodies. Altogether 355 independents also tried their luck. AIMIM fielded nine candidates in Bhiwandi and 37 in Malegaon, while MNS put up seven in Bhiwandi and 25 in Panvel. The Bahujan Samaj Party fielded 22 nominees Janata Dal (United) four, Janata Dal (Secular) 10 candidates in the three civic bodies.

Of the 18 municipal corporations which completed their five-year term this year, elections to 10 bodies were held in February, while Latur, Parbhani and Chandrapur went to polls last month.
Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar's refusal to attend a lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi has punctured the hype around Congress sponsored "united" opposition meet.

Nitish's absence from Sonia's lunch table becomes significant for the simple fact that he is only credible face in the opposition ranks. His decision to stay put in Patna on Friday on a day when Sonia is poised to discuss opposition unity and deliberate over names of the possible combined opposition candidate for presidential election takes the steam out of the whole exercise.

The luncheon would still be held because notionally no individual is indispensable and no individual can have persona so towering that his presence or absence could eclipse presence of half a dozen other leaders who are of the same stature. Though Nitish Kumar is a leader of number two party in the ruling three-party grand coalition in Bihar his persona is disproportionately higher than the numbers he commands in the Bihar Assembly or in Parliament. He is not only the most articulate leader in the opposition but he is also the only leader in the opposition ranks who could come closest to countering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public appeal.

His decision not to break bread with the rest of his peers in the opposition thus makes a bigger news than the meeting itself.

Nitish has his own reasons to abstain himself from the luncheon hosted by the Congress president. A JD(U) leader told Firstpost that when Nitish had met Sonia at her residence 10 Janpath in New Delhi on 20 April he had proposed name of Pranab Mukherjee as combined Opposition candidate for the presidential candidate.

Nitish had added that in case a consensus could not be built in the name of Mukherjee then any other candidate as chosen by the Congress (biggest party in opposition) would be acceptable to him. Nitish had then gone to meet her on her personal invitation.

The problem, however, is that Mukherjee is incumbent president and may not like to run for a second term unless he is the consensus candidate where ruling BJP-led NDA also backs him. Common wisdom suggests that a sitting president can't run for a second term unless he is very sure of victory. In other words, he can't run to lose. That would mean too much of ignominy to him.

The other problem, according to sources, Nitish's ally and senior partner in Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, for some reasons, is not keen on Mukherjee's candidature, him running for a second term. Lalu is looking for some other name as combined opposition candidate.

One is not sure if that is a reason for Nitish to stay away from the opposition meet at Sonia's behest where Lalu's presence would be counted prominently and his voice would be impactful. Nitish would not like to place himself in such a situation where the two allies are seen to be contradicting each other on an issue as important as this -- which is being seen as the first step to building a grand all-party opposition coalition against Modi and BJP.

It should be noted that neither Nitish nor any other leader has come out defending fresh corruption charges against Lalu and his family members, sons Tejashawi, Tej Pratap (deputy chief minister and minister) and daughter Misa (Rajya Sabha MP). The paper trial of shell companies and the manner in which Lalu's family have acquired properties in Bihar, Delhi and its adjoining areas, which is now in public domain, is so substantive that even RJD leaders have responded in political rhetoric than in substance. The JD(U) leaders have been silent because Nitish didn't think that his party should be seen to be defending his ally's misdeeds. Congress party is also Nitish's ally in Bihar but again JD(U) chose to be silent on the National Herald case against Sonia and Rahul.

Nitish will not be present at Sonia lunch but he does not want to be seen as a hindering factor in opposition unity. He has thus nominated Sharad Yadav, former party president and Rajya Sabha MP, to attend Friday's luncheon.

By doing so, Nitish has made his position distinct from other opposition leaders - that he was not available all the time on someone's call.

More so, Nitish is the only person among the list of invitees at Sonia's lunch who is clean. Neither he nor his party is on the radar of investigative agencies. Unlike other prominent invitees like those from RJD, TMC, DMK, NCP, Nitish and his party are not being investigated by various investigative agencies. In short, he does not have any taint on his persona.

He had broken from rest of the opposition  Congress, Trinamool, AAP among others  on Modi's demonetisation move. He was supportive of that move and his criticism of Modi government on the issue was constructive.

Interestingly the person nominated by Nitish to represent JD(U) Sharad Yadav is one of the probable for the presidential election. But then, a JD(U) leader pointed out that Yadav will tread cautiously on the issue. If he contests presidential election then can't remain an MP. He will have to quit from membership of Rajya Sabha before he files nomination. The question which the JD(U) leader in conversation with Firstpost raised is interesting -- Will Sharad Yadav like to lose both, his position as an MP and the presidential election?
New Delhi: The Opposition hopes to put up a grand and united show at Congress president Sonia Gandhi's lunch on Friday, where deliberations on a consensus presidential candidate will also take place.

Top Opposition leaders are likely to attend the lunch meet hosted by Gandhi in the Parliament House library on a day that also marks the third anniversary of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, will not be there because of a prior engagement, sources said, adding that his party, the JD(U), would be represented by Sharad Yadav. The sources also said the Congress had not invited Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

"You wait and see tomorrow. Most Opposition leaders will attend the meeting," a senior leader said, when asked if BSP leader Mayawati and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would be present.

The leaders would explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

Sources said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, CPM's Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja and JD(U) veteran Yadav, who is himself a possible contender for the top constitutional post, would attend the lunch.

Invitations had been sent to JD(U), CPI, CPM, SP, DMK, NCP, RJD and TMC, besides some other big and small regional parties.

The main Opposition Congress is seeking greater unity among non-NDA parties ahead of the presidential election which could be taken forward to the upcoming assembly polls in states such as Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, besides the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

Efforts are on to bring arch political rivals in Uttar Pradesh  the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party  together on a common opposition platform ahead of the presidential poll.

Several names have been doing the rounds as probable candidates. Among them are former West Bengal governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The NCP leader has, however, ruled himself out of the race.

Kumar has also mooted a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and suggested that the ruling BJP try and build consensus on him.
New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will skip the opposition parties meeting convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday over the Presidential elections, a party leader said.

"Nitish Kumarji would not be attending the meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhiji," Rajya Sabha MP and Janata Dal-United Spokesperson K.C. Tyagi told IANS.

"Our senior party leader Sharad Yadav would attend the meet to represent JD-U", he added.

Sonia Gandhi has invited prominent opposition leaders for a luncheon meet at her residence, where the issue of selecting a consensus candidate for the presidential election is to be discussed.

Asked about the reason for the JD-U President not attending the meet, Tyagi said, "He is busy with some important work of the government and won't be able to come."

Nitish Kumar was first among the opposition leaders who had met the Congress President over the issue of fielding a joint candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

Kumar has been calling for forging an alliance of secular parties at the national level on the lines of the 2015 electoral grand alliance in Bihar to take on the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress is exploring the possibility of fielding a joint candidate for the presidential election which is due in July this year.
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi has invited prominent opposition leaders for a luncheon meet at her residence on Friday, when the issue of selecting a consensus candidate for the presidential election is to be discussed.

According to senior leaders there will also be an informal meeting before the lunch. CPI leader D. Raja confirmed he would attend, while JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said senior leaders of the party will be present.

Opposition party leaders, including Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, are expected to attend.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is also coming to Delhi and will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Banerjee will also meet leaders of all major parties to build a consensus on the joint candidate for the presidential election.

Among the names doing the rounds as the opposition's consensus candidates are of former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Banerjee met Congress President Sonia Gandhi last week and conveyed that her party was in favour of a consensus candidate for the presidential election.

The term of President Pranab Mukherjee ends in July. The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which has clear edge in the presidential election, has not given any inkling so far on its choice of candidate.

Gandhi has been contacting leaders opposed to the ruling BJP to evolve a consensus.

She has spoken to Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad and met JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.

The Congress chief is also expected to meet Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati.

DMK leader Kanimozhi had invited Sonia Gandhi for her father and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi's 94th birthday celebrations in Chennai on 3 June, when another meeting of opposition leaders is likely to take place.
New Delhi: Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday supported Tamil superstar Rajinikanth's move to join politics. Sinha also advised him not to join any political party, instead let others join him.

"Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu and son of India - dearest Rajinikanth! Rise, Rise, Rise!! It's high time and the right time!. Nation is waiting with bated breath for Superstar Rajini's leap into constructive politics to shape the future of your people and nation," the BJP MP said in a series of tweets.

Rajinikanth had earlier hinted that he may join politics at an appropriate time.

The Patna Sahib MP, who was recently locked in a Twitter war with former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi over the Bharatiya Janata Party's stance on Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue of corruption, also suggested to the Tamil superstar not to join any political party.

"The people are with you and ready to join Superstar Rajini and instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you," Sinha said.

"Hope, wish and pray that after consulting with your family, dear ones and experts, you take the right decision soon - sooner the better...," he added.

Sinha said that as a friend, supporter and well wisher he would always stand by Rajinikanth and offered all sorts of support to guide him.

"You can bank on me. I'm bankable, dependable and available to you - anytime and every time. Regards to your family and long live Superstar Rajini," Sinha said.
Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday dubbed BJP president Amit Shah's comment that the Centre was providing additional funds of Rs 20,000 crore to the state every year as a "blatant lie".

Rao said he challenged Shah to prove that even Rs 200 crore of additional funds were provided to the state.

He said if the BJP leader could prove so, he was ready to resign as chief minister.

"Whatever he said in the past three days is nothing but blatant lies. He should apologise to the people of Telangana," Rao told the media in Hyderabad.

The chief minister said the Centre earned Rs 50,013 crore in taxes from Telangana during 2016-17 while it gave only Rs 24,561 crore under all central schemes.

He said Shah should know that it is Telangana which gave Rs 25,452 crore to the Centre.

Rao, President of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), said Shah was trying to spread "misinformation about the newly created state".

The TRS chief said Shah was trying to damage the state's progress for cheap politics. He said it was unbecoming of the head of a ruling party at the Centre to make such comments.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said had Shah made personal comments against him, he would not have reacted but since he tried to spread misinformation about Telengana, he (Rao) decided to respond.

"Whether the BJP is in power or not at the Centre, the state will get whatever it has to get. Like other states, Telangana also got funds from the Centre but it did not get even one rupee more," he said.

He also took exception to Shah's comments that his government had failed to implement welfare schemes.

The chief minister said Telangana is one of the only six-seven states that were contributing to national growth and that Telangana is number one in implementing welfare schemes.
The ruling BJP party has planned a grand 'Modifest', a festival celebrating the government's achievements, across the country to mark the NDA's three years in power at the Centre. The imposing gala, spread across 900 cities, will be held between 26 May and 15 June and will see the Narendra Modi government celebrate its achievements since 2014.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Union textile minister Smriti Irani, said, "The government is going to celebrate the three years of the historic mandate it got in 2014."

"In order to highlight the government's achievements under the leadership of prime minister Modi, a series of dialogue programmes would be held in 900 cities across the country," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

She said the programme, which has been named 'Making of Developed India' or 'Modifest', would be kicked off by the prime minister from Guwahati in Assam on Friday.

The Modi government will complete its third year in office on 26 May.

According to the BJP, events across the country would be addressed by several Union ministers, parliamentarians, chief ministers and leaders from BJP-ruled states, and several senior party leaders.

Irani said a 'Jan Ki Baat' programme has also been arranged so that the people can share their messages with the prime minister directly.

"The party has also organised intellectual summits in the cities in which the party's ministers would participate and interact with the people," senior BJP leader Arun Singh said, adding that a programme on 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyan' has also been organised at every venue.

Party president Amit Shah is scheduled to attend the event in Kerala between 2-4 June, in Port Blair in on 6 June, in Chhattisgarh from 8-10 June, and in Arunachal Pradesh from 12-13 June.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh will attend the Jaipur and Mumbai fests, while external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj would attend the programmes in Delhi and Lucknow.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley would attend the 'Modifest' in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, while urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu would go to Bhubaneswar and Chhattisgarh, while railway minister Suresh Prabhu would participate in the events in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti among other prominent leaders and MPs will visit Bihar to showcase the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the past three years.

"Our prominent national and state leaders will visit various parts of the country to showcase the achievements of the Narendra Modi government," senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said.
New Delhi: The AAP on Wednesday took a dig at the National Democratic Alliance government's three years in office at the Centre and said the ruling BJP had only spread fear and hatred since May 2014.

The Aam Aadmi Party said the three years of governance could be summed up in the slogan of 'Dehshat se ha ha kaar, teen saal jumla sarkar'.

"They came to power with tall promises, but how many of these have been fulfilled in three years?" AAP leader Sanjay Singh asked.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's main slogan was 'Sabka saath sabka vikas' (everyone's cooperation and everyone's development), but there has been violence against the Muslims, Dalits, youngsters, women, and universities, he told the media here.

"Yogi Adityanath came up with the promise of 'Ram Rajya', but Saharanpur has been burning for the past one month and one death was reported there even on Tuesday," Sanjay Singh added.

The AAP leader said all this started off with the death of Hyderabad University's Dalit research scholar Rohit Vemula.

"As a young Dalit student, Vemula had to face neglect to such an extend that he was forced to commit suicide", he added.

The AAP leader said that Akhlaq of Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh was lynched by a mob over beaf consumption allegations; Pehlu Khan was beaten to death in Rajasthan, and four Dalit youths were stripped and flogged in Gujarat's Una, all in the name of cow protection.

"If the Prime Minister and his ministers are busy speaking about their achievements, they should answer these questions also," Sanjay Singh said.

As for how could Modi or the Centre be held responsible for law and order in states, the AAP leader said: "In all these states, votes were asked in the name of Modi; hence he has the responsibility to maintain law and order".

Asked if the BJP's governance is bad, how come the party had won assembly elections, AAP leader Ashutosh replied, "If winning elections is a measure of good governance, how come people like Mohammad Shahabuddin win elections from Siwan while being in jail?"

On the Electonic Voting Machines (EVMs) controversy, Sanjay Singh showed a picture of two youths purportedly with an EVM connected to a computer, at their Varanasi home, and asked why the government is not inquiring into the matter.

"The Election Commission says their machines are kept under high security and no one can access it. And this picture is from the Prime Minister's own constituency," the AAP leader said.

He said the party hasn't decided on participating in the Election Commission's EVM hacking challenge from 3 June.

"If anyone wants to hack an EVM, will they hack it according to guidelines set by the EC?" he asked.

Sanjay Singh said that the EC should organise a hackathon in which hackers get unlimited access to EVMs.

"According to the current EC guidelines, only the BJP can hack it. Or may be it can be done using cow urine or black magic," Sanjay Singh quipped.
Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has dared BJP president Amit Shah to contest from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, saying it is not as easy as "eating cake".

Owaisi, the sitting MP from Hyderabad, said his party would ensure that the BJP lost from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, held by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and five assembly seats the saffron party has in the city.

"You (BJP) want to contest Hyderabad....you are welcome. But why are you planning to field somebody else? You (Shah) come and contest," Owaisi said.

"Hyderabad ki seat jeetenge....is it like eating a cake? We have worked a lot here for several years," the three-term

Hyderabad MP told a gathering on Wednesday night, referring to Shah's reported statement that BJP will win the seat.

Ridiculing Shah's claim that BJP would form its government in Telangana after the 2019 assembly elections, Owaisi said, "You are dreaming".

"God willing, we will ensure BJP loses Secunderabad and also the five assembly seats held by them," he said.

"I am telling you Mr (Narendra) Modi and Mr (Amit) Shah, mark my words, we will ensure that BJP is defeated from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat. The people of Hyderabad will tell you. You will lose deposit from Goshamahal.. you (BJP) will lose Amberpet, Musheerabad, Khairtabad and also Uppal Assembly seats (in Hyderabad). You will face big loss in Telangana...Insha Allah," Owaisi added.

On Shahs three-day visit to Telangana, Owaisi said, "The BJP President is on Telangana tour...there's sudden love (that he has developed) for Telangana."

The AIMIM leader said Shah went to Nalgonda and had lunch at a Dalit home about which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said was prepared by a member of a forward community.

"What kind of love you (Shah) have? You have food at the residences of Dalits which has been prepared somewhere else. What kind of love you have for (B R) Ambedkar?" he said. He rejected Shah's claim that the Centre had allocated Rs 1 lakh crore to Telangana, and insisted it got only Rs 24,000 crore.

"Ok, even if you gave (Rs 1 lakh crore) did you give it from your pocket. We are not beggars...It is our (Telangana's)

constitutional right to get (central funds). It is the right of the Telangana government to get not just Rs 1 lakh crore but Rs 10 lakh crore," he said.

Meanwhile, reacting to Shah's challenge, BJP floor leader in the Telangana assembly G Kishan Reddy dared the Hyderabad MP to contest from his constituency Amberpet.

"Amit Shah is based in northern India. There are thousands of BJP workers here who can defeat Owaisi. I dare him to contest from my constituency Amberpet," Reddy said.

Amberpet was among the five assembly seats Owaisi had said his party would ensure BJP's defeat.
Berlin: Former US President Barack Obama, in a first speaking event in Europe since leaving the White House in January, received an exuberant welcome in the German capital on Thursday as he took part in a public debate with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Obama made a plea for international engagement as he told an audience of tens of thousands in Berlin that hiding behind a wall was not a choice.

"In this new world we live in, we can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall," Obama said, sitting on stage next to Merkel in front of the Brandenburg Gate at an event that is a part of "Kirchentag", a multi-day meeting sponsored by the protestant church in Germany.

Security was tight, with police helicopters patrolling the skies and snipers with balaclavas watching the scene from rooftops, Politico reported.

Obama praised Merkel as someone who had done outstanding work, and defended his own presidency and the values of liberal democracy that both of them had championed.

Obama made the comments as his successor Donald Trump, in Brussels for his first NATO leaders summit, was meeting with European Council leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

Obama addressed a rapt crowd of Germans lining the streets from blocks away, some holding signs like, "Welcome Home", "You're Looking Great", and "Du Bist Ein Berliner" (You are a Berliner).

The former US leader attended the event at Merkel's invitation  there's no foreign leader that he was closer with during his time in the White Houseand she's hoping for a boost from his still sky-high popularity in Germany in her own re-election campaign in the fall.

Obama warned against leaders who don't question themselves.

"If I become so convinced that I'm always right'," Obama said, "the logical conclusion of that often ends up being great cruelty and great violence."

Merkel had breakfast with Obama in Berlin before the event, and she was set to fly to Brussels later Thursday to have dinner with Trump.
Washington: Tibetans have foiled China's attempts to "destroy" Buddhism in Tibet with the help of nearly 30,000 monks and nuns "educated" in India who "sneaked" back to revive their culture, Lobsang Sangay, the leader of the Tibetan government in exile has said.

Sangay, the president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), said the "very objective of the invasion, the occupation of Tibet in some ways if not defeated, has been diluted because (the Chinese) thought that they would destroy the Tibetan Buddhist civilisation thereby assimilate Tibet into China and Tibetan into Chinese. But it did not work."

"Since the 1980s, we have rebuilt voluntarily mainly by Tibetans inside Tibet and Buddhism has revived. And our sense of culture, civilisation and identity has also been revived in Tibet," Sangay said yesterday at a public event organised by The Heritage Foundation, an American think-tank.

He said an estimated 30,000 Tibetans who were "educated" in India and "sneaked back" into Tibet have revived their civilisation.

"By going back in the 1980s, when there was some social space in Tibet particularly, and in China in general, Tibetans rebuild monasteries in Tibet and learned and reeducated themselves with the help of some of the exiles (who were) trained and educated monks and nuns," Sangay said.

"Buddhism has revived. Tibetans in Tibet are not just embracing Buddhism even the second and third generation of Tibetans are very much conscious of their identity," he said.

But, he said, the Chinese government "is hell bent upon the destruction of Buddhism in China".

The Communist Party-ruled China is officially atheist.

Referring to the ongoing demolition of the Larung Gar monastery  the largest Buddhist institute in Tibet, which has some 12,000 monks and nuns, he said, "unfortunately what is happening is that the Chines government is reviving something akin to a cultural revolution in Tibet."

He said the situation is same with other monasteries in Tibet, "from where monks and nuns are being expelled."

"Because of this and other repressive policies of the Chinese government, 149 Tibetans have committed self-immolation of which nearly 130 have died," he said.

Sangay said the Tibetan government in exile discourages self-immolation and also noted that not a single Chinese person has been harmed by Tibetans.

He also blamed China for the rapid melting of "thousands of glaciers" in Tibet on which 1.4 billion people in Asia depend for fresh water, saying migration of the Chinese to the Tibetan plateau and rapid urbanisation and industrialisation has led to the development.

The Tibetan civilisation and culture ought to be preserved, he said.

Reiterating the "middle way" approach of the spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in resolving the dispute, Sangay said Tibetans should be granted "genuine" autonomy within China, within the framework of the Chinese Constitution.

"If the Chinese government implement their own laws listed in the Constitution and minorities nationalities act, we could take that as genuine autonomy," he said, adding that the US supports the middle way approach of the Tibetan people.

"We do believe that the Tibetan cause would prevail," Sangay said.

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not an obstacle to the solution of Tibet. He is the solution," he said.
Beijing: China on Thursday asked Pakistan to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of its nationals and institutions in the country, a day after two of its nationals were kidnapped by gunmen in the restive Balochistan province.

Condemning the kidnapping of a Chinese couple from Jinnah Town area of Quetta, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the authorities from the two countries are working together to rescue them.

"Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals overseas. We denounce abduction in all its forms," Lu told a media briefing.

"The Chinese government has maintained close communication with Pakistan since the abduction took place and urged Pakistan to take all necessary measures to secure the early release of the hostages," Lu said.

He said China called on Pakistan to take further steps to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals and institutions in Pakistan.

"The Chinese government will work with the Pakistani side to spare no efforts to rescue the two nationals at an early date," he said.

The couple who were teaching Chinese in Pakistan were allegedly kidnapped by gunmen yesterday in Quetta, raising concerns in Beijing over the security situation in Pakistan amid China's massive investment push in the country.

The gunmen dressed as police stopped the couple's car and shot and wounded a man who intervened after he rescued a third person who was in the car, according to Pakistani police and China's official Xinhua news agency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping yet.

Chinese interest in Balochistan has spiked in recent years after the announcement of the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which plans to connect the Pakistani port of Gwadar to Xinjiang in China.

In the past, China has asked Islamabad to improve security, especially in Balochistan, where it is building the Gwadar Port and funding roads as part of the CPEC.
Washington: US has sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump, prompting the Chinese government to say that the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty.

The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, conducted a patrol within 20 km of Mischief Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims.

The exercise is the first since October and comes after friendly exchanges between the US and China to settle trade issues and vows to cooperate to contain the nuclear programme of North Korea, a Chinese ally.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law."

The patrols are "not about any one country, or any one body of water," he told the Wall Street Journal.

But China reacted promptly to the action saying the US warship had entered the South China Sea "without permission".

"The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines China's sovereignty and security interests," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.

"We urge the US to correct this mistake," he said.

"Stop taking further provocative actions that hurt China's sovereignty and maritime interests, so as to avoid hurting peace and security of the region and long-term cooperation between the two countries."

In another report, to American news website The Hill reported that the "freedom of navigation" operation was a signal intended by the US to assert its intention to keep critical sea lanes open.

"In conducting the freedom of navigation patrol, President Trump is likely to anger China at a time when the US is seeking increased cooperation with the country to help rein in North Korea," it said.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. But Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam have rival claims over the region.

A Pentagon official said, however, said that since 1979, the freedom of navigation programme has demonstrated non-acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world. It includes consultations and representation by American diplomats and operational activities by the US military forces.

In February, USS Carl Vinson Strike Group arrived in South China Sea but did not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) against Chinese maritime claims around its artificial-island bases in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Early this month, Pentagon spokesman Davis told foreign journalist that the FONOPS is a "routine activity" carried out by the US around the world.

"We did it last year, freedom of navigation assertions against 22 different countries all over the world. Many of those countries are friends and allies," he said.

"Unfortunately, I think the public narrative has made it about China and the South China Sea. It's not that. It's about asserting international rights to navigate in waters that international law accepts, and these are rights and benefits that benefit all countries on Earth, to include China," Davis said.

"We will continue to do them," he said.

In an annual FNOPS report released by the Pentagon in February, the Department of Defence said that in 2016 it carried out freedom of navigation operations against 22 countries, including India. Other major countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Beijing: A Chinese government spokesman says his country is working with Pakistani authorities to rescue a Chinese couple abducted in southwest Pakistan.

Police are currently searching for the two Chinese language teachers who were abducted in Quetta on Wednesday by gunmen who stopped their car and reportedly shot a man who attempted to intervene.

No one immediately claimed responsibility and the motive behind the abduction is unclear.

Thousands of Chinese nationals work in Pakistan and have frequently been targeted in attacks by anti-government militants.

China is a longtime ally of Pakistan and is currently building a network of roads and power plants under a project known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Gunmen attacked a highway construction site earlier this month, killing 10 workers.
Washington: As many as 36 Democratic Senators have urged US President Donald Trump not to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, arguing that the historic climate change deal for the first time made major emitters like India and China acknowledge that they have a responsibility to curb carbon pollution.

"We write to express our strong support for the Paris Climate Agreement, and to urge you to keep the United States party to the agreement," the Democratic Senators wrote in a letter to Trump ahead of this week's G-7 meeting.

They argued in the letter that backing out of the agreement after years of negotiations and strong US leadership on the issue would be a self-inflicted injury to America's economy and leave its interests unrepresented on the world stage.

The Senators said that reneging on the agreement could put American health and safety at risk, and would leave the US economy and small businesses to miss out on vital investment and job opportunities while the rest of the world moves forward with trillions of dollars of investment in resilient infrastructure, low-carbon energy, sustainable agriculture and new technologies.

"While American communities and businesses grapple with the impacts of climate change, we know that this is a global challenge and it demands a global response," the letter said on Wednesday.

"That is why the Paris Climate Agreement is so vital. For the first time, the Paris Agreement provides a platform in which all countries acknowledge that they have a responsibility to do their fair share to curb the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, including other major emitters like China and India," the Senators wrote.

Over the next several years, parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet to determine how the Paris Agreement will be implemented when it goes into effect in 2020.

Issues of longstanding bipartisan interest will be discussed and decided in those meetings, including matters of transparency and verification of emissions reductions from other countries.

"A US retreat from the Paris Agreement would isolate us from the 196 nations working together within the framework of the Paris Agreement, reaching outcomes on international economic policy that will effect US interests whether we are party or not," the Senators warned.

"A retreat from Paris would harm the trust, faith, and goodwill that America has earned from other nations, and will inevitably harm our ability to work cooperatively to advance our foreign policy goals. Our allies were insulted by the Bush Administration's decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, and we suffered real foreign policy and diplomatic setbacks as a result," the Senators said.

According to a senior administrator, Trump believes that the Paris Agreement on climate change is not good for the US and he would stay in this international agreement only if hefeels that it would improve the economy and create jobs.

"The President believes that the Paris agreement is not a great deal for America," the official said.

"I think that it's very simple: if the President could find a way to make it a good deal for America, then I'm sure he would be open-minded to potentially staying in, but if he feels like it's a deal where other countries do nothing and are able to keep up high levels of pollutants, and it really puts restrictions on American industry, then he's gonna get out," the official said, giving a sense of clarity into the thinking of the Trump Administration on this issue.

The Trump administration is currently doing a review of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A decision on this is expected to be taken in the next few weeks.

Trump has "got the right to get out", the senior administration official asserted. "So that's kind of where he's at. We're doing an internal review now, we've concluded that the agreements are not legally binding, so that's a good thing, and so we do have flexibility. For them now it's really a function of deciding what ultimately he wants to do," the official said.
Washington: Senior Russian intelligence and political officials discussed how to influence Donald Trump through his advisers, according to information gathered by American spies last summer, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing three current and former US officials familiar with the intelligence, the newspaper said the conversations focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump presidential campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, a retired general who was then advising Trump.

US Congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department this month are investigating whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 US election, and the possibility of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The controversy has engulfed Trump's young administration since he fired FBI director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agency's investigation of possible Russia ties. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

The report was the latest indication of the depth of concerns within the US intelligence community about Russian efforts to tip November's election towards Trump as he battled Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On 18 May, Reuters reported that Flynn and other advisers to Trump's campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, citing current and former US officials.

On Tuesday, former CIA director John Brennan told lawmakers he had noticed contacts between associates of Trump's campaign and Russia during the campaign and grew concerned Moscow had sought to lure Americans down "a treasonous path".

The New York Times said some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, who was subsequently named Trump's national security adviser before being dismissed less than a month after the Republican took office.

Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Manafort, who was dismissed from Trump's campaign, the newspaper reported.

Separately, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, told Reuters via text message that he would testify before the House Intelligence Committee but was "still working out details".

"Nothing (is) fully confirmed at this stage," Page wrote, adding that if invited, he would also testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but had yet to receive such a request.

ABC News, which first reported on Page's planned testimony, said he would testify before the House panel on 6 June. A spokesman for the committee declined comment on whether Page would testify. In a letter to the panel seen by Reuters, Page accused Brennan of offering a "biased viewpoint" in Tuesday's testimony.

On Wednesday morning, the top Democrat on the committee said it would subpoena Flynn in its probe into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election after he declined to appear before the panel.

"We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximise our chance of getting the information that we need," representative Adam Schiff told journalists at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

The leaders of the US Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday they would subpoena two of Flynn's businesses after he declined to hand over documents in its separate Russia probe.

Flynn, a retired general, is a key witness in the Russia investigations because of his ties to Moscow.

He was fired from his position at the White House in February, after less than a month on the job, for failing to disclose the content of talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
Brussels: US president Donald Trump on Thursday berated NATO allies for not doing enough on terrorism and spending, while stopping short of the public commitment to collective defence they had hoped for.

Trump's broadside at fellow leaders during his first NATO summit came as he unveiled a 9/11 memorial at the alliance's new $ 1.2 billion headquarters in which is meant to highlight allied unity and purpose.

Trump said the bombing in the British city of Manchester on Monday, claimed by the Islamic State group, showed that "terrorism must be stopped in its tracks."

"The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and NATO's eastern and southern borders," the president said.

Trump denounced allies for not paying their fair share, saying that even if they met a commitment to allocate two percent of GDP to defence, it would still not be enough to meet the challenges.

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they're supposed to be paying for their defence," the president said.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years," repeating a charge he had raised constantly on the campaign trail.

'Deeply troubling' links

German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an entirely different note as she unveiled a memorial made up of a section of the Berlin Wall to mark the end of the Cold War.

"Germany will not forget the contribution NATO made in order to reunify our country. This is why we will indeed make our contribution to security and solidarity in the common alliance," she said.

The surprising mention of immigration was in line with one of Trump's key election promises to build a wall to keep out immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico, a plan widely derided in Europe.

Trump's harsh words came despite NATO saying it would formally endorse joining the US-led coalition against IS at the summit, in the face of reservations in France and Germany about getting involved in another conflict.

Shortly before his address, Trump had run into his first problems of a landmark European trip, embarrassingly called out in public over Russia and on leaks from the probe into the Manchester terror attack.

Trump announced a review of the "deeply troubling" leaks and warned that those responsible could face prosecution, the White House said.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said meanwhile she would raise directly with Trump the issue of leaks from a probe into the Manchester terror attack that has left British authorities infuriated with their US counterparts.

Arriving at NATO, May said she would "make clear to President Trump that intelligence which is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

Two Donalds at odds on Russia

Trump's carefully choreographed visits to the European Union and NATO in Brussels had been designed to heal divisions caused by the billionaire's harsh campaign criticisms of both institutions on the campaign trail.

He called NATO "obsolete" and praised Britain's Brexit vote to leave the EU.

But differences immediately emerged after his talks with the European Union's top officials Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker on climate change, trade, and above all Russia.

"I'm not 100 percent sure that we can say today  'we' means Mr President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia," former Polish prime minister Tusk said.

Trump on the campaign trail made restoring relations with Russia a key promise but he has faced bitter opposition in Washington and has since become embroiled in a scandal over alleged links to Moscow.

Tusk also called for "western values" to be promoted, challenging former tycoon Trump's world view that self-interested deals best settle international problems.

Trump came to Brussels direct from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, after visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

On his arrival on Wednesday in Brussels, the city he once said had been turned into a "hellhole" by Muslim immigration, the president was greeted by around 9,000 protesters saying "Trump not welcome."
Jerusalem: Israel's defense minister appears to have confirmed that his country's intelligence was leaked by President Donald Trump during a meeting with Russian officials this month.

When asked about the affair in a radio interview, Avigdor Lieberman said Israel made a "specific correction" in its dealings with the US.

It was the first comment by a senior Israeli official on the matter. US officials have said Trump shared Israeli intelligence in a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Everything we needed to clarify with our friends in the United States was done," Lieberman said in an Army Radio interview. "We made clarifications."

He provided no further details, but touted "unprecedented" intelligence cooperation with Washington.

The scandal, which broke a week before Trump traveled to Israel as part of his first trip overseas in office, threatened to derail the visit. Trump said while visiting Israel this week that he didn't mention Israel by name in the meeting.

"I never mentioned the word or the name Israel," Trump told reporters in a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in Jerusalem. He appeared to inadvertently confirm that he shared classified Israeli intelligence with Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak on 10 May.

Last week, Israeli officials downplayed the damage caused by the president's disclosure of classified intelligence with senior Russian officials. Lieberman tweeted at the time that intelligence sharing with the US remained strong.

Some former Israeli officials, however, expressed concern that the incident might cause a "loss of faith" between the two allies and reluctance by Israel to share information with the new administration.
Belgium: US president Donald Trump on Thursday held his first formal meeting with newly-elected French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, hailing his outsider campaign as a model of its kind.

Trump, whose own election last year shocked the pollsters, said Macron "ran an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory. All over the world theyre talking about it."

As he welcomed Macron to the US embassy in Brussels, he added: "We have a lot to discuss, including terrorism and other things. Congratulations. Great job."

Macron said "I'm also very happy to be with President Trump. We have an extremely large agenda to discuss: the fight against terrorism, the economy, climate and energy."

France was one of the key states which on Thursday dropped its opposition to NATO formally joining the the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State, one of Trump's key demands.

Trump has said the deadly attack in Manchester on Monday showed the threat had to be met and defeated but faces pressure from Britain after key details of the investigation were leaked in the US press.

As he met Macron, Trump pointedly refused to answer journalists' questions about the growing intelligence scandal, which comes on top of concerns that his administration may not have handled secret information provided by allies with the due care expected.

French sources said the two presidents would meet for about an hour to discuss a series of pressing issues  the Ukraine crisis, Syria, North Korea, the economy and the Paris climate agreement which Trump has bluntly dismissed.
Brussels: Donald Trump meets NATO and European Union leaders on Thursday in the city he once derided as a "hellhole," with nervous allies hoping for a strong show of commitment from the US president.

The billionaire leader, on his first foreign tour, is getting a red-carpet welcome from the same organisations he ridiculed on the campaign trail in remarks that sparked fears for transatlantic ties.

But he was also greeted by large protests as he arrived in Brussels on Wednesday amid tight security for high-stakes meetings overshadowed by the concert bombing in Manchester, Britain, claimed by the Islamic State group.

Leaders will be hoping to convince Trump of the lasting relevance of the Brussels-based European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, together widely credited with keeping peace in Europe after World War II.

Trump dismissed NATO as "obsolete" for failing to tackle Islamist terror and focussing on Russia instead, while he alarmed the European Union by backing Britain's exit from the 28-nation bloc.

But the mercurial Trump has since backed away from his comments, and hopes are high in Brussels that he will finally make a display of solidarity.

European Union President Donald Tusk, who will meet Trump along with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, tweeted that "I'll aim to convince POTUS that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent (a) post-West world order".

'Win this fight'

Trump set out his stall as he met Belgian prime minister Charles Michel shortly after his arrival on Wednesday night, saying that the most important issue was terrorism after the "horrible situation" in Manchester.

"When you see something like what happened a few days ago you realise how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight," said Trump, fresh from meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican.

There was no sign of tension with Michel over Trump's calling Brussels a "hellhole" because of Muslim immigration in January 2016, two months before the city was struck by Islamic State suicide bombings.

However at least 9,000 people marched through Brussels on Wednesday night waving blond-haired effigies of the reality TV star president and flags saying "Trump not welcome".

Further protests were planned on Thursday, when Trump will first meet with European Union President Tusk and European Commission chief Juncker at the bloc's headquarters.

Tusk and Juncker will tell the US president that since last year's shock Brexit vote, the European Union is "in a completely different place" after populist candidates lost in France and the Netherlands, a senior European Union official said.

Trump is then set to dine with French President Emmanuel Macron, whose recent victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been seen as a beacon of hope by Brussels.

Allies seek commitment

The NATO summit after that will be full of pomp and symbolism, with the keen-to-impress alliance showing off its new $1.2 billion headquarters and staging a flypast.

At a ceremony with German chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump will unveil a memorial to the 11 September, 2001 attacks featuring part of the destroyed World Trade Center, while Merkel does the same for a fragment of the Berlin Wall.

In return, allies rattled by a resurgent Russia will hope for a public display of commitment from Trump to Article 5, the alliance's one-for-all collective defence pledge.

While this has been triggered only once, by the US after 9/11, Trump has said that any future use might depend on whether a NATO member had met its spending commitments.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the eve of the summit that he was confident of Trump's commitment.

He also urged allies to "step up" and join the US-led anti-IS coalition "not least because of the attack we saw in Manchester", and said they would deliver yearly spending plans.

The alliance is now set to formally join the coalition after France, Germany and Italy dropped their opposition, diplomatic sources said.

Trump's wife Melania, meanwhile, is set to visit a museum dedicated to the surrealist artist Rene Magritte and a leading leather store while in Brussels.

Trump's sweep through Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, centres of three of the world's main religions, is being followed by Brussels and a trip to Italy for the G7 leaders summit on Friday.

On Wednesday Trump said he was "more determined than ever to pursue peace in our world" following a "fantastic" meeting with Pope Francis.

The high-profile trip has diverted attention from Trump's domestic pressures over alleged campaign collusion with Russia.
Brussels: US president Donald Trump on Thursday met leaders of the main European Union (EU) institutions here as part of his first international tour after taking office in January.

Trump arrived in the Belgian capital to attend a NATO summit and was received by EU Council president Donald Tusk.

After Tusk, Trump met European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and they were later joined by European Parliament president Antonio Tajani and the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, Efe news reported.

"EU and the US must remain close allies to protect citizens against terrorism, boost growth and jobs for future generations," Taajni posted on Twitter alongside images of the talks.

US defense secretary James Mattis, chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, national security advisor H.R. McMaster and secretary of state Rex Tillerson accompanied Trump.

"Transatlantic relations key to world safety, prosperity," posted EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on Twitter.

"Strong EU/US ties at the heart of global agenda," he added.

The US President will have lunch with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the American Embassy before the NATO meeting.

Trump will meet British prime minister Theresa May during the summit, where she was expected to confront him about confidential information leak on the Manchester bombing to the US press.

Trump previously visited Saudi Arabia, where he signed several lucrative arms deals with Middle Eastern countries before heading on to Israel and the Vatican.
Athens: Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos was hurt on Thursday when an explosive device went off inside his car in Athens, state news agencies said.

State TV ERT said Papademos and his driver were both "seriously hurt" and rushed to a nearby hospital.

"We are shocked. I wish to condemn this heinous act," media minister Nikos Pappas told the station.

ERT said Papademos, PM from 2011 to 2012, had been targeted by a letter bomb.

A police source said a number of people had been hurt but could not say if Papademos himself was in the car at the time of the blast.
By Camille Bottin

| BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS As her reality TV star husband met many of his Western allies for the first time as U.S. president on Thursday, Melania Trump was offered a different take on the surreal by her hosts in Brussels.The first lady, a Slovenian-born former model, toured a museum dedicated to Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte in the company of wives of other national leaders who were attending a summit of the NATO military alliance across town.Famed for works like the 1964 "self-portrait" of a bowler-hatted man whose face is hidden by an apple or the image of a pipe subtitled "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (This is not a pipe), Magritte has much to teach the world about questioning outward appearances, and about self-effacement, Belgian organisers said.

"You never know," museum director Michel Draguet said ahead of the first lady's visit. "Maybe Donald Trump will move from one kind of surrealism to another, thanks to Magritte's ideas."The outspoken 70-year-old wealthy businessman and TV celebrity stunned many U.S. allies by entering the White House in January. He has broken a mould among world leaders with a style that offers little evidence of self-doubt and ideas that run counter to received wisdom among Western diplomats.

His 47-year-old third wife was joined by other NATO spouses including the devoutly Muslim wife of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan; Brigitte Trogneux, who met Emmanuel Macron when she taught the new French president in school; and Gauthier Destenay, who is married to Luxembourg's gay prime minister.Speaking later, curator Draguet said Melania Trump "showed great interest in surrealism's free spirit and invention".

Trump's first foreign tour, which has so far taken him to Riyadh, Jerusalem and Rome and will end this weekend at a G7 summit in Sicily, has been presented by aides as reassuring allies that Washington remains a reliable partner under a head of state who faces a series of ethics questions back home.For Charles Michel, the 41-year-old premier whose partner showed the group around Brussels, an itinerary that also took in tea with Belgium's queen was also a chance to show those close to power a host country keen to punch above its weight. (Additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Paris: French anti-terrorism units arrested two women in northern France on alleged suspicions of planning terrorist plot, local media reported.

The two women in their 20s, who were "ready to take action", were arrested earlier on Wednesday in northern cities of Lille and Haubourdin, state-run France 3 Hauts-de-France television reported.

The two suspects have been on police radar a week ago after they used social media to have frequent contacts with Syria, the report said, citing a source close to the investigation.

The two women who reportedly gloated over Manchester bombing that killed 22 people, were placed into custody, according to the report.

Paris prosecutor's office has opened a terrorism probe on charges of criminal terrorist association, Xinhua news agency reported.

After a defence council held earlier on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said seeking to prolong emergency security rules for three months more until November 1 as part of the government's plan to tackle terrorism forces operating on French soil.

Macron also decided to create a coordination center for services engaged in the fight against terrorism at a defence council on June 7.

"The terrorist threat carried by Islamic State remains at a very high level in France," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned after the security meeting at the Elysee Palace.

"The threat is based on the IS incitement of its affiliates living in each country to commit isolated actions and on the infiltration into France or Europe of operational individuals to form terrorist cells," he told reporters.
Washington: The head of Tibet's government in exile said on Wednesday that it would be "logical" for Donald Trump to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, since the US president has visited homes of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions on his current international tour.

The Dalai Lama has met the past four US presidents, greatly angering China, which considers Tibet a renegade province and the spiritual leader a dangerous separatist. He has not yet been invited to meet Trump, who has been courting Beijing's support over North Korea.

"Donald Trump... has been to all three major sacred places of three major traditions," Lobsang Sangay, Tibet's prime minister in exile, said referring to Trump's visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican.

"So what is left is Buddhism, and his holiness the Dalai Lama is the most prominent Buddhist leader in the world," Sangay told the Heritage Foundation think tank on a visit to Washington. "If he can meet with all leaders of major traditions, I think its just logical that he meet with the most prominent Buddhist leader."

Sangay did not say whether he thought such a meeting likely, but said, "We are Tibetans. We are perennially optimistic."

Sangay told Reuters earlier this month that the Dalai Lama had planned to visit the US in April but delayed the trip until June because a hectic schedule had left him exhausted. He also said Washington was not part of the June itinerary.

A US administration official told Reuters this week it was premature to talk about a meeting between Trump and the Dalai Lama and that the administration's priority was persuading China to do more to rein in North Korea's increasingly threatening nuclear and missile programme.

On Wednesday, however, Washington risked Beijing's anger when a US warship sailed within 22 km of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since Trump took office.

Last week China said it had complained to the US after a Congressional delegation visited the Dalai Lama at his headquarters in India to draw world attention to human rights in Tibet.

US lawmakers delivered a blunt message to China that they would not relent in their campaign to protect rights in Tibet and would call for legislative and trade steps to press their point.
Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday allowed an Indian woman, who has sought refuge at the Indian mission here after accusing a Pakistani man of forcibly marrying her, to return to India, a media report said.

Uzma, in her early 20s, had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month. She has said that Pakistani national Tahir Ali "forced" her to marry him at gun point.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani was hearing pleas filed by Uzma and Ali. While Uzma had requested to be repatriated to India, Ali had asked to be allowed to meet his wife. The HC assured Uzma, who hails from New Delhi, that she was free to return to India at any point and would be escorted to the Wagah Border with police security, Dawn newspaper reported.

During the hearing, the judge asked Uzma if she wished to speak to her husband but she refused. She has alleged that her travel documents were stolen by Ali.

Uzma had petitioned the court on 12 May with the request and had submitted a medical report, showing that her daughter was suffering from thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production, and she urgently needed to return to India.

Uzma and Ali reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love, after which she travelled to Pakistan on 1 May via the Wagah Border. The two contracted nikkah (marriage) on 3 May.
Tehran: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated on Wednesday that Iran is "heedless" of what the "enemy" says and will continue its missile programme.

"Remarks by enemy about Iran's missile power result from their ignorance," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

"The enemy thinks that our power is restricted only to missiles, while our power lies in this nation's faith," he said at a cabinet meeting.

The president stressed that missiles are one of Iran's needs, and Iran would manufacture whatever it needs without paying any attention to others' remarks.

On Monday, Rouhani said that Iran would continue test of its missiles anytime if there was a "technical need", and it would not seek the permission of any other country to do so.

"Our missiles are for defence and peace," Rouhani said, adding that the US expectations from Iran to halt its defensive missile programme is "an illusion."

Earlier on Saturday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in Saudi Arabia that he hoped the re-election of Rouhani would put an to end to Iran's ballistic missile tests.
Baghdad: Iraq is investigating a report that members of a special forces unit carried out torture, summary killings and rapes during the operation to retake Mosul, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

The Islamic State jihadist group seized Mosul and swathes of other territory in 2014 in an offensive aided by widespread anti-government sentiment among Sunni Arabs angered by their political marginalisation and by security forces operating with impunity.

Abuses such as those described in the report in German magazine Der Spiegel that sparked the investigation could sow the seeds of future conflict even as security forces near the end of the battle for Mosul, Islamic State's most emblematic stronghold.

"The Internal Affairs Directorate is carrying out the investigations and all the details will be announced upon completion," interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told AFP.

Maan said in an earlier statement that the interior minister had ordered an investigation into the veracity of the Der Spiegel report.

In the report, Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady  who has left the country with his family  said that Rapid Response Division officers and their men "torture, rape but also kill people", even when they had only "vague suspicious facts" about links to the Islamic State.

The Rapid Response Division is one of two special forces units at the forefront of the operation to recapture Mosul.

Arkady gave examples of people he said were tortured or killed, often including the victims' names, and said there was a "kind of contest" between the police and Rapid Response forces over rapes and murders.

He wrote that what he had initially envisioned as a positive story featuring two members of the Rapid Response force who were friends became something else after what he witnessed, and the article was headlined "Not Heroes, But Monsters."

The Rapid Response Division released a video aimed at refuting Arkady's reporting in which alleged victims speak on camera in the presence of an officer who the journalist had said was involved in abuses.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul in October, advancing to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.

More than seven months into the operation, Islamic State now controls just a handful of areas around the Old City, a warren of narrow streets and closely spaced buildings that provides an ideal environment for the jihadists' defence.
Jakarta: Indonesia's president urged people to remain calm on Thursday, a day after suspected suicide bombers killed three police officers at a Jakarta bus terminal in an attack that authorities believe is highly likely to be linked to the Islamic State group.

Six police officers and six civilians were also wounded in the twin blasts that were detonated five minutes apart by the two suspected attackers in the Indonesian capital late on Wednesday evening, police said.

The attack was the deadliest in Indonesia since January 2016, when eight people were killed, four of them attackers, after suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the capital.

"We must continue to keep calm (and) keep cool. Because... we Muslims are preparing to enter the month of Ramadan for fasting," President Joko Widodo said in a statement.

Authorities in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation are increasingly worried about a surge in radicalism, driven in part by a new generation of militants inspired by Islamic State.

It was "highly likely" an Islamic State-linked group was behind Wednesday's attack, National Police spokesman Awi Setyono said. "There's a link, but we're still studying whether it's an international network," Setyono said.

Setyono told reporters earlier that police was investigating whether the attackers had direct orders from Syria or elsewhere.

Police has not yet named the two dead suspects but a law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they may have been linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, an umbrella organisation on a US State Department "terrorist" list that is estimated to have drawn hundreds of Islamic State sympathisers in Indonesia.

Indonesia has suffered a series of mostly low-level attacks by Islamic State sympathisers in the past 17 months.

Blood, broken glass

Residents helped clean up debris at the bus terminal in East Jakarta on Thursday, where splattered blood stains and broken glass remained after the attacks.

"After what happened in Manchester, in Marawi in the Philippines, maybe the cells here were triggered by the bombs and that lifted their passion to start bombing again," Setyono told television station TVOne.

He was referring to the suicide bombing that killed 22 people in a crowded concert hall in the British city of Manchester this week.

In the southern Philippines, thousands of civilians in Marawi City fled their homes this week after Islamist militants took over large parts of the city, leading to a declaration of martial law.

While most recent attacks in Indonesia have been poorly organised, authorities believe about 400 Indonesians have joined Islamic State in Syria and could pose a more lethal threat if they come home.

Police said Wednesday's attackers had used pressure cookers packed with explosives.

A similar type of bomb was used by a lone attacker in the Indonesian city of Bandung in February. Authorities suspect the attacker, killed by police, had links to a radical network sympathetic to Islamic State.
Jakarta: Indonesia's elite anti-terror squad was Thursday investigating a suicide bombing attack near a busy Jakarta bus station that killed three policemen, the latest assault in the Muslim-majority country as it faces a surge in militant plots.

Two suicide attackers detonated bombs in a street outside the terminal late Wednesday, sending huge clouds of black smoke into the sky and panicked people fleeing.

The bombers died while five other police officers and five civilians were injured in the assault, which left body parts and glass strewn across the road outside the Kampung Melayu terminal in a working-class district.

Police believe they were targeted in the bombing as they provided security for a parade near the station, which is an area frequented by locals but not foreigners. Security forces have been the main target in recent years of Indonesian militants, who have largely turned their attention away from Westerners.

In a televised address Thursday, President Joko Widodo said he had ordered a thorough probe and was "urging all citizen across the nation to stay calm and remain united".

"I convey my deepest condolences to the victims and their families  especially the police officers who passed away while performing their duty," he added.

Authorities have not indicated who might be responsible but Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, has been on high alert after a string of plots in recent times by militants inspired by the Islamic State group.

After wrapping up a crime scene investigation in the early hours, police handed over the probe to their elite anti-terror squad, which has played a leading role in tracking down and killing some of Indonesia's most wanted militants.

"Anti-terror squad Densus 88 is currently conducting an investigation, we want to know where the bombers came from, which groups they are affiliated to," national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told AFP.

Pressure cooker bombs

Wasisto would not be drawn on which group could be behind the attack, but he confirmed the bombs were made out of pressure cookers.

A pressure cooker bomb was used in an attack in the city of Bandung in February carried out by a militant from an Islamic State-supporting local group called Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which has been blamed for a string of recent assaults.

Martinus Sitompul, another police spokesman, told a local television station the bombs went off 10 to 12 metres (32 to 40 feet) from one another and about five minutes apart.

The terminal is a local hub served by minibuses and buses.

Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered a series of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

A sustained crackdown weakened the most dangerous networks but the emergence of Islamic State has proved a potent new rallying cry for radicals.

Hundreds of radicals from the Southeast Asian state have flocked to fight with Islamic State, sparking fears that weakened extremist outfits could get a new lease of life.

A gun and suicide attack in the capital Jakarta left four attackers and four civilians dead in January last year, and was the first assault claimed by Islamic State in Southeast Asia.

The country has been hit by a series of low-level attacks since, usually claimed by Islamic State-supporting groups, but most have caused little damage.
Jakarta: Indonesian police on Thursday said the Islamic State militant group is linked to the suicide bombings near a bus stop in Jakarta that killed two bombers and three policemen.

The pressure cooker explosions on Wednesday also injured 10 others, including civilians and five policemen, Xinhua news agency quoted police spokesman Awi Setiyono as saying.

The spokesman said the bombings were part of a global terrorist movement, which is strongly linked with the Islamic State.

Security was beefed up in Indonesia and authorities were monitoring the movement of dozens of citizens back home after joining the Islamic State in Syria.
Lahore: A 43-year-old man in Punjab province has been stoned to death, in an apparent case of honour killing, according to a media report on Thursday.

A passerby spotted the body with multiple injuries lying around a pile of stones under a bridge in Ghourgushti area in Taxila. He informed the police, who later shifted the body to a nearby hospital. During the postmortem, the doctors recovered a stone from his neck, The Nation reported.

The man has been identified as Aurangzaib, a native of Mian Dehri village of Ghazi town.

The evidence collected from the crime scene indicate it to be a case of honour killing, the report quoted a police official as saying.

Sub-divisional police officer Raja Fayyazul Haq confirmed that the man was stoned to death. More details into the case are awaited.

Honour killing is a menace still prevalent in many parts of Pakistan.

Pakistan's National Assembly in October last year passed a much-anticipated new law that mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying out an honour killing, and prohibits families of victims from forgiving the killer, a common occurrence in these tragic crimes.
Manchester: Police said they have arrested two men on Thursday in the Manchester area in connection with the deadly bombing of a pop concert taking the total number of men being held to eight.

According to Reuters, one men was arrested following raids in the Withington area while the other was arrested in the Manchester area.

A woman arrested on Wednesday in Blackley was released without charges, police said.

According to The Times of India, the father and the younger brother of the suicide bomber were been arrested in Tripoli. The counter-terrorism force detained the father, Ramadan Abedi, outside his home in the Tripoli suburb of Ayn Zara on Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, British Police had arrested a seventh person in connection with the blast at the Manchester Arena.

The arrest was made following searches at an address in the town of Nuneaton in central England, and is the first outside the Manchester area. "On Wednesday evening we have been carrying out searches at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and arrested a man," the Greater Manchester Police force said in a statement.

"These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage."

All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester in northwest England where the suicide bombing took place.

On Monday, a suicide bomber killed at least 22 people at a packed concert hall in Manchester, in what British prime minister Theresa May called a sickening act targeting children and young people.

Islamic State, now being driven from territories in Syria and Iraq by Western-backed armed forces, claimed responsibility for the attack.

With inputs from agencies
French president Emmanuel Macron pressed Europeans to strengthen security cooperation and intelligence-sharing after a deadly attack in Manchester as he arrived in Brussels for a meeting of the NATO military alliance on Thursday.

The 39-year-old president, a newcomer to international diplomacy, will meet many of his counterparts for the first time over the next few days at the NATO meeting in the Belgian capital followed by a G7 summit in Sicily.

Welcomed by Belgian prime minister Charles Michel at his Brussels residence, Macron promoted what he calls his "protection agenda" for Europe, which he said must include measures to protect workers from the effects of globalisation but also to beef up cooperation to prevent further attacks.

"Our British friends have, a few days ago, gone through what our two countries have gone through over the last few months, with the terrorist threat in Manchester," Macron said at a joint news conference with Michel.

"Beyond solidarity, it's obviously European cooperation that we need to reinforce, in the field of intelligence, information sharing, the protection of our common borders," said Macron, who was elected just over two weeks ago.

British officials have expressed frustration over leaks to United States media on their investigation into Monday's suicide bombing in Manchester which killed 22 people and, according to a British counter-terrorism source, have stopped sharing information on the bombing with the United States.

Macron will meet his United States counterpart Donald Trump for the first time at an informal lunch later that will immediately test his diplomatic skills, given the unpredictable nature of the US leader.

The French president will also meet his Turkish and Polish counterparts and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
TRIPOLI The younger brother of the suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert venue in Manchester has been arrested in Tripoli on suspicion of links with Islamic State, a spokesman for a local counter-terrorism force said on Wednesday.The force, known as Rada, detained Hashem Abedi, who was born in 1997, on Tuesday evening, spokesman Ahmed Bin Salem told Reuters.

Hashem Abedi had been in touch with attacker Salman Abedi, Bin Salem said."We have evidence that he is involved in Daesh (Islamic State) with his brother. We have been following him for more than one month and a half," Bin Salem said.

"He was in contact with his brother and he knew about the attack."

Salman Abedi, 22, was born in Britain to Libyan parents. Britain's interior minister said earlier that he had recently returned from Libya and had likely not acted alone. Abedi's father Ramadan lives in Tripoli. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Aidan Lewis, Editing by Patrick Markey and Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
London: Britain's political parties would resume local-level campaigning on Friday for the 8 June snap polls following a nationwide minute's silence, days after suspending efforts due to the Manchester terror attack in which 22 people were killed and over 100 injured.

The ruling Conservatives and Opposition Labour will resume national-level campaigning on Friday, officials said.

The United Kingdom will hold the nationwide minute's silence at 15.30 IST on Thursday in memory of the victims of Monday night's terror attack, officials said in a statement, adding that flags would remain at half-mast until Thursday evening.

A 22-year-old Libyan-origin suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, set off a powerful homemade bomb at a concert of US pop star Ariana Grande in Manchester, killing at least 22 people and

injuring 119 others, in the deadliest terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings.

The ruling Conservatives, Opposition Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and the Scottish National Party said they would resume local-level campaigning tomorrow after a United Kingdom-wide minute's silence at 11 am (local time).

"The Conservative Party will resume local campaigning for the general election at noon Thursday, after the minute's silence to remember all those who lost their lives and others who were affected by the callous attack on innocent life in Manchester. National campaigning will resume on Friday," a party spokesperson said.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn also confirmed the party will resume the campaign from Friday, adding: "The British people are united in their resolve that terror will not prevail. It will not prevent us going about our daily lives or derail our democratic process.

"Resuming democratic debate and campaigning is an essential mark of the country's determination to defend our democracy and the unity that the terrorists have sought to attack".

The Liberal Democrats said: "Like other parties we have agreed that local campaigning may resume with due sensitivity and at the discretion of local campaign managers".

The far-right, anti-Europe UK Independence Party (UKIP) plans to launch its party's election manifesto on Thursday.

"These people hate the way we live, hate our freedom and hate our democracy. The best response we can make is to ensure that the democratic process continues and therefore I have decided that we must to go ahead with the launch of the UKIP general election manifesto tomorrow," said party leader Paul Nuttal.

Prime Minister Theresa May last month called for snap elections on 8 June in a surprise move that stunned her allies as well as opponents, asserting that it is the only way to guarantee political stability in the country for years after the UK leaves the European Union.
London: Britain expressed irritation on Wednesday at leaks in the United States of details about a suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a packed pop concert, saying disclosures of that kind could hinder such investigations.

The suicide bombing at a packed concert in Manchester was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London's transport network.

US broadcasters, drawing on US sources, named the suspected killer as Salman Abedi hours before Manchester police revealed his identity. Non-U.S. media followed, again citing U.S. sources.

"The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources," British interior minister Amber Rudd said when asked about the US leaks by the BBC.

"I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again," Rudd said.

A spokeswoman for Rudd declined to clarify her comments.

As Rudd was speaking, the French interior minister was quoted as telling reporters that the attacker had proven links to Islamic State, and probably had traveled to Syria.

British officials have declined to confirm the details released by French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who said the information had come from British investigators.

Britain views the United States as its most important defense and security ally, and the two countries also share intelligence as part of the so called "Five Eyes" network which also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

After President Donald Trump defended his decision to discuss intelligence with the Russians during a White House meeting, Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Britain would continue to share intelligence with the United States.

But disclosures in the US media about the Manchester attack have clearly troubled senior British ministers and investigators.

Asked whether the US leaks had compromised the investigation, Rudd said: "I wouldn't go that far but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn't happen again."

Christopher Meyer, UK ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, said on Twitter that Rudd had been "quite right to give the US a kicking."
Ankara: The 22-year-old man who carried out the Manchester concert suicide bombing that left 22 people dead transited through Istanbul airport ahead of carrying out the attack, a Turkish official said.

"I can confirm that he transited through Istanbul Ataturk" airport, the official told AFP, asking not to be named and referring to the country's main international airport.

The official said no intelligence had been shared with Turkey concerning the bomber, Salman Abedi, ahead of his presence in Istanbul.

There was no immediate indication from the Turkish authorities where he had been travelling from or if he had crossed the border or merely changed planes at the airport.

Abedi, 22, grew up in a Libyan family that reportedly fled to Manchester to escape the now-fallen regime of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

A relative told AFP that Abedi had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before the bombing.

German police have said he had made a brief stopover at Duesseldorf Airport to change planes.

Istanbul is a popular transit point for Libyans flying from their country to Europe, given the lack of direct flights from Libyan cities to most destinations.
London: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi carried out the concert attack because he wanted to take revenge for US airstrikes on Syria, said the 22-year-old's sister.

Jomana Abedi, in an interview, called her brother "kind" and "loving" and said she was surprised by what he did, reported The Telegraph on Thursday.

"He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge... Whether he got that is between him and God," she said.

At least 22 people were killed when British-born Abedi detonated a device as fans left an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Jomana's comments in the Wall Street Journal interview sparked outrage, with some saying the US's involvement in Syria could not be compared to the targeting of innocent children at a pop concert.

The US military launched an airstrike on Al-Shayran airbase close to the city of Homs in early April, in an operation President Donald Trump said was in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

Six Syrian soldiers were killed in the strike, while Syrian officials claimed that nine civilians, including four children had also lost their lives.

Jomana's attempt to justify the attack was branded "abhorrent".

"There is no justification for the taking of a child's lives," Mark Session, 52, from Manchester, was quoted as saying by the Mirror.

"Any kid losing their life is heartbreaking, but to my knowledge, no children in the allied air strikes has been targeted purposely unlike in Manchester."

"It is sick to justify the arena bombing in such a way. It is abhorrent in fact.

Abedi's familial links to terror have come under the spotlight since Monday night's attack.

According to a media report, Abedi spoke to his nuclear scientist mother back in Libya before the attack.

A close family friend said: "I am sure Salman's mother and father are very shocked by what he did."

"It is very sad because their mother is very intelligent. She told my wife that she was a nuclear science engineer and that she got excellent marks in her exams. She graduated top of her class from Tripoli University."

A former Libyan security official said that Abedi's father Ramadan had been arrested in Tripoli and was linked to an Al-Qaeda-backed fighter group back in the 1990s.

Younger brother Hashim had also been detained in Tripoli, according to officials.

A 23-year-old man, named in media reports as Abedi's older brother Ismail, was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Tuesday.
By Romeo Ranoco and Roli Ng

| MARAWI CITY, Philippines

MARAWI CITY, Philippines The Philippines mobilised attack helicopters and special forces to drive Islamic State-linked rebels out of a besieged southern city on Thursday, with six soldiers killed in street combat amid heavy resistance.Ground troops hid behind walls and armoured vehicles and exchanged volleys of gunfire with Maute group fighters, shooting into elevated positions occupied by militants who have held Marawi City on Mindanao island for two days.Helicopters circled the city, peppering Maute positions with machine gun fire to try to force them from a bridge vital to retaking Marawi, a mainly Muslim city of 200,000 where fighters had torched and seized a school, a jail and a cathedral, and took more than a dozen hostages."Our troops are doing deliberate operations in areas we believe are still occupied or infested with the terrorist presence," said the head of the task force, Brigadier General Rolly Bautista.The battles with the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, started on Tuesday during a failed raid by security forces on one of the group's hideouts that spiralled into chaos. Eighteen rebels were killed on Thursday, the army said.The turmoil was the final straw for President Rodrigo Duterte, who on Tuesday delivered on his longstanding threat to impose martial law on Mindanao, the country's second-largest island, to stop the spread of radical Islam."If there's an open defiance you will die," he said on Wednesday. "And if it means many people dying, so be it."

Islamic State claimed responsibility late on Wednesday for Maute's activities via its Amaq news agency. At least 46 people - 15 security forces and 31 rebels - have been killed and religious leaders say militants were using Christians taken hostage during the fighting as human shields. The status of those hostages was not known.The White House condemned the Maute group as "cowardly terrorists" and said the United States was a proud ally of the Philippines and backed its fight against extremism.GETTING OUT

Hundreds of civilians had sheltered in a military camp in Marawi City as troops helped clear the few remaining people from streets where smoke lingered in the air.

"We're leaving," said a resident named Edith, walking along a rundown street carrying a small suitcase. "We can no longer take it and we need to save our children." Sultan Haji Ismael Demasala said he was staying and would leave his fate in God's hands. "If Allah wills it so, then we cannot stop it," he said, pointing his finger in the air.Marawi is located in Lanao del Sur province, a stronghold of the Maute, a fierce, but little-known group that has been a tricky opponent for the military.Military leaders say the Maute's motivation for taking the city was to raise its profile and earn recognition from Islamic State.

Tuesday's raid was aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of radical faction of another militant group, the Abu Sayyaf. The government says Hapilon is a point man for Islamic State in the Philippines and has been collaborating with the Maute leaders."Based on our intelligence, Isnilon Hapilon is still in the city," said Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for the First Infantry Regiment.The Maute group's rise is a source of concern for Mindanao native Duterte, who is familiar with Muslim separatist unrest but alarmed by the prospect of rebels helping Islamic State to recruit and establish a presence in the volatile region of 22 million people.The president held a cabinet meeting on Thursday in Davao, his home city and the biggest on Mindanao. Security was stepped up in Davao, with more military checkpoints and some businesses sending staff home during daylight hours. Residents were urged to stay vigilant.In the city where Duterte was mayor for 22 years, and enjoys a cult-like following, residents were supportive of martial law."It's not a hassle. It is good because it prevents harmful events," said manicurist Zoraida Jakosalem Himaya. "He is like a father telling his children what to do." (Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Davao City and Enrico Dela Cruz and Manuel Mogato in Manila; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
June 26-28? Word is out that those are the dates sewn up for the Narendra Modi-Donald Trump summit but theres no official stamp on it yet.

Whether that meeting happens in June or later, Indias prime minister who is marking three years in office this summer will arrive on a far stronger political wicket than Trump will likely be for the rest of the year at least.

In India, Prime Minister Modi is riding a wave of celebration following a string of thumping political victories in Indias most populous state and local body elections in capital city New Delhi.

In the U.S., Donald Trump is lawyering up to face off against the Robert Mueller-led probe into alleged Russian collusion in Trumps 2016 campaign, the news media has launched its most co-ordinated assault on all of Trumps missteps since he became President, betting markets are putting a 40% chance on Trump exit before a full term and there are the first signs emerging that his most loyal voter base is abandoning him.

When the two do meet, H1B visas, taking Indias tag as major defence partner logically forward and Indo-US role in Afghanistan will likely be on the bucket list, says Alyssa Ayres at CFR who specialises in US policy towards the India, Pakistan and South Asia region.

H1B is a high priority issue. Honestly, there have been complaints on both sides for years. Its been ongoing and I will be surprised if this does not figure in the talks between the two leaders, says Ayres.

The oil and gas business may figure too - its right up there on Trumps to-do list and it resonates perfectly with Trumps white working class voters - the promise to embrace the shale oil and gas revolution to bring jobs and prosperity to millions of Americans.

We must take advantage of the estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, especially those on federal lands that the American people own. We will use the revenues from energy production to rebuild our roads, schools, bridges and public infrastructure. Less expensive energy will be a big boost to American agriculture, as well, says the White House on its America First energy policy.

Despite the procession of world leaders at the White House and prep work that is underway on both sides, the deepening tumult in the Trump White House has added a new metric to the travel plan - what if?

In barely a week before he left for his first foreign tour, Trump fired the FBI chief, the media got after him, the Department of Justice appointed a special counsel and Watergate plus Nixon have become the new small talk.

Yet, in parallel, the Trump-led bureaucracy lurches forward oblivious of the localised commotion in the White House. For some Trump appointees, the bedlam works well because it buries the Trumpism that they are furthering into single column mentions in newspapers which are scouring the land for Mueller related leaks.

It would be nice to see some dates being announced, some official confirmation, Indo-US foreign policy experts in Washington D.C are saying.

The last time Modi was in the US was the second time in two years and the seventh meeting between the Indian PM and Barack Obama. From when Modi took power in 2014 till Obama left office, he forged a political relationship with President Obama that came to be known in gushing media commentary for its apparent warmth, dotted by many visual cues of Modi breaking protocol to hug Obama, call him Barack and so on. Not long ago, Trump on the campaign trail said India and the US are best friends. That was well before he became President and battling the aftermath of the Access Hollywood tapes where he was heard boasting that he could grab women and molest them.

This isnt the first time Trump is battling bad press, hes done it before and the magnitude of what he achieved is there for the world to see. Theres no telling what he can do next.

Also special investigations take time to play out. June is a lot more benign for Trump than what Fall may bring. The Bill Clinton investigation took three full months to become potentially devastating.
Brussels: NATO is to join the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition, meeting a key demand of President Donald Trump that the alliance do more to fight Islamist terrorism, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

Trump was due to meet NATO leaders in Brussels on Thursday to press his case, with the deadly Islamic State-claimed bomb attack in Manchester high on the agenda.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he expected NATO to join despite reservations by some members states which are fearful of getting dragged into another conflict.

"The NATO (member state) ambassadors decided this evening an action plan on terrorism for the summit. It includes the accession of NATO to the global coalition against IS," one diplomat said.

This specifically will involve an expansion of flights by NATO's AWACS surveillance aircraft currently supporting anti- IS operations in Syria and Iraq.

"This means that the AWACS will not just do airspace surveillance but airspace management," the diplomat said, asking not to be identified.

"They are going to coordinate the flights and direct airplanes over Syria and Iraq but only for flights which are not related to bombings."

NATO leaders will formally endorse the decision at Thursday's summit, the sources said.

All 28 allies have joined the anti-Islamic State coalition of more than 60 countries, but NATO as an institution has not followed suit up to now despite intense pressure from Washington.

Tillerson said that NATO's joining "would be a really important step" but that "there are a couple of countries that are still thinking it over."

"I have had meetings actually with one of those. I think they're going to support NATO joining and becoming a member of the Islamic State fight," he told reporters travelling with Trump.

NATO has baulked at taking on any combat role in the fight against Islamic State and some allies such as France, Germany and Italy have been opposed for fear the alliance would be dragged into a ground war and risk its standing with Arab powers.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that "many allies would like to see NATO as a full member of the coalition... because it sends a strong message of unity."

"Especially in light of the attack in Manchester, I think it is important to send this message of unity against terrorism."

Trump will also urge the allies to increase defence spending to the target of two percent of a country's annual gross domestic product, as they agreed in 2014.

In return, the allies hope the president will unequivocally state his support for NATO's core Article 5 collective defence commitment.

Asked about this issue, Tillerson said: "Of course we support Article 5. The only time Article 5 has been invoked was in the 9/11" attacks on the United States.

But he refused to be drawn on what Trump might say.

"He is still working on final remarks so I don't want to tell you exactly what is going to be in the speech," he said.
Podgorica, Montenegro: NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation is attending the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. To get there, Montenegro has stood up against Russia, which has sought to maintain strong historic, political and cultural influence in the country it considers a zone of interest. Russia has threatened economic and political retaliation. Montenegro says Moscow was behind a foiled coup attempt in October, which Russia denies.

THE BLACK MOUNTAIN ON THE SEA

Montenegro, which means "Black Mountain", is a small country in southeast Europe. It is a land of stunning natural beauty, squeezed between the Adriatic Sea and towering mountains, laced with green valleys and rushing rivers. The land area is nearly 14,000 square kilometers (5,300 square miles). Just over 600,000 people live in Montenegro, mostly in the capital Podgorica and along the coast. The economy is weak, relying largely on tourism.

A MOSTLY CHRISTIAN NATION WITH A COMPLEX HISTORY

About 70 percent Montenegrins are Orthodox Christians, which partly explains strong links to Russia, also a predominantly Orthodox Christian country. Until recently, Montenegro had been a faithful ally of Russia in the Balkans. Montenegro was also a rare country in the region to have retained a level of autonomy during centuries-long Turkish Ottoman rule.

A DIVORCE FROM SERBIA, AND AN ODD RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA

Montenegro was part of Yugoslavia, which was dissolved in 1992. Montenegro then formed a union with Serbia. As a Serbian ally, Montenegro was bombed in 1999 by NATO which launched air strikes to stop a crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists. After deciding to split with Serbia in 2006 in a referendum, Montenegro took a strong turn toward Euro-Atlantic integration, despite Russia's bid to retain political and economic influence. Russian companies have invested millions in Montenegro, which has also become a favorite tourist destination. Russia recently has warned its citizens against traveling to Montenegro and has banned imports of Montenegrin wine.

HOW A TINY NATION IS DIMINISHING THE INFLUENCE OF A HUGE ONE

Montenegro has an army of just some 2,000 soldiers. But it is strategically located on the Adriatic sea, between NATO members Croatia and Albania, having deep-water navy bases that could be used for big navy ships and submarines. Bringing Montenegro into NATO further diminishes Russia's influence in southeast Europe, and blocks it from the so-called "warm seas" in Europe. The Russians are less worried about the strategic military loss than about their diminishing political influence on the region.

HOW GLOBAL TENSIONS PLAY OUT WITHIN MONTENEGRO

Montenegrin people remain deeply split over NATO and Russia relations. Pro-NATO government officials say membership in NATO will bring stability after a turbulent history and loss of independence in the 20th century. Pro-Russian opposition figures say NATO entry means the betrayal of traditional friends, Serbia and Russia. The divisions are likely to persist after Montenegro formally joins NATO, but officials hope they will ease over time.

Economic development will play a crucial role, and Montenegro began negotiations toward joining the European Union in 2012.
Kathmandu: Nepalese president Bidya Devi Bhandari called all political parties to elect a new Prime Minister within seven days through consensus, a day after Prachanda resigned from the post.

President Bhandari had accepted the resignation of Prachanda and asked him to continue as caretaker Prime Minister till his successor is elected.

The President has called the political parties representing the Legislative Parliament to elect a new Prime Minister and form a council of ministers under his or her leadership, said a notice issued by the President's office.

'Prachanda' resigned to honour a power sharing deal with the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress to hand over the country's leadership to the largest party in Parliament.

His resignation has cleared way for his former political rival and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is expected to take over as the prime minister.

Deuba's appointment is likely to be confirmed in a parliamentary vote within the next 10 days.

The Nepali Congress  the largest party in Parliament  and constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front, the Federal Alliance and some other parties had helped Prachanda in securing 363 votes in the 595-member House to form the government comfortably in 2016.

During the formation of the government, the Chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre) had reached an understanding with Deuba that he would step down as prime minister and hand over the leadership to the Nepali Congress after nine months.

The pact was to run the government on a rotational basis until elections to the parliament are held in February 2018.
Seoul, South Korea: North Korea on Thursday accused South Korea of firing 450 machine gun rounds at a flock of birds earlier this week, dismissing as a fabrication Seoul's claim that it had fired warning shots because of an object flying across their border.

The North's General Staff said the South's firing is a "reckless military provocation" aimed at promoting hostility toward Pyongyang and maintaining a confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.

It was also a "stopgap measure to check the war-weariness sweeping the puppet army in the face of the rapidly developing nuclear and ballistic rocket technology" of North Korea, the General Staff said in a statement carried by state media. It said North Korea will closely watch how South Korea's "confrontation hysteria" would develop.

South Korea said its military fired an unspecified number of warning shots on Tuesday after detecting an object flying across the border. They later said it was probably a balloon carrying propaganda and that North Korean leaflets were subsequently found at the border.

The Koreas face off across the world's most heavily armed border, and their militaries occasionally trade gunfire and accuse each other of provoking first.

Relations between the Koreas are in one of their lowest ebbs now mainly due to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea.
Marawi City (Philippines): The Philippines deployed attack helicopters and special forces to drive out Islamic State (IS)-linked rebels holed up in a besieged southern city on Thursday, as efforts to take back control met heavy resistance.

Ground troops hid behind walls and armoured vehicles and exchanged volleys of gunfire with Maute group fighters, firing into elevated positions occupied by militants who have held Marawi City on Mindanao Island for two days.

Helicopters circled the city, peppering Maute positions with machine gun fire to try to force them from a bridge vital to retaking Marawi, a mainly Muslim city of 200,000 where fighters had torched and seized a school, a jail, a cathedral, and took more than a dozen hostages.

"We're confronting maybe 30 to 40 remaining from the local terrorist group," said Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for the military's First Infantry Regiment.

"The military is conducting precise, surgical operations to flush them out ... The situation is very fluid and movements are dynamic because we wanted to out-step and out-manoeuvre them."

The battles with the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to IS, started on Tuesday afternoon during a failed raid by security forces on one of the group's hideouts, which spiralled into chaos.

The turmoil was the final straw for President Rodrigo Duterte, who delivered on his threat to impose martial law on Mindanao, the country's second-largest island, to stop the spread of radical islam.

IS claimed responsibility late on Wednesday for Maute's activities via its Amaq news agency. At least 21 people - seven soldiers, 13 rebels and a civilian - have been killed and religious leaders say militants were using Christians taken hostage during the fighting as human shields.The White House condemned the Maute group as "cowardly terrorists" and said in a statement the United States was a proud ally of the Philippines and would continue to support its fight against extremism.

Getting out

Hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in a military camp in Marawi City as troops helped clear the few remaining people from streets where smoke lingered in the air.

"We're leaving," said a resident named Edith, walking along a rundown street carrying a small suitcase. We can no longer take it and we need to save our children," Sultan Haji Ismael Demasala said he was staying and would leave his fate in God's hands.

"If Allah wills it so, then we cannot stop it," he said, pointing his finger in the air.

Hostilities eased overnight but flared late on Thursday morning when troops started their clearing operations. A major obstacle was an armoured vehicle parked across a bridge, which Maute fighters were using for cover, a Reuters journalist said.

Marawi is in Lanao del Sur province, a stronghold of the Maute, a fierce, but little-known group that has been a tricky opponent for the military.

Tuesday's raid was aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of radical faction of another militant group, the Abu Sayyaf. The government says Hapilon is a point man for Islamic State and has been collaborating with the Maute group.

"Based on our intelligence, Isnilon Hapilon is still in the city," Herrera said.

The Maute group's rise is a source of concern for Mindanao native Duterte, who is familiar with Muslim separatist unrest but alarmed by the prospect of rebels helping IS to recruit and establish a presence in the volatile region of 22 million people.

Duterte has threatened harsh measures and said martial law would remain be maintained for as long as it took to restore order. The president was due to hold a cabinet meeting on Thursday in Davao, his home city and the biggest on Mindanao. Security was stepped up in Davao, with more military checkpoints and some businesses sending staff home during daylight hours. Residents were urged to stay vigilant. In the city where Duterte was mayor for 22 years, and enjoys a cult-like following, residents were supportive of martial law.

"It's not a hassle. It is good because it prevents harmful events," said manicurist Zoraida Jakosalem Himaya."He is like a father telling his children what to do."
Nepal prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Wednesday resigned after a brief stint of nine months. Prachanda, 62, announced his resignation while addressing the nation in a live telecast. Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the Nepali Congress, is set take over as the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal. It was his second stint as the prime minister.

Prachanda first became prime minister on 18 August, 2008, continuing in the position till 25 May, 2009, when he resigned after a political tussle with the then president Ram Baran Yadav over the appointment of army chief and the integration of former Maoist rebels into the army. His government was reduced to a minority after key ally CPN-UML withdrew its support, Outlook reported.

The resignation came as part of a deal with the Nepali Congress, the other partner in the CPN (Maoist Centre)-Nepali Congress coalition government.

Under the deal signed in July 2016 to topple the then KP Oli government, the two parties will head the government on a rotational basis till the country goes to poll before 21 January, 2018.

Accordingly, Prachanda, who became the prime minister in August 2016, would continue to hold the position for nine months, after which the Nepali Congress would head the government.

The arrangement was made in such a manner that while the local body elections would be held under the former rebel leader's leadership, the provincial and national elections will be held under Deuba's rule.

Millions of Nepali citizens on 14 May voted in the country's first local-level polls in two decades as the Himalayan nation took a crucial step towards cementing democracy amid political turmoil.

Local-level elections, which should be held every five years, could not be held after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives in Nepal.

However, unlike in the past when governments in Nepal fell due to political instability, this time around the change in the political leadership is expected to be smooth.

Nepali media has already made recommendations for the likely (to be formed) Deuba government.

The Himalayan Times in its editorial urged the Deuba government to hit the ground running to conduct the second phase of the local body elections. It also noted that Prachanda, unlike his 2009 exit, relinquished power graciously. While Prachanda during his press conference outlined the achievements of the government, the editorial praised the former rebel leader for successfully conducting the first phase of local body elections.

Kathmandu Post in its editorial urged the incoming government to hold the second phase of local elections on 14 June. The publication too appreciated Prachanda for going ahead with the election despite his government being mirred in several controversies.

The editorial added that the next nine months could be an opportunity for Deuba to reclaim his legacy in Nepal's disturbed political history. The editorial noted that as the prime minister is seen by the common man as someone with a questionable character citing his behaviour during the 2005 political crisis.

However, while the Nepali media appreciated the move to conduct elections, the Opposition is not happy with the change of guard.

Prachanda had appeased leaders from Terai regions after conceding their demand for an addition of 22 new local units ahead of the second phase of elections.

Former ally CPN-UML claimed that the sudden resignation of the prime minister has created confusion in the country instead of resolving key complications ahead of the key elections, Myrepublica.com reported.

With inputs from PTI
Jakarta: Two suspected suicide bombings near a bus terminal in Indonesia's capital Jakarta killed three policemen and injured ten other people, including five officers, police said.

National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said on Wednesday there were two explosions by two suicide bombers.

"I expressed my deep condolence, in fact three policemen were killed," Wasisto said. "There were explosions and latest investigation found that there are two suicide bombers, all men."

He added that ten other people  five policemen and five civilians  were wounded and were taken to several hospitals.

Earlier, Vice National Police Chief Syafruddin, said an initial investigation showed there were two explosions and a suspected suicide bomber had also died.

"Tonight, to Indonesian citizens and all of us who are here at the scene, I express very deep concern. There have been bomb explosions at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal and for now they are believed to have been a suicide bombing," he said.

Syafruddin said the officers had been guarding a parade by a group of local people.

The explosion occurred in a parking lot next to the bus terminal in eastern Jakarta.

A bomb squad was investigating the explosion as heavily armed police and soldiers guarded the area.

TV channels showed people helping a victim lying on the ground, and three policemen carrying another victim away from the scene.

Police sources said an anti-terror squad had immediately raided two houses believed to be owned by the perpetrators in neighboring provinces of Banten and West Java, but the results have not yet been known.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, generally follows a moderate form of the faith.

The government has carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since the 2002 Bali bombings by al-Qaeda-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people.
Taipei: Taiwan's military has practiced repelling a simulated Chinese assault on an outlying island group as part of annual military drills addressing the threat from across the Taiwan Strait.

Units from the army, navy and air force were deployed for Thursday's drills on the Penghu islands.

They featured tanks, rocket launchers, assault helicopters and soldiers using shoulder-fired missiles to repel a force invading from across the 160-kilometer-wide strait.

Warships maneuvered offshore and fighter jets deployed flares.

The drills come amid heightened tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen observed the drills wearing a helmet and flak jacket and said they would improve command and cooperation between the different branches of the military.
Kabul: At least 13 soldiers were killed and eight others wounded in a fight with Taliban insurgents at several security checkpoints in southern Afghanistan, a government official said on Thursday.

Daulat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said the fighting took place overnight in southern Kandahar province when Taliban fighters stormed the checkpoints and the battles lasted for several hours.

Waziri said the insurgents were driven back and 20 of their fighters killed. There was no immediate response from the Taliban.

Samim Khpolwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, confirmed the attack, saying the Taliban suffered heavy casualties.

Also on Thursday, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives at a security post in southern Helmand province killing three intelligence officials, a police spokesman said.

The attack also wounded four intelligence officials, said the spokesman, who gave his name only as Zaman.

The provincial governor's spokesman, Omar Zwak, confirmed the attack.

The Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility, saying the explosion killed Tor Jan, intelligence director for the Washer district in Helmand.

In western Badghis province, on Wednesday, Taliban fighters attacked security checkpoints, killing six security forces, said Anwar Ishaqzai, provincial governor. He said five others were wounded, while 16 Taliban militants were killed in the fight with government forces.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday she would raise the issue of leaks from a probe into the Manchester terror attack that have infuriated British authorities with their US counterparts.

Speaking ahead of her departure for a NATO summit in Brussels, May said she would "make clear to President (Donald) Trump that intelligence which is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

May also said in televised comments that the terror threat level would remain at "critical"  the maximum level  after being raised on Tuesday following the attack in which 22 people were killed.

"The public should remain vigilant," she said, following an emergency ministerial meeting.

May said around 1,000 soldiers were assisting police "providing important reassurance ahead of a bank holiday weekend of busy events".

May said she would work with "international colleagues on defeating terrorism" at the NATO summit.

When she attends the G7 summit in Italy on Friday, she said she would head up a discussion on counter-terrorism "and on how we will work together to prevent the plotting of terrorist attacks".

"G7 and Nato will enable us to work more closely together as we work to defeat the evil of terrorism," she said, expressing gratitude for support and condolences from countries around the world.
WASHINGTON A U.S. military investigation on Thursday acknowledged that more than 100 civilians were killed in a U.S. air strike on a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March during operations against Islamic State militants.The probe concluded that the U.S. strike in the Al-Jadida district inadvertently triggered explosives placed in the building by Islamic State fighters, causing it to collapse. Local officials and eyewitnesses have said as many as 240 people may have died in the strike.

It is believed to be one of the single largest incidents of civilian casualties since the U.S.-led coalition started operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Air Force Brigadier General Matthew Isler, who oversaw the investigation, told reporters that the March 17 strike was aimed at two Islamic State snipers.

However, the 500-pound bomb triggered explosives inside the concrete building, collapsing it onto civilians.

Isler said the United States and nearby Iraqi forces did not know there were civilians in the building or that it had been rigged with explosives.He added that 101 civilians inside the building were killed, four civilians were killed in nearby, and 36 civilians were still not accounted for. Prior to this investigation, the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State said that at least 352 civilians have been killed in strikes it carried out in Iraq and Syria since 2014. That estimate is far lower than those provided by outside groups. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Idrees Ali and David Brunnstrom

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON A U.S. warship carried out a "maneuvering drill" when it sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, to show Beijing it was not entitled to a territorial sea around it, U.S. officials said on Thursday.The operation near Mischief Reef on Thursday, Pacific time, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has disputes with its neighbors, was the boldest U.S. challenge yet to Chinese island-building in the strategic waterway. It drew an angry response from China, which President Donald Trump has tried to court in recent weeks to persuade it to take a tougher line on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. [nL1N1IQ2FH]Analysts say previous U.S. "freedom-of-navigation operations" in the Spratly archipelago involved "innocent passage," in which a warship effectively recognized a territorial sea by crossing it speedily, without stopping.On Thursday, the destroyer USS Dewey conducted a "man overboard" exercise, specifically to show that its passage within 12 nautical miles was not innocent passage, U.S. officials said."USS Dewey engaged in normal operations by conducting a maneuvering drill inside 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef," one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity."The ships actions demonstrated that Mischief Reef is not entitled to its own territorial sea regardless of whether an artificial island has been built on top of it."

Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, said that freedom of navigation operations are not specific to one country and the Defense Department would release summaries of these operations in an annual report and not sooner. "We are continuing regular FONOPS, as we have routinely done in the past and will continue to do in the future," Ross said, using an acronym for freedom of navigation operations. The Pentagon has not confirmed the most recent operation. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea and Washington has criticized its construction of islands and build-up of military facilities there, concerned they could be used to restrict free movement and broaden Beijing's strategic reach.

U.S. allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the Trump administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.Greg Poling of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank said that under international law, Mischief Reef was not entitled to a territorial sea as it was underwater at high tide before it was built up by China."This was a statement to the Chinese," he said.

"The previous two freedom-of-navigation operations only challenged China's demand for prior notification for innocent passage through the territorial sea; this one asserted that there is no territorial sea at all." The Trump administration vowed to conduct more robust South China Sea operations after President Barack Obama was criticized for potentially reinforcing China's claims by sticking to innocent passage.Even so, this was the first freedom-of-navigation operation since October and since Trump took office in January.It comes ahead of a visit to Singapore next week by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to discuss security with regional counterparts.Beijing said two Chinese guided-missile warships had warned the U.S. vessel to leave the waters and that it had lodged "stern representations" with the United States.China's claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish and Marguerita Choy)

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United Nations: India has shown a strong commitment to multilateralism through its engagement in peacekeeping, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said, as he honoured those who died in the line of duty.

At a reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on International Day of UN Peacekeepers on Thursday, Guterres noted that India is the second-largest troop contributor to peacekeeping missions. It currently deploys more than 7,600 military and police personnel to UN peace operations in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, the Middle East, South Sudan, Sudan and the Western Sahara.

"This is an absolutely amazing contribution your country has given to world peace," he said. "India has shown its strong commitment to multilateralism exactly by its engagement in peacekeeping," Guterres said.

He also honoured the memory of the 163 Indian peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty under the UN Flag. Two Indian peacekeepers, Rifleman Brijesh Thapa who served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Private Ravi Kumar who was deployed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) posthumously received the Dag Hammarskjold Medal this year.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, received the medal on behalf of the fallen Indian peacekeepers at a ceremony.

The prestigious UN medal was awarded to 117 military, police and civilian personnel from 43 nations who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations during 2016.

Guterres said that in a changing peace environment, "we are seeing more and more peacekeeping operations where peace is elusive. Things are changing in the world", adding that the UN and its member states need to think how the peacekeeping mandates are designed and how troops are equipped and trained. There is also need to explore partnerships with those involved in enforcement of peacekeeping and in counter-terrorism operations.

He emphasised that in the context of reforms, there is need for a "serious discussion" on how "we need to adapt to the changing circumstances that make peacekeeping more challenging.

"It is a challenge we have to face together and find together the solutions that are required to make peacekeeping more effective and for peacekeepers to be more safe," he added.

Currently more than 96,000 uniformed personnel from 124 troop and police-contributing countries serve under the blue flag, alongside more than 15,000 international and national civilian staff and nearly 1,600 United Nations Volunteers.

India has provided almost 200,000 troops in nearly 50 of the 71 peacekeeping missions mandated over the past six decades, including 13 of the current 16 missions.
Washington: A US Navy destroyer has sailed close to a disputed South China Sea island controlled by China for the first time after President Donald Trump took office, an official said.

The USS Dewey sailed within 20 km of Mischief Reef (a man-made Chinese island), in the Spratly Island chain, on Wednesday, in a "freedom of navigation operation," according to a US official.

While he didn't confirm details of this particular operation, Pentagon Spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis told CNN: "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea."

"We operate in accordance with international law. We fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," he added.

China has previously described such operations as a serious breach of law and an intentional provocation.

The Pentagon said such operations were "not about any one country, or any one body of water", the CNN reported.

The US regularly undertook freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea under former US President Barack Obama.

However, there were suggestions that the Trump administration was putting them off to avoid antagonising China.

China claims ownership of the vast majority of the South China Sea, including the Paracel and Spratly island chains, a claim disputed by numerous other countries including the Philippines and Vietnam.

Earlier in 2017, the US military had requested permission to perform a freedom of navigation operation but it was turned down by the Pentagon, as part of an effort to ease US-China relations, a US defence official told CNN.
Sony is planning to kill its premium standard models of Xperia smartphones, according to XperiaBlog. According the slides obtained by the publication, Sony Xperia X and Xperia X Compact smartphones that were launched last year will not get successors.

The premium standard smartphones offer specifications almost similar to a flagship but are available at a reasonable price point. This move comes from Sony as the global sales of these devices were lower than expected with the company selling only 31 percent of its unit. Along with axing these phones, Sony has confirmed that it will now only focus on flagship and mid-range models including the Xperia XZ Premium and XZs at the top end, and mid-range phones like the Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra.

According to Sonys roadmap for 2017, the company will focus only on markets like Japan, East Asia, APAC, Middle East and Europe, where it can leverage its brand strength. It will launch two new flagships in the second half of 2017 and these phones would be in the same category as the previously announced Xperia XZ Premium and XZs.

Source: 1, 2
Xiaomi just announced Mi Max 2, successor of last years Mi Max phablet at an event in China. It packs the same 6.44-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display as the predecessor, but this has 0.7mm ultra narrow bezel on the side. It is powered by Snapdragon 625 processor, has an improved 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX386 sensor, 1.25m pixel size, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash.

It has a full metal unibody design with rounded edges and is just 7.6mm thick. The antenna bands have been moved to the top and bottom. It has dual stereo speakers, one embedded into the earpiece and other on the bottom. It has a fingerprint sensor on the back.

It has a huge 5300mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging that lets you charge the phone up to 68% in one hour, compared to 4850mAh battery on the predecessor. It has dual charging module that offers better heat dispersion. It promises up to 18 hours of video playback or 57 hours of talk time on a single charge.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 specifications

6.44-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS 2.5D curved glass display with 450nits brightness, 1000 : 1 contrast ratio, 72% NTSC color gamut

2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU

4GB RAM with 64GB / 128GB storage, expandable memory with microSD

MIUI 8 based on Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)

Hybrid Dual SIM (micro+nano/microSD)

12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash, PDAF, f/2.2 aperture, Sony IMX386 sensor, 1.25m pixel size

5MP front-facing camera with 85-degree wide-angle lens, f/2.0 aperture

3.5mm audio jack, stereo speakers

Fingerprint sensor, infrared sensor

Dimensions: 174.188.77.6mm; Weight: 211g

4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4 / 5GHz) MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C

5300mAh (typical) / 5200mAh (minimum) battery with Quick Charge 3.0

The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 comes in Golden color and is priced at 1699 yuan (US$ 247 / Rs.15949 approx.) for the 4GB RAM with 64GB Storage version and the 4GB RAM with 128GB storage version costs 1999 yuan (US$ 290 / Rs. 18770 approx.). It will go on sale in China from June 1st.

Source
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke to graduates at Harvard University Thursday about the challenges that face a society where automation is increasingly displacing people in the workforce.

The challenge for our generation is to create a world where everyone has a purpose  Technology and automation are eliminating many jobs ... a lot of people are feeling disconnected and depressed, Zuckerberg said.

Mr. Zuckerbergs speech focused on purpose as a necessary societal objective derived from fostering community, effecting social and political progress and redefining equality. The Facebook mogul noted hundreds of millions of jobs will be lost in the coming years due to the introduction of technology, like self-driving cars, into the workforce at a faster clip. This, he said, has made finding purpose different from past generations where it could be derived from a reliable job in a stable workforce.

We have a generational challenge to not only create new jobs, but to create a renewed sense of purpose, he said. There are people left behind by globalization all across the world.

The manufacturing sector has been hit particularly hard by those lost jobs, and in addition to putting a large emphasis on U.S. job creation and bringing manufacturing jobs to the country, the Trump administration has focused efforts on vocational training, what it refers to as training the workforce of the future. The president has collaborated with some high-profile executives, including IBM (NYSE:IBM) CEO Ginni Rometty and Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) CEO Andrew Liveris on developing alternative paths to the traditional education system.

Zuckerberg, who dropped out of Harvard to start Facebook, also characterized the current generation as entrepreneurial. A new social contract is needed, he said, that explores universal income, affordable child care and a health care system where citizens are not tied to one employer; topics to be considered amid a battle of ideas between those who support globalization and those who shy away from it.

While Zuckerberg heads a multi-billion dollar company, he joked getting into Harvard is the thing my parents are most proud of me for.
Denton County, Texas Sheriff Tracy Murphree received worldwide attention and criticism over his Facebook post Monday night reacting to the attack at a concert in Manchester, England. In part, Sheriff Murphree said, Pay attention to what is happening in Europe. This is what happens when you disarm your citizens.

The Sheriff defended his comments, telling the FOX Business Networks Charles Payne, I stand by my comments, I really thought they were on target. I thought I was basically repeating what many people have been saying for years. I was angered by what I saw in Manchester, children being killed, I have kids of my own.

Murphree was surprised by the global reaction to his comments, saying, That shocks me, I expected a lot of criticism from the left, from liberals, but I expected that more locally than worldwide. I dont understand why a Texas Sheriffs Facebook post has gone worldwide.

Murphree then raised concerns about the impact of the political climate in Europe as well as under the Obama administration.

I just feel like what the politicians and the governments have allowed to happen in Europe and for the past eight years here quite frankly, [I] cant stand.

According to Murphree, political correctness has been a key factor in creating an atmosphere where incidents such as this can occur.

But I think political correctness is one of the reasons that these things happen, people are afraid theyre going to be called what Ive been called, a racist or an Islamophobe or a hate-monger.

Sheriff Murphree then reacted to criticisms of President Trump over efforts to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

The president is called a racist because he wants to build a wall when its not a wall to keep people out, its a funnel to make sure that we can vet these folks to see whos coming into our country, which we have every right to do.
Graduation season is in full swingand while many celebrities, politicians, and CEOs are giving commencement addressesa trio of billionaires are dishing out some straight talk on careers, getting ahead in life and how to do what you love.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is worth an estimated $61.9 billion according to Forbes, gave his first commencement address at Harvard University on Thursday. Ironically, he dropped out nearly 12 years ago to focus on building his social media empire.

The 33-year old Zuckerberg told the newly minted graduates that they are entering a world that desperately needs purpose.

But Im not here to give you the standard commencement about finding your purposewere millennialswe try to do that instinctively. Instead, Im here to tell you that finding your purpose isnt enough. The challenge for our generation is to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose, Zuckerberg told the crowd.

He then went on to urge the next generation to get started and dont focus on succeeding or making money.

I know maybe youre thinking, I dont know how to build a dam. I dont know how to get a million people involved in anything. Well, let me tell you a secret, no one does when they begin. Ideas dont come out fully formed, they only become clearer as you work on them, you just have to get started. If I had known everything about connecting people before I got started, I would have never built Facebook, he said.

Additionally, he warned the crowd to be prepared to be misunderstood and many critics may even call you "crazy" even though youre right.

Earlier this week, media mogul and billionaire Oprah Winfrey gave similar career advice to a crowd full of female graduates at Smith College, the private, independent womens liberal arts school in Northampton, Massachusetts.

The former talk show queen, who is estimated to be worth $2.8 billionand ranked No. 3 on Forbes list of richest self-made womenurged female graduates to shift the paradigm to service not necessary success or wealth.

"Ask the question: How can I be used? Life, use me. Show me through my talents and my gifts, show me through what I know, what I need to know, what I have yet to learn, how to be used in the greater service to life. You ask that question and I guarantee you, Smithies, the answer will be returned and rewarded to you with fulfillment, which is really the major definition of success for me, Winfrey told the crowd.

"When you can create your work and your life based on an intention to serve with purposemake it your intention to serve through your life with purposeyou will have a blessed life, she added.

Earlier this month, President Trump delivered his first commencement address as commander in chief at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He also shared Zuckerbergs views of being misunderstood, telling graduates that in fact critics helped him succeed in the end.

The fact is, no one has achieved anything significant without a chorus of critics standing on the sidelines explaining why it can't be done. Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic. The future belongs to the people who follow their heart no matter what the critics say because they truly believe in their vision, Trump told the grads. He made similar comments at the Coast Guards commencement in New London, Connecticut the following Wednesday.

Then the real estate magnate, who was considered a long shot to win the White House, came full circle telling grads to never quit and relish the opportunity to be an outsider.

Embrace that label  being an outsider is fine, embrace the label  because it's the outsiders who change the world and who make a real and lasting difference. The more that a broken system tells you that you're wrong, the more certain you should be that you must keep pushing ahead, you must keep pushing forward. And always have the courage to be yourself. Most importantly, you have to do what you love.
As a dark cloud hovers over the traditional retail industry, the first quarter wasnat as bad as Wall Street expected for teen clothier Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE:ANF), sparking a more than 9% jump in the companyas stock price on Thursday.

The struggling company, rumored to be eyed for a potential joint bid by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), said same-store sales a a key metric for retailers a declined 3% during the first quarter, better than the 3.1% decline analysts polled by FactSet expected.

As Abercrombieas same-store sales dropped 10%, the companyas Hollister brand saw a 3% rise, which CEO Fran Horowitz attributed to better aligning of the companyas marketing with product assortment, loyalty programs and promotions. She pointed to early swimwear sales in the first quarter helped by a range of promotional efforts including email campaigns and efforts to engage customers on social media platforms like Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP) and Facebook-owned (NASDAQ:FB) Instagram. She said the company will apply strategic initiatives used at its Hollister brand in an effort to help drive positive comp-sales improvements at Abercrombie.

In the first three months of the year, the company rolled out a reserve-in-store option for customers who would like to ensure theyall walk away with the products they want before heading out to shop. Joanne Crevoiserat, Abercrombieas chief financial officer, said the early reaction has been positive, while the company continues to see a atremendousa level of engagement on Instagram and through direct email campaigns as consumer shopping preferences shift increasingly online.

The retailer posted a net loss of $61.7 million or 91 cents per share, wider than last yearas $39.6 million loss. The results included negative tax-related impacts totaling 19 cents. Wall Street had expected a loss of 70 cents per share for the quarter.

Meanwhile, the company reported a 4% decline in revenue from the year prior to $661.1 million, which topped forecasts calling for $651.26 million.

aWe are encouraged by our progress across all brands, particularly in March and April as a whole, in an aggressively promotional environment,a Horowitz said in a statement.

aWhile we anticipate the second quarter environment to remain promotional, we expect results to improve further in the second half of the year as we see returns from our strategic investments in marketing and omichannel,a she said.

Abercrombie expects same-store sales to remain under pressure in the second quarter, but improving in the back half of the year. By the end of 2017, the company expects to open seven full-price stores and two new outlet locations mainly in the U.S., as it shutters 60 stores across the country as leases expire.

The retailer has faced an uphill battle in recent years amid dwindling traffic to mall-based stores. Fueled by the meteoric rise of e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), consumers have increasingly preferred to shop online for products they once ventured out to physical stores to buy. Notable exceptions to that trend have been the treasure-hunt retail model emulated by TJX (NYSE:TJX) brands Marshalls and HomeGoods, and experience-based blueprints that department stores like Neiman Marcus and Macyas have strived to provide.

Aimed at combatting that pressure, Crevoiserat emphasized Abercrombieas efforts to rightsize the store fleet, which includes slimming down store footprints, and closing some locations while updating and remodeling others.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is assuring investors that Congress will meet a new deadline to increase the government's borrowing authority and avert an economy-quaking default on U.S. obligations.

Ryan said Thursday that "the debt ceiling issue will get resolved." He spoke a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned lawmakers that Congress needs to vote to increase the almost $20 trillion borrowing cap before taking its annual August vacation.

It had been previously assumed that lawmakers wouldn't have to vote on the debt limit until sometime this fall.

"The timing is what I think is the newsworthy thing here," Ryan said. "Receipts aren't quite what people thought they were and that's why Secretary Mnuchin is moving the timetable up. So we're looking at that new timetable."

Conservatives are pressing to include spending cuts in any debt legislation as a condition of voting for a debt hike. Former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, succeeded in imposing spending cuts upon former President Barack Obama in a major debt limit battle in 2011, but Obama rejected the idea in subsequent debt deals  which cleared Congress with bipartisan support.

Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is following in the footsteps of previous Treasury heads by requesting that the debt measure move as quickly as possible, with its path kept free of controversial add-ons.

But Mnuchin's request for a "clean" debt bill has been rejected by, among other GOP factions, the hard-right Freedom Caucus.

"We demand that any increase of the debt ceiling be paired with policy that addresses Washington's unsustainable spending," the Freedom Caucus said in a statement on Wednesday.

"A clean debt ceiling is not something that's been met with broad approval by the (GOP) conference in the past," said veteran GOP Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon. "I have no reason to believe that sentiment would change here."

But such cuts would likely drive away potential Democratic support, and many if not most lawmakers believe Republicans simply lack the ability to pass the politically difficult measure without help from Democrats. Ryan on Thursday didn't address the idea of adding cuts demanded by conservatives.

"They're going to have to come hat in hand to us, anyways," said the senior Budget Committee Democrat, Rep. John Yarmouth of Kentucky. "I can't imagine any scenario in which they don't have to have Democratic votes."
Organized labor struck back Thursday against Kentucky's right-to-work law, filing a lawsuit that claims the ban on mandatory union fees in workplaces violates the state's Constitution.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, a leading supporter of the new law, was named a defendant along with Labor Secretary Derrick Ramsey in the suit filed in Franklin Circuit Court in Frankfort.

The Kentucky State AFL-CIO and Teamsters Local 89 filed the suit, which asks a judge to temporarily block the right-to-work law while the suit proceeds. The labor groups said the law should be struck down for violating numerous sections of the Kentucky Constitution.

The lawsuit came just a few months after hundreds of union supporters shouted their opposition as the GOP-led legislature passed the right-to-work measure.

"Obviously, with the legislature the way it is structured at this point, the court is our only logical opportunity for redress to their egregious law," said state AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan.

Londrigan said the lawsuit seeks to protect union rights to bargain collectively "without government interference." It also aims to prevent wages from eroding as a result of "this misnamed, discriminatory and punitive legislation," he said.

Bevin spokeswoman Amanda Stamper accused the labor groups of "political games" with a "frivolous" suit that threatens to hurt families by "robbing them of high-paying job opportunities."

Republican backers of the law said it has already paid dividends, noting that a business executive cited it in announcing his aluminum company's plans to build a plant and hire 550 people in the state's economically struggling Appalachian region.

The legislature's top Republicans  House Speaker Jeff Hoover and Senate President Robert Stivers  said they think the law is on solid legal ground. "Kentucky is a different state today than it was six months ago, thanks to right-to-work," Hoover said.

Republicans say right-to-work laws create jobs. Democrats counter that the laws weaken labor unions, leading to lower wages and unsafe working conditions.

The law bans labor unions from collecting mandatory dues from employees they represent in collective bargaining. The law's critics say those provisions weaken union bargaining power by allowing workers to avoid paying union fees while benefiting from having a union.

"No other state law requires any organization to give away its services, but under this law, Kentucky's labor unions must do so," said Irwin Cutler, an attorney for the Kentucky State AFL-CIO.

The push to enact right-to-work laws has gained momentum in recent years in states where voters elected Republican legislative majorities. Twenty-eight states have enacted such laws, according to a list provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Kentucky, the Republican-controlled state Senate tried for years to pass a right-to-work law, but was blocked by the Democratic-controlled House. Republicans consolidated their power in the legislature last November when the GOP won a big House majority.

The right-to-work measure was among several Republican priorities that passed during a fast-paced first week of this year's legislative session. Lawmakers also repealed a union-backed law guaranteeing higher wages for construction workers on publicly financed projects.

Hundreds of union supporters chanted "we will remember in November" in the state Capitol in Frankfort as lawmakers gave final passage to the measures on a rare Saturday session in January.

"We're not going to let folks forget who voted how," Londrigan said Thursday, looking ahead to next year's elections.

Kentucky's right-to-work law took effect immediately after Bevin signed it in January.

An aluminum company CEO recently credited the right-to-work law as a significant factor in his decision to build a $1.3 billion plant in northeastern Kentucky.

Braidy Industries Inc. promised to hire 550 people and pay them nearly twice the average household income of an area reeling from the loss of coal and manufacturing jobs.

Meanwhile, both sides in the dispute over Kentucky's right-to-work law pointed to court decisions they see as strengthening their position. A federal appeals court upheld Indiana's right-to-work law, while a circuit judge in West Virginia blocked enforcement of that state's law.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich wants to put an end to the Congressional Budget Office and the White House daily press briefings.

Abolish [the] CBO. It is totally destructive. It is totally dishonest. It was unbelievably wrong about ObamaCare. Go back and pull up how wrong they were. Lets assume they are equally wrong about the Republican bill, Gingrich told the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo.

Despite this, he added that Republicans will be able to pass tax and health care reform.

Meanwhile, President Trump is in Brussels, Belgium on his fourth stop of his first trip overseas as Commander in Chief. While Gingrich hails the nine-day trip as historic, he said the mainstream media is missing out on its meaning.

Here is the President of the United States laying out 58 leaders from across the Arab world and north Africa  heres what we have to do as partners to defeat evilFor a first trip, remember the last two presidents; I think one went to Mexico and one went to Canada  that was their first trip. This president said no, lets be historic, lets try to do the real thing, he said.

In his opinion, cutting out the daily press briefing would help Trump regain focus on domestic policy issues.

If he is as disciplined at home as we have seen him be on this trip, if he decides to focus on big things, if they cut out the daily briefings which are totally destructivenotice that there arent daily briefings on this tripyou dont have a place for the elite media to come in and destroy everything, he said.

Gingrich was also asked whether he would accept a position as the White House chief of staff, to which he responded: the major changes in the White House [are] for President Trump to decide.
There is a growing divide among GOP Senate leaders over how to repeal and replace ObamaCare, sources told FOX Business on Thursday, which could spell trouble for President Trumps critical tax reform plan.

As the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the American Health Care Act on Wednesday, Republican Senators had already decided to scrap the majority of the bill in favor of their own replacement plan, but there are competing agendas within the conference, FOX Business has learned.

Theres definitely a split within the conference, one Senate source told FOX Business.

The divide could delay the passing of the Senates health care initiative until August, at the earliest. That in turn could lead to a delay in passing Trumps key tax reform package, according to additional sources close to the Senate.

The growing divide is looking eerily similar to the split that initially stalled the House from voting on the AHCA in March.

The CBO estimated the House-passed bill would result in 23 million people losing health insurance coverage by 2026, while federal budget deficits would fall by $119 billion over 10 years under the bill.

That split revolves around two different views on how to craft the Senates health care legislation and whether the federal government should be involved with providing coverage for millions of Americans.

Theres a faction that wants to keep ObamaCare largely as is. Then theres a faction that wants to take a more free market approach, repeal more of the health care regulations and let states find other ways to help people who cant afford it, another Capitol Hill source explained to FOX Business.

While its unclear which Senate leaders are at odds, some lawmakers have publicly shown support for opposing objectives.

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), a harsh critic of ObamaCare in the past and a close confidant of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), recently said he wants to save parts of the 2010 law for the next two years and pass short term market stabilization measures that would effectively delay any major repeal efforts.

We might have to do some things and authorize some things in those two years that we wouldnt do long-term, Alexander said last week. And then in 2020, we would hope to have our long-term solution for the people that dont have the insurance, he added.

In a statement to Fox Business, Alexander clarified his position on the issue.

My own goals for a Senate bill include: 1) rescuing the thousands of Tennesseans and millions of Americans who will be trapped in collapsing Affordable Care Act exchanges with few or even zero options for health insurance in 2018 unless Congress acts; 2) lowering premium costs, which have increased under the ACA law; 3) gradually giving states more flexibility on the Medicaid program, but doing this in a way that does not pull the rug out from under people who rely on Medicaid; and 4) making sure those with pre-existing conditions have access to insurance, Alexander said.

Meanwhile, other Republican Senators, including Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT), are part of the free market group, insisting ObamaCare should be totally dismantled and more power should be given to the states when deciding whether they need government mandated health care.

There were many areas of reform considered  repealing regulations, cutting taxes, and introducing free market reforms into the system. The bill so far falls short on two of the three (it cuts taxes). But most importantly it falls short on free market reforms to lower prices and provide better, less expensive health care to millions of Americans said Paul in a recent Fox News opinion column.

Lee echoed Pauls sentiments in a column for The Daily Signal, saying Conservatives would like to clear the books of ObamaCares most costly regulations and free the states to regulate their markets how they wisheven if that means reapplying these regulations to their markets.

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, McConnell discussed the Senates work on health care and tax reform, and the chances of a new bill.

"I don't know how we get to 50 [votes] at the moment. But that's the goal, he said.

While hes optimistic about tax reform, he said health care is turning out to be a challenge. He declined to provide a timetable for producing the Senates draft proposal or the provisions that he might want to see in their bill.

Spokespersons for McConnell and Lee declined to comment. A spokesperson for Paul didnt return emails for comment at the time of publication.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Thursday said the White House leaks are overshadowing all of the good work President Trump is trying to accomplish.

[Leaks] weaken the institution of the presidency. I think if intelligence is leaked, that needs to be investigated and prosecuted. If we have intelligence officials doing this for political purposes to attack the presidency that is equally as disturbing and unlawful, he said to FOX Business Neil Cavuto.

McCaul believes that the leaks are distracting the public from President Trumps first foreign trip and his anti-terror messages.

It is absolutely damaging the president, its taking him off messageAgain this overseas trip is bringing the three major religions together you know Islam, Christianity [and] Judaism. What he is trying to accomplish in counter-terrorism and yet all we seem to be talking about are these leaks from within, its an enemy within his own camp state, he said.

The Homeland Security Committee Chairman also weighed in on how these leaks are hurting Britains chances of bringing down the network of terrorists associated with the Manchester bomber.

I think the concern from the Brits standpoint is, once you released his name, then the people around him in his network could Either quickly carry out the additional plots so you have the threat of another bomb going off. Or this network fleeing or going underground where they cant find them, he said.
Ahead of President Donald Trumps first NATO summit in Brussels Thursday, it was former President Obama who was making headlines abroad, appearing to take a jab at his successor during a joint speech with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Without mentioning President Trump by name, Obama spoke about the need to stay connected to the globalized world and face wars, poverty and other challenges together.

In this world that we live in, we cant isolate ourselves. We cant hide behind a wall, the former U.S. president said in his first speech in Europe since leaving the Oval Office in January. President Trump has been criticized by some Democrats for a strong immigration policy that includes the construction of a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Obama also touted his accomplishments during his tenure as president, focusing on the Affordable Care Act, which he indicated was now in danger due to the current administrations push for repeal.

"My hope was to get 100 percent of people health care. We didn't quite achieve that but we were able to get 20 million people health care who didn't have it before, he said. Now some of the progress we made is imperiled because a significant debate is taking place in the United States."

On Wednesday the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the GOPs American Health Care Act, an effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare, estimating it would lower premiums, provide stability to the health care market, but leave 23 million additional individuals uninsured through the year 2026.

The relationship between President Trump and German Chancellor Merkel has been tumultuous since the election cycle. The president criticized Germanys open border policy, calling it a mistake. He has also gone after Germany for its trade practices and its failure to live up to its financial obligations as a member of NATO.

While President Trump, who is ending a nine-day trip throughout the Middle East and Europe, addressed the global fight against terror during Thursdays NATO summit, he also brought up member contributions to the transatlantic military alliance. The administration, led by tough rhetoric from the president, has assumed a strong position on the need for NATO members to meet the 2 percent-of-GDP contribution threshold. The U.S. government spent 3.6 percent of GDP, or $664 billion, on defense last year, far outpacing all other members. Out of all 28 countries that belonged to NATO at the start of this year, only five met the minimum contribution level in 2016the U.S., Greece, the U.K., Estonia and Poland.

On Thursday British Prime Minister Theresa May also announced she will confront President Trump at the summit about White House leaks to the media. Specifically, she mentioned images leaked to the press related to the terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday.
President Donald Trump came out swinging Thursday during his first meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, scolding members of the alliance for failing to live up to their financial obligations for collective defense.

aNATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations a Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years, and not paying in those past years. Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined,a Trump said.

The president noted that the two percent-of-GDP threshold may be insufficient to make up for lost contributions in recent years, saying 2 percent should be the abare minimum for confronting today's very real and very vicious threats.a

Trump said members of the transatlantic military alliance had unfairly burdened U.S. citizens and taxpayers with the costs of defense, noting if each member had lived up to its financial obligation last year NATO would have an extra $119 billion in its reserves.

Hereas a look at what some of NATOas most wealthy members pay.

The United States

The United States contributed more than 22 percent of the organizationas budget in 2016, according to White House data, far outpacing all other members. The government spent 3.6 percent of GDP, or $664 billion, on defense. The United Statesa financial commitments to defense have fallen over recent years, down from more than $757.4 billion in 2009. However, President Trump's new budget looks to reverse that trend with a $54 billion injection into the defense sector.

Germany

Germany contributed 14.6 percent of the allianceas budget in 2016, but still fell short of the contribution threshold. Last year the country contributed defense funds equivalent to just 1.19 percent of its gross domestic product, totaling $40.6 billion. President Trump has publicly urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel, head of one of the worldas strongest economies, to step up financing. Merkel committed to increasing defense spending toward the target level by the year 2024.

The United Kingdom

The U.K. spent $60.3 billion on defense in 2016, comprising 2.2% of the countryas GDP. The U.K. is one of five countries that meets the pledge limit, even though it pays about $600 billion less than the United States.

France

While France contributed $43.6 billion to defense, it too falls into the category of not paying its fair share. This level of financial commitment amounts to just 1.78 percent of the countryas economic growth. Franceas contributions have fallen by more than $10 billion over the past 6 years, from $54.4 billion in 2009.

Canada

The United Statesa northern neighbor is one of NATOas most serious offenders when it comes to not meeting its financial obligations. In 2016, Canada paid just $15.4 billion for defense, which is equivalent to slightly less than 1 percent of the countryas gross domestic product. Last year Canadaas economic growth clocked in at more than $1.8 trillion.

Members who pay up

The other countries that currently meet the two-percent-of-GDP threshold include Estonia, Poland and Greece, which pay 2.16 percent, 2.0 percent and 2.38 percent of their GDPas, respectively.
President Donald Trump spoke at the NATO headquarters in Brussels Thursday, delivering a stern message and putting pressure once again on NATO members to pay their fair share, which he said should be more than the current 2 percent-of-GDP threshold.

NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations  even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps [caused by chronic underpayments over the years], the president said before all 27 other foreign ministers.

President Trump also noted the U.S. has spent more on defense over the past eight years than all other NATO members combined. The United States contributed more than 22 percent of the organizations budget in 2016, according to White House data, far outpacing all other members. The government spent 3.6 percent of GDP, or $664 billion, on defense. Out of all 28 countries that belonged to NATO at the start of this year, only five met the minimum contribution level in 2016the U.S., Greece, the U.K., Estonia and Poland.

President Trump said the financial burden on the U.S. is unfair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, while estimating that if all 28 member countries had met their financial obligations last year NATO would have an extra $119 billion in the coffer to deploy for collective defense and for financing of additional NATO reserves.

The Trump administration has floated the idea of asking NATO members who havent met the contribution threshold over recent years to pay back payments.

President Trump began his speech Thursday by requesting a moment of silence for the victims of the bombing in Manchester on Monday, calling the terror attack barbaric and vicious.

On Thursday British Prime Minister Theresa May announced she will confront President Trump at the summit about White House leaks to the media related to the terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday.
Two men are facing charges in the disappearance of a Charlotte Uber driver after the man's car was found in another state, police said.

Diontray Divan Adams, 24, and James Aaron Stevens, 20, were arrested in Maryland Monday for their involvement in the case, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

Detectives learned that a credit card belonging to Marlo Medina-Chevez was used in Maryland. Maryland State Police notified CMPD that they received a license plate reader hit on Chevez's vehicle near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

The vehicle was stopped by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and four people were detained, including Adams and Stevens, police said. The other two occupants were later released and not charged.

Chevez, 44, has been missing since Saturday, May 20. He was last seen driving his 2008 dark blue Nissan Pathfinder with North Carolina tag PDV-4382. Family members reported that Mr. Medina-Chevez, left for work on Saturday to pick up a client. He never returned home.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Missing Persons Unit has handed the case over to the Homicide Unit. The decision doesn't necessarily mean the 44-year-old has been killed, but it allows the use of additional resources.

Detectives said during a press conference on Monday that they believe Medina-Chevez to be in "grave danger."

No word yet on Medina-Chevez's whereabouts.

Adams is charged with financial credit card fraud and outstanding warrants in Maryland. Stevens is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. Investigators said more charges may be coming.

Anyone who has information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit Detective. Detective Dollar is the lead detective assigned to the case. The public can also call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or visit the Crime Stoppers mobile app website at http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.

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A man who broke into Sandra Bullocks home in 2014 was sentenced to continued mental health treatment and probation after pleading no contest to felony stalking and burglary charges.

At the time of the break-in, the 52-year-old Oscar-winning actress was forced to hide in her closet while she called police. Authorities later uncovered a cache of illegal weapons inside the intruders home, but all weapons charges were dropped.

Joshua James Corbett entered the plea Wednesday and was also ordered to stay away from Bullock and not attempt to contact her for 10 years. District attorney spokesman Greg Risling said Corbett entered the no contest plea without having an agreement for sentencing with prosecutors.

SANDRA BULLOCK DONATES $5,000 TO STRUGGLING FORMER BEVERLY HILLS POOL MANAGER

While Bullock never personally appeared during the case, her frantic 15-minute 911 call was a key piece of evidence that led a judge in 2015 to order Corbett to stand trial.

The 41-year-old received mental health evaluations while in custody and his attorneys had hoped to resolve the case with an agreement that ensured he received continued treatment.

According to court testimony, Corbett lurked outside the gates of Bullocks home for several days before hopping the fence on June 8, 2014. He rang the stars doorbell for several minutes before entering her home through a sunroom door. Bullock then caught a glimpse of him as he walked past her bedroom door. She managed to lock herself in a closet to call police.

SANDRA BULLOCK EXPLAINS WHY SHE'LL NEVER TAKE A SELFIE

Corbett, who was unarmed at the time, had 25 pages of writings describing his obsession with Bullock. When arrested, he described himself as Bullocks husband to police.

Corbetts attorneys challenged the basis for police searching his home and finding an arsenal of weapons that led to numerous felony firearms charges.

Corbett was charged with possessing a machine gun, two counts of possessing an assault weapon, as well as 10 counts of possessing a destructive device, which was described as tracer ammunition. He faced up to 12 years in prison if convicted of those charges.

SANDRA BULLOCK NAMED 'WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN'

In February, a California appellate court ruled Los Angeles police detectives had violated Corbett's rights when they obtained authorization to search his home for guns.

During a hearing last year, Corbett described his feelings about the break-in at Bullock's house, saying he gave police the combination to his gun safe because he felt guilty about breaking into Bullock's home.

"I'd already hurt somebody that I didn't intend to," he explained while testifying during a hearing. "I did not want to affect my family with my actions."

Corbett's attorneys have suggested he was experiencing opiate withdrawal when he granted police consent to search his home for several legally purchased weapons. However, a judge rejected their attempts to overturn his consent for the search, which turned up the illegal arms and ammunition.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This new beverage trend is totally cheesy.

Cheese tea has become a social-media sensation in East and Southeast Asia. The Instagrammable brew tops hot tea (spanning classic green to fruit-flavored and chocolate) with a fluffy layer of cream cheese.

As Malaysian food blogger Ethan Wong, quoted in Food & Wine, puts it in his blog, When you have a sip as instructed, 40 degrees tilted, [the] right amount of cheese and tea fills your taste [buds], bursting with complex flavor.

It also gives you a cheese-stache.

Wong also notes that when he was in Guangzhou, China, in April, a line formed outside tea shops two hours before opening.

I came across a shop with a huge crowd, queuing under the sun for up [to] three hours just to get themselves a cup of cheese tea, Wong writes. We waited for one freaking hour.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post.
ICE agents apparently loves a good breakfast, and it doesn't matter whos making it.

United States Immigrations Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officers detained three members of the kitchen staff at a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor, Mich., on Wednesday morning--but only after sitting down to eat some waffles.

Sava Lelcaj-Farah, the owner of Savas restaurant, told MLive that the incident was really sad, and scares the whole community.

"It's a very sad day here at Sava's," added Lelcaj. "These things really shake people up. We have a lot of people who have family roots here."

CALIFORNIA BAR ERECTS INFLATABLE WALL ON CINCO DE MAYO, FEELS THE HEAT ON YELP

According to Savas representative Bree Stillwell, who spoke with Eater.com, five ICE agents entered the dining establishment at about 11:30 a.m. to eat breakfast. When they were done, they went into the kitchen to apprehend one of our employees who wasnt on at the time, as they suspected he did not have the proper documentation.

When the ICE agents realized the employee wasnt on duty, Stillwell says they turned their attention to other cooks in the kitchen, and started demanding their documentation instead.

Other workers who spoke with FOX 2 Detroit say that some of the ICE agents positioned themselves at the front and back exits of Savas to stand guard.

ICE eventually detained three of Savas workers who did not have documentation, and brought them to the agencys Detroit office. The Detroit Metro Times initially reported that all three were released in the afternoon after they provided proper paperwork, but a representative for ICE confirmed on Wednesday evening that all three men were in the country illegally, and that they remained in ICE custody as of 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Michigan Daily, on the other hand, reports that two of the detainees had been released, with only one spending the night in custody.

CHEF JOSE ANDREAS URGES TRUMP TO RESPECT IMMIGRANTS IN RAP SONG

However, none of the accounts dispute that another worker, Carlos Rivera-Ochoa, was handcuffed and detained in a government vehicle parked outside the restaurant, despite having his permanent resident card handy. Riveras wife Nicki Sanchez, speaking with MLive, said her husband was terrified by the ordeal.

"They just slapped some handcuffs on him," said Nicki Sanchez, Riveras wife. "Not only is that offensive, he was embarrassed in front of the whole restaurant. Why didn't they ask him before they detained him?"

Rivera was reportedly back at work minutes later, and the restaurant managed to finish the shift with a smaller crew.

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But Lelcaj, the owner of Savas, says its hard to forget the events of Wednesday morning.

"It's really sad," she told MLive. "It scares the whole community. Today's a great indication even if you have your documentation, and you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, you can still be at risk."

According to multiple reports, Lelcaj also claimed she vets and screens Savas prospective employees through a third-party service.
The number of donor livers thrown away in the U.S. has increased since 2004 due - in part - to a population growing older and heavier, according to a new study that also points to changes in medical practice that may make some donor livers less viable.

"The rationale for looking at this question in the first place is that the number of liver transplants done in the U.S. has gone down," said the study's lead author Dr. Eric Orman, a fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

To identify factors that might explain the trend, Orman and his colleagues used a national database of all organ donations beginning in late 1987 to see how many livers from donors of at least one organ were discarded, and why.

They found that the proportion of unused livers fell dramatically, from 66 percent in 1988 to 15 percent in 2004. After that, however, the percentage of unused livers began to rise again, hitting 21 percent in 2010.

Between 1988 and 2010, about 107,000 people donated their livers. Nearly 42,000 of those were after 2004. Of those post-2004 donations, about 33,900 livers were used and about 7,600 were not.

When the researchers, who published their results in the journal Liver Transplantation, looked at the differences between the livers that were used and those that weren't, they found a few possible links.

Specifically, livers from older, heavier and sicker patients were more likely to be thrown out between 2004 and 2010.

"That wasn't too surprising because a lot of those donors are more likely to have fatty livers. Those livers are avoided because they can lead to worse outcomes after transplant," said Orman.

And the proportion of older, heavier donors increased during the study period.

Between 1988 and 2010, the average donor age rose by almost 10 years, and the proportion of donors who were over age 50 grew from 16 percent to 38 percent. The proportion who were obese rose from 15 percent in 1995 to just over 30 percent in 2010. And donors with diabetes and high blood pressure grew from three percent in 1995 to almost 23 percent in 2010.

The findings suggest that overall population aging and rising obesity led to a decline in the quality of livers being harvested, and ultimately to an increase in the percentage of unused organs, the researchers write.

They also found that the number of livers donated after so-called cardiac deaths rose during the study period, and that those livers were more likely not to be used.

In traditional donations after brain death, the body's heart is still pumping and supplying blood to organs because it's still attached to life-support machines. In donation after cardiac death, those machines have been disconnected.

Because livers donated after cardiac death have sometimes been linked to worse outcomes after transplant compared to brain-death donations, the fact that more cardiac-death organs were discarded did not surprise the researchers.

They found that cardiac death livers made up a quarter of all unused livers by 2010, whereas in 1995 they were just one percent.

"The problem is that the standard (or brain death) donors seem to be decreasing over the last few years, and the number of (cardiac death) donors is increasing," said Orman.

One possible explanation, the researchers write, is that machines keeping the heart beating are being removed earlier, which would turn a potential brain death donation into a "less desirable" cardiac death donation. Though, there is no evidence to support this concern, Orman cautioned.

Orman told Reuters Health that one limitation of the new study is that he and his colleagues cannot say for certain why livers were discarded

"We couldn't look at the actual reasons, but we could look at associations," he said.

Dr. David Reich, professor and chief of transplantation at Drexel University and Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, said he agrees that organ donors are older, sicker and more obese, but he does not think cardiac deaths are "cannibalizing" the supply of potential brain-death livers.

Rather, he told Reuters Health, brain deaths are declining because of the advancement of neurological techniques.

"The cardiac deaths are growing because of changes in management by neurologists and neurosurgeons," he said. "That's good for patients but it's going to cost us some donors."
A 16-year-old California high school student has been identified as one of the youngest victims in a botulism outbreak linked to nacho cheese sold at a gas station. Jonathan Villasenor had stopped at Valley Oak Food and Fuel in Walnut Grove to purchase a snack and wound up on a ventilator in Oakland Childrens Hospital on April 25.

He was just doing what a normal kid does, go to the gas station, get a snack, Laura Uslan, the principal at Delta High School, where Villasenor is a student, told Fox 40. Hes a growing boy.

DAD DIES AFTER EATING GAS STATION NACHO CHEESE; 9 OTHERS HOSPITALIZED

Villasenor, who has since been taken off the ventilator and moved out of the hospitals intensive care unit, is responding to questions by squeezing his hand, Uslan told Fox 40.

Its been a real worry for all of us. Hes been very, very ill for over a month, Uslan said.

Villasenor is one of at least nine victims sickened in the outbreak that killed a 37-year-old father of two. Martin Galindo-Larious Jr. was taken off life support on May 18 after he had stopped at Valley Oak Food and Fuel in Walnut Grove last month. Tests by state health officials confirmed the botulism toxin in the nacho cheese, which was manufactured by Gehl Foods of Wisconsin.

Officials said the affected product was removed from the gas station on May 5.

GIRL DRAGGED INTO WATER BY SEA LION BEING TREATED FOR 'SEAL FINGER'

Botulism poisoning can lead to paralysis, breathing difficulty and even death. Survivors, including victims of the latest outbreak, are forced to spend weeks or months on ventilators. Patients affected by the current outbreak are being treated with an anti-toxin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Were wishing him to get better and come back to us real quickly, Uslan said of Villasenor. People have been talking, students have been talking and praying, and I saw them in the hall writing cards to him today.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover medical costs.
Heather Martin has been suffering from a debilitating thyroid condition for half of her life. At just 19, Martin was diagnosed with Hashimotos disease, which occurs when the immune system attacks the thyroid and causes patients to experience weight fluctuation, extreme exhaustion and hair loss.

On top of those symptoms, nodules grew in Martins neck creating a constant pressure and causing her to feel like she was choking. While typical treatment includes medicine and surgery, Martin, now 40, was concerned about the visual scar the operations 4-to-6-centemeter incision would leave on the front of her neck.

A NEW HEALTH BENEFIT OF CHOCOLATE: REDUCED RISK OF AFIB?

I tend to scar very purple and I didnt want this on my neck, Martin, of Olive Bridge, New York, told Fox News.

Though the scar may fade over time for some patients, Dr. Hyunsuk Suh, an assistant professor of surgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York, said that others may develop a hypertrophic or keloid scar. To combat these issues and offer another solution for patients, Suh uses a remote access approach which does not require any incisions through the neck.

Suh uses the bilateral axillary breast approach, also referred to as BABA, which he learned from surgeons in South Korea.

WOMAN ON DESPERATE SEARCH TO FIND DOCTOR WHO WILL OPERATE ON SON WITH RARE DISEASE

It involves making four small incisions in both the left and right skin fold of the axcilla, which is the armpit as well as the areola area where the light skin-to-dark skin discoloration begins, Suh, who is the only surgeon in the U.S. practicing the BABA approach, told Fox News.

The approach uses robotics to remove the thyroid gland through the four small incisions in a two-to-three hour procedure. Patients typically experience a simple recovery. Suh offers another option for patients using a transoral approach, in which the procedure is conducted through the inside of the patients lip.

My pain level was just about ixnay, Martin, who chose the BABA approach, said. I would say within two days I was able to swallow normally.
The girl who was pulled into the water by a sea lion in Vancouver over the weekend is receiving medical treatment to stave off any potential bacterial infection that could have infiltrated her system through a cut on her finger. The family, who has not been identified, contacted the Vancouver aquarium for help after hearing marine experts speak about seal finger during media interviews.

The family saw the media reports and got in touch with us, Deana Lancaster, the aquarium spokeswoman, told ABC News. She did get a superficial wound, and shes going to get the right treatment.

MOM GIVES BIRTH TO SEXTUPLETS AFTER 17-YEAR INFERTILITY STRUGGLE

Seal finger is caused by several types of Mycoplasma bacteria that are found in the mouths of sea mammals. If left untreated, the infection could turn severe, and even lead to a loss of fingers or limbs.

If any member of our animal care team receives a bite from a seal or sea lion, they take a letter from our vet with them to the hospital, which explains that the infection is resistant to some antibiotics, Lancaster told ABC News.

It is not clear what treatment the girl is receiving, but, according to the report, antibiotics such as tetracycline may be used on patients.

The dramatic incident was caught on camera by a college student who recorded it on his cellphone. Michael Fujiwara told the Vancouver Sun that the sea lion had attracted attention from tourists in the area, and that the girl and her family were possibly feeding the animal before it grabbed her and dragged her into the water.

TEXANS' DAVID QUESSENBERRY RETURNS TO PRACTICE AFTER COMPLETING CANCER TREATMENT

A family member dove in after her.

A marine mammal expert at the University of British Columbia said the family took a risk when they got close to the animal.

This was a male California sea lion, Andrew Trites told the CBC. They are not circus performers. Theyre not trained to be next to people.
A little over a week ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a press release warning that outbreaks of a parasite called Cryptosporidium, or Crypto, have doubled in the United States since 2014, from 16 to 32 cases. The diarrhea-causing parasite can infect people in pools and water parks, spreading when someone swallows  yup  water contaminated with the feces of a sick person.

In fact, most infections from public pools are due to Crypto, Federico Laham, MD, the medical director for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital Infectious Diseases, told Fox News. Thats because Crypto is more resistant to chlorine than your average bug: Usually, common concentrations of chlorine in public pools are not enough to kill the parasite, Laham explained.

JUST HOW MUCH PEE IS IN YOUR PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL?

Other infections you can get from public pools

But Crypto is far from the only disease lurking in public swimming pools. Some infections, like E. coli or Hepatitis A, are also transmitted from fecal matter that others then swallow in the pool. Other infections, like swimmers ear, occur when bacteria get inside your ear and start overgrowing, causing painful skin swelling, Laham said.

Another fun one? Lice. Laham explained that you can actually get lice from infected public swimming pools, though your chances are reduced if you have your hair up in a ponytail or bun. Otherwise, Laham said, your hair is essentially mopping up the pool to pick up lice.

But there is some good news: Youre not likely to get a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from a pool, Laham said.

5 STRANGE THINGS THAT CAN INCREASE YOUR RISK OF GETTING AN STI

How to protect yourself

There are a few easy ways to protect yourself: First, avoid swallowing water. Try to keep your ears dry and your hair up, and dont go swimming if you have an open wound or diarrhea, Laham said. Make sure the public pool youre going to is visibly well maintained and operated  you should be able to smell the chlorine, Laham explained. And, when youre done swimming, shower and rinse off all excess chlorine and chemicals.

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The small town of Akin, Illinois is the heartbeat of the heartland. Its a place where the crops are bountiful and so are the patriots.

They dont even have a post office in Akin  but they do have a church. And around this part of the country, church is what folks do.

Click here for a free subscription to Todds newsletter: a must read for Conservatives!

So you can understand the concern among townsfolk when the salutatorian at Akin Grade School was told he could not deliver his graduation speech because it was too religious.

Seth Clark, 13, was mighty proud of that speech. He referenced God and quoted from the Bible and even mentioned his Christian faith.

But just hours before graduation, Seth was told that he would not be permitted to deliver his remarks.



To continue reading Todd's column from Toddstarnes.com, click here.
Everyone wants a number to predict their future, especially when it comes to their health. We want to believe health insurance is a buffer against illness and death  but as a practicing physician, I can tell you that this concept is abstract sometimes, rather than real.

This week, the health care world was rocked by two numbers with opposite impact. The first was that, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, average ObamaCare premiums have increased a whopping 105 percent (from $232 in 2013 to $476 in 2017) in the 39 states using the federal exchange. Combine this with the fact that Aetna has dropped out of all ObamaCare exchanges, UnitedHealthcare is down from 34 exchanges to a handful and Blue Cross this week dropped out of exchanges in Kansas and Missouri, and you dont have to be a health policy expert to realize that the Affordable Care Act is unaffordable for patients and unprofitable for insurers.

Its in big trouble. As HHS Secretary Price tweeted Thursday morning, #Obamacare = Higher costs and fewer choices.

The second number was 23 million, the number of people the Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday predicted will lose their health insurance by 2026 if the American Health Care Act, the bill the House passed to replace ObamaCare, is passed in the Senate and signed by President Trump. This number is concerning  until you look at it and the CBOs handling of the health care bills more closely.

First, the CBO was wildly inaccurate when it came to ObamaCare, predicting that 23 million people would be getting policies via the exchanges by 2016. The actual number ended up being only 10.4 million, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Forty-five percent of those who chose to pay the tax penalty rather than the soaring premiums for policies that covered many services they didnt need were under the age of 35.

Second, many who chose to buy insurance on the exchanges did so only because they wanted to avoid paying the penalty, not because they needed or wanted the insurance. Many didnt buy insurance until they got sick. In fact, one of the reasons Aetna gave for dropping out of the exchanges last year was that 55 percent of its customers were new and most were sick or high-risk. So, many who choose to drop out now never wanted this insurance in the first place.

Third, a high percentage of those the CBO predicts will lose their insurance are Medicaid patients. As of last year, over 14 million adults have enrolled in Medicaid as a result of the ACA. It is unlikely that Medicaid reform will remain in the new bill after it is transformed in the more centrist Senate, especially when you consider that 20 Republican senators are from the 32 states that have chosen the Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare. It is more likely Medicaid will be reformed and made more efficient, with bridge-to-jobs programs and premium buy-ins added for more extensive services. If the Medicaid expansion (and its 14 million plus patients) is kept, the CBO prediction would likely be much lower, less than 10 million.

Its easy to use numbers to define health realities, but life is far different in the doctors office. What patients really want is access to basic health care, delivered by a doctor they can trust at an affordable price. Patients want choices, not narrow networks of providers and services and deductibles so high they never reach them. They dont want to be forced to buy an insurance plan that promises them services that we doctors just cant deliver.

Patients want a chance to purchase affordable insurance that covers actual problems they may have. A new health law can deliver that and cover most, if not all, of the population if it offers as an option the kind of scaled-down coverage that patients would have chosen to buy under ObamaCare even if they werent forced to.
How is it possible for a person to be seen in a positive light while simultaneously making insinuating inferences about a potential crime committed behind closed doors yet failing to do anything about that crime aside from writing a memorandum filed away in a desk drawer?

From all reports, this is precisely what recently fired FBI Director James Comey has done.

Much has been said and written about the head-spinning circumstance of having the very same people who only months ago demanded that Comey resign or be removed from office now feigning outrage over the news that he was fired.

Was firing Comey a good idea only if orchestrated by Democrats, outraged over the FBIs treatment of Hillary Clinton? This question bears repeating, since it does much to contradict the furor and self-righteousness that accompanies the this is even worse than Watergate! cries from liberals and their fellow travelers in the mainstream media.

Nobody can predict with 100 percent certitude where the investigation of possible connections between the Trump for President Committee and the Russians will lead. We do know that even the most ordinary and common of actions have been portrayed in the most negative light. For example, a Russian diplomat briefly encountering now Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a public setting, along with other foreign diplomats, at the 2016 Republican National Convention is portrayed as a failure by Sessions to be honest about his relationships with the Russians in his testimony before Congress during his confirmation hearings.

Thus far, virtually any tangential evidence implying the Trump campaign was in cahoots with the Russians warrants a front-page story. Does it not seem strange that if in fact there was a smoking gun the information would have already been leaked?

This brings us back to James Comey and his discussions with President Trump.

Based on media reports, President Trump basically expressed a hope (a little different than a request, much less an order) that it would be possible for Comey and the FBI to drop its investigation of the recently sacked National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn. This is now prominently described as possible obstruction of justice by a sitting President.

So, what exactly did James Comey do after this exchange with the President? According to multiple reports, he wrote a memorandum and put it in a safe place. Will any of the latter-day Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein disciples be inclined to inquire about his motives?

Lets remember that James Comey is not just some bureaucrat. He is a prosecutor by trade and nature. Prosecutors do not record criminal action. They prosecute it. This is standard operating procedure, and nobody knows this fact better than James Comey.

So what happened here? Is it possible that Mr. Comey kept the memorandum to himself in order to have something to use at a later date for his own self-interest? The first director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, was legendary for having information that could be damaging to presidents, letting them know he had it, and keeping it private while instilling a fear in them of what could happen if they decided to fire Mr. Hoover.

And what else might Comey have felt the need to note in a memorandum?

While Congressional leaders are demanding to see any and all memorandums that Comey wrote concerning the Russian-Trump campaign investigation, maybe they could also request memorandums on all subjects that Comey might have chronicled during his tenure.

For example, what happened between then-Senator Jeff Sessions and the Russian diplomat last summer? Just what should we call what happened between former President Bill Clinton and then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the midst of the investigation of Hillary Clintons emails and private server? How about Susan Rice and Benghazi? For that matter, what about President Barack Obama and the actions of the Internal Revenue Service? If complete knowledge and transparency is important, presumably it applies to administrations of both parties.

James Comey served his country in public office for many years. This does not mean he should be given a blank check concerning his actions with President Trump. Even more so, it does not mean Americans should suspend suspicions that his motives have been less than pure and more about self-interest. It also does not mean his failure to act upon what is being called an obstruction of justice is acceptable.

The time has come for everyone to come clean. And, this includes James Comey.
The bad news for President Donald Trump keeps coming his way, notwithstanding a generally bravura performance on the foreign stage this past week in Riyadh, Jerusalem and Vatican City. Yet while he was overseas, his colleagues here in the United States have been advising him to hire criminal defense counsel, and he has apparently begun that process. Can the president be charged with obstructing justice when he asks that federal investigations of his friends be shut down?

Most legal scholars agree that the president cannot be prosecuted while in office and that the appropriate remedy for presidential criminal wrongdoing is impeachment.

Impeachment, of course, is traumatic for the country, as it involves Congress' dislodging from the presidency the person validly, legally and constitutionally entitled to hold it. Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives serves as a sort of grand jury and determines whether to impeach by a simple majority vote. The charge must be for treason, bribery or another high crime that strikes at the integrity of the government. Obstruction of justice -- interfering with a criminal prosecution -- is probably one of those crimes.

I say "probably" because, though the Supreme Court has not ruled on this, it formed the basis of the charges brought against President Richard Nixon and those prosecuted against President Bill Clinton, and the legal community has generally accepted obstruction of justice as the type of high crime intended by the Framers to be a basis for impeachment. Nixon resigned from office prior to impeachment. Clinton was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate, which failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to convict him and remove him from office.

What is the case against President Trump?

The short answer is: So far, nothing. Though I did not vote for Trump and though I differ with him on many issues and on his tone and manner of governing, he is the president, and I want him to succeed in shrinking the government and liberating the free market. Nevertheless, there are forces at work inside the government and elsewhere that have leaked a disturbing series of private communications involving the president. This leaked information can fairly be characterized as painting a picture of a president fearful of a criminal investigation, long underway by the FBI, and determined to impede it.

The New York Times has reported on Trumps efforts to persuade then-FBI Director James Comey to cease the investigation of retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, as well as of the Trump campaign. The unsupported allegations against Flynn are that he was a secret foreign agent at the time he was the presidents national security adviser. The unsupported allegations against the Trump campaign are that it conspired with Russian intelligence agents to influence the presidential campaign by hacking into the computers of Trumps adversaries.

Trumps detractors claim that he attempted to place material impediments between the FBI and his former colleagues, including Flynn, when he asked Comey to dial back the investigation and then fired Comey when he declined to do so. The Washington Post has reported that Trump again attempted to place roadblocks in the way of the FBI investigation by asking the director of national intelligence and the director of the National Security Agency to deny publicly the existence of any evidence of Trump campaign and Russian collusion during the campaign.

Both directors declined to do as the president wished, even though one of them, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, had just been appointed by the president and the other, Adm. Mike Rogers, is legally obligated to follow the orders of the president as commander in chief, unless he believes that the orders are unlawful.

Pertinent to all of this is the concept of the unitary executive. That concept, which was accepted in theory by the federal government until the Watergate era, states that the president is the chief executive officer of the federal government and therefore everyone in the executive branch works for him. Because he and he alone in the executive branch is answerable to the voters, this theory relates, there can be no people or entities in that branch that are not subject to him. Were this not so, then vast areas of governance would take place and vast amounts of government resources would be spent by those not answerable to the people, and that would violate the right of the people to be governed by a government to which a majority of the voters in the states have consented.

Under the unitary executive theory, the FBI director and the director of national intelligence, as well as the director of the NSA and everyone else who works in the executive branch, are obliged to follow all orders and requests of the president or resign and then reveal the reasons for their resignations. Under the theory of those who champion the resistance to what they claim were Trumps efforts to impede the FBI investigations, the resisters have a moral and ethical duty to pursue wrongdoing that is arguably violative of federal law, notwithstanding the presidents wishes -- especially if that wrongdoing has been committed or facilitated by the president himself. They argue that if President Trump does not want Flynn or his own campaign colleagues to be prosecuted for whatever reason, he can pardon them and thereby legally and constitutionally terminate the investigations. There would be enormous political consequences for doing that but no legal consequences for the people pardoned.

Which side is right under the law? There is no generally accepted answer here. But if Donald Trump wants to stay in office, he needs to be well-grounded in the powers of the presidency and their just and lawful use. He could govern by prudent public orders and take his chances, or he could govern by private personal intimidations and take his chances. But the latter would be far more dangerous to his tenure in office.
The sickening Manchester bombing  targeting young girls at a pop music concert -- reminds us that sixteen years after 9/11, the West has yet to get it right when it comes to defending ourselves against Muslim terrorists.

Last Sunday, the day before the attack, President Trump delivered a major speech in Saudi Arabia that lays out a new foreign policy strategy against such terror. Will it be make a difference? Would it have made a difference in Manchester?

In the speech, the United States officially recognized  for the first time - that there is an ideology of Islamist extremism behind the terror attacks proliferated worldwide by various Muslim actors.

While dropping his un-nuanced campaign phrase radical Islamic terror, Trumps speech did not soften his core idea  namely, that much of todays terror is rooted in Islamist ideology. He pleaded with Muslim leaders to begin honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires.

It would appear obvious that this ideology was behind the Manchester bombing. ISIS claim of authorship for the attack is one short paragraph replete with politicized religious terms: Crusaders (the victims); soldier of the Caliphate (the suicide bomber); and worshippers of the Cross (future terror targets).

But what might appear to be common sense to most Americans has until now been studiously avoided by Americas leaders. Afraid of being labeled Islamophobic by strident activists, both Republican and Democratic presidents have declared that Islam is a religion of peace and left it at that. The attacks in New York and San Bernardino were deemed senseless acts of terror or violent extremism.

Not so with Trump.

He declares that Muslim nations must be willing to take on the burden, if we are going to defeat terrorism and send its wicked ideology into oblivion.

Strong words.

He urges that we unite against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.

Trump delivered the speech at ground zero for Islamist extremist ideology, Saudi Arabia, and before an audience of fifty Muslim powers. As I and others have documented, Saudi textbooks have been exported globally, spreading Wahabbi ideology of hatred and violence against Jews, Christians, blasphemers and apostates against Islam, gays and others. Saudi texts were used by ISIS.

Despite, or maybe because of this, the president challenged his Saudi hosts to lead this effort.

Trumps proposed strategy goes beyond Obamas policy of empowering local militaries. He presses Muslim political and religious leaders to condemn the terrorists, on moral grounds, and to deprive them of financing and sanctuary.

While explicitly rejecting a clash of civilizations, the speech describes the threat we face as a battle between Good and Evil. The president warns that unless we stand in uniform condemnation of this killing  we will be judged by God. It reflects a religious worldview that, based on my own experience in Saudi Arabia and meetings with conservative Muslim leaders, can resonate in the region.

Theres no doubt Trumps breakthrough recognition of Islamist ideology could strengthen Western counter-terrorism efforts. Could it have made a difference in Manchester?

Emerging facts reveal that British security had been repeatedly tipped off about the future bombers embrace of Islamist ideology. According to the BBC, he told friends that being a suicide bomber was ok. This, along with his reported travel to Syria and Libya, should have prompted surveillance leading to arrest.

Trump is right to lift the taboos that have often prevented the West from recognizing Islamist ideology to be the red flag it is.

Trump is also right to demand that these nations give no quarter to terrorists. It now appears that the Manchester suicide bomber was not a self-radicalized, lone wolf. He was supported by a network rooted in the Arab world.

The truth is Middle Eastern leaders are unlikely to do their part in transforming their extremist cultures without sustained American pressure and engagement.

As for Arab states support of ISIS, al Qaeda and Hamas, their still-toxic textbooks and blasphemy laws, the president had very little to say. Iran was the only state Trump named by name in his speech for sponsoring terror. This is to be expected, perhaps, as he emphasized a renewed partnership with these Arab states, but all this must also end if terrorist ideology is to be sent into oblivion. The same needs to be said for terrorized Middle Eastern Christians who are leaving the region in droves, yet Trump appealed in only the vaguest of terms for making possible that every man and woman, no matter their faith or ethnicity, can enjoy a life of dignity and hope.

Trump calls the path-breaking foreign policy strategy he articulated Principled Realism. And it very well could work. Ultimately, its success will depend on his administrations policy actions, not only words.
After all the worry over President Trump's criticisms of the NATO alliance, it certainly looks like he is making the alliance significantly stronger.

The president landed in Brussels on Wednesday, kicking off the last leg of his first international trip as president.

Allies are learning something that's taking the American media a long time to understand. Donald Trump does not care about theory, about globalism, or about "the way weve always done it. He is a man of action and results.

The president will continue to meet with European leaders to discuss a variety of issues. But President Trump's priorities will be combatting Islamist terrorism and securing NATO's official commitment to become a much more active partner in that effort.

A corollary of this, of course, is urging individual NATO countries to up their financial contributions to meet the security needs of the alliance.

After remarks during the campaign doubting the contributions of NATO to the security of the United States (that's why each member nation is part of the alliance, right? For its own security?) Trump administration officials including Vice President Mike Pence, secretaries of State and Defense Tillerson and Mattis, and ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have reiterated the U.S. commitment to the alliance, and in particular, Article V, the mechanism that requires each member nation to come to the defense of any and all other members should they be attacked.

Since becoming president, Trump has signaled he is looking more favorably on NATO.

But claims that the president merely had a knowledge deficit and has only now learned to appreciate NATO dont have it exactly right. It isn't the president who has changed, at least, not in principle. NATO allies have changed. And that has had the effect of changing the presidents mind on the policy.

Trump seems not to have been opposed to NATO in principle. He was (and is) opposed to alliances that to his mind do not further the security of Americans.

But if NATO allies recommit to the purpose of the alliance, prove it by prioritizing meeting the two percent of GDP minimum for defense spending, and get much more serious about helping in the counter-terrorism campaign, the alliance will be an even greater asset to international stability, relax some of the burden on Americans in precious blood and treasure, and increase the security of Americans.

For all the criticism Trump has received about his demands for most NATO allies to contribute more (only the United States, Greece, the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Poland meet the two percent minimum), previous presidents, including President Obama, made those same demands.

But now allies are finally responding and are already committing more money. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a

joint press conference with President Trump, In 2016, for the first time in many years, we saw an increase in defense spending across European Allies and Canada. A real increase of 3.8 percent. Or $10 billion dollars more for our defense. Its reasonable to expect more. And as much as the alliance has contributed to the war against Islamist terrorists since 9/11, we can expect more help there, too.

So what's different?

Allies are taking President Trump's demands on the alliance seriously-- deadly seriously.

NATO allies, particularly Russia's closest neighbors, need the alliance for their very survival. Russia continues to threaten Poland and the Baltic states, and to deter Russian aggression, there must be a strong show of NATO solidarity, most importantly, American solidarity with NATO.

No doubt NATO will get that from the American president Thursday, and Americans will be the beneficiaries of a more stable Europe and a rejuvenated international coalition to seek and destroy Islamist extremists.

Allies are learning something that's taking the American media a long time to understand.

Donald Trump does not care about theory, about globalism, or about "the way weve always done it. He is a man of action and results.

Just like every other nation's leader, President Trump is doggedly committed to fighting for his own country's interests.

The question he seems to ask when approaching agreements and treaties is: does this help the United States of America? The only answer that will do is yes, and then he demands proof of the benefit.

Has the president's calling into question NATO's contemporary usefulness been uncomfortable and, especially to vulnerable allies, unnerving? Undoubtedly.

But every good negotiator knows the one willing to walk away from the deal is the one who truly gets to set the terms. (Just ask Iran about President Obamas Iran deal.)

And President Trump's approach to NATO looks to be resulting in very good things for the United States of America: a stronger, new and improved NATO that will be excellent for all of its members.
A phony Russian document influenced the way the FBI handled the investigation into Hillary Clintons server, according to The Washington Post.

During the middle of the 2016 presidential primary season, the bureau received a purported Russian intelligence document detailing an implicit deal between Clintons campaign and the Justice Department regarding the inquiry into her private email server, the paper said.

The document, obtained by the FBI, described how the Attorney General at the time, Loretta Lynch, had privately assured a Clinton campaign member that the email investigation would not go too far, the Post reported.

Receipt of the document then allegedly helped influence the July decision by then-FBI Director James Comey to announce on his own, without the Justice Departments involvement, that the investigation into Clinton was finished and that no charges against Clinton would be forthcoming.

The public announcement set off an uproar on both sides of the political spectrum.

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP APPROVAL DOWN, VOTERS SUPPORT SPECIAL COUNSEL ON RUSSIA

According to The Post, the FBI later determined that the document was illegitimate. It may have been a fake sent to confuse the bureau, people familiar with its contents told the paper.

The Americans mentioned in a purported email exchange in the document have since insisted that they dont know each other, dont speak to one another and never had conversations like those detailed in the document.

By August, the month after Comeys public announcement, the FBI had concluded that the document was bogus, the Post said.

The paper's report comes amid new developments in the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Top Russian intelligence and political officials discussed ways to gain influence over Trump through his advisers during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times.

Conversations between the officials targeted Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman for Trump at the time and Michael Flynn, the retired general who was advising Trump during the campaign. American spies collected the information last summer, according to the Times.

SOURCE: COMEY READY TO TALK TO SPECIAL COUNSEL IN RUSSIA PROBE

Both Manafort and Flynn, who was later hired and fired as Trumps national security adviser, had indirect links to Russian officials. The officials allegedly felt confident that each man could be used to help shape Trumps opinions on Russia.

Some of the Russian officials involved in the communications bragged about how well they knew Flynn while others discussed utilizing ties between Viktor F. Yanukovych, the deposed Ukranian president living in exile in Russia, and Manafort, according to the report.

Both Manafort and Yanukovych previously worked closely together.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose contacts with foreign dignitaries, including the Russian ambassador, on a security clearance form he submitted as a United States senator last year, the Justice Department acknowledged Wednesday.



The department said Sessions' staff relied on the guidance of the FBI investigator handling the background check, who advised that meetings with foreign dignitaries "connected with Senate activities" did not have to be reported on the form.



The news comes just two months after Sessions recused himself from a Justice Department investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign after it was revealed that he had two previously undisclosed encounters, last summer and fall, with the Russian ambassador. Sessions said at his Senate confirmation hearing that he had not any communication "with the Russians."



In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said Sessions met with hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign dignitaries while in the Senate. Prior said Sessions' staff consulted with the FBI and others familiar with the disclosure process, and was told not to list those meetings connected to his Senate job.

CNN first reported the omissions.



Also Wednesday, the FBI told a House committee that it would not be complying with a Wednesday deadline to turn over memos written by former FBI Director James Comey detailing his discussions with President Donald Trump. One memo reportedly recounts Trump pressuring Comey to shut down an investigation into the foreign ties of foreign national security adviser Michael Flynn.



Lawmakers conducting their own probe continued to pressure Flynn to cooperate by raising the prospect of additional subpoenas, while Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, told The Associated Press he would testify next month before the House intelligence committee.



Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence services obtained information during the 2016 presidential election that showed senior Russian officials discussing how to influence Trump through his campaign advisers.



Citing three current and former American officials, the Times said U.S. intelligence officials collected information last summer showing Russians zeroed in on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, a former head of U.S. military intelligence who was a key Trump campaign adviser. The Russian officials thought Manafort and Flynn could be used to influence Trump's views on Russia.



The Times said some of the officials bragged about ties to Flynn. Others thought they could use Manafort's association with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who led a pro-Russian political party, to their advantage, the Times reported.



A day earlier, former CIA Director John Brennan told a House committee that he had seen intelligence that "revealed contacts and interactions" between Russian officials and Americans "involved" in the Trump campaign -- a cause for concern in case the Russians could get the Americans to cooperate.



During a breakfast Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the House intelligence committee's ranking member, told reporters that Flynn declined to turn over records to the committee, and he said it will be "following up with subpoenas." He did not elaborate on what materials the committee was seeking.



The attempts to compel Flynn to produce documents were just another sign of the intense focus on Trump's former national security adviser, who was fired in February after the White House said he misled administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials.



In addition to the congressional scrutiny, Flynn is currently a target of an FBI counterintelligence investigation, a federal probe in Virginia and a Defense Department inspector general's inquiry into the propriety of foreign payments he accepted.



In a letter to the Senate committee on Monday, Flynn invoked his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination in deflecting the panel's subpoena for a wide array of documents and information related to his contacts with Russians.



Flynn's attorneys argued that the Senate's request was too broad, and if Flynn were to comply, he could be confirming the existence of some documents and, in effect, providing testimony that could be used against him. They also said an "escalating public frenzy" against Flynn and the appointment of a special counsel had created a legally perilous environment for Flynn to provide the information.



In response, the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday sent a letter narrowing its request for documents. It also issued subpoenas seeking documents from two of Flynn's businesses-- Flynn Intel Group Inc., a consulting firm owned by Flynn and his business partners, and Flynn Intel Group LLC, a company he used for other projects, such as his paid speeches.



Flynn could choose to contest the congressional subpoenas seeking his business records, but legal experts said he would not prevail.



Solomon L. Wisenberg, a Washington defense lawyer who worked as a prosecutor during the Starr investigation of President Bill Clinton, said both of Flynn's corporate structures would likely have to turn over all business records sought by the committee. "The Fifth Amendment privilege does not apply to business entities, period," he said, adding that both Supreme Court and District of Columbia Circuit Court rulings would weigh on the committee's side.



While Flynn decides what, if anything, he'll provide to Congress, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said the FBI will not be turning over memos and other materials that detail discussions between Comey and Trump.



Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in an interview on CNN that the FBI sent his committee a two-sentence email saying that it would not be turning over the materials now that the Justice Department has appointed a special counsel. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was appointed as special counsel, is overseeing an investigation into Russia's meddling in the election and whether there was any collusion with Trump associates.



Chaffetz said he is considering issuing a subpoena for the documents, and he wants a better explanation from the FBI about why it's not turning them over.



The FBI declined comment.



Meanwhile, Page said Wednesday that details are still being worked out about his testimony before the House intelligence committee next month. Page said he expects to testify sometime during the week of June 6 and wants at least part of his testimony to be public. ABC News first reported Page's planned testimony.



Page is one of several people associated with Trump's campaign who are under investigation over their ties to Russia. Page has denied any involvement in Russian attempts to influence the election.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tried to focus on President Trumps budget plans to create sustainable growth for all Americans at a congressional hearing Monday - but lawmakers pressed him on issues ranging from entitlement reform, the border adjustment tax and even whether cuts to the IRS were too steep.

Mnuchin opened his remarks with the assertion that the number one priority was creating sustainable economic growth, but conceded that would require making tough choices.

We are currently bearing the costs of excessive government commitments of previous years, and this has forced us into hard choices, he told members of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Tex, however, noted that the secretarys statement ignored or did not mention dealing with the national debt, or the need to reform Social Security and Medicare.

Mnuchin responded that he looked forward to working with the committee, but then urged them to address a more immediate priority.

I urge you to raise the debt limit before you leave for the summer, he said, adding that he favored moving on a clean bill without controversial add-ons that could complicate its passage.

In March, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal government would hit the $20 trillion debt limit in the fall.

His plea for swift and smooth action could be a clue the administration is reluctant to engage in a broader and perhaps bloodier fight over the budget.

President Trump was overseas when his first budget was released to Congress on Tuesday, leaving cabinet officials to explain the $4.1 trillion budget plan and how it would balance the budget in ten years.

Ranking committee member Richard Neal of Massachusetts cautioned the Treasury Secretary that Democrats would approach every proposal in the budget from the standpoint of whether it moves the dial for middle class Americans.

Less diplomatic was Rep. John Lewis, who contended the budget is simply more money for war, for guns, for weapons, and that it leaves the poor and vulnerable behind.

The Georgia Democrat even decried cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, insinuating the agency lacked funding to collect taxes. Mnuchin said he was comfortable with the IRS budget.

The Treasury Secretary fielded questions from both sides of the aisle on the border adjustment tax, which is a proposed 20 percent tax on imported goods as a way to overhaul the nations tax system.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other backers contend the tax is a boost to U.S. manufacturers and could raise $1 trillion over 10 years, but opponents argue it would increase costs on everyday necessities like food, gas, clothing and prescription medicines for the average family by as much as $1,700 in the first year alone.

Michigan Democrat Sander Levin unsuccessfully pressed Mnuchin on whether he would guarantee there would be no upper class tax cut.

The presidents objective is to have a middle income tax cut and that is consistent with what I said earlier, responded Mnuchin.

The gentlemanly treatment given Mnuchin was a contrast to the more combative return to Capitol Hill of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

Appearing before the House Appropriations Committee, DeVos said the budget reflects Trumps desire to improve educational opportunities for all students, while also refocusing the Federal role in education.

She also touted their efforts to save taxpayers $5.8 billion through the elimination or phase-out of 22 programs that are duplicative or better supported through local or philanthropic efforts.

Trumps budget proposes cutting $10.6 billion from federal education initiatives, including after-school programs, while reinvesting $1.4 billion of the savings into promoting school choice, which includes $250 million for vouchers.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Callif., voiced concern about plans to cut $1.7 million from its Office of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination complaints.

"To me, it's outrageous," she said, "for you to sit here and say that it's OK if parents and local communities discriminate. It's very sad, shocking and disappointing."
Senators Jeff Flake and Tim Kaine introduced on Thursday a bipartisan Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and the Taliban that, if passed, could be the first such resolution since 2002.

Flake, R-Ariz., and Kaine, D-Va., both sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and are pushing to authorize the use of military force against Islamist terrorist organizations and establish a process for congressional oversight of where fighting against ISIS, Al Qaeda and the Taliban can occur, beyond Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.

The AUMF would repeal and replace the 2001 AUMF, which gave the Bush administration authorization to use all necessary and appropriate force against those who planned, aided and carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The new resolution would also repeal the 2002 AUMF against Iraq.

It is our constitutional duty in Congress to authorize military action, yet weve stood silent as administrations have stretched the 2001 AUMF far beyond its original purpose, Kaine said, adding that most current members of Congress were not yet-elected during the vote for the original AUMF. It is time for Congress to fulfill its duty by putting its stamp on the current fight and to reaffirm its commitment to defeating ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban.

The AUMF would allow for an expedited process to reauthorize the AUMF in five years, and would require President Trump to report to Congress with a strategy to protect the U.S. from ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban.

Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama relied on AUMF authorities to pursue any military action against Islamist terrorist organizations. Obama proposed AUMF in 2015, specifically to target forces fighting for, alongside, or on behalf of, ISIS, but did not include authority for U.S. Armed Forces to endure ground combat operations, but Congress declined to consider the proposal.

Other lawmakers, like Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. and Rep. Adam Kingzinger, R-Ill., proposed legislation, but neither were considered.

When I voted in 2001 to authorize military force against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks, I had no idea I would be authorizing armed conflict for more than 15 years, and counting, Flake said. It is past time for Congress to voice its support for the war against ISIS, something many military officers and diplomats working to defeat ISIS have advocated for, and for Congress to reassert some of the authority it has abdicated over the years.

Former deputy assistant secretary of defense detainee affairs, now senior legal fellow at Heritage Foundation, Cully Stimson, broke down the difference between war and AUMF.

AUMF is not a declaration of war, its broader, Stimson told Fox News. A declaration of war is against a country, AUMF can be against non-state actors, like terrorist groups.

Fox News Contributor Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News that a new AUMF is necessary.

The one were using now is dated and not truly appropriate for ISIS. Our military is always strengthened when Congress is in support of them, Keane told Fox News. If Congress leaves the strategy and force levels to the executive branch and authorizes the use of military force for a specific purpose, then that is very appropriate.
By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea



Geno's Bambino is being fine-tuned by his owner Kate Anderson for the upcoming Arapahoe Park meet. But the 6-year-old Decarchy gelding is doing more than just breezing like a typical racehorse in training. Anderson and the Golden Creek Equine staff have been training "Geno" in classical dressage and even experimenting with some trail work when he's not at the track.

"I took some of the classical dressage theories to train Geno," said Anderson, who runs Golden Creek near Cheyenne, Wyo. "Because my background is in equine biomechanics, I figured if we can help dressage horses have longer careers and be more efficient with their movement, then surely we can do that with racehorses."

Mostly running in lower-level claiming races, Geno's Bambino has a 4-6-9 record from 38 career starts. Anderson first claimed the gelding at Arapahoe Park in June 2015. He raced two more times that Arapahoe season, finishing in the money both times for his new owner. From there, Anderson took him back to Golden Creek and began his dressage training that winter.

"We taught him how to move his hindquarters better, how to lift his withers like a dressage horse, and push from the hindquarters," she said. "He developed a lot more strength in his hindquarters.

"One of the problems he had when we got him was that he'd be a little slow out of the gate, and he stumbled in one race pretty badly. After we worked with him (in dressage) he started to break better."

In Geno's first race back that following March he was claimed from Anderson. Missing her former charge's sweet disposition and hard-working mentality, she knew she had to get him back. And she did, claiming him again last August in a 5 1/2-furlong race at Arapahoe, which he won by a half-length.

This past winter "Geno" engaged in more dressage training and even a bit of competitive trail.

"He wants to work. He wants to run, that's all he wants to do, and he's happy to do it," said Kaitlyn Rinker, who works with Anderson at Golden Creek Equine. "When he's off, he almost gets into a depressed mood. He wants to be working.

"I think that's what makes him such a great athlete," she added. "I think there's a lot of off-track and current racehorses just like him. Right now he's been doing so well and showing everyone that he's not an anomaly. He's fantastic."



Geno's Bambino and Kaitlyn Rinker at Colorado's Most Wanted Thoroughbred. Photo: The Galloping Lane Photography



The cross-training hasn't only helped Geno perform on the track, his connections think that it could help more easily make the transition to a new owner and career when he's finished racing. And since the gelding has an aptitude for other disciplines and the willingness to work, Rinker brought him to this year's Colorado's Most Wanted Thoroughbred Contest in March as part of the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in Denver. While Geno and Rinker didn't bring home the top prize, Geno will be giving it another shot this fall in either dressage or competitive trail at the 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover Oct. 5-8 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

"We're shooting for him to race at Arapahoe again in mid-to-late June," Anderson said, adding that he'll keep racing as long as he's happy and sound. "He's going to have quite a busy summer. In mid-June he has his first dressage show, and he's slated to go to the Thoroughbred Makeover in October."

The success with Geno has made Anderson wonder what other talent is waiting to be uncovered in racehorses looking for a second career, so much so that she's launched her own nonprofit called the Center for Racehorse Retraining to help runners find homes off the track.

"We started the Center for Racehorse Retraining because we realized that there were a lot of horses like Genothey're good minded, they're sound, they've been handled well," she said. "We started the nonprofit as a way to create the middleman between the weekend riders and the track."

As talented and willing as Geno is, Anderson doesn't think he's the only racehorse who is capable of tackling two disciplines at once.

"I think the most important thing is we learned with him is that he's not the anomaly," she said. "A lot of people could do what we're doing. These horses are happy to work and they're happy to cross-train, too. Geno is an awesome horse, but there are a lot like him."
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that Greg Gianforte, the GOP House candidate charged with assaulting a reporter, should apologize but added that it is now up to voters in Montana to choose whether they want him as their representative in Congress.

"There's never a call for physical altercations," Ryan told reporters during his weekly press conference. "That is wrong and it should not have happened."

"I think he should apologize," Ryan added.

The incident occurred when a Fox News team was scheduled to interview Gianforte at his campaign headquarters. The team said Ben Jacobs, a reporter from The Guardian, pressed Gianforte about the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act.

Gianforte told Jacobs to talk to his press officer. At some point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground, according to witnesses.

The Gallatin County Sheriffs Office said in a statement that there was probable cause to issue a citation, but the nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of a felony assault.

If hes found guilty, Gianforte faces a $500 fine and up to 6 months in jail.

Gianforte, a former software executive, had the slight edge over his Democratic challenger Rob Quist, a country music performer, to fill the vacant House seat leading up to Thursdays election. The majority of voters were expected to have already cast their ballots by early voting so it is unclear how much Wednesdays events will have on election results.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it would launch as many Facebook ads as possible about the incident, targeting Montana Democratic voters who might not otherwise vote Thursday. The committee also said Gianforte must quit the race and the Republican Party should publicly denounce him.

Three of Monatanas biggest newspapers  The Missoulian, the Billings Gazette and the Independent Record - pulled their endorsement from Gianforte after an audio recording of the encounter went viral.

The editorial board at the Billings Gazette wrote, "We previously supported Gianforte because he said he was ready to listen, to compromise, to take the tough questions. Everything he said was obliterated by his surprising actions that were recorded and witnessed Wednesday."

Gianforte had been slated to appear on "Americas News Headquarters" with Sandra Smith at 2 p.m. but a representative for the candidate said he would not be doing any national interviews following Wednesdays incident.
President Trumps meeting with Pope Francis seemed to capture not just the success hes having on this foreign trip, but the progress hes made since he and the pontiff were at odds during the campaign.

The honor of a lifetime, Trump tweeted.

Now its true the Pope looked stern in the initial photo op with Trump and his family, but things appeared to warm up, despite the fact that, as the New York Times put it, the two men symbolize starkly different views of the world.

The Vatican visit yesterday also capped a Trump tour involving the worlds three great monotheistic religions, first in Saudi Arabia and then in Israel.

The pundits initially viewed the nine-day journey as an attempted distraction from their preferred story, the Russia investigation. But there is a growing recognition that this non-politician has handled himself well on the world stage and that a White House usually depicted as chaotic managed to meticulously plan the visit.

There was a single misstep, when Trump insisted with Bibi Netanyahu that he hadnt told Russian diplomats about Israel providing classified intelligencethus confirming itbut the rest of the trip has gone smoothly.

Just look at the coverage:

Wall Street Journal: Trump Tells Pope Francis: I Wont Forget What You Said.

Politico: Trump Ditches His Feud in Gracious Visit with Pope.

Perhaps more important was this sidebar: How Trump Aides Pulled Off Middle East Visit. (Spoiler: Lots of planning.)

Washington Post: The pair seemed to set aside their differences from last years campaign, with Trump appearing both presidential and deferential, while the pope, smiling slightly, seemed to be visually appraising him.

None of this disguises the differences between the two leaders. It was telling that Trump gave the Pope books by Martin Luther King while Francis gave him his encyclical on the environment.

It was a little more than a year ago that the Pope took a swipe at candidate Trumps proposals on building a border wall and deporting illegal immigrants. A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian, the pontiff said.

Trumps rejoinder: If and when the Vatican is attacked, the Pope would only wish and have prayed that Donald Trump would have been elected president.

Seems like eons ago.

CNNs Chris Cillizza agrees that Trump has had a good trip, but says thats because aides constructed an almost-totally controlled environment with very little free time for Trump. Even his seven tweets were the sort of cookie-cutter stuff you see from the average politician. And with Melania, Ivanka and Jared along, Trump does best -- and has through his entire adult life -- when he is surrounded by the cocoon of his family.



No one is saying that Trump, back in Washington, is suddenly going to turn into a highly scripted character. But dont all administrations intensely plan presidential trips?

In the end, it doesnt matter all that much whether Trump gets along with the Pope, as long as they can work togethersay, on stopping Christian persecutionwhere there are common interests. The same goes for his relationship with King Salman, or Mahmoud Abbas, or Enrique Nieto Pena.

Personal diplomacy matters, but leaders ultimately act in the self-interest of their countries. And if this visit to the Vatican, the Western Wall and elsewhere helped Trump get off to a good start, then we are blessed.
President Trump has widened his search for a new FBI director after sources told Fox News that his recent frontrunner, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, is out to the running to fill the vacancy.

Politico reported that Democrats were opposed to the idea of a former politician taking the position-- despite the fact that Lieberman was a former Democrat and later an Independent.

Lieberman is a senior counsel at a New York law firm that represented Trump for years, Reuters reported. Trump recently picked Marc Kasowitz, a lawyer at the same firm as Lieberman, to oversee his personal legal affairs.

Trump fired the former FBI head, James Comey, earlier in May. US News and World Report reported that the search for the last FBI director spanned two years.

At first it seemed like Trump was going to find a relatively quick replacement.

It was just last week when Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was very close to naming a new FBI director, and when asked point-blank if Lieberman was the leading contender, Trump replied, Yes.

Democratic leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., raised questions about selecting a "career politician" like Lieberman. But Lieberman's supporters said he has extensive law enforcement experience. He was a two-term attorney general for the state of Connecticut, spanning from 1983 until his resignation in 1989 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate, serving from 1989 until 2013- first as a Democrat, then as an independent.

Meanwhile. the Senate intelligence committee announced late Friday that Comey had agreed to testify at an open hearing at an undetermined date after Memorial Day.

Comey will be asked about encounters that precipitated his firing, including a January dinner in which, Comey has told associates, Trump asked for his loyalty. In the Oval Office weeks later, Comey told associates, the president asked him to shut down an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
On the final leg of his first foreign trip, President Trump met with NATO leaders amid rising tensions over his stance on Russia, but also a renewed commitment to combat terrorism in the wake of the Manchester attacks.

Speaking in front of the entrance of the new NATO headquarters in Brussels, Trump returned to a common theme during his travels  fighting the war on terrorism.

My travels and meetings have given me renewed hope that nations of many faiths can unite to defeat terrorism, a common threat to all of humanity, said Trump during a ceremony unveiling a memorial to NATOs Article 5, the mutual assistance clause of the alliances charter.

Trump, however, did not reaffirm America's commitment to that clause. And he did not shy away from calling on NATO members to pay their fair share.

These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with secretary and members of the alliance in saying that nation members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, said the president.

He noted 23 of the 28 member nations are currently not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense.

The awkward moment underscored the tensions between Trump and his European counterparts other matters.

Those disagreements were aired on Thursday morning after the president met with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council president Donald Tusk.

Tusk frankly expressed his skepticism about reaching common ground on several areas of disagreement.

Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- we mean Mr. President and myself -- that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia, said Tusk.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also publicly aired her disagreement with Trumps immigration stance, saying that shared values, not isolation and the building of walls that makes us successful.
United States President Donald Trump met with European Union officials in Brussels on Wednesday, ahead of attending his first NATO Summit, which he previously called an "obsolete" alliance.

The trip to the European country comes in the wake of the deadly attack in Manchester. During his meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel after he arrived in Brussels, Trump said the countries will work together to defeat "various problems. Number one is terrorism."

On Thursday, Trump is expected to attend his first meeting at NATO, the decades-long partnership that has been rattled by the new U.S. president's wavering stance on honoring its bonds. Trump has openly mused about pulling out of the pact, declaring the military alliance "obsolete." He believed other countries were not paying their fair share and refused to commit to abiding by Article 5, in which member nations vow to come to each other's defense.

GINGRICH: TRUMP TRIP WILL BE REMEMBERED AS 'HISTORIC TURNING POINT'

E.U. leaders, however, are hoping talks with Trump will stress continuity in their relations after the early months of his administration increased fears that the trans-Atlantic friendship was on the wane.

Trump met with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, and other officials at the E.U. headquarters Thursday morning.

PRESIDENT AND POPE: WHY TRUMP'S FOREIGN TRIP IS SURPRISING HIS CRITICS

Tusk said he was not "100 percent sure" he an Trump have "a common position, a common opinion, about Russia." But he said that regarding Ukraine "it seems that we were on the same line."



Tusk also said "some issues remain open like climate and trade," where the E.U. is pushing for full respect of the Paris Agreement on climate and open multilateral trade deals.

Brussels is Trump's fourth stop on his first foreign trip overseas since taking office. After attending the NATO summit, he will make his fifth and final stop in Sicily for the G7 summit on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the latest version of President Trump's controversial travel ban that affects residents of some majority-Muslim countries.

The ban applies to people from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also placed limits on people from North Korea and Venezuela.

Since the president signed an executive order in January 2017 establishing a ban on travel of people from Muslim-majority nations, it has been a point of contention and challenged in court. Heres a look at the bans journey through the legal system.

June 26  Supreme Court upholds ban

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court issued its first substantive ruling on a Trump administration policy on June 26, upholding the travel ban. The court said the president has substantial power to regulate immigration.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by his four conservative colleagues.

The sole prerequisite set forth in [federal law] is that the President find that the entry of the covered aliens would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The President has undoubtedly fulfilled that requirement here, Roberts wrote.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who dissented, said "a reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was motivated by anti-Muslim animus."

April 25  Supreme Court hears oral arguments

In the last case the justices will hear until October, oral arguments on the travel ban will be delivered before the Supreme Court on April 25. This is the first time the justices are considering whether it violates immigration law or the Constitution.

People waited for a seat inside the courtroom for days ahead of the hearing.

A decision is expected by June.

April 10  Chad removed from travel ban

The Trump administration removed Chad from the travel ban because the African country had improved its identity-management and information sharing practices enough, press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

It had been included on the list because of an office supply glitch that prevented it from supplying homeland security officials with recent samples of its passports. It was also unable to adequately share public safety and terror-related information with U.S. officials who screen foreigners seeking to enter the country, officials said.

March 30  More than a dozen states back lawsuit against ban

Washington, D.C. and 16 states backed Hawaiis lawsuit against the travel ban with an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court.

President Trumps discriminatory ban both hurts the families caught up in the chaos of his draconian policies, and undermines our states residents, institutions, businesses and economies, New York Attorney Gen. Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

Jan. 19  Supreme Court announces it will rule on the travel ban

The Supreme Court announced on Jan. 19 that it will rule on Trump's controversial travel ban. The justices plan to hear arguments in April and issue a final ruling by late June.

Dec. 4  Supreme Court OKs full enforcement of Trump travel ban

Handing the White House a huge judicial victory, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trumps travel ban affecting residents of six majority-Muslim countries.

Lower courts had said people from those countries with a "bona fide" relationship with someone in the United States could not be prevented from entry.

Grandparents and cousins were among the relatives courts said could not be excluded.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have left the lower court orders in place.

Oct. 17  Federal judge temporarily blocks travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson granted a request from Hawaii to temporarily block a version of Trump's travel ban, which was supposed to take effect at midnight ET on Oct. 18.

Hawaii argued that the revised ban  which included citizens from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, and some Venezuelan government officials and their families  was a continuation of Trump's "promise to exclude Muslims from the United States."

"Todays dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the Presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States," the White House said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will vigorously defend the Presidents lawful action."

Oct. 10  Supreme Court dismisses one case

The Supreme Court didnt take action on a case that originated in Hawaii pertaining to Trumps travel ban and a ban on refugees.

However, it did dismiss another case that originated in Maryland. That case involved a ban that has since expired and been replaced with a new one by the administration.

Oct. 5  Justice Department asks Supreme Court to drop travel ban case

The Department of Justice asked the nations highest court to dismiss the case challenging the administrations travel ban. The administration argued the case should be dismissed because it was regarding a previous travel ban that is now moot.

Sept. 24  Trump signs new travel ban

As Trumps original ban was set to expire, the president unveiled new restrictions on travel to the U.S. from certain countries citizens.

The revised ban included citizens from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also included some government officials from Venezuela.

Sept. 12  Supreme Court lifts restrictions

The Supreme Court blocked a lower courts decision that would have allowed refugees to enter the country under certain conditions, blocking a ruling that said a resettlement agency counts as a bona fide relationship.

Sept. 7  Appeals court limits travel ban

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that would allow for more refugees to enter the country despite the ban. The federal court ruled that refugees working with a resettlement agency would be considered to have established an approved bona fide relationship with a contact in the U.S.

WHO DOES TRUMPS TRAVEL BAN BLOCK FROM ENTERING THE US?

It also expanded the scope of a bona fide relationship to include other family members, such as grandparents and other relatives.

July 19  Supreme Court allows for strict enforcement of refugee ban

The Supreme Court, temporarily, allowed for the administrations travel ban to keep a strict enforcement on its ban of refugees. It did, however, leave in place the court order that made it easier for travelers from the six Muslim-majority countries to enter the U.S. and allowed a previous expansion of bona fide relationships to stay.

July 13  Federal judge expands scope of travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, in Hawaii, ruled that a bona fide relationship certain travelers need before entering the U.S. could be expanded to include grandparents and other relatives.

The Justice Department filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court for clarification.

June 29  Travel ban goes into effect

After the Supreme Courts ruling, the Trump administration issued guidance on who would be allowed into the country and who would be barred.

June 26  Supreme Court allows for travel ban to continue

The Supreme Court announced it would allow Trump to forge ahead with a limited version of his travel ban. Trump hailed the decision as a victory for national security.

HAWAII GETS CHANCE TO MAKE CASE FOR FIGHTING 3RD TRAVEL BAN

The court said it would hear arguments in October, but until then, the ban on travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could be enforced if the visitors lacked a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.

May 25  Travel ban blocked by federal court

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia blocked the travel ban from being implemented. It had begun to hear the case earlier in May.

We remain unconvinced [the ban] has more to do with national security than it does with effectuating the Presidents promised Muslim ban," the court said at the time.

March 30  Trump administration appeals ruling

The Department of Justice filed an appeal with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge the ruling against the travel ban.

March 29  Federal judge continues to block travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson granted a request to continue to halt the travel ban.

March 16  Another federal judge temporarily blocks the order

Sitting in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang temporarily halted the executive order. The injunction was not as comprehensive as the one issued earlier in Hawaii, but it did contend that the ban was discriminatory toward Muslims.

The order did not change the previous injunction in Hawaii, but rather just reinforced it.

March 15  Federal judge blocks travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson prevented the travel ban from being implemented just before it was set to take effect. Watson granted the state of Hawaiis request for a temporary restraining order.

Trump called the decision an unprecedented judicial overreach.

March 8  Hawaii sues to block the travel ban

The state of Hawaii sued in an attempt to halt the Trump administrations travel ban from going into effect. Lawyers said the new executive order is resulting in the establishment of religion in the State of Hawaii contrary to its state Constitution.

Lawyers also argued that the ban would damage Hawaiis economy, educational institutions and tourism industry; and it is subjecting a portion of the states citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society.

March 6  Trump unveils new travel ban

Trump signed a new executive order which barred travel from six predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days  removing Iraq from the new ban.

The new order also exempted permanent residents and current visa holders from the travel ban. Syrian refugees were still included in the new order but only for 120 instead of indefinitely.

Feb. 15  Trumps travel ban gets a defender

Texas Attorney Ken Paxton split with other states and defended the travel ban as he filed documents with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking to reconsider a decision blocking the ban.

Paxton argued that the order is a legal exercise of presidential authority.

Feb. 13  Federal judge grants injunction against ban

A federal judge in Virginia granted an injunction to prevent the administration from implementing the ban.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said the ban was unconstitutional as it had a religious bias.

Feb. 9  Travel ban is again blocked

The travel bans suspension was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a unanimous decision.

MUSLIM ADVOCATES, LEGAL ORG FILES SUITS OVER TRAVEL BAN

Those judges were Michelle Friedland, appointed by former President Barack Obama; Richard Clifton, appointed by former President George W. Bush; and William Canby, appointed by former President Jimmy Carter.

The court began to hear arguments from the Justice Department and lawyers from the states of Washington and Maryland  in opposition to the ban  on Feb. 7.

Feb. 6  Justice Department asks federal court to intervene

The Justice Department filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking it to intervene and reverse a previous judges decision to halt the travel ban.

Sixteen attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit against the travel ban. Those included: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Feb. 3  Judge declines to extend injunction against travel ban

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton did not extend a temporary injunction against the administrations travel ban.

But U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle did issue a temporary block of the ban on the same day.

The state has met its burden in demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury, Robart said as he ruled in favor of lawyers from the states of Washington and Minnesota.

Feb. 1  Administration tweaks travel ban

The Trump administration tweaked its travel ban to exempt legal permanent residents of the U.S.

AFGHAN GIRLS ROBOTICS TEAM ARRIVES IN US JUST IN TIME

They no longer need a waiver because if they are a legal permanent resident, they wont need it anymore, then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer said of green card holders.

Jan. 30  Senate Republicans save travel ban from Democrats

Senate Republicans squashed an effort by Democrats to overturn the executive order. When Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. sought a vote on legislation to reverse the ban, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., objected.

Trump also fired acting Attorney Gen. Sally Yates on this day when she refused to defend the travel ban.

Jan. 29  Temporary stay issued on travel ban

A Boston federal court temporarily put Trumps travel ban on hold for one week.

The ruling stipulated that previously approved refugees, valid visa holders and lawful permanent residents or travelers from the seven countries included in Trumps order could not be detained or removed from the U.S. because of the executive order.

Jan. 28  Federal judge issues emergency injunction against ban

A federal judge in New York issued an emergency order blocking, in part, the executive order. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnellys ruling temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting people who arrived with a valid visa or who had already completed a refugee application.

As dozens of people were detained after their planes landed in the U.S., massive protests erupted at airports nationwide.

Jan. 27  Trump signs executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority nations

Trump signed an executive order which immediately barred entry into the U.S. for the citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The order, dubbed Protection the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, also halted the U.S. refugee program for 120 days, but indefinitely barred all Syrian refugees from entering the country.

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty, Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Virginia-based federal appeals court blocked the Trump administration's controversial travel ban, becoming the second circuit court to uphold lower court rulings against the policy.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond issued the ruling Thursday, following arguments May 8.

The ruling means the Trump administration still cannot enforce its travel ban which affects six Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Sudan.

We remain unconvinced [the ban] has more to do with national security than it does with effectuating the Presidents promised Muslim ban," the court said.

The ruling was issued by the full, or en banc, court, in a 10-3 ruling with two abstentions.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory wrote.

Judge Paul Niemeyer sharply dissented from the decision, saying it will make the U.S. more dangerous.

Regrettably, at the end of the day, the real losers in this case are the millions of individual Americans whose security is threatened on a daily basis by those who seek to do us harm," Judge Dennis Shedd wrote in a separate dissent.

Trump issued his first executive order creating a travel ban on Jan. 27. That order, which included Iraq, sparked protests at airports around the country and brief detentions of hundreds of travelers. It was met with immediate resistance from the courts, with several federal district judges issuing orders blocking aspects of the order.

On March 6, Trump issued a revised travel ban striking Iraq and excluding existing visa and green card holders.

Another federal appeals court is considering a similar appeal of a Hawaii-based judges ruling blocking the visa ban. The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in that case May 15.

Both cases are likely headed to the U.S. Supreme court, according to legal experts.

The first travel ban in January triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesn't apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes don't erase the legal problems with the ban.

The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

"President Trump's Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who argued the case. "The Constitution's prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the government's request to set that principle aside."

Fox News' Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a rush transcript from "Your World," May 24, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: When Democrats and -- and Republicans alike going to go back and say, we can't sustain this?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FORMER CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: Neil, you're worked up -- you're worked up because you know that they have tried some accounting gimmicks and borderline fraud in this budget.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: There's no fraud to the numbers I mentioned to you. There's no fraud to the numbers I mentioned.

You know what is a fraud?

(CROSSTALK)

GOOLSBEE: I will give you a fraud. You want some fraud?

CAVUTO: No, no.

GOOLSBEE: Do you want to know? I will tell you exactly where it is.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: No, no, listen to me. I'm going to let you answer.

What is a fraud is telling the American people, pay no attention to those numbers. Pay no attention that they're growing out of whack with taxpayers' ability to afford them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: I'm a nerd, and math upsets me sometimes. So, I apologize to those of you who were offended by my exchange with Austan Goolsbee, for whom I have great respect. I like him a lot personally.

But I don't like a lot what I'm hearing these days on containing the growth in a program, not cutting it, just containing its growth, and that being equivalent to once attorney general throwing granny off a cliff, which brings me to Home Depot's co-founder Ken Langone, who became a gazillionaire honoring things like math and how to proceed forth.

Very good to see you.

KEN LANGONE, CO-FOUNDER, HOME DEPOT: Nice seeing you.

CAVUTO: What do you make of this argument that the way Democrats have presented the Medicaid so-called cuts, which are not cuts, just off the growth?

And we have a chart here that shows it's balanced right now, what it was going to be in the next 10 years, vs. what it's going to be under this Trump budget plan. It just curtails the growth. But they're calling it heartless cuts and an attack, a cleaver on the middle class. You say what?

LANGONE: I say let's take a program that has grown dramatically in eight years, food stamps.

Well, food -- I don't think people don't die if they don't smoke. I don't think people die if they don't watch movies. How do we make sure that food stamps are being used for what they're called, food?

And this to me is part of the problem.

CAVUTO: Well, 44 million get food stamps up much more generous terms.

Now, I'm not saying some, as you have indicated in the past here, might genuinely deserve some help, but this has gone way beyond food.

LANGONE: No American should go to bed hungry. No American should starve to death. That's a given. That's part of our culture. That's part of our value system in America.

On the other hand, we know what goes on. Hell, people use food stamps to buy marijuana that is illegal or cocaine or whatever the hell else these people use to get high.

How do we make sure that we don't take a system that is well-intentioned that becomes badly abused? How do we take guys like me who outrageously get $40,000 a year from our government, after I have done as well as I have done?

CAVUTO: Forty thousand for what?

LANGONE: Social Security. Oh, yes. It's...

CAVUTO: But you don't -- so you would be saying to Republicans as well, you know...

LANGONE: I'm saying to the whole bunch of them.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Right.

LANGONE: I'm saying to the whole bunch of them.

CAVUTO: You're sick of it.

LANGONE: Not that I'm sick of it. We have the technology today to be able to do a better job of administering these plans.

There's this notion that if somebody gets in an accident and they are taken to an emergency room, unless you show an insurance card, they say, well, you have got to die, you haven't got an insurance, that doesn't happen in America.

CAVUTO: Well, let me ask you this.

We have some numbers out from the CBO on the administration's -- or, more to the point, Republicans' American Health Care Act. And, of course, you have -- hospitals. You do a lot of good for folks and all.

LANGONE: Sometimes.

CAVUTO: But this calls -- this calls -- would reduce federal deficits by $119 billion over the coming decade, but increase the number of people who are not insured by 23 million in 2026, relative to the current law.

Now, I don't know how they came to those conclusion about well, 11, 12 million have ObamaCare now. So, how they came to the conclusion that 23 million by 2026 won't have it because of this, but what do you make of it?

LANGONE: Let me tell you something. Go back all the way to the creation of ObamaCare.

I think that they had one thing in mind when they created it, a single- payer. That's what they wanted. And they created a lure that guarantees, by its own failings, it will have to end up being a single-payer.

CAVUTO: Which would be the United States government.

LANGONE: Which would be the government. And guess what? That's not what I think America wants.

If I want to buy my own health insurance, as I should, and I want to pay for it, as I can, then I should be able to do it. I think this was all a scheme going all the way back to, how do we put a system in place that will collapse of its own weight? And that's what we have done.

CAVUTO: Well, let me ask you this. What is a cut to you? When I hear cuts and I hear people, liberals espousing this view that we're cutting to smithereens the social safety net, I'm thinking, well, they're wiping it out, when, in fact, I discover with Medicaid and some of these other programs, we're slowing the rate of growth.

But that's entered the vernacular, just like the argument that if you're anti-illegal immigration, it morphed into you're anti-immigrant.

Ken Langone, what is a cut to you?

LANGONE: A cut to me is if you're getting $4, and now you're getting $3.80, that's a cut. A cut is not, when I'm getting $4, and, next year, I was going to get $4.40. Instead, I'm only going to get $4.30.

That's not a cut.

CAVUTO: They call that cut.

LANGONE: Well, guess what? That's what politicians do. It's all about illusion.

CAVUTO: So, what would you do? What would you tell them to do? Because, in the past, you have said open everything to scrutiny and watch the budget. But we pick and choose what we want.

LANGONE: Look, there's enough blame to go around.

CAVUTO: Absolutely. Absolutely.

LANGONE: There's 900 bucks -- $900 for a toilet set that we're happy to sell you at Home Depot for $27?

(LAUGHTER)

LANGONE: The same toilet seat? And we make a nice buck on it at $27?

CAVUTO: Right, right.

But the common sense is out. And yet what worries me about all of this is, we're getting people who, this is all they here. They're cutting. We're going to leave people destitute. We're going to leave them starving. They're going to do this.

My point with let's say the food stamp, the SNAP program, if 44 million are getting something off of this program, whether it's for food or not, we have bigger problems than just a budget issue.

LANGONE: Absolutely.

Let me tell you something. The biggest single threat to life as we know it in America, in my opinion, is income inequality. You let that gap get wide enough, as it did in Cuba, as it did in Argentina, as it did in Venezuela, and people will go for the most likely root to give them what they want. OK?

We can't afford -- now, the gap is as much an effect as it is a cause of problems. The effect of it is, it is an effect a bad education in America, public education in America. We're depriving these kids of the chance to compete.

I had dinner last night with Dave Cote, the retired chairman of Honeywell.

CAVUTO: Sure.

LANGONE: Honeywell has got job openings all over. But the people have to have qualifications.

How can we hire you to work at Home Depot if you can't past a simple reading or math test? Customer comes in and says, well, how do I use it, and the kid looks at the directions, and he can't read the directions? It doesn't work.

CAVUTO: So, when you talk about this chasm, which you and I have talked about in the past, between the rich and the poor, if it has widened under Republican and Democratic administrations...

LANGONE: It's terrible.

CAVUTO: ... one of the typical ways they try to address that is have the government involved and forcibly, and forcibly adjust it.

LANGONE: And make a bigger mess.

CAVUTO: What do you think of that?

LANGONE: Yes. You can't do it. It won't work.

Look, any time you engage in something that is fundamentally unnatural, expect unnatural results, OK? A good for instance, frankly, is celibacy in the Catholic Church. We're going to have to come to grips, as Catholics, with the notion that we are going to have to think about letting priests get married.

By the way, 1,000 years ago, we had a pope that had a family.

CAVUTO: All right, I didn't know how we veered into celibacy.

(CROSSTALK)

LANGONE: What I mean is that's not...

CAVUTO: No, I understand.

LANGONE: Bad things happen because we are creating an environment.

CAVUTO: But how can we ever get serious about dealing with this stuff, Ken, and on the right and the left...

LANGONE: Well, you want to know something, Neil?

CAVUTO: ... when we trivialize it to the degree we do?

LANGONE: You know what has me concerned?

Election night, when Trump won, I said, here's our chance to drain the swamp. I still think we have that opportunity. But the media in America today, who was a loser last election night -- there was no doubt about where the media was -- the media, the Democrats...

CAVUTO: Right, well, where they still are.

LANGONE: The Republicans? Come on. Nobody -- Trump was not loved.

CAVUTO: So how do they answer this? Now, Mulvaney, how do you think he answered it? And some say he just didn't -- he wasn't able to be forceful enough.

LANGONE: Look, Trump is as good a negotiator as anybody.

To me, as I view this budget, OK, here's the opening bid, boys. Let's talk. It's a negotiation. Now, the bits and pieces, you have got to drill down. But the drama of it, we're going to make people starve, we're going to -- people aren't going to have health care...

CAVUTO: But that's coming from no less than the pope, that you can't forget the forgotten, you can't forget.

And, here, the president and the pope meet today.

LANGONE: Hold it. The pope is our spiritual leader. God bless him. OK?

And the pope certainly, in matters of faith, he's it. I don't think the pope has the qualifications to be discussing such arcane things as how governments spend money.

CAVUTO: You realize you're going to hell now?

LANGONE: I hope not. But I may.

CAVUTO: Yes. You may.

No, I'm glad to see you, my friend. I wanted to get the perspective of a guy who has had some success, helped a lot of people out, because something is morbidly wrong.

LANGONE: Neil, we're the greatest country on earth. And the next 25 years are ours, unless we work overtime to screw it up.

CAVUTO: Well said. Well said.

LANGONE: OK?

CAVUTO: You just gave, by the way, the best definition of a cut I have ever heard. Touche. You might have a future. Keep up with it. You're doing a very good job.

LANGONE: Keep it up. I'm trying to work. Hey, look, I'm only 82. I have got a chance to have a good career.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right.

END

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A controversial natural gas pipeline project is under construction in the Midstate.

The new Mariner East 2 pipeline project is expected to run from Ohio and West Virginia to Delaware, crossing Pennsylvania.

Mariner East 2 will largely run alongside the existing Mariner East pipeline, entering the county from the west through Lower Mifflin Township and through Lower and Upper Frankford townships.

Once in North Middleton Township, the new pipeline will divert north of the existing Mariner East pipeline near Tavern Lane, cross the existing pipeline in Middlesex Township and largely follow the Pennsylvania Turnpike, exiting the county through Lower Allen Township.

Sunoco Logistics received approval on permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in February, clearing the way for construction.

The project consists of the construction of two pipelines; one a 20-inch pipeline and the other a 16-inch pipeline, according to an update provided to local municipalities by Sunoco Logistics in April.

The update stated construction of the 20-inch pipeline was expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2017 and the 16-pipeline would be completed in early 2018.

Both pipelines are expected to carry ethane and butane across the state to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Construction of the pipeline is in different stages across the Midstate.

In Silver Spring and Monroe townships and other municipalities in the Mechanicsburg area, heavy machinery can be seen clearing the way for long stretches of pipeline to be placed underground.

In Upper Frankford Township, resident Ralph Blume, who has been fighting the construction, said trees were recently cut down, but not cleared, from his property, and construction of the pipeline has not begun.

We didnt want and we didnt want our trees all cut, Blume said. We just dont want it because its just not safe.

Blume said he is concerned that if a leak were to occur in the pipeline, it could endanger his home and he and his wifes safety.

Where Im sitting right now is 500 feet away from it and it would burn it up and turn (my home) to a crisp (if it were to ignite), Blume said. Its not safe to be around.

Blume said hes felt bullied by Sunoco.

Along with having trees cleared, Blume said a building he uses to store hay and a sewage system will likely have to be removed to make way for the pipeline on his property.

He said he would like to see the pipeline redirected a few hundred feet to avoid these issues.

Its only like 500 feet more of drilling, he said. Theyre capable of drilling underneath the Susquehanna River and if they cant drill 500 feet through my yard, theres something wrong.

Blume has challenged Sunocos use of eminent domain and said he will continue to fight the company in court.

This has been my wifes home for 73 years and she dont want to leave, he said.  We dont have any kids to let anything to. We dont have any place to go. Were alone and fighting this on our own.

Multiple attempts to contact Sunoco Logistics went unanswered.
If two planes should ever collide, its usually better if it happens on the ground, like the aircrafts that clipped each other at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Wednesday night.

According to airport officials, the wingtip from United Flight 898 came into contact with the tail section of American Airlines Flight 2675 shortly after 8:20 p.m., just as the United flight was taxiing away from its gate.

A United passenger who spoke with KEYE added that United took immediate responsibility for the collision.

"The pilot took full responsibility, explained Cody Strickland. He said 'This is your captain, we just clipped the wing of this other aircraft. It was my fault, we're going to do the best we can to get you back to the gate.

AIRPLANE TIPS OVER WHEN COOKING OIL SENDS LUGGAGE SLIDING TO TAIL

Airport officials were then forced to wait for an OK from the FAA before they could give the pilots clearance to taxi back to the gate. Strickland says it took two hours before his flight was allowed to deplane, at which point passengers were left to wait for another flight to Houston.

No one was hurt during the collision, but audio recordings from air traffic control suggest that the American Airlines flight, which had just arrived in Austin from JFK International Airport in New York City, suffered minor damage.

Theres a chunk of something laying off your tail but the APU is running just fine, an air traffic official can be heard remarking in an audio recording obtained by KXAN. Theres no leaks or smoke.

Photos shared by one of AAs passengers also show slight damage to the wingtip of Uniteds aircraft.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Both United Airlines and American Airlines have released statements to Fox News regarding the collision, each of which describes the same pattern of events.

The wingtip of another aircraft came in contact with American Airlines flight 2675, which had just arrived from New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport, states American. The American Airlines plane was stationary at the time, as it was waiting to taxi to the gate. No passengers or crew members were injured.

Uniteds statement to Fox News further confirmed that all United customers were re-booked on a later flight to Houston, which departed at approximately 11:30 p.m., or roughly four hours after its scheduled departure.

The FAA says they are currently assessing any damage.
Somewhere out there, there is a graveyard of bags that have met their demise prematurely due to broken zippers, torn straps, split seams and bottoms so threadbare youd swear they started out as mesh.

But you might be hard-pressed to find a Red Oxx bag resting in peace among them. Tactical strength without looking like youre going to war, is how Jim Markel, Red Oxxs co-founder and CEO, describes his companys products.

And Markel should know. The former U.S. military parachute rigger served in the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company in Okinawa, Korea, Guam and California  and he signs off on every bag.

After he retired from service, Markel joined his father, also a veteran, in Billings, Mont., where Jim Sr. had started a small business sewing fitness accessories made from decommissioned military supplies.

SAVE SUITCASE SPACE: 11 WAYS TO PACK LIKE A PRO

That was in 1986. Thirty-one years later, Red Oxx no longer makes weight belts and pulling straps, and its no longer housed in Jim Sr.s kitchen. In fact, Jim Sr. has left the business, and Jim Jr., 50-years-old now, has a new business partner  another veteran named Perry Jones. Last year, the Small Business Administration named Red Oxx Mfg. Montanas Veteran-Owned Business of the Year. Its biggest product accolade came when Outside Magazine called its Safari-Beanos Bag PR5 ($205) one of the best pieces of outdoor gear of 2004.

It's pretty dang cool to see a Red Oxx bag while traveling and know it came from a small factory in the heart of Montana, says Ryan Morrissey, 27, who started as a sewer three years ago and now runs Red Oxxs quality control department. Another employee, McEddie Sam O, an immigrant from Nigeria, has been with the company for more than five years. With the help of Red Oxx, he is now a U.S. citizen.

Markels wife, Amanda, is the CFO, and Rooi, their Rhodesian Ridgeback, can often be found napping in the retail showroom, just up the street from the factory, where Red Oxx makes up to 400 bags a day.

There are 25 more employees who range from 20-year-olds to nearly 60, says Lacy McDougall, Red Oxxs lead bag designer. They come from all walks of life  religious, her hubby is a preacher, to tattooed and crazy. The company has five sewers; the others are in assembly.

With all of its materials sourced and assembled in the U.S., Red Oxx nearly epitomizes the Made-in-America dream. The bags are primarily made from CORDURA Brand Nylon, the same material that replaced the leather in U.S. soldiers boots in 1991 and is used in Army backpacks. (During WWII, cordura was a material used in the tires of military vehicles.)

But there is a small, yet significant, component that spends time in another country.

Red Oxxs signature monkey fist zip knot, on the end of every zipper, is made of American paracord that is cut and tied in a rural village in Guatemala. Markel visits once a year to meet with the craftsmen and their families. His company has also helped the village finance its first corn mill and installed a flush toilet, a novelty in the community.

Sending cord abroad to be cut and tied may sound extreme, but Red Oxx takes pride in its fair trade agreement. It also knows that the little knot at the end of its zippers makes them easier to open and close.

Markel knows all about paying attention to details. He may no longer be sewing parachutes for combat, but he can still make sure that every Red Oxx bag boasts double box-x stitching and redundant stitch points.

?We never leave raw edges, even inside our bags. Everything has a finished edge, McDougall says.

The handles are wrapped around the outsides of the bags so they can carry more weight, and every component is the best in its class. For example, the v-rings Red Oxx uses are intended for sailing. The men- and women-specific product line features everything from Rigger Wallets to Expedition Series duffle bags, and items run from $35 to $305.

Red Oxxs brightly colored bags are conversation starters, too, since they look like the Jeep 4x4 of luggage and are easy to spot in an airport.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

But if youre not in Billings, you wont find one in a retail store: 97 percent of Red Oxxs $2.5 million in annual sales are made online, direct to consumer.

No one gets between us and our customers, says Markel.

The company says it treats every customer equally, ideally for a lifetime, and it doesnt use the term customer service. It prefers customer care, and it offers a seldom used No Bull warranty.

No questions asked, no ifs, ands or buts, says Howard Gray, Red Oxxs minister of information. If something breaks, we stand amazed. Then we fix it.

Thats why you wont find a Red Oxx bag in the satchel cemetery. But if you do, be sure to check the tag. Its probably a knockoff from China.
A man accused of spray painting swastikas and the phrase "white power" on a biracial couple's Cincinnati home has been indicted on federal hate crime charges.

Prosecutors say 41-year-old Samuel Whitt broke into the home during the Thanksgiving holiday while the couple was out of town.

They say he had been renting the lower-level of the couple's home before being evicted.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that investigators say Whitt also poured cement down drains and splashed paint on the walls and appliances.

He already had been other charges related to the vandalism before prosecutors sought the hate crime chares. He was taken into custody Wednesday.

A message seeking comment was left with his attorney.

___

Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com
A privately run prison in Arizona remained on lockdown Thursday after four inmates were injured in a brawl involving about 80 prisoners that authorities had to use pepper spray to break up.

Authorities described the melee at the Red Rock Correctional Center between Phoenix and Tucson as racially motivated while providing little detail about how the disturbance unfolded.

Arizona Department of Corrections spokesman Bill Lamoreaux said four inmates were sent to the hospital, and two have already been released and sent back to the prison.

The medium-security unit where the fight happened houses 928 inmates at the facility operated by CoreCivic. The company formerly known as Corrections Corp. of America is the largest private prison operator in the United States and has several facilities in Arizona.

The company struck a deal this week with city officials in Mesa to jail people arrested on misdemeanor charges at a location in Florence.

A nearby CoreCivic facility in Eloy that houses immigrants has been a frequent target of activists over jail conditions that they say has led to a high number of deaths and health issues, including a measles outbreak last year.

Arizona severed ties with a Utah-based private prison operator in 2015 after a string of troubling security and training lapses led to violent riots at a Kingman prison.

Lamoreaux could not immediately provide more details on why the fight was racially motivated.

Donna Leone Hamm, the director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, said the Department of Corrections typically lists disturbances as racially motivated despite other underlying reasons.

Hamm said prisoners will generally side with their racial or ethnic group in accordance with an unwritten inmate code and that labeling disturbances as race-related is an oversimplification.

"Often underlying those things are the same kinds of things that caused the Kingman riots  inmates being treated unfairly in the disciplinary system and visitation being tampered with or denied for arbitrary reasons," Hamm said. She said denying telephone calls with family or general confinement conditions can also be relevant in sparking disturbances.

"Those are what usually cause the underlying tension and then some small incident will set everything off and make it look as though it's a racial incident," she added.

CoreCivic referred questions about the incident to the Department of Corrections.

Arizona currently has 10 state prisons and six private prisons throughout the state.

California correctional officers at a Sacramento prison Wednesday opened fire to quell a rare mass attack on eight prison guards by more than 100 inmates. Four inmates were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser.



Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued the warrant for Bikram Choudhury and set bail at $8 million.



No lawyers appeared for Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt.



The award was won by Minakshi "Micki" Jafa-Bodden, who claimed Choudhury fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation.



Her attorney, Carla Minnard, says they've tracked luxury vehicles and other property that Choudhury moved out of state and have court orders in Nevada and Florida preventing him from moving property from warehouses.



Jafa-Bodden worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013, when she said she was abruptly fired from her six-figure position.



Jafa-Bodden also said Choudhury sexually harassed and inappropriately touched her, and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite.



She called it a "great day for women" when she was awarded a victory over Choudhury.

Choudhury has built an empire around Bikram yoga, a rigorous, 90-minute routine performed in a room that can reach more than 100 degrees. The technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide and has drawn devoted followers.



He faces sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse Choudhury of raping them. One of those lawsuits is in the process of being settled while the rest are set for trial later this year.



His attorneys have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him, pointing out that prosecutors had declined to bring charges in the cases.


The founder of a website selling clothing for young women since 2008 says he's grown increasingly concerned with the cyberbullying and body shaming he was seeing online.

Sam Sisakhti said the trend first struck him a few years ago. He told Fox News via email that his company, UsTrendy.com, started contests online inviting customers to post photos of themselves in Us Trendy clothing on social media.

However, what was supposed to be a fun way for fans of the brand to interact soon turned ugly.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD FROM CYBERBULLYING



I noticed a lot of cyberbullying and body shaming going on online in the comments of the photos. It got to the point where we literally had to have an employee monitor the comments, shared Sisakhti.

Instead of ignoring the bad cyber behavior, he's made it his mission to stop the cycle of cyberbullying and body shaming with a new program.

Believe in Yourself is a national charity which goes into low-income areas around the country and provides girls with special-occasion dresses for any formal event they have coming up. At the same time we bring speakers and mentors into the donation events to speak with the girls about positive body image and believing in themselves, Sisakhi told us. This summer we are rolling out mentoring programs which will be in various cities and consist of weekly meetings where girls can come in and speak with mentors.

The official website for the non-profit organization explained its mission as dedicated to providing brand-new, unworn designer dresses for girls to wear at school functions. Many teen girls are up against unobtainable social standards placed upon them-which are not just unhealthy, but often times unaffordable. In an effort to close this gap, The Believe In Yourself Project is dedicated to the gainful advancement and empowerment of young women with a gift of confidence.

Additionally, the program is launching a virtual component on Facebook Live and online webinars which will be interactive for the girls to speak and interact with inflectional and inspirational women who are pursuing their dreams and/or have overcome body image issues. The mentors can speak at donations for a one-time obligation, participate in the weekly mentoring groups, and/or participate in Facebook Live and online seminars, explained Sisakhti.

TWO INDICTED, ACCUSED OF CYBERBULLYING 18-YEAR-OLD TO SUICIDE

Sisakhti shared advice for any young woman who is experiencing cyberbullying and/or body shaming.

Our exterior state has no reflection of our ability, aptitude or self-worth. Know that cyberbullying and body shaming is just a tactic to try to imprison you or hold you back, advised Sisakhti. Ignore it, be free, and pursue the life that you have always imagined.
A Missouri couple was arrested in the death of a 2-year-old girl after the mother's boyfriend performed wrestling moves on the toddler, police said.

Jefferson County police accused Cheyenne Cook, 19, and Richard Gamache Jr., 24, of "torturing" the child, Fox 2 Now reported.

Police responded to an EMS call on May 16 to assist with a child having seizures. The toddler was taken to the hospital and died a few days later. Police said they learned at that the child had obvious signs of trauma and that Gamache performed a WWE-style wrestling move.

This child was essentially tortured, Jefferson County Sheriff Marshak said in a statement. Our prayers are with 'AC' and the investigators that were intimately involved with this investigation.

Authorities said they found digital evidence of abuse exchanged between Gamache and Cook. Police said there was evidence the couple tried to hide the abuse. Police said Gamache had abused the child over time and that Cook was complacent.

Gamache was charged with abuse of neglect of a child and was held on a $500,000 cash bond. Cook was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and was held on a $25,000 cash bond.

Click for more from Fox 2 Now.
The Transportation Security Administration introduced new screening protocols for carry-on bags at a number of airports across the nation on Wednesdayas the Department of Homeland Security considers expanding a ban on large electronics in the cabins of U.S.-bound flights.

The TSA selected about a dozen U.S. airports to begin testing the new security program, which could potentially expand to other airports nationwide. The program will require travelers to place any electronics larger than a cell phone in a separate bin for X-ray screening. According to the TSA, officials at the security checkpoints may also advise travelers to place other carry-on items in separate bins.

TSAs top priority is to protect the traveling public, and every policy and security procedure in place is designed to mitigate threats to passengers and the aviation sectorwhich we know our adversaries continue to target, a TSA official told Fox News.

U.S. transportation, specifically the aviation system, has been a top terrorist target since 9/11, and as part of the TSAs counterterrorism efforts, the agency adjusts security screening procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats.

TSA was created in 2002, after the September 11th attacks. Since then, U.S. homeland security officials have faced an ever-changing threat to the aviation system.

Before 9/11, baggage wasnt screened, so we really had a Herculean task, TSA Chief of Staff Chad Wolf told Fox News. Wolf began working with the TSA at the agencys inception, and stayed through 2005. After working in the private sector for 11 years, Wolf is back on the frontlines of aviation security.

9/11 was a game changer, Wolf said. Weve watched the threat evolve from there, so our measures of security has evolved and changed to anticipate and respond.

Here is a timeline of some of the most significant terror attempts targeting U.S. air travel since 9/11:

December 2001: Shoe Bomber

? Plot: In December of 2001, months after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, British citizen Richard Reid attempted to ignite a show bomb on a flight from Paris to Miami.

? Response: TSA now requires at security checkpoints that passengers remove their shoes to go through X-ray screening.

August 2006: Liquid Bomb Plot

? Plot: Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Tanvir Hussain, and Assad Sarwar, among others, plotted to place liquid explosives on 10 commercial airlines traveling from the United Kingdom to the U.S.

? Response: TSA now has a 3-1-1 liquids rule: 3.4 ounces or less per container fit into one quart-sized clear plastic bag, and one bag per passenger.

James Norton, who was Deputy Assistant Secretary at the DHS during the time of the liquid plot, told Fox News the department took an all hazards approach after the plot. The terror attempt also inspired the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement between the U.S. and the European Union, which made it possible to transfer passenger data so officials could identify passengers in the cabin before takeoff.

The 2006 plot was kept under wrapsit was essentially, a secret operation, Norton told Fox News. Even though we had the majority of the bad actors, DHS still went ahead and implemented the liquid ban to ensure safetyfor security folks, they always act on the side of caution.

December 2009: Underwear Bomb Plot

? Plot: On Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian engineering student, flew from Amsterdam to Detroit and attempted to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear as the plane began to land.

? Response: TSA officials said they deployed Advanced Imaging Technology, including millimeter wave and general-use backscatter x-ray systems.

Others plots against U.S. aviation include:

? A fuel bomb plot in June of 2007, when Russel Defeitas, Abdul Kadir, Kareem Ibrahim, and Abdel Nur plotted to blow up a jet fuel infrastructure near John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

? An October 2010 plot inspired by Al Qaedas Anwar al-Awlakitwo packages of explosives were found on separate cargo planes heading from Yemen to the U.S.

? A 2012 underwear bomber copycatwhen authorities in the Middle East seized an underwear bomb, catching a suspect who intended to attack a Western-bound aircraft.

Insider Threats

U.S. officials and lawmakers have become increasingly concerned with the prospect of insider threatsmeaning airport employees could pose a risk based on their ability to bypass traditional screening requirements that travelers undergo.

The House Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, led by Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., released a report in February outlining attempts by airport employees to detonate a bomb at an airport, as well as smuggling guns and drugs. Some employees even became involved in terrorist activities overseas.

The baggage handler, the mechanic- all of these workers behind the scenes, could post a threat, the committee aide told Fox News. We could have a problem on our hands.

But Wolf told Fox News the insider threat is always something the TSA is concerned about.

When you talk about an insider threat, we have a good visibility on aviation workers here domestically, so we do a number of things to vet those individuals, but internationally its different, Wolf said.

U.S. Travelers adapting to TSA security measures

According to Norton, informing the public is a crucial part in thwarting plots and disrupting threats.

This is part of the disruption process, and a way to let potential bad actors know that we are aware of this threat, Norton told Fox News.

In March, DHS implemented an electronics ban on flights to the U.S. from 13 international airports due to reports of increased terror threats that suggested Al Qaeda and other groups were still looking to smuggle explosive material onboard planes. DHS is currently considering expanding the ban to more international airports with U.S.-bound flights.

Wolf told Fox News that the TSA believes the traveling public certainly understands the threat, but also faces an inconvenience.

Our number one priority is to make travelers safe, and we are going to make sure we put in place all measures possible to do this, Wolf told Fox News. The public adapts, whether its taking off their shoes or restricting their liquids, they understand and the vast majority of them want TSA to take these measures.

Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
A Tarpon Springs woman claiming to be a psychic was arrested Tuesday after clients claim she scammed them out of $155,353. Now, authorities are asking that any additional victims come forward.

Detectives say their investigation began in November of 2016, when the first victim, a 33-year-old a military veteran, approached detectives during a fraud awareness seminar hosted by the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office.

The man reported he had been scammed by 31-year-old Gina Wilson. He began seeing her in 2015 to help with emotional distress.

According to the sheriffs office, Wilson told the man to stop taking his prescribed medications, alter his bank accounts and to stop seeing his therapist and doctor. The victim says he paid Wilson approximately $92,000 before he realized he was being scammed.

During the investigation detectives, learned of a second alleged victim, a 61-year-old Palm Harbor woman, who began seeing Wilson for help with her grief after her husband passed away.

PCSO says Wilson assured the woman that she could help her late husband pass over to the other side. The victim says when Wilson asked for a large sum of money to perform a ceremony at the grave site, she realized she was being scammed and contacted authorities.

Read more from FOX 13 Tampa.
DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann said he will take a self-imposed suspension starting this weekend.

In a memo to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, Mann said he is disciplining himself for one week due to "conduct unbecoming."

POLICE: TEEN GAVE FRIENDS TATTOOS WHILE AT SCHOOL

Mann was arrested earlier this month and is accused of exposing himself at Piedmont Park, then allegedly running from an Atlanta police officer.

Mann said he will donate one week of pay to charity. His suspension starts this Sunday.

Read full memo at Fox 5 Atlanta.
A single-vehicle crash in Perry County Saturday sent two people to Penn State Hershey Medical Center via helicopter.

Cassandra Cuevas, 18, of Shiremanstown, was traveling east in the 1700 block of Shermans Valley Road in Centre Township around 1:58 a.m. May 20 when she swerved to miss a deer, which caused her to lose control of her 2001 Hyundai Accent, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The vehicle left the road, struck an embankment and struck a utility pole before overturning, police said.

Both Cuevas and her passenger, Geoffrey L. McClain, 19, of Loysville, were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash and were ejected from the vehicle, according to police.

Cuevas and McClain were flown to Hershey Medical Center as a result of the crash.

McClain has since been treated and released, and Cuevas is listed in fair condition, a Hershey Medical Center spokesperson said Thursday.

Cuevas has been cited for traveling at an unsafe speed and not wearing a seat-belt.

McClain has been cited for not wearing a seat-belt and restrictions on alcoholic beverages.
A small Christian school in Maryland defended its decision to ban a pregnant student from attending her graduation ceremony on June 2.

Officials at the Heritage Academy in Hagerstown, said the student, Maddi Runkles, 18, will not allowed at the ceremony because she violated the schools code of conduct by having premarital sex, Fox 5 reported.

Maddi is being disciplined, not because shes pregnant, but because she was immoral, David R. Hobbs, the administrator of Heritage Academy, said in a statement to the schools parents, according to USA Today.

Hobbs mentioned that all students sign a vow at the beginning of the school year stating in part, this application extends to my actions, such as protecting my body by abstaining from sexual immorality and from the use of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.

Heritage (Academy) is also pleased that she has chosen to not abort her son, Hobbs wrote. However, her immorality is the original choice she made that began this situation. Secondly, she will receive her diploma that she has earned.

PREGNANT MARYLAND TEEN FIGHTS TO WALK IN CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS GRADUATION CEREMONY

Runkles learned she was pregnant in January. When she informed the school about her pregnancy she was suspended for two days and stripped of all her leadership positions.

The babys father does not attend the academy and the two do not intend on getting married, Runkles said.

At first, the school told Runkles that she would have to finish the rest of the school year at home, but her family appealed. The school then decided to let the teen finish out the academic year at the academy but she would be barred from the graduation ceremony, according to the Washington Post.

Runkles father, Scott, a former president of the schools board, quit the board to protest the school officials' treatment of his daughter.

MARYLAND STUDENT ACCUSED OF MURDER DENIED HOUSE ARREST REQUEST

The difference is consistency because we have had other students that have had serious infractions and they have walked in the past and they are allowed to walk this year, Scott Runkles said.

The school is worried about its reputation, but I think theyre missing out on an incredible opportunity to set an example for the pro-life community and Christian schools about how to treat guys and girls like me, the teen said.

A number of anti-abortion activists are voicing their support for Runkles and her decision to speak out on the matter.

By banning her and her alone, the administration and board collectively decided to make a public example of one student and has either intentionally or unintentionally communicated to the school community that pregnancy (not simply premarital sex) is a shame and should not be observed within our school community, Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life, said in a statement.

If the teen is indeed turned away at the graduation ceremony then she plans to hold a private ceremony and invite her classmates. She is due to give birth to a baby boy on Sept. 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Soldiers will place U.S. flags in front of more than 280,000 headstones on Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia as part of a Memorial Day tradition to honor Americas fallen heroes.

'Flags in' is a time-honored tradition that is reserved for soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), the Arlington National Cemetery said in a statement.

TEXAS ARTIST MAKING SCULPTURE HONORING VETS ON MEMORIAL DAY

The event marks the start of Memorial Day weekend activities at the cemetery. The tradition began in 1948, according to the cemetery.

During the ceremony, more than 1,000 Old Guard Soldiers will place a U.S. flag in front of more than 280,000 headstones as well as in front of the columbariums "to account for more than 400,000 interred, the statement said.

NAVY DAD SURPRISES DAUGHTER AT GEORGIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADUATION

The event will also feature a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The public is encouraged to watch but cannot participate in the placing of the flags.

After Memorial Day, the flags are removed before the cemeteries open to the public.


After almost a year spent thousands of miles apart, a Navy officer returned home to surprise his daughter at her fifth-grade graduation ceremony.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kavaurio Harris has been stationed in Japan since July. But on Tuesday, he traveled home to Covington, Georgia, to surprise his daughter, Kavaurianna, on stage at her elementary school graduation.

GOLDEN RETRIEVER WELCOMES SOLDIER HOME

I felt very anxious and excited all in one as I walked on the stage, Kavaurio told Fox News. She had no idea I was coming home.

Kavaurianna told WXIA that her father surprising her on stage was the best surprise she could ever have.

Kavaurio will spend the next few weeks at home with his family, before returning to Sasebo, Japan, where he's stationed until 2019.
As President Trump ended his trip to Israel on Tuesday, he told an audience in Jerusalem that the world must come together for the goal of defeating terrorism. But he warned it wont be easy  both sides face tough decisions.

One of those tough decisions is the Palestinian Authoritys payments to terrorists and their families.

It is an issue President Trump pressed during his meeting with Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, and one his administration and some members of Congress have been pursuing.

The Palestinian Authority rewards terrorism and those who commit

those acts are called martyrs. Last year, the Palestinians spent $300 million, or nearly 7 percent of its total budget, on paying terrorists and their surviving family members.

HOW A CONTROVERSIAL PALESTINIAN LEADER JUSTIFIES PAYING AID MONEY TO FAMILIES OF TERRORISTS

This insanity must end, said Danny Danon, Israels ambassador to the United Nations, while addressing a UN special forum last Wednesday on ending payments by the Palestinians to terrorists and their families. Depending on how long he is in prison, the terrorist can receive up to $3,000 a month, five times higher than the average salary in the Palestinian Authority.

Also present at the conference was U.S. citizen Ruth Schwartz, whose 18-year-old son Ezra was killed by a Palestinian terrorist while visiting Israel in November 2015.

The Massachusetts teenagers murderer, Mohammad Harub, was sentenced to four life sentences and reportedly receives $3,000 a month plus other benefits from the Palestinian Authority for the killing of Ezra and two other men.

Ezras death broke our family and our world will never be the same. Ezra will never smile again, never bring children to the world. I will never hug him again, or tell him that I love him, his mother Ruth said at the forum. Im here because as Ezras mother it is my duty to fight for my son. The payments by the PA are just another way to glorify and encourage terrorism. Its offensive and wrong.

BILL IN CONGRESS WOULD PRESSURE PALESTINIAN GOV'T TO CUT OFF TERROR-TIED PAYMENTS

U.S. aid to the Palestinians is around $300 million a year and critics say that, and other foreign aid money that goes to Palestinians, are funding these terror payments.

Its unbelievable, Mark Goldfeder a senior lecturer at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, said of the payments. [The PA] literally publish the fact, in their laws, that they are incentivizing terrorism. Then they publish a budget which says how much they are paid to incentivize terrorism. This is an open and shut case, you cant ask for better evidence than a literal physical confession.

A push for congressional action comes in the form of the Taylor Force Act, which would cut off payments to the Palestinians if it continues to pay terrorists. The bill is sponsored Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, in the Senate and Republican Congressmen Doug Lamborn of Colorado and Lee Zeldin of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill is named after Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and veteran of tours in Iraq and Afghanistan who was brutally murdered in Tel Aviv last year while walking with friends.

The terrorist who murdered Force was later killed by Israeli police, but he was lauded as a martyr by official Palestinian media. His family receives payments from the PA.

There are currently no Democrats supporting the bill in Congress but Graham believes if it gets to the desk of President Trump, he will sign it.

Ezras mother said her son was on his way to do volunteer work when he was brutally gunned down by the terrorist, who shot at a van he and other victims were in.

Ezra was an American teenager, she said. Ezra was innocent.

In a meeting with Trump on Tuesday in Bethlehem, Abbas did mention Palestinian prisoners but didnt mention any plans for ending payments to them and those who have killed innocent Americans.

My son is the victim of the worst crime, Schwartz told the UN forum. He was killed. He is dead. He was brutally taken from his friends and family forever.
Phoenix has officially edged out Philadelphia to become the fifth biggest city in the U.S.

The total population of the city is 1,615,017, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. The new population count allowed the city to surpass Philadelphia, its closest population rival, for the first time since dropping behind in 2010.

Phoenix is also the quickest-growing city in the country, according to the Census Bureau. The city added an average of 88 people per day between July 2015 and July 2016.

CENSUS DIRECTOR ABRUPTLY QUITS PEOPLE-COUNTING AGENCY

"It's a positive thing, people are voting with their feet and coming to Phoenix," Mayor Greg Stanton told AZ Central.

But Phoenix isnt the only expanding area in the state. Maricopa County has the highest annual population increase among counties in the U.S., according to recent census statistics.

Overall, New York has the highest population among all cities in the U.S. with 8,537,673. Los Angeles is second (3,976,322), Chicago is third (2,704,958) and Houston is fourth (2,303,482).

Phoenix beat Philly (1,567,872) by less than 100,000 people.
Some veterans of the Navy's "Silent Service" are cringing at news that President Donald Trump disclosed the whereabouts of two submarines that are part of an undersea force that prides itself on stealth.

While Trump did not give up the subs' precise location, his telling the president of the Philippines of the submarines' presence in a private conversation startled many in a community that has long abided by the adage "Loose lips sink ships."

"The only thing that saves our lives is people not knowing where we are," said T. Michael Bircumshaw, a retired Navy master chief and former commander of the United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. He said telling anyone anything about where U.S. submarines are is "pure, unadulterated, criminal stupidity."

Security experts say such disclosures are rare. One breach that's bitterly remembered in the submarine force came in 1943 when Kentucky Congressman Andrew J. May revealed that submarines were escaping Japanese attacks because the charges they were dropping were exploding at too shallow of a depth, Bircumshaw noted. Japanese forces adjusted and U.S. submarines were hit.

Trump's reference to the submarines was made during an April 29 call that touched on the North Korean threat. Trump revealed the U.S. had two nuclear submarines in the region and did not want to use them, according to a leaked transcript of the conversation with Rodrigo Duterte.

"I didn't see any foul there, and those people making it a foul are a bit ridiculous," said retired Vice Adm. Al Konetzni. "We have submarines operating, thank goodness, we have them operating in all of the trouble spots of the world."

Thomas Fedyszyn, a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, could not recall a U.S. president ever making such a disclosure.

"It was an extremely rare, unlikely and uncommon statement by a senior political leader," he said.

The Navy generally does not describe where submarines are patrolling until after they've returned home or they're calling on a port. It announced a visit by the USS Michigan to Busan, South Korea, days before Trump's call with Duterte.

Deen Brown, who conducted submarine war patrols for the Navy during World War II, said he was not concerned about the disclosure, and the subs may not even be where Trump said they were.

"But even if they are there, they're not going to be there very long," said Brown, 94, of Oakdale, Connecticut.

Bud Atkins, who served on 10 submarines and retired as a command master chief, was incredulous. He said Trump should "keep his mouth shut, to put it bluntly."

"I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it," said Atkins, also of Oakdale.

American submarines carrying nuclear warheads patrol the world's oceans to deter a nuclear attack. Their locations are kept secret to ensure the U.S. can strike back if attacked. Attack submarines also need to stay hidden for their missions, from destroying enemy ships to sending special operations forces ashore and collecting intelligence.

While opinions varied about the significance of Trump's disclosure, the submariners all spoke of stealth as a principle advantage.

"We spend all those years training to keep quiet under the water. We build machines to do specifically that," said submarine veteran Ray Hamilton, of New London, Connecticut. "And we stay hidden, until the president says, 'Hey we're hiding them over there!"

James H. Patton Jr., a retired Navy captain, said it should come as no surprise that there are submarines operating in that part of the world, and Trump didn't give a precise location or ship names. But he wondered whether it was an intentional statement vetted by his advisers, perhaps to reassure allies, or something spontaneous.

"If he was blurting out information he knew, that's worrisome," said Patton. "If it was a consciously thought out statement, I have no issue."
When Joaquin Cortez created a sand sculpture memorial in front of a Mansfield store, he wanted to honor the officers killed in the July 7 attack. Unfortunately, the elements took their toll on the sculpture.

So for Memorial Day, Cortez is creating a new sculpture to honoring all veterans.

AIR FORCE MASTER SERGEANT FINDS PEACE THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

Cortez says he was always the kid drawing faces in the mud with a spoon. His artistic talent with sand sculpture has touched the heart of police officers since last summer. And with his new one seeks to do the same with veterans.

With just sand and water, Cortez is crafting what he hopes will be an inspiration to military families on Memorial Day.

"This will be the Marine logo. The Navy logo will go on the side here, the sculptor explained as he showed his plans for the design. The Air Force logo is going to be on the other side. And I'm working on the Army logo here now."

The new sand sculpture will replace the one Cortez created last summer just weeks after five police officers were murdered in Downtown Dallas.

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT: WHY I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

"A lot of the Dallas police officers are soldiers, and they come up here and are sad to see the police memorial destroyed by the rain, but happy to see the new one being built and being part of the military, Cortez said.

The majestic eagle that adorned the first sculpture was patched up and remains the focal point of the new sculpture.

"He's wearing the Medal of Honor, so maybe he's like a spirit of a soldier that has passed, Cortez said.

Read more at Fox 4 News.
Veterans are fighting to display American flags outside their homes in a Georgia community after their homeowners association told them flags could only be displayed on 23 specific days of the year.

I was extremely upset thats a polite way of putting it, said U.S. Navy veteran Tom Wilder, after he learned in an emailed statement that his American flag could only be flown outside his house on certain days.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VOTE TO MAKE AMERICAN FLAG OPTIONAL

The Village at Towne Lake Homeowners Association said in a statment to residents regarding the flying of flags: These guidelines help maintain the aesthetic and architectural theme of the community.

How can you say that the American flag detracts from the looks, the aesthetics of a community? said Air Force veteran Pete Rockett.

They treat it as if its a decoration  like Christmas decorations. You can put up your Christmas decorations on these days, Rockett continued. The American flag is not a decoration. Its a symbol, and its a symbol of a lot of things, to a lot of people.

Rockett said he flies his American flag for all the people in his life that have served our country. It would be a travesty to take that flag down.

MILITARY MOTHER'S AMERICAN FLAG DESECRATED

The veterans said they will not be taking their flags down.

Im not gonna take it down, said Wilder. I fought for our flag and our country, and I will continue to fight for our flag and our country  no matter what.
A court in El Salvador has sentenced seven gang members to 390 years each for the March 2016 killings of 11 people.

Wednesday's sentences of 35 years per victim are largely symbolic since El Salvador's maximum sentence is 35 years.

The killings of eight electrical company workers and three farmers shocked the nation, and weeks later spurred the government's crackdown on street gangs.

The killers belong to the Barrio 18 gang and were looking to kill members of the rival Mara Salvatrucha gang. But they came across three farm workers and eight electrical workers, who were apparently slain in a case of mistaken identity or to eliminate any witnesses.

In October, two under-aged gang members were sentenced to five and 15 years in a youth correctional facility for the killings.
A U.S Navy destroyer sailed near a man-made Chinese island in the South China Sea Wednesday, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.

The Navy patrol was the first "freedom of navigation operation" to occur near a Chinese man-made island since President Donald Trump took office in January, according to the official.

The USS Dewey, a guided-missile destroyer sailed less than 12 nautical miles away from Mischief Reef, one of a chain of disputed islands in the South China Sea.

The freedom of navigation patrol represents a challenge to excessive maritime claims, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the operation.

Similar military operations must take place within 12 nautical miles of an island or features territorial waters to legally constitute a freedom of navigation patrol.

Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment to the newspaper on the operation. We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea, he said in a statement to the Journal. We operate in accordance with international law. He added that the patrols are not about any one country, or any one body of water.

Read more from The Wall Street Journal.

Fox News Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Here are some of the Memorial Day events scheduled throughout Cumberland County:

Saturday, May 27

Hampden Township: A ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the future Hampden Township Veterans Park at 4345 Marketplace Way, Enola. In the event of rain, it will be held in the community room of the Good Hope Fire Station, 1200 Good Hope Road. This ceremony is being hosted by the township veterans recognition committee and the Hampden Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 1.

Walnut Bottom: The village of Walnut Bottom will have a Memorial Day parade at 6 p.m. The parade forms at the east end of Walnut Bottom near Kartunes Unlimited Auto Body on Route 174/Walnut Bottom Road, and proceeds through the village of Walnut Bottom to the firehouse at 16 Firehouse Road. Observers can bring lawn chairs and sit on the front lawn of Trinity Fellowship Center, 110 W. Main St. The center will be the host site of a chicken barbecue fundraiser from 4 to 5:30 p.m. to benefit the Trinity Trustees. The chicken is sold by advance reservation for eat-in or take-out by calling Dave at 422-8907. People can buy a $9 meal to include a barbecued chicken half, baked beans with bacon, applesauce, a roll and dessert. Single chicken halves are also available at $5 each. To register to be in the parade, contact either Danny at 717-729-0725 or chief0049@yahoo.com or Danielle at 532-6477 or mag1@kuhncom.net.

Sunday, May 28

Boiling Springs: The annual parade will begin at 1 p.m. and end at the Memorial Clock Tower at Childrens Lake where ceremonies will be held. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be in the Boiling Springs High School auditorium. The Cumberland County Honor Guard will provide a firing detail. A picnic will be held after the parade in the Boiling Springs Tavern parking lot. The guest speaker for the event is retired Army Lt. Col. Jorie Hanson. VFW Post 8851 will host the parade and picnic.

Mount Holly Springs: Starting at 1 p.m., a ceremony will be held in the banquet room of the South Mountain American Legion Post 674, 601 W. Pine St. The guest speaker will be Lt. Col. Drew Jones of the Army War College.

Monday, May 29

Camp Hill: A parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. at 19th and Market streets and will continue to the fire hall, 2145 Walnut St., Camp Hill. A service will follow at 11 a.m. at the Camp Hill Cemetery behind the fire hall. In the event of rain, the service will be held at the Camp Hill Borough building at 2145 Walnut St. The guest speaker will be Lt. Col. Keith W Littlewood of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Carlisle: The annual parade will form at 8:30 a.m. and start at 9 a.m. Services will follow at the Veterans Memorial Courtyard at 9:45 a.m. In the event of rain, the parade will be cancelled and ceremonies will be held in the Old Courthouse on the Square. The guest speaker is retired Army Col. Adam Roth, deputy assistant to the commanding general, 99th Regional Support Command Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The Joint Veterans Council of Carlisle organized the parade and services.

Carlisle: VFW Post 477 will serve a free lunch for Carlisle area veterans from noon to 2 p.m. at the post, 2104 W. Trindle Road. There will be a guest speaker.

Mechanicsburg: A Memorial Day parade will start at 10 a.m. followed by a ceremony at the Mechanicsburg Cemetery GAR monument on Marble Street at 11 a.m. Parade marshals will be borough police officer Justin Shutt and K-9 Marc. In case of inclement weather, the parade will be cancelled and the ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. inside VFW Post 6704, 4907 Carlisle Pike. The guest speaker will be Justin Myers, an Army reservist and Mechanicsburg Borough police officer. The Mechanicsburg Area Veterans Council organized the parade and ceremony.

Mechanicsburg: Vietnam Veterans of Mechanicsburg will hold a memorial service at 2 p.m. at the Lincoln Colored Cemetery off Winding Hill Road. This service will be conducted rain or shine.

Monroe Township: The public is invited to gather at the flagpole at the Mount Zion Cemetery at 10 a.m., 1369 Boiling Springs Road. Township military veterans are encouraged to attend to be honored for their service to country. Guest speakers retired Army colonels John and Cindy Dwyer will speak on The True Meaning of Memorial Day. Township supervisor Bill Castle will be master of ceremonies. Pastor Ned Davis of the West Shore Evangelical Free Church will offer the invocation and benediction. The Cumberland Valley Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Color Guard will present the colors to begin the ceremony. Bagpiper Bill Gable will play Highland Cathedral and Amazing Grace. Sharon Nelson will lead the audience in a patriotic sing-along. Bugler Robert Loy of the Cumberland County Veterans Honor Guard will play taps. Cumberland Valley JROtC, Monroe Township Boy Scout Troop 333 and Girl Scout Troop 12083 will assist with the ceremony.

Newville: A parade will start at 1 p.m. followed by services at the Fountain at the Veterans Memorial. In the event of inclement weather, the parade will be cancelled and services will be held at the VFW post on West Main Street. Guest speaker will be retired Marine Corps Col. Gary Sokoloski of the Big Spring High School Class of 1975. The Joint Veterans Council of Newville will hold the parade and services.

Shippensburg: Ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. at Locust Grove Cemetery followed by services at Spring Hill Cemetery at 11 a.m. A flag raising is scheduled for noon at the Shippensburg Veterans Memorial Park. Navy and Marine memorial services will be conducted at Branch Bridge on King Street at 1:15 p.m. The parade starts at 2 p.m. from the corner of King and Prince streets. In the event of inclement weather, each unit can return to the post involved for refreshments and fellowship. The Joint Veterans Council of Shippensburg organized this schedule of Memorial Day events.

Silver Spring: The Veterans Memorial Committee will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. at Willow Mill Park, 80 Willow Mill Park Road. The public is invited to remember those who served and to attend an open house tour of the memorial. Army veteran Michael Hanrahan, a civilian worker with the Defense Senior Leader Development Program, Army War College, will give a keynote address on the topic Over There, the American Military Overseas since World War I in this centenary year of U.S. entry into the First World War. The open house will include a guided tour of the memorial including its history and symbolism. The tour begins immediately after the ceremony and lasts about 30 minutes. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held under a covered pavilion nearby. Due to limited seating, the public is asked to bring lawn chairs or blankets.
A U.S. Navy destroyer in the vicinity of a man-made island in the South China Sea was told to leave the area by Chinese warships, a Chinese defense official said Thursday.

Ren Guoqiang, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, said China sternly warned the U.S. over its patrol near the disputed territory and that the moves were not conducive to peace and stability in the region, Reuters reported.

The destroyer was less than 12 nautical miles from a man-made island, he said.

The USS Dewey, a guided-missile destroyer, made the passage near the Mischief Reef. The patrol was the first freedom of navigation operation to occur near a Chinese artificial island since President Trump took office in January, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.

Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment to the newspaper on the operation.

We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea, he said in a statement to The Wall Journal Street. We operate in accordance with international law. He added that the patrols are not about any one country, or any one body of water.

Fox News Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Hamas said Thursday it put to death three men it had accused of killing a senior member of the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza in March.

Hamas' Interior Ministry told reporters that two men were hanged and one was killed by firing squad Thursday. The three received death sentences Sunday after a brief, week-long special military court found them guilty of killing Mazen Faqha. Local rights groups slammed the trial, calling it unprecedented given its speed.

MANCHESTER BOMBING SIGNALS NEW ISIS STRATEGY OF TARGETING CHILDREN

The executions took place at a police headquarters and was attended by hundreds of people, including Hamas officials and community leaders.

The death of Faqha, a shadowy senior figure in Hamas' military wing, shocked Hamas, which has ruled Gaza with an iron fist for the past decade.

Faqha, 38, was killed in the garage of his apartment building on March 24, shortly after he had dropped off his family. Hamas said the killer used a weapon with a silencer, allowing him to escape undetected before Faqha's body was discovered an hour later.

Hamas immediately accused Israel of killing him through collaborators and launched a manhunt.

Israel had sentenced Faqha to nine terms of life imprisonment for directing deadly suicide bombing attacks. He was freed along with more than 1,000 other Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a single Israeli soldier in 2011.

Hamas has put to death 25 people sentenced under its judicial system since 2007 when it took over Gaza in bloody street battles from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas also killed 23 people without trials during its 2014 war with Israel.

Rights groups have questioned the fairness of trials under the Hamas system.

Human Rights Watch condemned the executions in a statement.

"Rushing to put men to death based on an unreviewable decision of a special military court days after announcing their arrests and airing videoed confessions smacks of militia rule, not the rule of law," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said.

"Reliance on confessions, in a system where coercion, torture and deprivation of detainee's rights are prevalent, and other apparent due process violations further taint the court's verdicts. Death as government-sanctioned punishment is inherently cruel and always wrong, no matter the circumstance."

After Faqha's killing, Hamas set up checkpoints throughout Gaza and barred all residents and foreign aid workers from leaving the coastal strip and going to Israel.

It has since eased some of the restrictions.
A bomb exploded inside a car with former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos in central Athens on Thursday.

Papademos and two bank of Greece employees were wounded when the bomb exploded inside the car they were in, police said.

Papademos, 69, opened an envelope inside his car that contained explosives, according to local media in Athens. However, police did not immediately confirm that it was a parcel bomb.

Papademos was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. His driver also was wounded, a police official told The Telegraph.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos described the incident as an "attack." He said the former prime minister and the two people injured were in stable condition and are conscious. Doctors "are undergoing all the necessary medical tests," Tzanakopoulos added.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras condemned the violence and wished Papademos a "speedy recovery."

"We are all in shock following this action," said Nikos Pappas, a government minister and close aide to Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras. "We condemn this appalling action without reservation and with all our heart wish Mr. Papademos the best."

MANCHESTER BOMBING: TRUMP CALLS INFO LEAKS 'DEEPLY TROUBLING'

Papademos served as prime minister for six months from 2011 to 2012 and is a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank.

Police said at least one additional person in the car was injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Greek politicians have been targeted in the past by militant far-left and anarchist groups. Earlier this year, a group called Conspiracy Cells of Fire, claimed responsibility for sending parcel bombs to the German Finance Ministry and the Paris office of the International Monetary Fund, where a small explosion injured one person.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The last Japanese peacekeepers with a United Nations mission have left South Sudan. The team was Japan's first with an expanded mandate to use force if necessary to protect civilians and U.N. staff.

Japan decided in March to end its peacekeeping mission in the East African nation where civil war is well into its fourth year.

The 350-member Japanese team had arrived in November and focused on road construction.

Japanese military involvement overseas is a sensitive issue at home. The military's use of force is limited by the post-World War II constitution.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said he would resign if any member of the team in South Sudan were killed.

The departure of the Japanese peacekeepers is also a setback for international support of South Sudan's government.
The Latest on the siege of a southern Philippine city by militants linked to the Islamic State group (all times local):

1 p.m.

A top Philippine official says foreign fighters are among the militants linked to the Islamic State group who have laid siege to the southern city of Marawi.

Manila Solicitor General Jose Calida told reporters Friday that Indonesians and Malaysians are fighting in Marawi.

The militants have torn through the streets of Marawi since Tuesday night, torching buildings, taking a priest and his worshippers hostage and sealing off much of the city. At least 44 people have died in the fighting, including 31 militants and 11 soldiers.

A number of foreign militants have had a presence in the southern Philippines for decades, including some of Asia's most-wanted.

___

9 a.m.

A police chief in the southern Philippines says he's safe after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced earlier that the chief had been beheaded.

Duterte said Wednesday that militants who have laid siege to the city of Marawi had decapitated the police chief of Malabang.

Malabang Police Chief Romeo Enriquez told The Associated on Friday that he is fine. He said there may have been confusion because a former Malabang police chief was killed in the fighting  but he was not beheaded.

According to Enriquez, the former chief was fatally shot in a clash with the extremists on Tuesday outside a Marawi hospital.

The city of Marawi has been wracked by violence since Tuesday night, when militants swept through the city.

___

11:30 p.m.

Philippine army generals say 31 Islamic State group-linked extremists have been killed in two days of fighting in a southern city that has been under siege since one of Asia's most-wanted militants evaded capture and dozens of rebels came to his aid.

Army officials said 13 fighters were killed Thursday by troops backed by rocket-firing helicopters in Marawi city, an important hub for the Islamic faith that now resembles a war zone. They said six soldiers perished in Thursday's fighting.

The latest deaths raise the overall death toll to more than 40 from the urban fighting, which has sparked an exodus of Marawi residents and prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial rule in the country's restive south.

___

4:15 p.m.

A military spokesman says troops are using helicopters to help clear militants from the besieged city of Marawi in the southern Philippines.

Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera says the helicopters are firing rockets in "a precision attack."

As gunfire crackled in the background, Herrera says authorities believe Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists, is still in the city.

The violence erupted Tuesday night when authorities launched an unsuccessful raid to capture Hapilon.

___

1 p.m.

Catholics in the Philippine capital have attended a Mass for people in the southern region now under martial law and in Marawi.

The city of about 200,000 people was under attack by Muslim militants and people were packing into vehicles to flee the violence Thursday as army trucks rolled into the city center. The Philippines is Asia's largest Roman Catholic nation, but its southern region has a large Muslim minority.

At the Mass in Manila, nun Mary John Mananzan called on people to pray and noted that hostages had been taken, including a priest from the cathedral in Marawi.

People were also protesting out of concern the martial law was too broadly applied. Protest leader Teddy Casino warned that there might be more extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.

___

12:30 p.m.

Army tanks packed with soldiers have rolled into a southern Philippine city to try to restore control after militants linked to Islamic State group launched a violent siege.

Thousands of civilians have been fleeing the city of some 200,000 people.

At least 21 people have died in fighting that erupted late Tuesday, when the army raided the Marawi hideout of Isnilon Hapilon. Hapilon is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head.

But the operation quickly went wrong as the militants called in reinforcements. The city of Marawi was still largely sealed off Thursday, although automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard. Plumes of black smoke rose from the direction of the city center and air force helicopters swooped overhead.

___

The 11:30 p.m. item has been corrected to show that 13 militants and six soldiers were killed Thursday, not Wednesday.
The Latest on Europe's migrant crisis (all times local):

5:45 p.m.

Police in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki have arrested two people for allegedly belonging to a ring that sold falsified identity documents to refugees, enabling them to travel on to Germany.

A police statement says that the two suspects, a 30-year-old Algerian man and a 33-year-old Albanian woman, charged each refugee between 2,500 euros ($2,800) and 4,500 euros ($5,000) for their services.

Police also arrested three Syrian refugees who had allegedly bought documents from the suspects and were due to fly to Germany from Thessaloniki. The papers they would have travelled with were stolen Greek identity cards whose original photos had been changed.

About 62,000 refugees and other migrants are trapped in Greece. Most want to travel on to Europe's prosperous heartland.

___

3:25 p.m.

Romanian border police say they have detained seven migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea who are suspected of trying to illegally cross the border and head into the Schengen zone.

Police said in a statement they found six men and a woman in a field a few hundred yards (meters) from the border with Hungary early Thursday.

Hungary is a member of the visa-free Schengen zone. Romania is not.

The migrants told police they had hitched a ride to the border town of Nadlac and began walking.

___

1:50 p.m.

Spain's defense ministry says a navy frigate has rescued 282 migrants from two boats found adrift in waters off the Libyan coast.

A ministry statement says the migrants rescued Wednesday included 18 Eritrean children under 10 years old. They were sailing in a small rubber boat and a larger wooden one.

The statement Thursday says the migrants were from African and Asian nations. They were transferred to a British vessel also taking part in the European Union's anti-smuggling mission in Libyan waters.

The ministry says the rescue brought to 3,035 the number of migrants picked up by the frigate in the past three months. It says three alleged traffickers were detained.
The suicide bomber in Manchester called his mother to ask for forgiveness hours before he carried out the attack at an Ariana Grande concert, an anti-terror investigator in Libya revealed Thursday.

Salam Abedi, 22, called his mother and said, "Forgive me," Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem said. Abedi's mother and three siblings in Libya were summoned for questioning.

"He was giving farewell," bin Salem said, adding that Libya investigators believe the bomber acted alone based on what his father, Hashim Abedi, told them.

Other terror links involving the bomber's relatives emerged Wednesday. Abedi's father, Ramadan, was a member of the Al Qaeda-backed Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s, according to former security official Abdel-Basit Haroun -- but the father denied the claim.

In addition, the killer's brother Hashim had links to the Islamic State and may have been planning a separate attack in Tripoli, a Libyan government spokesman told Reuters.

Salman Abedi left Libya for England four days before the bombing, his mother said. He apparently fooled his parents by telling them he was heading to a pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Among his stops: Turkey and Germany, though he appeared to make transfers at airports instead of staying in those countries.

Abedi flew into Istanbul on May 18 and later departed for Dusseldorf, a Turkish official told The Associated Press. The official did not say where the flight had departed before landing in Istanbul, but pointed out the attacker had on several occasions in the past used Istanbul as a transit for flights between Libya and Europe.

German officials suggested he transferred in Dusseldorf as well, Sky News reported. Abedi did not appear to be on an international terror watch list, which allowed him to travel freely throughout Europe, according to the news agency.

British Transport Police also announced that armed officers would patrol some U.K. trains for the first time starting Thursday afternoon because of the increased threat of extremist attacks. British Transport Police Chief Constable Paul Crowther said the force has "radically increased" its presence since the Monday night attack.

Authorities raided an apartment on Wednesday believed to be the place where Abedi visited before the attack. The apartment is advertised on a rental website as an "ideal" place to stay next to the Manchester arena, according to Sky News. Abedi visited the apartment about 7 p.m. Monday, three hours before he detonated the bomb. It was unclear if Abedi was staying at the apartment in the days leading up to Monday.

Police were racing to uncover the network around Abedi that they said clearly exists. British investigators earlier said they believed the 22-year-old bomber was given the explosives used to kill himself and others at the pop concert. However, a source told Reuters Thursday that Abedi could have created the bomb himself.

The New York Times released photos of bomb parts found at the scene. Though they do not reveal the size or type of the device, the photos showed it was carefully created to make an impact.

Greater Manchester Police said two more men were arrested early Thursday. Eight men in total have been detained in connection with the attack, in what police have called significant arrests. A woman was arrested late Wednesday but was later released with no charges.

Officers raided a property early Thursday morning in the Moss Side of the city and carried out a controlled explosion.

Britains terrorism threat level has been raised to critical, meaning a new attack could be imminent.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, calling Abedi a soldier of the caliphate.

Abedi was believed to have traveled to Syria and had proven links with ISIS, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Wednesday on BFM television, adding that British and French intelligence have information that Abedi had been to Syria.

A family friend told the Wall Street Journal that Abedi grew "increasingly religious" after his friend, Abdul Wahab Hafidah, was run over by a car and fatally stabbed in May 2016. Abedi viewed it as a hate crime and vowed for revenge, according to the friend.

British soldiers have been deployed in place of police officers to guard high-profile sites such as Buckingham Palace and Parliament.

The Associated Press contributed to the report.
The New York Times on Thursday defended publishing crime scene photos from the Manchester terror attack, even as President Donald Trump was blasting leaks about the investigation to the Times and other media outlets that emanated from American sources.

The New York Times said in a statement that its coverage of the attack "has been both comprehensive and responsible."

The newspaper added that published photos of the evidence gathered at Manchester arena were "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims." The pictures provided detailed evidence of the bomb used in the Manchester attack.

Prime Minister Theresa May and other top British officials criticized the leaks during the ongoing investigation. Trump blasted U.S. officials for the leaks on Thursday, calling them "deeply troubling," although it was unclear whether the Times received the photos from U.S. officials.

The name of the bomber, Salman Abedi, was disclosed to U.S. media just as raids were underway both in Manchester and in Libya, where the bomber's father lives.

"These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security," Trump said in a statement the White House released.

Trump ordered the Justice Department to launch a full investigation into leaks from the Manchester bomb probe. Following the release of crime scene photos from the bombing, President Trump has asked for "a complete review" of leaks from U.S. government agencies.

The president is expected to get an earful from May following the apparent leak at the NATO summit. The British prime minister said she planned to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

A British official told Fox News that they were "pleased that U.S. authorities have launched launched an investigation into breaches of this principle," adding that the U.S. is Britain's "closest and most trusted partner" and the leaks have not deterred them from working closely on future issues.

In the statement, Trump said "there is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom," and promised that his administration would get to the bottom of the matter.

The Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said intelligence sharing with the U.S. relating to the Manchester probe has been suspended. Earlier on Thursday, Manchester police threatened to stop sharing probe information if the leaks to U.S. media continued, according to a British official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

MANCHESTER TERROR ATTACK: BOMBER REPORTEDLY VISITED GERMANY DAYS BEFORE ATTACK

Greater Manchester Police condemned the leaks on behalf of the National Counterterrorism Policing units in a statement that suggested a severe rupture in trust between Britain and the United States, whose law enforcement officials have traditionally shared intelligence at the highest levels.

"When the trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their family," the statement said.

"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counterterrorism investigation."

FATHER, BROTHERS OF MANCHESTER BOMBING SUSPECT ARRESTED

Home Secretary Amber Rudd complained the leaks could cost police "the element of surprise" in their bid to prevent future attacks.

Eight men have now been detained in connection with Monday's attack. Those include Abedi's two brothers, Hashim and Ismail, as well as his father, Ramadan Abedi. A woman was arrested late Wednesday, but was released without charge.

Manchester police said the arrests were "significant" and the investigation continues with searches that will take place for several more days. They added they've uncovered items during the raids and searches across the city that are believed to be important to the investigation.

ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT ATTACK: VICTIMS IN MANCHESTER BLAST IDENTIFIED

Twenty-two people were killed when the explosion ripped through the foyer of Manchester Arena as singer Ariana Grande was wrapping up her concert. Another 116 people were wounded, with at least 12 children suffering from significant injuries. Grande's reps announced on Wednesday that the singer will be suspending her tour for at least two weeks.

Manchester police said they believe they have identified all 22 victims killed in the attack, but it will take "several days" to formally announce the names to the public. A few tributes to victims have been posted on the Greater Manchester police's Twitter page.

Fox News' Serafin Gomez, Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi was ejected from a Manchester mosque after a row in which he was accused of behaving like a child.

The dispute two months ago at the Salaam Community center in Moss Side came after he had tried to hide in the mosque library to read religious books overnight.

BOMBER REPORTEDLY VISITED GERMANY DAYS BEFORE ATTACK

Mosque chairman Abdullah Muhsin Norris, 70, told Sky News: "I am very unhappy knowing that he has come here and prayed here and seeing him reading the Koran and so on and the next minute you hear he blew up and 22 people are killed ... It is very hard to believe someone could do that, but he has done it."

On the incident two months ago, he said: "I saw him staying over in the mosque and I told him that he had to leave."

"I was very annoyed with him. He said don't treat me like a child.

"He is very easy to be upset."

The chairman told Sky News he has banned political discussions at the mosque and has previously referred matters to the police where he has been concerned about radicalization.

Read more at Sky News.
Following the detention of the entire municipal police force in the Mexican city of Zihuatanejo, a pleasant U.S. expat hotspot on the Pacific coast, 20 alleged drug traffickers were found to have been masquerading as cops.

Last Tuesdays bust was conducted by state and federal police, along with the Marine Corps. Acting on mounting evidence of corruption in that precinct, they detained all 246 officers and officials until they could provide official credentials.

At the end of the operation, 51 arrests were made, including three high-ranking officers, but 31 were later released on charges of operating without full accreditation. The remaining 20 were charged with ties to organized crime and impersonation of public officials.

TWO INDIGENOUS BROTHERS WHO DEFENDED TRIBAL LANDS FROM CARTELS KILLED IN MEXICO

Many of them are real police officers, but who we believe have strong ties to organized crime in the region, Zihuatanejos Public Security Chief Carlos Cruz told Fox News. The cartels are very powerful in the state of Guerrero, and we are working to purge our public bodies of links to drug trafficking.

Since last weeks operation, the Pacific resorts municipal force has been taken off duty, leaving the state police and Mexican military to patrol the streets.

It was a shock, said David Claassen, originally from Ohio, but who has lived in Mexico for the past three years. We had no idea this was going on, as Zihuatanejo is such a peaceful and friendly place.

Both the towns mayor Gustavo Garcia and the Municipal Police Chief David Nogueda refused to comment, yet sources close to the government said it is only a matter of time before the Municipal Police force is disbanded and control of Zihuatanejo is handed over to state authorities.

The municipal police will cease to exist once this scandal dies down, said one magistrate who declined to be identified. They are extremely corrupt and have only made organized crime worse in Zihua.

The magistrate, who works in the police station and was a daily witness to organized crimes infiltration into the force, said he needs to change his phone number once a month to avoid threatening calls from local gangsters.

MEXICAN JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE OF RIVAL CARTELS

Whenever a narco was brought to me after being arrested, I would receive a call from the street boss demanding his immediate release. I had to comply because they know where my family lives and would threaten me terribly, he said.

I would fine the gangster $25 for his arrest, but the money would be collected by my bosses here in the precinct and never arrive where it should have, he told Fox News. Theres nothing anyone can do, because if you speak out against the corruption, your life is in danger.

One narco masquerading as a police officer, known as El Cadete (The Cadet), had been recruited into the municipal police force just 20 days before the bust, but was already well-known to the long-serving officers  he has been arrested numerous times in possession of illegal firearms in the past, a felony which usually carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence in Mexico.

Suspicions over local narcos masquerading as cops were first aroused in early April, when three municipal police officers disappeared from the precinct after protesting about their colleagues activities.

Weeks later, on April 25, those three men were killed when police officers who later turned out to be fake attacked a security outpost in neighboring Ixtapa.

The killers were the same men who I saw every day in the precinct, the magistrate told Fox News. They killed the young men in broad daylight and later laughed about it.

Guerrero state, which is the worlds third most prolific producer of opium gum, all of which is sent north to fuel the U.S. heroin epidemic, is currently Mexicos most murderous region.

The state is home to more than half of the 62 drug cartels known to be operating in Mexico today, and while the majority of the crime is centered on Acapulco, Zihuatanejo is going through a spate of violence that has seen nine murders in the seven days since the raid on the towns municipal police.

There are two gangs operating here: the Sangre Nueva Generacion (New Generation Blood, a group aligned to Joaquin El Chapo Guzmans Sinaloa Cartel), which controls the beachfront and touristic areas, and the Fulana group controls the villages and wider region around the town, one local newspaper reporter told Fox News.

MEXICAN REPORTER AND NARCO-EXPERT KILLED IN SINALOA  5TH JOURNALIST THIS YEAR

While the locals in Zihuatanejo were taken by surprise at the sudden operation, few were shocked by the arrests made.

You cant trust the cops here, the only people they take care of are the tourists, said Miguel Angel Romero. They dont care about the terror the locals live with in the neighborhoods away from the beach.

A street level municipal police officer in Zihuatanejo earns $360 a month, a wage few are likely to risk taking a bullet for by defying local gangsters, who offer additional compensation for the authorities silence.

Now we have the state police on patrol, things can improve, the magistrate said. They are not afraid to shoot when they come across the narcos, but things will only get better if they are up for the fight, otherwise it will be business as usual.
NATO is set to expand for the first time after eight years by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. The tiny Balkan nation is attending the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday practically as a member, although the entry process formally will be wrapped in early June. To get there, Montenegro has stood up against Russia, which has sought to maintain strong historic, political and cultural influence in the country it considers a zone of interest. Russia has threatened economic and political retaliation. Montenegro says Moscow was behind a foiled coup attempt in October, which Russia denies.

THE BLACK MOUNTAIN ON THE SEA

Montenegro  which means "Black Mountain"  is a small country in southeast Europe. It is a land of stunning natural beauty, squeezed between the Adriatic Sea and towering mountains, laced with green valleys and rushing rivers. The land area is nearly 14,000 square kilometers (5,300 square miles). Just over 600,000 people live in Montenegro, mostly in the capital Podgorica and along the coast. The economy is weak, relying largely on tourism.

A MOSTLY CHRISTIAN NATION WITH A COMPLEX HISTORY

About 70 percent Montenegrins are Orthodox Christians, which partly explains strong links to Russia, also a predominantly Orthodox Christian country. Until recently, Montenegro had been a faithful ally of Russia in the Balkans. Montenegro was also a rare country in the region to have retained a level of autonomy during centuries-long Turkish Ottoman rule.

A DIVORCE FROM SERBIA, AND AN ODD RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA

Montenegro was part of Yugoslavia, which was dissolved in 1992. Montenegro then formed a union with Serbia. As a Serbian ally, Montenegro was bombed in 1999 by NATO which launched air strikes to stop a crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists. After deciding to split with Serbia in 2006 in a referendum, Montenegro took a strong turn toward Euro-Atlantic integration, despite Russia's bid to retain political and economic influence. Russian companies have invested millions in Montenegro, which has also become a favorite tourist destination. Russia recently has warned its citizens against traveling to Montenegro and has banned imports of Montenegrin wine.

HOW A TINY NATION IS DIMINISHING THE INFLUENCE OF A HUGE ONE

Montenegro has an army of just some 2,000 soldiers. But it is strategically located on the Adriatic sea, between NATO members Croatia and Albania, having deep-water navy bases that could be used for big navy ships and submarines. Bringing Montenegro into NATO further diminishes Russia's influence in southeast Europe, and blocks it from the so-called "warm seas" in Europe. The Russians are less worried about the strategic military loss than about their diminishing political influence on the region.

HOW GLOBAL TENSIONS PLAY OUT WITHIN MONTENEGRO

Montenegrin people remain deeply split over NATO and Russia relations. Pro-NATO government officials say membership in NATO will bring stability after a turbulent history and loss of independence in the 20th century. Pro-Russian opposition figures say NATO entry means the betrayal of traditional friends, Serbia and Russia. The divisions are likely to persist after Montenegro formally joins NATO, but officials hope they will ease over time.

Economic development will play a crucial role, and Montenegro began negotiations toward joining the European Union in 2012.
Its a scene that would have been unheard of just a few decades ago.

The Hillary Step  a 40-foot wall of snow and rock just below Mount Everests 29,029-foot summit and well into the so-called death zone above 26,000 feet  looks more like an escalator at a crowded shopping mall than one of the most precarious places on Earth for a human to be. Dozens of climbers in colorful down suits shuffle along lines of fixed rope at a dangerously slow pace in their push to summit the worlds highest mountain.

When Sir Edmund Hillary, whose name is attached to the infamous step, and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 became the first people to summit Everest, they were utterly alone on the mountains upper slopes. More than 60 years later, hundreds of people attempt, every March through October, to reach the top of the world during the peak climbing season.

While major improvements in climbing gear, weather forecasting and communications equipment -- along with the advent of professional guiding services -- have made the endeavor slightly safer, it also has opened up the mountain to less-experienced climbers and created the high-altitude traffic jams on the mountain that in the past have proved deadly.

The biggest problem on Everest is the toxic mix of inexperienced climbers and unqualified guides, Alan Arnette, a climber who summited Everest in 2011, told Fox News. That is the new reality on the mountain.

Overcrowding is a recent phenomenon on Everest as the mountain -- which straddles the border of Nepal and the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet -- was closed to foreigners for centuries and for most of the last century Nepalese authorities would only grant a climbing permit to one group per season. During the 1980s, Nepal  seeking to improve the countrys financial situation  began issuing multiple permits during the climbing season and the ensuing number of people attempting Everest skyrocketed.

In 1990, 72 people made it to the summit of Everest, while in 2016, 641 reached the peak.

The Nepalese Tourism Department issued a record 371 permits this year to people to scale the mountain. The increased number of climbers is likely because many people were unable to climb in 2014 when a deadly icefall killed 16 Sherpas, and an earthquake-triggered avalanche the following year took another 18 lives.

Climbers who had permits for the 2014 season were allowed to receive a free replacement permit good until 2019, while climbers with 2015 permits were given only until this year.

Veteran climbers and many guide services say that the large number of people on the mountain is not the main problem, but exacerbates the other dangers on Everest. Large groups and unproven climbers slow the progress of everyone else  keeping people on the mountain longer and exposing them to risks like avalanches, collapsing columns of ice known as serac falls, crevasses and rapidly changing weather conditions.

Overcrowding is certainly an issue, Gordon Janow, director of programs at the Seattle-based guide service Alpine Ascents, told Fox News. Its become one of the variables that you have to deal with and try to mitigate the risks the same way you do with avalanches and crevasses.

Deaths on Everest have become a tragically normal event during the climbing season. So far this year, 10 people have died in a series of accidents, four more than mountaineering officials expect in a typical year.

[Overcrowding has] become one of the variables that you have to deal with and try to mitigate the risks the same way you do with avalanches and crevasses.  Gordon Janow, the director of programs at the Seattle-based guide service Alpine Ascents

On Wednesday, authorities said Sherpa rescuers found the bodies of four climbers inside a tent at the highest camp on Everest, a few thousand feet from the summit. The rescuers were in the area to recover the body of a Slovak mountaineer who had died over the weekend.

"Some years there are more, and some years there are less, but deaths on the mountain are normal," Jiban Ghimire, who runs a prominent expedition company, Shangrila-Nepal Trek, told The Associated Press. "It is the nature of the work. We can't say what will happen on the mountain.

Despite the number of deaths and concern in the climbing community, experts say that there is very little chance that anybody will address the issue of overcrowding. Nepal is heavily reliant on the money it gets from the climbing permits  which cost around $11,000 per climber  and many poorly trained Sherpas have started their own cut-rate guide services to cater to a growing market of middle-class climbers from China and India.

Demand to climb Everest has gone through the roof, Arnette said. So now you have Sherpas in Nepal who two weeks before were herding yaks and now theyre guiding clients up the mountain.

Arnette said that its up to the climbers to know their limits, have the proper skills for high-altitude mountaineering and pick a guide service with experience on Everest or similar peaks. But with less than a week to go in the official Everest climbing season and an estimated 150 people still expected to make a push for the summit, he had some advice from his previous experience on the mountain.

In 2011, I summited at five in the morning and I was the fourth person to make it up, he said. The best way to avoid overcrowding is to start early. The crowding can be managed if you move fast and efficiently.
The suspected bomber in the concert attack in Britain passed through Germany and Turkey before the attack, authorities said Thursday.

Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airport's transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.

"According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area," police said in a statement. Police didn't provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.

A Turkish official told The Associated Press that the 22-year-old suspect traveled through Istanbul and Duesseldorf on his way to Britain.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without prior authorization, wouldn't say which country Abedi had arrived from to Istanbul. However, the official added that the attacker had on several occasions in the past used Istanbul as a transit for flights between Libya and Europe.

German magazine Focus, citing unnamed federal security sources, had earlier reported that British-born Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and that he wasn't on any international watch list.

A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't been cleared for public release.

Focus reported that Abedi previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015. The magazine also wrote that German authorities are trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany. The report said that British police informed their German counterparts that Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria beforehand.

The Czech Republic's interior minister, meanwhile, said a report by German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel claiming Abedi had traveled to Germany via Prague, wasn't correct.

Milan Chovanec tweeted that "I can confirm that information that this person was flying through Prague isn't true."

___

Karel Janicek in Prague, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
Indonesia's president ordered a thorough investigation Thursday of twin suicide bombings that targeted police, killing three officers, in the deadliest attack by suspected militants in the capital in a year.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he ordered police to "thoroughly investigate the networks of the perpetrators and hunt them to the roots." He spoke from his hometown of Solo in Central Java province.

The bombings on Wednesday night also injured six other police officers and five civilians.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since the 2002 Bali bombings by al-Qaida-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people. A new threat has emerged in the past several years from Islamic State group sympathizers.

Vice National Police Chief Syafruddin, who uses one name, said an initial investigation into Wednesday's blast showed there were two explosions by two suicide bombers near a bus terminal, where police were providing security for a parade.

Police said an anti-terror squad immediately raided two houses believed to be owned by the perpetrators in neighboring provinces of Banten and West Java. Police seized camping equipment, sharp weapons, passports and other documents from their houses.

Police have identified the bombers as Ichwanul Nurul Salam, 40, and Ahmad Sukri, 32, both from West Java province, said Col. Arif Makhfudiharto, chief of the West Java anti-terror squad.

"Police have taken their relatives for questioning and DNA tests," Makhfudiharto told The Associated Press.

National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said one the two explosions occurred at a bus shelter while another struck near a parking lot about 10 meters (yards) away. He said initial investigations indicated the bombs were made out of pressure cookers and were carried in backpacks.

He added that nails, buckshot and aluminum flakes found at the scene indicated that the bombs were similar to a pressure cooker bomb that exploded in a vacant lot in February in Bandung, West Java provincial capital. The suspected perpetrator fled into a municipal building and set it alight before he was fatally shot by police.

West Java police spokesman Yusri Yunus said Salam's wife told investigators that the bombs used in Wednesday's attack and the February blast were assembled by another militant she identified only as Agus.

"We are now looking for Agus who is still at large," Yunus said. "He's dangerous."

Police identified the man killed in February as a member of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of almost two dozen Indonesian extremist groups that formed in 2015 and pledges allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

JAD members are believed to have contact with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria, and the group has been linked to numerous plots in Indonesia, including a 2016 attack in central Jakarta that left four civilians and four assailants dead.

In March, police shot dead a suspected JAD member and wounded another as they tried to escape a raid. At least six other militants were arrested, including some accused of trying to establish a jihadist training camp in eastern Indonesia and suspected of having links with Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines.

Last month, police said they arrested three suspected militants who were accused of planning to attack a police station in East Java.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told his Parliament on Thursday that he had phoned Jokowi to "offer our condolences and our resolute support to Indonesia as we condemn the murderous terrorist attack on civilians and police in Jakarta last night."

Australia and Indonesia plan to jointly host an Asia-Pacific summit in August aimed at coordinating against the security threat posed by homegrown Islamic militants returning from battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

___

Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.
A Russian editor of a local newspaper was found shot dead in a small Siberian town on Wednesday, and investigators believe the motive for the murder may have been work-related.

Dmitry Popkov, 42, editor of the Ton-M newspaper, was found dead with gunshot wounds outside his home in the city of Minusinsk, the Investigative Committee in the Krasnoyarsk region said in a statement.

COMEY INFLUENCED BY BOGUS RUSSIAN DOCUMENT, REPORT SAYS

The investigators are looking into several possible motives, including Popkovs work.

The investigation is following various lines of enquiry regarding this killing, including that it may have been motivated by the victims professional activities, the investigators said in a statement, according to AFP.

BRENNAN SAYS HE SAW INTEL LINKING RUSSIA TO TRUMP CAMPAIGN ASSOCIATES

Popkov created Ton-M, a rare regional publication that has been openly critical of local authorities and functionaries from the Kremlin-backed United Russia party. We write what other people keep quiet about, the papers motto states, according to Crime Russia.

Popkov held a brief tenure at the Minusinsk city council before he was stripped of his seat.

Popkov is the second journalist to be slain in Russia in 2017. The first was Nikolai Andrushchenko, who died in April six weeks after being beaten by unidentified attackers in St. Petersburg. Andrushchenko co-founded the Novy Peterburg newspaper, where he wrote about crime and human rights issues.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Slovakia's prosecutor general has asked the Supreme Court to ban a parliamentary far-right party.

The spokeswoman for Jaromir Ciznar says the party Kotleba, or The People's Party Our Slovakia, is an extremist group whose activities violate the country's constitution.

The prosecutor general says the party's goal is to destroy the country's democratic system.

The Kotleba party openly admires the Nazi puppet state that the country was during World War II. Party members use Nazi salutes, consider NATO a terror group and want the country out of the alliance and the European Union.

Party leader Marian Kotleba previously led the banned neo-Nazi Slovak Togetherness-National Party, which organized anti-Roma rallies and admired past Nazi rule.

The party has 14 lawmakers in the 150-seat parliament. It has not commented on the proposed ban.
A U.S. Navy patrol sent a guided missile destroyer past a group of man-made islands in the contested South China Sea this week.

The USS Dewey was involved in the event, which took place Thursday around Mischief Reef, an artificial island China has built and fortified to assert its claims over the strategic waterway.

The U.S. destroyer allegedly "trespassed" near islands in which China has "indisputable sovereignty," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

However, a number of countries claim areas in the South China Sea. Here's what to know.

China's stance

China claims sovereignty of virtually all of the South China Sea. The country has aggressively tried to fortify its foothold by turning seven mostly submerged reefs into island outposts, some with runways and radars and, more recently, weapons systems.

The man-made islands are primarily for civilian purposes and to increase safety for ships, China claims. The superpower has said it won't interfere with freedom of navigation or overflight.

However, there have been questions about if that includes military ships and aircraft.

The work is opposed by the other claimants to the atolls and the United States. They're wary of restrictions on ship movements in a key waterway for world trade.

CHINA WARNED NAVY DESTROYER USS DEWEY TO LEAVE AREA NEAR MAN-MADE ISLAND, OFFICIAL SAYS

What's in the South China Sea?

The South China Sea boasts rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of undersea oil, gas and mineral deposits.

Eleven million barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas may be there, according to a 2013 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Major disputes

The Paracels, a group of islands and reefs, are occupied by China but are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Those three countries also each claim the Spratly Islands, which are located further south, CNN reported. Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines likewise claim several of the Spratlys or waters nearby, the report said.

What has been determined?

An international tribunal in The Hague last year rejected most of China's claims to the water. China's reclamation was aggravating tensions and violating the sovereignty of fellow claimant the Philippines, the tribunal said.

The ruling, however, has been ignored by China.

BEIJING PROTESTS US NAVY PATROL THROUGH SOUTH CHINA SEA

What about the incident with the USS Dewey around Mischief Reef?

Thursday's incident was the first U.S. challenge to Beijing's claims to the waters since President Donald Trump took office.

Washington has previously said that it has the right to conduct so-called freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPS, in the area because it is in international waters.

U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region will continue to conduct freedom of navigation operations to "challenge excessive maritime claims in order to preserve the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law," U.S. Defense Department spokesman Maj. Jamie Davis said in an emailed statement.

"FONOPS are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements," Davis said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Union Cabinet Approves Allocation of 2.5% of Central Road Fund for National Waterways Development

Published: May 25, 2017

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for allocating 2.5% of the Central Road Fund (CRF) for the development of the National Waterways.

Central Road Fund is a duty on excise and customs levied on petrol and high-speed diesel.

Contents Significance

Background

Significance

The allocation will provide around Rs 2000 crore annually for the development and maintenance of the National Waterways which in turn will boost inland water transport. According to the Inland Waterways Authority of India, the development of National Waterways would require Rs 25,000 crore till 2022-2023. The move is also expected to provide employment opportunities to 1.8 lakh persons in the next 5 years

A number of facilities like navigation aids, night navigation facility, facilities for embarking and disembarking at designated locations, facilities for expeditious crossing of the Farakka Navigation Lock, pilotage and assistance in distress will be provided by the IWAI.

Background

The National Waterways Act, 2016 was passed in 2016 for the development and maintenance of National Waterways. The act which came into force in 12 April, 2016 has declared 111 inland waterways across 24 states as national waterways. At present five National Waterways are operational.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory body in charge of the waterways in India. Its headquarters is located in Noida, UP. Its main function is to build the necessary required infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also administration and regulation.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017

Topics: Cabinet Decisions  National

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The number of refugees in Germany capable of committing terrorist attack in the country has quadrupled since 2011, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, BKA, told government broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Security concerns have heightened in Germany after close to a million refugees arrived in 2015 from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa. Fears worsened when more than 1,200 women were reportedly assaulted in various German cities on New Years Eve in 2015.

Officials say there are 657 refugees capable of committing terror attacks and 388 potential accomplices in such attacks.

'PURE HATRED': TRANSLATOR REVEALS HOW MUSLIM REFUGEES WANT TO 'ISLAMIZE' GERMANY

There was no proper vetting for the refugees who came here in 2015, said Alexander Ritzmann, executive director of the European Foundation for Democracy, an NGO that exposes jihadist propaganda and right-wing extremism. The government is still trying to get a hold on who is actually here.

Despite German anxiety about terrorists slipping in with the refugees, very few of the 500,000 Syrians who were part of the mass influx have been radicalized. But Ritzmann warned that the refugees are vulnerable to radicalization.

They have no connection to German culture, language, or food, or anything, he said, noting that some accept jihadist bromides because they offer easy solutions to the complexity of refugee life. They offer you answers, and all you have to do is obey their commands.

Germanys lack of success in integrating immigrants was highlighted earlier this month when 63 percent of the countrys 3 million Turks who were eligible to vote in the Turkish election supported a referendum to give sweeping new powers to authoritarian Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

FRANCE, GERMANY UNITE IN FACE OF TRUMP REFUGEE BAN

Germanys Turkish immigration began in the 1960s.

Despite living in a democracy and enjoying freedom and safety, these people voted to eliminate democracy in Turkey, commented Der Spiegel, Germanys largest circulation magazine.

Many Germans question the nations ability to absorb the new immigrants who arrived in 2015 when so many Turks whove been in Germany for over half a century havent been integrated.

The belief that a country would benefit from immigration is a belief that only a tiny number of Germans hold, said Miriam Lau, a correspondent for the respected centrist paper Die Zeit.

According to Lau, Germans have developed many reservations about Germany as an immigrant nation. The same reservations are being voiced in other countries in Western Europe. Central and Eastern Europe are closed to the idea of accepting refugees.

Turkish people have had a more difficult time integrating in Germany than any other immigrant group, writes Bilkay Oney, a former state immigration officer of Turkish descent. Her comments appeared on Deutsche Welle, Germanys public broadcaster.

REFUGEE CRISIS THREATENS MERKEL'S LEGACY

Paul Hockenos, a writer and author of several books on European politics, notes in an article in Foreign Policy magazine that multiple studies show that Turkish children perform poorly in German schools, adding that Germanys underclass is disproportionately immigrant.

Many Turks in Germany remain estranged, torn between the freedom and greater material wealth in Germany and love for their Turkish homeland. This estrangement is exploited by Erdogan, who argues that diaspora Turks owe allegiance first to Turkey. This sows divisions between secular Turks who feel rooted in Germany and those more drawn to Erdogan, who also exercises control through Turkish paid imams in the 900 Turkish mosques in Germany.

Earlier this month, Thomas de Maiziere, Federal Minister of the Interior, called on immigrants to embrace Leitkultur, or shared German values, which include learning German, accepting German values, a general education, and opposition to the burqa.

Germanys Green Party and Chancellor Angela Merkels coalition partner, the Social Democrats, object to the Leitkultur standard for Germanys Muslims.

Turks have consistently experienced discrimination in Germany. Hockenos observes that because the Turks were invited to Germany as temporary workers and then asked to leave, they are not accepted by some Germans and have become marginalized.

Both the Green Party and the Social Democrats believe the Leitkultur standard will only further alienate Germanys 4.5 million Muslims and make integration even more difficult.

And the failure to integrate, some experts say, as witnessed by the immigrant ghettoes in German cities, only increases the terrorist threat.
Tony Romas Announces New Franchisee Agreement In Canada

Westmount Location In Edmonton To Undergo Transformation Inspired By Tony Romas New Global Prototype Restaurant Design

May 25, 2017 // Franchising.com // ORLANDO, Fla. - Romacorp, Inc., parent company of Tony Romas, announces the signing of a new franchise agreement with 2006323 Alberta, Ltd. As part of the agreement, new franchisees Jimmy Salha and Iman Rachid plan to remodel the existing Westmount Tony Romas restaurant, located in a scenic suburban neighborhood of Edmonton, Canada, with design elements from Tony Romas new global prototype restaurant recently launched in Orlando, FL. There are 25 Tony Romas restaurants in the Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba provinces in Canada, and this is the first Tony Romas restaurant for 2006323 Alberta, Ltd.

Having launched in Canada more than 30 years ago, we are proud to have such a loyal and strong fan base throughout the country, and this newest announcement is a true testament to our iconic brand, world-famous food and beverages, and the incredible passion of our franchisees, said Stephen K. Judge, President and Chief Executive Officer of Romacorp, Inc. We are very excited to work with Jimmy and Iman as we bring the results of our recent brand transformation to the Westmount location and to our amazing Canadian rib-lovers.

The Westmount, Edmonton restaurant is located right outside of downtown Edmonton, the central business district of Alberta, Canada. The restaurant boasts a full bar serving an extensive collection of beer, wine and liquor including Tony Romas signature Romarita, several TVs throughout the bar and dining areas and spacious outdoor seating for guests who want to enjoy the sunny weather.

We are thrilled to represent one of the most globally recognizable names in the industry, said Jimmy Salha, President of 2006323 Alberta, Ltd. Tony Romas is a great business venture with great brand recognition, and thats because for generations customers have associated Tony Romas with excellent food and service quality, which they continue to expect.

This announcement comes as Tony Romas celebrates its 45th birthday, an incredible milestone unmatched by any American casual dining restaurant chain. With restaurants in more than 30 countries around the world, Tony Romas continued growth has established the brand as the largest casual dining chain in the world specializing in ribs. Recently, the brand announced the remodel of the Laredo, TX. Tony Romas, and new development and franchisee agreements in West Palm Beach, FL., Tennessee, Nicaragua, Spain and Bolivia.

We will be striving to grow within the company by adding value, devoting time and hard work, and most of all putting our hearts into the business, said Iman Rachid, Director of 2006323 Alberta, Ltd. We will definitely be looking for more opportunities and expand as the company grows.

About Romacorp, Inc.

Romacorp, Inc., is the parent company of Tony Romas restaurants, the worlds largest casual dining concept specializing in ribs. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Romacorp, Inc. has more than 150 restaurant locations in more than 30 countries and is one of the most globally recognizable names in the industry. The first Tony Romas restaurant opened 45 years ago in North Miami, Florida. Tony Romas is also proud to partner with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (www.cnfl.wish.org), one of the worlds leading childrens charities, in an effort to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses across Central and Northern Florida. For more information about Romacorp, Inc. and Tony Romas, visit www.tonyromas.com.

Please visit www.tonyromasfranchise.com or call (866) 981-0586 for information about Tony Romas franchising opportunities.

Media Contact:

Esther McIlvain

Uproar PR for Romacorp, Inc.

(321) 236-0102 x 230

emcilvain@uproarpr.com

SOURCE Romacorp, Inc.

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Twin brothers Steven and Stewart Wegner stand over a loudly hissing furnace.

Theyre swathed in protective gearaprons, gloves, boots and helmetsand with the furnace and the whirring of industrial fans, talking is impossible. So they rely on barely perceptible nods to communicate.

Using a large pair of tongs, they lift a baking hot crucible, which glows orange, from the gas-fired furnace. They move in concert a few paces to the right to where white ceramic molds poke out of a peat-gravel pit.

The brothers tip the crucible. Like lava, out pours a candy-colored stream of molten bronze, heated to the fiery temperature of 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Its the same temperature as the inside of a volcano, Stewart Wegner said.

The brothers are casting pieces of bronze statues. Wegner Metal Arts, their foundry on Wolfe Street in Fredericksburg, is one of the few remaining small metal foundries in Virginia. They have owned and operated it for 40 years.

I still get scared every time we do that, Wegner said when he and Steve finished pouring the bronze on a recent Thursday. Its hot, heavy and dangerous. Its like a ballet, so precise.

But we havent had any accidents yet, he added, rapping his knuckles on a nearby table.

The brothers cast bronze statues for both individual artists and government entities. Their casts include Lance, the newspaper delivery boy who stands outside The Free LanceStar building; the sculpture of Civil Rights pioneer James Farmer on the University of Mary Washington campus; figures of immigrants inside the Statue of Liberty; award figurines for the CIA and the Army; and the Smokey Bear Awards.

At the moment, the foundry is castingamong other thingsa statue by Marine artist Kris Battles of a Marine leading a pack mule down a mountain for a gallery at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and a series of ornate bronze window cranks for the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

In addition to clients work, the brothers cast their own workbronze sculptures of marine life that have been shown in galleries around the world and purchased by notables such as musician Jimmy Buffett.

We sold a jellyfish to Jimmy Buffett 25 years ago, Stewart Wegner said. Its sitting on his coffee table.

The foundry is located in one of the old Farmers Creamery buildings. Its vaulted ceilings and cork-insulated walls are perfect for a foundry, Wegner said.

The creamerys walk-in freezers now house the different steps of the multiphase, thousand-year-old process known as the lost wax casting method by which a bronze statue is produced.

The statues start life as solid clay or wax models that the artist sends into the foundry. Wax artist Stephanie Till, who has worked with the Wegners for 10 years, takes the original work apart so that molds can be made of the different pieces.

We did a bald eagle once with a 21-foot wingspan, Wegner said. We had to cast it in 80 different sections.

Till makes a clay and rubber negative of the original and fills that with hot wax. When the wax hardens and cools, it leaves a hollow duplicate that reflects all the detail and individuality of the artists original.

Then, wax rodsknown as gatesand a pouring cup are attached to the wax casting.

The next step is to cast a ceramic mold that will hold the molten bronze. To do this, the wax cast is dipped into a slurry mixture and then into four courses of sand, starting with fine sand and moving to coarse.

The whole thing is heated to create a ceramic shell and the wax melts out of it, Till said. Thats why its called the lost wax technique. 

The ceramic mold is packed into a gravel pit so that it is stable enough to withstand the high heat of the melted bronze, which is poured inside the mold.

After about two hours, the ceramic shell is jack-hammered open and the rough bronze statue emerges. It is then sandblasted to remove pieces of ceramic shell. The parts are welded together and the piece is re-detailed, smoothed, polished and waxed and a patina is applied.

It can take a month to get a piece done, just a small piece, Wegner said.

The Wegners parents helped them open the foundry decades ago to cast the work of their brother, Paul, a world-renowned sculptor known for his fragmented pieces of jazz musicians.

We got an eight-hour lecture on the [lost wax] technique, Wegner said. But weve been learning for 40 years.

Eventually they started sculpting their own work, which is almost exclusively marine-themed.

[The ocean] is such great subject matter, Wegner said. Theres so much variety.

They do everything from large-scale wall-mounted and free-standing coral reef scenes to crab-shaped bottle openers.

[The bottle openers] are our biggest sellers, Wegner said.

The brothers create everything together. Stewart said he brings the whimsy and Steven is the finisher.

Ill kind of rough something out and then bring it to him and he adds the detail, Stewart Wegner said. Were a good team because we have different kinds of brains.

Stewarts whimsy can be seen in the series Coconuts, which includes both paintings and sculpture. The star of each piece is a befuddled monkey that Stewart puts in different situations. Sometimes hes serving drinks to a demanding flamingo, sometimes hes holding a yard sale on his deserted desert island, sometimes hes making moonshine.

Steven paints as well, but his work is realisticpaintings of boats, each bearing the name of one of his grandchildren, that look like photographs.

The Wegner brothers work can be seen in a gallery at the Wolfe Street foundry and they also travel to art shows. They created a pair of herons that are installed in a courtyard at Mary Washington Hospital, but the majority of their work is privately owned.

It sits in peoples foyers, Wegner said. Weve had tremendous support from this town.

Wegner said he and his brother do not plan to leave the foundry to anyone once they decide to close up shop. He guesses they probably have a few more years of work left in them.

But call me in a few weeks, he joked.

Until then, the foundry and gallery are open and available for tours most days.

We just love creating, Wegner said. Its fun, its hard work, and each day is something new.
W hen traffic is moving on the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, the drive to St. Marys County, Md., from Fredericksburg takes a little more than an hour.

We started with a stop at the county visitors center in Charlotte Hall. Helpful exhibits highlight the countys rich offerings: five state parks, four lighthouses and a number of museums and historic sites. Theres enough to fill a number of day trips.

St. Marys is also home to many Amish families who moved to the area from Lancaster, Pa., in the 1930s. Motorists share the road with buggies driven by the Amish and Mennonites. Not far from the visitors center, we found the Clover Hill Dairy in Mechanicsville.

The market offers free samples of its cheeses, and the Amish cater to their Hispanic customers. The woman behind the counter said cuajada is the dairys best seller.

We didnt have a cooler with us, so we didnt buy any cheese, but we did pick up some apple butter and baked goods.

PAX RIVER WONDERS

We hopped back in the car for a 30-minute drive over to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in Lexington Park, Md.

The museum opened an impressive new building a year ago that houses several aircraft, including a reproduction of the Navys first airplane, the Curtiss A-1 Triad.

The Navy bought the plane in July 1911. It was called the Triad because it could operate on land and sea and in the air.

The museums films include one with footage captured from Navy jets taking off and landing on aircraft carriers. There is also a flight simulator that was down for repairs.

On the museum grounds, there are 21 more aircraft to see.

POTOMAC RIVER LIGHTHOUSES

Originally, I had planned to make the trek down to Point Lookout State Park on the southern tip of the county to see the lighthouse there. But wanting to pack in several stops that day, we opted to make the 25-minute drive over to Piney Point Lighthouse.

The Potomac River lighthouses are not as tall as some I have visited. The one at Piney Point is the oldest on the Potomac and stands at 33 feet. (The Cape Hatteras lighthouse in North Carolina is 193 feet tall, for example.) It was built in 1836 for $5,000.

During the Civil War, the U.S. government created the Potomac Flotilla to patrol the river and try to intercept Confederate blockade runners.

According to a marker at Piney Point, the woman who kept the lighthouse reported rebels crossed from Maryland back into Virginia every night with supplies. They warned her to keep away from the lighthouse because they planned to destroy it.

The sign mentioned that the rebels had a small steamer in the creek above Ragged Point, which they brought from Fredericksburg.

The six-acre park around the lighthouse includes a pier, a small beach area, a picnic area and a kayak launch. There is also a museum and the $7 admission ($3.50 for seniors and children) includes a tour of the lighthouse.

My children enjoyed spending time at the waters edge and playing in the sand. We also spied some ospreys nesting atop a buoy not far from the pier.

It was a relaxing way to spend part of the afternoon.

QUICK STOP IN COUNTY SEAT

It was almost time to head home, but we had just enough time to pass through Leonardtown, the county seat.

Its a small town with a population of about 3,500 and a quaint public square surrounded by shops and restaurants.

The first place that caught our eye was Heritage Chocolates. The company, started in 2015, has a huge assortment of treats to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Many of the offerings are wrapped or boxed in attractive packaging that would make ideal gifts.

With a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels in hand, we strolled down the street to look at some other shops.

We browsed in Fenwick Street Used Books and Music, which is the best kind of bookshop. It has several rooms packed from floor to ceiling with books. We didnt leave empty-handed.

Our last stop was at a neat shop called the Fuzzy Farmers Market, which has the slogan: Where Art and Agriculture Meet.

Its open Wednesday through Saturday, and its run by a cooperative of local spinners, weavers, quilters, knitters and other artisans who use materials from local sheep, goat and alpaca farmers.

The shop also sells yarn spun by the spinners for folks working on their own projects, and they offer classes.

The products are finely crafted, moderately priced and would make great gifts or day trip souvenirs.

With the sun beginning to set and the shops beginning to close, it was time to hit the road.

But I can definitely see taking a trip back to visit a state park or two, Historic St. Marys City and a few more lighthouses.
Union Cabinet Approves National Procurement Policy Giving Preference to Make in India

Published: May 25, 2017

The Union Cabinet Chaired by Prime Minister has given its approval for a national procurement policy that gives preference to Make In India in government procurements. The policy aims to maintain the balance between promoting Make in India and ensuring timely, quality and value-for-money products for the procuring government entities.

Need

The new policy will boost domestic manufacturing and service provision and will enhance income and employment. It will facilitate flow of capital and technology into domestic manufacturing and services. As the government procurement is always substantial it can contribute towards increasing the participation of local employees and improve their living conditions.

Salient Highlights

The national procurement policy will provide purchase preference to local content in Government procurements. Local content essentially means domestic value addition and local suppliers are those whose goods or services meet minimum thresholds (50%) for local content.

For the procurement of goods below Rs 50 lakhs, only local suppliers will be eligible if the Nodal Ministry determines that there is a availability of sufficient local capacity and local competition.

For procurements valued above Rs 50 lakhs or in case of insufficient local capacity and if the lowest bid happens to be from a non local supplier, then the lowest-cost local supplier who is within a margin of 20% of the lowest bid, will be offered an opportunity to match the lowest bid. If the order can be split into more than one supplier, the order will be split between the non-local supplier and the local supplier.

Small procurements valued below Rs 5 lakhs are exempted from the policy.

The order also covers autonomous bodies and all the government entities under the control of the government.

The policy primarily favours self certification for verification of local content. However, if the declarations were found to be false then the supplier will have to face penal consequences.

A Standing Committee in Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will oversee the implementation of this order. It will further make recommendations to Nodal Ministries and procuring entities.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017

Topics: Business  Cabinet Decisions  Make in India  National

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Theres a sign in front of The Vintage Lady, a gift shop at the top of a hill in Harpers Ferry, that pretty much sums up the town experience.

It reads: You are almost there. Keep walking, please.

Anyone planning to visit the West Virginia town, in the most extreme eastern corner of the Mountain State, better be prepared to walk. Whether youre scaling a mountain to get a terrific overlook of the town or climbing steep streets to find fudge flavored like red velvet cakeor cans of leaves like those tossed overboard during the Boston Tea Partyyoure going to get in some steps.

And its going to make you weak in the knees, but more from physical reasons than emotional ones.

Theres no doubt the historic town provides a vista for views. After Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry in 1783, he wrote in his Notes on the State of Virginia that this scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic. The passage of the Patowmac [sic] through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature.

Theres a rock named after him that provides the view he describes.

Theres also a trail that goes 2.8 miles up and across a section of the Blue Ridge Mountains called Maryland Heights, and at its overlook, you can see another feature for which Harpers Ferry is famous: the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The view is particularly breathtaking, or maybe its the almost 3 miles of strenuous uphill walking that takes your breath away.

KNOWN FOR JOHN BROWN

Its best to start your tour at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Whether you get to the town from Route 15, U.S. 17 or Interstate 95and who would take an interstate on a day trip?rangers suggest you follow signs to the park, leave your vehicle there and take a shuttle bus to town.

One ranger told us theres all of 10 parking spaces in the Lower Town, the section closest to the rivers and train station. Thats where shops, museums and restaurants are, as well as a facade of storefronts that look much like they did in the 19th century.

Ranger Jeff Bowers asked what we were most interested in seeing. When he found out where we are from, he wanted to make sure we mentioned the Civil War connection because a lot of people in Fredericksburg care about that.

Many believe that what happened at Harpers Ferry in 1859 hastened the coming of the War Between the States, according to the History Channel website. Long-time abolitionist John Brown, who believed it was Gods will to end slavery, no matter how much blood was shed in the process, worked behind the scenes to foment a rebellion among the slaves.

He and 21 followers attacked a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, on the banks of the Potomac, with the idea of gathering supplies to arm slaves. Brown was captured and later hanged, but he became a religious martyr in the process. His raid electrified the North and outraged the South.

The colonel who led the militia against him is a household name in our parts: Robert E. Lee.

Visitors to modern-day Harpers Ferry can see the foundation of the arsenal; Union troops later burned it to keep it from falling into Confederate hands. They can also tour a wax museum or see the John Brown Fort, a brick building that became his stronghold.

HORRORS OF WAR

On a plateau above town called Bolivar Heights, theres a historical marker that describes the devastation the town experienced as it changed hands eight times during the war. Harpers Ferry was coveted by Blue and Gray because its at the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley. Industries, buildings and mountains were destroyed as no one, and no thing, escaped the fury of the Civil War at Harpers Ferry, proclaims the marker.

It may be said with truth that no spot in the United States experienced more of the horrors of war, wrote Joseph Barry, a Harpers Ferry resident.

Some Virginians might disagree with him about that.

THREE TRAILS MEET THERE

Harpers Ferry also is strategically located for those who like to walk or hike, bike or enjoy spending time in the great outdoors. Three national trails meet there: the Appalachian Trail, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Potomac Heritage Trail.

From the Lower Town, visitors can cross the Potomac River bridge to reach any of these trails. On the day of our visit, father and daughter John and Lydia Marunowski from Plymouth, N.H., were pedaling a bicycle built for two along the C&O Canal. They had started their journey five days earlier in Pittsburgh and planned to finish in Washington.

I like the experience, said Lydia, 12. Its been really fun.

Her dad enjoyed seeing life at a bicycle pace, and she liked visiting every scenic spot along the way. As Lydia rode along the Potomac, she was excited by the sight of shops, stores and restaurants she could see across the river.

With all the biking the Marunowskis had done, their legs could handle the hills of Harpers Ferry.
An excellent way to get to know a city is to have a child go to college there. Im sure the charm and history of Fredericksburg has provided fun and exploration opportunities for families with students at the University of Mary Washington.

Many of those families were probably like me when I first came to Fredericksburg in 1989 to join The Free LanceStar staff. Sure, I knew that a lot of the Civil War was fought here. But other than that, it was just an exit off the interstate.

Before my daughter entered the University of Virginia in the fall of 2015, my knowledge of Charlottesville was sketchy at best. I remember visiting Thomas Jeffersons Monticello as a kid with my family. My wife is a U.Va. graduate, Class of ... never mind, so wed paid a few visits to the Grounds over the years, and Id walked on the Lawn before, admiring the Rotunda and other TJ architecture.

When we headed over for a concert at John Paul Jones Arena a while back, we stopped beforehand at Food of All Nations, at 2121 Ivy Road. Lots of great sandwiches and other diverse delights to try there in a diner-like atmosphere.

I also recall visiting friends in nice Charlottesville neighborhoods there a few times back in the 90s, but I have no recollection where, exactly. Charlottesville is one of those cities preceded by its reputationthe epitome of a college town, and its location in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is one of the planets most beautiful settings.

Full disclosure: Like so many other old cities that have a lot going on in addition to being tourist meccas, a downside can be heavy traffic at certain times of day and on weekends. Parking can also be a bit of a challenge, but there are public and pay lots as well as on-street parking. Be sure to take the signs and tow warnings seriously. Just give yourself a little extra time to get where youre going.

Also, what frequent visitors to Wahooland know and parents of students quickly find out is that theres no direct route between here and there. Whether you take the northern route, State Route 3 to Route 20, etc., or the southernand actually fasterroute, which is State Route 208, then winding your way to Interstate 64, the value is in enjoying the drive through beautiful Virginia countryside along the way.

Once you get there, there is no shortage of places to see and places to eat.

For first-timers, visiting Monticello is probably No. 1 on the list. Its actually a little south of the city and reached via Exit 121 off I64. Monticello was Thomas Jeffersons primary plantation and served as his home before and after he was president from 1801 to 1809. Though work on it began in the early 1770s, around the same time Fredericksburgs Kenmore was built, 1809 is the official completion date.

The architecture is a sight to behold, and visitors to the U.Va. grounds will note similarities with the famed Rotunda, which actually wasnt completed until shortly after Jefferson died in 1826.

Recent reports suggest historians and tour guides there are increasing discussion of Jeffersons relationship with Sally Hemings, a slave of Jefferson who they say bore six of his children.

While theyre in the neighborhood, many people choose to stop at the 1784 Michie Tavern, which is operating as a tavern and restaurant today.

There are tons of places to stay in and around Charlottesville for budgets large and small. The Boars Head Inn is well-known, and pricey. Although Ive never stayed there, my daughters sorority had its parents formal there last year. The place is gorgeous and the food was very good.

OK, so lets talk food. The first place students and their parents discover is The Corner, a popular row of mostly restaurants adjacent to the Grounds. We like Mellow Mushroom, with its craft beers and stone-baked pizzas.

The Virginian restaurant has been there forever, with good reason. Lots of great daily menu choices. If you stop by for Sunday brunch, the eggs Benedict is a favorite.

There are many more places at The Corner, but we have a lot of ground to cover here. The Downtown Mall is a draw for both locals and tourists: eclectic shops and lots of restaurants with a range of prices. Many restaurants have their menus posted near the door. If you see something that looks good, it probably is. Citizen Burger is great and reasonable for lunch or dinner, and try Chaps Ice Cream for dessert.

Theres way more to downtown other than the Mall. We headed down the Main Street corridor to check out Public Fish & Oyster with its great raw bar and selection of craft beers.

If youre bringing a student to town and find yourself shopping for dorm room stuff at the humongous Barracks Road shopping center, check out Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar. I know, more burgers, but they have turkey and veggie varieties, and great fries, sides and salads.

Also, if youre looking for an area off the beaten path, the Belmont neighborhood is very cool and for the most part undiscovered by students. Plenty of up-and-coming shops and restaurants. Take a walk around. We enjoyed a nice lunch of po boys at the Southern Crescent Galley & Bar on Hinton Avenuea taste of New Orleans with indoor and outdoor seating.

Weve only scratched the surface here. Charlottesville a terrific place to explore, so have at it.
Anne D. Dickinson, 92, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at the Spotsylvania family home, Wilburn.

Anne came from Detroit to attend Mary Washington College where she met her husband, DuVal. She helped him and his parents work the family farm where they developed a nationally recognized herd of Guernsey cattle. Later DuVal and Anne started their farm equipment business, Dickinson Equipment Inc., which they operated until they transferred it to two of their sons.

Anne was raised by parents who taught family traditions that good citizens give back to the community where they live. From the time of their marriage in 1946, she served faithfully in Trinity Episcopal Church. She taught Sunday School and was active in Trinitys Episcopal Church Women activities. She served as Episcopal Diocese of Virginia Region I Council President from 1977-1980 and 1990-1992. Anne served many years on the Canterbury Bookshop Board in Richmond, was Provincial Synod Deputy for 1984-1989, and served on numerous committees for the Diocese of Virginia. She was the Episcopal Church Women Triennial Delegate to General Convention in 1973. Anne served on the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia Executive Board in the 1980s and on the Standing Committee in 1988.

Together, Anne and DuVal delivered Meals on Wheels from the 1970s until 2008. Anne served the Friends of the Central Rappahannock Regional Librarys Spotsylvania Chapter from the 1970s until a few years ago and helped with the committee raising funds for the equipment and furnishings when the Salem Church Branch Library was being built. Dickinson Equipment Inc. was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce as Small Business of the Year for their service to the community along with the service of the other employees. In 2010, Anne and DuVal received Spotsylvanias Governor Spotswood Award for their contributions to the community.

Survivors include her daughter Anne-Marie Garrison and her husband, Gary, sons Robert and his wife Tina, Harry and his wife Doris, and Clay and his wife Christine; grandchildren Stephen Garrison, Christine Garrison Rosario, Robert D. Dickinson, III, William W. Dickinson, Andrew Dickinson, Elizabeth Dickinson Witt, and William S. Dickinson; eight great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Anne was preceded in death by her husband, DuVal, her parents, Harry and Marie Dawideit, her sister, Elizabeth Gravatt, and her great-grandson, Jack Gunnar Dickinson.

A celebration of her life will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 28th with the Rev. Kent D. Rahm officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 825 College Ave., Fredericksburg, VA 22401, the Christine and Will Dickinson Scholarship Fund or the Harry and Marie Dawideit Fund at the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region, PO Box 208, Fredericksburg, VA 22404-0208, or the Duval Family Scholarship Fund at Germanna Community College Educational Foundation, 2130 Germanna Highway, Locust Grove, VA 22508.
Spring gobbler season ended a couple weeks ago, and little wild turkeys should begin emerging from their eggs very soon. To make it through the first few weeks of life, they need a multitude of factors going for them.

First, they need good mothers. A hen turkey must be tenacious, first sitting days on a nest on the ground in often horrendous weather, and then shepherding her brood through those first tenuous days when they are most vulnerable.

Thats where a second major factor comes in. Its their habitat, which is often shaped, at least in part, by human hands. Hens need the right mix of cover and concealment for their nests and then accessible, safe brood strips of land where the turkey poults can find food and quickly access protective cover from predators on the ground and in the air.

Then theres the weather. Cold, wet springs are among the chief cause of mortality among baby turkeys. That three-day stretch of cold, wet weather we had at the middle of the month could have been deadly. Fortunately, experts believe most Virginia hens were sitting on nests then.

I checked with sources at the National Wild Turkey Federation in Edgefield, S.C., and learned that six radio-collared turkeys on the property there were still on nests during the recent bad weather. The breeding season begins earlier than here so it helped alleviate some concern.

Gary Norman, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries turkey guru, shared that in a study of wild hens, the agency found the average hatching date was June 4 and 5. Still, Virginias unseasonably warm winter seemed to have toms strutting very early and, who knows? Maybe some breeding took place ahead of normal.

I think most of our hens are still sitting comfortably on a nest, Norman said. However, those that hatched earlier may be in trouble. Cold and wet conditions are the recipe for hypothermia.

If there is any consolation, Norman continued, recently hatched poults have better odds of surviving these spells than older ones. They have a yolk sac that provides energy for them for about five days, so they dont need to forage in wet vegetation. Also, they are still small enough to be effectively brooded under the hens wings  essentially a garage they can park and huddle in.

Turkeys can be a bit, shall we say, aromatic, wet birds even more so. Cool, wet conditions may also create better scenting conditions, Norman warned, making it easier for predators to locate nesting hens.

Sometimes hens escape the nest before predators kill them. The predators may get the eggs, but the hen survives. Norman said there is some hope that hens will make a new nest of eggs if the first one is destroyed.

If youre interested in optimizing habitat around you for wild turkeys, you can find good suggestions at nwtf.org/conservation/category/habitat.

Top 10 Boat Names 2017

Its fun to stroll around the docks at marinas, checking out the boats, especially their names. Many names reflect something about the owners personality, passions or even problems.

The Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has an online graphics service that helps produce lettering and designs for boat names. The scrub that list annually to derive the top 10 names for the year.

Heres the 2017 top ten list, along with the meaning associated with the names.

Serenity: The utter calm and quietude boating brings

Seas the Day: A nautical wordplay on the Latin saying Carpe diem, taking boating to its fullest

Andiamo: Lets go! in Italian and a perennial favorite boat name

Irish Wake: Mourning and merrymaking after the death of a family member or friend

Freedom: Patriotic name that first appeared on the Top 10 Names List in 2004

Adagio: Italian for at a slow tempo. Represents how boating reduces stress in our hectic lives

Ohana: From the Hawaiian culture, meaning family in an extended sense

Oasis: A fertile spot in a desert where water is found; symbolizes boatings ability to refresh and nourish our daily lives

Happy Ours: A playful take on the good feeling you get at the afternoon communal cocktail time

Firefly: Making the list for the first time, its thought that the kids picked this one

To see all of the BoatUS top ten lists over the years, as well as a directory of more than 9,000 boat names, go to BoatUS.com/boatnames.

Free Fishing Weekend

If youre a novice interested in fishing or have family or friends you want to introduce to this wonerful tradition, the weekend of June 2-4 is designated as Free Fishing Days in Virginia. No fishing license of any kind will be required for rod and reel fishing in freshwater or saltwater, on these days.

If youre looking for a place to try wetting a line, you can find a comprehensive list of places to fish at the DGIF web site. Check out dgif.virginia.gov/fishing.
A Stafford County jury this week recommended a 17-year prison sentence for a Maryland man who broke into a county restaurant back in 2015.

David George Clark, 53, of Baltimore, Md., was connected to the break-in after police recovered blood stains inside the Hunan House on Plantation Road following the Sept. 9, 2015, incident. Clark's DNA was later compared with the evidence recovered at the scene and the state lab determined it was Clark's.

Clark was convicted Tuesday in Stafford Circuit Court of burglary, grand larceny and vandalism. He will be formally sentenced on July 24.

According to police and court records, Deputy H.D. Young went to the Hunan House that morning and found a shattered door with a large opening. A large rock was inside the restaurant, along with blood stains on the furniture and parts of the cash register broken on the floor.

Prosecutor Kristin Bird said the cash register was ripped from the counter and taken, along with $468 that was inside of it.

There were no suspects at the time, but Detective S.M. Danyluk collected the blood samples and sent them to the state lab.

In late November 2015, the lab informed Stafford authorities that the samples were consistent with Clark's DNA profile. Clark was in the system because of a long history of criminal convictions in Maryland and elsewhere that includes armed robbery and multiple burglaries.

Clark had been charged with a burglary in Stafford in 2014, but a jury later acquitted him in that case.

After getting the news from the state lab, Detective E.L. McCullough found Clark in a prison in Pennsylvania. McCullough drove to Pennsylvania and interviewed Clark, who told him he had never been to the Hunan House and hadn't been in Stafford since 2014.

But McCullough got a sample of Clark's DNA, and the lab confirmed that the blood recovered from the restaurant belonged to him.

Bird urged the jurors to give Clark, who is still facing additional time in other states, a lengthy sentence.

"Enough is enough," Bird said. "His long criminal road needs to end today."
A former Precious Blood Catholic Church priest received a 30-day suspended jail sentence Wednesday stemming from an encounter last October in which he groped the breasts of an 87-year-old parishioner.

Culpeper County General District Judge Dale Durrer found the Rev. Anselme MalondaNkuanga guilty Wednesday of misdemeanor assault and battery and gave him a suspended sentence and $400 fine, which the judge reduced to $200.

The suspended sentence and reduced fine are contingent on MalondaNkuanga remaining on good behavior for two years. He must also pay $89 in court costs.

MalondaNkuanga, who served as the parish pastor in Culpeper from July 2012 until July 2016, was also instructed not to contact the victim or her family. MalondaNkuanga left Precious Blood last summer and was serving as minister at St. Eugene Catholic Church in Wendell, N.C., when the incident occurred Oct. 1.

He was placed on administrative leave from his duties as pastor of Saint Eugene Parish and Our Lady of the Rosary Mission in Louisburg, N.C., in December.

Court records indicate the incident happened at the victims Culpeper home. The widow and member of Precious Blood Catholic Church for 20 years said MalondaNkuanga stopped by her home while he was in town to attend the funeral of a mutual friend in Orange County. After they had breakfast, the victim said the priest asked to tour her house, looking into various bedrooms.

In the hallway, as they approached the kitchen, the defendant grabbed [the victim] from behind, court records state. The defendant encircled [the victim] with both arms with pinned her arms to her side.

She told authorities MalondaNkuanga forcefully squeezed and groped her breasts on top of her clothes. She said she managed to temporarily break free, but he then pinned her against a kitchen counter and grabbed her breasts again.

Following the second encounter, the victim said MalondaNkuanga, chuckled and said, Im so glad you are understanding about this. 

In court on Wednesday, the victim told the judge she thought about what to do for two and a half weeks before reporting the incident to the authorities.

The stress on me has been profound. The stress put me in the emergency room with cardiovascular problems, she testified. Why cant the diocese deal with the truth?

According to the victim, she was told not to go to the police, by church officials.

Reached by e-mail Wednesday evening, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington said when the victim met with the chancellor and the victim assistance coordinator about her allegations she was advised that she could go to law enforcement and that the diocese would assist her if she wished to do so.

She indicated that she was interested in speaking with law enforcement, so the diocese contacted the Culpeper County Sheriffs Office to determine who she should speak to there. This contact information was then provided to [her] through her son, as she had requested at the meeting. At no time did anyone at the diocese advise [the victim] not to go to law enforcement.

Turning to MalondaNkuanga, who was dressed in his clergy shirt and collar, the victim said, What you did to me was an aggressive attack on my body. Im an elderly woman. You assaulted me not once, but twice. I struggled to get away. What you did to me was nasty. Shame on you.

Court records show, MalondaNkuanga acknowledged visiting the victim, describing the encounter as a hug and that he had not intended to hurt or sexually assault her.

Before his ruling, Judge Durrer said the plea agreement was appropriate because, It has the full support of the survivor and she can avoid testifying at trial.

Following Wednesdays proceedings, about 30 Precious Blood parishioners surrounded MalondaNkuanga in the court lobby, hugging and kissing him in a show of support.

MalondaNkuanga is a priest with Missionhurst, a Catholic missionary institute with several hundred priests and brothers in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Culpepers Commonwealths Attorney Paul Walther represented the state, while local attorney Jere Willis represented MalondaNkuanga.

This story was updated to remove a reference to a plea in the case.
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Getting inked (i.e., tattooed) is a special thing.

This weekend, it will be positively life-changing. Literally.

Because its the 11th annual Tattoos for Community event at Jack Browns Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg. Its when tattoos and caring merge like no other time, and everyone can help.

All proceeds from walk-in customers, all weekend long, will be donated to Mental Health of Americas Teen Suicide Prevention Program.

We are proud and extremely happy to be working with Mental Health of America of Fredericksburg to raise awareness and money for this cause, said Kenny Brown, one of the owners of, and artists at, the renowned tattoo studio. The vibe is good, the music is typically 80s, and magical tattoos are flowing.

The MHA program is intended to teach seventh- and ninth graders about mental wellness, and how to identify depression in themselves, friends, classmates, family or neighbors.

As important, it helps kids learn where they can go for help and support.

It is all too common to make tattoos that are memorials for the loss of a loved one due to suicide, said Brown. Suicide leaves devastating effects on the community.

Mental Health of America, founded in 1955 by local citizens, is the areas oldest nonprofit addressing mental health and mental illness, organizers note. While it has a number of programs that look to help the communityincluding support groups; a senior visitors program that brings trained volunteers to lonely older citizens; and a help line for people needing mental wellness providers Brown hopes the benefit weekend will help expand awareness of the Teen Suicide Prevention Program.

Currently the program runs in Spotsylvania County schools only. The goal is that with enough support, the program will be able to expand into Fredericksburg schools and beyond, reaching and helping many more students.

Now more than ever it is important to teach children in schools about mental wellness and how to recognize signs of mental illness, said Tawnia Brown, the manager of the studio and an organizer behind the Tattoos for Community events. I have lived here for 14 years and just last year was the first time I became aware of the MHAFVA and all the services they provide.

She volunteers for the Senior Visitors program.

In fact, the story of the Tattoos for Community in large part begins with her, noted husband Kenny.

Tawnia really spearheaded the event, he said. When we first opened the shop, she was insistent that if we are going to be a part of the community, we need to give back. That was the beginning.

We work with small local nonprofits in order to keep the money raised in our town, and we gift 100 percent of all proceeds from the event to them.

They both want the emphasis to be on the charity, rather than the shop. For all of the folks at this tattoo studio, this is just the right thing to do. Pay it forward.

Only this time, your new tattoo means just a little bit extra. It could save a life.

Prior Tattoos for Community weekends have benefited the Fredericksburg SPCA, the Fairy Godmother Project (which helps pediatric cancer patients and their families), the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, the Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault and more.

Of course, organizers note, there are many ways to support the organization if you dont want to get that tattoo youve always dreamed about. Direct donations can be made to the Mental Health of America website (mhafred.org), and volunteers are always welcome.

In addition, the studio is offering special T-shirts celebrating the cause and the weekend. These shirts will be sold exclusively online, at booster.com/tfc11, and will not be available at the shop. All proceeds go directly to Mental Health of America.

We may not be able to change the world, but we can help out our neighbors and bring visibility to the resources our community has to offer, Kenny said.Dave Smalley is a Fredericksburg-based freelance writer.
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UK farming bodies have labelled Arlas decision to drop its milk price solely for UK producers as disappointing and ill-judged.

The NFU and NFU Scotland questioned the processors 0.4p/litre price reduction for its 2,500 UK producers, while prices were held for the remaining 9,500 Arla farmer-owners on the Continent.

The price cut is effectively a reversal, albeit on a slightly smaller scale, of UK Arla Farmers Co-operatives (Ukaf) decision last month to hold prices in spite of a one euro cent/kg cut for producers on the Continent.

See also: Freshways controversy over producer cash clawback

Ukaf used a reserve fund, in anticipation of a cash benefit from the exchange rate mechanism it uses to smooth sterling to euro currency fluctuations, to hold its May price.

Last month I applauded the UK Arla Farmers board in supporting UK members by removing the impact of the EU milk price reduction of one euro cent/kg, said NFU dairy board chairman, Michael Oakes.

Little did I know at the time that they would seek to rebalance the UK purse so soon.

EU butter prices hit record levels in March at 4,500/t (3,890/t), with UK bulk cream at 1,730/t and UK butter averaging 3,725/t, 116% and 101% up on the same month last year respectively.

Mr Oakes highlighted that butter futures markets for June and July were set to soar at 5,400/t (4,676) and 5,500/t (4,762/t) respectively, and said it was understandable for farmers to question what was going on.

The cream income to the processor continues to rise and now delivering on average 10.1p/litre back to the processor, Mr Oakes said. A question I want answered is who is benefitting from this high cream and butter price  as it clearly isnt dairy farmers?

With spells of dry weather impacting on grass growth and ultimately volumes as well as the [global dairy trade] market continuing to strengthen, it makes no sense that are we are now seeing milk price reductions, added Mr Oakes.

Market transparency

The NFU dairy board chairman said the situation called for better market transparency through mandatory dairy price and volume reporting, a sentiment echoed by his counterpart at NFU Scotland.

There remains a crucial need for those who are responsible and progressive in the supply chain to stand out from the crowd, and isolate those processors who drop prices in an opportunistic manner, just because they can, said NFU Scotlands milk committee chairman, James Rankin.

He added We have a mechanism in the voluntary code of practice on milk contracts, which we are urging government and industry support to make more relevant, potentially via the Grocery Code Adjudicator.

Should that voluntary approach fail, then there is a case for the code to be made compulsory.

Average cost of production

Figures produced by Kite Consulting revealed at the Dairy Industry Newsletter conference last week showed the average cost of production for the bottom third of milk producers was 31.7p/litre, with the average cost of producing milk on a flat profile at 27.2p/litre.

These estimates mean the UKs average dairy farmer on a flat profile would make just 0.5p/litre profit on Arlas manufacturing contract and would lose 4p/litre if in the bottom third of producers.
The Bonne Terre Chamber of Commerce held their monthly general investors luncheon and during the meeting they honored local law enforcement.

Bonne Terre Chamber President Amy Keller presented Sheriff Dan Bullock as their first speaker of the afternoon.

Ive been law enforcement for this county for 36 years, born and raised right here in Bonne Terre and have been sheriff for 25 years, said Bullock. I want to tell all you a little about what has been going on in law enforcement.

Bullock said not just here in St. Francois County, but around the state and around the nation, they are having an awful time right now getting new police officers.

I know Bonne Terre is. The highway patrol is having a problem. St. Louis and Jefferson County has 24 openings right now, said Bullock. I have four that I would hire today if I could find them. It seems that since Ferguson, it has put a target on our backs.

Bullock said none of the young guys want to go to the academies. The local police academy usually has 40 to 45 cadets and they had 13 this year.

The Missouri State Sheriffs Association has an academy and out of the whole state of Missouri we had three candidates, explained Bullock. We had to cancel the classes, we didnt have enough and the Missouri State Highway Patrol could not get enough people to have a highway patrol class. Its been tough.

Bullock added the good news is, just like right here at the chamber today, the community is showing supporting for the local law enforcement and it helps.

A lot of people asked me this morning about the police officers and police cars on the highway, said Bullock. We had the Special Olympics Torch Run. Its run by the police departments and supported by the community.

Bullock said he has Shop With a Cop every year and its the biggest one in the nation. They helped more than 500 kids who wouldnt have had a Christmas last year. He said they get a lot of support from the citizens and businesses in St. Francois County.

Ive talked to sheriffs from all over the United States and its not like that everywhere, said Bullock. The police and the sheriffs department here in this county are very fortunate to have people like you.

Bullock said one of the biggest problems is that people dont want to become police officers because they dont feel like they have the backs of their community.

Ferguson is a perfect example up there, said Bullock. A lot of the officers feel like if they do their job and put their lives on the line and if something happens and they have to use force, they may have to shoot someone or use a Taser. They wont get the backs of their department, city government, county, or state or federal government. Its a big problem and we cant get officers because of it.

Bullock also talked about crime in St. Francois County.

He said the biggest problem they have going on right now is child abuse, neglect and sexual abuse.

I have two detectives who could stay busy almost 24/7 working on these cases, said Bullock. I dont know if its the fact that back in the olden days when things happened they hid them and didnt talk about it or if there is just more of it going on.

Bullock said he could have a full-time officer doing nothing but working on sexual child abuse cases right now in this county and that is a shame.

Bonne Terre Police Chief Doug Calvert also spoke and he agreed it is hard to recruit officers these days and its hard to retain officers.

We see a lot of the officers we are hiring nowadays are basically job shopping, said Calvert. They are looking to go where they can get the most bang for their buck. Its $7,000-plus to go to the police academy. When I started it didnt cost near that much.

Calvert said it takes just as much training to work in this county as it would to go work in St. Louis City or St. Louis County. He asked who is going to go spend $7,000 to make $13 an hour compared to what they can make in St. Louis. They can make $30 or $40 an hour in St. Louis County.

We have had a lot of heroin overdoses and Narcan has saved a lot of lives, said Calvert. Theres been several calls I have been on where the person was gone and the minute they get that Narcan, it brings them right back.

Calvert said its a phenomenal tool that they have to use for that, unfortunately they have to use it all too often. He added prescription drugs have also become a big problem.

Bonne Terre Lt. Bill Stegall then discussed BackStoppers and the benefit of the organization to the families of law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel.

It was formed in St. Louis in 1959 by emergency responders and BackStoppers will take care of the families of fallen officers and they have very recently taken care of officers who have had catastrophic injuries, which we have unfortunately seen in St. Louis recently.

Stegall asked if the chamber would consider participating in BackStoppers with a donation.

The chamber members gave a standing ovation to the officers to show them they have their backs and they support what they do each and every day.
Story Highlights Trump approval remains below 40%, similar to recent weeks

Latest three-day approval is 39%, above his 35% term low

Since January, approval has fallen most among independents

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump's job approval rating has not improved since he embarked Friday on a nine-day diplomatic tour in the Middle East and Europe. Gallup tracking from Sunday through Tuesday puts his job approval rating at 39%, roughly the same as the 38% approval rating he averaged in each of the prior two weeks.

Trump's most recent 38% weekly average approval ratings, accompanied by 56% disapproval ratings, span a difficult period for the White House. The administration has faced tough questions about Trump associates' roles in Russian interference during the election, as well as fallout from Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey, and the appointment of a special counsel to investigate connections between Trump's campaign and Russian officials.

Trump's 38% weekly ratings captured in these past two weeks tie his lowest weekly average to date, first recorded in early April. His highest ratings were during his first week in office, when he averaged 45% approval, but his ratings have since varied between 38% and 43%.

At the same time, the president's latest three-day rolling average job rating of 39% is a shade higher than his all-time low 35% approval rating recorded in late March. That was recorded immediately after Trump's initial high-stakes effort to push an Obamacare repeal bill through the Republican-led Congress fizzled.

Trump Loses Most Support Among Those in the Political Center

Trump may be unpopular with a majority of Americans, but most Republicans continue to like what they see. More than eight in 10 Republicans (84%) say they approve of the job he is doing, down five percentage points from his post-inaugural week, when they gave him their highest level of support.

Democrats' approval of Trump has been low from the start, though the latest 7% is down six points from January. Meanwhile, independents' approval has dropped the most, falling 11 points to 31%.

A similar pattern is seen among different ideological groups, with approval of Trump slipping 10 points among political moderates compared with six points among conservatives and just one point among liberals.

Trump Job Approval Among Party and Ideology Groups Jan 20-29 , 2017 May 15-21 , 2017 Change % % pct. pts. U.S. adults 45 38 -7 Republican 89 84 -5 Independent 42 31 -11 Democrat 13 7 -6 Conservative 73 67 -6 Moderate 41 31 -10 Liberal 12 11 -1 Gallup Daily

Trump Above 40% With Whites, Men, Older Americans

Trump's approval ratings from Americans of all major gender, racial, age and socio-economic groups are largely lackluster. However, he tends to be viewed best in demographic categories among those most likely to identify as Republicans: men, adults aged 50 and older, and whites. Trump's approval remains at or above 40% with all of these groups, as well as among those who did not earn a college degree.

Since January, Trump's job approval ratings from men and women, as well as across all major age, education, racial and income groups, have declined at rates similar to the seven-point national decline.

Trump Job Approval Among Major Demographic Groups Jan 20-29 , 2017 May 15-21 , 2017 Change % % pct. pts. Male 50 44 -6 Female 39 32 -7 65+ 53 45 -8 50-64 49 44 -5 30-49 44 37 -7 18-29 33 24 -9 White (non-Hispanic) 56 48 -8 Hispanic 25 17 -8 Black (non-Hispanic) 15 9 -6 Postgraduate 34 27 -7 College graduate only 42 35 -7 Some college 48 41 -7 High school 48 40 -8 $90,000 or more 49 39 -10 $60,000-$89,999 53 43 -10 $24,000-$59,999 42 37 -5 Less than $24,000 36 30 -6 Gallup Daily

Bottom Line

The president who won with a historically low favorable rating, started office with a historically low job approval rating, and quickly broke the record for the lowest first-year job approval rating of any president, is now in a job approval rut. Trump has averaged 38% over the two most recent weeks and the number doesn't appear to be moving much on his first foreign trip as president. Any improvement Trump may have expected from representing the nation on this high-visibility tour may be blunted by controversy over reports of his possible sharing of sensitive intelligence information in a recent meeting with Russian officials.

Whether the final leg of Trump's trip (including a meeting with Pope Francis) or the public's reaction to the terrorist bombing in Manchester, England, on Monday changes things, remains to be seen.
A lawsuit has been filed against a Farmington man by the Missouri Attorney Generals office. A related press release indicates he is facing some serious allegations for his claimed not-for-profit organization which allegedly was created to support law enforcement ... but court documents show a much different picture.

According to the press release, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's office filed a lawsuit in St. Francois County against Terry Lemons, alleging Lemons misled donors when soliciting donations for a memorial to honor fallen law enforcement officers.

According to court documents, Lemons solicited funds from businesses in Farmington, Perryville, Ste. Genevieve and surrounding areas. He represented to those businesses that he was creating a traveling memorial to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

Documents also indicated that Lemons also solicited funds from at least one business for a childrens toy drive that took place in Cape Girardeau. In all solicitations, Lemons represented that he was seeking donations and that he was requesting funds on behalf of a non-profit organization named Thin Blue Line Tahoe.

According to the court documents, if a business agreed to provide funds Lemons would place a business card-sized magnet on his vehicle with the businesss name and logo. Lemons also stated that if a business had donated funds to him, they had agreed to sponsor him.

Lemons received $4,000 from at least 15 donors and all funds came from checks made out to Terry Lemons and were placed into bank accounts controlled by Lemons. The records state that Lemons did not use any funds for a memorial for fallen law enforcement officers or a toy drive.

The funds were reportedly used for personal use at places including Walmart, iTunes, Redbox, Match.com, restaurants, bars and grocery stores.

The court documents also indicate Lemons used a significant amount of funds to improve his personal vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe. Lemons claims the Tahoe is the promised memorial and it does display the names of fallen officers on its hood and fallen K9 officers on the rear doors.

However,the attorney general's office claims Lemons does not use the vehicle as a memorial, meaning it is displayed like a memorial, but rather uses it as his own personal transportation.

The documents indicate Lemons actually made his Tahoe a replica of a fully-equipped patrol vehicle.

He supposedly spent some of the donated funds on emergency lighting, a technical-type shotgun, emergency radio and/or scanner, Code 3 Siren Box, Stalker Radio Unit, Panasonic Tough Book, VuVault Digital IN-Car Camera System and software, and other items only appropriate for a patrol car.

The court documents said Lemons also solicited donations of similar items and, in essence, solicits donations to allow him to drive around in a Tahoe that looks like a police cruiser. Lemons also displayed names on his Facebook page and claimed they sponsor his memorial.

The documents stated he used their purported endorsement to solicit additional donations and sponsors. At least four businesses that Lemons claimed were his sponsors never agreed to such nor had they given money to him, including Sullivan Development Properties, Whelen Engineering, Code 3 and Asymmetric Solutions.

Thin Blue Line Tahoe is not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation and its a name used by Lemons to solicit donations or seek sponsorships. The documents stated there is no nonprofit corporation that accepts donations on behalf of Terry Lemons.

The documents state that Lemons failed to register with the attorney generals office prior to soliciting funds for charitable purposes, keep record of said funds, and claimed they were tax-deductible which they werent.

The attorney generals office is seeking with the lawsuit to have a permanent injunction issued by the court to prohibit Lemons and anyone associated with him from soliciting, controlling or holding charitable donations. Also for Lemons to provide full restitution to all consumers who he received money from and pay the state a civil penalty in an amount allowed by the law.
A woman was rescued from the Mississippi River early Wednesday morning after a tugboat crew spotted her floating in the water.

Ste. Genevieve Sheriffs Department Major Jason Schott said deputies were called to the marina about 5:40 a.m. for a report of a lady who was rescued from the river.

The boat captain and the crew of the Dale W., a tugboat over here in Ste. Genevieve County found her, said Schott. They spotted her in the water and pulled her out. She was in the river water for close to five or six hours and she had hypothermia. Outside of that Im not for sure if she had any other injuries.

Schott said she was taken to the local hospital by Ste. Genevieve County Ambulance and he wasnt sure if she was still there.

I dont know if they transported her somewhere else or not, said Schott. I just know she was taken to Ste. Genevieve hospital for potential hypothermia.

Schott said it was determined the 35-year-old woman from Arnold went to the Ferry Landing in Ste. Genevieve about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and jumped into the river in an attempt to end her life.

She apparently located a piece of driftwood and hung on after she jumped into the river, said Schott. She was located this morning approximately three-fourths of a mile north of the marina.
Instead of handing down a criminal sentence, Benton County Circuit Court Judge David Connell congratulated the two people in his courtroom Wednesday.

Connell presided over a Drug Treatment Court graduation that celebrated the sobriety of two participants.

You have really gone through a transformation, Connell told one of the graduates, Shelby Sparks. Thank you for all your hard work.

Before entering Drug Treatment Court, Sparks was facing federal prison time for possessing heroin and methamphetamine, she said.

It was really daunting at first, she said. I continued to use for two months in the program.

But Sparks started inpatient treatment and committed herself to getting clean. On Wednesday, several family members and friends attended her graduation and spoke on her behalf.

It was just nice to watch her grow and blossom and become my baby again, her mother said while thanking the program staff.

Benton County Drug Treatment Court combines the efforts of local agencies, including the sheriffs office, district attorneys office, police departments and parole and probation, to provide supervised drug treatment for individuals who are addicted and facing criminal charges. The district attorneys office must agree in a negotiated plea that a defendant is a candidate for drug treatment court, Connell said. Participants typically have a long history of criminal conduct, including drug possession and theft charges, he added.

We get many people that the system has kind of given up on, the judge said.

The program requires participants to pass five phases that involve a minimum amount of clean time, said program coordinator Kate Ko. Participants must also attend classes and support groups, take part in random drug testing and regularly report to Connell. The program takes a minimum of one year but usually takes a year and a half for candidates to complete.

Now that she has graduated from the program, Sparks is moving to attend Portland Community College. She wants to become a social worker and help people affected by sex work and addiction.

Jacob Ellingsen also graduated from Drug Treatment Court on Wednesday.

His young daughter stood at the courtroom lectern.

Great job, daddy, she said.

Ellingsen said it was his wife and three daughters that gave him the encouragement to get clean.

I knew that drug court would give me the accountability and the push forward that I needed, he said.

Ellingsen said he thinks the communitys investment in Drug Treatment Court is a smart decision.

It gives people who everybody thinks is a lost cause a chance to prove them wrong, instead of just wasting away in prison and not being what you have the potential to be, he said.

Ellingsen, who has been clean for 528 days, said he is starting a job for the Willamette Carpenters Union.
Country

Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Bonn International School : All BIS alumni are invited to 20th anniversary celebrations

Part of the planning team of the BIS 20th anniversary celebrations: Natalie Niklas, Agnieska Boud, Martin Weller. Foto: Carol Kloeppel

Bonn Bonn International School is putting out an open invitation to all students, families and staff who were once involved with the school. It is celebrating 20 years of existence in 2017-2018 and some big events are planned.

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It may not be the United Nations, but Bonn International School has students from 78 countries who speak more than 40 languages. Considering the school has been around since 1997, that means several thousand students and families who have passed through BIS and returned to their home countries scattered around the world.

The school is celebrating its 20th anniversary during the 2017-2018 school year and is eager to spread the word to all those people - students, families and staff are all invited back to Bonn to help celebrate two decades of international learning on the Rhine.

Several plans are in place for the anniversary year. On June 10, it kicks off with a weekend event centered around the schools annual International Day. In mid-August when the school year starts up again, there will be a display of historical memorabilia. BIS roots actually go back around 65 years, taking into account it was the merger of the former Bonn American Elementary School, Bonn American High School and the British High School, all which served families during the period when Bonn was capital of Germany.

Natalie Niklas and Agnieszka Boud of the BIS Development Department are spearheading efforts for the 20th anniversary, but are supported by a committee of around 15 staff, parents and alumni.

Growth and tuition were biggest challenges

A major Oktoberfest event is planned for October 7; the school will be festively decorated. Niklas explains that this theme was chosen to show how much we enjoy Germany, living in Bonn and that we are really happy to be a part of this community. She says with a smile that all alumni are welcome - as long as they are 18 and over. Beer will be served of course.

Nikki Cox from England lived in Bonn from 2000 until 2004 and served on the Board of Trustees while her daughter Jessica attended the school. She may well come to Bonn for the celebration in October. She recalls, At the time (when she served on the Board), the school was struggling to get enough pupils to make ends meet.

By the time Andrea Connor took over as Board Chair from 2005 to 2007, the biggest challenge was managing growth and tuition. The American is not sure yet if she will be able to visit in October. The school has grown from 350 students in 1997 to 700 students currently. It has expanded from one facility into three buildings which now form a campus. Both former Board members say they were pleased to learn of the schools growth.

Remembering good times

Martin Weller, a parent of a graduating student and a former Board Chair as well, is part of the event planning and says the draw of the event will be - people. Alumni will want to come back because they have built up relationships and friendships during their time at BIS and they want to visit and catch up with those friends again. Niklas adds that there is an emotional connection, People were happy during their time here and they enjoy seeing how the school has progressed.

Jo Junglas, Head of Student Services and Operations, is one of the longer serving staff who will be at the celebrations. Having worked at BIS for 18 years, she says I can remember when there was a tree growing through my office floor. And she is not joking.

It was a time when BIS was housed in the old American High School which was torn down to accommodate the current WAVES building. Many old stories like these are sure to be swapped when former BIS families and staff come together again. Details are still being worked on, Natalie Niklas says, We are currently in the baby steps of planning but it will become more clear over the summer.
Protest against repatriation : Refugees demonstrate in Sankt Augustin

Sankt Augustin On Wednesday morning, around 50 persons took to the street to demonstrate. The refugees were protesting against repatriations and the conditions in their housing in a former media center.

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Fearing repatriation, around 50 refugees demonstrated on Wednesday morning in Sankt Augustin. They gathered at around 8:30 am at the corner of Kreuzeck and Alte Heerstrae to protest because repatriations to Italy had been planned for Wednesday.

The men, who had been housed in the departure center for the last four to six months - met with some success. After a discussion with representatives of the district government Cologne, there were no more repatriations on Wednesday, reported the police after consulting local authorities.

The protestors used the chance to draw attention to other concerns: there were delays in the processing of their papers and problems with medical care. An agreement was also reached on the second point; those who were ill would receive a medical examination in the housing facility during the course of the day.

We also have rights read one of the signs the men had made for the protest. With another poster, they seemed to refer to current incidents such as the rape in the Siegaue, in which a refugee had been accused of the crime. They warned against generalizations and distanced themselves from any criminal acts.

After police gathered the men from the street and brought them to a corner, the protestors were allowed to carry on with their demonstration along the roadside under police guidance. Local police reported that it had all been peaceful and calm. At around 10:15 am, the group ended their gathering.
President Muhammadu Buharis health has improved significantly, although only his physicians can determine when he will return to Nigeria and to work.

Quote

Oh yes; we thank God,

a source in the Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom, told Gistmania when asked if the presidents health had improved substantially.

Quote

He is doing very good; he is ok but his doctors will determine (when he will return).

The official, who sees Buhari regularly, asked not to be named because he had no permission to discuss the presidents condition with journalists.The embassy source expressed sadness that some Nigerians could wish the president dead, saying

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(it is) sad that any human being will wish another dead.

He continued,

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Its sad but God is all seeing and will always suffice and to Him we submit all our affairs. They have failed and will continue to fail.

On the calls for Buharis resignation on the ground of poor health , the source said,

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Well thats their problem because it is God that gives power and takes it when He so wishes and not anybody else.

When asked if the presidents health was now better than he left home, our source who sees Buhari regularly retorted,

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Of course, yes,

adding that the president is largely stable and is able to regularly and promptly observe his five-time daily prayers.When told that those calling for Buharis resignation believed he was too sick to ever govern again, the source said,

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Thats the view of those arrogating Gods power to themselves and would surely regret it, Insha Allah.
Most affordable 4G and Volte smartphones under Rs. 4,000 Features oi -Harish Kumar Listed all the Best and Cheapest 4G VoLTE smartphones in India under Rs. 4,000.

Currently 4G is gaining a lot of prominence in India. While the new mobile communications technology promises better and improved mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television, the main thing about 4G is delivering better network speeds.

That being said, today most of the smartphone manufacturers are also offering smartphones that support 4G network. Besides, there are already a lot of smartphones with 4G capability in the market right now. And thus picking a 4G mobile under a paricular price range is quite a difficult task.

So if you are looking for a cheap 4G smartphone, we are making things easier for you. From all the available 4G smartphones we have selected and curated a list that includes some of the best 4G mobiles with good camera quality, specs and battery life. These are some of the cheapest 4G VOLTE smartphones in the market that you can buy right now.

Best Easy EMI offers on Android N smartphones

And this year we have seen a lot of action in Rs. 3000 to 6000 price range in 4G smartphones. However, for this list we have chosen the latest smartphones with the best possible specifications under Rs 4,000.

So let's get started with most affordable 4G and Volte smartphones under Rs. 4,000 in India.

Micromax Bharat 2 Buy At Price of Rs 3,599

Key Specs

4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) WVGA display

1.3 GHz Quad-core Spreadtrum SC9832 processor

512MB RAM

4GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

2MP rear camera with LED Flash

0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera

4G VoLTE

WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS

1300mAh battery Intex Aqua A4 Buy At Price of Rs 4,199

Key Specs 4 Inch WVGA Touchscreen Display

1.3 GHz Quad-Core SC9832 Processor

1GB RAM With 8GB ROM

5MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

2MP Front Camera

Dual Micro SIM

4G VoLTE/WiFi

Fingerprint Sensor

1750 MAh Battery Zen Admire Joy Buy At Price of Rs 5,999

Key Specs

a 5-inch smartphone with pretty good display

1.3GHz quad-core processor

768MB of RAM

5MP back shooter

a 2MP selfie snapper

upto 32GB using a microSD card

a 2,000mAh li-ion battery Swipe Elite Star Buy At Price of Rs 3,333

Key Specs

4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) WVGA display

1.5GHz quad-core processor

1GB RAM

8GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

5MP rear camera with dual LED Flash

1.3MP front-facing camera

4G VoLTE

WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS

2000mAh battery Intex Aqua 4G Mini Buy At Price of Rs 3,940

Key Specs

4 Inch WVGA IPS Display

1.25GHz MTK6737M Quad-Core Processor

512MB RAM With 4GB ROM

Dual (Micro + Nano) SiM

5MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

VGA Front Camera

4G VoLTE

Bluetooth/FM

1450mAh Battery Sansui Horizon 1 Buy At Price of Rs 3,999

Key Specs 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA IPS display

1.3 GHz Quad-core Spreadtrum SC9832 processor

1GB RAM

8GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

5MP rear camera with dual LED Flash

3.2MP front-facing camera with LED flash

4G VoLTE

2000mAh battery Swipe Konnect Star 4G Buy At Price of Rs 3,799

Key Specs

4-inch (850 x 480 pixels) FWVGA display

1GHz quad-core processor

1GB RAM

16GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

5MP rear camera with LED Flash

1.3MP front-facing camera

4G VoLTE

1800mAh battery Lyf Flame 7 Buy At Price of Rs 3,499

Key Specs

4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) WVGA TN display with Asahi Dragontrail Glass protection

1.5 GHz quad-core Spreadrum 9830A processor with Mali-400 MP2 GPU

1GB RAM

8GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD

Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

Dual SIM

5MP auto focus rear camera with LED Flash

2MP front-facing camera

4G LTE with VoLTE / 3G HSPA+

1750mAh battery

Best Mobiles in India

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Xiaomi's best Octa Core smartphones to buy in India Features oi -Harish Kumar Xiaomi's best smartphones with octa-core processors.

Xiaomi is one of the well-known Chinese smartphone makers that is popular in the Indian market. In fact, Xiaomi is the second largest smartphone brand in the Indian market next to Samsung.

Xiaomi entered the Indian market in mid-2014. Ever since its forayal, the company has managed to gain a steady growth even while a few other well known brands have faced issues in retaining a foothold in the market.

Not only in India, the company is popular all over the world and its entry into the U.S. market is eagerly awaited by all. The company recently stepped into the Mexican market as its first step in the U.S. with a slew of the best sellers.

SEE ALSO: Most affordable 4G and Volte smartphones under Rs. 4,000

Now, as the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 goes official, we have compiled a list of octa-core smartphones from Xiaomi for those who are interested. Do take a look at th same.

Xiaomi Redmi 4 Buy At Price of Rs 6,999

Key Specs

5 Inch HD IPS Touchscreen Display

Octa-Core Snapdragon 435 Processor

2/3/4GB RAM With 16/32/64GB ROM

Hybrid Dual SIM

13MP PDAF Autofocus Camera With Dual-Tone LED Flash

5MP Front Camera

4G

WiFi A/B/G/N

Bluetooth 4.1

4100 MAh Battery Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Buy At Price of Rs 10,999

Key Specs

5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD 2.5D curved glass display

2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm processor with Adreno 506 GPU

2GB / 3GB RAM with 32GB storage

4GB RAM with 64GB storage

expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD

MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Hybrid Dual SIM (micro + nano/microSD)

13MP rear camera with PDAF

5MP front-facing camera

4G VoLTE

4000mAh (minimum) / 4100mAh (typical) battery Xiaomi Mi Max Prime Buy At Price of Rs 19,999

Key Specs

6.44-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS 2.5D curved glass display with 1000

Octa Core Snapdragon 652 processor with Adreno 510 GPU

4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD

MIUI based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Hybrid Dual SIM (micro+nano/microSD)

16MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture

5MP front-facing camera with 85-degree wide-angle lens, f/2.0 aperture

Fingerprint sensor, infrared sensor

Dimensions: 173.188.37.5mm; Weight: 203g

4G LTE with VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4 / 5GHz) MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS

4850mAh (typical) / 4760mAh (minimum) battery Xiaomi Redmi 3S Buy At Price of Rs 6,999

Key Specs

5 Inch HD IPS Touchscreen Display

1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 Octa-Core Processor

3GB DDR3 RAM With 32GB ROM

Hybrid Dual SIM

13MP PDAF Autofocus Camera With LED Flash

5MP Front Camera

4G

WiFi

Hybrid Dual SIM

Bluetooth 4.1

USB OTG

4100 MAh Battery Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime Buy At Price of Rs 8,999

Key Specs 5 Inch HD IPS Touchscreen Display

1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 Octa-Core Processor

3GB DDR3 RAM With 32GB ROM

Hybrid Dual SIM

13MP PDAF Autofocus Camera With LED Flash

5MP Front Camera

4G

WiFi

Hybrid Dual SIM

Bluetooth 4.1

USB OTG

4100 MAh Battery Xiaomi Mi 4i Buy At Price of Rs 11,999

Key Specs 5 Inch Full HD JDI OGS Full Lamination Display

1.7 GHz Octa Core Snapdragon 615 Processor

2 GB DDR3 RAM

Interactive Voice Response

Dual Micro Sim

13 MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

5 MP Front Camera

4G

WiFi

NFC

Bluetooth

FM Radio

3120 MAh Battery

Best Mobiles in India
Nubia Z17 teased to be the worlds first smartphone with Quick Charge 4.0 News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Nubia Z17 can be charged way too quickly.

One of the highly anticipated smartphones is the Nubia Z17. The device is appearing constantly in rumors and leaks revealing what features and specs it might carry.

After posing to the camera a few days back to show its almost bezel-less display, the Nubia Z17 has again hit the headlines, thanks to a Weibo post by nubia. Today, the fresh information suggests that the Nubia Z17 will be the world's first smartphone to arrive with the Quick Charge 4.0 feature. This is a rapid charging feature that was introduced by Qualcomm in November 2016 and was claimed to arrive with the Snapdragon 835 SoC.

Nubia Z17 with 23MP camera to launch on June 1

A handful of flagship smartphones including Samsung Galaxy S8, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, and Xiaomi Mi 6 use the Snapdragon 835 SoC under their hood. But these smartphones are yet to get the Quick Charge 4.0 feature. The reason could be the Galaxy Note 7 explosion incidents.

While the Galaxy S8 features the Quick Charge 2.0 fast charging feature, the Xiaomi Mi 6 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium have the Quick Charge 3.0 support. Being the first smartphone to arrive with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0, the Nubia Z17 will be a unique one in the market when it is launched on June 1.

Nubia Z17 AnTuTu screenshot reveals 8GB RAM in tow

The Quick Charge 4.0 is not only faster but also more efficient and can run cooler than the earlier generations of fast charging technologies. Comparing it with the Quick Charge 3.0, the current generation tech is 20 percent faster, 30 percent more efficient an5 C cooler. It is said to charge the Nubia Z17 up to 50% in just five minutes.

Via

Best Mobiles in India

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Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
Navy Engineers Build Structures, Bonds in Djibouti

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Andria Allmond Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa

CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti, May 24, 2017  "Back. Front. Back. Back. Front." A muddy trickle of sweat trailed down Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Lacy P'Pool's face, her voice gently directing a hand-clapping game with the little boy.

"Front. Back. Back. Front."

The strikingly dissimilar duo rhythmically patted each other's hands in sync during the Seabees' pause from laboring under the oppressive East African sun. The Djiboutian child's smile mirrored that of his camouflage-clad friend who -- minutes prior -- was vigorously maneuvering mounds of the Arta region's red, silty soil.

P'Pool is a member of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1, deployed to Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa here. She and other Navy engineers, also known as Seabees, are fabricating a medical clinic to serve the populace. Situated between a quaint school and makeshift dwellings housing a cluster of families, the clinic is slated to provide maternity and newborn care.

Building Bonds

But the Seabees are doing more than building a structure. They're building bonds.

"When we first got to the site, the kids were throwing rocks at us. They didn't want us here," P'Pool said. "But that doesn't happen now. Now, they're much more trusting and I think they even like seeing us here."

In the weeks following the project's revival on May 2, the rapport between military members and local civilians has seen a dramatic shift for the better. The change, P'Pool said, didn't occur overnight. It took weeks.

Daily, the Seabees arrived to the job site and toiled for hours under cautious review of those around. Eventually, the trust of the local public developed alongside the construction site itself, personifying the growing bonds between the U.S. military members and the local people.

Combating Regional Terrorists

All task force members of support the U.S. Africa Command mission of countering transnational threats. A method of accomplishing this is by engaging with partners to deter, disrupt and deny violent extremist organizations in the region. By informally forging partnerships with the local population through friendly behavior, the Seabees are directly helping to deter the extremists' recruitment practices.

"What we're doing here could be looked at as antiterrorism measures in two ways," said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Patrice Young. "First, we are creating a structure that will help keep people healthy. A physically healthy community is going to be more capable in defending itself against acts of terror than one that is physically unable due to illness or disease."

Young added, "Second, our presence and the way we conduct ourselves serves as proof of what we, as the U.S. military, stand for: we do not have to use weapons to be a force for good."

Nurturing Partnership, Friendship

While both the facility and friendship continue to be nurtured, the regional public seems to be embracing the budding partnerships.

"At first, the kids were a little confused," said Amin, a teacher at the school near the site. "But now they know what is going on, and they see how important it is to have the Americans here."

Amin said he hopes his students grow to remember the positive activities of the U.S. military.

The Seabees share that sentiment.

"There's a part of me that thinks, 'Maybe if they're ever approached by al-Shabab and have to make a decision to do right or wrong, they'll think about us here,'" P'Pool said. "Maybe they'll remember that we built this clinic for them. Or, they might just think about our friendship and make the choice to not participate in a [violent extremist organization]."

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Arctic Challenge Exercise Aims to Increase Interoperability

By Air Force Airman 1st Class Abby L. Finkel, 48th Fighter Wing DoD News, Defense Media Activity

ROVANIEMI AIR BASE, Finland, May 24, 2017  Twelve F-15C Eagles and approximately 200 personnel from the 493rd Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, and two KC-135 Stratotankers and over 30 personnel from the 351st Air Refueling Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, England, deployed to bases in Finland and Sweden for Arctic Challenge 2017.

Multinational Exercise

Arctic Challenge, a multinational training exercise, began May 19 and runs to June 2.

The exercise aims at building relationships and increasing interoperability, and includes participants from the U.S., Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and the Netherlands, as well as representatives from NATO.

Increase Interoperability

"The primary objective for us is to work together with our partner nations and allies to increase our interoperability capabilities as a force," said Air Force Lt. Col. Jason Zumwalt, 493rd FS commander.

Zumwalt added, "These practice opportunities and experiences allow our pilots and maintainers to work together side-by-side with our partners and allies to plan, execute and debrief some very complex missions. That allows us to see how we can better work together in the future."

Over the next two weeks, Arctic Challenge participants will conduct live-flying events to train on offensive and defensive air combat operations. They will practice evaluating aircraft, personnel and weapons capabilities, as well as mobilizing and training in multinational operations.

Working Together

"Being able to work closely, face-to-face, side-by-side, and coordinate our actions together to achieve a common goal provides excellent training for everyone involved," Zumwalt said.

Through training exercises like Arctic Challenge, the U.S., allies and partner nations can build on their expertise in the air, creating a credible force prepared to effectively respond to any crisis together.

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Counter-ISIS Campaign Progresses in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2017  Counterterrorism efforts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan are proving successful, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command told Pentagon reporters today.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, briefing reporters from Baghdad via teleconference, said supporting the Iraqi security forces in the fight to liberate the key city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria remains the priority and the United States has maintained an around-the-clock presence of aircraft to protect and support its partner forces on the ground.

"These aircraft provide myriad missions, including close air support, situational awareness, command and control, refueling and kinetic strikes," he said.

"Complementing the coalition has been an increasingly capable and lethal Iraqi air force that has made tremendous progress in its growth and development," the general said. "This continuous presence of Iraqi and coalition aircraft continues to severely restrict ISIS's freedom of movement and their fighting capacity."

West Mosul Liberation Progressing

The offensive to recapture West Mosul is progressing well, he noted, with the vast majority of the city back in the hands of the Iraqi people.

"As we target the remaining ISIS holdouts in the old city, I'll [say] what [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis said last week," Harrigian said: "'Our strategy going forward is not to allow the remaining ISIS force to escape to fight another day, but to annihilate them with precision.'"

The precision of U.S. strikes is imperative in the dense urban terrain of places like Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, he said.

And whether it's a deliberate or dynamic strike, Harrigian emphasized, the coalition strives to mitigate impacts to civilians throughout the targeting process, from identification to validation to the moment a weapon is released. Although many U.S. strikes are dynamic, the focus remains on the deliberate targets because of the tremendous impact they have had on the enemy's fighting capacity, he said.

"A force without money can't fight, and ISIS' key revenue source, the illicit sale of oil, remains a top priority," the general said. "To date, coalition airstrikes and ground operations have struck approximately 2,600 ISIS-held gas and oil targets, including over 1,500 tanker trucks."

In the 10 months since Harrigian has served as commander of Air Forces Central Command, Harrigian said, he has seen ISIS grow increasingly brutal against the people in the areas it controls, he said.

"ISIS has become so desperate that they have baited us to strike targets that will purposefully cause civilian casualties," he said. "Our eyes and ears in the sky and on the ground keep the coalition abreast of ISIS' increasingly desperate tactics, allowing us to refine our targeting process so we avoid hurting those we're trying to liberate."

Operation Resolute Support

The United States also remains committed to the ongoing missions in Afghanistan, Harrigian noted. "As part of Operation Resolute Support, we have coalition air advisors working side by side with the Afghans, from certifying aircraft maintainers to providing training on various aircrew duties," he said.

"The Afghans have clearly gained the confidence of their ground forces and continue to expand their operations," he added.

A Positive Effect

Their contributions are having a positive effect on the outcome of the mission, Harrigian said. "The Afghan air force improvement is a testament to our partnership and advising efforts, but more prominently to the Afghans' hard work, dedication and professionalism," the general added.

In Operation Freedom's Sentinel, Harrigian said, the focus is to provide air support to counterterrorism efforts. In the last nine months, Afghan and U.S. counterterrorism forces have killed the ISIS commander, his replacement, and more than a dozen of their top leaders, he said.

And since early March, forces have removed more than two-thirds of the ISIS fighting strength from the battlefield, and territory under the terrorists' control has been reduced by two-thirds, Harrigian said.

"Our counterterrorism and train, advise and assist missions are concurrent and complementary," he said. "While we continue to attack the remnants of al-Qaida, we are building the Afghan national defense and security force so that they can instill peace and contribute to stability throughout the region."

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USS James E. Williams Deploys

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170524-03

Release Date: 5/24/2017 10:51:00 AM

By Ensign Reuben Carson, USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) departed Naval Station Norfolk, May 23, for a regularly-scheduled deployment to conduct maritime operations in the Navy's 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation.

"Sailors have worked hard to prepare for this deployment," said Cmdr. Allen Siegrist, James E. Williams' commanding officer. "We are looking forward to answering the country's call and accomplishing the mission."

The ship was commissioned Dec. 11, 2004, and is named after Boatswains Mate First Class Petty Officer James E. Williams. Williams was the most highly decorated enlisted man in the history of the U.S. Navy. In 1966 he was Boat Captain for River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 during the Vietnam War and was tasked with intercepting Viet Cong arms shipments on the waterways of South Vietnam's Mekong Delta. After being attacked by Viet Cong guerillas during a three-hour battle, the American Naval Force killed numerous enemies, destroyed over fifty vessels, and disrupted a major enemy logistic operation. Williams not only displayed courage under fire, but a keen understanding of how his Sailors, weapons, and equipment could be used to achieve victory.

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Trump arrives in Brussels for first NATO, EU talks

Iran Press TV

Wed May 24, 2017 3:28PM

US President Donald Trump has arrived in Brussels for his first summit with NATO and European Union leaders.

Trump flew to the the Belgian capital from Rome on Wednesday after a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

The US president will meet the king and queen of Belgium and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, before attending the EU and NATO summits on Thursday.

A "Trump not welcome" protest is expected to draw thousands of people in Brussels.

Trump was harshly critical of NATO as a presidential candidate, describing the 28-member Western military alliance as "obsolete."

He had denounced its effectiveness in the fight against terrorism and complained that other members are not contributing enough to the NATO budget.

He later reversed his position after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House in April.

Trump was also critical of Brussels, which is the headquarters of both NATO and the EU. After the city's recent terrorism incidents, Trump called Brussels a "hellhole."

Brussels is Trump's fourth destination on his first international tour, which began with a trip to Saudi Arabia and then to Israel. His fifth and final stop will be Sicily, where he'll meet with the leaders of the Group of 7 advanced economies.

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US military lost track of $1bn worth of weapons: Amnesty

Iran Press TV

Wed May 24, 2017 8:29AM

The US military has admitted to losing track of around $1 billion worth of weapons in Iraq and Kuwait, according to a US Defense Department audit reviewed by Amnesty International.

In the September 2016 document, which was obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, the Pentagon stated that it "did not have accurate, up-to-date records on the quantity and location" of a large amount of weapons it had moved into Iraq and Kuwait to arm the Iraqi government forces, Amnesty reported Wednesday.

The transfers were part of the Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF) program and following appropriation by Congress of $1.6 billion to allegedly stop Daesh (ISIL)'s advances in 2015.

The items included tens of thousands of assault rifles worth $28 million, hundreds of mortar rounds and hundreds of Humvee armored vehicles.

The Pentagon audit found that personnel in charge of tracking the ITEF weapons often logged them "across multiple spreadsheets, databases and even on hand-written receipts."

The faulty records-keeping also meant that people in charge of locating the weapons or determining their status would not be able to do so.

According to the document, the Pentagon had no responsibility for tracking the items after handing them over to Iraqi authorities.

This amounts to a clear violation of the department's own Golden Sentry program, which requires the Pentagon to perform post-delivery checks.

Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty's arms control and human rights researcher, said the government audit shows how "flawed  and potentially dangerous" the US military's controlling mechanisms are for overseeing the transfer of weapons in a "hugely volatile region."

"It makes for especially sobering reading given the long history of leakage of US arms to multiple armed groups committing atrocities in Iraq," including Daesh (ISIL), he added.

"The need for post-delivery checks is vital. Any fragilities along the transfer chain greatly increase the risks of weapons going astray in a region where armed groups have wrought havoc and caused immense human suffering," Wilcken further argued.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said June last year that of the thousands of armored vehicles supplied by the US to Iraqi security forces, some 2,300 or two-thirds of them had fallen into the hands ISIL and the group was turning them into moving bombs.

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20 Aircraft to Take Part in NATO Drills in Estonia

Sputnik News

17:00 24.05.2017(updated 17:06 24.05.2017)

20 planes and helicopters are participating in the NATO Spring Storm military drills in Estonia, the Headquarters of the Estonian Defense Forces said Wednesday.

TALLINN (Sputnik)  A total of 20 planes and helicopters are participating in the NATO Spring Storm military drills being held on May 8-26 in Estonia, the Headquarters of the Estonian Defense Forces said Wednesday.

"A total of 20 planes and helicopters take part in the 'Spring Storm' exercise. In addition, some unmanned aerial vehicles are operating in the airspace. More than half of the aircraft may be in the sky simultaneously during the most intensive exercises. They provide air support, conduct reconnaissance and fulfill tasks on transporting people and equipment," the statement said.

The 15th "Spring Storm" military drills involve almost 9,000 servicemen from 15 states, including the host country. Namely, over 800 UK servicemen, up to 300 French and some 400 German soldiers arrived in Estonia to take part in the drills along with the troops from the United States, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Canada, Finland, Ukraine, Spain and Georgia.

Polish Su-22 fighters, Spanish F-18 Hornet jet fighters, US AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and UH-60 Black Hawk multi-role helicopters, as well as Estonian L-39 training jets and Robinson R-44 helicopters are engaged in the drills. The Polish and Spanish aircraft carry out patrolling missions in the sky over the Baltic states and are deployed at Estonia's Amari air base.

NATO members have been ensuring airspace defense over the Baltic states ever since their joining the alliance in April 2004, as none of the newer members possess the aircraft necessary to conduct their patrols. The mission was prolonged for an indefinite period of time at the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago.

 Sputnik

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S. Sudan's Kiir Announces Truce, National Dialogue

By Margaret Besheer May 24, 2017

The U.N.'s top official in South Sudan says President Salva Kiir has formally launched a long-awaited national dialogue and declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities.

"While the National Dialogue could bring a welcome focus on reconciliation, for it to be credible, it will need the genuine participation of opposition constituencies," David Shearer told the U.N. Security Council via a video link Wednesday from Juba. "Meanwhile, opposition groups have come together around a common position and jointly denounced the National Dialogue," he added.

Kiir also announced a unilateral cease-fire and said he would review the cases of political prisoners. Shearer expressed some skepticism, noting it was not the first time Kiir had declared a cessation of hostilities and added that there would be "close scrutiny" on the number of prisoners actually released.

South Sudan's U.N. envoy Joseph Mourn Malok told council members the cease-fire is intended to create an inclusive environment for the national dialogue and to allow the movement of humanitarian aid to famine-hit areas.

The U.N. mission in South Sudan has had to cope with little cooperation from Kiir's government.

"There is war, there is famine, our peacekeepers are operating in very, very difficult conditions," new U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters.

"They do not get the kind of support and cooperation they would deserve from the parties, particularly from the government," he added.

Sanctions

One route the council has gone to try to force better cooperation is through sanctions on spoilers, those who obstruct efforts by the United Nations to halt the fighting. On Wednesday, the council unanimously extended the sanctions regime on South Sudan for another year.

But the possibility of imposing an arms embargo to stem the violence still appeared beyond reach, as veto-wielding member Russia expressed its long-held opposition to such a measure.

"Solid peace in South Sudan is not going to be brought about by a Security Council arms embargo, but rather by progress on the political solution, as well as targeted measures for the disarmament of civilians, demobilization and reintegration of combatants," said Russia's U.N. envoy Petr Illichev.

Rainy Season Begins

Meanwhile, the rainy season has begun, which means the country's rudimentary roads will be unpassable for the next four months. While this will force a reduction in fighting, it will increase the challenge to humanitarian workers in getting aid to those in dire need, including in two counties that have already been declared famine zones.

Shearer said cholera, a potentially deadly water-borne disease, has been on the rise, with 7,700 cases recorded.

Aid workers must also contend with one of the most dangerous working environments in the world, with 84 humanitarians killed since the conflict began in December 2013. This year, 17 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan.

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Manhunt Underway for IS-linked Militant in Philippines

By Noor Zahid May 23, 2017

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday declared the country's restive south under martial rule for 60 days after security forces' attempt to capture a top Islamic State-linked militant leader failed, setting off clashes that left a major southern city under siege.

The Philippine military on Tuesday raided a house in Marawi city where IS leader Isnilon Hapilon was thought to be recuperating from wounds suffered in a previous clash. Hapilon is the country's most-wanted man, with a $5 million bounty placed on his head by the U.S. for alleged terrorist acts against American citizens.

"This afternoon at 2 p.m., we launched a surgical operation against Isnilon Hapilon," Lieutenant Colonel Joar Herrera, spokesman for the army division involved in the fighting, told VOA.

Fires, gunshots

Hapilon reportedly called for help from allied fighters. About 20 of them took up positions around a hospital, while others went to attack a jail several miles away. Clashes broke out in the city of 200,000, and residents were hunkered down, with a number of houses reported to be on fire as sporadic gunfire continued into the night.

"There are more or less 50 militants that are fighting," Herrera said. "Right now the Armed Forces of the Philippines are securing all vital installations. They are protecting the city center and coordinating with the community for the safety of the people."

But Philippine Defense Secretary Major General Delfin Lorenzana, who cut short a trip to Russia, told reporters in Moscow that power had been cut off in the city, and that dozens of gunmen had occupied city hall and burned a Catholic church and a college.

"The whole of Marawi city is blacked out. There is no light, and there are Maute snipers all around," Lorenzana said. Maute, one of the largest groups that operate in Lanao del Sur province, reportedly came to Hapilon's aid.

At least two soldiers and a police officer have been killed and 12 others wounded, the defense secretary said.

IS endorsement

IS has endorsed Hapilon as the leader of a loosely affiliated association of small groups that have sprouted in the last three to four years around the central and southern Philippines.

Hapilon swore allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a July 2014 video, according to the U.S. State Department. His time as a leader of the brutal Abu Sayyaf group included the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans in the western Philippines, two of whom were later killed.

There are concerns that the new groups may increasingly include Southeast Asian militants who went to fight with IS in Syria and Iraq. Now they are returning to the region, seeking a safe haven where they can regroup, train and plot attacks, authorities in the Philippines told VOA.

Some already have been linked to kidnappings, bombings and attacks on security forces, and troops have found IS uniforms and insignias on slain rebels.

Herrera said security agencies are monitoring foreign fighters' movements to disrupt their plans.

Hotbed of activity

The southern Philippines, particularly the resource-rich but poverty-racked Mindanao region, has long been a hotbed of activity by the Abu Sayyaf and other fundamentalist groups.

With the help of U.S. counterterror trainers and gear, the poorly funded Philippine military has made major inroads against the Abu Sayyaf, but the emergence of the IS-linked groups over the last three or four years raises concerns about the ability to fight on multiple fronts, including a long-running insurgency by the communist New People's Army.

The Abu Sayyaf group  a splinter of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front  was founded in 1991 with funding from al-Qaida. The group is estimated to have 400 members. The United States and the Philippines have blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization because of bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings.

The group has been blamed for several attacks in the country, including the 2004 bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay that killed more than 100 people.

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Cybercom: Pace of Cyberattacks Have Consequences for Military, Nation

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2017  The intensifying pace of international conflict and cyber events has consequences for the U.S. military and for the nation at large, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, told a House panel yesterday.

Rogers, also director of the National Security Agency, testified before the House Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on the fiscal year 2018 Defense Department budget request for Cybercom and its Cyber Mission Force support for defense operations.

Facing Advanced Cyber Threats

"Hardly a day has gone by during my tenure at Cyber Command that we have not seen at least one significant cybersecurity event occurring somewhere in the world," said Rogers, adding, "We face a growing variety of advanced threats from actors who operate with ever-more sophistication and precision."

In his written testimony, the admiral said that cyber-enabled destructive and disruptive attacks now have the potential to affect the property, rights and daily lives of Americans.

"We are particularly concerned as adversaries probe and even exploit systems used by government, law enforcement, military, intelligence and critical infrastructure in the United States and abroad," Rogers said.

"We have seen states seeking to shape the policies and attitudes of democratic peoples," he added, "and we are convinced such behavior will continue for as long as autocratic regimes believe they have more to gain than to lose by challenging their opponents in cyberspace."

Lines of Operation

Cybercom tracks state and nonstate adversaries as they expand their capabilities to advance their interests in cyberspace and try to undermine U.S. national interests and those of the nation's allies, the admiral said.

Conflict in the cyber domain is unfolding according to its own logic, he added, "which we continue to better understand. And we're using this understanding to enhance the department's and the nation's situational awareness and to manage risk in the cyber arena."

Cybercom forces conduct full-spectrum military cyberspace operations to enable actions in all domains, he told the panel.

The command's three lines of operation are to provide mission assurance for DoD operations and defend the DoD information environment, called the DoDIN, to support joint force commander objectives globally and deter or defeat strategic threats to U.S. interests and critical infrastructure, Rogers said.

Enhanced Authorities

Rogers requested a budget of about $647 million for Cybercom for fiscal 2018, a nearly 16 percent increase from fiscal 2017 to fund Cybercom's elevation from a subcommand of U.S. Strategic Command to a full unified combatant command, as directed by the 2017 NDAA.

The enhanced budget will be used, in part, to continue building out the cyber mission force and adding cyber-specific capabilities and tools, and funding Joint Task Force Ares and the Cyber Combat Mission Force to support the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Rogers created JTF-Ares after receiving an execute order in 2016 from then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter authorizing Cybercom to "task organize" for specific missions that could last to last weeks, months or longer, the admiral said in written testimony.

He established the new organization to coordinate cyberspace operations against ISIS, providing unity of command and effort for Cybercom and coalition forces working to counter ISIS in cyberspace.

Rogers said the JTF-model has helped Cybercom direct operations in support of Centcom operations, and "marks an evolution in the command-and-control structure in response to urgent operational needs."

He told the panel that all cyber mission force teams are scheduled to be fully operational by the end of fiscal 2018, and named some of the enhancement of command responsibilities and authorities Cybercom expects in 2018.

These include increasing cyber manpower, enhancing professionalization of the cyber workforce, building defensive and offensive capability and capacity, and streamlining what Rogers called "cyber-operations-peculiar" acquisition capabilities.

"These are critical enablers for cyber space operations in a dynamically changing global environment," the admiral said, "and most or all of these particulars have been directed in recent National Defense Authorization Acts."

Operational Successes

Rogers told the panel that Cybercom's operational successes have validated concepts for creating cyber effects on the battlefield and beyond.

"Innovations are constantly emerging out of operational necessity and real-world experiences," he said, "and meeting the requirements of national decision makers and joint force commanders continues to mature our operational approaches and effectiveness over time."

Cybersecurity is a national security issue requiring a whole-of-nation approach that brings together public and private sectors of U.S. society, Rogers said, noting that the Cybercom Point of Partnership program in Silicon Valley, California, and Boston has proven successful.

The initiative, he told the panel, "link[s] our command to some of the most innovative minds from industry, working together on cybersecurity as we face 21st Century threats together in the private and public sectors."

This, Rogers added, "combined with agile policies, decision-making processes, capabilities and command-and-control structures will ensure that Cyber Command attains its potential to counter our adversaries."

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Xi calls for "strong, modern" navy

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 21:09, May 24, 2017

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for efforts to build the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy into a strong and modern force to lend support for the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of a strong army.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks on Wednesday during an inspection of the PLA Navy headquarters.

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Erdogan Wishes Germany 'Happy Journey' if it Decides to Leave Incirlik Base

Sputnik News

18:38 24.05.2017(updated 18:44 24.05.2017)

The possible withdrawal of the German air force contingent from the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey poses no problem for Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik)  Turkey blocked a group of German lawmakers from visiting the servicemen earlier in May prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to suggest that Berlin may consider moving some 250 troops stationed at Incirlik to one of the neighboring countries.

"We have not been officially notified by Germany that it is going to leave to Jordan from the Incirlik base," Erdogan said before traveling to Brussels to attend the NATO summit.

"But if they do so, then for us it's not a problem. If they leave, we'll tell them "happy journey," the Turkish president stressed.

In 2016, Berlin prolonged until the end of 2017 the deployment of six Tornado jets and hundreds of German personnel at the airbase despite strained relations between the two countries. German-Turkish relations deteriorated after the German parliament's decision in June to label the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. Following this decision, Ankara restricted a delegation of German lawmakers from accessing the air base in June 2016. Nonetheless, in October, Turkey allowed the delegation to visit the base.

In November 2016, German media reported that military officials have traveled to Jordan's capital Amman to investigate a possible relocation of Tornado spy jets from southern Turkey.

The Turkish Incirlik airbase stations hundreds of German personnel and several Tornado jets to carry out airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria alongside the United States and several other NATO member states.

 Sputnik

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Kiev Builds Up Military Contingent in Donbass - Russian Envoy

Sputnik News

18:56 24.05.2017(updated 18:59 24.05.2017)

Kiev is openly building up its military contingent along the separation line in Donbass, the Russian envoy to the Contact Group on Ukraine said Wednesday.

MINSK (Sputnik)  Kiev is openly building up its military contingent along the separation line in eastern Ukraine instead of pulling out forces, the Russian envoy to the Contact Group on Ukraine said Wednesday.

"Ukraine is openly building up the military contingent along the separation line, captures new positions in the so-called 'gray zone', dangerously approaching the positions of the Donbass units," Boris Gryzlov told reporters in Minsk.

Gryzlov added that for more than half a year Ukraine has been hampering the implementation of the decision of the Contact Group on the pullout of forces and weaponry from Stanytsia Luhanska, which prevents the start of the agreed forces withdrawal along the entire separation line.

Moreover, Kiev is disrupting the start of the prisoner exchange process in Donbass, Russia's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group for settlement of the situation in Ukraine Boris Gryzlov told reporters Wednesday after talks in Minsk.

"The law on amnesty of the parties to the conflict, as required by the Package of Measures, has not been signed by the president of Ukraine since 2014, which makes it impossible to implement the exchange of detained persons in line with the 'all-for-all' principle," Gryzlov said.

"Instead, Kiev continues to impose the tactic of dividing the detainees into categories and their exchanges in small groups. I note that if the Ukrainian side so much wants to move forward on this issue, then having a significant preponderance in the number of detainees, it could release part of verified persons unilaterally by making a goodwill gesture," he said.

 Sputnik

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A new piece of federal legislation could help Danville and Pittsylvania County Schools fund renovations on aging and historic school buildings.

U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner introduced the School Infrastructure Modernization Act earlier this week. The bill aims to encourage private and public investment in historic school renovations by amending the federal rehabilitation tax credit to apply to school buildings.

Pittsylvania County Superintendent Mark Jones said the bill could benefit several buildings that need renovation work.

We always look for the best approach to build and the best approach to finance, so it would definitely be an opportunity we would review, Jones said.

Currently, the program only includes buildings renovated to serve a different function than before. The bill would create an exception to this rule for school renovation projects, allowing school districts to finance projects with the help of private dollars.

In Pittsylvania County, Jones said several school buildings need renovations including Stony Mill and Southside elementary schools. Stony Mill was built in 1964 and Southside was constructed in 1962.

Jones said new roofs would be the biggest priorities at most of the sites during the next few budget cycles.

We are also looking at window replacements and mechanical/electrical upgrades in those buildings, Jones said. Because of growth, were looking at additional classroom spaces as well.

In Danville, a 2014 facilities study found aging school buildings needed at least $65 million in repairs and renovations.

While Mayor of Richmond, Kaine used the program to help renovate an old public school building into the Maggie L. Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies.

This bill would make it easier for other cities and towns across Virginia and the country to rehab their own historic schools, Kaine said in a news release.

Warner said the legislation was a common-sense solution to the needs of many school districts in the state.

Many of these schools qualify as historic buildings, and under this legislation, those schools would be empowered to form private-public partnerships to increase classroom capacity and offer jobs to the surrounding community, he said in the release.

The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) has helped restore more than 1,200 Virginia structures since 1997. Approximately 40 percent of Virginia K-12 schools  more than 800 schools  are more than 50 years old.
The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday ruled against President Trump's revised travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries.

The high-profile, hotly-contested case concerns the Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States executive order of March 9, a revision of an order issued in January that also ran into trouble in courts.

The government appealed U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang's March injunction blocking the part of the revised order that bars entry to the U.S. to citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The appeal was heard by the full appeals court on May 8 with some of the judges of the appeals court asking lawyers on both sides if it was proper to consider statements made by Trump and others during and after the presidential campaign.

The Maryland judge held that despite changes in the revised version the history of public statements provide a convincing case that the purpose of the second executive order remains the realization of the long-envisioned Muslim ban."

During two hours of argument before the appeals court judges, the government said the revised order on its face is an appropriate national security measure that temporarily suspends the entry of nationals from those countries while it is determined if current vetting is adequate to detect terrorists. He denied that the order discriminates on the basis of religion.

The American Civil Liberties Union contends the order had a religious purpose that violated the establishment clause in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which bars establishment of religion and that the president is not allowed to set a policy that violates the establishment clause by invoking national security.

The Richmond-based appeals court covers the states of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
A new logo and social media pages were unveiled this week in an ongoing effort to promote tourism in the Dan River Region.

A tourism advisory committee  as part of the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce  formed in July 2016 as joint effort of Danville and Pittsylvania County.

So far, the committee has put out the first of its regional event calendars, debuted a logo and launched presence on social media.

Experience Danville Pittsylvania County (ExperienceDPC) Facebook and Instagram pages aim to attract tourists and local residents to learn more about the region and to find out about upcoming events.

The committee has 12 members from throughout the city and county, representing accommodations, restaurants, museums, event venues, agri-tourism, history and education. Former Pittsylvania County Supervisor Brenda Bowman is the chairwoman for the group.

The committee was funded through $25,000 from the city and county during the 2016-17 fiscal year. For 2017-18, it will receive $30,000 from each locality.

I appreciate both the county and the city in this endeavor, and of course the chamber, Bowman said. Its a great three way partnership here.

The committee also will receive a $25,000 reimbursement grant through the Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage program to help offset the cost of building a soon-to-be unveiled tourism website, according to Amy Boles with the chamber.

The committee is working on developing a mobile LOVE sign to be used throughout the city and county, the cost of which will be reimbursed by the Virginia Tourism Cooperation upon completion.

The design for the sign is still being discussed, according to Bowman, but they have some ideas for the overall look. Goodyear has agreed to donate the O, which will look like a tire, to show the companys importance to the area.

Bowman also thinks it will have a tobacco leaf, an oar to represent the kayaking on the river and other activities and tobacco barn wood.

The E is going to be a wrap to show sites of interest throughout the county and Danville, Bowman said. Were in the process of determining a couple of photos of places of interest in each locale.

Other plans in the works include frontline training and familiarization training for staff of local businesses. Frontline staff includes those who work in hotels and restaurants who might be asked where something is located by a visitor.

We want the frontline staff to know exactly where the tank museum is, and to be more familiar with the business and venues and sites of interest in the area, Bowman said. Its just to train and educate frontline staff that visitors would approach and would ask where do we go for this?

The committee welcomes community participation. Meetings are held at 4 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the chamber office at 8653 U.S. 29. The next meeting is June 19.

Bowman also encouraged people attending local events to share their participation on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtags #experiencedanvillepittsylvaniacounty and #experiencedpc to get more people involved.
Toronto, May 25th 2017 - Chilean Metals Inc. ("Chilean Metals," "CMX" or the "Company") (TSX.V:CMX, OTCQB: CMETF, SSE:CMX, MILA: CMX) announces today that it intends to complete a private placement of $1,500,000 through the issuance of 10,000,000 units. Each unit will comprise of one share and one half of one share purchase warrant. One purchase warrant and $.20 will enable holder to acquire another share of common stock at anytime until June 1 2019 subject to companies ability to accelerate the warrants should stock trade above $.30 for a prescribed period of time. The Company will close on approximately $1,000,000 in current subscriptions and expects balance to be completed shortly. All securities issued under the private placement will be subject to a four-month hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws. Participating brokers will be paid a fee of 8% and have an ability to acquire an additional 8% of units sold for a period of one year from date of issuance. An overallotment of $500,000 has been reserved.

Patrick Cruickshank Chilean CEO commented "Completion of this placement will enable us to continue exploration on our Zulema project. The first phase of drilling is near completion and we have identified IOCG style mineralization in drill holes. After consulting with our Technical Advisor, Minotaur Exploration Ltd. (Australia), we believe the program will benefit from additional geophysical work including close spaced gravity, deep penetrating Induced Polarization and possibly magnetic surveying. After this work, we are planning an additional 2000-3000 metre drill program this fall."

In addition to the completion of drilling in Zulema, the company is readying a summer drill program on its Bass River project in Nova Scotia with JV partner Tejas Gold. "At Bass River, a ground Pulse Electro-Magnetic (PEM) survey will be completed over the Castlereagh VTEM target defined in a 2015 airborne survey conducted by Geotech Ltd. The survey results will be provided to Minotaur Exploration Ltd. who will model and prioritize the drill targets. A 2000 + meter drill program will follow. The targets are an extension of the mineralized system intersected in a 2015 drill program located southwest of the Castlereagh VTEM anomaly." commented Cruickshank. Details of Chileans Nova Scotia Exploration program will be announced in the coming weeks.

Chilean Metals will require regulatory approval to complete the private placement.

About Chilean Metals

www.chileanmetals.com/



Chilean Metals Inc. is a Canadian Junior Exploration Company focusing on high potential Copper Gold prospects in Chile & Canada.



Chilean Metals Inc. is 100% owner of five properties comprising over 50,000 acres strategically located in the prolific IOCG ("Iron oxide-copper-gold") belt of northern Chile. It also owns a 3% NSR royalty interest on any future production from the Copaquire Cu-Mo deposit, recently sold to a subsidiary of Teck Resources Inc. ("Teck"). Under the terms of the sale agreement, Teck has the right to acquire one third of the 3% NSR for $3 million dollars at any time. The Copaquire property borders Teck's producing Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile's First Region.

Chilean Metals Inc. is the 100% owner of four Copper Gold exploration properties in Nova Scotia on the western flank of the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone (CCFZ); Fox River, Parrsboro, Lynn and Bass River respectively. Initial targeting and geophysics has been conducted on all properties, At Bass River North, airborne geophysics identified a major VTEM cluster on trend with the Pb/Zn/Ag mineralization exposed at surface and in drill holes to the southwest. Modeling of the airborne data by Minotaur (Australia) identified 3 priority targets recommended for ground based geophysics prior to drilling.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

Chilean Metals Inc.

"Patrick Cruickshank"

Patrick Cruickshank, CEO

Contact: patrick@chileanmetals.com

The Qualified Person for Chilean Metals Inc., as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is Gary Lohman, P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration.

Forward-looking Statements: This news release may contain certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that CMX 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. Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding current and future exploration programs, activities and results. Although CMX 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 forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration success, continued availability of capital and financing, inability to obtain required regulatory or governmental approvals 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.

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.

Copyright (c) 2017 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.


Vancouver, B.C. (FSCwire) - ALX Uranium Corp. (ALX or the Company) (TSXV: AL; FSE: 6LLN; OTC: ALXEF) is pleased to announce it has completed a deep-penetrating induced polarization/resistivity (IP/resistivity) survey during April and May 2017 at its Newnham Lake uranium property (Newnham Lake, or the Property) located in the northeastern Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, approximately 75 km east of Stony Rapids.

ALX has an option to earn a 100% interest in Newnham Lake through a series of three separate land acquisition agreements signed in 2014. The Property consists of eight contiguous claims totaling 11,737 ha (29,004 acres) and possesses a strong legacy of historical exploration data. Beginning in the late 1970s, a 15 kilometre-long conductive corridor of shallow targets (less than 100 metres to the unconformity) in the northern portion of Newnham Lake was explored extensively for unconformity-type uranium deposits, prior to the recognition in recent years of a deeper, basement-hosted, uranium deposit model. A similar parallel conductive corridor is located in the southern portion of the property, which has had relatively sparse exploration to date.

The 2017 ground IP/resistivity survey consisted of 85.5 line-kilometres along 23 cross lines and 14.5 line-kilometres along two longitudinal lines for a total of 100.0 line-kilometres across the most prospective areas outlined by previous work. This survey method is capable of imaging conductive/resistive horizons to approximately 700 metres depth.

The two longitudinal lines were run along the north and south conductive trends to obtain 3D IP/resistivity data. This will produce 3D coverage in roughly a 500 metre wide corridor along the north and south conductive trends and will enable better resolution of crosscutting structural features in the vicinity of the conductive trends.

ALX is looking forward to receiving the final 3D interpretation of this leading-edge technology at Newnham Lake, said Sierd Eriks, President and CEO of the Company. The 3D interpretation will enable us to define crosscutting structures and faults in order to generate drill targets along the north and south conductors. The integration of historical results with our current work will provide us with excellent targets to explore for structurally controlled, basement-hosted uranium deposits in an upcoming drilling program this summer.

Following the receipt and final interpretation of the 2017 geophysical survey, ALX plans to drill up to 3,000 metres in four to five drill holes in a helicopter-supported drilling program during the summer of 2017. The highest priority target areas would combine interpreted alteration zones near conductive horizons located at the intersections of crosscutting faults, thus testing the most prospective drill targets at depths up to 600 metres or more  over 300 metres beyond the deepest hole ever drilled at Newnham Lake.

To view maps and sections displaying the geophysical results, please visit ALXs website at: www.alxuranium.com

NI 43-101 Disclosure

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sierd Eriks, P.Geo., President and CEO, who is a Qualified Person, in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101.

About the Newnham Lake Property

Historical drilling identified encouraging amounts of uranium mineralization at the unconformity, yet due to the convention of the era and the focus on unconformity-hosted targets, most drill holes were less than 100 metres in length and continued a maximum of about 30 metres past the unconformity. By example, 1979 hole BL-66 intersected 1,656 parts per million (ppm) uranium over 0.20 metres in a section containing visible grains of pitchblende, a uranium mineral commonly found associated with Athabasca Basin uranium deposits. This intersection began just below the unconformity at a depth of 86.7 metres, but the hole only tested the basement rocks to a depth 26.7 metres below the unconformity and was terminated in graphitic basement rocks at a vertical depth of 113.4 metres. Similar encouraging uranium intersections by previous operators resulted in the completion of over 150 holes in the most promising areas of the property, focused almost entirely on unconformity-hosted targets. Given the historical results, ALX believes the best targets at Newnham Lake may be deeper, within the basement rocks, as evidenced by more recent basement-hosted uranium discoveries around the Athabasca Basin.

Beginning in November 2016, ALX commissioned interpretations of airborne geophysical data from VTEM, ZTEM, and gravity surveys carried out by previous operators. The new geophysical interpretations have indicated that Newnham Lake has the potential to host uranium mineralization in a deeper, basement-hosted system, rather than the shallower, unconformity-hosted model that was historically pursued. A 3D model incorporating the available layers of geological, geophysical and geochemical data has been created by ALX, allowing the complete integration of previous drilling with historical and current geophysical results.

About ALX Uranium Corp.

ALX's mandate is to provide shareholders with multiple opportunities for discovery and value creation by building and optimizing a portfolio of prospective uranium exploration properties through staking, joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures. The Company executes well-designed exploration programs using the latest technologies and has interests in over 100,000 hectares in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin. 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. 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 references to the reporting of location of interpreted conductors; indications that drilling programs may be conducted on interpreted targets; all references to future exploration in the area, and the completion of drill holes to test the targets. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual 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 data; that the Company may not be able to obtain equipment or labour as required; that the Company may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete intended exploration and development; that exploration permit applications may not be obtained in a timely manner; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may inhibit exploration; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that the collection and analysis of data may not be possible due to factors beyond the Companys control; that positive results of exploration in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of property-wide potential; that the Company may not complete exploration programs in a timely manner, or at all; that market prices for uranium may not justify further exploration; and that despite encouraging results there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/alxuranium05252017.pdfSource: ALX Uranium Corp. (TSX Venture:AL, OTCQX:ALXEF, FWB:6LLN)

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Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
Medicaid

Children's Health Insurance

Chronic Diseases

Just over one hundred days into Donald Trump's presidency, he has left health officials with more uncertainty than most have faced in years. A promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, one of the biggest overhauls of modern health care, hangs in the balance. Waivers to transform Medicaid, the health-care program for the poor, are pending . And the release of the president's budget on Tuesday makes it impossible to know how much federal funding they can count on.Trumps budget, A New Foundation for American Greatness, slashes spending in almost every department except defense. While it has no chance of passing, health experts caution that it shouldn't be written off because it will still influence Congressional Republicans' spending bills.Its hard to imagine that itll be enacted fully, but at a minimum, it reflects the priorities of the administration, says Elizabeth Burak, senior program director at Georgetown Universitys Center for Children and Families.Most of the health proposals would directly hit the federal level, but many would trickle down and eventually be felt on the state and local level -- and there are a few changes that states would feel immediately.President Trump is proposing to cut Medicaid spending by $600 billion over a decade. Thats on top of proposed cuts in the House's bill to replace Obamacare, called the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which the budget assumes will become law. If both were to pass, states would be looking at a more than $1 trillion reduction in Medicaid spending.The long-term goal of the Trump administration is to shift Medicaid from an entitlement program to a grant-based one. If enacted, governors would decide whether to get their Medicaid funds in the form of a block grant or a per capita cap in which states get a set amount of money for each Medicaid enrollee.Trump and his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, promise that the cuts, along with the switch to block grants and per capita caps, would grant states more flexibility in their Medicaid programs. But health experts say that with cuts that large, the only flexibility states would have is deciding who to cut off their Medicaid rolls.Trump also proposes cutting the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by $6 billion, something the AHCA largely leaves untouched. His budget calls for capping CHIP eligibility at 250 percent of the federal poverty line, which would cause 24 states and the District of Columbia to lose federal funding because their eligibility for CHIP is above that.CHIP covers around 8 million kids from low-income families. Burak, from Georgetown, says its hard to imagine a scenario where we dont see the rates of uninsured children rise.CHIP has always enjoyed bipartisan support. If Congress enacts Trump's proposed cuts to the program, it signals a particular willingness to abandon the historically bipartisan commitment.In the arena of public health, the president wants to create a $500 million block grant for states to combat chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. At the same time, the budget proposes cutting $222 million from the chronic disease prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Former CDC director Tom Frieden called the cuts unsafe at any level of enactment.Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, took it a step further, saying in a statement that the federal cuts for disease prevention would be catastrophic, especially for our most vulnerable, including children, seniors and low-income Americans."Nothing in Trumps budget is set in stone, although that doesnt make it any easier for state health officials and lawmakers to plan ahead. Congress still has to approve it, and right now they are mired in talks to repeal the Affordable Care Act. On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the impact that the American Health Care Act would have: If it passed, 23 million Americans would lose their health insurance.
Model Legislation

Flagging Fraud

By the time Illinois decided to crack down on Medicaid fraud in 2012, state officials knew that many people enrolled in the program probably werent eligible. For years, caseworkers hadnt had the time or resources to check.To catch up, the state hired a private contractor to identify people who might not be eligible for the low-income health program and to make recommendations for whose benefits should be canceled. Within about a year, Illinois had canceled benefits for nearly 150,000 people whose eligibility could not be verified  and saved an estimated $70 million.Now, faced with growing Medicaid enrollment and tight budgets, Republican lawmakers in several other states are taking similar steps to ensure that people receiving welfare benefits are eligible for them. Under their proposals, which are modeled on legislation drafted by a national conservative group, recipients would face tougher and more frequent eligibility checks. And the checks could be conducted by private contractors who are motivated to justify their hiring by knocking as many people as possible off the rolls.Mississippi enacted a law in April that will require the state to hire a private contractor to create a new computer system to review and more frequently check the eligibility of people participating in Medicaid and the federal food stamps program, formally called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Similar bills are being considered in Oklahoma and Ohio, and Missouri and Wyoming enacted similar laws last year.Supporters say the measures will root out fraud in the welfare system. Fraud, overpayments and underpayments in all assistance programs cost federal and state governments about $136.7 billion in 2015, out of about $2.8 trillion spent in assistance overall.In Mississippi, people are intentionally scamming the system, said state Sen. Josh Harkins, a Republican who supported the new law there. This is to make sure we arent just carelessly spending state tax dollars.But Democratic policy analysts and advocates for people on welfare say that while its important to try to reduce fraud, the proposals go about it the wrong way. Roy Mitchell, executive director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, says the bills are meant to sweep even eligible families off the system. You basically put a bounty on Medicaid recipients, Mitchell said.The most concerning part of the new Mississippi law and the other proposals, Mitchell and others say, is that they give people who receive benefits as little as 10 days to respond when they are asked for more information to prove their eligibility. If they dont respond or cant provide the information, their benefits are canceled.Welfare recipients move often, and many will miss the request, Mitchell said. People will be forced off the system, he said, just to re-enroll shortly after  a phenomenon referred to as churn.In Illinois, the state saw savings when it first stepped up eligibility checks. But about 20 percent of those who were kicked off the rolls re-enrolled a short time later, according to state data. Most simply fail at first to respond to the states request for information.The recent proposals follow model legislation drafted by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based nonprofit that favors free-market principles. The point, said Jonathan Ingram, the foundations vice president of research, is to preserve finite government resources by ensuring that only eligible people are receiving benefits.Many states, such as Oregon, are facing a backlog in verifying the eligibility of people enrolled in welfare programs. In a survey last year, officials from six states told the Kaiser Family Foundation that they were facing delays in confirming eligibility for Medicaid recipients, due mostly to challenges with their computer system or staff capacity.Federal law generally requires eligibility checks once a year for Medicaid recipients and every six months for SNAP recipients, although that varies based on age, disability status and other factors. Eligibility requirements vary by program, but, generally, recipients must prove they make under a certain amount of money, are U.S. citizens and are residents of the state.To verify citizenship and income, states use information from federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration. About half of states also use a service provided by Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency, to get more up-to-date information about wages when verifying Medicaid eligibility.Many states rely on what recipients tell them about where they live and how many people they live with, which helps determine whether their household is eligible. Some state agencies cross-check the information applicants provide with other state agencies, inside or outside of their state.The model legislation would require recipients to prove their identity. It would allow states to hire a contractor to collect personal information about welfare recipients, and would require the state to check any information that might indicate a change in eligibility at least quarterly. (The Mississippi law requires the state to hire a private contractor.) The state would also be required to explore joining a multi-state cooperative to identify individuals enrolled in other states.Under the model, the state, not the contractor, would make the final decision about whether someone continues to receive benefits. And the amount the state saves by removing people from the rolls must exceed that spent to pay the contractors  a provision that could mean outside firms lose their state contract if they dont flag enough ineligible recipients.Mitchell said the bills are wrongly targeted at welfare recipients when they should be targeted at health care providers, such as doctors and pharmacists, who often commit fraud.In general, states are already doing most of what is outlined in the bills, said Stacy Dean, vice president for food assistance policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. But, in instances where they arent, Dean and others say that hiring staff or updating computer systems would help, more than hiring an outside firm.The bills are predicated, she said, on the false narrative that SNAP and Medicaid are in crisis, that state administrators are bad at their job, and that low-income people are committing fraud.When states do start to check with more frequency, it increases the amount of churn, Dean said, and that can be costly to states. One national study found that administering agencies spend between $400 and $600 per person who is removed from the rolls and then re-enrolled.States that look more closely to ensure that people receiving benefits are eligible often find erroneous payments, as Minnesota did.On average, about 4.8 percent of assistance payments by federal and state government agencies were made in error in 2015, according to a 2016 GAO report. The error rate for SNAP was estimated at about 3.7 percent and for Medicaid at about 9.8 percent.States are particularly concerned with erroneous Medicaid payments because the program is expensive, at nearly $300 billion in 2015, and because states pay for part of it  about 37 percent in 2016. The federal government pays for SNAP.The Foundation for Government Accountability says that by passing its model bill, states will save millions by canceling benefits for those who are dead, who dont qualify, or who are committing fraud. If every state adopted the practices it advocates, the total savings could be up to $8 billion annually, the group said in a press release.While Illinois did see savings in at least the first year of its new system, that was mostly because the state was catching up, said Anne Irving, director of public policy for AFSCME Council 31, the union that represents the states workers. The union estimated that having state employees do the work, rather than hiring a private contractor, would have saved the state an additional $18 million a year.Faced with a grievance from the union related to its collective bargaining agreement, the state in 2013 reduced the amount of work it was paying the contractor to do. The contractor still flags discrepancies in the system, but it no longer makes recommendations on what the state should do about them.In Mississippi, Equifax, the company that many states already contract with for up-to-date information, lobbied for the new law. The company wanted to educate lawmakers about the tools available in the private sector that can help them better determine eligibility, said Robert Purser of Equifax.Under the new law, the state will now issue a request for proposals for a third-party company, and Purser said Equifax may apply. The legislation is a step in the right direction, he said. It gives states the tools they need to determine eligibility.But its unclear what exactly will change under Mississippis new law. The law is not specific, and state officials say its too soon to tell how often eligibility checks will happen or whether the state will collect more information about recipients.
On Tuesday, Gov. Eric Greitens led Missourians who'd attended his afternoon rally to lobby opponents of a bill he says will create jobs.They signed fliers pleading for the passage of a contentious utility bill and taped them to the office doors of lawmakers like Sens. Doug Libla and Gary Romine, two Republicans who've expressed concerns with the proposal Greitens is hoping will cross the finish line in this week's special session.It gave Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., D-St. Louis, an idea.In the wee hours of the morning, he enlisted constituents to send him emails telling the governor to veto a bill preempting St. Louis' minimum wage increase.He then printed them out and taped them to the governor's office door."I was inspired by the governor," Franks told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday. "Posting yesterday was basically to say, look, you come from the city of St. Louis. This is where you reside. This is where you're raising your family. Folks here need livable wages."Franks has been a vocal critic of the GOP-led Legislature's efforts to block the city's minimum wage increase. Workers in St. Louis are currently making $10 an hour, but if Greitens signs the bill, their paychecks will revert back to the $7.90 statewide hourly wage.Hailed by Republicans as a way to standardize payroll and prevent uncertainty for Missouri's business community, Democrats like Franks argue the bill interferes with cities' rights to determine a fair minimum wage for their own communities.Franks also posted messages encouraging the governor to veto a measure that would make it harder for workers to sue their employers for discrimination."(Greitens) is speaking up for the folks in the Bootheel. That's good. We commend that. Let's speak up for everybody," he said.
L.A. as a Case Study

So What Does Effective Civilian Oversight Look Like?

Last week, voters in Los Angeles passed a measure widely condemned by Black Lives Matter, the ACLU of Southern California and other activist groups in favor of police accountability and civilian oversight.On its face, that seems strange: The measure increases citizen oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department by allowing for the creation of an all-civilian disciplinary review board. (Currently, there's only one review board, made up of one civilian and two high-ranking LAPD officers.) But activists assert that the law, called Charter Amendment C, will actually end up favoring officers accused of wrongdoing.This was a deceptive measure, says Peter Bibring, director of police practices for the ACLU of Southern California. Most people thought this was about putting civilians in a position to hold officers accountable, and thats not what it is.For one thing,the measure allows officers accused of misconduct to choose whether their case will be reviewed by the partial- or all-civilian board. Critics warn that giving cops the option to choose means they'll inevitably go before whichever board is most likely to be more lenient.L.A. isn't the only city struggling to figure out how to keep cops accountable. Localities all over the country are wrestling with how best to formulate disciplinary review boards and how civilians might fit into that equation.Of the 18,000 police departments in the country, only the large ones have any form of oversight, and only about 200 take the form of civilian review boards, says Samuel Walker, author ofEvery board has its own specific set of rules, responsibilities and procedures, but Walker says they often lack effectiveness and authority.The idea of civilian review always sounds appealing because it has this connotation of democratic governance, says Tim Lynch, director of the libertarian Cato Institutes Project on Criminal Justice. But when you look into the way it actually works, it can be ineffective as far as serious accountability for police departments.Lynch has carried out surveys of civilian review boards across the country and found them to be vulnerable to political manipulations, inadequate funding and staffing, slow-moving investigations and a lack of authority or jurisdiction to meaningfully investigate complaints.In Los Angeles, opponents of the new law argue that it's rife with problems, some of which are particular to the city and some of which are common among civilian boards generally.For one, city reports show that civilians on L.A.'s disciplinary review board have consistently been more lenient to officers than the high-ranking police personnel. Bibring speculates that may be because all civilians on the board are required to have extensive experience as lawyers or mediators, effectively shutting out huge portions of the community.These members dont represent the diversity of L.A. and especially not the communities that are being affected by police violence, Bibring says.Cato's Lynch says requirements for civilian membership throughout the country tend to produce boards biased in favor of officers.[The citizens on these boards] are sometimes required to have a law enforcement background, or they have connections of some kind with law enforcement, he says. Theyre often not your typical business owner, what we would think of as people from the community.For its part, the L.A. police union, which heavily backed the measure, says that Charter Amendment C is a way to fix a broken disciplinary system. They assert that officers on the current review board feel pressure to follow Chief Charlie Becks recommendations for discipline, making for an inherently unfair hearing. At least three officers have sued the department alleging retaliationfor failing to heed Beck's recommendation to terminate an officer during a disciplinary hearing.But Bibring isn't buying it. He says the L.A. measure wasnt crafted in concert with the activist organizations that have been pushing for reform. Opponents of the measure have excoriated it as a backroom deal between city hall and the police union, trotted out at the last second during an election sure to have low turnout.Across the country, Lynch says civilian boards often lack the resources, power or jurisdiction to effectively oversee cases. Often, they carry out reviews or investigations only with the information provided to them by internal affairs (as happens in Los Angeles). That can be a problem if internal affairs chooses not to take ona large number of cases. Even where a board does have jurisdiction to dig into cases themselves, Lynch says it often doesnt have the money to do much. And in most places, including L.A., civilian review boards can't impose discipline on their own.I think the evidence is thin that these review boards are an effective check on police departments, Lynch says.San Franciscos citizen-led Department of Police Accountability, which investigates complaints against officers, is a perfect example of a citizen oversight initiative that got stalled by several of the problems Lynch points to. A lack of funding has created unsustainable caseloads for investigators at the office, which has led to delayed investigations into citizen complaints. Sometimes the delays were so severe that prosecutions were at risk since authorities only have 12 months to press charges after receiving a complaint.San Francisco isnt alone.has reported on cities like Seattle that instituted civilian-led investigation units only to come under federal investigation for police abuses a few years later.Experts vary in their ideas about the best way to oversee a police department.Walker advocates against the concept of a civilian review board altogether.In his view, the best way to conduct investigations and discipline police is within the department: Everything should go straight from internal affairs to the chief, who determines discipline, and all appeals should be handled by an independent board or arbitrator.In Walkers ideal model, citizen oversight would take the form of an inspector general or police auditor who could oversee internal affairs investigations and have access to the kind of information the public cant see. This person would be able to look for patterns of discrimination, weak disciplinary practices, evidence of retaliation and stalled investigations. The evidence they gather could then be brought to the police commission, the civilian body generally charged with overseeing the police department.The important thing is the actual investigation, Walker says. Finding out: Did internal affairs make an effort to gather witnesses to this incident? Did they review medical evidence? Was everything handled in a timely fashion? Thats what an inspector general can figure out.Processes like this exist already in a few places, though Walker says many of them aren't looking with sufficient depth at problematic patterns nor are they following up on recommendations.He points to Denvers Independent Monitor as a particularly good example of the auditor model. The monitor's public reports available online, in Walker's opinion, display an office dedicated to rooting out problems and consistently following up on its recommendations to ensure changes are made.Seattle is another recent standout, despite the problems it's had in the past. Just this week, it created its own Inspector General's office, becoming the only city with three separate oversight offices for its police department. Its Office of Police Accountability investigates citizen complaints, its inspector general investigates police department policies and practices and the Community Police Commission (which has a fairly wide membership from the community, according to Walker) oversees everything else.For his part, Lynch has two core recommendations for departments looking to improve citizen oversight: get rid of special rules protecting police officers and increase transparency of an officers disciplinary proceedings and history. In many localities, he says, a police officer doesnt have to sit down with internal affairs for five to 10 days after the incident thats being investigated.Thats a special protection, Lynch says. If [the locality] is serious about police accountability, they should be looking for these things and doing away with them.Whats more, Lynch says, whether its internal affairs or an inspector general of a civilian review board, everything about the investigative and disciplinary process should be as transparent as possible: Officers should be named, and information about any past misconduct should be available to the public, he says. Right now, 38 states limit or entirely prohibit access to police officers' disciplinary records. Laws on the books in California, Delaware and New York specifically make all officers' personnel files confidential.Bibring of the ACLU of Southern California coincides on several of these points, particularly on the count of transparency.A system like [the one Walker describes] could work if the chief was accountable not just to the police commission, but to the public, he says. That would require that the chiefs disciplinary decisions and investigations be made public. In a system where its secret, its impossible to hold police accountable.
At least eight law enforcement officers and seven inmates were injured Wednesday morning in a riot at Pelican Bay State Prison that ended when guards fired live ammunition into the crowd, state corrections officials said.All of those injured were taken to outside hospitals for treatment. Two of the prison staff members remained hospitalized with "significant" but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. Five of the seven inmates were being treated for gunshot wounds, but their conditions were not immediately available Wednesday afternoon.The riot at the prison in Crescent City (Del Norte County) started with a fistfight between two inmates in the maximum-security general population yard. About 10:30 a.m., officers responding to the fight used chemical agents and batons to try to break it up. But large groups of inmates ran into the yard and quickly overwhelmed the officers, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.As the melee grew out of control, officers from three armed posts fired 19 shots into the yard. Officers also fired at least three nonlethal foam rounds to quash the brawl.Two inmate-made weapons were recovered after the fight, although it wasn't clear whether they were used in the riot, officials said.Prison officials have restricted inmate movement throughout the facility while the riot is under investigation, and 97 inmates were placed in isolation units.The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent a team to the prison to investigate the use of deadly force. The department also is sending investigators from its Office of Correctional Safety.Pelican Bay State Prison, near the Oregon border, houses about 2,000 inmates and has a staff of about 1,300. The prison has two maximum-security facilities.
PHOENIX  After learning how difficult it was to procure a new system piloted during the 2014 Startup in Residence program, which pairs startups with government agencies, San Franciscos IT officials sought a better, faster method for future iterations of the initiative. It took the city two years to put together an RFP based on the work done as a pilot to help guide visually impaired individuals through San Francisco International Airport.Thats just too long, San Francisco Chief Innovation Officer Jay Nath toldat the Summit on Government Performance and Innovation on May 24 in Phoenix, an event presented byin collaboration with Living Cities.So last year, the city debuted the RFP Bus  essentially taking a number of RFPs and batching them together into one. Highly prescriptive rules were replaced by 30 challenge statements written by the four participating cities. Its all based online, and Nath said it took about an hour for startups to respond to the RFP. The entire process takes a total of six weeks  an impressive change compared to the citys experiences in 2014. The outcome was 20-plus contracts that were created through the program.Now in 2017, all of the cities were working with have adopted the RFP Bus, said Nath. Its a great milestone for us."
(TNS)  DURHAM, N.C.  National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins opened a precision medicine conference at Duke University on Wednesday by briefing participants about an upcoming long-term effort to gather health data from 1 million or more people.The All of Us project is one of a growing number of large-scale cohort studies that seek to track the health over time of people by the hundreds of thousands, to give researchers data to use in figuring out the causes of disease.Whatll set the NIH-orchestrated effort apart from the others, Collins said, is that its organizers want to make a point of assembling a very diverse group of participants and to collect data about environmental exposures that can trigger changes in the human body.Initial tests of the studys data-gathering systems are scheduled to begin next week, ahead of a hoped-for full launch sometime this fall, he said.If all goes to plan, qualified researchers should be able to start using the data next year, and project should have its 1 million volunteer participants enrolled by the end of 2022, Collins said.To pay for the project, Collins indicated that the NIH  the key funder of medical research conducted at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and other Triangle universities  is counting on Congress to follow through on the spending promises it made last year when it passed the 21st Century Cares Act.Congress actions to date suggest the studys on a stable pathway and cant be too easily upset by whatever is coming down the road, said Collins, a UNC-trained physician and geneticist renowned in medical-research circles for having orchestrated the successful effort to map the human genome.That comment was as close as the NIH director, whos been in office since 2009, came to alluding to proposals from President Donald Trumps White House that call for slashing the agencys fiscal 2018 budget by about 22.4 percent.The cut, if passed, would reduce the agencys budget by $5.8 billion, lowering it to $25.9 billion.White House officials have said Trump wants to prioritize military spending, weighting the federal budget heavily toward the guns end of the guns-versus-butter spectrum.The NIH cut would target duplicative and unnecessary global health research and the back-end facilities and administrative overhead the nations universities take from each grant, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget says.Collins, appointed to office by former President Barack Obama, said hed accepted the invitation to speak at the Duke conference thinking I would not be the NIH director by this point in the new administration.He said hed turned in the pro-forma resignation expected of high-level political appointees and learned only on Jan. 18, two days before Trumps inauguration, that itd been rejected.That Collins remains in office irritates 41 Republican U.S. House members who on Monday issued a letter asking Trump to sack him and nominate his own NIH director.The group included three members of North Carolinas House delegation, U.S. Reps. Robert Pittenger, R-9th, Walter Jones Jr., R-2nd, and Virginia Foxx, R-5th.Jones and Foxxs districts include two of the states medical schools, operated by East Carolina University and Wake Forest University respectively. Pittenger represents the Charlotte area, where civic groups are lobbying for the establishment of a medical school at UNC-Charlotte.The letter faulted Collins views on embryonic stem-cell research, on the grounds that anti-abortion groups find it too permissive.But conference organizers at Duke consider Collins a friend and advocate of precision medicine, the movement within the medical-research community to capitalize on developments in genomics and big-data number-crunching to prevent disease.In recent decades, it would be hard to name anybody whos had a greater impact on the understanding of human biology and ultimately human health, said Dukes former chancellor of health affairs, Ralph Snyderman.
(TNS) -- JACKSONVILLE  Jacksonville State University researchers plan to soon install technology to accurately measure use on the Chief Ladiga Trail, area government officials learned Tuesday.With an accurate count of the people using the 33-mile Chief Ladiga that also differentiates between runners and cyclists, area communities can likely obtain more state and federal grant money to maintain or upgrade their sections of the trail, a JSU official says.The reveal was part of a two-hour-long summit at the Houston Cole Library at JSU Tuesday that brought together representatives from every area government invested in the trail, including the cities of Anniston, Jacksonville, Piedmont, Weaver and the Calhoun County Commission. The summit gave officials the chance to brief each other on what theyve done recently for their sections of the trail and to share ideas on how to improve and promote it.The Chief Ladiga is a paved trail converted from abandoned rail lines that stretches from the Georgia state line to Michael Tucker Park in Anniston.Jennifer Green, director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at JSU, said the university bought the latest counter devices to install along the trail by July. Green said three counters would be installed at the beginning, middle and end of the trail.These are the same counters used by the National Park Service, Green said. They can differentiate between riders and walkers and give the most accurate count.More accurate counts can truly show how much the trail is used and whether it's growing in popularity.We hope the new count can give you the opportunity for grant money, Green said to the government officials.Green said the plan is to accrue six months worth of data from the counters, then create an economic impact study of the trail. Green said her center made a similar study for Anniston several years ago, but that one used visitor logs to estimate use.The count will give a more realistic economic impact, Green said. And over time, we can also show where usage is increasing.Also during the meeting, Kent Davis, Anniston city manager, said the city was still working hard on its long delayed project to extend the Ladiga 7.2 miles into downtown Anniston.Davis said the city was negotiating with the Anniston Water Works and Sewer Board and the Virginia-based Norfolk Southern Corporation, which own the remaining land needed to extend the trail.I think were getting very close, Davis said of obtaining the land. Weve surveyed the corridor and submitted a right-of-way map to the Alabama Department of Transportation  we hope ALDOT will approve the map and then we can acquire the property.Several of the attendees brought up the need to better advertise the trail. Patrick Wigley, owner of Wigs Wheels in Anniston, said the trail could benefit from merchandising.Theres nothing for anybody to buy around here, Wigley said.A few of the attendees agreed to work with the city of Piedmont, which holds the copyright for the trails official logo, to possibly create some merchandise that visitors could buy.Its just such an asset to have it, Jacksonville Mayor Johnny Smith said of the trail. It brings in so many people.
(TNS) - Paramedics and police officers rushed to the Ivor Fowler Community Center in Montrose Wednesday morning to tend to mock victims of a mass shooting drill as part of the annual Lee County disaster drill.Emergency service organizations participating in the exercise met their goals and took lessons from the day, according to Bill Young, director of Lee County Emergency Medical Service.Mock victims took roles of community members attending an event at the community center with an active shooter in the building. The volunteers wore tags identifying their age, gender and injuries. Stephen Cirinna, Lee County Emergency Management coordinator, instructed the mock victims to give conflicting information to emergency responders to mimic the chaos expected if circumstances were real.Young used a bottle of stage blood and makeup to give the mock victims the appearance of bullet wounds. He said he wanted the paramedics and police officers to see the scene as it would happen if real. Ellie Herdrich of Donnellson enhanced the reality by crying as she sat on the floor holding the hand of another mock victim with a bullet wound to her neck.Even unplanned events added to the realistic environment.During the exercise, there was actually a multi-vehicle accident down in Keokuk, Cirinna said. That is part of what happens during the exercise. Real life continues, and you cant stop it, so you have to react to that.Ambulances and firetrucks congregated in front of the community center to treat eight of the mock victims and take them to Keokuk Area Hospital. Two of the mock victims were fatalities. In the drill scenario, the active shooter got away. Six local nursing homes responded to this part of the exercise by putting their buildings on lock down.Before the drill began, Cirinna said emergency service organizations usually encounter the most challenges in communication during mock disasters like this one. In a previous drill, Cirinna said he called 911 and reached the Peoria, Ill., dispatcher, about one hour and 40 minutes away.After this drill, Cirinna said the communication went well.Compared to similar training she has completed in the past, Shanna Krogmeier, assistant director of Lee County EMS, thought drill participants performed their tasks well, especially determining triage and setting up the treatment area.Krogmeier also noted the importance of the public allowing professionals space to respond effectively when not in a drill scenario.If you are on the scene and can help, that is one thing, Krogmeier said. But dont come flocking to the scene.Elaine Kramer of Montrose, who portrayed a victim with a bullet wound to her foot, represented the first category Krogmeier noted. Her role included comforting other mock victims or applying pressure to their wounds. Kramer said she thought the drill went smoothly and the emergency personnel knew what they were doing.Cirinna said having volunteers like Kramer to play the victims allowed the emergency responders a better learning experience.One of the reasons why we like to have the public as actors is that if we have to get actors from within one of the agencies, they are not able to participate, Cirinna said. They are playing a role, but they are not actually able to benefit directly from the training.Young pointed out the emergency vehicles did not use their lights or sirens to prevent alarming the community. To make response time as close to reality as possible, emergency vehicles were stationed at the Montrose Fire Department.A follow-up meeting will be in about a week for all participants to discuss the drill and create plans to correct any concerns in an after-action report, Cirinna said.2017 The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa)Visit The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa) at www.thehawkeye.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) -- Hawaiian Electric Co. has approved 420 residential rooftop solar systems attached to batteries on Oahu, but the city Department of Planning and Permitting has given building permits to only 33.City officials say they want to be certain the new technology is safe before approving units.The solar industry wants the city approval process streamlined and says it is working with DPP to do just that.Solar systems attached to batteries store power during daylight to use at night or in cloudy conditions. In October 2015 the state limited the number of new solar systems that can send excess power to the electric grid for credit. That made battery-connected solar systems more popular. These systems, known as self-supply, do not send excess power to the grid, but can take power from the grid when needed.The change to battery-connected solar systems was prompted by concerns about the stability of the grid if too much solar power was feeding into it.The technology involved is ever-changing, and we  government and the industry  have been challenged to keep up with the technology, said Timothy Hiu, DPP deputy director. Our thorough review of plans with a battery component would sometimes lead to delays in approval, but this was only because our concern is the health and safety of the homeowner, public and PV (photovoltaic) installers.Will Giese, spokesman for Inter-Island Solar Supply, said multiple customers reported having to submit more than five rounds of plans, reviews and comments.This process, until recently, was taking nearly six months per installation, a simply unsustainable time frame for contractors who rely on a steady stream of operating capital, Giese said.The permitting process should speed up after local solar industry representatives met with DPP last week about the permitting for Tesla Powerwalls, one of the home battery systems currently for sale, said Colin Yost, principal at Honolulu-based solar company RevoluSun.Once its understood how residential batteries work, it becomes clear that theyre just like a refrigerator or any other UL-tested appliance in your home, Yost said.The solar industry has been able to work closely with the DPP to understand and address the departments concerns with permitting solar systems that have batteries attached, Giese said.Hiu said he expects the DPPs review process will speed up after launching an online permitting system this month.With the ability for contractors to self-issue permits online, we expect the processing time to be reduced significantly, Hiu said. We continue to work with the industry to enable us to process these building permits in a more timely manner.Hiu said the departments approval process for self-supply systems was delayed as reviewers worked to understand the battery technology.RevoluSun is seeing sales of self-supply systems grow as regulatory barriers disappear and significant numbers of batteries arrive in warehouses on Oahu, Yost said.The battery, or self-supply, solar system was one of two programs that replaced the popular net energy metering solar program, which paid residents the full retail rate for excess electricity sent into the grid. That program ended in October 2015. The other program, grid supply, which is a watered-down version of net energy metering, was recently opened back up again to customers after meeting its cap last year.In a March order the PUC clarified that the solar industry could bring on more customers for the maxed-out grid supply program to use the space of unfulfilled net energy metering applicants who dropped out before installing their systems.Now there is space for 15.85 megawatts, or roughly 2,000 solar energy systems, in the grid supply program. As of Tuesday there were 150 grid supply applications awaiting approval from HECO.
PHOENIX  Can a city of 90,000 people be smart? San Leandro, Calif., just 20 miles from San Francisco, is poised to find out. And based on efforts so far, there's reason for optimism.The city is well positioned to capitalize on connected technologies because of its 28-mile fiber-optic loop that provides speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. Developed through a unique public-private partnership between the city and a local software entrepreneur, Lit San Leandro now connects more than 250 businesses.At the Summit on Government Performance and Innovation , presented byin collaboration with Living Cities, Chief Innovation Officer Deborah Acosta explained that an LED streetlight upgrade has effectively made the case for a broader smart city strategy for San Leandro. The energy savings the city will reap will completely cover the project costs, making it a zero-risk endeavor. It's also prompting officials to ask questions about the technology's full potential."What should we be doing with our poles that will help our community move into the era of environmental health, of self-driving cars, of better living in cities?" Acosta asked. "We're on that journey right now to figure out what we can do with that."
(TNS) -- Companies are preparing to deliver packages to customers by drone or robot, industry representatives told a congressional subcommittee. But, they argued, looser and more consistent regulations will be needed to help the industry achieve lift-off.Brian Wynne, CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, said drones could create about 100,000 jobs and generate $82 billion in a decade if they are allowed full integration in the national airspace.We are at the dawn of a new American renaissance in technology, one that deserves government attention and support, Wynne told the House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection.But some members questioned the potential for job losses and expressed privacy concerns.They are capable obviously of collecting data, taking photographs and other things people may regard as invasion of their personal privacy, said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont.The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that at least 442,000 commercial drones will be flying by 2021. But industry representatives said they are tied down by a regulation that requires the drone to always be in the line of sight of its controller. The FAA can issue a waiver to fly a drone beyond line of sight, but rarely does so.Another issue is the patchwork of state and local regulations involving drones, according to Sean Cassidy, director of safety and regulatory affairs for Amazon Prime Air.Amazon Prime Air has already begun limited drone delivery trials in the British city Cambridge. DHL has run three tests for its parcelcopter in Germany since 2013, and Google experimented with Project Wing in 2014, delivering groceries to a farmer in Australia.There is some urgency on this matter  several other countries are moving ahead faster than we are, said Shyam Chidamber, senior adviser for drone delivery startup Flirtey Inc.British authorities allowed Amazon to make drone deliveries last year on a trial basis beyond the line of sight outside of urban areas and allowed one person to operate several drones at the same time.China, New Zealand and Germany require a certificate from their aviation agencies to fly a drone beyond the line of sight.The subcommittee also discussed delivery robots, which have sparked controversy in San Francisco. Supervisor Norman Yee introduced legislation last week to ban them. He raised concerns over privacy; the safety of those who share the sidewalk with the robots; and job losses for delivery workers.Harry Holzer, a public policy professor with Georgetown Universitys McCourt School of Public Policy, testified that historic reactions to disruptive markets are almost always overblown. But he acknowledged that technology has tended to displace workers with lower education levels.Government should adopt policies like education, workforce development and wage insurance to soften the blow for workers displaced by technology and to help them find new jobs, he said: Helping workers attain post-secondary credentials with strong labor market value must be our top goal.Alec Levenson, a senior research scientist at the University of Southern Californias Center for Effective Organization, said that while the U.S. will be quick to adapt to automation, it still must grapple with accidents and damage liability of unmanned deliveries.Even then, it would take a lot of widespread use for technology to affect jobs in the delivery industry, he said. Drone delivery will happen, he said, but it will be awhile before it is used in a widespread way.We will have the equivalent of flying cars by the time there will be drones that can carry enough deliveries to make it a viable business and change the economy in a fundamental way, he said.
(TNS) -- Home-sharing platform HomeAway.com is joining the fight against Chicago's shared-housing ordinance with a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the regulations.The ordinance, passed last summer, seeks to impose stricter rules on home-sharing sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and its subsidiary VRBO.com. This marks the third lawsuit seeking to delay the rollout of the rules or have them declared unconstitutional. But this is the first from one of the regulated platforms.The first two suits, filed on behalf of homeowners, were partially successful, delaying the imposition of the rules by about three months and leading to tweaks from City Hall. But in March, a judge denied a motion seeking to temporarily block the regulations, and they went fully into effect.HomeAway's suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that the "deeply flawed law" threatens fines that are based on categories "that cannot meaningfully be distinguished from one another" and violates the First, Fourth and 14th amendments."The flaws in the ordinance make it impossible for a person of ordinary intelligence, or any reasonable person who might be subject to the ordinance, to discern what is required of that person and what is prohibited, despite the threat of potentially crippling fees," according to the lawsuit.The ordinance implements an extra tax on home-sharing hosts and a limit on the number of units in a building that can be rented out on home-sharing sites, among other regulations. It was originally set to go into effect in mid-December.The ordinance threatens the long-standing community of hosts and travelers in Chicago as well as the platforms that serve them, said Philip Minardi, a spokesman for Austin, Texas-based HomeAway, which was bought by Expedia in 2015."Despite months of discussions with the city to reach a workable solution that would allow HomeAway to comply with the ordinance, we were unable to reach a resolution, leaving HomeAway no choice but to file this action," Minardi wrote in an email.Cities around the world are drafting or amending home-sharing policies as online platforms such as Airbnb become more prominent. In many cases, Airbnb works with the governments on the rules, as it did in Chicago.The San Francisco-based company developed a registration system in coordination with the city that enables hosts to register directly through its platform and provides secure data to authorities. New Orleans implemented the same system, and San Francisco is expected to put it in place by January, according to Airbnb.Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, said the ordinance "is among the strongest in the country and enables the city to monitor rental activity and take action against hosts who commit violations.""The city has already successfully defended legal challenges to this ordinance, and we will respond to this lawsuit as appropriate," McCaffrey said.The 37-page lawsuit alleges 10 counts against the defendants, including unreasonable searches and seizures and prior restraint of speech. It asks that the court declare the law unconstitutional.Other cities rolling out new or amended rules have faced similar court battles.Airbnb filed a lawsuit last year challenging San Francisco's ordinance that would fine short-term rental platforms for users who rented properties without registering with the city. The federal lawsuit was settled early this month when the city reached an agreement with Airbnb and HomeAway, resulting in the plan to implement Airbnb's registration system.A trial court judge ruled last year that a Nashville, Tenn., ordinance regulating short-term rental properties was unconstitutionally vague. Like the two previous cases in Chicago, the Nashville case was filed by a think tank acting on behalf of homeowners.
Adrian Newey has admitted Red Bull does not have a strong chance of winning this weekend's Monaco grand prix.

Last year, only a pit bungle cost Daniel Ricciardo victory on the famous streets.

"Last year we had a good chassis," Red Bull's part-time technical boss Newey told Brazil's Globo, "so at Monaco, where you rely less on the engine, we could shine.

"But this year we do not have the best chassis, so we will not have the same opportunity as last year," he added.

"I think we have to improve between now and Singapore, and use that as our next chance," said Newey.

(GMM)
Kimi Raikkonen is not sure the 'wheelbase' factor will tip the balance in Ferrari's favour this weekend at Monaco.

Mercedes has headed into the famous street race worrying publicly about how its particularly long-wheelbase car will suit the tight corners.

"I don't know how our long car will go on these corners," admitted Lewis Hamilton.

And team chairman Niki Lauda told Osterreich newspaper: "We designed our car for 20 tracks, but we will find out more after practice."

He also told Kronen Zeitung: "Our car has the longest wheelbase and this can be a disadvantage here, but not necessarily."

Ferrari's Raikkonen, however, played down the story.

"We have the same wheelbase at every circuit, so hopefully the car behaves in the same way as it does everywhere else.

"You need more than just a short wheelbase at Monaco," the Finn is quoted by Speed Week.

(GMM)
Gunther Steiner has played down claims Fernando Alonso's Indy 500 foray this weekend hurts formula one.

F1 chief executive Chase Carey has said it would be better if the Spaniard was in Monaco, and Haas chief Steiner agrees that the big winner is Indycar.

"I think Fernando helps Indy more than formula one. But I also see no disadvantage for F1," said Steiner.

"I also think it will be a one-off, because let's be honest: why would anyone want to miss Monaco? With Fernando, it's clear why he did it, but it would be more difficult for an Indycar driver to prove himself in formula one.

"And let's say Lewis Hamilton wanted to do it: ask Toto (Wolff) if he would agree," he added, according to Speed Week.

However, it could be a different matter for McLaren drivers.

The British team's new executive Zak Brown hinted that McLaren might be considering a full-time Indycar foray.

"It (Indycar) is something that we're definitely going to discuss and (we) have met with Indycar, and are certainly interested in competing in some way, shape or form in the not-too-distant future," he said.

(GMM)
F1 has reacted to the Billy Monger crash by tweaking the design of the 2017 cars.

Recently, the British youngster crashed into a stationary car during a Formula 4 race and subsequently had both his legs amputated.

F1 has reacted.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that, ahead of the Monaco round, every car had to make modifications to the jack-supports at the rear of the car.

The offending part, located beneath the rear crash structure, had to be redesigned by each team so that it is no longer sharp or projectile-shaped.

The German report said that, in the F4 crash, the sharp rear jack support had ripped through the front crash structure of Monger's car.

Correspondent Michael Schmidt said: "On Wednesday, Jo Bauer checked all cars to see if they meet the new regulation."

(GMM)
SkyNRG and AEG Fuels completed the delivery of sustainable aviation biofuels for the Bombardier Business Aircraft demonstration fleet flying from KLM Jet Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands to the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the first delivery of biofuel completed by AEG Fuels.

Bombardiers demonstration fleet, consisting of a Learjet 75, Challenger 350, Challenger 650, and Global 6000 aircraft, completed the successful biofuel-powered flights. The fuel, which is produced by biorefinery AltAir Fuels, was supplied by SkyNRG and delivered to the KLM Jet Center who performed the re-fueling.

These sustainable fuels are produced from renewable resources and are considered drop-in fuels that blend with traditional fossil fuels without any equipment changes. The change to biofuels reduces carbon dioxide emissions resulting in less pollution. Greg Cox, Executive Vice President, General Aviation, AEG Fuels

This milestone follows the recent successful biofuel-powered flights of its demonstration aircraft out of Los Angeles International Airport. The Learjet 75 business jet flew from Los Angeles to Wichita, Kansas; the Challenger 350 aircraft flew from Los Angeles to Vancouver, British Columbia; the Challenger 650 business jet flew from Los Angeles to Montreal, Quebec; and the Global 6000 aircraft flew from Los Angeles to Hartford, Connecticut.
With this acquisition, Groupe Renault will be bringing in a full spectrum of skills to reinforce developments in next-generation embedded vehicle software. This brings valuable experience in areas such as personalized services and remote, autonomous, realtime updates with no outside intervention.

This acquisition is right in line with Groupe Renaults strategy of offering new connected services and improving the experience of its customers. The Intel employees joining Renault hold highly relevant skills in what is a strong competitive technical field, where the Alliance is one of the world leaders. Groupe Renault thereby continues to support French innovation and economic development in France. Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault

Intels French R&D teams hold established software development expertise complementary to Renaults. Theyll be bringing Renault expertise, advanced methods and tools, plus access to a sound network of suppliers, laboratories and partner companies. Some teams already have automotive-specific skills in multimedia and connectivity.

The acquisition operation will proceed by Groupe Renault purchasing a company formed by Intel to take in the embedded software R&D activity at the Toulouse and Sophia Antipolis sites in France. The new company will be attached to the Groupe Renault Alliance Systems Engineering Department.

Finalization of the acquisition is pending on the conditions normally applicable to this kind of operation, and should be completed by the second half of 2017.
To date, Think Blue. Factory. has received more than 30 awardsincluding the National Energy Globe as the best project in Germany, the GreenTec Award for energy efficiency and water-saving measures in production and the Sustainovation Award. As of the end of 2016, Volkswagen had achieved an average reduction of 29.2% in environmental impact: energy -23.5%; CO 2 - 28.6%; waste -58.6%; water -27.5%; and solvent emissions -7.6%.

The Volkswagen brand has set itself new, ambitious targets for reducing the environmental impact of production. By 2025, vehicles and components are to be produced in a way which is 45% more environmentally compatible than in 2010, the reference year for the current Think Blue. Factory. environmental program. ( Earlier post .)

We reached our environmental target of producing our vehicles 25 percent more sustainable by 2018 before the date set. We now intend to reduce environmental impact by a further 20 percent by 2025. We are on the way to the resource-optimized factory at all the locations of the brand. Thomas Ulbrich, Member of the Brand Board of Management responsible for Production and Logistics

With Think Blue. Factory., Volkswagen launched the first program for environmentally sustainable production. 5,300 measures to reduce emissions and use resources more efficiently have been implemented. 16 existing paint shops have been optimized and the base load energy consumption of the plants during non-production times fell by 15 percent on average. Eight international locations have taken 100% of their power requirements from renewable sources since the start of the program. Thanks to lower consumption, the environmental program has already saved more than 130 million (US$146 million) in production throughout the world over a period of six years.

The approach adopted means that the plants which form part of Volkswagens global production network systematically exchange information on their respective success stories and adopt the most appropriate measures from each other. In future, not only compressed air systems, cold networks and cooling towers but also ventilation and lighting systems are to be reviewed at all locations with a view to achieving further savings.

The Volkswagen brand is not only adapting its environmental targets in quantitative terms but also in quantitative terms. It will be basing its targets more closely on the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
A Green River man who admitted to shooting another man will serve at least three years in prison.

Ted G. Kalivas, 59, appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery at an sentencing hearing to aggravated assault (threatens with deadly weapon.)

In exchange for Kalivas guilty plea, he was given a three-to-five-year prison sentence and was transported to the Wyoming Department of Corrections.

According to court documents, in May of 2016, Green River Police officers responded to West Railroad Avenue for a report of two people fighting and shots had been fired.

Upon arrival, an...
A police officer slain during a 2014 attack in Las Vegas will be inducted into the Green River High School Hall of Fame.

Alyn Beck, a 1991 graduate of Green River High School, was posthumously included as part of the high schools 2017 hall of fame class. Beck worked as a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer and was LVMPD academy instructor, joining the Las Vegas police force in 2001.

Beck, with fellow officer Igor Soldo, were killed June 8, 2014, while at a pizza restaurant in Las Vegas by a couple claiming their acts would start a revolution. The pair, after killing another...
Ten Green River residents were arrested as part of an methamphetamine ring investigation throughout Southwest Wyoming and Utah.

According to a release from the Sweetwater County Sheriffs Office, the investigation focused on a Green River-based drug trafficking group the sheriffs office claims was loosely organized and involved the transportation, distribution and use of methamphetamine. Detectives with the offices Sheriffs Narcotics and Arrest Group, along with agents from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations Southwest Enforcement Team, started investigating the or...
With great fishing, hunting and recreation opportunities, Sweetwater County in southwestern Wyoming is a paradise for Americans seeking to enjoy the outdoors and the wide open spaces of our federal public lands.

The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge contain world class fishing opportunities and our federal lands provide outstanding hunting opportunities - especially within the vicinity of the Pine and Little Mountain areas south of Rock Springs. Additionally, these open spaces provide unlimited hiking, recreational vehicle use, mountain biking a...
Graduation week is in full swing in Sweetwater County.

Ceremonies at Western Wyoming Community College, Green River High School and Expedition Academy have already concluded while students at Rock Springs High School will receive their diplomas Saturday. For all graduates, not just those receiving their high school diplomas, we have a word of advice:

Dont be afraid.

Its easy to fear the unknown. After all, ambiguous nature of the future is a major reason why people get nervous about what lies ahead during the course of several months or several years.

For high school and college gra...
The Kaiser Foundation announced it has awarded 10 $4,000 scholarships to outstanding graduation seniors of Wyoming high schools.

Green River High School student Jennifer Rocha is one of the 10 who will receive the scholarship.

These scholarships may be renewed for an additional four years for those students who continue to meet academic standards.

The recipients were selected on the basis of merit with special consideration given to their academic, extracurricular and community-service achievements. Financial need was strongly considered.

To date the foundation has awarded over $1.56 millio...
Developers plan to graft a nine-story office building onto First National Bank Field.

As Dick Barron reports, the $24 million, 111,869-square structure will be more a part of the ballpark than its neighbor, taking on the same red-brick design as the stadiums facade.

A balcony will offer a spectacular view of the ballpark.

Think Camden Yards in Baltimore, only on a much smaller scale.

Carolina Investment Properties of Lexington is developing the building in a partnership with GEMCAP Development of Winston-Salem

Theres already a tenant. A local law firm, Tuggle Duggins, P.A., will move into the top two and a half floors.

Room for retail shops is planned for the first floor, another plus that should enliven that part of Eugene Street. The remaining space will be leased for additional offices.

The planned completion date of the building is late 2018.

To some people, the project may seem like a tight squeeze, but thats the idea.

This is downtown, not a suburban office park.

Its supposed to feel cozy.

That makes it more inviting to pedestrians and to retail business owners.

One of downtown sore spots is too many open spaces and streets that are wider than necessary (one of the advantages downtown Winston-Salem has over downtown Greensboro.)

Further, for all of its qualities. one of the features that Greensboros otherwise excellent ballpark lacks that many others have is attached office space or other development. Now that will change.

"This is one of the only if not the only minor league ballpark in the Southeast without an office project," said Robert A. Team Jr. (thats his real name), president of Carolina Investment Properties.

The addition also confirms a major new wave of growth in the center city.

More specifically, the hoped-for development around Greensboros downtown ballpark is a reality. In fact, it may exceed expectations.

A massive $65 million hotel/condo project, The Carroll at Bellemeade, is taking shape across the street, and the Greenway Apartments overlook the ballparks left-field wall.

To the south of the ballpark, a boutique Aloft Hotel is planned to the south of the ballpark on Bellemeade Street, as well as a $30 million city parking deck.

Developer Roy Carroll owns that property as well as the project that bears his family name.

He predicted several years ago that development would explode on the north side of downtown. Boy, was he was right.
GREENWICH  With turtle nesting season approaching, Audubon Greenwich is hosting a walking lecture to search for the animals and to give some tips on handling turtle sightings.

Ted Gilman, Audubon educator and naturalist, will share information on natural turtle history from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Audubon Center. He will focus on how to spot nesting turtles and how to help protect them if necessary.

Twenty percent of the worlds turtle population, 57 species, live in North America and 12 of those species are in Connecticut. Seven of Connecticuts turtles are on the states lists of endangered, threatened and special concern species.

One of the major problems which has caused decline, Gilman said, is that turtles, because the habitat is cut up by roads, end up crossing the roads to go find a place to lay their eggs. And thats when sadly there are a lot of deaths by turtles being hit by cars.

Often, the turtles crossing the road are females looking for a nesting area. When they are hit by cars, he said, it is a huge loss for the turtle population because the animals do not reproduce often.

Turtles can be found all over Greenwich.

More Information Turtle Nesting Time: 2 to 3:30 p.m., Saturday. The group will meet at Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road. To RSVP, Ted Gilman can be contacted directly by email: TGILMAN@audubon.org. To learn more about the Connecticut Turtle Atlas, Tim Walsh can be reached at the Bruce Museum by email: twalsh@brucemuseum.org; or by phone: 203-413-6767. See More Collapse

You can get turtles in many of the water bodies around town, he said. The big snapping turtle or the ... dessert-plate-sized painted turtle. And in a few pockets in town there are still some of the much rarer spotted turtles here.

The group will meet at the Audubon Center at 613 Riversville Road to begin the tour inside the education center. Then with Gilman, participants will hike to Mead Lake. About two-thirds of the hike is stroller- and wheelchair-friendly, he said, although the last nesting place is not.

All ages are welcome; admission for members is $5 and admission for nonmembers is $8. Anyone interested can RSVP to Ted Gilman directly by emailing TGILMAN@audubon.org.

The Bruce Museum is still contributing to the Connecticut Turtle Atlas, and as nesting season progresses, any turtle sightings can be reported to Tim Walsh at the museum.

E: jturiano@greenwichtime.com; T: @jturianoGT; IG: @greenwichgreen
GREENWICH  A $100 billion plan to run a high-speed rail between Boston and Washington, D.C., may be closer than most people think, a critic of the proposal said Tuesday.

Greg Stroud, of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and founder of SECoast, a nonprofit, non-political group created to fight against the project and advocate for historic preservation, appeared before a standing-room-only crowd at Town Hall to warn against a project he admitted few people believe will happen.

I think the reason it hasnt spread around (in Fairfield County) is because people look at (its) budget and say, This will never happen. How can we afford to spend $100 billion on infrastructure? How could we afford to build a massive rail project through Fairfield County?  Stroud said. Im just here to tell you that something big is afoot and you should know about it because it could radically change life in Fairfield County.

The proposal to build the high speed rail track along the Northeast Corridor is a federal and state partnership, called NEC Future, to modernize high speed rail travel in the area. As imagined, it would run throughout the Northeast states on elevated tracks roughly following Interstate 95.

Creation of the plan is being led by the Federal Railroad Administration. Stroud said the rail proposal was part of an update of a national transportation plan in place since 1978 that, if approved, would be in place until at least 2040.

Ive been working on this for 18 months for a reason. ... You need to engage this because something will be built. Some of this might happen sooner than you think, Stroud said.

The project has met with strong opposition throughout Connecticut and has been criticized by the states congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, state reps. Michael Bocchino, R-150, and Fred Camillo, R-151, have also expressed concern.

Tentative design plans and routes are scheduled to be released in June, Stroud said. Among the details he said were included was a 150-foot right-of-way for the tracks that would be a particular problem in highly settled areas like Riverside and that would involve destruction of historic properties in Greenwich that lie near I-95, like the Bush Holley House.

Davidde Strackbein, chairman of the Historical Societys board of directors, said Tuesday the Greenwich Historical Society stood with those demanding work on the project stop and for new alternative routes to be brought to the state.

Its staggering in the draconian impact on historic communities all over the state, not just in Greenwich, she said.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said the project is on the radar of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments and that Greenwich would work with neighboring towns and elected officials to question the validity of the need for this project.

We are pleased that our federal and state legislators are questioning the merits and impact of the proposal, Tesei said. The plans as presented show zero sensitivity for the historical and environmental assets and the residential quality of life in the communities the new rail line will pass through.

Stroud stressed that people worried about the plan should do their research and contact the lead agencies. He said modernizing the corridor or running utilities underground wasnt a bad thing  just that the current placement of the high-speed rail had problems, especially for historic preservationists.

For information about SECoast, visit www.secoast.

org . To contact the federal officials in charge of the project, write to info@necfuture.com , he said.

kborsuk@scni.com
As major airlines deal with one PR crisis after another, one carrier has managed to fly above the turbulence: JetBlue airways. When Uniteds passenger-removal dilemma -- and its viral video -- became a social media nightmare, JetBlue highlighted its no-overbooking policy.

Related: The Best and Worst Airlines for Customer Experience

While American Airlines and others are catching flak for reducing seat size, JetBlue can boast of its ample economy leg room.

Since its founding nearly 20 years ago, the company has been building a reputation for cultivating a customer service culture that stands apart from the rest of the industry. We recently sat down with one of the chief architects of that culture to talk about how he and his team members created an identity for JetBlue that continues to drive high performance to this day.

Mike Barger, now a strategic advisor to the University of Michigans Ross School of Business, was a member of the founding team for JetBlue and its chief learning officer. Looking back on the companys early days, he draws three lessons for any startup team aiming to build a culture that is truly built to last.

1. Tap into individual interests.

The story of JetBlue starts in a hotel conference room, where the founding team convened to discover how they could do air travel differently from what was then a largely undifferentiated industry. Barger describes how the room lit up when attendees realized that what had brought them all to the table were their personal frustrations.

Every person on the startup team was there because they were disappointed in their previous experiences as airline leaders," Barger said. "What motivated us was the chance to start from scratch.

The founding team then took took an unorthodox approach to team formation: We didnt start with a list of values, Barger recalled. We rolled butcher block paper around the wall and started writing down everything that seemed to be broken in the airline industry.

That exercise was hardly a tough one, as brainstorming sessions go, Barger said, laughing. After a half day, we had run out of paper! Nor was the effort a three-hour gripe fest, he said.

In fact, that first conversation tapped into the deep motivation of each person in the room. As team members shouted and scribbled new ideas, the group created collective excitement around the promise of a radically new business model.

En route, Barger and his team discovered what the best founders know. As he put it: Shared goals are meaningless if they arent backed up by the individual interests of each team member. They all have to be able to answer the Whats in it for me? question.

Takeaway: Do you know what drives each person on your team? If not, youre missing a crucial source of energy that supports successful company cultures for years or even decades.

2. Find your common M.O.

Not satisfied with just creating a list of complaints, JetBlue's founders decided to turn their frustrations into positive change, Barger said: We gave ourselves a homework assignment that night: Take this long list up to your room and come back tomorrow morning with specific solutions to these problems. Their goal, Barger explained, was to take their individual passions and turn them into a shared vision that would align the fledgling business.

Related: United Airlines Passenger Dragged Off Plane by Airport Employees

The next morning, the founders started listing the solutions they had come up with. As they were writing, they joked about how the ideas (A TV set for every passenger! Dont sell a ticket unless you can guarantee the seat!) seemed blindingly obvious. Recalls Barger: We wondered why almost none of the airlines were doing these things, and our president said: It sounds like what were really talking about is the radical application of common sense.

That became a JetBlue rallying cry -- the shared principle of doing the obvious things exceptionally well to create value for each customer.

In short, Bargers team worked backward from the way most companies proceed. They started with self-interest, and from individual motivations discovered a common principle that would animate everything they did. In a company like IDEO, that principle might be empathy; at Amazon, its data-driven results.

Takeaway: As you build your own culture, consider the operating principle that makes your band of passionate individuals a unified whole.

3. Translate beliefs into behaviors.

Once they had a shared purpose, the JetBlue team translated it into core values, but an important interim step involved defining those values as concretely as possible, to avoid any ambiguity: One of the main reasons values become meaningless is, people dont know what they are actually supposed to do in their day-to-day work, Barger said.

He talked about the value of caring, which on its own can be abstract: We told crew members [employees, in the JetBlue vernacular], Caring doesnt just mean caring for each crew member as an individual. It also means holding people accountable for their commitments to the team, because its the team, not individuals, that delivers great service to customers.' By getting specific about what its values meant, JetBlue's founders made sure everyone would know exactly what was expected of them.

In sum, "culture" is made up of what people do, not just what they say, and good cultures go bad when team members dont understand what corporate's values look like in the million small actions that drive a businesss direction every day.

Takeaway: With your own team, communicate specific stories and examples that illustrate how your shared vision and values shape even the most mundane behaviors.

Related: 3 Customer Service Strategies You Should Steal From, Would You Believe, Lyft Drivers

In sum, identify interests, create shared principles and translate them into behaviors.It all sounds simple enough. But, as Barger and his JetBlue team found, applying simple common sense can be the most innovative strategy of all.

Related:

Lessons From a JetBlue Founder on Creating a High-Flying Startup Culture

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary: Having Dyslexia Is a 'Superpower' in Business

JetBlue Defends Decision to Ask Passenger to Replace Booty Shorts Before Boarding Flight. Will the Incident Affect Its Brand?



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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A "WONDERFUL, loving and thoughtful" Cleethorpes woman has tragically died after a courageous five year battle with cancer aged 38.

The heartbroken family of Sadie McClellan have paid moving and emotional tributes to the beloved wife, sister and daughter, who showed incredible strength in illness but sadly died on May 16.

Since Sadie's death, they have discovered a series of diaries and journals she kept, filled with her favourite memories that have left them both in stitches with laughter and tears of sadness.

Sadie, whose death has left grieving husband Dean feeling like his heart has been ripped out, passed away at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, and right up until her last breath, fought her battle with a smile on her face.

The couple got together after Sadie invited him as a friend on a two-week holiday to the Dominican Republic after her friend unexpectedly dropped out.

They landed back in the UK as a couple and had 10 happy years together.

Five years later in 2012 Dean romantically proposed to Sadie on the cliff tops at Robin Hoods Bay, near Whitby. But in the same year, they received their worst possible news when Sadie was diagnosed with cancer.

Despite Sadie's battle, the couple wed two years on in a ceremony that every young girl is likely to dream of, at the top of a castle near Lake Garda, in Italy.

It was a day Sadie described as the best day of her life.

They had first met in 2006, at the former Queens pub in the resort, now known as Petit Delight, and had lived together in Poplar Road for the last five years.

It was absolutely devastating to see her take her last breath. We shared so many fantastic memories together, said Dean, a contractor who works in the offshore wind industry.

He added: I dont know where Id be if I had never met her. She put me on the right tracks and helped me to get a career.

Ive got a lot to thank her for, it was great to be her husband. She changed me for the better.

I am so proud of how hard she battled, she smiled all of the way through. She was inspirational.

Only a few weeks ago on Easter Sunday, more than 150 runners raised an amazing 8,100 in a Race For Sadie event held in Cleethorpes, to help towards the wider cost of her battle.

As a legacy to Sadie, Dean and her relatives plan on visiting the some of the passionate travellers favourite destinations, many of which are in the south of England, near Devon.

Dean describes his wife as polite, selfless and thoughtful. He said: She was such a loving and kind person."

She loved the simple things in life."

I feel like there is a hole in my life now. Im just trying to get by day by day."

She was the most wonderful person. Even when she was going through tough times she just wanted to make other people happy.

Having grown up in Fulstow and later Grainthorpe, near Louth, Sadie attended both village primary schools and later went on to study Business Management at the Grimsby Institute.

For around ten years she worked as a VAT officer, and most recently a border force officer.

Sadie is one of three children to the late Judy Brown, who sadly died in 2002 and one of seven to Mario Hoblyn.

A funeral for Sadie will be held at 11.40am on Friday, June 2, at Grimsby Crematorium. At Sadies request, mourners are asked to wear bright colours as they pay their respects at the service.
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Tesco is set to become the first major supermarket to try phasing out 5p single-use carrier bags.

The retailer is launching a ten-week trial in its Aberdeen, Dundee and Norwich stores and, if successful, the scheme could be rolled out across the country.

If this happens, shoppers who dont take their own carriers with them will have to buy more expensive and durable bags for life.

A 5p charge for single-use carriers was introduced in England in October 2015 which forced larger retailers to end giving them away for free.

The scheme had already been put in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A Tesco spokesperson said: We are carrying out a short trial in a few stores to look at the impact on bag usage if we remove single use carrier bags.

In these stores customers who need a bag can still buy a Bag for Life which they can reuse.

The retailer added that online customers will still have the option of buying 5p carriers to have their shopping delivered in. However, 57 per cent of those who use the service choose bagless deliveries.

Official figures released last July showed an 85 per cent drop in the number of single-use bags used by shoppers after the charge had been introduced.

Seven billion of the carriers were handed out to customers by seven major retailers in 2014. This dropped to 500 million in the first six months after the charge was introduced.

As well as being designed to reduce the amount of environmentally-damaging plastic in circulation, retailers are also expected to donate the charges for the bags to good causes.

Tesco plans to continue supporting local groups through its Bags Of Help scheme by using profits from bags for life.
Each beat on the large drums sitting on the turf of Reser Stadium shot a ring of smoke from the instruments, which were made out of converted trash cans, as an Oregon State University drum line performed in the background and multiple cameras filmed the spectacle.

And outside the camera shot, Aaron J. Fillo was jumping up and down in excitement.

It was understandable that Fillo, a doctoral candidate in engineering at OSU, was excited: The moment, which came around 2 hours into the shoot, showcased for the first time the drums into which hed poured almost a full week of design, building and testing.

The shoot took place May 17 during production of the fourth episode in a series of science education videos for kids that Fillo and a team of videographers have been producing with sponsorship from the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Called "Lib Lab" (an abbreviation of "library laboratory"), the video series is being rolled out on the library's YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/2qUfY1X.

Each video includes a lesson on a scientific principle, a demonstration of the effects involved and an example of how the viewer can try similar experiments at home.

The first episode, for instance, focuses on jet engines, using a water cooler bottle attached to a skateboard as a primitive rocket and offering tips for building an Alka-Seltzer rocket. The library is even offering kits to community members so they can do these experiments at home.

The drum line video explains the principles behind vortices (the plural of vortex) as demonstrated by smoke rings or water swirling down a drain.

So far, Fillo and his collaborators have published three episodes of "Lib Lab," with the third scheduled to go online this week.

Fillo is the recipient of a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship, which requires him to do public outreach in exchange for three years of research funding. The videos are his way of doing that.

Fillo said he chose this challenging form of outreach because he wants to raise the level of general science knowledge in the country.

I dream of a day where I can go up to a stranger at a bar and have a conversation about quantum physics, he said.

He said he also wanted kids to have a better knowledge of basic science concepts so they can make informed decisions about science policy when they grow up.

His goal with the videos is to explain complex concepts in an accessible way and teach kids how they can go out in the world and see these things in everyday life.

Theres a lot of literature that people hold onto things better when they experience it firsthand, he said.

Fillo said the project got started in January, when the Friends of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library agreed to fund the filming of the series' first few episodes.

Andrew Cherbas, a deputy director with the library, said the group gave a total of $6,000 to get the project started, which funded three episodes. The robotics program at OSU has funded a fourth episode that showcases a soft robot design developed there.

Cherbas said library staff had seen Fillo do educational demonstrations before partnering with him and were impressed with his ability to make science fun.

The library wanted to support 'Lib Lab' because we thought it would be an outstanding way to explore new ways to deliver STEAM education to Benton County, he said, using the abbreviation for science, technology, engineering, art and math.

The costs for the shows have included materials for Fillos demonstrations and hiring local video production companies Yancy Simon LLC and Video Dads to produce, write, shoot and edit the shows with Fillo.

Fillo said hes open to partnering with other organizations to produce additional episodes of "Lib Lab."

I would love this to be my full-time job, he said.

Any organization interested in partnering with "Lib Lab" can contact Cherbas at Andrew.Cherbas@corvallisoregon.gov or 541-766-6792.

Fillo said hes long had an interest in science education: He made a cannon that can fire pingpong balls at 450 miles per hour, which he has shown off at local maker fairs and other events. He said hes also worked as an actor and magician, and he brings some of those skills into the show.

Its helpful to make teaching entertaining, he said.

Fillo added that he has a lot of ideas for future episodes, and hes begun to work with partners to make some of them happen, including dropping things from a low-flying airplane onto a private runway and swimming with live animals at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

I really want to go swimming in the shark tank," he said. "Thats always been a dream of mine.
Anthony Puharich. Photo: Courtesy of Churchills Meats

Bourdain Market might be the most anticipated New York food project in history. Two years ago, Anthony Bourdain revealed his intention to transform a 155,000-square-foot stretch of Meatpacking District SuperPier into a wonderland of street-food specialists and high-end purveyors. As you might expect from a project this ambitious, there have been some public setbacks: The opening was pushed back to 2019, CEO Stephen Werther left the project, and as of late March, Bourdain reportedly had yet to sign an actual lease on the space.

Still, Bourdains public wish list of tenants is impressive, and includes spots like La Guerrerense, a tostada cart from Ensenada; Singapores Geylang Claypot Rice; and Maks Noodle from Hong Kong. At the moment, however, only one person is confirmed to join the projects roster: Anthony Puharich, a fifth-generation meat-packer who runs one of Australias premier meat distributors (Vics Premium Quality Meat), who, in 2009, bought Victor Churchill, a 19th-century butcher shop thats now known as much for its gorgeous interior as for its pristine beef. In other words, if theres a Pat LaFrieda of Australia, Puharich is it. Recently, Grub sat down with him to talk about Aussie steaks, the appeal of opening in New York, and whats happening with Bourdain Market behind the scenes.

You toured the Bourdain Market site for the first time in March. Was that before Stephen Werther departed the project?

Stephen was already out of it a few weeks. David Swinghammers been the main contact for me. David is the gentleman who worked with Danny Meyer to make Shake Shack a billion dollars, and David Lee is the operational person. I met with them, and they took me to the site, and we had a look around. As fate would have it, its in the Meatpacking District! The sites an amazing one.

How did Bourdain approach you about the project? When Bourdain Market was first announced in 2015, there were three confirmed names: Ken Friedman, April Bloomfield, and you.

The first time Tony came to Australia, we became friends. In August 2015, he rang me up, and he told me about Bourdain Market. He explained his vision for the space that he secured, and asked if Id like to be involved. My answer to his question was a quick one. However, I had to go back to my parents for their support, and they took a little bit longer. They struggle with the notion of managing a business here [in Australia], let alone managing one overseas, but Tony turned them around.

Howd he win them over?

He rang them personally, which was amazing. He eased their mind by saying he wasnt just putting his name to this. Im not knocking celebrity chefs, but they put their names to kitchen knives, blenders. Hes never put his name to anything, and its the first time he lent his name to an opportunity like this. He told them about the full vision he had. He wanted to create a hawker-style market, and a produce market with fish and meat and butchers, but still traditional. My parents loved the idea of it, and they agreed. The rest is history, as they say.

Whats the status of the project right now? Now that youve toured the site, whats the next step? Do you draw up blueprints? Hire a designer?

Thats the process were up to. The purpose of the trip was to get the ball rolling, in terms of understanding the space, the vision, the whole planning process. Tony and his team, theyre creating the vision.

Do you know where your shop will stand? Did they point at a blueprint or a hole in the ground and say, This is Victor Churchill?

Im at the front of the market, and down toward the back is where the hawker stall vendors are. Our space wont be like Victor Churchill at all. I get a sense that the space is about transparency and openness, and how what was traditionally back of house is being put front of house. Theyve been working with Roman and Williams, very well regarded designers, to create the space.

Victor Churchill, in Sydney.

So there are no up-front costs for any of the vendors?

Tonys giving me the opportunity, hes financing the opportunity, and were bringing our brand. Were not out-of-pocket until its open, but in terms of the whole thing, its my concept.

Have you thought about how to re-create a local experience in New York? Will you import all of your meat?

Something were working on, thats very unique to our store in New York, is the idea of bringing the best of what Australia produces, then to source and find the best of what North America has to offer in beef and pork and lamb. From our point of view, the beautiful thing about New York and America is how theyre open to sourcing from Spain, Italy, Japan. So this is why Im really excited. Its literally having the most comprehensive range of product in the whole world, and making all of that available to New Yorkers to buy. Its not about forcing Australian meat down the throat of New Yorkers.

Will there be a dining component, too?

Its preliminary, but well have an area where you can sit down and enjoy a glass of wine, and have a terrine or parfait or San Daniele prosciutto. There will be a bar area where we can offer certain meats cooked to order. It wont be a restaurant, more like eight to ten seats. Itll be very intimate.

When you hear about setbacks, or skepticism around Bourdain Market, do you worry that the project might not actually come together?

Its been a long gestation period. Its slated to open spring 2019  so, yeah, it was meant to open a year before that. I respect [departed CEO] Stephen Werther, and my dealings with him were all very good, but what I bought into was Tonys vision, and what he wanted to create. Hes the person I have the relationship with, and hes the person I trust.

Tony does keep things close to his chest. Thats his approach, and thats the way he prefers it to be. Hes happy to let me talk about things openly, but he doesnt share everything with me. Im a vendor, an important piece in the puzzle, but its a very big puzzle. He lives in New York and theres his reputation at stake. Im sure it weighs heavily on him.

If for some reason Bourdain Market doesnt come together, or succeed, do you still plan to stay in New York?

Rather stubbornly, Ive had this aspiration that if I ever opened a store outside of Australia, it would be in New York. Its the biggest global stage in the world, and a huge challenge, and its the challenge that interests and excites me. If I have to wait another eight years, thats fine. Im in a good place financially. My motivation for doing this is not primarily financial, and I want whatever I do to be successful, so Im stubbornly holding on.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Campbell announced today that its investing $10 million in Chefd, a meal-kit service  or a leading online meal store, if you prefer Campbells label. The maker of canned soups, Prego sauces, V8, Pepperidge Farm cookies, and Goldfish calls it a strategic partnership that gives the company a leg up in the newfangled e-commerce world, plus not to mention a permanent Chefd board seat and a big financial stake in the start-up. In a statement to the press, CEO Denise Morrison argues that the internets seizure of retail food from brick-and-mortar stores is irrevocable and irreversible, but that this new partnership will fortunately make the declining foot traffic on stores soup and snack aisles irrelevant. In a somewhat alarming vision, Campbell now believes its moving toward a future where meal shopping is fully automated and even anticipatory.

Joining forces with Chefd also gives the company a more captive audience. This particular start-up is still fairly new  it was only founded in 2015  but its ostensible edge over a rival like Blue Apron or HelloFresh is that there are no weekly subscriptions; instead, customers just order however many kits they want all at once from a convenient list. What arrive in Chefds boxes are dishes created by an honestly impressive number of celebrated chefs and culinary influencers. But Campbell tells Fortune what consumers can expect from kits in the near future might be a dinner in a bowl that includes a recipe with Swanson broth.
Its promising customer experience elements. Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Lower Manhattans vast ShackBurger-less void will soon be no more. Since Battery Parks Shake Shack opened back in 2011, youve had to trek north for miles to reach the next outpost  the original, above 23rd Street in Madison Square Park. (The Financial District got a location last July, but, somewhat cruelly, this shrunk that gap by almost zero.) Well, the Post reports that Danny Meyer has finally seen fit to enter no-mans-land and serve his homegrown burgers in Astor Place, now that its received a snazzy face-lift.

The location will be just under 3,000 square feet  so, not huge  over on the northeast side of 51 Astor Place, a.k.a. that building with the red Jeff Koons in its lobby. It will join a Chopt and a Bluestone Lane already in the building. Its supposed to open sometime this fall. By then, the public plaza will be in full pedestrian-friendly swing, so now youve got the perfect frozen custard for an autumn stroll.


Pretty much just sugar and starch. Photo: David Paul Morris/Getty Images

A California woman is suing Jelly Belly for supposedly tricking her, someone who bought jelly beans with 25 grams of carbs per ounce, into believing this product contained a negligible amount of sugar. Jessica Gomez filed her case earlier this year in California, arguing that the fancy phrasing on Jelly Bellys ingredients list caused her confusion. Its attorneys call Gomezs lawsuit nonsense, and write that she could not have seen evaporated cane juice without also seeing the products sugar content on its Nutrition Facts panel, which in fact does say Includes 19g Added Sugars in pretty large letters.

The one wrinkle is that she ate Jelly Belly Sport Beans, a product marketed as an energy supplement to athletes. As a rule, this stuff pretty much always has carbs, but Gomez contends Jelly Belly used the words evaporated cane juice in the ingredients, instead of saying sugar specifically, so that Sport Beans would look more attractive to athletes. Jelly Belly asks rhetorically in its court filing why athletes who eat a product created to help them sustain intense exercise would ever imagine it was low in sugar. No reasonable consumer could have been deceived by Sport Beans labeling, the lawyers argue, letting you draw your own conclusions about where that leaves Gomez on this continuum.



Her class-action suit claims consumers are being deceived by Jelly Bellys euphemistic labeling, and believe it or not, the FDA has said things that suggest it kind of agrees. About a year ago, it strongly advised food manufacturers to quit using phrases like evaporated cane juice and dried cane syrup to describe sugar. Jelly Belly evidently didnt see any need to go along with that advice then, and argues that this still doesnt clear up why an athlete  or anyone  would be surprised to find sugar in a product described as Jelly Beans. The company has filed for dismissal.



Interestingly, a search through archived Jelly Belly web pages shows that the company changed the online ingredients list for Sport Beans sometime between September 9 and October 10 of 2016. All the flavors used to have evaporated cane juice as the first ingredient, but now the lists start with plain old cane sugar.


Samsung took its time bringing the Galaxy S8 pair to China. The flagships only arrived to the vast market last week following a spectacular unveiling event.

While arguably annoying for Samsung fans, the delay becomes at least a bit easier to swallow once you learn that the Korean giant has been keeping busy tweaking UI to meet local requirements and tastes. Samsung conveniently devoted a post and detailed the differences between the Chinese and International versions.

First off, the Chinese Galaxy S8 has a Samsung Assistant app and Yellow Pages, baked right into the Phone and Messages apps. They allow you to search and browse through local listings for companies and even pay for services, such as online booking and train tickets - a popular practice in China. The Messages app can also automatically extract and categorize notifications and reminders from these services.

Speaking of reminders, the Calendar app is also localized and allows switching between solar and lunar calendars. Samsung Health has also been tweaked to incorporate information on local health-related events, as well as information on drugs and clinics. The Samsung Music and Samsung Video apps are infused with content from local providers as well.

As for some arguably more internationally-appealing features that are debuting as China exclusives, there are a few extra menus in the Smart Manager app: Mobile Data, for purchasing additional bandwidth, as well as App Management and Blocked Calls and Messages, which we assume are merely new shortcuts to existing S8 features.

The Chinese UI build apparently features screen recorder functionality as well. Samsung mentions it as somehow related to the necessary Chinese input options, courtesy of the popular local Sougou search engine.

And to top the list off, the Camera app has a fresh new set of 40 stamps, chosen to be more relevant to the Chinese audience. Also, the app drawer is disabled by default, with all apps ending up on home screen panels - another favorite of the locals.

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Back in February when Sony announced the Xperia XZ Premium, it only showcased it in two color versions: Luminous Chrome and Deepsea Black. Then last month a third option became official, and it's known as Bronze Pink. However, it turns out that those aren't all the hues you should expect to see the phone clad in.

Today a fourth variation has been leaked, and we'll simply call it what it is: red. That said, undoubtedly Sony will come up with a much more posh-sounding moniker for this color.



Red Sony Xperia XZ Premium

The red XZ Premium has starred in a rather extensive, if unofficial, hands-on, resulting in the photos you can see both above and below this paragraph. It's definitely a very bright red, this, not very subdued.



More shots of the red Xperia XZ Premium

What is clear from the branding on one of the handsets is that Japan's docomo will sell the red Xperia XZ Premium. As of now there are no details about international availability for it, but don't lose hope just yet. Sony allegedly "hasn't ruled out" an international expansion for the red model. As you'd expect, its insides are identical to those of its siblings painted in any of the other three color versions.

Source (in Chinese) | Via
Are you currently a Verizon customer? Well then, T-Mobile would like to have a word. The magenta carrier will be launching a new campaign called #GetOutOfTheRed on May 31. This basically should entice Verizon customers to switch to T-Mobile.

How will it achieve that? Well, if you're with Big Red and switch to TMo, the latter will pay off the iPhone or Pixel you bought from Verizon. You have to sign up for the T-Mobile One plan, but you do get to keep that device you already own. You must however add Premium Device Protection to your plan, an insurance option that costs $15 per month and covers loss, theft, or accidental damage.

Here's the full list of handsets supported: iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Google Pixel, and Google Pixel XL. If you meet all these prerequisites, you'll get a digital prepaid Mastercard for the amount you owed Verizon when you switched. This should typically arrive within 15 days of your move.

OK, so what if you're not a Verizon customer, but instead are with Sprint or AT&T? There's a deal to be had there too if you switch, but it isn't as sweet. T-Mobile will pay off your device as well, but only if you buy a new smartphone using the carrier's installment plans. You won't, however, need to trade in your existing device for this to work.

Finally, and not related to all of the above, T-Mobile says that if you have two voice lines on the One plan you can get two additional lines for the price of one. So afterwards you'll have four, but only pay for three. The cost of that free line will be offset through bill credits. This promo will be available tomorrow.

Source | Via
Sony introduced the Xperia XZ Premium in February and the flagship is now making its way to stores around the globe. Sony Malaysia launched the pre-order campaign for the Xperia XZ Premium or the Xperia XA1 Ultra before devices finally start shipping on June 5.

Both phones have a pre-order period between May 25 and June 4 and come with free shipping.

If you decide to purchase the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, you have to pay MYR3,399 ($800), but you will receive some sweet gifts worth MYR728/$170. Along with the phone in either Luminous Chrome or Deepsea Black, you also get SBH80 Bluetooth headset, Touchn Go card, preloaded with MYR100 and a case + protector pack. You also get the Care+ screen warranty.

The midranger Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra has a price tag of MYR1,899 ($443). The phone comes with free UCH 12W Quick Charger and a case + protector that otherwise will cost you extra MYR328/$76 if bought separately. The Xperia XA1 Ultra can be purchased in all four available colors.

Thanks for the tip!

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LEBANON  It's official: Queen Maddie Norris will reign over the 108th annual Lebanon Strawberry Festival, a community-wide celebration running June 1-4 with events throughout the city.

Norris was named queen during the Strawberry Festival Queen's Coronation on May 24 at Lebanon High School.

"I am honored," she said. "I've grown up here (in Lebanon). It's such an amazing experience."

Norris added that she would advise young girls looking up to her to "be self-confident."

Lebanon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shelly Garrett emceed the event.

"Tonight is very special for the princesses," she said to open the coronation. "Thanks for making this special for these young ladies."

Garrett added that naming a queen is a century-old tradition meant to help young girls achieve success in the community.

Princesses Norris, Amanda Raymond, Katie Frederic, Brooklyn Giles Griffin and Kendall Crawford all competed for the crown. Princess Raymond was named Ms. Congeniality.

The five girls were given impromptu questions during the ceremony, with scripted questions read by Lebanon's Woman of the Year, Lori Hill. Among her queries was asking Norris how she remains positive with all the violence portrayed in the media.

Norris responded that she contends with it "by keeping everything positive to strengthen each other, and come together to make the world a better place."

Norris was crowned by the 2016 Strawberry Festival queen, Haley Smith, in Smith's final royal task. Smith said it was difficult to believe it had been a year since she herself accepted the honor.

"As soon as the festival was over," Smith said, "the town had a sweeping sadness that we had to wait another year for festival season. Being on the Strawberry Court gave me confidence I never knew existed."

Smith told the princesses to be proud of their status, reminding them that they will always be an ambassador to the community of Lebanon. After finishing her final speech, she handed her robe to her successor.

As is customary, the new queen's first task is to declare the start of the new Strawberry Festival.

"I now declare the 2017 Strawberry Festival open," Norris proclaimed.

For more information regarding the Strawberry Festival and its events, visit the website at http://www.lebanonstrawberryfestival.com/.
Brad Avakian, commissioner of the state Bureau of Labor and Industries, will be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of Linn County Democrats on Thursday, June 1, at Albany Public Library, 2450 14th Ave. SE.

A social time starting at 5:30 p.m. will be followed by the meeting at 6.

Avakian will speak on a number of topics, including how redistricting works.

Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson announced in February the formation of a panel to examine the states redistricting process. Although Avakian and BOLI are not involved in the process, the Linn Democrats asked him to speak about the issue.

Avakian also plans to talk about the increasing number of wage theft and civil rights abuse cases BOLI is investigating.

Avakian, who holds a law degree from Lewis and Clark College, served in the state House of Representatives and Senate before being named labor commissioner by Gov. Ted Kulongoski in early 2008. Avakian was elected to the office later that year and has been re-elected twice since then.

He won the Democratic nomination for secretary of state last May, but lost to Richardson in the November general election.

Avakian and his wife, Debbie, live in Beaverton. They have two grown children.
Published on 2017/05/25 | Source

Added episode 2 captures for the Korean drama "Fight For My Way" (2017)

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Directed by Kim Dong-hwi, Lee Na-jeong

Written by Lim Sang-choon

Network : KBS

With Park Seo-joon, Kim Ji-won, Ahn Jae-hong, Song Ha-yoon, Son Byung-ho, Kim Ye-ryung,...

20 episodes - Mon, Tue 22:00

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Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/22

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It could be another crack in the wall of Oregon's longstanding refusal to pump its own gas.

Or it could just be a recognition of the reality of life in Oregon's rural counties.

In either event, a bill allowing self-service gasoline in several rural counties has passed the Legislature and is en route to Gov. Kate Brown's desk.

The bill, House Bill 2482, allows people to pump their own gas at all hours in counties with less than 40,000 residents. The list includes Malheur, Union, Wasco, Hood River, Jefferson, Crook, Baker, Morrow, Lake, Grant, Harney, Wallowa, Gilliam, Sherman, and Wheeler. (If you're counting, that's 15 of Oregon's 36 counties each with less than 40,000 people  and, perhaps more to the point in this case, these are counties that cover a big chunk of geography.)

Drivers in Tillamook, Curry and Clatsop counties would be allowed self-service fueling between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., although the bill mandates that gas stations with convenience stores still have to offer full-service fueling during business hours.

The bill passed with broad support in both houses of the Legislature and cleared the Senate this week on a 26-1 vote. The bill earlier won approval in the House of Representatives on a 56-0 vote. (Mid-valley senators and representatives voted for the measure, although Rep. Dan Rayfield did not vote.)

House Bill 2482 is a successor of sorts to House Bill 3011, which won approval in the 2015 Legislature. That bill authorized self-service gasoline at retail outlets in low-population counties between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in certain circumstances. The idea behind that bill was that access to self-service pumps in those locations would prevent travelers from being stranded until stores opened. Although one of the bill's backers, Sen. Ted Ferrioli, insisted that it was not meant as an end run around the state's ban on self-service, it represented the first crack in Oregon's status as a full-service state.

Oregon and New Jersey remain the only states that restrict the ability of people to pump their own gasoline.

In Oregon's case, the law banning self-service gasoline has been on the books since 1951, and the law lists 17 separate justifications for the ban. Those justifications include some that likely have occurred to you: For example, the ban creates jobs. However, some of the other justifications seem to be  how to phrase this?  a little silly. For example, the law notes that there is a safety issue involved with gasoline in that it is flammable. Perhaps you have noticed, however, that the daily news reports are not filled with accounts of careless motorists setting themselves ablaze at gas stations elsewhere in the nation.

If you remain concerned about the safety issue, though, you can relax: Among the talking points provided in summaries of the bill to concerned legislators was this one: "Modern fuel pumps are much safer than those from decades ago."

That's good to know.

Despite the recent advances in fuel-pump safety, lawmakers have not been eager to embrace a full-fledged effort to repeal the ban on self-service, even though some evidence from polls suggests that younger Oregon voters might embrace the opportunity to pump their own gas. And a study by an economist has estimated that the ban might add 3 to 5 cents per gallon to the cost of gasoline in Oregon. But the overall sense is that the ban remains popular among older residents  the type of residents who are more likely to vote.

House Bill 2482 essentially just expands on the realities of rural life that helped to drive the 2015 bill. But don't be completely surprised if it lays the groundwork for a move to allow self-service gas throughout Oregon. And then poor New Jersey would be left in the lurch. (mm)
Chemical tank explosion kills two in West Virginia

Two workers were killed and a third was seriously injured on May 24 in an explosion at an industrial facility in Moatsville, West Virginia. The blast occurred when workers at Midland Resource Recovery were cleaning a tank used for storing the chemical mercaptan, according to local officials. Mercaptan, which has a distinctive smell, is added to odourless natural gas so that leaks can be detected.

Stock image

Local officials alerted OSHA to the incident and the federal agency had launched in an investigation. The OSHA spokeswoman said the agency had no record of having inspected the facility anytime in the past five years.



The US Chemical Safety Board said Midland Resource Recovery had been contacted to gather additional information before determining if the CSB would deploy a team of investigators to the site.


Annika Saarikko (Centre), the chairperson of the working group appointed to draw up the reform bill, announced that the preconditions for continuing the negotiations do not exist and that the meeting scheduled for yesterday had consequently been cancelled.

The ruling parties efforts to iron out the final few details of a draft bill to introduce changes to the alcohol legislation of Finland hit a serious deadlock on Wednesday.

I regret to announce that the working group didnt convene today, she said.

Saarikko revealed that she and Timo Kalli, the Centres second representative in the working group, have been granted a mandate to determine if the working group is willing to revisit sections of the draft bill agreed upon last year.

Related posts: Several ruling party MPs rebel against alcohol law reform (20 March, 2017)

The working group consists of two representatives from each of the three ruling parties  the Centre, the Finns Party and the National Coalition. The National Coalitions representatives, Outi Makela and Sinuhe Wallinheimo, said they were surprised by the decision to cancel the meeting and voiced their unwillingness to seek a compromise on what was already a compromise.

The chairperson single-handedly called off the meeting. Youd have to ask her about the preconditions, commented Makela.

Were of the opinion that the baseline agreement is good and that it should be the basis for the negotiations.

Wallinheimo, in turn, revealed that the meeting was called off abruptly no more than an hour before it was scheduled to begin. Well have to see where this is going. The Centre is obviously wary, but Im sure that we can find some kind of an agreement, he said.

The six-member working group agreed upon the outlines of the reform bill over a year ago. The bill would, for example, allow grocery shops to retail beverages with a maximum alcohol content of 5.5 per cent regardless of their production method. Grocery shops are currently allowed to retail fermented beverages with an alcohol content not exceeding 4.7 per cent.

The original objective was to enact the amendments before mid-2017.

The draft bill, however, came under crushing criticism from a number of stakeholders, stirring up concerns especially among members of the Centre Party.

Its a well-known fact that some members of our parliamentary group are concerned about the effects of having strong beers and canned cocktails [in grocery shops], confirmed Antti Kaikkonen, the chairperson of the Centre Parliamentary Group.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) was reluctant to comment on the developments on Wednesday. He emphasised that the fate of the reform bill now lies with the parliamentary groups and reminded that the government will discuss the draft bill only after the working group has reached a settlement.

Sipila also stated that the reform is not among the top priorities of his government. This certainly isnt one of the biggest reform on our agenda, he said.

No timetable for continuing the negotiations has yet been provided.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
The purpose of the trial is to determine if it is possible to facilitate the re-entry of the long-term unemployed to the labour force by offering them social rehabilitation services instead of rehabilitative work activities.

The long-term unemployed participating in the trial will have to work  four to eight hours a day, up to five days a week  for businesses or local governments in exchange for unemployment benefits. The participants will additionally be entitled to a daily nine-euro reimbursement for their daily costs during the 612-month trial.

The proposal has come under considerable criticism, with the most vehement critics  such as, businessman Jari Sarasvuo and Member of Parliament Maria Tolppanen (SDP)  arguing that it would effectively sanction slave labour.

I dont agree with the accusations, states Lindstrom.

I naturally appreciate that concerns arise whenever something like this is carried out. Its important to keep in mind whats the starting point, what weve set out to do here. This would replace rehabilitative work activities, he says to Uusi Suomi.

This has not only an employment dimension but also a strong social dimension. Thats why I find it hard to understand [the claims that] this could be used as a replacement to paid employment.

Lindstrom reminds that the trial was designed based on a report of the effects of a more participatory employment policy compiled by a task force headed by Heikki Hiilamo, a professor of social policy at the University of Helsinki. The report concludes that the social security system should be developed in a more inclusive direction in an attempt to prevent social exclusion.

Hiilamo in February argued that the introduction of the so-called participation income would grant its recipients greater freedom to choose, together with social workers, which employment activities they participate in.

The participation income would represent a rather drastic change in the rights and responsibilities of the unemployed in the target group. It would also signal a paradigm shift in the Finnish activation policy and social work, he said.

Lindstrom argues that the approach trialled should be regarded as a social rather than an employment service.

This is not an employment service per se but a social service thats provided to the long-term unemployed because their life situation and their labour market relevance are such that indicate that they are incapable of entering the open labour market, he explains.

He also points out that the target group has been chosen carefully: the approach will be applied only to those long-term unemployed whose capacity for work is reduced, due to social or health-related problems, to the extent that it is impossible for them to both find employment and participate in other employment services.

The objective, he adds, is also to ensure the participants receive vocational support from, for example, health care providers, psychiatric rehabilitation clinics, alcohol rehabilitation centres or employment counsellors.

Our current problem is that the people participating in rehabilitative activities end up doing so for years. Theyre getting nowhere, bemoans Lindstrom.

The legislative changes required to launch the trial are currently under review at the Employment and Equality Committee and the Constitutional Law Committee. The changes are to be implemented later this summer and remain in place until the end of 2018.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
An Islamic cleric in Dublin has urged Muslims to do all they can to identify extremists and their sympathisers.

Shayk Dr Muhammad Umar al-Qadri, who has defied threats from fanatics to condemn the attacks in Manchester, London, Paris and Brussels, warned that Ireland and the EU should now consider deporting the hate-mongers.

The cleric admitted the latest atrocity had left him stunned.

"Absolutely shocked at the attack in Manchester. My heart goes out to all affected.

"May God protect all humanity from the evil of extremism," he said.

He said it was now up to each Muslim in Ireland and Europe to support the fight against terrorism.

Division

"ISIS plans its attacks to create more division and hatred in our societies," he said.

"Terrorism in Islamic costume is not Islamic terrorism. As Muslims we must seize the Islamic costumes from these terrorists.

"May God grant us all the ability to stand united with love and compassion in the face of this terror and eradicate this fanaticism."

Mosques in Dublin, Cork and Belfast have also expressed their solidarity with the victims of the Manchester attack.

"As Muslims we must clean our own backyard by identifying individuals that support the ISIS mentality," Dr al-Qadri added.

"The greatest threat to Islam and humanity comes from ISIS and other such extremist so-called Jihadis.

"Let us unite to get rid of the extremism."

He also warned he would not be intimidated by hate messages posted on social media because of his message of unity.

"Call me a traitor or whatever you want but I will not stop speaking out.

Obligation

"As Muslims it is our religious obligation to speak out against extremists and support initiatives that aim to eliminate extremism."

Dr al-Qadri helped to establish a special website initiative which aims to help prevent the radicalisation of young Muslims.

The cleric said that Europe needed to get tough with those who promote hate.

"I strongly support legislation that bans hate preachers from entering the European Union and also deports their sympathisers," he said.
Former Bargaintown warehouse in Coolock will be converted into a temporary shelter for homeless families

Almost 30 families will be housed in a former Bargaintown furniture warehouse under Housing Minister Simon Coveney's Family Hubs accommodation model.

The latest location for the scheme, on a busy industrial estate, has been called "far from suitable".

Dublin City Council has already begun work on renovating the industrial unit formerly used by the well-known retailer, on the Malahide Road Industrial Estate, Coolock, which is set to house 28 families.

The warehouse is on the corner of Greencastle Parade, next to a roundabout, in an area that experiences heavy volumes of traffic, including articulated lorries, trucks and vans going to a number of nearby units.

The property is connected to the current Bargaintown store, with conversion work understood to have been going on for four weeks.

Despite the building having operated as a warehouse and its location on an industrial estate, Dublin Regional Homeless Executive director Eileen Gleeson tried to play down the idea that families would be moving into an industrial building, during a Housing Strategic Policy (SPC) meeting on Tuesday.

Disappointed

The council doesn't require any change-of-use permissions for the site, as it is deemed as an emergency situation.

"Yes, it was an industrial building, but we have architects working on designing to build a purpose-built Family Hub-type arrangement for people to live in on a temporary basis until we can find permanent homes for them," Ms Gleeson said.

She added that, ideally, the local authority wanted to move the families to more permanent housing within six months.

"We would think six months, but it depends how long it takes to get supply in the overall housing market," she said.

However, Fianna Fail housing spokesperson Barry Cowen said he feared permanent housing would not be ready within that time frame.

He said that while the idea of Family Hubs made sense, he was disappointed with the locations chosen for some, including the Bargaintown warehouse.

"The hubs are a temporary settlement and no more than that," Mr Cowen said.

"There's merit in them, they are much more acceptable to hotels because they're geared towards families.

"You have to be disappointed in their location which is far from suitable or appropriate. It's as if you take two steps forward and three steps back."

A motion to make city councillors aware of any Family Hub plans was given full support at Tuesday's meeting after local representatives hit out at being left in the dark.

The emergency motion, by Councillor Mannix Flynn, had called for protocol to allow councillors to see full plans and drawings before any decision was made.

Meals

Coolock councillor Alison Gilliland said the Bargaintown location was not fit for children.

"It is in an industrial estate. That may not be very pleasant, especially with kids who will want to play outside in the evening," she said.

"With summer holidays approaching they'll want somewhere to play."

The Coolock hub is one of 15 planned across the whole of Dublin which are expected to house 600 families currently living in emergency accommodation.

However, so far the sites of just nine hubs have been revealed.

Last week the Herald revealed that another industrial building on Clonard Road, Kimmage, was to be used as a Family Hub.

It has since emerged that 30 families are set to be housed in the converted building.

A spokeswoman for the Homeless Executive said those living in the hubs would be allowed visitors, but would not be permitted to have anyone staying overnight.

Meals will be provided on site at the properties, while each family will have its own en-suite washing facilities.
BRISTOL, Va.Clean-up efforts after Wednesdays powerful storm in Bristol, Virginia included electricity restoration, tree cutting and bee removal when a nest was found in a fallen tree.

A beehive was discovered late Wednesday in a tree that fell at a residence along Woodland Drive, one of the hardest hit streets.

David Maples, with the Bristol Virginia Sheriffs Office, who described himself as a beginner beekeeper, learned about the incident via social media and responded.

The bees were in a hollow section of a large white oak tree.

Maples said he set up a swarm trap, which is a box with five frames, and added some lemongrass oil to attract the bees. He returned later to find that some of the bees went to the trap, but many remained, including the likely Queen bee.

Thursday evening, he planned to use a bee vacuum to remove the remaining bees.

Maples said he hopes to take the bees to his hives.

The homeowner was anxious to have the tree removed, but allowed Maples to work with the bees.

City personnel, utilities and residents spent Thursday cleaning up after a powerful storm with straight-line winds knocked down trees and power lines in Bristol, Virginia and other areas Wednesday afternoon.

The storm pummeled the section of the city between Pinecrest Lane and Lee Highway, knocking out power to about 4,700 customers, according to Chris Hall of the BVU Authority. Crews spent much of Wednesday after the storm working to restore electricity.

BVU employees stopped at 1 a.m. Thursday so they could go home to rest, Hall said.

The utilitys employees restored power to a majority of the customers within five hours of the storms passing, which hit Bristol between 2-3 p.m.

Later Thursday morning, Hall said BVU had about 200 customers without power when they began working again.

The number of outages fluctuated throughout the day, including a brief outage around 8 p.m. that affected 800 customers in the Euclid Avenue area.

Hall could not estimate when all customers would have power. The utility had many challenges, but the number of fallen trees caused the most trouble, he said.

Trees of all sizes fell Wednesday, knocking down power lines, snapping utility poles, damaging breakers and striking structures and vehicles. Some trees were uprooted.

Crews focused on outages that affected the most customers in an area, and sites employees could safely reach.

Power can be restored, lives cannot, Hall said.

He compared the storms effects on the system to outages during the winter of 2014-15, when snow and ice knocked down power lines.

To prepare for such storms, Hall said BVU has a tree cutting crew.

We work very hard to make sure that vegetation stays out of the right of way, he said.

Fire, police and rescue personnel began receiving calls in the Lee Highway area after 2 p.m. Wednesday. Fire Chief Mike Armstrong said a woman traveling on Lee Highway near Valley Drive became trapped when power lines fell around her vehicle.

As emergency and utility personnel worked to remove the lines, 911 began to receive additional calls.

We started getting inundated with calls, Armstrong said. We had several incidents where trees were falling on power lines.

Many streets were blocked by lines and trees, Armstrong said. Many of the power lines were still live, Armstrong said, requiring personnel to use hotsticks to determine which were safe to move.

All of the departments on-duty staff was working calls, Armstrong said, and two additional off-duty firefighters were asked to answer calls, too. Firefighters worked throughout the evening, he added.

Animals in the city were also affected by Wednesdays storm.

Armstrong recalled that a dog was trapped when a tree fell along Vermont Avenue. Firefighters were able to rescue the dog. Baby raccoons were also rescued Wednesday during the storm.

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management was in Bristol Thursday morning to survey the damage. Armstrong said the agency will file a report on the storm.

Armstrong said he plans to meet with BVU officials in the coming weeks to discuss the storm and ways to improve the citys response.

City departments and BVU worked closely together during the storm response, he said, but there could be improvements, especially with communications.

Were anxious to improve our relationship, Armstrong said. It was all hands on deck.

The fire chief said that all responding agencies did a fantastic job.

It boils down to a community effort, said Hall, who added that BVU employees worked alongside emergency and public works personnel.

BRISTOL, Va.After powerful storms roared through Bristol and surrounding areas on Wednesday, 150 people were still without power Thursday afternoon.

BVU's Chris Hall said power was still out to 150 locations in areas between Virginia High School and Lee Highway. He could not estimate when power would be returned as crews were continuing to work in the neighborhood. Isolated locations in Washington County, Virginia, were also still without power, he said.
BRISTOL, Va.  A former nursing assistant at Brookdale Senior Living facility pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor abuse for abusing a 94-year-old woman.

Alex Samaniego, 26, of Hansonville, Virginia, was originally charged with felony unlawful wounding but he accepted a plea deal. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison with eight months suspended. He will serve four months on weekends.

Samaniego was arrested Jan. 13 by the Bristol Virginia Police Department after the family of the woman suspected she was being abused.

Police said in January that cameras were installed in her room at the facility. The cameras caught Samaniego being rough with the woman and striking her, police said. She suffered bruises and cuts.
On May 22, a suicide bomber walked into a group of exiting concert goers in Manchester, England and blew himself up, killing 22 and injuring 64. Many victims were under the age of 16.

The perpetrator was identified as Salman Abedi, the son of Libyan refugees. Police have detained numerous men in connection with the attack, including Abedi's 23-year-old brother in Tripoli. The Greater Manchester Police are reporting that a woman was also arrested.

British Prime Minister Teresa May raised the United Kingdoms terror threat up to its highest level of "critical", meaning more attacks may be imminent.

President Donald Trump expressed, on behalf of the people of the United States, his deepest condolences to those so terribly injured in this terrorist attack and to the families of the victims.

We stand in absolute solidarity with the people of the United Kingdom, he said:

So many young, beautiful, innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life. I won't call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that's a great name. I will call them from now on losers because that's what's they are. They're losers.

This kind of terrorism that snuffs out the lives of innocent people in the most barbaric manner is what President Trump has been rallying countries to fight against. Our society, he said, can have no tolerance for this continuation of bloodshed, we cannot stand a moment longer for the slaughter of innocent people. And in this attack, it was mostly children.

The terrorists and extremists, and those who give them aid and comfort, must be driven out from our society forever, said President Trump. This wicked ideology must be obliterated -- and I mean completely obliterated -- and innocent life must be protected.

All civilized nations, said President Trump, must join together to protect human life and the sacred right of our citizens to live in safety and in peace.
Maryland election 2022: Dan Cox concedes governor race to Wes Moore

Republican Dan Cox conceded the election, calling Governor-elect Wes Moore. But throws jabs at Hogan, more.
In Jerusalem, the second stop on President Donald Trumps first overseas trip, he reaffirmed the unbreakable bond of friendship between Israel and the United States. A friendship built on our shared love of freedom, our shared belief in human dignity, and our shared hope for an Israel at lasting peace. We want Israel to have peace.

We have so many opportunities in front of us, said President Trump, but we must seize them together.

They include advancing prosperity, defeating the evils of terrorism, and facing the threat of an Iranian regime that is threatening the region and causing so much violence and suffering.

President Trump expressed hope for a more peaceful future for the region.

Indeed, President Trump said the leaders he met with in Saudi Arabia all voiced common concerns about ISIS, about Iran's rising ambitions and rolling back its gains, and about the menace of extremism that has spread through too many parts of the Muslim world.

America welcomes the action and support of any nation willing to do the hard but vital work of eradicating the violent ideologies that have caused so much needless bloodshed and killing in the Middle East and all over the world.

I believe that a new level of partnership is possible, said President Trump, one that will bring greater safety to this region, greater security to the United States and greater prosperity to the world.

This includes a renewed effort at peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

America stands ready to assist in every way we can, said President Trump.Our deep and lasting friendship (with Israel) will only grow deeper and stronger as we work together in the days ahead.
ELKO  The City remains in good financial standing despite losing some sales tax revenue heading into the next fiscal year.

City Council approved the budget during the council meeting on Tuesday night but will have to be mindful that the sales tax may not be as a high as it was in previous years.

Counties across Nevada generate a lot of their revenue with the sales tax, which will fluctuate year to year based on economic activity.

City Manager Curtis Calder said the amount of economic activity produced, especially in the mining industry, increased last years sales tax revenue to higher than normal levels and he is not worried that it is projected to be lower this year.

If last year was a really high year and there was a big anomaly like a big project somewhere, just because youre down this year isnt necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it was just a really good year last year, he said. We did have a really good year last year, so when Ive seen the numbers be three percent below a really good year it is a lot better than three percent below a really bad year.

Even though the City is on good financial footing now Mayor Chris Johnson was concerned about the state of the general fund budget. The budgets ending balance for the 2016-17 fiscal year is estimated at $4,430,012 while the budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year is $1,726,403.

In order to increase revenue the City will look into raising fees at the animal shelter and the police department.

Overall, revenue is projected to be down approximately $1 million from the current fiscal year, while expenses are projected to rise by $1 million. The fiscal year begins on July 1.

With sales tax revenue not expected to increase next fiscal year, Johnson suggested that City staff make adjustments so the City still has a financial cushion.

This general fund budget  I hope thats not how this turns out  so well see what those fee increases bring, he said. This is really going in the wrong direction. I mean, were pointed south by $4 million.  The City does a fantastic job of budgeting and forecasting but if we need to make adjustments, lets do it. Hopefully this changes a little bit, but I dont want to end the year with what this is showing because next budget cycle will be very, very tough.

Council member Mandy Simons agreed with the mayor that the decrease in the general fund balance is something to be monitored so the City does not end up in a similar financial situation to the County.

Calder said he has been monitoring the sales tax trends and said the Citys conservative budgeting practices helped them stay under budget this fiscal year.

As you know, 65 percent of our general fund is being generated through sales tax, which is the most volatile tax there is, he said. We watch it every month and we see a trend developing where its down from last year pretty consistently, nothing to panic about yet. Were higher than what we budgeted for this current fiscal year, so because we budgeted conservatively weve been able to exceed what we budgeted.

Calder mentioned in the meeting that the financial forecast for the state is looking positive for next year but also pointed out that it can be hard to project how much activity will be generated.

He said he is hoping to see sales tax revenue increase within the next few years.

The numbers are kind of holding their own, but that said theres a bunch of stuff in the pipeline we know is coming, he said. If had to guess, Im thinking that were kind of on the bottom end of it and were going to be flat for a while and then were going to see a modest uptick. We just dont know how long thats going to last.
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HICKORY  The City of Hickory concluded two days of public meetings with stakeholders and community members as part of the citys effort to create a broad-based policy for food trucks.

The city allows food trucks on private, non-residential property with permission of the owner, but no overarching policy exists for food trucks on public property.

On May 2, the Parks and Recreation Department presented the Hickory City Council with a plan that would allow food vendors in certain city parks.

The plan would have annual permitting fees of $300 for food carts and $500 for food trucks at the selected parks. Vendors would be assigned spaces at the parks.

After council members discussed the proposal, and expressed particular concerns about proposed fees, the city staff was directed to come up with a broader plan.

Four meetings were held Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge the opinion of downtown stakeholders, the general public and food vendors.

Bob Steiger and Robert Garrison, who own the gourmet food truck Eats on the Streets, showed up to the Wednesday morning meeting to give their views.

Garrison said, in terms of their own business, he and Steiger were most interested in having the flexibility to serve their clients with as little regulation as possible.

So, from our standpoint, were not looking to sit in a parking lot every Monday or Thursday or whatever, and there are potentially people that may or may not want to do that, Garrison said. We want to be able to do bigger events.

The fees that had been proposed would be prohibitive, Garrison said.

Basically, that tells us that the citys not interested if those fees were followed because no one would participate because you wouldnt make your money back let alone make money to start with, Garrison said.

Garrison also said the city should find ways to give a preference for local vendors, saying he had been to city festivals and events where most of the food vendors were from outside Hickory.

This could mean the city working with the Hickory Downtown Development Association to ensure local vendors could have a chance at first refusal for events, Garrison said.

Ericka Gonzalez, speaking on behalf of Guadalupe Alamilla, asked about rules requiring a food truck to have an agreement with a separate, brick and mortar commissary.

Alamilla ran a taco truck last year but has been unable to since November because she has had difficulty finding a kitchen willing to serve as the commissary, Gonzalez said.

Deputy City Attorney Arnita Dula said state regulations requiring the commissary have been removed, but county regulations may still require it.

Gonzalez said Alamilla also wanted to know about whether or not there was a type of community kitchen in Hickory like one Alamilla had used in Asheville.

Assistant City Manager Andrea Surratt said, to her knowledge, there was no such place in Hickory.

As the business of food trucks grows in Hickory, something like a community kitchen may start up, Steiger said.

Its just not big enough yet, Steiger said. As the food trucks come, maybe somebody will open their own commissary and sell time to that commissary.

Those downtown stakeholders and community members who spoke at the Tuesday meetings added suggestions and input about creating communities through food trucks, the value of food trucks to the city and the best ways to approach regulation.

Barbara Rush Early, executive director of the Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, suggested creating a food truck park that could become a space for social enterprise.

This space could be made into a gathering place to host activities like performing arts, Early said.

Early said she had seen areas in San Antonio, Texas, where blocks were dedicated as sites for food truck parks.

Especially in light of the citys bond projects, the food truck park idea could provide the city with an opportunity to really do something unique and something different, Early said

And when were talking about the population of people that you want to keep here in Hickory, this is something that would be very attractive to that population of people, Early said.

The property next to the GHCCM, which Early said is owned by N.C. Sen. Andy Wells, was mentioned as a possible site for such a park.

There was some discussion at the meetings about the effects on existing restaurants from food trucks.

Surratt said there had been a mixed response from restaurants on the matter.

They pay a lot, like they will tell you their largest expense is taxes in their monthly accounts payable, so they feel very strongly that they should be protected slightly from that, Surratt said.

At the same time, those restaurant owners or former restaurant owners who came to voice their opinions seemed to embrace the competition.

Julie Owens, owner of Taste Full Beans coffeehouse, said competition would improve service.

I figure if a coffee truck comes downtown, if theyre way more amazing than me, I better get on my game, Owens said.

Others discussed how having food trucks could bring variety and innovation to the dining scene in Hickory.

At one meeting, Chris Simmons said he believed food trucks could prompt a type of experimental speculative restauranting.

You can get speculation about types of food being attractive in a market, and they can try those things out without the enormous financial risk of going into a particular neighborhood, Simmons said.

Members of the general public also expressed the regulations in place would need to be flexible enough so the trucks can be truly mobile, rather than having to stay in one place all or most of the time.

I mean the whole point of food trucks that is the fun part of food trucks is they arent in the same place every day, and you get your following, you know, you follow them on Facebook or Twitter, and you have to go find them, Kristin Darbee said. And if theyre good, people find them.

Community members also expressed the initial regulations should be minimal early on and could be changed as necessary in response to the way the business develops.

Lets show ourselves on the forgiving side now and enforce the rules more heavily as needed, Meredith Ross said.

In addition to the meetings, the city also is accepting comments through a survey posted at www.surveymonkey.com/r/mobilefoodvendors.

The survey will be available through Monday morning.

Surratt said the staff hopes to have a food truck ordinance before the city council by mid-summer.
One Sunday morning at a stall in the crowded Rastro flea market in Madrid, collector and journalist Javier Monjas asked the stallholder, Excuse me. How much do you want for this?

Lets see, replied the seller, eyeing the yellowing scrapbook that Monjas held in his hands. Give me 3 and were quits.

The scrapbook was put together by Antonio Calvache, a flamboyant and successful photographer during the 1920s and 1930s

The scrapbook might have smelled of mold, but Monjas was interested in the war photographs that had been taped to the pages and the accompanying scribbles that were at once full of romance and outrage. He was not yet aware of the books true value, handing over the 3 out of curiosity more than anything else.

Only when I got home and started to leaf through the book, did I realize the value of what I was holding, recalls Monjas as he touches the scrapbook  a collection of Guernica originals as it says on the front. Besides being a photographic testament to the bombing of the town, it is also the epitaph of a tortured soul, a man filled with regret.

The scrapbook was put together by Cordoba native Antonio Calvache, a flamboyant and successful photographer during the 1920s and 1930s who was also a film director, actor, bullfighter, poet and friend of the stars. He created portraits of popular actresses of the day such as Conchita Piquer and Margarita Xirgu, royals such as King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia, and intellectuals such as the writer Benito Perez Galdos and the writer and philosopher Miguel de Unamuno.

And in 1934, he photographed Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the leader of Spains fascist Falange party, in his Madrid studio on San Jeronimo Street.

A Google Street View recreation of Madrid's Calle Mayor in 1937 and today.

Enlisting with the Nationalist faction during the Civil War (1936-1939), Calvache was appointed head of the Falanges Photography and Cinema section within its Propaganda Service. But he had no intention of spending his life stuck inside an office. He considered himself a man of action and his passion for photography and film, combined with his rash courage and a blind faith in Imperial Spain, took him to the frontline in northern Spain, and, more specifically, to the Basque town of Guernica.

According to the scrapbook, he entered Guernica with the Navarre Brigades two days after the Nazi German Lufftwaffes Condor Legion bombed the town at the behest of Francisco Francos Nationalist government on April 26, 1937. That bombardment turned the town into a symbol of allied aggression with between 200 and 1,650 locals killed, depending on the source.

Antonio Calvaches presence in towns such as Eibar, Bergara, Elgueta, Elorrio, Mondragon and Guernica during the spring of 1937 has been documented in Francoist propaganda films such as Marcha Triunfal (Triumphant march) and Frente de Vizcaya (Biscay Front). In fact, two days prior to the bombing of Guernica, Calvache had signed a contract in San Sebastian with a businessman called Duro to make two documentaries about the war in the north. He had already made one about the Teruel Front called El derrumbamiento del Ejercito Rojo (The downfall of the Red Army).

Red, black, blue, white, have now become the same thing: pain

Antonio Calvache

There were rumors of a Guernica scrapbook, but its existence remained little more than a myth until Javier Monjas came across it in the Madrid Rastro. Signed by N. A. Villaespesa  the author insists that this is one of the familys surnames, not a pseudonym  it is thought to have been put together at the end of the 1970s and it records the bitterness and shock that Calvache felt as he witnessed the fallout of what he termed a nauseating crime.

There is undeniable disillusionment at having belonged to a faction capable of such a massacre: The total silence contradicts me. The arms in the air reach up in a painful spiral and the light seems to offer hope, a whiteness that the smoke blackens from below. Guernica? My heart stops. I am emerging from NOTHING?  Nothing, nothing. GOD! THEY HAVE TURNED GUERNICA INTO NOTHING! [] LAND THRESHED BY BLADES WEIGHING 100, 500, 1,000 KILOS.

Though he was a reactionary character, a certain lack of prejudice meant that he had photographed many important Republicans before the war, such as the Second Republics second Prime Minister Manuel Azana and Colonel Emilio Buenoa, who was responsible for the Republicans defense of the Vallecas part of the capital.

This image of the dog Ogi (Bread) at the corner of Guernica's Artekale and San Juan streets is one of the best known images of the bombing of the town.

And then there was the incriminating episode on November 28, 1939, when the body of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera arrived in Madrids Gran Via avenue after being carried for 10 days by Falangist volunteers from Alicante. The procession passed the photography studio of a man called Alfonso who had been a Republican sympathizer, a friend of Azana and a soldier on the Teruel Front.

Knowing the risk he was taking, Alfonso emerged from his studio to photograph the event. As he began to take the first shot, he was recognized by a group of Falangists who started to shout, You! You Red bastard! At that point, Calvache turned up with his camera and berated the bullies, who fell back. He then turned to Alfonso and said, For crying out loud, Alfonso, what are you doing here? To which the grateful Alfonso replied, Nothing. Taking photos. Calvache turned on the Falangists again and told them: No one touches this man! And he walked Alfonso home.

Unfortunately, such incidents carried a price, and Calvache used the scrapbook to talk about his own fall from grace. Salamanca, he writes, was the kind of paradise where you had to pay for the fruit. Our last 1,000 pesetas were taken by the customs officials to check if they were red or white and Franco didnt even invite us to sit down.

As Monjas points out: And this is what happened to someone who headed the Falange propaganda machine! Instead of being a war hero, he ends up as vermin in the regimes eyes and goes off to live in Tangier for some unknown reason. He is clearly very bitter about Franco.

There is undeniable disillusionment at having belonged to a faction capable of such a massacre

Calvaches fortunes were never to improve. At the end of his life, he would sell photos in the Rastro, at the entrance to the Prado and in Madrid bars, just to get enough to eat. He and his beloved wife, Aurelia Wandosell, would end up living like tramps surrounded by bags of rubbish inside their vast apartment at 49 Atocha Street.

He never renounced his Falangist ideals, but his disillusionment with Franco was such that he spoke about Guernica in some of the last paragraphs of the book in these terms: Red, black, blue, white, have now become the same thing: pain. It is the voice of a disillusioned fascist.

Juan Miguel Sanchez Vigil, a lecturer at Complutense University in Madrid, got his hands on 2,500 of Calvaches photos after his death in 1984. He was tipped off and acted swiftly before the Madrid sanitation department moved in to empty their home and throw out the photos together with all the accumulated trash into a nearby dumpster.

After some research, Sanchez Vigil was able to stage an exhibition of Calvaches work at Madrids Conde Duque Cultural Center in 1994. He then went on to compile a book called A traves del espejo (Through the looking glass) using 137 humorous and tragic photos taken at different moments of Calvaches career. A large part of his collection was then handed over to the National Library where, as Sanchez Vigil says, it really belongs.

Rumors of a Guernica scrapbook remained just that until Monjas stumbled upon it at Madrids Rastro market

Both had lost their minds, says Sanchez Vigil of Antonio Calvache and his wife Aurelia Wandosells final years. I met the doormen at 49 Atocha street, the building where they lived. They told me that one day an order came from the Royal Family that the couple should never want for anything. The king and queen had invited Antonio Calvache to the palace to photograph them on a number of occasions in the past. So they organized for food to be brought to them every day. The Red Cross would come with food and leave it with the doormen to take up to the apartment. Until one day, they knocked and knocked and no one answered. The fire department went in to find Calvache dead and his wife on the ground surrounded by bags of trash, clothes and photos.

Aurelia Wandosell died in 1998 in a nursing home. They had no children. Their only living relative was a niece of a cousin of hers who had lost touch with them some years earlier.

English version by Heather Galloway.
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The government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is determined to prevent the Catalan regional government from holding any kind of referendum on independence for the northeastern region: informal, non-binding, online or otherwise, and will use all the means within its reach to avoid the international image of Spain as a country where laws are not respected, says an unnamed senior government source. The ruling Popular Party has already drawn up plans to cover any eventuality.

Spanish State Attorney General Jose Manuel Maza, left, and Catalan regional premier Carles Puigdemont. Albert Garcia

The central government in Madrid reportedly has a secret memorandum on what action different ministries can take, should the regional government in Barcelona attempt to hold the independence referendum is has planned for late September.

The preparations could also involve the central governments delegation to the Catalan regional government, along with the security forces.

Have no doubt that the nations government will take all measures it needs to take Juan Ignacio Zoido, Interior Minister

This time, there will be no ballot boxes or polling stations, says a senior figure in the Rajoy administration, explaining that when the Catalan regional government  known as the Generalitat  held an informal referendum on November 9, 2014 that had been ruled illegal by Spains Constitutional Court, the authorities turned a blind eye to avoid direct confrontation at a time when there was strong support for independence, with huge numbers of people turning out for street marches to demand a break with Spain.

The feeling now in Madrid is that the mood has changed in Catalonia, supported by recent opinion polls showing that the percentage of people backing independence has fallen. Furthermore, there is awareness in the government of the damage done to Spains international reputation by television footage seen around the world of a part of the country organizing an illegal referendum that not only impacted on the unity of the country, but also on the European Union.

Oriol Junqueras, the Catalan regional deputy premier, who has been tasked with getting a referendum ready, has been saying since March that everything is prepared and earlier this month, the Generalitat put out a tender for ballot boxes, albeit pointing out that they could be used for local elections.

We are not going to permit this and we will do whatever it takes to prevent it, and the state has a great deal of democratic power, says another senior government member. Officials in Madrid say that the Generalitat has been warned, as have civil servants in Catalonia, of their responsibilities and to reply in writing to instructions they receive. Businesses involved in making ballot boxes and in vote counting have also been advised of the legal repercussions of taking part in an illegal referendum.

Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido. Paco Puentes

Earlier this week, Rajoy issued an invitation to the Catalan regional premier, Carles Puigdemont, to debate his governments plans in Congress, albeit in the certainty that he would not accept. The idea was to send a message that it is not just the government that refuses to accept threats and blackmail but also the countrys main political parties, including the Socialists (PSOE).

Rajoy has told his team of his concern about the way the Catalan authorities are moving toward a point of no return, as outlined in the secret document outlining its independence plans reported on by EL PAIS earlier this week. Under those plans, a unilateral declaration of independence would not be subject to any kind of debate by opposition parties in Catalonia.

Cabinet members are on message regarding what Rajoy is calling a coup detat as in the worse dictatorships. Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido was asked on national radio this week if the governments plans to block the proposed referendum in Catalonia included taking control of the regions devolved police force, the Mossos dEsquadra. Have no doubts whatsoever that the state, the nations government, will take all measures it needs to take. Have no doubt whatsoever, he replied.

English version by Nick Lyne.
After the worst ever Muzaffarnagar riots had rocked West UP in 2013, a man on the street had described the palpable tension in the area by reciting the lyrics of a soulful number from Muzaffar Alis film Gam`an, sine mein jalan , aankho mein toofan sa kyon hain, Is shahr mein har shaks pareshan sa kyu hai

The same aptly describes todays scene in West UP, although with a difference.

The communal lab of the country is now sitting on an old tinder box -- caste clashes- not new in the disturbed zone.It has witnessed Jat-Jatav clashes before BSPs rule in the state. As chief minister Mayawati systematically gave voice to the docile Dalits across UP. However in western region Dalits were socially and economically empowered , unlike their brothers in East UP.

Today they are active on social media, strongly rebutting the rising abuses against their icons, including BR Ambedkar and Mayawati.

Many activists like Dr Satish Prakash of Meerut believe West UP will become the nerve-centre of countrys Dalit politics in coming days.

This comes as bad news for the Sangh Parivar which has been making concerted efforts to penetrate the precious vote bank of 21% Dalits, considered loyal to the Bahujan Samaj Party till the 2017 assembly elections.

And now when they are preparing for 80/80 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections as announced by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a document called Alert 19 is already making waves in the community.

Dr Satish says it focuses on the political and social challenges ahead for the community as the BSP has weakened.

Interestingly, Dalit activists across the state have ganged up to take on the attack on their community.

Satyya Prakash Teetal from Agra, often described as Bheem Nagari because of its high Dalit population, says,  Suddenly we find mushrooming temples, use of derogatory words like chamar by even our friends, increased misbehaviour with our women and damage to the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar. Instead of taking action in these cases, the administration is maintaining a studied silence that manifests their complicity.

Significantly , caste clashes are primarily between Dalits and Rajputs (the chief ministers caste)

Dalits have now taken their war on the social media, strongly rebutting the rising abuses against their icons, including BR Ambedkar and Mayawati. According to Teetal as many as 125 Dalit groups have come together on social media to take on the mudslinging campaign unleashed by the ideology that believed in social hierarchy.

Significantly , caste clashes are primarily between Dalits and Rajputs ( the chief ministers caste).What seems to have worsen their faith in the administration is the involvement of Rajputs in most of the cases.

Dr Satya Prakash says,  Dalits were attacked in a pre-planned manner on Tuesday despite the presence of heavy police force in Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur.

This has shattered the confidence of Dalits in the government. Our youths are angry, they are not going to remain silent for long. We fear civil war if immediate steps are not taken to check excesses on Dalits, he added.

Most of the activists feel that the Hindutva lobby, which had earlier turned this zone into their communal lab, always had two enemies  Muslims and Dalits. While Muslims were fearful in the BJP regime now that there is a BJP government both at the centre and in the state , Dalits have become easy target.

The caste tormentors are back, so is untouchability.

Dr Satya Prakash says, Dalits aggression will also provoke Muslims to retaliate. Perhaps nothing would suit Mayawati, whose party was completely decimated in 2014 and 2017 elections. She has been trying to build Dalit-Muslim unity which failed before BJPs aggressive Hindutva that in fact took away a slice of her Dalit votes also.

Author and expert Dr Badri Narayan feels the fight for caste identity and supremacy has begun again. Some castes that were lying in limbo in SP-BSP regimes are raising their heads again.  Problems will flare up if contradictions in dissemination of power and resources is allowed. The government must build social harmony to prevent the situation from going out of control, he says.

Prof MP Ahirwal of BHU says,  We were apprehending trouble after the elections. The upper caste, which could not tolerate political empowerment of Dalits are now taking revenge, committing atrocities. According to him the upper caste is resenting Jai Bheem slogan, which is symbol of their empowerment.

But many like Brajendra Kumar Gautam of Allahabad based Dalit resource centre feels it is an outcome of Dalit disunity that weakened their movement. The community votes divided in different parties and now they are realising their political blunder.

According to him the tormentors are back.

Politically, BJP would not want to lose Dalits to the BSP. But , as of now, Mayawati is again emerging as their savior!
Eleven people, including women and children, were killed and 22 others injured when the tractor-trolley in which they were travelling overturned in Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, officials said.

Neemuch sub-divisional magistrate Aditya Sharma said the dead included four children and six women.

The accident took place near the Kanka four-lane barrier when the group of pilgrims -- from Kharerikachariya in Mandsaur -- was returning from Sawalia, a well-known pilgrimage site for Hindus.

The tractor trolley that overturned in Neemuch, killing 11 people (ANI Twitter)

This was the second accident in as many days involving a tractor-trolley. On Wednesday, three people died near Atrimata in Neemuch when their tractor-trolley overturned.

The injured have been admitted to the district hospital in Neemuch, around 400km from state capital Bhopal.
Actor Arjun Kapoors recent remarks about his half-sisters Jhanvi and Khushi has once again put the spotlight on half-siblings relationships in Bollywood. Replying to a question at an event, Arjun said, We dont really meet and spend time together, so [a relationship] doesnt really exist. Arjun, son of producer Boney Kapoor with his first wife Mona Kapoor, has also never acknowledged any family ties with the two girls mother, actor Sridevi, who is Boneys second wife. Arjun called her my fathers wife.

Arjun Kapoor, son of Boney Kapoor, has half-sisters Jhanvi and Khushi Kapoor, daughters of Boney and his second wife Sridevi.

Looking around Bollywood, there are quite a few half-siblings  some dont have a cordial relationship, while others share a great rapport. Just having a sibling from one parents second (or third) spouse is obviously not reason enough to like or dislike them. So what makes half-sibling relationships take off or crash?

Dr Kamal Khurana, Delhi-based relationship counsellor, explains that each individual is different and no parent can force them to be in a defined relationship with their half-siblings. Also, in this case, bad is not the clear opposite of good. Just the fact that youre not friends or not on cordial terms doesnt make you enemies. One needs to respect that a person may take time to come to terms with reality, and based on that, they may choose to share a bond with the half-brother or half-sister, or not even be on talking terms [with them], says Dr Khurana.

Actor and MP Raj Babbar with his sons Prateik Babbar, from second wife Smita Patil, and Aarya Babbar, from first wife Nadira Babbar.

Also in Bollywood, in the Deol family, brothers Sunny and Bobby, sons of veteran actor Dharmendras first wife Parkash Kaur, and their half-sisters Esha and Ahana, daughters of his second wife Hema Malini, used to share a happy bond. But then the brothers skipped Eshas wedding, showing that even a good relationship may sour.

Next are Aarya Babbar and Prateik, Raj Babbars sons from Nadira Babbar and Smita Patil, who might share the Babbar bloodline but are not on good terms. Prateik even dropped his last name, and later mentioned that he saw a big brother in Abhishek Bachchan. At this, an angry half-brother Aarya alleged that Prateik did cheap things for publicity.

Shahid Kapoor, son of Neelima Azeem, with his half-brother Ishaan Khattar, Neelimas son from Rajesh Khattar. (Yogen Shah)

Dr Gitanjali Sharma, Gurgaon-based marriage counsellor, feels that a parents or step-parents behaviour could be a trigger for any kind of animosity between half-siblings. When a child (from a previous marriage) feels neglected, abandoned or not getting the same kind of treatment or access to the parent, that becomes an issue and, of course, it would be reflected in their relationship with half-brothers and half-sisters as well, she says.

While some half-siblings have rarely been spotted together in public, there are many who surprise everyone with the friendly vibes they exude whenever spotted together.

Mine. A post shared by Shaheen Bhatt (@shaheenb) on May 14, 2017 at 10:40am PDT

The Bhatt sisters, Pooja and Alia, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatts daughters from Lorraine Bright and Soni Razdan, are always like a big happy family. Not only does Alia refer to Pooja as her sister, but the latter also said in an interview that there was no ego clash or enmity between her and Alia.

Even brothers Shahid Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar, sons of actor Neelima Azeem from Pankaj Kapoor and Rajesh Khattar, come across as buddies in the goofy pictures they often share on social media. Actors Pooja Bedi and Adam Bedi, Kabir Bedis daughter from Protima Bedi and son from Susan Humphreys, have always been fond of each other and never let the step-sibling rivalry take over.

Dr Sharma opines that the kind of relationship that parents share lays the foundation of the relationship between the half-brothers and half-sisters, too. If a parent can instil the right values, and not make it messy by bringing in comparisons, half-siblings can share a great bond, too, she adds.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Im blessed to have been a part of this great film, says Rana Daggubati, the actor who played the main antagonist in the hugely successful Baahubali series. Both movies have been successful across the country, and while the first film won widespread acclaim, the recently released Baahubali 2: The Conclusion currently holds the highest box-office record in India and is doing great business in the USA as well.

It is an Indian film thats now number three in terms of releases [in America]. The high is the BBC or the Wall Street Journal speaking about us. This really means there is so much more we can do. Franchises could work and cut across barriers.

This was effectively a Telugu film that was dubbed in multiple languages, but we saw it together as a nation. We followed the old Indian way of story-telling. Nothing was inspired from the West or taken from the West. It is our tale, Rana says.

It's no Thursday but throwing back....in memory lane.. A post shared by Rana Daggubati (@ranadaggubati) on May 2, 2017 at 8:50am PDT

The actor believes that the movies have helped film-makers believe that they can make big franchise films. He also says that a well-made film will attract an audience, no matter where a film comes from. Rana credits the director of the franchise, SS Rajamouli, for his vision and creation. I learnt a lot as an actor, and his sincerity towards storytelling is something I really appreciate, he says.

Spent a fun evening at the new H&M store at Inorbit Mall yesterday! Make sure you check it out this weekend #HMLovesHYD #HMIndia A post shared by Rana Daggubati (@ranadaggubati) on Apr 20, 2017 at 11:34pm PDT

Its not a well-known fact, but Rana was the one responsible for the collaboration with Karan Johars production house for the Baahubali series. I am probably the only one in that film who has worked in Hindi cinema and understood how the industry works. We set out to make a big war film. We spent far more than a regular regional or even a national movie would. So we needed the right parents  be it in Hindi, Tamil or Malayalam cinemas. And Karan has been a great business partner. It was Karan who I first brought the film to. He knew what we were making and he positioned the film really well, says the actor.

Speaking about his association with Karan, Rana says, Our style of cinema might be different, but he is ultimately a film-maker and is fond of films. And that binds us together. He is my go-to person in Mumbai as far as movies are concerned.

Not so long ago :) #TeamBaahubali #dubai A post shared by Rana Daggubati (@ranadaggubati) on Apr 30, 2017 at 2:22pm PDT

Ask Rana Daggubati if he will be picky about the films he signs here on, and he says, I do cinema based on the content and the stories I would like to tell. The film also has to work for the intended audience that it is made for, says the actor, who will next be seen in a Telugu-Tamil political drama.

A post shared by Rana Daggubati (@ranadaggubati) on Mar 12, 2017 at 3:52am PDT

Hero worship is still a phenomenon in South India. Some of the biggest stars have a huge fan-following, so much so that there are temples built in their names. When their movies release, it calls for a massive celebration for their fans. He reasons, That phenomenon is prevalent for actors who have been in the industry for many years. Its not for the newer crop of actors. Here, you still see that [reverence] for Mr Amitabh Bachchan. And over there, Rajinikanth is still the main lead and not a character actor. This happens because the cinema and the projection of stories are larger than life there. Cinema is a celebration in many parts of South India.

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Director Ajay K Pannalals upcoming film, Behen Hogi Teri, a romantic comedy starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Haasan has run into fresh trouble after the director, along with the films producer, Tony Dsouza, got arrested, in Mumbai, on Thursday.

It all started after a poster featuring actor Rajkummar Rao, in Lord Shivas get-up, was released online on April 4, 2017. In the poster, the actor was seen dressed up as the deity, and seated on a silver motorbike with a UP number plate.

According to a source close to the films production team, the producer, who has helmed films such as Blue (2009) and Boss (2013), was arrested for hurting religious sentiments. The source confirmed the arrest and said that the lawyer would give an official statement soon. The Police had come from Jalandhar to Mumbai with the arrest warrant for the director [Ajay K Pannalal] and the producer [Tony Dsouza]. Both of them were taken for medical examination and were taken into custody. They have not been granted bail, informs the source.

When we contacted Versova Police Station, Mumbai, they denied any such arrest. As of now, there is no entry in our register, so we cannot say anything. Only when our senior officer comes, we can confirm, says an official.

Explaining the look, Rajkummar had said in an earlier interview, My character Gattu works in this Jagran Mandali owned by Shrutis (Hassan) characters family in the film, and Gattu plays Shiva in it.

The film is slated to release on June 9, 2017.

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One of the first things George Holliday did when he bought his then cutting-edge Sony Handycam 8-millimeter video camera in early 1991 was to go into a bar in front of his house in north Los Angeles. It was there that he managed to capture some moments from the shooting of the celebrated scene from Terminator 2 when Arnold Schwarzenegger steals a bikers clothing and rides off on his Harley Davidson.

On March 3 of that year, using the same tape and in the same place, he recorded the savage beating by several police officers of an unarmed black man called Rodney King. The term might not have existed at the time, but this was the worlds first viral video, as well as an early example of citizen journalism, becoming a symbol of police brutality and sparking the worst race riots in US history in Los Angeles a quarter of a century ago.

Holliday says he was woken up around 1am by the sound of a helicopter. The police had been chasing King in his car at speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour, and the chase ended in front of Hollidays apartment. He went out on to his balcony to look, and when he saw police decided to record the scene. King was about 40 meters away, and the camera picked up the sound of the batons used by the officers to beat him for eight minutes as he lay on the ground. I thought to myself: what did that guy do to deserve that?

People have blamed me for the disturbances. What is on the tape caused them, not the tape George Holliday

He didnt know what to do with his recording: this was a time before YouTube or Facebook. A few days later he went to a wedding, where he told guests about what had happened, but nobody considered it important. He then contacted his local police station, but officers would give him no information. Finally, he called local television station KTLA to ask whether there had been a police operation in his neighborhood. During the conversation, the fact that I had recorded something came up and they asked if I would show them the tape, remembers Holliday.

The same night, KTLA played the recording on its 10pm news program, attributing the footage to Holliday. My phone blew up. Everybody wanted to interview me and get a copy of the tape, he says, adding: I had to disconnect the phone. The next day he went back to KTLA to get his tape. They told me it was a bigger story than they had thought and asked if they could hold onto the tape for a couple of days in return for $500. He accepted. A few hours later, police officers turned up at KTLA and confiscated the tape. Fortunately, a copy had been made, which the television station kept.

Holliday's footage of police beating Rodney King.

Four white police officers were tried for the assault. On April 29, 1992, they were found not guilty by a white jury, even though the entire planet had seen, for the first time, video evidence. That afternoon, the worst violence in decades swept through Los Angeles, lasting six days, and during which more than 60 people died. Some people have blamed me for the disturbances. What is on the tape caused the disturbances, not the tape itself, says Holliday.

Holliday speaks fluent Spanish. His father, British, was a senior executive at the Shell oil company, while his mother was German. He was born in Canada and lived in Indonesia and London, but his father decided to retire in Buenos Aires, which is where Holliday grew up. He left in the late 1980s, looking to make his way in the world.

My phone blew up. Everybody wanted to interview me and get a copy of the tape George Holliday

One day my son came home from school and said, Dad, you are in a history book, says Holliday. The name Rodney King is still often used when a news program broadcasts the latest video of police brutality, nowadays filmed with smartphones. But Holliday says that for him, the most enduring aspect of the affair is that he features in a Trivial Pursuit question. He is still sometimes recognized in the street, a quarter of a century later, although he rarely gives interviews.

Now aged 57, he is a self-employed plumber, and still makes some money from selling the broadcast rights to the video of the beating of Rodney King. A few years ago his Sony camera was returned to him by the police, but the original tape remains in the hands of the FBI.

He says he never spoke to Rodney King about what happened that fateful night 25 years ago, but about a year after the riots, paying for gasoline in a garage, he heard a voice call his name. Hey, George Holliday! Do you know who I am? I didnt recognize him, I had only seen him in photographs with his face swollen. It was Rodney King. He said to me, You saved my life. I didnt know what to say. We shook hands and said goodbye.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Ever since he was appointed the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Pahlaj Nihalani has been in the news with his strict dos and donts for Hindi film-makers, often leading to controversies. But Nihalani seems to have found support from an unlikely quarter  ex-CBFC chief and yesteryear star, Asha Parekh.

Censorship isnt an easy thing. Whatever Mr Pahlaj NIhalani is doing, I think he is trying to do the right thing, as per the guidelines that the government has provided him with. So, in that case, if anything, the guidelines have to be changed, says the veteran actor, adding that the censorship should be there.

Asha Parekh started her career with Dil Deke Dekho, opposite Shammi Kapoor.

Adding that usually, people dont agree with her but she feels censorship is needed. People dont know about the B and C [grade] films that come to the CBFC. So, if you dont have the Censor Board, those films would go scot-free and that would be [a] very bad [situation]. Those films [and makers] have to be asked to stop, she says.

Asha Parekh was considered a style icon during her heydays.

At the same time, the Dil Deke Dekho (1959) actor says that ratings system can be brought in for Hindi films. If its done, thatd a good thing. But sometimes, producers and directors  and its very controversial these days  come out with a lot of hungama (noise) as to how Censors isnt passing a certain film. But they dont try and see the real essence of the whole thing, says the Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) actor, who held the post of the CBFC chief from 1998 to 2001.

Asha Parekh was known for her glamorous roles and tomboyish parts.

Parekh, who was the first female chairperson of the CBFC, insists that people nowadays have become very sensitive and come up with objections for even small things. She says: They [film-makers, who target Censor Board for not clearing their films] dont know how many cases get filed against the censor board. Also, the veteran actor says that as an ex-censor chief, I feel the censorship should start at home.

Asha Parekh starred alongside the late Rajesh Khanna in a number of films.

Parents should realise that if theres an A-certificate film that they are going to watch, is it necessary to take the children along? My suggestion would be: forego the film if you cant leave your children at home and if you have no other option but to take them along [to the film]. You have to forego certain things for your children. Thats why I feel that censorship starts at home, says the actor, who recently came out with her autobiography.

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Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007) was among those very few films that gave the bad boys of Bollywood a heroic image and director Apoorva Lakhia did quite a good job. The films screenplay was written by Sanjay Gupta. As the film, based on 1991 Lokhandwala complex shoot out , completes a decade of its release on May 25, actors Suniel Shetty, Rohit Roy, Shabbir Ahluwalia and Arbaaz Khan share their behind the scenes memories, and also what makes the movie so special for them, even today.

Suniel Shetty

Actor Sunil Shetty played the role of inspector Kaviraj Pandey in the film.

I loved my character of Kaviraj Pandey. There are so many memories from this film that I cant pick one but I must say that it is one of the films, which is closest to my heart and a character I love playing. It was Apoorv Lakhias best film and we need more films like this one  real, at the same time entertaining.

(Left to right) Shabbir Ahluwalia, Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy, Vivek Oberoi in a picture from the sets of the song Ganpat Chal Daru La.

Rohit Roy

Actor Rohit Roy played the role of Fatim.

My most amazing memory is that one evening after pack up, when me and Sanjay Gupta headed out for a drink. He asked me what my reaction was to the days shoot. I said I was very unhappy with it and didnt agree with what we had shot . I felt it didnt go with the soul of the film and the song, which was a superhit according to me, would be wasted. He heard me out and my reasons, and then promptly called up the production head and cancelled the next days shoot. I was taken aback. Later he re-shot the entire song and the end result was Ganpat Chal Daaru La. It became an anthem even before the release.

Shabbir Ahluwalia

Actor Shabbir Ahluwalia played the role of RC in the film.

My favourite memory remains shooting the groovy gangster song Ganpat Chal Daaru La, because the boys went crazy rapping and grooving to the song on the top of a convertible double decker busI had never seen one before  and all the fun while filming transpired on the screen.

Arbaaz Khan

Actor Arbaaz Khan played the character of Javed Sheikh in the film.

It was a good experience to be a part of a gangster film, based on real-life events and characters. I also enjoyed working with my childhood friend Sanjay Gupta. I played the character of Javed Sheikh, who is fearless and an expert in Urdu language. So, it was amazing to play this particular character and it will always remain very close to my heart. Seldom one gets to play a character, which strikes the right chord with the audience.

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Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, Indias top law officer, has declined a request from the law ministry seeking legal opinion on the proposed merger of Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd (HDFC Life), four people with direct knowledge of the development said.

With this, the fate of the transaction, the first of its kind in the insurance sector, hangs in fine balance with the final decision resting with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA).

The law ministry is expected to give its independent opinion to IRDA in the coming weeks, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity.

Under the first of the proposed three-step merger process, Max Life will be demerged from Max Financial Services Ltd completely and all non-insurance businesses of Max Financial Services will be transferred to Max India, so that Max Financial Services stops to exist and Max Life becomes a standalone listed insurance firm immediately. Simultaneously, HDFC Life will be merged with Max Life; since HDFC will have a majority stake in the merged entity, HDFC Life will be automatically listed.

IRDA had expressed its reservations on the proposed structure in January. It had sought the law ministrys views on the transaction since Section 35 of IRDA Act does not allow merger of an insurance firm with a non-insurance firm. The ministry referred the deal to the office of attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, seeking a legal interpretation of the applicable laws, as the end-merger in this case involved two insurance firms.

Rohatgi did not reply to phone calls and texts seeking comment.

In a joint statement, Max Life and HDFC Life said on Wednesday: We have heard media reports about this development but we dont have an independent confirmation. HDFC and Max Group remain strongly committed to conclude this proposed merger and will be working with the insurance regulator to do so.

According to the people cited above, both firms have contended that the deal is in accordance with the spirit of the law and that the deal structure is legally valid under the composite scheme of arrangement of the Companies Act 2013, which says that such amalgamations can be possible if all legs of the arrangement process are done simultaneously and that if any leg of the amalgamation process falls through at any stage the entire deal falls through.

As per the Scheme of arrangement, the deadline for IRDAs approval is end June while that for Court approval is February 2018-end. But the people cited above said both HDFC Life and Max Life could mutually extend the deadlines if need be, till the time regulators reach a final decision.

HDFC Life and Max Life had announced their merger plans in August last year, seeking to create an insurance giant with Rs1.1 trillion in assets.

The potential merger would create Indias largest private sector life insurer, surpassing ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. It will be second only to state-run Life Insurance Corp. of India, which has a 70% share of new business premiums in the country. Mint reported in June last year the merger could trigger a long-awaited consolidation among private insurers in an industry with assets under management of Rs22.4 trillion, of which the share of Indias 23 private sector insurers is only Rs4.61 trillion, according to IRDA.

(Story filed in special arrangement with Livemint)
Indias plans to ban Chinese power firms due to concerns over cyber-attacks could backfire on India even though the move would cause losses to companies from China, a report in a state-run daily said today.

Indias reported move to block Chinese companies in the power sector seems to be new evidence of the countrys overly suspicious attitude toward China, but this could backfire given that India is still plagued by electricity shortages and unstable supply, an article in the Global Times said today.

The article was commenting on the remarks by Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers Association Director General Sunil Misra that ban on Chinese equipment would protect India from cyber-attacks because the power sector is increasingly software driven with intelligent technology and control systems being used.

Referring to criticism that China does not allow for overseas investment in its electricity grid, the article said, the reciprocity argument is unreasonably idealistic and doesnt make any sense at all. Even if China allowed overseas investment in its power sector, could Indian power companies really make it into the Chinese market given their lack of development?

For a long time, Indian power companies have been calling for a complete ban on Chinese companies in the domestic power sector, citing the threat to national security, it said.

Of course, such a prohibition, if it became real, would cause losses for Chinese companies. But it is totally unrealistic and inefficient for a country that relies heavily on foreign technology and equipment due to its own underdeveloped power sector, because it would be hard and costly for India to seek substitutes for Chinese products, it said.

At present, Chinese companies are the major suppliers of power generation equipment in India, accounting for about 40% of the traditional power equipment market, according to media reports. As such, Indias boycott of Chinese equipment would be at the cost of its electricity infrastructure development, eventually making its people the biggest losers, it added.
Almost a year after the Indian government allowed 100% foreign investment into its aviation sector, local airlines continue to oppose the policy. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has cited security hassles in its latest letter to the government, to warn against fully-foreign owned airlines entering India.

FIA has IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir as its members, with 75% share of domestic air travel.

The federation that India might not have clarity on where control lies in case a fully-foreign owned airline sets up shop here and that airline would have access to the countrys defence airfields.

It is also pertinent to note that countries, whose diplomatic relations with India are strained, may also use this window (of opportunity) to gain access to India, said the letter accessed by HT. This letter was sent to several ministries of the Indian government, earlier this month.

The letter has highlighted foreign investment limits set by other countries to show that most countries ensure effective control is with their nationals. FDI limit even in the worlds largest aviation market, US, is limited to 25%. Though the European Union allows 49% FDI, effective control of the airline is mandated to be with European nationals.

...this decision will result in permanent damage to the domestic aviation industry and to Indias aim of building global international hub airports and global airlines in India. This decision has the potential to create permanent foreign monopolies on key routes, reads the letter.

The letter further argues that introducing financially stronger 100% foreign owned airlines, in some cases, state-owned, will create a non- level playing field for domestic airlines. In a highly competitive Indian market, this would lead to mounting losses for domestic airlines.

Experts point out how this move by FIA is perhaps propelled by fear of competition from Qatar Airways, as it plans a fully-owned airline in India.

In June last year, the government decided to allow 100% investment by foreign entities, and not airline companies, into the aviation sector to own and operate air carriers. The investment of foreign airlines into Indian companies remained limited to 49%.

Within a year of the opening up of Indian skies, Qatar Airways in March, had expressed interest setting up an airline with a planned tie-up with Qatar Investment Authority.

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Job portals saw an increase in the number of resumes being posted by software engineers between January and April, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the fate of thousands of employees at large Indian IT services firms.

Naukri.com reported a 27% jump from the year-ago period in job applicants from the IT industry in the January-April period; iimjobs.com, a 12.4% increase and CareerBuilder.com, a 11.5% rise, according to data shared by each of these portals with Mint. Monster.com saw a 60-65% year-on-year increase in the number of software engineers posting resumes in the last month alone.

All the four job portals declined to share the absolute increase in resumes and rather shared only the percentage increase.

IT companies are in the midst of the industrys largest retrenchment drive, with seven of the biggest companies planning to let go twice the number of employees asked to leave last year or at least 56,000 engineers in the current year. Some executives believe that many of these companies, including Infosys Ltd, Wipro Ltd, and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, are likely to end the year with fewer employees than they started with, despite continuing to hire young engineers.

Indias IT industry, which does business of $150 billion a year, employed 3.9 million people at the end of March 2017, according to industry lobby group Nasscom, which has denied reports of layoffs.

To be sure, not all people registering on job portals are likely to have lost their jobs.

This increase can be attributed to the uncertainty that clouds their future with regards to the continuity of the current job role given the transformation that their organisations are going through, said Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive vice-president at TeamLease, a staffing firm, which saw jobs applicants from the IT sector double in January-April period.

Most job applicants register at more than one job portal. Software industry executives say 50-75% of engineers, with a few years of experience, use job portals. A third of job seekers use referrals while executive search firm help companies fill positions at senior levels.

Another staffing firm, PeopleStrong HR Services Pvt. Ltd, saw an 15% increase in applications from mid-to-senior level executives from IT companies in the January-April period.

The numbers do indicate some level of anxiety in the minds of employees but they are not alarming, said Tarun Matta, founder of iimjobs.com. I read the Mckinsey report stating how a third of workforce will be irrelevant in the next three-four years, and so I assumed the numbers would be very high.

Technology outsourcing companies are re-looking at their existing workforce as they face a structural challenge (and not just a cyclical change witnessed in the past) on account of newer technologies such as cloud computing, which has forced these firms to move from a people-led model to platform-driven approach. At the same time, more companies have embraced automation tools to perform the mundane, repeatable tasks that were performed by an army of engineers earlier. Finally, poor growth and pressure on profitability has prompted most companies to save on costs. In the year ended March 2017, for the first time since 2009-10, TCS, Infosys and Wipro grew slower than industry body Nasscoms 8.6% growth forecast in constant currency terms, even as profitability of all the companies declined.

The change we are witnessing in the IT Services industry is structural  these are challenging times as industry is reinventing its business model, said Venkat Shastry, partner at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. We will see people leaving companies in a staggered way over the next 3-4 years as the sector will continue to shed jobs. Unless a new sunrise sector like the IT sector, which was born decades back or the e-commerce sector which emerged a few years back comes up and absorbs these people, it will be a painful journey
Indias plan to bring in a law to ensure doctors prescribe medicines only by their generic names risks proliferating the sale of substandard drugs in a country where regulation is already lax, doctors and pharmaceutical executives say.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last month that the government was looking at such a law to improve affordability of medicines in the country of 1.2 billion people, where the majority live on less than $2 a day.

The government has not given any details or timeframe for the planned legislation but some in the industry fear that hasty execution could harm, not help, public health.

Large drugmakers in India such as Cipla and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries that mostly sell generic drugs under their own brand name, or branded generics, compete with much smaller garage manufacturers, many of which operate with scant quality checks.

It is a fiercely competitive, high-volume market, dominated by the big players like Cipla, who employ armies of salesmen to sell their drugs. Some doctors say they tend to prescribe branded generics to patients because they are confident of their quality.

While the government wants to make cheaper non-branded drugs available to consumers, pharmaceutical executives said any law would have to stipulate that the drugs consumers get from pharmacists meet certain quality standards.

I think the quality aspect is very important for the government to address ... to make sure that all companies in India are on the same quality footing, said Ciplas CEO Umang Vohra.

There is no national data comparing the quality of branded generics, versus unbranded ones. But small studies have shown that unbranded drugs, typically procured by the government for the public health system, have quality issues.

A report by the countrys federal auditor in 2012 showed that 31 percent of drugs procured by the government for the Armed Forces Medical Stores were substandard in 2010-11, up from about 15 percent in 2006-07.

Results of the governments largest-ever national survey to test drug quality showed this year that roughly 10 percent of the drugs in the government supply chain were not of standard quality, versus 3 percent of drugs available at pharmacies, which are usually branded generics.

Generics are fine, but there has to be a proper rigorous mechanism to enforce quality, like the U.S., and unless India evolves on that it will be disastrous, said Nilesh Gupta, managing director of Lupin, Indias No. 3 drugmaker by sales.

IMPRACTICAL

Substandard medicines range from drugs that dont work at all to those that dont work as expected, thereby contributing to antimicrobial resistance - a major global health problem.

The idea is very good, but the government needs to ensure the availability of good quality generics, said Vijay Panikar, a Mumbai-based diabetologist.

Indian drugmakers manufacturing standards, including those of big companies such as Sun Pharma, have been found to have fallen short of international standards in recent years. An industry official said last week that it will be at least five years before Indian manufacturing and data reliability meet the standards of the United States, Indias biggest drugs export market.

Its a work in progress ... I think the bigger companies understand the problem and are working to fix it, said Gupta of Lupin.

Health experts warn of a series of problems with the implementation of a generics-only rule. For example, half the Indian market is made up of combination drugs, and it would be impractical to ask doctors to prescribe a series of chemical names, said S. Srinivasan, a doctor and member of the Peoples Health Movement, a New Delhi-based NGO.

Doctors opposed to the planned new rule warn it would put too much power in the hands of the chemists.

Today if I write a generic, the chemist will decide which drug to give, and he will obviously give the one in which he has the biggest margin, without caring about quality, Panikar said.
Amid reports that more than 1,400 locations in Uttarakhand are grappling with shortage of water, chief minister Triverndra Singh Rawat Thursday appealed to the people to have their houses fitted with rain harvesting system

Inaugurating a statewide week long campaign under which people would be sensitised about storage and conservation of water, Rawat said the state was facing chronic water crisis for want of ground water recharge.

But it wont be possible to take the campaign for water conservation to its logical conclusion without the active participation of the common man, he said before flagging off a mechanised rath (vans) each for Kumaon and Garhwal regions.

The vans would use audio material and related literature to disseminate information on water conservation in the two regions, officials said.

Raghav Langar, director, Swajal (a government agency for water conservation) said a web portal had also been created, which would have the entire database relating to natural springs across the state. So far, mapping of some 27,000 natural springs has been carried out. A complete data (on natural springs in the state) to be fed into the web portal would be ready in a month, he said, adding that it would also include data on structures of natural springs and the types of vegetation around them.

Langar informed that the portal would also include the data pertaining to iron and fluoride contents in natural springs. Besides, it would also mention the distance of toilets, if any, from those water sources so that they could be protected from contamination, he added.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat puts a sand-filled one-litre bottle in the flush of the toilet at his official residence. (HT Photo)

Rawat said groundwater in the state was not recharging as cement concrete structures dont let rain water to percolate, which flows directly into rivers through the drainage system. I therefore urge the people to have their residential premises fitted with rainwater harvesting system, he said. The CM said that it would entail some extra expenditure but that shouldnt be a problem considering that a house costs lakhs of rupees.

The chief minister also urged the people not to use the quantity of water beyond what is sufficient to flush toilets. This wastage of water can be stopped just by putting a one-litre plastic bottle filled with sand inside the cistern, he said. That single step, if taken in residential colonies, hotels, resorts and offices, can help us save 1 crore litre of water per day.

Rawat cited the example of Dehradun to show the fast pace at which groundwater was depleting compared to the rising demand for potable water. When the state came into being (17 years ago) the town used to get the supply of 72 million litres water per day, which has now reduced to half (37 million litres water per day), he said. Conversely, its (Dehradun) population has registered a directly five-time increase in the corresponding period.

Rawat also underlined the need for turning the campaign for water conservation into a peoples movement and carrying it out on a sustained manner.

DIGITAL MUSSOORIE

Mussoorie on Thursday became the countrys first hill station to have its cashless transaction system after chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated it before launching the statewide water conservation campaign. Digital Mussoorie, the cashless system, will operate under the aegis of the state government and the State Bank of India (SBI).

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Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat left for Delhi Thursday amid rumours that he had been summoned by Union minister for highways Nitin Gadkari after the latters letter suggesting that the state governments recommendation for a CBI inquiry into the NH-74 land scam would demoralise NH officials was leaked to the media.

The CM has already admitted that Gadkari had written to him that a CBI probe into the 300-crore scam relating to NH-74 coming up in US Nagar could demoralise the NH officials.

The reports that Rawat had been summoned by the Centre to discuss that issue gained credence after he admitted that he was going to Delhi to see Gadkari. I am going to Delhi where I will meet him (Gadkari) and other central ministers, Rawat said replying to specific query if he had been summoned by Gadkari to discuss the issue of the CBI probe.

Rawat had recommended a CBI inquiry into the NH-74 land scam just a week after he took charge in March. Rawat had also suspended six officials of the sub-divisional magistrates rank for their alleged involvement in the scam besides initiating a case against a retired official.

He had said the action had been initiated against the seven officials after a report by the Kumaon commissioner indicted them in the NH-74 land scam.

The opposition Congress has accused Rawat of stonewalling the CBI probe to shield some top state BJP leaders involved in the NH-74 land scam.

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A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 30-year-old homeless man in north Delhis Yamuna Bazar area on Saturday, police said.

The victim, police said, is a homeless.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Jatin Narwal said the accused, identified as Shiva, was nabbed two hours after the crime and a case of rape under the POCSO Act was registered against him.

According to the police, the girl was asleep with her parents on the footpath near Yamuna Bazar when Shiva allegedly abducted her and took her to a deserted park adjacent to the bank of Yamuna. He allegedly raped her in the park and then left her to bleed.

The girl was spotted by a local who then called the Delhi Commission for Women helpline. The DCW then approached the police, following which a case was registered, a senior police officer said.

The girl, who is admitted to a hospital, sustained several internal injuries and had to undergo a surgery. She is currently out of danger, police said.

The police suspect that Shiva was allegedly under the influence of drugs when he committed the crime. Sources said that Shiva knew the girls family so when he took her to the park, she did not resist. They all know each other as they all sleep on the footpath in the same area. The girl was oblivious of Shivas intentions when he lured her to the park, a senior police officer said.

He added that the police swung into action immediately after receiving the complaint and teams were dispatched to arrest the accused. Over a dozen people were questioned in the area.

The police, during their initial probe, the teams learnt that one Shivawas missing since the incident after which a search operation was carried out. Shiva was arrested within two hours.

DCW chief, Swati Maliwal, later visited the girl at the hospital Shameful. Six-year-old homeless girl brutally raped in Delhi. Accused 30 years of age and is arrested. Going to hospital to meet her, she tweeted.

A DCW official said that they had received an anonymous call on their helpline about the girl. The caller said he had seen a mother crying with her child in a park. The child was bleeding and he suspected that something wrong had happened with the child, the official said.

DCW then informed the police. She is a homeless girl. There are bite marks on her body, he added.
MUs Henrikh Mkhitaryan Brings Armenia With Him: New York Times

Prestigious New York Times magazine has published Rory Smiths article entitled Manchester Uniteds Henrikh Mkhitaryan Brings Armenia With Him. Below read the article: Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be forgiven for not wanting to take his work home with him. His first season in the Premier League has, after all, been a demanding one, enough to make anyone cherish any chance at all to switch off. There has been the battle to win a place and establish his presence at Manchester United; a collection of wonderful, occasionally gravity-defying goals once he settled in; and then, as the campaign reached its climax, a relentless workload  games piling up in great drifts, culminating in Wednesdays Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm. That would be enough, but Mkhitaryan has always been one of those players who struggle to relax. Early in his career, he tended to switch off his phone for three days before a game, so determined was he to focus on the task in hand. Looking back, at 28, he knows that such intensity was unhealthy; he often felt sad for days after games, brooding over every perceived error, reproaching himself for every defeat, screening the calls of his friends and family in case he took out his frustration on them. Read more on the source website
A 42-year-old man stabbed his mother to death in southwest Delhis Palam area on Wednesday morning. Police said that the accused, Rajiv Sharma, believed that his mother practised witchcraft and therefore killed her.

Sharma, who works as an MTNL operator, was later arrested by the police from his home. The incident came to light after a neighbour made a PCR call and complained that he had heard Sharmas mother, Premlata (65) scream for help.

When a police team reached the spot, Premlata was lying bleeding on the ground and was unconscious. Sharmas wife then helped police rush Premlata to a hospital, where she later succumbed during treatment. Sharma did not try to flee and was arrested , police said.

A call was received saying that a man had allegedly stabbed his mother. The accused was arrested from his residence. A case of murder has been registered and the weapon used in the crime has also been seized, DCP southwest, Surender Kumar said.

During questioning, Sharma told the police that he was frustrated with his mothers witchcraft activities and her meeting with occultists, which had started to affect his children. He told the police that he had warned her several times to not practice black magic at home but she had refused to pay heed. He confessed that on Wednesday, he had an altercation with her on the topic and then stabbed her in a fit of rage.

Sharma said that Premlata had started involving his children while practising black magic which he did not approve of. He also said that Premlata was mentally ill and refused to listen to him. She had started visiting occultists to learn tricks and random people visited her at home, which further angered Sharma. He said that she had been involved in these activities for the past four years, an investigator told HT.

He added that the victim had sustained one stab wound in the stomach and died during treatment. It appears that she died of excessive blood loss but the cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report.
Desperate for money to finance his wedding to his childhood sweetheart, a 19-year-old thief took YouTube lessons before attempting to break open an ATM with help from friends. Their plan, however, was foiled by a few youths who happened to visit the ATM to withdraw cash.

The five thieves tried to flee in their Esteem car, but the driver panicked on realising that the youths and a beat constable were chasing them. He ended up ramming the car into a road divider, which led to the arrest of two. Two others, including a juvenile, were nabbed later.

The interrogation of the alleged mastermind, Manish, revealed that this was not his first attempt at taking the crime route to finance his wedding. Less than two weeks ago, they had unsuccessfully tried to break into a bank.

According to Milind Dumbere, DCP (north-west), Manish was in love with a woman for the last seven years and was keen to marry her. Since he wanted his wedding to be a lavish affair, he needed money. He had shared his wedding plan with his friend, Ankit, early this year.

In January, they joined hands to rob the office of an online food delivery company in north Delhis Prashant Vihar. They were able to successfully make away with Rs96,000 cash and a laptop. Not satisfied with the loot, they then decided to target an ATM.

On May 13, the duo tried to break into a branch of Union Bank located in M2K in Rani Bagh in the afternoon. They had broken a part of the banks wall and tried to get in, but the alarm went off, forcing them to call off the heist. But they had managed to take away the DVR of CCTV cameras because of which they had remained untraced, said a senior police officer.

The two then decided to target ATMs instead. They took tips from YouTube videos on how to break open the machine. Since they needed more manpower for their operation, they expanded their gang by adding three more members, said the DCP.

On Tuesday night, the gang stole an Esteem car from a slum in Shakurpur. Their plan was to break the front part of the ATM, tie one end of a rope to the cover of the machine and the other end to a hook fixed to the Esteem car. Driven in the opposite direction at a high speed, the car may have helped pull out the cover of the box that holds the cash.

The five thieves decided to target the Canara Bank ATM located in Shakarpurs Sri Nagar Colony. Armed with a hammer, a chopper, a rope and a pistol, they landed outside the ATM booth around 2.30am on Wednesday.

Having done with the rope work, they were just about to start the car when three local youths happened to visit the ATM. Taking no time to comprehend that a crime was unfolding, the three youths raised an alarm.

This forced the thieves to abandon their plan and get into their car and flee. However, the three youths began chasing the car and were soon joined by a policeman, causing the driver to panic and hit a divider. The thieves abandoned their car and tried to escape.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to lieutenant governor Anil Baijal on Thursday, asking him to discuss the division of powers between the elected government and the L-G office in order to avoid unpleasant incidents which often lead to political controversies.

Sources said the formal communication from the chief minister comes a day after he held a one-on-one discussion with Baijal over a host of issues related to administrative jurisdiction between the L-G secretariat and the elected government.

Hindustan Times has learnt that the two are likely to meet over the issue soon, as requested by the chief minister to which the L-G has agreed.

During the discussion, the chief minister highlighted that in order to avoid controversies there is a need to revisit and discuss the varied aspects related to the power structure in the Capital. It includes understanding of the Constitution, the Govt of NCT Act, the transaction of business rules and even the last years Delhi High Court judgment, an official said.

Deciding on a bunch of petitions of the Delhi government over the administrative jurisdiction, the Delhi High Court on August 4 last year had ruled that L-G was the citys real administrator. The Delhi government had challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court and the matter is to be heard by a Constitution bench, which is yet to be formed.

While the Arvind Kejriwal government shared a bitter relationship with the L-G office when Najeeb Jung was at the helm, the state government has had a blow hot, blow cold relationship with the incumbent Baijal. He has cleared few flagship projects of the AAP government earlier this year. However, his office invited AAPs ire over decisions such as direction to vacate party office.

Kejriwal had resumed the customary weekly meeting with the L-G after Baijal took over. However, he had discontinued the process ahead of the municipal elections. The AAP government, however, has shifted its focus back on governance following the electoral debacle in the municipal elections.

Sources said the chief minister has raised the issue due to repeated incidents of lack of coordination as departments heads and secretaries were getting direct orders from the L-G office, and the ministers concerned felt that they were being bypassed in the process.

The elected government is accountable to people. If ministers are by passed, it creates unnecessary controversies, an official said.

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Three students were killed and four injured recently, when their Honda City car skidded and fell off a flyover near Punjabi Bagh, West Delhi. While the crash was caused by a number of reasons, one of the most important factors was that it was overloaded  there were seven people in a vehicle meant for not more than five.

Overloading is hardly new in Delhi, or anywhere in India, for that matter. But the difference between Delhi and other cities is that the average speed of vehicles in Delhi is much higher than in other cities. And when the speed is high, controlling a vehicle that has begun skidding is that much more difficult.

We often overload our cars, motorbikes, autorickshaws etc without once thinking about just how dangerous this habit is, for ourselves and for other road users. The Delhi traffic police penalise overloading and often conduct checks on the vehicles. But they cannot cover every vehicle in a city like Delhi, where there are about one crore vehicles. Many of these are not BS-IV-compliant, meaning they are older vehicles without rear seat belts.

And why would the police even need to do such checks? Dont we, the people, have a responsibility to abide by rules?

The state of the Honda City after the crash in Punjabi Bagh. (HT Photo)

We talked to traffic cops and commuters and this is what they have to say about overloading.

COPSPEAK

The rules are for peoples safety

A traffic cop who is mostly stationed at KG Marg says, Log sunte nahi hai. Yeh sab rules ke against hai par tab bhi karte hi hai. Rok lo to phir request karte hai ki chhod do jaldi mein the. Auto waale bhi kaafi sawaariyan le lete the, but ab kaafi kam hua hai. Rule ka paalan karne mein koi buraai nahi hai; public ki safety ke liye hi hote hai rule (People do not listen. Overloading is against the rules but they still do it. When we stop them, they plead with us to let them go, saying they were in a hurry. Autorickshaw drivers used to overload their vehicles earlier, but such cases happen less often now. There is no harm in adhering to the rules. They are, after all, for peoples safety).

Rules are blatantly violated

An official from the Delhi Police traffic department says, The RC (registration certificate) of every vehicle clearly specifies the number of persons it can carry. But this is blatantly violated. While such violation happens often in personal cars, it is most frequent in the case of school cabs and trucks, said an official.

PUBLICSPEAK

Overloading isnt cool

Akshay Gibbs, a 21-year-old college student, says, Everyone thinks that theyll save time and money when they overload a car. That isnt cool at all, yaar! It is like inviting death. I have always been careful with such things, and this [crash] incident should be an eye-opener for others, too.

Akshay Gibbs, 21, student.

Big fines will stop this

Akash Chopra, a 25-year-old animation professional, says, Ive never overloaded [a car] since I dont feel comfortable about the idea. I do know many who try to do this in a hurry, knowing well enough that it is unsafe. If the traffic police are a little more vigilant and slap big fines, people will stop. If ignorance is what causes this, maybe fines finally will stop it.

Akash Chopra, 25, animation professional.

People need to learn, and now!

Jaisleen Kaur, a 21-year-old student, says, I definitely disagree with the idea of overloading, since it not only makes people vulnerable to fatal accidents, but also puts pedestrians and other vehicles in danger. People need to learn, and now, before it is too late. I drive myself and I never do this. The law must be followed.

Jaisleen Kaur, 21, student.

Dangers of overloading Loss of stability: An overloaded vehicle will be less stable, difficult to steer and will take longer to stop. Every vehicle reacts differently when their maximum weight (which they are designed to carry) is exceeded. Tyre danger: Overloaded vehicles can cause the tyres to overheat and wear rapidly, which in turn, increases the chance of premature, dangerous and expensive failure or bursts. Cramped space: The drivers control and operating space in the vehicle is diminished when it is overloaded, increasing the risks of an accident. Acceleration loss: An overloaded vehicle cannot accelerate like it should, making it extremely difficult to move smoothly between other vehicles and also to react in case of an emergency. Tilted lights: The headlights of an overloaded vehicle tend to tilt up, which at night, can blind oncoming drivers, thus causing an accident. Brake stress: Brakes have to work much harder when a vehicle is overloaded. Heavier objects moving at a high speed take a longer time to stop, which is simple physics. Brakes also tend to overheat and lose their effectiveness in stopping the car in such cases. Seat belt issues: When a vehicle is overloaded, seat belts cannot be worn by all passengers, and thus safety is compromised. Weak suspension: Overloading also puts the whole suspension system of the car under immense stress and, over time, the weakest point can easily give way, resulting in a crash. Other issues: Vehicles that are often overloaded will incur higher maintenance costs  tyres, brakes, shock absorbers  all are affected, and it also results in higher fuel consumption. Insurance, too, becomes void as overloading is illegal.

So, do yourself and the Delhi traffic police a favour and please do not overload when youre riding next. Drive safe, Delhi.

Follow @htshowbiz for more.

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Each rape case that we hear of now appears to involve extreme brutality, often resulting in the death of the victim. If the 2012 Delhi gangrape shocked us, the Rohtak case, the one in Kerala and several others, some involving infants, have further numbed us. And the idea of vengeance and retribution is understandable. But even so, it is appalling that the Andhra Pradesh chairperson of the Womens Commission should say that rapists should be skinned and paraded in public and knives distributed to college girls to protect themselves. When some men behave like wild animals and resort to such atrocious acts, I think there is a need to equip girls with knives. A law is needed for this, she said.

Earlier, after a woman in Kerala bobbitised her rapist after years of sexual abuse, she was commended for this by the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other politicians. The anger against abusers and rapist/murderers is understandable. But public rage cannot be allowed to spill over into the realm of people taking the law into their own hands. If this is allowed, then there is very little counter to the ugly vigilantism we are witnessing today. Suggesting that young women carry knives puts them in greater danger of the would-be rapist seizing the weapon and using it on the victim. There is no getting away from better policing, a more enabling environment for the victim to file charges in time and for the law to kick in without delay. Today, we see rape victims wait for years, reliving their trauma in the courts, in the hope of justice.

What we also need very urgently is counselling services for victims who are often led to believe that they are at fault for the crime. Legal recourse alone is not enough, the victims must get professional help to overcome both their trauma and the stigma that society often visits on them. The police station is the first port of call for a victim and it is here that she needs a sympathetic and efficient system to build her case. Many women refrain from filing cases for fear of further isolation and threats. If these are addressed effectively, then half the battle is won. Not every woman can fight back with knives and neither should they be required to do so. Skinning and parading rapists may be a prescription that gets Ms Kumari some news coverage, it is completely unacceptable in any law-abiding society. The answer is to afford women greater protection and make the law work for them.
Ahmedabad (Gujarat): Following the Delhi High Court instructions that the evaluation for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 board exams this year should be done as per the policy of marks moderation, the Centre on Thursday gave assurance of fair and undiluted dispensation of justice to all students who appeared for 2017 exams. Moderation means students scores are adjusted (cut or increased) on the basis of difficult questions asked in an examination.

The students need not to worry about the courts decision as I ensure that justice be will be given to all, Union minister of human resource development Prakash Javadekar said.

The Union Minister also said that the results would be declared on time.

On April 25, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) scrapped the moderation policy.

In a reply to plea filed by parents and some students, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday instructed the board to follow its moderation policy this year. As per the policy, students are awarded up to 15% extra marks in certain papers if the questions are deemed to be difficult.
Thousands of engineers, who appeared for the Combined State Engineering Services Examination conducted by Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) in April 2016, will stage a protest against the delay in the results in Lucknow on Sunday.

The UPPSC notified the advertisement for vacancies in various departments under the UP government in 2013. The exam was conducted in April 2016 after 3 years.

The students, who graduated from IIT Bombay and Madras and other top institutions, said the results should have been out in 2-3 months after the exam but have not been declared yet. They added even the answer keys have not been uploaded.

As per the recent RTIs filed, copies are not checked yet. As a result, we have decided to stage a protest... they said.

They will take out a protest march from Parivartan Chowk to the chief minister Yogi Adityanaths residence demanding that the UPPSC announces the results without further delay.

Currently, we are facing a lot of disappointment and loss of hope due to the slow and pathetic speed of UP government and UPPSC, Abhishek Sharma, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, said.

Still the results have not yet been declared, which is too frustrating for the students who are disappointed and depressed due to growing harassment and unemployment, another candidate, who did not wish to be identified, said.

The candidates claimed the UPPSC told them there was no hope of the results being declared any soon. They alleged after the government in the state changed, things have further slowed at the UPPSC.

They added since the examination was held during the Samajwadi Party government, the present Bharatiya Janata Party regime is not showing any interest in improving the situation.

UPPSC secretary Atal Rai, on his part, said the matter will be looked into.

Since the candidates were engineers themselves who graduated from top engineering institutions across India, their answer sheets will have to be checked by professors of IITs and MNITs. Everything is in the process, Rai added.

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With summer at its peak and parts of Gurgaon reeling under water shortage, the district administration has asked officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) to install CCTV cameras at water boosting stations to prevent any diversion of drinking water.

Water has been in short supply in Gurgaon for the past two months. The residents, meanwhile, say that private tanker operators across the city seem to have plentiful supply.

The CCTV cameras will be installed soon. The purpose of CCTV cameras is to closely monitor water supply from the plants. We received complaints from residents about the sale of water from plants illegally. We have to fix the problem, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Gurgaon Hardeep Singh on Wednesday. He said Huda and MCG officials are on the job.

The DC said he received complaints from various sources such as residents welfare associations and individuals about the siphoning of water from boosting stations. Hence, he decided to take up the problem with Huda.

The complaints of sale of raw and treated water from the plant and other boosting stations were found to be genuine by the district administration.

The complaints were found to be true after inquiry. We have to install CCTV cameras urgently at all boosting stations, the DC said.

The Huda is the custodian authority of the water treatment plant in Basai. From the Basai plant, the Huda supplies treated water to the boosting stations in Sector 16 and Sector 51. And from these two stations, the water is distributed to the whole city. The distribution of treated water to Huda sectors and municipal areas is being done by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG).

Subhash Piplani, a resident of Sector 10, said, Huda cannot sell treated water to private tankers from the plant for commercial use. For drinking purposes, one can purchase treated water but only after seeking a written permission from the JE and SDO.

The water mafia works in connivance with officials. They supply treated water to construction sites and also sell it for drinking purposes to residents at a higher rate in summer. That is not allowed and this leads to a water shortage.

Huda superintending engineer (SE) Naresh Pawar said, We will install CCTV cameras soon at boosting stations to check this practise.

Baljit Rathee, a resident of DLF Phase-I, Huda has failed to control the water supply system. That is the reason why the mafia is stronger in summer. We are purchasing water from private tankers for the past two months to meet our daily needs.

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Three pubs in the Sector 30 area failed to get the clearance from the committee members despite the re-measurement as they were falling within 500 metres of the national highway. The report submitted to the deputy commissioner by the committee members was sent to the excise commissioner in Panchkula last week.

Distance of Ninkasi, Coopers Grill, Bar and Bottle & Barrels was measured again on May 15 after they submitted affidavits seeking fresh measurement.

We had submitted the report to the deputy commissioner along with the measurement and the layout plans of the pubs in Sector 30. We had measured the shortest distance as well, and it was found to be barely 180 metres from the edge of the highway till the Star Mall. This was the last leg of the measurement that we carried out, HC Dahiya, deputy excise and taxation commissioner(West), Gurgaon, said.

These establishments were found to be within 500 metres of the highway during the earlier measurement, but the Haryana government later released fresh guidelines stating that the distance to the point of sale should be measured instead of the one from the entrance of the establishment. After the fresh order, the owners of the pubs were hopeful of relief, but were disappointed on Wednesday after they received word from the department that their joint were found within the red zone.

The pubs have started looking at other places to shift their establishments.

We have to shut down the brewery now. We were paying the rent and salaries to our staff as we had hopes of resuming operations at our outlet. However, we have to relocate now. We are already scouting for alternative locations, Baljeet Rathee, director, Ninkasi Brewery, said.

Read I SC liquor ban: Gurgaon CyberHub pubs get clean chit, will serve alcohol

A team of officials from the district administration, excise department, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), state public works department (PWD) and the police conducted the measurement.

The Supreme Court ban had affected 115 pubs and bars in the city. Only the ones in CyberHub and Sector 29 managed to survive the liquor ban and have started serving alcohol again.

The worst-hit are the three pubs in Sector 30 and 17 on Sohna Road whose liquor licenses will not be renewed by the department.

The Supreme Court banned serving and sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and state highways after expressing concern over high fatalities in road accidents and the menace of drink driving.

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A woman, resident of Ashok Vihar in Gurgaon, has alleged that she has been duped by a man from Ukraine who promised to marry her and took Rs 30 lakh from her. She met him through a matrimonial site last year, the police said.

In her complaint to city police on Wednesday, the complainant said she created a profile on a matrimonial site last year in February and got a response from a person, who identified himself as Deepak Frank Rich, a Ukrainian.

The woman and Rich started communicating over the phone and soon they decided to marry and settle in India. Initially, Rich told the woman to lend him some money as he was in need of it . He also promised to return it to her. The victim transferred Rs 1 lakh to Rich last year, which she never got back.

However, they continued to talk every day and they decided to buy a house in Gurgaon. Subsequently, Rich told the woman that one of his friends will visit her and she has to help him.

Rich reportedly told her that his friend was carrying illegal money and that the police have nabbed him and he required help. The woman was told that person was carrying money for their house purchase.

The woman was asked to give Rs 30 lakh to an unknown person who introduced himself as Richs friend, said Rajesh Kumar, assistant sub inspector, Sector 5 police station.

The victim transferred the money to a bank account given to her early this year after which Rich stopped talking to her. He blocked her calls and messages. She tried to contact Rich but when she failed to get through, she filed a complaint with the police.

A case has been registered under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and 66D of Information Technology Act.

We are investigating the case and trying to trace the details of the account to which the money was credited, Kumar.

On March 20, the police had arrested a Nigerian for allegedly duping a Gurgaon-based woman of Rs 10 lakh after promising to marry her. The accused had allegedly posed as a resident of Britain and started interacting with the woman after getting her contact details from a matrimonial website.

Last year, on August 1, a woman was allegedly duped of Rs 62 lakh by a man who she came in contact through WhatsApp. The accused identified himself as Gorge Anderson from Scotland. The woman sent him money to get her some items from Scotland after he told her that he will be travelling to India.

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Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

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Alternate medicine got some more boost, with the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approving Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between Germany and India that would lead to significant collaboration in the field between the two countries.

Initiation of collaborative research, training and scientific capacity building in the field of alternative medicine under the JDI is also expected to contribute to the enhanced employment opportunities in the field of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).

There are no additional financial implications involved. The financial resources necessary to conduct research, training courses, conferences and meetings will be met from the existing allocated budget and existing plan schemes of Ministry of AYUSH.

While India is blessed with well-developed systems of traditional medicine which hold tremendous potential in the global health scenario, Germany also has considerable interest in traditional systems of medicine.

The Ministry of AYUSH as a part of its mandate to propagate Indian systems of medicine globally has taken effective steps by entering into MoUs with China, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago Hungary, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Mongolia and Myanmar.

The Ministry has taken many initiatives for promotion of Ayurveda in Germany with the recommendation and cooperation of the Indian Embassy in Berlin.

One of the major initiatives is the collaborative research Project between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and Charite University, Berlin on Osteoarthritis of the knee.

The results of the trial are encouraging and the clinical trial demonstrates significant improvement in patients. The study has been completed successfully and is under publication.

A delegation led by AYUSH minister, Shripad Yesso Naik, had visited Germany in October last year to participate in the 2nd European World Ayurveda Congress (EWAC) and had interactions with the authorities in Germany.

During the visit a bilateral meeting was held between representatives of the two countries and it was agreed to begin the process of drafting and negotiating a JDl in the field of AYUSH and Natural medicine.

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kamrup district of Assam at a cost of Rs 1,123 crore.

North East region is one of the neglected areas in the country in terms of quality and access to healthcare, and this 750 bedded new AIIMS is expected to fill the gap.

The new hospital will be built at a cost of Rs 1,123 crore and it will be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), said Arun Jaitley, finance minister, after the Cabinet meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The hospital will be completed in 48 months from the date of the approval of Central government, broadly comprising a pre-construction phase of 15 months, a construction phase of 30 months and commissioning phase of three months.

It will also have 22 speciality departments, including 16 operation theatres.

The hospital will have trauma centre facilities, medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year, nursing college with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year, residential complexes and allied facilities or services, broadly on the pattern of AIIMS in New Delhi.

It will also have an AYUSH department with 30 beds for providing treatment facilities in traditional system of medicine.

The government hopes that the establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population, while also help create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions being created under National Health Mission.

The new AIIMS will be 12th in the list that was announced under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.

AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress.

Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) were sanctioned in 2015 and two more AIIMS were also sanctioned at Bathinda and Gorakhpur in 2016.

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Some 340 refugees from Myanmar, who had crossed over to Mizoram less than a week ago to evade ethnic cleansing by an insurgent group in that country, have been repatriated.

Officials of the Assam Rifles, which guards strategic stretches of the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border, said the Myanmar nationals  mostly women and children  were sent back on Wednesday to avert a major refugee crisis that could have lingered in Mizoram.

The refugees, ethnically similar to the Mara tribe in southern Mizorams Saiha district, arrived in waves on May 19 and 20 from Ralie village in Myanmars Chin district. People of Khaikhy and Lungpuk, two villages in Saiha district, had provided them shelter.

Refugees from Myanmar who were repatriated on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Khaikhy and Lungpuk fall under the 1,445 sq km Mara Autonomous District Council, one of three such tribal councils in southern Mizoram.

An agreement between Delhi and Naypyidaw (Yangon) enables people of Myanmar to travel up to 15km from the international border in India. Border residents of Indian states too can travel the same distance inside Myanmar.

Officers of Assam Rifles and district administration negotiated with Myanmar officials for the safe return of the refugees. The repatriation on Wednesday was accordingly organised at International Boundary Pillar Number 15, a Colonel in the 1st Assam Rifles battalion said.

Refugees from Myanmar who were repatriated on Thursday. (HT Photo)

The repatriation is a huge relief, Mizorams home minister Lalzirlilana said, lauding the paramilitary force and the district officials for handling the situation compassionately.

The Assam Rifles had provided medical and humanitarian assistance to the refugees besides taking care of their security.

District officials said one Chebei, the head of Ralie village in Myanmar, had come to the border to take back the villagers. Ralie is close to the India-Myanmar border as well as the boundary between the Chin and Rakhine states of Myanmar.

Officials sign documents for repatriation of the refugees from Myanmar. (HT Photo)

Rakhine has since 2012 witnessed ethnic violence that has made more than 200,000 Muslim Rohingyas flee the country. The majority Buddhist Arakanese people have allegedly been behind the ethnic cleansing.

Arakan Army, the insurgent group responsible for making the Ralie villagers take refuge in Mizoram too belong to the Arakanese stock.

Chebei, district officials said, conveyed his gratitude to the Assam Rifles, members of the autonomous council and Rachu, his counterpart in Lungpuk village.

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A Pakistani court has sentenced 350 Indian fishermen for fishing inside the countrys territorial waters after they entered a guilty plea and ordered their repatriation, according to a media report.

Judicial magistrate Salman Amjad Siddiqui visited the district jail in Malir on Tuesday to indict 350 fishermen, who have been detained since January 27, Dawn newspaper reported.

When the magistrate read out the charges against them, all the fishermen pleaded guilty of fishing inside Pakistani territorial waters, it said.

The court then took a lenient view and convicted the fishermen for a period they have already spent in detention and also directed the jail authorities to approach the department concerned to make arrangements for their repatriation.

The Maritime Security Agency had detained the fishermen along with their 60 boats after finding them fishing inside Pakistani territorial waters in the Arabian Sea in separate actions taken between January 27 and May 4 this year.

The cases were registered against them at the Docks police station.
Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat met defence minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday and briefed him about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting came a day after Jaitley said army officers were free to take decisions in a war-like zone, in comments which appeared to justify Major Leetul Gogois action of tying a man to a jeep in Kashmir as a human shield to deter stone- pelting protesters.

Sources said it was a routine meeting during which Gen Rawat apprised Jaitley of the security situation in the troubled state besides discussing some other issues.

Well, military solutions are to be provided by military officers. How a situation is to be dealt with when you are in a war-like zone. We should allow our army officers to take a decision.

They dont have to consult members of Parliament as to what they should do under such circumstances, Jaitley had said on Wednesday, amid the raging controversy over Gogois action as well as the army chiefs commendation card to him.

The armys decision to honour Gogoi which, according to it, was for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations, has come in for criticism from some quarters.

The meeting also came two days after Indian Army said it launched punitive fire assaults on Pakistani positions across the Line of Control, inflicting some damage.

It had on Tuesday also released a video of the military action which showed some structures in a forested area crumbling in a heap under the impact of repeated shelling by the Indian Army.
An ASHA worker was arrested and two missing minor girls were rescued from her house in Bihars Katihar district, 325 km east of state capital, Patna, on Wednesday.

ASHA is an acronym for Accredited Social Health Activist, trained to trained to act as health educator and promoter in her community.

Katihar superintendent of police (SP) SM Jain said ASHA worker Kalawati, 40, arrested from Labha village in Roshna police outpost (OP) area, was being interrogated to find out if she was member of a child trafficking gang.

READ| Indian teenager rescued from kidnappers in Nepal, 4 arrested

Jain said one of the rescued girl had been identified as Sonia Hembram, 6, a kindergarten class student of Mary Immaculate School at Barmasia in Katihar Town police station area. The police have rescued one more girl from Kalawatis house, but her identity has not yet been ascertained, Jain told reporters.

The SP said Hembram had moved into the school hostel about six months back.

READ| Bihar girl abducted for Rs 1 crore ransom rescued in Nepal

On May 7 Kalawati spotted the girl playing outside the school and lured the child into accompanying her. The ASHA worker and Hembram then boarded a train to reach Labha village, 50 km east of Katihar, he said.

The next day, Ful Kumari, mother of the child and resident of Sirkatta village in Barari police station area of the district, lodged an FIR at Katihar Town police station, accusing the school administration of kidnapping her daughter, the SP added.

READ| Patna police rescue kidnapped Delhi-based trader-brothers, arrest 5

Hembram had been reunited with her parents, the SP said. The other rescued girl would be handed over to her parents after her identity was established, he added.

After being rescued on Wednesday, Hembram said she had accompanied Kalawati after the ASHA worker had introduced herself as her mausi (mothers sister).

Kalawati, however, said she was innocent. I found Hembram crying at Katihar railway station and took her to my village. I did exactly what I thought was proper for the safety of the child, she said.

The school administration remained tightlipped over safety arrangements for children in the hostel. We cant say anything in this regard, said a teacher without disclosing her identity as she was not authorised to speak on the matter.
Security in Guwahati and parts of upper Assam has been tightened ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis daylong visit to the state on Friday amid intelligence reports that a separatist outfit may carry out attacks at important installations in the state.

Police said intelligence reports have said a team of armed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) cadres has entered Assam from Myanmar recently.

It is likely that the ULFA-I is planning attacks to coincide with PMs visit. Security across Assam including Guwahati has been increased, Assams additional director general of police (ADGP) Pallab Bhattacharya told journalists.

One person was killed on Thursday morning at Dikom in Dibrugarh near an Oil India Limited (OIL) pipeline. It is not clear yet whether he tried to denote a bomb or died while trying to pilfer fuel.

Modi will inaugurate Indias longest bridge connecting Dhola and Sadiya located on the south banks of Brahmaputra. At 9.15km, the bridge is significantly longer than the 5.6km Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai.

Asias longest road bridge over the Brahmaputra river connecting Dhola and Sadiy that will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26. (Pronib Das/HT Photo)

More importantly, it will improve connectivity to eastern parts of Arunachal Pradesh and reduce the time taken for movement of Indian Army convoys to the sensitive Chinese-Indian border areas by 3-4 hours.

The PM will also lay the foundation stones of units of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) near Guwahati and Gogamukh in Dhemaji.

To mark the completion of three years of the NDA government at the Centre and one year of the first BJP-led government in Assam, Modi will address the nation from Guwahati before departing for New Delhi.

It a matter of pride and honour for the people of Assam that the Prime Minister will address the nation from our state. We express heartfelt thanks for his gesture, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday.

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Bengaluru Police arrested late on Wednesday three suspected Pakistani nationals and an Indian man who lived in the Karnataka capital on forged documents and fake Aadhaar cards for two years.

Police said 30-year-old Mohammed Shihab, hailing from Kerala, fell in love with a Pakistani woman called Samira Abdul Rahman when working in Qatar two years ago. The couple got married, allegedly in the face of opposition from both sets of parents, and decided to flee to India.

But before leaving, they met another Pakistani couple -- Kirhon Ghulam Ali and Kashif Shamshuddin -- in the west Asian country who were also planning to move to India to escape their parents wrath. All three Pakistanis are believed to be residents of Karachi, police added.

We do not know the exact relationship between the three Pakistani nationals yet, but it is safe to assume that they knew each other because they travelled to India together, Bengaluru police commissioner Praveen Sood said.

The two couples allegedly travelled from Qatar to Muscat and from there to Kathmandu. They are then believed to have travelled by road to Patna, and eventually made their way to Bengaluru.

Sood said Shihab earlier resided in Bengalurus Kumaraswamy Layout, before he went to work in Qatar. All four were arrested from the locality on Wednesday.

The three Pakistani nationals did not have a valid visa and were residing here illegally, Sood said. They managed to get valid Aadhaar numbers based on forged identities. They had all the documents required, Sood said.

All this information is based on preliminary investigations and the confessions of the accused, Sood said. Central agencies are also investigating the case, and statutory procedures like informing the Embassy will be done soon, Sood said.

The trio has been charged under various sections of the Foreigners Act, Passport Act, and also conspiracy, Sood said.

The arrests might fuel more concerns about the 12-digit biometric identity number that is facing a storm of controversy over privacy concerns. The government has steadily expanded the use of Aadhaar in recent years but experts say the system is prone to hacking and data breaches.

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A day before Opposition parties meet to decide their candidate for the Presidential poll, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday batted for a consensus candidate.

The President is the custodian of the Constitution and it will be very good for the nation if we have a consensus candidate like APJ Abdul Kalam, Banerjee said after her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

She, however, claimed that the two leaders didnt talk about the Presidential poll and their discussions were only confined to development issues of West Bengal.

Arvind Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party indicated it was willing to join the Opposition meeting, shedding its political inhibitions against the Congress and some other parties.

There is no reason not to attend such a meeting. But I am still unaware if the party has received any invitation or not. If at all, it would have come to the office of the national convener Arvind Kejriwal or Delhi convener Gopal Rai, AAP spokesperson Ashutosh said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI)

Last week, Kejriwal and Banerjee had an exclusive meeting where the Delhi CM was convinced to support the Opposition candidate.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will host a lunch at her residence before holding a meeting on the Presidential poll at the Parliament complex.

During her meeting with the Modi, Banerjee demanded release of funds for many projects. Of the Rs 10,500 crore due, we have got only Rs 2,000 crore so far. I apprised the Prime Minister about the Rs 8,000 crore that is still due. He said he will look into the matter, she said.
Farooq Ahmed Dar, who was tied to the bonnet of a jeep by Major Leetul Gogoi, has filed a complaint in the state Human Rights Commission, Jammu and Kashmir against the latters recommendation for a Commendation Card by the Indian Army.

Major Gogoi, who had tied up Dar as a shield to prevent a mob from attacking Election Commission staff in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam, was awarded Chief of Army Staffs (COAS) Commendation Card for his sustained distinguished service in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

The decision was hailed by many, while some of the political parties condemned the Indian Armys decision.

I do not want to comment on the army. But the army personnel that were trapped would have been killed if not been rescued by Major Gogoi. We should never forget that he saved lives of 19 people. And the Opposition who is raising questions, I would like to ask them to explain why they are silent over Lt Ummer Fayaz incident. This is kind of a dual mindset. It is not right to keep silent over the martyrdom of patriotic people and killings of innocent ones, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Few political parties were left irked, citing that Gogois measures against stone-pelters would only aggravate the situation in the Valley.

Army must not react this way. We should be sensitive towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This kind of action will further deteriorate the situation in the state, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said.

The Congress party cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, The army officials are also getting influenced by the working pattern of the Modi government. Modi government should not introduce the element of politics in the Indian Army.

The women wing of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) also carried out protests against this move.

Major Gogoi was in the spotlight after a video shot during the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha by-polls, posted on the social media, showing Dar tied on the bonnet of an Army jeep.

Defending his action, Gogoi told the media, I have not fired a bullet, not beaten up anyone... there was no collateral damage. From my point of view, I have not violated anything... We are here to help the people. The army is here for common people, against those with weapons and those who fight against nation.
Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-line positions

On May 25, 2017, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh Republic), the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, to the west of Seysulan settlement of the Martakert region. From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and Personal Assistant to the OSCE CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain). From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova) and staff member of the Office of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative Martin Schuster (Germany). The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-line positions and in violation of arrangements reached on the procedure of conducting a monitoring used a surveillance aerostat. From the Artsakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the Republic of Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.
A contractual teachers job at a government school in Bihar is at stake as the university she graduated from is now unable to issue her a bachelors degree in science because of her wrong combination of subjects.

The candidate, Pooja Kumari, had taken up physics, chemistry and botany during her graduation, while the university allows mathematics instead of botany. She graduated in the 2011-14 academic session from the DNS College, an affiliated institution of the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University (TMBU).

The university at Bhagalpur, 229 km southeast of Patna, has put on hold her degree and slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the principal of the said college, which allowed her to take the combination of subjects, not prescribed by the university.

The gaffe has also put a question mark on the functioning of the examination department of TMBU, which is now struggling to find a way to correct the action.

TMBU vice chancellor Nalini Kant Jha confirmed that he had imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the DNS College at Bhusia in Rajoun block of Banka district, 253 km southeast of Patna, for the mess.

Jha said Kumari was admitted to a three-year physics honours degree course in the college in 2011 with botany and chemistry as subsidiary papers. The combination of subjects was technically not allowed and she should have opted for mathematics, instead of botany, he said.

READ| Bihar univ panel to probe charges against former registrar

The bloomer was noticed when she applied for her degree, which she required for joining her assignment as a teacher, said Jha. The failure of DNS College authorities to detect the error was a major lapse on their part, he added.

The TMBU had withheld issuance of degree to the student, who later represented to the chancellor, the VC said. The matter was placed at meeting of the TMBU examination board, which recommended that the matter be referred to the chancellor for condoning the gaffe, Jha added.

READ| Bihar higher education on verge of collapse, says Governor

Kumari claimed that she subsequently procured a bachelor of education (B.Ed) degree and was selected as a contractual teacher in a government school, said Ashok Kumar Thakur, TMBU inspector of colleges and public relations officer. She also informed me that no college official had objected to her selection of subjects, he added.

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A human rights campaigner challenged on Wednesday the armys award to Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi, who is under investigation for tying a Kashmiri weaver to a military jeeps bonnet and using him as a human shield against stone-throwing poll protesters.

Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, chairman of the International Forum for Justice, filed a petition with the state human rights commission (SHRC).

The major paraded 26-year-old Farooq Ahmad Dar for five hours through 17 villages during the violence-marred bypoll to the Srinagar parliamentary constituency on April 9.

The man allegedly threw stones at security forces, a charge he dismissed saying he was a voter and wrongfully accused by the army.

Untoos plea on behalf of Dar sought to know the merit of the armys decision to honour Gogoi, who is facing a court of inquiry.

The army officer was praised and pilloried in equal parts for his action, which he defended on Monday as an act that saved lives. Dar countered that the major was lying to save himself.

The Kashmir Valley, besieged by a decades-old separatist movement, reacted in anger when Gogoi was awarded the Chief of Army Staffs commendation card on Monday for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.

Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik announced on Thursday peaceful protests after on May 26 against the inhuman act.

Untoo complained to the human rights commission Gogois act is not only illegal but against the settled principles of international humanitarian law. In another complaint, he sought a restraint order against media houses were referring to Dar as a stone-pelter without evidence.

Dar of central Kashmirs Budgam district has been denying the charge, asking why would he vote that day and then join the stone-throwing crowd protesting against the democratic exercise. He said he would never vote again.

This was Untoos second petition after the one on April 19, in which he complained against the armys use of Dar as a human shield. The commission directed the government and police to reply the petition.

News reports said director general of police replied that Dar was tied with ropes to an army vehicle  keeping him under wrongful confinement and making him a human shield act.

The commission is likely to hear the case on June 5.
Mamata Banerjee to meet PM Modi, Chandrababu Naidu meets Amit Shah, Britain furious about US leaks on Manchester terror attack

Top stories now:

1- Mamata Banerjee to meet PM Modi today to raise financial crisis, Ganga erosion issues

Ahead of the Oppositions huddle to decide on a consensus candidate for the presidential poll, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi this afternoon. She is also likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi during her stay in the capital. Before leaving for Delhi, she told reporters in Kolkata, ... I will discuss the Ganga erosion problem and will ask for funds to deal with the problem of river erosion.

2- Chandrababu Naidu to meet Amit Shah tomorrow

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu will hold a luncheon meeting with BJP national president Amit Shah during his visit to Andhra Pradesh, which assumes significance considering the irritants in ties between the two parties. The meeting comes in the wake of the BJPs Telangana unit severing its ties with the TDP and the bad blood between second-rung leaders of the two parties in Andhra Pradesh, despite being partners at the Centre. The BJP president will also party workers at Vijayawada.

3- UN dismisses Pakistan claim that its observers fired at by Indians troops

The United Nations has denied that its observers came under attack from the Indian Army along the Line of Control, refuting allegations made my Pakistan on Wednesday. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Wednesday that there was no evidence of an attack on UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), according to news agency IANS. Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had alleged that a vehicle carrying UNMOGIP Majors Emmanual of the Philippines and Mirko of Croatia came under attack from India while on a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Read the story here.

4- Babri Masjid case: Court to frame additional charges against Advani, others

A special CBI court hearing the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition cases in Lucknow is to frame additional charges today against BJP leader L K Advani and other accused after the Supreme Court ordered restoring of the serious criminal conspiracy offence against them. The Supreme Court had on April 19 directed that Advani, Union Minister Uma Bharti and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi will face trial on conspiracy charges. It had transferred their case from Raebareli to Lucknow. Issuing a slew of directions, the court said additional charges will be framed under Section 120-B (conspiracy) and the other provisions of the penal code mentioned in the joint charge sheet filed by the CBI against the accused. Besides the BJP three leaders, the conspiracy charge would now be invoked against Vinay Katiar, Sadhvi Ritambara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, who were being tried at Raebareli.

5- Search continues for missing Sukhoi fighter jet, says Indian Air Force

Two days after the Indian Air Forces Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft with its two pilots went missing soon after take-off from Tezpur airbase in Assam, search and rescue operations continue but without any result and bad weather hampering the process. Till now, no breakthrough has been made in locating the aircraft and its pilots, the Indian Air Force said on Wednesday. An IAF C-130 aircraft with electro-optical payload, an Advanced Light Helicopter, and Chetak helicopters were tasked for the search operation on Wednesday.

Read the story here.

6- Pradhan Mantri replaces Indira Gandhi in govt maternity benefit scheme

The government has renamed the Matritva Sahyog Yojana-- a scheme to give Rs 6,000 to pregnant and lactating mothers for the first live birth-- as Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). This is the second time that the schemes name has been changed. When it was launched way back in 2010 it was called the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana. After coming to power in 2014, the NDA government dropped Indira Gandhi from the scheme. Since 2014, over a dozen schemes have been launched/re-launched across ministries, that have been affixed with PM.

Read the story here.

7- AAP leader Ashish Khetan moves SC, alleges death threat, demands protection

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan has approached the Supreme Court alleging he received death threats from a right-wing organisation and should be given police protection. Khetans petition claims his right to free speech and life and liberty is under threat. His complaints to the Delhi Police and even the Union home minister have allegedly gone unheard, prompting him to move the top court. The prominent AAP leader wants SC to order a court-monitored CBI probe and book those who have issued the threats to him.

Read the story here.

8- Britain furious over US leaks on Manchester suicide bombing

Furious British officials have reprimanded their US counterparts on Wednesday following repeated leaks of shared material about the investigation into the deadly Manchester terror attack. British Home Secretary Amber Rudd criticised the US Department of Homeland Security and other intelligence branches after the bombers identity and details of the probe leaked out to US media before British officials felt ready to disclose them. But shortly after the interior minister complained, The New York Times newspaper published photographs from the scene of remnants of the bomb.

Read the story here.

9- Melania Trump wears veil to meet Pope but eschewed headscarf in Saudi Arabia

Melania Trump wore a veil to the Vatican on Wednesday to meet the pope, but no head covering a few days earlier to meet the king of Saudi Arabia, a religiously conservative country where most women cover themselves up from head to toe. Why the difference? The answer is a complicated mix of personal preference, diplomatic protocol and religious dictates.

Read the story here.

10- Shame, disgust, shock: Indians react to everyday racial prejudice in the country

Hindustan Timess series Lets Talk About Racism laid bare the skin prejudice of our country: A Nigerian students account of being a black man in India; a Northeastern womans story of being called chinky; and a film actors criticism of the fairness products industry shocked and disgusted people. People wrote to us inviting Ezeugo Nnamdi Lawrence to their homes, narrating the racism they had faced because of their skin colour, and suggesting how India could be made more tolerant.

Here are some letters we got.
Fatima Bibi woke up on Tuesday worried about her family fast-depleting rations. But a few hours into the morning, the 35-year-old had a bigger concern.

Around 10am, several men had surrounded her village of Machhibhanga and started firing indiscriminately. Bullets flew everywhere  one even hit Fatima. Her neighbours said the goons abducted an elderly neighbour.

Residents in a cluster of 12 villages in Bhangar, just 30 kilometres from Kolkata, allege this was the latest in a string of violence inflicted on them by goons hired by the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Villgers say the apparent objective of the unwritten blockade is to crush protests against a government-backed power project. Most of the residents are farmers who earn from selling their produce and say the goons have cut off this source of income by attacking anyone showing up at one of two local markets.

The government and local police deny all allegations. They are telling lies. The agitators are regularly attacking our supporters. They have a huge cache of arms but they are playing with fire, said controversial Trinamool Congress leader Arabul Islam.

But locals say the goons are meant to crush the the Jomi, Jibika, Poribesh O Bastutantra Raksha Committee (JJPOBR) (Committee to protect land, livelihood, environment and ecosystem) that has opposed the project.

Retired Supreme Court judge Ashok Ganguly told HT that when he was going to Bhangar after reports of Tuesdays firing, he saw people carrying firearms guarding the main road. They had their faces covered. We were trailing a car carrying members of the committee. The toughs stopped that car and thrashed those people. We had to return, he said.

The area, comprising mostly of dirt roads, thatched-roof houses and acres upon acres of paddy fields, first grabbed headlines last year after violent protests broke out against the power project over health concerns.

Locals drove the police and Trinamool leaders out of the villages in a major embarrassment for chief minister Mamata Banerjee who herself swept to power in 2011 on the back of land agitations.

Such blockades have a long history in West Bengal. Social boycotts, extending even to things such as haircuts, were often used by the Left front to bully opponents into submission.

They had their faces covered. We were trailing a car carrying members of the committee. The toughs stopped that car and thrashed those people. We had to return

On May 12, when Kismat Ali Laskar, one of the organisers of the movement, went to Polerhat market to sell mangoes, he was thrashed and handed over to the police. He was beaten up so badly that he had to be admitted to the jail hospital.

On the same day, when Golam Mostafa went to Notunhat market, toughs took him to a ruling party office where he was apparently brutally thrashed and confined till the next day. On May 23, Arabul Mallick ventured out to Lauhati market and was picked up, again allegedly by goons.

I bought vegetables and fish about seven days ago. Now the stock is depleted but I cant go to the market as I am old and infirm. If my two sons venture to the market, they will be thrashed, said Khosdil Mollah, 73, a resident of Machhibhanga village in Bhangar.

If things go this way, well soon run out of items of our daily needs, said Mujibar Mollah, 69.

The villagers allege they cant lodge complaints with the police because of the fear of arrest.

The Bhangar agitation was seen as an embarrassment for chief minister Mamata Banerjee. (Samir Jana/HT PHOTO)

Remember that in an FIR (31/17) in Kashipur police station, there is an entry of 1,500 unknown others. Its a convenient tool to get back at the land agitators, said Alik Chakraborty, a politburo member of the small Naxalite outfit CPI(ML)((Red Star), the main force behind the villagers protests. Chakraborty, who has been evading police since January, met this correspondent at an undisclosed location.

Police, however, blames the CPI (ML) (Red Star) for obstructing the authorities. Murderous assaults have been launched on police parties whenever they have tried to enter those villages. ...JJPOBR have not got any judicial order to stop work on the power grid site but are doing that by force. ...so we have initiated necessary legal action against them, said Baruipur police super Arijit Sinha

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MUZAFFARPUR: A man strangulated his wife to death to marry another woman in Bihars Muzaffarpur district, 71 km north of state capital, Patna.

Police said the incident took place at Bhoraha village in Bochaha police station area, 25 km northeast of Muzaffarpur, late on Wednesday night.

Deputy superintendent of police (Muzaffarpur east) Muttafique Ahmad said accused Amod Mahto, 32, a truck driver by profession, had been arrested.

Ahmad said Mahto, a father of three children, was trying to flee on Thursday morning when his father and some villagers caught him and handed him over to police.

Mahtos eldest son Satyam, 8, said he and his two brothers Shivam, 5, and Sundram, 3, were witness to the crime. My father returned home at around 11pm. After dinner, he started thrashing my mother and later tied her mouth with a towel before strangling her with a rope, Satyam told police.

Bochaha police station SHO Dhananjay Sharma said Mahto had illicit relationship with two women of nearby villages. He killed his wife Suman alias Priyanka Devi, 26, to marry one of them, the station house officer (SHO) said, adding that one of the women had made a call to Mahtos cellphone when he was being interrogated.

READ| Minor girl strangled by parents in honour killing

When we received the call, the woman, presuming that Mahto was answering the phone, enquired about the killing of his wife. Later, we traced the call to Bharatpur village in neighbouring Gaighat police station area. This shows that Mahto had killed his wife in a planned manner, said Sharma.

READ| Jilted lover turns killer, strangles boyfriends 5-year-old brother to stall marriage with another girl in Bihar

Amod Mahtos father Shankar Matho said his son had returned home from duty on Wednesday night and had a quarrel with Suman. On Thursday morning, he seemed to be in a hurry to leave the house. This made me suspicious as he would normally stay at home for two or three days before returning to work. When I tried to stop him, he thrashed me and tried to flee. Meanwhile, Amods son Satyam also came out saying his father had killed his mother. So, I called some villagers, who chased Amod for more than 1 km before catching him, Shankar Mahto added.
Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India starting Friday.

Jugnauth will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The Mauritius premier, who will be in India from May 26 to 28, will address a business event and will be felicitated by the India Foundation.

This will be Jugnauths first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year.

The Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) leader will be accompanied by his deputy Ivan Collendavelloo, senior officials including the cabinet secretary and finance secretary of Mauritius.

Modi had visited the island nation in March, 2015, as Chief Guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.

During his visit, Modi commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.

The Mauritian PMs forthcoming visit to India is part of our continuing engagement with the Government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects special ties between our two countries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
A boy in Meghalayas East Jaintia Hills district was mercilessly thrashed by a mob for taking a television set and a blanket from his employer against unpaid wages, officials said on Thursday.

The incident happened on May 13 in Khliehriat but the East Jaintia Hills district police lodged a complaint on Thursday after the video of the boy being thrashed went viral on social media.

Khliehriat, the headquarters of the coal-rich East Jaintia Hills district, is 97 km southeast of Meghalaya capital Shillong.

The police also acted on a complaint filed on Thursday by the rights organisation Civil Society Womens Organisation (CSWO) to the officer in charge of Khliehriat police station demanding action against a person called Bhalang Shylla and a few others who took law into their hands.

We have begun an investigation into the incident and are searching for the people in the violent video, district superintendent of police Spill Thamar told the Hindustan Times.

Locals said the boy, a minor, had run away with his employers TV and blanket because he had not been paid a few months wages for helping out in the house. But on May 13, he came to return the TV and the blanket.

As soon as he arrived, the owner of the house called a few people in the vicinity. They tied the boy up, thrashed him with sticks and kicked him.

The incident was inhuman. It was almost as if a cow belt lynch mob was at work, CSWOs Agnes Kharshiing said, adding that her organisation sounded out the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR).

Meena Kharkongor, the chairperson of Meghalaya SCPCR, said the panel would be studying the video and take action accordingly.

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The 21-day celebration beginning May 26 is not just to mark Narendra Modis three years in power, but will also focus on BJPs expansion plans in the three states it has eyed for long  West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala.

The party will hold about 60 events to showcase Modi and his achievements in Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjees stronghold. Two chief ministers  Raghubar Das of Jharkhand and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh  6 Union ministers, 10 ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, five Lok Sabha MPs and four office bearers of the BJP will travel to West Bengal during these 21 days.

BJP could not win a single assembly seat in the 2011 assembly election and polled a 19.34 lakh votes or a 4.06% share. Propelled by what is now called a Modi wave, the party polled nearly 90 lakh votes (17.02%) in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and won two parliamentary seats. The 2016 assembly election was a disappointment for the BJP as it polled about 56 lakh votes (10.16%) and won just three assembly seats.

West Bengal remains a promise for us, a BJP general secretary said, wishing anonymity. Between the last two assembly elections, the number of votes we got has more than doubled. But we need to capitalise on our growing organisational strength.

The story is similar in Odisha, another coastal state where the BJP has limited presence. It replaced the Congress as the principal challenger to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the recent panchayat election. BJPs tally jumped 10 times in a state where Naveen Patnaik has been the chief minister since 2000.

During the third anniversary celebration, the BJP plans to take Modis achievements to every household. Those put on this job include Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, 9 Union ministers, 7 ministers from Chhattisgarh and 5 Rajya Sabha members.

Election for the Odisha assembly and Lok Sabha elections are held simultaneously. In 2014, the BJP polled 46-lakh plus votes (21.88%) for the Lok Sabha and nearly 39 lakh votes (17.99%) for the assembly. This was a jump from BJPs 2009 performance  about 27 lakh votes with a 15.05% share in the assembly.

BJP leaders say the RSS  an umbrella Hindu organisation  is quite active in Odisha, but it was the partys organisational weakness because of which it could not capitalise for political victories.

The BJP deals with a similar situation in Kerala, the southern state where it won an assembly seat for the first time in 2016 election.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and 5 Union ministers will tour the state between May 26 and June 15 to attend BJP events and make another push to increase organisations footprints there.

The day people realise we can put up a fight to Congress, it will be the end of road for Communist parties, a top BJP leader told HT.

The BJP had polled 18.5 lakh votes (10.45%) in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. It further improved in the 2016 assembly election with 21.2 lakh votes (10.53%). These two performances were a huge improvement over the partys 2011 performance: 10.5 lakh votes (6.03%).

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An advisory proposed by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will not be enough to curb cases of instantaneous divorce among members of the community, womens rights groups and religious experts have said.

During a Supreme Court hearing on the triple-talaq issue on Monday, the board submitted an affidavit stating that the advisory would be issued within a week. However, members of the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) said the boards advisory  which is addressed to the qazis (people who conduct the marriage)  does not take ground realities into consideration.

The boards advisory is not binding on any qazi. Additionally, the AIMPLB does not maintain a centralised database of qazis who are supposed to abide by its guidelines. In these circumstances, how do they expect qazis to listen to them? asked Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of the BMMA, which is spearheading the campaign to end triple talaq.

The nikahnama  or the Islamic marriage contract  usually contains the names of the bride, groom, two witnesses and meher (the obligatory gift given by the man to his bride during the ceremony). All this is read aloud separately to the man and woman before their consent is taken.

Many womens organisations, including the BMMA, say a nikahnama in this form ignores the marital rights of women within the Islamic framework.

A model nikahnama issued as a corrective measure by the All India Women Personal Law Board in 2008 had received a lukewarm response. The document included safeguards for women, including provisions to reject triple talaq and spur-of-a-moment divorces executed through phone calls or text messages.

The model nikahnama did not find many takers because it spoke of womens rights, said Niaz.

The proposed advisory of the board contains two broad elements: First, the qazi performing the marriage will advise the groom against resorting to triple talaq and, second, he will advise the bride and groom to incorporate a condition to this effect in the nikahnama.

The board will publish the advisory on its website, and run an awareness campaign aimed at educating Muslim men on the objectionable nature of the practice.

Although the boards word is not sacrosanct, it can act as an advisory body on Islamic practices. The AIMPLB is invoking a Supreme Court judgment that recognises the existence of the Darul Qaza (an Islamic court) as an advisory body. Technically, they are right, said Dr Hilal Ahmed, associate professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.

However, even AIMPLB members are sceptical of the advisorys ability to curb triple-talaq cases. Mufi Muhammad Mukarram Ahmad said penalising or jailing perpetrators of triple talaq would have worked better. Implementing the advisory will be difficult. Qazis do not belong to one umbrella body, he added.

A Faizur Rahman, secretary general of the Chennai-based Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought, called the advisory proposal a face-saving move by the AIMPLB. The qazi may advise the groom to not pronounce instant divorce (talaq-e-bida) in haste, but such a warning will be ineffective because the board clearly says triple talaq is legally valid. Exhorting people against talaq-e-bida while upholding its legal validity make no sense, he said, calling for complete invalidation of the practice.

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Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumars decision to skip a meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday has raised questions over Opposition unity ahead of the presidential elections.

Nitish Kumarji will not attend the meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhiji due to prior engagements. Our senior leader, Sharad Yadav, will represent the party instead, JD(U) national spokesperson KC Tyagi said.

The meeting was called to reach a consensus on the Opposition candidate for the presidential election, expected to be held before July 25.

Kumar, incidentally, was one of the first Opposition leaders to meet the Congress president on the issue of fielding a joint candidate for the Presidents post.

Tyagi dismissed suggestions of disunity among non-NDA parties. Nothing should be read into Nitish Kumars decision. We are the pioneers of this unity move. The JD(U) is being represented by Sharad Yadav, so where is the problem? he asked.

The spokesperson pointed out that Kumar was one of the first leaders to talk about forming a grand alliance among Opposition parties, and he had sought a similar arrangement for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. He is mooting the same for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls too, Tyagi said.

Insisting that Kumars absence from the meeting should not be read as a setback to the Oppositions efforts at uniting, he said all non-NDA leaders  including the Bihar chief minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad  will assemble in Chennai for the birthday celebrations of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. This will be the first big meeting of leaders in the south since 1988, Tyagi said.

Kumar had earlier met Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, DMK MP Kanimozhi and Left leaders in this regard.

Party insiders feel that the primary reason for Kumars likely absence from the meet could be the presence of Lalu Prasad, with whom the JD(U) is sharing an uneasy alliance in Bihar. Recent exposes on Prasads corruption cases may also be another deterrent. This is the reason why the JD(U) is yet to make a clear stand on participating in Lalus proposed rally in Patna in August. Let us wait and see what happens by then, said a party leader.

Moreover, Prasad is averse to Kumars idea of propping Pranab Mukherjee as President for a second term.

Some believe the Bihar chief minister may be staying away from the meeting in view of questions being raised over his pullout from the Uttar Pradesh poll scene and the JD(U)s dismal performance in the Delhi civic polls. He has also faced criticism over his prime ministerial ambitions.

A senior JD(U) leader said Kumar is aware that bringing warring parties such as Trinamool Congress-Left and BSP-SP onto one platform would be a herculean task.

BJP leaders in Patna termed Yadavs deputation for the meeting as an eyewash because he holds no clout in the party. This is the JD(U)s internal matter. The chief minister might be busy. But Nitishs non-participation shows that the whole exercise of Opposition unity is superficial, said senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

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Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

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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

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Pakistan on Thursday condemned the honouring of an Indian Army officer who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as human shield.

Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing here.

The international community, particularly, the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added.

Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chiefs commendation card for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.

Zakaria accused India of perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement of Indian prisoner on death row Kulbushan Jadhav confirms it.

Talking about the International Court of Justice ruling in the Jadhav case, he said Pakistan is preparing for the next hearing of the case.

Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implement UNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self determination.

On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it would bring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistan and China. He said several countries have expressed desire to join the project.
A young Indian woman, who said she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gun point, returned on Thursday after a court in the neighbouring country facilitated her journey back home.

The plight of Uzma Ahmad, in her early 20s, had drawn countrywide sympathy and the Indian government had vowed to bring her back.

Her return also showed rare bonhomie between the warring neighbours with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj thanking the Pakistani establishment and judiciary.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj greets Uzma Ahmed, who returned from Pakistan. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Accompanied by Indian High Commission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel, she crossed into India through the Wagah border crossing near Amritsar.

Its easy to go to Pakistan, but tough to return. Pakistan is a well of death. Even those who go there after arrange marriages are crying, a tearful Uzma told reporters in New Delhi.

They (in-laws) have tortured me in many ways, threatened to kidnap my daughter. So I agreed to marry him to save my daughter. He used to beat me up. Because of my daughter I signed it, they scared me so much that I signed, Uzma said at the joint press conference with Swaraj.

Read| Indian national Uzma, forced to marry in Pakistan, returns home; welcome back, says Sushma Swaraj

Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia -- a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

Uzma, who hails from Delhi, had taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Uzma Ahmed, who returned from Pakistan, hugs her girl ahead of her meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Thursday. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Her husband, Tahir Ali, petitioned the court saying she was being forcibly kept at the high commission and that the marriage was not under coercion.

A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the pleas and after hearing their arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.

Uzma Ahmed, who returned from Pakistan, hugs her mother during a meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj while her brother and her girl look on in New Delhi on Thursday. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

She has said she was forced to marry Tahir at gunpoint. The two reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love.

Uzma reached Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Tahir on May 3.

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the high court and she can return to pursue the case.

Swaraj, who described the woman as Indias daughter, said she felt sorry for all that you have gone through.

Swaraj said despite the tension between the two neighbours, the Pakistan foreign office and the home ministry played a key role in her return.

She said while the counsel treated Uzma as his child, the judge dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations as some people wanted him to.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Germany, Spain, Russia and France during a Europe trip between May 29 and June 3.

A look at what is on the Prime Ministers schedule in each of the countries:

Germany

Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, will host the Prime Minister at her official Meseberg Country Retreat on May 29 where they will discuss issues of mutual interest. The two will hold the 4th India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations [IGC] the next day.

Modi and Merkel will jointly addressing a business meeting with top CEOs from both countries. Later in the day, Modi will make a courtesy call on President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

India and Germany enjoy a strategic partnership and Berlin has been a key partner in the sphere of technology and as a fellow G-4 member (Japan, Brazil and India are others in the grouping). German investments and participation of Deutsch companies in Make in India. Germany will bring up the signing of Bilateral Investment Treaty, which ensures protection of investments, in the meeting.

Spain

Modi will leave Germany for Spain late on May 30. He will meet President of Spain Mariano Rajoy and discuss bilateral and other issues of mutual interest. As part of the programme, Prime Minister will be calling on King Felipe VI of Spain. He will also have a round-table interaction with leading Spanish business leaders keen to invest in India.

Russia

Prime Minister will be in Russia on June 1 and 2. He will be part of the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit in St Petersburg on June 1, with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. It is the first time the annual summit will be held in Russia outside Moscow. After the summit, Modi will participate, also for the first time, in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 2, 2017 as the guest of honour. Russia was the first country with which India instituted annual summits. The two sides are working overtime to sign framework agreement for Kudankulam reactors 5 and 6. Defence cooperation, counter-terrorism, situation in Afghanistan, energy cooperation are main areas of discussions.

France

PM Modi will visit France on June 2 and 3. He will hold talks with President Emmanuel Macron on June 3 and discuss issues of mutual interest to further strengthen India-France strategic ties. Modi is among the first foreign guests for the Macron, who took office on May 14. Nuclear cooperation, terrorism, and greater participation of French companies in India are among topics of discussion between the two leaders.

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Nalini Murugan, who was convicted for her role in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, has moved the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) urging the global body to apply pressure on the government of India to release her from prison.

Murugan was arrested days after Gandhi was killed by a woman suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the former Sri Lankan militant organisation, in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991, and has been in jail since then.

Twenty-six people were convicted in 1998 for their roles in planning and carrying out the murder.

In the petition sent to the UNHRC high commissioner in Geneva in Switzerland, Murugan has alleged she has suffered discrimination at the hands of the Indian government as well as the state government of Tamil Nadu for more than 16 years since I had become eligible to be released from prison as early as in 2001.

I have been denied the benefit of early release from prison, which is available to all life convicts in the country, only on the ground that I was convicted in the case of assassination of Rajiv Gandhi  I have not been considered for early release from prison only on political grounds, not on legal grounds, Murugan said in the petition sent through her lawyers.

She has moved the Madras high court several times demanding her release but the state government has opposed her pleas, saying she has to spend her life in jail. A life sentence is usually for 14 years.

Even Gopal Vinayak Godse, a conspirator in Mahatma Gandhi assassination case, was released from prison in 1965, she said.

Murugans death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2000 after Congress president and Gandhis wife Sonia Gandhi requested the then president KR Narayanan in November 1999 for leniency.

The former prime ministers daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Murugan at the Vellore Central Prison for Women in March 2008.

The Supreme Court commuted the death sentences for three of the seven convicts in the case to life sentences in 2014, paving the way for their release since they spent more than 20 years in jail. The other four convicts were already serving life sentences.

The seven convicts were V Sriharan alias Murugan, AG Perarivalan, T Suthendraraja alias Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini.

The Tamil Nadu governments move to free all the seven accused in the case was stalled by the SC after the Centre filed a petition with the top court arguing that the state did not have the power to free the ethnic Tamil convicts. The court blocked the chief minister from releasing three of them until the case was resolved.

In 2016, the Centre once again rejected the proposal of the Tamil Nadu government to release the convicts in the case.
Haryana may have been in the spotlight for the increasing number of crimes against women in the state, but on the flip side it is also dealing with another peculiar problemthat of false cases being filed by women.

Earlier this month, a Rohtak court sentenced a woman to seven years in jail for a false gangrape complaint against her husband. Now, a Rewari court has taken strict view of women using false rape complaints as modus operandi for settling personal scores. The court had recently directed complaints against four women in separate cases, where their versions of rape complaints fell flat during police investigation and court trials.

Case 1: False case against 70-year-old man

In the first case, a Rewari village woman had filed a complaint against a 70-year-old man in October 2016, allegedly that he had been raping her six-year-old daughter. The police had registered a case and arrested the man. However, during the investigation and court trial, it was found that the woman had filed a false case against the 70-year-old man over an old personal enmity. Taking serious note that the woman tried using her six-year-old daughter to settle her personal motives, the court of additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Phalit Sharma has ordered to put the woman on trial under Section 211 (false charge of offence made with intent to injure) of the Indian Penal Code.

Case 2: Kidnapping case filed after minor runs away from home

In yet another case, a Model Town area resident woman had on August 28, 2015 submitted a complaint against unknown for kidnapping and raping her minor daughter. The police, after registering a case, recovered the victim from Haridwar and conducted her medical test. During her statement before magistrate, the minor girl said she had deliberately run away from her house. The minor girl had even refused to go back to her home citing danger to her life from her mother. Taking her version into account, the court has now directed a complaint against the minor girls mother under Section 211 of the IPC.

Case 3: False gang-rape case to settle personal enmity

On February 9, 2015, a woman had lodged a complaint at Rampura police station in the district against four men for kidnapping and gang-raping her on January 1 earlier in the year. However, the court found all the allegations made by the woman against the four youths to be false and only to settle an old enmity against them. After acquitting the youths, the court of ADJM Phalit Sharma has now directed that a complaint under section 211 of the IPC be made against the woman.

Case 4: Abduction, rape claim falls flat during trial

Similarly, in another such complaint, the court of ADJM Phalit Sharma has directed a complaint under section 211 of the IPC against a Rajasthan woman, who had on July 29 filed a false complaint of kidnap and gang-rape against two Rewari-based men at Bawal police station. The woman had alleged she was abducted from Rewaris Banipur Chowk on July 9 by two men, who gang-raped her. However, her version was found false during police investigation and court trial.

Rewari SP Sangeeta Kalia said the recent decisions of the court were clear indications that such false cases will be dealt with extreme strictness. The police and judiciary are both taking serious view of these false complaints. Section 211 of the IPC ensures that false complainants are appropriately fined and punished, she said.

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A senior police officer suspended on Thursday over deadly caste clashes in Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur was previously held responsible for the 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar by a judicial committee.

Subhash Chandra Dubey, suspended as Saharanpurs senior superintendent of police, headed in 2013 the district police in Muzaffanagar, the epicentre for communal clashes that left more than 60 people dead.

So far as Subhash Chandra Dubey is concerned, I have already held that the government of UP has prime facie found him responsible for riots; pending inquiry has suspended him and I am in agreement with the view of government of UP, said the report by Vishnu Kant Sahai.

Sahai is a former Allahabad high court judge who was tasked to investigate the 2013 clashes in Western UP and the role of administration officials.

Dubey was appointed Saharanpurs senior superintendent of police  the head of police for a district  by the Yogi Adityanath government in April.

Saharanpur has been tense since May 5 when members of Rajput and Dalit communities clashed over loud music being played during a procession to commemorate the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap.

Two people have died, scores injured and many houses have been burnt down in the tension that has flared in sporadic instances of rioting and arson.

The Sahai commission was scathing in its criticism of Dubeys role during the 2013 violence.

After thoroughly scrutinising the role of 40 senior officers, Sahai wrote in his report, I have come to the conclusion that excepting Subhash Chandra Dubey, all the aforesaid named officers made a strenuous attempt and took effective measures (in fact the effort of some was exemplary) to control communal riots.

The former judge was responding to second and third terms of reference  instructions from the government  to identify officials and the roles they played in the episode. The government was at the time headed by Samajwadi Partys Akhilesh Yadav.

A former bureaucrat said on Thursday that Dubeys posting suggests chief minister Yogi Adityanath may not be getting correct advice . This may be because of division of bureaucracy on political lines in the past few years, said Surya Pratap Singh, who has held a number of positions in the state governments bureaucracy.

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The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn internet services in violence-hit Saharanpur in a bid to crack down on rumours and fake news on social media and other websites fuelling caste clashes.

The western UP town has been rocked by clashes between Dalit and Thakur communities for weeks now, and local authorities say the anger is being fanned by rumours and messages on platforms such as WhatsApp.

The instant messaging app has been in the news before. In 2013, police held messages sent on WhatsApp responsible for inciting the Muzaffarnagar riots that killed 60 people and displaced thousands.

Just last week, a message circulated on WhatsApp spooked Jharkhand villagers, mostly unsuspecting tribals, into believing that their children may be targeted by abduction gangs. The result: Seven people were lynched in 24 hours over the rumours.

Why is the instant messaging app that is used by 160 million people  India is its largest market  facing such charges? The answer lies in its design that makes monitoring of such messages nearly impossible.

WhatsApp groups are known to have been used to reach thousands of people, especially in rural areas where traditional media is non-existent.

Facebook, WhatsApps parent company, has faced much flak for not curbing the circulation of fake news. On its part, Facebook has now said it will try to flag questionable news stories with the help of users and external fact checkers to cope with this problem.

But the instant messaging app poses similar challenges in a particularly intractable form. WhatsApp offers a particularly private medium of communication, something many people like about it. A case currently being heard at the Supreme Court of India concerns the protection of this very quality  while WhatsApp would like to allow Facebook to access its user data, a PIL contends that this move would be a violation of privacy.

The same factors of WhatsApps design that protect its users also make it difficult or impossible to study many aspects of communication on the platform. Even as anecdotal evidence piles up that WhatsApp is being used to distribute fake news, then, it remains hard to know just what is happening or what can be done in response.

Facebook vs WhatsApp

The differences between WhatsApp and Facebook dictate the ways people share news on each platform. Facebook is a social platform where people express their concerns, react, and build perceptions based on an individuals posts, says Anoop Mishra, a digital marketing and social media consultant. However, on WhatsApp, which is an end-to-end messaging platform, people share content in a more personal and closed way.

It is because the primary mode of sharing on instant messaging apps is one-to-one, as opposed to the one-to-many relationship on Facebook, that the former feels more personal. This personal quality of most of the content shared directly or on small groups via WhatsApp carries with it the implicit endorsement of people you know. Given that the app is now a large and growing part of peoples lives on mobile devices, the way it influences news consumption demands more attention. Lack of content moderation and privacy controls gives WhatsApp an edge over Facebook for sharing any type of multimedia content, says Mishra.

For instance, to get your friends attention on Facebook, you need to tag them. Not every post by every friend shows up on your news feed; what you see is dictated by an algorithm. WhatsApp has a big advantage here since it works like a text message. You know that your message will be received by everyone you send it to.

A black hole for content

There is no non-anecdotal way to track the spread of content on WhatsApp. Facebook, for instance, is compatible with analytics tools capable of determining that a particular news report has been shared 7,000 times, say, or viewed 20,000 times.

Such analysis is not feasible with WhatsApp, which offers no way to mine social media data to understand the patterns, trends, or reach of any given message. Even its original source is completely opaque. What is true of particular texts also applies to the total sum of activity on WhatsApp: it is impossible to determine what kinds of messages the public is sharing most, what sorts of conditions people are sharing these messages in, or where in the world they are spreading.

Surpassing one billion

WhatsApp arrived in India at the beginning of the decade. At that time, chat apps were generally considered to be interchangeable with text messages. Today theyre widely understood to support sharing of all forms of multimedia content  photos, videos, audio files and even text documents.

Simplicity is one of WhatsApps signature virtues. All you need to do is download it: the programme automatically scans your phone book and links up with your contacts who are also users. Crucially, you dont even need a password. According to Guide to Chat Apps, a report by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, the requirement of a password is a significant barrier to entry for many people in emerging markets when it comes to other apps and social media platforms.

In February 2016, WhatsApp crossed the one billion mark for active users worldwide. India is its largest market, with about 160 million active users.

WhatsApping the news

WhatsApps reach and growing role in the consumption of photos and videos has prompted media companies to take it seriously as a distribution channel. A report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism highlights the increasing adoption of new social networks among young people and the growing importance of recommendations as a gateway to news. The digital generation expects the news to come to them, says the reports author journalist Nic Newman in a press release. Young people rarely go directly to a mainstream news website anymore.

But unlike apps like WeChat and Snapchat, which are gaining currency among millennials, WhatsApp hasnt positioned itself as a media distribution platform. Media organisations have been experimenting nonetheless. For instance, the BBC ran pilots on WhatsApp and WeChat for the Indian elections in 2014. Users subscribed to the BBC news service on WhatsApp by adding a number to their contacts and sending a request message to join. They were then put on a broadcast list that sent them up to three updates a day in Hindi and English. Many media outlets, including ours, now have a WhatsApp sharing icon on their mobile websites.

For all its susceptibility to the dissemination of fake news, WhatsApp presents unique challenges to the mass sharing of content, just as it does for the mass tracking of it. It has no official application program interface (API), the service which allows programmers to build applications that automate the functions of a platform. An official WhatsApp API release could spawn an entirely new industry of startups, in much the same way that the release of Twitters API did, says the Tow Center report. Except this time, it could be even bigger, given WhatsApps near-billion account user base. Reaching out to a wider audience on WhatsApp  with either fake or authentic news  needs to be performed manually, via broadcast lists, which allow you to send the same message to many people at once, and groups.

State of control

Fake news might lead only to harmless speculation or minor inconvenience, as it did with rumours about a microchip embedded in a Rs 2,000 note, or it could be dangerous, as was the case during the Muzaffarnagar riots. Pranesh Prakash, a policy director at the Centre for Internet and Society, a research and advocacy group focused on digital technology, believes that social media rumours gain potency after the imposition of censorship, under which people begin to wonder what the government is trying to conceal. There is no way rumours can be completely quelled, he says, but the state can act against rumours through clear communication that calls out particular rumours, and tells people not to believe them.

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Two days after the Indian Air Forces Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft with its two pilots went missing soon after take-off from Tezpur airbase in Assam, search and rescue operations continue but without any result and bad weather hampering the process.

Till now, no breakthrough has been made in locating the aircraft and its pilots, the Indian Air Force said on Wednesday.

An IAF C-130 aircraft with electro-optical payload, an Advanced Light Helicopter, and Chetak helicopters were tasked for the search operation on Wednesday. Su-30 aircraft with recce capability are also being utilised for locating the missing aircraft, the air force said.

Apart from the aerial assets, four ground teams of IAF personnel, nine of the Indian Army and two of state administration were deployed on different axis to scour the area.

Marginal weather prevailing in the area being searched is hampering and impeding the operation, an IAF statement said.

China, meanwhile, said it has no information about the missing Indian Air Force jet and warned India not to disturb peace in the border area while searching for it.

The Su-30 jet with two pilots on board took off from the IAF Tezpur air base, located about 172 km from India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh around 9.30 a.m. on a routine training mission.

It lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station around 11.10 a.m. near Arunachal Pradeshs Doulasang area, an area adjoining China, 60 km north of Tezpur.

Tezpur is one of the three IAF air bases in the country that host the Sukhois.

Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang on Wednesday said in Beijing that he had no relevant information on the missing jet.

First of all, on the eastern section of the China-India border, our position is consistent and clear. We have been following the situation in South Tibet very closely. We hope India can stick to arrangements between two sides and avoid disturbing peace and stability in border areas, Lu said.

Beijing claims parts of Arunachal Pradesh in Indias northeast as South Tibet.

Last year, a Sukhoi-30MKI crashed near Nagaon town of Assam during a routine sortie. While the two pilots ejected safely, some locals suffered splinter injuries in the crash.
The administration in Saharanpur blames the Bhim Army for the May 9 violence in the district, alleging that it misused social media to mobilise Dalits youths in their campaign against alleged discrimination by government officials.

But Dalits in the villages rocked by caste violence hail the Bhim Army whose leader Chandrashekhar has emerged as their new savior.

During his visit to the violence-hit villages, new district magistrate Pramod Kumar Pandey said that the Bhim Army was on the administrations radar, though he refused to disclose the possible action against the organisation.

The administrations allegation that the Bhim Army was responsible for triggering the May 9 violence cuts no ice with the community members who say the administrations charges are false and baseless.

Speaking the HT, Anita and Sushila of Shabbirpur asked: How can a person or organisation, who we always find by our side in times of happiness and grief, be anti-social?

Anita claims that volunteers of the Bhim Army took care of the injured Dalits in hospitals and provided food for families whose houses and shops were allegedly burnt by Thakurs.

Sanjay, a labourer, said Bhim Army cadres were in regular contact with the victims families to help them get financial assistance from the state government by processing the required documents.

In neighbouring Chandpur village where Dalits were ambushed on Wednesday evening, Sompal, a Dalit, proudly announced: We are all part of Bhim Army and a group of his clansmen, sitting on a cot under a neem tree, nodded in support of his declaration.

In a clear indication of the Bhim Armys influence among Dalits, three villagers - Sompal, Kashmir and Mamchand said that many elderly persons have directed youngsters to collect donations for the organisation.

All of them believe that the clan must come forward to help those who have dedicated themselves for their welfare.

It was the Bhim Army volunteers who fought with force for respect and honour of Dalits and now they are facing high handedness of the administration, Kashmir told HT.

Majority of the Dalits believe that the successful protest rally organized by the Bhim Army at Jantar Mantar in Delhi this week compelled BSP chief Mayawati to come and meet victims of caste violence.

BSP supported us for our votes but the Bhim Armys founder Chandrashekher had so far done selfless service for Dalits. They also run schools in Dalit bastis for education of our children and their service for the clan has brought them closer to the Dalits in the region, Kashmir said.

Many in the community believe that the caste violence would cast an adverse impact on Dalit politics of BJP, which apparently managed to garner sizeable votes of the so-called backward castes in its favour in the assembly elections.
A spring thunder over India is how the Peoples Daily in China described the Naxalbari movement, which began in a small north Bengal village and spread like wildfire all over the state and beyond.

Over the next decade, hundreds of people died in bloody clashes, and the movement spread west and south, morphing into present-day Maoist militancy. But the history and motivation of one of Indias most potent insurgencies extend far back into the past. In 1948, 2,500 villages organised into communes as part of a peasant movement known as Telangana Struggle, demanding that Indian revolution follow the Chinese path of protracted peoples war. Here are key dates in the Naxal movement.

THE 1960s: WHEN THE MOVEMENT BEGAN

1964

CPI (Marxist) splits from united Communist Party of India and decides to participate in elections, postponing armed struggle.

1965-66

Communist leader Charu Majumdar writes articles based on Marx-Lenin-Mao thought, later known as Historic Eight Documents that form the ideological base of the movement. First civil liberties organisation is formed with Telugu poet Sri Sri as president following mass arrests of Communists during the 1962 Indo-China war.

February 25, 1967

CPI (M) participates in elections and forms a coalition United Front government in West Bengal with Bangla Congress and as Ajoy Mukherjee as CM. This leads to schism in the party with younger cadres, including the visionary Charu Majumdar, accusing CPI (M) of betraying the revolution.

May 24, 1967

A tribal man is attacked in the north Bengal village of Naxalbari near the Nepal border by goons of the landlord, and prevented from ploughing his land. In the ensuing clashes, a policeman is killed.

May 25, 1967

Police open fire on protesting villagers at a nearby village, killing 11 of them. Massive protests and strikes follow.

The Hindustan Times front page on June 6, 1967, headlines the growing troubles in Naxalbari.

July-November 1967

The fire of the peasant movement spreads across the region, even far-flung places such as in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, where whole sections of the CPI (M) join the struggle. Revolutionary communist publications Liberation, Deshbrati (Bengali) and Lokyudh (Hindi) start publication.

November 12-13, 1967

Members of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal meet and set up the All India Coordination Committee of Revolutionaries (AICCR) in the CPI (M).

December, 1967

Centre takes serious note of escalating violence as scores of people injured in clashes in the Bengal countryside. Cracks appear between the West Bengal government and the CPI (M).

February 1968

Presidents Rule imposed in West Bengal after government is dismissed.

February, 1969

West Bengal police launch a campaign against Naxalites across the state, arresting hundreds of peasants, tribals and students. Fresh elections are held. CPI (M) is single-largest party but Bangla Congress and CPI form coalition government with Ajoy Mukherjee as chief minister.

April 22, 1969

As per the AICCCRs February decision, a new party CPI (ML) is launched on the birth anniversary of Lenin. Charu Majumdar elected as secretary of Central Organising Committee. AICCR dissolves itself.

May 1, 1969

Kanu Sanyal declares the formation of a new party in Calcutta (Kolkata now). CPI (M) tries to disrupt the meeting resulting in armed clash between CPI (M) and CPI (ML) cadre for the first time. Ensuing clashes leave 200 injured.

May 26-27, 1969

Police kill Panchadri Krishnamurty and six other revolutionaries during a crackdown on Srikakulam peasant uprising in Andhra Pradesh.

October 20, 1969

Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) formed under Kanhai Chatterjees leadership. It supports Naxalbari struggle but doesnt join CPI (ML).

March 16, 1970 : Ajoy Mukherjee resigns as chief minister. West Bengal comes under Presidents Rule.

THE 1970s:

The front page of Hindustan Times, dated November 1, 1970 leads with the crackdown on Naxalites.

May 11, 1970 : The first CPI (ML) congress is held in Calcutta under strict underground conditions. Charu Majumdar is elected the party general secretary.

July 10, 1970: Vempatapu Satyanarayana and Adibatla Kailasam, leaders of the Srikakulam uprising, are killed in police encounter during the crackdown. Appu, founder of CPI (ML) in Tamil Nadu, is also killed around September-October. The Srikakulam movement continues in Andhra Pradesh till 1975 but loses steam.

August, 1970: Leading lights of literary world of Telugu like Sri Sri, Varavara Rao, C Vijaylakshmi and others form Revolutionary Writers Association (RWA). Artistes from Hyderabad inspired by Srikakulam struggle and the songs of Subharao Panigrahi form a group -- Art Lovers - comprising the famous film producer Narasinga Rao and the now legendary Gaddar.

January, 1971: First signs of strain appear in CPI(ML). Charu Mazumdar expelled.

March 1971: Fresh elections see CPI (M) as the single-largest party in West Bengal. But Congress and others cobble together a short-lived coalition government.

August 1971: Saroj Dutta, CPI(ML) politburo member, is killed by police. Days later, a massive operation kills scores of party members in the outskirts of Calcutta and throws hundreds behind bars across the state.

March 1972: Congress returns with big majority in violence-marred assembly polls in West Bengal. SS Ray is the chief minister.

July 1972: Charu Majumdar is arrested in Calcutta on July 16. He dies in Kolkatas Lal Bazar police lock-up on July 28. CPI (ML)s central authority collapses.

July 28, 1974: The Central Organising Committee of CPI (ML) reconstituted at Durgapur meeting in West Bengal. Comrade Jauhar (Subrata Dutt) elected general secretary and renames organization as CPI (ML) Liberation.

1975: Emergency is declared in India on June 25 and state forces crack down on ultra-leftists. The Naxal movement, on its last legs in Bengal, forced to take a tactical line but fights increasing factionalism.

1976: CPI (ML) holds its second Congress on February 26-27 in the countryside of Gaya, in Bihar. It resolves to continue with armed guerilla struggles and work for an anti-Congress United Front. But Jayprakash Narayans anti-Congress movement gaining increasing traction across the country.

1977: Amidst an upsurge of ultra-leftists armed actions and mass activism, CPI (ML) decides to launch a rectification campaign. The party organisation spreads to AP and Kerala. Emergency lifted. CPI(M) sweeps to power in West Bengal.

Photo of Charu Mazumdar at CPI(M-L) Liberations tiny Siliguri office. (Indranil Bhoumik/Mint)

1978: Rectification movements (CPI ML and fragments) reins in military outlook and stresses mass peasant struggles to Indianise the Marxism-Leninism and Maoist thought. Party strengthens in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. CPI (ML) (Unity Organisation) is formed in Bihar. A peasant organisation - the Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti (MKSS) is formed.

1980: Kondapalli Seetharamaiah forms the Peoples War Group in Andhra Pradesh. He discards total annihilation of class enemies as the only form of struggle and stresses on floating mass organisations.

THE 1980s

May, 1980: Mass peasant movement spreads in central Bihar.

1981: CPI (ML) organises a unity meet of 13 Marxist-Leninist factions in a bid to form a single formation, but the move fails.

1984: CPI (ML) and other revolutionaries try to woo Sikhs towards joining peasant movement following Operation Bluestar in June and countrywide anti-Sikh riots after Indira Gandhis assassination.

1986: More than a dozen landless labourers are killed in police firing at Arwal in Jehanabad district of Bihar.

1989: More than a dozen left supporters are shot dead by landlords in Ara Lok Sabha constituency of Bhojpur district in Bihar on the eve of polls. CPI (ML) (Liberation) records its first electoral victory under Indian Peoples Front banner. Ara sends the first Naxalite member to Parliament.

1990: Radical left groups notch up poll victories in several states. All India Students Association (AISA) is launched at Allahabad. Andhra Pradesh lifts all curbs on Naxal groups.

CRPF jawans in Nagpur carry the coffin of Head Constable Premdas Mendhe, who was among the 25 soldiers killed in a Maoist ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on April 24. (PTI)

THE 1990s

1992: Andhra Pradesh bans Peoples War Group

1999: Naxalites launch major strikes. CPI (ML) PW kills six in Jehanabad on February 14. MCC kills 34 upper-caste in Senai village of Jehanabad. Three top PWG leaders killed in Andhra Pradesh. PWG hacks to death Madhya Pradesh transport minister Likhiram Kavre.

2000: PWG blows up a Madhya Pradesh police vehicle, killing 23 cops.

THE 2000s

2001: Naxalite groups all over South Asia form a coordination committee. As per intelligence reports, MCC and PWG establish links with LTTE, Nepali Maoists and Pakistans Inter-Service Intelligence to receive arms and training.

2004: PWG and MCC fuse to form Communist Party of India (Maoist)

2005: Maoists kill 7 policemen, a civilian and injured many more in Karnataka. Later that year, they carry out a spectacular strike in Jehanabad in Bihar and free 250 of their men.

2006: Maoists kill 25 people in Chhattisgarh, free 40 prisoners in Odisha, and kill 29 people in Dantewada of Chhattisgarh. In December, insurgents blow up 14 policemen in Bokaro.

2007: Maoist shoot dead MP Sunil Mahato. They also kill a Congress leader in Andhra Pradesh. In March, 54 people are dead during an encounter in Bastar with security forces. Former Jharkand CM Babulal Marandis son Anup and 17 others were killed in a Naxal attack at the Chilkhadia village in Giridh district of Jharkhand.

2008: Centre announces Rs 5,500 crore highway project to link remote areas in 33 districts that have an active Maoist presence.

2009: Operation Green Hunt comprising 50,000 soldiers to target leftist rebels begins after a series of Maoist attacks in Odisha, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh .

2010: Maoists kill 75 CRPF personnel in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. 26 jawans are killed in an ambush in Narayanpur district. 24 more die in separate attacks in West Bengal. Worst year in terms of Maoist casualties.

2011: At least six separate attacks mostly focused in Chhattisgarh kill nearly 30 police and paramilitary personnel.

2012: Maoists kill six paramilitary personnel in Bihars Gaya. Civilians killed in landmine blast in Bijapur.

2013: Maoists kill 25 leaders of the Congress, including former state minister Mahendra Karma, in the Darbha valley in Chhattisgarh.

2017: Maoists attack road-opening party and kill 12 CRPF men in Sukma. A month later, almost-identical ambush kills 25 more paramilitary personnel.

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The United Nations has denied that its observers came under attack from the Indian Army along the Line of Control, refuting allegations made my Pakistan on Wednesday.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Wednesday that there was no evidence of an attack on UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), according to news agency IANS.

Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had alleged that a vehicle carrying UNMOGIP Majors Emmanual of the Philippines and Mirko of Croatia came under attack from India while on a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

This afternoon in Bhimber District in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, UNMOGIP military observers accompanied by Pakistani army escorts heard gunshots, Dujarric said. There is no evidence that the UNMOGIP military observers were targeted by the gunfire.

No UN military observer was injured, he added.

Pakistans ISPR had claimed in statement that: Indian troops committed unprovoked ceasefire violation and targeted the UNMOGIP vehicle along LOC in Khanjar sector, despite the UNMOGIPs blue flag being hoisted on the vehicle as per procedure.

It coincided with reports in Pakistani media that the countrys air force jets flew sorties close to the Siachen region in India.

India said no airspace violations had taken place.

Wednesdays statements point to stronger posturing from across the border after a string of provocations that threaten fragile ties between the two countries.

India recently scored a significant diplomatic victory when the International Court of Justice ordered Pakistan to ensure Kulbhushan Jadhav is not executed till the time it hears out Indias appeal to it. New Delhi moved the world court accusing Pakistan of conducting a farcical trial against Jadhav, an Indian citizen.

The ruling triggered discomfort in Pakistan, with many there questioning the legal teams tactics.
Indian national Uzma Ahmed, who had alleged she was forced to marry a Pakistani at gun point, returned home through the Attari border amid tight security arrangements.

Ahmed, who was allowed to return to India by a Pakistani court on Wednesday, was brought back by officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. She did not speak to the media.

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through, tweets External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/H9sTacwtZn  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Ahmed,in her early twenties, told the court she was forced to marry Tahir Ali, a resident of Buner in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, at gun point after she went to Pakistan to meet him.

Very happy to hear that Uzma is back, but dont know when she will be back in Delhi, since her flight is delayed, Uzmas brother Wasim Ahmed told ANI.

Sushma Swarajji always kept us updated on Uzma,made me speak to her once. The Indian government thoroughly helped us,want to thank the external affairs ministry, said Wasim.

During Wednesdays hearing, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani asked Ahmed if she wanted to meet her husband in the chamber but she refused the offer, saying she did not want to talk to him.

The court assured Ahmed she was free to return to India and would be escorted to the Wagah border with police security.

In her para-wise comments, Ahmed reiterated through her lawyer that she had been terribly beatentortured physically and mentally and forced to sign on the nikahnama by Ali.

She reiterated her allegation that she had been given sleeping pills by Ali, who sexually assaulted her after he received her at the Wagah land border.

Ali had sought courts intervention to meet Ahmed in a free atmosphere, claiming that she had recorded her statement before a magistrate against him under duress and pressure from her brother and officials of the Indian mission.

Ahmed and Ali reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love, after which she travelled to Pakistan on May 1 via Wagah.

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From internet services withdrawn from tense Saharanpur to suicide bombers kill policemen in Jakarta to Kashmirs political parties condemning army major in the human shield row. Here are the top stories to bring you up to date:

1- Saharanpur violence: DM and senior cop suspended, internet services withdrawn over Dalit-Thakur clashes

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday withdrew internet services in Saharanpur and suspended the district magistrate and police chief as it grappled to contain caste clashes that have killed two people and injured scores since May 5. Two men were shot at in different places during the day and another person was assaulted by unidentified people. Officials said chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of district magistrate NP Singh and senior superintendent of police SC Dubey for their failure to contain the clashes. PK Pandey was appointed as the new DM, Bablu Kumar will take charge as the district police chief.

Read the story here.

2- Indonesia: Two suspected suicide bombers kill three police officers in Jakarta

Two suspected suicide bombers killed three Indonesian police officers and injured 10 people on Wednesday night in twin blasts near a bus station in the eastern part of the capital, police said. The blasts went off five minutes apart at Jakartas Kampung Melayu terminal, police said. National Police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said three officers had been killed, and that examination of the scene had shown that there appeared to have been two suicide bombers, not one as originally thought.

Read the story here.

3- Uncertainty over Class 12 results continues: CBSE likely to challenge HC order on moderation policy in Supreme Court

The announcement of CBSEs Class 12 exam results could be delayed as the board will challenge a Delhi high court order asking it to continue with a marking policy that it decided to nix last month. The countrys biggest school board decided on Wednesday to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the high court verdict. The results are expected between 25-27 May but the boards appeal in the top court is unlikely to be filed before Saturday, sources said. Read the story here.

4- Union Cabinet scraps investment board to speed up foreign capital flows

The Union cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to scrap the decades-old Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which will facilitate easier capital inflows into India, finance minister Arun Jaitley said. After liberalisation of the FDI regime, about 90% of the foreign investments are coming through the automatic route, Jaitley said at a media briefing. Only 11 sectors now require approval through the FIPB, he said. The FIPB, which is now part of the finance ministry, is manned by senior officials from various ministries.

Read the story here.

5- Army free to take decisions in Jammu and Kashmir: Arun Jaitley

Army officers are free to take decisions in a war-like zone, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday, referring to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after the Army went public

on fire assaults on Pakistani posts along the LoC. Well, military solutions are to be provided by military officers. How a situation is to be dealt with when you are in a war-like zone... we should allow our army officers to take a decision. They dont have to consult members of Parliament as to what they should do under such circumstances, he said.

Read the story here.

6- 350 Indian fishermen convicted by Pakistan court, to be repatriated

A Pakistani court has sentenced 350 Indian fishermen for fishing inside the countrys territorial waters after they entered a guilty plea and ordered their repatriation, according to a media report. The court took a lenient view and convicted the fishermen for a period they have already spent in detention and also directed the jail authorities to approach the department concerned to make arrangements for their repatriation.

Read the story here.

7- Human shield row: Kashmir parties condemn Army majors defence in a single voice

All the major mainstream and separatist political organisations in Kashmir, including the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have condemned Army major Leetul Gogois defence for using a Kashmir resident as a human shield against stone pelters last month. State education minister Altaf Bukhari said Gogois act was condemnable. The womens wing of the National Conference took out a protest rally in Srinagar against rewarding Gogoi for his unconscionable act of using Dar as a human shield. Separatist leaders also condemned Gogois action.

Read the story here.

8- Rethink CBI probe into highways scam or well rethink projects: Gadkari to Uttarakhand

Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari cautioned last month that he might be forced to re-examine all new projects in Uttarakhand if the state government led by Trivendra Singh Rawat doesnt reconsider its order for a CBI probe into a national highways scam. For his part, Rawat said on Tuesday his government will not withdraw the decision. The conflicting stands of the BJP-led Union and state governments could disrupt and delay highway projects in Uttarakhand.

Read the story here.

9- Prachanda resigns as Nepal Prime Minister while addressing nation on TV

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, the Maoist rebel-turned-politician, resigned as Nepal Prime Minister on Wednesday, paving the way for Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to form the next government as per their agreement last year. Prachanda, 62, who led a decade-long insurgency before entering politics, announced his resignation during a televised address. For the time being, Prachanda will lead a caretaker government till 70-year-old Deuba gets parliament approval to form the new administration, which will be the 25th in 27 years.

Read the story here.

10- Manchester attacker Salman Abedis father, brother arrested in Libya

The father and the younger brother of the suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert venue in Manchester have been arrested in Tripoli, a spokesman for a local counter-terrorism force said on Wednesday. The counter-terrorism force detained the father, Ramadan Abedi, outside his home in the Tripoli suburb of Ayn Zara on Wednesday afternoon. A witness said he was handcuffed by armed men who drove him away in two unmarked vehicles.

Read the story here.

11- If you want to lessen your chances of getting cancer, better cut down on belly fat

Besides high body mass index (BMI), individuals with increased belly fat may be at a greater risk of developing cancer, including of the breast and bowel, especially in older adults, researchers have warned. Being overweight or obese is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking.

Read the story here.
The Congress has launched a protest against the Rajasthan government for not starting relief works in 2,100 drought-hit villages in Barmer district.

A party delegation led by district unit president Fateh Khan met Barmer collector Shiv Prasad Nakate on Thursday to demand relief activities within next three days.

The Congress also warned that it would launch a massive protest if relief activities not be started.

Delegation comprising former MP and Congress national secretary Harish Choudhary, district council head Priyanka Meghwal, MLA Mevaram Jain and district vice president YD Joshi also gave a memorandum to the collector.

Congress leaders alleged that despite declaring 2,478 of total 2,727 villages in the district as scarcity hit about four months ago, the state government has not started relief activities till date.

They alleged that due to the state governments negligence cattle have started dying. Apart from this, people are facing severe drinking water problem.

Congress leaders said due to lack of rain as this there was no Kharif crop due to which people are also facing crunch of fodder for the cattle.

Congress leaders said despite this worst situation government is not taking stock of situation and sat over the disaster management fund.

They alleged that excluding MGNREGA works government had not started any other relief activity in affected areas. They claimed that those who have completed 100 days in MGNREGA are now helpless and have started migrating for the jobs.

The Congress demanded that considering the pathetic situation in the affected areas government should start the relief activities including cattle camp at the earliest.

They also demanded repairing of roads constructed under PMGSY in 2010. Apart from this delegation members also demanded to direct the officials at agriculture department to ensure all the preparation for the upcoming monsoon period while ensuring proper management for distribution of seeds and fertilizer to the farmers.

In December last year, the state government declared 13 districts including Barmer and Jaisalmer as scarcity hit.

Following which a proposal was accepted for providing relief through disaster management and relief department as per norms.

For the past three years, Barmer villages were declared scarcity hit and the maximum number of villages, which were declared scarcity hit this year, are in Barmer.
The high rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on hotels will have an adverse impact on the flow of foreign tourists to Rajasthan, tourism industry experts have said.

Under the new GST regime, hotels that charge over 5,000 a night have come under the highest tax bracket of 28%. In addition, tour operators have to pay 5% tax for bookings made under tour packages.

Rajasthan accounts for about 12 lakh foreign tourists every year, which is a large chunk of the total number of foreigners who visit the country.

Post GST, we will lose our competitiveness in the region and the tourists will prefer other destinations like Sri Lanka and Singapore, Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators president Khalid Khan told HT. Taxes have been hiked from 18% to 28% and after including taxes on tour packages, it comes to be 33%, which is a steep hike from the earlier 23%, he said.

In Rajasthan, there are a number of heritage and luxury properties that charge more than 5,000 per night. Khan said that in the October-December season, there are hardly any good hotels that charge less than 5,000 per night.

It (higher taxes) will kill the tourism sector, Indian Heritage Hotels Association general secretary Randhir Vikram Singh said. Its a price sensitive sector and now tourists will prefer other destinations such as Sri Lanka and Maldives, he said.

The new tax slab will also raise the bills in restaurants that have air conditioning and serve alcohol.

The hotel industry now plans to approach the Union government to urge it to reconsider the move. We will approach the government through IATO (Indian Association of Tour Operators) and hope that the government will understand our plight, he said.

For India, charging 28% tax is just not globally competitive when nations like France charge 5.5%, Singh said.

As per industry figures, the tourism sector employs nearly 37 million people directly and indirectly and generates an annual revenue of about 14 lakh crore.

The GST council has pegged GST for AC eateries and those with a liquor licence at 18%, non-air-conditioned restaurants at 12%, hotels charging room rentals between 1,000 and 2,500 at 12%, 2,500 and 5,000 at 18% and above 5,000 at 28%.

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Hundreds of BJP workers led by their state and central leaders clashed with the police, set a jeep on fire and damaged vehicles on Thursday as the partys Lalbazar agitation ended in chaos on Brabourne Road, Bentinck Road, Phears Lane and Bowbazar Street. The police used lathi and teargas to disperse the crowds.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and more than a hundred BJP supporters were injured. Vijayvargiya, Ghosh, Mahila Morcha president Roopa Ganguly and several others were arrested.

Read: Police fire tear gas shells, use water cannons and wield lathis to control Left agitators in Kolkata

Though the police cracked down after the agitators set a jeep on fire and lobbed loud bombs, the men in uniform appeared less marauding than they were on May 22, when the CPI(M) led a much bigger crowd towards Nabanna, the state secretariat. Also, journalists covering Thursdays agitation, did not find themselves at the receiving end of police lathis.

Lathis rained on Thursday but to a lesser degree than on Monday during the Left agitation. (Samir Jana/HT PHOTO)

Incidentally, chief minister Mamata Banerjee was in a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi when the BJP-police showdown went live on television. There is no issue to agitate about. The CPI(M) and BJP are competing each other for the second position in Bengal politics. They attacked the police first, said Banerjee, emerging from the meeting, and showed photos and videos stored in her phone as evidence. Till a few days ago, both parties were reduced to mere signboards. Today, they are practising goondaism, she said.

A petrol bomb was hurled at the police without provocation. Property of metro rail was vandalised at Central station. More than 20 police personnel were injured. A total of 141 persons were arrested, said Supratim Sarkar, joint commissioner (HQ), Kolkata Police.

Among those arrested were BJP leaders such as Dilip Ghosh, Rahul Sinha, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Roopa Ganguly.

On Thursday, the police used a strategy that left BJP supporters clueless and made the task of mob dispersal easy. Using areal drones, they quickly identified the location of top BJP leaders and whisked them away much before the large processions could come close to Lalbazar. With the leaders in police custody, the followers didnt know what to do. The police chased them away.

Read: TMC in a fix over rise of BJPs aggressive Hindutva in Bengal

The only place where a couple of tear gas shells were lobbed and water cannon used was Brabourne Road where BJP activists led Dilip Ghosh had to be stopped. A couple of loud bombs were also hurled, allegedly by the BJP activists. Police arrested Ghosh. BJP leaders however claimed that the bombs, which apparently had no splinters, were hurled by outsiders.

Water cannons were liberally used on the agitators. (Samir Jana/HT PHOTO)

The procession at B B Ganguly Street was led by Vijayvargiya while at Bentink Street, former state president Rahul Sinha and Roopa Ganguly steered the agitation. However, all three were arrested before the processions could reach the barricades. Frustrated, BJP supporters set a police vehicle on fire and smashed the windows of some other vehicles on B B Ganguly Street.

Read: Make more noise than the Left: Mantra of Bengal BJP leaders before Thursdays agitation

The overall normalcy around Dalhousie Square was evident from the fact that almost all the shops including three gun shops had their shutters open. We even sold a couple of guns today while the agitation was on, said a shop owners.

The BJP does not believe in violence and hence the credit for less bloodshed goes to the party. Whatever happened was because of the unprovoked attack on our supporters by the police, said Dilip Ghosh.

CPI(M) politburo member Mohammad Salim alleged the agitation was entirely staged. BJP organised an agitation in Kolkata while Mamata Banerjee met Modi in Delhi. This exposes the dichotomy on both sides, he said.

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Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) that recently won the seventh election it fought in Darjeeling hills riding piggyback on the demand for Gorkhaland has come under pressure from Jan Andolan Party (JAP) to prove its sincerity towards the demand for a separate state for the Gorkhas.

On Wednesday, the youth wing of JAP started indefinite hunger strike in Kalimpong asking for clarifications from the GJM on the moves it has taken to achieve a separate sate.

Read: Bengal civic polls: TMC wins four civic bodies, GJM-BJP alliance bags three

Led by former GJM MLA, Harka Bhadur Chettri, JAP unsuccessfully contested the recently held municipal elections in Darjeeling hills. Of the four municipalities, GJM retained Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong while Trinamool Congress managed to win in Mirik. JAP managed to win only two of the 23 wards in Kalimpong, its home turf, while in other municipalities it drew a blank.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung will increasingly come under pressure from the hill parties to demonstrate his sincerity about Gorkhaland. (HT Photo)

However, JAP has announced that it is not focussed on an election or two and strive for the realisation of the dream of Gorkhaland. GJM has always been in the news for its demand for creation of Gorkhaland, while opposition parties maintain that it has always used the sentimental and emotional issue only to cling to power.

The Bimal Gurung-led party also turned the May 14 municipal election as a Gorkhaland versus Bengal fight and managed to win three municipalities in what was easily the toughest election it faced since its formation in 2007.

JAP now wants the GJM leaders to be answerable to people and issue a white paper on what moves it has taken so far to achieve Gorkhaland. Six members of youth wing of JAP on Wednesday started indefinite hunger strike at Kalimpongs Trikon Park asking the GJM to make the status of Gorkhaland demand public.

Read: Losing ground to Trinamool, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha raises Gorkhaland issue before Modi, NDA partners

GJM has so far won seven elections -- two parliamentary, two assembly, two municipal and one Gorkhaland Territorial Administration -- using Gorkhaland their poll plank. Now GJM leaders have to answer the people about the position of Gorkhaland, said Amir Basnet, the secretary of JAP youth wing.

Trinamool supporters celebrating their performance in the civic polls in the hills. The growing popularity of Mamata Banerjees party may put more pressure on GJM leaders to cling to the issue of Gorkhaland. (HT Photo)

The JAP demands GJM to sever all its ties with Bengal and put pressure on Lok Sabha MP from Darjeeling S S Ahluwalia to raise the issue of Gorkhaland in Parliament. The JAP youths will withdraw their hunger strike only after GJM gives a satisfactory reply, said Basnet.

JAP also demands a clarification from the GJM about the assurances given by the NDA government on Gorkhaland. It also wants to know about the number of leaders of national parties the GJM leaders met and discussed the issue of a separate state.

The GJM is an alliance partner of the BJP which won the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections from Darjeeling with the morchas support.

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Nearly 8,000 students from Lucknow University (LU) will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi in International Yoga Day celebrations to be organised at Ramabai Rally Sthal in Lucknow on June 21.

A grand event is being planned for the PM in which 51,000 participants, including students, NCC and NSS cadets and scouts will participate.

A meeting of principals of colleges was organised at LUs Malviya Hall on Wednesday. LU vice-chancellor Prof SP Singh presided over the meeting. He said colleges had been advised to send at least two busloads of participants each. One full bus means 50 participants. The government will provide one bus for every 50 participants. They will be picked up and dropped back also, he said.

The LU V-C said all participants will be trained by yoga experts. One trainer will be available at the proposed site for each group of 50 participants. A rehearsal will be conducted on June 19 and every participant will be provided with a T-shirt for Yoga Day.

Participants are required to fill up a registration form available with colleges as well as on the LU website. Colleges will submit hard copies of forms to the university NSS coordinator Rakesh Dwivedi by May 26. In addition, the participants list will have to be e-mailed to dr.rakeshdwivedi@gmail.com

LU spokesperson Prof NK Pandey said, All participants of International Yoga Day as well as the participating colleges will receive certificates. Colleges that show maximum cooperation and participation will be awarded by the Lucknow University and also by the state unit of NSS.

Around 5,000 students of City Montessori School will perform yoga with PM Narendra Modi on the forthcoming third International Yoga Day. Students are enthusiastically practising yoga these days. Daily camps are being organised on CMS campuses and yoga trainers have also been roped in.

As part of the celebrations, a 72-member team of CMS students will also perform yoga at the United Nations headquarters in New York. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres will attend the programme. CMS students also visited the UN headquarters in 2015 to perform yoga, accompanied by union minister Sushma Swaraj and spiritual guru Ravi Shankar. The then United Nations secretary general Ban ki-Moon also took part in the celebrations.

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Puzzled over the cause of death, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the mysterious death of 2007 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, Anurag Tiwari ,36, is unable to reach any conclusion after a week-long investigation.

Anurag Tiwari was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the middle of the road near the state guest house on Meera Bai Marg in Lucknow on May 17.

He was staying in the same guest house along with UP cadre IAS batch mate Prabhu Narain Singh, who is presently posted as vice chairman of Lucknow Development Authority, for three days before the incident.

An SIT member said the panel of four doctors mentioned asphyxia (suffocation caused due to lack of oxygen in the body) as the cause of death. We have discussed the post-mortem examination report with several experts but they have been unable to differentiate whether the officer died due to a medical complexity or was murdered, he said .

He said an expert explained that the term asphyxia indicated a mode of dying, rather than a cause of death. He said asphyxia was a condition caused by respiration blockage, or lack of oxygen in inhaled air, due to which the body organs were deprived of oxygen and failed to eliminate carbon dioxide, causing unconsciousness or death.

The SIT member said according to the expert, asphyxia alone did not suggest the death was a homicide case. Strangulation marks or sufficient injuries caused due to smothering may only confirm that the deceased was murdered. Moreover, the findings mentioned in the post-mortem report did not suggest any marks or injuries confirming smothering, he added.

An expert said the air passages of the body could be blocked mechanically by five different methods but in case of murder only two ways were applicable. He said the first was the closure of external respiratory organs like nose and mouth with hand or a cloth or by filling the openings with mud. The second method was the closure of air passages by external pressure on the neck, as in hanging, strangulation, and throttling.

The expert said there were also toxic reasons of asphyxia like use of poisonous element to prevent intake of oxygen. He said respiratory organs may be paralyzed in poisoning by opium, barbiturates, strychnine etc. Moreover, there are also modes of postural asphyxia and it is seen when an unconscious person, either from alcohol, drugs or disease, lay upside down,  he explained. He said there were also pathological, environmental and traumatic modes of asphyxia but they were irrelevant in the case.

Circle officer (CO) of Hazratganj, Avinish Mishra, who is heading the SIT team, said the team would record the statement of four doctors in the post-mortem panel soon to clarify the facts. He said the team was collecting all the facts and details before jumping to a final conclusion.

The Yogi Adityanath government has recommended CBI probe in the case after Tiwaris family alleged foul play and lodged a case of murder with Hazratganj police station on May 22. The SIT is probing the matter till the CBI takes over.

Read more: IAS officer Anurag Tiwaris family says his honesty proved to be his nemesis
Two men beat a 24-year-old to death for allegedly stealing their mobile phone at Saki Naka in Andheri in Mumbai on Tuesday morning.

According to the Saki Naka police, the incident took place on Tuesday around 5am.

Danish Shaikh, 22, and Firoz Shaikh, 37, accused Amarkumar Gupta, 24, of stealing Danishs phone. The fight turned ugly and they started to beat Gupta, said police.

Gupta allegedly told them he had thrown the mobile phone near Mithi River. The duo then took him to the spot in an autorickshaw to fetch the mobile phone, where Gupta collapsed.

Scared, the duo fled.

Gupta was rushed to Rajawadi hospital, where he was declared dead on admission.

The accused were produced before a magistrate court and sent to police custody till May 29.

Read more: Mumbai: 2 children paraded naked for stealing snack worth Rs 2
To counter the Opposition and ally Shiv Senas attacks on the agrarian crisis, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started its Shivar Samvad (dialogue with farmers) initiative on Thursday.

The four-day programme to reach out to farmers will see around 4,000 BJP leaders and public representatives, including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, visit 43,000 villages in Maharashtra. At every village, leaders will hold small public meetings to discuss policies rolled out by the Centre and the state to alleviate the farm crisis.

The campaign is BJPs answer to the Oppositions Sangharsh Yatra, a state-wide campaign demanding a farm loan waiver from the Fadnavis government. The Shiv Sena recently joined the bandwagon by launching its Shiv Sampark Abhiyan to reach out to farmers and the more belligerent Mee Karjamukt Honar (I will be loan-free) campaign to push its ally-turned-rival on the backfoot.

On Thursday, the plan was to visit nearly 5,400 villages. Fadnavis made a start with villages in Nilanga taluka in Latur district of Marathwada, while state party president Raosaheb Danve began the campaign from the tribal-dominated Nandurbar district in north Maharashtra.

Besides highlighting our efforts, we will also compare our policies in the past three years with the Congress-NCPs 15-year rule. The idea is to sit with farmers and reach out to the last mile, said state labour minister Sambhaji Nilangekar Patil, one of the young party leaders who along with another BJP MLA Sanjay Kute is credited with the idea of the campaign.

All our ministers and legislators are in the field today connecting with farmers in small gatherings. The nature of this massive communication campaign is not political. It is more of an informal gathering. The Opposition is trying to create an atmosphere that rural areas are disconnected from the BJP but thats patently false, said party spokesperson Keshav Upadhyay.

Fadnavis, who visited Halgara village in Nilanga taluka in Latur on Thursday as a part of the campaign, offered shramadan (gift of labour) with the farmers here.

For the last 50 days, villagers here have successfully been working for water conservation through shramadan. I contributed too. Its inspiring how Halgara has become tanker free, he said, referring to water crisis in parts of Maharashtra, including Marathwada, where the government deployed tankers.

Fadnavis also addressed villagers and then left for Mumbai when his helicopter met with an accident.

Amit Shah likely to review BJPs preparedness for polls

BJP president Amit Shah is expected to visit Maharashtra post June 15 for three days

He will review partys preparedness for the 2019 Assembly polls

The party president will hold separate meetings with ministers, legislators, party functionaries and even meet some booth level workers

His proposed visit comes in the backdrop of ongoing speculation over early polls in the state

The BJP has started preparing for the polls as its ally Shiv Sena has been targeting it consistently

A season for rural outreach:

The BJPs campaign, Shivar Samvad, to address farmers grievances will be held from May 25 to May 28

4,000 party leaders, including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and functionaries will hold meetings in villages across the state

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) along with smaller political parties have been demanding a farm loan waiver under a campaign, Sangharsh Yatra, since March

The fourth phase of the Sangarsh rally concluded recently

The Shiv Sena launched Shiv Sampark Abhiyan campaign earlier this month to help farmers get credit and better prices for their produce

Sena legislators and ministers will reach out to farmers

The party has also launched the agitation Mee Karjamukta honar (I will become loan-free) which will see its leaders and workers campaign in rural areas.

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Shyam Jha , a 38-year-old man driving a Mercedes , was arrested for allegedly killing a pedestrian by running him over and speeding away without rendering help in Santacruz (East) on Wednesday night.

According to the Vakola police, the incident took place at around 9.15 pm on the north-bound stretch of the Western Express Highway near Hanuman temple in Santacruz (East).

The victim identified as Salim, who was from Hyderabad, was homeless and slept on streets. Salims friend Ashok Babar, 42, who filed the complaint, was near the accident spot when the incident occurred. Babar told cops that he heard a loud thud and rushed to see what had happened. He said Salim was lying on the ground and the white Mercedes was speeding away towards Andheri. Jha, who was driving a businessmans car, was caught at the next signal by traffic police.

Babar told cops that Salim was going to get food when the car knocked him down. While the passersby called the police, Babar took Salim to VN Desai hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Police are still trying to trace Salims kin as none have come forward so far.

Jha was booked under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC and Sections 184 and 134 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Despite all the excitement surrounding the Tejas Express maiden journey, the train came back with fewer headphones, damaged infotainment screens and waste .strewn all over. While chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his team had a close call when a helicopter carrying them crash-landed soon after it took off from a helipad in Latur, two men died, while six others were injured after three vehicles collided on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Wardha district, home to Mahatma Gandhis ashram, topped the list of places in Maharashtra from where massive amounts of illicit brew were seized during the first-ever such crackdown. Also, a Golden Jackal was rescued from the mangrove forest in Vikhroli, and taken to Sanjay Gandhi National Park for medical treatment.

Here are todays top five picks:

1. Tejas Express 1st Mumbai-Goa trip: Passengers steal headphones, damage screens

Although the first trip of Tejas Express, high-speed train from Mumbai to Goa, started amid much fanfare, the train came back with fewer headphones, damaged infotainment screens and waste strewn all over. The train was flagged off from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on Monday and returned from Goa on Tuesday. Although the railway officials had anticipated such things, the extent of damage has left them shocked. They now plan to appeal to passengers to avoid damaging the train.

2. Two dead, six injured as three vehicles collide on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Two men died, while six others were injured after three vehicles collided on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Thursday morning. The accident took place near Kamshet around 75km from Pune around 4.30am. According to the police, a trailer going towards Pune from Mumbai hit an SUV from the rear. Both the vehicles got pushed out of their lanes and hit another car which was moving in the same direction.

3. Watch: Maharashtra CMs helicopter crash-lands, Devendra Fadnavis safe

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and three others escaped unhurt after a helicopter carrying them crash-landed soon after it took off from a helipad at Nilanga in Latur district of central Maharashtra. The CM had gone to Latur to participate in BJPs farmer outreach programme, with principal secretary Pravin Pardeshi and staff Abimanyu Pawar and Ketan Pathak.

The chopper that crash-landed. (HT)

4. Golden Jackal rescued in Mumbai, sent to Sanjay Gandhi National Park for treatment

An injured golden jackal, which was chased into a residential area in Vikhroli by dogs on Wednesday evening, was rescued and sent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Borivli, for medical treatment. According to wildlife rescuers from Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), which saved the animal, the sub adult male jackal was separated from its pack inside the mangrove forests in Vikhroli.

5. Liquor prohibited in Wardha, home to Gandhis ashram. 15 lakh litres of hooch seized

Dry Wardha, a district in Maharashtra that is home to Gandhijis famous Sevagram, is overflowing with liquor. Nearly five decades after Maharashtra imposed a blanket ban on the production, sale and distribution of alcohol in Wardha owing to its historical links to Mahatma Gandhi, the district topped the list of places in Maharashtra from where massive amounts of illicit brew were seized during the first-ever such crackdown.
The Mumbai civic body plans to file an affidavit in the Bombay high court, stating that hawkers on Fashion Street presented the court with false information. The move comes after the high court restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from demolishing or taking any action against stalls along the famous lane in south Mumbai. The BMC will also ask the court to lift the stay order.

The BMC had sent a notice cancelling the licences of 51 shops at Fashion Street for violating various license conditions. According to the BMC, the vendors have violated three norms  the person in whose name the shop has been licensed is never at the spot, the bamboo shoots and iron rods put up by the vendors restrict pedestrian movement on MG Road and the shops are selling commodities other than those they are licensed to sell

Responding to the civic bodys claims, shop owners had claimed that they were not violating any license conditions. We had received a reply from stall holders, who said they had not extended the stalls and were carrying out their work in a canopy area. They added that the footpath was wide enough and was not restricting the movement of pedestrians. The BMC had never given them permission to construct a canopy. This means that the shopkeepers are violating the conditions on which their licences were granted, said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner.

The shopkeepers claim that the BMC refused to listen to them is false. Shopkeepers were given enough time to rectify the breaches, he added.

The BMC will submit the affidavit in the high court on Friday. The ward had also issued show-cause notices to the same vendors in January. It had given them a 24-hour deadline to fix the violations. The 394 stalls on MG Road, opposite the Bombay Gymkhana are famous as part of the areas shopping hub and are frequented by tourists.

Read

BMC to cancel licences of 51 shopkeepers at Mumbais famous Fashion Street

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One of the two children, who were stripped and paraded naked for allegedly stealing chaklis worth Re1 from an Ulhasnagar shop, told a counsellor that he had tried to pay the shopkeeper the amount but he refused to take it and later assaulted them.

The counsellor said the kid told her he had tried to pay Re1 to main accused Mehmood Pathan,69, but they were still assaulted as they used to play and make noise in the area. A police officer from Hill Line police station said, The children have told a counsellor that they had offered Mehmood Re1. They also said they were stripped, beaten up, forced to wear a garland of shoes and paraded naked because whenever they used to play in the vicinity, Mehmood used to scold them for making noise. The children also told the councillor that Mehmood had warned them many times to not play near his shop but they couldnt find any other place in the space-crunched slum area.

On Saturday, the two children, aged eight and nine years, were not only beaten up, stripped and paraded naked, but were also forced to do 100 sit-ups and eat chaklis. The Hill Line police arrested three accused  Mehmood Pathan,69, and his two sons Irfan, 25, and Tavakkal,20, who are in police custody till May 26.

After the Maharashtra Commission for Protection of Child Rights intervened, relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and Juvenile Justice Act were also added against the three accused. There are many people who are coming ahead to help the family of the children, added the officer.

Meenal Thakore, the chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, said, With the Juvenile Justice Act added in the case, the accused can be sentenced to three years imprisonment and asked to pay Rs1 lakh to each child. They can also be ordered to deposit Rs1 lakh on each childs name which would be given to the kids after a specific time period.

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Dry Wardha, a district in Maharashtra that is home to Gandhijis famous Sevagram, is overflowing with liquor.

Nearly five decades after Maharashtra imposed a blanket ban on the production, sale and distribution of alcohol in Wardha owing to its historical links to Mahatma Gandhi, the district topped the list of places in Maharashtra from where massive amounts of illicit brew were seized during the first-ever such crackdown.

The Maharashtra police and the state excise department seized more than 15 lakh litres of illicit liquor worth Rs101 crore from Wardha last month. The volume accounts for more than half of the 30.35 lakh litres of illicit liquor confiscated from 35 districts during the month-long drive, which did not include Mumbai. Illicit liquor includes illegally sold (and smuggled) Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) as well as country liquor brewed illegally.

As many as 9,889 people were arrested during the drive and a record 12,598 cases registered.

Wardha reported the maximum number of cases registered - 1,297. As many as 531 people were arrested. The most arrests were made in neighbouring Chandrapur, which went dry a couple of years ago - 659. More than 66,000 litres of illicit liquor was seized. Osmanabad came second, with as much as 6.41 lakh litres of alcohol seized.

Solapur (rural)  traditionally known for its endemic hooch production  was low in the list of amount of alcohol seized. Here, 11,237 litres of alcohol was confiscated, however, as many as 509 were held.

Wardhas superintendent of police (SP), Nirmala Arjun, told HT that the large volume of liquor seized was a direct result of the prohibition law, which led to alcohol being smuggled from neighbouring districts or being brewed by tribals.

We cannot seal our borders or prevent people from travelling to neighbouring districts where alcohol is sold. People surreptitiously carry four to five bottles. It is not possible to check each person, she said.

Despite reports of several organised smuggling syndicates operating across the district, police denied having knowledge of these gangs. Liquor is not being smuggled on a large scale. No syndicates are involved. The problem is caused by small-scale smuggling carried out by individuals and locally brewed hooch, she added. The drive helped us identify cracks and we are taking steps to fix them, she said.

Meanwhile, the additional director general of police (AdDP) Bipin Bihari said the crackdown was planned soon after the Supreme Courts order to ban liquor shops along highways in March. Earlier, the raids were patchy and did not cover all districts. This time, we decided to launch raids across state by collaborating with the excise department which regulates liquor, he said.

The state intelligence department (SID) collected information about places where the trade or production was ongoing and the individuals conducting the business. In a large number of cases, we found agents of liquor shops in villages and small towns. They would keep small stocks and sell those at high prices, while a well-organised delivery system ensured quick supply after a phone call was made, he added. The information was passed on to local police stations.

Most of those arrested were booked under the Bombay Prohibition Act of 1951 and Section 110 (8) of CrPC. The licenses of liquor shops engaged in illegal trade have been revoked while externment proceedings under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous (activities) Act (MPDA) is being initiated against repeat offenders, Bihari said. He added that inspector generals of police have been asked to closely monitor the situation in districts where more than 150 cases have been registered.
While chief minister Devendra Fadnavis escaped unhurt in a helicopter accident at Latur district on Thursday afternoon, experts stand divided on what might have caused the incident.

The aircraft was not old and had been flown for only 1,300 hours after its manufacture. Some experts suspect that it was a technical snag as it could not move upward while others claimed that the heat coupled with a full passenger capacity of six people on board may have caused the helicopter to malfunction.

The damage is so serious that the helicopter may not be repaired, said a senior official not wanting to be named. (Ht photo)

After taking off, the helicopter could not gain height but could move forward. Realising the problem, the pilot decided to land it when its blades got entangled with electricity wires and it crashed down. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an inquiry in to the incident

The Sikorsky S-76C++, that was carrying the chief minister and three other officials along with two pilots, was bought in December 2011 at for Rs55 crore and was put into use since January.

Sources said that the crash severely damaged the helicopter. The damage is so serious that the helicopter may not be repaired, said a senior official not wanting to be named. A DGCA team from Delhi has also left for Latur to find out the exact cause of the incident, he added.

Captain Sanjay Karve, one of the pilots of the helicopter said that a variable air pressure or a fluctuation in the flow of wind caused the accident. (HT)

Uday Gelli, an aviation expert and president (western region) Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI), said that from what he understood from the visuals from the incident, the helicopter was unable to gain height.

Normally, after take-off as the helicopter starts going forward, it gains height. What was surprising, in this case was that the helicopter moved forward but did not gain much height, said Gelli.

This could be because of two reasons: either the engines were not developing enough power to pull the chopper up or the helicopter did not get enough thrust in the hot weather to pull up its weight. Not all helicopters are adapted to hot climates. Some perform well in the heat, others dont, he added.

Meanwhile, captain Sanjay Karve, one of the pilots of the helicopter said that a variable air pressure or a fluctuation in the flow of wind caused the accident.

The aircraft started coming down due to variable air pressure, we applied more power but there were electricity wires in our path. To avoid getting entangled in them, we tried to land but by then the blades had gotten entwined with the wires and we crashed down, said Karve.

The blades of the helicopter had gotten entangled with the electric wires. (HT)

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Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and three others escaped unhurt after a helicopter carrying them crash-landed soon after it took off from a helipad at Nilanga in Latur district of central Maharashtra.

The CM had gone to Latur to participate in BJPs farmer outreach programme, with principal secretary Pravin Pardeshi and staff Abimanyu Pawar and Ketan Pathak.

TV clips show the helicopter crash-landed near a slum like area at Nilanga close to the helipad from where it took off. An ST bus in the vicinity got damaged. The pilot decided on an emergency landing within 2 minutes of take-off. The helicopter didnt crash-land, but got caught in wires while landing. We experienced sudden jerks, but no one suffered any injury. The CM has called for a detailed probe into the incident, said Ketan Pathak, officer on special-duty (OSD) with the CMO.

The chopper is owned by Maharashtra government. I will now go to Latur and from there to Mumbai. I am fine, nothing to worry, said Fadnavis.

He also released a video to tell citizens he is safe. Watch

Fadnavis also tweeted about the incident, saying, There is nothing to worry.

Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok.

Nothing to worry.  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 25, 2017

The DGCA released a statement about the incident:  Maharashtra Govt Sikorsky helicopter VT-CMM took off from Nilanda SE of Latur at 1200 hrs. There were 06 persons on board, including 2 crew members. Honble CM of Maharashtra was also on board. After take-off, pilot found variable wind pattern. Pilot decided to land back. During landing, the helicopter got entangled in wires. The helicopter has sustained substantial damage. All six persons are safe and escaped unhurt. Spoke to commander of the flight as well as Honble CM. Both informed well being of all occupants.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray called up Fadnavis in Latur to inquire about his health and safety. Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao also called Fadnavis.

Thackeray and Fadnavis are known to share a good rapport. For the past two years, they have established a direct dialogue to sort out problems within the coalition. But since the bitter campaigning in the Mumbai civic polls their relations have been strained. More recently, Thackeray has been directly taking on Fadnavis by criticising his pet policies and projects.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also tweeted about the incident.

Thanks be to God that @Dev_Fadnavis and his team members are safe after the helicopter accident. Wish him well  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 25, 2017

Fadnavis was in Latur for the Shivar Sawad initiative, which aims at reaching out to farmers across 43,000 villages. The BJPs farmer outreach is a bid to counter Opposition as well ally the Shiv Senas consistent attacks that the state governments handling of the agrarian crisis is shoddy.

Fadnavis, just before leaving for Mumbai, had a dialogue with villagers from Halgara village in Nilanga taluka of Latur. The village has been successfully working for water conservation for the past 50 days through volunteering.
Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan is in controversy after reports that he attended the wedding reception of a relative of gangster Dawood Ibrahim in Nashik on May 19.

Mahajan is the minister for water conservation and medical education as well as the guardian minister of Nashik district.

Mahajan told HT he was unaware that the brides family was related to Dawood. I attended the wedding on an invitation from the grooms uncle, Shahar Khateeb, who is a religious leader in Nashik, and participates in various medical camps organised by the health department, Mahajan said.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked the Nashik police chief to submit a report. I have already told Nashik police commissioner to send a report on the matter, Fadnavis told HT.

The controversy started after a Marathi news channel IBN Lokmat started showing clips of the wedding reception on Wednesday.

The incident has caused embarrassment to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, as Mahajan is considered his close aide. According to reports, the bride is Dawood Ibrahims wifes niece.

Along with Mahajan, three BJP MLAs, Nashik mayor Ranjana Bhanasi and 8 police officers also attended the wedding. Mahajan said he wont name people, but leaders across political parties attended the ceremony. The minister said he had asked the chief minister to conduct a probe into the matter to let the truth come out.

Read more: HT Exclusive: Dawood hunt renewed with Mumbai cops securing non-bailable warrant
A 22-year-old was arrested by the forest department on Thursday for carrying out stunts with snakes in Panvel, near Mumbai.

Ajay Powar would catch snakes and do stunts with them, take pictures and post them on social networking sites. He has been warned by officials several times, especially after being bitten by a cobra in October last year.

The man still carried on with his antics, despite warnings.

On April 28, a complaint was filed with the forest department at Panvel range and a team was formed to trace Ajay.

The man had escaped death once after a snake that he was trying to kiss as part of the stunt bit him on his lips. He was produced in court on Thursday and remanded in police custody till May 30.

Kunal Salunkhe,35, secretary of Organisation for wildlife studies (OWLS) from Alibaug, said,  We have been looking for him after the incident, in which he was bitten. We met him many times and tried to make him see that this was dangerous but he never bothered. Finally, we wrote to forest officials to take the incident seriously.

Others get encouraged to do such things if offenders are not stopped. We warned him that serious action will be taken but it fell on deaf ears  added Salunkhe.

Sunil Limaye, chief conservator of forests, said, Very few follow the rules. Smuggling snakes in the name of rescuing them and putting pictures up on social networking sites is wrong.

The forest department will soon issue a list of dos and donts to help rescuers. We have warned snake catchers that they will be booked if they hunt instead of rescuing snakes, said range forest officer Shivaji Thakre.

READ MORE

US man tries to kiss rattlesnake; gets bitten on tongue

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A 21-year-old man, who allegedly killed his mother in Mumbai and drew a smiley with her blood near the body, was arrested on Thursday from Rajasthans Jodhpur city, police said.

Siddhant Ganore was held from a hotel near the railway station following a tip-off from Mumbai police, said Madan Beniwal, the station house officer of Udaimandir.

Siddhant was absconding after allegedly stabbing his 42-year-old mother, Dipali, at their house in Mumbais Santacruz on Tuesday night.

Tired of her. Catch me and hang me, Siddhant wrote in blood on the floor before fleeing.

Beniwal said Siddhant admitted to killing his mother out of depression. Mumbai police have been asked to take the accused into custody, he said.

Siddhant was angry at his mother who had admonished him over his falling grades and had also refused to give him pocket money, police said in Mumbai.



Read| Mumbai cops wife stabbed to death: Sons bloodstained clothes found in bathroom

His father, Dnyeshwar Ganore, is a Mumbai police inspector and was in the team that investigated the Sheena Bora murder case.

Ganore, who is posted at the Khar police station, discovered his wifes body past midnight after returning from work.

Siddhant, police said, had dropped out of an engineering course and was studying at the National College.

His friends said he had been keeping aloof for the last two months, and avoided social media platforms.
The Mumbai police have found bloodstained clothes of Siddhant Ganore, 21, in the bathroom of his home in Santacruz (East), where his mother Dipali, 42, was found murdered on Tuesday evening.

Dipali, wife of police inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore, was stabbed five times in the abdomen and four times in the neck. The knife, apparently used for the murder, was found a few inches away from the body, said police. Siddhant is missing since the incident.

The police have named Siddhant the main suspect on the basis of a note found scrawled on Dipalis bedroom floor next to her body.

The note, written in blood which was thought to be hers, read: Tired of her. Catch me and hang me. It also had a smiley in the end.

The watchman told the police he saw Siddhant leave the building alone on Tuesday evening.

Siddhant had dropped out of engineering and enrolled in a Bachelor of Science course at National College in Bandra. He had failed in a couple of subjects in the first year.

Dipali, who had a masters degree in law, used to often admonish him for his poor academic record, which angered Siddhant, said police.

Two years ago, Siddhant had left home in a fit of rage. He returned two days later only after a lot of pleading. This incident had disturbed his father. Aware that his son could take an extreme step, the father used to always give in to his demands, said police sources.
Services on the Harbour line of the Central Railways (CR) in Mumbai have been badly hit due to bunching of Panvel-bound trains ahead of Belapur, which led to suburban services being delayed by at least 20-30 minutes on Thursday morning. This was due to some problem with the overhead wire equipment at Panvel station during peak hours.

Several trains piled up between Belapur to Panvel stations. A commuter said that their train was stranded at Khandeshawar station for about 30 minutes, and about 4-5 trains were stuck behind it. As trains were moving at a snails pace, many passengers jumped on tracks and were walking in the scorching heat.

According to railway sources, a damaged jumper of the overhead wire on platform number three of Panvel station was responsible for the bunching of trains. It got damaged around 6 am, leaving trains stuck ahead of peak hour.

AK Jain, a CR spokesperson, said that the situation will slowly normalise, though Harbour line services will be running about 12-20 minute late.

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Unable to stop the felling of trees in different areas in the city for the Metro rail project, two people climbed a peepal tree which was sanctioned to be felled at Churchgate, on Wednesday evening. The protestors were taken to the Marine Drive police station soon after the incident and released after they shared their contact details with the police.

Irked with the on-going tree cutting for the Metro-3 project (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ) in south Mumbai, Andheri resident Abhay Bavishi, 34, and Thane resident Aarati Tamore, 35, climbed the tree.

Last Friday, the Supreme Court disposed of a residents plea to stop the hacking of trees for the Metro-3 project and from Saturday onwards, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) started cutting trees at various areas in south Mumbai. The MMRC will cut 1,074 trees and transplant 1,727 trees, which means a total of 2,811 trees will be affected by the construction of 27 stations for the project.

South Mumbai residents said a total of 40 people had been protesting at different stations between Saturday and Wednesday. It is a sad day in our lives because all we tried to do was give these voiceless species a chance to be saved. After witnessing five 30-foot trees being felled in front of us, we demanded that at least the peepal tree be transplanted. When the contractors refused to cooperate, we said we will fall with the tree, said Tamore. We want citizens to come out in large numbers and start a chipko movement to protect at least a few trees.

Bavishi alleged that the police had detained Tamore and him after the incident. He told HT that when he asked the contractor hired by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) to show the permission for the felling of the tree, they refused to do so. We were detained at the police station for almost two hours and intentionally kept away from the tree felling spot. We were only let go when it was dark and the tree felling work had already been done, he said adding, While Prime Minister Modi regularly boasts of protecting the environment, what is happening on ground is the opposite.

Mumbai police officials said that they released the two after making a diary entry. We were informed about the incident following which we reached the spot and requested the two persons to come down from the tree. Initially, they were reluctant but after they came down, we took them to the police station and noted their details, said Manoj Sharma, deputy commissioner of police, zone I adding that they were not detained.

The vacation bench of the Bombay high court heard a petition filed by a south Mumbai resident on Wednesday and has asked MMRC to submit all permissions for tree felling during the next hearing scheduled on Friday.

Read

Mumbai to get Metro-3, better connectivity, but lose 1,154 mangrove trees. Is it a good deal?

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Senior Shiv Sena leader and transport minister Diwakar Raote, who was leading a protest march against a ban on chanting pro-Maharashtra slogans in Belgaum, was denied entry by the local police along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border

Raote led a group of Sena workers to Belgaum to protest after Karnataka urban development minister R Roshan Baig made a statement that elected representatives who shout Jai Maharashtra slogans would stand to lose their elected posts in Karnataka.

Raote, who left for Belgaum from Kolhapur on Thursday morning, was stopped at the border.

The Belgaum district collector and district magistrate had issued a ban on the entry of the a minister citing that it would lead to a law-and-order problem in the region. I was not allowed to enter Belgaum district and was presented a notice that said there is a ban on entry for three days, Raote told HT.

The border dispute over Belgaum between Maharashtra and Karnataka has been going on for many decades. Despite a majority of its population speaking Marathi, it is still a part of Karnataka. The dispute was reignited last week after the senior Karnataka leaders statements in Belgaum. The state government has been fighting the border dispute case in the Supreme Court for nearly 13 years to get Belgaum and adjoining areas back from Karnataka.

Raote added that he wanted to go to Belgaum to show solidarity to the Marathi-speaking population in Belgaum and surrounding areas. It is the responsibility of the state government to stand beside the people of Belgaum. I had gone there as a representative of Maharashtra. Had I visited as a Sena representative, I would have defied the order and entered the district, he said.

Meanwhile, Sena has taken the opportunity to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said that if chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is a proud Marathi he should reach out to the Marathi populace. Earlier in the week, Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrakant Patil wrote to the Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, calling Baigs statement unconstitutional and has also threatened legal action.

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We are Baahubalis: Shiv Sena minister to march for rights of Marathi-speaking Belgaum locals

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Sagar Dhonde visited every hospital in Mumbai, pleaded with the public health department and eventually travelled all the way to Nashik for the medicine that would save his six-year-old haemophiliac son from bleeding to death.

The search for the lifesaving drug has become a routine thing for more than 4,500 haemophilia patients across the state for the past seven months. The lapses in the governments e-tendering system has failed to ensure easy availability of anti-haemophilia drugs.

For five days, we kept managing with our meagre stock and eventually pleaded with officials in the health department, who informed us about the availability of the drug at a hospital in Nashik. We travelled all the way and back for the treatment, said Dhonde.

A genetic disorder, haemophilia affects the bodys ability to clot blood, which is necessary to stop bleeding. It has two types  haemophilia A and haemophilia B. Patients of each need specific drugs to treat deficiency of clotting factor VIII and clotting Factor IX. Experts said that a normal patient may need a factor infusion (to prevent bleeding) four times in a month, depending on the severity of the disease and the patients weight.

There are over 4,500 haemophilia patients across the state, 886 of whom are from Mumbai and 250-300 from Thane. Since October 2016, the patients have been travelling from one government hospital to another, in search of the drug. A patient needs infusion about four times in a month, with 1000-1500 units of factors at a time. One unit costs about Rs 9.5- Rs10 , bringing the total cost to about Rs 70,000- Rs80,000.

NGOs help patients at KEM Hospital, the nodal centre for haemophilia, to coordinate with state officials and pharmacies and avail the medicines.

State officials promised quick procurement of drugs.

We try and provide factor IX, which is rare and scarce at subsidised rates. But the problem is that there are no budgetary allocations for the medicines, and we have been facing the issue since October, said Ajay Palande, secretary of Haemophilia Society of India- Mumbai chapter.

He added that nodal centers like KEM and Sasoon hospitals treat patients free of cost or at subsidised rates with the NGOs help.

Rupal Panchal, a haemophilia patient who had filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Bombay high court last year said that the government had floated 13 tenders till date and none had ensured the availability of medicines since October 2016.

The issue came up when the state adopted the e-tendering system for procurement of medicines. There is no policy framework and no specialised wards in government hospitals besides the two facilities at KEM Hospital in Mumbai and Sasoon Hospital in Pune, said Panchal.

She added that it was high time that the DHS took up the matter. Unavailability of medicines spells disability for us. These lapses will lead to our death, said Panchal.
Mumbai An undertrial fled JJ Hospital at Byculla where he was taken for a medical examination on Thursday.

Mobin Mohommad Shameem Siddiqui foxed the two policemen by confusing them about his blood sample tube. He escaped from the rear gate of the hospital. The Borivli police had arrested him in a theft case last month and he was being kept in Taloja jail.

The policemen attached with a Navi Mumbai police station brought Siddiqui to JJ Hospital around noon on Thursday.

As there were multiple blood sample tubes, Siddiqui confused the policemen when he said the tube they showed him did not contain his blood. No medical staff was present to corroborate his doubt. Siddiqui was asked to wait outside the room to let

the policemen find the right tube. Thats when he fled from the

back gate, said a source.

The cops, who were meant to guard Siddiqui realised their mistake when they came out of the room, said the source.

The JJ Marg police have registered a case under Section 224 (resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension) of the IPC.

READ

Maharashtra has most undertrials from other states

Demonetisation: Bombay HC asks lower courts to take cheques, DDs for bail bonds

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The Ghaziabad development authority is planning to relocate mobile phone towers installed on residential and commercial buildings to parks where more space is available.

The officials said nearly 30 parks have been identified in developed-and under development colonies where the mobile phone towers can be erected.

According to official estimates, the city has over 700 mobile phone towers and the number is increasing by the day.

Such towers are installed on rooftops of residential highrises or other buildings. There are also instances where the towers are installed on school buildings in Ghaziabad.

As per the norms issued in 2006, mobile phone towers are not allowed in residential areas and in no case should it be in a 100-metre radium of schools, hospitals and temples.

We have identified 30 parks and sent the locations to the horticulture and the engineering departments to conduct a survey for availability of vacant spaces. If space is available, and it is feasible for the cellular operators to relocate the towers, we will allow the relocation, said Ishtiyak Ahmad, chief architect & town planner, GDA.

The areas where the plan is proposed include localities in Kavi Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Patel Nagar, Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara, Raj Nagar, Madhuban Bapudham and Govindpuram among others. The authority has already got installed eight mobile towers at their community centres, away from dense population.

According to officials, the building by-laws also permit tower installation in parks and green belts. They added that more than one mobile phone tower can also be allowed but it requires a minimum distance of 250 metres between the two.

This is planned as residents often complain against the installation of mobile phone towers on their buildings and also adjacent to their houses. Once the survey is completed by our department, we will finalise locations and explore possibilities for relocation, he added.

In 2015, a committee of GDA officials had finalised guidelines for installation of mobile phone towers and recommended that they be allowed in open spaces, parks and on green belts.

The committee had also decided that for installing towers in properties such as residential, commercial and office space, the permission of the GDA board would be mandatory.

For group housing residential areas, the approval of the local residents welfare association was also made mandatory.

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Relatives of the family waylaid by highway robbers in Greater Noidas Jewar said the victims were travelling to a private hospital in Bulandshahr with Rs 47,500 in cash to help a pregnant relative when the alleged gang rapes and murder happened.

The robbers allegedly dragged and raped four women in a field for hours and shot dead a 38-year-old male relative trying to save them at an isolated spot off the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradeshs Gautam Budh Nagar district early on Thursday, police said.

There were eight people in the car. The alleged crime took place nearly a kilometre from the victims village, Sowata in Jewar. The robbers snatched the cash with the jewellery the women were wearing.

Read: Noida woman, daughter raped near Bulandshahr highway, 15 detained

The family received information on Wednesday night that the sister of the man was shot was admitted in Garg Hospital and needed an emergency operation for her delivery. Since her family was not able to arrange money for the delivery, the deceased man, his wife, son, elder sister, sister-in-law, nephew, the man driving the car and the drivers wife decided to travel to Bulandshahr. The driver was a close friend of the family and thats why he was travelling with them, said the niece of the victim. She lives in Noida.

The deceaseds younger brother said the group left their house around 1 am in a Maruti Eeco car and were heading towards Bulandshahr when the robbers struck.

They had hardly covered a kilometre when there was noise from the tyres. When the driver stepped out of the car to check, he found that two tyres had burst. He called the owner of the car and asked for spare tyres when suddenly they were attacked by a group of six men with country-made pistols, knives and iron rods. They fired shots in the air and attacked them with rods, he said.

The relatives said the perpetrators ignored repeated pleas and requests of the cars occupants and continued to assault them.

They forced us to walk in the fields and beat us with rods. Then they began raping the women. When my uncle tried to resist, he was shot dead. They raped all four women repeatedly and took away their jewels. The mens phones were looted, said the nephew of the man who shot.

The victims were taken to the district hospital at 11 am for medical examination. Multiple eye-witnesses said they noticed bruise marks on the necks and hands of the women.

However, Dr Renu Agarwal, officiating chief medical superintendent of District Hospital in Noida Sector 30, didnt share the medical report with the media.

Based on preliminary reports, we can say there were injuries marks on the hands of two ladies after the alleged miscreants tied their hands, said Dr Agarwal.

Ram Kumar, IG Meerut said, We have registered a case of murder, gang rape, abduction and robbery against un identified persons. Several teams have been formed to nab the criminals. We are seeking the help of Uttar Pradesh special task force. The case has been registered on the basis of complaint. The incident took between 1:30am and 2am. The victims told us they were tied with dupattas and the women were taken to fields. Its a gruesome crime and we are working to solve it.

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The director of intelligence and criminal investigation, a wing of the Income Tax (I-T) department, from Kanpur on Thursday organised a workshop on filing tax returns at the I-T office in Sector 24 from 4pm-5pm.

The department officials said they wanted to reach out to third parties such as banks, transport department, tax bar associations, chartered accountants, car dealers, jewellers and traders in the city.

Officials of the I-T department said that third parties such as banks, car dealers or transport officials are liable to file correct and complete statements of financial transactions as mandated by the I-T laws.

The objective of this workshop is to educate those filing tax returns about the provisions and technicalities pertaining to filing statements of financial transactions, said Pradeep S Hedaoo, the director of intelligence and criminal investigation, Kanpur.

He also answered queries from participants in the workshop.

We have called officials of the transport and UP stamps and registration departments too, as these offices also file statements of financial transactions. Apart from the government officials, we have called associations of corporate houses, industrialists, jewellers and traders, among others, who file returns. The idea is to educate them about the correct filing of financial transactions, said Alok Nath, deputy director (investigation), I-T department, Noida.

Around 60 third-party filers attended the workshop.

The outreach initiative is a first of its kind in Noida. It is in line with new legislation to ensure correct filing of Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT). Hardly 2% of our countrys population files income tax returns. The government wants to optimise tax collections. We have witnessed a lot of amendments in laws. Regular taxpayers will not be unnecessarily harassed. But the ones outside the tax net and involved in high-value cash transactions should be brought within the ambit of taxpayers, said Hedaoo.

If somebody is buying a luxury vehicle or paying bills in cash of more than Rs50,000, it should be reported to the I-T department. We want to educate third parties such as banks and transport office, said Hedaoo.

Officials advised car dealers to communicate to them in the prescribed format if a person is buying a car of Rs10 lakh in cash. Earlier, car dealers were providing us information, annually, in CDs. Now they can upload the statement of financial transactions online, to our website, said Hedaoo.

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A gang of highway robbers allegedly gang-raped four women in a field and shot dead a male relative trying to save them off the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradeshs Gautam Budh Nagar early on Thursday, police said.

Eight members of a family were travelling to Bulandshahr from Greater Noidas Jewar when they were waylaid by the six-member gang at about 1.30am. The gang also looted near Rs 50,000 in cash and valuables, police said quoting the victims.

When the man, 38, tried to resist, he was shot dead.

Read | Greater Noida gang rape, murder: Death has haunted family for last 5 years

We have registered a case of murder, abduction, gang rape and robbery... Three teams, including personnel from special operation group, crime branch and local police have been formed, said Ram Kumar, inspector general of police, Meerut range. We are also seeking the help of the special task force to investigate the matter.

Uttar Pradesh, with the longest road network among all states, accounts for the highest number of highway crimes in India. National Crime Records Bureaus data for 2014 show 80% of the 84,000 such cases across the country were recorded in the state.

Last July, a mother and her 13-year-old daughter were waylaid and gang-raped by a group of robbers, also in Bulandshahr.

The incident sparked a political blame-game ahead of the assembly elections, with the BJP accusing the then Samajwadi Party government of failing to protect the states daughters and daughters-in-law. The BJP swept to power two months ago promising better policing.

Like in last years incident, the robbers used a home-made device called khadanja -- a thick piece of rubber with protuding iron nails  to puncture two wheels of the eight-seater vehicle, a Maruti Eeco.

Read | Noida woman, daughter raped near Bulandshahr highway, 15 detained

They (the robbers) told us to get down and showed us pistols. We were asked to move towards the field. They tied the hands and legs of the men including me by using the dupattas of the women... we begged them to leave us, but no one listened, said one of the victims. The men are ironsmith in Jewar.

He said when one of the men asked the robbers to leave the women, they fired a bullet near his feet and then shot him in his chest. They told him, tu kya kar lega (what will you do), he said.

Read | I want to punish attackers with my own hands: Bulandshahr rape victim

The owner of the vehicle, who was informed about the punctures by the driver just before the robbers attacked, said he could hear womens cries for help on the phone.

I kept saying, hello, hello, but there was no response from other side. It made me suspicious, he said, adding he informed the dead mans nephew about the phone call.

He later informed police and gave them the location the driver had mentioned.

Read | Three women gang-raped by robbers in Greater Noida

The Congress accused the Yogi Adityanath government of failing to contain riot, arson, loot, murder and rape A team lead by state Congress president Raj Babbar also visited the incident spot, around 100 kilometre from Delhi.

BJP minister Suresh Khanna denied the charges.

Crime rate cannot be zero in society. Police cannot be deployed everywhere, he said. Unlike other regimes, our government will not shield or harbour criminals. We will nab the culprits..., he added.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad on Thursday set June 9 as the date for a hearing on framing of charges in the case pertaining to alleged corruption by Yadav Singh in public works undertaken in Noida.

The CBI court also took a strong note of the investigating agencys failure to arrest Yadav Singhs wife, Kusum Lata, and contractor Pankaj Jain, despite repeated attempts. In the last hearing, the court had ordered the case investigating officer to arrest the two absconding accused and produce them before the court on May 25.

The court said that the CBIs inability to arrest the two accused is hampering the progress of the case. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against 14 persons in the case and the court had taken cognizance of it on March 29, 2016.

Since the two accused are yet to be arrested, the court has ordered that the case documents of the two be kept separate and the arguments on framing of charges against the other accused be heard on June 9. The court has already issued non-bailable warrants against the two, BK Singh, special public prosecutor, CBI, said.

Yadav Singh, the suspended chief engineer of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities, along with other 11 accused, have been lodged in jail in connection with the graft case.

In pursuance of a July 16, 2015, order of the Allahabad high court, the CBI registered a case on July 30, 2015 against Yadav Singh and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and other IPC sections, besides the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, for alleged corruption in the laying of underground cable worth nearly Rs9,202 lakh and other public works.

In March 2011, the Noida authority had decided to initiate the process of laying underground cables on Master Plan-1 Road at an estimated project cost of nearly Rs9,202 lakh. It was alleged that even though the tenders were called in March, these were opened only in November 2011 and finally allotted to two different firms based in Ghaziabad and Noida in December 2011.

According to the CBI, their investigation revealed that the allotment of work was allegedly pre-decided, tender formalities wilfully violated, and the project estimate highly inflated for undue gains to the contractor. Investigators alleged that the process caused a loss of Rs19 crore to the government exchequer.

According to the chargesheet, Pankaj Jain was managing the affairs of Ghaziabad-based JSP Constructions, which is one of the alleged beneficiaries. The CBI stated that there is evidence to suggest that contract allotted to the firms was pre-decided and that the tender formalities were completed later.

The chargesheet also stated that Kusum Lata allegedly facilitated receipt of bribes for husband Yadav Singh through her garment firm.

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There is a common thread that binds the most ardent supporters of the prime minister, Narendra Modi and his most trenchant critics: Both see him as an agent of radical change. While his avid admirers have faith in Modis ability to be the vehicle of transformation  a process that goes beyond mere reforms  that will usher a self-confident, culturally assertive and economically buoyant New India, his foes are convinced that the NDA government is assaulting the Nehruvian idea of India and replacing it with something narrow, regressive and even authoritarian.

Looking back at the three years of the Modi sarkar  the first government at the Centre to rule with a single-party majority since 1989  it is apparent that the expectations of both sides remain unfulfilled. The third anniversary may have brought some good news about the economy  some 90 lakh new income tax payers, Indias market capitalisation of $2 trillion, record levels of foreign direct investment, made in India iPhones and the steady strengthening of the rupee  but the news from the ground is still mixed.

The Modi government has shown both energy and imagination in pushing through schemes that have a direct and immediate connect with the people. The road building programme, the steady progress towards 24x7 electrification of India by 2019, the huge energy savings through low cost LED bulbs, the rationalisation of cooking gas subsidies, the financial inclusion effected through Jan Dhan Yojana and the construction of nearly 35 crore toilets should count as major achievements. Equally, the deft handling of the GST legislation, the simplification of rules and procedures for business, the near-mandatory transfer of welfare entitlements by bank transfer, the transparency in the auction of natural resources and the corrective actions to make states more financially empowered are long-term achievements.

However, all these measures count as either good governance or reforms. Indeed, some of them have their genesis in the UPA regime that, alas, lacked the drive and the political focus to push them through. In terms of disruptive approaches that break with the old order, the Modi Government has exercised caution  no doubt due to the complication of numbers in the Rajya Sabha. Modi has, in fact, been charged by the pro-market Right of being needlessly incremental in his quest for change.

The government has, however, been positively disruptive in fighting corruption and changing the political culture. Demonetisation was unquestionably the biggest decision of the past three years. Its objectives ranged from fighting terrorism, crime and tax evasion to propelling India into the club of less-cash economies. That it has also proved politically rewarding was not apparent on the day the decision was taken and economic activity was temporarily disrupted. It was both a decision taken in secret by a very few and a huge leap of faith.

Demonetisation was also the clearest test of Modis political resolve. He was neither deterred by the complications of offending the BJPs core support base nor paralysed into doing nothing by the confusion among economists of its consequences. There is an obstinate streak in Modi that has proved a big deterrence against political pressures for accommodation. In making the capitals lobbying industry redundant, resisting the temptation to be part of the cosy social life of Lutyens Delhi, refusing to be swayed by media storms and in being inflexible in his insistence on rectitude, Modi has presented a distinctive style of leadership. Critics have pilloried him for an authoritarian streak but imperiousness born of exercising moral choices has always yielded returns. The argumentative public life notwithstanding, the Indian voter has an abiding fascination for strong-willed leaders.

At the same time the Modi government isnt ideologically dogmatic in its strategies of governance. Modi has defied neat categorisation and this has been the source of much misunderstanding of both the man and his regime. As the basic parameters of his governance suggests, he has blended different impulses. He has combined a top-down approach with grassroots political mobilisation, lofty idealism with electoral expediency, statism with market impulses, self-help with state welfare and swadeshi with the global. Far from being a transient phenomenon  as many imagined he would be  he has completely altered the political landscape in a short span of three years. His governance is still a work in progress and it will take a longer time frame to comprehend its full impact.

As a senior BJP leader once told me: Modi is not there to manage India; he is there to change it. In fact, he is doing both.

Swapan Dasgupta is a Rajya Sabha MP, senior journalist and political commentator

The views expressed are personal
Last year, the number of foreign tourists who came to India was about 90 million. By contrast, domestic tourism totaled over 1,400 million visits; clearly suggesting that its implied economics are far bigger than the foreign business. It also suggests that very many of our people make several trips for tourism every year. While the concentration of the central governments tourism promotion efforts focus on the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur golden triangle the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals (20.1%) are in Tamil Nadu. Delhi draws half that. The southern states see the most foreign and domestic tourist traffic because of the number of important religious places like Madurai. The location of Tirupati within it makes Andhra Pradesh Indias biggest domestic tourist destination. Religious tourism is now very big business. What does this suggest?

The Pew Global Attitude survey study shows that more than 25% of Indians reported having become more religious over the past four-five years. The trend is valid across religions and in keeping with other attitudinal surveys. Between 2007 and 2015, the share of respondents in India who perceived religion to be very important increased by 11% to 80% now. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report shows that average expenditure on religious trips has more than doubled during this period. Clearly this is a rapidly expanding business sector and given the trends, the sky is the limit.

While the economic activity and the employment it generates are a cause for happiness all around, we must also ponder about the other ramifications of this growing religiosity. The growth of blind faith, superstition and aggressive religioneering present a clear and present danger to India evolving as a modernising society which values reason and tempers collective behaviour. The building of temples is a profitable business. Thats why public spaces are increasingly usurped by unscrupulous entrepreneurs to build shrines. And we know from experience that once gods and religious figures get installed in a place, they cannot be dislodged.

With religiosity and religioneering big business now, it is increasingly common to see governments promoting religious tourism.

Actually there is increasingly an unstated and subtle competition now implying that my idol is better than yours. The Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala is Indias biggest money-spinner. This Vaishnavite shrine attracts 40 million devotees each year. Telangana has now embarked on promoting the Yadagirigutta temple near Hyderabad to become a religious tourism draw. Under the CPM government, Kerala temple boards actually advertise the magical powers of their stone idols. Communism was supposed to make us rational and believe God was a figment of mankinds imagination.

Jawaharlal Nehru wanted the new India to be guided by reason and infused with the scientific temper. Instead we are now increasingly a people driven by dogma and blind faith. Religion and blind faith are our biggest faultlines and the cause of much social friction and breakdown of orderly public behaviour and order.

To make a point, Nehru never visited religious places lest it be seen as an endorsement. We now increasingly see our constitutional authorities and prominent personalities making highly-publicised visits to places of faith but also of unreason. We have seen our leaders make extravagant offerings to deities as part of fulfilling a promise that they would do so if elected. Most politicians have favourite places of worship. To stretch the point, even the flourishing business of godmen and women are growing. After his recent death, many commentators wrote of Chandraswami as a self-styled conduit between god and ordinary people. So instead of discouraging blind faith, our politicians encourage it in many ways. The late Sai Baba had a devout following among the political class.

It is not my point that religious tourism is in itself a bad thing, in fact it is good for the economy. My grouse is with the often regressive values associated with religion which is not the same as true faith and spirituality. Religious shrines across the world are a big draw, and India is no different. Politicians are well within their right to worship their gods, but not at the expense of the taxpayer. Unless they consider this to be a part of business promotion.

Mohan Guruswamy is an economics and policy analyst. The views expressed are personal
Unidentified criminals shot dead a government school teacher in Naugachia subdivision of Bihars Bhagalpur district, 229 km southeast of state capital Patna, on Wednesday night.

Police said Vijay Kumar alias Sandeep, posted at Kajreitha middle school in neighbouring Khagaria district, 83 km north west of Bhagalpur, was shot dead when he was returning home at Bhatara village in Parbatta police station area of Naugachia subdivision on his motorcycle.

Naugachia sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Mukul Ranjan said the incident took place near Imli Mahant Babasthan in Kharik police station area, about 2 km ahead of his home.

Ranjan said Kumar, 32, a contractual teacher, used to commute between Kajreitha and Bhatara on motorcycle every day. The exact motive behind the murder was not yet clear, Ranjan said, adding that a suspected land dispute could have been linked to the incident.

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In a bizarre turn of events, the sensational sexual harassment case involving businessman Nikhil Priyadarshi, presently languishing in jail, and the daughter of a former Congress minister, has taken a new turn with the victim offering to marry the accused in a compromise petition filed on Thursday.

Whether it will help Nikhil, a big dealer in motor cars and known for his enormous clout, come out of the jail, only time will tell.

Lawyers say, in Indian law, rape is a non-compoundable offence and it remains to be seen how the court takes it in the face international debate over the issue of sparing perpetrators of the ghastly crime on the basis of compromise and promise of marriage.

The victim filed a compromise petition in court on Thursday even as the court issued arrest warrant against Congress leader Brajesh Pandey and two others on the basis of a police plea. Pandey too has been accused by the victim girl of the same crime and is presently absconding. The police headquarters have asked Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj to execute the warrant without delay.

Shyamnandan Singh Santosh, public prosecutor, said the victim was a minor when the crime was committed and a compromise petition would have no impact on the scope of the case filed under Section 376 of the IPC and SC/ST Act.

Janardan Rai, the counsel for Nikhil, said the compromise petition would take the case towards acquittal even if the police file a chargesheet.

The issue of arrest of Nikhil Priyadarshi and other had led to a confrontation between two senior police officers in the police headquarters, with one pitching for his immediate arrest and the other advising against it.

The U-turn by the victim, who had levelled serious charges against Nikhil and his accomplice Pandey, may have serious ramifications, as the girls safety and the circumstances under which she has filed the compromise petition would also need to be looked into for her safety, said a police officer.

The victim claimed to have fallen in love with Nikhil, son of a retired IAS officer Krishna Bihari Prasad and brother-in-law of a 2005 batch IPS officer Rajiv Ranjan. However, she had earlier alleged that after coming close to her, Nikhil called her to his bungalow and allegedly raped her on the pretext of marriage.

She lodged an FIR against Priyadarshi and three others, including Nikhils brother Subhash Priyadarshi, friend Sanjeet Sharma and father Krishna Bihari Prasad under SC/ST Act, POCSO Act and sections 354 and 376 of IPC with SC/ST police station on December 22 last.

The girl recorded her statement under section 164 of CrPC before the court that friends of Priyadarshi also used to rape her. She was blackmailed through use of a video shot by Priyadarshi. Medical tests have confirmed her statement of multiple rape, said a police officer.

Priyadarshi, who had been evading arrest for the past two months, was nabbed in Lakshmanpur in Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand in March 2017 along with his father. The duo was arrested during a routine check of vehicles en route to a pilgrim town in the hill state and the Audi car they were travelling in was seized.

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Armed miscreants allegedly looted Rs 34 lakh in cash from a motorcycle agency and shot at a customer at Malviya Nagar under Town police station in Gopalganj district on Thursday.

Police investigating the incident, have been working on different theories on whether it was a case of robbery, or the looters had some personal enmity with the owner. Police is also looking for CCTV footage from the agency and nearby cameras to identify the culprits involved.

However, Gopalganj SP Ravi Ranjan Kumar claimed that miscreants looted only Rs 1.11 lakh from the agency. Talking to HT the SP said the agency owner had lodged a complaint of loot of Rs 1.11 lakh.

Agency employees said that the incident took place when four armed men riding two motorcycles barged into the agency and looted two bags containing Rs 34.10 lakh from agency owner Binay Kumar. The agency's staffers were at the time about to leave for the bank to deposit the cash, said Binay, adding the looters also shot at and grievously injured a customer while decamping.

The injured customer identified as Pintu Yadav of Mirganj, had visited the agency to book a motor bike, a day ahead of his 'tilak' ceremony. He was rushed to a hospital at Gorakhpur in nearby Uttar Pradesh.

Binay told mediamen that he along with Alok Shukla, Arvind Kumar and other employees gave chase to the miscreants who they fired on the Bolero vehicle causing puncture in one of the tyres.

The loot triggered a protest by locals who blocked NH 28 for hours causing a 10-km traffic jam along the national highway.

North Bihar districts has been witnessing a spate of such crime in recent months, where robbers have indulged in broad daylight dacoities and escaped unchallenged.

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Politically, Capt Amarinder Singh couldnt have been more firmly in the saddle. But his daunting challenge lies in resuscitating an almost dead-on-arrival finances bled as much by horrendous mismanagement and runaway populism of successive governments as by a sputtering state economy. That holds the key to delivery on a raft of promises he made before the elections. As the Captain soldiers through the fiscal rot, he will have take a tough call, and quick, on how to fix it.

Seven weeks in power, Amarinder, 75, has charted out his priorities with an unmistakable political subtext. While the karza-kurki-khatam move is to firm up his standing with the peasantry, the government is mulling a peace memorial for 30,000 people consumed by terrorism in the dark 80s, a symbolic gesture to 43% Hindus who catapulted him to power. In a chat with Senior Resident Editor on Tuesday, chief minister exuded optimism but sounded caution against expecting quick results.

How do you look at your governments first few weeks?

Well, we got down to business from Day 1. Be it finding jobs, solutions to farm debt waiver or drugs, we took appropriate decisions. If people expect results immediately, thats not possible. In eight weeks I cant deliver, but I can start the process that will deliver.

How challenging is it to run a government with an empty treasury?

Im afraid we dont even know how bad we are. We thought we will have a debt of Rs 1.3 lakh crore. But the way things are going, it may be Rs 2 lakh crore once the white paper is out. We have revenue deficit, too. Luckily, the two auctions on liquor and sand have gone well. Regardless of the money being down, the mood in the government is up. Thats a good sign. I have told industrialists they shouldnt expect concessions till we stabilise. We will give them good governance.

Whats your roadmap to get the states finances on track?

Industry is priority. Agriculture cant drive the economy. India is looking at a national growth rate of 7.2% despite demonetisation but Punjab is running at 5%. So you have to bring in industry and all that the industry wants is a levelplaying field in policy, power and land. Once that happens, you will see the buoyancy coming. Real estate prices are up. Thats a good sign. I want real estate to grow because thats the biggest employer.

You may have to make hard choices that may be unpopular.

I dont think its that hard a choice. For instance, we will have to cut on wasteful expenditure. We also expect to gain from the goods and services tax (GST) windfall.

What purpose will the white paper serve? Will it go beyond the blame game?

The budget is sacrosanct. We want Punjab to know the reality. On Facebook, I see everyone clamouring for something or the other. They must know that we dont have the capacity to pay. We are trying to keep our commitments. We have to prioritise on spending. Look at school results, 50% of Class 10 students failed. We have to fix it and that needs money.

How will you go about writing off farm debt?

We will have to do it in phases. We have five years to go. We never said ayundian saar aseen sab kucch khatam kar deyange (debts will be waived at the outset). There will be no arrests of farmers. We will start with the lowest holdings.

With a Rs 60,000 crore farm debt, how will you pick up the tab?

It sounds strange but the biggest debtor is not the small farmer. Its the middle and high-rung farmers. So in our scheme of things, the small farmer will come first. Thats where suicides are taking place. This Rs 60,000 crore is agriculture sector loan. Half of this is something farmers have taken to build a house or buy a car. Thats not part of the deal. The deal is: Help those who borrowed to produce crops. Their number is not big.

But farmers have stopped returning loans.

Let that happen. By May 30, Dr T Haque is going to give us his report and by June first week, we will come up with an answer.

How realistic is your promise to end kurki (attachment of land holding)?

We have made a commitment. No way are we allowing that (kurki). Major loans are from cooperative banks under us. Thats where the kurki is. Its not national banks or arhtiyas (commission agents). No farmer will be arrested. Thats what is killing people, the humiliation.

Will rich farmers get waiver?

Their number is small. Who do you call a rich farmer  one with 25 acres or more? Thats nothing in terms of returns. His income may be less than that of my head constable.

On drugs, your government seems to only managing perception?

Not at all. The drug problem is a critical issue. A lot of our children are involved. They are frustrated as there are no jobs. The sharks keep selling and involving more people. Families are fed up.

But no big fish caught so far.

Since we came to power, the big sharks have run away from Punjab. We will get them. Weve got little fellows, about 1,400 of them.

Will you bring in PCOCA (Punjab Control of Organised Crime Act) to check the rising gang culture?

Certainly. It may not be as draconian as the MCOCA of Maharashtra. There has to be a fear of god in somebody that if you are caught as a gangster, you will lose your property for good. We will have checks so that the police or the government cant misuse it for dushmani kaddo (settling scores).

There seems to be a scramble for the spoils of power among your partymen?

You are talking about the sand business. Look, the last government got only Rs 45 crore and our initial auction has touched Rs 1,000 crore. Earlier, all this went to the Majithias and now it has gone to the exchequer. Everyone has a right to bid whether you are a Congressman or an Akali.

What about your promise on ghar ghar rozgar?

We are introducing one lakh Uber taxis this year. That will adjust two lakh people. We are also going to give permits for mini buses and regular buses that the youth will collectively operate. We dont have any government jobs to offer. We need industry to boost the job market.

How hopeful are you about industrial investment?

Of 22 captains of business I have met so far, six have sent feelers. Their teams will soon finalise the projects. We will roll out a package for the local industry fast. The NITI Aayog has also assured us that tax concessions to industry in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand will not be renewed. That had hurt Punjab.

Punjab has no legal case left on the SYL Canal. Do you see a political solution?

Its difficult unless Haryana understands they have access to the Yamuna and Punjab to nothing. Union home minister Rajnath Singh has proposed another meeting under the aegis of the water resources ministry. The Supreme Court will obviously wait till something comes out of the talks.

Do you expect handholding from the Narendra Modi government to tide over the fiscal crisis?

Not really. The Government of India doesnt have the money. But I have asked for tax exemptions for industry in the 40-km border belt.

Whom do you reckon as your main opposition  the Akalis or AAP?

The Akalis. They have been there since 1920 and have three generations growing up as Akalis. These chaps (AAP) are upstarts and I dont expect them to be here for long.

How will this tenure as CM be different from the last?

Experience will make a difference. Last time, it took me two years to understand how the government functions. This time, it was a headstart from the word go.

You said this is your last term in power politics. What kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind?

Any CM would like go out with the flag flying high. If I am able to achieve what I set out to, it will be the greatest satisfaction.

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Police have arrested the landlord of the space where a woman is running an animal shelter home in Nandiali village near Airport Road, a day after she accused him of attacking 30 of her dogs with acid, sticks and a machete.

The landlord, 50-year-old Balwinder Singh who is a farmer by profession, was arrested while his 25-year-old son Jimmy is on the run. The woman, Resham Dhaliwal, had claimed that the dogs were brutally beaten up and then acid was thrown on them. Dhaliwal also alleged that police were not ready to register a case in the matter and had forced her to reach a compromise with her landlord.

Police, on the other hand, said there was no evidence to substantiate Dhaliwals claims and that it could all possibly be nothing more than a landlord-tenant dispute.

Dhaliwal met SAS Nagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal and apprised him of the situation. Following this, Sohana police registered a case in the matter.

In her complaint, Dhaliwal stated, I am running the shelter home inside a rented space. The dogs were attacked by by Balwinder, Jimmy and Dharminder. They were under the influence of alcohol at the tine and forcibly opened the doors of the sheds where the dogs are kept and attacked them with sticks and a machete. They also poured acid on them.

Dhaliwal keeps stray dogs at the shelter home and also takes care of pets whose owners are out of station.

She added, The landlord asked me to vacate the house a fortnight ago. I sought three months time but they got agitated and attacked the dogs.

She even stated that 19 dogs were missing and 11 sustained injuries. Four pups were cut and injured. She said the landlord also attacked her and she hid to save herself.

Chahal said,  We have registered a case but no dog was killed or harmed through an acid attack.

A case was registered under Sections 379 (theft), 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Having already backtracked on sedition charges, Panjab University has asked the Chandigarh police department to completely drop the case against students who had turned violent on April 11 while protesting against a fee hike. But the cops have something to say on that.

We have received a letter from the PU authorities asking to drop the case against the students in wake of the decision of the university senate (on May 7). But we will let the law take its own course. As of now, there is no move to drop the case, said Eish Singhal, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Chandigarh.

Of the 66 students named in the FIR, 52 were taken into custody and later got bail.

The decision to write to the police was taken during the senate meeting when members cornered PU authorities for failing to tackle the issue on its own and for slapping a case against students. The senators had even questioned the presence of police on campus.

Not only was the fee hike partially rolled back, but, bowing to the pressure by the senators and Students for Society (SFS), the group that had led the protest, vice-chancellor Arun Grover had announced on May 7 to withdraw the case.

However, the police department is in no mood to forget that 22 cops, including DSP (central) Ram Gopal, were injured in the violence when tear gas was fired and stones hurled.

MATTER SO FAR March 26: PU senate approves fee hike for new admissions from 2017-18 session to tackle financial crunch April 2: Protests by various student organisations demanding complete rollback started April 11: During a protest mobilised by SFS, violence erupted; students arrested, got bail later in the week May 7: PU in its senate meeting decided to take back the case, later writes to cops

The case is registered under sections 147 and 148 for rioting, 149 for unlawful assembly, 332 and 353 for assault on public servant, and 308 for attempt to commit culpable homicide, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Senior advocate AS Chahal, who earlier appeared for the students to get them bail, explained the technicality now, Since the case is already registered, PU does not have a locus standi (legal position in the matter) as its a case versus the State. The police are well within their rights to present a challan and prosecute the accused legally. However, he opined, On humanitarian grounds, considering the future of the children, the police should drop file a closure report in the court. The students are not criminals, and were protesting for their rights when things went out of hand.

V-C Grover said, We are not pursuing the case. No one is above the law. Legal luminaries are of the opinion that procedures will take a few months. We have conveyed to the police the decision of the university senate.

Initially, PU chief security officer Ashwani Kaul in his complaint accused the students of sedition, but that section was dropped on the intervention of senior police officers. Kaul later said his complaint was misinterpreted.

Also, first the authorities as well as the students blamed outsiders for the violence.

But investigations revealed that a number of supporters of the SFS were from the PU evening studies department had resorted to violence. SFS was the main party to mobilise students for the protest and most of the arrested students were from the party.

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The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed Haryana government to give names of the collector and other officials who calculated the compensation amount in a 1998 land acquisition by the state in Panchkula in which Rs 100 crore was paid in excess to the landowners.

The direction came from the high court bench of justices Rajesh Bindal and Harinder Singh Sidhu on a petition of two women who had disputed the amount sought from them in recovery notices even after they had paid back the principal amount that had been erroneously given to them in excess.

The two sisters got compensation of Rs 31.34 crore but later the land acquisition collector realised a mistake and they were informed that the amount due was Rs 15.86 crore. The government had sought recovery of Rs 16.74 crore, including interest for the period when the excess money remained with them.

The high court has now directed the sisters to deposit Rs 30 lakh, the amount of difference, within four weeks.

During the hearing, the counsel for petitioners, senior advocate Anand Chhibbar, pointed out that petitioners had been fair enough to deposit the amount immediately after the error was pointed out.

But the amount was paid to number of landowners in excess, which was about Rs 100 crore.

The state has not made recovery of even a single penny from any of the other landowners, Chhibbar submitted.

Taking serious note of submissions, the high court has now given state four weeks to furnish details of the entire excess amount paid to the landowners along with their particulars and also as to whether recovery was made from any other landowners or not and steps taken to recover the amount.

Details of officials involved in the process, including the collector, have also been sought.

The acquisition pertained to land falling under Chowkhi village of Panchkula in which compensation was given in 2015. The award of acquisition was passed in 2003 but the matter remained in court for years.

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A gang of criminals thrashed two young motorcyclists on Thursday and then accused them of being child lifters in an attempt to gain public support, adding to the worries of Jharkhand police who are struggling hard to check rumour mongering that have become a major law and order problem.

Suspicion over child lifting following rumours on WhatsApp had led to lynchings which have claimed nine lives in Jharkhands Kolhan division since May 12 while six men have escaped with injuries.

Akram Khan, 22 and his friend, Peter, 23, were returning home to Telco colony on a motorcycle when five men led by local gangster, Runu Yadav accosted them near Birsangar, a tribal dominated locality, for allegedly racing their motorbike on the busy road. They soon entered into a heated discussion.

Eye witnesses said Yadav and his accomplices began thrashing the duo. A police patrol van that was crossing by allegedly ignored the quarrel and sped away.

Read more: Jharkhand lynching: Police detain 20 suspects, issue WhatsApp number for info

The boys kept pleading but the hoodlums continued to beat them. When locals finally intervened, the hoodlums branded them suspected child lifters to gain their support, said Afzal, an eye witness.

Akrams father, a businessman, rushed to the scene and rescued the boys with the help of local people. Yadav showed no remorse and went on to stress that the boys had come to steal children.

Following a compliant to senior police superintendent, Anup T Mathew, he directed the city SP Prashant Anand to rush to the scene.

The injured were rushed to Tata Motors Hospital where they are convalescing. Akrams mother is a nurse in the same hospital. He is studying BBA in Pune and had come home on summer vacation.

We are investigating the case. The accused will not be spared, Anand told reporters.

Sources said Yadav, who has a long criminal record, has been arrested, but police did not disclose it as a large group of Muslims had gathered both at the hospital and the police station to lodge their protests.
Hazaribag police arrested two of the five accused involved in the gang rape of a woman and filming the act in their cellphones.

One of the accused, Sanjay Singh, confessed that he had filmed the act and threatened the victim of circulating the MMS if she went to the police and complained against them.

Though the incident occurred Tuesday, the victim lodged a complaint with the police Wednesday evening. The police said they picked up two accused while hunt was on to nab the other three named in the FIR.

In her statement recorded with the police, the victim, a resident of Barhi, said she had gone to the sub health centre at Vijaya for treatment but found it closed. While she was returning, five persons caught her and forcibly took her near the Bajladih pond where they took turns to rape her.

Barhi officer-in-charge Awdesh Kumar Singh said based on the identification of the accused provided by the victim, they could manage to corner two of them at their hideout. The remaining three would also be traced and arrested soon, he said.

Singh said following the courts directive, they would probe the MMS angle and take punitive action. The victim also alleged that the accused snatched Rs 800 from her bag.

Barhi police have lodged a case under Section 376 B, 379, 505 and 67A IT act of the India Penal Code (IPC) in this regard.
Fear has given way to common sense; humanity is gradually replacing cruelty as tribals in the countryside of Jharkhands troubled Kolhan division, have started exercising restraint and abstaining from dispensing instant justice to suspected child lifters.

Rumours of child lifters on the prowl have spread in the Kolhan division following bulk WhatsApp messages circulated among certain tribal pockets by unknown forces. In all nine suspects have been killed over the last 12 days, following the rumours .

Exhibiting wisdom, villagers are now handing over the suspects to police, giving some respite to the men in uniform who were having a harrowing time following the lynchings that took place in two adjoining districts, Jamshedpur and Seraikela-Kharsawan.

Over the last three days, villagers nabbed and produced three men they suspected to be child lifters to the police. These men, non-tribals, were found moving suspiciously in rural pockets inhabited by tribals. Incidentally, one of them nabbed from Sundernagar, a Jamshedpur suburb, turned out to be wanted criminal and accused of vehicle theft and abduction of a car driver, who is still missing.

Residents of Adityapur Beldih basti late Sunday evening nabbed a man roaming suspiciously in their locality. When they nabbed him and began interrogating him, he pretended to be mentally deranged. Soon a mob assembled at the spot and informed the police who reached in no time and took the man in tattered clothes into their custody.

At the police station, the suspected identified himself as Munna Ansari from Ranchi. Police said they were interrogating Ansari and have also sought medical experts opinion on his mental status.

On Monday, Jamshedpurs Sundernagar police arrested one Fazluddin Hoda alias Vicky, whom the villagers had caught wandering alone in the village. As he was a stranger to the area, villagers took him to be a child lifter. But instead of thrashing him, as has happened with previous suspects in the past, they made him sit on a chair, offered him water and milk before calling the police.

During interrogation, police discovered Ansari, resident of Jamshedpurs Azadnagar locality, was a wanted criminal. They remanded him to judicial custody.

In a similar incident on Tuesday, residents of Bagbera, where three Hindu youths were lynched last week, nabbed a stranger moving suspiciously in their locality. When locals questioned him, he identified himself as one Jeetu Kumar Gupta, resident of Delhi. He failed to give a satisfactory reply on the motive of coming to the steel city and moving in the locality.

Initially, locals branded him a child lifter. But some conscientious citizens in the crowd came forward and decided to hand him to police.

This is a welcome sign. Eventually good sense is prevailing. I hope the rumours will die down with the villagers support, said rural SP, Sunil Burnwal.

Senior police superintendent Anup T Mathew said he is working out a strategy to engage the Majhi Pargana Mahal, the Santhal religious body, to dispel the rumours in interior villages.

This is a social problem and police alone cannot handle it. The communitys social, religious and political leaders have to come forward to arrest the rumours and check the mindless killing. Hunting of suspected child lifters is no lesser crime than witch hunting, he said.

Rumours of child lifters on the prowl have refused to die down in Jharkhands Kolhan division despite the media and government agencies working overtime to dispel it.
Actor Naga Chaitanya, who is set to marry actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu in October, says he is enjoying all the attention coming his way as he believes this phase wont last long.

Wherever I go, Im asked about my marriage. Honestly, theres no pressure anymore because everybody knows. I believe this phase... where people constantly want to know about my marriage...it wont last long. Nobody is going to ask me this question next year, said Chaitanya over phone from Hyderabad.

Let me enjoy while it lasts, he chuckled.

Chaitanya awaits the release of Kalyan Krishna-directed Telugu romantic-drama Rarandoi Veduka Chuddam, hitting the screens on Friday.

Talking about the film, he said its been his father Akkineni Nagarjunas wish that he stars in an out-and-out commercial film.

Im taking the commercial route with Rarandoia.... Its a light-hearted film and Kalyan has given me a very energetic character. Dad wanted me to do a full-length commercial film for a long time and its being fulfilled with this project, he said.

Kalyan had previously worked with Nagarjuna in last years Telugu blockbuster Soggade Chinni Nayana.

Did Kalyans previous collaboration with Chaitanyas father persuade him to collaborate?

I love this pic of #chaisam. So much in love!! pic.twitter.com/8oVkmEAFXW  Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) January 30, 2017

I saw Kalyan working on the sets of Soggade Chinni Nayana. As we started talking, he bounced off a few ideas and we eventually decided we will work together. Its his work, especially the way he presents his characters, that really convinced me to work with him, Chaitanya said.

The film also stars Rakul Preet Singh.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Kabali pair superstar Rajinikanth and director Ranjith are reuniting for a new project which is being produced by Dhanush in his home banner Wunderbar Films. Tipped to be another gangster saga, the project has been officially titled Kaala Karikaalan, and it was announced on Thursday. Dhanush revealed the title along with the films first look poster via Twitter. The film will start rolling from May 28. Originally planned to be shot in Mumbai, the makers have decided to shoot predominant portion in Chennai and shoot some general scenes in Mumbai.

It is also believed that the team has been recreating the popular Dharavi slum in Chennai on a budget of nearly Rs 5 crore. The set work has already begun and it should be completed in the next two weeks. The principal shooting will commence in Chennai from the last week of May. The makers are targeting next year April for release, a source said told HT. Huma Qureshi is rumoured to be playing Rajinikanths pair in the film. Although the makers have remained tight-lipped about the news, Huma recently said it would be an honour to work with the 67-year-old star, without confirming if she has been signed on for the project. She didnt even deny the news.

Wunderbar films presents .. superstar Rajinikanth in and as #thalaivar164 pic.twitter.com/rUrMWCYNkJ  Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) May 25, 2017

It is believed the film will revolve around south Indians, especially Tamilians in Mumbai and their fight for equality. Kaala is a colloquial word used to insult south Indians, especially used to target their race. The film will have music by Santhosh Narayanan and National award-winning editor Sreekar Prasad is part of the project.

Here we go !! The biggest of them all .. #superstar Rajinikanth's #kaala first look pic.twitter.com/G9T6r3JtiS  Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) May 25, 2017

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Priyanka Chopras production banner, Purple Pebble Pictures, has registered its presence in the 70th Cannes Film Festival with a slate of at least half a dozen films that are in the works.

Represented in Cannes by the actors mother, Madhu Chopra, who helms the company as managing director, Purple Pebble Pictures unveiled the first look of the new Sikkimese film, Pahuna, written and directed by Paakhi A Tyrewala. It is scheduled to release in October.

Weve been enthused by the success of Ventilator to step out into the big wide world of global independent cinema, Madhu said at an event hosted by the India Pavilion here to unveil the first look of Pahuna.

The film, which unfolds entirely in Sikkim and uses many local talents in the junior crew, is about three children who are separated from their parents while fleeing from the Maoist violence in Nepal.

It was a logistical challenge shooting in Sikkim because the state does not have a film industry but the government went out of its way to support the project, she said.

The film is currently in post-production. It should be ready fore release before Dussehra. We will have the premiere in Sikkim.

Explaining the rationale behind their banners regional- language forays, Madhu said, Stories from the various Indian states are routinely turned into Hindi films. Bollywood benefits commercially in the bargain. Our core idea is to narrate these tales in the languages that they stem from.

Among the other films that Priyankas production house currently has in the pipeline is Nalini, a Bengali-Marathi bilingual inspired by a little-known romantic chapter from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagores early life.

To be directed by Ujjwal Chatterjee and scripted by his wife Sagarika, the film will present a 17-year-old Rabindranath, who found his first love in Maharashtra when his father sent him to his elder brother Satyendranath to learn English.

We are looking for a young actor to play the teenage Tagore, while we are close to casting Jisshu Sengupta in the role of the poets older avatar, Madhu said in an interview.

Also up ahead is a film set in Goa, Little Joe, Kahaan Ho?, about a boy who tides over his loneliness by sitting by the sea and sketching. A German tourist spots his talent and a bond develops between the two.

The film, pitched as a tribute to the art of celebrated cartoonist Mario Miranda, is directed by first-timer Suvrata Nasnodkar, who has her roots in Goa. She cut her teeth as an assistant to Prakash Jha.

Purple Pebble Pictures also has a Bhojpuri film, Bam Bam Bol Raha Hain Kashi, and another Marathi production, Kai Re, Rascala, lined up for release over the next year.

The sixth film that Madhu spoke about with special interest is the Bengali-language Brishtir Opekhaye (Waiting for Rain).

It is based on a book by seasoned litterateur Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. We have just brought the rights from the writer in Kolkata and cast Rahul Bose and Rituparna Sengupta in stellar roles, she said.

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The ongoing Cannes Film Festival threw up an enchanting title in a year when one has been feeling famished for good cinema. Sofia Coppolas The Beguiled with an array of actors like Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst made a good watch the other day.

Set three years into the American Civil War in the mid-19th century, The Beguiled may draw comparisons with the unbeatable Gone With The Wind. Yes, unbeatable of course, but The Beguiled has the potential to put up a good fight.

And we see Coppola examining sexual tension and desire in times when men were scarce and yet the identity of a woman was intrinsically tied to a man. There also an attempt to examine gender roles and the dynamics of power in a very engaging but subtle manner.

This is so apparent when the superbly playing Colin Farrell appears as a wounded Union soldier, Colonel John McBurney (part of those states which opposed slavery and wanted to abolish it) in Virginia (one of the 11 states whose cotton plantation economy made it imperative to hold on to black bonded labour). As he lies faintish in the woods, one of the seven women in the Farnsworth Seminary, run by the strict Miss Martha (excellently played by Nicole Kidman), finds him and takes him in. Troubled by conflicting pulls of Christianity to help those in need and a sense of loyalty to her confederate fighting to retain slavery, Martha is also disturbed by the awakening of her sexual desires at the sight of a full-bodied man.

Based on Thomas Cullinans 1966 novel and the 1971 film adaptation starring Clint Eastwood, the movie also has Kirsten Dunst as Edwina, a schoolteacher, and Alicia (Elle Fanning), a student, whose initial suspicion about the colonel soon turns into one of attraction. There are several early scenes in the film that is hilarious, letting us take a peek into how the women begin to enhance their physical appearances into order to catch the soldiers eye.

The Beguiled unfolds in the rundown seminary - a picture that underlines how deprived the women are, leading a cloistered life. It is only to be expected then that Johns arrival sends waves of shock and fear and, well, excited anticipation. Though the women would prefer the soldier to be gone soon - once his wound heals - they are also uneasy with the kind of longing that arises in them at the sight of rugged masculinity.

On the other hand, he is also aware of his precarious position. He is completely at the mercy of Martha and her girls, and in this delicate dance of changing power equation, Edwina lets herself get close to him - which leads to a fatally dramatic turn.

While Sofia Coppolas period detailing is impeccable, she steers her movie through a sense of modernity.

The Beguiled is beautifully layered, and Coppola has the ability to view the happenings in the seminary through a contrasting lens of past and present. The bursting sexuality has a very contemporary feel even as Martha has been training her women to be good homemakers. Soon, the institution turns into a lab where the innermost wants of the women are exposed. Yet, Coppola gives ample hints at the beginning that the relationship between the soldier and the women cannot last. And we see Martha, despite her moments of wavering -- torn as she is between her sexual urge and the need to see her girls safe in times as horrible as war -- exhibiting her steely resolve in the end.

While Coppolas period detailing is impeccable, she steers her movie through a sense of modernity. There is something hauntingly contemporary in The Beguiled that has an almost mesmeric effect. Also because Coppola is well versed in the art of storytelling, and stays far away from gimmicks - something so many of our modern directors cannot do.

(Gautaman Bhaskaran has covered the Cannes Film Festival for over 25 years.)

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Furious British officials have reprimanded their US counterparts on Wednesday following repeated leaks of shared material about the investigation into the deadly Manchester terror attack.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd criticised the US Department of Homeland Security and other intelligence branches after the bombers identity and details of the probe leaked out to US media before British officials felt ready to disclose them.

But shortly after the interior minister complained, The New York Times newspaper again scooped British authorities and other media by publishing photographs from the scene of remnants of the bomb.

The pictures were apparently taken by police investigators and, according to British government ministry sources, leaked by US counterparts they had been shared with.

We are furious. This is completely unacceptable, a government ministry source said.

These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public.

The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts.

The row -- which goes to the heart of the close intelligence-sharing relationship between the two allies -- provides an awkward backdrop to Prime Minister Theresa Mays meeting with US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.

It is irritating

Rudd revealed the frustration going on inside the probe to find the suspected network behind bomber Salman Abedi.

The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity... the element of surprise, Rudd told BBC radio.

So it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again.

Asked if the US authorities had compromised the investigation, she said: I wouldnt go that far.

But I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldnt happen again.

But the National Counter Terrorism Policing body said the investigation was being undermined.

We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world, a spokesman said.

These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information.

When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation.

Bomber identity leaked

Twenty-two people, including several children, were killed on Monday when a bomb went off at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande in Manchester, northwest England.

British-born Abedi was identified as the suspected suicide bomber responsible. His name first surfaced in US media reports Tuesday, based on briefings given to US officials by their counterparts in London.

Earlier, US media, also quoting US security sources, identified the assailant as a suicide bomber, well before British authorities confirmed that publicly.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan confirmed that Rudd, who spoke with DHS Secretary John Kelly by phone Wednesday, had raised the matter.

They communicated to DHS as well as other US government agencies their concern over leaks about their investigation into the incident in Manchester -- information thats gotten into the press and public through US sources when the UK was leading the investigation and wants to protect the information, Lapan said.

Theyve asked all of us to better protect the information that we have so as not to impede their investigation. Well do whatever we can to honour that.

DHS and intelligence agencies contacted by AFP would not comment on whether they were the ones who leaked the information.
China on Thursday condemned the kidnapping of two of its nationals in Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province.

The couple, who taught Mandarin in Quetta, were abducted at gunpoint on Wednesday.

The Chinese government attaches high importance to the safety of Chinese citizens overseas, foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said during a regular news briefing.

We condemn all forms of kidnapping activities, Lu said, adding that the Chinese government was working closely with Pakistani authorities to ensure their release.

Beijings remarks came amid safety concerns for its nationals working in Pakistan under the Belt and Road Initiatives flagship project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

After the incident happened, the Chinese government, along with relevant departments, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan and the Chinese consulate general in Karachi, immediately launched the emergency response mechanism, Lu said.

We have kept close communication with Pakistan, (and) request relevant Pakistani authorities to take every necessary measure to rescue the abducted while ensuring their safety, and take more effective measures to secure the safety of Chinese citizens and organs in Pakistan.

The Chinese government will work with the Pakistani side to make the utmost efforts for the early and safe release of the kidnapped personnel.
Describing the United Nations as a partner in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing on Thursday dismissed a UN bodys report which warned that the flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor could create tension with India and fuel political instability.

China said the report by Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP), a development arm of the UN, wasnt specifically on the CPEC and had evaluated the BRI in a very positive way.

The report, issued on Tuesday and prepared at the request of the Chinese government, said the CPEC could lead to further political instability in the region and create geo-political tension with India as it passes through PoK.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last week primarily because of sovereignty issues over CPEC passing through PoK.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang dismissed the UNs concerns on the CPEC.

As far as I have learned, the ESCAP did not issue any specific report on the BRI. As for CPEC passing through the controversial territory, I have said this many times, it (CPEC) is an economic initiative and it will not affect our position on the Kashmir issue, Lu said.

He spoke in detail about the ESCAPs positive look at the BRI.

The report had said the BRI has the potential to position the region as an epicentre for growth and trade.

ESCAP is an important partner of our Belt and Road Initiative. The 73rd session of ESCAP was just concluded in Thailand in Bangkok. During this session, all parties spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative in promoting development in Asia and the Pacific, Lu said.

This shows support of the international community for the BRI and the report issued by the ESCAP also gave a high evaluation to the positive role played by the BRI and explained in detail how it can play a positive role.

Lu added that the ESCAP and BRI will promote connectivity and coordinate policies, infrastructure building, financing and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

He conveniently side-stepped worries over the CPEC and other corridors mentioned in the report.

The ESCAP report referred to political instability in Afghanistan and said this could limit the potential benefits of transit corridors to population centres near Kabul or Kandahar, as those routes traverse southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban are most active.

The CPEC, the report said, could also lead to widespread displacement of local communities.

In Balochistan, there are concerns that migrants from other regions of Pakistan will render ethnic Baloch a minority in the provinceIn addition, Hazaras are another minority of concern. If the benefits of the proposed (CPEC) are reaped by large conglomerates, linked to Chinese or purely Punjabi interests, the identity and culture of the local population could be further marginalised, the report said.

There were also concerns the CPEC would pass through an already narrow strip of cultivable land in mountainous western Pakistan, destroying farmland and orchards.

The resulting resettlements would reduce local population into an economically subservient minority. Marginalisation of local population groups could re-ignite separatist movements and toughen military response from the government, the report said.
Chinas ambition to build a new Silk Road is not about seeking to expand its military role abroad nor about seeking to set up foreign bases, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

The new Silk Road, formally known as the Belt and Road initiative in China, is President Xi Jinpings signature policy to expand links between Asia, Africa and Europe underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.

At a summit in Beijing this month, Xi pledged $124 billion for the plan, promising to forge a path of peace, inclusiveness and free trade.

But Chinas ambitions have caused nervousness in some countries, particularly India and in some European capitals, which suspect Beijing of using the plan to promote Chinese influence globally, pointing to investments in ports in places such as Pakistan that could one day be used by Chinas navy.

Asked whether Chinese Belt and Road investments in ports in Greece, Pakistan and Sri Lanka had a covert military intention, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said such speculation was groundless.

The new Silk Road is about cooperation and trade, he told a regular monthly news briefing.

The Belt and Road initiative has no military or geostrategic intent. China is not seeking the right to guide global affairs, or spheres of influence, and will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Still, China has been building a military base in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti that will be its first overseas naval base, though officially described as a logistics facility.

Djiboutis position on the Indian Oceans northwestern edge has fuelled worries in India that it could join Chinas string of pearls, or military alliances and assets ringing the south Asian nation, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
The Chinese government charged on Thursday that a US warship had entered its waters in the South China Sea without permission, prompting Beijings navy to warn the vessel to leave.

The USS Dewey sailed less than 12 nautical miles from Mischief Reef -- part of the Spratly Islands -- on Thursday morning local time, a US official said earlier, the first freedom of navigation operation under President Donald Trump.

The relevant action taken by the US vessel undermines Chinas sovereignty and security interests, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a press briefing.

We urge the US to correct this mistake, he said.

Stop taking further provocative actions that hurt Chinas sovereignty and maritime interests, so as to avoid hurting peace and security of the region and long term cooperation between the two countries.

The incident broke a period of friendly exchanges between China and the United States after presidents Xi Jinping and Trump met in April.

Lu said the USS Dewey, a guided-missile destroyer, had trespassed in the waters near relevant islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands without permission from the Chinese government.

The Chinese navy identified the US warship in accordance with the law and warned it to leave, the spokesman said.

Lu said the US warships move comes as the situation in the South China Sea is cooling down and showing positive signs of development thanks to the concerted efforts of Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

But what the US has done is cause severe disruptions to this process of dialogue and consultation.
Jude Ratnam is worried how his film might go down with his fellow Sri Lankan Tamils. And he has a point.

Demons in Paradise, which is premiering at the Cannes film festival, tells of the bloodbath that drove some Tamils to take up arms in the three decade-long insurgency that tore the island apart.

But the documentary also shatters a taboo by insisting that some of most horrific violence the minority endured was at the hands of their supposed defenders, the Tamil Tigers.

And the hard truth comes from the mouths of former Tamil fighters themselves.

By making this film I know that I will have to face harsh, perhaps even hateful criticism from both communities, Ratnam said.

The Sinhalese will claim that I am betraying my country by stirring up the past that is best forgotten. The Tamils will insist that I betrayed our cause by revealing the atrocities committed by the Tamil Tigers.

Ratnam was five when the anti-Tamil pogroms of Black July began in 1983, sending him and his family fleeing north from the massacres in the capital Colombo.

Tamil grievances and suffering were real, the director insisted.

The problem was the Tamil liberation movement turned out to be complete madness with many groups vying for control.

Sun God leader

As many as 20,000 civilians died as the Tigers  led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose supporters venerated him as the Sun God  imposed their will through a bloody reign of terror in the Tamil-dominated north.

Ratnam believes another 10,000 disappeared after being tortured or taken to camps.

If you dont recognise that madness and just keep saying we were the victims, you are not facing the truth, he added.

By 1986, less than three years into the civil war, people were more afraid of the Tigers than the army, he told AFP. People were terrified of them... they reigned supreme as the gods of revolutionary justice.

In the film, witnesses talk of the almost daily public executions of spies and traitors in the Tigers stronghold of Jaffna. Opponents were also necklaced with burning car tyres.

In one electric scene Ratnam brings together rival former fighters to talk for the first time around a campfire about what they saw and did.

If the film has a hero, it is his uncle, a former fighter who grew disillusioned with the struggle and risked his life to smuggle civilians out of Jaffna.

He returned from Canada with Ratnam to the familys ancestral village near Kandy for an emotional reunion with the Sinhalese neighbours who hid him during earlier anti-Tamil violence in 1977.

Hes a great man, Ratnam said. When I was 16 and I saw my people dying I wanted to fight. But he was the first to return and say, This wrong, its messed up. What is going on is madness.

Silence is imposed

Ratnam, the son of an Anglican priest, said facing up to the hard truth of what happened is essential if Tamils and the majority Sinhalese are to move on.

Seven years after the end of the war, the victors are celebrated, general amnesia is encouraged and silence is imposed, he added.

In a conflict that went on 30 years nobody is innocent.

Because of the Tigers iron grip, everybody got sucked into the ideology. The Tigers came to represent the Tamils, so if you are a Tamil you had to be a Tiger.

Ratnam took a decade to complete the film. Given the new Sri Lankan governments commitment to freedom of speech, he said he hoped they will allow the film to be shown.

It is not going to be easy. Some of my close friends will be upset by it. Its a big taboo. I dont think I will be able to show my face in Tamil diaspora areas abroad (where support for the Tigers is still strong)... nor Tamil Nadu in India.

I am a Tamil, I dont deny my identity, but identity also gets us into some lunatic positions that deny the facts or inconvenient truths. Our people cant be wrong! is the attitude.

Ratnam said he would be much more comfortable back home in Sri Lanka where people lived with the war to the bitter end in 2009.

Fear destroyed the lives of three generations in Sri Lanka since British colonial rule, Ratnam said, when ethnic differences were used to divide and rule.

My uncle had a gun. I have a camera... I want to avoid a fourth generation being trapped in the snare.
The story of the night of May 1, 2011, when US forces killed Osama bin Laden, has been told and retold many times. The US government, US Navy Seals and intelligence analysts have given varying accounts of how it unfolded.

Now, for the first time, we see the events of that night through the eyes of his fourth and youngest wife, Amal, who has spoken to Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy for their book The Exile: The Flight of Osama bin Laden about the last few minutes of the 9/11 masterminds life.

In an excerpt published in The Sunday Times UK titled Watching Daddy Die, Amal recalls the sickening screech with which a US military Black Hawk helicopter landed in the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that the family was hiding out in for six years, and the fear on the face of her husband when he was woken up by it.

As the Seals moved towards the house, bin Ladens family  three of his four wives and their children  gathered in his upstairs bedroom and prayed, she says. He then told his wives to go downstairs with their children: They want me, not you.

Amal, however, insisted on staying by his side with their son Hussein.

In the tense moments in which they waited as the Navy Seal team crept upwards towards their room, killing one of Osamas sons Khalid and clashing with his daughters Sumaiya and Miriam on the way, Amal realised someone in their inner circle had given away the location of their safe house: It was clear, she thought. Their safe house was a death trap and someone had betrayed them.

Her account suggests bin Laden had no contingency plan in place for such an assault, as she recalls realising with cold dread that there was no emergency procedure to follow aside from some euros sewn into her husbands underwear along with emergency numbers for his deputies in Waziristan.

When the Navy team entered the room, she tried to rush them, but was shot in the leg and passed out. When she came to, bin laden was already dead. A trembling Hussein, who had witnessed the killing of his father, sat by her side.

Amal recalls how she stayed motionless and played dead, listening to the Seals hold the terrified Sumaiya and Miriam and bin Ladens distraught second wife Khairiah next to his body to confirm his identity.

They took bin Ladens body and the family downstairs and Amal realized, she says, that the end they had never dared to discuss had come and gone in minutes.

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Intelligence ties between Britain and the United States have become strained following leaks about investigations into the Manchester Arena blast, prompting Prime Minister Theresa May to take up the issue with President Donald Trump on Thursday.

The Greater Manchester police has stopped sharing information with US officials, while bureaucrats across Britains security establishment reacted with fury at US leaks to New York Times that were reproduced widely online in print in Britain.

May confirmed that she would make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure, a day after home secretary Amber Rudd publicly rebuked US officials for naming Salman Abedi as the suspected suicide bomber hours before the police did.

A Whitehall source described a second US leak comprising images of shrapnel and remains of the suspected suicide bombers clothing as on another level, and told the BBC it had caused disbelief and astonishment across the British government.

A spokesperson for national counter terrorism policing said: We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world. These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families. This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (R) meets soldiers and police officers on deployment at the Palace of Westminster in London on Wednesday. (AFP)

A senior Whitehall source told The Guardian: These images from inside the American system are clearly distressing to victims, their families and other members of the public. Protests have been lodged at every relevant level between the British authorities and our US counterparts. They are in no doubt about our huge strength of feeling on this issue. It is unacceptable.

Before leaving for Brussels, where May was scheduled to meet Trump at a Nato summit, the British PM chaired another meeting of the governments emergency committee, Cobra, and later said the terror threat level would remain at critical for the foreseeable future.

The police have confirmed that eight suspects remain in custody and that progress is being made in the case but the threat level, as assessed by the independent joint terrorism analysis centre, will remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant, she said.

Police and army units continued counter-terrorism operations in Manchester and beyond, as Queen Elizabeth visited the traumatised city coming to terms with the terror attack that claimed 22 lives.

On Friday, May will attend a G7 summit in Italy, where she said she would lead a discussion on counter-terrorism and on how we will work together to prevent the plotting of terrorist attacks online and to stop the spread of hateful extremist ideology on social media.

G7 and Nato will enable us to work more closely together as we work to defeat the evil of terrorism, she added.

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The head of Lebanese movement Hezbollah said Thursday he was unfazed by threats of attacks or fresh sanctions, days after US President Donald Trump slammed the group and its sponsor Iran.

On his visit to Riyadh last week, Trump blamed Iran for destabilising the Middle East and called for a crackdown on its allies, including Shiite movement Hezbollah.

He spoke via video-link to hundreds of supporters gathered in the northeast Lebanese town of Hermel to commemorate the 17th anniversary of Israels withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

But party chief Hassan Nasrallah struck a defiant tone on Thursday, saying Hezbollah was not afraid of any war, sanctions, or intimidation in the media.

Threats of killing or dying do not scare us... No one scares us at all. They are weaker than ever, Nasrallah said.

The chief of Lebanons Hezbollah group is telling Saudi Arabia that dialogue with Iran is the only way forward, lashing out at the kingdoms lavish royal welcome of US president Donald Trump.

In a speech on Thursday, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the US president is only interested in money and is the most racist U.S. president against Arabs and Muslims. He says the Saudi welcome and deals signed are a sign of the kingdoms weakness.

Nasrallah was speaking days after Trump signed a USD 110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering Saudi security, and after the US State Department announced sanctions on senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine.

Nasrallah dismissed the sanctions as laughable and said such summits and declarations will not make any difference.

Irans Revolutionary Guards created Hezbollah (Party of God) in the 1980s.

With political and military support from Iran, it remains the only side not to have put down weapons after Lebanons civil war from 1975 to 1990.

The United States, Canada and Australia have listed Hezbollah as a terrorist group. The European Union has also blacklisted its military wing.
The Manchester attack and a little known war memorial designed by architect Edwin Lutyens formed a poignant backdrop as British and Indian authorities gathered in the east Midlands city of Leicester on Thursday to pay homage to members of the Indian Labour Corps.

The memorial in the sylvan Victoria Park is similar to the Lutyens-designed India Gate in New Delhi, where a similar event was held to recall the contribution of the unremembered members of the corps who played a key role in World War One.

Indian high commissioner YK Sinha addressing the gathering in Victoria Park, Leicester, on Thursday. (HT photo)

Lutyens (1869-1944) designed the capital of independent India, and also several monuments in Britain. Called the Arch of Remembrance, his Leicester monument is a tribute to 12,000 men from Leicestershire who died in World War One.

Marking the centenary of the labour corps this year, Indian high commissioner YK Sinha laid a marigold wreath sourced from New Delhi at the memorial, recalled the contribution of Indians in the war, and mentioned the Manchester terror attack to call for coordinated action against terrorism in all its forms.

Leicester mayor Peter Soulsby (second from left), Leicester lord mayor Rashmikant Joshi (third from left) with Indian high commissioner Y K Sinha (second from right) and children carrying names of members of the Indian Labour Corps. (HT photo)

The world needs to act not only against terrorists but also against its supporters, harbourers and apologists, he said at the event attended by Leicester mayor Peter Soulsby, lord mayor Rashmikant Joshi, and hundreds of children from local schools.

The children held sheets of paper with names of 1,174 members of the corps, which are also inscribed in the India Gate memorial in New Delhi.

Indian high commissioner YK Sinha addressing the gathering in Victoria Park, Leicester, on Thursday. (HT photo)

The event was part of a community engagement project called The Unremembered: World War Ones Army of Workers funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government to discover the history of the labour corps in World War One.

Indians were among thousands of workers who supported the war effort from around the world. Many faced racism and discrimination. They served with courage but they have been almost completely forgotten and are thus called The Unremembered.

Sinha joined the project to mark the contribution of the corps, and has funded the production of a new resource pack, The Unremembered: The Indian Story, focused on Indias army of workers.

The Indian Labour Corps served in France and Flanders, on the North West Frontier, in Salonika, East Africa, Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. More than 11,000 are listed in the Basra archive.

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The father of the bomber who killed 22 concert-goers in an attack in Manchester told Reuters in the Libyan capital on Wednesday that he had last spoken to his son some five days ago, by phone, and everything was normal.

Ramadan Abedi, who was detained by a Tripoli counterterrorism force during the interview, said his son Salman had told his family that he was heading on pilgrimage to Mecca.

Salman doesnt belong to any organisation...The family is a bit confused because Salman doesnt have this ideology, he doesnt hold these beliefs... I didnt expect that to happen, never, Ramadan Abedi said.

I spoke to him about five days ago ... there was nothing wrong, everything was normal, Abedi said. He did not say where his son was at the time.

Another of Abedis sons, Hashem, was detained on Tuesday evening in Tripoli on suspicion of links to Islamic State, said Ahmed Bin Salem, a spokesman for the Special Deterrence Force, also known as Rada.

We have evidence that he is involved in Daesh (Islamic State) with his brother. We have been following him for more than one month and a half, Bin Salem said. He was in contact with his brother and he knew about the attack.

Rada said Hashem, 20, had travelled from London to Tripoli on April 16.

British interior minister Amber Rudd said earlier that the bomber had recently returned from Libya. Her French counterpart Gerard Collomb said the man had links with Islamic State and had probably visited Syria as well.

But Ramadan Abedi said he was sure Salman had not been a member of the jihadist group.

Salman doesnt belong to any organisation, he said. The family is a bit confused because Salman doesnt have this ideology, he doesnt hold these beliefs.

I didnt expect that to happen, never, Abedi said, adding that he thought there were hidden hands behind the attack.

We condemn these terrorist acts on civilians, innocent people, he said.

Dogs

Abedi also said he was certain Salman had not been in Syria. I checked his two passports and there wasnt anything in them, he didnt travel to Syria, he said.

Hashim Ramadan Abedi, brother of bomber Salman Abedi, appears inside the Tripoli-based Special Deterrent anti-terrorism force unit after his arrest on Tuesday for alleged links to the Islamic State extremist group. (AP Photo)

While Reuters was interviewing Abedi, several unmarked vehicles carrying heavily armed Rada forces drove up to the family home in the Tripoli suburb of Ayn Zara and detained him.

Family members shouted at the Rada men, calling them dogs, as Abedi was handcuffed and driven away.

Rada did not give a reason for his arrest. Libyan media and bloggers reported alleged connections between Abedi and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a militant Islamist organisation formed by Libyans who travelled to Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight Soviet troops and later plotted to topple former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. A Facebook page that appears to belong to Abedi shows links to several former LIFG members.

Some LIFG members and supporters fled Libya in the 1990s to Britain and like Abedi settled in Manchester, home to a large Libyan community. Abedi reportedly returned to Libya in 2008.

I condemn anyone who says I belong to the LIFG, but I praise them, Abedi said.

Rada is one of the largest of the armed groups that have held power on the ground in Tripoli since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Gaddafi.

Nominally aligned with the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), it has specialised in breaking up Islamic State cells in the Libyan capital.
On its last day in office, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda government of Nepal has awarded a contract to construct the 1,200MW Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project to a controversial Chinese company, without any competitive bidding.

The last cabinet meeting held on Tuesday -- a day before Prachanda stepped down as prime minister-- approved the energy ministrys proposal to let China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) build the project on the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha and Dhading districts.

Touted as a project to end the perennial power shortage in the country, it will be built under the engineering, procurement, construction and finance model, with an estimated cost of more than $ 2.5 billion.

Though there are accusations that Prachanda was pro-India, some of his decisions favoured Beijing, raising eyebrows in New Delhi. Nepal signed a framework agreement on Chinas ambitious One Belt One Road and joint military exercise with China during his short tenure.

During the two visits of Nepal Prime Ministers- KP Oli and Prachanda- China had pushed for a Chinese company develop the hydel project. The matter prominently figured in the visit of Prachanda to China earlier this year. Subsequently, he initiated the process to engage CGGC for the development of the hydroelectric project, one of the most strategic in the country.

CGGC is a controversial company and has a bad track record in Nepal, critics pointed out. The company has already left one hydro power project in limbo and put pressure on political leadership to increase the generation capacity of another.

The government should correct the decision to award the contract to a controversial company without any competitive bidding, Nepals former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat told reporters, adding the project should move forward in a transparent manner.

This is not a reliable project, said hydropower expert Ratna Sansar Shrestha.

The government was earlier planning to construct the project, once considered one of the most feasible and profitable, using its own resources and had distributed billions of rupees as compensation to project-affected people.

The cabinet approved the draft memorandum of understanding to be signed with CGGC. The company will get a year to make an assessment of the project and arrange funds for its development, according to the MoU.

The EPCF model of project development, under which the contracting firm makes all the arrangements including the funds to build the project, is considered one of the most effective for the development of huge infrastructure projects.
Rocket Lab, a Silicon Valley-funded space launch company, on Thursday launched the maiden flight of its battery-powered, 3-D printed rocket from New Zealands remote Mahia Peninsula.

Made it to space. Team delighted, Rocket Lab said on its official Twitter account.

The successful launch of a low cost, 3D-printed rocket is an important step in the commercial race to bring down financial and logistical barriers to space while also making New Zealand an unlikely space hub.

The Los Angeles and New Zealand-based rocket firm has touted its service as a way for companies to get satellites into orbit regularly.

Our focus with the Electron has been to develop a reliable launch vehicle that can be manufactured in high volumes  our ultimate goal is to make space accessible by providing an unprecedented frequency of launch opportunities, said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive in a statement.

The firm had spent the past four years preparing for the test launch and last week received the go-ahead from the US Federal Aviation Administration, which is monitoring the flight.

Bad weather had delayed the rocket from taking off three times this week.

New Zealand has created new rocket legislation and set up a space agency in anticipation of becoming a low-cost space hub.

Ships and planes need re-routing every time a rocket is launched, which limits opportunities in crowded US skies, but New Zealand, a country of 4 million people in the South Pacific, has only Antarctica to its south. The country is also well-positioned to send satellites bound for a north-to-south orbit around the poles.

But many locals in the predominantly Maori community were not happy with access to public areas blocked.

People come to Mahia so they can go to the beach and its been chopped off now and by the sounds of it one of these rockets are going to be launching one every 30 days so theyve taken over our lifestyle, said Mahia farmer Pua Taumata.

But Taumata also said the programme could bring opportunities.

Im for technology ... a lot of things could come of it through education. It gives our children something different in their careers. Nobody thought to get into the space industry (before now), he said.

Rocket Lab is one of about 30 companies and agencies worldwide developing small satellite launchers as an alternative to firms jostling for space on larger launches or paying around $50 million for a dedicated service. The company said in a statement it has now received $148 million in funding and is valued in excess of $1 billion.

Rocket Labs customers include NASA, earth-imaging firm Planet and startups Spire and Moon Express.

The firm will carry out two more tests before it starts commercial operations, slated to begin towards the end of this year.
Barbet Schroeder spent months with Ugandan dictator Idi Amin at the height of his power, when corpses would wash up every morning on the shores of Lake Victoria and Kampala was rife with rumours that he was eating his opponents.

But in his decades of documenting evil, the veteran Swiss filmmaker says he has never been as scared by anyone as he was by a Burmese Buddhist monk named Wirathu.

I am afraid to call him Wirathu because even his name scares me, the highly acclaimed director told AFP. I just call him W.

The Venerable W, his chilling portrait of the monk who has been accused of preaching hate and inciting attacks on Myanmars Muslim Rohingya minority, has been hailed by critics at the Cannes film festival as a stirring documentary about ethnic cleansing in action.

What dismays Schroeder is that Wirathu, whom Time magazine dubbed The face of Buddhist terror in a 2013 cover, is utterly unfazed by the chaos and suffering he has unleashed.

Buddhism is supposed to be the philosophy of peace, enlightenment and understanding, he thought. It helped centre Schroeders own life when he made a pilgrimage to India to follow on the path of the Buddha 50 years ago to cure myself of my jealousy.

But the hate speech and fake news that Wirathu spreads from his Mandalay monastery, accusing Muslims  barely 4% of the countrys population  of trying to outbreed the majority Burmese, made Schroeders head spin.

Devilishly clever

He is much more intelligent and in control of himself that I thought, devilishly clever in fact, said Schroeder, who shot his film secretly in Myanmar until he attracted the attention of the secret police.

It was like being faced by a good Jesuit or some very clever communist leader back in the day, he said.

Rather than question him like a journalist, Schroeder just let the monk talk as he did with the other subjects of his Trilogy of Evil, which began with General Idi Amin Dada in 1974 and includes his 2007 film Terrors Advocate about the French lawyer Jacques Verges, who defended Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.

If you wait long enough, slowly the truth would come out, Schroeder said. That is what I did with Idi Amin and Jacques Verges.

When he lied Id say, Tell me more, how interesting...So the Rohingya burn their own houses so they can get money from the United Nations...

For me one of the most shocking moments is when he says they destroy their own houses, and then you see a crowd of maybe 3,000 people fleeing their burning homes. Its nightmarish.

In another telling scene Wirathu, leader of the Buddhist nationalist 969 movement, is shown watching Muslims being beaten to death in Meiktila near Mandalay in 2013, a month after he gave an anti-Muslim speech there.

Hate speech escalating

Schroeder said the monk had returned all peace and love to the town to call for calm, but he was at least indirectly responsible for what was happening.

Wirathu said all this happened because a monk was killed by the Muslims. But I read the pamphlet that sparked the riots and it sounded very much like his speeches and that he could have written it.

This month, Wirathu  who has been called the Buddhist bin Laden  stirred tension by touring Muslim areas in troubled Rakhine state despite Myanmars top Buddhist body banning him from preaching in March.

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims died in 2012 when sectarian violence ripped the state apart, and tens of thousands still languish in fetid displacement camps.

More than 70,000 have fled into neighbouring Bangladesh since October after the military launched a months-long crackdown that UN investigators say cost the lives of hundreds of the persecuted minority and may amount to crimes against humanity.

Last week, a UN envoy criticised the government of Aung San Suu Kyi for not clamping down on hate speech and incitement to discrimination which she claimed appear to be drastically escalating.

In the film, Schroeder, 75, seems to trace Wirathus Islamophobia to the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by a Muslim in his hometown of Kyaukse.

But in person he is not so sure. Another theory is that his mother left his father and married a Muslim, or because his monastery was burned when he was 14. But every time I checked I was never sure.

Why was Hitler like he was? We will never know how this garbage collected in his mind.
US attorney general Jeff Sessions is facing fresh criticism for his failure to mention his interactions with Russians in a government form requesting top-level security clearance that comes with the position he holds.

Also, in another development, it appears a fake document may have forced FBIs former director James Comey to call a highly unusual press briefing in 2016 to clear former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in the case pertaining to her use of a private email server.

Sessions had met Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak twice as a US senator. He failed to mention that in his form, which required details of all contacts with foreign governments and representatives over the last seven years. Providing false information or withholding information is a federal crime.

This is the second time Sessions, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has found himself in trouble over these meetings. He had also failed to acknowledge them during his confirmation hearing despite a direct question, and has had to recuse himself him from the ongoing probe into Russias meddling with the 2016 election and alleged collusion by Trump campaign officials, by the FBI, which reports to the justice department.

In Sessions defence, a justice department spokesman said in a statement, As a United States senator, the attorney general met hundreds  if not thousands  of foreign dignitaries and their staff. The attorney generals staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities.

Criticism came fast and thick both from Republicans and Democrats. In the Bush Administration someone who lied on a security clearance form would have been out the door within 24 hrs, Richard W Pinter, the chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W Bush, wrote in a post on Twitter.

Democrats renewed their call for Sessionss resignation. Hes lied under oath. Hes misled on security clearance forms. Its simple  he should not be the Attorney General, Kamala Harris, the first-time Indian American senator from California tweeted.

There was no response from Comey about the revelation he might have been forced to call that unusual and controversial news briefing, without informing the justice department, at which he berated Clinton for improper use of the server but cleared her essentially, saying investigators found nothing prosecutable against her.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday the FBI had received a document in the summer of 2016 which seemed like the work of Russian intelligence that alleged an understanding between the Clinton campaign and the justice department led by Loretta Lynch, a Barack Obama appointee, that investigation into her use of a private server will not push too deep.

For proof, it cited an email exchange between individuals that told the publication they did not know each other at all. The veracity of the document was never proven, but Comey is reported to have relied on it to call the news conference without conferring with the justice department.

The FBI believed the document was bad intelligence, according to the Post, and possibly a fake send to confuse the bureau.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday ran into the first problems of a landmark European trip, embarrassingly called out in public over Russia and on leaks into the Manchester terror attack.

His carefully choreographed visits to the EU and NATO in Brussels were designed to heal divisions caused by the billionaires harsh campaign criticisms of both institutions.

Trump was to take a tough stance with NATO -- the US-led military alliance he once dubbed obsolete -- to push it to take more action on Islamist terrorism and to pay its way.

But differences immediately emerged after his talks with the European Unions top officials Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker on climate change, trade, and above all Russia.

Im not 100 percent sure that we can say today -- we means Mr President and myself -- that we have a common position, common opinion about Russia, former Polish prime minister Tusk said.

Trump on the campaign trail made restoring relations with Russia a key promise but he has faced bitter opposition in Washington and has since become embroiled in a scandal over alleged links to Moscow.

He had also previously alarmed the EU by backing Britains Brexit vote last year and by calling the bloc a vehicle for German domination of the continent.

After the meeting of what has been dubbed the Two Donalds, EU leader Tusk said the EU and US agreed on many areas, first and foremost on counter-terrorism.

But in a combative line, Tusk also called for Western values to be promoted, challenging former tycoon Trumps world view that self-interested deals best settle international problems.

- Manchester intel row -

Britains Prime Minister Theresa May said meanwhile she would raise directly with Trump the issue of leaks from a probe into the Manchester terror attack that have left British authorities infuriated with their US counterparts.

Speaking ahead of her departure for the NATO summit in Brussels, May said she would make clear to President Trump that intelligence which is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.

Trump has made enlisting NATO in the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State a key objective of the summit, saying the Manchester killings showed how dangerous the threat was and that there was no option but to defeat the jihadists completely.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said early Thursday the alliance would formally endorse joining the coalition at the summit, despite reservations in France and Germany about getting involved in another conflict.

This will send a strong political message of NATOs commitment to the fight against terrorism, Stoltenberg said, stressing that it would not involve the alliance in a combat role.

Stoltenberg said the allies would also meet Tusks demands to share more of the security burden and reaffirm a commitment to spend 2.0 percent of annual GDP on defence.

In return, the allies hope Trump will make an unequivocal and public commitment to Article 5, the alliances one-for-all collective defence pledge. Trump had suggested this could depend on whether allies paid their defence dues.

Trumps entourage warned that the billionaire president would push allies heavily on the 2.0 percent GDP spend on defence, which was agreed in 2014.

I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters travelling with Trump.

- Hellhole protests -

Trump came to Brussels direct from a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, after visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

On his arrival on Wednesday in Brussels, the city he once said had been turned into a hellhole by Muslim immigration, the president was greeted by around 9,000 protesters saying Trump not welcome.

Further rallies were expected Thursday and security was tight across the city with helicopters flying overhead and key roads shut down.

Trump had a private lunch with new French President Emmanuel Macron, whose recent victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been seen as a beacon of hope by Brussels, before heading to NATO.

The NATO summit will be full of pomp and symbolism, with the keen-to-impress alliance showing off its new $1.2-billion (1.1 billion-euro) headquarters and staging a flypast.

At a ceremony with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump will unveil a memorial to the September 11, 2001 attacks featuring part of the destroyed World Trade Center, while Merkel does the same for a fragment of the Berlin Wall.

9/11 was the only time that Article 5 has been triggered, a fact NATO leaders have repeatedly pointed out to Trump.

Trumps wife Melania, meanwhile, is set to visit a museum dedicated to the surrealist artist Rene Magritte and a leading leather store while in Brussels.
Two suspected suicide bombers killed three Indonesian police officers and injured 10 people on Wednesday night in twin blasts near a bus station in the eastern part of the capital, police said.

The blasts went off five minutes apart at Jakartas Kampung Melayu terminal, police said.

National Police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said three officers had been killed, and that examination of the scene had shown that there appeared to have been two suicide bombers, not one as originally thought.

Five officers and five civilians were wounded, he said.

Indonesia has suffered a series of mostly low-level attacks by Islamic State sympathisers in the last 17 months, but Wasisto said police had not confirmed any Islamist motive for Wednesdays bombing.

The police officers were on duty to guard a group of people who were holding a parade. The parade hadnt passed yet when the blast happened, Wasisto told a news conference.

The two suspects were both male. Their identities will be released later, he said.

Wasisto said the explosives appeared to have been packed into pressure cookers. A similar bomb was used in February in the city of Bandung by a lone attacker, killed by police, whom authorities suspected of having links to a radical network sympathetic to Islamic State.

Authorities in the worlds biggest Muslim-majority nation are increasingly worried about a surge in radicalism, driven in part by a new generation of militants inspired by Islamic State.

In January 2016, four militants killed four people in a gun and bomb assault in the heart of Jakarta.

While most of the attacks since then have been poorly organised, authorities believe about 400 Indonesians have gone to join the militant group in Syria, and could pose a more lethal threat if they come home.

On Wednesday night, heavily armed police cordoned off the area around the bus station with tape to hold back hundreds of onlookers while bomb disposal officers with protective suits examined the area.

Transport Minister Budi Karya tweeted that he had asked staff to increase vigilance on the citys transport network.
The family of an Indian tourist, who died after being scalded in an Edinburgh hotel shower in August 2012, has received an apology and an undisclosed six-figure compensation after a settlement.

Karnataka-origin Kalyani Uthaman, 59, was on holiday in Scotland when she was severely scalded at Premier Inn in Newcraighall. She suffered multiple organ failure and died in hospital weeks later.

Her family sued for a six-figure sum to pay hospital fees. The hotel's owners said it was "an isolated incident" but the familys lawyer argued the hotel failed in its duty of care by not having fitted a thermostatic mixing valve to regulate water temperature.

Speaking from Bengaluru, Uthaman's son Sundar Uthaman told BBC she was treated in intensive care for six weeks but died of multiple organ failure. "I feel vindicatedI'm still angry at what they did and the fact it wasn't until Thompsons Solicitors raised the court proceedings that they issued an apology, he said.

"I would also bring to attention that nobody spoke to me and my family regarding what happened. So I really feel disappointed. The settlement has prevented the evidence being heard in court. I would really like this to be discussed in the court to make sure such a tragedy never happens to anyone else."

A Crown Office spokesman said: "The family of Kalyani Uthaman were informed, in January 2014, of the decision not to hold a Fatal Accident Inquiry. The incident was fully investigated by police, the council and health and safety experts.

A spokesman for Premier Inn said: "We are very sorry for the tragic accident that occurred to Ms Uthaman in 2012 and our thoughts are with her family. We take millions of bookings every year and we would like to reassure our guests that this was an isolated incident.

Lawyer Glenn Miller told BBC he believed there was a case in common law that the hotel did not look after Uthaman properly: They failed in their duty of care to Mrs Uthaman, who was having a shower. She should have been protected by a thermostatic mixing valve had a code of practice been followed."
Salman Abedi, the British suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a music venue in Manchester on Monday, was in Germany four days before the attack, Sky News reported on Thursday citing German intelligence.

Abedi had been in Dusseldorf, 300 miles (482.8 km) west of Berlin, Sky said.

Investigators have said they believe he was part of a wider network of militants.

I think its very clear this is a network we are investigating, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins of the Manchester Police said as authorities raided British properties thought to be connected to Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old suspected bomber who grew up in Manchester and died in the attack.

British home secretary Amber Rudd said Abedi likely did not act alone in the strike at the close of an Ariana Grande concert Monday night and that he had been known to security forces up to a point. Meanwhile, officials probed possible travel by the alleged bomber, looking for clues to new threats.
The United States has annoyed two of its closest allies, the UK and Israel, by its recent inability to keep secrets.

On Wednesday, Israel said it had altered information-sharing protocols with the US after President Donald Trump passed on intelligence by their informant concerning the Islamic State to Russia, possibly endangering his life.

The British complained about leaks from the Manchester terror attack investigation which showed up in US media  including the name of the attacker, the toll and that it was suicide bomber  potentially jeopardising the case.

Both Israel and the UK are Americas closest allies on intelligence; the US and UK belong to a close-knit intelligence sharing alliance called the Five Eyes with Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

But the British were so upset that they dumped formalities. The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, home secretary Amber Rudd told BBC.

So it is irritating when it (information) gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again, she added, in an unmistakable reference to American intelligence agencies that had access to real-time updates.

Asked if the leaks had compromised the operation, Rudd said, I wouldnt go that far but I can say they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldnt happen again.

Israel seemed less upset, but only because it wasnt dealing with a terrorist attack. When asked about intelligence sharing between the US and Israel earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had Trump by his side then, said it has never been better.

But soon after Trump left, the Israelis opened up. I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that theres unprecedented intelligence cooperation with the United States, defence minister Avigdor Liberman told Israeli Army Radio, according to VOA.

What we had to clarify with our friends in the United States, we did. We did our checks, he added, declining to discuss details. Not everything needs to be discussed in the media; some things need to be talked about in closed rooms.

Trump had shared highly classified intelligence from an Israeli-run spy  who was the reason for the recent ban on laptops on some flights  to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a White House meeting.

When it became public, Trump, who had cheered leaks from the campaign trail but had come to view them differently as a target after election, argued that as the president, he can decide what is classified and what is not.

As president I wanted to share with Russia [at an openly scheduled WH meeting] which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism, he wrote on Twitter.

Former CIA director John Brennan told a congressional committee on Tuesday that while sharing intelligence with Russians, there were protocols to follow, and Trump violated a few.
A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the yoga guru Bikram Choudhury after he failed to pay nearly $6.5 million to a former legal adviser in a sexual harassment case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton also set bail at $8 million for the founder of the Bikram yoga empire, which involves practising yoga in sweltering rooms.

Choudhury was sued in 2013 by his onetime legal adviser Minakshi Mikki Jafa-Bodden, who accused him of sexual harassment, saying he fired her after she refused to help him cover up allegations that he raped a yoga student.

Ordered to pay $6.47 million in punitive damages in January of last year, he fled California shortly after the verdict, Jafa-Boddens attorney, Carla Minnard, told AFP.

The guru -- who had no attorney representing him in court Wednesday -- first travelled to India and then Thailand and Japan before heading to Mexico, where he was served court papers in May, Minnard said.

He is currently in Acapulco conducting teacher training classes, she said. Our intent is to have him arrested before he leaves Mexico.

The 70-year-old Choudhury had managed to move some of his assets, including a fleet of luxury cars, to Nevada and Florida, but court orders were issued to prevent him moving property out of the country, Minnard said.

We will keep pursuing him however long it takes, wherever it takes, she said. I dont care where he goes, how much money it costs us, how many lawsuits we have to file, how many hundreds of hours we have to spend -- we are going to collect on this judgment and see that Mikki gets justice.

Originally from India, Choudhury is said to have made a fortune after he moved to California.

He claimed during his trial that he was nearly bankrupt after spending millions of dollars in legal fees and because his business was no longer thriving.

His yoga routine involves 26 posture exercises performed over 90 minutes in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius.)
A US military investigation on Thursday acknowledged that more than 100 civilians were killed in a US air strike on a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March during operations against Islamic State militants.

The probe concluded that the US strike in the Al-Jadida district inadvertently triggered explosives placed in the building by Islamic State fighters, causing it to collapse.

Local officials and eyewitnesses have said as many as 240 people may have died in the strike.

It is believed to be one of the single largest incidents of civilian casualties since the U.S.-led coalition started operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Read more | Amnesty: US-led coalition not protecting Mosul civilians

Air Force Brigadier General Matthew Isler, who oversaw the investigation, told reporters that the March 17 strike was aimed at two Islamic State snipers.

However, the 500-pound bomb triggered explosives inside the concrete building, collapsing it onto civilians.

Isler said the United States and nearby Iraqi forces did not know there were civilians in the building or that it had been rigged with explosives.

He added that 101 civilians inside the building were killed, four civilians were killed in nearby, and 36 civilians were still not accounted for.

Read more | After civilians killed in Mosul, Pentagon denies loosening rules in fight against IS

Prior to this investigation, the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State said that at least 352 civilians have been killed in strikes it carried out in Iraq and Syria since 2014. That estimate is far lower than those provided by outside groups.
A US Navy ship has sailed in disputed South China Sea waters near a reef claimed by Beijing in the first freedom of navigation exercise under President Donald Trump, a US official said.

The USS Dewey sailed less than 12 nautical miles from Mischief Reef -- part of the Spratly Islands -- early Thursday morning local time, the official said.

The exercise is likely to provoke anger from Beijing as the Trump administration attempts to draw support from China on reining in Pyongyang.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan and several ASEAN members including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

It has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

The US has challenged annexations of these islets and advocated for a diplomatic settlement to the disputes.

In a statement the US Department of Defense stressed that its Freedom of Navigation Operations program performs exercises that are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements.

According to the Pentagon the US in 2016 conducted operations challenging excessive maritime claims of 22 coastal states, including allies and partners.
Two leaks of classified information related to the Manchester terror attack strained close relations between Britain and the US on Thursday as the number of arrests in UKs intense counter-terror operations rose to eight.

The leaks from US officials were considered serious enough to be taken up by Prime Minister Theresa May with President Donald Trump during a Nato summit in Brussels. An irate Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is said to have stopped sharing information with the US.

With the US annoying two of its closest allies, Israel and the UK, by its recent inability to keep secrets, Trump ordered a complete review of leaks following angry complaints from Britain.

Before leaving for Brussels, May chaired another meeting of her governments emergency committee (Cobra), and confirmed she would make clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure.

Home secretary Amber Rudd had publicly rebuked US officials for naming the suspected suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, hours before the GMP did on Tuesday. Another widely publicised leak included images and details of shrapnel and remains of a backpack used by Abedi in the attack that killed 22 people and injured 75.

GMP chief constable Ian Hokins said family liaison officers told families of victims that intelligence had been leaked and published in The New York Times, adding this had caused much distress.

Floral tributes and messages of support left around the statue at St Ann's Square in Manchester. (AFP)

He would not add to a statement issued by the National Counter Terrorism Police Network, which said Britain valued important relationships with intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world that enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information that allows us to defeat terrorism.

The statement added, When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families. This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation.

Hopkins said the fast-moving investigation at a number of addresses across the UK had led to eight arrests, all men. A woman arrested on Wednesday was released.

I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation, he said.

A Whitehall source described the second US leak of images of shrapnel and remains of the suicide bombers clothing as on another level, and told BBC it caused disbelief and astonishment across the British government.

A senior unnamed Whitehall source told The Guardian that protests had been lodged at every relevant level with the US. They are in no doubt about our huge strength of feeling on this issue. It is unacceptable, the source said.

Trump, currently in Brussels, ordered a review of the leaks of sensitive information, describing them as a grave threat to national security. He said in a White House statement: I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

On Wednesday, Israel said it had altered information-sharing protocols with the US after Trump passed on information from its informant, embedded in the Islamic State, to Russians, probably endangering the sources life.

Israel and the UK are Americas closest allies in intelligence-sharing. The US and the UK, with Canada, Australia and New Zealand, belong to the close-knit intelligence-sharing alliance called Five Eyes.

A British army soldier and a police officer secure an entrance to the defence ministry in London. (AFP)

Israel seemed less upset than the UK, but only because it wasnt dealing with a terror attack. Asked about intelligence-sharing between the US and Israel earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had Trump by his side then, said its never been better.

But soon after Trump left, the Israelis opened up. I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that theres unprecedented intelligence cooperation with the US, defence minister Avigdor Liberman said.

What we had to clarify with our friends in the US, we did. We did our checks, he added, declining to discuss details.

Trump shared highly classified intelligence from the Israeli-run spy  who was the reason for a recent ban on laptops on some flights  with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a White House meeting.

When it became public, Trump, who cheered leaks from the campaign trail but has come to view them differently as a target after the election, defended himself by arguing that he is the president and can decide whats classified and what is not.

Former CIA director John Brennan told a congressional committee on Tuesday that sharing intelligence with the Russians was not in itself a crime but there are protocols to follow, and Trump had violated a few.
International Museum of World War II

8 Mercer Road

Natick, Massachusetts 01760

Admission: $25.

In an exhibit case in the International Museum of World War II, a book lies open to a photograph of Adolf Hitler addressing troops in Nurembergs Luitpold Arena. A huge swastika adorns his speakers stand; a bronze eagle, the symbol of the Nazi Party, looms in the background. The haunting image lingersuntil you turn the corner and encounter the actual swastika and eagle in the photo, both of which General George S. Pattons troops brought home in 1945. A more direct and chilling example of material provenance would be difficult to find.

No other World War II museum captures the feel of the war quite like this remarkable facility in Natick, Massachusetts, just a few miles west of Boston. One of the hallmarks of this museum is that war is personal, says Kenneth Rendell, its founder and director. Its not what you see on the History Channel. Indeed, its stunning collection has been described by the Imperial War Museum in London as the most comprehensive display of original World War II artifacts on display anywhere.

The artifacts include weapons, uniforms, maps (including what may be the only complete set of Normandy invasion plans), propaganda posters, and ephemera of all kinds. Visitors will find every type of Enigma machine, save one, and one of the few remaining Higgins boats in close to original condition. A battle-scarred Sherman tank dominates one of the galleries. A rare Link Trainera replicated airplane cockpit that in the early 1930s became the first effective flight simulatorshares space with an even rarer German-built Goliath explosives carrier. An extraordinary spread of French resistance gear sits a few feet from Pattons battle helmet and Bernard Montgomerys famed beret. Thanks to tight security and on-the-spot volunteers, visitors are even allowed to handle war relics such as an MP-44 German assault rifle, and a club with which Japanese guards once beat American POWs.

Presented virtually without exhibit text (audio Acoustiguides are available), the museums 7,500 artifacts portray the conflict in a uniquely raw way. One moment you read two letters, displayed side by side, that Dwight D. Eisenhower and Erwin Rommel wrote to their wives three days after D-Day; the next you marvel at a pair of straw boots worn by a Russian soldier at Stalingrad. The museum is proof that simple is sometimes best. A visitor need not be awash in special effects to appreciate a chess set carved from a loaf of bread by a Jewish concentration camp prisoner.

But simple does not mean simplistic; gallery design is subtle but deliberate. The mood produced by a combination of Waffen SS recruitment posters, cramped spacing, and German-annotated maps of occupied Paris, for instance, is unmistakable. I dont want to lose sight of the terror part while were telling personal stories, Rendell says, because thats what people feltterror.

Note: The International Museum of World War II is open to general visitors on a first-come, first-served basis on Saturdays from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. All visitors are required to provide a signed waiver of liability. Special admission: World War II veterans, free; seniors (65 and older), $20; under 18 years (with adult), $15. For details on scheduled visits for groups and other important information, please call the museum at (508) 651-1944, email visit@imwwii.org, or visit www.museumofworldwarii.org.
It was last week that an announcement was made regarding the nine-month extension of the production cut by Saudi Arabia and Russia. This announcement is being supported by all the countries. Moreover, this announcement also had the oil prices recovering.

In an announcement last week, it was said that Saudi Arabia and Russia will extend the production cut until March 2018. Speculations led the oil prices to recover and it is also suggested that till the OPEC meeting is held next week, oil prices will see an upward move, Economic Times reported.

Notably, on Thursday, OPEC and non-OPEC countries will meet in Vienna to approve the rollover. So far, almost all the countries have shown their support for the agreement, even though some have certain reservations, stated Noureddine Boutarfa, the Algerian Energy Minister, in an interview.

According to reports from Bloomberg, this extension is an attempt to bring up the prices of oil. The oil producers are trying to resuscitate the economy with such measures. Notably, prior to this announcement, the market was moving at a slow pace, which led to the liquidation of the long positions.

Reports suggest that the main concern is the fact that the reduction in the OPEC production is being taken care of by the non-OPEC output from the United States. It is also suggested that in the times to come, the non-OPEC supply will see an upward rising graph as it is forecasted that in 2017 the supply will see a growth of 0.95 mbpd. This is largely due to the bounce back in shale oil production in the United States.

OPEC does have a tough job ahead, especially since shale can shale oil can make a come back very fast. Now, it remains to be seen, how things turn up after the meeting on Thursday.

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On Tuesday, the President of United States, Donald Trump proposed his first budget, which included major cuts in foreign aid spending in Central America and Mexico. And just like President Trump had said during his election campaign, he proposed a 45 percent cut in foreign aid to Mexico.

The 2018 budget proposal presented by President Donald Trump on Tuesday intends to cut foreign aid spending by $3.6 trillion, over the next decade, Reuters reported. President Trump proposed huge cuts in US foreign aid spending in Central America and Mexico.

The report stated that the budget presented by President Trump suggested a $87.66 million Mexican aid, which is about 45 percent lower than the budget presented in 2016. Notable, since his election campaigns, Mexico has been targeted by President Donald Trump, who had said that he would deport all Mexicans, who are living in the United States without documents, build a southern wall and had also threatened that he would scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, after the huge cut, it is expected that with the meeting that is scheduled to take place in Miami in June, the U.S government might put in some support through the private sector.

It must be mentioned that currently, the number of migrants has drastically decreased, but if President Trump is unable to put his policies in place, the numbers will be back to high figures. Moreover, Mexico is currently struggling due to the rise in the crime rate. And the number of deaths due to drug-related crime stands at 100,000, since 2006.

It must be mentioned that the United States President proposed cuts in aid for the poor people that include programs like Medicaid, entitlements, food stamps, and other anti-poverty schemes. These cuts are most likely to affect people living in the rural areas of the United States.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In the ever-increasing pace of the 21st century, it is essential for all HR professionals to, apart from their traditional role, become familiar with various areas of the business. As the world is shrinking, talent needs to be identified both globally and locally by utilizing information technology and alternative approaches. While capturing talent becomes a more transparent and brand-based process, retaining talent becomes an ever more challenging task. Global trends are likely to influence organisations, the next generation coming into the workplace, and what they are going to expect. How to develop a strategy of Right Job for the Right Person at the Right Career Developmental Stage? What motivates people and keeps them engaged? What are the most successful and handy TECH innovations worldwide? How to promote the company brand within the employed colleagues hence creating a higher rate for retention? How can HR add value when anchoring a new business culture? At this event we will be discussing answers to these and related pressing questions that various HR departments face across Europe.

This event is organized by GLC - Global Leading Conferences

For more information please contact Oana Martin

+40 21 539 22 41
Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya has revealed the general manager and executive team who will be responsible for bringing the first Four Seasons address to the country.

Four Seasons veteran Didier Jardin will lead the team of more than 400 professionals appointed to manage the seventh property in the Four Seasons GCC collection, which currently includes three properties in the UAE, one in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one in Qatar and one in Bahrain.

"After hosting a growing number of Kuwaiti guests at our properties within the region and beyond, we are pleased to bring the Four Seasons experience to the heart of Kuwait City.

"The team in charge of this beautiful property know they have a great responsibility at hand, and drawing from their many years of experience with Four Seasons, they make an excellent choice to extend the brand's legacy in this dynamic market," said Simon Casson, president, hotel operations, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

A French national, Jardin has spent the last two decades at nine Four Seasons properties, with a strong focus on food and beverage. He relocated to Kuwait last year from Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita where he was resort manager.

Christel Artaud, director of human resources for the property, is a Four Seasons veteran of eight years. Artaud joined the company at Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora in 2008 where she served for seven years as director of human resources. A French national, Artaud moved to Kuwait in April 2016 to take charge of the human resource function at the new property.

The director of finance is Mohamed Ismail, who has moved to Kuwait after completing a decade at Four Seasons Hotel Doha. Ismail has extensive experience in launching new properties, having been part of pre-opening teams at Four Seasons properties in Doha, Russia and Azerbaijan.

Mohamed Karara joined the Kuwait property as director of sales and marketing as part of the pre-opening team in 2016 - moving from the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts  Middle East Worldwide sales office. Previously, he has served in similar roles at Four Seasons properties in Jordan and Egypt.

Georges Safi has come on board at the Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait as director of food & beverages after serving in the same role as part of the pre-opening team for Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where he managed the hotel's eight restaurants and bars. Safi began his career at Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, now the only palace hotel in Europe to offer three Michelin-starred dining experiences with a total of five stars. In his new role in Kuwait, Safi will oversee the hotel's five restaurants and lounges.

Director of rooms Mohamed Zakaria started his journey with Four Seasons in 2002 as assistant resort manager at Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh and later moved to Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria at San Stefano and most recently at Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest.

As director of engineering, a Lebanese-Swedish national, Ali El-Zein is responsible for overseeing the operational maintenance of the new hotel. El-Zein has previously worked as chief engineer at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh followed by other engineering appointments at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre and Four Seasons Hotel Baku.
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Related Related Press Release Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait reveals executive team

Christel Artaud, director of human resources for the property, is a Four Seasons veteran of eight years. Artaud joined the company at Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora in 2008 where she served for seven years as director of human resources. A French national, Artaud moved to Kuwait in April 2016 to take charge of the human resource function at the new property.
After Netflix pulled the plug on The Get Down earlier today, fans worldwide expressed the five stages of grief. As usual, memes were heavily employed to convey the whirlwind of emotion fans are clearly experiencing. After only one season, its safe to say that the series died young, before it ever really had a chance to develop.

Check out some of the notable reactions here, and if youre a fan of the show, take a moment of silence for all the incomplete character arcs that will never come to fruition.

The Get Down
The gig will take place in Vicar Street on Saturday June 24 in support of Amnesty International Ireland.

Performing on the night will be Al Porter, Alison Spittle, Linda Martin, The Sugar Cubes and more to be announced.

This year, the gig will mark Dublins LGBTQ Pride. Amnesty International is campaigning against discrimination of LGBTI people and all proceeds from the event will go towards their campaign to help fight human rights abuses in Ireland and around the world.

Around the world, LGBTI people continue to face discrimination and harassment. 76 countries criminalise sexual acts between adults of the same sex. Amnesty International is campaigning to change this, said Colm OGorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland.

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Tickets for the gig are priced at 25 and are on sale now from Ticketmaster and all usual outlets nationwide.
The song, called 'Adeline', is a part of their upcoming third album, Relaxer.

Irish fans of the trio will be delighted to hear new material ahead of their gig as part of the Trinity College Summer Series, on July 11. The song was first heard on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 Radio show last night.

The band have previously released two songs form the album, 'In Cold Blood' and '3WW', both of which were very well received. The excitement is brewing for the album's imminent release.
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Albertsons Cos., the grocery-chain operator that is the parent company of Houston's Randalls, has held preliminary talks to merge with Sprouts Farmers Market, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The discussions, which took place in recent weeks, are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal, said the people, who asked not to be named. The talks have involved a plan to take organic grocer Sprouts private and add it to Albertsons' portfolio, which also includes the Safeway store brand. Albertsons is backed by Cerberus Capital Management.
Apps are one of the main ways that Apple attracts people to the iPhone, and in the interest of training more people to make them, the tech behemoth is launching a new curriculum for community colleges  starting in Houston.

Houston Community College will be among the first educational institutions to teach the Apple-designed course in developing applications for the iOS operating system, the company announced in Houston on Wednesday. It's part of a new iOS Coding and Design School that will offer both short-term boot camps and programs for degree credits starting in June.

"We have been excited about the links they have to the community, to businesses, to government, to everyone there," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, about HCC. "Because that means that lots of students will wind up in good jobs."

The course builds on Apple's educational programs for K-12 classrooms, as well as a network of iOS app development centers that the company launched in Italy last year. HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado says he noticed the iOS development center in Milan about nine months ago, and thought that Houston should have something similar. Upon reaching out to Apple, he learned that the company was already planning a curriculum for community colleges.

"There was some magic in the timing," Maldonado says. Although the new Coding and Design School will focus on Apple's Swift programming language, he says that won't preclude students from learning to create programs for Android phones as well. "The skills are transferable across devices and platforms."

Google doesn't have anything similar, but hinted that a program is under development.

"While we don't have an analogous program we're offering to college students at the moment," wrote Google spokeswoman Charlotte Smith in an email, "be sure to keep an eye out for updates as we get closer to the next school year :)"

Approximately 1.7 million mobile app developers in the United States, according to a study by the Progressive Policy Institute, a center-left think tank in Washington. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts about 800,000 software developers for apps  which can be either web or mobile based  who make a median salary of $100,000 per year.

Although consumer-oriented smartphone apps are the most well-known variety, Houston might have a greater demand for developers who can create them for industrial uses, says Greater Houston Partnership CEO Bob Harvey.

There are a number of ways to land a job as a mobile developer: You can either teach yourself, using various free online tools, or take a course through non-accredited schools like General Assembly or Hack Reactor. Those can be expensive, though, and often require taking time off from regular jobs.

Those intensive programs aren't available in Houston, which only has a couple coding schools. Kevin Colten is the chief technology officer for Austin Coding Academy, which has a Houston office at Station Houston, a co-working space downtown. He says that demand for courses has been low so far, but that it makes sense for HCC to teach Apple's program.

"If you look at the numbers, iOS developers get paid more because it's more of a luxury phone," Colten says. In addition, he says many university app development courses have a hard time keeping up with changes in technology, which an Apple-directed course might be able to avoid.

Apple won't provide financial support for the courses, but the curriculum will be free to use for community colleges, beginning this year at institutions in Alabama, Pennsylvania, California and Ohio. It will also be available for free online to anyone who wants to teach themselves.

It's a welcome bit of momentum for Houston's nascent tech scene, which got a push last week with the launch of an "Innovation Strategy Office" within the Greater Houston Partnership aimed at boosting the city's startup ecosystem. One of the recommendations in a report from the consulting firm Accenture was for Houston to attract an office of a big Silicon Valley tech firm, such as Apple.

Apple employs about 8,400 in Texas. Six thousand of those jobs are in Austin, including the Maps team as well as other research and development functions. When asked if the company would start an office in Houston, Apple's Cook  who spent a few months in Houston in the 1990s while working for Compaq  said the city should instead focus on having people build on top of Apple's platform.

"Any city that's looking to expand, whether it's startups or just their tech workforce, my recommendation would be to focus on app development," Cook said.
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SAN FRANCISCO - A renowned strawberry researcher in California broke patent law and violated a loyalty pledge to his former university by taking his work with him to profit from it in a private company, a jury in San Francisco decided Wednesday.

Professor Douglas Shaw formed his own company after retiring from the University of California, Davis, where he had overseen the school's strawberry breeding program. Jurors in a federal court decided that he used seeds without the university's permission.

"This federal jury decision is good news for public strawberry breeders at UC Davis and all strawberry farmers throughout California and the world," said Helene Dillard, dean of the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

A separate jury will later decide whether the retired professor has to pay damages.

Shaw had first sued UC Davis after he retired, saying that the university unfairly destroyed some of his work and keeps some of his other research locked in a freezer, depriving the world of a better strawberry. He sought $45 million for lost research.

The university countersued Shaw, saying he and another professor stole the school's intellectual property by taking some of the fruits of their research with them when he formed the company.

Shaw, 63, is a giant in the strawberry world, heading the university's lucrative breeding program for more than two decades alongside plant biologist Kirk Larson. Most of California's strawberry farmers grow plants developed by Shaw and Larson.

The two men developed 24 new varieties, allowing growers to double the amount of strawberries produced while retaining the fruit's succulence. They created strawberries that were more pest- and disease-resistant, more durable during long-distance travel and capable of growing during the shorter days of spring and fall.

Some farmers in California, the No. 1 strawberry grower, worried that the battle would stymie research and cause them to lose their competitive edge. California last year produced 1.6 million tons of strawberries valued at roughly $2 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The partners say their work netted the university $100 million in royalties. How much they themselves made at UC Davis is unclear, but they say they contributed more than $9 million of their own royalties toward the university's breeding program.

Shaw and attorneys representing him did not immediately respond to a request or comment.
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Business travelers are the mainstay of the hospitality business and the U.S. Supreme Court just dealt a blow to East Texas hoteliers and restaurateurs.

The number of out-of-town attorneys and paralegals trekking to Tyler and Marshall will likely plummet now that the court has limited where patent trolls can use the judiciary to extort money from major corporations.

While there are legitimate disputes over patents, there is an entire class of company that does nothing but buy patents and then sues companies for infringing on them. Sometimes the patent is for something that is so common sense there really shouldn't be a patent covering it.

Companies that bring these suits are called patent trolls.

For a decade, the Federal Eastern District of Texas, which includes Tyler, Texarkana and Marshall, has been the venue of choice for patent trolls. More than 40 percent of patent cases are filed in the district, and one judge oversaw about a quarter of all cases nationwide.

RELATED: Congress arrives too late in patent troll debate

The patent-holders don't choose East Texas because they live there, nor are the defendant companies based in East Texas. The plaintiffs choose the district because the judges move through the cases quickly and the juries consistently rule against big companies.

The plaintiffs get away with it because the products with the intellectual property in question are sold in the district. So every month, dozens of attorneys and paralegals make the trip to East Texas to argue the cases they couldn't settle out of court.

But no more. Maybe.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for a unanimous court, declared that these cases should be brought where the defendant corporation is based, or where they have a business presence. That can either be Delaware, where many firms are incorporated, or where the company has operations.

"This narrows where plaintiffs can file lawsuits for patent infringement, and it seems clear that more patent cases will be filed in Delaware," said John Keville, managing partner of the Houston office of Winston & Strawn and a longtime patent litigation lawyer.

That has defendants excited, because they are convinced they'll get a fairer hearing where, to put this delicately, the juries may not be so easily swayed by the David versus Goliath narrative that permeates many of these cases.

RELATED: Lower taxes on patent income a great idea

That's also why plaintiffs' lawyers will fight hard to keep Marshall's Sweet Sabine's diner in business.

"Patent suits can be filed ... where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business," Keville added. "The venue fights will not disappear but will now be fought on what is enough presence."

There also is little clarity on whether reducing the number of cases fought in East Texas will lead to fewer abusive patent lawsuits.

One thing does seem certain: Dallas and Houston patent lawyers will be spending less time in the piney woods.
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Motorists are getting a break at the pump as they head into the Memorial Day weekend as gasoline prices continue to tumble, enticing drivers to take to the road.

Gasoline prices typically rise as the U.S. heads into the summer driving season, but they've instead fallen by about 10 cents in the Houston area over the past month and look to hang at about $2.19 per gallon as the long weekend opens, according to GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks gasoline prices and refining activity.

U.S. prices have declined 5 cents per gallon from their April peak to about $2.38 this week.

And those low prices are sending drivers onto the nation's highways.

"It's great for summer coming on," said Chuck Hendrix, 64, from Missouri City, planning a 10-day summer trip in his "gas-guzzling" GMC Denali. "We'll do something in August. My kids have never seen the Grand Canyon."

About 3.2 million Texans will travel 50 miles or more away from home over the long weekend, the Texas branch of the motor club AAA said, almost 3 percent higher than last year and the highest Memorial Day travel volume in more than a decade.

And those low prices, plus a strong U.S. economy, portend well for summer travel, too, analysts say. More Americans are planning to hit the road this summer compared with 2016, according to the annual summer travel study conducted by GasBuddy. More than 82 percent of those surveyed said they will take a road trip over the hot months, a 7 percent increase from last year and a 9 percent increase compared with 2015. More than two-thirds planned to take at least two trips.

Gasoline prices typically rise in May as drivers prepare for summer vacations, and the increased demand pushes oil and gasoline prices higher. But this year, oil prices, after rebounding from their 2016 bottom, have sputtered as global crude supplies remain stubbornly high, despite OPEC's efforts cut production. Gasoline supplies are also flush, further lowering prices.

After a steady rise from a low of $26 a barrel, crude prices have remained stuck at about $50 a barrel, less than half the price of their 2014 peak. Oil prices fell $2.46, or nearly 5 percent, on Thursday to $48.90, after OPEC announced it would maintain production cuts but not deepen them.

All of that leaves the average U.S. gasoline price nearly the same now as it was in January, GasBuddy said. Typically, gasoline prices rise almost 50 cents over the first six months of the year.

"It has been a remarkably quiet spring at the pump," said Patrick DeHaan, a GasBuddy analyst.

U.S. gasoline prices this Memorial Day will be the second cheapest in the last decade at about $2.39 per gallon, 76 cents lower than the 10-year average of $3.15 per gallon. U.S. drivers should spend $2.2 billion less over the long weekend than they did at the highest-priced recent Memorial Day weekend, in 2011, when gas cost $3.78 on average per gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Quinn Hebert is taking advantage of it, loading his three boys into his Chevrolet Tahoe this weekend for a four-hour trip to Louisiana to visit family. Hebert, 53, an oil services worker from the West University neighborhood in Houston, has no problem spending money on gasoline.

"I'm in the oil and gas business," he said. "I want prices to go up. I want people to drive by car, take long motor vacations. I'm doing my part to increase demand."
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It's only taken four years but pop culture gossip hounds finally have the confirmation of the rumor they've been salivating over: Yes, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are beefing.

And, according to Perry, "She started it."

Perry confirmed the rumors on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" prime time special Monday night, explaining that the conflict began in a 2013 dispute over backup dancers.

According to Perry, who recently announced a Jan. 7 concert date at Houston's Toyota Center, three of her backing dancers wanted to tour with Swift on the Red tour in 2013, which Perry was in full support of because, in her words, "I'm not on a record cycle. Get the work. And she's great."

She did, however, caution her dancers that in a year, she would be back on a record cycle, so if they wanted to rejoin her, they needed to build in a 30-day contingency in their contract.

After the year passed, Perry contacted the dancers, whom she was "very close with," and let them know she was readying a new tour. They replied that they'd contacted management and were subsequently fired from Swift's tour.

Perry's story, up to this point, seems to jibe with what had previously been pieced together from various interviews.

A 2013 interview from Examiner featured one of the dancers in question, who confirmed that he and two other backup dancers who had previously worked on Perry's "California Dreams" tour departed Swift's tour to join Perry's "Prism" tour.

This also vaguely aligns with a 2014 Rolling Stone interview wherein Swift confirmed that her hit single "Bad Blood" was about a fellow female artist she had a falling out with.

"She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I'm surprisingly nonconfrontational - you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It's awkward, and I don't like it," Swift told the magazine.

This may or may not be where Swift and Perry's narratives diverge.

After the dancers returned to her, Perry claims she reached out to Swift in an attempt to discuss the matter, and Swift refused.

"I do the right thing any time that it feels like a fumble," Perry told Corden.

"So you did the phone call and it was a shutdown," Corden clarified.

"It was a full shutdown and then she writes this song ('Bad Blood') about me," Perry continued.

However, at Corden's probing, Perry conceded that if Swift were to text her to say, in Corden's words, "the beef is off the grill," that she would, in return, take the beef off the grill.

"I think that women together and not divided and without any of this petty (stuff) - women together will heal the world," Perry said.
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Victoria "Plum" Sykes, Vogue contributing editor and "Party Girls Die in Pearls" author, is first and foremost, a feminist, she says.

Surprised? Don't be.

Despite being credited as one of the "chick-lit" genre's founding figures, the English-rose-turned-writer behind "Bergdorf Blondes" and "The Debutante Divorcee" is quick to point out that the term "chick lit" is slightly derogatory. And sexist.

"Maybe it was invented by a man," Sykes, 47, suggested over afternoon tea at Hotel ZaZa last week. "Let's face it, they don't call anything 'boy-lit.' Having said that, it's a very useful phrase for marketing purposes, because in a nutshell, this book is written by a woman, for women."

It's also an ideal summer read for 1980s nostalgics and rom-com enthusiasts, though this time around, there's is a decidedly modern slant. Unlike the privileged damsels-in-distress of fiction past, the two protagonists in Sykes' third novel are well-polished heroines, not husband-hunters.

"The book is the story of Ursula, a freshman at Oxford University, and her best friend Nancy, who's an American study-abroad student," she explains. "They arrive expecting books and ballgowns, but find a body."

When Ursula discovers one of her glamorous classmates has been murdered, she dives into the investigation - and story - for the university newspaper. There's no shortage of suspects at the upper-crust parties Ursula attends.

As is her signature, the plot draws liberally from Sykes' own life. She, too, attended Worcester College at the University of Oxford, 1988-1992. Just don't expect her to recall any information relating to her history degree.

"I was in the library all day and in a ballgown every night," she says, chuckling. "There were a lot more boys than girls at that time. Few girls went to university and far fewer went to Oxford. I was invited to everything because there weren't any other girls to invite."

But there was no shortage of dramatic material befitting a whodunit. Sykes recalls that a fellow student murdered his girlfriend and buried her body beneath the floor boards in his dorm.

"I do wonder now whether that case has always stuck with me," she says.

Not that the future best-selling author's college experience was all doom and gloom. The late '80s were her introduction to preppy culture, excess and glamour.

"I was particularly amused by Sloane Rangers, which was the English version of a preppy. Lady Diana was the ultimate Sloane Ranger," Sykes says. "Lots of girls wanted to dress like her - with pleated skirts, high-neck collars and pearls. I thought it would be fun to do a spoof or satire on these people who think they're posh."

By comparison, Houstonians are unironically turned-out.

"To an English person, you all seem immaculate," Sykes says, before sharing that her own look - white Rag & Bone jeans and a Vince cardigan - was from (where else?) Bergdorf Goodman.

"You're all very well-groomed, very dressy and you're not afraid to be very feminine. Even the way that women talk here is so nice; it's unaggressive compared with New York or London."

All points considered, the crowd that gathered at the Burberry boutique for an exclusive "Party Girls Die in Pearls" book signing later that evening stands in a class apart. Sykes herself changed into one the British luxury brand's shift dresses and crystal-encrusted Manolo Blahnik pumps to greet philanthropists Lynn Wyatt and Isabel David, real-estate executive Carolyn Wolff Dorros and oncologist Ishwaria Subbiah. Allison Sarofim, who hosted Sykes' Galleria debut for a "Bergdorf Blondes" book party back in 2006, paired up with her sister-in-law Courtney Sarofim for Monday night's intimate gathering.

"When I was thinking about the book tour I thought, 'How do I get the message out there to the women I want to speak to?' " Sykes says. "You can sign books in bookshops, which I've been doing, but adding fashion stores just adds a whole other layer of people who wouldn't go to a bookshop necessarily."

The moral of Sykes' story, then, is that women can be both feminists and feminine, fashion-forward and forward-thinking. In fact, she and husband Tony Rowland are raising daughters Ursala and Tess, ages 10 and 6, with a feminist ideology, she says.

This is a former Oxford party girl who knows her audience - and what she wants to read.

"My books are all quite frothy and light because I think that life is quite hard for most people. There's always something horrible going on," she says.

"If you can escape for a bit with a book, especially in Houston where you've all got swimming pools, what a great way to pass a couple of hours, you know?"
David Paul Morris

Cuts to public university funding may not be as severe as politicians and college administrators expected at the beginning of this years legislative session.

The latest funding projections from a conference committee show that the states general academic institutions would see about a $73 million drop in funding this year  significantly less than the hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts initially forecast by the Senate.
The number of refugees coming to the United States saw the longest consecutive monthly decline in nearly two decades in the first five months of this fiscal year, a decrease only partly attributable to President Donald Trump's two executive orders this spring aimed at slowing resettlement, according to a report released Thursday.

The number of arrivals across the country fell every month since October, the start of the fiscal year, with the most dramatic decrease coming in March, shortly after the president's orders were issued, when they dropped from 9,945 to 2,070.

The orders have since been blocked by federal judges.

Resettlement then rose slightly to 3,316 in April, according to the analysis of U.S. State Department data by the Pew Research Center, a think tank in Washington D.C.

In all, the nation resettled 42,414 refugees in that period, with Texas receiving the most in the country after California, almost 3,900.

Trump's two executive orders limiting refugees and banning travel from certain countries drastically reduced the pace of resettlement, although both memorandums are embroiled in litigation and were only briefly implemented.

At the current pace, the country is expected to receive about 65,000 refugees this year, said Jen Smyers, director of policy and advocacy at Church World Service, one of nine national resettlement agencies contracted by the federal government.

That is far lower than the 110,000 goal set by President Barack Obama for 2017 and the 85,000 who were resettled here in 2016. It's also lower than the average refugee admissions target of 95,000 since the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980, which provided systematic procedures for refugee arrivals.

But it's more than the cap of 50,000 contained in Trump's orders, which some have called an unconstitutional ban against Muslims.

"The courts have found so far that setting that number to 50,000 is part and parcel of a Muslim ban and that's why it is enjoined," Smyers said.

In Texas, however, the overall number of refugees who arrived here so far this year is actually greater than in 2016, State Department data shows.

Between October and May, 4,157 refugees were resettled statewide and 1,162 in Houston. That compares to 3,762 in Texas and 979 in Houston over the same period last year.

Smyers said that's because refugee allocations are planned months in advance and it's a reflection of the Obama administration's push before Trump took office in January. The numbers resettled since then have dropped every month.
LONDON - President Donald Trump on Thursday denounced U.S. leaks about Britain's investigation of the Manchester terrorist bombing as "deeply troubling" and asked the U.S. Justice Department and other agencies to launch a full investigation.

Leaks from the ongoing probe - including the publication of crime-scene photos in the New York Times and the naming of the suspected bomber by U.S. broadcasters - have provoked ire from British officials.

In response to the disclosures, British police investigating the Manchester attack took the highly unusual step of withholding information from U.S. agencies, whom they believe are responsible for the leaks. But by late Thursday evening, police said they had resumed intelligence sharing following "fresh assurances."

British authorities have not said that the leaks have hurt the investigation into worst terrorist attack in Britain in more than a decade -- 22 people died and 116 were injured Monday evening following a bomb explosion at the conclusion of a pop concert in Manchester.

But some commentators have suggested that publishing the name of the suspected bomber could have compromised the investigation. Withholding of the name for longer could have allowed authorities to track down people who may have since gone to ground, they said.

There is also a marked difference in the relationship between the press and the secretintelligence services in the United States and Britain. Here, the culture is more closed, the spy agencies more secretive -- it wasn't until 1986 that the government even officially recognized the existence of MI6. So when leaks like this occur, it's a big deal.

May said Thursday morning she would "make clear" to Trump during the NATO summit that "intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

May later had a tete-a-tete with Trump while they were waiting for a photograph to be taken. Her spokesman said she told Trump that U.S.-British information sharing was "hugely important" but should be safeguarded.

John Lloyd, a media commentator, said the outrage should also be viewed in the context of Britain's upcoming election. "The election may account for some of the grandstanding," he said.

Without an election in the offing - Britons go to the polls June 8 - some politicians may have voiced their frustration "behind closed doors," he said.

In a statement issued amid meetings in Brussels with leaders of NATO member nations, Trump responded to British indignation by vowing to "get to the bottom of this."

"The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

Earlier Thursday in Brussels, Trump twice declined to answer a reporter's questions about the leak controversy and British intelligence sharing. In a photo opportunity ahead of a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump simply stared at his questioner and mouthed the words, "Thank you." He said the same thing when asked whether his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, should cooperate with U.S. investigations of contacts with Russian officials.

Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said in a statement Thursday that the leaks published by the New York Times have caused "much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss."

British police chiefs across the country have also criticized the leaks in a highly unusual statement.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said that "unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence" in the middle of a counterterrorism investigation "undermines our investigations."

On Wednesday morning, Amber Rudd, Britain's home secretary, said the leaks in the U.S. media were "irritating" and should not happen again.

Hours later, the New York Times published a series of detailed forensic photographs from the crime scene that showed, among other things, fragments of a blue backpack that may have contained the assailant's bomb. They also included a graphic of the area where the bomb exploded, pinpointing where the victims' bodies were found.

The New York Times on Thursday defended its reporting, saying in an emailed statement that "the images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes."

"We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories," the paper said. "Our coverage of Monday's heinous attack has been both comprehensive and responsible."

The growing frustration of British officials comes as allies are already smarting from Trump's disclosure of classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador about an Islamic State threat.

"Everyone is very angry," said Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.

Referring to Rudd's remarks, he said that the "Five Eyes relationship is crucial to U.K. intelligence and security, and for her to openly say how unhappy she is about this shows you how angry people are." He noted that Rudd's use of the word "irritating" should be viewed through the lens of the British fondness for understatement.

Britain and the United States are members of the "Five Eyes" group (which also includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand) that allows close intelligence sharing.

But the overall transatlantic intelligence sharing relationship will endure, he said, "because they need each other - the links are far too tight to be broken."

At a lower level, however, there could be an erosion of trust. "If I'm a cop in Manchester, I may first think, 'Do I want this to go to everybody?' if I'm wanting operational integrity," Pantucci said.

This isn't the first time that operational details in an ongoing investigation have come out in the United States.

Days after the London transit bombings in 2005, for instance, images of bomb components and the inside of a subway car were leaked in U.S. media.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he complained to acting U.S. ambassador Lewis Lukens that the leaks were undermining the investigation.

"These leaks are completely unacceptable, and must stop immediately," he said. "This behavior is arrogant and is undermining the investigation into the horrific attack on the city of Manchester."

Lukens also condemned the leaks, telling the BBC that the messages coming out of Britain were "loud and clear."

In Washington, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that he shares Trump's "deep concern" and has talked to the British home secretary about the matter. "These leaks cannot be tolerated and we will make every effort to put an end to it," he said. "We have already initiated appropriate steps to address these rampant leaks that undermine our national security."

---

The Washington Post's William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.
MANCHESTER, England - Salman Abedi's acquaintances were stunned to learn that he was the man believed to have carried out a suicide bombing at a concert hall this week, killing 22 people. But there were signs that he was troubled - and he was not the only one in his family who caused concern, friends and officials said Wednesday.

Salman's 20-year-old brother Hashem was arrested in Libya late Tuesday night, according to officials there, who said the young man told authorities that he had been involved in planning the attack on the concert hall in Manchester. British and other European security officials said they did not believe that Salman Abedi, 22, would have been able to build the explosive device used in Manchester by himself, and they worry that a professional bombmaker may still be at large.

In the Libyan-British community in southern Manchester where Salman Abedi lived, he was known as a university dropout and loner, acquaintances said. Abedi was born in Britain to parents who had fled Libya during the four-decade dictatorship of Moammar Gaddafi, and moved back to their homeland several years ago, after the Libyan leader was killed.

Residents described Abedi as an "awkward" young man and an "isolated, dark figure" who talked to few people and traveled back and forth between Britain and Libya.

Abedi's father, Ramadan, asked two of his sons to move from Britain to Libya several weeks ago, said a friend of the family who last spoke to the father on Tuesday.

"The father said he was afraid that something would go wrong if they stayed in Britain," said the friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons. The friend did not describe the nature of the father's concerns.

But the friend said Salman and his brother Hashem had changed after another youth - an 18-year-old Manchester resident also of Libyan descent - was killed in the northern British city a year ago. That teenager, Abdulwahab Hafidah, was stabbed in the neck in what local media reports called retaliation for his having gone into rival gang territory.

"It became a big source of anger for the youngsters in the Libyan community. Salman and Hashem saw it as an act of anti-Muslim hate crime; they called him a martyr," the family friend said. Hashem Abedi appeared to have known Hafidah.

Members of the Libyan immigrant community reported to local authorities more than a year ago that they feared Salman Abedi was turning increasingly radical, two friends of the family said. British security authorities have acknowledged that they were aware of Abedi but said that he was not considered a major terrorism risk.

Ramadan Abedi told the Associated Press early Wednesday that he believed his son was innocent. "Last time I spoke to him, he sounded normal," the father said in a telephone interview from Libya.

Still, Abedi and his wife took away their son's passport upon his arrival recently in Libya, where both brothers were supposed to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Libyan authorities said, citing testimony by Hashem Abedi.

The young men's mother returned the travel document about one week ago when Salman told his parents he wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia to prepare a pilgrimage to Mecca, according to one family friend and a Libyan official.

"But he was lying," said Ahmed Dagdoug, a spokesman for the Libyan counterterrorism Reda Force, which is aligned with the Libyan government that is recognized by the United Nations.

Instead of going to Saudi Arabia, Abedi flew back to Britain, where he is suspected of carrying out the worst terrorist attack on British soil since the London bombings in 2005.

Authorities worry that Abedi might be part of a network of terrorists, many of whom may remain at large. "Abedi appears not intelligent enough to have built this bomb himself. That's why there are concerns that a bombmaker is still out there," said a European security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

Investigators are also still trying to determine whether Abedi received support from family members. Libyan authorities arrested Hashem Abedi, alleging that he was aware in advance of the Manchester bombing plot and was also planning an attack in Tripoli. His father, who had been working for the Libyan police force in recent years, according to an official, was also detained on Wednesday, although it was not clear on what grounds.

"Hashem helped Salman prepare for the attack," Dagdoug said. "He had the same ideology as his brother."

Dagdoug said he didn't know precisely how Hashem assisted his brother. But Hashem told interrogators that "we knew what we were doing," Libyan officials said.

Salman Abedi appeared to leave few traces of his life on social media, but there are indications that his younger brother may have been attracted to extremism. In 2014, Hashem joked on Facebook about joining a militant group, commenting on the photo of a young British jihadist who had left for the war in Syria: "Inshallah [God willing] we go together." The younger brother's Facebook profile revealed other signs that he had an interest in the Islamic State, which has asserted responsibility for the Manchester attack.

Although British authorities asked members of Salman Abedi's southern Manchester community not to speak to the media, people who knew the family said on Wednesday that Abedi cared for his parents. "He really liked them," said Mohammad Fadi, 25, standing in front of the mosque where the family had worshiped.

Salman Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994. His father sometimes led the call to prayer at the local mosque, the Manchester Islamic Center, and his older brother, Ismail, sometimes volunteered there. Ismail has also been taken into custody since the attack.

When the parents moved back to Libya a few years ago, their sons stayed behind in Manchester.

Salman Abedi studied briefly at Salford University, in Manchester, but wound up dropping out.

"Salman was rarely seen there by other students," said community member Fadi.

At the mosque that the Abedi family attended, no one spoke in favor of the attack.

"This act of cowardice has no place in our religion," said Fawzi Haffar, a trustee at the center.

- - -

Raghavan reported from Tripoli. Isaac Stanley-Becker contributed to this report.
For most of a decade, until its closure two weeks ago, HopeBridge Hospital in southwest Houston had served as a destination of last resort for poor and homeless patients in need of psychiatric care.

It treated mentally ill people picked up by police and warehoused disturbed children under the care of child protective services. And although its patients often were of little means, the majority were insured through Medicare or Medicaid, ensuring a steady flow of public dollars.

Then last month, after years of problems at the 137-bed facility once known as Westbury Community Hospital, federal and state officials delivered the death blow: The government notified the hospital it would be cut off from future Medicare payments.

"That was the end of it," said Anthony Brown, who had served as HopeBridge's chief financial officer since 2012, when he was hired to manage the facility through bankruptcy, and who later purchased a stake in the hospital. "There was no way we could continue operating at that point."

The closure forced a handful of remaining patients to be transferred to other facilities and left more than 160 hospital employees without payment for their final weeks of work. And it raises questions about the quality of psychiatric care available to vulnerable patients in Houston.

More for you Bankrupt Westbury psychiatric hospital to stay open

An April citation report from the Texas Department of State Health Services painted a picture of a run-down hospital filled with unmitigated safety hazards. Several patients interviewed by investigators over the course of multiple visits reported being abused at the hospital, but staff had not investigated or reported the incidents to the state. A dozen others on suicide watch were being kept in rooms furnished with doorknobs, faucets and other fixtures they could have used to hang themselves, according to the report obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Final word came April 20, in a letter from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: The agency, which agreed with the state's findings, would not grant the hospital additional time to bring the facility up to code. Separately, the state announced its intention to fine the hospital $455,000 and strip it of its operating license.

On Monday, as workers filled blue trash bins with papers and stacked twin mattresses in empty halls, Brown sat behind his desk and tried to make sense of "how we even got here." He told a story of a psychiatric hospital whose previous owners had taken advantage of mentally ill patients in order to bilk the federal government. They had hospitalized people who did not require psychiatric treatment while pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a kickback scheme that ended earlier this year with two of the former operators pleading guilty in federal court.

Brown said he and his business partners inherited an operation in much worse shape than they first realized. For five years, he said, they worked to right the ship. They purchased the hospital in 2015 and began working with state and federal regulators to bring it up to code. But a new name and brightly colored logo failed to change the hospital's reputation.

Several former employees interviewed by the Chronicle described a difficult work environment and ghastly living conditions for patients, even after the change of management.

"For months at a time, the place had no hot water," said Charlene Freeman, a mental health technician who worked at HopeBridge for a year until its closure. "Every day it was a war zone. It was like these people didn't have money, so they don't deserve better than this."

Tried to upgrade building

After several inspections between August and March, state regulators cited the hospital for failing to monitor suicidal patients and for improperly allowing several to leave the facility. One who walked out later reported being sexually assaulted while away from the hospital, but staff did not report the incident to the state as required.

Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle

Despite those concerns, it was the poor condition of the 40-year-old building and lack of modern safety features that factored most prominently in the decision to cut off government insurance payments, according to the federal citation. The facility likely needed millions of dollars worth of additional renovations, Brown said.

His team had been rushing to make upgrades but not fast enough to appease regulators, he said while walking a reporter through the hospital's dank and darkened halls last week. Brown pulled out a pillow case and tied it around one of the doorknobs recently installed in patient rooms, demonstrating that a patient would be unable to hang himself from it.

"We've made these upgrades throughout all the rooms on the first and second floors," Brown said.

On the third floor, which had not yet undergone repairs, disturbing messages had been carved on windows. Floor tiles were chipped and cracking. In one room in the section of the hospital that once housed children, a toilet had been ripped from the floor and holes punched through walls.

The building, Brown conceded, needed more work, but he emphasized that he and his business partners do not own the physical structure, just the business that had been operating inside it.

Feroze "Fred" Bhandara, the landlord, had leased the building to the owners of Westbury Community Hospital before Brown's team took control. Bhandara did not return a call requesting an interview.

Tim Simmons, the hospital's chief executive officer, agreed the facility needed work, but he argued that federal regulators did not allow enough time to make upgrades after initially citing the hospital in early March. He pointed out that some of the fixtures flagged as unsafe by federal regulators had been approved a year earlier by the state. And he defended the hospital's safety record: Over the past five years, he said, thanks to staff efforts to mitigate environmental hazards, no patients had killed or seriously hurt themselves.

"We totally understand they want to have a safe environment for patients," Simmons said. "We totally agree with that and have been striving for that."

Asked to respond to criticisms of the government's handling of the situation, Bob Moos, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesman in Dallas responded in an email: "We'd prefer to let the most recent inspection report and enforcement letter speak for themselves."

In a last-ditch effort to appease regulators and keep the operation afloat, Brown said the hospital owners poured $250,000 over the past month into safety upgrades. The renovations halted abruptly three weeks ago when federal regulators declined to grant the hospital more time.

Hospital workers, aware of the looming sanctions as early as April, continued showing up for work in the intervening weeks, holding out hope that management would fix the problems and save their jobs. Word reached them in early May that the effort had failed, though some continued reporting to work to help wind down the operation.

After the final patient had been discharged last week, several employees showed up at the hospital to ask when they would get their final paychecks. They received an additional shock when Brown came outside and said there was no money left to pay them.

Exploring legal options

Andrea Roberson, a mental health technician, spent six years at the hospital, working first under the cloud of the FBI investigation and then through the 2012 bankruptcy and change of ownership. She lived in constant fear, she said, that the hospital would go under and she would be left without a job. She never imagined she would be denied payment for her final month of work.

"We were all counting on that money to pay rent, to pay bills," Roberson said. "They just pulled our lifeline from us."

Brown said he regrets that employees have not been paid on time, but he said he is confident they will be eventually. He put the blame on Cenpatico, an Austin company that processes Medicaid payments, which he says owes HopeBridge at least $1.6 million - money he says was owed to the hospital long before the facility got into trouble with regulators, but that had been tied up in a processing glitch.

The hospital is exploring legal options to force the company to pay up, Brown said. A spokeswoman for Cenpatico did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment.

"As soon as we receive that money," Brown said, "the employees will receive the money that's owed to them."
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Six technology experts in the Houston area have been charged with stealing trade secrets from a Houston engineering company and slipping them to a manufacturer in China in what investigators said was an effort by the Chinese government to become a worldwide marine power.

The Chinese manufacturer tried to use the same stolen trade technology to sell products back to the U.S. company at "significantly reduced prices," according to court documents.

The product at the center of the thefts is called syntactic foam, a high-performance buoyancy agent that can be used in both civilian and military projects for oil exploration, aerospace, submarines and what prosecutors termed "stealth technology."

The Houston company is not identified in court papers unsealed Wednesday, but is a global engineering firm considered a leader in marine technology, particularly in the production of syntactic foam, according to court documents.

The arrests were announced Wednesday, a day after federal agents armed with a search warrant swept through the $1.6 million Hedwig Village home of Shan Shi, 52, who authorities say was hired as a consultant by the Chinese manufacturer to set up a company to push marine buoyancy technology.

Shi was among four U.S. citizens charged in the federal complaint, along with Uka Kalu Uche, 35, of Spring; Samuel Abotar Ogoe, 74, of Missouri City; and Johnny Wade Randall, 48, of Conroe.

Also charged were Houston residents, Kui Bo, 40, a Canadian citizen, and Gang Liu, 31, a Chinese national with permanent resident status.

Hui Huang, 32, who lives in China and works for the Chinese manufacturing firm in Zhejiang Province, was also charged.

All are charged in federal court in the District of Columbia with conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and financial penalties. A civil forfeiture complaint was also filed in Washington, D.C., for properties officials say were used for or in connection with illegal conduct.

The Chinese manufacturing company intended to sell syntactic foam as part of a push to meet China's national goals of boosting its marine engineering industry, according to federal officials.

The investigation was led by the FBI's Houston field office, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security export enforcement office and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Unit.

The scheme played out over a five-year period, from 2012 to May 2017, according to the criminal complaint.

Shi set up a Houston company - first known as Optimax International Inc. and later renamed Offshore Dynamics Inc. - that billed itself as an engineering consultant to oil and gas companies, according to an sworn statement from an FBI special agent from Houston.

The sole owner of the company is the Chinese manufacturing firm, records show.

The company then began recruiting well-placed employees at local competitors, hiring away several who had knowledge of the U.S. company's technology, according to court documents.

Investigators traced 23 wire transfers of $2.2 million sent from China to the Houston site, apparently to fund the scheme.

Proprietary information - some of which was privy to just a half-dozen of the 400 employees at the U.S. company - was eventually shipped back to the Chinese manufacturer, according to court records.

In one email sent April 14, 2015, Huang asks Shi and Bo to provide specific details on how to manufacture syntactic foam, according to the complaint.

"I need information regarding formula, preparation process and performance of the syntactic materials," Huang said in the email.

By 2016, the upstart company became a bit more brazen. An official at the U.S. company told the FBI that in October 2016, Shi and Huang offered to produce spheres in China for less than what it cost the American company to make them.

The person trying to cut the deal "even offered to sign an exclusivity agreement" if the American company bought a large enough quantity of macrospheres. The company official visited the Chinese plant to consider the offer.

"The main rationale for considering the deal was to block [the U.S. company's] competitors from gaining access to cheaper macrospheres," according to the statement from the FBI agent.

The company official was surprised by how quickly the imitation company "had been able to develop quality products," he said.

The FBI operation kicked in when the Chinese-backed company began offering its technology and making deals with other companies for underwater vehicles.

It's hard to put an exact dollar value on it, but trade secret theft is a massive underground market, powered in large part by Chinese interests.

A report this year by the bipartisan, nongovernmental Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property described the nation of 1.3 billion as the "world's principal IP infringer." Purloined trade secrets - in combination with more quantifiable thefts, such as counterfeit goods and pirated software - cost the U.S. at least $225 billion per year, and possibly as much as $600 billion.

Less than a week before the most recent arrests, a Chinese man pleaded guilty in federal court on charges of economic espionage and trade secret theft. The ex-IBM employee stole computer code with the intent to benefit the National Health and Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China.

In many cases, another report found, U.S. companies don't report such thefts, given the costs of pursuing redress and the possible negative impacts on stock prices.
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At the entrance to Sienna Plantation, an upscale residential development in Fort Bend County, an electronic sign offers "Welcome Home" greetings and announces events ranging from a homeowners' association meeting to an adult softball game.

On a recent sunny weekday, residents in Mercedes-Benzes and Jaguars glided past landscaping trucks in front of stately homes, passing signs with Sienna Plantation's motto, "Live Well, Play Hard, Have Fun." A billboard-sized sign promoting homes and a new elementary being built declares "Happy 20th Birthday Sienna!" with a photo of a woman blowing out pink candles on a cupcake.

But there are smaller, less conspicuous signs required under state law to mark the boundaries of the water districts that financed the infrastructure for this vast subdivision and all its roads, parks and other amenities.

They remind Tyler Dawson, a Sienna Plantation homeowner, of one thing: property taxes.

Beyond the property tax bills he receives from Fort Bend County and the Fort Bend Independent School District, he receives one from the Sienna Plantation Levee Improvement District, created in 1978 to control flooding across 10,000 acres of prairie land, and another from the Sienna Plantation Municipal Utility District 2, which Sienna Plantation's developers created to finance community infrastructure. Add up all those bills, and Dawson's property taxes total $8,643 a year, which he calls "outrageously high."

So it is with considerable interest that he and some of his neighbors have been following a bill now making its way through the Legislature that would enable the Levee Improvement District to sell tens of million of dollars of new municipal bonds for parks and recreation facilities - and generate more property tax revenue to pay the debt service. If the bill passes before adjournment on Monday, the levee district would have pulled off the biggest power play by a water district this legislative session.

No one disputes that water districts and other so-called special purpose districts have played a critical role in financing levees, water and sewer systems, roads, recreational facilities and shopping centers across formerly vast rural expanses of rapidly growing Texas. But as these districts proliferate in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties around Houston and other burgeoning metro areas, concerns about their vast taxing authority and their transparency are proliferating, as well.

In Sienna Plantation, Dawson gives voice to the issues raised by some community development experts and conservative think tanks. He and his wife, Autumn, purchased a house in 2013 near Sienna Crossing Elementary School. The property taxes are now so high that they are considering a move to College Station.

Need OK from TCEQ

Not everyone agrees. Ben Carpenter, his wife, Tessy, and their 4-year-old daughter, moved last year from Houston to Sienna Plantation. Although they're paying more in property taxes, Carpenter said he doesn't mind because the tax dollars benefit his community, as opposed to being spread around the nation's fourth largest city.

"If my tax rate goes up because we are trying to pay back bonds that go into the community, I'm all for it," said Carpenter. He said based on Facebook groups of Sienna Plantation residents, he thinks a majority shares his perspective.

The Sienna levee district is among about 1,800 active water districts in Texas, a class of special purpose districts ranging from large river authorities, to tiny irrigation districts, to the ubiquitous municipal utility districts, known as MUDs. There are 949 MUDs across the state and 620 in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery County alone.

Special purpose districts, which include various types of water districts, are highly popular among Texas developers who hold enormous sway over how they're created and benefit greatly from their ability to issue tax-exempt bonds and levy property taxes to cover the costs of infrastructure and other projects. Often, the elections required by law to establish these districts and then authorize tens of millions in bond sales involve only a handful of people paid by firms working for developers to move onto a tract of open land and serve as "rent-a-voters."

Still, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is responsible for approving the amount of bonds a water district is authorized to sell, based on the tax base or projected tax base within the district. Proponents of special purpose districts, who include powerful law firms and lobbyists representing them, say TCEQ provides important oversight to control spending.

Bill seeks exemption

The Sienna Plantation Levee Improvement District bill began its expected journey to the governor's desk in late April, when it was approved by the House Special Purpose Districts Committee. As voted out of committee, it exempted the district from being required to get state approval to sell additional parks and recreation bonds. Financed by Sienna Plantation homeowners, the district is paying $56,000 to a lobbying firm, Grace & McEwan.

State Rep. Ron Reynolds, the Missouri City Democrat who is the bill's sponsor and lives in Sienna Plantation, referred to TCEQ's involvement as an "unnecessary hindrance to efficient and robust development of the recreational facilities demanded by Sienna residents." In an interview, he said other water districts around the state may ultimately want the same treatment.

But last week, state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, unveiled a new version of the bill that would give the Sienna levee district the right to issue more bonds but would still make it subject to TCEQ approval.

Huffman, whose district includes Sienna Plantation, said she didn't think the LID should be treated differently than other water districts.

The concern originated in Gov. Greg Abbott's office, which wanted to maintain TCEQ approval of parks and recreation bond sales.

The Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs Committee voted 5-0 on May 18 to approve Huffman's version of the bill. The Senate passed it Wednesday. If the House agrees with the Senate's version, it would go to Abbott for his signature.

Richard Muller, a Sugar Land attorney representing the Sienna Plantation LID, had said the district needed the exemption because it does many of its parks projects on land owned by the Fort Bend ISD. Because construction has to occur over the summer, projects can be delayed for a year if the TCEQ approval process lags, he added.

Julie Peak, managing director of FirstSouthwest, a financial firm which advises several water districts on bond sales, said the TCEQ oversight is rigorous and a key to the success of water districts. "No other [bond] issuer has a state agency looking over their shoulder at every step for no other purpose than to make sure that the property owners are protected," she said in January at a meeting of the statewide trade group for water districts, the Association of Water Board Directors-Texas.

But based on public records and interviews, TCEQ's regulation is a light touch. The agency does not review the cost of selling bonds and could not cite any instances in which it denied a request to sell bonds.

Hugh Coleman, a Republican Denton County commissioner and critic of special purpose districts, said water districts need more scrutiny from TCEQ, not less.

"There's a propensity for these districts to sell as much bonds as possible, mainly because people make so much money in the process. You have everybody getting upfront fees," he said.

In 2009, Sienna levee district voters approved the sale of $49 million in parks and recreation bonds by a 535-296 vote.

'Government extortion'

Water districts are capped in the amount of outstanding debt they can accumulate by selling parks and recreation bonds. That cap is an amount equal to 1 percent of the districts' appraised property value.

Without a change to the 1 percent cap, the district would not be able to complete the projects from the 2009 bond election, said Muller, the Sugar Land attorney who represents the LID.

The bill as amended by the Senate Wednesday would increase the cap for the district to 2 percent only if residents approve the change at the ballot box, a requirement which Gov. Abbott's office pushed. If the voters say yes, the district could have up to $62 million in outstanding debt from parks and recreation bond sales.

"There's nothing like having citizens involved when you're going to take their money away," said state Sen. Bob Hall, a Canton Republican and tea party favorite.

Muller said the district will not sell any more parks and recreation bonds if it triggers a property rate increase.

Dawson said he's opposed to the LID spending more money on parks and recreation projects.

He and many other taxpayers struggle with the alphabet soup of MUDs and LIDs, and say they have no idea who serves on the boards, how they decide how many bonds should be sold, or how they set tax rates.

"They can raise the (rates) and set them at whatever they want. You have to pay it or you go to jail. As I told my wife, it's basically government extortion," he said.

Carpenter said he and his wife are pleased with their move from a neighborhood west of the Heights in Houston to Sienna Plantation.

"The big reason is for the schools; we got a lot more land, we got a cool house right next to the elementary school, we have a lake across the street and a pool in the back yard," he said.

"I understand why a MUD exists and why a LID exists. It's for development. I understand it's a higher rate than I paid when I was back in the city. But we believe it is going right back into our community and we actually see the results of it."
AUSTIN - As political tensions rose in the Texas Capitol, a major education bill that drove a philosophical wedge between the legislative chambers this session was declared dead Wednesday, dashing hopes of infusing public schools with as much as $1.9 billion in additional funding and trashing an attempt to fix the state's beleaguered school finance system.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick admitted defeat after the House resoundingly agreed to reject the Senate's changes to the bill that would have created a school voucher system for children with disabilities.

"I simply did not believe they would vote against both disabled children and a substantial funding increase for public schools," said Patrick. "I was wrong. House Bill 21 is now dead."

The apparent demise of the bill again put to rest Patrick's biennial quest to create a voucher program allowing parents to subsidize their children's private school tuition using public school dollars, an issue he has championed as the "civil rights issue of our time."

Patrick had danced around the suggestion earlier this year that he would take "hostage" the House's plan to revise the state's school funding formula to force the averse chamber to pass a voucher plan. When the House refused to consider the Senate's voucher bill, Taylor and Patrick hijacked House Bill 21, adding a voucher plan limited to students with disabilities to the bill in hopes it would "break the logjam," Patrick said.

Impassioned speech

Patrick and Taylor insisted the only way the House's school funding bill would pass was if the school choice plan was included.

House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty, who has a son with dyslexia, gave an impassioned speech on the House floor Wednesday, taking umbrage with the suggestion that he and the House care less for students with disabilities, citing additional money that the House included in the bill for students with dyslexia and another bill that created grants for schools serving students with autism.

The school funding bill would have added an estimated $1.9 billion for public education, an amount the Senate cut down to $500 million. HB 21 would have also cut recapture payments by property rich school districts to their poorer counterparts, helped dozens of school districts adjust to the loss of old funding streams and spend more money per student with dyslexia or learning English.

The attempt to change the state's school funding formula was sparked by a Texas Supreme Court ruling last spring that found the funding formula flawed but constitutional.

The court, which has almost always been needed to mandate changes to funding system over the last few decades, urged the Legislature to revamp the formula on its own accord amid complaints that wealthy and poor school districts are treated differently.

With five days left until the Legislature adjourns May 29, lawmakers grew testy as they raced toward a midnight deadline to pass bills in both chambers. Shortly after 7 p.m., more than 40 House members marched to the Senate for a meeting with Patrick, who many have accused of holding up their bills until the House passes Senate priority bills on property-tax reform.

After the meeting ended, the House began passing Senate bills quickly on the local and consent calendar - as some House members in the group said their meeting with Senate leaders had been "productive."

Despite complaints from the House earlier in the day that the Senate was sitting on its bills, the Senate late Wednesday approved around 300  including ones allowing the names of lottery winners to keep their identities secret, allows Texans to shoot coyotes and feral hogs from hot air balloons, transfers operation from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to the state, and allows parents to view their body of their deceased child before an autopsy.

The Senate also approved House bills designating Dripping Springs as the Wedding Capital of Texas for 10 years, Big Spring as the Lighted Poinsettia Capital and Spurger as the Knife Capital.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, a House bill allowing volunteer EMS personnel to carry handguns was amended by the Senate to allow Texas' 10 state mental hospitals to prohibit guns on their premises. An oversight two years ago by the Legislature allowed guns in those hospitals, stirring controversy amid fears that mentally ill patients might get access to firearms.

"There have been three incidents so far. We need to pass this bill," said state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who successfully amended House Bill 435. The amended bill was then approved unanimously.

Stem cell bill passes

After an emotional debate, the Senate also unanimously approved legislation that allow investigational stem cell treatments for patients with severe chronic diseases or terminal illnesses.

State Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, whose tear-filled plea led the House to pause a parliamentary fight two weeks ago and approve House Bill 810 just before a bill-passing deadline, was present for the vote. He said his wife could benefit from the therapy.

Springer gaveled the measure to approval, as tears flowed and lawmakers hugged in an unusual outpouring of emotion on the Senate floor.

On another hotly contested issue, a Democratic lawmaker managed to persuade the House to fight food-shaming in schools, although Rep. Helen Giddings had to amend a controversial school gun bill to do it.

The Dallas Democrat added her previously deceased bill to Senate Bill 1566, which allows school staff to keep a firearm stowed in their vehicle parked on school property. Her amendment, related because the bill deals with schools, requiring students continue to receive hot lunches at school for two weeks after their pre-paid meal cards are exhausted, instead of being shamed by being given a sandwich or cereal instead. The measure now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Meanwhile, the Senate voted unanimously for a bill attempting to fix the state's child welfare system. House Bill 7 would streamline services, decrease trauma and protect vulnerable children while trying to help reunite them with their families, according to Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat.

"Reforming our child welfare system was one of our top priorities this session. I appreciate the nod from the Senate and I have every confidence that the governor will honor our work by signing this bill into law," he said.

Mike Ward and Bobby Cervantes contributed to this report.
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The University of St. Thomas surprised local alumni and faculty early last week when, under financial pressure, it appeared close to eliminating programs in philosophy and English.

Professors at the Catholic liberal arts school adjacent to The Menil Collection in Houston's Montrose neighborhood hadn't received annual contracts, learning that administrators were reviewing those disciplines for possible reorganization or elimination.

St. Thomas reversed course this week, after an outcry, and gave the professors continuous contracts. In a letter to campus Thursday, President Robert Ivany called philosophy and English two of its "core academic disciplines."

Still, the very fact that a university named after philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas was even considering the elimination of its philosophy department stunned alumni, faculty and academics across the country.

Pressure to 'get a job'

The public dispute showed a university struggling with its mission and heritage in a higher education landscape that increasingly favors teaching students employable skills and highlights the importance of scientific research. Questions remain as to how St. Thomas and universities like it can best retain their liberal arts core in an era of practicality, experts say, especially as smaller private colleges feel the financial crunch.

"My generation went through college at a time when, economically, the country was in a more stable position," said Janet Lowery, an English professor at the university. "We were given time to think. These kids nowadays, the pressure is to get a job  but does a society want people in positions that are running things, do they want people who are untrained as writers, as (critical) thinkers?"

The Basilian Fathers, who emphasize Catholic philosophy and theology as crucial to higher education, founded St. Thomas 70 years ago, shortly after World War II. The university enrolled about 3,300 students last fall, and it says its Center for Thomistic Studies is the only U.S. graduate philosophy program focused on St. Thomas Aquinas' thought.

But Ivany, who will depart this summer after 13 years, has pushed St. Thomas to expand science, technology, engineering, math and nursing programming over his tenure.

The university opened a Center for Science and Health Professions this year, supported by $47.3 million in donations. It enrolled its first nursing students since the 1980s in 2012. Its most popular majors include biology, finance and nursing.

"Change is an integral part of higher education today," Ivany said Monday, addressing the philosophy department's review. He said St. Thomas has built professional programs on top of the university's Catholic Basilian identity. "The fact that you've got to review different departments and get the deficit eliminated is part of higher education today as well."

Despite the shifts, which Ivany said adapt to student interest, St. Thomas is struggling to keep enrollment and finances steady, like many other private colleges. He said that he expects this year's deficit to be between $1.4 million and $1.6 million - and it could double next year. Professors voted no confidence in his administration last spring, months after he said he would step down. They cited a lack of budgetary transparency in their complaints.

Practical disciplines

More Information By the numbers 3,300: Students at St. Thomas University $1.4-$1.6 million: The university's current deficit 10 percent: The university's enrollment decline since 2012 See More Collapse

Enrollment at St. Thomas has declined about 10 percent since 2012, and as tuition has climbed, the university has increasingly subsidized the sticker price cost. Unlike large private research universities, smaller institutions tend to have smaller endowments to lean on - St. Thomas' declined about 5 percent year over year to about $81 million, according to a report from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

Experts say private colleges have moved toward more practical disciplines as concerns over college costs and the value of a degree have grown.

Private universities that see the most success approaching these questions consider who they serve, said Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges.

An institution can "soar" with a good leader and a solid understanding of its regional and national purpose, Ekman said. Some colleges create majors centered around themes or problems, integrating humanities and sciences for practical applications, he said.

Statewide, conversations about mission and curricular offerings should include faculty, said Ray Martinez, president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas.

"They can be painful discussions, but I think it's important to have the discussions," he said.

He said it is "vital" for university leaders to think about how they will keep solid financial footing for the next several decades.

Last week, faculty were "scared" to see philosophy programs "on the chopping block," said Ramon Fernandez, an accounting professor. He said it indicated that St. Thomas was either in financial crisis or prepared to focus on science, technology, engineering, math and nursing.

"When you possibly eliminate the English and philosophy departments of a university, can you even say that you're a university? I don't know," he said.

Faculty said they were surprised to hear that their programs could be eliminated last week because they did not know previously their departments were under review.

This contradicts guidance from the Association of American University Professors, a trade group that says universities should include faculty in discussions that could lead to the elimination of tenured positions.

Ivany said university policy does not require faculty input during department evaluation. The Board of Directors can terminate faculty contracts because of a decline in enrollment, consolidation of departments or other reorganization, termination of programs or courses or severe financial crisis.

'Core pillars' of school

After professors learned of the review, supporters of the university's humanities programs mobilized, believing that the departments were on shaky ground.

Donations poured in to a faculty legal defense fund, reaching $11,780. Administrators and professors at other schools praised St. Thomas' philosophy programs. In online groups, alumni stressed their love for humanities classes.

Kenneth Depew, 34, of Houston called the philosophy department a crucial piece of St. Thomas' academic offerings.

"St. Thomas is never going to be A&M," said Depew, who graduated in 2013 with a philosophy minor. "It's never going to be one of those Med Center medical schools. They're setting themselves up for failure by trying to be what they're not."

Sasha Pejerrey, who graduated in 2011 with a degree in biology, said she chose St. Thomas because of its humanities programs, though she wanted to study science.

Undergraduate philosophy and English courses like bioethics and writing guided her work today in the Texas Medical Center, she said.

"Those are the core pillars of St. Thomas," she said. "Those are the professors who are the lifeblood of the school."
An El Paso-area former ROTC teacher pleaded guilty to charges related to an improper relationship with a 14-year-old girl before his jury trial selection began, according to reports.

Herbert Nelson Lloyd, 58, of Livingston, accepted 15 years in prison for second-degree felony improper relationship between an educator and student and second-degree felony indecency with a child, according to KTRE-TV. Story continues below.

ACCUSATIONS: Texas teacher, 23, accused of improper relationship with student

After Lloyd is released from prison following serving his sentence, he'll have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

According to reports when Lloyd was first arrested in July of 2016, the allegations on the former teacher date back to January and incidents with the student took place on multiple Livingston ISD campuses.

During an interview with the 14-year-old, police discovered that the pair were in a relationship and Lloyd had kissed her several times in the past as well as touching her breasts with an open hand, Telemundo Amarillo reports.

LOCAL NEWS: Ex-Dickinson High teacher charged with improper relationship

Police also discovered text messages exchanged between the two. KTRE describes them as "pornographic in nature." During a second interview with the 14-year-old, police discovered that the pair had sexual intercourse at one point.

Improper relationships between students and teachers are increasing in the state of Texas, including the Greater Houston area. Click through the gallery above to see the Houston-area teachers accused of improper relationships with students this past year.

ACROSS TEXAS: Teachers in 2 North Texas districts arrested for improper relationships with students
A 5-year-old Oregon child recently underwent surgery to remove a fidget spinner piece he swallowed.

Prior to the incident, 23-year-old Johely Morelos warned her child of the danger associated with the small toy and showed him the story of a 10-year-old Texas girl who lodged a fidget spinner piece in her throat.

"I showed him pictures and said, 'Never put that in your mouth,'" Morelos told Buzzfeed News. "I guess he didn't listen that well."

TOO FAR: A fidget spinner app is now the top free app in the App Store

After an unsuccessful visit to their local Albany hospital where doctors were unable to remove the piece, Morelos and her son Cayden were rushed by ambulance to a Portland hospital.

"It was super scary," said Morelos. "When they were putting a tube down his throat, he was throwing up blood. It was really scary for me to see he was in pain."

Cayden underwent a two hour surgery and woke up with a swollen lip and sore throat, which he quickly recovered from by the next day.

FINE DINING: A fidget spinner was confiscated in the kitchen of one of New York's top restaurants

Now, Morelos is pushing for a choking hazard warning along with Kids in Danger, a child safety advocacy group.

"Don't let your kid get a fidget spinner unless you absolutely think that they are responsible enough," wrote Morelos in a Facebook post warning her friends.

Click through above to see the most popular toys of the past three decades.
Our state's elected leadership has to make a lot of decisions in the waning days of the Legislature's regular session, but we feel compelled to remind them that a federal judge just added another item to the list.

Judge Xavier Rodriguez, on behalf of a three-judge panel in San Antonio overseeing a major voting rights case, has given the state until Friday to consider whether it would like a special session of the Legislature to redraw the maps of Texas congressional districts. That development comes compliments of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a North Carolina case that seems destined to have a profound impact on Texas.

The nation's highest court ruled earlier this week that North Carolina legislators illegally diluted the political power of African-American voters by cramming them into congressional districts deliberately drawn along racial lines. In the past, the justices have ruled it's perfectly legal for state lawmakers to draw districts that benefit their political parties, but this week's decision made it clear the Supreme Court won't stand for racial gerrymandering.

The ruling was cheered by attorneys fighting a similar redistricting case in Texas. Two months ago, the judges on that San Antonio panel ruled Texas lawmakers intentionally diluted the clout of minority voters by packing them into as few congressional districts as possible. Attorneys arguing on behalf of the state said the gerrymandering was legal because it was motivated by party politics, not race.

That's the same argument states have made in voting rights cases like this for decades now. But the stark political truth is that race and politics are now deeply intertwined because black and Latino voters generally cast their ballots for Democrats. Republican lawmakers drawing legislative districts know that, and it's no secret they've deliberately drawn maps taking full advantage of this political reality. So this latest Supreme Court decision has been hailed as a major victory for voting rights groups and a clear signal the map of congressional districts in Texas is doomed to be redrawn.

We wish the justices would muster the courage to take their decision a step further. Whether it's motivated by race or party, gerrymandering today amounts to nothing than more than politicians preserving their jobs by using sophisticated computer programs to essentially rig elections. It doesn't just dilute the political clout of minority voters, it dilutes the political clout of all citizens living in congressional districts drawn to ensure a pre-determined outcome on Election Day.

If the courts won't put a stop to this process, Texas lawmakers could take action. For years now, a couple of state legislators have repeatedly sponsored bills that would create an independent redistricting commission. At least 21 states have already taken that step, pulling the redistricting process out of the hands of legislators and turning the job over to appointed commissioners. Of course, nothing would remove all partisanship from the drawing of district maps, but it would be a bold leap in the right direction. Instead of legislators picking their voters, voters would once again pick their legislators in November elections.

Alas, that idea went nowhere in the current session of the Texas Legislature. Now it's looking more and more like our state lawmakers will return for a special session. And after what happened in the courts this week, if our legislators don't use that session to redraw the state's illegal congressional maps, some judges could well do it for them.
Nicole Rechner had to fight every step of the way to get her son designated as eligible for special education services. Her son reported thoughts of suicide, spent nine days in a psychiatric hospital, and Rechner had to testify at a public hearing last fall before Houston Independent School District would consider admitting Demarcus Fuller into special ed.

Rechner is not alone, as documented by the Chronicle in its groundbreaking "Denied" series. The reporting found that an arbitrary 8.5 percent cap- enacted by the Texas Education Agency - has kept Texas children with special needs from receiving needed services from public schools for more than a decade, while saving the state billions of dollars.

Although the TEA renounced the cap after the series was published, the Legislature went a step further this session and passed a bill that bans the state from arbitrarily limiting students from special ed services. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law last week.

The symbolism of the bill should be applauded, but it's far from a fix. There are direct ways to deny services, such as a cap, but there are more subtle ways of denying services as well, such as inadequate funding.

Until the Legislature fixes the state's public school financing system, students who enroll in special ed may continue to be denied the services they deserve.

Texas public schools serve the lowest percentage of special education students of any state in the country - around 8.5 percent - while the national average for special education students hovers around 13 percent. Now that Texas has abandoned its inhumane policy cap, in the upcoming years, school districts can expect to provide services to more children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, epilepsy and other special needs.

Special education students - including those with challenges such as traumatic brain injury and dyslexia - are expensive to educate. Texas spends around $9,282 per student, according to the National Center of Education Statistics 2012-2013 data. On average, educating a special ed child costs twice as much, and the federal government pays only one-fifth of the extra costs, leaving the rest to states and school districts - as reported in the "Denied" series.

As it is, schools already are struggling to provide a quality education for students. As property appraisal values rise, and along with them, local tax revenue, the state continues to shrink - and shirk - its responsibility, sending smaller and smaller portions of general revenues to public schools. Yet special education students need smaller class sizes so teachers can provide more individual attention, in addition to trained teachers to work with them.

Regardless of whether any changes to school finance law materialize out of the legislative session, it's clear that public schools will face a growing funding shortfall. That will harm public education in general, but the greater harm will be to these children who need more intensive services.

Now that Texas has abandoned its cruel cap, we can hope that mothers like Rechner will no longer have to fight to get their children in special ed. But there's no assurance that mothers of special needs students will not have to continue to fight to secure the services they deserve. There's nothing special about a program that's funded at such a low level that it fails to meet children's needs.
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Museum for Apollo 11 relic

Regarding the upcoming auction of the lunar sample return bag used by Neil Armstrong ("Apollo 11 relic to fetch astromonical bid," Page A1, Wednesday), there is only one place on this planet where that bag should be - the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Since it appears this is stolen property, I do not understand how it can continue to be offered at public auction.

Rita Dumaine, Sugar Land

Intolerance divides

Regarding "Abbott signs Sermon Protection Act" (Page A3, Monday), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and some Republican legislators are Texas' version of the Taliban. They want to impose their interpretation of Christianity on the rest of us. From bathrooms to abortion, their goal is to discriminate and shame.

Patrick made it very clear when he said Americans are divided, not as Republicans and Democrats but those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior and those who are lost. This is the epitome of intolerance - the refusal to respect beliefs that differ from one's own.

The U.S. is not a Christian nation but was founded on the principle that each of us is free to practice the religion of his or her choice.

Rhonda Gerson, Houston

Hope for Buffalo Bayou

Regarding "What we found canoeing Buffalo Bayou" (Page D1, Saturday), thanks so much for the article by Paul Hung about his canoe trip along Buffalo Bayou. It was so much fun to read about all his nature encounters on the expedition. He is obviously a very intelligent young man, but I so much admired his deep appreciation of the importance of the beauty, peace and reflection of his experience.

The beauty and wildlife of that area should remain as it is. Hung and his supporters give us old people hope that the beauty/wildlife of our lands will be preserved for future generations.

Ann Alexander, Houston

Dads deserve spotlight

Regarding "Anti-abortionists fight for teen barred from graduation" (Page A11, Sunday), as I read this article, I wondered whether or not I would find the name of the boy or man who impregnated this young woman.

Surely this was not an immaculate conception nor did she go to a sperm bank. Is the baby's father a student at the same school? A local businessman? The local 'bad boy'? He is allowed to remain anonymous and continue with his life uninterrupted.

Will we ever hold accountable the boys and men in the world who are the other half of the pregnancy equation?

Susan Gavin, Houston

Surprise to many

Regarding "Fox News retracts its story tying DNC staffer to leaks" (Page A17, Wednesday), the article stated the story was retracted because it "did not meet the organization's editorial standards."

This came as quite a surprise to me; I hadn't realized that it actually did have editorial standards for accuracy.

Gerry Aitken, Stafford
Mindset revealed

Regarding "Hate, bigotry bad for business" (Page B1, Monday), kudos to business columnist Chris Tomlinson for producing the smoking gun to prove what many suspected all along, namely that the so-called "bathroom bill" is nothing more than a public declaration of hatred toward transgender people. And in the process he revealed the mindset of those who direct the agenda of Lt. Gov. Patrick.

As a Christian I'm still cringing at the raw and very un-Christian hatred expressed in Steven Hotze's post in the name of Jesus, but I'm thankful to have gained this valuable insight into Texas politics.

Greg Groh, Spring

Curious prayer

I am appalled at the statements by Steven Hotze, president of Conservative Republicans of Texas, about the so-called "bathroom bill." He calls himself a Christian yet says in a prayer that "he prays and declares in the name of Jesus that whatever people in the state Legislature that disagree with him should be consumed, collapse, rot and be blown away as dust from their current positions because of their wicked deeds."

I too am Christian, and the God I serve says I should love all those He has created and pray for them and myself that we can live peaceably and do good.

I am a lady and have lived 75 years in Texas and have never thought I saw or have actually seen a man in the public bathroom I was in. What a waste of time and state funds when public schools need money and children need school lunches. We need infrastructure, and the list goes on. I will also pray for Mr. Hotze.

Donna Kelly, Tomball

Safety checks

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and his minions have so far succeeded in passing a so-called "bathroom bill" through the Legislature. It is further anticipated that Gov. Greg Abbott will sign the bill into law. This action flies in the face of all empirical data showing that this discriminatory law is absolutely not necessary.

According to studies and the experience of the state of North Carolina, Texas stands to lose potentially billions of dollars in revenue and the additional loss of the ability to attract talented millennials to our state.

One has to wonder how the powers that be propose to enforce this law. I guess they could claim that the law will be good for the economy because it will create jobs. People would be hired to check birth certificates against the genitalia of suspicious persons who only need to use a public facility to relieve themselves.

Bill Bentley, La Porte

Empty rhetoric

So they passed it; now the question is how to enforce it. Must we start carrying birth certificates to prove birth gender? How will they know if it's the right birth certificate? No fingerprints, no footprints, no DNA, not even skin color on the birth certificate.

Much ado about nothing, with no way to enforce anything.

Catherine Ordener,Friendswood
Our schools should be safe places for our children and youth to learn and advance. The toughest challenges they face should be solving math problems and choosing a career and college path. With Senate Bill 7 now signed into law in Texas, we have taken much-needed steps to forever bar from our classrooms any teacher who would prey on our students and to penalize administrators who turn a blind eye to this abuse.

Texas schools are filled with some of the best teachers in America who are genuinely called to the profession. I was honored to host many of these gifted educators at the Governor's Mansion in April to thank them for their commitment and for the positive difference they make in their students' lives each day.

Every one of us can remember that one teacher who made that positive difference. For me, it was my high school English teacher: She taught me how to reach for my dreams. For the First Lady, it was her fourth grade teacher. She inspired Cecilia. And, in fact, we named our daughter, Audrey, after her.

Extraordinary educators inspire our children and teach them that their opportunities to succeed are truly limitless.

Unfortunately, a small number of teachers have abused their position and have given Texas an unwanted ranking.

Texas is reportedly among the leading states for teacher-student sexual assaults. Between April 2015 and April 2017, the Texas Education Agency received 449 reported cases of inappropriate student-educator relationships, which is a 65 percent increase in just a two-year period.

As a parent, I find this abuse of trust particularly abhorrent.

As governor, I was outraged to learn that some of these teachers were not prosecuted. And worse, some were shuffled off to other schools where they could abuse again.

That is why I made this a priority in my State of the State address and called for action this legislative session.

According to testimony before the Senate Education Committee, some school districts simply quashed subpoenas and "passed the trash," allowing teachers who engaged in this misconduct to quietly transfer to another school district with no consequences. This growing problem includes instances in local districts, such as Houston ISD and more around the state, but the problem is sadly statewide.

Thanks to the leadership of Sen. Paul Bettencourt, that now changes.

The Texas House and Senate both unanimously passed Senate Bill 7, making clear that this behavior of teachers preying on students for sexual relationships will not be tolerated in Texas. SB 7 gives TEA more tools to pursue and investigate these cases to protect the integrity of the teaching profession and, more importantly, protect the students in all Texas schools.

In addition to jail time and revoking their teaching license, we will forever bar from our classrooms teachers who prey on our students.

Pensions of teachers who engage in felony improper relations with a student will be revoked.

And school principals and superintendents who attempt to "pass the trash" - to allow a teacher to simply move to another district - will be penalized up to $10,000 and may lose their license.

Finally, if it's found that the administrator intentionally did not report the misconduct, they will be charged with a state jail felony.

Texas public schools educate more than 1 in 10 of all students in the U.S.

Students learning in our classrooms today are more than the future workforce of Texas. They are the future job creators of America.

And because of our dedicated teachers and parents, more of our students are succeeding.

Texas has more public high schools ranked in the top 100 than any other state, and three of the top 10 high schools in America are in Texas.

We have the fourth-highest high school graduation rate in America, and the second-highest among Hispanic and African-American students.

We need to be celebrating these successes and challenging our students to achieve more, not placing them in jeopardy.

With broad support from educator groups, school board groups and the education community, SB 7 is now law in Texas.

We will protect our children from sexual predators in our classrooms. We will not allow a few rotten apples to abuse this position of trust.

Abbott is the governor of Texas.
Settling overseas is no easy task and organisations often put measures in place to support their expat staff  however, it seems those efforts might not be enough after a new study pointed to a sharp increase in mental health issues among employees whove relocated.



Published by Aetna International, the study  Expatriate Mental Health: Breaking the Silence and Ending the Stigma  found that there was an average increase of 28 per cent in expat mental health claims in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Americas and Southeast Asia from 2014-16.



Europe saw the highest increase at 33 per cent, followed the Middle East and North Africa at 28 per cent, then the Americas at 26 per cent and finally Southeast Asia at 19 per cent.



Dr. Mitesh Patel is the medical director at Aetna International  he told HRD that while the increase might appear worrying on the surface, its actually a positive sign.



Its a mixture of us encouraging treatment claims, and mental health issues being more widely accepted, compared with five or 10 years ago, he explained. Everyone knows someone who has or has had mental health issues so admitting to having an issue and seeking treatment is becoming more and more acceptable.



Patel also said many employers are becoming more aware of the issue and increasingly supportive  something which in turn helps change perceptions. However, he warned that there is still plenty of room for improvement.



For organisations sending employees on international assignments, they should have a robust screening, pre-trip planning and orientation process in place to make sure employees are suited to  and geared up for  the challenges ahead, he told HRD.



Stepping off the plane to start a new international assignment should not be the employees first exposure to the new culture and environment, he added. A short trial run might be preferable to a failed assignment three months down the line.



Philadelphia-based Patel says one of the key obstacles for organisations is the fiercely-independent nature of many expats and the common mentality that they can make things work on their own.



There are natural reactions to the challenges that moving abroad can bring but, expats like to think of themselves as being self-reliant, explains Patel. They dont like to be a burden on anyone, which can exacerbate mental health conditions.



Patel says organisations could proactively support their employees by putting them in touch with an expat community or an independent counsellor who can help them through any problems.



Other key stressors for expats include a lack of friends, not integrating into the culture, being isolated through a language barrier, in conjunction with increased responsibility or new responsibilities at work.



Build in mental health benefits as standard to any private medical insurance plan and consider gym or social club memberships for employees, as well as access to employee assistance programmes, advised Patel.



For expat employees who are relocating with a spouse or their children, Patel said employers should consider extending support to the entire family.



Families often have greater responsibilities and long-term considerations, which are stress promotors, he told HRD. For example, considering how the children will settle in, adapt to the move, and finding appropriate schools for the children.



There will also be concerns around a spouse who might need support finding a job or a social circle, particularly if the employee is working long hours to adjust to a new role. Many move abroad for a better quality of life, so providing support will help them achieve that and ultimately help the assignment succeed.



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We all want sleek, shiny, commercial-worthy locks, but when it comes to healthy hair, you've got to start with the scalp.

"Just like your face, your scalp needs cleansing, balancing and protection," says Justina Mejita-Motane, Vice President of global product development at Aveda.

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It's not a new concept. Scalp massages, hair masks and hot oil treatments have long been a part of Indian beauty routines.

But while most shampoos are good for both the hair and scalp, a flaky scalp requires more care.

"You may not see split ends, have broken fibres or the hair may not look dull, however, if you are experiencing flakes, your hair is actually not in its healthiest state," Dr. Rolanda Johnson-Wilkerson, principal scientist for Head & Shoulders, tells HuffPost Canada. "Oxidative damage to the hair fibre reduces the quality of the hair at the point where the hair emerges from the scalp. So, when your scalp is flaky, your hair is not the healthiest."

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50 per cent of the world's population experiences dandruff as a result of a fungus called Malassezia globosa, explains Wilkerson. "The fungus feeds off sebum, the scalp's natural oils, and then releases fatty acids that initiate inflammation of the scalp, itching and induces rapid skin cell turnover, hence flaking. Everyone has the fungus on their scalp, however, not everyone responds to the presence of the fungus. As a result, some people experience dandruff and some do not."

Dandruff can range from a few white flakes to thick oily flakes to patches of dry skin. Occasionally, the build-up of flakes may resemble scabs, but these should not be mistaken for eczema, psoriasis or rosacea, which have different causes and are not easily treated with anti-dandruff or anti-fungal shampoos, Wilkerson explains.

If flaking makes you think of exfoliating, you're on the right track, but Wilkerson says long-term dandruff treatment goes beyond a scalp scrub. "Ingredients like salicylic acid may help the skin to exfoliate however it does not address the fungus which causes dandruff."

The good news is scalp cleansing can help regular normal cell turnover, according to Dr. M. Julie Thornton, senior lecturer in biomedical sciences at the University of Bradford.

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Scalp health doesn't just start and stop with dandruff care. To maintain healthy hair and scalp, refrain from over-washing and over-dyeing the hair, which can cause dryness and irritation.

If you are looking for an anti-dandruff shampoo, Totalbeauty.com has a handy reader-ranked list of the best products for dandruff relief.

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Rachel Lindsay made history after it was announced that she would be the first black lead on ABCs The Bachelorette, so its no surprise that Mondays season premiere drew in 5.7 million viewers!

While fans were delighted and entertained to finally meet the shows contestants, they were left baffled by the end when Lindsay axed a stunning ex-marine over a man now known as the Whaboom guy.

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In case you missed it, Whaboom guys real name is actually Lucas Yancey and Whaboom is simply his catchphrase, or, as he explained to TMZ, Its a verb, its a noun, its a lifestyle.

On the debut of The Bachelorette, Yancey arrived with a megaphone to meet Lindsay for the very first time. Naturally, he wore a shirt with what appeared to be a cartoon image of himself saying the words, Whaboom! He then gave Lindsay a taste of his catchphrase. Take a look below.

At the end of the episode, Lindsay had to send eight guys home. When it came down to the final rose, viewers were shocked that the 32-year-old attorney would choose the Whaboom guy over Blake K., a hunky Asian-American contestant. Not only did the former U.S. marine win viewers over with his good looks, but also with his charm.

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First impressions mean everything so no Wabooms here! As you can see, I was so excited meeting the beautiful @therachlindsay  A post shared by Blake K (@blakekillpack) on May 19, 2017 at 11:32am PDT





On social media, fans did not hold back when expressing their dislike for the Whaboom guy and their love for Blake K.

Bachelorette watchers: I have never felt such immediate, visceral disdain for another human being as I do for whaboom guy pic.twitter.com/ILMPckjcv7  KLIMT EASTWOOD  (@Danny_Parisi_) May 23, 2017

Rachel picked Whaboom over the super hot Asian guy, and now true love is dead. #TheBachelorettepic.twitter.com/4G6v9uNkSV  Sophie Vershbow (@svershbow) May 23, 2017

Blake K was maybe the most handsome man I've ever seen in my life but sure go ahead and pick "whaboom" dude instead #TheBachelorettepic.twitter.com/3Vl60q7Qqt  Annie Metcalf (@AndrewMeatcliff) May 23, 2017

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When Rachel sends Blake K. home and keeps the kaboom guy #TheBachelorettepic.twitter.com/dXkEs2wXRV  Hannah Yasharoff (@HannahYasharoff) May 23, 2017

Many even blamed the producers of the show for Lindsays poor decision.

Waboom was clearly a producer pick but why did they sacrifice Blake K? #TheBachelorettepic.twitter.com/4Hud0awkYG  BRUNETTE CHIFFON (@Brunettechiff0n) May 23, 2017

She chose Whaboom and Tickle Monster over hot ER doc Grant and marine vet Blake K. Damn you, producers. #TheBachelorette  Emma Gray (@emmaladyrose) May 23, 2017

And some noted that it was interesting for Lindsay to get rid of the only Asian contestants on the show on the first night.

Rachel really just got rid of all the Asian men on night one... #thebachelorettepic.twitter.com/Uj0ceZRBYp  Calvin (@calvinstowell) May 23, 2017

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#TheBachelorette Seriously Asian guys are underrated AF. Fine, more for me. Call me Blake.  Renee Heiter (@courge37) May 23, 2017

Clearly Blake K. was the fan favourite of the men who were sent home. In fact, a poll on ABC shows that 37 per cent of viewers would have kept the ex-marine over one of the other chosen men.

While viewers are still baffled (and crying) over Lindsays decision, NextShark reports that the 29-year-old may have actually chosen to leave the show himself.

Two months ago, around the same time the show was being filmed, Blake K. shared an Instagram photo of himself visiting his 90-year-old grandfather, who was in the ICU. Happy Im with my family, he wrote in the caption.

Just flew to Hawaii to visit my 90 year old grandfather who was in the ICU. He's progressing and we hope he'll be home soon.  Happy I'm with my family. A post shared by Blake K (@blakekillpack) on Mar 20, 2017 at 8:10pm PDT

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Although we're saddened Blake K. is no longer on the show, we respect that family comes first!

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Travelling can open your mind. Travelling can give you untold experiences. Travelling can be damn expensive.

As any Canadian who's ever booked a plane ticket knows, getting a flight out of the country  or even more relevantly, within the country  is a pricey endeavour. So that's why we appreciate travel companies providing us with some hints as to which spots can help us save our hard-earned loonies.

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Cheapflights.ca has just released its Compass Report for 2017, detailing the most budget-friendly places to visit when you book from six major Canadian cities (Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg). A caveat, of course  this data is limited to their search engines. But considering the company gets 120 million users a year, it paints a pretty solid picture of the Canadian travel scene.

So first off: the cheap spots. New York City took first place, with an average price of $348 per round trip, with Boston, Washington, D.C. and Chicago following close behind. It's no surprise the U.S. proved to be the winner in this case, thanks to its proximity and access.

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Meanwhile, Canadian cities didn't even crack the top 10 on the cheapest list. As CTV noted in 2016, Canada is one of the most expensive countries to fly internally, thanks to the rent private airport companies have to pay to the government.

The higher prices also create a vicious cycle, the article noted, as some people might opt to drive to the States for a cheaper fare, or not fly at all.

The most popular places to visit according to Cheapflights.ca, meanwhile, were much further away, with Delhi leading the charge, followed by London and Manila. And a few consummate favourites (Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando) were replaced by Paris (#4), Toronto (#8) and Cancun (#10).

Considering Lonely Planet named Canada as its number one country to travel for 2017, we suppose we could just jump in our cars (or yes, take the train) to explore our nation's nooks and crannies.

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But if you want to go a little further afield this year, check out this giant list of where you can find cheap flights. And who knows? Maybe the demand will help them go down even further in price.

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As if convocation day wasn't emotional enough.

In a heartwarming story that demonstrates not only a mother's love, but a son's as well, Judy O'Connor received an honourary MBA at Chapman University this week, alongside her son, Marty.

As reported by KTLA, Judy went to every class with Marty, as he is a quadriplegic and unable to take notes or write tests (in a literal sense).

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So when it came time for him to get his diploma, he thought she deserved one too  and the administration agreed.

"At the suggestion of her son, and with the support of all the relevant bodies, we are honoured to award an honourary MBA to Mrs. O'Connor," a school official said through tears.

Mom who went to every class with her quadriplegic son gets a graduation day surprise: Her own MBA. Story: https://t.co/jVnXp5XqGBpic.twitter.com/2lXdlFQOdE  AP West Region (@APWestRegion) May 23, 2017

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Marty, who had previously completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado in 2010, became a quadriplegic in 2012 after falling down a set of fire-escape stairs, resulting in a spinal cord injury, Chapman University's blog reports.

His mother, who has a business degree and was an elementary school teacher at the time, moved from Florida to southern California to help him.

Judy OConnor received honorary degree alongside son Marty O'Connor (MBA '17) after accident left him quadriplegic https://t.co/edRCwD3TXXpic.twitter.com/HUnwFSniK7  Chapman University (@ChapmanU) May 24, 2017

After his accident, Marty endured months of physical therapy, but he was determined to take on another challenge. He applied for a grant from the Swim with Mike organization (which financially assists physically challenged athletes) and started at Chapman in 2015, with his mom by his side.

Im a geek. I love being in school, Judy told the blog. "Im not going to lie. Ive enjoyed every minute of it."

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And Marty obviously knows just how lucky he was to have a mother like that.

Im a geek. I love being in school. Im not going to lie. Ive enjoyed every minute of it." Judy O'Connor

"Shes been instrumental in the past two years," he said to the OC Register. "Theres no way I would have achieved my level of success without her."

As for Judy, she just wants her son to be happy.

It was a wonderful privilege to be able to do this for him, she told the paper. You get a spinal cord injury  I couldnt fix it, but I could do this for him."

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A Maryland teen has been banned from attending her high school graduation because shes pregnant.

Grade 12 student Maddi Runkles found out she was pregnant in January and immediately informed her school, Heritage Academy. Unfortunately, the news did not sit well with the Christian school, who then barred her from walking at her grad ceremony next month.

Principal David R. Hobbs has since defended the Academys decision. In a statement to the family on Tuesday, he wrote, Maddi is being disciplined, not because shes pregnant, but because she was immoral.

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ICYMI: Christian academy principal defends denying pregnant teen graduate "walk." My @RNS story: https://t.co/g6IlSyya9Bpic.twitter.com/20M9lIPNj1  Adelle Banks (@AMBankstw) May 25, 2017

According to the Toronto Star, Runkles punishment for being immoral was initially much harsher. In January, the teen was told she would be suspended, removed from her position as president of student council and would have to complete her senior year at home. The punishment was only revoked after Runkles family appealed it.

The initial decision to suspend the teen was made by the Heritage board, which Runkles father, Scott, was the head of at the time. However, The New York Times reports that he quit the position after he saw how his daughter was being mistreated.

Typically, when somebody breaks a rule, you punish them at the time they break the rule. That way, the punishment is behind them and theyre moving forward with a clean slate, he told the site. With Maddi, her punishment was set four months out. Its ruined her senior year.

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Runkles originally considered getting an abortion, but ultimately decided against it. While the teen is ready to face the consequences of her actions, she believes she is being treated unfairly for breaking the school code.

I think [the code] is something good to have because it helps you stay accountable, she told Buzzfeed. But things happen, mistakes happen.

Heritage Academy has a strict policy that states no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of the marriage commitment between a man and a woman, which is why the school will not budge on its decision to ban Runkles from her grad ceremony.

"Her immorality is the original choice she made that began this situation."

In the statement to the family, Principal Hobbs said, Heritage is also pleased that she has chosen to not abort her son. However, her immorality is the original choice she made that began this situation.

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He also added that while Runkles is barred from walking at graduation, she will still receive her diploma.

Despite this, Runkles parents have now pulled the teen and her younger brother out of the school, Buzzfeed reports.

There have been kids who have broken the student code and they could have hurt people or even gone to jail and they only received an in-school suspension and theyre allowed to walk this year, Runkles told the Toronto Star on Wednesday. The school is worried about its reputation, but I think theyre missing out on an incredible opportunity to set an example for the pro-life community and Christian schools about how to treat guys and girls like me.

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U.S. President Donald Trump kept his hands to his sides when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shouted Everybody wave! to break the ice during a NATO photo opp on Thursday.

Its a small moment that was observed by a White House pool reporter travelling with Trump in Brussels.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, Everybody wave! encouraging his counterparts to wave for the cameras. Some followed Trudeaus command, but not Trump, who did not raise an arm, the report read.

Trump smiled for a brief moment, but otherwise kept a serious, perhaps even stern, expression on his face for the duration of the photo opp.

The NATO country leaders had assembled themselves onto a three-tier stage inside the new NATO headquarters in Belgium.

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Trudeau stood at the far edge of the platform while Trump stood front and centre.

Trumps cheerless response to Trudeaus request came after two speeches from the U.S. president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

With the new NATO headquarters building behind him, constructed to the tune of 1.1 billion euros, the president repeated how the U.S. meets its NATO spending quota and criticized countries who fail to do the same.

Canada is one of those countries.

A NATO report released last year showed Canada to be a laggard, allotting 1.02 per cent of the countrys GDP to defence spending last year.

That number falls short of the two per cent funding guideline for member countries.

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This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and [from] not paying in those past years, Trump said.

According to another pool report, some leaders stole sidelong glances at each other during Trumps speech while Trudeau stared straight ahead.

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Like many families, the horror of what happened in Manchester, UK at the Ariana Grande show has dominated conversation in our house. We are music fans and concert goers and this senseless attack hit us hard. The images of mostly teenage girls running, injured and scared while their parents were frantic, are devastating. So we talk. We talk not only about the news as it comes in, but also about "now what?"

My daughter, Hannah, and I want a share a bit about what those conversations are like.

Eric: My first inclination is that you're not going to a show without me. Ever. Like never. But that's really not possible. Or likely. Or fair. Or right. I know that going to shows with your friends, at your age, is the best. I remember those shows. So we have to figure it out.

Hannah: I'm going to a show with my friend in a couple of weeks. We only bought two tickets. Let's figure it out.

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And so we came up with a plan. An action plan.

We're calling it 14 Ways Your 14 Year-old Daughter Can Go To A Show With Her 14 Year-old Friend. Feel free to add your own rules and change the title if you need to.

My parents are putting a data plan on my phone so that I don't have to rely on access to Wifi if I need it to reach them. I'll keep a fully-charged extra battery (and cord) in my purse. We will have a confirmed meeting place inside the venue where my parents can access without a ticket. We will have a secondary meeting place outside the venue in case of emergency. We're going to look at a map of the venue and we will choose and use venue entrances that are not the "main" ones because it will be less crowded and easier to meet up. I will keep a contact card with emergency contact information inside my iPhone case and An ID card with my name and contact information for my parents will be in my pocket or purse in case I lose my phone. At 14, I don't have a driver's licence. I will make sure that I have phone numbers in my contacts for all of my family (ie. grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.). My parents will have the phone numbers for my friend that I'm going to the show with and their parents and vice versa. I will always have a 20-dollar bill for emergency ONLY in my purse. (A concert t-shirt is not an emergency, says my Dad. But looking at his t-shirt collection, you would think otherwise.). We will hang back in our seats after the show ends and let the crowd thin out a bit. Even 10 minutes will mean that thousands of people will have left before us. My parents will be having dinner across the street and I'll know where they are: five minutes away. We will stick together. When one of us goes to the bathroom or to get a drink, we both go. Always. No exceptions. We will check in throughout the show -- the first time will be when I get to my seat and again when the show is over. I will ask venue staff if I need help or directions.

A PS from Eric (aka Dad):

And because I have the benefit of having more concert-going experience and knowledge than most, there a couple of things that I want to add as a parent:

Many venues for shows that are attended by this age group have designated spaces inside for parents/guardians to hang out. If the venue has this, I'm there.

I will only buy her tickets for seats -- not general admission or floors. In a chaotic situation, that space could get dangerous and I know that she's safer in a seat in the stands. Picture it, you know what I mean.

Because I'm sometimes on social media, I might follow the tweets from reporters who are live-tweeting the show. Just keeping an eye on it.

This is what feels right for us, for now. It could change. We've all seen how fast our comfort zones can change. Only you know, what yours is and it will be right for you.

With love and strength to Manchester, Ariana Grande, and her team.

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The new bylaw banning whale and dolphin captivity in Stanley Park has put Vancouver Aquarium's venerable PR machine into overdrive.

In some cases, their message clearly arises from desperation, if not from some other reality. Take the aquarium CEO John Nightingale's recent claim that they've "never done shows" with whales and dolphins.

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Their own advertising, as well as hundreds of YouTube videos, establish this as an obvious "alternative fact."

So what about the rest of their claims surrounding the bylaw?

Verdict: False

It is important to remember that this bylaw comes from Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, whose jurisdiction begins and ends at the borders of the city's public parks. Even within that jurisdiction, in the unlikely event that a whale, dolphin or porpoise (cetacean) became stranded on Second Beach in Stanley Park, there is nothing in the bylaw preventing Vancouver Aquarium from coming to its aid.

It also has no impact on the aquarium's ability to provide subsequent medical care because their rescue facility (see photo below) is not even located in a Vancouver park.

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But still, aquarium CEO Nightingale has also ramped up the rhetoric to a disturbing level, even claiming that the bylaw means they'll have to "put a bullet in" stranded marine mammals.

The ultimate goal of any wildlife rescue operation is to return animals back to their natural environment whenever possible. The bylaw is entirely compatible with this mission, as it is very clear that it only outlaws the import and display of new cetaceans in Vancouver Parks.

If the Vancouver Aquarium is willing to leave marine mammals to die on beaches only because they are no longer allowed to put them on display and taught tricks in Stanley Park, one has to wonder about the real motivations of their leadership.

Verdict: False

What would happen to a rescued porpoise, for example, whose injuries were so serious that it couldn't be released back into the wild? The Park Board bylaw says only that it may not be placed on display at the aquarium's Stanley Park facility.

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The aquarium cannot possibly believe their own claim that there are no other options for long-term care because, at this very moment, not one of the 6 belugas owned by Vancouver Aquarium lives in Stanley Park.

It is arrogant and misleading for the aquarium to imply that scientific consensus supports captivity.

Four live at Seaworld, one at Georgia Aquarium and one at Shedd Aquarium; some have never resided in Vancouver. For years, the aquarium has FedEx-ed whales across the continent as part of their breeding program to "accredited partners" that offer "exceptional animal care."

So how is sending an unreleasable animal to one of these trusted partners no longer an option? It certainly was for their current star attraction, Chester the rescued false killer whale. While he was still suffering on the beach, the aquarium stated they had already had multiple offers for his long-term care from facilities around the world. There's also the possibility of establishing a sanctuary for them.

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Verdict: False

Not simply false, but objectively absurd. The aquarium has claimed with absolute certainty that whales and dolphins do not suffer in captivity -- while somehow remaining 100 per cent uncertain why the majority of their cetaceans have died.

But when faced with question of relocating unreleasable animals to an ocean-based sanctuary environment, they say that sanctuaries cause suffering. Virtually every marine scientist outside of the captive industry disagrees with these assertions.

By representing themselves as scientists while serving up regular helpings of alternative facts, they do a disservice to scientists everywhere.

In fact, there are currently no less than three ocean-based sanctuaries in development at this time, one for orcas (potentially to be located in B.C.), one for belugas, and one for dolphins.

The latter is a project of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, a facility much like Vancouver Aquarium, in which research and rescue are key elements of their mission. They voluntarily decided to move all their captive dolphins to an ocean-based sanctuary because "the needs and the interests of the dolphins will come first."

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Verdict: False

Strange that Vancouver Aquarium, with its long history of meddling in municipal politics, has the audacity to make this claim. But even stranger, perhaps, is that the passage of the bylaw was supported by commissioners representing all three political parties currently on Park Board -- a rare example of cross-party consensus at any level of government and a sign that commissioners saw through the alternative facts the aquarium has been serving up.

This was clearly on the mind of Commissioner Sarah Kirby-Yung as she prepared to vote on the bylaw. A former VP of Marketing at Vancouver Aquarium, she is a communications professional and former aquarium insider. She prefaced her vote by chastising the aquarium's conduct, saying "I am dismayed that the focus has been on non-constructive, often inaccurate rhetoric to whip the public into a frenzy."

Whale and Dolphin Deaths at Vancouver Aquarium See Gallery

As for science, like many Park Boards before them, current commissioners did their homework by listening to testimony from citizens and scientists alike.

But it is arrogant and misleading for the aquarium to imply that scientific consensus supports captivity. Among the many scientists who has spoken against the captivity of whales and dolphins was Dr. Sidney Holt, considered the father of modern marine science.

In a letter to Senators supporting Bill S-203 to ban whale and dolphin captivity in Canada, he stated:

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"In the case of highly migratory cetaceans such as belugas, who are used to traveling vast distances, to be held in... tanks is, I think, a special form of cruelty. No one has ever produced a compelling reason to justify such treatment -- certainly not a scientific or conservation-based reason."

The Vancouver Aquarium should know better.

By representing themselves as scientists while serving up regular helpings of alternative facts, they do a disservice to scientists everywhere.

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Andrew Francis Wallace via Getty Images TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 21 - New Democratic Government and Consumer Services critic Jagmeet Singh during question period at Queen's Park, February 21, 2017. (Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Last week, Jagmeet Singh announced his intention to run for the leadership of the New Democratic Party in an electrifying rally in his home riding of Brampton, Ontario. If successful, Singh will become the first racialized leader of a major Canadian political party. Since his announcement, the question that consistently comes up in public and private conversation is whether Singh, a man with brown skin and a turban, could be elected as Prime Minister in Canada. We reminded that Canada is a country which is still overwhelmingly white, Christian, and often grapples with challenges around race and racism.

The first thing that comes to mind when such questions arise is how many times the same questions were asked about the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama, and how bleak his bid for the presidency seemed to many Americans. After all, how could a black man be elected president less than 200 years after the end of slavery? How could someone from a racial group which had a mere 50 years earlier not been allowed to drink from the same fountain as their white co-citizens be elected in a country where white people still formed a strong majority?

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However, Barack Obama proved the naysayers wrong in 2008 when he was elected on a wave of hope and optimism. He was able to use his charisma and political acumen to build a coalition of urban liberals, blue collar workers, and racialized minorities. This coalition allowed him to win two terms and end with one of the highest approval ratings in modern presidential history.

The question for Singh is, can he accomplish a similar feat? Can the lawyer and MPP from Brampton match the efforts of the lawyer and junior senator from Chicago? From my perspective, this question can only be answered by determining 1) whether Singh has the charisma and political acumen to build a broad coalition akin to that of Obama, and 2) whether Canada is at least as ready to elect a racialized leader in the same way that the United States did in 2008.

Regarding the question of Singh's personal characteristics and capabilities, the answer is quite clear. Anyone who has had the chance to see Singh speak or has spoken to him cannot deny that he has an undeniable and universal charisma which allows him to ingratiate himself with individuals of any background. I have personally witnessed him laughing and joking with people from rural communities in Northern Ontario as comfortably as he dances with older Iranian ladies at a Persian gala.

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This is a man who can relate with and draw people from across Canada's many cultural and geographic divides. He can converse in French as well or better than many of Canada's other federal leaders and has lived in many different parts of Canada. He has the charisma and political intelligence to be able to build a broad Canadian coalition that can rival that of Obama. He has consistently shown that he is sensitive to the needs of the marginalized as well as the concerns of the mainstream. All of these characteristics are essential to the coalition building that any NDP leader needs to end the unfortunate tradition of the party's exclusion from federal government.

The second essential question is whether Canada is ready for the Obama-like-project which Singh is attempting to accomplish. This question is one which is harder to answer definitively - one which goes to the heart of who we are as Canadians.

We as Canadians love to talk about how pluralistic we are, how accepting we are, and how much more progressive we are than our neighbour to the south. However, the reality is often different. From the so-called "Barbaric Cultural Practices Act" to the needless controversy over the Niqab, Canadians have shown that we are not immune from the xenophobia and racism that is plaguing much of the Western world.

However, my contention is that Canada is, at the very least, no worse than the United States, with its history of slavery, racial violence, and institutional racism. There is nothing to suggest that, despite all of our problems with race and racism, we too could not elect a racialized person to the highest office of the land.

Ultimately, only time will definitively tell whether Canada is ready for a non-white Prime Minister. What I do know, however, is that I and many other Canadians have faith in Canada. We believe that, despite all of our problems with race and racism, Canada is ready to vote for someone like Jagmeet Singh, and that, regardless of the outcome of the NDP leadership race, there is no doubt that this is an extremely exciting time to be Canadian.

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courtneyk via Getty Images Young couple sitting in new house with packing boxes. They look like they have just moved in and they are very happy, smiling and talking. They are using a digital tablet, sitting on the floor in casual clothes. Copy space.

Written by Elisa Krovblit

In a step to support renters with rent stability and some measure of protection for rental rights, the province of Ontario has officially passed new rental legislation on May 18, 2017. The Rental Fairness Act, 2017, resolves significant issues that renters have been battling.

In the current heated real estate market, most cities are seeing rents soar. There's lots of competition and very low levels of vacancy, essentially creating a landlord's market. In addition, existing rental conditions were causing renters a great deal of insecurity -- from landlords evicting them under the guise of the Landlord's Own Use rule in bad faith and then re-renting at a much higher rate -- to leveraging the "1991 Loophole" allowing rentals not occupied before November 1, 1991 to be excluded from rent control limits. Unsuspecting tenants were being given huge rent increases that either left them overextended because of the new, exorbitant rent -- or displaced from their home because they were unable to continue their tenancy at the new rate.

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With a home being an essential need, and the Ontario government recognizing that people should have stability in their living arrangements, The Rental Fairness Act, 2017, addresses these concerns, and more. It is creating an environment of stability for renters.

"Today is a good day for tenants in this province. In the face of dramatic rent increases and unfair practices, our government is answering the call to bring fairness and predictability to Ontario's rental housing system. With the changes under the Rental Fairness Act, Ontarians can rest assured that they will continue to have an affordable place to call home," said Chris Ballard, minister of Housing and minister responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Passed on May 18, 2017, the act is backdated to apply ongoing from April 20, 2017.

The Rental Fairness Act includes:

No rent increases for any residential rental unit to exceed the provincially legislated annual maximum: 1.5 per cent for 2017

Enabling a standard lease to help both tenants and landlords know their rights and responsibilities, while reducing the number of disputes

Protecting tenants from eviction due to abuse of the "landlord's own use" provision

Ensuring landlords can't pursue former tenants for unauthorized charges

Prohibiting above-guideline rent increases in buildings where elevator maintenance orders have not been addressed

Removing above-guideline rent increases for utilities, to protect tenants from carbon costs and encourage landlords to make their buildings more energy efficient.

While this new Act provides significant protection to renters, it isn't true rent control. Landlords are allowed to raise the rent when their units become vacant, setting the rent at whatever they want to charge the new, incoming tenant. Landlords also continue to have the ability to apply to the Landlord Tenant Board for above-guideline increases - but they must show the above-guideline increase is to cover extraordinary increases in operating costs - or extraordinary expense for capital expenditures. With a great deal of complaints stemming from elevator issues, the stipulation that elevators be in good repair may be the answer that a lot of tenants having been long awaiting.

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The response from the proponents of the residential rental industry, however, are as to be expected - they're not happy.

Rental housing developers in Ontario are reviewing the potential issues. In a province where purpose-built rental had lagged, many cities have only recently begun to see new apartment buildings because of the current market's lucrative conditions. These new rental properties are sorely needed to increase stock and support demand. Without them, a low vacancy rate will keep pushing market rates higher.

The new Act has been viewed as potentially limiting or reducing the profitability, of new purpose-built rental, and there has already been at least one rental project being reconsidered, with several other developers starting to examine whether continuing to invest in rental is best.

For now, tenants can enjoy the relief and stability that the new Rental Fairness Act, 2017, delivers. For more information, review the Rental Fairness Act, 2017.

Originally posted on YPNextHome.ca
The five things you need to know on Thursday, May 25

1) SILENCE PLEASE

There will be a minutes silence at 11am in memory of the 22 children and adults killed in the Manchester bombing. And this morning Theresa May and our security services are hoping for a little more silence from the Americans who have so far leaked key details of the investigation into the terrorist attack.

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Home Secretary Amber Rudd yesterday said she was irritated by the US leaks of the suicide bombers name, number killed and other details. But irritation turned to genuine anger in Whitehall after the New York Times was passed photos of the crime scene revealing Salman Abedis rucksack and his detonator device.

The FBI, rather than the White House, is suspected to be the source of the information. And Theresa May has made it a central tenet of her relationship with Donald Trump to be supportive in public and frank in private. Yet having backed Trumps move to get Nato to join the anti-Daesh alliance, she is expected to raise with the President the damage being done by the leaks.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon didnt deny on LBC Radio that he was bloody furious, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told Newsnight he had raised the issue with the US embassy, saying it is quite frankly disgusting. The US State Department tells us the President is giving his full support to the UK. The big news this morning is that Greater Manchester Police have decided to stop sharing information with the US. That is a major, unprecedented decision.

Last night the National Police Chiefs Council warned that the publication of the photos undermines relations between UK and US authorities, the ongoing investigation and, crucially, the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

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And it is the families we who will be in our thoughts this morning as those flags fly at half-mast around the country. Charlotte Campbell, whose 15-year-old daughter Olivia was murdered on Monday night, attended a vigil in her home town of Bury. I had to come, I didn't know what to do, I don't know where to be, I don't know what to do, She was applauded as she spoke, then added this: As a family, we're united, we're standing strong. I ask her friends, strangers, relatives to do the same. Please stay together, don't let this beat any of us, please. Don't let my daughter be a victim."

2) QUESTION TIME

Of course, there are uncomfortable questions for our own security services and ministers about claims that Abedi was known to the authorities and had been the subject of repeated warnings. The Telegraph talks of five missed chances to tackle him earlier, the Times leads on a relative of Abedis warning this year that he was dangerous. It seems an anti-terror hotline was alerted about him five years ago, after the young Mancunian had said suicide bombing was OK.

With growing evidence that Abedi was part of a network, there have been more arrests overnight and eight people are now in custody as part of whats turning into a vast investigation. Our security services have foiled numerous terror plots in recent years, but as the IRA said after the Brighton bomb in 1984: we only have to be lucky once  you will have to be lucky always. Any intelligence failures will be keenly felt not just in MI5 and MI6 but in No.10 too.

The whole debate about the Prevent strategy for rooting out extremism has reignited. Yet whats most worrying is the activity of the Libyan dissident groups in south Manchester. And in a further clue to what a mess Libya is in, Abedis father and brother were arrested in Tripoli yesterday not by police but by a militia linked to the UN-backed government. With claims that jihadis regularly travel to and from Libya to Syria, the swoop by masked gunmen was another reminder that terror feeds off chaos right across the Middle East.

3) THINNER BLUE LINE

From midday, the Tories will resume some low-key general election activity at local level. Labour has already been leafleting but it too will start a phased return to campaigning, and both parties will be back to national politics from tomorrow. Jeremy Corbyn informed the PM of his plans yesterday, and issued a statement that the Manchester attack will not prevent us going about our daily lives or derail our democratic process.

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Yesterday, those of us working in Westminster saw first-hand the reality of the PMs decision to deploy the troops in the wake of the bombing. For the first time since the Second World War, the military took on roles guarding Parliament. The whole exercise was highly symbolic and the presence of a MoD camera crew, and staged photo-ops with Met chief Cressida Dick suggested this was indeed all about the signals being sent out. Unusually, soldiers from different regiments (Paras and Guardsmen) were mixed into one troop, another possible sign that this was about optics.

Yet while the presence of the military was all about freeing up armed police to do other more urgent work than guarding major buildings, the suspension of the election campaign didnt prevent criticism of wider policy. Steve White, the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, welcomed the extra support but pointed out that it laid bare just how few resources the police now had after years of cuts.

White said: There is no ignoring the fact that we, the police, simply do not have the resources to manage an event like this on our own Another front-line officer posted on Facebook that he was saddened that the Army were needed at all. Analysts, general inquiry officers and police station managers were vital when a member of the public saw something suspicious and just wanted to alert the cops, he said.

BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR

Listen to US Republican candidate Greg Gianforte body slam a Guardian reporter for asking a question. He's since been charged for assault.

4) CONSPIRACY CORNER

Of course, theres a world of difference in objecting to police cuts and any attempt to suggest that the Manchester bombings themselves were part of some grand conspiracy to help Theresa May get out of a tricky election campaign.

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But that hasnt stopped several tinfoil hatters (so-called because of the belief that wearing a tinfoil hat prevents Government mind control) from suggesting the whole terror atrocity was part of The Establishments attempt to stop Jeremy Corbyn from getting into No.10. Such claims seem self-evidently crass, deluded and insensitive to the Manchester families, yet Twitter was alight last night as comedian Rufus Hound told his 1.2 million followers he was thinking what some were thinking.

One tweeter had said: Given the attacker was known to MI5, the timing seems fortunate that an attack slips through as Labour are making progress. Hound replied: Apologies for mild tinhattedness, but I've been thinking the same. Esp. as she was Home Secretary for so long. #reichstagFire. Yes, he even included a Nazi reference. Hes since apologised but not deleted.

Debbie Hicks, vice chair of Stroud Labour Party, suggested that the bombing was wonderful timing for May. Labour HQ has distanced itself from such comments, but in the Telegraph former Labour MP Tom Harris says it underlines the hard Lefts view that Corbyns inevitable defeat, when it comes, cannot possibly be the fault either of their leader or those who elected him to that job.

5) THE NEW NORMAL

Normal politics resumes first today with UKIP launching its delayed manifesto. The party looks like it is set to play the only card it has left as it faces post-Brexit wipeout: inflammatory talk about immigration and integration.

Of course, no one should tell anyone else how they ought to feel in the wake of the Manchester bombings and there are some genuine concerns about the way extremists have been allowed to prosper in some communities. And dont forget that in the North West, the UKIP message on political correctness has struck a chord in recent years. Shutting down UKIP is not the answer, countering their arguments is. They also suffer from chronic in-fighting, as proved by UKIP Rotherham candidate Allen Cowles telling BBC Radio 4 that Paul Nuttall had a car crash by-election campaign. A former Treasurer adds that Nuttall just comes across like an idiot.

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Whats also the new normal, however, is the Tories getting their sums wrong on their election manifesto. The BBC follows up Education Weeks report that the partys free breakfasts policy (which could prove popular) started at 60m but could cost 200m or even 400m. Add in that former Gove adviser Sam Freedman talking about teachers handing out food to pupils whose families have been hit by benefit cuts, and you can see theres a lot of real politics we need to get back to.

Note too the FTs story of growing City disquiet at the Tories. At the papers City Network event, the CBI, IoD and others attacked the Conservative manifesto as protectionist, harmful on immigration, and anti-business. We have exactly two weeks left to debate and discuss all this.

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In the aftermath of the recent harrowing terrorist attack in Manchester (and other similar episodes across Europe) it is natural for people to feel anxious as they go about their daily business in a big city and while anxiety can be a motivating factor to propel us into action, an anxiety disorder is much more intense and can be physically debilitating, while severely hampering our ability to function on a daily basis. Anxiety disorders affect tens of thousands of people throughout the UK and can cause panic attacks, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and lead to awkwardness in casual settings (social anxiety).

I used to be utterly tormented by social anxiety, feeling out of place and occasionally frozen in my ability to create a spontaneous conversation. Consequently I became even more self-conscious and avoided social gatherings. Thus, I self-medicated with mood altering drugs (alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana), which actually perpetuated my anxiety. Social anxiety can be so intense that it can lead to social anorexia, meaning that a person literally starves themselves of having a social life of any sort. According to Anxiety UK, "Social phobia can also be classed as 'specific social phobia,' such as when there is social phobia only in specific situations like public speaking. The fear of behaving in an embarrassing or humiliating way can lead to a complete withdrawal from social contact, as well as avoidance of specific social situations such as public toilets, eating out etc. The physical manifestations of this phobia include blushing, shaking and sweating etc."

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Anxiety disorders often accompany eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and other mental illnesses such as bi-polar and addictive behaviours (alcohol addiction, pornography addiction). However, the medical profession have accepted that anxiety disorders can be genetic. A person is five times more likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder if a parent has experienced the same condition. Anxiety is a common symptom of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and can be heightened while using caffeine or withdrawing from alcohol and/or powerful mind altering substances. Many people report being riddled with anxiety while flying, driving and before an academic exam.

Anxiety disorders can create utter misery in the workplace and more often than not the person experiencing this will literally "suffer in silence" rather than asking for the necessary help and support. According to Chloe Brotheridge, an expert on anxiety and author of "The Anxiety Solution", "Most of us will openly admit to feeling some anxiety at work. Most of us assume that it's just part of the job, but for some of us, it's a bit more serious than that. Anxiety becomes so overwhelming that it haunts people's working lives, limits their career aspirations or cuts their career short."

Young people are reporting much more frequently that anxiety is having a detrimental effect on their emotional and mental well-being. The aforementioned Anxiety UK charity reports, "Even some of the most confident people you know may have suffered with anxiety. Recent research suggests that as many as one in six young people will experience an anxiety condition at some point in their lives, this means that up to five people in your class may be living with anxiety, whether that be OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), social anxiety and shyness, exam stress, worry or panic attacks."

Having awareness with regard to the different anxiety categories can be a relief for many people who have suffered with this but one of the most effective (and counterintuitive) ways to mitigate this often distressing condition is to attempt to make peace with it. Personally, I did not want to go down the medication route. Firstly, I have an addictive personality (I am in long-term recovery for drug and alcohol addiction) and secondly, I only use prescribed medicine if it is absolutely necessary. Of course it is imperative that anyone who has sought help for an anxiety disorder follow their doctor's advice. The NHS suggests, "Going on a self-help course, exercising regularly, stopping smoking, cutting down on the amount of alcohol and caffeine you drink", and additionally I have found mindfulness and yoga meditation techniques to be very helpful.

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Many people have reported a similar experience and the medical field is encouraging patients to practise mindfulness regularly to reduce levels of anxiety. Below are some techniques that have worked for me and many others:

 Practising mindfulness meditation every morning for at least twenty minutes (before being distracted by work/news/social media)

 Regularly taking long deep breaths throughout the day

 Applying oneself to alternate breathing (pranayama yoga breathing)

 Rather than dissociating and attempting to suppress anxious feelings (numbing out), be present and feel the anxious emotions thoroughly. The paradox is that we transcend anxiety (and stress) when we pause and allow ourselves to feel our emotions fully in the body. The uncomfortable and sometimes distressing physical manifestations of the anxiety will then subside and calmness will return

 Regular mindful walking (with no distractions such as mobile phone) and yoga stretches

Christopher Dines' new book, "The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours", co-authored with Dr Barbara Mariposa is out now.
Leon Neal via Getty Images

It was less than 48 hours after the massacre of innocents at the Manchester Arena, that photos of the crime scene including bloodstained shrapnel were published by the New York Times after presumably being leaked by American intelligence to the newspaper. This was just one in a long line of leaks mostly in the American press (not all were, as the French interior minister blabbed live on air that the suicide bomber was thought to have spent time in Syria) which seemingly come from American government sources leaking information given to them in trust by the British intelligence sources.

The reasons behind this grossly loose lipped behaviour are unknown. They could be by anti-Trump forces, but it more likely that they are by those of his supporters who wish to undermine the traditional transatlantic alliances such as NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence sharing system. Whatever the reason, it is heartless beyond belief, to share pictures of the nuts and screws used to kill and maim concert goers, a point rammed home by the fact that in the photos so unhelpfully supplied by the New York Times are surrounded by the blood of those victims. It would significantly irresponsible to share them after an investigation has finished but to do so when the suspects are still on the run defies all common sense and decency. It does so to the point that this simply can't be incompetence but one wonders if there is malice and cynicism involved.

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It is no exaggeration to suggest that this continual leaking of information could endanger British security and British lives. For whatever reason it is being carried out, it has to be stopped. There is no public interest in seeing pictures of the remains of the bomb when the bomb-maker himself is possibly still on the run in our country. It is unacceptable (as both the home secretary and defence secretary have said when asked by the media) for our allies to continually undermine our national security especially when they have been asked repeatedly to stop.

Quite simply, Congress should investigate who is behind these leaks with the same vigour they have delved into scandals involving Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Games on the Potomac surrounding their divisive President are very well in the typical cut and thrust of DC Politics, but don't endanger our citizens' safety over your own internal bickering. This is a clear case of British national security being violated and if America still values the special relationship (if, of course, it ever did in the first place) then examples need to be made of whoever has been leaking to various American newspapers and broadcasters.
What is it like to get married in Antarctica? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Janet Hsieh, TV Host, Fun Taiwan, Actress, Author:

Cold.

Haha. Just kidding. Well, it was chilly, but not as cold as you'd think (thank you global warming...)

First, I have to explain why we ended up getting married in Antarctica.

I've always been a dreamer. And I don't think that's a bad thing to be, as long as you actually do something about your dreams. Make your dreams a reality.

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In 2011, I filmed a travel show in Argentina. After we finished, I took a few days off with my mom and producer and we flew down to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. For a few days, we watched as several cruise ships left the dock and headed for Antarctica, the White Continent, the 7th Continent, Penguin-Land. I was jealous. So, so jealous. I wanted to jump onto every single one of those cruises and hide in the closet, or get hired as a valet/server on the ship. I really wanted to go to Antarctica. But alas, it wasn't to be that year, or the next or the next. We got our fill of penguin sighting on a few islands just off of the coast of Ushuaia. I tried sneaking one back home with me, but penguins are quite slippery little things (I didn't really).

A few years later, my mom and dad retired and decided that they wanted to go on a cruise to Antarctica with their friends and they asked me if I wanted to join them, sending me their itinerary. One look at the schedule and the costs and I immediately called them up to cancel their reservations. Their booking was way too expensive for way too little excursion and actual time in Antarctica. I would be their tour guide and find them a better cruise for a better value.

Two weeks later, I find myself with two guide books, a map of Antarctica taped to my wall, and emails with at least 10 different ship operators from all over the world. I was on a mission and now, I wanted to go on this trip. George and I were already dating by this point and I wanted to share this experience with him too, so naturally, I invited him to come.

George, my husband, isn't like me - he doesn't seek out adventure, doesn't like to throw himself at potentially risky and dangerous trips to exotic places. He prefers to read or watch about them from the comforts of his couch, so I knew this would be a hard sell. As a joke, I mentioned that since he was invited, he should also invite his parents since we don't get to spend much time with our parents anymore, with us and them being on the opposite sides of the world.

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George surprisingly joked that since we would have both our parents there, our respective parents had never met, and we would have a lot of time together, we might as well get married in Antarctica.

Without knowing it, George had just planted a seed that was resistant to everything. He should have known that an idea like that - once it goes into my brain - is going to fester and fester in there until it happens. I was going to get married in Antarctica. And hopefully, George would be able to join me for our wedding.

As luck would have it, with a little Google search, I had discovered that there was actually a church in Antarctica and on King George Island. Yes, King GEORGE island. And it was a Russian orthodox church, and George is actually a baptized Orthodox Christian. It was a sign from the heavens.

And of course, playing on George's vanity, I told him about the church on King George Island and how it was just perfect - it was meant to be. It worked. Sorta. I still needed a few more weeks of convincing, but I had him on the hook and he was slowly getting reeled into my net. Mwa ha ha ha.

Basically, George won't admit it, but it's actually his fault that we ended up getting married in Antarctica. And it's a fault that I will always thank him for.

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Now, what was it actually like to get married on Antarctica ... well, we didn't end up getting married on King George island, or at a church. We ended up getting hitched on a glacier next to a chinstrap penguin colony on Nikko Harbor, Antarctica. The whole ceremony lasted only about 15 minutes (we like things short and sweet), but it was everything I could have wished for. (Well, I take that back. I'm pretty sure I wished for Brad Pitt to be at the wedding.)
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Thousands of people across Hull joined in with millions across the country in pausing for a minute's silence with Manchester.

At 11am on Thursday, a country-wide minute's silence was held for the 22 killed in the horrific suicide bombing outside Manchester Arena on Monday night.

The atrocity, which also injured more than 60 people, happened in the foyer section outside of the arena minutes after the Ariana Grande concert. The youngest victim named so far is just eight years old, with an off-duty police officer also killed.

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A minute's silence was held in locations across Hull to honour those who were killed in the tragedy. At the ceremony to install the city's new Lord Mayor, Councillor John Hewitt, those present in the Guildhall fell silent for victims.

Following the attack, carried out by British-born Salman Abedi, a series of raids and arrests have taken place across Manchester. Eight men are still being held by Greater Manchester Police, with a bomb squad also called to a college in Manchester on Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Theresa May raised the UK's threat level to critical in the wake of the tragedy, with hundreds of army troops deployed at key sites across the country.

ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack and police believe the bomber was linked to a key IS recruiter and possible terrorist network in the city.
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Thieves smashed their way into a nursery twice in the space of a week  sparking staff concerns for the safety of the children.

Westside Day Nursery on Sykes Street was broken into in the early hours of May 14 and again on May 21.

Intruders caused damage to the locks and fencing around the nursery, causing a potential security risk to the children. They also stole 180 from a cash tin.

Laura Waslin, deputy manager, said: "The first time they broke in they stole the cash tin, which had about 180.

"We then put the cash tin in the office but the second time they broke in they were clearly looking for it.

"They broke locks on the door."

The first break in occurred at 5:15am on May 14, with the second shortly before 1am on May 21.

Nursery staff were alerted to the first break in when the alarms went off. Despite spending the following day securing the building and making it safe so there was minimum disruption for the children, they were able to get back in within a few days.

Laura said: "We were more concerned about the safety of the children. We didn't want to leave the building unsafe and we wanted to cause the least disruption for the children as we could.

"The money stolen would have gone towards things like sun cream for the children this week. It's the cost of fixing things up too, it's all taking money from our resources."

Humberside Police said: "We were called shortly before 1am on Sunday 21 May with reports of a break-in at a business on Sykes Street, Hull.

"Substantial damage was caused to the door as the suspects broke into the premises, however nothing is believed to have been stolen in this incident.

"The business was previously broken into on Sunday 14 May when damage was caused and cash and an Ipad were stolen."

Anyone with any information about either incident is asked to call 101 quoting crime reference 2273658 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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A Hull restaurant owner has described the moment he and his partner were thrown backwards by the suicide bomb which killed 22 people at Manchester Arena.

Gianpaul Redolfi and Alex Stothard, who run Gusto's in Newland Avenue, west Hull, were just metres away from the explosion in the foyer of the arena on Monday night.

They were at the Ariana Grande gig with Gian's sister Gemma Scoles and her daughter, eight, along with their friend and her daughter who is also eight.

Manchester-born Salman Abedi, 22, detonated the device which killed 22 innocent people.

A further 20 people remain in "critical care" across Manchester with people suffering from "horrific injuries" including major organ damage and potential loss of limbs.

Gian, 31, who suffered injuries caused by flying shrapnel, has described the moment he and partner Alex were caught up in the blast.

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He said: "We had just gone through the foyer doors and I got a text message. I turned around to show Alex the text when there was this explosion.

"We were thrown back three metres and Alex smashed his head on the floor.

"I realised I was covered in blood. In fact there was blood everywhere along with flesh.

"The stench was horrendous and I could smell the sulphur from the bomb.

"Alex said he saw the orange flash and then all the smoke but he doesn't remember much else.

"We were covered in the smell of the bomb and we were black with smoke. We were momentarily deaf and blinded by the smoke.

"We can only have been ten to15 metres from the explosion and we were saved by those in front. Had the blast been five seconds later we would not be here today. No chance. We are so lucky to be alive."

Among the devastation, Gian and Alex decided to get out of the stadium as quickly as possible.

He said: "Alex was concussed but I picked him up and we headed back to the auditorium to another exit.

"There was smoke billowing and people were running and screaming. We came across some St John's ambulance-type staff but they were young and shaking.

"We went out to find an ambulance but, at that point, only the police and the bomb squad had arrived.

"We have heard about how great people have been and Manchester has been amazing.

Gian and Alex were one of the first victims of the blast to arrive at A&E at Manchester Northern Hospital.

"We were treated immediately when we got to A&E. We had x-rays and CT scans and were there until 4am.

"We were one of the first to arrive but tem minutes later the place was in lockdown. We saw people being rushed into theatre.

"Luckily, I mainly just have deep marks from the bolts which hit me. I think they were cushioned by those in front of us. Alex suffered concussion but he is OK.

"The NHS staff were fantastic and even paid for a taxi back to our hotel."

Gian can still barely comprehend what happened that night.

He said: "We have had to keep our bloodied clothes in case the police need them. We looked at them and it really brought home how lucky we are.

"We are both still in a state of shock. I keep thinking about it and cannot get what I saw out of my head.

"We eventually got back to our hotel and it was a massive relief to see my sister and niece again.

"Alex's sister came to pick us up in the morning after no sleep. We just broke down when we saw her. It was such a relief."

Watching the coverage following the tragedy has been hard viewing.

Gian said: "We watched some of the coverage. Part of me wanted to watch it and another part wanted to completely avoid it.

"It was hard listening to some accounts as these people weren't there. Manchester is amazing and the response since has been incredible."

Greater Manchester Police say they now know the identities of all of the victims of the attack and are currently supporting the families involved. Around half have been publicly identified including eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos.

Gian said: "I do feel angry now having seen the photo of the 22-year-old who is supposed to be responsible.

"What we saw was horrendous and to think children were involved doesn't bear thinking about. I gave my niece a big hug afterwards.

"I just can't look at the photos of the victims. It is devastating. My thoughts are with the families of those who died and the seriously injured. We were there so we have some idea what they are going through.

"We have actually come back to work today and we opened again on Wednesday. We have to keep going and you cannot let these people get the better of us."
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Humberside Police want to continue Hull's proud tradition of tackling slavery by cracking down on what they call the 'growing phenomenon' of enforced labour.

Officers attended the Humber Modern Slavery Partnership's second annual conference on Wednesday to discuss the importance of educating the public to spot the signs of modern slavery.

Nearly 200 years after William Wilberforce led the charge against slavery, which led to its abolition across the British Empire in 1833, exploitation of workers through enforced labour continues illegally.

Yesterday's event was attended by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Keith Hunter and around 100 officials from across the UK, to hear how officers in Hull are trying to tackle the problem.

In February the Mail reported that four cases of slavery had been investigated in the region in the past year.

Mr Hunter said: "I fully support the aims of the Humber Modern Slavery Partnership. The exploitation of vulnerable people for commercial gain has no place in modern society and we all have a part to play in wiping it out.

"Modern slavery comes in many forms and I hope this event will help spread the word and raise awareness to help us all spot the signs of slavery and human trafficking and know how to report it."

The Force has created publicity materials on the issue, and these will be distributed to the public at community events.

Humberside Police Assistant Chief Constable, Andy McDyer, said: "Our focus is to improve our ability to identify, rescue and support victims and in doing so ensure that offenders are brought to justice.

"Modern slavery is not always obvious and we need to educate everyone to spot the signs and work with us so that we can build a picture of just how widespread the issue is for us in our region."

Steve Clay, chair of the Humber Modern Slavery Partnership said: "We are using the event to launch our community awareness programme. We have developed a suite of new publicity materials which we will be passing on at community events.

"We need to educate people to the signs of modern slavery and trafficking and gather as much intelligence as we can."
Jason Bean valued being able to become bowl eligible with Kansas
MySpace Plays Dead In Attempt To Avoid Lawsuits

Although Myspace is already considered dead by many, the lawyers of its parent company Time Inc. recently had the company play dead via a number of fancy legal maneuvers, hoping to hide it from a plaintiff in a lawsuit.

________________________________

Guest post by Mike Masnick of Techdirt

Yes, let's get this out of the way already, so you don't need to make this joke in the comments: as a social network, MySpace is considered pretty damn dead already. It lost its cool many, many years ago. And I do still love to point out this 2007 article suggesting that MySpace's dominant position in the social networking market was almost impossible to crack (that didn't age well). But that's not what this post is about. You see, MySpace, still does exist  you can even visit it and double their traffic for the day. Even as the punchline in bad jokes, MySpace exists and (believe it or not) Time Inc. actually owns it, having bought the company, Viant, that owned it previously.

This story, however, is about how, soon after Time took over MySpace, its lawyers literally tried to hide the company from a plaintiff (and the court) by having the company play dead  even though it was very much alive. I'm not exaggerating. Time Inc. appeared to play a bunch of legal shenanigans to pretend that MySpace no longer existed, even as the company kept operating  to the point that Viant's CEO was publicly hyping MySpace. Hell, months after Time Inc. tried to pretend MySpace was dead, Time's CEO was talking up how amazing MySpace was in the press.

The background here: years ago, a guy named Stephen Aguiar was arrested and convicted for drug distribution. He's in prison, serving 25 years. Sometime after his conviction he discovered that some of the evidence against him, that was supplied by MySpace (way back when MySpace was still a big thing), quite likely violated the Stored Communications Act.

Additional background: We've written about the Stored Communications Act before. It's a part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) that controls what kind of electronic information can be given up without a warrant. As we've also discussed for years, ECPA is woefully out of date for a variety of reasons including the fact that it says that all communications stored on a server for more than 180 days should be considered abandoned and no longer need a warrant to access. But communications less than 180 days do require a warrant.

Back to Aguiar. In late 2013 he discovered that back in 2009, the DEA sent an administrative subpoena to MySpace, under the Stored Communications Act, asking for certain content related to his MySpace account. An administrative subpoena is not a warrant. As we've described in the past, it's basically a fishing expedition by law enforcement, in which they send an official looking document asking for information they may not actually have the rights to. MySpace, back in 2009, apparently had lawyers who fell for this and handed over basically all of Aguiar's account info, despite at least some of it being protected under the SCA and requiring an actual warrant (which would require probable cause and a judge's review).

Thus, in 2014, he sued MySpace for violating the Stored Communications Act, representing himself (pro se). At this point, MySpace was owned by Viant and it hired some lawyers to defend the case. All well and good. But, within weeks of Time Inc. buying Viant, something sketchy started happening. Without telling anyone, Time claims that it changed the name of its "MySpace LLC" subsidiary to "Legacy Vision LLC." Then, it "transferred" all of MySpace's assets to Viant. Four days later, it registered a brand new company also called MySpace LLC. While this was happening, Time/MySpace basically told no one about this. The people operating MySpace had no idea and nothing changed. Even the lawyers who were representing MySpace in the case knew nothing about it and continued to represent the company for months  only to be told about six months later that the company they were representing stopped existing months earlier.

Prior to this MySpace had moved to dismiss the lawsuit, and was denied. So the case was supposed to move forward and MySpace was supposed to file an answer to the complaint. Except it didn't. It didn't do anything at all. The magistrate judge, Patrick Walsh, demanded that the lawyer representing MySpace, Jane Rheinheimer, show up in court leading to a hearing last December with a fairly incredible transcript. Some excerpts:

RHEINHEIMER: My name is Jane Rheinheimer, Im former counsel, well, counsel for the former MySpace LLC. THE COURT: Okay. And whos the representative from MySpace or Legacy? RHEINHEIMER: There is none, your honor. THE COURT: Why not? RHEINHEIMER: Neither MySpace nor Legacy Vision LLC exists as an operating entity anymore, your honor. THE COURT: Well that sounds like a lawyer talking, like as an operating an entity. Somebody signed a change in the name change in the spring. RHEINHEIMER: Its my understanding, your honor. And- My understanding is that Legacy Vision LLC currently exists only in name with the secretary of state. There is no management; there is no employees; there is no asset; there is no anything; there is no operating entity there, your honor.

Got that? There's a sneaky game being played here. Effectively, it appears that Time is claiming that the MySpace that was sued became Legacy Vision, but that Legacy Vision shut down and isn't operating at all. And that this operating MySpace is someone else entirely. The judge was not impressed, leading to this crazy exchange between the judge and Aguiar (again, representing himself in court, where the judge is helping by explaining what's going on):

THE COURT: Okay. All right, Mr. Aguiar, what do you want to do? AGUIAR: Im kind of out of my area of expertise, your honor. My understanding was that the name changed in March. Werent the parties obligated to notify either me or the court? THE COURT: Of course they were. This is middle school stuff, right? AGUIAR: Right. THE COURT: This is how four year olds play hide-and-go seek. When you tell them to go hide and go seek, they cover their eyes, and they think you cant see them, right? AGUIAR: Right. THE COURT: So MySpace changed its name to Legacy and theyre like, Theres no more MySpace, Court. Okay, heres what Im going to do. Im adding Legacy. Im going to give you a default and you can do what you want with it. All right?

In other words, the court was making it clear that it wasn't buying this game. Of course, that same transcript included the court refusing to let MySpace's former lawyer withdraw from the case, even as she was pointing out that she no longer has a client to pay her, because her "client" claims the company no longer exists:

THE COURT: Well be entering the default and you make your motion for default judgment. Ms. Rheinheimer, I understand youre in a tough spot, but your request to withdraw as counsel is denied, okay? Corporations cannot proceed in the federal court without a lawyer and theres no good reason for you to be off this case. I think its just gamesmanship thats going on with Legacy and MySpace and Mr. Lee, and Im not letting you off. Were going forward. Hes going to file a motion for default judgment and if you dont want to fight that, dont fight it. Ill enter the default judgment, okay? And you can go back RHEINHEIMER: Very well, your honor. There is no entity to pay me. I have no way of, I have no way of getting paid. There is noth THE COURT: I want to tell you Ive been in this- as a law clerk, I worked at DOJ at the US attorneys office and Ive been a Judge for 15 years. I want to tell you what I understand whats always been the practice since 1984, when I externed for Judge Layton at the federal district court in Chicago. Were not here, were not bill collectors. The fact that you cant get paid, the rules dont provide you have to represent your client diligently unless you client is not paying you. And our local rules dont require, dont allow you to get out from under a case because your client isnt paying you. Thats something you have to- Im not in the middle of those negotiations. You need to call up Mr. Lee and say, Hey Judge Walsh is leaving me on this case. I need to get paid. And I think you should get paid, okay? Im on your side there, but youre not flipping the district court upside down because youre not getting paid. All right?

Soon after this, a few things happened. First, the "new" MySpace got angry at being added to this case, and hired some new lawyers who filed to "intervene" in the case (even though they should already be in the case as it's the same MySpace) in order to try to fight the ruling. The filing is a work of art if legal bullshit were an artform. It insists that MySpace LLC is some totally unrelated company to the MySpace LLC in the lawsuit and acts positively shocked that anyone might think they are the same:

Plaintiffs Motion constitutes his latest attempt to obtain a default judgment against a company that: (1) never had any dealings with Plaintiff; (2) was never named as a party to this lawsuit; (3) did not exist until well after the conduct complained of in Plaintiffs complaint occurred; and (4) is both factually and legally a separate entity from the Myspace LLC identified in Plaintiffs complaint which Plaintiff admits now operates under the name Legacy Vision LLC (hereinafter Judgment Debtor).

In a separate filing, MySpace attempts to argue that when Time bought Viant/MySpace it structured a complicated agreement in which it was buying the assets, not the liabilities  and thus the complicated shell corporation and asset movement was really about fulfilling that agreement.

Second, Aguiar got legal representation from lawyer Caleb Mason, who some of you may recognize as a partner of Ken "Popehat" White's. Mason then opposed the intervention and detailed much of the history I summarized above  including pointing out that despite the name changes and new corporations, MySpace hasn't changed. The same lawyer who accepted service for the original lawsuit is still VP of legal affairs. The same lawyer representing the firm now represented the firm earlier in other cases. The same CEO of Viant/MySpace is still CEO of Viant/MySpace (now a Time Inc. subsidiary).

Third, the original MySpace/Viant lawyer filed a declaration to the court more or less burning MySpace/Viant for telling her to stop doing anything on the case in September way after all the shell games happened, and then completely ignoring her every time she tried to contact them about things moving forward in the case (including the court refusing to let her withdraw):

As is set forth in more detail in the Motion to Withdraw and Declaration of Jane A. Rheinheimer which is filed concurrently with the instant Declaration of Inability to File Opposition or Notice of Non- Opposition, all communication from Viant, Inc. and/or MYSPACE, LLC has ceased. I was advised by the previous corporate counsel for Viant, Inc. on September 16, 2016, that my firms services would no longer be required in connection with this matter. Additional written communications from my office on September 16, December 20, December 21, December 22, December 27, and December 29, 2016 and January 10, January 31, February 1, and February 3, 2017 have gone unanswered. I have sent corporate counsel copies of all pleadings, motions, and minute orders of this Court. All of these communications were sent via electronic mail, none of which have been returned.

Given all that, a few days ago the judge, James Otero, ruled in the case and to say that he's less than pleased with Time Inc./MySpace's games here would be an understatement. The ruling denies "MySpace LLC"'s request to intervene, because the judge notes it was already a party to the case and just chose to ignore it. All the maneuvering is written off as "gamesmanship and evasion." This is the kind of thing you generally don't want to hear a judge saying about your actions in a case:

The Court agrees that this is not a run-of-the-mill motion for default judgment. Although it claims otherwise, MySpace has been actively opposing the motion and has concealed material information or otherwise muddied its representations to the Court.

As for the claim that Time only bought the assets and not the liabilities, the court isn't buying it:

Through a complicated series of transactions not previously disclosed to the Court, Proposed Intervenor argues that a Time, Inc. subsidiary transferred MySpace's assetsbut none of its liabilitiesto Proposed Intervenor, which currently operates under the same. MySpace fails to provide any documentation to support these purported transactions.

Also, as to the claims in MySpace's attempt to "intervene" that MySpace LLC didn't exist prior to all of this, the judge points out, wryly, some oddities if that's the case:

A search of "MySpace LLC" on the California Secretary of State website reveals that it has the same address as the headquarters of Time, Inc., the parent company of Viant. A search of "Legacy Vision LLC" on the website shows that Legacy Vision filed a Statement of Information on November 2, 2015four months before Defendant MySpace allegedly changed its name to Legacy Visionwith the following information: the limited liability company name is listed as "MYSPACE LLC"; the manager of the entity is "Viant Technology Inc."; and the "AUTH PERSON" who completed the form was Timothy C. Vanderhook, Chief Executive Officer of MySpace LLC and Viant Technology LLC. "Viant Technology Inc." is listed as the "Manager" of Legacy Vision, and has an address that matches that of Viant Technology LLC's headquarters in Irvine, California. Moreover, Proposed Intervenor's counsel, LTL Attorneys LLP ("LTL"), was counsel of record for MySpace LLC in another action in the District of Delaware, captioned FO2GO LLC v. MySpace LLC, No. CV 15-00095 RGA (the "Delaware Action"), filed January 27, 2015. In other words, assuming Proposed Intervenor did not exist until March 2016, it was somehow represented by the same firm over a year before.

The court further calls out attempts by this MySpace to also pretend that Viant Technology LLC and Viant Technology Inc. are somehow different companies (they are not). It goes on and on along these lines, including pointing out that the company had a legal obligation to update the court and the plaintiff in the case to changes in ownership to the defendant  and eventually orders MySpace to pay Aguiar $1,000 for violating his rights under the SCA, but also to pay nearly $75,000 in Aguiar's legal fees.

What a mess. This kind of bullshit gamesmanship  having Time Inc. pretend that MySpace is dead just to avoid a court case  is the reason lawyers (especially corporate lawyers) have such a bad reputation among so many people. Thankfully it's not always so easy to get away with.

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E-government is a strategic priority for Bulgaria, an irreversible process and the only way to achieve effectiveness, transparency, success in the fight against corruption, accountability and control, President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with the management of State e-Government Agency.

E-government is a comprehensive issue requiring serious expertise, active participation and commitment by each administration and institution in Bulgaria, Radev said, quoted by his press office. The President is ready to support every initiative that would facilitate and speed up digital transformation of Bulgarias administration in favour of the citizens and the business.

Talks during the meeting concerned e-healthcare, digitalisation in public procurement, and integration between Bulgarian and other EU e-governments.
The School Committee approved the lease agreement on Wednesday.

Pittsfield Schools to Lease Space on Eagle For Off-Campus Program



The School Department will rent space in the Eagle Building. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The School Department is leaving St. Luke's Square for smaller rental space on Eagle Street.

The district ran the Student Resource Center out of leased space on Whipple Street. That lease expires at the end of June and the School Committee had previously voted to completely revamp the programs housed there , bringing nearly all of them into the schools themselves.

On Wednesday, the School Committee approved a lease with Scarafoni Associates to lease much smaller space at 53 Eagle St. for the one program at the center remaining off-site. The school will lease 2,045 square feet of space at $18 per square foot  for a total cost of $36,810 per year. The contract is for one year with options to renew for two consecutive one-year terms.

"Although the price for square foot is higher than I brought to you in the past, it does include cleaning," Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Kristen Behnke said.

Benhke said four parties inquired about the request for proposal with only two responding.

The location is smaller than the previous location so the school is expected to see a $50,000 savings, Behnke said. There will about 14 students using the new space, she said.

The St. Luke's Square location had been used for numerous intervention programs. But the administration proposed and was approved an overhaul of how it handles interventions throughout the district and opted to pull many of those programs into the schools instead.

Now the only program from the former center is the Educational Options for Success Tier III  a specialized education program designed for a limited scope of students needing a different learning environment.

Superintendent Jason McCandless added that he's been in conversation with the Berkshire Family YMCA about the move, looking to seek a closer collaboration with the Y to provide physical education to the students.

"They are within walking distance to the Y and Mr. Kinnas is happy to have them there," McCandless said.

In other business, Behnke is projecting the district to end the year with a $114,561 surplus. She said the district entered the year with multiple "volatile accounts" but the city saw things break in its favor.

A couple trends she highlighted was that the teachers' line is trending about $150,000 under projections. She said there have been more leaves of absences this year than in the past. Conversely, though, she isn't seeing a large increase in the substitute line.

Gasoline proved to be another break of the city.

"We have been trending high and then trending low again. It is looking like we will have quite a good surplus in this account," Behnke said.

The electricity line saw a large drop in the spring, a drop steeper than in the past. If that stays, there could be savings there, too.

But not every line is trending under. Employee separation costs are looking to be some $18,000 over because of additional retirements. Special education tuition continues to trend higher than projected as well.

Behnke's report was at the third-quarter mark of the year, so some of those numbers could change. Nonetheless, the department is looking to be in good shape with the current budget. Any unspent money goes back to the city and falls to free cash.

The School Committee's next budget goes before the City Council on Thursday night. That budget is $225,000 less than the current one and calls for the loss of some 70 jobs.

"It's been a long budget season and this is sort of the culmination of that when we put our efforts before the city council and the public," Chairwoman Katherine Yon said.

However, Yon said there is some good news. Both state Sen. Adam Hinds and state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier had amendments added to the state budget to provide an extra $50,000 to bring back two preschool classes. Those amendments had been accepted into each body's budget.

The Senate will still need to vote on its final version, it then goes to conference committee, and finally to the governor's desk. While there are still many steps left, the good news is the amendments seemed to gain support from both legislative bodies.
Mount Greylock School Committee members Carolyn Greene, left, and Wendy Penner review minutes of a prior meeting at the start of Tuesday's session.

November Date Set for Mount Greylock Regionalization Question

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  As the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee moves forward with its efforts to invite its "feeder" elementary schools to join the district, it is getting some indirect encouragement from the countywide task force looking at challenges facing public education.

"We are the poster child for regionalization," committee member Carolyn Greene told her colleagues at Tuesday's meeting.

Greene represents Mount Greylock on the Berkshire County Education Task Force, which is trying to find ways to create efficiency to maintain the level of educational opportunity in the county in a time of declining population, rising costs and taxpayer anxiety.

Greene said the Mount Greylock effort to fully regionalize  inviting Lanesborough Elementary and Williamstown Elementary  to join the junior-senior high school district, could be an example for other school districts looking at how to more effectively share services and eliminate redundancies.

"If you go from the separate districts, you start by sharing some services, maybe start sharing staffing then start thinking about regionalizing because you already know each other," Greene said. "We're a living example of the things being talked about for other communities and other districts.

"As a result, other towns are keeping an eye on what we're doing."

What the School Committee did this week was hold its first full meeting of the newly reformed Regional District Amendment Committee.

The district's first panel spent 2013 looking at the potential impacts of full regionalization, and the district was on the cusp of bringing the proposal to voters in Williamstown and Lanesborough before the School Committee decided to backburner the idea and devote all of its resources to a successful school building project when Mount Greylock was accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority process.

Now that the building project is well under way, with a projected completion date in April 2018, and with the district facing the need to hire its second full-time superintendent in two years, the School Committee wants to reopen the regionalization discussion and find out whether the three independent school districts can finally tie the knot.

Currently, Mount Greylock, Williamstown and Lanesborough share central administration services under a tri-district agreement  the "getting to know each other" phase to which Greene alluded.

But the hiring authorities for the superintendent, the Mount Greylock School Committee and Superintendency Union 71 (for the elementary schools) have decided not to launch a search for the next superintendent until they know what the arrangement will look like going forward.

Turns out, they will get their answer in about six months.

On Tuesday, Greene, who chairs the RDAC, told the School Committee that town officials in Lanesborough and Williamstown have agreed to hold concurrent special town meetings in each community on Nov. 14.

The School Committee discussed some of the challenges that came up during Monday's RDAC meeting and opportunities that school officials see in cementing the relationship among the three schools.

"There were concerns stemming mostly from the loss of local control in Williamstown and the loss of financial control in Lanesborough," School Committee and RDAC member Chris Dodig said. "We talked about some of the responses to those types of feelings."

Greene agreed, and pointed out that the fiscal piece could be addressed by a revision to the regional agreement that could allow each town to control its elementary school budget. But she added that may not be the best way for a K-12 region to go.

"I think there's still a fair amount of hesitation on the part of the town officials in Williamstown and some members of the [RDAC] committee who are looking at issues of local control," Greene said. "Sometimes, it feels like there's a push-pull: a call for equity between the two elementary schools and the issue of local control.

"You can actually have a certain part of the budget [in a regional school district] funded by both towns by formula and some parts that are funded by one town but not the other. Some of the committee members want to look into that. But there's an interesting tension there because it calls into question the equity of the arrangement."

"But it might be needed for [regionalization] to pass one town or the other."

While no formal decisions have been made about what happens if regionalization does not pass, there has been a sense among committee members that the current tri-district arrangement  while it has served the schools well  is not sustainable.

The demands placed on central administration in managing the paperwork and demands of three separate school committee are believed to have inhibited the candidate pool for recent superintendent searches. And, in fact, the first tri-district superintendent, Rose Ellis, warned that it would do just that before she retired.

One of the newly formed RDAC's main tasks is to update the financial information that was compiled in the 2013 regionalization study.

Dodig said that as of right now, the region would likely come out a little ahead financially under full regionalization, but Greene cautioned that more analysis needs to be done. Greene has long stressed that most of the cost savings associated with centralizing administration already have been achieved, but they could be lost if the Tri-District breaks up.

Mount Greylock's principal and Greene each indicated that regionalization is not all about finances.

"Things have progressed very well the last few years [educationally]," Principal Mary MacDonald said. "We have strong partners at the elementary schools, but that's because we forged those partnerships outside the institutional framework. For this to be sustained, it has to be regionalized."

Greene echoed the thought later in the meeting.

"The [Berkshire Education Task Force] has said all along that, 'Yes, we want to make things financially sustainable, but the focus is on quality education and access to education and co-curriculars as well as academics," she said.
State Sen. Adam Hinds is pushing a budget amendment that would study passenger rail service to New York City.

State Senate Accepts Amendment To Study Passenger Rail to New York

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The state Senate adopted a budget amendment Thursday to develop a blueprint for more consistent passenger rail service to New York City.

State Sen. Adam Hinds filed the amendment which would task the state Department of Transportation to create a working group to study what it will take to establish the service.

"When we are trying to improvement out economy and address population loss, getting our infrastructure right is a key part of that," the Pittsfield Democrat said on Thursday. "This was identified as an important first step."

Some four years ago, former Gov. Deval Patrick had pushed a plan to purchase and upgrade the Housatonic Rail line and the state followed through with purchasing and starting to perform upgrades. That line was eyed to go south to Connecticut and into New York City.

"Connecticut has indicated a lack of interest in upgrading their tracks," Hinds said of the current state of that plan.

Hinds' amendment will now ask to consider other options, particularly looking at heading west and connecting with the current Amtrak lines south of Albany, N.Y.

"This one in particular is a direct Berkshires to New York," Hinds said. "This is essentially laying out a strategy of how we get there."

Passenger rail is eyed to help the Berkshires in two ways: in increased tourism and the ability for more people to own homes here. Hinds said this opens a greater possibility of someone living in the Berkshires and commuting to work in New York City. As for tourism, Hinds said many who live in New York don't own cars and do not take trips to the Berkshires so this would make it easier to attract more visitors.

Someone can currently take a train to Albany and then go south, but not often. Hinds hopes to develop a more consistent schedule.

A second component of the bill is to have consideration given to implementing seasonal passenger rail services. In 2013, a program was started to run extra trains from Boston to Cape Cod during the tourism season. Hinds is looking to replicate that successful program in the Berkshires.

The amendment requires the study to be done between this October and completed by next March. The working group must also included the mayor of Pittsfield, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and existing rail stakeholders.

"There is no money attached to it. It is tasking the Department of Transportation top the work," Hinds said.

Much work has already been done through the previous push, including a BRPC study identifying stations in the Berkshires.

While the state Senate has adopted the amendment during its budget deliberations, there are still a number of steps to take. After the senate passes a budget, it will then go to conference committee. There both the Senate budget and the House of Representatives budget will be merged and detailed ironed out. After passage with both bodies, it goes to Gov. Charlie Baker.

Hinds said he is confident the amendment will stick through the conference committee, but he isn't so sure it won't get vetoed by Baker.




This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
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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The mind behind The Fifth Element and Lucy, Luc Besson, has returned with a wild new fantasy.

Valerian, full title Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, adapts the famed French sci-fi comics series Valerian and Laureline, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mezieres.

Set in the 28th century, it sees Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne play Valerian and Laureline, two special operatives charged with keeping order in space's human territories, dispatched on a mission to the multi-cultural metropolis Alpha.

It's there that a dark force threatens to destroy the peaceful existence of Alpha, known as the City of a Thousand Planets, where species from across the universe converge to share knowledge, intelligence, and culture.

The film also stars Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Rutger Hauer, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu, Sam Spruell, Mathieu Kassovitz, and John Goodman.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets hits UK cinemas 4 August.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This 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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Mariah Carey has posted a touching tribute to one of the victims of the Manchester attack.

29-year-old PR manager Martyn Hett was confirmed as one of the Ariana Grande fans killed at the Manchester Arena after a lone suicide bomber detonated a device inside the venue foyer, shortly after the concert had ended.

Hett was beloved on social media and tributes have been pouring in since the news of his death emerged. He was described as "iconic and beautiful" by his friend Russell Hayward, who added: "He left this world exactly how he lived, centre of attention."

As made clear by his social media posts, Hett was a huge Mariah Carey fan.

Posting a photo of Hett on Instagram where he sported a (one of apparently many) Mariah Carey T-shirt, the pop star wrote: "Devastated to learn that one of the victims in Manchester was part of the #Lambily. RIP Martyn Hett.

"We will cherish your memory forever. His family and all the families affected are in my thoughts and prayers. MC."

The post was noticed by Hett's brother Dan, who recently posted a message on Twitter thanking people for "love and support" following the attack."I was a little dubious about Martyn's recent bold social media move, but it worked," he wrote.

Hett was famous and beloved on social media for his outgoing personality, along with his now-iconic Deidre Barlow tattoo.
Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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More than eight out of 10 British people want Theresa May should use her influence to persuade Donald Trump to keep the United States within the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to a new poll.

While Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, Emmanuel Macron, the new French President, and other world leaders have made clear the importance of the US remaining part of the worlds efforts to restrict global warming to less than two degrees Celsius, the Prime Minister has been accused of keeping a pact of silence with the Republican billionaire.

Ms May will meet Mr Trump at the G7 summit on Sicily on Friday for two days of talks on a range of issues, with the US stance on climate change likely to be high on the agenda.

The survey by pollsters Populus, who contacted more than 2,000 people, found 84 per cent of respondents believed Ms May should convince Trump not to quit the Paris climate agreement. Only about five per cent thought she should definitely not say something.

Tanya Steele, chief executive of environmental group WWF, which commissioned the poll, said: The Paris Agreement is a bold and hopeful commitment to protect the environment for future generations  nearly every country on the planet signed to take ambitious action to try and limit the impacts of climate change.

We urgently need our Prime Minister to use the UKs special relationship with the US to urge Donald Trump to stand by the agreement and protect our planet for future generations.

Its what the UK public wants, and it is what our children and our environment need.

She said the rapid changes taking place in the Arctic illustrated the pressing need for action.

It was, Ms Steele said, not only an amazing place with unique and important wildlife like polar bears and bowhead whales but also played a crucial role making sure the climate of our planet stays stable.

And yet climate change is putting all this under threat, she added.

We have now lost the Arctic as we know it in our lifetime and if we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the rate we are now, this will only get worse until we pass a point of no return.

The G7 countries  the UK, Germany, France, Italy, the US, Canada and Japan  produce about a quarter of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions with the US responsible for about 14 per cent, the second highest total for a country, behind China.

Mr Trump, who has laughably described climate change as a hoax perpetrated by China, has pledged to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement and try to reinvigorate the coal industry.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

But in recent weeks his final decision on Paris has been twice postponed amid signs of strong support for remaining within the agreement from senior members of his administration.

Prominent climate sceptics have started to display signs of irritation with the US President.

So it is possible that the views of the UK, a country regarded as a key ally by Mr Trump, could potentially swing the balance.

One argument put forward by supporters of staying in the Paris Agreement is that the US would pay a diplomatic price for essentially going back on its word.

WWF pointed to signs that the US was going to leave, such as an executive order was signed by Mr Trump in April which allows drilling for oil in the Arctic  ironically an easier task as global warming has melted so much sea ice.

 Fox News destroyed EPA chief Scott Pruitt over climate change

The region is expected to be largely free of sea ice in the summer by the 2030s for the first time in about 100,000 years.

New sailing routes are opening up which could cut the travel time from Europe to China and Japan from more than a month to about 20 days.



Ahead of the G7 meeting, Greenpeace has been raising a petition in the hope of persuading Ms May to intervene, which has attracted more than 155,000 signatures, but the Prime Minister has not made her views clear.
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The United States managed to remove references to the alarming rate at which Arctic sea ice is being lost from an international declaration, it has been revealed, in one of the first signs that the Trump administration will attempt to water down action on climate change by the rest of the world.

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental body which represents eight countries with an interest in the region, including the US, Canada, Russia and the Scandinavian states.

Earlier this month it published the Fairbanks Declaration which, to the surprise of some, did actually recognise that climate change was happening and twice as fast in the Arctic.

But a draft copy obtained by the Inside Climate News website shows the US suggested a number of last-minute changes which sought to play down global warming and how to reduce it.

While they were not all accepted in their entirety, the US largely got its way.

There is concern that Trump administration will withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

But it is also thought some US officials believe it is better to remain a signatory in order to have a seat at the table during further international negotiations  possibly to delay, water down or otherwise obstruct progress.

And so evidence of this tactic in the Arctic Council talks, as exposed by Inside Climate News, has caused some alarm.

The biggest US-proposed change saw the mass deletion of comments noting with concern that the Arctic Ocean could be largely free of summer ice in two decades, that melt processes in the Arctic may have greater impact on global sea level rise than previously estimated, and that changes in the Arctic may be affecting weather in mid-latitudes.

This was replaced by a bland statement noting with concern the findings of an updated assessment of levels of snow, ice and permafrost in the region.

The draft document also talked about noting the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change for the parties to that Agreement and encouraging its implementation. But the final version simply noted the Paris Agreements implementation.

A commitment to work towards full implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 was replaced with a line reaffirming the goals and the need for their realisation by 2030.

The US also asked for the need to improve the access of Arctic communities to clean, affordable, reliable and renewable energy sources to be changed to remove the reference to renewables.

This was opposed by other delegates but the final version talks about improving access to energy sources including renewable energy.

Another line saying pace of the ongoing warming process in the Arctic would strongly depend on greenhouse gas emissions was changed to remove the word strongly. And the recognition that climate change was by far the most serious threat to Arctic biodiversity was altered to say it was the most serious threat.

Jim Gamble, of the Aleut International Association, a permanent participant on the council representing indigenous Arctic people, said the vast majority of people reading the declaration would think it was pretty good and we agree with that.

There's an effort to move the climate agreement and sustainable development goals forward. But for those of us who are involved in the whole negotiation, we know at various times there was stronger language, he told Inside Climate.

Another council delegate said the US just dropped a bomb on a multilateral forum at the last minute.

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, expressed concerns at the US officials tactics.

Some of these changes are reminiscent of the way in which the last Republican administration sought to water down scientific conclusions about climate change, he told The Independent.

They are a worrying sign that the US may not just be a laggard in taking domestic action on climate change, but may also seek to undermine concrete international action.

We saw during the George W Bush presidency that the US attempt to obstruct progress on international climate action, but they were singled out and humiliated for it.

He said the position taken by the US might also provide cover to other countries, particularly significant fossil fuel producers like Saudi Arabia, to be equally unreasonable.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Magnus Johannesson, director of the Arctic Councils secretariat, declined to comment on the negotiations leading up to the declaration when contacted by The Independent.

But he said he thought the final document was a very ambitious declaration, noting its comments about reducing levels of black carbon and microplastics.

And he was prepared to say remarks similar to those deleted from the declaration at the request of the US.

The warming of the Arctic is faster than in the rest of the world, the Arctic is warming at approximately two to three times faster than [elsewhere] so the melting of ice continues, Mr Johannesson said.
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Brunching out...

Anything that calls itself a brunch concept can send warning signs that it could be veering on the wrong side of pretentious, especially with a name like RETOX. (Their caps, not mine.)

But in reality, what the W London Hotel has put together is elegant, indulgent and pretty good fun. Lets face it; you go for the free-flowing bubbles. But do remember, it is actually champagne  and theyre keen for you to remember it and will correct if you if you dare falsely mention the p (prosecco) word.

It begins from 12 noon, and for 45 per person youll get the free-flowing champagne and unlimited food, from starters, hot mains and the cheese and pudding stations. There are also plenty of smoothies with its own dedicated bar. Youre eyes are undoubtedly going to be bigger than your belly here as the food looks beautiful, is perfectly plated and tastes bloody good.

The iberico ham station is fun to watch in action

Set on the first floor of the hotel, after coming out of the elevator, the first thing youll notice is theres a DJ who will be playing tunes the whole time (and will be joined by a bongo drummer too). Theres no tables as such, seating is more like large curvaceous sofas with little side tables to balance all your goods on. Its meant to be relaxed, but in reality youre forever trying to balance your numerous plates on said small table and artfully move drinks around in order to make more room. And you will need to make more room, as there is so much food.

Recommended Latin and Asian fusion menu and Scandi sandwiches

Youre encouraged to snack at the fuel station  where traditional healthy breakfast sit in tiny bowls  like bite-sized taster options from granola and yoghurt topped fruit to mini Ceasar salads and potato tortillas. But you are warned not to dive into the cheese or pudding stations too early  as aside from these and the huge iberico ham leg station, theres also a selection of hot dishes brought around for you.

I counted eight of these  all in mini form which staff bring round and you can have as many as you want. We stared with a poached egg and spinach on English muffins and moved on to fish and chips, mushroom risotto, pancakes covered in fruit, vegetarian ravioli. In short, it was endless. And I had to say no to some of the dishes in the end, which is a shame to miss out on.

Its a lenthy event  I spent three hours there and could have stayed longer. Go for a celebration or with a group and make a day of it.

10 Wardour St, Leicester Square, London W1D 6QF; 020 7758 1000; wlondon.co.uk/w-hotel-bar

Brunching in...

(David Frenkiel (David Frenkiel)

Herby green breakfast bowl

Serves 2

Prep + cook time: 15 minutes

While a lot of our breakfasts lean towards the fruity /sweet or the rich oaty/ grainy, this bowl is savoury and protein-packed yet also fresh and light. A base of quinoa and kale is studded with dill and parsley and topped with avocado, radishes and a soft-boiled egg. By simply rubbing the kale with oil and lemon, it softens without needing to be cooked, which not only saves time but also on dirty dishes. Before digging in, we sprinkle some Dukkah (page 202), Savoury Granola (page 200) or toasted seeds on top, for added flavour and crunch.

100g curly kale, stems removed

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

150g cooked Quick

Quinoa -  cup uncooked, boiled in salted water for 1518 minutes

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

2 free-range eggs

2 ripe avocados, stones removed and flesh sliced

4 radishes, sliced

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp Dukkah or savoury granola

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the eggs and let them cook for 67 minutes before removing from the heat. Rinse the eggs in cold water and carefully peel off the shells. Meanwhile, roughly chop the kale and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and lemon juice and massage the kale for a minute or so or until the leaves begin to soften. Add the parsley and dill to the bowl along with the cooked quinoa.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir until combined. Divide between two bowls and serve topped with halved eggs, avocado and radish slices, a sprinkling of dukkah or granola, and a drizzle of oil.

Tip: For a vegan alternative, simply leave out the egg.

Green Kitchen at Home: Quick and healthy vegetarian food for every day. By David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl (Hardie Grant), 25
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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.

New research, conducted by Michele Bellesi of the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy and published in the Journal of Neuroscience, analysed the brains of mice who had regular sleep, spontaneous wake, sleep deprivation and chronic sleep deprivation.

Using block-face scanning software, the scientists measured the synapses and cell processes in the mouses frontal cortex. Specifically looking at cells called astrocytes cells, the researchers found that the sleep-deprived mice showed more activity with these cells.

The findings suggest astrocytes start breaking down more of the brains debris.

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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. 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Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. 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We show for the first time that portions of the synapses are literally eaten by astrocytes because of sleep loss, Mr Bellesi told the New Scientist. He added that it is not necessarily a bad thing as it could just be the brains way of cleaning up old brain debris.

The study also looked at the effect on microglial cells which account for around 15 per cent of cells found within the brain. These cells scavenge around for plaques, damaged or unnecessary neurons or agents in the brain and are also found in the spinal cord.

The study showed that chronic sleep restriction (which in this case was five days of being kept awake) led to increased signs of microglial activation. Because low-level sustained activation of the microglial cells can lead to serious brain disorders, Mr Bellesi said these results were more concerning.

We already know that sustained microglial activation has been observed in Alzheimers and other forms of neurodegeneration, he said.
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A handwriting expert has analysed the First Ladys script in a note that she left at a childrens hospital in Italy on Wednesday, and reckons it can provide an insight into her personality.

Sheila Kurtz, a master graphologist based in New York claims that something as simple as curly letters and precise points are telling signs.

Having studied President Trumps handwriting for several decades, Kurtz insists that while the First Lady generally doesnt give much away about herself, her writing reveals plenty.

After visiting the Paediatric Hospital Bambin Gesu in Italy on Wednesday, she left a note, which read, Great visiting you! Stay strong & positive! Much love, Melania Trump.

She also drew two images of a flower and a love heart.

Throughout there are little final hooks at the end of words, which show tenacity - she is tenacious about holding on to whatever she acquires, she told the Daily Mail.

The note reads, Great visiting you! Stay strong & positive! Much love, Melania Trump

Similarly, Kurtz also claims that these hooks show she likes to collect and own things, both material and immaterial.

And that the precision in her letters and dots shows that she is a good listener, direct, loyal and has good self control.

The First Lady visited the Paediatric Hospital Bambin Gesu in Italy on Wednesday (Getty Images)

Interestingly, Kurtz reveals that there are uncanny similarities between Mrs Trumps and the Presidents signatures.

She says that the verticality of Melania Trumps looks similar to her husbands although hers is tighter, cramped and lacks any sign of generosity of spirit.

In comparison, Kurtz says that Donald Trumps block print handwriting indicates that he doesnt want anyone to know him and that his signature shows extreme signs of vanity".
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Fears of a post-Brexit brain drain are gathering as Theresa Mays Government refuses to guarantee the rights of highly-skilled migrants once the UK leaves the EU.

One European region that is capitalising on Brexit to lure back talent it lost to the UK, is Spains Basque Country. While Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris and Madrid vye for Londons top finance talent, the autonomous community in northern Spain is ramping up its own marketing campaign among expat Basques.

The region, which counts Bilbao as its main hub, is one of Spains most prosperous. Its the countrys industrial powerhouse, home to just 4.5 per cent of Spains people but half of its car industry and 40 per cent of its aerospace sector.

In recent years, it has suffered from its own brain drain, with thousands of talented graduates and PhDs packing their bags to look for job opportunities as youth unemployment rocketed.

Almost half of Basque graduates have science, technology and engineering qualifications which are particularly prized in the UK because not enough British students study those subjects to meet demand, leading to an increasingly serious skills shortage.

The UK became a more favoured destination for Basques as Spains economy languished in a deep and prolonged recession after the financial crisis.

Now that flow is beginning to reverse, according to Ivan Jimanez, the head of Bizkaia Talent, an organisation that aims to keep skilled people in the Basque Country and build a network of those that have moved around the world.

Jimenez holds regular meetings all over Europe to bring together fellow Basques. On his most recent trip to the UK earlier this month he noticed a change in attitudes, spurred by the Brexit vote last June.

What I see clearly is that [Brexit] is accelerating the process to come back. Even if people have already thought about it, those people who have been in the UK for 8 to 10 years are saying OK, now thats enough.

Even Basques who have lived in the country for 15 years but have never applied for a UK passport are now concerned, Jimenez says.

The change in attitudes highlights the problem with Ms Mays refusal to guarantee the residency status of EU migrants already in the UK, but Jimenez isnt complaining.

For us its an opportunity, with the industries we have and the skills that we need.

We didnt want this problem but we have this problem - thats what [the British people] decided. We want Basque professionals to be with us.

We say to people: Maybe it will accelerate your return process. OK, we will open our doors for you.

Some Basque professionals had already been making the move home before the Brexit vote as Spains economy shifted into recovery in 2014.

Ivan Jimenez says uncertainty around Brexit is speeding up the proces for many Basques considering a move home (Ivan Jimenez)

Nine years on from the crisis, GDP is now finally set to surpass its previous peak. On current trends it will hit that milestone any day now.

David Ramos Lopez worked for four years as an engineer at train manufacturer Bombardier, in Derby before returning to the Basque Country in July last year, just after the Brexit vote.

I would have moved even if the vote had said stay he says, but it would make the country less attractive to stay or less attractive to emigrate to in the first place if I was at that point in my career.

Many of his university friends are also beginning to make the same decision, which was not the case a couple of years ago, he says.

Picturesque San Sebastian in the autonomous Basque Country (Shutterstock)

German Zubiar has a degree in telecoms engineering and is currently living in London. He says there is a feeling of insecurity following the UK's decision to leave the EU. In the case of my colleagues, we do not want to go back home right now, but there is a feeling that maybe we are not welcome.

While much of the post-Brexit immigration debate has focused on the effects of losing low-skilled migrant workers who are currently picking fruit or waiting on restaurant tables, the potential for a drain of degree-educated people, crucial to sectors like the car industry has had a little less focus.

MPs warned last month that 32,000 academics from EU countries are at risk of leaving the UK. A Commons education committee report highlighted a recent survey which showed that 76 per cent of European academics in UK universities were more likely to consider leaving UK higher education as a result of the Brexit vote.

Last week, the Conservatives reiterated the aim of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, a target described as outdated and backward looking, by think tank Global Future.

Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned  forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA  because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants 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 Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty

Jimenez says the current political rhetoric and indecision makes his job easier. May is saying one thing then another and then you have the election, so nobody knows exactly what to do.

We have the climate, we have the quality of life [in the Basque Country], now we are creating jobs.

Bizkaia Talent has set up its next meeting for London in October to try and attract people back home. Jimenez predicts will be the organisations best-attended meeting yet.
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Donald Trump famously boasted about persuading a company in the US heartland not to move its furnace plant to Mexico.

Yet, despite the Presidents intervention, the business is still set to send around 630 jobs south of the border, with some of those positions being cut just days before Christmas.

Carrier Corporation, which produces heating and ventilation systems, issued a notice this week to its workers in Indiana, detailing its plan to terminate 632 positions from its factory in Indianapolis, it's largest and capital city.

This action follows a thorough evaluation of our manufacturing operations and is intended to address the challenges the business faces in a rapidly changing industry, Steven Morris, a Carrier manager in Indianapolis, wrote in a memo.

Mr Trump became associated with the company during the election campaign, when he criticised it for planning to send jobs to Monterrey, Mexico, where the minimum wage is said to be $3.90.

 Theresa May will make intelligence issue 'clear to President Trump'

Around 1,400 positions were on the chopping block, according to company estimates. Mr Trump has claimed he was able to save 1,000 of them and he took credit for doing so.

Heres whats going to happen, Mr Trump told an election rally in Indianapolis. Ill get a call from the head of Carrier and hell say, Mr. President, weve decided to stay in the United States. Thats whats going to happen - 100 per cent, he said.

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 company said it was only going to retain 800 jobs, not the 1,000 that Mr Trump claimed. It also said number of those would ultimately be lost to automation, despite the fact that a deal with the state government to save those jobs involved $7m in incentives for the company.

Robert James, a senior official with the United Steelworkers union told the Associated Press that it was cold to put people out of work just days before the Christmas holiday.

Its going to be hard for them. You dont replace jobs paying $25 an hour, like at Carrier and Rexnord. They got warehouse jobs paying ten to twelve dollars an hour. This is going to do damage to families, cause unnecessary stress and strain, he said.

If [Trump] really wanted to help workers, why doesnt he start with bringing his own jobs back to the United States? His daughter and son-in-law all got jobs overseas where they pay people $60 a week or less. Its a tragedy where all these companies go overseas and abuse people.


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Before cutting the sugar in its childrens yogurt, Dutch grocer Albert Heijn conducted a taste test modeled on a classic US TV ad in which two young boys get their little brother to sample a new cereal.

The supermarket chain invited kids ages 6 to 12 for blind taste tests of its existing yogurt and the proposed reformulation. Like the commercials little Mikey, who stuns his siblings by devouring the supposedly healthy Life cereal, a majority of the Dutch children preferred the new version.

European supermarkets are on the front lines of a push to reduce the amount of sugar in food and drinks, with consumer groups pushing for healthier fare and governments in the UK, France, Spain and other countries imposing taxes on fizzy beverages or sweets. Food companies are trying to pinpoint just how much sugar they can cut before shoppers reject their products.

If you tell consumers a product has less sugar, they will often stop buying because they think it will taste worse, said Kate Ewart, product development director at Tesco, the largest UK retailer.

Swiss food giant Nestle has turned to technology that alters sugars structure to make it sweeter in smaller amounts, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are cutting sugar in dozens of drinks and Unilever has reduced the size of Magnum ice cream bars. Anti-sugar measures are a particular challenge to European grocers, with lesser resources to devote to research and development and direct exposure to the new regulations in their main markets.

The supermarkets are testing their own-label groceries, which have grown to nearly half of the 105bn industrys sales in the UK, according to industry researcher Kantar Worldpanel. These ranges provide higher profit margins because theyre made by smaller outside contractors than the global food giants, giving retailers more bargaining power.

To avoid alienating buyers of its private labels, which include Taste the Difference, UK.supermarket operator Sainsbury's is trying to remove sugar by stealth, company nutritionist Julie Dean said. The company has cut sugar by an average of 13 per cent across 80 of its breakfast cereal lines, and by 70 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, in its own-brand lemonade and cola.

The London-based retailer initially takes out as much sugar as is feasible without significantly impairing flavour, then experiments with different cocktails of sweeteners. Products can take as much as a year to reformulate, with the most important ones being subjected to testing by several thousand customers. If a majority prefer the old product, Sainsbury's wont sell the altered one. Even then, there can be glitches when the revised version hits the shelves.

Theres always a bit of a wobble at the start because people are very, very sensitive, especially if they are long-term consumers of that product, Dean said. But it usually peters out and returns to the normal level.

Rival Tesco has cut sugar in a range of products, including an 18 per cent reduction in its cooking sauces and a 9.5 per cent reduction across breakfast cereals. The grocer has found it must be careful in communicating the changes to shoppers, so as not to be seen as denying them an indulgence.

We have to slowly re-educate consumers taste buds, Ewart said. Its a constant challenge and we have to keep chipping away at it.

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

At Albert Heijn, owned by Royal Ahold Delhaize, the yogurt tasters were part of the companys kids council, established to ensure that its reformulated, healthier range doesnt miss the mark with a notoriously fickle consumer group.

The company gathered 25 of them at an office in Amstelveen, a city south of Amsterdam, last year for the test. The children were interviewed one-by-one in a separate room to prevent peer pressure from swaying the results. Participants were asked to rank the flavor, color and texture of the reformulated yogurts on a scale of 1 to 10. Finally, the researcher asked for a thumbs-up or -down.

It was like a focus group but with kids, said Megan Hellstedt, vice president for sustainable retailing at Ahold Delhaize. The main challenge for us is, will people still like it?

Bloomberg
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Opec and its allies extended oil production cuts for nine more months after last years landmark agreement failed to eliminate the global oversupply or achieve a sustained price recovery.

The producer group together with Russia and other non-members agreed to prolong their accord through March, two delegates familiar with the decision said after a meeting in Vienna, asking not to be identified before an official announcement is made.

Six months after forming an unprecedented coalition of 24 nations and delivering output reductions that exceeded expectations, some of the worlds largest oil producers have faced the fact that theyve fallen short of their goal. While stockpiles are shrinking, ministers acknowledged that the surplus built up during three years of overproduction wont clear until at least the end of 2017.

Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Thursday that the cuts were working, saying stockpile reductions would accelerate in the third quarter and inventory levels would come down to the five-year average in the first quarter of next year. While he expected a healthy return for US shale, that wouldnt derail Opecs goals and a nine-month extension will do the trick, he said.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in November to cut output by about 1.2 million barrels a day. Eleven non-members joined the deal in December, bringing the total supply reduction to about 1.8 million. The curbs were intended to last six months from January, but confidence in the deal, which boosted prices as much as 20 per cent, waned as inventories remained stubbornly high and US output surged.

Opec agreed earlier on Thursday to prolong their own output cuts by nine months. Nigeria and Libya will remain exempt from making cuts and Iran, which was allowed to increase production under the original accord, retains the same output target, Kuwaits oil minister Issam Almarzooq said after the meeting.

Bloomberg
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A group of teachers have won a landmark victory against their employer, after having too much pay deducted from their annual salaries.

The Supreme Court decision follows a lengthy legal battle involving three teachers at King Edward VI College in Stourbridge, who took part in a union-led strike in 2011 over changes to public sector pensions.

The sixth form college deducted their pay by an amount equivalent to 1/260th of their annual salary  proportionate to the number of working days in the school year.

Recommended Theresa May debates grammars evidence with education researcher

However, Supreme Court judges ruled on Wednesday that only 1/365th should have been taken.

The ruling brings sixth form teachers rights up to date with staff in primary and secondary education, and means any college staff taking part in future industrial action must be paid accordingly.

It is believed that similar cases may surface against schools and colleges as a result.

Ms Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary, said: The Supreme Court ruling is a landmark victory for teachers rights across the UK.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images

Time and time again employers have sought to use the 1/260th deduction instead of the deduction of 1/365th that the NASUWT has always maintained was the correct calculation.

The NASUWT has pursued this issue doggedly since 2011. While others gave up, we continued to fight this important principle, not only for the teachers at King Edward VI College in Stourbridge, but also for all those in 6th Form colleges.

We will now be seeking reimbursement of the monies unlawfully deducted from our members.

After the teachers were deducted 1/260th of their pay, the NASUWT teaching union issued a claim to the County Court in 2013.

Following a High Court ruling in favour of an employer, on a similar but unrelated case brought by another union, the NASUWT took their case to the Court of Appeal.

The case was brought to the Supreme Court in February this year, and the previous ruling was overturned.

Graham Baird, director of HR services for the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: After several years of uncertainty, we welcome the clarity provided by the Supreme Courts ruling and fully accept the decision.

We will consider the implications of this judgement in more detail and will consult with all parties involved before issuing guidance to our members.
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Joseph Kony is dead, announced American-made leaflets dropped from a helicopter in the Central African Republic in recent weeks. The war is finished.

The claims that Kony, the notorious leader of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), has died are false, though. American officials say such disinformation is often intended to sow confusion and encourage defections from Konys group, which has committed atrocities in the region for decades. But while Kony has evaded capture, the United States and the Ugandan military decided to end their search for him in late April, abandoning the international effort to bring him to justice.

US Army Captain Gregory, 29, from Texas, right, speaks with troops from the Central African Republic and Uganda (AP)

Now, after eight years of being deployed in the Central African Republic, the Ugandans are leaving behind their own trail of abuse allegations  including rape, sexual slavery and the exploitation of young girls.

Dozens of accusations of sexual abuse have been documented by the UN, human rights groups and survivors themselves. It is a widespread problem, said Emmanuel Daba, a local victims advocate investigating sexual violence by the Ugandan military.

Recommended Ugandan army calls off search for Joseph Kony

According to internal UN records, peacekeepers in the Central African Republic have documented allegations of the rape, sexual abuse or sexual harassment of more than 30 women and girls by Ugandan soldiers. Beyond that, they found 44 instances of girls and women being impregnated by Ugandan forces.

Several women and girls reported they had been taken from their villages by UPDF [Uganda peoples defence force] members and forced to become prostitutes or sex slaves, or to marry Ugandan soldiers, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission wrote in a letter to Ugandan authorities last June.

I was working out in the fields when it happened, says one girl who. The man came behind me without me noticing. He grabbed me. Then he raped me in the field.

She was 13 years old at the time, she said, and she became pregnant by the man  a Ugandan soldier. Her parents went to the nearby Ugandan military base to report the crime, she said. Officers said that the soldier had already left the country but that they would bring him to justice and put him in prison.

Betty, 3, looks up at her mother Adye Sunday, 25, unseen, who was abducted aged 13 by the LRA (AP)

She is now 15 and says no action was ever taken.

Jeanine Animbou says she was 13 when a Ugandan soldier used to send a motorcycle taxi to her mud hut and take her to his military camp. She claims the sentry let her in without any problems.

Animbou, who is now 18, says she met the soldier while walking down a dirt road here in Obo, a town used as a base in the search for Kony. He told her he wanted to start a relationship with her, promising to take care of her and give her things like soap and food, she said.

Living on her own in a country where most people make less than a dollar a day, she says she agreed, seeing few other options.

The Ugandan military denies all such allegations of sexual violence and abuse.

Members of Joseph Konys LRA, which killed more than 100,000 people over three decades (AP)

Our soldiers did not get involved in such unprofessional behaviour, said a military spokesman, Brig. Richard Karemire. We dont have one [case].

Similarly, the American Special Operations forces partnering with the Ugandans in the fight against the LRA denied any direct knowledge of any sexual misconduct by UPDF forces, according to Brigadier General Donald C Bolduc, who commands American Special Operations in Africa.

A United States State Department official said, however, that American diplomats did discuss the allegations with military and civilian leaders in Uganda, who promised that any soldiers responsible for such acts would be repatriated and prosecuted.

Over almost three decades, Kony and his fighters killed more than 100,000 people and abducted more than 20,000 children to use as soldiers, servants or sex slaves, according to the UN.

But the LRA has withered to around 100 fighters from a peak of about 3,000. No longer viewing the group as the threat it once was, the Ugandan military said last month that it was withdrawing its entire contingent of about 1,500 soldiers in the Central African Republic. The 150 American soldiers helping in the hunt for Kony are also standing down.

This region of the Central African Republic is one of the most remote and lawless parts of the country. Surrounded by dense forests, the town of Obo is right at the triple border with South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo  the territory of Konys LRA.

Inside the Ugandan camp here, the headquarters for the militarys regional mission against the LRA, soldiers cluster around a fire pit and hang their laundry on strings. Broken, rusted and half-disassembled military trucks litter the area.

An aerial view over northern Uganda. Joseph Kony has been Africa's most notorious warlord for three decades, but now it appears he may never be brought to justice (AP)

The women and girls entered the Ugandan headquarters like it was the most normal thing in the world, said Lewis Mudge, a researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRw) who has investigated allegations of sexual violence. It was a complete culture of impunity where this was completely tolerated and accepted.

The UN defines sexual exploitation as any actual or attempted abuse of position of vulnerability, differential power or trust, for sexual purposes. The African Union prohibits any sexual activities with children as well as any sexual favour in exchange for assistance.

Jolie Nadia Ipangba says she was 16 when a Ugandan soldier pursued a relationship with her.

My father had died, so thats why I accepted to be with [him], she says. Because he would support me. For me, it was an opportunity.

Ipangba, who is now 18, said the soldier told her he was looking for a woman to have a child for him and promised to take care of the mother. However, a month after she got pregnant, he was back home in Uganda.

After he left, that was it, she said. I never heard from him again.

Under Ugandan law, the military conducts the investigations and prosecutes its own soldiers for crimes committed while they are deployed outside Uganda.

Ugandan authorities sent their own team in September 2016 to look into the allegations. No soldier has been charged or prosecuted for sexual crimes, said the spokesman, Brigadier Karemire.

However, troops from Uganda are far from the only forces accused of abuse in the country.

Auma Consolata was abducted by the LRA  who cut off her lips, ears and nose  in 2005, aged 17 (Getty) (Getty Images)

Central African Republic, one of the continents most vulnerable countries, has been rife with allegations that foreign soldiers sexually exploited its citizens. Peacekeepers from France, Gabon, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, as well as contingents from the European Union and the African Union have all been accused of sexual abuse over the past couple of years, including against children.

The top UN human rights official has called the problem of sexual abuse by peacekeepers rampant. The former head of the UN mission in the country was fired in 2015, after the first allegations.

The security environment in the southeastern Central African Republic contributes to the environment of impunity, explains Daba, the local victims advocate.

There is no law here in Obo, he says. Theres no authority. Theres no gendarmes, no police, not even a court. So the UPDF do what they want.

Animbou says she eventually got pregnant with the soldiers child. He promised to take care of the baby but left the country before she gave birth and has not helped since.

Ugandas penal code does prohibit abandoning and failing to support children. But Animbou says she never went to the Ugandan base or the local authorities to report the soldier.

They dont want to talk about this, even with the authorities, says Daba, adding that some women have been threatened by Ugandan soldiers. The UPDF said they will do something bad to them  kill them or something else.

The UN and HRW have found similar evidence of threats of retaliation.

Daba says it is difficult for the abandoned women to feed their children.

I dont have enough clothes or even soap to clean her, Ipangba says of her child. I pray to god to guard me and give me strength to watch over my child because its just me who has to take care of her.

Gladis Koutiyote said she, too, had a child with a Ugandan soldier who promised to marry her. She said some Ugandan soldiers did bring her a little bit of sugar in a cup and some rice.

I used it for just one day and then it was finished, she said.

A TV grab made available by the Monitor media group in Kampala, Uganda, shows one of the world's most wanted rebel chieves, Joseph Kony of the Lord Resistance Movement (Getty Images) (Getty)

The girl who said she was raped in the fields at 13 has had to drop out of school to take care of her child. She wants the soldier to go to prison and to provide money for the babys care. But she says she is not sure she will ever get justice.

She still walks miles to a field to grow beans, manioc and maize to eat. But Im scared, she says. I worry that he could come for me again.

Brigadier Karemire, the Ugandan military spokesman, says the Ugandan investigations are finished. He claims that no cases of rape or statutory rape were registered here in the Central African Republic, and that there is no plan to support any children left behind. All Ugandan forces will be gone from the Central African Republic within a few weeks.

 New York Times
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Piers Morgan has been accused of hate-mongering after he urged the Muslim community to do more to combat Islamist extremism in the wake of the Manchester suicide bombing.

The TV presenter and columnist said law-abiding Muslims" needed to do more to tackle the growing menace of radicalisation.

Writing in his MailOnline column, he called on the Muslim community to step up efforts to identify potential extremists, urging them to be bold and speak up.

I refuse to believe this disgusting excuse for a human being never gave a single clue to anyone around him that he was becoming radicalized, he wrote.

Its not offensive or racist or bigoted or wrong to ask decent, law-abiding Muslims to do more to tackle this growing menace.

However his comments have sparked a furious backlash, with many accusing Morgan of generalisation and ignorance.

Researcher Ziya Meral said there was no such thing as a Muslim community.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

1) There are Muslims in UK, from more than 50 countries, with myriad of languages and cultures with varying levels of cohesion/interaction, he wrote on Twitter.

2) Ethnic, linguistic, theological differences between Muslims in UK are strong boundaries.

3) Ethnic and countries of origin might form 'communities' and live in specific places, but even Muslims from elsewhere might not fit in.

Political commentator Mo Ansar said: And all you did is make the situation worse by blaming Muslims. Grow up, Piers. Think. Don't Trump.

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Filmmaker Lexi Alexander said: All the Muslims in his neighbourhood reported him and UK Law Enforcement did nothing. Good Muslims can't win.

However Morgan defended his comments, writing on Twitter: I'm not 'blaming' them. I'm urging decent, law-abiding Muslims to do more to root out murderous extremists living in their midst.

It comes as the police and intelligence agencies focus their efforts on identifying a terrorist network working with Salman Abedi, the suicide bomber who killed 22 people on Monday night at Manchester Arena.
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A would-be terrorist who improvised detonator parts from fairy lights has been found guilty of attempting to make a pressure-cooker bomb.

Birmingham Crown Court was told Zahid Hussain - who considered railway lines as targets - was bedroom radicalised while viewing hundreds of Isis-related images and videos of the war in Syria.

Hussain's trial was told he wrongly believed his non-viable bomb - packed with shrapnel - was capable of causing devastation.

The 29-year-old - who was captured on CCTV clambering into a storm drain near a high-speed rail line - was arrested in August 2015 after being seen patrolling the streets near his home in Naseby Road, Alum Rock.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court deliberated over two days before convicting Hussain of preparation of terrorist acts.

Alternative counts of making explosives and one of attempting to make explosives were ordered to lie on the court file.

Opening the case against Hussain at the start of a five-week trial, prosecution QC Annabel Darlow said the defendant also attempted to create a remote-control initiator for a device by modifying a wireless doorbell.

Miss Darlow told the jury: It is the Crown's case that the defendant, in the months leading up to 9 August 2015, attempted to build a number of explosive devices.

These included a home-made pressure-cooker bomb containing numerous pieces of shrapnel - in other words, a nail bomb... and a number of improvised igniters which he had made from fairy lights that one might otherwise see on a Christmas tree.

Miss Darlow said the pressure-cooker did not contain the correct ingredients to constitute an explosive device, but the defendant believed he had created a viable bomb.

Hussain was also found in possession of a number of books which contained instructions on sabotage and guerrilla warfare tactics.

Miss Darlow told the jury: After his computer was recovered, material showed that Mr Hussain held a pronounced interest in Isis and events in Syria.

In his own words, he had become bedroom radicalised - turned into a radical by material he had accessed in his own bedroom.

The defendant had viewed many hundreds of images relating to the Islamic State, violent military conflict and images which included those of Osama bin Laden and the Boston bombers.

This material gives, you may think, a powerful insight into Mr Hussain's thoughts and ideology during the relevant period in which he engaged in building the pressure-cooker device.

Hussain was arrested on 9 August after reports of a man carrying a hammer and behaving suspiciously in Anthony Road, Alum Rock.

He was taken to a police station, where officers found he was in possession of handwritten recipes for explosives, a modified fairy light, and a hand-drawn map showing a drainage chamber in Alum Rock.

Officers then went to his home, where they found an improvised laboratory and four allegedly viable igniters fashioned from fairy lights, the court heard.

Hussain, who was flanked in the dock by two nurses at the start of his trial but then chose to watch the proceedings via a video-link from a psychiatric hospital, had denied engaging in conduct in preparation for giving effect to an intention to commit an act of terrorism in the UK or assist another to do so.

He was not present in court for the jury's verdicts.

CCTV footage had been played to the jurors showed Hussain inspecting a drainage chamber near a railway embankment in Woodlands Road, Alum Rock, in the early hours of both July 31 and August 2 2015.

Miss Darlow told the court the Crown did not have to prove that Hussain had a settled, finalised plan to commit a particular terrorist act, or that an attack was imminent.

But she told the jury: It may be noted that one recurrent theme in the defendant's activities and interests was undoubtedly railway lines.

There is no evidence indicating that Mr Hussain had formed a settled plan to attack a particular section of railway line but you may think that it would be reasonable to draw an inference that Mr Hussain had at the least contemplated the use of railway lines as a potential target for a terrorist attack.

Hussain will be sentenced by Mr Justice Sweeney on a date to be fixed.

Chief Superintendent Matt Ward, head of counter-terrorism for the West Midlands, said the device had the potential to be a viable bomb.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

He added: There was no evidence of any intended target or specific attack. But, by its very nature, this could have been an extremely dangerous device.

The Christmas tree lights also found at his address had been adapted to contain match head powder.

Each one could be used as an explosive initiator or detonator.

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Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been convicted of a string of historical sex offences against schoolboys in his care during trips to Scotland.

A jury found the 67-year-old guilty of indecently assaulting seven teenage boys during camping and boating trips in the 1970s and 1980s while he was a biology teacher at a school in the Manchester area.

Talbot, of Greater Manchester, had denied the allegations but was convicted of seven of nine charges after a nine-day trial at Lanark Sheriff Court.

The former television personality, who used to be a regular on the floating weather map in Liverpools Albert Dock for ITVs This Morning show, was previously jailed for five years in Manchester in 2015 for indecently assaulting two schoolboys, the court heard.

The jury took four hours over two days to consider their verdict.

Talbot, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and tie, sat impassively as the verdict was delivered.

Sentence was deferred until 15 June.

The jury found Talbot unanimously guilty of two of the charges against him. The remaining five guilty verdicts were by majority.

He was cleared of two charges  one of indecent assault and one of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices  on not proven verdicts.

The offences, against boys aged 15 to 17, all took place between 1978 and 1981 and happened during separate trips to two locations in Scotland  near the St Marys Loch area in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Caledonian Canal in Inverness in the Highlands.

During the trial, a succession of male witnesses, now in their 50s who cannot be named for legal reasons, told of their initial excitement at going on the trips  sometimes the first time away from their parents.

At the time, Talbot was a young teacher with a more relaxed attitude than others and would talk to the boys about topics such as pop music, alcohol and sex, the court heard.

The men went on to recount how Talbot abused his position of trust to attack them more than 35 years ago.

One man told the court he was indecently assaulted as a teenage boy after a visit to the pub on a camping trip left him very much the worse for wear.

The witness told of his horror when he awoke  after being singled out to go to the pub  to find Talbot touching him in a tent when he was partially clothed.

Another witness gave evidence over a video link from Australia to recount how he awoke in his tent to find Talbot making a sexual advance on him.

A further witness said he was left petrified when Talbot indecently assaulted him on a trip to the Caledonian Canal in 1979.

Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown, 54, who was not an alleged victim, also gave evidence at the trial and said he has never forgotten the moment Talbot invited one of his young friends to sleep in his tent on a school camping trip.

He told how Talbot would regularly talk about trips during class but would only invite certain people to go on the excursions.

In February 2015, Talbot was convicted at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of indecent assaults on two pupils from the same school and he was jailed for five years the following month.

Those assaults took place on school canal barge trips in the Cheshire area in the mid-1970s.

After the verdicts were delivered, prosecutor Imran Bashir told the court Talbot is still serving the sentence imposed on him in England.

Sheriff Nikola Stewart called for a criminal justice social work report and a risk assessment to be carried out before she sentences Talbot in three weeks time.

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Detective Inspector Bryan Lee, senior investigating officer at Police Scotland, said: Fred Talbot is a sexual predator who hid behind a mask of respectability.

He used his position as a teacher to engineer situations which allowed him to isolate and target his victims. He took advantage of his position of trust to abuse young men in his care.

Thanks to the bravery of his victims, their courage in speaking to us and their commitment and support throughout this investigation, and to close working with Greater Manchester Police, we have been able to secure this conviction.

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Investigators are hunting for potential conspirators linked to the Manchester Arena bombing are exploring the possibility that the same cell linked to the Paris and Brussels terror attacks was also to blame for Monday night's attack, two officials familiar with the investigation said.

Investigators were also assessing whether Salman Abedi, the bomber in the attack Monday on a pop concert in Manchester, may have been connected to known militants in the northern English city. Abedi, a 22-year-old British citizen born to Libyan parents, died in the attack.

Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, was allegedly a member of the al-Qaida-backed Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s, according to a former Libyan security official, Abdel-Basit Haroun. The elder Abedi, also known as Abu Ismail, denied that he was part of the militant group and told The Associated Press that his son was not involved in the concert bombing and had no connection to militants.

We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us, the 51-year-old Abedi said in a telephone interview from Tripoli.

He said he spoke to his son five days ago and that he was getting ready for a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. He said that his son visited Libya a month and a half ago and was planning to return to Libya to spend the holy month of Ramadan with the family. He also denied his son had spent time in Syria or fought with the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the concert bombing.

Last time I spoke to him, he sounded normal. There was nothing worrying at all until ... I heard the news that they are suspecting he was the bomber, the elder Abedi said.

He confirmed that another son, Ismail, 23, was arrested Tuesday in Manchester. A third son, 18-year-old Hisham, was arrested in Tripoli late last night, according to a Libyan government spokesman, Ahmed bin Salem. The elder Abedi was arrested shortly after speaking to the AP, Salem said.

Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after then dictator Moammar Gadhafi's security authorities issued an arrest warrant. He spent 25 years in Britain before returning to Libya after Gadhafi was ousted and killed in the country's 2011 civil war. He is now a manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.

In addition, Abedi's wife, Samia al-Tabal, is a close friend of the wife of Abu Anas al-Libi, an al-Qaida veteran who was snatched off the streets of Tripoli in 2013 by U.S. special forces and faced accusations of involvement in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, al-Libi's wife, Um Abdallah, told the AP. Al-Libi was on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list and died in U.S. custody in 2015.

British police said Wednesday they had not yet found the bomb maker in the Manchester Arena attack, indicating Salman Abedi was part of a larger cell.

It's very clear this is a network we are investigating, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said.

British authorities are also exploring whether the bomber, who grew up in Manchester, had links with other cells across Europe and North Africa, according to two officials familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.

They said one thread of the investigation involves pursuing whether Abedi could have been part of a larger terror cell that included Mohamed Abrini, otherwise known as the man in the hat, with connections to the Brussels and Paris attacks. Abrini visited Manchester in 2015.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Investigators are also looking into possible links between Abedi and Abdalraouf Abdallah, a Libyan refugee from Manchester who was shot in Libya and later jailed in the U.K. for terror offenses, including helping Stephen Gray, a British Iraqi war veteran and Muslim covert, to join fighters in Syria.

Other Manchester connections under investigation, the officials said, include a 50-year-old former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Ronald Fiddler, also known as Jamal al-Harith. The Briton blew himself up at a military base in Iraq in February. He was one of 16 men awarded a total of 10 million ($12.4 million) in compensation in 2010, when the British government settled a lawsuit alleging its intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Another possible link under investigation is whether Abedi had ties to Raphael Hostey, a jihadist recruiter who was killed in Syria, the officials said.

The sweeping investigation, meanwhile, has caused friction between U.S. and British security and intelligence officials. The bomber's name and other details of the investigation were apparently leaked by the Americans.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who said Abedi had been known to British security officials, said Wednesday the leaks could compromise the investigation.

I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again, she said. It was unclear whether Abedi was under surveillance as recently as the attack.

US Homeland Security Department spokesman David Lapan declined to say on Wednesday if Abedi had been placed on the US no-fly list. Under normal circumstances, he said, Abedi may have been able to travel to the United States because he was from Britain, a visa-waiver country, but he would have been subjected to a background check via the U.S. government's Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA.

Lapan said the Homeland Security Department has shared some information about Abedi's travel with the British government, but declined to offer specifics. Customs and Border Protection has access to a broad array of air travel information through the U.S. government's National Targeting Center.
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The number of asylum seekers waiting more than six months to receive a decision from the Home Office has risen by 72 per cent in the past year, Government statistics have revealed.

Figures published by the Home Office show that at the end of March 2017, there were 8,879 asylum applications that had not received an initial decision within six months, compared with 5,059 the year before.

There has been a steady increase since the beginning of 2015, when 3,127 people had been waiting for more than six months  marking a 178 per cent rise in two years.

The Home Office has previously said that it aims to decide straightforward asylum applications within six months.

The statistics also show that there has been a drop in the number of asylum applications made in Britain, while just over 7,300 Syrian refugees have now been resettled to the UK.

Responding to the statistics, Dr Lisa Doyle, Refugee Council's director of advocacy, said: It's deeply concerning that more people seeking refuge in the UK are having to wait for prolonged periods of time before getting a decision.

"While people are waiting for a decision on their application they are made to live in poverty, banned from working, and are simply unable to begin the process of rebuilding their lives.

The next government needs to take urgent steps to ensure that the Home Office not only makes decisions in a timely manner, but that they are also right first time. People who come to the UK fleeing war and persecution must have access to a fair and effective asylum process.

A report published last month by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees showed severe Home Office delays even after people are granted asylum, with worrying delays in the issuing of National Insurance numbers and other important documents, consigning many to hunger and homelessness.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

There were 28,891 asylum applications in the UK in the year ending March 2017, according to the new immigration figures.

Of the 24,293 initial decisions on asylum applications from main applicants, 33 per cent were grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection, compared to 40 per cent in the previous year.

A separate Home Office analysis shows that for the years 2012 to 2014, on average 36 per cent of decisions were granted initially, but this proportion rose to 49 per cent after appeal.
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A journalist has claimed he was briefly detained by counter terrorism officers at Manchester Airport for reading a book about Isis.

Diogo Bercito said he was pulled to one side after another passenger anonymously complained.

He was reading The Isis Apocalypse, by former adviser to the US State Department on terrorism issues Will McCants. It explores the ideology of the terrorist organisation and is often used as a reference for journalists and researchers.

The Brazilian journalist, who was sent by Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper to cover the terror attack, said he was given a form at the airport informing him he would be questioned, before going through immigration.

Writing in Folha de Sao Paulo, Mr Bercito said his passport was confiscated and that he waited for an hour in a glass room with two other passengers, who had been there for a few hours and flinched when he asked what they had done.

Two counter terrorism police officers then took him to an interrogation room, in what he described as an episode in the Law and Order series.

He said they looked at the book and warned that he avoid reading it in public place, for one might think hes a terrorist and attack him.

Mr Brecito said they then returned his passport to him, but warned that "if they wanted, they could keep him for a long time".

He asked in his article: "Could they? Based on what? Reading a book? 

The UK terror threat has been raised to critical in the wake of the Manchester suicide bombing attack, amid fears that the identified attacker, Salman Abedi, did not act alone.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Thousands of soldiers are set to bolster police forces after Theresa May raised the threat level to the highest possible rating, meaning another atrocity is expected imminently.

The attack shortly after an Ariana Grande concert left 22 people dead and injured 64. Around 20 people being treated for horrific injuries in critical care and 12 of those rushed to hospital being children.

Five more suspects have been arrested in connection to the attack by Greater Manchester Police in counter-terror raids.

The Independent has contacted UK Border Force for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.
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Doctors should be allowed to stop life-support treatment for a sick baby who needs a ventilator to breathe, appeal court judges have ruled.

Charlie Gard suffers from a form of mitochondrial disease that leads to progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.

His parents, Chirs Gard and Connie Yates, have fought a legal battle to keep their son alive long enough to take him to the US for experimental treatment that may prolong his life.

The couple has raised 1.3m to send him to the US, but doctors at Great Ormond Street have argued continuing any life-support treatment would not benefit Charlie and would just "prolong the process of dying".

Last month, a High Court judge ruled in favour of the doctors and Mr Gard and Ms Yates chose to appeal the judgement.

Richard Gordon QC, who led Charlies parents legal team, told judges the case raised significant legal issues about the role of the state.

They wish to exhaust all possible options. They dont want to look back and think What if?. This court should not stand in the way of their only remaining hope, Mr Gordon said in a written outline of the case.

Katie Gollop QC, who led Great Ormond Streets legal team, suggested the treatment in the US was experimental and would give Charlie no benefit.

There is significant harm if what the parents want for Charlie comes into effect, she told the appeal judges, The Guardian reported.

The significant harm is a condition of existence which is offering the child no benefit.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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. 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Ms Gollop also claimed it was not possible to tell if Charlie was in pain due to the "ravages of [his] condition".

"He cannot see, he cannot hear, he cannot make a noise, he cannot move, she said.
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A second man has been arrested after counter-terrorism police stopped a man from boarding a plane to Turkey.

A 37-year-old man was arrested at Stansted Airport on Tuesday night on suspicion he planned to travel to Syria.

On Thursday a second man, aged 64, was arrested at a business address in north London, the Metropolitan Police said.

Both men, who have not been identified, are being held at a south London police station on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism.

The arrests are linked to travel to Syria and are not connected to the Manchester Arena attack, Scotland Yard said.

A warrant to detain the first man for further questioning was granted on Thursday.

Officers have also searched a further residential address in north London.

PA
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The police officer killed in the Manchester attack has been named as Elaine McIver.

The Cheshire Constabulary officer was believed to be at the Ariane Grande concert with her husband and two children when it was bombed on Monday.

Ms McIver's family described her as a " much loved daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague, the best we could ever have wished for".

 Two more arrests as anti-terror police hunt Manchester bomber's 'network'

She was everyones friend, thoughtful beyond belief with an effervescent and outgoing personality," a statement said.

She would have been devastated by the injuries sustained by her partner Paul, and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Elaine just loved life, and had a major love of music. Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics, instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it."

Ms McIver was one of at least 22 people killed in the bombing, which struck the foyer between Manchester Arena and Victoria station as thousands of fans streamed out of the concert.

Eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos was among the victims, alongside several teenagers and families targeted in what Theresa May called a "twisted" attack.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Isis claimed responsibility for the atrocity, carried out by 22-year-old Salman Abedi.

Investigators are probing his links to militants in Libya, where he frequently travelled to visit relatives, as well as new reports he visited Germany just four days before the attack.

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, admitted the 22-year-old was known to intelligence agencies up to a point.

Two men were arrested by police in Manchester overnight, bringing the number of suspects in custody to eight, following raids across the city and in Wigan and Nuneaton.

His father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli alongside his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was aware of all the details of the attack.

Abedi's older brother Ismail, 23, was detained in south Manchester on Tuesday.
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Two people who had known Manchester bomber Salman Abedi at college tipped off police after he made statements "supporting terrorism," it has been reported.

An unnamed Muslim community worker told the BBC two people who knew the attacker called the anti-terror hotline after Abedi expressed the view that "being a suicide bomber was okay".

The calls are thought to have been made five years ago after Abedi left school, the community worker added.

Recommended Security services find more bomb materials in hunt for terror network

The claims come before Theresa May is due to chair a fourth meeting of the Government's Cobra committee in London, before she heads to a Nato summit.

In response to the heightened threat, the Government has activated Operation Temperer, providing up to 3,800 troops to support the police in security operations.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said 984 military personnel were being deployed around the country, which the Metropolitan Police said had freed up 1,000 armed officers to carry out patrols.

She confirmed Abedi had recently returned from a visit to Libya, and said the nature of the attack suggested he may have had support.

A spokesman for Libyan authorities said one of Abedi's final acts before the murders was to ring his mother.

He told BBC2's Newsnight: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack. So after that, he told us, 'Having internet, I see the attack in Manchester and I knew that's my brother'."

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The spokesman added that Libyan authorities were aware of Abedi going to the capital of Tripoli on April 18 and believed he stayed for two or three weeks.

He revealed that Abedi's younger brother Hashim had been investigated for about a month and a half over suspicions that he was linked to IS.

"We were not quite sure about this, but when we arrested and we asked him, he told us, 'I have ideology with my brother'. Hashim told us, 'I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester'."

Additional reporting by agencies
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The family of a schoolgirl who was killed in the Manchester Arena bomb attack have paid tribute to her.

Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, had been missing since the explosion at the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

Her friend, Laura MacIntyre, 15, was seriously injured and is being treated in a Manchester hospital.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed on Wednesday that all of the victims had been accounted for.

On Thursday, Eilidh's parents issued a statement via the police.

It said: Our family is devastated and words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh.

Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band.

As a family we would like to express our thanks and gratitude for the support and kind messages we have received at this difficult time.

Earlier, families in the Outer Hebrides island had made desperate appeals when the girls failed to get in touch after the blast which killed 22 people and injured at least 59 others.

Eilidh and Laura were pupils at Castlebay Community School and their headteacher said the incident has left everyone in shock.

Annag Maclean said: The recent incident in Manchester was a planned and violent act targeted at young people enjoying a social event.

Our school and island community are in shock, feeling numb and struggling to come to terms with it.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Eilidh and Laura, their family and friends as they struggle to cope.

As headteacher, I am confident that our school and our community will continue to support Eilidh and Laura's families.

I have worked with my colleagues in the authority and other agencies to ensure that all necessary support is available to staff and pupils.

On Wednesday, Catholic Bishop of Argyll and the Isles Brian McGee travelled to the island to visit the girls' families.

He said: This is a time of terrible anguish for the MacLeod and MacIntyre families.

Spending time with the relatives of both girls was a reminder of the human cost of acts of terror.

Such acts leave families broken, lives scarred and innocence destroyed. My thoughts and prayers are with the families at this traumatic time.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that Police Scotland family liaison officers were providing support to the teenagers' families.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Church of Scotland minister Rev Dr Lindsay Schluter said no-one on the island had been unaffected by the terror attack.

People have been numbed by what has happened to the two girls and everybody continues to be very anxious about their welfare, the minister for Barra and South Uist said.

Copyright Press Association
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The sister of the Manchester suicide bomber said he may have been motivated by revenge for US airstrikes in Syria.

Jomana Abedi said her brother Salman, who blew himself up on Monday claiming the lives of 22 people and injuring dozens more, said she was surprised by what he had done.

The 18-year-old also described him as kind and loving, as it emerged family members had warned authorities Abedi was dangerous in the past.

I think he saw children - Muslim children - dying everywhere, and wanted revenge," Ms Abedi told the Wall Street Journal.

"He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The 22-year-old Mancunian-born attacker reportedly called his mother and brother just 15 minutes before launching his deadly attack on Manchester Arena on Monday.

According to a Libyan anti-terror official, Abedi asked his mother Samia Tabbal to forgive me.

His father Ramadan and younger brother Hashem have now been arrested in Libya, with the latter confessing to knowing "all the details" of the terror plot.

His older brother Ismail was detained by police in the UK.

Recommended I knew a British Libyan family radicalised like Salman Abedi

Police focused their efforts on identifying the network that Abedi belonged to on Thursday and made significant arrests in a number of raids across the country.

A number of items they believe are very important to the investigation were seized and security sources said they had found bomb-making materials.

One suspect device was blown up in a controlled explosion and security sources previously said there is a possibility that other materials are yet to be found.
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British counter-terror agencies missed several chances to stop Salman Abedi before he carried out the Manchester Arena bombing, it has emerged.

Two people who knew the 22-year-old at college called the anti-terror hotline after he told them "being a suicide bomber was okay".

The calls are thought to have been made five years ago, after Abedi left school.

The brother of Salman Abedi, Ismail, poses for a picture with a machine gun

Two community leaders also reported Abedi over his extremist views.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, told The Daily Telegraph Abedi was reported two years ago "because he thought he was involved in extremism and terrorism".

People in the community expressed concerns about the way this man was behaving and reported it in the right way using the right channels," Mr Shafiq said.

They did not hear anything since.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Abedi was also reported to the authorities after he confronted an imam who was delivering an anti-extremist sermon at Didsbury Mosque.

He claimed the leader was talking bollocks during the speech condemning Isis, the Manchester Evening News reported.

Akran Ramadan, who is part of the Libyan community in south Manchester, said he understood Abedi had been placed on a "watch list" after the mosque banned him and reported him to the authorities for his extremist views.

The attacker's family had also reportedly warned authorities he was "dangerous".

Officials scouring the background of the British-born bomber said he was likely part of a wider terrorist network.

Armed soldiers have been deployed around the country following the Manchester attack (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Several arrests have been made in both Britain and Libya after the bombing, which killed 22 people and wounded 64 more.

Eight men have been taken into custody in the UK, while the bomber's father and younger brother have been arrested in Libya, the latter of whom confessed to knowing "all the details" of the terror plot.

Before becoming increasingly religious as his radicalisation deepened, Abedi drank and took drugs.

He had shown signs of extremism by flying black flag associated with Islamist groups from his Manchester home.

There was a black flag with Arabic writing on it on the roof for a bit, a few years ago, a neighbour told the BBC.

Flowers, messages and candles are pictured in St Ann's Square in Manchester in tribute to the victims of the terror attack (Getty)

The Times reported that Abedi was also known to security services as an associate of Isis recruiter Raphael Hostey, also from Manchester, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.

British authorities were probing whether Abedi had ties to other cells across Europe and North Africa, two anonymous officials familiar with the case told the Associated Press.

They said one thread of the inquiry involved pursuing whether Abedi was part of a larger terror cell that included Mohamed Abrini, otherwise known as "the man in the hat," with connections to the Brussels and Paris attacks.

Abrini visited Manchester in 2015 and reportedly told police he took photos of Manchester football stadium.

Abedi is known to have returned from a visit to Libya just days before the Manchester attack, and it is feared he may have travelled to terrorist strongholds in Syria.

All of a sudden he travelled to Libya and then most likely to Syria, became radicalised and decided to commit this attack, France's interior minister, Gerard Collomb told BFMTV.

Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi (Reuters)

Abedi's father has said his son is innocent.

Before his arrest, he said he had last spoken to his son five days ago and he sounded "normal."

He said his son was getting ready to visit Saudi Arabia for a short Umrah pilgrimage then planned to head to Libya to spend the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with his family.

He said his son last visited Libya about six weeks ago and had never gone to Syria. He denied ties to any militant groups or suggestions of extremism.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A photo has emerged of the words "love from Manchester" written on an RAF bomb, following Monday night's suicide bomb attack.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed to The Independent that the image is genuine, after speculation online that it was a fake.

It is not clear exactly who wrote the message on the munition, thought to be a laser-guided Paveway bomb.

 Manchester crowd sing Oasis song after minute's silence

The bomb was loaded onto a plane at an RAF air base in Cyprus, the Telegraph reported. The base has been used for air strikes against Isis.

It comes days after suicide bomber Salman Abedi murdered 22 people outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena with an improvised explosive device.

On Thursday thousands gathered in the city centre to hold a silent vigil.

After one woman broke into a rendition of Oasis' hit Don't Look Back in Anger, the rest of the crowd joined in.
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The Manchester bomber flew back to Britain via Turkey and Germany just four days before carrying out his attack, it has emerged.

Investigators are attempting to piece together Salman Abedis movements in the days before the bombing, which left at least 22 people dead in Manchester Arena.

German intelligence services said Abedi flew to the city via Istanbul and Dusseldorf, although questions remained over the 22-year-olds previous location.

Frances interior minister previously said Abedi had visited Libya and then most likely gone to Syria, although no concrete evidence has emerged to support the claim.

Analysts pointed out that Turkey is a frequent transit point for Isis fighters crossing the border to and from Syria by land.

But a Turkish official told the BBC that Abedi was only passing through by air from another country, adding: To the best of our knowledge, Abedi transited through Istanbul and did not spend time in Turkey.

 Manchester attacker Salman Abedi: What we know so far

German authorities confirmed he arrived in Dusseldorf on 18 May but said he did not leave the airport.

There were concerns Abedi may have had links with Islamists in the area, which is regarded as a hotbed of jihadis, but police said an initial investigation did not reveal any contacts.

He spent a short time in the airports secure transit area, a statement by Dusseldorf police and North Rhine-Westphalia security services said.

Intensive investigations have so far revealed no further findings on the suspects connections with North Rhine-Westphalia.

Investigators told Der Tagesspiegel Abedi had also passed through Prague, in the Czech Republic, on his way back from Libya last week.

Intelligence sources said Abedi was not on the Schengen Information System  from which the UK is exempt  or on a list of potential Islamists being tracked through Europe.

He is said to have previously passed through Germany in 2015, Focus Online reported, flying via Frankfurt on that occasion.

Previous reports said Abedi was in Libya, where his parents and siblings live, in the weeks before the attack.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people in an attack at Manchester Arena (Handout)

He went to Libya three weeks ago and came back recently, like days ago, a friend told The Times.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, confirmed Abedi had recently returned from Libya before launching the bomb.

When this operation is over, we will want to look at his background and what happened, how he became radicalised and what support he might have been given, she said.

Abedi and his brother had remained living in the UK after their parents, who originally came to Britain as Libyan refugees, returned to the country with their siblings.

Acquaintances said Abedi made frequent visits to Libya, coming back a different guy after one trip in 2011, swapping his previous lifestyle including alcohol and cannabis for apparent piety.

British security services are examining Abedis links to the country, where thousands of foreign fighters are believed to be embedded with warring parties including Isis.

The group has taken advantage of widespread lawlessness since the British-backed ousting of Muammar Gaddafi to gain a foothold in Libya, seizing territory and setting up terror training camps used to plan attacks in Europe.

Investigators believe Abedi was part of a larger Isis-inspired terror network, pointing to the relative sophistication of the bomb he used to massacre 22 people and injure more than 60 others at Manchester Arena.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The device, contained in a bag packed with nails, was believed to use an explosive known as TATP that has become Isis hallmark in atrocities including the Paris and Brussels attacks, as well as in plots across Europe.

British security services are under scrutiny after leaked reports claimed Abedis parents had alerted authorities to his radicalisation in Manchester, persuading him to come to Libya and confiscating his passport until he claimed he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, admitted the 22-year-old was known to intelligence agencies up to a point.

Two men were arrested by police in Manchester overnight, bringing the number of suspects in custody to eight, following raids across the city and in Wigan and Nuneaton.

His father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli alongside his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was aware of all the details of the attack.

Abedis older brother Ismail, 23, was detained in south Manchester on Tuesday.

Ramadan had earlier claimed his brother was innocent, saying: We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us.

But a spokesperson for Libyan authorities said one of Abedi's final acts was to ring his mother, adding that Hashim had told officials: I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester.
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The bomb used to kill 22 people and injure dozens more used the same explosive as those used in the 7 July London bombings in 2005.

A US congressman has said the bomb used in the Manchester Arena attack was "a classic explosive device used by terrorists".

Texas Republican Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told The Associated Press the bomb used the explosive TATP.

 Manchester attacker Salman Abedi: What we know so far

The explosive, also known as Mother of Satan, was used in the deadly attacks in Paris in November 2015 and the March 2016 attack in Brussels, both carried out by Isis extremists.

Mr McCaul said the bomb suggests a "level of sophistication" that might indicate its maker had foreign training, and said the evidence gathered so far suggests "we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation."

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Neighbours told Sky News they noticed the "strong smell of explosives" coming from under the door of the apartment used by the bomber, Salman Abedi.

The flat, located near Manchester Piccadilly station, is the last known location Abedi is known to have visited before leaving for Manchester Arena.

Security sources said the bomb he used was made using hydrogen peroxide, a component of TATP, and could have been manufactured "on a kitchen table".

Manchester Apartment where Salman Abedi allegedly stayed

Inside the Manchester apartment where Salman Abedi is believed to have stayed before carrying out the atrocity

A US official told NBC the "big and sophisticated" bomb was made with materials that are hard to obtain in Britain, meaning "it's almost impossible to see he didn't have help".

However, TATP is typically used by terror groups because it can be made using commonly available chemicals such as sulphuric acid, which is used to clean drains, hydrogen peroxide, which is used in hair dyes, and acetone.

It comes as police hunting the network behind Abedi said they had made "significant" arrests and officers had seized "very important" items in raids linked to the investigation.

The bomb was packed with nails and bolts

Police and security services found bomb-making materials in the extensive raids following the attack, The Independent has learned.

One suspect device was detonated in a controlled explosion.

Several arrests have been made in both Britain and Libya after the bombing.

Eight men have been taken into custody in the UK, while the bomber's father and younger brother have been arrested in Libya, the latter of whom confessed to knowing "all the details" of the terror plot.
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Leaking the images of the Manchester Arena crime scene to the US media "undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims", the UK's most senior police officers have said as they attacked the actions of American officials.

Photos showing the detonator, bag and shrapnel used by suicide bomber Salman Abedi first appeared on the website of the New York Times.

Just hours earlier Home Secretary Amber Rudd had said she was "irritated" by previous US leaks of intelligence information before UK authorities were prepared to reveal it, and that she had spoken with American colleagues to ensure it would not happen again.

Recommended Pogba dedicates victory to victims of Manchester Arena attack

The National Police Chiefs Council said: "We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world.

"These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

"When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation."

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The UK's official @TerrorismPolice Twitter account said: "Unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major CT investigation undermines our work & confidence of victims".

The Home Office declined to comment but Whitehall insiders were said to be "furious" at the latest leak.

"This is completely unacceptable. These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public. The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts," a source told PA.
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Police hunting the network behind Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi said they made significant arrests and seized items they believe are very important in raids linked to the investigation.

Security services found bomb-making materials during a number of raids following the attack at the Manchester Arena.

One suspect device was blown up in a controller explosion and security sources previously said there is a possibility that other materials are yet to be found.

Eight men have been arrested during the raids in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton. However, A woman arrested in the Blackley area of Manchester was released without charge.

I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, said Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins. Initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation.

The arrests followed the detainment of Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. In interviews, Mr Abedi had maintained his son was innocent.

His youngest son, Hashem Abedi, was also arrested in Tripoli, while British police picked up Ismail Abedi, the bombers older brother, in Chorlton, in the south of Manchester.

Mr Hopkins also hit out at the leaks of intelligence by US agencies, saying they had caused distress and upset to the families of victims of the atrocity.

Forensic photographs of sophisticated bomb parts and information published by The New York Times had caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss, he said.

The force has reportedly stopped sharing intelligence relating to the attack with the US government after concerns that American intelligence officers were continuing to leak confidential details of the investigation to the American media.

Theresa May said she would tell US President Donald Trump that intelligence shared with the US must remain secure in a sign of the UK authorities' anger at the repeated leaks of sensitive information to the media.

Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity Show all 4 1 /4 Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity A Jewish woman named Renee Rachel Black and a Muslim man named Sadiq Patel react next to floral tributes in Albert Square REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS

Intelligence agencies believe a terrorist network was established to carry out the attack.

A source close to MI5 told Reuters that Abedi had been on its radar. They said at any one time there could be 3,000 subjects of interest to MI5 and Abedi was part of a large pool classed in that category.

Abedi was one of a larger pool of former subjects of interest whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners, he said. Where former subjects of interest show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider re-opening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgements based on partial information.

Since 2013, British security services have thwarted 18 militant plots in the UK, including five following an attack in central London in March, the source added.
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There has been a sharp increase in the number of terrorist plots foiled by UK security agencies since the Westminster attack in March, a senior Whitehall source has said.

Five plots have been disrupted in the last two months alone, compared with 13 in the three years between 2013 and March 2017.

At any one time MI5 is juggling around 500 active investigations relating to 3,000 people of interest, according to a source.

Recommended Security services find more bomb materials in hunt for terror network

Five planned terror attacks have been prevented since the Westminster attack on 22 March  a sharp and disturbing increase on the average in recent years of one foiled plot every three months.

The workload facing security officials trying to prevent attacks is now said to be unprecedented.

The source also confirmed that Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was on security services radar as a former subject of interest.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The 22-year-old, who killed 22 people and injured 64 when he blew himself up at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday, was one of a larger pool of former subjects of interest whose risk remained subject to review by security agencies.

MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest (SOIs) at any one time, the source told the Press Association.

Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider re-opening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgements based on partial information.

It comes as Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said detectives had made significant developments in their investigation.

I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation, he said.

The days since Mondays attack have been intense for police staff, he added.

A total of eight people have now been arrested in the UK, in addition to Abedis father, Ramadan, and younger brother, Hashem, in Libya. A woman who was arrested on Wednesday has since been released.

Police carried out raids in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton on Thursday and are carrying out searches at a number of properties.
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The father and brother of the Manchester attacker Salman Abedi, have been arrested by counter-terrorism forces in Libya.

Hashem Abedi, 20, was picked up by security forces in the north African country's capital Tripoli.

His father, Ramadan Abedi, an administrative manager of the Central Security Force in the Libyan capital, was detained separately by security forces in the city, on suspicion of having links to the Islamic State group.

An eyewitness claimed he was handcuffed by counter-terrorism forces and put in an unmarked vehicle in Tripoli.

His third son, 23-year-old Ismail Abedi, was also arrested following raids on a property by officers in Manchester.

The Abedi family live between Libya and Manchester and reportedly moved to the UK to escape the regime of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi (Reuters)

Mr Abedi had previously said he could not understand how his son had become involved in the attack and claimed he was innocent.

He also added that he had spoken to his son five days ago and he sounded normal.

Hashim Abedi has been detained in Tripoli (PA)

We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us. My son was as religious as any child who opens his eyes in a religious family, Mr Abedi told Bloomberg news.

As we were discussing news of similar attacks earlier, he was always against those attacks, saying theres no religious justification for them. I dont understand how hed have become involved in an attack that led to the killing of children.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Police confirmed that 22-year-old Salman Abedi was behind the atrocity at the Manchester Arena.

A total of 22 people were killed and 59 injured, many of them children, in the attack.

It was the worst act of terrorism on British soil since 56 people were killed in 2005's 7 July London bombings.
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The Manchester attacker reportedly called his mother and brother just 15 minutes before he blew himself up.

Salman Abedi asked his mother to "forgive me", a Libyan anti-terror offical said.

His father and brother have now been arrested in Libya, with the latter confessing to know "all the details" of the terror plot.

A spokesman for the Libyan government told The Times Abedi's brother, Hashem, told interrogators the attacker had phoned his family a quarter of an hour before the attack.

Hashem is alleged to have links to Isis, who claimed responsibility for the Manchester Arena attack.

He also called his mother and brother 15 minutes before the operation started, the spokesman said.

It comes after it emerged British counter-terror agencies missed several opportunities to stop Abedi before he carried out the Manchester Arena bombing.

Abedi's parents warned authorities he was "dangerous," a US official has claimed, and persuaded him to come to Libya and confiscated his passport.

But the 22-year-old persuaded his parents he was getting ready to visit Saudi Arabia for a short Umrah pilgrimage.

It is reported he in fact came back to the UK, via Germany, from Turkey four days before the bombing.

A German magazine reported that he came through Duesseldorf, and said he had not been on any international watch list.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The father had all the passports with him and was holding them. But Salman said he wanted to do Umrah and that is why he needed to leave Libya," Jamal Zubia, a leading figure in the Libyan community in Manchester, told The Times. "His mother was happy.

A family friend in Manchester, Lobna Elghriani, said: They gave [the passport] back because he said he wanted to do Umrah.

"Then he came here. They were very worried. The father was very upset.

Abedi's father said he sounded "normal" when he spoke to his family from Manchester five days ago and had promised to fly to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Abedi said he believes his son is innocent.
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Theresa May is urging the world's leading industrial nations to come together to pressure tech companies to remove harmful extremist content from the web.

Days after the Manchester bomb attack, the Prime Minister will chair a session on counter-terrorism when G7 leaders gather in Taormina in Sicily, Italy, on Friday.

A senior Government official said she would be coming forward with a series of proposals for members to strengthen their hand by adopting a common approach to dealing with the industry.

Recommended Trump links mass immigration to Manchester terror attack

While Ms May will acknowledge the industry has been taking action to remove extremist content, she will say they have not gone far enough and need to do more.

She will argue that as Islamic State loses ground in its heartlands in Iraq and Syria, the threat from extremism is evolving rather than disappearing, with the fight moving from the battlefield to the internet.

This sort of material being on the internet is obviously harmful. It has in the past been linked to acts of violence and the less of this material that is on the internet, that is clearly for the better, one official said.

The Prime Minister will say the industry has a social responsibility to take down harmful content and will call for the creation of an international industry-led forum to work through the issues.

Among the specific proposals, she will say companies should be encouraged to develop tools which automatically identify and remove harmful material based on what it contains and who posted it.

Ms May will say companies need to block users who post extremist content and inform the relevant authorities when they identify harmful content so appropriate action can be taken.

She will also call for industry guidelines to be revised by the tech companies to make absolutely clear what constitutes harmful material, with those that fail to do so being held to account.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The meeting in Taormina follows an intensely awkward Nato summit in Brussels on Thursday, when US President Donald Trump publicly berated those member states which failed to meet the alliance target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

Ms May has already made clear she intends to curtail her visit to the G7 in the wake of the Manchester attacks.

She is now expected to leave on Friday evening, missing the final day.

PA
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Jeremy Corbyn has taken the hugely controversial step of blaming Britains foreign wars for terror attacks such as the Manchester suicide bombing.

The Labour leader claimed a link between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home, as he relaunched his partys election campaign on Friday after the three-day pause.

Mr Corbyn stressed that his assessment is shared by the intelligence and security services and in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children.

Those terrorists will forever be reviled and held to account for their actions, he said.

But, vowing to change what we do abroad, he added: An informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is an essential part of an effective response that will protect the security of our people, that fights rather than fuels terrorism.

We must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working. We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism.

In the speech, the Labour leader also linked the Manchester atrocity to Theresa Mays failure to ensure the police have the resources they need.

Austerity has to stop at the A&E ward and at the police station door. We cannot be protected and cared for on the cheap, he said.

There will be more police on the streets under a Labour government. And, if the security services need more resources to keep track of those who wish to murder and maim, then they should get them.

He continued: No government can prevent every terrorist attack. If an individual is determined enough and callous enough sometimes they will get through.

But it is Mr Corbyns determination to link the 22 deaths in Manchester with Britains involvement in the war on terror that is certain to trigger a backlash.

 Manchester terror attack: What we know so far

In the speech, he did not name any specific wars, having  as a backbencher  opposed the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and against Isis, in Iraq and Syria.

At the Iraq Inquiry in 2010, Baroness Manningham-Buller, the former head of MI5, said the invasion had substantially increased the terrorist threat to the UK, by radicalising young people.

Mr Corbyn was one of just 13 MPs to oppose David Cameron and vote against the Libya bombing in March 2011.

After the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya descended into bloody chaos, with two rival governments and the growing menace of jihadi extremism.

Libyans in the UK, including in Manchester, have spoken of their fear that the growing Islamist radicalisation in their home country was also taking root among refugees who moved here.

And intelligence briefings have suggested Salman Abedi, the Manchester suicide bomber, moved to Libya, before returning to Britain as recently as last week.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

But, strikingly, Mr Corbyn delivered his speech just days after the tragedy and while the police and intelligence services continue to conduct an investigation it is expected to take many months.

His pledge to change foreign policy suggests he would end involvement in air strikes against Isis in Iraq and Syria, where 1,250 British military personnel are stationed.

The contrast with Ms May could not be starker, after she backed Nato becoming a formal member of the coalition fighting in the region.

Mr Corbyns speech comes after Ukip claimed the Prime Minister shared the blame for the Manchester attack because she failed to prevent Abedi from returning to Britain.

It is also a dereliction of duty to allow jihadis to return to this country, including it seems, Monday nights terrorist, said Ukip leader Paul Nuttall.

Suzanne Evans, Ukips deputy chair, added that Ms May must bear some responsibility for the deadly attack, because she forced through police cuts and failed to cut immigration.

Speaking in central London, Mr Corbyn called for the solidarity, humanity and compassion that we have seen on the streets of Manchester this week to be the values that guide our government.

Britain must ensure we never surrender the freedoms we have won and that terrorists are so determined to take away, he added.

The election campaign will get back up to full speed on Friday, after the cross-party agreement to put activities on hold as a mark of respect.

Even without Mr Corbyns speech, attention was likely to focus on the stance of the party leaders on security issues, police funding and the terrorist threat.

It may mean less scrutiny of plans for the NHS and social care, just four days after Ms Mays embarrassing U-turn over a cap on care costs and the collapse of her manifesto proposals.
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Greater Manchester Police have stopped sharing intelligence relating to the Manchester Arena attack with US government agencies after concerns that US intelligence officers are continuing to leak confidential details of the investigation to the American media.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd yesterday warned the US that the "irritating" leaks of information must stop and said she had received assurances from American officials that they would not happen again.

But just hours after Ms Rudd's comments a US newspaper published crime scene photos of the attack apparently passed to them by US intelligence sources.

Recommended Amber Rudd condemns US for leaks of Manchester Attack intelligence

Meanwhile, Theresa May confirmed she will raise the controversy with Donald Trump when she meets him at a Nato summit in Brussels on Thursday.

"I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure," she said, speaking from Downing Street.

The Prime Minister also said the threat level will "remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant", after a meeting of the Government's emergency committee Cobra - meaning another attack is still feared to be imminent.

Lord Blair, former chief of the Metropolitan Police, said the "grievous" breach reminded him of US intelligence malpractice after the 7/7 bombings.

"Im afraid it just reminds me exactly of what happened after 7/7 when the US published a complete picture of the way the bombs in 7/7 had been made up and we had the same protests," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Its a different world in which the US operates in the sense of how they publish things. This is a very grievous breach but Im afraid its the same as before."

A number of details about the Manchester Arena attack appeared in the US media  most notably on networks NBC and CBS  before British police had publicly released them to the UK media.

The initial death tolls, the fact the attack appeared to be a suicide bombing, and the name of the attacker, were all released through US outlets, apparently via leaky US intelligence sources.

Most recently the New York Times newspaper has published photos it says are scene of the Manchester Arena attack, including the remains of a backpack, screws and nuts, and the remnants of a device held by the bomber.

The episode comes just a week after US president Donald Trump defended his right to leak classified intelligence to other countries' leaders. Mr Trump has also criticised leaking from the US intelligence establishment.

Intelligence is shared between Britain, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand under the UKUSA agreement, the so-called "Five Eyes" programme.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

The latest leaks come after Theresa May personally expressed confidence in the US-UK intelligence sharing programme. Questioned about Mr Trump's apparent leaking to the Kremlin, Ms May had said: "We continue to work with the United States and we continue to share intelligence with the United States, as we do with others around the world."

The Associated Press news agency last week reported an official from an unnamed European country saying that they might stop sharing intelligence with Washington due to leaks, and that continuing to do so could be a risk for our sources.
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The deployment of thousands of soldiers onto Britains streets is only needed because police now lack the resources to defend against a terrorist attack themselves, the chair of the Police Federation has warned.

Steve White, who leads the statutory staff association, said police simply do not have the resources to manage a heightened national level of alertness by themselves.

Around 20,000 police officers have been cut since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, with budgets being reduced by 4 per cent every year while Theresa May served as Home Secretary.

Recommended UK authorities missed several opportunities to stop Manchester bomber

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Federations Mr White said: As always, the response of emergency workers in the face of adversity has been second to none.

The welcome support of the military to free up armed officers and offer public reassurance will no doubt be managed in the same professional, resolute way.

But, as welcome as this is, we cannot avoid the reasons it is needed at all. There is no ignoring the fact that we, the police, simply do not have the resources to manage an event like this on our own.

Addressing the Home Secretary Amber Rudd at the Police Federations annual conference last week, Mr White had said an attack was a case of "not if, but when" following sharp cuts.

The Government says that crime figures have continued to fall despite the budget cuts. However, police groups have issued repeated warnings that reduce manpower was making it difficult to do jobs.

After the Spring Budget 2016-17 Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd warned that central government cuts were having a serious impact on Manchesters police service.

As my report makes clear, this is still very much a cuts budget. The Chancellors plan to protect policing budgets is full of holes, has not been borne out in real terms, and offers no foresight beyond this financial year, he said at the time.

To make his sums add up, I have had to increase the amount people pay through their council tax, but even this cant assuage the impact that cuts have had and continue to have on Greater Manchesters police service.

Around 4,000 troops are on standby across the UK to help the policing effort during Operation Temperer, which is reinforcing police after the terror alert level was raised to critical.

Amber Rudd says crime can still fall while budgets are cuts (Getty)

Speaking earlier in the general election campaign Conservative Home Secretary Amber Rudd refused to rule out further police cuts.

I think the important statistic is that crime has fallen by 2010 by a third. We believe that we can control the Budget and reduce crime, she told BBC Radio 4 at the time.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

After the attack, Ms Rudd said: We have now gone to a critical level in terms of the threat. Operation Temperer has now been invoked and that means there will be additional military personnel coming to backfill the armed police officers so that they can support other areas.

Today we have 984 members of military coming forward as requested by the police. They will be initially deployed in London but also elsewhere in the country as requested and they will form an important part of the defence going forward.

Labour has pledged to put 10,000 more police officers on the beat and said the police force is crying out for more manpower.
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Ukip says Theresa May shares the blame for the Manchester attack, because she failed to prevent the suicide bomber from returning to Britain.

Paul Nuttall  fighting off claims that the party he leads is heading for oblivion  condemned the Prime Ministers appalling record on fighting crime and terror.

It is also a dereliction of duty to allow jihadis to return to this country, including it seems, Monday nights terrorist, he said, launching the Ukip manifesto.

Recommended UK stops sharing Manchester intel with US after leaks continue

The controversial claim follows intelligence briefings that Salman Abedi, the Manchester suicide bomber, moved to Libya, before returning to Britain as recently as last week.

Suzanne Evans, Ukips deputy chairman, added that Ms May must bear some responsibility for the deadly attack, because she forced through police cuts and failed to cut immigration.

Theresa May has allowed jihadists who fought alongside Islamic State back into our country. She has failed to prevent extremists spreading hatred in our universities and our mosques, Ms Evans added.

Mr Nuttall was also accused of insulting the grieving relatives and friends of the Manchester victims, after saying: It is not good enough to light candles and say we will not be beaten.

Answering questions, he replied: Im not insulting people. People have a right to light candles and to share their grief on Twitter  but for politicians its not enough.

And, on his comments about jihadis, he said: Im not accusing the Prime Minister. Im saying politicians have been weak on this issue for many, many years.

The rowdy manifesto launch  at which Ukip activists heckled journalists aggressively  included proposals to:

Confiscate passports and citizenship from anyone who leaves this country to fight for Islamic State;

Reduce net migration to zero within five years  under a one in, one out policy;

Ban the flying of the EU flag from public buildings after Brexit  and make the referendum day of 23 June a bank holiday as an Independence Day;

Pump an extra 11bn a year for the NHS and social care by the end of the next parliament, funded by cuts in foreign aid;

Abolish the House of Lords, replacing it with an English parliament, and introduce proportional representation for the Commons;

Ban the wearing of burqas in public; and

Abolish tuition fees for students studying STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and medicine, while bringing back maintenance grants for the poorest students.

But the launch was dominated by Mr Nuttalls attack on Ms Mays record as Home Secretary, saying: She has put pressure on the police to lower the numbers of stops and searches they carry out.

And no progress whatever was made reducing the level of immigration in order to give social cohesion a chance to advance.

The event was undermined by Ukip activists turning on Mr Nuttall after the party plunged to as low as three per cent in the polls, with the general election a fortnight away.

One candidate in Rotherham told the BBC the leader had added to the chaos  calling on him to quit after the election  while a former activist branded him an idiot.
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The United States has promised to stop the terrible leaks of intelligence information about the Manchester bomb attack, after angry British protests.

The acting American ambassador to the UK said his country had heard the message loud and clear, after confidential details of the investigation appeared in the US media.

There was astonishment and fury among British ministers and officials after The New York Times published crime scene photos of the attack apparently passed to it by US intelligence sources.

Recommended Ukip says May shares the blame for Manchester bomb attack

Greater Manchester Police revealed today that it had stopped sharing intelligence relating to the Manchester Arena attack with US government agencies, as a result.

And Theresa May, speaking from Downing Street, said: I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.

Lewis Lukens, the acting US ambassador, told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme that the US was determined to identify and stop the leaks of information.

At all levels of government we have heard the message loud and clear from Her Majesty's Government and we agree with their concerns and we're determined to take action, he said.

These leaks are terrible and, again let me just say in the strongest possible terms, that we condemn them and we are determined to investigate and to bring appropriate action.

We have had communications at the highest level of our government...we are determined to identify these leaks and to stop them."

Mr Lukens said intelligence co-operation across the Atlantic kept both countries safer, but he recognised it was up to the United Kingdom ultimately to determine how we work together on this.

Many crucial details about the Manchester Arena attack have appeared in the US media  including on the NBC and CBS networks  which British police had not released to the UK media.

They include initial death tolls, the fact the attack appeared to be a suicide bombing and the name of the attacker, apparently released by US intelligence sources.

The New York Times article included pictures of the scene of the attack, including the remains of a backpack, screws and nuts, and the remnants of a device held by the bomber.

The Prime Minister was poised to raise the controversy with the US President when she met him at the Nato summit in Brussels.

Meanwhile, the National Counter Terrorism Policing warned that such a breach of trust undermines investigations such as the Manchester probe.

This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation, a spokesman said.

The episode comes just a week after US president Donald Trump defended his right to leak classified intelligence to other countries' leaders. Mr Trump has also criticised leaking from the US intelligence establishment.

But Lord Blair, former chief of the Metropolitan Police, said the grievous breach reminded him of the behaviour of US intelligence after the 2005 London bombings.

Im afraid it just reminds me exactly of what happened after 7/7 when the US published a complete picture of the way the bombs in 7/7 had been made up and we had the same protests, he said.

Its a different world in which the US operates in the sense of how they publish things. This is a very grievous breach but Im afraid its the same as before.
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Donald Trump appeared to link large-scale immigration to the terror attack in Manchester, even though bomber Salman Abedi was born in Britain.

Speaking at Nato headquarters in Brussels, the US president returned to a subject that has been a mainstay of his first foreign trip - that of confronting extremism.

My travels and meetings have given me renewed hope that nations of many faiths can unite to defeat terrorism, a common threat to all of humanity, he said in a speech during which he also berated those Nato members who had failed to contribute their fair share of the alliances costs.

 Macron grimaces as Donald Trump attacks Nato during 9/11 memorial speech

Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever.

During his election campaign, Mr Trump repeatedly called for tougher screening of immigrants to the US, even though the process for refugees from countries such as Syria or Somalia can take up to five years.

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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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 Muslim travel ban that he sought to introduce by means of an executive order, was based on his belief that migrants to the US, and other countries, were responsible for attacks in their new homes. Critics of Mr Trump and his policy pointed out there was no evidence to support such a claim.

Despite this, Mr Trump linked the issue in his speech to Nato country leaders.

You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases, we have no idea who they are. We must be tough. We must be strong. And we must be vigilant, he said.

The Nato of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and on NATOs eastern and southern borders.

Police in Manchester have said they are investigating what they believe is a network that may have been behind the attack that killed 22 people in Manchester and injured more than 60. Abedi was born to parents who had migrated from Libya.
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Troops were guarding federal buildings in Brazil's capital early on Thursday as the president struggles to hang onto power amid an outcry over corruption allegations and after clashes between police and protesters demanding his resignation forced the evacuations of several ministries.

With tens of thousands of demonstrators in the streets and lawmakers in Congress calling for his ouster, President Michel Temer ordered soldiers deployed in Brasilia on Wednesday. The Defence Ministry said 1,500 soldiers were being used.

What began as small scuffles between police and protesters who tried to jump a cordon mushroomed into a series of confrontations in which officers fired tear gas and pepper spray to contain the crowd. A fire broke out in the Ministry of Agriculture, and protesters broke windows and doors at other ministries.

Local media captured video images of military police firing pistols into the air. The Secretariat of Public Security issued a statement late Wednesday saying it would investigate the weapons firing, saying that this procedure is not used in protests. Earlier, it said one person had been injured by a bullet but give no information on who fired the shot.

Some government agencies were evacuated because of the violence, the president's office said.

In a brief national address during the unrest, Defence Minister Raul Jungmann said troops were being sent to guard the presidential palace and other federal buildings. The week-long deployment was authorised by a presidential decree that left open the possibility that soldiers could be used more widely in Brasilia.

Late Wednesday, Temer's office issued a statement defending the order as necessary because the violence put the lives and safety of public servants at risk. It said the president had determined that using the country's National Force, an elite police entity, would not have been sufficient.

When order is re-established, the decree will be revoked, the statement said. The president of the republic underscores that he will not hesitate to exercise the authority given to his office whenever it is necessary.

Temer is struggling to retain power after the release of a recording that appears to capture him approving hush money for a convicted former lawmaker. Brazil's top court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption. The president has denied wrongdoing and insists he will not resign.

His unusual decision to call in the military could heighten anger against the government if it is seen as the last gasp of a president trying to maintain power with the use of force.

This decree was never used in this context to protect an administration that is politically isolated, said Newton de Oliveira, a professor and security specialist at Mackenzie University in Rio.

After the announcement that troops were taking up positions in the capital, some senior officials began distancing themselves from the decision.

If this government cannot hold itself up, the armed forces will not hold up this government, said Senator Renan Calheiros, who is the whip for Temer's party in the upper house but has increasingly challenged the president.

Sen. Romero Juca, a Temer ally, defended the president's decision. President Temer brought in the armed forces because a bunch of criminals were setting ministries on fire, he said.

With Brazil deeply divided and a political crisis deepening, sessions in both houses of Congress became chaotic as lawmakers shouted one another down.

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

While Congress debated, 35,000 people were marching toward the legislative building, shouting Out with Temer! and carrying signs calling for an immediate direct presidential election.

If Temer should resign, Brazil's constitution says Congress would elect the next president, who would hold power for the rest of his term, which runs to the end of 2018. But many Brazilians, disgusted with the political class, want to vote themselves.

AP
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Donald Trump has called the US leaks of evidence relating to the Manchester attack investigation deeply troubling and has vowed to get to the bottom of them.

Mr Trump appeared to be trying to halt an escalating diplomatic spat with the UK, with Theresa May having made clear that the trust between the two nations was at stake as a number of senior political and police figures expressed their dismay at the release of such sensitive information.

Mr Trump said he had instructed the Department of Justice to launch a full investigation into the leaks and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The Presidents intervention comes with UK police forces having taken the extraordinary step of having stopped passing information on the investigation into the blast outside of an Ariana Grande concert that killed at least 22 people and left nearly 60 people injured.

This is until such time as we have assurances that no further unauthorised disclosures will occur, a counter-terrorism source told Reuters.

Late on Thursday senior UK anti-terror officials said the sharing of intelligence had resumed after those assurances were given.

Ms May raised her concerns with Mr Trump in person ahead of Nato meeting in Brussels  which Mr Trump is attending as part of his first foreign trip  using the set-up of a group photograph to corner the US President. The two then spoke again as they sat next to each other at a Nato working dinner.

The Prime Minister had earlier warned that the special relationship could be undermined because of the persistent leaking of intelligence material.

As she arrived in Brussels, Ms May said the attack by suicide bomber Salman Abedi had targeted innocent and defenceless children and young people.

Mrs May said: On the issue of the intelligence-sharing with the USA, we have a special relationship with the USA, it is our deepest defence and security partnership that we have.

Of course, that partnership is built on trust. And part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must be shared securely.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Mr Trump also invoked the special relationship in saying that he took these alleged breaches seriously, and that the US still values Britain as an important ally. There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, he said.

But he was clear that the two nations, Nato and other allies must step up efforts to stop terrorism in its tracks as otherwise the horror you saw in Manchester, and so many other places, will continue forever.

Mr Trump then appeared to link the controversial issue of migration to the attack. The President has made lowering levels of migration into the US one of his major promises  although the travel ban he has proposed aimed at a number of Muslim-majority nations has been accused of penalising those fleeing war zones.

You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases we have no idea who they are. We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant, he said  despite the fact that the Manchester attacker was British-born.

Mr Trump did not confirm that the leaks had come from American intelligence sources. He called the leaks alleged, though the information has widely been presumed to have come from US sources since American news organisations have been the first to publish specific details around the investigation and explosion.

US outlets were the first to report the attackers name and many details about the victims, leading to condemnation from the Home Secretary Amber Rudd and the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.

The leaks have continued since, with The New York Times publishing pictures of the bomb and reporting in precise detail how it had been made and detonated. The details came out at a time when British law enforcement officials have been working to determine if there were more potential terrorists planning further attacks beyond the initial attack  and smashing the potential network that assisted in it.

The National Police Chiefs Council has condemned the revelations, saying it undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

Lord Carlile, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, described the leaks as very unusual and irresponsible and called for those responsible to be called to account.

Also, it damages decades of confidence between the UK and US services, the cohesion of the Five Eyes group, and sharing of information with French, German and other security services, he said.

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Blair said the leak of images from the attack was a grievous breach although something similar had happened after the London 7/7 bombings.

Lord Blair, who was head of the Metropolitan Police during the deadly 2005 attacks, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Im afraid it just reminds me exactly of what happened after 7/7 when the United States published a complete picture of the way the bombs in 7/7 had been made up.

Its a different world in which the United States operate in the sense of how they publish things, and this is a very grievous breach, but Im afraid its the same as before, he said.
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Donald Trump appeared to shove Montenegro's Prime Minister out of the way in a bid to get to the front of a group of Nato leaders - a moment which was captured on film.

The US President was walking with other world leaders at when he seemed to forcibly push aside Dusko Markovic.

The incident was captured on film on the first day of a key summit at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

However, it was not the first awkward encounter of the day for the Republican leader.

Just hours earlier, he was pictured in an unrelenting handshake with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

The two locked hands for so long that both leaders' knuckles were described as turning white with their faces reportedly tightening.

Mr Trump later delivered a blunt message to European Nato members that they must spend more on defence to meet the threat from terrorism.

Recommended The intelligence leaks are not a Trump problem

He said many countries owed "massive amounts" for failing to meet the military alliance's target to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

In the wake of the "barbaric" Manchester bombing, Mr Trump said two per cent was a "bare minimum" which should be increased to allow Nato to "stop terrorism in its tracks".

There were signs of apparent disgruntlement among the European leaders lined up to hear Mr Trump's speech, which followed a moment of silence in honour of the victims of the Manchester attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Belgian PM Charles Michel were seen to whisper among themselves as Mr Trump took countries such as theirs to task for past underspending.

Additional reporting by Press Association
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Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is now reportedly a focus of the ongoing investigation into Russian collusion in the US election campaign.

Authorities are investigating a series of meetings held by the White House adviser with Russian officials, sources told The Washington Post.

Media speculation was rife Mr Kushner was a person of interest in the investigation after the paper claimed a senior adviser to the US President was among people investigators wanted to speak to.

Recommended Trump arrives in Europe as Obama threatens to upstage trip

The 36-year-old, who is married to Mr Trumps eldest daughter, is believed to be the only White House official considered a person of key interest in the probe.

Mr Kushner is being investigated for meetings he held in December with the Russian ambassador and a banker from Moscow.

The latest revelations come after former FBI Director, Robert Mueller, was appointed special counsel to lead the investigation into the alleged collusion.

The Post said the investigation appeared to be entering a more active phase, with investigators moving from work that has been largely hidden from the public to conducting interviews and using a grand jury to issue subpoenas. The newspaper said the intensity of the investigation was now anticipated to speed up even more.

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 interest in Mr Kushner does not mean investigators suspect him of a crime or intend to charge him, US officials told NBC News.

It is not known whether Mr Kushner has received any requests from the FBI for records, NBC said.

One of Mr Kushner's attorneys, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement her client would cooperate with the investigation.

Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry, Ms Gorelick said.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A Pentagon investigation has found more than 100 civilians were killed in a US bombing in Mosul, Iraq, in March, making it one of the largest incidents of civilian death since the US air campaign against Isis began in 2014.

The military reports 101 civilians in the building were killed, and another four died in a nearby building. Thirty-six civilians remain unaccounted for.

The deaths represent about a quarter of all civilian deaths since the US air campaign began.

Recommended Iraq investigating claims of civilian abuse by soldiers in Mosul

Our condolences go out to all those that were affected, said Maj Gen Joe Martin, commanding general of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command  Operation Inherent Resolve (CJFLCC-OIR).

The coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm, he added. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat Isis."

The CJFLCC-OIRs investigation was triggered by international outcry over reports of large-scale civilian deaths following the 17 March bombing.

Critics claim the US has been too aggressive in bombing congested areas like Mosul. The major Iraqi city  and last Isis city stronghold  has a population of more than 660,000.

The incident generated backlash strong enough to halt the Iraqi government forces' six-month advance into Mosul.

The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Show all 20 1 /20 The most iconic images from the war in Iraq The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman HM1 Richard Barnett, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, holds an Iraqi child in central Iraq, March 29, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An explosion rocks Baghdad during air strikes March 21, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi woman watches U.N. weapons inspectors leave Saddam airport in Baghdad March 18, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi girl holds her sister as she waits for her mother (R) to bring over food bought in Basra March 29, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. Marine Corp Assaultman Kirk Dalrymple watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad's Firdaus Square, April 9, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq US Marines kick in a door while securing a building next to the main hospital in central Baghdad April 15, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq A soldier of U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division (Task Force Ironhorse) searches through dense vegetation around the Diala river where Iraqi militants are hiding outside Baquba early November 13, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi detainee gestures toward U.S. soldiers through bars of his cell at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad May 17, 2004 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Mays, a young Iraqi Shi'ite girl, cries after a mortar shell which landed outside the family's home in a Najaf residential area injured her uncle August 18, 2004 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. Marines carry an injured colleague to a helicopter near the city of Falluja, November 10, 2004 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi man suspected of having explosives in his car is held after being arrested by the U.S army near Baquba, Iraq, October 15, 2005 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq A wounded Iraqi woman is helped after several bomb attacks in central Baghdad, July 27, 2006 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq A man runs down a street warning people to flee shortly after a twin car bomb attack at Shorja market in Baghdad, February 12, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi girl holds her hands up while U.S. and Iraqi soldiers search her family house in Baquba early June 30, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi woman tries to explain that she has nothing to do with illegal fuel as soldiers from the 2nd battalion, 32nd Field Artillery brigade patrol search for illegal fuel sellers in Baghdad August 6, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. President George W. Bush (L) walks in front of Humvees with Defense Secretary Robert Gates (C) and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice following remarks to the press after nightfall at Al-Asad airbase in Anbar Province September 3, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. soldiers blindfold an Iraqi man after arresting him during a night patrol at the Zafraniya neighborhood, southeast of Baghdad September 4, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi baby lies in a cradle while a woman argues with U.S. soldiers of 1/8 Bravo Company searching for weapons, explosives and information about militants in the area during a foot patrol in a neighbourhood of Mosul June 26, 2008 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Policemen cry during a funeral of their colleague a day after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Jihad district November 3, 2010 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Staff Sgt. Keith Fidler kisses his wife Cynthia, as their son Kolin looks on, during a homecoming ceremony in New York, April 8, 2011 for the New York Army National Guard's 442nd Military Police Company's return from Iraq Reuters

Its a time for weighing new offensive plans and tactics. No combat operations are to go on," a federal police spokesman said at the time. A new plan for defeating Isis, commissioned by President Donald Trump in January, has not been detailed to the public.

The newly released Pentagon report, however, casts blame for the casualties on Isis.

According to the report, the US bomb was intended to destroy only the top floor of the building. But the bomb triggered secondary explosions from devices planted in the building by Isis fighters, causing the concrete building to collapse.

The military cites an analysis of the buildings debris, which found materials common to Isis-made bombs, but not found in the GBU-38.

Air Force Brig Gen Matthew Isler says American-led forces dropped the bomb under request from Iraqi Counter-terrorism Services. The counter-terrorism forces were reportedly facing gunfire from two Isis snipers.

Coalition aircraft responded to the calls for assistance with a 500-pound, GBU-38 precision-guided bomb.

The weapon appropriately balanced the military necessity of neutralising the snipers with the potential for collateral damage, Brig Gen Isler said.

The US has increasingly turned to air strikes to access snipers in the densely populated area. According to the Airwars.org, US-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria have killed a record number of civilians under Mr Trump.

The site, which tracks civilian casualties from air strikes in the Middle East, claims the CJFLCC-OIR has carried out 12,755 air strikes in Iraq to date.

International humanitarian law bars combatants from imperilling civilian lives through indiscriminate use of firepower, according to Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq.

A spokesperson for the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve defended the USs tactics in March.

Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of Isiss inhuman tactics terrorising civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighbourhoods," he said.
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A Playboy model who secretly took a photo of a naked 70-year-old woman in the locker room of a California gym, before sharing it on the Snapchat social media site. has pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy

Dani Mathers, who was voted 'Playmate of the Year' in 2015, was sentenced to 30 days community service  to be spent removing graffiti  and three years probation, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 30-year-old published the image on her public Snapchat story last summer with the caption: If I can't unsee this then you can't either. It lead to accusations of body shaming.

But it soon became apparent she had also broken the law. It is illegal in California to secretly photograph another identifiable person in a changing room without their consent.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of up to six-months imprisonment and a $1,000 (750) fine.

Shortly after the photograph was posted, the Los Angeles Police Department received a report of illegal distribution of the image and launched an investigation.

Initially the model pleaded not guilty, but her attorney, Dana Cole, told the LA Times she changed her mind.

I think she wanted to be done with this and accept responsibility for what occurred, he said.

Ms Mathers previously attempted to avoid jail time by offering to apologise to the victim, undergo counselling, and take an anti-bullying course. The judge declined, citing lack of remorse.

She should face the consequences of her cruel and criminal act, the Los Angeles City attorney's office said at the time.

Ms Mathers was also banned from all LA Fitness gyms.

Most famous Playboy covers Show all 10 1 /10 Most famous Playboy covers Most famous Playboy covers December 1953 The very first Playboy magazine front cover with Marilyn Monroe Most famous Playboy covers July 1958 The bright yellow Playboy cover in summer of 1958 featured popular nude model Agnes Laurent Most famous Playboy covers August 1962 The shot of a woman posing on a beach in a bikini celebrated the first ever cover featuring bikini swimsuit Most famous Playboy covers May 1964 This cover featured Playmate of the year Donna Michelle who used her legs to recreate Playboy's famous rabbit logo Most famous Playboy covers August 1968 The cover of August 1968 edition featured Playmate Gale Olson with the famous Bunny logo covering her body Most famous Playboy covers October 1971 Darine Stern was the first black Playmate to feature on the cover of the magazine Most famous Playboy covers January 1985 The New Year cover in 1985 featured Goldie Hawn who was promoting her latest film Protocol Most famous Playboy covers July 1990 Sharon Stone was featured in the issue to promote her starring role in the upcoming movie Total Recall Most famous Playboy covers December 2007 Kim Kardashian appeared on the cover of the issue to promote the first season of the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians Most famous Playboy covers January 2014 The eagerly anticipated shot with Kate Moss in the famous bunny outfit celebrated the magazine's 60th anniversary

Shortly after posting the photo Ms Mathers claimed it was an accident and that she had meant to send it as a private message.

It was absolutely wrong and not what I meant to do, she said. I chose to do what I do for a living because I love the female body, and I know body shaming is wrong.

She later tweeted that she had never body shamed a person in my life."

In a statement issued after Ms Mathers sentence, City Attorney Mike Feuer said the message was clear that body shaming is not tolerated in the city of Los Angeles.

He added: The issues that surround body shaming can be devastating  not only to daughters and mothers, but also sons and fathers, LGBT people, to a trans kid who might be struggling with identity, to people who are disabled."
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A pregnant teenager - an honour student with straights As - has been branded immoral by her school and told she cannot attend its graduation ceremony.

Officials at Heritage Academy, a private Christian school in Maryland, said Maddi Runkles, 18, was not welcome at the event because she had to be held accountable for her immorality.

Maddi is being disciplined, not because shes pregnant, but because she was immoral, David Hobbs, the school administrator, said in a statement.

Heritage is also pleased that she has chosen to not abort her son. However, her immorality is the original choice she made that began this situation.

The teenager said she had originally considered having an abortion, but decided against doing so. She told the New York Times she considered herself a practising born-again Christian.

 Theresa May considers role of religion in society in Easter address

She said she intended to raise her baby, a boy, with the help of her parents. She keeps a framed ultrasound picture next to her bed. The childs father is not a pupil at the school.

Her parents have supported her decision and have said they will organsise their own graduation ceremony for their daughter.

She has more guts than I have at 45 years old, to walk into school every day, to take the criticism that she takes, and to take it with grace that she takes it with. I think shes got it together and I think shes going to be fine, her mother, Sharon Runkles, told CBS.

Along with her parents, the 18-year-old told Mr Hobbs that she was pregnant. He told them he intended to inform the older students, pushing the teenager to tell her classmates herself.

The school suspended the teenager for two days (Facebook)

I told on myself, she said. I asked for forgiveness. I asked for help.

She added: I know at the end of the day that I made the right choice and in a couple months, Ill have this little sweet reward just to remind me that I did the right thing.
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Barack Obama has said that the world "can't hide behind a wall" to shield themselves from the turmoil and poverty of other nations during a trip to Germany

The pointed reference to Donald Trump, came as both the current and former presidents find themselves in Europe, in a scheduling accident which invites direct comparison between their two radically different tenures.

He didnt mention his successors name once, but made an apparent reference to Mr Trumps vow to build a wall on the southern US border with Mexico that has come to symbolise the sitting presidents penchant for isolationist rhetoric.

If there are disruptions in these countries, if there is bad governance, if there is war or if there is poverty, in this new world that we live in we can't isolate ourselves, he said. We cant hide behind a wall.

The Obama Foundation says the former President accepted the invitation before the US election, so the overlap with Mr Trump's first presidential trip to Europe is purely coincidental.

Speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Obama pushed his vision of continued openness between nations, saying that globalisation and technology were shrinking the world.

Answering a question on the refugee crisis, he said: In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is just as worthy of compassion and love as my own child. We cant distinguish between them in terms of their worth.

But we are heads of nation states, and we have finite resources. Part of the job of governments is to express solidarity while operating within legal and national constraints.

 President Trump and President Macron have awkwardly long handshake

The world is at a crossroads, Mr Obama added. The widening inequality gap inside nations as well as between nations was a major concern, he said. At the same time, The world has never been wealthier, more healthy and never been better educated.

If we can sustain that progress, then I'm very optimistic about our future. My job now is to help them take it to the next step, Mr Obama said.

In another speech later in the southwestern German town of Baden-Baden where he accepted a German media prize, Obama said he was concerned about how technology advances had made it ironically easier for people to retreat into our own bubbles.

He added: We can find people on the internet who agree with our ideas, no matter how crazy. Democracies do not work if we are not operating on some level based on reason and fact and logic - and not just passion. We're going to have to find ways to push back on propaganda and listen to those we don't agree with.

Ms Merkel met both Mr Obama and Mr Trump, travelling from Berlin to Brussels for a Nato meeting.

While Mr Obama was met with cheering crowds at the Kirchentag, a traditional four-day Protestant festival, President Trump arrived in Brussels as tens of thousands of protesters attended Trump Not Welcome demonstration.

The President ifaced a difficult meeting at the Nato summit. Although he has recently changed his mind about the usefulness of the 28-nation bloc, declaring that it was no longer obsolete, he faced tough questions on a number of issues, including climate change and Russia.

As for what happens once a president leaves the White House. Mr Obama said he had spent the last four months trying to catch up with my sleep and spending more time with his family.

I'm very proud of the work I did as president, he said, adding he was especially proud of health care reform.

My hope was to get 100 percent of people health care. We didn't quite achieve that but we were able to get 20 million people health care who didn't have it before. Certainly I have some regrets that we weren't able to get everyone health care.

Now some of the progress we made is imperiled because a significant debate is taking place in the United States, he added, again avoiding direct mention of Mr Trump, who is attempting to dismantle the so-called Obamacare.

Just four months before Germany's election, Mr Obama's mere appearance with Ms Merkel, broadcast live on four networks, raised concerns that he was helping her re-election campaign.

But Mr Merkel and Mr Obama stayed away from the campaign with their discussion focused on faith and politics in general.

He said he hopes to use the little influence he has as a former president to help young people be better prepared for the looming challenges.

Reuters contributed to this report
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Donald Trump wasted no time ahead of his first meeting with Nato allies in chastising the group's members for failing to pay their fair share towards defence with their chronic underpayments.

The visit to Nato headquarters in Brussels  part of the President's first foreign trip  was expected to be thorny given that Mr Trump has praised the Brexit vote for the UK to leave the EU and called the 28-member alliance obsolete several times in the past.

There had been conciliatory remarks in recent days about the need for Mr Trump and his Nato allies to work together, particularly in light of the terror attack in Manchester, but Mr Trump pulled no punches in remarks in front of the other leaders and set the stage for a frosty meeting.

As part of the meeting, the 28 member nations, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, will renew an old vow to move toward spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defence by 2024. Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defence than all the other allies combined  a bugbear of Mr Trumps both on the campaign and once he was in the Oval Office.

His stance on Nato seemed to soften after personal meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington.

However, Mr Trump went on the offensive again on Thursday. He said that the payments should be increased by other members in order to make up for the years lost.

Jorge Benitez a Senior Fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and Director of NATOSource told The Independent he thinks the defence spending issue may just be a "convenient excuse" Mr Trump is using to rile up his base at home.

He said Mr Trump does not believe in US leadership in an alliance like Nato while governing through his "America First" doctrine.

I have been very, very direct ... on what 23 of the 28 members ... should be paying for their defence," Mr Trump said.

This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, Mr Trump said, adding that many member nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years.

If Nato countries made their full and complete contributions, then Nato would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism, Mr Trump added.

The spending issue is just one of the issues surrounding the meeting, with many Nato nations concerned by Mr Trump's dallying over his commitment to the alliance's mutual defence pact, known as Article 5.

At the opening of the new Nato headquarters  which included the installation of a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a piece from the World Trade Centre targeted in the 9/11 attacks  Mr Trump offered a vague promise to never forsake the friends that stood by our side but did not actively mention Article 5. The 9/11 attacks was the last, and only, time that Article 5 was invoked  with White House officials scrambling later to say that the vague wording from Mr Trump amounted to an affirmation of the defence clause.

Asked about Mr Trump not explicitly affirming US support for Article 5, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: It goes without saying. His presence at this event underscores our commitments and treaty obligations.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Mr Benitez, who is in Brussels attending the summit, said the mood in the halls of headquarters did not reflect Mr Spicer's statement.

"If you are a strong supporter of Nato it is a no-brainer" to vocally support Article 5, said Mr Benitez. In that respect he feels Mr Trump has at least been consistent.

Mr Benitez said the president should have been "clear, transparent, and direct...to reassure our allies" about Article 5 since he was speaking in front of a memorial to the very tragedy that prompted it.

It is a symbol that an attack on ally is an attack on all Nato allies. "The US is now not a reliable ally" he said.

European and Nato allies of the US have also sought clarification over other issues  including the Paris global climate change agreement which Mr Trump has not ruled out withdrawing from  and the actions of Russia and the potential threat to nations near the country's borders.

On Thursday morning, Mr Trump met with European Council President Donald Tusk, who said although the two agree that efforts to fight terror groups like Isis should be increased  with Nato allies set to agree to join the US-led coalition against the terror group  there were still major differences on important topics.

Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 per cent sure that we can say today  we means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia, said Mr Tusk.

Mr Trump then had lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been a critic of Mr Trump.

The pair's handshake showed the already strained relationship, with their knuckles turning white, their jaws clenching, and faces tightening. Mr Macron has made clear he will talk to Mr Trump about the climate change issue.

The meeting with EU leaders, and the lunch with Mr Macron gave Mr Trump a taste of what to expect from the working dinner late on Thursday  with Mr Trump's initial remarks perhaps showing Nato leaders the same back.

That continued at the family photograph the leader's gathered for after Mr Trump's speech  with Mr Trump standing alone as other leaders chatted among themselves.

Even without the various issues at stake, Mr Trump's welcome in Belgium had been frosty, with thousands of protesters turning up when he arrived on Wednesday, and a number also turning out ahead of the meeting on Thursday. Mr Trump has previously described Brussels as a hellhole.

Part of the problem is that Mr Trump does not fully understand the alliance because of his complete lack of foreign or domestic policy experience, said Mr Benitez.

"I think it's an attitude problem for him," he explained.

The lack of policy experience withstanding, Mr Benitez thinks this summit is "a failure" for the Trump administration because "this was not a policy meeting as much as a meeting about personal relationships."

Mr Trump's tense moment with Mr Macron and how he appeared to shove Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic out of his way while walking with the other leaders have been noticed by other leaders and their staffs.

There is going to be "great disappointment" for US allies especially those geographically close to Russia, said Mr Benitez.

"This is a Nato victory" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, "doubt and uncertainty...all these things help Russia," he said.

However, it was obvious to all that progress needs to be made  with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg trying to hammer home the message of unity.

Nato is more than a club, more than an organisation. Nato embodies the unique bond between Europe and North America, Mr Stoltenberg said. As we raise our flags today, our alliance stands strong united and resolute, he said.
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Former Senator Joe Lieberman has withdrawn his name from consideration for FBI director, making him the fifth contender to do so since Donald Trump fired his previous director two weeks ago.

Mr Lieberman said he removed his name because of conflicts of interest posed by Mr Trumps hiring of attorney Marc Kasowitz, with whom the former senator worked.

Mr Trump had previously told reporters Mr Lieberman was his top pick for the role.

The president, however, created an apparent conflict of interest when he retained Mr Kasowitz to serve as outside counsel for the ongoing investigation into his campaign's possible ties to Russia.

Sources say Mr Trump was advised to retain outside assistance after the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to lead a probe into the any connections.

Mr Lieberman, meanwhile, had previously worked for Mr Kasowitzs New York-based law firm. An executive order signed by Mr Trump prevents government lawyers from investigating their prior firms clients for a period of two years  meaning Mr Lieberman may not have been able to assist in the FBIs probe into the Trump campaign.

With your selection of Marc Kasowitz to represent you in the various investigations that have begun, I do believe it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, given my role as senior counsel in the law firm of which Marc is the senior partner, Mr Lieberman wrote in a letter to the president.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

White House officials confirmed to The Washington Post that the administration also had concerns about nominating a former US senator to a traditionally non-partisan position.

Mr Lieberman ran for vice president on the Democratic ticket in 2000, before returning to the Senate as an Independent.

"It is a very bad idea to appoint a politician to head the FBI right now," Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill tweeted after learning that Mr Lieberman was under consideration. "We need a law enforcement professional. #bipartisan support."

Still others urged Mr Trump to pick a younger candidate, with deeper connections to the FBI, The New York Times reports.

The removal of Mr Lieberman leaves acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe and former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating on the White House's short list for consideration.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Representative Trey Gowdy, former FBI official Richard McFeely, and former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher have all removed their names from consideration.

I am grateful for your consideration and I wish you the very best in identifying the right person to lead this important law enforcement agency in the future, Mr Lieberman wrote in his letter to the president.

Mr Trump will continue his search for a new FBI director when he returns from his trip abroad next week.
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The top Democrat on the Senates Foreign Relations Committee has said that the inability to share information between the UK and the US would be extremely dangerous to the security of both countries and the global community.

Several senators support Donald Trumps call for a probe into alleged leaks coming out of US government agencies, after British government officials expressed dismay over the publishing of reportedly leaked photos showing the scene of the Manchester bomb attack. The bombing killed at least 22 people and left nearly 116 people injured.

In response to the disclosures, irate UK police forces said they would stop passing the US information regarding their inquiry into the blast outside of an Ariana Grande concert. But late on Thursday, senior UK anti-terror officials said the sharing of intelligence with the US had resumed after receiving fresh assurances.

Some British officials said the alleged leaks were undermining the UK's counter terrorism investigation, and Prime Minister Theresa May has also made clear that the trust between the two countries was at stake.

Democratic senator Ben Cardin, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the information sharing relationship between the US and the UK must be fixed quickly.

I think the President is right to try to find out what happened, but its difficult when the President himself has violated sensitive and confidential information that was shared with him from other sources, Mr Cardin told the Independent.

Mr Trump recently got into some hot water after he reportedly revealed Israels highly sensitive information about an Isis terrorist plot to Russian officials.

HR McMaster, Mr Trumps National Security Advisor, said that the information the President discussed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was wholly appropriate, while Mr Trump tweeted that he had the absolute right to share facts pertaining to terrorism.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Condemning the alleged leaks about the Manchester attack, Mr Trump said in a statement that there is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the US and the UK. Winston Churchill coined the phrase special relationship to describe the USs partnership with Great Britain during World War II.

These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this, Mr Trump continued. I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Mr Cardin asserted that the US would find a way to fix diplomatic relations, but that the President has to set the example.

Democratic senator Tim Kaine said he was very disappointed when it turned out that we had shared that information without their permission.

You just dont do that, Mr Kaine added.

Republican senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said leaks are a violation of federal law.

If you break the federal law, you should be prosecuted, otherwise dont have the law, Mr Rubio said. Journalists only have access to the information if someone first gave it to them.

It has not been confirmed if the leaks came from American intelligence sources. Mr Trump called the leaks alleged in his statement, though the information has widely been presumed to have come from US sources since American news organisations have been the first to publish specific details around the Manchester bombing investigation and explosion.
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Voters are going to the polls in a closely watched special election, in which one of the candidates has been charged with assault after allegedly attacking a journalist.

The contest for Montanas only congressional seat was triggered after the sitting House Representative, Ryan Zinke, quit his job to become Donald Trumps secretary of the Interior Department. The race pitches Republican Greg Gianforte against Democrat Rob Quist.

Yet on the eve of polling, the race received an unexpected jolt of drama when Mr Gianforte was charge with assault after allegedly body-slamming Ben Jacobs, a reporter from the Guardian, who had been trying to question him about the Republican healthcare proposal and the estimated number of people who would lose coverage under it.

He took me to the ground, Mr Jacobs told his newspaper, as he was taken to hospital in the back of an ambulance. I think he whaled on me once or twice. He got on me and I think he hit me. This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.

Mr Jacobs account of what happened has been supported by an audio recording of the incident and the words of a Fox News journalist, Alicia Acuna, who was present at the time and who later wrote: Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.

Mr Gianforte, a tech millionaire, has disputed this version of events.

 Theresa May will make intelligence issue 'clear to President Trump'

His campaign issued a statement blaming the incident on Mr Jacobs, saying he aggressively shoved a recorder in Gregs face and began asking badgering questions. The newspaper issued its own statement, backing Mr Jacobs and his behaviour.

The contest has received national attention, coming hard on the heels of another special election in Georgia, which was also seen as a potential referendum on Mr Trumps performance in the White House.

In that contest, there was speculation Democrat Jon Ossoff might be able to win an April 18 primary by securing more than 50 per cent of the vote. As it was, he fell a few points short and will now take part in a June 20 runoff against Republican Karen Handel.

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 Gianforte, who has tried to align himself with Mr Trump, lost a race against Montanas Democratic governor in November, while the New York tycoon won the the state by 20 points. The Associated Press said that in the congressional race, Mr Gianforte has been boosted by visits from Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the congressman had failed to show any dignity and called him a wannabe Trump.

I viewed that as a mum and a grandmother, Ms Pelosi said. 'We try to have some level of dignity as to how we treat people and who we are. To see this person, who wants to be the one representative into the House of Representatives from Montana be sort of a wannabe Trump.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, the most senior Republican on Capitol Hill, called on Mr Gianforte to apologise. and said that what took place was never acceptable, regardless of the details.

A poll by Gravis released earlier this week, before the alleged assault took place, gave Mr Gianforte a 14 point lead.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin announced shortly before midnight on Wednesday that a charge of assault had been filed against Mr Gianforte.

If convicted, Mr Gianforte would face a maximum $500 fine or 6 months in jail. He has until June 7 to appear in court to answer the charge.
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One of the countrys most senior Democrats has called a Republican congressman a wannabe Trump, after he was charged with assaulting a journalist and slamming him to the floor.

Greg Gianforte, who is contesting a special election in Montana, was charged after being accused of body-slamming a reporter who was trying to ask him a question about healthcare.

As voters went to the polls for a contest in which Mr Gianforte is taking on Democrat Rob Quist, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the congressman had failed to show any dignity. She said he was a wannabe Trump.

 Audio appears to reveal GOP Congress candidate in alleged 'body slam' of Guardian reporter

I viewed that as a mom and a grandmother, Ms Pelosi said at a press conference on Capitol Hill, according to the Associated Press.

We try to have some level of dignity as to how we treat people and who we are. To see this person, who wants to be the one representative into the House of Representatives from Montana be sort of a wannabe Trump.

She added: You know, use language like that, treat people harshly like that thats his model. Donald Trumps his model.

Weve really got to say, Come on. Behave. Behave. That was outrageous.

Both during the election campaign, and since he has assumed the presidency, Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the media, accusing them of publishing fake news and referring to them as bad people and even scum.

Earlier this year, Mr Trumps political advisor, Stephen Bannon, boasted before a gathering of conservatives in Washington, that he considered the media the opposition party.

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 Gianforte has denied the version of events as detailed by Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs, who reported being assaulted, or by other members of the media who were present. The newspaper has said it stands by its reporter and his behaviour.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, the most senior Republican on Capitol Hill, called on Mr Gianforte to apologise. and said that what took place was never acceptable, regardless of the details.

He said the incident was wrong and should not happen, but declined to say if Mr Gianforte should be barred from joining the House Republican conference if he wins the election.

He said: Im going to let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative.
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President Donald Trumps wish list of federal agencies he would like to completely defund includes an infrastructure and development agency that is trying to save one of the most impoverished regions in the country.

Mr Trumps budget calls for the elimination of the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), which services a large swath of the the American South stretching from Louisiana to Southern Illinois. That area faces a myriad of challenges as a result of its poverty: communities with a lower life expectancy than Tanzania, poor sanitation, and a rapidly declining population that has abandoned the region in droves, leaving behind empty homes and businesses to be taken over by untended vines.

Its one of the poorest regions of rural America, John Cromartie, a researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture who has seen exacerbated negative population growth in areas like the Delta since the 2008 recession, told the Independent. Of course, you have hundreds of rural communities that have been losing populations for decades, but this is the first sustained period where rural America as a whole is losing population.

An area known for the blues and the persisting scars left by slavery, the region hasnt ever been known for being particularly affluent, but things have gotten worse lately with technological developments and a globalised economy. Agricultural workers who once spent their earnings in the small towns throughout the Delta, began to leave years ago when mechanical advancements replaced them. Manufacturing factories later followed suit, unable to compete with foreign competition.

You cant out-poor the Delta, Chris Masingill, the chairman of the DRA, once said. Mr Masingill wasnt available for an interview for this story but his office indicated that he plans on engaging Congress to make sure that they understand the importance of the DRA.

Since its authorization in 2000, the agency has invested over $163 million in more than 1,000 projects related to basic infrastructure including water and sewer facilities, business development, transportation infrastructure, job training, and employment-related education. That investment has been accompanied by $354 million in support from other public partners, and another over $3.3 billion in private investments.

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

Mr Trumps budget would completely cut the DRAs $22 million annual budget that is used to coordinate with state and local agencies to try and improve local economies, improve health in the region, and establish useful infrastructure to make improvements possible. The efforts appear to be working, according to a 2013 Department of Agriculture study, which found that per capita income in counties with DRA funding grows faster. That study also found that the counties that received those counties that received the most funding saw an even greater per capita income increase.

"The DRA has been a catalyst for growth in the 21 counties of West Tennessee that the DRA serves," Ted Townsend, the chief operating officer for the Department of Economic and Community Development for the State of Tennessee, told the Independent. "We are very appreciative of their partnership, and would be concerned to see the many programmes of value discontinue."

The budget proposal Mr Trump sent out calls for the elimination of funding for at least 19 independent agencies including the DRA and another similar agency that serves Appalachia. It also calls for nearly 70 other agency eliminations in total.
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Democrats have criticised Donald Trumps proposal to set aside $200 billion (154 billion) over 10 years for infrastructure, an amount one congressman says is not the big spending that Mr Trump promised during his campaign.

According to the Presidents budget request, the funds would be used to encourage companies, as well as state and local governments, to invest at least $800 billion in US infrastructure projects.

While adding $200 billion for infrastructure spending, Mr Trumps budget would cut the Department of Transportation's discretionary budget by nearly 13 percent, to $16.2 billion.

Recommended Trump signs order to speed up review of infrastructure projects

Calling it a broken promise of this budget, Democratic congressman Brendan Boyle asserted that this proposal falls short of the $1 trillion Mr Trump pledged during the campaign, one of his few promises that received support from Democrats.

Here we are now with the budget plan, and instead of having that $1 trillion plan  something that I would sincerely like to work with him on in this administration in a bipartisan way  its actually $200 billion, Mr Boyle said during a House of Representative budget committee hearing.

And it turns out that that $200 billion isnt even real, because included in the same budget is a $95 billion cut in the Highway Trust Fund.

In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP

A section in the White House spending proposal says that the infrastructure plan would support $1 trillion in private/public infrastructure investment.

It will take almost $4.6 trillion over the next eight years to bring all infrastructure systems up to an acceptable standard, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers in March.

Democratic Representative Brian Higgins pointed out that China has recently invested $1 trillion in infrastructure projects in other countries to enhance its position in the global economic order.

I think Chinas serious about their growth and I dont think that we are, Mr Higgins said, criticising the administrations request for $1.4 billion to build a wall on the US-Mexican border that Mr Trump had said Mexico would pay for.

[The administration responds] to a $2 trillion need for American roads and bridges with a pathetically weak $200 billion  maybe. Mr Higgins said. I just think that we need a more serious attempt to get away from building walls, and build bridges and roads that are in desperate need of repair throughout America.

While testifying before the committee, Mr Trumps Budget Director Mick Mulvaney repeatedly emphasised that private capital investment is more effective and more accountable than government investment.
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One of two US Circuit Courts of Appeals considering whether or not to extend a nationwide stay on President Donald Trump's contentious travel ban has ruled to largely affirm the injunction.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to keep the block on Mr Trump's ban on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries saying that, while the President has large constitutional authority to regulate who can come into the country, his power is not resolute. The chief judge of the court, Roger Gregory, wrote in the majority decision that Mr Trump's executive order spoke in "vague words of national security", but that the real world context of the order "drips of religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination".

"Congress granted the President broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute", Mr Gregory wrote. "It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the President wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation".

Recommended Refugee resettlement drops in US in spite of stalls to Trump bans

The 4th Circuit's decision effectively stops the Trump administration from implementing the travel ban unless the Supreme Court intervenes. Mr Gregory wrote that statements from Mr Trump and his associated, both during his presidency and his candidacy, showed that religious discrimination were a key motivator in the decision to attempt to implement travel bans. Mr Trump, although he later began to call for a ban on "territories" compromised by terrorism, repeatedly mentioned the Muslim faith when discussing his ban, and had originally related it to Muslims when he announced it. Once in the White House, officials disputed the characterisation of the ban as a "Muslim ban."

Responding to the 4th Circuit Court ruling, the White House said: "These clearly are very dangerous times and we need every available tool at our disposal to prevent terrorists from entering the United States and committing acts of bloodshed and violence. As dissenting Judge Dennis Shedd said, "'the real losers in this case are the millions of individual Americans whose security is threatened on a daily basis by those who seek to do us harm.' We are confident the President's executive order to protect the country is fully lawful and ultimately will be upheld by the Judiciary."

After the 4th Circuit Court ruling, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed that the Trump administration will seek a Supreme Court review.

The court took an unusual step when considering the travel ban. For most cases, a three judge panel will listen to arguments and then make a decision. On somewhat rare occasions, the three judge panel will kick the case to the full 4th Circuit Court. In this instance, however, the full court listened to arguments and skipped the three judge panel step completely. That hasn't been done since 1998 when the court considered a challenge to a law that would require minors to let their parents know before they could receive an abortion.

It wasn't at all clear that the court would rule against the Trump administration on the order, as it has a reputation as the most conservative circuit court in the nation. Judges in the Virginia-based court were generally known to side with the government if administrations could present a convincing case that national security were at risk.

New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty

The 4th Circuit was one of two federal courts to hold up the travel ban, joining the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has not come to a decision on the matter, but is generally viewed as more of a liberal bench. Mr Trump, apparently frustrated with the 9th Circuit repeatedly blocking his administration's more controversial executive orders, has said that he would consider breaking up the 9th Circuit Court if it continues to block his attempts to govern (though it is not at all clear that he has the ability to do that).
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Senior Russian intelligence and political officials were caught by American intelligence agents discussing how to insert influence over Donald Trumps campaign last year, the New York Times reports.

American spies collected information last year on conversations that focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, who later got a job in the White House as a national security adviser but was forced to step down from that post because he misrepresented conversations he had with Russians to Vice President Mike Pence. Both of those men had indirect ties to Russian officials at the time.

The Russian officials felt confident they could use the two men to help shape Mr Trumps opinions on Russia.

The intercepted conversations included Russians boasting that they knew Mr Flynn really well. Others discussed levering relationships with Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine exiled in Russia, who used to work closely with Mr Manafort.

Those intercepted conversations are among many clues that US intelligence agencies got ahold oaf when they began investigating whether Trump campaign officials were helping Russians influence the 2016 election. Other clues included direct conversations between members of the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

The information was considered to be credible enough by intelligence officials that it was passed along to the FBI, which then opened up an ongoing counterintelligence investigation. It wasnt clear if Mr Manafort or Mr Flynn were directly influenced by Russians, or if Russians attempted to do so. They have both denied any collusion.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The spies who provided the recent details about the Russian discussions were granted anonymity by the New York Times, but top officials have spoken broadly about the investigation previously.

I was convinced in the summer that the Russians were trying to interfere in the election. And they were very aggressive, former CIA Director John Brennan testified Tuesday. Even by the end of the presidency of Barack Obama he had "unresolved questions in my mind as to whether or not the Russians had been successful in getting U.S. persons, involved in the campaign or not, to work on their behalf again either in a witting or unwitting fashion," he said.

Mr Flynn was forced to step down from his post as national security adviser less than a month into the Trump presidency after it was determined that he had misled Mr Pence when he said that he did not discuss Russian sanctions during the presidential transition period. Since his resignation, it has also been learned that the Trump administration had repeatedly dismissed warnings about Mr Flynn, and that Mr Trump had allegedly attempted to get former FBI Director James Comey to stop the investigation into Mr Flynn's role in Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.
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Indonesia's president has ordered a thorough investigation of twin suicide bombings that targeted police, killing three officers, in the deadliest attack by suspected militants in the capital in a year.

The bombings on Wednesday night also injured five other police officers and five civilians.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo said he ordered police to thoroughly investigate the networks of the perpetrators and hunt them to the roots. He spoke from his hometown of Solo in Central Java province.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since the 2002 Bali bombings by al-Qaeda-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people. A new threat has emerged in the past several years from Isis sympathisers.

In January last year, a suicide bombing and gun attack in central Jakarta killed four civilians and four assailants.

Last month, police said they arrested three suspected militants who were allegedly planning to attack a police station in East Java. In March, police shot a suspected militant and wounded another as they tried to escape and identified them as members of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of almost two dozen Indonesian extremist groups that formed in 2015 and pledges allegiance to Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

It has been linked to numerous plots in Indonesia, including the January 2016 Jakarta attack.

Vice National Police Chief Syafruddin, who uses one name, said an initial investigation showed there were two explosions by two suicide bombers near a bus terminal, where police was providing security for a parade.

Police said an anti-terror squad immediately raided two houses believed to be owned by the perpetrators in neighbouring provinces of Banten and West Java, but the results have not yet been made public.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told his Parliament on Thursday that he had phoned Jokowi to offer our condolences and our resolute support to Indonesia as we condemn the murderous terrorist attack on civilians and police in Jakarta last night.

While we mourn, we must learn from these events as we do and sharpen our resolve to defeat the terrorists abroad and at home, said Turnbull, referring also to the suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena in Britain that killed 22 this week.

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

Australia's opposition leader Bill Shorten condemned the Jakarta attacks as absolutely despicable. He told Parliament the suicide bombings only days before the holy month of Ramadan showed that terrorists have no respect for faith or creed or the background of any of their victims.

Australia and Indonesia plan to jointly host an Asia-Pacific summit in August aimed at coordinating against the security threat posed by homegrown Islamic militants returning from battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

Copyright Associated Press
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A US Navy warship sailed close to an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterways since President Donald Trump took office.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, officials said the USS Dewey travelled within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, territory at the centre of a dispute between China and its neighbours.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea but some islands and reefs are also claimed by other nations, including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Last year, an international arbitration court in The Hague ruled against Chinas claims to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The US has claimed this was a freedom of navigation operation in international waters, which are carried out throughout the world and are separate from political considerations.

"We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement.

The US has criticised what it sees as Chinas effort to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters particularly after it built man-man islands and set-up military positions.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the Trump administration held off carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Under the previous administration, the US Navy conducted several voyages through the South China Sea.

It is thought the move will anger China at a time when Mr Trump is seeking cooperation to rein in North Korea nuclear and missile programme.

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, two Chinese jets fighters intercepted an US aircraft over the East China Sea, which according to military sources was on a mission to monitor radiation levels in the area.

The US described the intercept as unprofessional but China did not comment on that particular incident.

Tensions between the two superpowers have appeased since Mr Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit at the Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago last month and the US President praised President Xi for efforts to restrain North Korea.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr Trump accused Beijing of stealing US jobs with unfair trade policies, manipulating its currency and militarising parts of the South China Sea.

In February, a US Navy spy plane and a Chinese military aircraft came within 1,000 feet of each other over the South China Sea. At the time, US officials called it an unsafe close encounter.
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Greek police say former prime minister Lucas Papademos has been injured in a bomb attack in central Athens.

An explosive device hidden inside an envelope detonated inside the car, leaving the 69-year-old wounded.

Authorities said the incident on Thursday left Mr Papademos with non-life-threatening injuries.

He was taken to Evangelismos Hospital with his driver and another passenger, who were also wounded.

Mr Papademos suffered abdominal and leg injuries and was undergoing surgery, state news agency ANA said.

Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos seen here in 2012 preparing to cast his vote in Greece's general elections (Getty)

Doctors were also concerned about his eyesight, police said.

Separate reports suggested the ex-premier suffered breathing difficulties following the attack.

Recommended Lucas Papademos sworn in as new Greek PM

There was no initial indication of which person or group was behind the blast.

However, Greek security has intercepted several attempted attacks on Greek, German and International Monetary Fund officials over the past two months.

An envelope containing bullets and addressed to Greece's general secretary for public revenue was intercepted at a post office branch in Athens on Tuesday.

In March, police intercepted eight suspect packages at a postal sorting centre in Athens, including some addressed to the IMF in Paris and the German Finance Ministry.

The rigged package to the IMF exploded, injuring a postal employee.

The explosion happened on the corner 3rd September Street and Marni in the centre of the Greek capital.

Photos showed a damaged black Mercedes car with the airbags inflated. A police cordon was in place.

The former vice president of the European Central Bank served as prime minister of Greece for six months in 2011-2012.

He was appointed as a caretaker leader to keep Greece in the eurozone and was succeeded by Panagiotis Pikrammenos.

Additional reporting agencies
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) is joining the US-led international coalition fighting Iraq and Syria based extremists Isis, the institutions secretary general has confirmed.

This will send a strong message of unity and Natos commitment to the fight against terrorism, Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Thursday, ahead of a Nato summit attended by new US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump is seeking to push the US Nato allies to take on a more active role against extremism. On landing in the city on Wednesday he told reporters that the deadly suicide bombing of Manchester Arena earlier this week underlined how sorely greater cooperation is needed in combating terrorism.

 President Trump and President Macron have awkwardly long handshake

While all 28 nations in Nato have individually joined the coalition - some sending war planes to assist in US-led bombing of the jihadists positions in Syria and Iraq - the alliance has not formally followed suit.

Mr Stoltenberg was keen to stress Natos role would not involve combat, instead expanding its use of surveillance planes, stepping up Iraqi training programmes, and creating a new cell in Brussels to co-ordinate anti-terror intelligence and planning. All 28 nations are also expected to reaffirm a commitment to spending two per cent of annual GDP on defence.

There was reportedly pushback against the plans from member states Germany and France, AFP quoted diplomatic sources as saying, but worries were smoothed out ahead of Mr Stoltenbergs announcement.

In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP

Nato as an institution will join the coalition, one senior diplomat involved in the discussions told Reuters news agency. The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States. France and Germany believe it is.

During his election campaign Mr Trump branded the Cold War era American-European military alliance obsolete, but has reneged on his promise to scrap it since entering office in January.

 Donald Trump brands suicide bomber behind Manchester attack 'evil loser'

The new president faced a colder welcome in Brussels than he received during the first stops of his inaugural foreign tour - Riyadh, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

He flew to Brussels from a 24 hour visit to Pope Francis in Rome.

Air Force One then travels to Sicily for a meeting of the G7 before Mr Trump flies back to Washington DC.
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Humanitarian agencies are calling on the UK and European Union to pull support from the Libyan coastguard after officers opened fire during battles to save almost 2,000 refugees.

Rescue ships operated by four charities were deployed by maritime commanders in Rome to help a dozen migrant boats in international waters, but were soon approached by two armed Libyan vessels.

Gunshots can clearly be heard in footage taken from the Aquarius, run by SOS Mediterranee, and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which shows one coastguard officer pointing a machine gun at refugees packed in a rubber dinghy.

It had already been partly emptied by rescuers, who had given those on board live jackets before being called to another boat nearby that was at risk of sinking.

Annemarie Loof, from MSF, said two armed coastguard officers boarded after they moved away and took phones, money and other belongings from passengers before attempting to force the boat back to Libya.

Many passengers  who had luckily already received lifejackets before the shooting began  jumped off the boats into the sea in fear, she added.

Our teams pulled 67 people out of the water as gunshots were fired in the air. Its a miracle that no one drowned or was injured.

Ms Loof said the coastguard, which has been trained by countries including the UK as part of an EU mission, showed little regard for safety.

Knowing that the Libyan coastguard has been receiving training and support from the European Union makes the incident all the more disturbing, she added.

We believe that the Italian and European authorities should not be providing support to the Libyan coastguard, either directly or indirectly. This support is further endangering peoples lives.

A Libyan coastguard boat observing a rescue by MSF's Bourbon Argos ship on 4 November 2016 (Lizzie Dearden)

The Royal Navy has taken part in offshore training schemes launched last year to increase its capacity as part of Europe-wide efforts to stem the refugee crisis.

British officers have given guidance on human rights practice, while naval ships including HMS Echo have also taken part in rescues.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence told The Independent it was aware of reports from the shooting incident.

We take all allegations of human rights abuses very seriously, and take them into consideration for any support we provide overseas, he added.

During the chaos on Tuesday, the Aquarius took more than 1,004 asylum seekers on board, including a two-week-old baby.

SOS Mediterranee also condemned the Libyan coastguards intervention, saying the gunshots were fired into the air using a Kalashnikov with the aim of intimidating passengers.

The Libyans pointed their weapons at us, asking us to give them all our money and cell phones and telling us to jump in the water, we did what they said and many of us jumped into the water, a rescued Gambian migrant told the charity.

I was not afraid, I preferred to die at sea than being pushed back and to die in Libya.

In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A baby being taken on to MSF's Bourbon Argos ship from a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A refugee boat carrying 101 people being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A refugee boat carrying 101 people being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos all images by Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A baby among refugees on a boat carrying 185 people off the coast of Libya Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea Migrants and refugees sleeping after being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos ship Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A crew from MSF's Bourbon Argos ship rescuing a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees off the coast of Libya, at sunrise Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A woman in a stretcher being lifted onto MSF's Bourbon Argos ship from a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees off the coast of Libya Lizzie Dearden

Save the Children and Jugend Rettet, whose ships had also been deployed by Italian commanders, also confirmed the gunshots as they rescued a total of more than 1,800 people.

Their accounts were initially dismissed by the Libyan Navy and the countrys fragile Government of National Accord (GNA) has not responded to The Independents request for comment.

Admiral Ayob Amr Ghasem told Italys Ansa news agency rescuers were waging war on the Libyan coastguard and attempting to advance the interests of migrants.

''Why would we have shot at boats if we are the ones that always save them?'' he was quoted as saying. ''Why do they declare war on us?''

Marcella Graay, the project coordinator on board the Aquarius, said the Libyans tried to force the rubber boat they boarded back to the coast but abandoned the attempt after people started pouring into the sea.

She said the coastguard then communicated with rescuers so they could take the remaining passengers on board and back to Italy  but at least one wooden boat was forced back to shore.

Some migrants jumped off the vessel to escape, Ms Graay said, telling aid workers officers had taken their money and valuables.

The incident shows that really they are not even close to making sure people are saved in a safe way, she told The Independent.

NGO Proactiva Open Arms conducts a rescue operation in the Mediterranean (Getty)

If youre supporting the coastguard it means youre making people go back to the situation in Libya, when we know people are subject to arbitrary detention, sexual violence, torture and neglect.

For me its a strange idea that as the EU you would want to send people back to that.

Tuesday incident followed several clashes between the Libyan coastguard and NGO vessels, seeing them cut across a Sea-Watch ship earlier this month and open fire on MSFs Bourbon Argos, after allegedly causing the death of dozens of migrants in another incident.

Charities expect interventions to increase following the arrival of new patrol boats provided by the Italian government, which has struck a deal worth millions of euros to increase Libyas capacity.

The agreement struck earlier this year was formally supported by other EU states at a summit in Malta, while the European Commission is also considering a lengthy list of requested equipment from the GNA including armed ships.

Federica Mogherini, the EUs foreign policy chief, said she had no direct information on the shooting incident following initial reports by Jugend Rettet.

She called on the Libyan coastguard to respect human rights and claimed that the EUs Operation Sophia mission ''includes a strong human rights component and especially as concerns women, respect for whom is important not only at sea but also on the ground''.

Damage from bullets fired by the Libyan coastguard below the bridge on MSF ship the Bourbon Argos (Lizzie Dearden ) (Lizzie Dearden)

A cut in support for Libyan authorities looks unlikely as a record number of migrants cross the central Mediterranean Sea, which has become the main refugee route to Europe since the EU-Turkey deal.

At least 2,300 migrants were rescued from 18 boats on Thursday alone in what has become the deadliest sea passage in the world, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 refugees so far this year.

Unicef said at least 200 children are among the dead  a record rate of more than one a day.

That is not a record to be proud of, but a reminder of our collective failure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of refugee and migrant children, said Justin Forsyth, the UN agencys deputy executive director.

Toddlers were among at least 34 refugees who drowned after a boat started to capsize on Wednesday but Unicef warned that the true death toll of the disaster was probably five times higher than the bodies recovered.

The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (Moas) said a pregnant woman was in a critical condition after being rescued during the incident, and could lose her baby after being traumatised by seeing her young son drown.

It said at least 400 people went overboard while hundreds more were locked below deck  a common practice among ruthless people smugglers. Almost 600 people were rescued.

More than 50,000 asylum seekers have reached Italy so far this year, mostly from countries including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa and Syria.

The vast majority of those rescued are taken to the island of Sicily, where migration will feature on the agenda of G7 leaders meeting there on Friday and Saturday.
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Surrounded by a sea of pale green contrasted by pops of colour  beetroot burgundy here, tomato red there  I question whether theres such a thing as too much avocado. To my left there is a plate of Mediterranean toast  a smashed avocado base topped with cherry and sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and pistachio dukkah. To my right theres the remains of Let it Beet  toast with eye-catching beetroot humus, watermelon radish, spiced seeds, agave mustard dressing and, of course, avocado, this time thinly sliced. Across the table sits a burger  two avocado halves filled with herbed yogurt, smoked salmon and rocket salad.

Recommended Hipsters are now drinking lattes out of avocados

This is Avocaderia, Brooklyns newest fad eatery featuring, you guessed it, dishes made from avocado. Every item on the menu includes this trendiest of foodstuffs in some way, shape or form, though the toasts are obviously the stand-out items on the menu. Avocaderia makes five of them, all under $12.

Its been something of a tough year for avocados. As the fruit started popping up on more and more menus, it also skyrocketed in price (so much so that US magazine The Atlantic recently touted the Return of the Avocado as a Luxury Item).

The combination of the superfoods popularity and its growing market price made the avocado a prime target for columnists and talking heads.

Columnist Bernand Salt chastised millennials for buying smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop. Australian millionaire Tim Gurner took it a step further, claiming young people's penchant for avocado toast is keeping them from affording a home.

(Sam Bader (Sam Bader)

When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasnt buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each, he told 60 Minutes Australia.

Avocados, it seems, have come to be a shorthand for millennial decadence, self-indulgence, and general irresponsibility. But that hasnt stopped Avocaderia cashing in.

The restaurant  which is actually more of a lunch counter  is located in a suitably trendy food hall in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Sunset Park. The sprawling food court, which boasts everything from Shanghai street food to artisan butchers, was actually intended to service workers in the surrounding area. But most of Avocaderias customers appear to be from out of town. Travellers from Slovenia, Poland, and Paris tell me they made a special pit stop at the restaurant on their short trips to New York.

Theyd heard about it, of course, on social media.

(Sam Bader (Sam Bader)

Filippo Brachetti, brother of co-founder Francesco, admits this is part of Avocaderias business model.

Its kind of a destination, he tells me. Its unique. If you want to see it, you have to come here  you dont have other options.

The founders started their Instagram account six months before the store even opened, posting preview images of artfully crafted avocado rosettes and bright pink beetroot hummus.

(Sam Bader (Sam Bader)

In fact, every piece of Avocaderia seems built for an Instagram photo, from the plethora of potted plants hanging behind the counter to the green neon sign reading Smash in NYC. Its enough to make any millennial start drooling.

When photos of the restaurant started circulating online, Eater NY described it as a parody of trendy foods of the moment.

Will Brooklyn ever stop being so extremely itself? mused lifestyle website Thrillist.

I ask Brachetti if hes afraid the avocado will go out of style with his generation.

There are countries like Mexico where theyve been eating avocado every day for decades, he says. Because, I mean, its good.

(Sam Bader)

Its tasty, he adds later. It tastes like fat, but it doesnt make you fat. There are really few downsides.

And he has a point. Everything at Avocaderia tastes rich and decadent, but without the accompanying guilt of a meal slathered in butter or oil. Even my avocado burger is 100 per cent trans-fat free.

Brachetti says the secret to their success is in the quality of the avocados: each one is imported from an organic farm in Mexico, where his brother first fell in love with the fruit.

The menu also offers a few salads and a single avocado smoothie; Brachetti says more smoothie offerings  and an all-avocado breakfast menu  are in the works.

(Sam Bader (Sam Bader)

The whole idea is to do something healthy and light, he tells me. Something you can eat every day, but quickly.

The food is definitely healthy and light, but eating it every day seems like a stretch. At this point, the limited menus best offering is the avocado toast, and  thanks to this generations newfound obsession with the delicacy  there are places on every other corner of Manhattan that can do it just as well.

Tellingly, I only meet one repeat customer during my visit.

Last time I was here my phone died, and I couldnt take any pictures, she tells me sheepishly. So I had to come back.
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The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a travel alert for anyone going to Texas after the passing of a state-wide law known as SB4.

SB4 allows police officers to question a persons immigration status during any kind of detention or arrest, such as a routine traffic stop or noise complaint.

The ACLU said in a statement that the law could lead to widespread racial profiling, baseless scrutiny and illegal arrests of citizens and non-citizens alike presumed to be 'foreign' based on how they look or sound.

Many in the Texan tourism industry have expressed alarm that the heavy handed law will deter visitors from travelling to the state. A Dallas-based hotel manager, speaking anonymously, said that he feared customers, particularly those of colour, would avoid coming to his city. "As a member of a minority group myself I feel that this law sends a message to certain people that they will be targeted. I worry visitors will take their dollars elsewhere, which is damaging for the state as a whole."

This fear is not unfounded, as the whole of America has suffered a drop in tourism known as the Trump Slump since the 45th President took office in January. Due to a combination of unpopular policies including the Muslim ban, the decline is predicted to result in 4.3 million fewer visitors this year, which adds up to a staggering loss of $7.4 billion in revenue for the US.

Although the Texan law does not take effect until 1 September 2017, the ACLU has issued the warning as it fears police may start asking about immigration status now.

The ACLUs goal is to protect all Texans and all people travelling through Texas  regardless of their immigration status  from illegal harassment by law enforcement, said Lorella Praeli, ACLU director of immigration policy and campaigns. Texas is a state with deep Mexican roots and home to immigrants from all walks of life. Many of us fit the racial profile that the police in Texas will use to enforce Trumps draconian deportation force.

The law also punishes department heads and elected officials who dont cooperate with federal immigration agents. Texan Governor Greg Abbott and other supporters of the bill insist its needed to enforce the law and deter people illegally in the country from committing more crimes.

Chisos Mountains, a popular attraction in the Big Bend National Park, Texas (Getty Images/iStockphoto)



We plan to fight this racist and wrongheaded law in the courts and in the streets. Until we defeat it, everyone travelling in or to Texas needs to be aware of whats in store for them, said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. The Lone Star State will become a show me your papers state, where every interaction with law enforcement can become a citizenship interrogation and potentially an illegal arrest.

John Wittman, press secretary for the Office of the Governor of Texas accused the ACLU of scaremongering. This law deals with safety and security of all Texans by keeping dangerous criminals off the streets," he told The Independent. If the ACLU had a genuine interest in assuaging the concerns of citizens, they would resist the urge to resort to fear-mongering. To separate the facts from the fiction, this law does not require mandatory immigration checks  it simply prohibits local Sheriffs from banning law enforcement officials from inquiry into the immigration status of persons already lawfully detained.
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Lonely Planet has released its Best in Europe ranking of the 10 European destinations people should be visiting in 2017.

The hotlist of places you should add to your bucket list was compiled by Lonely Planet's travel experts.

Some of the choices are surprising. The UK's very own Leeds, a major student city which boasts a thriving nightlife to rival London's and a growing economy, made the top five.

Whether you're planning a foodie weekend away to discover the gastronomic delights of a new culinary destination, are looking for an off-the-beaten-track adventure, or just planning a staycation, the list provides plenty of holiday inspiration.

10. Le Havre, France.

One of the best places to visit this summer is the Norman city of Le Havre, which this year will celebrate its 500th anniversary with a five month long art and music-filled fete. The harbour town boasts eye-catching modern architecture and serves as a great base for exploring the rest of the Normandy region.

9. Paphos, Cyprus.

Sunny Cyprus is one couples wedding destination (Shutterstock)

Named the European Capital of Culture for 2017, the ancient port of Paphos and birthplace of Aphrodite is steeped in Greek mythology. Its sun-kissed shores are piled with historical monuments, including catacombs, temples, castles, medieval baths, Roman-era mosaics, and the Unesco World Heritage sites of Kato Pafos.

8. Moldova.

This country of secret wine cellars and lonely cliff-perched monasteries is little visited and lost in time. Its capital city Chisinau boasts a surprising Parisian-style cafe and bar scene brimming with local wine, which continues to rise to acclaim.

7. Northern Germany.

Travellers looking for an alternative to the techno mecca of Berlin or beer hotspot of Bavaria should try the northern region of the country. Beyond its stunning architecture, it boasts pristine coastline and pint-sized islands.

6. The Alentejo, Portugal.

(Shutterstock)

Portugals Alentejo is full of natural beauty, including rolling vineyards, medieval villages, looming clifftop castles, and rugged coastlines.

5. Leeds, UK.

Leeds, a major student city, boasts a thriving nightlife which rivals London's and a growing economy. It is surrounded by stunning Yorkshire countryside and close to the dramatic Ilkley moor.

4. Northern Montenegro.

One of Europe's more under-the-radar destinations, Northern Montenegro boasts the stunning Adriatic coastline and is brimming with off-the-beaten-track adventures.

3. Galicia, Spain.

(Shutterstock)

Galicia's lush countryside is lined with plunging cliffs, idyllic fishing villages, and hundreds of beaches. It's one of Spain's most popular gastronomic destinations and is famed for its seafood.

2. Gotland, Sweden.

Located off the Swedish coastline, the ancient Baltic of Gotland is most famous for its midsummer celebrations which fall in June. It boasts breathtaking scenery, with mysterious forests, time-warped fishing villages, and tranquil sandy beaches.

1. Zagreb, Croatia.

(Airbnb (Airbnb)

Zagreb is Lonely Planet's number one European destination for 2017. While many travellers are drawn to the crystalline waters of Croatia's extensive coastline, the city offers a mix of stunning communist architecture and sun-splashed Austro-Hungarian squares. It is also home to a burgeoning food and craft beer scene.

 Startling maps show every terrorist attack worldwide for the last 20 years

 Bill Gates loves this fiendishly difficult book

 26 time-management tricks I wish Id known at 20

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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It was seen as a classic example of British understatement: the Home Secretarys admission to the BBC that she was irritated by the leak to the US media of the Manchester suicide bombers name. But it was rather the opposite. For a Home Secretary to comment at all disparagingly on the US treatment of privileged UK information was a real departure. Since then, it has been downhill all the way.

Amber Rudd had followed up her comment in the same Today programme interview by saying she would be asking for assurances from Washington that there would be no repetition. But then there was. Within 24 hours The New York Times had published police photographs from the Manchester Arena, showing  or appearing to show  the backpack the bomber had worn and the method of detonation  information that had not been released.

The response? Fury in official quarters; a police announcement that they were suspending cooperation with their US colleagues; a promise from the Prime Minister to tell President Donald Trump that shared intelligence must be secure, and a rush by the UKs knee-jerk Trump-critics to blame this President for the leaks. Given that shared intelligence, and the implied discretion that goes with it, is almost all that remains of the so-called special relationship, the state of UK-US relations is starting to look very like an additional casualty from the Manchester atrocity.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Nor should either side be allowed to get away with blaming the media. For all the opprobrium traditionally heaped on UK journalists, they  we  are generally respectful of security embargoes and police requests, so long as we understand the reasons. Delaying publication of the presumed bombers name makes sense, because it could alert associates. Withholding precise details of the method allows investigators time to trace suppliers and routes.

There is a big difference between these operational requests and statements intended to put the media off the scent or disguise police mistakes (the 2005 shooting of Jean-Charles de Menezes comes to mind). Not always, but often, journalists are quite good at detecting the difference.

There are many differences in the way the US and the British media work  until recently the degree of respect for authority was one. In the particular case of the Manchester bombing, however, it could also be argued that there was no security dimension  at least no national security dimension  to a US outlet publishing the name or the photos ahead of time.

Of course, that neglects the global aspect of communications today. But the chief responsibility for any breach rests with the agencies that passed on material that  in the British view at least  was not theirs to pass on. This was not a case of assiduous reporters ferreting out sensitive information, but of one or more branches of US law enforcement or security deliberately deciding to pass it on.

Why they might have done this, especially after the UKs objections to the first leak, raises further questions. Could it have been mere bravado  a desire by a particular agency to show how in the loop or how media-friendly it was? Other theories have centred on Donald Trump.

 Manchester attack: Police give latest investigation update

Some have suggested, conspiratorially, that one or other agency might have wanted to discredit Trump in the middle of his first foreign trip, as part of their continuing animus against him. That seems as unlikely, though, as the contrary idea, seized upon by his many UK detractors, that Trump himself was somehow responsible  after all, had he not just divulged classified information to the Russian foreign minister?

This seems even less plausible than the conspiracy theory. Not only is there scant chance that any leak of this kind would have been referred up to the White House, but it turns out that this apparently unprecedented release of shared information does indeed have a precedent. The former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord Blair, disclosed that there had been similar breaches by US agencies in the wake of the 7/7 attacks in London. The difference then  an interesting and perhaps significance difference  is that official UK fury was confined to diplomatic channels.

Which brings us back to the special relationship and the sharing of intelligence that constitutes such a large part of it. As Theresa May left London for the Nato summit, where she intended to talk respect for shared secrets with Donald Trump, one of the most telling observations came from the BBCs specialist security correspondent, Frank Gardner. UK security officials, he reported, were desperately trying to ring fence their cooperation with their US counterparts so that cooperation could continue unaffected by the row about leaked information from Manchester.

This says two things. First, that the intelligence agencies see themselves as distinct from  and superior to?  the law enforcement agencies, such as the police and the FBI. They do not want any blurring of the lines, even though the lines between the two are inevitably blurred where international terrorism is concerned, and should probably not exist at all. Second, the UKs concern to maintain intelligence cooperation, even as police cooperation is suspended, underlines the lopsided nature of the relationship.

MI5, MI6 and GCHQ may be held in great respect by their US counterparts  at least, that is what they insist  and each may over the years have delegated tasks in such a way as to exploit discrepancies in national laws, to mutual advantage. With the resources and reach of the US agencies now in quite a different league from ours, could the liabilities of this special relationship be starting to outweigh the benefits?

The UK might currently take out as much, or more, than it puts in, but there are downsides  including a sense of diminished responsibility. In 2002-03, for instance, the UK followed the US to Iraq on the basis of intelligence on chemical weapons that France and Israel had interpreted more critically. Citing a theoretical risk to relations with third countries has also allowed MI6 and others to refuse to testify in court on such subjects as extraordinary rendition and the death of Alexander Litvinenko.

Now we have the leaks of information from Manchester. However and why this happened, the cavalier way in which one or more US agencies disregarded the UKs legitimate security interests shows that a reconsideration of intelligence-sharing is now overdue.
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In 1963, two years after I was born, Kenya gained its independence under my father Jomo Kenyatta. But my country had already been pivotal in global relations for centuries, through networks of Arab, Persian, Indian and European merchants.

As the nexus of the transit of goods between three continents, Kenya became the heart of Indian Ocean trade. Kenyas engagement with the world is as important today as it was then. I want to see Kenya take its rightful place on the world stage, feeding into the multinational trade mosaic that has always been part of our fabric.

We are working hard to cement our strategic position at the heart of global trade, underscored by enduring peace and democracy, to provide the right conditions for foreign investment. Only by opening up developing nations to the possibilities presented by markets around the world, can we elevate Africa to a status of equity with international partners.

The invitation to me to address the worlds most powerful leaders at the G7 summit recognises the critical role Kenya now plays as that leading voice in Africa. Though disappointingly later than it should have been, Africa is finally taking its first real steps on the path of partnership and rectifying the historical injustices that forced its people into subservience.

Our continent is all too often at the sharp end of the greatest challenges facing our planet, whether that is climate change, combating extremism, or bridging the gaping disparity in trade that perpetuates poverty. It is high time a voice from Sub-Saharan Africa was given the platform our forefathers deserved, yet were so often denied.

I am both honoured and inspired, but am also very aware of the weight of responsibility that comes with this opportunity to represent Africa to the leaders of the seven most powerful nations in the world. As my government seeks to transform Kenya into a dynamic modern global trading nation, it is important to build the foundations of renewed trust between developing and developed nations. In so doing, we must harness technological innovation to spur economic growth, but also address the challenges this brings.

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

I will unapologetically promote the development of the African continent. Since becoming President in 2013, my administration has worked successfully with leaders across the world to reposition the great Republic of Kenya as a goto destination in which the world can invest. We have welcomed Kenyas son Barack Obama, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former South Korean President Park GeunHye and Turkeys President Tayyip Erdogan.

When I visited Chancellor Merkel last year, we explored how best to deepen our solid trade partnership. In December 2016, Volkswagen opened the first car manufacturing plant in Kenya after an absence of over five decades, providing direct employment to a new generation of Kenyans. I also discussed with Prime Minister May the many ways in which our two nations can strengthen bilateral relations post Brexit, as well as continue to enhance our longstanding security cooperation.

It is through such positive and deep friendships that Kenya will be elevated to a middleincome country. This also shows the role Kenya has assumed as an Ambassador for Africa, providing solutions to global trade and security issues across the continent.

This is not the time to be protectionist. My vision for the nations enhanced role in the world will ensure the economy is grown through crucial foreign investment. Foreign investment was at $500m in 2013, but through our continued efforts rose to $990m in just one year. Last year, Kenya leapt 28 places on the World Banks rankings for Ease of Business. My message is clear  Kenya is open for business, and friendship, for the benefit of all.

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Africa needs foreign powers to invest directly into our economies. This crucially enables both sides to grow exponentially and ensure economic parity in our global relations.

It is essential that rather than be dictated terms that are deleterious to our own development, we fight to deliberate as equal partners in any negotiations. Only mutual respect and cooperation will secure Africa's rightful place in international trade, thereby ensuring decent living standards and a foundation on which to build the dreams of a continent.

Our vital role as a mediator in the South Sudan peace process helped to end a 17month civil war that had killed 50,000 people and displaced 2 million more; and shows a maturity of outlook and leadership prerequisite to be a credible voice at the top table.

By committing time and resources to South Sudan, and encouraging strategic links with neighbouring states, the entire regions prosperity and security is bolstered.

As President Trump has repeatedly stated about his role as President of America, as President of a leading country in Africa, it is my duty to put Kenya first, Africa second but also to embrace the world. Modernity has taught us to recognise the interdependence of the three.

My dream of continuing Kenyas journey of transformation to build a peaceful, prosperous and globally competitive country will lay the foundation to support Kenyans, and our African cousins, for generations to come.

Adding Kenyas voice to the rich tapestry of global cooperation gives hope that we can not only elevate our own country, but also show countries around the world the great gains that can be harvested through a spirit of partnership.
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After the Manchester massacre yes, and after Nice and Paris, Mosul and Abu Ghraib and 7/7 and the Haditha massacre  remember those 28 civilians, including children, killed by US Marines, four more than Manchester but no minutes silence for them? And of course 9/11

Counterbalancing cruelty is no response, of course. Just a reminder. As long as we bomb the Middle East instead of seeking justice there, we too will be attacked. But what we must concentrate upon, according to the monstrous Trump, is terror, terror, terror, terror, terror. And fear. And security. Which we will not have while we are promoting death in the Muslim world and selling weapons to its dictators. Believe in terror and Isis wins. Believe in justice and Isis is defeated.

So I suspect its time to raise the ghost of a man known as the Emir Abdelkader  Muslim, Sufi, sheikh, ferocious warrior, humanist, mystic, protector of his people against Western barbarism, protector of Christians against Muslim barbarism, so brave that the Algerian state insisted his bones were brought home from his beloved Damascus, so noble that Abe Lincoln sent him a pair of Colt pistols and the French gave him the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. He loved education, he admired the Greek philosophers, he forbade his fighters to destroy books, he worshipped a religion which believed  so he thought  in human rights. But hands up all readers who know the name of Abdelkader.

 Salman Abedi - what we know about the Manchester attacker

We should think of him now more than ever. He was not a moderate because he fought back savagely against the French occupation of his land. He was not an extremist because, in his imprisonment at the Chateau dAmboise, he talked of Christians and Muslims as brothers. He was supported by Victor Hugo and Lord Londonderry and earned the respect of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon III) and the French state paid him a pension of 100,000 francs. He deserved it.

When the French invaded Algeria, Abdelkader Ibn Muhiedin al-Juzairi (Abdelkader, son of Muhiedin, the Algerian,1808-1883, for those who like obituaries) embarked on a successful guerrilla war against one of the best equipped armies in the Western world  and won. He set up his own state in western Algeria  Muslim but employing Christian and Jewish advisors  and created separate departments (defence, education, etc), which stretched as far as the Moroccan border. It even had its own currency, the muhamediya. He made peace with the French  a truce which the French broke by invading his lands yet again. Abdelkader demanded a priest to minister for his French prisoners, even giving them back their freedom when he had no food for them. The French sacked the Algerian towns they captured, a hundred Hadithas to suppress Abdelkaders resistance. When at last he was defeated, he surrendered in honour  handing over his horse as a warrior  on the promise of exile in Alexandria or Acre. Again the French betrayed him, packing him off to prison in Toulon and then to the interior of France.

Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity Show all 4 1 /4 Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity A Jewish woman named Renee Rachel Black and a Muslim man named Sadiq Patel react next to floral tributes in Albert Square REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS

Yet in his French exile, he preached peace and brotherhood and studied French and spoke of the wisdom of Plato and Socrates, Aristotle and Ptolemy and Averoes and later wrote a book, Call to the Intelligent, which should be available on every social media platform. He also, by the way, wrote a book on horses which proves he was ever an Arab in the saddle. But his courage was demonstrated yet again in Damascus in 1860 where he lived as an honoured exile. The Christian-Druze civil war in Lebanon had spread to Damascus where the Christian population found themselves surrounded by the Muslim Druze who arrived with Isis-like cruelty, brandishing swords and knives to slaughter their adversaries.

Abdelkader sent his Algerian Muslim guards  his personal militia  to bash their way through the mob and escort more than 10,000 Christians to his estate. And when the crowds with their knives arrived at his door, he greeted them with a speech which is still recited in the Middle East (though utterly ignored these days in the West). You pitiful creatures! he shouted. Is this the way you honour the Prophet? God punish you! Shame on you, shame! The day will come when you will pay for this  I will not hand over a single Christian. They are my brothers. Get out of here or Ill set my guards on you.

Muslim historians claim Abdelkader saved 15,000 Christians, which may be a bit of an exaggeration. But here was a man for Muslims to emulate and Westerners to admire. His fury was expressed in words which would surely have been used today against the cult-like caliphate executioners of Isis. Of course, the Christian West would honour him at the time (although, interestingly, he received a letter of praise from the Muslim leader of wildly independent Chechnya). He was an interfaith dialogue man to please Pope Francis.

Abdelkader was invited to Paris. An American town was named after him  Elkader in Clayton County, Iowa, and its still there, population 1,273. Founded in the mid-19th century, it was natural to call your home after a man who was, was he not, honouring the Rights of Man of American Independence and the French Revolution? Abdelkader flirted with Freemasonry  most scholars believe he was not taken in  and loved science to such an extent that he accepted an invitation to the opening of the Suez Canal, which was surely an imperial rather than a primarily scientific project. Abdelkader met De Lesseps. He saw himself, one suspects, as Islams renaissance man, a man for all seasons, the Muslim for all people, an example rather than a saint, a philosopher rather than a priest.

But of course, Abdelkaders native Algeria is a neighbour of Libya from where Salman Abedis family came, and Abdelkader died in Syria, whose assault by US aircraft  according to Abedis sister  was the reason he slaughtered the innocent of Manchester. And so geography contracts and history fades, and Abedis crime is, for now, more important than all of Abdelkaders life and teaching and example. So for Mancunians, whether they tattoo bees onto themselves or merely buy flowers, why not pop into Manchesters central library in St Peters Square and ask for Elsa Marstens The Compassionate Warrior or John Kisers Commander of the Faithful or, published just a few months ago, Mustapha Sherifs LEmir Abdelkader: Apotre de la fraternite?

They are no antidotes for sorrow or mourning. But they prove that Isis does not represent Islam and that a Muslim can earn the honour of the world.
President of Vietnam  Bulgaria Friendship Association Nguyen Van Tuan at the ceremony (Source: CPV)

Addressing the ceremony, President of Vietnam  Bulgaria Friendship Association Nguyen Van Tuan said that this was a special day of Bulgaria to commemorate Kyril and Mephodi, who established the first Slavic alphabet. Existing with Bulgarian culture, nowadays, Slavic Script is widely used.

Mr. Tuan said that Bulgaria has helped Vietnam train 2,200 graduates and postgraduates and 6,200 trainees.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam Evgheni Stoycheva expressed his thanks to the Vietnam - Bulgaria Friendship Association for organizing the day. He affirmed the significant activity will promote the friendship and cooperation between the two countries./.
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As the names of Mondays victims are made public, and a timeline established as to how such a heinous act came to pass, its clear that the timing of events in Manchester couldn't be better for those with a particular agenda to push: one which seeks to discredit multiculturalism, which wants an end to net immigration, and one that ensures Britain undergoes the hardest of all hard Brexits.

With spiteful relish premier rent-a-ghouls like Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson have sought to cast its meaning within the only narrative they can; one which frames Islam as inherently violent, our nations borders as too porous and our politicians as unduly weak. Manchester, they claim, is the clearest evidence yet as to why we should refuse the admission of refugees, specifically those from majority Muslim countries. In a moment of depraved candour Hopkins even tweeted a call for a Final Solution.

Today, as Ukip unveiled their party manifesto, such sentiments infused the General Election more formally, as they detailed their desire to reduce net migration to zero within five years. After the events of this week, that is a policy which could resurrect a party that seemed down for the count.

 Ukip says Theresa May shares the blame for Manchester attack

While no doubt alluring to many of the almost four million voters who backed them in 2015, not to mention many Conservative and even some Labour voters too, the truth is that Britains policies on migration and refugees bear no relationship to recent attacks. That is because those committing them arent newcomers, they were born and raised here.

Salman Abedi, like Khalid Masood, responsible for the Westminster attack in March, and indeed three of the four men involved in the 7/7 attacks in 2005, were born in Britain. While some will seek to highlight a common theme  that Abedis Libyan parents hailed from a primarily Muslim country, as did Hasib Hussains, Shehzad Tanweer's and Mohammad Sidique Khans, that did not hold true for Masood, whose background is seemingly West Indian, nor the fourth and final 7/7 attacker, Germaine Lindsay, born in Jamaica. Its the same with Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013. While both came from Nigerian families, they were also both born in South-East England  not to mention being raised in Christian households.

And in this respect, of domestic nationals committing terrorist attacks, Britain is not the outlier, but the norm. Nearly every individual involved with the 'Brussels Isis terror cell', responsible not only for Paris Bataclan attacks in 2015 but bombings in Brussels the following Spring, were born in France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium.

In the throes of an historic refugee crisis, one which has seen millions pass through Central and Southern Europe in recent years, it is all too easy to claim that those fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are intent on committing acts of violent terrorism in Europe. And yet that simply isnt true, with those who commit such acts born in Europe and educated within its institutions feeling, it appears, entirely isolated from its civil society and culture.

Indeed of all the attacks which have taken place domestically in recent years, Abedi is the only individual whose family were granted political asylum, and that was from a Gadaffi regime which Britain helped removed several years ago.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Since the events of September 11th nearly 16 years ago, our politicians  not just in Britain but across Europe and North America  have talked tough on terrorism. They have insisted that it is a new foe with features configured by modernity itself. Yet they themselves have failed to adapt, maintaining the same alliances with despotisms, specifically Saudi Arabia, who are primary exporters of terrorism.

While it may be a comforting platitude to emphasise the importance of moderate Muslims unveiling elements bent on fanaticism within their own communities, we know that Abedis friends had informed authorities, and that he had been expelled him from Didsbury Mosque after he took issue with a sermon that emphasised anti-extremism. Remarkably, it was even known that Abedi had recently travelled to both Syria and Libya  where some of his family now lives. Given all that, what precisely was the presumption from security services in regard to him attending an Ariana Grande concert?

Events like Manchester this week, London 12 years ago and Bataclan in 2015 may perhaps always be with us, but we can take steps to minimise their likelihood. That should include more closely integrating an intelligent domestic security policy with efforts abroad, particularly the Middle East and North Africa. Isis simply would not exist without the Second Gulf War in 2003 and Libya, similarly, would not be the haven for extremism it has now become without the toppling of Gadaffi, assisted by Nato, in 2011. It is clear that the United States, along with its allies in Europe, must completely re-think their alliances with the Muslim world and end a policy of intervention which has only resulted in failed states, turmoil and religious sectarianism.

At home, meanwhile, domestic security services must have greater focus and resources, with programs clearly stigmatising minority communities  like Britains Prevent  ended. That also means we live up to our highest values of tolerance, openness and multiculturalism, something completely at odds with closing borders and isolating Muslim communities.

Those fleeing wars and conflict are not responsible for these acts, and it is our duty to ensure their human rights are observed in guaranteeing their sanctuary in Europe. Meanwhile we must now seek to pursue political solutions in their home nations, as well as ensure that the appropriate resources are there to underpin economic development and strong civil societies.

Until that happens, and we make good for our mistakes in Libya and Iraq, nobody  from Baghdad to England's Midlands will be any safer.
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The Trumps are on tour. And the only thing scarier than the political allegiances forged between the US President and some of the Middle Easts most war-hungry men has been the spilling of commentary on the First Ladys wardrobe choices.

Because while Donald was signing a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia  the first port of call of the tour  certain sections of the press preferred to gush over Melanias ginormous golden belt when landing in Riyadh on Saturday. Or how her below-the-shoulder brown hair blew freely in the breeze, because she chose not to wear a headscarf when visiting the kingdom.

On tour was also the other most famous woman in the Trump brigade, Ivanka, made a senior White House adviser by her father when he took up the presidency. Her sartorial options too were often commented upon  particularly, again, her choice to travel uncovered through the deeply conservative Muslim country.

Earlier this week the women were depicted visiting the Western Wall in Israel, where Melania was criticised for not covering her head. Ivanka, however, who converted to Orthodox Judaism through her marriage to real estate magnate and fellow Trump advisor, Jared Kushner, was finally seen covering up as per protocol, with a small fascinator.

 Melania and Ivanka Trump did not wear headscarves for Trump's Saudi speech

But no sooner had the two women been described as beacons of light in a part of the world that remains cloaked in the darkness of religious fundamentalism, than they were both pictured on an official visit to the Vatican, next to Pope Francis, veiled in the deepest black.

Gone were the free-flowing shiny locks of Americas most powerful women. Gone were the haphazardly constructed new icons of feminism, the bare-headed centurions in the fight against womens oppression.

This choice was a sign of respect for the head of the Catholic Church, said the Mail Online. Traditional was the word used by many other outlets, in striking contrast to the womens so-called defiance to Saudi and Palestinian cultural norms.

The underlying assumption here is that Catholicism  Christianity, in any case  is respectful of women, unlike others. There is an unspoken acceptance that Catholic women are free to do as they please. So what is a little black veil compared with such progress?

In the same way that Western prejudice sees covering up for the Pope as innocuous formal attire, it sees the Muslim hijab as the epitome of womens oppression. Our head-covering is better than yours, these small gestures say. And many will be none the wiser.

The problem is, of course, that this is the greatest fallacy of all. The Catholicism I was brought up in can be just as repressive of women as that of the fundamentalist Muslim living in the Western onlookers imagination.

 Pope and Melania Trump joke about what Donald Trump eats

If anything, the Catholic policing of womens behaviours is often more pernicious than that advocated by the observant Muslims I know. The Catholicism I grew up with looks down on sex before marriage and contraception, is dismissive if not fully belittling of LGBT women, and strictly against abortion. Marital rape wasnt seen as a crime in my native Catholic Portugal until 1982. Same-sex cohabitation was only recognised by the Supreme Court of Warsaw, Poland, in 2007. And Irish victims of rape are still legally prohibited from having an abortion.

In Catholic South America, sexism to the point of gender-based violence and murder is rife. In the first two months of this year, 57 cases of femicide had been reported in Argentina. The rates in Ecuador and Mexico, devout Catholic countries, were equally appalling, with 19 and 10 women having been murdered in the two countries respectively in January and February of 2017.

Ivanka Trump might let her blonde hair cascade freely from her preternaturally beautiful head in Riyadh. She can tell Saudi women that the progress made on womens rights in the country is very encouraging, but theres still a lot of work to be done. She can let a tear drop from her nearly uncovered head while facing the Western Wall, and later shroud herself in black to spare the Pope from some mysterious offence. But neither she nor her stepmother Melania are guideposts for feminism in Trumps America.

At best these are women lost in the sanctimonious moralism of a privileged West; at worst they are sleepwalking into xenophobia of the same nature as the man whose name they share.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes an official visit to Russia on Thursday and Friday for meetings with key officials, including his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The timing, which coincides with the Nato and G7 summits of Western powers, underlines that Beijing and Moscow have an alternative cooperation agenda on multiple issues, including the Korean nuclear stand-off and the Syrian conflict.

While Korea tensions will probably top the agenda, the two countries also enjoy an extensive bilateral economic dialogue which has warmed, in certain areas, since the crisis in Ukraine which has seen Russias suspension from the G8 (now the G7 in Moscows absence). In the period following the escalation of those tensions, Russia has, for instance, announced plans for a number of cooperation projects with China including a new method of inter-bank transfers, and a joint credit agency that seeks to create a shared financial and economic infrastructure that will allow them to function independently of Western-dominated financial institutions.

China and Russia are also among the states involved in creating alternative fora to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, including the New Development Bank (NDB). This will finance infrastructure and other projects in the BRICS states, and a related $100bn (77bn) special currency reserve fund.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

While the warming in ties since the Ukraine crisis can be overstated, with little substantial progress made to date on the array of economic and financial projects that have been announced with considerable fanfare, the boost to the bilateral cooperation agenda has helped enable the two countries to work towards stronger, common positions on key regional and global issues. A good example is the vexed topic of North Korea nuclear tensions, which is likely to top the agenda.

Both China and Russia are well aware that security problems on the Korean peninsula have no easy resolution. And both are grappling with how best to respond, not just to the regular missile launches by Pyongyang, but also to its nuclear tests of which the next one could come soon.

Recent US rhetoric has given Beijing, in particular, heightened concerns that Washington might now be thinking, much more seriously, about a pre-emptive strike on Pyongyangs nuclear capabilities. Several weeks ago, for instance, US President Donald Trump made clear  prior to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida  that if Beijing is not going to solve North Korea, we [the United States] will.

Moreover, after the session with Xi, Trump sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to waters near North Korea. This ups the ante further from US Secretary of State Rex Tillersons striking announcement on his Asia trip earlier this year that the two decades long US policy of strategic patience towards Pyongyang is now over and all options are on the table.

 High possibility of war with North Korea, warns new South Korean president

The rise in US rhetoric is one reason why Wang Li asserted last month that Chinas priority now is to flash the red light and apply the break to both [the US and North Korean] trains to avoid a collision. Both Beijing and Moscow are concerned that the tensions on the peninsular could spiral out of control and have supported a UN Security Council initiative that would build on the UN vote last year to tighten some sanctions in response to Pyongyangs fifth nuclear test.

The UN measure favoured by Beijing and Moscow would require the US and South Korea halt military drills and deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system (THAAD) in South Korea. China vehemently opposes THAAD, which it fears could be used for US espionage on its activities, as much as for targeting North Korean missiles.

Russia shares this concern and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in April that THAAD is a destabilising factor asserting that it is in line with the vicious logic of creating a global missile shield. He also warned that it undermines the existing military balance in the region.

The UN initiative favoured by Moscow and Beijing would also put further pressure on North Korea to stop its missile and nuclear testing. It is feared that Pyongyang may be preparing for a new nuclear test, and the regime last month celebrated the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founder with a huge military parade which unveiled what appear to be new inter-continental ballistic missiles.

However, unlike the US, China has been reluctant to take more comprehensive, sweeping measures against its erstwhile ally. The key reason why Beijing has differed with Washington over the scope and severity of actions against Pyongyang largely reflects the fact that it does not want to push the regime so hard that it becomes significantly destabilised.

From the vantage point of Chinese officials, this risks North Korea behaving even more unpredictably, and/or outside possibility of the implosion of the regime which would not be in Beijings interests. This is not least as it could lead to instability on the North Korea-China border, and ultimately the potential emergence of a pro-US successor nation.

Taken overall, the Russian-Chinese dialogue comes at a symbolic moment given that the G7 and Nato will be meeting at the same time. While the warming of bilateral ties should not be overstated, it highlights the growing willingness of both sides to develop a significant cooperation agenda on certain bilateral and multilateral issues, including Korea.

Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics
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The facts now emerging are starting to bring shape to the background of mass murderer, Salman Abedi, who killed 22 and wounded 59 others in his attack on the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester this week.

Reportedly born here after his parents fled from Gaddafis regime in Libya, his parents were desperately worried about the direction of his life. It seems they were trying to find ways to change their sons behaviour and his outlook.

No doubt the possibility of sending their son back home to see whether family connections could help him change  and develop some discipline  came to mind. They may also have thought that such attachments to the old country could stabilise him. It seems that Abedi did indeed travel back and forth from Libya and only returned to the United Kingdom from his latest trip a short while before carrying out the Manchester attack.

We are all aware that Colonel Gaddafis death and the military attacks on his infrastructure led to the fracture of his government and the loss of significant amounts of arms he had stockpiled. Many fell into the hands of rebel groups and have since found their way to Islamist groups, including Libyan Isis-allied factions.

Nowadays we rarely discuss or talk about the impact of Islamist groups on Libya, or the anti-Western rhetoric which circulates widely and effectively in sections of Libyan society. The only reason that I am aware of some of this is because Abedis path is not unique. Ive seen it all before.

 Salman Abedi - what we know about the Manchester attacker

As Abedis history becomes increasingly public, its obvious that he had classic indicators of risk.

Moving between the UK and Libya, young, troubled and unable to find some form of stability, one can justifiably assume that he had problems around identity and his sense of purpose in life. Those are precisely the same indicators that I observed in another British family of Libyan heritage, through a case review that I sat on as an independent observer.

The vulnerabilities becoming clear in Abedis case were precisely the same that befell young people in that other family, leading to their radicalisation and descent into violent Islamist extremism. In so many cases, radicalisation affects young men who cannot form emotional attachments even within their own family. Many have experienced troubled pathways to violence and anti-social behaviour.

Set against this troubled background is a battle for identity and a desperate need to develop a purpose and a sense of value.

Placing such a young person into an environment such as Libya, where they may be exposed to extreme Islamist rhetoric, is a deadly concoction. In the case of the family that I dealt with, a teaching assistant picked up that one of the boys had made anti-American comments at school on his return to the United Kingdom. The parents, assuming that sending their son to Libya might help him, had inadvertently opened him up to extremist influences. This trail of radicalisation and violent extremism is a trail that Abedi has not walked along alone: others have done so, especially where Libya is concerned.

Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images

Right now, local authorities and Prevent teams need to redouble their energies to review cases of young people in their care who have shown vulnerabilities and who have travelled overseas in the last 12 months, in particular to countries where Islamist extremism is active.

This is not about targeting Muslims, nor should it be. No doubt such reviews are carried out on young people exposed to far-right material, too. However, the reality is that Islamist extremism in some countries is unchecked and many succeed in winning over the poor and those who have no alternative than to believe that their future is better off with groups which seek death and destruction.

The chances of vulnerable and troubled youngsters returning to their parents countries of origin (in the arc which starts from Tunisia through to Jordan and including Pakistan), and coming across Islamist extremists or extreme material is, depressingly, a realistic prospect.

If we are to save lives in our country and the lives of these young people, we need to see the potential flags around the young far earlier than we have in the past. If we fail to do that, the results are too frightening to think about.

Fiyaz Mughal is founder and ex-director of anti-Muslim hate crime initiative Tell MAMA and Director of the interfaith organization Faith Matters
Revenue Commissioners chairman Niall Cody said there were no plans for extra border checkpoints

Ireland's tax chief is "almost 100% certain" there will be no new customs posts along the Irish border after Brexit.

Niall Cody, chairman of Revenue Commissioners, categorically rejected reports that it was actively looking for locations to establish new checkpoints.

The speculation, which he blamed on an early contingency paper from a "medium ranking" official, has led to landowners along the Irish border directly offering him sites for sale.

But Mr Cody told a parliamentary committee in Dublin: "We are not planning customs posts."

The 310-mile border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland will become an EU/UK frontier after Britain pulls out of the EU.

A hardening of the border, which has become virtually invisible as a result of Ireland's peace process, could threaten peace and prosperity on the island, it has been warned.

However, Mr Cody said an ongoing analysis of cross-border trade increasingly shows that most goods transported between the jurisdictions will not need to be physically checked.

Much of it is agri-food and construction related, and can be documented online. There are also existing Revenue offices in border counties where traders can carry out their necessary paperwork.

"I'm practically 100% certain we will not be providing new trade facilitation bays in whatever parts of Donegal, Monaghan or Cavan," he said, referring to a number of the border counties.

Mr Cody also told the parliamentary committee that Revenue is not negotiating with HM Revenue and Customs in Britain on post-Brexit arrangements.

It was assessing all the implications and options, while upgrading its IT systems and recruiting more staff, as it prepared for the outcome of the political negotiations, he said.
Irish Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said people owe it to terror victims to live their daily lives as fully and freely as possible

Ireland is keeping under "continuous review" the security threat from international terrorism, the country's justice minister has said.

After a top-level meeting of government ministers, police and defence chiefs in the wake of the Manchester massacre, Frances Fitzgerald said an attack in Ireland was possible but unlikely.

Security chiefs said they have no specific information to raise the country's threat level.

But Ms Fitzgerald has warned the public to remain "sensibly vigilant".

"Ministers were advised that the Garda authorities are working closely with event organisers to ensure that appropriate safety and security measures are in place at forthcoming events in the summer period," she said.

"The Gardai are asking the public to remain vigilant and to immediately report any issue which gives rise to concern."

Ms Fitzgerald added that people owe it to terror victims to live their daily lives as fully and freely as possible.

"As well as causing death and destruction, the aim of international terrorism is to change our way of life, through creating fear," she said.

"We cannot allow that to happen.

"So, while all reasonable and practical steps are being taken to counteract any threat here, and people must remain sensibly vigilant, we owe it to those who have suffered from terrorism the world over to abide by our values and live our lives to the full in a free society."

Ms Fitzgerald said "intensive work" was ongoing to prevent any attack taking place, alongside "detailed preparations" for a response to any outrage.

"Of its nature, much of this work cannot be disclosed publicly, but people can be assured that it goes on relentlessly," she added.
Fire crews warned householders to be on their guard during the warm weather

Firefighters have warned of exploding aerosols and dangerously positioned mirrors starting house blazes as temperatures soar across the country.

As the mini-heatwave kicked in, Dublin Fire Brigade cautioned against putting potentially lethal everyday objects in direct sunlight.

On its Twitter account, it posted pictures of hanging crystal beads, table mirrors and cans of deodorant.

It stated: "It's going to be another sunny day. Have you any of these in your window? Move them. Direct strong sunlight can cause a fire or explosion."

The firefighters said they are trying to raise awareness of how the sun can cause fires.

Footage of the charred aftermath of one house fire, where a mirror had been positioned in the window, was also uploaded.

The fire brigade said: "This domestic was most likely caused by this mirror. Watch."

The warning comes as forecasters predict top temperatures of up to 25c in certain parts of the country during Thursday.

The mercury is set to rise even further on Friday, to as high as 26c.

However, Met Eireann has also warned of outbreaks of showery and possibly heavy and thundery rain.

The midlands and the east are predicted to stay dry with good sunny spells with cooler weather along the south and west.
Irish law firms may have to develop competence in international trade law, cross-border regulation and knowledge of the post-Brexit UK regime to maintain a competitive advantage, the President of the Law Society of Ireland has said.

Stuart Gilhooly told the International Bar Association conference in Belfast that the strategic advantage of Ireland as one of the main common law jurisdictions within the EU can't be underestimated in the context of Brexit.

He confirmed top UK law firms Pinsent Masons and DLA Piper are interested in coming to Dublin to open "reasonably substantial branch offices".

"Although Brexit wasn't their original catalyst, it is the driving force behind their current interest in doing so this year, if possible," he said."If others have similar plans, they are keeping their cards close to their chest."

He also said more than 1,100 UK lawyers have joined the roll of Irish solicitors, but less than a quarter have taken out practising certificates. "As Brexit divorce draws closer, it is likely that we will see more joining the roll and a higher percentage taking out practising certificates in order to guard against possible regulatory change."

As the economy recovers, he said, so to does the demand for legal practitioners. Demand for talent is high, and will be higher with Pinsent Masons and DLA Piper entering the market, he added, saying the competition for associate level talent is likely to heighten. "Irish law firms may need to develop a competence on international trade law, cross-border regulation and a knowledge of the post Brexit UK regime," he said. "As clients continue to trade to and through the UK, or establish families across these islands, firms that do not master these areas will be at a competitive disadvantage. In short: firms will have to upskill and think smart in relation to Brexit."

Mr Gilhooly said the Law Society must improve its collaboration with the state's trade and enterprise agencies, continue to educate and inform policymakers and assess the future needs of the legal sector and recalibrate its approach to training.
Farmers have reacted with concern and alarm at Dawn Meats planned takeover of Dunbias operations in the Republic.

It comes following an agreement between both companies to establish a majority owned joint venture in the United Kingdom comprising the UK operations of both organisations.

The deal is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.

ICSA beef chairman Edmond Phelan has said he is very anxious about further consolidation of the beef trade in the hands of the big three following news that Dawn Meats is to acquire Dunbia.

Decreasing competition in the meat processing sector is bad news for farmers. This deal will only serve to increase the all-powerful and dominant position of this small circle of players. Farmers struggle on a daily basis to get a fair price for their cattle from factories, this is just going to weaken their position even further, he said.

It proves once again that the only hope for the beef sector in this country is competition between live exports and factories. ICSA wants to see more support for the live trade from Minister Creed to give farmers that added option when selling their cattle. It is now more apparent than ever that it is the only show in town to deliver badly needed relief to hard pressed cattle farmers.

The only other hope would be for processors to try to use their increasing dominance to push for higher prices from retailers when beef is scarce rather than driving down price to farmers when beef is plentiful. However, the evidence is factories are increasingly using their own feedlots to undermine independent farmers making a profit.

Responding to the announcement, the IFA President Joe Healy said farmers are always concerned about the concentration of ownership in the beef processing sector because of the lack of competition, as evidenced in the independent competition report on beef processing commissioned by IFA in July 2016.

He said the major concern for farmers is that they get a fair and viable price return from the market.
President Tran Dai Quang and outgoing Sudanese Ambassador Sayed Altayed Ahmed (Source: VNA)



At a reception in Hanoi on May 25th for outgoing Sudanese Ambassador Sayed Altayed Ahmed, President Quang spoke highly of the ambassadors contributions to enhancing the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two nations.

Having applauded the outcomes of the second meeting of the Vietnam-Sudan Joint Committee in Hanoi in October 2016, the State leader suggested Sudan coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to accelerate the implementation of agreements reached at the meeting.

Relevant Vietnamese Ministries and agencies will create optimal conditions for Sudanese trade offices in Vietnam to operate, thus elevating the bilateral friendship and cooperation to a new height, he said.

President Quang asked the ambassador to continue introducing Vietnams investment and business opportunities to Sudanese firms, stressing that Vietnam wants to welcome more Sudanese enterprises in the time ahead.

The President took this occasion to thank Sudan for its support for Vietnams membership at the UN Human Rights Council (2014-2016 term) and the UN Economic and Social Council (2016-2018 term). He called on Sudan to continue backing Vietnams bid to run for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council (2020-2021 tenure) as well as its candidate for the post of the UNESCO Director General (2017-2021 tenure).

For his part, Sayed Altayed Ahmed said Vietnam and Sudan should fully tap their potential and advantages to foster bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and investment in order to make it on par with their fine political ties, hence benefiting the people of both countries.

The diplomat said Sudan has seven trade offices in Ho Chi Minh city to support operations of Sudanese enterprises in Vietnam and connect the two countries businesses.

Sudan hopes to welcome more investors to the country, he said, adding that Sudan is willing to act as a gateway for Vietnamese goods to penetrate the African market./.
Gardai have confirmed that an investigation is ongoing into a gorse fire which saw a family of five lose their home after it was burnt when the roof caught fire from embers carried on the wind.

The house outside Kiltimagh caught fire on May 7, when embers from a gorse fire were caught in the wind and landed in the thatch roof of the Brennan family home.

Despite several units of the fire brigade attending the blaze, the fire spiralled out of control.

Bernice Brennan, whose family own and live in the house, told RTE Radio 1 that the wind was changing direction and the course of the fire was altering. She said that she saw a bit of a fire some distance from the house, but then 'trees exploded into flames" and some of the embers lodged in their roof.

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The family had a first holy communion on Saturday morning and the local community is rallying around to support them.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has also confirmed Garda inquiries are ongoing in respect of a number of other high-profile cases in which extraordinary damage was done to property, homes, flora and fauna.

I hope those inquiries can be concluded. Anyone who breaks the law should face the full rigours of the law, he said.

However, he also commented that anyone who is an accidental victim of such illegality should not face sanction in my Department.

Read More

Department of Agriculture officials used the Nasa satellite images to monitor the fires and detect locations under threat.

EU Copernicus satellite data was used to detect illegal fires in 17 counties in recent weeks.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said satellites had detected more than 50 illegal fire sites before April 21.

Farm leaders are warning that gorse fires will remain an annual threat until the Government overhauls its policy on commonage.

Issues such as the abandonment of commonage land, the restricted controlled burning season on commonages, and lack of fire training for farmers have been identified by farming experts as the primary reasons for the escalation in blazes that have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forestry nationwide.
Farm organisations and the Department of Agriculture are on a collision course over the eligibility of illegally burnt ground for direct payments.

The clash was sparked by a direction from the Department that landowners with illegally burnt land must remove this ground from their 2017 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application.

Farm bodies have reacted furiously to the order, pointing out that blameless landowners could face delays in receiving direct payments as a result of the Department's move.

The INHFA's Colm O'Donnell said the Department could only withhold CAP payments from applicants if it was proven that the person in question "lit the fire".

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Mr O'Donnell pointed out that at a recent Oireachtas Committee hearing on the question of wildfires, a senior Department official, Dr Kevin Smyth, stated that: "No farmer who is a victim of burning, with somebody else having set the fire, will be penalised."

The INHFA stance was supported by the IFA and ICSA.

ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has questioned the legality of the Department's approach.

"Fires are caused by a variety of reasons and can spread into parcels of land owned by many individuals.

"There is the potential that a cohort of farmers will face penalties through no fault of their own. The Basic Payment is too important an income source to be raided in this manner," he maintained.

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Meanwhile, IFA hill committee chairman Pat Dunne has described the possible withholding of direct payments as "totally unfair".

"There must be due process that allows farmers to maintain payments where fires damaged their land through no fault of their own.

"Unless such a process is put in place, farmers with burnt land are being unfairly victimised and have no way to achieve a fair assessment of their situation," Mr Dunne said.

Ruling

However, the Department has held firm on its ruling.

"The Department's guidance document on land eligibility clearly states that land subject to burning outside of the closed period is ineligible under the various support schemes. Where a person has submitted their 2017 Basic Scheme application, and illegally burnt land is included in that application, they should now proceed to remove this land from their application," the Department stated.

Roscommon-Galway TD, Michael Fitzmaurice, accused the Minister of State, Andrew Doyle, of provoking "confusion and anger in farming circles" by warning that burnt ground was not eligible for direct payments.

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Minister Doyle's comments followed a visit to the Cloosh Valley, Co Galway which was badly affected in the recent wildfires.

"Agricultural and eligible forestry land identified as burnt illegallywill be deemed ineligible for payment under the 2017 Basic Payment and other area-based schemes," Mr Doyle insisted.

Fianna Fail spokesperson on agriculture Charlie McConalogue called on the Minister to give a commitment that innocent victims of illegal burning will not incur penalties to their farm payments. He said concerned farmers had contacted him after fires had spread on to their land.
Firefighters rescued a stricken lamb from the aftermath of a wildfire  and helped cool it down with a bottle of water.

The retained crew had worked hard to extinguish the blaze that had taken hold of five square miles across the remote hills of Inverclyde on Friday, May 12.

Neil Goldie, Willie McColl, Lloyd Baillie and Phil Moir were returning to their appliance when they heard the lambs cries and went to the rescue.

The touching image of the crew  based at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services Skelmorlie station in Ayrshire  was taken by Neil Goldie.

His colleague, Phil Moir, said: We had a lengthy hike to get to the fire which we attacked with beaters. It was a challenging environment but we had to move quickly because it was windy and this can help the flames to spread.

We worked as a team and it was extinguished but while returning to the appliance we spotted the lamb in a patch of burnt ground so we scooped it up and gave it some water.

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It did appear to have suffered some burns, so we carried it down off the moor and took it to the nearby farm.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is a humanitarian and compassionate organisation and firefighters always seeks to save and preserve life - and that includes this little lamb.

We were delighted to be able to go that extra mile.

yrshire fire chief James Scott hailed the hard work of firefighters through a period of hot and dry weather.

But he also issued a stark warning to communities to be mindful to the effects of wildfires.

He said: These fires can have a devastating impact on our natural environment, wildlife and indeed livestock.

Many of these incidents may be accidental in origin  through careless disposal of a cigarette, barbecues and campfires for example.

Unfortunately there are a number of incidents that are deliberate in nature and I would urge the public to report any incidents of deliberate fire raising to Police Scotland.

I would like to commend the hard work and commitment of our crews who have responded to a number of wildfire incidents recently and have worked tirelessly to protect their communities.
THE Ramadan effect on the Irish sheep trade gradually increased as last week progressed. It was most noticeable at the marts, where some spring lamb lots were pushed into what John Brooks of ICSA calculated as being 6.40/kg dead weight.

Jim Bush of New Ross mart told me factory buyers were so keen, we were under pressure to keep sheep into them, while at Raphoe, spring lamb prices broke into 140/hd territory.

That figure of 6.40/kg is 20c/kg ahead of the reported price of 6.20/kg as quoted to many farmers for spring lamb straight off of grass by factory agents.

The story for the hogget is more positive, with 5.20-5.25/kg the accepted jumping-off point, and rumours that those with bigger numbers were pitching them to the factories over the weekend 5.30-5.35/kg.

Expand Close Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 9. Average weight 46.66K. Price 125. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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For the factories part, they are maybe a bit like the Tipperary hurlers yesterday morning: trying to figure out how, in a market that was supposed to be well in their favour, over the last week the job has suddenly appeared to be getting away from them.

Prices for spring lamb are up by 10c/kg at Dawn Ballyhaunis, Kepak Athleague, Kildare Chilling and Moyvalley. Kildare just lead the pack on 6.10+10c quality assurance (see table below) from Kepak.

With hoggets, Kepak lead the line with their price of 5.15+6c/kg bonus, which is a 15c/kg lift on last week. That said, it really is nip and tuck between them and Kildare, who also lift their price to 5.10+10c/kg bonus, so at one level the difference is a bare 1c/kg.

While the prices are the prices, its worth noting that Kepak are paying to 23kg as opposed to the Kildare price, whose quotes only cover the first 22.5kg.

The story with cull ewes is as you were, with no change in price for the third consecutive week. Kildare continue on a top quote of 2.60+10c/kg quality assurance, with the pursuing pack unwilling to close the gap to anything more than 2.50/kg.

Tescos recent in-store sheep meat promotion has come under attack from ICSA, who accuse it of undermining the viability of spring lamb production in Ireland, claiming that farmers need at least 7/kg to be viable.

Expand Close Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 10. Average weight 45.5 K. Price 122. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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Tesco has stated it fully funded the short-term spring lamb promotion, while Meat Industry Ireland said all involved in the processing industry work hard to secure the best markets for Irish lamb.

While I cant argue with the ICSA position in principle, that Tesco price of 8.69/kg has me wondering if it might not entice more housewives to try lamb for the first time.

Expand Close 24/5/2016.Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 6. Average weight 49.3K. Price 128. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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Whatsapp 24/5/2016.Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 6. Average weight 49.3K. Price 128. Photo Brian Farrell

Marts Roundup

1 NEW ROSS

There was a cracking trade on the back of reduced numbers, with both spring lamb and hogget making up to 130/hd. It prompted auctioneer Jim Bush to say: After all the dire predictions at the start of the year on extra numbers the trade has turned itself around. A bit like the Cork hurlers on Sunday. While the top of the hogget trade was 130 for ewes, the general run on prices was in the 125/hd region. Cast ewes made from 90-110/hd on weights from 70-80kgs.

2 RAPHOE

Everything is bigger in Texas, so they say. Well everything price-wise for sheep was bigger here. Manager Ann Harkin over saw a sale where butchers and factory buyers went head to head for spring lamb, pushing the price of 45-50kg lambs to a top of 140/hd off a 118/hd base. The competition for the hoggets in the 50-65kg bracket saw prices range from 110-155/hd. Fat ewes sold from 60-125/hd, while ewes with one lamb at foot made from 140-180/hd and those with twins ranged from 180-250/hd.

Expand Close 24/5/2016.Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 15 Cull Ewes. Average weight .Price 116.50. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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3 HEADFORD

The top of the hoggets made 110, with prices for spring lamb going from 97.50-126/hd. The top of the cull ewe market was 100/hd, while ewes with lambs at foot sold up to 185/hd.

4 BALLYMOTE

Expand Close 24/5/2016. Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 15. Average weight 46.9K. Price 127.50. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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Whatsapp 24/5/2016. Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 15. Average weight 46.9K. Price 127.50. Photo Brian Farrell

There was an excellent trade for lambs with 40-45kg making from 75-87/hd with the /kg. Lambs from 45-50kg made from 78-89/hd with their weight, with heavier lots making up to 88/hd with the /kg. Cull ewes sold from 50-85/hd for store types, with heavier lots making from 90-127/hd.

5 BALLINROBE

Numbers of sheep were reported as remaining small, while the trade stayed relatively unchanged. Store lambs sold from 74-95/hd while the top of the hogget market was 128; fat ewes hit a top of 131/hd. Among the ewes, second croppers with twins at foot made from 220-255/hd.

Expand Close 24/5/2016.Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 4 .Plus . 1. Average weight 44K . 54K. Price 116 .126. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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Whatsapp 24/5/2016.Roscommon Sheep Mart. Quantity 4 .Plus . 1. Average weight 44K . 54K. Price 116 .126. Photo Brian Farrell

6 CARNEW

All classes improved by 2-3/hd and there was noticeable demand among farmers for ewe hoggets  which saw their price range from 115-139/hd, while cull ewes made from 59-124/hd. Among the hoggets, 45-50kgs made from 118-124/hd with 40-44kgs on 108-120/hd, while lighter lots sold from 85-110/hd. Ewes with twins at foot sold from 175-225/hd, while those with singles made from 110-192/hd.
The government's planned introduction next April of a sugar tax should be delayed until summer 2018, the managing director of Britvic Ireland has argued.

Kevin Donnelly said that the timetable for bringing in the new tax will be too tight, as the Government doesn't intend to reveal details of how the tax will be levied until October.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Donnelly said that in the UK the market will have had a year to plan for the introduction of a sugar tax.

He said that the lead time needed to implement the tax here - to change IT systems and business processes - needs to be about nine months. "We may not know the final details of this until October," he said. "We don't believe that tax is the way forward, but if the Government insists on doing it, there has to be a level playing field and sufficient lead time."

"We need nine months to a year. We're not trying to avoid our obligations for the tax, but it could be relatively complicated," he added. "We don't want this to be a rush job at the end."

Mr Donnelly said that Britvic, which owns brands such as Club, Miwadi and Ballygowan and also distributes brands such as Pepsi and a range of alcoholic beverages, has already engaged with the Government and the Revenue Commissioners regarding the tax, and that the interaction has been "very good".

The introduction of the sugar tax - announced in the last Budget by Finance Minister Michael Noonan - is set to coincide with the advent of a sugar tax in the UK.

Mr Noonan said last October that given the highly integrated production and supply chains which exist in the soft drinks industry between Ireland and the United Kingdom, "it would be prudent" to align the Irish and UK sugar taxes.

Mr Donnelly insisted that there was no reason to bring in a sugar tax on drinks here just because one of being brought in the UK.

"There are more sensible ways, we believe, of reducing calories in the market," he said. Britvic has already eliminated or significantly cut sugar content on a number of its products.

Releasing half-year results yesterday, Britvic said that its sales in Ireland rose 13.3pc to 80.3m (93m) on actual exchange rates, in the 28-week period to April 16. The group's own branded goods accounted for 27.2m (31.5m) of the figure.

Britvic, which is also Ireland's largest bottler, has a significant licensed distribution business here.

Mr Donnelly said that the improving economy has contributed to a rise in demand for spirits, including products such as premium gins and mixers.
The State spent almost 270,000 in legal fees linked to the Apple tax case in just the last three months of 2016 - around the time it submitted its formal appeal.

William Fry received the bulk of the money, earning 142,186.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan confirmed earlier this year that about 1.8m had been spent fighting the case to date.

The Government is fighting an EU ruling that says Ireland is entitled to 13bn in back taxes from Apple.

The State issued a formal appeal in November against the controversial EU decision.

The case could drag on for years and Mr Noonan has already warned that legal and consultancy fees could increase.

The European Commission last week said Ireland needs to demonstrate progress on recovering the back taxes it says are owned by Apple, warning that the Government was taking too long to collect the money.

In Luxembourg yesterday, Mr Noonan rejected that idea. He said 13bn was a lot of money, and that "quite a lot has happened" to move the case along.

"But the calculation of the exact amount is a very difficult process and we're working closely with the Commission and if the Commission are a little patient, we'll collect the money," Mr Noonan said.

"But there are no real issues between us and the Commission on this.

"But, as I say, to find the legal basis of the exact amount when the sum is as big as 13bn - that takes a little time."

The minister said he is aware that the Government is obliged to collect the money and put it in escrow. "And all I'm saying is that takes time because the amount of money is so big, and it's not clear what the exact amount is yet.

"We're agreeing the basis of the calculation with the Commission, but it's work in progress."
Malaysia Airlines boss Peter Bellew believes the carrier's new A380 charter business - the first in the world offering superjumbos - could become the most significant part of the group's business.

"I think it will do very well. I think it may well eclipse what we're doing in terms of the main Malaysia Airlines," the former Ryanair executive told the Irish Independent.

The airline, still in the midst of a turnaround, is hiving off its six A380s into a new entity that will begin operations in 2019. Mr Bellew has previously indicated that it will be targeted at offering seats to companies bringing Muslim pilgrims to events including the Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia.

Malaysia Airlines already uses the jets every week for carrying pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, but that function will be carried out by the new subsidiary from next year.

He revealed that the new unit will require about 800 staff, which will include up to 500 new hires.

The new subsidiary - set to be up and running by June 2019 - will also offer wet leases that will see holiday firms avail of the jets, which could be reconfigured to each carry more than 700 people in economy class.

Four of the jets are currently used to service Malaysia Airlines' Kuala Lumpur-London route, and will be removed that operation next year.

"We've a lot of requests from very large global holiday travel companies that have a requirement to move vast numbers of people over about a 22-week season from one part of the world to another," said Mr Bellew.

"It could be from Asia to Europe, or Asia to North America," he said. "We will be the only operator in the world with 600-seat-plus aircraft for charter. The jets are only three or four years old and we'll be able to give people a very low-cost, high-quality product. I think there's huge potential."

Read the interview in full
ANY faint hopes that the new Pay Commission might find new ways of setting public sector pay were pretty firmly dashed with its report. To be fair, changing the methodology was not really in its remit, but it does not seem to be in anyone else's either.

This is a pity, because the drawbacks of pay based on comparisons between the public and private sectors - which is the theoretical basis of the approach - is more acute than in the past. The system has driven the public finance over a cliff twice; and the road to the cliff may be shorter and steeper than before.

Yet off we go. Two key findings were that public servants in the higher grades were paid less than their counterparts in the private sector but lower grades earned more. There is much discussion about the difficulty of turning the apples and pears of public and private into comparable kiwi fruits, but not nearly enough abut separating upper and lower within the public sector.

The separation of public sector workers into Golden Delicious and Granny Smith's was a major cause of the last disaster. Senior government workers got their own comparison body, grandly titled the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector.

It found that higher remuneration in the private sector was higher again and, under its comparisons, the pay of the grander apples raced away from the low-lying fruit. They never quite caught up with bankers but they did become some of the best-paid government workers in the world - something the commission delicately glides over.

By a happy chance, the system was applied to government ministers, who must sit on the other side of the negotiating table guarding the money of the citizens, without a thought as to how they themselves will come out of it. Or so the theory goes. The strange thing is that this was going on just as people were beginning to criticise the surge in higher executive earnings in the private sector. The trend began in the USA, where the gap reached extraordinary levels. Chief executive pay averaged 20 times average employee earnings in 1973: it is now 240 times.

How does one put rotten apples like this into the comparison? The gap is still widening and is particularly acute in financial services, where we hope to have a bunch of London emigres settling in Dublin's docklands.

This extreme example covers the top one per cent of earners but the commission's analysis of wider groups is still instructive.

The top 10pc of private earners get seven times more than the bottom tenth, whereas the difference is less than four times in the public sector.

Average earnings comparisons are also interesting: 25,000 a year in the hospitality sector, 60,000 in information and communications technology (ICT) but a difference of just 7,000 a year between the best and lowest-paid public sector groups.

There is no ignoring those ICT figures which show both the pseudo-science of pay comparison and how it can all go horribly wrong. Liffeyside now contains another element not present for those earlier reviews - the concentration of intellectual property companies.

They pay exceptionally well at the higher levels too, but if they also start subsidising housing, health or education for their large foreign staffs, the whole exercise becomes even more fraught.

Another drawback of this whole approach is that, within the public sector itself, comparisons with the private sector are not the only relativity - perhaps not even the main one. Watching the salaries of their senior supervisors soar away from their own is bound to increase pay demands from the rank and file.

That in turn makes it more difficult to find an affordable solution to what is for them the most important relativity of all; that between one kind of government worker and another.

There will always be demands for special increases for special reasons from one group or another, sometimes justified, sometimes not. Around half a dozen are in the pipeline at present. Some will be conceded and will be followed by relativity demands from other groups, whose conditions may not have changed at all.

Historically, this was dealt with by governments spreading out the process over several budgets and trying to incorporate the costs within a tolerable overall increase in the pay bill. One disadvantage of national wage agreements is that they are too formal to allow for this kind of fudging.

Special deals were added to what was supposed to be the maximum which could be afforded and usually was the maximum paid in the private sector. For the moment, we are back to the old way of doing things, with the Government negotiating with its employees and playing for time while companies do whatever they say they are able to do, or can be forced to do.

Yet national wage agreements may be the best way to deal with the phenomenon which would have astonished observers even 10 years ago; the casualisation of work in the private sector

Many reasons have been advanced for this, including the decline in trade union power and membership, the loss of jobs through technology, and competition from emerging economies because of globalisation.

All of these feed into each other. Union power has declined both because technology has replaced, or threatens to replace, their members' jobs and foreign competition genuinely does reduce companies' ability to pay higher wages.

But these hugely disruptive forces hardly apply in the public sector, not even in State companies. At least not yet. In the meantime, how is the pay of its lower grades (already conceded as higher than private sector counterparts) to be compared to that of those on zero-hours contracts, or working for small firms threatened by technology, Asian imports or Brexit?

The nonsense of valuing public sector pensions when two-thirds of private sector workers have no pension provision at all should be proof that much of this is smoke and mirrors.

I am aware of the difficulties of incorporating qualifications, gender age and so on, but the strong impression is that the difficulties are too great to overcome. It must be asked whether this whole effort to construct numerical bases for pay bargaining is yet another cop-out from the politics of managing society by hiding behind impressive-looking, but ultimately dubious analysis?

One does not need numbers to know that because the previous system had an inbuilt bias in favour of government workers because increments were not counted and top-up deals were part of the process. The bias would now be greater because of what many would call market failure in the private labour market.

Governments everywhere seem unable to deal with this particular market failure and unable to understand why voters punish them for it. These pressures are obvious in Ireland too, and applying the methods of the vanished word of 1980s can hardly be the right response.

Government owes a duty of care to all citizens in allocating the resources available from the economy. That can be done only with serious politics, not spreadsheets.
Ryanair has already decided where its 85 aircraft based in the UK will be repositioned to in 2019 if a hard Brexit results in no aircraft being able to fly between the UK and the EU. But none of the jets will be transferred to Dublin, according to chief executive Michael O'Leary.

He said that with a hard Brexit the airline will in theory have to stop selling tickets in the UK towards the end of next year if no bilateral aviation agreement has been thrashed out between the UK and the EU in advance of it leaving the trading bloc.

"The UK are going to get pushed to the edge of the cliff and then they're going to get pushed over it," he said. "We don't see how you could negotiate a bilateral agreement within that period of time. We don't think there will be interim arrangements because it will take forever to get it through 27 European parliaments."

But Mr O'Leary also predicted that in a best-case growth scenario, the airline could be operating 1,000 aircraft by about 2030. It aims to be carrying 200 million passengers a year by 2024.

It currently has a fleet of about 400 Boeing aircraft that will grow to about 600 once it receives the last jets under a current order, in 2023.

"We're already talking to Boeing about aircraft for the period after 2023," he said. "We are continuously looking for aircraft opportunities."

He said not selling tickets for its UK flights by the end of next year is the "least desirable outcome" but that it is a potential scenario.

Mr O'Leary said that in reality, Ryanair will need to know three months before Brexit happens whether or not a new aviation agreement is in place that will enable it to keep operating flights in and out of the UK.

"People should not underestimate quite how difficult this is going to be," he said. "I don't think there's much appetite on the European side to help out the British, much as we would wish them to do so. The UK is going to suffer very severely if they continue down this road."

Mr O'Leary and Ryanair chief commercial officer David O'Brien said moving aircraft around is straightforward, but that redomiciling crew is more complex and will need to be done well before Brexit actually happens if no new air agreement is in place.

The Ryanair boss also claimed that there's "no way" that IAG, which owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, will be able to continue in its current form after Brexit. IAG is listed and headquartered in London but the company is registered in Madrid.

"It's going to get broken up if there's a hard Brexit," Mr O'Leary claimed.
The Australia Awards are a central pillar in the development of Australias economic and innovation partnerships with Vietnam. They are building invaluable connections between the Australian and Vietnamese scholars and academics, which in turn helps develop innovation partnerships that boost productivity and economic development, said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Craig Chittick.

Photo: Viet Anh

Funded by the Australian Government, these are prestigious international awards targeting the next generation of global leaders. The new scholars are the latest of over 5,800 Vietnamese students who have received long-term and short-term training opportunities from the Australian Government since the opening of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1973. They will join the over 55,000 alumni of Australian education in Vietnam. Many Australia Awards alumni have reached positions of leadership in both the private and public sectors throughout the nation.

Reflecting Australias commitment to social inclusion, awardees include people with disability, ethnic minorities and rural disadvantaged. One of the four of the awardees with disability, Ms Tran Thi Ngoc Linh from Central Quang Binh province said: I appreciate this opportunity to study Disability Policy and Practice at Flinders University, which is not available in Vietnam. I believe what I am going to learn will help me contribute to better policies and practices for people like me in Vietnam.

The lives of people in Cao Bang depend a lot on agriculture. By taking this course, I hope that I will be able to make positive changes to my home province, shared Mr Trinh Van Thim, an ethnic Dao who will study a Master of Science in Agriculture at University of New England.

The Australia Awards scholarships are part of a broader investment by the Australian Government in human resource development in Vietnam, which will over time include short courses and informal training opportunities to address gaps in skills and knowledge needed to support countrys development./.
Wait a minute - did Ireland just have its 5G auction?

Last week, telecoms operator ComReg quietly put out the results of a mobile licensing contest seen as central to 5G mobile services here.

Five operators are to pay 78m between them for different tranches of the spectrum. The big three - Vodafone, 3 Ireland and Meteor - will jointly pay 53m. The 15-year licences they bought entitle them to start building 5G networks next year. At least one operator, 3 Ireland, says it hopes to start offering 5G services by 2020.

Is 5G about to kick off in Ireland? If so, what can you expect? And why has there not been the razzmatazz attached to previous 3G and 4G licensing auctions? Here's a quick guide:

1. What is 5G?

It's the next level up for mobile services, aimed at replacing our current 4G and 3G networks. In a nutshell, it's extremely fast and can probably take lots more traffic than our current networks.

Take its speed. If 4G currently gets you up to 100 megabits per second (Mbs) on your phone, 5G has been tested at 6,000Mbs in real world conditions. That's about six times the speed of top-end fibre broadband - it would mean downloading a full high definition movie in under two seconds.

But it's not just about speed. 5G is also about the ability of devices to react to other devices instantly, instead of waiting half a second. This is called 'latency'. It's really important in situations where devices are relying on each other, such as emergency systems or public utilities. If life-changing things like self-driving cars happen as we expect them to, it will be absolutely essential that their systems have almost no time lag in how they communicate with each other and with things such as traffic lights or roadside safety systems. It's equally important that thousands of them can do this all at the same time. This is why 5G is also seen as a big boost capacity.

2. When will we see 5G services in Ireland?

3 Ireland says that it is starting to plan its network now. Chief technology officer, David Hennessy, says that he hopes to have a 5G network in place in the next two to three years. "We'll be looking to do 5G trials next year," says Hennessy. "Then we'll look to launch services in 2019 or 2020, depending on the ecosystem."

Neither Vodafone nor Meteor will say when they think their own 5G networks might take shape. But having a network in place does not mean instant new 5G services. The mobile services we most prize now - Facebook video, Netflix, Snapchat and YouTube - are all deliverable on 4G. Indeed, Irish operators are currently rolling out what they call '4G Plus', a souped-up version of 4G that delivers speeds of over 100Mbs on existing devices like iPhones.

5G services, on the other hand, may start off being more industrial such as delivery or retail companies deploying tens of thousands of sensors somewhere in their logistics or supply chain flows. 5G could also give artificial intelligence systems a boost as some of these may need to make thousands of interactions per second with other devices. So 5G could be critical in the rise of the robots.

Eventually, though, more consumer-friendly services will catch up. When that happens, we might see even more of a shift to online services becoming the centre of everything. (There will be no need to 'download' anything when it's available so instantly online.

3. Will this finally mean ubiquitous mobile coverage in Ireland?

Probably not. Despite the current Communications Minister Denis Naughten saying that the next round of licences would require ubiquitous geographical coverage, this doesn't appear to be part of the conditions in the new licences.

Existing 3G and 4G licences only require up to 85pc of population coverage, meaning they can ignore most of the physical areas of the country outside cities and towns.

4. Why is the amount of licensing money raised this time so low compared to previous 4G and 3G auctions?

On one hand, the gap seems incongruous. The last 4G auction in 2012 raised 854m for the State.

Is 78m a big step down? The simple answer is that we don't yet know. Telecoms regulator Comreg may license more 5G-related spectrum in the next couple of years. And it may prioritise take-up of the spectrum over the highest price to be paid.

The economy is no longer in the doldrums of 2012, meaning there is leeway to focus more on the development of services rather than maximising cash for the Exchequer.
U2 treated Jimmy Kimmel viewers to a special performance on Tuesday night's show.

The Dublin rockers played a special version of 80s hit I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and debuted new song The Little Things That Give You Away.

They have been playing the new song for fans on The Joshua Tree 2017 tour.

Speaking about the Joshua Tree album cover, Bono revealed the image was taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbin who refused to shoot them when they were laughing.

When Bono asked why, he said Corbin quipped, "Because I'm shooting the music, not you, dummy."

He also revealed that U2's manager Paul McGuinness added, "Be careful not to appear as the band too stupid to enjoy being at number one."

They also spoke about their love of America, with Bono quipping, "I feel like the annoying fan following America into the bathroom saying, 'You didn't play the Declaration of Independence."

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for comes around 2:30.

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And here's the new song:

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Bono also revealed that Bruce Springsteen gave them advice, "Don't do television."

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13 Reasons Why star Kate Walsh has been visiting Galway and Meath to meet with extended family members.

The 49-year-old American actress, who is also known for roles in Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, grew up in California but her father Joseph hails from Navan in Meath.

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She posted images of her trip to Ireland to Instagram including shots at Ashford Castle, the G Hotel in Galway and Inishmaan.

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And she shared two photos of the Walshes and the Blakes in Navan, her father's hometown.

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"Here's a couple of my lovely Irish cousins I got to see tonight in Navan. It's only been 24 years" she captioned one of the pics.

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Walsh is enjoying a break before the second season of the controversial seris 13 Reasons Why begins production.

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Dora Bracken from Terenure signs a book of condolence for victims of the Manchester attack at the Mansion House in Dublin Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Irish people paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester bombing as a book of condolence was laid out in the Mansion House in Dublin.

President Michael D Higgins, his wife Sabina and Taoiseach Enda Kenny were among the first to sign the book as people streamed in.

Roisin Warren, who came to sign the book with her young daughter, said: "What happened is just devastating, young people out having a good time and for that to happen to them."

A book of condolence was also opened at Cork City Hall yesterday.
A 'community-style' centre for adults with special needs is facing closure because of serious concerns noted in inspection reports.

The Camphill Centre at Ballytobin in Callan, Co Kilkenny was set up in 1979 and currently has 19 residents, the youngest of whom is 20 years old.

The group provide a therapeutic community for people with disabilities, some of whom have lived there for almost 40 years.

Now, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is engaged in a legal process with Camphill Centre because of what it says are "serious concerns about safety and the quality of service in Ballytobin."

HIQA said it is now cancelling the registration of the centre at Ballytobin which means that they are now in the process of transferring the running of the community to the HSE.

If the HSE cannot find someone to run the centre, the centre will have to close and the residents will have to be moved elsewhere.

Camphill Communities said they are "determined that a smooth transition to the HSE will take place". They said that they expect their employed staff to continue working at the centre, but said their volunteers will "regrettably no longer be involved".

In a full statement, reported on RTE, they wrote; "In the main we provided a good service in Ballytobin - and we are now determined that a smooth transition to the HSE will take place to minimise the impact of this decision for the residents and their families.

"We expect that many of our employed staff will support the HSE, especially during the transition period, but regrettably our volunteers who have supported the centre over many years will no longer be involved."

One previous HIQA report detailed a "serious choking incident" which reportedly occurred in the Ballytobin centre in March 2016.

The resident had lost consciousness and emergency services were called, RTE reported at the time.

The inspector found that while the risk management plan for the resident was revised, there was no training provided for staff in the management of choking until late May 2016.

There were ten medication errors since January 2016 at the same centre, with six of these involving failure to administer significant medication and one administered at the incorrect time.

Independent.ie understands the families of the residents were called to a meeting on Thursday morning which was to inform people about the next steps in the changeover process at Ballytobin.

A family member of one resident, who did not wish to be named, said he was "devastated" at the news.

His daughter spends the majority of the week at the centre and sees it as her home, he said.

"You can't make massive changes suddenly and expect everyone to be okay, this is their home," he added.

There are 18 Camphill Communities in Ireland and more than 500 people living in them.

Camphill communities are based on the teachings of philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who died in 1925. They claim to provide opportunities for young people and adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other special needs to live, learn and work together with others in an atmosphere of mutual respect and equality.
Conducted under the support by the European Union (EU) and France through the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) to Vietnam in implementing its commitments at COP, the studies examine the causes of coastal erosion heavily damaging the region and inhabitants livelyhood, aiming to understand the mechanism responsible for the erosion process in these two zones establishing a solid scientific basis for integrated managements of the Vietnamese coastal zones; and Propose soft and hard measures for sustainably protecting these coastal zones from erosion.

For this, two large-scale campaigns of in-situ measurements (hydrodynamics of waves, tidal and sedimentary currents) have been carried out for the first time in Vietnam, and experimental (laboratory and in situ) and numerical methods have been implemented.

The soft and hard measures for protecting the Hoi An beach and Lower Mekong Delta coastal region resulting from 9 months research will be presented and discussed during the seminar.

Ambassador Bruno Angelet (first from left) at the event (Photo: Ngoc Bich/EC)

Attending the seminar were researchers from national scienctific institutions, scholars in the area of coastal engineering, governmental and local administrations as well as the representatives from international orgnisations and developments partners.

Ambassador - Head of EU Delegation to Vietnam, Mr Bruno Angelet, said: "The study is a response to EU commitments made in Paris during the COP21 to support Vietnam in adaptation to climate change. While erosion is mainly a man-made disaster, its impacts will be multiplied with the sea level rise. Based on the study results, an investment program will be designed including hard and soft adaptation measures that could include dyke building, mangrove rehabilitation and capacity building for enhanced sustainable development and environmental management".

The investment that will be designed based on the study recommendation, will be funded by a loan amounting up to EUR87 million from AFD, and possibly mixed with another grant from the EU.

Implemented by the Southern Institute for Water Resources Research in cooperation and the Central Region College of Technology, Economics and Water Resources, in cooperation with the AFD, the studies showed that Vietnam is one of the countries severely affected by climate change and its related disasters. The Mekong Delta is one of the deltas in the world most susceptible and vulnerable to sea level rise.

Consistent to its international commitments regarding Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals, the EU is actively helping the nation on mitigation through energy sector reform, and adaptation through funding studies on climate change impact and appropriate adaptation measures./.
A couple, who were in a state of undress in their tent at the Electric Picnic Festival in 2015 when security men burst in to search their belongings, have each settled a damages claim against the organisers and two security companies.

Stephen Massey , a 42-year-old driver and Niamh McCarthy (36), a consultant, both of Connawood Lawn, Old Connaught Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow, had sued the defendants for defamation, assault, wrongful arrest and false imprisonment at the concert in Stradbally Hall, Co Laois.

Both accepted undisclosed settlement offers from the organisers Ep Festivals Limited and Live Nation Ireland Limited, both with addresses at 3Arena, North Wall Quay, Dublin. The claims were struck out against them as well as Gold Standard Security Limited, Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, and Specialized Security Guarding Limited, Howe Street, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Massey and McCarthy claimed they had been assaulted and detained by security staff and later told, having been given a complete clearance by gardai, that they were free to stay for the concert which had attracted more than 50,000 picnickers.

The couple had decided following their experience to fold up tent and leave. The Electric Picnic Festival takes place again this year at Stradbally from September 1st and 3rd and has been a sell-out.

In joint proceedings against all four defendants the couple alleged that on September 5, 2015 they were at the boutique camping section when security staff unlawfully entered their tent, demanding they leave until it was searched.

Massey alleged he had been beaten, pinioned and knocked to the ground before having been dragged to a Jeep and taken to gardai, who directed his release, while his girlfriend had been assaulted when restrained by security staff from leaving to use a toilet.

Both plaintiffs alleged they had been shocked and distressed and very frightened by the unlawful entry by security staff and a number of other campers had opened their tents to see what was going on. Both had later attended with and sought treatment from their doctors.

Michael Byrne S.C., who appeared with barrister John Nolan and Tracey Solicitors for the couple, told Mr Justice Kevin Cross in the High Court that the cases had been settled and could be struck out against all defendants.

In October last year judgment in default of appearance had been granted against Gold Standard Security. A security guard who had been prosecuted by gardai for assault had been convicted and ordered to pay the couple 4,000.
The family of a woman who was killed in a freak collision involving a car and a Luas tram have secured 548,000, plus costs, under a settlement of their High Court action.

Yao Webster (35), pictured, was on her way to work in Usher's Island post office, and may have stopped to tie her lace, when the crash happened at the junction of Abbey Street and Jervis Street in Dublin.

A Luas tram, which was travelling on the red line towards Tallaght, was in collision with a silver BMW car coming from the direction of the quays at around 8.45am on April 7, 2014.

After the collision, the car spun out of control and into Mrs Webster, who was on the footpath outside the Leprechaun museum.

The car had broken a red light, Hugh O'Keeffe SC, for Robin Webster, husband of the deceased, told the court when asking it to approve a settlement of the proceedings.

Mr Webster (44), a software developer of Eden Grove, Donabate, Co Dublin, had sued Quentin Hannezo, of Ha'penny Bridge House, Lower Ormond Quay, the driver of the BMW, and Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd, trading as Luas, over the accident.

The settlement is against the defendants but it includes an indemnity in favour of Transdev.

The bulk of the 548,000 goes to Mr Webster and his daughter - while his wife's parents, who live in China, will get 20,000.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross approved the settlement as a very good one for this "tragic and difficult" case.

After the settlement, Mr Webster's solicitor, Dermot McNamara, said the case highlighted the potential danger for motorists approaching Luas crossings.

He said Mrs Webster was "taken from her adored daughter Chloe who only turned five yesterday, her loving husband Robin and her parents in China who lost their only child".
Former Anglo Bank Chairman, Sean FitzPatrick with his daughter Sarah, after he was acquitted of all charges outside the CCJ court. Picture: Damien Eagers

Former Anglo Irish Bank chief Sean FitzPatrick revealed he has already celebrated his freedom as he was formally acquitted of misleading Anglo's auditors about millions of euro in loans.

The longest-running criminal trial in the history of the State officially came to an end at 10.50am yesterday when Judge John Aylmer directed the jury to find Mr FitzPatrick not guilty on all charges.

The judge told Mr FitzPatrick: "You are free to go and thank you very much for your attendance."

Mr FitzPatrick stood, smiled and replied: "Thank you, judge" before leaving Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

"I don't want to be rude, but I'm not going to speak, I'm not making any comment," he told waiting reporters. Asked if he planned to celebrate today, he said: "That was last night."

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He then got into a waiting taxi with his daughter Sarah and was driven away.

The judge's ruling came after the defence argued that the case should not go before the jury because of flaws in the investigation process and in the prosecution case.

Mr FitzPatrick had pleaded not guilty to 27 offences under the 1990 Companies Act. These included 22 charges of making a misleading, false or deceptive statement to auditors and five charges of furnishing false information in the years 2002 to 2007. The DPP had dropped some charges in recent weeks.

The hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was a retrial after the first trial in May 2015 ended following weeks of legal argument over the flaws in the ODCE investigation. Yesterday Judge Aylmer told the jury of his ruling and added: "I would like to say that if any of you have been reading newspapers or the internet contrary to my admonishments in that regard, I can forgive you on this occasion."

He explained how on Tuesday he had given permission to the media to publish his decision on a matter of law that the prosecution had not made a sufficient case to go to the jury.

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"I am going to be careful not to say too much about that," he said. "Because I made a lengthy ruling, I went into a lot of detail and you have effectively given eight months of your lives to this case. I want you to have a full understanding on the basis on which I have decided to direct you to acquit the accused on all counts, but to do that I would have to repeat every word I said yesterday.

"The thrust of what I have decided is there was an investigation of the charges against Mr FitzPatrick which fell short of that which an accused person is entitled to."

He asked the foreperson to sign the issue paper on each of the counts, on which the registrar had written "not guilty" on his direction.

He later added: "Mr FitzPatrick, the prosecution has confirmed that there is nothing else against you. You are free to go."
The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland has won its Supreme Court appeal over decision it is potentially liable for claims brought against collapsed insurer Setanta.

The courts 5/2 majority decision, given in four separate judgments, means successful claims against Setanta will have to be met from the States Insurance Compensation Fund.

The liquidator of Maltese-registered Setanta, which sold insurance policies exclusively in Ireland before it collapsed in 2014, has determined the cost of claims could run to about 90m with the number of claimants estimated at 1,750.

In his judgment finding in favour of the MIBI, Mr Justice Donal ODonnell noted claimants could recover 100pc from the MIBI as opposed to 65pc if claims were met from the Insurance Compensation Fund.

The MIBI appeal was against a Court of Appeal 2016 judgment which rejected the MIBIs arguments it should not be held liable. The COA ruling affected all insurance companies underwriting motor insurance here.

The MIBI argued, as a result of the appeal court decision, it has been left captive with its members obliged to give guarantees even concerning insurers whom they believe will not last. It maintained the Insurance Compensation Fund should pick up the Setanta bill, as was done in the cases of PMPA and Quinn Insurance.

In opposing the appeal, the Law Society argued that agreements between the MIBI and government concerning claims related to uninsured drivers envisaged the MIBI would pay out if a member became insolvent.

The MIBI is operated under the terms of a 2009 agreement between the Government and companies underwriting motor insurance in Ireland to deal with claims related to uninsured drivers.

The core issue in the appeal was the interpretation of that agreement.

Commenting on today's decision, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said that the outcome meant that there was now clarity in respect to payments which are being made to Setanta policyholders.

He went to say that the Department of Finance was moving speedily to bring certainty to the structure of the compensation framework in the future, in particular in the event of a liquidation of an insurer that is providing motor insurance in Ireland.

Minister Noonan also said that he was expecting to bring draft Heads of a Bill for amendments to the relevant Insurance Acts to Government shorty.

"This legislation will reflect the judgment of the Supreme Court today and the recently published Department of Finance report on the reform of the Insurance Compensation Fund which will ensure 100pc of third party motor claims will be covered in future," Minister Noonan said.
A Dublin youth, who subjected a teenage girl to a horrific attack after she rejected his advances, has been warned he faces a one-year custodial sentence.

The youth, then aged 16, punched and repeatedly kicked the teenage girl in the head during the attack on a street in Dublin city-centres north-side on a date in September 2014.

He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm.

The Dublin Childrens Court heard the unprovoked attack happened after they met through Facebook friends.

The court was told he walked with her from the city-centre, however, he made an advance which was spurned by the girl at which she was punched and kicked in the head a number of times. She was bleeding and hospitalised with head and facial injuries which required stitches, the court was told.

The girl has provided a victim impact statement, and Judge John OConnor remarked today she had a horrific time and a life changing experience. He described as moving the girls statement and the impact of the attack on her life.

He said while the court had to take the teenager into account in sentencing, he stressed that he also had to consider the victim as well the public perception of how the court deals with such offences

The court has heard that the youth, now aged 18, who had substance misuse issues, had no prior criminal convictions and has not come to Garda attention since.

Judge OConnor said that since the teenager entered a guilty plea earlier this year he had missed three out of his six appointments with the Probation Service which had been asked to provide the court with a pre-sentence report.

Defence counsel Tessa White said the youth struggles to express himself and she asked for him to be given chance to take part in counselling. During a recess in the hearing on Thursday, the teenager tried to write a letter of apology to the victim but was unable to do it, counsel said. While he acknowledges his actions, he has an awkwardness with expressing emotions, she said.

He is about to start a training course and is enthusiastic about the placement, counsel said.

Judge OConnor said a letter of apology was not sufficient and the teenager had already been warned at earlier that he risked facing a 12-month sentence. The judge said the boy missed three appointments with his probation officer and made no genuine attempt to engage. You think it is all about you, I have a victim here, what am I going to say to her?, the judge added.

The youths mother asked if compensation could be given to the victim and she said this had been suggested by her son. Judge OConnor said the issue of compensation could be dealt with by the Probation Service.

He warned the youth, who did not address the court, that he has eight weeks to turn it around and a 100 per cent positive probation report would be necessary otherwise he will get get the 12-month custodial sentence.

The teens barrister suggested getting psychological report on the youth but Judge OConnor said the Probation Service are very experienced and in a position to help. It was matter for the defence if they wanted to get a psychological report themselves, he said. He also explained that the court was used to dealing with young people who have communication problems.
The study findings showed early exposure to antibiotics may affect weight gain and the impact is higher if the child was delivered through caesarean section. (Stock photo)

Children who have several courses of antibiotics may be at higher risk of being overweight at five years of age, according to a study.

Having six or more courses of the drug, combined with being born by caesarean section, significantly increases the risk even further, said researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in UCC.

It is the first Irish population-based study to examine antibiotic exposure in children, the summer scientific meeting at the Royal College of Physicians was told.

The association may be due to the changes in the gut microbiome, which is the bacteria in our human digestive tract. The meeting was told children are the most prescribed age group for antibiotics and also the most vulnerable.

The study findings showed early exposure to antibiotics may affect weight gain and the impact is higher if the child was delivered through caesarean section.

The period up to the age of four years is a critical window for the start of intestinal microbiome. The child may be vulnerable to a metabolic disorder.
No homeless families will be living in hotel rooms by the month of July, according to Dublin Regional Homeless Executive director Eileen Gleeson.

Speaking on RTE Radio 1 Drivetime, Ms Gleeson said that the deadline introduced by Housing Minister Simon Coveney in the plan for 'Rebuilding Ireland' will be met.

"The number of families that were homeless in 2014 were very low in comparison to the number of families that are homeless now," she said.

"We needed a plan to find alternative and appropriate accommodation for them because we simply didn't have it. The timetable put into this plan is the timetable we're working towards."

"We will meet the deadline," she added.

Ms Gleeson said there were over 600 families in the hotel system at the end of April but has nine family hubs in planning "that will open over the coming weeks and months" that will cater for in the region of 240 families.

"Family hubs are not just hotels by another name because they have additional facilities in them and they are more appropriate for families where they can do their laundry, cook meals if they want to and do homework in relevant facilituies," she said.

"There are also key workers that will help them to get back out of homelessness."

Ms Gleeson responded to criticism of the hubs from Focus Ireland's Mike Allen who said they "expensive and not the way forward".

"They may be expensive but they are not unproductive. The key point here is that they are not for long term accommodation," she said.

"They are for emergency accommodation and they are far superior to the current hotel accommodation that we're placing families in."

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A Dublin couple with two young children were among dozens of families forced to seek refuge at a garda station due to the lack of emergency accommodation on Tuesday night.

After making hundreds of phone calls to secure emergency shelter at hotels and B&Bs, the young family from Finglas was even turned away from spending the night in a garda cell.

Ms Gleeson said the situation where homeless families stayed in garda stations on Tuesday night was "exceptional".
An infant girl has died after apparently suffering heat stroke.

The seven month old girl from Dundrum in Co Tipperary was discovered unresponsive at 1.45pm.

The child was apparently discovered by a shocked family member who raised the alarm.

She was immediately assessed by a local Dundrum GP who recommended that she receive an emergency airlift to University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The helicopter was met by paramedics at Kickham's GAA pitch shortly before 3pm and the child was immediately rushed to UHL in a critical condition.

Tragically, despite the best efforts by surgeons to stabilise the little girl's condition, she was pronounced dead shortly after 5pm.

The child's distraught family rushed to be by her hospital bedside in Limerick.

They were being comforted last night by family, friends and neighbours.

Dundrum locals said they were "totally shocked" by the tragedy.

A Garda investigation is underway and a file on the matter will be prepared for the Tipperary County Coroner.

However, it is understood the incident is being treated as an appalling accident.

More to follow...
Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan rejected advice from one of her most senior advisers to formally notify the Government of the financial scandal at Templemore College.

A confidential letter from the Commissioner's office, sent in August 2015, details how Ms O'Sullivan wanted the financial irregularities investigated further before submitting a report to Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

And minutes of a meeting from an internal Garda working group held just two days later state that Ms O'Sullivan "is very clear in her position" that notifying the Government was not yet required.

Under Section 41 of the Garda Siochana Act, any "significant development" that might affect public confidence of the force should be brought to the attention of the Justice Minister. The dossier reveals how the Head of Legal Affairs in An Garda Siochana, Ken Ruane, suggested that both the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and the Justice Minister be notified of the financial concerns at the college.

But the Commissioner resisted the calls, according to minutes obtained by the Irish Independent.

Pressure

"The Commissioner is very clear in her position on this matter and that is that more information is required before a section 41 report can be considered," the minutes state.

The revelations will heap major pressure on Ms O'Sullivan, who has been strongly criticised for not notifying Ms Fitzgerald at an earlier date.

Ms O'Sullivan has insisted that she acted properly after learning of issues around the mismanagement of funds at Templemore in July 2015. But further documents show that Ms O'Sullivan waited until October before finally alerting the Department of Justice.

In a letter sent by senior department official Anne Barry to the force's chief administrative officer, Cyril Dunne, it is stated that a "thorough examination" of the issues is required.

The senior justice official also sought an "early meeting" with the force to discuss the matters.

"Our view is that a thorough examination of these issues is required to establish the facts and to identify appropriate solutions having regard to the Garda Siochana Act 2005 and other legal obligations, proper management of public funds and the maintenance of community relations," Ms Barry wrote in the letter dated October 7.

"The nature of some of the issues points towards the need to involve the Audit Committee," she added.
Jenson Button reiterated his belief that testing McLaren's new-spec MCL32 in Bahrain earlier this year would have been "useless".

The Brit was called upon by McLaren to sub this weekend at Monaco for Fernando Alonso, and as a consequence he ramped up his physical preparation and spent considerable time in the team's simulator, but declined to drive in F1's in-season test in Bahrain.

"Preparation has been good, apart from the fact I haven't driven the car, these new regulations," Button said on Wednesday.

"It's not perfect but the option was to do half a day in Bahrain, which I thought was useless for me to do, a completely different circuit.

"So I said to the team I thought it best if I did the simulator. I have spent a lot of time in the simulator getting used to it.

"It will be interesting, there are a few things different, with the regulations and year-to-year with the technology, but it is still a racing car.

"In hindsight it's always easy to say that I would have done 17 laps the day I would have tested - and only half a day!

"Bahrain is a different circuit to here. I think as long as you understand where the car is working, and running through today  those are the things you need to understand and those are the things you can do in the simulator.

"It is wider, which is the big thing for me. The way the tyres work, you work your way around it, and it is warm, which helps."

Despite the challenge of jumping straight into the fire this weekend, the 2009 world champion said he felt no particular pressure on the eve of his return.

"I am very relaxed, very excited actually. It is interesting coming back for one grand prix.

"Monaco it is very special. I've won it before, done it for 17 years and had some really good experiences. But I don't feel any pressure at all.

"I will get in the car and do the best job I can and everything I do, I will get the best out of myself and get the best out of the equipment and team I am working with.

"The car was working well in Barcelona qualifying. I drove the upgrade in the simulator and it was a definite improvement. If it is all straightforward this weekend, we should be reasonable."

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Minister Simon Coveney at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron

Housing Minister Simon Coveney has gone on the attack in a bid to revive his chances of becoming the next Taoiseach.

The minister who is trailing heavily in the leadership race warned that Mr Varadkar was going to take the party down a road that members might not be comfortable with.

And in a clear criticism of Mr Varadkars carefully planned campaign for the leadership he said: "I think its better I dont say too much about the preparedness for this campaign. That preparation was going on for about 12 months from what I understand."

Mr Varadkar replied: "If you cant prepare in three months when it comes to a general election we might get a lot less votes than that."

The candidates have traded blows over their potential to lead the party and country, facing questions from the audience including where they stood on the ownership of the new National Maternity Hospiteal.

Mr Coveney said the two contenders are offering "two very different viewpoints and two very different journeys", suggesting his rival wanted to favour a certain cohort of voters, whereas he wanted a whole of society approach.

"Do we want to be a party that targets a core support base or do we want to be a party that represents everybody in this country, that is the choice.

"That is where in my view, two good candidates have a different perspective," he said.

However, Mr Varadkar hit back saying he expected "a few blows" and accused Mr Coveney of trying to characterise the race as left-wing versus right-wing.

He claimed the Housing Minister was trying to be a "catch all" candidate who wanted represent "everyone in such a way that we represent nobody".

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Minister Leo Varadkar and Minister Simon Coveney at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron Venkat Gajula supporting Minister Leo Varadkar at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron Minister Leo Varadkar and Minister Simon Coveney at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron Minister Leo Varadkar and Minister Simon Coveney at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron Minister Leo Varadkar and Minister Simon Coveney at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron / Facebook

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Whatsapp Minister Leo Varadkar and Minister Simon Coveney at the Fine Gael Hustings for the leadership of the party at the Red Cow hotel in Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron

The Social Protection Minister said that was the Fianna Fail way of doing politics.

"We should not try to be all things to all people. Do that and we end up being nothing to anyone," he said.

The Dublin TD criticised Mr Coveneys choice to base his election pitch on the Just Society put forward by Declan Costello. He said it was 50-year-old and should frame the ideas of the 21st century.

Both ministers outlined why they believe they would make a better Taoiseach, with Mr Coveney saying the choice being taken by Fine Gael in the coming days is an "awesome responsibility".

The Cork TD offered himself as the candidate who is "most qualified" for the challenges ahead. He said that unlike Mr Varadkar he has a proven record as an MEP and knows how to keep a minority government together because he put it together.

Mr Coveney said he was somebody who made decisions like "sending a ship to the Mediterranean to fish children out of the sea".

To applause Mr Varadkar used the hustings to expand on his definition of controversial call for Fine Gael to the party for "people who get up early in the morning".

He said these people who "work in the public and private sectors, commuters, the self-employed, carers who look after loved ones, parents who get the kids ready for school, people who volunteer in their communities".

He said it should be Fine Gaels mission "to make their lives better, whether its by reducing personal taxation, providing access to pensions and protecting their value, or improving social benefits like parental leave".
The homeless crisis is being drowned out by the beauty parade of Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar who are vying to be the next Taoiseach, it has been claimed

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has launched a blistering attack on the men via for the leadership of Fine Gael, saying they are two people who have helped fuelled the crisis.

He described revelations that 12 families, including more than 30 children, were told to go to Garda stations on Tuesday night because there no hotel or emergency accommodation was available.

Mr Boyd Barrett said the development marked a new low in the housing crisis and needed emergency action.

Solidary-PBP have put forward legislation that would restrict evictions and bring rent levels back to 2011 rates  but it will be voted down by the Government today with the help of Fianna Fail.

The Dun Laoghaire TD said he wanted to express fury and anger over the decision, saying Fianna Fail dont want to upset landlords and vulture funds.

He said Mr Coveney and Mr Varadkars fingerprints are all over the housing crisis but they are prancing around the country vying for the positon of Taoiseach.

He said the Rent Pressure Zones introduced by the Housing Minister in a bid to cap rates was being ignored by landlords.

And Mr Boyd Barrett warned that a change of personal in the Department of Housing after the new Taoiseachs appointment would be another excuse for the Government to delay taking action.

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Meanwhile, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has conceded that it is unacceptable that homeless families were forced to seek shelter in a garda station.

But Ms Fitzgerald has also told the Dail that the cases were exceptional and plans to end homeless families living in hotels will be realised by the middle of this year.

What happened last Tuesday night is unacceptable  but it was exceptional. It was out of the ordinary, the Justice Minister said in reply to scathing attacks from Fianna Fail housing spokesman, Barry Cowen.

Mr Cowen said the homeless situation in Dublin was now a humanitarian crisis. It is a damning indictment of this Government, he said.

Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin said there were 24 vacant houses for every homeless families.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said up to 200,000 houses were vacant across the country. But still 12 families were forced to go to a garda station for shelter last Tuesday.

There is no amount of discussion of policy that could inure us to the real impact of this ongoing crisis on 12 families, Mr Howlin said.

The Justice Minister said there was now 3.5bn being made available for social housing. A major programme was under way to ensure vacant houses are brought back into use.

By the end of this year we will see a dramatic increase in supply, Ms Fitzgerald added.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny is refusing to outline his relationship with a former Fine Gael councillor who has been nominated to be a Circuit Court judge.

A final tranche of appointments were given the green light by Cabinet this week ahead of a radical overhaul of the selection process. On foot of demands from Minister Shane Ross, legislation for a new judicial appointments system will be passed through the Oireachtas in the coming months.

The Cabinet approved the nomination of barrister Eoin Garavan to the post of Circuit Court judge. The ex-politician represented Fine Gael in Mr Kenny's native Castlebar.

The Irish Independent sent Mr Kenny's office a series of questions seeking details on his relationship with Mr Garavan but he has refused to answer.

Mr Garavan, who was unavailable for comment, ran on the same ticket as Senator Paddy Burke when they were elected to Castlebar Town Council in 1999. Sources say he has been active in the local Fine Gael organisation and is "well known" to Mr Kenny.
A closure order has been placed on the kitchen of O'Dwyers's pub, Strand Road, Portmarnock, at the centre of a salmonella outbreak investigation, including the death of a woman from suspected food poisoning.

The Food Safety Authority confirmed it has placed the closure order on the kitchen of the north Dublin pub, which is occupied by catering company Flanreil Food Services Ltd.

The watchdog and the HSE are conducting a joint investigation into a suspected outbreak of food poisoning following the death of a Dublin mother in her 50s at the weekend.

"The investigation is in its early stages and while it is currently focusing on a catering company, Flanreil Food Services Ltd, the source and cause of the outbreak has not yet been identified," said a Food Safety Authority spokesperson.

It is understood a number of people were taken ill after a private party and treated in hospital for salmonella poisoning.

The woman is said to have attended a First Communion party with members of her wider family. She was then found dead at her home by her husband on Sunday.

Other family members and visitors to the party reported bouts of serious illness.

The catering company has the franchise to provide food at the pub and also provides an off-site catering service.

"Members of the public should contact their GP if they have any concerns regarding their health," the spokesman said.

The woman who died was described locally as a "fitness fanatic". She is understood not to have been suffering any underlying health conditions at the time of her death. In rare cases salmonella can cause the death of healthy people.
Couple Michael and Niamh travelled through France and Switzerland on their holidays

Michael Lawless has just returned from a 3,000km-plus road-trip around France and Switzerland in his 1991 - a rare motor here. How did it do? Here's his account.

Since 1949 Volkswagen has created some iconic vehicles - from the Beetle to the Split Screen Transporter and many more. The Volkswagen camper has built a huge following over the decades. I've been lucky to own a 1971 T2 Bay Window model along with my 1970 Beetle.

I think nothing beats the drive of a vintage Camper, the fun factor and the countless waves it evokes from people. It's amazing the distances these old VWs can travel too, once maintained properly.

For me, with a limited amount of space and the desire to cover more ground in shorter times, I moved up the years to a full factory-fitted camper. I sold my T2 in January 2016 and bought a 1991 Westfalia California from John Hickey, classic Volkswagen specialist, in Kilkenny.

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After spending last year holidaying across Ireland, Wales and Scotland with fellow Vdub camping friends and girlfriend Niamh (right), we decided on France for a road-trip.

A 10-day break was planned; in reality it would be eight days' driving. Some people might be concerned about travelling such distances in a 26-year-old Transporter with 325,000km+ on the clock. We Irish are probably slightly snobbish around mileage; it's not unusual to see double that mileage on similar vehicles abroad. I had no worries.

A vehicle registered as a camper is taxed at 102/year. As well as insurance, it must have a Certification of Roadworthiness (CRW), the equivalent of NCT.

As the T4 California was only produced in left-hand drive by Westfalia, it makes driving on the continent straightforward.

Expand Close Couple Michael and Niamh travelled through France and Switzerland on their holidays / Facebook

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We left Cherbourg (Irish Ferries got us there) with a tank of diesel, bikes and luggage and headed east to Rouen (250km). Next day, we went south through Paris' tunnels to Beaune.

Making good time can mean using motorways. Although they're not free and can seem frequent, sometimes they're the best option. However, for this leg, we opted for ordinary roads to view the small, old villages.

Remember Lyon from the Ireland v France finals last year? It was our next destination, bringing us further south so we could U-turn home through Switzerland. The T4 Transporter was still clocking up kilometres without any bother. Being one of the first T4s made, the 2.4 diesel engine is still quite powerful even without a turbo, coping with motorway speeds and overtaking other campers and lorries with ease. The price of diesel in France was 1.26/1.38/litre.

Factory-built campers are in a league of their own on camping sites, with fridges, night heaters, cookers, pop up roofs, swivel seats and more.

The unique thing about camping is it allows you to get to some of the best locations without lugging bags through airports and dealing with hire companies.

The French campsites are exceptional, with swimming pools, showers, mains electricity, fresh baguettes delivered each morning and cycle tracks at the gate to the big towns and villages.

All at a fraction of the cost of an equivalent hotel: most campsites with camping card cost 16-20/night.

After some time in Switzerland, we returned through France, stopping in Colmar for a night. We spent the last two days visiting WWII museums and D-Day beaches. It is amazing what you can pack into a short time. Having the T4 take us around made it rather special.

l Costings: ferry 361.80; fuel: 341.35; tolls: 106.81; campsites: 173.00 for 3,000km travelled.
Questions are being raised over why so few people are being hit with penalty points for driving with dangerous tyres.

Around 28,000 people were caught using a phone at the wheel last year.

But only 853 penalty-point notices have been issued for those driving with potentially lethal tyres since May 2016.

Worn, damaged and dangerous tyres were added as offences to the penalty-point list last May. Driving with "defective or worn tyres" invokes two penalty points and a fixed charge of 80.

But the move - heralded as a major road-safety advance at the time - seems to have had little impact.

The perceived-to-be-low detection rates are this week prompting questions about how or why so many drivers are getting away with having dangerous tyres.

The concern is based on a high proportion of potentially lethal tyres discovered in a detailed nationwide study of old ones that were changed for new.

On that basis it is claimed that the numbers being caught for penalty points over the last year should be substantially higher.

Tom Dennigan, of German tyre manufacturer Continental Tyres Ireland, can be accused of having a vested interest in getting people to buy more tyres by raising the issue.

But, anticipating accusations of self-interest, he insisted: "Our sole motivation is to ensure the worst examples of bad tyres that we uncovered are kept off our roads."

In a statement to Motors, he said that, in common with road safety campaigners, he welcomed the introduction of the tyre safety penalty-point regime.

"However, with only 853 notices issued for tyre offences in that year, we are very disappointed with the extremely low level of enforcement," he added.

"When you consider that a vehicle's tyres are its only contact with the road, their importance to overall road safety can not be overestimated."

Given the number of people caught using a phone at the wheel, Mr Dennigan said the Garda's focus on enforcement in that area is to be warmly welcomed.

"But equally, our own analysis of replacement tyres at depots around the country has shown that vehicles running on dangerous or illegal tyres are extremely common," he insisted.

As a result, he believes they would have "expected the number of tyre-related penalty point notices to be much higher than the recorded figure".

When contacted by Motors, a Garda spokesman said they didn't comment on claims by third parties. A reply from the Traffic division came too late for inclusion but will, if necessary, be carried next week.

The background to the issue lies with Continental analysing tyres replaced at a number of Advance Pitstop branches over several weeks last year as part of a long-term global initiative to reduce accidents.

A high percentage of the tyres that had only minutes earlier been on vehicles were found to be "seriously dangerous" or "defective".

Among the findings were: tread depth worn to below the legal minimum of 1.6mm; some worn so badly the tyre's wire carcass was visible; lumps, bulges and holes in tyres showing the wire carcass; and uneven wear - one side worn to dangerous levels due to incorrect balancing and tracking.

Mr Dennigan said: "Even to the untrained eye, the faults on those tyres were immediately apparent. But the only way we can tackle this problem is with more stringent enforcement of the new regulations."

He said a vehicle's tyres could be easily and quickly be checked by a Garda in the course of road tax/insurance checks or breathalyser tests.

At the same time, he said we can't put all the onus on the gardai as every motorist has a responsibility to make sure their vehicle is roadworthy.

"The condition of a vehicle's tyres are hugely important in this regard," he stressed.

Motorists are being urged to carry out regular checks of their tyres, looking out for any damage, cuts or bulges.
British visitor numbers to Ireland fell by 10.7pc, or 102,300 visits, from February to April of this year.

The figures were published today in the Central Statistics Office's latest Overseas Travel report, which covers the three-month period.

Overall overseas visitor numbers to Ireland remain static (up just 0.1pc) when compared to the same period last year, the report shows.

British visitors account for over 40pc of all visitors to Ireland, however, so the downward trend will be a cause for alarm in the industry.

Tourism Ireland has called the figures "a mixed picture".

"The challenge of Brexit is very real and the drop in visitor numbers for the period reflects that," said its CEO, Niall Gibbons.

Uncertain consumer sentiment and a fluctuating euro/sterling exchange rate have been flagged as the main reasons behind the dip.

In better news, both North America (+26pc) and 'Other European' visitors (+2.2pc) have risen over the February to April period.

Trips from 'Other Areas' rose 16.7pc, according to the CSO. Tourism Ireland has been working to diversify into all three categories for some time.

However, increases posted here are off a much lower base than the total number of British visits (855,800 from February to April).

"Competitiveness and the value for money message are more important than ever in Britain right now," Gibbons said.

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Naftogaz to reduce gas imports by 15-20% in June

NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy in June 2017 plans to reduce natural gas imports from Europe by 5 million - 6 million cubic meters (mcm) per day from May, to about 24 mcm - 25 mcm, Chief Commercial Officer Yuriy Vitrenko has told reporters.

"Imports will be slightly reduced - by about 5-6 mcm," he said.

In his words, gas in June will be bought mainly at the expense of the company's funds, and small part will be paid with the use of a loan provided by international banks against the World Bank's guarantee.

As was reported, Naftogaz in May 2017 boosted gas imports from Slovakia to 30-31 mcm compared to 10 mcm in April.

Ukraine in January-April 2017 increased natural gas imports by 64.7%, or 1.871 billion cubic meters (bcm), year-over-year, to 4.763 bcm.

Ukraine saw a 32.7% decrease in gas imports in 2016 from 2015, to 11.078 bcm.

Naftogaz incorporates the country's largest natural gas and crude oil producers. It is a monopolist in gas transportation by pipe, transit supplies and underground storage.
Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan arriving at the National Television Awards 2017, held at The O2 Arena, London.

LMichelle Keegan and Mark Wright attend The BRIT Awards 2017 at The O2 Arena on February 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)

Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan attends the House Of Fraser British Academy Television Awards 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall on May 8, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

It was the perfect setting to spend a romantic sunset, and actress Michelle Keegan and her husband Mark Wright seemed to be soaking it all up as they celebrated their two-year wedding anniversary.

Looking relaxed in a stylish striped summer dress, 29-year-old actress Michelle shared a picture of herself and her husband locking lips with her 3m+ followers on Instagram.

According to OK!, the couple travelled to the resort of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife  the real location of the fictional "isle of Fernandos" Take Me Out contestants jet out to for their date.

Ahead of their milestone anniversary, the Take Me Out: The Gossip host Mark took to his Instagram to share his tribute to his wife of two years.

Perfect setting with the perfect person @michkeegan Can't beat a SA sunset !! A post shared by Mark Wright (@wrighty_) on May 15, 2017 at 12:02pm PDT

Pictured with his arm around Michelle as they enjoyed a romantic sunset in South Africa - where Michelle spent two months filming her part in BBC drama Our Girl - the former TOWIE star wrote "Perfect setting with the perfect person".

Back on the Canary Island of Tenerife, the couple were reported to have enjoyed a day of wine and cheese tasting, visiting various beautiful vineyards.

Expand Close Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan arriving at the National Television Awards 2017, held at The O2 Arena, London. / Facebook

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Presenter Mark seemed to still be thinking of work however, and couldn't help getting a plug for his sister show writing "The isle of FERNANDOS hills" on one of his Instragram story pics.

Mark and Michelle tied the knot in Suffolk on May 24, 2015 with the former Coronation Street star in a stunning gown by Israeli fashion design house Galia Lahav.

Expand Close LMichelle Keegan and Mark Wright attend The BRIT Awards 2017 at The O2 Arena on February 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp LMichelle Keegan and Mark Wright attend The BRIT Awards 2017 at The O2 Arena on February 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)

"I didn't know if I'd be able to keep looking at her. But then I thought, "You know what? I'm not going to miss this", so I turned back and watched her as she walked towards me," Mark told Hello about seeing his wife walk up the aisle on their big day.

The couple are often seen on the red carpet together, however their relationship has not been immune to speculation.

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When actress Michelle spent time away from husband Mark to film BBC drama series Our Girl, and was seen out without her wedding ring, rumours circulated that the couple were going through problems in their marriage.

Speaking out against the rumours in September last year, Michelle told the Irish Mirror, "I find it frustrating people are constantly speculating about my marriage."

Expand Close Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan attends the House Of Fraser British Academy Television Awards 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall on May 8, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan attends the House Of Fraser British Academy Television Awards 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall on May 8, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

Saying there was no issue with her spending two months on location in South Africa, Nepal and Malaysia she added, "I think we should celebrate the fact that, alright, yeah, I did get married, but I can work as well.

Mark also insisted that the couple could "make it work" despite their busy work schedules and time apart.

"Ill be going back and forward when I can fit it in with work," he said in a UTV interview last year.

Although the couple travel to some beautiful destinations for work, they say they are happiest when they are relaxing at home in Essex.

"Home is our favourite place, shut the door, pyjamas on, takeaway."
The newest Victoria's Secret "Angels" models pose for photographers in New York's Times Square during the launch of the new "Body by Victoria" campaign

Model Kate Grigorieva wears Victoria's Secret Designer Collection Bra and Matching Panty, Silk Dress with Applique with Swarovski crystals, Feather Wings during the runway at the 2014 Victoria's Secret Runway Show

Victoria's Secrete Angel Kate Grigorieva wed her long-term love Alexander, a soldier, in Russia in August.

One of the newest Victoria's Secret Angels is officially off the market.

Russian supermodel Kate Grigorieva wed her long-term love Alexander, a soldier, in their native country.

Kate, who was unveiled as one of the 10 new models given their wings by the lingierie brand this year, wore a classic lace Zac Posen gown as she exchanged vows in St Petersburg.

She was joined by six bridesmaids, who all wore different styles and varying shades of purple, but none of her Victoria's Secret colleagues were in attendance.

thank you so much @zac_posen for my wedding dress #zacposen #wedding #kategwedding A photo posted by   (@_kate_g_) on Aug 10, 2015 at 1:36am PDT

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The beautiful blonde was a Miss Russia finalist in 2012 and made her first appearance for the iconic brand in 2014 during the annual fashion show in London.

She joins Elsa Hosk, Martha Hunt, Jac Jagaciak, Stella Maxwell, Lais Ribeiro and Sara Sampaio, among others, as the new recruits for the brand.
A teenage survivor of the Manchester Arena terror attack described the night the suicide bomber turned a dream concert into a nightmare.

Millie Robson, from County Durham, had met pop star Ariana Grande ahead of her performance after winning VIP tickets in a competition.

The 15-year-old was leaving the venue with her friend Laura when the bomb was detonated behind her.

She told the Press Association: I just remember the explosion in my ears  it just started ringing for ages. People were screaming.

Her dad, David Robson, who was waiting at the venue to take the girls home, immediately ran to their aid and tried to stop the bleeding in their legs caused by flying shrapnel.

Millie, who was wearing an Ariana Grande T-shirt and clutching a souvenir from the gig, said: My dad ran over to me and picked me up and we tied jumpers and stuff around the two main wounds on my leg.

And he just picked me up and we ran outside. A lot of the paramedics outside and strangers were helping us.

Millie recalled the event from her bed at Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital, where she was visited by the Queen
Theres some great news for anyone who loves embracing all that Amsterdam has to offer  soon youll be able to get there by direct train.

Eurostar confirmed that the inaugural St Pancras International to Amsterdam service will depart by the end of the year, with an initial two trains leaving for the Dutch capital each day.

The journey will take just under four hours and a company spokesman said their prices are set to compete with budget airlines.

Currently easyJet is offering summer flights from London to Amsterdam for as little as 23.

We are committed to encouraging more travellers to choose high-speed rail, and we intend to offer a range of competitive, affordable fares as we do on our other routes. We will compete with the low-cost airlines on price, speed, ease and convenience and of course the quality of our service, a Eurostar spokesman said.

The launch is expected to come just before Christmas and, with three million people travelling between London and Amsterdam by air each year, Eurostar can expect to be busy.

Passengers can currently travel to Amsterdam by rail, but have to change in Brussels.

The train operator manages to compete with airlines on its Paris and Brussels routes, with one-way fares sometimes as low as 29.
Donald Trump is notorious for his painfully awkward handshakes  among other things  so it came of no surprise to witness his encounter with French president Emmanuel Macron.

The pair met ahead of the Nato summit in Brussels  a city Trump called a hellhole in 2016  and it was Macron who appeared to emerge victorious in the battle of the handshakes.

The awkwardly long greeting saw Macron hold a tight grip on the presidents right hand which turned their knuckles white and left a faint imprint on his skin.

During the meeting of European Nato members, Trump delivered a blunt message that they must spend more on defence to meet the threat from terrorism.

Despite signs of apparent disgruntlement among leaders, he said: Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defence.

This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years.

Britain are one of the of five Nato states  alongside the US, Poland, Greece and Estonia  to meet the 2% spending target, and Theresa May urged other members to do the same, according to a senior UK Government source.

In the aftermath of the Manchester bombing, she said the attack had shown the need for the international community to do more in our fight against terrorism.
Jenson Button wasnt gone for long, was he? Just five races into the 2017 season, the semi-retired former world champion has returned to the track at Monaco to fill in for Fernando Alonso.

Despite his sort-of retirement, Button has remained a reserve driver for McLaren this season, and with Alonso taking the race off to compete in the Indianapolis 500, the Brit is back in the cockpit.

And while its only been six months since we saw him last, it feels like seeing an old friend again.

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McLaren have failed to score any points so far this season, but having lived in Monaco for 17 years, we imagine Button will feel at home.

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The cars have changed too since Button retired, becoming faster, more demanding, and 20 centimetres wider  How do I turn off the DRS beeps? was one of the Britons questions during practice.

Even so, Button appears to be doing OK so far.

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Jensons return is clearly popular with the fans.

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With McLaren struggling this year, a win is almost certainly out of the question

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but what a moment it would be if he did find himself on the podium.
Thousands of protesters in Brussels gathered for a major anti-Trump demonstration a few hours after the US president arrived in the city for talks with Nato, European Union and Belgian officials.

The demonstrators centred their protests on Donald Trumps environmental and immigration policies, and costumes and signs really took things to the next level.

Some people were dressed up in less than flattering imitations of Trump.

There were also a whole lot of Statue of Libertys at the protest.

Other protesters sported gas masks to highlight the environmental reasons behind the demonstration.

This particularly elaborate costume seems to be making a statement about the role of Nato.

As with every other demonstration in recent months, signs were front and centre.

Today Trump is set to attend the Nato summit in Brussels before continuing on to Sicily for meetings with leaders of the seven major industralised nations.
If theres one thing South Korean politician Kim Moo-sung certainly knows how to do, its how to make one heck of an entrance.

When Kim arrived into Seouls Gimbo airport, he pushed his suitcase towards his waiting aide without even a sideways glance.

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Obviously, Kims move became an instant gif.

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For many, Kim looked like one smooth operator  what an entrance it was.

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However, the viral video has sparked a debate around male privilege.

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Reddit has a thread called Korean politician swag dedicated to the gif. Like on Twitter, many people find it hilarious, but many also see it as an overtly entitled move. Phyrexian_Archlegion commented: Thats the All human beings lower in social status then me are garbage strut.

Another Reddit user named caamii commented: This gesture made me feel really sicklooks like a awful behaviour.

Kim, a 65-year-old member of the National Assembly, has brushed off criticism for the video. The Independent reported that in response to reporters questions about the incident, he said: I do not see what the problem is. Reporters should mind their own business or other important news.
Stockholm arbitration may issue head-note ruling by end of May, provide details later

The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce may issue a head-note ruling on the gas supply contract between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russia's Gazprom before the end of May 2017, and then it can provide a detailed decision, Naftogaz Chief Commercial Officer Yuriy Vitrenko told reporters.

"We expect the decision from Stockholm before the end of May so far, which will be a formal legally binding decision," he said.

"Perhaps the settlement of some other issues will be postponed to a later date, perhaps June, and perhaps not June, it's still being discussed, there are no other indications," Vitrenko added.

Gazprom earlier said in its report that the decision by the Stockholm arbitration on the gas supply contract with Naftogaz was expected on June 30.

As of the beginning of April 2017, the mutual claims of Gazprom and Naftogaz under a contract for the purchase and sale of natural gas were about $45.7 billion and $17.9 billion, respectively.
Demonstrators torch the Ministry of Agriculture during an anti-government protest in Brasilia (AP)

Brazilian president Michel Temer has revoked an order to deploy the military in the capital following clashes between police and protesters demanding his resignation.

Two ministries were set on fire and 49 people were injured during violence in Brasilia, and Mr Temer ordered 1,500 troops to restore order.

On Thursday he revoked the order in a decree published in the Official Diary, which said violence had ceased and order had been restored.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Brasilia to demand Mr Temer's resignation amid allegations he approved of paying hush money to a jailed former politician.

What began as small scuffles between police and protesters who tried to jump a cordon mushroomed into a series of confrontations in which officers fired tear gas and pepper spray to contain the crowd.

A fire broke out in the ministry of agriculture, and protesters broke windows and doors at other ministries.

Local media captured video images of military police firing pistols into the air.

The Secretariat of Public Security issued a statement saying it would investigate the weapons firing, saying that "this procedure is not used in protests".

Earlier, it said one person had been injured by a bullet but give no information on who fired the shot.

Some government agencies were evacuated because of the violence, the president's office said.

In a brief national address during the unrest, defence minister Raul Jungmann said troops were being sent to guard the presidential palace and other federal buildings.

The week-long deployment was authorised by a presidential decree that left open the possibility that soldiers could be used more widely in Brasilia.

Mr Temer's office issued a statement defending the order as necessary because the violence put the lives and safety of public servants at risk.

It said the president had determined that using the country's National Force, an elite police entity, would not have been sufficient.

"When order is re-established, the decree will be revoked," the statement said.

"The president of the republic underscores that he will not hesitate to exercise the authority given to his office whenever it is necessary."

Mr Temer is struggling to retain power after the release of a recording that appears to capture him approving hush money for a convicted former politician.

Brazil's top court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption. The president has denied wrongdoing and insists he will not resign.

His unusual decision to call in the military could heighten anger against the government if it is seen as the last gasp of a president trying to maintain power with the use of force.

"This decree was never used in this context to protect an administration that is politically isolated," said Newton de Oliveira, a professor and security specialist at Mackenzie University in Rio.

After the announcement that troops were taking up positions in the capital, some senior officials began distancing themselves from the decision.

"If this government cannot hold itself up, the armed forces will not hold up this government," said senator Renan Calheiros, who is the whip for Mr Temer's party in the upper house but has increasingly challenged the president.

Senator Romero Juca, a Temer ally, defended the president's decision.

"President Temer brought in the armed forces because a bunch of criminals were setting ministries on fire," he said.

With Brazil deeply divided and a political crisis deepening, sessions in both houses of Congress became chaotic as politicians shouted one another down.

While Congress debated, 35,000 people were marching toward the legislative building, shouting "Out with Temer!" and carrying signs calling for an immediate direct presidential election.

If Mr Temer should resign, Brazil's constitution says Congress would elect the next president, who would hold power for the rest of his term, which runs to the end of 2018.

However, many Brazilians, disgusted with the political class, want to vote themselves.
Photo issued by Greater Manchester Police of Elaine McIver, who has been named as the off-duty police officer who died in the Manchester bombing (Press Association)

19 of the 22 victims of the Manchester terror attack

The 22 victims who were killed in the attack on the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester have been named.

Among them are parents who were coming to greet their children after the concert and take them safely home, as well as excited youngsters attending their first ever concert.

The youngest victim is just eight years old.

Here is all we know on the victims of the atrocity so far:

Megan Hurley

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The final victim of the Manchester terror attack has been named as 15-year-old Megan Hurley from Halewood.

Megan Hurley's neighbours and friends have remembered a "gentle, unassuming" girl who loved her music and had a devilish sense of humour.

Local teenagers held a vigil for her last night, releasing pink balloons into the air.

Pat Byrne, whose garden backs onto Megan Hurley's in the Liverpool suburb of Halewood, said: "It's a little tight-knit community.

"They are a lovely family - always lots going on, very happy, smiling, lots of parties and barbecues.

"We've been there for 20 years and they have been there all the time."

"The local teenagers held a vigil for her last night. They had a picnic in the field and released pink balloons into the sky. It was tragic, but a lovely little tribute.

Her husband Steve Byrne said: "They are one devastated family.

"You take your kids for granted then something like this happens. It's just tragic.

The parents Michael and Joanne run a sandwich shop in nearby Hunts Cross.

Some local friends, who preferred not to be named, said: "Megan was a lovely, quiet, sensitive person, who absolutely loved her music."

They said she was also an animal lover, and kept rabbits.

A friend said: "She turned 15 in March.

"She was very gentle and unassuming, not an extravert, but she had a great sense of humour and loved to make people laugh.

"She loved to play on the trampoline.

"The parents have barely left Bradley's bedside since it happened on Monday. They haven't even begun to start grieving - they haven't left the hospital."

On Thursday pupils at Megan's school Halewood Academy, could be seen standing in silence, paying their respects at a tribute of pink balloons at the entrance to the school.

She was confirmed as dead by her aunt Maxine Benson, as her parents are believed to be at the hospital bedside of her brother Bradley, 20, who was injured in the attack.

Courtney Boyle

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Leeds Beckett University student Courtney Boyle (19) was from Gateshead. Her mother, Ms Hutchinson, said: "My stunning amazing beautiful daughter you were my rock, you made me so proud with all you had achieved."

Philip Tron

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Ms Hutchinson's partner, Philip Tron (32) was also killed in the explosion. Ms Hutchinson said: ""And my gorgeous crazy Philip, you made my world a happy place and now you are both my angels flying high in the sky."

Eilidh MacLeod

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A 14-year-old who travelled to the concert with her school pal has been named as the 18 victim of the bomb attack.

Eilidh MacLeod attended the concter with her friend Laura MacIntyre (15). Both girls were reported missing by their worried families and Laura was located in hospital nearly 20 hours after the incident.

However, the parents of Eilidh said in a statement on Thursday: "Words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh."

Sorrell Leczkowski

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A 14-year-old schoolgirl has been confirmed as among the dead.

Sorrell Leczkowski, from Leeds, was at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester with her mother and grandmother, both of whom are recovering in hospital.

Sorrell's grandmother is critically ill, and has been unconscious since the blast.

According to her family, her grandmother had a 15-hour operation to remove shrapnel from her body.

Her heartbroken grandfather revealed that she dreamed of being an architecht.

Michael Healey said granddaughter Sorrell was "our rock" as he paid tribute to the "clever, talented, creative girl".

In a statement issued through Greater Manchester Police, he said his wife Pauline remains in intensive care and Sorrell's mother Samantha is recovering from surgery "as she tries to make sense of the devastating loss of her daughter".

Mr Healey said: "I am absolutely heartbroken to confirm that my granddaughter was killed in the terror attack that claimed so many innocent lives.

"Sorrell was only 14, but she was our rock, she kept us all grounded. She was such a clever, talented, creative girl, there was nothing she couldn't do.

"She was going to be an architect and wanted to go to Columbia University in New York to study so that she could build hotels with slides coming out of the rooms and so that she could build her mum a house.

"My wife is currently in intensive care, and Samantha is recovering from surgery as she tries to make sense of the devastating loss of her daughter."

Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry

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A teenage couple also killed in the bombing "wanted to be together forever and now they are", their families have said.

Chloe Rutherford (17), and Liam Curry (19), from South Shields, were "inseparable" and "beautiful inside and out", their grieving relatives said as they became the latest youngsters known to have died in the atrocity.

In a joint statement released through Greater Manchester Police their relatives said: "On the night our daughter Chloe died and our son Liam died, their wings were ready but our hearts were not.

"They were perfect in every way for each other and were meant to be.

"They were beautiful inside and out to ourselves and our families, and they were inseparable.

"Chloe always described herself as ditzy who Liam adored and would do anything for, including dealing with Chloe's demands for chocolate.

"They lived to go to new places together and explore different cities. They wanted to be together forever and now they are."

Mr Curry, a former pupil of Gateshead College, was studying for a degree in sport and exercise science at Northumbria University.

His father, Andrew Curry, died aged 49 in March after a long illness.

An obituary posted in the Shields Gazette said: "My dad was my hero. I don't know how we can go on without him! I will be strong though and look after them as you asked me to Dad."

Elaine McIver, off-duty Police Officer

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Elaine McIver, a Cheshire Police officer killed in the Manchester bombing, has been confirmed dead by her heartbroken family.

In a statement issued through Greater Manchester Police, Ms McIver's family said: "Elaine was a much-loved daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague, the best we could ever have wished for.

"She was everyone's friend, thoughtful beyond belief, with an effervescent and outgoing personality.

"She would have been devastated by the injuries sustained by her partner Paul, and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

"Elaine just loved life, and had a major love of music. Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics; instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.

"Although we will all miss her beyond belief, we absolutely know she will live in our hearts forever."

Wendy Fawell

Staff at a primary school have expressed their "deep sadness" after confirming the death of one of their former colleagues in the Manchester bombing.

The family of Wendy Fawell, from Otley, West Yorkshire, had mounted a frantic campaign to find the 50-year-old who had been missing since Monday night's explosion.

On Thursday, St Oswald's C of E Primary School, in Guiseley, said on Twitter: "It is with deepest sadness that I confirm that our former colleague Wendy Fawell was killed in the Manchester bombing. RIP, Wendy."

Ms Fawell was reported to have been about to leave the concert with her 15-year-old daughter Charlotte, along with a friend and her sons, when they were caught in the attack.

Charlotte was taken to hospital in Oldham and her brother, Adam Fawell, 29, began a desperate search for his mother.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this week, Mr Fawell said: "We are just hoping for anything and something but there is just nothing, nothing, nothing."

He said: "The support we are getting from friends and family is unbelievable and the stuff that is going around generally is incredible and a little bit overwhelming."

More than 100 people attended a vigil for Ms Fawell in Otley on Tuesday evening.

Nell Jones

Nell Jones, who works with my boyfriend. was at the concert last night & hasn't been in contact, please RT and share! #MissingInManchester pic.twitter.com/wTs265Ey6L  Gina R (@georginaarobins) May 23, 2017

Fourteen-year-old Nell Jones has been confirmed as one of the 22 victims of the Manchester terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert.

Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, told Express.co.uk that police have confirmed their pupil was one of 22 to die in Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Headteacher Dennis Oliver, told Express.co.uk: It has now been announced in the school that Nell has unfortunately died.

I have just done six assemblies to tell the pupils. Children are all over the place crying. We are all devastated.

The heart wrenches for me and everyone else.

Martyn Hett

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Martyn Hett, a Coronation Street superfan who had a tattoo of Deirdre Barlow on his ankle and with his boyfriend won Come Dine With Me, has been named as one of the dead.

His heartbroken partner tweeted the sad news.

Russell Hayward, his boyfriend with whom he appeared on Come Dine With Me, tweeted: "We got the news last night that our wonderful, iconic and beautiful Martyn didn't survive.

"He left the world exactly how he lived, centre of attention. I'm in a really bad way so please forgive if I don't reply.

"Thankfully I have his wonderful and amazing friends to keep each other strong. I love you Martyn. I always will".

On Tuesday, Mr Hett's partner wrote: "Soulmate doesn't even come close. Come back to us Martyn so we can watch last nights Corrie together".

In a statement issued by Greater Manchester Police, his devastated family said he "just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time".

The statement added: "Words cannot describe the generosity and kindness our families have received over the last few days.

"We are overwhelmed with the amount of lives he has touched and the kind words that are being said about him.

"Martyn was the icon of all our lives. His infectious laugh and his niche sense of humour will stay with us forever.

"He lived for every moment of every day and fitted an entire lifetime of memories into his 29 years.

"Whilst they have taken the life out of Martyn, no one can, and ever will, take Martyn out of our lives."

Michelle Kiss

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A mother, Michelle Kiss, has been confirmed as one of the victims of the Manchester terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

Her niece, Laura Murray, wrote the sad news on Facebook.

She said: "It's true thankyou everyone for your help we are all heartbroken".

Ms Kiss had been excited to take two young female children, believed to be hers, to the concert.

She wrote on Facebook: "Excited girlies ready to watch Ariana".

At least one of the children is thought to have been found safe, family friends posted on social media.

A mother of children who are reportedly at the same school as the girls Ms Kiss took to the concert wrote: "The girls at school are all saying the other little girl she was with is in contact and they are definitely safe but in hospital. Let's hope so".

Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" by her death, adding that "we hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time".

Jane Tweddle-Taylor

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A 50-year-old mother of three who went to the Manchester Arena on Monday night to pick up a friend's daughter has been confirmed as another victim of the terror attack.

Jane Tweddle-Taylor, a school receptionist from Blackpool, had gone to the venue with a friend.

Jane Bailey, Principal of South Shore Academy, where Jane worked said the school had been left "devastated" by the news.

"Jane was a well-loved member of staff and our thoughts are with her friends and family at this terrible time.

"Jane was a truly wonderful friend and colleague to all of us at South Shore Academy.

"As our receptionist, she was in many ways, the public face of the school and she represented us amazingly in this role.

"We have received numerous messages of condolences from parents, students, community members and colleagues across Blackpool for which we are very grateful.

"All of them say the same things about our lovely Jane.... bubbly, kind, welcoming, funny, generous..... the list goes on. Our thoughts are also with her family at this dreadful time and in particular her three daughters. In our school family and theirs ...... she is irreplaceable, much loved and will never be forgotten."

Marcin and Angelika Klis

Marcin and Angelika Klis, Polish parents of a student at the University of York, have been confirmed dead after the Manchester attack.

Marcin was 42 years old, and Angelika was 40, and they both were at the concert to pick up their children.

Their 20-year-old daughter had posted a plea for help on Facebook after they didn't contact her following the attack at the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

The Polish foreign minister has confirmed that a couple from the country had died in the attack.

They had arranged to meet their children at the entrance where the attack occurred to take them to their home in York.

The pair leave behind two daughters, Alex and Patricia.

Kelly Brewster

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A woman from Sheffield's family have confirmed she is one of the victims of the Manchester terror attack after her body reportedly "shielded" her niece from the blast. She leaves behind a young daughter, Phoebe.

Kelly Brewster, 32, had been reported missing after the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Her partner, Ian Winslow, later wrote on Facebook: "Not sure how this works but it isn't good news. Kelly Brewster wasn't one of the unidentified hospital patients. She has sadly passed away in the terror attack yesterday.

"Kelly really was the happiest she has ever been and we had so many things planned together. My daughter Phoebe will be absolutely devastated like we all are."

Her local paper, the Sheffield Star, praised her for her bravery on the front page of the newspaper after confirming her death.

It said that she will be remembered by her community for her selfless act.

Ms Brewster had been attending the Ariana Grande concert with her sister Claire and her niece Hollie Booth when the home-made device packed with nuts and bolts exploded in the venue's foyer as thousands of young people were leaving.

Hollie has two broken legs and Claire has a broken jaw, Hollie's grandmother Tracy Booth wrote on Facebook.

Olivia Campbell

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Olivia Campbell, a fifteen-year-old, was killed in the Manchester terror attack, her mother said on Tuesday night.

Ms Campbell's mother, Charlotte Campbell, paid tribute to her daughter on Facebook.

She said: "RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far to soon go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much."

A heartbroken Mrs Campbell had broken down in tears on ITV's Good Morning Britain earlier in the day, when her daughter was missing.

She spoke of how she had not spoken to her daughter Olivia since she set off for the event.

"All I know is she was at the Manchester Arena with her friend watching Ariana Grande and shes not turned up yet.

"I cant get through to her. Ive called the hospitals, Ive called all the places, the hotels where people say that children have been taken.

"Ive called the police. Theres no news, Ive just got to wait. Im waiting at home just in case she turns up here," she told the morning program.

John Atkinson

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26-year-old John Atkinson has been confirmed dead by family and friends.

The pop fan, from Radcliffe , was reportedly leaving the venue when he was targeted by the attacker.

A local police force tweeted: "As the news comes in, the sympathies and condolences to the familes of Georgina Callander, Saffie Rose Roussos and John Atkinson #RIP"

Tributes were paid by the local adult dance troupe, Freak Dance Radcliffe, for whom Mr Atkinson danced competitively.

A message on Facebook from the group read: Today is an amazingly sad day! We have lost a member of our dance family."

They described him as a happy gentle person and a real pleasure to teach.

He was a true friend, not just to our staff but many of the parents and students from the school. Our thoughts are with the family at the very sad and hard time!

Many have posted their condolences online, saying he was an "amazing young man" and a "beautiful soul".

Lee Paul posted on Facebook: Sleep tight John Atkinson. Thoughts and prayers with all your family and the other 21 people who lost there lives last night.

Tracey Crolla wrote: Thinking of all the Atkinsons at this very sad time John Atkinson you turned into an amazing young man so kind and thoughtful you will be missed by everyone x x.

Nana Julie Mills said: Just heard one of my good friends whom Ive known since he was a little boy passed away last night. Condolences to his family and friends. RIP John Atkinson.

Talie Andrea wrote: Heartbroken for the Atkinson family at this sad time never would I imagine this happening so close to home. Rest in paradise John you beautiful soul.

A GoFundMe has been launched by the local community and it has raised almost 2,000.

Well-wishes wrote: "We are trying to help his family in any way possible at this tragic time. I know all us Radcliffe people can pull together and help this local family out.

"Please donate generously as we all know funeral cost are expensive and will help the family at this sad time! John was one one in a million and loved by so many!! A true gentleman. R.I.P John thoughts and prayers with you family and all of the other victims effected by this tragedy"

Alison Howe and Lisa Lees

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Two mothers waiting to collect their teenage daughters after the Ariana Grande concert were among the victims of the suicide attack at the Manchester Arena, their families said on Tuesday night.

Alison Howe, 45, and Lisa Lees, 47, from Royton, Oldham, were waiting together in the foyer of the arena when a home-made device packed with nuts and bolts exploded.

Both had been reported missing after the attack and on Tuesday night their relatives confirmed they were among the 22 victims of the atrocity.

"They took a caring beautiful mum and step mother away from us all she was amazing to us all x love you loads Alison Howe xx," Ms Howe's stepson Jordan Howe wrote on Facebook.

Ms Lees' brother, Lee Hunter, confirmed her death around the same time.

"For those who dont know Lisa is gone but never, ever forgotten. I love you Lisa Ill miss you so much," he wrote.

Saffie-Rose Roussos

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Saffie-Rose Roussos died from her injuries at the concert on Monday night.

The headteacher at her school, Chris Upton, said: "Saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. She was loved by everyone".

In a statement released this afternoon, Tarleton Community Primary School headteacher, Chris Upton, said the news was "heartbreaking".

"News of Saffie's death in this appalling attack has come as a tremendous shock to all of us and I would like to send our deepest condolences to all of her family and friends," said Mr Upton.

"The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking."

He added: "Saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word.

"She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly.

"Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.

"Our focus is now on helping pupils and staff cope with this shocking news and we have called in specialist support from Lancashire County Council to help us do that.

"We are a tight-knit school and wider community and will give each other the support that we need at this difficult time."

Saffie's parents are believed to run a fish and chip shop in Leyland, Lancs.

Saffie-Rose's mother and sister, Lisa and her older sister Ashlee are being treated for shrapnel injuries in separate hospitals.

Kate Tinsley, whose daughter Jessica was a friend of Saffie at Tarleton Community Primary School, near Preston, had earlier told The Sun: "Everybody is worried, the whole village. Everybody is in bits waiting for news, just some news that she's okay, she's alive."

Saffie-Rose was at the concert with her mother Lisa and her older sister Ashlee, who are both reportedly being treated in hospital.

Georgina Callander

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The first named victim of the Manchester terror attack was Georgina Bethany Callander, an 18-year-old Ariana Grande superfan who was excited to see her idol on Monday night.

Ms Callander had met Ariana Grande in 2015, and posted excitedly about the time she met her star on Instagram.

She attended Runshaw college in Lancashire.

The young fan, from Whittle-le-Woods in Lancashire, was one of 22 people killed by the blast as she left the Ariana Grande concert at the 21,000-capacity venue.

Her college confirmed she was dead, telling The Telegraph: "It is with enormous sadness that it appears that one of the people who lost their lives in Mondays Manchester attack was one of our students here at Runshaw College.

"Georgina Callander was a former Bishop Rawstorne pupil studying with us on the second year of her Health and Social Care course.

"Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to all of Georginas family, friends, and all of those affected by this loss.

"We are offering all available support possible at this tragic time, including counselling with our dedicated student support team."

Friends posted heartbroken messages on social media mourning their friend, who loved pop music and frequently attended concerts and shows.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
There are few types of fear worse than the fear of the unknown. Tragically, Great Britain is currently trying to come to terms with this being the reality its society faces in the aftermath of the Manchester terrorist attack which took place on Monday night.

On the advice of the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre and Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the British government has declared the terrorism threat level has risen from 'severe' to 'critical'; this is indicative of the fact that intelligence is illustrating a sinister scenario whereby an attack of a similar vein to the atrocity witnessed by Manchester is imminent. In taking this action, the prime minister is declaring, as George Bush did in 2005, a 'war on terror'.

What we know about the perpetrator of this heinous crime is somewhat limited to date yet unsurprising in terms of several characteristics. Salman Abedi is reported to have been radicalised only recently, to have attended university for a time but withdrew from his course and was displaying significant changes in his behaviour.

With the luxury of hindsight, it is somewhat easy to question why these issues were not flagged as 'indicators' of the act Abedi went on to commit. They may well have been, but objectively and in isolation, a change of religion, wearing religious costume and praying in a public space are not uncommon occurrences and are not, more importantly, against the law.

Many people on British soil and beyond question the fact this individual was 'known to security services'; we would be wise to acknowledge this in itself does not warrant action from security services or police to take action other than whatever surveillance/action can be afforded to them by legislation such as the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which gives the authorities the right to monitor and limit the movements, finances and communications of individuals for a period.

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The improvised explosive device used in the Manchester attack was reported to be a highly sophisticated mechanism; it is unlikely Abedi would have played a part in constructing this device himself, which is a strong indication that he was a part of a bigger cell.

The age-old debate of 'state power vs civil liberties' has never been more prominent than when Operation Temperer was executed by British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday. Claims the move to deploy armed soldiers on to the streets of Britain is the first step to becoming an authoritarian or 'police state' are, in my opinion at this stage, unhelpful. These soldiers are to be armed, to be under the supervision of the police and do not have policing powers.

If this move by Mrs May enables highly trained and skilled police officers to commit themselves further to tackling this latest reign of terror, it could be argued that it is a small price to pay for the safety of society.

Localised counter-terrorism units work in unison with national security services and contain some of the highest trained and capable officers in the world. It offers little solace to those directly impacted on by attacks such as Manchester, however, for every one attack that takes place, several others are detected and foiled by officers on a regular basis.

The importance of the vital role played by community policing simply cannot be emphasised in this narrative enough. Individuals who are most likely to be radicalised are those who are of a young age, who have for numerous reasons been sidelined by mainstream society and perhaps lack identity.

These individuals live in our midst; they have families, neighbours, a workplace - who better to ask help and advice from than the fellow community members of these individuals.

Police forces continue to invest time, money and strategic planning into strengthening relationships between 'the community' and the police. This does not come free from challenges and there is a distinct disjoint in some areas across Great Britain with the relationship between the public and the police.

A prime example of this is Project Champion: in 2010, West Midlands Police inserted CCTV cameras, or 'spy' cameras as they were largely referred to, into predominantly Muslim communities in areas within Birmingham such as Sparkbrook and Springfield. This not only backfired in terms of it being an infringement of people's privacy and human rights, but always was seen to be the police labelling entire communities and religious movements as a potential threat, which is not only offensive and worrying, but also fundamentally flawed and created a bigger fall out of mistrust.

This example highlights the complexities and sensitivity UK police forces are faced with when attempting to navigate issues of suspected terrorist tendencies; there is no one solution as with each of us as individuals, every one is different.

One of the biggest issues faced by police in England and Wales in embedding themselves cohesively into communities to begin with is their ethnic make-up; 95pc of police officers on the streets are white; it is understandable therefore that there is a significant and at times detrimental disjoint between officers and the communities they are policing. West Midlands Police, in particular, are strong advocates for greater diversity among new recruits and it appears the campaign is working; more young people from different ethnic backgrounds are engaging in the recruitment process for the police which is a positive.

However, what the police and security services do not currently possess is the luxury of time for such positive and progressive movements to take effect. The Metropolitan Police, being the UK's largest force, has 11.7pc of officers from minority-ethnic communities, according to figures from March this year, while the 2011 census found an overall minority-ethnic population in London of just over 40pc.

Police can only recruit from the pool of applicants they receive; perhaps education can play its part with regards to the employability aspirations of the next generation.

There are two types of terror felt by members of the British public and beyond in the aftermath of such an attack; that of imminent terrorist attacks but also the secondary fallout in the form of what is labelled as 'hate crime'; individuals going about their daily lives in the UK after such atrocities take place can and often do become the victims of verbal, cyber and physical abuse due to their ethnicity and/or religion.

Not only are these acts shameful and senseless in the first instance, they are ironically taking time from police forces who could be spending their time in search of the individuals who are behind these acts of terror.

There are countless battles being fought and won on terror. The message from police is to be vigilant - alert not alarmed. In the wake of Manchester, the threat level being critical and armed forces on the streets, this is no easy task; unity is key.

Emma Kelly, programme director and lecturer in criminology, policing & investigation and security studies, is a member of the West Midlands Independent Advisory Group for West Midlands Police
The Manchester suicide bomber was repeatedly flagged to the authorities over his extremist views, but was not stopped, it emerged last night.

Counter-terrorism agencies were facing questions after it emerged Salman Abedi told friends that "being a suicide bomber was OK", prompting them to call the Government's anti-terrorism hotline.

Sources suggest that authorities were informed of the danger posed by Abedi on at least five separate occasions in the five years prior to the attack on Monday night.

The authorities were also aware that Abedi's father was linked to a well-known militant Islamist group in Libya, which is proscribed in Britain. Abedi also had links to several British-based jihadists with Isil connections.

Yesterday his father was detained by Libyan militia in the capital Tripoli and the suicide bomber's two brothers have separately been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences.

The missed chances emerged on a day of heightened police activity as the hunt for Abedi's terror cell intensified.

"Everyone just started running. People were screaming and crying." Eyewitnesses describe the moments after an explosion hit Manchester arena pic.twitter.com/C7eoNU5qjD  Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) May 23, 2017

Officers raided the suspected "bomb factory" where it is feared he made the device before the attack and later arrested a white woman at a block of flats six miles away.

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Last night, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd conceded Abedi was known to the intelligence services, with officials braced for criticism over the apparent failures.

In other developments yesterday:

* It emerged that security services were examining links between Abedi and an expert bomb-maker who had lived in the same street in Manchester.

* Leaked pictures last night emerged in the United States of fragments of the bomb, prompting a diplomatic row between Downing Street and the American security services.

'Everyone was screaming and crying' - concert-goers describe their experience at fatal #Manchester incident pic.twitter.com/7RWkjTT99T  Sky News (@SkyNews) May 23, 2017

* Britain was placed on security lockdown with soldiers on the streets and several high-profile events cancelled, as well as events this weekend - including the FA Cup final - having their security reviewed.

* The British election campaign will resume with Ukip launching its manifesto today.

* A female police officer was revealed as one of the bomb victims, as further identities were confirmed.

The missed opportunities to catch Abedi were beginning to mount up last night. One community leader said that Abedi was reported two years ago "because he thought he was involved in extremism and terrorism".

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close People gather ahead of a vigil in Albert Square, Manchester, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire Women wait to take part in a vigil for the victims of an attack on concert goers at Manchester Arena, in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples People gather ahead of a vigil in Albert Square, Manchester, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire A woman waits to take part in a vigil for the victims of an attack on concert goers at Manchester Arena, in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jon Super Former England cricket captain Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff in the crowd ahead of a vigil in Albert Square, Manchester, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire Sikhs wave placards before a vigil for the victims of an attack on concert goers at Manchester Arena, in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jon Super People hold a placard as they take part in a vigil for the victims of an attack on concert goers at Manchester Arena, in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls People attendn a vigil for the victims of an attack on concert goers at Manchester Arena, in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jon Super TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY People gather for a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Paul Ward/PA Wire People leave flowers during a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Paul Ward/PA Wire People leave flowers during a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Paul Ward/PA Wire People attend a vigil in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire People gather for a vigil in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall in Manchester after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien Scenes at the vigil in Albert Square in Manchester for the bombing victims Credit: Kyran O'Brien / Facebook

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Whatsapp People gather ahead of a vigil in Albert Square, Manchester, after a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Manchester concert bomb attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday May 23, 2017. The attack killed 22 people, including children, and injured dozens more in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 atrocities. See PA story POLICE Explosion. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "People in the community expressed concerns about the way this man was behaving and reported it in the right way using the right channels. They did not hear anything since."

Two friends of Abedi also became so worried they separately telephoned the police counter-terrorism hotline five years ago and again last year.

Akram Ramadan (49), part of the close-knit Libyan community in south Manchester, said Abedi had been banned from Didsbury mosque after he had confronted the Imam who was delivering an anti-extremist sermon.

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Mr Ramadan said he understood that Abedi had been placed on a "watch list" because the mosque reported him to the authorities for his extremist views. A well-placed source at Didsbury mosque confirmed it hadw contacted the Home Office's Prevent anti-radicalisation programme as a result.

A US official also briefed that members of Abedi's own family had contacted British police saying that he was "dangerous", but again the information does not appear to have been acted upon.

Abedi's own family background might also have been a red flag to authorities. His father was a member of the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

Yet Abedi was able to travel frequently between the UK and Libya, where it is feared he trained in bombmaking and possibly travelled to Syria.

His youngest brother, Hisham - who is photographed on social media wielding an automatic rifle, was yesterday arrested by the Libyans who suspect him of knowing about the Manchester plot in advance and plotting his own attack in Tripoli.

US authorities said Abedi was known to them prior to the atrocity while France's interior minister said the 22-year-old had "proven" links with Isil and that both the British and French intelligence services had information that the attacker had been in Syria.

Ramadan Abedi, the suicide bomber's father, who now lives in Tripoli, gave a series of interviews to the media yesterday in which he denied his son was to blame. But a friend of the family said Abedi's parents had become so concerned about his behaviour they had ordered him to leave the UK and live with them in Libya.

Adel Elghrani said: "The father was so concerned he confiscated his passport. But then Salman went to his mother and said that he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and she gave him his passport back and he came to England instead."

Abedi flew back to Britain and carried out his deadly attack a few weeks later.

Counter-terrorism officers now believe that Abedi rented a flat through Airbnb in the days before the attack and stayed there until around 7pm on the night of the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.

He carried the bomb to the music venue's foyer in a rucksack and detonated it at just after 10.30pm as the American pop star was completing her last song.

Sources last night said that there were two separate bomb factories, with the chemicals mixed in the rented Airbnb flat in Granby Row before the bomb itself was assembled elsewhere.

It was not clear if the second flat had been discovered.

The photographs of the bomb fragments were leaked to the 'New York Times' hours after Ms Rudd had said leaks of intelligence shared with the US authorities had to stop.

It prompted an outcry in Whitehall, with Ms Rudd and Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General, understood to be among officials who phoned their American counterparts to demand answers.

Meanwhile, on Thursday Abedi was in Germany four days before the attack, Sky News reports citing German intelligence.

Abedi had been in Dusseldorf, 300 miles (482.8 km) west of Berlin, Sky said.

Investigators have said they believe he was part of a wider network of militants.
Police at the scene after they raided a block of flats (rear) in Blackley, north Manchester, following the attack on Manchester Arena where a suicide bomber killed 22 people leaving a pop concert at the venue on Monday night Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Police at the scene after they raided a block of flats (rear) in Blackley, north Manchester, following the attack on Manchester Arena where a suicide bomber killed 22 people leaving a pop concert at the venue on Monday night Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Police at the scene after they raided a block of flats in Blackley, north Manchester, following the attack on Manchester Arena where a suicide bomber killed 22 people leaving a pop concert at the venue on Monday night Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Counter-terror police have carried out a controlled explosion as they searched a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester in connection with Monday's attack.

Locals reported hearing a "loud bang" in the area south of the city centre at around 1.45am on Thursday.

Six men are in custody following a series of raids across Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following the attack by bomber Salman Abedi that claimed 22 lives.

A woman who was arrested in the Blackley area of Manchester on Wednesday has been released without charge.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed another search of an address had taken place, although there were no reports of any further arrests.

The force said in a statement: "This morning (Thursday 25 May 2017) we have been carrying out searches at an address in the Moss Side area during which a controlled explosion took place.

"These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast, ongoing investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage.

"As it stands, six men and one woman have been arrested in conjunction with the investigation and remain in custody for questioning."

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Vigil held in Manchester after terror attack that killed at least 22 people, inset: suicide bomber Salman Abedi Salman Abedi (Photo: Sky News) / Facebook

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The explosion was heard in the neighbouring areas of Rusholme and Fallowfield, with concerned locals taking to social media.

One wrote: "Does anyone know if the loud bang heard at 1:45amish this morning in/near Moss Side & Rusholme was an un/controlled explosion?"

Meanwhile, later on Thursday morning Manchester police confirmed a further two men where arrested in connection with the attack, one after a search of an address in the Withington area.
Salman Abedis journey from cannabis-smoking university dropout to Isis suicide bomber is being gradually pieced together by investigators as Manchester reels from the worst terror attack to hit the UK in over a decade.

The 22-year-old was remembered as a fun guy who drank, took drugs and possibly had links with local gangs before appearing increasingly religious as his radicalisation deepened.

The same transformation has been documented in many of Europes deadliest terrorists, including petty criminals and drug dealers in the Isis super cell behind the Paris and Brussels attacks.

A report by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) found that more than half of known European jihadis had criminal histories, making them easy fodder for Isis recruiters offering redemption in the name of jihad.

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Professor Peter Neumann, director of the ICSR at Kings College London, said the emerging crime-terror nexus was making radicalisation harder to spot for security services.

There is now a perfect fit between these young men and a group that has shed any attempt at serious theological discourse, he told The Independent on the report's release.

Criminals are already used to violence, so for the jump from being an extremist to being a violent extremist is much smaller.

Mr Neumann warned that the UK and other countries need to rethink our strategy to spot the warning signs for this new and dangerous form of jihadi.

Analysts said Isis propaganda portraying a life of action, adventure, brotherhood and purpose was particularly appealing for those facing dim prospects at home.

Research by the Combating Terrorism Centre additionally found the majority of Isis recruits had not always been observant Muslims, were unemployed or students and had an immigrant background  all factors shared by Abedi.

Investigators are probing his potential links with militants and recruiters from Isis, which claimed responsibility for his massacre in a statement hailing a soldier of the caliphate.

Abedi, who was born in the UK to Libyan parents who had fled Muammar Gaddafis regime, had shown signs of extremism including flying an Islamist flag from his Manchester home but not raised sufficient alarm to spark intervention by British security services.

The Burnage Academy for Boys confirmed he attended the school between 2009 and 2011 but said it could give no further details due to the ongoing investigation.

Abedi went on to study for a business and management degree at the University of Salford but dropped out at the start of his second year in September, getting a job in a bakery.

He was not well-known by neighbours in the tight-knit Fallowfield community in Manchester, but some noticed he had grown a beard and started to wear religious dress in recent months.

A person who said they knew Abedi from school told the Manchester Evening News: He was an outgoing fun guy but since he went to Libya in 2011 he came back a different guy.

He used to drink, smoke weed then all of a sudden he turned religious and Ive not seen him since 2012.

Other clues pointing to radicalisation include the appearance of a black flag associated with Islamist groups on Abedis house in Elsmore road.

There was a black flag with Arabic writing on it on the roof for a bit, a few years ago, a neighbour told the BBC.

Leaders at the nearby Didsbury Central Mosque, where his father and brother are said to have prayed, told The Independent they were shocked and did not know Abedi.

Fawzi Haffar said: We have many Libyans here but the sermons are extremely moderate, we are very liberal...the preaching and the way we teach Islam is the correct Islam, in our opinion.

We have no hardcores as far as I know. We always make sure we are very mainstream.

Abedi used a suitcase bomb packed with homemade explosives and nails for the attack  the same method used for Isis bombings at Brussels Airport and Molenbeek metro station last year.

CCTV footage reportedly showed the 22-year-old putting the suitcase down in the foyer between Manchester Arena and Victoria station shortly before it detonated amid Ariana Grande fans pouring out of the concert.

The Times reported that Abedi was known to security services as an associate of Isis recruiter Raphael Hostey, also from Manchester, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.

Other prolific militants from the city include Abdalraouf Abdallah who was jailed last for attempting to help fellow jihadis reach Isis territories in Syria after being shot and paralysed during the Libyan uprising.

A family friend told The Independent Abedi and his brother, Ismael, remained in the UK when their parents returned to Libya with the rest of the family four years ago but travelled back and forth to the war-torn country.

He returned from his most recent trip just days before Mondays attack, sparking suspicions he may have been acting as a mule carrying a suitcase bomb built by Isis militants.

"He went to Libya three weeks ago and came back recently, like days ago, a friend told The Times.

Chaos engulfing Libya since the British-backed removal of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 has left armed groups including Islamist factions battling for control as smugglers launch thousands of refugees from its shores.

Isis has gained a foothold in the country, using it for terror training camps bombed by the US in January over intelligence that external plotters were actively planning operations against Europe.
Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was known to the security services and his risk to the public remained "subject to review" before he carried out his deadly attack.

Abedi, whose sister said he "wanted revenge" for Western military strikes in the Middle East, was a "former subject of interest" to MI5, a Whitehall source confirmed.

Hours before the attack, he had phoned his mother and said "forgive me", according to a Libyan anti-terror official.

Libyan investigators believe Abedi acted alone when perpetrating the outrage, Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem added.

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Relatives of the British-born bomber are being interrogated by Libyan authorities in Tripoli, where his father Ramadan and teenage brother Hashim were arrested on Wednesday.

Abedi's mother, Samia Tabbal, was said to have told them her son left the North African country bound for the UK four days before detonating his device at Manchester Arena.

Mr Bin Salem said of the final phone call: "He was giving farewell."

Hashim, 18, allegedly claimed his older brother learnt to build bombs from the internet, hoping to "seek victory for the Islamic State", Mr Bin Salem added.

Despite the belief of the Libyan authorities that Abedi acted alone, British investigative efforts remained focused on smashing the potential terror ring which may have assisted him.

Police hunting the "network" behind his attack said they had made "significant" arrests and seized "very important" items in raids linked to the investigation.

After chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, Theresa May said the terror threat level will remain at critical - meaning another attack is expected imminently.

In an indication of the level of counter-terrorism activity, a senior Whitehall source revealed that 18 plots had been foiled since 2013 in Britain, including five in just nine weeks since the Westminster attack in March this year.

Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA) People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA) People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA) / Facebook

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It is understood the scale of the threat being dealt with by counter-terror agencies is "unprecedented" and intelligence officers faced "difficult professional judgments" about where to focus their investigations.

The source said: "MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest (SOIs) at any one time.

"Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

"Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider reopening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgments based on partial information."

Abedi targeted music fans at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night, killing 22 people, including seven children, and injuring dozens in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

As a huge inquiry into the atrocity continued:

:: Eight people remained in custody in connection with the investigation.

:: Officers carried out searches at properties in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton.

:: Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation."

:: The fallout continued in the extraordinary row sparked by the appearance of sensitive information from the probe in American media, with US President Donald Trump vowing to get to the bottom of "deeply troubling" alleged leaks.

:: The Queen visited some of the youngsters injured in the blast at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and condemned the "very wicked" attack.

:: NHS England said 23 people remained in critical care across eight hospitals. They include five children at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

:: The nation fell silent at 11am to mark the tragedy.

:: British Transport Police announced that specialist firearms officers were to patrol on board trains nationwide for the first time.

:: NHS England warned health organisations to "ensure care is in place should it be needed" as Britain remained on high alert in the run-up to the bank holiday weekend.

Investigations into Abedi's path to violent extremism were continuing apace.

The British-born son of Libyan parents, he had been banned from a mosque in Manchester after criticising an imam for "talking bollocks" during a sermon critical of the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

There have also been claims that authorities had been warned about concerns he was developing radical views.

The 22-year-old's father Ramadan and brother Hashim have been detained in Libya and another brother, Ismail, was arrested in Manchester on Tuesday.

The killer's sister, Jomana Abedi, told the Wall Street Journal her brother may have been reacting to US-led strikes in the Middle East.

"I think he saw children - Muslim children - dying everywhere, and wanted revenge," she said.

"He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God."

Meanwhile, apparent leaks of material relating to the investigation, including evidence photographs from the scene of the attack - were said to have caused "distress and upset" to victims' families.

Defending its decision to publish the pictures, the New York Times said: "The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes."

The Prime Minister said she would raise the leaks with Mr Trump in the margins of a Nato summit in Brussels, stressing that the "special relationship" was based on trust.

President Trump vowed to investigate, calling the leaks "deeply troubling".
Avdiyivka coke plant works at full capacity - first time in three years of Donbas hostilities

Metinvest Group's Avdiyivka coking and chemical plant, Europe's largest enterprise in its sector, has started to work at full capacity for the first time in three years of Donbas hostilities after new high voltage power lines have been built.

Avdiyivka coke plant's eighth coke-oven battery delivered produce on May 24, Metinvest said in a statement.

Intensive shelling in August 2014 cut the plant off the power grids and it had to suspend production. Due to a sharp temperature drop, the refractory masonry of coke-oven battery No. 8 was damaged. The plant's workers managed to repair it on their own, however, irregular power supply did not allow the unit to be put into operation for a long time.

Thanks to the construction of new high-voltage lines "Tsentralna - Avdiyivka coke plant" and "Kotliarevsky - Avdiyivka coke plant," the enterprise was able to cease the idle state and restart equipment of all structural divisions.

The re-launch of the eighth coke-oven battery will let the plant boost output to 8,500 tonnes of furnace coke per day.

As was reported, Avdiyivka coke plant in January-April 2017 reduced output of 6%-humidity gross coke by 27.7% year-over-year, to 716,000 tonnes.

In 2016, its output was 2.397 million tonnes of furnace coke and in 2015 it was 1.996 million tonnes.

The plant is in the zone of active military operations since 2014. Since then it has been hit by over 320 shells, 12 plant workers have been killed, over 50 workers have been wounded. The plant has suspended its work 15 times, it has been cut off the power grids over 200 times.

It is part of Metinvest Group whose major shareholders are PrJSC System Capital Management with 71.24% and Smart-Holding with 23.76%.

LLC Metinvest Holding is Metinvest Group's managing company.
Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing

Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing

Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing

Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing

Theresa May is expected to raise UK concerns about the leaking of intelligence on the Manchester bomb attack to the US press when she meets Donald Trump on Thursday.

The disclosure of material provided by Britain sparked fury in Whitehall and prompted an unusual rebuke from UK police who warned that a breach of trust of this sort "undermines" investigations.

UK Government ministers voiced their anger in calls to their US counterparts on Wednesday evening, after the publication in the New York Times (NYT) of scenes-of-crime photographs showing bloodstained fragments of Salman Abedi's bomb.

The pictures appeared a day after the bomber's name was briefed to the US media against the wishes of Greater Manchester Police, hours after Home Secretary Amber Rudd revealed she had told US authorities not to leak material about the atrocity.

In a statement released by the National Police Chiefs' Council, a spokesman for National Counter Terrorism Policing said: "We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world.

"These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

"When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Suicide bomber Salman Abedi Picture: AP Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing / Facebook

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The disclosure is regarded as "completely unacceptable" by Britain, because of the distress it may cause families of those killed or injured and because of the risk it could complicate investigations.

The row - which goes to the heart of the close intelligence-sharing relationship between the transatlantic allies - provides an awkward backdrop to the Prime Minister's meeting with President Trump at the Nato summit in Brussels.

A Whitehall source said: "We are furious. This is completely unacceptable.

"These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public.

"The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts."

The new pictures show torn scraps from a blue rucksack as well as screws and nuts used as shrapnel and a metal item which the newspaper suggests could have been part of the bomb's detonator.

The NYT described them as "law enforcement images" but did not make clear how they had been obtained.

The nature of the photographs - one of which includes a ruler placed alongside the detonator - left no doubt that they were taken as part of the forensic investigation of the scene, and were not snapshots taken by members of the public.

The paper also published a map showing the location of the victims of the bombing, positioned in a circle around the site of the explosion in the arena foyer, as well as what is thought to be Abedi's torso some distance away.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, before the publication of the photos, the Home Secretary said she did not believe the Americans had compromised the investigation with the early release of information including the numbers of casualties, the name of the bomber and suspicions he was not acting alone.

But she added: "Quite frankly, the British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again."

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Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham said that a decision had been taken early in the investigation to be cautious about putting information into the public domain.

He tweeted: "Complained to acting US Ambassador about leaks out of US and was assured they would stop. They haven't. Arrogant, wrong and disrespectful to GM (Greater Manchester)."

Congressman Adam Schiff, a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, said: "If we gave up information that has interfered in any way with their investigation because it tipped off people in Britain - perhaps associates of this person that we identified as the bomber - then that's a real problem and they have every right to be furious."

Britain's intelligence links with the US are among the closest in the world, and information is routinely shared by security and intelligence agencies as part of the special relationship between the transatlantic allies.

On Thursday morning the BBC reported that Manchester police are no longer sharing information with the US following the leaks.
A Muslim man comforted an elderly Jewish woman and the pair prayed together at a floral tribute in the centre of Manchester in a symbol of the city's unity following a suicide bomb attack which killed at least 22 people.

Sadiq Patel came and comforted Renee Rachel Black, who was visibly upset, and prayed next to her beside a display of flowers in Albert Square, where a vigil was held on Tuesday for victims of Monday night's attack at an Ariana Grande concert.

He then helped her away, linking arms with her and carrying her chair in his other hand.

It came as British police said they were investigating a network in their probe into the Manchester suicide bombing that killed 22 people on Monday, the head of Greater Manchester Police said.

"I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating," Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told reporters.

"And as I've said, it continues at a pace. There's extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak.
People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA)

People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA)

People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA)

People observe a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, to remember the victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week. (PA)

The city of Manchester came to a standstill once again this morning as they mourned those who lost their lives and were seriously injured in Monday night's terror attack.

Thousands of people lined the streets around St Ann's Square as the UK observer a national minute's silence for the 22 dead and 59 injured.

Among those paying their respects were Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Lord Mayor of the City Eddie Newman and council leader Sir Richard Leese.

As the large crowd- many of whom took time out from their jobs - observed the minute's silence, 22 balloons for those who tragically lost their lives were released into the blue sky above.

The silence ended with a resounding round of applause, while one man shouted 'Well done Manchester' as heavily armed police officers carrying sub-machine guns watched on.

Following the minute of silence a local woman, holding a bunch of flowers, began singing the Oasis song Don't Look Back in Anger and was joined by hundreds in the crowd.

Speaking after the vigil, Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow said: "Don't look back in anger, we can't look back in anger, that's what this is about and we have to look forward. We're all going to get on with it because that's what Manchester does," she said.

Paramedics who responded to Monday night's atrocity also arrived after the minutes silence to lay flowers in memory of those injured and who kept their lives.

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In a stark reminder of the current critical terror alert, as the city stood in silence the Greater Manchester Police bomb squad responded to an incident at Linby Street, Hulme, around 3km from the shrine.

GM Police confirmed that a bomb disposal unit attended the scene, but it is too early to say if the operation is linked to Monday night's terror attack.

Flags will remain at half mast at Government buildings until Thursday evening, a statement from the Prime Minister said.

Meanwhile, the Queen has arrived at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in the last few minutes to meet with staff and young victims of the terror attack.
Parts of the bomb believed to have been used in the Manchester bombing

The bomb used to kill 22 people and injure dozens more used the same explosive as those used in the 7 July London bombings in 2005.

A US congressman has said the bomb used in the Manchester Arena attack was "a classic explosive device used by terrorists".

Texas Republican Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told The Associated Press the bomb used the explosive TATP.

The explosive, also known as Mother of Satan, was used in the deadly attacks in Paris in November 2015 and the March 2016 attack in Brussels, both carried out by Isis extremists.

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Mr McCaul said the bomb suggests a "level of sophistication" that might indicate its maker had foreign training, and said the evidence gathered so far suggests "we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation."

Sky News reports neighbours said they noticed the "strong smell of explosives" coming from under the door of the apartment used by the bomber, Salman Abedi.

Security sources said the bomb was made with hydrogen peroxide, a component of TATP, and could have been made "on a kitchen table".

A US official told NBC the "big and sophisticated" bomb was made with materials that are hard to obtain in Britain, meaning "it's almost impossible to see he didn't have help".

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However, TATP is typically used by terror groups because it can be made using commonly available chemicals such as sulphuric acid, which is used to clean drains, hydrogen peroxide, which is used in hair dyes, and acetone.

It comes as police hunting the network behind Abedi said they had made "significant" arrests and officers had seized "very important" items in raids linked to the investigation.

Police and security services found bomb-making materials in the extensive raids following the attack, The Independent has learned.

One suspect device was detonated in a controlled explosion.

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Several arrests have been made in both Britain and Libya after the bombing.

Eight men have been taken into custody in the UK, while the bomber's father and younger brother have been arrested in Libya, the latter of whom confessed to knowing "all the details" of the terror plot.
People hold up an "I Love MCR" sign at a vigil in Albert Square in Manchester, northwest England on May 23, 2017,/ AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF

Police have warned people to be aware of fraudulent fundraising websites in the wake of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) tweeted the alert and instead directed wellwishers to a JustGiving page through which to make donations.

It said: "Please be aware of fraudulent fundraising pages on the internet. If you wish to donate please use this page - www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/westandtogethermanchester. "

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Set up by the Manchester Evening News, the site has raised more than 1.2 million since it was created on Tuesday.

The money raised will go to the victims' families.

Together with the We Love Manchester Fund, launched by Manchester City Council and British Red Cross, the total amount of donations stands at around 2 million.

Donors include Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure and his agent who will donate 100,000, and the Wayne Rooney Foundation which will also give the same amount.

The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Eddy Newman, said: "We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has generously supported the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

"The money raised through your donations will make a real difference to those who have been affected by this horrific attack.

"The magnificent support received so far shows just how strongly the world stands united with the city of Manchester at this difficult time."
Sinn Fein has rejected claims of hypocrisy over its condemnation of the Manchester attack.

Critics have accused the republican party of double standards given the IRA detonated bombs in the same city during the Troubles.

A huge Provisional IRA truck bomb devastated parts of Manchester city centre in 1996.

Some have contrasted that incident with the sight of Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill signing a book of condolences in Belfast this week for the victims of Monday's suicide blast.

Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy said those levelling criticism at his party were playing "political games".

"I think some people are trying to play political games and they shouldn't," he said.

"What happened in Manchester was an absolute tragedy, it was an atrocity, it was a scandal."

Mr Carthy said he was from the generation that had benefited most from the Northern Ireland peace process.

"What we would say to all political parties is stop playing political games with things like this," he added.

"Let's actually send our solidarity to the people of Manchester and let's work together on this island to ensure we never have to revisit some of the darker days of the past."
The FSB said the suspects were planning to join IS in Syria after the attack

Four alleged members of Islamic State who were preparing attacks in Moscow have been arrested, Russian security agents said.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main KGB successor agency, said the suspects arrested in Moscow on Thursday were preparing to strike at the capital's transport network.

The agency said the four were working under directions from IS in Syria to prepare attacks using self-made explosive devices.

The FSB said the suspects were planning to join IS in Syria after the attack.

It did not give their names, saying only the group included citizens of Russia and ex-Soviet Central Asian nations.

The arrests follow last month's suicide bombing in St Petersburg's subway which left 16 dead and wounded more than 50.
NBU says liberalization of forex regulations possible within framework of monetary policy

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has stated the liberalization of forex regulations is possible within further decisions to weaken monetary policy, NBU Acting Head Yakiv Smoliy has said.

"The NBU board considers it possible to weaken monetary policy not only by reducing the refinancing rate, but also by liberalizing currency regulation," he said during a press briefing in Kyiv.

According to the banker, these decisions will primarily concern the increase in the timing for returning foreign exchange earnings to the country to 180 days from 120 days. The NBU also intends to provide investors with the opportunity to return funds invested in Ukraine.

"Until now it has been forbidden to buy and transfer foreign currency for the return abroad of funds received by foreign investors from the sale of corporate rights, reduction of charter capital, and withdrawal from societies. We plan to allow such operations," Smoliy said.

At the same time, to prevent withdrawal of capital from Ukraine through shadow schemes, the NBU will make sure these operations comply with conditions.
The car in which a device went off, on a central street, in Athens. (AP/Yorgos Karahalis)

A bomb exploded inside the car of former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos in central Athens, wounding him and two Bank of Greece employees, officials have said.

All three were described as being conscious and hospitalized in stable condition.

"We are all in shock following this action," said Nikos Pappas, a government minister and close aide to Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras.

"We condemn this appalling action without reservation and with all our heart wish Mr. Papademos the best."

Mr Papademos, 69, who served as prime minister for six months in 2011-2012 and is also a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank, had been inside his car when the device detonated.

Police have not officially confirmed reports that the blast was caused by a parcel bomb containing a small amount of explosives.

But a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not yet been made, said the explosion occurred when Mr Papademos opened an envelope inside the car.

Anti-terrorism police were at the hospital where Mr Papademos was being treated in order to interview him on the details of the envelope.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Greek politicians have been targeted in the past by militant far-left and anarchist groups.

Earlier this year, a group called Conspiracy Cells of Fire, claimed responsibility for sending parcel bombs to the German Finance Ministry and the Paris office of the International Monetary Fund, where a small explosion injured one person.

Police said Mr Papademos's police escort had been in a car behind the former prime minister's vehicle, and that the other two wounded were Bank of Greece employees.

Authorities cordoned off the area, and forensics experts were investigating the scene for evidence.

The former prime minister's car was parked by the side of the road, in front of its escort vehicle. Mr Papademos's car bore little sign of damage, except for buckling on two doors.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos called the blast an "attack" and said he had been given an update from doctors treating the wounded.

He said all were "in a stable condition, are conscious, and are undergoing all the necessary medical tests so that their treatment can be determined".

"With all out heart, we wish Mr Papademos and his companions a speedy recovery. The prime minister has been updated about all the events by the minister of public order and he will continue to receive updates," Mr Tzanakopoulos said.

A respected economist, Mr Papademos headed a provisional coalition government credited with preventing the collapse of the country's international bailout at the time.

AP
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron before a working lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands before a working lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron barely know each other but they seemed to have a hard time letting go when they first met on Thursday.

Each man gripped each other's right hand so firmly that their knuckles turned white and their jaws seemed to clench.

Images from the photo session at the US ambassador's residence in Brussels showed Trump finally giving up, his fingers loosened while Macron is still holding on tightly.

Macron's determination may be a lesson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who on a recent visit to the Oval Office tried and failed to get Trump to shake her hand.

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Both Trump and Macron were in Brussels to attend a NATO summit.

After their meeting, they had veal filet and Belgian chocolate mousse for lunch.
Indonesia's president has ordered a thorough investigation into twin suicide bombings in Jakarta which targeted police, killing three officers, in the deadliest attack by suspected militants in the capital in a year.

Five other police officers and five civilians were injured in the blasts on Wednesday night.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he had ordered police to "thoroughly investigate the networks of the perpetrators and hunt them to the roots". He spoke from his home town of Solo in Central Java province.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since the 2002 Bali bombings by al Qaida-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people. A new threat has emerged in the past several years from Islamic State group sympathisers.

Vice National Police Chief Syafruddin, who uses one name, said an initial investigation into Wednesday's attacks showed there were two explosions by two suicide bombers near a bus terminal, where police were providing security for a parade.

Police said an anti-terror squad immediately raided two houses believed to be owned by the perpetrators in neighbouring provinces of Banten and West Java.

The attack was the deadliest in Jakarta since a suicide and gun strike in January 2016 which left four civilians and four assailants dead. Authorities have disrupted a number of other planned attacks since.

In February, police fatally shot a suspected militant in the West Java capital of Bandung after his bomb exploded in a vacant lot and he fled into a municipal building and set it alight.

Police identified him as a member of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah (JAD), a network of almost two dozen Indonesian extremist groups that formed in 2015 and pledges allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

JAD has been linked to numerous plots in Indonesia, including the 2016 Jakarta attack.

In March, police shot dead a suspected JAD member and wounded another as they tried to escape a raid. At least six other militants were arrested, including some accused of trying to establish a jihadist training camp in eastern Indonesia and suspected of having links with Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines.

Last month, police said they had arrested three suspected militants who were accused of planning to attack a police station in East Java.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told his Parliament on Thursday that he had phoned Mr Jokowi to "offer our condolences and our resolute support to Indonesia as we condemn the murderous terrorist attack on civilians and police in Jakarta last night".

"While we mourn, we must learn from these events as we do and sharpen our resolve to defeat the terrorists abroad and at home," said Mr Turnbull, also referring to the suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena in Britain this week in which 22 people were killed.

Australia's opposition leader Bill Shorten condemned the Jakarta attacks as "absolutely despicable".

He told Parliament the suicide bombings only days before the holy month of Ramadan showed that "terrorists have no respect for faith or creed or the background of any of their victims".

Australia and Indonesia plan to jointly host an Asia-Pacific summit in August aimed at co-ordinating against the security threat posed by home-grown Islamic militants returning from battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

AP
The Electron rocket about to launch in New Zealand (Rocket Lab via AP)

US company Rocket Lab has launched a test rocket into space from New Zealand, but it did not reach orbit as hoped.

The California-based firm said on Thursday that its Electron rocket lifted off at 4.20pm local time and reached space three minutes later.

"It has been an incredible day and I'm immensely proud of our talented team," company founder Peter Beck said in a statement.

Mr Beck, a New Zealander, said the early stages of the mission went well.

"We didn't quite reach orbit and we'll be investigating why; however, reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position," he said.

Rocket Lab was given official approval last week to carry out three test launches from the remote Mahia Peninsula on the North Island.

The company hopes to begin commercial launches later this year and eventually launch about one rocket every week.

It said it will target getting to orbit on the second test and will look to carry the maximum payload.

New Zealand has never had a space programme but officials hope regular launches could change perceptions of the South Pacific nation and generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year in revenue.

Rocket Lab plans to keep costs low by using lightweight, disposable rockets with 3D-printed engines. It sees an emerging market in delivering lots of small devices into low Earth orbit. The satellites would be used for everything from monitoring crops to providing internet service.

Politicians are rushing through new space laws and the government has set up a boutique space agency, which employs 10 people.

"So far, it's only superpowers that have gone into space," Simon Bridges, New Zealand's economic development minister, told the Associated Press last week. "For us to do it, and be in the first couple of handfuls of countries in the world, is pretty impressive."

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is unusual in many respects. It carries only a small payload of about 331lb (150kg). It's made from carbon fibre and uses an electric engine. Rocket Lab says each launch will cost just 5 million US dollars (3.9 million), a tiny fraction of a typical rocket launch.

It is a different plan from some other space companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, which uses larger rockets to carry bigger payloads.

Rocket Lab was founded by Mr Beck and is privately held. The company has received about 150 million US dollars (115.7 million) in venture capital funding.

AP
A two-year-old girl has died after her mum's boyfriend performed a wrestling move on her.

Cheyenne Cook (19) and Richard Gamache Jr (24) are accused of "torturing" the child, Fox 2 Now reported.

Police were called to the home in Missouri on May 16 to assist the young girl who was having seizures.

The girl was taken to hospital where she died a few days later.

According to Fox 2 Now, police said the child had obvious signs of trauma and that Gamache performed a WWE-style wrestling move on her.

This child was essentially tortured, Jefferson County Sheriff Marshak said in a statement. Our prayers are with 'AC' and the investigators that were intimately involved with this investigation.

Digital evidence was found of the child being abused by Gamache and that the couple made no attempt to hide the torture.

Gamache was charged with abuse of neglect of a child and was held on a $500,000 cash bond. Cook was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and was held on a $25,000 cash bond.
A year after he called Pope Francis "disgraceful" for criticising his intention to build a wall along the Mexican border, Donald Trump was all smiles for his first meeting with the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

The US President appeared to be on his best behaviour and keen to bury the hatchet, after the highly public spat with the Latin American pontiff over his plans for a border wall.

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The Pope had said that anyone intent on building walls rather than bridges was "not Christian", a remark that the then Republican candidate branded "disgraceful".

But that was largely forgotten - or at least ignored - when the President swept up to St Peter's Square in a 50-vehicle motorcade, riding in the heavily-armoured black car nicknamed "The Beast".

The President and his entourage, including his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, were led down frescoed corridors to the private study which the Pope uses for official occasions.

At the start of the meeting in the Apostolic Palace, the Pope was unsmiling and seemed subdued, staring at the floor during a photo opportunity while Mr Trump beamed widely, describing the audience as "a very great honour".

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But after a half-hour meeting behind closed doors, Francis seemed to have cheered up considerably.

He even made a light-hearted jest, asking Melania Trump "What do you feed him, putizza?" - a reference to a well-known dessert from her native Slovenia.

The quip, made in Spanish, appeared to get lost in translation, with the First Lady apparently thinking that the Pope had said "pizza".

Confused, she replied: "Pizza? Yes."

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In a broad statement, the Vatican said the two leaders had "cordial discussions" about international affairs, "with particular reference to the situation in the Middle East and the protection of Christian communities."

But there remains much that divides the two men, from their views on capitalism and refugees to climate change and the building of the border wall.

At the end of the meeting, there was an exchange of gifts, as is customary.

The President gave the Pope a boxed set of first-edition books by Martin Luther King.

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In return, the Pope gave him a bronze medallion depicting an olive tree. "It's symbol of peace. It is my desire that you become an olive tree to construct peace," Francis said in Spanish, to which the President replied: "We can use peace."

The Pope also gave him an English translation of Laudato Si, an encyclical he wrote in 2015 on the environment - a pointed gift, given that Mr Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris accord on combating climate change.

Francis explained that the treatise was about "the care of our common home, the environment," to which the President replied: "Well, I'll be reading it."

As the meeting came to a conclusion and Mr Trump turned to leave, he told the Pope: "Thank you, thank you, I won't forget what you said."

Asked afterwards how the meeting went, the President said: "Great. He is something. He is really good. We had a fantastic meeting."

In a subsequent tweet, he wrote: "Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world."

He then visited the Sistine Chapel before leaving the Vatican for meetings with Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian prime minister, and Sergio Mattarella, the president.

Melania Trump visited a children's hospital, while Ivanka Trump went to a Catholic charity headquarters to meet women who had been trafficked as sex workers.

The president then flew to Brussels or a Nato meeting, from where he will travel to the cliff-top resort town of Taormina in eastern Sicily for the Group of Seven summit tomorrow and Saturday. (Daily Telegraph, London)
Democrats on the US House Financial Services Committee said yesterday they have asked Deutsche Bank to provide information on whether any accounts connected to US President Donald Trump have ties to Russia.

Committee Democrats sent a letter to Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan on Tuesday seeking details of internal reviews to determine if Mr Trump's loans were backed by the Russian government.

"Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia," the Democrats wrote. "It is critical that you provide this committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews."

Meanwhile, The US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee twill subpoena former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its probe into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election after he declined to appear before the panel, its top Democrat said yesterday.

The committees want Flynn to provide information on whether there was collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.
A street has been sealed off as police continue to search a property in Wigan amid reports that a bomb disposal unit was called to the scene.

Eyewitnesses posted photos on Twitter showing a bomb disposal van, and at least one street sealed off with a police cordon while a helicopter circled above.

Greater Manchester Police said officers had been at an address in the area since Wednesday evening, following the arrest of a man carrying a suspicious package.

A helicopter circled above the cordoned-off area, which stretched on to Wigan Lane, near the Wigan Royal Infirmary, while emergency vehicles filled the road, one witness said.

Wigan Council said Wigan Lane was closed between Mesnes Road and Central Parkway due to "a police incident", warning the public to avoid the area.

Tom Piper, who lives on Springfield Street, said the whole street had been evacuated.

The 25-year-old told the Press Association: "The police apparently turned up at 1.30am in the morning with guns and stormed the place. But I never heard it.

"Then they've been there all day, mainly just one or two police sat outside. Then about four or five-ish it looked like forensic people were there and then all of a sudden, about half-six, we all got told to evacuate."

Another witness said they had seen a bomb disposal squad unloading what appeared to be a specialist remote device to assist their search.
The Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (IPMA) has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil).

The IPMA told Interfax-Ukraine the activities of Pharmexcil are coordinated by the administrative committee, consisting of representatives of the well-known pharmaceutical manufacturers JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited, Suven Life Sciences Limited, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Luipin, Ranbaxy, Novarties, Avantis, Ipca, Shasun, Sun Pharma, Zydus Cadila, Glowchem, Calyx and others. In addition, the administrative committee includes officials from the government of India and the government of Andhra Pradesh.

"Pharmexcil's activity is an example of cooperation between government agencies and private businesses in achieving the overall goal of popularizing the capabilities of the pharmaceutical sector in India with an emphasis on its export capabilities," IPMA Head Dr. U.P.R. Menon said, adding that the signed memorandum establishes partnership relations between the IPMA and Pharmexcil to uncover the potential of the Indian pharmaceutical industry for Ukrainian patients, businesses and government agencies.

"Our organizations will exchange information, facilitate the establishment of business ties between the two countries, organize joint events to achieve this goal," he said.

According to Dr. Menon, thanks to the signing of the memorandum, the interested party from India can use the organizational and information capabilities of the IPMA to prepare for entering the Ukrainian market by receiving objective information about the market opportunities, regulatory specifics and other data from the IPMA.

"We see this as a benefit not only for the Ukrainian side, but also for the Indian side, as the IPMA can help the Ukrainian pharmaceutical business to move towards India," the company head said.

Dr. Menon noted Indian pharmaceutical products in a short time have become internationally recognized and an integral part of the world's health care system and WHO institutions. Thus, in 2006 the sales of Indian pharmaceuticals in the world amounted to more than $13 billion, by the end of 2011 some $20 billion, and by the end of the decade, according to analysts, the figure will reach $75 billion. Now India is the world's third largest producer of medicines with an annual growth of 15-20%. India accounts for one-fifth of all generics produced in the world.

"If the pace of development of the Indian pharmaceutical industry remains at the current level, then it will take a dominant position in the world pharmaceutical market in 2020. These achievements will be possible, in particular, thanks to Pharmexcil," Dr. Menon said.

Pharmexcil was established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India in 2004 to promote exports from India.

The IPMA (the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association) brings together Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing companies that meet high international standards, including US FDA (the United States), UK MHRA (Britain), MCC (South Africa), TGA (Australia), WHO GMP (WHO), GMP (Ukraine), which have representative offices in Ukraine.
North Korea has accused South Korea of firing 450 machine gun rounds at a flock of birds earlier this week, dismissing Seoul's claim that it fired warning shots because of an object flying across the border.

The North's general staff said the South's firing was a "reckless military provocation" aimed at promoting hostility towards Pyongyang and maintaining a confrontation on the Korean peninsula.

It was also a "stop-gap measure to check the war-weariness sweeping the puppet army in the face of the rapidly developing nuclear and ballistic rocket technology" of North Korea, the general staff said in a statement carried by state media.

It said North Korea will closely watch how the South's "confrontation hysteria" would develop.

Seoul said its military fired an unspecified number of warning shots on Tuesday after detecting an object flying across the border.

They later said it was probably a balloon carrying propaganda and that North Korean leaflets were found at the border.

The Koreas face off across the world's most heavily armed border, and their militaries occasionally trade gunfire and accuse each other of provocation.

Relations between the Koreas are at one of the lowest ebbs mainly due to the North's nuclear and missile programmes. The US has 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter potential aggression from the North.
Michael Flynn is also the subject of an FBI counter-intelligence investigation and a Defence Department inspector general's inquiry (AP)

Subpoenas for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn are piling up as the House intelligence committee pressured him to co-operate with its investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The prospect of new congressional subpoenas came a day after the committee's Senate counterpart served its own subpoenas to Mr Flynn's businesses.

The FBI also informed a House committee that it would not be complying with a Wednesday deadline to turn over memos written by former FBI director James Comey detailing his discussions with President Donald Trump.

One memo reportedly shows Mr Trump pressuring Mr Comey to shut down the bureau's investigation into Mr Flynn's Russia ties.

Meanwhile, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page said he will testify next month before the House intelligence committee, and the New York Times reported that US intelligence services obtained information during the 2016 election that showed senior Russian officials discussing how to influence Mr Trump through his advisers.

Citing three current and former American officials, the Times said US intelligence officials collected information last summer showing Russians zeroed in on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Mr Flynn, a former head of US military intelligence who was a key Trump campaign adviser.

The Russian officials thought the pair could be used to influence Mr Trump's views on Russia.

The Times said some of the Russian officials bragged about ties to Mr Flynn, and others thought they could use Mr Manafort's association with former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who led a pro-Russian political party, to their advantage.

A day earlier, former CIA director John Brennan told a House committee that he had seen intelligence that "revealed contacts and interactions" between Russian officials and Americans "involved" in the Trump campaign.

Representative Adam Schiff, the House intelligence committee's top Democrat, told reporters Mr Flynn declined to turn over records to the committee, and he said it will be "following up with subpoenas".

The attempts to compel Mr Flynn to produce documents were another sign of the intense focus on Mr Trump's former national security adviser, who was fired in February after the White House said he misled administration officials, including vice president Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials.

In addition to the congressional scrutiny, he is a target of an FBI counter-intelligence investigation, a federal probe in Virginia and a Defence Department inspector general's inquiry into the propriety of foreign payments he accepted.

In a letter to the Senate committee on Monday, Mr Flynn invoked his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination in deflecting the panel's subpoena for a wide array of documents and information related to his contacts with Russians.

AP
Republican Greg Gianforte, right, welcomes Donald Trump Jr onto the stage at a rally in East Helena, Montana (AP)

US House speaker Paul Ryan has called for the Republican candidate in Montana's congressional election to apologise after allegedly attacking a reporter for The Guardian.

Mr Ryan said the incident involving Greg Gianforte and reporter Ben Jacobs was "wrong and should not happen".

Mr Ryan would not say if Gianforte should be barred from joining the House Republican conference if he wins Thursday's election.

He said: "I'm going to let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative."

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, congressman Steve Stivers, also weighed in, saying: "From what I know of Greg Gianforte, this was totally out of character, but we all make mistakes."

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanour assault after grabbing a reporter by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

If convicted, he would face a maximum fine of 500 US dollars (385) or six months in jail.

Voters are deciding in the special election whether Republican Gianforte or Democrat Rob Quist will fill the US House seat left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join President Donald Trump's cabinet as secretary of the interior.

Gianforte, who has tried to align himself with Mr Trump, defended himself as the criminal charge was announced, saying the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed him by the wrist in their exchange at his campaign office.

Mr Quist has declined to comment on the events.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi called Gianforte "a wannabe Trump".

"That's his model - Donald Trump," she said.

It is not clear how the incident will affect the race, which was partly seen as a referendum on Mr Trump's presidency, in part because more than a third of the state's registered voters cast absentee ballots before polls opened on Thursday.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin made the announcement shortly before midnight on Wednesday in a written statement, about six hours after the attack on Mr Jacobs.

The statement added that the reporter's injuries did not meet the legal definition of felony assault.

Gianforte was in a private office preparing for an interview with Fox News when Mr Jacobs came in without permission, campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon said.

The Fox News crew watched in astonishment as, after Mr Jacobs pressed him on the Republican health care bill, "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him," Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna wrote in an article.

She added that Gianforte then began to punch Mr Jacobs.

In an audio recording posted by The Guardian, the reporter asks the congressional candidate about the Republicans' health care bill, which was just evaluated hours earlier by the Congressional Budget Office.

"We'll talk to you about that later," Gianforte says on the recording, referring Mr Jacobs to a spokesman.

When Mr Jacobs says that there won't be time, Gianforte says "Just..." and there is a crashing sound.

Gianforte then shouts: "The last guy who came here did the same thing," and a shaken-sounding Mr Jacobs tells the candidate he just body-slammed him.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says.

The Gianforte campaign released a statement blaming the incident on Mr Jacobs.

It contends that the reporter "aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face and began asking badgering questions" before being asked to leave.

Gianforte asked Mr Jacobs to lower a phone that was being used as an audio recorder, then tried to grab it, the campaign said.

Mr Jacobs then grabbed Gianforte's wrist and both fell to the ground, Mr Scanlon said.

The 45-second recording does not contain a request from Gianforte that Mr Jacobs should lower his phone.

Ms Acuna, the Fox News reporter, wrote that "at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte".

The sheriff's office said Gianforte has until June 7 to appear in court on the charge.

Mr Jacobs told ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday that he never touched Gianforte. He said of the politician's account: "The only thing that is factually correct ... is my name and place of employment."

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers have pulled their endorsements of Gianforte but did not endorse an opponent.

"We are also sick and tired - of Gianforte's incessant attacks on the free press," the Helena Independent Record wrote.

Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, lost a race against Montana's Democratic governor in November while Mr Trump won the state by 20 points.

In the congressional race, Gianforte has been boosted by visits from vice president Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr.

Hours before the assault, the Gianforte campaign sent out a last-minute fundraising appeal to its supporters, saying the outcome "will determine whether we pass Donald Trump's America First agenda or if the fake news media and the national Democrats will win, keeping Obama's reckless policies in place".

Democrats were hoping an upset would send a message to the Republicans that Mr Trump's souring approval ratings could damage their political fortunes even in deep red states.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it would launch as many Facebook ads as possible about the assault, targeting Montana Democrats who might not otherwise vote on Thursday. The Committee has called for Gianforte to quit the race.
SALISBURY- Three teenagers have been accused of trying to record the beating of a homeless man while he was sleeping in a Salisbury park. Police said the teens then shot at the man as he ran away from them, WBTV reported.

The man, who has been identified as Matthew Macphee, was sleeping in the gazebo in Cannon Park early Wednesday morning when police said he was approached by the teens.

Macphee told police two of the teens were using their phones to record the third teen who going to beat him.

But before the incident could go any further, Macphee pushed the teen and ran away.

The suspects have since been identified as William Thomas Kennedy, 17; Adan Jesus Macias-Macias, 18, and 16-year-old Jameon Kentrell Sanders.

As the teens ran away, police said Sanders pulled out a gun and tried to shoot, but the gun didnt fire.

They started coming to him, Captain Shelia Lingle of the Salisbury Police Department, told WBTV. Two of them had cell phones on, like recording, and they were sitting there talking about get him so he got up and he pushed one of them with a camera and then another pulled out a gun, pointed it at him and shot at him, but the gun didnt go off. It like jammed, or something wasnt in the chamber or whatever.

Police said Macphee hid behind a tree, and said that Sanders fired again seconds later, hitting the tree.

The three teens then ran from the area and Macphee called the police. Officers responded and found a gun in the bushes.

It was discovered that the gun was stolen and had been taken from a vehicle in Spencer earlier this month.

Sanders was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a firearm by a minor and possessing stolen goods. He was given a $30,000 bond.

Macias-Macias was charged with assault with intent to kill and given a $10,000 bond.

Kennedy was also given a $10,000 bond and charged with assault with intent to kill.

The homeless man was not injured in the incident.
By Koushan Das

Earlier this year, the federal government approved Indias accession to the Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention). This is an international transit system to facilitate seamless movement of goods amongst its member states.

Being party to this convention will enhance Indias connectivity with Southeast Asia and the Eurasian continent, and could make India a major transit and trading hub between the two regions.

RELATED: India City Spotlight: Investing in Vishakhapatnam

The TIR Convention facilitates Indias efforts in the building of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which will connect the India Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, through Iran and then onwards to St. Petersburg in Russia and northern Europe.

The accession to the TIR Convention will also benefit the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, along with the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement.

TIR Convention

The Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets, 1975 (TIR Convention), is an international transit system under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to facilitate movement of goods within and among the parties to the Convention. At present, there are 70 parties to the Convention, including the European Union. The system covers transit by road, rail, waterways, and maritime transport.

TIR provides internationally valid harmonized documents known as TIR Carnets to transporters to streamline border crossing procedures. The convention allows customs clearances to take place at internal customs locations, thereby avoiding congestion at border crossing checkpoints and ports.

Sealed goods in transit are allowed by checking only the seals, which reduces transport and transaction costs and considerably reduces border delays. TIR Carnets also guarantee the payment of customs duty and taxes for transit goods, assuring security and supply chain efficiencies.

RELATED: Pre-Investment, Market Entry Strategy Advisory

How the TIR Convention fits in with INSTC, EAEU

The INSTC is a 7,200 km multi-modal transportation route established in 2000 by Iran, India, and Russia. Other members include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria (observer status), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Ukraine. The trade route aims to connect the Indian Ocean and Northern Europe, navigating through the Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Iran, and St. Petersburg. India currently depends on trade routes through China and Europe to reach Russia and EU, which are expensive and time consuming.

Once implemented, the INSTC will reduce cost and time of deliveries by 30-40 percent. As per the trial runs in 2014 and 2016, goods transported from Mumbai to St. Petersburg through the INSTC took three weeks, compared to the six weeks it currently takes by sea.

Irans deep-sea port Chabahar, jointly developed by India and Iran is also expected to be integrated into INSTC upon completion, offering an alternate route to Central Asia.

Parallel to the INSTC, India has been in negotiations for an FTA with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which has an integrated single market exceeding a GDP of US$4 trillion. Such a deal will boost trade and reduce Indias trade deficit with the region.

The EAEU comprises of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. An FTA with the EAEU will certainly be in Indias best trade interests given its accession to the TIR Convention. This is because the resource rich region offers a huge market, with a trade potential of US$37 to US$62 billion. Indias current trade with the EAEU countries stands at US$11 billion.

According to a recent Joint Feasibility Study conducted by India and EAEU for the FTA, the chemical, rubber, and plastic products sector is expected to witness the highest growth in exports followed by electronic equipment and crop products. In terms of Indian imports, chemical, rubber, and plastic products followed by minerals and metallurgy are predicted to rise once the FTA is in place, complemented by the newer trade route.

RELATED: India and Russia Collaborate on Joint Development Funds, Technical Innovation Projects

Improved linkages with Central Asia to Southeast Asia

While INSTC focuses on increasing cooperation with Central Asia and Europe, India is equally focused on increasing trade relations with South and Southeast Asia. In South Asia, the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement is expected to increase inter-regional trade by 60 percent. In Southeast Asia, the IndiaMyanmarThailand Trilateral Highway, presently under construction, will offer an alternate trade route for Southeast Asian countries. The trilateral highway is planned to be extended further to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, allowing easier access to the growing ASEAN market.

With increasing trade relations and development of efficient trading routes, India has the potential to become a major regional trading and transit hub in the near future.
New York, May 25(Just Earth News): The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan on Wednesday urged the Security Council to unite behind a common strategy for advancing the political process and peace in the crisis-torn country.

Addressing the Council in New York via video link, David Shearer, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in South Sudan and the head of the Mission, known as UNMISS, said that unity of purpose will send the best signal to South Sudans political leaders to focus first and foremost on the plight of their citizens.

He also called for a coherent and unified regional position to aid political developments in the country, noting that Governments in the region hold significant influence on political developments to end the three-year war but are not communicating the same message.

On Wednesdays briefing comes as President Salva Kiir again declared a unilateral ceasefire from Juba and pledged to review the cases of political prisoners.

Shearer said these announcements are very welcome but the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. He noted that there will be close scrutiny on the number of prisoners released and whether the ceasefire monitoring group can perform its work.

The senior UN official also noted that President Kiir formally launched a National Dialogue this week meant to end the conflict begun in December 2013, but has excluded his political rival and former deputy, Riek Machar.

In addition, inter-communal conflicts persist across the country, Shearer said. Among positive developments was the signing of a joint cessation of hostilities agreement between the Bor and Pibor communities in Jonglei, the result of UNMISS mediation.

Meanwhile, cyclical rains in South Sudan are expected to make roads impassable for the next four months. While the flooding will likely curb hostilities, it also greatly complicates the humanitarian response, making over 60 per cent of the country impossible to access by road or airstrips, and brings the spectre of cholera.

The humanitarian focus this month has been on the 20,000 civilians who fled to Aburoc in Upper Nile, fleeing fighting between the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and SPLA in Opposition.

Most arrived in a weak state  the perfect conditions for cholera to tear through their numbers, said Shearer.

He praised the short-term deployment of peacekeepers who were helicoptered in by UNMISS to give confidence for humanitarians to follow.

He also lauded the work of humanitarians throughout the country, noting that this is one of the toughest operational environments and condemned the unacceptable levels of violence that continue to be directed towards aid workers, including detention, threats, arrests, assault and killings.

Shearers briefing comes as the world marks the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. Some 3,000 blue helmets have died on duty since 1948.

The Council began its work on Wednesday by unanimously adopting a resolution renewing until 31 May 2018 a host of sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze imposed by its resolution 2206 (2015), on those designated to be blocking peace, security and stability in South Sudan.

Photo: UNMISS

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Tiger Shroff recently visited Maldives for his latest GQ photo shoot and the pictures are mesmerizing us till date. However, there is something else apart from the perfectly svelte body of tiger Shroff that we could drool over- The beauty of Maldives. Even Tiger himself is enchanted by the magic of the place.

Being a private person Tiger prefers exotic locations and Maldives being a beach gives ample amount of peace and tranquility to a person. He had also indulged himself in a lot of fitness activities in Maldives.

The young actor is a hardcore workaholic and yet the beautiful travel spot has etched itself so deep in Tiger's heart that he would love to visit the place over and over again.

The picturesque location now tops the favorite travel destinations list in Tiger's mind. The fitness enthusiast is looking forward to traveling to this pleasant destination now.


London court to hold meeting on Ukraine's eurobond debt to Russia on May 26

The High Court of Justice (London) on Friday, May 26, will hold a meeting on the Russian Federation's lawsuit against Ukraine regarding eurobonds worth $3 billion, according to the agenda of the court meeting.

The relevant meeting will be held at 10:30 London time. During the meeting, further arguments of the parties will be heard and issues related to the court decision will be considered.

Among the main issues of the meeting is the extension of the "freezing" of the court ruling execution and compensation for lawyers' services.

As reported, the UK High Court of Justice on March 29, 2017 approved an expedited consideration of Russia's lawsuit against Ukraine regarding $3 billion eurobonds. At the same time, the court ruling lacks a final decision on the point of discussion. In addition, it notes some of the provisions contained in it need clarification, there are many important issues the court must deal with.

Kyiv intends to contest the decision of the High Court of London. The court gave permission to file an appeal.
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.
Its that time of year again. This weekend, over 200,000 people are expected to attend Indianas biggest sporting event, the Indianapolis 500. From concerts, to autograph sessions, to the big race itself, there is something for everyone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Take a look at the lineup for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500:

Friday, May 26: Celebrate Carb Day

Race weekend will kick off on Friday, May 26, with Miller Lite Carb Day. This event includes a race car exhibit and a 40-lap Indy Lights Freedom 100 Race. At 3:15 p.m., the Barenaked Ladies will perform on the Miller Lite Carb Day stage, followed by the Steve Miller Band at 4:30 p.m. General admission tickets to Carb Day are $30 and include concert access. Purchase tickets online at indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Doors open at 8 a.m., and a full list of events can be found online.

Highlights:

 8 a.m.  Gates open/historic race car exhibition

 12:30 p.m.  Indy Lights Freedom 100 Race (40 laps)

 3:154:15 p.m.  Barenaked Ladies concert, Miller Lite Carb Day Stage (Turn 4)

 4:306:30 p.m.  Steve Miller Band concert, Miller Lite Carb Day Stage (Turn 4)

 6 p.m.  Public gates close

Saturday, May 27: Enjoy Legends Day

Legends Day is an event dedicated to all of the previous winners of the Indy 500. Meet drivers, get autographs and buy memorabilia. Multi-platinum selling and award-winning artist Keith Urban, alongside special guests Dustin Lynch and Clayton Anderson, will perform at the fourth annual Legends Day concert. Separate tickets starting at $40 are required for the concert. A full list of events can be found online.

Highlights:

 8 a.m.  Gates open/ memorabilia show takes place until 3 p.m.

 10 a.m.3 p.m.  IMS Midway open

 121 p.m.  Indianapolis 500 Legends Autograph Session A

 1 p.m.  Concert gates open

 1:302:30 p.m.  Indianapolis 500 Legends Autograph Session B

 3:304:15 p.m.  Clayton Anderson concert, Firestone Legends Day Concert Stage (Turn 4)

 4:305:30 p.m.  Dustin Lynch concert, Firestone Legends Day Concert Stage (Turn 4)

 67:30 p.m.  Keith Urban concert, Firestone Legends Day Concert Stage (Turn 4)

 6 p.m.  Public gates close

Sunday, May 28: Experience the Race

Race Day is Sunday, May 28, and gates open at 6 a.m. EDM superstars Zedd and Marshmello will perform in the Snake Pit along with artists RL Grime, Action Bronson, Adventure Club and The Trap House. Tickets to the Snake Pit start at $80, and all Snake Pit attendees must hold a valid Indy 500 Race Day ticket.

Drivers will start their engines at 12:14 p.m., commencing the 101st Running of the Indy 500. Here are some of the events that will be taking place on Race Day:

Highlights:

 6 a.m.  Public gates open

 7 a.m.  Snake Pit gates open

 8:3010 a.m.  Celebrity Red Carpet, Pagoda Plaza

 9 a.m.  500 Festival Princess Parade Laps

 12:14 p.m.  Drivers, start your engines.

 12:19 p.m.  101st Running of the Indy 500 Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil (200 laps)

 5 p.m.  Public gates close
What do you want to be when you grow up? A question often asked of young people by their parents and other influential adults, yields a variety of responses. Many children, reply based on what theyve been exposed to  perhaps an image of a successful person on television, or an admired person in their community. Other times, the influence derives from what theyve been led to believe is possible for them. When she was a little girl, Saundra Brown was given toy nurses kits. She would eat the candy pills and toss the stethoscope and other tools to the side. As an Indianapolis native, her mother who had only gone as far as the 11th grade in school, had hopes of her daughter becoming an elevator attendant at a posh downtown department store. Brown recalled that it was a prestigious position reserved for only certain Black women in that day.

None of these things suited her. Brown had one singular career aspiration, teaching.

Youll hear this from many teachersone of my teachers was my inspiration, she said. During Browns formative years she lived in the Irvington neighborhood. Black people, at the time, resided near the center of town and were surrounded by all white neighborhoods yielding an integrated school experience  a rare situation for Black children in the late 1940s. From as young as she can remember, she loved acting out and playing school with her friends and relatives.

Thats what I wanna be, she said about teaching. Thats who I am

After finishing high school, Brown attended Ball State University on a full scholarship and was the first in her family to attend college.

My mother was the kind of mother who taught me to be an independent woman before it was in vogue. She paid for me to have a Trailways bus ticket and cab fare when I went to Muncie for orientation. I was alone, said Brown. (My mother) said youre smart enough. You know what to do.

That remark sparked Browns already ambitious nature and motivated her to continue achieving her goals. She taught English for four decades in Washington Township as well as the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility and garnered several honors from community organizations such as the Center for Leadership Development.

Recently, the retired educator was awarded the David Hanna Golden Touch Award by the Indiana State Teachers Association during ISTAs Representative Assembly. The honor recognizes a retired educator who has demonstrated continued leadership in the association and the community.

She is a tireless retired volunteer, said ISTA-Retired Chair Rod Ellcessor in a written statement. She has worked for years and countless hours as a volunteer in the association.

Despite having a few health concerns stemming from undergoing a lung transplant 10 years ago and losing vision in one eye, Brown stays active in education and civic engagements.

Since retiring from the classroom, she has served as the ISTA-Retired chapter treasurer, on the Greater Indianapolis Retired Chapter Executive Board and on the ISTA-Retired Statewide District Council. She was also appointed to a special term as the retired representative for ISTAs Minority Affairs Committee. Additionally, Brown works to promote literacy through the NEA program Read Across America and local community programs.

Each Tuesday, she tutors a group of first graders in Pike township and presently mentors other educators.

I just do my thing, said Brown. Its nice to be recognized. Im proud and I share that with my grandaughter who is the love of my life. You do what you do and people appreciate itmodesty is a virtue and Im very modest about it.
If you are turning 65 or helping an older family member explore their health care options, understanding the mysteries of Medicare can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there is a local organization offering free help. The State Health Insurance Assistance Program, also known as SHIP, is a free and impartial counseling program for Medicare beneficiaries in Indiana. SHIPs volunteer counselors will answer any questions you have about Medicare coverage.

The Indianapolis Recorder recently spoke with Alex Peck, an Affordable Care Act specialist with the Indiana Department of Insurance, to learn more about Medicare and SHIP.

Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper: What are the publics top questions or misconceptions about Medicare?

Peck: Help paying for their Medicare costs. In Indiana, income eligibility amounts for the Medicare Savings Program are higher than many other states, so there are many who are eligible who havent applied.

For a single person, the monthly income limit is $1,879 with an asset limit of $7,390. For a married couple, the monthly income is $2,524 with an asset limit of $11,090.

Can you talk about the process of enrolling in Medicare? For example, in what instances will a person be automatically enrolled, and when is the open enrollment window?

If they are already receiving a Social Security check before age 65, they will automatically be enrolled in Original Medicare and receive a Medicare card before the first day of their birthday month. If not, when someone is turning 65, they can go to their local Social Security office to enroll in Medicare as early as three months before their birthday month.

They will be given a choice of enrolling in Original Medicare Parts A and B with a Medicare supplement plan (private insurance) or a Medicare Advantage plan (managed care). They would also need to select a Part D drug plan. Their acceptance is guaranteed for their birthday month and six months after.

Only Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans have an open enrollment each year. From Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, Medicare beneficiaries can change from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan or switch Medicare Advantage plans. These changes then go into effect on Jan. 1 of the new year.

Is there a penalty for not enrolling in time?

Unless you are actively working, there is a Part B and Part D late enrollment penalty. For Part B, the penalty is an additional 10 percent premium increase for each year of non-enrollment. For Part D, the penalty is an additional 1 percent premium increase for each month of non-enrollment.

For people who continue to work after age 65, there is no penalty, and they will have a special enrollment period when they are ready to stop working.

When SHIP provides free health insurance counseling to people with Medicare, do you counsel people in person, over the phone or online?

SHIP provides face-to-face counseling at 118 local SHIP sites, answers questions over the telephone at (800) 452-4800 and provides information and resources at medicare.in.gov.

Most people know that Medicare helps those over 65, but in what ways does it assist those with disabilities?

People with Social Security Disability qualify for Medicare after two years of receiving disability benefits. Other people under age 65 qualify sooner for Medicare because they have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. However, their choices may be limited. People with ESRD cannot enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, and in Indiana, Medicare supplements are not available for people under age 65. They are guaranteed Original Medicare Parts A and B and a Part D drug plan.

If someone is concerned about their Medicare coverage and needs help, what should their first step be?

They should call SHIP at 1-800-453-4800. Often their concerns and questions can be answered over the telephone. However, if they want to meet with a local SHIP counselor in their area, they can ask for that information also.

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about SHIP?

Its important that someone new to Medicare understand all of their options before they make a decision about Medicare. Theres a lot to consider. They might also have other coverage through a past employer, spouse or military service.

A SHIP counselor is specially trained to provide information on all their options and will remain impartial. They arent trying to sell you anything or influence your decision in any way. Theres also no charge for SHIP counseling. Theres little reason not to give SHIP a call just to make sure you understand all of your Medicare choices.
The saying goes that you never know what youve got till its gone. Despite being an overused cliche, its the absolute truth. Theres something about loss that brings about a sense of appreciation.

Monday, my family bid farewell to my late uncle William Ryder Jr. Some knew him as Bill or Ryder. I simply knew him as Uncle George. As a child, my grandmother Virginia, who was his oldest sister, would tell us about him from time to time  that he was an artist and how his ingenuity would sometimes take the form of destruction; hed rip their toys apart and put them back together in his own unique way. I also remember the times at my Aunt Belindas house when we kids would hear the adults talk about his most recent exhibition or news write-up. My first personal recollection came when I was in elementary school and he challenged my brother to a foot race down our block. It was hilarious. Though I never saw him very often, the moments I got to share with him over the years were never lacking in laughs or lessons. I learned a lot just listening to him. I learned to not let a painful past dictate the course of my life. I learned to use what I have to propel me, rather than allow my shortcomings to be a stumbling block. He was brilliant.

Two years ago, my uncle had fallen ill and had to spend some time at the VA hospital. Though his breath was labored and movements constrained to the small bed, which swallowed his even smaller frame, his mind was sharp. Hed tell every doctor or caregiver that entered the room what his plans were. He wanted the hospital to showcase his art somewhere. Theyd listen politely, but we all knew these people had neither the power to fulfill his wishes nor the intent to assist in reaching those who did. In his latter years, this was a common occurrence. Uncle George: the artist not without honor from his peers, but wholly disregarded by the powers that be. He had huge dreams  transforming Martin Luther King Jr. Street into a Black art oasis, taking a city block in the middle of the hood and making it a sanctuary that celebrated us in all our glory. On Easter, the last time I saw him, he shared more dreams, goals and plans  a book he was writing, a museum he wanted to open and even an exhibition at the Louvre. He was always working and strategizing. In his mind, nothing was too far out of reach.

On Monday, as we all gathered in a small chapel on the citys west side to celebrate his life, there was a sense of peace. The ghastly funeral home music was swiftly changed to something more fitting: the sounds of John Coltrane. Uncle George would have been happy. Later in the gathering, a number of people took the mic to share their own George Ryder stories, each of them funny, thoughtful and heartfelt. Vickie Daniel sang God Bless the Child and remarked that Uncle George was one of the freest people shed ever known. Others spoke on his unique personality and strong will to do exactly what he wanted, how he wanted. Some remarked on the beauty of his many creations. At one point, there was a discussion about some local art institution wanting to feature his work. A relative remarked how it was sad that in life, he worked so hard to make these things happen, to no avail. She noted how it was odd that many of our greats are not given their just due until their life is no more. Id be lying if I said it doesnt piss me off a bit to know that while these moves are being made, Uncle George wont be here in the physical realm to enjoy the fruits of his years of labor. Another side of me finds solace in knowing he did it his way, with love, never seeking to brag, boast or sell out for fame. He was an original, and I believe his reward was manifested in the relationships he built and the lives he touched. We can all only hope to be so fortunate.

I do not know what the future holds and if my uncles legacy will go the way of folks like Gauguin, Monet or Van Gogh, whom he often quoted. What I do know is that he was loved and he was blessed  blessed enough in this life to smell his flowers before the sun set and be appreciated by the people who loved him best.
The Ukrainian citizens living in the territories of Donbas and Crimea beyond the control of Kyiv cannot be left without international passports, and if it is impossible for them to obtain biometric passports, old-style passports should to be issued for them, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"I would like to emphasize separately that if there are problems with issuing passports for those who are in the occupied territories or Crimea, then the regulatory framework must be analyzed. They cannot be left without passports," Poroshenko said at a meeting on preparedness to the visa-free travel at the Volyn Regional State Administration on Wednesday.

If it is impossible to issue biometric passports for the residents of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the suggestion on issuing old-style passports for them needs to be introduced for the consideration of the Ukrainian government in agreement with the Ukrainian Security Service and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, he said.

Poroshenko said earlier that Ukrainians living in territories of Donbas and Crimea beyond Kyiv's control will be able to travel to the European Union visa-free "after the Ukrainian sovereignty in these territories is restored."
Deborah Hearn Smith, Girl Scouts of Central Indiana CEO, announced to the organizations board and staff last week her plans to retire after decades with the organization.

In 1970, Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from Kentucky State University, after which she became a field executive with the Girl Scouts organization. Two years later she was promoted to director of camping services and remained in that role until 1991, when she was named director of facilities and technology. In 2001, she rose to office of CEO of the Girl Scouts Hoosier Capital Council, and in 2007 when five of the Scouts councils merged, she was named CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana.

Her Girl Scouts journey has spanned most of her lifetime, and she is estimated to have impacted the lives of more than 1 million girls across the state.

A world without limits

As a young girl growing up in the eras of segregation and civil rights, Smith refused to let her surroundings keep her down. Sensing a need to nurture that attitude, Smiths mother enrolled her into a local Girl Scouts troop. I joined Girl Scouts because my mother wanted me to be engaged in activities that she thought would broaden my horizons and develop me as a whole person, she said. She was dedicated to the fact that as an African-American girl growing up in the 50s and 60s, that I not see my horizons as limited. And she found a fit in the core mission in Girl Scouts to help realize her dreams for me.

It was in Girl Scouts that Smith made lifelong bonds with other young women who shared her values and desire to be venturesome. In fact, it was with her troop that Smith went on her first trip out of Indianapolis to New York City in 1964.

One of the things that has been fascinating about Girl Scouts is that you learn very quickly that you can have a common value with people who have different lifestyles, but the value you share is caring about girls. Theres good in all of that, she said. We as a nation should learn that when you share a core value thats the same, then you can find common ground. The diversity of lifestyles, belief systems, skin color, socioeconomics and more makes our relationships richer when you share a common value, like supporting girls and women.

To heights unknown

Upon earning her first college degree, Smith intended to only help out with Girl Scouts during the summer on camping trips. That soon evolved into a full-time commitment.

Each time I thought it was time for me to move on, Girl Scouts presented me with a unique opportunity for development, said Smith, who shared that even after 47 years of service, her love of the organization continued to be renewed. I find the organization as rewarding and challenging as I first did. It has been a blessing to have the opportunity to do a lifetime of work that I feel passionate about to impact the lives of generations of girls.

Smith, when asked about her feelings on the girls shes worked with, said she is proud to have been a part of their lives. Many of the girls who I first nurtured and mentored in the camp environment are now women with families and careers of their own, she said.

During a recent public engagement, Smith had a chance to speak with this years 500 Festival Queen, who also happens to be a Girl Scout and Girl Scout Gold Award recipient. Smith also earned the Gold Award, formerly known as the Curved Bar, when she was 17. It is the highest award one can receive in the organization.

So I am now on the third generation of girls who come to me and say the opportunities of Girl Scouts have taken (them) to heights unknown, said Smith.

Whats next

Following the announcement of Smiths imminent retirement, the Girl Scouts released a statement saying a committee would be created to find Smiths replacement before she steps down at the end of the year.

Smith has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, she said only one weekday on her calendar is currently free. My schedule seems to be even busier in retirement, she said. I plan to delve into music and genealogy, which have always been passions of mine. I will also be able to spend more time with the other organizations Im passionate about including Circle City Chapter of the Links and my church. Smith also plans to do a lot of traveling with family and friends.

Deborah Hearn Smith
In the world of Mahishmati, they might be sworn-in enemies, but in the real world Rana Daggubati and Prabhas share a brotherly bond.

Can two actors be good friends? This is an age-old question for which nobody has a certain answer to. We have seen several actor friends in Bollywood turning into enemies to an extent that they have often taken digs at each other. Kajol and KJos enmity is known to all, and who doesnt know about friends-turned-foes-turned-friends back again  Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan?

Cut to, South Indian cinema, which, with no doubts, has the ability to take over Bollywood soon; the cinema, which gave rise to the strong bond between Rana Daggubati and Prabhas.

Do you know that the two superstars who play arch-enemies off screen are best friends in real life? From praising one another to always coming to each others rescue, Rana and Prabhas have, time and again, proved that their friendship is for the keeps. Here are the anecdotes that prove their bond is strong and unbreakable.

1. It all started with Baahubali!

Rana and Prabhas were just acquaintances who had met two-three times before they both came on board for magnum opus Baahubali. In the first schedule of the movie itself, Prabhas said, that they got close, and in no time they became best friends too.

coimbatore.com

2. Each others absence led to boredom on the sets!

In an interview to Bollywoodlife, Prabhas had revealed that on the days when he had to shoot alone without Rana, he used to miss him for they wouldnt have fun on the sets.

And they used to have so much fun together that sometimes they had to remind themselves of the serious job they were doing. The magnum opus required a lot of dedication and hard work, after all.

desimartini.com

3. Guess who is Ranas favourite co-star for life?

No points for guessing. Its Prabhas, of course.

Prabhas will forever be my favourite co-star, no matter how many films I do in my entire lifetime, Rana had said at the audio launch of the movie.

ibtimes.co.in

4. No friendship is complete unless you play pranks on each other, right?

So, once Rana made a prank call to Prabhas and told him that he is stuck with police and needs his help. But being the best friends they are, Prabhas didnt even take a minute to find out that he was just being played on. He immediately told him, Tell the police that you are in Baahubali 2 as my companion and they will leave you.

(Read More: Rana Daggubati Reveals Details About His Epic Prank Fail On Prabhas And Its Hilarious)

blogspot.com

5. And they would often poke fun at each other on social media too.

Remember after the first instalment had released, rumours were rife that Prabhass family is looking for a bride for him? If you were Prabhas best friend, we bet you would have done the same thing that Rana did  posting a fake matrimonial ad on Twitter!

6. They cant stop praising each other!

"What Prabhas has done for the film and what he has given is far greater than any of us could have done," Rana told IANS. Prabhas has also often showered praises upon Rana. They just cannot stop praising each other, and this heart-warming post by Rana is a proof:

A big shoutout this fine gentleman my co-star, friend and the Baahubali himself. He was the one who stood by this film rock solid for over 5years at the peak of his career unquestioned and with a smile....today he stands as the biggest pan-Indian superstar and deserves every bit of it. Proud and happy to be a part of his journey!! Saahore Baahubali!! A post shared by Rana Daggubati (@ranadaggubati) on May 1, 2017 at 1:19am PDT

7. They often come to each others rescue as well.

Point a finger at Prabhas, and Rana wont spare you. Remember the rumours were rife that Hrithik Roshan and several other actors were approached to play the role of Baahubali but they were rejected for reasons unknown. When the rumours reached Rana, he couldnt resist himself from clarifying the questions put against his dearest darling.

Not true at all :) Prabas was on the project during the script stage and I got on board right after!! https://t.co/Ed0TOiwd0I  Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) May 14, 2017

8. Competitors? They rather love promoting each others films!

So when Ranas The Ghazi Attack was hitting the theatres, rumours said that Prabhas who shares a close bond with production company UV Creations had purchased the theatrical rights to the movie in the US for whopping Rs.2 crores.

For the unversed, the face of UV Creations is Pramod, who is also Prabhas first cousin and a close friend too.

Twitter

9. And they know more about each other than what they know about themselves.

During an interview with indiatimes.com, Rana had spilled a lot of beans on how Prabhas in real life is. Like how only a best friend can tell you that you get awkward in front of your crush, Rana revealed that Prabhas is also awkward in front of his female fans. Whats more, he also revealed that Prabhas is borderline lazy when he is off the sets but when the camera rolls, he is total different personality.

ytimg.com

Dont Prabhas and Rana make the most adorable friends in the tinsel town?

If you know more instances about their friendship together, share with us in the comments section below.
In the post, Big B wrote, "FB 1635 - 'SACHIN a Billion dreams' movie last night ..filled with pride and emotion ..          Sachin   !!!"

2. PC Is On A Baywatch Promotional Spree, Makes Her Debut On 'The Late Late Show' With James Corden

 @j_corden...you are too funny! Such a fun time on your show, especially with @edhelms @kayascods. Tune in to @latelateshow tonight! A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on May 24, 2017 at 6:54pm PDT

PC made her debut on 'The Late Late Show' with James Corden and like always, she had a lot of fun. After Deepika Padukone's appearance on the show, PC is the second Bollywood actor who made her appearance on the show.

BCCL

She said, "It is a film festival and all (others) are walking for a film. I am here for a makeup brand. If I was here for my film, I would be dressing very differently. Since I am here for a makeup and glam brand, I think it makes sense to me to look a certain way."

4. Indian Army Trains 600 Actors Who Will Play Reel Soldiers In Salman Khan's 'Tubelight'

Firstpost

Since the film is based on India-China relations, the script demands a lot of onscreen army personnel and therefore to train more than 600 actors, Kabir Khan thought of an incredible idea. Kabir Khan asked the Indian Army to train these 600 actors so that they would look both inspiring and real on the big screen. Indian army didn't just agree to Kabir's idea but they took the actors under their regime for a few weeks.

5. Sushant's Raabta In A Legal Mess, Makers Of Magadheera File A Case Against Them For Plagiarism

Everything is connected !!  #Raabta 9th June Pic - #Filmfare A post shared by Sushant Singh Rajput (@sushantsinghrajput) on May 21, 2017 at 2:32am PDT

Since the look and the feel of the trailer and posters give the same vibe, the Magadheera makers didn't want to take a chance and have filed a case against Dinesh Vijan's Raabta in court.
Uzma, an Indian woman, who alleged that she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint has returned to India after the Islamabad High Court allowed her to go back.

ANI

She was accompanied by Indian High Commission officials crossed the Wagah border on Thursday, from where she will travel to her home in Delhi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed Uzma calling her 'India's daughter'.

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 25, 2017

The family of Uzma who is in her early 20s, said she had travelled to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan earlier where Tahir Ali, whom she reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love with, forced her to marry him on May 3.

On May 12, Uzma approched the court alleging that she was married at gunpoint and that she was facing harassment and intimidation from Ali who had taken away her travel documents.

She had also taken shelter in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad after fleeing her husband's home.

ANI

Ali who surrendered Uzma's travel documents following the IHC order said the court did not hear his side of the story and maintained that she was still his wife.

"She has been allowed to return and I am unhappy because my point of view was not heard. She is still my wife. Neither she has asked for divorce nor I have divorced her."

Uzma's brother Wasim Ahmad said the family was happy that she has returned to India and thanked Sushma Swaraj for her efforts.
I was a fighter. One fight more. The last and the best- these words sum up the life of a lesser-known Bose who served the country as selflessly as the (Subhash Chandra) Bose we know.

A born fighter Rash Behari Bose neither enjoyed the stature of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh nor did he ever come remotely close to rival the fame of Netaji Subash Chander Bose. In fact, this lesser known Bose was one the main architects of the Indian National Army (INA), but never wished for the credit, we've always attributed to Netaji.

IndiaTV

Rash Behari Bose like many revolutionaries of his time rose from Bengal, the land often known as the mother of radical ideas. Behari was a born revolutionary. Whether its the attack on Lord Hardinge in 1912 in the newly shifted capital of Delhi, or the Gadar movement in 1915, or the formation of INA with the help of imperial Japan, Behari bears his name on almost every monumental event that marked India's resilience against the British rule.

Today is the birthday of Rash Behari Bose and here are some facts about his life.

Born in rural Bengal

Behari Bose was born on May 25, 1886, in Palara-Bighati (Hoogly) village. He was brought up in Chandannagar, then a French possession. He wished to join the army but was rejected. After finishing his education, young Behari wished to join the army but was rejected by the British.

Ananda Math sowed seeds of patriotism in him

Wikipedia

He got hold of a well-known revolutionary novel called "Ananda Math (Abbey of Bliss)" written by noted Bengali novelist, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. The book inspired him to serve the motherland. The patriotic poems of famous Bengali poets, Navin Sen's, and Plasir Yudha also inspired Behari a great deal.

Behari got job in Kasauli

With the help of his Uncles reference, Behari got a job in Fort William. Later he was transferred to Kasauli near Shimla to the government press. But he didnt liking the job there. Later he went to Dehradun and started working at the Forest Research Institute and soon was promoted to head clerk.

Partition of Bengal ignited him

Though he worked for the British, he always resented the British rule in India, and Bengals partition in 1905 filled him with hatred for the British. He was already in touch with revolutionaries like Bagha Jatin and others in Bengal, but after the partition of Bengal, he increased his participation in revolutionary meetings.

He made contacts with revolutionaries in Bengal and in Punjab - at the time, perhaps the two most rebellious provinces in British India.

At FRI, he learnt how to make bombs and tried to kill the Viceroy

AFP

Working at the FRI, Bose learnt how to handle chemical materials and convert them into crude bombs. In December 1912, the new imperial capital of New Delhi was inaugurated, a celebration which Bose attended. He wanted to kill Lord Hardinge, the then Viceroy. He, along with his companion, Basant Kumar Biswas attended the celebration and Biswas threw the crude bomb at Lord Hardinge and injured him.

Master of disguise

Overman Foundation

Taking advantage of the chaos, Bose went out of Delhi and resumed his work in Dehradun. Later, he was among the main organisers of the event when Viceroy Hardinge came to visit a few months later.

While suspicion of the British against him growing and he thought that he might get caught soon. Therefore, in May 1915, he sailed for Japan under an assumed name. Bose reached the port city of Kobe on June 5, 1915. After he reached Tokyo, he met Sun Yat-sen, the great Chinese nationalist who was also living in exile in Japan, where he went under the name of Sun Zhongshan.

Bose also established contact with Japanese journalists and Pan-Asianists sympathetic to the Indian cause.

Married a Japanese

Old Indian Photos

The British finally traced him and asked the Japanese to extradite him. The Japanese were about to extradite him, but the relation between Britain and Japan suffered a setback after the British attacked one of the Japanese ships.

The Japanese refused to extradite Bose and the owner of the bakery in which Bose had taken refuge, asked him to marry his daughter, Toshiko. The marriage took place in July 1918, further rooting Rash Behari to the soil of Japan. The couple had two children in quick succession before Toshiko died from pneumonia in 1925.

Founded Indian Club in Tokyo

Bose

After his wifes death, Bose became active in politics. He founded Indian Club in Tokyo and lectured of evils of Western imperialism. By this time, he had learnt how to write and speak Japanese.

Behari followed Indias freedom struggle closely

Meanwhile, he stayed in Japan, he followed Indias freedom struggle closely. He even subscribed to Mahatma Gandhis Young India.

He hailed Mahatma as someone who made a lot of sacrifices.

Behari followed Bose as well

Wikipedia

By mid-1930s, Subash Chander Bose had become one of the prominent leaders of Congress and his fame was rivalling that of Gandhi himself.

Behari regarded him as a prominent leader of the freedom struggle who was "highly respected by the Indian youth". Six years later, he wrote, "Gandhi is a person whom I respect but he is an Indian saint and 'a person of yesterday' whereas Subhas Chandra Bose is the 'person of today'."

WW-II broke out

World War-II broke out and in 1942, the British-controlled garrison at Singapore was routed by the Japanese.

Indian soldiers, who were captured by Japanese decided to take this opportunity to fight against that British occupation of India and Mohan Singh, one of the commanders of the British Indian army routed by Japanese formed Indian National Army.

Excited by these developments, Rash Behari left Tokyo for Southeast Asia. At a conference in Bangkok (then also under Japanese occupation) it was decided to place the INA under an "Indian Independence League" and Rash Behari Bose was chosen as its chairman.

When Bose met Bose

The two Boses (The Telegraph)

The Japanese in order to find a leader to lead the INA contacted Subhas Bose who was in Berlin by then. In May 1943, Netaji Subhas Bose reached Japan by submarine after almost three years after his namesake and another patriot had landed in Japan. The two met a month later, when, speaking naturally in Bangla, Rash Behari transferred the control and leadership of the "Indian Independence League" to Subhas. Chander Bose

Died in 1945

In February 1944, Rash Behari suffered a collapse of his lungs. His health steadily deteriorated, and he died on January 21, 1945, aged 58. Throughout his life, Rash Behari Bose stood tall in his struggle against the British and he didnt wish anything in life except for seeing India free from the shackles of British Raj.
The Ukrainian side, within the framework of the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group, has demanded the admission of the representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to the entire territory of the ORDLO, including the Ukrainian-Russian border, Darka Olifer, press secretary of Ukrainian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group and former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, said on Wednesday.

"The Ukrainian side has once again expressed its concern over cases of violence and intimidation that occur with respect to the staff of the OSCE SMM on uncontrolled Ukrainian part of Donbas: after the car bomb attack of the OSCE SMM's patrol which resulted in death, this aggression has become a trend. We insist on the admission of representatives of the mission to the whole territory of the ORDLO, including the Ukrainian-Russian border. OSCE SMM representatives are repeatedly not allowed to these very areas that close to the border which is registered by representatives of the OSCE SMM," she wrote on her Facebook page at the end of the TCG meeting in Minsk on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian side also insists on the necessity of the abolition the Russian law on the recognition of the identification documents of the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, forgoing hostile takeovers of enterprises, and the cancellation of the use of the Russian ruble in these territories as part of the implementation of the Minsk Agreement on the settlement of the situation in Donbas, she said.

"We believe, we should discuss, in particular, the abolition of the Russian president's decree on the recognition of IDs of the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the abolition of the pseudo-decree [of Donetsk] on establishing the quasi-border, forgoing hostile takeovers of Ukrainian and European enterprises in the territory of the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the cancellation of the ruble zone in the territory of the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine's regaining control over the border, and the creation of the working group on the border," Olifer said.

In addition, the Ukrainian side raised an issue of payments for water supplies to the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, she said.

The population in the territories beyond Kyiv's control is charged for these supplies, she said.

"The economic subgroup discussed water supplies to the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. We are ready to provide supplies and are doing so, despite the existing debts," Olifer said.
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U.S. President Donald Trump continues on his first foreign trip, met the heads of European Union institutions in Brussels on Thursday ahead of a summit of NATO leaders at the military alliances headquarters in the city later in the day.

Trump, on the fourth leg of his first foreign trip since taking office, was greeted by European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who chairs meetings of the 28 EU leaders.

Also joining the talks will be the blocs chief executive, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Trump, who voiced scepticism while campaigning about the EUs value and hailed Britains Brexit vote to quit the bloc, will hear a call from European leaders for him to maintain Washingtons longstanding support for integration on the continent, as well to support free trade and efforts to combat climate change.

Trump questioned the relevance of the NATO military alliance as a presidential candidate, and is considering pulling the U.S. out of the Paris agreement on climate change, a huge concern in Europe.

The EU was also a party to the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has criticized sharply.

We expect him to recommit to NATOs founding rule that an attack against one ally is an attack against all, said a senior European diplomat at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Words matter and there is a huge expectation on that.

Trump will also meet Europes chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs EU summits, in the morning.

He will then go to NATOs new, billion-dollar headquarters where he will unveil a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

There Trump, in his only scheduled public remarks before a dinner with NATO leaders, is expected to pledge his full support to the alliance he once called obsolete because he said it was not doing enough to stop terrorism.

NATO hopes to impress Trump with military bands, allied jets flying overhead and a walk through the glass-and-steel headquarters, which replaces a leaking, 1960s prefab structure.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump would press NATO leaders hard to spend more on defense and take on more of the burden of paying for the alliance, a message Trump has reiterated repeatedly before and after entering the White House.

Trump wants NATO to join the battle against Islamic State, Tillerson told reporters on Air Force One.

NATO ambassadors agreed on Wednesday for the Western military alliance to join the U.S.-led, 68-nation coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, paving the way for a formal endorsement by NATO leaders.

There may be tension at the EU meeting, too, given the U.S. presidents earlier apparent disdain for the bloc. In January, Trump labeled the European Union a vehicle for Germany, called Britains decision to leave the bloc a great thing and said more countries would follow.

But EU officials were pleased he was fitting in the visit at all and noted that his critical tone had changed after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington and after sending U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to Europe this year.

Trump told Reuters in February the EU was wonderful.

EU leaders may be looking for hints from Trump about the U.S. trade relationship after the president kicked off plans to renegotiate the NAFTA agreement with Canada and Mexico.

U.S.-EU trade represents about 46 per cent of the global economy, said Jeffrey Rathke, a Europe expert at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, but negotiations on a broad EU-U.S. free-trade agreement have been on hold since Trumps predecessor Barack Obama left office.

The administration has not yet articulated any kind of agenda for the (trade) relationship with the European Union, Rathke said.

This is a big, glaring hole This meeting may be an opportunity to start setting some direction on that, he told reporters ahead of the trip.
A five-year-old Chinese toddler who was left home unattended by his parents did wonders with his parents cash. The boy, from Qingdao, reportedly ripped into tiny bits bank notes estimated to be worth N2.2m. The kid is said to must have discovered the stash while playing and had no clue what the secretly kept pieces of papers were meant for. A five-year-old Chinese toddler who was left home unattended by his parents did wonders with his parents cash. The boy, from Qingdao, reportedly ripped into tiny bits bank notes estimated to be worth N2.2m. The kid is said to must have discovered the stash while playing and had no clue what the secretly kept pieces of papers were meant for.

His parents couldnt believe their eyes when they finally returned home, only to find the house cluttered with pieces of bank notes. The father, only identified as Gao, then tried to reconstruct the notes.

I painstakingly tried to put together the pieces. Two days later I was still trying to reconstruct the notes, but did not succeed. They were shredded into very tiny pieces, the father, who is a businessman, told journalists. Earlier on, he had reportedly taken the pieces of notes to the bank in attempts to get replacement. But the bank refused.

He was told the bank could only give him new notes if he was able to put together the shredded pieces. He tried to do that but failed miserably. It also emerged that the cash was a loan that Gao had taken from the bank. He will now have to find other ways of settling the loan. Its not yet clear what kind of punishment the kid received for the hefty damage.

Source: ( Gossipnaij.com)
Family and friends of an Imo State businessman have been left totally disheartened after abductors held on to the man even after a ransom was paid.

The abductors of Paul Kpaduwa, a businessman, based in Anara in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State had yet to release him after his family reportedly paid N1.5m as ransom to them.

According to Punch Metro, it was learnt that Kpaduwa, was kidnapped around 9:30 pm on Saturday in his house in Umudo village in Anara community upon his return from the days work.

A family source who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent on Thursday that the businessman was whisked away in his car by his abductors who laid an ambush at his gate.

we only saw his footwear, meaning that he must have struggled with them before they took him away in his Camry (tinny light). His rooms were equally ransacked, where valuables were taken. We met the gate and doors to the rooms wide open,  The family source told our correspondent.

He said that the kidnappers later established contact with them and they were able to speak with their brother.

He said on Monday, as instructed by Kpaduwa, N1.5m was withdrawn from his bank accounts and given to the abductors at Orodo in the Mbaitoli LGA of the state.

They contacted us on Monday and we were able to speak to our brother through his mobile phone. Paul, instructed us to withdraw all the monies in his account so that he can regain his freedom. N1.5M was withdrawn from his two accounts and taken to the kidnappers in Orodo in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The family source, therefore, expressed worry that since the ransom was paid, they had yet to hear from the abductors or speak with their brother.

On April 3, 2017, Pauls cousin, Ben Kpaduwa was kidnapped at his place of work in Anara.

He spent several days in the forest before he was rescued by the police after a gun battle with the kidnappers. One of the abductors reportedly died in the gun duel

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Andrew Enwerem, said that the CP had ordered the victims rescue unhurt within the next 24 hours.

Enwerem, said that the police were working closely with the family to ensure that he was reunited with them as quickly as possible.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of the European Council Donald Tusk have coordinated positions pending the G7 summit and set the date for the next Ukraine-EU summit, the Ukrainian president's press service said on Wednesday evening.

"Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the President of the European Council have agreed to hold the next Ukraine-EU Summit in Kyiv on July 13, 2017," a report says.

Poroshenko informed Tusk of the situation in Donbas, having accused Russia of violating the Minsk agreements.

"Under these conditions, there is no reason to lift or somehow soften the EU economic and sector-specific sanctions against the Russian Federation," Poroshenko said.

Such an assessment must underlie G7 summit and EU Council resolutions to extend the sanctions against Russia beyond July 31, 2017, Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko and Tusk congratulated each other on the final approval and publication of the European Council decision to introduce visa-free travel for Ukrainians. The parties are expecting visa-free travel to start from June 11, 2017, the press office said.

They also discussed the status of the EU-Ukraine association agreement ratification by the Dutch senate and expressed hope for swift introduction of the document.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said on Wednesday that the extremisms of the Boko Haram in the North-East and the Niger Delta militants in the South-South were not addressed on time by the government before they became this dangerous.

Obasanjo, who said this at a workshop in Abuja on the prevention of violent extremism, noted that the Niger Delta agitation grew from socio-economic deprivations.

According to him, violent extremism was one of the hindrances to reaping the dividends of democracy.

He said, Violent extremism does not just spring overnight. For me, each of us has some form of extremism in us. What then makes extremism go violent? This happens when grievances are not immediately addressed. They go violent when they are left unaddressed or untreated. I want to illustrate with two or three examples. The militants in the Niger Delta did not start as militants. They started as people who felt they were not getting what they deserved within the economic and social millieu of Nigeria.

I went as the Nigerian President and I was shocked about what I saw of the oil companies and the settlements of natives, where they had no water, no electricity, and no road. Their poverty was not addressed.

When they failed to get attention and get their situation addressed, violence became part of their solution. The solution lies in developing that community.

Also, the Boko Haram insurgents that are raging now, was started by Mohammed Yusuf who was normal, learned in Islamic religion and a good orator and preacher. When he was confronted with the poverty and lack of job opportunity for his followers, he decided to try and find a solution.

What should we have as our narrative today? I have always maintained that it should be the stick and carrot approach. We did not have a stitch-in-time for the Boko Haram. It has festered and gone beyond Maiduguri and Nigeria and we have a monster. If we had tamed it much earlier with the right narrative, with the right action, the story might have been different.

At the workshop, which was organised by the Club De Madrid; European Union Delegation; Stop Violent Extremism Madrid + 10; Partnership Against Violent Extremism and the Counter Terrorism Centre, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno , said all stakeholders must explore ways of preventing sermons in mosques from radicalising youths.

Monguno also said the Federal Government would in August launch a national framework on prevention of violent extremism.

Monguno said that the success of the war against violent extremism would depend on finding lasting solutions to the challenges of governance, democratic institutions, and a lack of opportunities.

According to him, addressing security challenges demands a comprehensive regional and international approach that combines both soft and hard approaches to the threat of violent extremism.

He said that investigations had shown that extremist groups such as Boko Haram believed they were waging a Jihad war.

Meanwhile, the European Union says at least 25 out of the 27 local government areas in Borno State are affected by Boko Haram.

The Head of the EU Delegation to ECOWAS and Nigeria, Ambassador Michael Arrion, said this on Wednesday when members of the Progressive Alliance of Democrats and Socialists in the European Parliament visited members of the advocacy group, BringBackOurGirls, in Abuja on Tuesday.

While responding to a remark, Arrion said, I am happy to tell you that very soon we will be in Borno to announce a support recovery and rehabilitation. We will be working with the Borno State authorities. I took your message. We know that 25 LGAs out of 27 need strong support in terms of rehabilitation. We will contribute to that, I promise you.

Arrion told our correspondent that the North-East should expect at least 140m assistance from the EU.

Meanwhile, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has called on the EU and other donor agencies for more support to resolve the humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Nort-East.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Africas third-biggest oil producer, Equatorial Guinea, has been accepted as a new member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a source close to the countrys oil minister told a Reuters on Thursday.

Equatorial Guinea said in January it was seeking to become OPECs 14th member and the sixth from Africa, an addition that would help raise the continents influence and profile in the corridors of global oil production and pricing.

OPEC and non-member oil producers are gearing up to extend output cuts on Thursday, possibly by as long as 12 months, to help clear a global stocks overhang and prop up crude prices.

OPEC is to discuss in Vienna whether to prolong an accord reached in December in which it and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.

Most OPEC ministers, delegates and the market see a nine-month extension, instead of the initially suggested six months, as the base-case scenario but some countries including Russia have suggested an unusually long duration of 12 months.

I think nine months is most likely, one OPEC delegate said. Four other delegates agreed it was the most probable outcome.

OPECs de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and top non-OPEC producer Russia have said cuts need to be extended to speed up market rebalancing and prevent oil prices from sliding back below 50 per barrel dollars.

OPEC sources have said the Thursday meeting will highlight a need for long-term cooperation with non-OPEC producers.

The group could also send a message to the market that it will seek to curtail its oil exports, which have not declined as steeply as its production.

Sources said however, a decision on deeper output cuts is unlikely on Thursday.

The OPEC meeting is expected to start after 0820 GMT, according to a preliminary schedule, followed by a joint gathering with non-OPEC after 1320 GMT.

By 0804 GMT, Brent crude was trading up almost one per cent, near 54.50 dollars a barrel.

OPECs cuts have helped push oil back above 50 dollars a barrel this year, giving a fiscal boost to producers, many of which rely heavily on energy revenues and have had to burn through foreign-currency reserves to plug holes in their budgets.

Oils earlier price decline, which started in 2014, forced Russia and Saudi Arabia to tighten their belts and led to unrest in some producing countries including Venezuela and Nigeria.
The results of the 2017 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Federal Unity schools, have been released by the President Muhamamdu Buhari-led federal government.

The Federal Government has released the result of the just concluded 2017 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Federal Unity schools.

A statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja said the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, gave approval to the National Examination Council (NECO) to release the result to the public.

The results would be available in all the State Ministries of Education nationwide as well as NECO zonal offices.

A total of 80,421 candidates registered for the examination but only 77, 512 candidatessat for the examination.

The minister said the general analysis of the result showed that the highest score was 189 out of 200 scored by two candidates.

The candidates are Emeka-Egbuna Chinecherem and Joyce Onubogu both from Anambra State while the least score was 4 scored by eight candidates.

Mr. Adamu said Queens College, Yaba Lagos was one of the colleges with highest subscription of 5524, while the least subscribed college was FGGC, Monguno Borno State, with only 21 candidates.

According to him, the result can be accessed on-line through http://www.fmeinterview.com or through NECO zonal offices nationwide.

The minister added that the placement exercise was scheduled to take place in July, 2017.
The Ekiti State Government has finally reacted to the controversies surrounding the repatriation of Moji Olaiyas corpse back to Nigeria.

They described the online publications that claims the State Governor, Ayodele Fayose promised to fund the movement of her corpse back to Nigeria as fals, saying, No official request has been made to the government in respect of the burial.

The Special Assistant to the State Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, who made this known in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Monday, described as irresponsible, the comment made by a certain Olukayode Salako, claiming that Governor Fayose declined request to assist with the flying of Moji Olaiyas corpse to Nigeria.

While maintaining that there was no official communication between the governor and Moji Olaiyas family on the issue of assistance, Olayinka disclosed that:
Patients in critical condition at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital were locked out by management after Unions embarked on a peaceful protest.

Several patients at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba in Lagos were stranded yesterday as the three main entrance gates of the hospital were put under lock and key by the hospitals management for several hours to frustrate a labour unions protest rally, NewTelegraph reported.

The report stated that all the professional unions in LUTH, which were involved in the protest in the teaching hospital, have called on the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to intervene and investigate the allegations of steady decline of the hospital, resulting in poor care service provision, poor staff welfare, victimisation of workers, and lack of basic working tools, among others.

Sadly, it was also reported that some of the patients in LUTH, who were receiving treatment in the hospital, were locked outside for over two hours, while many families were also denied the opportunity to visit their families and friends, as security officials stopped people from gaining entrance into the hospital for medical treatment.

Apart from the hospitals gates being under lock and key, there was heavy presence of armed security personnel within and outside the hospitals premises to prevent breakdown of law and order.

NewTelegraph reported that the sad incident forced patients to be stranded. An elderly woman, who was brought into the teaching hospital in critical condition by her family for urgent attention, was prevented from gaining entrance into the hospital through the main gate.

After waiting for several minutes without any attempt by the security officials to open the main gate, the elderly woman was later rescued by some journalists and sympathisers, who put her in a Channels Television bus and assisted her to gain entrance into the hospital for emergency treatment through the College of Medicine gate, which is almost 200 meters to the LUTH gate.

I am not the one who locked the gate. It is an instruction from the management and there is nothing we can do about it, a security official told New Telegraph to exonerate himself from being blamed for locking the hospital gates despite several appeals to him to open the gates for patients who were rushed into the hospital for emergency cases.

The labour unions, under the aegis of Joint House Action of LUTH, which comprised the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), among others, held a protest rally within the hospital premises to demand a better deal from the hospitals management.

Others are the Non- Academic Staff Unions of Universities (NASU), the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (MLSN), among others.

The aggrieved workers were also seen singing and carrying placards around the premises peacefully. Some of the placards read: Federal Ministry of Health, pay us our teaching allowance, Stop stagnation, Nurses are professionals that should be respected and not treated as slaves. Is LUTH truly a public hospital? Pay our withheld salaries and allowances, Provide conducive working environment, and Put a stop to scale to scale promotion.

After the protest, representatives of the unions in LUTH promptly delivered a letter, which highlighted their demand, to the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode in his office at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, where they urged him to assist transmit same to the Acting President for prompt action to prevent further loss of lives in LUTH.

Speaking to journalists, an anonymous victim, whose relative just gave birth in LUTH, took a swipe at the hospital management for being insensitive to the plight of the people, particularly by stopping people from gaining entrance into the hospital for treatment.

This is uncalled for and it shows the insensitivity of our government.

How can management of a teaching hospital lock the main gate of a government hospital and prevent people from gaining entrance to receive treatment? I have been here for several hours trying to see someone who was just delivered of a baby, but I was prevented from gaining entrance into the hospital.

Government must do something urgent to address this ugly situation, he said.

Meanwhile, addressing journalists on behalf of all the labour unions to express LUTH workers grievances and challenges relating to patients, staff and public, the chapter President of the Association of Resident Doctors Dr. Adebayo Sekumade, said the present state of LUTH was at variance with the overall policy thrust of the government in the health sector and the overarching wish of Nigerians for affordable, accessible and effective health care.

Our call for action is all the more urgent because Prof. Christopher Bodes position as the Chief Medical Director of LUTH is illegal as it contravenes the provisions of the public service rules, which stipulates a retirement age of 60 years for public office holders, the labour unions stated.

Presently, the intensive care unit (ICU), for critically ill patients in LUTH has broken down in the last two months and patients requiring these services were being sent away to seek care elsewhere, Sekumade noted. According to a factional Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Lagos, Dr. Olubunmi Omojowolo, workers in LUTH do not get their full salary.

What they get is a fraction of their remuneration and all efforts to reverse this trend has not yielded result. Sometimes, they get about 60 per cent of their pay. Speaking on the plight of LUTH workers, a Vice Chairman of NANNM, Mr. Stephen Olutola, said: The CMD of LUTH, Prof. Christopher Bode and his management team are not sensitive to the things happening in the hospital. Often, there is no water and lack of power supply hinders health care provision.

The Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), LUTH, Dr. Olufemi Fasanmade, said the claims of the unions were not true.

There is no reason to victimise any staff, he said. According to him, What is being referred to is the implementation of the no work no pay policy which was applied to staff who went on strike for weeks. This is a policy which has put an end to prolonged strikes which bedevilled the health sector up 2016, he said. On claims of no working tools, Fasanmade said LUTH has steadily invested in phased replacement of old and decaying infrastructures.
Farmers in Kano State will get 400,000 bags supply of fertiliser from the state government to enable them to record bumper harvests in this years farming season.

Alhaji Bala Mohammed, the Managing Director of Kano State Agricultural Supply Company Limited (KASCO), said this in Kano on Thursday.

Muhammed said that the state government had provided the company with the needed equipment to blend the NPK 10-10 fertiliser and meet the farmers needs.

KASCO will also supply improved maize, rice, sorghum, soya bean, tomato and cucumber seeds to enhance agricultural production this year, he said.

He said that the state government would invite prominent agricultural companies to collaborate with KASCO, with a view to expanding its fertiliser blending capacity.

He said that the company was targeting the production of between 25 tonnes and 30 tonnes of fertiliser per hour.

Muhammed urged the chairmen of the 44 local government councils in the state to assist farmers in their neighbourhoods with extension services so as to boost their productivity and harvests.

The Kano State Government is very much interested in making KASCO stronger to be able to enhance the states agricultural productivity, he added.
A Dutch fertility doctor fertilised the eggs of dozens of women patients with his own sperm and fathered no fewer than 19 children, a paternity institute has said on Wednesday

There has been a DNA match, the Fiom Institute added in a statement.

The institute added that Jan Karbaat, who died in April, had his own IVF clinic from 1980 to 2009.

However, mothers and their children had suspicions that the doctor had used his own sperm and he himself said in interviews that he had conceived 60 children.

The institute was asked by 23 people to carry out paternity tests.

They had to compare DNA with one of his officially recognised children after Karbaat refused a DNA test when he was alive and his widow rejected requests to test items such as his toothbrush and shaver.

According to the institute, the test using one of his officially recognised children has resulted in 19 matches.

A report says a court will decides on June 2 whether his widow has to give up the toothbrush and shaver for further analysis.

Source: Naijaloaded
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is seeking to repatriate some politically-exposed people seeking refuge in other countries.

In its bid to stem the tide of criminally-minded Nigerians from hibernating in foreign lands after committing heinous crimes in the country, the Federal Government has sought the repatriation of no fewer than 311 of such suspects from their hideouts across the world.

The government has not, however, revealed the identities of the suspects, the amount looted by them and where they are taking refuge at the moment.

But while that remains, the government has also received 636 extradition requests from foreign governments to assist them in dealing with such elements, who fled their lands after committing serious offences.

The suspects are wanted in their home countries to answer to alleged crimes perpetuated by them before they fled such countries to seek safe haven in Nigeria.

Of the number received, the federal government has forwarded a total of 503 requests to competent authorities for execution.

The information was contained in a document made available to Vanguard from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on the achievements of the Buhari administration in the Justice sector since coming to power two years ago.

The development is covered under the Mutual Legal Assistance, MLA, signed between Nigeria and six nations, with a view to repatriating looted funds and prosecuting the masterminds of such crime by the countries involved so as to reduce the incidence of graft.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, confirmed to Vanguard that the ministry of Justice received a total of 5658 criminal cases in the last two years of the administration out of which 100 cases were successfully concluded.

Malami disclosed that included in the 100 decided matters were terrorism cases, while 2000 other criminal cases received from the Nigeria Police for prosecution in the Magistrate Court were pending due to logistics challenges.

The minister revealed that within the period under review, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other related offences, NAPTIP, has successfully arrested and prosecuted no fewer than 41 human traffickers and rescued a total of 1484 victims of human trafficking.

In a similar vein, the minister disclosed that the Nigerian Copyright Commission recorded a monumental achievement within the past two years with a market value seizure of pirated works of N2.1billion.

The commission also made 201 arrests, convicted three persons and seized a total of eight containers of pirated books and two containers of pirated Compact Discs and Digital Video Discs.

 As a result of the commissions robust enforcement and prosecutorial activities and Nigerias active participation in World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO, the country secured the establishment of an external office of WIPO in Nigeria, the minister said.

 Nigeria remains delisted from the United States 301 list of countries that are not seriously addressing copyright piracy and other Intellectual Property crimes, he said.
Nigerias Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) of the Body of Benchers which punishes misconduct among lawyers, has barred Emeka Ephraim Ugwuonye, a former US-based Nigerian lawyer from practicing in Nigeria. Nigerias Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) of the Body of Benchers which punishes misconduct among lawyers, has barred Emeka Ephraim Ugwuonye, a former US-based Nigerian lawyer from practicing in Nigeria.

The controversial lawyer who was disbarred in New York and Maryland for professional misconduct in 2013 relocated to Nigeria to continue his practice. He was part of the legal team who facilitated the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB from Kuje prison.

According to Sahara Reporters, the (LPDC) ordered the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the 23rd of May to strike out Mr. Ugwuonyes name.

The order followed a case in which he was accused of having failed to disclose his personal interest in a property he was briefed to obtain letters of Administration for, which involved a widow.

In 2016, he had been listed among others facing disciplinary action before the LPDC over fraudulent activities. The list was published as an advertorial signed by LDPC Secretary H.A. Turaki

J.S. Okutepa (SAN), the Chief Prosecutor of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) at the LPDC is said to have found Ugwuonye liable for fraud and promised to give details of the direction of LPDC in due course.

Barrister Emeka Ephraim Ugwuonye was given 28 days to appeal the ruling of the LPDC.
A concerned fan pointed out some worrying lyrics in Arianas hit track. Read what he wrote below:

Guys im no conspiracy theorist but I cannot but be curious about the lyrics of Ariana Grandes hit track side-by-side featuring the racy Nicki Minaj where she confessed to making deals with the devil Its no longer news that 22 fans of Ariana Grande were murdered and 59 seriously injured in the terrorist bombing at the end of her musical concert in Manchester 2 nights ago!? Does the lyrics of her hit-track below suggests a conspiracy?!



Below is the full lyrics of the song.

Side To Side

(feat. Nicki Minaj)

Ive been there all night, Ariana

Ive been there all day, Nicki Minaj

And boy, got me walkin side to side

Let them hoes know

Im talkin to ya

See you standing over there with your body

Feeling like I wanna rock with your body

And we dont gotta think bout nothin (bout nothin)

Im comin at ya

Cause I know you got a bad reputation

Doesnt matter, cause you give me temptation

And we dont gotta think bout nothin (bout nothin)

These friends keep talkin way too much

Say I should give you up

Cant hear them, no, cause I

Ive been there all night

Ive been there all day

And boy, got me walkin side to side

Ive been there all night

Ive been there all day

And boy, got me walkin side to side (side to side)

Been tryna hide it

Baby, whats it gonna hurt if they dont know?

Makin everybody think that we solo

Just as long as you know you got me (you got me)

And boy I got ya

Cause tonight Im making deals with the devil

And I know its gonna get me in trouble

Just as long as you know you got me

These friends keep talkin way too much

Say I should give you up

Cant hear them, no, cause I

Ive been there all night

Ive been there all day

And boy, got me walkin side to side (side to side)

Ive been there all night

(Been there all night, baby)

Ive been there all day

(Been there all day, baby)

And boy, got me walkin side to side (side to side)

This the new style with the fresh type of flow

Wrist icicle, ride dick bicycle

Come true yo, get you this type of blow

If you wanna Minaj I got a tricycle

All these bitches, flows is my mini-me

Body smoking, so they call me young Nicki chimney

Rappers in they feelings cause they feelin me

Uh, I-I give zero bleeps and I got zero chill in me

Kissing me, copped the blue box that say Tiffany

Curry with the shot, just tell em to call me Stephanie

Gun pop and I make my gum pop

Im the queen of rap, young Ariana run pop

These friends keep talkin way too much

Say I should give him up

Cant hear them, no, cause I

Ive been there all night

Ive been there all day

And boy, got me walkin side to side (side to side)

Ive been there all night

(Been there all night, baby)

Ive been there all day

(Been there all day, baby)

Boy, got me walkin side to side (side to side)

This the new style with the fresh type of flow

Wrist icicle, ride dick bicycle

Come true yo, get you this type of blow

If you wanna Minaj I got a tricycle
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has accepted the invitation of the Prime Minister of the federal state of Bavaria Horst Seehofer to visit Munich in the autumn or winter and speak to business representatives.

"Perhaps, then we would start cooperation between the secretariats of our governments. Such visit could take place in the autumn or winter. I think that the best enterprises should be involved in such a meeting," Seehofer said at a meeting with the premier of Ukraine in Kyiv on Thursday.

Groysman thanked for the invitation and spoke for the possibility of holding a Ukrainian-Bavarian business forum within the framework of such a visit.

"I thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for the invitation. I think this is a very good idea, and regarding the meeting and engaging business into the trip, it is possible to hold a business forum within the framework of this visit where we can discuss directions for deepening our economic cooperation which corresponds to our mutual interests. I thank you for the invitation, I accept it," the prime minister of Ukraine said.

According to Seehofer, it is unfortunately not possible to organize such a visit before autumn, since elections will be held in Germany in September.

Groysman added that within the framework of the visit it would be necessary to devote time to the issue of cooperation in the sphere of higher and vocational education, since Ukraine could adopt the experience that Bavaria has.

He said that an agreement on the exchange of information exists between higher educational institutions of Ukraine and Bavaria.

The Prime Minister of Bavaria expressed readiness to develop relations between the countries in the sphere of education.
Oil Marketers in Ekiti State have been given a 24-hour ultimatum to resume the sale of petroleum products by the State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, or face governments wrath.

The governor has threatened to revoke the Certificates of Occupancy of any petrol station that refused to resume the sale of petrol at the expiration of the ultimatum.

Fayose stated this in a terse message made available by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.

Governor Fayose has given the owners of petrol stations in Ekiti State a 24-hour ultimatum to begin to sell fuel to the people or have the Certificates of Occupancy of their petrol stations revoked, the statement said.

Also, the amalgamation of transport unions in Ekiti State on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti staged a protest against the non-supply of petrol to Ekiti State.

They issued a 24-hour ultimatum to fuel marketers to resume the sale of petrol in the state or face the wrath of Ekiti people, whom they said were badly affected by the situation.

There had been no sale of petrol in Ekiti since last week owing to the face-off between fuel marketers and the state government.

Some youths under the aegis of Ekiti Youth Artisans Coalition had protested on Tuesday, demanding the relocation of some petrol stations out of the state since they had refused to sell petrol to the people.

They attacked some petrol stations in Dalimore and Adebayo areas of the state capital to express their anger against marketers and vowed to continue with the mass protest.

The state government recently demolished some filling stations under construction near residential and school premises, saying they constituted great danger to lives and property.

This led to a face-off between the government and the fuel marketers.

The drivers and artisans, who on Wednesday, marched from Fajuyi to Old Garage, claimed that they were the most affected by the closure of the fuel stations, appealing to the oil marketers to refrain from being used by the opposition.

They were led by the Chairmen of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Clement Adekola, and his counterpart in the Lorry and Pick-up Transport Association of Nigeria, Adekunle Atowoju.

Adekola said, We are for peace in Ekiti and the only way to sustain peace is for all of us to work with the government of the day. Let the oil marketers discuss with the government and if they cant do it alone, they should contact other unions for speedy arbitration.
Nigeria might be under pressure to cut her oil output as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries looks set for an extension of the deal reached last year to reduce oil production.

OPEC members and non-OPEC producers including Russia agreed in December to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day for six months from January 1, 2017.

Nigeria and Libya were exempted from the cuts because their production had suffered disruptions on the back of unrest and militant attacks.

The cuts in production resulted in a significant rally in oil prices, with Brent crude, global oil benchmark, trading as high as $56 per barrel in February. But the rise in the United States crude output recently pared the gains.

The exemption of Nigeria and Libya from the cuts was also seen by some market watchers as a risk to the groups efforts to curb a global crude glut as both have regained some volumes in recent months and are expected to add more soon.

OPEC will meet in Vienna on Thursday (today) to consider whether to prolong the original deal reached in December.

This is happening at a time when Nigeria and Libya are restoring output; Iraq plans new production projects and the US drillers continue to add rigs.

Militant attacks in the Niger Delta, which pushed Nigerias production to just over one million barrels per day at certain points last year, the lowest in decades, have abated since the start of this year.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, International Energy Services Limited, Dr. Diran Fawibe, said Nigeria might come under pressure during the meeting to join others in cutting production.

The minister representing Nigeria will have to make a strong case for Nigeria to be exempted. But it depends on how other member countries will view the case. We can only hope that they will continue to exempt Nigeria from the cuts at least for now, he said

Fawibe said the country lost market share on the back of the resurgence of militant attacks on oil and gas facilities last year, adding, What Nigeria is trying to do is to recoup the production losses.

The Vice-President/Head of Energy Research, Ecobank, Mr. Dolapo Oni, said, It is more or less a given that there is going to be an extension of the cuts in production. The question is how much and who will participate?

I think Iran is trying to get Nigeria to participate. Clearly, I think there will be some pressure on Nigeria to join the cuts, especially since they know now that Forcados has been reopened and I think flow stations will start flowing from next week.

The likelihood is that there will be a stronger pressure that Nigeria should join the cuts, which could be trouble for the country. I dont see us having to make very large cuts anyway.

Oni, however, said as long as the cuts would translate to higher oil prices, Nigeria would still be in a good place.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had acknowledged that a fully-recovered Nigeria would likely be asked to share in the cuts, following the last OPEC meeting on November 30, 2016 when the production agreement was signed, according to Platts.

I dont expect that once you reach your volume you are going to have a free rein, so we probably have six months to get our act together and then hopefully zoom back out production and then we will be asked to contribute, he told reporters.

The Chief Executive Officer, Oando Energy Resources, Mr. Pade Durotoye, told the Africa Independents Forum in London on Wednesday that the long-closed Forcados oilfield could be back to capacity by the end of June, enabling a return to nearly full production from the country.

We think that the worst is behind us. Before the end of June, we will have Forcados back, which would take us comfortably back to 2.2 million bpd.

OPEC heavyweights, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, agreed on Monday on the need to extend global cuts in oil supply by nine months in an effort to prop up crude prices.

The Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih, said he did not expect any opposition within OPEC to extending the curbs for a further nine months, speaking after he met his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad.

Were on the cusp of a rollover of the OPEC deal. We havent heard from Iran yet or how they plan to deal with Nigeria and Libya, which are coming back. If those two countries continue to recover, they have the ability to make up for the cuts made elsewhere, the Director, Futures Division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc, Bob Yawger, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
Six students of the Igbonla Model college in Epe, Lagos state were kidnapped yesterday evening May 24th. The kidnappers gained entry into the school through a broken fence.

They were said to have attempted to abduct more students but were stopped security operatives stationed at the school. This would be the second time kidnappers will be attacking the school.

Recall that in October last year, kidnappers struck the school and kidnapped two teachers and four students of the college. The kidnappers demanded N20 million per head as ransom. They were however released after ransom was allegedly paid.
The Acting President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday, said no amount of prayers and fasting by Nigerians could move the nation forward without hard work.

Osinbajo said he is as a pastor himself, and he understands the law of sowing and reaping and knew the implication of leaving what was supposed to be done undone.

The Acting President spoke in Abuja during an interactive session organised for public and civil servants on the implementation of the three Executive Orders which he signed last week.

He said the prosperity and abundance being enjoyed by great nations today were not created by spirits, but by men.

While saying the executive orders were meant to aid the ease of doing business in Nigeria, he warned that anytime government officials deliberately delayed what they could do immediately, they were holding back the future of the country.

Osinbajo stated, No matter how much you pray or fast, our country cannot grow without some of us deciding to do the hard work that makes nations work.

I am a pastor, a spiritual person, and I understand the law of sowing and reaping. It is a spiritual law that has tremendous physical implications. Every time that we delay, or frustrate what we can do today, leaving it till tomorrow, we hold back the future. We too must reap what we have sown by experiencing delays.

If you help others to achieve, if you help your nation, you have sown good seeds. You will find help and you will prosper too.

Osinbajo urged the officials not to see the policies as government but personal policies.

He warned government officials against stifling businesses by delaying their registration, adding that such unnecessary delays also affected employment.

The acting President said, Every generation of people owes the next generation a debt. That debt is paid by ensuring that we provide for the means for the next generation to survive.

Or at least, we have a duty to ensure that we do not destroy the means of survival and prosperity of the next generation.

But there are some people in every generation who have a special burden, a more important role than others in preparing for present prosperity and future abundance.

Osinbajo stated that small or large businesses could not be created or could be frustrated out of existence if the environment for doing business in a country was harsh or difficult.

He stated, So when a potential business owner wants to register a company, collect tax clearance certificate or obtain NAFDAC registration or SON certification, or expatriate quotas, or any other papers, approvals or certification from government, and we do not willingly and efficiently help him or her, we are killing the jobs and prosperity that he would have created.

Every time we say come back next week to someone for something we can do today, we postpone prosperity of one person but in reality, we postpone the prosperity of so many who would have earned something from the business.

So every time that a public official is an obstacle to business in any way, he attacks the prosperity of our economy and he attacks our future because it means our children cannot find jobs.

On improved remuneration, Osinbajo assured the officials that they were in safe hands with him and President Muhammadu Buhari in the saddle.

I have served in the public service most of my adult life. As a university teacher, adviser to a federal minister and attorney-general, I earned salaries; so I understand how salary increases can be such good news, Osinbajo added.

The acting President stated that Nigerians would soon start seeing the manifestation of some of the reforms taken by the Federal Government in the agricultural sector.

He declared that the country would soon start producing local rice that would compete favourably with any brand in the world.

Osinbajo said this in Abuja during an interactive session with some middle level civil and public servants on the ease of doing business.

He called on Nigerians to increase their patronage of products manufactured locally, adding that this would enable the government to reduce the level of unemployment in the country.

Citing the example of rice production, he explained that Nigeria had enough capacity to grow quality rice that would meet the demands of not only Nigerians but all the countries in Africa.

Osinbajo stated that if Nigerians could consume what the country produced locally, the twin problems of poverty and unemployment would be easily addressed.

He said it was worrisome that rice imported from China, India and Thailand was sold at cheaper prices to those produced locally, adding that this was as a result of subsidy enjoyed by farmers in those countries.

The acting President added, It is worrisome that locally produced rice is still expensive than imported rice from India, China and Thailand.

Rice produced in these countries are subsidised by their respective governments making rice from the region cheap and affordable.

By subsiding rice production for farmers, more jobs are created. We are planning to introduce some kinds of assistance to our farmers in due course. Our rice will have to compete with any rice in the world.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday visited in hospital some of the children injured in the Manchester terror attack which killed 22 people.

In images broadcast on British television, her royal majesty was seen arriving at Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital, where some of the 64 people injured in the attack are being treated.

Source: ( AFP)
The money recovered from the home of Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, has been ordered to be deposited in the Central Bank of Nigeria according to the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Justice John Tsoho gave the order on Thursday after admitting in evidence, nine bags and boxes containing the money.

The prosecuting counsel, Mrs Olufemi Fatunde, led the fifth prosecution witness, Mr John Otaze, an operative of the Department of State Security (DSS) to tender the bags and boxes in evidence.

Otazi told the court that he led a team of DSS operatives to conduct a search on Ngwutas residence.

He said that various sums of money in both local and foreign currencies were recovered, including N35 million, 35, 915; $319,096; 50 South African rands, 280, 000, 380 Dirhams and 420 Dalases.

Tsoho adjourned the matter until May 26 for cross examination of the witness.

Ngwuta, a judicial officer, is facing a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering, retention and concealment of various sums of money in local and foreign currencies.

Ngwuta is also charged with giving various sums of money above the statutory threshold to his building contractor for the building of various houses without going through a financial institution.

Source: ( PM News )
A 37-year-old secondary school teacher identified as Samson Owonaro, on Thursday appeared in a Tinubu Magistrates Court in Lagos charged with defrauding three of his students parents of N189,000.

He was, however, released on bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum on the orders of Magistrate Omolaja

Kazeem.

Owonaro, who teaches Economics at a private school in Okota Estate, Ajah, Lagos, is facing a six-count bordering on fraud and theft.

He, however, pleaded innocence of the offences.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Philip Osijiale, told the court that the accused committed the offences sometime in February at Sangotedo,

Ajah.

He said Owonaro defrauded three parents of N189,000 on the pretext of obtaining West Africa Examinations Council 2017 forms for their children and registering them for the exam.

The accused did not register the three students for the exam which started on Feb. 20 and ended on May 15 and also failed to refund the money. 

The offences contravened Sections 287 and 314 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).

Section 287 prescribes three years imprisonment for stealing, while Section 314 states 15 years imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretences.

He adjourned the case until June 16 for mention.

Source: ( NAN )
Recovery on Aussie looking corrective- Elliott Wave Wavetraders - 1 hour ago Aussie came nicely lower in the last few weeks, clearly with five waves down from 0.6900 that we see it as an impulse, but move can be part of an extended wave three, as the current recovery is also overlapping...

EURUSD Consolidating Near Key 1 Level Tradable Patterns - Wed Nov 9, 10:54PM CST The (EURUSD) is consolidating after the strong bounce from the 2022 low (in September). Although the EURUSD is vulnerable today to a bit more healthy profittaking, odds are elevated for a weekly close... ^EURUSD : 0.99892 (-0.22%) FXE : 92.37 (-0.56%)

Cryptocurrencies plunge as Binance scraps deal for rival FTX AP - Wed Nov 9, 7:56PM CST Cryptocurrency prices plunged for a second-straight day Wednesday after crypto exchange Binance announced it was pulling out of a deal to purchase failing rival FTX Trading $SPX : 3,748.57 (-2.08%) $DOWI : 32,513.94 (-1.95%) $IUXX : 10,797.55 (-2.37%)

WEAT, 9.05 target ONE44 Analytics - Wed Nov 9, 6:36PM CST Educational and Actionable! WEAT : 8.35 (-2.22%)

***Market Wrap-up Nov 9 RJO Futures - Wed Nov 9, 6:01PM CST Summary of today's events, Stocks/Bonds (Sorry no election talk)

Hogs Mixed Mostly Lower Barchart - Wed Nov 9, 4:48PM CST Hogs close with a 30 cent loss in the Dec contract, but 2 to 65 cent gains in the other nearbys. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price for Wednesday was $0.48 higher to $87.70. The CME Lean Hog Index... HEZ22 : 85.275s (-0.35%) HEJ23 : 94.625s (+0.45%) KMZ22 : 95.450s (-0.55%)
Prosecutors ask court to set bail for detailed tax officials from UAH 100 mln to UAH 500 mln  Matios

The average bail requested by prosecutors for detained regional tax authorities ranges from UAH 100 million to 500 million, according to Ukraine's chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios.

"We determined the bail amounts for the detained officials when we reviewed their cases. The average sum ranged from UAH 100 million to UAH 500 million for one arrested official. These are ordinary regional tax officials from that period [ex-President Viktor Yanukovych's ally Oleksandr Klymenko was Ukraine's minister of income and taxes]," Matios said on TV Channel 112.ua on Wednesday evening.

He said "many more people" were part of the tax scheme and that they would be "dealt with procedurally" in the coming days.

According to Matios, suspended head of Ukraine's State Fiscal Service Roman Nasirov assisted in the investigation of the illegal schemes of the former tax officials.

As earlier reported, on Wednesday morning law-enforcement agencies arrested scores of former regional officials involved with Ukraine's former ministry of income and taxes under Klymenko [who fled to the Russian Federation following the Revolution of Dignity in 2013/14].

Some 23 tax officials in various regions were detained.

Matios said it was "the first wave of arrests."

Kyiv's Pechersky District Court on Wednesday determined pretrial measures for four of those arrested: former head of the income and tax ministry's department in Dnipropetrovsk region Serhiy Shynkarenko, ex-chief of Luhansk region's tax service Oleksandr Antipov, ex-head of Crimea's tax administration Kostiantyn Tsvirkun and ex-head of Kyiv's Sviatoshynsky district tax office Yuriy Mostypan.
JEB Group LLC, which operates the All-Time Self Storage brand, has two development projects underway in the suburban Philadelphia market. Together, the properties will comprise approximately 167,000 square feet. Both are expected to open this year, according to a press release.

The first project is at 110 Kline Road in Royersford, Pa. The 82,000-square-foot facility is adjacent to The Shoppes of Upper Providence retail center, which includes a Target. The asset will be comprised of six buildings including a pair of two-story structures. It will offer interior and drive-up units. Approximately two-thirds of the space will be climate-controlled including several drive-up units equipped with insulated doors, company officials said.

The second development is a conversion of a former manufacturing building at 1000 Industrial Blvd. in Upper Southampton, Pa. The two-story, climate-controlled facility will initially comprise 40,000 square feet. A second multi-story structure offering 45,000 square feet of rentable space is planned for a second phase, the release stated.

The assets will each sell moving and packing supplies, and feature keypad access and video cameras for security.

Both projects will be managed by York, Pa.-based Storage Construction. Storage Asset Management will provide third-party management services.
Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Many are covered in detail on the ISS website and available for viewing on the Real Estate topics page. Following are additional acquisitions and sales that werent covered.

A Discount Mini Storage in Houston was sold to a local limited-liability company (LLC). The property at 3735 Mangum Road contains 338 storage units. The buyer and the seller, a personal trust, were represented in the transaction by Dave Knobler, vice president of investments, Davis Hansen, associate, Derek Hargrove and Justin Miller, first vice presidents of investments, in the Marcus & Millichap Houston office.

A two-property A+ Self Storage portfolio in Gettysburg, Pa., was sold for $1.6 million to a private investment group that owns several facilities in the area. Built in phases from 1989 to 2008, the properties at 1865 Baltimore Pike and 1880 Highland Ave. Road sit on a combined 14 acres. The sites contain 12 single-story buildings containing more than 270 units as well as 20 outdoor parking spaces. The rental office at the Baltimore Pike location includes a retail space with a long-term tenant. The property has approval for an additional 15,300 square feet of storage space. The seller was represented in the transaction by Investment Real Estate LLC.

All Storage purchased 5.3 acres of land in Mansfield, Texas, from LEJJ Realty LLC on which it plans to build two climate-controlled self-storage facilities totaling 216,723 square feet. The transaction was brokered by Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors, a real estate firm comprised of 200 independently owned and operated companies.

The three-property B&G Self Storage portfolio in Atmore and Brewton, Ala., was sold for $3.1 million to an out-of-state investor. The Atmore sites total 42,708 square feet of space in 322 units, while the Brewton property comprises 18,807 square feet of space in 162 units. The location also houses a 3,000-square-foot laundromat and 87,000 square feet of warehouse space. The seller was represented in the transaction by Bill Barnhill, Mary Franklin and Stuart P. LaGroue Sr., of Omega Properties Inc. The trio are the broker affiliates for the Argus Self Storage Sales Network in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Bursca Self Storage in Bridgeville, Pa., was sold for $1.1 million to a local investor. The property at 100 Bursca Drive was built in 1985 and comprises 34,000 net rentable square feet of space in 252 units. The seller, an LLC, was represented in the transaction by Brett R. Hatcher and Gabriel Coe, investment specialists in the Marcus & Millichap Columbus, Ohio, office. Marcus & Millichap broker Brenton Baskin assisted.

Canal Street Self Storage in Chicago was sold to a private investor. The five-story property at 1601 S. Canal St. overlooks the downtown area and is in the historic South Loop neighborhood, bordering Chinatown and East Pilsen. Locally owned and operated since 2001, it encompasses 66,063 square feet of space in 792 units. The buyer and the seller, also a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Sean Delaney, first vice president of investments in the Marcus & Millichap Chicago-Oak Brook office, and Michael Mele, senior managing director of investments in the firms Tampa, Fla., office.

Discount Self Storage in Plymouth, Ind., was sold to a storage operator. The property at 13005 Third Road comprises 48,430 square feet of space. The seller was represented in the transaction by Bruce Bahrmasel, a broker with Waveland Commercial Real Estate, whos the Argus broker affiliate for North Illinois, North Indiana and Wisconsin. The buyer was represented by Newmark Grubb/Cressy & Everett, a commercial real estate, development and management company serving Indiana and Michigan.

Extra Space Storage is converting the former Connecticut Film Center warehouse in Stamford, Conn., to self-storage. The property at 300 Stillwater Ave. will comprise 170,000 square feet of drive-through space in 1,100 units. The facility is expected to open by June 15. Boston-based The Davis Cos. and Valhalla, N.Y.-based Highland Development Ventures LLC purchased the property in October for $20 million, according to the source.

A three-building portfolio branded as Extra Space Storage in Chicagos West Loop was sold for $13.5 million. The properties at 1230-1242 W. Washington Blvd. encompass 60,000 square feet of space. The seller was represented by Chad Schroedl, Drew Dillon and Scott R. Maesel of SVN Chicago Commercial.

Keiths Mini Storage in Vero Beach, Fla., was sold for $500,000. The property at 4850 20th St. comprises 17,625 square feet of storage space. The seller was represented in the transaction by W. Frost Weaver and Josh Koerner, of Weaver Realty Group in Jacksonville, Fla., who are the Argus broker affiliates for North, Central and South Florida.

Kingston Self Storage in Shreveport, La., was sold to a Houston-based investor. The property at 8968 Kingston Road contains seven buildings on just under 2 acres. It comprises 33,025 net rentable square feet of space in 247 units. The Addison, Texas-based seller was represented in the transaction by John Arnold, Bill Bellomy and Michael Johnson of Bellomy & Co.

Kiss Mini Storage in Lincoln, Neb., was sold to a local investor. The property at 6500 N.W. 42nd St. sits on 7.7 acres and comprises 29,000 net rentable square feet of space in 120 units. The buyer was represented in the transaction by Arnold, Bellomy and Johnson.

Secure Self Storage in Monroe, Mich., was sold for $2.6 million to an out-of-state investor. The 3-acre property at 15420 Telegraph Road comprises 36,755 net rentable square feet on 3 acres. The seller, Secure Self Storage Inc., was represented in the transaction by Mark Floria, a real estate advisor for Pogoda Cos.

Storz A Lot in New Caney, Texas, was sold to a Houston LLC. The property at 18318 Highway 59 contains 208 storage units. It also has 2 acres of land for future development. The buyer and the seller, a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Knobler and Logan Miller, an associate in the Marcus & Millichap Houston office.

Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc. (SSGT) has purchased a newly constructed facility in Sarasota, Fla. The three-story property at 1027 N. Washington Blvd. comprises 48,000 rentable square feet of storage space in 510 climate-controlled units.

Telegraph Storage in Brownstown Township, Mich., was sold for $4 million. The 6.5-acre property at 21516 Telegraph Road comprises 38,800 net rentable square feet of storage space. It was converted from an industrial site to storage two years ago. The seller, Telegraph Storage LLC, was represented in the transaction by Floria.

Argus is a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties. Formed in 1994, the company has 36 broker affiliates covering nearly 40 markets.

With offices in Atlanta, Houston, and Austin, Texas, Bellomy & Co. focuses on the sale of self-storage, industrial, office and retail properties nationwide.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space is a real estate investment trust (REIT) as well as a third-party management company. It owns or operates 1,427 self-storage properties in 38 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The companys properties comprise approximately 960,000 units and 107 million square feet of rentable space.

Since its inception in 1998, IRE has provided brokerage, construction, development and management services to self-storage owners and investors.

Founded in 1971, Marcus & Millichap is a commercial-property investment firm with more than 1,500 investment professionals in offices throughout Canada and the United States.

Based in Farmington Hills, Mich., Pogoda Cos. is a self-storage operator with approximately 2 million square feet of self-storage space in Michigan and Ohio. The firm also provides brokerage, consulting, investment and management services to the self-storage industry through Pogoda Group Inc. and Pogoda Management Co.

SSGT is a public, non-traded REIT that focuses on the acquisition, development, redevelopment and lease-up of self-storage properties. Its portfolio currently consists of 18 storage facilities in eight states comprising approximately 1.4 million net rentable square feet in 11,900 storage units. The company is sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management LLC, a diversified real estate company with a managed portfolio of 107 self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States. Its managed properties comprise approximately 7.8 million rentable square feet.

SVN has broker representation in more than 100 markets across the United States. Its team specializes in the marketing, sale and disposition of self-storage properties nationwide.
Trove Technologies Inc., a startup business specializing in valet self-storage, has launched service in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area behind an $8 million Series A round of financing led by venture-capital firm Greylock Partners. Trove uses an online platform that allows customers to schedule item pickup, maintain a visual catalog of stored items, and schedule delivery of items to their home.

When we talked to current and former storage customers, they repeated the same thing over and over again when asked about how they chose their storage providerproximity, Michael Pao, co-founder and CEO of Trove, wrote in a blog post announcing the launch. However, choosing to store in densely populated areas means higher prices for storage and lost opportunities for communities that are already starved for prime real estate.

Unlike the majority of valet-style storage operators, which offer by-the-bin storage, Trove uses a square-footage pricing model. The company charges $2.50 per square foot per month, with minimum requirements of 40 square feet and a three-month commitment, according to the company website. The fees include item pickup and expert packing. The company uses professional movers to pick up and deliver items.

Outside of San Francisco, the Trove service area stretches as far north as Concord and Walnut Creek, and as far south as San Jose. It stores items in commercial warehouses outside of urban centers, according to Pao. Return deliveries require 72-hour notice and cost $65 per mover per hour. Customers arent allowed to visit storage locations in person but can use the companys dashboard to manage their belongings and schedule home delivery.

Mass adoption of e-commerce over the past 20 years has shifted our expectations to where anything is available for overnight delivery with a click of a button, Pao wrote. However, to store items from your home, you still have to call around, reserve a moving truck, book a storage unit, buy packing materials, and make the trip (or trips) to your storage unit. Trove is changing that.

The companys founders are experienced in shared-economy ventures and are well-connected in Silicon Valley. Pao was formerly head of product for Uber and was responsible for the ride-sharing platforms expansion to China and India, according to a press release. Co-founder Jon Perlow was previously an engineer at Facebook and Google. He founded Beluga, which was purchased by Facebook in 2011 and became the foundation for Facebook Messenger, the release stated.

In addition to leading Troves capitalization, Greylock will place partner Simon Rothman on the valet operators board of directors. Rothman has previously invested in EatWith, Lyft and Sprig, and was an early adviser to Tesla, according to the release. While working at eBay, he launched eBay Motors, an automotive marketplace that became a $14 billion business globally.

Pao previously served as an entrepreneur in residence at Greylock, which led to the creation of Trove, according to a blog post written by Rothman.

Other valet-storage operators serving the Bay Area include Brute, Clutter, Closetbox and Omni.
Toronnto, ON (May 24, 2017)- The British Automobile Racing Club  Ontario Centre (BARC-OC) will host its annual Canadian Touring Trophy Races on July 28-30 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The event will feature: GT Challenge, GT Sprints, VARAC Classic and Vintage-Historic, Formula Libre, Miller Oils F1200 and Toyo F1600.

Special on top for the program will be: Forza Tifosi Challenge, a racing series for historic Ferrari Challenge cars.

BARC-OC invites you to attend by offering complimentary tickets. Bring your Ferraris, families, friends and enjoy a weekend of racing!

For more information, contact Howard Cohen at: HowardCohen24@gmail.com
New York rival Blackstone overtakes Brookfield for real estate assets under management for the first time since 2013.

Canadian asset manager Brookfield has lost its spot as the worlds largest fund manager by total real estate assets under management, according to research published today.

The survey, conducted by three property trade groups  Inrev, Anrev, and Ncreif  found that Brookfield has been replaced at the top of the list of global real estate fund managers by Blackstone, which last topped the annual list back in 2013.

As of the end of December 2016, Blackstone had 143.2 billion ($160.4 billion) in total assets under management, compared to 140.5 billion for Brookfield Asset Management.

Last years report  which totaled assets for the year ending December 2015  had Blackstone with 135.3 billion and Brookfield with 137.3 billion. Brookfield did not respond to a request for comment. Blackstone declined to comment.

Blackstone was acquisitive during 2016, snapping up German real estate business OfficeFirst Immobilien, buying an office complex from Deutsche Office with Quantum Capital, and acquiring a retail complex in Ireland.

It signaled its intentions at the beginning of 2016 by establishing a property management company to look after Peter Cooper village, the New York residential area it bought with Ivanhoe Cambridge a month earlier.

The property trade groups report was based on a global survey of 177 fund managers. It found that the average assets under management across respondents stood at 13.7 billion at the end of 2016, up from 13.1 billion at the end of 2015. This increase was even more noticeable for the larger players. The average assets under management for the companies in the top 50 stood at 40.8 billion, compared to 35.6 billion in the previous years survey. Real estate vehicles with European strategies totaled 405.7 billion.

Duncan Owen, global head of real estate at Schroders, said the appeal of real estate as a diversifier from public markets has been growing, with pan-European real estate strategies proving particularly popular right now.

Overseas investors are investing because they like the U.K. and London, because it is a safe haven and the legal system is very attractive, he explained. Also now with weak sterling currency the price is more attractive than the previous five years.

The report attributed the rise in assets across firms to continued growth in interest from pension funds and insurance companies, which now account for 63.7% of assets under management in non-listed funds and private real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Julian Sampson, lending and real estate partner at U.K. law firm TWM, said the growth of REITs has enabled more transparency in valuations and created secondary interests that extend well beyond the front door of an office building.

Sampson added that while prime assets will always be the most popular real estate investment, other assets in student accommodation, the privately rented sector, and direct lending are increasingly being considered by institutional investors. The mechanism for investment does seem to be changing, he said.
Federal authorities and the SEC have charged three of the hedge funds current and former employees for trading on health policy leaks.

A U.S. Attorneys Office and federal securities regulator have charged three current and former Deerfield Management partners with fraud after they allegedly traded using confidential government information on health care policy.

In separate filings, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York said Deerfield analysts Theodore Huber and Robert Olan, along with Jordan Fogel, a partner and analyst at the hedge fund until April 2016, recommended that their firm trade shares of four health care companies based on insider knowledge provided by a paid consultant.

The consultant, David Blaszczak, was a former employee of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the government agency responsible for determining how much money health care companies receive for services covered by the public programs. Blaszczak allegedly obtained market-moving information from his former colleague at the agency, Christopher Worrall, and tipped off the Deerfield partners multiple times, beginning in at least 2012.

The Department of Justice estimated that these trades earned Deerfield more than $3.5 million in profits, while the SEC put the figure as high as $3.9 million. The political consulting firms employing Blaszcza reportedly took in $193,000 over 19 months for his services to Deerfield, according to the SEC. He became close friends with Worrall during their time together at CMS, according to authorities, who saod Worrall passed Blaszczak internal documents detailing planned cuts to cancer treatment and kidney dialysis reimbursements.

A federal employee breached his duty to protect confidential information by tipping a political consultant who then passed along these illegal tips, said Stephanie Avakian, acting director of the SEC Enforcement Division, in a statement. Theres no place on Wall Street or in our government for such blatant misuse of highly confidential information.

The district U.S. Attorneys office said Fogel pled guilty in May to the charges, and was currently cooperating with federal authorities. The four other defendants  Huber, Olan, Blaszczak, and Worrall  have now been arrested, the attorneys office said Wednesday.

They face multiple counts of fraud charges, with some carrying up to 25 years in prison, as well as possible fines from the SEC.





"Deerfield is committed to maintaining a strict culture of compliance and the highest ethical standards," a spokesman for the firm said in an e-mailed statement. "We are cooperating fully with the governments investigation."
This content is from: Portfolio

The online used car dealer has hit a new low, making it the most profitable short of the year.
The insurance industry has changed a lot during the past several decades but the change will become exponential in the future, an industry head has said.Karl Hamann, CEO of QBE s Singapore operations, has seen his fair share of change during his more than two decades in the industry but he believes the change over the next several years will be dramatic.I think it will change exponentially, Hamann said of the future of the industry. Change is coming so much quicker.Born and raised in Sydney, like many Hamann fell into the insurance industry but there was some method behind his decision. Two of Hamanns school friends had fathers who worked in the industry so when he left school, he saw insurance as a path filled with opportunity.It was an industry that I felt if you put your head down, you can get ahead, Hamann continued.Hamann moved to Moree in regional New South Wales and spent several years moving between roles in regional Australia which he said offered him an opportunity to learn the key to strong relationships in the industry.Hamann joined QBE in 1999 and enjoyed a meteoric rise towards becoming one of the youngest CEOs in the business when he moved to the Philippines in 2002. Prior to this, Hamann spent time with the international insurer in regional New South Wales, Sydney and Indonesia and has since worked throughout the Asia Pacific region.A stint in Manilla was followed by a move to Singapore as regional operations manager for Asia. Next was a move to Kuala Lumpur as CEO of QBEs Malaysian operations, followed by a move back to Singapore where he now runs Singaporean operations for the business.There is no way I would have expected to do what Ive done, Hamann said. I would have never expected that the opportunities that Ive had would have been available for me at the time.As for the future of the industry, Hamann said that brokers will have to evolve their relationships with clients and many are already taking up the challenge.They will have to be showing more value in what they bring to the client, Hamann continued. Their value proposition is going to change in the next five years and they see that.For a job to fall into, living and working in so many diverse countries is not a bad return, but Hamann stressed it is the people that he has met along the way that have been the real highlight.It has been rewarding because Ive seen a lot of people grow and also it has given me a lot of personal satisfaction, Hamann said.I wouldnt want to be doing anything else.
A South African insurer has entered into a joint venture with two Australian insurers to expand the footprint of its behaviour tracking programme.The hook-up between Discovery Limited, life insurer AIA Australia, and non-profit health and care company GMHBA will see to the creation of a new health insurance brand myOwn.The joint health insurance brand will initially offer insurance and Discoverys Vitality programme, which rewards healthy lifestyle choices and helps track clients fitness, and will soon launch life insurance, Reuters reported.Discovery is pleased to join with AIA Australia and GMHBA to bring this innovative health and life insurance offer to Australians to foster happier, healthier lives, said Barry Swartzberg, CEO of Vitality Group, a subsidiary of Discovery.The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Kyiv's Pechersky District Court has released the ex head of Luhansk regional administration tax service Oleksandr Antipov on bail after he promised to post bail in the amount of UAH 15 million within five days, the Kyiv-based Hromadske.ua news portal has reported.

"Antipov is suspected of participating in a criminal organization, which included top Ukrainian government officials," Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) officials said.

Antipov was arrested with some $3.8 million in cash. When asked where the money came from, he replied, "People have been telling me for the last several weeks that authorities were planning to arrest me."

According to the Kyiv-based Censor.Net news portal, the court ordered Antipov to wear an electronic bracelet for two months, during which time he would be compelled to turn in his international passport.

If the former official does not post bail within five days, the conditions of his pretrial confinement will be reviewed. Judges ordered Antipov released in the court room.

According to Censor.Net, prosecutors had asked the judges to set bail at UAH 200 million.

On Wednesday morning law-enforcement authorities rounded up former heads of regional officials involved with Ukraine's former ministry of income and taxes under Klymenko [who fled to the Russian Federation following the Revolution of Dignity in 2013/14].

According to Matios, suspended head of Ukraine's State Fiscal Service Roman Nasirov assisted in the investigation of the illegal schemes of the former tax officials.

Antipov headed Luhansk region's tax administration (earlier known as tax inspection office) from 1990 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2014. From 2006 to 20010 he headed the state's Luhansk regional administration.
A new underwriting agency, equally owned by Steadfast and London-based specialty underwriter Advent Capital, has officially launched.The new business, called Blend Insurance Solutions, has signed a deal with Beazley to secure renewal rights to their local accident and health portfolio in Australia.Blend will be led by Chris Newing, who joined the start-up as CEO in February. He will be joined by Suzanne White, former head of accident and health at Beazley, as general manager, distribution (coverholders and brokers) in the new business.Blend business will be placed at Lloyds via Advent Capital, which has been trading for more than 40 years and is part of Fairfax Financial Holdings.Blend is well positioned to deliver solutions satisfying these needs, with an initial focus on ensuring the smooth transition of the Beazley portfolio with our distribution partners, Newing said.Newing previously spent more than a decade at Chubb and was most recently consumer manager for Australia and New Zealand.In her new role, White will be responsible for managing relationships with coverholders and brokers.Newing noted that whilst the business is well positioned to make an immediate impact in the market, thanks to the deal with Beazley, the firm will look to further develop and grow its offering.Our immediate priority is taking care of Beazley customers but we also see a great opportunity to evolve the industry and take a lead from other industries, with developments such as personalised products and optimised programs for distribution partners.
[P]lease accept this letter as an expression of our concern regarding your attempt to influence pending legislation in which Cigna, your former employer and your husbands current employer, has a direct financial interest, was how the letter by Senators Martin Looney and Len Fasano read concerning Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wades alleged interjections into a proposed anti-price-gouging consumer bill.Wade was a lobbyist and vice president at Cigna, where she worked for 21 years, while her husband is still currently employed with the firm as a lawyer.The Hartford Courant also reported Looney and Fasano as saying, We would have expected you to support legislation that improves public transparency regarding drug prices [and] protects consumers from secret price gouging ... Therefore, we were surprised to learn that you interjected yourself into the legislative process in a manner that would benefit Cigna and other insurers who have affiliated (pharmacy benefit managers).Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the commissioner said that the senators failed to mention that Wade supports the bills main provisions and is in favour of enforcing provisions that would protect consumers against price gouging.Governor Dannel P. Malloy, who named Wade to her current post in 2015, defended the beleaguered commissioner.Commissioner Wade was and is appropriately doing her job as a regulator  an excellent, well-regarded one at that, Malloy was quoted as saying in a statement. To accuse the commissioner of interjecting herself into an open legislative process by offering appropriate language is ridiculous on its face. Its especially ridiculous given that our administration has been consistently supportive of the underlying bill concept  to imply otherwise is disingenuous at best, and a lie-by-omission at worst.[W]e believe you requested the following language: Each Pharmacy Benefits Manager or health carrier who enter into a contract for pharmacy services with a pharmacy or pharmacist shall be responsible for auditing and enforcing the provisions of this section in their own pharmacy services contracts, the senators wrote, adding: We believe this would be referred to as the fox guarding the hen house.Looney and Fasano further explained in the report that PBM contracts often also require the pharmacist to collect the full co-pay for a drug even if the drug costs significantly less. For example, a pharmacist may be reimbursed $5 for prescription medicine, such as an antacid, and yet be required by the PBM to collect the full $20 co-pay from the consumer with the difference, or $15, pocketed by the PBM.According to the legislators, the proposed law would ban two fundamentally anti-consumer practices: gag clauses which preclude pharmacists from disclosing relevant price information to consumers; and contractual provisions that result in consumers unknowingly paying more out of pocket for a prescription drug than the drug actually costs.Wades spokesperson, the insurance departments director of communications, Donna Tomelleo, said that the commissioner supports these provisions.
Cross Insurance, a Bangor, Maine-headquartered subsidiary of Cross Financial Corp., has promoted Eric Jermyn to president of Cross Employee Benefits. He will be based in Portland, Maine.

In this new role, Jermyns duties include the growth and maintenance of Cross Insurances benefits business, as well as property and liability (P&L) responsibilities for the companys operations in Augusta, Lewiston and Portland, Maine, and Somersworth, N.H.

As an insurance industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, Jermyn joined Cross Employee Benefits in 2015 as vice president of business development. Prior to joining Cross, he worked at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine as director of large group sales. For most of his insurance career, Jermyn worked in partnership with Cross and other brokers in the state.

Since its founding in 1954, Cross Insurance has grown through the acquisition of more than 100 insurance agencies throughout New England. The company now has more than 800 employees operating out of offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The Cross Employee Benefits division works with employers to offer health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance and voluntary and non-voluntary life insurance.

Source: Cross Insurance

Topics Maine
The state is making $10 million in funding available to New York municipalities dealing with flooding along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that the funds will support flood recovery efforts such as repairing break walls, roads, culverts and public water and sewer infrastructure.

The Democratic governor declared a state of emergency earlier this month for an upstate region stretching from Niagara County in western New York to St. Lawrence County in northern New York. Municipal governments in counties in the impacted areas can apply for the funding.

The state Senate has approved a measure that would provide $20 million in grants to property owners and the same amount for municipalities.

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.

Lake Ontarios water level remains more than 30 inches above normal.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood New York
The Federal Emergency Management Agencys proposed revisions to Yanktons flood plain map could encompass nearly 200 additional properties.

On the flip side, a revision in Rapid City means 224 properties have been removed from that citys flood hazard area.

Properties within a FEMA flood plain are required to have flood insurance if their mortgage is a federal loan or federally insured loan.

The Rapid City Journal reports the revisions in that city became effective in March. A FEMA official estimates the changes will save residents about $20,000 annually in flood insurance premiums.

The Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan reports that FEMA has given that city two options  adopt the proposed new flood plain map as is or allow the agency to do further study. City officials havent yet decided.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood
Armed Forces Insurance (AFI), based in Leavenworth, Kansas, has appointed Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Sid Clarke III, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), as its incoming chairman.

Clarke begins his new role as Armed Forces Insurance celebrates its 130th year in service to the military community. Gen. Clarke will assume his duties from the outgoing chairman, Lt. Gen. Garry L. Parks, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) on June 22, 2017.

Clarke is currently an executive advisor to a Middle East client. During his distinguished military career, he served as director of the Air National Guard, where he was responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all policies, plans and programs affecting more than 105,700 National Guard members and civilians in 89 wings, and 175 geographically separated units across 213 locations.

Prior to that, he served as commander, 1st Air Force/Continental Region of NORAD.

Clarke has received multiple decorations during his military career, including the Distinguished Service Media with Oak Leaf Cluster, Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Source: Armed Forces Insurance
A California-based workers advocacy group released a report on Wednesday saying that Tesla Inc. data showed its workers have been injured at a rate a third higher than the auto industry average.

Worksafe made the analysis after being approached by the United Auto Workers, the Detroit-based union that has been talking to Tesla employees about organizing.

Tesla is the only U.S.-based automaker without union representation.

Tesla responded to the report by saying its accident rate in the first quarter of 2017 was 32 percent better than the industry average.

We may have had some challenges in the past as we were learning how to become a car company, but what matters is the future and with the changes weve made, we now have the lowest injury rate in the industry by far, said Tesla in a statement.

One change was adding a third shift, which Tesla said led to a 30 percent drop in recordable incidents in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier.

Worksafe said the first-quarter data was preliminary and not enough to show a trend.

Tesla said in a May 14 blog that the union was using questions about safety as part of an organizing drive.

The UAW, which put the report on the front page of its website, declined comment.

The report comes at a critical time for the Silicon Valley luxury carmaker, which is preparing to launch its Model 3 sedan, hiring and ramping up its factory for a six-fold increase in volume next year.

Worksafe Executive Director Doug Parker told journalists in a briefing that the group met with Tesla factory workers after being approached by the UAW. Worksafe engages in campaigns with unions and other groups.

The Worksafe analysis of Tesla injury logs sent to California health and safety regulators showed that the carmaker had 8.8 injuries per 100 workers in 2015, 31 percent higher than the U.S. automotive industry mean of 6.7.

The figure, called a total recordable incidence rate (TRIR) fell to 8.1 injuries per 100 workers in 2016, for which industry-wide data is not yet available.

Worksafe also calculated that the rate of serious injuries known as days away, restrictions and transfers was double the industry rate in 2015 and fell slightly the next year.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker)

Topics Tesla
U.S. farm groups on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trumps proposal to slash agriculture spending, viewing it as a fresh threat to a struggling farm economy.

The White House on Monday proposed $46.54 billion in cuts to federal government funding for the agriculture sector over the next 10 years, including limits on federal subsidies for crop insurance premiums. Congress has the final say on the governments budget and lawmakers said the presidents plan stands little chance of passing.

U.S. Agriculture Department Secretary Sonny Perdue said there was no sugarcoating the budget proposal, which could lead to the elimination of 5,263 jobs at the department if implemented, or about 5 percent of its workforce.

USDA requested $18 billion for department spending in fiscal 2018, down from $24 billion in 2017.

Farmers in the U.S. agricultural heartland overwhelmingly supported Trump last November and are struggling with low crop prices that are hurting incomes.

This budget seems to really go after the people that got the president elected, said Zack Clark, director of government relations for the National Farmers Union.

Some of the biggest proposed cuts come from changes to the crop insurance system, which many farmers rely on to keep their operations running.

Its clear that this budget was written without input from farmers who would be severely affected, Ron Moore, president of the American Soybean Association, said in a statement.

But changes in crop insurance that cause farmers to cut back on plantings could provide relief to a global balance sheet heavy with supplies. Falling production could pay off in the long run by helping to lift prices, said Scott Irwin, agricultural economist for the University of Illinois.

Trumps budget imposes a $40,000 limit on crop insurance premium subsidies, which could prevent some farmers from insuring their entire acreage. There is currently no limit.

Typically, farmers pay a portion of their insurance premiums and USDA covers the rest, said Jeff Harrison, a lawyer who represents the Crop Insurance Professionals Association.

In practical terms, youre really going after full-time farm families.

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said she would oppose the cuts, which would leave our farmers, families, and rural communities vulnerable in tough times.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, both Republicans, said they will fight to ensure farmers have a strong safety net.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Related:

Topics USA Agribusiness
Authorities in a small Arkansas town say local police and firefighters are being targeted by suspicious fires and vandalism.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the incidents in Cotton Plant began in February, when a fire destroyed a firefighters rental home. The latest fire occurred Sunday and damaged the home of Fire Chief Jason Johnstons mother.

Mayor Willard Ryland says someone used gasoline to start a fire this month inside the Cotton Plant Police Department. He says the fire destroyed a computer and a box of police investigation reports. Other firefighters say their personal vehicles and an emergency van have also been vandalized.

Local police have asked Arkansas State Police to take over the investigation.

Cotton Plant, a town of about 650 residents, is roughly 70 miles northeast of Little Rock.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Law Enforcement Arkansas
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has announced the appointments of James Martin and Russ Madore, each as vice president, U.S. Programs, within AXIS Insurances Property and Casualty team. Martin and Madore will each be responsible for oversight of select AXIS Insurance programs in the property and casualty sector and will be based out of the companys Alpharetta, Ga., office. They will report to John Tatum, executive vice president and head of U.S. Programs at AXIS Insurance.

According to Tatum, the appointments speak to AXIS commitment to further its scale and relevance in specialty property and casualty programs.

Martin has nearly four decades of insurance industry experience. Prior to AXIS, he was an auto product line specialist in Starr Companies Environmental division. Previously, he spent 17 years at CNA, where he was director of Captives and managed the group captive programs for trucking and roofing, as well as its commercial insurance programs for landcare network and building equipment installation and repair.

Before CNA, Martin held casualty underwriting roles at Continental National Indemnity, Northbrook Property and Casualty, Midwestern Indemnity and The Hartford. He received his Bachelors degree in communications from John Carroll University, and holds multiple professional certifications.

Madore, who had previously held a number of senior financial positions within AXIS Insurance, is one of AXIS longest-tenured employees, having joined the Company in November 2002. He most recently served as vice president, finance officer, for AXIS Insurances U.S. Division. He is a graduate of Kean University, where he earned his Bachelors degree in accounting.

AXIS Insurance  a business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited  provides property & casualty, professional lines, terrorism, marine, energy, aviation, credit & political risk, environmental, accident & health coverages and other customized insurance products. Products are offered through distribution partners, which include wholesale brokers, retail brokers and designated managing general agents/underwriters in the U.S. and abroad. Coverages are backed by the financial strength and security of the AXIS Insurance Companies.

Topics USA Property Casualty Georgia Property Casualty
Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak has said that the mechanism for blocking Russian Internet resources has not been developed yet, but the process is underway.

"The mechanism has not been developed yet, but it will be introduced," Hrytsak told journalists in Kyiv on Thursday, answering an Interfax-Ukraine's question.

At the same time, he said that such a mechanism is being developed.
A jury has awarded nearly $256.5 million to a California auto dealership owner who claimed Nissan had a secret plan to put him out of business during the recession.

The Orange County Superior Court panel ruled in favor of Michael Kahn, who owned seven Nissan, Toyota and Chevrolet dealerships in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.

Six dealerships were financed by Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., Nissan Motor Limiteds financing arm.

Kahn charged that the corporation committed fraud and negligent misrepresentation in order to foreclose on the dealerships after he defaulted on about $6.7 million in loans in 2009.

We are disappointed with the jurys decision, Nissan said in a statement Tuesday. A prior trial based on similar facts led to a substantial, multi-million dollar jury verdict and judgment in NMACs favor. If the jury award stands, we plan to appeal and are confident that justice will ultimately prevail.

The 2008 worldwide recession caused auto sales to plunge and left many Nissan dealerships unable to immediately pay the company for cars they sold, as required under loan agreements.

The problem wasnt confined to Nissan cars. Large numbers of dealerships around the country were purged by auto companies. Many dealers later sued, and most cases were settled.

Kahn was late with payments, but he eventually paid them. He alleged that a Nissan executive had promised flexibility on the payments and that Kahn would receive financing to keep his dealerships afloat through 2009. However, Kahn alleged the company actually had a secret plan to pull the plug after squeezing as much money out of him as possible.

After his dealerships again came up short on loan payments, Nissan foreclosed and began selling off Kahns assets, including his Orange County home and other property hed put up for collateral to raise more money.

The company also sued for breach of loan guarantees and was awarded $40 million by a jury. Kahn wasnt allowed to submit evidence at that trial alleging fraud.

An appeals court reversed that prohibition, and Kahns fraud and misrepresentation allegations went to trial, resulting in Mondays jury award of nearly $122 million in compensation and nearly $134.6 million in punishment.

Kahns case was handled by a Los Angeles legal firm, Miller Barondess. Skip Miller, the firms managing partner, said he was pleased by the verdict.

Kahn has finally obtained justice for what was done to him and his business and family. Mike is a great guy, and a great car dealer, and he deserves this so he can get his life back, Miller said in a statement.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits California Auto
Evacuation orders are still in effect in as crews battle a wildfire north of Leavenworth, Washington.

Brendan Cowan, a spokesman for the Northwest Incident Management Team, says the blaze covered about 40 acres as of Wednesday morning.

Cowan says theres been no injuries reported.

The fire started at about 1 p.m. Tuesday in an old mill and spread to nearby timber. Cowan says the mill is a 5-acre storage area for enormous cedar logs.

Cowan says its a very dense concentration of fuel and their main challenge is how to get the fire out.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Melissa Gannie says the fire is threatening homes, timber and electrical infrastructure.

The evacuation order impacts about 168 homes and cabins. It includes Sunitsch Canyon to Eagle Creek and all of the Spromberg Canyon area.

The Red Cross has opened a shelter in Leavenworth.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Washington
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Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) Facial and Body Recognition Patent Application Received a Notice of Allowance

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Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer

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Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoliy Matios has said that suspended State Fiscal Services of Ukraine chief Roman Nasirov has assisted in the investigation of the so-called illegal 'tax scheme' used by former tax officials throughout Ukraine.

"It took longer to investigate the case because it was impossible [for investigators] to immerse themselves in the debris of such a complicated organization that for a long time morphed into various ministries of revenues, state fiscal services and so on," Matios said in an interview with the Kyiv-based 112.ua on Wednesday evening.

He said a meeting was held after head of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Yuriy Lutsenko had sent the 'tax centers' case to the military prosecutor's office.

"The chairman from the State Fiscal Service was Roman Nasirov. We wouldn't have been able to crack the case without his knowledge of all the various components of the scheme," Matios said.

Asked whether Nasirov's contribution to cracking the case would mitigate charges against him, Matios responded: "I don't have an opinion, but only lay out the facts. Whether [Nasirov's help] could mitigate the charges against him  I do not know," Matios said.

As earlier reported, Nasirov is suspected of committing crimes pursuant to Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misuse of public office leading to serious consequences).

The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine suspects Nasirov of taking a number of unfounded and illegal decisions on repayment terms for rental payments on exploitation of natural energy reserves from May 2015 through March 2016 as part of the so-called "Onyshchenko's gas scheme." [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine deputy Oleksandr] Onyshchenko has fled Ukraine. The scheme allegedly led to more than UAH 2.019 billion in losses to the state.

On March 2, 2017, NABU agents served a notice of suspicion to Nasirov, who was subsequently hospitalized at the Feofania clinic outside Kyiv.

Kyiv's Solomyansky District Court on March 7 remanded Nasirov in custody for 60 days and set bail at UAH 100 million. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), meanwhile, requested the court set bail at UAH 2 billion.

Kyiv's appeals court on March 13, 2017, ruled to set bail at UAH 100 million, which was paid by Nasirov's wife on March 16. SAPO agents next filed a motion to arrest Nasirov's property.
After WWII, the European colonial powers were spent. They tried to regroup and retake their former colonies in the postwar developing world. Only the Americans in the West were not in favor of the revival of colonization and envisioned an international community (the United Nations or UN) that would have a Security Council to resolve international disputes. This was sometimes known as the Rooseveltian vision.



The former colonies of European powers were also keen to agitate and fight for self-determination. In the postwar period, a global wave of decolonization began. The rise of nationalism in East Asia coincided with the period of decolonization. The Vietnamese under their leader Ho Chi Minh was no exception to the regional rise of nationalism and fought the French for independence. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was decisive and the French in Vietnam were defeated in 1954.



The Cold War intensified between the US and the Soviet Union as the world gradually became a bipolar world divided between two ideologies. The Domino theory during the Cold War reinforced American political conviction and belief that South Vietnam should be prevented from becoming communist to contain the spread of global communism. The Tet Offensive proved to be a turning point and 1975 saw the downfall of Saigon, the bastion of the South Vietnamese regime and its US allies.



In 1976, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its US allies lost the war and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was triumphant. Over half a million people (mostly South Vietnamese) escaped in boats. Ideological priorities were paramount during this period and the communist government began to round up capitalists and sent them for re-education. Some of them were made to do labor in camps.



In the postwar period, starting from North Vietnam in 1955 to the contemporary period in the late 1980s, Vietnam began its economic development using a central planning system. Policies were planned centrally by the government and implemented by State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The whole central planning period ended in excess capacity and labor. Wage control resulted in a lack of incentives and, consequently, Vietnam became dependent on foreign aid. Soviet aid was crucial during this period.



Some entrepreneurial individuals networked with the South Vietnamese diaspora in the US or reached into the Soviet Bloc to bring daily products into Vietnam. These were probably the first prototypical capitalists in Socialist Vietnam. The lack of supplies and shoddy Vietnamese-made products, as well as the clamor for foreign-made products, resulted in economic self-reflection. The 1982 Fifth National Party Congress admitted that the revolution did not produce the economic results that were desired.



In 1986, Nguyen Van Linh rose to become Secretary General of the Vietnamese Communist Party. He instituted economic reforms known as Doi Moi. Cooperatives in the agricultural sector were discontinued. Peasants were now able to grow crops on privately-owned plots of land. Doi Moi was considered Vietnams own version of the Soviet Perestoika and Glasnost under the former (and last) Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. There was also a feeling that the Soviet Unions days were numbered.



After 1989, Vietnam moved towards a market economy. Consumption was not centrally determined. Consumption and production were now guided by market forces. The state sector declined. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Vietnam could no longer depend on external help. 1989 marked the end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall and in 1992, the Soviet Union dissolved. Meanwhile, Chinas economy seemed to be booming after its opening up in 1979 and the early 1980s.





In 2005, Vietnam shifted to a collective leadership structure. It consisted of the general secretary, president, and prime minister.



By the 1990s, Vietnam made peace with China, Japan, and the West. For all of Vietnams important efforts in reforming their economy, there was still a barrier that needed to be overcome. Vietnams economy was still being constrained by the US Cold War-era policies against its former enemies. The US was by far the worlds largest market, most dynamic economy, and the new hyperpower in the post-Cold War unipolar world. US support would be crucial for Vietnams economy to be successful. In 1994, the US lifted its embargo on Vietnam.



In 1995, former US President Bill Clinton normalized relations with Vietnam. With US support, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization. It had become a full-fledged member of the global trading regime. Vietnam, like the other East Asian economic miracles, benefitted from exporting to the US market and accumulated reserves, technological know-how, skills, foreign exchange, and management knowledge for its own economy.



Foreign Direct Investment went into Vietnam from the US and other Western investors as well as Japan and the Tiger economies. The rest of the economic development narrative was a Vietnamese success story. Literacy increased, lifespans lengthened, national poverty went down, and infrastructure improved. After decades of hard work, Vietnam entered the middle-income country category. Foreign investments poured in and Vietnam began to be known as the Little Dragon economy after China which was the regions (indeed the worlds) largest-scale success story in poverty alleviation. These investments made Vietnam into a major manufacturing sector in Southeast Asia.



In 2005, Vietnam shifted to a collective leadership structure. It consisted of the general secretary, president, and prime minister. This paralleled Chinas own collective leadership shared amongst 9 Politburo members (now 7 members). Vietnam and China have similar socialist one-party systems that are hybridized with a market economy that has private sector initiatives as well as SOEs.



There are some complementary features between the two countries political systems. Their common socialist backgrounds and economic reforms connote a special relationship that has been as close as a fraternal socialist brotherhood during the Vietnam War era, and also as regional rivals over the fate of Cambodia in 1979, Paracel Islands ownership, joining different camps during the Sino-Soviet split, and historical memories (e.g. Qing invasions).



Economically, the relationship is cyclical with economic closeness punctuated by challenges. Vietnam opened up border trade with China and became part of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement deal. Economic relations boomed in the first decade of the 21st century between China and the ASEAN economy. Since its rise, China has become the individual ASEAN countries top three ranking economic partner and a top-ranking economic partner of ASEAN overall. However, maritime disputes have spilled over into economic relations, with local Vietnamese protests against Chinese and Taiwanese investments in the country.



Future economic and political relationships may be dependent on the wisdom of the two countries leaderships in resolving maritime disputes and working with each other in a transparent, mutualistic, and beneficial manner (win-win situation) while maintaining bilateral cooperation in harmony with the multilateral needs of other great powers with interests in the region, and keeping the sea lanes of communication open perhaps within the framework of a Code of Conduct.



Domestically, despite great economic success and poverty alleviation, there is still work to be done: for example, uplifting of minority living conditions and minority rights. With better living standards and economic growth, the Vietnamese people now clamor for a better environment, sustainable development, egalitarian development, equal opportunities for social mobility, etc.
New Zealand's very ownwill officially be making their U.S. debut as the first season will be airing on Bravo. Today, Bravo New Zealand, Matchbox Pictures, NBCUniversal Television and New Media Distribution announced that the Kiwi Housewives has been acquired by Bravo to air this summer."It's great to cap off our first year of business with another success story," Maria Mahony, general manager of Bravo New Zealand told. "We are very proud of our first local production and to be able to share The Real Housewives Of Auckland with US domestic audiences is a tremendous achievement for the production, and everyone who worked on it. And of course the Housewives themselves."The first season of RHOAKL premiered back in August 2016 in New Zealand and Australia with massive success.Season 1 cast consists of Anne Batley Burton, Angela Stone, Gilda Kirkpatrick, Julia Sloane, Louise Wallace and Michelle Blanchard.The first season consists of ten episodes with no reunion special. It's still unknown if the series will be getting a second season.d is set to air in U.S. on Bravo this summer.Photo Credit: Bravo NZ
The Ukrainian authorities should be careful with fighting propaganda, as the line between this kind of fight and limitations on free speech is very thin, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has said.

"It is a very thin line and I am not an expert who can say what this line should be. This is a very delicate and sensitive issue," the ambassador said when Kyiv-based Interfax asked him to draw a line between the fight against propaganda and limitations on the ability of media outlets to express their point of view.

The European Union understands that Ukraine is deterring a disinformation campaign, which is part of hybrid warfare, but at the same time the Ukrainian authorities' decision to block a number of Russian online resources, including the VKontakte and Odnoklassniki social media, should not limit free speech, he said.

"This should not lead the Ukrainian authorities to restrict the freedom of information in the country. We have to look into details and if these measures restrict the freedom of information, so we will ask the Ukrainian authorities to review these measure," Mingarelli said.
An award-winning Cork food company has predicted the gluten-free food industry will expand exponentially in the coming years, defying critics who say it is a passing fad, writes Padraig Hoare

The Kinsale Bay Food Company, which crafts the finest gluten-free Irish food products, scooped three awards at the recent FreeFrom Food Awards 2017.

Having originated in the UK, the awards came to Ireland in 2016 to promote free from foods such as gluten, dairy or sugar-free breads, treats and meals.

The market has become massive globally, defying expectations from evidence-based food scientists that it would fizzle out after the initial boom. Sceptics argue there is little need for the majority of the population to eliminate ingredients such as gluten, a protein in grains that gives dough its elasticity. An allergy to gluten causes serious health issues, such as coeliac disease, a disorder of the autoimmune system.

However the explosion in demand for such products has shown no sign of abating, said Kinsale Bay Food company.

General Manager Tommy Doyle said: In 2006 when our company started making gluten-free products, it was a totally new concept. At that point in time there was really no way of knowing what size the gluten free market in Ireland was. But over the years we have seen the gluten-free market grow not just with Kinsale Bay Food Company, but with other food producers coming to the market, introducing gluten-free products or making their existing products gluten-free.

He pointed to Bord Bia research showing one in five Irish people buy gluten-free products every week despite only 1% of the population being diagnosed with coeliac disease.

What has really driven our volumes and our commitment to staying gluten-free is our quality of taste and our appeal to the mainstream market. It is estimated in approximately 20 years 90% of the products we eat will be gluten free thus keeping in tandem with Kinsale Bay Food Companys dedication to quality, wholesomeness and delicious foods, Mr Doyle added.

With over 100 brands competing against each other at the FreeFrom awards, Kinsale Bay Food Company came out on top with its mushroom soup which received the gold, while its cottage and shepherds pie each received a silver.

From humble beginnings in 2008, selling various products in the Kinsale town market, the independently family-owned company is now selling its gluten free range to supermarket and independent stores nationwide.

Owner Jim OMahoney said: So much hard work and dedication is put into producing the finest quality gluten free products and it is fantastic to see our teams hard work being recognised. Being gluten free does not mean you have to sacrifice on quality or taste, and our products are an exact representation of this.

A new packaging design and new website will launch in June. Products from the Kinsale Bay Food Company are available in selected Supervalu, Tesco, Centra and Artisan stores across Ireland.
The two men hoping to become the next Taoiseach will face off in their first debate tonight.

Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney will meet in the first of four debates being organised by Fine Gael.

Fine Gael blocked any plans for the two contenders for its leadership to take part in any live TV or radio debates - purportedly amid fears that broadcasters would try to provoke fights in a quest for ratings.

The party has taken it upon itself to arrange four nights of hustings debates around the country, being streamed online - the first of which is tonight in Dublins Red Cow Hotel.

But despite the partys best efforts, in the last few days some animosity has begun to creep in.

Simon Coveney, who trails significantly in terms of parliamentary support, has criticised Leo Varadkars commitment to people who get up early for work - he says ignoring everyone else is simply divisive.

Varadkar has dismissed Coveneys aspiration to represent a United Ireland, saying thats already been Fine Gael policy.

With reports that some councillors are considering switching sides and backing Coveney given recent days, many will wonder whether the housing minister can pull off an unlikely comeback that could start tonight.
The Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald has described as 'unacceptable' the fact that homeless families were referred to Garda stations and had to sleep in parks this week due to a lack of emergency beds.

Her comments came as the Government and Fianna Fail united this lunchtime to vote down a bill put forward by Solidarity-People Before Profit calling for emergency legislation to tackle the homeless crisis.
The number of personal insolvency applications in Ireland has more than doubled when compared to same period in 2016, while the number of people availing of debt solutions continues to grow.

These are the main findings of a new report from the Insolvency Service of Ireland highlighting statistics for the first quarter of this year.

The report goes on to reveal that for quarter 1 2017, as compared to Q4 2016, applications are up 16% with personal insolvency arrangements up 10%.

The report of an analysis of 100 Personal Insolvency Arrangements shows almost half of arrangements are completed in a year or less, in over 90% of cases where a family home is involved the debtor remains in their home and where the solution involved the write off of mortgage debt the average write off was 93,338.

Commenting on the report Mr. Lorcan OConnor, Director of the ISI, said the number of people availing of the debt solutions available through the ISI continues to grow.

"The number of applications has increased significantly since the launch of Abhaile, the State funded service for people in home mortgage arrears, under which borrowers can avail of a free consultation with a Personal Insolvency Practitioner.

"The Personal Insolvency Arrangement analysis published today demonstrates that the key objective behind the Personal Insolvency Legislation  keeping debtors in their home - is being achieved.

Mr. OConnor encouraged anyone with serious debt issues to consult a Personal Insolvency Practitioner or an Approved Intermediary, details of which are available on backontrack.ie or by calling 076 106 4200. People can also freetext GETHELP to 50015 for a call back from the ISI.
Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been convicted of a string of historical sex offences against schoolboys in his care during trips to Scotland.

A jury found the 67-year-old guilty of indecently assaulting seven teenage boys during camping and boating trips in the 1970s and 1980s while he was a biology teacher at a school in the Manchester area.
Kyiv's Pechersky court has selected pretrial restrictions for three former heads of Ukrainian tax agencies who were detained as part of a massive anti-corruption crackdown on May 24, the Ukrainian news portal 112.ua has reported.

Former head of Kyiv's Sviatoshynsky district tax office Yuriy Mostypan was released on condition of posting UAH 1 million bail. He will also have to wear an ankle monitor.

Former head of Poltava region's tax service Volodymyr Zadorozhniy was also obliged to wear an ankle monitor. He should post UAH 12 million bail to be released pending court hearings.

Former head of the tax office in Kyiv's Podilsky district Oleksiy Yaroshenko was freed on personal recognizance.
Currently, 75% of the companys Irish sales volumes would not be liable for the tax, due to its growing migration towards low-sugar, healthy hydration-focused drinks. Just six years ago that figure would be closer to 50%.

That said, Kevin Donnelly  chief executive of Britvics operations in Ireland  remains concerned. He wants the same mechanisms that apply in Britain, which is also due to introduce a sugar tax next April, to be implemented here.
Earlier this week the Limerick Chamber criticised the dominance of Dublin Airport. It said that aviation must be a key focus area for the Government if it is to redress the current economic imbalances. In its submission to the National Planning Framework (NPF), the chamber said in the long-term, regional cities will play a key role in rebalancing the national economy.

While the chamber specifically referred to cities in the west, it is more than reasonable in my view to say that southern cities have played and will play an even bigger part in the sustainable growth of the Irish economy. However, they will only do so only if investments flow to ensure that such locations have the infrastructure, as well as the necessary trained people to attract and develop the industries and businesses of the future.

Over recent months there has been much attention to the potential for Ireland to attract many of the EU focused businesses that currently operate in the UK. The UKs impending exit from the EU will mean that many organisations  but particularly the EU regulatory organisations based in London  will have to find a new home.

Its probably fair to assume that a lot of these organisations are currently based in the UK given the size of the UK economy but also because the UK was and still is one of the main contributors to the EU coffers. Inevitably, most of these organisations and companies will likely move to mainland Europe and not consider Ireland because we are neither a major economy nor a big contributor. On the other hand, there are those companies who will look to Ireland as a potential location.

As it stands, Dublin will most likely be the location chosen for any relocations coming from the UK due to Brexit. It has the infrastructure, it has a critical mass, it has the entertainment venues and it, almost exclusively, has the airline frequency and connections.

However, it does have a housing crisis and the expensive prices and costly rents.

It also has traffic problems that the city appear unable to deal with. Its as if they want to frighten people away. Well, if Dublin does not want these potential industries to select Dublin, people in Cork, Limerick and other locations would be delighted to attract them.

In a speech, the possible new Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said that landlords of rental housing should be treated like other businesses. He appears to be taking a pro-business approach.

The access to a location that frequent flights and access to key destinations offer are important for the south and west of Ireland.

None of this should be a surprise. For a long time, foreign companies based here have made it clear that frequency and connectivity are critical issues. Yet, the needs of Cork, Limerick and Waterford are ignored.

If we include the failure of Government to provide adequate roads between major locations such as Limerick and Cork, its hard not to get the impression that Dublin is the only focus.

A balanced economy is imperative if we are to maintain the economic growth.
The Cork to Limerick road was not currently an approved project under the Governments capital expenditure plans but was nonetheless cited in the Luxembourg talks as the type of scheme that could be unlocked with innovative support from the European Investment Bank, a spokesman for the finance minister said.

The talks involved ways the bank could lend support possibly leading to the costs of projects such as the Cork to Limerick road being kept off the national balance sheet.

Business groups have long called for a significant upgrade in the Cork to Limerick road, saying it is the type of infrastructural spending that is needed to help Munster compete with the Dublin region for foreign investments.

Speaking before the meeting, Werner Hoyer bank president said the bank, which funds projects across Europe, was starting to engage with Ireland in new ways. The two-day visit to the European Investment Bank headquarters by ministers Noonan and Donohoe comes at a turning point for the EU Banks engagement in Ireland.

In recent years the European Investment Bank has supported Irelands impressive recovery across key sectors, with projects around the country, and we look forward to working closely to ensure a strong future for the country by backing small business and tackling infrastructure needs.

The broad focus of the European Investment Banks involvement in Ireland would not have been possible without the firm resolve of Minister Noonan to ensure that no opportunities were lost to overcome challenges and unlock transformational new investment, Mr Hoyer said.

The Irish ministers said the meeting was designed to explore new funding opportunities for Irish infrastructure.

They said the bank already funds projects across Ireland in transport, education, housing, and healthcare, as well as helping SMEs and exporters.

Mr Noonan said the talks covered firms and industries here that will need extra support because of Brexit. They also discussed using public-private partnerships to fund projects.
Ryanair this week announced a partnership with Air Europa that will allow passengers book transatlantic Air Europa flights on the Ryanair website. Some 20 long-haul routes from Madrid to 16 countries in North and South America are included.

Norwegian boss Bjorn Kjos said last month he was confident a deal between his airline and Ryanair to fly passengers from Europe to the US could be reached.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna tomorrow to consider whether to prolong the accord reached in December in which Opec and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.

The market sees an extension by nine months as the base-case scenario since Opecs de facto leader Saudi Arabia and top non-member Russia said they favoured such a move. Saudi ally Kuwait has signalled Opec could discuss deepening the cuts, in what would come as a positive surprise for market bulls, but hopes faded after a key committee recommended keeping the curbs unchanged.
It remains our top priority to get a deal done as soon as possible, were still very hopeful and were very optimistic we can conclude a deal. It is our major focus, Mr OReilly told shareholders at the Irish exploration firms AGM in Dublin.

He said the company would be working hard over the next few months to progress a deal, saying discussions are ongoing with other interested parties.

It is understood a number of super-majors  a term typically used to describe the largest eight or so oil companies in the world  have begun to take interest in the Celtic Sea region and Providence is considering extending its acreage in the area in response.

Shareholders also learned that Providence came close to landing a development partner for Barryroe as it has on a number of occasions in the past at the end of last year, only for the unnamed party to back out in favour of investing in a package of North Sea-based assets.

The fact that a deal wasnt finalised by the end of 2016 means that Providence has pushed out plans for an appraisal well, at Barryroe, until 2018 at the earliest.

Providence is currently involved in farm-out discussions on five of its asset areas in the Celtic Sea and off the west coast  the Barryroe, Spanish Point, Avalon, Newgrange and Druid/ Drombeg fields/ prospects  and Mr OReilly said that some of those development deals are at a very late stage of agreement.

Were not a one-trick-pony; we have a portfolio and an attractive array of opportunities which we are pursuing, he said.

Mr OReilly said he isnt concerned that increased merger and acquisition activity in the North Sea could divert interest from Irish waters, but did admit that while interest levels have improved it remains difficult to secure third-party partners for exploration and production projects.

In March, Providence successfully brought in Scottish explorer Cairn Energy via its Irish subsidiary Capricorn as development partner for its highly-rated Druid/Drombeg prospect in the southern Porcupine Basin off the west coast of Ireland.

A drilling campaign potentially taking up to two months and targeting around five billion barrels of oil is due to begin at that prospect in late June/early July, with Cairn, now a 30% owner of the asset, covering 45% of the associated costs.

In the wake of that deal, Mr OReilly said that Providence was confident of further deal activity and Ireland was very much on the agenda of a lot of companies.

He said that Providence was happy with the level of interaction it has been having with potential farm-in partners for its other assets.

Providences share price is up by nearly 9% since the turn of the year.

It was unchanged yesterday trading at 19c in Dublin.

It remains unclear when an appraisal well which was previously delayed but most recently planned for 2018 at Spanish Point, might take place.

Providence is also partnered with Cairn there and further farm-in partners are being sought.
Linn Dara, a 22-bed unit in Cherry Orchard, Dublin, only open since December 2015, is due to close 11 beds by June 1 unless staffing issues can be resolved.

At the time of its opening, Anne OConnor, national director, HSE Mental Health, said the unit would enhance the provision of accessible and appropriate services for young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties and the families that support them.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was asked in the Dail during the week to intervene to prevent the bed closures.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said he had emails from parents of patients at Linn Dara who are under enormous pressure.

Children who were admitted two weeks ago as being in emergency situations, at high risk and in need of emergency admission are now being discharged early, he said.

The HSE issued a statement saying all discharges from Linn Dara are clinical decisions and are planned discharges.

Nobody is being discharged in order to allow a bed to be closed, the statement said. The bed closures are expected to last for up to three months.

Fianna Fails mental health spokesman, Jim Browne, said while the Governments mental health blueprint, Vision for Change, highlights the need for at least 100 beds for child and adolescent patients, the figure will reduce from 63 to 52 with the Linn Dara closures. Vision for Change is under review.

He said: The HSE must clarify whether Linn Dara is currently operating over-budget as many suspect that this is the real reason for these bed closures.

Mr Martin said there had clearly been a lack of strategic planning on the human resource side of mental health services for some time.

The HSE has invited the PNA to todays talks at the behest of Helen McEntee, the mental health minister.

A spokesperson for the PNA said they will put forward a number of proposals in an effort to resolve the crisis. The spokesperson said just 17 out of 34 nursing posts at Linn Dara are currently filled. Staff are providing cover by doing additional hours, overtime and through use of agency staff.

More than 80 posts remain unfilled across community mental health services that cater for children and adolescents with severe mental health disorders. Earlier this week, childrens charity, Barnardos, said a survey of 242 parents found one quarter said their child had been waiting more than two years to be assessed by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and more than 35% have been waiting more than two years to receive treatment.
The revelation is contained in documents sent by Caranua to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), following its appearance before the committee last month. Caranua was established by the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 to oversee the use of cash contributions of up to 110m, pledged by the religious congregations, to support the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse.

In the documents, Caranua outline details of 94,648 it paid to the Towards Healing counselling service in respect of 59 individuals in 2015 and 2016. The bulk of this, 87,263, was paid in 2015, with the remainder paid the following year.

Towards Healing provides a face-to-face and telephone counselling service to people who experienced abuse in institutions managed by religious congregations on behalf of the State, clerical sexual abuse, and to others impacted by such abuse. According to its website, it is funded by way of a 3m budget every year, which comes exclusively from the Catholic Church.

In its submission to the PAC, Caranua said it initially advises anyone seeking support to avail of counselling, free of charge from Immigrant Counselling and Psychotherapy (ICAP), National Counselling Service, and Connect, which are all funded by the State, and Towards Healing. It also said it outlines the services, their origins, and the sources of funding to survivors.

However, unlike other counselling services, Towards Healing introduced a cap of 80 on the number of free sessions that an individual could avail of. It then approached Caranua to enter into an arrangement whereby a person who had reached this cap and required further treatment, could apply to Caranua for support.

Caranua said the concern that the cap was introduced in order to avail of funding from the abuse fund was discussed by the board.

This matter was considered by the board over a number of meetings during 2014 and a number of meetings were also held between the chair and CEO of both Towards Healing and Caranua (19th March, 5th June, and 15th July).

The concern that the cap had been introduced in order to avail of funding through Caranua and that this payment from Caranua for services to Towards Healing would, in effect, be a subsidy from one fund supported by Catholic bodies to another, was raised and considered by the board. A decision, in principle, to enter into an agreement with Towards Healing was made by the board at its meeting on 19 June, Caranua wrote to the PAC.

Caranua told PAC the board was of the opinion that the agreement would help ensure the continuation of services to those who had been clinically assessed as needing those services, while at the same time removing the necessity for individual applicants to provide Caranua with quotes and receipts.

Last week, the Irish Examiner revealed that concerns about an increasing level of aggression aimed at Caranua CEO Mary Higgins by abuse survivors at public meetings were raised by board members last year. The revelation is contained in minutes of a board meeting at the River Lee Hotel in Cork in April of last year.
Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli believes that there are many people in Ukraine who interfere with the work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), including representatives of the Ukrainian authorities.

"There are many people in Ukraine, which as you know, present group and material interests who are trying to prevent the work of NABU for known reasons," Mingarelli said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Answering the question whether there are people in the Ukrainian government who oppose the work of NABU, the ambassador said: "They are everywhere, they are in the Rada, the government, they are present in the civil society and their presentation is very strong in the Ukrainian media."

The diplomat said that such resistance to NABU's work is related to its professional activities.

"NABU is investigating a high level corruption cases. If I had been a very rich Ukrainian citizen, who had been stealing money for years since Independence, I would not like the NABU to be efficient and independent and I would have done everything to hinder its activities," Mingarelli said.
A Romanian national, in his late 50s, died from stab wounds. He was rushed to University Hospital Limerick at around 1.30pm.

A Limerick man, also in his 50s, from the Garryowen area, was being held at Roxboro Road Garda Station last night. A weapon was recovered at the scene at Roches Row which links Roches Street and Thomas Street. The deceased lived in the area.
The top four brands in the country are Avonmore in number one position, Brennans in second, Denny in third, and Jacobs in fourth.

This is according to the fifth annual fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) report by Kantar Worldpanel, which is a global expert in shoppers behaviour.

Its report measured which brands are being bought by the most consumers the most often.

In the number one slot for Irelands most popular food brand, Avonmore is purchased by 73.4% of Irish shoppers 28.8 times a year. This is the fifth year in a row Avonmore has held this position.

In second position, Brennans is chosen by 75.6% of Irish shoppers 27.5 times per year.

In third place, Denny is bought by 70.8% of us on average 16.3 times throughout the year.

Both Brennans and Denny remain in the same ranking as last year.

However, Jacobs, which came in at fourth position climbed one rank, with 82.7% of Irish shoppers purchasing their products 12.9 times a year.

These rankings come during a period of challenge for brands, as consumers are choosing own-label products more and more.

There has been a growth rate of more than 6% for people buying own-brand goods, while there has been a decline in shoppers purchasing branded products.

David Berry, director of Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, said retailers have responded to these changes by improving their own-brand goods.

Brands across all sectors are finding the Irish retail landscape more challenging. Traditional retailers have responded to a more competitive marketplace by expanding and improving their own-label lines  and brands and manufacturers are feeling the impact, said Mr Berry.

While own-label is growing by almost 6.2%, the proportion of the population buying the top 10 branded products is down by an average 2.8%.

Mr Berry said customer behaviour is changing rapidly and brands need to respond to their changing needs.

Consumer behaviour is changing at a rapid pace. To keep up, brands and manufacturers will need to recognise consumer needs which arent being met or demographic group which are underperforming and come up with innovative new products and experiences that can successfully tap into these markets, he said.

This years biggest success story in terms of ranking was fish specialist John West. It rose 16 places to 37th position in the overall Irish ranking.

It achieved the highest penetration (number of people purchasing their goods) increase of any brand in the top 50.

The brands success was driven by customers responding to new products such as its steam pots range, which aims to meet the growing demand for convenient food options.

Food 10 food brands
Mr Howlin was speaking at the launch of a Labour bill aimed at delivering wage equality between men and women.

But when asked, he said it would be beneficial if all companies, public and private sector, published figures, saying people should have nothing to hide.

Yes, it should all be known. It would be useful if they did. In the UK, we have seen a shareholder revolt demanding transparency in relation to executive pay. I dont think has anything to be afraid of. If people are paid extraordinary high salaries there should be a reasoned argument as to why they were, Mr Howlin said.

The proposed bill aims to close the earnings gap between men and women in Ireland was debated in the Seanad last night and is not being opposed by the Government.

Under the terms of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2017, medium to large-sized companies would be required to regularly publish wage transparency surveys that would highlight any difference in pay between their male and female workers.

Mr Howlin added: Equality and fairness have always been at the core of the Labour Party ethos, and while Ireland has come a long way on this front, women are still on an unequal footing in the workplace.

He said that by requiring companies of 50 or more staff to regularly report on their pay scales, Labours Bill, which is based on legislation in other EU countries, will help to drive down any gender-based wage discrepancies. Its not enough to simply hope that organisations will volunteer this information, Mr Howlin said.

At present rates, it would take up to 170 years before the gender pay gap is fully closed, he said.

We in Labour believe that Irish women, and Irish society, cannot afford to wait that long, and we call on the Government to support this important and progressive legislation, said Mr Howlin.

Senator Ivana Bacik told reporters: Women here currently earn around 13.9% less than men that figure equates to women in full-time employment working for free in Ireland for about one month of every year.

We passed equal pay legislation in Ireland more than 40 years ago, in 1974, and yet women have still not achieved anything close to pay parity with our male colleagues, she added.

Despite positive moves towards greater gender equality generally, the rate of change in pay levels has become stagnant  over the past 11 years, the gender pay gap has narrowed by only four percentage points.
Dragons Den star Gavin Duffy will oversee proceedings and put questions to the two ministers in front of an audience made up of members, councillors, the general public and media.

While the four debates in Dublin, Carlow, Galway and Cork, will not be televised, they will be streamed live on Fine Gaels Facebook page.

Party members have also been asked if they would like to submit questions for the two contenders to answer and there will also be a question and answer session from the floor after both have debated topics.

Dragons Den judge Gavin Duffy explained: These events are traditional-style political hustings where each candidate is afforded sufficient and equal time to detail their qualifications, experience and ambitions for the party and the country.

I want to commend Fine Gael for the open and transparent manner in which the election of the leader is being conducted.

Votes for the contest are weighted in accordance with the Fine Gael electoral college rules, with the 73 members of the Parliamentary Party (PP) accounting for 65%, almost 21,000 party members accounting for 25%, and 235 local representatives (232 councillors and three Udaras na Gaeltachta members) accounting for the remaining 10% of the vote.

Following an introduction by Mr Duffy and the chairman of the hustings, Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar will deliver a 10-minute opening speech each. They will alternate the order in which they speak over the course of the four hustings.

A question and answer session will then be convened by Mr Duffy after each speech, followed by an open forum to allow for questions from Fine Gael members.

Queries for the four debates can be submitted through Fine Gael and question cards at the venues on the night.

Voting will start at 28 stations around the country on Monday through to Thursday next week before the final parliamentary party vote on Friday when the winner will be declared.
Kathleen OToole said this was because Ms OSullivan and her management team inherited a poisoned chalice when they took over.

Ms OToole, a US police chief and former head of the Garda Inspectorate, made the comments to the media after the first meeting of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

When questioned about the constant calls for the head of the commissioner in recent months, Ms OToole said: I dont think it would make a difference if it was Noirin OSullivan or someone else.

I think this management team inherited a poisoned chalice and I think we need to get beyond the finger-pointing and the name calling.

She added: Were certainly not going to engage in that. We are looking to the future.

The chair of the commission acknowledged there was a crisis in confidence in An Garda Siochana.

However, she said she hoped the 12-person commission would facilitate a fresh start: Its been a very very difficult time and I think that and I hope we can shift the commentary to a constructive dialogue about the future of policing in this country.

Certainly there are others focusing on performance issues and historical inquiries. Our role is to strike this new beginning and press the reset button and engage in a good constructive dialogue.

Ms OToole, flanked by seven of the 12 members, said there was a crisis in confidence in police forces elsewhere, including in the US.

She said she believed the average person in Ireland supported their local guards and that they were concerned about systems and management issues.

She added: On a human level people want to support the police here. They are overwhelmingly supportive of the police.

She said gardai must be very demoralised and said the commission wanted to show them some light at the end of the tunnel and create a policing model that both they can buy into and that will also restore public confidence.

The commission is tasked with extensive terms of reference, covering everything from: Recruitment and training; the structures and management of the organisation; separating security from policing; culture and ethos; oversight structures; the laws around policing, and an examination of policing models from abroad.

She said it might sound like a Herculean task, but said it need not be so.

Ms OToole said there was now a sense of urgency: Im convinced the Government is prepared to accept and implement changes. If I didnt believe that I wouldnt be here.

She said the commission would be holding community meetings and taking submissions.

She said they would be assisted by an estimated 10 support staff  similar to what the Patten Commission had.

She pointed out that her commission also had four additional members compared to Patten.

Asked how many hours a week members would be able to give, she declined to say but did state that members had made a commitment to do whatever it takes to get this done.

On the issue of taking security and/or intelligence away from policing, she said there were very mixed views on that in Ireland.

She said they had no pre-conceived notions on it and would make sensible recommendations.
Professor Shane Kilcommins of the School of Law at the University of Limerick said there was a fragmented approach by a myriad of state agencies in tackling this type of crime.

He said there was no centralised governance and no unifying strategy as well as sparse accountability structure.

Despite the challenges of tackling white collar crime, Prof Kilcommins warned that failure to do so would have a demoralising effect on society and potentially make a mockery of the notion of equality for all citizens before the law.

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court directed the jury to acquit MrFitzPatrick  who was charged with misleading Anglo Irish Bank auditors about millions of euro in loans.

Judge John Aylmer said he was making his ruling because of real concerns that the defendant was being denied his constitutional right to a fair trial.

He said the investigation by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement was flawed by witness coaching, contamination of witness statements and shredding of evidence. Prof Kilcommins said, on one hand, the judgement reflected the need in Irelands criminal process to ensure the quality and integrity of information emanating from an investigation.

As well as accuracy, this was to protect individual freedoms, basic fairness and check abuses of power.

When these safeguards are breached, it is difficult, if not impossible, to stand over the integrity of the investigation process, he said.

He added: More broadly, the judgement also, to some extent, reveals the difficulties and challenges posed in investigating and prosecuting alleged white collar offences.

He said this is for a number of reasons.

To begin with, the line between poor business decisionmaking and criminal activity is far from clear- cut. It is also the case that proof is difficult in these cases, and often resource intensive.

He said white-collar crime was difficult to detect because it often occurs in private, behind closed corporate doors.

He said another difficulty was the expansion in agencies with the power to investigate white-collar crime and to bring prosecutions.

They have increased dramatically in Ireland in recent years, he said.

They include: the Revenue Commissioners, the Competition Authority, the Director of Consumer Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Health and Safety Authority and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

This enlargement in scope, however, is fragmented in nature, occupying diverse sites and modes of operation.

He said there was no centralised governance and no unifying strategy.
While he did not give direct evidence, he said through Elizabeth OConnell, defending, that his wife made up the story after a row.

The defendant pleaded not guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to 15 separate counts  eight for defilement and seven for sexual assault in the latter half of 2011.
Barrister Michael Connellan told Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, in the Circuit Civil Court that when being taken to the Giraffe Childcare creche by her parents, Emilie Kiely used to plead with them: No creche, no creche.

Mr Connellan, who appeared with Carley and Connellan Solicitors for Emilie and her parents, John and Caroline Kiely, said Girraffe Childcare  which was responsible for the running of Belarmine Childcare in Stepaside, Enniskerry Road, Co Dublin  had offered Emilie a damages settlement of 23,000.

Counsel told Judge Groarke that Emilie, now aged six, suffered personal injury in the form of stress and emotional upset and terror over a five-month period between September 2012 and January 2013 in the toddlers room.

The court heard Emilie had been under the care of a certain individual who was abusive towards the children in her care.

Emilie showed signs of behavioural changes of anxiety and distress and when collected each evening was often withdrawn, red faced, tired, and would fall into a disturbed sleep.

Mr Kiely, in an affidavit to the court, said he and his wife discussed the problem with Emilies carer who reassured both of them she was receiving an appropriate level of care under her supervision. A month later, Emilies demeanour improved when she was changed to a new room.

Then in May 2013 he and his wife learned of RTEs programme A Breach of Trust and viewed it in June and, while their daughter did not feature in any video footage, it showed the minder they had previously confided in behaving angrily and screaming at children.

Afterwards they made alternative arrangements for Emilies care and took out a claim for compensation on Emilies behalf.

Two years ago, Judge James ODonoghue rejected a settlement offer of 15,000 from Giraffe Childcare.

The court heard Emilie first attended the creche at the age of eight months and was all right for the first 13 months. It was in September 2012 when she was transferred to the toddlers room that her personality changed after having been introduced to a harsh childcare regime for five months.

Judge Groarke, who was assured there was no serious risk to Emilies future psychological development, approved the 23,000 offer.
Dundalk native Captain Mark Duffy was one of the four crew members who died when the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 crashed into Blackrock Island, off the Mayo coast.

Captain Duffys remains were recovered from the sea, as was the body of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, while the bodies of crewmen Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith have yet to be found.

In an open letter to the public, Captain Duffys wife, Hermione Duffy, expressed gratitude on behalf of herself and her two children Esme and Fionn for the assistance and goodwill shown by the public since the crash.

I would like to thank the people and communities of Blackrock, Dundalk, Cooley, Louth, Newry and Warrenpoint, south Armagh and Down, nationally especially Mayo and beyond, sincerely, for your kind, generous and compassionate actions since Marks tragic loss with the crew of Rescue 116, Ms Duffy wrote.

To the families of Esme and Fionns many friends thank you for helping your children be their friends during this time. Thank you especially to the vice-principal and staff of St Vincents Secondary School, Dundalk and the teaching staff of St Francis National School, Blackrock; the gardai of Blackrock and Dundalk. The Clogherhead Coastguard unit who kept watch over us while the search to bring Mark home continued.

Blackrock Tidy Towns and all the business owners in the village and Dundalk, thank you. From the vigil in those first days to closing your shops during Marks funeral.

Thank you to the local businesses who supplied food to us and the Irish Coastguard crew daily.

On behalf of Marks mother Sheila, and brothers Gavan and Donard, along with Marks uncle Fr Stephen Duffy they extend their gratitude to you all.

We are grateful for the kindness, gentleness and compassion shown to us by Fr Padraig Keenan, PP, and Father Brian White, CC, Blackrock. We chose to live in Blackrock to be beside the sea, close to Marks work, near great schools and we live in this community which has given us immeasurable support and kindness which is greatly helping us in adjusting to our life now without Mark.

The respect we have been shown gives us great pride to know the esteem Mark was held in by you all. To everyone, friends and others who offered their sympathies, personally and with cards, thank you for your support, gifts, flowers and help.

To all the emergency services staff of the Irish Coastguard and the volunteers of the RNLI, your unique selflessness has been high-lighted nationally by this tragedy may you always be acknowledged for your wonderful work.

To the co-ordinators, crews and divers of the search and the volunteers who supported them in Blacksod, Belmullet and beyond, who still search for Ciaran and Paul, thank you seems inadequate for all that you did and continue to do.

Thank you.
Two elements which were key to the collapse of the prosecution of Sean FitzPatrick speak volumes about attitudes to white collar crime in this country.

Yesterday, Judge John Aylmer instructed the jury to find Mr FitzPatrick not guilty of 27 charges relating to the concealment of hundreds of millions of loans from his time as chairman of Anglo Irish Bank.

On Tuesday, the judge set out reasons as to why he felt the trial couldnt go on. One related to the role of the chief investigator in the case, Kevin OConnell, a legal adviser to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE).

Mr OConnell was entirely out of his depth. At one stage during an earlier, eventually aborted, trial on these charges, OConnell shredded documents that should have been given to Mr FitzPatricks legal team. Apart from that, he was central to a strategy that involved taking witness statements in a manner that was completely wrong, and characterised in the trial as more suited to preparing a civil case, rather than a criminal prosecution.

The difference is vital. A civil case usually involves two parties fighting over money. A criminal case can see the defendant found guilty of a crime and sent to prison.

On Tuesday, the judge said that Mr OConnell had no previous experience relevant to the prosecution of indictable offences.

As a result, the investigation fell far short of the standard impartial, unbiased and thorough investigation in which the paramount duty was to seek out and preserve all evidence which was or might potentially be relevant to innocence as well as guilt.

Prior to joining the ODCE, Mr OConnells main experience had been in summary prosecutions at the district court. Typically, prosecutions in the district court involve public order summonses, road traffic offences, petty crime and minor assaults.

A solicitor for whom that arena represents the vast bulk of his prosecutorial experience was thus thrust into a world of complex accounting involving alleged fraud, connected  albeit peripherally  to the near collapse of a banking system in a developed economy.

Why did the agency hand this case to a professional with virtually no experience in investigating breaches of company law? Is it that the terms and conditions were unattractive to more suitable candidates? Or is it that those in the legal business dont take seriously such a role as a career option?

Either way, the deployment of this solicitor to lead an investigation requiring knowledge of company law and forensic accounting says plenty about how seriously white collar crime was, and most likely still is, regarded.

It has ever been thus. All the way back to 2007, when the country was awash with money, the then taoiseach said the ODCE would have to wait in line before getting the kind of resources that its chief executive claimed were necessary in order to function properly.

Its only a matter of priorities, Mr Ahern said at the time. Its not that his work is not considered important. Not important enough it would seem to be in light of all that we now know was happening at the time.

The taking of statements was another issue that contributed to the collapse of the FitzPatrick trial. Statements taken from two auditors who had audited Anglos books  in which Mr FitzPartricks loans were hidden  were seriously contaminated.

Removing the sign from Anglo Irish Bank HQ on St Stephens Green, Dublin. White-collar crime is hard to detect because it often occurs in private, behind closed corporate doors. Picture: Nick Bradshaw

The statements were put together through repeated consultation between the two auditors, their solicitors and personnel in the ODCE office. There were a number of revisions, deletions and suggestions from the various parties.

This kind of thing is common in civil law. Affidavits are prepared which lay out the positions of various parties.

In criminal law, a statement is a sacred document, which is supposed to be an account of the witnesss experience or observations. Any input from other parties in revising the statement is a complete no-no. The rights of a defendant demand a high standard of integrity in a statement in a criminal trial.

This is the kind of stuff that gardai learn in year one. The FitzPatrick trial heard that gardai were conspicuously absent in the preparation of these statements. So were left with highly paid legal and accountancy personnel putting together statements and nobody among them had a clue that this kind of thing was wrong, while the people who knew how to take statements were outside the door.

Was it incredible incompetence, or was it simply that these people dont consider breaches of company law to be a crime as such? Perhaps they see crime as something that is confined to those of the lower orders who lack a good education.

One other thing to emerge from the shambles was the potential conflict of interest of some of the lawyers who were coaching the auditors on their statement. These lawyers are also acting for Ernest & Young in a potential action being taken by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation  successor to Anglo Irish  against the company. And in addition, they are acting for Ernest & Young in an inquiry by the accountancy regulatory body to examine whether the auditors did a proper job in auditing Anglo Irish.

Therein lies an enormous potential for a conflict of interest. What, for instance, if the statements prepared for the criminal trial were seen by the lawyers to be incriminating in relation to one of the other actions? Would that have prompted any revisions or deletions?

Of course, we know from experience that among the so-called professional classes there exists Chinese walls to block out any conflicts of interest. In this the boys and girls in the worlds of law, accountancy and auditing have the capacity to eliminate the kind of bad thoughts which might seep into the minds of mere mortals. That again is something that is relatively unique to the Irish business world. In most other countries there is a recognition as to the limits of human capacity to negotiate conflicts of interest.

So it goes in this State, apparently the best little country in the world in which to do business.
EU wants as many people from eastern Ukraine as possible to visit Europe

The European Union would like to see as many people from the eastern region of Ukraine as possible to to visit the EU countries, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has said.

"My wish is as many Ukrainian people as possible, especially from the eastern part of the country, could visit the EU, so that they could assess themselves and see the way how people live there. Visa regime is the best way to counter fake news as people can see themselves what the realities are," he told in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The ambassador also noted that according to the data available to him, only 4-5% of the inhabitants of eastern Ukraine were in the EU countries, while in the western regions this figure was 20-25%.

Mingarelli said that all citizens of Ukraine who have biometric passports can use the visa-free regime.

"All Ukrainian citizens who hold biometric passports, will benefit from this new visa-free regime. All of them, regardless of where they are: in Donbas, Crimea or Luhansk regions or in the territories under control of the Ukrainian authorities can visit the EU countries," he said.

As reported, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that residents of territories that are beyond the control of the Ukrainian authorities can get use of the visa-free regime after the restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty over these territories.
The photographers eagerly shepherded Leo over to where little Lucas and Arthur were hanging out on the lawn of Merrion Square. After all, its already Day Seven of this election campaign, and theres not a baby kissed yet, which will never do.

If this had been an encounter with the current Taoiseach, the 18-month old twins wouldve been whisked off the grass and tucked into the crook of both his elbows while he simultaneously gave the snappers a cheery thumbs-up. But Leo is no Enda and he left the two tots on terra firma and simply sat cross-legged on the ground beside them and smiled for the cameras. The Social Protection Minister is not really a kissy-baby sort of politician, but hes canny enough to know that had he declined the photographers invitation, he might have rapidly found himself categorised as being the snubby-baby sort instead.

And its all going so well for the frontrunner. A walk in the park, his more ebullient backers might have reckoned, as they posed with their candidate for upbeat photos in the sunny square.

Leo had just left the offices of the Irish Architectural Archive, where he had unveiled his battle-plan to make Fine Gael great again. It was bristling with grassroots-pleasing promises to give the 21,000-strong membership a greater say in the running and organisation of the party and to restore it as a fighting force by better pre-election planning.

We had a very tough European and local elections in 2014 and I know councillors, candidates, TDs and members found it difficult, often tripping over water meters to knock on a door to explain to parents why a medical card had to be taken away from their child, he told the packed room of supporters and media. Under my leadership, that will never happen again.

He also offered what was perhaps an insight into why his intense planning for this campaign wouldve made Caesar Augustus weep tears of pride. He recounted the first time he entered a political race in the local elections of 1999 as an ambitious 20-year old, who thought I had all the answers. He got 300 votes; it was the third-worst Fine Gael performance, but I learned a lot from it.

Despite the sunshine yesterday, a few storm clouds rolled in from the south. His rival Simon Coveney has been running a markedly different campaign, putting his case forward on the local and national airwaves at every opportunity and holding rallies and meetings with members and councillors, mostly outside the capital.

Minister Simon Coveney with Young Fine Gael president Marian ODonnell after he signed the Young Fine Gael Youth Pledge.

The two men have been largely circling each other, letting off the odd jab rather than a flurry of punches, but at a doorstep interview in Wicklow, Simon came out swinging. He said Fine Gael needed a real debate about who is the best and most qualified person to be party leader and Taoiseach.

People are starting to get that debate now thats not superficial or based on practised media launches, he sniped.

Nor was the Housing Minister impressed with his colleagues declaration that Fine Gael is the party for people who get up early in the morning.

Yes, of course, we represent that person, said Simon, before putting the boot in: But we also need to focus on the people who cant get up in the morning, for whatever reason, or dont have a bed to go to at night.

As the four crucial weekend hustings approach, the rivals are ratcheting up the rhetoric to woo a membership pining for some tough talk, especially after a year of having to play nice with the Soldiers of Destiny and endure the jeers of Sinn Fein.

So, Leo obligingly let loose at the Shinners. Asked if his vow to rebrand the Blueshirts as the United Ireland Party (which also drew a dig from Simon) indicated a willingness to work with Sinn Fein, Leo took aim and unleashed a fusillade of political bullets.

No, Im not putting out an olive branch to Sinn Fein, at all. I think Sinn Fein remains the greatest threat to our democracy and our prosperity as a State, he declared. Part of my mission, if I have that opportunity as leader, is to take Sinn Fein on.

Leo Varadkar with Minister Michael Ring after Mr Varadkar published detailed plans to energise Fine Gael.

Team Leo cheered and clapped at the denouncing of the party. Hear, hear, they chorused happily, as the ghost of Maggie Thatcher drifted through the room. Leo, the Iron Laddie.

Leo still has a clear lead. Yet, there is discontent in some quarters, such as among the public sector over his plans on strike action, but, so far, this Laddie is not for turning.
A court has dismissed an appeal against the special confiscation of $1.5-billion assets of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his allies, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said on Facebook on Thursday.

"The Appeals Court of Donetsk Region has declined to open a proceeding on the impoundment of $1.5 billion at the request of lawyers representing non-resident entities of Yanukovych's criminal enterprise," the office said.

It said it had not received a copy of the court ruling so far.

The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) said on April 28 that Oschadbank (the State Savings Bank of Ukraine) started to impound $1.5 billion belonging to former Ukrainian President Yanukovych and his associates. The impoundment order had been issued by the Kramatorsk court in Donetsk region, and the appeal window already closed by then.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said later on that day that the Kramatorsk court had decided to impound money of Yanukovych and his associates on the basis of testimony provided by one associate, who received a suspended sentence in exchange.

"The Prosecutor General's Office in Ukraine has long been investigating this case under Article 255 (creation of a criminal group), in which suspects are citizens Yanukovych, [Ukrainian businessman Serhiy] Kurchenko, [former minister of taxes and income Oleksandr] Klymenko, [former First Vice Prime Minister Serhiy] Arbuzov, as well as a number of other influential personalities of that time ... While investigating the case [embezzlement of budget funds] [the investigators have] identified a member of the gang who has given full incriminating testimony against the high-ranking officials, [elaborating on] the methods and ways of the crime, naming exact companies and bank accounts in the world, as well as their further use in Ukraine This was taken into account by the court of Kramatorsk," Lutsenko said.

According to Lutsenko, the identified member was given a suspended sentence. He and the judge of the case are "under protection," he added.

The prosecutor general said Oschadbank completed the impoundment of $1.5 billion the same day.

Lutsenko informed about the secrecy of the trial and the ruling by the Kramatorsk court in the Yanukovych special confiscation case "in order to ensure the safety of the key witness, or rather, the person who has signed the agreement." "There are still people who will follow the same path [signing an agreement with the investigation] regarding other assets," he added.
Thursday, May 25th, 2017 (10:40 am) - Score 2,208

A recent survey of British adults by YouGov has revealed that 16% of people have used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Proxy Server, with 48% adopting it in order to circumvent region (geo) blocking of online content and 44% using it to enhance their Internet security.

VPNs allow you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. Many people use them as an additional means of securing their connection against hackers or prying admins, which is particularly vital when accessing a network that you dont trust or havent used before (e.g. public / hotel wifi).

On top of that they can also be used for circumventing website ISP censorship systems and tackling geo-blocking, such as by adopting an IP address from another country. The latter is obviously a headache for complicated content licensing agreements, such as those used by Netflix and other video / TV streaming companies.

Unsurprisingly many of the aforementioned examples rank highly in YouGovs chart of the top reasons for using such services.

In reality more people have probably used a VPN or Proxy than the survey suggests because a lot of related technologies are already active inside existing networks, such certain Mobile Broadband (3G / 4G) or Public WiFi platforms. Some Internet content filtering systems also make use of proxy servers and a lot of big businesses use VPNs for their employees (remote working).

Nasra Aharchich, YouGov, said: The number of people using VPN is significant enough to provide a headache to those services which use region-based access. Alongside ad blockers, disposable email and private browsing, a substantial percentage of people try to go undetected online. From brands point of view, this means targeting needs to be as good as possible, as the opportunity to appeal to these people is reduced to only where they are visible.

On the flip side people and bots can also use these same services to mask their online identity while trolling other Internet users or committing potentially criminal acts, which makes them harder but not impossible to identify and stop. YouGovs data suggests that 65% of British adults have heard of the dark web (sites only visible to encrypted TOR users), although only 6% admit to having used it but a further 6% say that they would use it in the future.

We certainly wouldnt be surprised to see VPN use continue to grow, particularly given the UK governments move towards mass Internet snooping (Investigatory Powers Act) and a rise in the use of network-level filtering systems by broadband ISPs, which can be used to block all sorts of different websites (both legal and illegal ones).
Within the next decade, the customer experience in obtaining goods and services will be dramatically altered by the emergence of bots that communicate with each other, leaving nothing for us humans to do in the process other than letting our personal bots know what it is we want.

Thats the vision being championed by Adam Fingerman, chief experience officer and cofounder of ArcTouch, a mobile app designer and developer in San Francisco. In an interview earlier this week, I had the opportunity to discuss this bot-to-bot phenomenon with Fingerman, and I opened the conversation by asking him what the difference is between todays chat bot, and the business bot he envisions in the coming bot-to-bot world. He said the main difference is that today, theres a person involved:

All digital interactions right now are very person-driven: I download an app; or I go to a website; or I go into Facebook Messenger and I initiate a conversation with a chatbot; or I ask my Alexa to do something for me. But in the future, we believe that well all have bots working on our behalf who we give ambiguous instructions to, and then they initiate the interactions with the other bots. So people will still be part of the equation, but they wont necessarily be the focal point in all of the transactions.

Fingerman went on to explain that our personal bots will be the future evolution of the likes of Amazons Alexa, Apples Siri and Google Assistant:

Already today, a lot of these kindergarten-level bots have a tremendous amount of context around who you are, where you are, and whats going on around you. Think of your phone: It has a dozen different sensors on it that can sense everything from your location to your body metrics  your heart rate and things like that. It knows if youre lying down or standing up, and how fast youre moving. Those are the explicit sensors, but if youve signed in to something like your Google account, theres information about your contacts, your calendar, your mail  theres quite a bit of synthesis that can go on. Theres already a lot of information that we give permission to our devices to have access to, and theyll use that information, hopefully, in positive and proactive ways.

The role of marketing will inevitably change in a bot-to-bot world, Fingerman added:

We have marketers today; in the future, marketing is going to have to focus more on the whole product experience. It used to be that marketing sat on the periphery of an organization  the product was built, and plans were made, and then marketing was told OK, now go market it. But marketing becomes central to the whole process, because they really have the pulse of the customer at their fingertips. If you make a great product and focus on the whole product experience, everything takes care of itself, in my mind. You get positive reviews, you dont have pricing pressure, you can ensure that you are not commoditized.

Finally, I asked Fingerman what problems have to be solved before bot-to-bot goes mainstream. He said more industries need to more actively adopt structured data:

Structured data has become very popular in the past few years as a way to describe information on websites for non-humans to consume. We look at a website and we see the words and the pictures and everything, but really behind the scenes, what people who run websites want is for Google and other search engines to really see and understand that website quickly. So the industry adopted structured data, which is like a taxonomy to describe people and places and things and products and services, and its caught on pretty well in the last few years. Theres a Web organization called Schema.org thats [working on shared vocabularies], but its very basic information right now. Its not really rich enough to allow any one business to differentiate itself from any other business. If you were a car manufacturer, sure, you could add structured data to your website that says We make cars, but it doesnt really go into the nuances that a bot would need to know to make an educated buying decision, such as the fuel efficiency or the decibel level of the interior cabin  lots and lots of information you could add behind the scenes for a bot to consume. I think proactive industries will take this idea of structured data and expand it so that bots can know what they need to know about a particular brand.

A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant.
OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau has already confirmed that OnePlus 5, the company's upcoming flagship, will have a front-facing fingerprint sensor. Aside from that, it was already verified that it will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor. Meaning, OnePlus 5 is ready to take on Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6.

OnePlus 5 To Have Fingerprint Sensor

All the information about the upcoming OnePlus smartphone flagship may have also revealed some details on what it might look like, according to the International Business Insider. A OnePlus fan asked the CEO via Chinese social network. whether the next smartphone will feature a front-facing fingerprint sensor or not. Lau simply replied the word yes and that suggests, indeed, the upcoming smartphones design will have a front-facing fingerprint sensor.

In the past few years, fingerprint sensors have become ubiquitous when it comes to high-end smartphones. While some devices such as Apple iPhone 7 or HTC U11 feature front fingerprint scanners, there are some phones that have their sensors on the back. These brave risking companies are Samsung for its Galaxy S8, Google for its Pixel phone and LG for the G6 smartphone.

Past smartphones made by OnePlus are widely known to have its fingerprint scanners on the front part of the device. And many fans are expecting that it won't change with the OnePlus 5. Aside from that, since Lau recently confirmed that the upcoming device would keep its fingerprint scanner on the front, we can just rely on it. Therefore, OnePlus 5 will look like the OnePlus 3T and its other predecessors.

OnePlus 5 To Be Powered By The Best Qualcomm Chipset

OnePlus also confirmed that the most-anticipated OnePlus 5 will be powered by Qualcomm's best chipset which is the Snapdragon 835 processor. Actually, according to Phone Arena, there is no surprise here but the confirmation is the big deal. Thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835, the new smartphone would offer a "flawlessly smooth performance."

Snapdragon 835 chipset along with the fingerprint scanner are OnePlus 5's newest confirmed features. Not long ago, OnePlus also revealed that their flagship handset would be released this summer with a camera developed in collaboration with DxO. It was also confirmed that OnePlus 5 could have multiple color variants, which includes some unusual ones such as gradient from purple to blue.
What's a password manager?

A password manager is a program that stores passwords and logins for various sites and apps, and generates new strong passwords when a user needs to change an old one or create a new account. Users can sign into a password manager with a single strong password or by using biometrics, and access all their login information.

Most password managers allow users to sign in on multiple devices (including Macs, Windows machines, and iPhone or Android smartphones) and work with multiple browsers (including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) to automatically fill in username and password info, storing password information encrypted in the cloud and sharing it across platforms as needed. And while these tools got their start in the consumer world, most offerings now have editions aimed at businesses with enterprise features.

Is a password manager a good idea?

While it may seem counterintuitive at first to entrust security to a single password manager app accessed by a single password, using a password manager is in fact a very good idea. Most people have difficulty remembering more than one strong password, so they often end up either reusing a password across sitesmeaning that a hacker who discovers the password can go on a break-in spreeor using weak passwords that are easy to defeat by brute force.

A password manager will autogenerate random new strong passwords for all of a users accounts, and users can access them with a single strong password that's all they need to remember. Most password managers also have additional security features, like multifactor authentication.

Business password manager: 4 features to look for

A password manager isn't just a boon for individual users; it can boost the security of enterprises as well, and there are a number of business-focused features that you should look for if you're aiming to roll one out for your company:

Administrative capabilities for managing multiple users and applications. Some offerings include capabilities to automatically provision and de-provision user access to applications based on their group membership. Tools to manage password policies are a must-have and should include the ability to manage complexity rules and change requirements.

Interoperability with enterprise software and networking. You'll want the ability to synchronize with LDAP or Active Directory, or the option to leverage authentication from cloud services like Office 365 or Google Workspace, to streamline deployment of the password manager to your users.

Advanced authentication capabilities. Were talking about the ability to handle authentication using the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) standard, a step above simply filling login form fields, and dynamic authentication policies that can make sure your users are using a registered device or are attempting to log in from an accepted geographic location. Some vendors even support capabilities like password management for VPN software, on-premises apps, or RADIUS servers.

Audit logging, reports, and alerts are key capabilities for a password manager focused on business users, whether youre monitoring app usage, auditing administrative actions, or simply looking to get a read on what passwords are weak, have been re-used, or are due to be changed. Password managers are also sometimes used to provide access to an application to multiple users with the same set of credentials; normally, this prevents auditing processes within that application from identifying who performed an action, but a password manager can to track and report on which users accessed an application at a particular date and time. Alerts can help keep you in the know about known compromised accounts, when user accounts are locked, or potentially when anomalous behavior is detected.

Support for accessing passwords programmatically with scripts. Secrets management is a real concern in the devops world, as hard-coded credentials are almost as bad as those stored in plain text. Command-line tools or the ability to access password vaults using an application programming interface (API) are common methods password management tools can offer to securely retrieve passwords from your vault, but secrets management could also involve native support for common tools like Kubernetes or Ansible.

What is the best password manager?

Which vendors offer password management for businesses and bring enough features to the table to warrant consideration? Here are the ones worth looking at.

1Password Dashlane Keeper Business and Keeper Enterprise LastPass NordPass Password Boss Securden

1Password

1Password is one of the more established names in the password manager arena, and in addition to their personal password management services they also offer solutions for teams, business, and enterprise. The teams tier offers admin controls for sharing and permissions, two-factor authentication (including support for Duo integration), and five guest accounts to extend secure sharing reach for $19.95 monthly. Customers of the business tier are looking at a $7.99 monthly cost per user, but gain policy-based administrative security controls, logging and reports, and provisioning through Active Directory, Okta, or OneLogin. Starting at $29 monthly 1Password also offers a Secrets Automation add-on for secrets management that supports a variety of tools including Andible, Kubernetes, HashiCorp Terraform and Vault, and code libraries for Go, NodeJS, and Python.

Dashlane

Dashlane is another popular password manager choice for personal use that successfully bridges the gap to the business world. Like 1Password, Dashlane offers both a teams and business tier, for $5 or $8 monthly per user, respectively. Aside from a suite of administrative management tools and reporting capabilities, Dashlane also supports both provisioning and de-provisioning of apps (including remote removal of company credentials). Dashlane also offers SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) for users of their business tier, directory integration, and policy-based management.

Keeper Business and Keeper Enterprise

Keeper Security boasts the most popular mobile apps of any password manager, and its individual accounts and apps compare well with the competition in that space. Like much of the competition who offer password management solutions for business, Keeper offers both a business and enterprise tier starting at $45 annually per user. The business tier offers policy-based management, reporting, and two-factor authentication, while enterprise customers gain SAML support, more robust two-factor (DUO integration and RSA tokens), command-line provisioning tools, and API support for things like password rotation and basic interaction with your vault. An add-on is available for more advanced reporting and alerting for $10 per user each year.

LastPass

LastPass is something of the big name in the group. Its business solution offers an intuitive admin interface with security policies, MFA settings, and reporting. Federation from Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) or Okta couples nicely with built-in provisioning and de-provisioning to streamline your administrative workflow. LastPass for business is available for $6 monthly per user, but limits you to three SSO apps, which is a pretty serious handicap. The Advanced SSO add-on gives you unlimited apps for an additional $2 per month for each user, and the Advanced MFA lends some serious power and flexibility to the authentication process for $3 monthly. Business customers can bundle with both add-ons for $9 monthly per user all told.

NordPass

NordPass is made by the same folks as NordVPN, which just means they have experience and something of an established reputation when it comes to privacy and security. Not gonna lie though, NordPass business could use some maturing, particularly on things like directory integration, MFA options, and reporting. Not that NordPass doesnt offer options for each of these categories; its just that they dont offer a lot of flexibility or depth compared to the competition. Business accounts start at $3.59 per user monthly, with enterprise tiers requiring a call to the sales team.

Password Boss

Password Boss may not be as well known as other vendors on this list, but it offers a business solution thats worth at least a cursory look. Connectors for both Active Directory and Azure AD are available to help onboard your users, and MFA support is available using Google Authenticator or another time-based one-time password (TOTP) authenticator. While certainly not as sophisticated or mature as some of the other solutions on this list, if youre looking for a simple, straightforward password manager Password Boss may fit your business needs nicely.

Securden

Securden is another name you may not have heard of, but it has a few different solutions for business account security, including their password manager for enterprises. Securdens password manager has a long list of features including a robust array of admin tools like the typical group-based management and reporting, but it extends beyond that. Securden offers request-based permission workflows, where a user must request access to a resource and have it approved prior to authenticating to the resource. This not only ensures users are authorized but provides an additional audit point. Securden also offers automatic password rotation, API access, management of Windows service accounts, and even SSH key and secrets management. If that wasnt enough Securden will integrate with your corporate Active Directory or SAML-based SSO solution, as well as your existing security information and event management (SIEM) and helpdesk ticketing systems.
The rate of civilian fatalities has drastically grown in Donbas, as more than 40 civilians have been killed since the beginning of this year, Principal Deputy Chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission Alexander Hug said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

Forty-four civilians were killed and 181 sustained injuries in Donbas in the period from January 1 till May 24, 2017, Hug said.

The OSCE SMM observed 84 civilian injuries and 23 deaths in the relevant period of 2016, he said, adding that 110% year-on-year growth had occurred.

Hug said his colleagues are verifying information about this high number of civilian casualties.
Campisis story is a familiar one playing out across most industries. Technical talent, often averse to joining large corporations whose rigid operational structures and deliberate decision-making threaten to strangle innovation, have been lured by the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook with their can-do cultures. Some employees, particularly millennials, prefer companies that prize agile methodologies, design thinking and the ability to pump out minimally viable products.

This is a talent play and effort to scale our digital skills and capabilities and accelerate each of our divisions journey on their digital transformation, Campisi says. Stockpiling such talent is table stakes for Campisis efforts to drive operational efficiency and grow revenues. Its a notable change for UTC, which like other industrial manufacturers has traditionally treated IT as a vehicle for cost savings, says Campisi.

United Technologies Corp. (UTC), for one, is investing $300 million in a digital accelerator, essentially a technology startup nestled in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, N.Y. UTC, whose businesses make such machines as jet engines and elevators, aims to woo 250 people with expertise in key technology areas, including product management, user experience design, software development, data science, analytics and cybersecurity, according to CIO Vince Campisi, who joined the company from General Electric last year.

The digital imperative is driving companies to seek new sources of value for their customers, but this mission is difficult within the often cloistered confines and bureaucracy of their headquarters. Seeking to foster a culture that is more akin to startups than the corporate motherships, many large enterprises are cultivating innovation in digital labs and incubators.

The digital imperative is driving companies to seek new sources of value for their customers, but this mission is difficult within the often cloistered confines and bureaucracy of their headquarters. Seeking to foster a culture that is more akin to startups than the corporate motherships, many large enterprises are cultivating innovation in digital labs and incubators.

United Technologies Corp. (UTC), for one, is investing $300 million in a digital accelerator, essentially a technology startup nestled in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, N.Y. UTC, whose businesses make such machines as jet engines and elevators, aims to woo 250 people with expertise in key technology areas, including product management, user experience design, software development, data science, analytics and cybersecurity, according to CIO Vince Campisi, who joined the company from General Electric last year.

United Technologies Corp. Vince Campisi, CIO United Technologies Corp.

This is a talent play and effort to scale our digital skills and capabilities and accelerate each of our divisions journey on their digital transformation, Campisi says. Stockpiling such talent is table stakes for Campisis efforts to drive operational efficiency and grow revenues. Its a notable change for UTC, which like other industrial manufacturers has traditionally treated IT as a vehicle for cost savings, says Campisi.

Campisis story is a familiar one playing out across most industries. Technical talent, often averse to joining large corporations whose rigid operational structures and deliberate decision-making threaten to strangle innovation, have been lured by the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook with their can-do cultures. Some employees, particularly millennials, prefer companies that prize agile methodologies, design thinking and the ability to pump out minimally viable products.

But startup culture is hard to incubate in a large enterprise, says Forrester Research analyst Nigel Fenwick. Companies realize that they need to create separate labs with which to lure talent and promise them the opportunity to work on cutting edge technologies. Digital innovation is very much one of the new rules of business, Fenwick says. An innovation hub gives them an opportunity to describe something different.

This digital startup blueprint has worked for companies such as General Electric, which launched a software center in San Ramon, Calif. in 2011. Today its ground zero for GEs Digital business unit, which CEO Jeff Immelt says will become a top software company by 2020.

Rival UTC has similar challenges in trying to use data analytics to generate the kind of efficiency gains that will help jet engines built by its Pratt & Whitney unit last longer. Or using a field service mobile application to make workflow easier for the 31,000 mechanics tasked with maintaining the companys two million in-service Otis elevators.

If they can make a 1 percent improvement in the amount of time working on a customer elevator its worth $30 million for the company, says Campisi. Thats why were putting this investment in this because we see the value that can be created for our customers and for ourselves.

Incubators hatch innovation

If UTCs digital accelerator is built for speed, Wal-Marts incubator, Store No. 8, represents the long view. Seeking innovation to help it better compete against Amazon.com, Wal-Mart launched Store No. 8 earlier this year to identify, fund and groom startups in such areas as virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics and drones. The startups operate independently though they are wholly owned by Wal-Mart.

Store No. 8 Katie Finnegan, principal of Store No. 8

Our mandate is to take a longer term view of what that impact may be so that were getting ahead of and creating the experiences to deliver to our customers in the future, says Katie Finnegan, principal of Store No. 8. Unlike Wal-Mart Labs, the tech research arm that deploys computing infrastructure and software algorithms intended to deliver more near-term impact, Store No. 8 is searching for potential technologies that will bear fruit on a longer time horizon  think three to six years rather than months.

The balancing act is identifying startups that are working on crazy things but are still tied to the business so youre creating an asset for when tech catches up and it becomes a strategic asset for the mothership, says Finnegan, who led corporate development at Jet.com before Wal-Mart acquired the company last year.

She says Store No. 8 will announce a handful of startups it plans to invest in over the course of 2017. Ideally, at least one or two of them will help the company create digital services that will resonate with some of the 150 million consumers Wal-Mart serves weekly. I cant wait to create a customer experience that a customer didnt know they want but cant live without once they have it, Finnegan says.

With Store No. 8, Wal-Mart joined Coca Cola as one of the iconic brands bitten by the incubator bug. The beverage giant is building innovation with The Bridge, a three-year-old, Silicon Valley-based incubator that imbues 10 startups each year with the companys marketing expertise. The Bridge has spawned 68 pilot programs and close to 20 licensing agreements. Projects include augmented reality software that shows a store owner what an endcap product placement will look like and video technology to monitor wear on truck tires so they can be replaced before they blow out.

Neither an accelerator nor an incubator be

Digital innovation is also top of mind at Foot Locker, where CIO Pawan Verma is juggling a major ERP consolidation (replacing 4 point-of-sale systems in 3,500 stores) while exploring ways to bolster the consumer experience. The shoe and apparel companys Chicago-based technology arms 65 employees are experimenting with mobile software, beacons, AR/VR tools, as well as analytics to help better personalize store content and offers for consumers.

Foot Locker Pawan Verma, CIO of Foot Locker

In May 2016, this team delivered a pilot for the App Launch Reservation tool, which allows users of the companys mobile application to reserve highly-anticipated shoes at their local Footlocker. Vermas team built the tool to help consumers avoid the aggravation of waiting in line.

Looking forward, Verma says that his team is looking into AR and VR tools that will let users virtually try on footwear and clothing. Ideally, consumers would don glasses in a store or while sitting in front of a computer at home that help them see what different colors or styles look like. Such data can significantly influence purchasing decisions. There is a big play for AR and VR, Verma says, adding that it is unclear how that will unfold in the context of Foot Locker and other retailers.

Such projects will, ideally, help Foot Locker achieve what Verma calls channelless commerce, or ensuring that customers can purchase shoes in stores and online without hassles. For this endeavor to succeed, Verma says seamless connectivity between digital and physical touchpoints, supported by a superior supply chain, is paramount.

Digital innovation takes many forms but few of the efforts will succeed without support from the CEO and the board. UTCs Campisi has that from Chairman and CEO Greg Hayes and the rest of the board.

A big reason why Im at UTC is because of Greg, Campisi says. He understands the opportunity and is committed to go invest and be a market leader.

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau have discussed by phone ways to further intensify bilateral relations, the Ukrainian leader's press service.

"Petro Poroshenko noted that the adoption by the European Union of a decision to grant a visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens creates the conditions for intensifying the dialogue on the liberalization of the visa regime between Ukraine and Canada," the report said.

The parties also coordinated the schedule of contacts at the highest level.

Poroshenko briefed Trudeau about the latest developments in Donbas and the continuing violation of the Minsk accords. Trudeau assured the Ukrainian president that the coalition of the G7 countries and NATO will continue their support of Ukraine.
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Russia in violation of international law has sent its 65th so-called international aid convoy to Donbas in eastern Ukraine, according to Ukraine's State Border Service.

"Movement of the 'aid convoy' again violated all norms of international and Ukrainian law, as well as agreements with the International Committee of the Red Cross. Ukraine's intergovernmental group only inspected the cargo visually," the service's press center said.

From 6.30 to 7.20 via the Russian 'Donetsk' checkpoint and 'Matveyev Kurgan' two columns of 42 vehicles passed. The cargo was allegedly food, books and medicines.

"Inasmuch as the cargo was wrapped, the group was unable to verify the contents, characteristics and nomenclature. In addition, the number of trucks in the convoy did not correspond to the note received by the Russian Federation," border guards said.
People's deputies on May 25 refused to adopt as a whole the bill on limited liability companies (No. 466), sending it to second reading.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, 184 people's deputies voted for the adoption of the document with the quorum being 226 votes, after which it was sent for revision by 235 votes.

Before this, the Rada failed to confirm a number of amendments supported by the relevant committee on economic policy.

Its head Andriy Ivanchuk noted rejection of these amendments worsens the bill, but if accepted, it would still be a significant step in improving corporate legislation in Ukraine, in which the activities of limited liability companies are still regulated by only 14 articles of the law on business entities dated 1991.

The bill on limited liability companies was supposed to settle the most massive form of doing business in Ukraine, since there are about 500,000 limited liability companies compared to 16,000 joint-stock companies. The most expected changes incorporated in the document are the possibility of signing corporate contracts, converting debts into capital, and creating a supervisory board.
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All the offices of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine operate in a regular manner with certain restrictions, Principal Deputy Chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission Alexander Hug has said.

He said this at a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday refuting the rumors about the possible closure of the OSCE SMM office in the occupied Luhansk.

He also said that the mission's patrol cars take only hard-surface roads after an OSCE patrol vehicle hit a mine near the town of Pryshyb in Luhansk region on April 23.
Two Triad men were working at the Ariana Grande concert Monday in Manchester, England, when a homemade bomb was detonated outside the arena, killing 22 people.

Both Jeff Haddox of Pfafftown and Colin Nevins of Greensboro were uninjured in the terrorist attack. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Unfortunately tonight will be a night Ill never forget, Haddox, an automation technician with Grandes tour, posted on Facebook on Monday. I firsthand have witnessed a cruel and sadistic act of terrorism. I cant believe someone would do this, much less to children. There are a lot of (kids) who arent going home tonight.

Haddox was backstage and Nevins was on the loading dock outside the arena when the bomb went off, said Bill Daves with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 574. The two men are members of the union, Daves said.

Theyre shaken and pretty upset, Daves said. They said they wish they couldve done more to help the wounded out.

After the attack, Haddox, Nevins and other crew members were bused four hours away to London, where they remained Wednesday.

Grande has suspended her tour until at least June 5. Haddox and the other workers are waiting for clearance to retrieve their equipment from the arena.

Haddoxs girlfriend Becca Thomason told the Winston-Salem Journal on Wednesday that he is safe in London and does not know when he will be able to return to the United States.

Daves said he has noticed extensive security measures at local arenas throughout North Carolina in the wake of the attack.

We have to go through metal detectors. They search our bags, just like at the airport, he said. This was horrific, and my condolences go out to the kids that lost their lives and the parents who were injured.

Among those killed were an off-duty policewoman and an 8-year-old girl. At least 64 other people are still hospitalized, The Associated Press reported.

Authorities said suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, was responsible for the attack, and five other people were arrested as of Wednesday.

If everyone could say a prayer tonight for the families of all who were lost tonight in Manchester, also say a prayer for my fellow road family, Haddox said. We are all so lucky to still be here and together as a whole.
Updated at 3:46 p.m.

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump's revised travel ban "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination," a federal appeals court said Thursday in ruling against the ban that targets six Muslim-majority countries.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Trump's administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

In all, ten of the thirteen judges who heard the case voted against the Trump administration.

The Supreme Court almost certainly would step into the case if asked. The justices almost always have the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.

Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe. If the administration does ask the court to step in, the justices' first vote could signal the court's ultimate decision.

A central question in the case before the 4th Circuit was whether courts should consider Trump's past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trump's administration argued the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesn't mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration said.

The government's "asserted national security interest ... appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country," wrote the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute," Gregory wrote. "It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation."

The first travel ban in January triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesn't apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes don't erase the legal problems with the ban.

The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

"President Trump's Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who argued the case. "The Constitution's prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the government's request to set that principle aside."

___

Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer in Richmond, Virginia, and Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON  A federal appeals court has dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that blocked the travel ban. It's the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban. Trump rewrote the ban after several legal defeats. His administration will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The appeals court decision blocks the administration from suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

A federal judge in Hawaii has also halted that provision and the freeze on the U.S. refugee program. Trump's administration is fighting that decision in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

Rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 71F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

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Cloudy with periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 69F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.
JURIST Guest Columnist Jay Austin of the Environmental Law Institute discusses President Trumps recent executive order concerning offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf 

Even before this weeks dramatic events, the topic of presidential power had already been trending. Theres now an entire law school course devoted to the Trump Administrations first 100 days; the Washington Post produced a regular podcast series titled Can He Do That?; and my own organization, the Environmental Law Institute [official website], recently assessed the viability of current and proposed executive branch actions in the regulatory arena. Federal court cases on the travel ban and on defunding sanctuary cities have generated enormous attention, and are a reminder that executive orders can be swiftly reviewed where they bump up against constitutional or statutory limits.

There have been few comparable fireworks so far on energy and environment. Executive Order 13771, which requires that two existing agency rules be repealed for each new one enacted, prompted an immediate constitutional challenge to its government-wide attempt to remake administrative law. Executive Order 13783 on energy independence revoked some key Obama White House initiatives, including guidance on evaluating the impacts of greenhouse gases and calculating the social cost of carbon  decisions clearly within presidential prerogative, if debatable as policy. But most Trump directives in this area are on a delayed fuse, ordering agencies to review existing environmental rules and guidance and take lawful action to suspend, revise, or rescind them. Once these directives move beyond the Executive Office of the President, additional statutory layers  notably the Administrative Procedure Act[PDF] (APA) and National Environmental Policy Act [PDF] (NEPA)  govern how (and how fast) the agencies can act, and how their actions can be contested.

Signed on April 28, Executive Order 13795 on Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy has both explosive and slow-burning aspects. One provision, Section 5, purports to immediately revoke President Obamas withdrawals of offshore Arctic and Atlantic areas from oil and gas leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)[PDF]; this unprecedented reversal has already been challenged in court. Other provisions direct the Secretary of the Interior to consider revising the leasing schedule to include annual lease sales in these and other offshore areas (Section 3); to review operating requirements on current lessees (Section 6); and to review, reconsider, and revise or rescind existing final rules on well control and on offshore Arctic drilling (Sections 7 and 11) and a proposed rule on offshore air quality (Section 8). The Order also directs the Secretary of Commerce to refrain from designating or expanding any National Marine Sanctuaries absent an accounting of the areas energy or mineral resource potential and to review all Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments designated or expanded within the past 10 years (Section 4).

A coalition of ten environmental and indigenous groups brought suit [PDF] in the District of Alaska to enjoin Section 5 of the Order and reinstate the Obama-era protections, which included 98% of US Arctic waters and a series of Atlantic canyons stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia. Seismic surveys are already moving forward in the Atlantic, making the case ripe for decision. The plaintiffs legal position is straightforward: OCSLA Section 12(a) provides that the President may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf but makes no provision for revoking a withdrawal. They cite [PDF] a fifty-year string of OCSLA withdrawals, by both Democratic and Republican presidents, that still stand today. Absent express statutory language, they argue, President Trumps action both violates OCSLA and intrudes on Congress exclusive authority to regulate federal lands under the Constitutions Property Clause.

This argument parallels the ongoing debate over the Antiquities Act of 1906 [PDF], which delegates power to the president to designate national monuments. Presidents of both parties also have invoked this authority to preserve extensive areas, both land-based and marine, and likewise have never attempted to completely revoke a designation (though Congress has done so). National monuments are the subject of another Trump executive order that, for now, directs Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to conduct a thorough review of monuments created since 1996; any resulting presidential action to revoke or reduce them would almost certainly be litigated. Thus, for both OCSLA withdrawals and national monuments, the answer to the question Can He Do That? will likely be provided by a federal court.

For the offshore energy Orders other provisions, the answer is a qualified Yes, he can, but only with time, agency resources, public participation, Congressional oversight, and (again) court challenges. To be sure, these presidential directives carry some weight; for example Section 3s call to revise the offshore leasing schedule to the maximum extent permitted by law could conceivably lead to drilling in Mid- and South Atlantic areas that are currently off the table. But this would mean reopening the recently approved 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program [PDF], a move that faces bipartisan opposition [PDF] in Congress and would require repeating the contentious, years-long public planning process.

Similarly, Section 7 directs Secretary Zinke to review the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcements 2016 rule [PDF] on blowout preventers and well control, a direct response to the disastrous Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and to propose a revised rule if appropriate and as consistent with law. The oil industry immediately applauded this news. But under the APA, applicable requirements for revising this or any final rule include another full notice-and-comment rulemaking, which must produce a reasoned analysis  the Supreme Courts State Farm [opinion] standard  to justify the changes. That could prove to be as arduous as signing the Executive Order was easy, given the long effort and industry input that went into crafting the existing rule. And of course, any revised rule will be subject to judicial review for compliance with procedure and consistency with the authorizing statute.

Finally, several of the offshore Orders provisions share a characteristic in common with many other Administration actions (including the two-for-one and energy independence Orders mentioned above): they emphasize regulations costs to industry with little or no consideration of the benefits to society as a whole. This is true of the Section 4 accounting of the value of Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments, which calls for analyzing the costs of managing and the opportunity costs associated with these protected areas, but not for any analysis of their offsetting benefits for fisheries, recreation, or other ocean services. Its present in the Section 6 mandate to modify operator regulations and financial assurance policies to minimiz[e] unnecessary regulatory burdens, without any corresponding mention of increased environmental or safety risks. And its evident in the offhand dismissal, in Sections 9 and 10, of well-documented concerns about the effects of seismic surveying on marine mammal populations. But each of these measures too will ultimately be judged against their respective governing statutes, leaving future litigants room to play plenty more rounds of Can He Do That?

Jay Austin is a Senior Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute, Director of ELIs Program on the Constitution, Courts, and Legislation, and co-author of the recent Regulatory Reform in the Trump Era. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute.

Suggested citation: Jay Austin, Can He Do That? Trumps Executive Order on the Outer Continental Shelf, JURIST  Professional Commentary, May 24, 2017, http://jurist.org/professional/2017/05/jay-austin-offshoreexecutiveorder-offshoreexecutiveorder.php.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Thursday upheld an injunction [opinion, PDF] against President Donald Trumps travel ban that targets six Muslim-majority countries. The ban, announced in March [CNN report], was the second version of a travel prohibition preventing people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days. The first order included Iraq. Both orders ban all refugees for 120 days. The second order clarified that only those attempting to enter without valid visas would be prevented from entering the US while lawful permanent residents, dual citizens traveling under a passport issued by a non-banned country, asylees, or refugees already admitted to the United States will be granted access. The court was unconvinced that the travel ban was concerned with national security and is more likely an attempt at creating a Muslim ban. The opinion cited several pages of comments Trump made during his campaign and concluded the statements reveal that on numerous occasions, he expressed anti-Muslim sentiment, as well as his intent, if elected, to ban Muslims from the United States. The court also found that those affected by the ban would suffer irreparable harm by being separated from their families and livelihoods. It is likely that the case will be appealed to the Supreme Court [official website]. The travel ban will not be implemented as long as one injunction remains in effect.

When the second executive order concerning the travel ban was announced in March, Massachusetts, California [JURIST reports], Maryland, New York and Oregon joined Washington in the lawsuit [JURIST reports] opposing the ban. Hawaii also filed a separate suit [complaint, PDF] in February arguing that the revised order would cause serious business and constitutional concerns if implemented. Challenges [JURIST op-ed] to the order are not only being brought by states. Early in February the order faced opposition [JURIST report] from former government employees and private individuals. In March a federal court judge in Wisconsin issued a restraining order against the travel ban [JURIST report] for one Syrian asylum seeker and his family. 13 states came out in support of the revised travel ban [JURIST report] by filing a brief with the court stating that the president lawfully acted in the interest of national security.
Iraqs Interior Ministry [official website, in Arabic] has launched an investigation into human rights violations carried out against civilians by special forces while fighting the Islamic State (IS) [BBC profile] in Mosul. The allegations were initially reported [AP report] by Ali Arkady, an Iraqi photographer with Der Spiegel Magazine [official website, in German] who accompanied the Interior Ministrys special forces team, the Emergency Response Division (ERD), a unit closely backed by a US coalition. While carrying out operations against IS, Arkady said he witnessed the killing, torture and rape of suspects. Arkadys piece featured [RT report] photos of torture scenes that included people hanging from ceilings with their arms tied behind their backs. After being abused for days, ERD commanders would execute the detainees with a technique Arkady says the units personnel learned from US instructors during military training. Brig. Gen Saad Maan, the Interior Ministrys spokesman, said legal measures will be applied  against wrongdoers.

Iraqi civilians continue to be victimized by the forces fighting in Iraq. in March UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein condemned [JURIST report] the recent loss of civilian life in Mosul as a result of airstrikes and actions by IS militants. The UN reported in January that 19,266 Iraqi civilian casualties occurred in 2016 alone [JURIST report], with 6,878 killed and 12,388 wounded. Since 2014 IS has reportedly launched [JURIST report] over 19 chemical attacks against Mosul. In November UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein called for immediate action [JURIST report] for IS victims to ensure that their rights are being upheld in Iraq. That month, Amnesty International (AI) accused [JURIST report] Iraqi police forces of torturing and unlawfully killing villagers near Mosul during last years offensive in the city. In October AI accused Iraqi government forces of human rights abuses [JURIST report], citing them as possible revenge killings. In September the UN reported that two-thirds of those injured or killed the prior month were civilians [JURIST report]. Additionally, any military achievements must be reinforced by legal reforms [JURIST op-ed] to prevent the justification of an oppressive presence of any extremist force which will work to the detriment of the Iraqi people in future.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte [BBC profile] declared martial law on the island of Mindanao on Tuesday when heavily armed militants linked to the Islamic State [BBC profile] took over large parts of Marawi City, a provincial capital in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. Violence erupted after the government attempted to capture [WP report] Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of the Muate, a militant group that aligns with the Islamic State. The militants have been [Reuters report] capturing Christians, setting prisoners free, and seizing and torching buildings. The measures under martial law will apply the entire island, affecting nearly 21 million people, and will include curfews, the establishment of checkpoints and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The martial law declaration has raised suspicions as to whether Duterte has other motivations, as he has raised the prospect of martial law several times in connection with his deadly attempt to suppress drug sales in the Philippines. Duterte, who was scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev [BBC profiles], has cut his trip to Moscow short to return to Manila to address the current crisis.

More than 8,000 people have reportedly been killed over drug-related offenses since Duterte took office last year. Numerous rights groups have been critical of the killings and have spoken out against the current administration. Early in March Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] released a report that accused the police of falsifying evidence [JURIST report] in relation to the alleged police killings of citizens. This policy of sanctioned killings has been part of Dutertes rhetoric since his time as mayor of Davao City. In December a UN Human rights chief called for a murder investigation [JURIST report] after Duterte admitted to killing people in his role as mayor.
Three UN experts on cultural rights, extreme poverty and adequate housing urged [UN news] the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stop the demolition of a 400-year-old neighborhood in Awamia on Wednesday. According to Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain [report] the historic quarter of Awamia, al-Masora, has a significant cultural history. The walled city holds mosques, markets and businesses and is home to about 2,000 to 3,000 people. The Saudi government is planning to demolish the historic architecture and replace it with commercial and service areas. The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing warns that what is happening constitutes as forced eviction which is a violation of human rights. Those who are ousted are forced to relocate or are left homeless as the government is not supplying housing alternatives. Many have lost possessions as well as their livelihoods in the destruction. The experts concluded by demanding an immediate halt on the demolition.

Saudi Arabia has drawn international criticism for perceived human rights abuses in recent years. Earlier this month UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, said [JURIST report] that Saudi Arabias anti-terrorism laws are too broad and post a threat to individual rights. In February Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] that Saudi Arabia was intensifying actions against human rights advocates and writers. In January 2015 a Saudi judge sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Walid Abu al-Khair to an additional five years in jail [JURIST report] after he refused to show remorse for showing disrespect to authorities and creating an unauthorized association. In October 2014 a Saudi Arabia Court sentenced three lawyers to between five and eight years in prison for criticizing the justice system [JURIST report] on Twitter by accusing authorities of carrying out arbitrary detentions. Earlier that month Amnesty International issued a report claiming that Saudi Arabia persecutes rights activists and silences government critics [JURIST report], especially in the years since the Arab Spring in 2011. In July 2014 then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navy Pillay, expressed deep concern [JURIST report] over the harsh sentences and detention of peaceful human rights advocates in Saudi Arabia in recent months.
[JURIST] Vermont Governor Phil Scott [official website] vetoed a bill [text] on Wednesday that would have made Vermont the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana and the first to do so via a legislative body [materials]. Scott sent the bill back to lawmakers with suggestions for more aggressive penalties for using marijuana while driving or in the presence of children. Despite the veto, Scott has indicated that he is willing to work with the legislature [official website] on a compromise and noted the clear societal shift towards legalization. According to the governors communications director, Rebecca Kelly [official website], the biggest point the governor wants to cover is clearly establishing how impaired is too impaired. Unfortunately, however, police do not yet have a reliable toxicology test that can say for sure if someone is to high to drive in the same way that a breathalyzer or blood test can show if someone is too drunk. Despite recreational marijuana currently being illegal in Vermont, the state is still considered to have among the the highest prevalence of marijuana use across all age groups, as reported by the Vermont Department of Health [official website].

Marijuana legalization measures are becoming a global priority. The Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved [JURIST report] a bill in April allowing the use, production and distribution of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes. Also in April Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed Senate Bill 10 [JURIST report], legalizing the medicinal use of a marijuana extract, into law. An anonymous Canadian government official in March announced [JURIST report] the countrys intention to legalize recreational marijuana by July 2018. The lower house of the Dutch parliament in February voted [JURIST report] 77-72 to approve a bill [text, in Dutch] that would tolerate the cultivation of cannabis.
Faurecia has inaugurated its new South Korea headquarters and technical centre in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do Province, in the presence of Gyeong-pil Nam, Governor of Gyeonggi-do Province and Patrick Koller, chief executive officer of Faurecia.

At the inauguration ceremony, Patrick Koller said Todays event marks an important milestone in Faurecias history in South Korea which began in 2003. It is essential for us to install all of our business Groups and technical competencies in Korea in this state-ofart facility to be close to our customers. Especially, we value very much our relationship with HKMC which we consider as a strategic customer.

Faurecia invested around EUR28m (US$31.31m) to integrate its three Business Groups (Clean Mobility, Seating, and Interiors), a testing and prototype centre as well as an exhibition centre in this 8,075 square meters building.

Mr. Seung-kyu Lee, president of Faurecia Korea added Since 2003, Faurecia has grown rapidly in Korea. We now have three production facilities as well as this new centre and employ almost one thousand people. Through the development of advanced technologies for the Korean market, such as the Exhaust Heat Recovery System recently launched on the Hyundai Ioniq, Faurecia will continue to grow and expects to reach almost half a billion euros of sales in 2020.

After the dedication ceremony, Faurecia Korea, 15 business partners and Gyeonggi-do Province signed an agreement for an ethically cooperative relationship.
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Grupo Bimbo, the worlds biggest baked goods manufacturer, has muscled its way into the Indian market with the acquisition of a majority stake in Ready Roti India.

Free Report VC funding trends to watch out for in Consumer Consumer industry investors across the world are betting big on the ESG trend to pick up in the future and are focusing on backing the start-ups and emerging companies working in the meat-alternative products category. The top two deals in this category were the $500 million investment raised by Impossible Foods and the $347 million investment deal for Future Meat Technologies. GlobalDatas Venture Capital Investments  Consumer 2021 will help you d ive into the capital raising landscape across regions and themes. Use the report to identify emerging signals and trends across Consumer, formulating winning strategies for the road ahead. 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.



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The agreement gives Mexican company Bimbo a 65% holding in Ready Roti, which produces packaged bread, pizza bases and sweet and savoury buns, with brands including Harvest Gold and Harvest Select. Bimbo did not disclose how much it paid for the stake.

Ready Rotis annual sales are in the region of US$48m, with four plants and more than 500 workers.

The move is another sign of Bimbos interest in strengthening its presence in emerging markets. Earlier this month, Bimbo moved into the African market with the purchase of Morrocco-based bakery outfit Adghal for an undisclosed sum.

The bakery giant has said it also plans to expand into China in the short term via acquisitions, while also growing in the rest of Asia as well as entering Middle Eastern markets. Earlier this year, Bimbo snapped up Colombian frozen bakery products supplier Panattiere.

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Photos Credit: The Leopard at des Artistes

Part of the landmark Hotel des Artistes on the Upper West Side, The Leopard at des Artistes features museum-quality Howard Chandler Christy wall murals from the early 1930s, showcasing various nymphs depicted in scenes modeled after Elise Ford.

Owned and operated by husband-and-wife-team Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula Bolla-Sorrentino, along with Executive Chef Vito Gnazzo, The Leopard at des Artistes curates a menu inspired by mid-1800s Kingdom of Two Sicilies as well as the culinary traditions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Apulia, and Sardinia. All dishes have a baseline of fresh ingredients built with deft preparation steeped in near instinctual kitchen prowess.

Born and raised on the Amalfi Coast in Salerno, Chef Vito Gnazzo launched his culinary career in Milan at 3-star Michelin Antica Osteria del Ponte. After immigrating to the United States in 1981, Gnazzo worked as head chef at Il Rex in California before moving to New York in 1993 joining restaurant trio Il Gattopardo, Mozzarella & Vino, and The Leopard at des Artistes as culinary artist in-residence where he's been ever since.

Chef Gnazzo strikes a balance between his longstanding culinary expertise and letting dishes speak for themselves with simple ingredients like homemade pasta, seasonal vegetables, farmhouse cheeses, and fresh caught seafood.

Signature plates include Pan-Seared Duck Breast Porchettawith fennel pollen, cipollini with aged balsamic vinegar, pickled raisins and vegetable caponata; Halibut In Brodettowith baby artichoke and fingerling potatoes; andMaltagliatiwith wild game and porcini mushroom ragu. The dessert menu boasts specials likeTraditional Zabaionewith fresh mixed berries andNutella Chocolate Mousseserved on hazelnut crunch and banana gelato.

At first glance, The Leopard at des Artistes menu may appear fragmented between regions but a closer examination of Italy's culinary history reveals a series of interdependent local cuisines rather than what are often considered authentic regional dishes. This happened because most Italians before WWI rarely left their villages with the exception of nobility and clergy resulting in town-by-town variations in preparation and recipes.

Italy's geographic location in the middle of the Mediterranean also infused dishes with a melange of foreign influences like French cookery in Liguria, Piemonte, and the Valle DAosta while Austro-Hungarians settled in the Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige, and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Milanese risottos and arrosto cuts of meat notably reflect Spain's occupation of the city for 150 years up until the War of the Spanish Succession. The British introduced Classic bistecca alla Fiorentina and zuppa Inglese, English steak, and English trifle to Tuscany while Jews fleeing the Inquisition used what they could to create dishes like caponata and fennel gratin that are still popular to this day.
The average household wealth per capita in China reached 169,077 RMB ($24,540) in 2016, up 17.25 percent from 2015, according to a report on Chinese household wealth issued by the Economic Daily Press on May 24.

The report investigated 36,000 households in 435 counties across 24 Chinese provinces, comprehensively revealing the basic status of household wealth around the country. Households in eastern China are the wealthiest, with a per capita property value of 242,604 RMB. Eastern China is followed by the central and western regions, which respectively possess per capita property values of 119,768 RMB and 92,304 RMB.

The report attributed the growth of average household wealth per capita to the accumulation of income and the increase of overall property market value. In 2016, the net worth of housing property grew by 17.95 percent, greatly benefiting urban residents. Growth has contributed 68.24 percent to the rise in household wealth.

The report suggested the existence of a large gap between households from different educational backgrounds. For example, the wealth per capita of families where the heads of household possess a bachelor's degree or above is 3.38 times that of households headed by those with an elementary education or below. In addition, other factors such as profession, employment status and health also influence wealth.

The net worth of housing property is the largest indicator of family wealth, accounting for 65.99 percent of the total value. Statistics show that the net worth of housing property is four times families' per capita disposable income. Automobiles account for the biggest share of movable property.

In addition, financial assets are an important facet of household wealth. According to the report, household savings accounted for the largest part of families' financial assets.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue, in Beijing, capital of China, May 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday met with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, pledging to further advance bilateral ties.

Li is scheduled to visit Germany and Belgium from next Tuesday to Friday. During the visit, he will attend an annual meeting between the Chinese premier and the German chancellor in Germany and the 19th China-EU leaders' meeting in Belgium.

Li said it is significant to both countries, Europe and the world for China and Germany to maintain a stable and healthy bilateral relationship.

He said he hoped his upcoming visit to Germany would help enhance political mutual trust, explore potential in cooperation, intensify people-to-people exchanges, and send a strong message to the world that China, Germany and Europe support economic globalization, free trade and investment and regional stability under the current unstable international circumstances.

Li called on China and Germany to treat each other equally, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, properly solve differences and forge ahead bilateral ties so as to benefit the two peoples.

Gabriel, who is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue, said a stable bilateral relationship is worth cherishing.

This year marks an important year in the history of bilateral ties with frequent high-level exchanges between the leaders of both countries, providing a good opportunity to enhance cooperation, he said.

The successful first meeting of the people-to-people exchange dialogue Wednesday morning opened a new chapter of bilateral exchanges and cooperation, he said.

Germany looks forward to Li's visit, said the vice chancellor, adding that the country is willing to deepen cooperation with China in various fields and is committed to building a multipolar world of free trade.
Xi says both sides of Strait share their destiny

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has called both sides across the Taiwan Strait a "community of shared destiny that cannot be prised apart."

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter, made public Wednesday, to the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM) on its 10th anniversary.

The Chinese mainland has become a popular destination for Taiwan compatriots to invest, start businesses and live since the 1980s, when the door between the two sides was reopened, Xi said.

Economy on either side is an integral part of economy of the Chinese nation, he said in the letter.

It is the common aspiration of compatriots on both sides to improve their well-being and kinship and take national destiny into their own hands, he added.

"We are willing to share the mainland's development opportunities with Taiwan compatriots first, and welcome Taiwan compatriots to invest here," Xi said.

The mainland will continue to make it easier for Taiwan compatriots to study, work, start businesses and live on the mainland, said Xi, promising concrete measures to protect their rights and interests.

Xi expressed his hope that ATIEM will continue to adhere to the one-China principle, unite Taiwan compatriots and contribute to peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the great revival of the Chinese nation.

The congratulatory note shows that Xi attaches great importance to ATIEM and Taiwan business people, and it has pointed the direction for ATIEM development, said Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"We'll continue to uphold the 1992 Consensus and firmly fight 'Taiwan independence,' deepen economic and social integration across the Strait, and boost the well-being of people on both sides," Yu said while meeting with Taiwan business representatives to attend the anniversary celebration Wednesday in Beijing.

Taiwan compatriots are welcome aboard the "express train" of the mainland's development, said Yu, pledging to offer favorable measures to Taiwan enterprises on the mainland.

Yu called on ATIEM and Taiwan business people to adhere to the one-China principle, unite Taiwan compatriots, and make greater contributions to peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, the economic and social integration of the two sides, and the great revival of the Chinese nation.

More than 400 people, including Chen Deming, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, attended the celebration.

Xi's letter was read at the celebration by Zhang Zhijun, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Founded in 2007, ATIEM is a non-profit social organization and consists of around 300 Taiwanese-funded enterprises and their associations on the mainland.
Police patrolling in Manchester (photo/Chinanews.com)

LONDON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- A man in connection with the Manchester bombing attack has been arrested, according to a police statement released on late Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches connected to the attack, police said.

This has made the total number of suspects linked to the attack rise to seven so far.

Meanwhile, Senior police chiefs in Britain reacted with anger Wednesday night after sensitive details of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing were leaked to media in the U.S.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the leaks undermines the investigation into the Monday night terror attack which left 22 people dead and 64 injured.

The Guardian newspaper in London said that Prime Minister Theresa May will confront U.S. President Donald Trump over the stream of leaks of crucial intelligence when the pair meet Thursday at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.
Pakistani soldiers patrolling around the area where the kidnap took place (photo/ifeng news)

ISLAMABAD, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed that two Chinese nationals were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the country's southwest Quetta city earlier in the day.

An official from the embassy told Xinhua that they are trying to know more details about the incident as well as about the abducted persons, adding that they have urged the Pakistani side to rescue the abductees as quickly as possible.

The kidnappers forced the abductees into a vehicle on gunpoint and drove away, local media quoted Deputy Inspector General of Quetta police as saying.

The kidnapped including a man and a woman were returning from a restaurant when the incident happened in Jinnah Town area of Quetta, the capital city of the country's southwestern Balochistan Province, local Urdu TV Aaj reported.

The kidnappers were initially taking away three Chinese including two women and the man, but a passerby helped one of the women escape, local reports said.

The passerby got injured in a shootout, who has been shifted to a nearby hospital where police recorded his statement for investigation.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri took notice of the incident and directed police to search the abductees. A search operation has been kicked off in the area.

He further directed to design a standard operating procedure for ensuring the security of foreigners working in the province.

On his direction, a heavy contingent of police has been deployed at all entry and exit points of the city for checking.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping yet.
Brexit, Trump, but also Macrons victory have given fresh impetus to EU defence cooperation. Concrete initiatives were launched last week.

After years of languishing in the long grass, the process of European defence cooperation has recently been kicked into top gear. Brexit, Donald Trump repeatedly calling into question US commitment to NATO and Emmanuel Macrons landslide victory in the French presidential election have all led EU member states to start discussing the need to rethink the pillars of their common security.

This discussion has already borne its first fruits: last week, member states approved the creation of a fund for joint military projects and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini announced the decision to establish a new headquarters to take charge of EU military missions.

As we look at the situation now, we are surrounded not by a ring of friends but by a ring of fire.

As we look at the situation now, we are surrounded not by a ring of friends but by a ring of fire, said Michael Gahler, EPP spokesperson for security and defence, during a debate on the European defence Union hosted by the European Parliamentary Association last Wednesday (17 May) in Strasbourg. This panel discussion also included Eva Kaili, chair of the European Parliaments delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Klaus Buchner, member of the subcommittee on Security and Defence, and Eurocorps Brigadier General Franz Pfrengle, former mission commander for the EU Training Mission in Mali.

Rising insecurity is becoming the new normal in Europe. Armed attacks in Paris, Brussels, Nice, Ansbach, Wurzburg, Rouen, Berlin and now Manchester have brought to light the potential of jihadist groups both to recruit and strike within Europe. In the wake of the military conflict in Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly violated the sovereignty of neighbouring countries, intruding regularly on member states airspace and territorial waters. From the south, organised crime and unrest resulting from the Libyan chaos is spreading towards European shores. War in the Middle East is causing a mass exodus to Europe, while cyber terrorism is becoming more and more dangerous with each passing day.

World powers have reacted by launching an arms race. China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are chasing the US in the global ranking of military expenditures. Only EU member states continue to shrink their defence budgets. Against this background, building up common European defence capabilities no longer seems like a choice, but a necessity.

This has become particularly clear since the decision of Britain to invoke Article 50 on 29 March 2017. This has left the EU without one of its largest defence spenders: the UK along accounts for almost 25% of the blocs total defence budget. However, as Britain has historically obstructed any move towards a common EU military, its decision to leave the Union has also opened new opportunities for cooperation in this field.

France and Germany are the two member states most eager to take advantage of these opportunities. First of all, because a European Defence Union is the living proof that every cloud has a silver lining: it is one of the things that is only possible in an EU without the UK. Moreover, for France, it is an ideal occasion to remind other member states that, with Britain gone, it remains the EUs sole great military power. For Germany, instead, it is an opportunity to increase its influence in Brussels when it comes to appointing top personnel and to help the German arms industry in the markets of other EU countries.

Many paths, one goal

Thus, in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, on 28 June, High Representative Federica Mogherini unveiled her EU Global Strategy on foreign and security policy (EUGS), which includes a new plan for further European military integration between the EU member states. Mogherinis proposal does not refer to the long-term goal of a European army, but focuses on a number of pragmatic steps, such as removing the obstacles that prevent the rapid deployment of EU battlegroups or putting in place a European military headquarters. An approach shared by Brigadier General Franz Pfrengle.

The European defence Union is a good vision, a European army is only fiction.

The European defence Union is a good vision, a European army is only fiction, said a laconic General Pfrengle, who insisted on the importance of developing structures able to put together the national capabilities that we already have.

A Schengen of defence

Over the summer of 2016, several initiatives on European defence cooperation began to emerge. For instance, Italy came out with a proposal for a Schengen of defence, a subtle wording that implies the intention to start cooperation outside the EU treaties. This proposal focuses on the establishment of a permanent civilian-military headquarters, in order to ensure a more effective response to complex emergencies, a common EU effort to support the blocs defence industry and the establishment of a division-level European Multinational Force, able to carry out a set of pre-determined missions and operations.



France and Germany advanced a common proposal that goes in the same direction. In a six-page document prepared for the Bratislava summit, the defence Ministers of the two countries called for the introduction of a joint EU military headquarters, more cooperation with NATO and more cross-border military planning. Moreover, the two countries declared themselves ready to share their satellite surveillance capabilities with relevant EU institutions, such as the border agency Frontex, and proposed incentives for member countries to increase their defence budgets, such as excluding defence spending from budget deficit calculations.

The Commission responded to the renewed activism of (some) member states with the publication, on 30 November, of a European defence Action Plan, which foresees the setting up of a European defence Fund to support investment in joint research and the joint development of defence equipment and technologies.

As the worlds second largest military spender, Europe is far from being the second largest military power.

The Commission is indeed well aware that even if, collectively, Europe is the worlds second largest military spender, it is far from being the second largest military power. The fault lies with inefficiency in spending and a lack of interoperability.



Arms single market

On the one hand, in Europe the majority of military equipment procurement still takes place at national level, thereby limiting economies of scale and producing costly duplications of military capabilities.

We must become more efficient, we need a single market for arms. It is only if we cooperate at European level that we will manage to face the competition of big arms producers, such as the US, Russia or China, Michael Gahler pointed out.

On the other hand, the lack of interoperability between European armies severely limits the EUs ability to intervene collectively in missions where European interests are at stake. The Action Plan of the Commission aims to tackle precisely these shortcomings.

EU Defence Union: a challenge to NATO?

Not every member state is enthusiastic about this new effort to strengthen European cooperation in the field of defence, though. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland are said to be very sceptical about any initiatives that could pave the way, in the long term, for the creation of an EU army.

Some Eastern European countries perceive new EU defence plans as a challenge to NATO, which has recently agreed to station 4,000 troops on their territory and which is, therefore, considered essential to their security. The European Defence Union does not mean duplicating what we have with NATO, said Michael Gahler. He added, We have difficult NATO partners who may try to bloc NATO resources. Thats why we must build up the capabilities to act independently.

We must not forget that only 22 EU countries are NATO members. We must provide effective protection also for those member states who are outside the Alliance, Eva Kaili added.

The Macron effect

This time the project for a European Defence Union seems to be backed by a strong political will. This is particularly true since Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election. During his campaign, the new French president made clear his desire to create real strategic autonomy for EU defence, warning that Europeans must learn to live with the fact that Washington wishes to, in the long term, concern itself less with the security of our continent.

Macron has so far been consistent with his electoral promises. He named Sylvie Goulard, a renowned federalist, as defence minister and he pledged to boost EU defence during his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Most importantly, two initiatives which Macron championed during his campaign, i.e. the creation of a European military headquarters and an EU defence investment fund, gained decisive traction last week.

Mogherini announced on Thursday (18 May) that member states have reached an agreement over a planned EU military headquarters and that it could be formally launched in a few days. The new headquarters will, in the words of the 28 defence ministers, assume responsibilities at the strategic level for the operational planning and conduct of the EUs non-executive military missions, including the three EU training missions deployed in Central African Republic, Mali, and Somalia. Non-executive missions are those initiatives that do not involve combat and cannot act independently of their host nations.

Also on Thursday, EU member states approved the creation of a fund for joint military projects, to be known as the Cooperative Financial Mechanism and which will be run by the European Defence Agency.



At least 19 countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, will contribute on a voluntary basis to the fund, which will allegedly operate in a similar way to the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozones permanent bailout fund.

With these premises, the European Defence Union seems to be on the right track. There is still a long road ahead, but this time Europe looks like it has truly outgrown the soft powers shoes.
(File photo)

China rebutted international rating agency Moody's downgrading of the country's credit rating on Wednesday, saying the company overestimated the difficulties facing the world's second-largest economy and underestimated the effect of its restructuring reforms and financial strength. Analysts said Moody's has been too pessimistic to appropriately assess China's debt management.

Moody's Investors Service announced its downgrading of China's long-term local currency and foreign currency issuer ratings to A1 from Aa3 and changed the outlook to stable from negative.

"The downgrade reflects Moody's expectation that China's financial strength will erode somewhat over the coming years, with economywide debt continuing to rise as potential growth slows," according to a Moody's statement. "While ongoing progress on reforms is likely to transform the economy and financial system over time, it is not likely to prevent a further material rise in economywide debt, and the consequent increase in contingent liabilities for the government."

Moody's said the change to a stable outlook "reflects our assessment that, at the A1 rating level, risks are balanced".

China's Ministry of Finance said Moody's used "inappropriate methods" that kept it from reflecting China's real financial situation.

The ministry criticized Moody's failure to give enough weight to reforms. China has made much headway in economic restructuring, with a focus on reduction of excessive production capacity and cutting corporate and government debt. It has also seen higher-than-expected year-on-year GDP growth of 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, firming market expectations that it will meet its GDP growth target of about 6.5 percent this year.

"Although its rating was downgraded today, there's not much of a problem in the Chinese economy," said Lu Feng, an economics professor at the National School of Development, Peking University. "China's economy has become much more resilient."

"Moody's overestimates difficulties ... and underestimates the government's ability to deepen supply-side structural reform and appropriately expand overall demand," the finance ministry said.

The National Development and Reform Commission said on Wednesday that China's total debt level is about 256 percent of GDP, lower than that of major developed economies, which is 279 percent on average, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

It also said in a statement that China's overall debt situation is stable and controllable. China has a high savings rate and the proportion of its foreign debt to overall debt is low, indicating a low possibility for China encountering a systemic debt crisis, it said.

Moody's said China's direct government debt burden could rise gradually toward 40 percent of GDP by 2018 and closer to 45 percent by decade's end. "That is too pessimistic," said Huo Zhihui, deputy director of rating technology at China Bond Rating Co. "Our estimates show that China's overall debt ratio will not reach 40 percent because China has imposed strict restrictions on government debt issuance," he said.

Huo said China's overall direct government debt ratio has dropped to 36 percent from 39 percent in 2014 and, given strict control of debt, the possibility is slim that the ratio will rise significantly.
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Legislature concluded its 90-day 2017 session Tuesday, having passed more than 170 bills and an $8.9 billion two-year budget.

Gov. Pete Ricketts removed $56.5 million from the spending plan with line-item vetoes that survived override votes. The budget that resulted is projected to accommodate revenue shortfalls of close to $1 billion, but it avoids tax increases.

The budget cuts some state spending, draws $173 million from the states rainy day cash reserve, taps cash funds and slows other spending growth. It fully funds state property tax credits, boosts spending on K-12 schools and the Department of Corrections, and will cover a $75 million prison expansion.

Two major proposals to reform state income taxes and property taxes stalled when they reached the full Legislature.

The Hub asked the three state senators from Hub Territory  John Lowe of Kearney, John Kuehn of Heartwell, and Matt Williams of Gothenburg  to size up the 2017 Legislature.

Here is how they responded to email interviews:

Money still flowing

State Sen. John Lowe represents the Legislatures 37th District, which encompasses the city of Kearney and southeast Buffalo County, including the towns of Gibbon and Shelton.

Q: Explain your position on budget cutbacks.

A: We really didnt have budget cuts for most programs this year. The rate of growth was slowed down, but most programs will still have more money next year than they had this year, and more than they had the year before. We are fast approaching a time where this practice will not be possible. That is why next year I will be looking for ways to make dozens  if not hundreds  of small cuts. The objective is to cut waste while protecting programs that Nebraskans want and need.

Q: Are you concerned about the impacts of budget cutbacks on certain areas of your constituency?

A: We need to carefully balance the needs of the taxpayers and those of the people who need state aid. I think the best approach in dealing with this issue is a top-down review of government spending to see where money can be saved. Other states have done this and saved hundreds of millions of dollars. I know this is possible in Nebraska because even though the governor was forced to take line item vetoes, the Department of Health and Human Services is reassigning resources to ensure critical services are not affected.

Q: What was the most important accomplishment of the 2017 Legislature?

A: During the 90-day session, the most important accomplishment is to pass a balanced budget and have some money left over in the rainy day fund. The body managed to do this even though I still have deep concerns about that budget and assumptions that were made about the future strength of our economy.

My most important accomplishments as a freshman senator were getting a feel for how the Legislature operates and passing meaningful pieces of legislation.

Q: What is the most pressing issue that wont be addressed until the 2018 session?

A: Tax relief.

No tax increase

State Sen. John Kuehn represents the Nebraska Legislatures 38th District, which encompasses southwest Buffalo County and all of Clay, Franklin, Kearney, Nuckolls, Phelps and Webster counties.

Q: Explain your position on budget cutbacks.

A: The state of Nebraska will increase general fund spending by $80 million the next fiscal year and an additional $76 million the following year, a 0.6-percent growth in spending over the next biennium. To accommodate increased needs in K-12 education and corrections, some areas of state government required spending cuts in order to balance the budget. Even with the reductions made, appropriations for ongoing spending will exceed projected revenues for the next biennium. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I advocated for greater spending restraint in the upcoming budget to match state revenue with ongoing state expenses.

Q: Are you concerned about the impacts of budget cutbacks on certain areas of your constituency?

A: I am always mindful of the impact of budget reductions on state programs. The agencies receiving the largest reductions in their general fund operations budgets were Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Economic Development, all of which are critical departments for constituents in District 38. None of these agencies, however, received reductions so large as to require elimination of programs or significant reductions in services. Through operational efficiencies and management, I am confident the agencies with the largest cuts will continue their critical missions. I am proud that the budget was not balanced through tax increases on Nebraska families and businesses.

Q: What was the most important accomplishment of the 2017 Legislature?

A: Passing a comprehensive deficit budget in the first six weeks of the Legislative session, followed by a biennial budget by Day 79, was the most important accomplishment of the 2017 session. Doing so without eliminating a single state program, raising taxes or laying off state employees magnifies the achievement. Budget sessions are always a challenge in and of themselves. Add the lower-than-projected tax receipts in the current fiscal year, decreased revenue projections in the coming biennium, and the massive growth in health care and other employment costs for state employees, and the appropriations task becomes even greater.

Q: What is the most pressing issue that wont be addressed until the 2018 session?

A: Control of local government spending, which is required for significant progress toward rebalancing the property tax burden, will need to top the agenda in 2018. Placing retirement buyouts under the levy cap, addressing the sustainability of education retirement programs, not increasing unneeded levy authority to NRDs, and not expanding property tax exemptions to private builders were small steps toward progress.

However, breaking the stalemate over meaningful reform of the property tax system will require greater control of spending at the local level. Based on resistance from local subdivisions, that will require legislative action at the state level to achieve.

Priorities funded

State Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg represents the Nebraska Legislatures 36th District, which encompasses northern Buffalo County and all of Dawson and Custer counties.

Q: Explain your position on budget cutbacks.

A: Despite a $1 billion budget shortfall, the Legislature passed a balanced budget that funds the states priorities without increasing taxes. Overall spending increased by 0.6 percent for the next two-year budget. While budget cuts were made to a number of agencies and programs, the Legislature funded priorities, including the property tax credit fund, justice reinvestment programs to address prison overcrowding, and K-12 education. Its also important to note that after closing a $1 billion budget shortfall, we still have about $370 million in our state savings account for future use if necessary.

Q: Are you concerned about the impacts of budget cutbacks on certain areas of your constituency?

A: The cuts made to Medicaid provider rates will make it more difficult for those most in need of care to access services in rural Nebraska, including those with developmental disabilities or in nursing homes. Im concerned that cuts to higher education will result in a tuition increase on Nebraska students; however, the university and state colleges must be part of the solution in these difficult times. The cuts to probation, which allows for the safe and orderly release of prisoners, is short-sighted given our prisons are overcrowded and a federal lawsuit is imminent.

Q: What was the most important accomplishment of the 2017 Legislature?

A: The first priority of this session was to pass a balanced budget. Despite the challenges, the Legislature closed a $1 billion hole in a $9 billion budget without raising taxes. Im proud that the Legislature passed my bill, LB518, to address the shortage of workforce housing in rural Nebraska. The lack of workforce housing was identified as the No. 1 obstacle to economic growth by economic development professionals. I am optimistic that LB518 will help recruit more nurses, teachers, and skilled professionals to rural Nebraska.

Q: What is the most pressing issue that wont be addressed until the 2018 session?

A: Property tax relief is the one issue where the Legislature fell short this session. The rapid increase in property values, particularly for ag land, is unsustainable. We debated ideas to change how property is valued; rebalance the tax burden between income, sales and property taxes, and increase state support of rural schools to reduce the reliance on property taxes. In the end, there was not enough support for any one idea. I am open to all options to reduce the property tax burden on families, businesses and farmers. Action must be taken on this problem, even if it takes a ballot measure.
FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2010 file photo, two young wild horses play while grazing in Reno, Nev. Wild horse advocates say President Trump's new budget proposal would undermine protection of an icon of the American West in place for nearly a half century and could send up sending thousands of free-roaming mustangs to slaughter houses in Canada and Mexico. (Andy Barron/Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, File)/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP)
Horn master Han Xiaoming (center) and two members of the National Youth Orchestra of China pose at a Shanghai event. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The first National Youth Orchestra of China announced its establishment and upcoming national tour in Shanghai earlier this month.

The musicians53 female and 52 male, ages 14 to 21are Chinese citizens, though some are studying overseas.

After a two-week training in the United States and a concert at Carnegie Hall, they will perform in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, in July.

The young musicians have been picked by a jury that consists of renowned musicians, conductors and professionals, from hundreds of applicants through a five-month process.

Quite a few music institutions in China have their own youth orchestras, but this is the first time an orchestra is bringing together young Chinese musicians from all over the world to represent their common cultural heritage, according to Danielle Accettola, co-founder of China's national youth orchestra.

Accettola was born in China but moved to the US. Two years ago, after following that country's national youth orchestra on a China tour, she decided to introduce the concept here.

Thanks to sponsorship from the Shanghai-based Wailian Group, members of China's youth orchestra will head to the US in July on full scholarship. For two weeks they will rehearse together, attend master classes and workshops, and interact with the national youth orchestra of the US.

Han Xiaoming, a French horn master with the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, will be one of the mentors for the members of Chinese orchestra. He says the founding of this body marks a breakthrough in China's music education.

"In five to 10 years, some of the young musicians may play an important role in the development of symphony music in China," says Han.

Most music conservatories in China focus their syllabuses on solo performances, while in reality, no more than 5 percent of the graduates are able to pursue a career as soloists, he says.

More should be done to train youngsters to play in orchestras.

He suggests conservatories in China emphasize teaching symphonic playing.

"Students should learn to play orchestra pieces systematically from Bach to Haydn starting from their freshman years," he says.

This should be taken seriously when a music syllabus in China is designed.

"In fact, few professors at the music conservatories have any experience playing in an orchestra," he says.

Two of the new members of the national youth orchestra met the media in Shanghai.

Ouyang Beili, 14, plays the French horn, and Xie Liyuan, 17, plays the violin. Both are students at the middle school attached to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

They are members of the school orchestra and believe the learning experience in the new national orchestra will improve their understanding of rhythm, speed and expression in playing for orchestras.

Han hopes that the project will go beyond the two-week training and concert tour, and develop into a long-term initiative to achieve extensive impact on music education in the country.

Frank Mazurco, the former Steinway & Sons executive vice-president for the Americas, is a senior adviser with National Youth Orchestra of China.

"I witnessed a decline of piano playing around the world, except for in China," he says in Shanghai. "When I entered the business in 1972, China made up no more than a fraction of Steinway's market. Today nearly 50 million children in China are playing the piano."
B.C. Green party leader Andrew Weaver is joined by elected party member Sonia Furstenau to speak to media in the rose garden following election results in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, May 14, 2017. British Columbia entered a new stage of political uncertainty Wednesday as the final vote count from an election held more than two weeks ago confirmed the province's first minority government in 65 years. But with the balance of power firmly in his grasp, Green Leader Andrew Weaver indicated he wants to end the confusion that has gripped the province since May 9 by trying to reach a deal with either the Liberals or the NDP on a minority government by next Wednesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
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China's domestically produced city buses sit at the Lianyungang port, Jiangsu province on May 23, 2017. The buses are due to travel to Myanmar to become part of the public transport system in the city of Yangon. China's Anhui Ankai Automobile is selling 500 natural gas buses to the city in a deal worked out in April, 2017. The agreement has been made as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. [Photo: Xinhua]
Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, right, arrives for the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump and other NATO heads of state and government on Thursday will inaugurate the new headquarters as well as participating in an official working dinner. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Malta (file photo)

VALLETTA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Maltese Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said on Wednesday that the Mediterranean needs to strengthen its appeal for Chinese tourists.

He was speaking at a master class entitled "Attracting Chinese Tourism in the Mediterranean", organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO).

He added that it was significant this was taking place within the context of the EU-China Tourism year for 2018.

During this event the participants discussed the potential offered by the rapidly developing Chinese outbound tourism market, and what the Mediterranean countries need to do to strengthen their potential in the Chinese market.

Zammit Lewis added that there is a need to formulate realistic and workable ways of developing and projecting a Mediterranean brand in China.

"We need to be on the right 'Chinese tourist track', with the necessary infrastructure in place, have businesses and staff geared up to deal with Chinese visitors, and have the product that this market wants," he said.

"Aspects such as relevant product development, language training, and a stronger understanding of specific needs are considered imperative for attracting tourists from China," added the minister.
Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave the best press releases in 2016, according to an assessment released by Chinas State Council Information Office (SCIO). The assessment covered 2016 press releases by 77 central government departments and institutions, 31 provinces, cities and districts and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The assessment, released on May 23, was the first of its kind.

Ten departments landed at the top of the rankings, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The eight regions recognized as outstanding were Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hunan, Guizhou and Shaanxi.

SCIO officials also pointed out that there are still challenges surrounding press releases in China, though the situation is overall improved.

Some departments and regions still need to improve their press release ability, efficacy and frequency, responding to social concerns in a timely manner and establishing a system for regular press releases, said one official.
More than $2 billion in government funding will go to water projects for rural and colonia areas.

The funding will go to protect and clean drinking water in south Texas.

According to the Office of Congressman Henry Cuellar, over $1 billion will go to the Clean Water State Fund. Funding to these organizations aim to to fight water borne diseases.

Last month, millions went to Zapata County to improve their aging over-capacity Waste Water Treatment Plant.

This is part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act.
Express delivery is a multi-billion-dollar business in China thanks to the rapid growth of e-commerce. A total of 31.3 billion packages were delivered in China in 2016, according to China's State Post Bureau. That figure is close to half of the 70 billion packages delivered around the world each year.

However, delivering nearly 100 million packages a day is not enough in China, at least not in the eyes of Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, who recently reclaimed the title of wealthiest man in mainland China. During the 2017 Global Smart Logistics summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on May 22, the e-commerce tycoon delivered a speech in which he estimated that as many as 1 billion packages will be delivered every day in China in five to eight years.

Jack Ma estimated that 1 billion packages would be delivered each day in China in five to eight years during the 2017 Global Smart Logistics summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on May 22.

Listening to Mas speech were executives of major Chinese delivery firms including STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express and Yunda Express, which all began trading publicly last year.

Another major player in the industry is SF Express, the largest express delivery company in China. According to Bloomberg, SF Express has more than 15,000 vehicles and 13,000 service centers across the country. The company had revenue of 57.3 billion RMB ($8.6 billion) in 2016, and began trading publicly in January 2017. Wang Wei, chairman of SF Express, has become one of the richest men in China, with a net worth of $21.4 billion.

Trading publicly or not doesnt make too much difference to a delivery company, said Ma during his speech at the summit in Hangzhou. The only difference might be that I (the boss of a delivery company) start to care what number I rank in wealth, which is pointless.

At the end of the day, its not the founders and CEOs that physically deliver nearly 100 million packages in China. Behind that huge revenue is the labor of over 2 million hardworking couriers in China who ride scooters day and night to deliver parcels.

Over 2 million couriers ride scooters day and night to deliver parcels. Photo by Ning Liu.

Hello, your parcel has arrived. Please come to the front gate to pick it up. Express couriers make this phone call hundreds of times a day to alert their customers that a delivery is imminent.

Starting June 1, the income of couriers for six major companies in China will reportedly increase by 0.15 RMB ($0.02) per parcel delivered. Reacting to the news, Ji, a 30-year-old courier for ZTO Express, expressed his delight. He said he normally delivers about 5,000 parcels a month, earning a monthly income of 5,000 RMB ($726). With the pay raise, he can soon earn 750 RMB ($109) more per month than he used to.

Ji said he works for 13 to 14 hours a day, 30 days a month.

The more parcels I deliver, the more I earn. Simple as that, Ji said.

Doing this line of work is really not easy due to the work intensity, said Wang, a courier for YTO Express. I even think about quitting when Im super exhausted. Luckily, I have co-workers who stand by my side, even though they work for other companies."

Couriers for different companies who are assigned to the same area often become friends. One can regularly spot small clusters of the workers gathered by gates of universities, corporations and residential communities. They line up their delivery scooters, disembark and chat, sharing their happiness and their woes.

Couriers for different companies assigned to the same area often become friends. Photo by Ning Liu.

No competition, just brotherhood, Wang said.
Congressman Henry Cuellar voiced his opposition to a border wall during a Department of Homeland Security meeting.

The meeting was broadcast on C-SPAN and shows Cuellar telling John Kelly his concerns for Texas land owners. Cuellar says Texas is a state respecting private homeowners.

Cuellar adds the costs of the proposed wall are unrealistic, when military technology which could do the job exists.

Cuellar also mentioned a treaty existing between the U.S. and Mexico regulates where a barrier can be placed, and that no one knows the border area until they have lived there.

"I am from Laredo, Texas. I represent the border. I live there. My family is there. I breath the air. I drink the water. I don't just go in and visit and leave in a few hours and take, and think I know the border [more] than some of the people. I've lived there my whole life," Cuellar said.

Also during the meeting, Cuellar told Secretary Kelly he needs to understand how all the branches of government work, and that disagreement on issues will rise up and he needs to learn to handle them.
A lot of red noses were seen on Thursday.

This comes as part of a national campaign to end child hunger.

The Laredo Police Department teamed up with Walgreens for a bake sale to raise funds for the Red Nose Day campaign. Many officers and volunteers wore the red noses for comic relief.

One Laredo Police sergeant says this fundraiser is the department's way of giving back to a community they help protect and serve.

"We had officers donate cakes and goodies to sell to the public to raise funds for this really, really important.....important campaign," says LPD Sergeant Cordy Perez.

Red Nose Day was created by Comic Relief, a British charity, and has been helping relieve child hunger since 1988.
The county's Water Utilities Department is looking to cut down on people stealing water, who they say are illegally connecting to the county's water system.

In total, over 30 percent of households in Rio Bravo and El Cenizo have some type of illegal connection.

The county is trying to identify all of the nearly 300 households with the illegal connections to try to get them compliant.

The illegal connections occur when property owners build seperate houses on their land, but don't add seperate water and sewer meters to the building - as required by law.

In some cases, owners have up to two and three seperate homes on their lot without meters.

The county says those illegal taps cost them revenue which could help go back into the system.

"That's all we want is every customer to pay their fair share. So if this customer is getting away with not paying $18 a month for ten years that we've been in service, we're not asking them to pay what they didn't pay - just that they get connected from here on, that's all," says County Utilities Director Adrian Montemayor.

The county says they are working with people who are affected. They say if a homeowner can't pay for a meter, they can enter into payment arrangements with them.

Or if someone doesn't want to pay for the meters, they can opt to be billed as a commercial account. This means they would only pay for the water they use, and not a flat fee charged to residential accounts.
John Bruns, president of Boeing China (file photo)

China has huge market demand and potential for civilian aircraft, and this demand enables new competitors to emerge and grow, said John Bruns, president of Boeing China.

Bruns was on site when the C919 passenger plane took its maiden flight on May 5. He said Boeing is open to new players, such as the C919, to join and compete in China's aircraft industry.

The new competitor will force us to work harder in order to maintain Boeings leading position in the industry, Bruns said with confidence.

The American company has its largest overseas market in China, where it currently builds over 50 percent of operating passenger jets. In March, a Boeing 737 completion center arrived in the eastern city of Zhoushan; it is scheduled to make the first delivery of Boeing 737MAX to Chinese buyers in 2018.

Bruns disclosed that Boeing contributes over $1 billion to the Chinese economy annually. Nine thousand in-service Boeing planes contain parts made by Chinese suppliers. In the future, the company hopes to cooperate with private enterprises in China.

Boeing has projected a demand for 6,810 new airplanes in China over the next 20 years, estimating that the total value of those new planes will be over $1 trillion. If this prediction comes true, China will become the first trillion-dollar aviation market in the world.
Question: My boss offers both a health savings and a flexible spending account. Which is better?

Answer: Both HSAs and FSAs let you stash money tax-free to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. In addition to co-payments and deductibles, you can use the money for a variety of other expenses, including prescription drugs, orthodontia and eyeglasses. The money you save is shielded from taxable income as well as from payroll taxes. But the rules governing them differ, and each has its pros and cons. And generally you cant sign up for both.

Flexible spending accounts. When you sign up for an FSA, contributions are deducted from your paycheck on a pretax basis. In 2017, the maximum contribution is $2,600. Thats probably not enough to cover your childs braces, although if your spouse has access to a flex account at work, he or she can also contribute up to $2,600.

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Theres another drawback in addition to the low contribution limit: the use-it-or-lose-it provision. If you dont spend all of the money in your FSA by year-end, you may have to forfeit the balance. This requirement forces employees to estimate how much theyll spend on health care over the year when they sign up during open enrollment, and it could bite you if everyone in your family enjoys excellent health and straight teeth. Companies are permitted to give employees until March 15 to spend unused funds or carry over $500 to the next year, but not all do.

One advantage of the FSA is that the entire amount you designate for your account is available on January 1, even though you spread contributions throughout the year. If you spend the entire amount in January and quit your job in March, in most cases your employer cant go after you for the balance. However, if you leave your job during the year, either by choice or with a security escort, youll forfeit any unused funds.

Health savings accounts. You can sock away more money in an HSA each year than in an FSA, and you can carry over unused funds from year to year. Plus, if you leave your job, you can take your HSA with you. Most offer a menu of investment options. Withdrawals are tax-free as long as the money is used for qualified medical expenses. If you use the funds for other purposes, youll pay income tax on the withdrawal, plus a 20% penalty if youre younger than 65.

In 2017, you can contribute up to $3,400 to an HSA if you have an individual insurance plan, or $6,750 if you have a family plan. If youre 55 or older, you can save an additional $1,000 in catch-up contributions (which arent available for flexible spending accounts).

After you sign up for Medicare, you can no longer fund an HSA. But once you turn 65, you can take penalty-free withdrawals for any purpose. However, if the money isnt used for medical expenses, the withdrawal will be taxed. Finding eligible expenses shouldnt be a problem, though. You can even pay Medicare premiums with HSA money.

Whats the downside? To contribute to an HSA, your insurance plan must have an annual deductible of at least $1,300 for individual coverage or $2,600 for a family. In 2016, 61% of large employers offered high-deductible plans to their employees, according to Mercer (opens in new tab), a human resources consultant. Three-fourths of those employers contributed to participants health savings accounts, and the typical contribution was $500. If youre self-employed, you can set up an HSA as long as you have a high-deductible insurance plan. (Flexible spending accounts are offered only through employers.)

Many banks and brokerages offer HSAs. Consulting firm Devenir offers a list of HSA administrators at www.hsasearch.com (opens in new tab).
SHANGHAI, May 25 (Reuters) - Chinese state-owned banks sold dollars in the onshore foreign exchange market on Thursday, five traders said, pushing the yuan to its strongest level in nearly two months.

"Major state-owned banks were selling dollars in the market," said a trader at a Chinese bank in Shanghai.

A second trader at a major Chinese bank also said he saw sales by state-owned banks.

The yuan suddenly strengthened nearly 200 pips to a high of 6.8690 per dollar at 0252 GMT, the strongest intraday level since March 27.

It traded at 6.8760 per dollar as of 0346 GMT.

State-owned banks have sold dollars in the forex market regularly since late last year in what some traders believe is part of official efforts to prop up the Chinese currency.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou, Sun Qizi and John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill)
BEIJING, May 25 (Reuters) - China welcomes increasing imports of U.S. soybeans, cotton and other farm products, the commerce ministry said in a report on trade relations with the United States.

Beijing is also speeding up negotiations on quarantine requirements for U.S. beef that would allow market access in China, potentially benefitting 6 million U.S. farmers, it added.

The comments, highlighting some of the positive points in trade between the two partners, come amid U.S. concerns over a large trade imbalance between the two countries in China's favour.

(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Dominique Patton; Editing by Richard Pullin)
By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb | WASHINGTON

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday said he has yet to hit upon a formula for repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a new healthcare program, but he expressed some optimism on another top priority, overhauling the tax code.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, McConnell said healthcare and taxes still top the Republican legislative agenda, and he added he will not be reaching out to the minority Democrats on either one because differences between the two parties are too stark.

That approach will leave McConnell, a conservative 75-year-old Kentuckian with a reputation as a dealmaker, a narrow path to win passage of these ambitious goals, which are also at the head of Republican President Donald Trump's policy agenda.

Referring to behind-the-scenes work among Senate Republicans on a healthcare bill, McConnell said, "I don't know how we get to 50 (votes) at the moment. But that's the goal."

Under a scenario of gathering the votes needed for passage in the 100-seat chamber, Republican Vice President Mike Pence would be called upon to cast any potential tie-breaking Senate vote.

McConnell opened the interview by saying, "There's not a whole lot of news to be made on healthcare." He declined to provide any timetable for producing even a draft bill to show to rank-and-file Republican senators and gauge their support.

On the other hand, he said, prospects for passage of major tax legislation were "pretty good." While this too will be difficult, McConnell said, it is "not in my view quite as challenging as healthcare."

Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress want to cut tax rates across the board, but a House of Representatives proposal to use the tax code to boost exports and discourage imports has split the business community and some lawmakers.

The Republican-led House on May 4 narrowly approved its own legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and dismantle major parts of the Obamacare law that was Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement.

The House passed it over unified Democratic opposition.

Healthcare legislation must be passed by the Senate, and then the two chambers must work out the differences between their versions before it can go to Trump for his signature.

(Reporting By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Will Dunham)
HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's securities regulator on Thursday ordered a trading halt in all shares in Tianhe Chemicals Group Ltd , without giving further details.

The move comes despite shares in the chemical firm not having traded since early 2015, when Tianhe requested a halt.

Last month, Tianhe said media reports claiming financial irregularities had been uncovered at the company and that the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had directed a trading halt of the stock were "factually incorrect and misleading". Neither Tianhe nor the SFC immediately responded to requests for comment on Thursday.

The SFC can issue so-called Rule 8 directions under Hong Kong's listing rules "on grounds that the market is misinformed, disorderly or unfair".

Tianhe requested a trading halt in its shares in March 2015 due to a delay in the publication of its 2014 annual results and the company launched an investigation into audit issues at the time. Its shares had remained suspended since then.

Previous SFC trading halt orders include China Huishan Dairy Holding Co Ltd and Hanergy Thin Film Power Group , which the regulator investigated after its shares mysteriously tumbled 50 percent in a matter of minutes. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Joseph Radford)
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is one of the largest media organizations in the world. The agency is also at the forefront of U.S. government efforts to promote American propaganda. Despites U.S. President Donald Trumps promise not to impose Americas way of life on others, the latest BBG budget shows that the U.S. government remains strongly committed to using American power to interfere in the internal affairs of countries that do not share American values.

In the latest budget request, the BBG is requesting $5 million to rebalance content and programming for Asia, and the Voice of America (VOA) will maintain Mandarin as a priority and resources will be shifted toward next generation digital/social media content and technology. VOA Mandarin will launch an Internet-delivered 24/7 video news stream to China to provide a fact-based alternative to domestic media propaganda about the U.S. Furthermore, VOA will distribute a circumvention app to deliver its propaganda.

This soft power pivot is in addition to various other efforts over the years by the American propaganda outlet to spread American values and sow divisions, and its role seems to echo that of the former U.S Information Agency, which was designed solely to influence foreign audiences.

Increasingly, the BBG is focusing on social media to target youth audiences, who will become decision makers in the future. Over the years, VOA Mandarin has greatly increased social media accounts inside China, and QR code links with proxies have been used by the agency to improve access to certain reports. In addition, VOA Mandarin uses WeChat, Chinas largest social media platform, as well as English learning programs, to increase social media engagement.

These methods have been successful, at least according to the BBG. In the most recent budget request, the BBG said that VOA and Radio Free Asia (RFA) used domestic social media connections, including the public WeChat messaging service, to get reporting tips, ask questions, and provide content links. The BBG also said that VOA Tibetan capitalized on the growing use of virtual private networks and other circumvention tools to reach audiences within Tibet. For example, VOA Tibetan leveraged the method that VOA Mandarin pioneered to crack Chinese restrictions and link to the VOA Tibetan website with a QR code that mobile phones can scan.

Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has also been the target of the agency over the years. In 2014, China was rocked by a series of violent terrorist attacks, including the May 22 car bombing of an outdoor market in the capital Urumqi. In response to the increased violence in Chinas Xinjiang, the BBG expanded RFAs Uyghur Service in the region, as well as RFAs Cantonese and Mandarin Services, to challenge Chinas domestic policies rather than the extremists who carried out the attacks.

As such continuous efforts show, the U.S. has yet to fully discard its zero-sum Cold War mentality. In a changing world order, the U.S. should give up its longstanding love affair with imposing American values on countries that do not share American values, because using American power to influence foreign audiences does nothing to enhance Americas value in the world. Even though Americas soft power is on the wane, Americas soft power pivot is not the wisest path forward. The BBG and the Cold War relics that fall under its purview should be consigned to the dustbin of history.
SEOUL, May 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), the world's third-largest pension fund, said on Thursday it will raise overseas investment to about 40 percent of assets by 2022, as it continues to diversify investment to minimise risk.

The NPS, which had 564 trillion won ($504.34 billion) under management as of February, had 27 percent of assets invested overseas as at the end of 2016.

The fund, which estimates assets of $2.2 trillion by 2043, said in a statement it aims to have about 45 percent of assets invested in stocks, 45 percent in bonds, and at least 10 percent in alternative investments, such as real estate, by 2022.

It also forecast assets to reach 655.7 trillion won by 2018, with local stocks, local bonds, foreign stocks, foreign bonds and alternative investments making up 18.7 percent, 47.1 percent, 17.7 percent, 4 percent and 12.5 percent respectively.

NPS' Investment Management organisation, which has seen a wave of resignations by fund managers as its headquarters moved to a city 200 km (125 miles) from the capital Seoul in February, said on Wednesday it named new managers in overseas alternative investment and stocks. ($1 = 1,118.3000 won)

(Reporting by Yuna Park; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
* China is one of world's fastest growing condom markets

* Deal to fund $265 mln Ansell share buyback, future acquisitions

* Business will focus on industrial and medical rubber products

* Ansell shares rise 4 pct

(Recasts and adds Ansell CEO comment, details of the deal)

By Tom Westbrook and Jamie Freed

SYDNEY, May 25 (Reuters) - A Chinese consortium is buying Ansell Ltd's condom division, the world's no. 2 condom maker, for $600 million, betting on surging demand in China as sex becomes less of a taboo subject and more emphasis is placed on public health education.

The Australian firm, which put its oldest but smallest division up for sale last August, said it had reached an all-cash deal with China's Humanwell Healthcare Group Co Ltd and CITIC Capital China Partners.

Ansell's brands include Jissbon, which sounds like James Bond in Chinese, and it is the second-largest maker in China behind Reckitt Benckiser which owns Durex. It also competes with large local brands Donless, Double Butterfly and Gobon.

Foreign brands tend to have more of a cachet in China after some scandals involving cheap Chinese products.

For Ansell, however, it made sense to let go of a non-core division that comes with hefty marketing costs to focus on industrial and medical rubber products.

"It is our only consumer business, it is the only business where we're not number one in the world, it is a business with a dramatically different go-to-market in terms of marketing spend," Chief Executive Magnus Nicolin told investors on a conference call.

"The fact that we can now focus a little bit more narrowly on hand-and-body protection in both industrial and medical settings will give us a stronger platform, if you will, from which to lead the industry," he said.

The company expects to receive net after-tax proceeds of $529 million from the sale, and proceeds will help fund a $265 million share buyback of 10 percent of shares on issue as well as future acquisitions.

The business sold at nearly 16 times earnings from 2016.

"They've sold what was a smallish part of their overall business for a very good price, we think it's a good move," said Anton Tagliaferro, investment director at Investors Mutual Ltd, the biggest holder of Ansell stock.

Shares in Ansell climbed 4 percent on Thursday, their biggest daily gain in six months, while the broader Australian S&P/ASX 200 index was flat.

According to a 2016 Transparency Market Research report, China's condom market is seen growing at 12 percent per year in the 2016 to 2024 period, despite the scrapping of the One Child policy - rising from a $1.8 billion market in 2015 to over $5 billion by 2024.

Ansell said it sees condom sales growth there moderating in the future.

Humanwell declined to comment and CITIC Capital China partners were not available for immediate comment. Private equity investment into the China health, pharmacy and self-care space has boomed, as investors cash in on rising incomes.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete at the end of September. ($1 = 1.3337 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Jaime Freed; Additional reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques in SINGAPORE and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI.; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
By My Pham

HANOI, May 25 (Reuters) - Coffee export prices eased in Vietnam tracking a drop in the London market, but trade was thin amid limited supply, while Indonesian prices remained steady, traders said on Thursday.

Exporters quoted the 5 percent black and broken grade 2 robusta in Vietnam, the world's top robusta maker, at $30-$40 premium a tonne to London's ICE July contract , compared with $20-$40 premiums last week.

London prices have dropped a combined 4.6 percent during the past week to end at $1905 on Wednesday.

"There were bids and asks, but no actual trade as London prices dropped while local prices are yet to keep pace with the decline," said independent analyst Nguyen Quang Binh.

Local prices quoted by Vietnamese farmers on Thursday edged down to around 42,000 dong ($1.85) per kg, from 44,000 dong-44,500 dong a week ago, which traders said, make export quotes higher than import offers.

"At 42,000 dong input cost, traders will still suffer from a loss if selling to foreign importers. Therefore, they were reluctant to conclude transaction," Binh added.

Vietnam is forecast to harvest 28.6 million bags (1.72 million tons) of coffee from its next 2017/2018 crop, a rise of 10 percent from the current season, due to favourable weather conditions and higher domestic prices, a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache said.

In Indonesia, Vietnam's major coffee competitor, traders said prices have improved this week. The robusta grade 4 defect 80 was quoted at $20-$30 discount to July contract, slightly up from $20 discount last week.

"Prices are a little bit better and stable because of a drop in London terminal prices to around $1,900 (per tonne)," a trader in Bandar Lampung said, adding that inventories at trading houses remained steady as supplies continued to stream in.

Indonesia's market was closed on Thursday for a public holiday. ($1=22,688 dong)

(Reporting by My Pham in Hanoi; Additional reporting by Mas Alina Arifin in Bandar Lampung; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
SINGAPORE, May 25 (IFR) - The iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index was flat at around 90bp/91bp today, but there were active flows after US Treasury yields fell overnight.

"People are taking the opportunity to sell across the board - anything new or trading at a high cash price," said a credit trader.

"It's nothing too cynical and it's not panic-selling. Even without the China downgrade, people would be selling because yields went lower."

Even after Moody's cut China's rating to A1, from Aa3, the sovereign's 5-year CDS was seen at a mid-price of 79bp today, around where it had traded all week, and lower than its level of 82bp a week ago.

ChemChina's new perpetual non-call 5 bonds were seen at a cash price of 100.6, having priced at par.

Beijing Gas's new 2022 bonds were seen at a Treasury spread of 122bp today, having widened from an issue spread of 116bp.

In high yield, Logan Property's new 2023 bonds callable in 2020 dropped half a point to a cash price of 96.5, having been issued at 98.773.

Indonesia's 2022 dollar bonds tightened 1bp to Treasuries plus 135bp as it continued to market a multi-tranche Samurai bond offering.

(Reporting by Daniel Stanton; Editing by Vincent Baby)

Keywords: MARKETS ASIA DEBT/
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

BANGKOK, May 25 (Reuters) - Vietnam rice hit its highest level in over a year this week on potential export deals and prices in Thailand firmed up as supply eased, while the Indian variety gained on growing demand from Africa, traders said.

Expectations of strong demand from top importing countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines are fuelling the uptrend in Vietnam and Thailand rice prices.

Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice was quoted at a level unseen since April last year, at $360-$380 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $365-$370 last week, as suppliers eyed export deals, traders said.

Bangladesh said on Tuesday it will buy 250,000-300,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice immediately and planned to increase rice imports from Vietnam to 500,000 tonnes by end-2017.

It will also buy one million tonne of Vietnamese rice annually until 2022. The Philippines said on Monday it would issue a tender next month to import 250,000 tonnes of the grain from key suppliers Thailand and Vietnam, and possibly also India. Thai benchmark 5-percent broken rice firmed this week to $411-$412 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok, from $385-$411 last week, the highest in nine months.

"Prices have strengthened greatly, and supply is running low while demand remains constant," a trader in Bangkok said.

But traders in Thailand and Vietnam said the price hike has started making the local grain too expensive for them to buy for export, raising a possibility for short supply in the market.

"After the Bangladesh news, I can no longer buy anything," said a trader in Ho Chi Minh City.

"The market is really stressed already, even though there's no real trade," another trader said, referring to the Bangladesh deals. Thailand and Vietnam are the world's second and third biggest rice exporters.

In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice jumped by $7 per tonne to $398-$403, on a slight improvement in demand and a rally in local paddy prices.

"Export prices are going up, tracking rise in other countries. Demand has also improved from African buyers," said M.Adishankar, executive director at Sri Lalitha, an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

In the past two months, there has been a sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as appreciation in the rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices.

"Rising paddy price in the local market has been forcing us to raise export prices," said another exporter based in Kakinada.

Global rice prices are likely to go further up due to demand from Bangladesh, Dhaka-based traders and government officials said.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh's state grains buyer said the country will import 600,000 tonnes of rice.

Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer with around 34 million tonnes, could emerge as a major importer this year, as low stocks and soaring prices led the government to import the grain.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK, Mai Nguyen in HANOI, Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI, Additional reporting by Ruma Paul in DHAKA; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
May 25 (Reuters) - Average yields on Egypt's six-month and one-year treasury bills rose at an auction on Thursday, data from the central bank showed. The average yield on the 182-day bills rose to 20.661 percent from 19.814 percent at the previous auction. The yield on the 364-day bills rose to 20.588 percent from 19.698 percent previously.

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters) - China Great Wall Asset Management Co, one of the country's Big Four state-owned bad debt managers, is looking to raise about $1 billion ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in 2018, IFR reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the plans.

The company has invited banks to pitch for a role in the pre-IPO funding round, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication.

Reuters could not immediately reach Great Wall for a comment. Great Wall plans to tap five to eight foreign or domestic strategic investors in the pre-IPO funding round, the company previously said. (Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
DHAKA, May 25 (Reuters) - Bangladesh will speed up plans to import rice that it brought in to build reserves and rein in local prices after flash floods hit domestic output, government officials said on Thursday.

As part of that, a Bangladeshi delegation is now in Vietnam to finalise imports of the staple grain in a government-to-government deal, said a procurement official, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to speak with media. He did not give further details on the transaction.

Ramped up demand from Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer, could underpin prices in major exporters Vietnam, Thailand and India. "We are making frantic efforts to boost state reserves and bring down prices of rice," said the procurement official.

Local rice prices have reached record highs and state reserves are at six-year lows in the wake of flooding in April that wiped out around 700,000 tonnes of output.

The state grains buyer earlier this month said it would ship in 600,000 tonnes of rice after the flooding, initially issuing two tenders for a total of 100,000 tonnes of rice, its first such tenders since 2011. Meanwhile, the procurement official said the government had decided not to withdraw duty on private rice imports, looking to protect farmers.

Bangladesh produces around 34 million tonnes of rice annually but uses almost all its production to feed its population of 160 million. It often requires imports, however, to cope with shortages caused by natural calamities like floods and droughts.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Joseph Radford)
SAO PAULO, May 25 (Reuters) - Ser Educacional SA , Brazil's third biggest college operator, canceled a planned share offering saying the stock price did not reflect the company's expected profitability, it said in a statement late on Wednesday. Ser Educacional had planned to sell 17.4 million new shares to fund expansion plans, in an operation expected to raise around 445 million reais ($135.87 million). ($1 = 3.2752 reais)

(Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Writing by Silvio Cascione. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
SHANGHAI, May 25 (Reuters) - The world's largest lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , has signed a 26 billion yuan ($3.79 billion) debt-for-equity swap framework agreement with Shandong Iron & Steel Group, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

China's lenders are signing deals with struggling, debt-laden state firms to lower their leverage and cut financing costs following instructions from Beijing.

The deal will help state-owned Shandong Iron improve its capital strength and promote diversification in its corporate ownership structure, the agency reported.

This is the fifth such swap signed in the northern province of Shandong, the agency added.

In December, ICBC signed three debt-for-equity swaps with Shanxi province's highly indebted state-owned coal and steel firms. Heavy industries such as coal and steel have suffered from overcapacity as China relies increasingly on consumption for economic growth.

The deputy general manager of Shandong Iron was investigated by the ruling Communist Party, according to the party's anti-graft watchdog. ($1 = 6.9 yuan)

(Reporting by Beijing monitoring desk and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Screenshot of the Greater Manchester Police's tweet. (CGTN)

British police have made two more arrests in connection with Monday's concert attack, bringing the total number in custody to eight, Greater Manchester Police said in a tweet on Thursday.

One of the men was detained following searches of an address in the Withington area of the city, while another was arrested in a part of Greater Manchester that was not disclosed.

A woman detained late on Wednesday has been released by police without any charge after questioning.

On Monday, 22-year-old Salman Abedi detonated a homemade nail bomb inside the foyer of Manchester Arena when people were leaving a concert, killing 22 and injuring 64.

Interior Minister Amber Rudd said earlier that up to 3,800 soldiers could be deployed on Britain's streets in the wake of the bombing amid warnings that another attack may be imminent. An initial deployment of 984 had been ordered, first in London and then elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Britain also blamed US officials for leaking details about the attack to US media. The National Police Chiefs' Council said the leaks undermine the investigation into the atrocity.

The Guardian said that Prime Minister Theresa May will confront US President Donald Trump over the leaks of key intelligence when the two meet on Thursday at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.
HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters) - Lenovo Group chairman and chief executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters on Thursday the company's China business reorganisation will not affect its mobile business on the mainland. Yang, speaking after the company reported a return to profit for the year to March, said the company will keep its Lenovo-Motorola dual-brand strategy for it mobile business despite a widening loss. "We will never phase out Lenovo," Yang said.

(Reporting By Sijia Jiang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
By Jan Strupczewski and Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS

The European Union will offer to protect the welfare and residence rights of Britons living on the continent after Brexit when it opens talks with London next month, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

"The Withdrawal Agreement should protect the rights of EU27 citizens, UK nationals and their family members who, at the date of entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement, have enjoyed rights relating to free movement under Union law," EU officials wrote in a draft paper on the starting goals for negotiators.

Previous EU negotiating positions have stressed Brussels' aim of protecting the rights of 3 million citizens of the other 27 current member states now living in Britain once it quits the bloc in March 2019, though they have said this should be reciprocated by the EU for over a million British expatriates.

The paper, to be discussed by diplomats next week, goes into more detail not only about the wide extent of the rights the Union wants to protect for EU citizens in Britain but specifies more on what Brexit may mean for Britons -- notably large numbers of British retirees reliant on EU pension and health insurance rules to support new lives under the Spanish sun.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is expected to be re-elected in a vote she has called for June 8, has called on the EU to issue a sweeping, reciprocal guarantee of expatriate citizens' continuing rights after Brexit. But EU leaders insist these must be negotiated in detail for them to have any legal value as reassurance for those people affected.

Adding further nuance and detail to earlier EU negotiating positions, the paper spells out that residence and other rights should be protected for Europeans who move to Britain -- or vice versa -- right up until the day of Brexit, as well as for their families and including rights they will acquire only later.

CHILD BENEFITS

For example, people taking up residence abroad in March 2019 would be guaranteed leave to remain until they had acquired legal residence for life after five years, in March 2024. People who moved as students before Brexit, would be entitled to take up full-time work afterward, as if Britain were still in the EU.

The children of EU workers in Britain would go on receiving family allowances even if they themselves did not live in Britain, the paper said -- underlining how a concession secured by May's predecessor David Cameron to help persuade Britons to vote against Brexit lapsed when he lost last June's referendum.

Other elements of the EU position which may irritate May's government include an insistence that the EU executive retain the power to monitor how Britain is applying the Brexit treaty to EU citizens and that the Union's judges in Luxembourg remain the final arbiters. Brexit campaigners say a key goal is leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

The paper will accompany another prepared on Britain paying outstanding sums into the EU budget to be discussed by officials from the other 27 member states next week. These two issues are among the most important that EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has identified in reaching a divorce treaty.

He expects to start negotiations in the week of June 19 and hopes that a treaty can be ready by October 2018. May and other British ministers have warned they are ready to walk out in 2019 without a deal to regulate outstanding issues, however.

(Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
WELLINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - Fairfax New Zealand and NZME said on Friday they would appeal New Zealand's competition regulator's decision to bar their merger in the country's High Court.

The companies said in a stock exchange statement that they believed the New Zealand Commerce Commission "was wrong in fact and wrong in law to decline clearance or authorisation".

The New Zealand Commerce Commission in early May declined NZME's takeover of Fairfax's New Zealand unit, saying the deal would not benefit the public. Under the proposed deal, NZME, owned by Australian media company APN News & Media , would have paid NZ$55 million ($38.61 million)for Fairfax's New Zealand operations. It would also have issued new shares to allow Fairfax to hold a 41 percent share in the new listed entity.

($1 = 1.4245 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Dan Grebler)
WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve has fined SunTrust Bank $1.5 million for violations of the National Flood Insurance Act, the central bank said on Thursday.

When SunTrust pays the fine, the Fed will have the money deposited to the National Flood Mitigation Fund.

No further details of the violation were given in the three-page Fed order.

The National Flood Insurance Program gives government backing to consumer flood insurance.

(Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
MUMBAI, May 25 (Reuters) - India's IDBI Bank on Thursday set out a turnaround plan that includes raising additional capital and selling non-core assets to help the state-run lender to improve its financial position and reassure investors anxious about a possible debt default.

IDBI announced the plan, which will also include curbing its rising corporate loan book and cutting costs, on the day when Moody's Investor Service became the second rating agency to downgrade its debt this week. The lender has been facing growing investor concerns that it will be unable to service its coupon payments for so-called Additional Tier 1 bonds in coming months after its capital ratio fell below a key central bank minimum.

"We are looking at all avenues to improve our capital position and bring the bank on the recovery track," said Mahesh Kumar Jain, IDBI's managing director and CEO, in a statement.

IDBI sought to reassure investors as Moody's downgraded its rating for IDBI to "Ba2", below investment grade, from "Baa3", citing a "significant deterioration" in IDBI's financial profile and "extremely weak" capital position.

Moody's added IDBI's common equity Tier 1 ratio, a key metric of capital, stood at 5.64 percent, just above the minimum central bank requirement of 5.5 percent.

The ratings agency said it expected IDBI to continue to experience "asset quality issues" over the next 12-18 months.

The downgrade came just two days after local agency ICRA downgraded a slew of IDBI's debt, warning that IDBI's "substantially weak operating and financial performance" had resulted in a "significant" erosion of its capital levels.

IDBI shares rose about 1 percent on Thursday.

The stock had dropped nearly 22 percent this month as of Wednesday's close after reporting a wider net quarterly loss and after the central bank initiated "corrective action" to help the lender tackle its bad loans and negative return on assets. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy; Editing by Rafael Nam/Keith Weir)
MILAN, May 25 (Reuters) - Italian luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo said on Thursday it confirmed a cautious outlook for this year while sticking to its medium-term guidance, after investor concerns about short-term performance hit the stock on Wednesday.

Shares in Ferragamo led losses among Italian blue-chips on Wednesday, falling as much as five percent, with market sources attributing the fall to a prudent tone of a business outlook provided by management at a meeting in Paris. "Ferragamo confirms a cautious outlook for 2017 and that it will be a year of transition," the Florence-based group said in a statement.

It added that the group would work this year to improve "product development, rationalise operations of (its) retail business and normalise inventory levels."

New CEO Eraldo Poletto, who last year took over from longstanding Michele Norsa, said in February that revenue would increase at twice the market rate from 2017-2020 and expressed confidence that margins would rise as the group worked to improve the performance of existing stores. In the near term, however, the destocking process is set to weigh on margins due to discounted sales of past collections' items.

Shares extended losses after the statement and were down by 2.09 percent at 0810 GMT.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Valentina Za)
SYDNEY, May 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand's strong fiscal position will help reduce debt well-below most triple A rated sovereigns, ratings agency Moody's said on Thursday after the government posted its second straight surplus. "The economy's strong growth reinforces robust public finances," said Matthew Circosta, an analyst at Moody's, seeing real GDP growth of around 3.0 percent through 2017 and 2018, above the Aaa median of 2.0 percent. New Zealand is rated Aaa with a stable outlook by Moody's.

(Reporting by Cecile Lefort; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
BUCHAREST, May 25 (Reuters) - Romania's consolidated budget ran a surplus of 0.2 percent of gross domestic product in the first four months of the year, unchanged from the end of March, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

In nominal terms, the surplus stood at 1.35 billion lei ($332.63 million), it said in a statement.

Revenues were at 9.8 percent of GDP, or 80.1 billion lei, 8.4 percent up on the year. Spending was 78.8 billion lei.

The Social Democrat government targets a deficit of 3 percent of GDP, the European Union's ceiling, based on an economic growth estimate of 5.2 percent of GDP which analysts have said is too optimistic.

The International Monetary Fund said that without additional measures Romania's fiscal shortfall was expected to reach 3.7 percent of GDP this year and 3.9 percent in 2018. ($1 = 4.0586 lei)

(Reporting by Radu Marinas)
KIGALI, May 25 (Reuters) - Rwanda sold a seven-year Treasury bond worth 10 billion Rwandan francs ($12 million) on Thursday to fund infrastructure projects, the central bank said.

The National Bank of Rwanda said the bond had a final coupon and yield of 12.675 percent and a subscription rate of 113 percent. The bond will be listed on the Rwandan bourse on May 30 for secondary buyers.

Rwanda will next issue a 15-year bond on August 21, the bank said.

The East African nation of 11 million people uses treasury bonds to finance its tiny budget and help grow its capital market authority. ($1 = 842.1500 Rwandan francs)

(reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; editing by Katharine Houreld)
JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (Reuters) - South Africa's cabinet said on Thursday it has approved for publication a review of revisions to its charter for the mining sector, a process that was supposed to have been done months ago raising concerns about policy uncertainty in the industry.

"Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane will provide a briefing once the charter has been gazetted," the cabinet said in a statement, without providing further details such as when it will be published.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)
(Xinhua) 15:45, May 25, 2017

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China will increase imports from the United Statesin wide-ranging areas including agricultural products, energy and high-tech equipment, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

In a research report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations, the MOC noted the growth potential in U.S. exports as China's total imports are expected to reach 8 trillion U.S. dollars in the coming five years, which will bring more opportunities for U.S. companies.

China would like to further increase imports of agricultural products such as soybeans and cotton from the United States and speed up negotiations on terms regarding traceability, inspection and quarantine for U.S. beef to enter China, which will benefit 6 million American farmers, according to the report.

China is also willing to have active discussions on imports of more aircraft, microchips, machine tools and other high-tech products, the report said.


PRAGUE, May 25 (Reuters) - Following are results of Thursday's auction of 5-week Czech Treasury bills . AUCTION DATE 25/05/17 YIELD (PCT) -0.300 SOLD IN AUCTION (BLN CZK) 5.800 incl.FINMIN RETAINED (BLN) 0.000 INVESTOR DEMAND (BLN) 14.101 TOTAL VOLUME (BLN) 0.00-5.00 AUCTION OFFER (BLN) 0.00-5.00 KEY POLICY RATE (PCT) 0.05 (Reporting by Mirka Krufova; Editing by Robert Muller)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
BUDAPEST, May 25 (Reuters) - Hungary sold 40 billion forints ($145.91 million) worth of government bonds at an auction on Thursday, 3 billion forints more than planned, the Government Debt Management Agency (AKK) said . The AKK will hold a non-competitive top-up tender later on Thursday. Series: A200923C Issue status: Auction data: AUCTION DATE 25/05/2017 11/05/2017 TOTAL BIDS (bln HUF) 63.30 51.86 ALLOTTED (bln HUF) 15.00 20.00 AVERAGE YIELD (pct) 0.78 0.85 Series: A221026B Issue status: Auction data: AUCTION DATE 25/05/2017 11/05/2017 TOTAL BIDS (bln HUF) 66.03 42.34 ALLOTTED (bln HUF) 15.00 16.00 AVERAGE YIELD (pct) 1.76 1.88 Series: A271027A Issue status: Auction data: AUCTION DATE 25/05/2017 11/05/2017 TOTAL BIDS (bln HUF) 22.80 28.43 ALLOTTED (bln HUF) 10.00 14.00 AVERAGE YIELD (pct) 2.99 3.06 ($1 = 274.14 forints)

(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Sandor Peto)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron barely know each other but they seemed to have a hard time letting go when they first met on Thursday.

Each man gripped each other's right hand so firmly that their knuckles turned white and their jaws seemed to clench as they sat down for a face-to-face meeting.

Images from the photo session at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Brussels showed Trump finally giving up, his fingers loosened while Macron is still holding on tightly.

Macron's determination may be a lesson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who on a recent visit to the Oval Office tried and failed to get Trump to shake her hand.

The symbolic face-off continued later in the day at a NATO summit, as Macron approached a group of other leaders and made Trump wait, firstly exchanging greetings with Merkel, the head of the Western military bloc, and others.

When Trump finally seized Macron's hand, he pulled it so hard that the French president had to use his other arm to set himself free, their second awkward moment that was caught on cameras and went viral in just one day.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Louise Ireland)
ISTANBUL, May 25 (Reuters) - Turkey's largest mobile phone operator Turkcell's annual general meeting on Thursday approved the distribution of a three billion lira ($841 million) dividend, a company official told Reuters.

The company said on Wednesday that shareholders of Turkcell Holding, which holds 51 percent of Turkcell, agreed to propose the three billion lira dividend. In April the company said in a filing to the stock exchange that the proposed dividend would be distributed in three equal installments. ($1 = 3.5675 liras)

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler)
By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON

A U.S. military investigation on Thursday acknowledged that more than 100 civilians were killed in a U.S. air strike on a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March during operations against Islamic State militants.

The probe concluded that the U.S. strike in the Al-Jadida district inadvertently triggered explosives placed in the building by Islamic State fighters, causing it to collapse.

Local officials and eyewitnesses have said as many as 240 people may have died in the strike.

It appeared to be the single largest incident of civilian casualties involving the U.S.-led coalition since it started operations against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in 2014.

Prior to this investigation, the coalition said that at least 352 civilians had been killed since the campaign started. That estimate is far lower than those provided by outside groups.

Air Force Brigadier General Matthew Isler, who oversaw the investigation, told reporters that 101 civilians inside the building were killed, four civilians were killed in the neighboring building, and 36 civilians were still not accounted for.

Prior to the March 17 strike, Iraqi forces were about 100 meters (328 feet) away and could see two snipers on the second floor of the building. However, Isler said, there were blind zones and the forces could not see parts of the building.

The coalition had been monitoring the area since the operation for western Mosul began weeks before. However, for two days before the strike took place, the coalition did not have overhead surveillance of the area because of the weather, Isler said.

When the 500-pound (227-kg) bomb was dropped on the building targeting the snipers, it triggered explosives inside the concrete structure, collapsing it onto civilians.

The United States and nearby Iraqi forces did not know there were civilians in the building or that it had been rigged with explosives, the probe found.

"This investigation determined that ISIS deliberately staged explosives and snipers to harm civilians," Isler said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

He added that the coalition took responsibility for the air strike.

The investigation found that the chemical signature found in the residues was not associated with the bomb used by the United States, but rather with explosives usually used by Islamic State militants.

It said that analysis concluded that the amount of explosives in the U.S. bomb, about 200 pounds, was not enough to bring down the building. The investigation added that the bomb was dropped at the front of the building while structural engineers found that the damage and crater was at the back of the building.

"While we welcome the U.S. investigation into the Jadida airstrike, we are curious to know whether any lessons were learned and what steps were taken to ensure such horrors do not occur again," human rights group Amnesty International said in a statement.

Seven months since the operation to retake Mosul began, Iraqi forces have removed Islamic State from all but a pocket of territory in the western half of Mosul, including the Old City, where the militants are expected to make their last stand.

The investigation recommended the coalition create a team dedicated to assessing civilian casualties that would more quickly investigate reports of civilian deaths.

The coalition has adapted its intelligence gathering tactics to better identify where civilians are located, Isler said.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Andrew Hay and Lisa Shumaker)
* Popolare Vicenza, Veneto Banca have requested state aid

* EU demands 1 bln euro contribution to clear state bailout

* "Bail in" fears hit lenders' senior bonds

(Combines stories, adds details)

By Valentina Za

MILAN, May 25 (Reuters) - Italy is working with European authorities to find a rapid solution for troubled regional banks Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, the government said, as investors worried that the lenders may fail to get the state aid they have requested.

Italy has been in talks with Brussels for months over its plans to rescue the two banks based in the northeastern Veneto region and bigger rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena under strict European Union rules that curb state support for lenders to shield taxpayers.

Rome is reluctant to wind them down to avoid knock-on effects on other banks, which have emerged weakened from a long recession that sent bad loan levels soaring.

"Talks with European authorities continue with a shared goal of agreeing a solution that guarantees the stability of the two Veneto-based banks and fully preserves savers, in compliance with European rules," the Treasury said in a statement on Thursday, issued after a meeting between Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and the two bank's top managers.

"The government is committed to finding a solution quickly," it said, adding that a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday had been only one of several technical steps needed to assess the bailout request.

Sources have said that on Wednesday EU authorities stood by their demand for a 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) private capital contribution to the rescue, rejecting Italian requests for smaller involvement by private investors. Highlighting how difficult finding fresh capital would be, the head of Italy's biggest retail lender Intesa Sanpaolo said on Wednesday that healthy banks in the country should not be forced to spend more money rescuing weaker rivals. Italy's leading banks and insurers have already pumped 4.4 billion euros into the two Veneto lenders through the state-sponsored bailout fund Atlante. It took them over a year ago but is now unwilling to help fill a 6.4 billion euro capital shortfall identified by the European Central Bank.

Fears that senior bondholders may be forced to contribute to the private capital needed to approve the rescue hit senior bonds issued by Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca on Thursday. Under the current rescue plan, only junior bondholders stand to take a hit.

Unlike Spain or Ireland, Italy failed to help its banks before strict EU rules over bank crises came fully into force last year. It now has little room to support its lenders without hurting small savers that hold much its banks' debt and shares.

A Milan-based trader said that Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca had at least three bonds totalling 1.45 billion euros that were mostly held by institutional investors. ($1 = 0.8912 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Francesca Landini and David Stamp)
(Adds factory exports, non-oil consumer imports)

MEXICO CITY, May 25 (Reuters) - Mexican factory exports in April posted their biggest fall since January, data showed on Thursday, pointing to continued headwinds for Latin America's second-largest economy.

Manufacturing exports declined by 3.05 percent in April from March in seasonally adjusted terms, national statistics agency INEGI said, as auto exports fell by 4.01 percent and non-auto shipments slipped 2.57 percent.

Non-oil consumer imports rose 1.26 percent in the same month.

Mexico revised its official 2017 growth estimate upward on Monday, shortly after data showed the economy had so far shrugged off fears U.S. President Donald Trump's policies would wreak havoc on exports and investment. Mexico posted a $297 million trade deficit in April when adjusted for seasonal swings , narrower than the 1.4 billion deficit reached in March.

In non-seasonally adjusted terms, Mexico posted a trade surplus of $617 million .

(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
(Adds recent executive hires)

By Joseph Menn

SAN FRANCISCO, May 25 (Reuters) - Highly valued security company Tanium Inc is allowing its co-founder, employees and some early investors to sell $100 million of stock to private equity and venture funds in a secondary sale that reduces pressure for an initial public offering.

The deal values Emeryville, California-based Tanium at $3.75 billion after the transaction, Chief Executive Officer Orion Hindawi told Reuters.

He said half of the proceeds will go to his father, David Hindawi, Tanium's co-founder and executive chairman, who wants the money for charity.

The largest buyer is private equity firm TPG, with late-stage venture firm IVP and others taking smaller amounts of the common stock. Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has put more than $100 million into Tanium in multiple rounds, is not buying or selling.

Hindawi said Tanium itself did not need the money, having $300 million in cash and positive cash flow, but wanted to allow longtime investors and employees to benefit from the company's success without an IPO.

"I don't want to feel compelled" to go public, he said.

Though Hindawi had been talking about a public offering this year only a few months ago, he said he reconsidered after other companies went public and were whipsawed by the markets.

He said Tanium sales were doubling annually and that greater scale would remove volatility in the event of a later public stock offering.

Tanium's customers include the Department of Defense and large companies that install the company's software on all of their computers to track what programs are running and rapidly install patches to that software.

A number of senior executives have left in the past year, and media reports highlighted complaints about Hindawi's management style and allegations by a handful of employees that they were fired just before options vested.

Hindawi said a board investigation found no systematic terminations, and he said the company had lost no customers.

Hindawi is bringing new blood into the executive ranks to help with the management issue, including chief operating officer and chief financial officer Fazal Merchant, a former DreamWorks Animation CFO, and chief technology officer Chris Bream from Facebook, both of whom started in their new roles over the past week. Hindawi had been both CTO and CEO.

Though the liquidity from the secondary sale addresses one big concern of longterm workers, Hindawi said the funding round began well before the recent articles and continued afterward without any change in participants or terms.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Bernadette Baum)
(Adds details on mutual funds and ETFs, analyst quote, table, byline)

By Trevor Hunnicutt

NEW YORK, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors offered a skeptical perspective on sky-high equity prices, yanking cash from U.S.-based stock funds for the fourth straight week, Lipper data showed on Thursday.

The funds recorded $10.1 billion in withdrawals during the week that ended May 24, the second-largest outflows of the year, offering little support to an equity market that has nonetheless defied bearish predictions to chart record highs.

The withdrawals came after the walloping for stocks on May 17 tied to reports that President Donald Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation. Stocks quickly recovered from that selloff, with the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index posting a record close on Thursday. Even so, fund investors carried scars.

"People seem to be kind of concerned about the political drama going on in the United States and embracing some of the growth statistics coming out of Europe," said Tom Roseen, head of research services for Thomson Reuters's Lipper unit.

"They lightened up on some of the risker assets, but they turned around and put the money to work on non-domestic."

European stock funds pulled in $587 million in their 13th straight week of inflows, which came the same week as a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in the United Kingdom. Emerging market stock funds managed to gather $1.1 billion, shaking off a massive selloff in Brazilian stocks last week and Moody's Investors Service downgrading China's credit rating for the first time in nearly 30 years. Strong earnings in the United States have helped give an eight-year bull market another push higher.

Yet the ratios of U.S. equity prices to estimated earnings for the next year remain higher than those in the major developed and emerging markets, according to Thomson Reuters data.

That leaves little room for error in politics. Roseen said the prospects for a deal in Washington on taxes and other matters important to investors has receded.

Taxable bonds attracted $2.4 billion during the week, Lipper said. U.S.-based corporate investment-grade bond funds attracted the bulk of those inflows, with $2.1 billion of new cash over the weekly period, Lipper data showed.

The following is a broad breakdown of the flows for the week, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds: Sector Flow Chg % Assets Assets Count

($blns) ($blns) All Equity Funds -10.052 -0.17 5,901.419 11,466 Domestic Equities -11.040 -0.27 4,125.976 8,209 Non-Domestic Equities 0.987 0.06 1,775.444 3,257 All Taxable Bond Funds 2.431 0.10 2,406.605 5,781 All Money Market Funds 1.731 0.08 2,264.626 1,002 All Municipal Bond Funds 0.394 0.10 381.319 1,393 (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Lisa Shumaker)
(Adds Greek TV report)

ATHENS, May 25 (Reuters) - Greece's former prime minister Lucas Papademos was injured when an explosive device hidden in an envelope detonated inside his car in central Athens on Thursday, police said.

He was taken to hospital with his driver, who was also hurt, a police official said, declining to be named. Greek state TV reported that Papademos's injuries were not life-threatening.

"Doctors are more worried about his eyesight," the police official said.

Papademos, also a former central bank chief, was appointed caretaker prime minister in November 2011 at the height of financial crisis with a mission help his country stay in the euro zone. He held the position until elections in May 2012.

Greek security has intercepted several attempted attacks on Greek, German and International Monetary Fund officials over the past two months.

An envelope containing bullets and addressed to Greece's general secretary for public revenue was intercepted at a post office branch in Athens on Tuesday.

In March, police intercepted eight suspect packages at a postal sorting centre in Athens, including some addressed to the IMF in Paris and the German Finance Ministry. The rigged package to the IMF exploded, injuring a postal employee.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Bendeich)
US's DDG-105 Dewey missile destroyer (photo/Global Times)

The US' recent military actions in the South China Sea are a "serious strategic mistake" and China will not tolerate the "provocative attempts" and will take countermeasures including following and driving away US warships to safeguard its maritime security interests, Chinese military strategists said Thursday.

A US Navy guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, US officials said on Wednesday, the first challenge to China in the South China Sea since US President Donald Trump took office, Reuters reported.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "the US's Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef [the Meiji Reef] in the Spratly Islands [the Nansha Islands], among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors," according to Reuters.

"We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea," Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

"We operate in accordance with international law. We fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. Freedom of navigation is not about any one country, or any one body of water," he said.

Such an act carried out in the name of a "routine patrol" or a "freedom of navigation operation" is a "huge strategic mistake" by the US military and by sailing within 12 nautical miles of the Meiji Reef the US Navy infringed on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, Peng Guangqian, a military strategist at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Science, told the Global Times on Thursday.

China will not tolerate any such provocation and will take actions such as driving the warship away from the Meiji Reef area, Peng said.

This is not the first time the US has made such moves in the South China Sea.

Last May, the US guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence sailed into Chinese waters near the Nansha Islands without the permission of the Chinese government.

This latest move is first provocation by the US since President Trump took office, coming after Sino-US ties showed signs of stabilization after Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump met in early April and the two leaders exchanged views over bilateral ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula via telephone.

China started construction on the Meiji Reef since 2015 and in July 2016 the country successfully landed aircraft on the airport there, in the heart of South China Sea.

"A flight took off from Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan Province, at 8:30 am and landed on Meiji Reef two hours later" on July 13, 2016, according to the Ministry of Transportation, the Xinhua News Agency reported at the time.

President Xi on Wednesday called for efforts to build the People's Liberation Army Navy into a strong and modern force to lend support for the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of a strong army, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
* IMF and partners to help restructure Mongolia debt, economy

* Deal delayed from last month amid banking rule controversy

* Mongolia due to hold presidential elections in June

(Adds quotes from Thursday press briefing, budget deficit target)

By Terrence Edwards

ULAANBAATAR, May 25 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it approved a total financial package worth around $5.5 billion to help support cash-strapped Mongolia's efforts to diversify its small and resource-dependent economy.

The IMF has provided a three-year financial arrangement of about $434.3 million to support Mongolia's economic reform programme, with other financial partners such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Japan and South Korea also providing back-up.

Mongolia grew at a double-digit annual rate over 2011-2013 as foreign investors rushed in to take advantage of its vast untapped mineral deposits. But clashes with investors, government overspending and declining commodity export revenues slowed growth to 1 percent last year and tipped the country into an economic crisis. "This is one of the biggest programmes in IMF history in terms of countries' GDPs," said Neil Saker, IMF's Mongolia representative, at a press briefing in Ulaanbaatar.

"The absolutely critical objective is to break the boom-bust cycle seen in Mongolia in the last 15 years," he added.

Mongolian finance minister Battogtokh Choijilsuren said the package was designed to stabilise the economy, impose fiscal discipline and boost competitiveness, adding that Mongolia would aim to bring its budget deficit to under 2 percent of its gross domestic product by 2021, down from 17 percent now.

The deal will enable Mongolia to swap $550 million in debt held by the Development Bank of Mongolia for new sovereign bonds worth $600 million due in 2024. It also included a three-year extension to a 15 billion yuan ($2.18 billion) swap agreement with the People's Bank of China.

The formal confirmation of the package, first proposed in February, was delayed from last month amid concerns about a controversial clause in Mongolia's legislation that forced "strategically important" mines, such as the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine run by Rio Tinto , to conduct transactions through local banks.

The government has subsequently annulled the banking requirement in order to push the IMF deal through. Mongolia has agreed to cut spending, raise taxes and the retirement age, while pledging to maintain a flexible exchange rate and build a stronger regulatory environment for banking and finance.

Candidates running in next month's presidential elections may try to make political capital out of the painful austerity measures introduced by the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP), which is fielding Miyeegombo Enkhbhold, currently parliamentary speaker.

Businessman and former martial artist Khaltmaa Battulga is contesting the vote on behalf of the main opposition Democratic Party, while the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party has nominated former independent Sainkhuu Ganbaatar. Both challengers have gained popularity partly through their resource-nationalist rhetoric and their suspicion of foreign investors. ($1 = 6.8878 yuan)

(Additional reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and Yawen Chen in BEIJING, Writing by David Stanway in SHANGHAI; Editing by Michael Perry & Shri Navaratnam)
* Package explodes in Papademos' car

* Injuries not life-threatening, say police

* Greece has history of political violence

* No claim of responsibility

(Updates throughout, adds witness account)

By George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS, May 25 (Reuters) - Greece's former prime minister Lucas Papademos was injured when a booby-trapped package exploded in his car in central Athens on Thursday, police said, in the most dramatic act of political violence in the crisis-hit country for several years.

Police said Papademos's injuries were not life-threatening, and an Athens hospital source told Reuters he was being treated for superficial wounds to his abdomen and a slightly deeper injury to his right leg.

Greece has a history of small-scale attacks against politicians, businesses and police. Greek police say they intercepted several suspected packages addressed to Greek, German and International Monetary Fund officials in the past two months.

But Thursday's blast, in which an unnamed police official said two others in the vehicle were also hurt, was the most prominent since a booby-trapped package killed a guard for then Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis in 2010.

Papademos, a low-key figure who was more of a technocrat than a politician, was catapulted to the forefront of Greece's debt crisis when he became caretaker prime minister from late 2011 to May 2012, fusing a fragile governing coalition between socialists and conservatives.

The country remains in recession with the highest unemployment rate in Europe, and a stalled creditor review has interrupted payouts under its international bailout programme, its third since 2010.

Papademos also served as central bank governor from 1994 to 2002, and as vice-president of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010.

A health ministry official said Papademos suffered injuries to his chest and abdomen after opening a package in his moving car.

Greek media reported the vehicle was armoured, containing the blast within its interior.

Footage from the scene, at a busy intersection in central Athens during rush hour, showed a black vehicle with its hazard lights on, virtually undamaged save for extensive cracks on the front windscreen.

"I felt my car shake ...it was like a small earthquake," an eyewitness told Greece's Skai TV. He said he saw the doors of the vehicle be prised open from the blast.

"It was total panic," he said.

Papademos has been in retirement since stepping down as caretaker prime minister in May 2012.

A Greek central bank source said Papademos had just left the Bank of Greece building when the explosion occurred. It was unclear whether the suspect package had been delivered there.

A police source said fragments of an envelope found at the scene of the incident suggested it was delivered to the Academy of Athens, of which Papademos is president.

An envelope containing bullets and addressed to Greece's general secretary for public revenue was intercepted at a post office branch in Athens on Tuesday.

In March, police intercepted eight suspect packages at a postal sorting centre in Athens, days after letter bombs were sent and detected at the German Finance Ministry and the IMF in Paris. The rigged package to the IMF exploded, injuring an employee.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, Renee Maltezou, Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas; Editing by Andrew Heavens and John Stonestreet)
* Package exploded in former PM's car

* Injuries not life-threatening

* No claim of responsibility

(Updates, adds ECB's Draghi)

By George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS, May 25 (Reuters) - A former Greek prime minister was injured when a booby-trapped package exploded in his car in central Athens on Thursday in the worst act of violence targeting politicians in the crisis-hit country for several years.

Lucas Papademos, who served a brief stint as caretaker prime minister in late 2011 to mid-2012, did not have life threatening injuries, authorities said. An Athens hospital source told Reuters he was being treated for superficial wounds to his abdomen and a slightly deeper injury to his right leg.

Papademos, 69, a former central banker who held a senior role in the European Central Bank, was hurt when the package he opened in his car exploded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Greece has a history of small-scale attacks against politicians, businesses and police.

A Greek urban guerilla group is thought to have dispatched a batch of letter bombs addressed to European public figures and discovered by Greek authorities in March.

But Thursday's blast, in which a hospital official said two others in the vehicle were also hurt, was the most prominent since a booby-trapped package killed a guard for the then public order minister, Michalis Chrysohoidis, in 2010.

Papademos, a low-key economist who is more of a technocrat than a politician, was catapulted to the forefront of Greece's debt crisis when he was coaxed into briefly becoming caretaker prime minister from late 2011 to May 2012, fusing a fragile governing coalition between socialists and conservatives.

The country remains in recession with the highest unemployment rate in Europe, and a stalled creditor review has interrupted payouts under its international bailout programme, its third since 2010.

RUSH HOUR

Papademos served as Greek central bank governor from 1994 to 2002, and as vice-president of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010.

ECB president Mario Draghi condemned the attack: "We are saddened by the attack against our former colleague, Lucas Papademos, a brave public servant of Greece and Europe."

Papademos had been in retirement since stepping down as prime minister in May 2012 following elections in the country.

Footage from the scene, at a busy intersection in central Athens during rush hour, showed a black vehicle with its hazard lights on, virtually undamaged save for extensive cracks on the front windscreen.

Greek media reported the vehicle was armoured, containing the blast within its interior.

"I felt my car shake ... it was like a small earthquake," a witness told Greece's Skai TV. "It was total panic."

A Greek central bank source said Papademos had earlier left the Bank of Greece building when the explosion occurred.

It was unclear where the suspect package was picked up. A police source said fragments of an envelope found at the scene of the incident suggested it was addressed to the Academy of Athens, of which Papademos is president.

An envelope containing bullets and addressed to Greece's general secretary for public revenue was intercepted at a post office branch in Athens on Tuesday.

In March, police intercepted eight suspect packages at a postal sorting centre in Athens, days after letter bombs were sent to the German Finance Ministry and the IMF in Paris. The rigged package to the IMF exploded, injuring an employee, while the one sent to Germany was detected by scanners.

A Greek militant group, Conspiracy of Fire Cells, claimed responsibility for the first suspect package sent to Germany and intercepted on March 15.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, Renee Maltezou, Karolina Tagaris and Lefteris Papadimas.; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Andrew Heavens and John Stonestreet)
MOSCOW, May 25 (Reuters) - Russia's June Urals crude exports from the Baltic Sea ports are expected to fall by 15 percent compared with May on a daily basis to 5.51 million tonnes, a preliminary loading plan seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.

Crude loadings from the port of Primorsk were set to fall by 30 percent to 2.71 million tonnes due to planned works on Baltic pipeline system. Supplies from the neighbouring Ust-Luga port are set at 2.8 million tonnes, up 100,000 tonnes from the May loading plan. But traders said they expected additional cargoes to be added to the plan later as the port's capacity for June is 3.1 million tonnes.

Urals and Siberian Light exports in June from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk will fall by 3 percent on a daily basis compared with May to 2.68 million tonnes.

(Reporting by Olga Yagova; editing by Jane Merriman)
DUBAI, May 25 (Reuters) - Zain Saudi said on Thursday it had appointed Saudi Fransi Capital (SFC) as a financial advisor to assist the telecom operator in strengthening its financial position.

SFC will look at "all available options" which could include converting some of Zain Saudi's liabilities to equity or rights issue or a capital reduction or a combination of these, according to a bourse statement.

Zain Saudi, 37-percent owned by Kuwait's Zain Group , reported its first quarterly profit last month since launching in 2008. SFC is the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi .

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell)
Tracy Watkins writes:

If he had not already done so, Auditor-General Martin Matthews would have had no choice but to stand aside after the committee of MPs that appointed him agreed to an independent review of his handling of a major fraud case. Matthews informed Speaker David Carter by letter on Tuesday of his decision. It was already clear by then Carter would have to intervene otherwise. Matthews position had become untenable as questions mounted about his management of a staffer who defrauded the Ministry of Transport. Carter underscored the gravity of Matthews situation when he labelled the review as necessary to protect the integrity of the office of Auditor-General. No one, not even Labour leader Andrew Little who called for the review, is suggesting impropriety on Matthews part.

This is not about Matthews being culpable. He acted properly. But the argument is he acted too late. That would not make him ineligible for almost any other CEO role (no agency is fraud proof) bit I think it does make him ineligible for the role of Auditor-General. It is about the integrity of the office.

Matthews, for his part, maintains that he stands by his actions at the ministry and blames misinformation and media speculation for the need to stand down. But Matthews is not just any public servant. He is the parliamentary appointed watchdog of tax payer funds. That includes holding agencies and departments to account over their systems of oversight and governance. It is his stewardship over both those areas that is being questioned after a staffer, Joanne Harrison, committed large scale fraud while he was Transport Secretary. Allegations this week that two former whistle blowers were later restructured out of the ministry go to the heart of public confidence in the integrity of the public service and New Zealands whistle blower laws. The two men allege that senior managers were informed about fake invoices used by Harrison, including a $123,000 payment, and believe that was why they lost their job. There are now two inquiries underway. State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes will conduct an inquiry into the treatment of public servants who raised the alarm about Harrison, while the former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Sir Maarten Wevers, will carry out the Parliamentary inquiry. The public can have confidence in the integrity of both not to deliver a whitewash.

Both highly respected. And while I am sceptical, if the inquiries found that no reasonable person could possibly have detected Harrisons fraud at an earlier stage, then he may be able to resume his role. But the evidence to date of eight specific complaints or warnings is fairly damning. But there may be abother side to these stories.

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Saffie, aged 8 Megan, aged around 11 Eilidh, aged 14 Sorrell, aged 14 Nell, aged 14 Olivia, aged 15 Chloe, aged 17 Georgina, aged 18 Courtney, aged 19 Liam, aged 19 John, aged 28 Martyn, aged 29 Philip, aged 32 Kelly, aged 32 Michelle, aged 45 Alison, aged 45 Lees, aged 47 Wendy, aged 50 Jane, aged 51 Elaine Angelika Marcin

They were for the most part children and parents of children. All targeting of innocents is vile, but this particular act seems to hit a new level of callous.

Kudos should go to those members of the Muslim community who tried to stop this. Stuff reports:

Two friends of Abedi also became so worried they separately telephoned the police counter-terrorism hotline five years ago and again last year. They had been worried that he was supporting terrorism and had said that being a suicide bomber was OK, a source told the BBC. Akram Ramadan, 49, part of the close-knit Libyan community in south Manchester, said Abedi had been banned from Didsbury mosque after he had confronted the Imam who was delivering an anti-extremist sermon. Ramadan said he understood that Abedi had been placed on a watch list because the mosque reported him to the authorities for his extremist views. A well-placed source at Didsbury mosque confirmed it had contacted the Home Offices Prevent anti-radicalisation programme as a result. A US official also briefed that members of Abedis own family had contacted British police saying that he was dangerous, but again the information does not appear to have been acted upon.

It is good that he was reported my multiple people for his growing radicalisation. No doubt there will be a focus on whether he should have been placed under surveillance. He cant be arrested just for saying things like being a suicide bomber is okay, but if he had been monitored they may have been able to stop him. On the other hand, you will never prevent every attack if someone is willing to kill others and die doing so.

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(A scientist looks at a Yangtze giant softshell turtle at Suzhou Zoo. Photo/Thepaper.cn)

The whole worlds hope for the survival of the rarest turtle species now rests on two turtles at Suzhou Zoo in Jiangsu province, as the female is expected to lay eggs in June after another round of artificial insemination.

This special turtle species, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, is one of the most critically endangered animals in the world. It originally comes from China, and historically made its home in the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake. Only three Yangtze giant softshell turtles are known to be living.

The pair in Suzhou was given a third round of artificial insemination in April, and the result will come out in June, when the female lays eggs. Previous trials in 2015 and 2016 both failed to fertilize any eggs.

The female turtle is reportedly more than 90 years old, while the male over 110. The female turtle remains active in egg-laying, and can lay two to three nests of eggs, or 100 eggs in total. However, the male turtle cannot inseminate the eggs naturally due to a serious wound on its penis, Thepaper.cn reported.

(Chinese and oerseas scientists take photos with a Yangtze giant softshell turtle. Photo/Thepaper.cn)

Lu Shunqing, dean of the College of Life and Environment Sciences at Nanjing Forestry University, told Thepaper.cn that this may not be the end of the turtle pair in Suzhou, as the oldest recorded Yangtze giant softshell turtle died at more than 160 years old.

The genital wound on the male turtle was allegedly the result of an organized coupling some 20 years ago; the other turtle in that pairing, killed as a result of the unfortunate match-up, was later found to be another male, according to Huashi, a zoology editor at popular science website Guokr.

The editor told the Peoples Daily Online that additional living turtles could potentially be found in some isolated but relatively complete habitats in the Honghe River region spreading from southwestern China's Yunnan province to northern Vietnam.

Besides hoping for a miracle, though, I think for now we can only work to keep their gene and genital cell samples, and wait for future technology, he said.

Meanwhile, Lu, who has been working to save the Yangtze giant softshell turtle for 10 years, noted that it remains an impossibility to clone turtles, as the cloning technology is not mature enough for reptiles.

The Guokr editor added that there is one more Yangtze giant softshell turtle living in Vietnam, and a fourth one died last January. The living one is believed to be male, but distance and the rarity of the animal makes it almost impossible for the male turtle in Vietnam to mate with the female turtle in eastern China.

Although the genetic diversity of the species is already largely wiped out, people must help the species to survive in any capacity, the editor noted, warning that many endangered species in China will soon face similar problems. Another species critically at risk is the Yangtze finless porpoise.

(A scientists checks on a Yangtze giant softshell turtle at Suzhou Zoo. Photo/Thepaper.cn)
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Windy. Some showers in the morning then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Morning high of 67F with temps falling sharply to near 40. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear. Low near 20F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Ninety-one South Koreans on May 24 filed a suit against both the Chinese and South Korean governments, demanding compensation for the mental distress they suffered due to pollution.

According to Yonhap News Agency, 10 plaintiffs filed a case with the Seoul Central District Court, seeking 3 million won ($2,600) in compensation on behalf of 81 others. Two of the plaintiffs, Choi Yul, president of the Korea Green Foundation, and attorney Ahn Kyung-jae, filed a similar case in April, but decided to take action again after they dropped the original suit. This time around, more people said they want to take part.

Both the South Korean government and the public have been pointing fingers at China for years, claiming that most of Seouls pollution was external in origin  mainly from China. In response to South Koreas accusations, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted in March that scientific studies and analysis are needed to definitively determine whether Chinas air pollution affects neighboring countries.

Though the South Korean government has laid the bulk of the blame on China, it turns a blind eye to the fact that South Korea itself is the second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas in the world, while its electricity generation mainly comes from conventional thermal power, especially coal-fired power plants.

According to statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal consumption in South Korea increased by 56 percent between 2005 and 2015, while fossil fuels generated about 64 percent of South Koreas electricity in 2015. Coal-fired power is the dominant fossil fuel used to generate electricity in South Korea, the fourth-largest importer of coal in the world.

Even more problematically, though the country has decided to utilize more clean energy and reduce emissions, it is still committed to building 20 new coal-fired plants by 2022.
A lecture delivered at Jiujiang University in Jiangxi province has been showered with criticism after its thesis - that a woman's best dowry is her chastity - became public.

Ding Xuan, a female lecturer from the China Womens Development Foundation, suggested that women are responsible for bringing luck to their husbands family by embodying traditional values and virtues. Ding also shared several other controversial opinions, such as that wearing revealing clothing leads to sexual assault.

Ding quoted several lines from a well-known ancient Chinese historical masterpiece, suggesting that marriage without the intervention of matchmakers will bring shame on one's ancestors.

The controversial speech quickly went viral after an audience member posted several photos of Ding's lecture slides online. As of press time, the hashtag GirlsBestDowryIsChastity had garnered over 89 million page views. Many netizens and scholars denounced the lecturer's views, accusing her of misusing classics and preaching outdated norms.

The lines Ding quoted from [the history book] were taken completely out of context. According to the original story, a woman marries her beloved king without her fathers consent, which causes her father to disown her. Instead of hating her father, the woman keeps treating him with respect. The story is about love and piety, not criticizing women for freedom of marriage, Douzi, a well-known internet historian, wrote on Zhihu, a Chinese Q&A website.

Mainstream media outlets, including China Womens News and Guangming Daily, also criticized Dings remarks, noting that intellectuals and public figures should not advocate outdated values in today's increasingly open and diverse society.

In response to the controversy, Ding insisted that girls should be chaste, adding that the remarks she made are based on her own experience.

I think the audience misinterpreted my opinion ... my grandmother and mother taught me these beliefs, and Ive passed them on to my daughter. I apologize if the public feels unhappy about my remarks, Ding said.
By Yoon Ja-young



Reforming the public sector has been among key agenda of the government for years. It is now sharing its knowhow at the OECD Global Network meeting held in Dubai on May 23 and 24, said Korea's finance ministry.



The meeting, organized by OECD and Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, is aimed at helping governments identify priorities for reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), especially in board efficiency and implementation of the standards of SOE governance.



More than 200 representatives of governments, state ownership entities, individual SOEs and relevant experts attended the meeting, sharing their experiences on SOE governance reform from a range of perspectives.



The main theme of this year's meeting was professionalizing boards of directors in SOEs.



The participants shared recent developments of reform related to state ownership practices, privatization and corporate governance. They also discussed actionable ways in which governments, as shareholders in SOEs, can more effectively organize and professionalize boards of directors. The topics included organizing board function; nomination of directors; autonomy and independence of boards; board training; remuneration and incentives; and board evaluation and performance.



Park Chung-keun, a director-general of the finance ministry who participated in the conference as a speaker, presented how Korea is managing SOEs based on the OECD's governance guidelines, guaranteeing independence of the board, adopting a non-executive director system and forming boards of directors through an independent recommendation committee.



"In particular, Korea's experience in developing and implementing an online repository of both financial and non-financial information of all public institutions is considered a best practice in SOE disclosure in the international community," Park said.



"Korea would like to be a firm contributor to the promotion of knowledge sharing in various fields of SOE governance. We believe that Korea itself can also learn from such a process when undertaking public sector reform," he added.



Participant suggested evaluation, competency and diversity of board members and transparency as keys for success. They also discussed knowhow in setting up an effective incentive system, using technologies and data and evaluating the board as measures to enhance professionalism within the board.



"This event provided policymakers, practitioners and experts from all over the world chances to identify common challenges related to SOE ownership and governance. They could also evaluate current SOE corporate governance policy frameworks and practices and benchmark these against international good practice as described in the OECD guidelines," said Cho Im-gon, a director of a research center for state-owned entities at the Korea Institute of Public Finance.



"In this context, I am proud to say that our institute has also been involved in the various OECD initiatives on the governance of SOEs," he added.




By Yoon Ja-young



An electronic bulletin board at the presidential office that shows the country's employment situation has taken the spotlight. It reflects President Moon Jae-in's determination to create more decent jobs, but the market is tougher than ever.



Cheong Wa Dae installed the jobs board in Moon's office this week. It has two large panels that show 18 key indicators related to the job market, such as the employment rate, the economic growth rate, the overall number of jobs, the youth unemployment rate and the wage gap between regular and irregular workers.



It also provides the indices for each region or age group and their change during certain periods. Wage increases, working hours, consumer prices and the increase in facility investment and retail sales are also included on the board.



Moon also said he will keep track of job creation by conglomerates and their proportion of irregular workers.



Moon got the idea of installing the board many years ago. In the 2012 presidential election, a college student asked him what he would like to do first if he became president. He said he would install the board and ponder the job market whenever he went to the office. But Park Geun-hye defeated him in the election.



Moon is putting much emphasis on job creation. His first order as head of state was to create a presidential committee on jobs.



Creating jobs is crucial for his economic plan, which is based on the idea that improving household income will lead to economic growth.



"It will take time to depart from the jobless growth that has been dominating the economy," said Kim Jin-pyo, chairman of an advisory committee for state affairs planning that serves as a transitional committee. He asked for a supplementary budget for job creation.



The country's job market is as dismal as ever. Income disparity is worsening while the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in April, the highest since 1999 when Statistics Korea adopted new criteria. Youth unemployment rose to a record-high 11.2 percent. And four out of 10 college students are preparing for the government official exam, as it is the only decent job they can expect to get.



While the Moon administration has pledged to create 810,000 jobs in the public sector, on top of preparing a 10 trillion won supplementary budget aimed at job creation, experts say the private sector should be encouraged to create more jobs.



"There is a possibility of businesses hiring more since they will face pressure from the government," Kim Hyun-jong, a senior researcher at the Korea Economic Research Institute, said. "However, jobs are basically based on demand.



"Good corporate performance is the foundation for more jobs, but currently it is not easy for businesses to hire more. There should be follow-up measures like tax benefits for corporate investment."



He said deregulation and efforts to increase productivity should accompany the pressure for more jobs.




This is the seventh in a series of interviews with international experts on Korea giving advice to President Moon Jae-in on how to overcome challenges and create a better future for the Korean people.  ED.

By Kim Jae-kyoung

Alicia Garcia-Herrero

For President Moon Jae-in, one of the key economic tasks during his term is to foster global talent and transform South Korea into an innovative economy.

This is not only to reform the structure of the economy but also to brace for the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is disrupting the way we work and do business.

To this end, Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Natixis, said that Moon should introduce policies aimed at internationalizing education systems and attracting more talent from abroad.

"In order to create an ecosystem to grow more internationally competitive players fit for the 21st century, fostering the arrival of foreign talent is absolutely key," Garcia-Herrero said in an interview.

"Korea will need to compete for talent with rest of the world," she added. "One way to do so is to create special visa programs but, even before that, to create world-class business schools, which would help attract foreigners to study in Korea."

She pointed out that the best way to target "talent" immigration is through education.

Korea's schools and universities in her words are too hierarchical and too rigid and are lacking internationalization.

"Korea should try to internationalize its tertiary education at the undergraduate and graduate level through English-speaking programs and generous scholarships and offer visas for students to remain and find jobs in Korea. This will add diversity and talent to the Korean economy," she said.

"In a world of robotization and artificial intelligence, countries will no longer fight for capital but for talent," she added.

The Hong Kong-based economist cited "elderly care" as another sector where immigrants may be most needed.

"For elderly care, it is basically nurses and other caring services. While the language is a barrier, it is obvious that the part of the Korean labor supply, which can cover these needs, will not be enough," she said.

Another urgent issue for Moon is demographic challenges  a declining working population and low birthrate.

She called on the Moon administration to come up with measures to increase the participation rate of the female workforce and encourage couples to have more babies.

For a higher birthrate, she suggested Moon look at the French case, considered a real success in Europe.

"France introduced aggressive policies to support families having more children both in terms of tax breaks as well as public services related to parenting and education," she said.

Reforming chaebol

As for economic reform, she stressed that Moon should revamp the production structure of the Korean economy by cutting its dependence on exports.

She said that it is urgent to restructure the Korean economy away from heavy industries toward becoming a high-value added services economy.

"This plan needs to include further liberalization of the economy by reducing oligopolistic practices and introducing more competition. The latter necessarily implies opening up to foreign competition," she said.

"Although Korea is open for investors there are issues with chaebol in terms of transparency and their strong hold over the economy," she added, urging Moon to push for reforms to improve the conglomerates' corporate governance.

For strong sustainable growth, the veteran economist advised Moon to expand the nation's presence in the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market, which will help diversify overseas markets and reduce its dependence on China and the U.S.

She explained that 20 percent of Korea's exports are destined to go to China and that dependency comes with a cost especially should China slow down or flex its soft power, as recent geopolitical tension shows.

"Korea is well ahead in knowledge and the digital economy but it needs to reduce its isolation from the rest of Asia  other than China and Japan," she said.

"Korea needs a master internationalization plan starting with ASEAN, followed by South Asia but also Europe and other emerging markets eventually," she added. "ASEAN markets offer both diversification and growth opportunities."

The Spanish economist also said that Moon needs to come up with a clear plan for potential unification with North Korea because it could come much earlier than expected.

"You may think reunification is a far cry from now but I was studying in East Germany in 1987 and 1988 and everybody thought the same both there and in West Germany," she said. "I do think it is closer to an immediate possibility than what people imagine right now."


By Park Hyong-ki



President Moon Jae-in's top priority during his administration is job creation for young adults.



Kim Jin-pyo, head of the policy planning advisory panel for the president, said it seeks to ignite a "venture boom to create quality jobs."



Industry sources say the new government needs to do more than just promote startups as a means to create jobs for the young.



They do create a lot of jobs, but not so much in the short term because most startups are launched by those with experience, not by fresh college or high school graduates.



It needs a policy that can change Korean culture from the ground up where people can start from the bottom and grow like Edison. He said he discovered thousands of ways not to make a light bulb, when talking about the difference between failure and success. Edison's invention led to the creation of GE, now a multinational corporation.



"It is important to create an ecosystem enabling entrepreneurs to start from garages and become big," said Sung Tae-yoon, an economist at Yonsei University.



"We need to have a market where startups can flourish through mergers and acquisitions. Just having a venture boom would be ineffective."



Korea is one of the few countries that have a strong financial policy supporting startups.



Germany, Finland and Britain have startup policies as strong as Korea, according to Korea Investment Partners, the country's largest venture capital firm.



Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist, said, a smaller army can win a war against a larger one as the former can move much faster on the battlefield.



His philosophical warfare tactics are widely used in the world of business, especially by startups.



Korea needs to further push for this kind of environment or ecosystem where startups can be agile in identifying problems, pivoting and creating solutions. This can only be achieved through trial and error.



Even though Korea is considered one of Asia's digital global leaders, it lacks a policy encouraging a risk-taking culture. Korea is ranked high with Singapore in digital growth via technology investment, according to Deloitte Access Economics.



Few people here would want to lead an entrepreneurial life because if one fails, he or she is not perceived as a challenger but a lifelong loser.



The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranked Korea second to last in entrepreneurial opportunity.



Less than 20 percent of Korea's population aged between 18 and 64 saw "good opportunities" in starting a business, compared to 70 percent in Sweden, the OECD said, citing Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data.



"The entrepreneurial function is a vital component in the process of economic growth," the OECD said in a report. "Culture has an influence on risk-taking, tolerance of failure, but also affects the individual's conjectures about the desirability of entrepreneurial action."
The Chinese embassy in the Philippines reminded Chinese citizens residing in the country to pay close attention to their personal security after the Philippines government declared martial law for 60 days in Marawi, Mindanao, following the firefight between military forces and the Maute and Abu Sayyaf fighters on May 23.

The embassy cautioned Chinese citizens to be vigilant and cautious while traveling, and also recommended that they avoid the Mindanao region during the martial law period. Those already in the region should stay alert and intensify their security measures, the embassy noted, advising Chinese citizens to report to local police and ask for help at the Chinese embassy and consulates in case of an emergency.
Mongtan Middle School students participate in a rock-climbing session at the Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute in Seoul on May 10. /Korea Times Photo by Kim Se-jeong



By Kim Se-jeong

On May 10, students from Mongtan Middle School in Muan, South Jeolla Province, spent a day at the foot of Mount Bukhan in northeastern Seoul, making wooden nest boxes for wild birds.

Divided into groups of five or six, they nailed pieces of wood together into boxes at the Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute and attached the boxes to trees out in the woods.

"I didn't expect making the box to be so fun," Kim Lee-sol, 14, said. "I feel great to be able to make a nesting place for birds."

After making boxes, Kim and her classmates rock climbed and learned Tyrolean traverse, a mountaineering activity, at the institute's compound.

Even though Korea is known for its casual weekend hikers, the Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute offers opportunities and activities that non-hikers can enjoy.

Public outreach is an important work of the institute for young and old. "One of our main jobs is to get young people interested in the mountain and hiking culture," said Hyun Byung-kwan, the education training chief at the institute.





Mongtan Middle School students make wooden nest boxes for wild birds at the institute./Korea Times Photo by Kim Se-jeong



Programs for youth

The institute's programs for young children have a strong educational focus, with the hope of inspiring them to make a career out of mountaineering.

It invites students to workshops on plants and animals, history of national parks, mountain safety and environmentally-friendly building codes. The students learn to trace wild animals through their excrements, distinguish local species of plants from exotic ones and give a national park tour. The institute's pool of professional trainers assists the students on the trails.

The institute also has many partner schools in the city, and the students take part in its outdoor activities as part of their extra-curricular activities.

Some students join the program as volunteers.

The Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute has a one-day program that lets children make wooden next boxes for wild birds and collect exotic species of plants  they make T-shirts with the plants.

For children who want more adventure, the institute offers mountain exploration, mountain climbing and mountain hiking sessions, during which the participants learn hiking basics, including CPR and emergency management skills.

The institute offers over-night programs where the participants can stay at its facilities.

In these programs, professional trainers, who are certified by the institute, teach them mountain exploration, interacting with nature, identifying species and making T-shirts and arts and crafts.

People dry their calligraphy during an eco-brunch session, a popular program offered by the institute./Courtesy of Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute



Programs for adults

The Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute isn't just for children. It also provides programs for adults.

The eco-brunch is a popular program, giving elementary mountain exploration, an organic lunch and a short afternoon activity in four hours. The afternoon activities include calligraphy, photography and poetry writing. People also enjoy the Korean dishes made with organic ingredients.

The program, which costs 20,000 won is offered only to a group of guests who make up their own program.

Participants of the eco-brunch have commented that they enjoyed the institute's fun activities, the tranquility of the surroundings, and the quality time shared with their friends and colleagues.

The institute now wants to invite those who need to relieve their stress without traveling far outside Seoul.

The institute opens its facilities to family guests for an affordable over-night stay, during which guests can enjoy the various outdoor activities, mentioned above, with the help of trainers.

A man tries a Tyrolean traverse, a mountaineering activity, at the institute./Courtesy of Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute



How to participate in the programs

Mongtan Middle School teacher Lee Hyung-joon said the quality of the programs made him choose the institute as a field trip destination for his students.

"I am glad to see students enjoying their time so much. I am happy that we have chosen this," Lee said.

Opened in 2011, the Bukhansan Eco-Learning Institute is affiliated with the Korea National Park Service, which opened another eco-learning institute at Mount Jiri in 2015.

For more information about the Bukhansan Eco-learning Institute and for reservations, visit https://eco-institute.knps.or.kr/index.do or www.knps.or.kr.

Reservation is required to participate in the programs and use the facilities.






A clay rose made by Korean adoptees in memory of Phillip Clay protests Holt Korea's "irresponsibility."



By You Soo-sun

Holt Children's Services in Korea is being criticized by the Korean adoptee community, after the funeral service it held for Phillip Clay  a deported Korean adoptee  Tuesday and Wednesday. The remarks made by its chairwoman, Molly Holt, about Clay are at the height of the criticism; adoptees have described her comments as "insensitive" and "irresponsible," and they highlight the agency's disregard of the adoptee community.

Adoptees, at the service Wednesday, raised issues with Holt regarding its handling of Clay's funeral, which may be summed up in three arguments.

First, they argue that Holt Children's Services had resisted holding the funeral for Clay until the Korea Adoption Services intervened and said it was necessary and co-hosted the event.

Secondly, the agency refused to have the service in English, the common language for the adoptee community. Even when an official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare pleaded with Holt agency, it allegedly refused. Later, an English translation was provided by an employee of the Korea Adoption Services.

What sparked the greatest anger happened during Clay's cremation.

At the cremation, John Compton, a board member of the Korea Adoption Services and a fellow adoptee expressed his discontent with the adoption agency.

"We stand here today, to honor another fallen adoptee, a life an adoption agency vowed to protect. It is with regret they have failed Phillip."

He also said that "this funeral is a perfect example that, as adoptees, our best interests are still being ignored."

"I urge the ones who vowed to protect Phillip, to effect change to prevent the loss of another precious life. Rest in peace Phillip," he said, referring to the Holt agency.

According to adoptees present during the ceremony, Molly Holt responded to his statement with smears, including remarks that Clay, during his visit to Holt Services the prior week, had used all its paper and ink. The agency paid for the taxi he took to its office, which Molly Holt also allegedly complained about.

The word quickly spread to other adoptees in Korea and abroad.

David M. Warburton, a Korean adoptee in Canada, said he was "appalled" at Holt Children Services' intention not to hold a memorial for Clay.












A portrait of Phillip Clay, a deported Korean-American adoptee, is displayed at his funeral, Tuesday, in Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. He allegedly committed suicide, Sunday. / Courtesy of Simone Eun Mi



Korean-American's death reflects hardship facing adoptees



By You Soo-sun

A deported Korean-American adoptee was found dead in an apparent suicide in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, officials said.

Phillip Clay, 42, was found dead around 11:40 p.m., Sunday, outside an apartment building in Ilsan, according to officials from Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (G.O.A'.L), a non-governmental organization run by adoptees in Seoul.

While a police investigation is underway, surveillance camera footage reportedly showed he was alone in the elevator when he went up to the 14th floor of the building he jumped from, alluding to suicide.

The funeral was held at Myongji Hospital by Holt Children's Services Inc in Korea. Around 30 people attended his funeral, including representatives from adoptee organizations such as KoRoot and Adoptee Solidarity Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

According to AK Salling, secretary general for G.O.A'.L, he was not well known by the adoptee community in Korea. On Wednesday, however, a Christian ceremony took place at the same hospital, where other adoptees visited.

Clay was deported from the United States to Korea in 2012. Adopted by an American family at age 10, Clay never attained American citizenship, a common problem that generations of Korean adoptees face in the U.S. His difficulties, however, did not end there. He was deported to Korea in 2012 and suffered from psychological issues, a prevalent feature in the lives of many adoptees.












By Kim Bo-eun



Danish authorities said late Wednesday Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter Choi Soon-sil, former President Park Geun-hye's longtime friend, will be repatriated to Korea. The confirmation of Chung's extradition comes 144 days after she was arrested in Denmark's northern city of Aalborg, for staying there illegally.



Chung, 21, had filed an appeal to the high court, after a district court ruled in support of her extradition.



Korea's justice ministry said Thursday that it was notified by its Danish counterpart that Chung had dropped her appeal.



She is presumed to have dropped the appeal based on the judgment that the high court would be unlikely to overturn the lower court's ruling.



Korean and Danish authorities are discussing the date of Chung's extradition. According to Danish law, this should take place within 30 days after the decision is made.



Chung will remain detained until she is returned.



Because there is no direct flight between Denmark and Korea, Chung will have to make a stopover in a third country, from which authorities need approval to make the transfer. She will either be escorted by Danish officials or Korean officials who could be sent there to bring her back.



Chung will be taken to the prosecution for questioning when she enters the country. Prosecutors will likely seek an arrest warrant to detain her, as she needs to undergo extensive questioning. She has not yet been questioned by the authorities as she was abroad when the investigation into the scandal involving her mother took place.



Choi's lawyers, including Lee Kyung-jae, will represent Chung when she returns.



Chung has been charged with obstruction of work, based on allegations that she received favors in admission and grades at Ewha Womans University. She is also allegedly involved in Samsung's provision of funds for her training expenses as a dressage competitor. Chung has denied the allegations.



Her alleged accomplices _ her mother Choi and former Ewha President Choi Kyung-hee, as well as professor Kim Kyung-sook _ have been indicted and are on trial.



Earlier, an independent counsel team investigating the presidential scandal involving Choi had requested the extradition of Chung, but she refused and the counsel team extended the expiration date of her arrest warrant to August 2023. Chung cited her refusal was because she would be separated from her 23-month-old son when she arrives in Korea.



On March 17 when the Danish prosecution decided to extradite Chung, she filed a suit with a local court. However, the court supported the extradition, April 19.



Chung had filed an appeal with a higher court and the hearing was set to take place June 8.








A customer has won a case against Starbucks Korea for falsely promising to provide free daily coffee for a year to 100 competition winners. / Korea Times file



By Eom Da-sol

A Seoul court on Wednesday ordered Starbucks Korea to give a woman the money to buy a coffee daily for a year after she sued the brand for a false announcement.

Starbucks last December launched a competition to encourage people to share photos of their drinks online. The company promised a free cup of coffee every day for a year to 100 randomly selected winners.

The unidentified plaintiff, one of the winners, claimed the company did not offer her 365 coffee coupons, only one. Starbucks told her the prize was "mistakenly written" and originally intended to promise just one tall coffee to winners.

The woman demanded Starbucks make a public apology about the mistake, but the U.S.-based global coffee giant refused. She sued the company, demanding compensation of 2.3 million won ($ 2,050), which is the cost of 364 cups of coffee, excluding the cup the company offered.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered Starbucks to compensate the woman with the money on the grounds the company had promised the winners the prize.

"Starbucks may be an international brand but that does not give it the right to excuse itself easily from the responsibility," the woman's lawyer Choi Su-jin said.

Choi won a case against U.S.-based ice-cream parlor chain Baskin Robbins in 2010 over a prize the company reneged on. Choi won a competition that promised flights and two nights in a hotel. But the brand changed the prize to "one-night travel only."

Choi sued and the company was ordered to compensate her with two nights' accommodation and the lawsuit costs.
A South Korean female naval officer died in an apparent suicide earlier this week after being allegedly raped by a senior colleague, the Navy said Thursday.

Military police arrested the Navy captain who admitted to having sex with her. But he has denied the allegation of sexual assault, according to the Navy.

The lieutenant of the Navy's headquarters at the Gyeryongdae compound, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, was found dead at her single-room home at around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. She apparently hung herself, said the Navy.

A note was discovered, reading, "I won't be in this world probably tomorrow." She did not return to work after a leave, with no contact available.

She reportedly told a civilian friend earlier that she had been raped.

The Navy withheld personal information on the suspect and the victim including their names and ages. (Yonhap)
Multicultural children from Itaewon Elementary School in Seoul. / Korea Times file



By Eom Da-sol

The North Gyeongsang Province Education Office said Wednesday it will run a mentoring program and an art program to help multicultural children achieve their dreams.

The office said it had prepared the programs to encourage the children to feel more included in society and to support their careers.

In the mentoring program, 261 students from eight universities in the province will be offered academic help and counseling on personal or school problems. Over 950 students applied for the program.

Daegu National University of Education will be in charge of the art program that will involve 80 multicultural students from this month to December. The program offers drawing and painting lessons.

Thirty-seven percent of multicultural students in Korea said they were bullied at school, according to a National Human Rights Commission of Korea survey in 2011.

"The education office has been seeking a solution to integrate multicultural students into Korean society," an education office official said. "The education office will continue its effort to enhance support for multicultural children."

According to the office, about 2.6 percent of students in province schools are from multicultural families, increasing from 6,570 last year to 7,120.
By Choi Ha-young



Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the progressive Justice Party called for the abolition of the clause in the Military Criminal Act banning homosexual acts between soldiers.



According to the 6th clause of Article 92 of the act, soldiers caught having sex are subject to up to two years imprisonment.



Unlike other clauses in the act that stipulate sexual relations in military camps involving "assaults" or "threats" that are subject to punishment, the controversial clause doesn't mention violence. Human rights advocates have pointed out the act's unconstitutionality in that it recklessly criminalizes homosexual soldiers' sexual relations.



The revision bill aims to remove the clause. "It violates personal liberty. Also, as seen by the case in the United States, it's groundless to say homosexuality undermines the discipline and capacity of the army," Kim said. Ten lawmakers signed the revision bill, including all six Justice Party lawmakers.



Kim cited the global human rights trend in favor of homosexuality. "Universal Periodic Review under the United Nations recommended abolition of the clause in 2012. The United Nations Human Rights Committee echoed this in 2015," the military expert-turned lawmaker said.



The discriminatory act rendered a ruling Tuesday where an army captain was sentenced to six months of imprisonment suspended for one year for having sex with his gay partner by mutual consent. However, he has been taken into custody for questioning on suspicion of "sexual assault." The soldier had sex in private places when he was off duty.



If the conviction is confirmed, the captain is supposed to be expelled from the army right away. Originally, he was supposed to be discharged Wednesday.



"Once the judgment was passed against him, the soldier collapsed from shock and hurt his head. He was taken to a military hospital," the chief of the Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) Lim Tae-hoon, who revealed the case, posted on Facebook.



To advocate for the soldier, the Justice Party requested the National Assembly to file a petition, and 12 lawmakers of the 299 supported the soldier.



"We welcome the Taiwanese judiciary's decision to legalize same sex marriage," party spokesman Han Chang-min said, Wednesday. "The Assembly should pass the revision bill as soon as possible. It's the lawmakers' duty to sweep away unjust discrimination."



"The CMHRK is aiming for a judgment of the unconstitutionality of the act," a center activist Kim Hyung-nam said.




Chinese authorities will continue to crack down on illegal live-streaming platforms and banned content. In a recent nationwide inspection of 50 major live-streaming platforms, 48 were penalized and 10 were shut down completely. More than 30,000 hosts and performers were punished, the Ministry of Culture announced.

A number of online platforms that broadcast obscene content were shut down, and 12 suspects are being criminally investigated, the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications announced.

The office said it would blacklist broadcasters who spread pornography during live-streaming, and those on the blacklist will be barred from the entire industry. It also urged operators of live-streaming platforms to vet their content more thoroughly, and to immediately block any illegal streams.
Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon covers a microphone with his hand as he listens to an aide during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, Thursday. / Yonhap



By Kim Hyo-jin



The National Assembly is likely to endorse Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon who made his way through the two-day confirmation hearing without any critical flaws being exposed.



It is highly expected that the parties will adopt a parliamentary report on the hearing today at the earliest, before voting on a motion to approve him during a plenary session scheduled for May 29 and 31.



As soon as Lee receives a letter of appointment from President Moon Jae-in, following parliamentary approval, he will start work.



Moon has vowed to strengthen the role of the prime minister to move away from an "imperial presidency" that breeds abuse of power.



According to his chief press secretary, Moon is set to allow the prime minister to recommend candidates for ministers, which had remained a mere titular authority despite it being stated in the Constitution.



With Lee's endorsement looming, Moon is expected to accelerate filling remaining ministerial and deputy posts.



Lee said during the hearing that his opinion has already been delivered to Moon, and the appointment of former female lieutenant colonel Pee Woo-jin to be minister of patriots and veterans affairs was the result of their consultation.



But he implied that he will exert his authority cautiously, saying, "If a president follows whatever the prime minister asks him to, the basis of the Constitution could be undermined."



"I think what I can do is recommend whom I have confidence in and make a final call together with the President."

Lee, a former four-term lawmaker and journalist, has been grilled by opposition lawmakers over the allegations involving his family members during the two long days of testimony.



He emerged from about 20 hours of questioning largely unscathed. His performance was composed and humble. He did not dodge questions and answered fairly, leaving his inquisitors almost empty-handed.



When lawmakers repeatedly pressed him on an allegation that his son evaded military service with a possibly fake health condition, Lee calmly explained that a shoulder injury and multiple pituitary surgeries kept him from serving.

He responded with such remarks as "As a father, I feel terribly bad that my son is being talked about as such," "He has no choice but to live as a sinner."



The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) lawmakers also pushed the allegation that Lee's art teacher and painter wife temporarily changed her address to Gangnam, Seoul's wealthy suburb, to be assigned to one of the schools in the district in 1989.



Lee immediately conceded that she attempted to do so, saying "I'm sorry I did not notice it until the hearing."

He also said he feels "miserable" and "It was done based on a very silly thought."



Meanwhile, some lawmakers sought repeatedly to get a fix on the nominee's view about a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery deployed in the southeastern part of the country.



When asked if he would review the decision-making process about its deployment by the previous Park Geun-hye government, Lee said he intends to "investigate" the background of the decision.



"Factors to be considered are national security, the Korea-U.S. alliance, Korea-China relations, and procedural legitimacy. There was a flaw in the procedure so the plan reached a deadlock," he said. "The former government had cited nothing was decided or discussed, but later announced its deployment, placing unnecessary strain on Korea-China relations."



He also agreed with liberal lawmakers on the need to seek parliamentary approval before pushing the deployment of the system.



"He might have some issues about his family members, but there were no grounds for disqualification regarding his own life," a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea who attended the hearing said, speculating there would be no trouble in endorsing his appointment.



"Also, we highly appreciate his intention to become a more responsible and power-sharing prime minister and foster cooperative politics."
By Jun Ji-hye



President Moon Jae-in ordered government branches and ministries to better implement advice and recommendations made by the nation's human rights watchdog as part of efforts to improve basic human rights, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.



Moon made it clear that he will end the former governments' neglect of human rights, vowing to actively correct violations, according to Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.



The standing law stipulates the National Human Rights Commission of Korea's (NHRCK) ad hoc reporting on human rights to the President, but such reporting took place as a mere formality under the Lee Myung-bak administration and never took place under the Park Geun-hye government, Cho said.



"Moon will order the NHRCK to comprehensively inspect human rights at government institutions and regularly receive reports from the NHRCK," Cho said at a media briefing. "Moon expects the NHRCK to play a role as the guardian of human rights."



The presidential office said the first report to the President has yet to be scheduled, noting that it will be later decided through the consultation between Cheong Wa Dae and the NHRCK.



The President pointed out that some government agencies behaved inappropriately as they did not adhere to the core of the NHRCK's advice, while only accepting secondary recommendations, Cho said.



"This is a de facto refusal to accept the NHRCK's advice. The institutes need to eradicate this kind of behavior," Cho said.



To make government branches better follow the watchdog's advice, Moon directed his aides to consider evaluating the agencies by the rate that they accept recommendations.



Citing statistical data, Cho said that an absolute majority of human rights violations have taken place at police and other confinement facilities.



"I demand that police and confinement facilities come up with specific reform measures," Cho said.



The presidential secretary stressed that becoming human rights friendly will be an essential prerequisite for strengthening the police's investigation rights, referring to an issue of adjusting the investigative power between the police and the prosecution.



Police want the prosecutors' exclusive rights to indict, investigate and seek warrants to be decentralized through prosecutorial reform. This was a campaign pledge by Moon.



Cho added that Moon issued an order to strengthen the stature and role of the human rights watchdog right at the start of his administration as the President was a human rights lawyer and has been well aware of human rights violation-related problems.








President Moon Jae-in speaks during his first meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap



Secretaries told to feel free to say no' to President

By Jun Ji-hye

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he will not waste taxpayers' money on "private" functions.

Moon said Cheong Wa Dae can slash the so-called "costs for special activities" by as much as 42 percent, and the saved money will support job creation and neglected social groups.

The President made the decision while presiding over the first meeting with his senior secretaries since his May 10 inauguration.

A total of 18 officials, including Moon's chief of staff, national security adviser and policy chief attended the meeting.

Lee Joung-do, the presidential secretary for general affairs, told reporters that Moon will spend his own money for family meals and private goods in accordance with his determination to make a clear distinction between what can be paid for by tax payers' money and what cannot.

Presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said under such measures, Cheong Wa Dae will set an example for other government institutes to transparently use taxpayers' money.

Funds for special activities are given to government agencies to be used for activities requiring "confidentiality" such as intelligence operations and investigations.

Such funds are offered in cash, and those who use the money are not required to submit receipts in their expense reports.

Black budgets losing ground

Critics have raised questions that it is hard to know whether officials use such money in accordance with its initial purpose, claiming that the so-called "black budgets" can be linked to corruption.

The latest case that came into the spotlight last week was when Ahn Tae-geun, a former deputy minister for criminal affairs, and Lee Young-ryeol, a former head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, exchanged envelopes filled with dubious money during a dinner last month. Suspicions were raised that they used their special activities budgets for this, and Moon ordered an investigation into the affair, while demoting the two.

Lee Joung-do said a total of 16.1 billion won ($14.4 million) had been set aside for special activities for the presidential office, and as of May, 12.6 billion won remained unused.

"Of this, 5.3 billion won, or 42 percent of the total, will be used to support job creation for young people and help the disadvantaged," he said.

Job creation was Moon's top priority pledge during his campaign.

Lee added that Cheong Wa Dae will also reduce the special activities budgets for next year by 31 percent.

Spokesman Park said the move will mark the beginning of transparently using such budgets, and he expects other government agencies to follow suit.

"A relevant institutional system could also be introduced to improve transparency," he said, adding that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance will take charge of this.

During the meeting, the President also received reports from his secretaries about preparations for the South Korea-United States summit scheduled for late next month in Washington. He also discussed measures to support preparations for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

Moon said he will preside over meetings every Monday and Thursday, telling his aides to stop wasting time taking notes and to feel free to present opposing views to his statements on state affairs.

"President Moon stressed that the presidential secretary meeting should be a venue in which the President and his aides share their views about various issues and hold free-wheeling debates before making any decisions, rather than a venue in which the President unilaterally issues orders," Park said.

Moon pointed out that it is the "duty" of secretaries to oppose the President's views, asking participants to use laptop computers rather than wasting paper during future meetings, according to Park.
A commercial jet near London's Heathrow Airport flies in front of the moon on November 13, 2016. On May 26, the moon orbits closer to the earth than usual, becoming a "super moon." / Korea Times File



By Lee Han-soo

A "super moon" will be visible on Friday, according to the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency (KHOA).

At its closest, the moon will be about 357,000 kilometers from the earth, making it a so-called "super moon." The usual average distance is 384,400 kilometers.

The last time the moon was as close was on Nov. 14, 2016.

The KHOA warned costal residents to take precautions as the super moon is expected to create huge tides.

"Although the moon will be physically close to the earth, it may not look as big as people expect because factors such as atmosphere affect its appearance," an expert told Yonhap News Agency.
This is the sixth in a series of interviews with international experts on Korea giving advice to President Moon Jae-in on how to overcome challenges and create a better future for the Korean people.  ED.

By Kim Jae-kyoung

Tara O

President Moon Jae-in should utilize the right balance of "carrot and stick" to make North Korea behave, according to Tara O, an adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies).

She said that besides carrots, the new President needs some sticks for his policy options to secure flexibility in his approach to North Korea and prompt the reclusive country to abandon its nuclear program.

"Like any president looking out for national security and the welfare of his or her own country and its citizens, Moon should consider all options," O said in an interview.

She pointed out that Moon's stated position up to now focuses on rewards only, citing his campaign pledges of the reopening of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the forming of a federation with North Korea.

"All of these policies focus on rewarding the North Korean regime, but none of them will hold Kim Jong-un accountable for its continued Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) development or suppression of human rights in North Korea," she said.

"For its North Korea policy, the Moon administration should consider all policy options, not just carrots," she added.

O said that returning to the Sunshine Policy of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations won't be the solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.

In the 1990s and the 2000s, despite the South's unconditional financial aid to the North, Pyongyang criticized the pro-North Korea approach as Seoul's effort to unify Korea through absorption, and made far more progress on its nuclear and missiles development.

"So to go back to that policy doesn't seem promising as a way to tackle North Korea's nuclear threat," she said.

O is a retired U.S. Air Force officer. She worked on numerous assignments in Asia, Europe, and the U.S., including the Pentagon and U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command.

To come up with effective options, O suggests that Moon "conduct a careful review of the sanctions implication of reopening the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and apply the lessons learned, including emphasis on reciprocity, transparency, and accountability on both sides of the DMZ."
By Doug Bandow





After sharply criticizing China during the campaign, President Donald Trump has embraced his Chinese counterpart. But who knows how long his expressions of goodwill will last.



Dominant powers rarely give way graciously. Great Britain only reluctantly accepted America's rise and refused to similarly yield to the emerging German giant on the European continent. The U.S. has ringed China with bases and forces.



Conflict often results during power transitions. It took two world wars to sort out Britain's and Germany's roles.

The U.S. and People's Republic of China have yet to come to blows, but escalating tensions before Trump took office highlighted the dangers of estrangement. Washington continues to insist on running the globe, but Beijing is in no mood to kowtow to America.



Since the end of the Cold War the latter has been the most aggressive nation on earth. However, Washington has grown used to battling military midgets such as Iraq. And most of these conflicts ended unsatisfactorily, sometimes even embarrassingly.



Backing into war with the PRC would be far worse. China possesses nuclear weaponsfar fewer than in America's arsenal, but enough to loose mass death and destruction on any nation targeted. The People's Liberation Army would be no pushover, and the PRC is far too big to conquer, occupy, and remake.



Nor is the international climate conducive for American dominance. The Obama administration managed to reverse Richard Nixon's great strategic opening to the PRC and pushed Russia and China together against the U.S. America's allies and Beijing's neighbors are not enthused about the potential for conflict.



Worse, even victory in war would only set the stage for future conflict, just as the Versailles Treaty ending World War I proved to be but a truce for a generation. Beijing and Washington need to peer into the future, however darkly, and choose a different course.



The U.S. should learn from Great Britain's policy toward the rabidly nationalistic rising giant on the North American continent. After fighting two wars with its one-time colonists, Britain wisely chose peace.



London settled border disputes despite America's unreasonable demands; accepted an arbitrary diktat excluding European powers from Latin America; ignored American maritime violations of neutral rights during the Civil War; and accepted U.S. naval parity and eventual superiority. The resulting international partnership endures today.



Unfortunately, the incoming Trump administration originally veered toward conflict. The president-elect almost triggered a trade war, assumed that Beijing could be bullied into imposing regime change in Pyongyang, and challenged the PRC with U.S. encouragement of Taiwanese independence.



Campaign adviser and former CIA Director James Woolsey proposed "a grand bargain in which the U.S. accepts China's political and social structure and commits not to disrupt it in any way in exchange for China's commitment not to challenge the status quo in Asia." However, that's no deal from the PRC's standpoint.



Despite Chinese insecurities, there's little in practice that Washington can do to overthrow the quasi-fascist regime which currently governs China. And for a rising power which may eventually match U.S. economic and military strength to complacently accept permanent American dominance along its border would be intolerable.



Imagine London insisting that residents of the U.S. acquiesce to British naval patrols up the East Coast. Britain dictating American behavior toward Cuba and other nearby territories. British military bases in Mexico, Canada, and throughout the Caribbean. Public debates in London about the potential for war with the U.S. America's reaction would not have been polite.



Washington has been almost frivolously courting conflict. There is no clash of fundamental interests. Beijing is not threatening to invade America or seize America's Pacific possessions. There is no danger of military domination of Eurasia.



The U.S. has legitimate interests in East Asia, but they are limited. Free navigation, which the PRC has not threatened. Commercial cyberwar, which apparently has been tamed by agreement. Abusive trade practices, though the U.S. is no economic virgin.



Violation of human rights, but Washington ignores equal crimes in Saudi Arabia, Central Asia, Egypt, and other "friendly" states. Security of allied nations, though Beijing has threatened the independence of no state other than Taiwan, which historically was controlled by China. And North Korea, but Washington's containment strategy long has discouraged Chinese action against Beijing's sole military ally.



None of these cases warrant the possibility of war.



When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited President Trump changed his tune, offering almost obsequious praise of his guest. But America's mercurial chief executive could return to a policy of bluster and provocation. Peaceful relations are a must. The security of America and its allies is at stake.





Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan.
Labor reform essential to ease unemployment woes



Morning newspapers ran a picture on the front page showing President Moon Jae-in checking an electronic bulletin board at his office Thursday. The employment situation board consists of two large panels, one of which showed 18 indicators related to jobs such as the youth unemployment rate. The other panel displayed the two-year trend of those 18 indicators.



The installation of the board is one of Moon's campaign promises. It's not wrong for the president to show the people he is doing his best to create jobs.



Moon's strong eagerness to tackle the unemployment problem is laudable, given our serious jobless woes. The overall unemployment rate is the highest since 2000. So Moon is right when he stresses the need for the government to make up for failures in the job market.



But it's a different story if the new leader instructs his staff to update the employment trends at the conglomerates on the board. Given that bureaucrats' whims can change a corporation's fate overnight, the president's everyday monitoring of their employment status will be quite burdensome.



This might work in the short run but will do more harm than good eventually. If some companies suffer from financial difficulties as a result of increasing employment under administrative pressure, will the government bail them out?



Moon's job policy has already been in doubt. He promised to ensure full-time positions for all employees in the public sector during his visit to Incheon International Airport earlier this month.



But keeping the promise is easier said than done. First of all, it's not clear how to finance the increased personnel expenses. Current full-time union members need to make concessions to share some of the pain, such as taking wage cuts, but this possibility is not high. The unemployment crisis for young people could go from bad to worse as public organizations cannot afford new employees.



Moon's campaign pledge to create 810,000 public-sector jobs is also drawing complaints because of the huge financial resources needed to attain the goal, on top of the public's concern about a bigger government.



The new administration is pressing for the abolition of the performance-based salary system the Park Geun-hye administration was forcing on employees at public organizations notorious for lax work ethics and low efficiency. This will result in ensuring their vested interests at a time when the current seniority-based wage system is no longer tenable.



The fundamental reason for the jobless woes is low growth, which has been partly caused by companies' reluctance to invest amid labor unrest and cumbersome regulations.



Coercing private companies to hire workers will hardly help resolve the jobless problem. The government needs to make the labor market flexible through labor reform so that companies won't feel burdened through the new employment. Korea is the only country in the world not following this global trend.




By Donald Kirk





Everybody's talking about overtures to Pyongyang. Informal talks, secret talks, talks about talks  then, somewhere in everyone's pet solution, comes the killer line: Pyongyang has to "freeze" its missile-and-nuclear program before real talking begins.

It's unlikely Kim Jong-un will "freeze" anything, but here's an idea. Remember that enormous triangular-shaped building that dominates the Pyongyang skyline? That's right, the Ryugyong Hotel, 105 stories, 330 meters high, never opened, a monument to failure.

The Ryugyong is celebrating an anniversary of sorts. Well, maybe not a celebration, just a rueful reminder of high hopes and wild dreams sacrificed on the altar of dictatorial fantasies. Yes, it was 30 years ago this year that construction began. The job was to have been done in two years, but then came the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and its east European satellites  and the end of Soviet support of the North Korean economy.

But wait. Isn't Donald Trump one of the world's best known real estate tycoons? And wasn't he world famous, long before his presidency, for sprawling towers that bear his name? Wouldn't Trump have the resources to turn the Ryugyong into the ultimate Trump Tower  a monument not only to the late Kim Jong-il, who ordered construction of what he saw as fitting symbolism of his power, but also to Trump, looking for any "option" to prevent Korean War II.

Trump probably wouldn't get to see his name flashing in lights atop the pinnacle of this particular Trump Tower. The Ryugyong would retain its original name even though by now the word is a reminder not of national success but of the stupidity of a vainglorious leader who passed on his vanity to his son and heir, Kim Jong-un.

Surely, though, Trump could offer a deal whereby "Trump" would be all over the place, in restaurants and nightclubs, even on a casino like the one in the basement of the Yanggakdo Hotel, a holding place for tourists on a sheltered island in the Daedong River. Trump himself could attend the opening, standing beside Kim Jong-un, the man with whom he once said he'd like to have a hamburger.

There might be some technical hazards beyond those of fixing elevators that are out of line, cracking walls, a leaking sewer system and a shaky foundation. Trump would also have to circumvent sanctions imposed on North Korea by the UN for all those nuclear and missile tests, and he would need to consider the conflict-of-interest inherent in investing in such a massive project while still in office.

Not to worry. These obstacles should not be a problem for a man who thinks, as president, he doesn't have to abide by the rules. Can't he always say, "Look, I can forget about sanctions when our national interest is at stake."

As for Trump's personal self-interest, he should have no problem delegating his kids, and maybe son-in-law Jared Kushner's sister, with the formidable task of making the Ryugyong the greatest of Trump towers. They'd love to do the honors in anticipation of the profits from a facility that would rank as the world's third tallest hotel after a couple in Dubai.

Sure, the nasty media would be writing exposes all over the place on one prolonged scandal after another. New York Times columnists would go into overdrive decrying the awfulness of Trump. But blathering aside, what could they do to stop his family from profiting from the deal  that is, assuming North Korea would part with a percentage of the earnings?

All Trump would have to say, in the face of media yapping, would be, "This is amazing, this is the greatest hotel on the planet."

Ok, there would still be that nagging problem that gets in the way of any agreement with the North. Would Kim Jong-un suspend, much less abandon, his precious nukes and missiles while Trump made the Ryugyong the centerpiece of Pyongyang business and social life, not to mention an attraction for hordes of free-spending Chinese?

Trump's people would have to agree, "No preconditions," before getting the contract Trump himself would count on good-will flowing from his generosity as the best guarantee that Kim would never fire one of those missiles at a real live target.

But suppose Kim persisted in testing long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the U.S.? Trump could then retaliate  preemptively  by ordering cruise missile strikes against the whole pathetic edifice. Even as a heap of rubble, the Ryugyong would be his greatest legacy.





Donald Kirk, www.donaldkirk.com, has visited Pyongyang five times, each time seeing the Ryugyong looming above the capital. He's at kirkdon4343@gmail.com
This is the second of experts' letters to President Moon Jae-in on various economic topics.  ED.



Dear President Moon,



During your campaign, it was a relief to hear you speak of Korea's use of ActiveX, Internet Explorer and the national certificate system.





Joshua James

Many Koreans and immigrants hate the old, difficult systems that government websites have created. From a technology perspective, these systems keep Korea behind the rest of the world. From a business perspective, Korea misses huge foreign commerce opportunities.



The problem, of course, is the cost to the government and businesses to move away from these technologies. The government will need to spend trillions of won on systems and training; the new systems will take a long time to develop; and their creation will bring a whole new set of challenges to both usability and security.



Cybersecurity in Korea is almost nonexistent. All cybersecurity knowledge is owned by a few companies or government organizations. These experts often cannot actually help to secure Korea because their bosses don't understand or care about the problem.



For example, for the past several years there has been security vulnerability in Korean internet service providers that could potentially disable internet in almost every Korean home and business. Foreign security researchers know about it. The Korea Internet & Security Agency knows about it. Intelligence and military agencies must know about it. But the vulnerability in Korean national critical infrastructure still exists.



From a national security perspective, I worry that North Korea, or anyone else, might use such vulnerabilities to disable communications on a national scale in coordination with a physical assault. Despite Korea's backup systems and yearly waste-of-time mock invasion, most government agencies and all citizens would be disoriented and vulnerable.



My point here is that national security concerns seem to completely overlook cybersecurity. Various cybersecurity laws in Korea appear to have been created purely for political power, and do little to secure Korean citizens. These laws need to be reevaluated.



Cyber law, especially related to personal privacy rights and requirements for businesses, need to be strengthened. Laws and services targeting social issues like cyberbullying need to be strengthened while removing easily-abused libel law. This will lead to better, more productive online culture where ideas can be shared.



All websites must stop requiring users to download random software to secure their systems. This teaches people to click yes on everything, which contributes to cyberattacks later. Government websites are currently the worst offenders for requiring the installation of random, unknown software.



Korea needs to be more accepting of hackers and security professionals. Legislation restricts how security researchers can report security incidents or vulnerabilities to vulnerable Korean companies.



Very often a hacker has to decide whether to work with the Korean government  and possibly be arrested for hacking a Korean business _ or not work with the Korean government, and make money off of found vulnerabilities. The government should help make a culture of openness about security issues, where businesses will accept, and even promote vulnerability assessments of their products.



Another social issue that Koreans need to consider is internet censorship. Censors often claim that they are protecting Korean morality, but such a subjective definition means that censorship practices can change and be abused by each new administration. It is time that Korea should reexamine the censorship issue and determine if such high levels of censorship impedes articles 22 and 31 of the Korean Constitution.



So Mr. President, it was great to hear you discussing internet usability issues. And solving that problem is a step in the right direction. But in terms of cybersecurity, national security and social issues online, Korea is failing. To solve these problems, government culture first needs to change. Then law needs to change. Then education needs to change. It's not easy, but if you want the best future for Korea, it's worth it.



Sincerely yours,

Joshua James, professor at Hallym University's legal informatics and forensic institute.
BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has asked society to learn from renowned geophysicist Huang Danian, who made outstanding contributions in education and scientific research.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a written instruction praising Huang's contribution to the nation.

Xi said Huang devoted his life to national prosperity and revival and people's wellbeing.

He called on the public to follow the example of Huang, learning from his patriotism, professional dedication, and the noble spirit of being indifferent to fame and wealth while dedicated to the country.

"People should put their patriotism and aspirations into the great course of reform and development," Xi said, asking ordinary people to do their jobs well, and contribute to the realization of the nation's two centenary goals and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Huang, known for his expertise in deep earth exploration technology, studied and worked in Britain for 18 years before returning to China in 2009. Over the ensuing years, he helped China soar in a number of technical fields, transforming the nation into one of the world's leaders in deep earth exploration.

Huang died from illness aged 58 on Jan. 8.
By Lee Min-hyung



Seoul Semiconductor filed Thursday a patent-infringement suit against Mouser Electronics, an electronic components retailer based in the United States.



The Seoul-based light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturer filed the lawsuit in a Dusseldorf court in Germany, as the U.S. company sold products from the Taiwan-based LED maker Everlight, which allegedly breached Seoul Semiconductor's mid-power LED patent, the Korean company said in a statement.



This is not the first time Everlight has been brought to a court over a similar patent violation allegation. The company is facing lawsuits in the U.S., Japan, Germany and China.



The latest move is part of a wakeup call for product manufacturers as well as their retailers, urging them not to violate patents.



"Seoul Semiconductor will continue to take a hard-line stance and file a lawsuit against the global LED behemoth, in an industry-wide effort to build an environment where intellectual property is protected," a company official said.



If Seoul Semiconductor wins the suit, the German court is expected to order Mouser to recall items it sold and not to sell the same products again.



Last year, the company won a patent suit in the U.S. against Japan-based lens maker Enplas. At that time, a California court ruled Enplas should pay $4 million for breaching a patent for Seoul Semiconductor's LED backlight technology.



In 2016, the company also won a suit against U.S.-based LED television manufacturer Craig Electronics. The exact compensation has not been revealed.



The global LED industry is in a fierce rivalry with the rise of numerous Chinese makers. For this reason, existing LED giants are stepping up their criticism and going all-out to win patent lawsuits.



"The LED industry is all about who obtains high-end technologies, with their protections remaining one of the top priorities for existing players," a Seoul Semiconductor official said.



The company generated 57 billion won in operating profit last year, up 25 percent from a year earlier.




Hyundai Motor's commercial vehicle division president Han Seong-kwon, third from left, poses with Transport Vice Minister Choi Jeong-ho, fourth from left, and other guests during a ceremony to unveil the carmaker's first electric-powered bus, Elec City, at Hyundai Motor Studio in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



By Lee Hyo-sik

Hyundai Motor has unveiled its first electric-powered bus to solidify its grip on the nation's commercial vehicle market and deal with increasingly tightening rules on car emissions.

Korea's largest carmaker said Thursday it will begin selling the Elec City next year. It strives to introduce more eco-friendly, fuel-efficient buses and trucks to strike a balance with its larger passenger vehicle business.

It held a ceremony to unveil the all-electric bus during the Hyundai Truck & Business Mega Fair at the Hyundai Motor Studio in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Elec City, powered by a 256-kilowatt lithium polymer battery, can run for 290 kilometers on a single charge, according to the company, which said it takes about 67 minutes to fully recharge the bus. Hyundai has been developing the bus since 2010.

The company expects the vehicle will be popular once on sale, quickly replacing diesel engine buses as the government moves to reduce vehicular emissions to alleviate the worsening fine dust problem. An increasing number of charging stations nationwide will also help boost the sales of Elec City and the firm's other electric vehicles.

"In 2016, Hyundai sold 102,000 buses, trucks and other commercial cars in 130 countries," said Han Seong-kwon, president of the firm's commercial vehicle division. "We would like to sell 3,000 more this year."

Han said the company will increase its investment to develop more fuel-efficient, eco-friendly and safe commercial vehicles, adding it will increase the fuel economy by up to 30 percent.

During the four-day fair, which ends Sunday, Hyundai will exhibit 190 commercial vehicles, both mass-produced and prototypes, for public view.

Visitors also can test drive some of the trucks on designated roads and take part in other events aimed at informing the public more about commercial vehicles.

"The fair is the first of its kind in Korea, providing a fresh impetus to many who have mostly been to motor shows dealing with passenger cars," a Hyundai Motor official said. "It will raise public awareness of commercial vehicles, and help strengthen our leadership in the segment."
Jung Myung-ok, Cheong-Kwan-Jang store manager in Myeong-dong / Courtesy of Korea Ginseng Corp.



By Lee Hyo-sik

Red ginseng extract, powder and other products have long been on the top of foreign visitors' shopping lists. But for many it is not entirely an easy task to buy the right ones at the right prices.

A Cheong-Kwan-Jang store, located in the heart of Myeong-dong, a popular shopping district for inbound tourists, has emerged as a must-visit place for those seeking to purchase high-quality, premium red ginseng goods at affordable prices. Cheong-Kwan-Jang is Korea Ginseng Corp.'s (KGC) flagship brand.

Veteran manager Jung Mong-ok, who greets at least 50 non-Korean customers daily and preaches about the health benefits of red ginseng, such as boosting the immune system, is the secret behind the shop's success. For the past three years during which Jung has been managing the shop, the number of customers has steadily increased, regardless of market conditions.

"The best part of my job is to interact every day with customers from many different countries," she said. "Our shop is very uniquely positioned as about 80 percent of our customers are non-Korean, while the rest of the Cheong-Kwan-Jang shops rely mostly on local individual and corporate buyers."

Jung said some foreign customers have become regular buyers.

"Chinese, Japanese and other foreign visitors first buy our red ginseng products as a gift for their families and friends back home. Once they try Cheong-Kwan-Jang, they realize our red ginseng items actually work to improve their health," the manager said. "Some of them then became regulars, visiting our shop when they come to Korea."

According to many research studies, ginseng's main remedial effects include strengthening the immune system, stamina and blood circulation. Ginseng's saponin component is known to invigorate the body.

Favorite items vary by nationality, according to Jung, who said Chinese prefer dried red ginseng, and ginseng extract and powder.

"Many Japanese customers buy red ginseng tea, powder and capsules, which are mostly low-priced items. Those from Hong Kong and Singapore want high-priced products," the manager said. "Tourists from Southeast Asia choose mostly powdered products, while Westerners want tablets that are easy to swallow without having to experience ginseng's bitter taste. It is surprising to witness the growing number of customers from Western nations who are aware of the Cheong-Kwan-Jang brand."

Jung said she encourages foreign buyers to sample various ginseng products and choose what they want because it is hard for her to explain each item in detail.

"Even though I can speak English, Japanese and Chinese, it is still difficult to explain to customers in detail," she said. "We have free Wi-Fi so that shoppers can search for necessary information online and make informed buying decisions. I really hope that more and more foreign tourists visit our shops and become healthy by consuming our red ginseng products."
(Xinhua) 17:16, May 25, 2017

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with the United States to realize balanced development of trade and investment, a research report by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

"Looking into the future, China is willing to make joint efforts with the United States to encourage Chinese enterprises to participate in U.S. infrastructure construction, further open up markets, promote two-way investment and advance bilateral investment treaty negotiations to further strengthen China-US trade and economic cooperation at local levels," said the Research Report on China-US Economic and Trade Relations.

China will also consider increasing imports from the United States in agricultural products, energy, high-tech products and services, to increase the total benefits while realizing a balanced development of trade and investment, according to the report.

Both China and the United States benefit from trade and economic cooperation. China has maintained a trade surplus in goods, but the United States has also gained tangible benefits.

China is the United States' largest export market outside North America, and an important export destination for soybeans, cotton, aircraft, automobiles and integrated circuits. In 2016, the United States had a trade surplus in agricultural products of 16.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Over the past 10 years, the average growth rate of U.S. exports to China was nearly three times the growth rate of U.S. exports as a whole, and twice the growth rate of China's exports to the United States.

The United States has maintained a long-term surplus in service trade. In 2016, the United States exported 51 movies to China, obtaining revenue of 16 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese tourists and students in the United States spent more than 51 billion U.S. dollars.

With respect to investment, US-funded enterprises in China have maintained good performance and gained high profits. Sales revenue in 2015 totaled 517 billion U.S. dollars, and profit reached 36.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Investment from Chinese enterprises in the United States is growing rapidly. Chinese investment projects have taken place in 46 states and 425 congressional districts, creating over 140,000 local jobs.

According to the U.S.-China Business Council, in 2015, U.S. exports to China and China-U.S. two-way investment contributed 216 billion U.S. dollars to the United States GDP, and supported 2.6 million local jobs.
The coming rainy season in Chinas eastern cities has inspired one company to launch an umbrella-sharing service, Thepaper.cn reported after the first batch of shared umbrellas was spotted along a pedestrian guardrail in Shanghai's Pudong district.

Users must first download the app and then scan the QR code printed on the handle of each shared umbrella to obtain a password. After paying 20 RMB as a deposit, users can unlock and release an umbrella. The whole process takes no more than one minute, according to the report.

Priced at 1 RMB per day, the shared umbrellas have so far been less popular than initially expected. Li, a Shanghai local, said she would not use the service because of its required deposit.

A new umbrella costs no more than 20 RMB. Why not just buy a new one? Li mused.

Lu, a company official, said that they have lost many umbrellas since the sharing service was launched. But with the coming rainy season, they will continue putting out umbrellas for customers to share. Compared with shared bikes, umbrellas are much cheaper. In addition, companies are expected to enter the market soon, which will bring intense competition, Lu said.

Lus company has now distributed more than 500 umbrellas around Shanghai. More shared umbrellas will soon appear at bus stations, subway stations and shopping malls, Lu promised.
(Xinhua) 20:07, May 25, 2017

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The joint feasibility study on China-Mauritius free trade agreement (FTA) has been completed on a positive note, an official with the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

"Building the FTA is in line with the interests of both countries, and good for deepening bilateral economic and trade relations," ministry spokesman Sun Jiwen said at a press conference, citing the conclusion of the research.

Launched in November 2016, the feasibility study was the first FTA feasibility research between China and African economies. Completion of the research was announced during Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming's visit to Mauritius on Wednesday, Sun said.

China takes FTAs as a platform for opening wider to the world and an effective approach to integrate into the global economy and strengthen cooperation with other economies.

Currently, China has signed and implemented 14 such agreements involving 22 countries and regions.
(Xinhua) 21:05, May 25, 2017

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao (R) meets with Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, a visiting member of Palestine's Central Committee of the Fatah movement in Beijing, capital of China, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Li Yuanchao on Thursday reaffirmed that China supports a comprehensive, just, and long-lasting solution of the Palestinian issue at an early date.

While meeting with Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, a visiting member of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, Li noted that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is willing to deepen party-to-party exchanges with Fatah for wider cooperation between China and Palestine.

Thanking China for its support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, Tawfiq Al-Tirawi said the country places great importance on developing relations with China as well as the CPC, and is willing to strengthen cooperation in various areas.
By Mengjie (Xinhua) 21:06, May 25, 2017

SEPANG, Malaysia, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Southeast Asia's leading budget carrier AirAsia would look into C919, China's first homegrown large passenger jet which recently completed its maiden test flight, AirAsia's chief executive said Thursday.

"It is an interesting aircraft, as soon as the test light is up, we will look at it," AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told reporters after the group's annual general meeting here.

As at December, 2016, AirAsia operates with a fleet of 174, with average age of 6.5 years.

Fernandes also said that AirAsia has a great relationship with China, and it has tied up with several Chinese companies, such as Huawei, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Tencent.

As the first potential foreign low cost carrier to enter China, Fernandes hopes to see some progress of the group's Chinese venture next year.

"We have got proposals, help in terms of financing, so we hope something can happen next year," Fernandes said.

AirAsia said earlier this month that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Everbright Group and Henan Government Working Group to establish a low-cost carrier (LCC) in China.

According to Fernandes, the Chinese venture with an estimated investment of 100 million U.S. dollar, represented the final piece of the AirAsia puzzle after building a successful presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan.

AirAsia entered Chinese market in 2005. The low-cost airline and its long haul affiliate AirAsia X currently fly to 15 destinations in Chinese mainland, which makes it the largest foreign budget carrier operating in China.
A fish farm is seen in the waters at Meiji Reef of the South China Sea. /Xinhua Photo

China's Ministry of National Defense spokesman Ren Guoqiang said on Thursday that two Chinese warships warned a US Navy warship to leave after it sailed within 12 nautical miles of Meiji Reef of China's Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

Speaking at a monthly news briefing in Beijing, Ren Guoqiang said that China had lodged stern representations to the US over the patrol and that such moves were not conducive to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Reuters reported earlier, quoting unnamed US officials, that the operation was led by the USS Dewey under the Freedom of Navigation principle and is the first of its kind since US President Donald Trump took office.

Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday that China urged the US to correct its mistake and refrain from further patrols. He added that China and ASEAN countries have recently cooperated to ease tensions over the South China Sea, but such actions by the US were very likely to cause unexpected air and sea accidents.

Beijing has condemned similar moves by the US in the past, as they encroach on China's sovereignty and could risk flaring up tensions in the maritime body.

According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, territorial waters are defined as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a states coastline.

The last similar US patrol was in October 2016, when a US guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur traveled near Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, a move described by the Chinese Defense Ministry as "illegal" and "provocative." At the time, two Chinese warships warned the US navy to leave.

The US began to conduct what it calls Freedom of Navigation operations in the South China Sea in October 2015, with US navy ships sailing within 12 nautical miles of China's Nansha Islands.

China's Ministry of National Defense spokesman Wu Qian said in April of last year that the operations were very dangerous, noting that they were political and military provocations against China and would easily lead to unexpected incidents.

Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out "Freedom of Navigation" operations in the South China Sea soon, without offering any details.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Azerbaijan calls on the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, responsible for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, to take measures to prevent another one of Armenias provocations, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend May 25.

Hajiyev made the remarks while commenting on the Armenian sides attempt to organize flights from the Khojaly airport in the occupied territories under the guise of tourism.

Armenias plans to organize flights from the Khojaly airport, in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian armed forces, under the guise of tourism, is another Armenian provocation. Such actions seriously damage the negotiation process and deliberately serve to escalate the conflict, said the spokesperson.

He added that the airspace of the occupied territories is the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

The Khojaly airport is Azerbaijans property by the special code of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Azerbaijan banned flights in the airspace over the occupied territories, since it is impossible to ensure the safety of flights in this part of Azerbaijans airspace. This position of Azerbaijan is supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Civil Aviation Conference, noted Hajiyev.

Armenias attempts to use the Khojaly airport and organize illegal flights is a gross violation of the Law on Aviation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, peremptory norms and principles of international law, the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, rules and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, added the Azerbaijani official.

Azerbaijan, using international legal means in order to prevent another provocation by Armenia, will appeal to relevant international structures, added Hajiyev.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Wednesday honored Tommy T.J. Davis, a bus driver for City Utilities of Springfield (Mo.), for his actions that led to the recovery of a missing 13-year-old girl and the apprehension of her suspected abductor.

Rosenstein presented Davis with the Missing Childrens Citizen Award during the Departments National Missing Childrens Day ceremony. This award recognizes private citizens for extraordinary acts that lead to the safe recovery of missing or abducted children.

While driving his bus route in December 2016, Davis noticed a man in a wheelchair with a teenage girl sitting on his lap. Realizing the girl fit the description of a 13-year-old girl with autism who had recently been reported missing in Springfield, Davis reported his sighting.

The man in the wheelchair left the girl with Davis, telling him that she needed help; he then proceeded down a sidewalk. When officers arrived, Davis described the man, who was then arrested. The man is charged with first-degree child kidnapping and enticement of a child.

In addition to Davis, the deputy attorney general honored the efforts of two law enforcement officers and two Internet Crimes Against Children task forces for their efforts to protect children. Rosenstein also recognized Audrey Link, a fifth grader at Resurrection Catholic School in Lakeland, Fla., as the 18th winner of the Annual National Missing Childrens Day poster contest.

In 2016, there were more than 465,600 missing children entries to the FBIs National Crime Information Center.
A preliminary assessment found about $86 million of damage and costs from recent flooding and storms in Missouri.

The figures provided Thursday by the state Department of Public Safety include almost $58 million of public costs for damage to infrastructure, debris removal and emergency response efforts.

The assessment includes an additional $28 million of costs for individuals whose homes and belongings were damaged.

Gov. Eric Greitens had asked President Donald Trump for a major disaster declaration that would provide federal aid in 51 counties, including 37 counties for individual aid and 46 for public assistance. Some of those counties overlap.

Severe weather between April 28 and May 11 caused record flooding on at least 12 rivers and major creeks. Three-hundred-sixty-nine homes were destroyed and 848 had major damage.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

News release from Governor's Office

For many families, volunteers, and communities throughout the state, April 28th seems like it was yesterday. It was then that a strong storm system brought multiple rounds of thunderstorms and torrential rain to much of Missouri, leading to deadly and historic flooding. At least 12 rivers and major creeks crested at all-time high flood levels (in some cases several feet higher than previous records); rainfall totals reached 10 to 12 inches within several hours in some places; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined parts of Howell and Texas counties received once-in-a-millennium rainfall totals. Other areas received once-in-500-year rainfall totals. In addition, there were four tornadoes on April 29.

Hundreds of homes sustained major damage or were destroyed. Numerous roads and bridges were flooded and heavily damaged in communities throughout Missouri.

At this time, we want to thank the many state workers, along with our local and federal counterparts (and the numerous volunteer and faith-based organizations), for working nonstop to help our fellow Missourians pick up the pieces and take steps towards recovery. From emergency rescues and first aid support, to clothes and food, shelter and housing, our team deployed help to thousands of people in need.

Rescues (documented): 164

Evacuations (documented): 128

Sandbags: 669,000 (includes 4,000 pre-filled bags)

Shelters: At the events height, 15 shelters registered 394 people for a total of 1,083 overnight stays.

Meals & Snacks Given: 60,512

Clean-up Kits: 4,600

Comfort Kits: 3,015

Flood Kits: 700

Cases of Water: 1,234

The day the storm hit, Governor Eric Greitens deployed the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri National Guard, Missouri Task Force 1, and swift water rescue teams on land, water, and sky to protect Missourians.

The state worked with faith-based and volunteer organizations to hold 15 Multi-Agency Resource Centers in areas heavily affected by the flooding and provided face to face assistance on services and programs to more than 1,200 Missouri families.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) held a flood recovery conference with agriculture organizations to help connect Missouri farmers with information and resources. The MDA also replaced 1,400+ land surveys that were damaged by the flood.

The Missouri Department of Corrections deployed aid to areas throughout the state with dozens of staff and 191 offenders helping with sandbagging efforts.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded $328,000 to the community action agency network to assist families with housing needs. Additionally, AmeriCorps volunteers and partners muck and gutted over 30 homes.

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services moved 2,200+ doses of the tetanus vaccines to the affected areas and assisted local public health agencies with needs. The department also worked to ensure contaminated and damaged foods are disposed of and sent 1,200+ drinking water collection kits.

The Missouri Department of Insurance issued a request to Missouri insurers asking that coverage remain in effect for any Missourians residing in an affected county and to allow for out-of-network healthcare costs to remain at the same rate for in-network healthcare costs.

The Missouri Department of Labor helped 369 Missourians file unemployment claims who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own, which will help those eligible receive weekly payments to help care for their families until they find full-time work.

The Missouri Department of Mental Health assisted 725 Missourians who were in need of medication or trauma relief as a result of the horrific experience and loss.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources was given the authority to suspend certain regulations and rules relating to the disposal of yard waste and burning of woody vegetation as well as issued 13 boil orders to the affected counties.

The Missouri Department of Public Safety implemented a severe weather/flash flooding response plan and seamlessly transitioned to recovery operations once the threat to life and safety diminished. DPS dispatched troopers on land, water, and air and rescued 164 people as well as evacuated 128 others. Additionally, more than 760 Guardsmen supported state response through a number of areas including traffic control points, emergency debris removal, and wellness visits. DPS and partners supplied 22 pallets of water and bagged more than 669,000 sand bags.

The Missouri Department of Social Services helped set up offices for citizens for complete FEMA paperwork and connected 1,080+ households with food and healthcare assistance.

The Missouri Department of Revenue issued an extension for tax return filings and payments and waived vehicles title penalty fees related to flooding.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is working to fix damaged roads and bridges in 320 locations. Of the 384 state roads that were closed due to flooding, the department has been able to open 364.

On Wednesday, Gov. Eric Greitens requested that President Donald J. Trump approve a major disaster declaration for Missouri that would provide federal assistance to a total of 51 counties in response to historic and devastating flooding that began April 28. If and when a federal declaration is made, the state will take immediate action to deploy additional services to Missourians and communities in need.
Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 10:15)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Azerbaijan calls on the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, responsible for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, to take measures to prevent another one of Armenias provocations, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend May 25.

Hajiyev made the remarks while commenting on the Armenian sides attempt to organize flights from the Khojaly airport in the occupied territories under the guise of tourism.

Armenias plans to organize flights from the Khojaly airport, in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian armed forces, under the guise of tourism, is another Armenian provocation. Such actions seriously damage the negotiation process and deliberately serve to escalate the conflict, said the spokesperson.

He added that the airspace of the occupied territories is the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

The Khojaly airport is Azerbaijans property by the special code of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Azerbaijan banned flights in the airspace over the occupied territories, since it is impossible to ensure the safety of flights in this part of Azerbaijans airspace. This position of Azerbaijan is supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Civil Aviation Conference, noted Hajiyev.

Armenias attempts to use the Khojaly airport and organize illegal flights is a gross violation of the Law on Aviation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, peremptory norms and principles of international law, the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, rules and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, added the Azerbaijani official.

Azerbaijan, using international legal means in order to prevent another provocation by Armenia, will appeal to relevant international structures, added Hajiyev.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva  Trend:

If you have been working in the media for a long time, you have seen a lot and you always have something to compare with.

Six years ago, Armenia promised to commission an airport in the occupied Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, in May 2011. Then Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that he would be the first passenger on the plane, which would fly out of Khankendi. Khankendi airport was officially put into operation on October 1, 2012 and since then it was never used.

History proves futility of President Sargsyans promises on one hand and Armenias initiatives on the other hand.

Fast forward six years later, and we again observe the attempts of the Armenian side to launch flights from the Khojaly airport in the occupied Azerbaijani territories under the guise of tourist flights.

Here special attention should be paid to two questions. Dont international negotiators see that Armenia constantly provokes Azerbaijan and does everything to stall the peace process? How will it affect the security of uninformed tourists, who are often tricked into visiting the occupied Azerbaijani territories without even stamp in their passports?

It is obvious that operating of such flights is another violation of the law, which can be dangerous for passengers.

The International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO regards the Khojaly airport as an Azerbaijani infrastructure facility with the appropriate code.

Azerbaijan, which is the legal owner of the airport, has banned any take-off and landing at the Khojaly airport. That is, it is necessary to obtain the relevant documents and confirmations from the ICAO for the operation of the airport. Armenian separatists, recognized by no one in the world, can not obtain them.

It means that using of the airport by someone else is unsafe for unfortunate tourists fooled by the Armenian separatists.

These are not just words. The Khojaly airport is located in Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia. According to the law on "Aviation", this territory was declared by the Azerbaijani State Civil Aviation Administration as a zone banned for civil aviation flights.

There is great tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The compliance with the instructions of the dispatchers of one country can be mistakenly interpreted by the air defense forces of another country. Taking all this into account, it is obvious that tourists shouldnt risk in such an unsafe situation for the sake of doubtful pleasure of flying over ruins in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

According to the international law and international communitys recognition, the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, including the air space over it, belongs to Azerbaijan, as well as the right to allow or ban take-off and landingof any aircraft at any Azerbaijani airports runways, including the Khankendi airport.

---

Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency's Russian News Service
On April 28, San Diego Museum of Art kicked off its 36th annual weekend-long Art Alive fundraiser with the traditional Bloom Bash celebration, featuring eye-popping installations, tasty food and drinks, live music and dancing, along with flowery interpretations of artworks from the museums collection by 95 floral designers.

This year, with some of the recently-renovated galleries showing pieces that had been in storage for years, there were new opportunities for designers and viewers. And one of the delights was Gallery 18, which was given a surrealists dream makeover for the April 27 Premiere Patrons dinner  a full-gallery homage to a painting by Rene Magritte, complete with a supersized four-season tree installation by Carlsbad-based Nature Maker, creators of steel art trees.

First prize went to Kate Law, for her graceful interpretation of Female Nude Reading, a 1915 painting by Robert Delaunay. Law, an accomplished floral designer who is director of merchandising for the online delivery service Pro Flowers, said her arrangement was inspired by the way the womans hair draped down, and she managed to find all the colors she wanted at her companys flower farm.

Law has strong La Jolla connections: she used to work at Red Floral Design in Bird Rock, and she and her husband, Ken, were married at La Jolla Lutheran Church, with a wedding reception at the Museum of Contemporary in La Jolla.

One of the most inventive arrangements was by Michelle Frost, who won her first award for floral design at the Del Mar Fair about 25 years ago and who used to sell wholesale lilacs to Adelaides La Jolla.

Though she normally favors a more Asian style, Frost thought shed try something completely different this time, and chose a painting by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. I thought about it a lot, and decided to use expanded metal, which I finally found at a building supply store, she said. And it took me forever to cut all the little holes and glue in the stems.

Another interesting arrangement was Nancy Hagen Baldwins interpretation of a cubist head by an unknown sculptor. A month before Art Alive, Baldwin was one of five floral designers asked to do an outdoor preview, creating a floral portrayal of a favorite San Diego destination  she chose the sea lions at La Jolla Cove.

For Baldwin, Art Alive is a family affair. For years, her late mother, Elaine Hagen, came in from Minnesota to be part of the exhibition, and this year, her daughter, Elena Rose Baldwin, had a piece on view, although she couldnt be at the opening: it was her prom night.

About 1,200 people attended the Bloom Bash, with almost 12,000 counted at Art Alive all weekend long. If you werent among them, you can still find plenty to see in the renovated galleries, and consider what flowers youd use to interpret the art.

 San Diego Museum of Art is at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park, San Diego. Closed Wednesdays; open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. sdmart.org
The La Jolla Parks & Beaches (LJP&B) advisory group has been discussing the growing sea lion population at La Jolla Cove and seeking City action to deter it since late 2014. With the release of the Marine Coastal Management Plan (MCMP) earlier this month, the board now feels the City is equipped with steps it can take to this end, and is hopeful the City will act sooner than later. The board discussed the plan during its May 22 meeting at La Jolla Rec Center.

The 91-page MCMP plan, authored by marine mammal experts Hanan & Associates, Inc. and released to the City of San Diegos Parks & Recreation Department on May 1, includes a description of the study area of Scripps Pier to WindanSea Beach, a history of pinniped presence in La Jolla, pinniped and sea bird use by area, a species list for the entire area, a history of coastal protection measures, goals of the Management Plan (which emphasize educating the public on living with and enjoying our wild resources), examples of sea lion/seal interactions and subsequent municipality actions in other areas of California, management options and citations.

The MCMP also outlines alternatives the City may consider, which include doing nothing with the caveat that this method would likely lead to loss of public beach areas as pinniped populations increase, all the way to low-voltage livestock fencing. However the preferred alternative would be: Implement expanded signage and docents to educate the public regarding pinnipeds and pinniped behavior (and) use the National Marine Fisheries Service approved harassment techniques to try and keep sea lions off La Jolla Cove Beach and any other selected haul-out areas. First test and then if this appears to work, use the technique at other sites chosen for public use.

The MCMP also states, The City has decided to move forward to protect pinnipeds and the public by placing gates on the base of beach-access stairs to prevent sea lions from coming up beyond the beaches and thus prevent problems associated with pinnipeds in urban areas.

LJP&B member Debbie Beacham advocated for this collective action. We here in La Jolla get so much of the trouble from the smell and the (sea lions) aggressive behavior that we are in the trenches of this. There has to be a statement from our group, along with other interested parties, that suggests we would like the City to move forward with these action items.

Should the City immediately proceed with the report recommendations, some argued, it would be in a more proactive position rather than reactive. LJP&B member John Shannon said he worried that with continued lack of action, there could be a sea lion incident that causes serious harm to a person and/or sheds a negative light on La Jolla.

Several noted the recent video that went viral of a little girl in British Columbia who was sitting on a dock and was pulled into the water by a sea lion. In the video, a sea lion pops its head out of the water, and people can be heard tapping on the dock and clapping, presumably to get the animals attention. About a minute later, the sea lion lunged out of the water, and bit the dress of a young girl sitting on the dock ledge, pulling her into the water. Spectators screamed and one jumped in to get her.

Hoping to avoid a similar scenario, Shannon said, We need to get in front of this and make recommendations to the City in line with what the Hanan report says. We should recommend they take these actions sooner than later so we dont have people injured, where we have a bad encounter that goes viral about La Jolla.

There needs to be a decision made at the City level, but I dont think they are getting the full flavor of what is happening locally. The Mayor has not experienced what will happen when you have a small child that is pulled from the beach and into the water at The Cove. It can get to that point if nothing is done.

Shannon also said he wondered what the cost of reactive mitigation would be. The Mayor needs to look at what future damage control will cost taxpayers, he said.

Further, he pointed out the recent increase in shark sightings at Southern California beaches. Sharks are predators and predators follow prey. There have been Great White sightings just a few miles to the north of us, its not like this is in Canada, this is in Southern California. We have more and more prey, its just a matter of something happening to a human ... we shouldnt wait for something to happen.

In looking at other elements of the MCMP, board members emphasized keeping La Jolla Cove available for human recreation.

Reading from the report, former board chair Dan Allen said, The last sentence of the report says the City may consider at a later date, procedures to move sea lions from certain beaches. We could ask them to move them from the beach at The Cove on a trial basis, per the report.

Member Ken Hunrichs added, The City has the option to disperse nuisance animals  the City cannot exclude people from our coastal areas. We have laws that protect our coastal access and places set aside for human recreation.

All said, LJP&B chair Ann Dynes asked Beacham to write a letter for the board to read, review and possibly sign, advocating for the City to act and act quickly. Beacham said the letter would likely be written (either partially or entirely) by Ann Kerr-Bache, who heads the La Jolla Town Council Sea Lion Task Force, which has also been following the issue.

The Task Force formed in July 2016 and has hosted forums and hearings about the evolving situation.

The letter will be discussed at the next meeting, 4 p.m. Monday, June 26 at Rec Center, 615 Prospect St. lajollaparksandbeaches.org
Historic ties of north Meck span throughout region Though the north Mecklenburg area didnt see significant population growth until a few decades ago, its rich history dates back to the Revolutionary War. That was the basis of...

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This article appears in the May 26, 2017 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

DR. AHMED AL-KEDIDI

Hop e fo r th e Futur e: Th e Ne w Sil k Road

[Print version of this article]

This article was published in Arabic in several Gulf newspapers on May 22, as President Trump visited the region to meet heads of state of Arab and Muslim nations. It has been translated and edited by EIR. The author, Dr. Ahmed Al-Kedidi, is a former Tunisian diplomat and former advisor to the Emir of Qatar, and is now resident in Doha, Qatar.

Schiller Institute Dr. Ahmed Al-Kedidi

May 21Certain important events this week brought joy to me personally, because they confirmed for me that I was right in taking the decision, three decades ago, to join in the project to change the evils of the unjust trans-Atlantic world order, and replace it with a new and just world order established on the foundations of cooperation and inclusion of all nations in development, and achieving lasting peace on the basis of connecting nations and continents through railway networks, bridges, and tunnels, and facilitating the movement of people, goods, and ideas on land, sea, and air.

What is odd in our recent history in Tunisia, is that when my friend Mohammad Mazali became Prime Minister in 1980, he worked in this correct direction, and we were all committed to follow his sound path.

He established the education system on the method of Arabization. He then opened the door of south-south cooperation, and we reached agreements with China and Turkey. We opened banks and corporations in cooperation with the Gulf countries, and enhanced exchange and integration among Tunisia, Algeria, and Moroccowhich was politically and culturally diametrically opposite to the methods of President Habib Bourgiba, whose policies were solely based on the connection with France as a doctrine of dependency, not national interest.

For our efforts, we were persecuted by those who benefitted from putting Tunisia under the arm of France. We endured the witch-hunt of Interpol with patience, and had to suffer fifteen years of exile, our families separated, and our homes confiscated.

The cultural option we joined, traces its origins from the Silk Road, which was under the patronage of China many centuries ago, and which constituted a belt of economic, commercial, and cultural exchange among nations.

One of the new events which has brought renewed hope to my soul, is the participation of my honorable friend, Mrs. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and chairman of the international Schiller Institutes, in the Beijing Forum for International Development last week at the invitation of the President of China, Xi Jinping. The Forum focussed on the theme of reactivating the Silk Road, and had the participation of many statesmen from different continents, to launch a new era, an era not controlled by the powerful trans-Atlantic financial and war lobbies that have controlled the world economy since the end of World War II.

I have known Mrs. LaRouche personally since the early 1980s, when I was holding some strings of power in my homeland, and I fought hand in hand with the Schiller Institute, which is an international center of thought (think-tank), and participated in its scientific and political seminars in Washington, Paris, Rome, Dusseldorf, and many other cities. I had at the same time an intellectual and friendly relationship with Mrs. LaRouche and her husband, Mr. Lyndon LaRouche, the economic advisor of former President Ronald Reagan, and was often invited for lunch or dinner in their residences in the U.S.A. and in Germany. Mr. LaRouche is American and Mrs. Helga Zepp-LaRouche is German, and they brought together America and Europe in one bond through their long struggle for the New Silk Road and the belt of economic development. My friend, the Iraqi intellectual Hussein Askary, and I, have been the only two Arabs fully committed to these principles and values to this date. And today, I feel joy and pride that these principles have finally achieved victory after three full decades.

Second, I rejoiced this week over the participation of his excellency the Minister of Transportation of Qatar in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, upon the recommendation of His Highness the Emir of Qatar.

Third, I received a gift this week from my friend Hussein Askarythe new book, published recently by EIR with the title The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge, in an Arabic version translated by Askary. This is a gigantic book, which presents the details and the intentions of the alternative world order, through detailed maps, precise numbers, clear projects, and the facts of multinational agreements and commitmentsmaking the reader fully aware of the truth that the dream which we had in the 1980s is now transformed into a practical program and an applicable mega-project that is capable of transcending borders, ideologies, political conflicts, and the remnants of sectarian and ethnic struggles, and overwhelming the whole of mankind, with its blessings, through an international network of true solidarity and means of transcontinental communications.

Southwest Asia

In this book (of which privately donated copies have been sent as gifts to hundreds of prominent Arabs through their embassies), the public can read how security and peace can be established among nations with the tools of international cooperation, especially in our Arab-Islamic regions. Hussein Askary explains, in Part Six of the book, the types of connectivity projects among nations, the connections that existed before the suppressive trans-Atlantic system severed them to usher the region into the new cold war, openly threatening the world with a third, this time nuclear, world war.

These projects are:

 The Berlin to Baghdad Railway,

 The Hijaz Railway through the countries of the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula,

 The Orient Express, connecting the Middle East to North Africa,

 The Zubaida Road, the old Kufa-Mecca pilgrims road, from Baghdad to Najaf, Hail, and the Holy Al-Medina and Mecca,

 The Nile Route connecting Egypt and Sudan to the Great Lakes nations of Africa, and finally,

 The Arab Maghreb Route that constitutes a regional belt connecting Alexandria, Tripoli, Sfax, Tunis, Algiers, and Fez.

I truly believe that this just and alternative world order is founded on a completely different set of international relations, exemplified by the recently established group of nations, composed of China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africathe BRICS.

President Trump has been considering joining this caravan and said so during his meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Lavrov, last week. This new world order must be the key item on the agenda of the G-20 Summit, which will be held on July 7-8 in Hamburg, Germany. We require a total mutiny against the evils of the Euro-American system that has dominated the world in the past 70 years.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

The OSCE monitoring held along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops passed without incidents on May 25, the press service of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said in a message.

The monitoring was held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Tartar district, according to the message.

On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring was held by Ghenadie Petrica and Martin Schuster, field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative.

On the Azerbaijani territories occupied and controlled by Armenian armed forces, the monitoring was held by Simon Tiller and Mikhail Olaru, field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
This article appears in the May 26, 2017 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

New Silk Road Goes Global,

Including in the U.S.

This Is the Reason Trump Is Under Attack

by Michael Billington

[Print version of this article]

May 17As world leaders returned to their home countries from the historic Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which took place in Beijing on May 14-15, they are proudly announcing to their citizens and to the world that a new paradigm for world affairs has been established, both economically and culturally. In a very real sense, the title of the EIR Special Report from 2014The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridgeis becoming a reality.)

Look around the world:

Europe

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, after attending the Beijing forum and later meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, described the Belt and Road Forum as an event that could leave a trail in history in the next years, because it is a project tending to be a global project. He said that launching this bridge between Asia and Europe also has a political significance, besides the physical, economic one. Italy has decided to join at a high levelthe only G7 country to do soto give a signal of sharing. (Actually, both Japan and the United States also took dramatic steps towards full engagement in the Belt and Roadsee below)

One example in Italy: The Italians are expanding, with Chinese help, the North Adriatic Port Association (NAPA) which includes the ports of Venice in Italy, Trieste and Kober in Slovenia, and Rijeka in Croatia. The expansion will upgrade existing ports and build a new port off-shore from Venice which will be able to handle container ships. New rail lines into northern Europe will make the upper Adriatic another hub for the rapidly expanding trade between Europe and Asia.

Zivadin Jovanovic of Serbia, who heads the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals, wrote on May 15: Once again China has demonstrated the vision and magnetism of the new pattern of win-win cooperation for the new era of the multipolar world. The pattern radiates equality, openness, and mutual benefit, not protectionism and power politics. He reports that the Chinese are building a rail connection linking Serbia with the South Adriatic along the eastern shore of the Adriatic to Greece. In addition, the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest High-Speed Railway, which has been stalled by EU interference, will start in November. It will be the biggest construction undertaking in the whole of Europe, he writes.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who attended the Beijing Forum, spoke of the original Silk Road: If we were to retell, today, the history of the Silk Road, we would not only retell an economic history of cooperation and competition between great powers, religions, nations, and commercial interests, but a history of people, their contact and communication. The commercial and cultural contacts of the Greek and Chinese people stretch back thousands of years. They have traded, worked with each other, travelled to each others lands, and inspired each other with their struggles.

On the New Silk Road, he added: This Initiative is based on the development of Infrastructure and Connectivity projects bringing Europe and Asia, as well as other parts of the world, closer together. But if it remains only a series of projects, it will not fulfill the vision on which it is based. It will not be a vibrant Silk Road of the 21st Century. The Belt and Road Initiative gives us a remarkable platform with which to connect initiatives enhancing people-to-people contact, and I believe we should make full use of it. Tsipras had hosted the First Forum of Ancient Civilizations in Athens in April, cosponsored by Greece and China, the cradles of western and eastern civilization, respectively.

wikimedia

Czech President Milos Zeman mocked those who complain that the Belt and Road is dividing Europe, saying that Europe is already horribly divided, but can be united through the common mission of the Silk Road.

wikipedia

Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his nation that many countries were sick of lectures on human rights and free markets (such as those from the European Union), and that the old model of globalization is dead, as the Silk Road is creating a development-based global paradigm.

Asia

Japans high-level representative to the forum in Beijing was Toshihiro Nikai, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Nikai met personally with Chinese President Xi Jinping, to discuss the potential for Japan to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) initiated by China, and to plan an exchange of visits between President Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe indicated that he would carefully discuss these matters with President Trump, who had indicated that it was a mistake for the United States (under Obama) to boycott the AIIB. Abe had been under intense pressure from Obama not to join the bank. It is possible that Abe and Trump are considering joining the AIIB at the same time.

Philippines Presidential website

Philippine President Duterte announced upon his return from the forum that there are plans to restore the 2005 program for joint development of the rich resources of the South China Sea with China and Vietnam, now that Obamas plan for war in the South China Sea has been rejected all across Asia. The 2005 program was sabotaged by anti-China forces within the Philippines. President Trump has moved to restore close cooperation with both China and the Philippines.

Ibero America

The nations of South and Central America had been less directly involved in the early stages of the Silk Road process, but following the Beijing forum, many are saying that the Americas are now fully on board. The head of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Alicia Barcena, who attended the forum, praised the Belt and Road Initiative as a renewal of the profound commitment to the values that are fundamental for our global economic and social well-being, and called on all the member nations to harness the potential that this One Belt One Road has for redefining capitalism through peoples equality and dignity.

youtube

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, declared that Latin America is now very much part of the Silk Road initiative, which is not only a limited group of countries, but the entire world.

Africa

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said upon his return, The Belt and Road Initiative gives our continent the opportunity to make a paradigm-shift. Post-colonial Africa has been stuck in a rut. Being part of One Belt allows the continent to move to a new platform, through which global collaboration will allow for value-addition, innovation, and increased prosperity. Note that the notion of a new paradigm and lifting the global platform of productivity have been the core concepts of the LaRouche movements historic campaign for the New Silk Road and the World Land-Bridge.

wikipedia

Similar enthusiastic responses fill the press of nations across the developing sector.

United States

youtube/KBS news

And in the United States? Virtually unknown to the American population, the Trump Administration representative to the Beijing Forum, Matthew Pottinger, set up an American Belt and Road Working Group, to bring American companies into the Silk Road process! Beyond that, he invited China to attend the SelectUSA Investment Summit, on June 18-20 in Washington, D.C., to include China in investment opportunities in the United States.

View full size

cc/Northern Ireland Executive

On May 17, Tu Guangshao, president of the China Investment Corporation (CIC) sovereign wealth fund, told the Wall Street Journal, there is a potential for Chinese companies to make more investments in the United States and vice versa. Underscoring the Chinese initiative, on May 18 CIC is opening an office in New York City, replacing the one in Toronto, which until now had been CICs only overseas representative office. Tu explained that CIC is particularly looking at U.S. projects in highways, rail, and high-tech manufacturing plants, emphasizing that CIC can become a stable source of long-term capital for United States infrastructure and manufacturing projects, as well as helping U.S. companies to expand their operations in Chinas market.

In January of this year, CIC chairman Ding Xuedong indicated that CIC wanted to change $50 billion of its holdings of United States Treasury debt into an investment in building of new infrastructure in the United States. Dings estimate of the investment needed to build a new and modern economic infrastructure in America was $8 trillionfar beyond President Trumps $1 trillion programwhich, he said, would not be invested by the U.S. government and private investors alone. Schiller Institute chairwoman Helga Zepp-LaRouche has enthusiastically supported such a proposal, noting that it would represent an exciting new level of Sino-U.S. collaboration to rebuild Americas decaying infrastructure.

In his Wall Street Journal interview, Tu noted that, in the past, the U.S. government and Congress have frustrated CIC direct investment, and pointed to the overly strict scrutiny and opaque investment-review process of U.S. authorities during the Bush and Obama years. Major investments in ports, rail, and other infrastructure were rejected on security grounds. Perhaps now, under Trump, the United States will be open to the contribution China can make to reversing the nations economic decay. (see the LaRouche PAC pamphlet, Americas Future on the New Silk Road).

Press Blackout

Any U.S. citizen dependent on the U.S. media or reports from the U.S. Congress, would know none of this. Rather, nearly the entirety of the 24-hour news cycle in the United States is composed of hysterical rants against President Trump. If any of it were to be believed, one would think the President is a puppet of evil Russia and evil China, who are out to take over the world and undermine the pristine values of Western Civilization, and that Trump is guilty of treason for doing what he promised to do in his campaignending the Bush and Obama regime change war policies, and restoring Americas industry and infrastructure, and the jobs that go with it.

Do not believe the lie that Trump is on the defensivethat his actions have undermined his credibility, as peddled ad nauseam in the western media. The fact is, Trump is on the offensive, to end the British Imperial era of history. The British and their assets in the United Statesthe neocons in both parties and on Wall Street, and the corrupt elements in the intelligence community, especially the FBIare absolutely hysterical now that the geopolitical division of the world into warring factions, is being replaced with a win-win policy based on the common aims of mankind. What is at stake for this imperial oligarchy is their ability to induce the U.S. population to passively accept austerity and war, which is being destroyed by Trumps move to bring the United States into the New Silk Road, and to work with Russia to crush the terrorist scourge. His stated intention to restore Glass Steagall and the Hamiltonian American System of physical economy, simply drives the British assets further into panic mode.

As Helga Zepp-LaRouche reiterated in her many speeches and interviews in China this past weekendshe was a featured speaker at the Global Think Tank Summit at the Belt and Road Forum: if Donald Trump succeeds in bringing the United States into the new paradigm of the global Silk Road, he will be remembered as one of the great presidents of American history. The Belt and Road International Forum, she said, has set the world on a course to a final demise of Empire and the zero-sum game geopolitical mind-set that goes with it. This week there has been a dramatic phase shift in the history of humanity.

Paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin: There is now a new world economic order, if we can keep it.
PRESS RELEASE

Russian President Welcomes South Korean Envoy; Trilateral Economic Cooperation with North Korea on the Table

May 24, 2017 (EIRNS)Russian President Vladirmir Putin today warmly welcomed South Korean presidential envoy, legislator Song Young-gil, who delivered a message from President Moon Jae-in, according to the Kremlin website.

Song thanked Putin for meeting with his delegation, and for his congratulatory meesage to President Moon.

"Our new President," he said,

"has a strong will and a great interest in, and love for, Russia, and for relations between Russia and Korea. I have a feeling that it will be very easy for you to work with our new President."

He then passed along the message from Moon on his governments intentions and political goals.

Prior to meeting with Putin, the Yonhap news agency reported, Song met with Russian Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka to discuss potential trilateral economic cooperationthe two Koreas and Russiaas a means of dissuading North Korea from its nuclear weapons development. Song told reporters afterwards that Russia stressed the importance of dialogue and negotiations in dealing with North Korea, and also agreed on the possibility of trilateral cooperation.

"Minister Galushka suggested that trilateral cooperation of the South, North, and Russia, which has been in stalemate due to the nuclear issues, be pushed forward independently, and I agreed to that,"

Song told reporters. Both agreed "in principle," to move forward to resume several three-way projects now on hold, Yonhap reports.

Meanwhile, inside South Korea, Xinhua reports, "expectations are running high" that Moon Jae-in will resume the Sunshine policy toward the North. Moon Chung-in, a special presidential aide for unification, security, and foreign affairs, told the local daily Chosun Ilbo that previous governments had imposed "unnecessarily excessive" sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and proposed that South Korea carry out normal economic transactions with the D.P.R.K., and move in the direction of dialogue. Chung Eui-yong, a top national security advisor to Moon, said on Monday that the government will seek a way to resume the two stalled projectsthe Kaesong industrial park and the Mount Kumgang resortwithin the framework of "undamaging" the sanctions imposed on the D.P.R.K. by the international community.
PRESS RELEASE

Russian Defense Minister: U.S.-Russian Collaboration in Syria Is Constant

May 24, 2017 (EIRNS)Speaking this morning before Russias Federation Council, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported that in Syria, the U.S. and Russian militaries are in constant, round-the-clock contact, TASS reported.

"We did not lose contact with them," he said.

"We are talking with them on a round-the-clock basis, during the day and night, and we are meeting at different venues.... A great work is underway with them,"

Shoigu added, explaining that,

"We would like it to be completed and presented as a project ready for implementation. We are working on the southern zone of de-escalation."

He pointed out, however, that Russia seems to be doing much more, with much less, than the U.S.-led coalition in Syria.

"The comparative analysis of results of actions in Syria by Russias aviation and the international coalition shows that our Aerospace Forces, which had fewer aircraft, carried out three times more sorties and delivered four times more missile and bomb attacks,"

Shoigu said. He also summarized what has been accomplished on the ground in western Syria from the time of the liberation of Aleppo.

Shoigu also emphasized that the Russian Defense Ministry knows which groups in Syria possess chemical weapons and called for joint action against them.

"There is information that Daesh and Al-Nusra terrorists have components of chemical weapons. Who can give assurances that chemical weapons wont appear in other countries tomorrow?"

he asked. As for the propaganda videos that claim that the Assad government is responsible for chemical weapons attacks, this is all staged, Shoigu said.

"Based on those games with chemical weapons in the information field.... Some argue, without proof, that the Syrian government uses [chemical weapons]... But we have already reached the point where we are absolutely convinced today that most of the films and reports are staged,"

he said, as reported by Sputnik.
Whether staple-bound and copied, full color and hand-stitched, a collection of poems or a manifesto, zines hold a special, insider-outsider place in the book world  independently produced and distributed, theyre a place for experimentation and discovery, and this years L.A. Zine Fest will have the joy of the medium on full display.

The volunteer-run festival returns to downtown L.A. on Sunday, when more than 200 exhibitors will take over the California Market Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to share ideas and sell zines.

The L.A. Zine Fest started in 2012 as a way for artists and zine makers to connect. Rhea Tepp, whos been involved from the start, said the need arose from feeling a little like our creative experiences were a little bit isolating, creating work in our bedrooms. Paradise Khanmalek, one of this years exhibitors and the artist who created the festivals 2017 design, said the events ability to bring zine makers together is just as relevant now.

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For the promotional art this year, I literally drew a woman crafting in her bedroom, says Khanmalek, whos amazed at how closely the organizers mission and experience reflect her own. At Zine Fest, she can congregate with all these other people that for some reason arent necessarily working in a creative industry either were young or were making really radical work Theres so many people making art or zines along the lines of social justice, feminism, anti-racism. The Zine Fest is inclusive and uplifting, she says, with something for everyone, not just zine makers and aficionados, attracting teenagers, children, adults, any age range, every race.

Tepp, who, along with Bianca Barragan, Daisy Noemi and Kenzo Martinez, organized this years fest, said the space was designed so that participants can really decide what kind of experience you want to have, including multiple ways to interact with zines and their makers. Heres a primer of a few things to look out for at this free event.

Zine Library

The classic Zine Fest rookie mistake: Show up with $20 to spend, then fall in love with everything at the first two tables; by the time it comes to the 200th vendor, youve got nothing left. Enter the Zine Library, where you can interact with work away from the rush of a crowd, says Tepp. Exhibitors donate copies of their works to the library, where attendees can browse pressure-free. Find one you cant live without? Labels on the back list the zine vendors space.

Wonderspace

Lead by J.T. Steiny, a professor at the Otis College of Art and Design, the Wonderspace is the place to go for hands-on activities from creating art to buttons to an actual zine, says Tepp. Wonderspaces free workshops, are a great place to get a feel for D.I.Y. zine-making.

Playdate Pop-up Arcade

The Playdate arcade returns for its second year. Last years offerings included a parkour video game with a young heroine and an interactive storytelling plush octopus companion for children. Are video games the zines of the future? Not quite. According to Tepp, Playdate explores how digital media and this printed, very hands-on tactile media start to become in conversation.

DJs

KChung Radio, KXLU (88.9 FM) and more will be DJing throughout the day, and although its set time isnt posted, the Chulita Vinyl Club is worth sticking around for. Its a vinyl club for self-identifying womyn of color; the music spun runs the gamut of twee to Tejano to dance hall to Mexican punk.

Look for comic artist and author Yumi Sakugawa at Zine Fest. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Zines!

A few highlights of the more than 200 exhibitors: Local artist and writer Yumi Sakugawa, whose zines are bestsellers at Skylight Books, now has a book with St. Martins Griffin (The Little Book of Life Hacks). Khanmalek recommends the Los Angeles Queer Resistance. Then theres L.A. GOAL, an organization that provides programs for adults with developmental disabilities, which will be selling described as represent[ing] the fearless pursuit of the creative endeavors of our artists. And Tony Hoang, the artist behind mutedtalks, will be donating proceeds from his 84-page community zine to charitable endeavors, including the Eastside Cafe in El Sereno, to help the community buy the building its been housed in for 15 years.

agatha.french@latimes.com

@agathafrenchy
Readings from the roster of indie press Civil Coping Mechanisms. A brand-new, totally hip book review. And, if youve got a record player, Ive got your next date planned. Heres a few gems from this weeks literary Web.

Poetry on Vinyl

Full-disclosure: I am the target audience for this product. Fonograph Editions, a vinyl-only poetry press launched out of Portland, Ore., in 2016, aims to release two to three poetry LPs annually. Think about it  what poetry fan does not also collect records? (The inverse is not always true.) Its a niche product for whats already a niche art form: poetry, founder Jeff Alessandrelli told the Paris Review. It may be niche, but poetry fans and record collectors are a devoted audience. Just let me set the scene: A date walks over to the record player to set the mood, and on comes Eileen Myles. Could there be any smoother move?

Zinestagram

LA Zine Fest is back this weekend, and Ive been scrolling #lazinefest for sneak-peeks of vendors posting their buttons, zines and artwork. Instagram feels tailor-made for the zine world  visual, self-generated  and its cool to see artists using a digital app to promote handmade work. Book Show Book Shop in Highland Park, a reliable destination for zines all year long, has been hyping the fest with some of their favorite selections. One of mine is Radical Nuns: A Feminist Fanzine and Coloring Booklet.

The Totally Hip Book Review

Its back, and this time Ron Charles reviews L.A. author Edan Lepuckis Woman No. 17. You dont to have read the previous 16 installments as I have, of course, he says (there are none), before terrorizing an unsuspecting intern. Click on through, but be forewarned: I will never be able to unsee Ron Charles dressed as an adult baby.

Westside L.A. literary events

Ngugi wa Thiongo will read at the Hammer Museum, one the most fancy-feeling places in the city for literary events, on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Thiongos latest book is a memoir, Birth of a Dream Weaver: A Writers Awakening; he was shortlisted for 2009 Man Booker International Prize. The event is free, like everything else at the museum (except parking)  you might as well show up a few hours early and make whole day of it.

The courtyard at the Hammer Museum. (Stefanie Keenan) (Stefanie Keenan /)

Cant venture out on a school night? The Self Is a Hybrid Form, a reading from indie press Civil Coping Mechanisms with Harold Abramowitz, Chiwan Choi, Christopher Higgs, Janice Lee and Wendy C. Ortiz takes over Beyond Baroque on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

Eastsiders: I know these events are across town, but theyre worth it.

agatha.french@latimes.com

@agathafrenchy
The University of California secured a resounding victory Wednesday from a federal court jury in a lawsuit claiming that two former professors had infringed on its strawberry patents.

But UC didnt have much time to celebrate its triumph. A few seconds after dismissing the jury with his thanks, Federal Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco uttered words no litigant probably likes to hear. They were: Now, I have something to say.

Chhabria proceeded to rip into the university. Although he accepted the jurys verdict against the professors, he said the trial had come about almost as much because of the universitys bad conduct as the defendants bad conduct.

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If you really care about Californias Strawberry Breeding Program, you would figure out a way...to avoid subjecting them to this custody battle.  U.S. Judge Vince Chhabria

He left no doubt that he wants to see a settlement, but quick. According to a transcript of Wednesdays court proceedings, Chhabria warned that in the next phase of the trial, scheduled to start Wednesday, the decision on remedies for the patent breach will be entirely up to him. And during that phase we are going to spend some more time discussing the universitys conduct. He set a preliminary hearing for Thursday afternoon.

He was telling us very clearly that he thinks the parties should work this out, says Greg Lanier, an attorney for the professors and their strawberry breeding firm.

The university echoed that sentiment. We would like to see a settlement as well, and we share the judges frustration that one has not yet been reached, said Jacob A. Appelsmith, a lawyer for UC Davis, late Thursday. But he added that the university aimed to ensure that the former professors, Douglas Shaw and Kirk Larson, cease using UCs patented plants in violation of UC patent law and return plants belonging to UC to the university.

To recap, the case involves the strawberry breeding program at UC Davis. As we reported earlier this month just before the trial began, until a few years ago the program was run by Shaw and Larson, two highly respected breeders.

In 2013, Shaw and Larson announced they would soon retire. Thats when their relationship with UC Davis began to look like an ugly divorce, with custody of millions of dollars worth of strawberry plants at stake.

UC said the professors had stolen patented plants from the university to continue breeding on their own; the professors contended that they had left UC in part because it seemed to have lost interest in the strawberry program. Nevertheless, they said, UC had taken illicit steps to block them from continuing their breeding efforts through their private firm. The professors had received patents on the plants but assigned the patents to UC, as is required of faculty members.

The jury found that Shaw, Larson and their company, California Berry Cultivars, had infringed those patents, and rejected the professors counterclaim that the university had acted in bad faith against them.

Much of the states $3-billion strawberry industry watched the battle uneasily. Independent growers have been hoping that both parties  the university and the professors firm  continue their breeding efforts aimed at improving Californias varieties and keeping its strawberries at the forefront of the worldwide market.

Chhabria, in his remarks from the bench, said he concluded that the professors were correct in one respect.

Its obvious from the evidence, he said, that the university did not know what was going on with the strawberry breeding program  and did not communicate well with the professors or with the Department at UC Davis about its intentions.

He admonished both sides, If you really care about Californias strawberry breeding program, you would figure out a way  and you would have by now figured out a way  to avoid subjecting them to this custody battle.  Youd figure out a way thats acceptable to both sides for how to move forward with the program, rather than leaving it to a federal judge who is much less qualified to make that decision.

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:

2:15 p.m.: This post has been updated to reflect that the court verdict was handed up, and Chhabria made his remarks, Wednesday rather than Thursday.

6:21 p.m.: This post has been updated with a statement from UC Davis.
Fox News may be seeing a repeat of advertiser backlash that eventually drove out its former top anchor, Bill OReilly.

At least seven advertisers  Cars.com, Leesa Sleep, Casper, USAA, Peloton, the Crowne Plaza hotel chain and doorbell company Ring  have reportedly asked to be pulled from Sean Hannitys prime-time program.

The defections are in response to the hosts promotion of a right-wing theory that Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer, was slain after providing party emails to WikiLeaks.

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We dont have the ability to influence content at the time we make our advertising purchase, Cars.com said in a statement. In this case, weve been watching closely and have recently made the decision to pull our advertising from Hannity.

A representative of Fox News would not comment on the pullout by advertisers and said Hannity is off the rest of the week on a scheduled vacation.

Like the rest of the country, Sean Hannity is taking a vacation around Memorial Day weekend and will be back on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Fox News said. Those who suggest otherwise are going to look foolish.

The advertiser pullback was first reported by BuzzFeed News.

In March, advertisers started dropping out of The OReilly Factor amid reports that OReilly and Fox News had paid $13 million to settle claims of sexual harassment and verbal abuse by the prime-time star. By early April, every major advertiser was off the program.

OReilly left for vacation after his April 11 broadcast but was never seen on Fox News Channel again. He was fired April 19, with the company paying off his $25-million-a-year contract.

The departure of OReilly, for years the most popular prime-time personality on Fox News, has put cracks in the ratings dominance of the top-rated cable news channel. Last week, Fox News finished behind CNN and MSNBC in the 25-to-54 age group  the group most coveted by advertisers  for the first time since 2008 (outside of weeks when the Democratic National Convention was held).

But the advertiser exodus from Hannity does not appear to be gaining the kind of traction that led to OReillys demise. Mercedes Benz issued a statement Thursday saying it has no plans to move its commercials out of the program

[The] rule of thumb is that we do not pull our ads based on editorial content, the company said. Our feeling is that a variety of viewpoints is part of the natural discourse that takes place in a free media.

A Hyundai Motor Company spokesman told BuzzFeed, which has been surveying companies about whether they intend to keep their spots in Hannity, it has no plans to change its ad buys.

When the two automotive companies defected from The OReilly Factor, it was a sign to Fox News executives that they had full-blown crisis on their hands.

Hannity has always been the most outspoken conservative voice on Fox News and as a commentator does not have to adhere to the journalistic rigors of correspondents and news anchors on the channel. But after Fox News retracted the story, he was forced to back off of his speculation about Rich, who was killed on the streets of Washington in what police have said was a botched robbery.

Hannity insists that it was his decision to stop discussing the theory that Richs death was related to the leaking of DNC emails to WikiLeaks, which U.S. intelligence agencies have instead said was the work of Russia-backed hackers. He said on his program Tuesday that he had spoken to Richs brother and would no longer discuss the matter out of respect for the family.

But the talk within Fox News is that Hannity was asked to back off the matter, which comes at a delicate time as Fox News parent 21st Century Fox is attempting to get British regulators to approve its acquisition of European pay TV giant Sky.

Advertisers asking Fox News to take their commercials out of the program in response to the controversy  the same thing that led to OReillys undoing  will be a test for Fox News.

Fox News stood by OReilly in the early weeks of the advertiser defection. But nature of the allegations against OReilly  with the possibility of more coming  and no clear signal that advertisers would return, led to a parting of ways.

If Fox News severed its ties with Hannity, it would be a statement on how much latitude its willing to give its opinionated hosts. It could also raise questions about whether advertisers have undue influence in what political ideas can be shared on cable news.

Moving away from a news story that may or may not be true suggests brands are now taking political positions, said Larry Chiagouris, a professor of marketing at Pace Universitys Lubin School of Business in New York. It may cost them sales in the long run as some consumers push back.

Although OReilly was not a popular figure among his Fox News colleagues, Hannity is generally well-regarded even among co-workers who dont agree with his political views.

Numerous on-air personalities have issued apologies for misstatements or inaccuracies they have perpetuated on Fox News programs. But suspensions or firings have been rare.

Hannity has been a supporter of free speech for other TV and radio hosts who have run into controversies.

When Late Show host Stephen Colbert recently faced criticism over a lewd joke he told on the air about President Trumps relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hannity tweeted: I will NOT support #FireColbert. I am vs ALL BOYCOTTS. He is a horrible human being, but if u dont like him change the channel.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

ALSO

CAA and Chinas Bona Film Group create $150-million film fund

Amid turmoil, is Fox News losing its perch as cable news leader?

Fox News moves to dismiss lawsuit by former on-air host Andrea Tantaros

UPDATES:

9:35 a.m.: This article was updated to include a statement from Mercedes Benz

2:40 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the advertising pullout.

May 26, 9:07 a.m.: This article was updated with information on Mercedes Benz and Hyundai Motor Company.

This article was originally published at 11:55 a.m.
Carrier, the company President Trump pledged to keep on American soil, informed the state of Indiana this week that it will soon begin cutting 632 workers from an Indianapolis factory. The manufacturing jobs will move to Monterrey, Mexico, where the minimum wage is $3.90.

That was not supposed to happen, according to Trumps campaign promises. He told Indiana residents at a rally last year there was a 100% chance he would save more jobs at the heating and air conditioning manufacturer.

About 1,400 positions were on the chopping block, per company estimates. Over the last year, Trump has claimed he could maintain at least 1,100 of those jobs in the U.S. But on Monday, the company gave official notice to Indiana officials that it would start laying off workers at the factory July 20 and keep slashing staff until about 800 employees remain.

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This action follows a thorough evaluation of our manufacturing operations, wrote Steven Morris, a Carrier manager in Indianapolis, in a memo to Indianas department of workforce development, and is intended to address the challenges the business faces in a rapidly changing industry.

The dismissals, he added, are expected to be permanent.

Trumps saga with Carrier began last spring, when he declared to an Indianapolis crowd that he would stop the company from uprooting in search of cheaper labor.

Heres whats going to happen, Trump said at the Indiana rally in spring 2016. Theyre going to call me and they are going to say Mr. President, Carrier has decided to stay in Indiana. 

He kept going. One hundred percent, Trump said. Its not like we have an 80% chance of keeping them or a 95%. One hundred percent.

After the election, Trump took credit for rescuing the Carrier jobs, tweeting on Thanksgiving that he had called the companys leadership to cut a deal.

United Technologies Corp., Carriers parent company, agreed to spare some of the positions in exchange for $7 million in state tax credits. (If the company outsourced any of those jobs over the next 10 years, it would have to pay back the money, according to the Indiana Economic Development Council.)

A celebratory Trump visited the factory in December and announced that, thanks to his negotiating, more than 1,100 of the jobs would stay in the heartland.

Carrier stepped it up, and now theyre keeping over 1,100 people, Trump told an audience of cheering factory workers.

He said those numbers could go even higher, noting that United Technologies had agreed to invest roughly $16 million into updating the plant.

And by the way, that number is going to go up substantially as they expand this area, this plant, Trump said. The 1,100 is going to be a minimum number.

But later that month, Greg Hayes, chief executive of United Technologies, admitted that the $16 million investment would go toward automation.

What that ultimately means is there will be fewer jobs, he told CNBCs Jim Cramer.

Chuck Jones, president of the United Steelworkers 1999, which represents Carrier employees in Indianapolis, then provided further evidence that Trump had inflated the number of jobs that would remain in Indianapolis. Only 800 Carrier employees would be able to keep their jobs  770 factory workers plus 30 or so more employees, counting supervisors, according to the union count.

Jones said days later that Trump had lied. He suspected the then-president-elect was including in his count design and engineering jobs that were never going to leave. Trump responded on Twitter by saying Jones had done a terrible job as union president.

The full extent of the layoffs emerged this week with Carriers announcement of 632 job losses. The company did not specify how many jobs, exactly, would stay in Indianapolis, but United Technologies said in December that number was close to 800.

Holly Gillham, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which was formerly led by Vice President Mike Pence, said Mondays notice of jobs cuts was consistent with Carriers arrangement with the state and Trump.

As announced in December, Carrier is fully committed to retaining more than 1,000 jobs in Indiana over the next 10 years, she said in an email. By choosing to maintain these Hoosier jobs, Carrier is showing confidence in Indianas skilled manufacturing workforce.

According to Jones, 550 union members will be laid off, plus 82 temporary factory staffers who were brought on to help with the transition. The layoffs begin in late July.

July 20, Jones said. Everyone knew it was coming, they just didnt know when, exactly. Its closure to a bad situation.

Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said Trumps deal with Carrier offered a partial solution to a broader problem.

American manufacturing employment, he noted, has dwindled for decades, especially in Indiana, where a third of workers held those jobs 50 years ago and the share today is closer to 10%.

I wouldnt even call it a deal, Strain said. It seemed to be that Carrier was responding to political pressure and did so in a way that allowed them to make it through a political moment.

Trump benefited from the optics, he said.

The president, Strain said, took the opportunity to position himself as a champion of American workers.

Carrier will eliminate twice as many jobs as Rexnord, the ball bearing factory about a mile away from the Carrier facility. Trump has slammed that company on Twitter too for outsourcing work to Mexico  but the firm has stuck to its plan and is dismissing the last hundred of its 300 employees in Indianapolis this summer.

Paquette writes for the Washington Post.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Armenias blackmail and slander against international organizations is systematic, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend May 25.

The ministry was commenting on the news spread by the Armenian media that the Azerbaijani side allegedly did not take the OSCE mission to front positions during a monitoring of contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

The OSCE mission has officially confirmed that the monitoring, held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Tartar District, passed without an incident, the ministry said.

The Armenian side too reported that the monitoring was carried out in accordance with the schedule and that the ceasefire was not violated during the monitoring, the ministry said. They also said the Azerbaijani side allegedly did not take the OSCE mission to the front positions during the monitoring.

The Defense Ministry said such provocative news was also spread after the monitoring held on March 1.

Once again we state that in accordance with the monitoring mechanism, international observers contact the sides of the conflict in advance and determine the date, place to be monitored and other details, the ministry said. Field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative confirm that the monitoring has been held. If any of the sides creates problems during the monitoring, the observers will first spread such information.

Regularly spreading such slanderous information, Armenia pursues the goal of systematically blackmailing the international organizations, trying to cast a shadow on their activity and undermine their credibility.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Banks had hoped Congress would let them charge merchants higher fees to process debit card purchases, but an effort to allow that has crumbled  a victory for retailers and, possibly, shoppers who might have had to shoulder those costs.

In the latest chapter of a long-running fight, a repeal of federal limits on so-called swipe fees no longer will be part of a House financial regulation bill, said the legislations author, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).



For the record: An earlier version of this article said Hensarling issues his statement late Thursday. He issued it late Wednesday.

Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he decided to strip the provision from the bill because many lawmakers are balking at removing the limits.

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We wont let this one provision hinder passage of an important priority bill that will end bank bailouts and help renew healthy economic growth for all Americans, Hensarling said of his Financial Choice Act in a statement late Wednesday.

Retailers  including big players such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp.  argued that banks charged much more than necessary to process debit card transactions as that method of payment became more popular. Those fees were passed on to consumers, retailers said.

In 2011, the Federal Reserve capped the fees at 21 cents per transaction, plus a small percentage of the purchase price and a possible 1-cent fraud prevention adjustment. The limit was well below the average 44-cent fee retailers were paying at the time.

Banks strongly objected to the cap and have been fighting it ever since. They argued the limits didnt take into account fraud losses and other costs.

Regulators were ordered to cap the fees by a provision known as the Durbin amendment  named for its author, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.)  that was included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Financial Choice Act, a sweeping dismantling of Dodd-Frank, included a repeal of the debit-card fee limits when the legislation was approved by the House Financial Services Committee this month.

Ive said before that repeal of the Durbin amendment was the most contentious part of the bill among Republicans, Hensarling said. I believe it belongs in the Financial Choice Act, but I recognize and respect that many members of Congress feel differently.

Durbin said there was a bipartisan consensus to keep the fee limits he championed.

Repealing the caps would be like dropping an $8-billion-per-year tax increase on Main Street businesses, causing prices to spike at the grocery store and the gas pump, all for the benefit of big banks already making record profits, he said Thursday.

The National Retail Federation trade group said Hensarlings decision was a major victory for consumers.

Repeal of reform would have allowed banks to return to the uncompetitive market that allowed them to set these fees as high as they liked, said Mallory Duncan, the groups general counsel. The progress that was made toward competition would have been lost, and consumers would have seen nothing but higher prices.

The banking industry hasnt given up the fight, although there appears to be little appetite in the Senate to repeal the fees.

Rob Nichols, president of the American Bankers Assn., said the cap amounted to government price controls.

Until its repealed, big-box retailers will continue to reap the billions in profits they promised to pass along to their customers, he said. Thats wrong and Congress should fix it.

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

UPDATES:

10:50 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from Sen. Richard Durbin.

This article was originally published at 9:40 a.m.
Sutter Health, a giant hospital chain in Northern California, thought that it had found a simple solution to doctors ordering unnecessary and wasteful tests: It deleted the button physicians used to order daily blood tests.

We took it out and couldnt wait to see the data, said Ann Marie Giusto, an executive at the Sacramento-based health system.

Alas, the number of orders hardly changed. Thats because the hospitals medical-records software has this cool ability to let you save your favorites, Giusto said at a recent presentation to other hospital executives and physicians. It had become a habit.

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There are plenty of opportunities to trim waste in Americas $3.4-trillion healthcare system  but, as the Sutter example illustrates, its often not as simple as it seems.

Some experts estimate that at least $200 billion is wasted annually on excessive testing and treatment. This overly aggressive care also can harm patients, generating mistakes and injuries believed to cause 30,000 deaths each year.

The changes that need to be made dont appear unrealistic, yet they seem to take an awful lot of time, said Dr. Jeff Rideout, chief executive of the Integrated Healthcare Assn., an Oakland nonprofit group that promotes quality improvement.

In California, that sense of frustration has led three of the states biggest healthcare purchasers to band together to promote care thats safer and more cost-effective. The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the Covered California insurance exchange and the states Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal  which collectively serve more than 15 million patients  are leading the initiative.

Progress may be slow, but there have been some encouraging signs. In San Diego, for instance, the Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group said it cut unnecessary lab tests more than 10% by educating both doctors and patients about overuse.

A large public hospital, Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, eliminated preoperative testing deemed superfluous before routine cataract surgery. As a result, patients on average received the surgery six months sooner.

These efforts were sparked by the Choosing Wisely campaign, a national effort launched in 2012 by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation. The group asked medical societies to identify at least five common tests or procedures that often provide little benefit.

The campaign, also backed by Consumer Reports, encourages medical providers to hand out wallet-sized cards to patients with questions they should ask to determine whether they truly need a procedure.

Critics have knocked Choosing Wisely for playing it too safe and not going after some of the more lucrative procedures, such as certain spine operations and arthroscopic knee surgeries.

The state effort, dubbed Smart Care California, is in the early stages as well. Initially, the group has focused on cutting the number of elective cesarean sections, reducing opioid use and avoiding overtreatment for patients suffering low back pain. In its contract with health insurers, the Covered California exchange requires that their in-network providers meet a range of quality standards, including low C-section rates.

Dr. Richard Sun, co-chairman of the Smart Care group and a medical consultant at CalPERS, said hes pursuing safer, more affordable treatments for low back pain, a condition that cost the state agency $107 million in 2015.

For patients, overtreatment can be more than a minor annoyance.

Galen Gunther, a 59-year-old from Oakland, said that during treatment for colorectal cancer a decade ago he was subjected needlessly to repeated blood draws, often because the doctors couldnt get their hands on earlier results. Later, he said, he was overexposed to radiation, leaving him permanently scarred.

Every doctor I saw wanted to run the same tests, over and over again, Gunther said. Nobody wanted to take responsibility for that.

At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, officials said that economic incentives still drive hospitals to think that more is better.

We have excellent patient outcomes, but its at a very high cost, said Dr. Harry Sax, executive vice chairman for surgery at Cedars-Sinai. There is still a continued financial incentive to do that test, do that procedure and do something more.

In addition to financial motives, Sax said, many physicians still practice defensive medicine out of fear of malpractice litigation. Also, some patients and their families expect antibiotics to be prescribed for a sore throat or a CT scan for a bump on the head.

To cut down on needless care, Cedars-Sinai arranged for doctors to be alerted electronically when they ordered tests or drugs that run contrary to 18 Choosing Wisely recommendations.

The hospital analyzed alerts from 26,424 patient encounters from 2013 to 2016. All of the guidelines were followed in 6% of those cases, or 1,591 encounters.

Sax said Cedars-Sinai studied the rate of complications, readmission, length of stay and direct cost of care among the patients in whose cases the guidelines were followed and compared those outcomes with cases where adherence was less than 50%.

In the group that didnt follow the guidelines, patients had a 14% higher incidence of readmission and 29% higher risk of complications. Those complications and longer stays increased the cost of care by 7%, according to the hospital.

In 2013, the first year of implementation of Choosing Wisely guidelines, Cedars-Sinai said it avoided $6 million in medical spending.

For perspective, Cedars-Sinai is one the largest hospitals in the nation with $3.3 billion in revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30. It reported net income of $301 million.

Sutter Healths Giusto meets with doctors to present data on how many tests or prescriptions they order and how that compares to others. At one clinic, she shared slides showing that some doctors were ordering more than 70 opioid pills at a time while others prescribed fewer than 20. In response, Sutter set a goal of 28 tablets in hopes of reducing opioid abuse.

Most of the physicians changed, Giusto said. But there were still two who said, Screw it. Im going to keep doing it. 

Chad Terhune is a senior correspondent with California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation published by Kaiser Health News.
The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly testing a new screening procedure that more closely examines electronic devices in carry-on bags at LAX and nine other airports.

Under the test screening process, passengers passing through TSA security checkpoints are asked to take out electronic devices larger than a cellphone from carry-on bags and place the devices in a separate bin for X-ray screening. Passengers will be asked not to stack the devices.

The new approach started in March at Los Angeles International Airport, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Logan International Airport in Boston and seven other airports.

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TSA officials say the new procedure is not connected to the restrictions the agency imposed in March forbidding passengers from bringing electronic devices such as laptops into airplane cabins for flights from eight Middle Eastern and African countries. U.S. officials are considering extending the so-called laptop ban to flights from Europe to the U.S.

Security officials have refused to discuss whether specific threats led to the enhanced screening or the laptop restrictions.

As part of our counterterrorism efforts, TSA continuously enhances and adjusts security screening procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats, said Darby LaJoye, TSA assistant administrator for security operations.

The 10 airports were selected to represent a variety of sizes, locations and equipment. The agency said it may roll out the new procedure at other airports nationwide.

The new screening process comes as Americans prepare for a summer travel season that is expected to set new air travel records.

An airline trade group predicted last month that a record 234.1 million passengers are expected to fly on U.S.-based carriers this summer, a 4% increase over the same period last year. The group, Airlines for America, attributed the increase to improving economic conditions, higher household net worth and lower airfares.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Wells Fargo & Co. may have to cough up more than $142 million to settle a bevy of class-action lawsuits in connection with its unauthorized-accounts scandal.

A federal judge in San Francisco said late Wednesday that he would approve a settlement deal reached by the bank and plaintiffs attorneys, but only if they agree to several conditions  including a guarantee that all customers will be fully compensated for their losses.

That could further boost the amount the bank will have to pay to put the lawsuits behind it as questions remain about how many customers were harmed and how much money they lost.

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The two sides had most recently agreed that the bank would pay $142 million to compensate customers for fees and other damages related to millions of unauthorized checking, savings and credit card accounts, up from a proposed $110 million settlement amount agreed to in March.

But at a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria had said the proposed sum  while potentially more than enough  still could fall short and leave customers in the lurch.

If Wells Fargo wants to make things right, what about a full compensation guarantee? Chhabria asked Wells Fargos attorneys during the hearing.

In a filing late Wednesday, Chhabria laid out 11 conditions, including the guarantee, and gave the bank and plaintiffs attorneys two weeks to come back with an amended deal.

He also wants the settlement to allow potential victims of the banks practices to have more time to request payouts and for him to have the authority to appoint a settlement monitor.

David Fry, an attorney for Wells Fargo, had argued at last weeks hearing that, in practice, a compensation guarantee could result in the bank making payments to customers who never suffered any monetary losses.

Its not clear, though, whether Chhabrias demand for a guarantee could push the bank to walk away from the deal.

Wells Fargo spokesman Ancel Martinez said Thursday that the bank and its attorneys are reviewing the court order, and working with the plaintiffs attorneys to prepare a revised settlement agreement.

At last weeks hearing, Chhabria seemed especially concerned about bank customers whose credit scores were damaged by unauthorized credit card accounts.

The proposed settlement includes a method for compensating those customers if, as a result of damaged credit, they paid higher interest rates for loans. But Chhabria said he is unsure whether the settlement will make those customers whole.

Part of his concern stems from the fact that neither the number of consumers affected nor the amount of consumer harm are definitively known.

Were working with incomplete information, Chhabria said at last weeks hearing. I think, because of that, stricter-than-normal scrutiny is required by the court.

The $110-million proposed settlement in March covered unauthorized accounts created as early as 2009. At the time, the number of potentially unauthorized accounts was thought to be 2.1 million, a figure pulled from the $185-million settlement Wells Fargo reached with regulators in September.

Wells Fargo Chief Executive Timothy Sloan called the deal another step in our journey to make things right with customers and rebuild trust.

Then, last month, after a bank internal report said the practice of creating unauthorized accounts may have dated to 2002, Wells Fargo agreed to up the settlement sum for class-action lawsuits to $142 million.

In court filings in support of the larger settlement amount, plaintiffs attorneys estimated that as many as 3.5 million sham accounts may have been created, but also estimated that customers total out-of-pocket losses probably amount to no more than about $75 million.

The settlement agreement would first compensate customers for out-of-pocket losses. Any leftover cash would be split among settlement participants.

In Wednesdays filing, Chhabria said Wells Fargo should pay more if it becomes apparent that [customers] suffered significantly greater injury than is currently assumed.

Other conditions in Chhabrias latest order are also aimed at making sure customers, specifically those with credit damage, get a fair shake.

The judge said he wants the authority to appoint a monitor specifically to scrutinize credit-related settlement payouts. He also said hed like the settlement claims process to give customers a way to describe how their credit was harmed and how that affected them, a request aimed at giving Chhabria the ability to assess whether he believes customers are being properly compensated.

He also wants it to be easier for customers to opt out of the settlement  a move that allows customers to try taking the bank to court on their own  and wants the parties to send settlement notifications to a broader swath of current and former Wells Fargo customers than is currently called for.

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, has opposed the settlement, saying that the deal could stifle attempts to uncover more information about the scope and scale of the unauthorized accounts scandal.

Still, he applauded Chhabrias call for a compensation guarantee and other changes to the deal.

Its great to see the judge is paying attention, Mierzwinski said. A good settlement must always return cash to the class members, who shouldnt need to jump through hoops.

james.koren@latimes.com

Twitter: @jrkoren

UPDATES:

4:10 p.m.: This article was updated with more details of the judges ruling and a comment from Ed Mierzwinsk of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

This article was originally published at 12:35 p.m.
Following on the heels of Antonio Gates recent home sale, former Chargers offensive lineman Orlando Franklin is ready to make a move of his own. He has put his estate in Poway, a community north of downtown San Diego, back up for sale at $1.895 million.

The single-story home, built in 2004, is amped up with outdoor amenities. The wide back of the home opens to a resort-like setting that includes a free-form swimming pool and spa, a fire pit and an outdoor dining area with a barbecue island. Tropical plantings, lawns and a horseshoe pit fill out grounds of more than an acre.

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Beyond the two-story entry, the 6,532 square feet of voluminous living space includes formal living and dining rooms, a great room with beamed ceilings, a game room and an eat-in kitchen with room for an entire starting offensive line. A pass-through with a service bar connects the kitchen and family room area.

The master suite scores points with a sitting room, two walk-in closets, a wet bar and a fireplace. In all, there are five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Franklin, 29, joined the Chargers two years ago on a five-year, $36.5-million deal, but was released by the team earlier this month. In two seasons with the Bolts, the six-year veteran made 26 starts at left guard.

He bought the property two years ago, records show.

Jessica Foote of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is the listing agent. Foote also represented Gates in selling his Poway estate, which sold earlier this month for slightly more than $1.9 million.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATHotProperty

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Peter Brooks Battlefield, which opened at the Wallis on Wednesday for a brief run through Sunday, is itself the ultimate brief run. It is the last word in concentrated compression by theaters greatest condenser.

We look for indefinably precise things, Brook told The Times 30 years ago as he was about to mount his magnum opus, The Mahabharata, in Los Angeles. When I saw that nine-hour staging of Indias epic poem, done on a sound stage at Raleigh Studios, it was such a grand event that it helped to redefine the possibilities (very much in the plural) of theater for late 20th-century theater.

Ten years in the making with a huge international cast, along with musicians playing dozens of Asian, Middle Eastern and African instruments, Brooks Mahabharata was equally broad in intent, a representation of humanity in its vastness.

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Battlefield is a return to The Mahabharata on a nearly bare stage, with four actors and a single musician playing a single instrument, a drum. It lasts just over an hour. It is as pure theater as you may ever encounter. Indefinably precise things, indeed. Every syllable here is given the resonance of a note of music. Each word is pronounced as though it encompasses measureless meaning. Each phrase is announced with the scrupulous cadences found in late Stravinsky. No amplification was used or needed.

But Battlefield is not what it seems. It is not the final feat in reducing the worlds longest epic poem, eight times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined, into an 18-page script by Jean-Claude Carriere (the original author of Brooks Mahabharata). It is the endgame.

There is no abbreviation. Brook did that when he made a three-part version of his original Mahabharata for television (basically the full production without the breaks) and then turned that into a 170-minute wide-screen film. Brook did that when he shortened and reworked Bizets Carmen and Mozarts The Magic Flute.

While using many of the same techniques found in his pared-down late style, Brook here doesnt attempt a pocket Mahabharata. He instead produces an epilogue that is at once a looking back at his incomparable staging of The Mahabharata and an opening for a new beginning.

He steps way, way back and asks what it all means. Battlefield ends with: Now I will tell you what you wish to know. But Brook leaves us, after an hour that seems neither short nor long but outside of time, knowing nothing. And knowing that you know nothing, you can begin to understand.

The adaptation and staging by Brook and his longtime co-director Marie-Helene Estienne looks like most of Brooks recent work. The stage is ritualized space, decorated with a few poles. Oria Puppos costumes are robes representing no particular style or nationality. Colored scarves help to identify the many different characters played by exceptional actors who can change personage on a dime.

The Mahabharata is the tale (and hundreds of sub-tales) of the war between the 100 sons of the blind king Dritarashtra and the five of his brother. Every effort is made to avoid the war. The gods give inscrutable good advice. But destiny cannot be avoided. The epic bloodshed ends with brother killing brother, cousin killing cousin and hundreds of thousands dead.

All this has already played out when Battlefield opens with the victorious Yudishtira looking over it all in horror and unable to face the consequences of his actions. His only desire is to leave the world and become a hermit in the woods. Battlefield is the instruction by Dritarashtra, by Yudishtiras mother, by the gods and others, through example and parable about the ethics of responsibility, of following ones destiny and trying to make the best of it.

Life is the quest for the speck of vision that comes with death. Maybe  there are no guarantees  the next life will be a little better. The cyclic nature of all things dismisses the possibility of avoidance but not the possibility that by contemplating the larger scheme of things you can start to make sense of the moment.

Karen Aldridge, Jared McNeill, Ery Nzaramba and Sean OCallaghan play such roles, be they king or hunter, god or a snake, Death or Time. These are actors from different parts of the world, speaking English with a different accent. Yet they share the ability to create the atmosphere of a timeless religious pageant while at the same paradoxical time give the impression that each one is focusing directly on you in the audience.

One more paradox is that they are also listeners as much as actors or characters or seers. They find their cadences through Toshi Tsuchitoris drum, even when he is silent. The play ends with the cast all silent in intent concentration on a miraculous improvised solo from Tsuchitori (who created the music for Brooks original Mahabharata).

Once Tsuchitori ends, they continue to listen to the silence, welcoming the audience back to its world. That is the kernel of Battlefield. This is Brooks lesson in listening as conduit to second sight.

War may be inevitable, Battlefield implies, but it is also the result of stupidity, the handiwork of people who cannot shut up long enough to hear what is being said by the brother or cousin (Sunni or Shiite, Israeli or Palestinian, North Korean or South, Republican or Democrat) whom you believe it is your destiny to defeat.

As an exercise in how to stop and listen to the stories, listen to the environment, listen to death as a way to learn to live, Battlefield is meant to stop no battles. It merely points you just a little closer to the right direction, which makes it an essential hour of theater.

         

Battlefield

Where: Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills

When: 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $35-$75 (subject to change)

Info: (310) 746-4000 or www.thewallis.org

Running time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

mark.swed@latimes.com

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Now in production for its third season, Mr. Robot is never far from the pulse of current events. A couple of weeks ago, the dystopian computer hacker drama was in mid-shoot at an FBI field office when news broke that bureau Director James Comey had been fired. One of the lines of dialogue is referencing Comey, Sam Esmail, the shows creator, recalled. That was a little surreal and kind of an out-of-body experience.

Esmail might as easily be describing the USA Network series, whose dark and downbeat second season unfolded much within the imagination of its mentally unstable antihero, Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), as he fought to free himself from his manipulative alter-ego, Mr. Robot (Christian Slater). By seasons end, fsociety  the underground hacktivist group led by the sidelined Elliot  was shattered, and a deadly, explosive plot hatched by Mr. Robot and the Dark Army, a cryptic Chinese organization, was about to go off. Elliot himself lay bleeding, shot by a character he believed to be a delusional figment.

The shows license to be uncanny is endorsed by the headlines, argues its star.

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As ridiculous as this sounds, I feel that Im reading my scripts as if I could be reading the L.A. Times tomorrow, said Malek, speaking by phone during a lunch break from a location shoot on New York Citys Broadway. I would approach Sam and say, Do you really believe that this is possible? At one point he goes, Look, its not outside the range of possibility that Trump could become president. If that could happen, all the events that take place on our show can. 

The new season promises more shock and surprise, and a significant shift in gear, as Elliot returns to the increasingly chaotic real world. This is the part of the movie where things ramp up and get very exciting, Malek said.

See the most read stories this hour 

Portia Doubleday, whose Angela Moss faced a moral crisis as a hacktivist-turned-executive for the sinister E Corp., underscores a fresh urgency to the story line. Angela is constantly teetering on the edge of either side, she said. I had no idea what was going to go on this season, and when Sam told me I was, like, Youve got to be freaking kidding me.

So much goes down this season, she continued. Theres a lot of hacking thats really fun, and its always exciting because it inevitably leads to something terrible  or who knows?

That should please critics and fans who felt stymied by last seasons sometimes tangled and less plot-driven approach, which included a major midseason twist, and focused more on character development and murky atmosphere than action. The complaints dont bother Esmail. Season 2 was superior to Season 1 in every way, he said. I happen to like a story that slows down and goes into that more internal world of a character.

That gave more screen time to supporting actors like Doubleday and Carly Chaikin, whose Darlene  Elliots tough-talking sister  takes over leadership of fsociety, only to end up in the custody of indefatigable FBI field agent Dom DiPierro (Grace Gummer). Shes stuck between a rock and a hard place, Chaikin said. Its funny, on this show we work really hard and on top of it were doing the most depressing, heavy stuff every day. Last season Im telling my friend, Oh, Im getting ready to go to work. I have to go kill someone and have a panic attack. What did I sign up for? As actors, its a dream day.

The most out-of-the-box performances last season were in the fifth episode, written by Adam Penn, which spoofed the forced jollity of 1990s family situation comedies. Esmail praises other examples of this kind of envelope pushing, notably on Donald Glovers hip-hop-themed series Atlanta. They had a whole episode that was on this fake network and they went everywhere, he said. This elasticity is something I really enjoy as a viewer, and we took that approach to a large extent in the second season.

Esmail also rhapsodizes about The Leftovers, which is about to conclude its third and final season on HBO. Damon Lindelof is one of my heroes, he said. Every episode is going into this crazy, surreal, adventurous plot. Its the one thing I really appreciate about any show and the one thing I really hold ourselves to in the writers room: What is the most creative way to tell this story? Thats really ultimately what its all about.

calendar@latimes.com
Although shes never met him, Queen Elizabeth II has been very good to Peter Morgan. First he wrote 2006s The Queen, featuring Helen Mirrens Oscar-winning performance in the title role. Then the British dramatist penned the 2013 hit play Audience, centered on her weekly meetings with a succession of prime ministers. And now hes overseeing Netflixs Golden Globe-winning, six-season production The Crown, which follows Queen Elizabeth II through her 65-year-and-counting reign, complete with behind-the-scenes fractious family turmoil. Its a lot of queen for a guy who says he had zero interest in Englands royal family until a few years ago.

I only wrote The Queen because I knew I could write Tony Blair and I was interested in the clash between the elected prime minister and this unelected head of state, Morgan explains by phone from London. The minute you put them in a room together, no matter what you do with the dialogue, the scenes going to work on two levels  the personal and the political. And theres no way I would have written The Crown if it did not involve a private audience in every episode between the prime minister and the queen.

Season 1 of The Crown, written entirely by Morgan, reconstructs the sometimes tense relationship between Winston Churchill (John Lithgow) and Queen Elizabeth (Claire Foy). In one characteristic episode, she urges the ailing leader to address Londons deadly 1954 smog crisis without overstepping the boundaries of her constitutionally limited powers. Constricted by tradition and steeped in hierarchy, The Crown owes a considerable thematic debt to mafia classic The Godfather, Morgan says.

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This wide-eyed ingenue comes into this system, learns the rules of power, learns at times to dissemble, learns with each passing year to use her elbows and prevail. It gave me great pleasure to show that the queen is much tougher than youd think, out-living and out-surviving all of her rivals. Its really the Michael Corleone story, but with less violence.

Morgan also drew inspiration from The Sopranos as a model for heightened family dysfunction. The families in The Sopranos and The Crown are different from every other family because they belong to systems that have unique rules and flavors. At the same time, theyre the same as every family. Thats why sticking closely to the specifics of the anthropology in The Crown is quite important to me.

Peter Morgan holds up his Romy Award in Vienna, Austria on April 22. (Lisi Niesner / EPA)

Like many families, siblings clash in The Crown. Unlike most families, Elizabeth cites the 1772 Royal Marriage Act to prohibit her flamboyant younger sister Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) from marrying the man she loves until she turns 25. Morgan observes, Margaret is the natural movie star in that particular family but its her sister who got the leading role. Elizabeth wanted to be in the background. The last thing she wanted was the crown on her head.

Like Margaret, Queen Elizabeths husband Philip (Matt Smith) feels stifled by the young monarchs authority. Philips a triple alpha, a natural leader, commander of a destroyer during the war, Morgan says. His particular misfortune and lifelong challenge was to walk in the shadow and bite his tongue. What kind of impact does that have on a marriage? What happens there behind closed doors?

To find Season 1 stories, Morgan and his team of researchers cherry-picked the historical record for dramatically ripe material. Morgan then deployed his gift for dialogue to imagine plausible exchanges between the conflicted parties. Morgan says, The thing about The Crown is that the specifics of the words and the conversations  nobody knows if theyre accurate or not. But Im not fictionalizing anything. Im joining the dots and Im making deductions and assumptions based on facts. I wont dramatize an event unless it happened.

In The Crown, Morgan renders Buckingham Palace as a seething vortex of discontented characters striving mightily to appear happy in public. People might think theres nothing interesting about the royal family, but in Prince Philip and Princess Margaret alone, you see two unbelievably resonant human conflicts within a family situation that I think can sustain a dramatist for some time, Morgan says.

In the end, you just have to trust that all human beings are worthy of dramatization if you drill down and find their complexities. Because everybody has them. Everybody.

calendar@latimes.com
Its been a traumatic couple of years for fans of Rupert Friends Homeland character, Peter Quinn, a heroic CIA paramilitary agent who appeared to have expired multiple times before his actual exit at the end of Season 6. But thanks to Friends sensitive yet steely portrayal of a man damaged outside and in from his experiences, Quinn was able to rise from his ashes and go out in a blaze of glory  and the ultimate sacrifice. The British-born Friend took a moment while here in his adopted hometown to talk about the power of the imagination, Quinn's exit and Roald Dahl for The Envelope.

To clarify: In Season 5, Quinn is basically dead from sarin gas, but lives. Then it seems like Carrie may mercy kill him, but he lives. Then at the end of Season 6, hes shot while saving the president-elect. Is he dead now or what?

Apparently. You never really know with this show. Im probably not best qualified to answer that  the question is probably for the writers, and they dont necessarily know. The answer is yes, though.

Often an actor will say that his character has run its course, and theyve put him to bed. Is that how you felt with Quinn?

I never felt that; I always saw him as such a fascinating human being. He had to pull off some pretty complicated stuff considering he wasnt firing on all cylinders. We havent really seen a character on television  a returning modern veteran suffering from modern ailments due to chemical warfare and post-traumatic stress and having a stroke  and that was an interesting and brave thing for the writers to address.

Rupert Friend in Homeland. (JoJo Whilden / Showtime) (JoJo Whilden / JoJo Whilden/SHOWTIME)

What was it like to adapt your movements and speech to play Quinn this season?

All the work that I did was very private. Every single role is different, but for me there is an absolute unifying base note at the heart of it, which is the power of the imagination. I genuinely believe that you can do it if you can imagine it  whether its horseback riding, jumping out of a plane or speaking Russian. Ive been lucky enough to work in a place where I can prove that to myself. I dont see a difference in that and a novelist or a composer or the person who dreams up a restaurant  it starts with the imagination, and then its realized. Theres a magical component to imagination that I realized I love.

And yet you must want to be accurate, so its not just about imagination  a novelist writing about jazz will want to visit the clubs.

They might do. I doubt Roald Dahl ever visited a chocolate factory with Oompa Loompas in it. I grew up with Dahls obituary on my door  hes an absolute hero of mine. He was a difficult human being, but my love for his work came from the idea that it was limitless. That whole write what you know mentality  I dont believe that. Ive never been a black ops, or an American; Ive never had a stroke or gone to war. My imagination is my imagination, and thats my job.

My imagination is my imagination, and thats my job.  Rupert Friend, actor

Your wife, Aimee Mullins, is an athlete with prosthetic lower legs. Quinn has all of his limbs, but were her experiences in adapting to a changed body helpful in informing your portrayal?

I think that agency in a human, in a character, in a person, is a quality you either have or dont have. I have met people in my life who simply dont believe in I cant. Theyre wonderful. What Im interested in is what happens when that agency is tested. You have to be present in your own life. One reason Quinn resonates with people is he ultimately has such agency  and thats incredibly attractive. Nobody wants to be around a whiny, introspective, navel-gazing person.

Youve been married now for a year. Has it changed you?

Self-analysis is incredibly difficult. It does feel different  its tricky, though, because I would say it feels amazing to be part of an incredibly solid team. My marriage solidified something that was already incredibly copacetic and supportive and powerful. Im lucky to be married to somebody who gives of herself selflessly every day, and I try my hardest to reciprocate. And sometimes I succeed.

See the most read stories this hour 

calendar@latimes.com
When Disneys Tower of Terror was in the midst of being remade into Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, the lead designer on the project promised that the comic book-inspired thrill ride would have an animated feel.

It's almost like the equivalent of a 1940s cartoon, said Joe Rohde, the veteran Imagineer who has been working with Disney for nearly 40 years.

And key to the attractions lighthearted, zany tone is its abundance of furry animals. No doubt the star of the show will be Rocket, a talking raccoon-like character who leads guests on the mission  and up and down a 193-foot tower  to free his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy.

But before guests encounter Rocket, who is represented as an audio-animatronic and scurries amid the bookshelves of an office, theyll come face to face with another robotic critter, Cosmo.

Before Cosmo arrived at California Adventure, he was a former test dog from the Russian space program, having made his Marvel Comics debut in 2008.

Inside the Collectors fortress at Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Mission Breakout heralds a potentially major change coming to Disney parks, as the ride is the companys first Marvel-inspired attraction in North America. But while superheroes are relatively new to the Disneyland Resort, and are arriving in Anaheim with a pop soundtrack that includes tunes from the Jackson 5, Pat Benatar and Elvis Presley, Mission Breakout utilizes plenty of old-school Disney magic, including possessing two audio-animatronics.

The ride Mission Breakout is replacing, the beloved Tower of Terror, had zero. When Mission Breakout was unveiled in summer 2016, Disney die-hards fretted that the relatively quick turn-around meant there wouldnt be any fancy creations. But that proved not to be the case, and Disney managed to keep the presence of audio-animatronics relatively secret.

Rohde indicated that was done, in part because everything was happening so fast that it might not have been clear what was or wasnt working. In January, for instance, Rohde said he was unsure how Rocket would be represented in the attraction.

This was an exceedingly short production schedule, he said last week after giving a tour of Mission Breakout. The only way to get it done was literally to make a decision that you were going to do it, and then do it. It was like, Go. Were building it. Get to work. Building it. Well test it and adjust it as we go, otherwise it wont be there.

Cosmo was glimpsed in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film as being held captive inside the Collectors museum, essentially a roll Cosmo will reprise at California Adventure. At the Disney theme park, hell also be available for purchase, at least in the form of an adorable plushie.

Concept art for animatronic Cosmo from Disneylands Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. (Disney / Marvel )

In the attractions backstory, the Collector (also known as Taneleer Tivan) has acquired a number of living, dead and inanimate objects  among them the Guardians of the Galaxy  and is displaying them for tourists.

Or, in the words of Rohde, arrogant rich guy collector, and really, really funny irreverent, slightly anti-hero characters. I like them. I don't like him. We're going to help them get out.

Spoiler: The ending is happy for the Guardians and Cosmo.

Cosmo is presented in the Mission Breakout pre-show, tilting his head and wagging his tail. You cant miss him, as Cosmo is situated inside a vitrine in the lobby of the fortress, which serves as part of the line queue.

Cosmo from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Cosmo in comic form. (Disney / Marvel )

Unlike Rocket, Cosmo doesnt talk on Mission Breakout, but you can hear him whimper. But hes certainly one of the showcase items in the Collectors assemblage of stuff.

There are more than a dozen items on display in Mission Breakout, many of them hanging above guests heads (be on the lookout for the cocoon of unknown origin), and Disney has promised that new items will regularly be rotated in and out of the fortress.

But Cosmo, however, is expected to be a permanent  or near permanent, at least  resident. That also makes him the first audio-animatronic canine at Disney California Adventure. Directly next door at Disneyland Park, of course, the pet and Disney obsessed can find dogs on the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Whats perhaps unique about Mission Breakout, however, is that here the audio-animatronics are presented before guests actually buckle-up for the ride experience. Its part of the continued theme park evolution, where the attraction more and more begins the moment guests set foot in line.

Cosmo the dog plush toy at at Disney California Adventure park. (Disney / Marvel) (Joshua Sudock / Joshua Sudock)

Thats certainly the case Universal Studios the Wizarding World of Harry Potter parks, and Walt Disney World s new Pandora  The World of Avatar, another Rohde-directed project and which also opens Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

The all-encompassing worlds of video games, says Rohde, may play a part in such an approach.

I think this is an expectation that has grown from the audience, along with the growth of various forms of gaming and more dome-shaped world building, he says. The expectation that a story is going to be presented with a proscenium, where theres a space for audience and a space for story, that seems to be evolving into another kind of presumption that the audience brings.

The presumption that they bring is that the story is enveloping, the story is around them.

Todd.Martens@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @toddmartens

ALSO:

PHOTOS: Step inside Disney World's Pandora

Meet Disney's philosopher king: the brain behind 'Avatar's' Pandora and Marvel's 'Guardians' ride

PHOTOS: Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is fragile, RIA Novosti quoted David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliaments committee on foreign affairs, as saying May 25.

This conflict has no military solution, McAllister said in Yerevan, Armenia, adding that a long-term settlement based on international law is needed.

McAllister said the EU supports the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts in this work, calling on the parties to respect the ceasefire and their commitment to peaceful settlement of the conflict.

He noted that Brussels is concerned about an arms race in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, confrontational rhetoric and incidents on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, which lead to casualties.

McAllister said the EU urges the sides to resume negotiations without preconditions on the basis of the OSCE Minsk Group proposals.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
A Star Is Born: Morgan Freeman turns 80 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) I like to play characters who are the absolute opposite of me. I think the farther you get from yourself, the more fun you have because the real you is hidden away. Those are the kind of parts where you can become totally empty and let the character fill you up. Thats what I look for -- a role that gives me a chance to be someone completely different.  Morgan Freeman, 1993 FROM THE ARCHIVES: No Sweat: Morgan Freeman Slides Into the Directors Chair Facebook

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Chloe Grace Moretz addresses body-shaming controversy over Snow White movie By Josh Rottenberg (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Actress Chloe Grace Moretz has long been known as a strong voice when it comes to issues of feminism, whether its over-sexualization of female characters or equal pay for women. Now shes speaking out against the marketing campaign behind one of her own projects. Moretz went on social media Wednesday to address criticism that marketing for the animated film Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs  an updated tweak on the Snow White story, with Moretz as the voice of the classic fairy-tale character  engages in body-shaming. I have now fully reviewed the [marketing] for Red Shoes, I am just as appalled and angry as everyone else, this wasnt approved by me or my team, the actress wrote. According to the website of the South Korean animation studio behind the film, its story centers on a Princess who doesnt fit into the celebrity world of Princesses  or their dress size. When she puts on a pair of magical red shoes, she instantly becomes skinnier. The films synopsis promises an empowering message in which Snow White learns not only to accept herself, but to celebrate who she is, inside and out. But the films trailer and other marketing materials have been blasted as fat-shaming. Plus-size model Tess Holliday took to Twitter to criticize a billboard for the film that appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, where Red Shoes was seeking distribution, that suggested that the less svelte Snow White was no longer beautiful. How did this get approved by an entire marketing team? Why is it okay to tell young kids being fat = ugly? @ChloeGMoretz pic.twitter.com/PVhgwluGTM  Tess Holliday  (@Tess_Holliday) May 30, 2017 Hearing the complaints about the films tone-deaf marketing, Moretz agreed  and told her more than 3 million followers so in a pair of tweets. I have now fully reviewed the mkting for Red Shoes, I am just as appalled and angry as everyone else, this wasn't approved by me or my team  Chloe Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) May 31, 2017 Pls know I have let the producers of the film know. I lent my voice to a beautiful script that I hope you will all see in its entirety https://t.co/IOIXYZTc3g  Chloe Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) May 31, 2017 Even as she apologized, she promised that the marketing doesnt represent the complete picture and the films ultimate message is a far more positive one than initial impressions may suggest. The actual story is powerful for young women and resonated with me. I am sorry for the offense that was beyond my creative control https://t.co/HZP2ydPCAX  Chloe Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) May 31, 2017 Facebook

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Singing tween ventriloquist from Americas Got Talent is the cure for what ails you By Christie DZurilla Had enough outrage? Heres the cure for what ails you, courtesy of Americas Got Talent. Take a deep breath, exhale slowly and witness one Darci Lynne Farmer, a 12-year-old singing ventriloquist from Oklahoma City, who on Tuesday night got the Golden Buzzer from AGT judge Mel B for a performance that exuded unadulterated joy. Armed with bunny-puppet pal Petunia on lead vocals, Darci Lynne delivered a surprising version of Summertime for her audition. She ended up earning a ticket straight to the competitions live shows. You made my heart melt, said Mel B, who Darci Lynne later dubbed the best Spice Girl. I believe that that rabbit is a real separate person, judge Howie Mandel said. I love you. I believe youre gonna go far. You just changed your life tonight, young lady. https://t.co/VZmgRXv4PZ  Darci Lynne (@ItsDarciLynne) May 31, 2017 Facebook

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John Legend makes case to take canceled drama Underground elsewhere By Nardine Saad (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) John Legend is making a case for the recently canceled TV drama Underground to be picked up by other content providers. The Oscar-winning musician, who is an executive producer and played abolitionist Frederick Douglass on the Underground Railroad-centered show, rallied fans to give it a second life when cable broadcaster WGN America announced Tuesday it would be canceling the series after two seasons. The network has been scaling down its investment in original programming as part of a deal that its parent company, Tribune Media, made with conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. Sinclairs purchase of Tribune gives it control of more than 200 local TV stations and WGN America. The shift was not lost on Legend, who fired off a series of tweets to promote the content brought forth by Underground and its creators, Misha Green and Joe Pokaski. WGN America has been bought and is going a different direction strategically. We will find a new home for Underground! he tweeted, adding, Content wins. Were not reliant on a particular network to make great content. Were so proud of our show and the audience that supported! Legend, who has made no secret about his liberal politics, cautioned fans to be wary of Sinclair and claimed that theyre trying to make local stations mini Fox Newses that lean even further to the right. He completed his plea by asking followers to feel free to drop some hints to the network/streaming services you want to pick up #Underground. Show them who will be watching! View Instagram post Despite Underground being a terrific and important series, it no longer fits with our new direction and we have reached the difficult decision not to renew it for a third season, Peter Kern, president and CEO of Tribune Media, said in a statement. It is our hope that this remarkable show finds another home and continues its stories of courage, determination and freedom. Sony Pictures Television, the studio that produces Underground, is said to be trying to find it a new home. See The Times roster of new, returning and canceled series here. Facebook

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Liam Gallagher plays new music at Manchester benefit show By August Brown In the wake of the terrorist attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, scores of artists joined forces to raise money for the victims. Among them was Liam Gallagher, the former singer and frontman for the citys most beloved rock band, Oasis. Gallagher played a benefit show for the bombing victims on Tuesday at the O2 Ritz Manchester. At the show, his first as a solo artist, he played several new songs, including the single Wall of Glass, which you can watch above. It was a preview of his forthcoming solo LP, As You Were. (Previously, Gallagher fronted the post-Oasis rock band Beady Eye.) For Oasis fans, he played several classic tracks, including Be Here Now with Oasis guitarist Paul Bonehead Arthurs and an a cappella take on Live Forever. Facebook

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CNN fires Kathy Griffin from New Years Eve show over controversial Trump picture By Christie DZurilla (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times) Kathy Griffin is out of a job at CNN. The cable network on Wednesday terminated its agreement with the comic, who for years has co-hosted its New Years Eve program with Anderson Cooper, after a photo of Griffin holding a bloody, severed head in the likeness of President Trump went viral on social media. The image, taken by photographer Tyler Shields, elicited strong criticism from liberals and conservatives alike. Griffin apologized for the gory image in a 30-second video posted online Tuesday night. I beg for your forgiveness, Griffin said in the video. I went too far. Trump denounced the image Wednesday, calling it Sick! and saying Griffin should be ashamed. CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program.  CNN Communications (@CNNPR) May 31, 2017 Facebook

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Lebanon officially bans Wonder Woman from theaters By Josh Rottenberg If you live in Lebanon, Wonder Woman wont be coming to a theater near you anytime soon. On Wednesday, the country officially banned the superhero film just hours before it was set to arrive in theaters. The ban followed an effort by a group called Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel, which urged the Lebanese governments Ministry of Economy and Trade to block the film because its star, Gal Gadot, is Israeli. News of the ban, which had been the subject of speculation since Monday, was announced on social media by Lebanons Grand Cinemas and Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel. Lebanon has had a contentious relationship with the state of Israel for decades and has an official law on the books that encourages boycotts of products from its neighbor to the south. Israeli citizens and anyone whose passport shows theyve traveled to Israel are prohibited from entering Lebanon. Earlier films featuring Gadot, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Furious 7, have successfully screened in theaters in Lebanon, however. Batman v Superman, which introduced Gadots Wonder Woman, was the third biggest hit at the box office in Lebanon last year. And, as has been pointed out, Wonder Woman was, in fact, made by three companies based in America and two based in China, so calling it an Israeli product is debatable. But, on its Facebook page, the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel complained that Gadot had served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces (national military service is mandatory for Israeli citizens over 18) and boasted about the army training her for Hollywood. Wonder Woman lands in American theaters on Friday and, fueled by overwhelmingly positive reviews, is expected to perform strongly. Read our recent profile of director Patty Jenkins, in which she explains why the world needs Wonder Woman, right here. Facebook

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If President Trumps got the whole world in his hands, Trevor Noah says were in trouble By Robert Lloyd Having caught fire too late Tuesday for late-night TV, and with several hosts extending their Memorial Day weekend, the #covfefe hashtag would have to wait at least until Wednesday for its monologue moment. There were, however, some late-night-related tweets reacting to Twitter addict @realdonaldtrumps since-deleted mistyping of what is assumed to be the word covering or coverage. What makes me saddest, wrote Jimmy Kimmel, is that I know Ill never write anything funnier than #covfefe. The account for CBS Late Late Show poked some fun at Trumps gaffe, too. who do you want to see on the next covfefe karaoke  The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) May 31, 2017 Meanwhile, Trevor Noah and Comedy Centrals The Daily Show were back after a week off, above, catching up with President Trumps whole first trip abroad. International Hand Stuff was the name of the segment, which framed the excursion in terms of the presidents mitts. There were references to Trump touching the glowing white orb and Jerusalems Western Wall (they build one wall 2,000 years ago, Noah said in his Trump voice, zero Mexicans in their whole country); the question of whether First Lady Melania Trump swatted away her husbands hand on the tarmac in Tel Aviv (leave it to Fox News not to recognize what rejection from a woman looks like); and Trumps power handshake from new French President Emmanuel Macron (the first time that President Trump was on the receiving end of an unwelcome hand grab). The last manual metaphor was given to the German chancellor, who, after her visit with the American president, said, We Europeans must take our fate into our own hands. Yeah, said Noah, clearly Angela Merkel got one look at Trump and was like, All right, our fate is in our own hands, because his clearly ruin everything they touch. Jimmy Kimmel also looked at Trumps trip abroad, which he described, with probable irony, as spreading joy and optimism all over the world. Titled Drunk Donald Trump: Sicily, the segment replayed a portion of Trumps speech at half-speed. The effect is uncanny. Later, sitting outside on some steps -- urine-stained steps, apparently -- Kimmel asked a series of kids, who really do say the darnedest things, about the state of the union. If we measure a late-night host solely by an ability to engage with children in a way thats friendly, direct, deadpan and mostly honest, Kimmel is in a league with David Letterman, nearly. How did he think Donald Trump was doing, Kimmel asked one boy. Not really well, the child replied. My sister told me that Donald Trump is against another state. Which state? Is it  Nebraska? Yeah, Nebraska. A lot of people are happy that he is bombing Nebraska, said Kimmel. (I did say mostly honest.) Do you think it was a good idea? No, replied the boy, cause they have, like, better bombs. I think theyre going to be OK, though, I really do, the host said. Once football season starts, theyre usually pretty solid. Facebook

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Kathy Griffin apologized for that bloody severed-head stunt. But few are forgiving her By Nardine Saad (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times) First Lady Melania Trump is the latest detractor of Kathy Griffins bloody depiction of the presidents decapitation. As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing, FLOTUS said in a statement to NBC News. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it. Griffins photographs and video by photographer Tyler Shields showed the comic straight-faced, holding up a blood-splattered severed head that appeared to be Trumps. The president denounced Griffins stunt, saying that she should be ashamed of herself and that the piece greatly disturbed his 11-year-old son, Barron. Griffins apology wasnt accepted by some on Twitter either, which spewed a variety of reactions, including several right-wing jabs that Griffin had been radicalized by Islamic State, the terror group that frequently beheads its victims. Several also sympathized with the presidents family, citing TMZs story about Barron believing that something horrible had happened to his father when he saw the images on the news. CNN subsequently fired Griffin from her co-hosting duties for its New Years Eve broadcast, and she has also been dropped as a spokesperson for Squatty Potty. Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was delighted by the bathroom footstool makers response but criticized CNN for not immediately doing the same. So Squatty Potty pulls the plug on Kathy Griffin, but CNN still evaluating and weighing their options, the presidents eldest son tweeted. Insane whats going on there!!! He then added, Apologies for my last tweet. I didnt mean to group Squatty Potty with CNN. Obviously one of them has moral/ethical standards. Griffins CNN compatriot, Anderson Cooper, who co-hosts the giggle-filled New Years Eve show for the cable news channel, did not come to his pals defense. For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate, Cooper tweeted. CNN host Jake Tapper also said on the air that he thought the beheading imagery by Griffin about the president was disgusting and inappropriate. For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.  Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) May 31, 2017 For those asking, I said on air that I thought the beheading imagery by Griffin about the president was disgusting and inappropriate.  Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 30, 2017 Meanwhile, others believed that Griffins apology was a step in the right direction. Kathy Griffin did the right thing by apologizing. That sort of behavior, that sort of message, isn't acceptable in any setting.  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 31, 2017 I think she did the right thing asking for forgiveness and acknowledging that this was a horrible mistake, so I think she can, Minnesota Democrat and former Saturday Night Live writer Sen. Al Franken told CNN on Wednesday. Kathys a friend and shes a terrific comedian, but this had no business being in our public discourse..., Franken said. And I talked to her. She has apologized  a real, fulsome apology. Shes actually begged for forgiveness, and I believe in forgiveness. Still, there was more snark to be had. Kathy Griffin's stupid photo was gross & offensive. She should lose her leadership role in the DNC and no longer be a candidate for office.  Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) May 31, 2017 Update, 10:55 a.m.: Story added news that CNN has fired Griffin from its New Years Eve broadcast. Facebook

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Melania Trump questions Kathy Griffins mental health after inflammatory photo shoot By James Reed President Trump and Melania Trump (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images) As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.  Melania Trump, responding to Kathy Griffins controversial stunt involving a severed head in the likeness of President Trump Read More Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Clint Eastwood turns 87 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) If you want to be in for the long haul, you just have to trust your judgment about the material. ... If you go whoring for the money, the audiences will figure you out. They know when youre being a jerk, when youre just trying to get them in a room and show them a movie you dont even care about.  Clint Eastwood, 1993 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Clint, closing in on El Dorado Facebook

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This Is Us not moving to Thursdays, after all By Yvonne Villarreal Consider it a flash-forward flashback: Poised to help NBC reclaim its Must See TV glory on Thursday nights, This Is Us is now staying put in its Tuesday time slot before the switch even happened. The breakout drama from last season will keep hold of the 9 p.m. hour on Tuesdays where it performed mightily in its debut season, the network announced Tuesday. Itll retain its lead-in, The Voice. The move means some rejiggering for Thursdays. The revival of Will & Grace, which was slated to open the night, will now kick off the 9 p.m. hour. It will be surrounded by comedies Superstore, The Good Place and Great News to create a two-hour comedy block. Chicago Fire will take up the 10 p.m. hour instead of Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. That drama will keep its This Is Us lead-in by moving to Tuesdays. Heres NBCs revised schedule: Tuesdays 8 p.m.  The Voice 9 p.m.  This Is Us 10 p.m.  Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders Thursdays 8 p.m.  Superstore 8:30 p.m.  The Good Place 9 p.m.  Will & Grace 9:30 p.m.  Great News 10 p.m.  Chicago Fire Facebook

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Erin Moran died of cancer, autopsy report confirms By Christie DZurilla Erin Moran is shown in 1992. (Wally Fong / Associated Press ) The coroner reportedly says Happy Days actress Erin Moran died of complications from cancer and cancer alone. Thats in line with what her husband said in an open letter written shortly after her death on April 22 at age 56. Tests showed no illegal narcotics were involved in her death, according to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ on Tuesday from the coroners office in Harrison County, Ind. Moran struggled with substance abuse earlier in her life, and media assumptions about her cause of death were amplified by a comment from Scott Baio during an early morning radio interview April 24. When Baio learned his former costar had been battling cancer, he fell all over himself trying to set the record straight. I was asked ONLY about Erins troubled past due to drug & alcohol abuse. I was still upset and said I felt that living that kind of a lifestyle will catch up with you and nothing good would come of it, he said on Facebook. THIS WAS BEFORE THE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED STATING STAGE 4 CANCER. One of the former child stars brothers, Tony Moran, told the Sun on May 30: My first thoughts were she must have had a heart attack caused by years of substance abuse. She has always battled demons and in recent years things have gone from bad to worse. In reality, as described by her husband, Moran had discovered last December that she had squamous cell carcinoma of the throat. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, by April she could no longer speak, eat or drink. She had a feeding tube. Baio posted the open letter from Steve Fleischmann, Morans husband of nearly 24 years, on his own Facebook page April 25. It got so bad so fast, Fleischmann said. The coroner told me it was really really bad. It had spread to her spleen, she had alot of fluid in her lungs and part of her brain was infected, Fleischmann wrote. The coroner said even if she was in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics she still would not of made it. He said it was the best that she was with me and went in her sleep. Facebook

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WGN America cancels Underground, but will it really be the end? By Yvonne Villarreal  A chat with Aisha Hinds and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, the badass women from Underground. WGN America has canceled slavery-era-set drama Underground. The fate of the series, which centered around the Underground Railroad, seemed doomed given how the network has been scaling back its investment in original programming. Until now, the drama, from creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, had stood as the lone original scripted series on the network following the recent cancellation of Outsiders. The shift away from original programming comes after Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the conservative-leaning Baltimore-based company, announced it had agreed to buy Tribune Media in a deal that would give it control of more than 200 local TV stations and WGN America. As WGN America evolves and broadens the scope and scale of its portfolio of series, we recently announced that resources will be reallocated to a new strategy to increase our relevance within the rapidly changing television landscape, Peter Kern, president and CEO of Tribune Media, said in a statement. Despite Underground being a terrific and important series, it no longer fits with our new direction and we have reached the difficult decision not to renew it for a third season. Kern added: It is our hope that this remarkable show finds another home and continues its stories of courage, determination and freedom. Sony Pictures Television, the studio that produces Underground, is said to be trying to find it a new home. When Underground stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Aisha Hinds stopped by the Los Angeles Times video studio last week, both seemed hopeful that Undergrounds story wasnt over. We havent heard anything yet on the status of Season 3, said Hinds, who joined Season 2 portraying Underground Railroad icon Harriet Tubman. But I do know there is quite a bit more of this story to tell. And I know that we have engaged viewers waiting to see the story. If WGN is not our home, well find a home. Facebook

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Lebanon might ban new Wonder Woman because of stars Israeli heritage By Libby Hill A new foe has arisen to oppose Wonder Woman at the box office: Lebanon. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Lebanon is seeking to ban Warner Bros.'s new Wonder Woman movie because lead actress Gal Gadot is an Israeli. On Monday, Lebanons National News Agency reported that the Ministry of Economy and Trade was adopting measures necessary to ban the film from screening. Relations between Israel and Lebanon have been strained since Israels independence in 1948, with Lebanon still abiding by the Arab League boycott of Israel adopted in 1945. Lebanon does not recognize the State of Israel and does not accept Israeli passports or passports indicating a person has entered Israel. But is Wonder Woman an Israeli product? The film is produced by five production companies DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual Films, Tencent Pictures and Wanda Pictures  three companies based in the United States and two in China. Gadot, however, is proud of her heritage. She served two years in the Israel Defense Force as required by the countrys conscription requirements and has posted in the past in support of IDF during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. The ban of the film would have to move quickly, as screenings are scheduled to begin in Beirut on Wednesday. But such action would require approval from a six-member committee from the Ministry of Economy, a process that had yet to begin, according to the Associated Press. Wonder Woman debuts in U.S. theaters Friday. 4:10 p.m.: This article was updated with information from Lebanons National News Agency. Facebook

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Olivia Newton-John has a new cancer diagnosis; her June shows are postponed By Christie DZurilla (Esteban Felix / Associated Press) Olivia-Newton John has reluctantly postponed her June concert dates after learning that the back pain shes been waylaid by recently is caused by breast cancer that has metastasized to her sacrum. I decided on my direction of therapies after consultation with my doctors and natural therapists and the medical team at my Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, the 68-year-old singer said Tuesday in a statement on social media. Those therapies include a short course of photon radiation therapy in addition to natural wellness therapies, the statement said. Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, at which time she underwent chemotherapy after a modified radical mastectomy with reconstruction. Her treatment also included acupuncture, which she said helped her with nausea, as well as yoga, meditation and massage. Three weeks ago, Newton-John postponed her May shows, with her team citing a bad issue with Olivias sciatica. Now, her June shows in the U.S. and Canada have been put off. Ticket-holders are being directed to venues for refunds, and any rescheduled dates will be posted on Newton-Johns official website. Olivia ... is confident she will be back later in the year, better than ever, to celebrate her shows, the Tuesday statement said. Facebook

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After Cannes delay, Victoria & Abdul trailer debuts By Amy Kaufman One week after Focus Features scrapped plans to unveil the trailer for Victoria & Abdul during the Cannes Film Festival, a preview of the upcoming British drama has debuted online. Set in 1887, the film stars Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and follows the monarch as she strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Muslim Indian (Ali Fazal) who has traveled to the U.K. to deliver a ceremonial coin to her majesty. Focus, which is owned by Universal Pictures, was set to debut the trailer last Wednesday but postponed the release after the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, on May 22. A source told The Times the decision was made in part because a big piece of marketing right after the attack could seem insensitive. Directed by Stephen Frears, Victoria & Abdul is set for release at the start of awards season in September. The trailer centers on the real-life relationship that blossomed between the two, with Abdul going from servant to teacher while informing the queen about everything from the Koran to the joys of Indian mangoes. Facebook

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Ready for Alanis Morissettes Jagged Little Pill as a musical? Its happening By August Brown (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) Alanis Morissettes angsty, groundbreaking 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, always seemed like it had enough melodrama to make it into a theatrical production. Now its coming to a stage in Massachusetts. The new production of Jagged Little Pill, helmed by Juno writer Diablo Cody and director Diane Paulus, will debut at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge next May. The musical will feature songs from the LP  famed for its unsparing look at relationships  along with other music from Morissettes catalog and Pill producer Glen Ballard. This team that has come together for this Jagged Little Pill musical is my musical theater dream come true, Morissette said in a statement. The chemistry between all of us is crackling and I feel honored to be diving into these songs again, surrounded by all of this searing talent. Facebook

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Reunited Brady Bunch kids fondly remember Florence Henderson on Today By Nardine Saad It was a very Brady reunion on Tuesday. The Brady Bunch kids Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), Mike Lookinland (Bobby) and Susan Olsen (Cindy) came together on NBCs Today show to reflect on the iconic family sitcom and pay tribute to its late matriarch, Florence Henderson, nearly 50 years after the show debuted in 1969. The syndicated series about a blended family of six children and their housekeeper has permeated the pop culture zeitgeist with its unmistakable style and earworm theme song. With numerous parodies and attempted reboots in its wake, the comedy has endured because of its wholesome values, the cast members said. What you have on The Brady Bunch is something youre not going to see these days, which is a family where the parents and the kids respect each other today the formula is get the parents out of the show for the kids shows, said Olsen, a.ka. the youngest one in curls. You know how you dont grow old for yourself until you see yourself in a photo? Somehow you just dont see it, Knight explained. Its as though the show keeps us young in everyones mind, but were really this old. Added Williams: Everyone always refers to us as kids. No matter how we mature, were still the kids. After acknowledging that they would always be best known for The Brady Bunch, the actors said, they realized early on that they would never be able to walk away from the series at different stages of their careers. For Williams it was when a teenage girl asked him to sign an autograph for her mother and for Lookinland it was when he realized that his fans now had grandchildren. Knight said the show was always going to be in the room before me and it was always going to be in the room after me. Olsen, who claimed that she had written some off-color lyrics attached to the theme song, added that you spend a little while trying to run away from it, but you cant. Its like having a hunchback. You cant disguise it, so you might as well dress it up. As for their TV mom, Henderson, who died in 2016, the kids remembered her fondly. Everyone she met felt better about themselves and about the world around them after having spent a moment with Florence, Knight said. She was a mentor, a friend. We learned from her, added Williams. We learned how to interact with the public. She was so gracious with her fans, and we all learned how to do that graciously. Mostly she loved to make people laugh. You probably know that if youve been in her space. Facebook

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Prince William talks about taboo of mental illness and death of Diana in new interview By Libby Hill As the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales approaches, her son Prince William has opened up to British GQ about the loss. I would like to have had her advice, William told the magazine. I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she wont, that they will never know her. The prince was just 15 when his mother was killed in a high-speed car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, and he and younger brother Harry were left to deal with their grief under great public scrutiny. While Prince William has of late found the words to speak publicly about his mother, the journey to that place has not always been easy. It has taken me almost 20 years to get to that stage, William said. I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw. And also it is not like most peoples grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows the story, everyone knows her. View Instagram post It may have taken years, but William and Harry have found a way to honor their mother in a fashion that she would likely greatly appreciate: charitable work. Known as the Peoples Princess, Diana was a tireless advocate for those in need and worked to destigmatize AIDS in the 1980s, to fight the use of landmines and to better the lives of the underprivileged. In the last year, William and his brother, alongside Williams wife, Kate, have expanded their involvement in Heads Together, a mental health campaign led by the Royal Foundation, which aims to start a productive conversation about the reality of mental illness. Smashing the taboo is our biggest aim. We cannot go anywhere much until that is done. People cant access services till they feel less ashamed, so we must tackle the taboo, the stigma, William said. The Heads Together campaign has sparked several headlines for the royal family in recent months. In April, Prince Harry admitted that the death of his mother left him very close to a complete breakdown for which he finally sought professional help three years ago. The experience that Ive had is once you start talking about [mental health], you suddenly realized, actually, youre part of a big club ... and everybodys gagging to talk about it, Harry said during the Mad World podcast with Bryony Gordon. The GQ interview is not the only conversation that Prince William has had recently about mental health, either. He participated in a highly publicized FaceTime chat with Lady Gaga on the matter. In the interview, Prince William acknowledged that his public persona might suggest otherwise, but privately, he is impassioned about the issue. I cannot understand how families, even behind closed doors, still find it so hard to talk about it. I am shocked we are so worried about saying anything about the true feelings we have, the prince said. Prince Williams full interview with British GQ is available in its July issue, on newsstands June 1. Facebook

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Ariana Grandes mom has a message for Manchester bombing victims By Christie DZurilla Joan Grande, left, and Ariana Grande in September 2015. (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images) Days after daughter Ariana Grande issued a statement about last weeks post-concert bombing in Manchester, England, mom Joan Grande posted her own thoughts about the incident that left 22 dead and scores more injured. I join my daughter in extending my help & services to all those affected by the diabolical act of terror which occurred in Manchester! she wrote on Twitter as a Memorial Day message that also thanked U.S. servicemen and women. My heart goes out to all the victims: those who lost their lives, those injured, those recovering & all survivors of that night, along with the families and friends whose grief knows no bounds. The elder Grande was still in her front-row seat at the show, about to go see her daughter backstage, when the suicide bomb went off, TMZ reported. Mama Grande took about 10 kids who were seated around her to safety backstage, the website said. Ariana Grande similarly offered her assistance to those in need on Friday in a statement declaring her intention to return to the incredibly brave city of Manchester for a benefit concert. We will never be able to understand why events like this take place because it is not in our nature, which is why we shouldnt recoil, the Bang Bang singer said. We will not quit or operate in fear. We wont let this divide us. We wont let hate win. #MemorialDay pic.twitter.com/oUDmB7VD6x  Joan Grande (@joangrande) May 29, 2017 Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Annette Bening turns 59 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) "[W]hen they teach you to act, they teach you about objectives. You have a need -- a kind of emotional imbalance -- its not neurotic, but you want something. I try to consciously beef up that motivation in order to intensify what Im doing. You get an image in your head of what you want and then you find a way of expressing that.  Annette Bening, 1991 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Regarding Annette Facebook

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Swedens The Square wins Palme dOr and Sofia Coppola wins best director at Cannes By Los Angeles Times Swedish director Ruben Ostlund reacts on stage after he was awarded with the Palme dOr for the film The Square during the closing ceremony of the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) Ruben Ostlunds The Square, a ferocious drama of conscience, according to Times critic Justin Chang, about how a single lapse in judgment can cause a mans entire life to unravel, won the Cannes top prize, the Palme dOr on Sunday. The Grand Prix award went to Robin Campillos 120 Beats per Minute. Sofia Coppola won best director for her film The Beguiled, which stars Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell. Kidman also won the festivals 70th anniversary prize. Joaquin Phoenix won best actor for Lynne Ramsays You Were Never Really Here and Diane Kruger won best actress award for Faith Akins In the Fade. More coverage to come. Meanwhile... Here is what Justin Chang wrote about Ostlunds The Square, and Steven Zeitchiks interview with the director, who talked about the element of surprise in his movies: I really like scenes that when they end where you dont know 100% where to put them. It starts funny or it starts sad and then it becomes something else. When you get that shift, you know youve succeeded. Read More Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Kylie Minogue turns 49 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Axel Koester / For The Times) I have this following  mainly young girls. This album had to appeal to those fans. If the singing was too R&B, they wouldnt like it, I guess. These producers think pop music is candy music. Theyre saying: Here, kids, have a piece of candy.  Kylie Minogue, 1988 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Fame, fortune, but no respect Facebook

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Gregg Allman, pioneer of Southern rock, dies at 69 By Nardine Saad Gregg Allman performs with the Allman Brothers Band in 1979. (George Rose / Los Angeles Times) Gregg Allman, the gravel-voiced singer who helped lift the Allman Brothers Band to prominence with a hard-churning brand of soulful rock that became part of the soundtrack of the 1960s and 70s and set the coordinates for a musical genre known as Southern rock, died Saturday at the age of 69. According to a statement posted on his official website, Allman, who had canceled concerts and entire tours in recent years as he battled a variety of health issues, passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Ga. Read More Facebook

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The art of the yacht deal, from Steven Spielberg to Steve Bannon By Steven Zeitchik  Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Zeitchik, with Chang behind the camera, recalls the time he wound Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Zeitchik, with Chang behind the camera, recalls the time he wound up on a yacht with a future member of the Trump administration. Facebook

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The time Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette was booed By Justin Chang Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Chang, with Zeitchik behind the camera, recalls the year Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette played in competition and was booed by certain members of the media audience.  Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Chang, with Zeitchik behind the camera, recalls the year Sofia Cop That same year, when the film debuted in theaters, Times critic Kenneth Turan looked back on the boos at Cannes and concluded the reaction wasnt just about the filmmaking. Here is the essay he wrote on Oct. 13, 2006: -------------------- WHO OWNS HISTORY? And, more to the point, who owns Marie Antoinette? Though theyre not usually phrased that way, those questions have swirled around Sofia Coppolas quietly exuberant new film about the doomed young French queen (only 18 when she ascended the throne, 37 when she was executed) since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to some scattered  and widely misunderstood  boos. For the displeasure came not, as might be expected, from the French critics -- whod already seen the film and whose generally positive notices were already on record in Le Film Francais, the French trade paper -- but from political types who had an ax to grind about the films portrait of the woman in question. Read More Facebook

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Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor split after 17 years of marriage By Christie DZurilla (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor have split up after 18 years together, 17 of them as husband and wife. With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate, they said Friday in a joint statement. Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time. The Zoolander director and the Brady Bunch Movie actress met in L.A. in 1999, while he was developing a pilot in which she was going to star. They started dating that April and by November were engaged. They got married in May 2000. Stiller, 51, who proposed to Taylor while he was doing Meet the Parents, told Parade in 2013 that art imitated life when he was about to pop the question. I asked her father for permission before I did it, he said. It was like Meet the Parents in real life, because Christines father is an intimidating guy who owns a security company; were good friends now, but at the time I was in the basement rec room saying, I really would like to marry your daughter... Why the basement? " He was trying to find a place to sort of secretly ask my dad if it was OK to ask my hand in marriage, Taylor told New York magazine in 2008. The Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story costars have two kids together, daughter Emma, 15, and son Quinlan, 11. Facebook

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The home away from home for luminaries By Kenneth Turan  Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and Steven Zeitchik are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Turan, with Chang behind the camera, brings us to the historic Hot Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and Steven Zeitchik are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Turan, with Chang behind the camera, brings us to the historic Hotel Splendid, which over the last 146 years has been a home away from home for luminaries ranging from the French composer Jacques Offenbach to the late critic Roger Ebert. Facebook

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L.A. music fixture Rodney Bingenheimer will leave KROQ next month By Mikael Wood Rodney Bingenheimer, the veteran radio DJ and rock-scene insider familiar to several generations of Los Angeles music fans, is ending his long-running show on L.A.'s KROQ-FM (106.7) after more than 40 years. Rodney on the ROQ will air for the final time on June 4 at midnight, Bingenheimer, 69, wrote on Facebook Thursday. It has been an amazing run, and I will be thanking all of you when I say goodbye to KROQ next week, he said in the post. I am planning on some special callers and special music as I say a proper goodbye. In a statement to The Times, KROQ program director Kevin Weatherly called Bingenheimer one of the most influential voices on the radio and said he and his staff will forever be grateful for the indelible mark that Rodney on the ROQ has left on this station, our listeners and the alt-rock music scene. Bingenheimer launched his show on the influential modern-rock station in 1976, four years after he opened Rodneys English Disco, a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard popular among the decades glam acts. On the radio, Bingenheimer quickly became known for championing new artists including the Sex Pistols and Blondie; he continued playing music by up-and-coming talent over the years, throwing his considerable enthusiasm behind the likes of Oasis and Coldplay. In his Facebook post, Bingenheimer  the subject of a 2003 documentary called Mayor of the Sunset Strip  didnt say why he was leaving KROQ. But he noted that hes not retiring from music. As this chapter closes, he wrote, I will be opening another chapter of my rock life soon. Heres his full statement on Facebook: Facebook

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Ariana Grande to hold benefit concert in incredibly brave city of Manchester By Christie DZurilla (Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images) Ariana Grande on Friday announced her intention to return to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with fans and play a benefit concert to assist victims of the suicide bomb attack launched after her show in the British city earlier this week. I have been thinking of my fans, and of you all, non stop over the past week. The way you have handled all of this has been more inspiring and made me more proud than youll ever know, the 23-year-old singer said in a statement on social media. The compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness that youve shown one another this past week is the exact opposite of the heinous intentions it must take to pull off something as evil as what happened Monday. YOU are the opposite. Grande gave no details about when she would return other than to say theyd be coming as soon as things were confirmed. The statement was her first since a brief tweet after the bombing saying she was broken and so so sorry. That day, Grande and her mother left Britain for Florida. She acknowledged her own reaction to the incident in saying she was sorry for the pain and fear you must be feeling and the trauma that you, too, must be feeling. She also talked about not wanting to go the rest of the year without being out there for her fans; at this point, her tour has been suspended only until June 5. There is nothing I or anyone can do to take away the pain you are feeling or to make this better, she said to the victims of the attack and their loved ones. However, I extend my hand and heart and everything I can possibly give to you and yours, should you want or need my help in any way. Those who were most tragically affected, Grande said, will be on my mind and in my heart everyday and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life. View Instagram post Facebook

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Equality, not feminism, is the watchword at Wonder Woman premiere By Sonaiya Kelley Victoria Ikerd from San Diego, left, and Sylvia Vale from Culver City strike their best Wonder Woman pose. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The stars of Warner Bros. Wonder Woman took to the red carpet outside Hollywoods Pantages Theatre Thursday night to celebrate the films premiere with a unified message. It just wasnt the message some people might expect. I think the world needs all types of superheroes, director Patty Jenkins said when asked why we need Wonder Woman. What a beautiful message right now because were in a dark place, and thats the only way were going to get to the other side, if everyone becomes a hero. (Warner Bros. canceled the films London premiere after Mondays attack in Manchester.) Despite the obvious girl power on display, many of the films stars and creators shied away from identifying it as a feminist film, hoping not to isolate the male fans in attendance. SEE PHOTOS FROM THE WONDER WOMAN PREMIERE  I think that the film just takes a great character and tells a great story about how that character came to be, Charles Roven, the films producer, told the Los Angeles Times. Obviously the character wouldnt be who she is if she wasnt a woman, but shes a very specific woman, Roven added. Theres no other superhero character in the DC Universe who embraced their legacy and knew what they wanted to be and became [it]. And thats completely inspirational to everyone, not just women. Read More Facebook

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Bella Thorne and Scott Disick together in Cannes? Legit nothing By Christie DZurilla (Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images, left; Lars Niki / Getty Images) In whats been called a battle of strategic hookups between exes Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick, Bella Thorne has put up a white flag and flown away. Disick, 34, and Thorne, 19, were seen Monday at LAX on their way to the Cannes Film Festival, where  surprise!  Kardashian, 38, was already hanging out and getting handsy with Younes Bendjima, a 24-year-old boxer-turned-model. According to E! News, the latter twosome is for real but keeping it light. The Kardashian ex and the actress from The DUFF? Perhaps not so much. Thorne and Disick raised eyebrows Wednesday with a high-profile cuddle-fest by a pool in Cannes. Alas, by Thursday, word has it via TMZ, Thorne wasnt comfortable with her party-boy travel partner when he got his drink on: After tweeting Thursday that Yo this #cannes fancy life isnt for me, she told one person that she had been doing Legit nothing trolololo with Scott and another, Hahahah Im not talking to scott or anyone else. Scott is partially using Bella and a few other girls as a crutch to make Kourtney upset and feel jealous, a Keeping Up With the Kardashians"-related source told People on Thursday, sounding like a description of an upcoming episode of the show. They are both playing this game with each other and at the moment neither one of them are backing down. Around 3 a.m. Friday, Cannes time, Disick was paying attention to another lady, putting this pic of his and Kardashians 4-year-old daughter, Penelope, up on Facebook: Um, hashtag #supersad? Bye Cannes you were boring Thorne said Friday on Snapchat, posting video from the seat of what appeared to be a private plane. Kardashian, Bendjima and half-sis Kendall Jenner left Cannes on Friday as well. Yo this #cannes fancy life isn't for me  BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) May 25, 2017 @bellathorne bells, what were you doing with Scott?  chrystal (@justintheslayer) May 25, 2017 Legit nothing trolololo https://t.co/t9eW4B17oI  BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) May 26, 2017 Facebook

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Netflix cancels London premieres of Orange Is the New Black and GLOW By Libby Hill The fatal terrorist incident at an Ariana Grande concert Monday in Manchester, England, continues to resonate throughout the entertainment industry. Netflix canceled its plans for a London premiere for Season 5 of Orange Is the New Black and the pilot for GLOW, the latest series from Orange creator Jenji Kohan. Following the terrible events in Manchester on Monday night, we have decided to cancel our special screening of Orange Is the New Black and GLOW on Tuesday [May 30], a Netflix spokesperson told The Times on Friday. Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this tragedy. According to those knowledgeable about the decision, the streaming services choice to forgo its screenings comes from internal discussions only, not from any pressure from local authorities. This is just the latest cancellation in the wake of Mondays tragedy, which took the lives of 22 individuals, including victims as young as 8 years old. On Wednesday, Warner Bros. scuttled plans for a London Wonder Woman premiere, originally scheduled for May 31. Similarly, Universal Pictures announced Thursday that it had canceled its London premiere for The Mummy originally slated for June 1. Facebook

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Oasis Liam Gallagher schedules Manchester benefit show By Mikael Wood (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times) Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher will play a hometown concert next week in Manchester, England, to benefit the families of Mondays bombing at the Manchester Arena. Its outrageous, the singer told the Manchester Evening News regarding the terrorist attack that killed 22 people following a concert by Ariana Grande. There are kids and people dying all over the world. And for what? He went on to say, I want to try and help pick people up. People like me, doing what we do, its our duty to give people a good time. The show, scheduled for Tuesday night at the O2 Ritz, will serve as Gallaghers first solo gig and comes ahead of the release of his debut solo single, Wall of Glass, from an album expected in October. Facebook

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Body-slamming? Late-night hosts remind us that Donald Trump once did that on TV By Yvonne Villarreal Lest America forget the nations history of political candidates with body-slamming tendencies, the late-night circuit offered a refresher course Thursday night. Playing catchup to Wednesdays news that Greg Gianforte, the billionaire Republican candidate in Montanas special congressional election, had allegedly body-slammed a Guardian reporter after the journalist asked him about the Republican healthcare bill, TV hosts weighed in on the matter. Think about that, Late Night host Seth Meyers said. The GOP healthcare plan is so bad, Republicans would rather body-slam reporters than answer a question about it. His response to the question, Meyers continued, was to give the reporter a preexisting condition. Late Show host Stephen Colbert expressed faux skepticism about Gianfortes ability to move past the incident and win the election. That happened the night before the election, Colbert said. I just dont know how anyone could vote for a candidate who body-slams people. Cue a clip of Donald Trump performing such a move in 2007 when he appeared on WrestleMania 23" and tackled WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the ground before shaving his head. I forgot, Colbert said after playing the clip. Nothing matters. During his A Closer Look segment, Meyers also played the Trump clip. That was a thing, a real thing that happened. and we still said Yeah, he should be president. For the record: Gianforte won Montanas special election Thursday. Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Stevie Nicks turns 69 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times) I think if people like to dress like a gypsy and they get a little inspiration from me to do it, then its great. Its definitely something everyone should try at least once in their lives. Dress like a gypsy!  Stevie Nicks, 1997 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Airy Godmother Facebook

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For the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, see how fans packed L.A. theaters in 1977 By Los Angeles Times Staff When the original Star Wars opened on May 25, 1977, only about 40 theaters across the country initially screened the movie. In Los Angeles, fans packed showings in ways theater managers and moviegoers had never seen. For the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, we revisit this story examining the earliest stages of the Star Wars phenomenon. The Times originally published this story on June 4, 1977. Read More Facebook

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George Lucas predicted Star Wars Disney future in 1977 interview with The Times By L.A. Times staff Happy 40th anniversary, Star Wars! Before the first-ever Star Wars premiered on screens across America on May 25, 1977, Los Angeles Times writer Paul Rosenfield sat down with the creator of a galaxy far, far away. Then 33, George Lucas was just a few days shy from the release of his space opera, prophetically claiming that Star Wars was the movie he thinks Disney would have made when Walt Disney was alive. Who knew decades later that the droids and the mouse would reside in the same castle? This story was originally published on June 5, 1977, and titled, Lucas: Film-Maker With the Force. (Also from our archives, read The Times original Star Wars review here.) I think of this as a movie Disney would have made when Walt Disney was alive ... I call it space opera. Thats a genre thats been around a long time, in the books of Burroughs and Heinlein, but never really done on film.  George Lucas in 1977 Read More Facebook

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Guns N Roses is playing Los Angeles again By Mikael Wood Guns N Roses will play two hometown concerts this fall, the reunited Los Angeles hard-rock band announced Thursday, one Nov. 24 at Staples Center and another Nov. 25 at the Forum. The dates are part of a new extension of GNRs Not in This Lifetime Tour, which launched in April 2016 with a show at the Troubadour that marked the first time in decades that frontman Axl Rose had performed in public with guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan. The tour went on to hit Coachella and Dodger Stadium. Opening acts for the L.A. shows werent announced, but GNR revealed that country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson will warm up crowds at stadium shows in August in Denver; Little Rock, Ark.; and Miami. Other acts with opening slots on the tour include ZZ Top, Deftones and Royal Blood. Tickets for the newly scheduled concerts go on sale June 3. Facebook

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Claire Foy shoots down Lisbeth Salander rumors: I dont know about any of this By Glenn Whipp Claire Foy (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times) Claire Foys sister called her last week, none too pleased that her sibling hadnt told her that shed be playing Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spiders Web, the long-delayed follow-up to the 2011 David Fincher film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. My sisters like, Oh, what are you doing? and I was like, Im not doing anything! I dont t know about any of this! Foy told The Times Wednesday in an interview before an Emmy season promotional event for the actress Netflix series, The Crown. Its really weird, Foy added. Ive never experienced that before where theres a rumor about a possible job like this. Its very surreal. News broke last week that Foy was either in talks, eyeing or had been all but cast to play Lisbeth in the reboot of the Stieg Larsson book series. So is Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth on The Crown, even in the running? No. Im not even in the same arena, Foy said. I cant even contemplate doing anything at all, to be honest, at this present time. The 33-year-old British actress just finished shooting Season 2 of The Crown last week. The ambitious series requires a nine-month commitment, meaning that Foy hasnt had much down time the last two years. She also has a 2-year-old daughter with her husband, actor Stephen Campbell Moore. So you can understand why, when asked about her immediate future, she emphatically states: Good God, no. I have got no plans to do anything. Those sentiments would seem to preclude her from The Girl in the Spiders Web, which is scheduled to begin filming in September to make an Oct. 15, 2018, release date. Then again, when asked what kind of role shed like to do after playing the reserved Elizabeth, a woman nicknamed Shirley Temple, Foy replied: I think I need to play somebody who expresses themselves and is able to communicate on a more open level, something really different. Like the avenging anti-heroine Lisbeth? Well ... Foy answered, with a hint of a smile. Well just have to wait and see. Facebook

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Sony taps Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct Spider-Man spinoff Silver & Black By Libby Hill (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times) Sony continues to get its superhero ducks in a row, with Deadline reporting Thursday that the studio had tapped Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct Silver & Black, a film centered around comic book characters Silver Sable and Black Cat. Prince-Bythewood also will rewrite the script for the film, originally written by Christopher Yost, screenwriter of Thor: The Dark World. Silver Sable and Black Cat are characters that originated in correlation to Spider-Man and have served as both allies and antagonists to the web-slinging superhero over the years. Silver & Black is the latest Spidey-related endeavor for Sony, with Spider-Man: Homecoming, starring Tom Holland, premiering July 7, and Venom, starring Tom Hardy as the sometimes villain, sometimes anti-hero, hitting theaters Oct. 5, 2018. The film will not be Prince-Bythewoods first dalliance with superheroes. She directed the pilot for Freeforms upcoming series Marvels Cloak & Dagger, about two teenagers learning to deal with both superpowers and love. Prince-Bythewood is an experienced director of critically acclaimed films including Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights, and she is well-versed in the world of television, where Foxs Shots Fired, the show she created and produced with husband Reggie Rock Bythewood, just concluded its first season. The director becomes the latest woman tapped to helm a superhero film, with Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman debuting in theaters June 2. Facebook

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Happy puking: Baywatch is the summer blockbuster critics love to hate By Christie DZurilla  Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Priyanka Chopra star in Baywatch. Whats more fun than seeing the new Baywatch movie? Having movie reviewers see it for you! Los Angeles Times critic Jen Yamato was in the Enjoy It for What It Is camp, describing the film thusly: "[I]t not only owns its dumbness but hurtles itself all the way back around through a flurry of genitalia jokes and F-bombs to splash unapologetically in an R-rated surf of winking postmodernism, led by the charismatic Dwayne Johnson, Hollywoods most unsinkable movie star. But although not everyone hates it  64% of audiences dug it, according to Rotten Tomatoes  a lot of reviewers put the bouncing-beach-bodies flick firmly in its place, damning it, and then damning it with faint praise. That said, here are a few snacks, both bad and (relatively) good, from the Baywatch snark buffet. Over at the Chicago Tribune, they took the Yeah, and ...? approach to the review. The Bad: The movies comic instincts... are consistently coarse and frequently scrotal. The Good: The bodies on screen are pretty, which I seem to remember was a selling point of the 1989-2001 TV series. As we said, yeah, and ...? The Roger Ebert website perhaps cut closest to the bone, pulling few punches. The Bad: "[T]his is another one of those raunchy comedies thats barely a movie, that looks like it was edited by dumping a bunch of footage into whatever movie-cutting software theyre using and hitting randomize. The Good: "[T]he movie has a pervading air of crass amiability about it  its almost like a two-hour end-credits gag reel. (Nevertheless, it contains an end credits gag reel.) Now could you tell us what you really think?: Rolling Stone painted a vivid picture of the Baywatch experience. The Bad: Think of yourself sitting down for a big two-hour wallow in instant stupid with a vat of popcorn, slathered in fake butter and possibly a mound of melted M&Ms on top. It feels great chugging it down, then your stomach hurts, your head aches and you puke the whole thing up so you can forget about it in the morning. Thats Baywatch in a nutshell. Happy puking. The Good: Of the recent spate of moldy TV material morphing into movies, with 21 Jump Street on top and CHIPs bringing up the rear, Baywatch barely escapes the basement. One reason it does: The Rock. Helpful! Turns out if you liked 21 Jump Street and CHiPs, this flick is for you! The New York Times loosened up its necktie for this one. The Bad: The digital effects  fire and water, mostly  are lackluster, and the whole thing has a crummy, overcast, second-rate-theme-park look to it. The Good: Like its source material, Baywatch is sleazy and wholesome, silly and earnest, dumb as a box of sand and slyly self-aware. Its soft-serve ice cream. Crinkle-cut fries. A hot car and a skin rash. Tacky and phony and nasty and also kind of fun. Tacky? Phony? Nasty? We didnt know it was a date movie. The Washington Post, of course, just couldnt leave politics out of it. The Bad: Its no shock that the women in Baywatch dont have much to do beyond look good. ... Maybe dodging bad lines was a relief for the actresses. Its not like the screenplay, by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, gives performers a lot to work with. The Good: If, indeed, Dwayne the Rock Johnson ditches Hollywood to become our next commander in chief, Baywatch may be singled out as the low point of his pre-political career. Well, at least Johnson has that out of the way. The Tampa Bay Times went deadpan. The Bad: Imagining Johnson and genetically gifted co-stars in swimsuits is all it took to pitch Baywatch. Director Seth Gordon and six writers didnt come up with much beyond that. The Good: What Baywatch has in its favor is Dwayne Johnson fireman-carrying a dead weight comedy to safety. We think thats a compliment. Maybe. Variety noted the films nods to current market and societal trends. The Bad: Baywatch ... is a stupidly entertaining trash folly, the kind that could only be made today: an obscenity-and-insult-laced, aggressively competent adaptation of a 25-year-old TV show that manages to repackage every aspect of the series except, perhaps, the reason it was popular in the first place. The Good: They wear their butt-hugging red bathing suits with dignity and pride, which makes this a highly sexually responsible Baywatch. The reviewer at the New York Post appeared to be familiar with the TV series global success. The Bad: Even the action scenes need CPR, often undermined by effects so chintzy, you wonder if the money intended for them was instead eaten up by the productions seven-figure waxing budget. The Good: On the bright side, itll probably do killer business in Germany. Wait, were they just dissing the Hoff? Finally, one need go no further than the AV Club to understand Rotten Tomatoes 19% positive critics rating. The Bad: "[N]obody not even the filmmakers cares about Baywatch all that much. Yet the jokes on them: In spoofing something so forgettable, theyve made something even less memorable. The Good: Nobody cares about Baywatch. Nuff said. Facebook

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Seth Meyers says Trumps cruel budget cuts would harm the presidents supporters most By Chris Barton After a number of weeks filled with late-breaking developments on the Trump administrations apparent ties to Russia, Wednesday night was a chance for late-night hosts to sort of catch their breath and essentially choose their own adventure. Jimmy Kimmel focused on the seemingly less-than-happy photos of the pope with President Trump that circulated on Wednesday, while Stephen Colbert took a brief swipe at the $2-trillion double-counting error in Trumps budget. Seth Meyers, however, took advantage of his shows A Closer Look segment to make time for all of the above. After addressing the photo of the stone-faced pope with Trump, Meyers recapped the latest developments in the investigations into whether, among other things, the president engaged in obstruction of justice by firing FBI Director James Comey. But then Meyers took on the administrations proposed federal budget, which could cause harm to many. While noting the budget amounts to a wish list that Congress will battle over, Meyers said the proposals harshness was not to be discounted. What someone wishes for tells you a lot about that person, Meyers said before recounting the many cuts the budget proposes to Social Security and Medicaid. The show then rolled a number of clips in which Trump the candidate promised not to do just that. This budget lays bare just how much of a fraud Trumps campaign was, Meyers added, noting how hard many of these cuts to the social safety net would hit Trump supporters. He then squared off the pointed words of Trump the candidate versus his actions as president to underscore his point. Maybe its better those two never meet, Meyers said. I think they would hate each other. Watch the clip above. Facebook

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Universal Pictures cancels London premiere of The Mummy in wake of Manchester bombing By Libby Hill  Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis and Sofia Boutella star in The Mummy. The specter of Mondays terrorist attack in Manchester, England, continues to loom large. Universal Pictures announced Thursday morning the cancellation of next weeks London premiere of The Mummy, the second such development this week. All of us at Universal have been devastated by the terror attack in Manchester and continue to stand with the community and country as it recovers, the statement from the studio read. Out of respect to those affected by this tragedy we have decided not to move forward with the London premiere for The Mummy scheduled to take place next week. The film, starring Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, serves as the launch of Universal Pictures Dark Universe, an extended universe that will see the reboot of several classic monsters from the Universal vault, including the Invisible Man and Frankensteins Monster. Cancellation of the June 1 London premiere for The Mummy comes just a day after Warner Bros. nixed its May 31 Wonder Woman London premiere. Ariana Grande, whose concert was targeted in the Manchester attack that killed 22 people, similarly suspended her tour through June 5 on Wednesday. A statement from the artists representatives said the suspension comes until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost. Facebook

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Al Gore on the French Riviera: Why he was reluctant to make An Inconvenient Sequel By Kenneth Turan Former Vice President Al Gore arrives on the red carpet for the screening of The Killing of a Sacred Deer at the Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) It has not been a very good year for those concerned with climate change. The U.S. is considering leaving the landmark Paris climate pact, a hostile appointee leads the Environmental Protection Agency, and right-wing websites chortle, Trumps Latest Move Will Make Al Gore Fry. But is Al Gore himself despondent or depressed about it all? Not in the slightest. Ive been inoculated in the year 2000, he says, combining a burst of genial good humor with a reference to his presidential election loss to George W. Bush. I now have a resistance to being disheartened, the antibodies are still thriving in my bloodstream. As we all learn, one of the hidden secrets of the human condition is we learn the most from our most painful experiences. Former Vice President Al Gore at the Carlton hotel for the Cannes Film Festival, which is screening his documentary An Inconvenient Sequel. (Stephanie Cornfield / For The Times) To spend time with Al Gore is to meet a man enough at ease with himself to dress as if for a Senate hearing in white shirt, suit and tie even though hes in the south of France; a warm, engaged, surprisingly funny individual whose innate courtesy has him personally hang a reporters sports coat on a nearby hotel room hanger. Yes, he does tend to stay on message when he talks (how could he not) and he likes to draw graphs in the air with his hands (Im going to get a little geeky for a moment, he apologizes with a smile, Im sorry, its a failing). But he combines this with good-humored self-awareness and a fiercely committed intelligence. If you think Im earnest now, you should have seen me earlier, he says. You cant change who you are. At times Ive tried, but Im old enough to stop worrying. Gore is in Cannes to promote the worldwide release of an impassioned and involving new documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel. Due in U.S. theaters on July 28, it brings us up to speed on where the battle against climate change stands more than a decade after the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Im here for a lot of to-ing and fro-ing is how Gore puts it. I think Ive done 75 seven-minute interviews  Japan, Russia, Brazil, everywhere. The day before yesterday I was live on [the French cable channel] Canal Plus when the interpreter talking in my earpiece was evacuated from his building because of a bomb scare. The questioner was going a mile a minute in French, but because of those 75 seven-minute interviews, I picked up enough key words to fight my way through it. Gore has been concerned with climate change since he took a class with pioneering global warming theorist Roger Revelle as a college student in the 1960s. Not only did Gore never imagine when I was a young man that this would become an all-consuming body of work for me, he also never anticipated that the work would involve the movies. More than that, he was frankly dubious about both of his films. Read More Facebook

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Ellen DeGeneres says shes in for a Netflix stand-up comedy special By Christie DZurilla Ellen DeGeneres is working on a new comedy special  for the first time in a very long time  and this time shes working with Netflix. Looks like its been 15 years since you did a stand-up special. ... How about one for Netflix? the streaming service asked her Wednesday on Twitter. Minutes later, DeGeneres replied, Let me think about it. Ok Im in. Heres how in she is: Im writing it now, I cant wait, DeGeneres said in a statement confirming the upcoming gig. Ill keep you posted when and where Im gonna shoot my Netflix special. Im excited to do it; Im excited for you to see it. Previously, HBO was home for DeGeneres comedy specials: her One Night Stand in 1992, Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning in 2000 and Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now. The second and third shows notched two Emmy nominations each. In March, the former sitcom star announced shed be returning to prime time with Ellens Game of Games, which shes hosting for six episodes on NBC. No air dates have been set. Its going to be like a combination of American Ninja Warrior, RuPauls Drag Race and a water park, DeGeneres said in a statement. OK, its nothing like that, but you should still watch. Looks like it's been 15 years since you did a stand-up special, @TheEllenShow. How about one for Netflix?  Netflix US (@netflix) May 24, 2017 Let me think about it. Ok I'm in. https://t.co/kUAdHyXAjS  Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 24, 2017 UPDATES 2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with confirmation from Netflix and a statement from DeGeneres. Facebook

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Chris Cornells body has been cremated, report says; funeral set for Friday By Christie DZurilla Chris Cornell in 1991. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) The body of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who died last week in Detroit, was reportedly cremated Tuesday in Hollywood, and a funeral is planned for later this week. Widow Vicky Cornell, brother Peter Boyle and friends Linda Ramone and singer J.D. King were at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the cremation, sources familiar with the service told TMZ. Cornells body was flown to Los Angeles from Detroit on Sunday, family attorney Kirk Pasich told Rolling Stone on Monday, and a private funeral will be held Friday. Pasich told Variety on Sunday that public memorials will be held when its decided. The short time between the end of Soundgardens May 17 show and 52-year-old Cornells death was chronicled in a police report obtained by the Detroit News. He and the band walked offstage around 11:15 p.m. May 17. Fifteen minutes later Cornell was in his hotel room, the report said, where bodyguard Martin Kirsten (who used to work for and date Heidi Klum) helped him fix his computer and gave him two Ativan. At 11:35 p.m. Cornell was talking to his wife, Vicky, who said Friday through her attorney that she had been concerned because her husband was slurring his words and told her he might have taken a few too many anxiety pills. She called Kirsten at 12:15 a.m. Thursday and asked him to check on the singer, the report said; the bodyguard kicked in the hotel room door, then the locked bathroom door, and found Cornell. At his final show, Cornell seemed high and was out of character from note 1, lead sound engineer Ted Keedick told TMZ in an interview published Wednesday. He said the Soundgarden frontman did not appear depressed. However, Keedick said: Id never heard his voice that way before. He was having serious control problems. One concert-goer told the Detroit News last week that as far as she could tell, Cornells final show was honestly great. Nothing seemed off. Tuesday at Detroits Fox Theatre, the site of that last performance, Norah Jones played a tribute to Cornell: an acoustic version of Black Hole Sun. Facebook

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Ariana Grande suspends tour through June 5 By Christie DZurilla Ariana Grandes tour has been suspended through June 5, her management team said Wednesday. That includes the cancellation of concerts planned for Thursday and Friday at Londons O2 Arena. Twenty-two people died and at least 59 were injured in a suicide attack Monday night outside Manchester Arena, where Grande had just concluded a stop on her Dangerous Woman Tour. We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence, the singers reps said in a statement. Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together. The dates that have been put on hold until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost, the statement said, are: London, May 25-26

Antwerp, Belgium, May 28

Lodz, Poland, May 31-June 1

Frankfurt, Germany, June 3

Zurich, Switzerland, June 5 The next tour stop after that is a June 7 concert in Paris. Speculation that the tour would be put on hold has been rife since the day after the bomb went off  actually, immediately afterward and before the number of casualties was known, many on social media were already worried that shows would be axed  but the situation had been in limbo until now. An exhausted"-looking Grande returned home Tuesday to Florida, where she and her mother were met at the airport by Mac Miller, who hugged and kissed his girlfriend in an emotional reunion. Facebook

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Warner Bros. cancels London Wonder Woman premiere following Manchester attack By Josh Rottenberg In the wake of Mondays deadly terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, Warner Bros. has announced it is canceling a planned premiere in London next week for its superhero film Wonder Woman. Our thoughts are with those affected by the recent tragedy in the UK, the studio said in a statement. In light of the current situation, we will not be proceeding with our plans for the premiere and junket activities in London. Starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, the highly anticipated film  which is set in Europe during World War I  will hold its U.S. premiere on Thursday in Los Angeles. It arrives in theaters June 2. The studio faced a similar situation last year when its European premiere of Batman v. Superman was scheduled to be held in London just hours after terrorist attacks struck Brussels, killing 32 people and injuring many others. In that case, the studio said in a statement that it had decided to go ahead with the event rather than yield to terror. But as Britain mourns the 22 people killed in the Manchester bombing, with scores more wounded, and with the countrys security threat level raised to its highest, signaling the possibility of another imminent attack, Warner Bros. clearly determined that the circumstances called for a different course of action. Facebook

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New Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer shows off Spideys tricked-out, Iron Man-style super-suit By Josh Rottenberg Spider-Man has a few new tricks up his spandex sleeve, with the latest trailer for Sonys upcoming franchise reboot Spider-Man: Homecoming offering a deeper look at Spideys newfangled, tech-enhanced super-suit. Courtesy of billionaire inventor/playboy Tony Stark, the suit is embedded with Iron Man-style technology. A Jarvis-like computer assistant informs Peter Parker (Tom Holland) of the 576 possible web shooter combinations he has at his command. A parachute can also be deployed out of the back of the suit when needed, and the chest piece can detach and turn into a drone. For those who prefer their Spidey old-school, though, the trailer also promises a return to Parkers teenage roots  though with a decidedly cockier spin than the shy, alienated high school nerd weve often seen depicted in the comics and onscreen. Hollands Parker is clearly feeling his superhero oats, boasting to Stark of taking down a petty bike thief and raring for bigger challenges, Spanish quiz or no Spanish quiz. (Cue Michael Keatons villainous Vulture.) Informed by his best friend Ned that Stark has installed a training-wheels protocol on his super-suit to disable some of its abilities, Parker gripes, Im sick of Mr. Stark treating me like a kid. But you are a kid, Ned reminds him. Yeah, Parker says, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands! Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters July 7. Watch the trailer below. Facebook

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Performers move U.K. concerts after Manchester bombing, but for some, the show goes on By Christie DZurilla Floral tributes in Manchesters St. Anns Square on May 24, 2017. (Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images) Manchester Arena has postponed concerts by Take That, an English pop group from the city that was to play there Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But its working to see that a KISS show proceeds next week. Unfortunately, due to the tragic events that unfolded on Monday night, it is not possible for the concerts to take place, the arena said in a statement. These have now been postponed and more information will follow. In another statement, the arena cited the ongoing police investigation. Take That had previously postponed a show at another location, saying Tuesday on its website, Out of respect to all of the people and their families that were affected by the horrific incident last night at the Manchester Arena, we have decided to postpone our show tonight in Liverpool. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. KISS is scheduled to play Manchester Arena on Tuesday, and the venue said it is working on that show with promoters and police. pic.twitter.com/HkR9ilSTSt  Manchester Arena (@ManchesterArena) May 23, 2017 As far as the Ariana Grande concerts set for Londons O2 arena on Thursday and Friday, as of Wednesday morning no decision had been made. Were still in contact with the tour promoters regarding a final decision, the O2 team said on Twitter Wednesday morning. As yet the tour is not officially postponed or canceled, despite media reports. Katy Perry, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Imagine Dragons, Shawn Mendes and the Chainsmokers will all go ahead with performances this Saturday and Sunday in Hull, England, at BBC Radio 1s Big Weekend, according to TMZ. Hull is about two hours from Manchester. Blondie postponed a Tuesday-night show at the Round Chapel in London, saying in a series of tweets the day of the show that the move was out of respect for the victims of the terrible attack at the Manchester Arena, and noting that plans to reschedule the show were in the works. The Afghan Whigs have moved their Friday show to the O2 Ritz Manchester from Manchester Cathedral, which, as of Wednesday morning, was still cordoned off by police. The Ritz said Tuesday that it would stay silent on social media for two days in sympathy with those who lost their lives or were injured, physically or mentally, but that it would have news Thursday about any rescheduled shows. Other acts that had been scheduled to perform in the Manchester area but not in the arena in coming days, including Colour of Noise, Damien Dempsey, Shriekback and the Cranberries, canceled their shows for reasons unrelated to the suicide attack. Most announced those plans well before Monday. Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Bob Dylan turns 76 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times) When people think of me, they are not necessarily going to buy the latest record anyway. They may buy a record from years ago. Besides, I dont think interviews sell records.  Bob Dylan, 1985 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bob Dylan -- Still A-Changin Facebook

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Late-night TV hosts, U2 plead for love after Manchester bombing By Robert Lloyd After the news, late-night talk shows are televisions most topical forum. We turn there for the satirical distance and perspective that might allow us to process the day and get to sleep  for laughs when laughter is appropriate, but also for a thoughtful response when events go beyond ordinary human folly to the terrible and unthinkable. Mondays suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, was on the minds of some late-night hosts Tuesday night. Theres really nothing you can say that can approach the shock and the grief of the victims and their families, said Stephen Colbert on Late Show, asking his audience to go online to hear what his CBS colleague James Corden, who follows him on The Late Late Show, had to say the night before. All we can add here, said Colbert, is that following acts of senseless violence like this, its all the more important not to be controlled by fear, but instead to be reminded by the action of people of Manchester who rushed to the aid of their friends and strangers alike. It is just more proof that evil cannot succeed as long as good people are willing to love each other. On NBCs Late Night, host Seth Meyers had similar thoughts. At its best, being at a concert is an incredible collective experience, he said. Its a chance through a shared love of music to connect with, to sing with and to dance with people you dont know.... And so this comes down to the way we treat strangers, and while some cowards chose to treat strangers with hate, from everything I read, Manchester was filled with people last night who provided aid and comfort to help victims who were total strangers to them. He ended with a plea for all of us to not need a tragedy to remind us of the importance of treating those we do not know with love instead of hate. The Irish band U2, in Los Angeles to perform concerts of their own, were among Jimmy Kimmels guests on ABCs Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel brought up Manchester. I imagine that is something you guys have been thinking about, he said. They hate music, they hate women, they even hate little girls  they hate everything that we love, lead singer Bono replied. The worst of humanity was on view in Manchester last night  but so was the best, as people took perfect strangers into their houses and queued up for blood banks. Manchester has an undefeatable spirit, I can assure you. Kimmel wondered how growing up in Northern Ireland in an era of political and sectarian violence had affected their music. It was so commonplace for a number of years, answered the Edge, the bands guitarist, that it just became a constant background to life. And occasionally something particularly awful would happen and it would really affect you  but that was almost the worst of it. You got to the place where [it was] just ongoing every week, every month. Punk rock helped, added Bono. It made us suspicious of partisanship, it made us up suspicious of sectarian ideas. Facebook

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Elisabeth Moss and BBC America join forces for Typhoid Mary limited series By Libby Hill (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) The Handmaids Tale star Elisabeth Moss is wasting no time in lining up new projects. BBC America announced Tuesday its partnership with Moss and Annapurna Television in developing Fever, a limited series focused on the tale of Typhoid Mary. The series will adapt the novel of the same name, written by Mary Beth Keane and set in early 20th century New York, where Mary Mallon is unknowingly transmitting typhus to those around her. She was an immigrant in turn-of-the-century New York, a time of huge change and progress in America, Moss said of the character in a statement released by the network. She was incredibly unique, stubborn, ambitious and in fierce denial of any wrongdoing until her death where she lived out her days imprisoned on an island just off of the Bronx in N.Y. She is incredibly complicated, something I seem to enjoy playing, said Moss. Moss will star in the series and serve as executive producer alongside director Phil Morrison (Enlightened, Junebug) and writer Robin Veith (The Expanse, True Blood). Annapurnas Sue Naegle and Megan Ellison will also serve as executive producers. Facebook

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Universal Music Group CEO on Manchester attack: A level of evil beyond comprehension By Christie DZurilla Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group, in November 2016. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images) Lucian Grainge of Universal Music Group sent a company-wide memo Tuesday, calling it a day of remembrance of victims of the suicide attack in Manchester, England, and acknowledging that emotions were raw. "[W]e grieve for all of those lost there, offering our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones, said the chief executive of UMG, parent company of Ariana Grandes recording label Republic, in a note obtained by Variety. Twenty-two people, one only 8 years old, were killed Monday night and at least 59 were hurt when a bomb exploded as Grandes concert at the Manchester Arena was ending. This hits home for us as a music company, Grainge said, because so many of us, myself included, spend so much time out seeing our artists perform, let alone attending concerts as fans. Thats why weve chosen music as our career  or rather music has chosen us. No UMG employees, including Grande and her crew, were injured in the blast, he confirmed, and help from human resources and security was offered to those with questions or concerns. That said, Grainge continued, the fact that such an unspeakable act can be committed at a place where innocent people  including so many young people  come together peacefully to enjoy music reflects a level of evil beyond comprehension. READ MORE: Suspected Manchester suicide bomber identified as U.K. son of Libyan immigrants>> Facebook

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Ariana Grande returns home to Florida after Manchester attack By Christie DZurilla People attending a vigil for Mondays suicide-attack victims brought flowers to St. Ann Square in Manchester, England, on Tuesday. (Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images) Ariana Grande reportedly returned home to Florida on Tuesday after the bombing outside her Manchester, England, concert that left 22 dead and at least 59 injured. As they exited a private plane, Grande, her mom and her dog were met on the tarmac in Boca Raton, E! News said, by family members and rapper Mac Miller, whom the 23-year-old has been dating since last summer. Miller gave Grande a long hug and a kiss, a source told E! It was a very emotional reunion and they stood talking for a minute before getting into the car, t
Hong Kong high school student Joshua Wong certainly doesnt look like the type of person who could pull hundreds of thousands of teenagers away from their electronics and get them to rally behind a formidable resistance movement.

But thats the compelling point of entry for the skillfully immersive documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, a stirring David vs. Goliath rendering by Joe Piscatella that took home this years Audience Award at Sundance.

When we first meet the slight, unassuming Christian, Joshua seems more like the type of kid whod spend his extracurricular time tinkering in a robotics class rather than passionately taking on the Chinese government.

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He wasnt even born when Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule. But when the autonomy afforded Hong Kong under the one China, two systems was threatened in 2011 with Beijing announcing its intentions of establishing a pro-China national education program in Hong Kong schools, Joshua found his activist voice, establishing the Scholarism movement with several classmates.

He quickly progressed beyond hoisting a bullhorn and handing out leaflets by camping out in front of the governments civic square with some 120,000 supporters in tow. They ultimately succeeded in forcing the withdrawal of plans to enforce the Chinese Communist Party curriculum.

Three years later, Wong, just shy of his 18th birthday, raised the stakes, hitching his Scholarism movement to Benny Tais Occupy Central bandwagon, protesting Chinas refusal to allow Hong Kong to elect its own local leaders, effectively shutting down Hong Kongs business and financial district for two months.

Fearing the escalation of another Tiananmen Square situation, police eventually evacuate the thousands of young protesters, but not before Joshua has emerged as an influential player in the resistance movement.

Capturing every key moment with the sort of immediacy and tension usually found in the type of political dramas crafted by Paul Greengrass or the late Sydney Pollack, director Piscatella maintains an engaging grip on his unassuming subjects ascendancy. His previous documentary, #chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator, possessed a similar empowering dynamic.

That cinematic quality is especially on display with the Occupy Central footage, with Wong fervently addressing his flourishing following amid an undulating wave of colorful umbrellas (the protesters affordable shield of choice for blocking tear gas) with added inspiration provided by handwritten banners quoting lyrics from Les Miserables and John Lennons Imagine.

Since then, Wong, now 20, and his fellow Scholarism principals have founded the pro-democratic political party Demosisto, and although the activist is still too young to run for office, Piscatella leaves us with the distinct feeling that Joshua, like his biblical namesake, has only just begun to lead.

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Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower

In English and Chinese with English subtitles

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 18 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica

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Condensed into a feature-length film from a multiscreen video installation, Julian Rosefeldts invigorating Manifesto moves among a bakers dozen of vignettes, each one pairing a different character played by Cate Blanchett with a 20th century art movement. From a raging homeless man to a heartless financial trader, grade-school teacher to future-world scientist, she inhabits them all with a diamond-sharp ferocity that suits the matter at hand.

In all of Blanchetts 13 vivid guises, every word she speaks, whether in the form of dialogue or voiceover musings, was written as a statement of purpose and an act of provocation. With a foundational dose of Marx and Engels, Manifesto excerpts almost 60 such philosophical tracts. Some are as recent as Dogme 95, the cinematic call to arms of Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. Many are a century old and still thrilling in their audacity.

Theres bracing humor too, if not a moment-by-moment coherence, in this mashup. The words can feel scoldy, but they get an electric charge from incongruous settings and the committed work of Blanchett, whose previous shape-shifting accomplishments include a brilliantly recalcitrant Bob Dylan in Im Not There.

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Her lips blood-red behind a widows veil, she goes Dada on a funeral gathering, channeling avant-garde writer Tristan Tzara to tell the mourners, You are all idiots. We get late-night rant as manifesto from a raven-haired punk rocker in the sequence on Stridentism. And corporate spiel as manifesto: Blanchetts sleek blond CEO, all air kisses and coos of darling, reads reassuringly from index cards, her words drawing on statements from the Blue Rider movement as well as the schools of vorticism and abstract expressionism.

The closing credits reveal the source material for each section, which otherwise will probably be evident only if you have a PhD in art history. But its less a question of suprematism or pop art than the experience of energetic friction that Rosefeldt and Blanchett are stirring up. Its not simply what theyre quoting but how theyre doing it.

Cinematographer Christoph Krauss fluid camerawork creates a visual poetry from industrial wastelands and an impressive assortment of locales. (The film was shot around Berlin  remarkably, in less than two weeks.) In everything from the stock charts on computer screens to the citys hulking apartment blocks, theres a geometry that at times recalls the alarming beauty of the 2006 documentary Manufactured Landscapes. At other times that geometry is weirdly whimsical: the precise formations of dancers done up like human-insect hybrids, Vegas-style, while Blanchetts deliciously imperious Russian choreographer barks at them about Fluxus.

Within the brief screen time for each of her roles, Blanchett manages to convey plenty, especially in the pained disappointment on the face of a blue-collar worker at a garbage incineration facility. As a very different type of mother, a prim Southern matron taking her sweet time serving lunch, shes the unlikely voice of a playfully irreverent 1961 manifesto by sculptor Claes Oldenburg (I am for the art that a kid licks, after peeling away the wrapper).

In the films strongest sequence, and its most feverishly comic, Rosefeldt turns cable-TV blather into manifesto. His adventurous star plays both a blow-dried news anchor and the weather-challenged correspondent with whom shes debating conceptual art. Not only are Blanchetts vocal inflections and tight smile pitch-perfect, but the filmmaker uses the small-screen setup in a way thats particularly effective and of the moment, even though the film was made two years ago.

Whatever Rosefeldt intended, Manifesto doesnt quite set forth a manifesto of its own. But its a blast of fresh air. And like many of the gauntlet throwers it cites, it risks looking foolish and, in the process, creates something gorgeously defiant.

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Manifesto

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Playing: Landmarks Nuart, West Los Angeles

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As last movies by great filmmakers go, Andrzej Wajdas Afterimage feels vividly connected to the Polish auteurs beginnings, yet also acts as the kind of haunting close that sums up a life. Based on the ignominious final years of Polands avant-garde stalwart and noted theoretician Wladyslaw Strzeminski, played by Boguslaw Linda, it depicts the heavy toll communisms tightening iron grip had on post-World War II Eastern Europe, while simultaneously paying grim tribute to the battered pride of a committed artist.

Wajda, who died last October at age 90, burst onto the cinema scene in the 1950s with a war trilogy about roiling youth (A Generation, Kanal, Ashes & Diamonds) that cemented his worldwide reputation as a vibrant, emotional chronicler with slyly commentative undercurrents. He made movies under a watchful, punitive regime, working in allegory when needed, criticizing openly when opportunity arose.

The irony is that the subject of this reliably political filmmakers swan song is a painter who battled the very idea that art should reflect some unsparing, commonly held reality, or connect to the masses. Strzeminskis early contemporaries were constructivists and cubists, and he founded Polands first modern art museum, which was also one of Europes first. To him, individualism in art was everything.

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Its the threat that Strzeminski lived under that allows Wajda to affectingly link arms with a countryman of divergent aesthetics. Its 1948 when the movie opens, and as a ravaged Poland succumbs to Russias most notorious export, Strzeminski is either happily teaching devoted students at Lodzs premier art school, or painting on his apartment floor. Though missing an arm and leg from the Great War, he doesnt act disabled, readily expressing his irritation at an unfurled banner of Stalin over his windows by puncturing it with his crutch.

The act puts him on the radar of the state, which wants him to cooperate with its new socialist realism directive to the nations artists. His refusal earns a condemnation, then costs him his teaching position, followed by the revoking of his artist association permit, which quickly makes him unhirable as even a painter of Communist figureheads on banners. (In a cruel touch, one bureaucrat whispers her admiration as she denies him food rations, adding, Did you really know Chagall?)

Hes still beloved by his students, who meet with him secretly for lessons and to help him commit to paper a treatise on art. But when his work is removed from the museum, and his students hastily assembled exhibition at a YMCA is destroyed by state goons  a slow pan across the shattered pieces on the floor is like taking in propagandistic arts terrible cousin  the message is clear: the goal is obliteration of a great mans name and stature.

Strzeminskis humiliations are steady and bleak, and Wajdas supreme focus is in perfect concert with Pawel Edelmans elegantly cold, marvelously textured cinematography. The gravitational pull, however, is in Lindas performance, one that encompasses defiance, disgust, befuddlement and even glum humor. Taking his 12-year-old daughter Nika (a powerful Bronislawa Zamachowska) to the cinema on what little money he has, and confronted with state-sponsored newsreels about terrible socialist art, he deadpans, We made a bad choice. Her eyes betraying a rapidly aging soul, Nika is an especially heartbreaking character. Though she dutifully shows up to care for a father who doesnt give much back  her sculptor mother and Strzeminskis ex, unseen, is ailing separately in a hospital  shes compelled to go along with a regime whose indoctrination at least comes with much-needed clothes.

Wajda got a long lifes work out of chronicling the messy relationship between people and institutionalized repression, and he didnt succumb to sentimentality with his last hurrah. Afterimage may depict a losing battle for one uncompromising artist, but its also a bracing final dispatch for the uncompromising artist who survived long enough to tell of it.

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Afterimage

In Polish with English subtitles

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Royal, West L.A.; Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena

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In just three seasons, The Leftovers became challenging, engrossing TV that had to be watched
Utterly dull thriller Drone tries to raise ethical and moral questions about modern warfare, but the audience can only dwell on the illogical plot and unsympathetic characters  if they can engage at all. The otherwise talented cast and the controversial issue itself deserve far better treatment than this film can provide.

Drone begins in Miranshah, Pakistan, when a remote-delivered weapon explodes in the quiet of the small town, shown in saturated color and beautiful aerial cinematography from Graham and Nelson Talbot. Exactly a year later, CIA contractor Neil (Sean Bean, sporting a muddled American accent) has hidden his work as a drone pilot from his wife (a flat Mary McCormack) and son.

Strangely, Neil invites mysterious Pakistani man Imir (Patrick Sabongui) to dinner after the stranger appears on their doorstep. As the meal is served and the wine flows, Neils secrets and Imirs true purpose are revealed to the family.

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The unsubtle screenplay from Paul A. Birkett and director Jason Bourque both plods and struggles to fill a mere 91 minutes, with the only drama arising in the films final moments. The plot points in Drone are exercises in extremes, either entirely predictable or wholly unbelievable. The thinly sketched characters might earn more sympathy if we knew more about them, but the only knowledge we have actively distances the audience from them  and from the movie as a whole.

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Drone

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills

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American movies are traditionally of two minds about our military might, celebrating it in John Wayne epics and mocking it in everything from MASH to Dr. Strangelove. But War Machine has decided, with exceptional results, that it wants it both ways.

Starring Brad Pitt and written and directed by the gifted David Michod, War Machine is on the one hand an assured, nervy black satire on Americas involvement in Afghanistan and on one particular soldier, commander of U.S. forces and four-star Gen. Glen McMahon, a.k.a. Big Glen or the Glenimal.

Yet while War Machine makes it clear that McMahon made a hash of things in Afghanistan in any number of in-over-his-head ways, the general can also be viewed as the most sympathetic character in the film. Hes an idealistic individual who meant well but, oblivious to everything but his own earnest goals, became stubbornly disconnected from reality with ruinous results.

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War Machine is the first of Australian filmmaker Michods three films (after the brilliant criminal drama Animal Kingdom and the post-apocalyptic thriller The Rover) to have a dominant sense of humor. What unites it with its predecessors is Michods fierce intelligence and formidable directing skill.

FULL COVERAGE: Cannes 2017 

Michods starting point was the late Michael Hastings The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of Americas War in Afghanistan, a nonfiction book that grew out of a Rolling Stone article that so embarrassed Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal he resigned his Afghan command in 2010.

Though Michod has lifted certain details from McChrystals lifestyle, including his routine of running seven miles a day and sleeping but four hours, War Machines McMahon feels like an off-beat riff on the idea of the general rather than a disguised portrait.

In this, hes been helped by some very deft work by Pitt, whose combination of comedic skills and movie star persona is put to excellent use here. His canny but doltish McMahon has the difficult task of being in effect a cartoon character placed in real-world places where his decisions get people killed. Places like Afghanistan.

Bringing us up to date about McMahon as he heads out in 2009 from his previous posting in Iraq to take command in Afghanistan are the words of an unseen and initially unidentified narrator. He turns out to be journalist Sean Cullen (Scoot McNairy), a whip-smart and wearily cynical individual who knows a lot but has come to understand that no one cares what he thinks.

McMahon, we learn, is a former Ranger who was both a straight-A student and a troublemaker at West Point. Hes a man of formidable drive but no visible sense of humor, author of a well-regarded book called One Leg at a Time Just Like Everyone Else and an officer beloved by the men who serve under him because he isnt afraid of getting his hands dirty.

First among equals in this mans Army are the generals reverential inner circle, a handful of men known as the Bubble that both pump up his ego (We have a warrior at the helm is a typical comment) and insulate him from too much contact with the real world.

Smartly cast by Francine Maisler and Des Hamilton to include such expert actors as Topher Grace, John Magaro, Anthony Michael Hall and Emory Cohen, this group enables Michod to deftly skewer the ritualistic way these men talk to each other as well as the traditional norms of male camaraderie the military specializes in.

The general, it turns out, mightily distrusts civilians, believing, narrator Cullen tells us, they hadnt earned their power, they got it through charm and seduction, qualities he lacked. Which means that McMahons interactions with U.S. Ambassador Pat McKinnon (Alan Ruck) are less than satisfactory.

Though he sincerely wants to involve them, the general has only marginally better luck with the wary Afghans, including the countrys wily leader Hamid Karzai (a sly Ben Kingsley), more interested in hooking up his Blu-Ray player than buying into McMahons dream.

For one of the endearing things about the general as he goes about his business is that he might be the only person in the entire country who believes that the stated American mission of nation building, even at the point of a gun, can be accomplished. If hes at the helm.

So while McMahon is uncomfortable with the mechanics of this new kind of war (described by Cullen as fighting regular people in regular people clothes), he understands counter-insurgency enough to know you cant help them and kill them at the same time. But his response  for instance, giving soldiers medals for courageous restraint (a real McChrystal suggestion)  only confuses the troops.

As intensely masculine as this deranged, absurdist situation is, Michod has managed to create a pair of notable roles for women.

Meg Tilly is on point as the sweetly suffering wife (known as Mrs. Boss) that the general truly loves, and Tilda Swinton is expert as a German legislator who tells McMahon, I do not question the goodness of your intention. I believe you are a good man. I question your belief in the power of your ideas.

The general doesnt agree with her, but the savvy and involving War Machine definitely does.

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War Machine

Not rated

Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Playing: iPic, Westwood; Laemmles Monica Film Center, Santa Monica

Streaming: Netflix starting May 26

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Its hard to believe in todays age of real-time Skype and FaceTime conversations around the world, but it was just 50 years ago that the first live global television event was broadcast. Thats when the Beatles introduced their latest song, All You Need Is Love.

In honor of that anniversary, Chris Carter will host a special live presentation of his weekly Breakfast With the Beatles radio show. Carter will conduct Sundays edition of the long-running Beatles-centric show from the Anaheim Hilton, and the broadcast for L.A. radio station KLOS-FM (95.5) will be live streamed as Dinner With the Beatles to an audience that will gather at the Hilton Liverpool in England.

For the record: An earlier edition of this post listed former Wings guitarist Denny Laine among the event participants. Laine has canceled his appearance.

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The genuine kindness inherent in All You Need is Love is a simple yet impactful idea that can change a person, a family, a neighborhood, a city, and, ultimately, the world, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said in a statement.

Tait will join Carter for the broadcast, along with other participants BBC Radio Merseyside announcer Billy Butler. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson will attend the event in his city.

The Anaheim event, at the Hiltons Mix Restaurant & Lounge, will include a traditional English tea and other brunch offerings with admission of $45 and $25 for children under 12. Proceeds will go to the Anaheim Elementary Schools music program.

Sundays broadcast also will coincide with the new 50th-anniversary reissue of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, to be released Friday, May 26. At the heart of the reissue is a new stereo remix of the album, created by Giles Martin, son of the Beatles original producer George Martin.

The 50th-anniversary transatlantic radio broadcast celebrating All You Need Is Love was the idea of the Anaheim Hiltons general manager, Shaun Robinson, a Liverpool native.

We created this event to celebrate the Beatles with our guests and reflect on the ways that their music continues to influence our lives 50 years later, Robinson said in a statement.

The original broadcast of All You Need Is Love, which the Beatles performed live in a studio in London, was on June 25, 1967, part of a worldwide broadcast called Our World that also featured appearances by celebrated operatic soprano Maria Callas, visual artist Pablo Picasso and other artists representing 19 countries. It was viewed around the world by an estimated audience of up to 700 million people.

Organizers of Sundays event noted historical connections between the Beatles and Hilton hotels. They stayed in the presidential suite at New Yorks Hilton Midtown on the groups first U.S. tour in 1964, John Lennon and Yoko Onos honeymoon and bed-ins for peace were held at the Hilton Amsterdam in 1969, and Lennon wrote the original lyrics for Imagine in 1971 on Hilton stationery.

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Having captured the heart of Britains Prince Harry, one of the worlds most eligible bachelors, it was only a matter of time before Suits actress Meghan Markle captured the attention of the fashion industry.

Now, insiders are bracing themselves for the Meghan Effect, with every outfit and accessory worn by the L.A.-born 35-year-old pored over and copied by countless young women determined to emulate her style.

Meghan Markle attends day two of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at Wimbledon on June 28, 2016, in London. (WireImage)

A similar phenomenon, dubbed the Kate Effect for Harrys sister-in-law, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, first emerged in the run-up to the royal wedding six years ago and has continued ever since. In 2011, for example, after Catherine was photographed in a $340 dress from British retailer Reiss while welcoming President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to Buckingham Palace, the frock sold out within hours. Her influence on the countrys fashion industry has been valued at more than $1 billion, and she also has been credited with stimulating tourism to Britain.

Some predict that if Markle, who plays smartly dressed paralegal Rachel Zane on USA Networks Suits, does end up marrying Harry, she has the potential to surpass the duchess effect on retail, given Markles established profile as a Hollywood actress coupled with her humanitarian work (she is an ambassador for World Vision) and until recently, her lifestyle blog, TheTig.com, which was shuttered amid speculation that an engagement announcement is imminent. Add to that her trans-Atlantic appeal (although raised in Los Angeles, Markle increasingly splits her time between Toronto, where Suits is filmed, and London, where she stays with Harry at Kensington Palace).

Meghan Markle discusses her role in Suits during AOL Build at AOL Studios in New York on March 17, 2016, in New York. (WireImage)

Early signs suggest that Markle, who, like Catherine, enjoys mixing designer and mid-market pieces, packs similar selling power. After she was spotted toting a $1,375 Mulberry handbag in royal blue just before Christmas, it sold out online. In the same month, fans flocked to California-based jewelry designer Maya Brenners website after Markle stepped out in one of Brenners $300 necklaces decorated with the letters H and M (believed to stand for Harry and Meghan).

When she was spotted in the letter necklace we definitely saw a spike in sales and Web traffic, Brenner said. We sold out within a week and did three times the sales as the previous December, including a large increase in international orders.

An affordable collection designed by Markle herself for Canadian retailer Reitmans sold out almost immediately when it was released last fall.

Like Catherine, Markle also appears to employ what Susan Kelley, founder of royal style blog WhatKateWore.com, calls sartorial diplomacy. That is, the ability to communicate via her outfits. Both women understand the power inherent in what they wear, Kelley said.

Meghan Markle (AFP / Getty Images / GC Images / WireImage)

In particular, Markle, who attended her first public event with Harry this month, has already demonstrated a knack for selecting American, British and Canadian brands appropriate to her location. For example, Markle opted for a floral maxi-dress from Canadian British designer Erdem to accompany the prince to a friends wedding in Jamaica; in February, she was spotted shopping near Kensington Palace in a Barbour jacket and Hunter rain boots, two historic British brands beloved by Harrys grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. Markle is also known to favor U.S. labels such as Marc Jacobs, Paige and Misha Nonoo.

Markles unconventional background and red carpet experience mean her sartorial choices are likely to appease courtiers and fashion critics. Meghan is a wild card. She is biracial, American, vibrant and outspoken, said Amanda Dishaw, co-founder of Markle-themed style blog MeghansMirror.com, adding that the site has already been inundated with emails from brands hoping to be associated with the actress. Because Meghan has a more casual style now than Kate ever did, its actually possible that she could have a larger impact in the future. Which, by Hollywood standards, might be the role of a lifetime.

Meghan Markle (Corbis via Getty Images / GC Images)

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The activewear market shows no signs of slowing down  and Bandier wants to capitalize on the craze. The retailer which raised $4.5 million in funding from Simon Ventures and friends and family last year, according to Neil Boyarsky, Bandiers chief executive officer, is in the midst of raising another round. The additional capital, he said, will enable for company to both scale a fast-growing e-commerce business and open stores in key markets.

An industry source said the brand is on track to do $20 million at retail in 2017, the retailers second full year in business, with sales split almost evenly between dot-com and in-store. E-commerce commands 45 percent of overall sales, up from 20 percent last year, Boyarsky said. In a year from now, though, he expects the ratio to flip, with bandier.com driving 55 percent of the business and the rest coming from freestanding stores.

With a network of five doors  four in New York and one in Dallas  Boyarsky is ready to take on the West Coast. Los Angeles is the next city on tap for Bandier, he said, where a flagship will open by years end.

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Its not that we think stores are unimportant.We think about our business growing through the web and letting that inform where we open stores. That to us is an indication of where we should open, the ceo explained, noting that while the web site remains the priority, simultaneously expanding Bandiers physical footprint in areas driving high e-commerce volume is a close second. Such was the case with California, where web business went from 5 percent of total e-commerce sales to 16 percent.

But today, its becoming harder to gain market share in the activewear sector as players are increasingly carrying many of the same brands. Vying for that consumer is key  especially through social media and digital marketing  but differentiating through product offering remains a priority.

From the beginning, its always been about product for us.We started with exclusivesand because we were early on the trend, developing the relationships with the brand partners that we have [now] was easier for us to do because there wasnt that level of competition. We were able to ask for exclusivity to certain products, and thats only grown, Boyarsky said.

Today, close to 50 percent of the more than 40 brands carried at Bandier have elements of their range that are exclusive to the retailer.

For instance, Bandier worked closely with luxe brand Ultracor  where bottoms typically retail for around $200  to tweak their popular star-printed leggings. A $196 version with a higher waist and no center seam was produced in five colorways and, according to Boyarsky, the single style sold out and drove $200,000 in sales in one month. There is a lengthy waiting list for a second delivery.

We had no idea what the true demand was behind product that we were selling. Just recently having added a wait list functionality now informs our buys because we can buy more accurately. A lot of it was born out of doing these collaborations. We didnt know how much business we were missing, he said.

Bandiers success also might have something to do with maintaining its positioning as a multibrand retailer  versus trying to become its own activewear brand.

Instead of turning to private label the way activewear e-tailer Carbon38 has, Bandier continues to set itself apart through a series of exclusive collaborations with bloggers and fashion brands. Partnerships have spanned limited-edition capsules with Prabal Gurung and Cushnie et Ochs, but the most lucrative  and buzzy  of the retailers partnerships have been those created with influencers.

Those who Bandier has teamed with so far include Something Navys Arielle Charnas; We Wore Whats Danielle Bernstein; Alexis Ren; A Bikini a Days Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman and fit-fluencers Karena Dawn and Katrina Scott of Tone It Up.

And its working as a business strategy. Boyarsky revealed that 12 percent of Bandiers sales come from either collaborations or exclusive product, with the goal of expanding this portion of the business to 20 percent over the next two years.

Last July, 1,000 of Charnas fans showed up at Bandiers Flatiron store in Manhattan to score pieces from her Something Navy x Koral collaboration and meet the 29-year-old influencer. Reportedly, she moved $10,000 worth of product in 90 minutes in-store, and the collection completely sold out online, equating to $100,000 in sales in less than one week. The release of Charnas Something Navy x Monrow collection in mid-May yielded a similar response. The range saw 75 percent sell-through online in the first day and sold out of almost half of the collections eight styles.

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Details added (first version posted on 11:55)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

The UN highly appreciates Azerbaijans efforts to deepen cooperation with the organization, active participation of the country in its initiatives and programs, said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

He made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The meeting was held as part of the ministers working visit to New York to attend the events timed to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Azerbaijan and the UN, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend May 25.

During the meeting, the sides expressed satisfaction with the current level of cooperation.

Azerbaijan remains committed to the UN Charter and the principles and goals of international law, supports the activities of the UN, said Mammadyarov.

He also noted that the election of Azerbaijan as a member of the UN Economic and Social Council for 2017-2019 will create additional opportunities for the country in order to contribute to international development.

Mammadyarov also spoke about the contribution of Azerbaijan at the international level to the dialogue between civilizations and religions.

Speaking about the UNs role in the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is the main threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus, the minister stressed that the basic documents on the conflicts solution were adopted by the UN Security Council.

Mammadyarov noted with regret that the UN Security Council resolutions on the conflicts settlement still remain unimplemented.

The Azerbaijani minister also emphasized the need to continue substantive negotiations to resolve the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Calzedonia is launching a service of digital customization for the upcoming summer season set to debut on the Italian brands online shop May 29. Customers can choose to customize one-piece swimsuits available in bright red, olive green, white or black by either creating their own wording or selecting from a range of preset slogans such as #sunkissed, #mermaid and Born in the 90s.

The project targets the social media generation and is aimed to foster online sharing.

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The online debut marks a second step within the customization project as it follows the launch of a set of especially designed patches, which have been available in stores since Friday.

This follows the release of the spring 2017 lineup, which was inspired by a road trip around the world. Different cultures and trends represent a source of inspiration to the collection, which features a mix and match of references and styles spanning from Africa, Mexico and Japan to Copacabana and the Italian Riviera. The range includes triangle and bandeau bikinis rendered in bold, colorful prints and also beaded designs.

The Calzedonia Group plans to open in July a Fifth Avenue flagship that will also carry product from its sister intimate apparel brand Intimissimi. Marcello Veronesi, country manager for Calzedonia USA, said the goal is to have 30 stores in the U.S. by 2018 located in malls and high-traffic strips in key cities.

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Its been a busy week for Julianne Moore in Cannes, France, both as a LOreal Paris ambassador and to support the premiere of Todd Haynes latest flick, Wonderstruck, one of 19 titles in competition at the annual film festival.

An adaptation of the young adult novel of the same name by Brian Selznick  whose The Invention of Hugo Cabret was filmed as Hugo by Martin Scorsese  the movie, set in two periods, is billed as a tale of two lost hearing-impaired children finding each other. Here, the Oscar-winning actress talks to WWD about the experience of making the movie, being directed by George Clooney and being a bookworm.

WWD: Tell us about Wonderstruck.

Julianne Moore: It takes places both in the Twenties and the Seventies, and I play a part in both films. Stylistically, it was very interesting because the entire first part of the movie, which is set in the Twenties, is a silent film in black-and-white. It was interesting to explore in terms of research and looking at silent film.

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The interesting thing is that in film youre always looking at whats human, whats universal and oddly, by putting a genre or style on something, it sometimes allows you to focus on what youre doing in a different kind of way, to explore behavior. So thats always fascinating to me.

Sandy Powell did the costumes. She tells a story with the clothes. Shes very specific, and when you collaborate with her, its another element of creating a character.

WWD: You also star in Suburbicon, directed by George Clooney. What is unique about his approach to directing?

J.M.: Hes great. Hes incredibly prepared and he attracts a tremendously talented crew, which says a lot for him personally and professionally. You know, when someone has that caliber of talent around them, that they are gifted themselves, and well-liked and really capable.

Its based on a script that the Coen brothers wrote years ago that George found, and they agreed to have him to direct it. Its me, Matt Damon and Oscar Isaac.

WWD: Can you share any of the storyline?

J.M.: Matt Damon and I play a couple that lives in a Levittown, the name for the suburban communities in the United States that were built by William Levitt after World War II, with people needing affordable housing very quick. There was one outside of Pennsylvania, there was one in Long Island.So this is based in a community like that, and its a primarily white community. And in it an African-American family moves in and everyone starts blaming all the trouble on them. In the meantime, theres a lot of stuff thats happening in our household that Damon and I share, theres some stuff happening there and theyre hiding in the chaos.

WWD: At this stage of your career, what draws you to working on a film?

J.M.: I like stories about people. I like things that are human and different. I want to be as engaged in my work as I am in reading a book. I want to be electrified by the films I do.

WWD: You starred in Tom Fords A Single Man. Do you still keep in touch?

J.M.: Tom is a close friend, so yes. We were in Los Angeles together just a couple of weeks ago.

WWD: Being a LOreal Paris ambassador, has your approach to beauty changed over the years?

J.M.: One of the things that I love about LOreal is that its accessible and aspirational. Beauty doesnt have to be a mystery, and it can be available to everybody. But its also about accessing what is most innately human, what we think is attractive. You realize, even with makeup, we like pink cheeks because we like people who look excited and flushed. We like lips that have moisture in them because it makes you look healthy. We like shiny hair, all of those things. Thats the connection to beauty and humanity.

WWD: For your roles, where do you draw inspiration from? Are you a devourer of films, or do you prefer to look elsewhere?

J.M.: I read a lot, I always read. I like to be inside a story. When I started acting, even in high school, it sort of felt like thats as close as you can get to being inside a book, and I feel that way even with movies more so, because youve kind of created this imaginary world, and everybody is colluding to create it.

Im reading The Underground Railroad, which is pretty sad.

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Just as she had chosen the Italian label Dolce & Gabbana for Wednesdays meeting with Pope Francis in Rome, First Lady Melania Trump once again paid tribute to the host nation by wearing a Belgian designer in Brussels Thursday.

For her first photo-op with French First Lady Brigitte Macron at the Magritte Museum, FLOTUS wore a custom-made belted leather jacket and skirt from Maison Ullens with Manolo Blahnik snakeskin heels. Trumps suit was made specifically for her trip to Brussels with Maison Ullens founder Baroness Myriam Ullens de Schooten and creative director Kim Laursen, according to a company spokeswoman. The Danish Laursen, who previously worked for Christian Lacroix, Azzaro, Elie Saab and Kenzo, designs the collection, worked on sketches based on Trumps requests.

Trumps team approached the company since she wanted to wear a Belgian label, a spokeswoman for Maison Ullens said. The companys founder Ullens de Schooten started the company in 2009 after recognizing the lack of chic travel wear, while traveling. She met the first lady during a fitting. The French Belgian designer focused on knitwear, leather and cashmere pieces including reversible. Trump joins the ranks of such other Maison Ullens shoppers as IMFs Christine Lagarde, Catherine Deneuve and Kelly Rutherford. Trump may know the company name from its Aspen store. It also has two boutiques in Paris. Geared for on-the-go women, Maison Ullen clothing is meant to be interchangeable with sneakers, brogues and stilettos.

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While Trump chose a below-the-knee skirt, Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, was more daring in a short-sleeve minidress. Apparently, fashion wasnt part of their conversation, according to Trumps spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham. Asked about their chat, she said, It was general conversation and pleasantries.

Throughout her week overseas, Trump has visited childrens hospitals including the Queen Fabiola Childrens Hospital in Brussels. Having singled out helping children issues as a priority, Trump has also visited schools, hospitals and, more recently, a shelter for young women in the U.S. Issues surrounding children will always be a focus for the first lady, Grisham said.

A breast cancer survivor, Ullens de Schooten, has her own causes, having started her own foundation in 2004 and created seven wellness centers in Europe. Each year 15,000 cancer patients receive psychological support and spa and beauty treatments to help alleviate stress. She and her husband Guy also started the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing.

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The name Jean-Georges Vongerichten is synonymous with classic fine dining, elaborate hotel restaurants and well-earned Michelin stars. With 35 restaurants around the world (another may open in the time it takes you to read this sentence) and devout fans who include celebrities and world dignitaries, Vongerichten, a native of Alsace, France, may be the best-known chef in the world.

His flagship restaurant Jean-Georges, in New York's Trump Hotel, has three Michelin stars. He has published numerous cookbooks, including "Cooking at Home With a Four-Star Chef," for which he won a best cookbook award from the James Beard Foundation. And he co-hosted a PBS series called Kimchi Chronicles  he makes his own kimchi, but well get to that later.

And now hes getting ready to open his first Los Angeles restaurant, Jean-Georges Beverly Hills, along with the Rooftop by JG and Jean-Georges Beverly Hills Bar, all at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, next to the Beverly Hilton at the corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards. The hotel and restaurants are scheduled to open June 1.

I spoke with Vongerichten recently in the unfinished dining room at his new Beverly Hills restaurant. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

With all your restaurants in countries around the world, what does your frequent-flyer mile program look like?

Its huge. Ive got 3 million miles. I dont even know what to do with them. You cant give it to anybody, so its tough. Tomorrow we fly to Tokyo  three days in Tokyo, three days in Shanghai, two days in Hong Kong, then back Monday morning to New York.

Why open your first L.A. restaurant here and now?

I feel like Im more Californian than New Yorker with the way that I cook. I dont use as much butter and cream; its much lighter. I have always cooked with vegetables and vinaigrettes. It was about finding the right partner and opportunity. Its Beverly Hills. Its a great location. Its not going to be too fine-dining.

Where do you eat when youre in town?

We landed today, late, so I hadnt had lunch yet. So where do you stop when you land from New York? In-N-Out Burger . We took an Uber and said, Do you mind stopping here? So we had a Double-Double of course and ate in the car on the way here. I never miss a meal. When I want sushi, my new favorite is Sushi Park. I like Cafe Gratitude. I like Gjelina. Last time I came here I wanted to see what the vegan places were doing. For me to come here, its a lot of inspiration.

Do you still collect toasters?

Im a toaster fanatic. For me, as a chef, the best smell when you wake up in the morning is toast.

Whats your go-to to put on toast?

Avocado. Still. I know its a trend. We have an avocado pizza on the menu here. We bake a sourdough crust with a little bit of onions and put sea salt and olive oil and just some sliced avocado on top and jalapeno. The bread is very warm. Thats on the menu only for L.A.  we have avocado toast for breakfast in the morning. For room service we are really going to offer the food from the restaurant in the room so it will be an all-day menu. You will be able to order the avocado pizza from your room while you are watching TV.

For me, as a chef, the best smell when you wake up in the morning is toast.  Jean Georges Vongerichten

Favorite thing to cook for yourself other than toast?

When I cook, its usually a one-pot meal. Depends what time as well. A bowl of pasta with pepper and Parmesan. When I forget to eat or am still hungry, I always have kimchi in my fridge. Always. Homemade too.

You make your own kimchi? How long do you let it sit for?

Two weeks. First salted. Leave it outside for 12 hours, then the next day I put my slurry with chile and then keep it in the fridge. Only good up to two weeks, I think. I dont put fish sauce or dry fish. I like to keep it clean. Its a little funky. Those are my snacks: yogurt, kimchi, pasta.

What about kitchen tools? One thing you cant imagine not having or that you use more than everything?

Probably a Microplane. Grating garlic, cheese, nutmeg, spices. I like my VitaPrep too, but its not too easy to move around the kitchen. I like lemon zest on everything, so thats my go-to.

Youve won so many awards, you have Michelin stars, youve cooked with so many people. Whats the next goal?

I want to be the first 100% green restaurant, from head to toe  from compost in the kitchen to zero GMO, all organic. I dont know if there is such a label, but I want to create it. At ABCV [his plant-based New York City restaurant], its all recycled; we buy everything on EBay. Even our frying oil in the kitchen is GMO-free. We try to really have everything as organic as we can. Because I just turned 60 and I want to be 90.

Jenn.Harris@latimes.com

@Jenn_Harris_

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Few Southern California transportation projects have a longer or more tortured legacy than the 710 Freeway.

Since the 1960s, the debate over whether to close a 4.5-mile gap in Los Angeles Countys freeway network has raged between preservation advocates in South Pasadena and cities in the San Gabriel Valley, where the 710s abrupt terminus sends freight traffic spilling onto local streets.

Update: Metro board of directors withdraws its support for controversial 710 Freeway tunnel 

The sparring began again last week, when a Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff report endorsed a 4.9-mile, $3.2-billion freeway tunnel as the most effective way to connect the 710 and the 210 Freeway.

The tunnel, which would be the longest of its kind in California, may effectively meet its end Thursday, when Metros directors will consider shifting hundreds of millions of dollars in 710 project funding toward local street improvements.

The plan, if approved, amounts to an unofficial decision on the future of the 710 corridor. Without an estimated $700-million contribution from Metro, the chances of Caltrans funding and building a multibillion-dollar freeway tunnel are slim to none, officials say.

Realistically, I dont see the tunnel coming back, said Metro Chairman and Duarte Councilman John Fasana, who introduced the proposal with L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. Thats not to say that someone cant come up with another idea 20 years from now. But this funding will be gone.

Another Metro official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, described the tunnels future as a fait accompli.

Fasana, a longtime supporter of the 710 extension, said his proposal was a response to Metros staff report supporting the tunnel. He noted that the project has scant political support on the Metro board and a funding gap of more than $2.5 billion.

(Los Angeles Times)

I support the tunnel, but after all these years of delivering no improvements, we owe it to these areas to pursue a different path, Fasana said. It makes sense to step away from our pursuit of this and see if there are other solutions.

The 710 corridor has about $780 million in funding guaranteed through Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase voters approved in 2008. Some of those funds have already been spent on environmental reviews and other studies.

Fasanas proposal would allocate $105 million of the remaining funds toward synchronized traffic lights, new meters on freeway off-ramps and capacity enhancements at three dozen intersections and local streets, as well as incentives to encourage carpooling, transit use and staggered work schedules.

The remaining budget would be dedicated to new mobility improvements in the San Gabriel Valley, according to the motion.

The option was among the possibilities included in the projects environmental review.

Fasanas proposal is a blow to San Gabriel Valley officials and advocates who have complained for decades that the freeways abrupt ending on Valley Boulevard causes health and air problems.

The 710 is a favored route for truckers shuttling between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and distribution centers in central Los Angeles County.

Alhambra Mayor David Mejia said the city will weigh its options, including litigation, after Metro votes Thursday, saying: The tunnel is the best thing for our city. We want our problems to be taken seriously.

The other options under consideration for the 710 corridor are a light-rail line, a bus rapid-transit route or a variety of tunnel options, including single-bore and twin-bore tunnels.

The so-called traffic demand management plan backed by Fasana and Barger received a lower rating overall than the tunnel options, according to the Metro staff report. Local road upgrades would do little to address congestion on surface streets and would have about the same effect as a tunnel on regional freeway traffic, the report said.

In advance of Thursdays vote, heres a look back at the long, convoluted history of the 710 corridor.

The first tentative 710 routes are born

As state transportation officials began to map out Californias vast future freeway network in the 1930s, they included a connection from Monterey Park to Long Beach, dubbed Legislative Route 167.

In 1949, then-Gov. Earl Warren signed legislation extending the route farther north into South Pasadena.

Work on the freeway begins

In 1951, crews began working on the southern portion of the 710, which connects to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

In 1964, the California Highway Commission adopted the so-called Meridian Route, named because it parallels South Pasadenas Meridian Avenue.

Caltrans began purchasing homes along the expected route of the freeway in El Sereno, South Pasadena and Pasadena.

One of the old homes along a stretch of Pasadena Avenue once designated for an above-ground segment of the 710 Freeway. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) (Luis Sinco /)

The freeway is finished  kind of

Caltrans opened the freeway in phases and cut the ribbon in 1965 on a 1.3-mile segment from the 10 Freeway to the 710s current terminus on Valley Boulevard in Alhambra. Protests from South Pasadena over the planned northern route delayed further construction.

The lawsuits begin

Three years after California and federal officials approved sweeping environmental legislation, the city of South Pasadena, the Sierra Club and other organizations sued in federal court, saying the 710 project should be subjected to a more rigorous environmental review.

A judge issued an injunction halting construction until the studies could be completed, which effectively blocked the freeway for 25 years.

South Pasadena later amended its general plan to show public buildings in the path of the proposed freeway, prompting a lawsuit from Caltrans.

What if we made it smaller?

The states final environmental documents recommended a scaled-down version of the freeway, with four lanes. Federal officials balked, and work ground to a halt.

Cutting out cities consent

In 1982, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that allowed Caltrans to build the freeway without the consent of municipal governments such as South Pasadena. But it required more environmental studies, and a decision on a route, by 1985.

Two years later, state officials approved a route they had previously endorsed, along Meridian Avenue. They also rejected a series of suggestions  including a possible double-decking of the 110 Freeway  made by a federal advisory group on historic preservation.

Governor to Caltrans: Build it already

Gov. Pete Wilsons administration ordered the freeway built, and federal highway officials issued a long-awaited approval for the environmental study.

Lawsuits start up again

In 1995, El Sereno activists filed a federal race discrimination lawsuit against the state, alleging that the route through their largely Latino neighborhood lacked the noise mitigation promised to Pasadena and South Pasadena.

Federal government approves the 710 extension

Late on a Monday night, officials with the Federal Highway Administration signed the so-called record of decision approving the 6-mile freeway extension.

It was a blow for freeway foes, who had hoped the federal government would stop the project. Still, the groups won a last-minute concession that officials would review the project again after it was fully designed.

Later that year, South Pasadena sued again in federal court, saying the document failed to protect the environment and historic homes and businesses.

Judge blocks freeway construction

In a major victory for South Pasadena, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson ruled that Caltrans and federal officials may have violated the Clean Air Act and failed to consider alternatives for the 6.2-mile freeway project.

Pregerson said the agencies had not prepared adequate environmental impact reports and had not adequately considered so-called low-build alternatives to help traffic flow on surface streets.

He blocked the agencies from spending money on construction or acquisition of properties along the proposed freeways path.

Pasadena changes course

After decades of supporting the project, the Pasadena City Council rescinded its support of the 710 and joined South Pasadena in opposing the project.

In an hours-long and sometimes-heated public hearing, the mayor of Monrovia told City Council members that reversing course would only prove that you just care about your own parochial needs.

Federal officials back away from freeway plan

Federal Highway Administration officials rescinded their approval of the 710 project, telling Caltrans officials that so much time had passed since the environmental review in 1992 that it would have to be redone.

Since the project was first studied, 11 additional historical sites were identified in the freeway project area, the Gold Line opened to Pasadena and the Alameda Corridor freight train route opened, which could relieve some pressure from the 710, officials wrote.

Can a $5.4-billion tunnel plan fix the notorious 710 gap? 

One 710 Freeway option calls for side-by-side, double-decker tunnels to separate northbound and southbound traffic, at an estimated cost of $5.6 billion. A Metro staff report endorsed a cheaper, single-bore option.

New sales tax funding renews the 710 debate

Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase that voters approved in 2008, included $780 million to study possible improvements along the 710 corridor.

South Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge filed a lawsuit over the Measure R ordinance, saying Metro was improperly funding a project that had not undergone a full environmental review. The lawsuit was later thrown out.

In 2009, Caltrans began exploratory drilling for an environmental study.

A new freeway price tag: $5.6 billion

A 2,260-page draft environmental report prepared by Metro and Caltrans examined four options for closing the 6.2-mile gap between Alhambra and Pasadena.

Building an underground freeway would be the most expensive option, at $3.1 billion to $5.6 billion for single- or twin-bore tunnels, and would take about five years to complete, the report found.

Metro and Caltrans said they would consider a bus system, a light rail line and various upgrades to the existing route, as well as a no build option.

Caltrans starts preparing to sell some homes in the path of the 710

With all surface freeway options off the table, Caltrans began preparing to sell more than 400 homes purchased in the 1950s and 60s in preparation for freeway construction.

Tunnel may be scrapped

Last week, Fasana proposed that Metro dedicate the remaining Measure R funds to improvements to traffic signals, streets, intersections and bus service. Officials could also encourage residents to reduce solo car trips in the area surrounding the 710 gap, between Alhambra and Pasadena.

The final decision rests with Caltrans, which is expected to vote on an option later this year or in 2018.

Update: Metro board of directors withdraws its support for controversial 710 Freeway tunnel 

laura.nelson@latimes.com

Twitter: @laura_nelson
South El Monte officials racked up thousands of dollars on city credit cards for consultants bar tabs, airfare and pricey electronics. They splurged on hotel stays and a trip to Las Vegas without proof that it was related to city business.

The former city manager charged more than $3,000 for a cheerleading camp, and the city paid $390,000 to a consultant after their contract had already expired.

These are just a few of the findings of a California state controller review of how South El Monte spent money. In a scathing assessment, Controller Betty Yee declared: South El Monte officials demonstrated a culture of incompetence and blatant disregard for taxpayer dollars.

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In a statement released Thursday, Yee also said that she was especially concerned with exorbitant lobbying and consulting expenses that resulted in undefined benefits to the city and its residents.

The states blistering review comes just as the city is embroiled in a corruption scandal involving ex-Mayor Luis Aguinaga, who in September pleaded guilty in a federal bribery case. Prosecutors said Aguinaga accepted at least $45,000 in bribes from an unidentified city contractor.

The former mayor also split some of the payoff, delivered in envelopes with cash, with another city official, according to prosecutors. That person has not been charged or publicly identified.

Aguinaga was sentenced last month to a one-year federal prison term.

I think our city was a mess, said Councilman Joe Gonzales, who has criticized how the city has been run and contracts handed out. I just dont think there was any type of checks and balances whatsoever.

The city has been taking actions to correct the problems and plans to adopt even more changes, according to the review.

But Gonzales said the city needs to go above and beyond the steps it has taken and is proposing to take. He said South El Monte needs to appoint a special overseer to be a check on the administration. He said he hoped such a step could help the city get its financial affairs in order.

Anthony Ybarra, who had been city manager for more than a decade until he resigned in August, said he couldnt recall some of the expenses highlighted in the review. He also disagreed with Yees assessment that there was a culture of incompetence. He said he would contact her personally after he reads the report.

The state review of South El Montes spending found that from July 2013 to June of last year one contractor billed the city $1 million without submitting time cards. The city was negligent about having written contracts for services and employment and sometimes renewed top managers contracts long after they had lapsed.

In 2009, South El Monte and agencies in four other cities reached an agreement to lobby the Metropolitan Transit Agency on a Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension route.

When two cities stopped paying their share, according to the state review, it cost South El Monte $314,000. But South El Monte was so sloppy in its financial controls, according to the review, that it incorrectly billed a city that was not part of the pact and collected $56,000.

The city had paid $1.4 million to lobbying and consulting firms to fight for South El Montes preferred Metro Line route. But there was no public airing of the project or costs associated with it.

The controllers review found that the vast majority of South El Montes internal controls  almost 90%  were inadequate.

Several of the more exorbitant expenses by city officials involved hotel stays. For example, on Jan. 30 of 2013 a former city manager charged $642 to stay at a Wyndham hotel in San Francisco. In October of that year, the manager charged $840 twice for a two-night weekend stay at a Westin hotel in Seattle.

One council member charged the city-issued credit card $378 in June of 2015 for a hotel stay at the Aria hotel in Las Vegas.

In each of these cases, according to the state review, there was no description, justification, or any type of documentation as to the purpose and necessity of these trips.

adam.elmahrek@latimes.com

Twitter: @adamelmahrek

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UPDATES:

4:40 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from former City Manager Anthony Ybarra.

4 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from South El Monte Councilman Joe Gonzales.

This article was originally published at 1:55 p.m.
NASA funding: In the May 24 California section, an article about NASA funding attributed a reference to a hobbled Hubble Space Telescope to NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot. The Hubble observatory is in good health, and the reference should not have been attributed to Lightfoot.

If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Deirdre Edgar, readers representative, by email at readers.representative@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax at (213) 237-3535 or by mail at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. The readers representative office is online at latimes.com/readersrep.
Investigators looking for 5-year-old Aramazd Andressian Jr., who has been missing for more than a month, searched the Montebello home of his grandmother Thursday.

During the two-hour search of the paternal grandmothers home, which began about 9 a.m., investigators seized various items of evidence, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

Were just searching for additional evidence to help us locate the child, said Los Angeles Sheriffs Det. Louie Aguilera. He declined to say what items authorities recovered but said the search was related to new investigative leads that we have developed.

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Detectives also took the grandmother and the boys aunt in for further questioning in the childs disappearance, Aguilera said.

The boy was reported missing April 22, two days after he went to Disneyland with his father and other relatives.

Aramazd Andressian Sr., 35, has been named a person of interest in the case, and detectives said that he has given inconsistent and misleading statements. Andressian was found unconscious in a South Pasadena park at 6:30 a.m. April 22, the day he was supposed to return the boy to his estranged wife.

Andressian was briefly held on charges of child endangerment and child abduction, then released because of insufficient evidence. He has hired a lawyer and refused to speak with investigators, giving only a written statement provided by his attorney.

Aramazd was last seen alive April 21 about 1 a.m. after leaving Disneyland with his father and other relatives. Investigators think the elder Andressian also visited the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area in Santa Barbara County with the boy before he was reported missing, but there were no confirmed sightings of the child there.

Earlier this month, authorities increased a reward for information on Aramazds disappearance to $20,000. The boys mother, Ana Estevez, made a tearful plea to the public at a news conference.

My sons disappearance is my worst nightmare, she said, adding that she thinks Aramazd is still alive. She told her son to be brave and that she loves him.

The day after the news conference, deputies returned to the park where Andressian was found to conduct a large-scale search with cadaver dogs, horses and a drone. They found nothing.

On Thursday, Ulises Llamas, 41, a neighbor of the grandmother, stood outside his home and watched as TV news trucks parked along the curb. He said he has noticed law enforcement parked in his neighborhood on multiple occasions. Llamas, who has lived on the street of one-story homes and trimmed lawns for 10 years, said the childs mother has been by his home, passing out fliers about the missing boy.

Another neighbor, Frank Lizarraga, 49, said he saw authorities haul a computer tower from the home Thursday morning. Lizarraga said the grandmother looked frail as she came out of the home and walked with a cane.

Lizarraga said the people in the home usually keep to themselves but sometimes wave.

They seem like very good people, he said.

About two weeks ago, Lizarraga said the boys mother stopped by his home and asked about a security camera he has positioned on the side of the duplex where he lives.

That is a mother who is concerned and wanting to look for her child, he said. Im just hoping that this kids OK.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

For more crime news, follow @nicolesantacruz on Twitter.

UPDATES:

2:55 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from neighbors.

This article was originally published at 12:05 p.m.
The fight over how to connect the stub ends of two freeways has spawned anger and litigation for decades, pitting neighbor against neighbor in the San Gabriel Valley and nearby areas.

On Thursday, the proposed 710 Freeway tunnel  most recently the leading option  effectively died.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted unanimously to withdraw its support and funding for a five-mile, $3.2-billion tunnel through El Sereno, South Pasadena and Pasadena connecting the 710 and 210 freeways.

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Instead, the board voted to spend $700 million on a range of transportation fixes to ease congestion and other problems arising from traffic spilling onto the streets of Alhambra at the 710s abrupt northern terminus.

This gets improvements out there now, said Metro board Chairman John Fasana, a Duarte city councilman who had long supported the tunnel. Ive realized the tunnel is unfundable and would be built many years from now.

The vote took place after more than two hours of public comment in a Metro boardroom packed with several hundred residents, representatives of community organizations and elected officials. Cheers went up from tunnel opponents when the voting was finished.

To have a unanimous vote is a reflection of the mood in the boardroom, said Jan Soohoo of La Canada Flintridge, a member of the No 710 Action Committee. Weve been fighting and fighting for years just to get seven votes  the minimum that tunnel foes needed to kill the idea.

Solving the missing link was a long-held dream of freeway boosters, who envisioned a more seamless system for moving goods and people. It was also supported by residents and leaders of some cities, led by Alhambra.

But it was consistently and vehemently opposed by, among others, residents of South Pasadena, who saw their historic residential neighborhoods threatened by any type of freeway extension. The L.A. neighborhoods of El Sereno and City Terrace also objected.

Board members said the vote represents a significant departure from relying on new highways to accommodate the regions growing population and transportation demands.

As a city and county, weve moved away from freeways, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Metro board member. Voters dont see freeways as meeting their transportation needs anymore.

Officials said that without an estimated $700-million contribution from Metro, the chance of the California Department of Transportation funding and building a multibillion-dollar underground freeway from Alhambra to Pasadena was essentially nil.

Brian Kelly, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, said in a statement that he looked forward to working with the Legislature and the community after the vote. He noted that this is the direction the community and local leaders have urged for years.

The 710 corridor project obtained about $780 million through Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase voters approved in 2008. Some of the money has already been spent on planning, studies and environmental work.

The motion approved Thursday would allocate $105 million of the remaining funds toward synchronized traffic signals, new meters on freeway ramps, capacity enhancements at three dozen intersections and local streets as well as incentives to encourage carpooling, transit use and staggered work schedules.

The board voted to defer decisions on other transportation options that will use the remaining funding until cities along the north 710 corridor and other interested parties can agree. Metro staff will report back in 90 days on a process to identify potential projects.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis, a Metro board member, said the vote will ensure that the disadvantaged communities of El Sereno, City Terrace and East Los Angeles will finally get the desperately needed traffic relief they deserve as identified by the tunnels environmental analysis.

Supporters of the tunnel stressed that it would have eased congestion, especially with truckers using the 710 to shuttle cargo to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Having spent about 10-plus years in Alhambra and then also attending Cal State L.A., I have been putting up with the congestion at the end of the 710 for too long, said Ralph Blunt, 67, now of Pasadena. The tunnel was the best solution.

Last week, a Metro staff report endorsed a 4.9-mile, $3.2-billion freeway tunnel as the most effective way to connect the two freeways.

The report gave the traffic management plan backed by Fasana and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, also a Metro board member, a lower rating overall than the tunnel options.

Local road upgrades, the report stated, would do little to address congestion on surface streets and would have about the same effect as a tunnel on regional freeway traffic.

In response, Fasana and Barger put forward the motion to shift hundreds of millions of dollars in 710 project funding toward local street improvements and transportation alternatives. Fasana said the 710 extension had scant political support on the Metro board and a funding gap of more than $2.5 billion.

I had long supported the tunnel, but I realized we havent been able to proceed with immediate traffic relief. What is on paper does not provide relief for commuters. Fasana said.

San Gabriel Valley officials and advocates have complained for decades that the freeways abrupt ending on Valley Boulevard causes health and air problems.

During public comment, opponents of the 710 tunnel repeatedly called for alternatives and told the board that the project was an obsolete approach to solving the regions traffic problems. It would disrupt neighborhoods, harm the environment and be too costly to build, they said.

The motion is a good start, Dr. Bill Sherman of South Pasadena told the board. Like Cuba Gooding said in the movie Jerry McGuire, Show me the money. But there is no money. End it now.

Alhambra Mayor Dave Mejia, whose city supported the tunnel project, said he now supports the boards decision because people in the San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles have been struggling for years with traffic congestion.

If the 710 money is going to stay in the area, Im supporting the decision that was made, Mejia said. We are not going to fight. We are going to step up. We want to help all the communities, not just Alhambra.

Times staff writer Laura J. Nelson contributed to this report.

dan.weikel@latimes.com

Twitter @LADeadline16

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City settles lawsuits challenging modernization projects at Los Angeles International Airport

Transportation Department releases Caltrain electrification project funding

Free Costa Mesa-only bus route to start in June along Bristol Street and shopping and arts centers

UPDATES:

3:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.

1 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from the meeting.

This article was originally published at 11:40 a.m.
A couple has been sentenced for misappropriating public funds for a group of foster homes they ran, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

CSJ Kidogo, 76, was sentenced to 180 days in county jail on Wednesday and placed on five years of formal probation. His wife, Hitaji Kidogo, 65, was sentenced to three years of summary probation, the district attorneys office said.

The pair paid $109,093 in restitution and were ordered to stop running foster homes.

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CSJ Kidogo pleaded guilty to one felony count of misappropriation of public money in September 2015, authorities said. He is the former executive director of Little Peoples World Inc. His wife, the companys former assistant executive director, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of embezzlement.

Little Peoples World ran four group homes that provided foster care to more than two dozen children in Los Angeles County. A county audit revealed that CSJ Kidogo borrowed money marked for foster care to buy real estate for himself. He also used that money to pay mortgages on properties not used for the foster care program, the district attorneys office said.

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini

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Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King of Saudi Arabia Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day.

On behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and on my own behalf, I extend to Your Excellency my warmest congratulations on the occasion of the national holiday of your country  Republic Day, said the Saudi king in his letter. I wish you robust health and happiness, and the brotherly government and people of Azerbaijan lasting development and prosperity.

King of the Belgians Philippe has also congratulated the Azerbaijani president.

I extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes to you, and for peace and prosperity of the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the national holiday of your country  Republic Day, noted King Philippe in his letter.

King of Sweden Carl Gustaf also congratulated President Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day.

On the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I wish to convey to Your Excellency my sincere congratulations and best wishes for your health and happiness and for the prosperity of the people of Azerbaijan, noted King Gustaf in his congratulatory letter.

King of Norway Harald V has also congratulated the Azerbaijani president.

On the occasion of your Republic Day, I extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes to you personally, and for the welfare and prosperity of the people of Azerbaijan, said the Norwegian king in his letter.

King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander has sent a congratulatory letter to President Aliyev on the Republic Day.

On your countrys National Day, may I extend to Your Excellency my congratulations and my best wishes for the well-being of the people of Azerbaijan, noted Willem-Alexander in the letter.

Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Peter Cosgrove has also congratulated the Azerbaijani president.

On the occasion of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan, I wish to convey to you, the Government and people of Azerbaijan my best wishes, together with those of the Australian Government and people, said Cosgrove in his letter.

This year, Australia and Azerbaijan will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. Our two nations share a warm bilateral relationship and Australia remains a consistent supporter of Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity, he noted. Australia looks forward to working closely with Azerbaijan in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to preserve Australias Great Barrier Reef. I also commend you for your work on the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, an important platform to support diversity and mutual understanding among nations.

We would very much welcome Azerbaijans support for Australias candidacy for the Human Rights Council (HRC) for the 2018-20 term. Australia has never before served on the HRC. If elected, we would bring a unique perspective and a pragmatic, consultative approach to the work of the Council, said Cosgrove.

May I express my confidence that the friendly relations between our two countries will continue to prosper, he added.

Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has congratulated President Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day.

I extend my most sincere congratulations to Your Excellency on the occasion of your countrys Republic Day, noted Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud in his congratulatory letter.

I wish you robust health and happiness, and the brotherly government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan greater development and prosperity, he added.

Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has also congratulated the Azerbaijani president.

I extend my best wishes to you on the occasion of the national holiday of your country  Republic Day. I wish you robust health and happiness, and the brotherly government and people of Azerbaijan greater progress and prosperity, said Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in his congratulatory letter.

Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai has sent a congratulatory letter to the Azerbaijani president.

I would like to thank you dearly for our meeting on the occasion of my visit to Baku for the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue that took place on May 5-6, 2017. I was very encouraged once again to learn of your commitment to tourism and its capacity to foster economic growth and I thank you for your continuing support to the sector, noted Taleb Rifai in his letter.

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude for bestowing on me the Dostluq (Friendship) order of Azerbaijan, which was presented to me during the 105th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council (May 11-12, Madrid) successfully chaired by the Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism, said the secretary general.

Furthermore, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on the occasion of upcoming 28 May Republic Day of Azerbaijan and send you my best wishes for the well-being and prosperity of your country and its people, added Taleb Rifai.
Eight California prison guards and seven inmates were taken to hospitals Wednesday after a fight between two inmates quickly raged out of control and required live ammunition to stop, corrections officials said.

Officers fired 19 bullets from semiautomatic rifles and three hard-foam rounds to break up the melee at Pelican Bay State Prison near the Oregon border.

Five of the seven injured inmates suffered gunshot wounds. One was expected to be airlifted to a different hospital for a higher level of care, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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She said she didnt know the conditions of the others.

Six of the eight injured guards were treated and released. Two were hospitalized with what officials called significant injuries but are expected to be released soon. One of those officers will eventually need surgery for an injured shoulder, Thornton said.

They all had ... facial injuries, bumps, bruises, contusions, she said. Its a frightening incident. Its frightening to have inmates just swarm you to overwhelm you and attack you.

Several hundred of the prisons roughly 2,000 high-security inmates were in an exercise yard when two began fighting, she said. The melee began when the two prisoners refused to break up their fistfight despite guards use of batons and pepper spray.

Large groups of prisoners then ran toward the fight and attacked the guards.

Were encouraged that the officers werent injured more than they were, Thornton said.
In what a Northern California district attorney is calling a case more egregious than Brock Turner and deserving of a stiffer punishment, a 20-year-old man will serve only four months in jail for drugging and raping a family member.

Del Norte County Superior Court Judge William H. Follett sentenced Nolan Bruder on May 17 to three years probation and 240 days in county jail for raping a drugged victim despite new legislation mandating prison sentences and prohibiting probation for certain sexual offenses, according to Del Norte County Dist. Atty. Dale Trigg. Bruder will serve only half of his sentence because of Californias felony sentencing realignment.

In making his ruling, Follett insisted the stigma of the conviction and having to register as a sex offender would deter Bruder and others from committing similar acts, the district attorney said in a statement.

I could not disagree more, Trigg said.

The district attorney said he thinks Bruder benefited because his crimes occurred before the passage of the new law, AB 2888, allowing the judge to sentence him to probation.

Last year, lawmakers crafted the legislation after the case of Turner, a former Stanford swimmer who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on campus after a fraternity party.

In that case, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in jail for the assault because he said a harsher penalty would have a severe impact on the former athlete. Turner also only served half of his sentence.

The light sentence sparked outrage nationwide and a campaign to recall Persky.

Although the circumstances were different, Bruders case draws many similarities to Turners.

Eventually it got to the point where I couldnt say no anymore

The assault occurred July 11 in Crescent City, a coastal community 20 miles from the Oregon border, according to a pre-sentencing report from the Del Norte County Probation Department.

Bruder, who was 19 at the time, offered the victim marijuana and dabs of highly potent hash oil, the report said. As the pair smoked, Bruder asked whether the victim wanted to have sex with him.

The victim said, No.

(The Times does not typically identify victims of sexual assault.)

What have I done?  Nolan Bruder

According to investigators, Bruder continued to ask, as the victim became increasingly impaired and could no longer recognize Bruder.

Eventually it got to the point where I couldnt say no anymore, like, I didnt know how to, so I ended up having sex with him, the victim told investigators.

Bruder told investigators that the victim didnt clearly say no the second time he asked and acknowledged that the victim was probably stoned, according to the report. After asking a third time, Bruder told investigators the victim said yes and they both removed their clothes.

The next morning, according to the report, he woke up and thought What have I done? He then left home for three or four days.

Before his sentencing, Bruder penned a one-page letter to Follett. In it, he describes how the victim persistently asked him to use marijuana together. He wrote also that at no time did he physically force or manipulate the victim to participate.

I am still struggling with the everlasting shame of the events of that night; the affect of which have gone beyond myself, spilling over into my family, friends and community, he wrote.

Showed no real remorse

Bruder pleaded guilty in April to drugging and raping the victim, the report said.

Before Follett handed down his sentence, at least three probation officers reviewed the case and determined that Bruder showed no real remorse and seemed smug, they wrote in the pre-sentencing report. Citing the new law, they recommended Bruder be sentenced to six years in prison and denied probation.

In an interview with probation officers, Bruder blamed the legal process for injustices against him and tried to normalize, minimize and excuse his predatory behavior, the report said.

What he did was a one-time and one-time only offense that I do not hold against him.  The victim

In a letter to the judge, Bruders parents pleaded for leniency, as did more than a dozen other people who knew the defendant.

The victim also wrote a two-page letter that said, I understand that what Nolan did to me was wrong  But one mans wrongdoing does not shape his entire character.

The victim wrote that speaking with Bruder hasnt been possible because of the criminal case, but Bruder has taken steps to rectify this situation. Hes gone to counseling and rehab to take care of his mental health, the victim wrote.

I feel Nolans actions show that he knows his wrongdoing and understands how his mistake hurt me and the people that love him, the victim said.

What he did was a one-time and one-time only offense that I do not hold against him.

A case of the judge exhibiting biasWomen are fed up with this kind of thing

Months after the Stanford rape sentence, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2888, ensuring victims of sex crimes that their offenders would receive stiffer punishments.

The law prohibits a judge from ordering probation in certain sex crimes such as rape, sodomy and forced oral copulation. The bill also prevents judges from handing light sentences to offenders convicted of sexually assaulting unconscious or severely intoxicated victims.

Trigg, the district attorney, said Follett, the judge in the Bruder case, noted that the victim was not unconscious. He said Follett also questioned whether there was sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Bruder despite a video confession.

The legislative changes and the policies behind them, however, apply equally to situations where a victim cannot consent due to intoxication or due to being unconscious, the district attorney said.

This is a really troubling case and, in some ways, even worse than Brock Turner.  Laurie Levenson, a Loyola law professor

Loyola law professor Laurie Levenson said she thinks the judge went with the lighter sentence because he gave the defendant a break for pleading guilty and he was concerned that the victims actions called into question whether the prosecutors could have gotten a jury to convict.

This is a really troubling case and, in some ways, even worse than Brock Turner, she said. I understand why the judge did not apply the new law, because new penalties only apply prospectively, but the judge had the discretion under the old laws to impose a much stiffer sentence.

Michele Dauber, a Stanford law professor who is a longtime friend of the victim in the Turner case, said the sentence in Bruders case shows there is a failure to hold a young man accountable for a sickening felony sex crime.

Indeed the probation department recommended prison, so this is really a case of the judge exhibiting bias, and it is very clear and very obvious, said Dauber, who is leading a recall effort against Persky, the Santa Clara County judge.

Until women start using the power we have at the ballot to elect judges who take sex crimes seriously, this will keep happening. That's why the recall of Judge Persky is so important. We are sending a message: Enough is enough. Women are fed up with this kind of thing.

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A Montrose man was sentenced to five years of probation for stalking actress Sandra Bullock and breaking into her home.

Joshua James Corbett, 41, pleaded no contest on Wednesday to charges of breaking into the actress home in 2014, the Los Angeles County district attorneys office said. Corbett pleaded no contest to one felony count each of stalking and first-degree residential burglary.

In addition to probation, a 10-year protective order was issued against Corbett. He was also ordered to seek continued treatment at a mental health facility.

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On the morning of June 8, 2014, Corbett jumped a fence to access Bullocks Hollywood Hills home and broke into the mansion.

Bullock, who was alone in the house, was awakened by a strange knocking sound coming from her third-floor workout room.

She peeked out of her bedroom door, saw a man clad in black sneaking down the corridor and retreated to her bedroom closet, where she dialed 911.

Police responding to the call found Corbett at Bullocks home. He was immediately arrested.

Sandy. Im sorry. Please dont press charges, Corbett allegedly shouted as he was taken into custody.

At the time of his arrest, Corbett had a notebook with a love letter addressed to the Academy Award-winning actress that said, You are my wife by law, the law of God and belong to me, authorities said.

The letter suggested he had been watching Bullocks home for days.

The notebook also exhibited stalking, obsessive and fixated behavior regarding Bullock and her son, LAPD Det. Christina Carlozzi wrote in a search warrant affidavit.

Corbett told investigators that he broke into Bullocks home not to scare the actress but because he wanted to show  security that her residence was not impervious and she was in danger, the affidavit said.

He also had a concealed weapons permit from Utah.

Corbett did not have a gun on him at Bullocks home but investigators linked him to eight firearms registered in his name.

Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini
A court order requiring the Los Angeles Zoo to exercise its elephants on soft ground and barring the use of electric shock was overturned Thursday by the California Supreme Court.

In a unanimous decision, the states highest court said the taxpayers who obtained an injunction against the L.A. Zoo used the wrong legal vehicle to obtain results.

The highly technical ruling said a taxpayer lawsuit, which relies on rules of civil law, cannot be used to stop criminal conduct. The suit that led to the injunction against the zoo accused it of violating a criminal law against animal cruelty.

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A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued the injunction in 2012, ordering the zoo to exercise its three Asian elephants at least two hours a day on rototilled soil to reduce the impact on their legs and pads.

The injunction also banned the use of electric shock and a barbed stick known as a bull hook  disciplinary tools the zoo said it wasnt using and will not use now.

David B. Casselman, a Tarzana lawyer who worked on the case for more than five years without charge, said he would return to trial court to see if there is another way to obtain a similar injunction or ask the Legislature to overturn the ruling.

What they are saying is, the taxpayer waste statute does not allow civil cases to pursue criminal conduct, he said.

Casselman said the injunction was necessary to ensure the zoo cared for its elephants properly.

This is heartbreaking, he said. I thought we had done something here to move the ball forward and instead the Supreme Court has allowed the zoo to take a step into the dark ages.

John Lewis, director of the L.A. Zoo, said the judges order would continue to be followed, even though it was no longer legally enforceable.

We will continue to exercise them and provide the best care for our elephants, Lewis said.

The elephants are Billy, 32, and Tina and Jewel, who are in their early 50s, Lewis said. The average life span for an elephant in the wild or at a zoo is 45 years.

California passed a law last year banning the use of bull hooks on captive elephants. The measure was modeled after ordinances in Los Angeles and Oakland.

In issuing the 2012 injunction, former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge John L. Segal said the L.A. Zoo was not a happy place for elephants.

Segal, elevated to a court of appeal in 2015 by Gov. Jerry Brown, ordered the protective measures after a six-day trial.

This case raises the question of whether the recreational or perhaps educational needs of one intelligent mammal species outweigh the physical and emotional, if not survival, needs of another, the judge wrote in a 56-page ruling. Existing California law does not answer that question.

The ACLU and several animal rights groups urged the state high court to retain Segals order in friend-of-the-court briefs. An association of counties sided with the L.A. Zoo.

maura.dolan@latimes.com

Twitter: @mauradolan

UPDATES:

4:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional background information about the 2012 injunction.

This article was first published at 2:25 p.m.
Four inmates remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds Thursday, a day after California correctional officers opened fire to quell a rare mass attack on eight prison guards by more than 100 inmates, officials said.

One Pelican Bay State Prison inmate will need surgery after he was shot in the chin. The other three were shot in the arms and legs, Corrections Department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

Three more inmates were sent back to prison after being treated for injuries to their back, head or foot.

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All eight correctional officers were treated and released for beating injuries, but one will need surgery for a torn shoulder. He also has a fractured eye socket, Thornton said.

Another officer has a broken nose, while a third needed stitches to close a wound around his left eye.

They all suffered numerous facial injuries, Thornton said of the correctional officers. She described them as having beating-type injuries. It doesnt appear that a weapon was used even though [investigators] recovered two weapons. Both appeared to be makeshift weapons that inmates grabbed during the assault, she said.

Guards fired 19 rifle bullets and three hard foam rounds to stop the attack, which began as one sergeant and seven officers were trying to break up a fistfight between two inmates in an exercise yard holding about 300 prisoners.

They were among about 2,000 inmates in the maximum-security prison near the Oregon border.

Of those inmates in the exercise yard, 107 have been isolated in a disciplinary housing unit because they are believed to have participated in the assault, Thornton said. Thats up from the initial 97 inmates sent to the disciplinary unit immediately after the attack.

Investigators arent sure what sparked the inmates to swarm the officers, or whether it was premeditated or spontaneous. They also dont yet know whether it was related to prison gangs or to racial tensions, she said.

Officials are waiting until the investigation is completed before they decide if they need to change their procedures or responses, she said.
It was a heist that, in retrospect, was unlikely to escape without notice.

Four thieves drove a truck with a large trailer into a parking lot in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and stole a bronze statue weighing approximately 700 pounds that depicts two Mormon prophets sitting on a park bench in midconversation.

And not just any two Mormon prophets.

One is the faiths founder, Joseph Smith. The other is Brigham Young, the man who led church members to Utah. Both were stolen in the city where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has its headquarters.

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It took Salt Lake City police less than 14 hours to track the work of art down.

After a long day of #detective work were happy to report that the bronze statue has been recovered, the police tweeted around 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Salt Lake City police Det. Robert Ungricht said as many as five detectives were involved in the search for the missing Mormon leaders. Time was of the essence  not necessarily because of who they were, but because of what they were made of.

Ungricht said police feared the thieves would find a foundry along the Wasatch Front Range to melt the bronze down  a fiery doom for a statue valued at $125,000.

He said there was some incorrect speculation that the case was given a higher priority because of who was depicted in the statue. He said there was no pressure brought on the department by the church. The pressure, he said, stemmed from a case a few years ago: Another bronze statue was stolen from a school and never recovered.

We wanted to get to the statute before the unthinkable happened and it was melted down, Ungricht said. I didnt want the dirtbags to get away with it.

Reminders of Smith and Young are ubiquitous in Utah  the latter with a large college named after him and the former revered as the faiths founder. When word got out that the large statue had been stolen, local television and newspapers obtained surveillance footage of the theft and broadcast it.

Then people shared the video on social media. Ungricht said tips began filtering in from the public. The custodian of the statue, Ben Rogers, said he started the day feeling crushed that Smith and Young werent likely to survive the ordeal, but grew optimistic as the crimes profile continued to elevate throughout the day.

I ran the whole gamut of emotions, Rogers said by phone Wednesday. Yesterday morning was rough, and the likelihood of it being tracked down seemed to be getting slimmer. But then it snowballed. Calls from New York, Los Angeles  all over Utah  started coming in. I saw the story on my Yahoo news feed. You start off feeling alone, and then the next moment millions are keeping an eye out for it. Thats when I started to feel more optimistic.

Ungricht said an anonymous tip led detectives to a home just outside Salt Lake City. He said they found the statue in a garage  in one piece and without any damage.

By Wednesday, 47-year-old William Ford had been arrested and another suspect was picked up for another matter. Two other suspects were still at large, but Ungricht said police were closing in on them and tweeted out their last-known location.

Rogers said the 9-year-old statue  which had been looking for a permanent home, most likely in Nauvoo, Ill.  was going to be stored at a secure site. As he was driving to the location hauling the statue in a trailer behind him, he said, people in cars were taking pictures of it.

I stopped for gas and six people jumped into the trailer to have their picture taken with it, he said.

Utah politicians such as Republican Sen. Orrin G. Hatch and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski weighed in on Twitter, posting pictures of the recovered statue and praising detectives work on the case.

One of the sculptors of the statue, Lena Toritch, said she was glad to see the piece recovered. She said she hoped that when it goes on permanent display, it will have something else to keep the prophets earthbound  anchor bolts.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero
Courts may have stymied President Trump s efforts to restrict travel from six majority-Muslim countries and ban all refugee resettlement, but that has not stopped the number of refugees entering the United States from sharply declining.

Monthly refugee arrivals have plummeted in all but four states in the current fiscal year, according to a report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

The study, based on analysis of U.S. State Department data, shows a decline in refugee arrivals from 9,945 in October to 3,316 this April.

This decline has been felt by 46 of the 50 states, and only four states had a higher number of refugees in April 2017 than they had in October 2016, said Phillip Connor, a Pew research associate. What is significant here is that we had a decline nationally for the first five months straight of the fiscal year, which is the longest consecutive decrease on record.

However, the figures in April were higher than in March.

An executive order signed this year by Trump limits the total number of refugees allowed into the U.S. to 50,000 this year. Implementation of the order  which was rolled out in January and updated in March after court challenges  is still stalled by legal proceedings. But if the regulation were to be enacted it would mean that a maximum of 7,586 additional refugees could be resettled through September, the end of the federal fiscal year.

The presidents order also calls for barring all refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days unless their travel is formally approved by the State Department.

The Obama administration had wanted to increase the refugee intake from 85,000 to 110,000 this fiscal year.

California, Texas and New York resettled the most refugees in fiscal 2016, taking a combined total of 20,738 people, or about a quarter of the U.S. total, according to Pew data. So far this year, these states are among those that have seen the biggest drop in refugee arrivals, Connor said.

For example, 1,096 refugees were resettled Texas in October, but that number plummeted to 353 in April, according to the report. California and Arizona both had over 450 fewer refugee arrivals in April than in October. And the refugee intake for California this month was 249 as of Wednesday, Connor said.

1,096 814 563 560 547 353 338 168 498 443 362 336 182 194 115 112 179 87 Number of refugees in decline Most U.S. states saw monthly decreases in the number of refugees resettled. Here are the top states in fiscal year 2016-17, which started on Oct. 1. Texas California Michigan New York Arizona Washington Ohio Georgia Pennsylvania Source: Pew Research Center @latimesgraphics Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April Oct. April

Los Angeles County, a leading destination for refugees, resettled only 96 people in March, down from 242 in January, according to State Department data.

New York and Michigan, among the top four states for refugee resettlement last year, have also recorded substantial drops in monthly refugee resettlement this fiscal year.

Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana were the only states to register higher numbers of refugees in April than in October.

Experts said the U.S. had been on track to reach the Obama administrations target of admitting 110,000 this fiscal year, taking in more than 25,000 refugees between October and December, according to the State Department.

But then came Trumps executive order aimed at halting refugee resettlement and banning travel from seven (later six) Muslim-majority countries. Although federal courts halted the presidents executive order, the rulings did not affect the cap of 50,000 refugees. The result: the admission of refugees was reduced to a trickle.

Only 842 refugees entered the country the week after Trump signed first travel ban. Before that the U.S. was admitting about 2,000 refugees a week. That number subsequently declined to about 400 a week, but was increased to 900 in April, the State Department reported.

Later court orders on Trumps second executive order on travel and refugees essentially lifted the 50,000-person cap. But the sluggish pace of resettlement remains.

State Department and Homeland Security officials have significantly cut down on interviews with would-be refugees, according to resettlement agencies.

Interviews with refugee applicants are not happening as a rule anymore; it is happening as an exception, said Jen Smyers, director of policy and advocacy with the Church World Service, a refugee resettlement charity. After the first travel ban, we stopped seeing interviews being scheduled. People who were in the pipeline were being told their interviews were canceled, and we started seeing more of this and it emerged as a pattern.

Human rights groups have decried the proposed closure of the U.S. border to refugees and blame Trumps executive order for the decline in new arrivals, which they said was having a debilitating impact on those still wanting to come to the U.S.

People are finding themselves really at a loss, said Noah Gottschalk, a Washington-based senior humanitarian policy advisor for Oxfam America. Theyre thrown back into limbo with the same sense of insecurity. Many had started believing that they were on their way to a better life in the U.S., and that hope has been fading as they have seen what is happening.

Martin Zogg, executive director of the International Rescue Committee in Los Angeles, said the nongovernmental organization was profoundly concerned about refugees who have to wait longer and suffer more deprivation while they wait to resettle.

Zogg said the governments stance on refugees was also causing anxiety among those already resettled in the U.S.

There are reports of refugees being reluctant to apply for services that they are entirely eligible for because they dont want anything to have a negative impact on their status here, Zogg said.

The decline in the number of refugees is also negatively affecting organizations that assist the newcomers. A lot of NGOs have had to lay off a significant number of staff, said Gottschalk.

At least 300 personnel working for such resettlement agencies have been laid off nationwide, according to humanitarian officials.

Zogg said World Relief had suspended its resettlements in Orange Count and Catholic Charities had closed their offices in San Bernardino.

Just how many refugees might resettle in the United States this year is uncertain given the ongoing legal battles over Trumps executive orders. But when Congress passed funding for refugee admission this month for this fiscal year, refugee agencies said, the lawmakers budgeted for 75,000 people  similar to previous years.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad

ann.simmons@latimes.com

For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter
Touching down before dawn, Somali Lightning commandos climbed out of U.S. military helicopters and carefully advanced in the dark toward a ramshackle compound tucked into muddy farmland dotted by banana trees.

U.S. surveillance had monitored the site for days after an intelligence tip signaled the location of Moalin Osman Abdi Badil, the suspected leader of a Shabab terrorist cell linked to plots against U.S. forces and their allies in Somalia.

A team of Navy SEALs joined the Somali soldiers as they slipped toward the low-slung buildings, hoping to surprise the militants. But guards heard or spotted the raiders and a fierce firefight lighted up the night.

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The Pentagon says the militants killed a Navy SEAL, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38; and wounded two other SEALs in the May 5 attack near Barii, about 40 miles west of the capital, Mogadishu.

The incident not only marked the first U.S. combat death in Somalia since the infamous Blackhawk Down battle in 1993; it also underscored the risks as President Trump, like President Obama before him, increasingly relies on the Pentagons Special Operations Command to hunt militants around the globe.

Five of the six members of the U.S. military killed by hostile fire this year were from one of the special operations ground forces: Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets or 75th Ranger Regiment. So were more than half the 33 U.S. combat fatalities since 2015.

Yet the 8,600 special operators overseas are only a tiny fraction of the nearly 200,000 U.S. troops deployed abroad.

The danger was highlighted again this week when three Navy SEALs were wounded in an assault on a militant stronghold in Marib in western Yemen. When a firefight broke out, the U.S. commandos called in airstrikes from an AC-130 gunship.

The raid was aimed at grabbing cellphones, computers and other devices used by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, U.S. officials said. The push for intelligence comes amid concerns that the terrorist group is planning new attacks on Western targets, including commercial aircraft.

The assault was typical for the special operations forces. They work closely with the CIA and other spy services to collect intelligence while they find, capture or kill Islamic State leaders, bomb-makers and operatives in Iraq and Syria, hunt Al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia and Yemen, and fight an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan.

The number of raids they conduct is classified. But several are known to have gone terribly wrong.

The Pentagon is still investigating the deaths of two Army Rangers killed in a nighttime assault in eastern Afghanistan in late April. Officials say they may have been killed by friendly fire during a three-hour battle with Islamic State.

The Pentagon also is investigating a raid that Trump personally approved shortly after he took office. In late January, a Navy SEAL was killed on a night mission in Yemen that went awry. U.S. airstrikes aimed at militants killed more than a dozen civilians, including women and children, and a $70-million U.S. aircraft was destroyed.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, subsequently called the raid a failure, disputing White House claims that it was highly successful because the SEALs had collected useful intelligence.

With special operations forces now posted in more than 80 countries, the ever-increasing set of missions and uptick in casualties give pause even to some military experts and veterans who support the expanding role.

You talk about mission creep  this is strategic mission creep all over the world, said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a 37-year Army veteran. Special operations just isnt sized to do that.

Gen. Raymond Thomas, who heads Special Operations Command, apparently agrees. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee this month that his forces are stretched thin, with little downtime between deployments, a situation he called unsustainable.

Rather than a mere break-glass-in-case-of-war force, we are now proactively engaged across the battle space, Thomas said.

The Pentagon says the rapid rate of deployments has taken a toll, and not just in recent casualties.

Weve mortgaged the future in order to facilitate current operations, Theresa Whelan, acting assistant secretary of Defense for special operations, told the House Armed Services Committee in May.

Theres been misuse and overuse of our special operation forces in recent years, said Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.), a former Navy SEAL. We need to be more discriminatory in how we use these forces because, in many ways, the future of the command depends on it.

The Trump administration, like the Obama administration, sees special operations as far easier to sustain than the vast U.S. military bases, housing tens of thousands of American troops and contractors, that once dotted Iraq and Afghanistan. Both the cost and the casualties have plummeted.

In most countries, special operations teams are chiefly assigned to train and coordinate with local government security forces. They are reportedly embedded with local soldiers on the front lines in only a crucial handful of countries where terrorist groups operate openly.

U.S. policy is trying to shift the fighting burden to locals, which means we have to train pro-Western  or at least anti-jihadist  locals to do the fighting and dying, said Christopher Harmer, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a nonpartisan public policy group.

That means relying on special forces who are used to working in smaller numbers in austere conditions without a lot of friendly support in close proximity, he added.

A year ago, for example, about 50 special operators were in northern Syria. Now more than 500 are working with armed groups  some of them opposed to the others  in the multi-sided civil war: Turkish soldiers, Kurdish militias and a coalition of Arab forces in a planned offensive against Raqqa, Islamic States self-declared capital in Syria.

In Iraq, special operations forces are working with Iraqi units trying to clear Islamic State from their redoubt in Mosul, calling in airstrikes and advising on tactics. Hundreds more play support roles in staging bases.

Special Operations Command was established at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., after the failed attempt to rescue 52 U.S. Embassy staff held hostage in Iran in 1980. The debacle embarrassed the Pentagon and contributed to President Carters loss in the election that year.

The turning point for the command came after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. As the George W. Bush administration prosecuted what it called a global war on terror, the commands experience in clandestine operations and guerrilla warfare helped it track terrorist networks in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and elsewhere.

Their light but deadly footprint especially appealed to Obama, who was elected after promising to end Americas wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He gradually cut the number of conventional troops in those war zones from 150,000 to 14,000.

But Obama vastly expanded the role of elite units, as well as drone aircraft, in the so-called shadow wars. During his tenure, Special Operations Command saw its budget balloon and its overall strength grow by more than 15,000 people while most of the Pentagon was being trimmed.

Commando teams conducted counter-terrorism missions in at least six countries under Obama. Among them: the CIA-led raid by Navy SEALs that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.

Trump also has embraced special operations. He is considering sending more forces to Syria and Afghanistan to play a larger role in those wars, officials say, and has given commanders greater authority to launch attacks in Yemen and Somalia without White House approval.

Thomas, the head of Special Operations Command, warns that even the militarys elite forces have their limits in a world wracked by terrorism.

We are not a panacea, he said. We are not the ultimate solution to every problem.

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn

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A Maryland high school senior has been barred from participating in her schools graduation ceremony because she is pregnant.

News reports say 18-year-old Maddi Runkles was barred from the June 2 ceremony at the Heritage Academy in Hagerstown because she violated the schools code of conduct by having premarital sex. Runkles discovered she was pregnant in January.

After the pregnancy became known, officials at the small private Christian school suspended Runkles for two days and removed her from her student council position.

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Runkles father sat on the Heritage board of directors and recused himself from decisions involving his daughter. But he ultimately quit the board to protest how she was treated.

Runkles says she believes she has been treated more harshly than students who have been suspended for other reasons. The father of her baby doesnt attend Heritage Academy, Runkles said.

The two dont plan on marrying. The antiabortion organization Students for Life says Runkles shouldnt be punished for her pregnancy, but should be praised for choosing to keep the baby.

The New York Times quoted Heritage Academy Administrator David Hobbs as saying in a statement that the matter is an internal issue about which much prayer and discussion has taken place. The statement was issued on behalf of the schools board of directors.

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Janelle Monae gives graduates her three secrets to life, while Will Ferrell sings Whitney Houston
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Its Thursday, May 25, and heres whats happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Everyone, get ready!

The Big One is going to happen, scientists say, no matter how much you want to deny it. Seismologist Lucy Jones, who has spent her career trying to understand public attitudes about earthquakes, says that California residents should stop fretting about when it will happen and prepare for it to happen. Los Angeles Times

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Plus: What to do before  and during  a quake. Los Angeles Times

The not-so-brief battle over the 710 Freeway extension

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is set to vote Thursday on a motion that could effectively quash the long-debated proposal to build a 4.5-mile tunnel through South Pasadena that would connect the 710, which currently terminates in Alhambra, to the 210 Freeway. Since the 1960s, the debate over whether to close the gap in Los Angeles Countys freeway network has pitted preservation advocates in Pasadena and South Pasadena against cities in the San Gabriel Valley, where the 710s abrupt terminus sends freight traffic spilling onto the streets. Los Angeles Times

Remember Devin Nunes?

Not so long ago Rep. Devin Nunes was tailed by packs of information-hungry reporters. But since he was forced to hand over the Houses Russia investigation, the Washington political world has moved on. The bigger question is what will happen with the probe into whether he leaked classified information to defend President Trump. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

A changing L.A.: Does everything have to be a Starbucks? Times columnist Steve Lopez writes about Nick Metropolis and his one-of-a-kind collectibles corral on South La Brea Avenue, from which he might be evicted. Los Angeles Times

A mogul dies: Andrew Jerrold Perenchio, a man behind the curtain who deftly pulled the levers of power to create culture-defining media events, propel political candidates, collect masterpiece artworks and become one of the richest men in Los Angeles, has died. He was 86. Los Angeles Times

Deputies sue: Two Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies say they were framed for lying about a drug bust and that prosecutors knowingly withheld evidence that would have spared them a trial, lost wages and public humiliation, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday. Los Angeles Times

A wild tale: Read here about the downfall of an ancient coin dealer, who says: Im a great numismatist. I didnt suddenly become a treacherous villain. LA Weekly

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

How its playing in El Salvador? The Trump administrations push to deport more Central American gang members has alarmed officials here who fear the returning gangsters could exacerbate violence in one of the deadliest countries in the hemisphere. Washington Post

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Green energy going up: 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. Los Angles Times

Women outnumber men: California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White has appointed Sally Roush the new interim president of San Diego State, marking the first time that women outnumber men as campus presidents in the nations largest public university system. Los Angeles Times

Watch this: Marvin Mutch spent 41 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit. Now, 60 years old, hes suddenly faced with freedom. KQED

CRIME AND COURTS

Guru sought: A Los Angeles judge Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Bikram Choudhury, the founder of Bikram yoga, whos been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8-million judgment won by a former legal advisor. Los Angeles Times

Tarnished badge: Former deputy chief of the Fresno Police Department Keith Foster was found guilty of conspiring to distribute heroin and marijuana. Fresno Bee

Body-shaming incident: Playboy model Dani Mathers pleaded no contest Wednesday to invasion of privacy after she secretly photographed a naked, 70-year-old woman in an LA Fitness shower area and posted it on social media with a disparaging remark. Los Angeles Times

A fight in lock-up: Eight California prison guards and seven inmates were taken to hospitals after a fight between two inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison raged out of control Wednesday and required live ammunition to stop it, corrections officials said. Associated Press

THE ENVIRONMENT

Frustrating delay: Thanks to lingering snow, youll have to wait until June to climb Yosemites Half Dome. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

A major change: Deep Springs College, the century-old school where young men read Plato and tend cattle, is on the verge of opening to women. California Sunday Magazine

The fight is over: Members of the Writers Guild of America have voted overwhelmingly to ratify the new three-year contract that was approved by the unions leadership this month, after a nail-biting round of negotiations with the major Hollywood studios. Los Angeles Times

No so La La: Of the top 100 highest-grossing feature films released in 2016, only 12 were primarily shot in California, according to a new analysis out Tuesday. Los Angeles Daily News

Take a date: Long Beachs latest tiki bar is in a mobile shipping container. LA Weekly

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles area: partly cloudy Thursday and Friday. Sacramento: sunny Thursday and Friday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Todays California memory comes from Alison ONeil:

The word California calls to mind lush beaches and towering redwoods, but I see the Central California hills as one of our states greatest treasures. Nothing compares to the sweet scent of the chaparral plants baking in the sun or the majesty of the lone oaks on the hillsides. My family used to take road trips to Solvang, where we would spend our days hiking the mustard-dotted hills and pastry hopping from shop to shop, snacking on countless jelly-filled creations. We would finish these blissful days with tubs of cookies for the road home.

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.
A meeting with a well-known economist, scholar, Professor Bulent Aybar who completed his pedagogical activity at UNEC and the academic staff of the university has been held.

Vice-rector for Administrational and Organizational Affairs Shaig Asgerov said that one of the priority directions of the complex activities realized in the preparation of qualified personnel at UNEC is involvement of the reputable and experienced foreign professors and teachers to teaching. UNEC performs teacher and student exchange with many influential universities of the Europe. A number of the teaching staff participating in international exchange programs introduced by UNEC has increased more than 4 times. UNECs professors, teachers and administrative staff took part in the exchange of experiences at the universities of the US, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Romania, Lithuania and Hungary within the Erasmus+, Mevlana and Fulbright Programs. More than 20 professors and teachers from the US, Europe and CIS countries were involved to teaching at UNEC.

Sh.Asgerov drew to attention that the American Professor Bulent Aybar performed a pedagogical activity at UNEC within 4 months: B.Aybar conducted classes to the students of the International School of Economics within a term. The Professor who made research essentially in FX Risk and FK Risks Management, International Markets, ADRs and ETFs, Risk characteristics and multinational corporations has worked in more than 30 universities of the globe. Professor, who has been performing pedagogical activity at the Harvard University and Southern New Hampshire University since 2006, is also member of the prestigious international organizations.

Bulent Aybar expressed proud to include UNECs name into the list of the universities he worked for: I worked with UNEC team within the Fulbright Program for 4 months. I consider my performance at UNEC a very significant stage of my life. I obtained new ideas and perspectives at UNEC. I witnessed that my teacher colleagues are professionals and student are talented. Acquaintance with them and exchange of views were very efficient. If I had a chance to teach in UNEC lecture room once more I would have evaluated it positively. Meanwhile, I will keep constant ties with my students and teacher friends via the social networking.

B.Aybar provided UNECs academic staff with the information about the curricula and teaching methods of the prestigious universities he worked. Sharing his experiences with them, the American Professor spoke about teacher and students relations, problems he faced within the pedagogical activity and ways to solve them. He demonstrated examples of teaching techniques to help the students master the material.

Bulent Aybar was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding teaching performance and valuable contribution to 2016-2017 Fall Semester at UNEC in the end of the meeting.

UNEC is the brand of Azerbaijan State University of Economics. The brand of UNEC has been registered and patented by the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patent on January 21, 2016.
So many of President Trumps Cabinet appointments have been so alarming that nominations to posts further down in the pecking order might seem a bit anticlimactic. Whats the use of getting worked up over subordinate positions? There has got to be a point at which consternation over the presidents choices yields to exhaustion.

And then comes a nominee like David Bernhardt, Trumps pick for deputy secretary of the Interior.

Bernhardt is a bad choice, a fact that should have become abundantly clear during last weeks Senate committee hearings. An attorney for partisans in Californias water battles, he comes laden with conflicts of interest.

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Bernhardt repeatedly sued the Department of the Interior on behalf of the Westlands Water District, the politically powerful San Joaquin Valley irrigation agency that has fought federal protections for California salmon and other endangered species. He also had a major role in drafting legislation to undermine those protections. His firm is a top lobbyist for Cadiz Inc., which wants to pump Mojave Desert groundwater and send it by aqueduct to Southern California cities.

If Bernhardt is to be recused from decision-making on the very programs in which he has the most expertise, why appoint him to the post in the first place?

If he is confirmed, he will be in a position to align the department behind the interests of his former clients  or to recuse himself in accordance with Trump administration ethics guidelines. But if Bernhardt is to be recused from decision-making on the very programs in which he has the most expertise, why appoint him to the post in the first place?

Bernhardt wrote in a letter to the department that if confirmed, he would recuse himself himself for one year from matters related to former clients  unless I am first authorized to participate. The problem is, we may never know when that happens.

Like his predecessors, Trump may grant waivers that allow former lobbyists and industry officials to oversee implementation of regulations that they once lobbied for or against. Trump may be the first president, however, to try to prevent public disclosure of such waivers.

Thankfully, the Office of Government Ethics has, so far, rejected Trumps request that it stop asking for copies of all waivers. But Bernhardts conflicts and the administrations quest to keep waivers under wraps make a toxic combination.

Add to that the crucial role that scientific expertise plays in management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where biologists opinions about the volume of water needed to sustain endangered fish help determine how the state and federal government divvy up water among competing interests. It is bad enough that Bernhardt helped draft legislation that could potentially weaken the clout of those opinions. During his confirmation hearings, Bernhardt hinted that, regardless of the scientific findings, he would follow the particular perspective of the Trump administration.

Adherence to alternative-fact scenarios is the last thing we need in an agency mandated to make policy decisions based on scientific evidence. Bernhardt is the wrong choice for the job, and the Senate should reject his nomination.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
No matter where you live in southern California, chances are that there is a coyote relatively nearby  skittish, generally unobtrusive, most likely wary of humans, but capable of being a vicious killer of rodents, rabbits and small pets. Maybe you have figured out how to deal with this neighbor, maybe you havent.

Coyotes, on the other hand, have us completely figured out. They den under our house decks and in our bushes. They lap up figs from fruiting trees and all the other food garbage we carelessly leave out. Theyve been observed waiting cautiously to cross streets, listening for traffic to die down before taking a few steps then dashing to the other side. They are, say the scientists who study them, becoming increasingly comfortable with us, realizing that they have little to fear. We dont kill them, after all, and we generally stay away from them when we can.

So are they becoming more aggressive? There were only two reported coyote attacks on people in 2011 in Los Angeles County; in 2015, that number went up to 15. Last year, it was 16. And theres been an increase in the number of county residents receiving rabies shots for coyote bites from two in 2012 to 13 last year. (Most coyotes are not rabid.) Those numbers hardly constitute a public health emergency, but the increases are a bit unsettling.

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Perhaps no urban wild animal so provokes us like coyotes do. When bears lumber down into our neighborhoods, they usually retreat back to their forests. Rats and raccoons are annoying but rarely seem threatening. But coyotes have trotted after us on running paths and stared us down as we walk the dog. They scare us with their distant howling and enrage us when they grab a beloved pet and make off with it, leaving behind a trail of blood and a heartbroken owner.

Coyotes act like they belong here. And they do. Southern California is as much their territory as it is ours. Living with them, especially if they are becoming more comfortable with us, will certainly become more of a challenge. Yes, particularly aggressive coyotes should be caught and killed. Even the Humane Society of the United States agrees to that as a last resort for coyotes that attack a human, unprovoked.

But Angelenos cant simply evict coyotes from neighborhoods or ban them the way they can oversize RVs. The best we can do is make our backyards less inviting to coyotes and try to scare them off.

An interaction with an aggressive coyote is different from other bizarre wild animal-domestic human encounters. The aggressive sea lion that lunged out of the water in a British Columbia harbor and pulled a young girl into the water several days ago (both girl and beast were unharmed) could easily have been avoided if people hadnt been feeding the creatures. But coyotes live among us and show no signs of moving out.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
As a newcomer to politics, Donald Trump may have entered the White House with some misconceptions about the limits of his authority as president. Thats understandable.

But the notion that the president may not interfere with or seek to discredit investigations by the FBI of his political associates isnt some arcane detail. Its an obvious inference from the Constitutions command that the president shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

Nevertheless, allegations continue to surface that President Trump sought to undermine investigations of his associates and his campaign. On Monday, for instance, the Washington Post reported that, after former FBI Director James B. Comey told Congress the bureau was investigating possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, the president asked Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael S. Rogers to publicly deny that there was any evidence of such a connection. (Trump has dismissed the notion of collusion as a total hoax.)

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The Post reported that the two officials refused to comply with the presidents request. On Tuesday, Coats declined to comment when asked about the story at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing but added, significantly, that any political shaping of intelligence would be inappropriate. I have made my position clear on that to this administration, he said.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported last week that Comey had described a conversation in February in which Trump asked him to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security advisor who was fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador. Comey did not drop the probe, and earlier this month, Trump fired him.

The White House disputed the New York Times story, insisting that that the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end an investigation, including any investigation involving Gen. Flynn.

Still, allegations that Trump has sought to interfere in the investigation are beginning to mount (as are new reports about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 campaign). The Justice Department, to its credit, has now assigned responsibility for the Trump-Russia investigation to a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. Mueller must seek to determine not only whether there was collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign, but also whether Trump attempted improperly to interfere with the probe in any way.

Without prejudging the outcome of Muellers investigations, we would urge the president going forward to refrain from any conduct that could be construed as an attempt to influence investigations that touch on his own conduct or that of his campaign or his associates. Interfering in a federal investigation is a serious offense, as even a political novice should know. We suspect that any lawyer he consults during this political crisis will tell him the same.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
Seventeenth century playwright William Congreve famously wrote that hell has no fury like a woman scorned. House Republicans may feel some of that heat once their constituents find out the healthcare bill they passed could make maternity coverage vastly more expensive and harder to obtain.

Its widely known that the House GOPs proposed American Health Care Act would bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides many reproductive and maternal health services to lower-income women across the country. Less well understood is that an amendment to the AHCA would also allow states to lift the mandate that insurers include maternity coverage in all the policies they sell to people in the individual and small-group markets (i.e., everyone not covered by a large company health plan).

Thanks to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, that particularly noxious aspect of the bill may get more attention. That is, if people ever stop talking about the CBOs projection that the bill would leave 23 million more Americans without insurance, pushing the total higher than it was before Obamacare went into effect.

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The House GOPs plan would create real winners and losers, and the latter category clearly includes women of child-bearing age.

Under a compromise struck by moderate Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus, states would be permitted to waive the 10 essential health benefits that Obamacare required insurers to cover, and replace them with their own list. Based on prior state laws, the CBO wrote in the report released Wednesday, maternity care, mental health and substance abuse benefits, rehabilitative and habilitative services, and pediatric dental benefits are the most likely ones to be sacrificed.

One result, the CBO predicted, is that out-of-pocket spending on maternity care and mental health and substance abuse services could increase by thousands of dollars in a given year for those who need those services but arent covered by company plans.

The CBO is merely making a projection based on a number of debatable assumptions  its not conveying a mathematical certainty. But the logic underpinning its assumptions about maternity care is strong and has been echoed by numerous other healthcare analysts.

Before the adoption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, only 18 states required insurers to include maternity coverage in all policies sold in the non-group market. Thats because the requirement is controversial: It raises premiums for those who cant or wont get pregnant in order to lower them for those who can.

If Congress lets states opt out of the essential benefits requirement, the CBO predicted, at least some states would do so in an effort to lower premiums for healthier residents. Maternity coverage would be squarely in the targets of states that did not previously require it, simply because its so expensive to provide  the average cost is about $17,000 a year, or more than $1,400 a month, for women with private insurance coverage, the CBO said.

Those states would indeed see lower premiums, the CBO predicted, because insurers would offer less-comprehensive policies to those with fewer health problems, effectively pushing more of the cost of specific types of care onto the people who know they need it. For example, men and older women could sign up for policies without maternity coverage, concentrating the cost of that type of care onto women of child-bearing age.

In fact, mechanisms within the bill designed to stop people from gaming the system would intensify this effect. The bill would bar insurers from considering preexisting conditions unless the applicant had gone uninsured for the previous two months or more. But nothing would prevent people from switching from a limited policy to a more comprehensive one when they expect to need care, and back to a limited one afterward. So women might choose a policy with no maternity coverage until they were planning a pregnancy.

The effects wouldnt necessarily be confined to the states that decided not to require maternity coverage. As Brookings Institution fellow Matthew Fiedler explained, theres a potential spillover onto women across the country who get their health insurance from an employer. Under the 2010 law, employer plans cannot impose annual or lifetime caps on benefits that are classified as essential. But employers are permitted to pick any states definition of essential benefits  so if states were allowed to stray from the federal minimums, employer plans could start reimposing benefit caps and taking the lid off of out-of-pocket costs for certain types of care. Hello, ladies!

The CBO doesnt expect maternity coverage to simply vanish from employer plans or in states with more limited essential health benefits. Instead, it suggested that the coverage could be sold separately as an add-on policy  but a pricey one.

Insurers would expect most purchasers to use the benefits and would therefore price that rider at close to the average cost of maternity coverage, which could be more than $1,000 per month, the CBO wrote in its report. Alternatively, insurers could offer a lower-cost rider providing less-than-comprehensive coverage  with, for example, a $2,000 limit. Either type of rider would result in substantially higher out-of-pocket health care costs for pregnant women who purchased insurance in the non-group market.

Its in everyones interests to make childbirth safe and to bring children into the world healthy, just as its in everyones interests to have good public schools and safe streets. So it makes sense to spread the cost of maternity coverage broadly. The AHCA abandons this principle in its search for an easy way to slow the growth in premiums  for some Americans. On that front, the CBO says, the bill is likely to succeed, causing premiums after 2020 to be lower than they would be if Obamacare were left untouched. But the House GOPs plan would create real winners and losers, and the latter category clearly includes women of child-bearing age.

jon.healey@latimes.com

Twitter: @jcahealey
The assault on a political reporter who prosecutors say was attacked by a Montana congressional candidate Wednesday night was, in some ways, the predictable outcome of a disturbing turn in American politics that accelerated with the rise of Donald Trump. Anger and contention have always been part of our politics, but targeting journalists for physical abuse takes us into a different realm.

Actually, two different realms. Were all accustomed to political campaigns and elected officials trying to spin events to make them seem as positive as possible. But Republican candidate Greg Gianfortes staff released a flat-out lie in describing what had occurred in the incident with Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs, which Jacobs had recorded and which was witnessed by other journalists. Gianforte, in the audiotape and the witness accounts, clearly flipped out and attacked Jacobs.

Here is Jacobs audio:

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Here is the Fox News account of what happened:

Fox News team witnesses GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte 'body slam' reporter https://t.co/RsYebYvf8D via @aacuna1  Fox News (@FoxNews) May 25, 2017

And here is the statement from Gianfortes campaign:

That bald-faced lie issued by the Gianforte campaign is clearly contradicted by the audio and eyewitness accounts. Trumpian in its cynical brazenness, it is indefensible to accuse someone  journalist or no  of committing a crime (Jacobs grabbed Gregs wrist) while knowing full well that the details are fabricated.

Equally indefensible is assaulting journalists just because they ask questions. Gianfortes case  he has been charged with misdemeanor assault  is part of a recent wave of physical confrontations that grew out of the corrosive Trump campaign, in which the candidate urged supporters to rough up hecklers and pointed out journalists at events for supporters to target.

As president, Trump described the media as the enemy of the people, a totalitarian phrase freighted with an ugly history of violence and suppression.

Jacobs matter, unfortunately, isnt the only recent incident in which journalists have been interfered with physically while doing their jobs. Just last week, a reporter for Roll Call in Washington, D.C., complained that two plainclothes security guards pinned him to a wall, followed him to a mens room, then physically ejected him from the building after he tried to ask a question of Federal Communications Commission member Michael P. ORielly.

Earlier this month, a reporter in West Virginia was arrested, handcuffed and jailed for eight hours by state police after persistently trying to question Tom Price, head of the Department of Health and Human Services, in a hallway of the state Capitol.

Reporters also have been arrested trying to cover public demonstrations. While charges usually get dropped, the reporters still are effectively barred from reporting on the event because they have been placed under arrest and removed from the scene.

A campaigning politician physically assaulting a journalist moves us into even darker territory, made all the more so by some of the public reaction to it. While most responses have been suitably condemnatory of Gianforte, Republican political leaders have been slow to speak out (House Speaker Paul Ryan finally did late Thursday morning).

Twitter users, meanwhile, were busy, with most condemning the attack  but some backing it. Clearly, America is on its way to being great again.

Yeah, right. This is a totally engineered story by the liberal media to hurt Greg Gianforte. We're aware of your game.



Vote @GregForMontana  #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) May 25, 2017

All journalists should be body slammed.  Donna #3Stars4GenFlynn  #FreeJulian (@donnamoon81146) May 25, 2017

Needs to happen more often. The media create chaos and fear in this nation. The left media is THE reason for all the problems now in USA  Bill Q (@wple30097) May 25, 2017

Scott.Martelle@LATimes.com

Follow my posts and re-tweets at @smartelle on Twitter
Its caused a bit of a stir among observers of fashion and culture that both Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump wore veils on their heads to meet Pope Francis  but went bare-headed in Saudi Arabia.

If there were any stops on President Trumps whirlwind If Its Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium world tour where scarves would be worn, it seemed that it would be Saudi Arabia. If only Saudi officials embrace of the Trump womens uncovered heads was a sign of change in their repressive standards for Saudi women who must cover up from head to toe in public. Unfortunately, thats not the case. This appeared to be nothing more than a politic move to not force their customs on the wives and daughters of a powerful foreign ally.

Interestingly, First Lady Michelle Obama didnt wear a scarf on her visit to Saudia Arabia in January 2015  provoking Donald Trump to scold her on Twitter. No word from Michelle Obama on Twitter about the Trumps wardrobe choices.

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And if ever there were a pope who wouldnt care about strict traditions for something as superficial as dress, it would be Pope Francis. Yet, there was Melania Trump cloaked in black with a black lace mantilla, or veil, awkwardly shrouding her hair. Next to her, in photos, was Ivanka Trump in a black headband of a hat with a spray of black netting  one of the more creative versions of traditional hatwear for a visit with the pope.

A spokeswoman for the first lady stated that, per protocol, women were required to wear long sleeves, formal black clothing and a veil covering the head. (Michelle Obama dressed similarly for a 2009 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.)

In fact, chances are the Trumps made a choice to be more conservative than necessary. It does seem that Pope Francis is liberalizing the Vatican dress code a bit. Things have become more relaxed over the last few years; there are no hard and fast rules, a spokesperson for the Vatican was quoted as saying in an article in the British paper, the Telegraph.

For example, Queen Elizabeth II wore a lilac coat and matching hat to meet Pope Francis in 2014. Prince Charles wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, wore a cream-colored dress and gasp  no hat or veil when the couple met with the pontiff last month.

Of course, President Trump had gotten off to a rocky start with the pope last year, when Francis said people who want to build barriers instead of bridges are not Christian and candidate Trump blasted the pope for his disgraceful comments. Given that history of disrespect on Trumps part, its not surprising that Trumps wife and daughter would want to look as respectful to the pope as possible.

carla.hall@latimes.com

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To the editor: The killing of 22 people in Manchester after a pop concert has stirred the spirit of the British people. As a doctor, I know it is impossible to convey the effect of the death, raw pain, anxiety and fear experienced in the last few days. It is never an easy thing to endure suffering. (Members of Manchesters Muslim community among those most strongly condemning deadly bombing, May 23)

The lunatic who murdered innocents was a Muslim criminal, but never a soldier of Islam.

Centuries before the Geneva Convention, Muslim soldiers were ordered not to kill an old person, a man, a woman, a child or a priest, and not to cut a tree or desecrate a church, synagogue or any place where God is worshiped. Nothing religious could motivate or justify the perpetration of such horrendous deeds.

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It is never an easy option to resist calls for revenge against the Muslim community. However, amid the death and the grief, the British people seem to have chosen the path of coexistence and reconciliation instead of vengeance and animosity. This is a living example for the entire world.

Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London

..

To the editor: True Brits do not kill their countrymen in this manner. True Frenchmen do not kill their countrymen in this manner. True Germans do not kill their countrymen in this manner.

Such killings occur by those who are not true countrymen but live in those countries.

It is time to take the gloves off and approach the problem realistically. It is extremely apparent that these people take advantage of these countries goodwill, as these nations accept them into their countries without reservation, unfortunately to their detriment.

John T. Kirages, Arcadia

..

To the editor: Whenever a terrorist attack by Islamist jihadis occurs anywhere in the world, many people want moderate Muslims to speak out against such barbarism.

What must these moderate Muslims think when they see the president of the United States feted in Saudi Arabia  the country from which 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers came; the country that supports thousands of religious schools in Pakistan spewing hatred; the country that makes a mockery of human rights?

Do you think these moderate Muslims might just be thinking that we ask of them what we refuse to ask of our own leaders?

Michael Risman, Santa Monica

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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 
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

The Baku City Circuit Operations Company, the organizer of the Formula 1 competitions in Azerbaijan, continues the intensive preparation for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be held June 23-25 in Baku, a source in the company told Trend May 25.

Currently, steel structures and a second protective barrier layer around the race track are being installed, the source noted.

This year, the interest from abroad for the Formula 1 in Azerbaijan is even greater than it was last year, and it is expected that thousands of tourists will arrive in Baku in anticipation of the competition, the source added.
President Trump directly rebuked NATO allies for not paying their fair share of military costs, as they stood stone-faced nearby, and stopped short of reaffirming the alliances mutual defense pledge as the foreign leaders met Thursday for a celebration of unity.

The unusually pointed remarks at the dedication of the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations gleaming new headquarters showed the limits of Trumps recent warming to the nearly 70-year-old organization, which, as a candidate, he lambasted as obsolete.



For the record: An earlier version of this article said special correspondent Catherine Stupps last name was Strupp.

Compounding the awkwardness, Trump spoke beside a newly installed relic of the World Trade Center towers downed on Sept. 11, 2001. The twisted steel commemorated the one and only time that NATO invoked its mutual defense pledge, Article 5 of its founding charter  in defense of the United States.

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Candidate Trumps skepticism about Americas key international alliances seemed to have lessened by the time he arrived Wednesday in Brussels, the seat of the European Union and NATOs headquarters. Last month, Trump declared that NATO was no longer obsolete, thanks in large part to his prodding.

But by his remarks Thursday, the America first president reprised his core critique about what he called allies chronic underpayments, and did so face to face with his counterparts in NATO. Several looked disgusted, and some exchanged glances and whispers.

Trump noted that the United States has spent more on defense in eight years than the other 27 member countries combined, and that 23 of the countries still dont meet a NATO target of spending 2% of their respective nations economic output on defense.

This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States, Trump said. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years.

We have to make up for the many years lost, he added.

For European allies, the skepticism remains mutual. NATO members had hoped that Trump would explicitly endorse Article 5, but he did not. He did, however, approvingly note that after Sept. 11, our NATO allies responded swiftly and decisively, invoking for the first time in its history the Article 5 collective defense commitments.

It is a measure of allies worries about Trump that they needed to hear a more fulsome endorsement of the defense pact.

Speaking to reporters after the leaders working dinner, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg played down the omission. Just by speaking at the commemoration, Trump sent a strong signal, Stoltenberg said.

We have heard President Trump before being very blunt on the message of fair burden sharing, he said. Several allies expressed that we have to invest in defense not just to please the United States. We have to invest in defense also because it is in our interest to do so.

Separately, NATO members agreed to formally join the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, as the Trump administration wanted. The move is mostly symbolic, however, since NATO members already are in the coalition as individual states.

Trumps lecture on NATO nations defense spending came at the moment intended to call attention to the time the alliance came to the aid of the United States in Afghanistan, where more than 1,000 non-American NATO personnel died. The steel from the World Trade Centers North Tower is called the Article V artifact, symbolizing the NATO provision that says an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all.

Also unveiled, by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was a section of the Berlin Wall intended to evoke the founding purpose of NATO as a check on the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

In her remarks, Merkel seemed to send a statement as well, to Trump.

It is not isolation or the building of walls that will make us successful, but the sharing of values, Merkel said, bringing to mind Trumps promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as much as the long-fallen Berlin Wall.

A new point of tension between Merkel and Trump was suggested by the German magazine Der Spiegel, which reported that Trump in a discussion about trade said, The Germans are bad, very bad. See the millions of cars they are selling to the U.S.? Terrible. We will stop this.

Just hours before the NATO ceremony, in Berlin, Merkel sat side by side with former President Obama, with whom she enjoyed a close partnership. Obama, like presidents before him, also pushed NATO members to ramp up defense spending.

At NATOs 2014 summit in Wales the alliance agreed, at the Obama administrations urging, to gradually increase military spending. But Trump suggested in his remarks that the obligation has new resonance given threats of international terrorist networks as well as threats from Russia in Eastern Europe.

Some analysts say Trump is overemphasizing a defense-spending benchmark that is far from perfect.

Certainly, there are some countries that spend more than 2% of their GDP who do not get much out of that, at least in terms of capabilities that are at the disposal of the entire NATO alliance and contributing to transatlantic security, said Jeffrey Rathke, deputy director of the Europe program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The challenge has always been to find better measures of quality that are more meaningful, and that can be distilled into something politically powerful.

Most nations spend 1.2% to 1.6% of their gross domestic product on defense, Rathke said, but in recent years Canada and European nations spent an additional $10 billion to address the gap. By years end, eight of the 28 current NATO nations will be at 2%, while almost all others will be inching toward it.

Nations still short of the target, notably Germany, cite other contributions they make to the alliance that arent fully captured by the 2% threshold. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, which ranks near the bottom, told reporters that his nation has nonetheless always been one of the go-to countries for NATO missions.

Trump would see another example when he landed Thursday night at the Sigonella Air Naval Station in Sicily ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Group of Seven developed nations. The U.S. shares the complex with NATO and Italy, which use it as a base of operation for missions across the Mediterranean involving Libya, among other regional hot spots.

The G7 meetings in the Sicilian vacation town of Taormina will cap Trumps first international trip as president, one that has been distinguished by two seemingly opposite moods. The underlying tensions with European allies were in contrast to the mutual embrace that Trump enjoyed in Israel and with Sunni Arab leaders during the trips first half

Also Thursday, Trump met for the first time with new French President Emmanuel Macron, who defeated the far-right candidate, Marine LePen. Trump was considered partial to Le Pen, though he did not endorse her. Trump and Macron discussed fighting terrorism, and Macron  echoing other Europeans and the Vatican  expressed hope that Trump will reverse his pledge to scrap the Paris climate deal.

Macrons election on an unabashedly pro-European Union platform seem to signal something of a counter-reaction to the kind of nationalism behind Trumps election and Great Britains vote last year to leave the European Union.

Trump also met with EU leaders in Brussels. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said differences remain between the Trump administration and the EU on Russia, energy and trade.

I am not 100% sure that we can say today that we have a common opinion about Russia, Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, said after a meeting with Trump at EU headquarters.

Tusk added that while some issues remain open, like climate and trade, the leaders agreed first and foremost on the need to combat terrorism  an imperative underscored by Mondays suicide bombing at a pop concert in England.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

Special correspondent Catherine Stupp in Brussels contributed to this report.

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President Trump praised the Philippines president for an unbelievable job in a fight against illegal drugs that has left thousands dead and drawn condemnation from American lawmakers, according to a leaked transcript of their telephone conversation last month.

Trumps discussion with Rodrigo Duterte is likely to reinforce the impression that Trump is sidelining human rights concerns in his foreign policy. Trump has met with several authoritarian leaders since taking office in January, offering few critiques of their records on democracy, the rule of law and protecting essential freedoms.

The transcript of the April 29 call was first posted by the Washington Post. It is marked confidential and is contained under a cover sheet from the Philippine Foreign Ministry. Neither the Philippine government nor the White House verified the transcript, but they didnt dispute its contents.

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It also shows the leaders discussing the North Korean threat, with each referring to North Koreas ruler, Kim Jong Un, as a madman. In an unusual disclosure of the movements of U.S. military assets, Trump revealed the U.S. had two nuclear submarines in the region. He said the United States didnt want to use them.

Democratic lawmakers criticized Trump for his reported comments.

Todays reporting leaves me even more concerned by President Trumps strange fascination with dictators, his support for the extrajudicial killings central to President Dutertes drug war, and his recklessness with sensitive information, said Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Twelve Democratic senators, led by Edward J. Markey, wrote to Trump on Wednesday calling for him to denounce the murderous anti-drug campaign and delay any visit by Duterte to Washington until there are improvements in his human rights record.

The Philippines declined to comment on the transcript Wednesday. The Foreign Ministry noted that the unauthorized disclosure and use of illegally or inadvertently obtained government documents are not permitted under Philippine law. A White House official said he could not confirm or deny the accuracy of leaked documents, especially those purportedly from a foreign government.

At the time of the call, Trump raised hackles in Washington by inviting Duterte to the White House. Since Duterte took power in June, his anti-drug campaign has killed 7,000 to 9,000 suspected dealers and addicts, according to human rights groups. The State Department has voiced concern over extrajudicial killings, and U.S. lawmakers have pushed for restrictions on arms sales to Philippine police in response.

I just want to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem, Trump said in the phone call, according to the transcript. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.

Duterte responded that drugs are a scourge of his nation. Trump then added, I think we had a previous president who did not understand that.

President Obama had criticized Dutertes drug fight, prompting the Philippine leader to refer to Obama as a son of a whore. The insult derailed a planned meeting between them. Strains also grew as Duterte sought warmer ties with China and threatened to end the U.S.-Philippine military alliance.

In the call, Duterte described Southeast Asian nations feeling nervous over North Korean rockets and warheads. He offered to call Chinese President Xi Jinping to urge Beijing to use its leverage with Pyongyang. Trump, who hosted Xi at Trumps Florida resort in April, described Xi as a good guy.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, criticized the contents of the conversation.

Trumps celebration of Dutertes record is nothing short of horrifying, Sifton said. It is an endorsement of the mass killing of the Philippines poorest and most vulnerable.

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Trump administration lawyers are urging the Supreme Court to reject a 2nd Amendment claim that would restore the right to own a gun for two Pennsylvania men who were convicted more than 20 years ago of nonviolent crimes.

The case of Sessions vs. Binderup puts the new administration in a potentially awkward spot, considering President Trumps repeated assurances during the campaign that he would protect gun-ownership rights under the 2nd Amendment.

But the Justice Department under Trump has embraced the same position in this case that was adopted under President Obama: to defend strict enforcement of a long-standing federal law that bars convicted criminals from ever owning a gun, even when their crimes did not involve violence.

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The decision is in keeping with Justice Department tradition to defend federal laws in court, even if the administration may not be enthused with the statute.

Attorney Alan Gura, a gun rights advocate who represents the two men, said he was disappointed but not surprised.

I am not shocked by it. The government never likes to have its authority limited, said Gura, a Virginia lawyer who brought the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia vs. Heller, which resulted in the Supreme Courts first ruling upholding an individuals constitutional right to have a gun for self-defense. They could dismiss the appeal at any time. But I have no reason to expect they will.

Gura said the federal law had been misapplied to individuals whose crimes didnt merit a lifetime ban against exercising their 2nd Amendment rights to own a gun. This has nothing to do with disarming dangerous felons, he said.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the case.

During last years campaign, Trump made gun rights a key issue, winning the early endorsement of the National Rifle Assn.

Last month, Trump told an NRA audience in Atlanta that the eight-year assault on the 2nd Amendment had come to a crashing end. I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

The two Pennsylvania men won a federal court ruling last year, the first of its kind, that ordered the government to restore their rights to own a gun.

Daniel Binderup pleaded guilty in 1996 to a charge of corrupting a minor for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female employee at a bakery where they worked. He was 41. He served no jail time and was put on probation for three years.

Julio Suarez was stopped by police in 1990 and had a gun in his car but no permit for the weapon. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and served no time in jail.

However, both offenses triggered the federal ban. Since 1968, federal law has prohibited people from owning a gun if they have been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Although the two men pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, their crimes could have been punished by more than a year in jail.

Gura argued it was absurd to stretch the federal law to cover state misdemeanors that did not result in a jail sentence. He also argued that because the 2nd Amendment protects a constitutional right, judges should waive the ban for people who were convicted of minor, nonviolent offenses in the past and have had a law-abiding record since then.

Last year, he won on the 2nd Amendment claim before the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. By an 8-7 vote, its judges said the men should have their gun rights restored because they had not committed a serious or violent crime. However, the judges did not agree on clear guidelines about when gun rights should be restored.

In January, lawyers for the outgoing Obama administration appealed the case to the Supreme Court. They noted the opinion in the Heller case, written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, said the decision did not interfere with the long-standing prohibition on the possession of firearms by felons. They also said the 3rd Circuits ruling would open the courthouse door to an unknown number of future challenges.

Last month, acting Solicitor Gen. Jeffrey B. Wall, representing the Trump administration, filed another brief urging the court to hear the appeal. He said the lower courts ruling if allowed to stand  will place an extraordinary administrative burden on federal judges since people with a criminal record may go to court and seek an exception to the law.

The 3rd Circuits conclusion that the Constitution mandates that untenable result warrants further review, he told the justices. He also urged the court to reject Guras separate claim that the law should not be stretched so far.

It is one of two significant appeals involving the 2nd Amendment that the justices are considering this week.

In Peruta vs. California, the court is being asked to strike down part of Californias law restricting the carrying of guns in public.

While California law authorizes people to seek a permit to carry a concealed weapon if they show good cause, county sheriffs in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco routinely deny such requests by establishing a high bar to meet that standard. Last year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 7-4 decision, upheld this enforcement policy.

There is no 2nd Amendment right for members of the general public to carry concealed firearms in public, the appeals court said.

Former U.S. Solicitor Gen. Paul Clement appealed on behalf of several San Diego residents and urged the court to clarify whether 2nd Amendment rights extended outside the home. He said the court should make clear the Constitution guarantees ordinary, law-abiding citizens some means of bearing firearms outside the home for self-defense, whether it be open or concealed carrying.

Because the California case involves a constitutional challenge to a state law, the Justice Department has not been involved so far.

The Supreme Court will meet Thursday to consider these and other appeals. If justices decide whether to hear or deny the appeals, the announcement could come on Tuesday.

david.savage@latimes.com

On Twitter: DavidGSavage

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President Trump suffered another legal defeat Thursday when the U.S. appeals court in Virginia ruled his foreign travel ban may not be enforced, on the grounds that it appears to discriminate based on religion and that the administrations argument that the order was needed to protect national security was a pretext offered in bad faith.

The 10-3 decision from the 4th Circuit Court kept in place nationwide orders from two district judges that had blocked the presidents revised decree. His order aimed to restrict new immigrants and travelers from six majority-Muslim nations.

All 10 judges in the majority were Democratic appointees. The three Republican appointees dissented.

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Although the decision was another sweeping defeat for the president and his lawyers, it clears the way for them to take the issue to the Supreme Court, where a conservative majority gives them a better chance of prevailing. The procedural status of the case could allow the high court to hear at least a partial appeal rapidly, perhaps this spring.

In a statement, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said the administration strongly disagrees with the ruling and would ask the high court to review the case.

The President is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States, Sessions said. President Trumps executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe.

Thursdays decision was the latest in which Trumps words formed the core of the case against him.

Read the 4th Circuits decision to uphold the block on Trumps travel ban 

In issuing the limited travel ban, Trump said the temporary restrictions were needed because of the threat of terrorists arriving from countries including Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The judges in the majority said they did not believe that was true purpose behind the executive order.

Trumps order speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination, Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory wrote. He said the order conflicts with the 1st Amendments ban on laws respecting an establishment of religion.

Congress granted the President broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute, he wrote. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the President wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation.

Much of Gregorys opinion recited statements from candidate Trump, including his call for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States as well as comments since his election that blamed Muslims for the threat of terrorism.

Those statements, taken together, provide direct, specific evidence of what motivated the travel order, Gregory wrote: President Trumps desire to exclude Muslims from the United States.

That impermissible motivation tainted both the original version of the order, which Trump issued during his first week in office, and a revised version issued in early March, the court said.

The three dissenters faulted the majority for ignoring Supreme Court rulings that called for deference to presidential authority over immigration.

Judge Paul Niemeyer, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, also derided the majority for fabricating a new proposition of law that allows judges to use campaign statements to decide on the presidents actions in office.

The Supreme Court surely will shudder at the majoritys adoption of this new rule that has no limits or bounds  one that transforms the majoritys criticisms of a candidates various campaign statements into a constitutional violation, he wrote.

He was equally scathing in accusing the majority of radically extending Supreme Court rulings on the Constitutions guarantee of religious freedom in ways that would limit the presidents power over foreign affairs.

Omar Jadwat, the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who argued the case, called the decision a victory for the Constitution. Its prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the governments request to set that principle aside.

Trump initial travel ban caused chaos at airports around the nation and the world. It disrupted travel for thousands of people who live and work in the United States, including students, professors, tech executives and tourists.

It was quickly stopped by a federal judge in Seattle and by the 9th Circuit Court.

The president and his advisors retreated and issued a scaled-back order that applied only to foreigners who lived abroad and had yet to obtain a visa to come to the United States.

The revised order does not bar entry of lawful permanent residents, dual citizens traveling under a passport issued by a non-banned country, asylees, or refugees already admitted to the United States, the appeals court noted.

That could have undercut the lawsuit, but Judge Gregory said at least one of the John Doe plaintiffs who challenged the order had standing to sue. The man is an Iranian national and a Muslim who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and he hopes to bring his Iranian wife to this country.

The revised order has run into the same legal problems as before, in part because of public declarations by Trump and White House officials that the new order was a watered down version of the original.

In addition to the judges in Maryland and Virginia who issued rulings against the revised travel order, a judge in Hawaii also blocked enforcement of it. That order is on appeal to the 9th Circuit.

In late January, when Trump signed his first order, his advisors said the new administration needed a temporary pause of 90 days, time enough to devise new and more extreme vetting procedures for travelers and refugees.

But little has been done to accomplish this goal. Jeffrey B. Wall, the acting solicitor general, told the appeals court that the nationwide injunction was so broad that officials were barred even from developing new procedures.

We put down our pens, he said.

Trumps lawyers now could move quickly to the Supreme Court.

The two district judges who blocked enforcement of the travel ban did so on a preliminary basis without issuing a full ruling on the orders constitutionality. Because the order appeared to be unconstitutional and could do severe harm to the people who challenged it, the judges stopped it from taking effect pending a full hearing.

At this point, that procedural status means that the presidents lawyers could file an emergency appeal with the high court. Rather than ask for a full hearing on the orders constitutionality, they could ask the justices to decide in the next few weeks whether to lift the nationwide injunctions.

david.savage@latimes.com

On Twitter: DavidGSavage

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3:55 p.m: This article was updated with additional detail on the courts ruling and reaction from the White House and others.

This article was originally published at 1:40 p.m.
President Trump gained something Thursday hes been craving: validation from Americas closest ally for his war on leaks.

Trump, a onetime fan of leaks who has spent much of his early term decrying them, vowed a complete review of possible intelligence leaks related to this weeks deadly terrorist attack at a Manchester concert.

The order was prompted by furor in Britain over publication in the New York Times of forensic photographs collected from the scene of the concert bombing in the English industrial city. Whether the photographs were provided by U.S. officials  who may have had access to shared intelligence through agreements with Britain  or came from some other source is not publicly known.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters as she entered a NATO gathering Thursday that she planned to make clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure as part of the special relationship between the two countries.

Its our deepest defense and security partnership that we have, she said. Of course, that partnership is built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently.

British officials have not cited specific harm to their investigation as a result of the published photos. Rather, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said they have caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.

In addition, British police agencies have complained about publication of other details from the investigation, including the name of the bomber and the bombers address, which they say may have impeded their search efforts. The publication of that information by several news organizations was less likely to have been a result of leaks by American officials, as the identity was known by media organizations, both U.S.- and British-based, before it was published, and the bombers neighborhood had been revealed in an early police news release.

But the issue has nonetheless threatened to roil the close diplomatic ties between the two countries. On Thursday, Manchester police reportedly decided temporarily to stop sharing information on their investigation with the U.S. until they received sufficient guarantees that leaks would stop.

It also provided a perfect setup for a president who has increasingly decried leaks at home that have damaged his political standing.

Trump called the alleged leaks deeply troubling in a forceful statement reiterating that there is no relationship we cherish more than the one with Britain.

The statement promised to request the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Meanwhile, British authorities nearly doubled estimates of the number of people injured in Mondays bombing at the Manchester Arena at the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert. In addition to 22 killed, the National Health Service said 116 people have been treated in hospitals for injuries, 23 of them critically wounded  well above the 59 previously reported.

The health service also sent an alert to Englands 27 major trauma centers, urging them to be prepared as Britain gears up for a three-day weekend. Britain fell silent for a minute on Thursday morning to pay tribute to the victims of the bombing as police raids, searches and arrests continued across the city. Authorities said they now have eight people in custody in connection with the attack, in which Salman Abedi detonated an explosive as children and adults filed out of the concert. Abedi died in the blast.

The New York Times published a statement on its website about the photographs it published. The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes, as The Times and other media outlets have done following terrorist acts around the world, from Boston to Paris to Baghdad, and many places in between, it said.

But Trumps condemnation of leaking aimed more broadly than those photos. His statement repeated a general complaint that he has made on Twitter and in public speeches, particularly as his administration has come under growing scrutiny for its dealings with foreign countries and the FBI investigation over potential collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.

These leaks have been going on for a long time, and my administration will get to the bottom of this, he said. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security.

In a follow-up statement, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions stopped short of announcing an investigation, instead assuring that his office had initiated appropriate steps to address these rampant leaks.

During his presidential campaign, Trump had expressed admiration for leakers, saying that he loved WikiLeaks and that the group did the country a service by publishing internal campaign and Democratic Party emails that damaged Hillary Clintons electoral fortunes.

At one news conference in Florida, he even egged on Russia, which U.S. intelligence says has been the source of the hacking attacks that obtained the documents.

Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, he said, taunting Clinton over emails that she deemed personal and deleted from her private email account. (WikiLeaks never published emails from Clintons private server, which were not part of the hack that exposed messages between campaign and party officials.)

But Trumps tone shifted abruptly after he won election, amid a slew of leaks that began flooding from his administration. The disclosures included revelations about his personal behavior in the White House, allegedly contentious or awkward conversations he has had with foreign leaders  including his own disclosure to visiting Russian envoys of classified information gathered by an ally  and potential interference in the FBI investigation of his campaign.

In January, just before his inauguration, Trump fumed at the intelligence community for allegedly leaking an unsubstantiated report asserting that Russians had gathered blackmail material against him and that his associates had met with Russian agents during the campaign.

Thats something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do, he said, blaming the intelligence community for the leaks, although theres no evidence that news organizations that published the material got it from intelligence agencies.

Clashes between the U.S. news media and government over what is and is not appropriate to publish in a terrorism investigation predate Trump, of course.

Dan Kennedy, a media critic and journalism professor at Northeastern University in Boston, pointed to the Obama administrations pursuit of leakers, including a long legal battle aimed at compelling New York Times reporter James Risen to reveal confidential sources.

Its always more helpful to be able to pursue this kind of leak  related to an allys security concern  than it is to pursue a leak that is simply embarrassing, Kennedy said.

Indeed, in condemning the alleged leak in the Manchester investigation, Trump received backing from Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Burbank Democrat who is often one of his chief critics.

If the U.S. disclosed information about Manchester obtained from the British before they were ready, they have every right to be furious, Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Twitter.

No journalist has been prosecuted for leaks, though federal prosecutors have tried to force them to testify about their sources. In 2014, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said he would not jail journalists for doing their jobs. A spokesperson for Sessions did not respond to a question about current policy at the department.

Leak prosecutions became much more common after the Sept. 11 attacks and accelerated during the Obama administration.

Legal experts say any prosecution of the British case would probably be for possible violations of the Espionage Act, a law passed in 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I. The broadly written law makes it a crime to give any unauthorized secrets that the leaker has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.

The Espionage Act is infamously capacious and vague, said Mary-Rose Papandrea, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

The far bigger issue, she said, would be to determine where the information came from  at least concerning basic information like the name and address of the bomber.

It might be a third, fourth or fifth party, she said. Its still possible to make that prosecution, but its obviously not an ideal scenario. Imagine arguing that case to a jury.

noah.bierman@latimes.com

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

Special correspondent Christina Boyle in London contributed to this report.
Republican Greg Gianforte overcame a last-minute assault charge to win Montanas special congressional election Thursday, keeping its lone House seat in GOP hands and dealing Democrats a setback in their bid to gain a red-state toehold ahead of the 2018 midterm election.

Gianforte, 56, a wealthy businessman who ran unsuccessfully for governor in November, had long been the front-runner against Democrat Rob Quist, a professional bluegrass musician making his first run for public office.

With more than 90% of the votes counted, Gianforte was holding a healthy lead with just over 50% support.

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Appearing at an exuberant victory rally in Bozeman, the congressman-elect hushed the crowd and apologized to the reporter with whom he tangled on election eve, reversing his campaigns initial assertion that the journalist was to blame.

Last night, I made a mistake, Gianforte said, and I took an action that I cant take back, and Im not proud of what happened  and for that Im sorry.

After spending the day in seclusion, he also apologized to his supporters that we had to go through this.

Thats not the person I am, he said soberly, and its not the way Ill lead in this state.

The scuffle between Gianforte and the reporter, the Guardians Ben Jacobs, seemed for a time to throw the outcome into doubt and shined an even brighter spotlight on the contest, which already drew nationwide attention and more than $17 million in spending  an extraordinary sum in the sparsely populated state.

Overnight, what many viewed, correctly or not, as a referendum on President Trump became instead a kind of inkblot test on attitudes toward the news media.

I took an action that I cant take back, and Im not proud of what happened  and for that Im sorry.  Greg Gianforte, apologizing for roughing up a reporter

Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault Wednesday night after accusations that he body-slammed Jacobs when he approached the candidate at his Bozeman headquarters to ask about the House GOP healthcare bill. Gianforte was ordered to appear in court no later than June 7, and faces a maximum $500 fine or six months in jail if convicted.

Several of Montanas largest newspapers retracted their endorsement of the front-runner, who has had a reputation in the state for prickliness  especially when dealing with reporters.

Were at a loss for words, wrote the Billings Gazette editorial board, which went on to condemn Gianforte and suggest the country needed to take a long look in the mirror and a few deep breaths. This incident is not Montana. Its not America. We must adopt zero tolerance for such behavior if freedom of expression means anything.

But many Gianforte supporters stuck by the candidate, minimizing the episode or saying they were not sure they trusted the medias account.

Payne Stidham of Billings was among more than half of Montanans who voted absentee, casting his vote earlier this month for Gianforte.

I dont know all the facts, so Im not going to pass judgment, Stidham said Thursday. I mean, you watch the news and it makes it seem like he beat the crap out of the guy. Did he? I dont know. I really just do not know.

The impact of the episode was further minimized by the fact that more than 250,000 absentee ballots had already been cast by Wednesday, a substantial number in a state with about 700,000 eligible voters.

1 / 2 Daron Olson reacts as Republican Greg Gianfortes election lead is announced in Bozeman, Mont. (Janie Osborne / Getty Images) 2 / 2 Democratic candidate Rob Quist begins his concession speech at the DoubleTree Hotel in Missoula, Mont. (Tommy Martino / Associated Press)

Quist chose not to mention the violent episode in his concession speech Thursday night in Missoula, saying he had been honored to run and would remain a voice in Montana politics. The fight goes on, Quist said, and we will always be somewhere.

Even as Gianforte headed to victory, reverberations from his dust-up were felt as far as Capitol Hill, where Republican lawmakers scrambled to deal with the unflattering portrayal of their candidate behaving like a hockey goon.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan criticized Gianforte and said he should apologize.

There is no time where a physical altercation should occur, the Wisconsin Republican told reporters at his weekly news briefing. It should not have happened. Should the gentleman apologize? Yeah, I think he should apologize.

But he stopped short of saying Gianforte would not be welcomed within the House GOP. If he wins, he has been chosen by the people of Montana, Ryan said. Im going to let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative.

The special election was set when Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke vacated the seat to head the Interior Department.

Quist benefited from millions of dollars and the support from liberal activists around the country who defied national Democratic Party leaders prepared to essentially write the race off. Eventually, the party stepped up its engagement, but it still fell short of the commitment from Republicans and their allies.

With Gianfortes victory, the GOP managed to hold its ground after a series of special elections. Democrats need 24 seats to take control of the House in the 2018 election, and the focus now turns to a runoff next month for an open seat in Georgia, where Democrat Jon Ossoff fell just shy of 50% in April.

Before the scuffle consumed the final 24 hours of the contest, the race had been much more about local concerns, including the candidates position on firearms  each presented himself as a firm champion of 2nd Amendment gun rights  and their personalities and back stories.

Quist was battered by TV ads that spotlighted his history of tax liens and other checkered financial dealings. Gianforte was portrayed as an elitist who sued to block public access to a fishing spot on his Bozeman property  a quite serious matter in a state where hunting and fishing are held sacred.

Quist sought to make the GOP healthcare bill an issue, saying it would cost more than 70,000 Montanans their coverage under the existing law and cause premiums to skyrocket, especially for the majority of residents who live in rural areas.

While some, especially outside the state, treated the contest as a test of President Trumps political standing, neither side tried to make the election a proxy vote on the president. Gianforte backed Trump and welcomed support from his surrogates, including Vice President Mike Pence.

Mostly, though, he focused on attacking Quist as a liberal out of step with Montana.

Quist, in turn, shied away from direct attacks on Trump, instead focusing on Gianforte and the Republican majority in Congress.

At the Democrats sullen election-night party, disappointed Quist supporters took solace where they could.

Stacy Coulter said she only wished Gianfortes volatile temper had been exposed earlier.

At least he has showed his true colors, said the 44-year-old Democrat, an office manager for the Bitterroot Irrigation District. She suggested the alleged assault recalled some of the more belligerent moments of Trumps 2016 campaign. And this might force the GOP to address the bullying issue.

mark.barabak@latimes.com

@markzbarabak

Sakariassen reported from Missoula and Barabak from San Francisco. Times staff writers Kurtis Lee in Los Angeles and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

11 p.m.: This story has been updated with quotes from Quists concession speech.

10:25 p.m.: This story has been updated with quotes from Gianfortes victory speech.

9:50 p.m.: This story was updated with Gianfortes victory.

9:30 p.m.: This story has been updated with election returns reflecting three-quarters of precincts reporting.

8:55 p.m.: This story has been updated with election returns reflecting more than half of precincts reporting.

8:10 p.m.: This story has been updated throughout with election returns reflecting about one-third of precincts reporting.

3:50 p.m.: This story has been updated with new comments from voters and more reaction about the assault charges.

10:50 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details and reaction from lawmakers and Montana voters.

This story originally published at 8:50 a.m.
Its election day in Montana after a wild 24 hours, with voters deciding who will fill the House seat vacated when Republican Ryan Zinke left to head the Interior Department under President Trump. The contest Thursday has drawn nationwide attention and an extraordinary amount of money  and that was before the GOP front-runner was accused of attacking a national political reporter.

The events have turned the contest into one of the strangest in memory.

Whos running?

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Democrat Rob Quist, 69, a bluegrass musician and political neophyte, is facing Republican Greg Gianforte, 56, who made a fortune when he sold his Bozeman-based high-tech firm to Oracle for nearly $2 billion. Gianforte ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2016 and is sinking more of his wealth into the congressional contest.

Whos favored?

The race has been seen as Gianfortes to lose. Republicans have held Montanas sole congressional seat since 1994, and off-year elections, with their lower turnout, tend to favor the GOP here. But Quist has raised an enormous sum  more than $6 million  mostly from out-of-state activists stirred by opposition to Trump, and Democrats believe the energy on their side could yield an upset.

Republican Greg Gianforte has been the favorite in Montanas special election. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

What about news reports of that attack on a journalist?

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday night after Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian newspaper, said he was body-slammed by the candidate when he sought to question him at an election-eve event in Bozeman. A spokesman for Gianforte accused Jacobs of instigating the tussle. But in audio posted on the Guardian website, a loud crash can be heard along with Gianfortes voice angrily scolding Jacobs.

A Fox News reporter who witnessed the incident wrote that Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. She also noted that at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte.

Two of Montanas largest newspapers, the Billings Gazette and the Missoulian, withdrew their endorsements of Gianforte on Wednesday night after the incident.

What is the political fallout likely to be?

Thats unclear. More than 250,000 absentee ballots had already been cast by Wednesday, which could end up amounting to well over half the total. That will certainly minimize the impact.

Should the race be seen as a judgment on Trumps performance?

Neither side has sought to make the contest an explicit referendum on Trump. It is much more likely to turn on the candidates personalities, their campaign styles, personal histories and the assault charges lodged against Gianforte.

That said, there is no question Trump has spurred engagement on the Democratic side, and his surrogates, including Vice President Mike Pence and son Donald Jr., have appeared on behalf of Gianforte. Pence and Trump were also heard on election-eve robocalls urging Republicans to the polls.

So national issues will play no part?

Actually, the House-passed healthcare overhaul bill has become a central focus of the campaign. Quist has repeatedly assailed the legislation, saying it would be devastating to Montana and its heavily rural population. Gianforte has praised the bill as a first step toward repealing and replacing the existing national healthcare law but has not endorsed specifics of the legislation.

How does the race fit in the larger political scheme?

Democrats need 24 seats to take control of the House. A victory in Montana would move them a step closer and offer a big boost in terms of the partys fundraising and the quality of candidates they recruit for the 2018 midterm election. Republicans will be happy just to avoid a loss in a state Trump carried in November by more than 20 percentage points.

Whats with the weird Thursday election day?

When Zinke vacated the seat, it was up to Montanas governor, Democrat Steve Bullock, to set the vote for his replacement. Bullock said he wanted the seat filled as soon as possible, so he chose May 25, the first date allowable under state law, which happens to be a Thursday.

Whats the makeup of the district, geographically and such?

Trick question! Montana has an at-large representative, whose district spans the entire state. Montana used to have two House members, one from the Republican-leaning east and the other from the more Democratic-friendly western half of the state. But after the 1990 census, Montana lost its second House seat.

When will the results be known?

The polls close at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Given that there is just the one race, the outcome should be clear within a few hours, unless, of course, the contest is too close to call. Then the winner may not be known until Friday.

mark.barabak@latimes.com

@markzbarabak

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With President Trump balking on his vow to shred the Obama-negotiated Paris agreement on climate change, the last place the pacts staunch opponents wanted to see the president is where he will be this weekend  meeting other world leaders unanimous in their warnings that withdrawal from the accord would seriously damage Americas economy and world stature.

Trump has repeatedly delayed fulfilling his campaign pledge to move against the agreement. The longer the White House deliberates over Paris, the more Trump seems to be searching for a face-saving excuse to walk back his previous position.

The White House indecision over the climate accord  which has the support of every nation except Syria and Nicaragua  reflects a deeply divided worldview in a Trump inner circle now packed with establishment Republicans.

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The issue also presents yet another policy reckoning for Trump. On the campaign trail, he vowed to strike blows against the existing world order. But on the Paris agreement, as on other matters, he is finding that political backup for such pledges can fade quickly when the moves lack robust support from major U.S. companies or majority voting blocs.

In a meeting Wednesday at the Vatican, its secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, urged Trump to stay in the accord. He made clear he is considering doing so, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters.

The president indicated were still thinking about that, that he hasnt made a final decision, Tillerson said.

The lobbying continued Thursday when Trump met with European leaders at a NATO meeting in Brussels. Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron said he pushed Trump to stay in the accord, an interaction the White House omitted from its readout of the meeting to reporters.

The pressure is almost certain to persist through the weekend meeting of the G7  the developed worlds major economic powers  in Sicily.

Diplomats from the G7 countries were still working Thursday on the joint declaration that the leaders customarily issue during the meeting. Those talks may continue as late as Saturday as negotiators try to bridge differences between the U.S. and its partners on climate change as well as trade issues.

The talks have been made more complicated by the White Houses indecision about whether the U.S. should stick with the Paris accord, which President Obama hailed as one of his major achievements when the agreement was reached in December 2015.

The Paris accord aims to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Although some environmental advocates consider it weak on enforcement, the agreement is one of the most far-reaching international environmental pacts in history.

Trumps struggle with whether to withdraw from the agreement is a reminder of how little input his campaign had from other Republicans who understood the intricacies of such policy.

He had been living in an echo chamber hostile to international institutions and imagining all these institutions do is create constraints and costs on the country, said David Victor, a professor of international relations at UC San Diego.

Now hes learning that these agreements are vital to our economy and international relations.

The administrations hand-wringing over Paris has been notably prolonged and public. The nationalist wing of the White House staff, led by strategist Stephen K. Bannon, is pushing for Trump to follow through on a promise to quit the agreement.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, a favorite of the free-market think tanks leading the effort against the Paris accord, has said publicly that the U.S. should exit. A legal opinion floating around the White House backs the push. It warns that Trumps effort to dismantle Obama-era climate regulations could be complicated in court if the Paris agreement remains intact.

But those arguments are getting little backup from the big energy firms and other industries which Trump said would get a boost from exiting the pact. They overwhelmingly favor staying in.

Some of their lobbyists assert the White House legal opinion is wrong. Drafters of the Paris agreement planned for political shake-ups exactly like the one the U.S. is experiencing, they say. The accord leaves flexibility for countries to shift how they meet their obligation and retreat on climate actions like the Clean Power Plan, the signature Obama action to confront global warming which Trump has ordered scrapped.

Even if you dont like the accords implications, it has very few teeth, said Eli Lehrer, president of the R Street Institute, a right-leaning energy think tank. I dont know of a single Fortune 500 fossil fuel company that is pushing for withdrawal.

The pact is mostly good for energy businesses, which tend to have holdings in natural gas and clean tech projects, and are dealing with public pressure to do something to address climate change, he said.

He had been living in an echo chamber hostile to international institutions.  David Victor, professor of international relations at UC San Diego

When Trump railed against the Paris agreement on the campaign trail, he was echoing the sentiment of many Republicans in Congress who had declared it an outrage. They challenged Obamas authority to enter it, and pilloried the agreement as the product of extreme environmentalists.

Those voices have quieted down substantially now that Republicans find themselves in a position to actually pull the U.S. out of the deal.

A letter released by GOP senators Wednesday calling on Trump to withdraw had 22 signatures  fewer than half the Republicans in the chamber and 18 fewer senators than signed on to a dueling letter from Democrats calling for the U.S. to stay in.

This is so typical of what is happening on so many issues with this White House, said an energy industry representative opposed to withdrawing, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss dealings with the administration.

They picked an extreme point of view and spoke a lot about it. Im not sure how much those people writing the speeches and talking points really knew about it.

Trump is getting an earful from concerned voices inside his White House, including his own son-in-law and his climate-conscious daughter  Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump  who are cautioning about the unintended consequences of getting out. Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO, is advising that U.S. interests could suffer if international climate actions move forward with no U.S. involvement.

Some major companies share that worry. Europe is determined to carry on regardless of what Trump does, as is China. Both those economic powerhouses threaten to usurp Americas leadership role in energy innovation.

The worry corporations are registering with the White House reflects the extent to which their businesses rely on regulatory certainty not just in the U.S. but abroad. Many are concerned that they will get whipsawed as different administrations pull in and out of global agreements.

Career diplomats warn that the consequences of the U.S. casually tearing up a worldwide agreement it brokered would be long-lasting and deeply damaging to its influence internationally.

Trump once promised his mind would be made up before he left for the G7 summit. Then the White House announced that Trumps mind would not be made up by then.

Other world leaders are plotting to tread cautiously on the topic, those involved in climate discussions say. They have seen the U.S. president be impressionable and swayed by a convincing argument  as was the case when he backed off his plan to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement  but they have also seen him be impulsive and punitive when backed into a corner.

With his personality type, a group trying to push him toward some decision could be counter-productive, Robert Stavin, director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, said in an email.

A small delegation Trump sent recently to climate change talks in Bonn, Germany, sent a worrisome signal when it announced the administration has no plans, for now, to keep paying down the $3 billion it has pledged over four years to the Green Climate Fund. The fund was created as part of the Paris accord to help poor nations adapt to global warming.

The move was another reminder to climate activists that Trump sticking with Paris would be a mixed blessing for them, as he could work to undermine it from within.

The better news of late for backers of the Paris accord has come in the form of polling. Only 28% of Trumps voters want the U.S. out of the Paris agreement, according to a poll by the Yale Program on Climate Communication.

While the most fervent Trump loyalists may detest the accord, said program director Anthony Leiserowitz, he cannot win again if he only has the hard-core Trump supporters who showed up at his rallies voting for him.

Special correspondent Tom Kington in Taormina, Italy, contributed to this article

evan.halper@latimes.com

Follow me: @evanhalper

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UPDATES:

12 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from French President Emmanuel Macron.

9:47 a.m.: This article was updated with information about Trumps meetings.

The article was originally published at 3 a.m.
When the House Select Intelligence Committee opened its most recent hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 election, committee Chairman Devin Nunes was notably absent from the dais.

The week before, when the Justice Department named a special prosecutor to take over the existing FBI probe, lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees were appearing on cable television at a rapid clip.

Nunes instead sent out a brief statement. It was his first statement mentioning the Russia investigation in nearly two months.

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Thanks to a series of missteps  and an ethics query  the Tulare Republican went from being among the most prominent Republicans in the Russia investigation to watching from the sidelines as the issue grips the nation and consumes attention on Capitol Hill.

Not so long ago Nunes was tailed by packs of information-hungry reporters, but since he was forced to hand over the investigation, the Washington political world has moved on. The bigger question is what will happen with the probe into whether he leaked classified information to defend President Trump.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) is pursued by reporters on Capitol Hill. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

The impression that Nunes, who worked on Trumps transition team, was trying to provide cover for a tweeted claim that the Obama administration had wiretapped his campaign, and Nunes subsequent announcement that hed stop leading the investigation, caught many flat-footed.

It all began with a dramatic March 22 press conference in which Nunes said he had evidence that the transition team had been under inadvertent surveillance, and that he was going straight to the White House to tell the president about it.

The news was a surprise to the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, fellow California Rep. Adam Schiff, who promptly criticized Nunes for failing to first share what hed learned with his own committee.

Drip by drip the full story came out, and it turned out two White House officials Nunes had worked with before had helped the chairman gain access to the reports.

When Nunes announced April 6he would step aside from the investigation, he blamed allegations from two ethics watchdog groups that he had revealed classified information in conversations with the media. The House Ethics Committee said in a statement 23 minutes later that it would look into whether Nunes broke House rules governing dissemination of classified information.

The ethics probe

The House Ethics Committee has no deadline to finish its work, and such investigations can take months, or years. Rob Walker, former chief counsel and staff director of the Senate and House ethics committees, said the investigation is probably still in the information-gathering stage, and staff members will have to get security clearance to even get access to some of the intelligence information in question.

More than most ethics matters, this one is highly charged and it must be done by the book, absolutely, said Walker, now counsel with Wiley Rein LLP in Washington.

Plus, witnesses may drag their feet or documents could be difficult to access because the FBI and two congressional committees are investigating the same underlying intelligence information, Walker said.

The committee has oversight over questions of how classified information is handled. It started the investigation into Nunes conduct on its own, rather than following normal procedure of having the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics take a precursory look.

It doesnt arise all that often. It is a very special and serious obligation, Walker said. The committee has to be seen to be handling, and has to be [seen to be] acting promptly on, any such accusation.

Even though the Ethics Committee probe is in its infancy, its already having political repercussions. Fresno County Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew Janz has already tried to use the inquiry against Nunes as he plans a 2018 challenge, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced this week that it would specifically target Nunes Central Valley district. Flipping the seat, which stretches across large sections of Fresno and Tulare counties, would be a big lift  Nunes was reelected in 2016 with 68.2% of the vote.

Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Republican Devin Nunes is surrounded by members of the media after leaving a Republican conference meeting in Washington, D.C. on March 28. (Michael Reynolds / EPA)

Any member of Congress would be expected to hire an attorney during such a query. Nunes office did not respond to questions about whether he had done so. Asked directly whether he had obtained legal counsel, Nunes flashed a reporter a thumbs-up and said, Have fun with your story.

The most recent campaign finance reports only cover through March 30, so any payments to an attorney will not be made public until the next reports are due this summer.

Business as usual

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said the Intelligence Committee is not dwelling on Nunes ethics allegations.

We have a certain amount of sympathy for it, but its really not coming up in the day-to-day business of the committee, he said.

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), the soft-spoken chairman of the House Agriculture Committee who has taken over the Russia probe, presided over his first public hearing on the topic Tuesday. Republicans largely deferred to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) to ask the questions, and the tone of the hearing remained civil. Nunes never made an appearance.

Mike is going out of his way to be nonpartisan, to be helpful, to be fair about this. Those of us involved in the investigation are very pleased about how things have settled down, Himes said.

Some Democrats on the committee say Nunes is still doing too much. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) pointed to a recent CNN report that Nunes is still reviewing intelligence documents dealing with the investigation and said he is trying to delegitimize the Russia investigation by calling it a task force. Her understanding was that he would no longer be involved at all, she said.

Thats what recusal means to most people, and now some weeks have passed and hes starting to reassert himself, Speier said.

Nunes declined interview requests made through his office. His staff said in a statement that he is working on Republican efforts to overhaul the tax code and healthcare, as well as local water issues for the Central Valley.

As he continues with the normal responsibilities that come with being chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Nunes spent the last month shepherding a bill that authorizes funding for the intelligence community and is working on the next version of the bill.

Friends and colleagues say they see no difference in his behavior. Nunes still chats with other Republican members on the House floor and shows up for votes and weekly GOP meetings.

Hes not showing any anger, any remorse. Hes as hardworking as before, said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.). In fact, if you didnt know from reading the papers, you wouldnt know anything was going on at all.

sarah.wire@latimes.com

Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter

Read more about the 55 members of Californias delegation at latimes.com/politics

ALSO:

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Boy Scouts: Top leaders didnt call Trump to praise speech as the president said By Associated Press The Boy Scouts denied Wednesday that the head of the youth organization called President Donald Trump to praise his recent politically aggressive speech to its national jamboree. Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Wednesday, I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful. Politico published the transcript of the interview. We are unaware of any such call, the Boy Scouts responded in a statement. It specified that neither of the organizations two top leaders  President Randall Stephenson and Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh  had placed such a call. The White House had no immediate response to the Boy Scouts denial. Surbaugh apologized last week to members of the scouting community who were offended by the political rhetoric in Trumps July 24 speech in West Virginia. Other U.S. presidents have delivered nonpolitical speeches at past jamborees. To the dismay of many parents and former scouts, Trump promoted his political agenda and derided his rivals, inducing some of the scouts in attendance to boo at the mention of former President Obama. I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree, Surbaugh said. That was never our intent. Surbaugh noted that every sitting president since 1937 has been invited to visit the jamboree. Stephenson told the Associated Press two days after the speech that Boy Scout leaders anticipated Trump would spark controversy with politically tinged remarks, yet felt obliged to invite him out of respect for his office. Hoping to minimize friction, the Boy Scouts issued guidelines to adult staff members for how the audience should react to the speech. Any type of political chanting was specifically discouraged. Stephenson, who did not attend Trumps speech, said the guidance wasnt followed impeccably. Facebook

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Mayor of London again calls on Trump to cancel state visit By Christina Boyle (AFP/Getty Images) The mayor of London has reiterated his calls for President Trumps state visit to Britain to be canceled in the wake of the citys terrorist incident, saying his policies go against everything we stand for. The war of words between the two leaders intensified further Monday evening after Trump criticized Mayor Sadiq Khans response to the London Bridge terrorist attack in two tweets, and the mayor said Trump should not be welcomed in the capital. Since Saturday Ive been working with the police, with the emergency services, with the government and others to deal with the horrific attack on Saturday, Khan said Monday evening. I just havent got the time to deal with tweets from Donald Trump. But when pressed on whether he thinks a state visit for later this year should go ahead as planned, Khan was unequivocal. My position remains the same. I dont think we should be rolling out the carpet to the president of the United States in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, Khan told Channel 4 news. When you have a special relationship, it is no different to when you have a close mate: You stand with them in times of adversity, but you call them out when theyre wrong. And there are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong. Trump initially criticized Khan hours after the London attack posting on Twitter: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed! Khans office soon pointed out that the president had, in fact, misquoted Khan, who actually said that Londoners should not be alarmed by the increased armed police presence on the streets. Trump took to Twitter again on Monday to slam the London mayor once more. Pathetic excuse by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement. MSM [Mainstream media] is working hard to sell it! the president wrote. This is not the first time Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital city, has called for Trumps state visit to be banned. He previously branded Trumps policies on immigration and proposed travel ban on people entering the U.S. from predominantly Muslim countries cruel. An online government petition calling for the invitation to be withdrawn also gathered more than 1.8 million votes. The visit was first announced during Prime Minister Theresa Mays trip to Washington, where she became the first foreign leader to meet the newly-inaugurated president. State visits are personal invites from the British monarch and involve a significant amount of pomp and ceremony, and usually a state banquet. Facebook

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He helped bring down President Nixon. He thinks President Trump is even worse. By Mark Z. Barabak (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times) John Dean is a connoisseur of coverups, a savant of scandal, so he can more than imagine what its like inside the Trump White House right now. Its a nightmare, he said, presiding in a high-backed leather wing chair off the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Not just for those in the headlines  political strategist Steve Bannon, jack-of-many-duties Jared Kushner  but for their unsung assistants and secretaries as well. They dont know what their jeopardy is. They dont know what theyre looking at. They dont know if theyre a part of a conspiracy that might unfold. They dont know whether to hire lawyers or not, how theyre going to pay for them if they do, Dean said in a crisp law-counsel cadence. Its an unpleasant place. Dean was a central figure in Watergate, the 1970s political scandal against which all others are measured, serving at the tender age of 32 as President Nixons White House attorney. In that capacity Dean worked to thwart investigators after the clumsy break-in at Democratic Party headquarters, then flipped and helped sink Nixon by revealing the presidents involvement in the coverup. Read More Facebook

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Two decades ago, Washington state Republicans repealed and replaced a healthcare overhaul there. It didnt end well By Noam N. Levey Republicans in the state of Washington didnt wait long in the spring of 1995 to fulfill their pledge to roll back a sweeping law expanding health coverage in the state. Coming off historic electoral gains, the GOP legislators scrapped much of the law while pledging to make health insurance affordable and to free state residents from onerous government mandates. It didnt work out that way: The repeal left the states insurance market in shambles, sent premiums skyrocketing and drove health insurers from the state. It took nearly five years to repair the damage. Two decades later, the ill-fated experiment, largely relegated to academic journals, offers a caution to lawmakers at the national level as Republicans in the U.S. Senate race to write a bill to repeal and replace the federal Affordable Care Act. Its much easier to break something, said Pam MacEwan, who led a Washington state commission charged with implementing the law in the mid-1990s and now oversees the state insurance market there. Its more difficult to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  And thats when people get hurt. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office echoed that warning last week, when it concluded that the healthcare bill passed by the House last month would destabilize insurance markets in a sixth of the country and nearly double the number of people without health insurance over the next decade. Read More Facebook

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Companies accelerate hiring, adding a robust 253,000 net new jobs, ADP says By Jim Puzzanghera A now hiring sign is seen in Baton Rouge, La., on May 5. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Companies accelerated their hiring last month, adding a robust 253,000 net new jobs in a sign the labor market remains healthy and the economy is strengthening after a weak winter. The private-sector job creation figures reported Thursday by payroll firm Automatic Data Processing far exceeded analyst expectations and was well above the downwardly revised 174,000 net new positions added in April. Job growth is rip-roaring, declared Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing its report. Read More Facebook

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All jokes aside, Trumps covfefe tweet sparks questions too By Brian Bennett President Trump sparked a global kerfuffle over covfefe with his bizarrely truncated tweet just minutes into Wednesday, spawning countless jokes across Twitter but also more serious questions for which the White House gave no answers. Press Secretary Sean Spicer, during an unusually short 11-minute briefing in which he insisted he not be on camera, declined to give any explanation for Trumps tweet posted just after midnight. Nor would he translate what the president was trying to say in the garbled message that broke off midsentence. But Spicer told reporters that the public should not be concerned that the president sent what the questioner called somewhat of an incoherent tweet. The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant, Spicer said. Read More Facebook

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Biden launches new PAC, keeping the 2020 door open By David Lauter (Steven Senne / Associated Press) Former Vice President Joe Biden is launching a new political action committee, a platform that will allow him to provide help to favored candidates and, inevitably, boost speculation about a possible run for the Democratic nomination in 2020. The organization, which Biden is calling American Possibilities, will be staffed by a former top political aide to the vice president, Greg Schultz, who is also a veteran of President Obamas reelection campaign. The PAC will allow Biden to raise money that he can use to travel the country, contribute to candidates in governors races this year and congressional and state races in 2018 and generally do the sorts of things that aspiring politicians do to keep their names in the headlines. All that cant help but nurture questions about whether Biden, 74, will try yet again to attain the office he first started running for in 1987. In public appearances, which have taken him to electorally important states, and interviews since the 2016 election, Biden has been sharply critical of the Trump administration, but has also pointed to flaws in his own party. In one interview, he pointed to a bit of elitism thats crept in to the partys approach to working-class voters. At the same time, he has given carefully ambiguous answers when asked about his plans. At a conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, he responded to the question about a presidential run by saying: Could I? Yes. Would I? Probably not. In the announcement for the new group, Biden said that the negativity, the pettiness, the small-mindedness of our politics drives me crazy. Its not who we are. Its time for big dreams and American possibilities, he said. Facebook

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U.S., regions foreign ministers debate Venezuela By Tracy Wilkinson (AFP / Getty Images) The United States and foreign ministers from across the hemisphere met in Washington on Wednesday to attempt to force Venezuelas leftist government and its angry opposition into talks. Hunger and violence have pushed Venezuela to the brink of humanitarian disaster, diplomats say. But Wednesdays meeting of the Organization of American States faced unlikely prospects for success: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro does not trust the organization and has said his nation will withdraw its membership. Some OAS nations, including several U.S. allies in the Caribbean, have criticized the regional bodys efforts as intervention promoted by Washington. But U.S. officials are hoping the sheer weight of the crisis will unite the region to put pressure on Venezuela. Theres more and more concern about what were seeing, and so more and more countries have gotten over their reluctance to question or go against the wishes of the Venezuelan government, a senior State Department official said in a briefing for reporters. Its really hard to stand by and do nothing in the face of the kinds of institutional steps weve seen in Venezuela, and the increasing humanitarian suffering, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, in keeping with frequent administration practice. Although the OAS periodically brings its members foreign ministers together, this is the first time a meeting has been convened to deal with a single topic, U.S. officials said. At the conclusion of Wednesdays session, diplomats said they had discussed two resolutions. One, promoted by Caribbean nations, called on Venezuela to reconsider withdrawing from the OAS. A second more pointed resolution authored by the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama and Peru urged the Maduro administration not to go ahead with a constituent assembly that would rewrite the Venezuelan constitution. Many fear it would dissolve the few democratic institutions that remain and favor the ruling Socialist Party. Separately, the Venezuela opposition, emboldened by a string of increasingly massive street demonstrations, sharply criticized Wall Street for extending what it called a lifeline to the Maduro government. At issue is the purchase by Goldman Sachs of Venezuelan government bonds for a reported $865 million, a major discount for paper originally worth $2.8 billion. Goldman Sachs confirmed the purchase of the bonds, issued in 2014 by the state oil company PDVSA, after it was reported in the Wall Street Journal. We are invested in PDVSA bonds because, like many in the asset management industry, we believe the situation in the country must improve over time, Goldman said in a statement. The firm added that it made the purchase through a secondary dealer to avoid direct interaction with the Venezuelan government. That distinction meant nothing to the Venezuelan opposition, which accused Goldman of making a buck off the suffering of the Venezuelan people. The Trump administration previously has targeted the Maduro government, slapping economic sanctions on its vice president and pro-Maduro Supreme Court justices. Facebook

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Former FBI director spoke with new special counsel and is cleared to testify before Senate panel By Joseph Tanfani The special counsel investigating possible links between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign has cleared former FBI Director James Comey to testify before a congressional committee about his contacts with President Trump, according to an associate close to Comey. Comey met with Robert S. Mueller III, whom the Justice Department appointed on May 17 to investigate any Russian ties to the Trump campaign, and Mueller said he had no problems with Comeys testifying, the associate said. Trump abruptly fired Comey as head of the FBI on May 9. The president later said in an interview on NBC News that he was concerned about the FBI investigation into what he called the Russia thing. Comey reportedly wrote internal memos after his meetings with Trump. In one, he wrote that the president had requested he ease up on the FBI probe of Michael Flynn, who served as Trumps national security advisor until he was ousted in February for lying about his contacts with Russian officials. The Senate Intelligence Committee announced on May 19 that Comey had agreed to testify after the Memorial Day holiday. The hearing has not been scheduled. The FBI separately declined a request from the House Oversight Committee to turn over Comeys memos. The bureau said it would need to consult with Mueller before making any decisions. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the committee chairman, said in response that he would not push the matter. The focus of the committees investigation is the independence of the FBI and the events leading to Comeys firing, he wrote. In a separate development, a senior Justice Department lawyer with experience in complex financial fraud investigations has agreed to join Muellers investigation. Andrew Weissman has led the fraud section at Justice, where he oversaw probes into corporate wrongdoing at Volkswagen and Takata. Weissman also is a veteran of the FBI. Weissman is the highest-ranking Justice Department official to join the special counsel office being set up a few blocks from the main Justice building in downtown Washington. Mueller also hired two colleagues from the WilmerHale law firm, where he worked, and brought on a former Justice Department spokesman, Peter Carr, to handle media inquiries. Facebook

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Analysis: In President Trumps wake, divisions mark both Democratic and Republican parties By Cathleen Decker Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez address a crowd at the California party convention in May. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Six months after President Trump breached long-standing political boundaries to win the White House, the nations major political parties still muddle in his wake. On the sun-swept lawn of the Hotel del Coronado two weeks ago, national Republican leaders sipped cocktails and listened to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, one of the partys brightest lights in the most populous state, praise a brand of moderate Republicanism that looks nothing like the versions coming out of Washington  either the populism of the president or the more orthodox conservatism of congressional leaders. A week later, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez talked in a Sacramento interview of the remarkably constructive debate underway in his party, characterizing its divisions as largely in the past. Within hours, he and other party leaders were booed as they welcomed delegates to a state convention that would be filled with persistent internal warfare on healthcare and other issues. No political party is immune to disagreement; indeed the path to power often relies on combustible ideological diversity. But Democrats and Republicans alike seem particularly adrift and quarrelsome these days. Read More Facebook

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Trump preparing to pull U.S. from Paris climate accord, amid last-minute lobbying By Evan Halper President Trump hasnt made a final decision on whether the U.S. will quit the Paris Accord on climate change, but White House officials indicated Wednesday that he was headed in that direction, setting off a worldwide reaction. A flurry of leaks, counter-leaks and public statements thrust back into the spotlight a decision that has been agonized and untidy even by the standards of a White House known for internal drama. Wednesday morning, when officials told some news organizations that Trump had settled on pulling out of the climate agreement, seemingly everyone in the world jumped in to try to influence or spin his decision, from the Chinese government to the coal industry to the state of California. That offered a foretaste of the reaction Trump likely will receive if he does follow through on his vow to pull the United States out of the 195-nation pact, which President Obama hailed in 2015 as one of his major achievements. Other nations have swiftly moved to take over the leadership role on climate that the United States would be abandoning. Some states have followed suit, promising they would break with Washington to work with other countries in their efforts to contain global warming. During Trumps recent overseas trip, U.S. allies warned him that Americas broader diplomatic influence would be undercut if the administration gave up its seat at the climate negotiating table. All the public lobbying on Wednesday moved Trump to weigh in himself. He knocked down reports that he had decided to withdraw with a tweet announcing that he was still making up his mind. The mixed messages coming out of the White House left open the possibility that the original news reports reflected the views of officials who were aiming to steer the final outcome by presenting withdrawal as a done deal. Trumps schedule for the day includes meetings with advisors hoping to talk him into staying in the agreement, at least to some extent. If Trump does withdraw the U.S. fully from the Paris pact, scientists warn it will be a tremendous setback to the worldwide effort to contain temperatures from rising an average of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The consequences for the United States would extend beyond global warming. It will be a very big deal all over the world, said Todd Stern, the lead U.S. climate negotiator during the Obama administration. There will be consequential blowback with respect to our diplomatic position across the board. UPDATES 9:27 a.m.: This post was updated throughout with staff reporting and additional details. 6:23 a.m.: This post was updated with Trumps tweet. 6:04 a.m.: This post was updated throughout with additional details. Facebook

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U.S. Supreme Court makes it harder to sue police for barging into homes By David Savage The U.S. Supreme Court made it harder to sue police for barging into a home and provoking a shooting, setting aside a $4-million verdict against two Los Angeles County deputies on Tuesday. The money was awarded to a homeless couple who were startled and then shot when the two sheriffs deputies entered the shack where they were sleeping. The unanimous ruling rejected the so-called provocation rule that some lower courts have used. Under that rule, police can be sued for violating a victims constitutional rights against unreasonable searches if they provoked a confrontation that resulted in violence. Read More Facebook

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Trump lashes out at Germany over NATO spending and trade after Merkel questions the U.S. commitment to its allies By Brian Bennett (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images) President Trump took aim at German trade practices and defense spending Tuesday following pointed criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel that Germany may not be able to rely on its allies. We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change, Trump wrote in a tweet. Last week, White House spokespeople had denied that Trump criticized German trade practices after the German newspaper Der Spiegel quoted him as having done so. Trump unsettled Merkel and other allies during the recent NATO summit when, during his remarks, he did not mention the central commitment members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization make to defend each other. We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017 Trumps policy toward climate change is another point of contention with many European countries. Trump promised during the election to tear up the landmark Paris climate accord. Merkel said the conversation with the U.S. on climate change last week during the G-7 meetings in Sicily, which followed the NATO summit, was extremely difficult. During a campaign speech in Munich on Sunday, Merkel said Germany must rethink how much it can rely on its allies. The era in which we could rely completely on others is gone, at least partially, Merkel said. I have experienced that over the last several days. In a 2014 meeting, NATO defense ministers agreed that each state would move toward a goal of raising military spending to 2% of its annual economic output by the year 2024. German defense spending is below that goal. The U.S. trade deficit with Germany shrank to $65 billion in 2016 from $75 billion the year before. Facebook

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Consumers spend at fastest pace in four months in a sign of spring economic rebound By Jim Puzzanghera (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Americans ratcheted up their spending in April at the fastest pace in four months, in a sign the economy has rebounded this spring after a lackluster winter. The new data also could help push Federal Reserve officials to hike a key interest rate again when they meet in two weeks. Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.4% in April, up from 0.3% the previous month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Americans had more money to spend, with personal incomes also rising 0.4%  twice the pace of growth in March. Read More Facebook

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White House communications director Michael Dubke resigns By Associated Press White House Communications Director Mike Dubke listens as a reporter asks a question during a press conference in the East Room of the White House on April 20. (Shawn Thew / EPA) White House communications director Michael Dubke has resigned. Kellyanne Conway, White House counselor, told The Associated Press that Dubke handed in his resignation before President Donald Trump left for his international trip earlier this month. In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, Conway said Dubke made very clear that he would see through the presidents international trip, and come to work every day and work hard even through that trip because there was much to do here back at the White House. Dubke issued a statement Tuesday morning: It has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration. It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side-by-side, day-by-day with the staff of the communications and press departments. A Republican consultant, Dubke joined the White House team in February after campaign aide Jason Miller  Trumps original choice for communications director  withdrew from consideration. Dubke founded Crossroads Media, a GOP firm that specializes in political advertising. -- 6:03 a.m.: Updated with Dubkes statement Facebook

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Should Jared Kushner keep his security clearance? Adam Schiff isnt sure By Laura King The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), says hes not sure that President Trumps son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, should retain his security clearance. The California Democrat, who has been a sharp critic of Trump, also said in an interview aired Sunday that national security advisor H.R. McMaster, a highly respected military officer, had been tarnished by his association with the White House. Schiffs comments, on ABCs This Week, came amid growing questions about Kushners contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office. Trump has denounced the latest round of news reports, saying that some of them could be based on fabricated sources. Top Trump aides, including John F. Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, pushed back Sunday against the suggestion that there was anything untoward about establishing back channel communications with the Russians during the presidential transition. Schiff said he regretted that McMaster had done so as well, saying he believed the White House used the solid reputations of people like him to back up dubious actions. Sadly, I think this is an administration that takes in people with good credibility and chews them out and spits out their credibility at the same time, said Schiff, who acknowledged that what McMaster said about back channel communications was true in the abstract. I think anyone within the Trump orbit is at risk of being used, he said. Kelly, in separate talk-show appearances on Sunday, said there was nothing untoward about an incoming administration establishing communications with a foreign power in order to lay the groundwork for better relations. Schiff declined to discuss the substance of the allegations regarding Kushners contact with Russian officials during the transition and whether Kushner had been forthcoming about them, but said enough questions had been raised that his access to top-secret intelligence should be scrutinized. I think we need to get to the bottom of these allegations, Schiff said. But I do think there ought to be a review of his security clearance to find out whether he was truthful, whether he was candid. If not, then theres no way he can maintain that kind of a clearance. Schiff was also critical of continuing involvement in aspects of the Russia probe by fellow Californian Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who stepped aside from the probe earlier this year after the House Ethics Committee began investigating whether he had improperly revealed classified information. Nunes remains involved in decision-making about the issuance of subpoenas, Schiff said, adding: I dont think that he should, given that he has stepped aside or recused himself. The committee is investigating Russian entanglements by figures in Trumps circle, including fired national security advisor Michael Flynn, who has been the target of multiple subpoenas. Facebook

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Trump still wide open on climate change, Pentagon chief says By Laura King With President Trump set to make a decision this week about whether the U.S. should remain part of the landmark Paris climate accord, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Trump remains wide open on the issue. During a visit to Europe that ended Saturday, Trump dismayed European allies by refusing to commit to remaining in the 2015 accord during talks with European Union officials in Brussels and at the Group of Seven gathering in Sicily. The president said in a tweet that he will make a decision this week. Mattis, who was present at some of the Brussels talks, said that Trump is still making up his mind, and that he has been inquisitive about other leaders opinions. The president was open  he was curious about why others were in the position they were in, his counterparts in other nations, the Defense secretary said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS Face the Nation. And Im quite certain the president is wide open on this issue as he takes in the pros and cons of that accord. During his European trip, Trump met privately at the Vatican with Pope Francis, who presented him with a copy of his papal encyclical on environment and climate change. French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with Trump in Brussels, also said he had pressed the issue with the U.S. president, though the White House did not mention that appeal in a summary of their meeting. Facebook

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Homeland Security secretary defends Jared Kushner, blasts Manchester intelligence leaks By Laura King There is nothing inherently wrong with an incoming presidential administration establishing back channel communications with a foreign power such as Russia, Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly said Sunday. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Kelly was asked about reports by the Washington Post and other outlets that President Trumps son-in-law and close advisor, Jared Kushner, sought to set up secret lines of communication with Russian officials prior to Trump being sworn in. The retired general did not confirm the reports, but said the principle of establishing secretive contacts during a presidential transition doesnt bother me and is a legitimate means of building relationships. I think that any channel of communication, back or otherwise, with a country like Russia is a good thing, he said. Kelly did not address a central element of the reports  that Kushner discussed the possibility of using Russian communications channels from a Russia diplomatic outpost to shield from U.S. intelligence surveillance whatever discussions Trump transition officials wanted to have with Moscow. The FBI, a special counsel and multiple congressional committees are probing Russian interference in the presidential campaign and whether the Trump camp colluded in it. The U.S. intelligence community says Russian cyberattacks were meant to boost Trump and harm his opponent, Hillary Clinton. In a separate interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Kelly defended the integrity of Kushner, whose involvement in communications with Russia has brought the investigation closer to Trump personally than has previous scrutiny of others in his campaign circle or the White House. Calling Kushner a great guy, a decent guy, the Homeland Security secretary said the presidents son-in-laws No. 1 interest, really, is the nation. Also in the NBC interview, Kelly excoriated intelligence leaks in the wake of last weeks deadly bombing in Manchester, England. British officials including Prime Minister Theresa May were angered by disclosures about details of the investigation, including the release of the dead attackers name and detailed photos from the bomb scene that were published by the New York Times. Several outlets cited unnamed U.S. officials as the source of the information including the bombers identity. The Times did not say how it obtained the photos. Britain routinely shares intelligence with close allies like the United States with the expectation that it will be kept confidential. Kelly said that failing to keep such secrets could seriously damage intelligence-sharing arrangements with other nations. I believe when you leak the kind of information that seems to be routinely leaked - high, high level of classification I think its darn close to treason, Kelly said. It is not clear what level of classification, if any, the information about the British investigation would have had. Trump himself, who recently caused controversy when he passed sensitive intelligence on Islamic State to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discussed the location of U.S. nuclear submarines with the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has denounced the Manchester leaks and vowed to track down the source or sources. Facebook

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In tweets, Trump says stories based on White House leaks are fabricated By Laura King President Trump is back  and tweeting. In a Sunday morning series of posts on Twitter, the president repeated his denunciations of the fake media, celebrated the Republican victory in a Montana special election and declared his overseas trip a success. Trump returned to the White House late Saturday after a swing through the Middle East and Europe, the first foreign trip of his presidency. During it, he tweeted only sparingly. While Trump was away, controversy continued to swirl around his White House, with media reports focusing on son-in-law Jared Kushners role in Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials. The GOP healthcare plan and Trumps budget also came under withering scrutiny during the presidents absence. In Sundays tweets, Trump said cascading leaks from within his administration were in fact fabricated lies by news organizations based on sources that did not exist. One tweet was corrected to fix the spelling of exist. It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017 Trump also complained that the special congressional election in Montana, called to fill the seat vacated when Ryan Zinke became his Interior secretary, was such a big deal to Dems & Fake News until the Republican won. The V was poorly covered, he said, referring to the Republican victory. The victory by Republican candidate Greg Gianforte received extensive coverage. It was widely expected, given Montanas significant Republican edge, but made more suspenseful on the eve of the election when Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault for an incident in which he struck a reporter who had asked him a question. The president received mixed reviews for his inaugural overseas venture. He was praised by some for his outreach to Sunni Arab allies in the Persian Gulf, but continued his administrations practice of making no public criticism of serious human rights violations. In Europe, he rattled allies by declining to explicitly endorse the NATO alliances bedrock common defense pledge or pledge to adhere to the Paris climate accord. Whatever the commentary surrounding the trip, Trump counted it a success. Hard work but big results, he wrote. Facebook

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Trumps international trip underscored what America First looks like on the world stage By Michael Memoli Donald Trump made no secret during the presidential campaign of his disdain for Americas trading partners, his skepticism of longtime alliances and his eagerness to refocus U.S. foreign policy on the single-minded pursuit of American security. That was the largely the president the world got as Trump made his way through the Middle East and Western Europe over the last nine days, Trumps first foreign trip may have produced memorable, and at time cringe-inducing, images of the new president, whether grasping a glowing orb in Saudi Arabia or shoving the prime minister of Montenegro at a NATO meeting in Brussels. But perhaps most profoundly, the trip underscored what America First, as Trump has branded his governing philosophy, looks like on the world stage. Read More Facebook

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Trump says hell decide on Paris climate deal next week By Associated Press Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with their commitment to implement the 2015 Paris deal that aims to slow down global warming. The final G-7 statement, issued after two days of talks in the seaside town of Taormina, said the U.S. is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics. Trump tweeted he would decide his stance on the Paris agreement next week. The announcement on the final day of the U.S. presidents first international trip comes after he declined to commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal, resisting intense international pressure from his peers at the summit. I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017 Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, said the other six wont change our position on climate change one millimeter. The U.S. hasnt decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way. Gentiloni said climate was not a minor point and that he hoped the United States would decide soon and well because the Paris accords need the contribution of the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron also chimed in on the climate issue, praising Trumps capacity to listen. Macron said he told Trump it is indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed to the Paris climate agreement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more downbeat, calling the G-7 climate talks very unsatisfactory. Facebook

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Everyones a winner! Or what to take away from that special congressional race in Montana By Mark Z. Barabak Republicans were celebrating Friday, and relieved, and it was easy to see why: The party hung on to Montanas sole congressional seat even though its candidate faced a freshly lodged criminal charge for physically assaulting a reporter on election eve. Though they fell short in yet another special election  Greg Gianforte won handily, 50% to 44%  Democrats also found reason to be pleased: Their candidate, flawed as he was, continued a pattern of polling better than might be expected  over-performing, to use the political parlance, and that could hold future promise. Its possible, as elections analyst Nathan Gonzales put it, to lose and still have momentum. Read More Facebook

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In commencement address, Hillary Clinton remembers fallout from Nixon, makes subtle jab at President Trump By Kurtis Lee Hillary Clinton delivers the commencement address at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., on Friday. (Josh Reynolds / Associated Press) Hillary Clinton delivered a subtle dig at President Trump on Friday, offering some parallels between his presidency and that of former President Nixon. While delivering a commencement address at her alma mater, Wellesley College, a private womens liberal arts school in Massachusetts, Clinton, without naming Trump, recalled how many young people in the 1970s reacted to Nixons reelection and later battles with the Justice Department. We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice, she said, pausing to note she was referring to Nixon. Actually, Nixon was not impeached, though many in Congress, including members of his own party, called for it. Clinton said Nixons resignation came after he fired the person heading the investigation into him at the Department of Justice. In 1973, Nixon ordered Justice Department officials to fire a special prosecutor who was looking into taped conversations recorded in the Oval Office as part of the Watergate investigation. A year later, in August 1974, Nixon resigned. Some political observers  mostly Democrats -- have compared Trumps recent firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, who was overseeing an investigation of possible collusion between Russians and Trumps campaign, to Nixons actions. Last week, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) called for Trump to be impeached. Clinton, who has made few public appearances since Trump defeated her in last years presidential election, also assailed the Republicans new budget proposal. She called the budget, which proposes cuts to education and Medicaid, an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us  the youngest, the oldest, the poorest and hard-working people who need a little help to gain or hang on to a decent, middle-class life. In a statement, the Republican National Committee said Clinton was lashing out after her election loss. Clinton graduated from Wellesley in 1969 and last delivered a commencement address at the school in 1992. Facebook

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At G-7 Summit, a day of clarification for the White House By Michael A. Memoli (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) As President Trump met with leaders of the worlds leading economies here Friday within miles of an active volcano, the White House was working to ease a pair of diplomatic eruptions. Trump was due to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit in this coastal Sicilian resort town, amid tensions between their countries, longtime allies, following leaks to U.S. media outlets involving Britains investigation of the Manchester terrorist bombing. Separately, a top White House adviser partially confirmed reports that Trump had said Germany is very bad during Thursdays NATO meetings in Brussels, but clarified that the president was referring only to German trade policies. Trump said, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel, See the millions of cars they are selling to the U.S.? Terrible. We will stop this. Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, acknowledged that Trump made the remark but added that the president doesnt have a problem with Germany. He said his dad is from Germany. He said I dont have a problem with Germany, I have a problem with German trade, Cohn said. Press access to the G-7 meetings has been extremely limited, though the surrounding setting has produced abundant compelling visuals. Editorial press access extremely limited for G7 meetings. But man, pretty pictures & good times for Taormina Chamber of Commerce (via AP) pic.twitter.com/WT2EdKrwJ5  Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) May 26, 2017 Trump tweeted that he expected to spend the day focused on economic growth, terrorism and security. The summit, and Trumps eight-day inaugural foreign trip, ends Saturday. Other allies here were likely to press Trump on another issue: climate change, specifically whether Trump will carry out his campaign promise to pull the United States out of the landmark Paris climate deal. Trump was hoping to better understand the European position, Cohn said. White House officials have said the president will make a decision once he is back in the United States. He knows that in the U.S. theres very strong opinions on both sides but he also knows that Paris has important meaning to many of the European leaders. And he wants to clearly hear what the European leaders have to say, Cohn said. Facebook

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As Trump wavers over Paris climate accord, European leaders give him an earful By Evan Halper Mining operation near Grevenbroich, Germany. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press) With President Trump balking on his vow to shred the Obama-negotiated Paris agreement on climate change, the last place the pacts staunch opponents wanted to see the president is where he will be this weekend  meeting other world leaders unanimous in their warnings that withdrawal from the accord would seriously damage Americas economy and world stature. Trump has repeatedly delayed fulfilling his campaign pledge to move against the agreement. The longer the White House deliberates over Paris, the more Trump seems to be searching for a face-saving excuse to walk back his previous position. The White House indecision over the climate accord  which has the support of every nation except Syria and Nicaragua  reflects a deeply divided worldview in a Trump inner circle now packed with establishment Republicans. The issue also presents yet another policy reckoning for Trump. On the campaign trail, he vowed to strike blows against the existing world order. But on the Paris agreement, as on other matters, he is finding that political backup for such pledges can fade quickly when the moves lack robust support from major U.S. companies or majority voting blocs. Read More Facebook

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Overcoming assault charge, Republican Greg Gianforte wins Montana congressional seat By Mark Z. Barabak Republican Greg Gianforte overcame a last-minute assault charge to win Montanas special congressional election Thursday, keeping its lone House seat in GOP hands and dealing Democrats a setback in their bid to gain a red-state toehold ahead of the 2018 midterm election. Gianforte, 56, a wealthy businessman who ran unsuccessfully for governor in November, had long been the front-runner against Democrat Rob Quist, a professional bluegrass musician making his first run for public office. With more than 90% of the votes counted, Gianforte was holding a healthy lead with just over 50% support. Appearing at an exuberant victory rally in Bozeman, the congressman-elect hushed the crowd and apologized to the reporter with whom he tangled on election eve, reversing his campaigns initial assertion that the journalist was to blame. Read More Facebook

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FBI investigating Kushner meetings, report says; House leader seeks more Comey documents By Associated Press (Andrew Harrer / Getty Images) The chairman of the House Oversight Committee asked the FBI on Thursday to turn over more documents about former FBI Director James B. Comeys interactions with the White House and Justice Department, including materials dating back nearly four years to the Obama administration. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that the FBI is investigating meetings that President Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had in December with Russian officials. The FBI and the Oversight Committee  as well as several other congressional panels  are looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump fired Comey on May 9 amid questions about the FBIs investigation, which is now being led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a former FBI director. Kushner, a key White House advisor, had meetings late last year with Russias ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov. The Post story cited anonymous people familiar with the investigation, who said the FBI investigation does not mean that Kushner is suspected of a crime. Kushners attorney, Jamie Gorelick, released a statement saying: Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry. Earlier Thursday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe that he wants records of Comeys contacts with the White House and Justice Department dating to September 2013, when Comey was sworn in as FBI director under President Obama. In a letter to McCabe, Chaffetz said he is seeking to review Comeys memos and other written materials so he can better understand Comeys communications with the White House and attorney generals office. Facebook

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Banks want higher debit-card swipe fees, but an effort to allow them has crumbled By Jim Puzzanghera Banks had hoped Congress would let them charge merchants higher fees to process debit card purchases, but an effort to allow that has crumbled  a victory for retailers and, possibly, shoppers who might have had to shoulder those costs. In the latest chapter of a long-running fight, a repeal of federal limits on so-called swipe fees no longer will be part of a House financial regulation bill, said the legislations author, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas). Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he decided to strip the provision from the bill because many lawmakers are balking at removing the limits. Read More Facebook

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Appeals court rules against Trump travel ban By David Lauter A federal appeals court has ruled against President Trumps travel ban, upholding a nationwide injunction barring the administration from enforcing the executive order. The ruling is the latest legal setback for Trump on the travel issue and, like several previous court rulings, the outcome rested heavily on his own words. Trumps order restricting travel from six majority-Muslim countries speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination, Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in his ruling. Read the 4th Circuits decision to uphold the block on Trumps travel ban The 10-3 ruling included numerous citations to campaign statements in which Trump called for a ban on Muslims immigrating to the United States. The plaintiffs who have challenged the travel order have argued that it is a disguised version of the Muslim ban that he called for during the campaign. Trumps statements provide direct, specific evidence of what motivated both EO-1 and EO-2, the court said, referring to ther first and second versions of the travel order: President Trumps desire to exclude Muslims from the United States. The 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Va., is one of two appeals courts that have recently heard arguments on the travel ban. A similar case is pending before the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco. Read More Facebook

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Obama, in Berlin with Merkel, says world cant hide behind a wall By Erik Kirschbaum Hours before German Chancellor Angela Merkel flew to Brussels to meet with President Trump and other NATO heads of state, she rekindled an old acquaintance with Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama. About 70,000 people packed an avenue by Berlins landmark Brandenburg Gate on Thursday to hear the two leaders speak, with cheers and chants of Barack, Barack! breaking out when the former president took the stage. Without mentioning Trump by name, Obama spoke of the need for universal healthcare and a nuanced approach to immigration in response to security threats. This is a new world we live in  we cant isolate ourselves, the former president declared, with Merkel looking on. We cant hide behind a wall. Obama spoke of this weeks deadly bombing at a pop concert in Manchester, England, saying leaders had to find ways to balance security fears and fundamental rights. One of the biggest challenges is how do you protect your country and your citizens from the kinds of things that we just saw in Manchester, he said. And how do you do it in a way that is consistent with your values and your ideals? Making his first European speech since his presidential term ended, Obama told the crowd he had spent the last four months trying to catch up with my sleep and devoting more time to his family. Im very proud of the work I did as president, he said to more cheers, adding that he considered healthcare reform a signature achievement. Republicans are now in the midst of trying to dismantle his Affordable Care Act. My hope was to get 100% of people healthcare, he said. We didnt quite achieve that, but we were able to get 20 million people healthcare who didnt have it before. Obamas speech was not timed to coincide with Trumps first visit to Europe as president, aides said. The invitation was extended before Trumps trip to Brussels  the fourth leg on multi-stop tour  was scheduled. Facebook

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Macron says he pressed Trump on climate accord By Catherine Stupp French President Emmanuel Macron, who met President Trump for the first time on Thursday, said he urged the U.S. leader to respect the Paris climate accord. The White House, however, did not mention the issue in its readout on Trumps working lunch in Brussels with the newly elected French president. Macron told reporters as he headed into the meeting that climate change would be one of the issues he raised, along with concerns about terrorism and the economy. Afterward, at a news conference, the French president said that in his talk with Trump, he reiterated the importance of the landmark climate accord. No hasty decision on this subject should be taken by the U.S., Macron said. Our collective responsibility is to make sure this commitment remains a global commitment. Referring to the agreement, he added: Its one of a kind. In its readout, the White House said Trump urged Macron to meet NATO commitments on French defense spending and help ensure that the alliance is focused on counter-terrorism. It also said the two leaders talked about the importance of defeating Islamic State and other vital issues. Facebook

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Trump lawyers ask Supreme Court to reject 2nd Amendment claim by men who lost gun rights over nonviolent crimes By David Savage President Trump speaks at an NRA event in Atlanta in April. ( Scott Olson / Getty Images) Trump administration lawyers are urging the Supreme Court to reject a 2nd Amendment claim that would restore the right to own a gun for two Pennsylvania men who were convicted more than 20 years ago of nonviolent crimes. The case of Sessions vs. Binderup puts the new administration in a potentially awkward spot, considering President Trumps repeated assurances during the campaign that he would protect gun ownership rights under the 2nd Amendment. But the Justice Department under Trump has embraced the same position in this case that was adopted under President Obama: to defend strict enforcement of a long-standing federal law that bars convicted criminals from ever owning a gun, even when their crimes did not involve violence. Read More Facebook

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Former Sen. Joe Lieberman withdraws from FBI director search By Associated Press (AFP/Getty Images) Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has withdrawn his name from consideration for the role of FBI director. Lieberman interviewed last week with President Trump, who publicly identified him as a leading candidate. But in a letter sent to the White House, Lieberman says hes pulling out. He says he wants to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, given Trumps hiring of one of Liebermans law partners to represent him in the investigation of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The White House declined to comment. Several other people interviewed for the job have also withdrawn from consideration. Trump fired former FBI Director James B. Comey earlier this month. Facebook

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At NATO celebration, Trump tells allies to spend more on defense By Michael A. Memoli (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images) President Trump used his first NATO meeting to rebuke member nations who fail to meet the trans-Atlantic alliances defense spending target, saying American taxpayers unfairly are left to pick up the slack. Speaking at dedication ceremonies for NATOs new headquarters, Trump noted that the defense budgets of 23 of the 28 members dont meet a target equal to 2% of each respective nations economic output, while the United States has spent more on defense in eight years than the other 27 combined. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years, he said. We have to make up for the many years lost. By his scolding, Trump was directly delivering to NATO allies the criticism that was a staple of his nationalist campaign for president. But his lecture came at an event intended to be celebratory, showcasing unity and resolve for the nearly 70-year-old alliance: the dedication of its shining, glass-enclosed new headquarters in Belgiums capital. The ceremony also was meant to call attention to the fact that the only time NATO has invoked its collective defense agreement was on behalf of the United States, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Trump stood beside a section of wrenched steel from the downed World Trade Center Towers, a relic NATO calls the Article V artifact, to signify that post-9/11 invocation of the NATO charters article holding that an attack on any one member would be considered an attack on all. Speaking to reporters before the president arrived, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the alliance had a long way to go to meet its goals. But its much better than it was just two years ago, he said. The reality is that when we decrease defense spending when tensions are going down, as we did after the end of the Cold War, we have to be able to increase defense spending when tensions are going up. And now we see that tensions are going up. Facebook

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Watch: Trump lectures NATO leaders on defense spending By L.A. Times staff  As NATO leaders looked on, President Trump told NATO members that they must finally contribute their fair share of defense payments. President Trump lectured members of the NATO alliance on Thursday, urging them to pay their fair share on defense. As NATO leaders looked on during a ceremony at the alliances new headquarters, Trump said that member nations must finally contribute their fair share and meet their obligations. The president has been urging NATO leaders to live up to a 2011 decision to increase spending on defense to 2% of GDP by 2024. Trump said 23 of the 28 member nations are not paying what they should and that the situation is not fair to the people of the United States. Facebook

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President Trump promises to review Manchester investigation leaks after anger from Britain By Noah Bierman Trying to head off a diplomatic rift with Britain, President Trump on Thursday issued a statement promising a complete review of possible intelligence leaks related to this weeks deadly terrorist attack at a Manchester concert. Some British officials have suggested that U.S. officials are leaking sensitive information to American media outlets about the investigation into the attack. The New York Times posted forensic photographs collected from the scene of the Manchester concert bombing, which upset British officials. Whether the photographs were provided by U.S. officials or came from some other source is not publicly known. Trump avoided questions earlier Thursday about the possible leaks. His statement came just before he was set to address NATO at its new headquarters in a speech considered pivotal to his first trip abroad as president. British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to confront Trump over the issue when they meet later in the day. May told reporters as she entered the NATO gathering that she would make clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure. We have a special relationship with the USA. Its our deepest defense and security partnership that we have, she said. Of course that partnership is built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure. In his statement, Trump said that the alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time, and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. The statement continued with a promise to request the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to

launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the

culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Trump also reiterated said there is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the two countries. Separate leaks within his own administration and related to investigations of his campaign ties to Russia have also been a source of anger to Trump. Facebook

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Montanas congressional election: that assault charge, the Trump factor, and why is it on a weird day (Thursday)? By Mark Z. Barabak Its election day in Montana after a wild 24 hours, with voters deciding who will fill the House seat vacated when Republican Ryan Zinke left to head the Interior Department under President Trump. The contest Thursday has drawn nationwide attention and an extraordinary amount of money  and that was before the GOP front-runner was accused of attacking a national political reporter. The events have turned the contest into one of the strangest in memory. Read More Facebook

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Trump ignores questions about intelligence sharing ahead of NATO meeting By Michael A. Memoli (Peter Dejoing / Associated Press) President Trump refused to answer questions Thursday about concerns among key allies on intelligence sharing with the United States, just as he prepares to join many of them here to inaugurate the new NATO headquarters. During a brief photo opportunity at his first meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Frances newly elected president, Trump for a second time remained silent as a reporter asked about a potential breakdown in the U.S.-United Kingdom intelligence-sharing relationship. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to press Trump on the issue when they meet later Thursday, after the New York Times posted forensic photographs collected from the scene of the Manchester concert bombing. The acting U.S. ambassador to Britain told the BBC that the leaks were deeply distressing. Speaking to reporters at the site of a NATO leaders meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also deflected questions about whether the incident has led him to reevaluate his nations intelligence-sharing arrangements. We will continue to work with all our allies to keep Canadians and all citizens around the world safe, he said. Ahead of a working lunch with Macron, Trump said terrorism was at the top of the agenda, while also offering his congratulations to the 39-year-old for his tremendous victory. All over the world, theyre talking about it, he said. In addition to terrorism and the economy, Macron said he planned to discuss climate change and energy. His nation hosted the climate summit that produced the agreement under which countries pledged to reduce their carbon emissions, of which the Trump administration is considering dropping out. Trump also ignored a question about whether former national security advisor Michael Flynn should cooperate with the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Trump has no news conference scheduled with reporters for the entirety of his eight-day foreign trip, which ends Saturday. Facebook

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Trump visits European Union headquarters; EU leaders cite some differences By Catherine Stupp Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, said Thursday that differences remain between the Trump administration and the European Union on Russia, energy and trade. I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today that we have a common opinion about Russia, Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who is sometimes called the other Donald, said after a meeting with President Trump at EU headquarters. Tusk added that while some issues remain open, like climate and trade, the leaders agreed first and foremost on the need to combat terrorism. EU officials were skeptical in advance of Trumps visit. Their concerns were driven in part by the U.S. leaders positive stance on Britains vote last year to leave the bloc. Trump at the time called it a great idea. However, he has since spoken of the importance of European unity. European officials are also concerned that the Trump administration might withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit global warming, and turn away from trade arrangements with the EU. Trumps visit to Brussels marked the fourth leg of his first overseas trip. Before heading into the talks with Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, he spoke enthusiastically about his earlier stops in Saudi Arabia and at the Vatican. His ceremonial welcome last week in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Trump told the European officials, was beyond anything anyones seen. The Saudis staged elaborate festivities including a traditional sword dance. And the president called his private encounter with Pope Francis on Wednesday very impressive. The president and the pontiff met privately for half an hour, and Francis presented Trump with gifts including a copy of a papal encyclical on climate change. The pope was terrific, Trump said. After the visit to the EUs sprawling new headquarters, Trump headed to a luncheon with the newly elected French president, Emmanuel Macron. The two men were meeting for the first time. During the French presidential campaign, Trump had praised Macrons far-right opponent Marine Le Pen for her tough positions on immigration and borders, but he had stopped short of endorsing her. Facebook

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Manchester attack makes terrorism the focus of Trumps NATO meeting By Michael A. Memoli (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images) The deadly suicide bombing in Britain and threats of more attacks thrust counter-terrorism to the top of President Trumps agenda for talks with NATO leaders here on Thursday, buttressing his bid to enlist the alliance he had called obsolete to join the fight against Islamic State. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, anticipating the alliance meetings, told reporters flying with the president to Brussels from Rome, where Trump met Pope Francis earlier Wednesday, that Mondays attack in Britain is going to strengthen the resolve in this fight against terrorism. Tillerson stopped short of predicting that NATO would agree to formally join the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, but said it would be a really important step if the alliance did so. The attack, which killed 22 people at a pop concert and was said to be the work of a 22-year-old British man whose family is from Libya, also figured in Trumps brief meeting with the pope at the Vatican. Read More Facebook

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Analysis says 23 million more people would be uninsured by 2026 under GOP healthcare bill By Noam N. Levey (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) An analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds that the Republican healthcare bill that passed the House earlier this month would nearly double the number of Americans without health insurance over the next decade. The report likely will complicate Republican efforts to get the controversial bill through the Senate. Read More Facebook

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By throwing Americas lot in with Sunni Arabs, does Trump miss opportunities with Iran? By Tracy Wilkinson On his first official trip to the Middle East, President Trump has resoundingly thrown Americas lot in with Sunni Arab states and cast Shiite Iran as a global pariah, even as Iranians reelected a president who has offered to work with the West. During his two days in Riyadh, Trumps full-throated support for the autocratic monarchies in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as well as his fierce denunciation of Iran, allowed him to claim an historic new coalition of interests. In the next two days, in Jerusalem, he doubled down and argued that Israel and the Arabs should join forces against Iran and along the way, resolve Israels conflict with Palestinians in a grand bargain that has eluded diplomats for decades. But as he departed for Rome on Tuesday, Trump had little to show beyond lofty rhetoric, symbolic visits and a shower of flattery from kings, potentates and a prime minister. Read More Facebook

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Fed officials appear ready for another interest rate hike and are considering how to reduce assets By Jim Puzzanghera Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen (Michael Dwyer / Associated Press) Most Federal Reserve monetary policymakers indicated they were ready for another small interest rate hike -- perhaps as soon as next month -- if economic data strengthened as expected following a weak winter, according to an account released Wednesday of their most recent meeting. Fed officials also considered a plan to start reducing the $4.5 trillion in Treasury and mortgage securities and other assets the central bank has purchased since 2008 in an attempt to stimulate the economy. The plan, which they said likely would begin later this year, would involve slowly allowing some of the maturing securities to be cashed in instead of reinvesting the money in new securities, the meeting minutes showed. The goal would be to avoid roiling financial markets and causing interest rates to jump. Read More Facebook

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So whats with the president and Melania Trump holding, or not holding, hands? By Tom Kington First Lady Melania Trump does not say much in public, but her actions seemed to speak louder than words  or at least sent tongues wagging  when she appeared to rebuff the presidents proffered hand as the couple descended from their plane in Rome late Tuesday. As President Trump looked to take her hand on the steps of Air Force One, Melania Trump quickly moved it out of reach, raising it to her head to adjust her hair. That made for two such episodes in two days. She had appeared to brush Trumps hand away at the airport in Tel Aviv during the previous stop in the presidents foreign tour. Video of that scene, often accompanied by snarky commentary, quickly went viral. Compare that to Melania Trumps positively hands-on visit on Wednesday to a Rome childrens hospital, Bambino Gesu, following the couples visit with Pope Francis. After praying to a statue of the Madonna at the entrance to the hospital, the Catholic first lady smiled cheerfully and chatted to children, posing for selfies and providing a very happy, maternal presence, according to one onlooker. Great visiting you! Stay strong and positive! Much love, Melania Trump, she wrote in the visitors book. Staff at the hospital said Melania Trump had been buoyed by her meeting with Pope Francis, and further proof came when photos emerged of the Trumps quick visit to the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday. As the president and first lady stood together to admire Michelangelos 16th century fresco, the Last Judgment, they held hands. Facebook

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House Intelligence Committee will subpoena Michael Flynn, Schiff says By Sarah D. Wire The House Intelligence Committee is preparing to issue subpoenas to President Trumps former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, according to the committees ranking Democrat, following the lead of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said the House subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information we need for the committees investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. I think we need to use whatever compulsory [processes] necessary to get the information that he possesses, Schiff said. Earlier this week, Flynns lawyers said he would refuse separate Senate subpoenas for any records about his former business dealings with Russia, citing his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination. The Senate committee then issued separate subpoenas to two of Flynns businesses, which the panel said were not entitled to 5th Amendment protections. A federal grand jury in Virginia also has issued subpoenas regarding Flynns business dealings with Turkey and Russia, and the newly appointed special counsel investigating the Russia matter, Robert Mueller III, is expected to focus on Flynns role as well. Given the criminal investigations, Schiff said the House panel is highly unlikely to grant Flynns earlier request, through his lawyers, for immunity in exchange for his testimony. He said the panel would need more information about what Flynn would say and whether the testimony would be truthful. It also would need to ensure that granting immunity wouldnt affect the special counsels ongoing investigation, he said. Thats not somthinge I think we would entertain until far later, if at all, said Schiff, a former prosecutor. Certainly count me as very skeptical that we would get to that point. Trump forced Flynn to resign as national security advisor in February after news accounts revealed Flynn had misled White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials. Schiff spoke to reporters at a breakfast Wednesday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. Facebook

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Watch live: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies on Trumps budget Follow live coverage from Times education reporter Joy Resmovits: Facebook

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Israel acknowledges pinpoint change needed after Trump intelligence disclosure By Joshua Mitnick After a week of silence, Israel publicly acknowledged for the first time, though in oblique terms, that it was the source of sensitive intelligence that President Trump shared with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week in a White House meeting. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israels army radio on Wednesday that Israeli officials had carried out an internal pinpoint correction after discussing and reviewing the episode. Lieberman did not elaborate, and declined to confirm or deny whether Trumps remarks had endangered an agent of Israel. But he said his government considered the matter resolved. Everything that needed to be clarified with the friends in the U.S. was done, he said. All of the conclusions we had to draw  it was all done. The Israeli defense ministers comments came the day after Trump wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. When word of Trumps disclosure to Lavrov emerged in U.S. news reports last week, the defense minister and other Israeli leaders confined themselves to expressing public confidence in the two countries intelligence cooperation. Israel did not comment more directly, presumably to avoid embarrassing the U.S. president just before his visit. But Trump himself mentioned the controversy anyway, in an awkward on-camera moment during the trip. With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu biting his lip alongside, Trump volunteered to reporters being hustled out of a news appearance: Just so you know, I never mentioned the word or name Israel. Never mentioned it during the conversation. News reports, however, had not said the president mentioned Israel in connection with the intelligence, only that the specificity of his remarks to Lavrov would in all likelihood have allowed the Russians to determine the source. The White House at first denied Trumps disclosure to Lavrov had occurred as reported, but then the president himself tweeted about it, saying he had the right to share information as he deemed fit. Facebook

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Trump calls meeting with Pope Francis an honor By Michael A. Memoli "A very great honor," Trump says to the pope when they began their meeting in the pope's private study pic.twitter.com/NGsbsahAyT  Carol Lee (@carolelee) May 24, 2017 President Trump held a half-hour private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, declaring it a great honor despite their past public dissension. The unconventional Republican and the first Jesuit pontiff made for an unlikely pair in the Vaticans Apostolic Palace, where Catholic leaders have presided or centuries and American presidents have come or decades. Francis was silent as the two sat across one another at the popes wooden desk to begin the audience at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time. Exactly a half-hour later, the ringing of a bell signified the end of the private encounter. For the White House, the Vatican stop caps a tour through key sites of the worlds three major religions, following stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel, designed to promote tolerance and a united approach to terrorism. When you put it all together, youre really showing that this problem of radical extremism is one of the great problems of our time, a senior Trump aide told reporters Tuesday en route from Israel to Rome, briefing anonymously as is common White House practice. By putting everybody together you can really build a coalition and show that its not a Muslim problem, its not a Jewish problem, its not a Catholic problem, its not a Christian problem, it really is a world problem. In an exchange of gifts after their private meeting, Francis offered the president a medal by a Roman artist of an olive, a symbol of peace. We can use peace, Trump responded. Where Trumps and Francis interests may align on peace and combating terrorism, they disagree sharply on issues like immigration and poverty. Like Trump, the Argentine pope has shown a predilection for unscripted comments that have shaken the staid Vatican bureaucracy, as when he criticized candidate Trumps proposed stricter immigration policies including a border wall as not Christian. Trump fired back, calling the popes remarks disgraceful. Any animosity was not apparent Wednesday, as a meeting between Francis and a larger U.S. delegation ended. Thank you. I wont forget what you said, Trump said. Facebook

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Proposed budget would deeply cut State Department and its programs By Tracy Wilkinson (AFP / Getty Images) The State Department leadership voiced support for President Trumps proposed budget, which would impose deep cuts on spending for diplomacy and foreign aid, but critics vowed to fight to restore the funds in Congress. In a statement, the department said the presidents $37.6-billion request for it and for the U.S. Agency for International Development would support a leaner, more efficient government in line with Trumps America first mantra. If approved by Congress, that would represent a reduction of roughly 30% from the current fiscal year. Nongovernmental agencies that receive State Department support to carry out humanitarian and other work around the globe expressed deep alarm. The State Department statement said its new priorities would include efforts to counter terrorism, support Israel, promote border security and battle transnational crime and the spread of infectious diseases. The statement makes no mention of women-empowerment programs or efforts to fight climate change, issues that rose to prominence under the Obama administration. The proposed budget would allow the United States to remain engaged in the United Nations, but officials would seek a more fair distribution of the funding burden, the statement said. And it would eliminate direct funding for quasi- and non-governmental organizations that serve niche missions. The American Jewish World Service, which fights poverty all over the world through 450 local organizations, said much of its work would be jeopardized. At a time when poverty, human rights abuses, famines and conflicts are wreaking havoc globally, said the groups president, Robert Bank, the United States must not abdicate its long bipartisan tradition of providing development assistance and diplomatic support to the most vulnerable people around the world. Mercy Corps, a U.S.-based development and advocacy organization that works in 40 countries, said gutting development programs was short-sighted and absolutely shameful and could put millions of lives at risk. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called the budget cruel and mean-spirited and said it would force the United States to abandon our global role as a champion for freedom, democracy and the rule of law. If President Trump thinks the United States can shrink into a defensive crouch without long-term repercussions, hes sorely mistaken, Engel said. Facebook

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Sessions first proposed budget: A crackdown on immigration and violent crime By Joseph Tanfani Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) In the first budget proposal under President Trump and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department is seeking hundreds of millions in new funding to pay for an immigration crackdown on the border and a surge in resources to fight violent crime. Like the Department of Homeland Security budget, which includes billions for expanded immigration detention, more border agents and technology to catch those crossing the border illegally, the Justice Department budget is a reflection of the new get-tough policies promised by Sessions. The budget asks for another 300 federal prosecutors  230 to focus on violent criminals and gangs, and another 70 to concentrate on filing criminal charges on those crossing the border illegally. The shift in the spending priorities are in line with other policy changes ordered by Sessions, including a renewed focus on seeking stiff mandatory minimum sentences for drugs and other crimes. The $27.7-billion budget seeks 450 new attorneys and support workers for the immigration courts, which are now clogged with a backlog of 560,000 cases. There would also be another $50 million for increased immigration detention, plus 40 new U.S. marshal jobs to help take care of the expected increase in immigrants heading to federal court. With Trumps immigration initiatives tied up in federal court, the budget seeks another 15 lawyers to handle that litigation, plus 12 more to help handle property acquisition needed for Trumps promised Southwestern border wall. Violent-crime enforcement would get another $198 million, with the largest amount, $70 million, going toward setting up more anti-violence and gang task forces. Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein said more resources are needed because of what he called an alarming increase in the rates of murder and other violent crimes. The department is also asking for another $40 million for more drug enforcement to combat the opioid epidemic, which he said is spreading havoc throughout the United States. Sessions new policies should lead to an increase in prison population, so the budget contains funding to fully open a new supermax prison in Thomson, Ill., with room for 1,500 to 2,000 inmates. The department also wants to put more resources behind the FBIs efforts to counter cyber attacks and to figure out ways around encryption technology, along with another 50 agents to counter foreign intelligence and threats from homegrown terrorists. Facebook

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Economists say Trumps budget proposal doesnt add up By Don Lee President Trumps inaugural budget proposal claims to eliminate the nations deficit in 10 years, thanks largely to faster economic growth that it projects will come from the presidents sweeping tax cuts. Never mind the overly optimistic projections on economic growth. Or that Trumps tax overhaul has not happened yet. Even allowing for both, economists say Trumps budget still does not add up. The administration is counting on generating $2.1 trillion in additional revenue over 10 years from better economic growth. But Trumps budget proposal leaves out the cost, or the revenue lost, from the massive tax cuts. In other words, the economic gains that the administration has said it would use to pay for tax reform is apparently also being counted on to pay for deficit reduction. Some people call that double-counting. You cant use the same money twice, said Marc Goldwein, a senior vice president for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that advocates keeping government budgets under control. Lawrence Summers, former Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and top economic advisor to President Obama, called it an elementary but egregious accounting error. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said the proposal did not necessarily mean there was an outright omission or a double-counting. Its possible that the administration is looking for such strong economic growth to drive significantly extra revenue from payroll taxes, he said, or it could be that Trump officials were using different base lines from which they were drawing their results. But on the face of it, he said, the budget and tax-plan numbers dont seem to match. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that Trumps plan to cut corporate and individual taxes would cost the federal government about $5.5 trillion over 10 years, adding more than $6 trillion to the national debt. Details of Trumps tax overhaul, however, are still being developed, and its possible that the administration is assuming a revenue-neutral tax plan  although experts say big tax cuts never pay for themselves. On Tuesday, Mick Mulvaney, Trumps budget chief, did not provide a direct answer or explanation to questions about double-counting. Instead, he told reporters that you have to make assumptions about a budget. He went on to say that one of the assumptions that was not made was to take into account the uncollected taxes every year, which he said amounted to $486 billion last year. And we dont assume an additional penny of that being closed as part of our tax reform, said Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Of the 3% annual economic growth assumption, Mulvaney responded that the Obama administration in its first couple of years had based its budget on growth of 4.5%. In fact, Obamas first budget proposal as president, in May 2009, assumed economic growth of between 4% and 4.6% for the budget years 2011 to 2013. Since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009, the U.S. economy has been growing on average about 2% a year, and the Congressional Budget Office, the Federal Reserve and most private economists see the economy advancing at about 2% annually over the next 10 years. Alice Rivlin, a former Fed vice chair and director of the Office of Management and Budget under Clinton, said its true that the Obama administrations growth assumptions proved too optimistic. But she noted that those projections were not unreasonable for that time and period in the economic cycle. Then, there was greater potential for growth with unemployment high and many more people than today available for work. Today, the economy is nearing its eighth year of expansion, and the jobless rate is 4.4%, at or near full employment. With the aging of baby boomers, labor force growth slowing, and lackluster productivity gains, economists see the current moderate growth persisting for the foreseeable future. This has been a very long period of growth and were at the high end already, Rivlin said. If we are so lucky to have continuous, steady growth, its not likely to be at 3% or 4% or 5%. Facebook

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Who wins and who loses in Trumps budget The White House Office of Management and Budget sent Congress the presidents inaugural budget today, projecting spending and revenues over the next 10 years. The fiscal package, which include a partial skinny budget from March, reflects President Trumps priorities for the nation, but lawmakers are sure to reject many of the deep cuts in domestic and foreign affairs programs. The departments of State, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Education and Housing, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, are the biggest losers. The winners are the Pentagon and Homeland Security programs. Even with the increases in defense spending and large tax cuts, the administration projects that economic growth spurred by tax cuts will erase annual deficits by 2027. Take a look at some of the numbers released today. Read More Facebook

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What that Montana special congressional race will  and wont  tell us about Trump and his political problems By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Rob Quist is a quintessential cowboy who doesnt seem to relish campaigning in Montanas special congressional election. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) On Thursday, the political world will eagerly look to Montana and a closely fought congressional race for the latest test of Democratic strength and Republican resilience in the turbulent age of Trump. The major candidates and outside groups have sunk more than $8 million into the contest, a huge sum in a state where $250,000 pays for a robust week of television advertising. But for all that money and all the outside interest, the election will turn less on national trends than circumstances close to home: on the personalities and histories of the main contestants, their different campaign styles and, perhaps most of all, on who is regarded as the more authentic Montanan. Read More Facebook

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Terrorist attack in England has conservative media focused on safety of allies By Kurtis Lee (Dave Thompson/Getty images ) Its a sight witnessed all too often: an explosion, screams, people sprinting to safety. Late Monday night, this was the scene at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, after a man with possible ties to Islamic State militants set off a suicide bomb, killing 22 people and, once again, setting in motion a global discourse on how to fight terrorism. President Trump, while visiting Bethlehem, said the attack was committed by evil losers in life. Throughout the campaign and early in his presidency, Trump has said defeating the Islamic State is a top priority. (He reiterated that point in a speech Sunday in Saudi Arabia, urging Muslim leaders to plot their own course in combating terrorism.) In recent months, with attacks in Berlin, Paris and London, conservative media have questioned the safety of Europe and warned that the United States could face similar attacks. With the latest attack, some on the right are again homing in on the safety of our allies. Here are some of todays headlines: 2017 has seen a terror attack attempted in Europe every nine days (Breitbart) The attack in Manchester blankets the home page of the right-wing website. Europe has indeed been the location of high-profile attacks this year. In Paris last month, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on the Champs-Elysees in which a man fired an automatic weapon, killing a police officer. And in March, a man plowed his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, near the British Parliament in London, and then fatally stabbed a police officer. In all, four people were killed and dozens injured in what police called a terrorist attack. The Breitbart piece is an analysis of different terrorist attacks attempted and carried out in Europe since January. Attacks and attempted attacks have taken place in Austria, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Germany, on average every nine days, the piece says. Pences message of civility and open debate lost on those who most needed to hear it (Weekly Standard) The debate over free speech on colleges campuses continues. In recent months, conservative speakers have canceled speeches on college campuses in the face of anticipated protests. And others, who have opted to speak, have faced vocal backlash. On Sunday, as Vice President Mike Pence began to address students at the University of Notre Dame commencement, several dozen stood and walked out of the ceremony. In his speech, Pence talked about civility and open debate, and this piece argues that the m
Four-day seminar on Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) has commenced at Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS).

It is organized upon initiative of INPEX with organizational support from BHOS and SOCAR UPSTREAM Management International LLC for final-year Petroleum Engineering students from a number of national universities. SOCAR Vice President for Geology and Geophysics Bahram Huseynov and Head of department of SOCARs Oil and Gas Research and Design Institute, senior geologist Elvin Akhmedov attended the event. First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Azerbaijan Takaaki Usui, representative of the Embassy Toshihiro Katagiri, professor of Waseda University (Japan) Masanori Kurihara, Research associate of the Waseda Unversity Utomo Pratama, INPEX Vice President on Asset Management Akihiko Kurashina and representatives of INPEX company Takuya Muta and Yukito Nomura also participated in the opening of the seminar.

In his introductory speech, Rector of the Baku Higher Oil School Elmar Gasimov welcomed the seminar participants and speakers and spoke about landmark milestones in the development of BHOS including recent opening of the Higher School new campus with participation of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev, first admission to Master degree program and forthcoming first graduation ceremony. The Rector highly praised the Higher Schools cooperation with SOCAR and thanked management of SOCAR UPSTREAM Management LLC for the support in arranging the event. He emphasized that BHOS new campus is equipped with all necessary facilities for conducting such seminars in the future. Elmar Gasimov expressed his gratitude to professor of Waseda University Masanori Kurihara and representatives from INPEX Corporation for accepting the invitation to conduct the seminar on the advanced methods and technologies used in the petroleum industry to optimize oil recovery.

SOCAR Vice President for Geology and Geophysics Bahram Huseynov welcomed the seminar attendants including students of Baku Higher Oil School, Azerbaijan State Oil and Industrial University, Khazar University, BHOS staff members and representatives of SOCAR's Oil and Gas Research and Design Institute. He told about the Higher School achievements in successful implementation of educational strategy and expressed his gratitude to representatives of INPEX, SOCAR UPSTREAM Management International LLC and Waseda University for arranging the seminar.

First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Azerbaijan Takaaki Usui expressed his great pleasure to visit BHOS, one of the national higher educational institutions with the best possible rating. He also noted that the seminar with participation of Japanese experts would strengthen friendly ties between Azerbaijan and Japan.

The lectures and demonstrations at the seminar are to be provided by the Professor of the Waseda University Masanori Kurihara, Research associate of the Waseda Unversity Utomo Pratama, INPEX Vice President on Asset Management Akihiko Kurashina and representatives of INPEX company Takuya Muta and Yukito Nomura.

The first day of the fourth-day seminar covered the following issues: Drainage mechanism, Primary oil recovery, Secondary oil recovery, and Overview of EOR. Second and third days are devoted to individual EOR methods and simulator including thermal methods/Thermal Simulator, (Miscible) gas injection methods/Compositional Simulator, Chemical methods/Chemical Simulator, and Screening of EOR methods. The last day shall be dedicated to Practical Reservoir Simulation Procedure and EOR Simulation Demonstration.

This is a second seminar conducted by Professor of the Waseda University Masanori Kurihara at the Baku Higher Oil School. The first one was arranged in 2015.
A family tree can reveal a lot, especially if it belongs to a microscopic troublemaker with a knack for genetic shape-shifting.

DNA sleuthing can outline the route an emerging pathogen might take once it makes landfall in the Americas and encounters a wholly unprotected population. Its a modern take on old-fashioned public health surveillance strategies that focused on the exhaustive collection and analysis of samples from the field. Now theyve been bolstered by rapid genome sequencing  and the result can be a picture of an epidemic rendered in exquisite detail, and in near-real time.

For those trying to anticipate the shape of the next pandemic of human disease, the resulting road map could be invaluable.

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Three independent research groups demonstrated the promise of such an approach by creating a family tree of the Zika virus, the latest scourge to hit the Americas. Their work was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The family tree reveals that the virus may have made landfall in Brazil sometime in late 2013 or early 2014, probably arriving from a group of Pacific islands then in the grips of an outbreak.

Upon finding ideal conditions in northeastern Brazil  including dense human populations and hordes of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread the virus  Zika circulated widely throughout the country for more than a year before its presence was first detected in mid-2015, one of the studies found. By then, physicians had begun to take note of a sharp rise in births of babies with unusually small heads  the first of 2,366 babies with Zika-related microcephaly eventually born in Brazil by the end of 2016.

But the Zika virus didnt stay put. By late 2014, it had broken out of Brazil and was circulating in the Caribbean, following a well-worn path of human migrants. As 2015 dawned, the same strain was also tearing through the populations of Honduras and Colombia.

Brazils final direct export of Zika was to Puerto Rico, where it began to circulate widely in 2015.

From there, a second study led by researchers from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla suggests that the island nations of the Caribbean became the springboard for Zikas onward travel.

The Caribbean strain jumped northwest, across the Tropic of Cancer, via Zika-infected mosquitoes and people who were traveling aboard cruise ships and planes mainly bound for Miami.

Like tinder that didnt catch immediately, Florida withstood at least four  and perhaps as many as 40  small but unsustained ignitions of the Zika virus in 2015. A few local infections would take place, but the density of mosquitoes or humans was too low for an outbreak to pick up steam.

But these repeated sparks eventually ignited a fire. By the early days of 2016, Zika was spreading in Florida. Public health officials would eventually confirm 256 cases of local infection in 2016, all but 15 of them in Miami-Dade County.

It had taken a year, give or take, for the sustained spread of Zika to be detected in Brazil, Honduras and the Caribbean. But U.S. public health authorities were quick to determine that the virus was spreading in Puerto Rico and Florida: in both places, only a few months separated the start of Zikas circulation and the detection of that event.

The three research groups painstakingly collected mosquitoes and human viral samples from across 11 countries and territories. The teams subjected those samples to genetic analysis  sometimes right on the spot using field versions of genome sequencers described in a study in Nature Protocols.

Altogether, the researchers analyzed the full or partial genomes of 183 Zika samples. One of them was the earliest known Zika sample collected in the Americas.

Like all viruses, as Zika spread from person to person and from country to country, its genetic blueprint changed in small but discernible ways. The RNA in each sample steadily picked up mutations over time as it gained exposure to new people and the viruses they hosted. (In fact, in a study published last week in Nature, researchers identified a much earlier mutation in the South Pacific version of the Zika virus that appears to have contributed to its rapid spread through the Americas.)

The result of the 183 genetic analyses is a sprawling family tree of Zika viruses  all related, but each just a tiny bit different from its predecessors or its progeny.

By carefully recording the dates and locations of the Zika samples collected between 2013 and 2016, the three research teams in effect show when and where Zika virus began circulating in a given country or territory. They looked at mutations in the genetic fine print of the samples and lined them up end to end, allowing them to refine the dates, pedigrees and origins of each.

The family tree allowed them to trace Zikas path as it traveled through the Americas. It provides evidence for the potent effect that international travel, migration and mosquito-control efforts can exert over the spread of a virus.

It also serves as a test bed for tracking the progress of future disease-causing viruses as they encounter dense populations with no resistance to them.

In a comment published alongside the three papers, University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey wrote that the new studies collectively set a new standard for what can be achieved by studying disease outbreaks in tantalizingly close to real time, using rapidly-obtained genome sequences.

But its future, he added, is hardly assured.

Such work is possible mostly through the sustained efforts of a fairly small number of scientists supported by modest grants from a few enlightened funders, Worobey writes. Systematic pathogen surveillance is within our grasp, but is still undervalued and underfunded relative to the magnitude of the threat.

melissa.healy@latimes.com

@LATMelissaHealy

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Its Founders Day at Anaheim Brewery  the annual celebration of Friedrich Conrad, who founded the original Anaheim Brewery in the 1800s  and co-owner Barbara Gerovac is behind the bar, snapping photos on her cell phone of a special-release bockbier and uploading them to the brewerys Instagram.

As the food vendor for the evening sets up outside, a staffer comes running up with an uncooperative keg tap, something needed for an event at which Anaheim Brewery has a booth nearby. Gerovac tries to fix it, but realizes it wont budge, so she sets down her phone and zooms to the back office to grab a replacement.



For the record: A previous version of this post stated that membership in the Pink Boots society is exclusively for women in the craft beer industry. In fact, women in non-independent breweries can be members.

All this running around is just another day in the office for Gerovac, Orange Countys only female brewmaster.

The former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel runs 6-year-old Anaheim Brewery with her husband, Greg, who also is a brewer, but shes among a growing number of women who defy the stereotype that the beer industry is only full of men.

In the military its all about the rank on your collar, not your gender, she says. I was never assumed to be the secretary, which has happened since we started the brewery. Women have a tendency to get talked over. They also get looked over for brewing positions.

Gerovac was still working for a brewpub in Torrance when she attended a small gathering of women in craft beer at the annual Craft Brewers Conference in 2008.

A few female brewers at Stone in San Diego put out the call for a convening of all the women in craft beer at the time and about 60 people showed up, from brewers and grain farmers to attorneys and taproom managers.

The women at that first meeting would become the first members of the Pink Boots Society, the only nonprofit dedicated exclusively to supporting women in the beer industry.

Pink Boots Society, named after one of the founders custom pink brewing boots, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a first-of-its-kind conference and festival June 2 and 3 in San Diego.

I was there for the camaraderie and the social aspect at first, Gerovac says. It was great to be able to talk to other people who have been through some of the same things as you.

But what was once just an annual social gathering (a second meeting is held each year at the Great American Beer Festival) has now morphed into a globally relevant advocacy organization, with about 1,200 dues-paying members in 50 chapters across 10 countries.

Pink Boots earned nonprofit status in 2013 and, with an all-volunteer board, set out to further its narrowed focus of providing educational opportunities so its members can further their careers in beer.

So far, theyve granted more than 50 scholarships to women across the industry, sending them to intensive brewing-science, small-business and ingredient-driven academic programs at colleges everywhere from Oregon and Ohio to Germany.

Its not about reverse sexism or being exclusionary. Its more about the education, says Emily Engdahl, Pink Boots Societys executive director. You can think of it in terms of equalizing. Females start to drop out of the periphery at a certain point and a lot of the women we talk to dont seem to have the same educational pathways that their male counterparts have or do.

Pink Boots offers membership to anyone who makes more than a quarter of their income from beer and gives about 10 scholarships per year to women in all segments of the industry.

San Diego is historically the largest and most active Pink Boots chapter, but L.A. formed its own a few years ago and counts dozens of women on the brewing, sales and retail end as members.

Orange County, however, remains elusive to Pink Boots. Among the 40-plus breweries in the county and the hundreds of craft-focused restaurants, bars and shops, women here probably represent less than what Engdahl believes is the average in most chapters  about half of a craft beer communitys workforce, an increase from about 25% less than a decade ago.

The two-day anniversary conference and festival is not only a celebration of how far women like Gerovac and others have come in solidifying their place in craft beer, but also how far the industry still has to go in breaking down barriers and providing opportunities for even more women to grow and learn in this burgeoning industry.

Why are women not more presenters at conferences? Why arent we seeing a significant amount of female judges in Canada or the smaller markets in U.S.? says Engdahl. Pink Boots is interested in finding out what those barriers are and what we can do to break them down.

Pink Boots Society 10th Anniversary Conference and Festival will take place June 2 and 3 in San Diego. For more information or to buy tickets, visit 10thanniversary.pinkbootssociety.org.

SARAH BENNETT is a freelance journalist covering food, drink, music, culture and more. She is the former food editor at L.A. Weekly and a founding editor of Beer Paper L.A. Follow her on Twitter @thesarahbennett.
Elementary school teachers in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District are recommending Reading Wonders by McGraw Hill as the districts new English language arts instruction program for kindergartners through sixth-graders.

Teachers presented their preference to the board of trustees Tuesday night after a five-month pilot process.

The process was similar to the one used to pick The Math Learning Centers Bridges in Mathematics as the new K-5 math curriculum, though there were a few adjustments, said John Drake, district director of curriculum and instruction.

Principals selected teachers, including special-education teachers, representing all grade levels to test Reading Wonders and Benchmark Education Co.s Benchmark Advance.

The consensus was to use Reading Wonders. The program includes print and digital resources to support building strong literacy foundations, accessing complex texts, engaging in collaborative conversations and writing to sources, according to its website.

Teachers acknowledged no program will do it all but said they believe Reading Wonders is the best choice for Newport-Mesa students.

The recommended materials are on display through June 13 in the district office at 2985 Bear St., Costa Mesa. Trustees are expected to decide at their next meeting that day whether to adopt Reading Wonders for next school year.

Drake said the cost of the materials would be equivalent to that of Bridges in Mathematics, which the board approved Tuesday night to replace Swun Math in kindergarten through fifth grade. Bridges cost is estimated at $1.8 million over six years, Drake said, with $170,000 paid annually for consumable materials.

Drake said the Westminster and Orange Unified school districts also are working with Reading Wonders.

Fourth-grade teacher Guy Erskine from California Elementary School in Costa Mesa said he was skeptical of the English language arts pilot process but was ultimately pleased with the experience. He said both of the piloted programs were excellent in content, visuals and accessibility to students, but that Reading Wonders stood out the most.

Students who miss class can still access assignments because of the programs wealth of resources, including games and the entire textbook available online, Erskine said. Also, he said, the programs online components can be modified depending on a students comprehension level.

I was able to sit with above-level students and read for fluency with them and dig deeper to answer questions, Erskine said.

Carrie Rose, a Resource Specialist Program teacher at California Elementary, had similar praise for the program. She especially liked how directions in the margins guide students through exercises to help encourage independence.

That gave the kids a lot of confidence, Rose said. Students walked away saying, I did it! I can participate. I know these answers.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
Army and Marine Corps veteran Joel Montes can remember the clicking sound his shoes made as he ascended the front stairs of a house to tell the parents inside that their son wasnt coming back from Afghanistan.

Navy veteran Richard Castro recalls tripping over a compatriots severed leg while rushing to tend to the man after he was felled by a landmine in Vietnam.

Army veteran Al Harvard can recite the joke some of his fellow servicemen made him tell through a mouthful of cigarettes while hanging from a rafter: Charles Dickens goes into a bar and orders a martini and the bartender says, Olive or twist?

Seven Southern California military veterans took the stage together Tuesday night to share their memories and experiences in front of a rapt audience of about 150 people during the Voices  Veterans Storytelling Project outside the Heroes Hall veterans museum at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa.

The project was meant to give veterans a creative outlet to talk about their time in the service and how their experiences have shaped them.

Over six weeks, the participants met at Heroes Hall to learn more about one another and develop Tuesdays event.

In many cases, they said, those gatherings were the first time they felt comfortable to share some of their experiences.

Army veteran Bruce Olav Solheim said its liberating and absolutely essential for all of us to tell our own story.

America does not go to war; individual Americans go to war, he said. Our veteran voices need to be heard.

Richard Castro, Donald Pageler, Frank Barry and Bruce Olav Solheim, from left, participate in the Voices  Veterans Storytelling Project on Tuesday outside Heroes Hall at the Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. (Scott Smeltzer / Daily Pilot)

Navy veteran Donald Pageler was aboard the USS Liberty when the ship was attacked by the Israeli military in 1967.

Israel has maintained the attack was an error caused by mistaken identity and has apologized and paid restitution. However, some people, including some Liberty crew members, believe the attack intentionally targeted the American ship.

Pageler said he was sworn to secrecy about the experience for years.

He has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and dangerously high blood pressure. The latter, he said, was greatly relieved when he was finally able to summon the strength to talk about the ordeal.

Recovery is a process, not an event, and that process cant take place if your experiences are hidden, said Pageler, who lives in Westminster. When I denied my lifes experiences, I had no identity. You dont get over your military experience, but you can learn to live with it.

Though some fond memories of military life do stand out, the speakers Tuesday said they still bear physical, emotional and psychological burdens of their service.

War isnt just devastation on the front lines, it destroys us at home too, said Montes, a Huntington Beach resident. Like a virus creeping into our bodies unannounced, it dismantles families, extinguishes hope and handicaps dreams.

Air Force veteran Frank Barry said he was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer in 2011, an affliction he blames on his exposure to Agent Orange, the notorious defoliant used during the Vietnam War.

Its far worse to see children afflicted with maladies we suspect come from our exposure  to think that we are the cause of their hurt and pain, the Huntington Beach resident said. Those invisible wounds of war are now visible.

To Castro, Vietnam evokes memories of gunfire, sweltering heat and the smell of burnt bodies.

My soul carries so many memories of those months, and not one day goes by without thinking about the insanity and the misery of that war, the Anaheim Hills resident said.

Harvard, of Coto de Caza, said he doesnt talk about his combat experiences in Vietnam  he still struggles with the traumatic memories.

Still, he said he valued participating in the storytelling project and hearing the stories of the other servicemen.

I was particularly enchanted by the inflections and the passions that surfaced as the weeks went by, he said.

Because of the continuing struggle with the horrors of war and the challenge of readapting to civilian life, its vital for people to continue supporting veterans after their service has ended, said Army vet Eric Kuyper of Costa Mesa.

Now, the mission of the people of the United States is to help the veterans in whatever individual way each one needs, he said. For some, its as simple as a cup of coffee or a pat on the back. But whatever a veteran needs, find that problem and fill it.

The Voices  Veterans Storytelling Project was presented by Arts Orange County, a nonprofit arts council, in collaboration with Heroes Hall, Anaheim-based Chance Theater and Veterans First, a nonprofit service provider.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney
A Montrose man received five years of probation Wednesday for stalking and burglarizing the home of actress Sandra Bullock.

Joshua James Corbett, 41, pleaded no contest to one felony count each of stalking and first-degree residential burglary. In addition to probation, a 10-year protective order was issued against Corbett.

He was also ordered to seek continued treatment at a mental health facility.

On the morning of June 8, 2014, Corbett jumped a fence to access Bullocks West Los Angeles home and broke into the residence.

The actress, who won an Academy Award for The Blind Side in 2010, was home alone at the time and locked herself in her bedroom after hearing a loud crash outside and seeing a man dressed in dark clothing walking up the stairs, according to the 911 call she made.

Im in my closet, I have a safe door in my bedroom, Bullock told a dispatcher. Ive locked it, and Im locked in the closet right now.

Bullock also told the dispatcher she heard someone repeatedly banging on her bedroom door.

Police arrived within minutes and arrested Corbett. Officers uncovered photos of Bullock in Corbetts pockets, as well as a letter that portrayed himself as her husband.

Corbett allegedly shouted, as he was taken away, Sandy, Im sorry. Please dont press charges, the Los Angeles Times reported.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Anakhanum Hidayatova  Trend:

Romanian University of Pitesti intends to increase the number of students from Azerbaijan, vice rector of the university, Professor Emanuel Soare told Trend at the Romania-Azerbaijan Interuniversity Forum in Baku May 25.

The university is located in southern Romania, not far from Bucharest, he said.

Bachelors and masters are studying at the university, he said, adding that there are also several doctoral programs.

It is financially affordable to get higher education at our university, he said. The main thing is that there is quality education. We hope to have more students from Azerbaijan.

The Romania-Azerbaijan Interuniversity Forum was held in Baku May 24-25. Officials of the Romanian Ministry of Education, rectors and vice rectors of a number of universities arrived in Azerbaijan for the forum.
Could pushing La Canada High Schools start time back 45 minutes help teens get more sleep and feel better about themselves and perform more efficiently in the classroom, while curtailing car accidents, recreational drug use and suicides?

Or is it a Band-Aid solution that would only further complicate after-school commitments and parents work schedules, force student athletes to miss more class time on game nights and fail to prepare students for the rigors and responsibilities of college?

In a special board workshop Monday, La Canada Unified school officials attempted to ascertain the impacts of a possible late start before deciding whether to change LCHS standard start time for the 2017-18 school year from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

We do want to hear everyones input, La Canada Unified School District Governing Board President Dan Jeffries said in opening remarks. We wanted to know what the pros and cons were, because we want to weigh this issue.

What followed was hours of passionate testimony on both sides of the issue from nearly 30 parents, teachers and students.

Board members decided to hold off on a course of action, opting instead to collect stakeholder survey data in advance of another special meeting scheduled for May 30, at which theyre expected to make a decision.

Mondays workshop came as California school districts wait to hear news on the fate of Senate Bill-328, introduced in February by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge), which mandates middle and high schools statewide begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

The bill, which faces a hearing today by the state Senate Appropriations Committee, cites research that claims insufficient sleep exacerbated by too-early start times can lead to poorer academic performance, risky behaviors like smoking and drinking, and feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

Although Portantino hails from La Canada, LCUSD Supt. Wendy Sinnette confirmed Monday SB-328 was not the main impetus for the districts exploring a later bell schedule at the high school.

The district spent three years researching the issue after parent Belinda Dong broached the subject at a 2014 school board meeting. There, she presented officials with research and recommendations from the American Assn. of Pediatricians stating teen brains need from 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night.

This school year La Canada High School began a campus-wide program developed by Stanford University called Challenge Success, which aims to promote actions and policies that increase students social and emotional wellness alongside academic excellence.

At the onset of the program, a survey was issued to students to gauge stress levels and well-being. On Monday, Sinnette shared some survey results, which indicate high-schoolers get an average of 6.5 hours of sleep per night. Among seniors, sleep times drop to 6.18 hours nightly.

Students in grades 9 through 12 reported having less than two hours of free time each weekday. Among those surveyed, 77% reported experiencing exhaustion, while 67% said they had difficulty sleeping and 64% reported suffering stress-related headaches.

To me, thats some of the most compelling data, Sinnette said Monday.

Public commenters had views on both sides of the issue, both as a state mandate and a single-district decision.

Parent Rune Sodonis said later start times would only coddle students, as opposed to teaching them that hard work and doing better than the other guy is what breeds success in life.

Bill Stoner said an 8:30 a.m. start time unfairly prejudiced families with two working parents. Roberta McKean-Cowdin, USC epidemiologist and LCHS parent, said the research conducted so far doesnt account for the many factors required for a mental benefit to occur.

Craig Miller, father of two high school students, said a better solution to insufficient sleep time is parents being more mindful of getting kids to bed at a decent hour.

I really dont think a half-hour or 45 minutes is going to make a difference to the kids, said Miller, adding that kids will likely just stay up later than they do already. The systems not broken  why are we trying to fix it?

A number of teachers and students and parents offered contrary viewpoints, providing anecdotal evidence of all-night study sessions and commitments, sleeping in their cars to save time and rampant tardiness in 6:42 a.m. zero periods.

Alternately, on late-start Tuesdays at La Canada High, which begin at 8:40 a.m. after a teacher collaboration period, both students and teachers reported sleeping better, feeling more alert and joyful and interacting more positively with family members and each other.

Tuesdays are magic, said LCHS English teacher Tracey Calhoun. Tuesdays are when great conversations happen, when some of the best writing assignments get handed in. [A late start] can only pay dividends for the community.

LCHS senior Emin Baghdassarians questioned whether the system was broken, and whether La Canada High School maintaining its superstar academic status was worth the risk incurred by its sleep-deprived students.

You have an entire school of kids that are stressed beyond their minds, he said. Sure we have straight As, but on the weekend we feel illegal substances are the only way we can have some relief in our lives. Who cares about being No. 1 when the students dont feel like No. 1?

After public comments, board members expressed general support for pushing the LCHS start time back to 8:30 a.m., but said they wanted to gather more input on parental and student support by giving an online survey more time. A special meeting was called for May 30.

FYI: The survey for parents is available online at https://goo.gl/ECJ6z4. The May 30 special meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m., in LCUSDs Governing Board room, 4490 Cornishon Ave., La Canada. For more information, call (818) 952-8300.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
For decades, moms-to-be considering delivering their babies at Verdugo Hills Hospital faced a difficult dilemma  since the community hospital had no neonatal intensive care nursery, babies requiring extra care would be dispatched to other hospitals while moms stayed put.

Come September, that dilemma will be no more. On Tuesday, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital doctors, nurses and administrators gathered to break virtual ground on a new 3,100-square-foot, state-of-the-art NICU that will include six individual patient rooms, a lactation area and a new nurses station.

This day has been a long time coming, hospital chief executive Keith Hobbs said at the ceremony. The absence of a NICU as been something of great need for this hospital. Its been a top priority for me to bring this here.

The $2.5-million renovation of what was previously the hospitals eighth-floor critical care unit (reconsolidated to another area) will accommodate multiple newborns, and new NICVIEW Web cameras will let moms and family members see babies in real time during their stay.

Even if a baby stays and the mom goes home, they can watch from home how their baby is doing any time of the day, said pediatrician Happy Khanna, whos worked at the facility for nearly 30 years.

Khanna said shes often called in when deliveries become complicated and has to oversee the transfer of neonatal intensive care cases to nearby hospitals like Glendale Adventist, Pasadenas Huntington Hospital or Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

The addition of the NICU at USC Verdugo Hills will keep babies, mothers and families connected and let them stay in their local community hospital.

Moms just feel so much more comfortable if theyre under the same roof as their babies, Khanna said.

Kenny Pawlek, the hospitals chief operating officer, said some staff members are in the process of getting the training theyll need on the floor, while qualified personnel from inside the USC Keck Medicine system will be brought in as well.

The unit will be able to admit mothers of twins who might deliver before their due date, higher-risk deliveries and women whose pregnancy is 32 weeks along or more.

Its been an idea thats been around for a long time, and with USC acquiring the hospital there are more funds to invest in it and more personnel to staff it, Pawlek said. This really closes a gap for communities in need.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
Be one of the first to set sail on Uniworlds new ship, Joie de Vivre, on a eight-day cruise on the Seine River through Paris and Normandy.

The riverboat will dock in Paris, where it will spend two days. The Joie de Vivre, which launched in March, will also visit Richard the Lionhearts Chateau Gaillard overlooking the Seine in Les Andelys, Monets home in Giverny, the medieval city of Rouen and the famed Normandy beaches, site of the D-Day invasion of World War II.

A choice of excursions, including biking and other recreational activities, are included in the fare.

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Dates: Weekly sailings are available through early November.

Price: $3,549 per person, double occupancy. Includes accommodations, excursions, tips and beverages, including wine and spirits. International airfare not included.

Info: Uniworld, (866) 883-7230

travel@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimestravel

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The new Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout at Disneys California Adventure is more fun, thrilling and humorous than the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride it replaces.

I rode the new Guardians attraction three times during a media preview last week and was surprised how quickly I forgot about the former Twilight Zone version of the ride. The revamped attraction officially opens Saturday to the public. The Guardians overlay replaces the original Tower of Terror attraction, which opened at the Anaheim theme park in 2004.

The reskinned ride adds several new twists. The action starts sooner and lasts longer. Visitors dont know which randomized ride profile they are about to experience. The rapid drops and ascents are interspersed with video scenes filled with the irreverent and chaotic humor associated with the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise.

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 The new Guardians of the Galaxy -- Mission: Breakout! ride will open May 27 at Disney California Adventure Park.

From the outside, the otherworldly Guardians ride building may be the ugliest attraction ever built at any Disney theme park. Industrial power plant piping and smokestacks wrap an imposing fortress structure. The polarizing building is designed to not fit in with its 1930s Hollywood surroundings. It will take some getting used to.

Inside the queue, the old Hollywood Tower Hotel lobby has been transformed into an alien museum, where the Collector character from the first film stores his vast extraterrestrial collection in suspended glass cases. In a clunky video introduction, the Collector (played by Benicio Del Toro) explains that the Guardians of the Galaxy  Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon  are his prized possessions.

1 / 18 Exterior view of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheims California Adventure theme park. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 18 Joe Rohde, veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, gives a preview tour of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride. Rohdes extravagant and worldly style is having a massive impact on Disney theme parks. For the past two-plus decades, Rohde has been helping to shape modern Imagineering, as his designs (Animal Kingdom, Pandora and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout) emphasize realism and abstract storytelling. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 18 An animatronic Rocket Raccoon of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 18 A view of the video screen inside the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 18 Interior view of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 18 Interior view of the Cosmo character inside a case at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 18 Media members take a preview tour of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 18 Interior view of the Ultron Sentry character inside a case at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 18 I am Groot sipper cup on display during a media preview day at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 18 A preview the interior of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 18 The Groot character is announced during a media preview day at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 18 A view of souvenirs for sale in the gift shop at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 18 Members of the media preview the interior of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 18 Members of the media preview the interior of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 18 Joe Rohde, veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, gives a preview tour of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride taken in Anaheim For the past two-plus decades, Rohde has been helping to shape modern Imagineering, as his designs (Animal Kingdom, Pandora and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout) emphasize realism and abstract storytelling. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 18 Details of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 18 A preview of the interior of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 18 Interior view of an 89P13 blaster inside a case at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Moving into the Collectors office, an audio-animatronic Rocket sets up the back story and explains our mission: Help the Guardians escape. The sophisticated animatronic raccoon looks fantastic and performs an impressive sequence of movements.

The basement boiler room queue area remains largely unchanged from the Tower of Terror iteration, except for a few set pieces. The old abominable snowman from the Matterhorn Bobsled roller coaster makes an appearance in a clever nod to Disney history. During my visit, a series of arcing power cables  intended to reinforce the notion of the power-hungry Collectors vast electrical consumption  had not yet been installed in the queue.

If I was somewhat nostalgic for the Tower of Terror attraction when I stepped into the new Guardians queue, it didnt take long once the ride started for me to forget all about the old Twilight Zone theme.

The ride experience remains essentially the same: an indoor drop tower in the dark with quick ascents and descents. Unlike Tower of Terror, where time was spent building up the back story, the action starts immediately on the Guardians ride. Each ride begins with Rocket pulling the plug on the power to the Collectors fortress, triggering a blackout that enables the Guardians escape.

A retro soundtrack inspired by the two Guardians movies kicks off the jailbreak bedlam. The songs, including Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf and Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar, are considerably more upbeat than the 1960s, 70s and 80s soft rock hits of the movie soundtracks.

The ride profiles add an unpredictable twist to the once familiar ride experience. The elevator car briefly pauses four or five times during the ride for humorous prison break video scenes with the Guardians. A few of the scenes are identical for every ride. A couple of them are different, creating an incentive for repeat rides.

For me, the highlight of the new attraction was the seamless mix of practical sets and animatronic figures with the digital screens that have come to dominate most new theme park rides.

While fans of the old Tower of Terror ride will have to travel to Disney parks in Florida, France and Japan to get their fix, Im sure most Disney California Adventure visitors will be thrilled with a new attraction based on a contemporary movie franchise.

A Twilight Zone ride based on a 1960s black-and-white sci-fi television show always seemed like an odd fit for a theme park that paid tribute to California dreamers. The transplanted ride was widely viewed as a quick-fix to boost attendance at the then-struggling park. The immediate needs of the time paid little heed to the problems a towering ride building would create for future Imagineers.

Walt Disney Imagineering has decided to incorporate the drop tower ride into its future plans for the park rather than tear down the relatively young attraction. The refreshed ride is guaranteed to be the centerpiece of a new Marvel-themed land that is already on the drawing board. In time, the shocking Guardians building facade may make more sense once we see how this out-of-place puzzle piece fits into the larger vision for the parks upcoming Superhero Universe.

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The deadly suicide bombing in Britain and threats of more attacks thrust counter-terrorism to the top of President Trumps agenda for talks with NATO leaders here on Thursday, buttressing his bid to enlist the alliance he had called obsolete to join the fight against Islamic State.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, anticipating the alliance meetings, told reporters flying with the president to Brussels from Rome, where Trump met Pope Francis earlier Wednesday, that Mondays attack in England is going to strengthen the resolve in this fight against terrorism.

Tillerson stopped short of predicting that NATO would agree to formally join the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, but said it would be a really important step if the alliance did so.

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The attack, which killed 22 people at a pop concert and was said to be the work of a 22-year-old British man whose family is from Libya, also figured in Trumps brief meeting with the pope at the Vatican.

Although the White House had said the president and the pontiff would discuss human trafficking and religious freedom, they ended up having pretty extensive conversations around extreme terrorist threats and extremism, radicalization of young people, Tillerson said. Thats one of the reasons the meeting went long.

On another issue important to Francis, the Vatican secretary of State separately urged Trump to not abandon the global accord to address climate change that was reached in Paris in 2015. Tillerson, a former chief executive of Exxon Mobil, said he and the president remained noncommittal and told the papal envoy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, that the United States must weigh the cost to its economy and job creation of environmental actions to avert global warming.

The president will decide whether to revoke the Paris accord, as he promised during his campaign, after we get home, Tillerson said.

Trump returned to the subjects of terrorism and the Manchester attack, for which the militant group Islamic State has claimed responsibility, soon after his arrival in Belgium and his introduction to its king and prime minister.

We are fighting very hard, doing very well under our generals, making tremendous progress, Trump said. But when you see something like what happened a few days ago, you realize how important it is to win this fight. And we will win this fight.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization meetings will be Trumps debut before the nearly 70-year-old alliance. Skeptical members are eager to assess whether he has warmed to the organization after his repeated criticisms during his campaign, when he suggested that the United States, under a Trump administration, might not come to the defense of NATO allies.

Tillerson said Trump will press his demand that allied countries spend more on their mutual defense. You can expect the president to be very tough on them, he told reporters.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, at a briefing Wednesday, indicated the organization was poised to formally join the effort against Islamic State. One of the main topics would be stepping up NATOs contribution to the fight against terrorism, he said, adding that the summit will demonstrate NATOs ability to change as the world changes.

NATO has the expertise, partnerships and staying power to make a real difference, Stoltenberg said.

In Brussels, which bears the scars of a series of terrorist attacks last year, Trump will take part in ceremonies inaugurating NATOs new facilities  a role that would have been hard to imagine when he was a candidate. He will unveil a piece of wreckage from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the United States, which prompted NATOs first invocation of its mutual defense agreement.

The president will not be announcing a decision on increasing troops in Afghanistan, as some had speculated he might during this first foreign trip. His national security team continues to review Afghan policy, Tillerson said, and will not make a recommendation to Trump for at least a couple of weeks.

For a president who puts a premium on personal encounters, and sizing up people, his meeting with the pope appeared to have left him impressed. Their one-on-one meeting was fantastic, Trump told reporters, adding, He is something. Later on Twitter he called it the honor of a lifetime.

The two met privately in Francis study at the Apostolic Palace for half an hour, slightly longer than was typical for papal audiences with visiting dignitaries, but shorter than the roughly 50-minute meeting between President Obama and Francis in 2014.

Obama and the Argentine pope had quickly made common cause both in combating climate change and advocating for the poor, and Francis was a key mediator in 2015 in the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba.

For Trump and Francis, however, their meeting was an icebreaker after their public spat during the 2016 presidential campaign, when Francis called Trumps proposed border fence not Christian and Trump dismissed the popes put-down as disgraceful.

Still, in photos of an initial meeting, Francis seemed to scowl while Trump grinned broadly. Observers described the mood as stiff, with Francis stone-faced, until he and the president exchanged gifts.

Trump gave Francis, who is said to appreciate simple gifts, a custom-bound first-edition set of the writings of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a handmade display case. The White House noted that Francis had quoted the civil rights leader during an address to a joint session of Congress in 2015  the first by a pope. Francis gave the president a large medal by a Roman artist featuring an olive branch, a symbol of peace.

We can use peace, the president responded.

Also among Francis gifts was one that seemed to symbolize his hope for Trumps political conversion: a copy of three papal encyclicals including Laudato Si, which advocates a moral case for addressing climate change.

I signed it personally for you, Francis said.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

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The death toll from nearly eight weeks of Venezuelan street protests rose to 56 on Wednesday after three opponents of President Nicolas Maduro were reported killed by gunfire in Barinas state, the birthplace of late President Hugo Chavez.

Violent clashes between demonstrators and police and national guardsmen trying to contain the protests have been reported across the country, with more than 1,000 reported injured and 2,700 arrested, according to the civil society group Penal Forum.

The rising toll and the use of firearms by armed forces in most of the killings provoked claims by Maduro opponents that the government is using excessive force.

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With eight reported deaths since the demonstrations became almost a daily routine, Barinas state and its capital of the same name have become a focal point of ongoing violent clashes.

For Venezuelans, Barinas is fraught with symbolism. Chavez was born there in 1955, and Maduro has portrayed himself as perpetuating the vision of his highly popular socialist predecessor. Protests in Barinas undermine the narrative hes crafted of being the leader capable of carrying out the political philosophy of chavismo.

Chavez remains popular in many parts of the country, but even his reputation is in tatters in some quarters. Five statues of Chavez, portraying him as the father of the revolution, have been reported pulled down and destroyed in recent days in Anzoategui, Lara, Zulia, Tachira and Falcon states. On Tuesday, protesters in the Baruta borough of metropolitan Caracas pulled down a billboard with Chavezs image.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest a series of actions taken by Maduro that, in their view, cripples the countrys democratic institutions. They include his plan to convene a new constitutional assembly this summer that in effect would cancel out the National Assembly elected in 2015 that is composed of two-thirds opposition legislators.

Increasingly unpopular since winning an April 2013 election to replace Chavez, Maduro has used a stacked supreme court to nullify new laws meant to limit his power, critics say. Maduros government also has disqualified several leading opposition leaders from opposing him in the election next year, including Henrique Capriles, the popular governor of Miranda state whom Maduro defeated in 2013s presidential race.

Anti-Maduro protests also target his handling of the countrys worsening economic crisis. Store owners reported that food scarcities have become even more acute in recent days because blockades by protesters of many highways in Venezuela are inhibiting distribution of scare food and household items.

On Wednesday, several structure fires were reported in Barinas, including one that partially destroyed the National Electoral Councils state headquarters as well as a National Guard headquarters building, according to local media.

Reported killed Tuesday in Barinas city were Juan Antonio Sanchez and Frieber Perez Vielma, both 21, and Erick Antonio Molina, 35. All died of gunshot wounds, according to public officials. Two other protester deaths were reported Tuesday in the city of Valera in the western state of Trujillo. The source of the gunfire was unclear Wednesday.

At a news conference Wednesday, public legal advocate Luisa Ortega Diaz noted that a number of people have been hurt by gunshots and by being struck with tear gas canisters aimed at them.

Of the dead, 53 are civilians and three are police or National Guard members, the government said Wednesday. Of the 1,000 injured, 771 are civilians and 229 are members of the armed forces.

Meanwhile, a second judge on the 32-member supreme court said she was against holding a special assembly to rewrite Venezuelas constitution. In a radio interview Tuesday, Judge Marisela Godoy said she was joining Judge Danilo Mojica in publicly opposing the assembly tentatively set for mid-July.

I entreaty Nicolas Maduro to not keep Venezuela in mourning, Godoy said. Earlier, Mojica released a video over social media in which he said the constitutional assembly would put the structure of the state and social peace at risk, given the current political upheaval.

Maduro on Tuesday presented his plan to select members of the new assembly. Half the 540 delegates will be appointed by Maduro-friendly social and political groups aligned with his PSUV party. The other half will be voted on in nationwide elections, a process that ensures Maduros control over how the new constitution will be drafted, Capriles has said.

Luis Emilio Rondon, the only opposition member of the National Electoral Council that will hold the voting, said he questioned the legality of the assembly vote as described Tuesday by council President Tibisay Lucena, noting the public at large wont be asked to approve the final text of the new constitution.

The National Assembly, which has been declared to be in contempt by the supreme court, on Tuesday said it would hold a nationwide referendum in which Venezuelans will be able to vote whether they favor cutting short Maduros term this year.

Special correspondents Mogollon and Kraul reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Bogota, Colombia.

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It's election day in Montana and a special congressional race for its only seat in the House of Representatives is dominating headlines for suprising reasons.

A tight contest between former Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte and Democratic candidate Rob Quist has left a journalist in the hospital and has law enforcement authorities filing assualt charges.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses  Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017

Late Wednesday night, a story broke alledging that GOP candidate Gianforte assaulted Guardian politcal reporter Ben Jacobs just before a campaign event in Bozeman, Montana. A subsequent recording of the event released to the press by Jacobs confirms that some sort of altercation happened after Jacobs pressed Gianforte about the Congressional Budget Office's report on the Republican health care bill that could leave 23 million Americans uninsured in the next decade.

"I'm sick and tired of you guys!" Gianforte is heard yelling. "The last guy did the same damn thing. Get the hell out of here!"

Gianforte's campaign was quick to release a statement claiming that Jacobs "aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions." Several Fox News reporters at the scene describe eyewitness accounts that directly refute the series of events in the Gianforte statement. Being slammed to the floor, Jacobs had his glasses broken and ended up in a hospital.

Why is this local race so important?

It might sound odd to hear a race for one Congressional seat in Montana getting this frantic, but this special election is about sending a message for both parties in the lead up to the 2018 mid-terms.

Both parties have sent luminaries to support their respective candidates, with Donald Trump Jr. posing for photo ops on hunting trips with the candidate.

Populist indepedent Senator Bernie Sanders has also campaigned in support of Rob Quist, the Democratic candidate and part-time singing cowboy.

As of Thursday morning, Gianforte has been cited for Misdemeanor Assault by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office and major Montana newspapers have rescinded their previous nominations of Gianforte. The polls close in Montana at 10 p.m. MST.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Key aspects of the migration policy of Azerbaijan have been discussed on May 24 during a business forum organized by the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club with the participation of Chief of the State Migration Service of Azerbaijan Firudin Nabiyev, says a message from the Caspian European Club.

Speaking at the business forum, Chief of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, II rank state migration service counselor Firudin Nabiyev briefed about the activities and further plans of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to him, the Service successfully implements state supervision over attracting foreigners to paid work in the framework of the allocated quota, which meets the goals set by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for the State Migration Service. The Chief of the State Migration Service reminded that every year the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan approves a labor migration quota three months before the beginning of a next year.

Nabiyev emphasized that in line with the Protocol of Cooperation in the field of nationalization, oil and gas projects with the participation of the State Migration Service, which was signed in 2013, the control over a phased replacement of foreign personnel by local professionals has been enhanced significantly. At the same time, according to him, conditions should be created for a wider and rational use of local personnel in order to meet demands of employers in a workforce.

Today, in the context of creating favorable business and investment conditions along with strengthening of the state support to the private sector and entrepreneurship, the State Migration Service is in favor of strengthening cooperation with entrepreneurs in compliance with the legislative requirements. In this regard, numerous meetings are held with business representatives, and work is in progress to address emerging issues as quickly as possible, he stressed.

According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated February 3, 2016, the Appeal Board of the State Migration Service and the Council Secretariat were established and their composition and regulations were approved in order to ensure objectivity and transparency in the process of considering complaints of individuals and legal entities engaged in entrepreneurial activities, said Nabiyev.

We also receive applications for obtaining temporary residence permits in the Republic of Azerbaijan for the purpose of entrepreneurial activity, to chair a branch office or a company. Unfortunately, we sometimes encounter cases of illegal migration or lack of grounds for such activities in the territory of the country, noted the Chief of the State Migration Service.

During the business forum the member companies of the Caspian European Club discussed the ways to solve problems related to the migration policy of Azerbaijan, and also made proposals for continuing an active dialogue between businesses and the State Migration Service.

Addressing the business forum, First Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club Telman Aliyev thanked Firudin Nabiyev for the constructive dialogue, as well as for attention to the proposals and requests made by the Club member companies during the event.

Aliyev said that Caspian Energy Georgia company will start operating in Georgia from September and organize business forums, CEO lunch events, trainings, workshops, round tables, annual Caspian Energy Forum and a ceremony of presenting national and international prizes in Tbilisi and Batumi. Moreover, according to him, Caspian Energy puts up for sale participation interest in newly established or reestablished foreign offices.

He also recalled that the Club was established in June 2002 with the support of the largest oil and gas companies operating in the Caspian-Black Sea region. According to Aliyev, since the very establishment the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club have promoted attraction of revenues from the oil industry for the development of the non-oil sector. Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club bring together more than 5,000 member companies and organizations working in 50 countries of the world, and conduct active work to support the dialogue between the government institutions and the private sector.

During the business forum, Firudin Nabiyev was awarded the Honorary Membership Certificate of the Caspian European Club. Heads of companies and representatives of a number of diplomatic missions and international organizations attended the business forum.

Caspian Energy, Caspian Energy Forum, Caspian Energy Award, Caspian Energy Club, Caspian European Club, Caspian Business Club, Caspian American Club, Caspian American Forum, CEO, CEO Lunch, Brand Award and many others are the registered trademarks owned by the Caspian Energy International Media Group.
Details added (first version posted on 10:34)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

The Moodys Investors Service international ratings agency has forecasted the Azerbaijani economy to grow 1.8 percent in 2018, Petr Paklin, the agency analyst, said at the Moody's Annual Azerbaijan Summit in Baku May 25.

He noted that Azerbaijans GDP growth is highly dependent on the level of oil prices.

If the oil prices remain at the level of above $50 per barrel, Azerbaijan will abandon its savings policy and increase the government investments, Paklin said.

He said that Azerbaijan still retains a number of positive factors influencing the assessment by Moodys.

First of all, Azerbaijan has big oil and gas reserves, significant volumes of foreign assets, as well as foreign exchange and gold reserves in the countrys State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) and the Central Bank (CBA), he noted.

Besides, Azerbaijan has an acceptable level of debt burden, despite its growth in the last two years, he added.

Paklin also noted that the increase of Azerbaijans debt burden is associated with high costs for supporting the banking sector, in particular, the International Bank of Azerbaijan.

If at the end of 2014, the level of Azerbaijans national debt was 11 percent of GDP, this figure reached 40 percent of GDP by the end of 2016, Paklin said.

He added that such growth of the debt is due to sharp drop of oil prices and the need to support the banking sector.

Although the size of Azerbaijans banking sector is small (slightly more than 50 percent of GDP), the states expenditures to support this sector are very high, the analyst said, adding that according to Moodys estimates, in 2015-2016, Azerbaijan allocated funds equivalent to its national debts level of 18 percent of GDP for the banking sectors support.

At the same time, Azerbaijan can afford such a debt level, he noted.

Azerbaijans foreign exchange reserves are about 100 percent of the countrys GDP, which exceeds the level of the countrys national debt by slightly more than twice, Paklin said, adding that this is a very impressive debt safety cushion that will help overcome stress.
May 24, 2017, 11:55am ET

GMC Yukon Denali gets 10-speed auto, new grille for 2018

The new transmission and active grille shutters promise to improve fuel efficiency.

The GMC Yukon Denali is set to receive a few enhancements for the 2018 model year.

The SUV is the latest vehicle to be equipped with General Motors' new 10-speed Hydra-Matic transmission. Paired with the Yukon's 6.2-liter V8, the new gearbox promises to improve shifting smoothness and quietness.

The 2018 model year is visually distinguished by a new grille design, with a 'multidimensional' pattern inspired by other new GMC models including the Acadia and Terrain.

"It's a more exciting and sophisticated design, while remaining instantly recognizable as part of the GMC Denali family," says GMC exterior design director Matt Noone.

The new grille improves airflow to the radiator, while active shutters close in certain highway conditions to reduce drag and increase efficiency. GM hasn't confirmed if the new transmission and shutters result in higher EPA mpg ratings, however.

On the inside, the SUV can now be purchased with Mastique Ash real wood trim for a more luxurious appearance.

The refreshed Yukon Denali is due to arrive in showrooms this fall.
May 25, 2017, 4:08am ET

Lamborghini considering fourth model line

If launched, the fourth car won\'t arrive until about 2023.

Lamborghini is preparing to introduce the Urus, its first SUV in nearly a quarter of a century. Adding a third model line will double the size of the company, but the Raging Bull might not stop there.

"When this first wave that concludes around 2022-2023, more or less, we will be stable, then it's our vision that we are already thinking of what will be the next step for the world of Lamborghini," said company boss Stefano Domenicali in an interview with Australian website Car Advice.

Lamborghini expects the Urus will bump its annual sales from about 3,500 units in 2016 to roughly 7,000 next year. Adding a fourth model to its portfolio could allow the company to reach the 10,000-car mark, according to Domenicali.

The identity of the fourth model remains a mystery, and executives still have plenty of time to make a decision. The CEO hinted one option is to look towards the past and launch a GT model with a 2+2 seating configuration. However, he's concerned a four-seater coupe would steal sales from the Urus.

He also revealed that the idea of smaller, entry-level model positioned a notch below the Huracan hasn't been completely ruled out. Rival Ferrari is believed to be moving forward with a six-cylinder-powered model that will revive the emblematic Dino nameplate. Lamborghini could also break into the segment, but only if it can expand towards the bottom without diluting its image.
For Eric Rapp, a 15-minute break never ended in 15 minutes.

His boss, Christopher Lewis, said Rapp always stretched it out to 30 minutes or 45 minutes.

Finally the 40-year-old Baltimore man couldn't take it anymore.

He punched Rapp, fracturing his eye socket, on Sept. 28, 2016. They were building the new Amazon fulfillment center in Palmer Township. Lewis was Rapp's supervisor on the construction job.

Lewis pleaded guilty to simple assault for having a mutual fight. He was sentenced Thursday to three months to a year in Northampton County Prison.

Judge Emil Giordano made Lewis eligible for immediate parole.

Lewis told the judge he and Rapp worked on similar Amazon jobs in other states. Rapp wore out his welcome by failing to get back to work after his 15-minute break.

"I kept telling him over and over and over and over and he couldn't do it," Lewis said.

One day another boss noticed Rapp loafing and Lewis warned him again.

Two days later Rapp allegedly told Lewis, "You can't tell me I can't take a 15-minute break. I'll take whatever I want."

They started arguing and Lewis agreed to step outside with him.

"He's the one who got the worst of it," Giordano said.

Lewis was initially charged with aggravated assault due to the seriousness of Rapp's injury. He needed staples in his head to close a wound.

But a third-party witness backed up Lewis' claim that Rapp was the instigator, according to defense attorney Eric Dowdle.

Lewis told Giordano he helped the bloodied Rapp get on his feet after the fight and called Rapp's wife to come get him.

Lewis said he plans to return to Baltimore to get a new job to support his four children.

Lewis was convicted of rape in Maryland but he is appealing that conviction, Dowdle said.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
The vice president of the Easton Area School District teachers union called on the school board to hire 20 teachers to improve safety in the school district.

Vice President Kevin Deely said the school district has cut about 170 teacher jobs in recent years while the number of students in the school district has remained about the same.

"If the district can find a way to bring back 20 of those 170 lost positions for next year I think our schools will be safer, happier and more productive places for our staff and students," he told the school board Tuesday.

Deely was in front of the school board last month complaining about an uptick in children acting out. He said some teachers have been assaulted by out-of-control kids.

Superintendent John Reinhart acknowledged a small group of very young students have been very disruptive and don't seem to respond to either punishment or positive reinforcement.

Since most of them are at Paxinosa Elementary School, he sent an "interventionist team" of full-time educators to the school to help handle those children. He also sent an extra administrator and counselor to the school.

Deely thanked administrators Tuesday for that help but said it's not enough.

He also said hiring more teachers could help boost scores on the Keystone Exams and on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests.

He said teachers agree with administrators that these tests are flawed but they also understand how important they are since teacher evaluations and state funding are tied to their results.

"As long as these tests are required we will work together to make sure our students are able to be more successful," Deely said. "We need more teachers to accomplish this."

School board President Frank Pintabone said he's not convinced the rise in bad student behavior is linked to a shortage of teachers. He said he and administrators will consider Deely's request.

"That's something our administrators will look at and determine what needs to be done," he said. Reinhart didn't return an email seeking comment.

The school board and administrators say a poorly-negotiated teachers contract in 2007 granted unsustainable raises, tuition reimbursement and raises tied to advanced degrees for teachers.

The contract led the district to lay off teachers in order to meet their payroll. Teachers were pressured to reopen the deal and accept wage freezes in order to limit the number of layoffs.

The school board approved a three-year teachers' contract in December 2016 that calls for modest raises.

Now that the more sustainable contract is in place, the district has moved on to address more pressing capital needs. The school board authorized borrowing $120 million on Tuesday to replace two elementary schools and remodel three others.

That comes as the $17 million renovation of Paxinosa Elementary is wrapping up.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Azerbaijani government expects positive changes in the growth rate of the countrys economy in the near future, said Azerbaijans Deputy Finance Minister Azer Bayramov.

He made the remarks during the discussion on execution of the state budget for 2016 at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship.

According to Bayramov, the changes are forecasted against the background of results of the reforms being carried out in the country, as well as improvement of the situation in Azerbaijans neighbors.

The deputy minister noted that the previous year was difficult for the global economy, which faced a number of challenges.

Speaking about the challenges of the previous year, Bayramov noted that the decline in prices for hydrocarbon raw materials caused difficulties for oil-exporting countries. Moreover, the US Federal Reserve System continued the policy of raising the discount rate, which led to a rise in the price of US dollar and additional problems for countries, currencies of which depend on the dollar.

As a response to all these challenges, the head of state approved strategic road maps of Azerbaijans national economy. The work being carried out under these road maps allowed us to neutralize the effect of negative processes of the previous year, added the deputy finance minister.
A 33-year-old man accused of traveling to the Lehigh Valley and raping an 11-year-old girl now faces possible trial in his case.

Sandro Zhinin, of Brooklyn, New York, waived his preliminary hearing on charges of rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor and criminal use of a cellphone.

The charges now head to Lehigh County Court. Zhinin remains in county jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Investigators said Zhinin traveled to the Lehigh Valley three times to sexually assault the girl, whom he met online.

The third time Zhinin drove to the area, March 25, he was met by troopers from the Bethlehem barracks at a playground where he had arranged to meet the girl, authorities said.

The girl told investigators she met someone known as "Sam" on the website Meet Me. They communicated through Skype and Snapchat, and eventually arranged to meet in person, state police said. The girl reportedly told Zhinin she was 11.

On March 4, the two met at the Fourth Street Park in Northampton Borough and Zhinin took the girl to the Red Roof Inn off Airport Road, state police said. The girl told Zhinin she was too young to have sex, and when he asked her if she wanted to have sex, she said no, according to police.

Zhinin then raped the girl, and later drove her back near her home, state police said.

Zhinin picked up the girl again on March 11 at the same park, and took her to the Scottish Inn, also off Airport Road, state police said.

Again, the girl said she did not want to have sex, and that she tried to get off the bed and kicked Zhinin before he raped her twice, according to state police. When the girl looked at her phone, she saw missed calls and texts from her family, who called police and reported her missing, troopers said.

When the girl got home, she told police she was sexually assaulted by a man she only knew as "Sam," prosecutors said. The girl had injuries consistent with what she reported to police.

Zhinin "panicked," according to police, drove the girl close to her house and dropped her off. Troopers found Zhinin's credit card information that he used to rent the room at the Scottish Inn, and later found he used his driver's license and credit card to rent the room at the Red Roof Inn.

The girl identified Zhinin from a photo lineup March 13, troopers said.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Pennsylvania Legislature appears to have resolved the state's REAL ID dilemma, but there's a catch. If state residents want a more secure driver's license that meets federal Homeland Security standards, they'll have to pay a surcharge.

The Senate passed a bill this week to satisfy the federal requirement. Without action, Pennsylvanians were facing the prospect of not being able to board a commercial flight with their current IDs, starting in 2018. The ban also would have affected people entering federal buildings and nuclear power facilities.

Still, this isn't quite done. Senate-approved changes need to be OKed by the House, then sent to Gov. Tom Wolf in time for the June 6 federal deadline.

The controversial part of the bill is the optional provision. Lawmakers agreed the state shouldn't foot the entire cost of the REAL ID upgrade, and that people who want to keep conventional drivers' licenses shouldn't subsidize those who want the federally recognized ID. Right now the cost to renew a driver's license is $30.05 for four years. State officials believe the extra cost for a REAL ID will be about $11.

Another issue that some people may opt for the less expensive ID and later find they can't travel by commercial airlines without a passport or other federally recognized ID.

What do you think? Is this a reasonable plan? Should Pennsylvanians have a choice of IDs -- and pay more for the REAL ID? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to join the conversation in the comments section.
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The wet, cold weather appears to be over and sunshine is finally arriving in Leicester.

So many people will be desperate to enjoy the warm weather over the bank holiday weekend.

And what better way is there to celebrate than with a classic British day out at the beach?

If you want to take make the most of the sunny weekend with a trip to the seaside, here's a look at where the closest beaches are to Leicestershire.

Despite being completely landlocked, none of them are more than a three hours' drive away.

We've also thrown in one alternative choice  if you don't fancy the journey...

Whitby

A charming place, probably most famous for its fish and chips.

Whitby sits slightly further up the east coast than Scarborough and Robin Hood's Bay, but it's worth the extra few miles.

How far? 3 hours

Scarborough

The North Yorkshire town is one of the most popular places in the country to head for a day trip. You've got the North and South Bay, both offering a variety of different attractions.

How far? Just under three hours

Blackpool

Arguably Britain's most famous seaside resort. With the Pleasure Beach, the trams and Tower, Blackpool sits on the Irish Sea.

The town still attracts millions of visitors every year.

How far? Two hours, 40 minutes

Skegness

Just over 40 miles from Lincoln, the resort was made famous after Butlin's opened their first centre there in 1936. Ever since then, Skegness has been a popular location for residents in the East Midlands.

How far? 2 hours.

Hunstanton

Famous for its lavender, the Norfolk resort is a firm favourite with folk from Leicestershire, Hunstanton is perfect for couples and families. The town is one of the few places that offers stunning sunsets on the east coast, due to its location.

How far? 2 hours

Bosworth Water Park

Bosworth Water Trust Leisure Park is just a 30 minute drive from the city and prides itself on "bringing the seaside inland".

If lazing on a beach isn't your thing  or the British weather ruins your sunbathing plans  there are also 50 acres of parkland to explore.

How far? 30 minutes

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A vacant garage in Mountmellick, once a site of vandalism and break-ins, is getting a bright makeover by Tidy Towns volunteers, including colourful murals.

The garage on Emmet street is in a prominent spot for passing traffic, but is vacant since 2011 after it closed.

It was boarded up in 2014 after repeated break-ins and vandalism prompted local calls to make it secure.

Arty volunteers Lynda Kiernan, a Leinster Express journalist, and recent college graduate Courtney Murray, are now painting colourful murals on the boarded up windows.

They were happy to help.

The Tidy Towns committee do brilliant work in our town, they are always out sweeping, weeding and planting to make it pretty. I offered to help as I have experience in mural painting, and I was delighted when they took me up on it, and gave me free rein, said Lynda.

Her Bee Kind mural could help the committee win cash, with 9,000 in prizes in a national tidy towns competition to encourage pollinators like native Irish bees, under threat of extinction.

Meanwhile Courtney has begun a colourful 'sun' mural on another window, with vacant houses belonging to the site, to get 'faux windows'.

Tidy Town chairperson Kitty Creighton welcomed the murals, which the group has complimented with a fresh coat of paint on the garage and petrol pumps.

It has given a great boost to that end of the town, both for the residents who were looking across at the garage, and for the public driving by, she said.

The small group has big plans before Tidy Towns judges visit after June 11.

We are doing projects on approach roads including a wildlife theme and our failte hedge at Derrycloney, a big clean-up and a display on the convent riverbank, amenity areas at Garoon and Debbicot, as well as the bug hotel in the park, Kitty said.

The group is asking all locals to help by keeping the area outside their own premises clean and swept.

If everybody did their bit it would take a lot of work off us. We appreciate any help, and we are delighted to say that Mountmellick scouts have come on board to volunteer, she said, also thanking the CE scheme workers and SEE Ger OMahoney.

Secretary Maura Reddin had a special message for dog owners and illegal dumpers.

Enough is enough. We are vexed at the amount of dog fouling, and people have to stop dumping on all our roads and bogs and riverbanks, we are not putting up with it any more, and we appeal to people that if they see anybody dumping, tell us or report it to Laois County Council, she said.
Fine Gael's Laois county councillors are evenly split on the choice of Leo Varadkar or Simon Coveney for leadership.

Minister Coveney would be expected to do wellin the largely rural constituency but councillors are split with three going for Varadkar.

Fine Gael's highest local election vote-getter, Willie Aird, is leaning toward backing Leo Varadkar in his party's leadership race.

While he has not made up his mind, he believes the Dublin factor is important.

"Traditionally, a Taoiseach based in the captial carries weight as regards swaying a seat, and that is going to be a factor, said the Portlaoise-based politician.

Cllr Aird said he would want to hear the views of both on Portlaoise hospital.

Cllr Mary Sweeney said she decided to back Mr Varadkar months ago.

I have long considered him to be an exciting prospect as a Minister.

He is a very capable, direct person. What he says he does as far as he can within the resources he has available.

He is a good performer and should have a unifying effect on the party. I think it is time for a fresh approach, she said.

Cllr John King is also backing the Dublin candidate.

I think it is important to have a leader in Dublin and I think he would appeal to the younger voter. I think he would be good on Europe and Brexit. He is enthusiastic and modern. Simon would be a good leader on a rural basis but I think nationally Leo would be well capable, he said.

Cllr Tom Mulhall, Cathaorleach of Laois CountyCouncil, is backing Simon Coveney. He praised his work as Minister for Agriculture and now as housing minister.

He would be a quite capable of leading the party and the other man Leo Varadkar would as well, but I would be sticking my neck out and saying I would be supporting him, said the Emo man.

Cllr Mulhall felt Minister Coveney would steady the ship of Goverment.

Cllr John Moran was also opting for the Cork TD.

I think Simon is steadier. He is more careful. Sometimes Leo says things without thinking them out. When you are a Taoiseach or leader of a party you can't say one wrong word, or things can go all over the place,he said.

He (Leo) would have to make sure that when he says something he knows what he is saying. Some things he says might be dead right but you can't say everything that is right. (Donald) Trump is the proof of that. He says what he thinks but you can't always say what you think, he said.

Cllr Dave Goodwin was also going with the Cork man.

He probably has more affinity with the country than the other gentleman. He is more experienced in the farming community and is a former MEP and would do a good job, he said.

Laois TD and Minister for Froreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan is backing Leo Varadkar.

The Laois TD went against Mr Kenny in an unsuccessful heave in 2010.

We're in a new era of politics. I expect Leo Varadkar to take a strong line against the populist left, independents and Sinn Fein who continue to propose simple solutions to complex problems. They play on fears and offer cheque book solutions with no regard for financial responsiblity, told the Leinster Express.

Minister Flanagan has not made the retention of his post on cabinet as a condition of his support.
President Higgins to attend a meeting of the Community Wetlands Forum in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins will be guest of honour at in Abbeyleix today when he will take a walk on Abbeyleix Bog.

President Higgins is in the Laois town for to attend a meeting of the Community Wetlands Forum in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel as part of National Biodiversity Week. He also will also launch the Forum new Strategic Plan 2017  2020.

Laois Offaly Wildlife Trust member Ricky Whelan will outline the plan's contents to the President Higgins with Kate Flood.

Local young people will play a big part in proceedings at the conference. Chairing the proceedings will be two TY students from Heywood College.

During his visit to the bog Erin Lawlor will play a violin piece on the boardwalk titled 'Cotton on the Bog'.

The Community Wetlands Forum (CWF) was established under the umbrella of Irish Rural Link in September 2013. There are currently 8 local community groups who are members of the CWF, with more interested in joining. Members include Abbeyleix Bog (Laois), Wetlands Heritage Ireland (Longford), Cabragh Wetlands (Tipperary), Schohaboy Bog (Cloughjordan, Tipperary), Clara Bog (Offaly), Ounamoun Nature Reserve, Drummin Bog (Carlow), and Girley Bog (Meath). The forum is also attended by representatives from Environmental NGOs, Third Level Education Institutes and State Agencies.

The launch of the Strategic Plan today will showcase some of the work the CWF has done to date and the work done by Abbeyleix and each of the members as well as some local school projects and young scientist projects.

The Community Wetlands Forum (CWF) was established under the umbrella of Irish Rural Link in September 2013. Seamus Boland is CEO of Irish Rural Link.

The CWF has put in a great deal of work and effort to get the forum off the ground and this will be evident at todays event. Each group have shown what community engagement and working together is really about as a network and in their respective Peatland and wetland, he said.

The forum takes place from 3-5pm.
Irish Water and the Health Service Executive insist that there is no contamination of Portlaoise's water supply.

The HSE said there is no evidence of an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in the Portlaoise area. It said it investigates all cases of cryptosporidium infection of which they are notified.

Irish Water said any decision to issue a drinking water restriction is taken on the advice of the HSE who are the body responsible for public health.

Irish Water said water quality sampling has confirmed that the Kilminchy public water supply meets the requirements of the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations and is safe to drink.

A member of the public contacted the Leinster Express this week saying she and other people had been confirmed as having the crypto bug.

The Enviornmental Protection Agency confirmed that Portlaoise's water supply has been on the Remedial Action List since September 2014.

The EPA says there is no UV shield in place to protect against the crypto bacteria entering the drinking supply.

Irish Water has appointed a expert to report on what is needed. It recently said it was upgrading the plant in other ways.

The company said the water being supplied from the Portlaoise public supply is consistently monitored by Irish Water to ensure it continues to meet all the Drinking Water Regulations quality standards. From the results received to date of sampling undertaken on the Portlaoise Public Water Supply Irish Water can confirm that there have been no detections of Cryptosporidium, said a statement.

Irish Water said it has a compliance monitoring programme in place for every public water supply in the country to ensure that drinking water is adequately monitored and complies with legislation.

When any drinking water exceedance occurs, Irish Water notifies the Health Service Executive (HSE) and requests advice relating to matters of public health.

When an exceedance occurs for microbiological or chemical parameters Irish Water will also notify the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). All parameter exceedances are fully investigated to determine the cause and to ensure that appropriate corrective actions are carried out. Results of investigations and corrective actions are shared and reviewed with both the EPA and HSE.

There is a robust and collaborative relationship between all stakeholders. Where the HSE deem an exceedance to be a risk to public health, the customers within the supply area are notified as required, said Irish Water.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

There are no restrictions or problems at the International Bank of Azerbaijan concerning the withdrawal of deposits, said depositrbaijans Deputy Finance Minister Azer Bayramov.

He made the remarks at a meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Committee for Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship.

I believe the banks management has given sufficient explanations in this regard. Now anyone can withdraw their deposits from the bank, but I think there is no reason and need to do that as debt restructuring covers foreign creditors only, Bayramov said.

He reminded that currently, management of the IBA and the Finance Ministry  IBAs main shareholder  are negotiating with these creditors for debt restructuring.

Earlier, the IBA commenced a process of voluntary debt restructuring as part of its rehabilitation.

The International Bank of Azerbaijan has been operating since 1992 and is one of the countrys two state-owned banks.
A Kildare woman has just published her seventh novel, set on a Christmas Caribbean cruise.

Pauline Lawless lived in Kildare for over 30 years, in Newbridge, Clane and the Curragh. She now divides her time between Belgium and Florida.

It was in Florida that she discovered the joys of cruising, which gave her the idea for her latest book, All At Sea, which is a fun story about three very different Irish families who meet up on the water.

Her first novel, 'Because We're Worth It', was set in a slimming club in Co Kildare, something she knew about as she ran Superslim here for over twenty-five years.

The cover of 'All At Sea'

Pauline is a mum of five and a grandmother who when she retired decided to try her hand at writing with great success. She founded Superslim Slimming Clubs, taught aerobics and ran wine courses in the midlands for many years. She then joined an international cosmetic company as Midlands Area Manager.

'All at Sea' is available now in bookshops and from Poolbeg and Amazon. It is also available as an ebook from Amazon.
A 32-year-old man accused of assaulting a female shop assistant in Newbridge and a number of other offences has been remanded in custody at Naas District Court today, May 25.

Glonti Baquar, thought to be of no fixed abode, who, the Court was told, arrived in Ireland two months, was assisted by a Russian translator, when he appeared before Judge Desmond Zaidan.

The State is alleging breaches of the Misuse of Drugs Act, public order and assault on a woman at Donals Shop in Newbridge, thefts at Tesco, in Monasterevin, in Kildare town, and at Youngs Pharmacy in Edward Street, the day before the court sitting, on May 24.

He is also charged with driving without insurance or having no driving licence at Pairc Mhuire, Newbridge.

Garda Seamus Doyle said they were objecting to bail.

Garda Doyle said that when Mr Baquar was charged with the assault charge, he said, ''That stupid bitch is lying, I did not hit her.''

He said a car, in which the accused was travelling with others, was stopped at Pairc Mhuire, Newbridge. It will be alleged that there was 1,000 of stolen property in it.

It will be alleged that the accused fled the scene.

Detective Doyle objected to the accused being granted bail, arguing that he may not turn up for court.

He said it Mr Baquar was thought to be two months in Ireland, originally presenting himself in Belfast, seeking asylum.

He then moved to Dublin. He told Gardai he was a Georgian national but they were not yet satisfied about his nationality.

Defence Solicitor, Stephen Walsh, outlined how the accused is an asylum seeker, who is married with children. He said he had an address at 23 Yellow Meadows House, Clondalkin. Garda Doyle said they did not believe he lived there.

Judge Desmond Zaidan refused bail, and remanded Mr Baquar in custody until June 1.

He said that the Georgian ambassador could be informed of Mr Baquars situation.
When Leixlip woman Mary Kearneys partner suggested converting an old shipping container into a beauty clinic, she was all for it.

After travelling for a few years, herself and her partner Ronan returned home to setup in Kildare.

Mary worked in Dublin for a while, but was looking to rent premises in Maynooth to open her own business.

Then Ronan said, why dont we convert a shipping container?, said Mary.

"It had been Ronan's long time ambition to convert a shipping container into something livable.

He's always taking on projects. He's brought motorbikes and old lawn mowers that have been dead for years back to life. There's nothing he can't do! He gets an idea and just runs with it.

So we had a look on DoneDeal and found an old refrigerated container for sale in Mullingar, and shipped it to our plot in Kilmacredock.

Mary said it took around four to five months to renovate.

Ronan did it all - painted, fitted the kitchen, plastered, hes a plumber by trade, and his friends are all traders. So we had friends and family to help out, added Mary.

We bought everything as local as we could, and our counter-tops are made from tree planks.

Mary adds that people don't even realise it was a container until theyre told, because it has a roof and windows. It just looks like a country cottage.

Her chic container clinic is called Celebrate Skin and opened in early March.

Its only open but business is going really well, says Mary.

The container inside before

The container half-way through the renovation

The finished product

The chic interior inside

The beauty clinic
There is a lot of discussion in Carrick-on-Shannon and the surrounding area about Lidl and the company's plans to sell its current store in Co Roscommon and develop a new store in Co Leitrim.

A fresh application has been lodged for a new store at Attifinlay in the town, on a site where a previous application was refused by An Bord Pleanala.

Just this week, Carrick-on-Shannon Chamber President, Colm McGrath, spoke of his concern at the proposed move to a greenfield site on the County Leitrim side and the impact such a move might have on traffic.

A statement from Lidl to the Leitrim Observer stated, "Lidl welcomes the decision from Roscommon County Council to grant permission to change the current Lidl store at Cortober, Carrick-on-Shannon into a car showroom and gym facility.

"Lidl are seeking to develop a state-of-the-art, modern retail store at a new site at Attifinlay, Carrick-on-Shannon.

"We are working with architects and planners to ensure that our development will contribute positively to the area. Plans have recently been lodged and we are awaiting feedback from the local authority.

"Lidl currently operates 150 stores in the Republic of Ireland and employs over 4,200 people. In a recently commissioned economic report it was found that Lidl buys over 500 million of Irish goods and services annually. In addition to this, 1.4% of Irish food and drink exports was for resale in Lidl stores around Europe."
A man who stole the takings from the Candelabra at St Marys Church in Granard, Co Longford last September was sentenced to six months in jail following a hearing into the matter at last weeks sitting of Longford District Court.



Bernard McDonagh (44), 21 Ard na Cuain, Dromod, Co Leitrim appeared before Judge Seamus Hughes charged with committing theft at St Marys Church, Granard on September 8, 2016.

Outlining the evidence to the court, Inspector Declan Rock said that on the date in question, the defendant entered the church and stole 100 from the Candelabra.



In mitigation, the defendants solicitor, Frank Gearty pointed out to the court that his client accepted what he did was wrong, and was hoping that Judge Hughes would allow him an opportunity to come up with the money he took.

Mr Gearty also said that his client was suffering from depression.

He has had lots of time, Mr Gearty, to have the money here today, fumed Judge Hughes, before indicating that he would not allow the defendant any leniency.

This is a man who will break into anything and take anything he likes, continued the Judge.

You cant expect me to have sympathy for a man who breaks into a church.



Providing direct evidence to the court, the defendant said that he was separated from his wife and the couple had six children.

Those children, the court was told, were currently in care.

Im battling an alcohol problem, added Mr McDonagh.

I wrote to the priest afterwards and apologised to him for breaking into the church and stealing the money.

I am sincerely sorry for doing wrong.



During his deliberations on the matter, Judge Hughes said that he had absolutely no sympathy for Mr McDonagh.

There is an epidemic of crime against churches in this local area, he added.

I must admit that it is very touching when you read in the local papers about a priest entering his church to discover a crime has taken place.

This man should be behind bars to protect society.

You, Mr McDonagh are a freeloader - that is what you are and really the less said now the less mended.

The Judge subsequently handed down a six month prison sentence before bringing matters to a conclusion.
Carrick-on-Shannon Chamber of Commerce are calling for Leitrim and Roscommon County Councils to work together for a more balanced approach to the town.



The bridge which crosses the Shannon and straddles counties Leitrim and Roscommon should be seen as a vital link instead of a divide of the well-known tourist and business town.

With Lidl seeking to move from the Roscommon side to the Leitrim side of the town there is concern about the future plans for the Cortober area of Carrick.



President of Carrick-on-Shannon Chamber of Commerce Colm McGrath told the Leitrim Observer, there is no balanced thinking between both sides of the bridge.

He is calling for both council planning departments and decision makers to look at Carrick-on-Shannon as a whole and to implement a more holistic approach to the town which straddles both counties.

He said the two councils should meet regularly to discuss plans for the town and to work together to enhance Carrick-on-Shannon.



Commenting on the new application for planning permission for supermarket giant Lidl to move from the Roscommon side to the Dublin Road on the Leitrim side, Mr McGrath said, if granted, the Leitrim part of Carrick will become a shopping mecca while the Roscommon side could deteriorate.

He noted there are much fewer businesses across the bridge on the Roscommon side and he feels there needs to be a more businesslike approach to the whole town.



Mr McGrath said some members of the Chamber are for and some are against the Lidl move, but he thinks personally there are other sites Lidl could look to aside from one of the last greenfields in Carrick.



President of Carrick Chamber Colm McGrath said the current green site at MBNA is aesthetically pleasing on approach and this could be ruined by a new two storey business if Lidl is given planning permission.

Mr McGrath said they have been assured if the business gets permission that it will not further impact on traffic in Carrick-on-Shannon.



Traffic delays are another problem both sides of Carrick have in common and Mr McGrath called Carrick-on-Shannon the last bottleneck on the N4.

Mr McGrath said the Chamber are pushing for designs to be created and public consultations over a possible bypass of Carrick-on-Shannon to take place sooner rather than later.

Despite the fact there is not agreement from all businesses and residents that a bypass is the right plan, Mr McGrath said it is agreed that the current traffic delays are not good for the town and there is a need for a plan to deal with the growing traffic.



Carrick-on-Shannon Chamber of Commerce met with eight other chambers and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport this month to discuss upgrading of the N4. Following the meeting the Committee has agreed to recommend to the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross that he include the N4/N5 in a Capital Programme review currently underway.

Mr McGrath said it is understood that the Collooney to Castlebaldwin road will be constructed in January 2018.

He said next on the agenda will be the Mullingar to Rooskey road.

The investment required for the design stage of the next phase of the project from Mullingar to the Leitrim border is in the order of 5 million over the next three years.



That level of investment will see the project ready for CPO and construction once funding becomes available.

The upgrade of the Rooskey to Carrick-on-Shannon route and a possible bypass of Carrick-on-Shannon is in the longer term plan for 2021-25.

Mr McGrath said while members in the Chamber and those resident in Carrick-on-Shannon are not sure if a bypass or a ring road would better serve the town, he said they are all in agreement that the current traffic delays of up to 30 minutes at weekends is not good for the town.



Mr McGrath said getting Carrick-on-Shannon on the Infrastructure Plan would mean construction can take place in the next ten years instead of the next twenty years.
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Paul Keetch, former Liberal Democrat MP for Hereford. We offer our sincerest sympathy to Pauls family and friends.

The Ross Gazette has a report which begins:

Paul Keetch, former Liberal Democrat MP for Hereford died on Wednesday, May 24th in London, aged 56.

Paul was a liberal, a democrat and an internationalist and amongst Liberal Politicians, a rarity in that he had never lost an election.

He was elected to Hereford City Council at the age of 21, making him the then youngest City Councillor in the UK. As a proud Herefordian, born and raised in the city, there was only one place he wanted to represent in Parliament and he became the MP for Hereford at his first attempt in 1997. He defended the seat twice in 2001 and 2005, before standing down prior to the 2010 election.

Paul frequently said that some of his most satisfying achievements were as a constituency MP in Herefordshire. He took pride in the part he played in getting flood defences for Hereford and Ross-on-Wye, securing the future of the County Hospital in Hereford and campaigning for more beds and staff whilst securing funding for the A&E and maternity departments locally; he secured an Education Action Zone working with business and the community to provide funding and facilities to improve schools, as well as supporting bids for funding new school buildings and projects throughout the constituency.
Those nice people at Your Liberal Britain have already changed the way we do things as a party. Their initiatives to help us create our vision of what a Liberal Britain could look like have been incorporated into the policy making process.

Now they are turning their hands to a new challenge for the General Election.

When you share something on social media, and its been liked by loads of people, have you had a look and seen whether its actually been liked or shared by someone who isnt already a Liberal Democrat?

Social media can be a bit of an echo chamber. Thats why Your Liberal Britain has decided to tackle that to widen the reach of Lib Dem messages.

YLBs founder Jim Williams told me:

The thinking behind the initiative is that thousands of Lib Dem supporters work hard every day to make the case for the Liberal Democrats online  but all too many struggle to break out of their echo chambers. And they often lack access to the partys messages, not knowing which topic to best tackle at any one time. The Online Champions community empowers these activists to break out of their echo chambers and speak directly to voters, not just to their friends. We train our 200+ volunteers to win votes and swat aside trolls, using all the latest messages and resources from the party. And we connect these activists together, to form a tight-knit community that supports one another online.

The good thing about this is that you can do it at those times of day when it would be rude to deliver leaflets.

Online champions really seem to enjoy their work.

If you think it sounds interesting, you can sign up to become a volunteer here.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Russias Leningrad region is ready to render logistics support for promoting Azerbaijani goods in the big Russian and European markets, Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad region's governor, said.

Drozdenko made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijan's Consul General in St. Petersburg Sultan Gasimov, said a message posted on the website of the Leningrad regions government May 25.

Drozdenko added that the Leningrad region is ready to greatly expand ties in trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural areas with Azerbaijan.

As part of the meeting, Drozdenko and Gasimov discussed the preparation of an agreement on cooperation between the governments of the Leningrad region and Azerbaijan.

Drozdenko stressed the active participation of the representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in social projects and cultural events of the region.

"We see great potential for expanding economic cooperation," Drozdenko said.

In his turn, Gasimov said that the most important tasks are to preserve and develop ties in the humanitarian and cultural areas, support friendly and good-neighborly relations in the spirit of strategic partnership.

Gasimov stressed the importance of the Russia-Azerbaijan intergovernmental commission and invited the delegation of the Leningrad region to visit Azerbaijan this year.
THE HEALTH Service Executive has been notified of critical patient safety issues at the new state-of-the-art emergency department at University Hospital Limerick, following an urgent meeting among nursing staff this week.

Next Monday, UHL will officially open the doors to its new emergency department, following a lengthy recruitment campaign and an unsuccessful bid to secure additional funding for the facility.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) wrote to HSE management after a meeting with members on Tuesday evening, where they discussed a number of their main concerns.

Furthermore, the plans seek to embed, forever, the unacceptable concept of admitted patients on trolleys, the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group said that there was an unprecedented level of engagement with the union, and that it was regrettable that the INMO has not raised its concerns with hospital management before raising them with the media.

INMO industrial relations officer, Mary Fogarty, told the Limerick Leader, ahead of the union meeting on Tuesday, that one of the main issues is the skill mix among newly-qualified nurses and recruits from abroad.

The new nurses, who have come in, are concerned themselves. The nurses from overseas - I met some of them last night - and they are saying: Look, I am not ready yet to work.

They are finding their feet. They would have a different style of nursing to here. So, they have raised it with the INMO their concerns. And some of the newer, qualified Irish nurses that are working there, and some of the senior nurses, have all raised concerns, Ms Fogarty added.

The UL Hospitals spokesperson said that there was a three-week induction for all new staff, and that some nurses from overseas already have experience of working in English-speaking countries.

In relation to skillmix, it should be noted that two in three of the nursing staff in ED are classified as either proficient or expert, meaning they have many years of nursing experience, clinical expertise and training/education, he added.

INMO has stated that the newly-qualified staff, who have recently arrived in Ireland, are still adapting to the new clinical environment, and that there is a lack of staff with an ED specialist qualification in the new unit.

This requires management to fast track clinical skills facilitators for the new Emergency Department so as to ensure all nurses are supported as they increase their competence and experience in this hugely challenging clinical environment, a spokesperson said.

In a statement this week, it added that the HSE has undertaken one dry run of the new facility, which took place on May 17. A significant number of serious unsafe processes were identified, but no feedback on this had been received by nurses, the spokesperson said.

The hospital spokesperson said that the balance of feedback in relation to the dry run as a whole was very positive.

Ms Fogarty told this newspaper that nurses and patients had endured a horrendous, overcrowded environment for almost 10 years.

Everybody wants it to open, but the concern is that, if it opens as it is, it is going to be trial-and-error. And they are concerned about that. I had a large group of very senior, very junior and new nurses, last night, all saying the same thing. They are actually all concerned.

According to Labour TD Alan Kelly, the hospital is still short 2.7m for the new facility. The UL Hospitals Group had previously told the Leader that it needed this additional funding to operate the emergency department.

Deputy Jan OSullivan said that, following a meeting with the UL Hospitals Group in March, CEO Colette Cowan indicated that the new ED will open, with or without the extra 2.7m.

Fianna Fail TD Niall Collins said: In the scheme of things, 2.7m isnt a lot of money for the Government to find for such a critical service to the area.
FURTHER damaging revelations against the University of Limerick will be broadcast this Thursday night in a special RTE Investigates documentary.

Following months of probing financial accounts in a number of third level institutions, the RTE Investigations Unit has discovered several payments by UL which will be subject to further scrutiny at the Public Accounts Committee.

Members of the PAC  who have seen the broadcast in advance  said they have been shocked by the revelations, after questioning former UL president Don Barry and ULs director of finance John Field at a hearing in March.

The PAC is now taking legal advice on representations made to them, and will be calling representatives of UL to a further hearing.

Members of the PAC said that they are also disturbed by the fact that UL issued legal proceedings against the Limerick Leader newspaper and its former editor Alan English, following its original report in September 2015 which focused on the suspension of two whistleblowers in ULs finance department.

The women were offered nearly 60,000 each in confidential severance packages, which they refused to accept. They remain suspended on full pay.

The programme reveals that ULs director of finance, John Field, has a small shareholding in his brothers company, Maverick Communications International Ltd, which in the past seven yeas competed for tenders and sold more than 200,000 worth of business to UL.

In an email to a UL staff member, Mavericks owner did disclose his connection during the procurement process.

However, Mr Field himself did not declare his interest, even though it was he who was bound to do so under various different laws and codes that govern this type of conflict.

The tenders were approved by Mr Fields department, but UL said he was not directly involved in the contract and members are not obliged to declare a interest that would not materially influence them.

The programme will also focus on Tadhg Kearneys Jewellers on Thomas Street in Limerick city.

Mr Kearney is himself a long-time member of ULs Governing Authority, its highest decision making body.

In 2012 the board decided to bring in a new long-service awards policy, but no tender was advertised.

Tommy Foy, the director of human resources at UL, contacted three shops to get quotes for 300 engraved Cross pens and 130 engraved Bulova watches.

The lowest price quoted was 69,800.

And a couple of months later Mr Foy went back to the same shop, on behalf of UL, to buy customised silver medallions for retirees to the value of 42,000, in total spending more than 110,000 in Tadgh Kearney Jewellers.

Mr Kearney had not made any declaration of interest.

He said he was he was not at the Governing Authority meeting that decided on the new awards policy  and when he asked UL afterwards he was told he did not need to declare.

In a statement he said: I was advised that no such obligation existed, as I had taken no hand, act or part in any decision of the University in respect of this contract and, as a result, could not possibly have been materially influenced in the performance of my functions.

UL said given time constraints of a one-off purchase, procurement was limited.

The programme also reveals that UL paid almost $100,000 for the online doctorates of two senior managers of its human resources department from a private college in Amercia.

The two recipients were Tommy Foy, director of HR and Pat Rockett.

UL also paid for their flights and hotels to attended a hooding ceremony in Florida.

In Mr Foys case documents were also uncovered approving UL spend on his tuition fees  the documents were approved by himself.

In recent weeks, the new president of UL, Dr Des Fitzgerald, reversed the institutions position in calling for a new independent review into a series of allegations regarding finances, governance, HR issues, and the payment of severance packages to employees  many without authorisation from the Department of Education & Skills.

The shift in ULs position came just days after the RTE Investigations Unit sent its Governing Authority detailed correspondence setting out what they had uncovered.

- RTE Investigates - Universities Unchallenged, Thursday, May 25 at 9.35pm, RTE One and RTE News Now

- More to follow throughout the day and in Mondays Limerick Leader
THE OLD Testament tells how Moses parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross and in 2017 men are walking across the Shannon.

The photograph, above, taken by Sharon Slater isnt something you see every day.

It was very interesting to see them do it. One guy led and the others followed. Using the two sticks and I presume good shoes, they found their footing easily, said Sharon.

The combination of low tide and sparse rainfall in recent weeks combined to turn the mighty Shannon into a puny little stream in parts.

A spokesperson for Ardnacrusha Power Station said over the last 30 days there were periods when just 11 cubic metres per second (cumecs) of water was arriving at Parteen Weir.

To put this in context, during the flooding in the winter of 2015/2016 870 cumecs was thundering down.

The below normal rainfall during the past winter and spring has resulted in reduced power production at Ardnacrusha. However, when inflows into Lough Derg are low, ESB cuts back on power production to appropriately manage Lough Derg levels, the spokesperson said.

This ensures that, should there be a prolonged drought, there is always sufficient water available in the lake to ensure a fresh water supply of 10 cumecs into the river Shannon at Parteen Weir to cater for fishery, ecological and environmental requirements, they added.

Since October, only March has exceeded the long term monthly rainfall average at Shannon Airport.

The dry weather is great for most but farmers in some parts of County Limerick have had to bring fodder to cattle on outside lands due to negligible grass growth. When is the last time you cut your lawn?

Firefighters have also felt the heat as they battled gorse fires in east and south Limerick.

Amy ORegan, Limerick Racecourse sales and marketing executive, said that the whole country is enjoying the fine summer spell and here we are waiting for the rain!.

To ensure safe ground for their successful family fun race day on Sunday, May 21, staff were watering the track up to 9pm most evenings prior to it.

A spokesperson for Irish Water said: Overall the current supply situation in Limerick is sustainable but Irish Water and the local authority are continuing to monitor and manage the situation on a daily basis.

Temperatures are soaring this Thursday but Friday will see outbreaks of showery rain continuing into Saturday. However, expected rainfall hasn't materialised in recent weeks and many will be looking anxiously at the heavens, just like Moses.
THE LAST words of a Romanian man who was stabbed to death on the streets of Limerick city this Wednesday were 'I'm dead', sources close to the family have said.

The man, who was aged in his mid-50s, died following the violent incident after 1.20pm at Roches Row, which links Thomas Street and Roches Street.

They are a very peaceful family. I have known them for years. The deceased was a most inoffensive person and was not in any way troublesome. I only spoke to him 24 hours before, James Walsh, a friend of the family, told the Limerick Leader.

A man in his 50s who was arrested at the scene of the incident is continuing to be questioned at Roxboro Road garda station.

Chief Superintendent David Sheahan, head of the Limerick garda division, said that the period of detention for the suspect was extended at approximately 3pm this Thursday for another 12 hours under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act (1984).

Chief Supt told the Limerick Leader that their investigations are continuing and they are endeavouring to establish a motive for the attack.

"CCTV footage has been harvested from a number of locations going to and from and scene, and gardai are carrying out door-to-door enquiries at present. We would appeal for anyone in the area to come forward and make themselves available to gardai and assist with the investigation. We will be interviewing all witnesses until we are satisfied that we have the full picture of what happened," said Supt Sheahan.

A number of members of the deceased's family have already been interviewed.

It is understood that the attack occurred inside the deceased's home and spilled out onto the street. The scene remained sealed off this Thursday afternoon.

A number of individuals came to the man's aid, including his own relatives, before gardai and paramedics arrived.

Those close the family said: The deceased's relatives saw him being stabbed many times with a large knife. His last words were 'I'm dead'. His nephew intervened and tackled the attacker to the ground, who then tried to stab him. The attacker then told him 'I'm going to kill you as well'.

Two passers-by came to their assistance, and tackled the suspect to the ground until gardai arrived.

The deceased is believed to be a single man with no children.

His relatives moved from Romania to Limerick some five years ago and he later joined them.

Leonie Kerins, director of Doras Luimni, a charitable group which supports all migrants in the Mid-West, said that the deceased and his family are known to them.

"We wish to send our condolences to his family and the wider Romanian community in Limerick, and we will be available to offer them assistance in any way we can," said Ms Kerins.

Gardai have recovered a weapon which they believe was used during the fatal assault .

A post mortem examination will be conducted by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis this Thursday afternoon.

Any witnesses are asked to contact Henry Street garda station at 061-212400.
A DOCTOR at the University of Limerick received a 209,600 settlement to leave his post after 15 years, following allegations that he bullied another employee, which he continues to reject.

Dr Niall Cahill, who was medical director of the Student Health Centre at UL from 2000 to 2015, has confirmed that he received a package of 185,000, plus his legal costs of 24,600, and a letter of reference from the university in August 2015.

Dr Cahill claims that he had been raising concerns around governance and employment matters in UL since 2010, when a number of complaints were made against him by one employee, and a package to leave the university was foisted upon him.

The settlement agreement  which included a confidentiality clause  was made without any admission of liability on the part of the university.

It outlined that Dr Cahill  who has since made a Protected Disclosure to the Higher Education Authority  waive all claims in respect of alleged occupational stress, bullying or harassment.

Former UL president, Professor Don Barry, confirmed the payment of this sum to an external provider, whom he stated was accused of bullying, at the hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) into ULs finances this March.

The payment was disclosed in ULs consolidated financial accounts for the year ending September 2015.

The payment to Dr Cahill, among four six-figure severance payments to former UL employees currently in the public domain, brings the total paid to 811,437.

This does not include an offer of 117,558 between two suspended whistleblowers in ULs finance department, which both women refused to accept.

Dr Cahill, who was not named by Prof Barry at the PAC, has now decided to highlight his case as he believes that he is clearly identifiable through statements made at the PAC, and in further correspondence made public from the HEA to the PAC.

I am guilty of nothing and I would state that in any court in the land. If my case was heard in the High Court or in any court, those findings by UL against me would not stand up to scrutiny. They were simply outrageous, Dr Cahill, a practicing GP in the city, told the Limerick Leader.

Dr Cahill has now contacted new UL president Dr Des Fitzgerald seeking a meeting to further elaborate upon the dreadful and dehumanising experience that I was subjected to in the University of Limerick.

There is a widespread culture of violation of proper procedure, protocol and process by senior management at the University of Limerick which must be challenged in the public interest and in the interest of all of those injured by the University of Limerick whilst earnestly carrying out their duties to the best of their abilities, he claimed in correspondence sent to Dr Fitzgerald.

He further claimed that within UL there is a cabal responsible for so much personal injury, harassment and intimidation.

Dr Cahill said he believes that a number of whistleblowers in UL will, in time, deserve an apology, restitution and an opportunity to clear their good names pending the findings of the new review.

The review  the second commissioned by the State into UL - has been sought by the new president of UL, Dr Des Fitzgerald, in an effort to protect the universitys reputation nationally and internationally.

Up to his appointment on May 2, UL had refused to comply with a new review, or with a State visitor being appointed, to examine allegations regarding governance, HR matters, and severance payments not sanctioned by the Department of Education.

In response to Dr Cahill, Dr Fitzgerald said he was deeply concerned for those who drew attention to these matters and for those who feel they have been mistreated.

Dr Fitzgerald also stressed that he has not been involved in drawing up the terms of the new review as it is important that this be entirely at hands length given the concerns of those involved.

Dr Cahill will be co-operating with the review, which he hopes will be a full, open transparent inquiry, where the evidence is subject to public scrutiny.

I would absolutely encourage others who have suffered bullying or intimidation in UL to come forward. They have a duty to do so.

I wouldnt request an apology until UL are found wanting, but it is completely wrong if theres any aura or label or suggestion of misconduct attached to me.

I acted morally and ethically in my duties, said the Dublin native, who has been registered with the Irish Medical Council since 1986.

The settlement  which has been seen by the Limerick Leader  also included the wording of an email to be addressed to the campus community following his departure, thanking him for his considerable contribution to the growth and development of the Student Health Centre.

It stated he was stepping down from his role to focus on other areas of his professional medical practice.

He said said that not once in his 30 years of clinical practice had a single complaint been made against me by a patient, relative, guardian or any employer in all of my years as a practicing doctor - until 2013.

At that point he said a series of complaints were made against him by another employee. The university appointed a consultant to carry out the investigation and a barrister was appointed to oversee an appeal of those findings.

However, Dr Cahill has claimed that he was not afforded any opportunity to meet with the second investigator, who upheld the original findings.

This was an absolute travesty of all fair procedure and natural and constitutional justice, said Dr Cahill.

He subsequently made a formal series of complaints against another employee in a different department - albeit related to his case - under the university's Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Policy.

Another investigator was appointed, who found that Dr Cahill's complaints were vexatious. It was during this period, he said, that Arthur Cox solicitors, on behalf of UL, contacted his legal team requesting that he return to face a disciplinary hearing.

He said the agreement was foisted upon him, while he was out on leave for emergency surgery and during a highly vulnerable time in my life and with no regard to any duty of care that they would properly have to me.

At the PAC, Prof Barry confirmed that the payment of this sum was made in connection with a claim of bullying against the external provider, which was upheld by an investigation leading to a disciplinary process.

In the middle of the disciplinary process the external provider's solicitor wrote to our solicitor seeking a negotiated settlement and the number mentioned there is the outcome of those negotiations, said Prof Barry.

Dr Cahill said that his legal team was contacted by ULs representatives regarding a settlement.

The settlement outlines that Dr Cahill and UL had been in dispute for a number of years concerning his employment status, with Dr Cahill advising the university of his intention to institute legal proceedings in this regard.

Separately, UL had commenced internal proceedings against Dr Cahill in relation to the complaint by one employee.

Dr Cahill again advised he would be issuing legal proceedings against UL if it terminated his employment following these complaints.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Azerbaijans Trade House will be opened in Minsk, Belarus, on May 26, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy said May 25.

For this purpose, a mission headed by Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev is leaving for Belarus.

The Azerbaijani delegation will hold several meetings during the visit.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Belarus amounted to $124.5 million in January-March 2017, $48.2 million of which accounted for exports to Belarus.

Azerbaijan exports nuts, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, vegetable fats, sugar and other products to Belarus.
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The Royal Canadian Air Force is sending one of its CF-18 Hornet fighter jets to the Scampton Airshow, renewing the air arm's long relationship with Lincolnshire, which dates back to the Second World War.

The distinctive twin-engine fighter, a version of the F/A-18 Hornet produced by McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, is the backbone of the RCAF, and will be one of the stars of the extensive static display in the air show at RAF Scampton on September 9 and 10.

Thousands of Canadian airmen were based in Lincolnshire during the war, serving within the RAF's Bomber Command, Coastal Command and Fighter Command.

(Image: RCAF)

One bomber unit, 420 Squadron, was formed at RAF Waddington near Lincoln in December 1941 and flew more than 530 sorties in eight months, before transferring to Yorkshire where the bulk of the RCAF bomber squadrons were based.

Three land-based Canadian Coastal Command squadrons were located in Lincolnshire at RAF North Coates and RAF Strubby, and many of the RCAF's Fighter Command units were based in the area for periods of the war.

One of them, 401 Squadron, which flew Spitfires, is still operating today flying the CF-18.

(Image: RCAF)

Airshow director Paul Sall said: "The history between Lincolnshire and the Royal Canadian Air Force is undeniably strong, with many Canadian Air Force personnel based in the county through the Second World War.

"The connection with RAF Scampton is particularly of note, with 30 members of the legendary 617 'Dambusters' Squadron being Royal Canadian Air Force.

"To confirm the Royal Canadian Air Force will be sending a CF-18 Hornet to be part of the inaugural Scampton Airshow is just magnificent and reinforces the long-standing relationship with Lincolnshire.

"We're yet to receive confirmation which unit will be sending the CF-18 but we're all keeping our fingers' crossed, that given its links with the county, it will come from 401 Squadron."

Scampton Airshow tickets can only be purchased in advance at www.scamptonairshow.com.

Tickets are priced at 39, with all under-16s able to enjoy the airshow free when accompanied by an adult ticket-holder.
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Lincolnshire farmers could be at risk of losing more than 128 million after Brexit, environmentalists claim.

Funding given to farms across the county to help protect nature and wildlife could be lost after Brexit unless the next government acts, according to findings.

Friends of the Earth environmental charity has crunched the numbers for constituencies across Lincolnshire to find out how much money is going to farms in the constituency under Environmental Stewardship funding agreements.

They say the money is "vital" for both farmers and the local environment in the county and it goes towards activities such as restoring hedgerows, planting trees, reducing flooding and creating wildlife habitats.

The money is paid to farmers as part of the European-wide Common Agricultural Policy but this money will come to an end after 2020 due to Brexit unless the government agrees on a replacement scheme.

Take a look at the breakdown of constituencies in Lincolnshire:

Louth and Horncastle could lose  33.4 million

Gainsborough could lose  32.0 million

Grantham and Stamford could lose  26.5 million

Sleaford and North Hykeham could lose  19.8 million

Boston and Skegness could lose  9.3 million

South Holland and The Deepings could lose  5.7 million

Lincoln could lose  1.6 million

Friends of the Earth is asking all parliamentary candidates standing in constituencies across Lincolnshire to commit to maintain and increase support for farmers to protect the environment after Brexit.

Friends of the Earth food and farming campaigner Clare Oxborrow said: "This funding is vital for nature and for local farmers.

"It helps to reduce flooding, create wildlife habitats, plant trees and restore hedgerows - but all of this could be lost after the general election.

"We're asking all parliamentary candidates to commit to keeping and increasing this critical funding post-Brexit."

Lincolnshire Farming Conference held at the showground recently highlighted some of the issues farmers in the county are facing.

Farmers were advised to consider diversification as they strive to build financial resilience into their businesses.

The Government has pledged to replace the CAP funding system.

Father and son Gainsborough farmers, Andrew and Simon Casswell, farm arable land and sheep.

Andrew Casswell has farmed for his whole life and will soon be passing the reins down to his son Simon.

Andrew previously told Lincolnshire Live: "I am still positive. If I wasn't, then I would be packing up now.

"Farming is always up and down. Many of us would be nearly bankrupt without the help of the Government."

His son Simon said: "We need help from the Government. That's our main priority. I don't know if we can get that help from them. Things change."

Roger Douglas has farmed in arable on the Wolds for about 50 years, having taken over the business from his father. He is concerned about the future.

He says he is "not positive" and is worried about the future.
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Lincoln's Muslim community have organised a tribute tomorrow at the Grandstand for those who died in Manchester's terror attack on Monday.

Members of the Muslim community have invited people to meet with them at the Grandstand in Lincoln as their prayers conclude on Friday at 1.20pm, to pay respects.

It comes after 22 people were killed and 120 injured after the explosion in the foyer of the venue following an Ariana Grande concert.

Reverend Bruce Thompson, who ministered in Manchester for 18 years, will meet the Muslim community on Friday too. He has spoken about the importance of unity at this time.

(Image: PA)

"We will stand in solidarity, hold a silence and express our sorrow at what has taken place."

"Please circulate this far and wide  it is important that as faith communities we express our unity."

"We cannot let the extremists drive a wedge between us."

There is another vigil planned for Tuesday, again for the Manchester terror attack.

The event will happen on Tuesday 30 May, outside of Lincoln Cathedral, with a two minute silence co-ordinated at 8pm.

Ashley Hill, who has invited people to the event over Facebook, said: "Come light a candle, pay tribute, say a prayer; for the victims, injured, families and those that helped that night.

"Ending on a two minute silence at 8pm with the cathedral chimes."

(Image: PA)

Well-wishers have also been laying floral tributes, candles, teddy bears and messages of support across the city to remember those killed and injured.

A fund set up by the M.E.N. to help the families of those affected has already passed the 1,000,000 mark, with celebrities around the world sharing the appeal.

Police have named Salman Abedi - a Salford University student - as the suicide bomber behind the attack, with officers carrying out raids at a house in Fallowfield and Whalley Range in the hours that followed.

Armed police have been patrolling Lincolnshire in Lincoln, Boston and Skegness since the incident and the UK has been placed
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A 20-year-old man who drank a litre of whisky before screaming and swearing at a female paramedic and police has appeared before magistrates.

Ricards Gudovskis, who a court was told is of no fixed address because his mother has thrown him out of her home, was found by officers wailing, screaming and rolling around in a pool of vomit.

The 20-year-old admitted using threatening and abusive words and behaviour when he appeared before Boston Magistrates Court.

Magistrates told Gudovskis that paramedics and police officers should be "allowed to get on with their jobs without harassment".

Prosecuting, Paul Wood, said police were called to Trinity Street in the town on May 7 because of reports that a man was being aggressive towards a female paramedic.

Officers found Gudovskis wailing and screaming and rolling around in a pool of vomit and although they warned him to behave, he swore at them and continued to scream and shout abuse, so he was arrested.

Mr Wood said Gudovskis had just come out of a period of a suspended prison sentence imposed in March last year for two offences of assault.

Gudovskis told the magistrates he had drunk a litre of whisky with friends and although he could remember screaming when he was arrested, he didn't remember anything else.

The magistrates imposed a six-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay 105 in costs and charges.
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A man has appeared in court for his involvement in a crash where a popular greengrocer died and seriously injured his daughter.

Romans Krilovs, 41, of no fixed address but was previously living on Whitehorse Lane, Boston, appeared at Boston Magistrates' Court to face three charges following the collision on the A16 at Sibsey last October.

Spilsby greengrocer Ivor 'Neville' Bogg, 61, who was on his way back from a concert with his daughter, died in the crash.

His 31-year-old daughter, Kerry Bamforth, who was a passenger in the black Honda Civic he was driving, was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham with serious injuries.

Boston magistrates heard Krilovs is accused of causing the death of Ivor Neville Bogg by dangerous driving and causing serious injury to Kerry Bamforth by dangerous driving.

He also faces a further allegation that having caused the death of Ivor Bogg by driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, he failed to give permission for a laboratory test of a specimen of blood taken from him.

No pleas were entered and Krilovs was sent for trial at Lincoln Crown Court with a first appearance scheduled for June 26.

He was granted conditional bail.
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Lincolnshire motorists could face tougher sanctions after one of the leading British breakdown organisations argued stricter rules need to imposed on people using dashcams.

The BBC has reported that the AA is unhappy with the number of people wrongly outed as having committed driving offences on social media by motorists who use the camera to record video while they drive.

The report claims that the organisation believe that drivers who regularly share dashcam footage online are not considering the impact on those at fault, who are then victims of online abuse from what are quite often honest mistakes.

According to an AA poll, as many as 15 per cent of British motorists now use a dashcam, with one in a hundred revealing they plan to share the footage on sites such as YouTube.

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Edmund King, the AA president, told a national newspaper: "While most drivers with dashcams fit them to protect themselves from 'crash for cash' fraudsters or dangerous drivers, there is an element of vehicular voyeurism from some individuals."

While the organisation doesn't want use of the devices banned altogether, it does recommend following the lead of other European countries such as Portugal and Belgium, where you must obtain the other person's permission before the video is posted online.

They further add that footage should be given to the local police force who can analyse the footage without any form of bias, other than that of the law.

Phil Vickers, Chief Inspector for Lincolnshire Police, said: "Dashcams often provide useful evidence and are used in many cases by the force.

"Police cars often record while driving and the footage that is obtained can be very persuasive in court.

"We would, however, advise caution when sharing online and dashcam users should always be urged to adopt a sensible approach."
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Plans to build a Travelodge in the centre of Lincoln have been approved.

The 127-bedroom hotel will spread over five floors and include double, family and accessible rooms.

Hotel chain and York-based developer S Harrison applied for permission to build the hotel in Tentercroft Street in March.

And the hotel was given the green light by City of Lincoln Council on last night, Wednesday, May 24.

The structure would be in a prominent position on the new East-West link road and visible from the walls of Lincoln Castle.

But the company has said that it would also help to ease the city's shortage of hotel bedrooms and help to create 50 construction jobs as well as an estimated 15-20 jobs at the hotel.

David Clancy, development director at S Harrison, previously said: "If our plans are successful, one of the UK's leading hotel brands will expand into this bustling part of Lincoln city centre creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

"The hotel will offer 127 bedrooms, as well as breakfast and cafe facilities, and will help to ease the shortage of quality hotel accommodation that Lincoln is currently experiencing.

"We have already had discussions with the planning authority, and we will submit our full planning application in Spring.

"If the plans are approved, work on the development could start as early as this autumn."

Mark Wheater, the City of Lincoln Council's strategic property services manager, previously said: "The proposed Travelodge will be an excellent facility for tourists and visitors to Lincoln and will complement the nearby transport hub development.

"It will create new jobs for the city, drive economic growth and help deliver Lincoln's ambitious future."

Tony O'Brien, UK development director for Travelodge Hotels, previously said: "Travelodge is delighted to have exchanged contracts with S Harrison Developments for a new Travelodge in the heart of Lincoln, adjacent to the railway station.

"The centre of Lincoln is short of good quality, great value hotel accommodation and the new Travelodge will provide this in a great location for both business and leisure visitors to the city."
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An RAF parade in Lincolnshire has been cancelled after the Government raised the terror alert to critical.

A freedom parade involving RAF personnel was due to take place today, Thursday, May 25, but has been cancelled on the advice of Lincolnshire Police.

Staff at RAF Wittering, three miles outside Stamford, were due to parade in the town, according to Cambridge News.

RAF personnel from the base had been expected to parade through Stamford to exercise the freedom of the town, granted in 1961.

But the parade will not go ahead following advice from Lincolnshire Police, which has increased armed patrols countywide.

A statement from RAF Wittering said: "On the advice of Lincolnshire Police, RAF Wittering has taken the decision to postpone the parade marking the freedom of Stamford.

"Although we are not aware of any specific threats to Stamford or RAF Wittering, it is our belief that a better date for the parade would be more appropriate. This is in line with the police guidelines."

The announcement comes after Theresa May raised the terror threat level to critical in the wake of the Manchester Arena terror attack, in which 22 people were killed and dozens injured.

A minute's silence was observed at sites across the county today at 11am in a mark of respect for those killed and injured in the attack.

This morning, bomb squad units were dispatched to a college in Manchester, prompting officers to close off several streets. A suspicious package was made safe.

Greater Manchester chief constable Ian Hopkins released a statement this lunchtime, saying: "This continues to be a fast-moving investigation and there has been a significant amount of activity taking place throughout the night and this morning.

"I want to provide you with an update about the progress of the investigation to date.

"You will all be aware that officers are currently responding to an incident in Hulme.

"A suspicious package has now been deemed safe and the cordon has now been removed.

"Can I stress at this stage that this incident is not necessarily linked to the wider investigation but I hope people will understand that we will always take any reports seriously.

"As regards the full ongoing investigation we currently have eight people who have been arrested in connection with Monday's attack. They are all men. A woman who was arrested yesterday has since been released. The arrests have taken place in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton.

"We are now carrying out associated searches at a number of addresses. These have been an intense three days for the officers and staff of Greater Manchester Police, along with the National Counter Terrorist Policing Network and UK intelligence services. I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation.

"These searches will take several days to complete, as you would expect, therefore there will be some disruption. However, it is important that we continue with these searches. Alongside the investigation we have a team of specially trained officers who have been supporting the families of those who tragically lost their lives."
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, May 25

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

A set of documents and agreements was signed in Tashkent May 25 following a meeting of the Uzbekistan-Turkey Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Uzbekistan-Turkey business forum.

The documents and agreements envisage the implementation of around 30 projects in pharmaceutics, textile industry, electro-technical, construction and banking sectors, worth more than $2 billion.

The state and prospects of trade, economic, financial and technical cooperation between Uzbekistan and Turkey were mulled at the meeting. Uzbekistan and Turkey have great potential for increasing trade turnover, Rustam Azimov, Uzbek deputy prime minister and co-chair of the intergovernmental commission, said.

In 2016, the mutual trade turnover between the countries reached $1.2 billion, Azimov added.

This figure does not reflect the potential of the two countries. We have all the opportunities to increase the trade turnover by 3 or 4 times.

Trade and economic relations gained a new momentum thanks to the agreements between the presidents of the two countries, Tugrul Turkes, Turkeys deputy prime minister and co-chair of the commission from the Turkish side, said for his part.

We have all the opportunities to implement new promising projects, Turkes said. New areas of cooperation will allow increasing the trade turnover twice in the shortest period.

Turkes said the most promising areas for expansion of the Uzbekistan-Turkey cooperation are the textile industry, construction materials industry, pharmaceutics, agriculture, food, automotive industries and production of household appliances.

Besides Turkes, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avci, Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci and other officials participated in the meeting.
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Lincolnshire has some exceptional businesses - and it's time once again to honour their achievements.

The Lincolnshire Media Business Awards 2017 aims to recognise the best in the business in our great county - whether it's exports or farming, big firms or small, apprentices or business leaders.

A total of 540 people turned up last year to honour the fantastic work of our county's businesses - and once again we will be inviting the cream of the Lincolnshire business community to attend an awards night to announce the winners across a string of categories.

You can enter the awards by filling out the form at the bottom of this page!

Among the awards being fought over this year are Business Person of the Year, Apprentice of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Employee of the Year and Business of the Year.

The awards night will take place at the EPIC Centre at Lincolnshire Showground on Tuesday, October 17 - and it really does promise to be a fantastic night.

Now the county's business leaders are being urged to nominate those firms and individuals they think deserve to be recognised.

Neil Corner, managing director of Siemens in Lincoln, the overall sponsor of the event, said: " We are proud to continue our sponsorship of The Lincolnshire Media Business Awards, which mark the biggest celebration of businesses across our county.

"Not only is Lincolnshire a great place to live and work - these awards help to raise Lincolnshire's profile by recognising the continued investment and great talent that we have in the county."

The main award, the business of the year 2017, will be sponsored by Natwest and Lincoln College.

Andy Procter, relationship director at Lincoln Commercial Banking, said: "As the leading commercial bank in the county, we are proud to be associated with this keynote business event.

"As a judge for the awards last year, it was a privilege to meet our local entrepreneurs and learn about the many great things our county businesses are doing.

"It is so important to recognise and give publicity to the fantastic businesses that operate in Lincolnshire and I would encourage local business owners to enter this year's awards."

The awards are run in association with the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce.

The employee of the year award will be sponsored by Bright Media.

Deborah Rossington at Bright Media said: "Bright Media (Lincoln) opened in Lincolnshire in 2011 and since then we have been seriously impressed by the amount of innovation there is in the county.

"Lincolnshire has a reputation of just rural companies but there is so much more out there.

"It's important to celebrate both the new and established businesses, the people responsible for their growth and reward them with the accolade that they deserve, which is why we are honoured to sponsor the Lincolnshire Media Business Awards and Employee of the Year specifically."

Trevor Mealing, head of teaching at YMCA Lincolnshire, was the winner of the employee of the year award last year.

He said: "The business awards are a fantastic event, that really showcases the excellent achievements of our great county.

"The awards help to recognise individual and team successes in so many of ways, which help in raising the profile and the reach of the candidate(s), motivates staff members, and adds an extra level of credibility to the services provided by your business.

"Let's keep business great, and let's keep great business in Lincolnshire."

Karis Hildred, events manager at Lincolnshire Media, said: "This is one of the biggest events of the year for Lincolnshire Media - if not the biggest of them all.

"Every year we celebrate all sorts of businesses and the people who work for them, and each time we're hugely impressed by the standard of innovation, forward-thinking, creativity and sheer hard work that goes on in businesses up and down the county.

"We want to make sure this event recognises the very best and we don't want anyone to miss out, so if you know a firm or employee whose work needs to be honoured, enter to make sure they're in with a chance of being named among the best of the best."

The closing date for entries is September 7. Judges will meet to shortlist on September 14 and interview on September 28.

Many awards have already been sponsored, but there are still opportunities for firms to sponsor.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jack Watson on jack.watson@lincolnshiremedia.co.uk or at 01522 804328.

Entrants can either enter online at www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/businessawards or by requesting an application pack at businessawards@lincolnshiremedia.co.uk

Individual tickets cost 60 plus VAT. A table of ten costs 550 plus VAT.
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A Lincolnshire firefighter left paralysed after a freak accident on his stag do abroad has almost learned to walk again with the help of a robotic suit.

James Thorpe, 29, is now one step closer to fulfilling his dream of standing to say his wedding vows to bride-to-be Michaela Watson, 33.

The couple, from Boston, were forced to postpone their wedding after James broke his neck weeks before they were due to marry on July 16 last year.

A month before, while on his stag do in Magaluf, Majorca, James nearly died after tripping as he entered the sea.

He was rushed to a hospital in Palma de Mallorca and spent two weeks there and was in a critical condition.

After arriving back in the UK, doctors told Michaela that her husband-to-be was unlikely to stand again.

But now, following months of intensive rehabilitation, James has defied the odds and now plans to tie the knot at Grantham's Belvoir Castle on July 14.

While he will be unable to walk down the aisle, he plans to declare his love for Michaela while standing for the ceremony.

His progress is being followed by hundreds of people who have shown their support via a progress page set up for James.

The latest video shows James walking with the aid of an Exko Skeleton suit and walking frame at Sheffield Northern General hospital on May 24.

James said: "It was the greatest achievement. I was definitely very tearful when it happened. I felt like I was making some real progress and it's given me hope.'

And now, he is looking forward to the wedding.

"It's terrible what happened," he said.

"But I'm looking to the future. It could've been worse.

"I can't wait to marry Michaela."



James attends rehab there two to three times a month at a cost of 63 an hour - all paid for from those who have donated money to help him walk again.

He said: "This rehab has been paid for by all the fundraising people have been doing for me. I can't thank them enough."

The couple are due to marry at Belvior Castle near Grantham on July 14.
Apr 29, 2021, 8 PM

Jerseys first souvenir sheet printed on wood commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Darwin Initiative.

One of Jerseys stamps celebrating the legacies of naturalists Gerald Durrell and Charles Darwin pictures a large Caribbean frog, commonly called a mountain chicken.

By Denise McCarty

Jersey Post is honoring organizations associated with naturalists Gerald Durrell and Charles Darwin on seven stamps to be issued June 14.

One of the stamps is in a souvenir sheet made of wood, the first such item from Jersey Post.

This souvenir sheet commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Darwin Initiative, a United Kingdom government grants scheme that helps protect biodiversity and the natural environment around the world. The 3 stamp in the sheet depicts a portrait of Darwin (1809-82).

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The emblem of the Darwin Initiative appears in the selvage at lower right on the sheet, and the emblem of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust at lower left.

Founded in 1959 by Durrell (1925-95), the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is an international charity that works to save species from extinction. It has partnered with the Darwin Initiative on several occasions.

Lee Durrell, widow of Gerald and honorary director of the charity he founded, said: The Darwin Initiative has provided significant support to the Durrell mission for a quarter of a century, and I am delighted to see the relationship commemorated in this set of stamps produced by Jersey Post. The images depict the creatures we are helping to recover from the brink of extinction, all of which are typical Durrell species, from a very large frog to a tiny pig  the small and less showy animals which Gerald Durrell said have just as much right to exist as the big, cuddly ones. Thanks once again to Jersey Post for bringing attention to our work in this unique way!

While the souvenir sheet was printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sycamore, the other six stamps were printed on traditional gummed stamp paper in separate sheets of 10.

Among the animals featured on the stamps is a large Caribbean frog known as the mountain chicken (Leptodactylus fallax). Now found in the wild only on Dominica and Montserrat in the Caribbean, approximately 80 percent of this frogs population was killed by the chytrid fungus in the last 12 years.

Shown in the selvage of the wooden souvenir sheet are a pair of frogs, presumably also mountain chickens.

The other stamps depict the mangrove finch (49 pence), Livingstones fruit bat (63p), Telfairs skink (73p), Hispaniolan solenodon (90p), and the pygmy hog (1.07). The stamp showing the mountain chicken is denominated 79p.

Italian artist Sara Menon, who specializes in natural-science illustration, designed the stamps, and Cartor Security Printers produced them.

The Jersey Stamps website is here, and the mailing address is Jersey Philatelic Bureau, Freepost JE793, Jersey Post, Jersey, JE1 1AF.
May 25, 2017, 5 AM

Spain issued this Star Wars souvenir sheet May 25, the 40th anniversary of the opening of Star Wars in theaters. The stamp depicts the films villain Darth Vadar. Other Star Wars characters are shown on stamplike labels.

By Denise McCarty

Spain is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the opening of Stars Wars in theaters on May 25, 1977, by issuing a souvenir sheet showing characters from the film.

The sheet, which was issued on the anniversary date, includes a single 5 stamp picturing Darth Vadar. It is surrounded by stamplike labels showing a Storm Trooper, Chewbacca, R2-D2, Yoda, and C-3PO.

Unlike the other characters, Yoda did not appear in the first Star Wars; he was introduced in 1980 inThe Empire Strikes Back, the second film in the series.

Spains post office reports that the sheet was printed using a lenticular effect that gives the images an illusion of depth and movement when viewed at different angles. A total of 300,000 sheets were produced.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

If OPEC fails to reach an agreement in Vienna, this would put significant pressure on prices which could fall to an annual average of $43 per barrel for Brent in 2018, according to the report of the UK-based consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie analysts believe that if OPEC stops trying to support oil prices and seeks market share instead, OPEC and Russian production will start to rise in the second half of 2017 and continue to increase next year.

In the run-up to the meeting, some members within OPEC briefly considered the option of deeper cuts on top of the production restraint already in place. The benefit would be a larger implied stock draw in the third quarter of 2017 than we currently forecast  potentially as much as 1.8 million barrels per day, helping to clear current oversupply, said the report. This would lead to higher prices in the second half of this year  with Brent forecast to rise just above $60 per barrel at the end of the year.

A nine-month extension would have little impact on price forecast for 2017, which is for an annual average of $55 per barrel for Brent, said the analysts.

Into 2018, we expect Brent would average at least $55 per barrel on a monthly basis, said the report.

Finally, OPEC could also extend the existing agreement through the whole of 2018. In this case, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that the annual average for Brent in 2018 could be as high as $63 per barrel.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries will hold a meeting in Vienna on May 25 to make a final decision on extension of the oil output cut deal reached in 2016.

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 barrels per day starting from Jan. 1, 2017 for six months, extendable for another six months.

OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Details added (first version posted at 13:50)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Stabilization of oil prices in a range from $50 to $55 per barrel will lead to higher profitability for most of the producing companies, said Denis Perevezentsev, vice president-senior credit officer at the international ratings agency Moodys.

He was addressing the Moody's Annual Azerbaijan Summit in Baku May 25.

Perevezentsev noted that Moody's has slightly changed the oil price forecasting technique and predicts the prices to be at $40-60 per barrel in the next three years.

This is a quite wide range, but given the high price volatility we believe that in the next three years prices will vary within this range. The fall of prices below $40 is possible but is highly unlikely. Low prices do not allow companies largely invest in production, which leads to the increase in prices in any case. At the same time, we believe the prices will not rise above $60, he said.

Perevezentsev also listed a number of risk factors for oil prices.

The first factor is the production cut agreement itself. It is likely to be prolonged today until March 2018, as we expect. The second factor is the producing countries compliance with the terms of the deal, he noted.

Thirdly, a very important aspect is the production of oil by US companies. Against the background of stabilization of prices, production in the US has grown and continues to grow. In this respect, reserves may increase in the US which has a negative impact on prices. The fourth factor is a strong dollar which leads to decrease of oil prices, Perevezentsev said, adding that positive risks include geopolitical events that occur or may occur in unstable producer countries.

Moodys believes that the deal to cut production has favorable impact on the balance of supply and demand in the market, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Equatorial Guinea became a new member of OPEC during the 172nd meeting of the cartel being held May 25 in Vienna, Austria.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental organization created at the Baghdad Conference on 1014 September 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The five founding members were later joined by Qatar, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon and Angola.

In accordance with its statute, the mission of OPEC is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.

The statute also stipulates that any country with a substantial net export of crude petroleum, which has fundamentally similar interests to those of member countries, may become a full member of the organization, if accepted by a majority of three-fourths of full members, including the concurring votes of all founder members.

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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 25

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

At the upcoming Energy Charter Forum, which will be held in Ashgabat on May 30-31, the issues of developing a multilateral framework agreement on transit of energy resources will be discussed in detail, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news agency reports, citing General Council at the Energy Charter Secretariat Alejandro Carballo Leyda.

It was previously reported that the forums program will include sessions on Transboundary Transportation and Transit of Natural Gas, The Growing Role of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Global Energy Security, Supply of Oil to World Markets, Transboundary Trade in Electricity and Sustainable Development.

The fifth international meeting of experts on reliable and stable transit of energy resources will take place in the Turkmen capital on May 31.

Ashgabat earlier proposed within the UN framework to start developing universal mechanisms that would ensure the reliable and safe operation of the international energy infrastructure taking into account the interests of producer countries, transit countries and gas consumers.

Turkmenistan is one of main players on the energy market of the Caspian region and ranks fourth in the world for its gas reserves. The country annually produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas and delivers gas to Iran and China.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, May 25

By Demir Azizov Trend:

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed in Uzbekistan implementation of promising projects in various sectors of economy with the participation of leading banking and financial institutions and companies of the UAE, Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA) reported.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Uzbekistan on an official visit on May 24.

The sides also discussed intensification of tourist exchange between Uzbekistan and the UAE.

The Uzbek president stressed the significant potential for further development of full-scale practical bilateral cooperation.

It was noted with satisfaction that an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the sphere of culture was signed during the visit of the UAE delegation to Uzbekistan.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan reaffirmed the readiness of the UAE for the expansion of comprehensive and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.
Tehran, Iran, May 25

By Mehdi Sepahvand, Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

The International North-South Transport Corridor may bring changes to routes for carrying cargos between Iran and Scandinavian countries abolishing shipping lines.

Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Iran have recently discussed the issue of transporting cargos from Scandinavian countries to Iran through the North-South transportation corridor, a senior Iranian official told Trend.

The transportation of cargos from Scandinavian countries to Iran was proposed to be carried out through the International North-South Transport Corridor instead of the current maritime routes, Deputy Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company for Operation Affairs Hossein Ashouri told Trend.

According to the official, the sides are expected to ink an MoU on cooperation during a meeting in Russias Sochi within the coming weeks.

The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.

The corridor is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo per year at the initial stage and 15-20 million tons of cargo in the future.
Blue and beautiful

(Image credit: NPS)

Crater Lake is a caldera lake and is one of the most spectacular natural wonders of North America. Located in south-central Oregon, Crater Lake is a part of the Cascade Mountain range volcanic arc. It is considered a sacred site by the aboriginal Klamath people. Crater Lake was first seen by a non-Native American in June 1853, when gold prospector John Wesley Hillman came upon it and gave it the name "Deep Blue Lake."

Water and woods

(Image credit: NPS)

At a maximum depth of 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, and the second deepest lake in the Western Hemisphere. It also ranks are the seventh deepest lake in the world. The average depth of the lake is 1,148 feet (350 m). Since there are no running rivers or streams that enter Crater Lake, all the water is the result of rain and snowfall.

Rock overlook

(Image credit: Paul Rockwood/NPS)

At an elevation of 6,173 feet (1,881 m), Crater Lake receives an average rainfall of 66 inches (168 centimeters) and an average snowfall of 44 feet (13 m). The lake's water level remains amazingly constant through the many cycles of precipitation, evaporation and seepage. The lack of inflowing sediment-laden water from any source explains why the water of Crater Lake is so crystal clear and vibrant blue in color.

In the beginning

(Image credit: NPS)

The story of the genesis of Crater Lake began some 500,000 years ago, when the 12,000-foot-tall (3,700 m) shield volcano called Mount Mazama formed on an edge of the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire. Many such volcanos were forming as a result of the Pacific Plate being forced slowly below the North American Plate, creating a series of high mountain ranges, frequent earthquakes and a chain of active volcanoes.

Ancient eruption

(Image credit: NPS)

About 7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama erupted, expelling magma as pyroclastic materials like rhyodacite pumice and fine ash destroyed life over an area of thousands of square miles. A second eruption soon followed, resulting in the collapse of the volcanic mountain into its center, forming what would become the Crater Lake caldera. This caldera was 5 to 6 miles (8 to 9.6 km) in diameter and had an original depth of 3,900 feet (1,189 m). Over the years, volcanic materials have been falling into the caldera from the collapsing walls, meaning the caldera is not as deep as it once was.

Fifth oldest national park

(Image credit: NPS)

Crater Lake became a national park on May 22, 1902, making it the fifth oldest national park in the United States. It is the only national park in the State of Oregon. At an elevation of 6,475 feet (1,974 m), the park has two main seasons: a long, cold, windy and snowy winter and a short, wildflower-filled summer. Despite the long, cold winters, Crater Lake itself seldom freezes over. Heat from the summer is stored in the deep lake waters and the stirring of the surface by the constant winds keeps the lake's winter temperature just above freezing. The last time the lake actually froze over completely was in 1949.

Colorful beauty

(Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher)

When summer finally arrives each June, an explosion of wildflowers occur around the lake and surrounding meadows. Seeds must be produced and scattered before the snows arrive again in September. Crater Lake National Park has about 400 species of colorful blooming plants growing within the park's boundaries. Here, the beautiful wavy-leaved Indian paintbrush, Castilleja applegatei, grows in the rocky volcanic soil surrounding Crater Lake.

Tall trees

(Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher)

A wide variety of trees can be found within Crater Lake National Park, but each species is located in fairly well-defined zones determined by temperature, altitude and moisture. The lower, northeastern elevations are dominated by western yellow pine while on the western slopes, scrubby oaks and small Douglas fir prevail. Forest of Quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides, (shown here) can be found in the southern regions of the park.

Pine trees

(Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher)

Sugar pine, Pinus lambertiana, (shown here) are the tallest of all the pine trees found in the Crater Lake region. They can grow upwards of 200 feet (60 m) and are easily identified by the very large pine cones that can develop to be more than 1 foot (30 cm) long. Other common conifers include the ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, Western hemlock, Tsuga hetero-phylla, White fir, Abies councilor and the Engelmann spruce, Picea engelmannii.

Wildlife

(Image credit: NPS)

A wide variety of animal species make their home at Crater Lake. The clear blue lake had no native species of fish. Only the introduced rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and the landlocked kokanee salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, have been able to successfully adapt to the lake environment. More than 24 species of mammals, including a small herd of pronghorn, Antilocapra americana, (shown here) have been present in the lake area since the first biological survey was completed in 1896.

Volcanic islands

(Image credit: NPS)

Several volcanic islands are found within the waters of Crater Lake. Shown here is the island known as Phantom Ship, the 400,000-year-old remains of a volcanic dike. The rugged peaks of Phantom Ship are as tall as a 16-story building, but when viewed within the grandeur of Crater Lake, the island resembles a small toy sailboat. The clear, mirror-like water allows light to play many illusions on Crater Lake and often the island seems to appear then disappear (giving rise to the name Phantom Ship) as light and shadows cross the lake.
A spot in England where thousands of Viking warriors and their families spent their winter months was bigger than most contemporary English towns.

The camp, positioned near Torksey along the River Trent in Lincolnshire, was a major base for Viking raiders in the late ninth century. Archaeologists first found hints of the camp in the 1970s, but recently published for the first time a detailed description of the site's boundaries and artifacts in The Antiquaries Journal. Now, the researchers are unveiling a new virtual reality experience designed to put modern-day people inside a re-creation of the Torksey winter camp. The VR experience opened on May 19 at the Yorkshire Museum. [7 Secrets of Viking Seamen]

"These extraordinary images offer a fascinating snapshot of life at a time of great upheaval in Britain," University of York archaeologist Julian Richards said in a statement.

Winter with the Vikings

Up until the late 800s, Vikings frequently raided monasteries along the English coast in the warmer months and headed back to Scandinavia in the winter, Richards said. In 865, the Vikings sent their largest force ever to England  and decided to stay. Over the next decade, the Vikings switched their strategy from lightning raids to permanent takeovers of land and resources, Richards and his colleagues reported in The Antiquaries Journal in December 2016.

Historical sources reported that the Vikings made camp at Torksey between 872 and 873. Excavations there done between the 1970s and 1990s revealed a deep ditch that would have been part of this camp, but only since 2011 have archaeologists systematically excavated and discovered the camp's true size and scope. The site stretches 136 acres (55 hectares), and is bounded by wet, marshy land that would have provided a natural defense, Richards said. The camp was on elevated land, which also would have made it an appealing military location, Richards and his colleagues wrote.

Thousands of coins and other pieces of metal have been found at the campsite, including copper alloy made of lead, silver, gold and iron. More than 280 lead game pieces have been found, hinting at how the warriors passed the long, chilly off-season, the researchers said.

Winter's work

The overwintering Vikings also engaged in metalwork and the repair of ships, archaeologists have found. Researchers have discovered coins from as far away as the Middle East, transported along Viking trade routes. Archaeologists have also uncovered hundreds of pieces of hacked-up metals, which were probably awaiting their turn to be melted down, the researchers have said.

Needles, spindles and awls hint at textile work such as the repair of ship sails and tents, which made up the main shelter for the Viking horde. Women may have been the textile workers of the camp, the researchers wrote.

Archaeologists have found some human remains at the camp, but the bones are too fragmentary to identify more than two bodies definitively (both men under the age of 35), researchers said. A separate fragment of skull bears the marks of a sharp implement, suggesting a violent death.

Original article on Live Science.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Irans oil minister has said that the extension of OPEC, non-OPEC oil deal wouldnt down Irans current oil production level, the countrys Oil Ministrys official website reported May 25.

Irans oil output would stand at 3.8 mb/d, Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in Vienna.

He said that OPEC members would decide during the meeting on May 25 to extend the 1.2 mb/d oil cut for six or nine months.

OPEC members originally implemented the oil cut deal during the 1H17.

Kuwait announced on May 24 that further cut would be needed for balancing markets, but Zanganeh said that Iran supports only extension of the oil cut deal not more cuts.

Iran was allowed to produce 3.797 mb/d of crude oil in 1H17.

Extension of the deal is in favour of Iran, because the country plans to increase its oil output from new fields by 0.35 mb/d, while its oil output would decrease by 0.3 mb/d from old fields during the current fiscal year, started on March 21.

In total, Irans oil output would stand flat.
A young girl who was pulled underwater by sea lion in Canada is now receiving treatment for an infection known as "seal finger," just to be on the safe side, according to news sources.

Earlier this week, a video that went viral showed a sea lion  likely a male California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)  grabbing the girl's dress with its teeth as she stood with her family on a wharf in Richmond, British Columbia. The animal then briefly pulled the girl underwater.

The 6-year-old's grandfather immediately jumped into the water to save her, but the ordeal left her with wound measuring about 2 inches by 4 inches (5 by 10 centimeters) on her lower body, according to CBC News. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

Seal finger predominantly affects the fingers, but the infection can also occur in other places in the body, said Daniel Brown, an associate professor and chairman of infectious diseases and immunology at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine. Brown was not involved in the girl's case, but was part of a team that diagnosed and treated another recent case.

For instance, if a seal bites a person on the leg, the infection might stay within the leg, or the bacteria could travel through the blood and infect another part of the body, Brown said.

However, no matter the location of the infection, the condition is still called seal finger, he said.

"That's kind of an 'old time' name, but it is appropriate because wound infection occurs often on the hands of people who have contact with the seals due to seal bites or introduction of seal blood, seal saliva, etc. into pre-existing cuts on the person's hand," Brown wrote to Live Science in an email.

The girl's family took her to British Columbia Children's Hospital, where doctors prescribed her antibiotics as a precautionary measure, CBC News reported.

The family learned about the infection after hearing a mammal trainer from the Vancouver Aquarium mention it in several interviews, aquarium spokeswoman Deana Lancaster told ABC News. It's unclear whether the girl actually has seal finger, but she's getting treatment just to be on the safe side, Lancaster said.

Seal finger, also known as spekk-finger (a word that means "blubber" in Norwegian), is caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma phocacerebrale.

Usually, infections happen to people who handle seal pelts or seal meat, and to people who are bitten by seals or sea lions, according to a 2009 report published in the Canadian Journal of Plastic Surgery.

If seal finger is left untreated, it can cause a severe infection that makes it hard for people to use their hands, according to the 2009 report. M. phocacerebrale can cause a bacterial skin infection known as cellulitis, in which the skin becomes swollen, red and tender. The infection then progresses to joint damage. In some cases, people need to have their fingers amputated, the report said.

Mycoplasma are small, even for bacteria, and infections by them are difficult to treat because these bacteria do not have a cell wall, the target for most antibiotics, such as penicillin, according to ABC News. But other antibiotics, such as tetracycline, have been used to successfully treat the condition, according to the case report.

In an interview with CBC News, the girl's father described what happened that day, saying that the incident involved feeding the animal. However, the girl's father, identified only by the last name of Lau for privacy reasons, said it wasn't his family, but other people who were trying to feed the sea lion, he told CBC News. But he did admit that his daughter had been too close to the wild mammal. [10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species]

Marine biologists have voiced concerns about feeding or pretending to feed wild animals, especially large carnivores such as California sea lions, which can weigh up to 800 lbs. (360 kilograms) and measure an average of 7 feet (2.1 meters) long, according to Sea Lion World.

Lau also praised the girl's grandfather for his quick actions.

"If he had 1- or 2-second doubt about that, my girl could have been gone by then," the father said. "That reaction makes him a hero."

Original article on Live Science.
Tehran, Iran, May 24

By Mehdi Sepahvand, Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

The EUs gas market is now oversupplied and exporting Iranian gas to this market is not profitable now either through a pipeline or as LNG, Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs and Commerce Amir Hossein Zamaninia told Trend May 24.

According to him, regional markets are in Irans focus currently.

"We should sell gas to global markets, but at this time Iran is not in this situation yet," said Zamaninia. "As holder of the worlds largest gas reserves, Iran needs to develop gas production projects further."

"Recently, Iran and Azerbaijans SOCAR have agreed on cooperation in development of Irans upstream sector. Dozens of foreign companies have been qualified to enter Irans upstream sector," he added.

Twenty-nine foreign companies have been qualified by NIOC to take part in Irans upstream oil and gas projects and the list is to be expanded.

He added that currently Iran can and is working on exporting gas to neighbour states, but there is little gas for exporting to far markets and this is not profitable via pipelines through Azerbaijan, Turkey or other routes.

"Economically it is not viable. We plan to involve in European and other markets and export gas through pipeline or as LNG in future."

According to Irans five-year national plan, it should increase the gas export to 60 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/yr) by 2022. Currently, Iran has agreements with Iraq and Oman to supply 28 bcm/yr of gas to these countries.

Irans gross gas output reached 285 bcm last fiscal year (ended March 20), but it plans to increase this volume to above 400 bcm/yr by 2022.

Zamaninia said that currently the EU markets are oversupplied with gas and the gas price is low, and it is not profitable for Iran to enter these markets in short term.

Charles Ellinas, CEO of the Cyprus-based energy consultancy e-CNHC, told Trend May 23 that gas prices in Europe are too low to make gas export prospects for Iran commercially viable.

Ellinas, who is also a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and has over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, added that right now gas prices in Europe are under $5/British Thermal Unit (mmBTU) and are forecast to remain in the range between of $5/mmBTU and $6/mmBTU in the long term.

Meanwhile, the price of Iranian gas supplied to Turkey was $5.8/mmBTU in 2016, Ellinas said.

"At such price by the time it reaches Europe it will be over $7/mmBTU, which would be too high to attract buyers," the analyst said.

Iran should firstly construct a 1,800-km pipeline (Igat9) with 17 compressors and raise at least $6-8 billion worth of investment to connect the South Pars field to its north-western regions to be able to export gas to the EU through the Southern Gas Corridor, or a new pipeline.

Coming to exporting LNG, Iran has an LNG project, half done, with 10.4 million tons per year capacity, but it needs at least $6-9 billion of investment to become operational.

Gas consumption in the EU increased by 7 percent in 2016 compared with the previous year to 447 bcm, of which a third was supplied by Russian giant Gazprom.
Fotolia

Alan Derek Jernigan told investors he had deals with the governments in the Philippines and Malaysia to sell them testing kits and other medical supplies. But Jernigan never exported any medical supplies nor did he have any contracts, according to the Texas State Securities Board.

He did send something overseas, however, according to the agency. At least some of the $463,000 he collected from six investors in 2008 and 2009 went to a bank in West Africa, according to authorities.
Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

At least eight law enforcement officers and seven inmates were injured Wednesday morning in a riot at Pelican Bay State Prison that ended when guards fired live ammunition into the crowd, state corrections officials said.

All of those injured were taken to outside hospitals for treatment. Two of the prison staff members remained hospitalized with significant but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. Five of the seven inmates were being treated for gunshot wounds, but their conditions were not immediately available Wednesday afternoon.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - You are sitting, floating through the virtual clouds, when you hear that unmistakable voice coming through the headphones.

The glittering buildings. Paper being shredded on the floor.

It is Laurie Anderson, the artist most famous for her fluke, 1981 hit "O Superman" but acclaimed for decades of creativity that have defied categorization. And this is "Aloft," a new, virtual-reality piece at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Over her long career, Anderson has made films, invented instruments, played the world's greatest concert halls and also given outdoor shows for dogs. But she admits she's shocked that her latest project has come together. It is a 10,000 square-foot studio in Mass MoCA's newly renovated Building 6 and will serve as both an artistic incubator and a place fans can see her work for at least the next 15 years.

The Anderson project is part of a $65.4 million expansion at Mass MoCA, which has quietly become the country's largest contemporary art campus. And talk of creating a space for the artist can be traced to a discussion at the museum nearly nine years ago when Mass MoCA director Joseph C. Thompson turned and asked her a question: What would a museum of Laurie Anderson look like?

"She didn't miss a beat," Thompson said recently while walking through the museum. "She said, 'it would be a radio station. And it would be a studio.' Afterward, I said, 'Would you be interested in trying to do "Radio Anderson?" ' She said, 'yeah.' "

When the project finally came together several years later, Thompson called her back.

Her tone, she admits, was different.

"You're kidding," she told him, recounting the conversation recently. "I was literally shocked. I didn't really think he was going to actually do this."

But Thompson, who helped open Mass MoCA in 1999, has made it his specialty to pull off the unthinkable, whether an entire building dedicated to Sol LeWitt or the Wilco-curated Solid Sound music festival. The renovation of Building 6 is the latest, with dedicated installations featuring the works of Jenny Holzer, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Gunnar Schonbeck and James Turrell. Thompson imagines Anderson's new space - which will include virtual-reality environments and a chalkboard room with floors, walls and ceiling painted with cavelike messages - will offer a destination to which they can take a "Laurie Anderson pilgrimage."

He's excited about not just the technology but the floor-to-ceiling illustrations Anderson painted of her late dog, a rat terrier named Lolabelle.

"There are a lot of people who would have no clue that Laurie is a very fine draftsperson," says Thompson. "She can draw, she can paint. She's truly a multidimensional thinker and maker. A lot of people won't give her the time of day. We hope this gives her not only the time of day but 15 years to show her work."

Anderson says she's excited about the project, but she tends to downplay the scope of the project or significance to her legacy. Her friends and collaborators say this is out modesty. She particularly snickers at the word "pilgrimage."

"That's a word I find grating on me," says Anderson. "For me, I don't have that many things there at one time. I'm hoping to make the writing room or chalk room or whatever we're calling it so people can go in a few different times. My dream is that they mostly feel this kind of feeling of being free and aloft."

She also does not particularly like being referred to as a storyteller, though that is effectively what she does, whether through music, film or interactive objects. The Mass MoCA space will feature "The Handphone Table," a 1978 piece that allows visitors to feel sounds by simply leaning elbows on its surface.

"Storyteller sounds like somebody in a library over-pronouncing words," she says. "So I would say my medium are stories instead of I'm a storyteller."

However she defines herself, Anderson's work has stretched across decades, linking the experimental New York art scene of Yoko Ono and John Cage with Andy Kaufman, David Byrne and Philip Glass.

In 1992, she began dating Lou Reed, whom she would eventually marry, the union ending only in his death in 2013.

Reed is ever-present in Anderson's life. She's organizing his archives, has photos of him around her studio and incorporated his voice into her recent concerts with Glass.

"I had one long conversation that never stopped for 21 years, with one person," she said recently during a break at Mass MoCA. "When that stops, you know it's irreplaceable, but you begin to treasure your friends more, spend more time with them, and just kind of appreciate it more. I think I probably appreciate things more."

She remains as active as ever. On a recent weekday, in her studio on Canal Street in New York, she tried to simultaneously conduct an interview while tracing out text for a display at Mass MoCA, edit a book she's put together related to what she lost in Hurricane Sandy, and made a lunch reservation, for 10, to help celebrate a studio assistant's birthday. She was also heading off to London for concerts with Glass.

On the wall next to her is a list of projects, current and future - "Lou recordings Yellow Pony, Lesbos? Landfall, Connie Coverse" - that look as if they could keep the Museum of Modern Art's curatorial department busy through the next presidential campaign. This, she says, is her norm. Or is it?

"I always try to do too much," she says.

She pauses.

"Right now, it's extreme, actually. Worse than usual. Tai chi and mediation are the things that make it possible for me not to flip out."

Anderson is particularly excited about the VR project, a collaboration with Taiwanese artist Hsin-Chien Huang. Visitors can experience two environments with goggles and a headset. In the first, "Aloft," the walls of an airplane slowly fall away, leaving the visitor floating in the clouds. An array of objects hover around - a crow, a flower, a conch, a cellphone - and each can be grabbed and held onto. That's when Anderson's voice pops up, telling a story or quoting literature until you toss the object out into the sky.

A second environment, "The Chalkroom," features phrases and song lyrics painted in white on black walls.

"VR is usually about, it's gaming stuff and it's shooting stuff, it's usually a very brittle and bright aesthetic," she says. "We've kind of made something that is full of shadows and darkness. For me, it's completely a dream come true. Because it's about what I've tried to do in every other thing I've ever made. Music or sculpture or film. To be completely bodiless."

This may be the first virtual-reality project she's presented, but she has tried before. Michael Morris, who as co-director of London's Artangel has worked with Anderson since her "O Superman" days, remembers trying to pull off a virtual-reality project that she was collaborating on with Peter Gabriel in the early '90s. It simply couldn't work because of the limitations of technology.

"For her, it's attractive because it can help to tell the stories she wants to tell but it's also participatory," he says. "You can somehow create your own journey through the kinds of objects floating in the virtual reality and it doesn't necessarily involve her as a performance. It's a very intimate way of communicating when you're not only wearing a headset and it's you and her voice, which is a very extraordinary voice. I've never heard a voice like hers."

In theory, the Mass MoCA project could have been a career-capper for Anderson, who turns 70 in June. But she resists that idea. She does not want it to be simply an archive, lined with shelves of old instruments or video monitors showing past performances. In that spirit, she says she will change the space regularly, a distinct difference between her galleries and those filled with the works of Turrell and LeWitt. She hasn't even given her 10,000 square feet a name. For a time, Thompson called it "Radio Anderson." She asked him to stop because she didn't know what that meant. As it opens, it will simply be called "studio space."

None of this surprises Roma Baran, her longtime musical collaborator.

She remembers, back in 1980, hearing Anderson perform a piece driven by a rhythmic, repeating voice loop and a series of conversations processed into electronic layers through a vocoder. She told Anderson she should put that piece out on a record. Anderson resisted until, finally, Baran somehow persuaded her. That was "O Superman." It rose to No. 2 on the British charts.

"The idea that she would install something and kind of walk away and have people just dust it is not thinkable really," she says.
Life and Adventures of Jack Engle

By Walt Whitman

Read by Jon Hamm

Random House Audio. 5 hours

---

Two shadowy pasts converge in Jon Hamm's reading of Walt Whitman's lost novel, "Life and Adventures of Jack Engle." Published anonymously in the New York Sunday Dispatch in 1852, it was presented as the work of an author who chose to use "unreal names" to prevent identification.

Now, this tale of an orphan with a mysterious past is read in what we can only think of as the voice of Don Draper. And remember: the smoldering antihero of "Mad Men" was born Richard (BEGIN ITAL)Whitman(END ITAL)!

The novel was discovered in 2016 by the scholar and literary sleuth Zachary Turpin. Miraculously, only one copy of "Jack Engles" survived the vandalism of the years - thanks to the Library of Congress, where Whitman's papers are stored.

Whitman wrote this novel of villainy foiled, virtue preserved and justice done three years before the publication of "Leaves of Grass," and I think it's safe to say that he did so strictly for money. Still, if "Jack Engles" is not a work of art, it is entertaining, especially if you have a taste for 19th-century melodrama. Beyond that, the reader and listener will find here germs of the sensibility that blooms so exuberantly in Whitman's poetry: contempt for the genteel, celebration of "this glorious New York" and a feeling of untrammeled oneness with nature and the nation.

Without spoiling the ludicrous plot, I can tell you that Jack, an urchin on the streets of New York, is rescued by a kindly purveyor of milk, eggs and pork. In time, he joins the law office of Mr. Covert, in whose "visual organs" were "a certain sanctimonious satanic look." There the young man works with a young scrapper and an alcoholic wreck who holds the key to Jack's past. Our hero's circle of friends further expands to include Martha, Mr. Covert's lovely ward and the target of his "vile machinations."

Hamm's reading is straightforward and clear. His only actorly spin comes with an evasive side villain, J. Fitzmore Smytthe, an unctuous Wall Streeter, whom he delivers with appropriate shiftiness - just, we feel, as Whitman would have him.

Turpin provides an afterward discussing the book's discovery and its place in Whitman's work. The audio book will be released May 30, the day before Whitman's 198th birthday.

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Powers regularly reviews audio books for The Washington Post.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25



By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



The extension of working hours at customs checkpoints between Iran and Azerbaijan would contribute to expansion of bilateral trade, as was noted at the meeting between Mohammad Reza Karbasi, deputy head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting with Azerbaijans envoy to Tehran, Bunyad Huseynov.



Mohammad Reza Karbasi called for around-the-clock operation of customs checkpoints along the borders between the two countries, Ibena (Iranian banks and economy news agency) reported.



The official also said that expansion of trade ties with Azerbaijan is on the agenda of his organization.



The two countries are planning to boost their annual volume of trade turnover to $2 billion, Karbasi added.



Bunyad Huseynov also called for expansion of trade between the two neighboring countries and said the trade turnover in 2016 increased by 75 percent.



The ties between Tehran and Baku have significantly improved over the past years.
Tehran, Iran, May 25

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

President Hassan Rouhani received Iranians vote of confidence on May 19 to stay in office for another four years. No doubt part of his favor is owing to the improvement he brought about to the economy in his first term, a main chapter of which was the lifting of international sanctions through a deal with world powers. However, the removal of sanctions has not yet borne full fruit, the causes of which he seems to be seeking at home.

The reelected Rouhani started his first press conference last Monday with a fiery speech that largely addressed the hindrances that had been preventing the full implementation of his plans during his first administration, a show of strong determination to uproot the obstacles, probably his biggest item on agenda in the four years ahead.

Rouhani critics say the nuclear deal has been a failure. They say although most sanctions have been removed, the Rouhani administration has not really succeeded in attracting foreign investment.

The fact is that a big obstacle discouraging foreign companies and banks from establishing ties with Iran, even while sanctions have been removed, is their concern with the transparency of the economic data of their potential Iranian partners. Foreign partners have preserved their fear that if they start business with an Iranian company, they may face US-imposed penalties on the grounds that their Iranian partners have had relations with entities under sets of US sanctions that are not subject to the nuclear deal and remain binding.

Iran will need $650 trillion rials (about $17 billion) foreign investment each year to meet the requirements of a master plan called the 6th Development Plan that outlines the countrys progress in the years 2017 to 2022.

In his Monday speech, Rouhani explicitly addressed the transparency problem, saying the obscure status of some enterprises should be dealt with. He even announced that his cabinet had already drafted bills that would help improve transparency with these companies.

Transparency is a key issue to be addressed. It should be made clear who pays taxes and how much, Rouhani said. He pointed out that the companies of concern do not come under any of the three types of economic enterprise (cooperative, governmental, and private) recognized by the Iranian law.

In practice, the Rouhani administration has already shown determination to solve the transparency issue. Governor of Central Bank of Iran Valiollah Seif said on May 15 that a new regulation on the countrys financial policies to fight money laundering had been prepared. He expressed hope that the implementation of the new regulation would help Iran enjoy the benefits of the nuclear deal.

Irans financial policy-makers also seek to join the Financial Action Task Force, a global anti-money laundering standard-setting body. Irans banking system needs to cooperate with the FATF in order to reintegrate into the global financial system following the implementation of the nuclear deal.

It should be made clear how much profit is made [in these companies], where they have invested, and how much salary [the managers] receive, the president stressed, adding he will keep secret much information that he has about the companies financial records only not to disturb society.

The interesting point about the companies of Rouhanis concern is that as president, he has been most severely criticized by their directly or indirectly affiliated organs throughout his first administration term. These opponents have criticized the administration for its plans to cooperate with the FATF, suggesting that such cooperation would lead to imposing restrictions on the activities of several domestic entities.

In his speech, Rouhani showed to have made his mind to abandon his past policy of forbearance and bring his economic improvement project full circle by healing this nagging transparency sore. It is therefore expected that, to defend the reputation of his landmark nuclear deal, which took two dear years of his time, Rouhani would have to fix economys missing links at home, something he is well aware of and determined to do.
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City officials gathered with key partners Monday morning to address the storm event and lingering public concern.

The community is asked to continue to report downed lines, debris in the roadway, flooded streets and any other concerns to 3-1-1. If it is an emergency, dial 9-1-1.

Citizens are urged to evaluate their property and if there is damage, report it to the City of Laredo through the 3-1-1 system. The city would like to log the damage as a part of the assessment of the storm event and its effects on the community.

For the time being, the City of Laredo and various departments are in assessment and cleanup mode. The public is asked to stay away from flooded areas in creeks and parks until the water has receded and city crews have had an opportunity to clean up debris.

READ MORE: 14-year-old boy electrocuted in central Laredo during severe thunderstorm

City facilities affected by the storm:

Fire Station #9, 13301 Mines Road

Fasken Community Center, 15201 Cerralvo Drive

Public Works/Traffic Safety Departments, 5512 Thomas Street

Utilities Main office building, 5816 Daugherty

Bartlett Soccer Complex, 602 Thomas

World Trade Bridge, 11601 FM 1472 (Mines Road)

Northwest Health Promotion Center (WIC clinic), 10224 Atlanta Drive

Zapata WIC Clinic, 101 First Street (Zapata is experiencing water line issues, due to the storm event)

Horacio De Leon Jr., acting city manager, together with various others, commended the work of all city departments in response to and during the storm, especially the work of police officers and firefighters.

De Leon urged citizens to be patient with the cleaning process, and asked them to move debris to the curb for solid waste pickup. The Solid Waste Department was instructed to add routes to address the cleanup of debris.

Brad Skinner, CBP assistant director for field operations, trade, addressed the damages sustained at the World Trade Bridge.

CBP said Sunday's weather caused power outages, flooding and structural damage at the World Trade Bridge between Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Traffic is suspended pending further notice.

RELATED: Striking reader-submitted photos show damage from thunderstorm around Laredo

Images from the area show tractor trailers flipped on their sides and cosmetic damage to bridge facilities. Power was knocked out in several Mexican border cities.

The World Trade Bridge is exclusively for commercial traffic between the two countries. The U.S. facility processes more than 12,000 cargo vehicles per day.

The National Weather Service says it is investigating whether there was a tornado. Fire Chief Steve Landin said there were 150 calls from approximately 4 p.m. through 11 p.m. Sunday.

Police took 683 calls in the same time period, and the 3-1-1 call center handled 520 calls in the same time frame. Landin said the National Weather Service is in Laredo touring storm damage sites with the Fire Department in order to better understand the type of weather that was experienced.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-TX-28, announced Thursday that Laredo Community College will receive up to $2.1 million over the next five years to help high school students prepare for college, via Upward Bound grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

Cuellar helped increase the funding for this program in the Appropriations Committee.

Upward Bound grants are part of the Department of Educations TRIO Program. Congressman Cuellar helped increase the funding for the TRIO Program in the Appropriations Committee to $950 million for the 2017 fiscal year  an increase of $50 million from the fiscal year 2016 budget.

Upward Bound grants are designed to help high school students prepare for, gain acceptance to, and afford higher education. They provide weekend tutoring and work on improving high school grade point averages, increasing their test scores, helping with financial aid and scholarship forms, and assisting with the college application process.

READ MORE: County tax collector files lawsuit against commissioners for allegedly denying her sick leave

Laredo Community College will receive $428,483 in the first year of the program, beginning this fall. The grants are expected to continue for five years, bringing the school a total of $2,142,415 to administer the program to local high school students.

I fought to increase the funding for this program, because I know what a difference Upward Bound grants can make for high school students aspiring to higher education, Cuellar said. I know LCC will use these funds to give local students in the Laredo area the opportunity to succeed. I will work in the Appropriations Committee to ensure that it continues for the full five years, so more students can take advantage of this program.

Dr. Ricardo J. Solis, President of Laredo Community College, said, "On behalf of Laredo Community College, I would like to extend my gratitude to Congressman Henry Cuellar for his efforts in securing continued funding for the Upward Bound program.

RELATED: Laredo mayor declares city a disaster area in wake of devastating storm

"Thanks to the Congressman securing these type of grants for Laredo Community College, countless more Laredo students, many of them first-generation college students, will be able to fulfill their educational goals, and Laredo Community College will be able to provide the educational resources to lead them on their path to academic success."

Other schools throughout Congressman Cuellars district, including the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Palo Alto College, will also receive grants from this program.

Congressman Cuellar plans to hold a press conference on the subject in Laredo at a later date, to be announced.
At a NATO ceremony in Brussels on Thursday, President Donald Trump appeared, in a moment captured on video, to push aside another world leader to get a spot at the front. That prompted pundits to joke that after eight years of Barack Obama's cautious foreign policy the United States was no longer "leading from behind."

But Trump's remarks at the event celebrating the Article 5 mutual defense treaty left the impression of a president who continues to lead from the side - with one foot in and one foot out when it comes to U.S. multilateral commitments.

Whether it's NATO, the Paris climate pact, the Iran nuclear deal or the NAFTA trade accord, the Trump administration has wavered and equivocated, failing to offer a full-throated endorsement and allowing such agreements to continue in an awkward state of limbo without U.S. leadership and nourishment.

Thursday's ceremony at the new NATO headquarters was supposed to put an end to the uncertainty among U.S. allies and partners in Europe. Trump's aides had laid the groundwork, hinting to reporters in preview stories that the president, who had questioned the security alliance during his campaign would directly endorse Article 5.

Instead, Trump found no space to do so in his 900-word address, as he stood next to a new monument symbolizing the treaty - a twisted piece of metal from the World Trade Center that was destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.

Article 5 was invoked by NATO for the first time after the attacks that day.

"I was fully convinced he would do it because it's very simple," said Thomas Wright, a Europe expert at Brookings. "It was the perfect time, standing aside the wreckage. . . It's very surprising he didn't do it. I think it's a real problem for him. It automatically turns the trip into a failure from a policy point of view."

The critical reaction, which came quickly on social media, forced White House aides to try to clean up after the president. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, press secretary Sean Spicer said that Trump's very participation in the event demonstrated his support.

"I think it's a bit silly," Spicer said, adding that the idea of Trump "having to reaffirm" his administration's support for Article 5 while was attending a ceremony celebrating it "is almost laughable."

Trump campaigned on a nationalist agenda that promised to put "America first," and he expressed deep skepticism of the U.S.-led multilateral institutions that emerged after World War II.

Since he assumed office, however, Trump has failed to follow through on some of his most extreme rhetoric to withdraw the United States from global partnerships other than the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which he scrapped in his first week. He has emphasized the importance of NATO during remarks at the White House.

His reticence to blow up the agreements has been widely viewed as a realization by a new president that complicated global problems - including terrorism and North Korea's nuclear threat - require broad-based international cooperation. It also has been seen as an example of the rising influence of more moderate factions within a West Wing racked by infighting between advisers with roots in Wall Street and those with more populist convictions.

But Trump has continued to denounce what he views as an unfair system that puts undue burdens on the United States. He chided NATO partners during his remarks Thursday for failing to devote 2 percent of their nation's budgets to defense to meet a goal established by the organization.

For NATO countries, the upshot is that their relations with the Trump administration continue to be defined by uncertainty and anxiety even as the president wraps up a maiden foreign trip this weekend that aimed to reaffirm U.S. global leadership.

"It creates a hedging behavior," said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a global risk consulting firm, pointing to countries such as Germany and France that have long had close relations with the United States.

Trump's posture "makes it more likely these countries are going their own way," Bremmer said. "There will be some move towards more coordination of European-only security, and there will be less coordination with the United States."

Trump's aides insist that his foreign policy is purposely unpredictable, aimed at keeping other countries off balance and giving the United States an edge - at the bargaining table or on the battlefield. The president's threats last month to withdraw from NAFTA resulted in the leaders of Canada and Mexico reportedly agreeing in principle to engage in talks to amend the terms of the 23-year-old trade accord.

In many cases, however, it is not even clear what is being negotiated.

Ahead of Trump's attendance at Friday's G7 Summit in Sicily, negotiators have been trying to get the United States to sign a joint statement that would walk the administration closer to endorsing the Paris climate pact inked in 2015 to reduce carbon emissions.

Trump denounced the deal during the campaign and he has moved to reverse a series of Obama-era regulations on automobiles and power plants. Inside the West Wing, advisers are sharply divided over whether to end U.S. support for the Paris deal.

A former U.S. official involved in the deal who remains close to the talks said things look promising for a joint statement on climate at the G7. But he emphasized that even if the United States signs on, it will not be a direct reaffirmation of the Paris accord.

Therefore, the former official said, it will remain uncertain where Trump stands unless he personally voices clear support during the summit.

"There's a lot of hesitation to put out a clear statement of policy" among the Trump administration, said the former official, who was not authorized by his current employer to speak on the record. "It's not policy unless the president says it is."

Rivals have spotted openings in Trump's equivocations. China has promoted its commitment not just to global free trade agreements but also to the Paris climate pact, while U.S. allies in its sphere of influence - including the Philippines and Australia - have looked to deepen ties with Beijing. Though the hedging began under the Obama administration, analysts said, it has sped up under Trump.

Some analysts said that it is becoming clearer that regardless of the ongoing policy divisions within the West Wing, Trump is fundamentally skeptical of multilateralism and that he will remain hostile to such agreements.

"I don't think this is about sending a message to his base to get their support - it's a conviction," said Wright, the Brookings analyst. "I always thought Trump was more ideological than people think on a small number of things. This is one of them."


Tehran, Iran, May 24



By Mehdi Sepahvand, Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iranian envoy to Baku Javad Jahangirzadeh has called for expansion of ties with Azerbaijan in tourism sector.



Addressing a conference on tourism held in Tehran, Jahangirzadeh said that both Iran and Azerbaijan attach high importance to the development of tourism sector.



According to the envoy, Iran hosted about seven million tourists in 2015/16 of which one million came from Azerbaijan.



The official further explained that the sides are working together to remove obstacles against expansion of cooperation in tourism area.



The conference aimed at boosting cooperation in tourism sphere between the two countries was held in collaboration with the Azerbaijans embassy in Tehran.



It was earlier reported that about 60,000 Iranians visited Azerbaijan during Nowruz holidays (late March) in the current year.
While former FBI Director James Comey is preparing to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the White House or the Justice Department's special counsel may press him to cancel the appearance or curtail any inclination to tell all.

The committee announced last week that Comey agreed to testify in open session after Memorial Day about the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in last year's presidential election and whether anyone close to President Donald Trump colluded in the effort. Trump has said he fired Comey on May 9 at least in part because of the inquiry, which the president has called a "witch hunt."

The White House could try to assert executive privilege to bar Comey from disclosing conversations with Trump or his aides, including one in which Trump reportedly asked Comey to drop an investigation into former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's dealings with Russia and Turkey. Trump has denied doing so.

Comey would probably be concerned by any White House effort to prevent him from testifying or turning over notes of his discussions with the president, according to a person familiar with his views who asked not to be identified discussing Comey's private deliberations.

"Comey is a rule-of-law guy but also someone who believes that the truth must be known," said Ronald Hosko, a former senior FBI agent who worked under Comey and predicts he'd fight back if the White House asserted he's barred from testifying. "He's probably informing himself about what he believes to be the bounds of executive privilege."

Robert Mueller, who's been named special counsel to oversee the Russia investigation, also could press Comey to limit what he'll say in public or assert that memos Comey wrote about his conversations with Trump should be kept confidential as official FBI documents. Days after Comey was fired, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel. Trump has yet to nominate a successor to Comey as director of the FBI.

As a former FBI director and longtime associate, Mueller may have significant influence on Comey's decisions. Comey wants to be careful to not impede Mueller's investigation and will consult with him, said the person familiar with his views.

Mueller probably sees Comey as one of his top witnesses to potential crimes such as obstruction of justice, said Hosko, who's now president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. "These are both very experienced prosecutors and government servants," Hosko said.

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department, which currently handles inquires for Mueller, would comment on whether steps might be taken to silence Comey.

A White House assertion of executive privilege over Comey's testimony and his notes would open a sensitive legal and political debate. Independent analysts said they didn't believe Comey can be stopped if he remains intent on telling his story.

"In the context of a criminal investigation, executive privilege has to give way," said Saikrishna Prakash, who lectures on constitutional law and presidential powers at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "How is the president going to stop Comey from testifying? He can't put somebody in jail for violating executive privilege and he can't fire him because he's already been fired."

Ronald Allen, a law professor at Northwestern University, said it would be "perfectly appropriate" legally for Trump to invoke executive privilege to stop Comey from testifying to Congress. But he said it would be "politically dangerous" because it would increase the likelihood a subpoena eventually would be issued in a criminal case that would probably override executive privilege and "would be even more embarrassing."

As FBI director, Comey was outspoken in testimony to Congress -- reaping both praise and criticism for his remarks -- on topics including the agency's investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state and on his disclosure in March that the agency's investigation of Russian interference last year included "whether there was any coordination" with Trump's campaign.

The revelation that Comey wrote detailed memos about his conversations with Trump adds a new element to his planned testimony. His notes on Trump asking him to drop the investigation of Flynn once the White House adviser was forced to resign haven't been made public but the substance has been confirmed by news organizations, including Bloomberg News.

Any effort by the White House to suppress Comey's testimony or bar him from handing over documents might end up in court.

One precedent already looms large in Comey's favor: Watergate. In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled against President Richard Nixon and ordered him to turn over audiotapes and documents to then-special prosecutor Leon Jaworski.

The court held that not even the president can use executive privilege as an excuse to withhold evidence that's "demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial." Nixon resigned 16 days after the ruling.

While courts have recognized a president's entitlement to receive candid, and confidential, advice since the 1974 ruling, that privilege isn't absolute, Prakash said.

Comey is also being asked to testify before a Senate committee, not a court and -- unlike most executive privilege situations where those who control the information oppose its disclosure -- the former FBI director wants to tell his side of the story, Prakash said.
BOZEMAN, Mont. - Republican businessman Greg Gianforte was ahead in Montana's sole House district in a special election Thursday with more than half the vote counted, on track to keep a seat in Republican hands despite facing assault charges for allegedly attacking a reporter who'd asked him about the GOP's health-care bill.

A victory for Gianforte would offer some relief for Republicans, who have struggled to sell the American Health Care Act and worried that a defeat would spark a panic about the party's agenda sinking it in 2018 elections.

But it was a closer call than the party had expected when it tapped the multi-millionaire to run in a state President Donald Trump carried by 20 points, and when Democrats nominated folk singer Rob Quist instead of an experienced politician.

Turnout patterns, late-breaking news, and a notoriously slow-paced ballot count had turned what once seemed to be a safe Republican seat into one Democrats hoped they could snatch away.

Nonetheless, Democrats prepared to claim victory no matter the outcome.

A win for the Democrat, cowboy-poet Rob Quist, would have givne his party its first major victory during the Trump presidency - and deliver a House seat held by Republicans for more than 20 years. But a victory for Gianforte, will be spun as fresh evidence of GOP decline.

The Democrats have pointed to two big challenges facing Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill as the reasons for their success: a series of damaging headlines regarding the FBI investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and the declining popularity of the Republican plan to overhaul the nation's health-care system.

Thursday's outcome could blunt the much-needed momentum they were hoping for as they head into a special election in Georgia next month, another in South Carolina, and the midterms of 2018.

Still, Democrats were prepared to claim a small victory in pushing Republicans to the edge for a seat that is normally an easy win for them. And they were ready to take advantage of the baggage that Republican Gianforte will deliver to the House Republican Caucus: his citation, late Wednesday, for allegedly assaulting a reporter at his campaign headquarters here.

Nontheless, a loss leaves Democrats to explain why, after elections in Kansas, Georgia, Nebraska and now Montana, they still haven't put a clear win on the board.

In-person voting began across the state just hours after Gianforte allegedly "body-slammed" Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, who was trying to ask him a question about the House Republican health-care plan. Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

"I'm glad I waited to vote until today," Wolf Redboy, 43, a software marketer and musician from Missoula, who backed Quist, said Thursday. It was the first election he'd voted in since 2012. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing in that tape. There are lots of words that come to mind for people who want to treat reporters that way."

Gianforte has not apologized for the incident, which upended the race considered by many to be a bellwether for Republicans' political chances in the era of Trump.

The scuffle was caught on tape by the reporter and witnessed by a Fox News reporting team. Gallatin County police announced the charges late Wednesday after the Guardian published the recording.

As three major newspapers pulled their endorsements of the technology entrepreneur and some early voters sought in vain to change their ballots, GOP leaders urged Gianforte to apologize in an attempt to control the damage.

"There is no time where a physical altercation should occur," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said at his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill. "It should not have happened. Should the gentleman apologize? Yeah, I think he should apologize."

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., one of Gianforte's closest allies in Montana politics and a former co-worker at his Bozeman company, called his actions "unacceptable" and agreed that he should apologize.

"I do not condone violence in any way," Daines said in a statement and television interview.

Quist told reporters Thursday that the scuffle was a "matter for law enforcement" and declined to comment further. But national Democrats quickly pounced. At a Thursday afternoon news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Gianforte a "wannabe Trump."

"That's his model. Donald Trump's his model," Pelosi said. "How do you explain that to children? 'You ask a question and I'll strangle you?' I mean, really."

Wednesday's incident took place after nearly four weeks of voting in a special election to replace Ryan Zinke (R), who became Trump's interior secretary in March. By Thursday, more than 200,000 of 700,000 eligible voters had cast early absentee ballots.

In interviews at Quist's final rally, at a Missoula microbrewery, voters were skeptical that the attack could change the race. Gianforte entered the contest with high negative ratings and an image as a hard-charging bully who had sued to keep people from fishing on public land near his home. He haddeflected attention from his low approval numbers with ads attacking Quist over unpaid taxes.

"Greg thinks he's Donald Trump," said Brent Morrow, 60. "He thinks he could shoot a guy on Fifth Avenue and get away with it."

Still, the assault charge was the biggest political story in Montana. The Billings Gazette, which serves Montana's largest city, told readers that it had made a "poor choice" by ignoring "questionable interactions" the candidate has had with reporters in the past.

The Helena Independent Record, which serves the state's capital city, wrote that the concepts of democracy and press freedom were "under attack" by Gianforte.

And the Missoulian newspaper, which had taken heat from readers for backing Gianforte, pulled its support and suggested that the candidate, who narrowly lost a race for governor last year, should bow out of public life.

As word spread of the alleged assault in Bozeman, some supporters who had been knocking on doors for Quist began playing voters the audio clip. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has invested more than $500,000 in the race, called for Gianforte to quit the race and released a last-minute radio adfeaturing Jacobs's audio of the incident.

A spokeswoman for the Montana secretary of state said it was not possible for early voters to recast their ballots in light of Gianforte's actions. The office received a dozen phone calls from early voters on Thursday morning wondering whether they could revote, and reports suggested that local election officials had received a wave of similar calls.

"In Montana, we vote only once," Christi Jacobsen, chief of staff to Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, wrote in an email. "Once you voted you can't change your vote."

The polls were scheduled to close at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

In the recording, Jacobs can be heard asking Gianforte to respond to the newly released Congressional Budget Office score of House Republicans' American Health Care Act, a bill Gianforte has said he was glad to see the House approve.

After Gianforte tells Jacobs to direct the question to his spokesman, there is the sound of an altercation and Gianforte begins to shout.

"I'm sick and tired of you guys!" Gianforte says. "The last guy that came in here did the same thing. Get the hell out of here! Get the hell out of here! The last guy did the same thing. Are you with the Guardian?"

Back in December, the Trump administration's decision to tap Zinke was not initially seen to put the seat in play. Trump easily won Montana's three electoral votes in 2016, and Republicans won nearly every statewide office, appearing to wipe out the party's bench of credible candidates.

Quist surprised both parties by running - and by securing the Democratic nomination. A supporter of Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential bid, he told activists he backed Canadian-style single-payer health care, and he waxed to local reporters about whether taxes should be raised on the rich, whether military spending should be slashed and whether assault weapon owners should register their guns.

In the first months of the race, Quist raised just $900,000 and appeared to be written off by Washington Democrats. Republicans attempted to define the candidate before he could go on the air, with the opposition research group America Rising paying a tracker to follow Quist, and the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC hiring a researcher to dig up damaging stories about the musician-turned-politician's tax problems.

"We knew that because Rob Quist was an unknown quantity with voters, we had the ability to define him negatively out of the gates," said America Rising chief executive Colin Reed.

But after the failure of the first version of the AHCA in March, Quist's fundraising surged, adding up to more than $5 million by the final pre-election report - outmatching Gianforte, whom Republicans had hoped would self-fund his campaign.

The American Health Care Act, the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, had become the dominant issue in the campaign. In the closing days of the race, Quist focused his events and TV ads on his opposition to the Republican bill and brought in Sanders, I-Vt., to help promote his position on U.S. health care: universal coverage.

Gianforte struggled to talk about the AHCA. In public, he said that he would wait to weigh in on the legislation until the CBO score was released and assured him that protections for people with preexisting medical conditions wouldn't be scrapped. On a call with donors that was leaked to newspapers including The Washington Post, the Republican said he was "thankful" for the House's vote that moved the bill forward.

At campaign stops and on TV, the soft-spoken Quist either rebutted Republican attack ads or attacked the GOP's health-care bill, hitting Gianforte especially hard on his remarks on the donor call.

"Greg Gianforte says he's thankful for the new health-care bill, the one that eliminates protections for preexisting conditions and raises premiums on every Montanan who has one, because he gets a big tax break at our expense," Quist said in his closing spot.

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Viebeck reported from Washington. Ed O'Keefe and Sean Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.

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VIDEO:Montana's Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was cited for assaulting a reporter the night before polls opened for their special election on May 25, where he faces off against first-time Democratic candidate and musician Rob Quist. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

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Donald Trump disclosure of top-secret Israeli intelligence to top Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office is not without repercussions.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense chief Avigdor Liberman said his country tweaked its intelligence-sharing protocols with the United States after Trump's off-script remarks.

"I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that there's unprecedented intelligence cooperation with the United States," Liberman told Army Radio. "What we had to clarify with our friends in the United States, we did. We did our checks," he added.

Liberman didn't clarify how or to what extent Israel changed how it shares intelligence with the United States. But the comments indicate Israel's displeasure at Trump's inadvertent leaks. "Not everything needs to be discussed in the media; some things need to be talked about in closed rooms," he said.

Trump's loose-lipped comments came during a May 10 meeting at the White House with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to Washington Sergey Kislyak. Trump reportedly went off-script and disclosed top-secret intelligence about the Islamic State terror group during the meeting-information that reportedly came from Israel. The revelations sparked outrage among defense and intelligence officials, with furious Israeli intelligence officials shouting at their American counterparts in meetings, as Foreign Policy first reported.

The White House initially denied the reports, but then Trump undercut those denials in one of his infamous Twitter rants. "As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism," he tweeted.

The latest offshoot of the Trump-Russia scandal came right before Trump's first major international trip, which included a stop in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's president, seemed willing to sweep the scandal under the rug to welcome Trump and his pro-Israel team with open arms.

But Trump may have compounded the scandal on Monday by appearing to acknowledge the ISIS intelligence came from Israel. "Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name 'Israel' during that conversation. They were all saying I did, so you had another story wrong," he told a pack of reporters, next to a sheepish-looking Netanyahu.
Two men accused in almost two dozen home burglaries in The Woodlands were indicted Tuesday.

A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Roderick Dewayne Cosey Jr., 32, and Javin Monk, 32, both of Houston, on one second-degree felony count of burglary of a habitation each. In a February press release, detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said they believed Cosey and Monk were responsible for 23 burglaries in The Woodlands Township from December 2016 into January 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Iran has inaugurated the third underground missile production factory, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said May 25.

He added that enemies want to put limit on Irans missile capabilities, because they know this sphere has become Irans effective power leverage and the country would continue development of its missile capabilities, according to Fars news agency.

It is normal that Irans enemies, US and Israel, feel the threat and anger from Irans underground missile building factories, he said.

US President Donald Trump on May 17 extended wide sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 international nuclear deal.

Trump imposed narrow penalties on Iranian and Chinese persons and companies regarding the Islamic Republics ballistic missile program.

After Trump became the US president, about 23 Iranian and foreign firms and persons were put under sanctions for participation in Irans missile program.
BRUSSELS - President Donald Trump exported the confrontational, nationalist rhetoric of his campaign across the Atlantic on Thursday, scolding European leaders for not footing more of the bill for their own defense and lecturing them to stop taking advantage of U.S. taxpayers.

Speaking in front of a twisted shard of the World Trade Center at NATO's gleaming new headquarters in Brussels, Trump upbraided America's longtime allies for "not paying what they should be paying." He used a ceremony to dedicate the memorial to NATO's resolve in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States as a platform from which to exhort leaders to "focus on terrorism and immigration" to ensure their security.

And he held back from the one pledge NATO leaders most wanted to hear: an unconditional embrace of the organization's solemn treaty commitment that an attack on a single alliance nation is an attack on all of them.

Instead, European leaders gazed unsmilingly at Trump while he said that "23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying," and that they owe "massive amounts" from past years - a misstatement of NATO's spending targets, which guide individual nations' own domestic spending decisions.

The harsh tone had a toll, as Trump was left largely on his own after the speech as leaders mingled and laughed with each other, leaving the U.S. president to stand silently on a stage ahead of a group photo.

The long day of gruff Brussels meetings was a contrast to his friendlier Middle East encounters, where Trump last weekend embraced the authoritarian Saudi monarchy and said he had been wowed by Saudi King Salman's wisdom.

In Brussels, Trump sat in a morning meeting with top European Union leaders, where one emerged to say that his message to Trump was that the West should concentrate more on values such as human rights and less on "interests." The president lunched with French President Emmanuel Macron, an encounter in which the two leaders shook hands in a tense, white-knuckled embrace. And he sped across Brussels to NATO, where British Prime Minister Theresa May, the leader of Washington's closest ally, buttonholed him about her anger over intelligence leaks following Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, traveling with the president, downplayed the absence of Trump's formal commitment to security guarantees during the speech, saying that there was no question of U.S. support for NATO and all of the obligations that are entailed in membership.

"Having to reaffirm something by the very nature of being here and speaking at a ceremony about it is almost laughable," Spicer said after the speech.

In a news conference after the leaders had held a working dinner, and Trump departed for a meeting of the Group of 7 in Sicily, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "we have seen that plain speaking of President Trump before."

Even if Trump did not say it, Stoltenberg said, he "has been clear on his commitment to NATO. But President Trump has also been clear in the message to all allies that we have to deliver on the pledge we made to increase defense spending. He was blunt on that message today."

Leaders offered modest applause at the end of a speech that Trump began by asking for a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester, England, that killed 22 and wounded many more.

Addressing the British, Trump said, "May all the nations here grieve with you and stand with you." The attack, he said, "demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism."

Trump did not refer to British prime minister's irritation, expressed earlier in the day, over what officials in England have said was the leak to U.S. news media of intelligence information that Britain gathered in the investigation of the Manchester case and shared with the United States.

"We have strong relations with the United States, our closest partner," May told reporters as she entered NATO's $1.2 billion new headquarters for the ceremony, "and that is, of course, built on trust. Part of that is knowing intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will make clear to President Trump that intelligence shared with law enforcement agencies must be secure."

May talked with Trump about the issue inside the closed meetings, a senior British government official said.

Trump is already under fire at home for violating intelligence agreements, following a Washington Post report that he revealed sensitive information on the Islamic State, obtained from Israel, to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador to Washington.

In a presidential statement issued while Trump was at the ceremony, he called the Manchester leaks "deeply troubling," vowed to "get to the bottom" of them and called for a full investigation by U.S. agencies, one that could end with prosecutions, he said.

During last year's campaign, Trump called into question the U.S. commitment to NATO's security guarantees, saying he would check a member's defense commitment before coming to its aid. Since then, Cabinet officials have pledged to defend the alliance, but top officials of other NATO allies said that Trump's personal guarantee would eliminate any lingering doubts.

In the speech, Trump gave no specific commitment to Article 5, the collective security provision that has been invoked only once - following the September 2001 attacks.

A senior administration official said that "the intent was to deliver a direct message, which he's done before. He's been direct with them in rallies in speeches. He wanted to give the same message that he's been giving when NATO leaders are present or are not present," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to expand on Trump's remarks. "It's the same message he gave on the campaign trail, it's the same message he gives to the American people, and it's the same message he gives to leaders one on one."

Trump began his day in Brussels at a meeting with European Union leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

"Values and principles first, this is what we - Europe and America - should be saying," Tusk told reporters after the meeting. Tusk, who has expressed concern before about the new U.S. administration, said he and Trump agreed on counterterrorism, but did not see eye to eye on a number of other issues, including climate change, trade and Russia.

Europe has been concerned about Trump's relationship with Russia, particularly over sanctions imposed after its 2014 military involvement in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. Some U.S. lawmakers have proposed additional sanctions in response to what U.S. intelligence has said was Russia's interference in the U.S. elections.

National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, who briefed reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the G-7, said that the president is "looking" at sanctions against Russia. "Right now," he said, "we don't have a position."

At lunch with Trump, Macron repeated France's urging that the United States not pull out of the 2015 Paris climate accord, a decision he has hinted at but that the administration says has not yet been made.

On this fourth and penultimate stop on Trump's nine-day trip, the first overseas travel of his presidency, Trump did not appear to find the near adulation he experienced from Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, and from the Israeli government in Jerusalem.

At those stops, they agreed with Trump's call to concentrate on counterterrorism and economic growth, with no discussion, at least in public, about human and civil rights concerns that had dogged U.S.-Middle East relationships under President Barack Obama. Compared to his clear ebullience and declarations of personal friendship with leaders in the Middle East, Trump appeared standoffish and solitary glum among his NATO colleagues.

NATO's leaders used the excuse of the vast new headquarters to invite the former real estate mogul for a ribbon-cutting, even though construction on the site - a former military airfield - is not yet finished. Beyond its official purpose, however, the meeting was designed to allow Trump and NATO to take the measure of each other.

Some allies have felt the golden word of the president would finalize the message to Russia and others across the NATO border that the United States had their backs.

"That would be important if the president personally and explicitly states it," said Latvian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andrejs Pildegovics, who was in Brussels for the meeting. "At the end of the day, all important decisions are made by the president. And usually the president has a few options on the table."

NATO pledged in 2014 that all members will reach the goal of spending at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense within 10 years. Stoltenberg noted Thursday morning that overall spending among members has been up for two years in a row, and he said he anticipated that increases would now speed up as the alliance addresses the terrorist threat.

He also said NATO was ready to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State - to which all individual members already belong. Among other increased contributions to counterterrorism - which Trump has urged - he said the alliance would step up support of NATO AWACS planes and intelligence-sharing, and provide refueling capabilities.

"We will now establish a new intelligence fusion cell at the headquarters addressing terrorism, including foreign fights," and appoint a special coordinator for NATO's counterterrorism efforts, Stoltenburg said. He called it a "strong political message," as well as a practical one.

Stoltenberg also said NATO would consider increasing its noncombat troop presence in Afghanistan. The administration is currently reviewing its own presence there, including adding up to 5,000 troops to the nearly 10,000 already on the ground and expanding their role assisting Afghan government forces fighting both the Taliban and a local Islamic State presence.

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Video: Trump and Macron shake hands:

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Video: President Trump criticized leaders at a dedication ceremony at the new NATO headquarters in Brussels, May 25, saying they need to increase financial contributions to combat "the threat of terrorism." (The Washington Post)

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The least likely people you'd expect to feel badly for embattled White House press secretary Sean Spicer are those with whom he has sparred with the most.

So it came as a surprise to some on Wednesday when Spicer received an outpouring of sympathy. The reason: As President Donald Trump met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Spicer - a devout Catholic - was noticeably absent from the entourage.

Those in attendance included first lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster; Hope Hicks, Trump's communications adviser; Keith Schiller, his former bodyguard; and Dan Scavino, his social media manager. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are both Jewish but nonetheless met with the pontiff.

Meanwhile, Spicer, the highly visible White House aide who was reportedly excited to meet with Pope Francis, wasn't there.

"Wow," a source told CNN. "That's all he wanted."

Spicer's absence struck a chord. By excluding him, "Trump has done something I thought was impossible," tweeted Josh Dawsey, Politico White House reporter.

"He has made everyone empathize with/defend Spicer," Dawsey said.

New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush spoke out. Spicer has on multiple occasions criticized and clashed with Thrush during press briefings, exchanges portrayed by Melissa McCarthy's Sean Spicer character on "Saturday Night Live."

"That planners of this trip couldn't or wouldn't get @seanspicer into the Vatican speaks to a small-mindedness I find incredibly depressing," Thrush tweeted.

"This seems needlessly harsh - when else is Spicer likely to meet the Pope, and it mattered to him?" tweeted New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.

More for you Trump says his Saudi deal will create jobs. The companies...

"Trump is a cruel boss," said New Republic senior editor Jeet Heer, who also wrote the president "didn't let Sean Spicer meet the Pope out of sheer meanness."

Politico Magazine editor in chief Blake Hounshell said leaving out Spicer "seems like a slight."

Huff Post published the headline, "Sean Spicer Gets A Ride On The Nope Mobile."

CNN's Erin Burnett said meeting with the pope "by all accounts would have been the highlight of his life."

Mark Preston, a senior political analyst for CNN who attends church in the same parish as Sean Spicer, told Burnett, "I'm sure is really hurting him," and suggested his exclusion reflected the president's "pettiness."

"There very few perks, there are very long days," he said of Spicer's job. "For something like this to happen to Sean Spicer I think really is an indictment against Donald Trump and again in his lack of loyalty

Burnett wrapped up the segment by saying, "If Donald Trump indeed plans to remove him, go ahead and get rid of him. But he's done a lot for you, this deeply mattered to him. I just think on a human level it was clear what the right thing to do was."

Some outside of the media industry were equally vocal.

"I'm no Spicer fan, but Trump's petty refusal to include him, a devout Catholic . . . was cruel and disgusting," Harvard Law School's Laurence Tribe tweeted.

"There are few things I despise more than people who use their power to step on the dreams of others," another tweet said.

Spicer is a regular at Sunday mass, and told reporters earlier this year that he gave up alcohol for Lent. He was mocked last year for appearing on CNN with ashes on his forehead in honor of Ash Wednesday.

He did not respond to media requests for comment Wednesday evening, but has previously spoken of his faith publicly.

In a television interview during the transition, Spicer said, "I'm going to look to God every day to give me the strength to do what's right," he said.

"That's all you can ask for is to get up and say, 'Can I do this thing?'" Spicer said. "Help guide me and ask Him for strength."

Some on social media expressed less sympathy toward the press secretary, with at least one Twitter user surmising, "maybe he didn't want to go!"

Comedian Samantha Bee tweeted: "sorry about the pope. Remember, you don't HAVE to put up with this . . ."
WASHINGTON - The Republican bid to overhaul the health-care industry took one small step forward Wednesday and then essentially went two steps backward.

For a week now, some congressional insiders had been whispering that the critical "score" from the Congressional Budget Office, on the legislation that narrowly passed the House earlier this month, might not provide any real deficit savings. Such a finding would have violated the Senate's more arcane rules for considering budgetary items under fast-track rules - and it might have forced House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., to redraw the legislation and hold another vote.

So there were a few sighs of relief late Wednesday afternoon when the CBO declared the legislation would find $119 billion in savings over 10 years, more than enough to allow it to pass muster under the Senate's so-called reconciliation rules, which allow a simple majority for passage rather than the usual 60-vote majority. That's an important feat for Senate Republicans, who control just 52 seats.

But that's also where the good news ended and reality set in about the rest of the legislation. The congressional analysts - led by a Republican handpicked by Ryan -found that 23 million more people would be left uninsured than under current law, the Affordable Care Act.

The $119 billion in savings would result mostly because fewer people would be covered under the ACA's expansion of Medicaid - and because the new legislation would loosen requirements on the quality of coverage that insurers would have to provide.

For a core group of Senate Republicans, those facts may be all they need to bury the House version of a health-care overhaul once and for all. They also highlight just how high the hurdle is to get a health-care bill to President Donald Trump's desk.

These senators already had built up staunch opposition to Ryan's House-passed bill, when CBO estimates back in March suggested that the initial draft would leave 24 million more uninsured than under the ACA. After Wednesday's updated estimates, those Senate Republicans, predominantly from states with large populations of people who benefited from Medicaid expansion, dug in even further against the House bill because millions of their constituents would be left in the lurch by the GOP proposal.

"That's tough to swallow," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who has 180,000 constituents relying on the Medicaid expansion for insurance coverage.

Capito, part of a bloc of 20 Republicans from Medicaid-expansion states, has been a vocal opponent of the House bill for too quickly transitioning away from that ACA benefit. She says this updated estimate puts steel in the spines of those Republicans, including Sens. Rob Portman, Ohio, John McCain, Ariz., and Lisa Murkowski, Alaska.

"It strengthens my resolve," Capito said. "To say, what are we doing to people here, particularly to our most vulnerable or those that don't have the wherewithal?"

"Yeah, I think it helps. I think it helps the Medicaid states," McCain said.

With every Democrat opposed to his effort and just 52 Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., knows that the Capito-McCain wing is the most critical to getting close to the 50 votes he needs from his side of the aisle - which would allow Vice President Mike Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote.

But each move to appease these Republicans risks losing a few more votes on the conservative end of McConnell's caucus, including his home-state colleague, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who seems dead set against supporting anything that is not seen as a complete gutting of the bill Republicans derisively call Obamacare.

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have been more aligned with the House Freedom Caucus, which negotiated key portions of the legislation.

The jigsaw puzzle has left McConnell expressing rare bouts of public pessimism about such a big piece of legislation, something he campaigned on himself in his 2014 reelection - repealing and replacing Obamacare.

In a Wednesday interview with Reuters, the Republican leader began by telling his interviewers not to bother with questions about the ongoing health-care negotiations. "There's not a whole lot of news to be made on health care," McConnell said, adding later that he was struggling to find a path to getting those 50 votes. "I don't know how we get to 50 at the moment. But that's the goal."

Even if he can finesse the divide between his rock-ribbed conservatives and his Republicans from Medicaid-expansion states, McConnell risks blowing up what had been a meticulously crafted coalition in the House, where Ryan won, after weeks of fits and starts, by a two-vote margin.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician who has been trying to find common ground, said that the CBO report would probably provide some good news that Senate negotiators could seize on. "Those conservative families that voted for Trump need relief from $20,000-a-year premiums," Cassidy said, giving Senate negotiators the chance to exhume parts of the mostly dead-on-arrival bill from the House.

"You want to look at different components of it, it may be that some of it you keep and some of it you discard," Cassidy said.

However, the CBO was clinical in its explanation for the lower premiums: "because the insurance, on average, would pay for a smaller proportion of health care costs."

That means worse coverage, and many Senate Republicans are wary of passing a law that will stick their working-class voters - many of whom come from regions that voted overwhelmingly for Trump - with deteriorated coverage.

Now Republicans are left to their working groups in the Senate, trying to find the right mix. Veteran Republicans including McCain know that what they need to do is put together a draft piece of legislation where almost all of it is agreed upon, then start getting into the final wheeling and dealing on the last critical details.

"Right now there's a lack of cohesion. Now, once they get a base bill, then I think you're going to see a lot of back and forth," McCain said. "But so far they haven't come up with a piece of legislation to work with."
In the Trump administration, "energy dominance" has replaced "energy independence" as the go-to phrase for describing the federal government's broad energy goals - in President Donald Trump's case, to promote as much oil, gas and coal development as possible.

For years, if there was anything Republicans and Democrats could agree on regarding energy policy (or at least the way they talked about energy policy), it was that the U.S. needed to be "energy independent."

That bipartisan byword was used to describe efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign fuel - mostly by encouraging domestic energy production whether it be extracting fossil fuel or developing alternative energy sources. Ever since the 1970s, when wars in the Middle East periodically choked oil supplies and spiked gasoline prices, the catchphrase has been politically potent in this country.

But more recently, the slogan has lost its cache among voters. Gas prices were relatively low throughout the presidential campaign, and the United States is now far less dependent on oil from abroad over the past decade as a result of the shale-gas fracking boom.

That's given the Trump administration a rhetorical opening to trumpet the hat-ready slogan.

This week, for example, when announcing the new head of a offshore drilling safety office, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the pick helps "set our path toward energy dominance." In April, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told onlookers at the opening of a carbon-capture project in Texas that Trump "has made it very clear to me that he doesn't just want America to be energy-independent; he wants America to be energy-dominant."

Where does "energy dominance" come from? The Cabinet officials are taking cues from the president. Trump dropped the phrase in his first major speech on energy policy delivered last May in North Dakota, in the heart of U.S. oil and gas country, and made it an underlined cornerstone of his energy policy as a presidential candidate. "American energy dominance will be declared a strategic, economic, and foreign policy goal of the United States," he said. "It's about time!"

After the election, the phrase filtered down to Trump's Cabinet picks. "Mr. President," Perry said in a speech reflecting his nomination to be energy secretary, "I remember clearly your comments to me when we discussed my role at the Energy Department. You said, 'I don't want America to just be energy independent, I want America to be energy dominant.'"

Before Trump ran for president and introduced the phrase to broader political debate, it was rattling around industry circles.

"This is the time to invest in the infrastructure and policies we need to achieve the full benefits of energy advances and secure a stable supply of energy for decades yet to come," Jack Gerard, head of the American Petroleum Institute, told reporters in 2014 when speaking out in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline. "The rest of the world is certainly not sitting on their hands in the face of America's emerging energy dominance."

What does the phrase mean? During the campaign, Trump said he wanted the U.S. to become a net energy exporter - a goal that, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country is on track to reach by 2026. By leaving few fossil-fuels resources in the United States unexploited, the thinking goes, the country can fund infrastructure and bolster national security.

"There is a difference in energy independence, and there is a difference in energy dominance," Zinke told attendees of an offshore technology conference in May. "We're in a position to be dominant. And if we, as a country, want to have national security, and an economy that we all desperately need, then dominance is what America needs." (Proponents of "energy independence" also made the national security argument.)

One thing left unsaid is that becoming an oil and gas exporter may conflict with one of Trump's other goals - improved relations with Russia, which fuels much of Europe.

What does it miss? So far, Trump's critics, including the many who attended the science and climate marches in April, have framed the series of executive orders unwinding President Barack Obama's climate policy as ignorant of a need to take steps toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the effects of climate change.

One of those steps was investment from the Department of Energy in solar, wind and other renewable energy technology, which the Trump administration is seeking to cut in its proposed budget. Critics of Trump worry that research and development being made by other nations, like China and Germany, in solar and wind technology will give them a leg up in the energy market in the decades ahead.

"Notably missing from most of this 'energy dominance' talk," Dave Anderson, a policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute, told me, "is renewable energy sources."
Tehran, Iran, May 25



By Mehdi Sepahvand, Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov has presented his countrys tourist attractions in Tehran.



Addressing a conference on tourism, Bunyad Huseynov encouraged Iranian tour operators to launch tours to rural regions of his country and take part in international events in Azerbaijan.



Speaking about measures taken by Azerbaijans government to simplify the procedure for issuing visas, he said ASAN Visa system makes it easy for citizens from Iran and other countries to travel to his country.



The envoy briefed the participants about international sport events and shopping festivals and tax-free policies adopted in Azerbaijan, aimed at attracting tourists.



According to the ambassador, the ties between Iran and Azerbaijan over the past years have considerably improved.



He further vowed to give support for Iranian tour operators doing business in Azerbaijan.



About 350 Iranian tour operators attended the conference held on May 24 in Tehran.




President Donald Trump's demands to step up the fight against terrorism are set to resonate with his NATO partners when he visits the alliance headquarters for the first time on Thursday.

A deadly bombing in the U.K. this week has given fresh urgency to his call for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to become more engaged in fighting global terrorism. France and Germany dropped their resistance to an upgrade of NATO's role in the international coalition against Islamic State on the eve of the summit.

Trump's meeting with fellow NATO leaders in Brussels, a city he once called a "hellhole," will go a long way to determining the future strength of the trans-Atlantic alliance. While facing foot-dragging from countries including Italy and Germany to his calls to raise defense spending, he's likely to find common ground on the shared threat posed by radical Islamist terrorism.

The Manchester attack will play a "big role" in the meeting and "drives home the Trump administration's message that more needs to be done to fight terrorism," said Kristine Berzina, a Brussels-based fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

While the shared threat will help to avert fresh tensions with partners already anxious about the Trump administration's priorities, potential flashpoints remain. Prime Minister Theresa May will have an opportunity to raise British concerns about the U.S. leaking of intelligence related to the Manchester attacks that is regarded as a breach of trust by a key ally.

The forces tugging at NATO will be symbolized before the summit dinner when the leaders inaugurate a new headquarters. The steel-and-glass complex will feature pieces of the Berlin Wall, whose fall in 1989 marked the West's victory in the Cold War against Russia, and of the World Trade Center, whose collapse in the 2001 terrorist attacks prompted the only occasion when the alliance has invoked its mutual-defense clause.

At issue for NATO in the Middle East is whether the alliance becomes a full member of the coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. NATO currently plays a supporting role through the use of Airborne Warning and Control System planes and the training of Iraqi soldiers.

Germany and France had expressed concerns that upgrading NATO's involvement could skew the geographical balance among the existing 68 partners in the coalition and weaken it, according to European officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations are confidential.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said broad support exists for making the organisation a full member of the coalition and doing so will offer political and practical benefits.

"All 28 allies are members of the global coalition and today we will agree on NATO's membership in the coalition," Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday, adding that the alliance will not engage in combat operations. "This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our coordination within the coalition."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters on the plane to Brussels from Rome that it would be an "important step." NATO's "been an observer. But they've become more and more engaged in the actual fight to defeat" Islamic State, he said.

The fight against Islamic State will also be at the forefront of the Group of Seven meeting later this week, with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni saying in a statement that leaders "will deliver the strongest possible message of extraordinary and common commitment against terrorism." Trump even broached the topic with the pope on his visit to the Vatican, discussing extremism and the radicalization of young people, Tillerson said.

Trump has leverage to gain concessions from Europe both over NATO's anti-terrorism activities and over allies' defense expenditure because European officials are genuinely worried about his commitment to the alliance, not least its mutual-defense provision, said Berzina. She said they are keen for Trump to show unequivocal support for collective defense at the summit.

"Because NATO is a consensus-based organization dominated by the U.S., the Europeans can't just fire back the way they do when acting as European Union members," Berzina said. "This could lead to concrete results in the near future on Trump's demands regarding NATO."

The timing of Thursday's dinner, at what is for many Europeans the unthinkably early hour of 5:45 p.m., illustrates the American influence on the alliance.

Brussels, which was targeted in a 2016 terror attack that left 32 dead, is the penultimate stop for Trump on a four-country tour that marks his first overseas trip as U.S. president and that has coincided with a growing political storm at home over possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. The controversy has sparked an FBI probe into whether anyone close to Trump colluded with Russia.

On defense expenditure, with the Trump administration pressing Europe to foot more of the common security bill, NATO members intend to draw up annual plans for increased spending. The U.S. accounts for about 70 percent of NATO's overall defense outlays.

In 2014, NATO members set a goal of spending at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense within a decade and last year in Europe only Estonia, Greece, Poland and the U.K. met the target. The U.S. led in 2016 with defense expenditure of 3.61 percent of GDP.

In a concession to Germany, which has raised defense outlays while rejecting any rush to the 2 percent target and urging smarter spending in Europe, NATO allies aim to allow national plans to include non-military contributions such as development aid that help meet overall security goals.

Amid the pressure from Trump over defense budgets, the EU is drafting plans to spend more of its common budget on defense research, pool procurement and give the arms industry better access to finance.

"I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them," said Tillerson, who reiterated U.S. support for NATO's collective defense obligation. "The American people are doing a lot for your security, for our joint security. You need to make sure you're doing your share for your own security as well."

---

Bloomberg contributors: Ian Wishart, Gregory Viscusi, Jennifer Jacobs, Marine Strauss, Lyubov Pronina, Jones Hayden, Patrick Donahue ,Viktoria Dendrinou, Josh Wingrove, Tim Ross and John Martens.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

Pakistan has a strong interest in gas pipeline from Iran, which would satisfy its gas needs and in the future would generate income for Pakistan as a transit country for Iranian gas supplies to India and China, Dr. Hooman Peimani, Senior Consultant on energy security and related issues at Independent Consultancy in Canada believes.

However, Pakistan's close ties with the US, which opposes this pipeline, is the main obstacle to its realization, Peimani told Trend by email.

In reality, the main problem [of Iran-Pakistan pipeline project] is not the lack of funding for its construction, but the lack of will on the part of the Pakistani government for its close ties with Iran's enemy, the US, and thus Pakistan's inability and unwillingness to offend Washington by importing gas from Iran. Unless this issue is settled one way or another, the pipeline cannot be realized in the near future, Peimani said.

The analyst noted that there is no international sanction to prevent the construction of the Pakistani section and Iran, China and Russia have all declared their readiness to help Pakistan in this regard.

Peimani stressed that Iran-Pakistan pipeline is a necessary project for Iran in order to increase its gas exports, which is now very small for the country having the world's largest conventional gas reserves (according to BP).

He went on to add that the project is also necessary for Pakistan whose domestic gas reserves are inadequate and rapidly depleting.

The expert believes that as Pakistan's neighbor whose section of the pipeline only needs a short connecting line to its border, Iran is the only logical piped gas supplier to Pakistan as the proposed alternatives (onshore Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI) and offshore Qatar-Pakistan) are unrealistic and phenomenally expensive.

Pakistan's close ties with the US, its second largest foreign aid provider after China, is the main reason leading to its engagement in the TAPI, Peimani said.

He noted that once realized, the project will have a major impact on the region for its satisfying Pakistan's gas needs and help it increase its domestic electricity generation now way below its requirements.

Moreover, the pipeline will bring about the possibility of exporting Iranian gas not only to India, but also, more likely in the short-run, China, which is working on increasing its piped gas imports from friendly countries without relying on any one single supplier to decrease its reliance on LNG imports via sea tankers when it lacks naval superiority to ensure the long-term security of their sea routes, the analyst said.

Once it is realized, its extension to India and China will be a distinct possibility as both China and India have good ties with Tehran and want to import Iranian gas while Pakistan, as a poor country with a growing need for expensive imported fossil energy, will have every reason to reduce the financial burden of such imports. Generating income as a transit country for Iranian gas exports to India and China will be a logical and feasible means for this purpose, Peimani said.

According to the expert, the positive impact of the pipeline project on its ties with India and China - further consolidating its ties with China - its long-term ally and now the largest foreign investor, and removing tensions from the ties with India, will be another major incentive for Pakistan to extend the pipeline to these countries.

The pipeline could make Iran, Pakistan and China much closer to each other and incline them to work on regional issues in concert, while helping remove tensions in Indian-Pakistani relations once both sides have economic benefits for such development, Peimani said.

Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project (also called Peace pipeline) worth $7.5 billion has been discussed for years. Iran has already completed the construction of its section of the pipeline from the South Pars field to Pakistani border. Pakistani section of the pipeline is still not ready and Islamabad explains the delay by the lack of funds.

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
AUSTIN -- A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday against expanding government secrecy in a case involving the public's right to know who supplies the lethal drugs Texas uses to execute death row inmates.

The decision in favor of openness by the state's 3rd Court of Appeals addressed the broader question about when potential safety concerns should trump the public's right to know how the state is spending taxpayer money.

The ruling likely has a limited effect immediately, however, because the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring state prison officials to keep the identities of the drug makers secret.

But the case has been watched by open-government advocates who said its outcome could be significant in other cases where the state has withheld information by claiming that doing so could create "a substantial threat of physical harm" -- a litmus test put in place by the Texas Supreme Court in 2011 in a case involving gubernatorial security records.

The appeal came after a state district judge in Austin ordered officials to make information about drug suppliers public under the state's open records act.

The lawsuit and appeal were filed by attorneys representing two condemned convicts challenging their impending executions. Both convicts were executed while the case was pending.

Lawyers for the Texas Department Criminal Justice argued that officials need to keep the names and details about the suppliers secret to prevent them from being threatened or harmed by death-penalty opponents.

Attorneys representing the convicts argued that the threats were vague and should not preempt public disclosure.

State officials could appeal the ruling to the Texas Supreme Court.

Maurie Levin, an Austin attorney who was one of three parties who challenged the secrecy, said the ruling is significant because it overruled the state's assertion that the suppliers of lethal drugs were confidential under the Texas Public Information Act.

And while the law has since been changed to allow state officials to keep the information secret, "it's a significant opinion because it affirms that the reasons (the state) used to withhold the information were not appropriate," she said.

"Information may be withheld if disclosure would threat a substantial threat of physical harm," the opinion cites as the standard for releasing information. Levin said the appellate decision affirms that the state did not meet that standard.

Representatives with the Texas Attorney General's Office and the state Department of Criminal Justice said they were reviewing the decision and had no immediate comment.

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers
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Margaret "Maggie" Webber missed walking across the stage for her law degree but there's a good chance it didn't bother her professors.

Instead, the University of Houston Law Center grad was at the Texas Children's Hospital delivering her son Hudson Brian Webber Jr. While she wished she could have made it to graduation, Webber isn't too bummed that she missed it.

OH BABY: The most popular baby names in Texas for 2016

"I love the timing, I wouldn't have changed a thing," Webber said. "My husband was absolutely there to support me and cheer on."

Webber said she took most of her tough classes early in her law school education so classes were lighter during her pregnancy.

She knew she was cutting it close to her May 13 graduation with her son - - nicknamed Beau - - on the way. When her water broke at midnight, she knew she'd be celebrating her achievement from the hospital room.

When asked if Beau will retain some of the lectures, Webber laughs, "I sure hope so. I just hope he doesn't argue with me too much when he's older."

Webber said she has a little bit of a break before taking the bar exam in July. This fall, she'll work for Vinson and Elkins in Houston.

"It was a great experience. The administration was really helpful," Webber said of going to school while pregnant. "People do hard things every day. Being pregnant and going to law school is hard, but there are harder things."
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Brad Phipps, the firefighter who was critically injured last week in a fire that claimed the life of another firefighter, recently had his first skin graft surgery, his family announced Thursday.

The surgery went well, but he is expected to have many similar operations in the future.

Brad has a long journey ahead of him, and we are comforted by the knowledge that the entire city is pulling for him and praying for us all, Tina Phipps, his wife, said in a statement.

Phipps, who worked alongside firefighter Scott Deem at Fire Station 35, remains under heavy sedation and is still on a breathing machine as his wounds are treated.

Deem, a six-year veteran of the fire department, died last week while attempting to rescue any potential victims inside a burning building on the Northwest Side.

Phipps joined the department in 2006. Hes the son of Vern Phipps, a retired firefighter.

On May 18, Phipps entered the Spartan Gym at the Ingram Square Shopping Center alongside Deem and other firefighters from Station 35. The team saw cars parked outside the gym and went in the building to rescue any potential victims.

As they searched the building, they reported zero visibility and zero ventilation, according to radio recordings on Broadcastify.com, which posts archives of radio scanner traffic online.

Wally Yates, the commander at the scene, ordered all firefighters out of the building, according to the recordings. Soon after, a mayday was called over the radio. Yates told another group of firefighters with Engine 27 to go in as Rapid Intervention Team to find the firefighters from Station 35.

The Rapid Intervention Team found Phipps first.

Be advised, we have one firefighter thats being pulled out, being pulled out over to EMS right now, said Battalion Chief Rich Giusti, who took command of the rescue team. He looks like hes been exposed to a lot of heat.

After he was led from the building, Phipps fought with the paramedics, trying to get back in to search for his comrade, Chief Charles Hood said last week.

Phipps was immediately transported to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he has remained in critical condition since.

In the statement, the Phipps family thanked the community for the outpouring of support. As of Thursday, over $17,000 has been raised for Phipps medical treatment on youcaring.com, a crowdfunding site.

Since then, the family has set up a fund at Generations Federal Credit Union. The account number is 1000001554998 and the routing number is 314088572.

Hes definitely a fighter, Tina Phipps said in the statement. And were praying to God that Brads fighting spirit will help him pull through and overcome his injuries.

eeaton@express-news.net

Twitter: @emilieeaton
Protesters demanding the resignation of Brazilian President Michel Temer staged running battles with police and set fire to a ministry building in Brasilia on Wednesday, prompting the scandal-hit leader to order the army onto the streets, Reuters reported.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators had gathered peacefully at midday in the capital before marching down the grassy esplanade lined by federal ministries toward Congress, calling for Temer's ouster and an end to his austerity program.

Police unleashed repeated volleys of tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to halt protesters as they neared the Congressional building. Officers clubbed several demonstrators to block their path, according to Reuters witnesses.

Masked protesters responded by firing powerful fireworks at police, setting ablaze furniture in the lobby of the Agriculture Ministry and spraying anti-Temer graffiti on government buildings.

A local television station showed images of a police officer firing his handgun at demonstrators.

Large plumes of black smoke billowed high into the air in front of the modernistic Congress building after protestors set tires on fire.

It was the most violent protest in Brasilia since anti-government demonstrations convulsed Latin America's largest nation in 2013. By nightfall, protestors began to disperse.

One protestor was shot and wounded, police said. Local media reported at least one other demonstrator was seriously injured by a rubber bullet to the face, while another lost part of his hand while trying to throw an explosive device at officers.

Defense Minister Raul Jungmann announced on national TV that Temer had approved a decree allowing army troops to assist police in restoring order for the next week, giving soldiers policing powers and the right to make arrests.

The move brought immediate criticism in a nation where memories of a brutal 1964-85 military dictatorship remain fresh.

"What are they going to do? Intervene and wage war against the people that are out there on the esplanade?" Senator Gleisi Hoffmann of Rousseff's Workers Party said on the Senate floor.

In the nearby chamber of the Supreme Court, just a few hundred meters from the demonstration, Justice Marco Aurelio Mello said he was "a little worried" about Temer's decree that would allow the army to patrol the streets of the capital.

Senator Renan Calheiros, a strident critic of Temer from within his own Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), said the president had broken no constitutional rules by deploying the military.

"But it's bordering on foolishness to do so when the country is on fire. It's bordering on irresponsibility," said Calheiros, who is himself under investigation for graft.
A one-man powerhouse behind three San Francisco mayors is calling it a day at the end of June.

Steve Kawa, known as the level-headed point man who turned big ideas into sensible policy, plans to retire and will be replaced by Lees deputy chief of staff, Jason Elliott, on July 1.

Kawa wiped away tears Wednesday as he confronted the end of a long career at City Hall.

Theres so much cynicism about government and politics, and when Im here, I dont see the cynicism, Kawa said. I just see people working really hard for other people.

Raised in a large Polish American Catholic family in Dracut, Mass., Kawa said he learned the value of grit and hard work early on. He grew up in a small duplex that housed his Polish immigrant grandparents, his mother, father and five siblings. His mother drove a school bus and his father was a construction worker.

Kawa, 55, said he was first mesmerized by government watching the Watergate hearings on television as a youngster.

It wasnt about the politics of it, it was about how government functions, he remembered.

After earning a bachelors degree in political science from Merrimack College, Kawa put himself through Suffolk University Law School by working as a legislative aide in the state Senate while taking classes at night.

He came to San Francisco in 1991 and got a job as an aide for Supervisor Tom Hsieh, who said Kawa stood out for having an unusually sincere demeanor.

The minute he stepped into my office, he started talking about what he could offer, Hsieh said.

From there, Kawa established himself as a striver who wore a blue pinstripe suit and a yellow tie every day. He also came out as a gay man, heeding the advice of a fellow aide.

He leaned over during a holiday lunch and said, Are you gay? You really should go out there and tell everybody, Kawa recalled.

The mayors Kawa served characterize him as a cautious, shrewd negotiator and driving force behind numerous policy decisions. He launched a subsidized health care program for uninsured San Franciscans under Willie Brown, steered the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses under Gavin Newsom, drafted two pension reform measures that voters passed in 2011, and balanced the budget during a painful economic recession.

He caused multiple labor strikes to be avoided, said Brown, who hired Kawa to be a liaison to the Board of Supervisors, later promoting him to acting budget director and then deputy chief of staff.

He was so good that I never interviewed him for a promotion, Brown said. I just kept promoting him, and he would find out from his friends or from the press.

To Mayor Ed Lee, Kawas greatest contribution to the city was the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

We were having conversations with county clerks all around the state about the legality of including gay marriage at a time when it wasnt recognized, said Lee, who served as Newsoms city administrator. He guided us through. He said, Change is difficult, but its the right thing to do. And its the right role of government.

The on-again, off-again legal challenges to same-sex marriage led Kawa to marry three times to the same man  Dan Henkle, who leads a global sustainability program at Gap Inc.

The two first wed at Trinity Episcopal Church in 1995, then married again in 2004 under Newsom, and again in 2008, just prior to the passage of Proposition 8, the state antisame-sex marriage law that was struck down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2013. Theirs was among 18,000 unions that stuck, in spite of the law.

Kawa and Henkle now live in Golden Gate Heights with their two adopted children, Michael and Katherine. They plan to retire together and spend more time at home as their daughter, Katherine, prepares to start her senior year of high school.

Many City Hall staff members and elected officials were visibly heartbroken Thursday after getting word of Kawas pending departure.

Hes been the backbone of our city government for more than a decade, said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who served for four years as the boards budget chair. He fondly recalls Kawa barking at me with his thick Boston accent during the budget process.

Hes selfless, said political strategist Nathan Ballard. Hes totally focused on the best interest of the city.

Kawas persistent focus on public service earned him the reputation of a Boy Scout, said Browns former spokesman P.J. Johnston, who considers himself a close friend of Kawa and Henkle.

But its very genuine, Johnston said. He spent his whole life in public service.

But Kawa also has foes, mostly in the progressive wing of city government. Former Supervisor John Avalos, who chaired the Budget and Finance Committee in 2009 and 2010, said he fought with Kawa and Newsom for cutting social services to close a deficit.

Kawa kept the city solvent, Avalos said. But he also ensured there wasnt a strong effort to deal with the crises of our time  economic inequality, displacement of people of color, mistrust in the Police Department. In a city like San Francisco with tremendous resources, we could have done better.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission, said she welcomes the change that will come with Kawas retirement.

I really believe San Francisco is at a crossroads right now, she said. We need a new direction.

For the next month, Kawa will keep working in Room 200 of City Hall, where his office is decked with family photographs, a bust of John F. Kennedy and a large window that overlooks Civic Center. Its a place where hes spent long hours brokering labor deals, drafting legislation and going over line items in complex budgets.

With news of his retirement spilling through corridors of City Hall, Kawa stayed upbeat. The highs, the highers, even the bad days, he said, Ive loved it all.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25

Trend:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 25 met EU Council President Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan held a closed-door meeting with Tusk and Juncker which was to focus on current Turkey-EU relations.

The sides agreed that the refugee deal between Turkey and the EU signed in March 2016 must be fully implemented. They also discussed Turkey-EU relations and counterterrorism.

Later, the Turkish president met European Parliament President Antonio Tajani.
Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News

By Tom Needham Published: May 25 2017

Legendary songwriter, performer and author, Jimmy Webb, will be Tom Needhams special guest this Thursday at 6 P.M. on WUSBs The Sounds of Film.

Stony Brook, NY  May 25, 2017  Long Islands Jimmy Webb will be Tom Needhams exclusive guest this Thursday on Long Islands Jimmy Webb will be Tom Needhams exclusive guest this Thursday on WUSB's the Sounds of Film . He will be discussing his new autobiography, The Cake and the Rain.

Jimmy Webb is one of Americas most celebrated songwriters and composers. He has written many platinum hits including MacArthur Park, The Worst That Could Happen, By the Time I Get To Phoenix, and Witchita Lineman. He is especially well-known for his work with Glen Campbell, the 5th Dimension and Art Garfunkel. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990, received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, and received the Ivor Novello Special International Award in 2012. He is also the only person to ever receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration.

Jimmy Webb's new memoir, The Cake and the Rain, delivers a snapshot of his life from 1955 to the 1970s. The Sounds of Film will be featuring an in-depth interview with Webb, as well as the music of Jimmy Webb performed by himself and other artists who have recorded his songs through the years.

About the Sounds of Film
School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 25 2017

Dabney Villasenor recently took home third place for her essay on the topic, Why I Cant Wait to Vote.

Mastic Beach, NY  May 25, 2017  Dabney Villasenor, a William Floyd High School junior, recently took home third place in the Dabney Villasenor, a William Floyd High School junior, recently took home third place in the Suffolk County District Administrative Judges Women in the Courts essay contest for her essay on the topic, Why I Cant Wait to Vote. For her efforts, Dabney received $100. This essay contest was part of Womens History Month and commemorated the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage in New York State.

In her essay, which was part of an assignment in Ms. Amanda Irishs AP English class, Dabney wrote, Americans are provided a voice through voting, and once I am granted this voice, Ill use it to instill uplifting changes within societys perspective on difference.
Note: This article was first published at the Weekly Standard.

The investigation into the Manchester Arena bombing quickly turned to the possibility that the bomber, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, had accomplices. I think its very clear that this is a network that we are investigating, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins of the Manchester Police told reporters yesterday. The U.K.s National Counter Terrorism Security Office was more circumspect, cautioning that at this stage it is still not possible to be certain if there was a wider group involved in the attack.

But the dragnet has only widened since Monday evening, and now stretches from the U.K. to Libya.

Authorities are looking into Abedis travels abroad, including to his parents native Libya, and whether he met with terrorist operatives. The bomb he deployed was well-crafted, with shrapnel packed around a powerful explosive charge. The jihadists have disseminated literature on how to construct similar devices, but bomb experts have yet to determine if it was an exceptional home brew, or professionally built.

As of this morning, according to Manchester police, eight men, including one of Abedis brothers, have been arrested in the U.K. It remains to be seen if charges are brought against any or all of them. One woman who was detained as part of the investigation has since been released.

Meanwhile, in Tripoli, another one of Abedis brothers and his father, Ramadan, have both been detained by Rada, Libyas Special Deterrence Force.

Rada posted a picture of Hashim Abedi, Salmans younger sibling (seen above), on its Facebook page along with a message saying that he had incriminated himself. Rada alleges that Hashim admitted he was aware of all of the details of the Manchester Arena plot and that the two brothers had joined the Islamic State. U.K. and U.S. officials are seeking to verify the claim.

Earlier yesterday, Ramadan Abedi insisted that his son Salman was innocent during an interview with the Associated Press. We dont believe in killing innocents. This is not us, the Abedi father told the AP. We arent the ones who blow up ourselves among innocents. We go to mosques. We recite Quran, but not that. It was shortly after that that Rada detained Ramadan in Tripoli for questioning. They did not bring charges.

The Abedi family is from Libya; the 2011 uprising in that country brought the parents back to their native land. A family friend, Akram Ramadan, provided some background information to the Guardian. Akram Ramadan says that he fought alongside Ramadan Abedi during the revolution against Muammar Gaddafis regime. The senior Abedi was apparently a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which failed in its attempt to overthrow Gaddafi during the 1990s. The LIFG has been designated a terrorist organization in the U.S. because of its ties to al Qaeda. Senior LIFG figures fought alongside al Qaeda in pre-9/11 Afghanistan and a number of them merged with Osama bin Ladens enterprise. In fact, some LIFG members went on to serve in al Qaedas most senior roles.

Gaddafis regime imprisoned numerous LIFG members through the years, but many of them were released from prison both before and during the 2011 revolution. One of them, Sufian ben Qumu, went on to lead Ansar al Sharia (an al Qaeda-affiliated group) in Derna, a city in eastern Libya, and was linked to the September 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi.

Other former LIFG figures decided to play politics in post-Gaddafi Libya, and this led to heated criticism from the Islamic State.

Abu Bakr al Baghdadis international organization rejects any form of politics. Only the top-down, authoritarian implementation of sharia law is legitimate for governance, according to the groups ideologues. All other forms of rule are prohibited. Thus, the Islamic State has blasted Abdelhakim Belhadj, one of the most prominent former LIFG leaders, as an apostate. Belhadj, who reportedly knew Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, has joined one of Libyas rival governments in Tripoli. There have been erroneous reports saying that Belhadj joined the Islamic State, but this is clearly false.

The Islamic State made Libya the third most important country in its caliphate between late 2014 and 2016. The group captured the coastal city of Sirte, portraying it almost on par with Raqqa, Syria and Mosul, Iraqthe two capitals of Baghdadis nascent state. But the jihadists lost Sirte in December of last year, forcing them to regroup elsewhere.

In January, the U.S. bombed two Islamic State training camps south of Sirte. Importantly, the Pentagon said that the airstrikes had targeted the Islamic States external plotters, who had been tied to terrorist planning in Europe. CNN then revealed that some of these same terrorists had connections to the December 19, 2016, Christmas market attack in Berlin, which was carried out by an Islamic State member from Tunisia.

This raises the possibility that the Manchester terrorist, Salman Abedi, met with the Islamic States external operatives during his time in Libya. Authorities are still piecing together a picture of his travels, but it appears that Abedi spent time in Libya just prior to returning to Manchester. Other, unconfirmed reports say he also traveled to Syria.

The investigation has led to tensions between U.K. officials and their counterparts in the U.S. The two countries have a robust intelligence-sharing relationship, but details are being leaked to the American press shortly after being transmitted by the Brits. For instance, photos and granular details about the bomb used in the attack were published by the New York Times yesterday.

The leaking has led the U.K. government to complain at multiple levels. Prime Minister Theresa May reportedly will raise the issue with President Donald Trump during NATO meetings in Brussels later today.

The U.K. National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) issued a statement that is scathing, at least by British standards.

We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world, the NPCC statement reads. These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

The NPCC statement continues: When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families. This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation.

That investigation is focused on Salman Abedis possible co-conspirators. And the leaks complicate efforts to roll up what may be a much larger network in play.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

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Photo released by the Islamic State showing the militants inside Marawi

Fighting between Islamic State-loyal militants and the Filipino security forces has entered its second day, with the situation further deteriorating. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the city of Marawi, the provincial capital of Lanao Del Sur.

Today, the Islamic States representatives claimed control over several parts of Marawi city via a statement through the Islamic States Amaq News. In addition, the militants have launched a large-scale jailbreak on two nearby prisons freeing at least 107 inmates. A statement released by the Islamic State also echoed this number.

Militants have taken several people hostage, including a Catholic priest and several churchgoers, after burning a church. The BBC has reported that a police chief has also been beheaded. The continuing clashes have forced thousands of people to flee the city as military reinforcements try to wrangle control.

Photos released by the Islamic State today show the jihadists still roaming the streets freely in parts of Marawi. In at least two photos, checkpoints appear to have been set up by the militants. Pictures posted online by residents of Marawi also show the jihadists in control over some areas of the city.

Yesterday, jihadists moved into the city and began to take over buildings and vehicles, including City Hall, a medical center and the city jail. The Filipino Air Force has reportedly dropped several bombs in select Marawi neighborhoods to try and wrestle back control of the city.

Fighting was also reported near a government hospital in the city, as well as near Mindanao State University. [See Threat Matrix report, Islamic State-loyal forces battle Filipino troops inside provincial capital.]

According to a Filipino Army spokesman, the jihadists inside Marawi are led by Isnilon Hapilon, who was spotted in the city. While his presence cannot be independently verified by FDDs Long War Journal, Hapilon is a US-designated global terrorist and the former leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

In an April 2016 issue of the Islamic States weekly newsletter Al Naba, the jihadist group said that Hapilon (called Abu Abdullah al Filipini, one of his noms de guerre, in the newsletter) has been appointed as emir of all Islamic State-loyal forces in the Philippines. [See Threat Matrix report, Islamic State details activity in the Philippines.]

The Islamic State has stopped short of declaring an official wilayah, or province, in the Philippines. However, the militants continue to operate in the name of the Islamic State and Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. The releasing of photos and videos by the Islamic States media apparatus also highlights a deeper connection than simple loyalty. It is possible that this siege is meant to demonstrate the local groups capabilities to the parent organization in Iraq and Syria. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, The Islamic State grows in the Philippines.]

Late last year, Islamic State-loyal forces also took control over the town of Butig. The jihadist group captured the town on Nov. 24 after raising its flag over the town hall. The Filipino military stated that around 300 fighters occupied the town. In the battles to retake the town, up to 35 members of the jihadist group and several troops were purportedly killed. [See Threat Matrix report, Filipino troops battle Islamic State-loyal forces for town.]

The Butig siege, as well as the current Marawi siege, were perpetrated by the Maute Group. The Maute Group is another name for the Islamic State in Lanao, which is just one such group in the Philippines to have defected to the Islamic State. This number includes at least a portion or all of ASG, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Ansar Khilafah in the Philippines, Katibat Ansar al Sharia, Katibat Marakah al Ansar, Jund al Tawhid (a former ASG battalion), Jamaat al Tawhid wal Jihad (a group formerly loyal to al Qaeda), and parts of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Several of these groups, including Ansar Khilafah, the Islamic State in Lanao, and the Jamaat al Tawhid wal Jihad (JTJ) have publicized training camps in the region. Ansar Khilafah was the first to do so in Dec. 2015, while the latter two groups did so in May and in March 2016, respectively. A video from JTJs training camp, the Osama bin Laden training camp, also publicized its loyalty to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. The Islamic State in Lanao has also publicized beheadings of alleged spies in the past, as well.

Other photos released by the Islamic State:

Other pictures purporting to show the jihadists in the city:

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

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Photo of the claimed suicide bomber released by the Islamic State

The Islamic State has claimed a suicide bombing on a security checkpoint in the Somalian city of Bosaso, which is located in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. The attack marks one of, if not the first time the Islamic State has claimed a suicide attack in Somalia.

According to local media, the bomber was stopped at a military checkpoint near the Juba hotel in the city. The attacker detonated his explosives as security personnel approached him. It is likely that the intended target was the hotel itself. At least five people were killed and 12 others were wounded in the explosion.

This is the first attack claimed by the Islamic State in Somalia since a February suicide assault, also in Bosaso. In that assault, militants stormed the Village Hotel in Bosaso. This prompted a fierce shootout between the militants and the hotels security guards, with four guards and at least two gunmen dying. The number of attackers has varied in press reports, as Reuters reported that only three jihadists stormed the hotel, while Somali media has said seven. [See Threat Matrix report, Islamic State claims hotel attack in northern Somalia.]

That siege the first major attack in Puntland since the fledgling Islamic State branch captured the town of Qandala last October. At the time, a claim by Amaq News stated fighters loyal to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi captured the town after a brief firefight with Puntland security forces. A subsequent video released by Amaq showed a handful of Islamic State fighters parading through the streets and hoisting their black flag on several rooftops of the town.

A day later, Puntland officials claimed that the militants withdrew from town. However, Somali journalists refuted this claim saying that residents are reporting the jihadists still remain in control. It was not until Dec. 7 that Puntland officially took back control of the town and offered photo evidence.

Islamic State-loyal militants still operate near Qandala, as it briefly captured a small village before being routed out in April. In January, Puntland soldiers were taken captive by Islamic State militants south of Qandala before being beheaded.

A separate Islamic State faction operating in southern Somalia had earlier captured a town in Dec. 2015, the first for Islamic State-loyal militants in the country, but their reign did not last long.

The Islamic State in Somalia was officially formed in Oct. 2015 and is led by Abdulqadr Mumin, a former Shabaab commander. Compared to Shabaab, Islamic State in Somalia is known to be relatively small. It also remains largely concentrated in the northern Puntland Region, but has claimed sporadic attacks in Mogadishu. Pro-Islamic State factions in southern Somalia have had trouble operating due to a large-scale crackdown by Shabaab and its Amniyat, or security service, on any dissenters within the group.

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

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Jihadists belonging to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebs Sahara Emirate in 2016

While al Qaedas other branches around the world receive more attention, like in Syria or Yemen, the global jihadist group has been continuously active throughout West Africa as well. Since January, at least 101 attacks throughout the region have been attributed to al Qaeda, according to data compiled by FDDs Long War Journal.

Al Qaedas main faction in West Africa, Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), was formed earlier this year and is comprised of several Malian-based jihadist groups that were already within al Qaedas network. This includes al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebs (AQIM) Sahara branch, Ansar Dine, Al Murabitoon and Katibat Macina (also known as the Macina Liberation Front). JNIM is led by veteran Tuareg jihadist, Iyad Ag Ghaly, and is openly loyal to Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of AQIM, and Ayman al Zawahiri. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, Analysis: Al Qaeda groups reorganize in West Africa.]

Most of the attacks so far in 2017 have occurred in Mali, where al Qaeda has waged a low-level insurgency since 2013 after a French intervention began to oust the jihadists from the north. In Mali, the majority of attacks have occurred in the restive northern regions. This includes at least 21 in Kidal, 15 in Gao, and 13 in Timbuktu. However, a further 38 have occurred in the southern or central parts of the country. The flow of jihadist attacks southward is a continuing trend that began in 2015.

In 2015, there were at least 30 al Qaeda-linked attacks in southern or central Mali. Last year, there were at least 58 and this years numbers are posed to top that indicating a significant increase. This expansion has not gone unnoticed as the UNs peacekeeping mission in Mali has created a rapid intervention force specifically dedicated to central Mali. In addition, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has detailed the extent of jihadist control in central Mali.

In a new report, HRW quoted a local elder as saying the jihadists are the law now. While another citizen reportedly said that the very day the French-supported operation finished, the Islamists were back in the villages. A recent Reuters report also noted that jihadist violence in central Mali has forced the closure of hundreds of schools.

So far in 2017, the majority of attacks (51) have come in the form of assaults, clashes, or assassinations. Another 29 were from improvised explosive devices, while 11 have been from rocket or mortar shellings. There have been at least eight cases of kidnapping related to jihadists (although this number is likely higher) as well as two suicide bombings.

The Malian security force is the most common target for these attacks, but this is to be expected as the Malian forces take on a bigger role. The UN is the second most common, while French forces are the least targeted. Civilians have also been severely targeted by jihadists, especially in central and southern Mali.

Outside of Mali, there have been at least eight attacks in northern Burkina Faso and five in Niger. While these occurred outside of Mali, they are perpetrated or linked to Malian-based jihadists.

Many of the attacks in Burkina Faso are thought to be the work of Ansaroul Islam, a newly formed jihadist group. Ansaroul Islam is allegedly led by an ally of Kouffa, the leader of Ansar Dines Katibat Macina. While not confirmed, Ansaroul Islam is possibly a Burkinabe branch of Ansar Dine. The French publication RFI has alleged that Kouffa radicalized Ansaroul Islams leader, Malam Ibrahim Dicko, in northern Burkina Faso.

In posts made on its Facebook page, Ansaroul Islam confirmed that Dicko has met with Kouffa. Jeune Afrique has reported that Dicko initially tried to link up with jihadist groups in northern Mali in 2013, but was arrested by French forces in Tessalit and then subsequently released in 2015.

Although Ansaroul Islams place in Ghalys joint venture is currently unclear, it is possible, if not likely, that Dicko and his fighters are part of it as well. There were reports that Ansaroul Islam may have defected to the Islamic States forces in the area, however, this has yet to be shown.

Last year, FDDs Long War Journal recorded over 250 al Qaeda-linked attacks in West Africa. This years numbers are expected to match if not outpace those. Al Qaedas operational capacity in Mali and the wider West African region has remained intact and is expanding. Indeed, Ghalys unified entity poses a major security threat not only inside Mali, but also throughout most of West Africa  well beyond Malis borders.

Article updated with new information and removed an attack in Mauritania incorrectly attributed to al Qaeda in Mali.

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

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.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that the only goal of the "YPG militia" was to capture territory in Syria's Raqqah city, not to fight Daesh, Anadolu reported.

"Truly, it is a big mistake to think that the YPG militias are fighting against Daesh. The YPG aims to gain territory in Raqqah," Cavusoglu said in an interview with Italy's La Stampa daily.

Cavusoglu warned against supporting the armed wing of the PYD, which Turkey considers the PKK terror group's Syrian offshoot.

"It should be realized that supporting them [YPG] is supporting a terrorist organization," he said.

The minister added Turkey had been working towards finding "a political solution that would protect Syrias territorial integrity".

The PKK has fought a 33-year long war against Turkey and is also listed as a terror organization by the U.S. and EU.

The terror group resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.

Despite the PKKs designation as a terror group, the U.S. has continued to bank on the PKK/PYD as its ally in Syria, especially in the fight against Daesh. Earlier this month President Donald Trump pledged to arm the group ahead of the planned attack on Raqqah, Daesh's remaining Syrian stronghold.
After stepping up attacks against Afghan security forces in the southern province of Kandahar over the past several days, the Taliban has now overrun a large military base. The fighting in Kandahar takes place as the Taliban remains on the offensive on several fronts throughout the country as part of Operation Mansouri.

The first major attack took place on May 22, when Taliban fighters stormed a military base in Shah Wali Kot district in northern Kandahar. Afghan officials claimed that 20 Taliban fighters and 11 soldiers were killed during the fighting. According to the Ministry of Defense, the base fell to the Taliban after heavy clashes lasting a couple of hours, TOLONews reported.

The Taliban, which said the base was located in Arghandab district, claimed they killed 35 Afghan soldiers, captured four others and seized 3 APCs (likely Humvees), as well as destroyed three more during the assault. Both the Afghan military and the Taliban are known to exaggerate the numbers of those killed in fighting.

That same day, the Taliban claimed it overran a border check post in the southern district of Shorabak and killed 15 Afghan troops. Additionally, the Taliban said it killed eight more Afghan troops after overtaking an outpost in the northern district of Khakrez. The group claimed it seized weapons and ammunition during the raids. Neither incident was reported in the Afghan press. While the Taliban routinely inflate the number of casualties incurred, it rarely lies about its operations.

Kandahar is a strategic province for the Taliban, and is considered to be the birthplace of the group. The province borders Baluchistan, the Pakistani province that serves as the groups safe haven as well as a prime recruitment center. Kandahar is also a key to the production and distribution of opium, a major source of the Talibans income.

On May 23, the Taliban said it killed 4 Afghan soldiers and wounded four more during attacks on a military base and an outpost in Shah Wali Kot. Additionally, the Taliban reported that Arbakis, or tribal forces loyal to the government, abandoned a village in the northern district of Maruf.

On May 24, Afghan security officials reported that Taliban fighters killed 13 Afghan soldiers in a nighttime assault on military base in Maiwand district, according to TOLONews. Eight Taliban fighters are reported to have been killed during the fighting.

As of March 26, the Taliban claimed it controls four of Kandahars 18 districts (Ghorak, Miyanashin, Registan, and Shorabak) and heavily contests five more (Arghastan, Khakrez, Maruf, Maiwand, and Shahwalikot). FDDs Long War Journal assesses the Talibans claim of control to be credible. Of the remaining nine districts, the Taliban says it does not control any specific area but only carryout guerilla [sic] attacks. If the Taliban was exaggerating its control in Kandahar, it likely would claim to control at least some areas of districts such as Panjwai and Zhari. Taliban founder and its first emir, Mullah Omar, founded the Taliban in Panjwai, and Zhari is considered the spiritual home of the group.

Al Qaeda has taken advantage of the Talibans success in Kandahar and other provinces. Up until Oct. 2015, al Qaeda ran two large training camps in Shorabak district. US forces killed more than 150 al Qaeda fighters while raiding the camps.

The Taliban offensive in Kandahar occurs as the group is battling Afghan forces in multiple provinces. Taliban fighters have assaulted Afghan forces in neighboring Helmand, where all of the districts are controlled or contested by the group, as well as Uruzgan, Zabul, Ghazni, Paktika, Kunar, Kunduz, Baghlan, Badghis, Faryab, and other provinces.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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Thirty new scholarships will be awarded over ten years to students from sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to a 1.3 million gift to the School from GSK. The GSK Scholarships for Future Health Leaders recognise the contribution retiring GSK CEO Sir Andrew has made to the company, and his commitment to addressing health challenges in the developing world, particularly in Africa.

The scholarships will support the training and development of the next generation of leaders in global health, and strengthen the capacity of health systems in Africa.

Over the 10-year period, which mirrors Sir Andrew's tenure as CEO of GSK, three scholarships will be awarded per year to applicants from sub-Saharan Africa. Scholars will study towards a one-year Master's degree at the School in London, with tuition fees and a tax-free living allowance funded by GSK.

The School is a world-leading centre for research and post-graduate education and its Master's courses cover a range of topics including control of infectious diseases, global mental health, reproductive and sexual health, and health policy, planning and financing.

The School's Director, Professor Peter Piot, said: "I have known Andrew for more than thirty years, and I am delighted that his outstanding leadership and achievements are being honoured with this scholarship. It is a fitting tribute to his efforts to improve health around the world.

"The GSK Scholarships for Future Health Leaders will play an important role in supporting the next generation of public and global health leaders in Africa. The MSc programme will equip them with the expertise to improve health services in their countries and communities, and will strengthen the continent's capacity to respond to the important and changing health challenges it faces."

The scholarships were announced at a special event at GSK, attended by representatives from the School including Chairman Dame Marjorie Scardino.
Watches are not rocket science. Or are they? Watches are not rocket...

Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well, thats a shame, because with some watches, youll need one to understand how to tell the time. Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well,...
To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry.

Disclaimer

Endrtimes does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article/video posted on this site. The information provided here is done so for personal edification; It's up to the reader to separate truth from error, and to examine everything (like the Bereans) from a Biblical perspective. Let the Holy Scriptures be you guide! - - - FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/videos may contain copyrighted () material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, economic, DEMOCRACY, scientific, MORAL, ETHICAL, and SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus named World Health Organization Director General

25 May 2017



Malaria Consortium welcomes the newly elected Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was elected during the 70th World Health Assembly in Geneva this week. Dr Tedros succeeds Dr Margaret Chan who steps down after completing two five year terms.

Dr Tedros has a long and accomplished career in public and international health. He previously served as the Ethiopias Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Health as well as Chair of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria Board.

Dr Tedros campaign for the post largely focused on the achievement of universal health coverage and received wide support around the world, including an endorsement from the African Union. He also strongly supports strengthening health systems and partnerships across countries, increasing transparency, championing the voices of people and communities and addressing the health implications of climate change.

I have worked alongside Dr Tedros for many years in the Ethiopian malaria and other vector-borne diseases control programme, said Malaria Consortiums Senior Technical Specialist Dr Tarekegn Abeku. He will bring a rich experience and unreserved commitment to support efforts to tackle tropical diseases and health problems.

While serving as the Minister of Health Dr Tedros contributed to a drastic decline in deaths from malaria and neonatal health issues. He supported the hiring of over 40,000 female health workers and oversaw a 10-fold increase in medical school graduates.

WHO plays an important role in the control, elimination and eradication of diseases including neglected tropical diseases, which the outgoing Director General, Dr Chan, highlighted during her valedictory speech. The resolutions WHO adopt shape the health situation, especially by raising the profile of neglected problems, she said. WHOs record-breaking work over the last years promises to eliminate many of these ancient diseases in the very near future.

Malaria Consortium thanks Dr Chan for her enormous contribution to global health and looks forward to continuing our work with Dr Tedros. Through partnership and ongoing collaboration we can achieve universal health coverage and accelerate progress towards defeating malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable populations.
The Egyptian president repeated his calls for officials to repossess all illegally acquired land by the deadline of 30 May

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has renewed his call for the retrieval of state land illegally acquired by private investors, telling a gathering of officials in Damietta that "no one is aboave the law"  no matter what their authority or who they are.

The president's comments are his first since a televised speech last week in which he expressed his frustration at the slow pace of efforts to retrieve state-owned land. Shortly afterward, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail gave governors a deadline of 30 May to complete all retrieval operations.

El-Sisi made his new comments at a meeting in Damietta governorate on Tuesday for the opening of various development and infrastructure projects.

"No one is above the law. Whoever places his hands illegally on the nation's land is a thief and a land-grabber, no matter who he is, because he unlawfully acquires the money of the poor while taking advantage of his authority. I swear I will not ignore anybody's rights," the president said.

Among those present at the event was Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who gave a presentation on efforts to end informal settlements.

El-Sisi called on governors and officials to deal seriously and decisively with those who are illegally in possession of state land.

He announced that a meeting would take place at the end of May to review achievements in reclaiming land, attended by governors and security directors.

Since last week, in line with El-Sisi's instructions, the interior ministry and the army have repossessed thousands of feddans of land.

During his TV address last week, El-Sisi urged the interior ministry and the armed forces to put an end to transgressions. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail set the 30 May deadline shortly afterward.

Since February 2016, Egypt has been trying to recover state land, with El-Sisi establishing a committee headed by former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, with thousands of feddans retrived and put into auction in the past months.

Eliminating hepatitis-C

At the event on Tuesday, Sisi also urged Health Minister Ahmed Emad El-Din to bring Egypt's figures for hepatitis-C virus in line with global rates in the next year, promising the minister the backing of the military in achieving the goal.

The health minister gave a speech on the achievements of his ministry during the past 18 months, at the top of which were efforts to bring hepatitis-C virus infection in line with global rates within the next two years.

The minister said that 1.550 million hepatitis-C patients had been cured by March 2017, adding that the ministry has increased the number of medical centres treating the illness to 163.

According to the ministry, 8,000 cases are discovered each month, making 96,000 per year. This represents an infection rate of almost 1 percent of the population.

However, the minister gave a higher percentage of 3.5 percent, bearing in mind those cases that have not been identified.

In July 2015, the number of Egyptians between the ages of 15 and 59 diagnosed with hepatitis-C stood at 7 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Bringing projects to completion

In Damietta, Sisi also urged the government to accomplish all those developmental projects that are behind schedule by the end of 2017.

He made the call in response to a presentation by Administrative Control Authority (ACA) chairman Mohamed Erfan, who showed the number of developmental projects that have been finished, the ongoing projects, and those to be opened by El-Sisi on Tuesday.

He opened Damietta Military Hospital during the event, with a presentation showing state-of-the-art equipment installed.

Other projects launched at the event include hospitals in Cairo, Port Said, Fayoum, Damietta, Kasier, and Sharkeya, along with two social-housing projects in New Assiut and in 10th of Ramdan cities, and a water station in 10th of Ramdan city.



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MARTINSVILLE  Expect to get a mailing from city hall soon. Dont worry, though; its not a bill.

All of the roughly 9,000 real estate owners in Martinsville will receive information about the citys proposed zoning ordinance revision, Assistant City Manager and Community Development Director Wayne Knox told Martinsville City Council on Tuesday. Everyone will receive the same document.

Because of the time and expense that would be involved, we cant send a personal letter to all of the property owners explaining how the revised ordinance will affect them personally, Knox said.

City Attorney Eric Monday said the revised ordinance grandfathers  exempts from new regulations  all current uses of specific parcels.

The council scheduled for its next regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. on June 13 a joint public hearing with the Martinsville Planning Commission to hear comments about the revised ordinance before considering it for approval on first reading. The commission advises the council on land-use matters.

The revised ordinance is designed to comply with modern land-use practices and laws. It renames zoning districts to better describe types of development on specific parcels, or the types that should be on them. It also contains charts and graphics to illustrate rules and help the public and developers alike understand the rules and development concepts, according to officials.

Frank Cox, an urban planning and land development consultant, has described Martinsvilles current set of land use and development rules as being in drastic need of revisions to make it relevant to modern trends and laws regarding how property can be developed.

Zoning districts have been renamed to reflect whats there (on property in the districts) or whats supposed to be there.

Numbers in district names have been eliminated. For example, the R-16 residential district  the number reflecting the minimum allowable lot size in thousands of square feet  has been renamed the R-E Estate Residential district.

The revised ordinance will enable community development officials to be more flexible in working with developers and property owners on projects.

Considering that Martinsville has little undeveloped land, the revised ordinance not only will enable developers to create cluster developments  such as for housing  on smaller tracts, but also encourage it.

It also takes into account trends as to how people are living, both permanently and temporarily. For instance, Knox said, in terms of temporary living quarters, it specifically mentions not only hotels and motels, but also short-term rentals popping up all over creation, such as rooms in peoples houses marketed through websites such as Airbnb.com.

City residents can examine the 232-page document on the citys website. Click on businesses or departments, then click on community development and scroll down to the Final Martinsville Zoning Ordinance Draft line. For comparison, the current ordinance is above it.

School Board seats

The council scheduled a separate public hearing for its June 13 meeting to hear from city residents interested in filling two Martinsville School Board seats soon to be up for grabs.

Under state law, anyone who wants to be considered to fill one of the seats must state his or her name during the hearing. People who cannot attend can get someone else to come and declare their interest, or they can contact a council member or call the city managers office at 403-5182 to have their names stated, said Mayor Gene Teague.

The current terms of school board members Donna Dillard and Victor Correa will expire on June 30. Both are eligible for reappointment. Board members can serve up to three consecutive three-year terms.

Also Tuesday, the council adopted on first reading an ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $11.74 million in water and sewer bonds to make repairs to a major sewer line.

Last year, Martinsville obtained a 30-year, no-interest loan of $21.74 million from the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund, via the Virginia Resources Authority, to help pay to repair the roughly six-mile line running from near Fieldale to the citys wastewater treatment plant near Forest Park Country Club. Most of the citys sewage, plus some of Henry Countys, flows through the line on its way to the treatment plant for processing.

Inspections with video equipment showed the line is heavily deteriorated, especially along its metal portions.

The city already received $10 million from the loan to fix the worst section of the line  about 1,500 feet near Walker Road and the Resurgence Properties facility (the former Bassett-Walker plant). Some metal in that section had collapsed, and officials feared a sewage spill into the Smith River.

The remaining $11.74 million is to be used to cover repairs to other metal sections of the line, according to City Manager Leon Towarnicki.

The council also honored the Martinsville Circuit Court Clerks office for being the first such office in the state in which all employees have been certified through the Virginia Court Clerks Associations Career Development Program. Circuit Court Clerk Ashby Pritchett has been as a master circuit court clerk and his employees Jean Nunn, Terry Morton, Erika Hamilton, Betty Wagoner and Jennifer Coplin have been certified as master deputy circuit court clerks.

Nunn, who is Pritchetts chief deputy, has worked in the office for 38 years. The average length of time that the offices employees have worked there is 32 years, Pritchett said.

His employees are some of the longest employees of the city, he said.

Council members commended them for their service.
Egypt has blocked 21 websites, including Qatari-based news network Al-Jazeera, for content it said shows support for terrorism, extremism, state news agecny MENA reported late Wednesday.

In statements to the agency, a senior security source said the websites were blocked for their intention to spread lies.

The source only named seven of the 21 websites, including Al-Jazeera, Al-Sharq TV Channel Website, Misr El-Arabia, El-Shaab, Arabi 21, Rasd, and Hamas Online, adding that legal action would be taken against these sites.

Cairo accused several of the websites, including Al-Jazeera, of having ties with the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group, and linked others to being funded by Qatar.

Egypt has long accused Al-Jazeera of carrying out a hostile media campaign against the country since relations between Cairo and Doha soured following the ousting in 2013 of Egypts Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a key ally of the Gulf country.

Other websites that have banned in Egypt include independent news site Mada Masr, which was launched in 2013 by a group of journalists formerly of Al Masry Al Youms Egypt Independent, as well as Huffington Post Arabic.

The websites, however, were not explicitly named by the authorities.

Wednesdays move comes one day after authorities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) blocked the main website of Qatar's al Jazeera TV, which Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

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The defeat of Isis is imminent  their last pocket in Mosul is about to be wiped out, Raqqa is being encircled and even Deir ez-Zor is under pressure. The end of Isis in Iraq and Syria has begun a struggle for the aftermath.

Isis has been the main fundamentalist jihadi force in the Middle East since 2013. Originally the Iraqi Al Qaeda affiliate, its (forced) merger with its sister Al-Qaeda group in Syria resulted in the most well-funded and well-organised jihadi group in the Middle East. It was able to gain control over a large section of the arms, jihadi volunteers and money that was flowing into Syria from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the US in the wake of the mass protests against Assad in 2011. Its capital was based in Raqqa but its most significant victory was the capture of Mosul in 2014. Now, it is besieged on all fronts.

Mosul has largely been reconquered by a coalition of the Iraqi army, aided by Shia militias and the Kurdish Peshmerga. Raqqa is being encircled by the PKK led SDF, backed by the US. The US and its proxies are also attempting to reach the oil rich Deir ez-Zor from the South-West and South-East. The Syrian government, for their part, are scrambling to catch up with US-backed groups and is pushing towards Deir ez-Zor from Palmyra and towards Raqqa from Aleppo, with the backing of Russia. To all parties this appears to be the beginning of the end for Isis.

The de-escalation deal

As a result, the imperialist powers are scrambling to dominate the important cities and oil rich desert that was formerly under Isis control. It is in that context that a de-escalation zone deal was recently struck between Turkey, Russia and Iran.

Russia, together with the Assad regime, has effectively squashed the most important pockets of opposition in the West of Syria. The metropolitan and industrial areas are now by-and-large under Assads control, as well as the access to the sea. The deal allows the presently rebel-controlled areas to remain so, with the exception of groups directly linked to Al Qaeda (The Nusra Front, for example) and Isis. A number of groups will also be resettled in the Idlib province.

It also effectively delivers bits of Syria into Turkish control. As a guarantor, Turkey will now police the Idlib province and a large area in Northern Aleppo province, separating off the two Kurdish parts from each other. The Turkish have thus given themselves a forward position from which to keep the Kurds of Syria weak, but also to keep the Assad regime weak, by keeping the various Islamist groups alive under Turkish protection in Idlib. In return, Turkey will reign in anti-Assad forces, which will deal a major blow to any groups that want to continue to fight Assad. President Donald Trump and King Salman - May 20, 2017

The main loser in the deal is Saudi Arabia, which sees its influence minimised as all the bulk of the Islamist forces will now be under Turkish control. In effect, Saudi Arabia has been pushed out of Syria with this deal. The other loser is the US, which was not given a seat at the negotiating table  the plan was only presented to them for approval after it was drawn-up. The Russians, in particular, would like to push the US and the UN security council to give its stamp of approval to this division of Syria, and the parties have given themselves a month to negotiate and work out the finer details. In the mean time, Assad and the Russians are attempting to establish de facto control of Daraa.

The rise of Iran

The Iranian regime has become one of the beneficiaries of the war in Iraq. Having destroyed the regime of Saddam Hussein, the US army effectively removed the greatest barrier to Iranian expansion into Iraq. Now, the Iran-backed Shia militias have become the most important fighting force of the Iraqi regime, and are effectively the main forces of the Iraqi government. With a loyal regime in Baghdad and, friendly relations with Damascus and significant influence in Lebanon, Iran is attempting to establish a corridor under its control from the Mediterranean all the way to the Persian Gulf and Iran.

For this purpose, Iran has deployed both Hezbollah and Iraqi militias in support of Assad in Syria. At the moment, Hezbollah forces are making a push towards the Iraqi border, through territory held by US backed rebels near Al Tanf, which is one of three roads between Iraq and Syria (the one through Deir ez-Zor is controlled by Isis and northern one by Kurdish forces). The US and their rebel allies are key to keep the road under their control, and the US even has a base in Al Tanf, which has been used to train rebel fighters. This has led to clashes, including US airstrikes against regime forces a few days ago.

The US is attempting to contain Iran. It has been forced to hand over control over the bulk of Iraq to Iran, but it is desperately scrambling to stop Iran from dominating the region. Control over Deir ez-Zor and Al Tanf are decisive, as US control of those points would stop Iran being able to move troops and resources between itself and Lebanon. At the very least, it would force Iran and Assad into negotiations.

The Russians are also not willing to hand control completely over to Iran and Assad. It has effectively agreed (at least for the time being) to US control over Al Tanf. Hezbollah, Assad and Iran are clearly intent on capturing Al Tanf, with or without Russian assistance.

The race for the Euphrates

The de-escalation deal between Assad, Russia, Turkey and Iran became a necessity as US-backed forces were advancing on Isis. The Kurdish SDF was encroaching on Raqqa and the Shia militias and the Iraqi army were finishing up in Mosul. Assad needed to free his forces to move against Isis, which he has largely left to their own devices since the beginning of the civil war. In fact, Isis provided a convenient distraction from Assads point of view, forcing the US to collaborate with him and his allies, in particular Iran. Now, however, the Euphrates threatens to be over-run by a combination of Kurds in the north and US-backed rebels in the south. The oil rich Deir ez-Zor province is being surrounded by these forces in Syria, although Iranian backed Shia militias are advancing towards the area inside Iraq.

Other than oil, Deir ez-Zor also contains one of the three border crossings between Iraq and Syria, making it of strategic and economic importance to both Iran and Assad. The US, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel all have an interest in stopping Assad getting control of the province and its border crossing. From a Turkish point of view, the most important question is the weakening of the Kurds; thus, for them the decisive question is that the Kurds dont get control of the area. Freeing Assad to capture Isis territory is therefore in their interest.

The defeat of Isis under these circumstances only prepares the way for bloodier conflicts in the future, with no resolution in sight.

A new front

At the same time, Saudi Arabia is planning to open up another front in the battle against Iran. The Sunni tribes of western Iraq (across the border from Al Tanf and Deir ez-Zor) played a significant role in Isis early success against the Maliki regime, but later abandoned the organisation. Saudi Arabia are now arming Sunni tribesmen to the teeth, and another uprising is expected as soon as Isis is defeated (at least in Iraq).

Trump has just announced his backing for Saudi Arabias anti-Iran measures with a state visit and a $110bn arms deal (much of which was approved under Obama). The British Prime Minister has made similar moves over the past 9 months. The weapon deals include a lot of weaponry that could be used to target Iranian ships and aircraft. The Saudis, but also other Gulf States like the UAE are stockpiling arms in order to counter Iran.

Before Trumps state visit, the Saudis openly threatened war on Iranian soil and have been supporting reactionary opposition groups inside Iran for some time. In this context, Trumps speech this weekend was an open declaration of support for Saudi action against Iran, practically a blank cheque. Whether or not the Saudis will make good their threat of taking the war into Iran, it certainly means an intensification of the war in Yemen and the opening of another front in Iraq.

This will likely be the end of the centralised Iraqi state. It will plunge Iraq into another stage in this bloody proxy war between the US, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The country is already divided in two, with the Kurdish authority in the north only paying lip service to the Bagdad regime. The remaining part is now to be divided on Sunni-Shia lines, deepening a sectarian conflict that has plagued the country since the US invasion of 2003.

The end of Isis?

Although Isis might come to an end, a host of Islamist groups are sprouting to take their place.

In Syria, they are busy changing their names. The Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate has, for example, recently managed to get itself off terror lists in the US and Canada by rebranding for the nth time. Without a doubt this has been done with the tacit approval of the authorities of both countries. Turkey has effectively taken a number of these Islamist groups under its protection in Northern Syria, ready to use them against the Kurds, Assad and Iran when it suits them.

Saudi Arabia is cultivating another insurrection in Sunni Iraq, undoubtedly with similar sectarian colours to Isis. They are also keeping Al Qaeda groups alive in Yemen. When Trump some years ago accused Saudi Arabia of being behind 9/11 he was in part correct. The Wahabi Sunnis of Isis and Al Qaeda all have links to Saudi Arabia, receiving the direct support of the whole regime or at least parts of it, and there is no sign of that ending, for all their talk of fighting extremism and terrorism.

Africa is emerging as an increasingly important battleground between the West and the bastard children of the Saudi regime. French and US forces are fighting Boko Haram and other Islamist forces in Mali, Niger and Chad. The struggle in Somalia is also intensifying and Trump has given the US military increasing scope for intervention in the country in its fight against Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab. Tunisia is also struggling to contain Islamists, and is likely to have its troubles magnified as Tunisian Isis fighters in Syria and Iraq filter back (estimated to number 5,000).

Many of the fighters that make up Isis are veterans of previous conflicts, shifting between conflict zones in West Africa, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Iraq. They are like a roving band of zealous guns for hire. Likely they will reappear in other conflict zones, or commit terrorist deeds in the West.

The cost of imperialism

The conditions that prepared the way for the Isis are only getting worse. The mess created by Bushs interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan was compounded by Obamas reluctant intervention in Libya, and more enthusiastic intervention in Syria. The destruction of the Iraqi state has had disastrous consequences for the whole region. Imperialist interventions in the failed revolutions in Libya and Syria have only added to the mix of instability.

Most of the world is divided up between the major imperialist powers, with the US and its allies taking the lions share. The relative power of US imperialism is declining because of political blunders as well as a comparative lack of competitiveness of its industries. Into the breach step minor powers, like Iran and Turkey as well as more traditional powers like Russia. The inability of the US to impose its will on the region has left a vacuum that different powers are scrambling to fill, with devastating consequences for the masses.

The death toll in Syria has reached 400,000 and is likely more than 270,000 in Iraq. Aside from the loss of life, 5 million people in Syria have been forced flee their homes (25% of population) and 3 million in Iraq (10% of population). The economic devastation is immense. The financial cost of the civil war in Syria was estimated at $237bn by the end of 2015, and economic output has halved. This is partly due to sanctions. The wars in Iraq and the collapse of oil prices have meant that GDP per capita is almost down to the level of 1989, with much of the nations infrastructure in a mess. The recent collapse in GDP spells further disaster for the masses in Iraq and will fuel future conflicts.

As the imperialist powers compete for influence over the war-torn region, the suffering of the masses will increase apace. The working class in these countries is being destroyed and atomised. In its place barbarism is asserting itself more and more. Old tribal structures and religious ideas that ought to be confined to the European Dark Ages are experiencing a revival. For the majority of the population, the situation is desperate.

The capitalist system in its period of senile decay is bringing in its wake catastrophe after catastrophe. More and more countries are swept into an increasing maelstrom of conflict between the imperial powers. Only decisive action by the working class can bring an end to this horror.
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Agri-Mark, a farmer-owned cooperative best known for its Cabot and McCadam brands of cheese and butter, is planning a multimillion-dollar expansion at its West Springfield facility, according to Mayor William C. Reichelt, whose administration sweetened the deal by offering tax breaks to the co-op.

Reichelt said Agri-Mark, which has facilities in upstate New York and across New England, is planning a project in the neighborhood of $12 million at its plant at the corner of Riverdale Street and Morgan Road. The expansion will create 12 new jobs, according to the mayor, with first dibs given to qualified West Side residents who are looking for work.

"They're willing to make this investment if we're willing to give them back a portion of their tax dollars over the first five years," Reichelt said of the tax increment financing (TIF) agreement with Agri-Mark.

The expansion will produce around $160,000 in new annual tax revenue for West Side. Over the lifespan of the five-year TIF agreement, the city will see tax gains of around $561,000, while Agri-Mark will see tax savings of around $240,000.

After five years, the co-op "comes fully online and is fully taxable into the future," Reichelt said.

The city employed the same TIF model it used last spring for Fathers & Sons, which invested around $6 million in a new Audi and Volkswagen dealership on Memorial Avenue.

Broken down, the Agri-Mark deal calls for a property tax-exemption rate of 50 percent for the first year, 40 percent the second year, 30 percent the third year, 20 percent the fourth year, and 10 percent the fifth year.

The Town Council unanimously approved the TIF agreement at its May 15 meeting.

"I am very pleased to see this happen," said Councilman Daniel M. O'Brien, who represents District 4, where Agri-Mark is located.

"It just shows that there's a strong commitment to business expansion and growth, and that businesses should invest in West Springfield," O'Brien said.

At-large Councilman George R. Kelly acknowledged Agri-Mark's longtime presence in West Side. "They're a very good corporate citizen and contribute a lot to various charitable things in town," he said.
Judges for MassLive's Best of Mass Sushi competition visited the five Central and Eastern Massachusetts finalists Wednesday, crossing the state to taste creations like the Lobster Bomb, squid ink foam and the meat-and-potatoes stuffed G Roll.

The trip included visits to Kaizen Sushi Bar and Grill in Sturbridge, Yama Zakura in Northborough, Baba Sushi in Worcester, O Ya in Boston and Minado in Natick. The restaurants made up half of the 10 finalists nominated and voted on by MassLive readers; judges will visit the Western Mass. finalists on Friday.

Check out photos from the judging in the gallery above, and video clips -- including live sushi-making demonstrations -- in the playlist below.
BOSTON -- A five-day centennial celebration kicks off on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

"JFK 100: Milestones and Mementos" chronicles the slain president's life through personal objects and notes.

Among the items are his cabinet chair and the suitcase he carried during the 1960 presidential primaries and election.

Kennedy, who was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas, was born in Brookline on May 29, 1917

His daughter, Caroline Kennedy and her children, Rose, Tatiana, and Jack, recall JFK and his legacy in a video produced by the presidential library.

"I've thought about him and missed him everyday of my life," Caroline Kennedy said. "But growing up without him was made easier thanks to all the people who kept him in their hearts -- who told me that he inspired them to work and fight and believe in a better world -- to give something back to this country that has given so much to so many."
Massachusetts residents looking for an ocean oasis don't need to travel far.

Coast Guard Beach in Eastham was named a top 10 beaches in the United States by Dr. Beach for the second year in a row.

The annual list is released by Stephen P. Leatherman, an expert in coastal sciences and professor at Florida International University. Beaches are judged by 50 categories, from sand softness to intensity of beach use.

"The picturesque old Coast Guard station still sits atop the glacial bluffs, allowing for a spectacular view down upon the Nauset Spit barrier system and bay," Leatherman said of the Cape Cod beach. "During the summer, beach-goers take quick, refreshing dips in the ocean as water temperatures only reach 60-70 degrees."

This year's top pick is Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida.

"The sand is outstanding," Leatherman told the Associated Press of Siesta Beach. "Every time I go there, I've got to take a bag home with me. It's almost sacrilegious to walk on it with shoes on."
A low ranking policeman was killed by unknown assailants in North Sinais El-Arish, state news agency MENA reported on Thursday.

According to MENA, policeman Salem Mohamed Salem died after he was shot by the unknown gunmen in the vicinity of El-Arish' fourth police station.

The body was transferred to El-Arish Military Hospital. Police forces were combing the area in search of the assailants.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypts army and police forces have been battling a North Sinai-based Islamist insurgency that intensified following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

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HOLYOKE -- Four graduating high school seniors received scholarships of $4,000 each from the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center.

"To our member institutions, this scholarship program is about not just helping deserving students along the path to success, but cultivating a new generation of leaders who will make a difference for society across a range of endeavors," said John T. Goodhue, computing center executive director.

Mayor Alex B. Morse announced the scholarship winners on Wednesday: Jacques Courchesne, Jelitza Gonzalez and Andrew Mier, all of whom will be attending the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and Josephine Moriarty, who will be attending Boston University. All are graduating from Holyoke High School.

"I'm proud of our students and grateful to the (computing center) and its member institutions for their support of the scholarship program," Morse said. The program is just one part of the (center's) commitment to the city and of our partnership around education and workforce training."

The $165 million computing center opened in November 2012 on Bigelow Street between Appleton and Cabot streets. It is operated by Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UMass, Boston University, Northeastern University, EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, an information storage, backup and recovery firm, and Cisco Systems Inc., a California-based internet network equipment maker, also are partners in the computing center.

The center features an acre-sized room of thousands of computers that researchers use to sift through data. Among topics studied using the facility are atmospheric aerosols' impact on climate, micron-sized particles' movement inside acoustic fields, how data security systems can be designed, the mapping of Lou Gehrig's Disease, what causes banana blight in Costa Rica, how to predict earthquakes and the science of how fluids move.

The computing center scholarship is in its fourth year and is open to Holyoke public school students who will be attending one of the computing center's partner universities, Goodhue said.

Scholarship winners were chosen based on an 800-word essay answering the question, "What do you see as the three biggest challenges currently facing Holyoke, and what would you do to address them?" he said.
SPRINGFIELD -- A state police ballistics expert testified Thursday two or three shots were fired at the Tolland State Forest site where Marcia Honsch's body was found in 1995.

Trooper John Schrijn was on the stand at the Hampden Superior Court trial of Robert Honsch, charged with the fatal shooting of his wife Marcia Honsch, 53.

Schrijn said he went to the site when the body was found and collected ballistic evidence.

He described the different components of fired ammunition found at the scene as well as the metal jacket of a bullet found in Marcia Honsch's head during an autopsy.

Marcia Honsch's body was not identified until 2014. At the same time a body found behind a shopping center in New Britain, Connecticut, was identified as Elizabeth Honsch, the 16-year-old daughter of Robert and Marcia Honsch.

The three had been living in Brewster, New York.

Robert Honsch was arrested in July 2014 in Dalton, Ohio, where investigators said he was living under an assumed name with a new wife and three children.

Although the trial before Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney is for the killing of Marcia Honsch, Sweeney has allowed the prosecution to present evidence about Elizabeth Honsch's killing.

Robert Honsch is the suspect in both deaths, and he is slated to stand trial in Connecticut for the slaying of Elizabeth Honsch, whose body was found on Sept. 28, 1995.

Jurors were again shown pictures of Marcia Honsch's body when it was found on Oct. 6, 1995, near a dumping station at the campground in Tolland State Forest.

Schrijn used the photos displayed by Assistant District Attorney Karen J. Bell to show where ballistic evidence was found.

Another prosecution witness Wednesday was Maria Warner, who was a criminalist for the Connecticut State Police.

She testified to the items submitted as evidence in the case of the "Jane Doe" found behind the shopping plaza in New Britain.

Warner said many current forensic testing tools were not available at the time the body was found.
CHICOPEE - Capt. James P. McInerney first served his country fighting in the Korean War and, despite being taken prisoner of war for 33 months, he re-enlisted and fought in the Vietnam War.

Retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, the city resident continues to serve his country and his community as a tireless volunteer at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, as a member of seven different veterans' organizations and most recently as an organizer of Honor Flight New England, which takes veterans to Washington D.C. so they can view and reflect on war memorials and be recognized.

Thursday McInerney was granted the 2017 Charles H. Tracy Award, which is given to a city veteran who goes above and beyond to help fellow veterans. The award, created in 2008, is given in a ceremony just before Memorial Day.

Mayor Richard J. Kos thanked McInerney as well as the other past award winners and said the event starts a long weekend of solemn memorial services in the city that is designed to remember those killed in war.

"It is impossible to calculate the amount of caring and sharing that Capt. McInerney has provided to veteran patients and residents, however his volunteer time is a priceless asset to the Holyoke Soldiers' Home," Benjamin Strepka, special projects manager to Mayor Richard J. Kos, said while reading the proclamation to McInerney.

McInerney was nominated by three different organizations and selected by Kos for the award. Because the award is always a surprise, he said he only learned he was the recipient when he walked into City Hall for the ceremony.

When asked why he gives so much time at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, running bingo, Christmas parties and other events, McInerney simply answered, "We enjoy it...It is a good group at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. They deserve it."

He got involved with organizing the honor flights after two area World War II veterans returned from one and talked about how much they enjoyed it. McInerney said he then decided it would be great for Korean veterans to participate, handed out about 25 applications to members of the Korean War Veteran Association Chapter 2000 and made sure they filled out the paperwork. The group went to Washington D.C. last year.

Also attending the ceremony were past honorees Delfo Barabani Jr., Harvey Lafleur, Donald Isabelle, Louis Brault and Charles Kovitch. Speakers also remembered the award winners who have since died George Moreau, Joseph Roberts, Delfo Barabani Sr. and Kenneth Usher.

"When you look at the past award winners, it is quite an honor," McInerney said.

State Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Springfield granted a proclamation from the House to McInerney and representatives from several local senators also gave them a proclamation. Senators were in a budget hearing and could not attend.

Veteran Frederick Borowiec, of Chicopee, has worked with McInerney to help veterans and said he deserved the award for many reasons.

"The work he has done in Chicopee and for the veterans and the service he did for his country. He came through the ranks and don't forget he was a prisoner of war for 33 months," he said.
SPRINGFIELD -- Around 20 friends and family gathered Wednesday evening to remember Luz Vazquez, who was killed May 21 in the city's fifth homicide of the year.

Wednesday's vigil took place on Amore Street near where police say Vazquez was found lying in the street by a pizza delivery driver. Mourners lit votive candles, let cigarettes smolder and poured out cans of beer at a makeshift memorial on the curb. As the sun set, the group joined hands in a semicircle for a prayer.

Vazquez, 42, leaves four grown children and two grandsons, ages 4 and 8, said her eldest daughter, Amanda Vargas.

"She was what she was," Vargas said. "A lot of people knew her out here on the streets. She had a good heart and she cared for all of her kids."

Vargas said her mother lost custody of her children years ago. The siblings went to different homes but remained close with each other and their mother.

"She wasn't the best at times, but that's not what matters," Vargas said tearfully as her sister, Crystal, and brother Raymond held and comforted her. "What matters is that she was our mom."

Maria Perez said she's known Vazquez's children for about five years and became their unofficial foster mother after some of them lived on property she manages at High and School streets.

"They loved her no matter what she did," Perez said. "That lady was tough, believe me. I'm sure she didn't go down without a fight."

Police allege Vazquez was stabbed to death by Jose Gonzalez, 32. Both victim and suspect lived on the third floor of a boarding house on Westminster Street, according to court documents. Gonzalez, who was arrested hours after the killing, has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Vargas said there will be a memorial service for Vazquez on Saturday.

"I know she's looking down right now," Vargas said. "She happy. She's happy that we came together."
Egypt said it successfully co-sponsored a resolution outlining a new counter-terrorism framework which the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted on Wednesday.

The Comprehensive International Framework to Counter Terrorist Narratives was developed by the council's Counter-Terrorism Committee, which Egypt chairs, and was co-sponsored by around 60 delegations.

"What were doing today is not simply adopting another document to join the pile of those already adopted by the council, said Amr Abdel-Latif Abul Atta, Egypt's permanent representative to the United Nations, according to a statement from the foreign ministry on Thursday. Abul Atta emphasised a number of concrete recommendations included in the text.

Abul Atta said a small group of states continued to violate UN resolutions by supporting terrorism. He called on the council to send a message to the world and to terrorists that they were simply dust in the eyes of humanity, representing no religion, and were ultimately doomed to disappear," according to a UN press release.

The Security Council urged member states to adhere to a number of concrete guidelines "aimed at countering the narratives used by terrorist groups and amplifying positive and credible alternatives to audiences vulnerable to extremist messages."

The council also encouraged "greater coordination and coherence with donors and recipients of counter-terrorism capacity-building."

It said counter-narrative measures need to be tailored to the specific circumstances of every country.

The council also said that states should carry out efforts aimed at "raising public awareness on the issue, amplifying positive counter-narratives and continuing research into the drivers of terrorism and violent extremism."



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A Cairo court rejected on Thursday an appeal filed by former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal against the prosecutions order to freeze EGP 61 million of their assets in February 2011, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Mubarak and his sons argued in their appeal  which they filed in March  that the continued freeze on their stock market shares is illegal.

Egypt's Central Clearing, Depository, and Registry Company has been the legal custodian of the stock market shares of Mubarak and his family since the prosecutor-general ordered the asset freeze in February 2011.

In March, the prosecutor-general ordered Mubarak's release following his acquittal earlier that month on charges of killing protesters during the 25 January Revolution.

Since his ouster in 2011, Mubarak stood trial in a number of criminal cases on various charges but has received only one final conviction in a corruption charge.

In January 2016, the Court of Cassation upheld a three-year prison sentence for Mubarak and his two sons for using public funds  slated for the maintenance of presidential palaces  to upgrade their private properties.

Mubarak was released for time served shortly after the verdict.

Following the verdict in that case, Mubarak's sons were also released for time served, as they had already been behind bars for more than three years pending investigation.

Mubarak is still banned from travel pending investigations by the Illicit Gains Authority into the increase in his personal wealth since the 2011 revolution, according to his lawyer Farid El-Deeb.

Prior to his release, the 89-year-old Mubarak was confined to Maadi Military Hospital for treatment since 2012.

The former autocrat ruled Egypt from 1981 until a popular uprising ousted him on 11 February 2011.

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PFL Tech Inc. is a marketing technology company that provides sales enablement and marketing automation solutions, as well asprinting, mailing, and fulfillment services. They also provide some great Montana Jobs.
To be successful as an entrepreneur, you dont have to be a fabulous person, but it helps. Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra that you cant quite put your finger on, like Ryan Seacrest is searching for on American Idol. But the entrepreneurs that have it, including Elon Musk and Richard Branson, seem to be able to effortlessly get team members, investors, and customers to follow them anywhere.

Marty Zwilling

Full Story: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2017/05/10-qualities-that-will-make-you.html
David Stillman and his Generation Z son, Jonah Stillman, have written a book to help sort out the generational gap between younger people. They discussed their book, Gen Z At Work: How the Next Generation Is Transforming the Workplace, on the [email protected] show, which airs on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM channel 111. And just who makes up Generation Z? While there is disagreement over the definition of Generation Z, most demographers include people born between 1995 and the early 2000s. In the United States, those years include nearly 79 million people close to entering the workforce or in the first stage of their careers. But the Stillmans warn that employers shouldnt confuse "Zers" with millennials, who are a generation older. (Listen to the podcast at the top of this page.)
Le gouvernement a decide davancer la date de paiement des salaires pour les officiers de letat.

Cela a cause de la fete musulmane dEid-Ul-Fitr qui aura lieu soit le 24 ou 25 juin 2020 selon une communique du ministere des Finances.

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Related Egyptian court rejects Douma's request to suspend life sentence Egypt court upholds 6-month sentence for activists Ahmed Douma, Mohamed Adel Egypt's Court of Cassation accepted Thursday the appeal of activist Ahmed Douma against a three year prison sentence for "insulting the judiciary" during one of his trial sessions in the case commonly known as "the cabinet clashes" of 2011.

The court ruled that Douma be retried before another judicial district.

In December 2014 during a trial session, Douma accused the judge presiding over his case of publishing hostile political statements on his Facebook account which reflected his bias and violated a law which bans judges from publicly expressing political views.

Douma was handed a fine of EGP 10,000 in addition to the three year jail term for insulting the judiciary.

In February 2015, Douma was initially handed a life sentence in the same case on charges of attacking the cabinet building and security personnel, as well as setting fire to the Scientific Institute in Cairo in 2011.

He appealed the sentence before the Court of Cassation, the country's highest court, which is currently looking into the case.

The cabinet clashes erupted when demonstrators staged a sit-in at the cabinet building in Cairo, following the dispersal of a sit-in organised by a number of the families of those killed in the 25 January revolution on downtown's Mohamed Mahmoud Street.

Douma, the co-founder of the 6 April Movement along with activists Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel, has already been serving a three year jail sentence since 2015 for violating the country's protest law .

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Bahrain is investigating the death of five people during a raid on the home village of the spiritual leader of its Shia Muslim community, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

A ministry statement said the five were among a group that attacked security forces raiding what it said were "terrorist organizations" on Tuesday in Diraz, the village of Ayatollah Isa Qassim, and that nearly 300 people were arrested.

The government believes the opposition seeks to overthrow it by force and says Iran has aided in deadly militant attacks on security forces.

Activists said the five killed were unarmed civilians who were among hundreds taking turns to guard Sheikh Qassim's house after authorities revoked his citizenship last year, a move that raised fears he might be expelled from Bahrain.

The authorities accused Qassim of fomenting sectarian divisions, a charge he denies.

The ministry said 31 police officers were injured when the group attacked the security forces, who fired tear gas and shotguns to clear hundreds of supporters of Sheikh Qassim camping outside his house, according to local activists.

"Five individuals who formed part of the group that attacked police officers have been confirmed as deceased and eight had to be transferred to hospital for immediate medical care," the statement said.

"An immediate government investigation has been launched into the causes of the deaths and the Kingdom's independent investigatory institutions -- including the Public Prosecution -- will have full access to all evidence it deems necessary."

The Interior Ministry said that at least 11 people convicted on charges ranging from planting bombs to illegal gatherings were arrested, as well as 13 others awaiting trial, were among some 286 people arrested during Tuesday's raid.

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The head of Lebanese movement Hezbollah said Thursday he was unfazed by "threats" of attacks or fresh sanctions, days after US President Donald Trump slammed the group and its sponsor Iran.

On his visit to Riyadh last week, Trump blamed Iran for destabilising the Middle East and called for a crackdown on its allies, including Shia movement Hezbollah.

But party chief Hassan Nasrallah struck a defiant tone on Thursday, saying Hezbollah was "not afraid of any war, sanctions, or intimidation in the media."

"Threats of killing or dying do not scare us... No one scares us at all. They are weaker than ever," Nasrallah said.

He spoke via video-link to hundreds of supporters gathered in the northeast Lebanese town of Hermel to commemorate the 17th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

But the border remains unstable, rocked by occasional skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Hezbollah and its sponsor Iran are also fiercely despised by Saudi Arabia -- which Trump chose as his first foreign destination since he took office.

During a joint summit there last weekend, the US leader pointed the finger at Iran for destabilising the region.

"From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms, and trains terrorists, militias, and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region," Trump said.

He called on all countries to work together to isolate Tehran "until the Iranian regime is willing to be a partner for peace".

Saudi's King Salman also lambasted the Iranian government as "the spearhead of global terrorism".

Ahead of the summit, Washington and Riyadh issued their first "joint terrorist designation" against a top Hezbollah official.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards created Hezbollah (Party of God) in the 1980s.

With political and military support from Iran, it remains the only side not to have put down weapons after Lebanon's civil war from 1975 to 1990.

The United States, Canada and Australia have listed Hezbollah as a "terrorist" group. The European Union has also blacklisted its military wing.

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A smiling Donald Trump offered European Union chiefs assurances on security in Brussels on Thursday but EU officials did not conceal lingering differences with the U.S. president over Russia, trade and climate change.

In talks before a summit of NATO leaders at the Atlantic military alliance's headquarters across town, an EU source highlighted that Trump had voiced fears that Brexit could cost U.S. jobs -- a possible sign of second thoughts on support for the British vote to leave which stunned the bloc.

And Trump also agreed to setting up a joint EU-U.S. "action plan" on trade-- an indication the new occupant of the White House is not as set on shunning free trade deals and promoting protectionism as some in Europe had feared he might.

Nonetheless, European Council President Donald Tusk indicated, there was something less than a meeting of minds on trade and other issues -- despite the cordiality of Trump's welcome at the new EU building which the former Polish premier informed him was popularly known as "Tusk Tower" in a nod to the former real estate developer's signature New York headquarters.

"We agreed on many areas, first and foremost on counter-terrorism," Tusk said after he and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker met Trump for over an hour. "But some issues remain open, like climate and trade."

European leaders have been urging Trump not to abandon the U.S. commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions made when his predecessor Barack Obama signed up to the U.N. Paris accord.

Tusk also said he did not feel he and Trump were on exactly the same page in terms of dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although they agreed on efforts to end conflict in Ukraine which the West blames on Moscow and which has resulted in both EU and U.S. economic sanctions on Russia.

A spokeswoman for Juncker, the president of the European Commission which had been negotiating an ambitious free trade deal with Washington known as TTIP before Trump's upset election victory, said the two sides would work to increase trade.

"Intensifying trade cooperation which is a win-win situation for both sides," the spokeswoman said. "It was agreed to start work on a joint action plan on trade."

It was not immediately clear if that might include a revival of work on TTIP. Trump has made clear his dislike of multilateral trade agreements, pulling out of the TPP agreement with Asian states. However, European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have suggested he is warming to trade talks with the EU, which unifies trade rules for all 28 states.

BREXIT COSTS?

Trump irritated EU leaders during his election campaign last year by hailing Brexit and suggesting other countries might follow Britain out of the 28-nation bloc. Eurosceptic leaders said he would offer Britain a free trade deal once it left.

However, EU officials believe Trump has come to appreciate more since taking office the value of European integration to U.S. interests. U.S. businesses have taken advantage of its single market to reduce the costs of exporting to Europe.

An EU source said Trump had told Tusk and Juncker he was now worried that Americans may lose jobs as a result of Britain leaving the EU in 2019: He "expressed concern that jobs in the U.S. would be lost because of Brexit", the source said.

EU officials said the meeting had been constructive and friendly. Tusk and Juncker joked with Trump about the EU having "two presidents" and being "too complicated". The U.S. leader appeared to mix the two of them up during remarks in January, deepening concerns in Brussels that the reality TV star in the White House failed to take the European Union seriously.

Trump waxed lyrical about his first foreign trip, which has proved a welcome distraction to ethics questions at home, notably over alleged campaign ties to Russia. Pope Francis is "terrific", Trump told Tusk and Juncker, and his welcome in Saudi Arabia was "beyond anything anyone's ever seen".

Tusk, a Communist-era dissident who once listed Trump among risks to the world order alongside Russia, China and Islamist violence, said he had tried to impress on the billionaire U.S. president a need for Transatlantic cooperation to promote "values" like human rights and not just selfish "interests".

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Morgan County Veterans Day Parade slated Nov. 11 Audio Article The Morgan County Veterans Day Parade will be held on Friday, Nov. 11. The parade will form at the Commons, in McConnelsville, at 9:30 a.m. and set out at 10 a.m. The American Legion Post 24 will render honors at the monuments at the Commons, Riecker Building, the Square, at...

A concert with two purposes Audio Article Wednesday, Nov. 30, a concert with dual purposes is being held at the Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville, Ohio. Its a thank-you to healthcare workers, who can attend for free, and its a benefit for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. In September 2021, Rick Shriver contracted COVID-19. He collapsed...

BOE reminder of early voting hours and polling location change Audio Article Remaining early voting hours at the Morgan County Board of Elections are as follows: from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov, 2 through Friday, Nov. 4; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5; from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6; and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m....

Lions Club announces annual Wreaths Across America Audio Article On Saturday, Dec. 17, the Chesterhill Lions Club will be joining with National Wreaths Across America in the laying of wreaths at each of the seven cemeteries located in Marion Township. The mission is to honor the local veterans who have served our nation so their families can rest assured...

Governor DeWine awards $6.7 million for domestic violence survivor programs Audio Article Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that he is awarding $6.7 million to support the work of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) to offer mobile and health advocacy services and temporary residential services for domestic violence survivors across the state. The announcement comes during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month....

CDC committee vote wont change Ohio school vaccine requirement Audio Article Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA has released the following statement: The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine to be added to the formulary or schedule of vaccines for children does not mandate this vaccine for school children. Ohio law determines...
Brazil's President Michel Temer called troops back off the streets of the capital Thursday after deploying them to guard government buildings following riots by protesters demanding he leave power.

A decree published online in the official journal said the president had revoked an earlier measure to deploy the forces.

Protesters demanding Temer's exit smashed their way into ministries and fought with riot police on Wednesday in some of the most violent scenes yet in a year of political turbulence.

The deployment of soldiers sent a psychological shockwave through a capital already shaken by the day's violence and an investigation into corruption allegations against the president.

The issue of troops is deeply sensitive in a country that lived under military rule from 1964-1985.

Conservative Temer replaced leftist president Dilma Rousseff last year after she was impeached on what she said were trumped-up political charges.

Now he faces impeachment calls from his own political rivals.

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Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos was hurt Thursday when an explosive device went off inside his car in Athens, the first terror attack targeting a former leader in decades.

Papademos, who headed an interim coalition government at the height of Greece's fiscal crisis, was wounded as he read his post in the back of a black Mercedes, police said.

"I unreservedly condemn the attack against Lucas Papademos (and) wish a speedy recovery to him and the people accompanying him," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tweeted from Brussels, where he is attending a NATO summit.

State news agency ANA said Papademos, 69, had chest wounds and minor facial burns, but was expected to make a full recovery.

A police source said he had just left the Athens Academy, the country's top research establishment, which has named him its chairman for 2017.

The attack method pointed to domestic far-left group Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, which has orchestrated similar attacks, a police source said.

An employee at a local bike shop told reporters that smoke spewed from the Mercedes and that the occupants came out with their clothes tattered.

"Mr Papademos and his guards are in a stable condition and are communicating (with doctors)," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters outside the hospital where he was taken.

"The police will take all necessary steps to shed light on this case," he said.

The blast happened on a busy Athens highway, according to an AFP reporter who went to the scene. It left no visible marks on the exterior of the car, but reports said the damage inside was extensive.

Papademos was in an armoured car provided by the bank, which contained the blast but probably worsened his injuries, state television ERT said.

"We are shocked. I wish to condemn this heinous act," media minister Nikos Pappas told ERT.

Papademos served as prime minister from November 2011 to May 2012 after the resignation of George Papandreou's socialist government, steering a batch of austerity measures through parliament before stepping down for elections to be held.

In 2012, Papademos's coalition government negotiated a huge write-down of the country's privately held debt.

Papandreou said Thursday that the attack against "a man we invited to help Greece at a time of difficulty" was "a blow to the dignity of every Greek citizen."

Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras said the attack "will not curb our morale."

An economist by training, Papademos had also served as Bank of Greece governor from 1994 to 2002, and was vice president of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

In March, the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, which is considered a terror organisation by Washington, mailed a letter bomb that injured a secretary at the International Monetary Fund in Paris.

The group had earlier claimed responsibility for an explosive device, also sent from Greece, that was discovered by the police at the offices of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

The bombs contained gunpowder used in firecrackers, police said.

To make it more likely that the letter bombs would be opened, the attackers used the names of Greek politicians as alleged senders.

The group also sent letter bombs to foreign embassies in Greece and to European leaders in 2010.

In contrast to other groups who have used industrial explosives and assault weaponry, Conspiracy tends to use common materials in their attacks such as gas cannisters, gunpowder extracted from firecrackers, and pressure cookers.

The organisation denounces capitalism, consumerism, police repression and worker exploitation.

Police say the name "Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei" has been used as cover by urban militants carrying out minor arson attacks against car dealerships and police vehicles since the middle of the last decade. But their activities escalated from early 2008 onwards.

In 2011, several of its members, many of whom were very young, were convicted of "participating in a criminal organisation" and given long sentences in prison.

But three years later the group announced its return and has since committed sporadic attacks.

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The food is good, the service is friendly and the atmosphere is quiet  but the bill is certainly not on the inexpensive end

Located at the entrance of the inevitably busy 26 July Street of the generally noisy Zamalek, the restaurant with the high ceilings of an early 20th century apartment building, the low lights of a smart interior designer and a properly adjusted AC temperature, U-Bistro manages to offer peaceful surroundings for a long and elaborate meal or just a business lunch.

As far as the menu goes, the chefs of U-Bistro would certainly have a reason to impress their clients with a precisely well thought through selection of starters and tapas and perfect main dishes that are designed to bring together the perfect mix of French and Italian cuisines to the heart of Cairo.

The shrimp fritters, where basil does make an intense presence, the roasted peppers that are perfectly marinated in olive oil and garlic and are just carefully topped with a very small bit of baba ghanoug are among the best tapas to opt for.

The chicken livers that are cooked in a balsamic vinegar sauce is another option  and it could change the minds of those who would have never touched chicken livers.

Starters and salad selections are also made to serve diverse tastes, but the popular items include the fried calamari -- with an incredibly golden colour and crunchy crust  and the tomato mozzarella that proves what really good mozzarella means to a simple and uncooked dish.

These starters and tapas might well be on the menus of other restaurants, but their quality is certainly higher than what is served in most other places, including some of the five-star hotel restaurants.

They are best followed by any of the selection of pastas that are all cooked with quality ingredients and are as simple and satisfactory, even it is basically a dish of linguine with pesto and a few shaves of parmesan cheese.

However, if it is only a business lunch, then there could simply be a short cut to the certainly adequate portions and good quality of the main dishes. Invariably there is always a good reason to trust the grilled salmon fillet that is served either with cream ginger spinach or with sauteed zucchinis marinated with slices of black olives.

A particularly popular choice is otherwise the entrecote that is served with homemade French fries.

The selection of soft drinks at U-Bistro is rather limited, though it has a good selection of wine and liquor.

The best part about a lunch at U-Bistro could be different things for different people, but if the clients are into homemade butter spread softly over nicely baked bread ahead of a meal, then they are set to be impressed.

A downsized lunch of a bottle of water, two main dishes and two single espressos would bring a bill of anything between LE1,000 and LE1,500.

U-Bistro (and Bar) is exactly the right choice for a pre-Ramadan lunch away from the heavy does of Egyptian-Middle Eastern cuisine. And it is certainly the place for a perfect lunch, or even better, an excellent dinner followed by drinks for those who do not observe the Muslim fast. Otherwise, it could well be next Ramadan's first lunch out choice.

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A Loyola University Chicago study has found that abnormal proteins found in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease all share a similar ability to cause damage when they invade brain cells.

The finding potentially could explain the mechanism by which Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and other neurodegenerative diseases spread within the brain and disrupt normal brain functions.

The finding also suggests that an effective treatment for one neurodegenerative disease might work for other neurodegenerative diseases as well.

The study by senior author Edward Campbell, PhD, first author William Flavin, PhD, and colleagues is published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica.

"A possible therapy would involve boosting a brain cell's ability to degrade a clump of proteins and damaged vesicles," Campbell said. "If we could do this in one disease, it's a good bet the therapy would be effective in the other two diseases."

Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the death of neurons and other cells in the brain, with different diseases affecting different regions of the brain. Alzheimer's destroys memory, while Parkinson's and Huntington's affect movement. All three diseases are progressive, debilitating and incurable.

Previous research has suggested that in all three diseases, proteins that are folded abnormally form clumps inside brain cells. These clumps spread from cell to cell, eventually leading to cell deaths. Different proteins are implicated in each disease: tau in Alzheimer's, alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's and huntingtin in Huntington's disease.

The Loyola study focused on how these misfolded protein clumps invade a healthy brain cell. The authors observed that once proteins get inside the cell, they enter vesicles (small compartments that are encased in membranes). The proteins damage or rupture the vesicle membranes, allowing the proteins to then invade the cytoplasm and cause additional dysfunction. (The cytoplasm is the part of the cell that's outside the nucleus).

The Loyola study also showed how a cell responds when protein clumps invade vesicles: The cell gathers the ruptured vesicles and protein clumps together so the vesicles and proteins can be destroyed. However, the proteins are resistant to degradation. "The cell's attempt to degrade the proteins is somewhat like a stomach trying to digest a clump of nails," Campbell said.

Flavin said the finding that protein clumps associated with the three diseases cause the same type of vesicle damage was unexpected. Loyola researchers initially focused on alpha-synuclein proteins associated with Parkinson's disease. So they asked collaborator Ronald Melki, PhD, to send them samples of different types of alpha-synuclein. (To do the experiment in a blinded, unbiased manner, the Loyola researchers did not know which types of alpha-synuclein were which.) Melki, a protein researcher at the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, is known for his ability to generate distinct types of alpha-synuclein. Without telling the Loyola researchers, Melki sent other types of proteins as well. This led to the surprise finding that tau and huntingtin proteins also can damage vesicles.

Campbell stressed the study's findings need to be followed up and confirmed in future studies.

The Loyola study is titled, "Endocytic vesicle rupture is a conserved mechanism of cellular invasion by amyloid proteins." It was supported by grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Parkinson's Disease Foundation, Illinois chapter of the ARCS Foundation, Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation and other sources.

Campbell is an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Flavin is a Loyola University Chicago MD/PhD student. Other co-authors are Zachary Green, Stratos Skarpathiotis, and Michael Chaney of Loyola University Chicago; Luc Bousset and Ronald Melki of the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience; and Yaping Chu and Jeffrey Kordower of Rush University Medical Center.

Article: Endocytic vesicle rupture is a conserved mechanism of cellular invasion by amyloid proteins, William P. Flavin, Luc Bousset, Zachary C. Green, Yaping Chu, Stratos Skarpathiotis, Michael J. Chaney, Jeffrey H. Kordower, Ronald Melki, Edward M. Campbell, Acta Neuropathologica, doi: 10.1007/s00401-017-1722-x, published online 19 May 2017.
Egypt has succesfully recovered from London four ancient Egyptian artefacts that had been stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country.

Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, head of the Antiquities Ministry's Antiquities Repatriation Department, told Ahram Online that the artefacts arrived in Egypt yesterday and are now at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.

Two of the recovered objects, he explains, were on sale at an auction hall in London, while the other two were in the procession of an antiquities trader in London.

The artefacts include a glass sculpture of a human head that was stolen from Qantara-East store galleries, a stone relief stolen during the 1970s from Hatshepsut temple on Luxors west bank, a Middle Kingdom wooden ushabti figurine engraved with golden hieroglyphic text stolen from an Aswan store gallery, and a Roman piece stolen from Minya.

Abdel-Gawad pointed out that all these pieces, except the one stolen from Hatshepsut temple, were stolen during the lack of security in the aftermath of January revolution in 2011.

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The sexy Baywatch lifeguards are in desperate need of help because the critics are not at all happy with them. The highly anticipated film of the year has merely got 18% rating on Rotton Tomatoes which till last night was 5%.

The only shining factor in all this mess was Priyanka Chopra. Yes, you heard us right; the International critics have loved her. Priyankas work has been applauded while the film has been compared to a dead whale.

Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron-starrer Baywatch releases today in the US. The critics have trashed the film for his immature content, dry humour and lack of appeal. This comes as a surprise because Dwayne Johnson always manages to make a film work. Looks like PeeCee is the only silver lining in this shipwreck called Baywatch. Every reviewer was impressed with Priyanka and some even called her Indian goddess.

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Chopra has fun as the baddie, but she stays in the background until the end of the movie and really only gets one big scene at the end of the picture. The showdown is the best moment in the film, one which cleverly plays on gender-specific action movie tropes while showing its female villain no gender-based charity. I wish more movies had female super villains and to its credit, Baywatch doesnt treat it as a big deal, writes Scott Mendelson of Forbes Magazine.

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Matt Goldberg of Collider was all praises for the actress, The real standout is Chopra. Ive never seen her TV series Quantico, but she owns the film every second shes on screen. Victoria isnt a particularly memorable villain on the page, but Chopra is commanding, and when she gets called an aspiring Bond villain, it made me want her to be the villain in the next Bond movie. If theres one good thing that can come from the wreckage of this movie, its for Chopras career in Hollywood films to take off.

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Joining the list of people who loved Priyanka was Gav Murphy of IGN who said, The only other highlight is Priyanka Chopra as nefarious entrepreneur Victoria Leeds, who outshines pretty much anyone shes in a scene with. Chopras engaging and interesting and is the only character that speaks with any kind of distinctive cadence, with the rest of the cast falling into the exact same pattern of delivery of their hackneyed gags. None of them are given much of anything to do, either.

Birth.Movies.Deaths Jacob Knight felt more of Priyanka would have added the required depth in the film, The Indian goddess brings a (sadly underutilized) brainy charisma to every scene that feels fit for a better picture.

Jack Shepherd of Independent praised PeeCee but felt that a talent like her was underused. Despite being incredibly talented, Chopra is clinically underused, the script offering her nothing to work with.

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Radio Times Robert Luxford, Priyanka Chopra, though, as real-estate titan villainness Victoria Leeds, makes everything around her look like a really, really nice car commercial. Radio Times praised Priyanka, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra judges the mood perfectly, playing the villain with exactly the right amount of dramatic flair (Im not a Bond villain yet she teases during an interrogation).

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Well, the film surely was thrashed by most of the reviewers, but Desi Girl won everyones heart with her first Hollywood debut and we are proud of her.

Directed by Seth Gordon, Baywatch will hit theatres in India on June 2.
If you are looking for a laugh or want to look at something extremely ugly, look no further. Luxury phone maker Vertu has launched a phone that might cost more than most peoples homes. The company says that the primary highlight of the device is the design, which is a snake figure. Yes, you read that right, a snake figure. Let that sink in for a minute.

 Vertu

In a world where smartphone manufacturers are striving to make smartphones that are visually appealing (even budget smartphones), Vertu has come out with a phone that is probably the ugliest thing we have seen this year. It consists of 439 rubies, 388 separate parts and the eyes are made up of emeralds. On top of that, the phone is a freaking feature phone, an ugly one at that too.

 Vertu

The phone is called the Signature Cobra and is assembled in China. There are only 8 units that have been manufactured so far and only one of them will sell via Chinese e-commerce website JD.com. Customers can pre-order the phone for $145 and the phone will finally be delivered via a helicopter. (Cant stop rolling my eyes!)

 Vertu

The ugly ass phone was designed by a French jewellery brand, Boucheron and all we want to know is what the hell they were smoking! Seriously, we might need some of that just to make this phone a little appealing to us.

The Signature Cobra is a feature phone at its core is going to sell for $360,000 (about Rs 2.3 crore). Unless you are a fan of the bling-bling and have a lot of money lying around after demonisation, you should probably laugh along with us.
Egyptian prosecutors released on Wednesday rights lawyer Khaled Ali on EGP 1,000 bail one day after he was detained pending investigation for performing an "obscene action" during a demonstration in January, according to his lawyer Mohamed Fathi.

State news agency MENA said Ali will be tried before a misdemeanor court on Monday 29 May over charges of "making an obscene action [that] offends public decency."

Ali, a prominent rights lawyer who recently spearheaded a case challenging the government's Tiran and Sanafir deal with Saudi Arabia, was released without questioning, Fathi said.

Ali made the "obscene gesture" as he was being lifted up by the crowd during a demonstration in January outside the State Council headquarters celebrating a court ruling annulling the government's 2016 deal to hand over control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

The case against Ali was filed by independent lawyer Samir Sabry in January.

Ali ran for president in Egypt's 2012 presidential elections, which saw the election of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

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Parliament approves restrictions on smoking

By Messenger Staff

The Parliament of Georgia has approved a number of proposed restrictions on smoking and the placement of tobacco commercials with 85 votes for and one against in the 150-member legislative body.The restrictions - which include a ban on smoking in all areas except private homes, psychiatric clinics, penitentiary facilities and casinos - will come into play from May 1 next year.Smoking will also be allowed in cigar bars. However, no food must be sold there, and a special license will be mandatory to open such a bar.No commercials will be aired that will encourage people to smoke, and it will be necessary for all tobacco importers to put a special inscription about the harmful effects of cigarettes on the boxes.It would have been better if the changes had come into effect earlier than next year.As it appears, the government and Parliament thought about businesses and gave them a certain time to prepare for the changes.The government also increased taxes on tobacco, which have made the product more expensive.The government said the step would decrease the number of smokers in the country, wherein the greater part of the population is poor.However, experts say that smokers will now move on to smoke cheaper cigarettes that will affect their health in even worse ways.In previous years, the government also vowed that there would be strict controls over smoking in public areas.However, these turned out to be empty words.The adoption of good laws is important, but more important is their enforcement.Several weeks ago, the government also introduced high fines for dropping litter.However, only a dozen people were tasked with ensuring the law's enforcement, and this will never be enough for real changes.If the relevant bodies will not ensure the enforcement of the smoking restrictions, these law swill also be ineffective.
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Alternate Foreign Minister G. Katrougalos today met with the Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall.



During the meeting, which took place in a very positive climate, they discussed European issues and the cooperation and coordination of the two countries within the framework of the European Union.



Ms. Birchall briefed Mr. Katrougalos on Romania's priorities ahead of its presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2019.
The Deputy Foreign Minister will participate today, Wednesday, 24 May 2017, in the Ministerial Conference on the victims of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle East, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, which will be attended by the Foreign Ministers of Jordan and Iraq, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, as well as representatives of the Middle Eastern communities.



Subsequently, Mr. Amanatidis will travel to Malaga, in order to participate in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Youth Conference, which will take place on 25-26 May 2017, on the subject of Working with Youth for Youth: Strengthening security and co-operation online.



During his speech at the Conference on the victims of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle East, the Deputy Foreign Minister stated that The Greek Government is closely monitoring the extreme conditions that the religious and ethnic communities face in the Middle East, and has a legitimate interest, particularly as regards the Christian communities and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchates there, such as that of Antioch.



Mr. Amanatidis maintained that Greek diplomacy has, as its primary goal, the restoration of conditions in the zones of conflict so that refugees of every religion and ethnicity may return to their homes safely, with dignity, and with prospects for prosperity, adding that the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making concerted efforts on an international level to illustrate the size and breadth of the persecution and humanitarian crisis.



Mr. Amanatidis called attention to the fact that Greece, at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister Kotzias, organized in Athens, in October 2015, the first International Conference on religious and cultural pluralism and peaceful coexistence in the Middle East, attended by prominent religious leaders and officials from Middle Eastern and European countries, and 70 speakers from 45 groups and international organizations. The message of the Conference was the peaceful coexistence of the regions various faiths.



The Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that, during the Conference of October 2015, and subsequent to a proposal on the part of Greece, the Centre for Religious Pluralism was established in Athens and, from that point forward, has contributed to the productive dialogue between the communities in the region and to the recording of crimes based on religion and culture, with the goal of preventing them. Mr. Amanatidis concluded: Greece remains active in this crucial issue and is due to host the second International Conference on the same subject in November 2017, in Athens.
The operation of a mosque in Athens is a platform commitment from the government and from the Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, contributing not only to the enhancement of the country's international image, but also to the consolidation of the State's provisions for Greeks and other EU citizens of the Muslim faith to be able to perform their religious duties unhindered.



On 6 August 2016, on the government's initiative and resolving a pending issue, the Hellenic Parliament, by a large majority, lifted the obstacles to the construction of the Athens mosque, and, thanks to everyone's smooth cooperation, the completion of the construction work is imminent.



Today, Article 5 of the Education Ministry's bill regulates issues bearing on the framework of the mosque's operation, based on the establishment of a private law entity (supervised and funded by the Education Ministry)  that is, the "Administrating Committee of the Islamic Mosque of Athens"  with the aim of delivering the said mosque as soon as possible.



By voting in favour of the relevant article, the political forces are enhancing our country's international presence and reach, with respect for human rights.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin defended Wednesday a proposal in President Donald Trump's federal budget plan that would cut a benefit paying thousands of dollars annually to disabled elderly veterans.

The issue involved Shulkin's push for an expanded choice program allowing veterans to opt for private care and the offset from veterans' benefits to pay for more choice.

The proposal on the tradeoff to pay for the $2.9 billion choice expansion aroused the concerns of veterans service organizations. The vets' groups were also concerned about the long-term impact on VA care from the renewed emphasis on private care.

"We are very concerned the administration's request to make the Veterans Choice Program a permanent, mandatory program could lead to a gradual erosion of the VA health care system," the Veterans of Foreign Wars said in written testimony to a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

One of the proposed offsets for the choice program would be a new age restriction on veterans' eligibility for the VA's Individual Unemployability (IU) benefit.

Veterans eligible now for the program have a 60 to 100 percent disability rating but are all paid at the 100 percent rate because a service-connected disability makes them unable to work. The budget proposal would cut off the payments once the veteran reached the minimum age for Social Security.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Hawaii, said, "If a veteran was provided this benefit because of the inability to maintain gainful employment, particularly at a young age, he or she would not have been able to pay for Social Security or put money into a 401K or other retirement savings account."

He asked Shulkin, "If you end the (Individual Unemployability) payments for veterans like this, don't you risk plunging them into poverty?"

Shulkin responded that the VA was "sensitive to the issue" but had to find savings to pay for other programs. The change in eligibility for Individual Employability would save an estimated $3.2 billion in fiscal 2018 and $40.8 billion in 10 years, he said.

"This is a way we think of appropriately utilizing the mandatory funds and looking at where we can make the (IU) program more responsible," Shulkin said.

Shulkin acknowledged that about 7,000 veterans over age 80 currently receive IU out of a total of about 225,000 veterans getting IU. Payments from IU can reach about $22,000 annually.

John Rowan, national president of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the IU cuts and the entire Trump budget proposal would "completely abandon many of the most severely disabled veterans of the Vietnam generation and could make thousands of elderly veterans homeless."

"We're extremely alarmed by this budget proposal, because this is the opposite of what President Trump promised veterans," Rowan said.

Other testimony at the hearing disclosed that massive cuts at other agencies under Trump's proposed federal budget could send more veterans seeking care to an already overwhelmed Department of Veterans Affairs.

Shulkin said he had been in touch with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson to get assurance that housing vouchers for homeless veterans would continue despite the proposed cuts at HUD.

Dealing with the homeless veteran problem "requires interagency cooperation," Shulkin said. "I have reached out to Secretary Carson. He has assured me he remains committed," he said.

The overall $1.1 trillion proposed federal budget offered by the White House Tuesday boosted the VA's budget by six percent while cutting most other agencies and slashing a range of anti-poverty programs, including food stamps.

Shulkin has also warned that proposed cuts to Medicaid under the Affordable Health Care Act recently passed by the House could also result in more vets turning to the VA for care.

At the hearing, Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the Committee, noted the six percent increase for the VA in the Trump budget and told Shulkin "we're certainly glad you didn't get the fate of almost every other agency."

However, "Demands on (VA) assistance could very well increase" from veterans who now "rely on services from many other agencies," Walz said. "My fear is that the budget does not account for the demand on VA care when they're shifted over from other agencies and programs."

In response to questions, Shulkin said the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget for the VA of $186.5 billion, a $6.4 billion increase over fiscal 2017, reflected Trump's "strong commitment" to veterans and would aid in expanding and reforming the current choice program allowing veterans to opt for private care, increase service timeliness and boost programs to reduce veteran suicides.

"It still is too complex a system," Shulkin said of the choice program for vets to use private care when they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility or have to wait more than 30 days for an appointment. "It's filled with too much bureaucracy. Our veterans don't understand it," Shulkin said.

"The FY 2018 budget includes $82.1 billion in discretionary funding, largely for health care, and $104.3 billion in mandatory funding for benefit programs, such as disability compensation and pensions, and for continuation of the Veterans Choice Program," the VA said in its statement on the budget.

The proposed budget included $13.2 billion for community care; $8.8 billion for long-term care; $8.4 billion for mental health care; $1.7 billion for programs for homeless and at-risk veterans; $751 million for Hepatitis-C treatment; $604 million for Caregivers' benefits; and $316 million for treatment of traumatic brain injuries, the VA said.

On other issues, Shulkin praised moves in the House and Senate to give him more authority to fire and discipline poorly performing and incompetent employees and managers. "We have too many employees that, frankly, have taken veterans for granted," he said.

He offered no immediate solution to the complaints of several Committee members about the antiquated and inefficient information technology systems still in use at the VA. Shulkin said he was looking to install an entirely new off-the-shelf IT system and would make a decision by July. 1.

Shulkin also made another pitch to get rid of vacant or underused VA facilities to free up funds for veterans care. "We need to dispose of property that we can't use to support veterans," he said.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
The first of a series of court-martials involving Marine Corps drill instructors accused of hazing recruits at boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina began Monday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Marine Corps officials said.

Sgt. Riley R. Gress, a former Parris Island drill instructor, is accused of violation of a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, and false official statement. He is being tried in special court-martial, an intermediate-level court for those facing no more than 12 months' confinement.

Gress has pleaded not guilty to all charges, said Capt. Joshua Pena, a spokesman for Marine Corps Training and Education Command. The panel, or jury, hearing the case is made up of three officers and six enlisted Marines and is being presided over by military judge Maj. Rob D. Merrill.

Gress is one of six drill instructors who have been charged so far in connection with a trio of command investigations that substantiated a wide range of hazing incidents, from recruits being forced to conduct excessive physical training in dusty abandoned buildings to a Muslim recruit being stuffed into the drum of an industrial dryer in a mock interrogation. All were said to occur in units within Third Recruit Training Battalion, one of four major training units at Parris Island.

Hazing concerns were first raised last March after Raheel Siddiqui, a 20-year-old Pakistani-American recruit from Michigan, died in a three-story fall that has been determined a suicide. His family continues to contest that finding. An investigation focused on the Siddiqui incident alone found that Siddiqui, who had previously voiced suicidal ideations, was forced to run back and forth and screamed at and slapped by a senior drill instructor just before his death.

The same drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix, has also been implicated in the incident involving the recruit and the dryer.

Gress does not appear to be connected directly to either of those incidents. A third investigation that implicated a number of drill instructors, including Gress, was launched after an anonymous letter was sent to President Barack Obama in April 2016, alleging abuse and hazing of recruits within Third Recruit Training Battalion's Kilo company, platoon 3044. Some 56 recruits and three family members were interviewed for the 50-page investigation.

They alleged, among other things, recruits being forced to run and do push-ups in a dust and debris-covered abandoned squad bay known as the dungeon; drill instructors striking recruits without fear of retaliatory action; recruits being forced to eat large amounts of bread and bagels without water as a punishment; and recruits who were forced to fight each other while drill instructors watched.

Gress' court-martial is expected to continue into Friday, according to an official Marine Corps docket.

Trials are upcoming for five other drill instructors:

Staff Sgt. Matthew Bacchus is set to face special court-martial at Quantico beginning June 12 on charges of violation of a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, and false official statement.

Staff Sgt. Jose Lucena-Martinez is set to face special court-martial at Quantico beginning at a yet-to-be-released date in June on charges of violation of a lawful general order and false official statement.

Staff Sgt. Antonio Burke is set to face general court-martial at Quantico in July on charges of disobeying a noncommissioned officer, failure to obey a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, false official statement, wrongful appropriation, violation of a general article.

Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix is set to face general court-martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina beginning Aug. 7 on charges of failure to obey a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, false official statement, and drunk and disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice.

Staff Sgt. Michael Eldridge is set to face general court-martial at Camp Lejeune in September on charges of failure to obey a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, false official statement, and drunk and disorderly conduct.

The trial dates may change based on ongoing proceedings. In all, 15 drill instructors were sidelined in connection with the three investigations. It's not clear if more charges are forthcoming.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
The first of six drill instructors to face charges in connection with alleged hazing of recruits at boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina, was found not guilty Wednesday evening, the Marine's attorney confirmed. Sgt. Riley Gress had been charged with violation of a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, and false official statement. His special court-martial began at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on Monday, with a panel, or jury, consisting of six enlisted Marines and three officers. Gress was one of 15 DIs who were removed from their posts last year after a series of investigations substantiated incidents of hazing and abuse of recruits, ranging from unauthorized physical training in unhealthy conditions to stuffing a Muslim recruit in an industrial dryer and calling him a terrorist. The March 18, 2016, death of 20-year-old Raheel Siddiqui, officially classified a suicide, was found by the investigations to be driven in part by the treatment he received at the hands of his senior drill instructor. Capt. Geoffrey Ogden, the Marine Corps attorney assigned to defend Gress, told Military.com that he and fellow defense attorney, Coast Guard Lt. Alicia Bell, were "very happy with the result" of the case, but declined to comment further. Gress was the most junior in rank of the drill instructors accused of hazing and was not linked to the dryer incident or Siddiqui's death. Instead, his charges were connected with a "Red Dot" investigation launched after an anonymous letter was sent to President Barack Obama last April on behalf of the recruits of Third Recruit Training Battalion's Kilo company, Platoon 3044. The resulting 50-page investigation contained accounts of recruits being forced to fight each other while drill instructors watched, excessive physical training, and various episodes in which recruits were called profane names, berated and humiliated. The verdict in Gress' case may be an indicator of the inherent difficulty in prosecuting these cases. While none of the defendants has spoken publicly about the scandal, the attorney for Staff Sgt. Michael Eldridge, another drill instructor facing charges, told Military.com in March that the accusations against Eldridge were baseless. "My client completed a successful tour on the drill field during which he trained hundreds of recruits," said Brian Magee, a defense attorney with Military Justice Attorneys in South Carolina. "He has endured well over a year of investigations that reveal nothing except baseless allegations by a few individuals with questionable and selfish motives. We look forward to our first opportunity to confront them under oath." Eldridge is set to face general court-martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in September on charges of failure to obey a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment, false official statement, and drunk and disorderly conduct. Staff Sgts. Matthew Bacchus, Jose Lucena-Martinez, and Antonio Burke, all charged in connection with the Red Dot investigation, will face court-martial proceedings at Quantico this summer. Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix, who is accused of being involved in both the dryer incident and the events leading up to Siddiqui's death, will face general court-martial at Lejeune in August. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Tricare pharmacy fees would rise gradually under a plan included in the Defense Department's annual budget proposal released this week.

Currently a 30-day supply of generic medication at a retail pharmacy is $10 while a brand-name drug is $24 and drugs outside the formulary $50. Drugs received through the mail-order pharmacy cost less, with a generic medication free, a 90-day supply of brand-name drugs $20 and non-formulary drugs $49. Medication received at a military treatment facility is free. The fees were last changed in 2016.

The new proposal would gradually increase Tricare drug prices to $14, $46 and $90, respectively, by 2027 for 30-day supplies at in-network retail pharmacies, with the same price tags for mail-order drugs, but for longer, 90-day supplies. Medications from military treatment facility pharmacies would continue to be free.

The current fees have doubled since 2014 for generic drugs at retail pharmacies. At that time they were $5 for a 30-day supply, while brand-name drugs were $17, $7 less than today. Mail-order drugs have also increased since 2014, when they were $13 for 90-day supply of brand-name medication.

The new drug price increases are necessary to cover the cost of providing health care while encouraging beneficiaries to use the cheaper to fund mail-order and generic drug options, Pentagon officials said in the budget proposal.

"The Department believes additional adjustments are needed to fully incentivize the use of mail order and generic drugs," the document states.

Drug price changes for active duty families, Guard and Reserve members and their families and retirees have long been a hot topic and source of contention on Capitol Hill.

Similar price increases were proposed for 2017, but ultimately removed from the department's annual spending bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act. In 2015 proposed drug price increases similar to those released this week became a major sticking point in passing the annual legislation.

The 2018 budget proposal also includes another major change to Tricare coverage that could triple annual enrolment fees for many current and future retirees.

All of the proposed changes must first be approved by Congress before they become law -- a process that could take months or longer -- and some lawmakers have already described the president's budget request as "dead on arrival" on Capitol Hill.

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at @amy.bushatz@military.com.
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...
The U.S. is essentially ignoring so-called "de-escalation zones" declared by Russia and Syria while increasing contacts with the Russians to avoid conflict in Syrian airspace, a top U.S. commander said Wednesday.

"We don't recognize any specific zone in itself that we preclude ourselves from operating in" against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command.

"Wherever the enemy's at, wherever they present themselves, we're going to get after them," Harrigian said in a video briefing to the Pentagon from Baghdad.

At the same time, "We have had to increase the amount of de-confliction work we're doing with the Russians, given the tighter airspace that we're now working ourselves through," he said.

"While we don't give them specifics, we make sure we note where we're going to operate so that we can portray that to them in a manner that allows us to continue our attack on the enemy, and gives us the freedom of movement we need to ensure that where the enemy presents itself, we're able to get after them," Harrigian said.

Earlier this month, Russia, Turkey and Iran -- with the agreement of the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad -- signed a memorandum to set up four separate de-escalation zones in Syria as part of a plan to end the six-year-old civil war. Russia declared the airspace over the zones off limits to U.S. and coalition aircraft.

However, Harrigian said, "We do not have specific zones that we are de-conflicting with them. When we've talked to the Russians, we do not talk about those de-escalation zones. We just talk de-confliction in our operations."

Last week, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford told a news conference that a new deconfliction channel has been set up with the Russians. He said that a member of his staff, Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., regularly communicates with the Russians on the new channel.

Harrigian said that deconfliction with the Russians is often complicated. "I'm not going to say that it is always easy, and it often takes several phone calls to work our way through it," he said.

"But I would say that we have found ways to ensure that we have our freedom to maneuver and get after ISIS and kill them when they present themselves."

Last month, Russia threatened to cut off contacts with the U.S. after Navy destroyers launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase in response to the Syrian military's chemical weapons attack on civilians. Russia received advanced warning of the Tomahawk strikes to evacuate its personnel from the airbase.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
If you think about it, there is not a better time to build a new morning fitness habit than right now with the end of...
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The snuggly one with the pale fur could be Atwater's Dirty Blonde. Its littermate with the red hue to his fur could be Founders' Rubaeus or maybe Brewery Vivant's Pumpkintart. Their dark-furred brother? How about Elk Brewing's Dankalicious.

A West Michigan dog rescue group is asking the state's celebrated craft breweries to step up for charity and pick out names for a surprisingly large batch of 13 puppies born to an injured dog in its care.

Hearts of Hope has a lot of beer lovers among its members and volunteers, so a friendly competition among brewers in Grand Rapids' "Beer City USA" and beyond seemed to make sense. In exchange for a $100 donation, a brewery will get to name a pup and receive a professional portrait of their staff and the pup.

When the little dogs are big enough to go to adoptive homes in mid-July, rescue founder Janelle McFarlane won't be surprised if the new owners decide to keep the creative names thought up by the brains behind some of the country's best beer monikers.

She kicked off the trend by naming the injured mother dog Harmony Irene, after Harmony Brewing in Grand Rapids.

When the very pregnant, lanky shepherd mix came into the Kent County Animal Shelter a couple weeks ago, she was holding up an injured paw.

Photo courtesy of Lynae Marie Photography

Someone in a rural area had seen the mom-to-be running around and thought it was a good idea to put out a coyote trap to catch her. It caught her, puncturing her skin in places and causing her to favor her swollen leg.

When no one claimed her as a stray, the shelter called Hearts of Hope. The nonprofit places dogs in a network of foster homes until adopters can be found - a nice option for animals who are pregnant, sick, or who might have anxiety issues when left too long in a loud shelter. Since it started five years ago, the group has placed more than 1,100 dogs.

Because Harmony was pregnant, she could not have pain medication. But when the puppies began to arrive a week ago, McFarlane said the cycle of bedrest, eating small meals, and nursing the little ones has forced the 2-year-old dog to limit her activity, and that's helped Harmony heal.

At 13, it's the largest litter of puppies Hearts of Hope has handled. The shelter had estimated Harmony would have six to eight.

McFarlane said she knew that guess was really low when the puppies started being born.

"When she had the first one, I looked at it and it was so tiny," she said. "I thought, 'Oh no. We're going to have a lot.' "

Harmony delivered them in batches between 6 a.m and 7:30 p.m. that day.

"She had five, and then she took a nap, and had five more. Then she took another nap and had three more."

"It's like she had two litters."

Photo courtesy of Lynae Marie Photography

They are cute little bundles. All are healthy, and are being nursed by their mom in shifts. McFarlane is also supplementing with bottle feeding.

Judging by their looks, the father of this crowd is likely a Labrador retriever.

Volunteers and the community have shown a lot of support in the last week, donating food, puppy pads and baby wipes.

Once enough breweries sign on to label the big family, Hearts of Hope will do a big reveal of all the puppy names.

And when the puppies have all been weaned, the group can turn its attention to Harmony. The new mom tested positive for heartworm - which does not transfer to her puppies. Once she is no longer nursing, she can be treated for that condition.

McFarlane expects Harmony to stay with her for the summer, until she gets a clean checkup and can be placed in a new home of her own.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A 20-foot tree once grew through the roof of the abandoned property at 111 S. Main St.

The building attracted little notice from passersby even as, on the inside, water leaked from pipes, mold formed on floor joists and walls and a tiny seed germinated and grew into a tree, eventually reaching through two floors and into the skyline of Ann Arbor.

Eventually, the leafy branches captured the attention of city officials who determined the building would either need to be demolished or heavily renovated.

Jon Carlson and Greg Lobdell, of Ann Arbor-based development company 2mission, saw an in The Ann Arbor News about the Main Street property and decided to step in to see if they could restore the 116-year-old building to its former glory.

From what Carlson can tell, the building formerly owned by Louis Feigelson had been abandoned for 30 years.

"It was in very terrible shape," Carlson said. "The facade looked good, but there were no windows."

He credited Ann Arbor building official Peter Pace with stepping in and making the effort to save the building from demolition. That's where 2mission came in, as a company that has led several efforts in Michigan to renovate historic buildings.

"We have a history of taking on unique projects," Lobdell said. "This had such a unique story. It was a great building with great bones, solid walls and stairways. It made for a fun project."

Carlson and Lobdell joined with partners Chet Czaplicka and Rob Eisman and purchased the property for $1.54 million in August 2016.

City records reveal the 10,912-square-foot building was built in 1901, and is valued at $1.08 million.

Less than a year after purchasing the building, the new owners have transformed the property into spaces for ideas and products to grow, instead of vegetation.

Mold has been addressed, the leaky roof repaired and the original brick and stone walls are now exposed in juxtaposition to shiny, reclaimed wood floors.

It was a long rehabilitation process that took about 10 months and cost around $2.5 million, Carlson said.

Each of the four floors, measuring about 2,775 square feet, were renovated and color-coded by large canvases hanging on a wall. The first floor includes access to a 2,525-square-foot basement that has been refinished.

The spaces feature kitchenettes with stainless steel appliances, high-efficiency heating and cooling appliances and LED lighting. The top floor includes skylights scattered throughout the ceiling to let in natural light.

Lobdell pointed out the variety of building materials on display throughout the property, which started as a two-story building. The third and fourth floors were added later.

"Renters like seeing the history built up over time," said Lobdell, pointing out the sloping brick work that indicated where the preliminary roof line was for 111 Main.

Some things will remain in place, like the copper awnings that set 111 Main St. apart from other downtown buildings.

The property is being listed through Jim Chaconas with Colliers International, and the owners are anticipating in walking through the newest available property on Main Street in the heart of Ann Arbor.

They anticipate the building will be ready to lease June 1.

Carlson and Lobdell are now working on the historic Thompson Block development in Ypsilanti, a property partially destroyed by fire that has experienced failed development attempts.

Some of the their company's previous projects include Ann Arbor locations such as East and West Washington Street, Royal Oak's Fifth and Main streets, and West Front Street in Traverse City.

The building at 111 Main St. was in the worst condition they had worked with ahead of purchasing the Thompson Block. Just like the Ann Arbor property, the Thompson Block will require a lot of hard work to bring it back from the brink.

"We care about it a lot," Lobdell said. "Most people wouldn't take it on."
HannahSelles.jpg

Hannah Selles is a student at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies. Her interest in China goes back four generations to her great-grandparents, who were missionaries.

(Jim Harger | Mlive Media Group)

Editor's note: Jim Harger was among a group of U.S. journalists who recently visited China through the China-United States Exchange Foundation, a non-government organization that seeks to build trust and understanding between the countries.

NANJING, CHINA - Calvin College graduate Hannah Selles is continuing a family tradition that goes back four generations as she attends classes at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies.

Selles, a Grand Rapids Christian High School graduate, was born in Taiwan and spent much of her childhood in China with her missionary parents, Kurt and Vicki Selles.

Now she's pursuing a degree in international development at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, a program aimed at blending the best of China and the United States' academic knowledge.

Even further back, her great-grandparents, Albert and Trina Selles, were sent to Nanjing in 1926 by Central Avenue Christian Reformed Church of Holland to study Chinese as missionaries.

"I've always been interested in Chinese history, which is almost overwhelmingly rich and complex, and this past year I've had the opportunity to study 20th century Chinese history in depth," says Selles.

"I spent a large part of my childhood in China, so I think a part of my affinity for China simply comes from being comfortable and familiar with daily life in China," says 29-year-old Hannah who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia for 27 months from 2013 to 2015.

"More than ever, I am fascinated and moved by how Chinese people today have adapted to the tremendous upheaval and suffering of the last century, have come through war, famine, political turmoil, and breakneck development to pursue a stable and prosperous life for themselves and their families."

Selles' ancestors lived through a major portion of that war and turmoil. Her great-grandparents fled China on a U.S. gunboat in 1927 as the Japanese invaded southern China.

They returned and were arrested by the Japanese on Dec. 8, 1941, the after the attack on Pearl Harbor. They were returned to the U.S. as part of a prisoner exchange in 1942. They returned to China after the war until they were forced to flee once again when Mao Zedong and the Communist Party took over.

Her parents moved to Taiwan in 1987 and stayed there until 1993, when they moved to Beijing, where Kurt Selles worked as the English Language Institute of China. Although they were sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church, the political atmosphere did not permit proselytizing.

Kurt Selles also oversaw Calvin's Semester in China program until 2006. He returned to the U.S. in 2012 and now is the director of Back to God Ministries International, a ministry that publishes devotional tracts.

Despite his grand-parents' rocky history, China has become a draw for his family because of its people and culture, Kurt Selles said.

"I think it's just such a rich culture. The history is so intense. You learn to read Chinese, you learn to speak Chinese. It can become a lifelong thing," he said.

"As individuals, they can be so gracious and loyal and delightful to be connected to and working with them."
GRAND RAPIDS - The Grand Rapids, after a poor start, had a great finish Wednesday against San Jose.

Matt Lorito scored a power play goal early in the third period and Mitch Callahan poked in the go-ahead goal with 3:40 left for a 4-2 victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals before 6,009 at Van Andel Arena.

With the win, the Griffins lead the Barracuda 2-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Games four and five are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Van Andel Arena.

MORE: Scoring summary

The Griffins had series high 42 shots, including 16 in the first and third periods.

The three-goal third period was impressive because the first period was not.

The Barracuda's John McCarthy had goalie Jared Coreau all to himself and capitalized at 5:19 after Tomas Nosek carelessly tried a dump-off pass as he headed to the bench. It went right to McCarthy.

At the 15 minute mark it became 2-0 as Ryan Carpenter fired a routine one-timer inside the right circle that beat Coreau glove side.

In between, Nathan Paetsch tied it at 13:47. It was just the second goal by a Griffins' defenseman in the postseason, spanning 40 goals.

The Griffins tied it again at the 6:40 mark in the third on Lorito's power play goal, using some excellent, quick stick handling off Eric Tangradi's shot to put it past Grosenick.

It was the ninth consecutive game with a power play goal for the Griffins.

Nosek sealed it with an empty net goal with 58 seconds left.

Here's how the game played out in the live chat:

THIRD PERIOD (completed)



Griffins 4, Barracuda 2

19:02 - A near-rink long goal into an empty net by Tomas Nosek seals it. Grand Rapids 4, San Jose 2

16:20 - Griffins take their first lead as Mitch Callahan scores after punching in a loose puck past a sprawled goalie Troy Grosenick. Eric Tangradi had the initial shot and was also poking at it. Grand Rapids 3, San Jose 2

6:40 - Griffins tie it with a PP goal by Matt Lorito with some nice stick handling. Martin Frk took the shot from the point, Matthew Ford jumped over it and Troy Grosenick couldn't gather the rebound. San Jose 2, Grand Rapids 2

6:00 - Griffins get a PP opportunity as Buddy Robinson goes off for high sticking. Second time in the box for Robinson.

5:24 - Eric Tangradi thought he had a goal as goalie Troy Grosenick attempted to stop the puck with his back legs while sprawled on his stomach. Tangradi raised his hands but refs disagreed. No replay.

00:07 - First hit of the period and Griffins' Eric Tangradi goes off for boarding and slams his stick. Forward Adam Helewka has to be helped off by trainers and goes into the lockerroom.

SECOND PERIOD (completed)



Barracuda 2, Griffins 1

18:04 - Nathan Paetsch (hook) of the Griffins and Barracuda's Timo Meier (embellishment) set up some four on four for the closing minute-plus.

10:28 - First penalty of the second period. Barracuda's Buddy Robinson called for holding. Teams also quieter this period on shots, too. Just nine combined.

FIRST PERIOD (completed)



Barracuda 2, Griffins 1

19:53 - The Barracuda will start the second with a power play as Matthew Ford picks up the late call for roughing. Notable in that it's the first penalty on the Griffins. Also notable in that Ford has the team's most goals (six) and most penalty minutes (20).

15:00 - Tie doesn't last long as Barracuda's Ryan Carpenter sweeps in and flicks a seemingly routine shot on net that just beats Jared Coreau on the glove side. Carpenter's league-leading ninth goal. San Jose 2, Grand Rapids 1

13:47 - Griffins tie it as Barracuda defenseman John McCarthy lost his footing in front and Nathan Paetsch was there free to knock it in. San Jose 1, Grand Rapids 1

5:19 - Very poor turnover by Tomas Nosek leaves Barracuda's John McCarthy all alone on a breakaway. A couple moves, capped by a backhand, and there's the first goal. Nosek tried to dump the puck on a line change. San Jose 1, Grand Rapids 0

1:47: Bench minor for San Jose - the Barracuda started the wrong lineup. Easy way to get an early PP.

Rare - and bizarre - as it is, the same thing happened in a first-round series between Chicago at Charlotte.

PREGAME

San Jose Barracuda at Grand Rapids Griffins

Game 3 of Western Conference Finals

Series: Tied 1-1

Time: 7 p.m. (EDT) Wednesday

TV: AHL.com (fee)

Radio: ESPN (96.1-FM)



Here are a few primers to get you ready:
ANN ARBOR, MI - One of three men arrested following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at Sava's Restaurant in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, May 24 has been released from federal custody.

Jesus Ortiz Hernandez was released through the ICE's Alternatives to Detention program, ICE public affairs officer Rachael Yong Yow said in a statement.

Through the program, Hernandez will be required to check in with Enforcement and Removal Operations officers while in the immigration hearing process. Still in custody were Sergio Cardenas Rubio and Mohamed Souman.

Restaurant owner Sava Lelcaj told The Ann Arbor News after the arrests that ICE agents ate at the restaurant, 216 S. State Street, about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday before entering the kitchen area to look for an employee. The employee was off duty, but the agents detained multiple people, she said. One person was released at the scene.

On Wednesday evening, ICE confirmed three men accused of being in the U.S. illegally were in custody.

ICE alleges Rubio and Hernandez unlawfully entered the U.S. without inspection at an unknown date and location, and Souman lawfully entered the country, but did not depart in accordance with the terms of his status.

Lelcaj said Wednesday afternoon that her company, Savco Hospitality, puts potential employees through a vetting process to determine employment eligibility, and that she believes the arrested employees were legally in the U.S.

Yong Yow said she was unaware of any investigation into Lelcaj or her business. Though she could not comment on whether agents indeed ate at the restaurant before making the arrests, she said the department utilizes various techniques in their enforcement efforts.

The arrests at Sava's were one of at least two reports of ICE presence in the Ann Arbor area Wednesday.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Elected officials in Ann Arbor are upset and speaking out after federal immigration officers arrested and detained a group of men working at a popular downtown restaurant for allegedly being in the country illegally.

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, said what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents did at Sava's Restaurant on Wednesday, May 24, was appalling and disrespectful, and he argues it creates a culture of fear among immigrants and other community members who fit a certain profile.

He's calling for an end to what he considers unjust profiling and the harm caused by the removal of community members targeted by ICE.

"My position is that we need to be protecting everyone in the community. We are one community, one Washtenaw County, one Ann Arbor," Rabhi said.

Three employees at Sava's were arrested and taken into custody by ICE agents for alleged immigration violations on Wednesday, May 24.

ICE has confirmed it was a targeted enforcement action and one of the three men has since been released from custody.

A fourth employee who was briefly detained on Wednesday was able to prove his legal status and was released within minutes.

Restaurant owner Sava Lelcaj said the ICE agents ate at the restaurant before entering the kitchen area to look for an employee who was not on duty. The agents then detained multiple people, but released the one.

Lelcaj said on Wednesday her company, Savco Hospitality, puts potential employees through a vetting process to determine employment eligibility, and she believed the arrested employees were legally in the U.S.

Rabhi said it seems ICE was intent on bringing in anyone who might fit the profile of an undocumented immigrant.

Even if they were in the country illegally, Rabhi said, being in the U.S. without proper authorization is a civil offense, not a serious crime, and he doesn't think what happened on Wednesday needed to happen.

He said ICE has other means to check someone's immigration status and afford them their right to due process without disrupting the activities of a local business, but instead, Rabhi argues, ICE disregarded basic human decency and harassed and arrested unsuspecting people in the middle of a work shift.

He said there's no such thing as an illegal human being and the employees taken into custody by ICE were just doing their jobs.

"People shouldn't have to live in a constant state of fear in their workplace," he said. "I think what happened was appalling."

ICE alleges two of the men arrested, Sergio Cardenas Rubio and Jesus Ortiz Hernandez, unlawfully entered the United States without inspection at an unknown date and location. The other, Mohamed Souman, lawfully entered the country but did not depart in accordance with the terms of his status, according to ICE.

ICE confirmed on Thursday afternoon Ortiz Hernandez has been released through the agency's Alternatives to Detention program and is required to check in with ICE officers while in the immigration hearing process. Cardenas Rubio and Souman still remained in ICE custody on Thursday afternoon.

Bree Stilwell, a spokesperson for Savco Hospitality, said Ortiz Hernandez was released on a tether and is allowed to come back to work, though it could take 60 to 90 days to get his employment authorization paperwork in order, so he might be out of work for a while.

The Ann Arbor News spoke with Ortiz Hernandez on Thursday. He was planning to meet with an attorney and said he wasn't ready to provide additional comment Thursday.

Mayor Christopher Taylor also is speaking out.

"This ICE action does not protect American jobs, or make us safer," Taylor said in a statement shared via social media.

"All it achieves is to disrupt hard-working people who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. There is also something particularly unfeeling about the choice to eat at the location before moving in to detain people."

He added, "We should be better than this."

Rabhi said he finds it particularly upsetting that ICE agents ate at the restaurant before arresting the workers involved in providing their food.

"I don't think ICE should be targeting people the way that they are. Obviously if there are people committing crimes, if there are people robbing, people who are hardened criminals in this country that ICE wants to selectively look into, I don't have a problem with that," Rabhi said.

"I do have a problem when we have average, everyday people in our community who are afraid they might be taken away from their kids, taken away from their wife, or taken away from their significant other. It creates a culture of fear."

Carlos Rivera-Ochoa, who was working on the cooking line on Wednesday, was briefly detained before being released within minutes. He said his permanent resident card is always on him in case he needs to prove his identity and his ability to work legally in the U.S., but it didn't prevent him from being handcuffed and placed in a government vehicle when two ICE agents arrived.

His wife, Nicki Sanchez, who translated for her husband while talking to a reporter on Wednesday, said her husband was terrified by the ordeal and is now afraid the incident could happen again in the future.

"His whole persona just changed," she said.

Washtenaw County Board Chairman Andy LaBarre, D-Ann Arbor, said he questions whether ICE's actions at Sava's on Wednesday were necessary.

"It just seems like it interrupted a successful business in the middle of their operations, and just struck me as sort of a deviation from the notion that we're going after folks who've committed violent criminal actions or that sort of thing," he said. "It just seemed like a disruption of a well-known community business."

Rabhi said he wants a compassionate society where people look out for one another, not a culture of profiling and targeting people who aren't criminals based on how they look, where they're from or where they are.

"This is the culture we're now living in," he said. "If I look the wrong way and I'm in the wrong place, does that mean I'm going to get swooped up by ICE and go through that ordeal? That's why I'm still fired up about this, because it's about people's humanity and respecting their humanity."

Stilwell said the employees who were arrested had complete and up-to-date I-9 forms, which are documents used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired to work in the U.S.

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners recently voted to approve new protections for immigrants, both documented and undocumented, and established an aid fund, including emergency assistance and legal aid for immigrant families affected by federal immigration enforcement actions.

Andrea Plevek, director of the county's Office of Community and Economic Development, said she has reached out to an immigrant rights group and is working to coordinate any assistance that might be needed for the Sava's employees or their families affected by Wednesday's ICE action.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor officials are starting to think more seriously about harnessing the sun's energy to power city-owned facilities, and they're looking into options to allow residents to invest in "community solar" projects.

There are talks of potentially putting solar panels atop city-owned parking garages downtown and on a wide range of other public buildings.

The city has determined several city-owned facilities that consume a significant amount of energy have good solar potential.

That includes five city fire stations, the senior center at Burns Park, the Northside Community Center, Mack Indoor Pool, the Veterans Memorial Park bathhouse and ice arena, Buhr Park's bathhouse and ice rink, Cobblestone Farm's visitors center, the Fuller Park bathhouse, the downtown Farmers Market building and grounds, and the city's airport administration building.

The City Council unanimously adopted a new policy this month requiring all renovations of city facilities that are included in the city's Capital Improvements Plan to comply with current Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria for existing buildings and to incorporate solar power and other alternative/renewable energy sources to the greatest extent possible.

The policy also requires all newly built city facilities to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver certification and to incorporate solar power and other alternative/renewable energy sources to the greatest extent possible.

The policy was recommended by the city's Environmental Commission and made official through a resolution sponsored by Mayor Christopher Taylor and Council Members Chip Smith and Jason Frenzel.

"I think it is a good move in the right direction, one perhaps we should have taken years ago, like before the wastewater treatment plant was built," Smith said.

'Walking the talk'

"What we're doing here is walking the talk," said Council Member Jane Lumm, an independent from the 2nd Ward.

"Given that we expect private developers to build energy-efficient buildings, the city should certainly step up to that responsibility as well."

Among the city facility projects planned in the next few years is the design and construction of a new fire station and emergency operations center at a location to be determined. The city also is planning renovations to other fire stations and city hall, as well as Housing Commission apartment projects, and rebuilding a significant portion of the city's water treatment plant.

City Administrator Howard Lazarus is being directed by council to provide an annual report on facility energy efficiency for any new or renovated projects affected by the policy, which is effective for seven years.

City officials hope taking these steps will help the city make progress on its sustainability and climate action goals, which include reducing community-wide carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2025, and by 90 percent by 2050.

The city expects most of the targeted emission reductions to come from making buildings throughout the community, including homes and businesses, more energy efficient, but it's also counting on a societal shift away from relying on fossil fuels to more use of renewable energy, including solar energy.

Michigan's state building code prohibits the city from mandating greater energy efficiency than the code requires, so the city can only ask developers, businesses, private citizens and property owners to voluntarily do their part in most cases.

City officials are now in agreement the city should do more to lead by example, and the city does have the ability to require maximum energy efficiency and use of renewable energy such as solar at city-owned facilities.

Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward, said he doesn't want the city to limit itself to making energy-efficiency upgrades and installing solar arrays only when city facilities are undergoing scheduled renovations and construction.

"I think we need to start looking forward for opportunities on our existing buildings," he said. "There's no reason why we couldn't have solar panels on top of all of our parking structures, on many of our existing buildings that are not going to be renovated anytime soon."

Smith said that's something the city's Energy Office and Energy Commission are already looking at now.

In addition to the new policy for city facilities, the City Council approved a resolution this month making a commitment to pursue community solar options, noting DTE Energy, the energy provider for the area, recently offered a voluntary renewable-energy tariff mirroring elements of a community solar option. City officials are hoping to work with DTE to make community solar a reality, allowing community members to pool their money to have solar arrays installed.

Solar panels installed at the Washtenaw Food Hub on Whitmore Lake Road in Ann Arbor Township, just north of the city of Ann Arbor.

Frenzel, who represents the 1st Ward on council and serves on the Environmental Commission, said citizens are strongly advocating for Ann Arbor to do more as it relates to combating climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Community solar, he said, is a fabulous way to offer residents an opportunity to go solar even if they can't do it on their own properties.

"We have many, many residents who can't put solar on their residence," Frenzel said, adding he doesn't think his own house is very well positioned for solar panels and lots of people in Tree Town have heavily shaded properties.

But through a community solar program, Frenzel said, either DTE or another private entity, or perhaps even the city, could install a solar array at some location, either in the city or someplace else, and then people could buy into the project, offsetting their own energy use while getting some financial payback.

The City Council last June approved taking steps to make Ann Arbor more solar-friendly, directing city departments and agencies to adopt the Clean Energy Coalition's Solar Ready Community guidelines. The Michigan Energy Office funded the CEC's development of a Solar Ready Community Guide for Michigan, complete with model zoning and permitting guidelines.

Ann Arbor has taken steps to make it easier for residents to get permits for installing solar panels on their homes, though the city has been criticized for raising people's property taxes for going solar. The city assessor maintains solar panels increase a home's market value and that needs to be reflected in the property's assessment, though the city is now looking into getting the state to restore property tax exemptions for residential solar panels.

Lazarus said he has been working with members of the City Council's Policy Agenda Committee to pursue legislative changes to overcome obstacles that are keeping the city from implementing community solar and causing the city to have to assess solar panels as improvements to residential properties.

"We've started that process and we'll continue with great determination and grit to work through those challenges," he said.

Getting community solar going

The city earlier this year partnered with the nonprofit Clean Energy Coalition in Ann Arbor on the launch of a solar group-purchase program, encouraging more residents to go solar. Frenzel challenged his council colleagues to a friendly competition to see which of the city's five wards could meet its solar goals first.

Some Ann Arbor property owners already have taken it upon themselves to have solar panels installed on their roofs in recent years.

As for getting a community solar program going to allow investing in larger projects, city officials say there still are a lot of details to work out and it will take some time to investigate various models and determine what's doable.

The council has directed the city administrator to include community solar in the city's group solar program and Solar Ready Community efforts and to work toward defining the costs of installing and operating community solar projects and how they would translate into credits for Ann Arbor-based subscribers.

As some might want to do it for both financial and environmental reasons, the city intends to advise people to consult with financial advisors regarding the investment payback before participating.

Smith, who represents the 5th Ward on council and serves on the Environmental Commission, said he was sad to hear his house isn't very well positioned for harnessing solar energy and he knows others in the same situation.

"That is a common refrain," he said. "Creating this community solar program, I think, is very essential to allow people to buy into this that can't otherwise participate in renewable energy generation."

Frenzel, an environmentalist who works for the Huron River Watershed Council and also has worked for the city, said the city met its initial Climate Action Plan goal of reducing community-wide carbon emissions by 8 percent by 2015 primarily through DTE's mandatory changes in energy generation.

The state of Michigan required utility companies to get 10 percent of the energy they supply to customers from renewable sources by 2015. The new requirement is 12.5 percent by 2019, and 15 percent by 2021.

DTE recently announced it plans to reduce the company's carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by moving away from burning coal, and have 40 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2040.

DTE's plan includes interim targets of reducing emissions by 30 percent by the early 2020s, by 45 percent by 2030, and by 75 percent by 2040.

That's to be achieved by shuttering aging coal plants and replacing them with a mix of natural gas and renewable sources such as wind and solar.

In 2040, DTE's targeted mix of energy is 20 percent nuclear energy, 40 percent renewable and 40 percent natural gas.

Smith said DTE's announcement might be the push needed to get real community solar options going in southeast Michigan.

Smith and others have met with University of Michigan representatives to talk about the potential for community solar on UM parking lots, including the lot at the end of Krause Street in the Old West Side neighborhood. Smith lives next to the lot and has been in talks with Homeland Solar, a local solar installer, about doing a community solar project there and allowing neighbors to buy into it.

Smith said it would take a solar owners condominium agreement, which he suspects might be too complicated for UM, though he said UM is looking at doing solar projects in those spots on its own and trying to work out the details.

As the city sees it, there are at least four potential options for community solar, including a utility-controlled option.

"DTE does not currently offer community solar, but recently Consumers Energy created a community solar option for their customers," states a city staff memo provided to City Council. "The city would monitor and/or proactively engage DTE on the potential of DTE creating their own community solar program."

Another potential option is "behind the meter" community solar, where a host site installs solar panels not connected to DTE's grid and the energy is used onsite. Participants would be able to contribute to the upfront costs of the installation and receive a return on investment from the host's energy savings.

A third option being explored by the city is participating in an established community solar program.

"There are existing organizations that offer their members community solar through platforms that take advantage of out-of-state factors, such as higher utility rates and virtual net metering for solar, and relaying those benefits to the participant," the city staff memo states. "There are non-profit examples with apparent activity in Michigan (Sierra Club)."

The city also is exploring a fourth option where participants would contribute to the upfront capital costs of a solar installation at a city utility facility such as the water treatment plant, for example, and receive credit on their utility bill.

'Our greatest existential crisis'

The nonprofit Clean Energy Coalition in Ann Arbor also has been considering options to undertake a community solar project, possibly atop a downtown building like the library or the Kerrytown Market and Shops, and allowing social-impact investors to buy into the project and reap financial returns.

Sean Reed, founder and executive director of the organization, said the CEC's board last year approved the creation of a for-profit entity to pull together local investors and try to pool investment money for local projects.

"Of the different types of projects that could be done, solar is one that would be extremely attractive," he said. "You're getting pretty much 25 years of sustainable returns off the initial capital investment and there's very little required in terms of operation and maintenance after it gets deployed."

As a kickoff project, Reed said in a previous interview, the CEC would like to do a 100-kilowatt solar array with different investors.

"So that's our plan," he said. "We have a number of viable projects that are out there and organizations that we would be working with. Our hope would be those would be nonprofit institutions, institutions with a social mission."

None of Ann Arbor's city-owned parking garages have solar panels atop them, but city leaders are talking about it. Here the Maynard parking garage is viewed from Tower Plaza on April 11, 2017.

The idea of adding solar panels atop downtown parking garages came up as the City Council approved the city's annual budget this month. Four council members wanted to see the Downtown Development Authority put funds toward an energy-efficiency program and adding solar panels on downtown parking garages and other buildings, instead of hiring a new DDA communications specialist.

DDA Executive Director Susan Pollay told council members the DDA already is actively exploring the idea of solar panels on downtown parking garages and other public buildings. She said Dave Konkle, the DDA's energy guru, is expected to report back soon with options for getting more solar downtown.

Pollay noted the DDA helped install solar panels at the Farmers Market in Kerrytown several years ago, and there are solar-powered parking pay stations throughout downtown. As for solar panels atop parking garages, she said, this next year is a year of planning, and implementation could happen after.

"Climate change is our greatest existential crisis," Council Member Zachary Ackerman, D-3rd Ward, said at a recent council meeting, speaking in support of moving forward with community solar in Ann Arbor.

"This is a service that residents have come to want and expect, and I think it's our responsibility to push to provide it."

Ackerman noted Ann Arbor has a community-wide goal of adding 24 megawatts of solar power by 2025 as part of the Climate Action Plan goal of reducing carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2025.

"Unfortunately, as of now, Ann Arbor is still 70 percent dependent on fossil fuels, and I believe a large part of that is because currently our options are fairly limited to solar on residential and commercial properties," Ackerman said.

"And if dependent on residential solar alone, we would need to install nearly 500 new arrays a year to reach that goal."

Community solar, Ackerman said, would provide another option for community members to pool their resources and help the city make more progress.
DETROIT, MI - In April, immigration attorney Brad Thomson helped Carlos Rivera-Ochoa to get his permanent resident card.

Seven weeks later, Thomson and Rivera-Ochoa were back at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Detroit on Thursday, May 25, seeking answers to why Rivera-Ochoa was handcuffed and questioned by ICE agents while at work Wednesday at an Ann Arbor restaurant.

"Why did an agent put handcuffs on him and arrest him when he is a permanent resident?" asked Thomson as he tried to get an impromptu meeting with ICE officials.

The meeting did not take place on Thursday, but Thomson is hoping to schedule one with a Detroit ICE director.

Rivera-Ochoa, 22, was working in the kitchen of Sava's Restaurant, 216 S. State St., when he heard ICE agents were in the building around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday looking for an unidentified person.

Restaurant owner Sava Lelcaj told The Ann Arbor News the agents ate at the restaurant before entering the kitchen area to look for an employee who was not on duty.

The agents detained multiple people and released one, she said.

ICE confirmed that three men accused of being in the U.S. illegally were arrested.

It was Rivera-Ochoa who was released at the scene after presenting his green card.

He said he encountered the ICE agents after walking out the back door of the restaurant to call his wife, Nicki Sanchez, 22, also of Milan.

Within five minutes, Rivera-Ochoa was handcuffed and questioned and later released after he showed the agent his permanent resident card. He received the card in April. Rivera-Ochoa keeps it on him at all times, in his wallet.

Afterwards, he and Sanchez reached out to Thomson. They drove Thursday morning to the Detroit ICE office at 333 Mt. Elliott St. to get some answers.

Rain poured Wednesday as Thomson met Rivera-Ochoa and Sanchez outside the Detroit ICE office. The conversation moved inside, to a small lobby where people murmured to each other in Spanish and watched as Thomson attempted to contact Detroit ICE Director Rebecca Adducci.

It was a long night for the married couple of three years, who both switched work shifts so they could drive to Detroit and meet their lawyer.

"We are exhausted," Sanchez said, standing close to Rivera-Ochoa as they listened to Thomson speak with an ICE representative on his cellphone.

Thomson also asked to see the warrant the ICE agents had on them when they arrived at Sava's. Thomson spoke in Spanish to ask if Rivera-Ochoa or Sanchez had any other questions for ICE.

Rivera-Ochoa replied in Spanish, asking why he wasn't asked for his identification first thing.

Thomson said Rivera-Ochoa was embarrassed and traumatized by the events Wednesday, and is confused about why he was handcuffed. He also said they were considering filing a lawsuit for unlawful arrest.

Thomson said he wants to know if ICE agents acted according to policy, and if Rivera-Ochoa was detained because of his skin color or his inability to communicate well in English.

Sanchez said the ICE agents had a photo of the person they were looking for, prompting Thomson to wonder if Rivera-Ochoa had similar facial characteristics or simply the same color skin as the person of interest.

"What were the factors that ended with him in handcuffs?" Thomson asked.

ICE offered no answers to those questions Thursday.

The agency did provide updates Thursday on the three men who were taken into federal custody.

ICE alleges two of the men arrested, Sergio Cardenas Rubio and Jesus Ortiz Hernandez, unlawfully entered the United States without inspection at an unknown date and location. The other, Mohamed Souman, lawfully entered the country but did not depart in accordance with the terms of his status, according to ICE.



ICE confirmed on Thursday afternoon Ortiz Hernandez was released through the agency's Alternatives to Detention program and is required to check in with ICE officers while in the immigration hearing process.

Cardenas Rubio and Souman still remained in ICE custody on Thursday afternoon.

The restaurant owner expected Ortiz Hernandez to be able to return to work in the coming months.
Editor's note: This has been updated to reflect Jose Ricardo Valle-Rodriguez's name accurately.

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI - An Ypsilanti Township family fears one of their own will be deported after being taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the morning of Wednesday, May 24.

Jose Valle-Rodriguez, 31, was detained by ICE agents about 9:30 a.m. May 24 in the parking lot of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Ypsilanti Township post off Whittaker Road, said his wife of five years, Karina Valle, 28.

His detention is one of at least two immigration enforcement efforts reported in Washtenaw County on Wednesday.

Three people were in ICE custody after a targeted enforcement action at Sava's Restaurant in Ann Arbor.

Karina Valle said that before she met him, her husband came in the country illegally to work in 2003, and he told her he was detained by immigration once before in 2005.

The two are from El Salvador and Karina Valle said she fears the worst if he is sent back.

"He can't go there, because he most likely will be killed," she said. "Our country is infested with gangs and violence and that's why we leave from there."

Valle-Rodriguez was taken into custody Wednesday morning after a vehicle following them from their Ypsilanti Township home turned on flashing lights and pulled them over at the sheriff's post, Karina Valle said.

ICE made the sheriff's office aware of a search for a specific subject in the area, but the sheriff's office had no part in the arrest, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Lt. Keith Flores said.

Karina Valle recalled through tears that her husband, with fear written on his face, immediately looked over at their 2-year-old son when they were stopped.

The toddler, too, was overcome with emotion.

"It was horrible to see him cry when they grabbed his dad," she said. "He's small and he doesn't understand much, but he knew what was going on with his dad."

Karina Valle said she and her husband contacted lawyers in recent months for aid rectifying his legal status, but he has now been issued a deportation order and lawyers have given her little hope it can be fought.

A message seeking comment on Valle-Rodriguez's status was left with an ICE representative.

Karina Valle said there are no job opportunities for her husband in El Salvador - he works as a roofer in Michigan - and she fears his time in the U.S. will make him more attractive to gangs who want to use his ties here. Her own father was killed by a gang there, she said.

Valle-Rodriguez's deportation would rob the family of their primary breadwinner, as well as a well-loved father figure, she said.

"He's a hardworking man ... He's a very, very good dad," Karina Valle said of her husband. "I've been with him for 10 years and, to me, he is an amazing man."
BAY CITY, MI -- Dozens gathered in downtown Bay City's Wenonah Park to voice their support for the state to legalize recreational marijuana use.

The rally began at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, and was put on by "MI Legalize," self-described as "an initiative campaign that aims to legalize marijuana and end years of harmful prohibition in Michigan."

Stuart Fielder, of Saginaw, said the point of Thursday's rally was to gather volunteers and organize for the 180-day window allotted to gather at least 252,523 valid voter signatures for the issue to appear on the 2018 ballot. That period kicks off Friday, May 26.

On that day, volunteers are going to begin sending out petitions.

"Right now, we're just ramping people up and getting them excited for this campaign," Fielder said. "We're going to teach them, educate, and really get all of our volunteers ready and on board so we can make sure these 180 days go by as smooth as possible."

Those who signed up at Thursday's rally will receive petitions, Fielder said.

Though marijuana is a Schedule I substance under federal law and thus not legal in any context, Michigan and 25 other states have legalized its medical use. Eight states -- Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine -- have legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults.

If Michigan voters do opt to legalize and regulate pot for recreational use, only those 21 and older would be permitted to use it. They would still be unable to consume it in a public place or drive under its influence.

Local governments would decide whether or not to allow marijuana-related businesses within their boundaries, and then the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs would regulate those businesses.

Fielder said he is "extremely optimistic" the initiative will be on the ballot and subsequently pass, citing opinion polls indicating the majority of Michiganders support the idea.

"Personally, I feel like it's the right thing to do," he added on why he favors legalization and regulation. "This is something a lot of people can benefit from. This is nothing but good for Michigan."
The Transportation Security Administration is tightening security screenings at a select group of U.S. airports, including Detroit Metro Airport.

Travelers may now be required to separate electronic devices into different bins to be thoroughly inspected, according to a Wednesday statement from the TSA.

The TSA said it has been testing the procedure at 10 airports to improve the screening performance at checkpoints.

"There are no changes to what is allowed in carry-on bags," according to the TSA.

"Travelers at select test locations may be asked to place certain electronics and other items in a separate bin for screening in an effort to de-clutter baggage. TSA will evaluate the results at these test locations to determine if any future checkpoint procedures should be altered.

"As we have said time and again, TSA continuously enhances and adjusts security screening procedures, both seen and unseen, to maintain the highest levels of security."

The program is intended to speed up the process of searching overstuffed baggage, officials said.

Travelers are required to place laptops in separate bins, but anyone enrolled in "Precheck" will still able to leave them in their bags, the Associated Press reports.

Although the extra step of separating items may slow down security lines for travelers, the TSA is using this pilot program to test best practices to target and enhance screening methods.

The new screening measures are being tested at the following airports:

Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Detroit Metropolitan Airport; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida; Logan Airport in Boston; Los Angeles International Airport; Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport in Lubbock, Texas; Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico; McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas; and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Associated Press reports.
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(MLive.com file photo)

A firearms instructor who accidentally discharged his gun and shot a student in both legs accepted a plea deal in a Livonia courtroom Thursday.

Michael Edward Hearn, 44, of Farmington Hills, a concealed pistol license training class instructor at Firearm Exchange in Livonia, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a year in jail.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office originally charged Hearn with careless, negligent or reckless use of a firearm.

Livonia 16th District Judge Sean P. Kavanagh delayed sentencing because the victim wishes to be present and couldn't attend the hearing Thursday.

"There was no intent to do any harm at all," said Hearn's attorney, Jim Makowski. "It was an unfortunate accident.

"Going forward, our sympathies to the injured party, we wish him a speedy recovery and hope that this matter can be put behind everyone soon."

Makowski said it's his understanding the victim is "recovering nicely."

Livonia Police Detective Capt. Robert Nenciarini told MLive Hearn was teaching a CPL class while another group of students was receiving instruction in a neighboring room.

"I don't know what he was demonstrating ... but he pulled his gun out of its holster, pointed it at the door separating the two classrooms and fired a round," the police captain said after the incident.

The bullet from a 9-millimeter handgun struck a 39-year-old Detroit man in the leg. The bullet exited and then struck his other leg.

Hearn declined to comment after his brief appearance in Livonia's 16th District Court Thursday.
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Michael Pitt (left) of Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers, one firm involved in civil litigation tied to the Flint water crisis, is shown in this Flint Journal file photo.

(Flint Journal file photo)

FLINT, MI -- A group of attorneys involved in civil litigation over the Flint water crisis is asking Gov. Rick Snyder to restore subsidies for Flint water customers until tap water is "safe and untainted."

"We speak on behalf of our clients, who are victims of the Flint water tragedy, which includes thousands of class action members who have been damaged ...," the Flint Water Class Action Legal Team said in a news release Thursday, May 25.

"Despite the fact that the water is still not safe to drink, the state of Michigan saw fit to end water relief credits at the end of February, triggering the law that would have placed tax liens on the 8,000 properties for which water bills were not being paid.

"This would have resulted in the liklihood that many of our clients would have been forced into foreclosure possibly losing their home," the statement said.

The team includes the lawfirms of Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers P.C.; Trachell Young & Associates and the Law Offices of Deborah Labelle.

Ari Adler, director of communications for Snyder, issued a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal, saying city water "is meeting all state and federal quality standards, with the latest test results showing lead content at 6 (parts per billion).

"That is lower than the proposed 10 ppb the governor has suggested for a new statewide rule and well below the 15 ppb federal standard," Adler said. "Tap water is approved for use by all populations in Flint and people are encouraged to keep the water flowing to help prevent problems from standing or stagnant water within the system."

Adler said the state's recommendation that residents use faucet filters is tied to the widespread replacement of lead and galvanized service lines due to the possible disruption of particles caused by construction activity -- not because of any problems with the water itself.

The Flint City Council on May 17 approved a one-year moratorium on approximately 8,000 liens that could be placed on properties across the city for past-due water bills.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver also requested earlier this year that the state to continue water credits -- subsidies for two programs for Flint until water is "drinkable without a filter."

At the end of February, the state discontinued payments to the Great Lakes Water Authority and to the city to cover a portion of residents bills.

State officials said then that Flint's water quality has improved to the point that it is in compliance federal lead rules and have said water here is now comparable in quality to water systems in similar cities.

An analysis of state records by MLive-The Flint Journal in March showed the level of lead in city water remained higher than more than 98 percent of water systems in Michigan.

Flint's 90th percentile for lead was 12 parts per billion in the last six months of 2016 -- lower than the federal action level of 15 ppb, but worse than 1,232 other water systems in Michigan.
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Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (left) names Stacy Erwin Oakes as the new city attorney in this March 2016 Flint Journal file photo.

(Jake May | MLive.com)

(This story has been updated to include the full name of Councilman Eric Mays.)

FLINT, MI -- Mayor Karen Weaver says she was never told before a $4,500 damage settlement was paid to a Flint city councilman who claimed he was unlawfully arrested during a council meeting last year.

"Actually after I found ... out about that I asked the current interim city attorney to get all of that information and show me anything that has gone out," Weaver said of the payout during a February deposition tied to a civil lawsuit filed against her and the city by former city administrator Natasha Henderson.

Eric Mays, who has been a vocal supporter of Weaver on the council, was given $4,500 after former city attorney Stacy Erwin Oakes approved the payment, Weaver said in her sworn testimony.

"I really lost confidence in her judgement as a leader for the legal department ... because she was not keeping me informed" of things like that, the mayor said in her statement.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Erwin Oakes for comment on Weaver's remarks but she has previously defended the settlement with Mays, claiming City Council President Kerry Nelson did not follow council rules in calling for police to remove Mays, and that it was improper for police to handcuff the councilman and remove him from council chambers.

Mays was led from the meeting, taken down to the first floor in city hall in an elevator and released.

He said Wednesday, May 24, that Erwin Oakes did the right thing in settling the claim he filed.

"I think the city attorney made a good decision because it could have been ten times more," Mays said. "That damage claim could have been thirty or forty thousand dollars in damage to the city."

Erwin Oakes sued after she was fired from her job as city attorney in January, and Weaver has not publicly discussed the reason for her termination previously.

In her termination letter, obtained by MLive-The Flint Journal through the Freedom of Information Act, the mayor also questioned Erwin Oakes' leadership.

Asked again why she fired Erwin Oakes during her deposition, Weaver made similar comments about the attorney.

Weaver's deposition is related to another city hall firing -- the dismissal of Henderson just months after Weaver became the first woman elected mayor of Flint in November 2015.

Henderson filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the mayor on May 9, 2016, in Detroit U.S. District Court, claiming defamation, wrongful termination, and violation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act and the First Amendment.
FLINT, MI - A woman charged with killing her missing 3-year-old daughter also stabbed her 5-year-old son when he was "bad at school," his kindergarten teacher testified.

Jody Hanes - a kindergarten teacher at Burton Glen Charter Academy - took the witness stand during a preliminary exam for Khairy Joshuawon Simon and Erika Shantae Finley on Thursday, May 25, before Genesee County District Judge Nathaniel C. Perry III.

Simon, 26, and Finley, 27, are accused of killing their missing 3-year-old daughter, Kimora Lee Simon, and burying the tracks. The parents are charged with felony murder, tampering with evidence, lying to a peace officer in a violent crime investigation, first-degree child abuse, and first-degree child abuse in the presence of another child.

Finley -- who was declared competent to stand trial -- also faces one count of welfare fraud.

"He said he needed a Band-Aid," Hanes testified through tears, recounting the day she discovered the wounds on Finley's 5-year-old son. "I put my hand on his back to kind of console him and he started to scream. I lifted up his shirt and it was stabbed and bloody."

It was then that Hanes and other school officials called the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

A DHHS employee followed up the next day with a visit to the child's home at Evergreen Regency and inquired with Finley about the whereabouts of her daughter, 3-year-old Kimora Simon, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said during a press conference.

Finley told police the child was with her father, Khairy Simon, in Detroit, but he provided a conflicting story regarding the child's whereabouts, Leyton said. Relatives had not seen the child in more than a year and Khari's girlfriend said she'd never seen the child once in the eight months they'd been together.

During Thursday's hearing, Finley's mother, Willemae Moore, testified it had been at least two years since she'd seen the girl.

Police believe the parents killed the girl together and that the father buried her, Leyton said.

A backpack used to transport the child was also removed from the home.

Along with the parents' conflicting stories, Leyton also noted that "other information gleaned" led the prosecution to believe Kimora is deceased and was buried along the railroad tracks near Evergreen Regency.

The 5-year-old boy - along with a 7-year-old in the home - were removed and placed in temporary foster care.

Hanes said the 5-year-old had a history of coming to school with blood on his shirt, which Finley told the teacher was a result of the boy's eczema. She also testified that Finley walked into the kindergarten classroom several times, threatening to "whoop" the boy in front of the class if he misbehaved and gave the teacher a belt.

Michigan State Police, Flint police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local K-9 officers "have scoured the area where we believe Kimora was buried, to no avail," said Leyton, of a comprehensive three-day search.

Leyton said investigators believe that the child was taken from the grave by animals.

Leyton praised law enforcement officials for their "outstanding work" in the case, especially given the lack of a body.

While the felony murder charges that would guarantee Simon and Finley their lives in prison may be difficult to prove without a body as evidence, the two are also charged with first-degree child abuse - a crime that also carries a life sentence in Michigan.

The preliminary examination hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday, June 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Hurley Medical Center

Hurley Medical Center in Flint.

(MLive File Photo)

ANTRIM COUNTY, MI - Some fast work by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently allowed a Michigan man to witness the birth of his son.

According to an official report, the ordeal occurred in early May when Andrea Erratt, a conservation officer in Charlevoix County was called by Antrim County dispatch to help in locating a man in the Jordan River Valley.

According to the report, the man's wife was having their baby prematurely at Hurley Medical Center more than 180 miles away in Flint. Amy Wilson Rebh, a nurse at the hospital had called Antrim County saying the husband was backpacking and camping near Deadman's Hill.

CO Erratt quickly patrolled to Pinney Bridge State Forest Campground and located the very un-expectant father who said his wife was not due for a month, the report said.

CO Erratt helped the man break down his tent and gave him a ride to his truck that was parked at Deadman's Hill. Thanks to the quick work by the hospital, dispatch and the DNR, the dad made it to Flint in time for his son's delivery.

He later texted CO Erratt a thank you including a picture of his newborn son, the report said.

Antrim County is in DNR District 3, which also includes Alpena, Cheboygan, Charlevoix, Emmet, Montmorency, Otsego and Presque Isle counties.
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Food trucks line up along Ottawa Avenue at Calder Plaza Tuesday, May 23. (Amy Biolchini | MLive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Concerns from food truck vendors are prompting city officials to consider changes to its pilot program during its first year.

Some of the food truck zones aren't available this spring due to construction - and so the city commission is now being asked to add four new zones downtown.

Parking regulations make up the bulk of the rest of the changes. City staff said the changes would result in reduced costs to the truck operators.

The city commission agreed to a two-year food truck pilot program for 2017 and 2018. But some food truck operators found fault with the program's rules for parking, as reserving on-street parking space required at least $50 a day for some trucks.

Proposed changes were presented to the city commission Tuesday, May 23.

The first change under consideration would allow food trucks to choose to feed a parking meter for on-street parking instead of paying the city's parking department to put a hood over a meter for 24 hours.

The second change would add additional zones where food trucks could operate downtown:

-Crescent Park: trucks could operate at metered parking spaces on Bostwick Avenue from Crescent to Michigan streets

-Kendall College Ferris Building: trucks could operate at metered parking spaces on Pearl from Ionia to Division

-Kendall College/GRCC: trucks could operate at metered parking spaces on the north side of Fountain Street from Ionia to Library

-Fulton Street Bridge: trucks could operate at metered parking spaces on the bridge over the Grand River

Another neighborhood corridor improvement zone has requested two zones be added as well, at Cherry Park and the Fulton Street Farmers Market.

First Ward Commissioner Dave Shaffer questioned why more zones would be added in the first year of operations.

"This is so new," Shaffer said. "I thought the zones were set."

Andy Guy, chief outcomes officer for Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., said the proposed zones are close to areas with lots of college students and workers, and would be consistent with the intent of the original ordinance.

The third potential change would be a new "temporary limited permit" administered through the city's parking department. The four-hour permit would allow food trucks more flexibility to operate outside of the designated food truck zones, but only under certain circumstances.

Parking permits for food trucks would also be shifted from the city clerk's office to the city's parking department, which would also bring the cost down, Guy said.

A hearing on the proposed changes will take place at the commission meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 6. The commission will be meeting at the Salvation Army Kroc Center that night.

A vote on the changes is set for June 13.
ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- The Vande Bunte Eggs farm has racked up more than 200 state permit violations in the past three years.

Despite the high number of violations, no enforcement action has been taken against the farm, technically classified as a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) that houses about 1.6 million chickens under the Konos Inc. corporate name at its Martin headquarters in Allegan County.

The farm has also benefitted from more than $1 million in federal subsidies.

That doesn't sit well with environmental groups who analyzed 272 large CAFOs in Michigan and concluded that accumulating pollution discharge violations haven't made a dent in the flow of federal dollars that subsidize crop insurance, livestock production and water conservation at state mega-farms.

"We think people should be able to run their business, but not pollute the commons and make other people pay to clean up their waste," said Hudson resident Pam Taylor of the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, who authored the report.

Taylor combined information from Freedom of Information Act requests, annual reports for individual farms and records accessible through an online portal on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality website to create maps (see below) showing each large CAFO in Michigan, how many animals it houses, how much it has received in subsidies and how many permit violations it has.

The report focused only on industrial-scale farms that met the Environmental Protection Agency definition of a large CAFO, with DEQ permits to discharge wastewater to on-site lagoons that is usually applied to fields as fertilizer.

"This is the first time all of this information has been collated into one location," said Gail Philbin, director of the Michigan Sierra Club chapter, which released Taylor's report, titled "A Watershed Moment."

In total, the report concluded that Michigan factory farms received more than $103 million in combined federal subsidies between 1995 and 2014, and accumulated 644 state environmental permit violations as of the end of 2016.

Those farms produced 3.3 billion gallons of untreated wastewater, manure, production area waste, leachate and runoff from about 20 million animals -- mostly chickens, although dairy cows produce most of the waste.

In order to qualify for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a cost-share, or subsidy, through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, farms are supposed to demonstrate compliance with federal, state, tribal, or local environmental regulations.

The report comes on the heels of a major court defeat for industrial farming. In April, a federal appeals court struck down EPA rules that exempted CAFOs from reporting emissions of hazardous gases like ammonia or hydrogen sulfide, which are commonly released from manure lagoons.

The Sierra Club and its project partners contend that untreated waste, when applied as liquid fertilizer, gets into waterways that drain to the Great Lakes where it's causing issues in the waters of Saginaw Bay, Lake St. Clair, Lake Macatawa, and western Lake Erie in particular, which are dealing with nutrient-fueled algae blooms that, in some cases, have impaired drinking water supplies.

The Michigan Farm Bureau called Taylor's report "fear-mongering" in a bid to "demonize" farms by nitpicking every interaction with the DEQ.

In Michigan and across the country, farm bureaus have aggressively fought CAFO pollution regulations and environmental community claims that the large farms are harmful to the environment and cruel to livestock.

In 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals sided with the state after the Michigan Farm Bureau challenged whether the DEQ could require CAFOs to obtain pollution discharge permits before an actual incident occurred.

Since 2003, Michigan has required CAFOs have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to regulate how much manure and other pollution are allowed to enter state waters.

"This project rehashes a years-long argument by several organizations whose aim is to shut down family farms around Michigan based solely on their size," said Laura Campbell, a program director at the Michigan Farm Bureau.

"Permitted farms are not factories, they're not soulless corporate despoilers."

The report is "nothing more than fear-mongering, ignoring the real efforts farmers, regulators, and partners are making to improve livestock environmental stewardship, and pandering to what they seem to hope is public ignorance about farming in order to target a scary-sounding name," Campbell wrote in an email.

In Allegan County, began racking up permit violations in 2015, when the business expanded into "cage-free" and organic egg production to meet growing market demand for eggs laid by hens not crammed into cages. The cage-free push started in California and has spread to other states. Michigan has required that all laying hens be cage-free by 2020.

Paul Vande Bunte, Konos CEO, said he wasn't aware of the high number of permit violations when contacted by MLive, but said Konos is working with a consulting firm to aerate the water it uses to wash its eggs down in order to reduce the total amount of effluent, or wastewater, going into its lagoons.

"Organics are dirtier," he said. "You have to clean them up."

According to records on the DEQ's MiWaters online portal, Konos is having trouble controlling its nitrogen discharge and keeps violating the maximum amount of wastewater allowed under its groundwater discharge permit, which the company has asked the DEQ to increase.

Konos has installed monitoring wells around the farm, a move required when there's either the possibility groundwater may become contaminated, or it already has been.

Ryan Blazic in the DEQ Kalamazoo district office said Konos hasn't been punished for the violations because the agency is expecting to grant the permit revision request, which is presently under review by staff in Lansing.

"They are technically permit violations, but they have been reviewed and determined to be permittable when we can get the permit out," he said.

To Taylor, that approach is emblematic of a regulatory structure and state legislature she considers too deferential to big agribusiness operations which bear little resemblance the idealized image of Old MacDonald walking a green pasture in front of a red barn and setting sun.

The DEQ should enforce existing pollution limits, not raise allowable levels, she said. Egg wash water is still CAFO waste as defined by DEQ pollution rules. It contains nutrients, manure, bacteria, hen afterbirth and other biological waste. It goes into lagoons to be sprayed as fertilizer or irrigation.

"It's certainly not something you would drink," she said. "It's got the same pollutants in it that manure does, basically. It's more diluted, but it's still there."

She acknowledged that some farmers are employing conservation measures like field buffer strips to control sedimentation and erosion, but considers that inadequate to remove dissolved nutrients fueling the algae growth.

Surface barriers don't help runoff from tile-drained farms, she argued.

To keep dissolved nutrients from entering the lakes, large factory farms meeting the EPA definition of a CAFO should have to install a municipal-sized wastewater treatment system on site, she argued.

Michigan needs to follow Ohio's lead and ban application of liquid manure on frozen ground, she said. The state enacted stricter agriculture rules following the brief Toledo drinking water in 2014, when harmful Lake Erie algae bloom toxins entered the city's drinking water intake.

"The Michigan Farm Bureau has been slow to acknowledge the fact that we really don't have anything yet that works for dissolved phosphorous and tiled field drainage of liquid manure, and they've been even slower to push for new practices," Taylor said.

"We're continuing to subsidize things that don't work."
Residents packed a legislative hearing Thursday where lawmakers took testimony on bills in the Michigan House of Representatives that would undo a rule requiring parents to take additional steps before opting out of vaccinating their children.

The bills would eliminate a state rule mandating that parents seeking a vaccination waiver participate in an educational meeting with a local health worker about vaccines before they can receive a waiver. The legislation also would axe a requirement that parents sign a form indicating they could be putting their children at risk by refusing the shots.

Supporters of the legislation say the requirements, implemented in 2015 by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services amid a national increase in vaccination waiver rates, violates the rights of parents and creates an unnecessary hurdle. They also say the meetings can be time-consuming and often require parents to take time off work to attend them.

"It's an overreach," Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Potterville, a lead sponsor of the legislation, told members of the House Education Reform Committee, which held a hearing on the bills.

Michigan children entering kindergarten must show proof of immunization for measles, pertussis, polio, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, chicken pox, diphtheria and tetanus, unless a parent signs a waiver. A waiver can be obtained by parents who voice medical or religious objections.

Opponents of the bills, which include public health groups, say the educational meetings help ensure parents, before they receive a vaccination waiver, have a good grasp of vaccines and how they impact a child's health.

"They do not remove parents' ability to sign an exemption for their child," said Dr. Eden Wells, the chief medical executive at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Vaccines protect children and the public from outbreaks and vaccine-preventable diseases, public health groups say.

Michigan had the sixth highest vaccination waiver rate for kindergarteners in the U.S. during the 2014-15 school year, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency.

After the rule change went into effect in 2015, the waiver rate for kindergarteners dropped from 4.8 percent to 3.1 percent. The rate increased slightly in 2016, to 3.2 percent.

Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw Township, who chairs the education reform committee, supports the legislation but said it "doesn't have the votes" to move out of his committee.

"This isn't about the policy of the waiver," he said. "It's about the politics of what's gone on. This is about an administration that's gone beyond what the statute says."

Kelly was referring to the fact that the rule requiring the meetings was implemented by MDHHS through the regulatory process - not by the Legislature. Barrett, during his testimony, also took issue with that fact, asking, "Do bureaucrats make law in the state, or does the Legislature?"

Wells, however, said such an approach by a state agency is far from unusual, because it's "how the laws are implemented." She added that there was a public comment period and public hearings for the rule.

"There was adequate opportunity to weigh in," she said.

Thursday's hearing drew a significant crowd - including people on both sides of the issue - that filled several overflow rooms, where attendees watched the hearing through television screens.

That included Meghan Flaska, 40, who lives near Kalkaska and came to the meeting with two of her four children to support the legislation.

"We are not opposed to vaccines," she said, adding that three of her children received at least some of their vaccinations. "We are just concerned about the ability to keep that choice intact without additional challenges."

Those additional challenges, especially for residents of rural northern Michigan, can include long commutes to a health department for an educational meeting with a health professional, Flaska said.

"These more rural health departments don't necessarily have the hours available to make it more convenient for people to go outside of work hours," she said.

Terri Adams, section manager of the division of immunizations at MDHHS, said the meetings are typically conducted face-to-face, because the goal is to have parents sign the form acknowledging they understand the risks of failing to vaccinate a child.

But, she said, "if there's no way the parent can be there," the health departments will typically work with the parent to make an accommodation of some sort. In places like Mackinac Island, that has included a telephone conversation with parents, Adams said.

"We know it is an inconvenience for some parents," she said.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo Township is the latest municipality to require motorists to safely share the road with bicyclists.

An ordinance to amend the township's traffic code to provide for 5 feet of separation when passing of bicycles was approved by the Board of Trustees Monday. The board voted 5-2.

Because Kalamazoo Township does not own its roads, the Michigan State Police will need to review the ordinance. The ordinance would take affect 30 days after the state police commissioner approves it.

Kalamazoo, Portage and Oshtemo Township passed similar ordinance amendments last fall, following a June 7 crash that killed five bicyclists and injured four others in Cooper Township. Township Manager Dexter Mitchell said their ordinance is based on the local action.

The ordinance states that if there is more than one lane for traffic in the same direction, vehicles are required to move into the left lane if it is "reasonably safe."

Vehicles may drive to the left of the center of a roadway, including when a no passing zone is marked, to pass a person operating a bicycle only if the roadway is unobstructed.

The ordinance would not authorize driving on the left side of the roadway when otherwise prohibited by local ordinance or state law. A person who violates the ordinance would receive a civil infraction, though Mitchell previously said it's unlikely to be enforced.

Trustees Nicolette Leigh voted against a first-reading of the ordinance at a previous meeting. After subsequently performing her own research, Leigh only found more reasons to oppose the rule.

Leigh said she has seen no scientific study that determines a safe passing distance between cars and bicycles. She said five feet is an arbitrary distance that would protect the bicyclist if they fell while a vehicle is driving by.

"There is nothing factual in any of this," Leigh said. "It's pure myth vs. fact. It's a feel-good."

The ordinance language creates an "elite protected class," she said, since it does not apply to other modes of non-motorized travel. She also said it will be difficult for police to enforce the ordinance, and streets are not wide enough to provide enough room for cars to legally pass.

"I cannot vote for a law that doesn't make sense," Leigh said.

Trustee Steven Leuty said he agrees with points against the ordinance, but said the rule would make motorists more aware of their obligation to safely share the road.

"It's primary effect is educational," Leuty said. "We'll never have a perfect solution."

Leigh said laws shouldn't be used as an educational tool. If that is the goal, she would rather the township work with bicycle groups and law enforcement on an educational campaign.

The ordinance is a statement of the values of Kalamazoo Township, said Trustee Mark Miller.

However, Treasurer Sherine Miller said roads are made for vehicles "first and foremost," and cyclists second. After speaking with public officials and friends who are cyclists, Sherine Miller said the 5-foot distance could endanger motorists pulling to the left.

Leuty disagreed. Vehicles can always slow down and wait for a safe opportunity to pass, he said, but motorists often use their weight to push bicyclists off the road.

Supervisor Ron Reid said not only do cyclists have the same legal right to use roads, early infrastructure across the state would not have been built without the work of them. The township can always expand the ordinance to include other forms of non-motorized travel.

"This is a very important message we are sending to the motoring community," Reid said. "There are knuckleheads out there who think they can scare, scream or throw stones. This does allow for some repercussions."

Leigh and Sherine Miller voted against the ordinance change.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have enacted a 3-foot wide bicycle-passing zone. Michigan is among 13 states with no required passing distance.

Senate Bills 0123 and 0170, sponsored by Sen. Margaret O'Brien, R-Portage, and Sen. David Knezek, D-Dearborn Heights, would make the 5-foot passing distance state law.

Both bills passed in the senate in 2016 died during the last session. They were introduced in Febuary of this year and referred to the judiciary.

A House version of the bill, HB 4185, was also introduced.

In the absence of a uniform state law, Grand Rapids adopted 5-foot wide passing zone in September 2015, as did Ann Arbor in 2016.

Battle Creek adopted an ordinance requiring 3 feet of distance in 2016.

No states require a flat 5 feet of separation between bicyclists and passing vehicles, however New Hampshire increases the distance by one foot for every 10 mph more than 30, reaching 5 feet at 50 mph. South Dakota requires 6 feet of separation if the speed limit is more than 35 mph.

Kalamazoo Township Bicycle Passing Ordinance by Malachi Barrett on Scribd
Kalamazoo City Commission, Kalamazoo commission, Kalamazoo commissioners

The 51st Kalamazoo City Commission is sworn in at Kalamazoo City Hall in Kalamazoo, MI on Monday November 9, 2015. (Crystal Vander Weit/Kalamazoo Gazette)

(CRYSTAL VANDER WEIT)

KALAMAZOO -- Think you could run Kalamazoo better than the powers that be?

Nomination packets are now available for citizens wishing to run for the office of mayor or Kalamazoo city commissioner in the Nov. 7, 2017 Municipal Election. Voters will elect three commissioners to four-year terms and a mayor to a two-year term.

Seats held by Mayor Bobby Hopewell and commissioners Erin Knott, Matt Milcarek and Jack Urban are up for grabs.

Candidates may begin circulating nominating petitions Friday. Each candidate must submit a properly completed nominating petition containing at least 50 valid signatures, but no more than 75, and a completed Affidavit of Identity to the Clerk's office by July 25.

Signatures collected before May 26 are not valid.

Hopewell was not available for comment as of Thursday. He is currently serving is fifth term.

Urban and Knott said they will be seeking re-election to the City Commission, in part to shepherd an agreement with local philanthropists William Johnston and William Parfet to create a donation-based endowment fund.

It's purpose is to stabilize the city's budget, cut the city property tax rate and provide $30 million over three years for community-building projects. For the first three years, a non-profit "Foundation for Excellence" would be funded through the philanthropists' $70.3 million donation.

A permanent endowment requires a larger sum of donations, which will be collected from the community.

"It's been an honor to serve citizens," Knott said. "I feel there is so much more work to be done in the Foundation for Excellence. How we will prioritze spending 10 million this year real work i am rlooking forward is creating the permanent endowment."

Knott, field manager for Equality Michigan and former Michigan director of Enroll America, was elected to her first term in the 2015 election.

Urban previously served three terms as a Kalamazoo County Commissioner from 2007 to 2012, but said he is more interested in working on urban development and community issues in the city. He is seeking a third term on the commission.

"We are starting a whole new era in Kalamazoo," Urban said. "I want to see this whole thing with the endowment through. Kalamazoo could easily become another dying Michigan city unless we find a way to make it more appealing; for people who already live here and those far away."

There was an initial distrust of Johnston and Parfet felt by some residents, Urban said, but each citizen-donor will become a participant in how the money is invested.

The retired chemical engineer worked for Pharmacia and Upjohn. He is a resident of the Westnedge Hill neighborhood.

Milcarek, elected to his first term in 2015, announced he would not be running for re-election on April 28.

In a statement posted to his campaign Facebook page, Milcarek said he ran for office, in part, to address the city's structural deficit. Milcarek said he feels confident that through the Foundation for Excellence, Kalamazoo is on a path toward a long-term solution.

As the City of Kalamazoo moves into new and exciting ventures, we once again find ourselves in an election year for... Posted by Commissioner Matt Milcarek on Friday, April 28, 2017

Nomination packets can be picked up in the Kalamazoo City Clerk's Office during normal business hours. Clerk Scott Borling said candidates should file sooner rather than later, in case any signatures are invalidated.

"My advice to anyone is it's a good idea to get those in ahead of time," Borling said.

The Kalamazoo City Charter states that a person seeking the office of Mayor or City Commissioner shall be a resident of, and qualified elector in, the City of Kalamazoo at the time of filing for election or appointment to that office.

Important dates for potential candidates are as follows:

May 26

July 25 at 4 p.m.

July 28 at 4 p.m.

Before amendments were made to the city charter in 2014, all seven commission seats were up for grabs, with the top vote-getter being elected mayor.

The changes stipulated that the top three finishers in the 2015 election serve four-year terms, while next three finishers serve two-year terms. The terms of Vice Mayor Don Cooney and commissioners David Anderson and Shannon Sykes expire in 2019.

Starting with the 2017 election, all commissioners will serve four-year terms.

More information on elections and running for office is available at www.kalamazoocity.org/elections.
Round Barn Winery

Round Barn Winery, Distillery & Brewery

(Gazette file)

BARODA, MI - The family that owns Round Barn Winery Distillery & Brewery announced this week it will buy nearby Tabor Hill Winery.

It's a homecoming of sorts, as Round Barn patriarch Rick Moersch started his winemaking career at Tabor Hill in 1979.

Chris Moersch, Rick Moersch's son and part owner of Entente Spirits LLC, the parent company of Round Barn, Free Run Cellars and now Tabor Hill, said the acquisition is three years in the making. He said it gives his company "a lot of opportunity," especially to mechanize some operations in the vineyard.

The idea for the acquisition came about from Round Barn needing more production space for winemaking, Moersch said.

"We were looking at construction and we knew Tabor Hill had no plans of succession that we were aware of," Moersch said. "We thought with our history of the brand that we would ask if they were ready to get out of the business."

The acquisition brings together two of Southwest Michigan's most notable wineries, and provides a big boost to Round Barn's production.

Round Barn produces about 15,000 cases of wine a year, compared to Tabor Hill's upwards of 40,000 cases, Moersch said. One case of wine equals about 2.4 gallons. Round Barn also owns Free Run Sellers, a boutique winery brand run by Chris and his brother Matt, which produces about 2,000 cases of wine a year.

Moersch said the acquisition will allow his company to bring all wine production under one roof at Tabor Hill's facility in Buchanan and to mechanize some vineyard work that makes more sense with bigger production.

"It gives us a chance to produce wines from grape varieties that we weren't using, to learn, and evolve," Moersch said.

It's the largest Michigan winery purchase in the state's history, according to Round Barn. Moersch declined to disclose the price of the acquisition.

Chris Moersch, son of Round Barn's founder, Rick Moersch, started his winemaking career at Tabor Hill in 1979. He was promoted to head winemaker two years later and that year he and his wife, Sherrie, purchased a 28-acre farm next door, growing grapes and selling them to Tabor Hill. He became Tabor Hill's general manager in 1985. Rick and Sherrie's sons, Chris and Matt, grew up working at Tabor Hill.

The Moersch family opened Heart of the Vineyard winery, now Round Barn, in 1992.

With the acquisition of Tabor Hill, Entente Spirits will more than double its annual wine production. The acquisition includes 25 acres of existing vineyards, Tabor Hill's restaurant and its three retail locations, according to a press release.

Tabor Hill will remain its own brand, Moersch said. Round Barn will continue to produce wine, spirits and beer and operate its pub in Baroda.

The company is adding Tabor Hill's fine-dining restaurant to its company, along with its three retail locations. It retained Tabor Hill's winemaker and will continue to distribute Tabor Hill in its four states - Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Round Barn currently is distributed in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

"We don't have any plans of changing anything immediately. ... We didn 't buy this brand to tear it apart," Moersch said.

Moersch said moving its production to Tabor Hill's facility will free up space for Round Barn to expand its distilling program. Round Barn produced 1,500 cases of spirits last year, and plan to scale that up the next two to three years.

"Craft spirits have really picked up the last few years, particularly whiskey and bourbon," Moersch said.

Moersch said his company will continue to brew craft beer, but doesn't have plans to expand that more right now. Round Barn moved into a bigger brewing facility three years ago and is on track to brew 3,000 barrels of beer this year.

"Our focus with our products will continue to be on the retail side of our business," Moersch said.

Moersch said his company is hiring for the summer and will have about 225 employees for all of its brands.

"I think a lot of people are a little bit nervous that we're going to try to change one for the other," Moersch said. "That's not it at all. It adds diversity to our business and our production. It's going to be a lot of fun for us as winemakers and as entrepreneurs. ... At the end of the day we're going to make the best product that we possibly can and we just hope everyone enjoys them."
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Anjani Portland Cement Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 25, 2017, inter alia, has recommended a dividend of Rs. 1 per share for the Financial year ended March 31, 2017, subject to theapproval of the shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The Dividend if approved by the shareholders, shallbe paid/dispatched not later than 10 days from the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General Meeting.Source : BSE
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Gujarat State Petronet Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 25, 2017, inter alia, has recommended the Dividend of Rs. 1.50 per Share of Rs. 10/- each (i.e. @ 15%) for the Financial Year 2016-17.Source : BSE
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Pursuant to Section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, the Company is required to rotate its Statutory Auditor(s) in the ensuing 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company. Mr.P.V. Deo, Chartered Accountant, Pune (Membership No.41609) is the present Statutory Auditor of the Company. Accordingly, based on the recommendation of Audit Committee, the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 25th May, 2017, subject to the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing 8th AGM, recommended the appointment of M/s.P.G.Bhagwat, Chartered Accountants, Pune (Firm Registration No. 101118W) as Statutory Auditors of the Company for a period of five years i.e. from the conclusion of 8th AGM until the conclusion of the 13th AGM to be held in 2022.Source : BSE
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Subject: Notice of 35th Annual General Meeting Pursuant to Regulation 30 and Schedule III of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, please find enclosed the Notice of 35th Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on Thursday, June 22, 2017 at Ahmedabad Management Association, H.T. Parekh Hall, AMA Complex, ATRA. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Marg, Ahmedabad 380015 at 11.00 a.m. The Notice for 35th Annual General Meeting has also been placed on the website of the Company. The Annual Report of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2017 will be forwarded to you after the same is approved and adopted in the AGM, in terms of regulation 34 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. Request you to take the above on your record.Source : BSE
(Image: Shutterstock)

Bengaluru has emerged as the prime destination for IoT (Internet of Things) startups to set up base, as it accounts for 52 per cent of the total IoT start-ups in India, a study by Management Consulting firm Zinnov said.

Bengaluru is followed by Delhi NCR with 12 per cent, Mumbai 11 per cent, Hyderabad 4 per cent, Chenai 2 per cent, and others together accounting for 19 per cnet.

"A wide availability of talent, thriving ecosystem of investors, access to industry experts and the presence of start-up accelerators are contributing to Bangalore's dominance," Zinnov said in a release quoting from the study.

The study on the IoT start-up ecosystem in India also reveals that over 120 IoT start-ups were set up in India in the last decade with more than 80 per cent of them being established after 2010.

Cumulatively, these start-ups have received more than USD 169 million in funding since 2006, it said.

While indicating that an increasing number of connected devices is expected to propel India's IoT market, the study titled, "IoT Start-ups in India 2017" also states that the funding activity across use cases for such start-ups in India indicate a huge growth potential for them in the country.

"While the initial wave of growth for IoT start-ups in India was focused on Consumer applications, the next wave will be geared towards Industrial IoT," Zinnov Engagement Manager & Delivery Head (G.A.P) Anand Subramaniam said.

He said "in addition, we will also witness a host of partnerships being crafted between GICs in India and the IoT start-ups in the near term." Giving specific details about the landscape, the study said that a 67 per cent of the IoT Startups in India are in the Infrastructure layer, which includes hardware components such as infrastructure sensors, embedded chips, MEMS, actuators, modules, SIM card and system design.

The Applications layer accounts for 52 per cent of the IoT Start ups in India, it said.

Stating that the IoT Landscape in India is segmented across three categories based on use cases - Industrial IoT, Enterprise IoT, and Consumer IoT, Zinnov's study said 47 per cent of the IoT Startups in India fall under Consumer IoT with popular use cases being wearables, connected vehicles and connected appliances.

Enterprise IoT is a close second place, with 40 per cent share of them, it said, adding that, in terms of funding, MedTech, security & surveillance and retail sensing have the highest share in the Enterprise IoT segment.

Industrial IoT accounts for approximately 27 per cent of the IoT start-ups and has received close to USD 65 million in funding from investors like Tiger Global Management, Blume Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures.
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The two-day fire sale on March 30-31, which saw liquidation of more than 3 lakh vehicles, resulted in a combined loss of more than Rs 500 crore to vehicle makers on account of discounts and provisioning.

Companies, whose stocks are publicly traded such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra commanded a larger share of discounts given out during the sale period. Together with unlisted companies like Honda, Harley Davidson, Suzuki the total discounts given by the auto industry is estimated to have touched Rs 800 crore.

The Supreme Court imposed a ban on sale and registration of old generation Bharat Stage III (BS III or BS 3) stocks after March 31, 2017. This led to cleaning up of inventories with dealers through unusually high discounts.

Hero Motocorp, the market leader in two-wheelers, reported a hit of Rs 193 crore on account of discounts given on BS 3 stocks, the steepest amongst all players. It had an inventory of over 3.28 lakh of BS 3 vehicles before the sale began.

Tata Motors, the biggest commercial vehicle player in India, was the hardest hit amongst the CV players as it had the largest inventory of BS 3 vehicles. The Mumbai-based company made a provisioning of Rs 148 crore for the BS 3 inventory but it excludes the actual discounts given during the period.

While none of its passenger vehicles like Scorpio and XUV 500 were likely impacted by the sudden changeover to BS 4, Mahindra & Mahindra was hit in several other segments. Medium and heavy trucks, light buses, three-wheelers, commercial four-wheelers (small cargo carriers) and two-wheelers were hit badly as they had engines running on BS 3 standards. The company is expected to take a hit of a minimum of Rs 100 crore due to the discounts.

Chennai-based TVS Motors said it had absorbed a hit of Rs 57 crore on its balance sheet due to steep discounting during the previous quarter. Its dealers had to liquidate as much stocks as possible during the two days to avoid being stuck with unsold units which comprised of bikes, scooters and three-wheelers.

Bajaj Auto, the maker of Pulsar and Avenger, was the least hit because of the ruling. Kevin DSa, Chief Financial Officer, stated recently that the total impact due to discounting of BS 3 stocks stood at Rs 16 crore. The company had switched to BS 4 standards much before the March 31 deadline. There were, however, some unsold stock lying with dealers which were given at high discounts.

Amongst the unlisted companies it was mainly the two-wheeler brands that suffered the most since commercial vehicle companies like Daimler, Scania and MAN did not have BS 3 inventory.

Honda had the largest stock of BS 3 vehicles among the unlisted entities totaling to 2 lakh. The company has given discounts of Rs 22,000-30,000 on this stock to liquidate them. Rivals like Yamaha and Suzuki were not far behind either.

Even premium and luxury two-wheeler makers like Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Kawasaki, Triumph and Hyosung offered discounts of up to Rs 2.5 lakh on the BS 3 class of vehicles.
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "IndusInd Bank is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 1400, target of Rs 1520. On Larsen & Toubro, something interesting has happened, it had a large 4 percent down bar yesterday. The entire 4 percent down bar has been cleaned out today by a green bar. So, that is often a very bullish situation. So chances are that this should move higher and results, are likely to be good. This is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 1,730, target of Rs 1,800."

"Jain Irrigation Systems has bottomed out and it could possibly get back to Rs 115-120. For the moment it is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 90, target of Rs 102."

"Yes Bank has bottomed out. These things lead to collapses in stocks and strong hands come back to buy and that is what is visible in all of these private sector banks. Why buys private sector banks? The simple answer is the foreign institutional investors (FII). Something has changed because of yesterday's Fed statement and maybe some amount of reallocation is there. So, all the large big heavyweights are moving. So, that should lead the market higher."

"Somebody who has fallen 11 floors, you cannot expect that person to just get up and start running again. They are going to take some healing. A lot of stocks have been hammered out of shape. The pharmaceutical index has been down 10 percent in the last four days. So, some sort of serious bottom is getting created in a lot of stocks. But bottoms take a bit of time, so in the next leg, chances are midcaps could underperform while the large caps do their own thing. That is what most of the midcap indices are showing that they are not able to perform as well as the Nifty or the Bank Nifty," he added.

"Strangely tyre stocks are not leading this leg of the move. So, possibly, some more correction could happen here but overall these stocks remain in a bull market and Rs 1,550 should be held on to in Ceat . So, on declines, it should be bought. This stock tends to be in ban most of the time and hence, that creates a problem. If there is a lot of discount or a lot of premium, it is best avoided."
Mitessh Thakkar of miteshthacker.com told CNBC-TV18, "Pharmaceutical stocks will be under pressure and what possibly has kind of accentuated the fall is Lupin numbers and the reaction to it today morning. These may not be the best levels to initiate fresh shorts because we have had sell calls on Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Aurobindo Pharma earlier. The only possible reason which will interest me, which if it breaks levels of around Rs 439-437 would be Cadila Healthcare. I think that will be mild breakdown on the charts of Cadila if you were to see the stock price break Rs 437. Maybe then take a short with a stop loss at Rs 445 and look for Rs 420 kind of a target."

"Some of the private sector banks are showing good patterns on the intraday chart and I have a buy on IndusInd Bank. Keep a stop loss at Rs 1,412 and look for a Rs 1,465 kind of target," he said.

"While the metals are yet not convincing and possibly are mildly biased on the downside, I would sell Hindalco Industries if it starts breaking below levels of Rs 186.5-187. Keep a stop loss at Rs 190 and look for a first target of Rs 181."
TVS on track to outperform industry but should you buy the stock now? | Ideas For Profit
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After many years, HCC (Hindustan Construction Company), which has strong capabilities in tunnelling, construction of dams, nuclear plants etc, has crossed Rs 20,000 crore of outstanding order book. Order flows are expected to remain healthy with the estimated increase in spending on nuclear power, hydropower and roads.

We have seen good traction in transport and water. We think inflows will be good because of an increase in orders from the hydro power, nuclear and transport sectors, said Praveen Sood, Group CFO, HCC, in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol.

Strong execution capabilities

The 100-year-old company has constructed 25 percent of Indias hydropower projects and 65 percent of nuclear power generation capabilities. It has constructed close to 320 km of tunnelling and over 365 bridges. Within construction, it has solid capabilities in relatively low competition segments that contributes to higher margin.

While it has several competitive advantages, what is more exciting at the moment is its improving ability to execute orders which will enable it to come out of the past debt crisis, a key concern for the Street.

In FY11, the company reported a negative cash flow of Rs 10 crore. With orders improving, the company notched up Rs 400 crore positive cash flows annually. That apart, it has brought down its working capital requirements in the business from Rs 2,400 crore in FY13 to Rs 1,331 crore in FY16 releasing an extra amount of liquidity to help improve execution.

HCC is now able to sweat its assets better. Fixed asset turnover ratio, which is computed as sales upon fixed assets, has now moved to 6.5 times as against 4.9 times in FY15, which is remarkable and indicates that pace of execution is picking up.

Construction business results in a virtuous cycle - more revenue churns more cash and that, in turn, is ploughed back into the business to generate more revenue. Our current order book has an execution cycle of about 4.5-5 years, we hope to book a large amount of these orders in FY18 and FY19 helping us improve execution supporting revenue growth, said Praveen Sood.

What is important is that in the coming years to complete projects the company will now rely less and less on debt. On a standalone basis, the company is reporting a debt of Rs 4,397 crore.

Claims receipt not yet in the price

However, the debt is going to come down substantially due to recovery of claims filed with the government. Historically, its legacy orders have faced cost escalations as a result of delays and changes in the scope of projects. HCC is not alone. The entire sector during the years 2012-14 had faced these challenges. The additional cost incurred by the company was filed with the government as claims in the past, which are now getting repaid.

The government has agreed to release 75 percent or Rs 2,850 crore of the claims worth Rs 3,800 crore (agreed to be paid by government). The company has already received close to Rs 400 crore.

The management expects to get close to Rs 2,400 crore this year (Rs 1,500 crore over the next 2-3 months) for the claims that are filed and accepted by the government and state-owned companies.

The entire money (Rs 2,400 crore) will be used for repaying debt. In addition to this, under the restructuring plan, it will also convert part of its debt (Rs 800 crore) into equity. Effectively, this will bring down its debt-to-equity ratio to a sustainable 0.8 times by the end of fiscal 2018 for the standalone entity.

Valuation

In the meantime, the market is cautiously approaching the stock and building expectations. Decline in debt will improve the companys financial health and should drive execution, going ahead. We have incorporated a phased receipt of claims money in our estimates; the trajectory of receipt of claims money will determine stock performance.

In case the entire Rs 2,400 crore of claims is received, which is 61 percent of the total market capitalisation of the company, it will have a huge impact on valuations as the market is still not factoring that amount.

If we try and analyse the impact of the claims on valuation, the numbers tell a story. At a modest multiple of 12-15 times construction business earnings in FY19, the value of HCC per share works out to Rs 36-45 as against market price of Rs 39 a share.

The company has significant amount of equity in subsidiaries -- equity investment (Rs 235 crore) in Steiner AG, equity investment in BOT assets of worth Rs 1300 crore, Rs 1,074 crore of equity in Lavasa and pending claims of Rs 3,800 crore with the government. Even at a steep discount of 40 percent (because of uncertainty) these assets are worth Rs 2,700 crore or Rs 27 a share. If we include the value of the core construction business, it works out to Rs 63-72 a share.

Steiner, which is a Zurich-based leading real estate firm, specialising in the turnkey development, reported Rs 21.7 crore profit in FY17 as against a loss of Rs 6.5 crore in FY16. Its other prominent business Lavasa, the smart city project spread across 20,000 acres, is incurring losses and has turned into a bad loan. Lavasa has defaulted on its loan and the liability is limited with the very remote possibility of losses to the parent company.

While explaining the role of parent company, Praveen Sood, said, "Bankers have some put option and we have given some bank guarantees which together may be around Rs 500 crore. So, theoretically, the parent company liability is limited to that much amount. But that is a very remote possibility. No banker is even thinking about that because the same banks who have exposure to Lavasa also have exposure to HCC.

Sood could be right. For a small amount no banker would like to jeopardize their funds in the parent company. On the positive side, Sood maintained that they are restructuring the Lavasa loan. Today, the land value of Lavasa itself is close to Rs 8,000 crore as against the Lavasa loan of Rs 4400 crore. The loan has a strong asset back-up. If restructuring works out then there could be a good upside, he added.

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Lupin, which emerged as the second largest Indian drug maker in terms of sales in FY17 replacing Dr Reddy's, says FY18 isn't going to be an easy ride due to headwinds faced on account of channel consolidation, more generic competition and a vigilant regulator in its key US market.

To be sure, US sales could be under pressure with tapering sales of anti-diabetic generic drugs Glumetza and Fortamet due to competition. The company will also have to contend with price controls of generic drugs in its other important geographies like India and Japan.

"There are major structural changes taking place in the pharma business across the globe whether it is US or India or Japan and that will put pressure," said Kamal K Sharma, Vice-Chairman of Lupin in an exclusive interview over phone to Moneycontrol.

Sharma touched upon various aspects that's going to have an impact on the growth trajectory of the company.

Below are the excerpts of the interview.

The main reason is that in US there has been competition. Glumetza has put a little pressure on the sales. In addition, there is also too much consolidation of channel partners. So, there is always price pressure in general. It is not only one product but many products where we normally would not experience pressures. There was a pressure here because of the consolidation in the channel.

What is the kind of pricing pressure you were facing? What kind of erosion is happening in the base business due to the pricing pressure?

On an average, the generics business grows about 3-5 percent and the price reduction is anything between 5 percent and 10 percent. Also, Glumetza has been holding up for Lupin for several quarters.

Do you see any new generic entrant coming in for Glumetza or what has actually led to the kind of the pricing pressure on you?

We had an exclusivity in the product. In fact, because it is a very difficult product to make, we had a good run even beyond our exclusivity period. And then of course, the innovator which is Valeant introduced authorised generics. And now, Teva in the month of May, launched their product. And Sun Pharmaceuticals also has an approval. But they have not yet launched because getting the product together is quite a challenge. It is a very tricky product.

How do you mitigate the kind of pricing pressure and the channel consolidation in the US in the coming quarters? What is your strategy to deal with the kind of pressure you are facing in the US?

Strategy is very clear. It all means that in the short to medium-term you should be able to launch more products and hope to get a few products which are of high contribution, aside from the fact that you do a lot of in-house innovation and efficiency improvement, productivity improvement in terms of keeping your costs down. And in the medium to long-term you have to move up the value curve from generics to complex generics to biosimilars and to specialties because the pressure on prices has come to stay now.

How is the medium to long-term strategy? I mean, getting into complex (generics), specialty and biosimilar. How is that panning out? Methergine has been a major specialty product for you. How has that product been gaining traction?

It is doing well. We are already at the level of 5.5 per month now (million dollars).

Any new products in the specialty pipeline?

We have many. We have products in the paediatrics range; we have also some products in the area of inhalation. We just got an approval for a nasal solution. We also have submitted our application for scrutiny on albuterol. We are also in the process of developing generic Advair.

What is the status of biosimilar development?

We have etanercept Phase III getting completed by the end of this calendar (year).

This calendar means the third quarter, before December?

End of the calendar year. Then, we have a couple of other biosimilars which we are speaking with the US Food and Drug Administration to clear the path. So, those are various initiatives that we have in the pipeline. We are going to launch it (etanercept) in Europe and in Japan and later in America also.

What is the outlook for FY18 in terms of launches? Will it be the same as FY17? How do you see the launch pipeline?

There will be launches, but it will be difficult to offset the effect of Glumetza because that is a huge product. So, I see that while we will have many launches and some of them very good launches, to offset the effect of Glumetza will be quite a challenge, especially in the face of consolidation of channel partners. Plus, the FDA's ability to clear both files over time. That also obviously increases competition because too many approvals come in the market. So, I see that for the industry as a whole, while Lupin will continue to do relatively better, there will be a lot of pressure on prices and on growth.

Last year has been good in terms of number of approvals you have got. Do you see that holding out this year as well?

We hope so. It is very difficult to say what the average run rate can be, but we do hope that as we see a steady improvement in FDA's ability to clear Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA), that will continue, but at the same time, the regulator is also very strict on the manufacturing side. So, it is not one variable which determines the end game, there are many irons in the fire.

Two of your facilities  Goa has got three observations and Aurangabad has got eight observations and you said they are procedural in nature in the exchanges. So how has it been? Are there anything to worry or are you confident that those observations will be resolved?

We are preparing our responses and we believe that these are, as we have mentioned, procedural, but we obviously cannot speak for FDA. They have made their observations. Earlier also, if you recall, for a long time, there was this suspicion in the minds that Goa had observations for which finally we got an establishment inspection report (EIR). We believe that these are in a procedural sense and our job is to give the response to the best of our ability.

Have you filed the response already?

No, we are working on it.

Do you see the 483 observations impacting approvals from those facilities?

No nothing. We are getting approvals on a regular basis (from these two facilities).

So, there is no impact on the approvals?

No, there never was. I do not think we ever had. Even when the Goa observations were there, we had got approvals from there at that time also.

How is GAVIS, the company you acquired in US, doing? What is the pipeline of product?

We have almost 21-22 products. The only thing is that the gestation time is a little longer than what we had expected. Our manufacturing plant in New Jersey took a little longer, almost six months delayed. But in the meantime, we had two FDA inspections which went off very well and we had some delays also from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for getting our quotas because these quotas are granted to you based on your consumption. But yes, notwithstanding, I would say that we are really about eight months to a year behind on our plan.

Could you explain how does this DEA quota works?

There is a standard procedure where you have to first get a small quota and make sales and based on your consumption they will grant you; you have to also prove to them that the market is going at a certain rate and then you get a little increased quota and then again you have to consume. So, those gaps take a little time in the beginning till you build a reasonable amount of volume.

This is what has delayed your expectations?

Slightly, yes.

In terms of controlled substances, the US FDA recently has taken a major stand on regulating the abuse of opiates. So, how do you see US government stepping in to control the opiate abuse and will that have an impact on the approval and sales of the controlled substances?

That is the general situation across the globe. Every government, every administration is concerned about the abuse of controlled substances. But at the same time, there is a therapeutic use of those products and that cannot be denied. So, I am sure there will be more. Already, there are very good controls in place. They may like to enforce and strengthen those controls further, but the business... yes, it can cause some attendant pathways which get longer; but I do not think the business gets affected in that sense.

So, this is not causing any delays for that quotas that you get or it has no relation to that?

It will have some relation, but at the moment, it is not affecting.

Some of your counterparts are acquiring/licensing products or brands that are under development. So, is that a route that you look at to spruce up your pipeline?

We have been evaluating it.

In which areas are you evaluating? Is it specialties or is it biosimilars?

Specialty.

In the (therapeutic) areas that you are present or are you looking at new therapeutic areas?

We are looking at areas where we are present at the moment. (Lupin currently markets specialty drugs in US to treat women and child healthcare and developing products for central nervous system)

Coming to the Indian market, how much of your portfolio is covered by the Drug Price Control Orders (DPCO)?

About 24 percent.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) recently issued notices threatening penal action for marketing 201 fixed dose combinations without following pricing order. So, what's your response on that?

You know it better; you have already said it; there is nothing that I am facing anything different. So, it is an industry-wide phenomenon.

Recently, you have tied up with Eli Lilly to launch generic Cialis in India. Lupin has been thick into licensing and partnering deals; do we see that as a strategy to mitigate the price control?

Lupin is one of the most sought-after company for partnership with multinationals. We have currently four alliances running - Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis and MSD. This is our way to really expand the market both for ourselves as well as for the multinationals because we have the understanding of the local landscape of the business. Obviously, multinationals find Lupin as a very dependable, very reliable partner. So, we have the entire human insulin range of Eli Lilly, we have Cialis, we also have DPP 4 and SGLT 2. through Boehringer Ingelheim. We have a portfolio of vaccines from MSD and so forth.

Also, with GST coming in do you see any kind of disruption in terms of inventory, supply chain?

It is a complex call. It certainly will have its own challenges in terms of systems and loading the data on the central system and then getting reconciliation of input output. So, it is not an easy task.

What's happening in your other key Japanese market. Are you looking at acquisitions and in-licensing deals to expand in that generics market?

Its the same strategy that we normally follow in a branded generic market which is what you do with new products and volume increase, more and more prescriptions. We have acquired 21 brands of Shionogi. We have in-license products from Astellas in the CNS area. The portfolio that we have taken from Shionogi , 50 percent of that is in the area of CNS products. We are a very strong CNS company. (Lupin ranks sixth in Japanese generic market that's considered to the second largest market for drugs.)

You have in-licensed a lot of products, especially brands in the past few years. How are these brands growing and how do you see this market; will it continue at the same pace of growth or do you see the growth accelerating further?

The growth will continue in the Japanese market whether it will be accelerating or not I cant say because it is also a controlled situation. Price cuts are also there in Japan every two years. Now, they are saying every year we will cut prices. So, we will have to deal with that situation.

FY17 has been a great year for Lupin in terms of sales and profits. How will it be in FY18? You said that it cant be compared because of Glumetza not being there but what are the growth drivers of Lupin and how will the company march ahead in FY18?

Growth will be similar as it has been in the past because the business model is not changing at least for this year but there will be pressure on growth because structural changes are happening in all the commentary that we have discussed so far. There are major structural changes taking place in the pharma business across the globe whether it is US or India or Japan and that will put pressure. That is something not specific to Lupin; it is an industry-wide situation because when there are structural changes they affect the entire canvas of the business. So, one should expect a certain pressure on growth in the coming years.
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Engineering exports to Israel grew up by more than six times in April this year over the same month in 2016, a key economic development which augurs very well for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impending visit to the country, engineering exporters' apex body EEPC India said here today.

According to EEPC, as against engineering exports of just about USD 20 million in April, 2016, the shipments of these goods have gone up significantly to USD 146.42 million in April this fiscal, which is a whopping 640 per cent or more than six times growth.

Moreover, Israel ranks at 12th position among India's engineering export destination and has figured prominently among the top 25 destinations, as per the latest data analysis done by the EEPC India.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction that engineering exports to Israel are doing so well, just ahead of the Prime Minister Modi's impending visit. The fact that Modi would be the first Prime Minister to visit Israel is a great positive for the Indian industry and exporting community," EEPC India Chairman TS Bhasin said.

He further said the Indian engineering industry can enhance its level of engagement with Israel in a number of high-tech areas like defence production, steel, automobile and auto components, aircraft components and ship-building and ship boats.

In fact, bulk of the engineering exports to Israel for the month of April are listed against the broad group of ships, boats, floating structures and parts, which is nearly USD 122 million, the apex body said.

"We need to diversify our export basket to Israel; no doubt and would be working towards that end," Bhasin added.
Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha today said he is monitoring developments in the sector on account of proposed increase in tax levy on operators under the GST regime, amid fears of hike in prices post July 1.

The government has proposed to levy 18 per cent tax on telecom services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

"Telecom operators have already been paying 15 per cent tax. 3 per cent difference is there. We are considering that at our level.

"They (telecom companies) will also meet GST Council members. We are monitoring it seriously at our level," Sinha said while sharing achievements of the government in the last three years.

Telecom operators have said there will be an increase in the cost of phone services after GST is implemented from July 1.
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The government may offer incentives to exporters to offset potential losses after goods and services tax (GST) kicks in from July, which will do away with a string of exemptions that traders currently enjoy.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is considering allocation of resources or ways to incentivise exporters (after implementation of GST from July 1) in some manner, a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

Exporters had sought DGFTs intervention as they fear that the proposed policy for tax refunds after GSTs rollout will increase their capital cost, locking up large amounts of funds till actual trade takes place.

Under the advance authorization scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20), exporters get duty free import of inputs required for export production.

With the implementation of GST, these exemptions would cease to exist and the exporters will have to pay Integrated GST (IGST) at the time of importing raw material and intermediate products.

According to the GST Councils proposal, exporters would get 90 percent of the tax refund within six to ten days. In addition, an interest of about 6 percent will be given to the exporters for any delay by the government.

The remaining 10 percent of the refund will be paid after the revenue department completes the scrutiny of exports.

Also read: Tax officials get battle-ready as countdown to GST begins

Earlier this month, a team of commerce ministry officials including the Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia had taken up this matter with revenue department.

The department, however, is not in favour of any exemptions once GST is rolled out, the official said.

Exporters have been demanding exemption from payment of taxes under the GST as processing of refunds generally takes few months, which will eventually block their working capital.

The revenue department also did not approve DGFTs proposal to create an e-wallet facility for virtual payment of taxes, under which a firm can pay taxes after a year or at a time when goods are exported, or whichever is earlier.

The official further said that DGFT now has to carefully look at certain aspects before finalising the incentives for exporters, especially the small and medium enterprises.

We will have to see which exporter has a longer manufacturing cycle, or who is using more money. In many cases, raw material could be procured locally. We will have to see which categories of exporters are compulsorily importing raw material for exports, which is not available in India and offer incentives accordingly, the official said.
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a part of the World Bank Group, is investing USD 3mn in pi Ventures' maiden fund.

The amount will be used by the early stage venture fund to invest in companies leveraging technologies such as applied artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and IoT across a range of sectors, it said in a statement here.

IFC is making investments through the 'IFC Startup Catalyst programme', which aims to build local ecosystems to drive innovation and entrepreneurship.
Moneycontrol Research

The so-called defensive pharmaceutical sector is on the way to the ventilator. The sector is trading at a 3-year low and has lost over 10 percent in value over the last one year. Compared to this the BSE Sensex has risen by nearly 18 percent.

The recent set of results highlights the ills of the sector. Pharmaceutical companies are having a tough time with the US authorities pulling them up regularly for irregularities at one end, while on the other hand the companies are taking a hit on the revenue front at the international and domestic front.

The only solace is that the troubles are not restricted to Indian companies but are also impacting generic companies across the world.

The onslaught in the market has resulted in many pharmaceutical stocks trading at multi-year lows with price-to-earnings approaching the lowest quartile in most companies in the sector.

Though the valuation might look compelling, the outlook for the companies is not. We look at five reasons why the fall in pharmaceutical stocks is far from over.

Muted revenue and profit growth: For most pharmaceutical companies the best seems to be behind them. With almost all companies that are exporting to US facing regulatory hurdles, export growth is likely to come down. Six of the top eight Indian pharmaceutical companies derive more than 40 percent of their revenue from the USA. Not only is exports getting restricted, increasing competition is ensuring that the margins will be under pressure.

Increasing approvals: Though US FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) seems to be working overtime in India with its inspection team pulling up pharmaceutical companies, it has increased its pace of approval in US, too. A Credit Suisse report on the pharma sector points out that US FDA is increasing approvals of ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) by 50 percent over the next two years from 650 to 1,000 a year. FDA already has a huge backlog of around 4,000 drugs to clear plus around 900 new applications that come in every year. Increased approvals mean increased competition which, in turn, mean lower prices.

Channel consolidation: Indian pharmaceutical generic companies tap the US markets through various supply chains. That the channel was consolidating has been known for the last two years. In an analyst call on the second quarter of 2014, Abhijit Mukherjee, COO of Dr Reddys Laboratories had said that channel consolidation had caused brutal price erosion. The same continues till date. Credit Suisse reports that further consolidation has now resulted in large buyers who account for 90 percent of all generic purchases coming down from four to three. Lower number of buyers and increasing number of suppliers tilt the balance of negotiations in the hands of the buyers. Though consolidation might not affect volume, it might hit margins. Ramesh Swaminathan, CFO, Lupin in the analyst call on Wednesday said that there is further consolidation in the channel end in US, so there is going to be pricing pressure for sure.

Increasing competition through new entrants: Indian pharmaceutical companies used to be the main players to get approvals from US FDA. But the market is now getting crowded. Nearly, a third of approvals have been given to players from outside traditional markets, says the Credit Suisse report. Companies from Turkey, New Zealand, Taiwan and even Bangladesh have now got clearance to sell products in USA. A new entrant generally attacks the market with lower prices which, in turn, can impact the overall market.

Indian markets are in the midst of a bull run. Even though private sector numbers are muted there is a visibility of growth. The same cannot be said for pharmaceutical stocks. Money will chase companies which have high growth and clear visibility. Pharmaceutical companies are a victim of headwinds in global market, especially their biggest market. Unless companies in other sectors become overpriced and pharmaceutical stocks reach compelling valuations, we can see investors steering clear of pharma companies.
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If you have read financial management books then the component debt plays a very important role in the growth of the company. A highly levered firm does pose a risk but if the business model is robust and there is no scarcity of demand then it will give a decent return.

But, not every levered firm can be termed risky. In the S&P BSE 500 index, we have picked 10 firms which have given a return of 13-126 percent in the last one year.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who usually shy away from risk plays have added to their stake in the last 4 quarters, Capitaline data showed.

Off late we have seen many mid and largecap stocks with high debt on balance sheet have come under pressure on muted demand environment as well as Reserve Bank of Indias new non-performing asset (NPA) ordinance.

This would give greater flexibility to banks to restructure the debt of companies. There is almost Rs 10 lakh crore bad loans in the system, said a report.

Companies which have high debt on the books but have done reasonably well include names like Raymond, Sterlite Technologies, Sintex Industries, Apollo Tyres, GE Shipping, Reliance Infrastructure, Piramal Enterprises, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, and Astra Microwave.

These 10 stocks hold special important because FIIs have raised their shareholding in the last 4 quarters which makes them jewels in the leveraged space.

For example, FIIs raised stake in MRF which has more than doubled investors wealth in the last one year. According to Capitaline data, the shareholding data as on June 2016 was 8.47 percent which was then raised to 10.07 in the March quarter.

However, not every company did well where FIIs raised stake, Hence, due diligence should be done before putting money into any of these stocks.

Plenty of growth stories, which are built on debt, die rapidly. Companies who have been very diligent on reducing debt or being prudent with using debt create long-term success stories. Therefore, the given stocks might have provided significant returns to shareholders, Tushar Pendharkar, Head of Research, Right Horizons Investment Advisory Services told Moneycontrol.

Few sectors such as road construction, power, heavy engineering, telecom, etc. operate on huge debt burden, because they dont have a choice and it is the nature of their business. So, these are exceptions, he said

He further added that there are few other exceptions such as Motherson Sumi Systems, Apollo Tyres, etc. who raised debt on balance sheet; however, that was foreign debt and thus interest burden on P&L statement was very low

Leverage is the use of borrowed funds to increase the potential return of an investment. Debt is the total amount of borrowed funds it owes and the equity is the value of shares issued by the company.

Debt equity ratio is calculated by dividing companys total liabilities by shareholders equity. It is used to measure companys leverage. It indicates home much debt the company is using to finance the assets.

The optimum debt-to-equity ratio is under 0.5 while for capital intensive industries this ration may go up to 2. But, for comparison, D/E should not be the only measure to compare the companies.

Experts suggest that D/E around 0.75x is manageable. More than 1.00x D/E reduces interest coverage ratio which impacts the bottom-line. It leaves a very limited cushion to bottom-line in the case of fluctuation in operating margins.

Debt for expansion in business is good, which Motherson Sumi Systems, Tata Motors, Apollo Tyres etc. did in past; however, that should not come at the cost of the very limited margin of safety, said Pendharkar.

Heres what brokerage have to say on these 6 stocks:

Astra Microwave

Defence product related companies with net debt to equity position of less than 1x in our view are in a comfortable zone. In this context, Astra Microwave balance sheet seems not leveraged as FY17 DE stands at 0.28x which is quite reasonable as the net Debt/EBITDA also stands at 0.19x.

Going forward, Astra to remain in this comfortable zone to service debt as it has over 1x bill-to-book ratio with stable margins negating any surprise to its earnings in the next two years, De Arul Kaarthick of Karvy Stock Broking Limited told Moneycontrol.

Sintex Plastic Technology

As per Composite Scheme of Arrangement and subsequent to the approval received, Sintex Plastics Technologies Limited which will be carrying Custom Moulding and Infrastructure business has been demerged on 12th May 2017. The other entity namely Sintex Industries Limited will be carrying the business of textiles comprising of yarn and fabrics.

As regards existing debt allocation between these two entities, the clarity is still awaited. The management has been reiterating that Sintex Plastics Technologies Limited will be debt free from day one of demerger; as a business it covers is high capacity, low utilization and have high margin, Kiran Shankar Prasad of Karvy Stock Broking Limited told Moneycontrol.

The total debt figure is somewhere around Rs. 7000 million that putting together both entities owes. The fact is that Textile division has been at the centre of debt. Nonetheless, the way business is being ramped up for both entities, time is not far away when debt may not be bothering point for the investors to invest in the company, he said.

GE Shipping Company

GE Shipping Company is largest private sector shipping company and has a history of delivering a great result. It has two main business segments including Shipping and offshore.

However, of late, its performance has been marred by a slowdown in global economies in general and Chinese economy in particular. The management is positive on offshore business on the back of pick up in crude oil price.

Besides, crude and product tankers demand is likely to catch up in view of steadiness in crude price and likely pick up in refinery production. GESCO, being a major global player in the shipping industry, with more than six decades of industry experience is well placed to capitalize on emerging opportunities, said Prasad of Karvy.

The company initiatives of selling existing assets and buying new ones with the objective of benefiting from fluctuations in asset prices and staying young to meet its customers demand in the face of tough competition and utilizing its assets in spot market instead of letting them idle in face of low demand reflects to intelligence of the management, he said.

Raymond

Raymond has been at the receiving end of Q3 as it saw demand contraction across business channels in its branded textile business coupled with curtailed wedding expenses due to DeMo.

"We expect a recovery in Q4 in all its 4 Power Brands=Raymond, Parx, Park Avenue and Colorplus is driven by EBO and LFS channels, store refurbishing and focus on young consumers. Cost Optimisation, Rationalisation of Product Mix and Operational Efficiencies shall begin to yield positive traction," LKP Securities said in a note.

"Focus on Exports, Business Transformation of non-core business, Real Estate Monetisation and Strategic Initiatives to bring down net debt to equity from present levels of 1:1 shall be key monitorable going forward," it said.

Sterlite Technologies

Sterlite Technologies is poised to benefit from its leadership in the optical fiber/cable while its presence in the service segment would enable it to exploit opportunities in the NFS/Smart Cities space.

"The current capacity expansion announcement brings in additional revenue opportunity of Rs1000 crore at full capacity (from FY21 onwards). This would, in turn, be margin accretive," ICICI Securities said in a note.

"Given the robust growth potential (topline, earnings CAGR of 25.7%, 25.3%, respectively, in FY17-19E), we ascribe a target price of Rs175/share, based on EV/EBITDA multiple of 10x on FY19E EBITDA," it said.

Tata Steel

Tata Steels Q4FY17 EBITDA at Rs 70 billion (highest since Q2FY09) surpassed consensus owing to strong EBITDA at domestic operations (Rs13,586/t) and turnaround in European operations.

We are upbeat on the likely improvement in quarterly EBITDA run rate and key concerns on UK pensions & deleveraging being allayed to a significant extent. The stock is trading at 5.4x FY19E EBITDA, Edelweiss said in a report.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Mercedes Benz, BMW reduce prices ahead of GST. Mercedes E Class (pictured) now cheaper

This could be the best time to buy luxury cars in India as two of the largest luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW have reduced their prices even before the government has implemented the Good and Services Tax (GST).

Prices have gone down in the range of Rs 125,000 to Rs 700,000 for all those models which are locally assembled in India. For those which are fully imported price reduction will follow soon.

Tata Motors-controlled Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen-owned Audi may also follow suit with a similar reduction. The price change by Mercedes and BWM is with immediate effect.

Mercedes-Benz India, the biggest luxury carmaker in India today, announced a downward revision in its transaction prices to cover the difference in current ex-showroom prices and post GST ex-showroom prices for customers on the entire range of Made in India product portfolio.

The price revision on a weighted average of 4 percent will be effective immediately, and is aimed at providing value to a customers purchase decision before GST implementation. Mercedes-Benz will reduce prices on the C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, M-Class and the Maybach to name a few.

Roland Folger, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, We are now passing on the benefits of post-GST pricing of our Made in India cars with immediate effect. To ensure complete peace of mind for our customers, we have decided to pass on the GST tax benefits at an earlier stage at our cost. This approach will benefit the customers who want to purchase a locally produced Mercedes-Benz from now on and during the month of June.

The price reduction of the entire India-made portfolio ranges from 2-9 percent depending on the tax structure and local body taxes of the state. The weighted average of this is a price reduction of 4 percent on transaction prices of customers.

The impact on the prices on CBU vehicles is yet to be evaluated. We think the implementation of the GST structure is a landmark achievement for the Indian economy, which will support the ease of doing business in India. We are also confident that post GST implementation; there will be growth momentum in the luxury car industry, added Folger.

Another German giant BMW, which is the second biggest luxury car maker, followed suit announcing an immediate reduction in its prices. The company, however, refrained from detailing the actual reduction in prices. BMW makes the 5 series, 7 series, X5 to name a few at its Chennai-based plant.

Vikram Pawah, President of BMW Group India, said BMW Group India welcomes the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in India. BMW is the fastest to offer preponed GST benefits to our customers much before the roll-out of GST itself.

The base rate for automobiles have been set at 28 percent under GST, which is on par with the current rates for small cars and lesser than the rates slapped on bigger vehicles. An additional 15 percent cess is levied on large cars including luxury cars.

Despite the additional cess, luxury cars will still be cheaper under GST at 43 percent than the current rates ranging between 47-53 percent, depending on rates charged by states.
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ICICI Direct's research report on NCC

NCC has witnessed robust order inflows worth Rs 9226 crore in FY17 taking its order book to Rs 18088 crore. Further, it is also L1 in orders worth Rs 2000 crore. NCC has also been shortlisted among four players at the RFQ stage for one of the patches in the Pune Metro project. The total project cost for the Pune Metro project was at Rs 11420 crore, which is being executed by Maha Metro (a Government of India and Maharashtra government JV).

Outlook

Consequently, we expect its bottom line to grow at a CAGR of 20.8% CAGR to Rs 328.9 crore in FY17-19E. We maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock with a revised target price of Rs 110/share.

For all recommendations, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Raymond is in focus as the company has presented a resolution at its annual general meeting (AGM) to make an offer to sell premium real estate to its promoters at throw-away prices as per proxy investor firm. The Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) has recommended that the shareholders should vote against this resolution.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Amit Tandon, MD, IiAS spoke about the the above development.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Latha: Take us through the math. What should be the price of the flats? The reference is to JK House Building which is quite familiar for those of us who live in Mumbai in Napean Sea Road. There are eight duplex flats in that building. It is being transferred at something like Rs 9,200 per square foot. What is your arithmetic of what it should cost?

A: It is clear if today you and I were to buy apartments for Rs 9,200 per square foot, we would be pushed to Navi Mumbai and there we would be struggling to get premium property in Navi Mumbai. Here this is Bhulabhai Desai Marg, this is opposite the Breach Candy Club. It is as prime as prime property can be.

As per Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) report which our analysts have viewed, the value is upwards of Rs 1,15,000 a square foot. As against that, four members of the promoter family are being allowed to buy these houses for Rs 9,200 a square foot. So, it is egregious to say the very least.

When you said that we have recommended shareholders vote against it, that is putting it mildly. We have kind of put it pretty strongly, asked them to vote against this transaction.

Sonia: You have also mentioned that this leads credence to the fact that promoters are using the company to support their lavish lifestyle. That is a tall allegation. But what more have you sort of picked up on this?

A: If you just look at the numbers, first is, this property before development was used by the promoters, they were paying a rent of Rs 1-2 a square foot. Again, if you look at the company's balance sheet, you will find that they own yachts and aircrafts. So, all this is giving credence to the view that some of the cash flow is dissipated away.

Latha: I have two questions on this. One, you referred to this Rs 1 rent. There are a bunch of people I know in Matunga, my neighborhood, where people pay Rs 88 for a real good house and Matunga is as prime as it comes because these are old tenants. I read through your report, some of these old tenants cannot be dislodged because of the tenancy rights, and is there some legal problem in having to charge these guys more and secondly what did the company tell you? I am sure you wrote to them.

A: Coming back to the first question in terms of the legal rights. Of course there are legal rights but here is the property which belongs to the company and it is occupied by the family of the controlling shareholder. So the relationship between someone in Matunga who is rented a property versus this case is  old pagdi flats versus this is completely different.

The flats are owned by the company, the company can say that we have hired a property for our managing director to use and which case they can say it is an old agreement and the company paying itself really does not matter but this does not really kind of add up completely and therefore, I dont buy the argument. The company has also said that this is one of the reasons why they are selling it at such a throw-away price.

Latha: Why did they say they are selling?

A: They said that it has been tenanted by the various people of the Singhania family and therefore we understand that and therefore we are selling it to them at below the market price. Just by way of history, the transaction was first struck somewhere in 2007-2008. Even at that time, the property prices in that area would have been about Rs 30,000-40,000 a square foot and then they decided to sell it at Rs 9,200 stating that

Just by way of history, the transaction was first struck somewhere in 2007-2008. Even at that time, the property prices in that area would have been about Rs 30,000-40,000 a square foot and then they decided to sell it at Rs 9,200 stating that these people are there as tenants and therefore we are giving them at this throw-away price.

However, clearly that should not be the case because the property is available to the company, whoever is there as the CEO should be allowed to stay in it and if the family is there, fine, they need to move out. The company was not tough in their negotiations because the agreement with the promoters ran through to 2011. They could have well said that once you vacate, then let us take it and I am sure they would not have litigated against each other just given the relationship which is there between the two of them.

Reema: The Rs 650 crore translates actually in terms of Rs 100 per share. So, it is very significant for minority shareholders. Given the procedural voting pattern, do the minority shareholders have the might to annul this transaction given the promoter holding is closer to 45 percent?

A: First look at the number which you pointed out. It is about Rs 100 per share. As against that, the current EPS of the company is about Rs 4.12-4.25 or in that ballpark. So, you are talking about something which is more than 20 times the EPS. That is the impact which this transaction has.

The second is, just given the nature of the transaction, I will not get into the broad details, but very roughly the company had -- the agreement with the promoters was that when the property is completed they will make them an offer and which will be accepted. Now once the property was supposed to have been completed in about 2010 -2011, it got completed in 2016, and the company did not make them an offer at which point three of the four, Vijaypat Singhania, Akshaypat Singhania, Veena Devi Singhania, actually exercised the option and then gone into court litigating against the company saying that this property needs to be offered to us.

So, the company has approached the shareholders saying we are going to be offering the property to these people and now that the related party rules have kicked in, they are kind of obliged to come to minority shareholders. Otherwise, they would have not come to minority shareholders because the disclosures in the annual report have been a little bit underwhelming in this matter. So, now the shareholders have an option to vote against. They should actually exercise their vote and if the shareholders dont permit the company to put this asset on sale to the promoters, the company cannot do so. It is majority of minority and we have to thank Sebi for that because they have more stringent rules for this.
NASA handout photographs from the various Apollo missions are shown in this combination photograph. The photographs are some of more than 12,000 from NASA's archives recently aggregated on the Project Apollo Archive Flickr account. (Top L) David R. Scott, command module pilot, stands in the open hatch of the Command Module during the Apollo 9 mission March 6, 1969. (Top centre) Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.walks on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission July 20, 1969. (Top R) Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, is pictured inside the Lunar Module during the Apollo 11 mission July 20, 1969. (Bottom L) Alan Bean holds a container filled with lunar soil collected during the Apollo 12 mission November 19, 1969. (Bottom centre) Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt rides in the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the Apollo 17 mission December 13, 1972. (Bottom R) Harrison Schmitt stands next to a huge, split boulder during the Apollo 17 mission December 13, 1972. REUTERS/NASA/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY, AN UNPROCESSED VERSION WILL BE PROVIDED SEPARATELY - RTS3S4R

While one shouldn't dwell in the past, it shouldn't be forgotten either for it shapes events which play out in the future. Moneycontrol takes a look at some of the crucial episodes on May 25 which had a bearing on the fortunes of India and the world.

On May 25, 1961, US President John F Kennedy made an ambitious call to American Congress to put a human being on the Moon within a decade. The President wanted to overtake the Soviet Union in the space race. Seven years later, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on moon.

Let's go back in time and see what else happened on this day in history:
US-based cab aggregator Uber has a less than 1 percent chance of surviving the next decade said Hamish Douglass, co-founder of the Magellan Financial Group.

The remark comes a day after Uber admitted to collecting tens of millions more than it should've had from New York drivers for the past three years. "It's constantly losing money, and its capital-raising strategy is a Ponzi scheme," Douglass said at the annual Stockbrokers and Financial Advisers Conference in Sydney.

"All they do is keep increasing their private-market valuation, and someone always says, I'll put some money up, because next time they raise, it'll be at a higher price," Douglass added.

Uber currently is valued at USD 70 billion and has raised in excess of USD 12 billion over 15 rounds of investments. This is nearly 120 times higher than the USD 60 million valuation the company enjoyed just six years ago.

Even as investors are falling over each for a slice of the company, Uber has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late.

In January, users and employees protested Uber CEO Travis Kalanick decision to join an economic advisory council for President Trump. After a week of intense backlash, Kalanick said he would give up the position.

The following month, Kalanick was caught on video arguing with a driver. Hours after the video went viral, he apologised for his behaviour.

A few days before that, a fiery blog detailing abhorrent sexism and favouritism at Uber did the rounds over the internet.

Uber has so far pulled out of Italy, Bulgaria and Denmark after facing legal hurdles. Its biggest capitulation was in China last year when it sold the operations in that country to local rival Didi after suffering huge losses in a bid for market share.

In February, Uber had to suspend its services in Taiwan after the government imposed penalties of over USD 800,000 for running unlicenced transportation services. It resumed services in April after partnering with licensed rental car companies.

Back in India, Uber and Ola drivers erupted in protests in key cities, complaining of reduced incentives, rides, long working hours and diminished earnings among other issues.

"When I look at Uber, I think of it as one of the most stupid investments in history," Hashim said. "The probability of this business going bankrupt in a decade is 99 percent."

Uber is now betting big on driverless cars, as it is critical to its business model. Commissions paid to drivers is the biggest cost for Uber right now. If driverless cars become popular and Uber is able to dominate in the development of such cars, it can save on the payout to drivers.

But on that front too, the company is facing hurdles.

Alphabet subsidiary Waymo has accused Uber of stealing trade secrets and patent infringement by hiring Anthony Levandowski, an engineer who formerly led Googles driverless car project. Uber bought the firm Levandowski founded after leaving Google.

Last week, a US ordered ex-Google staffer Levandowski to turn over some 14,000 documents he allegedly downloaded before leaving Google to join Uber. The Court also granted a preliminary injunction to Waymo and barred Uber from using know-how Levandowski brought to the firm. It also referred the case for a federal criminal investigation.
A screenshot of CBSE website cbse.nic.in

The Central Board of Secondary Education has declared CBSE Class 12 Result 2017.

The 12th result is available on the board's official websites cbseresults.nic.in. The other site cbse.nic.in is currently down. Results will also be available on results.nic.in.

As per available information Raksha Gopal of Noida's Amity International School topped the CBSE with 99.6 percent. Bhumika Sawant of Chandigarh closely followed with 99.4 percent marks.

However, the overall pass percentage this year dipped slightly to 82 percent from 83.05 percent last year.

The CBSE 12th result 2017 declaration means closure for lakhs for students and their parents who have been awaiting the results for some time now. (READ: CBSE 12th Result 2017: How to beat results stress)

CBSE website notification announcing CBSE 12th Result 2017 date and time.

They come after the government's controversial announcement -- following the exams -- that it would scrap the marks moderation policy.

Last week, the Delhi High Court voided the decision, saying the CBSE board should reinstate the policy this year -- a ruling that appeared to have delayed the results declaration date a bit.

Here's how students can check their results:

> Log on to official websites: cbseresults.nic.in, results.nic.in or cbse.nic.in. If the websites experience slowness, students can also try checking private exam-tracking websites such as Indiaresults or Examresults, which also post results on their websites.

> Look for the tab/link Senior School Certificate Examinations (Class 12) Results 2017 (All Regions)

> Enter your roll and school number. Your CBSE result will be displayed.

> Take a print out for future reference.

What is marks moderation policy?

According to the marks moderation policy, marks of students, who are believed to have been given an easier set of question papers during the exams, are revised higher.

There is a grace marks system within it too, with which scores of students whose marks are just below the passing line are pushed above.

Following the Delhi High Court verdict, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has gone on record to say that while the CBSE Board will not spike marks for high scorers, it would continue to give grace marks for 12th Result 2017 and 10th Result 2017.

CBSE Class 10th Result 2017 is expected to come out on June 2.

This year, nearly 11 lakh students appeared for the CBSE 12th exams while close to 9 lakh students appeared for the 10th exams.
The Tejas Express at CSMT, Mumbai (PTI Photo)

Tejas Express, which has been dubbed as an airplane on rail track, seems to have had a rather forgettable maiden journey. The Mumbai-Goa train returned with LED screens smashed and toilets soiled. Passengers reportedly stole headphones and tried to take out TV screens, in process damaging some screens.

The train  that covers more than 600 kilometers in less than nine hours  is plush with state-of-the-art amenities such as LCD TVs, WiFi, CCTVs, headphones, tea and coffee vending machines, bio-vacuum toilets and sensor-based touchless water taps. It can run at the speed of 200 km per hour.



Indian railways introduces Tejas Express capable to run 200 kmph, has comfortable seats,LED lights, infotainment screen, wifi and much more. pic.twitter.com/nePzp2jSRN

 Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) May 21, 2017

Multiple media reports said about 12 high quality headphones were stolen and a few of the LCD TVs installed had scratches on them. The headphones and LCD screens are part of Indian Railways' mission to make the rail journey an attractive proposition for passengers.

The train, flagged off by Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on Monday, returned from Goa on Tuesday.

LCD screen on board Tejas Express. PTI Photo

The railways is zapped by passenger behaviour as they expected them to return the headsets after the journey, instead of pocketing them. In long-distance trains such as Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express, passengers return pillows and blankets and the railways had expected them to leave headphones intact.

The railways now plans to sensitise passengers on etiquette and urge them to refrain from misusing the amenities on-board Tejas Express.

Tejas Express at A Glance

Route  Mumbai-Goa

Travel Time  9 hours

Distance  600 km

Amenities  LCD TVs, WiFi, CCTVs, headphones, tea & coffee vending machines, bio-vacuum toilets and sensor-based touchless water taps

No. of Seats  992; chair car and executive class

Ticket cost  Rs 1,185-Rs 2,940

 5 days a week
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (L) receives a Christmas present from a person dressed as Santa Claus at the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi October 16, 2014. REUTERS/Kaisa Siren/Lehtikuva (FINLAND - Tags: POLITICS TRAVEL) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. FINLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN FINLAND - RTR4AGGV

With President Pranab Mukherjees term set to end just two months from now, the race for Raisina Hill is starting to heat up.

Leaders of Opposition parties are scheduled to meet on Friday to zero in on a consensus candidate. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has convened the meeting which will be attended by Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dals Lalu Prasad Yadav and Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav.

President Pranab Mukherjee is eligible for a second term and the Congress veteran would sail through should the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominate him. However, it appears that the NDA wants to put forward its own candidate.

The President is chosen by an electoral college comprising elected MPs and MLAs. While the BJP is the single largest party in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and rules more states than any other party, its candidate is not guaranteed to win and it will need the help of a neutral like the AIADMK to take it over the line.

While there has been no official word yet, several names have been doing the rounds in both camps. Heres a round-up of the top contenders so far:

NDA

Sumitra Mahajan

Sumitra Mahajan is the current Speaker of the Lok Sabha and is the longest-serving woman MP. She was the minister for human resources, communication and petroleum in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government (1999-2004). She has also headed several parliamentary committees.

Draupadi Murmu

Draupadi Murmu is believed to be one of the top contenders. Hailing from Odisha, the BJP leader served as a minister in the state government. She is currently serving as the first woman governor of Jharkhand. If elected, she will be the first person from a tribal community to become President.

LK Advani

The BJP stalwart has served as Union Home Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and twice as Leader of Opposition. But his advanced age (89) and a pending Babri Masjid case will most likely work against him.

Murli Manohar Joshi

Joshi is a senior BJP leader who served as the Human Resource Development minister in the Vajpayee government. He is close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. But like Advani, he too has the baggage of a Babri case potentially damaging his prospects.

Opposition

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who has also served as the joint-secretary to the President of India from 1987 to 1992. A former Governor of West Bengal, his clean image should work in his favour.

Meira Kumar

Hailing from Bihar, Kumar is a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) and the daughter of popular Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram. Kumar served as the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014, where she was known for her soft-spoken ways and calm demeanour amid frequent chaos. Before joining politics, Kumar worked with the Indian Foreign Service.

Sharad Pawar

Talk of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief being in the race has been doing the rounds for several months. Pawar has served as Maharashtra Chief Minister in the past and has frequently been considered as prime ministerial candidate. However, he is believed to have rejected a Congress offer to enter the race for the country's highest office.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) holds a mace presented by Lucknow's mayor Dinesh Sharma (2nd L) as Home Minister Rajnath Singh (R) looks on during Vijaya Dashmi or Dussehra festival celebrations in Lucknow, India, October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar - RTSRTHY

In its three years in power, the BJP has won both worshippers and enemies with its take-no-prisoners approach. Political foes have been subdued or rendered irrelevant, dissent isnt particularly audible, and the party and its affiliates continue to be prescriptive in their attitude.

The win in Uttar Pradesh appears to have all but sealed a general election victory in 2019; if that result comes to pass, it gives the BJP seven years more in power. Here are seven ways for it to stay ahead:

1 Sell the economy, and security: The party has shown admirable restraint in not going down the populist route, except a measure here and there. There are real successes to show on the economic front as detailed above. Security is a mildly Goebbelsian theme where fear and hope can be adroitly mixed. Do people feel safer under a BJP government? The majority  and the choice of the word is important  probably do.

2 Be seen to plan for the big variables: How the BJP handles the fallout of any monsoon vagaries  its too early to tell about this year  and changes in global oil prices is critical. The government held its nerve through a period of dismal export performance, and now things are beginning to pick up.

3 Realise how saleable nationalism is: If not overdone, this could replace Mandir, black money, and to some extent even Congress-mukt as a leitmotif. It is a fairly durable idea that anyone can be bullied into being on the right side of. It also accentuates the idea of the other, always central to the Hindu rights way of operating. Very few middle-class Indians would have a problem with large flags fluttering in campuses across the country, especially after the Srinagar NIT shenanigans; the views of a few students may excite intellectuals for a few days but count for little in the overall scheme of things. Nationalism, however, obnoxiously framed, is acceptable to many more people than madcap notions of intrinsic Hindu superiority or evolved ideas like internationalism. The jurys still out on beef, but chances are that its a trump card that the more cynical election planners will pull out from time to time. At most times, if you like, nationalism is the new beef, and a popular cut.

4 Keep a couple of big, dramatic ideas in the bag: Case in point, demonetisation. When things are flagging or newsflow feels stale, pull out something that galvanizes people, because there is nothing people like more than getting into mission mode. Modi is adept at understanding the public pulse and more than capable of the dramatic gesture, so watch this space. (Dont ask what: by definition, these ideas are difficult for outsiders to spot. If they werent, they would be less effective.)

5. Congress-mukt Bharat still has some legs: As long as the Grand Old Party doesnt undergo a massive revamp and isnt energised by real leadership, it will remain an easy target for pot shots; the familiar refrain about what it did not do in 60 years in power will be heard often and contrasted with the flurry of activity under the NDA government. This is the political equivalent of scoring into an open goal, gratifying even if theres no real challenge.

6. Relax. Bad news, in modest doses, is harmless: As long as the news doesnt have a direct impact on voters, the BJP can sit tight and wait for it to blow over. The news cycle moves on relentlessly  does anyone remember the second-year travails of Vasundhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj? Unless the Opposition shows preternatural determination keeping the focus on issues  and theres no indication it will, or that enough people are listening -- you can get away with the odd bad hair day. This is different from UPA2, which tended to get skewered for days on end by TV channels.

: The BJP showed boorishness in its dealings with the Opposition after it came to power, and its leadership displayed the same tactics internally. It paid for the first with the difficulty it faced getting even the most non-controversial legislation through; internal strife has yet to rear its head, but when the knives come out, they will be sharper for the wait. Its attitude on imposing Hindi in the south, and food habits on the whole country, are worrying developments. It can still remedy things with a more statesmanly approach, but no one, as they say, is holding their breath.
narendra_Modi_PM_prime_Minister_Modi

With the NDA government completing three years in office, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has said the BJP-led alliance will return to power at the Centre in 2019 with a stronger mandate.

Rawat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "established India" as an economic and military power in the world map in the last three years.

"I am fully confident that the next government at the Centre will be formed by the NDA under the leadership of Modi with a stronger mandate," he told PTI in an interview.

Rawat, who assumed the charge of chief minister of Uttarakhand on March 18 after the BJP won 57 of the 70 assembly seats, ousting the Congress, said the Opposition was "no where to be seen" in the country and they were in a "pathetic stage".

The 56 year-old chief minister said Modi has been running the government with everyone's cooperation and he would continue to do so in the future.

"Modi is running the government with a big heart. Many people when assumes power, become arrogant, forget their own colleagues or friends. But the prime minister has never given such an impression. He likes to work with everyone's cooperation," he said.

Rawat hailed the Centre's move to convene a meeting of five Himalayan states to take stock of the security and development activities along the 3,488 km long Sino-Indian border.

"We have not given attention to the issues concerning our border with China. It was for the first time such a meeting was held in Gangtok. It was also decided that every year such a meeting will be held in future," he said.
Top leaders of several opposition parties will go into a huddle on Friday at a luncheon hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi where they would explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate for the presidential election.

Sources in these parties said the meeting is likely to be held in Parliament House complex and would be attended by leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav, who is himself a possible contender for the top constitutional post.

Banerjee, who is also the TMC chief, is already in the national capital, and is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi separately tomorrow.

Sources said invitations have been sent to JD(U), CPI, CPI-M, SP, DMK, NCP, RJD, TMC, besides some other big and small regional parties.

The main opposition Congress is seeking a larger unity among non-NDA parties ahead of the presidential election which could be taken forward to the upcoming assembly polls in states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, besides the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

Ahead of Friday's meeting, a series of parleys have already happened between these leaders on the issue of putting up a joint opposition candidate to take on the official NDA nominee.

Efforts are on to bring arch political rivals in Uttar Pradesh-- Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party--together on a common opposition platform ahead of the presidential poll.

Several names have been doing the rounds of political circles as probables, including Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former West Bengal Governor, Sharad Yadav, a former JD(U) president, ex-Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The NCP leader has, however, ruled himself out of the race.

Despite the parleys unanimity has so far eluded these parties.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also mooted a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and suggested that the ruling BJP should try and build a consensus on him.
business At current level of sugar prices, higher FRP may not impact costs adversely: Experts Higher FRP is not impacting costs at current levels of sugar prices but it becomes challenging when sugar prices drop because FRP once increased never brought down, said Abinash Verma, Director-General, ISMA.
Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch a 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' today to reach out to farmers in the state and address their issues.

The four-day initiative is being launched amid the rising resentment among farmers across the state over delay in procurement of tur this year.

Nearly 4,000 elected representatives of the party will participate in the campaign and hold meetings with farmers at various locations.

According to a press release issued by the BJP yesterday, the party's representatives, including MPs, MLAs, zilla parishad members and corporators, will engage in a dialogue with farmers to know about their issues and take their feedback on various decisions taken by the government in the last two-and-half years.

Each leader will hold four meetings everyday.

On day one, Fadnavis will meet farmers in Latur district of Marathwada region, while BJP's state unit president Raosaheb Patil will interact with the cultivators in Nandurbar district in North Maharashtra.

Other leaders like Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil will meet farmers in Kolhapur, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in Chandrapur, Education Minister Vinod Tawde in Ratnagiri and Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde in Beed.

The chief minister, during his speech at BJP state working committee's meeting last month in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, had announced that the party will hold the 'Shivar Samwad Sabha' in the state.
India Economy

India has shown a strong commitment to multilateralism through its engagement in peacekeeping, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said as he honoured those who died in the line of duty.

At a reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on International Day of UN Peacekeepers yesterday, Guterres noted that India is the second-largest troop contributor to peacekeeping missions.

It currently deploys more than 7,600 military and police personnel to UN peace operations in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, the Middle East, South Sudan, Sudan and the Western Sahara.

"This is an absolutely amazing contribution your country has given to world peace," he said.

"India has shown its strong commitment to multilateralism exactly by its engagement in peacekeeping," Guterres said.

He also honoured the memory of the 163 Indian peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty under the UN Flag.

Two Indian peacekeepers, Rifleman Brijesh Thapa who served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Private Ravi Kumar who was deployed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) posthumously received the Dag Hammarskjold Medal this year.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin received the medal on behalf of the fallen Indian peacekeepers at a ceremony.

The prestigious UN medal was awarded to 117 military, police and civilian personnel from 43 nations who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations during 2016.

Guterres said in a changing peace environment, "we are seeing more and more peacekeeping operations where peace is elusive. Things are changing in the world, he said adding that the UN and its member states need to think how the peacekeeping mandates are designed and how troops are equipped and trained. There is also need to explore partnerships with those involved in enforcement of peacekeeping and in counter- terrorism operations.

He emphasised that in the context of reforms, there is need for a "serious discussion" on how "we need to adapt to the changing circumstances that make peacekeeping more challenging.

"It is a challenge we have to face together and find together the solutions that are required to make peacekeeping more effective and for peacekeepers to be more safe," he added.

Currently more than 96,000 uniformed personnel from 124 troop and police-contributing countries serve under the blue flag, alongside more than 15,000 international and national civilian staff and nearly 1,600 United Nations Volunteers.

India has provided almost 200,000 troops in nearly 50 of the 71 peacekeeping missions mandated over the past six decades, including 13 of the current 16 missions.
Indian Railways

The Indian Railways have historically bound the country, not only by connecting the people and the economy but also by influencing literature and films, a new book says.

"What began as an imperial project to foster colonial industries, transformed during the freedom struggle into an important symbol of our national movement. Gandhiji changed the way people perceived the Railways. Post-colonial literature, cinema and television further changed the cultural narrative of the Railways," said the author Arup K Chatterjee at a function to launch the book.

While the aura of Indian trains and railway stations have enchanted renowned authors like Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, R K Narayan and Ruskin Bond, Karl Marx had also predicted that the Indian Railways would foster the growth of parallel industries not immediately connected with it, Chatterjee and other speakers said during a panel discussion.

Chatterjee, who penned 'The Purveyors of Destiny: A Cultural Biography of the Indian Railways', is an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School which had organised the event.

Shakti Sinha, Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, released the book saying trains have percolated deep into the national psyche of Indians.

"The Railways represented imperial hierarchies and its penetration into India. Today, trains have percolated deep into the national psyche, and are a part of our identity as a nation. What is a matter of pride for us is that no other country uses train as much as we do. The Indian Railways, in a sense, binds us together, culturally, socially, and economically," Sinha said.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, in a video message, congratulated Chatterjee and said, "I am a book lover and I am extremely happy" with the book. He also congratulated the author and the Vice Chancellor of the O P Jindal Global University "for promoting this kind of meaningful research".

Vice Chancellor C Raj Kumar said he hoped the work will inspire others to think "how big the institutions like the Railways influence societies in a larger context, beyond economics".
India's plans to ban Chinese power firms due to concerns over cyber-attacks could backfire on India even though the move would cause losses to companies from China, a report in a state-run daily said today.

"India's reported move to block Chinese companies in the power sector seems to be new evidence of the country's overly suspicious attitude toward China, but this could backfire given that India is still plagued by electricity shortages and unstable supply," an article in the Global Times said today.

The article was commenting on the remarks by Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association Director General Sunil Misra that ban on Chinese equipment would protect India "from cyber-attacks because the power sector is increasingly software driven with intelligent technology and control systems being used."

Referring to criticism that China does not allow for overseas investment in its electricity grid, the article said, "the reciprocity argument is unreasonably idealistic and doesn't make any sense at all. Even if China allowed overseas investment in its power sector, could Indian power companies really make it into the Chinese market given their lack of development?"

For a long time, Indian power companies have been calling for a complete ban on Chinese companies in the domestic power sector, citing the threat to national security, it said.

"Of course, such a prohibition, if it became real, would cause losses for Chinese companies. But it is totally unrealistic and inefficient for a country that relies heavily on foreign technology and equipment due to its own underdeveloped power sector, because it would be hard and costly for India to seek substitutes for Chinese products," it said.

"At present, Chinese companies are the major suppliers of power generation equipment in India, accounting for about 40 per cent of the traditional power equipment market, according to media reports. As such, India's boycott of Chinese equipment would be at the cost of its electricity infrastructure development, eventually making its people the biggest losers," it added.
U.S. President Donald Trump reacts after signing an executive order on education during an event with Governors at the White House in Washington

The Trump administration has proposed to reduce its developmental assistance to India from USD 85 million in 2016 to a mere USD 33.3 million in 2018.

A major portion of the proposed developmental assistance to India is the US Agency for International Development-led global health programme, which again has dropped from USD 35.5 million in 2016 to USD 19.6 million for the next fiscal beginning October 1, 2017.

In the budget proposal, the US' financial assistance to India for international military education and training has been slightly increased from USD 1.2 million to USD 1.3 million, whereas the financial assistance towards counter- terrorism cooperation has been retained at USD 2 million.

Overall, US President Donald Trump proposed a massive reduction in American aid to South Asian countries.

In his maiden annual budget, he has chopped off foreign military financing to all countries in South Asia except for Pakistan.

Afghanistan, where US has stationed more than 8,000 troops and where the Trump Administration is considering sending more soldiers on the ground, has managed to retain largest level of American funding for the fiscal year 2018.

According to the annual budget proposals sent by the State Department to the Congress, the entire foreign assistance to South and Central Asian countries have been reduced from about USD 2 billion in 2016 to USD 1.4 billion in 2018.

Of this, Afghanistan alone accounts for more than half USD 782 million for the fiscal year 2018.

For Bangladesh, the State Department has reduced the financial assistance from USD 210 million in 2016 to USD 138 million in 2018.

A major chunk (USD95 million) of assistance to Bangladesh is towards strengthening of democracy and economic development of this South Asian country.

Maldives, which is facing extinction from the dangers of climate change, has received a massive cut in developmental assistance from USD 3.3 million in 2016 to a mere 440,000 in 2018, as per budgetary State Department proposals.

Nepal too is off the Trumps list of Foreign Military Financing as the budgetary proposal for 2018 indicates the figure to zero as against USD 18 million in 2016.

But it has maintained the same level of assistance towards military training and education: USD 0.8 million in 2016 to USD 0.9 million in 2018.

Sri Lanka is another country where Trump has proposed a massive budgetary cut in its financial assistance which has come down from USD 42.5 million in 2016 to a mere USD 3.3 million in 2018.

Most of the funding (USD 2.8 million) would towards peace and security including combating weapons of mass destruction, and stabilisation operations and security sector reform.

Military training and education accounts for another half a million USD, according to US budgetary papers.
The vision document for the proposed "Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)" supported by Japan and India has been unveiled today during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) here.

The vision document has been prepared jointly by three agencies, namely the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) New Delhi, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia(ERIA) Jakarta, and Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO), Tokya.

The vision document was presented during a seminar on 'Japan-India cooperation for the development of Africa' at Mahatma Mandir in the presence of Union Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was here to inaugurate the annual meetings of the AfDB, pushed for AAGC, a pitch coming days after China's ambitious OBOR (One Belt, One Road) initiative taking off.

The pitch came close on the heels of China launching its multi-billion dollar OBOR initiative, a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which aims to connect the Eurasian landmass and Indo-Pacific maritime routes.

Modi had informed the audience that research institutes of India and Japan have come up with vision document in consultation with African think-tanks on how to take forward this growth corridor.

As per the vision document, AAGC will be based on four key pillars - Enhancing Capacity and Skills, Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity, Development and Cooperation projects and people to people partnership.

Giving insight into the document, Director General of RIS, Sachin Chaturvedi, said unlike China's OBOR initiative, AAGC was more consultative.

"You are aware about our government's position on OBOR. I would like to highlight the way we are making this process more consultative. This was one of the objection India raised when OBOR was presented with least consultations," Chaturvedi told reporters.

He said more details will emerge about the AAGC during the upcoming visit of Japanese Prime Minister to India in September this year.

As per the document, the next step is the preparation of a 'vision study' for the project, for which a Research Support Unit will be set up in RIS.

"The unit will conduct the preparation of AAGC study between 2017-18, and present it to the Government of India and Japan, and other leaders and policy makers of Asia and Africa in 2018," said the document.
By Dr. Davinder Gill

Vaccination is the best strategy against childhood and infectious diseases. Indias recent success in beating polio, and neonatal tetanus offers a glimpse into the vast potential of immunization to bring us closer to our national goal of healthcare for all.

India accounts for approximately one-fourth of global deaths from vaccine preventable diseases (VPD). And yet, immunization coverage rates in our country are lower than global peers.

While the first dose coverage of DTP vaccine in India increased to 90 percent in 2015, the third dose coverage remains at 80 percent as against, say, Brazil where the coverage is 100 percent. Even in low-resource countries like Bangladesh, the vaccination coverage of universally recommended vaccines is 90-100 percent.

Within VPD, many deaths among children under 5 years of age are due to diarrheal and enteric diseases, which continue to be a prominently fatal disease profile in India, despite the availability of simple treatment solutions. Between 10-15 percent deaths among children in India (and large parts of west and central Africa) are attributable to diarrhea.

Such enteric diseases impact intestinal absorption, nutrition and childhood development leading to stunting and lifelong health problems. Lack of sanitation and hygiene account for most enteric infections in the developing world, yet efforts to tackle these underlying factors havent made enough headway over the past 40 years.

At a larger level, VPDs claim lives of 500,000 children every year, and despite the high childhood mortality rates associated with lack of immunization, 1 of every 3 children in India doesnt receive the full range of vaccines available under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).

Several factors can be blamed for our below-par immunization coverage. Vaccine accessibility is complex and can depend upon price, supply, and status of healthcare infrastructure for delivery. Unless we as a nation understand the benefits of vaccination, children will continue to suffer the consequences of ill-health. Vaccination, which requires meticulous planning and large-scale targeting of the vulnerable age groups, can be an effective tool in controlling these diseases, given there is reliable supply of affordable vaccines against them.

Although India is a global leader in the supply of low-cost vaccines, we have traditionally relied on basic childhood vaccines whose supply is increasingly becoming commoditized. Advanced vaccines such as pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) are still not manufactured indigenously. And little R&D is being carried out in new and emerging diseases such as dengue and chikungunya.

Procuring advanced vaccines from multinational pharmaceutical companies makes them expensive, and beyond the reach of most public health programmes. Innovative, indigenous vaccines can only become a reality when more resources are expended on R&D and when the business and regulatory environment is made conducive to manufacture, in line with the Make in India drive. Exacerbating the situation is the unsolved problem of transporting and storing vaccines in remote rural areas.

According to National Cold Chain & Vaccine Management Resource Centre, there is already a 25 percent shortage in overall cold chain capacity to meet current needs. It will be extremely difficult to achieve our national immunization goals if we do not address the delivery side of the problem along with the R&D and manufacturing side.

Since 2014, the Government of Indias Mission Indradhanush has pushed vaccination with a special focus on 201 high priority districts, which account for nearly 50% of ill-vaccinated children in the country.

In addition, Indias Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) ensures protection against seven life-threatening diseases (Diphtheria, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, Polio, Tuberculosis, Measles and Hepatitis B). While vaccines for rotavirus, pentavalent and measles-rubella have more recently been included in the UIP, others such as the Injectable polio vaccine (IPV), PCV, HPV, Haemophilus influenza type B and Japanese encephalitis (in endemic areas) will be included in the next phase.

Plans are underway to add more vaccines in the UIP, reiterated by the National Health Policy 2017 which aims to improve immunization coverage with quality and safety; improve vaccine security as per National Vaccine Policy 2011 and introduce newer vaccines based on epidemiological considerations.

Other areas of focus are, safety assessment of vaccines, and research and monitoring. Based on these pillars, the Mission Indradhanush intends to expand the full vaccination coverage from the current 65 percent to 90 percent by 2020.

This is an admirable, yet a challenging goal, and all stakeholders must unite to achieve desired targets. Indeed, the entire public health enterprise must step forward to engage in strategic efforts to ensure the effective delivery of immunization.

Societal education to drive home the importance of vaccines and to dispel myths and fears must be matched with access to health systems that deliver safe and cost-effective vaccines. Communications must stress the importance of combining vaccination with a comprehensive approach to health, which involves the adoption of healthy practices from the time of birth.

Global experts agree that the need of the hour is a combination of interventions that include good sanitation and hygiene, proper nutrition, increased health awareness and effective vaccines to reduce the burden caused by VPD. Immunization is our best bet to offer children a better future, and every effort must be made to ensure that every child gets vaccinated irrespective of socio-economic conditions or geography.

Priority must be accorded to enteric diseases, a big killer among young children, and public health partnerships must be at the forefront of current and future immunization strategies.

The author is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hilleman Labs, a non-profit joint venture of pharmaceutical major Merck, Sharp & Dohme and UK-based Wellcome Trust, which is into development of affordable vaccines against rotavirus and cholera.
Mahesh Palawat, Chief Meteorologist, Skymet Weather Services is on the same line with IMD on the onset of monsoon, which according to us will reach Kerala by May 29 with an error margin of 3 days.

However, they expect the overall monsoon would be below normal at around 95-96 percent of long-period average. The normal range is between 96-104 percent.

Meanwhile, according to IMD the rains will reach Kerala by May 30. IMD has predicted normal monsoon of around 97 percent of long -period average.

Kerala has already started seeing pre-monsoon rains, said Palawat, adding that monsoon in Kerala and Karnataka is expected to be good in the initial period.

June month, in terms of monsoon, will be good for south peninsula and parts of Central India.

In terms of geographical distribution of rainfall south peninsula, central India that is Chattisgarh, Vidharba, East MP and particularly Orissa, Jharkhand and northeastern states will receive good rains through the monsoon season but the area of concern seems to be west UP, Punjab, Haryana and parts of Rajasthan.
By CNBCTV18.COM

Two local United Arab Emirates (UAE) fintechs, two Indian and one U.S. fintech start-up will go through the Reglab in Abu Dhabi, which aims to encourage start-up fintechs and provide regulatory assistance and advice to support new technology-based developments in financial services.

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has announced its first batch of financial technology (fintech) regulatory laboratory (Reglab) companies that will go through its new innovation center.

Two local United Arab Emirates (UAE) fintechs, two Indian and one U.S. fintech start-up will go through the Reglab in Abu Dhabi, which aims to encourage start-up fintechs and provide regulatory assistance and advice to support new technology-based developments in financial services.

The first entrants to ADGM's Reglab 'sandbox', which apes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sandbox in the U.K. and other such support initiatives around the world, will enter a safe place where they can test innovative fintech products, services or business models, while ensuring appropriate consumer protections are built in. The FCA model has proved so popular in encouraging fintech innovation that it is being replicated around the world.

The idea is to promote competition through encouraging disruptive innovation. The ADGM Reglab is the first such fintech regulatory sandbox and framework in the Middle-east and North Africa (MENA) region.

The five initial participants were selected from a pool of 11 applications. They are:

Now Money

- UAE: provides mobile technology to allow low income migrant workers in the UAE to access banking and remittance services, which would otherwise be out of reach. Users get direct access to an account, debit card and remittance capabilities from its smartphone app and service center.

Titanium Escrow - UAE: This is an automated escrow service that aims to increase trust in counterparties and stabilize the cash cycle for small businesses.

CapitaWorld - India: A one-stop digital platform that automates the entire loan value chain from loan application to credit appraisal and post-disbursement credit monitoring. Rather than needing to physically visit multiple banks to apply for a loan, the CapitaWorld platform allows a borrower to submit a loan application just once online, and its platform will use analytics to carry out verification and credit risk scoring. It will then match the borrower with multiple banks that have signed onto the platform and ensure that the credit risk appetite matches the borrower's profile.

Rubique - India: Rubique is an online platform that connects banks and fund seekers/borrowers via a smart financing process that links to a range of loan, credit card and financing options that attempt to bridge the gap between lenders and borrowers.

Finalytix -US: This is a robo-advisory platform for wealth management applications that seeks to help clients optimize their holdings, mitigate risks and costs, and identify new investment opportunities. Robo-advisors are online, automated portfolio management services that use artificial intelligence (AI) and computer algorithms to manage client investments at a fraction of the cost of a human financial advisor. They are accessible via mobile phones, tablets or the web.

ADGM is a broad-based international financial center located on Al Maryah Island in the heart of the UAE's capital city of Abu Dhabi. It houses the three local regulatory bodies comprising of the Registration Authority; the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA); and ADGM Courts, which collectively regulate FIs in the country and liaise with international colleagues to ensure best practice.

ADGM is also a free trade zone that aspires to house a range of local, regional and international FIs that can aid the future development of the country. Encouraging fintechs is a part of this strategy.

Commenting on the first cohort in a statement, Richard Teng, CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, said he was "pleased to welcome our first group," and their "transformational solutions".

"We will support our Reglab participants to focus on sharpening their solutions, while leaning on ADGM and its partners to take them through the develop-test-and-implement journey," he said. "This is also a valuable journey for ADGM and the region as we guide the very first team of fintech companies through the regulatory environment to realize their innovations."

The ADGM Reglab authorizes fintech participants for a period of up to two years to develop and test their propositions in their support program, which should be enough time to get any good ideas into the marketplace.

The second batch of applications has recently opened and applications are invited via the ADGB website before the 31 July 2017 deadline.
A police van and an ambulance are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England, Britain May 22, 2017.

The suspected bomber in the concert attack in Britain passed through a German airport before the attack, police said today.

Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airport's transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.

"According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area," police said in a statement.

Police didn't provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.

Focus magazine, citing unnamed federal security sources, had earlier reported that British-born Abedi twice flew from a German airport in recent years and that he wasn't on any international watch list.

A German security official told The Associated Press on Thursday the report was accurate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't been cleared for public release.

Focus reported that Abedi previously flew from Frankfurt to Britain in 2015. The magazine also wrote that German authorities are trying to determine whether Abedi had contact with Islamic extremists in Germany.

The report said that British police informed their German counterparts that Abedi had received paramilitary training in Syria beforehand.
Prachanda

Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Thursday called all political parties to elect a new Prime Minister within seven days through consensus, a day after ex-Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' resigned from the post.

President Bhandari had accepted the resignation of Prachanda and asked him to continue as caretaker Prime Minister till his successor is elected.

The president has called the political parties representing the Legislative Parliament to elect a new Prime Minister and form a council of ministers under his or her leadership, said a notice issued by the President's office.

'Prachanda' resigned to honour a power sharing deal with the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress to hand over the country's leadership to the largest party in Parliament.

His resignation has cleared the way for his former political rival and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is expected to take over as the prime minister.

Deuba's appointment is likely to be confirmed in a parliamentary vote within the next 10 days.

The Nepali Congressthe largest party in Parliamentand constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front, the Federal Alliance and some other parties had helped Prachanda in securing 363 votes in the 595-member House to form the government comfortably in 2016.

During the formation of the government, the Chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre) had reached an understanding with Deuba that he would step down as prime minister and hand over the leadership to the Nepali Congress after nine months.

The pact was to run the government on a rotational basis until elections to the parliament are held in February 2018.
The Trump administration has proposed to give Pakistan USD 800 million as reimbursement for its military and logistical support in counter-terrorism operations in the next fiscal, a defence department official has said.

The administration has proposed the amount - a cut of USD 100 million compared to the previous time - in its annual budget proposals under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a Pentagon programme to reimburse US allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.

Pakistan is one of the largest recipient under the fund and has received USD 14 billion since 2002. But for the past two years, the Congress has imposed conditions on disbursal of money under the fund.

"The FY 2018 budget proposal seeks USD 800 million in CSF for Pakistan. The CSF authority is not security assistance, but reimbursements to key cooperating nations for logistical, military, and other support provided to US combat operations," Adam Stump, Defence Department spokesman for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia told PTI yesterday.

For 2016 fiscal year, Pakistan was authorised to receive up to USD 900 million under CSF.

"The deputy secretary of defence signed the authorisation to disburse USD 550 million in fiscal year 2016 coalition support fund to Pakistan for logistical, military, and other support provided to the US operations in Afghanistan for the period of January-June 2015," Stump said.

"The Department recognises the significant sacrifices the Pakistan military has made in the fight against terrorism, and appreciates Pakistan's continued support for transit of materiel to coalition forces in Afghanistan," he said in response to a question.

"Disbursement of the remaining USD 350 million requires the Secretary of Defence to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network. The Secretary has not yet made a decision on certification," Stump said.

For the first time in 2016, then Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had declined to certify that Pakistan met the certification requirement, resulting in the loss of USD 300 million fund for it.

This amount was reprogrammed by the Pentagon for Department of Defence's Overseas Contingency Operations Funding, a second defence department official said.

In its latest budget, the Department of Defence has attached no conditions for disbursement of CSF to Pakistan. However, it was only the Congress which imposes such strict conditions on giving CSF money to Pakistan.

Justifying the need to give such a huge money to Pakistan, the Pentagon said Pakistan has served as a key ally in operation 'Enduring Freedom' since 2001 and will continue to play a key role in maintaining stability in the region.

"Pakistan's security forces regularly engage enemy forces, arrest and kill Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, and provide significant support to US forces operating in Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to meet the enemy insurgency and has made enormous sacrifices in support of these operations," it said.

"The expenses Pakistan incurs to conduct operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces include providing logistical support for its forces, manning observation posts along the Afghanistan border, and conducting maritime interdiction operations and combat air patrol," the Pentagon said.
A police van and an ambulance are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England, Britain May 22, 2017.

Two more men were arrested today by the UK police after searches in Manchester in connection with a deadly suicide bombing at a pop concert this week, while a woman arrested last night was released without charges.

The latest arrests take the total number of men in custody over the terror attack to eight. All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester where the suicide bombing took place on Monday night.

"We have been carrying out searches at an address in the Withington area and a man has been arrested. These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena. Another man has been arrested in the Manchester area in connection with this investigation, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight," Greater Manchester Police said.

The woman, whose identity was not immediately known, was released without charges a few hours after her arrest last night in connection with the explosion, the deadlies terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings.

The arrests came after detectives carried out a controlled explosion as they searched a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Thursday.

They continue to investigate the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, and his suspected links to a wider extremist "network".

His father, Ramadan Abedi, and brother, Hashim, have also been arrested in Libya. Another brother, 23-year-old Ismail, was arrested on Tuesday in Manchester.

The anti-terror force that took Hashim into custody in Libya said the teenager had confessed that both he and his brother, Salman, were members of the Islamic State group and that he "knew all the details" of the Manchester attack plot.

A spokesperson for the Libyan authorities told BBC: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack."

Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafii's security authorities issued an arrest warrant. He spent 25 years in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi was ousted and killed in the civil war.

Abedi is now a manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.

Earlier, Sky News had claimed that they have found evidence linking Salman Abedi to an Islamic State (ISIS) cell operating in Manchester.

The channel said its investigation reveals how Salman grew up on the same housing estates in south Manchester as a group of young men who radicalised each other  with some fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Information in so-called "IS Files"  a huge cache of documents obtained by 'Sky News'  shows how an ISIS fighter called Raphael Hostey, from Moss Side in the south of Manchester, sponsored hundreds of terror recruits.

Salman and Hostey hung around on the same estates and worshipped in the same Didsbury mosque in Manchester, before they reportedly became disaffected with life in the West.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to take up the issue of evidence leaks over the Manchester bombing in the US media with President Donald Trump when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels later on Thursday.

The leaks have opened a diplomatic row as UK officials are said to be "furious" that their investigation was compromised when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the 'New York Times'.

Monday night's attack at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured 119. Sixty four injured still remain hospitalised.
The Trump administration plans to slash USD 100 million and give USD 800 million as reimbursement to Pakistan in the next fiscal for its military support in fighting terror, a defence department official said.

The administration has proposed the USD 100 million cut in its annual budget proposals under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a Pentagon programme to reimburse US allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.

Pakistan is one of the largest recipients under the fund and has received USD 14 billion since 2002. But for the past two years, the Congress has imposed conditions on disbursal of the fund.

"The FY 2018 budget proposal seeks USD 800 million in CSF for Pakistan. The CSF authority is not security assistance, but reimbursements to key cooperating nations for logistical, military, and other support provided to US combat operations," Adam Stump, Defence Department spokesman for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia told PTI yesterday.

For 2016 fiscal year, Pakistan was authorised to receive up to USD 900 million under CSF.

"The deputy secretary of defence signed the authorisation to disburse USD 550 million in fiscal year 2016 coalition support fund to Pakistan for logistical, military, and other support provided to the US operations in Afghanistan for the period of January-June 2015," Stump said.

"The Department recognises the significant sacrifices the Pakistan military has made in the fight against terrorism, and appreciates Pakistan's continued support for transit of materiel to coalition forces in Afghanistan," he said.

"Disbursement of the remaining USD 350 million requires the Secretary of Defence to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network. The Secretary has not yet made a decision on certification," Stump said.

For the first time in 2016, then Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had declined to certify that Pakistan met the requirement, resulting in the loss of USD 300 million fund to it.

This amount was reprogrammed by the Pentagon for Department of Defence's Overseas Contingency Operations Funding, a second defence department official said.

In its latest budget, the Department of Defence has attached no conditions for disbursement of CSF to Pakistan. However, it was only the Congress which imposes such strict conditions on giving CSF money to Pakistan.

Justifying the need to give such a huge money to Pakistan, the Pentagon said Pakistan has served as a key ally in operation 'Enduring Freedom' since 2001 and will continue to play a key role in maintaining stability in the region.

"Pakistan's security forces regularly engage enemy forces, arrest and kill Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, and provide significant support to US forces operating in Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to meet the enemy insurgency and has made enormous sacrifices in support of these operations," it said.

"The expenses Pakistan incurs to conduct operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces include providing logistical support for its forces, manning observation posts along the Afghanistan border, and conducting maritime interdiction operations and combat air patrol," the Pentagon said.
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) transits the South China Sea on April 8, 2017. Photo: Reuters

The United States of America has sent a navy warship near an artificial island built by China in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump, prompting Beijing to strongly condemn the "provocative action."

The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, conducted a patrol within 20 kilometres of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands.

A crucial shipping route, China claims ownership of the vast majority of the South China Sea, including the Paracel and Spratly island chains, a claim disputed by numerous other countries including the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Chinese government has reclaimed land and built up artificial islands in the sea, including on Mischief Reef, and deployed military assets to them.

The exercise is the first since October and comes after high-level visits and friendly exchanges between the US and China to settle trade issues and vows to cooperate to contain the nuclear programme of North Korea, a Chinese ally.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law."

The patrols are "not about any one country, or any one body of water," he told the Wall Street Journal.

In Beijing, China reacted sharply to the action saying the US warship had entered the South China Sea "without permission".

China's Defense Ministry said two Chinese frigates had "warned and dispelled" the US Navy ship after it had entered its waters "without permission."

"We firmly opposed to the US behaviour of showing force and boosting regional militarisation, and have made solemn representation to the US side," Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said.

China's Foreign Ministry too criticised the US move.

"The act damaged China's sovereignty and security interests, and could have easily led to an air or sea accident," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.

"[China] resolutely opposes any country sailing or flying freely that could pose damage to China's sovereignty and security interests. At present, through the joint efforts of China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, the South China Sea situation has cooled down.

"The acts of the United States have seriously disrupted the process of dialogue and consultation."

"We urge the US to correct this mistake," he said.

A Pentagon official said that since 1979, the freedom of navigation programme has demonstrated non-acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world. It includes consultations and representation by American diplomats and operational activities by the US military forces.

In February USS Carl Vinson Strike Group arrived in South China Sea but did not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) against Chinese maritime claims around its artificial-island bases in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Early this month, Pentagon spokesman Davis told foreign journalist that the FONOPS is a "routine activity" carried out by the US around the world.

"We did it last year, freedom of navigation assertions against 22 different countries all over the world. Many of those countries are friends and allies," he said.

"Unfortunately, I think the public narrative has made it about China and the South China Sea. It's not that. It's about asserting international rights to navigate in waters that international law accepts, and these are rights and benefits that benefit all countries on Earth, to include China," Davis said.

"We will continue to do them," he said.

In an annual FNOPS report released by the Pentagon in February, the Department of Defence said that in 2016 it carried out freedom of navigation operations against 22 countries, including India. Other major countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Ex-choir director in Bucks County pleads no contest to molesting two students, secretly filming another
I sing what I want to sing, be how I wanna be, and reach as big of an audience as I can.

1 hour ago
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A wave of equity-rich older people from Canadas most in-demand housing market is beginning to heat up Muskoka and Haliburton, according to real estate agents in the area.

Most of these would-be buyers are aged around 50, and are seeking quieter locales farther north for retirement or telecommuting purposes, the Toronto Star reported.

While the Toronto housing segment has entered a cooldown stage just recently, its impact on cottage country remains undeniable, according to Lakelands Association of Realtors president Mike Taylor.

We havent seen a slowdown like the Toronto market has over the last month as yet, but it may be filtering our way. As the end of May comes and we are getting more listings put on the market for waterfront, it will be interesting to see how that all plays out, Taylor stated.

Latest numbers from the Association revealed that waterfront property sales in Muskoka, Haliburton, and Orillia went up by 5.1 per cent year-over-year, while sales volume dramatically shot up by 51.4 per cent in the same time frame (up to $118.1 million).

Royal LePage Lakes of MuskokaClarke Muskoka Realty broker Bob Clarke noted that a contributing factor is the record-low supply level of recreational homes in the area (now down by 30 per cent compared to 2015). This has led to a growing number of competitive offers since fall last year.



Were putting places out there and getting 30 showings in a day and a half, Clarke said. Torontonians have hit the Lotto Max jackpot and they come up here and say, Who cares? Whats $299,000 instead of $279,000?
A northeast Houston subdivision will build a 1.5-acre artificial lagoon and sandy beach tailored to look like a Caribbean seashore thanks to patented technology from the Florida-based designer.

The project in Balmoral, a community in the works near Atascocita in northeast Houston, will probably be the second such lagoon in Texas; another in Dallas is expected to open sooner.
Permian Basin oil and gas producers should think outside the nations borders to maximize the value of the regions oil and gas riches, according to a Magellan Midstream executive.

Theres a lot of barrels from the Permian Basin, said Robb Barnes, senior vice president, commercial-crude oil for Magellan. To maximize value, they should be looking at exporting.

That was the message of several presentations at Hart Energys Midstream Texas conference at the Horseshoe Pavilion on Wednesday.

The Permian Basin is in the drivers seat, but its output is going far beyond Texas, said Greg Haas, director, integrated oil and gas, with Stratas Advisors.

The U.S. already is a propane-exporting powerhouse. The nation exports virtually 100 percent of the propane from gas-processing facilities and exports ethane, butane and the pentanes preferred as a diluent for heavy oil sands.

The Permian Basin is the biggest oil field in the U.S. and will drive infrastructure expansion, midstream and downstream economics in the U.S., he said.

Haas predicted that at some point this year, the nation will become a net exporter of natural gas.

Over the next five years, supplies from the Permian are expected to see 1.1 million barrels a day of growth on top of the 1 million barrels a day of growth seen over the last five years, he said.

Domestic demand is not strong enough to absorb those additional barrels, and thats why exports are a key to monetizing the growing U.S output, Haas said.

Some companies are more advanced than others and are being proactive. Its something a lot of companies are looking at, said Barnes, whose keynote speech opened the daylong conference.

Since the ban on crude exports was lifted at the end of 2015, Magellan has been adjusting its plans in order to help its customers market their crude. That plan includes utilizing its assets in Houston to connect Permian Basin crude to third-party marine terminals and refineries in Houston and Texas City.

If you look at the U.S., the U.S. has sophisticated refineries. Other parts of the world are not as sophisticated in their refineries, (which are) better designed to process light crudes, Barnes said. That doesnt require as much equipment.

Magellan has entered into a joint venture with Seabrook Logistics on marine access, constructing 700,000 barrels of storage and a dock capable of handling an Afromax-class tanker. By mid-2018, the venture will have 1.3 million barrels of storage and connectivity to Magellans Houston crude distribution system. A future third phase would entail 3 million barrels of storage and a second dock capable of handling Afromax-class and Suezmax-class tankers.

The company also recently announced plans to join other pipeline companies in constructing a Permian Basin-to-Corpus Christi pipeline to improve access to export capability. Barnes said the proposed 24-inch pipeline, still in the planning stages, would have a 650,000-barrel-a-day capacity.

Only 13 percent of the Permian Basins takeaway capacity heads to Corpus Christi, said Ismael Hernandez, vice president, global marine, for Buckeye Partners LP.

That Houston concentration is incompatible with the Delaware subbasin production coming on. That presents an opportunity for producers to maximize value by not going to Houston, he said.

Operators are appreciating the value of having a global market and are asking his company to focus on projects in Corpus, Hernandez said. That focus will narrow the spread between West Texas Intermediate-Midland and West Texas Intermediate-Cushing, he said.

The key takeaway (from my presentation) is that the Permian phenomenon is global, and it requires a global response, he said.

He said the consensus is Permian Basin production will exceed takeaway capacity by 2019-2020 because of the resilience of the companies operating in the area. Despite the growth in production, market forces make it more likely prices will reach $70 than $30, he said.

Through his companys assets, Permian Basin crude can head to Asia, even to India, Hernandez said. It goes further than you know.
Danish prosecutors confirmed on Twitter that Chung Yoo-ra will be extradited to Korea within 30 days, though the date has not yet been set.

The daughter of ex-President Park Geun-hye's crony Choi Soon-sil on Wednesday dropped an appeal against her extradition from Denmark.

After Danish prosecutors decided to send Chung back to Korea on March 17, she filed an appeal in the district court in Aalborg, which upheld the extradition order.

Her lawyer immediately filed an appeal to the High Court.

Chung, a single mother and equestrian accused of being a main beneficiary of her mother's vast slush funds, is expected to be taken into custody by Korean authorities on arrival.

Last December, the special counsel appointed to investigate the massive corruption scandal that brought Park down accused Chung of receiving inappropriate academic favors based on her mother's ties to the president and took out an arrest warrant for her.

The counsel team said in January that it would execute the arrest warrant immediately she returns.

Chung remains in custody under an extended detention order in Denmark.


OPEC and its allies extended oil production cuts for nine more months after last years landmark agreement failed to eliminate the global oversupply or achieve a sustained price recovery.

The producer group together with Russia and other non-members agreed to prolong their accord through March, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Irans Minister of Petroleum, said in Vienna. No new non-OPEC countries will be joining the pact, according a delegate familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isnt public.

Six months after forming an unprecedented coalition of 24 nations and delivering output reductions that exceeded all expectations, resurgent production from U.S. shale fields has meant oil inventories remain well above the level targeted by OPEC ministers. While stockpiles are shrinking, ministers acknowledged that the surplus built up during three years of overproduction wont clear until at least the end of 2017.

Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said Thursday that the cuts are working, saying stockpile reductions will accelerate in the third quarter and inventory levels will come down to the five-year average in the first quarter of next year. While he expects a healthy return for U.S. shale, that wont derail OPECs goals and a nine-month extension will do the trick, he said.

We must complete our mission today, said Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who said the agreement was working despite skepticism.

The market was less convinced. Benchmark Brent crude traded at $52.42 a barrel as of 4:43 p.m. in London, down 2.9 percent, after earlier sliding 3.2 percent.

The market seems to be a bit disappointed as there is no something extra, said Jan Edelmann, a commodity analyst at HSH Nordbank. It seems as though OPEC fears letting the stock-draw run too hot.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in November to cut output by about 1.2 million barrels a day. Eleven non-members joined the deal in December, bringing the total supply reduction to about 1.8 million. The curbs were intended to last six months from January, but confidence in the deal, which boosted prices as much as 20 percent, waned as inventories remained stubbornly high and U.S. output surged.

OPEC agreed earlier Thursday to prolong their own output cuts by nine months. Nigeria and Libya will remain exempt from making cuts and Iran, which was allowed to increase production under the original accord, retains the same output target, Kuwaits Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said after the meeting. That deal gave the Islamic Republic room to increase output to a maximum of 3.797 million barrels a day.

The extension prolongs a rare period of collaboration between OPEC and some of its largest rivals, including Russia. The last time both sides worked together was 15 years ago, and the agreement fell apart soon after it began. The current accord encompasses countries that pump roughly 60 percent of the worlds oil, but excludes major producers such as the U.S., China, Canada, Norway and Brazil.

Without a steer on what will happen beyond March, theres concern that OPEC could return to the free-for-all production that caused prices to slump from 2014 to 2016, though Al-Falih has insisted the organization will maintain control.

We have said we will do whatever it takes, the minister said.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee -- comprised on six OPEC and non-OPEC nations -- has a strong mandate to continue watching the market and can recommend further action if needed, said his Kuwaiti counterpart Almarzooq.

Al-Falih earlier announced that OPEC is welcoming a new member, Equatorial Guinea, to its ranks. The African nation will be one of the groups smallest producers, pumping about 270,000 barrels a day, a little more than neighboring Gabon. It was already participating in the cuts as a non-OPEC producer.
President Donald Trump has proposed selling off more than half of the U.S. emergency oil stockpile, potentially putting more crude on the global market, even as OPEC works to prop up prices.

A budget proposal released Tuesday includes a plan to sell 270 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next decade, a move the White House says will trim the national debt by $16.6 billion. Thats on top of a nearly 190 million-barrel drawdown planned from 2018 through 2025.

At the same time, ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are gathering in Vienna to decide whether to extend oil-production cuts to reduce a worldwide fuel glut.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters Tuesday that drawing down the reserve wouldnt harm domestic oil prices as long as you do it slowly over time. But analysts counter that releasing millions of barrels of oil into an already oversupplied market could depress prices and hurt future production.

Every sale has an impact, said Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners in Washington. In the short term, its significant, and in the long term, its indifferent.

OPEC and 11 non-member producers are weighing whether to extend output cuts for nine months after agreeing last year to reduce production by as much as 1.8 million barrels a day from January through June. The move has been undercut by rising U.S. output, which has slowed the expected elimination of a global fuel glut.

Congress has already ordered the U.S. Energy Department to sell 25 million barrels of reserve oil in fiscal 2018 to fund government programs. The Trump proposal would draw down the reserve even more. Sales could start as soon as this October, boosting year-end inventories.

From a producer standpoint, thats not such a great thing, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. For OPEC, it could be a problem because theyre doing everything they can to drain inventories.

The proposed drawdown would have a bigger impact on the U.S. Gulf Coast, where the reserves are located and where the crude would likely be processed, than on the global market, according to Goldman Sachs.

The volume of the sales is negligible compared with the size of the global market and OPEC cuts, Goldman Sachs analyst Damien Courvalin wrote in a note. But the sales would keep U.S. crude inventories from normalizing, leaving more oil in the U.S. than the 5-year average level would imply, he said.

In the long-term, the effect on the global market would be negligible relative to the size of OPECs output curbs.

Impact locally would likely prove more important than on the global market, given the sharp ramp up in U.S. drilling and the steady production growth we expect will require new infrastructure capacity, from moving oil to the coasts to increasing exports, Courvalin wrote in the note.

Recent sales have reduced the SPR by 7 million barrels so far this year, based on weekly Energy Department figures. The administration is targeting 16 million barrels in deliveries in the first half of the year.

The reserve, established in the wake of the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, is the worlds largest supply of emergency oil. It contains 687.7 million barrels in salt caverns and tanks in Texas and Louisiana, which allow for quick distribution when natural disasters or unplanned incidents occur. The budget proposal would shrink the stockpile to less than 260 million barrels.

Unlike other aspects of the presidents budget, Trumps plan to tap the reserve may have support in Congress, which has voted three times in the past two years to sell crude from the stockpile. It has earmarked 190 million barrels -- about 27 percent of the reserve at the time -- to raise money for unrelated government programs.

Congress has already decided to reallocate the U.S. oil portfolio to other things and we dont expect that to change, Book said.

Cutting the reserve to the degree proposed by Trump would require statutory changes, which would take time, and congressional approval. But he can unilaterally eliminate the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, an emergency stockpile created in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy left some New York-area stations without fuel. The White House would dispense with the gasoline stash in 2018, and sell its entire 1 million-barrel inventory.

Long term, reducing the oil reserve might be a good thing for the market, said Carl Larry, principal at Oil Outlooks and Opinions, in Houston.

The longer-term effect is going to be very supportive of the market, he said. If you take away the backup supply, you prop up the price of oil.
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Another week, and another round of Yankees spouting off terrible hot takes on San Antonio.

New York-based writers Sophie-Claire Hoeller and Amy Daire pulled together a state-by-state guide of attractions to avoid for Business Insider recently, and named the Alamo as one of the country's "worst tourist traps.".

The article suggests that the attractions on their list are not "legendary landmarks that everyone should see."

Sure, a Jack-in-The-Box-themed store in Connecticut and a ball of twine may not fit the "legendary landmark" category, but the two writers clearly aren't well-versed in the importance of the hallowed ground in Texas history.

RELATED: Controversial Alamo master plan gets council approval

Hundreds of men, on both the Texas and Mexico sides, died during the 13-day Battle of the Alamo in 1836, making the landmark an everlasting symbol of resistance during the fight for independence.

So the inclusion by these travel "experts" to put the Alamo in the same conversation with an "intentionally tacky" restaurant and neon sign somewhere between the Carolinas is obnoxious.

But wait, there's more.

The article also mentions the traps are "blatant attempts to make money."

This rebuttal is almost too easy: Alamo admission is free.

Sure, the Alamo offers guided tours, but sightseers can stroll through the church and grounds without having to open their wallet. Activities like reenactments are also free of charge. And unlike dreaded "tourist traps" the Alamo is easily-accessible, right in the heart of San Antonio. Visitors also won't spend hours waiting in line to get in.

Tourists won't be conned by stands selling frozen lemonade for $10, but there are a couple of vending machines and a local raspa man nearby offering a cool refreshment for a couple of bucks.

The Business Insider story also argues the Alamo is "shockingly small in real life" and "the building's remains are so small they consistently disappoint visitors."

RELATED: Out-of-state politician's River Walk dis could cost Chicago company $100 million S.A. contract

The Alamo was built as a mission in 1718 and housed Spanish settlers, why people expect it to be the size of the Roman Colosseum is baffling. Still, it remains Texas' most-visited landmark, according to the Alamo website.

"History buffs might get a kick out of it for an hour or so, but looking at a picture will suffice for most," the BI article also says, bringing us to our next point.

The Cradle of Texas is Liberty is the most-Instagrammed spot in Texas, racking in 62,497 posts, according to a study by TravelBird.

That's a lot of trendy Millennials who did more than look at a picture, and were impressed enough by the "shockingly small" mission to stick a "#travelinspo" caption on it to share with their followers.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
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Melvin Williamson, 50, of North Carolina was arrested Wednesday in connection with the robbery that occurred Tuesday morning at Community National Bank in the 600 block of Florida Avenue, according to a post on the Midland Police Departments Facebook page.

A tip received through Midland Crime Stoppers led MPD to where Williamson was located, according to MPD. Williamson confessed to the robbery and was booked into Midland County jail, according to the post.
600 drivers named and shamed for the worst traffic violations

From:Shanghai Daily | 2017-05-24 09:43

About 600 drivers have been named and shamed on the official website of the citys traffic police.



The program, which began on April 20, targets drivers responsible for the worst traffic violations, such as drunk driving, using fake driving licenses, carrying too many passengers, and excessive speeding.

Records of the offenses are logged with creditchina.gov.cn, a web portal hosted by the Chinese government that collects citizens credit information. Serious driving offenses can potentially be counted as demerits in an offenders personal credit rating.

As well as drivers of private cars, drivers working for transportation companies are also targeted.

Those who are banned from taking driving tests for cheating or giving bribes and those who are responsible for traffic accidents involving casualties will also be included on the web along with those whose driving licenses have been revoked.

The list, displaying names of offenders and the firms they work for, is published on sh.122.gov.cn.

Drivers are informed they will be named and shamed on the written decision of administrative offenses issued by traffic police after an offense is committed.

Police told Shanghai Daily that if a driver successfully applies for an administrative review after being named and shamed, the drivers name will remain on the published listing but the offense will be noted as canceled.

Police said published names would stay on the website for a long time though they did not specify a time period.

Police also warned that those with bad credit could be affected in seeking loans from the banks and could be required to pay higher insurance premiums.

The creditchina initiative, which was initiated in January, will gradually cover all provinces and cities in China.
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China will promote innovation-driven development and startups in county-level regions, according to a document issued by the State Council on May 24.

In the document, the State Council urged counties to upgrade traditional manufacturing industries and develop cutting-edge technologies like internet information and smart manufacturing.

Agricultural zones are asked to develop high-tech agriculture techniques while integrating traditional agriculture with tourism, education, healthcare and logistics.

Supporting county-based high-tech companies, promoting cooperation between companies and academic institutions and asking financial institutions for support should also be a priority.

Favorable supports should be shown for entrepreneurs and professionals in counties. Those who are tech savvy, professionals and college graduates are encouraged to start businesses or hunt for jobs in those counties.

Eligible counties should see support to set up high-tech industrial parks and agriculture scientific parks, in order to lead local innovation. They were also urged to build convenient and low-cost maker spaces.

Scientific innovation should also be used to aid targeted poverty alleviation, the document said. The State Council encourages poverty-stricken counties to develop characteristic industries by strengthening the application and promotion of advanced and mature technologies.

Local authorities are asked to firmly implement supportive policies, such as tax preference for high-tech companies and enterprises R&D investment.

The State Council also urged the promotion of education in science and technology training, to popularize and publicize scientific thoughts and methods.

While promoting progress of local innovation, the document also stressed public service development in counties, such as air-pollution prevention, soil remediation, water protection and efficient resource use.
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Premier Li Keqiang called for healthy, stable development of relations between China and Germany while meeting with Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on May 24 in Beijing.

Gabriel is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the high-level China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue.

Premier Li said the China-Germany relationship is of positive significance for both nations, Europe and even the entire world.

At the invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Premier Li will pay an official visit to Germany for their annual meeting. He said he hoped his visit will enhance political mutual trust, tap the cooperation potential of mutual benefits, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

As uncertain and unstable factors are still prominent in current global political and economic situations, the Premier said he hoped his meeting with Merkel will send a strong signal for supporting economic globalization and free trade, maintaining regional peace and stability, and promoting prosperous development.

Premier Li stressed that, by respecting each others core interests and major concerns, China is willing to join efforts with Germany to address differences, and promote in-depth development of bilateral relations and pragmatic cooperation to bring more benefits to people from both nations.

Gabriel said that Germany and China enjoy solid relations, which should be cherished by both sides. As this year is an important milestone in the bilateral relationship, marking 45 years of diplomatic ties, both nations carried out frequent high-level exchanges, which have offered important opportunities for further cooperation.

The success of the first meeting of the China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue has opened a new chapter for bilateral exchanges and cooperation, Gabriel added.

He said Germany looks forward to Premier Lis visit, and is willing to expand cooperation in various fields to promote bilateral ties to a new high and work together to build a world of free trade.
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Nine people were arrested in an alligator poaching operation that lasted years and uncovered more than 10,000 illegally harvested American alligator eggs.

9 people arrested in FWC gator poaching operation

FWC set up alligator farm, worked with suspects

Uncovered more than 10,000 illegally harvested eggs

Florida Fish and Wildlife officials set up a fully-functioning alligator farm in Arcadia in DeSoto County, with undercover officers living on property.

Over the years, the officers say they met several people dealing in illegally harvested gator eggs and illegally catching gators.

The officers say the illegal eggs and gators were being laundered through certain alligator farms. Some of the defendants even took the officers on hunts and illegally caught and sold gators.

"Many of these suspects were part of a criminal conspiracy, said Maj. Grant Burton, head of the FWCs Investigations Section. Their crimes pose serious environmental and economic consequences. These suspects not only damage Floridas valuable natural resources, they also harm law-abiding business owners by operating black markets that undermine the legal process.

Nine people were arrested for 44 felony violations. But FWC says more arrests may be coming.

You can report suspected violations by calling the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922).

Here are the nine suspects and their charges:

Robert Kelly Albritton (DOB 01/21/1981) of Arcadia

One felony count of Racketeering.

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering.

One felony count of Scheme to Defraud.

Fourteen felony counts of Unlawful Possession of Alligator Eggs/Alligators.

Robert Thomas Beasley (DOB 02/05/1979) of Arcadia

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering.

Six felony counts of Unlawful Possession of Alligator Eggs/Alligators.

David Wentworth Nellis (DOB 10/10/1943) of Punta Gorda

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering.

One felony count of Uttering a Forged Instrument.

One felony count of Unlawful Possession of Alligator Eggs.

Carl Wayne Pickle Jr. (DOB 12/22/1969) of Arcadia

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering.

Four felony counts of Unlawful Possession of Alligator Eggs/Alligators.

Wayne Andrew Nichols (DOB 07/15/1975) of Arcadia

Three felony counts of Unlawful Possession of Alligators.

One felony count of Unlawful Killing of White Ibis.

One first-degree misdemeanor count of Attempting to Take White Ibis.

Christopher Lee Briscall (DOB 01/28/1995) of Fort Denaud

One felony count of Unlawful Possession of Alligators.

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Stolen Property.

Matthew Edward Evors (DOB 10/20/1992) of Cape Coral

One felony count of Unlawful Possession of Alligators.

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Stolen Property.

Isaiah Joseph Romano (DOB 12/17/1994) of Fort Denaud

One felony count of Unlawful Possession of Alligators.

One felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Stolen Property.

Jacob Oliver Bustin-Pitts (DOB 11/11/1993) of Fort Denaud
By the end of 2017, China will secure the full delivery of a three-year, 18 million new homes development program for rundown urban areas across the country.

The matter was deliberated at a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on May 24.

Premier Li called for greater efforts to get all pieces of the preparations together. He defined the campaign as a major component of supply-side structural reform and a strong push to improve quality of life and development outlooks.

Our institutional advantages have been demonstrated over the past eight years, as the campaign achieved fruitful outcomes and a set of good practices, he said.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the government invested 1.48 trillion yuan ($ 217 billion) in 2016 to build 6.06 million new homes for shantytown redevelopment, 60,000 more than last years target. In 2015, the number was 6.01 million.

In his Government Work Report delivered in March, the Premier vowed to revamp 6 million housing units for shantytown redevelopment this year and to continue to develop rental housing and other forms of government-subsidized housing. He also promised better delivery of financial compensation combining multiple means for relocated families while improving infrastructure and public services to raise living standards.

From January to April this year, China had completed 36 percent of the years goal by starting construction on 2.19 million housing units.

The meeting on May 24 decided to make solid progress in new redevelopment projects in quality and in speed on par with last year. New phases of existing projects are to be finished as early as possible.

More relocated families will get compensation in monetary form, especially in third- and fourth-tier cities, to help sell inventories of residential complexes. Amenities and public services such as schools and hospitals will be improved to nurture a good environment for relocated families.

Meanwhile, fund management will be strengthened to control costs as local governments will be urged to make the best of earmarks and prevent embezzlement.

Premier Li urged ensuring construction quality, supporting facilities and housing allocations. We want the families that move into their new homes to enjoy their new lives as early as possible, he said.

A follow-up plan will be made to grant stronger support in funding, financing and adequate supply of land for the shantytown redevelopment program from 2018 to 2020, the last step to build new homes for about 100 million people living in shantytowns and urban villages.

Shantytown redevelopment has played a bolstering role in economic growth by boosting investment and consumption, including household appliances, and has improved living conditions.

Premier Li called for efforts to keep the projects, new and old, ahead of schedule, so that families can move into new homes sooner.

Chinas industrialization and urbanization is a lasting effort. We have many people who are yet to move to the cities and start new lives. We should remain unrelenting in our efforts to live up to the peoples expectations, he said.
An election in Montana is shaken up as one of the candidates is accused of assaulting a reporter just a day before the election. Now, as voters head to the poll on Thursday, it is unclear how this incident could affect the election.

Republican candidate Greg Gianforte is accused of body slamming reporter

Audio record is said to capture incident

Unknown how this will impact Thursday's election

Campaign claims that reporter acted aggressive towards Gianforte first

It's a moment caught on an audio recorder.

Republican candidate Greg Gianforte in Montana's special congressional election has been charged with a misdemeanor assault after the way he allegedly responded to a reporter asking him about the GOP health care bill.



In the audio, a loud noise is heard followed by Gianforte yelling, "I'm sick and tired of you guys."

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The reporter, Ben Jacobs who works for the Guardian, went to Twitter after the incident posting:

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses  Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017

A Fox News crew says they witnessed the encounter. Alicia Acuna said she saw Gianforte grab Jacobs "by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him."

"To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte," Acuna wrote.

However, Gianforte's campaign said that Jacobs was showing "aggressive behavior" and that the candidate attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face.

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions," the campaign said. "Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ," the campaign stated.

Jacobs did contact authorities and the Gallatin County Sheriffs Office stated that it had "completed its investigation and that Gianforte had been issued with a charge of misdemeanour assault," reported the Guardian.



Three local newspapers in that area have since pulled their endorsements of Gianforte.

However, it is unclear what type of impact this could have on the election's outcome on Thursday.

According to CNN, both Republicans and Democrats expect that 7 in 10 voters will have already voted before the polls open today from absentee ballots.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called on Gianforte to "immediately withdraw his candidacy after his alleged violent assault of an innocent journalist."

They also called for House Speaker Paul Ryan and the National Republican Campaign Committee to denounce the candidate and apologize.
A University of Central Florida student is under arrest for using a school computer without permission to give himself a passing grade in an engineering class.

UCF student Sami Ammar accused of changing grade from F to B

Engineering professor said he turned in one assignment all semester

Police are trying to talk to another subject

Earlier this month a professor was alerted about a grade change for one of his courses. When he checked the list he found the grade for Sami Adel Ammar, 21, of Windermere, had been changed from an "F" to a "B."

The professor said it caught his attention because Ammar had turned in just one assignment all semester and it wasn't even for a grade, it was an assignment to prove he was enrolled in the class so he could get financial aid.

UCF police said surveillance video showed Ammar and another person were seen entering a room in the Mathematical Science Building. A check of the IP address for the computer used to change the grade showed it was located in that room.

Police say Ammar was uncooperative when he was questioned. A warrant was issued for his arrest Wednesday, and he turned himself in to the Orange County Jail Thursday afternoon. He's also been barred from setting foot on any UCF campus.

Police are still trying to get in touch with the second suspect, but have been told he is currently in California.

The crime Ammar is being charged with, accessing a computer electronic device with knowledge that such action is unauthorized, is a felony.
CHESHIRE  A Memorial Day ceremony at Cheshire High School Thursday focused on two school graduates who died in Vietnam.



John Gravil, a 1965 CHS graduate, was killed at age 20 in Vietnam in 1967. Gary Richards, a 1961 graduate, died the same year in Vietnam at age 24.



Will Caron, a high school junior, assembled pictures, flags and Purple Heart medals awarded to the two soldiers families for a display at the school. The work was part of Carons Eagle Scout project and the items were displayed at the ceremony Thursday.



It struck me how young these two men were when they lost their lives and how they never had a chance to live their lives, Caron said.



Bob Gravil, John Gravils brother, attended the ceremony. He now lives in Florida.



I wanted to personally thank everybody who took the time out to be here today, he said.



Classmates of John Gravil and Richards also attended, as well as others who served in the military around the same time. One of the veterans was Dennis Mannion, who joined the Marines, as did John Gravil. Richards was in the Army.



Mannion said he and John Gravil went through much of the same training. John Gravil died during a 14-day battle where Marines assaulted a bunker complex held by Viet Cong soldiers. The Cheshire resident along with 24 other Marines died in the fighting.



That bullet could very well have missed and he could be a 70-year-old man looking back on his life, Mannion said. But fate was unkind to him.



Mannion said John Gravil couldnt be given his life back but we can bring him home through this ceremony.



Don Falk, quartermaster for VFW Post 10052, spoke about Richards. The two served in Vietnam and Falk was familiar with the region just west of Ho Chi Minh City where Richards was killed while returning from a patrol.



At that time it was a tough area, he said.



Lets not forget John and Gary, Falk said. Lets remember, honor and teach.



A school group, Bringing Remembrance to All Veterans Everywhere, helped organize the ceremony. Tim Galvin, BRAVE group advisor, said this years Memorial Day ceremony was different in concentrating on the sacrifice of two Cheshire High School graduates.



It was new to have it with a theme or a focus, Galvin said.



Galvin was also impressed with Carons work on the memorial for Richards and John Gravil.



Were always looking for opportunities for our students to engage in our community. Will has done that, he said.



jbuchanan@recordjournal.com 203-317-2230 Twitter: @JBuchananRJ






BRIDGEPORT (AP)  A Connecticut man has admitted to dealing heroin that is connected to the overdose death of a woman last year.



Thirty-nine-year-old Ramon Killings pleaded guilty to distribution charges Wednesday. He now faces up to 20 years in prison.



According to the U.S. Attorneys office, Killings was arrested in a sting operation last January when undercover investigators purchased heroin from him. Investigators had learned that Killings had sold heroin to the boyfriend of a woman who overdosed and died in December.



He will be sentenced Aug. 16.






HARTFORD  House leaders expressed doubt Wednesday about the gaming expansion bill that cleared the Senate earlier in the day.



House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said they believe their chamber also supports expanding gaming in Connecticut, but not on the terms approved in the Senate early Wednesday morning.



Among the concerns are how the state should go about expanding gaming, and how much it should seek in financial compensation for that decision.



The bill that passed the state Senate cannot pass the state House as currently written, Ritter said.



Democrats have included expanded gaming as a revenue generator in their budget proposal. Wednesdays remarks from Aresimowicz and Ritter demonstrate the obstacles that remain for that to happen.



The Senate voted 24-12 to approve a proposal from the states two tribes allowing them to jointly construct and operate a casino in East Windsor. It would be the third casino in the state, and first to be located off a tribal reservation.



A separate proposal, though, would open up the expansion to bidders interested in building a casino anywhere in the state. Massachusetts used a similar process to award regional licenses for its casinos, including MGMs Springfield facility which is expected to open next year.



The tribes, which have formed the joint venture MMCT, say they need to build north of Hartford along Interstate 91 to help mitigate the potential loss of customers to the Springfield casino. The proposed $300 million gaming-only casino would be smaller than their existing resorts.



The state receives 25 percent of gaming revenues from each casino as part of a compact that also gives them exclusivity, a deal that generates just under $260 million. At the casinos peak, the state received over $400 million a year.



Some opponents have raised concerns about whether the states decision to grant MMCT exclusive rights to a casino on state land would be able to stand up to a legal challenge. Its expected that MGM will file a federal lawsuit if the bill passes.



The tribes have pledged to honor the compact even if its deemed invalid, but Attorney General George Jepsen has expressed concern about whether expanding their exclusive right to gaming would violate the equal protection and commerce clauses of the Constitution.



Sen. Len Suzio, R-Meriden, who voted for the bill, said the state will likely see a legal challenge to any gaming expansion, though, and he sees siding with MMCT as the more attractive option.



I just felt that on balance, the arguments in favor of it outweigh the arguments against it, Suzio said.



Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, said hes opposed to the policy of gaming expansion and criticized the argument that the state should allow a third casino as a way to bolster the budget.



I dont think its been a healthy thing for the state, and I think what were getting down to now is a desire to cling to the revenue that weve become dependent on  which is kind of a form of addiction itself, he said.



Others have also come out to oppose expansion on any terms, including a nonpartisan coalition of religious and civic groups.



Aresimowicz said members of his caucus, meanwhile, still have concerns about the bill approved by the Senate, including strong support for an open bid process and some who want protections for the states off-track betting operator. Others think the state should be getting more from MMCT than the terms listed in the bill.



We believe in the House that the exclusivity aspect of expanding gambling in the state of Connecticut is worth something, he said, adding the state could charge an upfront fee.



Under the Senate bill, the state would get 25 percent of all revenues from slot machines and table games.



In order to build a third casino, the tribes would need to amend the existing compact through an agreement with the governor, get approval of that amendment from the U.S. Department of the Interior, and agree to waive their sovereign immunity.



They would then need to come back for a second approval after those conditions are met.



msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino






WESTERLY, Rhode Island  A 15-year-old Westerly High student is facing charges after police said she gave two of her friends tattoos using a makeshift needle while the three were hanging out in the grassy quad area on the high school campus.



Its against state law to tattoo a minor, and a school staff member who spotted the tattoo reported it to school administrators, police said.



A student resource officer at the high school was notified Friday that a student at the high school had been giving her friends tattoos using a homemade needle and ink set, Westerly Police Capt. Shawn Lacey said. The students were questioned and everyone was open and honest about the incident. Everyone was very cooperative.



Police said the three girls had been on the quad earlier in the day when the 15-year-old offered to give the others basic tattoos. She tied a sewing needle to a Popsicle stick and used it with ink to create the permanent tattoos on the girls ages 15 and 16.



Lacey said one of the tattoos was a sun and moon combination, and the other was a semicolon. Officials said the mark is a symbol of Project Semicolon, a faith-based nonprofit that supports people with depression, addiction, and thoughts of self-injury or suicide.



Lacey said the police resource officer at the school had no choice but to file charges, because Rhode Island law states that every person who shall tattoo any minor under the age of 18, except in accordance with subsection (b) for medical purposes, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. There is no definition of a valid medical purpose in the statute.



While the law was aimed at commercial tattoo artists and parlors, Lacey said it was clear that the restrictions must apply to anyone providing tattoos. He said that while the student did not intend to break a law, tattooing without sterilized equipment presents health and safety hazards, besides being a statutory violation.



Lacey said the case remains under investigation and that the department was trying to determine whether other students had practiced tattooing. No further charges are expected, he said.



The girls parents were notified and the case was referred to family court.



Principal Todd Grimes confirmed the police reports, but said he was unable to comment further because the incident was considered a student disciplinary matter.



jvallee@thewesterlysun.com






HARTFORD  A bipartisan group of lawmakers Thursday pushed for the upcoming budget to include a new fee on motor vehicle registration to fund the states parks, forests and fish hatcheries.



In exchange for the $10 fee, Connecticut residents would be granted free parking, and thus free entry, into all state parks and forests as part of a program proponents have called Passports to the Parks.



Proponents say the fee is an attempt to create a new revenue stream dedicated to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and its operation of state parks, particularly because a looming $5 billion deficit over the next two years is forcing lawmakers and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to look for budget cuts.



Its time to do things differently and make sure that our parks thrive throughout the state of Connecticut, said Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme.



Lawmakers decried a lack of upkeep and maintenance already occurring at state parks, as the state only has a few dozen employees to manage 110 state parks and 30 state forests. The state also closed four of its 15 campgrounds this fiscal year, and Malloy has proposed going to passive management for many parks to allow employees to focus on the more popular shoreline parks and state beaches.



Rep. Melissa Ziobron, R-East Haddam, said it was chilling to see every single campsite with grass that was knee high during a recent visit to Rocky Neck State Park.



The governor has encouraged all members of the legislature to bring their ideas to the table, and we appreciate members putting forth the Passport to Parks idea, Chris Collibee, a spokesman for Malloy, said in a statement. As the administration and legislative leaders work through the budget process we will need to give thoughtful consideration to the upside and pitfalls of this idea.



The proposal would generate a projected $10 million, roughly half the $19.2 million spent last year to operate state parks.



Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said that should be enough, though, to make up for cuts and keep parks open from spring through fall.



I think that this is something that we can accomplish, she said, adding she would also like them to remain open in the winter.



Residents would get free parking at all state parks, but would still have to pay any additional fees for activities like camping, which cover additional costs for water and other services. Out-of-state visitors would still be charged parking fees.



Sen. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, said the bill seems to have the least objectionable component when compared with other proposed revenue generators, such as a 5 cent tax on non-reusable shopping bags.



Some people may want to call it a tax, others might call it a user fee, he acknowledged. My constituents are becoming increasingly aggravated with the prospect of not being able to get into public property, or not having it taken care of.



msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino






MERIDEN  Dozens of city and state officials gathered to inaugurate the Archimedes screw hydroelectric generator at Hanover Pond Wednesday afternoon, the first of its kind installed the United States.



This is just a great example of what a public-private partnership should look like, Mayor Kevin Scarpati said at the ceremony. To be the first of its kind here in Meriden, for lack of a better term, its just cool. For Meriden to lead the way and to lead as an example in this mission is just an honor.



The generator utilizes the 2,000-year-old technology of ancient Greek scientist Archimedes, producing power by siphoning water from the top of the Hanover Pond dam and down the screw, turning it with gravity.



The $2.5 million project funded by New England Hydropower Company and Connecticut Green Bank, included importing a 20-ton, 35-foot long steel screw from Holland and lifting it via crane into a concrete shell constructed at the dam. The screw began generating electricity in February. The turbine, installed in late December 2016, is expected to generate 900,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually for Meriden under an agreement with the city. The agreement is expected to save the city $20,000 a year in power costs and property taxes over 20 years.



It is not in its own a massive amount of power, but it is a slice of the renewable energy pie which we hope to grow, New England Hydropower Company CEO Michael Kerr said at the ribbon cutting ceremony.



Connecticut Green Bank Chief Information Officer Bert Hunter spoke of the financing process, cracking a joke at the screws namesake.



If Archimedes had lived in a different time, we might have called it an I-Pump, Hunter said.



Aside from the dams environmental appeal, State Treasurer Denise Nappier noted the technology could prove a wise investment in the state, noting sustainability and economic interests are two sides of the same coin.



This project is a source of energy that is green, Nappier said. Let me be honest with you, when I talk about keeping it green, Im talking about a return on the states investment.



State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Mary Sotos praised the projects thoughtful inclusion of a passage for migrating fish in addition to minimal impact on the long-polluted waterway.



Here we have energy that is pollution free, Sotos said. Its a positive reuse of this site that has this industrial history.



After the ceremony, dozens of curious onlookers had the chance to enter the facility and gaze at the massive screw as it churned in its cement nest with incredible noise.



ltauss@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ






WALLINGFORD  Students at E.C. Stevens School paraded around the halls wearing red foam noses on Thursday to raise awareness and money for child poverty.



As part of national Red Nose Day on Thursday, students brought in a dollar to purchase a red nose. The proceeds go to helping end child poverty.



Red Nose Day is an international campaign to raise money and awareness for disadvantaged children.



Stevens teachers Maria Marcarelli and Michele Avery came up with the idea to have children participate in the campaign last year as a way to teach them empathy and social consciousness.



We find at times that some of the students arent aware of what empathy is, Marcarelli said. We wanted to do a fundraiser to teach the kids to have empathy for others who dont have what they have.



To illustrate conditions that some other children face, Marcarelli showed her second grade class a video of musician Ed Sheeran visiting children in Liberia that had very poor living conditions. The video was created as a promotion for Red Nose Day.



I felt bad because they dont have what we have, second-grader Holt Pantaleo said.



I explained to my kids this morning that not every school has crayons and markers and their jaws dropped, Marcarelli said. Some kids go to school on dirt floors. (The students) have no concept of that outside their bubble and I think they should because it creates more empathy.



The nonprofit organization Comic Relief first launched the Red Nose Day campaign in the United Kingdom in 1988. The campaign was launched in America in 2015. People buy the red noses for $1, which goes to childrens charities.



In three years, Red Nose Day has taken off in America partially because several celebrities post pictures of themselves wearing red noses on social media. The campaign has raised $60 million in America since 2015, according to USA Today.



Marcarelli and Avery started the Red Nose Day tradition at Stevens last year by having their own classes purchase and wear the foam noses. This year, the whole K-2 school participated in the campaign, raising about $200.



Its really about giving money to charity because some people dont have food and they dont have any money, said Leah Tomaszewsk, a second-grader in Marcarellis class.



We learned that you should use everything you can because some kids dont have anything, said Lola Schumacher, a second-grader in Marcarellis class. I learned that you cant just say you want stuff because some kids are happy that they actually have clothes.



Marcarelli and Avery said they hope to spread the tradition next year to Pond Hill, which is Stevens sister school with grades 3-5.



mzabierek@record-journal.com 203-317-2279 Twitter: @MatthewZabierek






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Rackspace Hosting signed an agreement to acquire application management company TriCore Solutions for an undisclosed sum, the company announced Thursday.

The deal is expected to close in June, according to a news release, and will allow Rackspace to provide expertise and support for the mission-critical enterprise applications that companies use to manage core functions such as manufacturing, logistics, procurement, supply chain management, customer service, human resources and financial operations, according to the news release.

Its services include, in particular, application management of enterprise resource planning solutions from Oracle and SAP SE.

RELATED: Rackspace taps EarthLink's Eazor to replace Rhodes as CEO

Rackspace declined to disclose financial details about the deal, but calls it the largest in Rackspace history in terms of personnel and dollar amount, according to a Rackspace spokesperson.

Our customers are asking us to move further up the stack by expanding our managed application capabilities, said Jeff Cotten, president and interim CEO of Rackspace, in a statement. TriCores services are among the best in that space and are highly complementary to ours. They will help enable us to deliver more of the services that our existing customers need, while opening the door to new opportunities across the globe.

TriCore, headquartered in Norwell, Mass., offers to enterprises application management, infrastructure and cloud hosting, and consulting services.

RELATED: Former Rackspace CEO heads to Chicago

The company will deliver services on infrastructure in any location the customer chooses, according to the news release, including out of one of its own data centers, or a data center run by a provider like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure.

All of the TriCore employees will continue to work out of their current locations, according to the release. Most of the companys 158 U.S.-based employees work in Norwell, Mass., and others work in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The company also has another 335 employees who work in India.

TriCore has about 275 managed service customers including Arbys Restaurant Group and Kelly-Moore Paints, according to the news release.

The announcement follows a series of changes Rackspace has undergone in the past year. Rackspace said in August 2016 it was being acquired by New York private equity firm Apollo Global Management in a deal valued at $4.3 billion.

RELATED: Losses at JC Penney double, sales slide, as do shares

About six months after that sale, then-CEO Taylor Rhodes said he was leaving the company.

And Wednesday, Rackspace announced that its board of directors had appointed Joe Eazor from EarthLink Holdings Corp. to replace Taylor Rhodes as the companys new CEO, effective on June 12.

Eazor served most recently as CEO of dial-up internet service pioneer EarthLink until he led the companys sale this year to Windstream Holdings, Inc.

In a blog post Wednesday, Eazor touted Rackspaces early lead in the managed cloud space.

Ive worked for some of the old giants like HP, and theyre too tied to the legacy ways of doing things to lead in this new era, Eazor wrote. Rackspace, in contrast, is purpose built for it. My goal here is to build on that foundation and make Rackspace the worlds preeminent IT-services company.

sehlinger@express-news.net

Twitter: @samehlinger
Natural gas has been something of a stepchild in the 400-mile Eagle Ford Shale oil field, but its having a moment.

With Mexicos natural gas production on the decline  even as Mexican demand for natural gas is surging  Texas companies operating in the southernmost part of the Eagle Ford near Laredo are drilling natural gas wells so they can sell the product across the border.

Since 2010, Webb Countys gas production has soared from around 100 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to around 2 billion cubic feet per day today. Eight drilling rigs are working in Webb County, up from about three this time last year.

Brandon Seale, president of Howard Energy Mexico, said it doesnt make sense for Mexico to rush to drill its own shale gas, even though it has its vast reserves.

Seale spoke Wednesday at the second annual Mexico Gas Summit at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio, on the first of a two-day conference delving into the details of Mexicos energy reform.

A big issue is the declining production in Mexico, Seale said. Realistically, its probably going to keep happening, and why not?

He said the South Texas market is among the most prolific, liquid and cheapest gas markets in the world.

Theres no reason that Mexico should be chasing natural gas with a drill bit when they can buy it at the border for a lot cheaper, he said.

Bill Deupree, CEO of Escondido Resources, said its not hugely profitable, but it makes economic sense to drill for gas in the southern part of the Eagle Ford. Webb County has long been a big natural gas producer, mostly from formations like the Olmos and Escondido sandstones. The deeper Eagle Ford is a more recent target.

I think youre going to see a lot of things coming into Mexico from this part of the trend, Deupree said. Weve been quietly drilling in the Eagle Ford.

The first Eagle Ford wells in 2008 and 2009 were gas wells. Companies later abandoned gas en masse, and started chasing the more profitable crude oil and other liquids. In much of the Eagle Ford, natural gas has been burned off as an unwanted byproduct.

The shale formation extends across the border, too, and Mexico has its own shale reserves, which have been the subject of speculation as the country opens its oil and gas fields to outside investment for the first time since the 1930s. Mexicos state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, controlled nearly every aspect of the nations oil production and distribution since 1938, but Mexican officials decided in 2013 to end the monopoly.

Thomas Tunstall, economic development research director with the University of Texas at San Antonio, who moderated a panel at the conference, asked participants about infrastructure for Mexican shale. Its prospective shale fields are in rural, remote areas where theres been little oil and gas activity over the decades.

A lot of people wonder what kind of timeline were looking at for pipelines and housing and roads and those kinds of issues Tunstall said.

Its a difficult question. I would say 10 years, said Hector Moreira Rodriguez, a commissioner with Mexicos National Hydrocarbons Commission. To really open the areas is going to take time.

Part of the infrastructure would include bringing in more services companies  the ones that supply equipment and do all the workaday tasks of the oil field  and training a workforce.

Mexicos shale fields produce more gas than oil, and oil projects are more profitable right now and drawing most of the international investment dollars.

I would love it if it would develop now, but I dont see it, Tunstall said.

Until Mexico can get through the years-long processing of increasing its own oil and gas production, imports will fill the gap.

Last year, Mexico imported 53 percent of the natural gas that it used, mostly from Texas, said Daniela Flores Ramirez, deputy general director of planning for natural gas and petrochemicals with Mexicos Ministry of Energy.

Imported liquified natural gas is covering the gaps between what Mexico can bring into the country by pipeline from the U.S. or produce itself.

Flores said LNG imports are cost-competitive now and expected to get cheaper with time. For Mexico, the LNG acts as a backstop to prevent supply interruptions.

LNG import terminals also help Mexico solve another problem  natural gas storage.

We have no storage, Flores said. The only real storage is LNG.

The country is trying to build out its pipeline and storage infrastructure for all sorts of hydrocarbons.

In February, it held the first annual auction for import pipelines. Theres a need for more  what was auctioned in February can serve about 3 percent of the countrys demand, which is growing each year because of population growth and increasing demand from industry, Flores said.

jhiller@express-news.net

Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller
San Antonio-based iHeartMedia Inc.s financial troubles deepened as the company extended the deadline  for a fifth time  on a $14.6 billion distressed debt exchange offer after few investors showed interest and those who did started backing out of the deal.

The deadline, which was scheduled to expire Friday, was extended to June 9 at 4 p.m.

The company said it needs more time to negotiate with investors and lenders on a debt restructuring plan. If executives cannot get an agreement, the company will likely have to file for bankruptcy, the company has previously said. iHeartMedia had $20.4 billion in outstanding debt as of March 31.

People who tendered backed out, said Patrice Cucinello, an analyst for Fitch Ratings in New York. The noteholders are not receptive to the offer.

The loss of investor interest doesnt give much comfort to the possibility of a successful debt exchange, she said.

iHeartMedia recently hired Goldmans Sachs Group Inc., joining two other advisers, Moelis & Co. and Kirkland & Ellis, to help mediate negotiations, corporate debt research firm Debtwire reported.

Goldman Sachs was brought in to as a new adviser to set down and talk with the bondholders and lenders to see is there is some creative way to get to a solution, said Seth Crystall, Debtwire senior credit analyst.

The addition of Goldman Sachs may help with negotiations, said Cucinello. Fitch said in an April 25 report that iHeartMedia probably will have to file for bankrutcy.

The radio and billboard giant is trying to refinance about $8.3 billion in bonds and about $6 billion in loans. The debt-exchange terms call for various discounts on the debt and pushes out maturities by two years.

iHeartMedia reported two weeks ago that 1.1 percent of the $8.3 billion in a series of priority guarantee notes and bonds due 2021, or $86.7 million, had been tendered. But the company said Thursday that the tendered amount has since fallen to about $47.1 million, or 0.6 percent, of the notes and bonds.

The company declined to comment on the decline in the tendered amount.

The company didnt change the terms of debt exhange from earlier this month as discussions between iHeartMedia and the debt holders continue. The company tried to sweeten the deal for investors since it was first announced March 15, but with little results.

Its apparent there is not an adequate offer for an agreement, Crystall said. People pull their bonds out. Theres been no changes in the terms, so the company is not getting anyone else out there. The company is not giving up. Theres always at chance something will happen.

Theres no hurry. No catalyst to have it done. But obviously, the offer will have to change, Crystall added.

The company has $316.5 million in debt maturing this year, $324.2 million in 2018 but $8.4 billion in 2019. The company had $365 million in cash as of March 31. iHeart warned last month that it might not last until February as a going concern.

iHeartMedia has generated negative cash flow over the past two years, meaning that it is spending more money servicing its debt and on other expenses than its generating. And this year will be no different, the company said.

iHeartMedia employs roughly 19,500 workers and owns more than 850 radio stations in 150 U.S. markets. It also owns 90 percent of billboard giant Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. in San Antonio. iHeartMedia has seven stations locally, including WOAI-AM and FM stations 96.1 KXXM top 40 and 101.9 KQXT soft rock.

Subsidiary iHeartCommunications distributes radio shows for big personalities, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Steve Harvey and Ryan Seacrest.

dhendricks@express-news.net
Oil fell below $50 after OPEC stuck to the most predictable outcome at a meeting in Vienna.

Futures closed 4.8 percent lower in New York as the Saudi Arabian-led group and its allies delivered only what had already been telegraphed for days: an agreement to extend output cuts for nine months, without deepening them or saying what will happen after March 2018.

The Saudis have been trying to put a happy face on this thing, said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. But this is all they could get, and thats disappointing to the market.

Oil has rebounded from its plunge below $44 a barrel earlier this month as U.S. stockpiles  one of the most critical indicators of the global supply glut  have fallen for the past seven weeks. But the inventories remain stubbornly above a five-year average as shale drillers add rigs every week and American production keeps rising.

At a press conference in Vienna, Saudi Arabias Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said he hopes U.S. shale producers will moderate their growth. He said he sees no conflict between OPEC and shale, noting that oil demand growth is picking up.

West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell $2.46 to settle at $48.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was 70 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent for July settlement slipped $2.50 to $51.46 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that theres not much concern about todays crude price fall, and sees oil averaging $55 to $60 a barrel this year. Al-Falih also downplayed the drop, saying he doesnt worry about the markets knee-jerk reactions.

But the nine-month extension was already priced into the market, so investors need to know what OPECs strategy is afterward, said Ebele Kemery, head of energy investing at JPMorgan, on Bloomberg TV.

To get price stability, we need to know what the endgame is, she said, alluding to a forecast of oversupply in 2018. Without clear messaging around an exit strategy, market volatility will continue, Kemery said.

The curbs are working, and prolonging the deal through March will do the trick, Al-Falih said before the meeting. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will empower its monitoring committee to recommend further interventions if needed, Al-Falih said. Libya and Nigeria, which have boosted output since the curbs started in January, will continue to be exempt from production cuts, he said.

Its all gone as expected, Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York, said by telephone. This is a rollover of existing cuts with no changes, so it makes sense to stick to your positions.
An oil and gas economy that has boomed for the better part of 15 years has generated significant business activity in the region.

Not all of that activity is on the up-and-up, however, and thats where the FBI comes in.

From theft to white collar crime, intellectual property theft to counterterrorism, agents from the bureaus El Paso division team with area law enforcement agencies and businesses to investigate.

We want to get the word out, were here and were here to help, said Andi Simmons, special agent in the FBIs Midland office in the Dinero Plaza building.

She said the El Paso division covers 17 West Texas counties, and the Midland office covers 14 of those counties, spanning Andrews and Martin counties south to the border. The El Paso office focuses on El Paso, Culberson and Hudspeth counties.

Businesses of any size within that 14-county region may contact the bureau with questions or concerns, she said.

Part of the FBIs local operations is the Permian Basin Oil Field Theft Task Force, which works with sheriffs deputies from Midland, Ector and Reeves counties to combat theft.

Simmons said the task force investigates thefts of crude oil, large items such as generators and pumping units, as well as smaller items such as tools and copper wiring.

After recording a decline alongside the fall in crude prices, she said thefts of crude oil recently have been on the upswing, with quite a few companies in Midland, Reeves and Glasscock counties reporting thefts. Since the end of March, 5,000 barrels of crude have been reported stolen. Based on $45-a-barrel oil, this crude has a value of about $225,000, she said.

While FBI agents may leave the theft investigations to local police departments or sheriffs offices, Simmons said they do keep apprised of whats happening. A main reason is to look for patterns that indicate the thefts are due to an organized crime ring, she said. Other thefts may simply be thefts of convenience, with employees stealing items that can be quickly converted to cash to pay for a drug habit, for example, she said.

Sometimes the bureaus involvement can result in a stronger criminal case. Simmons cited the recent arrest of 10 Cuban nationals who were charged with stealing credit card numbers and using those numbers to create gift cards used to purchase diesel fuel, which they sold to others. They face federal prison terms for access device fraud and aggravated identify theft.

At the time the task force was founded in 2008, it was the first of its kind. The Oklahoma City division recently added what Simmons called a quasi-task force as part of its overall major theft task force.

The bureau also looks into white collar crime, whether its overbilling a company, submitting falsified invoices or embezzlement. According to Simmons, her office saw an upswing in white collar reports beginning in late 2014 as the industry slowed down and companies had time to perform audits and discovered the crimes.

As oil prices go up, we anticipate less white collar crime being reported, not because it isnt happening but its not being reported by busy companies, she said.

She serves as a sort of bridge between the criminal side of the work and the counterintelligence-counterterrorism side of the work, she said, which can encompass intellectual property theft or computer hacking and malware attacks.

From where we sit, the Permian Basin has such significant infrastructure, and companies have proprietary information, and there are things happening here other countries would like to have, she said.

As such, the area frequently attracts visitors from other producing nations, either seeking to make business deals or study technology used in the oil fields that they could replicate in their homeland.

Simmons advised being wary of suspicious requests for information or visitors who take pictures of unusual items.

People in the Permian Basin are very trusting and helpful, and unfortunately there is a small percentage of people who want to take advantage of that, whether its a foreign country or a trusted employee, Simmons said.

Agents regularly meet with the security personnel of local large companies to share information, she said. But she said information sharing shouldnt be limited to large companies that can afford security departments.

Even the smallest of companies are urged to contact the FBI if they have questions or concerns. Reach out and we can help determine whether or not its an issue, she said.
THE WOODLANDS -- More than 500 guests recently came together to support a serious topic as Children's Safe Harbor held its 11th annual dinner fundraiser at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel.

Themed "Betting On Courage  Under The Big Top," the event raised $325,000 for the child advocacy center that serves children ages 2-18 who have the courage to battle sexual abuse or severe physical abuse.

The event began with the National Anthem sung by 11-year-old Haily Strozier. Following a warm welcome from Victoria Constance, MSPH, PhD, executive director of Children's Safe Harbor, and Sgt. Dwight Johnson, president of the board, gala chairs Mary Neskora and Sally Toppe were honored for their exceptional years of volunteerism and service to our community. Neskora has been the co-chair for this event for 11 years; and Toppe has worked on the committee for eight years and has been a co-chair for the past three years.

Under their leadership, the gala has consistently expanded awareness in the community by growing the individuals and companies who support the mission of Children's Safe Harbor and by increasing financial revenue every year.

Nationally recognized guest speaker Erin Merryn, whose presence was underwritten by Consolidated Communications, is a survivor of childhood sexual assault. She has taken this horrific experience and transformed her life by being an author, activist, speaker, wife, mother and the force behind Erin's Law, which requires sexual abuse prevention education in schools in 26 states to date. Texas is one of the states that support Erin's Law. She is featured in the TLC documentary "Breaking the Silence" and is author of "Stolen Innocence," "Living For Today" and "An Unimaginable Act." Merryn was named Woman of The Year by Glamour Magazine in 2012 and has been named by People Magazine a HEROES Among Us and one of 15 women changing the world.

During her inspirational speech, Merryn shared that statistics continue to suggest that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.

"Ninety-three percent of the perpetrators are someone the child knows and trusts," Merryn said. "It's the silent epidemic that often doesn't get talk about."

Children's Safe Harbor offers specialized services to traumatized children and their families on a centralized campus facility. Children are able to share their experiences of abuse through a unique narrative investigation process called a forensic interview. Specialized medical evaluations and weekly individual, family and group counseling services are all available at no cost to the child victims and their non-offending family members. As a nationally accredited nonprofit organization serving Montgomery, San Jacinto and Walker counties, it is part of a nationwide effort to protect and enhance the life of every child who has the courage to battle sexual or severe physical abuse by healing the trauma of abuse and facilitating justice for children and their families.

According to Dr. Constance, the central component of the 2017 gala was the continued support of the capital campaign which will fuel the construction of a critically-needed 40, 000 square foot new facility on 17 acres of land in Conroe.

April, was National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month.

Gala director was Cliff McAden; and the committee included Greg Anderson, Susan Becker, Catherine Canavan, Molly Carlson, Jennifer Dosescu, Dana Falloon, Bryan Frenchak, Andi Fry, Liz Grimm, Christine Guidot, Amanda Hill, Cindy Irwin, Yvonne Lee, Ali May, Vicki McShan, Kim Pedercini, Kimberly Richardson, Marina Silver, Julie Verville, Kelsi Walker and Holly Wright.

For more information, visit www.ChildrensSafeHarbor.org.
A man was found stabbed to death on a path in Bernal Heights Park in San Francisco on Thursday morning and police were searching the area for his killer, officials said.

A jogger in the park discovered the body and called police at about 5:30 a.m., said Sgt. Michael Andraychak of the San Francisco Police Department.

Officers responded and found a male victim. He was suffering from apparent stab wounds, Andraychak said.

Paramedics went to the scene and declared the victim, who was stabbed multiple times, dead.

Detectives began a homicide investigation and police fanned out in the park searching for the killer. No arrests were immediately made.

Residents taking morning walks or jogs in the park were stunned to see police cars lining Bernal Heights Boulevard, the main road leading into the park.

As a medical-examiner van drove under crime-scene tape at the intersection of Bernal Heights Boulevard and Anderson Street, residents of the neighborhood cautiously tried to continue with their morning routines. People changed their jogging routes to avoid the crime scene, running away from the park. Others climbed hills that surround the area, taking in the view that overlooks San Francisco.

A 42-year-old man who has lived down the street from the park for more than a year came out at 6 a.m. to walk his dog and found crime-scene tape was already up and the homicide investigation under way.

This is a really popular park, he said. Im amazed that something like this would happen.

Anyone with information on the slaying should call the San Francisco Police Department at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
CHICAGO  The Giants were concerned enough about a new blister on Johnny Cuetos index finger to discuss replacing him from Tuesday nights start, manager Bruce Bochy said, adding the staff will check with him in a couple of days to see if he can make his start Sunday against Atlanta.

Bochy reluctantly acknowledged that for now, a decision on Cueto will be made start by start.

Were hoping he gets over the hump with this and hes not dealing with it all year, Bochy said.

Cueto has had a blister on his middle finger all season but that has improved. With the new blister on the index finger, Cueto pitched with reduced velocity and movement against the Cubs and allowed three homers in a 4-1 loss.

Cueto does not want to go on the disabled list, as others with blisters have this season, including the Blue Jays Aaron Sanchez and Dodgers Rich Hill. Cueto believes that not pitching will only worsen the blisters by not allowing them to get callused.

Its not a case where were pushing him, Bochy said. He wants to pitch.

Returnees: The Giants will have a host of roster decisions on the next homestand, which begins Friday. Infielders Conor Gillaspie (back spasms) and Aaron Hill (forearm strain) likely will come off the disabled for this weekends series against the Braves.

I see them helping us out soon, Bochy said.

Right fielder Hunter Pence (hamstring strain) is about a week away. Bochy expects Pence to play in minor-league games before his activation.

The first move might be sending down a pitcher to restore a seven-man bullpen and five-man bench when one of the injured players returns. Left-hander Josh Osich is most at risk because he has minor-league options, as does outfielder Mac Williamson.

Shaw advancing: The Giants promoted their top power-hitting prospect, outfielder Chris Shaw, to Triple-A Sacramento after he batted .301 with a .901 OPS in his second partial season at Double-A Richmond.

With his bat, you pay attention, and hes drawing attention, general manager Bobby Evans said.

The Giants drafted Shaw, 23, out of Boston College with their second pick in 2015. You can read more about his promotion and other Giants minor-league news here.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

On deck

Thursday

at Cubs

11:20 a.m. NBCSBA

Samardzija (1-5) vs. Butler (1-0)

Friday

vs. Braves

7:15 p.m. NBCSBA

Garcia (1-3) vs.

Cain (3-2)

Saturday

vs. Braves

7:05 p.m. Channel: 11

Foltynewicz (3-4) vs. Blach (2-2)

Leading off

Estes anniversary: Tuesday marked the 17th anniversary of an 18-0 Giants victory over Montreal, a complete game for Shawn Estes, who also hit a grand slam.

 Henry Schulman
Who is a hero? What sort of deed makes someone a hero?

As this column is being written, we are mourning the death of a San Antonio firefighter. I, like many other people, am in awe of anyone who will go into a burning building to save the life of someone else regardless of the danger, then dismiss praise by saying, Thats my job.

On Memorial Day, we visit the graves of our war heroes. We are awed by acres of white marble tombstones standing as if at attention and engraved with names of men and women who served in the military, have performed acts of astounding bravery and then dismissed praise for heroism saying, I just did what I was trained to do, or He was my buddy.

For me, its easy to understand a parent dashing into a burning building to save a child or a friend jumping into a frozen river to rescue a drowning buddy.

But when I think of the many people who dedicate their lives to the service of people they dont even know, I am truly awed.

Military service often involves going into battle to defend the citizens of countries that either didnt exist or couldnt easily be found on a map during the heroes school days.

Police officers and firefighters never know exactly what they will face when they go off on a call.

Firefighters have to cope when wind shifts change directions of forest fires or buildings collapse, to name just a few of the dangers. Any traffic stop a police officer makes could be as life-threatening as a call to quell violence.

And yet there are women and men who voluntarily choose dangerous work that involves putting the safety of others before their own.

We often read about military or community safety service being the family business for several generations of some families and that many who complete military service choose community safety services as a second career.

Belatedly, the families of our heroes are getting acknowledgement.

They are the spouses, children and other relatives who worry every time their military person goes off to a foreign war or peacekeeping mission, or their firefighters and police officers go off to their daily work shifts.

In travel stops at small U.S. cities, we find monuments erected to honor heroes who have died in wars. Too often we see names of several members in the same family engraved on the flag pole plaques and can only imagine the grief the families must have felt.

What makes someone a hero? Heroes need not have died in performance of their chosen duties. I think the very act of choosing to serve country or community, when that service means putting your life on the line daily, makes you a hero.

In view of their sacrifices, few words adequately express appreciation to our heroes but, at the very least, we need say, Thank you for your service, more often.

Write to Marcy Meffert at P.O. Box 680262, Leon Valley, TX 78268 or e-mail mameffert@yahoo.com Subscribers can go online for current and previous columns at www.expressnews.com/author/marcy-meffert
The developers of the Pearl are taking a leap of faith with the Cellars, a 10-story luxury apartment building thats introducing new heights of opulence  and pricing  to the San Antonio rental market.

Silver Ventures executives are confident San Antonio is ready for the 122-unit complex, which includes the most expensive apartment in the city, despite not doing much research to see whether the market can support such high rents.
It may not be the cutest dog in the world, but that's not stopping social media users from plastering its ugly mug all over the Internet.

The pooch in question has come to be known as 'Chilaquil,' based on the Facebook comment that appears to have sparked the dog's widespread popularity.
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Members of "AYCO Community Works" volunteered at the St. John's/St. Anne's Welcome Table in Albany's South End on May 15, serving meals to more than 100 clients. The soup kitchen is a program of Catholic Charities. Seen here are AYCO team members as well as Sister Betsy van Deusen, front row, second from left, community partnership director for Catholic Charities; and Din Cahill, back row, second from left, former AYCO employee and current member of Catholic Charities' Board of Trustees.
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The defense rested its case Wednesday afternoon after a jury heard testimony from a forensic anthropologist who refutes findings that the 3-year-old girls death was a homicide.

Cristian Yepez is standing trial in the 406th District Court on charges of murder and tampering with evidence in relation to the 2014 death and burial of his girlfriends daughter, Jasleen Valdez.

Dr. Jennifer Love, a forensic anthropologist for the defense who specializes in child abuse and pediatric cases, provided testimony Wednesday refuting findings and opinions of the prosecutions expert, Dr. Harrell Gill-King.

Looking at these bones, these bones tell me nothing about how the child died. The only thing these bones tell me is that this child was impacted by earth-moving equipment, Love said.

The prosecution alleges Yepez beat Valdez to death before burying her in a shallow grave in the 7300 block of Springfield Avenue. Laredo police, with assistance from the childs mother, Janette Pantoja, and Houston Police Department detectives, discovered the childs body on Sept. 11, 2014.

READ MORE: Laredo mayor declares city a disaster area in wake of devastating storm

The lot where Valdez was discovered was leveled with earth-moving equipment between the time she was buried and when the body was discovered, according to testimony heard.

In statements made to police, Yepez alleges Valdez fell while on a timeout. Valdez was standing on the arm holder of a sofa with her hands up facing the wall when she fell, Yepez said.

Pantoja provided testimony last week about Yepez locking her inside a motel bathroom where she began to panic and yell for someone to open the door. Shortly thereafter, Yepez allegedly came rushing into the bathroom with Valdez unconscious in his arms.

According to the motels manager, there was a mechanical error with the bathrooms doorknob that caused the door to automatically lock if it was closed. The door only opened from the outside.

Love testified that the fracture pattern Valdezs skull sustained is not consistent with a fall off a sofa or being punched multiple times. Rather, the fracture pattern most closely represents a childs head being run over by a vehicle, she said.

If a child was struck by a fist, a large number of independent impact sites would be visible with fractures radiating out of a point of impact  something that isnt present on Valdezs skull  Love said.

Gill-King, a forensic anthropologist, ruled Valdezs death a homicide while determining her cause of death to be cranial cerebral trauma, meaning a traumatic head injury, and trauma to the chest cage.

In his opening statements, Uriel Druker, who represents Yepez, told the jury that flawed findings from the prosecutions expert witness will insult your common sense.

RELATED: Monterrey murder trial couple allegedly told mother's parents slain child was kidnapped in Laredo

Love said undetermined is the right answer for the manner of Valdezs death. She said it is her opinion that it is not appropriate for a forensic anthropologist to give cause and manner of death.

Valdez sustained 11 or 12 fractures to the skull and three rib fractures, according to evidence and testimony presented.

Gill-King and Love both concur that several fractures on Valdezs skull were caused by earth-moving equipment used to level the lot she was found in.

However, Gill-King claims fractures to the vertex and base of Valdezs skull are indicative of the skull striking an object at a vertical angle, something identified as vertical loading, and not caused by earth-moving equipment.

Love refutes this, saying, In my professional opinion, there are not enough factors to determine vertical loading.

Love also refuted statements made by Gill-King regarding his abilities to determine whether fractures occurred around the time of Valdezs death or after her death, saying science does not support Gill-Kings claim.

Research shows an interval of 28 days between death and the discovery of the remains is too short for bones to react in such a way that you can differentiate between fractures that occurred around the time of death and after death, according to Love.

Valdezs body is estimated to have been buried on Aug. 16, 2014 and wasnt discovered until Sept. 11, 2014, 26 days later.

Based on Gill-Kings findings, the Webb County medical examiner ruled Valdezs death an intentional killing caused from blunt force injuries, the prosecution said.

By the time this trial is over, the evidence will be overwhelming that the defendant murdered Jasleen Valdez, Linda Garza-Martinez, assistant district attorney, said during opening statements.

MORE CRIME: Complaint: Ex-UISD employee knew sex with 16-year-old student was wrong, did it anyway

Throughout the trial, the defense has questioned witnesses about the possibility of Valdezs death being caused by an accidental drowning.

A clerk, Sabrina Settles, from the Monterrey Inn, where Valdez was allegedly killed, testified Monday about witnessing a fight between Yepez and Pantoja during one of her afternoon shifts.

Yepez and Pantoja fought outside the motels lobby before Pantoja came inside requesting to use the phone to call her mother, Settles said.

She said she had seen them in the motels swimming pool about an hour prior to them entering the lobby.

Settles said she became concerned because it just didnt look right.

Pantoja entered the lobby with Valdez in her arms, covered by a blanket, according to Settles, who said the child didnt make a sound and didnt move even though the couple was arguing.

Love said she isnt able to say whether Valdez died from an accident where some sort of trauma occurred to a vital organ or something to that effect.

Pantoja, a cooperating witness in Yepezs trial, also faces charges of murder and tampering with evidence. Her case is being tried separately, meaning Yepez is solely on trial.

The defense rested its case Wednesday afternoon after Loves testimony. However, the prosecution called Dr. Gill-King back for rebuttal testimony. Closing arguments are expected to begin today in the 406th District Court.
WACO -- Texas Farm Bureau is urging Congress to reconsider drastic cuts to agricultural and rural programs outlined in the presidents 2018 budget proposal.

TFB President Russell Boening outlined the organizations concerns in letters to the Texas Congressional Delegation this week.

The proposed budget includes major cuts to vital farm bill programs that help American farmers and ranchers survive whatever Mother Nature and the markets throw at them, Boening, a South Texas farmer and rancher, said. Without these programs, agriculture could face a considerable setback. Millions of Americans would be impacted  from farm workers to grocery store clerks and everyone in between.

The fiscal year 2018 proposed budget, A New Foundation for American Greatness, cuts farm bill spending by $228 billion over 10 years.

About $38 billion of that would come from farm programs.

Agriculture is once again being targeted for cuts. No other sector has faced the budget ax as often or as severely, Boening said. We support a conservative budget, but cuts like these are taking a heavy toll on the industry tasked with feeding American families. Its time the cuts come from somewhere else.

When the 2014 Farm Bill was passed, it was estimated to cut the federal deficit by $23 billion over 10 years. Agriculture was the only sector to voluntarily offer savings.

Boening said it's not reasonable to expect American farmers to compete against the heavily subsidized agriculture of other nations with insufficient risk protection.

The budget calls for nearly 30 percent, or $193 billion, in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and $5.7 billion to conservation programs over 10 years.

The crop insurance program would be cut by $28.5 billion, and Title 1 commodity supports, like Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage, face cuts of nearly $9 billion.

The budget also calls for reducing the adjusted gross income eligibility cap from $900,000 to $500,000.

With agriculture and rural economies struggling and net farm income down 46 percent from three years ago, it would be perilous to make these ill-considered cuts, Boening said. We urge Congress not to pass this proposed budget. It would do significant harm to the farm economy and Texas as a whole.

USDA would also lose more than 5,200 positions nationwide under the budget.

The presidents budget was delivered to Congress earlier this week. Congress will be tasked with writing and passing a budget later this year.

Texans are encouraged to write their congressmen and senators urging them to reduce the cuts to the farm bill and USDA budget in support of American agriculture.
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Conroe is basking in the national spotlight of being recognized as the fastest-growing U.S. city with a population of at least 50,000.

Figures released from the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday show that Conroe's population expanded to 82,286 in 2016 -- a 7.8 percent increase over 2015.

With all those extra people moving in, the bureau puts Conroe's growth rate at more than 11 times that of the rest of the other cities across the nation that have a population of at least 50,000.

"Quality of life is what brings people to Conroe," Mayor Toby Powell said in announcing the news during the opening of Thursday's City Council meeting. "People want to live here."

Conroe's population spurt continues a trend of strong growth for the city, spurred in part as companies also move in, opening and expanding their businesses here.

"We are growing. We are not, pardon the term, a podunk town anymore," said Harold "Hutch" Hutcheson, manager of the Conroe Convention and Visitors Bureau, as he addressed the mayor and City Council.

Helping to drive Conroe's growth is the number of new businesses that have opened or expanded recently in the city, drawing people both to live in Conroe, or at least drive into the city to work, and hopefully spend some of their earnings.

Sales tax figures show revenues collected have expanded from $27.8 million in 2010 to $41.5 million in 2016, while, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, the city's labor force has grown to 33,323. That's up from its 2010 level of 27,866. Figures show family housing starts are also on the rise, with city numbers showing 618 housing starts last year compared with 220 in 2010.

Also, for the most recent fiscal year, the Greater Conroe Economic Development Council reports that new business projects and expansions poured nearly $81 million into the city's economy, while creating 251 jobs during fiscal year 2015-16.

What's more, although not specifically counted in the Census population numbers, the city's population swells during the day, with thousands driving into Conroe to work in what has expanded into a diversified work center.

Conroe Regional Medical Center -- opened decades ago -- continues to expand, with it now employing more than 1,200 people, making CRMC the biggest employer in the city. While other major employers range across a wide spectrum of industries, including drilling equipment companies to makers of surgical and medical equipment.

Conroe's growth trend, although having rapidly accelerated over the last year, continues building momentum that stretches back more than a decade. Strong growth also is being seen across Montgomery County and Texas as well.

Conroe has grown from a community of 59,631 in 2010 to more than 82,000, representing 38 percent growth; while Montgomery County has seen its population grow from 455,746 in 2010 to 556,203 in 2016 -- an increase of 22 percent.

A number of cities across Texas also were among the fastest growing nationwide, including two more in the top -- the Dallas suburbs of Frisco and McKinney and the Austin suburb of Georgetown.

But along with growth comes some growing pains. City services can feel the strain, including the need to upgrade water and sewer systems. As part of a bit of a race against the expanding population, the City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to approve funding for a nearly $3.8 million "lift station." Lift stations are a critical part of any municipal sewage system, ensuring the movement of wastewater or sewage as it moves across varying elevations. With the current station operating 20-24 hours a day there have been concerns that as the city grows, the increased demand would put a strain on the station.

The project is expected to take about 14 months to complete, prompting city leaders to push to have the plans finalized to start construction.

"We all know how critical that project is," Mayor Pro Tem Doug Coon said.

Also having to be addressed is the need to upgrade other projects and keep the city's fire and police departments fully equipped and staffed, although Coon told The Courier that the city has been "overbuilding" in anticipation of the future growth.

Later this year, the city's seventh fire station and first training facility are set to open. Also, earlier this year the City Council approved a funding request for 10 additional "overhire" police positions, to boost the department's force of some 124 officers.
Minnesota state Rep. Mary Franson received a note from a friend last year urging her to draft stricter legislation against female genital mutilation. The state already had banned the practice in 1994, so the Republican worried that a new law would seem "Islamophobic," given its target audience.

One case changed her mind.

Federal prosecutors last month charged three Michigan doctors with putting two Minnesota girls under the knife. The parents of one girl - ostensibly complicit in the procedure - lost custody "for a whopping 72 hours," Franson told lawmakers on the floor of the Minnesota statehouse last week.

Now she wants Minnesota to pass a bill that would send perpetrators to prison for up to 20 years, targeting parents as well as doctors.

"We're saying that if you harm your child in this way, you're going to be held responsible," she said.

Female genital mutilation has been a federal crime in the United States for more than two decades, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. But the three doctors are the first to be charged under the law. The case has set off a flurry of new bills across the country, with a growing number of states moving to extend penalties to the parents and hit them with lengthy prison terms.

The issue has been a lightning rod in right-wing political circles for years, with anti-Muslim and anti-immigration activists linking it explicitly to Islam. In fact, there is no mention of female genital mutilation in the Koran, and the procedure is rare in most Muslim countries. But attorneys for the doctors, who are Muslim, say their trial defense next month will likely invoke religious freedom, a move that is sure to lend the case even more political ammunition.

Republican-authored bills are pending in Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Maine, and activists say Massachusetts is also weighing legislative action.

In Minnesota, already among the 25 states that ban female genital mutilation, state representatives on May 15 voted 124-4 in favor of expanding the penalties. The bill will go to the state Senate for consideration, but will probably be signed into law before the fall.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), sometimes called female genital cutting or circumcision, refers to the ancient, ritual practice of cutting off parts of a girl's genitalia, and sometimes sewing shut the vaginal opening. It has no health benefits, and it can result in serious complications, including hemorrhaging and death, the lifelong loss of sexual pleasure, painful intercourse and chronic infections.

The World Health Organization says more than 200 million women and girls living in 30 countries have experienced FGM. Most of those countries are in Africa.

The practice spans an array of ethnic and religious groups, despite nearly universal national bans. Although the rationale for the practice varies, experts say it is often driven by social pressures to control women's sexuality and ensure girls' virginity before marriage. Some practitioners also believe that it serves a religious mandate, although the practice has no root in religious doctrine.

Some Muslim clerics have endorsed the practice, but a number of major Muslim leaders have condemned it. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, a leading Sunni authority, issued a fatwa against it in 2007, and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a leading Shiite authority, condemned the practice in 2009. Christians, Animists and Jews have also participated in FGM.

The three doctors in Michigan and the girls whom investigators say they cut are from the tiny Dawoodi Bohra sect of Shiite Islam, in which the practice is common and clerics are said to endorse it. Their trial is set for next month.

There's no reliable data on how common the practice is in the United States, according to the authors of a 2016 Government Accountability Office report. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 513,000 women and girls in the United States either had the procedure or are at risk of experiencing it in the future, based onimmigrant populations from countries where the practice is prevalent, including Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Maine law would make parents who consent to FGM liable for up to 10 years behind bars. This month, the Texas state Senate unanimously approved a similar bill that would allow the state to prosecute people "who transport or permit the transport of a person for the purpose of FGM," the bill's author, state Sen. Jane Nelson, a Republican, said.

In Michigan, where the state Senate unanimously approved a package of female genital mutilation bills on May 17, perpetrators and accomplices would face up to 15 years in prison.

"We want to send the message that Michigan is not the place to bring your daughter for this evil, horrific, demonic practice," state Sen. Rick Jones, a Republican, told his colleagues during a recent hearing on the measure.

The fresh wave of attention has been bittersweet for thecoterie of U.S.-based activists who have spent years campaigning to end a practice that they say is poorly understood and generally ignored by the public, law enforcement and U.S. officials.

"When things like this happen, people just want to focus on getting all states to penalize it. But there's a bigger picture out here that we're not focusing on," said Jaha Dukureh, the founder of the Atlanta-based Safe Hands for Girls, a leading advocacy group against FGM.

Dukureh, who underwent the procedure as an infant in Gambia, said she would rather see education and outreach aimed at preventing the practice than punishment alone.

For instance, many activists, doctors and lawmakers have said they want better training for medical professionals so they can address the issue with pregnant women who have experienced FGM before they give birth to girls. And they want to see efforts to spread awareness of the procedure's dangers in vulnerable schools and communities, enlisting the support of neighborhood and religious leaders in condemning it.

Somali-American activists have been pushing legislators for funds to prevent the practice through education and outreach, said Minnesota state Rep. Susan Allen of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

"They have not gotten resources," she said.

The United States banned female genital mutilation in 1997, and in 2003 banned the transport of a minor abroad to have the procedure. But there have been only two other FBI investigations into the practice over the past two decades. In both cases, the FBI was unable to find victims, and only one of the cases, in California, led to charges, according to the GAO report. In that case, the owner of a body piercing and modification shop and his girlfriend were sentenced in 2005 to prison for five years and two years, respectively, for conspiring to commit FGM and distributing child pornography.

Experts say a culture of shame and secrecy - or even ignorance of having undergone a procedure that they might have been too young to remember - keeps many from talking about FGM in the United States.

Deborah Thorp, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Minneapolis, said she sees at least one patient a day who has undergone FGM, many of them older refugees from Somalia, where the prevalence rate is 98 percent.

But she said she doubts the practice is common for Somali-American children who are born in the United States.

"I'm seeing a lot of moms who are so angry that it got done to them that I have a hard time thinking that they would ever have anything to do with it," she said.

Some activists and Democratic lawmakers have argued - in lieu of hard data about the prevalence of FGM - that racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments have played a role in fueling enthusiasm for the new policies.

Far-right blogs and news websites have long perpetuated the myth that FGM is a common Islamic practice by immigrants who are fundamentally at odds with American society.

FGM and honor killings "would not exist in the U.S. without mass immigration bringing its practitioners into U.S. communities," Breitbart reporter Katie McHugh wrote in March. Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Donald Trump, has voiced the same sentiment.

In Minnesota last week, some dissenting lawmakers worried that meting out "draconian" punishment for a poorly understood crime might make it worse. The Minnesota law would make it easier and more likely for the state to take custody of a child whose parent is suspected of involvement in FGM. For suspects who are not yet U.S. citizens, the crime would probably mean deportation.

"When you start removing children from their families, increasing penalties for families," Allen said, "it's likely that it may deter them from reporting the violence. They may not cooperate with police."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Does this sound familiar? Betsy DeVos went to Capitol Hill to testify before U.S. lawmakers. She didn't answer a lot of direct questions and engaged in some contentious debates with some members.

That happened in January when she went before the Senate Education Committee for her confirmation hearing, during which she said schools needed guns to protect against grizzly bears. This time, though, she didn't talk about guns, but she did say that states should have the right to decide whether private schools that accept publicly funded voucher students should be allowed to discriminate against students for whatever reason they want.

DeVos testified before the House subcommittee on labor, health and human services, education and related agencies about the Trump administration's 2018 budget proposal, which cuts $10.6 billion - or more than 13 percent - from education programs and re-invests $1.4 billion of the savings into promoting school choice.

Both DeVos and President Donald Trump have said expanding alternatives to traditional public schools are their top priority, and during tough questioning from some committee members, DeVos doubled down on that as well as on giving states and local communities flexibility to do what they want with their education programs. It is worth noting, however, that she said recently that people who don't agree with expanding school choice are "flat Earthers," people who refuse to face the facts.

Most of the contentious conversation was between DeVos and Democratic members, but even the Republican chairman of the subcommittee, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, took gentle issue with her about cuts in a favored program of his, and another Republican questioned her about her claim that she was following congressional intent.

Here are five rather startling things she said - or wouldn't say:

- - -

1. States should have the flexibility to decide whether private schools that accept students with publicly funded vouchers can discriminate any students for any reason

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said that one private school in Indiana that is a voucher school says it may deny admission to students who are LGBT or who come from a family where there is "homosexual or bisexual activity." She asked DeVos whether she would tell the state of Indiana that it could not discriminate in that way if it were to accept federal funding through a new school choice program. Clark further asked what DeVos would say if a voucher school were not accepting African-American students and the state "said it was OK."

To Clark's question about whether she would step in, DeVos responded: "Well again, the Office of Civil Rights and our Title IX protections are broadly applicable across the board, but when it comes to parents making choices on behalf of their students . . ."

Clark interrupted and said, "This isn't about parents making choices, this is about the use of federal dollars. Is there any situation? Would you say to Indiana, that school cannot discriminate against LGBT students if you want to receive federal dollars? Or would you say the state has the flexibility?"

DeVos said: "I believe states should continue to have flexibility in putting together programs . . ."

Clark interrupted, saying: "So if I understand your testimony - I want to make sure I get this right. There is no situation of discrimination or exclusion that if a state approved it for its voucher program that you would step in and say that's not how we are going to use our federal dollars?"

DeVos said she didn't want to answer a hypothetical question. Clark said it wasn't hypothetical, and asked if she saw any circumstance that the federal government would tell a state that it could not allow a private voucher school to discriminate against students.

At that point time expired, but DeVos was allowed to respond.

DeVos: "I go back to the bottom line - is we believe parents are the best equipped to make choices for their children's schooling and education decisions, and too many children are trapped in schools that don't work for them. We have to do something different. We have to do something different than continuing a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach. And that is the focus. And states and local communities are best equipped to make these decisions."

Clark: "I am shocked that you cannot come up with one example of discrimination that you would stand up for students."

The chairman of the subcommittee said she wasn't required to answer. She didn't and the discussion moved on.

- - -

2. States should have the flexibility to decide whether students with disabilities who are using publicly funded vouchers to pay for private-school tuition should still be protected under the IDEA federal law

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, discussed the federal Individual With Disabilities in Education Act, which provides federal protections for students with disabilities.

Lowey noted that in voucher and voucher-like programs in which public money is used to pay for private school tuition and educational expenses, families are often required to sign away their IDEA protections, including due process when a school fails to meet a child's needs. Lowey asked DeVos if she thought that was fair.

DeVos responded that it should be up to the states to decide how to run their own programs, and then she referred to a tax credit program in Florida, where tens of thousands of students with disabilities attend private school with public money. Florida is one of those states that requires voucher recipients to give up their IDEA rights.

"Each state deals with this issue in their own manner," she said.

- - -

3. High-poverty school districts get more funding than low-poverty schools

The reason the federal government has a funding program that is meant to bolster high-poverty schools - called Title I - is because state and local school funding in the United States mainly favors wealthier areas. Title I, however, does not equalize the playing field, and the Trump administration's budget is proposing using $1 billion in Title I funds for a school choice "portability" program, meaning there would be less money for traditional public schools. Congress rejected such a program during conversations in 2015 about the federal K-12 law Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., noted that the proposed education budget's Title I plan would reduce funding to high-poverty schools, according to numerous experts, and she asked DeVos whether she believes that high-poverty school districts should get "more funding resources" than schools with lower levels of poverty.

DeVos said, "Yes, I think the reality is that they do receive higher levels of funding."

Later, Roybal-Allard asked her more specifically about federal funds: "Just to be clear . . . you do agree that high-poverty schools should receive more federal resources than lower levels of poverty schools? Was that your testimony?"

Devos responded: "Yes, I think that this is the case."

Roybal-Allard said, "They don't," and continued to press DeVos.

In her first answer, the secretary said she believed high-poverty school districts do get more funding than wealthier districts, which is not true. In the second response, she said she believes high-poverty school districts get more federal funding than wealthier districts. That is not always true.

- - -

4. The administration is not shifting money for public schools in the budget in order to fund school choice experiments

It is. If there are cuts to public schools, and there is new money going to school choice, that can't mean anything else.

- - -

5. DeVos wouldn't say whether private and religious schools that accept students paying with public funds should be held accredited or held accountable in the same way that traditional public schools are

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., discussed a private school that took public dollars even though it said students could learn how to read by simply putting a hand on a book. He asked her if she was "going to have accountability standards" in any new school choice program.

Her response: States should decide "what kind of flexibility they are going to allow."

As noted earlier, Democrats gave her the toughest questions, but some Republicans didn't give her a total pass. Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) asked her about proposed cuts to a college preparation program called TRIO, of which he said he is a "big fan." Cole said it has produced 5 million college graduates and he has seen the impact in his district. He then asked her about the administration's proposed cuts.

She said that the parts the administration seeks to eliminate are "outside of the original intent of the TRIO programs."

Later, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, asked her: "If we fund those programs would they then be within congressional intent?"

She responded: "If that's how you define it, I guess they would be."
Greg Gianforte, the Montana Republican candidate charged with assaulting a reporter, has not quite reached retirement age. But based on what he has said in the past, he may never stop working anyway.

In a 2015 talk at the Montana Bible College, Gianforte said the idea of retirement doesn't exactly match his religious beliefs.

"There's nothing in the Bible that talks about retirement. And yet it's been an accepted concept in our culture today," he said at the time, according to a report in the Huffington Post. "Nowhere does it say, 'Well, he was a good and faithful servant, so he went to the beach.' It doesn't say that anywhere."

Gianforte, who is now 56, was then a potential candidate for governor of Montana. The tech entrepreneur - Gianforte founded a software company that was later sold to Oracle - had been traveling the state to promote the benefits of telecommuting.

"How old was Noah when he built the ark? 600," he said. "He wasn't like, cashing Social Security checks, he wasn't hanging out, he was working. So, I think we have an obligation to work. The role we have in work may change over time, but the concept of retirement is not biblical."

Gianforte made headlines Wednesday after he allegedly "body-slammed" Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian who asked him about the Republican health-care bill.

In a recording posted online by the Guardian, Gianforte can be heard telling Jacobs "Get the hell out of here!" after an apparent altercation. Three newspapers in Montana rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte, who is running in a special election for a congressional seat, after the incident. Gianforte has denied any wrongdoing.

The candidate has a history of making controversial comments. For example, he drew criticism in 2014 for remarks about an LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill.

Despite the 2015 remarks about Noah, Gianforte has suggested in his campaign materials that he would not interfere with other people's retirement plans. On his campaign website, Gianforte wrote that he would work to "protect and secure" Social Security and Medicare if elected to Congress. "I'll stop the Washington politicians from cutting the retirement benefits Montana seniors earned," the website reads.

A spokesman for Gianforte did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, will sign 209 bills on Thursday in what is believed to be his eighth and final bill signing of the 2017 legislative session.

The list includes a package of measures to address the state's growing heroin epidemic. But missing from the hundreds of bills are several high-profile measures that are awaiting action from Hogan, including a top priority of Democratic legislative leaders that requires employers to provide paid sick leave benefits to their workers.

Hogan also has yet to take action on several other measures, including one that gives the attorney general the power to take legal action against drug companies that dramatically increase the price of off-patent or generic drugs; a bill that allows pharmacists to dispense contraceptives and a piece of legislation that prohibits public and private colleges and universities from including questions about criminal history on their applications.

The governor has 30 days to take action on bills presented to his office. The clock runs out on the paid sick leave bill on Saturday, May 27.

"Too many families know all too well that even if you are lucky enough to have affordable health care if you can not afford to take a day off to see a doctor," Liz Richards, the director of the Working Matters Coalition, said in a statement. "Governor Hogan has the power to make this smart policy change for a stronger, healthier Maryland by signing" the bill.

Hogan's office would not comment on whether he plans to veto the paid sick leave bill or if he plans to let the bill become law without his signature.

If Hogan refuses to sign the bill, it won't be the first time he has allowed a socially progressive piece of legislation to become law without his signature.

Earlier this year, the governor allowed a bill to become law without his signature that commits state funds to reimburse Planned Parenthood clinics for their services if Congress defunds the organization. Hogan also let a measure move forward without his signature that gives additional state money to the attorney general's office to help it sue the Trump administration over health care, environment and immigration.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, announced Thursday that he plans to veto a paid sick leave bill that was approved by the legislature last month, calling the bill a "deeply flawed" measure that would be "disastrous to our state's economy."

The action is likely to lead to a showdown between the Republican governor and the Democratic-controlled legislature during the 2018 legislative session, just months before the gubernatorial primary.

The bill passed with enough votes to override a veto and House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, said a veto override will be a priority for the General Assembly in January.

"It's unfortunate that the Governor would not join the General Assembly in supporting 700,000 Marylanders by signing this legislation," Busch said in a statement. "Marylanders need the opportunity to earn sick leave so they can support their families and take care of their health while not fearing losing their jobs."

Hogan, a business owner before taking office, blasted the measure, arguing that it will "turn back the clock on the progress" made to the state's economy.

The governor said he supports paid sick leave but would not endorse "this job-killing bill."

The legislation requires businesses with 15 or more employees to provide five days of paid sick leave. Hogan's plan would have required companies with 50 or more employers to provide five paid sick days a year and offered tax incentives to smaller businesses that agreed to do so. The governor's bill never moved out of committee.

Hogan also said he plans to sign three executive orders involving the benefit and urged the General Assembly to work with him next session to forge a compromise.

One of the executive orders would create a task force, led by the state Labor Secretary Kelly Schulz, to study the impact paid sick leave would have on the state's small businesses. The others would provide paid sick leave to state contractual workers in the executive branch and give a preference for state contracts to companies that provide paid sick leave.

Del. Luke Clippinger, D-Baltimore, the lead sponsor of the bill, said Hogan's executive orders were the actions of a governor who "is just pretending to care" about the hundreds of thousands of workers who would lose paid sick leave under his veto.

He said despite the governor's call for a compromise, he has never received a call from the governor or the governor's staff in the last three years to discuss the issue. And he criticized the governor for not offering the executive orders during the legislative session.

"Where was this before?" Clippinger asked. "This has not been an issue that has been quietly moving around in the legislature. It truly is too little too late. He is trying to justify what truly is unjustifiable."

Two possible Democratic candidates for governor, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Sen. Richard Madeleno, criticized the governor for issuing the veto.

But Mike O'Halloran, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), applauded the governor. He said the bill would "inflict dangerous consequences" on private companies.

"The Governor has not just kept his promise from March, he has declared to our small business community that his advocacy efforts on their behalf and his dedication to drastically reducing regulations that hinder job growth and economic progress is and will continue to be his primary focus in making Maryland more business friendly," O'Halloran said in a statement.

Worker rights advocates who have fought for five years to get the bill through the General Assembly and had hoped Maryland would become the eighth state in the country to require companies to provide the benefit said they were deeply disappointed.

"Governor Hogan's decision to deny hardworking Marylanders the ability to take time to care for their families is nothing short of heartless," Liz Richards, the director of the Working Matters Coalition, said in a statement. "Make no mistake - the victims of this decision are Maryland parents and children. Instead of being able to take the time they need to care for their families, these Marylanders will continue to be forced to make decisions like taking off work to visit their sick child in the hospital or paying the rent that month."

Hogan's announcement came just days before the 30-day clock ran out on taking action on the bill and just hours after he signed 209 bills into law.

Even though Hogan said two months ago that the paid sick leave bill was "dead on arrival," advocates hoped as the deadline neared that the governor would let the bill become law without his signature.

The veto is the Hogan's third of the 2017 legislative session.

Last month, the governor vetoed a bill that set up an accountability system for rating schools and prohibits the state school board from using vouchers and charters as a way to fix failing schools. The legislature overturned the veto before adjourning. Earlier this month, he vetoed a bill that put a nonpartisan commission in charge of drawing the state's congressional districts if five other states agreed to do the same.

The governor also said Thursday that he plans to announce more vetoes on Friday.
Cody Xiong cracked open his door, saw the investigator on his porch and 'fessed up, authorities say.

"I guess," Xiong said, "you are here for the opium."

The investigator wasn't. But suddenly, he was intrigued.

What followed was a massive opium bust, based entirely on a North Carolina poppy grower who thought prematurely that the jig was up.

His field contained about $500 million worth of opium-producing poppy plants, authorities said.

Xiong is charged with manufacturing a Schedule II drug and trafficking in opium, both felonies. He was arrested and released from jail on $45,000 bail, and could not be reached for comment. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.

Deputies have spent the past few days unearthing Xiong's opium plants and his scheme, Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid told The Washington Post. It was apparently based on the theory that no one would come looking for opium plants on a dead-end gravel road in the rural foothills of North Carolina.

"It was out there," Reid said. "Only residents know that it is out there at the end of the road. It wasn't something you could just ride by."

Claremont, where authorities made the bust, has a population of roughly 1,400 people, according to the census, and is about an hour's drive northwest of Charlotte, the state's largest city.

The investigator was at Xiong's property conducting a warrantless "knock and talk," according to the sheriff's office.

Reid said investigators had received a tip about another matter. The sheriff wouldn't disclose what it was but said it definitely wasn't about what investigators found: more than an acre filled with poppies.

The poppies, with their bulging seed pods, were planted in tidy rows behind Xiong's home and were obscured by trees.

They have to be weighed before investigators know the exact value of the haul, but authorities figure there were about 2,000 pounds of poppies in all, valued at an estimated half-billion dollars.

Reid's investigators believed the plants were being grown and harvested in Catawba County, then shipped elsewhere to be turned into heroin.

The sap from seed pods of opium poppies is extracted after slitting the bulb, according to a PBS "Frontline" story on the drug trade. Then, the jellylike fluid can be combined with other chemicals to produce a range of opiates including morphine, codeine and heroin.

There are many varieties of poppies, often distinguished by their bright flowers; among them, the opium poppy, or Papaver somniferum, is the only one that's illegal to grow.

Only people or companies registered with the Food and Drug Administration - legal drug manufacturers, for example - can possess the plant, according to Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Possessing the edible seeds, however, is legal.

The investigation into Xiong's operation is ongoing and now involves DEA agents.

Sheriff's deputies have been turned into de facto farm hands, pulling the plants and loading them into trailers.

"We've been out here for about an hour pulling plants, and we've not made a dent in it yet," Captain Jason Reid told CBS affiliate WBTV on Tuesday.

Investigators also found several chickens with injuries consistent with cockfighting, authorities said.

The chickens and a few dogs on the property were removed by animal control officers, although no one has been charged.

Catawba County has a deadly history with opium. The drug was responsible for the worst mass killing in the county's history - slayings in 2009 that residents still refer to as "the opium murders."

A woman and her three children were found shot and stabbed to death inside their Catawba County home, according to the Associated Press.

Investigators say the woman's husband, Brian Tzeo, was involved in an interstate opium trafficking ring. He'd get opium from Thailand, convert it to heroin and then give it to a woman who'd take it to Wisconsin to sell.

The killers came looking for Tzeo, drugs and cash, but he was at work.

They found his family instead, including his 4-year-old son whom investigators found shot to death with his fingers still inside his cereal bowl.
TRIPOLI, Libya - As British investigators seek clues to potential accomplices and motives of Salman Abedi, the bomber who killed at least 22 at a Manchester pop concert, they are also focusing increasingly on Libya - and the Islamic State's presence here.

Authorities say Abedi, a British citizen of Libyan origin, spent four weeks here, returning to Manchester days before Monday night's attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State. His brother, Hashem Abedi, was arrested in the capital, Tripoli, on Tuesday night for suspected ties to the group, and authorities say he was planning an attack on this Mediterranean city.

What investigators want answered is whether Salman Abedi's network of co-plotters extended all the way to Libya. Did he receive training or assistance in building the bomb or other preparations for the assault from Islamic State cells or operatives in Libya?

But pursuing leads in this war-riven North African nation is rife with obstacles. A constellation of rival militias control different regions, even enclaves within the capital. There are three competing governments; the one recognized by Western powers and the United Nations wields no influence in the east. Even government bodies, including those dealing with law enforcement, are plagued by competing factions and lack of structure and cohesiveness.

For instance, Hashem Abedi, as well as the brothers' father, Ramadan Abedi, were arrested by a counterterrorism militia affiliated with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. But human rights groups have accused the force of abusing prisoners, potentially raising questions about their confessions.

After six years of civil conflict and a revolving door of political and military players, it's also unclear whether Britain and its Western allies have reliable contacts and sources to help with the probe. Every Western embassy in Tripoli has been closed for at least two years or longer; Italy's reopened only this year.

There are also several other extremist groups operating in Libya, including al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the terror network's North African branch. All have skilled bombmakers and experts in weapons and militant training.

The Islamic State itself is in flux. If anything, the carnage in Manchester underscored the lingering potency of the group in Libya, despite recent setbacks to its operations and its ambitions - provided its suspected links to the brothers prove true.

"They used to be in Sirte, and so we knew their location," said Badra Gaaloul, a military analyst who heads the Tunis-based International Center of Strategic, Security and Military Studies, referring to the Islamic State's former Libyan stronghold. "Now they are everywhere, and it's incredibly hard to detect them and target them."

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, emerged in Libya after the 2011 revolution, part of the Arab Spring uprisings, when NATO airstrikes helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was subsequently killed by rebels. Seizing advantage of the instability, tribal rivalries and abundance of weapons in the country, the Islamic State in Libya became the group's strongest branch outside the Middle East.

In early 2015, its fighters entered Sirte, a coastal city that was Gadhafi's birthplace and where he was killed. By the summer, the group controlled Sirte, nestled in the county's lucrative petroleum crescent, the heart of much of its oil and gas reserves.

In Sirte, the Islamic State ruled through fear and brutality, mirroring the group's counterparts in Syria and Iraq. But it also sought to create a government, an effort to extend its self-proclaimed caliphate into Libya. Under pressure in the Middle East, the group saw Sirte as a possible substitute capital, particularly if its Syrian haven of Raqqa fell.

But last summer, pro-government militias laid siege to Sirte. Backed by U.S. airstrikes, they drove the Islamic State out of Sirte. While many militants died, hundreds of others managed to escape the city, according to security officials and military analysts.

Today, the Islamic State is diminished in size, but remains a major concern.

In March, Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of the Pentagon's Africa Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that instability in Libya and North Africa "may be the most significant near-term threat" to the interests of the United States and its allies in Africa.

He said that while the Islamic State has left Sirte, its fighters are gathered "in small numbers and are regrouping." The Islamic State in Libya, he added, "remains a regional threat with intent to target U.S. persons and interests."

According to U.S. military and intelligence officials and regional analysts, many Islamic State militants have fled to southern Libya and are believed to be regrouping there.

Others have crossed Libya's southern border into Niger, perhaps heading to Nigeria, Mali or Chad to join other militant groups aligned with the Islamic State, such as northern Nigeria's Boko Haram, said Claudia Gazzini, a senior Libya analyst for the International Crisis Group.

"My sense is that they are transiting through the south and going out," said Gazzini, who recently visited southern Libya.

Other fighters have crossed into Tunisia or have joined al-Qaida and other militant groups, said Gaaloul. The Islamic State in Libya, she said, is more dangerous than ever because many fighters have scattered and are moving under the radar in Tripoli and other parts of the country.

"Now, I don't know who is an ISIS fighter," said Gaaloul. "They have strength and power in hiding themselves. They can pose as civilians. And [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has given them the freedom to become lone wolves. He's told them, 'If you have the opportunity to attack our enemies, do it.' "
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Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and an influential White House adviser, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and related matters, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Kushner, who held meetings in December with the Russian ambassador and a banker from Moscow, is being investigated because of the extent and nature of his interactions with the Russians, the people said.

The Washington Post reported last week that a senior White House official close to the president was a significant focus of the high-stakes investigation, though it did not name Kushner.

FBI agents also remain keenly interested in former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, but Kushner is the only current White House official known to be considered a key person in the probe.

The Post has not been told that Kushner is a target - or the central focus - of the investigation, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. "Target" is a word that generally refers to someone who is the main suspect of investigators' attention, though prosecutors can and do bring charges against people who are not marked with that distinction.

"Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry," said Jamie Gorelick, one of his attorneys.

In addition to possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election, investigators are also looking broadly into possible financial crimes - but the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly, did not specify who or what was being examined.

Sarah Isgur Flores, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said, "I can't confirm or deny the existence or nonexistence of investigations or subjects of investigations." The FBI declined to comment.

At the time of the December meetings, Trump already had won the election. Contacts between people on the transition team and foreign governments can be routine, but the meetings and phone calls with the Russians were not made public at the time.

In early December, Kushner met in New York with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, and he later sent a deputy to meet with Kislyak. Flynn was also present at the early-December meeting, and later that month, Flynn held a call with Kislyak to discuss U.S.-imposed sanctions against Russia. Flynn initially mischaracterized the conversation, even to Vice President Mike Pence - ultimately prompting his ouster from the White House.

Kushner also met in December with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Vnesheconombank, which has been the subject of U.S. sanctions following Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

In addition to the December meetings, a former senior intelligence official said FBI agents had been looking closely at earlier exchanges between Trump associates and the Russians dating to the spring of 2016, including one at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Kushner and Kislyak - along with close Trump adviser and current attorney general Jeff Sessions - were present at an April 2016 event at the Mayflower where then-candidate Trump promised in a speech to seek better relations with Russia. It is unclear whether Kushner and Kislyak interacted there.

The New York Times reported that Kushner omitted from security-clearance forms his December meetings with Kislyak and Gorkov, though his attorney said that was mere error and he told the FBI soon after that he would amend the forms. The White House said that his meetings were normal and inconsequential.

Kushner has agreed to discuss his Russian contacts with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting one of several investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

In many ways, Kushner is a unique figure inside the White House.

He is arguably the president's most trusted adviser, and he is also a close member of the president's family. His list of policy responsibilities is vast - his foreign policy portfolio alone includes Canada and Mexico, China, and peace in the Middle East - yet he rarely speaks publicly about any of them.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller III is now leading the probe into possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, and he has set up shop in the Patrick Henry Building in downtown District of Columbia. Even before he was picked by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to take over the case, investigators had been stepping up their efforts - issuing subpoenas and looking to conduct interviews, people familiar with the matter said.

A small group of lawmakers known as the Gang of Eight was recently notified of the change in tempo and focus in the investigation at a classified briefing.

It is unclear exactly how Mueller's leadership will affect the direction of the probe. This week, Justice Department ethics experts cleared him to take over the case even though lawyers at his former firm, WilmerHale, represent several people who could be caught up in the matter, including Kushner, Manafort and Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is married to Kushner.

Mueller resigned from the firm to take over the investigation.

Investigators are continuing to look aggressively into the dealings of Flynn, and a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, recently issued a subpoenas for records related to Flynn's businesses and finances, according to people familiar with the matter.

Flynn's company, the Flynn Intel Group, was paid more than $500,000 by a company owned by a Turkish American businessman close to top Turkish officials for research on Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who Turkey's president claims was responsible for a coup attempt last summer. Flynn retroactively registered with the Justice Department in March as a paid foreign agent for Turkish interests.

Separately from the probe now run by Mueller, Flynn is being investigated by the Pentagon's top watchdog for his foreign payments. Flynn also received $45,000 to appear in 2015 with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a dinner for RT, a Kremlin-controlled media organization.

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Video: Jared Kushner is now a focus in the Russia investigation

Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and an influential White House adviser, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and related matters, according to people familiar with the investigation. The Post's Matt Zapotosky explains the development. (The Washington Post)

Short URL: http://wapo.st/2qhFyk8

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Senate Republicans are weighing a two-step process to replace Obamacare that would postpone a repeal until 2020, as they seek to draft a more modest version than a House plan that nonpartisan analysts said would undermine some insurance markets.

Republicans -- in the early stages of private talks on the Senate plan -- say they may first take action to stabilize premium costs in Obamacare's insurance-purchasing exchanges in 2018 and 2019. Major insurers have said they will leave the individual market in vast regions of states including North Dakota, Iowa and Missouri.

A Senate plan is likely to continue subsidies that help low-income Americans with co-pays and deductibles, said third-ranking Republican John Thune of South Dakota. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday the administration hasn't committed to paying subsidies due in June -- which would create additional uncertainty for insurers as they set rates for next year.

"There clearly has to be a short-term solution that works with the transition until some of our long-term policy changes can take effect," Thune told reporters. "There's got to be certainty in the marketplace."

The private Senate GOP negotiations include a 13-member leadership-controlled working group as well as almost daily closed-door discussions among all Senate Republicans. In addition, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has convened bipartisan talks with about a dozen senators.

Republicans in the Senate are stepping up their efforts to build consensus after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the House plan narrowly passed May 4 would result in 23 million more people without insurance and, in some states, plans that are too costly for older or sicker people.

Democrats in both chambers are united against efforts to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act and said yesterday the CBO assessment provides added ammunition for the Senate fight. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the report should be the "final nail in the coffin" in the Republican drive to end Obamacare.

"The report makes clear: Trumpcare would be a cancer on the American health-care system, causing costs to skyrocket, making coverage unaffordable for those with pre-existing conditions and many seniors, and kicking millions off their health insurance," said Schumer of New York.

A Quinnipiac University national poll released Thursday said Americans voters disapprove of the House measure by 57 to 20 percent. The May 17-23 poll of 1,404 voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Senate Republican leaders say they expect to try to pass a bill with only GOP votes. The party controls the Senate 52-48, and the parliamentarian will determine which parts of a bill could advance under streamlined procedures that can pass with 50 votes plus Vice President Mike Pence's tie-breaker.

Whether the GOP can attract 50 votes remains to be seen. Senators have indicated the talks have spent little time on perhaps the toughest issue: How to pay for a plan that would cover more people and offer lower premiums than the House bill. That would require retaining some of about $800 billion in Obamacare taxes the House measure repeals, or finding other cost savings in the federal budget.

"I think we ought to try to look for savings anywhere we can find them," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican. "But my experience is that we don't find many savings."

The subsidies for low-income insurance customers total about $7 billion a year. BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina filed Thursday to raise its rates on average by 22.9 percent next year -- but if the subsidies were funded, the increase would be 8.8 percent, according to Brian Tajlili, the insurer's head of actuarial and pricing services.

The health insurer has seen results from Obamacare plans improve markedly after raising rates, but the uncertainty from Washington is threatening those gains. "We're seeing the market begin to stabilize after three years of coverage," Tajlili said in a statement.

Senate Republicans say there is a growing consensus that they want a slower phase-out of Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid health coverage for the poor than in the House bill, which would cut the program by about $800 billion. Senators from states that elected to take advantage of the Medicaid expansion, including Rob Portman of Ohio, want a several-year phase-out to avoid a "cliff" that would occur if the expansion ended in 2020 as the House bill reqiuires.

Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a member of the 13-person working group, said the longer phase-out has some support, as well as a proposal to give states more flexibility to shape their own approaches under Medicaid. He said there's some early interest in his idea to allow states that achieve Medicaid cost savings to retain the money as a rainy-day fund for future years.

"Then if they have a bad year they draw on those savings," Hoeven said.

Meanwhile, Republicans including Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Thune are addressing the affordability of individual coverage on the insurance exchanges, including the tax credits available to consumers. Thune said there is momentum behind his idea of ensuring that tax credits are based not just on age, as the House bill allows, but also on income levels.

"I think they did some things with the tax credit that we would want to refine and change it, for sure," Thune said. "If that's how you want to cover the people who aren't eligible for Medicaid but can't afford to buy insurance on the individual marketplace on their own, you have to have a mechanism to do that."

Members of the 13-member working group and in Collins' group say there is little interest in using state-run high-risk insurance pools to cover the chronically ill and those with pre-existing conditions. The House bill allows states to opt out of Obamacare's ban on higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions if they provide high-risk pools, with federal funding help.

Because of evidence that high-risk pools are expensive and have been underfunded, Senate Republicans say they're weighing using reinsurance instead. That approach would provide money to individual-market insurers to help pay for high-cost customers -- an effort to discourage insurers from setting higher premiums for those people.

"High-risk pools have not had a stellar record," said Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who is part of the bipartisan negotiations. "I think reinsurance is a better way to go."

"There is growing consensus" for the reinsurance idea, Hoeven said.

Senators say they're examining the idea of automatically enrolling people who lack coverage into private insurance plans and are seeking advice from outside groups about whether that's a good replacement for Obamacare's mandate that people have insurance or pay a penalty.

"We haven't figured out exactly how you identify people and get them auto-enrolled," Thune said. "I think that would be a challenge, but it's certainly an idea that's of interest to me."

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Bloomberg's Doni Bloomfield and Arit John contributed.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not reveal meetings with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance to serve as the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement official.

Sessions came under fire earlier this year for not disclosing to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing that, as the senator from Alabama, he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential election when he was also serving as an adviser to the president. In March, Sessions recused himself from investigations related to the 2016 presidential campaign after The Washington Post reported the two meetings.

That same information was omitted from Sessions's security clearance form, which is known as an SF-86, as first reported Wednesday night by CNN.

"As a United States senator, the attorney general met hundreds - if not thousands - of foreign dignitaries and their staff," said Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior. "In filling out the SF-86 form, the Attorney General's staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities."

An FBI spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The security clearance form requires anyone applying for a security clearance to list "any contact" that he or his family had with a foreign government or its representatives over the past seven years.

A Justice official said that in July, a Sessions staffer was helping Sessions fill out the security clearance form because he was being vetted for a possible position in the Trump administration if Trump won the presidency. The staffer asked an FBI employee handling the vetting if he needed to list seven years of contacts that Sessions had with foreign dignitaries and their staff, and he was told no, the Justice official said.

In late November, after the election, the Sessions staffer helped Sessions fill out a new security clearance form, but did not ask the FBI the same question again - and did not list all the contacts.

Another Sessions staffer who went to work at the Justice Department was also told by an FBI investigator that he did not have to list the many meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staffs if it was related to Senate business, the Justice official said.

After Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, Sessions sent out a list of all the ambassadors he met with in 2016. He also amended his Senate testimony and said he spoke briefly with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in July 2016. He said he also spoke with Kislyak in September during a meeting in his Senate office, which included two senior Sessions staffers.

At the March 2 press conference where he announced his recusal, Sessions said he talked to Kislyak about a trip he made to Russia in 1991, terrorism and Ukraine. The attorney general said that it "got to be a little bit of a testy conversation." The ambassador invited him to lunch, Sessions said, but he did not accept.

When Sessions recused himself, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was tasked with overseeing the FBI probe. But last week, after calls from lawmakers for a special counsel, Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller to take over the investigation as special counsel.
Vatican City

Pope Francis and President Donald Trump discussed terrorism and the radicalization of young people in a meeting Wednesday in which two global leaders with starkly different world views sought to bridge the chasm between them with a handshake, a private audience and a mutual pledge to work for peace.

In a larger meeting with U.S. and Vatican officials, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, urged Trump not to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord.

The pope, by turns dour and smiling, welcomed a more effusive president. The two stuck mainly to protocol, avoiding a public reprise of the barbs they aimed at each other during Trump's presidential campaign or the pope's thinly veiled critiques of Trump as a symbol of a dangerously reinvigorated nationalism.

But there appeared to be a message in the gifts the pope gave to his guest. They included a copy of his essay on the importance of saving the environment, a rebuke to the climate change skepticism espoused by Trump. Francis also presented him with a medallion engraved with the image of an olive tree  "a symbol of peace," he explained.

As he bade the pope farewell, Trump told him, "I won't forget what you said."

There was a sense in the Vatican that Trump was easier to talk to than his tough language on the campaign trail and sharp words toward Francis had led them to believe.

For Trump, who came here after stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel, the visit to the Vatican capped a tour of the ancestral homes of three of the world's great monotheistic religions.

At 8:20 a.m., under an azure sky, the president's motorcade rolled into the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. Trump and his wife, Melania, stepped out of an armored Chevrolet SUV. A few minutes earlier, the pope arrived in a lone blue Ford Focus.

Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, prefect of the papal household, escorted Trump to an antechamber outside the pope's office, where Francis came to greet him.

"Thank you so much," Trump said. "It's an honor."

After posing for a picture, Trump took a seat across from Francis and the two men met for half an hour.

Speaking to reporters later, Trump described the session as "fantastic." Later, on Twitter, he wrote, "I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world."

The Vatican said in a statement that the two discussed the Middle East and "the protection of Christian communities," as well as "the joint commitment in favor of life, and freedom of worship and conscience" and the Catholic Church's aid work on behalf of immigrants.

A bell signaling the end of the audience rang at 9 a.m., and Melania Trump joined her husband and the pope. Francis looked graver than the beaming Trump, but he lightened up when he shook Melania Trump's hand.
A proposed United Arab Emirates base in semi-autonomous northern Somalia may add a naval facility to a military airport, extending the Arab nation's reach on the Horn of Africa coastline, a Somali official said.

The U.A.E. has leased the airport in the Somaliland port town of Berbera for 25 years and is still negotiating terms of use, Somaliland Foreign Minister Saad Ali Shire said in an interview. Berbera is located on the Gulf of Aden, about 260 kilometers (162 miles) south of Yemen, where U.A.E. troops in a Saudi Arabia-led coalition are battling Houthi rebels, and on the approach to the Bab el-Mandeb, a choke-point in global shipping that gives tankers access to the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

"It will be like any other base in the world," Shire said by phone. "They'll use it as a sort of surveillance facility, a training facility, and sometimes as an operational facility." An official at the U.A.E.'s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond to requests for comment.

Famed for its financial allure and skyscrapers, the U.A.E. is increasingly flexing its military and diplomatic muscle as traditional Arab powers are mired in war or political turmoil. Since 2014, in addition to its Yemen intervention, the U.A.E. has backed the U.S. campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria and reportedly launched air strikes against Islamist fighters in Libya.

The proposed Somaliland base could be the U.A.E.'s second in Africa, after reports of one being established in Eritrea, the secretive state that sits on the Bab el-Mandeb and which a United Nations monitoring group says supports the Saudi coalition's Yemen war. The Berbera airport was variously used by the Soviet Union and U.S. during the Cold War, when Somalia's loyalty shifted between the two world powers.

"The U.A.E. armed forces in general can use the base" at Berbera, with the preliminary agreement placing no limits on the operations they can carry out, according to Shire. The non-public pact stipulates that the Emirates' air force alone can use the airport, not any of its allies, he said.

A summary of the pact, containing its "principles and fundamentals," has been approved by Somaliland's parliament, according to Shire. London-based lawyers Simmons & Simmons, who didn't respond to two emailed requests for comment, have been retained by Somaliland to "work on the details on the use of the base," Shire said. He said the U.A.E. has retained its own lawyers, which he wouldn't identify.

"The base will start from the airport," senior presidential economic adviser Ahmed Hassan Arwo said by phone from Hargeisa, Somaliland's main city. "Later on, if they have need for a naval base they can do this extension, but it will be negotiated."

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but is not recognized as a sovereign state.

The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea said in October that satellite imagery taken between September 2015 and at least a year later showed construction of a new port adjacent to Eritrea's Assab International Airport, about 380 kilometers (236 miles) northwest of Berbera.

Over that period, a vessel owned by the Abu Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Co. frequented Assab, the report said, citing automatic tracking data. It also documented "rapid construction" of what "appears to be a military base" at the southeastern end of the airport and said imagery between April and May 2016 showed tanks and artillery in the compound.

The U.N. monitors said in an October 2015 report that the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen "may be offering" Eritrea monetary compensation for the use of its land, airspace and territorial waters. Shire said the U.A.E. military base at Assab consists of an airport and a naval facility.

The U.A.E. hasn't publicly commented on the UN reports. Two calls to NMDC's head office weren't answered when Bloomberg sought comment on Tuesday. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel didn't respond to two emails sent by Bloomberg.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited the U.A.E. in January and held talks on "advancing bilateral ties to new heights," according to the Eritrean Information Ministry's website. Saudi Arabia's declaration it will "combat terrorism" is "something that has to be supported without preconditions." Isaias said in an interview published February 2016 on the same website.

Giving no details and not mentioning any use of Eritrean territory, Isaias said "the level of contribution might differ in terms of power and resources, but the need for cooperation is timely."
SAN ANTONIO  A woman was hospitalized Thursday after a four-vehicle crash in the Northeast Side that occurred when a driver pulled out into oncoming traffic, according to police at the scene.

Officers and paramedics responded to the crash around 8:40 a.m. near the intersection of Nacogdoches Road and Bell Drive, near the entrance to the El Dorado subdivision.
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The City Council on Thursday rejected City Manager Sheryl Sculleys recommendation to give a decade-long, $100 million contract to Chicago-based Entertainment Cruises and instead selected a team anchored by Hope Andrade and Lisa Wong to run San Antonios new fleet of river barges.

It certainly goes without saying that this is one of the most critical votes this council will take, Mayor Ivy Taylor said before the vote. I understand the gravity of our action today.

Only Councilman Ron Nirenberg, in the throes of an acrimonious runoff with Mayor Ivy Taylor, voted against the deal with Go Rio San Antonio, the Andrade-Wong partnership with Landrys Seafood Inn & Oyster Bar  San Antonio, Inc.

The 10-1 vote draws to an end a years-long process that often sputtered, much like an aging outboard motor. The city has issued multiple requests for proposals, stopping short of selecting winners on several occasions. Earlier in the year, city staff was poised to move forward and had planned to recommend Entertainment Cruises.

But Taylor balked, suggesting that the process had floundered, partly because former Mayor Phil Hardberger had been allowed to address the selection committee during his teams presentation  an opportunity typically reserved only for firm principals.

The city reissued an RFP on an expedited timeline and demanded new presentations. A second selection committee once again ranked Entertainment Cruises higher than four other teams, but Go Rio San Antonio edged out the Chicago firm  by 1.02 of 100 points  because of a benefit it received for having part-local ownership and small business elements.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Andrade told the council that she and her colleagues are no strangers or Johny-come-lately, and that theyll deliver on promises to be the best barge operator.

Yes, we are local. My business partner Lisa Wong and I  were lifelong residents, and along with our operational partner Landrys, the Go Rio team provides the city of San Antonio the highest guaranteed financial term by a margin of over $28 million, she said. We clearly understand the tremendous financial, operational and cultural responsibility that we have undertaken. You see, we not only know but we understand why the River Walk is indeed our crown jewel of our beautiful city. And we understand that the barge operation is the thread that weaves it all together.

Were looking forward to the tricentennial celebration and working together with the city in showcasing our beautiful city, its history, its culture, Andrade continued. Go Rio will make you proud. In fact, we guarantee it.

Last week, both Go Rio San Antonio and Entertainment Cruises, which would have operated here as San Antonio River Cruises, made presentations to the council in a public meeting. Though Andrade on Thursday thanked Sculley for allowing both teams to present to the council, it was Taylors decision to include both the staff-recommended firm and the first-place team from San Antonio.

It was just the latest in a process that has been unusual from the start, and marked by controversy throughout.

At Thursdays meeting, Councilman Rey Saldana, who is about to embark on his fourth and final term in the District 4 office, laid out a case for going against Sculleys recommendation.

The council previously outlined a specific process to handle such cases. Theres a selection team and a scoring process. Members of the vying teams are blacked out from contacting, much less lobbying, council and staff members. Its designed, Saldana said, to remove undue influence and politics from the decision.

What we do is protect ourselves from ourselves, and we ask the city staff to do that, primarily to avoid the incidences weve seen in the last week since we lifted the blackout period, he said.

Saldana had said he would support the first-place team, which hed expected to be the Chicago firm.

For Taylor and Nirenberg, who will face off in a June 10 election, the issue was about barges only on the surface. The contract was a proxy for a deeper war thats been brewing between the two for months.

The runoff between the two mayoral candidates has grown increasingly heated in recent days, the friction rising, the power-punches strengthening.

On Thursday, the two traded jabs in dueling afternoon press releases. Nirenberg accused Taylor of twice rigging the process. And Christian Anderson, Taylors campaign manager, sent out an email with a series of quotes charging that Nirenberg and Taylor accused her opponent of selling local businesses down the river in his support for the Chicago firm

It is shameful that politics won out over the public interest today, Nirenberg said in his release. Twice, a transparent and fair process selected the best company and twice Mayor Taylor intervened to rig the process in favor of a political ally. Although I remain hopeful that Go Rio San Antonio will be able to create a quality experience, these actions diminish public trust and have a chilling effect on businesses and individuals looking to invest in San Antonio.

Anderson said the Thursday vote was another failure of leadership for the councilman.

He wants to be mayor of our city, but today he said through his vote on the river barge concession that our people dont have the talent or skill to handle a major contract, Andersons email said. Not surprisingly, Nirenberg was once again the lone no vote on City Council.

jbaugh@express-news.net
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The pet rescue Spay-Neuter Assistance Program is reaching out to donors and the public for help after its clinic at Ingram Square was closed as the San Antonio Fire Department continues its investigation into the four-alarm fire that claimed the life of firefighter Scott Deem.

Team members for the program, also known as SNAP, arrived at the shopping plaza in the 6700 block of Ingram Road last Thursday night, concerned about two canine surgery patients and a foster dog who were spending the night at the clinic. At midnight, firefighters let the nonprofits lead veterinarian, Cristina Noltenius, retrieve the animals and drive them to the Animal Emergency Room on Fredericksburg Road.

Dr. Mary Kate Lawler, executive director and deputy director of operations, said she was relieved the animals werent hurt but she was shocked and saddened when she learned about the two injured firefighters and the fallen firefighter.

My heart breaks for the children of Scott Deem who lost their father too soon, she said, and for all those who knew and loved him.

Lawler said the clinic didnt suffer any damage. But she said the SAFD fire marshal notified agency staff they would not be able to return to the building until further notice, because of the uncertainty of the overall building structure. She said the loss of one of SNAPs three clinics would cripple the organization financially, because it represents a third of its revenue stream.

SNAP, a 501(c)(3) organization, offers low-cost and free veterinary work for people that have financial needs and low-cost spay-neuter surgeries for the general public. SNAP also has a clinic in Houston and another in Pasadena.

The staff at the Affordable Pet Care clinic heard about SNAPs plight and offered temporary space at an auxiliary building, 6603 Ingram Road, for the next two weeks. Tuesday, SNAP staff loaded equipment into their cars to make the short trip.

Weve always had a great relationship with SNAP, said Dr. Danny Earl, veterinarian and owner of Affordable Pet Care Northwest. So it just seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. It wasnt a difficult decision, we were very happy to help them.

Currently, the SNAP clinic doesnt have phone service. The staff asks anyone in need of wellness services or a surgery appointment to stop by the temporary location at 6603 Ingram Road.

Lawler said the clinic needs fleece blankets, bath towels, paper towels, distilled water and 12-gallon and 55-gallon garbage bags.

To donate, go to www.snapus.org/donate.

vtdavis@express-news.net
A woman who died in a single-car accident Friday night on the East Side has been identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office.

Bianca Ruth Dunn, 24, was found unresponsive when EMS arrived at 8:21 p.m. in the 6000 block of Interstate 10 East, according to a crash report released Wednesday by the San Antonio Police Department.
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Police in New Braunfels arrested a man this week who allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo last week with a note, according to a news release.

Casey James Wheatley, 21, was taken into custody Wednesday on a second-degree felony charge of robbery. He was arrested without incident and was transported to Comal County Jail, where his bond was set at $75,000. The investigation into the case is ongoing, the news release said.
The fire broke out in M. Nirufehi area near the Maaveyo Mosque around 12:30 am, according to news portal SunOnline international.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Thursday to crack down on the issue of inappropriate relationships between educators and students, a problem that has in recent years garnered increased media attention and concern from Texans statewide.

The bill, SB 7, will require teachers who engage in inappropriate relationships with students to lose their teaching licenses and their taxpayer pension, a news release said.

SB 7 also punishes administrators, superintendents and principals who turn a blind-eye to this type of misconduct by teachers.

RELATED: DA: Ex-Austin teacher pleads guilty to sex with teens, won't have to register as sex offender

Texas schools should be safe places for our children to learn and advance, Abbott said in a news release. Texas schools are filled with some of the best teachers in the country, but unfortunately a small number of them have abused their position, and as a parent I find this abuse of trust abhorrent. This type of behavior is unacceptable, and Texas will protect its children from sexual predators in our classrooms.

The release said SB 7 passed in the Texas legislature with broad bipartisan support.

READ MORE: La Vernia ISD to investigate employees' connection with hazing scandal

The new penalties will likely include the following:

Immediate termination and revocation of teaching certificate for the teachers that engaged in inappropriate relationships with students.

Fines up to $10,000 on superintendents or principals who dont report an improper relationship within 7 days of finding out.

Jail time for principals or superintendents who try to hide an improper relationship.

Suspension, revocation, or denial of the certification for educators who help at teacher who has been accused of improper relationship in obtaining a job at another school.

Suspension and annulment of an educators retirement pension.

Late last year, Rep. Tony Dale introduced House Bill 218 to address the growing problem of inappropriate teacher-student relationships.

Christie Goodman, Dales chief of staff, said HB 218 and SB 7 morphed into the same bill, with certain provisions and amendments made to finalize the legislation.

During the past five complete fiscal years, 908 cases of improper relationship between an educator and a student/minor have been investigated by the TEA.

2011-2012: 156 investigations

2012-2013: 163 investigations

2013-2014: 179 investigations

2014-2015: 188 investigations

2015-2016: 222 investigations

In the most current fiscal year, between September and December 2016, there have been 78 new cases opened by the TEA.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
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Paula Emma DeGrasse, who joined the Army Air Forces during World War II, serving in Germany in the immediate aftermath of the war, died May 1 at 93.

Raised in the small town of Millington, Tennessee, DeGrasse worked as a phone operator after graduating from high school in the early 1940s.

Enlisting in the Army Air Forces toward the end of World War II, DeGrasse was amongst the first American troops to fly into Berlin in July of 1945, said her son, William F. Frank DeGrasse. She talked about walking around Berlin and seeing women who were picking through the bricks of the buildings that had been destroyed, trying to find functional bricks so they could begin rebuilding.

DeGrasse met her future husband, who also was in the military, in Berlin, marrying in June 1946.

Although she considered making the miliary her career, DeGrasse, a staff sergeant, was discharged after finding out she and her husband were expecting their first child.

Settling in Memphis after the war, the family moved to Newport, Arkansas, for her husbands job in 1957.

Teaching her children to have tolerance for people of all kinds, DeGrasse made friends with African-American families in the small, segregated town.

More Information Paula Emma DeGrasse Born: Nov. 26, 1923, Memphis, Tennessee Died: May 1, 2017, Floresville Preceded by: Husband Bill DeGrasse; parents Emma Dison and William F. Burns; two brothers; a sister. Survived by: Son Frank DeGrasse and daughter-in-law Patricia Schofield; daughters Patricia King, and Alice Watts and son-in-law Carroll; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren. Services: Memorial at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church, 6201 Broadway, followed by burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road. See More Collapse

In rural Arkansas  there was a great deal of racial intolerance at that time, Frank DeGrasse said. My mother was very much not that way; her father was politically active and was liberal in racial issues in Memphis in the 1940s.

Moving to Little Rock in 1967, DeGrasse eventually separated from her husband and moved to South Carolina, living near her daughter in Myrtle Beach.

It was there she began managing concessions on the deep-sea fishing boats that were out to sea for hours every day.

She had never really had any connection with the ocean, or living on the coast, Frank DeGrasse said. She fell in love with it.

After living in Japan with her sons family, from where she was able to visit Korea and Vietnam, DeGrasse returned to South Carolina before moving to San Antonio in 2009.

Active until just recently, DeGrasse was chosen by Honor Flight Austin to visit Washington, D.C., in 2016 with women veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

She was beyond herself getting ready for it, and after she came back, her son said. That was a truly memorable experience that she had.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
During my lifetime, the United States has been involved in 18 foreign wars, excursions and interventions. Beginning with World War II, and continuing in a nearly unbroken streak that leads up to today's Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom, blood has been shed. Except for the triumphant World War II, the conflicts have produced few positive consequences.

Afghanistan, America's longest war, is a prime example. In a battle that can't be won, more than 2,300 American men and women have died since the Afghanistan invasion began shortly after 9/11. Most of the casualties were age 30 or younger. While inconsequential compared to lives cut short, Afghanistan has been a bottomless money pit. The cost to date exceeds $1 trillion, and in fiscal year 2017, $500 billion will be squandered. In Afghanistan, the best thing to do would be to follow the advice then-Vermont Senator George Aiken gave President Johnson about Vietnam: "Declare victory and get out."

Foreign wars fought on insurgents' soil are hard to win. Afghanistan, which retired Central Intelligence Agency analyst Milton Bearden called "the graveyard of empires," proves the point. Afghanistan routed the British four times - 1839, 1879, 1919 and 2001 - and embarrassed the Russians when they withdrew in 1988. But, in Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara foolishly carried on despite the overwhelming odds against them.

North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap told McNamara that his soldiers would be willing to fight 100 years to beat the Americans. Nguyen Giap, knowing the answer would be no, then asked McNamara if he was willing to send Americans into Vietnam for another century. Before he died, McNamara wrote in his memoir that America was "wrong, terribly wrong" about Vietnam, no solace to the 58,000 Americans killed or their families.

Estimates vary about how many Vietnamese lives were lost during the war's nearly two decades, but the consensus is that more than one million were killed. Many of the lucky ones that survived made their way to refugee camps in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, and then in the mid-1980s to the U.S.

Some of those who resettled in California's San Joaquin Valley became my English as a Second Language students. They struggled to adapt to a dramatically different environment, culture and language. But their American-born children assimilated and, overall, prospered. In general, my experience teaching the Vietnamese war refugees was rewarding and served as my introduction to U.S. immigration policies in which I have been immersed for 30 years.

Despite my favorable experiences with my Vietnamese students, my ongoing observations tell me that an immigration pause is needed. The U.S. played the lead role in Southeast Asians' displacement, and therefore had a moral obligation to provide for them. But that same responsibility doesn't exist for unlawful border crossers or to those wanting to come for economic opportunity. Millions of Americans are unemployed or under-employed. And I'm skeptical of Middle Eastern migrants that national security officials unanimously agree can't be thoroughly vetted. Resettle them close to their home nations so they can promptly return when conditions stabilize.

This Memorial Day, Congress is embroiled in its never-ending dispute about immigration - what should it do about a wall, sanctuary cities, criminal aliens and Middle Eastern refugees. Whatever legislation may result from those debates must put Americans first. Since World War II, more than 500,000 American military personnel have died in combat. Their sacrifices for their families, friends and neighbors to keep America great must be honored.

---Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow. Contact him at joeguzzardi@capsweb.org and on Twitter @joeguzzardi19.
To the Editor:

Today in The Courier there was an article from the Associated Press in Austin concerning the possibility of Texas textbooks being controlled by an elected, conservative, Texas Board of Education.

Evidently there has been two decades of liberal ideology being taught in our public schools that may be endangered if a certain piece of legislation passes in the state Legislature.

The article indicated that this legislation could cause "rolling back limits that have been in place for more than two decades". Is two decades of liberal philosophy being allowed in our public schools enough time for it to become truth?

Imagine, an elected, Texas Board of Education should have the power to decide what is being taught to our children. This reporter would probably prefer that an appointed liberal federal judge should be in charge of what is taught to our children rather than an elected bunch of conservative Republicans. You know, there is an election process and this bunch of conservative Republicans could be turned into a bunch of liberal Democrat Socialists. (I know not every Republican is Conservative and not every Democrat is a Socialist, but you get what I mean.)

But then the Associated Press is the only major worldwide news source we have today, and apparently this elected, conservative, Texas Board of Education disturbs them. There used to be two sources for national and international news, the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI); now there is just one, the AP. There also used to be two major newspapers in our area, The Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press, now there is just one, the Chronicle, and it owns many of the local newspapers; our Courier included.

Maybe the elected Texas Board of Education ought to have the authority to decide what is put in our textbooks to be taught in our public schools.

Jim Howard

The Woodlands

Democronies will do anything to get "Queen" Hillary in office

To the editor:

I guess the last few letters I have sent to the Editor were not PC enough to make it into the paper. But I see Mr. Doherty has no problem getting his rambling letter in. But then he don't down the democronies like I do. So keep up the good work Mr. Doherty, we would not know what was going on with out you. I, for one, love your letters.

Don't think this will make it in the paper but am going to try. The democronies of DC now have what they want to get rid of Mr. Trump. Just go ahead and do it. Impeach him get him out of office. But one small problem. After you get rid of him you have to get rid of all the Republican in line behind him for his job. But I have faith you can do it. Then go get "Queen" Hillary and put her in there. While you are at it just make her "Queen/President" for life. Give her the power to appoint who she want to led after she is to old. That way you, and all the democronies in the country, will be assuared of keeping control of the USA. As we all know if the democronies were in charge we would be a lot better off. Just think of what they can do: open borders, health care for everyone paid for by the government, no big military budget, yes a chicken in every pot and a new car to boot. Can't wait till they are in charge for ever. This will then be a "great" country again. So lets all back them so they can get Queen Hillary in and everything will be great.

Now I do hope some people out there know this is a joke, but there are also so some who want it to happen.

So come on all of you and burn up your key boards telling me how wrong I am. I can't wait to see what Mr. Doherty has to say. Just hope this letter makes it into print but am not holding my breath.

Thank you,

B. K. Morgan

Conroe

Are scrapes on official's face newsworthy?

To the editor:

Does The Courier staff really consider a scrape on an elected officials body/face newsworthy? Seriously? There's surely items of greater interest.

Stacey Buick

Montgomery

Apology to B.P. Herrington

To the editor:

I erroneously made the assumption that B. P. Herrington was the speaker in question on May 16 at The Woodlands Bible Church. I apologize to Mr. Herrington for making an incorrect assumption.

Dale Fessenden

MCTP Board Member

Conroe
Restoring the Alamo and creating a museum is fine. But getting rid of the Cenotaph and creating a glass wall around the plaza is not acceptable. Alamo Plaza is where everyone meets, a great open public park.

I have no trust in the City Council because it has been just 15 months since the same council backed building a 15-story hotel above the old Joskes, which would have ruined the effort to have the mission part of the World Heritage Site designation.

Yet the council is taking major credit for the World Heritage designation. I am beginning to wonder why they are taking a chance turning the plaza into an area where no public speaking, no protests, no raspas and no local people are allowed. Does anyone really believe the state is going to allow much on the property?

The Alamo plan will be San Antonios version of the Berlin Wall. I say, Tear down the wall! Enough is enough!

John M. Sanchez

Independent panel

Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election because:

1. She is a woman.

2. She is a very progressive Democrat.

3. She is a Clinton.

4. She ran a poor campaign in the Rust Belt.

5. Voter suppression (look what went on in Wisconsin; the same happened in Texas).

6. Former FBI Director James Comeys unfounded late revelations before the election.

7. Russian interference in our elections.

No. 7 should have all of us very concerned; therefore, I am calling on Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith to ask for an independent commission to investigate Russias interference in our elections.

Richard Caldwell, Boerne

Big voting lie

Re: Lack of valid ID prevented voters in Wisconsin from casting ballots, Nation and, May 13:

State voter ID laws have but one objective: to preserve the right to vote by all U.S. citizens living in the precinct, period.

The Associated Press fake news story from Milwaukee is replete with misstatements, mischaracterizations and half-truths. It is a blatant attempt to justify voter fraud by exaggerating how difficult it is for citizens to present an acceptable document that provides proof that they are who they say they are.

Its the Big Lie.

Ron Jenkins

No more chances

On the morning after Donald Trump won the election, I posted on Facebook that I was, for the first time, ashamed to be an American. I was told to be quiet and give him a chance.

Every day since, he has embarrassed our country. Every day is some new drama. So much so that you have to wonder about not just his mental health and IQ but also the integrity of every Republican lawmaker who continues to back him or say things like, Its just a distraction.

What the heck? What does it take for our lawmakers to stand up for the Constitution and its most basic tenet, that no one is above the law?

Yes, we should find out all about Russia and how it affected the election, but we are past the point where that will be what gets him impeached. How can this be the path to making America great again? If we had an attorney general with an ounce of integrity, he would already be on the chopping block. He had his chance. No more. He needs to be gone.

J. Kristi Hood

Switching duties?

Now that local law enforcement will be enforcing immigration law, can we expect that federal immigration officers will be enforcing traffic laws?

I didnt think so.

Brian Purcell

Beyond nauseous

President Donald Trump doesnt get it. He seems to think that by firing FBI Director James Comey he will get rid of the Russian investigation. If he or anyone in his administration is involved, it is the career investigators in the various intelligence agencies who will find this out, not the political appointees heading these agencies.

Hillary Clinton lost the election for many reasons, one of them being Comey reopening the investigation regarding her email server 11 days before the election, just as early voting was beginning.

Comey, a lifelong Republican, must be wondering where he went wrong and probably feeling more than just mildly nauseous. I bet he feels like throwing up!

Greg Castillo

Sad development

There is bigly important breaking news. Everybody is talking about it. How Donald Trump couldnt buy off acting Attorney General Sally Yates, New York prosecutor Preet Bharara or FBI Director James Comey, as he did the Florida attorney general investigating Trump University.

So he had to fire them!

Very sad!

Ken Horn

In my brief lifetime, the GOP has morphed from being the Party of Lincoln to the Party of Reagan and now the Party of Putin. I now understand where the GOP gets its ideas for economic, tax and health care policy. Clearly there should be only one ultra-wealthy ruling class, and the rest of us are peasants who should serve that class.

That is sad and dangerous for the rest of us.

Clark Roberts, Bulverde

Chill and serve

Recipe for impeachment:

Lie (a lot).

Make rookie mistakes (a lot).

Get mad.

Make a really big mistake.

Lie about it.

Double down.

Repeat.

Barry Duncan, Seguin

Art of the scam

Donald Trump has moved from the more mundane world of shady business practices, bankruptcies and lack of moral compass. He has now graduated to the big leagues, with his probable obstruction of justice.

So I have a title for his new book he could consider: The Art of the Crooked Deal.

Rick Rodriguez
Re: Political cartoon, Nick Anderson, Saturday:

The silly cartoon, depicting a throne where President Donald Trump supposedly sits, is even sillier when it is compared to photographs of Trump, looking every inch a king, sitting beside Saudi Arabias King Salman.

A little more editorial discretion, please.

Pat McMillan

Self-diagnosis

According to reports, Donald Trump called former FBI Director James Comey a nut job.

I am neither a psychiatrist nor a psychologist, but based on simple observation of Trumps antics over the past two years, and with all due respect to Mr. Comey, if the so-called presidents statement were true, wouldnt that be a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Carlos Valle Jr., Laredo

Trump disrespected

Re: Trumps great day in Saudi Arabia includes $110 billion in U.S. arms deal, Nation & World, Sunday:

It is so obvious your newspaper is so liberal by placing the story of his very important trip, which is about making peace and getting along with our allies, practically on the last page  A14. It is disgraceful! Are you forgetting a lot of your subscribers are conservatives?

Please extend some courtesy to those and, above all, respect the reason our president is making this trip!

Tillie Hamilton

Facts and lies

Re: Alternative? Maybe. Lies? Not exactly, Frank Wians, Another View, May 10:

I strongly disagree with Mr. Wians. Having studied logic, I found flaws in his thoughts. Before it was proven the Earth was round, in about 300 B.C., it was believed to be flat. This belief was not a fact; it was simply a belief, like others at the time: the gods lived on Mount Olympus and interfered with human affairs; oracles foretold the future, etc.

Today, we use the scientific method to determine if a belief is true or not. It a belief is shown to be, then it is a fact. There are no alternative facts; something is either true or false.

However, people can have beliefs that are impossible to test (does God exist?) or contrary to facts. If a person states his belief is true even though it has been proven false, that person is lying. But if a person states the belief is a belief, not a fact, that is OK.

When politicians say the Trump health care bill will not result in people with pre-existing conditions losing coverage, that is a lie; just read the bill. To say an alternative fact is not a lie is the height of absurdity, ignorance, whatever.

And our folks in Washington, whether Democrats or Republicans, say many things daily that are absurd, stupid, ignorant and, yes, lies.

Charlene Kaiser, Pipe Creek

Growing fear

Re: Shameful article and Stop the fake news, Your Turn, May 13:

The fear for my country that erupted the morning after the presidential election worsens when I read letters to the editor condemning the Express-News for publishing criticism of the current occupant of the White House, deeming it fake news. Its quite discouraging.

All I can do is to suggest that people read the 128-page treatise on tyranny written by Timothy Snyder, the Levin Professor of History at Yale. The title is On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.

Albert Marten

Degrading the office

At 74 years, Ive seen a lot of presidents, some good, some not so good. Ive always respected the office of president regardless of who held the office.

Today, Im sorry to admit I no longer have that respect even for the office of president. Simply put, there is nothing there to respect. Through his actions, language, demeanor and ignorance, the current officeholder has managed to degrade the presidency to the lowest level ever. Real adults understand this.

Donald Trump celebrates when Republican radicals take over Congress to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, taking away medical insurance from millions of Americans, reducing coverage, and increasing out-of-pocket cost for millions more.

With new scandals and cover-ups almost every week and dumb tweets in between, it goes from bad to worse. And, consistent with this almost childish behavior, Trump has already started campaigning for the next presidential election  over three years from now. Really, what is there to respect?

The only practical solution I see comes in 2018. We can elect new members of Congress to provide needed balance and sanity in our federal government.

David Smith, Bulverde

Pressure grows

Re: Trump: Firing eased pressure of probe front page, Saturday:

Instead of easing pressure of probe, Donald Trump confirmed his guilt.

If he had nothing to hide, he should have allowed the probe to clear him.

Jose P. Filio

A new label

Re: Consider character of river barge operator, Brian Chasnoff, May 18:

Regarding Lisa Wongs opinion of her competitions ability to fully understand the local culture, Chasnoff writes, On Tuesday, I asked Wong why she thought the city preferred the Chicago-based team. She replied, We can only assume. Dont want to say its insulting, but.  Are you trying to tell me that a local doesnt know our San Antonio city better than someone from out of state?

With that, I discovered myself to be a  labelist. That is, being sensitive to political correctness, Im tuned into people being labeled sexist, feminist, misogynist, racist, fascist, etc.

With Ms. Wongs quote, I have another label to offer, geographist  someone who thinks a business cannot properly function in a different geographic environment. Yeah, thats it! Geographist!

Ms. Wong, that would not be insulting but rather politically correct. Feel free to use the word when referring to your river barge competition.

Frank O. Holder Jr.
Oak Ridge, Tenn.

In his dystopian Inaugural Address, President Donald Trump painted a picture of America as a nation gripped by vast "carnage"  a landscape of "rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones" that cried out for a strongman to put "America first" and stop the world from stealing our jobs. It was a shocking speech in many ways and reportedly prompted former President George W. Bush to say to those around him on the dais, "That was some really weird (stuff)."

It was weird, but was it all wrong?

I just took a car trip through the heart of that landscape  driving from Austin, Ind., down through Louisville, Ky., winding through Appalachia and ending up at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to try to answer that question.

Trump is half right in his diagnosis, but his prescription is 100 percent wrong. We do have an epidemic of failing communities. But we also have a bounty of thriving ones because of strong leaders at the local level.

Indeed, this notion that America is a nation divided between two coasts that are supposedly thriving, pluralizing and globalizing and a vast flyover interior, where jobs have disappeared, drug addiction is rife and everyone is hoping Trump can bring back the 1950s, is highly inaccurate.

The big divide in America is between strong communities and weak communities. You can find weak ones along the coast and thriving ones in Appalachia, and vice versa. It's community, stupid  not geography.

The communities that are making it share a key attribute: They've created diverse, adaptive coalitions, where local businesses get deeply involved in the school system, translating in real time the skills being demanded by the global economy.

They also tap local colleges for talent and innovations that can diversify their economies and nurture unique local assets that won't go away. Local foundations and civic groups step in to fund supplemental learning opportunities and internships, and local governments help to catalyze it all.

The success stories are all bottom-up; the failures are all where the bottom has fallen out.

I started in one of the bottomless places: Austin, Ind., a town of 4,000 off Interstate 65, which was described in a brilliant series in the Louisville Courier-Journal "as the epicenter of a medical disaster," where citizens of all ages are getting hooked on liquefied painkillers and shooting up with dirty needles.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that Austin "contains the largest drug-fueled HIV outbreak to hit rural America in recent history." Austin, the newspaper noted, sits at the intersection of hopelessness and economic ruin."

I chose to go there to meet the town's only doctor, Will Cooke, whose heroic work I learned of from the Courier-Journal series. Cooke's clinic, Foundations Family Medicine, sits at 25 W. Main St.  opposite Marko's Pizza & Sub, a liquor store and a drugstore. Down the street was a business combination I'd never seen before: Eagle's Nest Tanning and Storage. It's the Kissed by the Sun Tanning Salon and a warehouse  both of which seemed to be shuttered, with the space available for rent.

For generations Austin's economy was anchored by the Morgan Foods canning plant, but, as The Courier-Journal noted, "then came a series of economic blows familiar to many manufacturing-based communities. The American Can plant next to Morgan Foods shut its doors in 1986 after more than 50 years in business. A local supermarket closed. Workers left, along with the jobs, and poverty crept up among those who stayed."

Austin, Cooke explained to me, got caught in the vortex of declining blue-collar jobs, leading to a loss of dignity for breadwinners, depression and family breakdown, coinciding with doctors' and drug companies' pushing painkillers, and with too many people in the community failing to realize that to be in the middle class now required lifelong learning  not just to get a job but to hold one.

"Thirty percent of students were not even graduating from high school," Cooke said. "Then you take high unemployment, generational poverty, homelessness, childhood abuse and neglect, and cloak that within a closed-off culture inherited from Appalachia, and you begin to have the ingredients that contributed to the HIV outbreak."

Austin's insularity proved deadly for both jobs and families.

Lately, though, Cooke told me, the town's prospects have started to improve, precisely because the community has come together to start up and learn up and give a hand up.

But just 40 minutes down the highway from Austin, I interviewed Greg Fischer, the mayor of Louisville, a city bustling with energy and new buildings. "We have 30,000 job openings," said Fischer, and for the best of reasons: Louisville has "a vision for how a city can be a platform for human potential to flourish." It combines "strategies of the heart," like asking everyone to regularly give a day of service to the city; strategies of science, like "citizen scientists" bearing GPS-enabled inhalers that the city uses to track air pollution, mitigate it and warn asthma suffers; and strategies for job creation that leverage Louisville's unique assets.

Show me a community that understands today's world and is working together to thrive within it, and I'll show you a community on the rise  coastal or interior, urban or rural.

Thomas L. Friedman writes for The New York Times.
WILTON  Saturday marks the beginning of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, prayer and introspection for 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide and an estimated 3 to 7 million in the U.S.

Every day during Ramadan, healthy adult Muslims like Golnar Sadeghi fast from sunrise to sunset and break fast traditionally with a date first and then with an elaborate feast celebrated with family and friends.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and is an intimate experience between a Muslim and his or her creator, Sadeghi said, that should prompt one to be more giving and to study the Quran more intensely.

I mean, its not just an abstinence of food and drink, she said. Its very deep  your behavior, your spirit.

Although the practice requires a lot of self-discipline, Sadeghi said she and her family have carried on well, whether at school, home, work or during travel.

Sadeghi is a naturopathic physician at Tully Health Center in Stamford and her husband, Hossein Sadeghi, is a pediatric pulmonologist at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia Medical School in New York City.

It helps that the community in Wilton have been accepting of their religion during the 20 years theyve lived in town, she added.

I think thats the beauty of the town, that we could be open about it, talking about it, Golnar said. So friends, teachers and all of them respected that.

Both her son Ali and younger daughter Donya started fasting during their later years at Wilton High School and were probably the only ones fasting at the school, they said.

Growing up in Wilton meant the Muslim community was small, at times nonexistent, but that made their experience of practicing their faith unique, Ali Sadeghi said.

He graduated from Wilton High School in 2009 and his sister graduated from the high school in 2013.

The Islam we grew up with was a very much more an American type of Islam, he said. Here, when we go to break fast  whether its different communities in Norwalk, Stamford or New Haven  all of sudden, the thing that brings us together isnt our nationality. What is it? Its that religion that brings us together: Islam.

I think even growing up in the 21st century as a Muslim here in Connecticut, you still want to try to get back to the roots, where it is doing some of the more basic things, he added.

The end of Ramadan is considered one of the biggest Muslim holidays, celebrated by families and loved ones for three days in the Middle East and one day in America, Donya Sadeghi said.

Growing up, we were always at the other Islamic center and everyone dresses up and theres activities for the kids and theres a big feast and prayers in the morning and exchanging gifts, she said. Typical to like any other holiday.

For the Sadeghi family, the tradition has been to gather with other Muslim families from the area. They invite their non-Muslim friends, too, so they can experience a part of their Islam faith, Golnar Sadeghi said, because Islam is not just a religion but a way of life as well.

Its wonderful, she said. Its a good feeling when you accomplish this after a month. You want to carry on what you felt or how you felt. You want to carry on being a better person. Arent we all trying all the time to become a better person?

skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1044; @stephaniehnkim
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (PGH) has reversed the new prices for the private wards.

In a statement PGH said this comes after listening to the concerns of clients.

Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals would like to inform members of the public that the fees adjustments for our private wards which we intended to implement with effect from 17 June, 2019 have been suspended forthwith to allow for further consultations.

We have seriously reconsidered our position after listening to the concerns from our valued patients. We are therefore reverting to the charges before the announcement. Members of the public will be informed of any developments in due course, read the statement.

The accommodation fees had been pegged at executive suite $ 1 500, big room $800, small room $600, ICU $800, HDU $600 and maternity $600 per day.

 Herald

Breaking News via Email
Yves here. I know its not fair to make fun of Republicans, since they cant help themselves. But still

On a slightly more serious note, youll notice that virtually all the arguments are based on an updated version of deserving poor. If you need health care, its your fault because you made bad lifestyle choices (as if, say, anyone would choose to be a job that gave you repetitive stress injuries) or choose the wrong parents or are female and decided to do what women are supposed to do, have babies.

By Roy Poses, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University, and the President of FIRM  the Foundation for Integrity and Responsibility in Medicine. Originally published at Health Care Renewal

There have been multiple legislative attempts at major health care reform in the US. Typically, such attempts feature considerable public debate, including speechs, congressional committee hearings, sometimes progressing to debates by the House and Senate. (For example, see this Frontline chronology of the proceedings up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in 2009.) Usually the discussion includes some real experts on health care policy, and some real health care professionals, and at least appears to reference some data about medicine, health care, and health economics. Whether previous debates were truly evidence-based is not clear, but it appeared to me that they at least acknowledged the importance of evidence, and maybe even at times a rigorous approach to it.

However, the proceedings up to the passage of the American Health Care Act seemed somewhat different. There were no public committee hearings or debates. Per a Los Angeles Times article in April, 2017 (via the Chicago Tribune):

President Trump and House Republicans, in their rush to resuscitate a bill rolling back the Affordable Care Act, are increasingly isolating themselves from outside input and rejecting entreaties to work collaboratively, according to multiple healthcare officials who have tried to engage GOP leaders.

In particular,

And senior House Republicans and White House officials have almost completely shut out doctors, hospitals, patient advocates and others who work in the healthcare system, industry officials say, despite pleas from many healthcare leaders to seek an alternative path that doesnt threaten protections for tens of millions of Americans. To think you are going to revamp the entire American healthcare system without involving any of the people who actually deliver healthcare is insanity, said Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Assn., whose members include many of the nations largest medical systems.

While the experts have been shut out, some of its supporters of the AHCA in the US House of Representatives have been free with their explanations of their actions. Some have been rather alternative, so to speak. Some recent examples, in chronologic order,

Rep Roger Marshall (R-Kansas): the Poor Just Dont Want Health Care

As reported by the Washington Post, March 9, 2017

Just like Jesus said, The poor will always be with us,  Marshall said in response to a question about Medicaid, which expanded under Obamacare to more than 30 states. There is a group of people that just dont want health care and arent going to take care of themselves. He added that morally, spiritually, socially, the poor, including the homeless, just dont want health care. The Medicaid population, which is [on] a free credit card as a group, do probably the least preventive medicine and taking care of themselves and eating healthy and exercising. And Im not judging; Im just saying socially thats where they are, he told STAT, a website focused on health-care coverage.

The problem is that Marshal, who is a physician, did not provide evidence that there is some essential characteristic of the poor that causes them to make bad health decisions, or discus whether perhaps the poor face constraints on their health care decision making that the rich do not. The implication appears to be that Marshal is treating an promoting an ideological or religious opinion as if it were derived from epidemiology.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) The Problem with Obamacare is the People Who Are Healthy Pay for the People Who Are Sick.

As reported by MSNBC, March 9, 2017

Take today, for example, when the GOP House Speaker did a little presentation on Capitol Hill for reporters in defense of his controversial American Health Care Act, which some have begun calling Trumpcare. At one point during the slideshow  complete with Ryans sleeves rolled up  the Wisconsin Republican tried to explain what he sees as the Affordable Care Acts fatal flaw: The fatal conceit of Obamacare is that were just gonna make everybody buy our health insurance at the federal-government level, young and healthy people are going to go into the market and pay for the older, sicker people. So, the young healthy person is going to be made to buy health care, and theyre going to pay for the person, you know, gets breast cancer in her 40s or who gets heart disease in his 50s. [] The whole idea of Obamacare is  the people who are healthy pay for the people who are sick. Its not working, and thats why its in a death spiral.

As MSNBC reported, the problem is with that is

that Ryan doesnt seem to understand what insurance means. Look at that quote again: The whole idea of Obamacare is  the people who are healthy pay for the people who are sick. Well, yes. The whole idea of health insurance is to establish a system in which the people who are healthy pay for the people who are sick. This really isnt that complicated. In fact, its incredibly common for the vast majority of Americans: we pay premiums, the money goes into a pool, funds from that pool pay for care. Its Insurance 101. If Ryan disapproves of this model  which is weird, given that his own reform bill is built on consumers getting coverage through traditional insurance  there are effectively three alternatives. If the healthy arent going to pay the sick, who will? The sick can try to pay for themselves, the government can pick up the tab, or the sick simply wont get care.

Rep John Shimkus (R-Illinois) Why Should Men Have to Purchase Prenatal Care?

As reported by the Washington Post, March 9, 2017, regarding a hearing in the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee

What mandate in the Obamacare bill does he take issue with? Doyle asked Shimkus, using the formal parlance of congressional committees. What about men having to purchase prenatal care? Shimkus said. At that point, one could hear the room start to stir. Im just . . . is that not correct? Shimkus said. And should they?

Rep Shimkus, apparently like Rep Ryan, does not seem to understand the concept of health insurance. The Post article put it this way,

Heres how insurance expert and columnist Nancy Metcalf answered a similar question from a Consumer Reports reader that year: Health insurance, like all insurance, works by pooling risks. The healthy subsidize the sick, who could be somebody else this year and you next year. Those risks include any kind of health care a person might need from birth to death  prenatal care through hospice. No individual is likely to need all of it, but we will all need some of it eventually. So, as a middle-aged childless man you resent having to pay for maternity care or kids dental care. Shouldnt turnabout be fair play? Shouldnt pregnant women and kids be able to say, Fine, but in that case why should we have to pay for your Viagra, or prostate cancer tests, or the heart attack and high blood pressure you are many times more likely to suffer from than we are? Once you start down that road, its hard to know where to stop. If you slice and dice risks, eventually you dont have a risk pool at all, and the whole idea of insurance falls apart.

Rep Mo Brooks, (R-Alabama): People who Lead Good Lives Do Not Get Sick

As reported by Vox on May 2, 2017, Rep Brooks said in an interview on CNN to explain why people with pre-existing conditions should personally pay for their health insurance

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. 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.

He seems to be arguing first that people who virtuous (good) are healthier than others. He certainly provided no evidence for this assertion, which, like the assertion by Rep Marshall above, appears to be ideological or religious judgment disguised as epidemiology.

Rep Paul Labrador (R  Idaho) Nobody Dies Because They Dont Have Access to Healthcare

As reported by CBS News on May 6, 2017

Labrador made the comments the day after the U.S. House passed a GOP-led health care bill repealing and replacing chunks of Obamacare. Labrador, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was responding to an audience member who expressed concern about how the bill would affect Medicaid recipients.

You are mandating people on Medicaid accept dying. You are making a mandate that will kill people, the audience member said, before being drowned out by Labradors response. No one wants anybody to die, Labrador said. You know, that line is so indefensible. Nobody dies because they dont have access to health care.

It is not completely clear whether Rep Labrador meant access to health care, or access to health care insurance. A person with appendicitis, acute bacterial pneumonia, a myocardial infarction, etc, etc who fails to seek acute care because of lack of a means to pay for it could well die. As an absolute, this statement is obviously untrue.

Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget: The Person Who Sits at Home, Eats Poorly and Gets Diabetes Does Not Deserve Health Insurance

As reported by the Huffington Post on May 12, 2017

he drew a distinction between people like Kimmels son, born with a congenital heart disease, and people who end up with conditions like diabetes. That doesnt mean we should take care of the person who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes, Mulvaney said, according to a Washington Examiner account consistent with real-time social media reports. Is that the same thing as Jimmy Kimmels kid? I dont think that it is.

This is not exactly the clearest statement but it seems to imply that only people who make unhealthy life-style choices get diabetes, which certainly as an absolute is not true; and furthermore that people who develop diseases due to poor life-style choices do not deserve care. The juxtaposition suggests that driving this is an ideological or religious judgment about who is deserving.

Video diversion: would Mr Mulvaney think this person deserves health care?

Summary

In 2003 I published an article entitled A Cautionary Tale: the Dysfunction of American Health Care, which summarized the views of health care professionals about the causes of health care dysfunction. One of the major findings was the importance of  attacks on the scientific basis of medicine. In turn, I hypothesized that some of these attacks stemmed from the rise of post-modernism, then a fashionable intellectual affectation on university campuses, mainly of the avant garde left-wing. I wrote then:

Postmodernism is an attempt to question the fundamental philosophical and political premises of the West. It argues that many of the concepts we take for grantedincluding truth, morality, and objectivityare culturally constructed To postmodernists, truth is just what the powerful say is true.

Now it seems that post-modernist thought has escaped the confines of left-wing humanities departments, and infiltrated political discourse, and for some unfathomable reason, seems to particularly affect some of those who profess to be conservative. After all, in January, KellyAnne Conway, a senior White House adviser, defended the administrations arguments as alternative facts. (Look here.)

Facts, however, are stubborn things. Evidence is evidence, no matter what politician it might offend. Basing legislation on the sorts of alternative thinking displayed in the cases above could lead to real life, or life and death consequences for the sick, injured and vulnerable. True health care reform requires clear thinking and the input of people who actually know something about health care.
This is what its like to be struck by lightning Mosaic (J-LS).

Feds probing psychiatric hospitals for locking in patients to boost profits Ars Technica. Because markets.

Magellans Hamish Douglass says Uber is a Ponzi scheme Sidney Morning Herald (PU). Hubert Horan:

While the substantive comments in the article are all valid (one of the stupidest businesses in history, 99% chance of bankruptcy, etc.) I would quibble with the Ponzi Scheme characterization, which Ive seen pop up a number of times recently, but isnt really accurate. In a Ponzi Scheme, cash from later investors would be used to provide returns to earlier investors, and managements main focus would be to keep the stream of new investment coming in. Yes, there was an investment shift after 2015 from mainstream Silicon Valley VCs to dumb(-er) foreigners (Russians, Saudis). None of that later money went into the pockets of the earlier investors. And new investment pretty much stopped after the Saudi investment. Raising dumb money after youve created a reputation as a hot investment is a clear signal of underlying issues, but it isnt a Ponzi Scheme.

Playing the Shell Game in the Mediterranean Der Spiegel. Malta.

Is Inflation Understated in Canada? You Bet: National Bank Wolf Street

Bloodshed, fires and chaos as thousands march in Brazil to demand presidents ouster Los Angeles Times. Hmm. I guess defenestrating Dilma hasnt worked out so well.

The struggle to put Venezuela back on the path to economic health: Don Pittis CBC

Syraqistan

Manchester

China?

India cancels plans for huge coal power stations as solar energy prices hit record low Independent

Brexit

Greg Gianforte: Fox News team witnesses GOP House candidate body slam reporter FOX (!).

Republican candidate charged with misdemeanour assault of reporter CBC. This might net out positive for Gianforte: Stopped for gas & snacks en route to Bozeman and told a clerk about Gianforte allegations. Her response: my kind of politician.'

Behind the Montana special election bodyslam story is an important point about AHCA Vox

Health Care

Health care or Russia? Democrats divided on 2018 focus Politico

Ukraine Factions Vie for Lobbying Edge Counterpunch

Fighting Corruption, Ukraine Starts to Judge Its Judges US News

The Hunt for Ukraines Toppled Lenin Statues Atlas Obscura

New Cold War

GETTING JULIAN ASSANGE: THE UNTOLD STORY John Pilger. A compilation.

Trump Transition

Class War

Your Addiction to Social Media Is No Accident Vice (Re Silc).

Football: A deep dive into the tech and data behind the best players in the world Ars Technica

The Challenge of Flying Below Sea Level Avgeekery.com

New TSA procedures target electronics, food ABC

Outsmarted Rick Perlstein, The Baffler

Why Economists Have to Embrace Complexity to Avoid Disaster Steve Keen, Evonomics

Antidote du jour:

Bonus antidote (Richard Smith):

Kittens raised near rabbits learn to jump like rabbits pic.twitter.com/kixJx02nKj  Paul Haine (@paul_haine) May 24, 2017

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By Steve Horn, a freelance investigative journalist and past reporter and researcher at the Center for Media and Democracy. Originally published at DeSmogBlog

President Donald Trumps newly proposed budget calls for selling over half of the nations Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the 687 million barrels of federally owned oil stockpiled in Texas and Louisiana as an emergency energy supply.

While most observers believe the budget will not pass through Congress in its current form, budgets depict an administrations priorities and vision for the country. Some within the oil industry have lobbied for years to drain the SPR, created in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis.

Leading the way has been ExxonMobil, which lobbied for congressional bills in both 2012 and 2015 calling for SPR oil to be sold on the private sector market. The Trump administration says selling off oil from the national reserve could generate $16.58 billion in revenue for U.S. taxpayers over the next 10 years.

But EnergyWires Peter Behr reported that the Trump SPR budget proposal would potentially violate U.S. commitments as a member of the International Energy Agency.

As a member of the International Energy Agency, the United States must store enough petroleum to equal at least 90 days of U.S. crude imports, according to DOE, wrote Behr. The SPR held the equivalent of 141 days of imports as of last September, so cutting the supply in half would apparently put the United States below its commitment to global stockpiles, an insurance policy against a major loss of crude supply from conflict or natural disasters.

Trumps budget plan would not only reduce the SPR storage to a level of 260 million barrels, it would shut down two of the four SPR sites.

Lobbying to Draw Down Oil Reserves

Exxon, as well as the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), have long lobbied for a drawdown of SPRs supply, according to lobbying disclosure records reviewed by DeSmog. They supported two key bills, proposed but never passed by Congress: H.R. 4136 in 2012 and S. 1231 in 2015.

H.R. 4136, lobbied for by Exxon, API, and IPAA, says that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve can only be tapped if more federally owned public lands and waters were leased to the oil and gas industry. S. 1231, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Modernization Act of 2015, called for a Department of Energy study of the SPR to determine options available for [its] continued operation, to be completed 180 days after the bills passage.



Credit: Congress.gov

Exxon was the sole company to lobby for S. 1231, advocating for it across seven quarters in 2015 and 2016. While Exxon lobbied to make SPR oil available on the open market, the company actually purchased 500,000 barrels of oilfrom the reserve in 2014, under the auspices of a test auction called for by then-U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz.

After the 2014 test bid, Moniz also advocated for a drawdown of the SPR.

The value of the SPR is its capability to move significant and incremental barrels into the global market, in effect, moving beyond the framework of import protection, Moniz said at the U.S. Energy Information Administrations 2015 annual conference. We need to ensure that in an oil emergency  a global disruption  we are actually putting incremental barrels into the market and not effectively shutting in our own production. The more incremental oil from the SPR we can move into our own markets, the more foreign cargoes can be rerouted.

In addition, nearly a decade before the test auction, Exxon was granted permission to buy six million barrels of oilfrom the SPR in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Heritage Foundation Push

The Heritage Foundation, a long-time grantee of ExxonMobil and conservative think tank with GOP ties, advocated for emptying the SPR in its report, Why Congress Should Pull the Plug on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, written by Nick Loris in 2015.

[T]he SPR is unnecessary in the first place. Private inventories and reserves are abundant, and open markets will respond more efficiently to supply shocks than federally controlled government stockpiles, wrote Loris, who began his career as an associate for the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. Congress should authorize the Department of Energy to sell the entire inventory, using the revenues solely for deficit reduction.

The Heritage report also calls for the U.S. to withdraw from the International Energy Agency, a necessary next step if the Trump budget passes in Congress with the SPR proposal intact.

Disengaging from the IEAs Agreement on an International Energy Program would not stop the U.S. from working with IEA member countries that promote free markets in energy, but it would stop the U.S. from committing to ineffective and unnecessary energy obligations, Loris wrote.

Heritage also published a more recent report in 2016 titled, Blueprint for Reform: A Comprehensive Policy Agenda for a New Administration in 2017, to which Loris again contributed. That report calls for bottoming out the SPR little by little over the next decade, paralleling the Trump budget proposal.

Congress should authorize the Department of Energy to liquidate the entire inventory, using the revenues solely for deficit reduction, reads the reports section on Department of Energy budget suggestions, referring to Loris 2015 report. So as not to disrupt oil markets, DOE should sell the SPR oil by auctioning periodically an amount not exceeding 10 percent of the countrys previous months total crude production until the reserve is completely depleted.

As EnergyWire reported in March, more than 30 Heritage Foundation staffers worked for Trumps White House transition team. And while Loris has stayed at Heritage, he maintains close ties with those now in the White House, including his former boss, Paul Winfree.

Winfree works as the White House director of budget policy and deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council. According to Heritage, he played a key role in drafting Trumps proposed budget. He also formerly served as director of income security for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee under then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who currently serves as U.S. Attorney General.

Well before Heritage began advocating for depleting the SPR, the Koch Industries-funded libertarian Cato Institute also wrote in support of selling off the reserves back in 2001.

Line of Defense

However, not everyone is on board with the proposed move to drain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling it a national security threat. Securing Americas Future Energy (SAFE), an advocacy group in favor of weaning the U.S. off of its dependence on oil and promoting responsible use of our domestic energy resources, has come out against the SPR proposal.

The SPR is Americas only formal short-term line of defense against oil supply disruptions and price spikes  the current trend of seeing this resource as a revenue generator is misguided, as is risking drawing it below International Energy Agency (IEA) compliance volumes, SAFE president and CEO, Robbie Diamond, said in a press release. Furthermore, the SPR only works if it can get its petroleum to market quickly and efficiently in the event of a supply emergency. SAFE recommends that the SPR not be drawn down for general government spending, as reducing it to such low volumes undermines the ability to use the SPR for its intended purpose.
According to the signs, the opening boom will continue while it is becoming ever more natural that the buildings are still empty at the opening. It is rare, although not unique, that the "full" sign can be hung over the front door at the time when the building is taken into possession " as it happened in the case of Millenaris Irodahaz. The trend, however, seems to be that the offi ces are occupied within 1,5 to 2 years after the completion of the facility. The fi rst enquirers tend to show up in 3 to 6 months before the building is opened, but the contracts are usually not signed before the building is handed over to use.Apart from a few individual cases, it was never typical of the Budapest market to apply such pre-rent constructs that bind the future tenants to the facility before its construction begins, and even those contracts are rare that are made during the realization, says Franciska Horvath, head of the DTZ agency office. Although the speculative and skyrocketing development-boom can cause a temporary increase in empty sites, the demand is also on the rise; new claims for shared service centres and call centres - occupying several thousand square metres - appear, while the demand driven by the natural expansion of the companies also contributes to swallowing up the majority of supply.The real estate expert mentions the growth of SmithKline Beecham as an example of this phenomenon. The company has started its Hungarian operations at the beginning of the nineties, on no more than 120 square metres, and by now, after merging with Glaxo, the GSK is renting a whole tower in MOM Park. Nonetheless, the typical size of transactions is around 300 square metres.There is still no sign of any investment threatening the popularity of the offi ce corridor of Vaci Avenue. Alongside its proximity to the centre, the metro line, and the additional possibilities for future development, the top offi ce site of the capital has another unforfeitable merit: its ease of access from the Buda side. The vast majority of the company executives still come from this side of the Danube, and like to arrive to their offices swiftly, emphasises the expert. The prestige of the area will also be uplifted by the impending developments at the Pest foot of the Arpad Bridge, the Northern Quarter; the Raiffeisen towers are also planned to be built in the area. At the same time, the new developments undeniably give way to new centres of gravity in the footsteps of the investors. Such an emerging area is the South Pest region, and the surroundings of Nepliget within it, just as the airport corridor, the outer end of which already witnessed the launch of The Quadrum offi cepark.The investors are already starting new plans of great magnitude in the area, while the offi ce developments connected to the Corvin Promenade will plug the inner city back to the circulation of the life of the capital. In South Buda, the planned terminal station of Metro 4 functions as a magnet, while the South Pest region provides a stage for great plans even without the metro.The number of multi-functional offi ce constructions are also growing, these are characteristically developed jointly with residential and commercial properties. Among those mentioned above, the Corvin Promenade and the Duna City project of South Pest belongs to this particular kind investment, but the Sasad Liget and the Sasad Resort projects were also supplemented with residential buildings, just as the parks built in the agglomeration, such as the Topark and the Solaris.The expected absorption of 500-600 thousand square metres of offi ce potential in the next two years is supported by the hopes stemming form growing demand, since 60 percent of the 325 thousand square metres transactional recordlast year originated from new contracts.Investors do everything in their power to meet the heightening demand of tenants, continuously expanding the range of services available on site with restaurants, cafes, post offices, medical facilities, wellness and fi tness centres or laundries. In addition, they often take on the cost of interior furnishing or the moving of offi ces, or turn to the long standinginstitute of rent-free periods. Therefore average rental fees are hard to determine, reckons Franciska Horvath, saying that the common monthly offers level around 13 to 15 eurosper square metres, while the actual sum is always a matter of individual agreements.KERETWhat is the ideal office like?Cushman & Wakefi eld asked tenants to list their expectations concerning offi ce buildings; they summarized the results in their newly published research, "Developers and tenants". The list is as follows:1. natural light2. HSE standards (health and safety)3. air conditioning (4 piped)4. existence of parking space5. energy effi ciencyEnvironmental consciousness was only fourteenth on the list of priorities. Nonetheless, the EU governing principle on the energetics of buildings, which comes into effect in 2009, will draw attention to the awareness on energy economics; it is also probable that cost-effi cient buildings in regards to energy economics will be more attractive in the future, resulting in the rise of their market-value. Almost half of the interviewed tenants said that they are willing to pay a higher rental fee for such offi ces, which also makes evident the importance of green buildings.
NATO leaders wrapped up a meeting at the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Thursday (25 May 2017). This meeting was a strong demonstration of transatlantic unity and resolve, with Allies taking important decisions to do more in the fight against terrorism and to ensure fairer burden sharing across NATO.

The Alliance agreed an action plan to do more in the fight against terrorism. NATO will become a full member of the Global Coalition, in which all 28 Allies already take part, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He noted that this will enable NATO to take part in political deliberations, including on the coordination of training and capacity building.

The Alliance will increase its support to the Coalition, with NATO AWACS surveillance planes helping to improve airspace management. We also decided to establish a terrorism intelligence cell within our new Intelligence Division. This will improve the sharing of information among Allies, including on the threat of foreign fighters, said Mr. Stoltenberg.

NATO leaders also agreed to do more to ensure fairer burden sharing across the Alliance. Today, we decided to develop annual national plans, setting out how Allies intend to meet the defence investment pledge we made together in 2014. The national plans will cover three major areas: cash, capabilities, and contributions, said the Secretary General.

NATO leaders were joined by Prime Minister Markovic of Montenegro. Montenegro will soon become the twenty-ninth member of the NATO Alliance in a clear sign that the door to NATO membership remains open.
(As delivered)

Good morning.

In a few hours, NATO leaders will gather here in Brussels for an important meeting at our new Headquarters.

We have two major items on our agenda: Stepping up NATOs role in the fight against terrorism and fairer burden sharing in our Alliance. We are making progress on both. NATO has been actively engaged in the fight against terrorism for many years. Today, we will adopt an action plan to enhance NATOs contributions. Our largest military operation ever was launched in Afghanistan in a direct response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. 13,000 NATO troops continue to train Afghan forces. We will assess our level of support and the future of the mission. Training local forces is one of the best weapons in the fight against terrorism. We are already training Iraqi forces. And our AWACS surveillance planes provide information to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Today, we will decide to expand our support to the Coalition. With more AWACS flight-time, more information sharing and air-to-air refuelling. All 28 Allies are members of the Global Coalition and today, we will agree on NATOs membership in the Coalition. This will send a strong political message of NATOs commitment to the fight against terrorism. And improve coordination within the Coalition. But it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations.

At the same time, we will agree to establish a new terrorism intelligence cell here at NATO headquarters. Improving how we share intelligence, including on foreign fighters. And we will decide to appoint a coordinator to oversee NATOs efforts in the fight against terrorism.

The other major topic we will discuss is fairer burden sharing. In 2014, all Allies agreed to spend more and better on defence. Including moving towards investing 2 percent of GDP on defence within a decade. In 2015, cuts came to a stop. And in 2016, total spending across Europe and Canada increased by billions of dollars. This is not just about cash. But also modern capabilities. And meaningful contributions to NATOs missions, operations and engagements. Today, we will take steps to keep up the momentum. We will agree to develop national plans every year. These will set out how NATO Allies intend to meet their pledge. So that we continue to match words with action.

The stakes are high. This is about our security in a more uncertain world. So I look forward to welcoming all NATO leaders, as well as the Prime Minister of Montenegro, soon to be our 29th Ally.

With that, Im ready to take your questions.

Julian Barnes, Wall Street Journal: In the wake of the Manchester attack, how do the changes you are making improve the fight against terrorism, improve security in Europe and what is the real benefit?

Secretary General: We will agree an Action Plan today on how to step up NATOs efforts fighting terrorism. And in that Action Plan, there are many elements. One of the elements is to join the Global Coalition fighting ISIS. This will send a strong political signal, a strong signal and message of unity in the fight against terrorism, but also provide a better practical platform for coordination on NATO efforts and the efforts of the rest of the Coalition. We are going to step up our practical support with more AWACS support, more flying time and more information sharing and air-to-air refuelling. We will also do more when it comes to other issues. I announced that we will now establish a new intelligence fusion cell at the headquarters addressing terrorism, including foreign fighters. And we will also appoint a special coordinator for NATOs efforts fighting terrorism. So this is both a strong political message of unity in the fight against terrorism, but also a part of an Action Plan where we are providing more practical support to the efforts fighting global terrorism, including addressing our mission in Afghanistan.

CNBC News: You mentioned intelligence sharing. How concerned are you by what were seeing in the United States? Not just in identifying the Manchester bomber, theres also of course Israeli intelligence. Are you concerned by that? And also when we talk about whats happening in terms of Russia. Russia isnt directly on this agenda. Why is that?

Secretary General: Russia is on NATOs agenda always and Russia will be discussed during the meeting later on today. Also as part of our discussions related to the transatlantic bond and burden sharing. Because one of the reasons why we are investing more in our collective defence, why we are increasing our military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance is of course as a response to the aggressive actions of Russia we have seen in Ukraine. So Russia is on NATOs agenda. We have a strong and clear message. And that is that we need both credible deterrence, defence and dialogue. And NATO has a long-standing policy and that is that we need both dialogue and credible deterrence and defence in our approach to Russia. That will be addressed during the meeting later on today. On intelligence, I will say that issue raised on the Manchester attack, its a bilateral issue between the UK and the US. Its not for me to comment on that. What I can say in general is that intelligence is of great importance for NATO. We are stepping up our efforts and our work when it comes to sharing intelligence. We are just establishing a new intelligence division here at the headquarters so we can better analyse, better understand and better share intelligence. And we are also today announcing that we will establish a new fusion cell related to fighting terrorism, especially addressing also issues such as foreign fighters. So this is an area where NATO really plays a key role, enabling Allies to share intelligence, also related to fighting terrorism.

Al-Arabiya: If we see what NATO provided to Afghanistan for more than a decade and still the country is not stable yet. How long NATO will be committed to assist Iraqi forces? Is there any progress in your discussion with [inaudible]?

Secretary General: There are many challenges in Afghanistan and no one said that the situation in Afghanistan was going to be easy when NATO ended its combat operation back at the end of 2014. But we have achieved a lot. We have been able to train and build Afghan forces which are now able to take responsibility for security in their own countries themselves. Thats a great and important achievement. And the Afghans show professionalism and bravery in the way that they handle the security situation in Afghanistan. We dont have any end date for our activities in Iraq. We are focused on how we can build local capacity, how we can build local institutions, train local forces. Because in the long-run, its much better that local forces, local institutions are able to take care of the security, stability in their own country instead of NATO or NATO Allies deploying forces in the country. The last question was on Libya. We are in dialogue with Libya. I recently met with Prime Minister al-Sarraj, where we discussed how NATO can provide support for institution building, really building a modem Ministry of Defence, Joint Chief of Staff and establishing better intelligence systems. All of this is of great importance because they need the structures to be able to gradually stabilise Libya. Its not about any sort of combat presence or military training. This is about institution building and our expert teams met recently and they continue to discuss how NATO can provide that kind of support.

Pahjwok: NATO joining the IS Coalition. Will NATO join US in Afghanistan against IS and if yes, then NATO once again start combat mission?

Secretary General: NATO will continue its train, assist, and advise mission in Afghanistan. And we will address that during the meeting today. We will also later on this year decide on the exact troop levels. We will not return back to a combat operation. Our aim is to train the Afghan forces to enable them to step up their efforts in stabilising their own country, countering the Taliban, but also fighting different terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including ISIS. And again we have seen that Afghan forces, the special operations forces have been very effective in targeting and attacking ISIS and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan. NATO troops are not doing that, but we help and we train and advise Afghans in their fight against ISIS.

BFBS: Secretary General, Im aware that you see this largely as a bilateral issue, but with the US apparently leaking details of an ongoing British terrorist investigation, is it not going to be extremely difficult to put forward a convincing plan for intelligence sharing throughout NATO?

Secretary General: Its not possible for me to go into an issue when Im dont know more about what actually happened and in details. And its a bilateral issue between the US and the UK. What I can say is that sharing intelligence is of great importance. Sharing intelligence is based on trust. And we have seen in NATO over many, many years that we have been able to share intelligence in a good way. And that has been of great importance for the Alliance and for all Allies. And we are doing more of that with the new division and now also with the establishment of the new cell, addressing specifically countering terrorism. So thats the important thing for the Alliance. And then I will not go into the specific issue related to the Manchester attack.

Petra news agency: You say that NATO leaders are going to agree that NATO will join the Counter-ISIL Coalition. Can you tell us what this decision will entail in practical terms?

Secretary General: NATO joining the Coalition to Defeat ISIS is a strong political message of unity in the fight against terrorism. It additionally provides a better platform for coordinating the efforts of NATO and other Coalition members in the fight against ISIS. And NATO is also stepping up our practical support by more AWACS support, our surveillance planes improving the air picture for Coalition planes, with more flying hours, with more information sharing and also with air-to-air refuelling. And then we will also do more directed to intelligence. We are establishing a new intelligence cell here at the NATO headquarters, which also enables us to get more information about foreign fighters, and I will appoint a special coordinator for overseeing NATOs efforts in the fight against terrorism. So joining the Coalition is both a strong political message and a practical tool to improve the way we coordinate our efforts to defeat ISIS.

Question: Mr. Stoltenberg, you said that you are going to travel to Washington on the 5th of June. You are going to be there when Montenegros protocol will be archived at the State Department. So what is your message of being present there, to Montenegro and NATO as well?

Secretary General: My message is that we welcome Montenegro as the 29th member of the Alliance. This is important for Montenegro, its important for the Western Balkans and its important for the whole of NATO. It also shows that NATOs door is open, because Montenegro has reformed, has really implemented important reforms in Montenegro, which enables Montenegro to become a new member of the Alliance. And Im looking forward to both welcoming the Prime Minister here today, but also then to be present when the documents related to joining the Alliance will be deposited in Washington.

Question: Yesterday, you talked about NATO support for Western sanctions against Russia. If the EU and the US adopted stronger sanctions, would you also support that as well? And do you think the time has come to have that dialogue until Russia gets the message to get out of Ukraine?

Secretary General: Its for the EU and the US to decide on economic sanctions, but I have expressed support to this actions. And of course, 22 of the EU members and the US are members of NATO. [Inaudible] So I support the sanctions. I think the sanctions are extremely important as a reaction to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the lack of implementation of the Minsk agreements. And then I leave it to the EU and the US to make the specific decisions on sanctions.

Question: Your feelings on the deployment of the task force in eastern Europe. Next month, Canada will send its troops in Latvia. I just wonder about your feelings how it goes?

Secretary General: The deployment of the four battlegroups shows that NATO is able to adapt and change when the world is changing. The four battlegroups were decided in Warsaw, in July, at our last Summit. And we are now implementing and they will be in place, all of them, within weeks. It sends a strong signal of unity. It sends a strong signal of credible deterrence and defence. Because this is a multinational presence in the three Baltic countries and in Poland. Canada being the lead nation in Latvia. And other NATO Allies being the lead nations and contributing in the other Baltic countries and Poland. This is a defensive deployment. Its proportionate, measured and its a direct reaction to the aggressive actions of Russia in Ukraine.

Question: Is there a message for the people in the Middle East that this Summit is not only about bringing fighting and military action, but also about being peace and justice?

Secretary General: NATO is an Alliance which exists to preserve peace and to create stability. And also to help create stability beyond our borders, because when our neighbours are more stable, we are more secure. Therefore, NATO supports efforts to find political solutions, peaceful solutions, negotiated solutions to the different conflicts we see around in the Middle East and the Arab world. Sometimes its also necessary to use military means. And then NATO and NATO Allies have also shown that theyre willing to do that, as NATO Allies do now in Syria and Iraq fighting ISIS, and also supported by NATO. But in the long-run the aim is of course to find peaceful, negotiated solutions. [inaudible] We believe strongly that we have to be able to move forward to avoid the turmoil and violence we see in many parts of the Middle East.
Flamingos have to be one of the most well-balanced creatures in the animal kingdom -- literally. The charming birds are often seen sleeping serenely perched on just one leg with no trouble at all. Any person who has tried a tree pose in yoga knows how difficult it is to balance on a single leg. So how do flamingos manage it effortlessly?

According to a report from Washington Post, a pair of biologists from Atlanta set out to solve this intriguing mystery.

There were already a couple of theories floating around. Some have suggested that the practice is to conserve body heat that flamingos lose while wading in cold water. Others believe it's to reduce muscle fatigue and rest one leg while the other supports the body.

To find some answers, Young-Hui Chang of Georgia Tech and Lena Ting of Emory University went to Zoo Atlanta armed with a fancy 3-D bathroom scale that measures the force that a foot exerts in all directions, according to a report from The Atlantic. One flamingo fell asleep on this force-plate and the scientists noticed that the animal became even more stable as it lost consciousness with less swaying and a center of gravity that shifted by millimeters.

Zoo employees all said that they couldn't remember one occasion of a flamingo ever falling down.

Chang and Ting visited Birmingham Zoo to examine two recently euthanized flamingos, which the researchers then defrosted and dissected. When Chang picked up one by the shin, the leg locked into place, completely rigid and stable. Apparently, these amazing creatures can keep their balance even when dead.

When humans try to stand on one leg, they have to constantly activate their musles in order to make tiny adjustments to the unnatural position. On the other hand, the flamingo's body weight shifts, automatically stabilizing the joints of their standing leg and they are able to stand without any muscular activity.

Specifically, the foot shifts from under the hip to under the center of the body. The flamingo's center of mass also moves in front of its knee, which is tucked unseen under all the feathers, and the body weight pulls the hip and knee forward. Both changes to the flamingo's posture help keep the joints locked in place.

Interestingly enough, this natural mechanic is only activated on one leg, so it's actually more stable in its position than on two legs.

The study was published in Biology Letters.
Two supermassive black holes could be set for a monster collision at the heart of the galaxy Cygnus A.

According to a report from Space.com, astronomers used the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) to spot a blindingly bright object just about 1,500 light-years away from a known supermassive black hole in Cygnus A. The galaxy is frequently studied by scientists because of its proximity from Earth just around 800 million light-years away.

The astronomers observed the qualities of this heavenly object, surmising that it is either a supernova explosion or a burst from a second supermassive black hole in the galaxy. Upon further observation, they concluded that the mysterious object has been too bright for a prolonged period of time, unlike any known type of supernova.

"We think we've found a second supermassive black hole in this galaxy, indicating that it has merged with another galaxy in the astronomically-recent past," study co-author Chris Carilli, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in New Mexico, explained in an official statement. "These two would be one of the closest pairs of supermassive black holes ever discovered, likely themselves to merge in the future."

The unknown object shares many characteristics with a supermassive black hole that is gobbling up surrounding material. In fact, the scientists have suggested that the reason why this supposed second black hole suddenly became visible was becase it found a new material -- possibly gas or even a star -- to feed on.

"Further observations will help us resolve some of these questions," said study lead author Daniel Perley of the Astrophysics Research Institute of Liverpool John Moores University in England. "In addition, if this is a secondary black hole, we may be able to find others in similar galaxies."

The new study will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Foul play is suspected in the case of a missing husband and father in San Francisco, police said Wednesday, and they have identified a person interest.

Piseth Chhay, a 48-year-old Uber driver, has been missing since Mother's Day, and his wife said his phone has been turned off.

The person of interest is named Bob Tang and is known to Chhay's family. He was the same person Chhay was supposed to meet the day he went missing, police said, and is believed to be the last person to see Chhay.

Tang, 48, had agreed to come in for an interview with police Tuesday but didnt show, police said. Tang's family now says hes missing. Police believe he may have fled to Cambodia.

"He was scheduled to be interviewed Tuesday with our missing person investigation unit," Cmdr. Greg McEachern said. "We believe he has left the country."

Tang left his home in San Francisco on Monday night when contacted by an alarm company, police said. He was believed to have responded to a residence in Antioch regarding an alarm activation and has not been seen or heard from since.

Tang is described as an Asian male, about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. The vehicle associated with Tang is a 2004 Silver Toyota Sienna SUV, with California license plate 5JOT221, police said.

Jean Elle/NBC Bay Area

Chhay's vehicle, a Mercedes Benz SUV, was found stripped Friday in the city's Bayview neighborhood, and police believe it may have been moved there. Officers served a search warrant Tuesday at a nearby business called Maple Trade Corp. at 1280 Van Dyke Ave., police said. Alameda County Sheriff's deputies joined the search with cadaver dogs, police said.

Searches were conducted at two other locations, one in Antioch, police said.

Though he was not working on the day he disappeared, Chhay, a father of two, told a relative that an Uber customer had left a phone in his vehicle, and he wanted to return it.

A Chhay family spokesperson said earlier Wednesday they would be posting more fliers and searching again this weekend. They're hoping the public can help with any information that might bring their loved one home.

Anyone who has seen either Tang or Chhay or has any information regarding their whereabouts should contact San Francisco Police via the anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.


Home searches across Manchester and beyond have uncovered important items in a fast-moving investigation into the concert bombing that left 22 people dead, Manchester's police chief said Thursday as a diplomatic spat escalated over U.S. leaks about the investigation to the media.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told reporters the eight suspects detained so far are "significant" arrests, and "initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation."

He did not elaborate, but those arrests around the northwestern English city include Ismail Abedi, the brother of 22-year-old Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi. The bomber's father Ramadan Abedi and another brother Hashim have been detained in Libya.

After Abedi's mother and three of his siblings were brought in for questioning, a Libyan official told of a final phone call he placed to his mother and brother just before the attack. On that call, he purportedly told his mother: "Forgive me," said Ahmed bin Salem, a spokesman for the Special Deterrent Force.

"He was giving farewell," bin Salem added.

As police raced to uncover the network that may have helped Abedi attack an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night, furious British officials blamed U.S. authorities Thursday for leaking details of the investigation to the media.

One British official told The Associated Press that police in Manchester have stopped sharing information about their bombing investigation with the U.S. until they get a guarantee that there will be no more leaks to the media. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would discuss the leaks with President Donald Trump at a NATO summit. Upon her arrival in Brussels, May said the U.S.-British defense and security partnership is built on trust.

But she said "part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently."

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb were published in The New York Times, although it's not clear that the paper obtained the photos from U.S. officials.

British security services are also upset that Abedi's name was apparently leaked by U.S. officials while British police were withholding it  and while raids were underway in Manchester and in Libya, where the bomber's father lives.

Hopkins, the Manchester police chief, said the leaks had "caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss."

Trump on Thursday pledged to "get to the bottom" of leaks of sensitive information, calling them "deeply troubling." He said he is asking the Justice Department and other agencies to "launch a complete review of this matter."

The New York Times defended its publication of crime-scene photographs, saying its coverage had been "both comprehensive and responsible."

"The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes," the paper said.

May said the national threat level from terrorism remains at critical  the highest level, meaning that another attack may be imminent. Hundreds of soldiers have replaced police protecting high-profile sites including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament in London.

"The public should remain vigilant," May said.

Around the country, many people fell silent and bowed their heads at 11 a.m. for a minute in tribute to the bombing victims.

In Manchester's St. Ann's Square, where a sea of floral tributes grows by the hour, a crowd sang "Don't Look Back in Anger"  a song by the Manchester band Oasis.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Royal Manchester Children's Hospital on Thursday to talk to some of the victims, their families and medical staff.

"It's dreadful. Very wicked, to target that sort of thing," the 91-year-old monarch told 14-year-old Evie Mills and her parents.

Fifteen-year-old Millie Robson, wearing an Ariana Grande T-shirt, told the queen she had won VIP tickets to the pop star's concert. She was leaving concert when the blast struck, remembering an intense ringing but not entirely aware that she was bleeding badly from her legs.

She credited her dad's quick action in picking her up and tying off her wounds to stem the bleeding.

"I have a few like holes in my legs and stuff and I have a bit of a cut, and my arm and just a bit here, but compared to other people I'm quite lucky really," she said.

In addition to those killed, 116 people received medical treatment at Manchester hospitals for wounds from the blast. The National Health Service said 75 people had been hospitalized.

In Berlin, former U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a message of solidarity to the Manchester bombing victims.

"(This is) a reminder that there is great danger and terrorism and people who would do great harm to others just because they're different," Obama said.

Investigators are chasing Abedi's potential links with jihadi militants in Manchester, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The bomber himself died in the attack.

France's interior minister says Abedi was believed to have travelled to Syria, and U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he was part of "a cell of ISIS-inspired terrorists."

Investigators are trying to find whether Abedi knew several Manchester-based jihadis, including Libyan man Abdalraouf Abdallah, who was jailed in the U.K. for terror offenses, and Raphael Hostey, an IS recruiter killed in Syria.

Investigators are also looking into the Abedi family's ties in Libya. Abedi's father Ramadan was allegedly a member of the al-Qaida-backed Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s  a claim he denies.

Manchester is home to one of Britain's largest Libyan communities. Mohammed Fadl, a community leader, said the Abedi family is well known, but Salman did not attend many gatherings.

"Very few people in the community here were close to him and therefore Salman's fanaticism wasn't something the community was aware of," he told the AP.

He said he had heard that Salman's father took his son's passport away amid concerns about his close ties to alleged extremists and criminals.

Authorities are investigating whether Abedi could have been stopped, after Libyan community members in Manchester reported concerns about his views.

Akram Ramadan said Salman Abedi had been banned from Manchester's Didsbury Mosque, one of the largest in the city.

"There was a sermon about anti-Daesh (IS) and he stood up and started calling the Imam  'You are talking bollocks,'" Ramadan said. "And he gave a good stare, a threatening stare into the Imam's eyes ... he was banned."

Fadl, the community leader, disputed that account and the bomber's father insisted Wednesday in an interview with the AP that Salman had no links to militants, saying "we don't believe in killing innocents."

Abedi had been in Libya in the weeks before the attack, and German magazine Focus, citing unnamed federal security source, reported that he passed through Duesseldorf airport four days before the bombing.

A German security official told the AP on Thursday the report was accurate, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't been cleared for public release.

On the artistic front, Grande cancelled concerts that were to take place Thursday and Friday in London, and in several other sites in Europe. Next week's premiere of the film "The Mummy" in London was also canceled.

Sylvia Hui, Rob Harris, Frank Jordans, Maggie Michael and Julie Pace contributed to this report.
Editor's Note: Details in this story may be disturbing for some readers

An Illinois nurse taken hostage at a suburban Chicago hospital was raped and tortured at gunpoint before she saved staff from the gunman, attorneys and a new lawsuit claim.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of two nurses taken hostage May 13 at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, blames the incident on alleged violations by an officer guarding an inmate whose elaborate escape attempt turned into a deadly barricade situation. The suit also names Kane County and APEX3 Security as defendants, claiming they failed to properly monitor and secure the inmate.

The suit claims Tywon Salters, of Chicago, was left unshackled after a visit to the bathroom because he told a Kane County Sheriffs officer he may need to use the restroom again.

Thats when attorneys say Salters managed to gain control of the officers gun and begin his attempt at an escape.

Following the taking of his gun, the sheriff ran from the room, down the hall, into another patients room and hid, the lawsuit claims. The sheriff then took no action to attempt to regain control of his gun or protect hospital employees walking the floor.

Salters, 21, of Chicago, was taken from the Kane County Jail by ambulance on May 8 to Delnor Hospital after eating part of his plastic, jail-issued sandal, the Kane County States Attorney said. After undergoing surgery to remove the plastic from his stomach, Salters was recovering while awaiting a court appearance set for May 17 at the Kane County Judicial Center. He had been charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

After grabbing the officers gun, a naked Salters allegedly entered a nursing office and took a nurse hostage before demanding she take off her clothes so he could put them on.

Salters forced her to remove her clothes, threatened her, physically abused her, verbally abused her, the lawsuit states.

When another nurse entered the office, Salters let the first nurse leave while taking the second nurse hostage, eventually moving her to a decontamination room where they would stay for the more than three hours.

During which time he repeatedly beat her, forced her to remove her clothes, violently raped her, threatened her life, verbally abused her and held her at gunpoint, the suit states.

Its been said that the nurses were not injured - when in fact one of the nurses was repeatedly beaten, she was tortured and she was raped," said attorney Sean Murray.



At one point, the nurse convinced Salters to allow her to make a phone call, one she used to alert other employees to escape, attorneys said. She led Salters through an area of the hospital she knew would be evacuated and contain no hospital staff, according to attorneys.

The quick thinking by this nurse likely saved other hospital staff from being harmed, attorneys said in a statement.

Negotiations were ongoing through the incident, officials said, but ultimately failed.

A SWAT team entered the area where Salters held his hostage and one of the officers shot him, the states attorneys office said. One of the SWAT officers was also shot in the vest but was uninjured, officials said.

The suit offers the first account of what happened inside the hospital that day. Little information has been released by officials, with the states attorney earlier saying there are many questions to be answered about this incident.

The state's attorney's office declined to comment on the suit "pending the ongoing investigation and litigation."



"We really don't know what happened in the room," Kane County Sheriffs Lt. Pat Gengler told the Aurora Beacon-News last week.

Both the SWAT officer who fired the shot that killed Salters and the corrections officer who was disarmed were placed on paid administrative leave, per protocol.

Gengler told the Beacon-News the corrections officers placement was a formality.

"The officer had his weapon taken and that weapon was used (to hold someone) hostage," he told the newspaper. "To expect that person to come back to work is completely unrealistic."

The Kane County Sheriffs Office is conducting a review of its policies, procedures and protocol involving the transport of detainees and how they are guarded when outside the jail.

We are [filing suit] so this type of thing doesnt happen to anyone else, and so that hospital staff can feel safe returning to work, Taxman, Pollock, Murray & Bekkerman LLC said in a statement.
With long-standing European alliances facing new strain, President Donald Trump chastised NATO member nations for not paying their fair share to protect the long-standing pact and declined to explicitly endorse its mutual defense agreement.

That unprecedented one-two punch from a president in his first major speech in Europe further rattled a continent anxious about Trump's commitment to their bonds and reeling from another deadly terror attack.

The aftermath of that attack in Manchester, England, has produced further tension, as a British official said that police have decided not to share further information on the investigation due to leaks blamed on U.S. officials. Trump, who said there is "no relationship we cherish more" than the one with the United Kingdom, declared the leaks "deeply troubling" and said he was asking the Justice Department to lead an investigation into the matter.

"These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this," Trump said in a written statement. "The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security."

Trump issued his sharp rebuke from Brussels, a city he called a "hellhole" in 2016, where he was addressing leaders at both the European Union and NATO, a pair of alliances whose necessity he has questioned.

At NATO's gleaming new headquarters, Trump returned to his longstanding call for member nations to pay their fair share, lecturing leaders like German chancellor Angela Merkel and new French President Emmanuel Macron about contributing more as they stood listening in awkward silence.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States," Trumps said in brief remarks. "If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism."

The 28 member nations, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, will renew an old vow to move toward spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Only five members currently meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.

Moreover, the White House had sent recent signals that the United States would stay in NATO's mutual defense pact, known as Article 5, which had been invoked just once before: after the terror attack of September 11, 2001. But Trump made no mention of the Article 5 commitment as he spoke next to a new monument centered on steel from the crumpled World Trade Center.

Asked about Trump not explicitly affirming U.S. support for Article 5, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: "It goes without saying. His presence at this event underscores our commitments and treaty obligations."

Trump's speech at NATO came hours after the EU council president said a discussion with him produced sharply different views on Russia. And Macron pushed Trump on a sweeping climate agreement and even engaged in an apparent handshake stand-off.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to discuss the leaks with her American counterpart at the NATO gathering to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published in The New York Times, although it's not clear that the paper obtained the photos from U.S. officials.

Trump, who unlike other leaders at the summit is not planning to address reporters, did not respond to shouted questions as to whether the U.K. can trust the U.S. with sensitive material.

Trump and his White House have long complained about "leakers" they think are trying to undermine his presidency. While all administrations deal with some leaks, news outlets have been privy to everything from details of draft documents to the president's private phone conversations with foreign leaders.

Recently in the news were reports that the president had shared highly classified information with Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting, revealed by those with knowledge of the conversation.

Trump's remarkable public scolding of NATO comes amid of backdrop of uncertainty in Brussels toward Trump over his past comments publicly cheering the United Kingdom's vote to leave the EU last summer and slamming the alliance during his transition as "a vehicle for Germany." Though he ran a campaign of "American First" with suggestions of disentangling from international deals, Trump has taken a less combative tone since taking office, praising the alliance as "wonderful" and saying a strong Europe is very important to him and the United States.

After meeting with Trump on Thursday at the EU, European Council president Donald Tusk said he and the U.S. president agreed on the need to combat terrorism but some differences loomed large.

"Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today  we means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia," said Tusk, who said unity needed to be found around values like freedom and human rights and dignity.

Trump also had lunch with Macron, who has been critical of the Republican president. As the press watched, the two men exchanged a very firm handshake during their meeting, both men gripping tight, their faces showing the strain.

Trump also scored a hoped-for win from NATO, which joined the 68-nation international coalition fighting the Islamic State. An anti-terror coordinator may also be named. But most changes will be cosmetic, as NATO allies have no intention of going to war against IS.

___

Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey, Jill Colvin, Darlene Superville and Ken Thomas contributed from Washington.
Senate Democrats added spending to a budget plan Tuesday to lure more Democratic support before voting to approve a $5.4 billion tax increase without a single Republican "aye."

With eight days remaining before the General Assembly's scheduled May 31 adjournment, Democrats said they couldn't wait any longer to approve a plan and give the House time to weigh in. Approving a budget after that date would require a three-fifths majority.

Illinois has been without a budget since summer 2015. It's the longest any state has gone without an annual spending plan in modern history. The fiscal year will end June 30 with a deficit pushing $6 billion. The state was behind on paying $14.4 billion in bills as of Tuesday.

A fiscal outline influenced by Republicans failed to attract a single GOP vote last week. So Democrats decided to go it alone and replaced previous spending cuts on Medicaid, retiree health insurance and revenue sharing for local governments. They approved increasing the personal income tax rate from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent and passed a $37.3 billion spending plan, which they noted is the same amount Rauner proposed in February while still reducing spending by $3 billion.

The legislation's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Toi Hutchinson of Olympia Fields, noted that with no action, the mountain of past-due bills could grow 70 percent by next year.

"Please explain to me what the income tax will be with $24 billion in backlog," Hutchinson said. "Junk-bond status. No capital bill. No roads. No infrastructure, no school repairs, no nothing. If you're waiting for a better deal with the tax payments, somebody better start telling the truth."

But Republicans were still pressing for a trade-off under which they would support the tax increase in return for Democrats supporting Gov. Bruce Rauner's call for freezing local property taxes and reducing costs in the workers' compensation program. In a "Facebook Live" appearance at noon, Rauner continued to beat the drum.

"You're delivering a punishing tax increase and making the wrong people pay," said GOP Sen. Kyle McCarter of Lebanon.

Democratic Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago said after the vote that Republicans rejected his best offer last week  a two-year freeze on property taxes. He ticked off votes on education funding changes, an overhaul of pension funding and other Rauner demands that were approved last week. He said property taxes and workers' compensation are still in play. He acted baffled that Republicans would so soundly reject a fiscal blueprint they so heavily influenced.

"This is a product of negotiations with Republicans," Cullerton said. "The taxes are the product of negotiations with Republicans. The only thing missing are Republican votes."

Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont, who has been out front for five months in negotiating pieces of the so-called "grand bargain" with Cullerton, listened to the budget debate from her office, her spokeswoman said. In a statement, she said she hopes the House "can approach it in a bipartisan manner and make further progress."

In addition to the income tax hike, the state's 6.25 percent sales tax would be expanded for the first time to services such as dry cleaning and laundry, storage units, vehicle maintenance and tattoos and piercing. The latest version removes other personal services, landscaping and home maintenance.
Its waiting season at the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles as the warm weather rolls into the state.

You have boats, you have trailers, you have camp trailers, you have motorcycles, Bill Seymour, of the DMV, said.

Just six months ago, the agency told the public that once they take a ticket at the DMV, the average wait times at some branches had been cut in half to 40 minutes.

Jeff Barske, who went to the DMVs Old Saybrook branch last Wednesday, said his wait was much longer than that.

All Barske wanted to do was register his new RV but the Old Saybrook branch told him it would take him three hours and 46 minutes at 10:30 a.m., in the middle of the work week, at what is statistically one of the faster DMV branches in the state.

If this is better, this is not, this is not good enough, Barske said.

The DMV explains that every year around this time it expects scattered but significant upticks in customers due to a surge in people registering vehicles for the summertime.

There is also the split between the DMV and AAA offices in Fairfield and New Haven counties that happened earlier this year. Customers who used to get drivers licenses at those locations are going elsewhere, to DMV offices and other AAA offices in northern Connecticut.

Meanwhile, the DMV is rolling out other time-saving measures. Starting next month, it will slowly roll out a new way of issuing drivers licenses. Instead of waiting hours for a new photo license, customers will get a paper license and then receive a photo license in the mail. The agency wont commit to this bringing a ton of relief this summer, however.

The DMV said to avoid long waits this summer, arrive at a branch before it opens, dont go on Tuesdays or Saturdays  which are traditionally the DMVs busiest days  and, if possible, use online services that will keep people from having to come to a branch. The agency also suggests avoiding branches on or near the coast this time of the year, since they are most often the ones dealing with higher volumes of customers.

In addition, residents can check wait times at their local branch online, or on the DMV app or on the website.
What to Know Police say the driver of the RV shot a woman in Hunt County. She jumped out of the RV during the pursuit.

The RV, damaged by spike strips, stopped on westbound I-30 at Fielder Road in Arlington and burst into flames.

The driver fatally shot himself, police say. Two children were escorted from the scene and taken to a hospital.

Police say a man is dead after leading authorities on a chase through four North Texas counties in a recreational vehicle with two children inside after shooting a woman early Thursday.

Arlington police said Hunt County Sheriffs deputies received a 911 text from 33-year-old Candie Crystal Price who said she was inside the RV and had been shot. She added that she had been kidnapped and that her two children were inside, as well.

Police pursue a recreational vehicle being driven by a man who they say shot his wife and took his children Thursday morning.

A Caddo Mills police officer spotted the RV near the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1903 and Interstate 30 just before 3 a.m., according to police. Authorities said Price jumped out of the RV, which was traveling nearly 90 mph, when she saw the police car.

Price was transported to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas for treatment for gunshot wounds and injuries sustained in her jump from the vehicle. Hunt County Sheriff's deputies said she underwent surgery and remained in critical condition Thursday.

Tony Kelly, Jr.

The RV continued west on I-30 through Rockwall and Dallas counties during the next 30 minutes as multiple police departments joined the pursuit. Police said they used spike strips, damaging the RV's tires and slowing the pursuit to about 20 mph as the driver, identified as Tony Kelly Sr., approached Tarrant County.

The pursuit continued on westbound I-30 into Arlington until Kelly stopped near Cooper Street at about 4:40 a.m. Police said officers approached the RV, opened the door and let out two children described as a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old.

As officers grabbed the children, police said they reported hearing a single gunshot. The vehicle then caught fire.

Arlington Police Department spokesman Lt. Chris Cook confirmed Kelly was found deceased in the RV.

Police dash camera video shows a pursuit involving a recreational vehicle, which spanned four North Texas counties. The pursuit continued on westbound I-30 into Arlington until the RV stopped near Cooper Street, where officers approached the vehicle, opened the door and let out two children described as a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old just before it caught fire.

Officers were seen escorting the children to an ambulance and transported to Arlington Memorial Hospital. Their conditions were not released.

Hunt County Sheriffs Office and Rockwall police are investigating the shooting of the woman, according to authorities. Arlington police are investigating Kelly's death.

In 16 years of commuting to Fort Worth, Karen Sinwald of Lone Oak says she's never seen anything like the police chase involving an RV on I-30 she saw Thursday.

All westbound lanes of I-30 were closed until about 10 a.m. Various eastbound lanes of the interstate were closed until about 7 a.m.

Karen Sinwald told NBC DFW she was driving from Greenville to her workplace in West Fort Worth when she caught up with the chase.

"I've been driving this route for 16 years and I've seen it all," she said. "I'm scared for the kids, not knowing what they went through at the beginning and to the end. They must've been terrified."

[[424512004,C]]

Price's sister-in-law, Lois Woodard, said she got a text from Price at 1:17 a.m.

"Sorry to text you so late," Woodard said, reading the text. "I got shot two times in a robbery. I don't know what to say, but I love you."

Woodard said she believed Price was covering up for her on-again-off-again boyfriend. She called Price's phone at 1:27 a.m.

"She said, 'Tony don't shoot me,'" Woodard said, recalling what she heard on the other other end of the line. "And the next thing I heard, 'Pow!'"

Woodard said she called hospitals and police, not knowing what happened.

The grown children of the man who led police on a chase through several North Texas counties early Thursday say their father was not a monster, despite police saying he kidnapped and shot the mother of their two young children in front of them.

Children of RV Chase Suspect Say Father 'Snapped'

The grown children of the man who led police on a chase through several North Texas counties early Thursday say their father was not a monster, despite police saying he kidnapped a shot the mother of their two young children in front of them.

"I just miss my dad," said Olivia Kelly.

"My dad is not a monster," said her brother Tony Kelly Jr.

The siblings spoke with NBC 5, wanting to set the record straight about what they claim led to the fiery tragedy in Arlington on Thursday morning.

Tony Kelly Jr. said he was on the phone with his father as police chased after his RV.

"Of course, I was trying to talk him out of it, trying to talk him down, but at the time all I could say was I love him too, because I already know I couldn't change his mind because it had already gone too far," he said.

The Dallas County Sheriff's Office released dash camera video of the RV chase early Thursday morning through several North Texas counties.

The young man said his father's on-again-off-again girlfriend of five years, Price, showed up at his work in Garland on Wednesday evening, "picking a fight," and he said his father "snapped."

Police say Tony Kelly Sr. kidnapped the woman and their two young sons and took off in his RV.

Tony Kelly Jr. was on the phone with his father in the final seconds of the chase. Police say Tony Kelly Sr. then shot himself and his RV caught fire.

Arlington police say two young children are OK after being in an RV driven by their father in a chase through four North Texas counties Thursday morning.

The man's son said his father's last words to him were, "that he did not die May 25th, he died February 11th when she tried to kill him."

Tony Kelly Jr. claims his father was in a tumultuous relationship with Price.

On Feb. 11, 2017, Dallas police confirm Kelly filed an aggravated assault family violence report against the woman.

Arlington Police Department spokesman Lt. Chris Cook discusses an RV chase through four North Texas counties involving a man, suspected of shooting a woman, and his two children Thursday morning.

Tony Kelly Jr. and other family members claim Price tried to kill his father with pills.

"From that day forward he just wanted revenge. It was horrible. I don't know what it was," Tony Kelly Jr. said.

"Is my dad a monster? No. Was he wrong for shooting her? Yes. But, was he a monster? No. He was not a monster. He had a family that loved him. He loved his family. He loved all his kids," Tony Kelly Jr. added.

Hunt County Sheriff's deputies talk about the events that led up to a chase involving a man driving an RV with two young children inside.

NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.


The popular online vacation rental site Airbnb might be making it harder and more expensive for you to find an apartment or home to rent in Southern California, according to a community advocacy group that's studying the impact of vacation rentals. And, those community advocates say Airbnb rentals are also hurting the quality of life in some areas.

Consider the neighborhood around Troy Drive in the Hollywood Hills. When a group of eleven young Australians decided to visit Los Angeles, they wanted a big house where they could party. So they rented a house with a scenic view on Troy Drive, through Airbnb.

And, on their first night in town, they let loose in the backyard with booze and music.

"You could hear it through 4 o'clock in the morning," said Daisy Marco, who lives next door with her husband Mitch Gould. "It's not a house that a little family goes to; it's the house that Australians will go to to party."

The elderly owner of the house told the NBC4 I-Team she rented the house to a man named Barry Dadon, who said he was going to live there with his wife and baby.

But the I-Team found Dadon instead listed the house on Airbnb as a vacation rental, using the host name "Alex."

Mitch and Daisy have been calling the police and the city of LA for months about the problems with the Airbnb house. They've been awakened repeatedly by Airbnb guests partying next door. They've even seen a couple having sex in the backyard in the middle of the day.

"It disrupts your sleep, it messes up your sleep cycle, it affects your work," explained Mitch Gould.

The NBC4 I-team reveals whats becoming for many the nightmare next door: short term rentals growing in popularity. Its a convenient way for homeowners to rent to tourists, who in turn, avoid hotels. But it also means lost tax revenue for the city and frustration for some neighbors who are fed up with the constant turnover. Colleen Williams reports for...

In fact, the I-Team told Airbnb three months ago about problems with the Troy Drive house, but Mitch and Daisy say nothing has changed.

"I think Airbnb is being really irresponsible and they don't seem to care about the community they're affecting," said Marco.

And, short-term rental sites like Airbnb may not only be affecting the quality of life in some neighborhoods, but exacerbating LA's housing crisis, according to the community advocacy group Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, or LAANE.

"In the neighborhoods where there is the highest concentration of Airbnb listings, rents are going up faster than they are in the rest of the city," said Roy Samaan, a LAANE analyst who authored the report "Airbnb, Rising Rent, and the Housing Crisis in Los Angeles."

LAANE puts part of the blame on people like Barry Dadon, who they call "commercial hosts." They say these individuals and companies list multiple homes and apartments on short term rental sites in popular neighborhoods that are already experiencing low vacancy rates and rising rents, like Venice, Silver Lake, and Hollywood.

KNBC-TV

"Landlords understand that they can make a lot more money listing a unit on the short term rental market then they could renting out to a long term tenant. In some cases, two or three times as much," said Samaan.

In the case of "Alex," he's not only listing the Troy Drive home on Airbnb, but he's listing at least eight additional apartment units, including two units at the luxury building 8th and Grand in downtown LA. Many of these units are in buildings that forbid renters from subletting their apartments on short-term rental sites like Airbnb, like 8th and Grand.

When the I-Team asked an 8th and Grand leasing agent whether short-term rentals are allowed in the building, he told us, "No Airbnb allowed. Ever."

So how did "Alex" get away with turning leased apartments into vacation rentals in buildings that forbid subleasing? We had two I-Team researchers book several Airbnb listings from "Alex" to find out.

In one case, when we rented a unit at 8th and Grand, "Alex's" assistant told our researcher to say that she lives in the building if asked what she's doing at the property.

"You can just say you live at (apartment) 4131," the assistant said.

Later, we booked a unit at the La Belle Apartments in Hollywood from "Alex," another building that forbids Airbnb rentals. This time, his assistant took our researcher into the building through the garage, so residents wouldn't see the Airbnb guest check in.

"It's just that some residents, they don't really like it," the assistant told our I-Team member.

We asked Airbnb spokeswoman Connie Llanos if Airbnb is okay with a host listing units on Airbnb in buildings that don't allow short-term rentals.

"We don't get involved in issues between the tenant and the landlord. This is between the tenant and the landlord," said Llanos.

In a statement, Airbnb added, "If these buildings do not allow short-term rentals, we believe it is the landlord's responsibility to enforce the rules."

Aimco, one of the country's largest apartment building owners, said Airbnb needs to get involved and help them enforce the rules.

The company, which owns the Palazzo near The Grove in LA's Miracle Mile neighborhood, forbids listing its units on short term rental sites. Aimco said they asked Airbnb several times to remove the listings for their units from the website. After their third request was ignored, Aimco filed a lawsuit in California state court.

In the suit, Aimco alleged that Airbnb, "continues to actively promote illicit leasing of apartments" for vacation rentals. That suit is still pending.

"Airbnb is aiding in the participation of our residents breaking their lease agreement with us," said Didi Meredith, an Aimco spokesperson. "We get noise complaints all the time, we have people in and out of the apartments at all hours of the night."

"These big hosts that are moving a lot of people in and out, those are big money makers for the company," said Samaan.

In a new television commercial, Airbnb says "home sharing is very important to families in Los Angeles." And, they profile a woman in South Los Angeles who explains that "without that income now, I wouldn't be able to stay in my home."

But LAANE said the story Airbnb tells about helping families share their homes to make ends meet isn't the full story.

"The majority of their money comes from commercial hosts, from big hosts that have multiple units across many buildings," said Samaan.

LAANE says their analysis of Airbnb data shows that "commercial hosts" account for more than 40 percent of Airbnb's overall revenue in Los Angeles.

Airbnb disputes LAANE's findings and said its data and analysis is not accurate. They also point out that the data LAANE is using was not provided by the company.

The I-Team asked Airbnb for the complete data in February to independently confirm LAANE's findings, but the company has yet to provide all of the information we requested.

Instead, Airbnb sent us their own report that found the company isn't having an impact on rental pricing or availability when you look at the entire City of Los Angeles.

"Airbnb represents a tiny fraction of that housing stock," said Connie Llanos, an Airbnb spokesperson."

But what about individual neighborhoods? Could Airbnb impact some high density, low vacancy rate areas?

"Perhaps. But at a very small rate," said Llanos.

LAANE said you should look at individual neighborhoods and not the city as a whole to understand the impact of short term rental sites on the housing market.

The group's analysis found that more than 1,300 whole units were available for rent in Venice on Airbnb in March. 966 units were available in Hollywood. And, nearly 500 more were listed in Downtown Los Angeles.

"Removing additional units from the market, taking additional units out of circulation, is going to tend to increase the prices upwards," said Samaan.

We wanted to know if Barry Dadon was concerned that the Airbnb business he operates under the name "Alex" was contributing to LA's housing woes and impacting the quality of life in some neighborhoods.

He declined to speak with us on-the-record during a phone call and avoided our cameras when we approached him. He didn't respond to the letter we sent him through Fed-Ex.

The I-Team first told Airbnb about the problems neighbors were having with the Hollywood Hills property in February. We told them again in May.

In a statement emailed to us on Wednesday, Airbnb told us, "When we are made aware of hosting behavior that fails to meet our standards and expectations, we work to make things right and after careful review, we have permanently removed this host from our platform." And they tell us they "have systems in place to prevent bad actors from returning to our platform."

Airbnb added, "There have been over 160 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings and the overwhelming majority have been safe and positive experiences."
Blake Wentworth, an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has been fired for allegedly sexually harassing four students, adding to the growing list of faculty and staff accused of sexual misconduct against students, employees or both.

Wentworth, a former member of the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, was the subject of a Title IX investigation, which included a review by two faculty members and a hearing conducted by the Academic Senate's Committee on Privilege and Tenure, according to a statement issued by the university on Tuesday.

The investigation unearthed clear and convincing evidence of Wentworths wrongdoings, leading to his dismissal, which is effective immediately, the statement said. Wentworth had retained an untenured position so UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks didnt need the UC Board of Regents approval before firing him.

These actions are part of the university's continuing effort to eradicate sexual misconduct from our campus, Cal officials said in the statement. The harassment of students by faculty represents an unacceptable breach of the teacher-student relationship and carries the potential for enormous harm.



Wentworth obtained his B.A. at Dartmouth College and his Ph.D at the University of Chicago, the university website shows.

He was put on leave in 2016 after two graduate students, Kathleen Gutierrez and Erin Bennett, and alumna Nicole Hemenway accused him of sexual harassment in April and June respectively, the Daily Californian reported. The identity of the fourth student who was allegedly harassed by Wentworth remains unknown.

Wentworth, in response, sued Hemenway as well as Gutierrez, Bennett and their lawyer Michael Flynn for defamation and infliction of emotional distress. Flynn also represents Hemenway, according to the Daily Californian.

He also filed a lawsuit against the UC Board of Regents, claiming they discriminated and retaliated against him, the newspaper reported.

In recent years, sexual assault and sexual harassment claims have plagued UC Berkeley in particular and the University of California system on the whole.

Documents released by UC Berkeley last April showed 19 employees, including six faculty members, had sexually harassed students, employees or both since 2011.

A look at 112 sexual misconduct allegations across the UC system  one of the United States largest university systems  also made it apparent that discipline has been meted out inconsistently. The cases in question were reported from January 2013 to April 2016 at nine campuses, excluding UC Berkeley.

Wentworth's attorneys provided the following statement on Wednseday:

Todays distortion, ostensibly timed to shift news away from U.C.s financial scandals and civil rights violations, will be addressed in Dr. Wentworths pending lawsuit, where the evidence will show that U.C.s campaign to ruin his career began days after his hospitalization. Dr. Wentworth denies the false assertions, which are a pretext to discriminate and retaliate against him.
In the case of a missing husband and father in San Francisco, police said Thursday they found a vehicle at San Francisco International Airport connected with the person of interest.

Piseth Chhay, a 48-year-old Uber driver and father of two, has been missing since Mother's Day, and police identified an acquaintance of the family, Bob Tang, as a person of interest. On Tuesday, Tang also went missing, and police believe he may have fled to Cambodia.

The vehicle associated with Tang is a 2004 Silver Toyota Sienna SUV, with California license plate 5JOT221, police said Wednesday. It was not clear if that's the vehicle found at SFO.

Meanwhile, Chhay's wife, Rattana Kim, said Tang is a family friend her kids call "Uncle Bob," and she was shocked to hear he might have harmed her husband.

"Why is it someone who we consider a brother or a uncle? Why would he do that, especially when you have your own family, two sons of your own?" Kim said.

Kim said she doesn't know what happened between Tang and Chhay on May 14. But she does know two families are suffering.

"I have not talked to (Tang's) wife," she said. "She's probably going through hell like I am."

The SFPD Special Victims Unit continued to investigate the case Thursday, serving search warrants in the cities of Hayward and San Francisco.

Tang, 48, had agreed to come in for an interview with police Tuesday but didnt show, police said. He is described as an Asian male, about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

Jean Elle/NBC Bay Area

Chhay's vehicle, a Mercedes Benz SUV, was found stripped Friday in the city's Bayview neighborhood, and police believe it may have been moved there.

Searches were conducted at three locations Tuesday, two in San Francisco and one in Antioch, police said.

Though he was not working on the day he disappeared, Chhay told a relative that an Uber customer had left a phone in his vehicle, and he wanted to return it.

Anyone who has seen either Tang or Chhay or has any information regarding their whereabouts should contact San Francisco Police via the anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

A GoFundMe account has been set up and can be viewed here.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum on Wednesday began moving in pieces for two new Titanic and Vietnam War-based installations.

The "Titanic at the Reagan Library" exhibit will include real artifacts from the ship, while the "Take Me Home Huey" art installation is an immersive piece created from the remains of a historic U.S. Army Huey helicopter that was shot down in 1969 during a medical rescue.

The Titanic exhibit is unique in that it includes items from the ocean top that were gathered in a recovery mission. "Nothing came from the ocean floor. This is an all-new exhibit, never-before-seen items," said spokeswoman for the library Melissa Giller.

"Take Me Home Huey" is the creation of contemporary artist Steve Maloney, who said he was inspired by the 50th commemoration of the Vietnam War. "I thought if I could find an iconic symbol of that war period, then I could bring about an exhibit that would help bring out conversation and healing for those veterans that never got a welcome home," Maloney said.

Both exhibits will be open over the Memorial Day weekend. "Titanic at the Reagan Library" will be open from this Saturday to January 7, 2018, while "Take Me Home Huey" will be there only until May 29 of this year.
Actor Kevin Spacey appeared on the Washington metro as his "House of Cards'' character, Frank Underwood, to promote the Netflix political drama.

Spacey was photographed Monday at Foggy Bottom-GWU station by real-life former chief White House photographer Pete Souza. The appearance was meant to drum up interest for "House of Cards'' season five, which debuts May 30.

Metro later tweeted a photo thanking "President Underwood'' for taking the rail system.

Last year, the show erected fake presidential campaign ads on Metro platforms and inside train cars.

Spacey told the Associated Press that he believes season five is "one of the best" they've done yet and his Frank Underwood is just as backstabbing and deceitful as the other seasons.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUar6

"This year, in particular, there's been a lot of commentary about how we can't compete in the real world, so it's not going to be as interesting and the show can't possibly be as crazy as the real world. And my answer to that is, just you wait," Spacey said with a smirk earlier this month. "Just you wait."
The mayor of North Bay Village wants an independent investigation into a controversy swirling around a commissioner.

Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps made the request for an investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office after learning what the NBC 6 Investigators discovered about Dr. Douglas Hornsby's past.

Hornsby was convicted in a felony in 1992 but signed voter registration applications twice checking the box that indicated he was not a convicted felon.

Commissioners in North Bay Village have to be a registered voter to serve. And to be a registered voter, you cant have a felony conviction or you have to have had your right to vote restored. Both voter registration applications were filled out before Hornsby had his voting rights restored in 2005.

Hornsby was appointed in January 2017 to the commission.

At a recent meeting, Hornsby told fellow commissioners he needed time to speak. It was then he admitted he had a drug conviction in Tennessee. He said he was making it public that he had a conviction for selling cocaine in 1992 because he and his wife were receiving threats he called blackmail.

This is somebody outside that's doing this to get me off the commission or to vote another way, Hornsby stated at the meeting.

Hornsby says he recently started getting the threats by mail and over the phone. He says they were designed to ruin his political and medical career and his marriage.

I started getting letters --poison pen letters. Anonymous letters describing I was going to be outed to tell the public I was such a terrible person, he said during the meeting.

The police chief, Carlos Noriega, says Hornsby's accusations launched an investigation into whats being called "extreme politically motivated crimes." He says those investigations involve FDLE and even the FBI.

Mayor Leon-Kreps says she wasn't aware of the specifics of Hornsby's past until told by the NBC 6 Investigators.

According to public records in Tennessee, Hornsby had a drug conviction in 1992 in Shelby County, Tennessee that sent him to prison. After being released, he was on parole until 1999.

Because of the felony conviction, he lost his right to vote. But thats not what Hornsby said previously at the meeting.

I have never lost my right to vote," he said at the meeting. I've voted for years in Tennessee and then 20 years here in Florida."

Officials in Tennessee told us Hornsby had his right to vote restored in 2005.

But Miami Dade Elections provided his voter registration application dated in 1998 while he was still on parole in Tennesse. The box is marked that the applicant isn't a convicted felon. Another application from 2004 when Hornsby moved to North Bay Village has the same box marked.

Attorney Herbert Erving Walker III, a former prosecutor and now defense attorney reviewed the public records obtained by the NBC 6 Investigators.

He's voting fraudulently," Walker said. There appears to be a clear conflict between what you have--the date that you have the restoration in Tennessee in 2005 and two forms from the Miami Dade Elections Commission that show 1998 and 2004 being signed by this individual indicating that he either wasn't convicted or was already restored. There's obviously a conflict."

The issue for Hornsby now is whats on the voter registration application. The form says its a felony to be dishonest when filling it out.



Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps is worried. My concern is the cloud over the Village," she said. What you have told me is very serious.

The Mayor is concerned about a vote of confidence the Commission took for Hornsby at the same meeting where he first spoke about the issue. The vote was based on the City Attorney's recommendation.

At the meeting, City Attorney Robert Switkes said the vote was needed ...to reappoint if that's necessary Commissioner Hornsby and ratify everything that's happened since he was appointed because the legal conundrum just gets larger and larger.

My concern is also why we have to reappoint him and ratify his nomination to the seat if he had already been nominated, the mayor said.

The NBC 6 Investigators have tried repeatedly to talk to Dr. Hornsby by phone, email and visits to his home and work. The email to him was returned by the police chief who said he would answer our questions. But Chief Noriega said since the matter is under investigation, he cant say much about whats going on other than hes making progress.

The NBC 6 Investigators notified the Miami Dade County Elections Department who said they are sending the information to the State Attorney's Office.

Mayor Leon-Kreps hopes Dr. Hornsby can help clear things up.

"We are going to have to give Commissioner Hornsby the opportunity to explain it to the residents, to all of us," she said. "We need clarification and full discloure. The residents are owed that. We need to be upfront and tell it like it is."
Authorities are investigating after a body found at Hollywood Beach earlier this week was identified as a federal prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami.

Hollywood Police confirmed that the body of Beranton J. Whisenant Jr., 37, was found Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed Thursday that Whisenant was a federal prosecutor in their office.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office family is deeply saddened by his death. He was a wonderful lawyer and great colleague," the office said in a statement. "We will miss him deeply. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family."



Police said they're investigating the cause of death. A source told NBC 6 he may have suffered trauma. The FBI was also part of the death investigation.

The body was found in the water near Magnolia Terrace early Wednesday by residents in the area.

"When the tide came in he obviously was caught in the surf and tumbling, about a 35-year-old African-American man, very well dressed wearing a sort of a casual business shirt, black pants, and all of his personal effects were on him and that's what we found unusual," resident Bill Renick said.



Whisenant's LinkedIn profile said he has been an assistant U.S. attorney since January 2017. He received his law degree from the University of Florida in 2004 and had been a partner at Foley & Mansfield, PLLP, before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Whisenant was also an adjunct instructor at the University of Miami Paralegal Program.
The family of a man killed by his roommate counter the allegation that he was a neo-Nazi.

Jeremy Himmelman's sister, Alyssa, said Wednesday that she believed her brother was staying with his friend, who federal investigators said was an avowed neo-Nazi, because he needed an inexpensive place to sleep in Florida while he was looking for work, not because he shared his views.

Jeremy Himmelman, 22, was found alongside Andrew Oneschuk, 18, on Friday in a Tampa apartment.

Devon Arthurs, 18, confessed to the slayings and investigators said he claimed the two victims were neo-Nazis who had disparaged his newfound Islamic faith. Arthurs told police he had once shared their racist views before converting to Islam. He faces two first-degree murder and other charges.

Also arrested was a fourth roommate, Brandon Russell, after bomb-making materials and Nazi propaganda were found in the apartment. Russell, a Florida National Guard member, told authorities he was a neo-Nazi who started a group called Atomwaffen, according to a federal complaint. He is being charged in federal court with explosives-related crimes.

The four lived in the Tampa apartment together, but Russell had just returned from guard duty when he found Himmelman's and Onechuk's bodies, according to court documents. Police found him in full military dress, and crying.

Alyssa Himmelman said her brother was friends with Russell and Arthurs, but she described Arthurs as acting "sick and twisted" when she met him previously.

"He was an odd character," she said in a telephone interview, describing the time she met Arthurs when he visited her brother in Massachusetts before Jeremy moved to Florida. "He was very loud and racist. He said vulgar things."

Arthurs told investigators that he also shot Himmelman and Onechuk to prevent a planned act of domestic terrorism, according to court documents.

But Alyssa Himmelman says her brother was only living there to try and get on his feet, and didn't subscribe to the beliefs Arthurs is claiming her brother held. She said Russell, 21, was the one who kept a framed photograph of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh on his dresser in a locked bedroom, and who had the military training and bomb-making knowledge he'd picked up in college.

She said her brother was just naive, and did not believe Russell and Arthurs were capable of the killing or bombing the two allegedly plotted and carried out. She said Jeremy had planned to come home soon, and that he'd fallen out with Russell and Arthurs before.

"Jeremy was just too kindhearted to think people like Devon and Brandon could do something like this," she said. "He never saw that."
Peter Hodges two daughters fight cystic fibrosis daily, their medications, doctor visits and hospitalizations costing about $1 million in health care benefits a year. Should the Republican-controlled Senate upend insurance similarly to what the House of Representatives has already approved, their lives could be jeopardized, he said.

Hodge worries that his older daughter could end up on a newly defined Medicaid, with spending and other limits determined by the states. His younger daughter could face lifetime caps on the amount his insurance plan would pay for her treatment.

"People with cystic fibrosis and their families are terrified, absolutely terrified," said Hodge, who works in technology in South Florida.

April's jobs report bought positive news for the Trump administration, with the unemployment rate at the lowest since 2007 at 4.4 percent. The report came as the Trump administration pushes on with a health care bill that some Republican lawmakers, and nearly all Democratic lawmakers, oppose.

Congressional attempts to revamp the health care system have been overshadowed by the drama centered on the White House: the Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey and the appointment of a former FBI director, Robert Mueller, as a special counsel. But even as some political analysts say Trump's problems threaten the GOP legislative agenda, senators have begun discussing health care.

And as they do, people across the country are trying to make sense of what Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare will mean for them and those with pre-existing conditions are particularly anxious.

The House-approved American Health Care Act dismantles many of Obamacare's provisions, which has resulted in an additional 20 million people receiving insurance. It allows insurers to reinstate caps on lifetime coverage, loosens protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, rolls back state expansions of Medicaid and slashes more than $800 billion from the joint state-federal program over 10 years as it moves from an open-ended federal guarantee to one that gives states control over how to spend a set amount. The Medicaid cuts would affect about 10 million people, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

Las autoridades investigan la muerte sospechosa de un expolicia en Toa Alta.

Trump's $4.1 trillion budget proposal for 2018, released on Tuesday, includes $600 billion in decreases to Medicaid, apparently on top of the House cuts. Medicaid provides health care not only to the poor, but also to elderly and disabled Americans, who account for 60 percent of the cost.

A GOP-backed health care reform bill passed House lawmakers by the slim margin of 217 to 213 on Thursday. President Donald Trump praised the American Health Care Act after its house passage, calling it a repeal and a replace of Obamacare, as it makes it way to the Senate floor.

The House vote was taken before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed the effects of the revised legislation. Its report on an earlier version found it would shrink the federal budget deficit significantly but leave 24 more million Americans without insurance in 2026.

The new analysis, released on May 24, projects 23 million people without insurance over the next decade and says the federal deficit would be reduced by $119 billion, down slightly from $150 billion.

It estimates that low-income 64-year-olds could face premium spikes of 800 percent or more in 2026 compared to premiums now, while premiums for young adults would be reduced substantially.

Costs for people who have pre-existing conditions or who are sick would soar in states that take waivers, the report said.

Republicans have been pledging to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act since it was signed by former President Obama in 2010. Some have philosophical disagreements over what role government should play in health care, others want to repeal taxes it imposed on the wealthy or argue that too many insurers are pulling out of the marketplaces. Trump has repeatedly insisted Obamacare is collapsing, a characterization disputed by his critics, who blame Republicans for the uncertainty facing insurers.

The House waited for the new report before forwarding the bill to the Senate, which is expected to make major changes now negotiations begin in earnest. Some senators are trying to work across party lines, but conservatives remain committed to more radical changes, and a group of Republicans picked by the party leadership has been meeting in private, with no plans for public committee hearings.

"Your morning reminder that under the cloud cover of the FBI story, 13 GOP Senators are still secretly writing a bill to destroy the ACA," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut tweeted on May 15 as news organizations focused on Comeys firing.

In an interview on May 24 with Reuters, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to provide a timetable for a draft of a health-care bill and said he did not know how Republicans would get the 50 votes needed for passage.

"But that's the goal," he said.

The changes already approved by the House would be devastating to twin sisters Anastasia and Alba Somoza of New York City, particularly any decreases in Medicaid, according their mother, Mary Somoza.

The twins, now 33, were born prematurely with cerebral palsy, and though unable sit up on their own, Alba Somoza works as an artist who teaches children in New York City and Anastasia Somoza as an advocate for others with disabilities. She also spoke on behalf of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Conventional last summer, when she said she feared Trumps election.

Getty Images

Everything they have accomplished could be at risk, Mary Somoza said.

"They will require from-womb-to-tomb assistance," she said. "And I'm not always going to be around to provide it."

In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that the lifetime cost to care for a person with cerebral palsy at $1 million. Both women need extensive assistance from aides to live as independently as they do, and Alba Somoza, who cannot speak, communicates through a $10,000 computer that must be updated every five years. However progressive New York is as a state, it cannot cover the costs that the federal government does, Mary Somoza said.

"They both do extraordinary things and all of that would come to a halt if anything happened to their Medicaid coverage," she said.

United Cerebral Palsy, which advocates for independent lives for those with cerebral palsy, fought the House bill, calling it potentially devastating to anyone who relies on Medicaid for health coverage and longterm services.

"We are hopeful that as the Senate deliberates, more information about the projected impact of the House bill will become known and that the Senate will not pass a bill that would bring harm to our community," it said in a statement.

[NATL] Donald Trump's Presidency in Pictures

It is among the major health organizations that have take positions against the House bill, including the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Even the chief medical officer of Medicaid, Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky, tweeted his opposition in March.

"Despite political messaging from others at HHS, I align with the experts from @aafp @AmerAcadPeds @AmerMedicalAssn in opposition to #AHCA," he tweeted.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released on May 11, 56 percent of American voters disapprove of the plan passed narrowly at the beginning of the month by House Republicans under Speaker Paul Ryan.



Norma Brockman, the director of a pre-school in New York City, has already had one of her knees and a hip replaced, but needs the same operation for her other hip.

Brockman is insured through her job, plus she bought supplemental coverage, but fears that what had cost her $500 would no longer be covered and be more than she could afford, she said. The cost of a hip replacement in New York City can be as high as $69,654, according to a 2015 report done by Blue Cross, Blue Shield.

"I will be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life if this happens," she said.

The changes approved by the House would allow states to waive the requirement that insurers not penalize people with pre-existing conditions, provided they have had a lapse in coverage. High-risk insurance pools would be available but critics say they are often under-funded. Six million Americans with pre-existing conditions could face significant premium increases, according to an analysis done by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"We cannot afford to let people die," Brockman said. "We cannot afford to let people be sick. I don't understand how they look us in the eye and say, 'Oh you have choice.' If you can't afford it, you just don't have it."



Delilah Talbot, a mother from Kearny, New Jersey, was covered by a corporate insurance plan when she was diagnosed with what was thought a very early stage of breast cancer. But various rounds of testing revealed that the then 32-year-old actually had advanced breast cancer that had already moved into her lymph nodes and one of her hips. Talbot's treatment  surgery, chemotherapy and radiation  was covered by her plan and whenever her insurance company balked, her doctor was able to petition successfully, she said.

"I had a very experienced oncologist who understood the nature of breast cancer at a young age," she said. "As he calls it, it's a vicious monster and it really doesn't let up."

She went into remission for two-and-a-half years. Early last year her cancer returned, this time as lesions in her spine. For six months she was able to keep the tumors from spreading through medication but by December she was in too much pain, and now her chemotherapy is so debilitating, she is often not able to leave her home. She is fighting for her life for her son, she said, who lives with his father.

"Everything that I do is for him," she said. "Every bit of work that I did, every penny that I earned was to provide a life for him."

This time, she is insured through Obamacare, with premium costs of just under $600 a month, which she offsets with a $300 credit. She is eligible for Medicare, but out-of-pocket costs would be higher. Were the Republican changes to take effect, she would not be able to get insurance she could afford and the treatments she needs, she said.

"I believe people creating these policies have no absolutely idea how it affects your life from A to Z  not just from the point of your health and your physical health and how you have to treat that but your mental health and your finances and trying to recover from that and possibly having to file for bankruptcy," she said.

Hodge's daughters, now 24 and 16, are insured through his employer but he is apprehensive about lifetime caps, which he said his daughters' drugs alone could exhaust in a year or two. Equally worrying to him are the cuts to Medicaid, through which half of children with cystic fibrosis and a third of adults receive care.

Hodge's eldest daughter will turn 26 in two years and will no longer be eligible for coverage under his insurance. If she is assigned a high-risk pool, there is little likelihood that she will be able to get affordable, adequate treatments, he said. Or if she finds herself on Medicaid, she will be at risk if her treatments are restricted.

"The American Health Care Act is woefully inadequate for people with cystic fibrosis," said Mary Dwight, senior vice president for policy and patient assistance programs at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. "To be clear, the legislation does not protect people with pre-existing conditions. In fact, it undermines vital safeguards against being charged more for insurance based on health status."

Currently, Hodge's daughters receive care at centers that offer multidisciplinary teams, an approach that has been successful for people with cystic fibrosis. It helps to keep them out of hospitals and emergency rooms, where they can be exposed to bacterial infections that will do further damage to their lungs, he said. Kalydeco, a drug that both daughters take, and which has allowed his elder daughter to live and work in Washington, D.C., costs more than $300,000 a year. Copay programs could be in jeopardy, he said.

"There is absolute potential in there for the protections that we have for existing conditions to go away," he said. "As much as Paul Ryan wants to stand up and say that isn't the case, he should read his own bill."
A 38-year-old man somehow fell onto the 7 tracks in Queens and was hit by a train early Thursday, authorities say.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition after the fall at 103rd Street-Corona Plaza shortly before 7 a.m., according to police.

Service was initially suspended between Flushing-Main Street and Queensboro Plaza because of the investigation. It resumed after about half an hour, around 7:30 a.m., with extensive delays, the MTA said.

Express service remained suspended for a time but has since resumed.
As Seen On

As seen on News 4
Ten-year-old Malik Kelly loved reading, listening to music and playing with his dinosaurs. He was a quiet boy with a head for entrepreneurship. Recently, Kelly used birthday money to invest in his favorite stocks  Nike, Microsoft and Amazon.

He was always thinking of ways to make money or raise money to give back to his family and his community. His ideas ranged from feeding the homeless, to building a shelter for women and children, according to his obituary.

Two weeks ago, Kelly killed himself after school.

"He came home ... and he told me that today was the worst day ever. And I just want to know what made yesterday the worst day ever for my child," his mother, Tynisha Kelly, told reporters outside a vigil for the little boy.

The elder Kelly said her son, a former student at Samuel Pennypacker Elementary School in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, turned to suicide after being bullied. She told reporters her son left a note naming the students who harassed him.

"I don't want another parent to ever, ever endure what I'm going through right now. These kids are hurting," Kelly said.

Just two days after Kelly took his own life, two more Philadelphia-area students also killed themselves, the Philadelphia School District said in a joint statement with the city.

A 14-year-old female student from a Northwest charter school died by suicide on May 14. On May 17, an 18-year-old student from Howard Horace Furness High School in South Philadelphia also killed himself.

Parents concerned about their child's well-being should look for signs like withdrawing, giving things away or saying goodbye. Mental health experts recommend asking direct questions about how they're feeling and say not to be afraid to ask whether they're feeling suicidal.



Anytime we lose a child in this city to suicide, we all mourn, the school district said. We must ensure that all young people, no matter their circumstances, know that there are people and resources to help them in times of despair.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people between the ages of 10 and 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the second-leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 34.

Overall, more than 1 million Americans attempt to take their life every year, the CDC says.



The school district did not disclose how many students die each year by suicide, but did say it has communicated with principals, counselors, teachers and parents about how to address intimidation and depression in young people.

The citys Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS) is also providing consultation and support to students and staff.

For those who need immediate help, text 'HOME' to 741741 or call 800-273-TALK (8255).

NBC10 will be unveiling a special series on suicide prevention and awareness starting June 6.


Only two days after the NBC10 Investigators aired an interview with a former Chester County employee who claimed cyber security gaps were putting first responders and citizens at risk, Pennsylvania State Police searched through mobile computers at the countys Government Services Center.

NBC10 was there Wednesday as Pennsylvania State Police Information Security officers searched through patrol cars at the center, located on Westtown Road in West Chester.

NBC10 Investigative reporter George Spencer first spoke with David Cucchi, a former employee for the county who claimed he was fired from his job after speaking out about cyber security concerns.

I had a meeting with them and I said, Hey, do you guys realize that there is no protection on these laptops? Cucchi said.

Cucchi told NBC10 a new computer-aided dispatch system was rolled out to every Chester County fire engine, ambulance and local police car last summer. He also claimed the cyber security gaps were so glaring that they may have endangered the personal information of any citizen who called an ambulance or was stopped by police and could have opened up both state and federal records to hackers.

There is absolutely no idea what information has been compromised from our citizens, Cucchi said.

A Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson did not confirm Cucchis specific claims but told NBC10 Chester Countys three-year record security certification is set to expire later this year. The spokesperson also said State Police sped up their review after cyber security concerns surfaced.

A Chester County spokesperson reiterated Wednesday afternoon that to their knowledge no sensitive information has been breached or compromised. The spokesperson wouldnt answer any additional questions on Cucchis claims however due to his pending lawsuit against the county.




Gov. Tom Wolf plans to sign a bill that pushes Pennsylvania toward complying with a federal law that requires people to prove they are legal U.S. residents in order for their driver's licenses to be valid for federal purposes.

The state Senate voted Tuesday 49-1 to approve Bill 133 directing state government to comply with the 2005 Real ID law. The bill, sponsored by Westmoreland County Republican Kim Ward, still requires House approval.

"This bill achieves the primary goal of allowing Pennsylvania commuters and businesses to avoid disruptions related to noncompliance," Wolf's office said in a statement Wednesday.

"I want to thank Senator Ward and her colleagues for their cooperation with PennDOT and my administration to ensure Pennsylvania can comply with the federal REAL ID law," Wolf said. "I am hopeful that the House will not make further changes and I can sign this bill in its current form when it reaches my desk."

Residents wouldn't be forced to obtain a so-called Real ID, and the bill would allow the Department of Transportation to continue producing driver's licenses and photo identification cards that don't meet the heightened standard.

Pennsylvania faces a June 6 deadline to become compliant for Pennsylvania licenses to be acceptable IDs to get into federal facilities, such as military bases. Next year, Real ID's heightened standards kick in for people boarding commercial airliners.

About half the states are compliant. [[423634474, C]]
Several mudslides on Highway 1 have caused Big Sur to become isolated and difficult to reach, but never fear, if youre willing to pay a hefty cost, Post Ranch Inn is now offering a helicopter package for guests to witness the California gem.

The helicopter service is being called, Escape through the Skies. and promises guests a once-in-a-lifetime journey, filled with a champagne welcome and a stunning twenty-minute helicopter ride along the Big Sur coast.

According to the Post Ranch Inn website, this package is only available for booking for guests staying two or more nights during May and June and can cost as little as $4,291 or as much as $13,518.

A massive landslide along the iconic coastal highway in California has buried the road under a 40-foot layer of rock and dirt, the latest hit after a winter of crippling slides and flooding.

A swath of the hillside gave way in an area called Mud Creek on Saturday night, changing the Big Sur coastline below to include what now looks like a rounded skirt hem.
Military service members, their families and veterans can adopt a dog, cat or rabbit for free in late May, confirmed San Diego County officials.

San Diego County Animal Services will waive adoption fees for the military starting Friday, May 26 through Sunday May 28.

Every 69 minutes a U.S. Veteran dies from suicide and every day there are 3,200 dogs euthanized nationwide, according to the Shelter to Soldier website.

The adoption fee waiver aims to give back to men and women in uniform, by providing them with a new animal friend at no charge, said County officials.

Veterans who adopt pets occasionally develop the bond of a lifetime. They are often supported through rough patches with help from their four-legged friends.

"Its one of those things that you just cant describe. Its just something that I have with him," said Ben Kilhefner, U.S. Navy Veteran while stroking his dog Tank, in a previous interview with the county. "He's goofy, he's loveable, caring."

All the adoption fees will be covered by an organization called Animals for Armed Forces. That includes the cost of vaccinations, spay/neuter, a microchip, licensing and a free veterinary exam within ten days of adoption.

"Ben came to our facility -- his chin chattering, his hands shaking, his eyes at the ground," said Graham Bloem, the Founder and Training Director of Shelter to Soldier.

"And I grabbed Tank, the first dog I had in mind that I thought would potentially be a good match for Ben anyway. We watched before our eyes his breath slow down, his hands stop shaking. His chin stopped chattering," explained Bloem.

There are three animal care facilities offering free adoptions to military service members and vets.

Qualified residents can stop by any of the County facilities from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They can choose from hundreds of animals up for adoption, said County officials.

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"Hes always leaning against me, putting his paw on my foot, trying to establish that connection still to make sure, hey Im okay," said Kilhefner. "Just like right now. He saw that I was having a nightmare and stuff. He just knows and hed kind of wake me up."



Any active duty, reserve and veterans of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, Army, National Guard and their immediate families may qualify for the adoption fee waiver.

"What were doing does help because I just witnessed it. Tank was originally found as a stray. And his future wasnt looking very bright. I think we got Tank just in time," said Bloem. "I didnt train Tank to wake Ben up from a nightmare but the connection they had created that response."

In order to qualify, potential adopters must bring one of the following types of photo identification: military ID, Dependent ID, Veterans ID, DD-214 and driver's license or NGB Form 22.

More than 30 locations across southern California and Utah are participating in the Animals for Armed Forces event.

If you need more information, call County Animal Services at (619)767-2675.
A San Diego marine veteran who was previously arrested and deported from Mexico, has returned there, in a disappearance that has alarmed his family Wednesday.

Tyler James Yeager, 39, has gone back to Mexico after he was charged in a robbery in Tijuana by Mexican authorities last April, announced the Family Spokesman Jonathan Franks.

Back in 2014, Yeager was booked into Montana's Ravalli County Detention Center for multiple charges, including sexual assault and various traffic offenses, according to Sheriff Steve Holton.

His family has notified law enforcement in San Diego, and is currently working to reach the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana to request that they notify Mexican law enforcement, explained Franks.

The family has asked for Yeager to be detained out of an abundance of caution because they are worried he may harm himself or others, said Franks.

Once a Mexican judge released Yeager from custody, the family was eager for him to resume treatment for his PTSD and meth addiction.

"The family's advocacy for Tyler's initial release was coupled with the expectation that he would re-enter treatment for PTSD," Franks said, in a statement. "We hope that when found, our Border Patrol will not let a U.S. Marine with PTSD lose on the streets of San Diego."

His family is exasperated that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection failed to stop Yeager from entering Mexico, despite having no I.D. and a previous deportation from the country on his record, added Franks.

No further information was immediately available.
Water rates in San Diego County, which are already among the highest in the country, are about to go up again.

A typical household here pays more than twice the national average, according to the County Water Authority. While the average American family pays less than $40 a month, local residents pay about $80.

Next year's rates increase by the County Water Authority will be nearly four percent both for treated and untreated water. This marks the lowest increase in five years.

But the agency's rates have doubled in the last decade -- and could double again in the next ten years, said Water Authority officials.

The Water Authority is suing its main supplier, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, for overcharging.

After winning in Superior Court, the Water Authority hopes MWD's appeal is shot down.

NBC 7's media partner Voice of San Diego calls the contractual relationship "a bad marriage."

MWD water is still cheaper than what local residents get from Imperial County and the desalination plant in Carlsbad. The Voice cites "poor planning and bad luck" for the situation in San Diego.

The area pays higher water "transportation" costs partly because in the early 1900s, San Diego didn't build a pipeline system to tap faraway rivers.

Besides that, there are no major groundwater basins in this region.

If the Water Authority loses in court, county residents could wind up paying more than $2,000 on average, in extra water costs over the next few decades.

City officials say that within the next ten years San Diego residents will start getting purified, recycled water. Once that happens, residents in the City of San Diego will spend less than customers in the rest of the county.
Two men accused of conspiring to sell U.S. trade secrets to a major Chinese military contractor appeared in a Washington, D.C., courtroom Wednesday.

They are among seven men under arrest in the case.

Federal authorities arrested 52-year-old Shan Shi and 31-year-old Gang Liu along Connecticut Avenue NW.

They were accused of a scheme to sell trade secrets about a type of military equipment from a company based in Houston to the Chinese contractor. Court filings indicate the secrets involved a type of foam material frequently used for military projects.

The FBI raided a Houston home connected to Shi Tuesday, sources told the News4 I-Team.

Shi and Liu, a Chinese national who lives in Houston, are charged with conspiracy. They each face 10 years in prison. They were released Wednesday and will be under GPS monitoring in Houston until trial.

Neither entered a plea. They are expected back in court for a preliminary hearing June 12.

Also charged were 35-year-old Uka Kalu Uche, of Spring, Texas; 74-year-old Samuel Abotar Ogoe, of Missouri City, Texas; 48-year-old Johnny Wade Randall, of Conroe, Texas; 40-year-old Kui Bo, a Canadian citizen who also lives in Houston; and 32-year-old Hui Huang of China, who works for the Chinese manufacturer implicated in the conspiracy.

Bo was arrested in Massachusetts; Ogoe, Uche and Randall were arrested in Texas; and Huang remains at large.
A man has been charged with practicing without a license after police say he collected large quantities of blood from D.C. residents and paid them for it.

Khoa Hoang Nguyen, 43, of Rockville, Maryland, was arrested for allegedly collecting blood from people in an abandoned apartment on P Street SW, police said.

The people were paid $30 each for the blood samples, according to charging documents.

"It was free money," said a woman who lined up but said she didn't have a chance to sell her blood.

Officers who were called to the scene Wednesday found a large group of people standing outside the building. Neighbors told News4's Darcy Spencer they had been seeing long lines of people going into the apartment.

"It was a long, long line. We didn't know what was going on," one neighbor said. "People were getting blood taken from their arm, and they put this tube stick down their nose."

A woman inside the unit where the blood was being drawn told officers she was part of a "work study" and the unit was the "source location," charging documents state. She told police Nguyen was in charge of the work study and called him over from across the street.

Nguyen told police he worked for Boston Biosource, a Newton, Massachusetts-based company that says it provides blood and tissue samples to clients, according to its website.

Nguyen said he was approved and certified to draw blood and that he had drawn blood from 40 people between Tuesday and Wednesday, but a ledger police found in the apartment listed an additional 205 names, according to charging documents.

Police said they also found large quantities of blood and used needles in the apartment. Police said the blood was stored improperly.

Nguyen was not able to provide any documentation, licenses or certification to prove he was qualified to draw blood. Police say the collected blood was not being stored in a manner consistent with "professional practices."

Police said they were not able to get in touch with a representative of Boston Biosource.

Boston Biosource told News4 Nguyen goes to risky areas to collect blood for research, looking for cures to diseases like cancer, tuberculosis and Alzheimer's disease, calling it valuable work.

Nguyen has been charged with practicing registered nursing without a license.
Thursday's nationally-watched election for Montana's sole congressional seat got a last-minute twist when the Republican candidate, Greg Gianforte, was charged with misdemeanor assault for grabbing a reporter by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin made the announcement shortly before midnight Wednesday in a written statement, about six hours after the attack on reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian. Gianforte would face a maximum $500 fine or 6 months in jail if convicted. The statement added that Jacobs' injuries did not meet the legal definition of felony assault.

Gianforte was in a private office preparing for an interview with Fox News when Jacobs came in without permission, campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon said.

The Fox News crew watched in astonishment as, after Jacobs pressed him on the GOP health care bill, "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him," Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna wrote in an article. She added that Gianforte then began to punch Jacobs.

In an audio recording posted by the Guardian, the reporter asks the congressional candidate about the GOP's health care bill, which was just evaluated hours earlier by the Congressional Budget Office.

"We'll talk to you about that later," Gianforte says on the recording, referring Jacobs to a spokesman.

When Jacobs says that there won't be time, Gianforte says "Just--" and there is a crashing sound. Gianforte yells, "The last guy who came here did the same thing," and a shaken-sounded Jacobs tells the candidate he just body-slammed him.

"Get the hell out of here," Gianforte says.

The incident is a last-minute curveball in Thursday's race, which was partly seen as a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency. The majority of voters were expected to have already cast ballots through early voting, and it was unclear how much of an effect the assault charge would have on the election results.

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist, who declined to comment, are seeking to fill the state's seat in the U.S. House left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join Trump's Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department.

Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, lost a race against Montana's Democratic governor in November while Trump won the state by 20 points. In the congressional race, Gianforte has tried to tie himself to the president and been boosted by visits from Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump, Jr.

Three Montana newspapers rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte in the wake of the incident, with the Billings Gazette writing "Everything he said was obliterated by his surprising actions."

Hours before Wednesday's assault, the Gianforte campaign sent out a last-minute fundraising appeal to its supporters, saying the outcome "will determine whether we pass Donald Trump's America First agenda or if the fake news media and the national Democrats will win, keeping Obama's reckless policies in place."

Democrats were hoping an upset would send a message to the GOP that Trump's souring approval ratings could damage their political fortunes even in deep red states.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it would launch as many Facebook ads as possible about the assault, targeting Montana Democrats who might not otherwise vote Thursday. The Committee called for Gianforte to quit the race and for the Republican Party to denounce him publicly.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called for Gianforte to apologize, but said he wouldn't stop Gianforte from joining Congress if he wins the election.

"There is no time when a physical altercation should occur," he said, adding, "I think he should apologize."



Requests for comment went unanswered Wednesday night from the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Scott Sales, the Republican president of Montana's state senate, unsuccessfully vied against Gianforte for his party's congressional nomination. On Wednesday evening, he said he could not understand why the scuffle took place.

"There's always two sides to a story, but this doesn't look good," Sales said. "It's not what you want to see happen on the eve of an election."

The Gianforte campaign Wednesday night released a statement blaming the incident on Jacobs. It contends he "aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face and began asking badgering questions" before being asked to leave.

Gianforte asked Jacobs to lower a phone that was being used as an audio recorder, then tried to grab it, the campaign said in a statement. Jacobs then grabbed Gianforte's wrist and both fell to the ground, Scanlon said.

The 45-second recording does not contain a request from Gianforte that Jacobs lower his phone. Acuna, the Fox News reporter, wrote that "at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte."

The sheriff's office said Gianforte has until June 7 to appear in court on the charge.

Federal records show that the sheriff donated $250 to Gianforte's congressional campaign in March. In his statement, Gootkin confirmed the donation but said, "This contribution has nothing to do with our investigation, which is now complete."

As a candidate, he has already had to apologize for his treatment of the press after an incident last month at a meeting of a Christian group where a man complained about reporters and said he wanted to "wring their necks."

Gianforte pointed out a reporter covering the meeting and said, "It seems like there is more of us than there is of him," according to the Helena Independent Record newspaper. He later said it was a joke and the reporter in the room laughed with everyone else.

The Guardian is a British liberal newspaper that opened a U.S. edition 10 years ago. Its U.S. editor, Lee Glendenning, said in a statement: "The Guardian is deeply appalled by how our reporter, Ben Jacobs, was treated in the course of doing his job as a journalist while reporting on the Montana special election. We are committed to holding power to account and we stand by Ben and our team of reporters for the questions they ask and the reporting that is produced."
A painting of retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was stolen from a library in Quincy, Massachusetts, last week.

According to police, the painting was stolen from the Thomas Crane Public Library, where it was part of an ongoing exhibit.

The painting by local artist Edwina Caci is valued at $1,000.

A library security officer informed Quincy police that he found video footage of a suspect removing the painting. Officers were able to track down the suspect and identified him as Dana Bognar, a homeless man from the area.

Bognar told officers his friend James Perkins, of Quincy, asked him to steal the painting and told him he would pay $20 for it.

Officers were able to track down the painting and return it to the library.

Bognar, 37, was arrested and charged with larceny from a building and conspiracy to commit larceny.

Perkins, 48, was charged with receiving stolen property and conspiracy to commit larceny.
A growing tribute to fallen U.S. military personnel has added a photo of another Vermonter killed in Vietnam, but still needs thousands more photos of service members from across the country.

"To me, it's not something that should be forgotten," said Vermont State Archivist Tanya Marshall, who's helping locate photos of fallen service members for a digital project from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund called The Wall of Faces.

The non-profit is posting pictures online, alongside each of the more than 58,000 names that appear on the solemn Vietnam Memorial wall in D.C.

According to a search of the site, about 6,400 Americans who lost their lives in Vietnam are still unrepresented in the online version of the tribute.

In between work on her other duties as state archivist, Marshall has devoted time over the past year to tracking down relatives of fallen military members who lived in Vermont when they enlisted or were drafted.

Her goal has been to see more Vermont faces honored on the online memorial wall.

Marshall's search connected her with Kathy Richardson of Ludlow, Vermont. Her brother, Marine Lance Corporal Eddie O'Connor, was killed in Vietnam in 1966 at age 19.

O'Connor's photo was missing from the online Wall of Faces until Marshall connected with town officials in Ludlow, who helped her find Richardson and her stash of family photos.

"It's powerful," Richardson told necn of knowing her brother will now be a part of the online memorial. "Just to see your family member there and know that they have a face--it's not just a name that's been forgotten."

Marshall said she now must locate only three more names on her current list, though she may later turn to finding photos for the Wall of Faces of Vermont military personnel who enlisted in other states.

The Wall of Faces is searchable by name, state, and other terms. Click here to visit the online memorial.
Two Boston city officials who were indicted on extortion and conspiracy charges last year continue to be paid even though they aren't working.

The Boston Herald reports that tourism chief Kenneth Brissette and intergovernmental affairs director Timothy Sullivan have been receiving their full salaries on paid leave since they were charged a year ago. Both earn more than $100,000 annually.

This has cost taxpayers over $200,000 in salary and benefits so far, and will cost close to $350,000 by the time their trials, which have been delayed until next year, begins next January.

Brissette and Sullivan are accused of pressuring organizers of the Boston Calling music festival to hire union workers and refusing to issue permits until eight laborers and a foreman were hired between July and September 2014.

Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, who is running for mayor, has criticized Mayor Marty Walsh for allowing the two to be on paid leave, spending money that could otherwise be used to help the city.

A state law allows indicted government employees to be suspended without pay. Employees are entitled to receive back pay for the time they were under suspension if they are cleared.


Police in Reading, Massachusetts, are investigating after authorities say a resident found what was thought to be a pipe bomb in the yard of their home.

Officers responded to the home on Rachel Road, off of Summer Avenue, at 6:15 p.m. where police said a suspicious device was discovered in the side yard. The area was then cordoned off.

Neighbors said they received reverse 911 calls, telling them to evacuate as a precaution.

The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad was called to the scene with a robot to assist. At about 9:30 p.m., the bomb squad performed a controlled detonation and deemed the suspicious device safe.

No injuries were reported.

Police said the Bomb Squad removed the device and took it to be tested to determine whether it contained any explosive materials.

Area residents were then told they could return to their homes.

Police said they did not believe there was any danger to the community at this time.
Police in Providence say they have made 30 arrests as part of a 10-month investigation into opioid drug dealing in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Police say six of those arrested as part of "Operation Stop the Flow'' are high-level dealers.

They include 26-year-old Johan Jimenez of Providence, who was identified as the lead supplier of heroin and fentanyl in the city.

He and the others face multiple felony charges.

Jimenez was being held Thursday. It was not immediately clear if he had hired a lawyer who could comment on the charges.

Authorities say city dealers were selling 50 doses of fentanyl for about $120 to lower-level Massachusetts dealers, who would re-sell the drugs at marked-up prices.

Police say more arrests are possible in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Warwick police say a city man has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs after allegedly striking and killing a pedestrian.

Police responded to Main Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. for reports of a man being struck by a vehicle.

The victim was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died of his injuries. Police did not immediately release his name but said he is 23 years old and from Massachusetts.

The car driver, 24-year-old Marshall Howard, stopped at the scene.

After an investigation, Marshall was arrested and charged with DUI death resulting and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. He faces arraignment Wednesday. It could immediately be determined if he has a lawyer.
A Rhode Island man has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a woman in front of her daughter on Mother's Day.

A Superior Court judge handed down the sentence Wednesday after 45-year-old Yuland Stansfield pleaded guilty to murder.

Prosecutors say Stansfield fatally stabbed 42-year-old Christine Santurri in front of her then-21-year-old daughter after she opened the back door of her East Providence apartment on Mother's Day in 2015. The mother of three died at the hospital.

Prosecutors say Santurri, who had a restraining order against Stansfield, had come to police before the attack, saying he had sent her threatening text messages.

Police say they searched for Stansfield but weren't able to locate him.

Stansfield apologized in court.
Ice cream purveyor Ben & Jerry's has joined Australia's fight for marriage equality, banning customers in the country from ordering two scoops of the same flavor.

The ban is part of a campaign to push for parliamentary action on marriage equality and covers all 26 Ben & Jerry's stores across Australia.

"Imagine heading down to your local Scoop Shop to order your favourite two scoops of Cookie Dough in a waffle cone. But you find out you are not allowed  Ben & Jerrys has banned two scoops of the same flavour. Youd be furious! the Vermont-based company said in a statement on its Australian website. "But this doesnt even begin to compare to how furious you would be if you were told you were not allowed to marry the person you love."



The company hopes the ban will encourage customers to contact their local lawmakers and demand marriage equality.

In Australia, over 70 percent of the population supports marriage equality, according to national polls. A push to legalize same-sex marriage last year through a referendum was blocked by the Senate over fears that campaigns against the issue "could endanger the LGBTQI community and wouldn't even guarantee marriage equality."

"Before the next parliamentary sitting on June 13th, it is time to stand up for fair and equal rights for all by letting our leaders know that we demand Marriage Equality!" Ben & Jerry's statement said.



And until then, "no marriage equality, no same flavor scoops."






Bold and unusual

Regular columnist James Knight looks for ways to make the world more heavenly.

Sometimes, out of the blue, I do bold and unusual things  things that I use to escape my own sin for a moment to make a point of how powerful Christianity is. Here's an example of what I mean.



I remember being in the Forum in Norwich with friends; and one friend, a sceptic of Christianity to say the least, was talking about what a troubled world God has created. I said something along the lines of: Hey, the world is broken, but its human sin that has broken it, and each of us knows how we can make the world a better place.



I then proceeded to show my friend what I meant. Look how easy it is to make people smile and brighten up their day I said as I took him for a quick tour of making people happy. For the next 20 minutes, we went on a happiness escapade, during which time I showed how much strangers smile when you stop them and compliment them: -



I showed him the happiness of a couple when you go into a restaurant and pay for their meal and tell them you just wanted to do something nice for them; I showed him how much better people feel about themselves when you go into their shop and say how lovely you think their art is or how much you admire their window display; and I showed him the joy of an elderly couple sitting in Hay Hill for whom Id just bought an ice cream and told them I wanted them to accept it as a gift because they look like a lovely couple.



Naturally, we can't do this sort of thing every hour of the day because wed soon run out of money. But things like compliments, kind words and thoughtful words dont cost anything, and they are available to us at all times, whenever we like.



Next time youre feeling down on the world, go and do some bold and unusually lovely things for complete strangers, and youll see how easy it is to make people happy and brighten up their day. And, of course, it will bring joy to your own day too, because you cant pour out happiness on others without spilling a few drops on yourself too.



I think this sort of thing is a little of what Christ means when He encourages us to pray Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Not that we could ever reconstitute an earthly world of heavenly bliss where there is no sin or suffering, but that in our honest and heartfelt prayers we dont find it very difficult to get a sense of what we must do to make the world better than it is.



Heaven, I suppose, wont just be the blissful reconciliation with God - it will be a full understanding of the vast gulf between divine grace and human sin, and a more lucid understanding of how much we depend on grace in the here and now.



And it's the sense of love and grace that can motivate us to do bold and unusual acts of kindness, and make earth a little bit more heavenly in the here and now.



The image above is courtesy of https://pixabay.com





James Knight is a local government officer based in Norwich, and is a regular columnist for Christian community websites Network Norfolk and Network Ipswich. He also blogs regularly as The Philosophical Muser, and contributes articles to UK think tanks The Adam Smith Institute and The Institute of Economic Affairs, as well as the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC).

The views carried here are those of the author, not necessarily those of Network Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users.

j.knight423@btinternet.com
Network traffic analysis should be used more in the fight against malware. Thats because pointers show up on the network weeks and even months in advance of new malicious software being uncovered, scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology explain in an article on the schools website.

The researchers, who have been studying historic network traffic patterns, say the latest malware tracking should take advantage of inherent network-supplied barometers and stop simply focusing on trying to identify malware code already on networks and machines. By analyzing already-available, suspicious network traffic created by the hackers over a period of time, administrators will be able to pounce and render malware harmless before it can perform damage.

You know you are sick when you have a fever, before you know exactly whats causing it, says Manos Antonakakis, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. The first thing the adversary does is set up a presence on the internet, and that first signal can indicate an infection.

For example, registering domains is something hackers do and consequently can be tracked.

So, by acting on that first sign of a potential infectiona dodgy domain registration, for exampleand before malware samples become available, developing infections can be thwarted, the scientists claim. Malware code samples are used to build out traditional protection, such as heuristics.

By analyzing already-available, suspicious network traffic created by the hackers over a period of time, administrators will be able to pounce and render malware harmless before it can perform damage.

Antonakais and the team studied over 5 billion network events over five years at one ISP and say they found some networks more prone to abuse. Those include free domain registration services that let hackers rapidly add domains. The researchers also studied DNS requests by 27 million malware samples and looked for re-registrations of expired domainsa giveaway, they say.

Malware clues are there

By studying known malware traffic, experienced by ISPs historically, the researchers say malware clues are available in the data for a significant period before the actual attack takes place. Over 300,000 malware domains were active for at least two weeks before the corresponding malware samples were identified and analyzed they discovered in one analysis, for example.

Separating iffy network traffic from favorable traffic is how they do it. They then use that analysis to spot trouble. That methodology is unlike how traditional fortification works, which is usually by finding the malware code or through behavioroften too late.

By providing network administrators with behavioral symptoms of abnormal, suspicious activity on the networksuch as the aforementioned malware launch websites being set up and the already-installed malware communicating its preparatory deeds back to its senderand comparing that to normal activity, network specialists will be able to spot possible new infiltrations in advance of the actual attack. It should give the security experts more time to investigate and kill the infection, the researchers say.

Uncovering early indicators of an attack being planned is how defense mechanisms should be constructed in the future. And the work should be malware-independent, they say.

Network traffic is where this battle should be fought, Antonakais says. In other words, hunt for traffic anomalies and you'll find the bad actor.

For now, the researchers advise, Network administrators should minimize the unknowns in their networks and classify their appropriate communications as much as possible so they can see the bad activity when it happens.
Courtroom drama filmed at closed magistrates' court concludes tonight (Thursday)

The Trial: A Murder in the Family features a real jury and judge deliberating over a fake court case, where a man is on trial for strangling his estranged wife.

The series, which was filmed at Newbury Magistrates Court last year, started on Monday and concludes tonight (Thursday).

As well as the courtroom, other areas of Newbury have featured, including Park House School and Victoria Park.

The only actors are the accused, a man pleading not guilty for the murder of his wife, Carla, and some of the witnesses.

One of the jurors is Newbury town councillor Martha Vickers (Lib Dem, Northcroft).

Lisa Harrington from New Era Players, based in Wash Common, also took part.

Mrs Vickers revealed she was chosen by scouts from the production company, Dragon Fly, when she was volunteering at the Loose Ends charity in Newbury.

Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News yesterday, she explained: The casting team said they were conducting an experiment which focused on the jury, and I had never served on a jury. I wanted to know what it was like.

She said of the filming experience; It was intense. We knew it was only fictional, but it felt really real and everybody took it really seriously.

You felt you wanted to get justice for Carla, and that her death shouldnt go without trying your best to get the perpetrator.

Mrs Vickers had been called to jury service as a new mother some years ago, but was unable to do it.

She hasnt been summoned since and added: I think this would be good training for the real thing. I would like to be on a real jury just to see how the TV experience balanced out with the real thing.

The pioneering TV series reveals the inner workings of the legal system and centres around the murder of 38-year-old Carla Davis, who was strangled to death in her own home.

The accused is her estranged husband Simon.

The prosecution is led by Max Hill QC, with junior barrister Michelle Nelson.

The defendant is represented by John Ryder QC and junior barrister Lucy Organ.

Presiding is Judge Brian Barker CBE QC, formerly the most senior judge at the Old Bailey.

The final episode of this five-part series will be aired this evening.

The series is directed by BAFTA winners Nick Holt and Kath Mattock.

In 2013, Mr Holt won his second BAFTA for the documentary The Murder Trial which aired on Channel 4 and Ms Mattock made BAFTA award-winning drama Single Murder.
AWE says that measure is 'precautionary'

SOLDIERS have been stationed outside AWE sites in West Berkshire following Tuesday's terror attack in Manchester.

A suicide bomber detonated a device at a crowded Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday evening.

The attack killed 22 people, one an eight-year-old girl, and wounded more than 50 others.

The UK's threat level has been raised to critical - the highest level - meaning that the intelligence services believe that another attack is expected imminently.

The Atomic Weapons Establishment, which has sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield, where warheads for the UK nuclear deterrent Trident are maintained, has had its security increased.

Under Operation Temperer up to 5,000 soldiers have been deployed to support police following a terrorist attack.

AWE issued a statement yesterday (Wednesday) in response to the operation.

"Following the terrible events in Manchester on Monday, our thoughts are with the families and communities of everyone affected by this tragedy.

"Across the UK, as part of Operation Temperer, a number of Army units have been mobilised to support the police and some Army personnel have arrived at AWE (Burghfield and Aldermaston).

"This is a precautionary measure so that if the on-site police are requested to deploy officers away from AWE, in support of national security, the Army will step into those roles.

"Army personnel will only be used in roles for which they are already suitably trained, and neither safety nor security at AWE will be compromised at any time.

"Please continue to be vigilant and aware."
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a bid to counter Chinas growing influence in the Island nation, India and Japan will join hands to set up a $250 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Sri Lanka.

An agreement has been reached between the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Japan to set up the LNG terminal as a 50:50 joint venture by Petronet and a Japanese company, Prabhat Singh, managing director and CEO, Petronet, said on Wednesday.

The import facility will be set up at Kerawalapitiya on western coast, Petronet officials said. Sri Lanka has plans to build a 300 MW gas-fired power plant in Kerawalapitiya. It will offer clean fuel to the power plant in that area, which currently uses oil to generate power, officials in the company said.

The proposed LNG terminal, which will import super-cooled natural gas in ships, will take two-and-half to three years to build, said Singh adding that the terminal in Sri Lanka is part of Petronets vision to own 30 million tonne (MT) per annum of LNG import and regasification capacity by 2020.

However, Japan is yet to identify the company which will form an equal joint venture with Petronet for setting up the terminal, officials said.

Last year, Petronet LNG had proposed to set up two MT LNG import facility on the Sri Lankan coast to meet its energy needs.

The LNG major already operates a 15 MT per annum import facility at Dahej in Gujarat and has another five MT terminal at Kochi in Kerala. The Dahej project is being expanded to 17.5 MT over the next two years.

NEW DELHI: In a bid to counter Chinas growing influence in the Island nation, India and Japan will join hands to set up a $250 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Sri Lanka. An agreement has been reached between the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Japan to set up the LNG terminal as a 50:50 joint venture by Petronet and a Japanese company, Prabhat Singh, managing director and CEO, Petronet, said on Wednesday. The import facility will be set up at Kerawalapitiya on western coast, Petronet officials said. Sri Lanka has plans to build a 300 MW gas-fired power plant in Kerawalapitiya. It will offer clean fuel to the power plant in that area, which currently uses oil to generate power, officials in the company said. The proposed LNG terminal, which will import super-cooled natural gas in ships, will take two-and-half to three years to build, said Singh adding that the terminal in Sri Lanka is part of Petronets vision to own 30 million tonne (MT) per annum of LNG import and regasification capacity by 2020. However, Japan is yet to identify the company which will form an equal joint venture with Petronet for setting up the terminal, officials said. Last year, Petronet LNG had proposed to set up two MT LNG import facility on the Sri Lankan coast to meet its energy needs. The LNG major already operates a 15 MT per annum import facility at Dahej in Gujarat and has another five MT terminal at Kochi in Kerala. The Dahej project is being expanded to 17.5 MT over the next two years.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, which has a consolidated debt of around Rs 46,000 crore, today said it is likely will be a 'relatively' debt-free company within five years.

"We are increasing our production, there is good demand for steel and the government has also taken a lot of initiatives to build infrastructure in the company," JSPL Chairman Naveen Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of India's National Competitiveness Forum here.

"In the next four to five years we hope to be relatively debt free company. That the debt should not be more than three times, I believe of, the EBITA of the company," he said.

The things are much better now for JSPL, Jindal said, adding, "We are able to service the debt and I hope that if the steel demand continues we will be able to overcome it. Our debt is only come down now. Whatever was our debt in FY'16 we have reduced it in FY'17," he said.

Jindal said that company's debt increased basically after cancellation of coal blocks and it had to pay Rs 3,500 crore of additional levies.

"So we had to borrow to pay our levies that is why JSPL's debt is high. Then we have been servicing the debt that we took, so it cost us more than Rs 5,000 crore," he added.

The debt is not because of some project, but due the company's cost which went up because of cancellation of coal blocks.

NEW DELHI: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, which has a consolidated debt of around Rs 46,000 crore, today said it is likely will be a 'relatively' debt-free company within five years. "We are increasing our production, there is good demand for steel and the government has also taken a lot of initiatives to build infrastructure in the company," JSPL Chairman Naveen Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of India's National Competitiveness Forum here. "In the next four to five years we hope to be relatively debt free company. That the debt should not be more than three times, I believe of, the EBITA of the company," he said. The things are much better now for JSPL, Jindal said, adding, "We are able to service the debt and I hope that if the steel demand continues we will be able to overcome it. Our debt is only come down now. Whatever was our debt in FY'16 we have reduced it in FY'17," he said. Jindal said that company's debt increased basically after cancellation of coal blocks and it had to pay Rs 3,500 crore of additional levies. "So we had to borrow to pay our levies that is why JSPL's debt is high. Then we have been servicing the debt that we took, so it cost us more than Rs 5,000 crore," he added. The debt is not because of some project, but due the company's cost which went up because of cancellation of coal blocks.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Home appliances maker Whirlpool of India today said Arvind Uppal will step down as President - Asia Pacific of its parent Whirlpool Corporation with effect from January 1, 2018.

Uppal, however, will continue to be the Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Whirlpool of India.

"The Board of Directors of the company have on May 25, 2017 by circular resolution taken note of Arvind Uppal's decision to step down from employment of the company with effect from January 1, 2018," Whirlpool of India said in a BSE filing.

Shares of the company were trading 1.15 per cent down at Rs 1,135 on BSE in morning trade.

NEW DELHI: Home appliances maker Whirlpool of India today said Arvind Uppal will step down as President - Asia Pacific of its parent Whirlpool Corporation with effect from January 1, 2018. Uppal, however, will continue to be the Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Whirlpool of India. "The Board of Directors of the company have on May 25, 2017 by circular resolution taken note of Arvind Uppal's decision to step down from employment of the company with effect from January 1, 2018," Whirlpool of India said in a BSE filing. Shares of the company were trading 1.15 per cent down at Rs 1,135 on BSE in morning trade.
Reshma Ravishanker By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Take a stroll along the premises here. A leaking roof, partly damaged walls and broken window panes welcome you. This is the condition of Karnatakas first engineering campus.

The department of mechanical engineering, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), has been in a dilapidated condition for over a decade now.

Come monsoon and students can use only one part of their classrooms and labs. In other parts, dripping roofs create puddles of water.

The carpentry section of the department is a structure with just three walls. The fourth one has given way. As a stop gap arrangement, the staff of the college have erected asbestos sheets and other planks.

A part of the labs is also used to dump old furniture and debris of what has worn off the structure.

This is an ancient structure that has not been maintained well. Even though sheets have been kept ready to redo the roof, there is nobody to do the work, a staffer at the college said.

Top: Every time it rains, puddles form in one section of the department;

damaged roofs are a common sight throughout the campus | vinod kumar t

After every rain, puddles of water accumulate on electric devices in these labs, posing threat to lives of both students and staffers. We cannot even operate PSG Lathe (a device) without cleaning it. There is a high risk of short circuit as water enters the devices through, the lab attendant said.

The college structure is at least a century old and cries for attention. With the state government sanctioning `25 crore in this years budget, there is a proposal to demolish the structure and construct a multi-storeyed building instead.

Constructed as the The Mechanical Engineering School of this college, it began functioning as early as 1917.Dr K R Venugopal, principal, UVCE, said they will soon demolish the existing structure and construct a multi-storeyed building with advanced state-of-the-art infrastructure.

According to college sources, the plan for the new building is ready, a copy of which is with Express. It now needs to be approved by the Department of Higher Education.

At present, students are studying in structures which were once used as horse stables. They will be able to reach leaps and bounds if better infrastructure is provided, Dr Venugopal added.

ABOUT UVCE

Initially named government engineering college by Sir M Visvesvaraya, it was affiliated to the University of Mysore.

This is the first engineering college in Karnataka and the fifth in the country.

UVCE later became one of the constituent colleges of Bangalore University.

Problems galore

Leaking roof

Damaged walls

Broken window panes

No wall in carpentry section

Old furniture dumped in lab

1917  Year in which it started functioning

it should be renovated,not demolished

The college is best known for its association with Sir M Visvesvaraya. Alumni and architects say the building can be renovated instead of being demolished.Satyaprakash Varanasi, architect and college alumni, criticised the plan to demolish the heritage structure.

It is a landmark building. There is lack of proper rules to protect these structures. When the college can get it renovated by spending just D25 lakh, what is the need to invest D25 crore for a new structure? he asked.

Bengaluru has only a hundred such buildings left. Our focus must be on protecting these, not demolishing them, Varanasi said.

Meera Iyer, co-convenor, INTACH, an NGO that conserves heritage structures, said, Though it is not classified as a heritage structure, the fact that it is century old makes it important.

BENGALURU: Take a stroll along the premises here. A leaking roof, partly damaged walls and broken window panes welcome you. This is the condition of Karnatakas first engineering campus. The department of mechanical engineering, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), has been in a dilapidated condition for over a decade now. Come monsoon and students can use only one part of their classrooms and labs. In other parts, dripping roofs create puddles of water. The carpentry section of the department is a structure with just three walls. The fourth one has given way. As a stop gap arrangement, the staff of the college have erected asbestos sheets and other planks. A part of the labs is also used to dump old furniture and debris of what has worn off the structure. This is an ancient structure that has not been maintained well. Even though sheets have been kept ready to redo the roof, there is nobody to do the work, a staffer at the college said. Top: Every time it rains, puddles form in one section of the department; damaged roofs are a common sight throughout the campus | vinodkumar t After every rain, puddles of water accumulate on electric devices in these labs, posing threat to lives of both students and staffers. We cannot even operate PSG Lathe (a device) without cleaning it. There is a high risk of short circuit as water enters the devices through, the lab attendant said. The college structure is at least a century old and cries for attention. With the state government sanctioning `25 crore in this years budget, there is a proposal to demolish the structure and construct a multi-storeyed building instead. Constructed as the The Mechanical Engineering School of this college, it began functioning as early as 1917.Dr K R Venugopal, principal, UVCE, said they will soon demolish the existing structure and construct a multi-storeyed building with advanced state-of-the-art infrastructure. According to college sources, the plan for the new building is ready, a copy of which is with Express. It now needs to be approved by the Department of Higher Education. At present, students are studying in structures which were once used as horse stables. They will be able to reach leaps and bounds if better infrastructure is provided, Dr Venugopal added. ABOUT UVCE Initially named government engineering college by Sir M Visvesvaraya, it was affiliated to the University of Mysore. This is the first engineering college in Karnataka and the fifth in the country. UVCE later became one of the constituent colleges of Bangalore University. Problems galore Leaking roof Damaged walls Broken window panes No wall in carpentry section Old furniture dumped in lab 1917  Year in which it started functioning it should be renovated,not demolished The college is best known for its association with Sir M Visvesvaraya. Alumni and architects say the building can be renovated instead of being demolished.Satyaprakash Varanasi, architect and college alumni, criticised the plan to demolish the heritage structure. It is a landmark building. There is lack of proper rules to protect these structures. When the college can get it renovated by spending just D25 lakh, what is the need to invest D25 crore for a new structure? he asked. Bengaluru has only a hundred such buildings left. Our focus must be on protecting these, not demolishing them, Varanasi said. Meera Iyer, co-convenor, INTACH, an NGO that conserves heritage structures, said, Though it is not classified as a heritage structure, the fact that it is century old makes it important.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has arrested a 19 year-old youth for allegedly trying to steal money from the ATM. According to the police, Accused identified as Manish took tutorials on the internet and then formed a team of four, including a juvenile, to steal money from an ATM machine to arrange for a big sum in order to be able to marry his 7-year-old love.

Cops said that Manishs robbery attempt was foiled by a group of local residents, who had arrived at the ATM to withdraw cash, but saw Manish and friends attempting to break open the ATM. Acting good samaritans, the group of locals raised alarm and following a short chase all four accused were nabbed. The accused have been identified as Mansih (19), who works at IGL, his friends Vishnu (18) and Ankit alias Gabbar (18) an undergraduate student. The gang also included a juvenile who was roped in by Manish.

The entire drama unfolded between 2 am to 3 am, when Anurag Sharma, a resident of Subhash Place and one of his friend were returning from office, When they came to a Canara Bank ATM to withdraw some cash. Meters before, they saw that some suspicious armed persons were trying to break the ATM to loot the money.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has arrested a 19 year-old youth for allegedly trying to steal money from the ATM. According to the police, Accused identified as Manish took tutorials on the internet and then formed a team of four, including a juvenile, to steal money from an ATM machine to arrange for a big sum in order to be able to marry his 7-year-old love. Cops said that Manishs robbery attempt was foiled by a group of local residents, who had arrived at the ATM to withdraw cash, but saw Manish and friends attempting to break open the ATM. Acting good samaritans, the group of locals raised alarm and following a short chase all four accused were nabbed. The accused have been identified as Mansih (19), who works at IGL, his friends Vishnu (18) and Ankit alias Gabbar (18) an undergraduate student. The gang also included a juvenile who was roped in by Manish. The entire drama unfolded between 2 am to 3 am, when Anurag Sharma, a resident of Subhash Place and one of his friend were returning from office, When they came to a Canara Bank ATM to withdraw some cash. Meters before, they saw that some suspicious armed persons were trying to break the ATM to loot the money.
By Express News Service

Storm dust and strong winds caused havoc on the sets of Prems forthcoming film, The Villain. Having completed the shots with Mithun Chakraborty, the director had been shooting scenes with Sudeep in Belagavi in a hot afternoon with temperatures running to 42 degrees. And just when the team was doing their last scene, they had to pack up for the day when waves of strong winds hit the shooting spot, taking with it the entire set.

While Prem had installed special effect fans on the sets to generate wind for a few scenes, and at the end of the day, it so happened that the actual gutsy wind blew over the entire set. The wind picked up speed and nearly blew us away. Sudeep and I were holding on to each other for support and we were surrounded by 10 people protecting us. Apart from fans, we have a crew of 300 members at the sets and everyone had difficulty in breathing. The director feels lucky that there were no causalities.

But the entire set made for the The Villain has gone with the wind, he says. I am not in any frame of mind to estimate the loss. I am glad that everyone who were on the sets and who had come to watch the shoot are safe. Even the crowd, which had gathered in thousands, to watch the shoot through the day had little bruises because of the strong wind.Prem now has decided to keep this clip in the movie. I want people to know the natural

calamity one faces during shooting and it is just gods grace that we didnt see any major accident, he says.Apparently, Mithun Chakraborty who is part of the project had left the previous day. Prem, who had an opportunity to shoot the actor for the first, says, I want to salute the actor because, even at this age, he enjoys doing his own stunts and did it wearing a rope. He says that it is his job... it only proves his professionalism. I was happy to hear from him that he likes my work and is ready to give me more dates.

The filmmakers will be heading to London after Belagavi, where Shivarajkumar and Amy Jackson will join the team.

Storm dust and strong winds caused havoc on the sets of Prems forthcoming film, The Villain. Having completed the shots with Mithun Chakraborty, the director had been shooting scenes with Sudeep in Belagavi in a hot afternoon with temperatures running to 42 degrees. And just when the team was doing their last scene, they had to pack up for the day when waves of strong winds hit the shooting spot, taking with it the entire set. While Prem had installed special effect fans on the sets to generate wind for a few scenes, and at the end of the day, it so happened that the actual gutsy wind blew over the entire set. The wind picked up speed and nearly blew us away. Sudeep and I were holding on to each other for support and we were surrounded by 10 people protecting us. Apart from fans, we have a crew of 300 members at the sets and everyone had difficulty in breathing. The director feels lucky that there were no causalities. But the entire set made for the The Villain has gone with the wind, he says. I am not in any frame of mind to estimate the loss. I am glad that everyone who were on the sets and who had come to watch the shoot are safe. Even the crowd, which had gathered in thousands, to watch the shoot through the day had little bruises because of the strong wind.Prem now has decided to keep this clip in the movie. I want people to know the natural calamity one faces during shooting and it is just gods grace that we didnt see any major accident, he says.Apparently, Mithun Chakraborty who is part of the project had left the previous day. Prem, who had an opportunity to shoot the actor for the first, says, I want to salute the actor because, even at this age, he enjoys doing his own stunts and did it wearing a rope. He says that it is his job... it only proves his professionalism. I was happy to hear from him that he likes my work and is ready to give me more dates. The filmmakers will be heading to London after Belagavi, where Shivarajkumar and Amy Jackson will join the team.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar-led civil society group on Thursday met separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Shabir Ahmad Shah and discussed the prevailing situation in Kashmir with them.

Five-member civil society delegation led by Aiyer met moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at his Nageen residence this morning.

Other members of the delegation included O P Shah, Kapil Kak, Vinod Sharma and ID khajuria.

Mirwaiz told the delegation that situation in Kashmir is one of extreme oppression and Valley has been turned into a garrison of military, paramilitary and police force and civilians are held hostage.

He said the troops enjoy complete immunity from prosecution by law and all kinds of restrictions and curbs are in place to give no space to people to express their aspirations or stage protests.

Killing blinding, maiming, torture, arrests and detention are the order of the day. The situation is so frustrating that even young students are hitting the roads each day to lodge their protest, Mirwaiz said adding using a Kashmiri youth as a human shield by an army officer and his honoring by army chief clearly defines Government of Indias perspective regarding Kashmir and how to deal with it.

He told the delegation that Hurriyat believes that an alternative way to resolve the Kashmir issue was through negotiations between India Pakistan and the people of Kashmir to the satisfaction of all.

Later, the Aiyar-led delegation called on Shabir Shah at his Sanat Nagar residence in uptown Srinagar.

We are not in favour of strained relations between India and Pakistan but demand justifiable solution to Kashmir dispute which has been the bone of contention between the two nuclear neighbouring nations, Shah told the delegation.

Alleging that India has left no stone unturned to inflict worst kind of atrocities on people of Kashmir, he urged the delegates to sincerely make people of India and its leaders aware about reality of J&K.

The delegation should meet people of Valley and listen to their viewpoint as to what tragedies have befallen on them. India has witnessed the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre but in Kashmir, such massacres are a routine. We dont have enmity with people of India but demand right to decide our future. History stands testimony to the fact that J&K was an independent territory even before the birth of India, Shah told the delegation.

He said all options of registering peaceful protests have been closed and state has been turned into a virtual jail and social media stands banned.

We are not scared of dialogue but are of the view that it should be tripartite and unconditional. The international community needs to play its role on Kashmir and take steps to bring all the stakeholder of this dispute on a resolution table, Shah said.

Later, in the evening civil society delegation called on hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at his Hyderpora residence.

Geelani also briefed the delegation about the prevailing situation in Kashmir and the excesses committed by troops during over five months long unrest in the Valley last year.

He told the delegation that people are demanding right to self determination, which has been promised to them by India in United Nations.

The delegation also met senior separatist and Shia leader Aga Syed Hasan.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik, has refused to meet the Aiyar-led delegation.

Aiyar during a one-day conference in Srinagar few days back had said peace in Kashmir was possible only through dialogue and warned Government of India that if it promotes violence then people too would indulge in violence.

If BJP talks to armed rebels in Nagaland, why cant it talk to stone throwers in Kashmir and if they New Delhi doesnt talk now, then guns will start talking, he had said.

SRINAGAR: Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar-led civil society group on Thursday met separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Shabir Ahmad Shah and discussed the prevailing situation in Kashmir with them. Five-member civil society delegation led by Aiyer met moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at his Nageen residence this morning. Other members of the delegation included O P Shah, Kapil Kak, Vinod Sharma and ID khajuria. Mirwaiz told the delegation that situation in Kashmir is one of extreme oppression and Valley has been turned into a garrison of military, paramilitary and police force and civilians are held hostage. He said the troops enjoy complete immunity from prosecution by law and all kinds of restrictions and curbs are in place to give no space to people to express their aspirations or stage protests. Killing blinding, maiming, torture, arrests and detention are the order of the day. The situation is so frustrating that even young students are hitting the roads each day to lodge their protest, Mirwaiz said adding using a Kashmiri youth as a human shield by an army officer and his honoring by army chief clearly defines Government of Indias perspective regarding Kashmir and how to deal with it. He told the delegation that Hurriyat believes that an alternative way to resolve the Kashmir issue was through negotiations between India Pakistan and the people of Kashmir to the satisfaction of all. Later, the Aiyar-led delegation called on Shabir Shah at his Sanat Nagar residence in uptown Srinagar. We are not in favour of strained relations between India and Pakistan but demand justifiable solution to Kashmir dispute which has been the bone of contention between the two nuclear neighbouring nations, Shah told the delegation. Alleging that India has left no stone unturned to inflict worst kind of atrocities on people of Kashmir, he urged the delegates to sincerely make people of India and its leaders aware about reality of J&K. The delegation should meet people of Valley and listen to their viewpoint as to what tragedies have befallen on them. India has witnessed the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre but in Kashmir, such massacres are a routine. We dont have enmity with people of India but demand right to decide our future. History stands testimony to the fact that J&K was an independent territory even before the birth of India, Shah told the delegation. He said all options of registering peaceful protests have been closed and state has been turned into a virtual jail and social media stands banned. We are not scared of dialogue but are of the view that it should be tripartite and unconditional. The international community needs to play its role on Kashmir and take steps to bring all the stakeholder of this dispute on a resolution table, Shah said. Later, in the evening civil society delegation called on hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at his Hyderpora residence. Geelani also briefed the delegation about the prevailing situation in Kashmir and the excesses committed by troops during over five months long unrest in the Valley last year. He told the delegation that people are demanding right to self determination, which has been promised to them by India in United Nations. The delegation also met senior separatist and Shia leader Aga Syed Hasan. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik, has refused to meet the Aiyar-led delegation. Aiyar during a one-day conference in Srinagar few days back had said peace in Kashmir was possible only through dialogue and warned Government of India that if it promotes violence then people too would indulge in violence. If BJP talks to armed rebels in Nagaland, why cant it talk to stone throwers in Kashmir and if they New Delhi doesnt talk now, then guns will start talking, he had said.
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: Pinning responsibility for the "shockingly poor" Class X board exam results on the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today ordered its department chairman to resign.

This will pave way for a major overhaul of the school education system in the state, an official spokesman said here. The chief minister's directive was communicated to PSEB chairman Balbir Singh Dhol by Education Minister Aruna Chaudhry, who obtained the resignation which was immediately accepted, he said.

The interim charge of the PSEB has been handed over to additional chief secretary (ACS, school education) and a search committee has been ordered to be set up to find a new chairperson in the next 30 days, he added.

The committee will consist of chief secretary, Punjab, as chairman, ACS (school education) and vice-chancellor (Panjab University, Chandigarh) as members. The shake-up in PSEB came two days after the chief minister sought a report from the education minister on the atrociously poor Class X results in the state.

The chief minister, the spokesman further said, has sent out a strong message that nobody would be allowed to play with the future of the children of Punjab. Pointing out that Amarinder had taken serious view of the poor Class X Board exam results, the spokesman said the chief minister has made it clear that he would not tolerate any further laxity in the matter of improving and upgrading the school education system.

Highly disturbed at the deteriorating standards of education in Punjab, the chief minister has ordered all concerned officials and departments to create a detailed roadmap for bringing the education system in the state on track.

He has also directed Choudhary to prepare a blueprint for raising the standards of education in the state. In the wake of the appalling results, the chief minister had also directed the finance department to make available all necessary funds to the education department for undertaking urgent measures to improve the quality of education and infrastructure in government schools, the spokesman said.

Besides educational quality, the chief minister had directed immediate and proactive steps for infrastructure up gradation, and provision of basic amenities and facilities in all government schools in order to prepare students to meet the high standards of the competitive educational environment prevailing in the country today.

Dhol, who was appointed as chairman of PSEB in December last year immediately after his retirement as Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer by the previous Parkash Singh Badal government has resigned, a board spokesman told PTI. "Yesterday, sleuths of Punjab vigilance bureau raided the premises of board and house of Dhol at Mohali," he said.

The raids were conducted in connection with the alleged irregularities in recruitment to various posts in cooperative banks when Dhol was registrar in 2010, he said. There was a shocking 15-point dip in students' performance in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class X exam, in which over 40 per cent of the students have failed, an official spokesman said. Around 57 per cent students of class X passed the board exam conducted by PSEB, the result of which was declared recently.

CHANDIGARH: Pinning responsibility for the "shockingly poor" Class X board exam results on the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today ordered its department chairman to resign. This will pave way for a major overhaul of the school education system in the state, an official spokesman said here. The chief minister's directive was communicated to PSEB chairman Balbir Singh Dhol by Education Minister Aruna Chaudhry, who obtained the resignation which was immediately accepted, he said. The interim charge of the PSEB has been handed over to additional chief secretary (ACS, school education) and a search committee has been ordered to be set up to find a new chairperson in the next 30 days, he added. The committee will consist of chief secretary, Punjab, as chairman, ACS (school education) and vice-chancellor (Panjab University, Chandigarh) as members. The shake-up in PSEB came two days after the chief minister sought a report from the education minister on the atrociously poor Class X results in the state. The chief minister, the spokesman further said, has sent out a strong message that nobody would be allowed to play with the future of the children of Punjab. Pointing out that Amarinder had taken serious view of the poor Class X Board exam results, the spokesman said the chief minister has made it clear that he would not tolerate any further laxity in the matter of improving and upgrading the school education system. Highly disturbed at the deteriorating standards of education in Punjab, the chief minister has ordered all concerned officials and departments to create a detailed roadmap for bringing the education system in the state on track. He has also directed Choudhary to prepare a blueprint for raising the standards of education in the state. In the wake of the appalling results, the chief minister had also directed the finance department to make available all necessary funds to the education department for undertaking urgent measures to improve the quality of education and infrastructure in government schools, the spokesman said. Besides educational quality, the chief minister had directed immediate and proactive steps for infrastructure up gradation, and provision of basic amenities and facilities in all government schools in order to prepare students to meet the high standards of the competitive educational environment prevailing in the country today. Dhol, who was appointed as chairman of PSEB in December last year immediately after his retirement as Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer by the previous Parkash Singh Badal government has resigned, a board spokesman told PTI. "Yesterday, sleuths of Punjab vigilance bureau raided the premises of board and house of Dhol at Mohali," he said. The raids were conducted in connection with the alleged irregularities in recruitment to various posts in cooperative banks when Dhol was registrar in 2010, he said. There was a shocking 15-point dip in students' performance in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class X exam, in which over 40 per cent of the students have failed, an official spokesman said. Around 57 per cent students of class X passed the board exam conducted by PSEB, the result of which was declared recently.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The bodies of eight tribal persons in Manipur were laid to rest, more than 600 days after they had lost their lives in police firing in the states Churachandpur district.



Six people were killed when the police opened fire on a mob which was staging a protest against the introduction of three Bills  the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015  by the then Congress government in 2015.



A resultant violence had left three more locals dead. The protestors had viewed the Bills as anti-tribal. While a body was reportedly stolen from the morgue earlier this year, the remaining eight bodies were not claimed in protest. The State government broke the deadlock recently by striking a deal with the protestors.



As per the agreement, the government had agreed to compensate the families of the victims, take into account tribal opinion in all future actions and probe the deaths. Accordingly, the protestors had agreed to collect the bodies and arrange burial by May 25.



Thousands of people, including ministers and leaders of various communities from across Manipur and elsewhere, on Wednesday gathered at a public ground where a public service was held before the bodies were laid to rest.



Ministers Thongam Biswajit, Nemcha Kipgen, Losii Dikho and V Hangkhanlian, besides senior government officials, were among those in attendance.



Biswajit said it was of immense pleasure for the BJP-led coalition government that it was able to iron out differences with the protestors through a concerted effort.

GUWAHATI: The bodies of eight tribal persons in Manipur were laid to rest, more than 600 days after they had lost their lives in police firing in the states Churachandpur district. Six people were killed when the police opened fire on a mob which was staging a protest against the introduction of three Bills  the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015  by the then Congress government in 2015. A resultant violence had left three more locals dead. The protestors had viewed the Bills as anti-tribal. While a body was reportedly stolen from the morgue earlier this year, the remaining eight bodies were not claimed in protest. The State government broke the deadlock recently by striking a deal with the protestors. As per the agreement, the government had agreed to compensate the families of the victims, take into account tribal opinion in all future actions and probe the deaths. Accordingly, the protestors had agreed to collect the bodies and arrange burial by May 25. Thousands of people, including ministers and leaders of various communities from across Manipur and elsewhere, on Wednesday gathered at a public ground where a public service was held before the bodies were laid to rest. Ministers Thongam Biswajit, Nemcha Kipgen, Losii Dikho and V Hangkhanlian, besides senior government officials, were among those in attendance. Biswajit said it was of immense pleasure for the BJP-led coalition government that it was able to iron out differences with the protestors through a concerted effort.
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

NAXALBARI: A lot of water has flown down the Mechi river since the first shots were fired in Naxalbari on this day (May 25) fifty years ago. From being the womb of extreme Left politics, the region bordering Nepal is now slowly making way for Hindutva politics, which is worrying the present-day Naxals.

Slogans such as BJP come and see, Naxalbari is still alive and Unite to resist the Fascist RSS reverberated in the 10,000-strong CPI (ML) Liberation rally from Siliguri Junction to Bagha Jatin Park that marked the 50th anniversary of Naxalbari revolution at Siliguri on Thursday. However, some 200 workers from Trinamool Congress, CPM and Congress from Naxalbari-Bagdogra-Khoribari belt are expected to join the BJP on May 29.

The radical Left has to stand up to the Hindutva fascist agenda of the BJP-RSS combine. Hindutva politics is the biggest threat to the country and is the main agenda of 50th Naxalbari anniversary. Combating the communal forces is the biggest challenge for us, said Prof Avijit Mazumdar, son of eminent Naxal leader Charu Mazumdar, to The New Indian Express.

Also Read: On 50th anniversary of Naxalbari, survivors say revolution has gone off the rails

The CPI (ML) Liberation Darjeeling district secretary and national committee member feels that social engineering done by BJP and RSS in Naxalbari is causing disharmony among the tribals. Though BJP has not seen a quantum electoral rise in the region, it is trying to penetrate through various social engineering programmes such as preaching Hindutva songs and dances at Adivasi Vanavasi Ashram schools and giving monetary aid to Adivasi families during marriage in lieu of filling up membership forms at Rs 100. We are not taking the BJP threat lightly, he said.

On the other hand, Darjeeling district BJP president Praveen Aggarwal said that they are following the party line for expansion in Naxalbari. We are conducting booth-level man-to-man contacts for increasing our presence. We are not conducting any social engineering. We are only trying to groom the Adivasis, whom we call Vanavasis, to conserve their culture and build confidence among them. We have given them only culture, not money, he said. BJP president Amit Shah recently visited a few houses in Naxalbari and had lunch at an Adivasi household.

Charu Mazumdars son Avijit says that the zamindari system against which his father had fought is still deep-rooted in India and West Bengal. The corporate mafia is the new zamindar. Government lands which were used for research and development for indigenous agricultural research have been taken over to form land banks of Mamata Banerjee, he said.

Speaking on differences between the ideology of his father and present-day Maoists, the professor of English in Siliguri College said that for Maoists, gun has become more important than politics. Guns are running the show due to which extortion is rampant, he said.

However, the veteran Naxal leaders son upheld his fathers annihilation of class enemy line. If you dont annihilate the class enemies, they would annihilate you. To break the nexus of class enemies and the state, arming of the people is important, Avijit Mazumdar said.

NAXALBARI: A lot of water has flown down the Mechi river since the first shots were fired in Naxalbari on this day (May 25) fifty years ago. From being the womb of extreme Left politics, the region bordering Nepal is now slowly making way for Hindutva politics, which is worrying the present-day Naxals. Slogans such as BJP come and see, Naxalbari is still alive and Unite to resist the Fascist RSS reverberated in the 10,000-strong CPI (ML) Liberation rally from Siliguri Junction to Bagha Jatin Park that marked the 50th anniversary of Naxalbari revolution at Siliguri on Thursday. However, some 200 workers from Trinamool Congress, CPM and Congress from Naxalbari-Bagdogra-Khoribari belt are expected to join the BJP on May 29. The radical Left has to stand up to the Hindutva fascist agenda of the BJP-RSS combine. Hindutva politics is the biggest threat to the country and is the main agenda of 50th Naxalbari anniversary. Combating the communal forces is the biggest challenge for us, said Prof Avijit Mazumdar, son of eminent Naxal leader Charu Mazumdar, to The New Indian Express. Also Read: On 50th anniversary of Naxalbari, survivors say revolution has gone off the rails The CPI (ML) Liberation Darjeeling district secretary and national committee member feels that social engineering done by BJP and RSS in Naxalbari is causing disharmony among the tribals. Though BJP has not seen a quantum electoral rise in the region, it is trying to penetrate through various social engineering programmes such as preaching Hindutva songs and dances at Adivasi Vanavasi Ashram schools and giving monetary aid to Adivasi families during marriage in lieu of filling up membership forms at Rs 100. We are not taking the BJP threat lightly, he said. On the other hand, Darjeeling district BJP president Praveen Aggarwal said that they are following the party line for expansion in Naxalbari. We are conducting booth-level man-to-man contacts for increasing our presence. We are not conducting any social engineering. We are only trying to groom the Adivasis, whom we call Vanavasis, to conserve their culture and build confidence among them. We have given them only culture, not money, he said. BJP president Amit Shah recently visited a few houses in Naxalbari and had lunch at an Adivasi household. Charu Mazumdars son Avijit says that the zamindari system against which his father had fought is still deep-rooted in India and West Bengal. The corporate mafia is the new zamindar. Government lands which were used for research and development for indigenous agricultural research have been taken over to form land banks of Mamata Banerjee, he said. Speaking on differences between the ideology of his father and present-day Maoists, the professor of English in Siliguri College said that for Maoists, gun has become more important than politics. Guns are running the show due to which extortion is rampant, he said. However, the veteran Naxal leaders son upheld his fathers annihilation of class enemy line. If you dont annihilate the class enemies, they would annihilate you. To break the nexus of class enemies and the state, arming of the people is important, Avijit Mazumdar said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India is awaiting a response from Pakistan on its request for consular access to Sheikh Nabi, reportedly an Indian, who was arrested in Islamabad for not possessing travel and visa documents. "We have asked for facts.

We have also asked for consular access. We await a response to our request," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

Ahmed, who hailed from Jogeshwari East in Mumbai, was taken into custody on May 19 after he failed to produce any travel or visa documents, according to media reports. The Indian national was walking on a road when he was stopped at a check post here. Police demanded to check his visa documents after he told them that he was an Indian.

However, Ahmed could not produce any document and was taken into police custody, the reports said. Later a case was registered against him for illegal entry and stay in Pakistan under Section 14 of Foreigners Act 1946 and sent to jail on judicial remand for 14 days. It was not clear why and how he came to Pakistan.

NEW DELHI: India is awaiting a response from Pakistan on its request for consular access to Sheikh Nabi, reportedly an Indian, who was arrested in Islamabad for not possessing travel and visa documents. "We have asked for facts. We have also asked for consular access. We await a response to our request," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said. Ahmed, who hailed from Jogeshwari East in Mumbai, was taken into custody on May 19 after he failed to produce any travel or visa documents, according to media reports. The Indian national was walking on a road when he was stopped at a check post here. Police demanded to check his visa documents after he told them that he was an Indian. However, Ahmed could not produce any document and was taken into police custody, the reports said. Later a case was registered against him for illegal entry and stay in Pakistan under Section 14 of Foreigners Act 1946 and sent to jail on judicial remand for 14 days. It was not clear why and how he came to Pakistan.
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: A State wide boycott by junior doctors in Bihar ended on Thursday evening. However, the number of patients who died at the States largest government-run hospital, allegedly due to lack of medical attention, rose to 20.

While 12 patients admitted at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH)  Bihars largest super-specialty hospital run by the State governmenthad lost their lives on Wednesday, when the junior doctors strike began, eight more patients died on Thursday, sources said.

PMCH principal, Dr SN Sinha admitted that healthcare services at the premier hospital were severely affected, but he denied the deaths of 20 patients were caused primarily due to the absence of junior doctors. I do not have any such information yet, he said.

With few doctors present to attend to thousands of patients in emergency and OPD facilities, hundreds of patients were seen leaving PMCH for private nursing homes on Wednesday and Thursday.

The junior doctors, who were aggrieved over the lathi-charging by police in Patna on Monday, ended their strike after top officials of the State health department held talks with their representatives. They said they would return to work on Thursday midnight. As many as 450 junior doctors were on strike since Wednesday morning.

Principal Secretary of health department, RK Mahajan, and PMCH principal had held talks with the representatives of the Bihar Junior Doctors Association (BJDA).

Five junior doctors who were sent to jail following the lathi-charge at IAS Bhawan were released on bail on Thursday and assurances were offered by the government that BJDAs demands would be sympathetically considered.

We had called for a daylong strike on Wednesday, but since the government remained adamant, we decided to maintain an indefinite strike. We finally ended the strike after assurances from the health secretary, said Dr Vinay Kumar, president of the PMCH wing of BJDA.

PATNA: A State wide boycott by junior doctors in Bihar ended on Thursday evening. However, the number of patients who died at the States largest government-run hospital, allegedly due to lack of medical attention, rose to 20. While 12 patients admitted at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH)  Bihars largest super-specialty hospital run by the State governmenthad lost their lives on Wednesday, when the junior doctors strike began, eight more patients died on Thursday, sources said. PMCH principal, Dr SN Sinha admitted that healthcare services at the premier hospital were severely affected, but he denied the deaths of 20 patients were caused primarily due to the absence of junior doctors. I do not have any such information yet, he said. With few doctors present to attend to thousands of patients in emergency and OPD facilities, hundreds of patients were seen leaving PMCH for private nursing homes on Wednesday and Thursday. The junior doctors, who were aggrieved over the lathi-charging by police in Patna on Monday, ended their strike after top officials of the State health department held talks with their representatives. They said they would return to work on Thursday midnight. As many as 450 junior doctors were on strike since Wednesday morning. Principal Secretary of health department, RK Mahajan, and PMCH principal had held talks with the representatives of the Bihar Junior Doctors Association (BJDA). Five junior doctors who were sent to jail following the lathi-charge at IAS Bhawan were released on bail on Thursday and assurances were offered by the government that BJDAs demands would be sympathetically considered. We had called for a daylong strike on Wednesday, but since the government remained adamant, we decided to maintain an indefinite strike. We finally ended the strike after assurances from the health secretary, said Dr Vinay Kumar, president of the PMCH wing of BJDA.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at around ten locations in Delhi and Haryana in connection with its money-laundering probe in the alleged irregularities in land acquisition in Manesar.

ED officials said that searches were carried out at the premises of ten people -- IAS officers, Haryana government officials and builders.

Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is one of the accused in an FIR registered by the ED in September 2015 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The 400 acres was allegedly bought between August 2004 and August 2007 by private builders at throwaway prices from farmers who were threatened with the acquisition of their land by the government.

The market value of the land was at that time was Rs 1600 crore as it was Rs 4 crore per acre approximately and builders only paid Rs 100 crore to the farmers.

It was alleged that the then government adopted a modus operandi of first issuing notifications with the intent to acquire land for public purpose, creating a sense of fear among the farmers that they would end up getting low compensation.

The builders used this to trap farmers to sell their land at much lower than the market price. The notifications were cancelled soon after the land was acquired.

CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at around ten locations in Delhi and Haryana in connection with its money-laundering probe in the alleged irregularities in land acquisition in Manesar. ED officials said that searches were carried out at the premises of ten people -- IAS officers, Haryana government officials and builders. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is one of the accused in an FIR registered by the ED in September 2015 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The 400 acres was allegedly bought between August 2004 and August 2007 by private builders at throwaway prices from farmers who were threatened with the acquisition of their land by the government. The market value of the land was at that time was Rs 1600 crore as it was Rs 4 crore per acre approximately and builders only paid Rs 100 crore to the farmers. It was alleged that the then government adopted a modus operandi of first issuing notifications with the intent to acquire land for public purpose, creating a sense of fear among the farmers that they would end up getting low compensation. The builders used this to trap farmers to sell their land at much lower than the market price. The notifications were cancelled soon after the land was acquired.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: One person was killed in a blast at an oil pipeline at Dikom in Dibrugarh district on Thursday on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Assam.

Though the Paresh Baruah faction of banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has claimed responsibility for the blast, the police have ruled out the involvement of militants and said the blast could have taken place due to pressure in the pipeline. The banned outfit has even claimed that the deceased was a member of their group.

We suspect that the explosion took place due to pressure in the oil pipeline. We have not got any evidence suggesting the involvement of militants in the incident. We are investigating, special director general of police, Kula Saikia, said.

During his day-long stay on Friday, Modi will inaugurate the 9.15-km Dhola-Sadiya bridge over Brahmaputra, which is the longest bridge in India and the second longest in Asia, in Tinsukia district. Tinsukia is a neighbouring district of Dibrugarh, where the explosion occurred.

After opening the bridge, the PM will visit Gogamukh in Dhemaji district to lay the foundation stone of an agricultural research institute. He will then fly to Guwahati where he will lay the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Changsari on the outskirts of the state capital. He will also address a public rally to celebrate the completion of three years of NDA government and one year of BJP-led Assam government before flying back to New Delhi.

The construction of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge had begun in 2011 when the Congress was in power in Assam as well as at the Centre. The bridge is located less than 100km away from the India-China border. It is capable of withstanding a 60-tonne battle tank. Once the bridge is opened, it will cut the transit time of army personnel to the Anini side of the border in Arunachal Pradesh by over one-and-a-half days.

The Opposition Congress, in the meantime, has planned to go to people across the state from May 28, and highlight the Modi governments betrayal. The Modi government has taken several U-turns on issues pertaining to Assam. So, we have published a booklet containing those and we will distribute it to people, Pradesh Congress spokesman Rituporno Konwar told The New Indian Express.

GUWAHATI: One person was killed in a blast at an oil pipeline at Dikom in Dibrugarh district on Thursday on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Assam. Though the Paresh Baruah faction of banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has claimed responsibility for the blast, the police have ruled out the involvement of militants and said the blast could have taken place due to pressure in the pipeline. The banned outfit has even claimed that the deceased was a member of their group. We suspect that the explosion took place due to pressure in the oil pipeline. We have not got any evidence suggesting the involvement of militants in the incident. We are investigating, special director general of police, Kula Saikia, said. During his day-long stay on Friday, Modi will inaugurate the 9.15-km Dhola-Sadiya bridge over Brahmaputra, which is the longest bridge in India and the second longest in Asia, in Tinsukia district. Tinsukia is a neighbouring district of Dibrugarh, where the explosion occurred. After opening the bridge, the PM will visit Gogamukh in Dhemaji district to lay the foundation stone of an agricultural research institute. He will then fly to Guwahati where he will lay the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Changsari on the outskirts of the state capital. He will also address a public rally to celebrate the completion of three years of NDA government and one year of BJP-led Assam government before flying back to New Delhi. The construction of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge had begun in 2011 when the Congress was in power in Assam as well as at the Centre. The bridge is located less than 100km away from the India-China border. It is capable of withstanding a 60-tonne battle tank. Once the bridge is opened, it will cut the transit time of army personnel to the Anini side of the border in Arunachal Pradesh by over one-and-a-half days. The Opposition Congress, in the meantime, has planned to go to people across the state from May 28, and highlight the Modi governments betrayal. The Modi government has taken several U-turns on issues pertaining to Assam. So, we have published a booklet containing those and we will distribute it to people, Pradesh Congress spokesman Rituporno Konwar told The New Indian Express.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: On the third anniversary of his taking over as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will be in Assam tomorrow to inaugurate a number of projects, including the country's longest bridge.

He will also address a public meeting in which he is expected to speak about the three years of his government. "I will be in Assam tomorrow to take part in various programmes. I am eagerly awaiting this opportunity to interact with people of Assam," he tweeted tonight.

Modi, who led the BJP to a massive victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, was sworn-in as the prime minister on May 26 that year.

He said he will also lay the foundation stone for two key projects - AIIMS and Agriculture Research Institute. "Both projects will quicken the development of Assam & the Northeast," he said in another tweet.

Referring to the Dhola-Sadiya bridge which he will inaugurate, the prime minister said, "This is one of the most important infrastructure projects in our nation." The 9.15-km-long bridge will reduce the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from six hours to just one hour as the distance will shrink by 165 kms.

Modi also congratulated Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonwal and his government for completing one year in office. "Congrats to @BJP4Assam Government under @sarbanandsonwal for completing a year in office & undertaking remarkable development initiatives," he tweeted. "I am also happy on the support towards @BJP4India across the Northeast. We are committed to serving the region & enhancing its progress," the prime minister added.

NEW DELHI: On the third anniversary of his taking over as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will be in Assam tomorrow to inaugurate a number of projects, including the country's longest bridge. He will also address a public meeting in which he is expected to speak about the three years of his government. "I will be in Assam tomorrow to take part in various programmes. I am eagerly awaiting this opportunity to interact with people of Assam," he tweeted tonight. Modi, who led the BJP to a massive victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, was sworn-in as the prime minister on May 26 that year. He said he will also lay the foundation stone for two key projects - AIIMS and Agriculture Research Institute. "Both projects will quicken the development of Assam & the Northeast," he said in another tweet. Referring to the Dhola-Sadiya bridge which he will inaugurate, the prime minister said, "This is one of the most important infrastructure projects in our nation." The 9.15-km-long bridge will reduce the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from six hours to just one hour as the distance will shrink by 165 kms. Modi also congratulated Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonwal and his government for completing one year in office. "Congrats to @BJP4Assam Government under @sarbanandsonwal for completing a year in office & undertaking remarkable development initiatives," he tweeted. "I am also happy on the support towards @BJP4India across the Northeast. We are committed to serving the region & enhancing its progress," the prime minister added.
V Sudhish Pai By

The Justice Karnan episode is most unfortunate for the system. It raises many questions to which answers cannot easily be found. History was created when suo motu contempt proceedings were initiated against a sitting judge of a High Court. He was later convicted and sentenced to prison. In the process, the greatest victim has been the judicial system. When Justice Karnan was a judge of the Madras High Court, he made serious allegations of corruption against his brother judges. He barged into the Chief Justices courtroom shouting slogans.

Then, he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court. He even passed a judicial order staying his transfer. All this was unbecoming of a High Court judge. Later he joined the Calcutta High Court. But all these actions were not even taken note of.

Earlier this year, Justice Karnan wrote to the prime minister alleging corruption against some judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

After this, a special seven-judge Bench comprising the seniormost judges of the Supreme Court was constituted and suo motu proceedings for contempt were initiated against him. The Attorney General strongly advocated stringent action. It was also ordered that he should not discharge any judicial or administrative functions. But Justice Karnan failed to appear before the court. Then a warrant was issued for securing his presence.

He then appeared and questioned the Supreme Courts jurisdiction regarding action against him, reiterating that he was being targeted because he was a Dalit. Quite strangely he purported to hold court at his residence and pass several orders against the Supreme Court judges (CJI included), including sentencing them to imprisonment. It is at this stage that the special Bench unanimously found him guilty of the gravest contempt against the judiciary and sentenced him to six months imprisonment and also restrained the media from publishing any of his statements.

What emerges from all these misadventures?

It is quite strange and incomprehensible that in spite of his barging into and shouting in the Chief Justices courtroom which is clearly contempt in the face of the court, no action was initiated against him. Neither was action for misconductfor removalset in motion. Even when he purported to stay his transfer order, nothing was done. Later following his letter to the prime minister levelling corruption charges against judges of the superior judiciary, the Supreme Court in an unprecedented move initiated suo motu contempt action against him and also deprived him of judicial and administrative work as a judge. It is highly suspect whether his actions for which proceedings were initiated amounted to contempt. This issue remains unaddressed. It is a slippery slope.

In fact, the Supreme Court has no supervisory or disciplinary jurisdiction over the High Courts. It has only appellate jurisdiction in judicial matters. The High Courts are not subordinate to the Supreme Court. Hence the Supreme Court ordering that the judge should not discharge any judicial or administrative work is constitutionally suspect and does not seem to pass muster. That is the sole function and prerogative of the concerned Chief Justice as master of the roster. In 1990, there have been instances when judges both in the Supreme Court and the High Court were denied any work. But that was at the initiation of the concerned Chief Justice on the administrative side. The Supreme Court seems to have gone overboard.

Then comes the worst stage of the sordid drama. What may not have been contempt when proceedings were initiated, can amount to contempt by reason of certain developments. Contempt may have been committed during the pendency of the proceedings. The judge declined to have himself medically examined as ordered by the Supreme Court on the plea that he was mentally disturbed and not stable. He purported to hold the Supreme Court judges as accused, found them guilty of various offences and sentenced them to prison. This appears to be a clear case of contempt of the Supreme Court following which the court found him guilty of contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison. Perhaps the court was left with no option. But issues arise and remain unanswered.

Justice Karnans various actions undoubtedly amount to gross misconduct. But conduct of a judge is not to be discussed anywhere except in Parliament on a motion for his removal. No motion for his removal was initiated but his actions and conduct were the subject matter of discussion. This was definitely a case to be referred to Parliament for the judges impeachment. Even if he is guilty of contempt, the question remains whether the procedure for pronouncement of guilt and punishment has been followed. It is doubtful whether this has been done fairly.

While holding him guilty of contempt the order does not say what is the contempt committed. Reasons are to follow but a detailed order has not come out as yet. The gag order against the media is quite unfortunate. The Court has not lived up to its reputation as the custodian of our fundamental freedoms. There is no necessity for such direction. It appears to be unwarranted and unconstitutional.

The more important and disturbing issue is regarding the system of judicial appointments to the superior judiciary. Justice Karnan did not appoint himself. That a person like him guilty of misdemeanours can be a High Court judge exposes the weaknesses in the system and calls for a serious review of the process of appointment. The system and the people who made him a judge are answerable. The ills of the Collegium system which has been emphatically and enthusiastically entrenched by the Court are brought home with a strange poignancy. We are painfully reminded of Macaulays admonitionreform that you may preserve.

V Sudhish Pai

An expert on the Indian Constitution

Email: vsudhishpai@gmail.com

The Justice Karnan episode is most unfortunate for the system. It raises many questions to which answers cannot easily be found. History was created when suo motu contempt proceedings were initiated against a sitting judge of a High Court. He was later convicted and sentenced to prison. In the process, the greatest victim has been the judicial system. When Justice Karnan was a judge of the Madras High Court, he made serious allegations of corruption against his brother judges. He barged into the Chief Justices courtroom shouting slogans. Then, he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court. He even passed a judicial order staying his transfer. All this was unbecoming of a High Court judge. Later he joined the Calcutta High Court. But all these actions were not even taken note of. Earlier this year, Justice Karnan wrote to the prime minister alleging corruption against some judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court. After this, a special seven-judge Bench comprising the seniormost judges of the Supreme Court was constituted and suo motu proceedings for contempt were initiated against him. The Attorney General strongly advocated stringent action. It was also ordered that he should not discharge any judicial or administrative functions. But Justice Karnan failed to appear before the court. Then a warrant was issued for securing his presence. He then appeared and questioned the Supreme Courts jurisdiction regarding action against him, reiterating that he was being targeted because he was a Dalit. Quite strangely he purported to hold court at his residence and pass several orders against the Supreme Court judges (CJI included), including sentencing them to imprisonment. It is at this stage that the special Bench unanimously found him guilty of the gravest contempt against the judiciary and sentenced him to six months imprisonment and also restrained the media from publishing any of his statements. What emerges from all these misadventures? It is quite strange and incomprehensible that in spite of his barging into and shouting in the Chief Justices courtroom which is clearly contempt in the face of the court, no action was initiated against him. Neither was action for misconductfor removalset in motion. Even when he purported to stay his transfer order, nothing was done. Later following his letter to the prime minister levelling corruption charges against judges of the superior judiciary, the Supreme Court in an unprecedented move initiated suo motu contempt action against him and also deprived him of judicial and administrative work as a judge. It is highly suspect whether his actions for which proceedings were initiated amounted to contempt. This issue remains unaddressed. It is a slippery slope. In fact, the Supreme Court has no supervisory or disciplinary jurisdiction over the High Courts. It has only appellate jurisdiction in judicial matters. The High Courts are not subordinate to the Supreme Court. Hence the Supreme Court ordering that the judge should not discharge any judicial or administrative work is constitutionally suspect and does not seem to pass muster. That is the sole function and prerogative of the concerned Chief Justice as master of the roster. In 1990, there have been instances when judges both in the Supreme Court and the High Court were denied any work. But that was at the initiation of the concerned Chief Justice on the administrative side. The Supreme Court seems to have gone overboard. Then comes the worst stage of the sordid drama. What may not have been contempt when proceedings were initiated, can amount to contempt by reason of certain developments. Contempt may have been committed during the pendency of the proceedings. The judge declined to have himself medically examined as ordered by the Supreme Court on the plea that he was mentally disturbed and not stable. He purported to hold the Supreme Court judges as accused, found them guilty of various offences and sentenced them to prison. This appears to be a clear case of contempt of the Supreme Court following which the court found him guilty of contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison. Perhaps the court was left with no option. But issues arise and remain unanswered. Justice Karnans various actions undoubtedly amount to gross misconduct. But conduct of a judge is not to be discussed anywhere except in Parliament on a motion for his removal. No motion for his removal was initiated but his actions and conduct were the subject matter of discussion. This was definitely a case to be referred to Parliament for the judges impeachment. Even if he is guilty of contempt, the question remains whether the procedure for pronouncement of guilt and punishment has been followed. It is doubtful whether this has been done fairly. While holding him guilty of contempt the order does not say what is the contempt committed. Reasons are to follow but a detailed order has not come out as yet. The gag order against the media is quite unfortunate. The Court has not lived up to its reputation as the custodian of our fundamental freedoms. There is no necessity for such direction. It appears to be unwarranted and unconstitutional. The more important and disturbing issue is regarding the system of judicial appointments to the superior judiciary. Justice Karnan did not appoint himself. That a person like him guilty of misdemeanours can be a High Court judge exposes the weaknesses in the system and calls for a serious review of the process of appointment. The system and the people who made him a judge are answerable. The ills of the Collegium system which has been emphatically and enthusiastically entrenched by the Court are brought home with a strange poignancy. We are painfully reminded of Macaulays admonitionreform that you may preserve. V Sudhish Pai An expert on the Indian Constitution Email: vsudhishpai@gmail.com
By Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Three of the eight accused of gangraping two minor tribal girls surrendered before the police, while another was hunted down by cops on Wednesday in Chintapalle mandal. They are yet to be formally arrested.



The three who surrendered are prime accused and TDP MPTC member A Angadha Raos son K Varun, K Bheema Naidu and Balaraju. However, the head constables son K Nagendra and three more are still at large.



According to sub-Inspector of J Ramesh, the parents of the accused produced them before the police station, making them surrender. Prasad was caught from a village in Visakhapatnam agency. Ramesh said the accused would be formally arrested after questioning.



The Chintapalle Police have registered cases under sections of the IPC, POCSO Act and SC,ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act.Human Resource Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and AP State Women Commission chairperson Nannapaneni Rajakumari visited the victims who were undergoing medical examination at the King George Hospital.



Speaking to newsmen, Rao said one of the victims was a class V drop out and the other was illiterate.

Left parties and few women organisations allege the government is trying to save the accused.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Three of the eight accused of gangraping two minor tribal girls surrendered before the police, while another was hunted down by cops on Wednesday in Chintapalle mandal. They are yet to be formally arrested. The three who surrendered are prime accused and TDP MPTC member A Angadha Raos son K Varun, K Bheema Naidu and Balaraju. However, the head constables son K Nagendra and three more are still at large. According to sub-Inspector of J Ramesh, the parents of the accused produced them before the police station, making them surrender. Prasad was caught from a village in Visakhapatnam agency. Ramesh said the accused would be formally arrested after questioning. The Chintapalle Police have registered cases under sections of the IPC, POCSO Act and SC,ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act.Human Resource Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and AP State Women Commission chairperson Nannapaneni Rajakumari visited the victims who were undergoing medical examination at the King George Hospital. Speaking to newsmen, Rao said one of the victims was a class V drop out and the other was illiterate. Left parties and few women organisations allege the government is trying to save the accused.
Unnikrishnan S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Whats for dinner? A common question but the answer has not always come forth easily. The endeavour to find a solution to this has earned three flatmates in Kochi several accolades - tag of being one of the most promising startups in the country, a place in the prestigious Google Accelerator Program and even a global giant like Samsung has integrated this technology in their smart refrigerators.

RecipeBook developed by three BTech graduates - Anoop Balakrishnan, Arun Ravi and Nikhil Dharman - received international attention owing to the increasing appetite for artificial intelligence in the tech world. This app helps the user to find recipes from the items captured on mobile phone camera.



The app has already seen over 25 lakh downloads after the it received Google Editors choice tag - a first for an app developed in India.



Since its part of the Google Launchpad, the team members will be able to discuss their product and get suggestions from Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the companys headquarters in Mountain View, California.

We are the first in the state to be selected for Launchpad Accelerator Program. Globally 24 startups get the selection, said Anoop. Apart from receiving $50,000 as equity-free funding (around `35 lakh), the team will get a chance to work closely with Google for six months. This includes access to Google engineers, resources and mentors during and after the programme.

Now, the startup is in talks with one of the biggest retail chains in the world for developing technology helping users to choose required product from the store. As a finalist of the coveted American seed accelerator programme - Y Combinator - RecipeBook is shifting its base to USA. With the help of $420,000 angel funding, the RecipeBook core team of 6 has been expanded to 15.

Anoop said the company may hire 100 more in a years time if it bags more orders from US-based companies. The computer science students of the Sree Narayana Gurukulam College of Engineering in Kochi started their entrepreneurial venture after their final year college project in robotics. Kerala Startup Mission supported us with working space, patents and travel, said Anoop.

The A-Listers from India

Edge Networks - HR solutions

FastFilmz - App for South Indian movies

IndiaLends - Credit underwriting

RailYatri - Passengers content

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Whats for dinner? A common question but the answer has not always come forth easily. The endeavour to find a solution to this has earned three flatmates in Kochi several accolades - tag of being one of the most promising startups in the country, a place in the prestigious Google Accelerator Program and even a global giant like Samsung has integrated this technology in their smart refrigerators. RecipeBook developed by three BTech graduates - Anoop Balakrishnan, Arun Ravi and Nikhil Dharman - received international attention owing to the increasing appetite for artificial intelligence in the tech world. This app helps the user to find recipes from the items captured on mobile phone camera. The app has already seen over 25 lakh downloads after the it received Google Editors choice tag - a first for an app developed in India. Since its part of the Google Launchpad, the team members will be able to discuss their product and get suggestions from Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the companys headquarters in Mountain View, California. We are the first in the state to be selected for Launchpad Accelerator Program. Globally 24 startups get the selection, said Anoop. Apart from receiving $50,000 as equity-free funding (around `35 lakh), the team will get a chance to work closely with Google for six months. This includes access to Google engineers, resources and mentors during and after the programme. Now, the startup is in talks with one of the biggest retail chains in the world for developing technology helping users to choose required product from the store. As a finalist of the coveted American seed accelerator programme - Y Combinator - RecipeBook is shifting its base to USA. With the help of $420,000 angel funding, the RecipeBook core team of 6 has been expanded to 15. Anoop said the company may hire 100 more in a years time if it bags more orders from US-based companies. The computer science students of the Sree Narayana Gurukulam College of Engineering in Kochi started their entrepreneurial venture after their final year college project in robotics. Kerala Startup Mission supported us with working space, patents and travel, said Anoop. The A-Listers from India Edge Networks - HR solutions FastFilmz - App for South Indian movies IndiaLends - Credit underwriting RailYatri - Passengers content
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Launching a scathing attack on BJP national president Amit Shah, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has accused him of telling blatant lies about the Centre releasing ` 1 lakh crore fund to Telangana.

Whatever he (Amit Shah) is telling is a blatant lie and he should tender an unconditional apology to the people of Telangana before he leaves the state, Rao told reporters here on Wednesday.

I watched the three-day continuous tirade against the Telangana government by Shah. It is my bounden duty to set the record straight, Rao said. Though Rao fired salvos on Shah during his one-hour press briefing, he averred that it would not come in the way of his relations with prime minister Narendra Modi. I have a lot of respect for Modi.

He delivered clean administration and there is no single scam in the last three years. My only concern is that Amit Shahs statements are all lies and they will not give fame or glory to Shah, Rao said. Stating that there was a limit to his tolerance and patience, Rao said that if he kept quiet on the lies of Shah, it would be construed as an endorsement. He listed the details of financial assistance given by the Centre and challenged that he would resign if the BJP proved him wrong.

Rao pooh-poohed Shah having lunch in a Dalit colony. The food was not cooked in the Dalit colony but in a mango orchard. It was only served in the Dalit colony, Rao said. On the claims of BJP that the party would come to power in 2019, Rao said: Your strength was proved in the GHMC elections. You lost even the deposits then, he ridiculed.

Even as Rao was briefing the media, BJP spokesman Krishnasagar Rao took to Twitter and tweeted, CM KCR is heavily rattled. When reporters raised it, Rao shot back, Will I be rattled by a party which failed to get back even the deposit in GHMC elections? I have seen many toofans (storms). BJP is not even a breeze in TS. Rao said his recent survey revealed that in the 2019 elections the BJP would lose all the five Assembly seats it was holding now. BJP will not win a single seat in TS.

I will release the survey details soon. Rao said that only half-a-dozen states in the country were contributing to the wealth of the nation and the others were financially deficit. Telangana is one of the six or seven states contributing to the nations growth. It contributed `50,013 crore to the Central government in 2016-17 through various taxes. In turn, the Centre gave it only `24,561 crore, not even 50 per cent of the revenue given by the state, he said.

Shah said the Centre released `40,800 crore for setting up three universities in TS. Though the AP Reorganisation Act mentioned Centres assurance to set up three universities in Telangana, a tribal university has not been not sanctioned yet, Rao recalled. Even as Niti Ayog recommended release of ` 19,000 crore for Mission Bhagiratha and `5,000 crore for Mission Kakatiya but the Centre did not release a single rupee for the two projects, Rao said.

HYDERABAD: Launching a scathing attack on BJP national president Amit Shah, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has accused him of telling blatant lies about the Centre releasing ` 1 lakh crore fund to Telangana. Whatever he (Amit Shah) is telling is a blatant lie and he should tender an unconditional apology to the people of Telangana before he leaves the state, Rao told reporters here on Wednesday. I watched the three-day continuous tirade against the Telangana government by Shah. It is my bounden duty to set the record straight, Rao said. Though Rao fired salvos on Shah during his one-hour press briefing, he averred that it would not come in the way of his relations with prime minister Narendra Modi. I have a lot of respect for Modi. He delivered clean administration and there is no single scam in the last three years. My only concern is that Amit Shahs statements are all lies and they will not give fame or glory to Shah, Rao said. Stating that there was a limit to his tolerance and patience, Rao said that if he kept quiet on the lies of Shah, it would be construed as an endorsement. He listed the details of financial assistance given by the Centre and challenged that he would resign if the BJP proved him wrong. Rao pooh-poohed Shah having lunch in a Dalit colony. The food was not cooked in the Dalit colony but in a mango orchard. It was only served in the Dalit colony, Rao said. On the claims of BJP that the party would come to power in 2019, Rao said: Your strength was proved in the GHMC elections. You lost even the deposits then, he ridiculed. Even as Rao was briefing the media, BJP spokesman Krishnasagar Rao took to Twitter and tweeted, CM KCR is heavily rattled. When reporters raised it, Rao shot back, Will I be rattled by a party which failed to get back even the deposit in GHMC elections? I have seen many toofans (storms). BJP is not even a breeze in TS. Rao said his recent survey revealed that in the 2019 elections the BJP would lose all the five Assembly seats it was holding now. BJP will not win a single seat in TS. I will release the survey details soon. Rao said that only half-a-dozen states in the country were contributing to the wealth of the nation and the others were financially deficit. Telangana is one of the six or seven states contributing to the nations growth. It contributed `50,013 crore to the Central government in 2016-17 through various taxes. In turn, the Centre gave it only `24,561 crore, not even 50 per cent of the revenue given by the state, he said. Shah said the Centre released `40,800 crore for setting up three universities in TS. Though the AP Reorganisation Act mentioned Centres assurance to set up three universities in Telangana, a tribal university has not been not sanctioned yet, Rao recalled. Even as Niti Ayog recommended release of ` 19,000 crore for Mission Bhagiratha and `5,000 crore for Mission Kakatiya but the Centre did not release a single rupee for the two projects, Rao said.
By AFP

KABUL: Supporters of two Afghan MPs who missed a domestic flight from Kabul blocked an airport runway with rocks, forcing the plane to return for the lawmakers, officials said.

The Kam Air flight was abruptly forced to fly back from central Bamiyan province earlier this week, triggering uproar and ridicule on social media with many accusing the lawmakers of abusing their powers.

Five people, including airport security officials, have been arrested over the "illegal diversion", the interior ministry said Thursday.

"When the two MPs arrived at Kabul airport, the plane was on the runway and ready to take off," Humayun Stanakzai, a director of civil aviation, told AFP.

"The MPs got angry and called their men in Bamiyan. When the plane approached Bamiyan airport, their men were at the airport blocking the runway with rocks. The plane could not land and had to be diverted back to Kabul."

The plane carrying 30 passengers had to be refuelled and took off again for Bamiyan with the two MPs on board.

The lawmakers, Abdul Rahman Shaheedani and Hussain Naseri, were not immediately reachable for comment.

Kam Air, a private carrier, on Wednesday said they were indefinitely suspending all flights to Bamiyan, adding that the incident could have risked the lives of the passengers and airport workers.

Afghan lawmakers are regularly accused of corruption, nepotism and abusing their authority to enrich themselves.

Civil aviation has been expanding rapidly in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, with several private airlines operating in the country.

Flight safety remains a concern but aviation disasters are relatively rare in Afghanistan, where travel by road through vast and remote terrain is made more hazardous by the Taliban insurgency.

KABUL: Supporters of two Afghan MPs who missed a domestic flight from Kabul blocked an airport runway with rocks, forcing the plane to return for the lawmakers, officials said. The Kam Air flight was abruptly forced to fly back from central Bamiyan province earlier this week, triggering uproar and ridicule on social media with many accusing the lawmakers of abusing their powers. Five people, including airport security officials, have been arrested over the "illegal diversion", the interior ministry said Thursday. "When the two MPs arrived at Kabul airport, the plane was on the runway and ready to take off," Humayun Stanakzai, a director of civil aviation, told AFP. "The MPs got angry and called their men in Bamiyan. When the plane approached Bamiyan airport, their men were at the airport blocking the runway with rocks. The plane could not land and had to be diverted back to Kabul." The plane carrying 30 passengers had to be refuelled and took off again for Bamiyan with the two MPs on board. The lawmakers, Abdul Rahman Shaheedani and Hussain Naseri, were not immediately reachable for comment. Kam Air, a private carrier, on Wednesday said they were indefinitely suspending all flights to Bamiyan, adding that the incident could have risked the lives of the passengers and airport workers. Afghan lawmakers are regularly accused of corruption, nepotism and abusing their authority to enrich themselves. Civil aviation has been expanding rapidly in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, with several private airlines operating in the country. Flight safety remains a concern but aviation disasters are relatively rare in Afghanistan, where travel by road through vast and remote terrain is made more hazardous by the Taliban insurgency.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: A man attempted suicide by firing a bullet to his head but it went through him and fatally struck his girlfriend while leaving him severely wounded, according to US prosecutors.

Victor Sibson, 21, from Anchorage, Alaska, has been accused of killing his girlfriend while attempting to kill himself.

He appeared in court on Sunday and a grand jury indicted him on a charge of second-degree murder.

Police responded to a 911 call in at a club at an apartment complex in Midtown last month, and found Sibson, and 22-year-old Brittany-Mae Haag suffering from critical gunshot wounds.

First responders transported both to a local hospital, but Haag died later in the day.

Prosecutors believe the incident involved a single bullet.

"He had an entry wound on the left side of his head, he had an exit wound on the top of his skull," assistant district attorney James Fayette told KTVA.

He said evidence shows the bullet likely hit Haag, striking her vital organs, after it exited Sibson's skull.

A month after the shooting, Sibson turned himself in to Anchorage police.

He wore a helmet that covered his injuries as he faced a judge.

Sibson said he is unemployed, cannot afford the set USD 250,000 bail, and asked the judge, "Could we figure out if I'm guilty or not today?"

The judge entered a procedural 'not guilty' plea on Sibson's behalf.

If convicted, Sibson faces up to 99 years in prison.

WASHINGTON: A man attempted suicide by firing a bullet to his head but it went through him and fatally struck his girlfriend while leaving him severely wounded, according to US prosecutors. Victor Sibson, 21, from Anchorage, Alaska, has been accused of killing his girlfriend while attempting to kill himself. He appeared in court on Sunday and a grand jury indicted him on a charge of second-degree murder. Police responded to a 911 call in at a club at an apartment complex in Midtown last month, and found Sibson, and 22-year-old Brittany-Mae Haag suffering from critical gunshot wounds. First responders transported both to a local hospital, but Haag died later in the day. Prosecutors believe the incident involved a single bullet. "He had an entry wound on the left side of his head, he had an exit wound on the top of his skull," assistant district attorney James Fayette told KTVA. He said evidence shows the bullet likely hit Haag, striking her vital organs, after it exited Sibson's skull. A month after the shooting, Sibson turned himself in to Anchorage police. He wore a helmet that covered his injuries as he faced a judge. Sibson said he is unemployed, cannot afford the set USD 250,000 bail, and asked the judge, "Could we figure out if I'm guilty or not today?" The judge entered a procedural 'not guilty' plea on Sibson's behalf. If convicted, Sibson faces up to 99 years in prison.
By AFP

LOS ANGELES: A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the yoga guru Bikram Choudhury after he failed to pay nearly $6.5 million to a former legal advisor in a sexual harassment case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton also set bail at $8 million for the founder of the Bikram yoga empire, which involves practicing yoga in sweltering rooms.

Choudhury was sued in 2013 by his one-time legal adviser Minakshi "Mikki" Jafa-Bodden, who accused him of sexual harassment, saying he fired her after she refused to help him cover up allegations that he raped a yoga student.

Ordered to pay $6.47 million in punitive damages in January of last year, he fled California shortly after the verdict, Jafa-Bodden's attorney, Carla Minnard, told AFP.

The guru -- who had no attorney representing him in court on Wednesday -- first travelled to India and then Thailand and Japan before heading to Mexico, where he was served court papers in May, Minnard said.

"He is currently in Acapulco conducting teacher training classes," she said. "Our intent is to have him arrested before he leaves Mexico."

The 70-year-old Choudhury had managed to move some of his assets, including a fleet of luxury cars, to Nevada and Florida, but court orders were issued to prevent him moving property out of the country, Minnard said.

"We will keep pursuing him however long it takes, wherever it takes," she said. "I don't care where he goes, how much money it costs us, how many lawsuits we have to file, how many hundreds of hours we have to spend -- we are going to collect on this judgment and see that Mikki gets justice."

Originally from India, Choudhury is said to have made a fortune after he moved to California.

He claimed during his trial that he was nearly bankrupt after spending millions of dollars in legal fees and because his business was no longer thriving.

His yoga routine involves 26 posture exercises performed over 90 minutes in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).

LOS ANGELES: A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the yoga guru Bikram Choudhury after he failed to pay nearly $6.5 million to a former legal advisor in a sexual harassment case. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton also set bail at $8 million for the founder of the Bikram yoga empire, which involves practicing yoga in sweltering rooms. Choudhury was sued in 2013 by his one-time legal adviser Minakshi "Mikki" Jafa-Bodden, who accused him of sexual harassment, saying he fired her after she refused to help him cover up allegations that he raped a yoga student. Ordered to pay $6.47 million in punitive damages in January of last year, he fled California shortly after the verdict, Jafa-Bodden's attorney, Carla Minnard, told AFP. The guru -- who had no attorney representing him in court on Wednesday -- first travelled to India and then Thailand and Japan before heading to Mexico, where he was served court papers in May, Minnard said. "He is currently in Acapulco conducting teacher training classes," she said. "Our intent is to have him arrested before he leaves Mexico." The 70-year-old Choudhury had managed to move some of his assets, including a fleet of luxury cars, to Nevada and Florida, but court orders were issued to prevent him moving property out of the country, Minnard said. "We will keep pursuing him however long it takes, wherever it takes," she said. "I don't care where he goes, how much money it costs us, how many lawsuits we have to file, how many hundreds of hours we have to spend -- we are going to collect on this judgment and see that Mikki gets justice." Originally from India, Choudhury is said to have made a fortune after he moved to California. He claimed during his trial that he was nearly bankrupt after spending millions of dollars in legal fees and because his business was no longer thriving. His yoga routine involves 26 posture exercises performed over 90 minutes in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).
By PTI

SINGAPORE: The week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has come to a close.

The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded yesterday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapore's F-15SG fighter jets, Singapore's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and at a sea phase in the South China Sea. This year's exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.

The RSN deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti), and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft. The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircrafts and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.

During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings, the defence ministry statement said.

The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions, it said.

Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years -- from a serial-based exercise to today's mission- based exercise -- incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," the commanding officer of RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Albert Khoo said.

Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses. INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the RSN's Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura  Changi Naval Base on May 15 and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) Asia from May 16 to 18.

Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said.

SINGAPORE: The week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has come to a close. The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded yesterday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapore's F-15SG fighter jets, Singapore's Ministry of Defence said in a statement. Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and at a sea phase in the South China Sea. This year's exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994. The RSN deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti), and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft. The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircrafts and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise. During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings, the defence ministry statement said. The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions, it said. Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare. "SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years -- from a serial-based exercise to today's mission- based exercise -- incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," the commanding officer of RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Albert Khoo said. Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses. INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the RSN's Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura  Changi Naval Base on May 15 and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) Asia from May 16 to 18. Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today condemned the honouring of an Indian Army officer who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as human shield.

"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing here.

The international community, particularly, the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added.

Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chief's commendation card for his "sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations".

Zakaria accused India of perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement of Indian prisoner on death row Kulbushan Jadhav confirms it.

Talking about the International Court of Justice ruling in the Jadhav case, he said Pakistan is preparing for the next hearing of the case.

Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implement UNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self determination.

On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it would bring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistan and China. He said several countries have expressed desire to join the project

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today condemned the honouring of an Indian Army officer who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as human shield. "Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing here. The international community, particularly, the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added. Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chief's commendation card for his "sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations". Zakaria accused India of perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement of Indian prisoner on death row Kulbushan Jadhav confirms it. Talking about the International Court of Justice ruling in the Jadhav case, he said Pakistan is preparing for the next hearing of the case. Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implement UNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self determination. On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it would bring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistan and China. He said several countries have expressed desire to join the project
By PTI

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan army brigadier was today arrested for issuing shooting orders in 2013 that led to the killing of three persons, including a 14-year-old student, who were among a group of villagers demanding clean drinking water.

Brigadier Anura Deshapriya Gunawardena led an army contingent to Rathupaswala to quell a protest by residents demanding safe drinking water. Three people were shot dead and 33 protesters injured on August 1, 2013.

Police said the student was among those killed in the shooting. Earlier, the police had arrested three army personnel, a staff sergeant and two corporals in connection with the shooting. They were all later remanded.

Police said the Brigadier was produced in the Gampaha Magistrate's Court and remanded till May 31 by Chief Magistrate D A Ruwan Pathirana.

Gunawardena has been accused of ordering the shooting of protestors.

The residents of Rathupaswela have been demanding justice for the victims. The issue was highlighted in the presidential election campaign in January, 2015.

The Sri Lanka Human Rights Council (SLHRC) in 2013 submitted a report on the Rathupaswela incident, claiming that open air firing led to the killings.

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan army brigadier was today arrested for issuing shooting orders in 2013 that led to the killing of three persons, including a 14-year-old student, who were among a group of villagers demanding clean drinking water. Brigadier Anura Deshapriya Gunawardena led an army contingent to Rathupaswala to quell a protest by residents demanding safe drinking water. Three people were shot dead and 33 protesters injured on August 1, 2013. Police said the student was among those killed in the shooting. Earlier, the police had arrested three army personnel, a staff sergeant and two corporals in connection with the shooting. They were all later remanded. Police said the Brigadier was produced in the Gampaha Magistrate's Court and remanded till May 31 by Chief Magistrate D A Ruwan Pathirana. Gunawardena has been accused of ordering the shooting of protestors. The residents of Rathupaswela have been demanding justice for the victims. The issue was highlighted in the presidential election campaign in January, 2015. The Sri Lanka Human Rights Council (SLHRC) in 2013 submitted a report on the Rathupaswela incident, claiming that open air firing led to the killings.
By AFP

MANCHESTER: British police arrested a seventh person Wednesday in connection with the massacre at a Manchester pop concert that left 22 people dead.

The arrest was made following searches at an address in the town of Nuneaton in central England, and is the first outside the Manchester area.

"This evening we have been carrying out searches at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and arrested a man," the Greater Manchester Police force said in a statement.

"These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage.

"As it stands, six men and one woman have been arrested in conjunction with the investigation and remain in custody for questioning."

All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester in northwest England where the suicide bombing took place.

After arresting a 23-year-old man on Tuesday, police said they had taken three more men into custody on Wednesday in south Manchester, the area where Abedi lived.

A fifth man who was carrying a suspect package was then detained in Wigan, northwest of the city.

The woman being held was arrested by police in Blackley, an area north of Manchester city centre on Wednesday.

MANCHESTER: British police arrested a seventh person Wednesday in connection with the massacre at a Manchester pop concert that left 22 people dead. The arrest was made following searches at an address in the town of Nuneaton in central England, and is the first outside the Manchester area. "This evening we have been carrying out searches at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and arrested a man," the Greater Manchester Police force said in a statement. "These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage. "As it stands, six men and one woman have been arrested in conjunction with the investigation and remain in custody for questioning." All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester in northwest England where the suicide bombing took place. After arresting a 23-year-old man on Tuesday, police said they had taken three more men into custody on Wednesday in south Manchester, the area where Abedi lived. A fifth man who was carrying a suspect package was then detained in Wigan, northwest of the city. The woman being held was arrested by police in Blackley, an area north of Manchester city centre on Wednesday.
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Robert Lynch, a postdoctoral fellow in anthropology, says the level of devotion one feels toward religious beliefs can predict how that person likely will interact with members of his own group or with members outside of the group. Lynch's latest research paper, "Religious Devotion and Extrinsic Religiosity Affect In-group Altruism and Out-group Hostility Oppositely in Rural Jamaica," published in Evolutionary Psychology Science, suggests that a sincere belief in God--religious devotion--is unrelated to feelings of prejudice. Rather, Lynch's research finds that those whose religious beliefs are extrinsic--who use religion as a way to achieve non-religious goals such as attaining status or joining a social group--and who regularly attend religious services are more likely to hold hostile attitudes toward outsiders.

"It's not the true believers who are the problem," Lynch says. "It's the people who use religion, perhaps in a cynical way, to further their goals."

Lynch says one way to look at the issue is to compare ISIS with Al Qaeda. He says ISIS is mostly composed of former Iraqi generals who served under Saddam Hussein, and they are not particularly religious. Members of ISIS routinely kill members of their own group as well as individuals outside their group (both Sunnis and Shias). One of the main objectives for ISIS is to expand its territory, and it often uses a religious pretext to achieve its goals. On the other hand, Al Qaeda, a Sunni Muslim organization created in 1988 to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, does not typically kill fellow Muslims. Lynch says members of Al Qaeda are true believers who like members of their own group and are not as hostile to outside groups.

Lynch's research is based on a 30-year study of 288 Jamaican citizens from youth to adulthood by Robert Trivers of Rutgers University, a colleague who is studying symmetry (how much an individual varies from left to right) in the island population. Lynch gave the study participants a survey to determine whether religious beliefs were intrinsic or extrinsic, as well as measuring religious devotion and church attendance. He says the findings suggest that the beliefs and social aspects that underlie religion have distinct effects on attitudes within and between groups. His research found that religious beliefs are positively associated with a willingness to sacrifice for one's beliefs and a greater tolerance of outsiders, while the social facets of religion, such as attendance, promote greater hostility toward outsiders.

"Group membership may be enough to produce a particular behavior and the religious beliefs themselves may be irrelevant," Lynch says. "Taken as a whole, these results point to a generally optimistic view of the ability for religious beliefs to generate compassion and a darker view on the social activities that promote group cohesion, which may also produce hatred of others."
A story of sustainable and reliable products and personal customer support

From the outset BMG LABTECHs mission was to develop microplate readers guaranteed to provide optimum performance for years. BMG LABTECH has continued this philosophy while continuing to remain at the forefront of microplate reading, always introducing innovative and unique technologies. All microplate readers are built to be extremely reliable and robust over decades, some of BMG LABTECHs very first products are still in use across the globe.

Reliable products easy to use

Imperial College London (UK) is working with one of the first POLARstar Galaxy microplate readers, purchased 17 years ago. We have used the machine for many different assays and have always got great results.

It has primarily been used for cell-based assays, but we have also used it extensively for enzymes kinetics and chemical reactivity, explained Nigel Gooderham, Professor of Molecular Toxicology at Imperial College. The robust design and build quality of BMG LABTECHs readers ensure consistent performance over years of use.

The service the machine has given has been outstanding and it truly has been multifunctional throughout its lifetime. We still have a range of assays that are routinely run on the POLARstar on a weekly basis and the reproducibility and accuracy is always excellent. The reliability and continuity we get from repeatedly using the same machine is very reassuring, added Nigel.

First-class customer support

All microplate readers are designed, assembled and tested at the companys headquarters in Germany. Beside our high quality production standards, we attach great importance to maintaining close contact to customers and being at hand for technical, applications and software support over the years, said Alexander Fischer, Service Manager at BMG LABTECH.

The companys experienced application specialists and technical service experts help customers to optimize the instrument for their research and support them with their comprehensive knowledge in microplate reading technology. Analytik Jena (Germany) uses one of the very first POLARstar Galaxys, built and installed in 1998.

For many years our POLARstar was used as test equipment in our internal QC system and thus had to be validated frequently by the manufacturer. Over all the time, this was done by the same very competent BMG LABTECH specialist who additionally was always ready to answer all my questions. Nearly all I know about fluorescence I got to know from him, said Katrin Undisz, Application Specialist at Analytik Jena.

The University of Leicester (UK) uses a NOVOstar microplate reader that was installed in 2004. Since the installation, the reader has been in routine use in the laboratory for a number of different assays.

The support that we have received from BMG LABTECH has been first-class. They have always strived to ensure that the machine is performing as it should and as we would like it to. There has always been somebody on the end of a phone ready to talk to me or alternatively to come in and help. This support has been extremely helpful over the years and I really appreciate the fact that it was available even when we were perhaps not well-financed, said Gary Willars from University of Leicester.

Extensive Warranty

Every microplate reader purchased from BMG LABTECH is covered by an extensive warranty. Following this warranty period we offer a range of services, designed to keep the instruments in optimum condition, maintain the alignment of the readers, check for potential problems and test all modes to ensure it is within specifications, said Alexander Fischer.

BMG LABTECH also provides services such as preventative maintenance, service contracts and on site servicing, and offers spare parts and repair for ten years after instrument end of life. The periodic servicing provided by BMG LABTECH has kept the machine in good working order and BMG LABTECH have always been responsive and efficient when we wished to purchase replacement parts, e.g.: alternative filters to develop new assays. said Nigel Gooderham from Imperial College.

Reliability and a long operating life have been keys in the development of BMG LABTECHs microplate readers. Jason Heath from the School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield (UK), uses a sixteen year old POLARstar Galaxy to read a range of assays such as protein quantification or detection of products labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate, We do have a second reader from another manufacturer in the school that was purchased approximately 8 years ago, this machine was purchased because it had the versatility of a diffraction grating system and was supposed to eventually supersede the older machine, despite our advice and input of how impressed we had been with our BMG LABTECH instrument .

Over the years this second machine has been out of action several times with various faults and shows none of the longevity of our original BMG LABTECH POLARstar, which has only ever been visited for very occasional routine servicing, said Jason.

BMG LABTECHs long-lasting products deliver excellent and reproducible results over decades when routinely maintained. The companys applications and technical support teams will be there for customers for the lifetime of their microplate reader.
Leica introduces the DMi8 S, a new complete solution designed to give researchers the ultimate tool for fast, versatile microscopic imaging of living cells allowing scientists to find, observe and interact with living cells like never before.

The DMi8 S with LASX Navigator allows researchers to quickly create high resolution overviews like the whole mouse brain in this example. This facilitates orientation on the sample and easy discovery of critical regions for further examination. Image courtesy of Dr. Wei Mo, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, China.

Live-cell imaging is the future in discoveries. Gaining insight on dynamic processes is key to understand the mechanisms, potential treatments and prevention of human diseases, said Markus Lusser, President of Leica Microsystems. These new DMi8 S developments have far reaching utility. Whether studying neuroscience, cancer, or immunology, researchers can use the DMi8 S to get elusive answers to their questions and find the links to our complex biology.

The DMi8 S imaging solution from Leica provides 5x more speed, and an increased viewing area up to 10,000x. This can be combined with the new photomanipulation scanner to activate, ablate, and bleach within one experiment. For super resolution and nanoscopy, the Infinity TIRF has been added allowing simultaneous multi-color imaging with single molecule resolution. This allows researchers to see more, see faster, and find the hidden, opening up the next chapter in widefield imaging.

The Leica DMi8 S will be launched at the 17th International European Light Microscopy Initiative Meeting (ELMI) May 23 - 26, in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
For more than 200 years, the German-based company Klosterfrau Healthcare Group has been developing, manufacturing and selling pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio combines traditional remedies with modern drug therapies and encompasses more than 30 brands and nearly 220 over-the-counter products.

At its Berlin site, the company runs state-of-the-art production lines. Scales and balances, whether in quality control or production, are an integral part of the process. Every piece of weighing equipment in use must be regularly calibrated and qualified to ensure regulatory compliance.

The challenge for Claudia Brostmeyer, Head of Quality Control at the Berlin site, is to ensure that all workplaces with their variety of processes and responsibilities calibrate and qualify weighing equipment according to stringent Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Laboratory Practice standards.

Running a compliant weighing station is more complex than it may seem. In addition to making sure that a scale or balance is suitable for the application, sound documentation must prove that suitability to auditors. Operators also must be trained according to valid standard operating procedures to ensure periodic equipment testing, calibration, and qualification is done accurately.

When Brostmeyer learned about Good Weighing Practice (GWP) Verification from METTLER TOLEDO, she immediately recognized that this approach would make her life easier. GWP is a well thought-out and accepted concept that provides a scientific basis for our weighing equipment verification needs, she said.

After METTLER TOLEDO conducted a GWP Verification assessment at Klosterfraus Berlin site, Brostmeyer received a risk-based assessment and testing recommendations for each scale and balance.

What I like about the verification document is that it clearly states whether the equipment is suitable for the given process. It also provides recommendations on which tests should be conducted at which intervals with which test weights, said Brostmeyer. That makes it easy for me to instruct operators and maintenance personnel on appropriate testing procedures.

Shortly after METTLER TOLEDO verified the weighing equipment, a production audit put the new process to the test, leaving no questions unanswered.
A new study by a multi-national research team, including scientists from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), explains how Zika virus entered the United States last year and how it might re-enter the country this year. The study was published online today in the journal Nature.

In July 2016, mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission was first reported in the continental U.S. and since then, hundreds of locally-acquired infections have been reported in Florida. Through the Laboratory Response Network, scientists at USAMRIID and the Florida Department of Health (FLDOH) joined forces to understand how the virus entered and was spreading in Florida.

They did this through near real-time genomic sequencing. Viral genome sequences were released publically, as they were generated, to help other scientists studying the Zika virus disease outbreak, many of whom are co-authors of this study.

According to Jason Ladner, Ph.D., a scientist at USAMRIID and one of the study's co-lead authors, by sequencing the virus's genome from human and mosquito infections, the team created a "family tree" showing how the virus spread through space and time. They discovered that the Zika virus disease outbreak in Florida was actually the result of multiple independent introduction events, the earliest of which occurred in the spring of 2016, several months before initial detection.

"There is a reason why the first local Zika virus infections in the U.S. occurred in Florida," says Ladner. Florida is home to year-round populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the main species that transmits Zika virus to humans, and Miami is a significant travel hub, with more international air and sea traffic than any other city in the continental United States in 2016. However, the researchers show that sustained transmission of Zika virus in Florida is unlikely, making future outbreaks dependent on re-introductions of the virus. Their study also highlights the success of localized mosquito control efforts in preventing further spread of the virus in Florida.

More broadly, the research illustrates the importance of establishing a robust capability for rapidly responding to emerging disease threats -- not just Zika virus.

"Essentially, the sequencing approach that we used for this study is the first step and one of the most critical pieces of that capability," said Gustavo Palacios, Ph.D., a co-senior author on the paper and director of the Center for Genome Sciences at USAMRIID.

Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

Palacios and his colleagues had previously used genome sequencing technology to track the movement of Ebola virus in near real-time during the 2013-2016 outbreak in Western Africa. Their findings helped to shape outbreak response and disease control efforts on the ground. When Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and has been linked to severe birth defects, entered the United States last year, his team put the same tools to work in an effort to track the virus's spread.

According to Palacios, the recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika virus disease underscore the need for a rapid and cohesive strategy to interrupt epidemics. Traditional research and development approaches rely on an academic model, with timelines that do not lend themselves to a prompt response. In addition, an integrated approach that allows for sharing of resources across agencies is critically important.

USAMRIID and its partners have proposed to develop a platform called Accelerated Defense against Emerging Pathogen Threats (ADEPT) to provide a logical and effective plan for rapidly developing medical countermeasures.

"The ADEPT platform was designed with a clear goal -- to quickly generate the information and medical countermeasures needed to stop an epidemic," Palacios said. "It provides a strong foundation with multiple parallel research and development efforts under one organizational structure."

In addition, he said, ADEPT is not based on a specific type of medical countermeasure, but rather on the generation of information that will result in the development of the most appropriate product for any emerging disease outbreak. At the same time, it is vital that the information collected and generated by ADEPT is immediately available to the entire scientific community involved in the outbreak response. Consequently, ADEPT is completely open access and data will be shared in real time with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the affected nations.
Researchers at the University of Michigan, Stanford University and biotech company ConfometRx have captured the first cryo-electron microscopy snapshots of a key cellular receptor in action.

The findings, which were published online May 24 in the journal Nature, reveal new information about workings of G protein-coupled receptors--which are intermediaries for molecular messages related to nearly every function within the human body.

G protein-coupled receptors, often shorthanded as GPCRs, reside in the membrane of cells, where they detect signals from outside of the cell and convey them to the inside to be acted upon. They respond to signals including sensory input like light, taste and smell, as well as to hormones and neurotransmitters.

The new, near atomic-resolution images provide an incredibly detailed look at how these important receptors bind to and transmit signals from peptide hormones.

The team revealed how the hormone GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) binds to its receptor on the outside of a cell, and how this causes changes to the arrangement of the part extending into the cell--which then engages and activates the G protein.

GLP-1 plays an important role in regulating insulin secretion, carbohydrate metabolism and appetite. It binds to the B family of G protein-coupled receptors, though information about their precise interactions have heretofore been limited by a lack of images of the complex in action.

"It's hard to overstate the importance of G protein-coupled receptors," said Georgios Skiniotis, a researcher at the U-M Life Sciences Institute and Medical School, and a senior author of the study. "GPCRs are targeted by about half of all drugs, and getting such structures by cryo-electron microscopy will be crucial for further drug discovery efforts. The GLP-1 receptor is an important drug target for Type 2 diabetes and obesity."

Drug Discovery eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

The size and fragility of GPCR complexes have made them notoriously difficult to capture using the longtime gold-standard of imaging: X-ray crystallography. It took Brian Kobilka, a professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University Medical School and a senior collaborator on the paper, many years to obtain the first one--which led to a Nobel Prize for Kobilka in 2012.

The current study was done using a cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM. Cryo-EM is an evolving, cutting-edge imaging technology that involves freezing proteins in a thin layer of solution and then bouncing electrons off of them to reveal their shape. Because the frozen proteins are oriented every which way, computer software can later combine the thousands of individual snapshots into a 3-D picture at near-atomic resolution.

Advances in cryo-EM now make it possible to capture protein complexes with similar resolution to X-ray crystallography, without having to force the proteins into neat, orderly crystals--which limits the variety of arrangements and interactions that are possible.

"Using cryo-EM, we can also uncover more information about how GPCRs flex and move," said Yan Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in Skiniotis' lab and a co-lead author of the paper. "And we can observe functional changes in complexes that are difficult, if not impossible, to crystallize."
Who said you cant teach and old dog new tricks? Latest advancements say otherwise

One of the most widely used techniques in molecular biology is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a method used to amplify small sections of DNA or RNA in a sample by adding primers, nucleotides, DNA polymerase and other reagents. In this way, millions of copies of the target segments can be generated from a small amount of sample in a matter of hours and in amounts large enough for scientists to analyze in various applications, ranging from basic research to high-throughput screening.

The sensitivity of PCR in being able to amplify just one or a few copies of target DNA is due to the repeated polymerase reaction cycles, each of which generates double the DNA sequence of interest. The specificity of the technique is down to the DNA oligonucleotide primers that enable DNA polymerase to initiate duplication of sequences. Furthermore, the annealing of primers to the DNA target is highly stringent, thereby minimizing any possibility of a misfit.

Credit: science photo/Shutterstock.com

Advances in PCR for diagnostics

One area where PCR has attracted significant attention is in the diagnosis of infectious disease, particularly for conditions where conventional culture methods are less effective. One example of a condition is invasive Aspergillosis (IA), one of the most widespread and life-threatening mold infections of the respiratory system among individuals with compromised immunity. Early diagnosis is crucial for such individuals, who will not survive if the infection cannot be identified at an early stage and quickly treated.

Currently, diagnosis of IA depends on detection of Aspergillus fungi in diseased tissue, but obtaining lung tissue is difficult and risky to the patient. As a non-invasive method that could be used to detect fungal nucleic acids in the blood, PCR could significantly improve IA diagnosis and patient survival.

In one study, infectious disease experts Mario Cruciani (Center of Community Medicine and Infectious Diseases Service, Verona, Italy) and colleagues assessed the use of PCR-based blood tests in diagnosing IA among high-risk, immunocompromised patients.

As reported in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the meta-analysis of 18 primary studies demonstrated that PCR showed moderate diagnostic accuracy, with a mean sensitivity and specificity of 80.5% and 78.5% for a single positive result and 58.0% and 96.2% for consecutive positive results. Importantly, the negative predictive value (NPV) of PCR techniques was high enough for IA to be excluded from diagnosis, thereby avoiding the need for empiric therapy in cases of suspected infection.

Using PCR to elucidate transcription and translation

Another area where PCR is an essential tool is the field of genetics. In a study by researchers from the Netherlands, the value of PCR was demonstrated in an analysis of gene expression that tested the conventional understanding of the relationship between transcription and translation.

Boris Slobodin (Netherlands Cancer Institute) and team investigated whether there is any link between the two processes since they are generally considered as uncoupled, despite their serving a common purpose.

By using an unbiased screen of various human promoters, the team managed to identify a general coupling between mRNA expression and translational efficiency. They cloned human promoters in a Promoter Library after the addition of random barcodes, which were detected by real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) using specific primers. The barcodes were then PCR amplified to construct libraries that could be deep sequenced. As reported in Cell, the study showed a general and robust link between the transcription and translation of RNA, as well as providing insight into the underlying epigenetic mechanism by which transcription imprints molecules of mRNA.

Highly accurate temperature control

The extreme sensitivity and high specificity of PCR is the result of the exponential nature of the polymerase chain reaction. This requires highly accurate temperature control, not only for the reaction itself but during preparation of the reagents used in a PCR assay.

During assay preparation, any well-to-well temperature differences in PCR plates can introduce variability in the samples and affect the accuracy of measurements. Vitl Life Science Solutions, a leading supplier of laboratory mixers and heaters, produces products to ensure variability is removed and accuracy is maximized during laboratory procedures such as PCR sample preparation.

One of the latest additions to Vitls portfolio is the Flexi-Therm dry block heater, an instrument designed to ensure excellent temperature accuracy (+/- 0.1C) whether samples are being thawed, preheated or maintained after having already been mixed. The Flexi-Therm enables users to create and store heating protocols of their choice. With its straightforward digital touch control interface, excellent temperature accuracy, visual countdown timer and audible alert, users can simply load their modules on the Flexi-Therm, select a temperature and wait to be told when the heating program is finished.

The Flexi-Therm requires at least one of Vitls interchangeable heated modules. The modules are all pre-calibrated, enabling accurate temperature control, without the need for thermometers or thermocouples. Each module is specifically designed for optimum sample heating within a particular plate or tube type, for excellent results every time.

The modules are ideal for use in PCR preparation and are available for a range of consumable types including 0.15ml, 0.2ml and 0.25ml 96 deep-well PCR microplates and microcentrifuge tubes, as well as larger tubes. To accommodate the various different consumables available on the market, Vitl can also design bespoke heated modules that fit the specific requirements a particular laboratory may have.

References

Cruciani M, et al. Polymerase chain reaction blood tests for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised people. Cochrane Library. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015; doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009551.pub3

Slobodin B, et al. Transcription Impacts the Efficiency of mRNA Translation via Co-transcriptional N6-adenosine Methylation. Cell 169(2)326-337

Vitl Life Science Solutions. Available at: http://www.vitlproducts.com/

Flexi-Therm Dry Block Heater. Vitl Life Science Solutions. Available at: http://www.vitlproducts.com/products/flexi-therm-dry-block-heater

Intelligent Heated Modules. Vitl Life Science Solutions. Available at: http://www.vitlproducts.com/products/intelligent-heated-modules

Heated Modules. Intelligent, pre-calibrated adapters. Vitl Life Science solutions. Available at: http://www.vitlproducts.com/downloads/Vitl%20Heated%20Modules%20Product%20Sheet.pdf

Flexi-Therm Dry Block Heater. Vitl Life Science solutions. Available at: http://www.vitlproducts.com/downloads/Vitl%20Flexi-Therm%20Product%20Sheet.pdf

Polymerase Chain Reaction. SIGMA-ALDRICH: A part of Merck. Available at: http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/technical-documents/articles/biology/polymerase-chain-reaction.html

What is PCR? Roche Molecular Diagnostics. Available at: https://molecular.roche.com/innovation/pcr/what-is-pcr/

New intelligent heated modules added to Vitl's product portfolio. News Medical. Available at: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20170404/New-intelligent-heated-modules-added-to-Vitls-product-portfolio.aspx

About Vitl Life Science Solutions

Vitl designs, manufactures and sells high quality laboratory instruments to compete with market leaders at an affordable price with unrivalled functionality, usability and style.

The growing Vitl laboratory products range includes the worlds best-selling microplate heat sealer- the VTS and its compact counterpart the MicroTS. Vitl also sell a range of foil and film heat seals as well as microtube pickers and programmable mixers and vortexers.

Vitl products was established in 2006 by the medical, diagnostic and analytical device design and manufacturing company Integrated Technologies Ltd.

As a member of the ITL group, Vitl benefits from the experience and expertise of a parent company that works with globally successful medical devices and laboratory instrumentation.

Vitl products are sold through a global network of distributors and OEM (private label) partners, managed by their main sales offices in the UK, USA and China.

Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments.
News18  Blogs  Politics

The Dalit, The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

Members of the Dalit community raise slogans during a protests. Representative Image

The word Dalit, for politicians, signifies a human tragedy to exploit at whim.



Their sizeable population translates into a formidable amount of votes. That settles their fate  they are tethered to their numbers. And they have no choice but to be wooed by political parties. Whether they like it or not.



If the Dalit does not come to the politician, the politician will go to the Dalit. The Dalit is left with a Hobsons choice!



The wooing is done at two levels.



At the idolatory level, each party has conveniently gone against its own legacy and appropriated Ambedkar, considered for political purposes the Dalit Messiah.



At the individual level, each party has even breached the privacy of a Dalit home, for a photo-op of a leader sharing a meal with a Dalit family.



The Dalit already finds his space restricted outside his or her home. Now the Dalit is not free even inside the home.



Rahul Gandhi notched up for himself a unique record: The politician who took off on the Dalit home-visiting-spree has an enviable record of having visited the maximum Dalit homes -- uninvited of course  nearly every year since 2008.



His visits serve the singular purpose of filling photo albums, because nothing was supposed to come out of the visits other than to show the Nehru-Gandhi princeling dabbling easily with the lowest of the lowly and even sharing their food.

The Dalit home is now on the must-visit list of any and every politician.



Amit Shah is one who takes these visits seriously, whether in UP before the last assembly elections, in West Bengal, the latest in Telangana. His colleagues are not far behind, like for instance BS Yeddyruppa in Karnataka. Nitin Gadkari too.



It is the insolence that stands out during and after the visits. The visits are planned in advance. The unlucky Dalit family told in advance to be ready with food. In one case, the family asked to be excused because it did not have the money to buy rice for the VIP guest. Nothing doing, get it from somewhere, the family was told.



The leaders somehow manage to shake hands with the Dalit family members, talk about the weather and their problems, promise to set things right, all the while ensuring the cameras are whirring, and then leave. Never to look at that family again. Of late, the visits are followed by rumors that the leaders actually ate stuff bought from a hotel.



There is no evidence provided. The rumors spread primarily to insinuate that the leaders still practice untouchability. True or false, it points to the mindset in India about Dalits, going to their homes, eating their food, touching and interacting with them. Such are the humiliating and demeaning circumstances under which these visits occur and are covered by the media.



The ultimate abuse of the Dalits goes beyond all this. Even as these visits are planned and executed, the routine persecution and oppression of Dalits continues. Uninterrupted. Ironical. The suicide of a Dalit youth Rohith Vemula and the consequent national unrest did not in any way deter the visits. Political wooing of Dalits did not stop a mob of lynchers torturing Dalit youth in Una in Gujarat on the false pretext of protecting cows.



In Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, the Thakurs literally provoked a riot as they competed with the Dalits in taking out processions under various pretexts. The riots were  and are -- bloody and violent, but the VIP visits to Dalit homes, this time in Telangana, came about without raising any sense of irony.

Other tales of Dalit oppression have become too routine over the centuries to merit separate mention.



Arent the Dalits caught in a cleft stick? They face problems when they leave their homes. They face homes when they are inside their homes. They get it both ways. The carrot and the stick.



There seems no end to this road.


Tesla CEO Elon Musk with Tesla Model X. (Photo: Reuters)

A California-based workers advocacy group released a report on Wednesday saying that Tesla Inc data showed its workers have been injured at a rate a third higher than the auto industry average.Worksafe made the analysis after being approached by the United Auto Workers, the Detroit-based union that has been talking to Tesla employees about organizing.Tesla is the only U.S.-based automaker without union representation.Tesla responded to the report by saying its accident rate in the first quarter of 2017 was 32 percent better than the industry average."We may have had some challenges in the past as we were learning how to become a car company, but what matters is the future and with the changes weve made, we now have the lowest injury rate in the industry by far," said Tesla in a statement.One change was adding a third shift, which Tesla said led to a 30 percent drop in recordable incidents in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier.Worksafe said the first-quarter data was preliminary and not enough to show a trend.Tesla said in a May 14 blog that the union was using questions about safety as part of an organizing drive.The UAW, which put the report on the front page of its website, declined comment.The report comes at a critical time for the Silicon Valley luxury carmaker, which is preparing to launch its Model 3 sedan, hiring and ramping up its factory for a six-fold increase in volume next year.Worksafe Executive Director Doug Parker told journalists in a briefing that the group met with Tesla factory workers after being approached by the UAW. Worksafe engages in campaigns with unions and other groups.The Worksafe analysis of Tesla injury logs sent to California health and safety regulators showed that the carmaker had 8.8 injuries per 100 workers in 2015, 31 percent higher than the U.S. automotive industry mean of 6.7.The figure, called a "total recordable incidence rate" fell to 8.1 injuries per 100 workers in 2016, for which industry-wide data is not yet available.Worksafe also calculated that the rate of serious injuries known as "days away, restrictions and transfers" was double the industry rate in 2015 and fell slightly the next year.
(Image: Manav Sinha/News18.com)

Geely, the owner of Sweden's Volvo Car Group, on Wednesday said it would buy 49.9 percent of struggling Malaysian carmaker Proton from conglomerate DRB-HICOM Bhd, marking the Chinese automaker's first push into Southeast Asia.Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd, parent of Hong Kong-based Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, will also acquire 51 percent of Proton's stake in British car maker Lotus, the companies said, without disclosing the value of the deals.The investment comes on the back of deals worth billions of dollars signed recently between China and Malaysia, but stands out as formerly state-owned Proton is often regarded an emblem of post-independence industrialisation and economic growth."Proton will always remain a national car and a source of pride, as Proton will still have a majority holding of 50.1 percent," Malaysia's Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said at a news conference to announce the deal."Our very own much-loved brand now has a real chance in making a comeback, a huge one I hope."People close to the matter told Reuters that Geely had hoped for a stake of at least 51 percent. But industry experts said Geely can still take a lead in defining Proton's future having significantly strengthened its vehicle technologies since buying Volvo."Geely has validated the model of using their Volvo technology platform to create good products. That should be the same for Proton," said James Chao, Shanghai-based Asia-Pacific chief of consultancy IHS Markit Automotive.Geely will take a leadership role in areas including production, manufacturing, sales and marketing, said DRB-HICOM, which will handle distribution.Proton was founded in 1983 during an industrialisation push of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed. Its domestic market share peaked at 74 percent a decade later as drivers took advantage of cheap loans as the government encouraged Malaysians to buy home-grown products.But lower-standard cars, limited after-sales service and competition from foreign automakers saw its domestic market share drop, to around 15 percent last year."There is still national pride among us enthusiasts," said Khafif Japri, president of Proton enthusiasts WiraOwnersClub. "What most of us here wants is for the brand to be better, stronger, and as good as other brands outside."Proton largely assembles cars designed by foreign automakers and re-badges them mainly for the local market, though it does have a small international presence - including North Korea, where its cars are commonly used as taxis. Its two factories can produce 400,000 cars but are not running at full capacity.In April last year, it received 1.5 billion ringgit ($364.08 million) in government aid on condition it find a strategic foreign partner.Interested automakers included France's Renault SA and Peugeot SA as well as Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, Reuters previously reported.For Chinese automakers, Proton's base of Southeast Asia is increasingly regarded as a growth market as their technological know-how and vehicle quality improves.Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp Ltd formed a joint venture in Thailand in 2012 and built a factory in Indonesia three years later. Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd has also been active in the region.With the Proton deal, Geely said it can develop a beachhead in Southeast Asia. It could also gain access to right-hand-drive markets such as Malaysia, India, Australia and Britain."Malaysia and ASEAN countries are very good potential markets for us," said Geely Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Daniel Donghui Li, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."Our target is to produce 3 million cars by 2020," he said. "We will have potential of half a million cars in Malaysian and ASEAN markets by working with Proton."HSBC Holdings PLC advised Geely on the deal.
Hong Kong: Hong Kong on Thursday hit back at a decision by Moody's to cut its credit rating on the city, which the agency said was becoming increasingly close to mainland China.



The move was announced hours after the firm downgraded China for the first time in almost three decades citing concerns about its ballooning debt and slowing economic growth.



Moody's decision came as China tries to clean up a toxic brew of unregulated and risky lending that for years has fuelled the economy's spectacular growth, though some analysts doubt Beijing's willingness to quit its debt addiction.



Beijing rejected the cut, saying Moody's had used an "inappropriate" method to assess the risks facing the economy.



In downgrading Hong Kong, the agency outlined the growing links between the city and the mainland, with banks increasing China-related lending, while its stock market is also linked to bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen through separate tie-ups.



The city's involvement in China's Belt and Road initiative also brings its economy and financial systems closer to the mainland, Moody's said.



"The downgrade in Hong Kong's rating reflects Moody's view that credit trends in China will continue to have a significant impact on Hong Kong's credit profile due to close and tightening economic, financial and political linkages with the mainland," it said in a statement.



"The institutional features which grant Hong Kong, at present, a degree of political and economic independence - together with the SAR's intrinsic credit strengths - allow Hong Kong's rating to exceed that of China. But the two ratings, like the two regions, remain closely linked," it said.



Moody's cut Hong Kong from Aa1 to Aa2 but upped its outlook from negative to stable. Earlier it had downgraded China to A1 from Aa3 -- its first since 1989 months after the Tiananmen Square crackdown -- and also increased its outlook to stable from negative. It affirmed the Aa3 rating of Macau and upgraded its outlook to stable from negative.



Hong Kong's Finance Secretary Paul Chan said Thursday he "strongly disagreed" with the move.



"We are of the view that Moody's has overlooked the sound economic fundamentals, robust financial regulatory regime, resilient banking sector and strong fiscal position that Hong Kong has," Chan said.



He also said the Belt and Road initiative will help Hong Kong businesses enter new markets, which would benefit the city's economy, adding that China has also been a "key source of growth" for the global economy in recent years.



Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997. It preserved its financial and judicial systems and enjoys liberties not seen on the mainland.
From depression and daytime sleepiness to difficulty concentrating, new Australian research suggests that women are more sensitive than men to the effects of sleep disorders in their daily lives.



Researchers at the SleepGP clinic in Coolangatta, Australia, set out to investigate how men and women may be affected differently by sleep disorders in their day-to-day lives.



Scientists studied 744 patients, who received sleep-related healthcare from seven private general practices in Australia between 2013 and 2015. They were assessed via several sleep-related tests, including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and other questionnaires.



The scientists found that women were more likely to have sleep disorders associated with daytime sleepiness (49% compared to 36.9 % for men). Women were also more likely to report an increased burden of symptoms linked to sleepiness.



The study found that women were more likely to feel excessively tired or depressed, have difficulty concentrating or remembering things, and have more trouble sleeping at night.



In addition, male snoring was more likely than female snoring to force bed partners to sleep in different rooms.



The study results are published in the May 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
MAMTA SHIVA and Amrish Chotala, two young Dalit activists in Saharanpur, sit at a tea shop on the city's Court Road and discuss one of Dr. BR Ambedkar's famous treatises Annihilation of Caste - a literature they have read at least four times each. For them, the works of "Baba Saheb" form the lynchpin on which they base their lives.

"I am a Dalit and a follower of Baba Saheb. I read and understood why Baba Saheb had to leave the Hindu fold and embrace Buddhism. All Dalit icons after him - Manyavar Kanshi Ram, Behen Mayawati, Radhika Vemula - left Hinduism. That is why I follow the path shown by Buddha," said Shiva.

Chotala nodded in agreement and said, "Right-wing forces try to tell us that Muslims are our enemies. But we do not think so. Muslims never deny us entry into mosques but Brahmins stop us from entering temples. So who is our real enemy?"

This outspoken nature is not limited to these two activists. In Saharanpur, the Dalit is angry but unafraid. "Baba Saheb said that he who suffers injustice is a bigger sinner than he who inflicts it. In Saharanpur, that is the difference between the 21st Century Dalit and his 19th Century ancestor. We are enlightened, educated, unafraid and angry," said Shiva, pointing a finger to herself.

After more than a month of on-again-off-again violence, the anger among young activists is palpable. According to Chetan Kumar Chanyane, 53-year-old state vice-president of Rashtriya Dalit Mahasabha, there is a pattern to nearly every communal riot in Western UP. "The upper-caste will start the riot, but back off once the fighting begins. Valmikis are always made to clash with Muslims and do the upper-castes' dirty work. There is a reason why Saharanpur has seen caste clashes. Here, Valmikis refuse to become cannon fodder for the upper-castes. Muslims are not our enemies. Why should we die fighting them?"

"Right-wing forces try to tell us that Muslims are our enemies. But we do not think so. Muslims never deny us entry into mosques but Brahmins stop us from entering temples. So who is our real enemy?" "Right-wing forces try to tell us that Muslims are our enemies. But we do not think so. Muslims never deny us entry into mosques but Brahmins stop us from entering temples. So who is our real enemy?"  Chetan Kumar Chanyane

Saharanpur district is nestled in the north-most corner of Uttar Pradesh, with Uttarakhand to its North and Haryana to its West. Over 21% of Saharanpur's population falls in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. According to academic and SP leader Sudhir Panwar, Dalits in Saharanpur realized the power of the ballot early on. "Saharanpur has given more Dalit MLAs and MPs than almost any other district in Western UP. They were not content with the old-style patron-client relationship. Dalits of Saharanpur have gone on to represent their constituents in the Assembly, Lok Sabha and even in the state Cabinet. This made them realize that they were equals and they shouldn't settle for less. Mayawati, when in power, promoted many leaders from Saharanpur and gave the district priority in terms of electricity and other basic services."

Saharanpur has given more Dalit MLAs and MPs than almost any other district in western UP. Saharanpur has given more Dalit MLAs and MPs than almost any other district in western UP.

Chanyane added that Dalits in Saharanpur district take pride in sending their children to schools and colleges. "Most Dalits in the villages have finished school and most in the city have university degrees. With that comes a higher degree of enlightenment." Shiva and Chotala, both with their MA degrees, are living illustrations of Chanyane's point. Even when it comes to activism, the Dalits of Saharanpur refuse to be meek. Last year, a group of Dalit residents in Malipur village were concerned about a flourishing liquor mafia in their vicinity. Eventually, 200 Dalit villagers, 80 of them women, raided liquor vends in the forest. They claim to have recovered 50 litres of illicit liquor.

Usand village in the district was on the edge after two residents had died in alleged police atrocities. Refusing to back down, Dalits took to streets invoking the Una floggings. They raised the slogan, "Yeh UP hai, Gujarat Nahi" (This is UP, not Gujarat). The strength of their protest forced the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) to take note of this incident.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a senior customs official on charges of pilferage of gold from the department's warehouse at Delhi's international airport.



The suspect, who was presently posted in Sonipat, was produced before a Delhi court and remanded to probe agency custody till 28th May.



It is being suspected that around 30 kilogrammes of gold, in the form of bullion and jewellery, had gone missing from the customs warehouse. The value of stolen gold was estimated at Rs 25 crore.



The theft of gold surfaced during an inspection of vaults by Stock Taking Committee between January 9 to February 21 this year.







It is also alleged that the gold was either stolen or replaced with the non-valuable material in 23 case properties which were seized by the Customs Department over a period of years.



The department keeps gold seized by it in packets in its vaults. It was alleged that the precious material was replaced with non-valuable material by unknown persons.



A Stock-Taking Committee was constituted to analyse valuable items held at customs godown at the airport which found that in a large number of cases the seized gold was missing or was replaced by non-valuable metal.


New Delhi: A special court on Thursday granted bail to five accused named by the CBI in its supplementary charge sheet in a coal scam case against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and others.



Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar today granted the relief to the accused  Jindal Steels adviser Anand Goel, Gurgaon-based Green Infras Vice-President Siddharth Madra, Nihar Stocks Ltd Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE Internationals Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Mumbais Essar Power Ltd Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo.



The case pertains to allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. The names of these five persons were revealed by Singhal, a chartered accountant, who was earlier chargesheeted by the CBI as accused in the case.



The court had summoned them also as accused after taking cognisance of the supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI on March 24. Besides Jindal, the case also involves former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.



The court had earlier directed the CBI to expeditiously file its further probe report. CBI had alleged that Koda had favoured Jindal group firms  Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL)  in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.



All the accused had denied the allegations levelled against them and said there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process.
Kolkata: The state BJP's 'Lalbazaar Abhiyan' on Thursday turned into a violent affair as police and protesters clashed. The agitators threw bricks at the police, who retaliated with water canon.



This comes two days after clashes during the Left Fronts March to Nabanna road show in Kolkata. The clashes during the Left Fronts march left several persons, including journalists, injured.



Lalbazaar is the headquarters of Kolkata Police and the protest rally has been organized against police atrocities during the recently concluded civic polls, false charges against BJP functionaries, attack on the media and the deteriorating law and order situation.



The protest is also asking for the arrest of Tipu Sultan Mosque Shahi Imam, Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati, for making anti-India remarks.



Interestingly, BJPs rally on Thursday clashes with Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the national capital. The two leaders will discuss several issues such as, pending central funds for Bengal, deferring of GST because small scale business units are not yet prepared in the state, etc. There is also speculation that both leaders may discuss the Presidential Polls. Mamata will also meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday to discuss next the Presidential candidate.



Speaking to News18, state BJP President Dilip Ghosh had said, I would not like to speculate much into the meeting (Mamata-Modi). We are going ahead with the protest march on Thursday against Bengal governments highhandedness and appeasement politics. I also condemn the brutal police attack on journalists.



As per BJPs plan, rallies are being taken out from Howrah station, College Square near Calcutta University and Esplanade. National BJP leaders, including Kailash Vijayvagiya, Suresh Pujari, will participate in the stir.



Our party workers will march towards police headquarters from Howrah station, College Square and Esplanade. Our rally will be peaceful, but for any untoward incident/clash the city police will be responsible, BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu had said earlier in the day.



Sources said the city police have decided to be extra careful while dealing with the crowd. More than 3,000 policemen, Rapid Action Force, Radio Flying Squad and combat forces will be deployed in all the exit and entry points of Lalbazaar to restrict the BJP workers from reaching close to the police headquarters.
Chopper with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis onboard crash-lands in Latur, CM and team escapes unhurt pic.twitter.com/1tQ4NXqeoo  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

With the blessings of people of Maharashtra and Nation, I'm safe.

My team is fine too.

Please do not believe any rumours. pic.twitter.com/4B7OUmD0ss  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 25, 2017

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had a narrow escape on Thursday when his helicopter crash-landed in Latur.The Chief Minister tweeted that he and his team are absolutely safe.The Sikorsky helicopter VT-CMM took off from Nilanda, Latur, at 12 pm. There were six people, including the Maharashtra CM. All six are safe. The pilot decided on emergency landing due to variable wind pattern. The helicopter was damaged during landing, said a statement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada for the BJP's 'Shivar Samwad Sabha', a statewide campaign to reach out to farmers."I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn't believe in rumours," Fadnavis later told media persons."My media advisor Ketan Pathak has suffered minor injuries. With the blessings of 11 crore people of Maharashtra, I am safe," Fadnavis added."This is a new helicopter. We will seek information from police on this incident," the chief minister said.Recently, on a tour to Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical snag, following which he had travel by road to Nagpur.
New Delhi: As the confusion over marks moderation policy refuses to die down and dates of CBSE results remain unclear, a top Delhi University official told News18 on Thursday that if Class XII results get delayed beyond a few days, the university might consider changing the admission schedule.



If the issue doesnt reach a solution soon enough and the results are further delayed, we might have to make a change in the admission schedule, said a source in the DU admission department.



The DU official added that so far there is no urgency as admissions in the university were slated for the later part of June.



The situation isnt urgent so far, but it will be a lie to say that the hullaballoo over CBSE results isnt affecting us. Its an unfortunate situation and is likely to affect our schedule, the source explained, adding that up to 80% of the varsitys students come from CBSE schools.



Delhi University had, last week, announced that the first admission list will be out on June 20. All applicants seeking admission to undergraduate courses and programs for which the admission is based on class 12 results are required to register online at ug.du.ac.in.



After the Delhi High Court told the CBSE to continue with its marks moderation policy, CBSE is likely to approach the Supreme Court against the order.



The policy, which deals with gracing marks to students, was scrapped by the school board in April.



The CBSE will file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court justifying its decision to scrap the moderation policy, sources told PTI.



CBSE chairman R K Chaturvedi had met Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain to seek legal opinion post the HC verdict. ASG Jain told News18 that grounds for challenging the HC judgment is underway.



"CBSE appears to have taken a tentative decision to file a Special Leave Petition, but things will be clear once the draft grounds are ready," said Jain.
New Delhi: The ICHR will soon shortlist names of a few historic cities, for which the research body will offer a plan for urban decongestion while keeping the heritage characteristics intact.



The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) and the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) jointly held a two-day international workshop on 'Cultural Heritage and Rapid Urbanisation in India', which concluded this evening.



Urban and cultural relevance of seven historical cities -- Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Amaravati, Mumbai, Madurai, Warangal and Patna -- were discussed on through individual presentations made by experts invited from the respective cities.



"Out of these cities, we will shortlist a few, which would then be taken up for our projects, on a pilot basis. We will make a committee to select the names of the cities. Also, once we have the blueprint of the project ready, the UK side can help us by offering their technological expertise in managing heritage, including digital technology," ICHR chairman Y Sudershan Rao said on Thursday.



Rao said the two days of discussion were very fruitful and a host of ideas were exchanged between the two sides during the workshop.



Historians, architects, anthropologists and experts from other related fields also offered proposals on the role heritage can play in sustainable economic growth and building social cohesion.



Research Council UK (RCUK), the umbrella body under which the AHRC falls, has called the workshop "incredibly timely".



"One of the main objectives is to identify key questions that would help us find specific area of collaboration in this field. A funding call would be announced following this workshop later this year, inviting proposals for the collaborative projects, involving researchers from both the UK and India," Director, RCUK India, Daniel Shah, had said on wednesday.



About 20 experts from various universities in the UK and the British Library participated in the workshop.



"Once we identify the cities, we will be collaborating with urban planners and other experts as well to come with the overall plan. We will then offer it to the states concerned, it is up to them to accept or not," Rao added. British experts made presentations on Sheffield, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Manchester and Peterborough on Wednesday.



A comparative study of London and Mumbai was also done by a scholar from the UK. "The conclusion and findings of the workshop will be compiled as recommendations and sent to the government suggesting policy changes," Rao had said.
Indian woman Uzma returned to India via Attari-Wagah border after Islamabad HC's permission, had alleged she was forced to marry a Pakistani pic.twitter.com/fzqNs4Xrpg  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

#WATCH Indian woman Uzma returns to India via Attari-Wagah border, she alleged she was forced to marry a Pakistani pic.twitter.com/x5FeEos6lS  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 25, 2017

An Indian woman who has been staying at the Indian mission in Islamabad after accusing a Pakistani man of marrying her at gunpoint was welcomed home by Sushma Swaraj in Delhi.Uzma, who is in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi, returned through the Wagah Border crossing which she had used to enter Pakistan."Pakistan is a death trap. It is easy to get into Pakistan but it is very difficult to get out of that country," said Uzma.Uzma thanked Sushma Swaraj for her safe return."Happiest day in my life. I want to thank Sushma Swaraj it was because of Sushma ji that I am alive and she helped me a lot for my safe return," said UZma.Swaraj, in turn, thanked Uzma for "believing in the Indian High Commission"."After hearing her ordeal it became our responsibility to save Uzma, she is India's daughter," said swaraj.Islamabad High Court on Wednesday issued orders for her safe return after she had petitioned to go back to see her ailing daughter in India.The court also asked police to escort her up to the Wagah Border.Uzma arrived in Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Tahir Ali on May 3.Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in Indian High Commission alleging that she was forced to marry at gunpoint.Tahir not only rejected the allegations but expressed his desire to repair the relationship."She is still my wife. Neither she has asked for divorce nor I have divorced her," Tahir told PTI on Wednesday after the court verdict.He also said that once she was back in India, he would try to win her.According to Tahir, he met Uzma in Malaysia where they fell in "love" and decided to marry.(With inputs from PTI)
Jaipur/Mumbai: Police have arrested the 21-year-old son of the inspector who probed Sheena Bora murder for killing his mother.



He was arrested in Rajasthans Jodhpur and confessed murdering his mother Deepali Ganore.



Deepali was found dead inside her house in Santa Cruz area in Mumbai on Tuesday night. She is the wife of Mumbai Police Inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore who has now been transferred to the CBI.



Speaking to CNN-News18, the accused said there were a lot of problems between him and his mother which led to a lot of fights between them. This was causing a lot of stress. He said they had a fight on Sunday during which he lost control and killed her.



After committing the murder he fled to Jodhpur. He was found in a hotel by Jodhpur Police after getting a tip off from the Mumbai Police.



After killing his mother, the accused had written a message with her blood - 'Tired of her, catch me and hang'. He also made a smiley emoticon with her blood.







The 42-year-old cop is attached with Khar police station. According to police, when Dyaneshwar returned home on Tuesday night from work, he found the doors of his apartment locked from inside. He tried to call his wife but her cell phone was switched off. Later, he managed to get into the flat and found Deepali lying in a pool of blood, police said.


Lucknow: Top Sunni cleric and a member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, on Thursday, said that there was no issue with Muslims participating in International Yoga Day celebrations, as long as it didnt involve any kind of puja.



In conversation with News18, he said, Yoga is good and should be practiced. Only thing Muslims should refrain themselves from is being involved in any kind of puja involved in the Yoga celebrations.



As per news reports, around 300 Muslim men and women, along with 55,000 other people, will be participating in the International Yoga Day celebrations to be held on June 21st at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan in Lucknow, with PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath in attendance.



On being asked whether the Maulana himself will participate in the event, he said he was definitely thinking about it.



Ill think about it, if and when I get an invitation, he said.



On May 14th, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and the UP CM reviewed preparations for the event. LED screens will be installed at different parks in the city so that locals are also able to participate in it simultaneously.



The Union AYUSH ministry had proposed Lucknow as the venue for the main function this year. The other places being considered were Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Ranchi and Bengaluru.



The United Nations General Assembly, after a call by PM Modi in 2014, announced June 21 to be celebrated every year as International Yoga Day.



The first International Yoga Day event was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015, in which representatives of more than 190 countries had participated. Last year, the International Yoga Day celebrations took place in Chandigarh.


Kolkata: Terming Bangladeshi poet Kazi Nazrul Islam as a real Hindu, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has decided to take his revolutionary poems and ideology to the masses in West Bengal.



Nazruls 118th birth anniversary was celebrated in shakhas on Wednesday, where it was decided that small community based events would be organized across the state to create awareness about his writing.



Speaking to News18, Jishnu Basu, RSSs General Secretary in South Bengal, said, Most people think that Hindu is all about practicing a religion. It is unfortunate that people still believe that we promote Hinduism as a part of our religious commitment. Hinduism is all about way of life. Anyone in this country who is a nationalist, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, is a Hindu.



On Nazrul, he said his birth anniversary was celebrated every year.



We celebrate his birthday every year, on a small scale, across the state. I personally feel that kobi (poet) Nazrul was more Indian than me. He was jailed by the British for raising bharat mata ki jai slogans. One should not speculate too much in to us celebrating his birth anniversary.



The decision to highlight Nazruls work in Bengal was taken in January, three months before the RSSs Annual General Body meeting in Coimbatore.



Recently, his work was published by us in Bangla and we will soon release the book in Hindi by October, Basu said. Once the book is released, RSS is planning to organize cultural events across Bengal on Nazrul.



We have been celebrating Nazruls birthday for years now, but its being noticed only now. Clearly, there is a change in political climate in Bengal, said another RSS functionary, on condition of anonymity.
The President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah today at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh will address booth committee member's convention. He is on a day-long visit to Vijayawada to address the party workers as part of the 'Party's nationwide outreach' exercise.

He will be offering a roadmap for the party workers in order to strengthen the party in the state.

It is expected that the meeting will be attended by the Party workers from almost 13 districts.

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Bengaluru: Three Pakistan nationals, including two women, were arrested from the city for entering and staying in India on invalid documents. One Indian national has also been arrested for facilitating their entry.



The Crime Branch arrested the four people from Kumaraswamy Layout area in south Bengaluru on Wednesday night. They had been staying in the area for the last nine months.



Sources added that the three Pakistani nationals had been able to create documents to prove they were from India and had even got Aadhaar cards made. How they got biometric enabled IDs without any address proof is being verified, a source told New18.



Those arrested have been identified as Sameera, Kashif (Sameeras cousin) and Kashifs wife Kiran Gulaam. Sources said they are said to be from Karachi. The arrested Indian has been identified as Mohammed, a native of Kerala.



"Central agencies and the Pakistan Embassy are being alerted about this arrest. we are verifying the information that the arrested persons have given us. They flew to Nepal, then went by road to Patna in Bihar and then came to Bengaluru," said Police Commissioner Praveen Sood at a news conference here.



According to sources, Mohammed met Sameera in Qatar, where he was, until last year. They both soon fell in love and Mohammed promised Sameera that he would help her get into India.







Sameeras cousin Kashif and his wife also expressed their desire to come to India, and Mohammed is said to have allegedly helped all three reach India.






Mumbai: The Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards 2017 ceremony will be held on June 1, its organisers have said.



It was last held in 2014, when veteran actor Jeetendra was honoured with a Phalke Ratna award. It is now returning to award excellence in cinema.



According to the organisers of the event, several award ceremonies have been instituted since under the same title.



"It is really disheartening to witness quite some award ceremonies handling under the same title for beneficial purposes recently, but this event is held by a non-monetary foundation and Academy for films and acting. However, keeping that aside, for now I'm ecstatic to bring the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards which will be held on June 1 this year", Ganesh Jain, chairman of Dadasaheb Phalke Academy, said in a statement.



The Dadasaheb Phalke Academy has been honouring talent from the Hindi and regional film industry since the year 2000. It acknowledges 22 different crafts of the industry -- from make-up artists to even spot boys.



The event will be held at Bhaidas Hall, Vile Parle West here.


Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo M Karunanidhi may have been off the political radar owing to his frail health, but his 94th birthday is set be a happening affair with opposition leaders from across India landing in Chennai on June 3.



Karunanidhi has seen various ups and downs in his political career but the state of crisis in Tamil Nadu after Jayalalithas death is unprecedented. Moreover, the Narendra Modi-led BJP juggernaut has put entire opposition on back foot.



In such a scenario, the best birthday gift for Karunanidhi will be the unity of opposition parties.



The BJPs open invitation to superstar Rajinikanth is another cause of worry for DMK.



The BJP has announced their first job is to eliminate the Dravidian movement and we dont want to create an uncomfortable situation by inviting them to share the dais with our leader, Stalin, Karunanidhis son and heir apparent, said at an event last week.





Political observers say opposition unity is now the need of hour and essential for survival of many regional parties. And Karunanidhis birthday party, planned at the Chennais YMCA ground, may see the first signs of it.



They are trying to consolidate the opposition, both at the state and national level. At the state level, it is the coming together of allies (DMK and Congress) along with communist parties and others. At the national level, it is to help the Congress organize a larger coalition of the opposition with an eye on 2019 elections. They should make sure they get all key people together on this, said political observer Sumanth Raman.



That the birthday bash comes ahead of the Presidential elections is significant. It also comes at a time when the ruling AIADMK is in shambles and DMK is desperate to fill the void in a politically aggressive Tamil Nadu.



Ramans views hold ground in the wake of Karunanidhis impending birthday party. Why else would a gala, to celebrate the life of a 94-year-old politician, attract the likes of Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury and Farooq Abdullah? That too a party which the birthday boy himself is unlikely to attend?



DMK working president M K Stalin has also openly announced that BJP leaders are not welcome to his fathers birthday celebrations.



The BJP has announced their first job is to eliminate the Dravidian movement and we dont want to create an uncomfortable situation by inviting them to share the dais with our leader, Stalin, Karunanidhis son and heir apparent, said at an event last week.



We have invited Chandrababu Naidu, whose party is in an alliance with the BJP. But we havent received a confirmation from him yet, a senior DMK leader told News18.





That the birthday bash comes ahead of the Presidential elections is significant. It also comes at a time when the ruling AIADMK is in shambles and DMK is desperate to fill the void in a politically aggressive Tamil Nadu.



Party sources also point out that while the main aim is to celebrate Karunanidhis birthday (in absentia, of course), politics may take over once the guests arrive.



We have invited Chandrababu Naidu, whose party is in an alliance with the BJP. But we havent received a confirmation from him yet, a senior DMK leader told News18.



Beyond Birthday party, Stalins strategy is being seen as a clever move. Stalin might have different aims than occupying the role of the principal opposition party in the national sphere, but the buzz that the June 3 meet has generated means that his temporary target has been more or less achieved, points out Frontline associate editor R K Radhakrishnan, who felt the southern push for a united Opposition could fill the void left by a defunct Congress, an imploding AAP and a listless Left.



After all, it was from Tamil Nadu that the seeds of a Third Front were sown after the 2014 elections when Jayalalithaa formed an alliance with Left parties. The state seems to have gone back in time, for a stronger future.
Mayawati belongs to the same sub-caste of Dalits and has, since forever, counted on their vote bank. But now, the situation looks bleak. It is a definite challenge for us to bring back Dalit youth into the party fold, said a BSP leader, on condition of anonymity.

Mere saath kaho  Hum iss desh ke shasak hain (Repeat after me, we are the rulers of this country!), roared 30-year-old Chandrashekhar, as he thumped his chest and twirled his moustache in the heart of the national capital earlier this week. Thousands of Dalits repeated after him, who they think is their new messiah.Chandrashekhars clarion call is, as of now, the governments worst nightmare come true. Along with unsettling the state and the central government, the Bhim Army has made the Bahujan Samaj Party look up and take notice of how things slipped out of its hands.Chandrashekhar was named in one of the 24 FIRs that the UP Police registered for his alleged role in violence in Saharanpur on May 9. He was arrested from Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, sources in UP Police said.Chandrashekhar, or Ravan as he calls himself, was born in Dhadkuli village near Chatmalpur in Saharanpur. A law graduate from a local college in the district, he first courted controversy in 2015, when he put up a board at his native place that read The Great Chamars of Dhadkauli Welcome You.The move led to tensions between the Dalits and the Thakurs in the village. While the controversy was brought under control, the then 28-year-old, who soon became the face of the Dalits in the village, came into spotlight.Chandrashekhar slowly gained prominence. Soon after this incident, he started putting together the Bhim Army and got young Dalits under the banner, said retired IPS officer and Dalit activist SR Darapuri.He adds that the youths had been disillusioned by the BSPs style of politics, and Chandrashekhars fresh and strong voice struck a chord with many.This disillusionment struck home with the Dalits who felt it was time to be aggressive in terms of activism. This thought spread across the ranks of the Bhim Army and Chandrashekhar became Chandrashekhar Azad for them, added Darapuri.What started off from a small part of Indias largest state, Uttar Pradesh, the Bhim Army is being held as the main reason for Saharanpur being on the boil.Chandrashekhar and his men may be hardcore Ambedkarites, but that hasnt stopped them from using means of direct confrontation, said activist Ram Kumar, adding that the units style of work is something that has not been seen in the spectrum of Dalit activism.Any young adult can become a member of the unit. Dalits fresh out of school too. Any Dalit between the ages of 18 and 25 is welcome to join the unit. Interestingly, most of the members belong to the Chamar community or its sub-caste Jatav.Its also open to Muslims, another aspect which is ringing in strong with the Dalit community. At least 7-8% of the entire team is from the Muslim community. It has shown that it wants to consolidate Dalits and Muslims, said Darapuri.Within two years of its formation, the Bhim Army has expanded base by focusing on education of Dalits in the region. Though there is no concrete data available, sources said there are around 300 study circles being run by the Bhim Army. The organization has also been active in directly intervening and confronting cases of atrocities against Dalits in the region.The Bhim Army has expanded and how. Not shying away from use of violence and extreme measures to put forward their case, Chandrashekhar and his men have taken over the minds of their opponents, including those in political fraternity.This use of extreme measure was something that BSP, once considered the torch bearer of Dalits, never used. Dalit movement has not seen such an active use of physical measures. For many, this has only cemented their belief in the Bhim Army and sort of rendered BSP homeless, said Ram Kumar. This use of violence is a major cause of concern for the ruling party as it has put the government and its jurisdiction over law and order on precarious grounds.BSP supremo Mayawati has more than one reasons to worry. Even she accused the outfit of working in connivance with the BJP, the support that the Bhim Army has from those of the Chamar and Jatav community has given her sleepless nights.Chandrashekhars call for consolidation of Muslims and Dalits is another important aspect of concern for many. No other party has shown that it wants to consolidate Muslims as part of its growth plan. Most of the time, its been just talks. On the other hand, the percentage of Muslims in Bhim Army is too strong for the opposition to ignore, said Darapuri, adding that Chandrashekhars speech in New Delhis Jantar Mantar only reinstated the faith of the people in Dalit-Muslim unity.A BJP leader, on condition of anonymity, told News18 that this message of Dalit-Muslim consolidation was one of the prime reasons the government was not going all out to arrest the man in question.If we arrest him, it will only lead to more protests and make him a bigger leader than he already is. Party leaders have been asked by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to keep away from the district, said the leader.Though bureaucratic reshuffle is a way of pacifying the communities, the leader added that they were dealing with the case with utmost caution.Ideologically, too, Chandrashekhar poses a challenge to the saffron party. Chandrashekhar calls himself Ravan and his followers have added an Azad to his name. The leader uses a Hindu mythological character as an epithet of oppression and his followers call him nothing less than a nationalist freedom fighter. You think this goes down well with the saffron party or the RSS? asks Ram Kumar. Without waiting for a reply, Kumar said this phenomenon can never be digested by the Sangh Parivar or the BJP.


Thanks be to God that @Dev_Fadnavis and his team members are safe after the helicopter accident. Wish him well

 Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 25, 2017

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed BJP and Left Front for violating law and order situation in Bengal and ruled out reports that she had a word with PM Narendra Modi over Presidential elections.Speaking to media persons after meeting PM at New Delhi, she said, Such kind of protests will not be tolerated in Bengal. BJP and Left Front are vitiating the atmosphere in Bengal. The BJP and Left Front are competing against each other on who can create more law and order problem in the state.On her meeting with PM, she said, I discussed Ganga erosion issue with him and not Presidential elections. The central government promised us that they will provide funds to prevent further erosion and therefore I came here to discuss the matter with him.Out of Rs 10,500 Cr, we have got only Rs 2,000 Cr from the Centre. I apprised our PM that we yet to get Rs 8,000 Cr and requested him for his intervention. He promised me that he will look into the matter," she saidOn Presidential elections, she said, President is the custodian of the Constitution and it should be selected on the basis of consensus.My support will be based on larger interest and the person has to be acceptable to majority of leaders - like we did at the time of the late former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam," Banerjee said.During her stay in Delhi, Mamata, along with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, will also call on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday at her 10, Janpath residence.A source said the three leaders are likely to discuss a consensus candidate for the Presidential elections and also the possibility of a coalition formula of non-BJP parties for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when Modi seeks reelection.Meanwhile, Mamata - through social media - thanked god after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis survived crash landing of the helicopter carrying him and other team officials in Latur.
Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has dared BJP president Amit Shah to contest from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, saying it is not as easy as "eating cake".



Owaisi, the sitting MP from Hyderabad, said his party would ensure that the BJP lost from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, held by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and five Assembly seats the saffron party has in the city.



"You (BJP) want to contest Hyderabad....you are welcome. But why are you planning to field somebody else? You (Shah) come and contest.



"Hyderabad ki seat jeetenge...is it like eating a cake? We have worked a lot here for several years," the three-time Hyderabad MP told a gathering here last night, referring to Shah's reported statement that BJP will win the seat.



Ridiculing Shah's claim that BJP would form its government in Telangana after the 2019 Assembly elections, Owaisi said, "You are dreaming".



"God willing, we will ensure BJP loses Secunderabad and also the five Assembly seats held by them," he said.



"I am telling you Mr (Narendra) Modi and Mr (Amit) Shah...mark my words...we will ensure that BJP is defeated from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat. The people of Hyderabad will tell you. You will lose deposit from Goshamahal... you (BJP) will lose Amberpet, Musheerabad, Khairtabad and also Uppal Assembly seats (in Hyderabad). You will face big loss in Telangana...Insha Allah," Owaisi added.



On Shah's three-day visit to Telangana, Owaisi said, "The BJP President is on Telangana tour...there's sudden love (that he has developed) for Telangana."



The AIMIM leader said Shah went to Nalgonda and had lunch at a Dalit home about which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said was prepared by a member of a forward community.



"What kind of love you (Shah) have? You have food at the residences of Dalits which has been prepared somewhere else. What kind of love you have for (B R) Ambedkar?" he said.



He rejected Shah's claim that the Centre had allocated Rs 1 lakh crore to Telangana, and insisted it got only Rs 24,000 crore.



"Ok, even if you gave (Rs 1 lakh crore) did you give it from your pocket. We are not beggars.... It is our (Telangana's) constitutional right to get (central funds). It is the right of the Telangana government to get not just Rs 1 lakh crore but Rs 10 lakh crore," he said.



Meanwhile, reacting to Shah's challenge, BJP floor leader in the Telangana Assembly G Kishan Reddy dared the Hyderabad MP to contest from his constituency Amberpet.



"Amit Shah is based in northern India. There are thousands of BJP workers here who can defeat Owaisi. I dare him to contest from my constituency Amberpet," Reddy said.



Amberpet was among the five Assembly seats Owaisi had said his party would ensure BJP's defeat.
Lucknow: An intelligence report on the Saharanpur caste clashes has stated that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is supporting Bhim Army, which is being accused of inciting the violence.



The 9-page report has been prepared by the UP Police and local intelligence and is currently with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.



The report mentions that BSP supremo Mayawatis brother Anand was in touch with Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar through a third party.



The report also says that Mayawati sought permission to go to Saharanpur by helicopter. It gives details about the sequence of events over the days of clashes since last month.







The report, while talking about Anand being in contact with the Bhim Army leader, doesnt elaborate much on what sort of contact it was. It also doesnt talk about any financial or tactical help.



Mobile internet and messaging services were suspended in the violence-hit district on Wednesday night.



Police have put 25 phones on surveillance to trace Chandrashekhar and keep a tab on activities of the Bhim Army.



Police sources said in one of the surveillance tapes a Bhim Army volunteer is purportedly heard saying that Chandrasekhar has ordered them to identify a village with less Thakur population and eliminate them with the help of boys from outside the village.



On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government had transferred the Senior Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate of Saharanpur for failing to control the violence that rocked the area.



Sources said that all transfers and action were taken against officials, including SSP SC Dubey and DM NP Singh, have been over their inability to control violence in the wake of clashes between two communities in the area.



Mobile internet and messaging services were suspended in the violence-hit district on Wednesday night.



"In view of the present situation, CRPC section 144 has been invoked to control law and order. All telecom operators have been asked to suspend all forms of mobile internet and messaging services until further orders," N P Singh, outgoing district magistrate, said in an order.



Police have put 25 phones on surveillance to trace Chandrashekhar and keep a tab on activities of the Bhim Army.





Clashes between the upper caste Thakurs and Dalits were first reported from Shabbirpur village in April when Thakurs allegedly prevented them from installing a statue of BR Ambedkar inside the Ravidas temple in the village.



Things escalated on May 5 when a Dalit group allegedly objected to a procession of Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap. This triggered violence in which one person was killed and over 15 injured.



The area has been simmering with communal tension since then. Another round of violence was reported on Tuesday following a visit by BSP supremo Mayawati which claimed a youth's life.




New Delhi: Top leaders of several opposition parties will go into a huddle on Friday at a luncheon hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi where they would explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate for the presidential election.



Sources in these parties said the meeting is likely to be held in Parliament House complex and would be attended by leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav, who is himself a possible contender for the top constitutional post.



Banerjee, who is also the TMC chief, is already in the national capital, and is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi separately on Friday.



Sources said invitations have been sent to JD(U), CPI, CPI-M, SP, DMK, NCP, RJD, TMC, besides some other big and small regional parties.



The main opposition Congress is seeking a larger unity among non-NDA parties ahead of the presidential election which could be taken forward to the upcoming assembly polls in states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, besides the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.



Ahead of Friday's meeting, a series of parleys have already happened between these leaders on the issue of putting up a joint opposition candidate to take on the official NDA nominee.



Efforts are on to bring arch political rivals in Uttar Pradesh  Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party  together on a common opposition platform ahead of the presidential poll.



Several names have been doing the rounds of political circles as probables, including Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former West Bengal Governor, Sharad Yadav, a former JD(U) president, ex-Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The NCP leader has, however, ruled himself out of the race. Despite the parleys unanimity has so far eluded these parties.



Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also mooted a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and suggested that the ruling BJP should try and build a consensus on him.
Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah has said that those questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance should first assess their own achievements while in power for decades.



Noting that he has a list of 106 schemes launched by the NDA government since it came to power at the Centre three years ago, Shah said a scheme was launched almost every 15 days, reported PTI.



In an apparent reference to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asking the BJP-led government what it was celebrating after three years in power, as all it had to show for this time were "broken promises" and "non-performance", Shah said people want to know what they did in 70 years.



Recalling that once the BJP had only a handful of legislators in the country, Shah claimed now it is the biggest party in the world and running governments in a number of states.



"Some people are asking what did the Narendra Modi government do? I want to say, it did in three years what all governments did not do in 70 years," he said.



Observing that there are 16 crore families in the country who do not have a toilet, Shah asked why is it so. The NDA government has built crores of toilets in the last three years, he said.



Without taking the name of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who demanded an apology from Shah for his comments that Centre has given Rs one lakh crore to the state, the BJP chief said the Centre has given the amount in various forms.



Informing that he is touring Telangana as part of his nation-wide campaign to reach out to the masses, Shah said there is nothing wrong in expanding the party.



"Some people are asking what did the Narendra Modi government do? I want to say, it did in three years what all governments did not do in 70 years," he said.



Recalling that once the BJP had only a handful of legislators in the country, Shah claimed now it is the biggest party in the world and running governments in a number of states.



Stating that the campaign to expand the party is not against anybody, Shah urged BJP workers to strive for bringing the party to power in Telangana.



(with PTI inputs)


#OnePlus5 is coming soon and we couldn't be more excited that it's

powered by #Snapdragon 835.  https://t.co/7HgRjSasV8 pic.twitter.com/FQljGw6o5u



 Qualcomm India (@qualcomm_in) May 25,



2017

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus and Qualcomm have confirmed that they will join hands for the upcoming OnePlus 5.It is pertinent to note that OnePlus 5 will be India's first phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. The confirmation also hints at the smartphone's imminent launch.Read more: Vertu Signature Cobra: Check Out the Rs 2.3 Crore Feature Phone from Vertu Qualcomm India tweeted: #OnePlus5 is coming soon and we couldn't be more excited that it's powered by #Snapdragon 835.  http://spr.ly/60138cTdfMany rumours were doing the round about the much-anticipated OnePlus 5 and the confirmation that device would feature the Qualcomm 835 SoC is a welcome change.Also, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has also confirmed that OnePlus 5 will come with Snapdragon 835.He said in a blog post on the company's official forum: "One of the main areas we wanted to improve was touch latency. Our engineers tested why scrolling occasionally differed between phones. There wasn't a lot of precedent for them to work with - no benchmarks, no industry case studies to learn from. So we used a special high-speed camera to track screen movements and measure input speeds. As a result, apps respond quickly to your touch for a seamless user experience."Read more: Asus Zenfone Live First Impressions Review: Just Another Budget Android Smartphone Rumoured specifications of the upcoming OnePlus 5 include a 5.5-inch display, a 23MP rear camera and a 16MP front snapper. It is expected to pack in a 4,000mAh battery.The OnePlus 5 might have 64GB inbuilt storage with 8GB of RAM.
Budget hotel platform Oyo Rooms has forayed into Nepal with a target of on-boarding 100 properties by the end of this year.



The room aggregator, which opened its first property here, is also looking to roll out its 'Townhouse' brand in the Himalayan nation, which of late is witnessing a tourist influx after a back-breaking earthquake in 2015.



According to official statistics, of the 174,803 tourists who visited Nepal in 2016, most were from India.



The entry into Nepal comes on the heels of its foray in Malaysia. The plan is to set up 100 Oyo hotels in Nepal this year.



While its basic model is meant for the value- and cost- conscious traveller, Townhouse caters to those who do not mind paying slightly more for a better service.



"Our core premise is right pricing and right location with cleanliness on mind," Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of Oyo, told PTI after the inauguration of its first property in Kathmandu. "The brand Oyo allows small local hotel operators to use technology and innovation to bring in more footfall."



To a query on the impending Goods and Services Tax, he said the GST will be a "great enabler and game-changer".



Welcoming the 5% tax slab for smaller hotels, Agarwal expects a hassle-free experience under the new unified tax structure, but does not rule out teething issues.



As for fundraising and future investment, the company said a few plans are in the pipeline, but did not share the specifics.



Asked about the relatively young profile of his team, where he himself is all of 23, Agarwal said the premium is on talent with an equal emphasis on experience.



Bimalendra Nidhi, Nepal Deputy Prime Minister, opened the Nepal property of Oyo Rooms, along with Manjeev Singh Puri, Indian Ambassador to the Himalayan nation.



Founded in 2013, Oyo has grown its network to 7,000 hotels across 200 cities.


Brussels: Senior European Union officials on Thursday pressed President Tayyip Erdogan over Turkey's human rights record while he pushed Brussels to deliver on promises of visa-free travel to Europe for Turks.



Erdogan's visit to Brussels, where he was also due to attend a NATO summit, comes at a time of strain in EU-Turkey relations.



The EU has expressed concern over Turkey's sacking and jailing of tens of thousands of soldiers, police, teachers and civil servants since a failed military coup last July. It has also criticised a revamping of Turkey's constitution - backed by a referendum - that greatly expands Erdogan's powers.



Turkey says its crackdown is targeting supporters of a exiled Muslim cleric it blames for the coup attempt. It has also accused the EU of frustrating Ankara's decades-old bid to join the bloc. Talks are now effectively frozen and Erdogan has suggested Turkey might walk away from the EU.



"We discussed the need to cooperate. I put the question of human rights in the centre of our discussions with Erdogan," European Council chief Donald Tusk wrote in a tweet following the meeting but gave no further details.



Erdogan posed for photos with Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker but the atmosphere was frosty and they exchanged no words in public, in contrast to the impromptu conversation the EU officials struck up with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day.



Juncker, Tusk and Erdogan met together for 40 minutes, followed by a 30-minute meeting between Juncker and Erdogan, a spokeswoman for the Commission said.



"The EU and Turkey must and will continue to cooperate. Major issues of common interest were discussed in detail in a good and constructive atmosphere," she said.



MIGRANT DEAL



EU officials said the three men discussed the functioning of a 2016 accord whereby Ankara prevents migrants travelling from its territory to Europe in return for funds to aid refugees stuck in Turkey and visa-free travel to the bloc for Turks.



Ankara has previously threatened to walk away from the deal, citing frustration over what it says is Europe's failure to deliver on its side of the bargain. The EU says Turkey must first amend its security laws.



But EU officials said the agreement did not appear to be in jeopardy after the talks between Erdogan, Tusk and Juncker, their first for nine months. "It is working so far," one EU official said. "We didn't see any sign of it changing."



Turkish presidential sources said Erdogan, Tusk and Juncker had emphasised the need to implement the deal on migrants in their talks.



Erdogan also met new French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels and they agreed on boosting annual bilateral trade to 20 billion euros ($22 billion) and improving Ankara's diplomatic ties with the EU, the Turkish sources said.



Macron raised the issue of a French photographer detained by Turkish police while on an assignment in the mainly Kurdish southeast and who has begun a hunger strike in protest, a French official said.



Erdogan told Macron he would quickly look into the situation. Macron and Erdogan also agreed to strengthen consultations on the situation in Syria, the official said.
BERLIN: German lawmakers cancelled a visit to Turkey where they had planned to talk to opposition lawmakers, governors and rights groups about last month's referendum, saying Ankara had refused to give them a security detail.



Claudia Roth, a Green Party lawmaker and vice president of the Bundestag (German lower house), said on Wednesday Turkish officials had informed her the German delegation would have neither access to parliament in Ankara nor security guards.



The visit's cancellation is likely to further strain relations between the two NATO allies that have deteriorated over Turkey's refusal to allow German parliamentarians access to troops based at the Incirlik air base.



"Yesterday we received the information that the highest level on the Turkish side considers that at the moment it is not suitable for German members of parliament to conduct political discussions in Turkey," Roth said.



"This is de facto a rejection of political dialogue. It is a red card for the German parliament."



A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "At this stage, it was thought that it would be better if this visit did not take place, and the demanded meetings were not scheduled for this reason." The spokesman declined to comment why it would be better to cancel the visit.



Turkey has refused permission for German lawmakers to visit Incirlik, where roughly 250 German soldiers are stationed as part of the coalition against Islamic State militants.



Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has said she is looking for an alternative base for the troops and that Jordan is an option.



The parliamentary delegation headed by Roth had also wanted to meet the governor of Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.



Relations between the two countries soured in the run-up to Turkey's April 16 referendum that approved an increase in President Tayyip Erdogan's powers, which alarmed Western allies concerned about a drift towards authoritarian rule in Ankara.



Erdogan angered German and European officials by accusing Germany of "Nazi-like" tactics after some local authorities, citing safety concerns, cancelled rallies of expatriate Turks to be attended by Turkish ministers to campaign for the referendum.
Washington: The Trump administration has proposed to give Pakistan USD 800 million as reimbursement for its military and logistical support in counter-terrorism operations in the next fiscal, a defence department official has said.



The administration has proposed the amount - a cut of USD 100 million compared to the previous time - in its annual budget proposals under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a Pentagon programme to reimburse US allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.



Pakistan is one of the largest recipient under the fund and has received USD 14 billion since 2002. But for the past two years, the Congress has imposed conditions on disbursal of money under the fund.



"The FY 2018 budget proposal seeks USD 800 million in CSF for Pakistan. The CSF authority is not security assistance, but reimbursements to key cooperating nations for logistical, military, and other support provided to US combat operations," Adam Stump, Defence Department spokesman for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia told PTI on Wednesday.



For 2016 fiscal year, Pakistan was authorised to receive up to USD 900 million under CSF.



"The deputy secretary of defence signed the authorisation to disburse USD 550 million in fiscal year 2016 coalition support fund to Pakistan for logistical, military, and other support provided to the US operations in Afghanistan for the period of January-June 2015," Stump said.



"The Department recognises the significant sacrifices the Pakistan military has made in the fight against terrorism, and appreciates Pakistan's continued support for transit of materiel to coalition forces in Afghanistan," he said in response to a question.



"Disbursement of the remaining USD 350 million requires the Secretary of Defence to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network. The Secretary has not yet made a decision on certification," Stump said.



For the first time in 2016, then Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had declined to certify that Pakistan met the certification requirement, resulting in the loss of USD 300 million fund for it.



This amount was reprogrammed by the Pentagon for Department of Defence's Overseas Contingency Operations Funding, a second defence department official said.



In its latest budget, the Department of Defence has attached no conditions for disbursement of CSF to Pakistan.



However, it was only the Congress which imposes such strict conditions on giving CSF money to Pakistan.



Justifying the need to give such a huge money to Pakistan, the Pentagon said Pakistan has served as a key ally in operation 'Enduring Freedom' since 2001 and will continue to play a key role in maintaining stability in the region.



"Pakistan's security forces regularly engage enemy forces, arrest and kill Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, and provide significant support to US forces operating in Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to meet the enemy insurgency and has made enormous sacrifices in support of these operations," it said.



"The expenses Pakistan incurs to conduct operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces include providing logistical support for its forces, manning observation posts along the Afghanistan border, and conducting maritime interdiction operations and combat air patrol," the Pentagon said.
Actress Connie Nielsen, from left, actress Gal Godot, director Patty Jenkins and actor Chris Pine pose together at the BUILD Speaker Series to discuss the film, 'Wonder Woman' at AOL Studios on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, in New York. (Image: AP)
The Bedford County Registrar and a Bedford County supervisor are concerned about electoral fraud after a photo of a letter began circulating on social media this week asking residents to cast their vote in the Republican primary June 16 instead of its correct date on June 13.

On Sunday, the Bedford First Facebook page posted a photo of a letter providing incorrect information about the June 13 primary election.

The letter incorrectly states the date of the primary is June 16 three times. The News & Advance was unable to obtain a physical copy of the letter.

It is unclear who typed the letter.

Barbara Gunter, Bedford County registrar, said Wednesday she is concerned about the letter.

I am concerned any time any party puts out misinformation, she said. This is not the first time this has happened.

She said there is nothing her department can do other than continue to inform the public of the correct date of June 13.

She said she has not seen the document but was made aware of it by Bedford County Supervisor John Sharp, who is running for his fourth term on the board against Bedford County School Board Chairman Gary Hostutler.

John Messier, a moderator for Bedford First, said he did not take the photo of the letter but did post it to the Bedford First page.

Public service announcement for Bedford County District 4 citizens: the republican primary is Tuesday, June 13, 2017. It is not the date listed on the letter you received. It's either a gross error or a deliberate attempt, his post reads on Bedford First.

Messier said he was notified about the letter by Hostutler, whose neighbor alerted him about the letter Saturday morning.

Hostutler said he took the photo of the letter and sent it to Messier. Messier then posted it to the Bedford First Facebook page.

Hostutler said the letter is disappointing.

Its ridiculous that someone would stoop to that level and create a letter like that that is very negative and misleading, Hostutler said.

Messier, who said he hasnt heard of anyone else receiving the letter, wanted to make a public service announcement on his page to notify residents of the incorrect date.

I wanted people to know the date was wrong, he said. I believe its unlawful. If its found out who did it, its certainly up to authorities to take care of it. The way we look at it, were gonna set the record straight about the date.

The letter, dated May 13, is addressed to District 4 neighbors in the Forest area and claims to be from the John Sharp Election Committee.

Its clearly not from my campaign, Sharp said Wednesday. He said he found out late Sunday night about the letter from the Bedford First Facebook page, which he follows.

Wes Nance, Bedford County commonwealths attorney, confirmed his office received a complaint from Sharp on Tuesday of alleged electoral fraud.

The complaint has been sent to the Bedford County Sheriffs Office, he said.

If [the sheriffs office] has any concerns, they can take it to the Virginia State Police or they can certainly investigate it themselves, he said.

He said the sheriffs office will be working to determine the origin of the letter, who received the letter, who wrote the letter and whether the incorrect date was a purposeful disinformation tactic or a typographical error, Nance said.

He said if it was a purposeful disinformation tactic, the author of the letter could face a class 1 misdemeanor in violation of communication of false information to a registered voter.
In a chilly drizzle on the county courthouse steps, Scottsvilles 175-year-old High Meadows Inn sold at auction for $360,000, less than half of the amount of the inns defaulted mortgage and about $200,000 less than its listed price.

But for the inns former owner and mortgage holder, it was a good day.

Im overwhelmed with happiness, said Peter Shuska, who, with his wife, turned the 175-year-old federal and state historic building into a successful inn nearly 30 years ago. I consider that the buyers got a fair bargain and theres a good chance it will be an inn again. I think thats great.

The successful bidders declined to be identified or to comment. They also declined to say if they would continue operating High Meadows as an inn.

The buyers have 30 days to complete the sale and close on the property. The auction rules required that they put 10 percent of their bid down as a deposit.

Shuska was one of only two bidders on the 13-acre historic estate that includes a unique home with five guest rooms and five bathrooms; a cottage with two guest rooms and two bathrooms, one commercial kitchen and two dining rooms; and owners quarters.

His bid of $349,000 started the auction, with the winning bid coming afterward. No one else bid on the property.

The sale closes out a low time for High Meadows, which went on the auction block after its current owners defaulted on the $737,000 mortgage. The inn had been on the real estate market for as little as $550,000 before foreclosure and was the center of a failed win-the-inn essay contest in 2015.

High Meadows, first known as Fairview, was built between 1831 and 1832 by Scottsville businessman Peter White as a one-and-a-half-story brick house. It stayed in the family for 50 years before being sold in 1882 to Charles B. Harris, who ran a Scottsville mercantile store.

Rather than tear down the older house, Harris built a new stucco and brick house next to it and connected the two buildings together to form one home. Rather than connecting the two buildings with a hyphen hall, which would have given the joined buildings an H shape, Harris built a hallway that ran the length of the buildings and connected them seamlessly in a longitudinal passage.

It is the only building of its age in Virginia to feature two homes joined in such a way.

Fairview remained in the Harris family until 1920, when L.L. Hayman acquired the property, subdivided it into several parcels and renamed it High Meadows. It was purchased by the Melton family in 1943 and then in 1985 by the Shuskas.

With new plumbing and electricity, vines of pinot noir planted at the advice of renowned local winemaker Gabriele Rausse, the Shuskas renovated each guest room, added a restaurant  which received excellent reviews  added a few outbuildings and increased the number of rooms for rent.

In 2007, Shuskas wife was serving in the state department, and his business partners opted out of the business. He found the inn too much for one person and leased the property and business to Cynthia and Nancy Bruce.

The mother-daughter management, along with Cynthia Bruces two children, made some repairs, redecorated, closed the restaurant and turned the home into a respected bed and breakfast. In 2010, they bought the inn from Shuska in an owner-financed mortgage arrangement.

Unfortunately, the Great Recession between 2008 and 2009 hurt attendance and the availability of small business loans, making it difficult for the Bruce family to continue the inn, Shuska said.

The Bruces then offered the inn in exchange for a well-written essay and an entrance fee, but too few entries were received and efforts at refunding the entrance fees became controversial.

Unable to keep the inn running, they defaulted on the mortgage. Shuska said they cooperated in the process of preparing the property for auction and remained at the inn to take care of the property until it could be sold.

The Bruces could not be reached for comment, but Shuska said the family plans to relocate to Florida.

Its worked out very well for everyone, he said. And I believe it has worked out well for High Meadows.
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Samsung launches QLED TV in Caribbean, LatAm markets

Though officially launched internationally in January, Samsung brought the QLED TV line to Caribbean and Latin America with a grand ceremony last Wednesday, bringing journalists and distributors from across the region to the Central Hotel in Panama City, Panama for a first taste.

But what exactly is the QLEDTV? What new does it bring to the table? Is it even possible anymore to introduce anything new into the television industry? Well, Samsung says it has done just that with improvements to its very own Quantum Dot technology which the company has been perfecting over the last six years.

Samsungs QLED TVs utilise nano crystals (Quantum Dots) which produce a broader spectrum of colour than was previously possible on OLED screens.

Without going into the technical details behind the technology, Samsung officials described the process like light passing through a diamond, with white light filtering through one side of the nano crystals and emerging as millions of colours on the other. The end result of the technology is a range of colours very difficult to distinguish from reality. The Quantum Dot technology is only the Q Picture part of the three pillars of the Q technology, however. Q-Style is the second pillar which concerns the physical design of the TVs, the main features of which are its near border-less edges, its no-gap wall-mount, and a single 1.8mm in diameter chord which remains virtually invisible while connecting the TV to other devices. The cable has a hub at the end that devices plug into, allowing them to be placed neatly out of sight. Q-Smart is QLEDs final pillar, which enables the TV to connect to many other devices electronically.

It is a high end TV but this is a TV that is going to change your lifestyle totally, said Franklyn Raymores, Product Manager for TVs for Samsung Electronics Latin America. You can have it not just as TV but as part of your life. You can complement the TV with other products creating that 360 degree environment because you can control more of what you see and listen to. And it can connect, not just with other Samsung products, but other brands. Q Smart allows all the connected devices to be controlled with a single remote. And just in case you are still haunted by the spectre of Samsungs Galaxy Note 7 which had to be recalled after many of their batteries exploded, Raymores assured that the problem with that line of phones were fixed and wouldnt be an issue with the TVs.

With the QLED TV, the Samsung says it hopes to improve on its position as the leader in premium TVs in the region where it already enjoys just upward of 50% of the market share. The QLED TVs are expected to be on shelves across the Caribbean by the end of this month.
Dingolay Designs navigates local fashion industry

Recognising the need to create new revenue streams, there has been a push to identify and potentially develop, new economically viable yet profitable sectors in TT.

With the global fashion industry being valued at trillions of dollars its potential role in TTs diversification efforts cannot be underestimated. In an interview with Business Day, local fashion designer Liesl Thomas spoke of her fashion brand and the push to develop fashion in Trinidad and Tobago, while navigating challenges in entrepreneurship.

Thomas said when she recognised that what she termed local vibes were under represented in everyday Trinbagonian clothing, she saw a potential to develop a brand that embraces local culture. She established Dingolay Designs in 2016, named after the song Dingolay by Winston Mighty Shadow Bailey.

She describes it as a fusion of music and fashion, and its essence of representing local vibes can be seen in the design prints that range from the steelpan to popular local lyrics. Addressing possible perceptions that her brand pieces are essentially souvenirs, Thomas says while souvenirs are a great representation of local culture, she wants her designs to have an identity of its own.

The music of Dingolay Designs wasnt always sweet, however, and Thomas explained that she faced financial challenges in starting up her brand, a common problem among new small business owners.

She noted that while embracing financial challenges provided an opportunity to be creative and insightful into how resources are managed, she advised young entrepreneurs to seek help. She points out that there are several organisations such as NEDCO that can assist.

Initially concerned that she did not have a business background, Thomas encouraged young entrepreneurs like herself not to be discouraged, but to be resilient to face the ups and downs of the business world. It is important to learn about the mechanisms of business along the journey, Thomas said, using tools such as free workshops that are available for young designers and entrepreneurs.

Thomas said she sees promise in the push to promote fashion locally, however, she wants to see more people and organisations joining the movement.

Her brand is currently being sold at the Shops of Normandie, in St Anns, an initiative to push local products. She applauds the hotel for its efforts in giving local artists an opportunity to have a home.

Thomas admits her brand is not 100 percent local, citing numerous reasons that were beyond her control. The T-shirts and other garments used to produce the brand are imported but the screen printing is done locally.

Based on her research, she said she found quality and comfort were major consumer preferences. She says it is hard to find locally made T-shirts that suits the quality she requires. However, she said she is exploring the option of producing her own T-shirts when she sources the proper fabric.

Her vision for Dingolay Designs is to one day employ people and make an investment in local talents. She also envisions the brand being sold at the Piarco International Airport and in Tobago, as well as being included in a fashion show by the end of 2017.
Moving Beyond Change

For decades, we have sought to change the output of our economy without changing the way in which we create goods and services. Embracing transformation can also lead Trinidad and Tobago to look off the beaten path for new opportunities.

Transformation must be long-term.

At the heart of this transformation is a move towards greater competitiveness and efficiency. The performance of the global economy has demonstrated the need to stay competitive to attract capital and to ensure that development is sustainable in the long run.

We must embrace a new approach to doing business and accept the need for transformation of the labour market to meet the requirements of a newer, more nimble economy.

Labour needs to become more productive. This would mean giving citizens the tools they need to identify and take advantage of opportunities. Such opportunities could come in the form of entrepreneurial activity or as workers contributing to new ideas in an established business. Education is essential to this, along with a willingness to give workers space to contribute in different ways.

Unions need to take ownership of their role. The traditional focus on workers rights is important. Businesses must be held to account in terms of providing suitable working conditions. However, this should be accompanied by a drive to preparing workers for changes in the economy. As we focus on competitiveness, increases can no longer be based on tenure.

They must be based on productivity.

Currently, there is no impetus to improve as individuals because many times workers and unions hide behind the Industrial Relations Act (IRA). If organisations are held to account for how they provide for their workers, unions and the workers they represent must be accountable for the way in which they use the IRA.

As business leaders, we must also be willing to transform.

This requires a change in approach to business and how we produce our goods and services. For example, a focus on research and development could carve out new avenues for business, even those we have traditionally overlooked.

Development of the Small and Medium Enterprise sector is crucial to transformation, especially as we seek new opportunities in developing or creating niche markets. We need to continue to address the way in which we look at the SME sector and how we approach entrepreneurship.

Transformation needs to lead to sustainable growth. This will mean an approach that is different to the boom and bust cycle motivated by a hydrocarbon-led economy.

At the same time, there is also a need for short-term prospects (such as tourism) as we recognise the need to keep the economy turning over, while we seek long-term transformation.

True transformation must also be driven by a change in governance by both the public and private sectors. At one level, this means adherence to the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

At another level, it is about holding ourselves to account as individuals and as organizations. Good governance goes beyond doing what is right. Governance ensures long-term survival and success by demanding that we follow rules and regulations and being held accountable for our actions.

Finally, TT cannot truly transform unless we find solutions to the crime problem whether it is white collar or blue collar crime. Crime affects us at all levels, from the loss of life to added cost of business to a poor reputation on a global scale.
Improving productivity across the region key to growth and development

In recent times, productivity has risen to the top of the agenda of groups such as G7 and G20. The Italian President is fiercely pushing for better social equality and growth, in spite of Brussels currently ranking Italy as having the lowest productivity in the EU. Whilst the UK has a somewhat enhanced its position, it still lags significantly behind the rest of other peers in the Group of Seven.

Productivity is a concern in the Caribbean also. In Jamaica alone, the local private sector has been labelled as inefficient as the Government by Therese Turner-Jones, the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) country representative in Jamaica.

The Caribbean is a dynamic region with an array of countries that all vary in their standards of living. As the global economy is off to a good start so far for 2017, countries across the Caribbean will be able to benefit from stronger economic growth. According to the latest quarterly Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), global business confidence rebounded in the first quarter of 2017 and is now at its highest level since the second quarter of 2015. But for productivity to improve across a nation, there are key areas within the economy that the government can intervene on to create a positive effect: 1. Necessity of international and domestic investment Whether foreign or domestic, inward investment is instrumental in both jumpstarting and building on activity within business communities. The Caribbean receives some of the highest levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the world. By pairing investor priorities with regional business strengths, local administrations can establish investors within communities and improve attractiveness to other potential investors by promoting success stories. Through the stimulus of inward investment, businesses build their capability to win contracts, scale-up operations and discover opportunities in collaborative business clusters that form around the inflow of funding.

2. Skills progression Education is a key foundation for gaining skills. Over the last 50 years, on average public investment on education has been increasing across the Caribbean. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Education for All 2015 Regional Review, public spending on education as a percentage of GDP, rose from 4.6% in 2000 to 5.2% in 2013. But training must also be offered in the workplace in order to embed the necessary skills for a more proficient workforce.

Students, increasingly, need to prepare for versatile careers, adapting to new trends  for example, digital fluency will become a central element of day-to-day working practices.

Digitisation and greater telecommunications capabilities will also widen the talent pool of remote workers from which recruiters can source talent. This also opens up international borders, whereby workers can take advantage of global opportunities. Accountancy functions are increasingly being performed remotely via digital platforms, removing geographical barriers for business, which previously existed.

3. Changing the way we measure productivity Tracking productivity should look beyond traditional measurements and consider others such as new ways of working and the quality of the outcomes and output, which would provide a more accurate picture.

Creating new jobs further increases productivity in the region. To improve the quality of the data, newly created jobs must also be viewed in terms of output quality and longevity of roles, and net job creation in the wider economy, rather than solely considering onedimensional job creation figures.

For sustained productivity growth across businesses, supply chains and regions, it is important to identify a way to track measures of meaningful impact on the Caribbeans productivity.

4. Looking beyond the present The Internet alone has revolutionised the way we all work, socialise, create and share information. In the coming years, the Caribbean will need to increase its digital abilities to further promote itself on the world stage to attract international investment, global trade partners and world-class skilled workers.

Thinking ahead and adapting to modern trends, will allow the Caribbean to meet and exceed global productivity performance in boosting the countrys growth.

Tackling these areas is a positive step towards meeting the challenges facing the Caribbeans economy as a whole. T he business and finance sector account for a large part of GDP and governments must prioritise industries such as this as a key area to improve productivity. The accounting profession is an important part of this sector and the government must wake up to the economic benefits will accrue through it.
A well thought out policy

A position has been voiced which appears to suggest that the Finance Ministers proposed prioritisation of currency allocations has angered local business groups, many of which are struggling to secure currency for needed goods, or so they say.

Additionally, it has also been stated that we have a liberalised market and that we should be allowing the market to determine the exchange rate.

Indeed, one must wonder about these comments, especially from those that include persons responsible for establishing the present system of a managed float. According to the IMF, the TT dollars effective exchange rate was 19.6% above its 10-year average in February.

The proponents (both internal and external) of massive depreciation suggest that the potential benefits of a devaluation on its external accounts would encourage a more balanced import adjustment, provide tailwinds to non-commodity exports, and support the countrys competitiveness as an investment destination. On its fiscal accounts, devaluation would help narrow the countrys wide deficit by increasing the local currency value of revenues derived from energy exports.

The Minister of Finance seems resistant to any move to allow a massive depreciation of the local currency. Is he abandoning the liberalised environment as some have claimed? Or is this really consistent with a managed float based on the unique characteristics of our environment? Has the Minister of Finance made a major mistake? Is he ignoring his adviser? Perhaps we can start by pointing out that historically the Central Bank over the last decade has only provided the market with 20 to 35 percent of injections over a year.

The banks historically have provided the bulk of foreign exchange of the market with the Central Bank providing injections randomly.

This leaves the issue of allowing the currency to freely float and let the market determine the price.

Certainly no one who understands the nature of this market could make the statement that the market should determine the price of the currency.

We have lumpy foreign currency flows since the bulk of the foreign currency comes in at the end of every quarter. The Central Bank attempts to smooth the inflows into the market.

This managed float prevents sharp movements in the value of our dollar.

If the currency was allowed to freely move as currency came in or became scarce, imagine what wide swings there would be in the currency. This would make the pricing of imported items a nightmare for retailers. It would make the cost of items balloon and out of the reach for pensioners and fixed low-income earners.

It appears that the Minister has taken the decision that he would manage the float of the currency very tightly allowing for some depreciation of the currency but treating this as a long-run game and not a short term one. This means he knows that the Juniper fields are going to come on stream. Policy measures to increase oil production has borne fruit. If he gets further increases in oil and gas production and the 100 percent tax deduction from investment in the first year for energy companies is not renewed, then not only will there be increased energy output but also increased forex inflows. This will ease the shortages presently experienced.

The use of prioritisation of currency allocations seem to be just a short term measure that forms part of the managed float. The approach appears a well thought out one by the Finance Minister
Unleashing IT to achieve business success

 The study also indicated that the major drivers for application modernisation are the need to

 integrate with new platforms and processes (38%);

 respond to business requirements (38%);

 reduce ongoing maintenance costs (37%); and

 improve service levels (36%) Although only 9% of the respondents said they had a hybrid cloud environment, this will rise to 24% by 2020, as 69% of respondents said migrating and building new apps on standardised cloud platforms will yield substantial savings; 61% said automation will enable them to reduce IT staff by 20% during the next three years; and 59% said that the public cloud is the best choice for 25% of their workloads.

At bmobiles Technology Conference and Expo hosted in Trinidad earlier this year, Dr Ronald Walcott, TSTTs Chief Executive Officer, said in his opening remarks that, Data is a big part of what is happening now. Infrastructure and solutions as services, the internet of things, 5G, robotics, artificial intelligence and the like, all are here today and a big part of how we go forward. Dr Walcott indicated that the convergence of business and ICT development is fundamental to the way business is evolving and organisations have to become a part of it, if they are to move into the new technological era.

SDDC as a service model VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and digital workspace technology, is one of the technology partners that TSTT works with to deliver advanced enterprise communications solutions to its customers. Waldir Montoya, a VMware Network and Cloud Architect, also spoke at bmobiles Technology Conference and Expo and delved deeper into the topic of the deployment of software as a service and how this is driving rapid and fundamental changes in businesses and their operating models.

Referencing a quote by Charles Darwin which said it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.

It is the one that is most adaptable to change, Montoya noted that to support todays rapid changes and achieve business success, companies should consider modernising their data centres by transforming them to a cloud management platform, or a software defined data centre (SDDC), which are agile, flexible, highly automated and scalable.

Forrester.com defines SDDC as, An abstracte cost-savings through automation, reduced labor costs, improved security, and simplified IT management. In addition, a company using a cloud management platform will innovate better and react to market changes more quickly, since SDDCs deliver IT infrastructure and application services with the speed and agility required.

DaaS as a service model Montoya also discussed the new mobile era where employees now work from where they want, when they want and on any mobile device and IT needs to support all their devices and applications, whether they are Apple, Android or Windows, while still ensuring security and control. A company can achieve this through the use of a desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) model, which is delivering desktops and applications using a cloud.

DaaS can be beneficial to organisations facing the need to support mobile workers, remote workers and call center staff including contract workers, or rapidly scale the number of desktops based on seasonal workers. It extends the benefits of virtualization and simplifies things for the IT department. It is flexible, less expensive to manage and maintain, easier to deploy and delivers high performing work spaces with integrated security and control, to any user, on any device, no matter where they are.

In this fast-paced, mobile and digital era, companies can achieve superior performance and stay ahead of the competition by cost-effectively transforming their organizations into digital enterprises through the use of SDDC and DaaS models, for a fully automated, zero-downtime infrastructure that works with any device, any application, and any hardware, now and in the future.
Marianne River adventure

Celebrate the love of water and all things natural on Sunday when Hikers Inc undertakes its Marianne River Adventure. The trek begins at the Spring bridge in Blanchisseuse, over a land trail to the visually stunning Avocat Falls, where hikers will sojourn for a bit.

Hikers will then walk, wade and swim down the Marianne River to the terrific Three Pools to sojourn for some more time, before ending where they began at the historic Spring bridge.

Rate: moderately challenging a river trekD uration: 5 to 6 hours return Meeting point: Uncle Sams, Maracas Bay Time: 7.30 am Secured parking/ washroom facilities (by trail head) Caution: This hike involves being in water for a significant period of time. People with a morbid fear of deep water (panicking with even a life jacket on) are advised that this hike is not suitable for them.

Phobias must be gradually overcome.

Life jackets are mandatory and will be provided Please note that hikers showing up unannounced on the day will not be accommodated.

For more info: hikersinc@ gmail.com
RENDER UNTO COLM

Its very easy to say, I want better salaries and I want better service, while at the same time we are doing everything we can to escape paying our taxes. In fact the words of US President (John F) Kennedy when he was inaugurated I think, need to come within us and that is, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country, Harris said.

He added that all of the countrys trade unions are making more and more demands but are not asking where government is going to get the money. I am not saying that the way it is being collected is the best way or the best system, but yes, the government has to find a way of collecting taxes so it can fund its responsibilities, he said.

The Archbishops statement comes as a High Court ruling placed a temporary stay on the implementation of the property tax with immediate effect, until June 6. Justice Frank Seepersad ruled on Friday last, in the San Fernando High Court, following submissions by Senior Counsel and former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, who filed for judicial review on behalf of applicant Devant Maharaj, a former Peoples Partnership government minister.

For several days, citizens were stuck in long lines in an effort to submit their property tax valuation forms before the government- stipulated May 22 deadline.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert then extended the deadline to June 5. He had said all property tax forms must be submitted to Valuation Division offices as the Valuations Act of 2009 gives the Commissioner of Valuations power to, require all land owners to submit a return and all supporting information. Opposition Leader Kamla Persad- Bissessar described the law as draconian and that this tax is a tremendous burden to be imposed on citizens during a time of recession. On Monday, the Court of Appeal said it would hear the States appeal of Seepersads ruling on June 6. In the meantime, Imbert advised property owners that they are free to submit valuation return forms on a voluntary basis.

On the Manchester bombing attack, which claimed 22 lives, Harris said that one must face evil with love. Yes a lot of people were killed, a lot were hurt and I suppose it would be easy to move to vengeance mode. Let us catch these terrorists and blow them up, but I think while we have to protect ourselves against that kind of evil, we have to be motivated by love, he said.

The Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs yesterday said all nationals within the London diaspora who are registered with the High Commission are safe and accounted for following the terror attack.

In a release, the Ministry said the High Commission has encouraged all nationals to be vigilant and to adhere to the advertised security measures. Nationals have also been advised to contact the Mission in the event of any emergency. Harris who has tendered his resignation on reaching the retirement age, says he is still awaiting notice from Pope Francis on whether he (the Pope) has accepted the resignation or will defer it and extend Harris appointment.
Stretch laid to rest in Plymouth

He died on May 14 after suffering from heart-related ailments for over five months. Many paid tributes to Dumas saying he was an advocate for a better Trinidad and Tobago during his nine-year service in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, where he held several positions.

Dumas was remembered as the main pillar who contributed significant development to his home village of Plymouth, Tobago as a small developing island has lost a champion who understood the institution of democracy glorified in its overwhelming responsibilities and discharge its duties as a treasure of community of activities with dash and joy which inspired all who were blessed in knowing Rennie Dumas. He was more than that, he was a man filled with joy and living he was a proud father, a scholar a councillor and he was a best friend. He added that Dumas was certain a heart surgery performed in April would have helped his ailments, last time I visited him, he advised me that the doctors finally got the diagnosis correct, he was confident that all he needed to do was strengthen his body and undergo a surgery and within 35 days he would be out and back on his feet.

Minister of Public Utilities Fitgerald Hinds said although he was unable to visit Dumas at hospital, he will continue to remember his contribution in the PNMs administration development. He was a fellow shoulder we could count on in the PNM when the going gets tough. As committed as he was to national development, he was most passionate about matters relating to Tobago. He has left lessons and a rich legacy for us, the first is love for others. Dumas was buried to the back of his former Plymouth residence.

The former minister,who served as Member of Parliament for Tobago East, fell ill early January and was hospitalised at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex Intensive Care Unit, Mt Hope. Prior, Dumas served in the Senate as an Opposition Senator during the 6th Parliament, and as a Government Minister during the 7th and 8th Parliaments. Dumas was elected to the House of Representatives on November 5, 2007 as the Member for Tobago East.

He was appointed Minister of Labour and Small Micro Enterprise Development in November 2007. He then served as Opposition Senator from January 12, 2001 - October 9, 2001 where he sat as the Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister from December 28, 2001 -October 9, 2002 His life in politics continued as he was then appointed Minister of Public Utilities and the Environment on October 15, 2002 - November 9, 2003. Then as Minister of Local Government November 10, 2003 - November 7, 2007 and Minister of Labour and Small Micro Enterprise Development November 8, 2007 - May 25 2010.

Dumas ran as a candidate for the internal PNM, Tobago Council, and political leader last year in June before becoming ill.
Dont segregate boys and girls

He said that too often, boys and girls are separated when it comes to health and family life education especially sexual and reproductive education. Apparently to teach girls something different from men or boys and that should not be the case. There needs to be a holistic approach to it where health education is afforded to both male and female, so males better understand their female counterpart and vice versa. Edwards made the comments at the Association of Female Executives (AFETT) monthly meeting at Carlton Savannah in Port of Spain. Why cant we all get along?, was the theme of the meeting.

Edwards was part of a panel comprising Sue-Ann Barratt of The UWI Institute of Gender and Development Studies and Sharon Mottley, study lead at the National Alliance of State and Territorial Aids Directors. Noting there was a public discussion surrounding sex ed in schools with many saying it was the responsibility of the parent, Edwards asked, how can you expect a parent when he or she has not benefited from any kind of sexual education, to pass on that information to their children? A re-education programme, he said, should take place in a lot of these offices, where parents could come together and benefit from this education. Then parents, Edwards said, could do their part. This re-education needs to take place particularly in the public sector. Edwards spoke to a number of issues and the role of men and boys in the movement for gender equity.

Gender equity, he said, stands to benefit the nation but this country is replete with cowards too afraid to attack notions that have been ingrained into their psyche. He said that too often, people would go on social media and complain but beyond that, do nothing further. Using the workplace as an example, he said there is a major discrepancy in terms of wages paid to women as opposed to a mans wage. Yet nothing is said about this. Up to now we cannot even have a proper gender policy in this country, he said.
Port: No new vessel contracted

I am not aware of any boat that is to come here. The Port Authority has not contracted a boat and as far as I understand government has not contracted any other boat to date. I totally reject that statement, she said. We have the TT Express on the route because the TT Spirit, as we indicated, is under repairs due to mechanical difficulties and we are seeking to repair it. At this time we just have the TT Express on route.

From time to time we use the water taxi to transport passengers and luggage. Lewis was responding to claims made by Tobago House of Assembly Minority Leader Watson Duke, at a press conference yesterday outside the Ferry Terminal, Port of Spain. Duke claimed the MV La Caracola (the snail) had been seized by the Guardia Nacional (Venezuelan National Guard).

He said when the Guardia Nacional inspected it, the local agent had no documentation for the boat and this was a major cause for concern.

I broke the news almost two weeks ago that the boat with a fancy name, La Caracola, The Snail, is being secured by the Port Authority to now work between Trinidad and Tobago. As if to say two barges were not enough, they have added a third one at a whopping cost of US$13,000 per day, he said.

Duke called on government and the chairman of the Port Authority to produce documents for the vessel.
Candlelight vigil for Aids victims

She called on people to emulate the Bibles Good Samaritan and show selflessness and service to those in need of support.

See beyond the surface.

Be like the Good Samaritan. Dismiss what is different and focus on what makes us one. Draw that person in to respond to the love and kindness that you have to offer.

Remember those who have died from Aids and let them serve as a reminder of how short life can be, she said.

Executive director of the Family Planning Association Donna Da Costa Martinez echoed Tenias call for compassion, urging greater public and private-sector partnerships to reach out to more patients.

She reminded government that it too has an obligation to those in need, urging them not to turn a blind eye to those who need help the most.

Martinez called on parishioners to ensure no one is left behind.

Its important that we remove all social, legal, religious and racial barriers which keep people in isolation.

Speak out so others may have an easier life and practise sensitivity and understanding with those among you. The evenings service ended with a candlelight procession down Frederick Street in Curepe, to the Eastern Main Road and back to the church.
Cars catch fire near West Shore

According to sources, fire officers got a report of two cars  a Hyundai Tuscon and a Hyundia Getz  being on fire at about 2.10 am. Firemen from the Fire Headquarters, Wrightson Road responded and doused the flames which destroyed both vehicles which were parked neart the medical centre.

Fire officials told Newsday yesterday that the Tuscon was involved in an accident earlier that day, which left a crack in the gas tank. Vapours from the gas tank found a heat source and ignited. The fire then spread from the Tuscon to the Getz. No one was injured and investigations are ongoing.
12 new trucks for Fire Service

Yesterday, Deputy Fire Chief Kenny Gopaul said the Fire Service was promised 17 new trucks and for the year, five were already been delivered.

He said that the additional 12 should arrive in the country in the coming months and will be sent to stations in Woodbrook, Morvant, Maraval and Tobago.

According to Gopaul, the Service has been plagued by chronic shortage of working vehicles with many being down for repairs indefinitely.

He said it was only through diligent management of work-worthy vehicles at stations across the country that firemen were able to respond to all reports from the public without problems.

Gopaul also revealed that there are over 500 support vehicles in the fire service and added that auxiliary fire officers who are trained are expected to be absorbed into the regular fire service shortly to deal with some of the shortages.

Yesterday, Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon confirmed the arrival of additional fire trucks into the country and said that government was working assiduously to improve the efficiency in the Fire Service by ensuring that they are fully staffed and are in possession of vehicles to properly serve the public.
There Was No Red Wave,

'That's for Darn Sure'
The media must have been otherwise occupied when President Trump gave a "historic speech" in Saudi Arabia this week, because they missed what Newt Gingrich writes in the Washington Post was the "real drama of the moment: a titanic shift in US foreign policy occurring right before their eyes." That shift, per the former GOP speaker of the House, who also worked for the Trump campaign, was the president appearing before an "unprecedented gathering" of leaders from dozens of Muslim-majority nations and pulling off a two-pronged feat: offering the US' "hand of friendship" in efforts to defeat terrorism and extremism, but also putting forth a "clear challenge" for those leaders to step up themselves to eradicate those forces.

Gingrich says he had to reach back more than three decades to find a "turning point in history" equivalent to Trump's: that of Ronald Reagan, who revved Western allies up with a speech on defeating aggressive communist powers and "totalitarian evil." But even Reagan didn't pull off what Trump is trying to achieve, in Gingrich's eyes. "Never before" has any other US president "tried so clearly" to bring together the "civilized world" to fight terrorism, or put the onus on Middle Eastern and African countries to accept "ultimate responsibility" in getting rid of terrorism in their parts of the world. Trump's predecessors receive mention as well, with the ex-speaker noting Trump's vow of "principled realism" is a clear repudiation of the foreign policy approaches of both Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Gingrich's full piece here. (Gingrich may soon be settling down at the Vatican.)
US spies last summer gathered that Russian intelligence officials were discussing how Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort could be used to influence Donald Trump, reports the New York Times. Russians claimed connections to Flynn, a Trump adviser, and discussed using their connections to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, a close ally of Vladimir Putin who'd worked closely with Manafort, to sway Trump's campaign chairman, three current and former US officials tell the Times. The intelligencewhich didn't reveal direct attempts by Russians to influence either Flynn or Manafortwas passed to the FBI, as was intelligence showing communication between Russian officials and Trump advisers, sources say. It underscores, as the Times puts it, the "increasing understanding of the alarm inside the American government last year about the Russian disruption campaign."

Trump advisers, including Flynn, spoke with Russian officials or individuals with Russian ties in 18 phone calls and emails in the seven months before the 2016 election, reports Reuters, citing current and former US officials. Former CIA director John Brennan has said he was aware of intelligence showing contact between Russian officials and Trump advisers, adding it "raised questions in my mind about whether Russia was able to gain the cooperation of those individuals." However, Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser on Trump's campaign who says he plans to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, claims Brennan offers a "biased viewpoint." Trump, Manafort, and Flynn have denied any collusion with Russia. (Read more President Trump stories.)
A now-deleted website for Christos Vasiliades described him as an "aggressive" Baltimore attorney "dedicated to client service." Authorities say he's so dedicated, in fact, that he tried to bribe an alleged rape victim so she wouldn't testify against his client, suggested that she beat him up instead, and threatened her with deportation, reports the Baltimore Sun. Vasiliades, 38, was arrested in court Tuesday after the husband of the alleged victim told authorities about an offer he'd made the couple during an April meeting. During a second meeting on May 18, during which the victim's husband wore a wire, Vasiliades allegedly said his client was "very sorry" and would pay $3,000 if the couple failed to show up to his trial for assault, rape, and other sex offenses.

Referring to his client, Vasiliades said that in his home country of Greece, "we would go [expletive] him up," according to an indictment. "I think you should find him and kick his ass, personally," he reportedly added, per NBC News. Vasiliades also told the couple there was a "high risk" they would be deported if they appeared in court because immigration officials would be present, authorities say. "You know how things are with Trump's laws now; someone goes to court, and boom, they get taken away," he allegedly said. "This is terrible. This is as bad as it gets," Maryland AG Brian Frosh tells CBS Baltimore, adding to the Sun that "if you're an immigrant, you live in a climate of fear at this point, and these folks were trying to capitalize on that." Vasiliades and his interpreter were arraigned Wednesday on charges of obstruction of justice and witness intimidation. Both pleaded not guilty. (Read more Baltimore stories.)
California farmer John Duarte could be facing a $2.8 million fineand may be ordered to pay millions more in wetlands mitigationfor an offense he describes thusly: "Planting wheat in a wheat field," something he says had been done many times previously. Duarte has been fighting legal battles since 2012, when he hired someone to plow 450 acres of land he had purchased near Red Bluff in central California, USA Today reports. Because the area included wetlands, the US Army Corps of Engineers ordered work to stop and sued Duarte for failing to obtain a permit and for allegedly carrying out "deep ripping" that went as far as 3 feet down, disturbing waters considered to be "waters of the United States" under federal regulations.

A Pacific Legal Foundation lawyer says this is the first case he knows of where a farmer had to get a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to grow crops. "We're not going to produce much food under those kinds of regulations," he says. Federal prosecutors say Duarte violated the Clean Water Act because his activities deposited dirt into wetland streams. The case is scheduled to go to trial in August, though Duarte says the Trump administration has made it clear it considers the rule involved to be "dead," the Modesto Bee reports. He says unless the case is dropped, he will take it to the highest court possible to make sure other farmers aren't "shaken down by government agencies." (Meanwhile, a study finds that it is indeed possible to grow potatoes on Mars.)
Police in Britain, angered by repeated leaks of sensitive information, have decided to stop sharing information on the Manchester terrorist attack with American authorities. The decision came after photographs believed to show bomb debris appeared in a New York Times report, sources tell the BBC, which calls the step a "hugely significant" move that shows just how angry British authorities are about leaks that could hinder the investigation. Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise the issue with President Trump at a NATO meeting Thursday, though the leaks are believed to have come from US law enforcement agencies, not the White House. In other coverage:

The Times report that infuriated British police has photos of the remains of a backpack and a battery found at the scene, along with detailed analysis of the blast site. Analysts say the bomb, powerful enough to embed shrapnel in metal walls, appears to have been made with "forethought and care."

Two more men in Britain have been arrested in connection with the Monday night attack, bringing the number of people in custody to eight, including one woman, reports Reuters. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi's father and brother have been detained in Libya.

British authorities say the leaking of information provided under a long-standing cooperation deal is unacceptable. "These images from inside the American system are clearly distressing to victims, their families, and other members of the public," a government source tells the Guardian. "Protests have been lodged at every relevant level between the British authorities and our US counterparts."

Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, says the device detonated at the end of an Ariana Grande concert shows a "level of sophistication" that suggests the involvement of foreign terror cells, the AP reports. "It looks like we're not dealing with a lone wolf situation. There's a networka cell of ISIS-inspired terrorists," the Republican says.

Sky News reports that German intelligence services say Abedi was in the country around four days before the Manchester attack. Security camera footage obtained by Sky shows a man suspected to be Abedi in Manchester's Arndale shopping center on Friday with what may be the backpack used in the bombing.

One of the latest of the 22 victims to be identified is 14-year-old Eilidh MacLeod, who had traveled from the Scottish island of Barra to Manchester with her mother and a friend for the concert, the Telegraph reports. "Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music, whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band," her family said in a statement.

(Read more Manchester stories.)
The jury that will hear the sex assault case against Bill Cosby will include two black members among its 12 members in a case Cosby believes could be racially motivated. Prosecutors and the defense team on Wednesday also chose six alternate jurors, two of them black. "It's a terrific jury made up of people of all demographics," says Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele. "We're past this nonsense about the optics and things." Cosby's lawyers had complained that prosecutors were trying to keep black people off the jury with their seven strikes. The judge, though, found prosecutors had other valid reasons to strike two black women earlier this week. The jury makeup of 17% is higher than the 13% black population in Allegheny County.

Cosby thanked local officials and fans as he left the Pittsburgh courthouse Wednesday evening, including "all of the people who have come to see my shows," the AP reports. Half of the jury pool being questioned Wednesday said they'd formed an opinion on his guilt or innocence, while one knew Cosby or his family. One-third said they were more likely to believe police testimony, nearly one-fourth had been convicted of a crime, and nearly one-fifth said someone close to them had been sexually assaulted. Cosby, who is accused of drugging and molesting a woman at his home near Philadelphia in 2004, will go to trial June 5. He has called the encounter consensual. (Read more Bill Cosby stories.)
Army tanks packed with soldiers have rolled into a southern Philippine city to try to restore control after militants linked to ISIS launched a violent siege. Thousands of civilians have been fleeing Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people, the AP reports. At least 21 people have died in fighting that erupted late Tuesday, when the army raided the Marawi hideout of Isnilon Hapilon. Hapilon is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head. But the operation quickly went wrong as the militants called in reinforcements.

The city was still largely sealed off Thursday, although automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard and plumes of black smoke rose from the direction of the city center as air force helicopters swooped overhead. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the Mindanao group of islands and has said he's considering expanding it nationwide. (In a phone call transcript leaked Wednesday, President Trump congratulated Duterte for doing an "unbelievable job" in dealing with the country's drug problem.)
NATO's chief confirmed Thursday that the alliance will join the international coalition fighting ISIS but will not wage direct war against the extremistsan announcement timed for President Trump's first appearance at a summit of the alliance's leaders. In the wake of this week's suicide bomb attack in Manchester, NATO leaders meeting in Brussels are keen to show that the alliance born in the Cold War is responding to today's security threats, the AP reports. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says joining the US-led anti-ISIS coalition "will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our coordination within the coalition."

But he underlined that "it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations." All 28 NATO allies are already individual members of the 68-nation anti-ISIS coalition. But some, notably France and Germany, have feared that NATO officially joining it might upset decision-making within the coalition or alienate Middle East countries taking part. NATO will also set up a counter-terrorism intelligence cell to improve information-sharing. It will notably focus on so-called foreign fighters who travel from Europe to train or fight with extremists in Iraq and Syria. Another big item on the NATO agenda is Trump's challenge to other countries to raise their military spending. Leaders will agree to submit annual action plans. (Read more NATO stories.)
One of the hot topics among journalists in the wake of President Trump's visit to Pope Francis on Wednesday isn't about policy differences. Instead, it's about the president's perceived snub to Sean Spicer. CNN reports that the press secretary, who is a practicing Catholic, is seething that he was left off the short list for the visit. Some expected names accompanied the president: Melania and Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, HR McMaster, and Rex Tillerson. But lesser-known aides Hope Hicks, Keith Schiller, and Dan Scavino were selected over Spicer. "Wow, that's all he wanted," a White House source tells the network, which adds that meeting the pope had been a "bucket list" item for the press chief.

Spicer has not commented publicly about the decision, but the Washington Post notes that an odd thing has happened: Journalists he dickers with on an almost daily basis were openly expressing sympathy for him. A typical sentiment: "This seems needlessly harsh," tweeted Maggie Haberman of the New York Times. "When else is Spicer likely to meet the Pope, and it mattered to him?" By all accounts, it mattered to him a great deal: Politico describes Spicer as a "devout" Catholic, noting that he took flak last year when he appeared on CNN with ashes on his forehead for Ash Wednesday. But it may be in line with an apparently diminished new role for the press secretary. (Read more Sean Spicer stories.)
New Zealand just joined a very exclusive club, shared by only 10 others. According to the Deccan Chronicle, private company Rocket Lab's 56-foot test craft, Electron, blasted off from its facility on the Mahia Peninsula, located on the east coast of the North Island, adding New Zealand to the small list of countries capable of launching rockets into space. CNET reports that due to less-than-ideal weather conditions, the launch took place halfway through a 10-day launch window. The country's economic development minister celebrated the news, noting that New Zealand, which recently added $10.5 million to its newly formed space program, is "now one of 11 countries able to launch satellites into space from their own territory and the first to launch from a fully private orbital launch range."

Partnering with a private company adds an interesting component to the future of space travel. "In the past, it's been countries that go to space, not companies," says Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck, per the Chronicle, which notes the move opens the way to space for private businesses in a way not possible before. Rocket Lab designed the nimble, disposable Electron in just four years to carry small satellites that can provide services like affordable internet. Features include an engine built with 3D-printed and battery-juiced components, and a smaller size that allows for faster, more frequent flights, reports Wired. The company plans to analyze the data from Electron's flight to learn more about the launch and how future flights from its New Zealand base can be improved. (Read more space stories.)
Before he could be chided by British Prime Minister Theresa May in person at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, President Trump called for an investigation into "deeply troubling" leaks of information regarding the bombing in Manchester. Responding to reports that UK authorities are furious that sensitive information shared with US authorities was leaked to the US media, Trump called for a full investigation by the Department of Justice, per the Washington Post, and said the culprit would be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law  if appropriate." At the same time, he appeared to deny any responsibility.

"These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this," he said, per Fox News. UK authorities believe US law enforcement is to blame for the leaks, reports the BBC. Still, May had promised to "make clear" to Trump during a meeting Thursday "that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure." Police in Britain have vowed to stop sharing information on the terrorist attack with the US after the New York Times published photos of various pieces of debris. The paper has defended its decision to print the photos, noting they are "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims." (Read more Manchester stories.)
A US bomb that dropped on a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul set off explosive materials that had already been placed inside by Islamic State fighters, causing the structure to collapse and killing more than 100 civilians, a US military investigation concluded Thursday. The 500-pound bomb dropped by a US aircraft on March 17 was intended to kill two ISIS snipers who posed a threat to Iraqi counterterrorism forces, said the lead investigator, US Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler. The probe found that the US bomb triggered secondary explosions from devices clandestinely planted in the lower floors of the concrete building, Isler said, per the AP.

Isler said neither the Iraqi troops nor the Americans who authorized and conducted the airstrike knew civilians were in the building or that the explosive materials were present. It was likely the largest single incident of civilian deaths since the US air campaign against ISIS began in 2014, and represents about a quarter of all civilian deaths in that time. Isler said 101 civilians in the building were killed, and another four died in a nearby building. He said 36 civilians remain unaccounted for. (Read more Iraq stories.)
President Trump chided NATO leaders to their faces Thursday for "chronic underpayments" to the organization, the New York Times reports. "Members of the alliance must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations," CNN quotes Trump as saying during the opening of a new NATO headquarters. Per the BBC, Trump said other NATO countries owe "massive amounts of money," and that's "not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States." Only five of 28 NATO members are putting the agreed-upon 2% of their GDP toward defense spending. Trump also didn't recommit the US to NATO's mutual defense pledge, which leaves other NATO countries to wonder if the US will automatically assist them if they're attacked.

NATO leaders didn't appear pleased by Trump's speech, and the Times reports the US president got a "chilly reception" from European leaders. Trump reportedly disagreed with his European counterparts on climate, trade, and Russia. Cameras also caught Trump apparently shoving a NATO leader out of the way so he could get to the front of the stage, according to Mediaite. That Trump wasn't more warmly welcomed wasn't exactly a surprise: The speech took place in Brussels, a city Trump once called a "hellhole" following a terrorist attack. And he gave the speech in front of a new 9/11 memorial. The Sept. 11 attacks were the only time NATO has invoked the mutual defense provisionbacking the US in Afghanistanthat Trump declined to state his support for. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
A California judge on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Bikram yoga, who's been ordered to hand over proceeds from his global fitness business to satisfy a $6.8 million judgment won by a former legal adviser. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued the warrant for Bikram Choudhury and set bail at $8 million, the AP reports. No lawyers appeared for Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt. The award was won by Minakshi "Micki" Jafa-Bodden, who claimed Choudhury fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation. Jafa-Bodden also said Choudhury sexually harassed and inappropriately touched her, and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite.

Jafa-Bodden worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013, when she said she was abruptly fired from her six-figure position. She called it a "great day for women" when she was awarded a victory over Choudhury. Her attorney, Carla Minnard, says they've tracked luxury vehicles and other property that Choudhury moved out of state and have court orders in Nevada and Florida preventing him from moving property from warehouses. Choudhury, whose yoga technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide, faces sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse Choudhury of raping them. One of those lawsuits is in the process of being settled while the rest are set for trial later this year. (Read more Bikram Choudhury stories.)
A bomb exploded inside the car of former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos in Athens Thursday, leaving him and two Bank of Greece employees with non-life-threatening injuries, the AP reports. The blast was thought to have been caused by a letter bomb; an anonymous official says the explosion occurred when Papademos, 69, who served as prime minister for six months in 2011-2012 and is also a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank, opened an envelope in the car. His driver was also reportedly injured. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, the BBC reports. Militant far-left and anarchist groups have targeted Greek politicians in the past. (Read more Lucas Papademos stories.)
President's Trump's proposed travel ban suffered yet another defeat Thursday when the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a block on the part of the ban that suspends visas for people from six predominantly Muslim countries, CNBC reports. According to the Huffington Post, the ruling was made by 13 judges in Virginia. It upheld a March ruling from a Maryland district court, which found the president's travel ban violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution, the Guardian reports. The next stop for the travel ban, which is also being contested in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, is likely the Supreme Court.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals states it was "unconvinced" Trump's travel ban "has more to do with national security than it does with effectuating the president's proposed Muslim ban." CNN has the full text of the ruling. While the White House has said the ban is needed to keep the country safe, Trump's own statements have given reason to believe the ban is meant to target Muslims. For example, the president's campaign website once advocated a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the US. The judges ruled Trump's past statements should be considered in regard to the proposed ban. They also stated the president's power to control who enters the country is "broad" but not "absolute." (Read more Trump travel ban stories.)
Turkish President said that NATO allies should show more solidarity

Ankara : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO allies should show more solidarity in the global counter-terror fight.

"Terrorism is not the problem of a single country, but a problem of entire world. Global problems can ony be solved through global cooperation," Erdogan addressed a press conference here on Wednesday before his departure to Brussels for the NATO summit.

Erdogan noted that terrorism is the biggest threaten to both national and international security, and the recent terror attacks in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Paris and Manchester showed the terrorism has become a global problem, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also complained that some countries "are still making distinctions between terror groups," distinguishing "my terrorist, your terrorist".

"Solidarity is the only antidote for terror," Erdogan said. "Instant sharing intelligence is obligatory and NATO should be more active and give more support to allied countries."

Turkish government and Western countries have different opinions on the identification of some terrorism organization.

For instance, Turkey accuses Gulen movement group of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt. However, the German government on May 11 accepted asylum application of some former military personnel affiliated with the Gulen Movement, and the US has refused to extradite preacher Fethullah Gulen from Pennsylvania back to Turkey until now.

Turkey also regards the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), deemed a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and the European Union. But Washington sees the YPG distinct from the PKK and as a valuable partner in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.
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New Delhi:

German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz is lowering the prices of its models produced in India by up to Rs 7 lakh to pass on benefits of new tax rate under GST due in July.

The new prices will be effective through the whole of June, but in case GST is deferred, the company said it would revert to the old prices till its rollout.

Mercedes Benz India locally produces nine models -- CLA sedan, SUVs GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS, luxury sedans C-Class, E- Class, S -Class and Maybach S 500 which are priced between Rs 32 lakh and Rs 1.87 crore (ex-showroom Delhi).

The price reduction will range from Rs 1.4 lakh on the CLA sedan to Rs 7 lakh on Maybach S 500.

Commenting on the decision, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Roland Folger told PTI: "It looks really reasonable now that the government will stick to its decision to implement GST from July 1."

He further said: "We now know more in details what taxations are going to be in various states. We have a clear picture of the road ahead.So we have decided to compensate the difference between the current and post GST prices for our entire Made in India range."

On an average, there will be a reduction of 4 per cent in the transaction prices for customers of all models produced in India, Folger added.

Price reduction varies by state between 2 per cent to 9 per cent and is dependent on current tax structure and local body taxes of states, the company said.

Folger, however, hastened to add that if for "any reason GST is not implemented by July 1, then we will revert to the old pricing till the time it is implemented".

"Our decision to go ahead and reduce the price is also a reflection of our confidence of this government," Folger added.

For the other models which are fully imported, Mercedes-Benz India is currently discussing about its pricing strategy under the GST regime.

"The impact on the prices on CBU vehicles is yet to be evaluated. We think the implementation of the GST structure is a landmark achievement for the Indian economy, which will support the ease of doing business in India," Folger said.

Under the GST rates announced last week, large luxury cars and SUVs with engine capacity of over 1,500 cc have been slated to attract a 15 per cent cess over and above peak rate of 28 per cent thereby bringing down the overall tax incidence compared to the present of around 50 per cent.

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New Delhi:

Credit rating agency Moodys cut the credit ratings for Hong Kong citing the country's increasing economic proximity with mainland China.

The lowering of Hong Kong's credit ratings was announced hours after the firm downgraded China for the first time in almost three decades citing concerns about its ballooning debt and slowing economic growth.

Moody's decision came as China tries to clean up a toxic brew of unregulated and risky lending that for years has fuelled the economy's spectacular growth, though some analysts doubt Beijing's willingness to quit its debt addiction.

Beijing rejected the cut, saying Moody's had used an "inappropriate" method to assess the risks facing the economy.

In downgrading Hong Kong, the agency outlined the growing links between the city and the mainland, with banks increasing China-related lending, while its stock market is also linked to bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen through separate tie-ups.

The city's involvement in China's Belt and Road initiative also brings its economy and financial systems closer to the mainland, Moody's said.

"The downgrade in Hong Kong's rating reflects Moody's view that credit trends in China will continue to have a significant impact on Hong Kong's credit profile due to close and tightening economic, financial and political linkages with the mainland," it said in a statement.

"The institutional features which grant Hong Kong, at present, a degree of political and economic independence - together with the SAR's intrinsic credit strengths - allow Hong Kong's rating to exceed that of China. But the two ratings, like the two regions, remain closely linked," it said.

Moody's cut Hong Kong from Aa1 to Aa2 but upped its outlook from negative to stable. Earlier it had downgraded China to A1 from Aa3 -- its first since 1989 months after the Tiananmen Square crackdown and also increased its outlook to stable from negative. It affirmed the Aa3 rating of Macau and upgraded its outlook to stable from negative.

Hong Kong's Finance Secretary Paul Chan said Thursday he"strongly disagreed" with the move. "We are of the view that Moody's has overlooked the sound economic fundamentals, robust financial regulatory regime, the city's resilient banking sector and strong fiscal position that HongKong has," Chan said.

He also said the Belt and Road initiative will help HongKong businesses enter new markets, which would the city's economy, adding that China has also been a "key sourceof growth" for the global economy in recent years.

Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after it was handed back toChina by Britain in 1997. It preserved its financial andjudicial systems and enjoys liberties not seen on themainland.

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New Delhi:

Brad Pitt, recently stupefied the country after he made a surprise visit in India for the promotions of his upcoming movie 'War Machine'. And while we were still getting over this surprise, Brad made a confession about why he is unfit for Bollywood movies unlike superstar Shah Rukh Khan.



During a chat session with SRK, Brad admitted that he can't dance and sing like Bolywwod actors, which according to him is a key element for Hindi movies. "I wouldn't make it in Bollywood, I can't dance," the 'Troy' actor told Shah Rukh Khan.



To this SRK replied, "We will make you dance in Bollywood... We make everyone dance in Bollywood."



Isn't this a perfect reply?

Also Read | TED Talks: Shah Rukh Khan reacts to reports of AbRam being Aryan's 'love child'



Shah Rukh, however, quipped that despite being in Bollywood for 25 years, he was yet to master he field of dance. SRK said he escaped complicated situations by just doing his signature spreading the arms move.



"I just spread my arms and do nothing, thats a step."



Khan even lauded Brad Pitt for his acting skills, and stated that '12 Monkeys' was his personal favourite.



"I find you amazing in that. You are fantastic. Thats when I became a fan of Brad as an actor. There are lots of them (movies)... Benjamin Button," SRK said.



Shah Rukh even took it to micro-blogging site Twitter to send his best wishes for Pitt's upcoming movie and wrote, "My best 2 David & Brad for the release of War Machine on @netflix Pleasure to meet u both & Brad the dance remains".

My best 2 David & Brad for the release of War Machine on @netflix Pleasure to meet u both & Brad the dance remains pic.twitter.com/mxq0GKrqoL  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 24, 2017



Talking about 'War Machine', the movie will have Pitt playing the role of US General, Glenn McMahon, posted in Afghanistan. Directed by Michod of "Animal Kingdom" fame, the film is inspired by the book "The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of Americas War in Afghanistan" by late journalist Michael Hastings. 'War Machine' will be out on Netflix on May 26.

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New Delhi:

Days after getting divorced from Malaika Arora Khan, Arbaaz Khan's love life is back in the headlines as the 'Dabangg' director is reportedly planning to get hitched again. According to the media reports, Arbaaz is dating a Romanian lady named Alexandria for a while now and the two are looking forward to take their relationship to the next level.



The reports also suggest that Khan has even begun the preparation of the wedding now. Interestingly, Arbaaz had admitted to be dating someone in his recent interviews, saying aI am dating, yes. But we are nota As of now, there is still a long way to go.a



Although, he didn't unveil the name of his lady love, reports about Arbaaz-Alexandira's love affair are rife. In fact, the couple are often spotted spending quality time together and Arbaaz too shares picture's of the lady on Instagram.

A

#aboutlastnight #goodtimes #goodfriends @alexandra.camelia31 A post shared by Arbaaz Khan (@arbaazkhanofficial) on Dec 3, 2016 at 9:52pm PST



Looks like Arbaaz has decided to move ahead in his life, post divorce with Malaika. However, when quizzed about Alexandria, Khan reportedly maintained the 'just friends' stance.



Interestingly, despite separation Khan has maintained a cordial relationship. The ex-couple is often seen together at family functions. aWe have a child together, and there are the grandparents, uncles and aunts. And whatever the reasons for our parting, they have never influenced our equations with the families. They have kept it to themselves as this is the personal decision between the two of us. They have not asked us to get back together,a Arbaaz was quoted as saying.



We wonder if Arbaaz Khan will making an official announcement about his second wedding any time soon.

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New Delhi:

Purple Pebble Pictures, the production banner of Priyanka Chopra has marked its presence in the ongoing 70th Cannes Film Festival and also give people a further reason to cheer.

Under this production at least half a dozen film will be released soon and all of them have already hit the floor.



Represented in Festival de Cannes by Madhu Chopra, the mother of the actress, who helms the company as managing director, Purple Pebble Pictures unveiled the first look of the new Sikkimese film, "Pahuna", written and directed by Paakhi A Tyrewala. It is scheduled to release in October.

"We've been enthused by the success of 'Ventilator' to step out into the big wide world of global independent cinema," Madhu said at an event hosted by the Pavilion here to unveil the first look of "Pahuna".



The film, which unfolds entirely in and uses many local talents in the junior crew, is about three children who are separated from their parents while fleeing from the violence in



"It was a logistical challenge shooting in because the state does not have a but the went out of its way to support the project," she said.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra to team up with Oscar winner American actress Octavia Spencer and Jim Parsons in their upcoming drama 'A Kid Like Jake'



"The film is currently in post-production. It should be ready fore release before Dussehra. We will have the premiere in "



Explaining the rationale behind their banner's regional- language forays, Madhu said, "Stories from the various Indian states are routinely turned into Hindi films. Bollywood benefits commercially in the bargain. Our core idea is to narrate these tales in the languages that they stem from."



Among the other films that Priyanka's production house currently has in the pipeline is "Nalini", a Bengali-Marathi bilingual inspired by a little-known romantic chapter from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's early life.



To be directed by Ujjwal Chatterjee and scripted by his wife Sagarika, the film will present a 17-year-old Rabindranath, who found his first love in Maharashtra when his father sent him to his elder brother Satyendranath to learn English.



"We are looking for a young actor to play the teenage Tagore, while we are close to casting Jisshu Sengupta in the role of the poet's older avatar," Madhu said in an interview.



Also up ahead is a film set in Goa, "Little Joe, Kahaan Ho?", about a boy who tides over his loneliness by sitting by the sea and sketching. A German tourist spots his talent and a bond develops between the two.



The film, pitched as a tribute to the art of celebrated cartoonist Mario Miranda, is directed by first-timer Suvrata Nasnodkar, who has her roots in Goa. She cut her teeth as an assistant to Prakash Jha.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra poses at south beach of Miami, sets temperatures soaring with her hottest 'Bikini' avatar



Purple Pebble Pictures also has a Bhojpuri film, "Bam Bam Bol Raha Hain Kashi", and another Marathi production, "Kai Re, Rascala," lined up for release over the next year.



The sixth film that Madhu spoke about with special interest is the Bengali-language "Brishtir Opekhaye" (Waiting for Rain).



"It is based on a book by seasoned litterateur Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. We have just brought the rights from the writer in Kolkata and cast Rahul Bose and Rituparna Sengupta in stellar roles," she said.

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New Delhi:

Tamil 'superstar' Rajinikanth is once again teaming up with Pa Ranjith after 'Kabali' for tri-lingual flick 'Kaala Karikalan' (Kala).

Moreover, the movie will be produced by the actor's son-in-law Dhanush.

The production team unveiled the film's title this morning and released its first look later in the day, with Dhanush, himself an actor, describing the moment as "the biggest ofthem all."

"Here we go !! The biggest of them all .. #superstarRajinikanth's #kaala first look," he said on his Twitter page,while sharing a couple of photos.

In one of the pictures, Rajinikanth is seen casually dressed in a rolled up sleeve and a 'lungi', sporting sunglasses with his stylish smile and sitting atop a jeep carrying a Maharashtra registration number plate.

The background is dotted with images resembling a large slum, indicating Ranjith could serve up a sumptuous feast forthe actor's die-hard fans.

Another one showed an angry Rajinikanth emoting, with bloodon his forehead.

Also Read: Rajinikanth warns his fans against indulging in any kind of indiscipline

Though titled 'Kaala Karikalan' the movie will be called'Kaala', sources close to the production team said.

Dhanush 's Wunderbar Films Pvt. LTD. is producing the film,touted to be the sequel of Rajinikanth's 2016 gangster show 'Kabali.'

Ranjith's favourite musician Santhosh Narayanan is on board 'Kaala' also and the film which is being made in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.

The film had earlier courted controversy with the adopted son of Mumbai don late Haji Mastan alleging the plot was based on his father's life.

The makers had, however, denied it.

Also Read: Pro-Tamil group opposes Rajinikanth's entry into politics, burns his effigy

Here we go !! The biggest of them all .. #superstar Rajinikanth's #kaala first look pic.twitter.com/G9T6r3JtiS  Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) May 25, 2017

(With PTI inputs)

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Lucknow:

A special CBI court is likely to frame additional charges on May 26 against LK Advani and other BJP leaders in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition cases. The court will frame charges following the Supreme Court order restoring the serious criminal conspiracy offence against them.



The special court will frame the charges after the accused appear before it in person, CBI counsel Lalit Singh said.



The court has fixed May 25 for framing of charges in the other case in which Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti, Baikunth Lal Sharma alias Prem Ji, Champat Rai Bansal, Dharma Das and Satish Pradhan are accused, he said.



The court on Wednesday granted bail to Pradhan, a former Shiv Sena MP, after he surrendered in Lucknow.



Special CBI court judge SK Yadav granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 20,000 each and a personal bond of the same amount.

The other five accused had been granted bail on Saturday by the special court, which began day-to-day hearing in the politically sensitive case on May 20 after a Supreme Court direction.

Read | Babri case: Advani, Bharti, Joshi to stand trial; Lalu calls it 'well thought-out politics'; Uma says ready to sacrifice her life



After demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, two FIRs were registered in connection with the incident. While the case of 28 accused was taken up in Lucknow CBI court, six of them died.



Advani and seven other were charge sheeeted in Raebareli court. Two of them - VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Giriraj Kishore died pending trial.



The Supreme Court had on April 19 directed that former deputy prime minister Advani, Union minister Uma Bharti and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi will face trial on conspiracy charges.



It had also transferred their case from Raebareli to Lucknow. Besides the BJP three leaders, the conspiracy charge would now be invoked against Vinay Katiar, Sadhvi Ritambara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, who were being tried at Raebareli.



It directed the special court to start proceedings in the matter within a month and deliver its verdict within two years.



The apex court had dubbed the demolition of the medieval era monument as a "crime" which shook the "secular fabric of the Constitution" and allowed CBI's plea on restoration of serious offence of criminal conspiracy against the VVIP accused.



In its 40-page judgement, it had termed the Allahabad high court's February 12, 2001 verdict dropping conspiracy charge against Advani and others as "erroneous".



The matter is likely to have political implications, particularly against 89-year old Advani, reported to be a front-runner for the post of the President.



The apex court had also come down heavily on the CBI for the delay of 25 years in the trial. It said "the accused persons have not been brought to book largely because of the conduct of the CBI in not pursuing the prosecution of the aforesaid alleged offenders in a joint trial, and because of technical defects which were easily curable, but which were not cured by the state government."

Read | Advani, Joshi tried to prevent mob from demolishing Babri Masjid, says Satish Pradhan



While a charge sheet in the Lucknow court was filed in October 1993, a supplementary charge sheet was filed in November 1996. A supplementary charge sheet was also filed in May 2003 in Rae Bareli court.



Issuing a slew of directions, the apex court had said the proceedings in the case against Advani and five others in the court of the special judicial magistrate at Raebareli will be transferred to the court of additional sessions judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow.



It had said additional charges will be framed under Section 120-B (conspiracy) and the other provisions of the penal code mentioned in the joint charge sheet filed by the CBI against the accused.



The apex court had directed the Lucknow court to take on a day-to-day basis the hearing of the case after transfer of the proceedings from Raebareli and framing of additional charges. The trial will be taken from the stage at which they were both at Raebareli and Lucknow, it had said.



There shall be no fresh trial. There shall be no transfer of the judge conducting the trial until the entire trial concludes. The case shall not be adjourned on any ground except when the sessions court finds it impossible to carry on the trial for that particular date, it had said.

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Lucknow:

A special CBI court hearing the 1992 Babri Masjid cases on Thursday asked all the accused including veteran BJP leader LK Advani, Union Min Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi to appear before it on May 30.

The court is likely to frame charges on May 30 against the accused following the Supreme Court order restoring the serious criminal conspiracy offence against them. On Wednesday, the court had granted bail to Satish Pradhan, a former Shiv Sena MP, after he surrendered.



Special CBI court judge S K Yadav granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 20,000 each and a personal bond of the same amount. The other five accused had been granted bail on Saturday by the special court, which began day-to-day hearing in the politically sensitive case on May 20 after a Supreme Court direction.



Two FIRs were registered in connection with the incident. While the case of 28 accused was taken up in Lucknow CBI court, six of them died. Advani and seven other were charge sheeeted in Raebareli court. Two of them - VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Giriraj Kishore died pending trial.



The Supreme Court had on April 19 directed that former deputy prime minister Advani, Union Minister Uma Bharti and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi will face trial on conspiracy charges. It had also transferred their case from Raebareli to Lucknow.Besides the BJP three leaders, the conspiracy charge would now be invoked against Vinay Katiar, Sadhvi Ritambara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, who were being tried at Raebareli.

The apex court had dubbed the incident as a crime which shook the secular fabric of the Constitution and allowed CBIs plea on restoration of serious offence of criminal conspiracy against the VVIP accused.



In its 40-page judgement, it had termed the Allahabad High Courts February 12, 2001 verdict dropping conspiracy charge against Advani and others as erroneous.

ALSO READ | Babri Masjid case: Special CBI court grants bail to sixth accused Satish Pradhan



The matter is likely to have political implications, particularly against 89-year old Advani, reported to be a front-runner for the post of the President.



The apex court had also come down heavily on the CBI for the delay of 25 years in the trial.



It said the accused persons have not been brought to book largely because of the conduct of the CBI in not pursuing the prosecution of the aforesaid alleged offenders in a joint trial, and because of technical defects which were easily curable, but which were not cured by the state government.



While a charge sheet in the Lucknow court was filed in October 1993, a supplementary charge sheet was filed in November 1996. A supplementary charge sheet was also filed in May 2003 in Rae Bareli court.



Issuing a slew of directions, the apex court had said the proceedings in the case against Advani and five others in the court of the special judicial magistrate at Raebareli will be transferred to the court of additional sessions judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow.



It had said additional charges will be framed under Section 120-B (conspiracy) and the other provisions of the penal code mentioned in the joint charge sheet filed by the CBI against the accused.

ALSO READ | Advani, Joshi tried to prevent mob from demolishing Babri Masjid, says Satish Pradhan



(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

The Bengaluru police on Thursday arrested three Pakistanis nationals including two women on the charges of entering and staying in India with fake identity. The police has also arrested an Indian for allegedly helping them.

All the three Pakistanis were living in Bengaluru's Kumarswamy layout under false names and had even got documents like the Aadhaar card, police said.

The arrests of the Pakistan nationals came on a day when Indian woman Uzma Ahmed who was stranded in Pakistan arrived to India after Islamabad high court gave her the permisssion.

We have arrested these four persons under various sections of passport (act), conspiracy and creation of false document and misrepresentation, city police commissioner Praveen Sood told reporters.

Also Read: Pakistan court orders release of 350 Indian fishermen

Interrogation is going on not only by the state police but also by the central agency to verify all the information given by them, he said.

The police giving more information said they had come in contact while working in Qatar. They first went to Muscat

Police said the four had come into contact while working in Qatar. They first went to Muscat and then via Kathmandu entered Patna before reaching Bengaluru.

(With PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi:

BJP president Amit Shah met TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday amid reports of deteriorating ties between their parties.

The two leaders exchanged their views on the upcoming presidential election while dedicating to people ambulances equipped with modern life support systems.

There was a general discussion on the political scenario in AP and also about the forthcoming presidential election, a TDP leader, who attended the lunch hosted by the chief minister said.

Union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu, Y S Chowdary, state TDP president K Kala Venkata Rao, state ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Kamineni Srinivas, Nara Lokesh and state BJP president Kambhampati Hari Babu were also present in the meeting.

The two sides have fought over various issues, mainly on the demand for special category status to the state and financial aid by the Centre.

Earlier in the day, Chandrababu and Shah flew down from Hyderabad together while dedicating to people 13 advanced life support ambulances at Vijayawada airport.

The ambulances were purchased at a cost of Rs 4.16 crore from the MPLADS funds of Suresh Prabhu, who is a member of Rajya Sabha from the state.These would cater to the people of 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh and help patients in far flung areas, Prabhu said.

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New Delhi:

BJP activists on Thursday hit the streets in Kolkata to protest against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her ruling Trinamool Congress government. The state BJP's 'Lalbazaar Abhiyan' on Thursday turned into a violent affair as police and protesters clashed. The agitators threw bricks at the police, who then used water canon to disperse them.

Lalbazaar is the headquarters of Kolkata Police and the protest rally has been organized against police atrocities during the recently concluded civic polls, several false charges against BJP functionaries, attack on the media and the deteriorating law and order situation.

The protest is also asking for the arrest of Tipu Sultan Mosque Shahi Imam, Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati, for making anti-India remarks.This comes two days after clashes during the Left Fronts March to Nabanna road show in Kolkata.

The clashes during the Left Fronts march left several persons, including journalists, injured.BJP MP Roopa Ganguly claimed that party workers were heading towards city Police headquarter at Lalbazar to submit a deputation.

ALSO READ: Naxalbari's Tribal family who hosted Amit Shah joins Mamata's party; BJP accuses 'TMC goons' of 'kidnapping' Mahali couple

The state BJPs protest is known as Lalbazaar Abhiyaan accused the Trinamool Congress of kidnapping and forcing the Naxalbari tribal couple who had hosted BJP president Amit Shah during his recent visit, to join TMC.

Meanwhile, ahead of the Oppositions huddle to decide on a consensus candidate for the presidential poll, CM Banerjee will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to seek more funds for her state for tackling the financial crisis and Ganga erosion.

During her stay in the capital, Mamata is also likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and state president Dilip Ghosh were arrested by the cops and taken to the Burrabazar police station.

MahaMichil of #BJPLalbazarChalo from Howrah,Gulmohar to LalBazar started with thousands of BJP karyakartas pic.twitter.com/ZHkFDU5xkM  Dilip Ghosh (@DilipGhoshBJP) May 25, 2017

READ: Mamata Banerjee mocks BJP's West Bengal plans, says TMC cannot be browbeaten

Our party workers will march towards police headquarters from Howrah station, College Square and Esplanade. Our rally will be peaceful, but for any untoward incident/clash the city police will be responsible, BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu had said earlier in the day.Sources said the city police have decided to be extra careful while dealing with the crowd.

More than 3,000 policemen, Rapid Action Force, Radio Flying Squad and combat forces will be deployed in all the exit and entry points of Lalbazaar to restrict the BJP workers from reaching close to the police headquarters.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee claimed that the BJP and CPM had resorted to violence. She also said that they had beaten police including women and burnt govt properties.

There is no violence, it is BJP, they started violence & CPM. See how they have beaten police including women, burnt govt properties: WB CM pic.twitter.com/jt8Ph2PTS8  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

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New Delhi:

In a major breach in the security of Uttar Pradesh chief minister, a 33-year-old woman abruptly came in front of the pilot car of Yogi Adityanath's convoy in Azamgarh on Thursday to press for her demand of better pay for community health workers.



The woman, named Shubhawati, is a community health worker with Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA). ASHA workers have for long been protesting for better pay in the state. Shubhawati wanted to hand over a memorandum to the chief minister.



According to an NDTV report, the incident alarmed the security personnel deployed with the CM who tried to stop the woman and her colleagues from reaching his car.

However, the chief minister asked the security staff to let the women meet him. The chief minister had a brief conversation with the health workers at the spot.

Amid the chaos, Shubhawati failed to hand over the memorandum to Yogi as his convoy left the spot in a hurry.

Read | UPs soaring crime and CM Yogi Adityanaths matrix of pop nirvana

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New Delhi:

As the May 26 deadline for Election Commission's EVM hack challenge looms, none of the recognised political parties has approached the poll watchdog to confirm their participation.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the commission had given the parties till May 26 to confirm their attendance. The EVM challenge is scheduled for June 3 after parties including the Congress, AAP, Trinamool Congress, and BSP said that the machines can be tampered with to sway votes.

We have not taken a call on whether to participate yet, the report quoted Vivek Tankha, the head of All India Congress Committees legal cell, as saying.

The Election Commission had invited all the seven national and 49 state parties to participate in the challenge to prove that its EVMs can be tampered with.

Read | EVM hackathon: Election Commission writes to CEOs of 5 states to provide machines

Earlier, the commission had said that it would invite all the national and state recognised parties which had contested the recent assembly polls.



The poll panel had also sent letters to all the seven national parties -- the BJP, the BSP, the Congress, the CPI, the CPI-M, the NCP and the TMC -- and 49 state parties, including the AAP.



The BSP and the AAP were the first to question the reliability of the EVMs.



The BSP, along with several other parties, had urged the commission to revert to the paper ballot system saying the faith of the people has eroded in the machines.

The Aam Aadmi Party had also asked the Election Commission to reconsider the terms set for next week's EVM challenge. The party wants the EC to allow it to be an open 'hackathon' where tampering of any kind can be demonstrated.



As the AIADMK now has two factions recognised by the poll panel, both have been invited for the challenge. But the commission has kept out smaller registered but unrecognised parties and independent candidates who contested polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.



Each party will get four EVMs of their choice from the five states and four hours to hack. Each team can have a maximum of three persons. But foreign experts have been barred from participating. The challenge begins on June 3.

(With inputs from PTI)

Read | Election Commission dares parties to tamper with EVM: Here are the rules of 'EVM Challenge'

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New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh minister Suresh Kumar Khanna sparked a political controversy on Thursday after he said police cannot be deployed everywhere and no government can ensure a crime-free society.



He made the statement hours after four women were allegedly gang-raped and a man was shot dead by a group of armed criminals on the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway.



"We will take strictest possible action in the incident that occurred on the highway. "There cannot be a completely crime-free society... But the BJP government does not patronize criminals, like the previous governments did," he told media persons in Ghaziabad.



The incident, which is a horrific reminder of last year's Bulandshahr gangrape, took place near Sabota village in Jewar around 1.40am when the eight people were going to visit a relative undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bulandshahr in western Uttar Pradesh.



SSP, Gautam Budh Nagar, Love Kumar said a gang of five robbers targeted the vehicle after the driver stopped it near a roadside hut to fix a flat tyre.



The occupants were attacked and, along with an old man who was in the hut, taken to a nearby field. The women were misbehaved with and a man was shot dead when he resisted, he said. The Yogi Adityanath government is facing flak over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Read | Uttar Pradesh: Two minor girls allegedly gangraped at gun point in Muzaffarnagar

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Bengaluru:

A helicopter carrying Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made an emergency landing at the HAL Airport Bengaluru after suffering a bird hit, a police official said.

Siddaramaiah and four others, including Home Minister G Parameshwara who were also on board, were safe, Assistant Commissioner of Police P Nagesha Kumar told PTI.

The chopper did not suffer any damage in the bird hit, he said.

He said the Chief Minister and others left for Shravanabelogala in Hassan district as scheduled by the same helicopter a few minutes later after clearance, adding, they landed at the destination.

Video | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah caught on camera getting his shoe laces tied by a person, issues clarification

Siddaramaiah was on an official visit to Shravanabelogalato launch developmental schemes for "Mahamasthakabhisheka", a once in a 12-year event at the Jain pilgrimage centre scheduled for February next year.

Mahamasthakabhisheka is the anointment of the 57-foothigh monolithic statue of Jain deity Lord Gommateshwara, also known as Bahubali, located on Vindyagiri at Shravanabelogala.

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New Delhi:

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee visited the PMO on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjees meeting with the PM coincided with a day ahead of the oppositions brainstorming to decide their candidate for the presidential election and on a day when Bengal BJP organized protests in Kolkatas Lalbazaar area against her government.

Mamata claimed that she discussed development issues but didnt have any talks regarding the upcoming Presidential election.

On Friday, leaders of Opposition parties would meet decide on a candidate for the Presidential election as the term of present President Pranab Mukherjee endson July 24.

Discussed development issues, no talks on Presidential election: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Delhi after meeting PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/0Ax7C3RyOf  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

In Kolkata, BJP workers on Thursday clashed with police during their march to the police headquarters.

ALSO READ: BJP protests against Mamata govt in Kolkata; police lathicharge to disperse protesters

They were demanding the arrest of corrupt TMC leaders, prompting the force touse teargas shells, water canons, and batons to disperse them.

APJ Kalam was consensus candidate once, if they get the consensus candidate that will be very good, we will be happy to see that: M Banerjee pic.twitter.com/J80kmRHj99  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

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New Delhi:

Pakistan on Thursday condemned the honouring of Indian Army office, Major Leetul Gogoi, who tied a civilian in Kashmir to a vehicle and used him as human shield.

"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used aKashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters during the weekly briefing at Islamabad, Pakistan.

The international community, particularly, the UN should take cognizance of the act, he added. Gogoi, a Major in the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chief's commendation card for his"sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations".

Zakaria further accused India of perpetrating and financingterrorism in Pakistan, saying the confessional statement ofIndian prisoner on death row Kulbushan Jadhav confirms it.

Talking about the International Court of Justice rulingin the Jadhav case, he said Pakistan is preparing for the nexthearing of the case. Zakaria said Kashmir should be demilitarised to implementUNSC resolutions so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their right to self determination.

ALSO READ: Tied man to jeep to save local people from stone-pelters, says Major Leetul Gogoi

On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it wouldbring benefits for the entire region and not just for Pakistanand China. He said several countries have expressed desire tojoin the project.

READ: Major Leetul Gogoi who tied man to jeep in Kashmir awarded by Army Chief for counter-insurgency operations

With PTI inputs

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New Delhi:

The Chinese military claimed on Thursday that it was paying attention to the incident in which an Indian Air Force fighter jet with two pilots on board went missing along the Sino-India border two days ago.

Paying "close attention" to it, Chinese defence spokesman Col Ren Guochang said when asked at a briefing about whether the Chinese military would cooperate in tracing the missing Sukhoi fighter jet. However, he declined to give any details and said that the foreign ministry has reacted on the issue on Wednesday.

Ren's remarks appeared slightly positive compared to the curt comments of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kangwho had said that he has no information on the missing planeand warned India that it should avoid disrupting peace andstability in Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as 'South Tibet'.

"For the situation you mentioned, I have no relevantinformation to offer at the moment," Lu had told the media when asked about the missing Indian Air Force plane along the India-China border.

ALSO READ: Indian Air Force Su-30 aircraft loses radio contact after take off in Tezpur; search operation on

At the same time, he referred to the border dispute between India and China, saying that "first of all on the eastern section of the India-China border, China's position is consistent and clear."

READ: Search for Indian Air Forces Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet hit by rough weather

"We hope India can stick to the arrangements reached between the two sides and avoid disrupting peace and stability at the border areas," Lu had said. The SU-30 MKI plane had lost contact with the Tezpur Saloni bari Air Force station from where it took off at 10.30am on Tuesday.

With PTI inputs

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hard sell investment opportunities in India in view of several reforms undertaken by his government during his visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France beginning May 29. Announcing the six-day visit of the prime minister, the external affairs ministry in a press release listed out various business events where Modi will be interacting with top industry captains of these countries.



On May 29, Modi will be hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at her official Meseberg Country Retreat where the two leaders will discuss issues of mutual interest. It will be followed by more formal engagement on May 30 when the two leaders will hold the 4th India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC).



Modi along with Merkel will also jointly address a trade event on May 30 where top CEOs from both the sides will be present.



The prime minister will pay a courtesy call on German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the ministry said, adding India and Germany enjoy a strategic partnership. The upcoming Prime Ministers visit will give further boost to this special relationship.



In Spain, which is Modis second port of call, he will meet President Mariano Rajoy on May 31 and discuss bilateral and other issues of mutual interest. He would also call on King Felipe VI of Spain.



He (Modi) would also have a round-table interaction with leading Spanish business leaders who are keen to invest in India. Prime Ministers visit to Spain will add further strength to the existing warm and friendly India-Spain bilateral ties, the ministry said.



From Spain, Modi will travel to St Petersburg in Russia on June 1 where he will hold the 18th India-Russia annual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.



They are expected to review the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations and review the progress made since the last summit held in Goa on October 15, 2016.

ALSO READ | Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project is successful, South Asia Satellite to be a friendly bird in sky



It is the first time that the annual summit will be held in Russia outside Moscow.



Following the summit, the prime minister will participate, also for the first time, in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 2, 2017 as Guest of Honour, the MEA said.



The prime minister will also visit Paris on June 2 and 3 where he will hold official talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and discuss issues of mutual interest with a view to further strengthen India-France strategic ties. This is Modis first meeting with Macron, who was elected as French president earlier this month.

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New Delhi:

Protesters in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) held demonstrations against illegal detention of political leaders, according to reports. The protesters in Rawalkot are pressing for the immediate release of political leaders and also raised 'Azadi' slogans against Pakistan.

A video showing protests being held at PoK's Rawalkot has also emerged. Similar protests were held in PoK in the month of May when the college students raised 'azadi' slogans against Pakistan in PoK's Hazira. A video showing students' protests had also emerged.

The protests are part of anger of the people of PoK against the attrocities by Pakistan.

ALSO READ | OBOR: India and Japan, after giving China a snub, plan to fund multiple projects; SL backs New Delhi's PoK concern

#WATCH: Protests in POK against illegal detention of political leaders, pressing for their immediate release; 'Azadi' slogans raised(May 24) pic.twitter.com/2rr2LwiHTe  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Rawalakot: Protests in POK against illegal detention of political leaders, pressing for their immediate release; 'Azadi' slogans also raised pic.twitter.com/nuEgVCHal5

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New Delhi:

The 21-year-old son of the police inspector who was part of the team that investigated Sheena Bora murder case has been arrested by Jodhpur police on Thursday. He was missing since Tuesday after allegedly killing her mother.

Deepali Ganore, the wife of Mumbai police inspector Gyaneshwar Ganore was allegedly stabbed to death by her own son Sidhvant Ganore on Tuesday night.

Deepali Ganore, 42, was found in a pool of blood- she was stabbed in the neck.

After allegedly killing his mother, Sidhwant fled to Jodhpur where Rajasthan Police arrested him from a hotel near railway station on a tip from an informer.

Duriung the investigation he told Jodhpur Police that his mother asked him to show his report card. He was weak in study and even missed his exams and didn't have the report card.

Sheena Bora case: Special CBI court frames murder charges against Indrani and Peter Mukerjea

After killing her mother he left a note saying,"I was tired to her catch and hang me... :)"

Around 1am Ganore spotted the keys to his house in the dustbin kept outside the door. He went inside and found his wife in pool of blood in the bedroom, said Mumbai police.

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New Delhi:

President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday that there should always be room for the "argumentative Indian" but not the "intolerant Indian", emphasising discussion and dissension as crucial for decision-making in the country.



"Our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India," Mukherjee said, delivering the first Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.



He said India's pluralism and its social, cultural, linguistic and racial diversity have been the bedrock of Indian civilisation.

Read | President Pranab says attack on doctors by patients' kin unacceptable



"That's why we need to be sensitive to dominant narratives, of those who make the loudest noise, drowning out those who disagree.



"That's why social media and broadcast news have seen angry, aggressive posturing by state and non-state players literally hounding out contrarian opinions," the President said.



President Mukherjee said Indian civilisation has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance.



"As I have said before, discussion, dissension are crucial to public debate for decision-making in a vibrant, healthy democracy such as India's. There should always be room for the argumentative Indian but not for the intolerant Indian. "That would be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of India, to the very idea of India," Mukherjee said.

Read | President Pranab Mukherjee signs ordinance to amend Banking Regulation Act



Mukherjee said people here and globally are living in challenging times.



"Even as the youth look to the future, there has been considerable questioning of the past in the public discourse over the last few years. Each generation has the right to look back and reassess the strengths and weaknesses of the past. Let the brave new India draw its own conclusions," the President said.



Mukherjee said the spirit of tolerance and accommodation towards each other and those who differ from us is "what makes us Indians".



Talking about the role of the media, he said the press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to the powers that be and it will have to simultaneously judge the frivolous from the factual and publicity from reportage.



Mukherjee said the news organisations need to ask themselves how they can find sustainable economic models that will allow them to resist all kinds of pressures and let them perform their role with honesty and transparency.



"However, such inquiry should not be blinkered by biases or resisted with a closed mind. Indian history and centuries' old civilisation is replete with examples of a willingness of the people to, as I have said, 'doubt, disagree and dispute intellectually'. "This is the bedrock of our nation, our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India," the President said.



For centuries, India has witnessed a clash of civilisations and philosophies and survived it all to grow into the world's largest functioning democracy, he said.



"The question that faces all of us including the media is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative?" Mukherjee asked.



He said if the media believes in the freedom of expression, a free and a fearless independent media, it must choose to reflect a plurality of opinions for that is what breathes life into our democracy and has defined us as Indians.



"It must always remember that its fundamental task is to stand up and ask questions with honesty and fairness. That's the sacred compact it has with citizens in a democracy," the president said.



The President said that there is a need to question those in power as it is fundamental to preserving the nation and a truly democratic society. He also underscored the need for greater accomodation in public discourse as democracy will be the "loser" if people refused to hear voices other than their own.



Mukherjee said all stakeholders in a democratic system, from parties to business leaders, citizens to institutions, have to realise that asking questions is good and healthy.

Mukherjee said people in power, across the spectrum of politics, business or civil society, by virtue of the position they enjoy, tend to dominate the discourse and influence its direction.

He said this role of asking questions has been traditionally played by the media.



"It (media) must raise and create awareness about issues concerning public welfare, hold public or private institutions and their representatives accountable for their actions or indeed, their inaction.

Read | GST bill: President Pranab Mukherjee clears four supporting legislations



"In particular, the media has a duty to give space to the millions who still face the injustices of deprivation, gender discrimination, caste and social bias," Mukherjee said. He said media must learn the art of "withstanding pulls and pressures" without sacrificing its commitment to free and fair reportage, and always remain on guard against conformity. "The question that faces all of us including the media is whether we will choose to define ourselves as a nation enriched by the diversity of views or allow partisan views to dominate our national narrative? "We ought to remember that democracy will be the loser when and if we cease to hear voices other than our own," the President said.



Mukherjee also raised concern over the danger of paid news and asked news organisations to restore objectivity to regain public trust. "There is the ever present danger of 'paid news'. Ownership of media, concentration of ownership and distribution platforms in a few hands, and the personal beliefs of individual journalists can and do create conflicts of interest.



"They also reduce the plurality and diversity of the media. Objectivity has to be restored to regain public trust," he said. Mukherjee said media houses needed to ask themselves how they can find sustainable economic models that will allow them to resist all kinds of pressures and let them perform their role with honesty and transparency.

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United Nations:

The United Nations has dismissed Pakistan Army's allegation that the Indian Army targeted its military observers near the Line of Control. The UN said that there was "no evidence" of them being attacked.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there was no evidence that an UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) vehicle was targeted by the Indian Army along the LoC near the Khanjar sector.

"I can say to you that this afternoon in Bhimber district, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, UNMOGIP military observers accompanied by Pakistani Army escorts heard gunshots in their vicinity. There is no evidence that the UNMOGIP military observers were targeted by the gunfire. No UN military observer was injured," he told reporters on Thursday.

Read | After Pakistan Army and Air Force, its Navy also warns India amid ongoing tensions; says 'fully capable to thwart any aggression'

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, had said that a vehicle carrying two officers of the UN military observer group came under attack by Indian troops during a visit to the LoC.

The Pakistan Army had claimed the vehicle was carrying UNMOGIP officers Major Emmanual of the Philippines and Major Mirko of Croatia.

Asked about the increasing tension between the south Asian neighbours and whether the UN secretary-general will look into the situation, Dujarric reiterated, "we're obviously concerned at the situation in Kashmir, and it's an issue that the secretary-general is following closely."

Read | Pakistan accuses India of diverting nuclear materials obtained under NSG waiver to make weapons

According to the UN Security Council mandate of 1971, UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the LoC and the Working Boundary between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.

India has maintained that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. The observer group is headed by Major Gen Per Lodin of Sweden. It currently has 38 military observers and 73 civilian personnel.

Read | CPEC may instigate more tensions between India and Pakistan: UN report

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New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched an immunisation campaign against Encephalitis disease in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

This massive immunisation campaign will be launched in 38 eastern districts of the state starting from May 25 to June 11 to protect children from the deadly disease that has been claiming hundreds of lives annually.

The campaign will include children up to 15 years of age and will cover over 88 lakh children for which the central government has provided one crore vaccines.

Read more: Saharanpur violence: Section 144 imposed, social media banned as Yogi Adityanath govt struggles to restore peace

Some 40,000 children have died of the disease in the past four decades in the region and about 85 per cent cases of Japanese Encephalitis and AES are reported among Dalits and minorities.

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New Delhi:

A teary-eyed Uzma Ahmed hailed India as the best country in the world after she was repatriated on Thursday after a harrowing time in Pakistan.



Uzma wiped the tears from her eyes as she hugged her mother. And then, as her eyes welled up again, she bent down to pick up her three-year-old daughter.



Delhi resident Uzma broke down several times at an interaction with the media in the Capital.



Forced to marry a Pakistani national identified as Tahir Ali, she managed to return to India after the Islamabad high court allowed her to leave Pakistan, forcing Ali, who had taken away her immigration papers, to return them to her.

Read | Indian woman Uzma, who was forced to marry in Pakistan, returns home; Sushma Swaraj welcomes her

She recounted a tale of horror, of being forced to live in a "Taliban-like region" in Pakistan, which she described as a "well of death".

Questions were not asked at the conference organised by the ministry of external affairs, so the details of her story were often hazy. She had met Ali in Malaysia, and the two had fallen in love. She left for Pakistan with him sometime in the beginning of May, she said.

"My plan of going to Pakistan was for leisure. I had planned to return by May 10 or 12. But, it wasn't like that at all when I reached there. You can call it a kidnapping situation," she said.

"After we crossed the Wagah Border, nothing felt right," she said.

At some point of time, she said, she had been given a sleeping pill by Ali and taken to "an unusual village" called Buner.

Uzma, it seemed, had been taken to the remote Buner district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where she was married to Ali on May 3, allegedly at gunpoint.

"The language was totally different there and the people were unusual, too. I was kept there, and I was beaten up," she said. There were "big guns" in the house where she was put up, and Ali carried a pistol with him, she said. She could hear sounds of firing every day.

"I realised I may not have been alone there. There were other girls, perhaps not Indian nationals, maybe from the Philippines. Many of girls there have not been able to leave the place," she said.

Emotionally overwhelmed, she often cried while narrating her story at the briefing, in which minister Swaraj was also present.

Uzma said she was an "adopted child" but the government made her feel she was "India's daughter". She thanked Swaraj, her ministry and officials of the Indian high commission in Islamabad for ensuring her safe return. "I am here today only because of Sushma Ma'am, who kept track of me all through this episode. She told me that I was 'Hindustan ki Beti', her daughter, and that I need not worry. These words gave me strength when I was totally torn inside," she said.

It was not clear how she reached Islamabad from Buner. But once there, she took refuge at the Indian high commission, which took up her case, providing her with legal aid.

"She (Swaraj) told me that I could stay at the high commission for even 2-3 years but she would not let me go back to that man (Tahir). I had never expected that the government would do so much for me," Uzma added.

Swaraj, while recalling the episode, said Uzma was so distressed that she told high commission officials she would commit suicide if she was not rescued.

"She came to the mission counter, and she had such a terrified look on her face that we immediately took her inside and gave her all support," India's deputy high commissioner in Pakistan JP Singh said.

The Islamabad high court on Wednesday allowed her to return to India after she appealed to the court to direct Ali to return her documents.

Soon after crossing the Wagah Border into India, she kissed the ground and touched the soil to her forehead -- a gesture that Swaraj said "indeed made her India's daughter". "You sent out a powerful message with that gesture. And, for us at the MEA, it was a compliment, as you reposed faith in our mission in a foreign land," Swaraj said.

"Your identity as an Indian national was enough for us to help you," the minister asserted. Uzma called Pakistan a place which was easy to go to but difficult to return from. "It is a well of death ('maut ka kuan')," she said. "Touching the soil of my homeland, I heaved a sigh of relief. I could breathe the air of freedom. There is no place in the world like India."

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New Delhi:

The family of the Indian woman Uzma Ahmed who was stranded in Pakistan thanked the government and said it never thought she would be back home this soon.

Uzma reached India on Thursday morning, crossing the Wagah Border near Amritsar from Pakistan, after being allowed to return home by the Islamabad High Court.

She was accompanied by Indian Mission officials.

We did not expect that she would back this soon, Uzmas brother Wasim Ahmad, happy at the quick turn of events, told reporters in New Delhi.

He added that the family had to do little for her return.

We did not have to do any running around. We got a call from (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj that Uzma had contacted the Indian Mission in Islamabad and her return to the country was being facilitated, Ahmad said, expressing the familys gratitude to the Indian government.

Uzma, who is in her early 20s and belongs to New Delhi, is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir Ali in Malaysia.

Pakistan is well of death, I want to thank Sushma Swaraj and PM Modi, because of them I am alive: Uzma Ahmed

She told the Islamabad High Court that Ali forced her into marrying him in Pakistan on May 3, when she was visiting that country.

She petitioned the court on May 12, requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassaemiaa blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

The court ordered Ali to return her immigration papers which she said had been taken away from her. Ali submitted the documents, enabling her to leave Pakistan.

Ahmad said it was not clear what had happened to Uzma during her Pakistan visit.

We dont know what exactly happened with her there. We will get to know the truth from her when she is back here. So far we have only been hearing from the media, he said.

Minister Swaraj welcomed Uzma back home, calling her Indias daughter.

I am sorry for all that you have gone through, she tweeted.

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New York:

According to a new study, Marijuana extract may help reduce the frequency of seizures in patients with a rare and severe form of epilepsy by nearly 40 per cent.

Dravet syndrome is a rare genetic epilepticencephalopathy (dysfunction of the brain) that begins in the first year of life in an otherwise healthy infant.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound in the cannabis plant that does not contain psychoactive properties that induce ahigh.

"Cannabidiol should not be viewed as a panacea forepilepsy, but for patients with especially severe forms who have not responded to numerous medications, these results provide hope that we may soon have another treatment option,"said Orrin Devinsky, professor at New York University Langone Medical Centre in the US.

Researchers studied about 120 children and adolescents with Dravet Syndrome between the ages of 2 and 18 years.

Participants were randomised across 23 sites in the USand Europe to receive either CBD 20 milligrammes/kilogrammesor placebo was added to their existing treatment over a 14-week period.

Seizure frequency was tracked for one month prior to and during the course of the study for baseline readings.

Also Read: Smoking marijuana during adolescence linked to verbal IQ difficulties

Researchers found that seizure frequency dropped in the CBS-treated group by 39 per cent from a median of nearly 12 convulsive seizures per month before the study to about six.

Three patients' seizures stopped entirely. In the placebogroup, there was a 13 per cent reduction in seizures from about 15 monthly seizures to 14, researchers said.

The difference in the degree of seizure reduction betweenthe BCD group and the placebo group was both statistically significant and clinically consistent.

Side effects - experienced by 93.4 per cent of patientsin the BCD group and 74.6 per cent of those treated with placebo - were generally reported as mild or moderate inseverity.

Also Read: Police seize seven quintals of marijuana from village in Jharkhand

The most common side effects in the BCD group werevomiting, fatigue and fever, researchers said. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Washington:

President Donald Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un a "madman with nuclear weapons" during a telephone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, according to a transcript of the conversation released by US media yesterday.



A White House readout of the April 29 call characterised it as a "very friendly conversation." Days after the conversation, Trump said publicly that he would be "honoured" to meet with Kim.



But in the call, Trump hinted at a possible dramatic escalation on the Korean Peninsula.



"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that. We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20, but we don't want to use it," the US leader said, citing "two nuclear submarines" the Pentagon sent to the area last month.

Also Read | India-US relationship has never been stronger: Trump administration

Transcribed by the Philippine government, the conversation was released by The Washington Post and The Intercept.



Trump also queried Duterte about whether he believed Kim was "stable or not stable." The Philippine leader responded that their North Korean counterpart's "mind is not working and he might just go crazy one moment."



Kim has a "dangerous toy in his hands that could create so much agony and suffering for all mankind," he added.



But Trump appeared reassured that North Korea's recent missile tests had failed, saying that "all his rockets are crashing. That's the good news."



Turning to China and its ability to counter the nuclear threat, Trump pressed Duterte to call Chinese President Xi Jinping to exert pressure.



"I hope China solves the problem. They really have the means because a great degree of their stuff come through China," Trump said, adding: "But if China doesn't do it, we will do it."



Duterte agreed. However, he cautioned, starkly, that "the other option is a nuclear blast, which is not good for everybody.





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New Delhi:

Former Prime Minister of Greece Lucas Papademos along with two other people were wounded by an explosive device hidden in an envelope, according to police.

The 69-year-old was rushed to hospital following the blast inside a car in central Athens on Thursday. A government spokesman claimed that the explosion was an attack and said all three who had been hurt - including Mr Papademos - were in a "stable condition, conscious and are undergoing all the necessary medical tests".

Papademos was appointed caretaker prime minister in November 2011 following concerns the country would exit the Eurozone. He remained in the position until May 2012 when elections were held.

ALSO READ: Thailand: Bomb blast at Bangkok military hospital injures 20

Former Greek PM Lucas Papademos is hurt when explosive device goes off inside his car https://t.co/Gh5fF9v5YW pic.twitter.com/MaHjoI76JG  AFP news agency (@AFP) May 25, 2017

Previously, he had served as the vice president of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010 and as governor of the Bank of Greece from 1994 to 2002.

READ: Egypt: At least 45 killed, over 120 injured in a powerful bomb blast inside church

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WASHINTON:

Tensions have escalated between the US and China after the former sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump.

The move by the US has prompted China to say that the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty.



The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, conducted a patrol within 20 kilometres of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims.

The exercise is the first since October. Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law."

Read | Freedom of navigation: US sends Navy ship near artificial island in disputed South China Sea

The patrols are "not about any one country, or anybody of water," he told the Wall Street Journal in a statement.

The "freedom of navigation" operation is a signal intended by the US to assert its intention to keep critical sea lanes open, The Hill newspaper reported.

"In conducting the freedom of navigation patrol, President Trump is likely to anger China at a time when the USis seeking increased cooperation with the country to help rein in North Korea," it said. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. ButTaiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam have rival claims over the region.

Since 1979, the freedom of navigation programme has demonstrated non-acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world. It includes consultations and representation by US diplomats and operational activities by US military forces, another Pentagon official said.

Read | Countering China's OBOR, US revives two infra projects in Asia

In February USS Carl Vinson Strike Group arrived in South China Sea but did not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations(FONOPS) against Chinese maritime claims around its artificial-island bases in the Spratly and Paracel islands. Early this month, Davis told foreign journalist that the FONOPS is a routine activity carried out by the US around the world.

"We did last fiscal year, freedom of navigation assertions against 22 different countries all over the world.Many of those countries are friends and allies," he said.

"It's not about one country. It's not about one body of water. Unfortunately, I think the public narrative has made it about China and the South China Sea.

It's not that. It's about asserting international rights to navigate in waters that international law accepts, and these are rights and benefits that benefit all countries on Earth, to include China," Davis said. "We do these. We will continue to do them," the Pentagon spokesman said.

In an annual FNOPS report released by the Pentagon in February, the Department of Defence said that in 2016 it carried out freedom of navigation operations against 22 countries, including India. Other major countries were Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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New Delhi:

The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday permitted Indian national Uzma, who has accused her Pakistani husband of marrying her at gunpoint, to return to India and directed the police to escort her till the Wagah border.

A bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, ordered the directive after returning her original immigration form. the form was submitted in court by her husband, Tahir.

Tahir wanted to meet Uzma in private, which the later refused. Justice Kayani said that if Uzma does not want to meet Tahir, then she won't be forced.

On May 19, Uzma had submitted a 6-page reply to the High Court and reiterated her earlier claims and said that she was forced to sign the Nikkahnama [marriage papers].

Islamabad High Court also ordered that police provide security to Indian woman Uzma till Wagah Border: Pakistan media  ANI (@ANI_news) May 24, 2017

Last week, a senior Indian diplomats cellphone was seized inside a Pakistani court during the hearing of Uzma case.

According to reports, Piyush Singh, in charge of visas and consular access, was allegedly using his phone to click pictures inside the Islamabad High Court during the hearing in Uzma case.

Also Read: Indian national arrested in Pakistan for not carrying visa

Pakistani media reported that Singh was seen taking pictures, while he told court that he was texting and not using the camera of the phone. Later, the cellphone was returned to him and no charges were pressed against him.

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New Delhi:

The suspected Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, who detonated himself in a pop-concert in the city passed through a German airport before the attack, police said on Thursday.

Salman Abedi spent only a short time at Duesseldorf airports transit area four days before the bombing at Manchester Arena, Duesseldorf police said, confirming an earlier report in German magazine Focus.

According to the current state of the investigations, the suspect transferred in Duesseldorf on his travels to Manchester. Therefore he spent a short time in the transit area, police said in a statement.

Police didnt provide any further information or say where Abedi was coming from when he landed in Duesseldorf.

Salman Abedis Father Ramadan was arrested by Tripoli-based force. Ramadan was once part of a Libyan militant group with alleged ties to Al-Qaeda, a Libyan security source said.

Manchester terror attack: UK police make seventh arrest

Abedis father Ramadan was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), said Ahmed bin Salem, spokesman for Libyas Deterrence Force, which acts as the police for Libyas unity government.

The Tripoli-based force arrested Abedis father and brother after Mondays attack at a pop concert which killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Ramadan Abedi was hunted by the regime of Moamer Kadhafi for his ties to the group, finding refuge in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 to join the NATO-backed uprising that finally overthrew the dictator, British media have reported.

The now-disbanded LIFG was founded in 1995 by Libyans who had fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan and stayed on after their withdrawal. The groups sole aim was to topple Kadhafi.

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Marawi (Philippines):

Army tanks packed with soldiers rolled into a southern Philippine city on Thursday as gunfire and explosions rang out after militants linked to the Islamic State group torched buildings, seized more than a dozen Catholic hostages and raised the black flag of ISIS.



At least 21 people have died in fighting that erupted late Tuesday, when the army raided the Marawi hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washingtons list of most-wanted terrorists and has a USD 5 million bounty on his head.



The operation went wrong as the militants called in reinforcements and swept through the mostly Muslim city of 200,000 people. Hapilons whereabouts were not clear, but there was no indication he was captured in the raid.



President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the southern third of the nation, home to some 22 million people, and warned he may expand it nationwide.



He vowed to be harsh.



If I think that you should die, you will die, he said yesterday. If you fight us, you will die. If there is open defiance, you will die. And if it means many people dying, so be it.



As details of the attack in Marawi city emerged, fears mounted that the largest Roman Catholic nation in Asia could be falling into a growing list of countries grappling with the spread of influence from the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.



Thousands of people were fleeing the city Thursday, jamming their belongings into cars. Plumes of black smoke rose in the distance and two air force helicopters could be seen flying over the city center.



Mohammad Usman, a 49-year-old Marawi resident, said some people are likely trapped with no way out.



At night we can hear the gunfire. Im just praying that the bullets will not find its way to my house and hit us, he said as he left the city. I hope that the bombs will not land nearby and harm us.



Although much of the city is sealed off, disturbing details were trickling out.



Duterte said a local police chief was stopped at a militant checkpoint and beheaded. Military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said the militants erected Islamic State flags at several locations.

ALSO READ | Painkillers worth $75 million sent from India to be sold to Islamic State terrorists seized by Italian Police



Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Pena said the militants forced their way into the Marawi Cathedral and seized a Catholic priest, 10 worshippers and three church workers.



Martial law allows Duterte to use the armed forces to carry out arrests, searches and detentions more rapidly. He has repeatedly threatened to place the south, the scene of decades-long Muslim separatist uprisings, under martial law.

ALSO READ | Top Malaysian Islamic State operative Muhammad Wanndy killed in Syria



But human rights groups have expressed fears that martial law powers could further embolden Duterte, whom they have accused of allowing extrajudicial killings of thousands of people in his crackdown on illegal drugs.



Hapilon, an Arabic-speaking Islamic preacher known for his expertise in commando assaults, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2014. He is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group and was wounded by a military airstrike in January.



While pursuing peace talks with two large Muslim rebel groups in the south, Duterte has ordered the military to destroy smaller extremist groups which have tried to align with the Islamic State group.

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Washington:

A man in the United States attempted suicide by firing a bullet to his head but it went through him and fatally struck his girlfriend, according to US prosecutors. Though, the man was severely injured in the act.



Victor Sibson, 21, from Anchorage, Alaska, has been accused of killing his girlfriend while attempting to kill himself. He appeared in court on Sunday and a grand jury indicted him on a charge of second-degree murder.



Police responded to a 911 call in at a club at an apartment complex in Midtown last month, and found Sibson, and 22-year-old Brittany-Mae Haag suffering from critical gunshot wounds.

ALSO READ: Missing Delhi CA commits suicide in UPs Muzaffarnagar: Police



First responders transported both to a local hospital, but Haag died later in the day. Prosecutors believe the incident involved a single bullet.



He had an entry wound on the left side of his head, he had an exit wound on the top of his skull, assistant district attorney James Fayette told KTVA.



He said evidence shows the bullet likely hit Haag, striking her vital organs, after it exited Sibsons skull. A month after the shooting, Sibson turned himself into Anchorage police. He wore a helmet that covered his injuries as he faced a judge.



Sibson said he is unemployed, cannot afford the set USD 250,000 bail, and asked the judge, Could we figure out if Im guilty or not today? The judge entered a procedural not guilty plea on Sibsons behalf. If convicted, Sibson faces up to 99 years in prison.

ALSO READ: Four students from Madhya Pradesh commit suicide after announcement of board exam results

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Los Angeles:

Legal troubles have escalated for 'hot' yoga guru Bikram Choudhury in US after a court issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with a sexual harassment case, a media report has said.

Choudhury, the millionaire founder of global fitness business, had been asked to pay over seven million dollars by the court in this regard. However, he has not paid the amount and last year claimed he was nearly bankrupt.



Authorities believe the 69-year-old has hid his assets and left the country, the ABC News reported.



According to the report, the warrant allows authorities to arrest him if he returns to the US or, possibly, in Mexico.

Read | 'Yoga' one of the most popular words in Britain: Study



In January last year, a jury determined that Choudhury had sexually harassed and then unfairly fired Minakshi "Miki" Jafa-Bodden, his onetime lawyer.

He was ordered to pay nearly 6.5 million dollar in punitive damages in addition to 924,000 dollar in compensatory damages.

Jafa-Bodden was general counsel to Bikram's Yoga College of India but was fired after refusing to cover up allegations that Bikram had raped and sexually assaulted a yoga student.

"I feel vindicated," she told ABC News in 2016. "I'm elated." She convinced the jury that Choudhury had repeatedly sexually harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women.

She also claimed she was fired after she tried to investigate another woman's sexual harassment and rape allegations against him.

During the trial over Jafa-Bodden's allegations, Bikram strongly denied sexually assaulting any women. He also denied to ABC News ever having any sexual contact with his students or followers. Bail was set at 8 million dollar, the report said.

Choudhury was one of the pioneers of yoga in the US, setting up shop in Beverly Hills in the 1970s. Celebrities including Madonna, Andy Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow and Goldie have all participated in Bikram yoga. Now his yoga studios are franchised worldwide.

Created by Choudhury 'Bikram Yoga', as this form of yoga is known, is made up of a series of 26 postures which are performed in an extremely hot room.

The 90-minute classes are taught in in rooms heated to 40.5C exactly. Because of this consistency across the world, Choudhury refers to the practice as McYoga.

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DANBURY  A newborn boy abandoned behind a Main Street grocery store over the weekend was listed in good condition at Danbury Hospital on Wednesday, authorities said. The identity of his mother is still a mystery.

Police found the baby, its umbilical cord still attached, on Sunday night in the bushes behind Zaytuna Grocery at 397 Main St. They said he was cold and crying when they found him.

Officers had received a 911 call around 11:40 p.m. from someone who said they found the baby wrapped in several pieces of womens clothing. The identity of the person who made the call remains unknown.

The baby was taken to Danbury Hospital and admitted to the hospitalss neonatal unit.

Police said they are searching for the childs mother, who they believe might need medical assistance or other services.

Zaytuna Grocery does not have outdoor security cameras, but managers of nearby businesses said they provided video from their outdoor cameras to detectives.

The manager of the nearby Polla Market told Hearst Connecticut Media one of the stores cameras, which was pointed across the street toward the grocery, might have recorded some activity. But the manager said the recording was fuzzy and difficult to make out. Investigators took a copy of the video, the manager said.

The majority of area shops had closed well before the baby was found, police said.

Nobody interviewed by Hearst on Wednesday saw anything unusual Sunday night, except for the police activity at the store. The area around Zaytuna has a number of multifamily homes that are primarily rental units.

Several officials pointed out the mother could have taken the baby to a hospital emergency room under the states Safe Haven law.

According to the law, adopted in 2000, an infant 30 days old or younger can be left at a hospital and the parent will not face prosecution. The Department of Children and Families then obtains custody and places the baby with a foster family that intends to adopt the child.

Since Connecticut enacted the law in 2000, 27 babies have been left at hospital emergency rooms, said Pam Sawyer, a former state representative who helped write the original legislation.

Sawyer said Wednesday it was ironic the newborn was found this week, just as the Senate was approving legislation to strengthen the Safe Haven law. The new bill requires abandoned babies be sent directly to a home pre-approved for an adoption.

Its glaring that Connecticut really doesnt do enough to advertise or teach about the law, Sawyer said. The law was designed to be so simple that it could be shared amongst friends on a school bus.

Sawyer said she had supported a proposal that would have made information about the Safe Haven law part of the 10th grade health curriculum, but the measure failed in the Education Committee.

Given the attention of this case, Sawyer said, she and other advocates might try to revive the proposal before the end of the legislative session.

The real tragedy is that because they didnt use the Safe Haven law, this woman could be arrested on child- abandonment charges, she said. But what we most likely have is a scared girl who panicked and didnt know what else to do.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 203-797-4662 or 203-790-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential, they said.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
WASHINGTON  The legislation House Republicans passed this month to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would cover a million more people than their initial version, but that would still increase the number of people without insurance by 23 million within a decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

An estimated 14 million people would lose their coverage within a year, the report said.

The long-awaited analysis also said the bill would shrink the federal budget by cutting Medicaid by $834 billion and reducing subsidies for people who buy insurance on individual exchanges for a savings of $276 billion. The cuts would be especially painful to California, where 1 in 3 residents is insured under the program known as Medi-Cal.

The bill would reduce premiums for younger, healthier people, and raise them for older and sicker people, including those with pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes and cancer, if they could purchase (insurance) at all, the report said. Those whose premiums fall, might find themselves with fewer benefits, meaning that a persons total health care costs could end up rising, the CBO said.

The bill allows states to apply for a waiver that would let them opt out of rules under current law that requires insurers to offer a specific set of what is called essential health benefits, including such things as maternity care, prescription drugs and emergency room care. As a result, the analysis said, people buying insurance on the individual market in those states would experience substantial increases in what they would spend on health care.

Sicker people who want to buy full coverage in such states would face extremely high premiums, the report said.

While the analysis could deal a blow to House efforts to fulfill a campaign promise, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said it again confirms that the American Health Care Act achieves our mission: lowering premiums and lowering the deficit. He called the report another positive step toward keeping our promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

But Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called the bill nothing short of a disaster, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, took aim at provisions in the bill that the CBO said repeal $992.4 billion in taxes on high-income earners and insurers.

Trumpcare is a billionaires tax cut disguised as a health care bill: one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in our history, Pelosi said.

Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price criticized the report. The CBO was wrong when they analyzed Obamacares effect on cost and coverage, and they are wrong again. he said.

House Republicans passed the amended American Health Care Act with just two votes to spare May 4 without hearing first from the CBO, a nonpartisan arm of Congress that helps legislators determine the effect of legislation on the public, the economy and the federal budget.

In an analysis of the Republicans original version, the CBO forecast that 24 million people would lose their coverage by 2026 and cause premiums to soar for two years. That analysis doomed the legislation, forcing Ryan to abruptly yank it from the floor to avoid a humiliating defeat.

Republicans introduced the new version under pressure from President Trump to produce a bill. It included extra money to help people stay insured and win over GOP moderates and was supported by every Republican House member of the California delegation, many of whom are in swing districts and stayed on the fence until the last moment. No Democrats voted for the bill.

Three California Republicans  Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County), David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County) and Steve Knight of Lancaster (Los Angeles County)  sponsored the amendment that proved critical to its passage.

The fresh analysis could doom prospects for health legislation in the Senate, which has been struggling to come up with its own approach, while waiting for the House version.

Senate Republicans are divided between moderates who want to fix the current law and conservatives who want to dismantle it.

Republican leaders have promised to rewrite the amended House bill, and are trying to work out compromises. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Reuters on Wednesday that, at this point, he sees no path even to a simple majority on health legislation, a strong signal that Republicans may be abandoning repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

I dont know how we get to 50 at this point, McConnell said, but thats the goal.

Republicans must pass health legislation before they tackle their top priority, tax reform. Thats because, with support from Democrats unlikely, theyll have to rely on a simple majority vote, and they can do that only by employing the reconciliation rule. The complicated rule can only be used on one major issue at a time.

The health legislation faces opposition from organizations such as AARP and the American Medical Association. On Wednesday, AARP announced a new television ad campaign targeting moderate Senate Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Dean Heller of Nevada and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. AARP says the bill imposes an age tax on older people by allowing insurers to charge premiums five times higher than for younger people, versus three times higher under current law.

Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carolynlochhead
From filmmaking to vlogging, Casey Neistat is now sharing another one of his passions: reading.

Thats right, the YouTube personality, filmmaker, vlogger and entrepreneur has started his own book club. In a recent vlog post, Neistat shared his plans of the book club to express the joy that reading brings him. And he wants his fans to share the experience with him. Reading is like leaving the house," he says in the video. "Yes, you can go your whole life without doing it, but youre not really experiencing all life has to offer if you never leave the house.

Related: 5 Lessons for Success From YouTube Star Casey Neistat

So whats first on Neistats list? The YouTube star made a rather dark choice, kicking off the club with journalist Nick Biltons American Kingpin. The nonfiction book tells the story of Ross Ulbricht, the man behind Silk Road, a billion-dollar website hosted on the dark web where people could buy and sell drugs, firearms and more.

While his first choice might come as a surprise to some, if you read the book, youll find you might relate to some of Ulbrichts characteristics and the events throughout his journey. In so many ways, the programmers and entrepreneurs Ross met were just like him, a line from the book says. Like Neistat, Ulbricht was an entrepreneur (a criminal, nonetheless) himself -- building a billion-dollar business, taking risks (perhaps too many), pushing boundaries and creating something that people wanted.

Related: 10 Books Every Leader Should Read to Be Successful

Still curious? Check out these three excerpts from American Kingpin about entrepreneurship, inspiration and pushing boundaries.

1. On being inspired

The CEOs of these other startups were no different from Ross, either. They had all read the same Ayn Rand books. These chief executives shared the same quotes on Facebook as he did: The question isnt who is going to let me; its who is going to stop me.

2. On setting new boundaries

Ross vehemently disagreed. As long as we dont cross [a] line in our pursuit, DPR wrote to Variety Jones,  then we are only doing good.'

Ha, dude, were criminal drug dealers, VJ responded. What line shouldnt we cross?

Murder; theft, cheating, lying; hurting people,' DPR replied, resentful of the question. That line. We are drawing a new line I guess you could say. According to that line, we arent criminals.

Related: Reading Books Makes You Smarter, Richer and Surprisingly Healthier

3. On running a business

In the current version of the site, it was Rosss world, and he got to decide what went and what didnt. He dictated who got a raise and who didnt. People who worked hard were rewarded, as he has recently done with some focused employees, giving some of them an extra few hundred in Bitcoin when they excelled.

Related:

Make the Most of Instagram's 'Vanity' Features

How Team Review Meetings Can Increase Collaboration

Grants and Loans for Women-Owned Businesses



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The following excerpt is from the staff of Entrepreneur Medias book Finance Your Business. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes

In 2016, there were an estimated 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States -- a 45 percent increase since 2007, according to The 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report from American Express. This percentage increase exceeded the national average of business growth during the same time frame by five times. It also illustrated what we already know: Women entrepreneurs are having a tremendous impact on the small-business landscape nationwide.

Related: Landing a Revenue-Sharing Deal to Finance Your Business

Yet to continue to be competitive and grow, these entrepreneurs have to find funding for their ventures. And, alarmingly, women entrepreneurs are increasingly being turned away by banks for small-business loans. Thankfully, they have other options, given the rise of technology-driven financial lending sources, such as online loans, peer-to-peer loans and crowdfunding.

Then there are government grants. While not widely known or used, these grants are another great option for women seeking extra funding for their business ventures. They just take a little more work.

Understanding grants

Business owners often turn to grants because theyre not required to pay them back; essentially, you can look at grants as free money, although they come with stipulations. Also, understanding and navigating the grant process can be complex.

First, you have to research and find a grant for which youre eligible. Then you have to understand the strict application and compliance guidelines you must meet to be eligible. You must devote time and energy to the lengthy application process, and then wait for approval. You have to compete with other businesses for the same pool of money. And finally, if youre awarded a grant, you must report on how you used it. In a nutshell, you need to have all your ducks in a row, upfront and afterward.

Finding federal and state grants

Many business owners think federal grants are just a click away. Weve all seen the ads promoting free federal money to start a business, but this is a huge misconception. While there are federal grants available in the areas of medical research, science, education and technology development, no such grants exist specifically for women-owned businesses. You may find grants funding projects that empower women, but such funding is often set aside for nonprofit corporations, not for-profit businesses.

When researching grants specifically for a woman-owned business, start at the state level. Most states offer grants for women-owned businesses in some capacity. Each state website has a business section where you can find grant and funding opportunities for women and minority-owned businesses.

Related: 5 Essentials for Raising Your Growth Round of Financing

Another great resource is the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The MBDA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that assists minorities in establishing and growing their businesses. On its site, you can research grants and access links to state agencies that work with women-owned businesses for funding opportunities. The MBDA provides a list of state agencies here.

Private grants for women

To help in your search, heres some information on a few private grants for women:

The Eileen Fisher Women-Owned Business Grant Program. Five grants are awarded annually. The businesses must be 100 percent women-owned and have founding principles of social consciousness, sustainability and innovation, plus be ready to move to the next phase of development.

FedEx Opportunity Knocks Small Business Grant Contest. Applicants are encouraged to share their visions to receive a portion of the $100,000 awarded in grants. Part of the judging involves the general public voting for the finalists, so participants may promote their businesses while garnering votes.

Idea Cafe Small Business Grant. The Idea Cafe is a free gateway that hosts different grants on its site. One grant is the Small Business Grant, which awards one $1,000 grand prize to a business with the most innovative idea. Visitors to the site vote for the winner.

InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge. This business challenge is sponsored by the SBAs Office of Womens Business Ownership. The top three finalists split $70,000 in prize money for submitting ideas that have an impact on the lives of women.

Small Business Innovation Research. Eleven different federal agencies participate in this awards-based program, which incentivizes and enables small businesses to explore their technological potential.

Small Business Technology Transfer Program. The STTR program reserves a specific percentage of federal research and development funding to provide funding opportunities to small businesses.

Zions Bank -- Smart Women Grants. This Utah-based banks grant annually awards $3,000 across six different categories, including business.

Applying for a grant

Once you find a funding opportunity, there are multiple steps required to apply. Here are a few tips to assist you:

Make sure your business is eligible for the grant: Read the grant synopsis guidelines and eligibility requirements.

Create a checklist for all the required documents.

Follow the rules. Grant applications can be very technical. It wouldnt hurt to have a second (or even third) set of eyes review the application to ensure you have provided all necessary documents.

Start early. Since the application process can sometimes be long, it doesnt hurt to get a jump on things.

Related: Acing Your Pitch to Investors

If you find the grant application process too daunting or lengthy, online lender Kabbage is committed to supporting small-business loans for women business owners. Because its application process is fully automated and online, Kabbage can quickly provide small-business loans of up to $100,000. It uses simple, meaningful revenue data from your business to approve your loan -- not elaborate documentation that takes extensive time to gather.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - On Saturday, May 27, 2017, media are invited to tour Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (Billy Bishop Airport) as part of Doors Open Toronto 2017. This is the second year Billy Bishop Airport will participate in the city-wide event, which last year saw more than 10,000 people visit the airport.

This year's Doors Open Toronto theme "Fifteen Decades of Canadian Architecture" is part of the larger citywide "TO Canada with Love" celebration, which is being held in honour of Canada's 150th birthday. As part of this celebration, Billy Bishop Airport will showcase more than 75 years of providing aviation services to the city of Toronto, including serving as a training base for both the Royal Canadian and Royal Norwegian air forces during WWII.

WHAT: Billy Bishop Airport welcomes media to tour the airport as part of the 18th annual Doors Open Toronto, presented by Great Gulf. Airport staff and partners will be onsite to answer questions and provide visitors with a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse of the airport, including:





Billy Bishop Airport's award-winning underwater pedestrian tunnel, as well as the mainland pavilion and island atrium which play host to a historical exhibit and sculptures relating to the airport's namesake and his role in World War I;

The airport's fire hall and maintenance facility, which will provide the opportunity for kids of all ages to explore the airport's state-of-the-art safety vehicles;

A staging area to view the airport's runway operations, the historic Terminal A building, new Ground Run-up Enclosure, and aircraft;

The opportunity to be one of the first to meet Billy Bishop Airport's new mascot;

The team of falcons who play an important role in the airport's wildlife management program;

Ornge aircraft and facilities that provides Medevac emergency services;

A historical photography exhibit in the island atrium depicting images of the airport and surrounding waterfront; and,

Airport partners and tenants, such as Porter Airlines and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), who will host displays, showcasing the full range of services that the airport provides. The Billy Bishop Airport self-guided tour map can be found here.



WHO: Gene Cabral, Executive Vice President of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and PortsToronto



WHEN: Saturday, May 27, 2017 from 10:00 a.m.  5:00 p.m.





Note: Billy Bishop Airport is only participating in Doors Open Toronto on Saturday



WHERE: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, 2 Eireann Quay, Toronto, ON

Information on getting to Billy Bishop Airport and parking can be found here.



PHOTO OP: Media are invited to tour Billy Bishop Airport as part of Doors Open Toronto, conduct interviews and take photos and/or video.



IMPORTANT: Access to behind-the-scenes areas will only be granted until 5:00 p.m. Last entry will be granted at 4:00 p.m.

About Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

Billy Bishop Airport is Canada's ninth-busiest airport and welcomed 2.7 million business and leisure travellers in 2016. The airport is also Canada's sixth-busiest airport with passenger service into the United States. Offering service to more than 20 cities in Canada and the U.S., with connection opportunities to more than 80 international destinations via our airlines' networks, Billy Bishop Airport is an important international gateway and a key driver to Toronto's economy, accounting for more than $2.1 billion in economic output each year and supporting 6,500 jobs, including 1,960 directly associated with the airport operations.

About PortsToronto (http://www.portstoronto.com)

For more than 100 years PortsToronto has worked with its partners at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to enhance the economic growth of the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. PortsToronto owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which welcomed more than 2.7 million passengers in 2016; the Outer Harbour Marina, one of Canada's largest freshwater marinas; and, Terminals 51 and 52, which provide transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses at the Port of Toronto. PortsToronto is committed to fostering strong, healthy and sustainable communities and has invested more than $9 million since 2009 in charitable initiatives and environmental programs that benefit communities along Toronto's waterfront and beyond. PortsToronto operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act and is guided by a nine-member board with representation from all three levels of government.

About Doors Open Toronto

Since its inception in 2000, Doors Open Toronto has attracted more than two million visits to over 700 unique locations across the city. It is Canada's largest Doors Open event and one of the three largest Doors Open events in the world. Doors Open Toronto is dedicated to celebrating built heritage, architecture and design. It is presented by Great Gulf and produced by the City of Toronto in partnership with the broader community. Look for information and updates at http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen and on social media: Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/doorsopenTO, Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Doors_OpenTO and Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/doors_opento. The event hashtag is #DOT17.

SOURCE PortsToronto

For further information: Media Contacts: PortsToronto, Sarah Sutton, Senior Manager, Communications and Media Relations, Cell: (647) 298-0544, E-mail: [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.portstoronto.com/home.aspx


MONTREAL, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Four women were honoured at the fifth annual BMO Celebrating Women program in Montreal for their remarkable contribution to business and the community in one of three categories: Innovation and Global Growth, Community and Charitable Giving, and Expansion and Growth in Small Business. The program recognizes female leaders in local communities as part of BMO's commitment to drive the advancement of women.

At the Montreal event, the following honourees were recognized:

Innovation and Global Growth: Francine Guay . Ms. Guay is the President of M.I. Integration, which specializes in supplying injected component molds in the automotive sector. She began the company in 1984 and has grown it to two plants  one in Sherbrooke and the second in Mexico .

. Ms. Guay is the President of M.I. Integration, which specializes in supplying injected component molds in the automotive sector. She began the company in 1984 and has grown it to two plants  one in and the second in . Community and Charitable Giving: Dr. Brenda Milner . At 98 years old, Dr. Milner is a full-time professor at McGill University and researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute. In 2007, she established the Brenda Milner Foundation with the funds she received through grants and awards in her career to support neuropsychological research.

. At 98 years old, Dr. Milner is a full-time professor at and researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute. In 2007, she established the Brenda Milner Foundation with the funds she received through grants and awards in her career to support neuropsychological research. Community and Charitable Giving: Vickie Joseph . Ms. Joseph is the founder and designer of Nu.i by Vickie, the co-founder and President of V Kosmetik and the editor-in-chief of BisB magazine. She and her husband co-founded Groupe 3737, a business incubator, and injected $4 million into the renovation of 3737 Cremazie. Ms. Joseph was recently named the Ambassador of the BCHM, a non-profit organization that helps to integrate vulnerable families in Montreal into society.

. Ms. Joseph is the founder and designer of Nu.i by Vickie, the co-founder and President of V Kosmetik and the editor-in-chief of magazine. She and her husband co-founded Groupe 3737, a business incubator, and injected into the renovation of 3737 Cremazie. Ms. Joseph was recently named the Ambassador of the BCHM, a non-profit organization that helps to integrate vulnerable families in into society. Expansion and Growth in Small Business: Genevieve Hardy. Ms. Hardy is the Executive Director of Hardy Filtration Inc., which manufactures a variety of filtration products for various applications. In 2015, Hardy Filtration Inc. was granted financial assistance through the Quebec Economic Development Program to receive equipment to facilitate its expansion into international markets.

"These talented women encourage others in the community and beyond, and deserve to be recognized for the positive work they've done," said Mario Rigante, Senior Vice President, Quebec Division, BMO Bank of Montreal. "We will continue to engage in and grow initiatives that help with the advancement of women."

The BMO Celebrating Women program follows the bank's second Catalyst Award win for its industry-leading work to accelerate diversity and inclusion in its workplace and dedication to gender equality.

In addition, BMO has partnerships with organizations such as GroYourBiz, WBE Canada, Women Presidents' Organization, SheEO and Catalyst. It has also developed products that address the needs of its female clients, including the recent Women in Leadership Mutual Fund  the first impact investing mutual fund offered by a Canadian bank focused on gender diversity  and spearheaded studies around women entrepreneurs, such as A Force to Reckon With: Women, Entrepreneurs & Risk  an eye-opening report in partnership with Carleton University that debunked myths around the notion of women being risk averse.

For more information about BMO Celebrating Women, please visit: bmoforwomen.com and join the social conversation using #BMOforWomen.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817, and currently marking its 200th year of operations, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America. With total assets of $719 billion as of April 30, 2017, and more than 45,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

For further information: Media Contacts: Mark Beazley, Toronto, [email protected], (416) 867-3996; Valerie Doucet, Montreal, [email protected], (514) 877-8224; Web: www.bmo.com Twitter: @BMOmedia
The Government of Canada supports Celebrate Canada festivities in communities across the country

CALGARY, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Associate Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament (Calgary Centre), along with Darshan Kang, Member of Parliament (Calgary Skyview), today announced $700,000 in funding for the City of Calgary's "Calgary Celebrates Canada 150" public celebration on July 1. Minister Hehr made this announcement on behalf of the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

This funding will allow the City of Calgary to offer enhanced Canada Day celebrations at some of the city's most iconic venues, including Prince's Island Park, Olympic Plaza, East Village, Chinatown, Riverfront Avenue, Eau Claire Market, Festival Market Park and Fort Calgary. Residents and visitors alike will be treated to a range of activities featuring local and national artists, as well as Francophone and Indigenous performances. Thanks to Government of Canada support, major celebrations will be taking place in Calgary and 18 other urban centres across the country to celebrate Canada Day like never before.

The Government of Canada has also invested in more than 1,500 Canada-wide projects and activities as part of Celebrate Canadawhich includes National Aboriginal Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day and Canada Dayplacing communities at the heart of Canada 150 celebrations. A total of $179,435 has been invested in the greater Calgary region and Southern Alberta through this program (see attached backgrounder). Celebrate Canada festivities are an opportunity to highlight what makes communities across the country so unique, diverse and vibrant.

The government is proud to support local, regional and national activities designed to help Canadians across the country take part in celebrations, and to make 2017 an unforgettable year.

Quotes

"Canada 150 is a unique opportunity for communities to celebrate all that it means to be Canadian. Celebrations will be taking place across the country, culminating with Canada Day. Join friends and family and take part in these celebrations during this exceptional year!"

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"In this year of celebrating Canada 150, Canada Day festivities will highlight what makes our country unique, diverse and vibrant. I invite all Albertans to take part in the activities throughout the Celebrate Canada period. On this important anniversary, take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to celebrate everything that makes Canada a great place to live."

The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Associate Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament (Calgary Centre)

"We have so much history and culture to celebrate and take pride in this year. Anyone who has ever been to our great city knows its boundless enthusiasm, its deep sense of community spirit, and its shared values and traditions. I look forward to seeing Calgarians come together in this especially memorable year to honour all the wonderful things that make us proud to call this place home."

Darshan Kang, Member of Parliament (Calgary Skyview)

"We are thrilled to be the Canada 150 celebration site for Southern Alberta. Canadian Heritage's support will make this Canada Day in Calgary an amazing experience for all."

His Worship Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary

Quick Facts

Celebrate Canada is a period of four celebrations, beginning on June 21 and concluding with a major celebration for Canada Day on July 1. In honour of Canada 150, this year's edition will be the most spectacular in Canadian history.

June 21 is National Aboriginal Day: a celebration of Indigenous culture and heritage. This date was chosen because it corresponds to the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and because many Indigenous groups celebrate their culture and heritage at this time of year.

June 24, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Fete nationale du Quebec et de la Francophonie canadienne, marries the ancient rites surrounding the summer solsticea period of light and hopeand the traditional celebration of the day of the patron saint of French Canadians.

June 27 was designated Canadian Multiculturalism Day on November 13, 2002. This day is an opportunity to appreciate the contributions of the various multicultural groups and communities to Canadian society.

On July 1, Canada Day, Canadians at home and abroad show their pride in their country's history, culture and accomplishments. This year, 19 urban centres across the country will celebrate Canada Day in a spectacular fashion: St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax, Fredericton, Moncton, Quebec City, Montreal, OttawaGatineau, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit.

The 2017 Celebrate Canada period will highlight the evolution of our country from its Indigenous origins to the presence of the French and the birth of our rich Francophone heritage, and through the more recent waves of immigration that led to the development of a diverse and inclusive society.

A wide range of community projects, funded by the Canada 150 Fund, will also provide opportunities for Canadians to participate in celebrations in their communities. These projects will showcase the talent and expertise of our various communities, as well as the many facets of Canada's diversity.

Related Products

May 18 news release on major celebrations URL link (coming soon)

Associated Links

Canada 150: Come out and celebrate! http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1468854891549/1469215680151

Data Tables

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: For more information (media only), please contact: Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island are committed to investing in local infrastructure that ensures Canadians and their families have access to modern, reliable water and wastewater services that meet their needs.

The Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan, Premier of Prince Edward Island, and Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, today announced $14,381,250 in combined funding for the installation of a wastewater delivery pipeline from Stratford to Charlottetown, the removal of the East Royalty lagoon, and the connection of East Royalty's system to the Charlottetown Pollution Control Plant.

The Stratford project will consolidate the town's wastewater treatment with Charlottetown's and create one central wastewater treatment plant on the Hillsborough River. The Government of Canada is contributing $5,462,500 to this project and the Government of Prince Edward Island is contributing $2,731,250. The Town of Stratford will cover the remaining project costs.

In Charlottetown, the East Royalty Lagoon will be replaced with a lift station and 3-kilometre sewer system that directs flows to the Charlottetown Pollution Control Plant. The Government of Canada is contributing $1,925,000 to this project and the Government of Prince Edward Island is contributing $962,500. The City of Charlottetown will cover the remaining project costs.

For the final project to connect East Royalty's sewer system to the Charlottetown Pollution Control Plant, the Government of Canada is contributing $2,200,000 and the Government of Prince Edward Island is contributing $1,100,000. The City of Charlottetown will cover the remaining project costs.

These investments will help safeguard the health and well-being of residents, protect provincial waterways and preserve local ecosystems.

Quotes

"In order for communities to thrive, they must have the necessary strategic infrastructure in place to support them. Today's announcement reaffirms our government's commitment to work with all partners to encourage economic growth while safeguarding our environment. These investments will open up further development opportunities along the capital region waterfront and provide residents with safe, reliable infrastructure."

Premier Wade MacLauchlan, Prince Edward Island

"The Government of Canada is committed to engaging with our regional partners to make sure they have the support they need to build strong communities and create well-paying jobs for the middle class. Investments in green infrastructure are critical to preserving public health and supporting Canada's ongoing transition to a clean, sustainable economy. I'm glad to see these important projects moving forward, which will contribute to the wellbeing of all Islanders for years to come."

Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"We are very pleased to be part of this announcement. Inter-municipal cooperation benefits the whole province by avoiding duplicating resources and sharing costs. This partnership with Stratford further solidifies our good working relationship and we look forward to future projects."

Clifford Lee, Mayor of Charlottetown

"We are pleased to arrive at a long-term Waste Water Treatment solution for Stratford. We have been actively working on a cost-effective solution for our waste water treatment needs, and we are optimistic that this solution will meet the needs of our growing community now and in the future."

David Dunphy, Mayor of Stratford

Quick facts

This funding comes from the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, part of the Government of Canada's historic plan to support public infrastructure across the country.

historic plan to support public infrastructure across the country. The Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada's rural and northern communities.

will provide more than in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and rural and northern communities. Budget 2017 proposes $21.9 billion for investments for green infrastructure. This amount includes $5 billion that will be available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Associated links

Government of Canada's $180-billion+ infrastructure plan in Budget 2017: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-02-en.html#Toc477707375

See how many Clean Water and Wastewater Fund projects have been approved in Prince Edward Island and across the country: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/pt-sp/index-eng.html

The Clean Water and Wastewater Fund: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/cwwf/cwwf-program-programme-eng.html.

Federal infrastructure investments in Prince Edward Island: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/index-eng.html.

Twitter: @INFC_eng

Web: Infrastructure Canada

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

For further information: Brook Simpson, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-219-0149, [email protected]; Ron Ryder, Senior Communications Officer, Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, 902-368-5112, [email protected]; Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/


The Government of Canada supports the largest celebration of Indigenous culture and heritage

WINNIPEG, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Dan Vandal, Member of Parliament (Saint-BonifaceSaint-Vital), today announced funding of $2 million to highlight National Aboriginal Day, a celebration of Indigenous culture and heritage that takes place every year on June 21. Mr. Vandal made this announcement on behalf of the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage. He was accompanied by Jean La Rose, Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).

This support will allow APTN to broadcast National Aboriginal Day Live, a major National Aboriginal Day activity that will be even more spectacular in this year of Canada 150 celebrations. For the first time, shows will be broadcast live from eight cities across the country for lively programming that brings together music and performing arts and bridges traditional and contemporary culture.

During this day of festive activities, Canadians will have the opportunity to learn about and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and remarkable contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people.

Quotes

"We are proud to support National Aboriginal Day, which will feature exciting events and programming across the country. This is a great opportunity for all Canadians to come together in celebration of the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples. I encourage everyone to get involved in the activities taking place in their communities for this special day."

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Our government is proud to support this presentation by APTN of the marvellous celebrations in eight Canadian cities. I encourage all Canadians to take advantage of the National Aboriginal Day celebrations with family and friends and to discover the unique heritage, diverse culture and remarkable achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people in Canada. This is the moment for us all to come together to learn more about the history of our country and to celebrate our diversity."

Dan Vandal, Member of Parliament (Saint-BonifaceSaint-Vital)

"APTN is joining with the Government of Canada to bring the country together and make this National Aboriginal Day the biggest celebration of Indigenous culture and heritage in our shared history. Canada is celebrating 150 years, but we are celebrating much more than 150 years of presence on this territory, the territory of our ancestors. We are looking optimistically toward the next 150 years of growth and development on Turtle Island, and we hope that all Canadians will join us for National Aboriginal Day Live."

Jean La Rose, Chief Executive Officer, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Quick Facts

APTN, the only national Aboriginal broadcaster in North America, has presented National Aboriginal Day Live for over 10 years. This activity will be the largest National Aboriginal Day celebration in Canada, and will represent all Indigenous groups and regions in Canada.

Eight urban centres (Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto*, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver and Yellowknife) will host National Aboriginal Day Live events on June 21, 2017.

* Toronto will present a major activity in partnership with APTN.

Shows featuring artists from Inuit, Metis and First Nations communities will be presented, along with traditional songs and dances.

Everyone will be able to enjoy these celebrations thanks to a live multi-platform broadcast on television, radio and the Web.

National Aboriginal Day is one of the four major celebrations taking place from coast to coast to coast from June 21 to July 1.

These major celebrations, which will be at the centre of the Canada 150 celebrations, also include Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Fete nationale du Quebec et de la Francophonie canadienne (June 24), Canadian Multiculturalism Day (June 27) and the spectacular Canada Day celebration (July 1).

National Aboriginal Day celebrations will also highlight one of the four main themes of Canada 150: reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Canadians will also have a chance to increase their knowledge of the heritage, cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada.

Related Products

Twelve Days of Celebrations for Our Country's Birthday! https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2017/05/twelve_days_of_celebrationsforourcountrysbirthday.html

Associated Links

Canada 150: Come out and celebrate! http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1468854891549/1469215680151 National Aboriginal Day http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100013248/1100100013249 National Aboriginal Day Live on APTN http://www.aboriginaldaylive.ca/

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: (media only), please contact: Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


Government of Canada supports community project of Bas-Saint-Laurent organization

MATANE, QC, May 24, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)

Key local stakeholders have long been asking for concrete, sustainable measures to improve community and recreational infrastructure. The Government of Canada is proud to invest in projects such as the one by the Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane, which contribute to the strength and vitality of all regions of the country.

Acting on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CED, Remi Masse, Member of Parliament for AvignonLa MitisMataneMatapedia, announced that the Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane has been granted $41,220 in financial assistance, in the form of a non-repayable contribution, to replace the play structures in the multi-use recreational park.

Created in 2002, the Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane (website in French only) is a non-profit organization responsible for managing sports, cultural and educational facilities in the Town of Matane. The Camping de la riviere Matane, the Parc des Iles, the Parc multirecreatif BSL (skateboard park and skating rink) and the Mont-Castor ski centre are among the inventory managed by the Corporation. Funding awarded through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP150) will help the organization replace outdated play structures in the municipal park.

CED is one of the six regional development agencies under the responsibility of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

Quotes

"The Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane is doing remarkable work in developing and maintaining the town's numerous recreational facilities. The Government of Canada is proud to support this project, which will provide Matane residents with a modern multi-use recreational park."

Remi Masse, Member of Parliament for AvignonLa MitisMataneMatapedia

"The Government of Canada, through the CIP150, supports projects like the one by the Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane, which mobilize and unite us and stimulate economic activity in Canada. Community and recreational infrastructure like Matane's multi-use recreational park help enhance quality of life and create gathering places. Today, as it was 150 years ago, coming together to meet others enriches us all."

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister responsible for CED

"The Board of Directors of the Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane is pleased about the Government of Canada's support, through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, in helping us improve our Parc multirecreatif BSL infrastructure. The funding helps us show Matane's youth that they matter to an organization like ours, and that those who govern our country recognize and support them."

Andree Metivier, Chair of the Board of Directors, Corporation de gestion recreotouristique de Matane

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SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

For further information: Media Relations, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, Tel.: 514-283-7443, Email: [email protected]; Antoine Rivard-Deziel, Office of MP Remi Masse, Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapedia, Tel.: 418-364-6254, Email: [email protected]
MARRAKECH, Morocco, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ -- Deer Jet, first private jet company of China, flies the 787 Dream Jet to Marrakech, to uncover and display the history, culture and arts of this faraway lands. Deer Jet used the same "Majorelle blue" and "Marrakech red" to decorate the 787 Dream Jet.

The exhibition on board the 787 Dream Jet included 100% Moroccan handcrafted objects using 16th century Islamic art patterns and motives from the Jardin Majorelle. Textiles, precious tableware, exotic leathers and other objects of design decorated the splendid 220 sq metres of the Dream Jet's cabin.

The display is part of a series of showcases across the globe in Deer Jet's "Dreams Encounter the World" tour of emblematic destinations. On its mission to serve premium business travellers worldwide, Deer Jet had already displayed the 787 Dream Jet at Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Dublin and Seattle; showcasing its brand philosophy of "Making Travel an Art".

Deer Jet has a history of serving a clientele of premium business travellers, including Middle East royal families. The company is now set to serve the market across the globe.

Frank Fang, Vice President of Deer Jet said: "Marrakech is one of the world's most fascinating destinations, from its ancient walled Medina and bustling markets, it is a cultural fest. With the 787 Dream Jet, we want our customers to discover a stylish and culture-rich travel experience."

The 787 Dream Jet can fly continuously for 18.5 hours, or 16,000 kilometres, reaching any major city in the world non-stop from Casablanca, Marrakech or Rabat. Additionally, it comes with the comforts of unlimited luxury amenities on board.

After the global success of the first 787 "Dream Jet", HNA group, Deer Jet's parent company has announced the acquisition of the second B787 VVIP for Deer Jet to build up the largest 787 Dream Jet fleet in the world. "We will dedicate ourselves to serve the global premium travellers the ultimate travel experience through this fantastic fleet." added Fang.

"The Dream Jet is a tremendous feast of aeronautics and represents everything that is luxurious and impressive about our industry, as I'm convinced anyone who experiences it will agree. We are delighted to support Deer Jet on its "Dreams Encounter the World" exhibitions across the globe, and proud to be the exclusive charter sales partner for the Dream Jet in the MENA region." said Mr. Mohammed Husary, Co-Owner/Founder and Executive President of UAS.

Deer Jet is also launching exclusive, bespoke travel packages aboard the 787 Dream Jet starting with the "Hong Kong to Tahiti Dream Journey". It plans to add more itineraries in the future as part of its goal to create seamless travel to fulfill its vision of "Making travel an art", through best-in-class service inspired by Deer Jet's values of "elegance", "performance" and "distinction".

SOURCE Deer Jet

For further information: Dan Feng, 18610131198, [email protected]; Cui Qi, [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
The Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150) funding helps local and Indigenous communities improve their amenities.

FORT MCMURRAY, AB, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - One year after the devastating wildfires in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the Government of Canada is pleased to support valued infrastructure improvements in the region. Four municipal projects will receive a combined investment of $994,458 through the Government of Canada's Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program.

David Lametti, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, made the announcement during a visit to Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Project improvements include renovations to the Anzac Community Centre, upgrades to the community arena in Fort McKay, construction of a community pavilion on the Metis cultural grounds in Fort McMurray, and the renovation of a Quonset at Gregoire Lake.

The Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program is part of Canada 150 Celebrates, the Government of Canada's celebration of our country's 150th anniversary of Confederation. Budget 2016 provided an additional $150 million over two years to Canada's Regional Development Agencies to deliver further community funding across the country, starting in 2016-17, with Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) being responsible for administering the program in Western Canada.

Through investments in community infrastructure, the Government of Canada is investing in projects that seek to renovate, expand, and improve existing community infrastructure, with a focus on positive impacts on Indigenous communities, local recreational facilities, and projects that advance a clean growth economy.

Quotes



"The Government of Canada is committed to enhancing recreational and cultural infrastructure to benefit Indigenous communities and promote a clean growth economy. These projects will leave a lasting legacy that will be enjoyed for generations to come."

- David Lametti, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Member of Parliament for LaSalle-Emard-Verdun

"Community infrastructure helps bring people together and supports the well-being of residents. Investments like these contribute to the strength and resilience of our region."

- Melissa Blake, Mayor, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

"We thank the Government of Canada for their support through the 'Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program.' The renovation of our Quonset will allow for our Community to come together and provide a safe, healthy environment for our members. I am especially excited for our Elders to have space to meet and help teach our Youth traditional classes such as beading, language classes and other community activities."

- Chief Ron Kreutzer, Fort McMurray #468 First Nation

"Music and dance is a very important part of the Metis culture. Having a place of our own to celebrate, both local and regional, Metis events will have a significant impact on the community of Fort McKay. We thank the Government of Canada for supporting this worthwhile initiative."

- Dwayne Roth, Acting Chief Administrative Officer of the Fort McKay Metis Community Association

Backgrounder

Government of Canada Invests Over $994,000 in Improvements to Community Infrastructure in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

May 25, 2017  Fort McMurray, Alberta  Western Economic Diversification Canada

The Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150) is part of Canada 150 Celebrates, the Government of Canada's celebration of our country's 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Budget 2016 provided an additional $150 million over two years to Canada's Regional Development Agencies to invest in local improvements to communities across the country, starting in 2016-17. $46.2 million was allocated for projects across Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is responsible for administering the program in the West.

CIP 150 supports projects seeking to renovate, expand, and improve existing community infrastructure. Priority was given to projects that upgrade recreational facilities, advance a clean growth economy, and have a positive impact on Indigenous communities and peoples.

Today's announcement is for four CIP 150 projects in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo area:

Proponent Project Description Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program Fort McKay First Nation Upgrade the community arena in Fort McKay $135,576 Fort McKay Metis Community Association Construct a community pavilion on the Metis cultural grounds in Fort McMurray $333,882 Fort McMurray #468 First Nation Renovate a Quonset currently being used as storage space into a multipurpose community facility $325,000 Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Renovate the Anzac Community Centre $200,000 TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING $994,458

Additional Links

Follow us on Twitter: @WD_Canada, @canada150th, @MinisterISED, @RMWoodBuffalo

WD Homepage

WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378)

TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

SOURCE Western Economic Diversification Canada

For further information: Donna Kinley, Regional Communications Manager, Western Economic Diversification Canada, 780-902-2984, [email protected]; Nicole Power, Communication Strategist, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, 780-799-8671, [email protected]; Cindy Miller, Band Manager, Fort McMurray #468 First Nation, Office: 780-334-2293, 780-742-7503, [email protected]; Jauvonne Kitto, Executive Director, Fort McKay First Nation, 403-710-4479, [email protected]; Contessa Short, Operations & Safety Manager, Fort McKay Metis Community Association, 780-828-4581, [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.canada.ca


Record revenues of $22.1 million , up 14% over Q1 2016

Record EBITDA 1 of $2.3 million , up 285% over Q1 2016

Solid margin expansion, with gross margin of 17% and EBITDA margin of 11%

MONTREAL, May 25, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Imaflex Inc. ("Imaflex" or the "Corporation") (TSXV: IFX), announces strong consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

Consolidated Financial Highlights (unaudited)



Three months ended March 31 CDN $ thousands, except per share amounts (or otherwise indicated) 2017 2016 % Change Revenue 22,056 19,378 13.8 % Gross profit 3,702 2,326 59.2 % Selling & admin. expenses 1,750 1,713 2.2 % Foreign exchange loss 92 478 (80.8)% Profit (loss) 1,145 (172) 765.7 % Basic and diluted EPS 0.023 (0.003) 866.7 % Gross margin 16.8% 12.0% 4.8 pp2 Selling & admin. expenses as % of revenues 7.9% 8.8% (0.9) pp EBITDA (Excluding FX) 2,411 1,080 123.2 % EBITDA 2,319 602 285.2 % EBITDA margin 10.5% 3.1% 7.4 pp

______________________________ 1 EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. See "Caution Regarding Non-IFRS Financial Measures" which follows. 2 PP: Percentage Points

"We had a strong start to the year, with first quarter 2017 revenue and net income coming in at record levels," highlighted Mr. Joe Abbandonato, President and Chief Executive Officer of Imaflex. "Demand for both our core flexible packaging and agriculture offerings was robust, with all business areas contributing to the bottom line. Our commitment to deliver innovative offerings, combined with our unwavering focus on operational and financial excellence is paying off as demonstrated in these solid results."

Financial Review: Quarter ended March 31

Revenue

Revenues for the first quarter of 2017 were $22.1 million, growing $2.7 million or 13.8% over the corresponding prior-year period. The increase was driven by higher sales volumes and product mix for both the core flexible packaging and agriculture business.

During the quarter, shipments of the metalized citrus film, Shine N' Ripe XL, commenced to a major citrus grower, generating $1.0 million in sales. Customer feedback has been positive.

Gross Profit

All business areas performed well, with gross profit coming in at $3.7 million for the first quarter of 2017, up $1.4 million or 59% over the first quarter of 2016. Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 16.8% for the current quarter, up significantly from 12.0% in the same period last year. Growth was driven by sales volume increases, changes in product mix and operating leverage as the additional sales volumes were generated without significantly increasing the Corporation's cost structure.

Operating Expenses

Quarterly selling and administrative expenses totaled $1.7 million for the first quarter of 2017, unchanged from the corresponding prior-year period. Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales were 7.9% for the current quarter, down from 8.8% in the first quarter of 2016. The improvement reflects leverage on the Corporation's fixed costs and ongoing expense controls.

As a result of currency fluctuations, the Corporation realized a foreign exchange (FX) loss of $0.1 million during the quarter, down from a loss of $0.5 million in the first quarter of 2016. The FX loss in both years largely reflects the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar in the translation of foreign currencies. In the first quarter of 2016, the US dollar depreciated more significantly resulting in the higher loss.

Net Income and EBITDA

Profitability improved significantly year-over-year, driven by sales volume growth, improved product mix and ongoing cost controls. EBITDA came in at $2.3 million for the first quarter of 2017, up 285% from $0.6 million in the same quarter last year. The EBITDA margin was 10.5% for the current quarter, up from 3.1% in the same prior-year period.

Net income totaled $1.1 million, up materially from a $0.2 million loss in the first quarter of 2016.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As a result of changes in working capital, Imaflex had cash outflows from operating activities of $0.2 million for the first quarter 2017, versus cash inflows of $1.4 million in the corresponding prior-year period. However, excluding net changes in working capital, Imaflex generated $2.5 million of cash from operating activities, up from $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2016.

The net changes to working capital during the first quarter of 2017 were largely due to an increase in inventory levels to meet heightened demand and higher receivables in line with robust sales. As inventory is shipped and receivables are collected, the Corporation's liquidity is expected to further strengthen.

As at March 31, 2017, Imaflex had approximately $3.5 million of cash available for operating activities, including the unused portion under its $10.0 million revolving line of credit.

ADVASEAL Commercialization

"We have completed trials to determine the customizing of the coating equipment needed to produce ADVASEAL," highlighted Mr. Abbandonato. "We are now selecting chemical suppliers and once determined, we will proceed with a field trial of approximately 25 acres. Most of this acreage will be given to selected growers and the remainder will be used for lab and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing. The feedback, which we expect to be positive, will act as the catalyst to order the equipment."

Outlook

"Our sales pipeline is now robust for both our core flexible packaging and agriculture offerings, which should translate into continued solid performance going forward," said Mr. Abbandonato. "Sales of Shine N' Ripe XL are helping to bolster both top and bottom line growth. All indications are that citrus film sales will continue to grow due to the film's unique pest protection benefits and ability to promote tree growth and yield. We remain steadfastly committed to our business model, focused on operational excellence and long term success."

Annual and Special Meeting

Imaflex will be holding its Annual and Special Meeting ("ASM") on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 3:30 p.m. (Montreal time) at the Montreal office of Lavery, de Billy, located at 1 Place Ville Marie, Suite 4000.

As announced in the Corporation's May 18, 2017 press release, the slate of director nominees for election is comprised of two new director candidates and five current directors. Mario Settino and Lorne Steinberg will stand for election at the ASM as new Board of Director nominees and current directors, Joe Abbandonato, Tony Abbandonato, Michel Baril, Consolato Gattuso and Philip Nolan will stand for re-election. In conjunction with this, Giles Emond will be leaving Imaflex's board and will not stand for re-election, while Camillo Lisio has resigned. The Corporation wishes to clarify that Mr. Lisio resigned from Imaflex's board on May 17, 2017. Imaflex's May 18, 2017 press release indicated that he retired on May 18, 2017.

Caution Regarding Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The Company's management uses a non-IFRS measure in this press release, namely EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) and EBITDA excluding foreign exchange.

While EBITDA is not a standard International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) measure, management, analysts, investors and others use it as an indicator of the Company's financial and operating management and performance. EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to net income determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Company's performance. The Company's method of calculating EBITDA may be different from those used by other companies and accordingly it should not be considered in isolation.

About Imaflex Inc.

Founded in 1994, Imaflex is focused on the development and manufacturing of innovative solutions for the flexible packaging and agriculture industries. The Corporation's products consist primarily of polyethylene (plastic) film and bags, including metalized plastic film, for the consumer, industrial and agriculture markets. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Imaflex has manufacturing facilities in Canada and the United States. The Corporation's common stock is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol IFX. Additional information is available at www.imaflex.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information

Certain information included in this press release constitutes "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the management of the Corporation, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. The Corporation cautions the reader that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of Imaflex to be materially different from the Corporation's estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and that the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are also based on certain factors and assumptions. For more details on these estimates, risks, assumptions and factors, see the Corporation's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the investor section of the Corporation's website at www.imaflex.com. The Corporation disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these 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.

SOURCE Imaflex Inc.

For further information: John Ripplinger, Vice-President Corporate Affairs, Tel: (514) 935-5710 ext. 157, Fax: (514) 935-0264, [email protected], www.imaflex.com

Related Links

http://www.imaflex.com


OTTAWA, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The Montreal and Quebec City economies saw modest improvement last year, and the positive momentum is expected to continue in 2017 with real GDP growth projected to strengthen to 1.9 per cent in both cities, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Metropolitan Outlook: Spring 2017.

"Quebec's two largest metropolitan economies continue to pick up speed and are expected to post stronger growth this year," said Alan Arcand, Associate Director, Centre for Municipal Studies, The Conference Board of Canada. "Montreal's economic improvement is being driven by massive infrastructure investments and an accelerating manufacturing sector, while widespread gains across Quebec City's services sector, including in real estate and tourism, is supporting stronger growth in the provincial capital."

Highlights

The economies of Montreal and Quebec City are both expected to grow by 1.9 per cent in 2017 and in 2018.

Quebec City's job market is expected to rebound in 2017 after posting a rare decline in employment last year.

The positive economic outlook will support healthy income gains for workers in Montreal over the forecast.

Toronto is expected to post the fastest-growing metropolitan economy this year with growth of 2.7 per cent.

Montreal

Following a respectable 1.5 per cent gain in 2016, Montreal's economy is forecast to advance by 1.9 per cent this year, the strongest growth in six years. The improvement will be fuelled by a turnaround in the goods-producing sector, which is expected to post growth for the first time since 2012. Manufacturing activity is expected to accelerate following two years of soft growth. Meanwhile, the construction sector is projected to finally rebound after declining for four consecutive years, thanks to work on the Champlain Bridge and Turcot Interchange, the Bonaventure and Ville-Marie Expressways, the city's three-year $6.4 billion infrastructure plan and $6 billion light-rail project. On a less positive note, residential construction activity remains tepid, as high inventories of multi-family units continue to scare off builders. Overall, construction output growth is projected to reach 2.1 per cent this year.

The tourism sector will be another growth driver, as people flock to the city to participate in events for Montreal's 375th anniversary. However, the strength in tourism, as well as in business services and finance, insurance and real estate, will be somewhat offset by modest growth in the public sector (health care, education and public administration). Overall, output growth in the services-producing industries is forecast to reach a solid 2 per cent this year.

Despite the stronger economic outlook, the metro area's job market is expected to cool somewhat with average gains of 0.9 per cent per year over 2017-18, down from 2016's 1.6 per cent advance. Still, the labour force is expected to climb more slowly, helping to push the unemployment rate down from 7.6 per cent in 2016 to 7.1 per cent in 2018.

This forecast was completed before the spring flooding, so its impact is not factored in this report. It is important to note that damage caused by natural disasters is not captured in GDP, except in the form of lost production or purchases that were disrupted. However, rebuilding does get incorporated in GDP. So, the flooding is likely to generate additional economic activity as public services clean up affected areas and households repair their homes and restock lost furniture, vehicles, and other items.

Quebec City

Quebec City's economy is also forecast to expand by 1.9 per cent this year, an improvement over a 1.6 per cent increase in 2016. The services sector, responsible for over 80 per cent of Quebec City's total economic activity, is expected to enjoy widespread growth this year. For instance, the finance, insurance and real estate industry is poised to bounce back after three years of lacklustre growth, thanks in part to strong commercial and industrial real estate activity in Quebec City and Levis. In addition, tourism activity is expected to remain healthy, thanks partly to the weaker Canadian dollar. Although output growth is projected to slow sharply from 6.9 per cent last year to 2.8 per cent this year, wholesale and resale trade will remain a growth leader.

On the goods side of the economy, a recovery is expected to start in construction, sparked by the ground-breaking of Le Phare de Quebec, the tallest building in the province's history. However, the project was originally scheduled to begin in 2016 but was pushed back to this year. Therefore, the possibility of further delays to construction of this significant project represents a downside risk to this forecast. The outlook for residential construction is not as positive, as relatively high inventories continue to convince homebuilders to pull back on new housing projects. Indeed, housing starts fell from 5,440 units in 2015 to 4,770 units in 2016, and further declines are in the cards for this year and next.

Employment is expected to surge by 2.5 per cent in 2017, rebounding from a 0.9 per cent contraction last year, the largest decline since 1999. Job growth is then projected to come in at a more muted 0.8 per cent next year.

Of note, Toronto is expected to boast the fastest-growing metropolitan economy this year among the 13 census metropolitan areas covered in this edition of the Metropolitan Outlook.

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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada

For further information: Natasha Jamieson, Communications Coordinator, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: 613- 526-3090 ext. 307, E-mail: [email protected]; Juline Ranger, Director of Communications, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: 613- 526-3090 ext. 431, E-mail: [email protected]

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HALIFAX, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Namibia Rare Earths Inc. ("Namibia Rare Earths" or the "Company") (TSX: NRE) is pleased to announce that the shareholders voted in favour of all items of business before the Annual and Special Meeting of the Shareholders held in Halifax, Nova Scotia today. Shareholders holding 73.14% of the outstanding shares of the Company were present in person or by proxy at the meeting.

Election of Directors

The nominees for directors listed in the management proxy circular for the meeting were elected. Details of the vote are set out below.

Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Adrian T. Hickey 52,467,443 99.76 125,561 0.24 Douglas J. Jackson 52,303,443 99.45 289,561 0.55 William L. Price 52,467,443 99.76 125,561 0.24 Gerald J. McConnell 52,462,943 99.75 130,061 0.25 Glenn R. Williams 52,315,443 99.47 277,561 0.53

Auditor Re-appointment

Deloitte LLP was re-appointed Auditors of the Company to hold office until the next Annual Meeting or until its successor is duly appointed.

Continuation of the Company's Incentive Stock Option Plan

The shareholders voted in favour of the resolution approving the continuation of the Company's Incentive Stock Option Plan ("Plan") and approving the unallocated options issuable under the Plan.

Amendment of the Company's Incentive Stock Option Plan

The shareholders voted in favour of the resolution to amend the Plan to include certain requirements and restrictions required by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") such amendments to take effect upon the Company listing on the TSXV.

After considering various factors, including the continued listing requirements and the on-going costs associated with having its common shares listed on the TSX, the Company has applied for voluntary delisting of its common shares from the TSX. The Company intends to transition the listing of its common shares onto the TSX Venture Exchange under the existing ticker "NRE". Application for listing has been made to the TSXV and the Company is providing the necessary documentation to complete the listing process. The listing on the TSXV is subject to final approval and acceptance by the TSXV. One of the conditions of listing is the amendment of the Plan by the shareholders. The Company expects the delisting of its shares from the TSX and the transition to the TSXV to happen simultaneously and the Company will issue a further press release once the date has been determined.

About Namibia Rare Earths Inc.

Namibia Rare Earths Inc. is focused on the accelerated development of the Lofdal Rare Earths Project. The common shares of Namibia Rare Earths Inc. trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "NRE".

No regulatory authority had approved or disapproved the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The foregoing information may contain forward-looking information relating to the future performance of Namibia Rare Earths Inc. Forward-looking information, specifically, that concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions.

SOURCE Namibia Rare Earths Inc.

For further information: Namibia Rare Earths Inc., Don Burton, President, Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760, Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761, Email: [email protected], Web site: www.NamibiaRareEarths.com

Related Links

http://www.namibiarareearths.com


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The Government of Canada supports projects by a business and two organizations in the Chaudiere-Appalaches region

MONTMAGNY, QC, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)

Marc Miller, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Ville-MarieLe Sud-OuestIle-des-Surs, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CED, took the opportunity while in the region to announce $318,498 in financial support in the form of repayable and non-repayable contributions for a business and two organizations in the Montmagny region.

By ensuring that businesses and organizations have the resources they need to invest in growth and implement mobilizing community projects, the Government of Canada is contributing to the creation of quality jobs in the Montmagny MRC and to improvement of the quality of life of residents.

First of all, financial assistance for K-Trail Inc. ($140,000 and $78,338) under the Quebec Economic Development Program (QEDP) will allow the business to purchase and install production equipment to increase productivity and ensure growth.

The municipality of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire ($69,300) and Le Havre de Berthier-sur-Mer inc. ($30,860) will be receiving support under the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150), in one case to replace the heating system in the municipal building where the community rooms are located and, in the other, to upgrade part of the floating dock network.

CED is one of six regional development agencies under the responsibility of the Minister for Innovation, Science and Economic Development, the Honourable Navdeep Bains.

Quotes

"I am delighted to see that collaboration among the various economic development stakeholders is alive and well here, in the Montmagny region. The economic diversification of the regions of Quebec becomes possible when all the players in an area have the courage to innovate and undertake large scale projects. The Government of Canada is pleased to contribute to this diversification, which will create wealth for the middle class."

Marc Miller, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Ville-MarieLe Sud-OuestIle-des-Surs

"The Government of Canada is committed to supporting Canadian businesses and organizations in order to improve the quality of life in every community in the country and ensure prosperity for all Canadians."

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister responsible for CED

Stay connected

Follow CED on Twitter and LinkedIn

BACKGROUNDER

Over $318,000 to support economic and community development in the Montmagny RCM

Marc Miller, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Ville-MarieLe Sud-OuestIle-des-Surs, acting on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CED, took the opportunity while in the region to announce $318,498 in financial support, in the form of repayable and non-repayable contributions, for a business and two organizations in the Montmagny region.

Promoter Contribution  Investments  Project description K-Trail Inc. Repayable contribution of $140,000 out of a total investment of $350,000 K-Trail specializes in the manufacture of galvanized steel utility trailers for cars and trucks. High season for production is December to August. During low season (September to November), K-Trail manufactures trailers for snowmobiles, a complementary secondary market niche. The purpose of the project is to improve the business's productivity and competitiveness to foster growth through the acquisition and integration of a robotic welding cell, which will increase production capacity. The Agency's assistance will go toward all costs related to the acquisition, installation and integration of the robotic welder in the company's production chain, including the accessories and peripheral facilities required to optimize the performance of the new equipment. Repayable contribution of $78,338 out of a total investment of $167,280 This project, which was completed in 2016, consisted in the acquisition of two new pieces of equipment (saw and press) to enhance the business's production capacity. Agency funding went toward the acquisition costs for the equipment and its integration in the company's production line. The two projects are helping K-Trail maintain its current workforce and may result in the hiring of new employees following the expected increase in sales.

Municipality of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire (website in French only) Non-repayable contribution of $69,300 out of a total investment of $169,030 Incorporated in 1894, the Municipality of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire had 367 inhabitants in 2015. In addition to the usual municipal services, the municipality provides its residents with community halls in a building that houses the municipal offices and other rooms serving a variety of purposes: library, community Internet access centre, gym, senior citizens' room, funeral parlour and so on. Users of the rooms and community halls vary widely: seniors, volunteers, youth, caregivers, etc. The purpose of the project is to replace the municipal building's heating system with a clean, renewable energy heating system, namely an electric heat pump. Agency funding will go toward all project costs. The new clean, renewable energy heating system will help reduce the municipality's heating costs, fossil fuel consumption and annual greenhouse gas emissions. Le Havre de Berthier-sur-Mer Inc. (website in French only) Non-repayable contribution of $30,860 out of a total investment of $70,962 Le Havre de Berthier-sur-Mer operates a marina and port of refuge, a restaurant and a marine service, while fostering tourism development in Le Havre de Berthier-sur-Mer. Created in 1979, the NPO's main mission was to organize, maintain and operate a marina for its members, their guests and members of other yacht clubs in Quebec. The purpose of the project is to upgrade part of the network of floating pontoons for the Berthier-sur-Mer harbour. Once the project is completed, the harbour will maintain its community-oriented function and will remain open and accessible to the public. More specifically, the project involves replacing 10 floating wooden pontoons with galvanized steel pontoons. The Agency is supporting all project costs. Berthier-sur-Mer is the main continental gateway to Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site; in 2015, some 17,000 people visited this major tourist attraction in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, across from Montmagny. The project will help preserve an asset that plays a key role in the local economy of the Berthier-sur-Mer community. The work will also contribute to the regional economy.

Summary

Total number of projects: 4 CED contributions: $318,498 Investments generated by the projects: $757,272

SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

For further information: Media Relations, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, Tel.: 514-283-7443, Email: [email protected]
BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, participated today in the NATO Leaders' Meeting. NATO is a cornerstone of Canada's international security policy and is one of our most important relationships outside of North America. Canada is committed to continue playing a leading role in the Alliance.

At the meeting, NATO Heads of State and Government discussed burden-sharing within the Alliance and counter-terrorism. During the discussion, Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed Canada's commitment to NATO. The Prime Minister reinforced this message by highlighting Canada's leadership of the multinational battlegroup deploying to Latvia, as part of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence.

NATO Heads of State and Government participated in a handover ceremony for the new NATO Headquarters. The leaders also took part in an event to unveil memorials for the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the historic fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.

The Prime Minister will now travel to Taormina, Italy, to participate in the 43rd G7 Leaders' Summit, followed by a visit to Rome and Vatican City.

Quote

"In Brussels  together with our Allies and partners  we took important steps that will promote international peace and security, and help us to better respond to security concerns around the world. Canada plays a key role in the Alliance. We are leading a multinational NATO battlegroup that will soon deploy to Latvia. We will continue to be a strong and reliable ally, now and into the future."

 Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick Facts

The NATO Leaders' Meeting was held at NATO's new Headquarters in Belgium , Brussels .

, . Canada , along with 11 other countries, founded NATO in 1949 on the fundamental values of democracy, individual liberty, human rights, and the rule of law. Over the past 68 years, NATO has proven itself to be a major contributor to international peace and security.

, along with 11 other countries, founded NATO in 1949 on the fundamental values of democracy, individual liberty, human rights, and the rule of law. Over the past 68 years, NATO has proven itself to be a major contributor to international peace and security. Since 2014, Canada has actively worked alongside NATO Allies to maintain security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe . Measures include training, exercises and other operational tasks.

has actively worked alongside NATO Allies to maintain security and stability in Central and . Measures include training, exercises and other operational tasks. On July 8, 2016 , Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would establish and lead a robust multinational NATO battlegroup in Latvia as one of four framework nations for the enhanced Forward Presence.

, Prime Minister announced that would establish and lead a robust multinational NATO battlegroup in as one of four framework nations for the enhanced Forward Presence. Canada will contribute a Land Task Force of up to 455 personnel including a battlegroup headquarters element, a mechanized infantry company, combat service support, and vehicles and equipment based in Latvia to support NATO's enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern and Central Europe .

will contribute a Land Task Force of up to 455 personnel including a battlegroup headquarters element, a mechanized infantry company, combat service support, and vehicles and equipment based in to support NATO's enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern and . In parallel, the United Kingdom is leading a battlegroup in Estonia , Germany is leading one in Lithuania , and the United States is leading one in Poland .

Associated Links

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555

Related Links

http://pm.gc.ca/


$5.7 MILLION OF FREE CASH GENERATED IN THE QUARTER, $12.8 MILLION IN FIRST SIX MONTHS OF OPERATION

(In US Dollars unless otherwise stated)

TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSX.V:SGI) announced today its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2017. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2017. These documents will be posted on the Company's website at www.superior-gold.com and SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Operational Highlights:

Produced 20,769 ounces of gold

Sold 21,801 ounces of gold at an average realized price of $1,219 per ounce

per ounce Total cash costs1 were $799 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs1 were $920 per ounce

Financial Highlights:

Revenue totaled $26.6 million

Generated cash from operations of $7.4 million

Generated $5.7 million in free cash 2

in free cash Cost of sales was $22.1 million , including $4.9 million of depreciation

, including of depreciation Operating income was $3.7 million

Adjusted net income 1 was $2.1 million or $0.03 per share

was or per share Corporate G&A was less than $40 per ounce sold

per ounce sold Cash and cash equivalents as well as restricted cash totaled $27.8 million at the end of the quarter

Additional Highlights:

Closed initial public offering, including the exercise of the overallotment option, for gross proceeds of $24.9 million

Completed acquisition payments to Northern Star Resources Ltd.

Common shares commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "SGI"

Chris Bradbrook, President and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are pleased to announce our first full quarter of results which include our initial public offering, completed in February 2017, and our second strong operational quarter since the acquisition of the Plutonic Gold Operations in October 2016. We are a business first and are focused on the bottom line. We have now operated the Plutonic Gold Mine for two consecutive quarters and have produced a total of 43,763 ounces of gold, and generated approximately $12.8 million of free cash. The initial AUD$12.5 million cash payment made in October to Northern Star Resources Ltd. has been recouped in less than six months, and we now have unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $25.9 million, providing us with flexibility to execute on our growth plan. I am also pleased that we have been able to keep Corporate G&A at competitive levels. Since commencing production in October 2016, our Corporate G&A has averaged $34 per ounce of gold sold. We look forward to continuing to build on this early momentum with a continued focus on cost control and building shareholder value. All future capital and exploration expenditures will be aimed at supporting the long-term generation of free cash."

Summary of Financial and Operational Results:



Three months

ended March 31 Three months ended

December 31 All amounts in $ millions except where noted 2017 2016 Financial



Revenue 26.6 24.8 Cost of sales 22.1 19.7 Operating income 3.7 4.4 Net income (loss) (3.0) 3.8 Net income (loss) per share ($/share) (0.05) 0.10 Adjusted net income1 2.1 2.9 Adjusted net income ($/share)1 0.03 0.11 Cash from operating activities 7.4 8.5 Weighted number of common shares o/s 64,438,715 25,302,368





Operational



Gold produced (ounces) 20,769 22,994 Gold sold (ounces) 21,801 20,352 Average realized price ($/ounce) 1,219 1,214 Total cash costs ($/ounce)1 799 771 All-in sustaining costs ($/ounce)1 920 869 Total material mined (tonnes) 200,786 214,243 Total material milled (tonnes) 322,405 408,233 Grade Milled (g/t)3 2.5 2.1 Recovery (%) 78 82

Plutonic Gold Mine

The Plutonic Gold Mine exceeded 20,000 ounces of gold produced and sold for the second consecutive quarter since the Company acquired the mine in October 2016. Total cash costs1 and all in sustaining costs1 of $799 per ounce and $920 per ounce respectively, were below the realized gold price of $1,219 for the three-month period ending March 31, 2017. The Company generated net cash from operations after working capital changes of $7.4 million for the three-month period ending March 31, 2017.

Development Activities

The initial development of the haul road for the Hermes project is scheduled to commence in mid-2017 with pre-stripping operations to follow in the latter half of the year. The Hermes deposit is expected to be mined as a conventional open pit contractor operated excavator-truck mining operation with ore being trucked for processing to the Plutonic Gold Mine mill.

Exploration Activities

The Company's ongoing underground diamond drilling program focused on eight zones at its wholly-owned Plutonic Gold Mine: Area 134; Baltic; Caribbean; Caspian; Cortez; Indian; Pacific; and Timor. This work was primarily aimed at resource definition and grade control, with some holes aimed at exploration in areas with little or no previous drilling. Results have been released for 281 holes totaling more than 21,000 metres. Significant intersections were encountered in all zones. Work to date has identified that prior work at the mine had tended to identify the mineralized zones as isolated, unconnected units. As a result of the interpretive work by the Company's geological team, underground exploration has begun to examine the potential link between the various zones. This initial 18 hole program was very successful with more than 35 intersections in excess of 5g Au/t.

Exploration drilling in the Baltic area was aimed at testing the gap between the Baltic and Caribbean Zones. This initial work has identified at least two potential new lodes adjacent to the Caribbean resource zone, in addition to potential extensions of existing lodes. Follow up work will be aimed at defining the mineralization in greater detail.

The drilling in the Pacific Zone targeted an area outside the resource, which was thought to have potential for high grade, sub-vertical structures. The program successfully intersected mineralization in two principal zones. Work is being planned to develop a preliminary block model for both.

Outlook and Strategy

In the near term, the Company is focused on re-establishing the Plutonic Gold Operations as a stable gold producer capable of producing at least 100,000 ounces of gold annually. To achieve this goal, the Company intends to focus on its growth strategy which includes:

Focusing on quality high-grade ounces

Optimizing recoveries

Increasing incremental production from underground and open pit sources

Resource and reserve additions through property wide exploration

Leveraging the excess mill capacity

With the proceeds raised from the completion of the initial public offering, and the cash generated from the Plutonic Gold Mine, the Company has the liquidity available to execute on its near-term growth and exploration strategy.

______________________________________________

(1) This is a Non-IFRS measure. Refer to Non-IFRS measures section of the MD&A for a description of these measures. (2) Free cash is defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures. (3) The grade milled is a combination of underground stoped ore, underground development ore, and low grade surface material.

Qualified Person

Scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Simon Lawson who is a member of the AusIMM and a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. Mr. Lawson is an employee of the Company and serves as the Chief Geologist.

About Superior Gold

Superior Gold is a Canadian based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic Gold Mine, which is a producing underground operation with a central mill, the Hermes open pit development project and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, and statements regarding exploration results and exploration plans.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. See "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 15, 2017 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of these risks.

The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Neither the TSX Venture 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 release.

SOURCE Superior Gold

For further information: Superior Gold Inc., Chris Bradbrook, President, CEO & Director, [email protected], Tel: 416-716-8235
The Royal Couple will visit five communities in Nunavut, Ontario and Canada's Capital Region during the 2017 Royal Tour to Canada

OTTAWA, May 25, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today released the cities and dates for the 2017 Royal Tour to Canada. Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Iqaluit, Nunavut, on June 29; Canadian Forces Base Trenton and Wellington, Prince Edward County, Ontario, on June 30; and Ottawa and Gatineau in Canada's Capital Region on July 1.

To celebrate this special anniversary, The Prince and The Duchess will participate in activities that highlight the four themes of Canada 150: diversity and inclusion, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, young people and the environment.

Their Royal Highnesses will participate in the following public events:

 The official welcoming ceremony to Canada and a community feast in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, both in Iqaluit, Nunavut, on June 29

 A community gathering at the Wellington Farmers' Market in Prince Edward Country, Ontario, on June 30

 The celebration on Parliament Hill to mark Canada 150 on July 1

The full itinerary will be released before the start of the Tour.

Quotes

"We are pleased to have Their Royal Highnesses in Canada at such an important moment in our history. The Royal Couple will have the opportunity to meet and connect with Canadians who are making a difference in their communities and building a lasting legacy for Canada's future. This trip will showcase our diversity, the beauty of Canada's environment, efforts towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the achievements of our dynamic youth."

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Quick Facts

This will be the 18th visit to Canada for The Prince of Wales and the 4th for The Duchess of Cornwall.

This will be the first official visit to Nunavut by The Royal Couple; however, His Royal Highness visited Iqaluit, then part of the Northwest Territories, in 1970. In addition, he has also visited the Northwest Territories and Yukon in 2001, 1979 and 1975.

Excluding the Capital Region, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited cities and communities in Ontario in 2012 and 2009. The Prince of Wales also visited Ontario in 1996, 1991 and 1970.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be attending the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill for the first time.

Associated Links

Past Royal Tours http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1445001961355 Monarchy and The Crown http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1447172072670/1447172115365 Canada 150 http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1468262573081

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: (media only), please contact: Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


tanks4.JPG

Beer tanks destined for the Genesee Brewery in Rochester at Erie Canal Lock 12 in Tribes Hill. Submitted by Corbett Godwin

(Corbett Godwin)

LITTLE FALLS, NY -- Today a set of huge beer fermentation tanks destined for the Genesee Brewery in Rochester will float down the Erie Canal past a factory in Little Falls.

They will pass just 100 feet or so in front of a plant owned by Feldmeier Equipment, a Syracuse-based company that makes stainless tanks similar to those heading to the brewery in Rochester.

But the 12 big beer tanks on the canal weren't made by Feldmeier, or even by an American company. They were made by a company called the Lehui Group in China and shipped 6,000 miles, ending with a 225-mile journey along the canal (they're too big to move by truck).

The tanks are a key part of a $49 million modernization project currently underway at the Genesee Brewery on St. Paul Street in Rochester. Of the total project cost, $40 million is being paid by Genesee's parent company, North American Breweries, and, in its later stages, about $9.5 million will come in aid from New York state.

And that's the part that doesn't sit well with the folks at Feldmeier.

Feldmeier bid on parts of the project, though Genesee executives said the Syracuse company "chose not to bid" specifically on the big tanks moving down the canal.

"We submitted a proposal and we were not successful, unfortunately," said Dave Pollock, vice president of sales at Feldmeier's office in Syracuse. "That happens in manufacturing, and we know that."

"Our issue," Pollock said, "is they're getting $9.5 million from the state for this project. And they're asking people to come down and toast the tanks on the canal that are coming from China. And we have employees to feed here."

Feldmeier has roughly 200 employees in Syracuse, and about 100 at two plants in Little Falls. It has other plants in Alabama, Iowa and Nevada, with about 425 total employees, he said.

The company, Pollock said, has made big beer fermentation tanks for other large American brewers, including Yuengling and Sam Adams and Brewery Ommegang in Coopersown. It has also supplied tanks in the past to Genesee. Feldmeier also built the entire brewhouse, from top to bottom, at the Empire Brewing Co. facility that opened in Cazenovia in 2016.

Feldmeier Equipment of Syracuse built this brewhouse at the Empire Farm Brewery in Cazenovia, which opened last year.

"We have built tanks this big, or bigger, for major American breweries," Pollock said.

North American Breweries/Genesee officials confirm that Feldmeier bid on a portion of the tank construction for the Rochester project. But the brewery asked bidders to submit a proposal for all the tank components as a whole, and not just parts of it.

"They did not bid on these specific tanks," said Mark Fabrizio, director of project management for North American Breweries. "They bid on other tanks, but not these."

North American Breweries/Genesee has already bid out about $30 million of the $40 million it will spend on the project. None of this phase involves state money, Fabrizio and other NAB/Genesee officials said. The state money won't come for several years, and only after the brewery proves that it has added about 125 new jobs to its current payroll of about 600.

Most of the work awarded so far has been to American contractors, said Mary Beth Popp, corporate relations manager for North American Breweries. She said the brewery is committed to the modernization project - and choosing how to spend its money -- with an eye toward sustaining its current payroll and growing it.

The Genesee Brewery is the oldest in the state, founded by the Wehle family in 1878. Its parent company, North American Breweries, owns other beer-makers, including Magic Hat of Vermont, and is itself owned by the Florida Ice & Farm Co., a Costa Rican brewing company.

To Pollock's point about Feldmeier's need to take care of its employees, Genesee offered this take on the brewery upgrade and the decision to ship the big tanks down the Erie Canal.

"The cool thing is we're a 140-year-old brewery using a 200-year-old canal to help secure the jobs of our 600 employees and secure the future of our business," Fabrizio said.

Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
on Wednesday declared that its sit-at-home order scheduled for May 30 had been extended to 10 areas in northern Nigeria and Abuja. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)declared that its sit-at-home order scheduled forhad been extended to 10 areas in northern Nigeria and Abuja.

It gave the 10 areas to include: Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Makurdi, Gigawa, Jalingo, Yola and Lafia.

It added that the order would also be observed in Ibadan, Benin, and Lagos.

In a press statement made available to our correspondent in Awka, Anambra State by the media and publicity secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, the group urged its members to strictly observe the order wherever they would be.

It maintained that this years Remembrance Day celebration of the group necessitating the sit-at-home would be unique and significant in every ramification.

The statement said We the indigenous people of Biafra under the leadership and command structure of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu wish to declare once again that the 30th of May 2017 remembrance day celebration and sit at home order issued to honour and remember our fallen heroes and heroines must hold.

The sit at home order must be extending to other parts of Nigeria where Biafrans and supporters of Biafra have presence like Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Makurdi, Ibadan, Benin, Abuja, Lagos, Lokoja, Gigawa, Jalingo, Mubi, Yola and Lafia.



This sit-at -home order/remembrance and honour of our fallen heroes which is slated to be observed on 30th of May this year will be the best thing to happen to the people of Biafra since 50 years.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
OPEC Agrees to 9 Months Oil Cut Extension

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday agreed to extend oil production cuts for 9 months following the surge in the U.S. production level.The accord is expected to be shared by non-OPEC producers later on Thursday, a move that will see the 1.8 million barrel per day supply cut last until the first quarter of 2018.Speaking before the meeting in Vienna, Nigerias Minister for State Oil, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said: If we stick to rules, we should look to a $50 floor. However, he said oil price of $60 seems optimistic.On production volume, the minister said Nigerias output level is still 1.5 million barrel per day on the average and below the 1.8 million barrel category as there are still a lot of maintenance to be done on disrupted pipelines in the Southern region of the country.Responding to question on if Nigeria would join production cut, Saudi Arabias Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih said the Opec has taken into consideration Nigeria and Libya security situation and will continue to support the nations.We have said we will do whatever is necessary, Mr. Falih said, adding that existing production curbs would, given time, prove more than sufficient.This put to rest Iraqs suggestion that Nigeria should also cut production if the organization is looking to extend production cut.Brent, the global oil marker, was down 58 cents at $53.37 a barrel, partly on disappointment the cuts were extended for 9 months rather than a full year.However, Emmanuel Kachikwu said, There may be an option to roll over for 3 months.This would further boost business confidence in the Nigerian market as it guarantees the sustainability of the ongoing CBNs forex intervention,  said Samed Olukoya, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd. Therefore, I would be expecting a surge in the foreign direct investment in the second quarter and an improvement in the Naira outlook going forward.
The police in Borno State on Wednesday confirmed the killing of three suspected female suicide bombers after a failed attack near Maidug...

The police in Borno State on Wednesday confirmed the killing of three suspected female suicide bombers after a failed attack near Maiduguri.The spokesperson for the Borno police command, Mr. Victor Isuku, made the confirmation in a statement in Maiduguri.Today at about 17:55 hours, three female suicide bombers suspected to have been conveyed by a motorcycle and dropped at a distance to Mamanti village in Molai area, were sighted and intercepted by vigilant security operatives.In the process, they hurriedly detonated explosives strapped to their bodies, killing themselves only, Isuku said.He said that a team from the Police Explosive Ordinance Department was promptly drafted to the scene to restore law and order, adding that there was no civilian casualty.The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the police had confirmed the killing of three suspected suicide bombers after a foiled attack at the University of Maiduguri on May 19.NAN also reported that the police on May 20 confirmed the killing of a suspected suicide bomber after a failed attempt to carry out an attack at the University of Maiduguri on Saturday.
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Jabi, on Thursday, granted the Department of State Service, DSS, the nod to hold the Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil and Gas Ltd, Ifeanyi Ubah, for another 14 days.Justice Yusuf Halilu extended the detention order following an ex-parte application the DSS filed through its lawyer Mr. G.O.A. Agbadua.The agency said it filed the application considering that an earlier order the court granted it on May 10, elapsed on Wednesday.Meanwhile, Ubahs lawyer, Mrs Ifeoma Esom has filed a fresh application asking the court to compel the DSS to release her client on administrative bail.It will be recalled that the security agency had in a counter-affidavit it filed before the court, alleged that Ubah committed an economic sabotage punishable by death.It told the court that the detained oil mogul illegally diverted about 84 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (commonly called petrol), that was kept in his custody by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.The DSS, while opposing an application that sought to vacate the remand order it secure against Ubah, stated in the counter-affidavit deposed by one of its operatives, Mr. Safwan Bello, that the PMS Ubah diverted was valued at N11billion.It averred that several efforts by the NNPC to recover the PMS it kept in Ubahs tank farm failed as the applicant had converted it to his personal use.The agency maintained that Ubahs action was capable of causing artificial scarcity of the product thus plunging the country not only into widespread scarcity of PMS but also in economic chaos.According to the DSS, The respondent (Ubah) was arrested on reasonable suspicion of his involvement in the commission of crime.The respondent refused to return the PMS to NNPC after repeated demands. The PMS is worth over N11bn. The action of the respondent is affecting the distribution of petroleum products to the populace.The action of the respondent is sabotage of NNPCs activities as it relates to distribution of petroleum products. If not for the urgent steps taken by the Federal Government, the action of the respondent would have plunged the country into widespread scarcity with its attendant effect on the economy.However, Ubahs lawyer, Esom, has accused the DSS of surreptitiously securing an order to detain her client.Esom alleged that the agency suppressed material facts when on May 10, it persuaded the court to allow it to hold Ubah in its custody for 14 days.In an application anchored on section 298(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, Ubah, told the court that Capital Oil and Gas Ltd (COG) of which the respondent is the CEO has always been one of NNPCs largest Throughput providers and this is evidenced by Throughput agreements entered into between NNPC subsidiaries and COG over the years.These Throughput agreements, in accordance with the norms and practice in the industry worldwide, allow conversion and diversion of IT products by the Operator so long as the Operator is prepared to re-deliver the products (in terms of the current contract) within 7 days of demand by the products' owner or to pay a penalty for non re-delivery.The penalty to re-deliver is expressly stated by the Contract to be a mere breach of contract remediable by the payment of penalty to the owner. The penalty is comprised of the cost of delivery of the products to the Operators tank farm with interest at Nibor+1.There can, therefore, be no issue of crime in conversion or diversion of products under a throughput contract (regardless of the ordinary connotations of those words).She revealed that the DSS earlier arrested Ubah at his house in Lagos on March 24 and kept him in its custody until April 14 when he was temporarily and conditionally released after he had been coerced into making payment of N2billion and executing various documents in favour of NNPC and AMCON.Esom told the court that when Ubah returns to his home in Lagos, in fear for his life and liberty should he renew his claims that he is not indebted to either NNPC Retail Ltd or AMCON as he had maintained before his incarceration, instructed his counsel to file an application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights.Notwithstanding the pendency of the suit and the service of the originating processes, the SSS again invited the Respondent to report to its offices in respect of the same allegations made by the NNPC and AMCON which is the subject matter of the suit.On the 5th of May 2017, the SSS arrested the respondent in Lagos and moved him to their Abuja office.
The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has called on former British parliamentarian, Eric Stuart Joyce to beam his searchlight on the billions o...

The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has called on former British parliamentarian, Eric Stuart Joyce to beam his searchlight on the billions of pound sterling siphoned from Nigerias shores to British banks and other investment sources in England, rather than commenting on President Muhammadu Buharis health.





Joyce had urged Nigerians to ask questions about Buharis health, stressing that in a democracy; Nigerians should not be kept in the dark about the presidents health.

But reacting to the claim by the former British lawmaker, MURIC said the former British lawmaker should use his connections to expose fraud activities.

In a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the group admonished Joyce to issue a public statement on the repatriation of monies stolen and hidden in British banks by Nigerians.

The statement reads, The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) thanks Mr. Joyce for his advice. We agree that satisfying the electorates curiosity engenders robust debate in a democracy. But that is only ceteris paribus.

There are other more important factors which may determine whether or not it is advisable to disclose the presidents health. Ours is a democracy of voodoo, death-wish, bolekaja, kleptocracy, ethnic jingoism and religious fanaticism.

This is contrary to what obtains in free democracies like Britain and the United States.

While we may want to stop short of asking Mr. Joyce to desist from interfering in Nigerias internal affairs, we are constrained to seize the opportunity of his interest in our country to plead with him to divert his interest to the billions of sterling pounds siphoned from Nigerias shores to British banks and other investment sources in England.

It must interest Mr. Joyce that the British economy is being propped up with money stolen from Nigeria. We are urging the ex-parliamentarian to use his connections particularly among his friends who are still in parliament.

Nothing stops the ex-lawmaker from issuing a public statement to compel the British government to repatriate money stolen from this country.

MURIC contends that Britain and the rest of Europe, particularly Switzerland which operates secret bank account system thereby shielding thieves from exposure and subsequent prosecution are aiding and abetting corruption in the Third World. The looters of our common wealth would not have succeeded without the existence of such leeways.

Mr. Joyce will agree with MURIC that countries where stolen money is kept is an accessory after the fact. Again, countries that benefit in any way from the proceeds of stolen money have a burden of morality on their conscience. But is Mr. Joyce ready to help free Britain from its moral burden?

In conclusion, we assert that the ball is in Mr. Joyce court. Whether to give the issue of Nigerias stolen money in British banks (oiling British economy) the same publicity as he gave the presidents health remain to be seen in the next few days.

Joyce may want to use his influence in the House of Commons (where we believe he must still have many friends) to stir up a debate on the need to repatriate Nigerias stolen money.

This will be more honourable than stirring up needless controversy on the Nigerian presidents health.


A pigeon has been caught with almost 200 ecstasy pill stashed in a backpack. The bird was captured by authorities in Kuwait, having flown o...



A pigeon has been caught with almost 200 ecstasy pill stashed in a backpack. The bird was captured by authorities in Kuwait, having flown over from Iraq. Pigeon was reportedly sent by traffickers hoping to get the drugs into Kuwait.





Pictures of the pigeon after its 'arrest' show the the grey bird and the bag on its back. Once the backpack is opened up, close to 200 small, white pills can be seen spilling out.The bird was caught by authorities after being spotted flying around an inner-city office block. The plight of the pigeon has captured the attention of the internet, with users calling it a 'flight risk' and urging authorities not to grant it bail.
The Federal and Lagos State Governments are seeking sanction for Kenya Airways for conveying a dead body from Ebola infested Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, without approval from the necessary bodies.This is coming as the corpse flown in from DRC has tested negative to the deadly Ebola virus.At a joint news conference on Thursday in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said the Kenya airline conveyed the deceased to Nigeria against the extant regulation.The airline brought the remains of this Nigerian without all necessary documentations that are required to process its clearance by the Department of Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health. The Federal Government of Nigeria and relevant agencies condemn this deliberate breach.In line with industry practice, a report has been made to the Nigerian Civil Aviation, the regulatory agency of the Nigerian aviation industry on the occurrence.Necessary steps are being taken by the regulatory authority to sanction the airline in a bid to prevent future occurrence. We have commenced detailed investigation by all relevant agencies of government to determine the immediate and remote intentions of this unfortunate behaviour, he said.Idris emphasized that the Federal Government instituted a ban on the repatriation of human remains into the country in all points of entry as a precautionary measure to avoid importation of any infectious disease, saying that the ban was one of the interventions the nation undertook during the Ebola outbreak.He said the Federal Ministry of Health and Port Health Division issued guidelines to all airlines on the procedures to be followed to obtain a waiver before repatriating any human remains into the country.The government will like to reiterate again that the ban is still in force and any attempt to contravene this ban will attract serious sanction. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari takes the health of her citizens seriously and will not shy away from wielding a big stick on any errant individuals or organisation, Idris said.However, the commissioner said as soon as the dead body was brought in from DRC, the officials of Port Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC and the Lagos State Ministry of Health investigated the cause of death of the remains and took samples for laboratory investigation.Idris said the laboratory report showed that there was no evidence of Ebola infection or any other contagious infections on the corpse, while assuring everyone to go about their normal business without any anxiety.Government will want everyone to be vigilant and encourage all our officials at land, sea and air borders to continue screening of international passengers.Government will want to appeal to all our international passengers to cooperate with our officials who are conducting screening at all our borders. This surveillance shall continue until further notice. All international carriers are also enjoined to cooperate with all relevant agencies of government to ensure unhindered surveillance, he stated.A representative of the Minister of Health, Dr. Joshua Obasanya also said a letter of investigation had been forwarded to Kenya Airline to establish why the airline flew a dead body from DRC into Nigeria without the necessary approval.He said if it was found that the airline breached the necessary protocols, it would be sanctioned appropriately, saying that the government was waiting for the airlines response to the letter.Also speaking, Dr. Biodun Ogunniyi, Consultant Epidemiologist, NCDC said there is no fresh outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria, saying that government had the wherewithal to deal with any emergent outbreak.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to apply for the final forfeiture of choice properties allegedly owned by ...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to apply for the final forfeiture of choice properties allegedly owned by former First Lady Patience Jonathan.But the commission has been having difficulty in getting the original titles of the assets. They include Aridolf Resort, Wellness and Spa and eight others.The anti-graft commission may ask the court to compel the agencies with the titles in Bayelsa and Rivers states to release them.The assets in Bayelsa are two marble duplexes at Otioko GRA by Isaac Boro Expressway; a Glass House on Sani Abacha Expressway; Akemfa Etie Plaza by AP filling Station, Melford Okilo Road; and Aridolf Resort, Wellness and Spa on Sani Abacha Expressway.Others in Port Harcourt are former Customs Service Officers Mess; two duplexes at 2/3, Bauchi Street; landed property with blocks at Ambowei Street; 3 Luxury apartments of four-bedroom each at Ambowei Street; and Grand View Hotel on Airport Road.The EFCC might consider non-conviction options to recover suspicious assets allegedly traced to the ex-First Lady, it was learnt.A source, who spoke in confidence, said: Investigations into the assets traced to the ex-First Lady have been completed. What is left is retrieving the land titles of these suspicious assets. But some land registries are not cooperating with us.We cannot allow these assets to continue to deteriorate. Very soon, we will apply for the final forfeiture of the affected assets  in line with our mandate. We will apply to the court for the final forfeiture of the assets to give room for those who owned the properties to come forward. We want to put the assets into public use like we have done in some cases of those implicated in the $2.1billion arms deals.Responding to a question, the source said:  Acting on orders from above, some officers in the Ministry of Lands in Rivers State have been blocking EFCCs access to vital documents.If they continue, we will take action against such officers for obstructing this agency from doing its work.We have made them to realise that by virtue of Section 7 of the EFCC Act , these officers are expected to cooperate with us.Section 7 of the EFCC Act states: The commission has power to (a) cause any investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organisation has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes.(b) Cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the persons lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.It was learnt that the ex-First Lady had not been interrogated in line with a deal brokered by the Abdulsalami Abubakar Peace Committee.Another source said: Part of the deal was that any loot or suspicious asset traced to the former first family might be mutually discussed and quietly returned.But the deal went awry when the ex-First Lady decided to approach the court to seek the enforcement of her fundamental human rights and to challenge the freezing of her accounts.
The Federal Government has released the result for the just concluded 2017 national common entrance examination into Federal government colleges also known as Unity schools.Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, approved the release of the results of the examination conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) a few weeks ago.A statement conveying this by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Husseini Adamu, on Thursday in Abuja said the result has been released for public access in all the State Ministries of Education nationwide as well as NECO zonal offices.A total of 80,421 candidates registered for the examination but only 77, 512 candidates actually sat for the examination.The general analysis of the result shows that the highest score was 189 out of 200 scored by two candidates; Emeka-Egbuna Chinecherem C. and Onubogu Chinazom Joyce both from Anambra State, while the least score was 4 scored by 8 candidates.Queens College, Yaba Lagos was one of the colleges with highest subscription of 5524, while the least subscribed college was FGGC, Monguno Borno State with only 21 candidates.The result could be accessed on-line http://www.fmeinterview.com or through NECO zonal offices nationwide, to know whether a candidate is shortlisted for placement or not.Meanwhile, the placement exercise is scheduled to take place in July, 2017.
The Federal Government has approved the closure of five foreign missions and embassies, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama said.Onyeama told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.The minister who did not mention the embassies or missions, said the process for closure was underway and was also subject to the approval of the president.We do not want to indicate the embassies that will be closed yet because we are in the process of submitting the proposals, the cost analysis and also the political analysis we did to the president.When he sees that, he may or may not want to close some, so we have not yet reached the stage of closing some, he said.The minister also reiterated that the closing missions abroad were extremely expensive.The expense, costs of closing embassies is so high and prohibitive but in the long run it will more economical.The minister, on April 10, told NAN the closure of Nigerian missions abroad is inevitable.He admitted that it is expensive to close a countrys embassy but quickly added that in the long run thepolicy will be beneficial to Nigerians.Onyeama stressed that the reduction of Nigerias foreign missions remains on the agenda of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.Buhari had said at the inception of his administration that the Federal Government will reduce the number of missions to save cost.Nigeria currently has 119 foreign missions.Onyeama said: The government is following up on that and we have sort of prepared the roadmap; we have started the implementation of that and made also recommendations in that context.Paradoxically, closing missions is extremely expensive. At first sight it seems obvious that you close it you are saving cost but you will actually find that the cost of closing is almost prohibitive.But in the long run it will be cheaper, but in the immediate and short term it is expensive but we have started the process, he said.
Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has stated that Nigerian rice would compete favourably with any brand in the world.

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has stated that Nigerian rice would compete favourably with any brand in the world.

According to him, Nigerians would soon start seeing the manifestation of some of the reforms taken by the Federal Government in the agricultural sector as the country would soon start producing local rice.

Osinbajo made this remark in Abuja on Wednesday during an interactive session with some middle level civil and public servants on the ease of doing business.

He said if Nigerians can consume what the country produces locally, poverty and unemployment would be easily tackled.

He said the government was mindful of this development and would do everything within its powers to encourage local farmers to improve the output and quality of local price.

Osinbajo said, It is worrisome that locally produced rice is still expensive than imported rice from India, China and Thailand.

Rice produced in these countries, are subsidized by their respective governments making rice from the region cheap and affordable.

By subsiding rice production for farmers, more jobs are created. We are planning to introduce some kinds of assistance to our farmers in due course. Our rice will have to compete with any rice in the world. We will hold meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture every day, the Acting president said.
The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have suspended their strike in Cross River.The two bodies embarked on the strike on May 23.The unions announced the suspension of the strike on Thursday in Calabar after a three-hour closed-door meeting with the Cross River Government.The National Treasurer of NUPENG, Mr Canaan David-Otu, told reporters that the unions embarked on the strike because of the imposition of N12, 800 daily levy on each tanker loading petrol at depots in the state.David-Otu said that during the meeting, the State Government assured that the levy would be discontinued.We embarked on strike because the states revenue department imposed a daily levy of N12, 800 for each tanker loading petrol at depots.We told the State Governments representatives that we dont have such money. Some tanker drivers earn N15, 000 as monthly salary; so you can see that it is impossible to pay that amount.The Federal Government is the one controlling the price of fuel in Nigeria. We told the State Government openly that we cannot pay that money.We have announced to all depots and filling stations to resume selling of products to consumers, David-Otu stated.The states Commissioner for Finance, Mr Asuquo Ekpeyong, who led government officials to the meeting, said the meeting was to reconcile parties with a view to ending the strike.Ekpeyong blamed the strike on communication gap between relevant government agencies and the petroleum unions.They have agreed to suspend the strike at this very moment. They felt that the State Government did not give them adequate information and notice, he said.The Chairman of IPMAN in the state, Mr Lawrence Agim, thanked Gov. Ben Ayade for providing a conducive environment for petroleum marketers in the state to carry out their businesses.We have agreed that the strike should be suspended. We have taken out two weeks to help us sort out all issues concerning revenue collection from our members in the state.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has expressed his support for a nine-month extension of the deal reached late last year in which the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output to stem the supply glut in the market and revive prices.The oil producers agreed in December to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day for six months from January 1, 2017. But Nigeria and Libya were exempted from the cuts because their production had suffered disruptions on the back of unrest and militant attacks.OPEC is meeting in Vienna, Austria, today to consider whether to prolong the original deal reached in December.Kachikwu, in an interview with Bloomberg TV ahead of the meeting, said Nigeria was not opposed to joining the production cuts in a bid to prop up oil prices.He, however, said the nations oil production was still hovering around 1.5 million bpd, down from around 2.2 million bpd, as a lot of the pipelines affected by militant attacks had yet to be repaired.Our numbers dont justify us joining the pack yet. But quite frankly when we do, the pressure is going to get on for us to join the cut team. And Nigeria is not averse to that because I think everybody needs to make the necessary sacrifice to help the price stability on a worldwide basis, the minister said.Kachikwu said, Certainly, I support the nine months (extension) straight up because I think it gives a longer gestation period to see how prices move, how stocks stay, and how the reserves in most countries are holding up.I am not as aggressive as some of my colleagues are. I am looking at rebalancing more in the first quarter of next year. That is why I am more supportive of the nine months agenda.
A 50,000 liter petroleum tanker fell at about 8am today while it was raining in Magboro, Ogun State. Residents defied the rainfall to sco...

A 50,000 liter petroleum tanker fell at about 8am today while it was raining in Magboro, Ogun State. Residents defied the rainfall to scoop fuel from the tanker. See photos from the scene after the cut...












Rev. Fr. Job Chechet, a Catholic Priest, has urged Christians and Nigerians in general to practice and preach the message of forgiveness, love and hope to make the country a better place.Chechet gave the advice in a sermon at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Gwarimpa, at the Mass to mark the Ascension of the Lord, on Thursday in Abuja.Ascension Day marks the Christian belief that Jesus ascended into heaven.The priest said that Nigerians should emulate Jesus Christ who loved the world and gave himself as a sacrifice for the salvation of all.He said Christ taught the world through his mission to love and forgive as well as living a holy life.This message of love and forgiveness is what He has called us to preach as we remember His ascension into heaven today.There are lots of vices in the world but you should make difference by building a personal relationship with God and read the Scriptures to know what is pleasing to Him.Our attitude to sinners should be to love them; the Church will not condemn individuals who sin in name of exercising their human rights rather she will condemn the act.The Church will condemn the act that does not glorify God and pray for the conversion of those involved in such act, he said.Chechet further urged Nigerians to desist from the act of condemning one another saying  we all have our weaknesses but we should learn to show love to all.He also urged Nigerians to stand on truth and justice in the face of corruption and lawlessness.I pray that God will give you the courage to stand for what is right, knowing that whatever you do has spiritual inclination.So, you should live in a way that will please God so that you will spend eternity with Him after your journey in this world, the priest said.According to the Bible, Jesus Christ met several times with his disciples during the 40 days after his resurrection so he could teach them how to pass on his message.On the 40th day, he took them to the Mount of Olives, where they watched as he ascended to heaven.This day symbolises the end of the Easter season and takes place ten days before Pentecost.The Novena (nine days prayers) to the Holy Spirit will start on May 26, in preparation for Pentecost, which will come up on Sunday, 4th of June.
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to those agitating for Biafra to shield the struggle, stressing that there is enough cake...

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to those agitating for Biafra to shield the struggle, stressing that there is enough cake to share.





Speaking at the Biafra conference held in Abuja on Thursday, Obasanjo noted that dialogue is a sure way to resolving the issue of agitation for an independent Igbo nation.

Obasanjo said some of those agitating for Biafra today lacked the understanding of what it entails.

According to Obasanjo,We never had a national leader. Our leaders at the beginning were mindful of their regions. That is our problem till today.

I have maintained that the young officers who struck in 1966 were naive but there were some element of nationalism in some of them. Be that as it may, it set us back.

The language used in the war did not help matters, the people on the Biafra side called us vandals and we called them rebels.

We thought we would end the war in three months, but it took us 30 months, and the federal side nearly lost it.



Civil war is more difficult than fighting in a foreign land because we are fighting to unite.



Even a soldier of mine who tried to rape a woman I had to chase him with a gun. He did not succeed in raping the woman, and I did not have to gun him down.

Some of the people agitating for Biafra today were not even born then. They dont know what it entails.



But I think, we should even appeal to those saying they want to go, we should not tell them to go, we should make them understand that there is enough cake to share. We should massage Nigeria just like in a love relationship.
Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar said yesterday that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is ever ready to defend Nigerias ...

Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar said yesterday that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is ever ready to defend Nigerias territorial integrity.The Chief of Air Staffs statement is coming barely a week after Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai disclosed that some unscrupulous politicians had been approaching his officers for political assistance.Air Marshal Abubakar told his officers and men in Kaduna during the second quarter meeting that the Air Force must continue to carry out its constitutional duties professionally and ensure that territorial integrity is not undermined by any group or groups.We are more than ever committed to defend the territorial integrity of this country. Air Marshal Abubakar said, adding:We are also more than ever committed to monitor oil criminals and other activities challenging smooth running of the country. We are going to equip the various units so they can perform there roles effectively.The CAS who also commissioned the newly rehabilitated 401 flights control tower, said the new structure and the modern equipment therein will assist greatly the operation of the flying training school.
Former Senate President, David Mark has hit his governor, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, describing him as Ortom de barrow. Mark, had whi...

Former Senate President, David Mark has hit his governor, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, describing him as Ortom de barrow.

Mark, had while commissioning Brick House and the chapel at government house, Port Harcourt, mocked his state governor, Ortom for distributing wheelbarrows while others were busy building roads and bridges.

Ortom in his reply said Mark had totally disconnected from his people and was only jealous of his achievement.

Marks statements smack of a man who has obviously been disconnected with the very people who voted him. His utterances also exude envy against Governor Ortom who is succeeding where Mark has failed. In Benue South which Senator Mark represents, the Ortom administration has embarked on a number of projects for the people, Ortom said.

Mark in a reply by his media aide, Paul Mumeh described Ortom as a confused fellow who does not deserve to be a governor.
A Manchester United fan had a creative way to persuade Zlatan Ibrahimovic to stay.The cheeky banner begged the veteran Swede to stay at the club. It read: Zlatan, stay and can sh@g my wife, with a picture of the Swedish striker celebrating one of his many goals for the Red Devils this season. Zlatans future is still in doubt with the 35-year-old recovering from a knee injury sustained in the semi-final of this competition against Anderlecht at Old Trafford.His current contract runs out this summer and he is yet to sign a new deal. The striker is set to be out with his injury for months yet and United fans are waiting to see whether he stays after a successful first season in the Premier League. The former Barcelona and Inter has another year's extension to his contract already on the table.
GLOUCESTER TWP. -- Police are investigating a crash that left the burned-up remains of a motorcycle lying on Berlin-Cross Keys Road in Sicklerville Thursday afternoon.

Gloucester Township police released information about the roughly two-hour road closure but information about injuries was not available.

The damaged vehicles, the motorcycle and a pickup truck, were still at the crash scene on Berlin-Cross Keys Road near the ramp to the Atlantic City Expressway at 5:10 p.m.

The roadway was blackened and strewn with debris around the motorcycle.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

This story was updated when the road reopened.
HOBOKEN -- The Montana politician charged with assaulting a reporter on Wednesday previously donated $20 million to a New Jersey college for an academic building that is supposed to bear his family's name when it opens in 2019.

Greg Gianforte, a prominent alumnus of Stevens Institute of Technology, pledged two separate $10 million donations -- one in 2012 and another in 2016 -- for the planned Gianforte Academic Center on the university's Hoboken campus.

The combined $20 million gift is the largest ever for a single project in Stevens' history, university officials said last year.

In a statement, the university said it has no direct knowledge of the incident and will not take a position on what happened. The university did not indicate whether it intends to rename the building, which is not yet under construction.

"The incident as reported in recent news involving Mr. Gianforte was both regrettable and disappointing," the university said. "We will learn more as the legal and the electoral processes unfold."

Gianforte, who is running for congress in Montana, was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday after he allegedly "body-slammed" a reporter at a campaign event, according to multiple reports.

A Fox News reporter who witnessed the incident said Gianforte grabbed Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground.

Gianforte then began punching Jacobs, who was questioning him about the Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act, according to the Fox News report.

In a statement, Gianforte's campaign said Jacobs aggressively shoved his phone in the candidate's face and refused to lower it, leading to a physical confrontation when Gianoforte attempted to grab it, according to the report.

Gianforte, who unsuccessfully ran for governor of Montana last year, is a 1983 Stevens graduate who holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from the private university. In 2012, he sold RightNow Technologies, a computer firm he founded, to Oracle for $1.8 billion.

The planned academic building at Stevens will be an 89,950-square-foot facility with two buildings that will include classrooms, labs and offices on the corner of Hudson and Sixth streets in Hoboken.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
This story is part of "N.J.'s hardest-to-get-into high schools," an NJ Advance Media special report on the rise of specialized public high schools for top students around the state.

Over the last two decades, the list of top-rated high schools in New Jersey has changed drastically.

Many top local high schools in suburban towns have been surpassed in the rankings by a new crop of schools -- specialized high schools run by the county vocational-technical districts.

They include High Tech High School in Monmouth County, Union County Magnet High School and Bergen County Academies. Most of the schools require students to take entrance exams and only a fraction of those who apply get in.

The schools do not consider race or income when choosing which students to admit. An NJ Advance Media analysis of state enrollment data found Asian and white students dominate many of New Jersey's 20 stand-alone specialized high schools.

Black and Hispanic students are underrepresented in most of the schools when compared to the overall student population in their counties, the analysis found.

Here are some readers' thought on the rise of the specialized high schools in New Jersey:

I'm back: I'm glad they have these schools for the kids and I hope they do well. I think they should have such schools for younger kids who do better than most of their peers, so they don't become bored or poor students. We need to do something to keep the bright younger kids learning and away from bad influences.

danblu:Good: These schools offer an exceptional education and help the best and brightest fulfil their potential.

Bad: They siphon the best students and the regular high schools are pushed further into the doldrums.

NYC is a perfect example. Kids emerging from the special high schools go on to do great things. But unless a kid gets into a special high school or a private high school, they are doomed to a poor education. The regular public high schools in NYC are awful.

wjcw: The argument against charter schools is that they cater to a select population. (even though entrance is by lottery)

The story goes they take the best/brightest and the easiest/cheapest to educate and leave the sending school worse for the wear. (even though the sending school gets to keep 10% of the students' money after they leave)

But I don't hear ANY of those arguments against magnets, where the same argumenst are amplified. I mean, there's an entrance exam (far worse than a lottery).

Why the hypocrisy?

DaWacko: Most interesting is the cost to run these schools, I find it odd that they manage to purchase high tech instruments and still manage to spend the average.

Jakesmom: I'm going to take issue wit the tone and tenor of this article-

First, there are NO students who are "lucky enough" to get in to these schools- there are students who pass the entrance exams and meet the other criteria. Second, if there is "high pressure" in the "world" of these schools, the students themselves have chosen to challenge themselves to succeed in that atmosphere. Third, while it may not be "fair" that not all students qualify for these schools, how "fair" is it that the students who thrive in them would be relegated to schools that do not meet their needs?

I'm sure there are plenty of parents who wish their children qualified for such schools-but these are parents putting undo pressure on their own children to be something they are not. This is really no different than the parent who is (usually) despised for pushing a child into a sport for which the child has no interest or aptitude.

I say Hurrah for these schools. The best and brightest deserve them.

cakes: It's quite simple ... highly educated parents have highly educated children. That cycle will not be broken until the children of low or moderately educated parents are given a great education. Hence, affirmative action for these children to have a great education. During the next generation, they will have children, and they will insist that they have a great education. These academies will be the norm.

And America will benefit.

tonyducks: My daughters attend (ed) High Tech High School and I can attest to the amazing diversity of students who go to that school. Maybe the test grades may be a little lower but the creative atmosphere and enthusiasm of the students is self evidence of a superior learning environment.

50 years of hard work: So what is wrong with a school blindly accepting students based on tests, scholastic achievement and gpa's ?

This is as objective as any standard that I have heard of. This admission policy is blind to all else and as a result Cannot be racist- so why is there a problem ?

I would like to think that Everyone would be content with a system that Does Not Discriminate against race sex or anything else.

Heffalump: I wonder why it is an "uncomfortable" truth? Is it because admissions are based SOLELY on academic performance? Is it because we have lavished Mega-$billions on the Abbotts over 30 years with virtually no positive results? The sad truth is that science, math, and engineering deal with hard facts, and can't be "dumbed down" for underachievers.

I hope that these specialty schools can continue to accept only those top students who score the highest. I went to engineering school and had a long productive career, and I probably could not have gained admittance. So, even without being one of these top achievers, there is no reason why any high school can't produce academically trained graduates.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.
Before your foot hits the warm sand at the Jersey shore this summer, you'll need to grab one more accessory that's required in most shore towns: The often hated, sometimes expensive beach tag or badge.

The first beach tag ever issued in New Jersey, now 88 years old, is stashed behind glass in a Monmouth County town.

Who would think that a badge less than 2 inches squared would change the course of New Jersey tourism?

The shiny brass badge, engraved with the words "bathing privilege" and the date 1929 in the middle, is one of approximately 200 inside a display case at the Bradley Beach Historical Museum.

"Unfortunately, Bradley Beach was the first place in the United States to require a beach badge to go on the beach," said Don Lewis, curator of the museum. "We're probably hated for that."

It was mid-July, the summer of 1929, when the local Board of Commissioners held a meeting and passed a resolution "designating the public bathing beaches of this resort for Bradley Beach residents and their guests only."

The mayor at the time, Frank C. Borden, Jr., decided, after talking to friends and residents of Bradley Beach, that they needed to keep the beaches "seclusive for our residents if the property owners expect to make advantageous rentals in the future."

The plan included that an attendant be placed at the entrance of each "group" and allow only Bradley Beach residents and their guests to use the beach. Every person residing in Bradley Beach was to be issued an identification tag or emblem. Anyone who wanted to access the beach had to show their credential to the attendant.

Lewis did not know if there was a cost for the badge at the time.

As the years went by, one of a variety of badges were required to bathe at Bradley Beach, depending on your gender, age and how you wanted to cool off.

These badges included adult male or female, boy or girl, senior, season or daily, beach or pool at the LaReine Avenue Pool, and a beach and pool combo badge.

Soon after, other shore towns caught on and established their own fees. In Lavallette, the cost of upkeep was the reason behind the town's decision in 1954 to implement a $3 seasonal beach badge for property owners or anyone renting for five consecutive weeks or longer.

Then in 1955, a state law was passed that allowed towns "bordering the Atlantic Ocean, tidal water bays or rivers to charge a fee to beachgoers in order to account for maintenance and safety costs associated with them."

The statute states that the fees be reasonable and be applied to improve, maintain and police the property and "to provide protection from erosion and other sea damage and to provide facilities and safeguards for public bathing and recreation."

It wasn't until two decades later in the '70s that towns such as Margate and Ocean City jumped on the bandwagon.

"What was I going to do?" said Frank Riemann, 80, of Margate, when talking about buying beach tags for his family in 1974. "It wasn't much money, just a little to help clean the beach."

Today, beach badge fees bring in millions of dollars for shore towns up and down the coast and in some cases, fees continue to increase.

From a plain brass badge to a picture ID to the creative designs of today, beach badges continue to take on a personality of their own and have become a major part of the towns' history.

For some people beach badges have become part of their own personal history. A memento that triggers thoughts of years gone by.

For badge collector Bob Kugel, it was a Long Beach Township tag from 1978. "It was kind of our first year as young adults that we went to the shore without our parents."

Kugel has approximately 440 badges on display in his Ship Bottom home. Looking over the 11 shadow boxes would be a trip down memory lane for any long time LBI beach goer.

Kugel and his girlfriend Kris Kain display his collection of badges at shows up and down LBI and take notice how people react to certain ones.

"It's amazing to see how people really look at the badge itself, the intricacy of it," said Kain.

"It's kind of fabulous how people reflect back."

Collections of these beach badges through the years are on display in some of the historical societies or municipal buildings throughout the Jersey Shore.

"It's a part of history," said Lewis. "We were the first one in the nation to require a badge and obviously it's part of the history of the town."

Be sure to click on the gallery above to view historic beach tags from the Jersey Shore.

Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @photogthawk. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- As an assistant prosecutor played a recording of police radio traffic in a county courtroom Wednesday, East Orange Police Detective Kemon Lee quickly identified himself calling for backup on May 1, 2015, the night authorities say Andre Higgs gunned down Latrena May on the steps of her East Orange home.

Latrena May. (Facebook)

"We got a victim, and a suspect inside the building -- shots fired," his voice crackled from a speaker in front of the jury box.

The officer said he shot Higgs when the man shot May in front of him, after she called out to Lee as his patrol car passed her Tremont Avenue home.

Higgs, 45, of Watchung, is on trial before Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler on murder and other charges in the death of May, 27, the mother of Higgs' child and a teacher at Pride Academy Charter School.

Higgs survived his injuries, while May died of three gunshot wounds, her death ruled a homicide by an assistant medical examiner. The couple's then 4-year-old daughter was inside the home at the time of May's shooting, but was unharmed, authorities said.

The state Attorney General's Office later determined Lee's use of force was justified, but defense attorney Remi Spencer argued in openings Tuesday that her client was only charged with May's death as a result of Lee's actions -- a theory co-counsel Joseph P. Rem Jr. pursued in his cross examination of Lee in the second day of trial.

Lee testified under direct examination that when he heard May calling "officer, officer" as he passed, he made a U-turn and pulled up in front of the house with his car's overhead emergency lights on.

As he got out of the car and approached, Lee unholstered his department-issued .40-caliber pistol, his finger off the trigger, he said.

Under cross-examination by Rem on Wednesday, Lee told the jury that he did not recall May saying anything as he approached her and Higgs, who were standing on the home's top step.

Rem, pointing out that guidelines from the state Attorney General's Office clearly specify the circumstances under which an officer may unholster their firearm, asked him why he felt the need to approach the couple with his gun out.

The officer responded that because Higgs was almost a foot taller than May, the two were standing extremely close together and she had called for a police officer, he felt he needed to display his firearm to "establish and maintain control in a potentially dangerous situation."

Rem's cross examination of Lee drew numerous objections from Edwab, several of which resulted in sidebar conversations between the attorneys and the judge.

After Wigler excused the jury for the day, the assistant prosecutor told the judge that while he did not want to continue to lodge objections to Rem's cross examination of Lee, the questioning seemed to indicate Higgs' attorneys were pursuing a self-defense argument the judge had not previously authorized.

"That's our issue," he said. "If they're saying he fired his weapon because the officer fired his weapon, then they're saying self-defense."

Wigler pointed out that the state Attorney General's Office had already determined Lee's shooting of Higgs was "completely justified."

"Well, they didn't speak to my client, obviously," Rem said.

The attorney argued that he and Spencer aren't pursuing a self-defense argument, but rather challenging the narrative that Higgs purposefully shot May in front of a police officer, a theory Rem said "flies in the face of common sense."

By probing the officer's recollections of when and why he shot Higgs, he argued, he was examining Lee's credibility in an attempt to show jurors a reasonable doubt exists as to Higgs' guilt.

"That's all I have to show," Rem said.

The judge ultimately said he will allow the defense to continue to pursue that line of questioning. While Higgs' attorneys may cross-examine Lee as to his role in their client's shooting, Wigler on Tuesday barred them from raising the subject of previous shootings he was involved in as a police officer.

The jury is not sitting Thursday, and the trial is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
LOGAN TWP. -- Efforts to contain thousands of gallons of propylene leaking from a rail car are continuing Thursday afternoon.

One man was injured and about 1,500 people have been evacuated in a half-mile area of the incident, within Pureland Industrial Park.

Propylene is a highly combustible gas used in the petrochemical industry.

Trouble began shortly before 10 a.m. when workers offloading propylene from a 30,000-gallon tanker car tried to relieve pressure on a stem valve. The valve apparently malfunctioned, officials reported.

A worker who was burned was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania for treatment of a non-life threatening injury.

Emergency responders evacuated the area around SMS Rail Lines, located at Osprey Court, as the gas spewed from the car in large clouds.

"They are trying to repair the valve, but they have not been able to do that yet," said Gloucester County spokesman Deb Sellitto.

Firefighters are spraying down the car in an effort to knock down the gas and to allow crews to get close enough to evaluate the damage to the valve and plan their next steps, according to Logan Township Administrator Lyman Barnes.

The most immediate concern is a fire or explosion. "That's really the primary area of concern right now," Barnes said.

Hazmat teams from Gloucester and Camden counties are assisting at the scene. The State Police closed Interstate 295 off-ramps at Exit 10 as the emergency unfolded.

It wasn't clear as of early Thursday afternoon when the evacuation would be lifted.

About 60 businesses have been evacuated, Barnes said. That includes about 50 kids and adults from a daycare located within Pureland. They were relocated to a nearby Holiday Inn to await pickup by family members.

No other injuries have been reported.

Barnes praised local, county and state responders handling all aspects of the emergency.

"They are doing a phenomenal job," he said.

Contact with liquified propylene can cause frostbite, while inhalation of high levels of the gas can cause dizziness, according to a New Jersey hazardous substance fact sheet. Exposure can also affect the heart and nervous system.

Posted by Gloucester County Emergency Management on Thursday, May 25, 2017

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
UPDATE: Pilot identified in fatal helicopter crash

NEW CASTLE, Delaware -- A New Jersey man was killed in a medical helicopter crash on Thursday, according to Delaware State Police.

The man, who has been identified as a 37-year-old Franklinville resident, was piloting a PennStar helicopter shortly before noon when he crashed in a grassy area in the rear of a U.S. Post Office near New Castle County Airport.

He was traveling alone on a training flight, according to a statement released by Penn Medicine, which provides air transportation services for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

He was traveling from Atlantic City when the crash occurred, according to 6ABC.

The pilot was declared dead at the scene.

The Delaware State Police, National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the accident. No other injuries were reported.

The pilot's name was withheld pending notification of his family.

The craft was operated by Metro Aviation, which provides aviation services for PennStar.

Presented by Public Information Officer, Master Corporal Jeffrey R. Hale New Castle (19720)- Delaware State Police are... Posted by Delaware State Police on Thursday, May 25, 2017

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
BAYONNE -- A federal lawsuit filed against the city asserts the Bayonne Zoning Board violated federal law by denying a Muslim group's application to build a mosque and community center on the east side of town.

The complaint, which was filed in federal court Thursday afternoon, argues that the city of Bayonne and its zoning board violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by denying approval for the plan based on factors board members were not legally permitted to consider.

RLUIPA is a federal statute that protects churches and other religious institutions from burdensome zoning law restrictions of their property use.

The plaintiffs, Abdul Hameed Butt and Khaled Aly -- the president and vice president of the Bayonne Muslims, respectively -- assert that the zoning board's denial of the proposed house of worship was influenced by "anti-Muslim community animus," according to the complaint.

"As is happening in towns across America, phony zoning issues were used to block our mosque because of bigotry against Muslims," Butt said in a statement. "The zoning board subjected our application to completely different standards to those it applied to Christian churches."

The plaintiffs are being represented by Adeel A. Mangi and Muhammad Faridi of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in Manhattan. The attorneys represented an Islamic society in Bernards Township in a similar case, where a mosque was denied by the city's planning board.

The Bayonne Muslims' lawsuit seeks undetermined compensatory damages and a reversal of the zoning board's decision.

John "Jay" Coffey II, Bayonne's law director, said the city received the 119-page lawsuit shortly before 1 p.m. but declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing ongoing litigation.

In March, the city's Zoning Board denied the Bayonne Muslims' application to establish a religious community center at 109 East 24th St. citing traffic and parking issues on the dead-end street.

The Bayonne Muslims, a nonprofit group in the city, had been searching for a permanent home while it rented out the basement of the St. Henry's School for prayer services.

The two-and-a-half year process created a fervent reaction from people on both sides of the issue. It all came to a head during a heated six-hour meeting March 6, when the zoning board voted 4-3 in favor of granting the group variances , but ultimately failed to pass it because a five-vote super majority was not reached.

The mosque was proposed for a residential zone, but because of its zoning consideration as a "conditionally permitted use" property, the plan needed to meet three requirements: a total of 20,000 square feet of space, the building must be set back 30 feet its property lines, and a 5-foot visual buffer must be established between adjacent properties.

A scene from the Bayonne Zoning Board meeting at Bayonne High School on Monday, March 6, 2017.

Because the proposal did not meet two of the three criteria -- the 30-foot setback and the buffer requirement -- the Bayonne Muslims sought variance relief from the board.

However, the suit asserts that the three dissenting votes on the zoning board -- which came from Chairman Mark Urban, Commissioner Edoardo Ferrante Jr., and Commissioner Louis Lombari -- did not cite sufficient evidence of testimony related to the setback and buffer issues.

While discussing his vote, Urban said "there is definitely not parking in the area to handle all of what this applicant wants to bring... I passed the area several times and I have to differ with the traffic survey. I didn't see no hundred spots," according to minutes from the March 6 meeting.

Ferrante and Lombari cited their own opinions as to whether or not the community center belonged in the neighborhood.

Lombari told the audience that "the approval of this community center, I do believe would be negative impact to this neighborhood."

But the lawsuit argues the three board members based their no-votes on concerns unrelated to the setback and buffer variances the nonprofit group was seeking.

"The Zoning Board was not permitted to consider other issues -- such as traffic or the appropriateness of the neighborhood for a mosque -- in making that determination," the lawsuit states.

Additionally, the suit alleges that the mosque application actually received the requisite number of votes -- four -- in regard to a parking variance for the area, but was nonetheless denied by the board, according to the complaint.

Ultimately, the zoning board "failed to identify any compelling governmental interest requiring denial of the setback and buffer variances as required by federal law," the suit states.

As a result, the city violated RLUIPA by imposing a "substantial burden" onto a house of worship, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit cites two similar approvals the zoning board made in 2011 and 2012 for houses of worship.

In 2011, the zoning board granted a variance to the Virgin Mary and St. John Coptic Orthodox Church at 22 West 20th St. despite observing that the applicant did not satisfy any of the three requirements for a conditional use variance, according to the lawsuit.

In 2012, the board granted Iglesia Ni Cristo church at 280 Ave. E. a variance similar to the one the Bayonne Muslims sought, the lawsuit said.

While the Iglesia Ni Cristo plan was being approved, the Bayonne Muslims had begun their search for a permanent location for a community center. After consulting with city officials for the appropriate land in the city, according to the lawsuit, the group purchased the property at 109 East 24th St. in July 2015 for $1 million.

The property on East 24th Street had previously been owned by Bayroff, Max Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of roofing products and sheet metal, according to the complaint.

The Bayonne Muslims began their plans to convert the property into a mosque in August 2015. The complaint also states that the plaintiffs "endured years of bigotry and hate crime from those opposed to the mosque," including anti-Muslim rhetoric that was spray-painted on the outside of the St. Henry's School building.

The suit argues the anti-Muslim sentiment from a segment of community contributed significantly to the zoning board's decision to vote down the plan.

The Bayonne Muslim's currently have no place to worship; the lease they rented for the St. Henry's School expired in January.

"I have lived in Bayonne since 1979. I own businesses and a home here. I raised my daughters here. This is my city, just as a much as an other resident. We will fight for the rights that our Constitution gives every American," Aly said in a statement.
JERSEY CITY -- A conservative watchdog and the Jersey City teachers union are set to face off in court tomorrow over the school district's policy allowing two employees to work full-time for their union on the taxpayers' dime.

Two New Jersey residents, working with the Goldwater Institute, sued the district in January alleging the district's "release time" policy violates the gift clause of the New Jersey Constitution. Oral arguments are scheduled for tomorrow morning in Hudson County Superior Court.

The Jersey City Education Association -- its president, Ron Greco, and second vice president, Tina Thorp, are at the center of the dispute -- wants a judge to toss the lawsuit, arguing in a 38-page brief that not having district-paid union workers would be "disastrously disruptive" to the education of the district's 28,000 students and its staff.

"It cannot be too strongly stressed that a major function of the two employees on release time is to work with management to avoid labor problems and to both resolve potentially disruptive disputes and establish a working relationship in which disputes are avoided and readily addressed in the administration of the JCEA contract, not to foment labor rights in a destabilizing manner," the JCEA brief reads.

Schools Superintendent Marcia V. Lyles and the school board are also named as defendants.

The plaintiffs are Moshe Rozenblit, of Jersey City, and Qwon Kyu Rim, of Whippany. They argue that release time is an "exceptionally generous gift" that serves no public service. They also say the district has no "formal accounting mechanism" to track how Greco or Thorpe use their time.

"The district places no controls on the activities of Mr. Greco or Ms. Thorpe," their brief reads. "In other words, while on release time, district teachers perform the union's own private business at taxpayer expense without any accountability to either the district or taxpayers."

The constitution's gifts clause bars local governments from giving "any money or property, or loan its money or credit, to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation."

Payroll records show Greco makes $106,580 and Thorp's salary is $99,000. They are both teachers.

The JCEA, which notes in its brief that Rozenblit lives in a tax-abated building, also argues that the plaintiffs did not act in a timely manner, that the gifts clause cannot invalidate collective bargaining agreements and that the provision only affects two out of roughly 2,700 employees.

Tomorrow's hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in front of Judge Barry Sarkisian at the Brennan courthouse, 583 Newark Ave.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Leaders from Penn State University will meet on June 2 to consider changes aimed at improving student safety following the hazing-related death of a New Jersey teen at a fraternity house.

Penn State President Eric J. Barron, while not going into specifics, said the university is considering changes that will "depart drastically from measures commonly employed at institutions nationwide.

"Underage and dangerous drinking, sexual misconduct and hazing are complex issues that vex universities and colleges across the nation," Barron said. "We are committed to taking the steps necessary to promote the safety and well-being of our students."

Timothy Piazza, 19, of Readington Township, died in February after a fall during a party at Beta Theta Pi, where he had just started pledging. He was one of 14 pledges who took part in a hazing that included the consumption of large quantities of alcohol over a short period of time.

After he fell down a set of basement stairs, members of the fraternity waited for almost 12 hours before calling 9-1-1, and an investigation revealed members did not heed concerns and warning signs about his condition and tried to hid evidence of drinking, according to a grand jury report.

University administrators and the board of trustees will meet at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center to consider a comprehensive set of recommendations. They plan to meet in executive session in the morning, and then open the meeting to the public at 1 p.m. The public portion of the meeting will be live-streamed.

"The safety of our students and campus community is of paramount importance, and we are resolved to take decisive action," Barron said. "There are no easy solutions, but we will leave no stone unturned as we search for the most effective ways to achieve change."

The university stated, in its release, it remains committed to "honoring the Piazza family's desire" to make meaningful changes aimed at improving student safety.

James Piazza, Timothy's father, said recently during an appearance on Good Morning America that Penn State needs to put in place policies and procedures to regulate alcohol at fraternities.

He said his family is willing to work with the university, and said he has reached out to its leaders.

The Beta Theta Pi fraternity and 18 of its members are facing a number of charges, including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, hazing and serving alcohol to minors. The members will appear in Bellefonte, Pa., for preliminary hearings on June 12.

The fraternity, suspended in 2009, reopened a year later as a dry house, and was not supposed to host parties onsite where alcohol was served. Penn State has put a graduation hold on the students and the fraternity was permanently banned.

Attorneys representing some of those accused have said those charged should not be held accountable because they could not have known the difference between a person who was intoxicated and a person with serious injuries.

The family's attorney, Tom Kline of Philadelphia, said there are plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the fraternity, its members and Penn State.

Following Piazza's death, the university announced changes, including:
Memorial Day events are planned across Hudson County to remember and pay tribute to those men and women who died fighting for our country. The following events will be happening through Memorial Day:

Bayonne

On Monday, Memorial Day, Our Lady of Assumption Catholic War Veterans Post 1612 will hold its Memorial Day Mass at 8 a.m. at St. Michael's Church on East 23rd St. Following the Mass, all are welcome at the Catholic War Veterans Post Hall at 18 West 23rd St. for coffee and light refreshments. The Memorial Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday. It will start on Fifth Street and will make its way to Broadway. From there, it will go to 32nd Street, where there will be a reviewing stand.

Guttenberg

The town will host a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, Memorial Day, at 3 p.m. in Monument Park at 70th Street and Boulevard East. Following the ceremony there will be an outdoor BBQ.

Hoboken

Today, Hoboken will host its 119th annual parade. It will begin at City Hall at 6:30 p.m. and proceed down Washington Street. The reviewing stand will be at 10th Street and Washington Street in front of Hoboken Elks Lodge.Washington Street will be closed between First Street and Observer Highway at 6 p.m. for the assembly of the parade and Washington Street and side streets will be closed as the parade proceeds north.

Jersey City

The Lafayette Amvets Post 33 will be meeting at St. Mary's Church on the corners of Pacific and Bramhall avenues on Monday at 9:30 a.m. They will march throughout the Lafayette area and return to the church for the 10 a.m. services. Following the services, they will head to Lafayette Park to honor their deceased members. A luncheon for members, family and friends will be held at the Broadway Diner in Bayonne.

Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City will be hosting a Memorial Day Mass with the Rev. Msgr. Gregory J. Studerus on Monday at 11 a.m. The Mass will be held rain or shine. There will be canopies and seating provided.

There will also be a military and musical tribute on Monday, Memorial Day, at 1 p.m. at Harsimus Memorial Cemetery and Park located at 435 Newark Ave. The music tributes will be from The American Bombshells and MTV artist Lovari & friends. Call 973-204-9888 or 201-707-0738 for more information.

The Hudson County Office of Veterans Affairs is sponsoring a patriotic art exhibit in the lobby of the Hudson County Administrative Building at 830 Bergen Ave. until Tuesday. The exhibit features 20 paintings from the "American Pride" series by Bayonne artist Anthony Sienkiewicz.

The Korean War Veterans of Hudson County will honor all veterans on Friday, May 26 during at 9 a.m. ceremony at the Korean War Monument at Washington Boulevard and Dudley Street.

Kearny

Tomorrow is the start of the town's annual commemoration with a parade starting at 7 p.m. on Belgrove Drive.

On Friday, veterans will be placing wreaths on the monuments of fallen heroes at 6 p.m., under the direction of the United Veterans Organizations.

On Monday, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will be placing flags on Veterans Circle at 8 a.m. in Arlington Cemetery, located at 748 Schuyler Ave. The public is welcome to come at 9 a.m. for a ceremony with Bruce Kaufman about the Civil War veterans buried at Arlington Cemetery.

Also on Memorial Day, there will open houses from noon to 6 p.m. at Post 99, VFW Post 1302 and the Marine Detachment.

A ceremony on Tuesday night at the Four Chaplain Monument on the corner of Kearny Avenue and Father Washington Way will close the Memorial Day events. The retiring of the colors will begin at 7 p.m. and all are welcome. Coffee will be served following the ceremony.

North Bergen

The township is commemorating Memorial Day with an event tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the Recreation Center. Veterans will be celebrated and Mayor Nicholas Sacco, town commissioners and Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Vainieri will speak.

Secaucus

At noon on Monday, Memorial Day, the town will host a Memorial Day ceremony with light refreshments at Town Hall, located at 1203 Paterson Plank Road. The town held its parade on Saturday.

West New York

Tomorrow, the town will host a Memorial Day commemoration and will also be honoring their Veteran of the Year, Sgt. Patrick R. Cullen Jr. at Holy Name Cemetery, 823 West Side Ave., Jersey City, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The town will host its Memorial Day parade on Monday at 9:15 a.m. It will begin at 67th Street and Bergenline Avenue then head to Veterans Park at 54th Street and Boulevard East.

NY Waterway

All uniformed military personnel and veterans with identification ride free on NY Waterway ferries during Fleet Week today through Tuesday. The ferries will offer a great vantage for the Parade of Ships, as warships cruise up the Hudson River past the New York skyline this morning.

If your organization or municipality is hosting a public Memorial Day event, contact Kristen Keller at kkeller@jjournal.com
EAST BRUNSWICK -- Two people hired to powerwash a house in East Brunswick were caught trying to steal from the residence, authorities said.

After departing for a few minutes while the pair was outside working, the homeowner returned to find the man and woman walking out of the back of the Henry Street home with some of her belongings, police said.

The two accessed a rear sun room, but never entered the main part of the house, authorities said.

John Solazzo, 53, of Monroe and Dayna Ochoa-Aragon, 31, of North Brunswick were each charged with burglary and theft. Ochoa-Aragon was also charged with hindering apprehension. She had a $10,000 warrant out for her arrest in North Bergen on prostitution charges, police said.

Ochoa-Aragon posted bail, according to police. Solazzo was issued a summons and released.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEW BRUNSWICK - An aspiring mobster testified Wednesday he never wanted to kill his longtime friend in 2011, but he was told by his close confidant who claimed to have connections to the Mafia, the Edison man was a snitch who "needed to be taken care of."

The hit had been ordered on Kelvin Dumo for $50,000, and since Daniel Medaglia brought the 28-year-old into Michael Doce's life, the contract was his responsibility, according to his second day of testimony in Middlesex County Superior Court.

So on Nov. 6, 2011, Medaglia took Dumo to the Viking Terminal in Sayreville and bludgeoned him with him a pickaxe.

Medaglia, 32, has admitted to the brutal murder and is serving a 30-year prison sentence as part of a deal requiring him to testify against Doce, who prosecutors say orchestrated the killing of Dumo through lies and manipulation.

Doce faces charges of murder and conspiracy. His defense attorney Eric Breslin says his client was playing games with Medaglia and he never intended for anyone to get hurt.

Medaglia took the stand for the second day as the state's key witness against Doce, where he detailed the months leading up to the murder. His testimony could drag through next week as both sides work through dozens of objections in the case.

Doce was someone Medaglia said he believed was a made-man in the New Jersey Mafia and could set him up with a better life. He was someone he wanted to impress, but also someone he feared, Medaglia said.

"I was afraid I'd be murdered," Medaglia said in front of a jury of 10 women and six men in the second week of the expected five-week trial.

The two were best friends in the months leading up to the murder of Dumo, Medaglia testified.

Medaglia said Doce, who lived in Woodbridge, was continuously bringing up his ties to the mob and that Dumo was putting him in jeopardy.

"[Doce] said, 'This is getting serious' and that 'something needed to be done soon," Medaglia said, recalling a conversation between the two in the summer of 2011.

"What was that something?" Assistant Prosecutor Vincent Vitale asked.

"That we... that I, needed to kill him," Medaglia responded.

Doce talked often of an "Uncle Paulie," who he claimed ran the Genovese crime family in New Jersey, and he was his underboss, according to testimony.

Medaglia said he would get phone calls from Doce's uncle, who would call from a blocked number, telling him he was impressed and could soon get his own operation in the state.

On one of the calls, "Uncle Paulie" told Medaglia of a $50,000 hit on Dumo.

"It would be my job to handle since I introduced Mike [to Dumo]," Medaglia said. "Once we were done I'd receive payment."

The call came after Doce had said he saw Dumo meeting with police near the Edison Municipal Complex following an incident at a 7-Eleven where Dumo was arrested, Medaglia testified.

Doce also claimed Dumo would show up at Medaglia's house wearing a wire shortly later, according to testimony. So when Dumo came to Medaglia's door, the Edison man, turned the sprinklers on in hopes to fry the electronics, he testified.

Medaglia had already cut Dumo out of his life because Doce believed he was an informant for the police.

Doce had claimed to have people inside local, state and federal agencies with inside information. He had also offered to get the charges dropped against Dumo in exchange for $500 to pay off the "crooked cops."

"These things aren't that far fetched in New Jersey," Medaglia said.

Medaglia testified that Doce told him to reconnect with Dumo again in the weeks before the murder, saying it would be easier for him to earn his trust rather than Doce.

Medaglia was to take Dumo to the Viking Terminal, a place that Doce had bragged about killing nine people and hiding the remains with help from connected men on site, according to testimony.

"Taking someone to a Vikings' game," was the code the two would use over text for a murder, Medaglia testified.

Medaglia, who admitted he was a pill addict in 2011, testified that he had hit rock bottom and strived to impress Doce so he could work his way up the ladder in the Mafia.

The trial is set to continue Thursday with Medaglia back on the stand after both sides come to an agreement on the text messages that jury should see in the proceedings.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Oakwood Center: See vintage photos of this West Bank mall from The Times-Picayune
The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
Once elected, members of the Public Service Commission typically have an easy time hanging onto their jobs. Voters dont know much about them or their work, and the only real money in the campaigns has traditionally come from utilities and others 
OMAHA  A chef in an Iowa Hy-Vee Supermarket noticed all the hype last year about meal kits, such as those sold online by Blue Apron, and thought: We could make those, too.

After all, a grocery store has all the ingredients needed, and the store chef has the know-how to come up with recipes that everyday shoppers can follow.

The store in Waukee, west of Des Moines, launched Chef in a Boxmeal kits last August, in time for the back-to-school season when the store thought parents might be short on time.

Hy-Vee doesnt share sales figures, but store director Joe Milnes said the meal kits have been selling so well that other Hy-Vees, including some in Minneapolis, have now picked up on the idea. Theyre not yet in the Council Bluffs-Omaha metropolitan area.

Hy-Vee isnt the only supermarket thats in on the meal kit action, as grocers look to recapture a piece of the food business that might otherwise have gotten away from them.

Americans were projected to spend about $1.5 billion on home-delivered meal kits last year, with the market expected to grow in the next five years, according to Maryland grocery research firm Packaged Facts.

Thats just a fraction of the nations roughly $670 billion in annual grocery sales, but it represents sales that supermarkets can ill afford to lose at a time of falling food prices and little profit.

And those purchases are made by customers that grocery stores cant lose if they hope to grow in the future. Most meal-kit consumers are under age 45, and nearly four in five have children at home, Packaged Facts said.

Consumers are attracted to the kits for the convenience factor of having food show up at their doorstep and because they enjoy trying out new meals without having to do any recipe research, grocery shopping or even much slicing and chopping, experts say.

Not only are grocers motivated to sell meal kits, theyre uniquely equipped to do so, said Jon Hauptman, senior director at Illinois grocery consultant Willard Bishop.

Supermarkets are trusted by consumers, and have access to the freshest produce and meat  items that already command higher profit margins than dry goods.

Supermarkets are so well positioned to do it, its a shame they havent done it before, but I dont think theyre going to fall behind, he said.

There are costs, of course, in staff time, retail shelf space and packaging, he said. Theres waste, if some meal kits go unsold. But the kits can still be profitable.

Shoppers are demonstrating theyre willing to pay a reasonable premium for value-added service, Hauptman said.

Sure, grocery stores have long offered prepared food like potato salad and fried chicken, but shoppers today also want higher-quality options with more variety, he said.

Its not just Hy-Vee; other grocers and food manufacturers are taking advantage of the trend. Look for these products to come to Omaha if theyre successful in test markets elsewhere.

Grocery retailing giant Kroger  operator of Bakers stores in Omaha  is testing its own brand of meal kits, called Prep + Pared, in four stores in Cincinnati. Two of the stores make the meals available through Krogers online grocery ordering system.

They sell for $14 to $18, feed two adults and take about 20 minutes to make.

Customers want fresh, convenient and easy meal solutions, spokeswoman Sheila Lowrie said.

Meanwhile, Whole Foods is carrying two outside brands of the kits in some stores. Purple Carrot meals are heavy on vegetables, not meat, while Salted kits promise restaurant-quality dishes.

Meat giant Tyson, a major regional employer, has launched its own line of meal kits, called Tastemakers, that are sold in retail grocery stores in Texas and also delivered in some markets through Amazon Fresh.

The meals include citrus rum-glazed chicken and carne asada street tacos.

In another vein, Conagra Brands is trying to combat falling grocery sales by capturing some of the growth promised by meal kits. Its partnering with Chicago-area grocery delivery service Peapod. Conagra included its Hunts and Ro-Tel brand canned tomatoes in Peapod kits last year, and recently launched a line of Mexican food-kit meals under its Frontera brand.

Iowas Fareway Stores is trying a different angle when it comes to embracing a competitors idea: Its now carrying two lines of meals  those sold by Omaha business Eat Fit Go, and a similar business in West Des Moines called Get Fit Grill. Theyre not meal kits; theyre fully prepared meals ready to heat and eat.

We want to be able to cater to the needs of all our consumers, spokeswoman Emily Toribio said. Some still enjoy cooking and preparing a whole dinner spread, while others are working and might need a quicker option.

Sales are beating expectations, she said, and Fareway may expand the meals to more stores.
Keeping up with multiple extracurricular activities, volunteering and academics isnt a simple feat. Nevertheless, Kelsi Hansen has managed to achieve juggling all of these tasks successfully.

Hansen is a junior at Abraham Lincoln High School. She manages to make the academic honor roll while participating in her extracurricular activities that include Battle of the Books, speech, National Honors Society, orchestra and theater.

She loves to read. She often recommends books to her friends and family.

My favorite thing to do is read, she said. I love getting a new book that I havent read yet and devour it. Because of my love of books, I attend Battle of the Books. Its fun to talk with other people about the books we read. I find it really interesting to sit down and listen to the different ways people viewed the book.

When Hansens not at school or participating in a school activity, you can find her helping out at her church or around the community. Her family and the people at her church play a huge role in her support system and make sure she keeps a level head while juggling everything.

Hansen wants to attend college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She wants to earn a masters degree in human development but place more focus on the child development aspect of the field. She wants to work with children to help them grow and wants to help them feel better despite whatever theyre going through.

 Kylee Short
Would you agree that politics have been a little weird lately. Well, it could even get a little weirder.

It is every chocolate lovers nightmare: a higher tax on chocolate because the U.S. Senate has decided that there are too many people eating chocolate in the workplace.

While the Senate seeks to bring more tax dollars into the U.S. Treasury, a state representative from Woodbury County has introduced legislation that will allow employees of state-run businesses to receive a box of Sees chocolates every two weeks and chocolate patches, which can be worn under the tongue, to help chocoholics break the habit.

It has also been learned that, while the state has introduced this legislation, another representative from unincorporated Story County has asked that the state increase the subsidy it is now paying farmers who are producing the states cocoa crop in greenhouses.

Since this legislation was introduced, the use of cocoa by state employees has dropped 5.5 percent. However, the new legislation is asking for an increase in subsidy entitlements to the tune of 30 percent.

Perhaps chocolate lovers need to inundate their state representatives, or their U.S. senators, with mail and phone calls.

If you are anything like me  that is, craving the darker chocolates  you will not be able to break this delicious habit overnight, if ever. You may also, like me, believe what scientific research has discovered: that there are more antioxidants in darker chocolate that can help to control your high blood pressure as well as weight.

I do, however, support those who say we should boycott white chocolate because of the lack of any proven medical benefits. Of course, if you would like verification of the scientific research mentioned, you can log on to Hersey.com for a biased report.

Regardless of what some lawmakers might be claiming, know that this is not a matter to Snicker about. Dont Nestle down and get comfortable on this issue, or by next Easter you may be paying $5 a piece for your chocolate eggs.

So dont be a Cad and Bury your head in the sand. Let your voices be heard. Talk a lot about chocolate!

My wife and I have gone to lab appointments at a hospital and to a physical rehab location in Council Bluffs. Whenever we walk in, we have to walk over  or around  an unbelievable number of cigarette butts that have been thrown onto numerous areas of a tobacco-free campus.

What if I discarded all of my chocolate wrappers in the same way? How would you feel? Any responses?

Bottom line: Even though this is obviously a satire based on cigarette smoking and cancer, I want to say that if cigarette smoking does kill you, youve lost a very important part of your life  10 years on average.

One of the reasons I am sharing this column is that I have memories every spring regarding both my mom and my cousin Rita dying of lung cancer.

My mom had smoked many years before trying to break the habit, whereas my cousin had to breathe second-hand smoke from her dads smoking addiction while she was growing up. My mom died at 71, whereas my cousin died at 38.

By the way, my grandma said that it can also stunt your growth.

I wanted to see if there was any scientific proof of grandmas statement, so I found a recent Canadian study published online in the journal Annalogy Epidemiology. It stated that teenage boys who smoke are on average 1 inch shorter than non-smokers.

It has also been proven that smoking thwarts bone growth in both men and women during adolescence and adulthood. Smoking during adolescence is also a major risk factor in developing osteoporosis later in life.

Especially for girls, who already have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis, smoking can have detrimental effects on bone density. For teenage and adult smokers, decreased bone density can result not only in osteoporosis but also arthritis and bone fractures.

I would just like to encourage everyone, especially you young smokers, to think of cigarettes as cancer sticks. There is no way you will avoid cancer if you continue with one of the worst counterfeit comforts known to man. Also, have you heard that there have been several electronic cigarettes that have exploded while either being used or in someones pocket, causing severe burns?

What will it take to convince you that smoking in any form is not what our bodies were intended to do? You might want to consider eating chocolate instead.

 Allen Stark is a writer, former teacher and parochial school administrator, writing group leader and former Army medic. His blog, Homespun Books, can be found at allenstarkhomespunbooks.blogspot.com. Contact Allen at amsstark@msn.com.
GLENWOOD  It started in a basement and has grown from there.

For six years now, Keg Creek Brewing of Glenwood has offered beer drinkers a chance to drink local brews full of flavor made right here in southwest Iowa. Today, the craft brewery has expanded to a second, larger production facility and Keg Creek beers are sold across Iowa.

Founded in 2011, Keg Creek Brewing aims to expand the palate of area beer drinkers. Give people an opportunity to hop off the mainstream, as their slogan says.

It has been fun watching the domestic beer drinker change to local beers, said co-owner Randy Romens. Not being afraid to step outside their comfort zone.

Keg Creek Brewing was born the dream of four home brewers in Glenwood. Romens, John Bueltel, Art Renze and Grant Hebel were friends who experimented with flavors and beer types in their basement as the Keg Creek Homebrewers. They kept the name when they went through the arduous process  creating a business plan, conducting market studies and more  and started the brewery.

Hebel, a veterinarian, recently left to focus on his practice. Matt Kirsch came on as a partner about a year ago.

The friends have seen the business grow from their original location on Sharp Street with three barrels to a second, 15-barrel location that has increased production exponentially.

Today, Keg Creek beer is sold across Iowa and continues to grow in Omaha and beyond in Nebraska. The beer is available at more than 100 locations. The second facility, dubbed the Beerhouse, sits on seven acres of land and is ripe for expansion. The team behind Keg Creek is not done.

We are not close to done with our expansion goals, Kirsch said during a tour of the new facility. We have lofty goals. We want to be the largest craft brewer in Iowa.

Added Romens: Its gonna be huge.

Construction at the Beerhouse started in March of 2016 and took almost a full year to complete. Keg Creek started brewing at the location in January of this year.

Asked if the growth has surprised them, Bueltel said no.

This was part of our original plan, he said.

Renze said the first few years were spent working on a consistent product that appealed to people.

That allowed us to get our name out there, Bueltel said. We always knew if we made good beer, everything else would follow.

Kirsch owns Kirsch Transportation with his wife Jenny, who handles social media and marketing for Keg Creek. The pair were customers for years at the Keg Creek tap room before getting involved with the business.

I came to you guys, Kirsch said during an interview with the group. Im inspired by businesses looking for growth. Having a product you can believe in is incredible.

The Beerhouse is located in a building the Kirschs own that used to be used for the transportation business. Keg Creek  the water body, that is  flows behind the building.

As the business has grown, it has added sales representatives in Iowa and Nebraska, along with Eric Sorensen, the head brewer. The California native has 25 years in the brewing business. He lives in Fort Madison with his family, but stays in Glenwood while working and serves as the eastern Iowa distributor on trips home.

The four partners praised Sorensen for his work in making the original recipes even better, while noting the brewmaster has expanded the brewerys arsenal. Romens called Sorensen a font of knowledge.

Its been great, Sorensen said. These guys are open to trying things theyve never tried before.

Keg Creek started with four main beers to start  a wheat, a stout, a brown ale and an IPA. They added a red ale shortly thereafter to make up the base beers. They offer more than 30 varieties, including a red lager, a Dutch imperial porter and an apricot beer.

The brewery also works on variations that are aged in bourbon or wine barrels. Theyre sold in kegs, growlers and bottles.

The Beerhouse Kirsch offers a taste of an upcoming citrus-infused pale ale. Delicious.

The brewery sells its five base beers in six-packs, while they have about 30 varieties in all, available in kegs for bars, restaurants and other purveyors. The owners explained that they also work with bars to create a special batch for that establishment in particular. Theyve also done tap invasions, where a bar will sell five or six Keg Creek beers over the course of a month.

The owners mentioned Barleys and Blk Squirrel on the 100 Block among their best customers and supporters.

With their home brewing roots, the owners make sure to recognize the men and women out there experimenting in their basement. During National Brewery Week May 15-21, the brewery held a home brew contest. The winning suds will be on top during the Keg Creek Brewing anniversary celebration in September.

At the Beerhouse, Sorensen hopped from barrel to barrel checking gauges. In the large cooler sat boxes and boxes of six-packs, ready for distribution.

You guys need any beer? Bueltel joked.

Keg Creek hopes the answer from people across Iowa, Nebraska and, in due time, the rest of the Midwest is Yes.
The Council Bluffs Fire Department welcomed its newest member to the crew Wednesday.

Gibson, a chocolate Labrador retriever trained to be an accelerant detection K-9, will be partnered with Arson Investigator Dan Roberts. Together, theyll combat arson crimes in the area.

Chief Justin James and Roberts thanked those in attendance at the Council Bluffs Central Fire Station who represented various organizations that allowed the department to obtain Gibson.

We know that, nationally, arson leads to more than 400 deaths a year, James said. This dog will be another tool in the toolbox to help us determine the facts.

Roberts and Gibson trained for five weeks in Maine in canine accelerant detection. Roberts said Gibson will be an amazing asset to the department.

Gibsons nose is incredibly more sensitive than a humans nose, able to detect chemicals used in arson cases as evidence, Roberts said. In a demonstration, Gibson sniffed out accelerant hidden in one of several cinder blocks. When Gibson found the chemical, he sat down to notify Roberts, who rewarded Gibson with food.

After the demonstration, asked for a comment by another reporter, Gibson  the dog  deferred questions to Roberts.

Investigating arson is a difficult task, because a lot of the evidence obviously gets destroyed in the fire, he said. With Gibson, we can investigate a scene in half an hour, finding things like gasoline or lighter fluid.

The training was sponsored by State Farm Insurance, certified by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, an estimated 280,000 intentional fires are reported to U.S. fire departments each year, with associated annual losses of 420 civilian deaths, 1,360 civilian injuries and $1.3 billion in direct property damage.

This is a huge deal to have on our team, Roberts said. Arson is something we take seriously and it could save lots of lives and money in the process.

Roberts said they plan to lend Gibsons talents to other area fire departments, too.
Local and statewide farm officials had plenty of nice words concerning Kim Reynolds and her support toward agriculture now that shes the governor of one of Americas top producing farm states.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey described the new governor as a hardworking, dedicated and selfless public servant. He added that Reynolds traveled the state extensively during her years as lieutenant governor, meeting with farmers to better promote their products here and abroad.

She has also been supportive of efforts to implement the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters) and has visited water quality projects underway across the state, Northey said in a statement. The governor is passionate about supporting our agriculture industry and rural communities, and will be a tremendous advocate for Iowa.

Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, noted that Reynolds listed innovating Iowas energy policy as a top priority in her inaugural address. That caught his attention in a positive way.

Iowa is blessed to have one of the most energetic renewable fuels supporters as governor be succeeded by another leader just as focused on the energy potential of Iowas fields and farmers, Shaw said in a statement. We stand committed to working beside Gov. Reynolds to enact the most innovative energy policy in the country and to pursue the Iowa Energy Plans goal of proving the real-world benefits of higher ethanol blends like E30 through real-world testing conducted right here in Iowa.

Closer to home, Kevin Ross, a corn grower near Minden who sits on the National Corn Growers Association and other boards, expressed confidence shell be good for agriculture.

Ross and other farm officials accompanied Reynolds in her first overseas trip to China and South Korea on an agricultural mission several years ago.

I was impressed with her representation of us and our state, Ross said. She understands agriculture is important for Iowa. I think she will do a great job for Iowa and agriculture.

Alan Ladd, regional extension education director whose region includes Pottawattamie County, said Reynolds grew up in a rural setting and that she recognizes the needs of rural Iowa.

I think she will be very supportive of agriculture, Ladd said.
At 10:46 a.m. Wednesday, Kim Reynolds was sworn in as the 43rd governor of Iowa, the first woman to hold the post in the states history.

Reynolds, 57, replaces longtime Gov. Terry Branstad, who resigned his position earlier in the day before being sworn in as the U.S. ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China.

Im incredibly honored to stand before you today as your governor, Reynolds said during a ceremony in the Iowa Capitols Rotunda.

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady swore Reynolds into office. The new Republican governor thanked her predecessor for his service to the state. Branstad served 22 years as governor during stints from 1983 to 1999 and from 2011 until Wednesday. Hes the longest serving governor in U.S. history.

While I have some tough shoes to fill, Im really excited to step into my heels, Reynolds said, pausing for a moment after a burst of applause, and, on behalf of Iowa, work hard every single day.

In a rundown of her legislative priorities, Reynolds gave tax reform top billing. She called the tax rates in Iowa among the highest in the nation, with a code book filled with a patchwork of exemptions, deductions and credits  thats not how it should be.

Reynolds said shed work to continue innovating Iowas energy policy, saying the farmland of Iowa is a place where the state can lead in wind energy and renewable fuels.

For years, our fields have fed the world. Now, they energize it. They produce products that fuel cars and they host wind turbines that power our communities and businesses, she said.

Reynolds addressed education next, saying, Our children need and deserve an education that meets the demands of the 21st century, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. As lieutenant governor, Reynolds co-chaired the Governors STEM Advisory Council.

Reynolds said the state must ensure Iowas best teachers stay in the classroom and called for a renewed emphasis on literacy.

Last session, the Iowa Legislature dropped a mandate that would have required elementary schools to hold back third-graders who werent reading at grade level and who didnt complete an intensive summer program.

The final priority Reynolds listed in her inaugural address was training workers.

Our goal is that by 2025, 70 percent of our workforce will have an education or training beyond high school, she said. Were going to build an Iowa where hard-working, middle-class families can live anywhere in our state and have the skills they need to find successful careers. This is about opportunity for more Iowans.

Reynolds grew up in St. Charles in Madison County. Her rise to power started with a job in the Clarke County Treasurers Office after she moved with her family to Osceola.

When the treasurer retired in 1994, Reynolds ran for the position and won. She served for 14 years, and she was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2008. Two years, later Branstad re-entered politics and tabbed Reynolds as his running mate against incumbents Gov. Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge.

And now with Branstads departure to China, Reynolds assumed the governorship.

Iowa will be in good hands under now Gov. Reynolds, who has made history today. Her leadership on critical issues over the last seven years, and her work alongside Gov. Branstad, has prepared her well for this new role, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said in a statement. Under Gov. Reynolds, Iowas future remains bright.

The two women are friends, and their historic rises cross paths.

After Reynolds was chosen as Branstads running mate, Ernst  then the Montgomery County auditor  sought and won Reynolds vacated Iowa Senate seat in a 2011 special election. The Republican was re-elected to that post in 2012, and then Ernst became Iowas first female U.S. senator in 2014.

From her public service at the grassroots of Iowa as a county treasurer then to state senator and lieutenant governor, Gov. Reynolds walks into the governors office in touch and with the experience, ability and know-how to hit the ground running in her new job, fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a statement. Iowa is in good hands under her leadership.

Reynolds thanked her family for their support throughout her career. She and husband, Kevin, have been married for almost 35 years and have three daughters and eight  soon to be nine  grandchildren.

The first woman governor in Iowas history said she wants to be remembered for more than just that.

Becoming Iowas first woman governor is both humbling and exciting, she said. I will do my best to serve as a role model for others to follow and hope to emulate the finest qualities of those who led before me.

Reynolds said its her responsibility, and her challenge, to do her best, to give them the opportunity to write much more than, She was Iowas first woman governor,

While I am extremely proud of that fact, there needs to be more to it, Reynolds said as she closed her speech. I am confident that, with your help and support, we can build on the good things accomplished over the past six years.

We can pursue a bold vision of innovation, ingenuity and growth such that our chapter in the history of Iowa will be filled with great accomplishments, with page upon page about how we made Iowa an even better place to live, work, innovate, create and raise a family.

And then  if they must  they can add at the end of the chapter, And, oh by the way, she was also Iowas first woman governor.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will announce plans for the lieutenant governor position today.

Shortly after her swearing in ceremony Wednesday, Reynolds said shed hold a news conference at 10 a.m. today to announce whether or not shell fill the second-in-command position.

Earlier this month, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said hed concluded that Reynolds cannot appoint a lieutenant governor when she replaces Branstad  a surprise reversal of his previous stance.

Miller, a Democrat, said that Reynolds will have the title of governor and the powers of the office through January 2019, but not the authority to choose a new lieutenant governor.

Millers opinion is a reversal from December, when he said he agreed with the Republican administration that Reynolds would have the power to pick a new No. 2. The decision will have significant consequences for the 2018 election in which Reynolds is expected to seek a four-year term and Democrats are trying to win the office back.

Reynolds, Branstad and others criticized the legal opinion as a political move. Miller argued the latter opinion was the result of research into the issue.

If Reynolds follows Millers advice, she will not have a lieutenant who could travel the state promoting her administration while likely serving as her running mate in the campaign. If she ignores Miller and appoints someone, she could face a court challenge and be accused of exceeding her authority.

While Millers opinion isnt binding, courts likely would consider it carefully as they weigh the legality of an appointment.

Millers opinion states that, in the four previous times in state history when a lieutenant governor replaced a governor, they did not appoint new lieutenant governors. It happened most recently in 1969, when Lt. Gov. Robert Fulton served as governor for 16 days after Gov. Harold Hughes left to join the U.S. Senate.

The Iowa Constitution states that the lieutenant governor would act as governor in the event of a governors departure, and that all of the powers of the office would devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor. It states that those gubernatorial powers would transfer to the Senate president  not a newly appointed lieutenant governor  should the acting governor be impeached, displaced, resign, or die.

Miller said that the offices of governor and lieutenant governor essentially merge when the governor leaves, so, therefore, there is no vacancy to fill.

Following her first speech as governor at the Iowa State Capitol Building Wednesday, Reynolds told David Yepsen of Iowa Press shes made a decision on what to do.

But I have not laid that process out. On Thursday, we will be letting Iowans know how that process will move going forward, Reynolds said.

 Ryan J. Foley and Barbara Rodriguez of the AP contributed to this story.
Gov. Kim Reynolds named Adam Gregg as her lieutenant governor Thursday morning, with a slight twist: he wont be in the gubernatorial line of succession.

Gregg, 34, will serve in an acting capacity, according to the governors office, fulfilling the duties of the lieutenant governors office through the January 2019 inauguration.

Gregg was previously the state public defender.

In a statement, Reynolds said shes worked closely with Gregg since he became the governors office legislative liaison and policy advisor in 2013.

Reynolds said she has been consistently impressed with his energy, work ethic and demeanor as he worked through a number of legislative priorities for us.

Adam is someone who understands the responsibilities of the executive branch, someone who has worked closely with the Legislature and someone who has a strong relationship with our courts system, she said. There is nobody better equipped with the skills, knowledge, experience and relationships than Adam to serve Iowans in this important role.

Gregg praised Reynolds for her work as lieutenant governor and said hes honored to fill the role.

Every day, I will serve Iowans as we connect them to better jobs, better skills training, better schools and continue balancing our states budget every step of the way, Gregg said.

The governors office said that while serving in an acting capacity Gregg will not be in the gubernatorial line of succession, which will be the only discernible difference in the position.

The maneuver comes in response to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller opinion that Reynolds does not have the power to appoint a lieutenant governor. Reynolds replaced Terry Branstad as governor on Wednesday.

Miller, a Democrat, said that Reynolds will have the title of governor and the powers of the office through January 2019 but not the authority to choose a new lieutenant governor.

Millers opinion is a reversal from December, when he said he agreed with the Republican administration that Reynolds would have the power to pick a new No. 2.

At the time, Reynolds, Branstad and other Republicans called the decision a political move.

The governors office said the interpretation of the law is wrong.

In fact, it directly conflicts with Iowa law. But however wrong it is, the attorney generals reversal of opinion means that the appointment of a full lieutenant governor would lead to a costly and unnecessary lawsuit over who would be second in the line of succession, the office said in a release.

Senate President Jack Whitver is currently next in the line of succession. Whitver represents District 19, which includes all of Polk County.

In a press conference Thursday, Miller said the fundamental issue in his opinion concerned the line of succession.

The question of whether someone who was put into a new position could succeed to the governor, that is the fundament (Iowa) Constitutional question, Miller said, noting his interpretation of the Constitution is that it was not possible for a governor or anybody else to assert anybody else into that succession order.

Im pleased that Gov. Kim Reynolds has taken action today that would not alter the succession provision, the attorney general said.

About the title of acting lieutenant governor, Miller noted its a new position not laid out in the Iowa Constitution. But he noted the governor has great latitude to have people play roles on her behalf.

Miller said his office will further examine the move. Asked if he has ruled out any valid legal challenge to the appointment, Miller said, Well I wouldnt go that far and make that broad a statement. I said we will take a look at this.

Miller said he supports the idea of a Constitutional amendment to clear up the issue and allow a new governor to appoint a lieutenant that would be part of the line of succession.

Whitver said Wednesday he plans to introduce such an amendment. Told this during his press conference, Miller gave it a thumbs up.

State GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann praised Reynolds choice and criticized Miller, calling his opinion on the matter, a ridiculous, partisan political stunt.

Miller said, Jeff Kaufmann is totally wrong.

He couldnt be farther from the truth. I approached this opinion like I did any opinion, I tried to get it right, Miller said. I struggled with it. Worked with it. Changed my mind with what I think was adequate reason.

Miller said he and his team of attorneys examined the issue and he saw enough in the case law of Iowa and elsewhere, along with the opinions of his staff, to change his mind.

Miller defeated Gregg in the 2014 election.

The governors office said Greggs accomplishments as state public defender include creating a new wrongful conviction unit, modernizing the office and working with the judicial branch to support drug, mental health and veterans courts.

Gregg served as the governors office top legislative advisor from December of 2012 through June of 2014.

In this role, he helped in the crafting and adoption of the governors bipartisan budget and policy agenda over the course of the 85th General Assembly. He assisted in navigating through the Legislature a balanced budget, transformational education reform and the largest tax cut in Iowa history, among other priorities, the governors office said.

In response to the appointment, Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Derek Eadon criticized Gregg for helping craft a disastrous state budget that jeopardizes the future of Iowa.

Acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg has openly taken credit for his role in implementing the failed practices that have led to the current budget disaster in our state. Just like Gov. Reynolds, Adam Gregg has shown that he has the wrong priorities for Iowa, Eadon said in a statement. Gov. Reynolds had an opportunity to assure Iowans that she would make Iowas economy a priority.

Instead, she has sent a clear signal that her administration will continue the reckless economic policies that have led to massive budget shortfalls, forcing drastic cuts to education, health care, and other essential services in the state.

Gregg is a native of Hawarden in Sioux County and a graduate of West Sioux High School. He graduated from Drake University Law School in 2009 and conducted research for Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady while there.

He lives in Johnston with his wife, Cari, and their two young children.

Gov. Reynolds stepped up and solved a difficult problem in a careful, thoughtful and decisive manner. Gov. Reynolds revolutionized the role of Lieutenant Governor and Adam Greggs unique experiences make him a phenomenal choice, Kauffmann said a statement. Adam Gregg has won wide, bipartisan praise for his work as the state public defender, and as the Branstad-Reynolds legislative liaison, he worked closely with a split legislature to solve major problems. We look forward to helping Reynolds and Gregg build a better Iowa.

Greggs salary will be $103,212, the amount set by statute for the lieutenant governor and that salary will continue to be paid out of the Governors Office budget based upon the existing appropriation, the governors office said.
As Terry Branstad leaves after a total of 22 years as governor of Iowa, we wish him luck as he takes on the task of representing the U.S. and the Trump Administration in China.

As we said Tuesday, Branstad is a qualified pick for the position whose relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping should be a great asset.

We wish him luck as he embarks on the next journey in his long career in public service.
The following editorial appeared in The Burlington Hawk Eye on May 18.

Give Terry Branstad credit for dexterity.

The 70-year-old (now former) governor managed Friday to underscore the importance of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, provide a vision for its future and knock out its funding.

With a series of line-item vetoes, Branstad surgically reworded a Republican-backed measure repealing the center, named for Burlington-born conservationist, Aldo Leopold.

The veto of these particularly specified items will preserve the existence of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture while also maintaining the sections transferring funding to Iowa State Universitys College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to continue valuable research into environmental and water quality issues, Branstad said in his veto message.

Of course, it flies in the face of Leopolds famous explanation of what came to be known as his land ethic, A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.

Branstad has none of Leopolds moral uprightness. He does what is politically expedient.

Ultimately, the governor wanted to have it both ways. He realized the benefit of the 30-year-old Leopold Center even if he wanted to divorce it from state funding. Much like Leopold himself, whose essays rose to prominence after his 1948 death, the governor seems to believe the center will sustain itself after it is no more.

Last year, the Leopold Center received a $397,417 state appropriation and about $1.5 million collected by the 1987 Groundwater Protection Act., which assesses fees on nitrogen fertilizer sales and pesticide registration.

Now, Iowa State University will have to find replacement funding, which will be no easy task given other cuts in higher education.

Although it will operate without the state appropriation, said Iowa State spokesman John McCarroll. We will look at options for the future of the center and opportunities for support through private philanthropy. The ability to retain the name of the center is meaningful to the university in that it continues the name recognition and reputation so important in recruiting prospective graduate students in sustainable agriculture.

In its 30 years, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture earned the trust of Iowans, in the words of former director Dennis Keeney, by regarding sustainable agriculture not as a set of restrictive practices, or a philosophy opposed to development, but as a vision for agriculture.

Through an accident of nature, Iowa was provided the richest soil on the face of the earth. When the first soil was turned over in the state, settlers found 14 to 16 inches of topsoil. Left to their own devices, Iowans developed a reputation for wasting it. By 2000, the average topsoil depth was 6 to 8 inches. Tons continue to wash down the Mississippi River. The Leopold Center offered a home to address issues presented by technology, economics and politics while maintaining a touchstone to the essential goodness of stewardship.

Through grants to researchers, investigators and educators beyond Iowa State University, the Leopold Center has garnered an international reputation for supporting cutting-edge research for cleaner water, better conservation of natural resources and greater agricultural vitality.

Gov. Branstad may not have seen the value in funding such an institution, but give him credit for keeping it alive. Its a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Preserving the center demonstrates the value of the Leopold brand. We have the opportunity to make certain it persists and succeeds.
BANGKOK: The worlds top producers of natural rubber said in a joint statement on Friday they will curb exports by up to 300,000 tonnes in a bid to prop up global prices for the commodity.



The curb, formally known as the Agreed Export Tonnage Scheme (AETS), was announced following a meeting on Friday of the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), which comprises Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.



The three countries account for around 70 percent of the worlds natural rubber production.



On March 4, we will discuss the amount of exports each country will curb and the appropriate period of time to do it, Grisada Boonrach, Thailands Minister of Agriculture, told reporters during a news conference. But the minister also suggested that export curbs could yet be delayed.



If we decide then (March 4) that the measure is not necessary, we might still hold off, he said.



Prices of natural rubber have been hovering at a low level throughout 2018 and early this year, the three countries said in their statement.



Benchmark rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange hit a 27-month low in November on concerns over global oversupply, while Thai RSS3 rubber also fell to its lowest in nearly three years around the same time. Fridays move is the sixth time the group has announced plans for such export restrictions. It follows an agreement in late 2017 to cut natural rubber exports by 350,000 tonnes for three months. Besides curbing exports, the group also agreed to try to ramp up domestic use of rubber significantly in each of the three producers through developments such as rubberised roads.Reuters




The 22 people who died at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester are the latest victims in a wave of attacks that has swept Europe and killed at least 302 people since 2015, all at the hand of Islamist extremists.

The blast on Monday night was the deadliest terrorist attack in the United Kingdom since the July 7, 2005 bombings in London that left 52 people dead.

The bomber was identified as Salman Abedi, 22, who was born in Britain of Libyan parents. Fears that he was part of a cell of extremists prompted UK authorities to raise its terrorism threat level to critical, meaning that another attack is thought imminent. Soldiers have been deployed at some key locations as a temporary measure.

Police detained Abedi's brother in Manchester on Tuesday and arrested a further three on Wednesday.

The weapons used in recent attacks include vehicles, knives, guns and explosives and the perpetrators in the vast majority of recent outrages have been extremists who have directly or indirectly supported either the Islamic State or al-Qaida.

The deadly assault in Manchester came just two months after a lone attacker plowed a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London, killing four and injuring over 50, before crashing into the fence surrounding the Houses of Parliament and stabbing a police officer to death before being shot and killed by police.

In December, a Tunisian man drove a stolen truck through a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 11 people. The terrorist had previously killed the truck driver.

That attack was similar to one in Nice, in the south of France, on July 14, 2016, that saw a Tunisian-born French citizen kill 84 people by driving a rented truck into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day, France's national day.

Earlier last year, 32 people were killed by three suicide bombings in Brussels. Two bombs exploded at the city's main international airport and one at a subway station in the center of the city. The killers were all Belgian nationals.

In November 2015, a series of attacks in Paris claimed the lives of 130 people. In that attack, gunmen and suicide bombers targeted the Bataclan concert hall, a major stadium, and restaurants and bars. Most of the attackers had French or Belgian citizenship and two were Iraqis.

Paris was still in shock after the January 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper's office by two French gunmen. That attack and subsequent violence left 17 people dead.

The total of 302 dead in recent attacks does not include smaller acts of violence, such as the killing of two Muslim men in Britain in separate incidents in 2016 or two killings by right-wing extremists. During recent years, European police and civilians have foiled scores of terrorist conspiracies.
Twenty-five area fire and rescue departments bring patients to Great Plains Health in North Platte.

So Wednesday, the hospital honored two workers in emergency medical services in honor of EMS week, May 21-27.

Nathan Holthusen, a flight paramedic with GPH LifeNet, received the advanced care award at the ceremony, while Kristi Jochum, an EMT for the Sutherland Volunteer Fire Department, received the basic care award.

Fire department serves responders dinner for EMS week Those working in emergency medical support within the North Platte Fire Department treated t

Jochum has served for a number of different departments, also including Cambridge, Elm Creek and Sargent. She also teaches EMT classes.

Working for volunteer departments shows our dedication, Jochum said. This is my night job.

Richards read Jochums nomination letter from her husband, Randy, who Kristi said also serves on the department. Being on the department together gives the couple a bond, she said.

He understands what Im going through, and I understand what hes going through, she said.

Holthusen said the award came as a surprise to him, as he knows many past recipients of the advanced care award.

I didnt consider myself in their league at all, he said.

Holthusen began his work on the Ogallala Volunteer Fire Department, and used to own the towns True Value store until 2015, a year after he began his work for LifeNet.

CPR stressed me out less than some lady saying her paint was wrong, he said with a laugh.

After finding paid work as a paid paramedic, Holthusen decided to apply for a position with LifeNet, working with those in critical condition as they fly to Denver, Omaha, and recently, as far as Mayo Clinic in Rochester with helicopter advancements.

To Holthusen, critical care is kind of the pinnacle of paramedics, he said. Its very challenging.

Working in critical care hasnt desensitized Holthusen to the times he loses a patient.

I think the reason I got to this level of critical care is because I hate to, he said. After a patient dies, Holthusen spends days or weeks talking to professionals about what he could have done differently, and comes away with a lesson for next time.

Lindsey Booker, a registered nurse who worked alongside Holthusen on the helicopter told the audience why she nominated him. Later, she said Holthusen made every situation calm and maintainable.

It didnt matter what was brought to us, she said.

The winners must be nominated by two people to get in the running, said Pat Richards, an EMS coordinator at GPH and an event coordinator. He told attendees that those in EMS matter to him personally. Before the event, he mentioned a sign in the emergency room that reads, heroes walk through here.

They truly are heroes, he said.
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A town hall meeting will be held next week to discuss the possible merger between Methodist Hospitals and Franciscan Health.

The event takes place at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Ivy Tech Community College, 1440 E. 35th Ave. in Gary.

The meeting is being sponsored by the Gary NAACP and the Indiana branch of the Service Employees International Union Healthcare. That union represents about 600 people between Methodist's campuses in Gary and Merrillville and is worried about the lack of information on the merger being given to employees.

In March, Franciscan, the Region's second-largest hospital system, signed a 120-day letter of intent to explore a partnership with Methodist Hospitals, the third largest in the Region.

Not much has been publicly discussed about the negotiations. Last week, a Franciscan hospital CEO said the system had proposed doing away with a consent decree to provide equal services at both campuses in exchange for building a new hospital in Gary.

For more information on the meeting, contact Lorenzo Crowell at 219-380-1120 or at lorenzo.crowell@seiuhcil.org.
A drop in home sales in Porter County in April led to a year-over-year decline in Northwest Indiana, with total existing home sales of 898 in the seven-county area.

That's down 1.9 percent from last April's 915 sales, according to statistics from the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors.

Porter County's decline was 17.5 percent, to 198. The sharp drop was from a particularly strong April 2016, when the county saw 240 sales.

GNIAR includes Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper, Starke and Pulaski counties.

Lake County saw 7.1 percent year-over-year growth in April to 529 homes sold. The median price was nearly even at $144,900. Porter County's median price was up 1.4 percent to $178,389.

LaPorte County saw sales decline 3.7 percent, to 105 from last year's 109. The median price there was $125,000, up 14.7 percent from last April's $109,000.

The 898 sales throughout Northwest Indiana had a median price of $150,000, up 3.4 percent from April 2016's $145,000.

The year continues to be positive despite April's slip. Through last month, sales in the GNIAR region are up 2.5 percent, to 2,944, with a median price of $144,000. That's up 2.9 percent from the first four months of 2016.

Nationally, sales of 5.57 million homes represented a 1.6 percent increase from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. But inventory remains a concern for NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

"Demand is easily outstripping supply in most of the country and it's stymieing many prospective buyers from finding a home to purchase," Yun said. He noted that the number of days homes remain on the market is down to a low of 29 days.

While that might be good for sellers, "new and existing inventory is not keeping up with the fast pace homes are coming off the market," Yun said.

Mortgage rates have remained steady in recent months, declining in April to 4.05 percent  the first decline in six months for 30-year, conventional fixed-rate mortgages, according to mortgage bundler Freddie Mac.

The NAR also reported:

Total inventory for was 1.93 million, 9 percent lower than a year ago.

First-time buyers made 34 percent of purchases in April, up from 32 percent a year ago.

All-cash sales made up 21 percent of transactions in April, down from 24 percent a year ago.

Distressed sales  foreclosures and short sales  were 5 percent of April sales, down from 7 percent a year ago.
Hammond and Hobart school districts are considering referendum votes Nov. 7, and it's generating plenty of conversation in the communities. In Hammond, school officials plan to tear down the 100-year-old Hammond High School building, constructed in 1915.

Both districts are asking voters to pass a general fund and a construction fund referendum. Both districts said they don't have a deficit but worry the property tax caps will affect them in 2020.

School City of Hammond

Hammond schools Superintendent Walter Watkins said the board is considering a $70 million general fund referendum and a $110 million construction referendum.

The operating referendum will ask voters to pay an additional 44 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, and the capital projects request will ask voters to pay nearly 36 cents or .3598 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The school board will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday regarding the referendums, giving the public an opportunity to comment.

Watkins said he hopes the community will recognize the need and support both referendums.

"The consolidation of our high schools and the construction of a new high school is an ongoing identified need for this community ... to provide an educational environment that will prepare our students to be competitive in the 21st century," he said.

"Further, the operating referendum will support our efforts to attract and maintain highly qualified teachers."

The school district operates 20 school buildings plus the Hammond Area Career Center. It has a total of 25 buildings. It is the largest district in Northwest Indiana with 13,100 students.

Watkins said the district is considering tearing down Hammond High School on Calumet Avenue, across from City Hall, and building a new high school at Harrison Park on Hohman Avenue.

"The primary reason for building a new high school is because Hammond High is more than 100 years old, and it is not cost-efficient to operate," he said. "Also, the building structure cannot accommodate our new technology upgrades. It is also cost-efficient to consolidate our four high schools into three high schools."

The district is planning to close Lafayette and Columbia Elementary schools, which are in close proximity to each other. The plan is convert Eggers Middle School into an elementary school and move the students from Columbia and Lafayette into that building.

Gavit Middle-High School will become a middle school housing students in grades six through eight. Students in grades nine through 12 from Gavit and Hammond High will attend the new high school.

Watkins said he expected there would be 48 retirements this year, including 15 teachers.

Watkins, who initially had planned to retire at the end of June, will stay on another year through June 30, 2018.

School City of Hobart

Hobart schools Superintendent Peggy Buffington said the district has demonstrated great fiscal responsibility and can demonstrate this with a neutral tax impact. The district already has held several community meetings regarding the referendums.

The district is seeking to raise $41.2 million in a construction referendum. The tax rate impact is neutral for this capital project. That's because taxpayers already are paying for the new high school, which has been refinanced, saving the district millions of dollars.

Buffington said the operating referendum will have a neutral effect as well.

Buffington said when the property tax caps become effective in 2020, the district is basically asking taxpayers to give that money back.

"We are projected to lose $2 million in our operating budget in 2020 because of the property tax caps," she said.

"We are not going to go after that money in 2018 or 2019. We are simply asking for that money back so it won't affect taxpayers, because they are already paying those taxes. When your tax bill goes down, we just want them to give that money back to us.

"We believe the community sees the benefits of the proposed projects and the benefit for students. It's going to be an impact of 24 cents per $100 of assessed valuation," she said. "We will not ask for that until the tax bills go down  neutral impact."

The Hobart School Board will host a public hearing at 6 p.m. June 5.

Hobart leaders said they want to add a swimming pool at Hobart High School and a new elementary school at the site of the former Mundell Elementary at 52 Wisconsin St., which was demolished in 1994.

Buffington said they plan to move some students from Joan Martin elementary in the Mundell area to join Ridge View students at the new elementary school.
HAMMOND  Jan. 11, 1947. A suspect fatally guns down two Hammond patrolmen without warning as they investigate a suspicious vehicle parked along a darkly lit Cleveland Street.

One of the officers, Donald Cook, was just four days into his new job with the Hammond Police Department. His training officer, John Gerka, had one year and two months of service under his belt.

Little has changed for law enforcement since that fateful night, save for the intensified public scrutiny by mainstream news outlets and social media, Hammond Police Chief John Doughty said.

There are still people in our society who will kill us to escape punishment for their crimes, Doughty said. Nothings changed. We will step forward to do what is almost an impossible job. We always have, always will.

Doughtys comments came Wednesday night at the Hammond Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 51's annual police memorial service, held at the Hammond Civic Center.

The event honors active and retired officers and those killed in the line of duty. Since 1929, six Hammond police officers have died in the line of duty.

Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. typically hold annual memorials during the month of May.

Allie Westerfield, the daughter of fallen Gary police Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield, served as the event's keynote speaker.

Her fathers killer, Carl Blount, pleaded guilty in January to the July 6, 2014, shooting of the 47-year-old officer while he sat in his squad car on 26th Avenue in Gary. Blount initially faced the death penalty, but instead was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in exchange for a guilty plea.

Alli Westerfield said her fathers 19 years of service with Garys police force lives on in the stories told by fellow brothers in blue.

As a police officer, he got to touch a whole city and help so many people. Thats everything to me. Its everything to me to be able to stand here with all of you people supporting law enforcement, she said.

State Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, said law enforcement are often the first to arrive on scene in cases of suicide, shootings, domestic violence and car crashes along highways or in half-frozen lakes.

Our police officers are heroes, and they are heroes every day, Mrvan said. Their families, their wives and children, they pay a deep price.

About 150 people, including law enforcement, were in attendance Wednesday night. Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. commented on the crowd size  the biggest he can remember since becoming mayor in 2004.

What a wonderful world we could live in if only bad things could stop happening. Terrorism, murders, drugs, gang retaliations. That is what the men and women of law enforcement across America accomplish on a daily basis: They put their uniform and their badge on and walk into the shadows of the unknown, McDermott said.

McDermott, an oft-outspoken Democrat, took a moment at the podium to criticize his own political party for its nearly unanimous "no" vote last week in the U.S. House on The Thin Blue Line Act.

The vote 271 to 143 in the U.S. House. If passed by the Senate, the resolution would make the killing or attempted killing of police, firefighters and first responders an aggravating factor in death penalty determinations.

Why? What were they thinking? McDermott said. "In my opinion, this vote should have been 435 to zero."

Other speakers included state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, the first woman to ever serve on the Hammond police force; Hammond police Lt. Mark Tharp, vice president for the Hammond Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 51; and Hammond police Cpl. Michael Elkmann, president of the same local FOP.

Sgt. Sean Garrison sang a rendition of the national anthem. The Region Police Pipes and Drums also performed. Several Hammond police officers were in attendance, as were the police chief and deputy chief for Dyer and the Lake County Sheriffs Department.
WHITING The Lake County coroner's office is seeking family members of a man found dead in about five feet of water Thursday morning at Whihala Beach.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources' law enforcement division and the Whiting Police Department are jointly investigating the case with the coroner's office.

An IDNR spokesman reached Thursday afternoon said his department arrived on scene at about 9:30 a.m. The body was in about five feet of water, in large rocks that come down to the shoreline, a spokesman said.*

The man did not have any identity card or a wallet on him, according to IDNR.

Whiting and Hammond police agencies are searching missing persons reports in the area, he said. The estimated time of death was midnight, the IDNR spokesman said.

The man found was described as Asian with black hair, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 176 pounds, according to the coroner's office.

He was wearing an extra large blue Hollister T-shirt, Aeropostle blue jeans size 33x32 and a Kenneth Cole brown belt. He was also wearing red and blue plaid boxers, Nike white ankle socks and size 10 Nike black gym shoes.

There was no indication of foul play, according to the IDNR spokesman.

The manner and cause of death are pending upon the completion of toxicology reports, a coroner's office spokesman said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lake County coroner's office at 219-755-3265.

* Editor's note: This story has been updated from a previous version. A IDNR spokesman said the man's body was found in rocks that come down to the shoreline.
INDIANAPOLIS  Hoosier legislative leaders agreed Thursday to begin the process of deciding whether it's time to replace Indiana's unique restrictions on where different types of alcohol can be sold, on what days and at what temperatures.

A 17-member Alcohol Code Revision Commission will spend the next two years thoroughly studying Indiana's alcohol laws, with an initial focus on alcohol retailing.

The commission, composed of eight state lawmakers and nine non-lobbyist citizen members, including the chairman, is required to recommend changes for the General Assembly to consider adopting during its 2018 and 2019 meetings.

"If one thing was highlighted during the session, it was just how unworkable, unpredictable and, in some cases, unreasonable our arcane alcoholic beverage laws are in Indiana  many of them dating back to Prohibition with very little logical changes to them," said House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis.

Indiana is the only state in the country that prohibits all retail sales of alcohol on Sundays, while still allowing bars and restaurants to sell booze. It also is the only state that gives liquor stores the exclusive right to sell cold beer for at-home consumption.

Other topics set for summer study by Hoosier lawmakers include two top priorities for Northwest Indiana legislators.

As recommended by state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, the Interim Study Committee on Roads and Transportation will examine how to end mandatory vehicle emissions testing in Lake and Porter counties, without imperiling the state's clean air standards.

Meanwhile, the fiscal policy committee is taking up a suggestion by state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Merrillville, to determine how many school districts are in similar financial straits as the Gary Community School Corp., which is set to be led by a state-appointed emergency manager.

Not making the cut was a proposed study of a voluntary paid family leave program, championed by state Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, that was endorsed by both the Senate and House earlier this year.

Senate President David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said with 133 study topics suggested by Hoosier lawmakers a lot of whittling was required to get the list down to a manageable 51 issues.

John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, condemned the decision to reject a review of how Indiana could adopt paid family leave for new parents or individuals caring for a sick relative.

"Paid family leave is good for families, it's good for businesses, but evidently, it's too forward-thinking for Indiana Republicans," Zody said.
LAPORTE  A murder suspect diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia was about to be sentenced Wednesday when a volcanic exchange with the judge erupted and the case was rescheduled for trial.

Nearly 90 minutes into the sentencing hearing, Daniel Shoffner began interrupting LaPorte Circuit Court Judge Tom Alevizos with claims that he was threatened and beaten into accepting a plea agreement.

He pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter in January and was facing anywhere from 20 to 50 years for the 2014 stabbing death of 73-year-old Birdie Elder whose body was stuffed into a small chest freezer in her LaPorte home.

He's now back to facing a Jan. 8 murder trial.

Alevizos pounded his gavel four times to try and get Shoffner to wait for his turn to speak then gave him 90 days in jail for contempt.

Shoffner, 50, quit responding only when the judge stormed out of the courtroom for a 20-minute recess after questioning Shoffner.

''Why are you saying no? Because you don't like the way things are going?'' Alevizos asked.

Prior to the exchange, LaPorte County Deputy Prosecutor Atley Price asked for no less than 45 years.

Despite Shoffner's mental illness, Price said the victim suffered five stab wounds and four other wounds, including incisions, and thawing was required before there could be a forensic examination of the body.

Price also said the defendant has an extensive criminal history that includes two felony and 13 misdemeanor convictions from crimes like theft and operating while intoxicated and was out on bail prior to the slaying.

According to the prosecution, Elder, described as a very loving and caring person, took Shoffner into her home on McClung Road when he didn't have any other place to go after his latest stint behind bars.

They lived together for about 10 months prior to the killing.

According to police, Shoffner claims they were drinking and playing a game when an argument ensued.

Elder's daughter Sandra Cauffman said her mother didn't allow drinking or smoking in her home and claims Elder was upset over Shoffner cutting her off from her family.

''You killed my mom because she wanted to be with her family but you didn't want your free ride to be over,'' she said.

Defense attorney Craig Braje, seeking a sentence much closer to the minimum, blamed Shoffner's criminal history on occasions when the defendant was not able to obtain medication.

He presented evidence of Shoffner hearing voices from demons and being prone to violent behavior without medication.

Braje also said the guilty plea was entered into to avoid the risk of a murder conviction from a jury that might be skeptical about mental illness claims.

Alevizos said he really has no other choice but to reschedule the case for trial stating any sentence would be overturned on appeal given the reversal of the defendant's admission of guilt.
When our Region speaks with a unified voice, we all make progress.

Examples of this truth seem to abound lately, particularly in the highly productive Indiana legislative session  brimming with new economic development and infrastructure for our Region and state  we just experienced.

On a smaller but no less notable scale, the new Porter County animal shelter provides a similar example of success realized when government, volunteers and private interests choose to work together in common purpose.

The existing Porter County Animal Shelter on Indiana 2 long had been functionally obsolete and a topic of discussion but previous inaction.

Now the facility is being replaced with a new $3.5 million facility, set to open next week and funded in part on the back of a $1 million private donation.

The new building is 14,000 square feet, about 10,000 square feet larger than the old site. It's capacity has grown to house up to 120 dogs and 120 cats, as opposed to 50 dogs and 80 cats in the old facility.

This didn't happen on its own.

Dedicated public officials from both the Porter County Council and commissioners  and more importantly from both political parties  recognized a need and worked tirelessly to bring it to fruition.

Loyal shelter volunteers, shelter officials and private donors also played key roles.

This same spirit of cooperation bodes well for other needed government infrastructure projects in Porter County coming to fruition.

The Region should take note of the possibilities when we dare to identify common ground, and build upon it, with the unified cadence of swinging hammers and political will.
BRUSSELS  Surrounded by stone-faced allies, President Donald Trump rebuked fellow NATO members Thursday for failing to meet the military alliance's financial benchmarks, asserting that leaves it weaker and shortchanges "the people and taxpayers of the United States."

Trump, who has often complained back home about other nations' NATO support, lectured the other leaders in person this time, declaring, "Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years."

The president's assertion immediately put NATO under new strain and did nothing to quiet questions about his complicated relationship with an alliance he has previously panned as "obsolete." Notably, he also did not offer an explicit public endorsement of NATO's "all for one, one for all" collective defense principle, though White House officials said his mere presence at the meeting signaled his commitment.

The president's lecture occurred at an event commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. When Trump tried to lighten the mood with a joke about NATO's gleaming new home base  "I never asked once what the new NATO Headquarters cost"  there was no laughter from his counterparts.

NATO officials had expected Trump to raise the payments issue during Thursday's meeting, even preparing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for the prospect that the president could try to pull off a stunt like handing out invoices. But one European official said NATO members were still taken aback by the aggressive tone of his speech.

As a presidential candidate, Trump railed against NATO's financial burden-sharing, suggesting the U.S. might only come to the defense of countries that meet the alliance's guidelines  for committing 2 percent of their gross domestic product to military spending. A White House official said the president wanted to deliver the same direct message in front of NATO allies.

Trump's public scolding was all the more remarkable given the fact that he has actually backed away from some of his most provocative comments on foreign policy issues since taking office. He's retracted his vow to label China a currency manipulator and has lavished praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping. During a visit to Saudi Arabia this week, he called Islam one of the world's great religions after declaring during the campaign that "Islam hates us."

But few issues appear to have as much staying power with Trump as the uneven financial contributions of NATO members. Last year, only five of the 28 countries met the 2 percent goal: the U.S., Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland.

During a private dinner Thursday night, the 28 members, plus soon-to-join Montenegro, renewed an old pledge to move toward the 2 percent by 2024  a move the White House touted as a sign of Trump's influence.

Some of the allies  particularly Eastern European nations deeply worried about Russian aggression  were hopeful that Trump would state a firm commitment to NATO's Article 5 mutual defense agreement, which underpins the entire alliance. Instead, he highlighted NATO's decision to invoke the article for the only time after 9/11 and said the U.S. would "never forsake the friends that stood by our side."

The White House insisted Trump had not intended to leave wiggle room on his commitment to coming to the defense of NATO members.

And Stoltenberg said later that Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other U.S. officials have stated clearly their assurances. He said, "It's not possible to be committed to NATO without being committed to Article 5."

Trump scored a hoped-for success as NATO joined the 68-nation international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. An anti-terror coordinator may also be named. But most changes will be cosmetic, as NATO as an alliance has no intention of going to war against IS.

Finishing off a long day, Trump arrived late Thursday night in Sicily for meetings Friday with leaders from the Group of 7 wealthy nations. The summit marks Trump's final stop on a maiden international trip that began in Saudi Arabia and Israel, where the president was warmly embraced by the countries' leaders.

His reception has been less enthusiastic in Europe, given his negative campaign comments not only about NATO, but also the European Union. His arrival was also shadowed by new criticism from British Prime Minister Theresa May, who complained about leaks of intelligence to the American media about this week's deadly bombing at a concert in Manchester, England.

May said she planned to "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure." The two were seen talking during an event marking the opening of the new NATO headquarters.

British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the Manchester attack were published. In a written statement, Trump called the alleged leaks "deeply troubling" and said he was asking the Justice Department and other agencies to review the matter.

The president opened his day with a meeting with leaders of the European Union, another alliance he criticized during the campaign. Following the talks, European Council president Donald Tusk said he and the U.S. president agreed on a need to combat terrorism but some differences loomed large.

"Some issues remain open, like climate and trade. And I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today  'we' means Mr. President and myself  that we have a common position, common opinions about Russia," said Tusk. He said unity must be found around values like freedom and human rights and dignity.

Trump had lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been critical of the Republican president. As the press watched, the two men exchanged a very firm handshake during their meeting, both men gripping tight, their faces showing the strain.

___

AP writers Lorne Cook and Raf Casert contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/jonlemire

___

This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Emmanuel in the last paragraph.
Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbards attorneys are asking to overturn his ethics conviction, claiming that Hubbard simply did not violate the law as the legislature enacted it.

Hubbards attorneys filed the appeal Wednesday morning in the Alabama Court of Appeals, asking the court to reverse the June 2016 judgment where Hubbard was convicted of 12 felony ethics charges by a Lee County jury. The appeal comes exactly a year after the trial began at the Lee County Courthouse in Opelika.

Hubbard, an Auburn Republican, was indicted on 23 felony ethics charges of using his office for personal gain in October 2014. Hubbard has maintained his innocence since the indictment.

Hubbard was removed from office, ordered to pay $210,000 in fines and sentenced to four years in prison. He is free on bond while he appeals the conviction.

Were very confident that were right and that hes going to be totally vindicated on appeal, said Bill Baxley, Hubbards lead defense attorney and former lieutenant governor and attorney general. I think that he is like a horse in the Kentucky Derby waiting for the bell to ringhes so anxious to get his day in court.

A 'broad' reading of laws

In the 118-page brief, attorneys said Hubbard did not violate the law, but was charged because prosecutors with the Alabama attorney general's office read the laws broadly in a way that was not settled or understood at the time Hubbard acted.

Attorneys claimed Hubbard did not violate Alabama law by obtaining investments in Craftmaster Printing because investors received full value for their money. They also said Hubbard did not violate ethics laws when Auburn Network entered into contracts to provide out-of-state consulting services to the American Pharmacy Corporation, Inc. or when he worked on behalf of other corporate entities in his legislative district.

The prosecutors argued, and the jury accepted, a conflict of interest standard that appears nowhere in the ethics law, attorneys said in the appeal. When this court applies the law, rather than anyones intuition, it is clear that Hubbard did not knowingly violate the law in any respect.

Attorneys also claimed the trial court was wrong to allow James Sumner, former Alabama Ethics Commission director, to testify about the meaning or intent of the ethics laws. The appeal argues that the law comes to the jury from the judge, not from the witness box.

They further argued that the court erred in its decision to not investigate juror misconduct. Hubbard requested a new trial after misconduct was reported by a juror that at least one other juror indicated they were convinced Hubbard was guilty during the trial.

The Alabama attorney generals office did not return requests for comment from the Opelika-Auburn News on Wednesday.

Baxley said it would be a long time before the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled on the appeal.

It may be well into next year, Baxley said.


GOP Should Back Away From Trump in 2024 Wed., Jul. 6, 2022 Trump has allegedly told his inner circle hes considering officially announcing his second run for the White House as early as this month. Heres why it would be a bad idea for the GOP to get behind him.
Innocent Philadelphia Man Freed After Spending 24 Years In Prison Elijah C. Watson Elijah Watson serves as Okayplayer's News & Culture Editor. When

A Philadelphia man who spent 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit has finally been released.

Shaurn Thomas was arrested at the age of 19 for the murder of a Puerto Rican businessman back in November 1990, and although he tried to prove his innocence by stating he was at a youth correctional facility during the time the murder occurred (his mother and sister were with him at the facility as well), he was still sent to prison.

Now, following a judges decision to throw out Thomas conviction after the district attorneys office and Thomas lawyers agreed that the evidence against him was unsubstantial, Thomas has been freed from prison.

It feels amazing. Its one of the best feelings I ever had to see Shaurn Thomas walk out of prison. A lot of hard work went into it. We, at times, thought this would never happen, but it finally happened today, Jim Figorski of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project said in an interview with 6ABC.

I feel wonderful, a free man. I cant feel no better, Thomas said. Hey man, just got to believe in God, and had the right legal team, and keep fighting.

I dont got no animosity towards nobody. What for? Lifes too short for that, Thomas added. You cant get it back. I just move on forward. Its a tragedy that happened to me, but Im pretty sure Im not the only one.

The Philadelphia District attorneys office will decide whether they expect to retry Thomas at a hearing next month.

Source via 6ABC
Agricultural News

United States Becomes World's Top Supplier of Beef as International Buying Interest Keeps Rising







The United States has worked over the years to rebuild its share of the global beef market ever since exports dried up after the "cow that stole Christmas" incident, where a case of BSE was discovered in Washington state in 2003. By 2013, the US had recovered its losses and has since grown even more. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays spoke with Phil Seng of the US Meat Export Federation recently, and according to him, this year is shaping up to be a very productive year for the beef industry.





"So far through the beginning of this year, the United States has become the number one beef supplier to the world," he said. "We've eclipsed our competitors in this regard. With increased production, I think that the export portion of the whole beef complex is pulling its weight and that's quite a milestone."





Seng attributes much of this growth in export demand to a few international customers where buying interest has shown signs of strength lately, including Japan, up as much as 41% and Korea, up by 23%, as well as our NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico, up by 14% and 17%.





"As we go around the globe, obviously, to see that kind of growth of up to 15% increase in beef exports and 19% in value," Seng said, "I think that's quite significant."





Listen to Seng report on the recent momentum developing in the international markets for US beef with Farm Director Ron Hays, 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.





















Listen to Phil Seng report on the recent momentum developing in the international markets for US beef

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Another former Winnebago Tribal Council member has pleaded guilty to his role in stealing from the tribe's casino in Iowa.

The Sioux City Journal reports that 70-year-old Louis Houghton entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. His sentencing is set for Aug. 14.

Houghton is one of nine former council members accused of a conspiracy to siphon more than $327,000 from the WinneVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa. Seventy-one-year-old Lawrence Payer pleaded guilty earlier this month to the same charge: theft from a gaming establishment on Indian lands.

Prosecutors have recommended that Houghton be sentenced to five years of probation and be ordered to repay any money he illegally obtained from the casino.

Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A 20-year-old was booked Wednesday on suspicion of second-degree murder in the April slaying of a father of five.

Malcolm L. Ward also was booked on suspicion of using a gun to commit a felony and possession of a gun by a prohibited person in the death of Brandon Mutum, 29.

Police were called to an apartment building near 65th Street and Ames Avenue just after 3 a.m. April 20 and found a severely wounded man later identified as Mutum. He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died.

Mutums mother, Annette Mutum, said Wednesday that she had not heard of Ward. She said she asked police about him, and they said he has at least one child and another on the way.

She said she was thankful for the arrest but couldnt help but think of Wards family.

Im praying for them, she said. This is tragic not only for me but for them.

This could be another group of kids raised without a dad, and thats heartbreaking to me. There are too many kids that are fatherless, and my heart goes out to them.

Annette Mutum said her son had been spending the night at a friends after having a fight with his fiancee. She said she was told that someone burst into the apartment and started shooting.

Mutum worked in housekeeping at Methodist Hospital, where officials described him as a hard worker who ... was pleasant to be around.

Ward pleaded guilty in 2014 to an attempted burglary charge. Earlier this year, he was charged with strangulation and domestic assault on a pregnant woman, whom authorities said was his girlfriend.

Police files indicate that Ward is a member of a local gang.
Brussels and Washington's attitudes "remain open" on issues like trade and climate change though they agree on collective action against terrorism, European Council President Donald Tusk said after his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Thursday morning.

US President Donald Trump (R) walks with the President of the European Council Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

"My feeling is that we agreed on many areas. First and foremost, on counter-terrorism, and I am sure that I do not have to explain why. But some issues remain open, like climate and trade," Tusk said.

The meeting was held amid tight security in European headquarters zone, with public access to the area being cut off and a heavy security and police force presence.

Tusk said both sides covered foreign policy, security, climate and trade relations though the White House has not released any information so far.

But Trump has warned he would backtrack on the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and he killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, although his final position on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is still to be announced.

Tusk said: "I am not 100 per cent sure that we can say today - we meaning President Trump and myself - that we have a common opinion about Russia, although when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, it seems that we were on the same line."

He offered no further explanation.

The relationship between EU and Russia is still not back on track, with EU sanctions remaining in place.

Trump is expected to urge the EU to share more of the budget burden of the NATO military alliance as he attends a summit of NATO leaders in Brussels on Thursday afternoon.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and High Representative Federica Mogherini also joined Tusk in meeting with Trump in the Europa building in Brussels.

The European Union labelled the meeting with Trump as a leaders meeting, instead of summit. Trump has shared various views with his European counterparts on globalization, migrants, trade and climate during his election campaign last year.

The analysts said Trump should take the chance to enhance trust and ease off criticizing European.

Tusk said his main message to Trump was that what gives cooperation and friendship its deepest meaning are fundamental Western values, like freedom, human rights and respect for human dignity.

"The greatest task today is the consolidation of the whole free world around those values, and not just interests," said Tusk.

"Values and principles first - this is what we, Europe and America, should be saying."

After the NATO summit, Trump will heads to Italy to participate in G7 summit, which will be held on Friday and Saturday.

But Elke Fimmen, senior researcher of Schiller Institute in Germany urged the leaders from the West to change their old paradigm of dialogues during the summit to fit into the changed global situation to achieve common peace and prosperity.

"One dominating dynamic worldwide is wide acceptance of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative and when leaders meet, they must know that the win-win cooperation for joining global economic development is essential," said Fimmen.

Fimmen said now the Europe is crises while the Belt and Road Initiative has served as the new paradigm for the future development, aimed at being helpful for European development.

"We should adjust our policies into this new paradigm and I think the present EU policies are not adequate to change the problems," said Fimmen.
LINCOLN  The embattled executive director of the Nebraska Public Service Commission has resigned.

Jeff Pursley, whose contract with the state agency allowed him to continue working with a private consultant, submitted his resignation on Thursday, effective June 12.

Pursley did not issue a comment on why he was leaving.

A week ago the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office issued a legal opinion stating that Pursley could lawfully continue to hold a side job as a telecommunications consultant, but that his five-year employment contract with the PSC was likely invalid.

The oath of office for state employees includes a pledge to not be directly or indirectly interested in entities regulated by the agency that employs them. Pursley worked as a consultant for a company that worked with a telephone company regulated by the PSC.

The opinion was the second one from state officials upholding Pursleys outside employment.

Frank Daley, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, concluded in March that the arrangement did not run afoul of state conflict-of-interest laws.

In a March 6 memo, Pursley said he works five to six hours a week for Parrish, Blessing and Associates, using evenings, weekends and vacation hours.

He continued to be listed as a director on the companys website as of mid-February, but asked the company to remove his contact information from the site and not use his name for marketing purposes.

Pursley said in the memo that Parrish, Blessing recently signed a contract with Windstream, a telephone company regulated by the PSC.

He said other Parrish, Blessing employees would do the work for Windstream but will use a model that he developed.

A leading state senator, Jim Smith of Papillion, had harshly criticized Pursleys continued outside work despite the recent legal opinion, saying that he should focus on his $150,000-a-year state job.

In a press release Thursday the elected chairman of the Public Service Commission praised Pursley as a man of many talents.

Commissioner Tim Schram of Gretna called Pursley a nationally recognized expert in the field of Universal Telecom Service who has contributed greatly to the state.

Pursleys duties will be absorbed by staff until a new executive director can be hired, Schram said. Pursley took the job in July 2015.

Among its several duties, the commission oversees the telecommunications and natural gas utilities, and approves pipeline routes across Nebraska. In that final role the PSC currently is reviewing the proposed route of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
LINCOLN  The confiscation of a large amount of homemade alcohol, which followed a rumored assault of an inmate by a corrections officer, sparked a March 2 melee at the Tecumseh State Prison that left two inmates dead, state prison officials said Thursday.

They were really upset that we took their homemade alcohol, said Tecumseh Warden Brad Hansen.

Hansen, along with State Corrections Director Scott Frakes, met with reporters on Thursday to detail the departments response to the disturbance, the second deadly riot at Tecumseh in two years.

Among the changes: converting a housing unit at Tecumseh and another at a maximum-security prison in Lincoln into control management units (CMU) with more staff and other security steps to better manage the inmates most prone to violence.

Frakes said that inmates in the CMUs at Tecumseh and the State Penitentiary will get less time out of their cells for recreation  about four hours a day compared to 10 hours a day in general population  but will receive programming to address misbehavior and violence reduction.

The change was inspired by a security review of the March 2 incident by a team from the National Institute of Corrections. Frakes declined to release the report, saying it could lead inmates to learn important security information.

But, he said, the recommendations by the experienced corrections professionals will aid us in making improvements to security within the facility.

State Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete, who will head a special legislative oversight committees probe of Corrections this summer and fall, said the agency needed to try something to address the recent disturbances.

The committee, she said, plans to meet privately with staff and inmates to get a better idea of why there have been so many problems lately. A disturbance and fire in April at the Lincoln Correctional Center did thousands of dollars in damage, and an inmate was slain in a special management unit cell at Tecumseh last month, allegedly by his cellmate.

We cant go on the way things are, Ebke said.

About 60 inmates took over a housing unit on March 2 for about 3 hours after refusing to return to their cells. They covered their faces with bandannas, lighted mattresses and other materials on fire, and began assaulting other inmates.

No arrests have been made in the slayings, or in the deaths of two other inmates during a Mothers Day riot in 2015.

The 64-bed housing unit being converted at Tecumseh, known as 2B, is where the four killings occurred. Four corrections staffers were also assaulted there on March 15.

Three staffers have quit in the wake of the recent violence, corrections officials said, and 63 of the 350 protective services positions at Tecumseh remain vacant. The rural facility has been plagued with high turnover.

Frakes on Thursday expressed regret about the deaths of the two inmates in March, which he called crimes of opportunity once inmates took over the housing unit.

He said better intelligence gathering by staff has helped stave off other violent events. Improved intelligence gathering, along with the more-restrictive housing for violent prisoners, will also help prevent repeat violence in the future, he said.

Unfortunately, we cannot prevent spontaneous events like this, Frakes said.

Prison inmates, in letters to The World-Herald, have said that an officer had assaulted an inmate just prior to the March 2 riot. Frakes and Hansen, however, said their review of videotape of the incident showed that it was an accidental bump in a narrow walkway in front of an inmates cell.

The bump did spark rumors of an assault, which agitated inmates, they said.

However, Hansen said the confiscation of a large batch of hooch, or prison alcohol, was the main cause of the uprising.

Staff smelled the homemade alcohol, which is produced using bread, fresh fruit and sugar, and then confiscated it while the inmates were out of their cells at lunch.

Hansen said that stash found on March 2 was much, much larger than the 16-ounce batches typically found. This one weighed 150 pounds and was being produced in three 3-cubic-foot footlockers hidden under inmates beds.

Tecumseh is no longer serving fresh fruit to inmates, to ward off production of homemade alcohol. And now, an inmate can be sent to segregation if caught making a large quantity of alcohol.

Previously, that wasnt the case. Frakes and Hansen said there was some confusion among staff about when inmates could be sent to the hole, or highly restricted segregation cells, for misbehavior.

Frakes said the leadership has clarified that with staff. But he emphasized that segregation has not proved effective in changing behavior and will continue to be used only to protect staff against perceived threats and not for punishment.

Both he and Hansen said staffers acted correctly in retreating from the housing unit when threatened by inmates.

Sending four or five corrections officers into a rioting housing unit that holds 128 inmates would have been foolhardy, they said, and could have resulted in hostages being taken and inmates obtaining firearms.

You have to wait until you get the numbers, Hansen said.

Because of the prisons rural location, it took nearly four hours before a special riot-response unit could arrive from Omaha and Lincoln and retake the unit. Frakes said that some prison systems keep such armed teams on standby but that Nebraska does not have the staff or funds to do that at Tecumseh.

Hansen said that only about 10 to 12 percent of the approximately 1,000 inmates at Tecumseh are problematic and that he hopes to devote more resources to the other inmates, who want to be rehabilitated and be ready for release.

Until the March 2 disturbance, Frakes said, Tecumseh was making progress in addressing problems.

Corrections officials said the cost of converting 2B into a CMU was about $20,000. They said damage done by inmates in March was not expected to exceed $500,000. About $64,000 had been spent as of last month on repairs, which are ongoing.
There have been numerous Public Pulse letters about Gov. Pete Ricketts buying a Legislature that supports him and his agenda.

But its people who cast ballots to elect their representatives. Can money influence that choice? Sure. But if a voter is not aware of such tactics and treat them accordingly, maybe they shouldnt be voting.

Either people in those districts elected who they wanted and did it in an informed manner, or those voters, low on pertinent information, elected a Ricketts stooge.

Some seem to think its the latter. In other words, they have a low opinion of their fellow voters.

This isnt about the governor or money. Remember, Donald Trump spent a lot less than Hillary Clinton and won.

The most logical answer is that Democrats and progressives cant get their candidates elected in this state and have settled into a permanent status of being the loyal complainers. It would be better if they spent their time learning how to pick and run candidates who can get elected.

Dan Brandt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
Congress can never give stable govt to Himachal; it is guarantee of instability, corruption, scam: PM Modi

3rd anniversary of Modi govt: Assam gears up to welcome PM for grand celebrations

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

It's time to celebrate for the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. The ruling coalition is all set to mark its third anniversary of governance after its massive victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on Friday.

On the special day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Assam and address the nation from the northeastern state.

The state--in which the BJP came to power for the first time after the 2016 Assam Assembly elections last year--is busy preparing to host the PM in a grand manner. It will be a hectic day for the PM as he will be attending several events and meetings on Friday in the state.

As a part of his Assam visit, the PM will inaugurate the country's longest Dhola-Sadiya bridge spanning 9.15km at Dhola. He will lay the foundation of Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Gogamukh, Dhemaji. The PM will also lay the foundation stone for an AIIMS at Changsari, before addressing a rally in Guwahati.

Here we bring you a glimpse of how the state is preparing to host PM Modi on Friday...

The huge poster A worker carries a poster of PM Modi ahead of the NDA government's third anniversary celebrations in Guwahati on Wednesday. Security bandobast Security official with a sniffer dog carries out inspection of PM Modi's public meeting venue in Guwahati on Wednesday. The longest bridge The country's longest bridge between Dhola and Sadiya in Assam is all set to be inaugurated by PM Modi. Assam soaks in Modi wave It was PM Modi wave that helped the BJP to come to power in Assam last year. It's an honour to host PM Modi Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is mighty happy to welcome the PM in Assam on the third anniversary of the NDA government. Pictures credit: PTI OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 8:25 [IST]
Briefing of meeting

The National Council (Staff Side) Joint Consultative Machinery met with the cabinet secretary. Represented by the secretary of the NJCA, Shiv Gopal Mishra, the demands of the central government employees on allowances was placed forward.

The letter states, " Today I met the Cabinet Secretary(Government of India) and handed him over a copy of our letter regarding inordinate delay in implementation of the report of the Ashok Lavasa Committee on Allowances.

Also shown him our anguish regarding other demands, pending with different committees, such as Minimum Wage, Fitment Formula and NPS, etc. etc."

What the cabinet secretary assured?

The Cabinet Secretary said that, he has fixed date of 1st June, 2017 for perusal of the report of the Allowances Committee by the Empowered Committee, and soon after that, he will send a memorandum to the Cabinet for their consideration.

Deliberations

During the deliberations by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) reformed allowance structure as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations will be discussed. During the meeting, the committee of secretaries went through the recommendations of Lavasa Committee regarding allowances. The same would be submitted to the Union Cabinet for a final approval.
May 31 deadline

The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) which has been leading the negotiations had initially called for a strike on May 23. However with an assurances on the allowances being given, it was decided that the strike would be put on hold. However the NJAC said that the government must hike the allowances by May 31. The consolidated body of employee union could launch a protest if government fails to implement the same.

How long should we wait

The unions say that they are fed up of waiting. The government is not giving any clarity on the matter. The wait cannot be indefinite, the employees say. The employee unions say that they would resort to a protest if the demands are not fulfilled by May 31.

In the interest of employees

There are a host of issues that are being discussed by the union leaders. The NJCA says that they would not resort to a strike, but will surely protest if the demands are not met. The issues being faced by the central government employees would be discussed at the Joint Consultative Machinery meeting in the interest of the employees, the unions have also said.

Confrontation would delay

The NJCA feels that the government will live up to its word. There is no point in confrontation, Shiv Gopal Mishra, the convenor of the NJCA says. While he had faced criticism for putting off the May 23 strike, he feels that the decision was in the interest of the employees.

Lavasa committee recommendations

During the deliberations by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) reformed allowance structure as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations is being discussed. During the meeting, the committee of secretaries went through the recommendations of Lavasa Committee regarding allowances. The same would be submitted to the Union Cabinet for a final approval.
'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

ACB seeks help from Accountant General in Delhi water tanker scam

India

oi-IANS

By Ians

New Delhi. May 25: Delhi's Anti Corruption Branch has asked the Accountant General of Central Revenue, if there were any violations in awarding contract of over 350 tankers by the then Sheila Dikshit-led-Congress government.

The ACB was also probing whether Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was delaying the probe into the 358 stainless steel water tanker contract.

"The ACB has sought opinion from Accountant General Central Revenue and asked if there were any violations," ACB chief Mukesh Kumar Meena toldreporters.

When asked if appointment of a consultant to overlook the tendering process then, had caused a loss of Rs 36.5 crore to the exchequer, Meena refused to comment.

According to the official sources, the ACB has found that a consultant had been appointed arbitrarily on nomination basis, causing the loss of Rs 36.5 crore.

Though the tender of a company was earlier rejected on the ground that it was the only application, work was later awarded to another company on the basis of a single tender.

Sources said that the work was given at higher rates compared to the rates quoted by another firm at Rs 323.9 crore.

Earlier the ACB had questioned Kejriwal's political adviser Vibhav Patel on May 17 and also summoned suspended AAP leader Kapil Mishra to join the probe.

IANS

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 11:21 [IST]
PM Modi, Shah meet Advani at his residence to wish him on birthday

Fact check: Did L K Advani break down during screening of The Kashmir Files?

Advani may face more charges in Babri case

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There may be more trouble brewing for BJP leaders L K Advani and others as a special CBI court hearing the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case is likely to frame additional charges.

The Supreme Court had restored the serious criminal conspiracy offence against the leaders and said that the trial will be conducted on a day-to-day basis.

The special court will frame the charges after the accused appear before it in person, CBI counsel Lalit Singh said. The court has fixed Thursday for framing of charges in the other case in which Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti, Baikunth Lal Sharma alias Prem Ji, Champat Rai Bansal, Dharma Das and Satish Pradhan are accused, he said.

The court on Wednesday granted bail to Pradhan, a former Shiv Sena MP, after he surrendered here. Special CBI court judge S.K. Yadav granted him bail on two sureties of 20,000 each and a personal bond of the same amount.

OneIndia News
Andhra Pradesh: Man hacked to death in broad daylight

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Hyderabad, May 25: In a shocking incident, a man was hacked to death on a busy road in Kadapa district of Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.

The incident, took place near the court in the broad daylight. The onlookers, who were in shock seeing the ghasty incident were in shock for a while, but none attempted to intervene. The entire action was shot on a video by the assailants and was later shared on their WhatsApp network.

According to the sources, the assailants first stabbed the man, identified as Maruthi Prasad Reddy, and later hacked him to death after he collapsed in the middle of the road. The deceased is said to have an affair with a woman in the family of one of the assailants who killed him.

The victim, was on his way to attend a court case when he was attacked by the murderers. The

accused who were waiting for an opportunity with all preparation attacked him near the court.

Sources also say that Maruthi, the victim had threatened to murder the assailants before the incident took place. Both the accused have surrendered at the nearest police station. Further investigation is on.

OneIndia News
UP ATS picks up two more accused in Al-Qaeda radicalisation case

Armed robbers gang-rape 4 women, kill man and loot money in UP

India

oi-Gulam Rabbani

Noida, May 25: In a gruesome incident a family belonging to Jewar were attacked by a bunch of armed robbers allegedly gang-raped four women of a family, killed a male companion and looted Rs 14,000 when they were going to Bulandshahr in a car on Wednesday night.

The incident took place a family of eight, including four female members, two children accompanied by two men were travelling in a car when all of a sudden the armed robbers fired at one of the tyres of the car.

Later they held the family hostage and gang-raped four women. When of the male companion tried to stop the robbers they shot him dead. After sometimes they looted Rs 14, 000 from the family and evade the scene.

The incident happened at the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway in Greater Noida region of Uttar Pradesh.

According to reports, the family were on their way to Bulandshahr to treat one of the child.

The Uttar Pradesh police who reached the spot has launched an enquiry into the matter and sent the women to medical examination and the deceased to post-mortem.

It is not the first time that these type of incident took place. Last year, a Noida woman and her daughter were gang-raped in Dostpur village of Bulandshahr in Delhi-Kanpur highway. The incident took place near bypass when the family from Noida was travelling to Shahjahanpur on National Highway 91.

OneIndia News
Army chief meets Jaitley, briefs him on situation in Kashmir

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, May 25: Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Friday met Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and briefed him about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting came a day after Jaitley said Army officers were free to take decisions in a "war-like" zone, in comments which appeared to justify Major Leetul Gogoi's action of tying a man to a jeep in Kashmir as a human shield to deter stone- pelting protesters.

Sources said it was a "routine" meeting during which Gen Rawat apprised Jaitley of the security situation in the troubled state besides discussing some other issues. "Well, military solutions are to be provided by military officers. How a situation is to be dealt with when you are in a war-like zone. We should allow our army officers to take a decision.

"They don't have to consult members of Parliament as to what they should do under such circumstances," Jaitley had said, amid the raging controversy over Gogoi's action as well as the Army chief's commendation card to him.

The Army's decision to honour Gogoi which, according to it, was for his "sustained efforts" in counter-insurgency operations, has come in for criticism from some quarters. The meeting also came two days after Indian Army said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the Line of Control, inflicting "some damage".

It had on Tuesday also released a video of the military action which showed some structures in a forested area crumbling in a heap under the impact of repeated shelling by the Indian Army.

PTI
Army Jeep-tying issue: Separatists call for protests today

India

pti-PTI

Srinagar, May 25: Separatists have called for peaceful protests in Kashmir on Friday against the "inhuman act" of an Army officer tying a man to a jeep as a human shield against stone-pelters and then honouring him.

Three major separatist groups -- hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, moderate Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF led by Yasin Malik -- issued a joint statement here called for the protests. Major Leetul Gogoi had tied a man to his jeep as a human shield against a large mob of stone-pelters who had surrounded a polling booth in Budgam district during bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on April 9.

Gogoi has said that he had to rescue some paramilitary personnel and polling staff and by his act, many lives were saved as, otherwise, he would have been forced to order firing. Earlier this week, Gogoi got a commendation card from the Army chief for his action.

"Awarding erring officer for this inhuman and unjustified act vindicates our claim that forces are involved in war crimes and are patronized and encouraged by Indian leadership," the joint statement of the separatists said.

They said that awarding the Major tantamounts to "justifying the human rights violations" and sending a clear message to the people that "they can go to any extent without any apprehension of accountability". The separatist groups also appealed to human rights organisations, the International Court of Justice and Amnesty International to take cognizance of the incident and "fulfill their responsibilities in saving precious lives" in the state.

PTI
Man rapes 8-year-old to use her blood for removing obstacles to his marriage

Mamata blames BJP for violence during March to Lalbazar'

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday blamed the BJP for violence during the saffron party's protest march towards Lalbazaar.

"There is no violence, it is the BJP, they were the one to start violence and also the CPM. See how they have beaten police including women, burnt govt properties," she told the media

The police in Kolkata had to resort to using water canons to disperse the BJP workers, who were marching towards Lalbazaar in protest against law and order situation in West Bengal. The police also arrested BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Dilip Ghosh for leading the march.

West Bengal: BJP protest in Kolkata against state Government over law and order situation, water cannons used on protesters. pic.twitter.com/rX8C8rydIu  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

The BJP had on Wednesday announced it will take out a 'March to Lalbazar' to protest against deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Lalbazaar is the headquarters of Kolkata Police and the protest rally was held against police's action during the recently concluded civic polls, charges against BJP functionaries, attack on the media and the deteriorating law and order situation.

BJP MP Roopa Ganguly reportedly said that police stopped their march without any reason. She said that they were marching towards the Kolkata Polcie headquarters to submit a representation.

The march suddenly turned violent which made police resort to lathicharge and use water cannons to disperse the protesters.

On Monday, the police had to resort to lathi-charge during Left front's "march to Nabanna" rally when the supporters had gathered on Mayo Road and started pelting stones at the police leaving 69 injured on Monday.

Several journalists were also injured during the police's baton charge on Monday.

The march comes at a time when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

OneIndia News
Congress' snub to Kejriwal, no invite for meeting on presidential candidate

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

In a lunch hosted by the Congress to discuss on presidential candidate, AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has not been invited.

The meeting on Friday, called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, will be attended by top opposition leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Reports say that RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav will also attend the meeting while Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will send a representative. It is not yet certain if BSP Mayawati will attend the meeting herself or send a representative.

Former Bengal governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi's name was in the news as the opposition's choice for presidential candidate. Sometime back, NCP chief Sharad Pawar's name was also doing rounds, but he reportedly declined Sonia's offer to be the candidate.

The talk of a consensus candidate gained momentum after Nitish Kumar backed a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee, though the Congress so far has been non-committal on a second term for him. Mukherjee's term comes to an end on July 14 and the polls need to be held before that.

The BJP on the other hand is yet to announce a candidate. Several names have been doing the rounds which include Jharkhand Governor, Draupadi Murmu. The name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat too had cropped up, but he has ruled himself out of the race. The BJP is short of 20,000 electoral college votes and would need the support of the AIADMK and the BJD to elect a candidate of its choice as the next President of India.

OneIndia News
What the ISI is doing in Punjab is carbon copy Kashmir: Is SJF the new Hurriyat?

Mani Shankar Aiyar meets Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Farooq

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Center for Peace and Progress & civil society member OP Shah on Thursday met Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Farooq's residence.

Aiyar said "I am not here as Congress party leader. We consider Kashmir and kashmiris as part India. You cannot control Kshmir without winnning over Kshmiris.''

"We are here to listen, and not speak", he added.

Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar hold the view that the Central government should talk to everyone in Kashmir because an enduring solutions would come only through dialogue.

"There should be talks between New Delhi and Srinagar and India and Pakistan. I want the tensions with Pakistan to lessen and the tension in Kashmir also to lessen. The talks are the only way forward. The time of wars is over, he told reporters here.

The former Union minister was here for a discussion on "J and K ? The Road Ahead", organised by the NGO Centre for Peace and Progress.

The Congress veteran said if the BJP-led Central government is willing to talk to armed rebels in Nagaland, they should be ready to talk to stone-pelters in the valley as well.

(With agency inputs)
'Conversion ploy for ISIS recruitment': Kerala HC nullifies marriage

India

oi-Anusha

The Kerala High Court has nullified the marriage of a Hindu woman to a Muslim man after it was alleged her conversion to Islam was a ploy for ISIS recruitment. A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday nullified the marriage of a Hindu woman who had converted to Islam following her father's petition.

The bench comprising of Justices Surendra Mohan and Abraham Mathew passed the order after Akhila's father, K M Ashokan, of Vaikom in Kottayam district filed a petition stating that his daughter was converted to Islam as a strategy to recruit her for the Islamic State. The marriage was nullified in the wake of youths from Kerala leaving the country to join IS, some of them had converted to Islam before fleeing from homes.

The court declared the marriage void and said that' marriage being the most important decision in her life, can only be taken with the active involvement of her parents'. "The marriage, which is alleged to have taken place, is a sham and is of no consequence in the eye of law. Her husband has no authority to act as the guardian,'' the court observed.

Petitioner Ashokan was granted the custody of his daughter, who is currently lodged in a hostel as per the court directive. Kottayam district police superintendent was directed to give protection to Akhila and her father.

Probe ordered

The Kerala High Court also asked the state police chief to conduct a probe into the alleged forced conversions in Kerala. Court asked the police to also probe the activities of the agencies involved in conversions. Akhila when asked, had told the court earlier that her decision to embrace Islam was her own. The father had filed a habeas corpus petition in 2016 after she converted to Islam. While the petition was pending in the court, she married Shefin Jahan on December 19, 2016.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 11:57 [IST]
Cops in Nashik under scanner for attending wedding of Dawood's relative

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

An inquiry has been initiated against some policemen after they attended a wedding of Dawood Ibrahim's relative in Nashik, Maharashtra. A daily had reported that some politicians and policemen had attended the wedding on Monday.

Nashik city Police Commissioner Ravindra Singhal said, "An inquiry has been ordered to check the veracity of the allegations. We will check if policemen attended the wedding, how many of them attended and who all attended the wedding." According to the police, it was the wedding of Dawood's niece and son of a former corporator in Nashik.

The recording of statements is already underway. Some policemen who attended the wedding have gone on leave and once they return, their statements would be recorded the police said. The next course of action will be decided after the recording of the statement, the police also said.

Wedding invitations had been sent to policemen following which they attended the wedding. Several politicians who received invites also allegedly attended the wedding.

OneIndia News
Don't join others, let others join you; Shatru's advise to Rajini

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday urged superstar Rajinikanth to join politics a week after the star held fans' meet in Chennai.

Actor-turned-politician in a series of tweets reached out to Rajinikanth saying 'It's high time & the right time!'

Titanic Hero of Tamil Nadu & son of India - dearest @superstarrajini #Rajinikanth ! Rise, Rise, Rise!! It's high time & the right time! 1>2  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

However, Sinha fell short of inviting Rajinikanth to BJP. But said 'Hope, wish and pray that after consulting with your family, dear ones & experts, you take the right decision soon - sooner the better...'

Hope, wish & pray that after consulting with your family, dear ones & experts, you take the right decision soon - sooner the better...4>5  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) May 25, 2017

He also offered to help the Kabaali-star , 'anytime and everytime'. The people are with you and ready to join @superstarrajini and instead of joining anyone, it is best when others join you, he tweeted.

It may be called that Rajinikath in a fans' meeting held last week in Chennai, he said, "God decides what we have to do in life. Right now, he wants me to be an actor and I'm fulfilling my responsibility. If God willing, I will enter politics. If I enter, I will be very truthful and will not entertain people who are in this to make money. I won't work with such people."

When asked about BJP's invitation to join politics, Rajinikanth did not comment. He said, "Whatever I had to say I said, now I have nothing more to say."

Meanwhile, when expectations are high on Kollywood superstar entering politics Justice Markandey Katju had a different take on the matinee idol's ability in handling political affairs.

OneIndia News
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out

Constable sentenced to life for instigating minor to suicide after sexual abuse

UP: Man films wife committing suicide, does nothing to stop her

Five of a family including 3 kids ends life in Rajasthan

India

oi-PTI

Jaipur, May 25: Two sisters along with their three children allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a moving train in Dausa district of Rajasthan on Thursday.

The women, married to two brothers in Dharmpuri village in Alwar's Rajgarh town, had left their house early in the morning after a dispute with their in-laws and committed suicide, SHO Mandawar police station Brijesh Kumar Meena told PTI.

The women were identified as Hema (25) and Babita (22). Hema's son Kana (2), Babita's daughter of the same age, Radhika, and six-month old son, Golu, also died in the incident.

They were run over by the Ahmedabad-Agra Fort train on Thursday morning, he said. The bodies have been shifted to a local hospital for post-mortem and the matter is being investigated, Meena said.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 13:55 [IST]
SU-30 missing aircraft search ops: No breakthrough in locating aircraft, pilots

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There has been no positive news after search operations resumed for the missing Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft its two pilots. The fighter jet went missing soon after take-off from Tezpur airbase in Assam. It lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station around 11.10 a.m. near Arunachal Pradesh's Doulasang area, an area adjoining China, 60 km north of Tezpur.

Search and rescue operations continue but without any result and bad weather hampering the process, officials said "Till now, no breakthrough has been made in locating the aircraft and its pilots," the Indian Air Force said on Wednesday.

An IAF C-130 aircraft with electro-optical payload, an Advanced Light Helicopter, and Chetak helicopters were tasked for the search operation on Wednesday. Su-30 aircraft with recce capability are also being utilised for locating the missing aircraft, the air force said.

Apart from the aerial assets, four ground teams of IAF personnel, nine of the Indian Army and two of state administration were deployed on different axis to scour the area.

"Marginal weather prevailing in the area being searched is hampering and impeding the operation," an IAF statement said. China, meanwhile, said it has "no information" about the missing Indian Air Force jet and warned India not to disturb peace in the border area while searching for it.

The Su-30 jet with two pilots on board took off from the IAF Tezpur air base, located about 172 km from India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh around 9.30 a.m. on a routine training mission.

OneIndia News
India's daughter thanks Sushma Swaraj after returning from Pakistan

India

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

Uzma, the Indian woman, who had alleged that she had been forced in Pakistan to marry a local man at gun point, and was returned to India today after she crossed over to India via the Wagah border has thanked Indian officials for all the help she received.

Delhi: EAM Sushma Swaraj meets family of Uzma, who said she was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint. She returned to India today. pic.twitter.com/zWPVBG5jC1  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

During a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Uzma thanked Swaraj for helping her come back home, as she is reported to have said, "Want to thank Sushma ma'am, High Commission officials. I am an orphan, first time, I realised my life is so valuable."

Sushma Swaraj, had earlier today welcomed her home as well as empathised with the struggle she went through in Pakistan, as she tweeted, "Uzma - Welcome home India's daughter. I am sorry for all that you have gone through."

Earlier this month she had submitted a reply in a Pakistani Court in which she had conveyed her desire to return to India. Before approaching the courts in Pakistan, Uzma, a 20-year-old Indian woman, had approached the Indian High Commission in Pakistan with a request to send her back to India after she alleged that she was forced to marry a Pakistani citizen at gunpoint.

Uzma had then filed a plea with an Islamabad court against her husband Tahir Ali, claiming that he was harassing and intimidating her. And she had also recorded her statement before a magistrate claiming the same.

Following this, a bench of the Islamabad High Court had returned Uzma her original immigration form, which her husband had submitted to the court. According to Pakistani TV reports, the court had also ordered that police to provide security to Uzma till Wagah Border where she is to cross over to India.

She had alleged in court that her husband had forced her to sign the nikah nama and marry him at gunpoint. She had also requested the court to let her travel to India as her visa will expire on May 30.

Earlier she had claimed while talking to a Pakistani news channel that her immigration documents had been snatched from her. Uzma had also reportedly said that she did not want to leave the Indian High Commission premises, where she had also gone to seek help, till she could safely travel back to India.

The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi had earlier said that the immigration documents state that Uzma obtained the visa under the visit category.

Pakistani authorities had also reportedly claimed that the Indian citizen did not share her plans to marry in Pakistan when she applied for the visa expressing her intent to visit her relatives in the country.

Uzma had earlier in the month approached the Indian High Commission with a request to repatriate her to India. But her husband, Ali, had alleged that his wife had been detained by the mission.

According to Ali, Uzma and he had reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love after which she travelled to Pakistan on May 1 and their 'nikah' was solemnised on May 3.

But the situation changed when they visited the Indian High Commission. Uzma went inside the building of the mission and did not return, according to Ali.

OneIndia News
'If I have nominated even one person using authority, I'll resign': Kerala governor on VC row

Kerala: Cong, BJP youth activists clash during protest against LDF

India

pti-PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, May 25: Youth activists of the Congress and the BJP on Thursday clashed during an agitation before the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram against the CPI(M)-led LDF government, which is celebrating its first year in office.

Hundreds of Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha activists had gathered since last night in front of the Secretariat as part of a '24-hour siege' protest against the government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging that its one year rule was a "total failure."

Trouble started when the activists pelted stones at each other and tore flex boards. A policeman was injured in the stone throwing and police used water cannons to disperse them, police said.

Earlier, inaugurating the Yuva Morcha rally, Poonam Mahajan, national president, said the "red terror" unleashed by marxist workers against the cadres of saffron outfits should end. Alleging that the attack against party workers had increased after LDF government came to power in May last year, Mahajan asked the centre to hold a proper inquiry into the killings of RSS/BJP workers.

Since the 1960s, in Kannur, from where the chief minister hails, over 200 RSS/BJP workers have been killed, she alleged.

"No FIRs have been registered," she said.

"We request the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Kerala Governor to conduct a proper inquiry and set up a Special Investigation Team to fight the red terror," she said.

She said the one year rule of the Vijayan-led government was a failure on all fronts, and alleged that rape cases and atrocities against dalits were on the rise. BJP leaders Ram Madhav and H Raja were among those who spoke.

BJP Kerala president Kummanam Rajasekharan said "there is no water nor rice in ration shops, and no jobs for the youth. What has the government done to celebrate its first year in office."

Youth Congress national president Amarinder Singh Raja inaugurated the youth congress rally. Speaking at the rally, KPCC president M M Hassan said there was nothing for the LDF government to celebrate as its policies were all "anti-people."

PTI
Lalu out to play grand alliance card in Delhi

India

ians-IANS

By Ians

Patna, May 25: Lalu Prasad Yadav, a mass leader with rustic charm and a convict in the multi-million fodder scam is all set to embark on a rather difficult political mission: Bringing the non-BJP parties on one platform ahead of 2019 general elections.

Lalu, also Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo, is scheduled to visit Delhi later this week to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and others to start the process of forging a grand alliance of non-Bharatiya Janata Party political outfits.

Fully aware of the challenges involved in the arduous task of bringing together parties of all hues and views to counter the BJP, Lalu will call on Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on May 26 or 27 and personally extend her an invitation to join his party's rally on August 27.

According to insiders, he will request her to attend the rally to show off the grand unity of the opposition parties. The rally is likely to witness the attendance of the who's who of a number of non-BJP parties.

"Lalu has been busy for last few days with his coterie at 10, Circular Road his official residence to prepare a strategy for a grand alliance of non-BJP parties.

"Since his proximity to Sonia Gandhi is well known and the Congress is still the second-most powerful national political party after the BJP, Laluji has decided to work for the unity of non-BJP parties by meeting her and taking her party along to ensure that the idea translates into reality," an RJD leader close to the party chief told told IANS.

This is Lalu's first move to personally call on a top leader of a non-BJP party after the ruling party's massive victory in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which has led to panic among regional parties as well as the Congress.

Last week, Lalu had a telephonic interaction with Sonia Gandhi in connection with the unity plan. After that he had said that the Congress was a national party and it should come forward to unite and lead non-BJP parties.

Lalu has already called up West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and invited her to his party's rally, apart from Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav both former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh.

"Lalu is also in touch with DMK in Tamil Nadu, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the leaders of Left parties to ensure unity of non-BJP parties," another RJD leader said.

When asked about his proposed rally in Patna and his bid to exhibit opposition unity, Lalu said: "I have invited top leaders of all non-BJP parties for my rally in August. All of them will attend it."

Keeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in focus, he has been appealing to all non-BJP parties to come together to counter the aggressive Hindutva agenda of the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party's President Amit Shah.

Sensing a tough challenge, Lalu has also cautioned the non-BJP parties that a united opposition would be the only option to take on the BJP and Narendra Modi in the next general elections.

"Unity among non-BJP parties is the only mantra now to defeat the BJP. If non-BJP parties remain divided and fail to unite as a political force, they will be finished," he said.

Lalu's major ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already said that a "Mahagathbandhan" grand alliance of non-BJP parties was needed at the national level to defeat the BJP in the next parliamentary polls.

At a time when Lalu and his family, including his two sons and elder daughter, are under attack for benami property worth Rs 1,000 crore by the IT Department, Lalu appears to be playing it cool.

Refuting media reports about his and his family's involvement in the alleged benami property deals, he also vowed recently to "uproot" the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre before it completes its five-year term.

"Listen, you BJP and RSS people, Lalu will drag you off the seat of power in Delhi, no matter what happens to me. Get it straight.Don't you dare threaten me," he said.

Does Lalu, a man known for pulling off surprises in the past, including enthroning his wife Rabri Devi as proxy Chief Minister of Bihar when he faced the fodder scam, have something up his sleeves again? Political watchers in the state don't rule out the possibility.

IANS

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 12:35 [IST]
After loss of seniority, Major Gogoi will now be shifted out of Kashmir valley

Major Gogoi rewarded: Man who was tied to jeep approaches human rights commission

India

oi-Anusha

Two days after Major Gogoi deemed him a stone pelter, Farooq Dar has approached the state human rights commission. The man who was tied to an Army jeep in April has filed a complaint with the Jammu and Kashmir Human rights commission.

Farooq Dar in his complaint has questioned the reward and recognition given to Major Gogoi of the Rashtriya Rifles. Dar has filed a complaint against Maj Gogoi and has sought justice from the Human rights commission asking why a violation of his rights had been rewarded by the Indian Army.

Several journalists working in Kashmir on Tuesday had come out in support of the Kashmiri man who was tied to an army jeep. The journalists took to Twitter to convey the "reality" behind the entire episode at a time when Major Leetul Gogoi alleged that Farooq Ahmad Dar was instigating the crowd to pelt stones against the army jawans. Maj Gogoi had said that he was forced to use the man as a human shield to save civilian lives.

Despite proceedings in a court of inquiry still underway, Major Gogoi was awarded the Army Chief's Commendation Card on Monday. Dar rejected Maj Gogoi's claims of him being a stone pelter and reiterated that he had ventured out on that fateful day to cast his vote in the Srinagar bypolls.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 14:03 [IST]
Major Gogoi likely to be indicted by Army CoI for hotel incident

After loss of seniority, Major Gogoi will now be shifted out of Kashmir valley

Major Gogoi who tied stone-pelter to jeep hailed as hero who defeated Mughals

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi has been equated to a medieval war hero who beat the Mughal army which tried to conquer Assam in 1671. Major Gogoi has been in the news after he tied a stone pelter to a jeep in Kashmir and used him as a human shield against protesters.

In Major Gogoi's home town in Namrup, Assam people have been singing praises. On Facebook, Abhijit Baruah wrote, "Asom gourab Major Leetul Gogoi Zindabad (long live Major Leetul Gogoi, pride of Assam)!"

"Such daredevilry can be only expected from descendants of Bir Lachit Borphukan. Proud of you Major Leetul Gogoi! Keep the flag flying high!" This was written by an entrepreneur Shyam Kanu Mahanta.

Many in Assam have now decided to invite the Major and honour him.

Gogoi is an Ahom, the community that had ruled Assam for 600 years before the British annexed Assam in 1824. Borphukan was the Ahom general who defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Saraighat following the greatest naval battle ever on a river in 1671.

Major Gogoi had joined the army as a jawan at 18 and joined the Dehradun-based Army Cadet College nine years later to become an officer. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in December 2008.

Dharmeswar Gogoi and his wife Swarnalata Gogoi who are the parents of the Major however sought to be left alone. He has done his duty which is expected of all soldiers, they said.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 5:57 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee hopes for consensus Presidential candidate

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, May 25: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday hoped for a consensus candidate for the presidential election.

"The President is the custodian of the Constitution and it will be very good for the entire country if we have a consensus candidate much like (late former President) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam," Banerjee told the media after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjee was in the national capital for the second time in a month and is slated to attend a luncheon meet at Congress President Sonia Gandhi's residence on Friday. Prominent opposition leaders have been invited for the meet where the issue of selecting a consensus candidate for the presidential election is to be discussed.

Banerjee on May 16 had held talks with Sonia Gandhi over a common presidential nominee from the Opposition ranks.

Talking about her meeting with Modi, Banerjee said she raised the issue of funds for to her state under various central schemes.

"Of the Rs 10,500 crore due we have got only Rs 2,000 crore so far. I apprised the Prime Minister about the Rs 8,000 crore that is still due. He said he will look into the matter," said Banerjee. Asked if she had had a word with Modi on the presidential election, Banerjee said "no".

IANS
MP: As mother lay dead along railway track, baby tries to breastfeed

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

As she lay dead along a railway track at Madhya Pradesh, her 1 year old baby who was hungry tried to breastfeed. This heart rendering story comes from Damoh in Madhya Pradesh. Residents discovered this toddler trying to breastfeed as his mother lay dead near a railway track.

Residents reported the incident after they discovered the baby and his deceased mother at 6 am on Wednesday. It is still unclear how the lady died, but reports suggest that she may have either fallen off a train or been hit by one. An initial probe suggests that she had died after being hit on the back of her head.

Residents who shot videos and posted the same on the social media had first informed the railway police about the incident. Child welfare activists too were intimated about the same.

According to railway police officer Anil Marwai, the lady died before the people could find her. The child however had no injuries. The mother was holding the baby when she fell down and this probably saved the child who escaped with no injuries.

Marwai also said that she was injured but probably conscious. She opened a biscuit packet and gave some to the child. She breastfed her child to ensure he survives, he also said.

When the child was separated from the mother, he wailed aloud. Residents say that the scene was very heart-rendering and disturbing. The trauma did not end here. The child was taken to the government hospital. But rules were cited and an admission fee of Rs 10 was sought. Obviously the child was unable to pay the amount which led to ward boy Tarun Tiwari coming forward and paying the fee.

The mother's body has been sent for autopsy. The child has been taken to a children's home. The authorities are now trying to identify the woman. They will post notices at important locations. The police have the lady's purse in their possession which bears the name of a jewellery shop.

OneIndia News
NEET 2017: Hold exams for MBBS seats afresh says plea in Guj HC

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Gujarat High Court was petitioned seeking direction to hold the NEET 2017 for MBBS seats afresh. The parents numbering 45 said in the petition that the question paper in Gujarati was tougher compared to the one in English.

The parents of the students who had taken the CBSE-conducted test in Gujarati language filed the petition in the court contending that the question paper in Gujarat was more difficult than those in English.

The court accepted the request by the parents to hear the case on an urgent basis and posted the matter for May 26.

The parents said by providing question papers of different difficulty levels for a common merit list was the breach of students' right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.

"Hence, the NEET exam conducted on May 7 should be annulled so that a fresh examination is held with same set of questions given to examinees of both medium," the parents said in their petition.

The petitioners said the candidates appearing from Gujarati medium were given a totally different set of questions which were tough, and hence these candidates are not likely to score high marks. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) prepares a common merit list for them, the parents also said.

The petition also contended that since the CBSE will prepare a common merit list based on marks scored by candidates irrespective of which language they took the test, candidates from Gujarati medium will lag behind due to difference in difficulty level of different question sets.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 7:06 [IST]
Next President of India: Nitish Kumar to skip meeting of anti-NDA parties tomorrow

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, May 25: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is unlikely to attend a meeting of the Opposition on the presidential polls scheduled in the national capital on Friday.

The meeting has been called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to decide on a consensus candidate to be jointly fielded by the anti-NDA parties for the polls.

According to reports, Ahmed Patel, the political secretary of Congress president, called up Kumar on Tuesday to invite him to the Opposition meeting. But, Kumar declined the invitation and said he would send a representative.

Confirming the news of Kumar skipping the crucial meeting, Janata Dal (United) spokesperson KC Tyagi told The Telegraph, "Ahmed Patel called Nitishji yesterday but he will not attend the meeting called by Soniaji on May 26. Nitishji met the Congress chief in Delhi a few days ago and has already communicated to Soniaji what he wanted to over the presidential polls."

The term of President Pranab Mukherjee is ending in July and thus the Opposition is trying its best to find a common ground in deciding the name of a person to be fielded as their candidate for the crucial polls.

Kumar had earlier supported second-term for Mukherjee as the country's president. But it seems many in the anti-NDA parties, including the Congress, want a different person as their presidential nominee.

The Bihar CM's decision not to attend the meeting is seen by many as the division within the Opposition to fight the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 6:41 [IST]
Pre-monsoon showers to continue lashing Karnataka, Kerala

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The pre-monsoon rains lashing Karnataka and Kerala will continue till the onset of Southwest Monsoon, set to hit the west coast on May 30.

Pre-monsoon showers are not new to regions along India's west coast. The pre-monsoon activity has commenced earlier than usual this year in Kerala.

Bengaluru has been witnessing intermittent rainfall in the last one week. It recorded around 113mm of rainfall in the last one week, bringing down the maximum temparatures. After the monsson arrives in Kerala, it takes a few days to reach Bengaluru. The monsoon usually arrives in Bengaluru in the first week of June, and even this year it is likely to arrive in this period.

On May 23, it was reported that the Southwest monsoon was somewhere south-east of Sri Lanka and moving towards India's west coast.

Pre-monsoon rains even hit high altitude regions like Udhamangalam and Kodaikanal, which winessed rainfall of 20mm and 12 mm respectively.

In Odisha, the IMD has predicted the onset of monsoon in first week on June, which will be a welcome relief in the region reeling under intense heat. On Monday, over 12 places in Odisha recorded temperatures above 40 degree Celsius. The normal date of arrival of monsoon in Odisha is June 10 to 12.

IMD has predicted 'satisfactory' monsoon this year The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that country's South-west monsoon would be satisfactorythis time around. About 96 percent rainfall across the country is expected and the IMD has predicted a variation range of 4 percent. The numbers are promising especially for parts of the country that have seen drought and inadequate rainfall in the last few years. Possibility of El-Nino affect? There are high chances that South India will witness a normal monsoon or even have excessive rainfall till September. Senior meteorologist Kanti Prasad while speaking at a seminar organised by the Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS) Pvt Ltd. said that there could be rain deficit in October post monsoon, November could see ample rainfall again. There is a distinct possibility of a monsoon deficit with moderately negative side of normal due to El Nino, he said while going by the forecast projected by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). South-west monsoon will arrive in Kerala The South-west monsoon will arrive in Kerala on May 30 according to IMD predictions. The department has, however, also added that the state may witness rainfall three days after the arrival of the Monsoon. Another three days later, Karnataka will witness rainfall, according to the Met department's predictions. Rain deficit in some regions possible Despite predictions of 96 percent average rainfall and 4 percent variation, this year's South-west monsoon is being treated as satisfactory. When rainfall is lesser than 19 percent of an average, it is considered a deficit.

Southwest monsoon is one of the most anticipated weather phenomena and an economically important pattern every year.

OneIndia News
UP ATS picks up two more accused in Al-Qaeda radicalisation case

Situation in Saharanpur tense but under control: UP Home Secretary

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, May 24: A day after clashes between Dalits-Rajputs left one dead, the situation in a violence-hit village in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district remained tense but under control on Wednesday, an official said.

Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra, who is in the team sent by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Shabbirpur, where over 20 people were also injured in sword attacks, told IANS on phone that adequate security deployment has been done.

"Situation is under control, we are monitoring everything and will be camping here till normalcy returns," Mishra added.

A team of four officials including the home secretary, Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order Aditya Mishra, Inspector General (Special Task Force) Amitabh Yash and DG Security Vijay Bhushan were flown down in a special plane to the violence-hit area late on Tuesday night.

The area has been on the boil since April 20, when a clash between the two communities singed the region.

This is the third time in three months that violence has erupted in the Saharanpur village. The latest round came after a visit by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and Dalit leader Mayawati on Tuesday.

Violence broke out between the communities soon after Mayawati met with the affected Dalit families.

Two persons were injured in the firing, one of whom later succumbed to his injuries.

Power Minister Srikant Sharma, who is also the government spokesman said: "It was expected that the visit of the former chief minister (Mayawati) would lead to return of peace but what happened was the reverse."

The state was on high alert following the fresh clashes.

IANS
Swamy dubs Saharanpur violence as being 'contrived', backs Yogi

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Backing the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh over the handling of Saharanpur violence, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said such events were aimed at defaming the Yogi Adityanath regime.

Swamy dubbed the Saharanpur violence as a 'contrived' event and urged people to not get carried away.

He told ANI that some 'foreign forces' are targetting Adityanath as they are afraid of Hindu consolidation.

"And the same foreign forces have targeted our Sadhu Sanyasis. This is because of the Hindu consolidation which is frightening for those, who want to convert our society into their religion," he said.

Exuding confidence in Adityanath's government, Swamy said the party is fully behind him.

Following a fresh bout of violence in Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh government has sacked Senior Superintendent of Police SC Dubey and District Magistrate Nagendar Parsad Singh. The police officer and senior bureaucrat have been ousted from their posts over 'inability to control violence in the wake of clashes between two communities in the area'.

One person from the Dalit community was killed in fresh clashes that broke out in Saharanpur after BSP supremo, Mayawati's visit on Tuesday.

[Saharanpur violence: SSP, DM sacked for failing to control clashes]

At least 24 people were arrested as clashes broke out between two communities. On Tuesday, a group of Dalits allegedly threw stones at the houses of a few Rajputs in Shabbirpur before Mayawati's rally, which led to a clash-like situation.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 13:03 [IST]
"Tired of her," Mumbai cops son wrote in blood after killing mother

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The wife of an inspector who probed the Sheena Bora murder case was found dead in Mumbai and the cops now suspect the missing 21 year old son to be behind the incident.

Deepali Ganore was found lying in a pool of blood with a knife besides her. The body was discovered by her husband, Inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore when he returned home from work on Tuesday at 3.30 am.

The police discovered a writing in blood next to the body. A smiley was drawn in blood and it was written, "Tired of her. Catch me and hang me". The police suspect that this may have been written by the son, Siddhanth who has been missing since the incident occurred.

The police further suspect that he may have killed his mother in a fit of rage. She had pulled him over his grades and also refused to give him pocket money. This may have led to the murder, police also suspect.

Dyaneshwar Ganore was a part of the first team to investigate the Sheena Bora murder case. Sheena was murdered in 2012 allegedly by her mother Indrani Mukerjea. Indrani's husband Peter is also a co-accused in the case. Both are currently lodged in jail.

The murder was discovered three years later, when remains of her body were found following the questioning of Indrani Mukerjea's driver, who had been arrested in connection with another case.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 5:46 [IST]
Was Saharanpur clash staged by a political party for Rs 30 lakh?

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The role of a political party has come under the scanner for orchestrating the Sahranpur violence. A report by the Intelligence Bureau states that the May 5 was part of a larger conspiracy to embarrass the government in Uttar Pradesh.

On May 5 violence had broken out in Sahranpur, UP when a procession by Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of 16th-century Rajput king Maharana Pratap, entered Jatav settlements.

Sources say that they do not rule out the protests being stage-managed. A certain amount of money had been paid off to stage the violence, investigators also question. An amount of Rs 30 lakh was spent on staging the violence by a particular political party, it is also suspected.

The Intelligence Bureau has been collecting information and leads regarding the incident. It was triggered at the behest of a political party to embarrass the government in UP, an officer informed.

Moreover the persons who triggered it off wanted the same to become a chain reaction across UP, the officer also noted.

The flare-up began on May 5 when Dalits objected to the procession being carried out by the Thakurs and Rajputs. One Thakur youth was killed in the clashes and this led to the homes of 50 Dalits being torched.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 18:30 [IST]
Some countries want to patent Yoga, but it belongs to India: RSS chief

'Yoga is good and should be practiced, but keep away from Puja', Cleric tells Muslims

India

oi-Anusha

Member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali has claimed that Yoga was good and needed to be practised. He also said that there should be no issues with Muslims participating in International Yoga day celebrations as long as they jeep away from Puja involved in Yoga.

In an interview to television channels, the Sunni cleric said that Muslims should stay away from any religious rituals involved while practising Yoga. "Only thing Muslims should refrain themselves from is being involved in any kind of puja involved in the Yoga celebrations," he said.

Close to 55,000 people are expected to take part in International Yoga Day celebration that is scheduled to be on June 21. The event will be held at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan in Lucknow where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be in attendance.

The cleric also said that he would consider his participation in the event if an invitation was extended. Lucknow will host the mammoth event this year after beating other locations like Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Ranchi and Bengaluru which were in consideration.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 16:00 [IST]
You may pay below Rs 30 for petrol in 5 years

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

You may pay less than Rs 30 for petrol in the next five years. Tony Seba, an American futurist says emerging technology is going to reduce the world's dependence on petrol so much that prices will plummet. Seba is famous for predicting a boom in solar power when the prices used to be forbiddingly high, 10 times the prices today.

Seba says that the rise of self-drive cars would bring down oil demand sharply which could reduce the price of oil to $25 a barrel. "Oil demand will peak 2021-2020 and will go down 100 million barrels, to 70 million barrels within 10 years, Seba told CNBC. This means the new equilibrium price is going to be $25, he also said.

While people will not stop using the old-style cars, the self-drive electric vehicles will become a much larger part of the sharing economy. The price of electric vehicles will be cheaper to buy, he also said.

He had said earlier that by 2030, 95% of people won't own private cars which would wipe off the automobile industry. He also predicted that electric vehicles would destroy the global oil industry.

The statements are interesting and come at a time when Union power minister Piyush Goyal said India was looking to have all-electric car fleet by 2030.

Imagine a Starbucks on wheels. Essentially transportation is going to be so cheap, it's going to be essentially cheaper for Starbucks to run around and take me to work, which is, you know, 60 kilometers away, and give that transportation for free, in exchange for going to buy coffee in that hour of commute, Seba also said.

OneIndia News
Erdogan calls for global cooperation to fight terrorism

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Ankara, May 25: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO allies should show more solidarity in the global counter-terror fight.

"Terrorism is not the problem of a single country, but a problem of entire world. Global problems can only be solved through global cooperation," Erdogan addressed a press conference here on Wednesday before his departure to Brussels for the NATO summit.

Erdogan noted that terrorism is the biggest threat to both national and international security, and the recent terror attacks in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Paris and Manchester showed the terrorism has become a global problem, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also complained that some countries "are still making distinctions between terror groups," distinguishing "my terrorist, your terrorist".

"Solidarity is the only antidote for terror," Erdogan said. "Instant sharing of intelligence is obligatory and NATO should be more active and give more support to allied countries."

Turkish government and Western countries have different opinions on the identification of some terrorism organization.

For instance, Turkey accuses Gulen movement group of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt. However, the German government on May 11 accepted asylum application of some former military personnel affiliated with the Gulen Movement, and the US has refused to extradite preacher Fethullah Gulen from Pennsylvania back to Turkey until now.

Turkey also regards the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), deemed a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and the European Union. But Washington sees the YPG distinct from the PKK and as a valuable partner in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.

IANS
Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos injured after his car explodes

International

oi-Madhuri

Greek former prime minister Lucas Papademos wounded after an explosive device went off inside his car in Athens on Thursday.

Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos wounded after an explosive device went off inside his car in Athens: AFP pic.twitter.com/8icSqRAJeP  ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017

Papademos, 69, opened an envelope inside his car that contained explosives, according to local media in Athens. However, police did not immediately confirm that it was a parcel bomb.Papademos was taken to the hospital and also his driver was also wounded.

However, there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Papademos served as prime minister for six months from 2011 to 2012 and is a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank.

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

India moving towards isolating Pakistan, more punitive actions expected: US

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A top US official has said that India is moving towards isolating Pakistan and is considering punitive actions. "India has sought and continues to move to isolate Pakistan diplomatically and is considering punitive options to raise the cost to Islamabad for its alleged support to cross-border terrorism," Lt Gen Vincent Stewart, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on worldwide threats.

He said that India is modernising its military to better posture itself to defend New Delhi's interests in the broader Indian Ocean region and reinforce its diplomatic and economic outreach across Asia.

The continued threat of terror attacks in India, violence in Jammu and Kashmir

and bilateral diplomatic recriminations will further strain India-Pakistan ties in 2017, he also said.

He further said that in 2017, Islamabad is likely to slowly shift from traditional counterinsurgency operations along Pakistan's western border to more counter-terrorism and paramilitary operations throughout the country.

The US is concerned that this growth, as well as an evolving doctrine and inherent security issues associated with Pakistan's developing tactical nuclear weapons, presents an enduring risk. "Islamabad is taking steps to improve its nuclear security and is aware of the extremist threat to its program," Lt Gen Stewart said.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 7:59 [IST]
Police reveal photos of Manchester bomber on night of attack

23,000 terror suspects at large across Britain says intel

Manchester bombing case: UK asks for extradition of Abedi's brother from Libya

Manchester blast: Muslim man and Jewish woman pray together

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

In a heart-moving gesture, a Muslim man comforted elderly Jewish women and they prayed together at a floral tribute in the Albert square in central Manchester.

Sadiq Patel came and comforted Renee Rachel Black, who was visibly upset, and prayed next to her beside a display of flowers in Albert Square, where a vigil was held on Tuesday for victims of Monday night' attack at an Ariana Grande concert, according to Reuters reports.

Tuesday's vigil brought together representatives of Manchester's Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Sikh communities in a show of defiance and unity.

More than 20 people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the venue late Monday evening.

Briton government deployed armed troops at vital locations on Wednesday after the official threat level was raised to its highest point.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 19:13 [IST]
Manchester bombing: UK police make 2 more arrests

International

pti-PTI

London, May 25: Two more men were arrested on Thursday by the UK police after searches in Manchester in connection with a deadly suicide bombing at a pop concert this week, while a woman arrested last night was released without charges.

The latest arrests take the total number of men in custody over the terror attack to eight. All the previous arrests were made in and around Manchester where the suicide bombing took place on Monday night.

"We have been carrying out searches at an address in the Withington area and a man has been arrested. These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena. Another man has been arrested in the Manchester area in connection with this investigation, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight," Greater Manchester Police said.

The woman, whose identity was not immediately known, was released without charges a few hours after her arrest last night in connection with the explosion, the deadliest terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings.

The arrests came after detectives carried out a controlled explosion as they searched a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Thursday. They continue to investigate the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, and his suspected links to a wider extremist "network". His father, Ramadan Abedi, and brother, Hashim, have also been arrested in Libya.

Another brother, 23-year-old Ismail, was arrested on Tuesday in Manchester. The anti-terror force that took Hashim into custody in Libya said the teenager had confessed that both he and his brother, Salman, were members of the Islamic State group and that he "knew all the details" of the Manchester attack plot.

A spokesperson for the Libyan authorities told BBC: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack."

Ramadan Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafii's security authorities issued an arrest warrant. He spent 25 years in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi was ousted and killed in the civil war. Abedi is now a manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli. Earlier, Sky News had claimed that they have found evidence linking Salman Abedi to an Islamic State cell operating in Manchester.

The channel said its investigation reveals how Salman grew up on the same housing estates in south Manchester as a group of young men who radicalised each other  with some fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Information in so-called "IS Files"  a huge cache of documents obtained by 'Sky News'  shows how an ISIS fighter called Raphael Hostey, from Moss Side in the south of Manchester, sponsored hundreds of terror recruits.

Salman and Hostey hung around on the same estates and worshipped in the same Didsbury mosque in Manchester, before they reportedly became disaffected with life in the West. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to take up the issue of evidence leaks over the Manchester bombing in the US media with President Donald Trump when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels later on Thursday.

The leaks have opened a diplomatic row as UK officials are said to be "furious" that their investigation was compromised when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the 'New York Times'. Monday night's attack at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured 119. Sixty four injured still remain hospitalised.

PTI
This moon-shaped luxury resort in Dubai to offer 'affordable space tourism on ground'

This vending machine in Dubai rolls out free hot bread for all

IRCTC's affordable Dubai tour package: All you need to know

Meet this Robot police officer, on duty in Dubai

International

oi-Gulam Rabbani

Dubai, May 25: The Dubai police has let the first robot police officer go on duty, giving the task of patrolling the city's malls and tourists attractions.

People who see the robot police officer on duty can report on crimes, pay fines and also get information by tapping on a touchscreen on its chest.

The data collected by the robot officer will be shared with the transport and traffic authorities.

According to Dubai government, its aim was for 25% of the force to be robotic by 2030 but they would not replace humans.

Robot police officer goes on duty in #Dubai. pic.twitter.com/pNOhpQ2Pyo  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 25, 2017

Brig Khalid Al Razooqi, the director general of smart services at Dubai police said that they are not going to replace police officers with the robot, adding that with number of people increasing in Dubai, they want to relocate police officers so that they work in the right areas and can focus on providing a safe city.

What can this Robot police officer do?

1. This smart police officer can reach the public 24/7 rather than people visiting the police stations and customer services.

2. This robot officer can protect people from crime because it can broadcast what is happening right way to the command and control centre.

3. At present the officer can communicate in Arabic and English, but the authorities are in plans to add Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish to its repertoire.

The government of Dubai said that a second Reem robot could join it on patrol in 2018 depending on funding.

This robot officer, a customised Reem model from Pal Robotics was unveiled at the Gulf Information and Security Expo and Conference on Sunday.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 13:00 [IST]
The curious case of Nawaz Sharif

International

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

It is not every day that a leader of a country is subjected to severe criticism following an appearance at a major international event. And even if it does happen, such a bashing usually has a couple of elements to it.

The first being, it usually comes from those who are critical of the leader and his country, and the second, that in most cases it follows, a speech or action, that a head of state gives or shows at such a gathering.

But in the curious case of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, both these elements seem to be missing. And what is even more surprising is that the exact opposite of these seem to hold true for the reactions that he is receiving.

This has followed his appearance at the recently held Arab-Islamic-US summit, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Trump met with leaders of Muslim majority countries.

And while it would be assumed that at a summit where terrorism was the main issue in focus, and trying to eliminate it the uniform call made, the leader of Pakistan, a country with a integral role to play in the issue whether as a source of exporting terrorism which most countries see it as doing, or as a victim of it, or as a key place where any solution to eliminate it must be decisively applied, would be given utmost importance and would surely be heard.

Surprisingly for many, and not so much for many others, this did not happen. And this is what has led to the situation where instead of being criticised by those of other countries for something he did or said, he is being targeted by leaders, media, and the people of his own country for doing absolutely nothing, except for to show up and receive a cold shoulder from all the major world leaders present.

The Pakistani media has described the performance and feelings, of the prime minister and his delegation, with terms such as 'mortified', 'total humiliation' among others. Not only this, opposition leaders like Imran Khan have gone one stepped further and blamed Sharif for disgracing Pakistan at the summit.

Though such circumstance and events may seem odd, but a look at the history of the country and Sharif in particular would make for such events to be seen in a more probable light.

He is the prime minister of a state, which for a majority of its history, since its formation, has been under the rule of the military, with heads of the army regularly dismissing the democratically elected civilian government and taking over.

Former prime ministers have been hanged, assassinated and no political leader has come back to power after completing a full term in office. This is what Sharif is trying to achieve if he can hold on to power to complete his term.

He too, in his previous term as prime minister was dismissed by the then army chief General Pervez Musharraf, and his flight was not even being allowed to land by the General, which could have easily turned into a tragedy, as he was returning to the country while the coup was in motion.

He then stayed out of the country as Musharraf's reign continued only returning near to his stepping down and when fresh elections were to be held. Lost the next elections that took place and finally came to power for the current term.

Adding to such a volatile political career, every time he chooses an army chief he hopes that he would be able to work with and not against them, they keep undermining him, as is the present case with Qamar Javed Bajwa.

All his attempts to make peace with its neighbour, India, with which it has a territorial dispute over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, keep getting thwarted by the military, which make him look like a weak leader to those at home and abroad.

The current rise in tensions with India, and the Kargil war in 1999, soon after two different prime ministers of India tried to build friendly relations with Pakistan under his leadership, being case in point.

This is not to say, that none of this is a result of his own doing. Many critics would point to his incapability, to handle tough circumstances and make crucial decisions, for his current situation.

And if he was not having enough of a crisis of credibility, the names of those associated and related to him have come up in the 'Panama Papers,' linked with off shore accounts, which allegedly hold unaccounted money from dubious earnings.

These are just few of the problems that he faces which are visible at the surface, with many serious issues existing inside the politics of the country and simmering underneath the surface.

With all this and more, Sharif has all those who hold power in his country like the army, political opposition and the media gunning for him. And the recent summit showed that even those not from his country don't seem very fond of him.

All this put Nawaz Sharif in the curious position of being the only democratically elected leader, who is held responsible and blamed for every misstep made by him and the mistaken actions of his country, but holds the least power, if any, of all such leaders over their own country, with the army and everyone but him seeming to be calling the shots.

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Story first published: Thursday, May 25, 2017, 6:08 [IST]
Decoding why Melania Trump covered her head in Vatican and not Saudi

International

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

While reports in the press following the start of US Presidents first foreign trip as President have been dominated by a whole range of issues, the one which has taken up significant space in the media spotlight has been how the ladies accompanying him dressed up.

Though this might seem to be a question only the fashion police would seem interested in, the reality is that the issue has been a topic of discussion especially given the countries that the president decided to visit.

These include Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican. All three places have conservative religious beliefs belonging to three different groups, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity (Catholic).

This is why the choice of attires of the first lady of the US, Melania Trump, and Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, have garnered much attention as all the three states have a history of conservatism when it comes to choices such as wearing of headgear, colour and length, of dresses worn by women.

And the different choices that these ladies made in these countries have heated up the discussion on the reasons behind them. The real reasons, in reality, are anyone's guess, but they can surely be seen as a mixture of personal preference, diplomatic protocol and religious dictates.

Melania Trump wore a veil to the Vatican to meet the pope but refused to cover her head when she arrived in Saudi Arabia a few days earlier to meet the king of Saudi Arabia, a country where most women are supposed to cover themselves up from head to toe.

According to reports, a spokeswoman for the first lady said that she decided to wear a black lace veil known as a mantilla as it was in line with the Vatican protocol that women during an audience with the pope should wear long sleeves, formal black clothing and cover their heads. But in the case of Saudi Arabia, the country's government had not requested that she wear a head covering.

This assumes importance as Vatican's rules on attire are also not strictly enforced with many dignitaries in the past have visited the pope with their heads uncovered. These include German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's top civilian leader.

There have also been instances where those accompanying senior leaders have been more brazen about their choices of attire in presence of the religious leader. Then British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife had violated the protocol when she wore white for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Wearing white is a privilege only allowed to royals when meeting the pontiff. Also in 1989, during a landmark meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II the Soviet leader's wife, Raisa Gorbachev, wore a bright red dress.

But generally many women wear veils out of respect and the fact that Melania is a Catholic can also be seen as a reason for her choice. This can also be seen with her action asking the pope to bless the rosery the moment it was presented to her by a Vatican official. All woman that were present in the US delegation wore a veil, including Ivanka Trump, who had earlier converted to Judaism before marriage.

In Saudi Arabia, the first lady and Ivanka did not cover their heads but chose to dress conservatively. Melania wore a black coloured suit on her arrival to the country, which resembled dresses that Saudi women and female residents wear. Her attire during the visit followed the protocol for high-level female visitors such as a modest dress, longer sleeves, higher necklines, pants and long dresses.

This was in line with other top female dignitaries who visit the country, who also chose to leave their heads uncovered, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, Merkel, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. But interestingly when Michelle, the wife of former President Obama chose to do so in 2015 she was openly criticised by President Trump.

And in Israel, the Trumps visited the holiest site where Jews pray, the Western Wall. Even Trump, donned a skull cap when he visited the wall. He also chose to wear it during his visit Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, where it is not required there.

Ivanka Trump chose to wear a black head covering to the wall, while Melania Trump did not. As a sign of modesty, many Orthodox Jewish women choose to cover their hair.

So though many might choose to read between the lines to find the real reason for the choices that the three most visible members of the American first family made, no one but them would be able to say what statement were they trying to deliver through the choice of their headgear and dress, that is if they were trying to make one at all.

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by  Graham Pierrepoint



The UK was this week subjected to one of its most devastating terrorist attacks in modern history, following the detonation of a suicide bomb at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. The disaster has claimed the lives of 22 people, including children, with 64 thought to be injured and in care at the time of writing  and in response, the countrys terror alert level has been raised to critical, with armed forces deployed to public areas to help protect the countrys built-up areas from any further potential attacks. Already, at the time of writing, arrests have been made and raids have been authorized to tackle what authorities believe may be an elaborate terror network that helped to mastermind the tragedy. Regardless of who caused such devastation, the world has been united in grief with the UK this week as respects were paid to those who lost their lives, and who are fighting in hospital, as a result of the bombing.

Those too who paid their respects were the countrys politicians, who summarily agreed to suspend campaigning for the upcoming snap general election on June 8th. Labours Jeremy Corbyn and the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron, both running for election, led tributes on Twitter shortly after the disaster, with Prime Minister Theresa May making a full statement following an emergency COBRA negotiation deploring the act of cowardice that robbed so many lives  among them children. On Tuesday, party leaders agreed that campaigning should be suspended until further notice by mark of respect for the families devastated by the disaster  and while some local campaigning may be due to pick up again beforehand, it has been agreed that all parties will return to national campaigning on Friday.

The BBC has been providing rolling news coverage of the disaster and the subsequent investigation and move to deploy armed forces since news broke in the early hours of Tuesday morning (GMT). They, too, made the decision to suspend the latest in a series of interviews with party leaders by way of respect.

The raised terror level is being advised as a caution to keep alert, and that normal civilians should not feel intimidated or scared by the presence of armed patrol in city areas. The UKs response to the threat so far has been humbling  showing respect for those who lost their lives, there has been a widespread notion that terrorists simply cannot win  and that the nation simply will not be scared by such actions.
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India and Japan will jointly set up a $250 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Sri Lanka, the first collaboration between the two nations to counter Chinas growing influence in the Island nation.

Petronet LNG Limited, Indias biggest gas importer, last year proposed to set up a 2-million-tonne (MT) liquefied natural gas import facility on the coast of Sri Lanka to meet its energy needs.

Sri Lanka, however, wanted Japan to have a role in it. An agreement has been reached between the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Japan to set up the LNG terminal as a 50-50 joint venture by Petronet and a Japanese company, Petronet Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Prabhat Singh said.

Japan is yet to identify the company which will form an equal joint venture with Petronet for setting up the terminal. Without giving more details, Mr Singh said the LNG import facility will be set up at Kerawalapitiya on the western coast of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has plans to build a 300 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in Kerawalapitiya, adjoining an existing power plant. The existing plant which uses oil to generate power would also be converted to LNG once the terminal is set up and gas import start.

LNG has become significantly cheaper since last year and many countries have begun switching their power plants to LNG. Mr Singh said the LNG terminal, which will import super-cooled natural gas, will take two-and-a-half to three years to build.

The LNG terminal in Sri Lanka is part of Petronets vision to own 30 MT per annum of LNG import and re-gasification capacity by 2020, Mr Singh said. Petronet already operates a 15 million tonnes per annum import facility at Dahej in Gujarat and has another 5 MT terminal at Kochi in Kerala.

Petronet also signed a preliminary agreement to build a 7.5 MT LNG terminal in Bangladesh and is looking at setting up a smaller facility in Mauritius. Mr Singh said Dahej is being expanded to 17.5 MT over the next two years.

The India-Japan collaboration comes after a string of Chinese successes in Sri Lanka. China has managed to revive its flagship $1.4 billion Colombo Port City project and is also engaged in expansion of major infrastructure projects it built in the past. These projects include expansion of Hambantota port and Mattala airport.

(PTI / The Hindu)
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Standard based communications servers are open computing systems that function as a carrier-grade universal platform for an extensive assortment of communications applications. These servers enable the equipment providers customize the system architecture as per the requirement by adding potential value to it. Irrespective of the differentiated features and specification, the standard based communications servers offer attributes such as open platform, carrier grade and flexible. The standard based communications are designed in accordance with the industry standards and provide interoperability with the architecture. Moreover, standard based communications servers offer carrier grade attributes as they provide extended lifecycle support, high availability, and longevity of supply. Additionally, these servers are upgradable without any disruption and offer high speed for real time communication applications to ensure high quality of service.A sample of this report is available upon request @The standard based communication servers offer an introductory platform for building a network infrastructure using the several equipment for applications such as IPTV, wireless broadband and other IP multimedia subsystems. These servers are based on managed industry standards such as Advanced Telecommunication Computing Architecture (ATCA), Advanced Mezzanine Card, Micro Telecommunication Computing Architecture, High Platform Interface (HPI), Carrier Grade Linux and Application Interface Specification (AIS). The Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) refers to string of specifications by Peripheral Component Interconnect Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group (PICMG), which is developed to meet essential necessities for carrier grade equipment. In addition to these standards, the standard based communication server is governed by different industry associations and vendor alliance programs. The industry associations include SCOPE Alliance and Communication Platforms Trade Associations. The vendor alliance programs include Intel Communications Alliance, Motorola Communications Server Alliance and Mobicents Open Source Communications Community.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ATCA integrates the latest interconnect technologies, manageability and serviceability, improved reliability and next generation processors. The specifications provided by PICMG for Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) identify the base-level necessities for a variety of mezzanine cards that are optimized for ATCA Carriers. AMC enhances ATCAs flexibility by widening bandwidth and provides multi-protocol interface to individual servers. MicroTCA specification is basically a framework for directly combining AMC modules, instead of using an ATCA. Moreover, MicroTCA is designed for smaller equipment for application running on low entry cost, small physical size and high scalability. This framework is primarily used for Wi-Fi, wireless base stations, VoIP access gateways and WiMAX radios.Carrier Grade Linux is basically an enhanced version of Linux that is used by the communication servers to offer high security, high availability, scalability and easy maintenance. HPI and AIS are defined by Service Availability Forum (SA Forum) for telecommunication platform to maintain the availability of communication services. The HPI specifies the interface used between the middleware and the primary hardware and the operating system. The AIS specifies the interface between the application and middleware. Moreover, AIS enables applications to run over a variety of computing modules and provides easy migration between the platforms.The standard based communications servers market is primarily driven by the rising demand for high speed and compatible servers across the communication industry. The progressive and vigorous communication server ecosystem consists of several hardware and software providers, server vendors, standard bodies, vendor alliance programs, industry associations and the end-users.Leading players in standard based communication servers market are NEC Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, AltiGen Communications, Inc., Emerson Network Power, Barrcuda Networks, Inc., Fenestrae B.V., Estech Systems, Inc., B Labs, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Siemens Enterprise Communication GmbH, Cisco Systems Inc., Sun Microsystems, Avaya, Inc. and IBM Corporation.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Adult Malignant Glioma Therapeutics Market: Current Developments , Expected Advancements & Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024

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Adult Malignant Glioma Therapeutics Market: OverviewGlioma is a type of tumor that occurs in brain or spine. It is a group of brain tumor that includes oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas. Gliomas include all types of brain tumors arising from supportive tissue of the brain. Malignant glioma is the most common type of brain tumor observed in adults globally. Collectively they contribute around 40% of the total cases diagnosed with brain tumor. In the last decade, there has been a consistent rise in the number of people diagnosed with malignant glioma. The American Brain Tumor Association has estimated around 69,720 new cases of brain tumor in 2013. Thus, rising number of people diagnosed with malignant glioma supports the growth of the global adult malignant glioma therapeutics market. Headache, physical weakness, memory loss and seizures are some of the common symptoms of malignant glioma. Thus, with symptoms getting worse size of tumor increases that destroys brain cells, creates swelling in the brain and increases the pressure on skull.Obtain Report Details:The global malignant glioma market can be segmented as follows:By Type of CellAstrocytomaOligodendrogliomaEpendymomaUnspecified GliomaBy GradeLow - grade GliomasHigh - grade GliomasBy LocationSupratentorialInfratentorialCancer Research U.K. estimated that around 45% of the total primary brain tumor cases are gliomas. There are majorly four types of gliomas such as astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, ependymoma and unspecified glioma. Astrocytoms is the most common type of glioma diagnosed globally, more than 30% of the total cases diagnosed with brain tumors are astrocytomas. These types of tumors are not curable as they spread easily through normal brain tissue. Astrocytomas are primarily classified on the basis of grades from one to four as per the speed of their growth in brain cells. American Brain Tumor Association have analyzed that around 7% of all the primary brain tumors represent astrocytomas.Hence, a rising number of people diagnosed with astrocytomas accentuates the uptake of therapeutics for the treatment of the same. Currently, majority of the therapeutics for the treatment of malignant glioma is under clinical trials, key players are engaged in research and development activities.Adult Malignant Glioma Therapeutics Market: Region-wise InsightGeographically, North America and Europe accounted for the largest share in the global adult malignant glioma therapeutics market. This dominance was mainly attributed to key players domiciled in these regions coupled with increasing incidences of brain tumor. Brain tumor is the third most common type of cancer in adults in North America. According to North America Brain Tumor Coalition over 44,500 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with primary tumor in the brain in 2014. Thus, rising incidences of primary brain tumor supports the growth of malignant glioma therapeutics market in North America. In addition, increasing healthcare awareness also supported the growth of malignant glioma therapeutics market in North America and European market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:Similarly, Asia Pacific is considered as the most lucrative market for the growth of malignant glioma therapeutics. The growth in Asian market is fueled by the presence of untapped market opportunities due to increasing and expanding healthcare infrastructure in this region. Asia Pacific is considered as an emerging market owing to growing market penetration coupled with increasing number of manufacturers expanding their geographic presence in this region. Thus, all the mentioned factors collectively propel the growth of malignant glioma therapeutics market during the forecast period from 2014 to 2020.Adult Malignant Glioma Therapeutics Market: Key PlayersMajor players and universities engaged in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of malignant glioma include Eli Lilly and Company, Insys Therapeutics, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Amgen, Inc., Duke University, Shinshu University, Medical Research Council, Osaka University and others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mobility Scooter Market is Driven by Rising Research and Development in Mobility Aids

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Mobility scooters are electronic transport vehicles used as a mobility aid, mostly occupied by single person. These mobility scooters are operated on battery and varies from 3 wheels to 5 wheels. Mobility scooters assist in the movement of a person from one place to another, especially long distance travelling. Gasoline-powered scooters are very rare in the market and are being rapidly replaced by electric or battery-powered scooters. Mobility scooters are available in two forms worldwide: front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive. Front-wheel drive scooters are smaller and are primarily used indoors, whereas the rear-wheel drive scooters are used both outdoors and indoors. The rider weight capacity of a rear-wheel drive scooter is higher than the front-wheel drive scooter. Mobility scooters acts as an alternative to wheelchairs and is expected to have a significant growth rate during the forecast period from 2016-2024. The use of mobility scooters are supported with government funding in most of the regions across the globe. However, comparative high cost than wheelchairs is likely to hinder the growth of the market segment. Thus, the government interventions has made the use of mobility scooter cost effective through various schemes offered to the users. The mobility scooters offers comfort, ease of use and elegance, which instead is not offered by traditional wheelchairs, makes the mobility scooter market more potential.Obtain Report Details:Moreover, rising geriatric population, increasing incidences of knee and spine disorders, rising accidental and innate deformities are the important factors leading to the growing demand for mobility scooters globally. In order to assist the research and development in mobility aids, various national and international organizations participate actively along with regional government. Various government initiatives such as Affordable Care Act in the U.S., offers subsidy on mobility scooters for patients. Thus, market has high potential to grow in terms of its population reach, which is actively supported by government and non-government bodies. In addition, availability of mobility scooters in different designs and features has increased the attention of users towards mobility scooters. However, lack of infrastructure in many parts of the world and high cost of the devices restricts the uptake to some extent. Moreover, the use of refurbished mobility scooters is another biggest challenge faced by the market.The mobility scooter market can be segmented into by type of design, by number of wheels, by distribution channel and by geography. In the terms of design, the mobility scooter is classified into boot scooters, mid-sized scooters and on road scooters. By wheels, the mobility scooter is classified into 3 wheels, 4 wheels and 5 wheels mobility scooters. By geography, the U.S. and European regions mainly U.K., occupies significant share of the mobility scooter market. North America dominates the market, due to government policies and high demand for mobility scooters. Moreover, baby boomer effect, sophisticated reimbursement policies, high awareness about the device are the other key factors favoring the market in North America. Followed by North America, Europe accounted for the second largest share of the global mobility scooters market due to increasing awareness and rising disposable income. However, Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a higher growth rate owing to huge untapped population and increasing health care awareness among the patient population.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:The major players having presence in the global mobility scooters market include Invacare, Afikim Electric Vehicles., Drive Medical Design and Manufacturing, Golden Technologies Inc., Pride Mobility Products, Hoveround Corp., Sunrise Medical, Van Os Medical, Electric Mobility, Amigo Mobility International Inc., Quingo, among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Pyrimethamine Treatment Market Research Report- Forecast to 2023

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Pyrimethamine is a medication used for protozoan infections. It is commonly used as an antimalarial drug (for both treatment and prevention of malaria), and to treat Toxoplasma gondii infections, particularly when combined with the sulfonamide antibiotic sulfadiazine when treating HIV-positive individuals. Pyrimethamine is typically given with a sulfonamide and folinic acid due to its resistance against many Plasmodium species. Pyrimethamine has also been found to limit the expression of the superoxide dismutase 1 gene, a protein involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Pyrimethamine is considered in the list of one of the most important medications by World Health Organizations list of essential medicines. Pyrimethamines ability to cure protozoan infection and toxoplasma infections, rising number of HIV positive patients worldwide and immunosuppressed individual at a risk of infections are the factors driving the pyrimethamine treatment market during the forecast period. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions by the manufacturing companies would also the boost the demand and supply for the pyrimethamine medication in the pyrimethamine treatment market. However, the certain side effects that may occur with pyrimethamine medication include allergic reactions, blood disorders, tongue changes, blood in the urine, heart rhythm disorders, anorexia, and vomiting (see Important Safety Information below) which act as a restraining factor for the growth of this market. Additionally, factors such as pricing issues in some countries and resistance developing against the drugs may hamper the growth of the pyrimethamine treatment market during the focus period of 2013 to 2023.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Pyrimethamine Treatment Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.The global pyrimethamine market has been segmented into brands and geography. On the basis of brand, the pyrimethamine treatment market has been segmented into two drugs that are presently marketed such as Daraprim and Fansidar. The Daraprim sub-segment held the largest share for the pyrimethamine treatment market. However, the Fansidar sub-segment is growing at a high rate due to affordable cost and availability.Geographically, North America dominates the global pyrimethamine treatment market followed by Europe. The market domination was majorly due to the pricing structure of the pyrimethamine drug in the U.S. The High prevalence of toxoplasma in the region also acts as the driving factor for the growth of the pyrimethamine treatment in the North America. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), toxoplasmosis is one of the five neglected parasitic infections in the U.S. It is the second leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the country and more than 60 million people in the U.S. carry the toxoplasma parasite, and more than one million people in the U.S. are infected annually with the toxoplasma parasite, which is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Asia-Pacific is also increasing constantly in the pyrimethamine drugs market mainly due to the high prevalence of protozoan disease such as malaria in India, China and other developing nations. Moreover, government initiatives and regulatory norms in these countries would fuel the market for pyrimethamine treatment market in the region during the forecast period. Latin America is also a growing market for pyrimethamine treatment due to developing healthcare expenditure and high prevalence rate of malaria and toxoplasma in the region.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:Some of the major players in pyrimethamine treatment market include Turing Pharmaceuticals, Impax Laboratories, Inc., Pfizer, Inc. GlaxoSmithKline plc, and others.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeMiddle East and AfricaLatin AmericaThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsIt provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segmentsAbout 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:
Dental Fittings Market - Global Markets & Advanced Technologies

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The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.Orthodontics mainly deals with the correction of improper alignment of teeth by braces or apparent loss of teeth by dentures/artificial teeth. Orthodontics was initially chosen for children but now it is used ubiquitously. Technological advancements have reduced the stigma related with this treatment and now many dental fittings such as tongue and teeth colored braces are available commercially. Rising awareness of dental aesthetics and related advantages has resulted in increased acceptance of dental fittings amongst all age groups.Obtain Report Details:The dental fittings include dentures, archwires, anchorage appliances and ligatures. The braces or the brackets are meant to place the misaligned or crooked teeth in place. Braces are small squares attached to the front of the teeth by an orthodontic bonding agent and connected to each other via connectors or bands. Orthodontic bands are stainless steel, tooth colored material or transparent. Spacers are separating parts that fit between the teeth before the bands. Archwires guide braces with the movement of the teeth. Ligatures are small rubber bands which hold on to the archwires together. Traditionally braces were made up of metals, however, with technological advancements they are now available in ceramics. The braces are also made up of stainless steel, titanium or a mixture of both. The orthodontic archwires are of two types: coated metal and transparent non-metallic. Coated metal archwires are made up of nickel- titanium or of stainless steel and are coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), parylene-polymer, and an epoxy-resin. Transparent nonmetallic arches are similar to metal arches which are made from glass spindle and are embedded in polymer matrix. The growing demand for aesthetic archwires has led to many advancements in archwires technology. These wires will continuously be developed on the basis of appearance, durability and flexibility. Non-metallic archwires may take over the future market as they are more preferred over the conventional metallic wires. Dentures are used to replace and support the missing teeth and the surrounding gum tissues. Dentures are of two types: complete ones and the partial ones. The partial ones are plastic partials or the metal partials, on the basis of the material used to attach to the teeth.The dental fittings market is on an all-time high due to many regulatory reforms in most of the countries like reimbursement coverage, access to advanced technology, increased disposable income and increased rate of awareness about dental fittings treatment. Aspects such as rising awareness about dental fittings, cheaper availability of treatment and increasing health care expenditure may boost the growth of the dental fittings market in Asia Pacific. Attributing to rapid development in healthcare, infrastructure, government reforms and access to advanced dental fittings, China and India are most profitable markets in Asia. Also, easy availability of skilled orthodontists and supporting economy is expected to spur the growth of the dental fittings market in China and India.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:Many of the companies are manufacturing dental fittings, and are adopting acquisitions and mergers, extensive R&D as measures to expand their geographic reach and introduction of novel products in to the market. Asia Pacific dental fittings market is expected to rise with context to volume, on basis of low product prices, less market penetration, disposable earning and improving healthcare expenditure. Also the awareness of dental aesthetics systems and dental cosmetic surgery will expectedly drive this market in North America and Europe. The advanced CAD/CAM technology and 3 Dimensional digital imaging may lead to growth in the industry. The CAD technology can support in making digital prostheses much faster. The global dental fittings market is dominated by few key players such as GC Orthodontics, Dentaurum, Henry Schein, Hangzhou Shinye, and Dental Morelli.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Automotive Oil Pump Market by Key Players, Growth, Regions and Forecast to 2022

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Automotive pumps can be classified as fuel pump, oil pump, water pump, steering pump, transmission pump, and windshield washer pump. Oil pumps are widely used in motor bicycles, watercrafts, automobiles, engineering machinery and power units etc. In this report, the market information of automotive oil pumps is introduced. The oil pump is the vital component that provides the circulation of oil which cools, cleans and lubricates internal engine components. In some engines, the oil pump also provides hydraulic power to valve lifters and valve timing components. Driven by crankshaft power, the pump creates suction to draw oil from the oil pan through the strainer. The suction by the pump creates the pressure where oil is driven through the oil filter, oil cooler, internal moving parts, provide hydraulic power, then collected back into the oil pan.Get sample Copy of this report@This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Automotive Oil Pump from 2011-2015 and provides extensive market forecasts 2016-2021 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Automotive Oil Pump market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Automotive Oil Pump, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.Purchase copy of this report for single user price of $2800 @Table of ContentPart 1. Exclusive SummaryPart 2. Methodology2.1 Research Methodology2.2 Geographic Scope2.3 Years ConsideredPart 3. Introduction3.1 Definition3.2 Supply Chain Structure3.2.1 Raw Material Supply3.2.2 Traders & Distributors3.2.3 Key Customers3.3 Manufacture3.3.1 Manufacturing Process3.3.2 Production CostPart 4. Market Landscape4.1 Global Automotive Oil Pump Market Size (Volume) 2011-20164.1.1 Overview4.1.2 Global Automotive Oil Pump Production4.1.3 Top 10 Automotive Oil Pump Companies (Volume Share)Browse Complete Report@About us:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Contact Us:Flat No.10, Wing C, S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
New Trends of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma Market with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2024

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Advance basal cell carcinoma is abnormal, uncontrolled growth or lesions which appear on the skin, they arise from basal cells of the skin which are found on the inner most layer epidermis. They look like open sores, pink growths, red patches or scars which are caused due to cumulative and intense exposure to the sun. Basal cell carcinoma generally does not spread beyond the original site of the tumor, they mostly affect the head, face scalp, hand and the neck areas but spread to other parts and become malignant if not diagnosed.Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer which accounts for nearly 80% of all cases, if not treated may get into the advance stage. Basal cell carcinoma which infiltrates below the skin or vital organ is difficult to treat surgically. It is commonly found in elderly and fair skinned individuals. Treatment of advance basal cell carcinoma is carried out with surgical, destructive and topical therapeutic treatments. Although if not treated properly or neglected it may become aggressive or recurrent basal cell carcinoma may progress to an advanced state. The characteristics of a tumor becoming advance basal cell carcinoma may differ. The major challenges in treating advance basal cell carcinoma include its size, location, invasiveness and extent. It comprises of non-melanoma skin cells as compared to other malignancies. Individuals suffering from advance basal cell carcinoma fall under two categories, one who have advance basal cell carcinoma due to delay in accessing medical treatment and with whom basal cell carcinoma reoccur after treatment.Obtain Report Details:The treatment for advance basal cell carcinoma is quite complicated as both patients and tumor characteristics have to be taken into consideration before starting the treatment. Generally, more than one therapeutic methodology has to be taken into account for the treatment. The mortality rate for basal cell carcinoma is low as compared to other forms of malignant tumors as these rarely become malignant, these tumors are generally curable but sometimes due to reoccurrence it is hard to completely get rid.There are many different ways to prevent basal cell carcinoma, such as by avoiding skin exposure to direct sunlight, this can be avoided by using high factor sunscreen to exposed skin if outdoors. Cases which are associated with high cost and recovery time the use of radiation therapy or hedgehog inhibitor therapy may be taken into consideration. In some cases where surgery may not be sufficient alternative medication is used which could be topical, oral or hedgehog inhibitors may be taken into consideration. In recent times newer and more effective therapeutics have been developed which include inhibitors which block the Hedgehog pathway which stops the reoccurrence of advance basal cell carcinoma. These new therapeutics would help in extending the lifespan of people who have metastatic advance basal cell carcinoma. Advance basal cell carcinoma are sometime difficult to treat and can become life threatening this is mainly due to reoccurrence rate and progressiveness of the disease. Therefore it requires constant monitoring. The American Cancer Society strongly recommends dermatologic checkup in every three years for individuals between 20-40 years of age and every year for individual above 40 years of age.The global market for basal cell carcinoma is segmented by type of advance basal cell carcinoma, therapeutic type, end-user, and geography.Segment by disease indicationLocally advanced basal cell carcinomaMetastatic advance basal cell carcinomaSegment by therapeutic typeTopical MedicationImiquimod5-Fluorouracil(5-FU)TazarotenePodophyllinInjectableInterferon Alpha 2bOral MedicationVismodegibSonidegibSegment by Distribution ChannelHospitalsResearch InstitutesCancer Diagnostic CentersAmbulatory Surgical CentersRetail PharmaciesFill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:The global market for advance basal cell carcinoma is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The region of North America leads the market for advanced basal cell carcinoma therapeutics and is closely followed by European region. It is estimated that in coming years more people will get affected by advance basal cell carcinoma in the U.S and the U.K. In recent times the Asia-Pacific region has observed a substantial growth in advance basal cell carcinoma therapeutic market as number of people are getting affected by advance basal cell carcinoma, thus increasing the demand for therapeutics in the region.The major factors driving the growth of the market for advance basal cell carcinoma are increasing aging population, environmental changes, increased use of immunosuppressant, increased exposure to sunlight, increased demand for new therapeutics and better reimbursement policies. The restraining factor for advance basal cell carcinoma therapeutics market is delay in accessing medical condition, lack of awareness amongst individual and cost of certain therapeutics. As technological advancements are made some therapeutic drugs are being discovered which are in clinical trials and different phases of development would help the therapeutic market for advance basal cell carcinoma to grow.Key players involved in advance basal cell carcinoma market are F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Novartis, Genentech Inc., Merck & Co. Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Cannabis Science, INC., Curis Inc., Galderma S.A., and Graceway Pharmaceuticals and othersTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Brain Perfusion Scanners Market: Current Developments , Expected Advancements & Global Industry Analysis 2024

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A brain perfusion scan is a type of brain test that provides information about brain function by demonstrating the amount of blood taken up by the brain cells and measure perfusion in the brain. Measuring perfusion is important for identification and treatment of stroke, other blood vessel diseases of the brain and brain tumors. Brain perfusion scan, require a radiotracer and nonradioactive substance for scanning of the brain. Factors such as, technological advancements in devices, increasing awareness about neurodegenerative diseases, the increasing incidence and prevalence of neurological disorders and growing incidence of brain injuries are driving the Brain perfusion scanners market. On the other hand, factors such as high cost of complex devices, shortage of trained professionals and concerns regarding the accuracy of diagnostic devices may hinder the growth of Brain perfusion scanners market. Some brain perfusion scan requires exposure you to radiation which increases the risk for cancer.Brain Perfusion Scanners are used in different types of neurological indications such as Epilepsy, Dementia brain tumor, etc. According to WHO one billion peoples suffering from neurological disorders worldwide, 50 million suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and 6.8 million people die every year as a result of neurological disorders. Brain perfusion takes only 60-75 second time to image the circulation in the brain. Some areas of the brain that are very active often show greater blood supply, so brain perfusion scanner also tracks these increase areas of the brain where blood supply is high and according to that a patient get treated.Obtain Report Details:The Global Brain perfusion scanners market is segmented by product type, Indication, End users and regional presence:Segmentation based on product typeSingle Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT)Positron Emission Tomography (PET)Computed Tomography (CT)Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Segmentation based on IndicationEpilepsyDementiaStroke or transient ischemic attackSubarachnoid hemorrhageCarotid stenosisCerebral vasculitisBrain tumorRecent head injurySegmentation based on End usersHospitalsClinicsAmbulatory Surgery CentersDiagnostic Labs and Imaging centersGeographically the Brain perfusion scanners market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, APEJ, and MEA region. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly used in brain diffusion scan followed by CT scan. MRI uses magnets and radio waves that show clearer images of brain tissue whereas CT scans used specialized kind of X-ray. Diffusion MRI measures molecular water motion in the tissue, showing where water diffusion is restricted and the cause of brain damage. According to American Academy of Neurology, the guidelines found in MRI scans are more accurately detect lesions from stroke and helped to identify the severity of stroke and other medical conditions.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:North America dominates the Brain perfusion scanners market due to, the presence of strong sales and distribution network, rising incidence of various neurological disorders, government initiatives, technological advancements in the field of neurosciences and availability of insurance coverage for brain monitoring techniques. According to American Academy of Neurology, Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. 5.4 million Americans are currently diagnosed with Alzheimers disease and will triple to 16 million by the year 2050. North America is followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. Asia Pacific region expected to be a third largest market globally due to technological innovation, increasing healthcare expenditure and increasing insurance coverage will fuel the overall brain perfusion scanners market.Some major companies in the Brain perfusion scanners market are General Electric, Hitachi, Ltd., NeuroLogica Corp., Neusoft Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Siemens Healthineers, Toshiba Corporation, InfraScan, Inc., Medtronic Inc. among other significant players worldwide. Technological development is the key strategy among key players, for instance, Philips lunched Ingenia 3.0T MRI Scanner in 2015, first-ever digital broadband MR system.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Digital Health Market: Business Challenges, Emerging Technologies & Competitive Landscape

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Global Digital Health Market: OverviewDigital health is technology-enabled care that involves the convergence of digital media, health technology, and mobile devices. It is designed to help patients, care givers, and healthcare professionals access relevant data easily and improve the quality of both social and health care. Digital health is gaining impetus since it provides cost-effective solutions at a time when the demand for healthcare services is persistently increasing.The rising aging population, increasing price of advanced treatments, and shrinking healthcare expenses by governments have impelled healthcare providers to look for complementing solutions to sustain future social and health care systems. Opportunities for deploying mobile technology in a healthcare set-up have significantly increased in the last few years. The proliferation of smart devices and smartphones has played a crucial role in propagating digital health. Notable developments in bio-sensing wearables such as glucose, blood pressure, and diabetes monitors are further expected to augment the interest in digital health.Obtain Report Details:Digital health enables access to real-time health care data. Furthermore smartphones and wearable medical devices integrating an increasing range of sensors to facilitate monitoring changes in physiology. Therefore, the applicability of digital health is expected to surge extraordinarily in the near future.The report presents a granular analysis of the global digital health market, studying the various aspects influencing the markets trajectory between 2016 and 2023. Factors aiding and inhibiting the growth of the market have been analyzed in detail. The report also presents insights into the strategies adopted by various companies operating in the market.Global Digital Health Market: Key Opportunities and ThreatsDigital health refers to a system or solution that delivers effective health care solutions using IT tools and products. It is possible to provide better and more efficient care compared to traditional healthcare via patient online services and digital diagnostic techniques. Latest digital health technologies such as electronic health records (EHR), wireless technologies, and digital diagnostic systems encompass data such as patient history, medication, allergies, immunization dates, radiology images, diagnosis, laboratory and tests results, treatment plans, and insurance information.The global digital health market is exhibiting robust growth due to the increasing demand for advanced information systems in the health care industry. Favorable policies by governments and the rising investment by players in the healthcare information system (HIT) have also been aiding the expansion of the digital health market. Additionally, the market is also gaining impetus from the growing demand for remote monitoring services in response to the proliferation of home healthcare services.On the flip side, certain restraints often associated with the global digital health market include high capital expenditure, privacy and security issues, expenditure incurred on maintenance requirement, and inadequate infrastructure of the healthcare industry in developing countries.Global Digital Health Market: Regional OutlookRegionally, North America dominates the global digital health market and is expected to maintain its dominance through the forecast period. This exponential surge witnessed by the regional market is aided by the developed healthcare infrastructure, increased healthcare spending, and the increasing incidence of chronic illnesses in the region.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:The digital health market is also witnessing attractive opportunities in Europe. The European market is primarily aided by the increasing geriatric population, rising prevalence of chronic ailments, and technological advancements introduced in the HIT. However, during the forecast period, the Asia Pacific digital health market is expected to report growth at highest rate. The increasing investment in healthcare and IT will support the growth of the digital health market in Asia Pacific.Global Digital Health Market: Competitive InsightTo present insights into the competition prevailing in the market, the report also profiles companies such as General Electric Company, AT&T Inc., McKesson Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., and others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Bacillus Subtilis Market Set For Expansive Growth By 2022

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Bacillus subtilis, known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants and humans. A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is rod-shaped, and can form a tough, protective endospore, allowing it to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. B. subtilis has historically been classified as an obligate aerobe, though evidence exists that it is a facultative aerobe. B. subtilis is considered the best studied Gram-positive bacterium and a model organism to study bacterial chromosome replication and cell differentiation. It is one of the bacterial champions in secreted enzyme production and used on an industrial scale by biotechnology companies.Get sample Copy of this report@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Bacillus Subtilis in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversBayerBasfQunlinJocanimaTonglu HuifengKernel Bio-techWuhan Nature?s FavourAgrilifeReal IPMECOT ChinaPurchase copy of this report for single user price of $3480 @Table of Content1 Market Overview1.1 Bacillus Subtilis Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 100 Billion CFU/g1.2.2 100-300 Billion CFU/g1.2.3 ?300 Billion CFU/g1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Bayer2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Bacillus Subtilis Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Bayer Bacillus Subtilis Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)Browse Complete Report@About us:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Contact Us:Flat No.10, Wing C, S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Weatherstrip Seal Market 2017- Cooper Standard, Toyoda Gosei, Hutchinson

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Marketreports.biz, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Weatherstrip Seal Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Weatherstrip Seal 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 Weatherstrip Seal industry, and estimates the future trend of Weatherstrip Seal market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Weatherstrip Seal Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportCooper StandardToyoda GoseiHutchinsonHennigesNishikawaSaarGummiKinugawaHwaseungTokai KogyoGuihangJianxin ZhaosXiantongHaidaHebei LongzhiQinghe YongxinHubei ZhengaoQinghe HuifengThe market research report explores the Weatherstrip Seal market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Weatherstrip Seal 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 Weatherstrip Seal market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Weatherstrip Seal. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Weatherstrip Seal 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 Weatherstrip Seal is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Weatherstrip Seal market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Weatherstrip Seal market globally.Read full report with TOC @The worldwide Weatherstrip Seal market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Weatherstrip Seal production volume, data pertaining to demand and Weatherstrip Seal supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Weatherstrip Seal 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 Weatherstrip Seal across the world.About UsMarketReports.biz offers elevating market research worldwide. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different fields. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank Valadez155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Toll Free: +1-855-918-5551 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +17739042683Web:Email: sales@marketreports.biz
Surprise Your Loved One with Elegant 10th Anniversary Gifts of Giftalove.com

Anniversary Gift

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Giftalove.com brings a wide range of 10th Anniversary Gifts for your loved one so that you can amaze him/her on their special. Shop now for Anniversary Gifts for Brother, sister, wife, husband or any other relation and give them a wonderful surprise.The Anniversary is a perfect occasion to celebrate the time that a married couple spends together and share whereabouts with each other. In the ups and downs of life, a real perfect, when standing with you, makes each and every hard step a simple and easy one. So, if anyone has completed 10 years of their togetherness then definitely it deserves celebration. Giftalove.com brings to you an amazing collection of 10th Anniversary Gifts that one can buy online.Giftalove.com is a leading gift portal that lets you celebrate 10 years of happy married life in unique style with eye-catchy & stunning Anniversary Gifts(). Ideally, 10th Anniversary Gifts should be something related to tin or aluminum, however, it is not restricted to this only. One can easily choose their own gift from the portal such as Photo Frame, Choco Crunch, Sarees, Flower Bouquet, mouth-watery cake, Chocolate and much more are available that are easy to shop and send online.While having a conversation with the authorized speaker of the online gift portal explained, We have an awesome collection of gift items for almost all occasions and for all relations. For an instance, if it is your anniversary & you want to make your husband or wife surprise, then you can choose the unique gift from our portal and get it delivered to the shipping address in the midnight, with our Midnight delivery services. In case you want to surprise your brother on his Anniversary, you will find that the portal has an unbelievable collection of Anniversary Gifts for Brother. This year, give him a flowery surprise with beautiful flower Bouquet or shop for Rose & cake Hamper to make the occasion a perfect one etc. There are lots more waiting for you to browse, so log on to the website and explore the gift items and then place the order that suits your budget.In an extensive collection of 10th Anniversary Gifts() offered on the portal, one can buy online gifts such as A Joyous Floral Delight, Divine Fortune, Colorful Wishes, Delicious Bites & Flowers, Heartily Floral Delight, Yummy Vanilla Photo Cake and lots more.On further discussion with the authorized speaker of the online portal commented, The delightful celebration 10th Anniversary directs the path of the beginning of the new year. Therefore, we have come up with a unique collection of gift items of different price range so that you can choose it as per your own budget. We also offer customized services for gift items so that you can give it a personal touch and make the receiver feel really valued and happy.Apart from 10th Anniversary Gifts, the portal is also reckoned for offering gifts on Birthday, Wedding, Mothers Day, Rakhi, Thank You Gifts, Engagement gifts and so on. One can place an order online & get it delivered to the shipping address within India as well as outside India. All this comes to you at an affordable price.Contact:Giftalove.com is an Indias demanding online gift portal that is well-known among customers for providing unique Anniversary Gifts for Brother, Husband and Wife, Sister, Father, Mother, friends and relatives. Additionally, one can buy 10th Anniversary Gifts online and send them to any places in India & abroad at an economical price. For more information on the gift items available for you, please feel free to visit the website of the company.Mayur Vihar phase-1, New Delhi 110091
Wireless Charging Market : Inductive charging technology to Grow at 40% CAGR

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A key challenge faced by manufacturers of wireless charging systems hovers around the selection of suitable charging technology to assure compatibility with all electronic devices in the world. Availability of diverse electric devices brings uncertainty over expanding product portfolio of wireless charging systems. Research findings compiled in the report suggest that consumers of wireless charging devices are growing more inclined towards devices that use resonance charging technology. After accounting more than US$ 800 million revenues in 2016, the resonance charging technology will continue dominating the global wireless charging market by procuring nearly 40% value share through 2024. The global demand for inductive charging technology will incur a major downtrend, while revenues accounted by radio frequency (RF) charging technology will soar at nearly 40% CAGR during the projected period.As we head towards an era where wires wont necessarily be a requisite for powering up devices, tech companies from around the world are intensifying their efforts towards production of advanced and immaculate wireless charging systems. Innovative technologies supporting the working mechanism of wireless charging devices is also piquing the curiosity of tech enthusiasts as well as common consumers. From green vehicles to smartphones, Persistence Market Research has published its research study on how wireless charging is spanning the globe as the next-gen mode of charging electric devices.According to Persistence Market Research, the global market for wireless charging is currently valued over US$ 2.6 billion. By the end of 2024, revenues emanating from global sales of wireless charging devices & services will grow at an exponential CAGR of 34% and bring in revenues worth over US$ 27 billion.The report further reveals the significance of components in driving the sales of wireless charging devices. Considering that wireless charging systems will eventually put an end to wired chargers, the components used in such systems will play an instrumental role in shaping up the future of wireless charging. Much like today, the feature of charging multiple devices at same time will continue to trend in the long run. In the global market for wireless charging, components used as power transmitters will garner a dominant position. In 2017 and beyond, transmitters are expected to account for more than three-fourth of global wireless charging revenues. Nevertheless, surplus power transmission will necessitate the use of advanced receiver components  revenues from which are projected soar at highest CAGR of 35.2%.A sample of this report is available upon request @While every other wireless charging device sold in the world will be used for powering smartphones, tablets, laptops and other consumer electronics, the report projects a lucrative growth for automotive application of wireless charging systems. During the forecast period, revenues procured from sales of wireless charging devices in the global automotive industry will be elevated at a staggering 42.1% CAGR. Rampant sales of electric vehicles will be factoring this growth, making automotive the most favorable application of wireless charging. Additionally, complications and hazards arising from wired power cables in manufacturing plants will also propel the demand for wireless charging in industrial applications. Through 2024, more than US$ 5 billion worth of wireless charging devices are likely to be consumed by industries across the globe.Request to view table of content @Additional Highlights of the Report include:Asia-Pacific will be the largest consumer of wireless charging systems in the world, Sales of wireless charging devices in North America and Europe will procure more than 60% of global revenues throughout the forecast period, Tech giant, Apple Inc., recently made the news for joining the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) to be a part of the global organization that develops widely-used wireless charging standard for smartphones and other electronic devices, The report has profiled similar tech companies that are partaking in the growth of global wireless charging market, which include  Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Texas Instruments, Inc., Leggett & Platt, Inc., Energized Holdings, Inc., Integrated Device Technology, Inc., WiTricity Corporation, ConvenientPower HK Limited, PowerbyPoxi, and Powermat Technologies Ltd.Browse Complete Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.
Global Food Allergen Testing Market Analysis, Size, Share, Professional Survey, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2022

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"The Report Global Food Allergen Testing Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Food Allergen Testing MarketThis report studies the global Food Allergen Testing market, analyzes and researches the Food Allergen Testing development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeGet Sample Copy of this report @Bureau Veritas S.A.Intertek Group plcEurofins Scientific SEALS LimitedThermo Fisher ScientificMrieux NutriSciencesAsureQualityMicrobac LaboratoriesSGS S.A.Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaView Report @Market segment by Type, Food Allergen Testing can be split intoPrick TestPatch TestMarket segment by Application, Food Allergen Testing can be split intoEnterpriseResearch InstituteTable of ContentsGlobal Food Allergen Testing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Food Allergen Testing1.1 Food Allergen Testing Market Overview1.1.1 Food Allergen Testing Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Food Allergen Testing Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Food Allergen Testing Market by Type1.3.1 Prick Test1.3.2 Patch Test1.4 Food Allergen Testing Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Enterprise1.4.2 Research Institute2 Global Food Allergen Testing Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Food Allergen Testing Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)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 Bureau Veritas S.A.3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Intertek Group plc3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Eurofins Scientific SE3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 ALS Limited3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Thermo Fisher Scientific3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Mrieux NutriSciences3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 AsureQuality3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Microbac Laboratories3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 SGS S.A.3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Food Allergen Testing Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent DevelopmentsMarketResearchReports.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: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Identity and Access Management Market share to grow at 15% CAGR from 2015 to 2022

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The research report Identity and Access Management (IAM) Market Size By End-Use (BFSI, Education, Healthcare, Energy, Oil & Gas, Telecom &IT, Manufacturing Public Sector & Utilities), By Deployment (Hybrid, Cloud, On-Premise), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Application Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2015  2022 by Global Market Insights, Inc. says Identity & Access Management (IAM) market size is estimated to reach USD 26.74 billion by 2022.The new report by Global Market Insights covers restraints, drives, opportunities and challenges in the market with comprehensive analysis of present and future market. Increasing demand for cloud-native architecture and advanced network capabilities are the top driving factors of the IAM market.IAM is a business security framework to ensure safe access to end users across manifold applications. A well-defined process formulated to manage the information access highly improves the efficiency of any organization. IAM solutions help enterprises secure application systems with reduced time frame to permit access requests.Request for a sample of this research report @The global IAM market is anticipated to witness noteworthy growth owing to surging demand across different application segments. Surging adoption of this scheme by government agencies as well as medium and large scale organizations is expected to further IAM market growth in the predicted time frame. Strict Government regulations and security standards, increased use of BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) has led to boost the implementation of IAM services in IT & telecom sector. Increased use of mobile apps and cloud services is predicted to add to the complexity of IT.Cloud IAM market share is anticipated to witness significant growth and is forecast to surpass USD 5 billion in the predicted time frame. Several applications including Google Apps, WebEx, Box.net, and Yammer are expected to present higher benefits over on-premise solutions. Public sector and utilities is expected to continue the dominance with a significant growth over the analysis period of 2015 to 2022.The market has been analyzed on the basis of various regions. U.S. IAM market size is predicted to generate the majority of the global revenue in the next few years. Wide implementation of cloud by SMEs and advancement in enterprise IT infrastructure is expected to drive the Asia-Pacific IAM market to exhibit the fastest growth.The report features: Drivers, restraints, challenges, opportunities, future growth potential shaping the IAM Market Key developments and latest events in the industry Competitive Analysis of business strategies of the key participants IAM market estimates and forecasts (2015 to 2022)Identity and access management market share is occupied by companies including Net IQ, CA Technologies, OneLogin, Amazon Web Services, Centrify, Oracle, EMC Corporation ForgeRock Inc, IBM, Dell Software, HP, and HID Global Corporation. The report covers the analysis of key market players to emphasize the potential opportunities and essential strengths in the market, and the key market strategies implemented by industry players.About 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.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:
Global Industrial Display Market 2017 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., LG Display Co., Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, NEC Display Solutions Ltd.

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https://market.biz/report/global-industrial-display-market-2017/94348/

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The Industrial Display Market 2017 examines the performance of the Industrial Display market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Industrial Display market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Industrial Display market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Industrial Display Market 2017 report includes Industrial Display industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Industrial Display Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Industrial Display Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Industrial Display Market 2017:1 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.2 LG Display Co., Ltd.3 Panasonic Corporation4 NEC Display Solutions Ltd.5 Siemens AG6 Sharp Corp.7 AU Optronics Corp.8 Pepperl+Fuchs9 Advantech Co., Ltd.10 General Electric11 Schneider Electric SE12 Innolux Corp.13 Rockwell Automation Inc.14 Planar Systems, Inc.Industrial Display Market Analysis: By ProductRugged DisplaysOpen Frame MonitorsPanel-Mount MonitorsMarine DisplaysVideo WallsIndustrial Display Market Analysis: By ApplicationManufacturingEnergy & PowerOil & GasMetals & MiningOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Industrial Display manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Industrial Display report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Industrial Display industry, Industrial Display industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Industrial Display Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Industrial Display research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Industrial Display market revenue worldwide.Finally, Industrial Display market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
Global Fingerprint Biometrics Market Analysis, Size, Share, Professional Survey, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2022

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"The Report Global Fingerprint Biometrics Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Fingerprint Biometrics MarketThis report studies the global Fingerprint Biometrics market, analyzes and researches the Fingerprint Biometrics development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeGet Sample Copy of this report @Safran3M CogentCrossmatchSupremaHID GlobalNECDermalog Identification SystemsM2SYS TechnologyNorthrop GrummanGreen BitBio-keyZKTecoIntegrated BiometricsMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaView Report @Market segment by Type, Fingerprint Biometrics can be split intoSingle FingerMulti FingerMarket segment by Application, Fingerprint Biometrics can be split intoCriminalCivilIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Fingerprint Biometrics Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Fingerprint Biometrics1.1 Fingerprint Biometrics Market Overview1.1.1 Fingerprint Biometrics Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Fingerprint Biometrics Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Fingerprint Biometrics Market by Type1.3.1 Single Finger1.3.2 Multi Finger1.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Criminal1.4.2 Civil2 Global Fingerprint Biometrics Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Fingerprint Biometrics Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)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 Safran3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 3M Cogent3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Crossmatch3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Suprema3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 HID Global3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 NEC3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Dermalog Identification Systems3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 M2SYS Technology3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Northrop Grumman3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Green Bit3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Fingerprint Biometrics Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Bio-key3.12 ZKTeco3.13 Integrated BiometricsMarketResearchReports.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: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Industrial Packaging Crates Market 2017 - FCA, REID Packaging, Yat Guan, PACT, Galaxy Polymers

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The Industrial Packaging Crates Market 2017 examines the performance of the Industrial Packaging Crates market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Industrial Packaging Crates market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Industrial Packaging Crates market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Industrial Packaging Crates Market 2017 report includes Industrial Packaging Crates industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Industrial Packaging Crates Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Industrial Packaging Crates Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Industrial Packaging Crates Market 2017:1 FCA2 REID Packaging3 Yat Guan4 PACT5 Galaxy Polymers6 Elite Industries7 Timber Creek Resource, LLC8 Palletco LLC9 Crocodile10 Cratex IndustriesIndustrial Packaging Crates Market Analysis: By ProductMetalsPlasticsPapers & WoodsOthersIndustrial Packaging Crates Market Analysis: By ApplicationChemicals & PharmaceuticalsFood & BeverageAgriculture & HorticultureElectronicsTobaccoOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Industrial Packaging Crates manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Industrial Packaging Crates report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Industrial Packaging Crates industry, Industrial Packaging Crates industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Industrial Packaging Crates Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Industrial Packaging Crates research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Industrial Packaging Crates market revenue worldwide.Finally, Industrial Packaging Crates market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
Global Intelligent Illumination Control System Market 2017 - OSRAM Licht AG, EATON, Cree, Inc., Schneider Electric

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The Intelligent Illumination Control System Market 2017 examines the performance of the Intelligent Illumination Control System market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Intelligent Illumination Control System market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Intelligent Illumination Control System market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Intelligent Illumination Control System Market 2017 report includes Intelligent Illumination Control System industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Intelligent Illumination Control System Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Intelligent Illumination Control System Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Intelligent Illumination Control System Market 2017:1 OSRAM Licht AG2 EATON3 Cree, Inc.4 Schneider Electric5 Hubbell Incorporated6 Legrand7 General Electric8 Honeywell International Inc.9 Koninklijke Philips N.V.10 ABB11 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.12 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.13 Enlighted Inc.14 Daintree Networks15 Acuity Brands, Inc.16 CONTROL4 CORPORATIONIntelligent Illumination Control System Market Analysis: By ProductIndoor IlluminationOutdoor IlluminationIntelligent Illumination Control System Market Analysis: By ApplicationCommercial BuildingsResidentialPublic UtilitiesAt the beginning, the report covers the top Intelligent Illumination Control System manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Intelligent Illumination Control System report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Intelligent Illumination Control System industry, Intelligent Illumination Control System industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Intelligent Illumination Control System Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Intelligent Illumination Control System research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Intelligent Illumination Control System market revenue worldwide.Finally, Intelligent Illumination Control System market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
Cultured Sugar/Vinegar Market to be at Forefront by 2026

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In terms of geography, the global cultured sugar/vinegar market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The global cultured sugar/vinegar market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. North America is anticipated to be the dominant market for global cultured sugar/vinegar market followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The market in Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at highest CAGR over the forecast period.Cultured sugar/ Vinegar is a food additives used in variety of food products, from meat, poultry products to salad dressing, and it is used to extend shelf life. Vinegar is often used as a natural preservative in poultry items and processed meat. Processing of different types of meats for feeding the global population has paced up speedily because of the rapid increase in globalization. Demand for high protein food and trend for ready to eat meat products are driving the global cultured sugar/vinegar market.in developing countries rise in the income of middle class consumers is growing the demand for convenience foods and ultimately driving the cultured sugar/vinegar market. To increase the consumer appeal many food producers are preferring the use of cultured sugar/ vinegar for obtaining food safety and prolonged shelf life. This application of cultured sugar/vinegar is good for consumers and extended shelf life in such products will optimize the supply chain efficiency and costs too. Increase in beverage industry across the globe is also anticipated to drive the cultured sugar/vinegar market as it prevents microbial spoilage in beverages.Rising popularity of bakery products due to changing food consumption trends will benefit the cultured sugar/vinegar market as cultured sugar is used for a function of mold inhabitation in baked goods. Also growth in market for culinary such as dressing and dips, sauces, salad and sandwich spreads etc. is likely to drive the cultured sugar/ vinegar market in near future. Cultured sugar/vinegar is used as agent which helps in suppressing bacteria and pathogens in food. However lack of awareness about the processing technology and modern methods in developing countries are the main hindrances in the growth of global cultured sugar/ vinegar market. in addition to this economic crises faced by many countries of the world and health risk associated with the processed foodstuffs are the factors which act a restraints for cultured sugar/vinegar market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players in the global cultured sugar/vinegar market are Corbion, PROTERIA etc.Request to view table of content @The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections done using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, type, machine size and end use.Browse Complete Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
2017-2022 Grill Microwave Report On Global And United States Market, Status And Forecast, By Players, Types And Applications

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"The Report 2017-2022 Grill Microwave Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Grill Microwave MarketThis report studies the Grill Microwave market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Grill Microwave market by product type and applications/end industries.The global Grill Microwave market is valued at XX million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach XX million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Get Sample Copy Of This Reports @The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Grill Microwave. United States plays an important role in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2016 and will be xx million USD in 2022, with a CAGR of XX.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Grill Microwave in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaView Report @The major players in global and United States Grill Microwave market, including Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Westing House, Emerson, Cuisinart, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Sharp, Nostalgia, GE, Avanti, Bosch, Apollo, Hamiltion Beach, Frigidaire, Oster, KitchAid.The On the basis of product, the Grill Microwave market is primarily split intoCountertop Grill Microwave OvenOver-the-Range Microwave OvenCompact Microwave OvensOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversHouseholdFood Service IndustryOthersTable of Contents2017-2022 Grill Microwave Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications1 Methodology and Data Source1.1 Methodology/Research Approach1.1.1 Research Programs/Design1.1.2 Market Size Estimation1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation1.2 Data Source2.1.1 Secondary Sources2.1.2 Primary Sources1.3 Disclaimer2 Grill Microwave Market Overview2.1 Grill Microwave Product Overview2.2 Grill Microwave Market Segment by Type2.2.1 Countertop Grill Microwave Oven2.2.2 Over-the-Range Microwave Oven2.2.3 Compact Microwave Ovens2.2.4 Others2.3 Global Grill Microwave Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Grill Microwave Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Grill Microwave Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Grill Microwave Product Segment by Type2.4.1 United States Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Growth by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.4.2 United States Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.3 United States Grill Microwave Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.4 United States Grill Microwave Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3 Grill Microwave Application/End Users3.1 Grill Microwave Segment by Application/End Users3.1.1 Household3.1.2 Food Service Industry3.1.3 Others3.2 Global Grill Microwave Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Grill Microwave Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Grill Microwave Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Grill Microwave Market Size and CAGR by Regions (2012, 2016 and 2022)4.1.2 North America4.1.3 Asia-Pacific4.1.4 Europe4.1.5 South America4.1.6 Middle East and Africa4.1.7 United States4.2 Global Grill Microwave Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Grill Microwave Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Grill Microwave Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.2.8 Middle East and Africa Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.9 United States Grill Microwave Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Chocolate Market to be at Forefront by 2024

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The chocolate market registered a value of US$ XX Bn in 2016. During a five-year forecast period 2016-2024, the global market for chocolate is expected to witness a robust CAGR. A host of trends and opportunities that are currently driving the market are slated to shape up the market condition during the forecast period.Chocolate is one of the most profitable components of the confectionary industry globally. The chocolate industry has been representing a multibillion dollar market since the past decade and is expected to reach new levels of growth within the next few years. Rising awareness about health benefits of consuming a chocolate on a daily basis, will remain a key booster to the global chocolate market over the next few years.While developed countries represent established and thriving markets for chocolate, a shift in consumer taste preferences and rising spending on chocolate and other confectionary products are identified to be the major drivers to market growth, prominently in developing countries. Increasing urbanization and widespread availability of chocolate and derived products will remain another key factor fueling the market for chocolate globally.Antioxidants-enrichment, blood pressure-suppressing character, and supposedly anti-aging properties of chocolate will remain the key factors propelling adoption of chocolate and chocolate products. Dark chocolate that contains a larger proportion of cocoa is especially recommended to prevent or slow down aging and certain diseases, such as CVDs. These and more similar perceived benefits of chocolate will continue to drive demand for chocolate in the global market.A few recent research findings indicate that chocolate consumption aids in looking younger as well as relieving stress, which are expected to further push the demand for chocolate. A sweeping range of new applications of chocolate in food and confectionary products are anticipated to escalate the demand, whereas wide acceptance of chocolate-flavored milk, drinks, bakery products, ice creams, functional foods, and liquor chocolates will sustain the demand throughout the next four years.Chocolates are still largely considered as an affordable luxury in some regions of the globe. Price-sensitivity may detain the penetration of chocolate market in some of the underdeveloped parts of the world. Moreover, the uncertain economy of the cocoa supply is likely to raise chocolate prices, which is foreseen to be a major challenge to market growth.Seasonal and festive sales of chocolate are projected to surge in the next few years. Gifting chocolate hampers and bouquets are among some popular consumer trends in market, which will strongly favor the market over the forecast period. In addition, lucrative growth opportunities lie in handmade chocolates and signature chocolate-based products.Some niche products, such as chocolate drinks, fudge, mousse, rolls, and sandwich are identified to be attractive revenue generators. Moreover, a variety in gourmet chocolate is also expected to present significant opportunities in the global chocolate market. Development of organic and fair-trade chocolate may completely change the market dynamics over 2016-2024The global chocolate market is segmented on the basis of type and sale frequency.By chocolate type, the market is classified as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Milk chocolate segment registered the largest market share in 2013, followed by dark chocolate.Based on frequency of sale, the market is categorized as daily chocolate, premium chocolate, and seasonal chocolate. Daily chocolate, attributed to affordable price, has been a major segment over the years.The global chocolate market is segmented on the basis of geography, into key four regions viz. North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW).Presence of a large number of leading international chocolate brands and higher chocolate consumption will continue to account for the top market position of North America, especially the U.S. Europe will be another major market, led by the U.K. and Germany.Request to view table of content @APAC, predominantly China and India, is however expected to emerge at the fastest rate over 2016-2024. This growth is attributed to soaring influence of the Western lifestyle and awareness about health benefits of chocolate. Seasonal and festive sales are likely to hold a strong foothold in developing Asian economies, such as India.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players participating in the global chocolate market, include Nestle SA, Fererro Group, Hershey Foods Corporation, Mondelez International (Cadbury), Mars Inc, Meiji Co Ltd, August Storck KG, Ezaki Glico Co. Ltd. and Arcor. A few other notable companies are Kraft Foods, Moonstruck Chocolatier Co., and Ghirardelli Chocolate Co.Browse Complete Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global IoT at Workplace Market 2017 - ABB Ltd, Honeywell International, Johnson Controls, Cisco Systems

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The IoT at Workplace Market 2017 examines the performance of the IoT at Workplace market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the IoT at Workplace market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of IoT at Workplace market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global IoT at Workplace Market 2017 report includes IoT at Workplace industry volume, market Share, market Trends, IoT at Workplace Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, IoT at Workplace Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global IoT at Workplace Market 2017:1 ABB Ltd2 Honeywell International3 Johnson Controls4 Cisco Systems5 Schneider Electric6 Siemens AG7 Koninklijke Philips N.V8 Lutron Electronics9 Telkom SA10 Crestron ElectronicsIoT at Workplace Market Analysis: By ProductSmart LightingSecurity & Access ControlEnergy Management Systems (EMS)HVAC Control SystemsAudio-Video Conferencing SystemsOtherIoT at Workplace Market Analysis: By ApplicationCommercial ApplicationIndustrial ApplicationOtherAt the beginning, the report covers the top IoT at Workplace manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the IoT at Workplace report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of IoT at Workplace industry, IoT at Workplace industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. IoT at Workplace Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The IoT at Workplace research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the IoT at Workplace market revenue worldwide.Finally, IoT at Workplace market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
Global Stevia Extracts Market 2017: Industry Share and Demand Data in new report

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eMarket announces the addition of Global Stevia Extracts Market Research Report 2017 in its research report libraryFor this report, the Stevia Extracts market value is provided for 2016 in USD millions, an expected CAGR % as well as USD million worth of industry in 2022. Regionally, the globe is segmented into United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and India to study their market size and local analysis. End user applications of Stevia Extracts market covering DairyBakery & Confectionery, Tabletop Sweeteners, Beverages, Convenience Foods are studied in this research. Share of Stevia Extracts market is covered by applications as well supported with potential applications in the future.Buy the complete Stevia Extracts report with Comprehensive table of contents @An extensive analysis methodology is involved for this Stevia Extracts research report.The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Stevia Extracts market involves a primary and a secondary research. A systematic procedure has been used to arrive at the global size of the Stevia Extracts market and present revenue of key players in the market. Accurate data has been collected by conducting extensive interviews with people holding key decision making positions in the industry such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives.Inquire for discount for this report @Industry chain analysis covering upstream raw materials and equipments of Stevia Extracts market, their suppliers' information as well as analysis of downstream major consumers for Stevia Extracts is provided to understand the complete industry chain structure. Overall market analyzed in this report is divided by regions, types and manufacturers/companies. The research estimates 2017-2022 Stevia Extracts market development trends covering capacity, production and revenue forecasts as well as regional supply consumption forecasts. Towards the end, this report includes a feasibility analysis of New Project Investment covering SWOT analysis of Stevia Extracts OR marketing strategy analysis and market effect factor analysis. Overall, the report provides factual insights collected and analyzed with detailed primary and secondary research on Stevia Extracts market.The research compiles profiles of small and big Stevia Extracts market companies covering their product details as well as important statistics on production, capacity, price and more. These active companies' numbers are supported with information on marketing traders and/or distributors of the Stevia Extracts industry along with their contact information. This data gives valuable industry insights and direction to individuals and/or companies that are new entrants, eyeing to enter or grow in the Stevia Extracts market. Some of the Key vendors profiled in this research include: PureCircle, Cargill, Sunrise Nutrachem Group, GL Stevia, Merisant, Tate & Lyle, Morita Kagaku Kogyo and DaepyungPartial list of Tables and Figures for this report include:Figure North America Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure India Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Stevia Extracts Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Stevia Extracts Capacity, Production (K Units) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Stevia Extracts Major Players Product Capacity (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Stevia Extracts Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Stevia Extracts Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure Global Stevia Extracts Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2016Figure Global Stevia Extracts Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2017Figure Global Stevia Extracts Major Players Product Production (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Stevia Extracts Production (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Stevia Extracts Production Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Contact Details:Ronald Aldensales@emarketorg.cominfo@emarketorg.comAbout Us:eMarketOrg.com aims to provide businesses and organizations market intelligence products and services that help in making smart, instant and crucial decisions. Our database offers access to insights from industry leaders, experts and influencers on global and regional sectors, market trends, user behaviour, for companies as well as products. With data and information from reputable and trusted private and public sources, our clients are never short of statistics and analysis that are up to date.F/3, 4A Bharat Pushpa Apt.,Subhash Nagar, Shukrawar Peth,Pune  411002
Horizontal Flow Wrapping Market - Opportunities and Forecast Assessment, 2017  2027

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Global Horizontal Flow Wrapping Market: OverviewHorizontal flow wrapping is a packaging machine used mostly for wrapping irregular shaped products. Various products such as consumer goods, food items, etc. are packed in a horizontal flow wrapper, wherein a wrapping laminated material is fed manually or automatically in a feed conveyor and creates a tubular shaped packaging around the product. The food products are to be packed in order to maintain the quality and portability and also to avoid man-made pollution. Horizontal flow wrapping is widely used for packaging identical items at a high speed with user-friendly operation. When space is a prime concern for packaging enterprises, the compact design of horizontal flow wrappers aids in packing items at ease.Obtain Report Details @The horizontal flow wrapping machines are also available with a micro- computer to provide high-speed packaging and touch screen interface where industries require frequent change of product packing. The food industry, is one of the prominent end use of horizontal flow wrapping. For instance, major applications in food industry include, easy packing of pizza bases, confectionary items and fried foodstuff etc. Other non-food applications include, stationary, paper napkins, medical products, disposable cutlery etc. The film material used for packaging is mostly biaxially orientated polypropylene (BOPP), polyester and cast polypropylene among others. The horizontal flow wrapping is available in wide range, wherein key factors such as capacity, production needs and budget are to be considered for buying.Global Horizontal Flow Wrapping Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe packaging is considered to a vital requirement for every application, coupled with the focus on adoption sustainable packaging. The manufacturers of packaging materials are centring towards sustainability in order to resolve environmental issues and encourage healthy living standards. The global horizontal flow wrapping market is driven by the growth in sustainable packaging. The global food industry is in growth phase with the novel inclusion of technology for production of high-quality foodstuff, is a prime growth factor for global horizontal flow wrapping consumption. The growth statistics of the food industry and its applications has a direct effect on the global horizontal floe wrapping market. Some of the factors which aid in driving the sale of horizontal flow wrapping are its compact design feature, touchscreen control, user-friendly, high production speed etc. The flexibility in operation permitting adjustable cutting sizes to pack a wide range of products fuels the growth of global horizontal flow wrapping market.For more information on this report, fill the form @Global Horizontal Flow Wrapping Market: SegmentationOn the basis of type, horizontal flow wrapping market can be segmented as follows:-ManualAutomaticOn the basis of capacity, horizontal flow wrapping market can be segmented as follows:-10-500 PPM501-1000 PPMMore than 1001 PPMOn the basis of application, horizontal flow wrapping market can be segmented as follows:-FoodBakery & ConfectionarySnacksFrozen FoodReady to eat foodPharmaceuticalConsumer goodsGlobal Horizontal Flow Wrapping Market: Region wise OutlookThe global horizontal flow wrapping market is divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America and Western Europe accounts major share in the global horizontal flow wrapping market owing to the strong technological platform for machinery production. The medium to high size bakery products manufacturers are the prominent consumer for automatic horizontal flow wrapping. The horizontal flow wrapping market in Japan is influenced by the growing requirement to maintain the freshness of the foodstuff. Also, growth in the consumer goods packaging is expected to foster growth during the forecast period. The APEJ horizontal flow wrapping market is expected to gain significant market share in terms of consumption, during the forecast period owing to widespread developments such as investments in capacity expansion, mergers and acquisitions in the food industry, consumer goods and medical industry. In MEA region, manufacturers are focussing on supplying automation solutions to the customers to help them increase their productivity with a wide range of horizontal flow wrapping.Global Horizontal Flow Wrapping Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players identified in the global horizontal flow wrapping market include:Robert Bosch GmbHITT JetpakThe Redpack Packaging MachineryHarikrushna Machinetech Pvt LtdJOIEPACK Industrial Co., Ltd.HERSONBER INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.HOPAK MACHINERY CO., LTD.Campbell Wrapper CorporationBudakoti Engineering Private LimitedULMA Packaging Sdad CoopAbout TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market 2017 - P&G Chemicals, Lubrizol Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company

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The Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market 2017 examines the performance of the Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market 2017 report includes Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market 2017:1 VVF L.L.C2 P&G Chemicals3 Lubrizol Corporation4 The Dow Chemical Company5 Eco green Oleochemicals6 Croda International Plc.Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market Analysis: By ProductKosherNFPastillesLauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market Analysis: By ApplicationCosmetics IndustryAutomotive IndustryTextile IndustryPetrochemical IndustryOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol industry, Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol market revenue worldwide.Finally, Lauryl Myristyl Alcohol market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
Global Leaf Blowers Market 2017 - ECHO, Ryobi, Worx, Toro, Makita, Remington

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The Leaf Blowers Market 2017 examines the performance of the Leaf Blowers market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Leaf Blowers market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Leaf Blowers market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Leaf Blowers Market 2017 report includes Leaf Blowers industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Leaf Blowers Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Leaf Blowers Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Leaf Blowers Market 2017:1 ECHO2 Ryobi3 Worx4 Toro5 Makita6 Remington7 Sun Joe8 Earthwise9 EGO10 Greenworks11 DEWALT12 Cub Cadet13 Lawnmaster14 Southland15 BLACK+DECKER16 HomeliteLeaf Blowers Market Analysis: By ProductHandheldBackpack MountedLeaf Blowers Market Analysis: By ApplicationHousehold UseCommercial UseAt the beginning, the report covers the top Leaf Blowers manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Leaf Blowers report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Leaf Blowers industry, Leaf Blowers industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Leaf Blowers Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Leaf Blowers research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Leaf Blowers market revenue worldwide.Finally, Leaf Blowers market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
US Underground Mining Equipment Industry to Generate Market Value of USD 4321.1 Million by 2022

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Market Scenario for US Underground Mining EquipmentMarket Forecast:Market Research Future published a Cooked Research Report on US Underground Mining Equipment Industry. The US Underground Mining Equipment Industry is expected to reach USD 4321.1 Million at the end of the forecasted period and is expected to show a staggering growth at CAGR of 4.3% from 2016 to 2022.Industry Overview and DriversThe US Underground Mining Equipment Industry is driven by increase in mining activities. The Midwest region shows a rapid increase in the mining sites followed by south, West and Northeast in the US. Coal mining holds the maximum share in underground mining and leads to high demand of specialized mining equipment. Furthermore, the governments supportive regulations and policies regarding mining safety, employment, environment, and equipment usage have augmented the demand for the underground mining equipment in US.Key Players in US Underground Mining Equipment Industry Komatsu Ltd. Caterpillar Inc. Joy Global Inc. Sandvik AB Volvo AB Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. Doosan Infracore Co. Ltd. Boart Longyear Ltd. Flsmidth Group Kennametal, Inc. Liebherr - International Deutschland Gmbh Metso Corporation Thyssenkrupp AG.Request to Get a Sample Report @APAC will be the Fastest Growing MarketMidwest dominates the US Underground Mining Equipment Industry with its largest market share of USD 1836.4 million. It will expand at a CAGR 4.7% over the forecast period. This share is attributed to the increase in mining activities and lots of investments in the region.It is followed by South, which is expected to grow rapidly over USD 1475.2 million by 2022. West and Northeast are also expected to grow from 2016 to 2022.Regional Analysis:It is expected that the US Underground Mining Equipment Industry will advance with higher growth rate as compared to previous years. The current challenges for the market are safety of the workers and environment. The growing population and urbanization in the emerging economies is driving the market of Underground Mining along with overall infrastructure development, sustainable mining development policies, and supportive mining safety regulations over the next five years. The Longwall Extraction is estimated to be the leading Underground mining equipment in United States with market value of USD 2803.2 million by 2022 due its high recovery rate. Coal Mining acquires a share of USD 3174.6 million by the end of forecasted period.Market Research Analysis:Underground mining is a process used to access ores and valuable minerals in the grounds by digging into the ground to extract them. Underground Mining is generally carried out when minerals or precious stones are so buried that surface mining is not an option. Underground rooms are created to facilitate the mining operations. Specialized underground mining equipment is used to undergo this technique. The scope of the study includes two types of mining methods: Longwall Extraction and Room & Pillar Extraction. The selection of mining methods is primarily based on the geological/spatial setting of the deposit. The method offering the most reasonable and optimized combination of safety, economic and recovery is then chosen.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.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.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Chemotherapy Induced Acral Erythema (Hand-Foot Syndrome) Treatment Market Will Generate New Growth Opportunities by 2022

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Acral erythema, also called as hand-foot syndrome or palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, is characterized by swelling, redness, paraesthesia (numbness) and desquamation (skin peeling) of palms, soles and rarely on knees and elbow. Acryl erythema is an adverse drug reaction which typically appear after several months of treatment with chemotherapeutic agents, gemcitabine and fluorouracil being the most common drugs causing reaction. Chemotherapy induced acryl erythema is a dose dependent condition, regression of which can be achieved by discontinuation of chemotherapy or by dose reduction. Treatment for chemotherapy induced acryl erythema includes symptomatic treatment with analgesics and antihistaminic drugs to reduce pain and edema.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Surge in usage of chemotherapeutic agents due to increasing incidence of cancers is the major growth driver of global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market. According to WHO cancer factsheet 2015, the worldwide incidence of cancers is expected to increase by 70% in next 2 decades which perhaps influence the growth of global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market over the forecast period from 20162026. Moreover, lifestyle up-gradation, increasing number of smokers are some secondary considerations accountable for rise in global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market.The global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market has been segmented on the basis of product type, retail sales channels and geography.The global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market is highly fragmented with large number of local as well as global players. Being the first line therapy for acryl erythema, analgesics segment is expected to contribute for major portion in global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market. Study results from Valencia Institute of Cancer suggests that there is 2% incidence of chemotherapy induced acral erythema among cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy in Europe.Geographically, the global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to contribute a major share in global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market owing to increased usage of gemcitabine, a common cause of acral erythema. Emerging new indications of some drugs and new therapies for the treatment of chemotherapy induced acral erythema such as topical sildenafil, nicotine patches, topical allopurinol and others are expected to launch in market within the forecast period, which are expected to boost the growth of global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market.Request to View Tables of Content @Some of the major players in the global chemotherapy induced acral erythema treatment market include Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Oceanside Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer, Novartis AG, A-S Medication Solutions, LLC., Preferred Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Syntex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Valeant Canada LP, Technilab Pharma, Inc., Allergan, Plc. And others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Pet Insurance Market Share Worldwide Industry Statistics, Growth, Trends, Opportunities & Forecast up to 2022

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Global Pet Insurance Industry Report offers market overview, segmentation by types, application, countries, key manufactures, cost analysis, industrial chain, sourcing strategy, downstream buyers, marketing strategy analysis, distributors/traders, factors affecting market, forecast and other important information for key insight.This report studies the Pet Insurance market, Pet insurance is a type of specialty property and casualty insurance policy that pet owners purchase to cover the unintended costs that arise in providing care for a pet, including veterinary services such as surgical procedures, injuries from accidents, and prescribed pet medicines. Pet insurance is purely a reimbursement program. A form of property and casualty insurance, pet insurance provides reimbursement to the owner after the pet has received required care and the owner submits a claim to the insurance company.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Pet Insurance in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request a Sample copy of Global Pet Insurance Market Research Report @Global Pet Insurance Market Top players have been profiled in this research report such as Petplan UK (Allianz), Nationwide, Trupanion, Petplan North America(Allianz), Hartville Group, Pethealth, Petfirst, Embrace, Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA), Direct Line Group, Agria, Petsecure, PetSure, Anicom Holding, ipet Insurance, Japan Animal Club.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa).Global Pet Insurance Market Segment by Type, covers are Lifetime Cover, Non-lifetime Cover, Accident-only, Other.Global Pet Insurance Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Dog, Cat, Other.Enquire about this report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Pet Insurance market.Chapter 1, to describe Pet Insurance Market Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Pet Insurance, with sales, revenue, and price of Pet Insurance, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Pet Insurance Market, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the Global Pet Insurance Market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Pet Insurance market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Pet Insurance sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Major Points in Table of Contents: Market Overview, Manufacturers Profiles, Global Pet Insurance Market Competition, by Manufacturer, Global Pet Insurance Market Analysis by Regions, North America Pet Insurance by Countries, Europe Pet Insurance by Countries, Asia-Pacific Pet Insurance by Countries, South America Pet Insurance by Countries, Middle East and Africa Pet Insurance by Countries, Global Pet Insurance Market Segment by Type, Global Pet Insurance Market Segment by Application, Pet Insurance Market Forecast (2017-2022), Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion.List of Tables and FiguresFigure Pet Insurance PictureTable Product Specifications of Pet InsuranceFigure Global Sales Market Share of Pet Insurance by Types in 2016Table Pet Insurance Types for Major ManufacturersFigure Lifetime Cover PictureFigure Non-lifetime Cover PictureFigure Accident-only PictureFigure Other PictureTable Pet Insurance Sales Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Dog PictureFigure Cat PictureFigure Other PictureFigure USA Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Canada Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Mexico Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Germany Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure France Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure UK Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Russia Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Italy Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Korea Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure India Pet Insurance Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)For more information about Global Pet Insurance Market Report @Related Reports: -2016 Global Cell Culture Market Status, 2011-2022 Market Historical and Forecasts, Professional Market Research ReportThis New Version Cell Culture Market Research Report is a deep market research report in this market. This report focused on global and regional market, major manufacturers, as well as the segment market details on different classifications and applications. First, this report analyzed the basic scope of this industry like definition, specification, classification, application, industry policy and news in Chapter 1.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Liposarcoma Treatment Market is Progressing Towards a Strong Growth by 2022

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Liposarcoma is a cancer of fat cells lying deep within the soft tissues, typically in retroperitoneum or thighs. According to WHO, liposarcoma is the most common type of sarcomas (cancer of soft tissue) and accounts for approximately 17-20% of all cases of sarcoma. However, WHO classifies liposarcoma in the rare diseases as the incidence rate of the disease is as low as 2.5 per Mn population. Liposarcoma most commonly occurs in the middle age or adults above the age of 40 and it can be well diagnosed with the help of excision biopsy. Liposarcoma can be of four types viz. well differentiated liposarcoma, myxoid liposarcoma, pleomorphic liposarcoma and dedifferentiated liposarcoma. The most common drugs used for the treatment of liposarcoma include ifosfamide and doxorubicin. Ifosfamide is often prescribed in combination with uromitexan in order to prevent bladder irritation and internal bleeding. Moreover, cisplatin, vincristine, etoposide, gemcitabine, docetaxel etc. can be used to prevent the recurrence of liposarcoma.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @The market for liposarcoma is highly fragmented with large number of generic manufacturers. The global market for liposarcoma treatment is expected to grow moderately over the forecast period owing to low incidence rate of the disease. Some other factors which are anticipated to influence growth of global liposarcoma treatment market include lifestyle changes, incidence of genetic disorders, growing awareness through liposarcoma genome project etc. However, high cost of the treatment can be the major restraint for the growth of global liposarcoma treatment market.Surgical therapy treatment segment is expected to account for major share in global liposarcoma treatment market as it is the choice of treatment recommended by majority of cancer specialists. Most of the physicians do not rely on chemotherapy for the liposarcoma treatment however, it can be used prior to the surgery to reduce the size of the tumor making it the second largest segment in terms of value in global liposarcoma treatment market. Radiation therapy treatment is used to avoid recurrence of the liposarcoma after surgery and contributes a minimal share in global liposarcoma treatment market.Geographically, global liposarcoma treatment market is classified into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to lead the global liposarcoma treatment market due to relatively greater prevalence of the disease in the region. APAC and MEA regions are expected to witness steady market growth owing to lack of awareness about the disease.Request to View Tables of Content @Some of the key players in global liposarcoma treatment market include Eli Lilly and Company, Baxter International, Bristol Laboratories Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Mylan N.V., Actavis plc.,Fresenius Kabi Ltd., Accord Healthcare Inc., Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sandoz, Bedford Laboratories and others. Recently FDA approved the new indication of Halaven (eribulin) to Esai Co. Ltd. and new drug application of Yondelis (Trabectedin) from Johnson & Johnson Private Limited for use in Europe, Russia and South Korea.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Develop business strategies Of Non-Life Insurance in Spain Market

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Latest industry research report on: Non-Life Insurance in Spain Market | Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsRequest For Sample Report @Timetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in Spain, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Spanish non-life insurance segment, and a comparison of the Spanish insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).Complete Report Details @The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Spanish economy and demographics, explains the various types of natural hazard and their impact on the Spanish insurance industry, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.SummaryTimetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in Spain, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Spanish non-life insurance segment, including:The Spanish non-life segments detailed outlook by product categoryA comprehensive overview of the Spanish economy and demographicsA comparison of the Spanish non-life insurance segment with its regional counterpartsThe various distribution channels in the Spanish non-life insurance segmentDetailed analysis of natural hazards and their impact on the Spanish insurance industryDetails of the competitive landscape in the non-life insurance segment in SpainDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Spanish insurance industryScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the non-life insurance segment in Spain:It provides historical values for the Spanish non-life insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Spanish non-life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It provides a comparison of the Spanish non-life insurance segment with its regional counterpartsIt analyzes the various distribution channels for non-life insurance products in Spain.It analyzes various natural hazards and their impact on the Spanish insurance industryIt profiles the top non-life insurance companies in Spain, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Spanish non-life insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Spanish non-life insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Spanish insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Key HighlightsNon-life insurance is the second-largest segment in the Spanish insurance industry, representing 38.5% of the countrys overall gross written premium in 2015.The Spanish non-life segment is moderately concentrated, with the 10 leading insurers accounting for 55.4% of the total non-life direct written premium in 2015.The rise of low-cost carriers has brought a new wave of tourism to Spain, and contributed to the development of domestic tourism.The Spanish construction industry is expected to improve slowly over the forecast period, supported by economic recovery and increased foreign investments.Telematics, or usage-based insurance, is an upcoming global technological development. It is used by motor insurers to measure a motorists driving behavior.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.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Non-Life Insurance in the Netherlands Market: Grow Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

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Latest industry research report on: Non-Life Insurance in the Netherlands Market : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsRequest For Sample Report @Timetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in the Netherlands, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Dutch non-life insurance segment, and a comparison of the Dutch insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).Complete Report Details @The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Dutch economy and demographics, explains the various types of natural hazard and their impact on the Dutch insurance industry, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.SummaryTimetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in the Netherlands, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Dutch non-life insurance segment, including:The Dutch non-life segments detailed outlook by product categoryA comprehensive overview of the Dutch economy and demographicsA comparison of the Dutch non-life insurance segment with its regional counterpartsThe various distribution channels in the Dutch non-life insurance segmentDetailed analysis of natural hazards and their impact on the Dutch insurance industryDetails of the competitive landscape in the non-life insurance segment in the NetherlandsDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Dutch insurance industryScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the non-life insurance segment in the Netherlands:It provides historical values for the Dutch non-life insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Dutch non-life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It provides a comparison of the Dutch non-life insurance segment with its regional counterpartsIt analyzes the various distribution channels for non-life insurance products in the Netherlands.It analyzes various natural hazards and their impact on the Dutch insurance industryIt profiles the top non-life insurance companies in the Netherlands, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Dutch non-life insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Dutch non-life insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Dutch insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Key HighlightsOn September 12, 2016, China and the Netherlands signed a social insurance agreement, under which employees working in each others countries are exempted from the compulsory social insurance system. Accordingly, such employees will not be required to pay mandatory social insurance contributions.Solvency II came into force in the Netherlands on January 1, 2016. It is based on three pillars: risk-based quantitative requirements, governance and supervision, and disclosure and transparency.On September 4, 2014, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered a judgment requiring all EU member states to extend the scope of the motor third-party liability insurance to accidents on private property.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.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Industrial Dryers Market 2017 : Buhler, Boda Microwave, OKAWARA, Turatti Group, Thompson Dryers

Industrial Dryers

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A market study based on the "Industrial Dryers Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Industrial Dryers Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Industrial Dryers industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Industrial Dryers market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research ReportBuhlerBoda MicrowaveOKAWARATuratti GroupZhengzhou Azeus MachineryHOF PrufsystemeMechaTech SystemsNew AVM SystechPlasma KraftSSPThompson DryersThe report studies the industry for Industrial Dryers across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Industrial Dryers market & dynamics of demand and supply of Industrial Dryers into consideration. The 'Industrial Dryers' research study covers each and every aspect of the Industrial Dryers market globally, which starts from the definition of the Industrial Dryers industry and develops towards Industrial Dryers market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Industrial Dryers market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Industrial Dryers market. The geographical segmentation of the Industrial Dryers industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Industrial Dryers is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Industrial Dryers market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Industrial Dryers market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Industrial Dryers market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Industrial Dryers production volume, data regarding demand and Industrial Dryers supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Industrial Dryers across the globe.About Us :Worldwide Business are a trusted brand in the research industry with capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Worldwide Business, we believe in building long term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries such as Automotive and Aerospace, Medical Devices, Technology, Machinery & Manufacturing.Contact Us :Worldwide BusinessUnited States
Global Medium Carbon Steel Bolts Market 2017: Focuses on top players Nelson Stud Welding Inc., Camrail, Nucor, Battalion, Pro Weld, Proto, Campbell

Medium Carbon Steel Bolts

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The Medium Carbon Steel Bolts research report by QY Research represents an inclusive evaluation of the Global Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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 Medium Carbon Steel Bolts market and its corresponding segments that are based on technology, geography, and applications.The examination on value chain of Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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 Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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 Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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 Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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 Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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 Medium Carbon Steel BoltsRevenue, means the sales value of Medium Carbon Steel BoltsThis report studies Medium Carbon Steel Bolts 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, coveringNelson Stud Welding Inc.CamrailNucorBattalionPro WeldProtoCampbellAnvilCalbriteAbout 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
Predictive Genetic Testing & Consumer/Wellness Genomics Market Segment Forecast up to 2025

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The type of genetic testing which is employed to diagnose or predict the gene mutation or genetic changes linked to a disease is called predictive genetic testing. It is usually used in a symptomatic person to check future risks. The branch of genomics concerned with the sequencing and interpretation of the individual is called consumer genomics, while the one which predicts the genetic factors contributing to healthy living is called wellness genomics. This type of testing enables a person to make good lifestyle changes and choices.Obtain Report Details:The rising health care awareness and shifting population preference toward a healthy lifestyle have led to the expansion of the market for predictive genetics testing & consumer/wellness genomics. Factors such as the rising attention of the government and other private regulatory bodies toward public health care, increased effectiveness & quality of genetic testing, prevalence of chronic diseases & genetic diseases such as Parkinsons & cystic fibrosis are expected to drive the global predictive genetics testing & consumer genomics market during the forecast period. Furthermore, the rising need to understand ones family history is propelling the global market as well. However, stringent regulatory rules and ethics for the approval of genetic testing could limit the markets development through 2025.In terms of test type, the global predictive genetics testing & consumer/wellness genomics market can be categorized into the predictive testing, consumer genomics, and wellness genomics segments. Predictive testing can be further divided into the genetic susceptibility testing, predictive diagnostic, and population screening sub-segments. On the basis of application, the global market can be split into the following groups: cancer screening, cardiovascular screening, musculoskeletal screening, diabetic screening, Parkinsons / Alzheimer disease screening, and others.Geographically, the global predictive genetics testing & consumer/wellness genomics market is distributed over North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America held a major market share, followed by Europe. The dominance of North America can be ascribed to to factors such as its well-established health care infrastructure, high awareness level, prevalence of chronic diseases, and high adoption of new technologies. However, Asia Pacific is anticipated to grow at a significant rate due to the growing population, rise in disposable income, increasing demand for genetic testing, prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles, and mounting government intervention in the development of health care infrastructure. Also, the market in this region has been observed to be targeted by multiple established players, as countries such as China and India are projected to be favorable markets for new entrants in the wellness genomics sector.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:Most players in the predictive genetics testing & consumer/wellness genomics market are focused on developing technologically advanced and cost-efficient services in order to offer comfortable, easy, and quicker testing solutions to customers. To gain a significant position in the global predictive genetics testing & consumer/wellness genomics market, these companies adopt various policies including strategic alliances, forward & backward integration, new product development, and mergers & acquisitions. For instance, several pharmaceutical industries are entering into partnerships with genomic companies, diagnostic laboratories, and government organizations. Intermountain Healthcare and Syapse announced a collaboration in May 2014, which enables oncologists to access different technologies related to cancer genomics.Key players operating in the global predictive genetics testing & consumer/wellness genomics market include ARUP Laboratories, Genesis Genetics, Pathway Genomics, Color Genomics Inc., BGI, and Myriad Genetics, Inc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Contact Lens Market - Latest Innovations, Drivers, Restraints, Challenges and Forecast 2016 - 2024

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The global market for contact lenses features a consolidated competitive landscape, with the top four companies, including Johnson & Johnson, The Cooper Companies, Alcona Inc. and Bausch and Lomb, accounting for a share of nearly 68% in the global market in 2015, states Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new report. Johnson & Johnson, the largest vendor in the market, held nearly 31% share in the global market in the same year.Volume-wise, the market is expected to rise to 2,135.0 mn units by 2024. TMR also estimates that the global contact lens market, which had a valuation of US$9.74 bn in 2015 in terms of revenue, is expected to expand at a 7.6% CAGR from 2016 through 2024, and rise to US$18.70 bn by 2024. Of the key technologies used for manufacturing contact lenses, the cast molding technology is presently the most preferred, accounting for a share of over 80% of the markets overall revenues in 2015.This 130 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the contact lens market. Browse through 4 data tables and 81 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market:Rising Prevalence of Ophthalmic Disorders and Rising Popularity as Fashion Accessory Boost Global Sales of Contact LensesThe vast rise in the worlds population that suffers from a variety of ophthalmic disorders has emerged as the primary growth driver of the global contact lens market lately. The rise in younger population with issues such as refractory errors and weakened eyesight have especially increased the global consumption of contact lenses, which are being increasingly preferred for their comfort, convenience, and aesthetics.The easy availability of colored, disposable, and affordable varieties of contact lenses have also led to the vast rise in their usage as fashion accessories globally. Attempts made by contact lens manufacturers to educate masses about the proper and safe use of contact lenses and the availability of vast product varieties across distant corners of the globe have also helped stimulate the growth of the global contact lens market in the past few years.Concerns Regarding Damage from Careless Usage Continue to Limit Large-scale AdoptionOwing to the fact that contact lenses are worn directly on the cornea of the eye, they are required to be handled with exceptional care to prevent eye infections, ulcerations and other eye diseases. It is thus a widely known fact that careless handling or storage of contact lenses, or sleeping with the lenses on can have severe implications after the lenses are worn and remains a key challenge hindering the large-scale usage of contact lenses among skeptical consumers.Along with this, the fact that practitioners are not well equipped to prescribe contact lenses in certain developing economies across regions such as Asia Pacific and Middle East also threatens to limit the overall growth prospects of the global contact lens market to a certain extent.Emerging Economies to Present Excellent Growth OpportunitiesNevertheless, the vast untapped opportunities in developing regions can allow vendors in the market to gain substantial traction in the next few years. Expansion across these regions will require innovative marketing strategies and ways of educating the masses about the proper usage of contact lenses will have to be adopted. Over the period between 2016 and 2024, the market for contact lenses in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a considerable CAGR. The APAC market is expected to reach US$4.76 bn by 2024.Request a sample of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving contact lens market during 2016 - 2024:Prominent vendors in the market, including Novartis International AG, Menicon Group, STAAR Surgical, Carl Zeiss AG, SynergEyes Inc., Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Essilor International S.A., Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Bausch and Lomb have strengthened their hold in regional markets with these approaches. Strategies such as innovation and new product development, high investments in research and development, and exploitation of novel marketing and sales channels have also helped key companies hold sway in the market in the past years. Incorporation of new technologies for upgradation of products and strategic acquisitions entered-in with the aim of expanding product portfolios and market position across regional markets will help companies in beating competition in the next few years.This review of the global contact lens market is based on a recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research, titled Contact Lens Market -Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Fuel Dispenser Market expected to Gain Popularity Worldwide

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A fuel dispenser is a machine at a filling station that is used to pump gasoline, diesel, CNG, CGH2, HCNG, LPG, LH2, ethanol fuel, biofuels like biodiesel, kerosene, or other types of fuel into vehicles. Fuel dispensers are also known as bowsers (in Australia), petrol pumps (in Commonwealth countries), or gas pumps (in North America).This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Fuel Dispenser from 2011-2015 and provides extensive market forecasts 2016-2021 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Fuel Dispenser market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Fuel Dispenser, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.To Receive a Sample Copy Global Fuel Dispenser Market @Global Fuel Dispenser Market Outlook 2016-2021, has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Fuel Dispenser market collected from specialized sources. The report covers key technological developments in the recent times and profiles leading players in the market and analyzes their key strategies. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. The major players in the global Fuel Dispenser market are Tatsuno, Wayne, Gilbarco, Tokheim, Sanki, Zhejiang Lanfeng, Censtar, Jiangyin Furen, among others.The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World. In this sector, global competitive landscape and supply/demand pattern of Fuel Dispenser industry has been provided.Buy a Copy of Copy Global Fuel Dispenser Market for single user price of $ 2800@Key ChaptersPart 1. Exclusive SummaryPart 2. Methodology2.1 Research Methodology2.2 Geographic Scope2.3 Years ConsideredPart 3. Introduction3.1 Definition3.2 Supply Chain Structure3.2.1 Raw Material Supply3.2.2 Traders & Distributors3.2.3 Key CustomersPart 4. Market Landscape4.1 Global Fuel Dispenser Market Size (Volume) 2011-20164.1.1 Overview4.1.2 Global Fuel Dispenser Production4.1.3 Top 10 Fuel Dispenser Companies (Volume Share)To View Full Report @Who we areResearch Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement.Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights. The research encompasses information gathered and examined by subject-matter experts, laying down growth opportunities and developmental strategies for enterprises.Reach at us:Flat No.10, Wing C, No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Global Metal Ceiling Tile Market 2017-2022 Growth, Trends, Forecast and Analysis Report

Metal Ceiling Tile Market

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This study highlights current dynamics and developments in the Metal Ceiling Tile Market. The report incorporates in-depth analysis of the Industry growth drivers as well as the inhibiting factors in the Metal Ceiling Tile Market. The scope of the report covers an extensive evaluation pertaining to the winning imperatives and stakeholder strategies through a presentation of the segmentation of Metal Ceiling Tile Market in the report.Do Inquiry before Purchasing Report Here:The numerous factors stimulating this Industry have been evaluated in the sections of this report. Along with the regional analysis, the current trends in the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry, coupled with the reasons behind the development of some unique segments, have additionally been described in this Metal Ceiling Tile Industry report. The report highlights the competitive landscape by elaborating on the current mergers and acquisitions (M&A), product developments, and venture funding that took place in the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry in the recent past.The section pertaining to the company profiles explains the dominance of the key players in the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry and an evaluation on the major strategies employed by these key players in order to gain a bigger share in the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry. This will help enhance the understanding on the competitors as well as help in gaining strong insights for strengthening ones position in the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry.Request For Sample Report Here:There are numerous factors that are considered in order to provide the analysis and forecast of the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry. Some of the factors are technological, political, social, and economic Metal Ceiling Tile Industry factors. Various analytical tools such as Porters Five Forces Analysis and Metal Ceiling Tile Industry SWOT analysis are utilized to analyze the data of the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry and help provide a better understanding of the Industry. The data has been presented via charts, tables, and graphics in Metal Ceiling Tile Industry research report. This visual presentation of the data is very useful in providing a clearer view of the leading applications, end users, and key segments of the Metal Ceiling Tile Industry.9D Research Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact UsJoel JohnTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@9dresearchgroup.comWeb:
Outlook of Europe Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products Market: Research Report during 2017

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Europe Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products Market Professional Survey Report 2017 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.This European study on the market for Europe Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products has been assessed for stakeholders by consulting data summoned via primary and secondary research. In the beginning of the study the definition, classification, specification and industry chain evaluation of the Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products Europe market is covered. The dominant segments such as the parent segment and various sub-segments leading the market and their expected state by the end of the forecast period outlines this study.The current state of the market for Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products and its anticipated growth all through the forecast horizon have been covered under the regional section of the report. The regional segmentation of the market also throws light on the top regions leading the market at present and their expected state by the end of the forecast horizon. This report is a detailed study of components such as the major trends in the market, the competitive evaluation, key regions, and future development prospects.Get sample copy of this report:Information on the top players dominating the market and their business strategies is offered in the competitive landscape section of this market research report. This case study also provides company profiles of the major market players in this segment and also their primary strategies and financial status. In addition, company profiles, key products, SWOT analysis, import and export and product specifications of the key players are also covered in this part of this market research report.Get 30 % Discount on this premium report @Porter's five forces analysis is a key part of this study. The study also provides the sizable opportunities and industry news of the Europe Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products market. The challenges faced by the major players dominant in the market have been listed, coupled with the counter action of theirs to overcome these challenges to gain a better foothold in the Europe Pressure Ulcer Treatment Products market.For More Details & TOC: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)
Global Marine Insurance Market Driven by Increase in Premium Contribution from the Emerging Markets: Industry Forecast 2017-2021

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Latest Research Report titled " Global Marine Insurance Market 2017-2021 " to it's Large Report database. Features Key Market Players, Challenges and Market Drivers.The key point of provision for marine insurance is the protection of a company against losses in business. The top factors of protection provided in the insurance include loss or damage caused to the vessels, their equipment and cargo, and any transport or cargo by which property of the marine company is transferred or acquired, during any calamity. The different types of marine insurance currently provided include hull insurance, onshore energy insurance, cargo insurance, and marine liability insurance.The global marine insurance market is expected to expand at a steady CAGR of 2.57% within a forecast period from 2017 to 2021. The market is being driven by the increase in premium contribution from the emerging markets. These emerging market are prime contenders for the expansion of marine insurance providers over the coming years. Another key trend currently being exhibited by the global marine insurance market includes the increasing rate of automation of business processes. However, the global marine insurance market is currently being restrained by a number of factors, including impact of catastrophic losses on the insurers' balance sheet and pricing, including the rating system.Get a Sample Research PDF with TOC:The report divides the global marine insurance market on the basis of the geographical boundaries. The key regions explained in the report include the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the EMEA. In order to calculate the overall size of the global marine insurance market, the report includes the overall revenues being generated from the sales of marine insurance.Borwse more details at:The report thus provides a detailed perspective on the global marine insurance market using multiple points of industry insights provided by industry experts. The report also covers the competitive landscape of the global marine insurance market as well as the overall prospects of growth in the market over the coming years. This allows the readers of this report to generate a calculated strategy of expansion in the global marine insurance market in order to succeed in their business strategies.The leading vendors in the global marine insurance market include Allianz, American International, Aon, AXA, and Marsh. Other prominent vendors enumerated in the report include Arthur J. Gallagher, Atrium, Beazley, Chubb, Gard, Mitsui Sumitomo, Munich Re, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (SFMI), Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Swiss Re, Thomas Miller, Tokio Marine Holdings, XL Catlin, and Zurich Insurance.About UsResearchMoz 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:
Vertical Tails Market 2017 Global Research On United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India

Vertical Tails

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Vertical Tails Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Vertical Tails Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Vertical Tails Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Vertical Tails industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Vertical Tails market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Skin Scrubber in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSkin Scrubber Sales Market : Type AnalysisType IType IISkin Scrubber Sales Market : Applications AnalysisApplication 1Application 2The report studies the industry for Vertical Tails across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Vertical Tails market & dynamics of demand and supply of Vertical Tails into consideration. The ' Vertical Tails ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Vertical Tails market globally, which starts from the definition of the Vertical Tails industry and develops towards Vertical Tails market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Vertical Tails market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Vertical Tails market. The geographical segmentation of the Vertical Tails industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Vertical Tails is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Vertical Tails market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Vertical Tails market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Vertical Tails market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Vertical Tails production volume, data regarding demand and Vertical Tails supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Vertical Tails such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Vertical Tails market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Vertical Tails across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Oil Spill Management Market Evolving Industry Trends 2020

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The increasing pipeline and seaborne transportation of crude oils and chemicals globally is amongst the key factor boosting the oil spill management market. The increase in offshore and pipeline tanker transportation of oil and gas will also impact the oil spill management market positively.Obtain Report Details @:This research study provides an extensive review of the market for oil spill management. An analysis of the market has been presented on the basis of cumulative revenue in US$ mn. The report segments the market on the basis of technology, type, and geography. The data presented in this report is collected by conducting primary as well as secondary research and is an amalgamation of expert knowledge from industry leaders and senior analysts.The report also includes case studies for evaluating the numerous causes of spillage and likewise the different methods being utilized for spill management are mentioned. A breakdown of the total expenditure devoted by the companies to spill management also forms an integral part of the report. In addition, the roles and interactions of numerous stakeholders right from procurement to end use are also highlighted in detail within this study.Overview of the Oil Spill Management MarketLeakage in gas and oil pipelines is a key concern for major pipeline operators due to the high cost and risks involved in such incidents. The use of technologies to manage, prevent, and clean oil spillage and minimize its effect on its surroundings is termed as oil spill management.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @:In terms of type, the market is segmented into onshore spill management and offshore spill management. In terms of technology, the oil spill management market is segmented into post-oil spill management and pre-oil spill management. Pre-oil spill management includes blowout preventers, double hulling of oil-carrying ships, and pipeline leak detection, whereas post-oil spill management includes physical, chemical, biological, and mechanical methods. Pre-oil spill management makes use of technologies for the prevention of oil spills. On the other hand, post-oil spill management uses numerous methods for cleaning, managing, and containing oil spillage.The rise in safety concern, along with the increasing count of oil spills seen in the past few years, is expected to stimulate the oil spill management market in the coming years. Furthermore, the increase in research and development spending done by prime companies engaged in oil spill management for swift and proper oil spill cleaning is expected to bring in big opportunities for the development of this market in the forthcoming years.On the basis of geography, the market is segmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Amongst these, Asia Pacific will witness swift development in the oil spill management market in the coming years. On the other hand, North America held the biggest share in the market between 2000 and 2013 and will continue to be a major player in the global scenario.Key Players in the Oil Spill Management MarketNational Oilwell Varco, Cameron International Corporation, Control Flow Inc., Northern Tanker Company Oy, Fender & Spill Response Services L.L.C., SkimOil, Inc., GE Oil & Gas, COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Ecolab Inc., and CURA Emergency Services are the prime players operating in the 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. 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.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207
Turbo Ramjets Market 2017 Global Research On United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India

Turbo Ramjets

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Turbo Ramjets Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Turbo Ramjets Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Turbo Ramjets Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Turbo Ramjets industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Turbo Ramjets market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Skin Scrubber in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSkin Scrubber Sales Market : Type AnalysisType IType IISkin Scrubber Sales Market : Applications AnalysisApplication 1Application 2The report studies the industry for Turbo Ramjets across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Turbo Ramjets market & dynamics of demand and supply of Turbo Ramjets into consideration. The ' Turbo Ramjets ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Turbo Ramjets market globally, which starts from the definition of the Turbo Ramjets industry and develops towards Turbo Ramjets market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Turbo Ramjets market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Turbo Ramjets market. The geographical segmentation of the Turbo Ramjets industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Turbo Ramjets is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Turbo Ramjets market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Turbo Ramjets market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Turbo Ramjets market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Turbo Ramjets production volume, data regarding demand and Turbo Ramjets supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Turbo Ramjets such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Turbo Ramjets market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Turbo Ramjets across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Hand Trucks Market 2017 Harper Trucks, Magliner, Mighty Lift Are Key Players

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Global Hand Trucks Market 2017 report spread across 122 pages gives Market Segment Analysis by Key Manufacturers, Countries, Types and Applications. A hand truck, is an L-shaped box-moving handcart with handles at one end, wheels at the base, with a small ledge to set objects on, flat against the floor when the hand-truck is upright.Complete report is available atScope of the Report:This report focuses on the Global Hand Trucks market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: Harper Trucks, Magliner, Mighty Lift, B&P Manufacturing, BIL Group(1972), Breg Products Ltd, Fairbanks, Little Giant, Hamilton, Wesco, Milwaukee Hand Trucks, New Age Industrial, Vestil, Mack, Kanson Hand Truck, Qingdao Huatian Hand Truck Co., Ltd., Qingdao Taifa Group(1980), Qingdao Giant Industry&Trading, Qingdao Xinjiangyuan Power Technology, Qingdao Haodong Handtruck, Qingdao Ritian Metal Products, Qingdao Jiaxing Metal Products, QINGDAO RUIXIANG SPECIAL HAND TRUCKMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers: North America (USA, Canada and Mexico); Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy); Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia); South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.); Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers: Under 150 pound, 150-300 pound, 300-600 pound, 600-1,000 pound, Over 1,000 poundMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Transport stations, Retail, Households , OthersRequest for discount atThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Hand Trucks market.Chapter 1 to describe Hand Trucks Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2 to analyze the top manufacturers of Hand Trucks, with sales, revenue, and price of Hand Trucks, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3 to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4 to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Hand Trucks, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11 to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Order copy of report atChapter 12 Hand Trucks market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15 to describe Hand Trucks sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 95 leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets.Ritesh Tiwari,+ 1 888 391 5441sales@reportsandreports.com
Vapour Recovery Device Market 2017 Global Research On AEREON, Accel Compression Inc., Hy-Bon/EDI, John Zink Company, PSG Dover, Petrogas Systems

Vapour Recovery Device

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Vapour Recovery Device Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Vapour Recovery Device Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Vapour Recovery Device Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Vapour Recovery Device industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Vapour Recovery Device market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Vapour Recovery Device Research Report -AEREONAccel Compression Inc.Cimarron Energy Inc.Hy-Bon/EDIJohn Zink Company, LLC.PSG DoverPetrogas SystemsWhirlwind Methane Recovery Systems, LLCWintek CorporationThe report studies the industry for Vapour Recovery Device across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Vapour Recovery Device market & dynamics of demand and supply of Vapour Recovery Device into consideration. The ' Vapour Recovery Device ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Vapour Recovery Device market globally, which starts from the definition of the Vapour Recovery Device industry and develops towards Vapour Recovery Device market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Vapour Recovery Device market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Vapour Recovery Device market. The geographical segmentation of the Vapour Recovery Device industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Vapour Recovery Device is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Vapour Recovery Device market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Vapour Recovery Device market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Vapour Recovery Device market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Vapour Recovery Device production volume, data regarding demand and Vapour Recovery Device supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Vapour Recovery Device such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Vapour Recovery Device market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Vapour Recovery Device across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment Market 2017 Global Research On ABB Group, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell International

Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment

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Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment Research Report -ABB GroupRockwell Automation, Inc.Honeywell International, Inc.Schneider Electric SE.Yokogawa Electric CorporationSiemens AG.FMC Technologies, Inc.The report studies the industry for Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market & dynamics of demand and supply of Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment into consideration. The ' Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market globally, which starts from the definition of the Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment industry and develops towards Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market. The geographical segmentation of the Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment production volume, data regarding demand and Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Oil and Gas Terminal Automation Equipment across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Global Hospital Information Systems Market Drivers and Challenges Report 2022

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Global Hospital Information Systems Market Professional Survey Report 2017Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.This report on Global Hospital Information Systems market is a detailed research study that helps provides answers and pertinent questions with respect to the emerging trends and growth opportunities in this particular industry. It helps identify each of the prominent barriers to growth, apart from identifying the trends within various application segments of the global market for Global Hospital Information Systems. Collecting historical and recent data from various authentic resources, and depending on all the factors and trends, the report presents a figurative estimate of the future market condition, along with compound annual growth rate (CAGR).This report studies the Global Hospital Information Systems market, analyzes and researches the Global Hospital Information Systems development status and forecast in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Various key players are discussed in details and a well-informed idea of their popularity and strategies is mentioned.Get Sample Copy Of This Report:The study segments the market by geography into: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. It provides in-depth forecasts of revenue of the market as a whole as well as each and every application segment. The competitive landscape is mapped depending on product and technology. This study also offers an overview of pricing trends and ancillary factors that will be influencing pricing in the Global Hospital Information Systems market. The market study, estimation, and market sizing have been done utilizing a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches.Get 30% Discount on This Report at:Most important data include the key recommendations and predictions by our analysts, intended to steer a strategic business decision. The company profiles section of this research service is a compilation of the growth strategies, financial status, product portfolio, and recent developments of key market participants. The report provides detailed industry analysis of the Global Hospital Information Systems market with the help of proven research methodologies such as Porters five forces. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition.Table of Contents:Global Hospital Information Systems Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Hospital Information Systems1.1 Definition and Specifications of Hospital Information Systems1.1.1 Definition of Hospital Information Systems1.1.2 Specifications of Hospital Information Systems1.2 Classification of Hospital Information Systems1.2.1 HMIS1.2.2 HCIS1.2.3 GMIS1.3 Applications of Hospital Information Systems1.3.1 Information Service1.3.2 Payment1.3.3 Others1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Hospital Information Systems2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Hospital Information Systems2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Hospital Information Systems2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Hospital Information SystemsComplete Report Available At: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)
Card printer ribbons market Revenue Predicted To Go Up by 2025

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Card printer ribbons market: overviewCard printer ribbons are used for printing various cards including smart cards, identity card, payments cards, etc. and are used to print in the variety of colors such as yellow, magenta, cyan and black. By using these colors, it can create various realistic photo effects, and an overlay layer is added as a protective layer which eliminates the need of laminator. Card printer ribbons are used in various cards which are user-friendly, efficient, and realistic. Card printer ribbons are widely used in number of applications such as student ID cards, club membership cards, and transportation ID badges, national ID cards, employee ID badges and drivers licenses. In several cases, card printer ribbons are used on blank ID cards, but it can also be used on pre-printed ID cards.A sample of this report is available upon request @Card printer ribbons market: DynamicsThe key driving factors of global Card printer ribbons market are rapidly growing banking financial service insurance industry, high investment in technology printing machines industry along with rapidly increasing educational institutions. The macroeconomic factors responsible for the growth of the global card printer ribbons market are emerging economies such as Brazil, Argentina, India and China, the rapid rate of urbanization, changing lifestyle and per capita income. Another factor which drives the Card printer ribbons market across the globe is growing information technology industries, owing to a high demand of card access for authentication purpose. Increasing digitization and growing transport and logistics industry are the major driving factor of global ribbon cable market, attributed to technological advancement in card based solutions. Few factors such as mergers and acquisitions with domestic players and increasing distribution channels will help to grow card printer ribbons market across the globe. The key restraining factors which restricts global ribbon market is low-temperature resistance, owing to low concentration colorants polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and government taxes for manufacturing Card printer ribbons. The key trends of the card printer ribbons market are using to manufacture in high secure RFID (Radio Frequency Identity Cards) for students and employees across the globe.Card printer ribbons market: SegmentationCard printer ribbons market can be segmented by end-use industry type, product type, printing type, and region type globally. Card printer ribbons market can be segmented by end-use industry type as follow: Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Information Technology, Transportation & logistics, BFSI (Banking & Financial services Insurance), Education, Printing, Manufacturing, Aviation, Defense. Card printer ribbons market can be segmented on Product type as follow: Monochrome, Color. Card printer ribbons market can be segmented by printing type as follow: Single sided printing, Dual-sided printing.Card printer ribbons market: Regional OutlookBased on geographies, card printer ribbons market is segmented into seven regions; Western Europe, North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific except Japan and Middle East & Africa. Among above-mentioned regions, North America accounts a significant market share in Card printer ribbons market across the globe followed by Western Europe, owing to high technological advancement for security concerns in most of the industries. Asia Pacific is estimated to witness a high growth in Card printer ribbons market, owing to growing electronics manufacturing and increasing number of educational institutions in emerging countries like China, India. The Middle East and Africa is estimated to witness a positive growth due to a high demand of card printer ribbons in the retail industry. It is estimated that Malaysia will have high growth in card printer ribbons market, attributed to high investment by prominent market players for opening new business unit to focus printing industry in Asia Pacific region. Germany is estimated to witness a high growth in card printer ribbons in Western Europe due to a rapid increase of manufacturing and automotive industry. Due to technological innovation in card printer ribbons such as transparent hologram ribbon for protecting ID card surface, Japan is predicted to witness high growth rate in global card printer ribbons.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Few prominent players of the Card printer ribbons market as follows: Barcodes, Inc., ZIH Corp, Evolis, DataCard Corporation, Magicard Ltd, Laminex-ID Systems Singapore Pte Ltd, PREVOSYS (M) SDN BHD, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global N-Hexane Market is Projected to Register US$ 1856.7 Million by 2024

N-Hexane Market

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The global n-Hexane Market is anticipated to witness a Y-o-Y growth of more than 3% in 2016. Increasing population coupled along with shooting refined oil demand is expected to propel the demand for n-Hexane. As a special-purpose solvent, n-Hexane has applications across a diverse set of industries which is expected to boost demand of n-hexane.N-Hexane Market:Request to view Table of Content @Global n-Hexane market dynamicsDemand for n-Hexane, especially in developing region such Asia Pacific, is expected to boost the demand of the global n-Hexane market over the forecast period. Excellent properties of n-Hexane to remove odor and unwanted taste are expected to propel the demand of n-Hexane from the edible oil industry. n-Hexane has the ability to remove unwanted taste and odor and this is the precise reason that the demand for n-Hexane has increased in edible oil industry. However, the consumers from developed regions are shifting from refined oil to cold-pressed oil owing to its superior health benefits. Cold pressing is a natural way to produce oil which does not contain solvent residues, no preservatives with natural antioxidants. In addition, Isohexane, a hexane isomer is used as a substitute of n-Hexane in few oilseed extraction applications. Due to toxic nature of n-Hexane, it has been substituted by n-heptane in some pharmaceutical applications. This may retard the growth of the n-Hexane market.Global n-Hexane market forecastBased on application, oil extraction will continue to lead the market share, representing nearly 57% of total revenues in 2016. High demand for n-Hexane in oil extraction owing to its effectiveness and high yield is expected to propel the global n-Hexane Market. Polymerization is expected to reach more than 200KT in 2016. Oil Extraction, Pharmaceutical, and Polymerization will remain top 3 end-users in global n-Hexane Market.Grade wise, oil extraction followed by industrial will dominate the Global n-Hexane Market in 2016 and is anticipated to reach more than US$ 600 Mn in 2016. Demand for industrial grade n-Hexane is expected to reach closed to 560 KT in 2016.Sample of this report is available upon request @On the basis of the region, APAC has the largest market in n-Hexane market across the world. China recorded a dominant market share of more than 40% in 2015. Asia-Pacific is estimated to lead the market in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. Moderate growth is expected from the mature markets such as North America and Europe. Europe will witness sluggish growth owing to the gradual economic recovery. In addition, important players in the market have been shifting their production bases to Asia Pacific region in order to capitalize on scale economies. Rising environmental concerns in developed regions over the use of n-Hexane and its adverse impact on health and environment may inhibit the growth of the n-Hexane market. APAC is expected to drive the global n-Hexane market and is expected to register closed to 5% of volume CAGR over the forecast period 2016-2024.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @Global n-Hexane market: Key playersKey participant of global n-Hexane market are Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Sak Chaisidhi Company Limited, Liangxin petrochemical company, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Chevron Philips Chemicals LLC, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., , Royal Dutch Shell plc., Rompetrol Rafinare S.A, DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH, Dongying Liaoning Yufeng Chemical Co., Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Engine Mounts Market Overview by Type, Product, Regions, Application and Forecasts to 2022

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ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the 2017-2022 Engine Mounts Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications The report focuses on global major leading players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Engine Mounts in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , covering United States, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific , South America, Middle East and Africa. The major players in global and United States Engine Mounts market, including Trelleborgvibracoustic, Contitech, Hutchinson, Sumitomo Riko, Bridgestone, Boge Rubber & Plastics, Toyo-Rubber, Cooper Standard, Nissin, Yamashita Rubber, Tuopu, Luoshi, Faw Foundry, Pgi Far East, Hetian Automotive, Skf.Purchase This Report -And Get,Discount on Report Purchase -The On the basis of product, the Engine Mounts market is primarily split into Rigid Mounts, Resilient Mounts and Hydraulic Mounts. On the basis on the end users/applications, this report covers Passenger Car, Commercial Vehicle and Others.Get free sample copy of report atTable of Content1 Methodology and Data Source2 Engine Mounts Market Overview3 Engine Mounts Application/End Users4 Engine Mounts Market Status and Outlook by Regions5 Global Engine Mounts Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers6 United States Engine Mounts Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers7 Engine Mounts Players/Manufacturers Profiles and Sales Data7.1 Trelleborgvibracoustic7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.1.2 Engine Mounts Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Trelleborgvibracoustic Engine Mounts Sales (K Units) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Contitech7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.2.2 Engine Mounts Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Contitech Engine Mounts Sales (K Units) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Hutchinson7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.3.2 Engine Mounts Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Hutchinson Engine Mounts Sales (K Units) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Sumitomo Riko7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.4.2 Engine Mounts Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Sumitomo Riko Engine Mounts Sales (K Units) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Bridgestone7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.5.2 Engine Mounts Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Bridgestone Engine Mounts Sales (K Units) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Engine Mounts Manufacturing Cost, Industrial Chain and Downstream Buyers9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors and Market Effect Factors10 Global Engine Mounts Market Forecast11 Research Findings and ConclusionGet more information about Engine Mounts Market atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Machine Vision Systems Market - Global Application, Classification, Revenue, Growth Rate, Opportunities and Forecast 2017-2022

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ReportsWeb.com added Global Machine Vision Systems Market Research Report 2017 to its vast collection of research Database. The report is spread across 122 pages and supported by 22 company leaders.The Global Machine Vision Systems Market Research Report 2017is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Machine Vision Systems industry. In a word, This report studies Machine Vision Systems in Global market, especially in United States, EU, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer. Key companies included in this research are Allied Vision Technologies GmbH, ASENTICS GmbH & Co, Balluff GmbH, Basler AG, Baumer GmbH - Baumer Inspection GmbH, Bi-Ber GmbH & Co. Engineering KG, Bizerba GmbH & Co. KG, CMOSIS, ELTEC Elektronik AG, Stemmer Imaging Ltd., JAI A/S, Cognex Corporation, Toshiba Corporatio, Teledyne DALSA, Sony Corporation, Point Grey Research, Imperx, Hitachi Kokusai Electric, Menzel Vision & Robotics Pvt, Banner Engineering Corp, Cincinnati Automation Ltd and Navitar.Browse complete report @Market Segment by Region, this report splits Global into several key Region, with sales, revenue, market share and growth rate of Machine Vision Systems in these regions, from 2011 to 2022 (forecast), like United States, EU, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Firstly, Machine Vision Systems Market On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Vision Sensors, Smart Cameras and PC Based Systems. On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales) , market share and growth rate of Machine Vision Systems for each application, including Electronics and Semiconductor, Healthcare, Automotive, Food and Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Packaging, Printing and Others.Request for Sample @Major points from Table of Contents:1 Machine Vision Systems Market Overview2 Global Machine Vision Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Machine Vision Systems Production, Revenue (Value) by Regions (2012-2017)4 Global Machine Vision Systems Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2012-2017)5 Global Machine Vision Systems Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Types6 Global Machine Vision Systems Market Analysis by Applications7 Global Machine Vision Systems Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Allied Vision Technologies GmbH7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Machine Vision Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Allied Vision Technologies GmbH Machine Vision Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 ASENTICS GmbH & Co7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Machine Vision Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 ASENTICS GmbH & Co Machine Vision Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Balluff GmbH7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Machine Vision Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Balluff GmbH Machine Vision Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Machine Vision Systems Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Machine Vision Systems Market Forecast (2017-2022)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Machine Vision SystemsFigure Global Machine Vision Systems Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of Vision SensorsTable Major Manufacturers of Vision SensorsFigure Product Picture of Smart CamerasTable Major Manufacturers of Smart CamerasFigure Product Picture of PC Based SystemsTable Major Manufacturers of PC Based SystemsFigure Global Machine Vision Systems Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Electronics and Semiconductor ExamplesFigure Healthcare ExamplesFigure Automotive ExamplesFigure Food and Beverage ExamplesFigure Pharmaceuticals ExamplesFigure Packaging ExamplesFigure Printing ExamplesFigure Others ExamplesFigure Global Machine Vision Systems Market Size (Million USD) , Comparison (K Units) and CAGR (%) by Regions (2012-2022)Figure United States Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure EU Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure South Korea Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Taiwan Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Capacity, Production (K Units) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Major Players Product Capacity (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Machine Vision Systems Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Machine Vision Systems Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2016Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2017Figure Global Machine Vision Systems Major Players Product Production (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Machine Vision Systems Production (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Machine Vision Systems Production Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure 2016 Machine Vision Systems Production Share by ManufacturersFigure 2017 Machine Vision Systems Production Share by ManufacturersFigure Global Machine Vision Systems Major Players Product Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017)Table Global Machine Vision Systems Revenue (Million USD) by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Machine Vision Systems Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table 2016 Global Machine Vision Systems Revenue Share by ManufacturersTable 2017 Global Machine Vision Systems Revenue Share by ManufacturersTable Global Market Machine Vision Systems Average Price (USD/Unit) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Place a Direct Purchase Order of Complete Report @ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global N Methyl 2 Pyrrolidone Market Poised to Hit at a CAGR of 5.4% by 2020

N Methyl 2 Pyrrolidone Market

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The global N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) market is expected to observe modest growth over a five-year forecast period, 2015-2020. Expanding at a 5.4% of CAGR during the assessed period, the global NMP market will possibly attain the revenues of US$ 985.3 Mn by 2020 end.Sample of this report is available upon request @N Methyl 2 Pyrrolidone Market:The market for NMP in developing Asian countries will be primarily driven by increasing urbanization and industrialization, coupled with rampantly evolving infrastructure development realm. Attributed to its chemical properties, such as higher flame point and lower volatility, N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone finds various applications several end-use industries. This will remain a key factor driving the demand on a global level. Industrial applications in a sweeping range of verticals, including electronics, pharmaceuticals, petrochemical, agrochemical, paints and coatings, and industrial cleaning will also continue to drive the market for N-Methylpyrrolidone over the next few years.The flourishing consumer electronics sector is likely to generate substantial demand for NMP. With soaring demand for electronics production, the consumption of N-Methylpyrrolidone will also witness a significant hike. Moreover, increasing demand for agrochemicals is expected to elevate the revenue sales in the next few years. Another industrial sector estimated to support the growth of the global N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone market is pharmaceuticals. Growing market in Asia Pacific are expected to play a vital role in boosting the demand throughout the forecast period, eventually fostering the market for NMP globally.Stringent regulations regarding usage of N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone may remain a long-term restraint to market growth. Moreover, the market has been experiencing a rapid setback in certain verticals, such as paints and coatings, and industrial cleaning. This can also be a major limiting factor impacting the market growth by 2020 end.By application, the electronics application segment is expected to remain dominant over other segments, including agrochemicals, petrochemical processing, industrial cleaners, pharmaceuticals, paints and coatings, and others. Electronics application segment will possibly capture around 23% share of the entire market revenues in 2020, witnessing an optimistic CAGR of 6.7% during 2015-2020. Pharmaceuticals will continue to be the second largest application segment that was evaluated at US$ 122.7 Mn in 2015. This segment is anticipated to demonstrate a moderate CAGR of 6.3% by 2020 end, accounting for nearly 15% market value share.Request to view Table of Content @According to Persistence Market Researchs regional analysis, Asia Pacific is foreseen to remain the global leader with over 36% share of the market revenues in 2016. This growth is predominantly attributed to lower production costs in Asian countries. The second largest regional market, North America, will contribute around 30% share to the market in 2016.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @A few key market players include LyondellBasell Industries N.V., BASF SE, Ashland Inc., Abtonsmart Chemical (Group) Co. Ltd., and Shandong Qingyun Changxin Chemical Science-Tech Co., Ltd. A few other notable companies competing in the N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone marketplace are Zhejiang Realsun Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Hefei TNJ Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Puyang Guangming Chemicals Co., Ltd., and Balaji Amines Limited.Long-term Outlook: The global N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone market is likely to reach a value of US$ 985.3 Mn by the end of the forecast period, 2015-2020.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Biogas Market Share, Trend, Demand and Key Manufacturers Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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ReportsWeb.com added Global Biogas Market Research Report 2017 to its vast collection of research Database. The report is spread across 117 pages and supported by 11 company leaders.The Global Biogas Market Research Report 2017is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Biogas industry. In a word, This report studies Biogas in Global market, especially in United States, EU, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer. Key companies included in this research are Air Liquide, Wartsila, EnviTech Biogas, Asia Biogas, SCANDINAVIAN BIOGAS FUELS, Schmack BiogasSwedish Biogas, PlanET Biogas, S.P.Renewable Energy Source, Agrinz Technologies and Greenlane Biogas.Browse complete report @Market Segment by Region, this report splits Global into several key Region, with sales, revenue, market share and growth rate of Biogas in these regions, from 2011 to 2022 (forecast), like United States, EU, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Firstly, Biogas Market On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Agriculture Source, Municipal Source and Industrial and Other Source. On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales) , market share and growth rate of Biogas for each application, including, Electricity, Heat and Vehicle Fuel and Others.Request for Sample @Major points from Table of Contents:1 Biogas Market Overview2 Global Biogas Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Biogas Production, Revenue (Value) by Regions (2012-2017)4 Global Biogas Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2012-2017)5 Global Biogas Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Types6 Global Biogas Market Analysis by Applications7 Global Biogas Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Air Liquide7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Biogas Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Air Liquide Biogas Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Wartsila7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Biogas Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Wartsila Biogas Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 EnviTech Biogas7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Biogas Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 EnviTech Biogas Biogas Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Biogas Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Biogas Market Forecast (2017-2022)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of BiogasFigure Global Biogas Production (K m3) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Biogas Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of Agriculture SourceTable Major Manufacturers of Agriculture SourceFigure Product Picture of Municipal SourceTable Major Manufacturers of Municipal SourceFigure Product Picture of Industrial and Other SourceTable Major Manufacturers of Industrial and Other SourceFigure Global Biogas Consumption (K m3) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global Biogas Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Electricity ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in ElectricityFigure Heat ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in HeatFigure Vehicle Fuel and Others ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Vehicle Fuel and OthersFigure Global Biogas Market Size (Million USD) , Comparison (K m3) and CAGR (%) by Regions (2012-2022)Figure North America Biogas Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Biogas Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Biogas Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Biogas Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Biogas Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure India Biogas Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Biogas Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Biogas Capacity, Production (K m3) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Biogas Major Players Product Capacity (K m3) (2012-2017)Table Global Biogas Capacity (K m3) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Biogas Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure Global Biogas Capacity (K m3) of Key Manufacturers in 2016Figure Global Biogas Capacity (K m3) of Key Manufacturers in 2017Figure Global Biogas Major Players Product Production (K m3) (2012-2017)Table Global Biogas Production (K m3) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Biogas Production Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure 2016 Biogas Production Share by ManufacturersFigure 2017 Biogas Production Share by ManufacturersFigure Global Biogas Major Players Product Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017)Table Global Biogas Revenue (Million USD) by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Biogas Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table 2016 Global Biogas Revenue Share by ManufacturersTable 2017 Global Biogas Revenue Share by ManufacturersTable Global Market Biogas Average Price (USD/m3) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Place a Direct Purchase Order of Complete Report @ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Automotive Fasteners Market Size Worldwide Industry Growth, Share, Trends, Statistics, Opportunities & Forecast up to 2022

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Global Automotive Fasteners Industry Report offers market overview, segmentation by types, application, countries, key manufactures, cost analysis, industrial chain, sourcing strategy, downstream buyers, marketing strategy analysis, distributors/traders, factors affecting market, forecast and other important information for key insight.Automotive fasteners are a collection of products that are used in automotive and vehicle assembly. They are usually designed for specific models of vehicles.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Automotive Fasteners in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request a Sample Copy of Global Automotive Fasteners Market Research Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, Global Automotive Fasteners Market report covers Such as Araymond, ITW, KAMAX, STANLEY, Aoyama Seisakusho, Meidoh, LISI, NORMA, Nifco, Meira, ZF TRW, Precision CastpartsCorp, Topura, Chunyu, Boltun, Fontana, Sundram Fasteners, SFS intec, Samjin, Keller & Kalmbach, Piolax, B?llhoff, EJOT Group, GEM-YEAR, RUIBIAO, Shenzhen AERO Fasteners, Dongfeng Auto Fasteners, Chongqing Standard Fasteners, Changshu Standard Parts.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)Latin America, Middle East and Africa.Market Segment by Type, covers are Threaded Fasteners, Non-threaded Fasteners.Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Automotive OEM & Aftermarket.Enquire about this report @There are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Automotive Fasteners market.Chapter 1, to describe Automotive Fasteners Market Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Automotive Fasteners, with sales, revenue, and price of Automotive Fasteners, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 4, to show the global Automotive Fasteners Market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Automotive Fasteners, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the Automotive Fasteners Market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 11, Automotive Fasteners market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 12 and 13, to describe Automotive Fasteners sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.List of Tables and FiguresFigure Automotive Fasteners PictureFigure Fasteners in Different Parts of AutomotiveFigure Global Sales Market Share of Automotive Fasteners by Types in 2015Table Classification of Automotive FastenersFigure Threaded Fasteners PictureFigure Non-Threaded Fasteners PictureTable Automotive Fasteners Sales Market Share by Applications in 2015Table Applications of Automotive FastenersFigure Automotive OEM PictureFigure Automotive Aftermarket PictureFigure USA Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Canada Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Mexico Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Germany Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure France Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016) 8Figure UK Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Russia Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Italy Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure China Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Japan Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Korea Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure India Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Southeast Asia Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Brazil Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Iran Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Argentina Automotive Fasteners Market Size (Volume) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)For more information about Global Automotive Fasteners Market Report @Related Reports: -World Automotive Fasteners Market by Product Type, Market, Players and Regions-Forecast to 2021Automotive Fasteners market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability. The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:News:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Renewable Aviation Fuel Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast Report To 2017

Renewable Aviation Fuel Market

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New Market Research Reports Title "Global Renewable Aviation Fuel Market Professional Survey Report 2017" Has Been Added to QY Research Groups Report database.The write about "Worldwide Renewable Aviation Fuel Market" is an expert report which provides careful learning alongside total data relating to the Renewable Aviation Fuel industry a propos orders, definitions, applications, industry chain outline, industry arrangements notwithstanding plans, item particulars, fabricating forms, cost structures, and so forth.The Global Renewable Aviation Fuel Market Research Report 2017 renders profound impression of the key provincial market status of the Renewable Aviation Fuel Industry on a worldwide level that essentially points the center areas which includes landmasses like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key nations, for example, United States, Germany, China and Japan.For Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit:The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of Renewable Aviation Fuel Market on a regional as well as global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment.Furthermore, the report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of Renewable Aviation Fuel Market. Amyris LanzaTech General Biomass SGB UOP Neste TOTAL Byogy Sundrop Fuels AltAir Fuels BP Chevron Aemetis REG Synthetic Fuels Gevo Terrabon Envergent Solazyme INEOS DONG EnergyTo Browse the Entire Report, Visit:The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Renewable Aviation Fuel industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations. The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the Renewable Aviation Fuel industry in the global markets.Every regions market has been studied thoroughly in this report which deals with the precise information pertaining to the Marketing Channels and novel project investments so that the new entrants as well as the established market players conduct intricate research of trends and analysis in these regional markets. Acknowledging the status of the environment and products up gradation, the market report foretells each and every detail.By types, the market can be split intoAlgal BiofuelPlant BiofuelOthersBy Application, the market can be split intoCommercialDefenseSo as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the global Renewable Aviation Fuel Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Renewable Aviation Fuel8.1 Amyris8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Amyris 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Amyris 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 LanzaTech8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 LanzaTech 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 LanzaTech 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 General Biomass8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 General Biomass 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 General Biomass 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 SGB8.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.2.1 Product A8.4.2.2 Product B8.4.3 SGB 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 SGB 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 UOP8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.2.1 Product A8.5.2.2 Product B8.5.3 UOP 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 UOP 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 Neste8.6.1 Company Profile8.6.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.6.2.1 Product A8.6.2.2 Product B8.6.3 Neste 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.6.4 Neste 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.7 TOTAL8.7.1 Company Profile8.7.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.7.2.1 Product A8.7.2.2 Product B8.7.3 TOTAL 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.7.4 TOTAL 2016 Renewable Aviation Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.8 ByogyEnquiry before Buying @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Email- sales@qyresearchgroups.comWeb-
Renewable Fuel 2017 Global Market Key Players  Neste Oil, REG, Cargill, Darling Ingredients Inc  Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Renewable Fuel Market

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New Market Research Reports Title "Global Renewable Fuel Market Professional Survey Report 2017" Has Been Added to QY Research Groups Report database.The Global Renewable Fuel Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Renewable Fuel Industry on a global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.The write about "Worldwide Renewable Fuel Market" is an expert report which provides careful learning alongside total data relating to the Renewable Fuel industry a propos orders, definitions, applications, industry chain outline, industry arrangements notwithstanding plans, item particulars, fabricating forms, cost structures, and so forth.For Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit:The capability of this industry section has been thoroughly explored in conjunction with essential market challenges. The present economic situation and future prospects of the portion has additionally been analyzed. Moreover, key strategies in the market that incorporates item advancements, organizations, mergers and acquisitions, and so on., are talked about. Furthermore, upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream request investigation is likewise led.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of Renewable Fuel Market on a regional as well as global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment. Furthermore, the report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of Renewable Fuel Market. Neste Oil REG Cargill Darling Ingredients Inc ECO Erneuerbare Energien GmbH Renewable Biofuels, Inc Archer Daniels Midland Louis Dreyfus Commodities Delta Fuel Company Pacific Biodiesel HERO BX Ag Processing Inc Baker Commodities Los Angeles Bay Biodiesel, LLC Biodico, Inc Community Fuels Simple Fuels Biodiesel, Inc. Crimson Renewable Energy, LP GeoGreen Biofuels, Inc. Imperial Western Products New Leaf Biofuel, LLC Agron Bioenergy Global Alternative Fuels Enviva Georgia Biomass New England Wood Pellets Billington Bioenergy Canadian BiofuelTo Browse the Entire Report, Visit:The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Renewable Fuel industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations. The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the Renewable Fuel industry in the global markets.By types, the market can be split intoBiofuelHydrogen FuelProcessed Engineered FuelBy Application, the market can be split intoTransportationIndustiralOtherSo as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the global Renewable Fuel Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-Global Renewable Fuel Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Renewable Fuel1.1 Definition and Specifications of Renewable Fuel1.1.1 Definition of Renewable Fuel1.1.2 Specifications of Renewable Fuel1.2 Classification of Renewable Fuel1.2.1 Biofuel1.2.2 Hydrogen Fuel8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Renewable Fuel8.1 Neste Oil8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Neste Oil 2016 Renewable Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Neste Oil 2016 Renewable Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 REG8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 REG 2016 Renewable Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 REG 2016 Renewable Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 Cargill8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 Cargill 2016 Renewable Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 Cargill 2016 Renewable Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 Darling Ingredients Inc8.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.2.1 Product A8.4.2.2 Product B8.4.3 Darling Ingredients Inc 2016 Renewable Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 Darling Ingredients Inc 2016 Renewable Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 ECO Erneuerbare Energien GmbH8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.2.1 Product A8.5.2.2 Product B8.5.3 ECO Erneuerbare Energien GmbH 2016 Renewable Fuel Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 ECO Erneuerbare Energien GmbH 2016 Renewable Fuel Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 Renewable Biofuels, Inc8.6.1 Company ProfileEnquiry before Buying @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Email- sales@qyresearchgroups.comWeb-
What is the current overview of Riot Control Equipment Market?

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Global Riot Control Equipment Sales Market Report 2017 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The latest intelligence on the Riot Control Equipment market is available in the Global Riot Control Equipment Market Research report. This report is a culmination of the key events from last decade to present day, and helps to formulate the best strategy catered to both established market players and new entrants.A birds eye view of the Riot Control Equipment industry made available in the report helps readers to understand the key drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities that are shaping the Global Riot Control Equipment Market. Furthermore, the report evaluates challenges experienced from buyers and sellers side. The report offers advice from key industry experts on how these challenges can be overcome.A major chunk of the report talks about the technologies that are and will influence the growth of the Riot Control Equipment Market. Forecasts for these technology sectors are presented in the report. Integration is the key to advancement in technology in the Global Riot Control Equipment Market. Companies that offers the latest integrated technologies at an affordable cost are expected to thrive in the Riot Control Equipment Market. The dominating technologies in the Riot Control Equipment Market along with the upcoming technologies that are expected to revolutionize the market are explained in the report.Get Sample copy of this Report:The report also elaborates on the opportunities the emerging markets of Asia Pacific and Latin America offer. Furthermore, the cost of raw materials in these nations is low, while the availability is high. This has turned the heads of several major international companies to the emerging countries of Asia Pacific.The key companies operating in the Riot Control Equipment Market along with their revenues, market size, key business strategy, key technology strategy, and recent developments is mentioned in the report. In addition to this, valuable recommendations on the opportunities players in the market can tap on is presented in the report. This will help clients to gain a competitive edge in the Riot Control Equipment Market.Get 30% Discount on This Report at:In addition, this research is categorized differently considering the various aspects of this market. It also evaluates the current situation and the future of the market by using the forecast horizon. The forecast is analyzed based on the volume and revenue of this market. The tools used for analyzing the Riot Control Equipment Market research report include the porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis.Enquiry before Buying:Complete report available at: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)
Global Breathable Membranes Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand forecast to 2023

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The global breathable membranes market is expected to grow at a considerable rate during the forecast period (2017-2023) due to increasing focus on water-proofing the buildings in a cost-effective way thereby, safeguarding building materials from getting eroded by water vapors. The stringent government norms on minimizing the energy consumption of buildings is expected to create huge demand opportunities in the global breathable membranes market during the forecast period.To Browse Full Report Visit Here:Breathable membranes are resistant to water and permeable to air and are used within external wall and roof constructions, where external layers are not completely water-tight or moisture resistance such as tiled roofs or framed wall constructions and may have driven snow, wind, or contaminants. This avoids the build-up of interstitial condensation thereby, allowing the roof to breathe and neutralizing the need for traditional ventilations.The demand for breathable membranes is forecasted to grow during the forecast period due to rapid growth in the global construction industry, increasing government initiatives over the safeguarding of construction and rising awareness about the safety. The global breathable membranes market is categorized on the basis of raw materials, end use and region.Browse For Related Research Visit Here:Based on the raw material, the breathable membranes market can be segmented into polyethylene and polypropylene. Polyethylene (PE) based breathable membrane is expected to contribute significantly to the global breathable membranes market during the forecast period on account of the excellent properties such as resistance to prolonged UV radiation and water, and increasing demand in the pitched roof applications.Based on region, the global breathable membranes market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and the Middle East and Africa. Western Europe is expected to dominate the global breathable membranes market due to increasing demand for high-quality products with superior prolonged UV resistance property and airtightness characteristics, rising population and huge demand in timber frame construction industry. Asia-Pacific excluding Japan is likely to witness significant growth in the global breathable membranes market on account of the rapid rate of urbanization.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:KundanManager  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Vehicle Insurance Box Market - AIPU & CAMMUS

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The market study on Global Vehicle Insurance Box Market 2017 Research Report studies current as well as future aspects of the Vehicle Insurance Box Market primarily based upon factors on which the companies compete in the market, key trends and segmentation analysis. This report covers each side of the worldwide market, ranging from the fundamental market info and advancing more to varied important criteria, based on that, the Vehicle Insurance Box market is segmented. Vehicle Insurance Box industry research report analyzes, tracks, and presents the global market size of the major players in every region around the world. Furthermore, the report provides data of the leading market players in the Vehicle Insurance Box market.Request for FREE Sample Report @The Global Vehicle Insurance Box Market report has Forecasted Compound Annual rate of growth (CAGR) differently price for explicit amount, which will facilitate user to require decision supported futuristic chart. Report additionally includes key players in world Vehicle Insurance Box market. The Vehicle Insurance Box market size is estimated in terms of revenue (US$) and production volume during this report.The study world Vehicle Insurance Box Industry Research Report 2017 may be a elaborate report scrutinising statistical knowledge concerning the worldwide market. moreover, the factors on that the companies contend within the market are evaluated within the report. The report offers an in depth outline of the key segments at intervals the market. Analysis additionally covers upstream raw materials, equipment, downstream client survey, selling channels, industry development trend and proposals.The Vehicle Insurance Box report offers a close summary of the key segments within the market. The quickest & slowest growing market segments ar lined during this report. This analysis report covers the expansion prospects of the worldwide market based on end-users. It outlines the market shares of key regions in prime countries, it also includes analysis of the leading vendors during this market.Inquiry For Buying Here @In the end, the report includes Vehicle Insurance Box new project SWOT analysis, investment practicableness analysis, investment come analysis, and development trend analysis. The key rising opportunities of the fastest growing international Vehicle Insurance Box market segments are coated throughout this report. This report additionally presents product specification, producing method, and products cost structure. Production is separated by regions, technology and applications.MarketNReports.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803
Robot Drives Market 2017 Trend, Analysis and Forecast to 2021

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Industrial robots have emerged as game changers in the industrial automation sector during the recent years. End-users that were reluctant to adopt automation in their facilities have realized the long-term benefits associated with industrial robots; therefore, many end-users are undergoing a transition to implement robots across various applications. It has been predicted that the revenue of the industrial robotics market will grow at a CAGR of 7.66% during the forecast period. The rising scope of industrial robotic implementation across end-user applications has subsequently generated demand for servo-electric drives for controlling the movement of robots. With industrial robots being increasingly deployed for welding, painting, material handling, and assembling processes, the market for servo drives is expected to exhibit growth during the forecast period.Publisher's analysts forecast the global robot drives market to grow at a CAGR of 7.76% during the period 2017-2021.For more information about this report:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global robot drives market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of robot drives.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAPublisher's report, Global Robot Drives Market 2017-2021, 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- Bosch Rexroth- Ingenia Motion Control- Robotics & Drives- YASKAWA Electric CorporationRequest Sample Copy atOther prominent vendors- ABB- Bass-Antriebstechnik- Beijing Leader & Harvest Elecric Technologies- Danfoss- DENSO Robotics- Emerson Electric- Fanuc- Harmonic Drive- Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems- Kollmorgen- Micro-Motor- ROBOTEC Engineering- Rockwell Automation- Schneider Electric- SeimensMarket driver- Rise in number of SMEs investing in automation- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Emergence of low-cost product manufacturers- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Adoption of customized robots- For a full, detailed list, view our reportInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Sterile Tubes Market 2017- Biosigma , Capp , Copan Italia, Gosselin , Nuova Aptaca , PRO Scientific

Global Sterile Tubes Market 2017

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The Global Sterile Tubes Market 2017 examines the performance of the Sterile Tubes market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Sterile Tubes market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Sterile Tubes market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Sterile Tubes Market 2017 report includes Sterile Tubes industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Sterile Tubes Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Sterile Tubes Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Sterile Tubes Market 2017:1 Biosigma2 Capp3 Copan Italia4 Gosselin5 Nuova Aptaca6 PRO Scientific7 AHN Biotechnologie8 Asynt9 BioCision10 BioSamplingSterile Tubes Market Analysis: By ProductRounding Bottom Sterile TubesConic Bottom Sterile TubesSterile Tubes Market Analysis: By ApplicationScientific ResearchMedical UseOtherAt the beginning, the report covers the top Sterile Tubes manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Sterile Tubes report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Sterile Tubes industry, Sterile Tubes industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Sterile Tubes Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Sterile Tubes research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Sterile Tubes market revenue worldwide.Finally, Sterile Tubes market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.Contact Us:James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Near Navale Lawns, PuneMaharashtra, India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest News-
Global Solar Hybrid Inverter Market To Grow At A CAGR Of 9.05% During The Period 2017-2021

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Solar Hybrid Inverter Market 2017-2021" to its huge collection of research reports.Solar hybrid inverters apart from converting direct current to alternate current can also store excess power while working in tandem with batteries. This type of inverters solves the issues related to renewable energy variability and unreliable grid structures.Technavios analysts forecast the global solar hybrid inverter market to grow at a CAGR of 9.05% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global solar hybrid inverter market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the new installations and exclude replacement/aftermarket sales.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Technavio's report, Global Solar Hybrid Inverter Market 2017-2021, 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 vendorsFlin EnergyLuminous IndiaMicrotek InvertersSchneider ElectricSu-Kam Power SystemsOther prominent vendorsDelta Energy SystemsEAST GroupKACO new energyPure VoltTABUCHI ELECTRICSHANGHAI SUNVIS NEW ENERGYVoltronic Power TechnologySOLAX POWERSolarEdge TechnologiesRedback TechnologiesGrowatt New Energy TechnologyGoodWe (Jiangsu) Power Supply TechnologyLavancha Renewable EnergyMarket driverRise in solar energy installationsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeTechnical problems associated with solar PV componentsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendRise in adoption of hybrid power systems in telecom towersFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 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?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 @
Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2017

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Aviation IoT for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Aviation IoT sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingIBMCisco SystemsMicrosoftWind RiverAccentureAppleLiving PlanITSitaonairOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPassengers Aviation IoTAircraft Operations Aviation IoTOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Aviation IoT for each application, includinMilitaryCivilianTable of ContentsAsia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Report 20171 Aviation IoT Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Aviation IoT1.2 Classification of Aviation IoT by Product Category1.2.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Passengers Aviation IoT1.2.4 Aircraft Operations Aviation IoT1.2.5 Other1.3 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2012-2022)1.3.2 Military1.3.3 Civilian1.4 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market by Region1.4.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 South Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.8 Australia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Asia-Pacific Market Size (Value and Volume) of Aviation IoT (2012-2022)1.5.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT (Volume) by Application2.4 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT (Volume and Value) by Region2.4.1 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.2 Asia-Pacific Aviation IoT Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3 China Aviation IoT (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 China Aviation IoT Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 China Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 China Aviation IoT Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 China Aviation IoT Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 China Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.3 China Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Application4 Japan Aviation IoT (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 Japan Aviation IoT Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 Japan Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 Japan Aviation IoT Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 Japan Aviation IoT Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 Japan Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Type4.3 Japan Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Application5 South Korea Aviation IoT (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 South Korea Aviation IoT Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 South Korea Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 South Korea Aviation IoT Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.3 South Korea Aviation IoT Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)5.2 South Korea Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Type5.3 South Korea Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Application6 Taiwan Aviation IoT (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Taiwan Aviation IoT Sales and Value (2012-2017)6.1.1 Taiwan Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.2 Taiwan Aviation IoT Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.3 Taiwan Aviation IoT Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)6.2 Taiwan Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by Type6.3 Taiwan Aviation IoT Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationMake 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 @
United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021 | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Hadoop & Big Data Analytics market, analyzes and researches the Hadoop & Big Data Analytics development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeGoogleFacebookIBMLinkedinOracleNetflixAlibabaTecentAirbnbHuaweiBaiduAmazonMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Market segment by Type, Hadoop & Big Data Analytics can be split intoHadoop packaged softwareHadoop management softwareHadoop application softwareHadoop performance monitoring softwareMarket segment by Application, Hadoop & Big Data Analytics can be split intoBanking & FinanceTelecommunicationWebRetailOthersTable of ContentsUnited States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size, Status and Forecast 20211 Industry Overview of Hadoop & Big Data Analytics1.1 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Overview1.1.1 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market by Type1.3.1 Hadoop packaged software1.3.2 Hadoop management software1.3.3 Hadoop application software1.3.4 Hadoop performance monitoring software1.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Banking & Finance1.4.2 Telecommunication1.4.3 Web1.4.4 Retail1.4.5 Others2 Global Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics 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 Google3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Facebook3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 IBM3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Linkedin3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Oracle3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Netflix3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Alibaba3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Tecent3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Airbnb3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Huawei3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Baidu3.12 Amazon4 Global Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size by Type and Application (2011-2016)4.1 Global Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size by Type (2011-2016)4.2 Global Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size by Application (2011-2016)4.3 Potential Application of Hadoop & Big Data Analytics in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Hadoop & Big Data Analytics5 United States Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size (2011-2016)5.2 United States Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)6 EU Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size (2011-2016)6.2 EU Hadoop & Big Data Analytics Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)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 @
Global Medical Nutrition Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Medical Nutrition Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Medical Nutrition market, analyzes and researches the Medical Nutrition development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeAbbott NutritionBaxter InternationalMead Johnson NutritionDanoneNestleNutricia...Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Market segment by Type, Medical Nutrition can be split intoEnteral NutritionParenteral NutritionMarket segment by Application, Medical Nutrition can be split intoInfantThe AgedPeople with MalnutritionOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Medical Nutrition Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Medical Nutrition1.1 Medical Nutrition Market Overview1.1.1 Medical Nutrition Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Medical Nutrition Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Medical Nutrition Market by Type1.3.1 Enteral Nutrition1.3.2 Parenteral Nutrition1.4 Medical Nutrition Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Infant1.4.2 The Aged1.4.3 People with Malnutrition1.4.4 Other2 Global Medical Nutrition Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Medical Nutrition Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)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 Abbott Nutrition3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Medical Nutrition Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Baxter International3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Medical Nutrition Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Mead Johnson Nutrition3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Medical Nutrition Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Danone3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Medical Nutrition Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Nestle3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Medical Nutrition Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Nutricia3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Medical Nutrition Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments4 Global Medical Nutrition Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global Medical Nutrition Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global Medical Nutrition Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of Medical Nutrition in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Medical Nutrition5 United States Medical Nutrition Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Medical Nutrition Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States Medical Nutrition Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)6 EU Medical Nutrition Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Medical Nutrition Market Size (2012-2017)6.2 EU Medical Nutrition Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)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 @
Beer Market in Latin America & Middle East Driven by Increasing Disposable Incomes of consumers & rapid industrialization

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Transparency Market Research (TMR) has announced the addition of a new market study on the beer market in Latin America and the Middle East. The report is titled Beer Market - Latin America and Middle-East Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2021. According to the report, the Middle East beer market is expected to grow from US$3.58 bn in 2014 to US$4.86 bn by 2021, expanding at a CAGR of 4.3% between 2015 and 2021. In terms of volume, the Middle East beer market is projected to expand at a 2.1% CAGR from 2015 to 2021, rising from 1,044.3 mn liters to 1,209.4 million liters by 2021Obtain Report Details @According to the report, the Latin America beer market, which was valued at US$57.09 bn in 2014 is projected to reach US$77.14 bn by 2021, registering a CAGR of 4.4% between 2015 and 2021. In terms of volume, the Latin America beer market is anticipated to grow from 20,191.6 mn liters in 2014 to 24,847.9 mn liters by 2021, expanding at a 3.1% CAGR from 2014 to 2021.After tea and water, beer is the most popular drink consumed across the globe. Beer is categorized into non-alcoholic, dark, lager, and stout beer. Beer is produced by the saccharification of starch and sugar fermentation. Beers are almost always flavored with hops, which give it a bitter taste. Beers also come in other different flavors such as fruits and herbs. The main ingredients used in the preparation of beer include malted barley, wheat, water, brewers yeast, and hops for the flavor.The beer market is expanding due to the rise in awareness among consumers about the health benefits of beer. The consumption of beer has proven to be beneficial for the prevention of coronary diseases. Beer is low in both cholesterol and fat content, making it safe for consumption and also preventing high cholesterol. Rising disposable incomes and rapid urbanization are also responsible for driving the beer market. The changing lifestyles of people, especially the youth, is escalating the demand for beer. On the other hand, the beer market is restrained by the bitter taste of most products, which discourages people from consumption.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The beer market is segmented on the basis of geography into two regions  Latin America and the Middle East. In Latin America, Brazil accounted for a share of 60% and was the largest market for beer in 2014. The reason behind the extreme growth was due to the absence of stringent rules and regulations as well as the suitable climatic conditions of the region. The Middle East exhibits a budding market especially for non-alcoholic beers. The UAE and Egypt, in the Middle East collectively accounted for the largest market share of 40.62% in 2014 in the beer market. The existence of strict government rules and regulations in the region restricts consumers from drinking alcoholic beer, and thus non-alcoholic beer is more in demand.The report profiles key players in the beer market for the purpose of the study. Beer companies such as Heineken N.V, SABMiller Plc., Carlsberg Group, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and AmBev S.A., have been studied in detail.The report segments the beer market as follows:ProductDark beerLager beerNon-alcoholic beerStout beerGeography:Latin AmericaMiddle EastAbout 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Pharma Pellets Sales Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2021

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Pharma Pellets Sales Market Report 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies sales (consumption) of Pharma Pellets in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringEisaiTakedaTevaActavisSun PharmaceuticalMylanSandozAurobindoDr. ReddysHanmi PharmWockhardtZydus PharmaceuticalsNang KuangBright FutureEthypharm?Harbin Pharmaceutical GroupMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Pharma Pellets in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType IType IIType IIISplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Pharma Pellets in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of ContentsGlobal Pharma Pellets Sales Market Report 20211 Pharma Pellets Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Pharma Pellets1.2 Classification of Pharma Pellets1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.2.3 Type III1.3 Applications of Pharma Pellets1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.4 Pharma Pellets Market by Regions1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Pharma Pellets (2011-2021)1.5.1 Global Pharma Pellets Sales, Revenue and Price (2011-2021)1.5.2 Global Pharma Pellets Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.5.3 Global Pharma Pellets Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)2 Global Pharma Pellets Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global Pharma Pellets Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.1.2 Global Pharma Pellets Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Pharma Pellets (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2021)2.2.2 Global Pharma Pellets Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2021)2.3 Global Pharma Pellets (Volume and Value) by Regions2.3.1 Global Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Regions (2011-2021)2.3.2 Global Pharma Pellets Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2011-2021)2.4 Global Pharma Pellets (Volume) by Application3 North America Pharma Pellets (Volume, Value and Sales Price3.1 North America Pharma Pellets Sales and Value (2011-2021)3.1.1 North America Pharma Pellets Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)3.1.2 North America Pharma Pellets Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)3.1.3 North America Pharma Pellets Sales Price Trend (2011-2021)3.2 North America Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers3.3 North America Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Type3.4 North America Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Applications4 China Pharma Pellets (Volume, Value and Sales Price4.1 China Pharma Pellets Sales and Value (2011-2021)4.1.1 China Pharma Pellets Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)4.1.2 China Pharma Pellets Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)4.1.3 China Pharma Pellets Sales Price Trend (2011-2021)4.2 China Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers4.3 China Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Type4.4 China Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Applications5 Europe Pharma Pellets (Volume, Value and Sales Price5.1 Europe Pharma Pellets Sales and Value (2011-2021)5.1.1 Europe Pharma Pellets Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)5.1.2 Europe Pharma Pellets Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)5.1.3 Europe Pharma Pellets Sales Price Trend (2011-2021)5.2 Europe Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers5.3 Europe Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Type5.4 Europe Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Applications6 Japan Pharma Pellets (Volume, Value and Sales Price6.1 Japan Pharma Pellets Sales and Value (2011-2021)6.1.1 Japan Pharma Pellets Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)6.1.2 Japan Pharma Pellets Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)6.1.3 Japan Pharma Pellets Sales Price Trend (2011-2021)6.2 Japan Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers6.3 Japan Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by Type6.4 Japan Pharma Pellets Sales and Market Share by ApplicationsMake 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 @
Global Thermal Insulation Coatings Market 2017- Mascost , Lincoln Industries , Industrial Nanotech , Tenaris , Protek Asia

Global Thermal Insulation Coatings Market 2017

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The Global Thermal Insulation Coatings Market 2017 examines the performance of the Thermal Insulation Coatings market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Thermal Insulation Coatings market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Thermal Insulation Coatings market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Thermal Insulation Coatings Market 2017 report includes Thermal Insulation Coatings industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Thermal Insulation Coatings Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Thermal Insulation Coatings Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Thermal Insulation Coatings Market 2017:1 Mascost2 Lincoln Industries3 Industrial Nanotech4 Tenaris5 Protek Asia6 LizardSkin7 OerlikonThermal Insulation Coatings Market Analysis: By ProductIsolated Conduction TypeReflection TypeRadiation TypeThermal Insulation Coatings Market Analysis: By ApplicationAutomotivesBuildingsShipsOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Thermal Insulation Coatings manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Thermal Insulation Coatings report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Thermal Insulation Coatings industry, Thermal Insulation Coatings industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Thermal Insulation Coatings Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Thermal Insulation Coatings research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Thermal Insulation Coatings market revenue worldwide.Finally, Thermal Insulation Coatings market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.Contact Us:James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Near Navale Lawns, PuneMaharashtra, India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest News-
Construction Materials Market Share, Size, Trend & 2017-2021 Global Industry Analysis Report

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Global Construction Materials Market Research Report provides information on Products, Services, Trends, Top Companies, Verticals, Countries, Material, Application, and Geography globally. This report will help the viewer in Better Decision Making ,offers by OrbisResearch.comConstruction Materials 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 Construction Materials 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.Request a sample of Global Construction Materials Market Research Report @The report includes six parts, dealing with: Basic information The Asia Construction Materials Market The North American Construction Materials Market The European Construction Materials Market Market entry and investment feasibility The report conclusionBrowse the full Global Construction Materials Industry Research Report @Some of the points from table of content:Part I Construction Materials Industry OverviewChapter One Construction Materials Industry Overview1.1 Construction Materials Definition1.2 Construction Materials Classification Analysis1.2.1 Construction Materials Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Construction Materials Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Construction Materials Application Analysis1.3.1 Construction Materials Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Construction Materials Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Construction Materials Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Construction Materials Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Construction Materials Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Construction Materials Product Market Development Overview1.6 Construction Materials Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Construction Materials Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Construction Materials Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Construction Materials Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Construction Materials Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Construction Materials Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Construction Materials 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 Construction Materials Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Construction Materials Market Analysis3.1 Asia Construction Materials Product Development History3.2 Asia Construction Materials Competitive Landscape Analysis3.3 Asia Construction Materials Market Development TrendChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Construction Materials Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast4.1 2012-2017 Construction Materials Capacity Production Overview4.2 2012-2017 Construction Materials Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2012-2017 Construction Materials Demand Overview4.4 2012-2017 Construction Materials Supply Demand and Shortage4.5 2012-2017 Construction Materials Import Export Consumption4.6 2012-2017 Construction Materials Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginThe Report Contains: 163 Pages.Make an enquire of this 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; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ :
Global Thermoformed Tubs Market 2017- Silgan Holdings Inc , Astrapak Ltd , Universal Plastics Corporation , Shepherd Thermoforming

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The Global Thermoformed Tubs Market 2017 examines the performance of the Thermoformed Tubs market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Thermoformed Tubs market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Thermoformed Tubs market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Thermoformed Tubs Market 2017 report includes Thermoformed Tubs industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Thermoformed Tubs Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Thermoformed Tubs Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Thermoformed Tubs Market 2017:1 Silgan Holdings Inc2 Astrapak Ltd3 Universal Plastics Corporation4 Shepherd Thermoforming & Packaging Inc.5 Lucky Time Pack Material Co., Ltd.6 Greiner Packaging GmbH, Ditai Plastic Products Co., Ltd.7 Tengyue Display Co., Ltd.8 Swellder Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.9 Plast-Pack GmbH, STM PlasticsThermoformed Tubs Market Analysis: By ProductPolyethylene (PE)Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)Polypropylene (PP)Polystyrene (PS)Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)Ethyl Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH)OthersThermoformed Tubs Market Analysis: By ApplicationFood & BeveragesElectronicsPharmaceuticalsHealthcarePersonal Care & CosmeticsOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Thermoformed Tubs manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Thermoformed Tubs report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Thermoformed Tubs industry, Thermoformed Tubs industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Thermoformed Tubs Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Thermoformed Tubs research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Thermoformed Tubs market revenue worldwide.Finally, Thermoformed Tubs market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.Contact Us:James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Near Navale Lawns, PuneMaharashtra, India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest News-
Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Share and Forecasts Research Report 2017-2022

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2017 Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Status, 2011-2022 Market Historical and Forecasts, Professional Market Research Report a professional and in-depth study on the current trends and Future Forecast.This report studies the Intelligent Hearing Protection Device market, Intelligent hearing Protection Device help workers to increase their ability to communicate with others and comprehend their working environments while working in high-noise conditions. The intelligent hearing protection equipment provides protection from continuous noise, specifically in extreme noise environments and remote work sites. Numerous workers across the industries suffer from preventable hearing loss annually due to the high workplace noise levels. To provide hearing protection to workers and also to overcome the issue of communication in high noise environments, several industries are adopting intelligent hearing protection system to enhance the hearing capabilities at such risky workplaces so that the workers are aware of their surroundings.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Intelligent Hearing Protection Device in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers  Honeywell, 3M, Phonak, SensGard, Etymotic Research, Sensear, Hunter Electronic, Silenta, Starkey Hearing TechnologiesRequest a sample copy of Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Research Report @Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Segment by Type, covers  Earplugs, EarmuffsThe listed pricing for this Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market report starts at $ 3480. Request Discount for Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into  Defense and Law Enforcement, Aviation, Oil and Gas, Construction, Manufacturing, ConsumerBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market Report @Related Reports: -North America Intelligent Hearing Protection Device Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022This report studies the Intelligent Hearing Protection Device market, Intelligent hearing Protection Device help workers to increase their ability to communicate with others and comprehend their working environments while working in high-noise conditions.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Global Coffee Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Opportunities, Shares And Forecast Research Report (2016-2020)

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Coffee Market: Trends and Opportunities (2016-2020)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Coffee Market: Trends & Opportunities (2016-2020) provides an in-depth analysis of the global coffee market with detailed analysis of market sizing and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides the production and consumption analysis of the market. The report provides detailed market analysis of the global retail coffee market by value and volume along with the segments of the market.The report provides detailed regional analysis of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America Middle East & Africa and Australasia for the coffee market. Regional analysis includes market sizing by value along with the production and consumption analysis. It also provides the retail sales value of each region.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report also includes the country analysis of Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia and India. It provides the production and consumption analysis along with the export-import trends in each of the above mentioned countries.Furthermore, the report assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the global retail coffee market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in global coffee market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Nestle. Further, key players of the coffee market The J.M. Smucker Company, Mondelez International Inc. and Strauss Group Ltd. are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.Regional Coverage- Western Europe- Eastern Europe- North America- Asia Pacific- Latin America- Middle East and Africa- AustralasiaCountry Coverage- Brazil- Vietnam- Indonesia- Ethiopia- IndiaCompany Coverage- The J.M. Smucker Company- Mondelez International Inc.- Strauss Group Ltd.Executive SummaryGlobal coffee market increased at a significant CAGR during the span of 5 years i.e. 2011-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. The market can be segmented on the basis of end-users as retail coffee market and food services market, of which global retail coffee market displayed an increase, driving the global coffee market. The increasing consumption of coffee led by the westernization trend in India, China and Latin America drive the market in the positive direction.The growth drivers for the global coffee market are: rise in disposable income, rapid urbanization and increase in the population along with the emergence of caf culture and new consumer base. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as: aging of coffee trees, lack of government support, negative impact of climate change, price volatility and increase in production cost.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 @
US SaaS Mortgage Software Market Analysis, Growth, Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021) | New Release

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The US SaaS Mortgage Software Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled The US SaaS Mortgage Software Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021), provides an in-depth analysis of the US SaaS mortgage market opportunity by value. The report also gives an insight of the global SaaS software market and the share of the US in same.The report also includes the analysis of the US total production expenses per loan and non-personnel expenses per loan.It assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall US Saas Mortgage Software market has also been forecasted for the period 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the subprime lending crisis of 2008-2009, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in the US SaaS Mortgage Software market is fragmented. However Ellie Mae dominates the market.Further, key players of the US SaaS Mortgage Software Market, Ellie Mae, Black Knight Financial Services, Inc., Accenture and Wipro are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Company CoverageEllie Mae, Inc.Black Knight Financial Services, Inc.AccentureWiproExecutive SummaryThe collateral that is kept while initiating a loan for the purchase of real estate or property or a house is known as mortgage. The banks or the mortgage lenders loan a large chunk of money that is around 80% of the price of home that the borrower is required to pay back with interest over a set period of time. On failure of repaying the loan, the lender takes the mortgage through a legal process known as foreclosure.The mortgage origination process has slightly changed over the decades. The technology penetration into mortgage institutions is considered of significance increasingly.The loan servicing software therefore helps the banks, wholesale lenders, commercial finance, and specialty lenders to manage all types of instalment loans, notes, contracts, mortgages, and deeds of trust, as well as some clients and contracts. Loan servicing software automates the loan decisions and plays an important role in increasing the speed of service and borrower satisfaction.The loan servicing software are of two types: the in-house or the on-premise server and cloud based server.The cloud-based software is secured on the host companys server. The software and the server are managed at one place. The data and the software both are located on cloud. The data is accessible from anywhere to the mortgage lender.The Saas software in mortgage enables the customers to utilize a seamless workflow across point-of-sale, processing, underwriting, closing and funding, post-closing, shipping, delivery and CRM requirements. Such solutions serve all the players in the loan origination market from borrowers to lenders to investors.The US SaaS Mortgage Software market is expected to increase at a significant CAGR during the years 2017-2021. The SaaS mortgage software market is expected to increase due to growth in network effect, increase in employment levels in the US, etc. Yet the market faces some challenges such as, need for data security, risks associated with SaaS offerings, compliance regulations, etc.Table Of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Mortgage Industry: An Overview2.1.1 History of Mortgages2.1.2 The Emerging Future of Mortgage Origination2.1.3 Technology in Mortgage2.2 Cloud Computing: An Overview2.2.1 Cloud Computing on the Basis of Service2.2.2 Software-as-a Service (SaaS) Software2.3 Loan Servicing Software: An Overview2.3.1 Advantages/Features of Loan Servicing Software2.3.2 Types of Loan Servicing Software2.3.3 Types of Loan Servicing Software: A Comparison2.3.4 SaaS Mortgage Software2.3.5 Working of SaaS Mortgage Software3. Market Analysis3.1 Global SaaS Market: An Analysis3.1.1 Global SaaS Market by Value and by Geography3.2 The US SaaS Mortgage Software Market: An Analysis3.2.1 The US Total Production Expenses per Loan3.2.2 The US Total Production Expenses per Loan by Segments3.2.3 The US Personnel Expenses per Loan3.2.4 The US Non-Personnel Expenses per Loan3.2.5 The US SaaS Mortgage Software Addressable Market by Value4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Driver4.1.1 Declining US Unemployment Rate4.1.2 Rising US Urban Population4.1.3 Increasing Network Effect4.2 Challenges4.2.1 Increasing US Mortgage Rates4.2.2 Decline in Mortgage Lending Volume and Increase in Nominal House Prices4.2.3 Need to Comply with Multiple Regulations4.2.4 Sensitive to Economic Fluctuations4.3 Market Trends4.3.1 Consistent US Home Ownership Rate4.3.2 Increasing Number of Active Users of Ellie Mae4.3.3 Decrease in Refinance Mortgage Originations4.3.4 Minimum Costs4.3.5 Increased Investments in the Software4.3.6 The US Mortgage Origination Composite Forecasts5. Competitive Landscape5.1 The US SaaS Mortgage Software Players: A ComparisonMake 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 @
Copper Powder Market 2017: Global Growth, Future Trends, Opportunities & Forecast Report 2021

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Global Copper Powder Market Research Report provides information on Products, Services, Trends, Top Companies, Verticals, Countries, Material, Application, and Geography globally. This report will help the viewer in Better Decision Making ,offers by OrbisResearch.comCopper Powder 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 Copper Powder 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.Request a sample of Global Copper Powder Market Research Report @The report includes six parts, dealing with: Basic information The Asia Copper Powder Market The North American Copper Powder Market The European Copper Powder Market Market entry and investment feasibility The report conclusionBrowse the full Global Copper Powder Industry Research Report @Some of the points from table of content:Part I Copper Powder Industry OverviewChapter One Copper Powder Industry Overview1.1 Copper Powder Definition1.2 Copper Powder Classification Analysis1.2.1 Copper Powder Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Copper Powder Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Copper Powder Application Analysis1.3.1 Copper Powder Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Copper Powder Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Copper Powder Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Copper Powder Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Copper Powder Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Copper Powder Product Market Development Overview1.6 Copper Powder Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Copper Powder Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Copper Powder Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Copper Powder Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Copper Powder Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Copper Powder Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Copper Powder 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 Copper Powder Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Copper Powder Market Analysis3.1 Asia Copper Powder Product Development History3.2 Asia Copper Powder Competitive Landscape Analysis3.3 Asia Copper Powder Market Development TrendChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Copper Powder Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast4.1 2012-2017 Copper Powder Capacity Production Overview4.2 2012-2017 Copper Powder Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2012-2017 Copper Powder Demand Overview4.4 2012-2017 Copper Powder Supply Demand and Shortage4.5 2012-2017 Copper Powder Import Export Consumption4.6 2012-2017 Copper Powder Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginThe Report Contains: 163 Pages.Make an enquire of this 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; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ :
Now Available - Worldwide Brown HT Market Report 2017-2027

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Brown HT is a synthetic brown coal tar diazo dye used as a substitute for caramel or cocoa colorant. It is a water-soluble artificial food colorant with a brow hue. It is also known as C.I. 20285, food brown 3, Edicol Brown HT, Hexacol Chocolate Brown HT, and chocolate brown HT. It has wide application in various food products including chocolate cakes, fish, fruit products, jams, yogurts, cheeses, milk, and other products. Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global brown HT market over the forecast period, owing to the increasing consumption of colorants in food and cosmetics products in the region and relatively low opportunity for the market in North America and Western Europe.Global Brown HT Market: DynamicsThe major factor driving the global brown HT market include growing industry such as food & beverages, cosmetic, and dyes and pigment over the forecast period. Additionally, macroeconomic factors making a positive impact on the global brown HT market include changing consumer lifestyle, increasing employment rate, increasing population, and increasing domestic income. However, adverse effect of brown HT in children, people sensitive to aspirin, allergic reactions in asthmatics, and may induce skin sensitivity, sensitive people. This, in turn, leads to ban on brown HT in developed regions such as North America and Western Europe. The significant trending factor for global brown HT market includes merger and acquisition of brown HT suppliers with end-use industry such as food and pharmaceuticals. The company manufacturing brown HT products has a substantial opportunity in regions such as Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa, attributed to rapidly growing food industry over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Global Brown HT Market: SegmentationThe global brown HT market is segmented by end-use industry and by region. By end-use, the global brown HT market is classified as food and beverages industry and cosmetic industry. Among the aforementioned segments, the food and beverages industry segment accounts for relatively high revenue share in the global brown HT market over the forecast period followed by cosmetic industry, owing to rapidly growing demand for food colorants in developing regions such as Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.Based on the end-use, the global brown HT market is segmented into:Food and Beverages IndustryBakeryIce CreamsSquashesConfectionaryCosmetic IndustryGlobal Brown HT Market: Regional OverviewBy geographies, the global brown HT market is segmented into seven regions -- North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific except Japan (APEJ), Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa, and Japan. Among the regions, Asia-Pacific dominates the global brown HT market in terms of value as well as volume, owing to a significant revenue share of the region in the food and beverages industry. Eastern Europe and Latin America accounts for a moderate value share in the global brown HT market. The Middle East and Africa is followed by Asia-Pacific in the global brown HT market, attributed to high demand for food colorants in the region. North America and Western Europe is expected to have a relatively low opportunity for the brown HT market, attributed to restriction over the use of brown HT due to hyperactivity in children as well as in aspirin sensitive people in countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, United States, Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium, and Austria Overall, the outlook for the global brown HT market will have a moderate growth over the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Global Brown HT Market: Key PlayersFew of the brown HT market players include Dynemic Products Ltd., LGC Standards, MATRIX PHARMA CHEM, Parshwanath Dye Stuff Industries, Emco Dyestuff Pvt Ltd, Sensient Food Colors, Univar Food Ingredients, PRAVIN DYECHEM PVT. LTD., Dintech Chemical Co.,Ltd., APARSHWANATH DYESTUFF IND., Asim Products, JAGSON COLORCHEM LIMITED, Kolorjet Chemicals Pvt Ltd., sunfoodtech, Vibgyor Chemtex Pvt Ltd, UNISYNTH CHEMICALS, and Tianjin Harmony Technology Development Co., Ltd.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Functional Safety Industry Global Market Trends, Share, Size and 2022 Forecast Report

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The Global Functional Safety Industry Research Report includes companies engaged in manufacturing, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information.The 2017 Market Research Report on Global Functional Safety Industry is a specialized and detailed study on the existing Functional Safety industry.Complete report on Functional Safety market spreads across 113 pages profiling 11 companies and supported with 190 tables and figures @Key Companies Analysis: - Siemens, Rockwell, ABB, Schneider, Emerson, General Electric, Honeywell, HIMA Paul Hildebrandt, Endress+Hauser, TUV Rheinland, Omron Corporation andYokogawa Electric Corporation.The report offers a basic outline of the industry comprising of the definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Functional Safety market analysis is provided for the worldwide market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions' development status.The development policies and plans of the Global Functional Safety market are taken into account in addition to the manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import-export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, Europe, China and Japan). Other regions can be customized as per request.Place a Direct Purchase on this Report @The report highlights the major industry players globally with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue, and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment, and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Plus, the Functional Safety industry development trends, and marketing channels are evaluated.The viability of new outlay projects are calculated and complete research deductions is offered. The report delivers major data on the state of the industry and is a prized source of assistance and direction for businesses and individuals concerned in the market.Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Functional Safety3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis4 Production Analysis of Functional Safety by Regions, Technology, and Applications5 Sales and Revenue Analysis of Functional Safety by Regions6 Analyses of Functional Safety Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2010-20177 Analysis of Functional Safety industry Key Manufacturers8 Price and Gross Margin Analysis9 Marketing Traders or Distributor Analysis of Functional Safety10 Development Trend of Functional Safety industry2017-202211 Industry Chain Suppliers of Functional Safety with Contact Information12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Functional Safety13 Conclusion of the Global Functional Safety industry 2017 Market Research ReportList of Tables and FiguresGet more details on this report @About Us:Deep Research Reports is digital databank of syndicated market reports for worldwide and China businesses. deepresearchreports.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.Contact:Ritesh TiwariUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, Hadapsar,Pune, Maharashtra 411013, IndiaTel: +1-888-391-5441sales@deepresearchreports.com
Global Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022

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This report studies the global Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) market, analyzes and researches the Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeQualcomm Inc. (U.S.)Sierra Wireless?Gemalto NV?Telit Communications PLC?UBlox Holding AG?Texas Instruments?ZTE Corporation?Sequans Communication?Mistbase Communication System?Mediatek Inc.?Commsolid GmbHMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaRequest a Free Sample Copy of this Report with TOC @Market segment by Type, Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) can be split into2G3G4GLTEMNBLTEMNBIoT5GMarket segment by Application, Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) can be split intoAgricultureEnvironmental MonitoringAutomotive & TransportationEnergyHealthCareManufacturingRetailSmart CityConsumer ElectronicsBuilding AutomationTable of Contents1 Industry Overview of Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software)1.1 Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) Market Overview1.1.1 Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) Market by Type1.3.1 2G1.3.2 3G1.3.3 4G1.3.4 LTEM1.3.5 NBLTEM1.3.6 NBIoT1.3.7 5G1.4 Cellular IoT Market by Offering (Hardware and Software) Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Agriculture1.4.2 Environmental Monitoring1.4.3 Automotive & Transportation1.4.4 Energy1.4.5 HealthCare1.4.6 Manufacturing1.4.7 Retail1.4.8 Smart City1.4.9 Consumer Electronics1.4.10 Building AutomationQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Connected Health And Wellness Devices Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022

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This report studies the global Connected Health And Wellness Devices market, analyzes and researches the Connected Health And Wellness Devices development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeOmron Healthcare, Inc.McKesson CorporationPhilips Healthcare CompanyGE Healthcare, Inc.Draeger Medical Systems, Inc.Fitbit, Inc.St. Jude Medical, Inc.Medtronic PlcAerotel Medical System Ltd.Boston Scientific CorporationBody Media, Inc.Garmin International, Inc.Microlife CorporationMasimo CorporationAgaMatrix, Inc.Apple, Inc.Request a Free Sample Copy of this Report with TOC @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Connected Health And Wellness Devices can be split intoPersonal medical devicesWellness productsSoftware & servicesMarket segment by Application, Connected Health And Wellness Devices can be split intoHospitalsIndividual customersOthersQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Brushless DC Motors Market to grow at a CAGR of 12.99% during the period 2017-2021

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SummaryOrbis Research delivers key insights on the Global Brushless DC Motors Market 2017-2021 This report enhance business productivity and for the study of market forecast. This New Report presented by Orbis Reseach contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.DescriptionAbout Brushless DC MotorsBrushless DC motors run on direct current (DC) power source; the rotor is the core of brushless DC motors. Rotors are a set of synchronous motors that use permanent magnets rather than coiled winding. Brushless DC motors use a hall sensor or a rotor encoder along with a controller to identify the position and direction of the rotor to ensure a smooth operation.The Global Brushless DC Motors Market to grow at a CAGR of 12.99% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global brushless DC motors market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.Download PDF Sample of Global Brushless DC Motors Market Research Report @The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEAGlobal Brushless DC Motors Market 2017-2021, 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.Enquiry For this Report @:Key vendorsABBAMETEKARC SystemsNidec CorporationFAULHABEROther prominent vendorsAllied Motion TechnologiesAnaheim AutomationAsmoBrook CromptonDanaher MotionJohnson Electric HoldingsMaxon MotorMinebeaOmronMarket driverEfficiency of brushless DC motors over other magnetic motorsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeHall sensors increase the cost of brushless DC motorsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendChanging preference of end-usersFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 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?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.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market Report

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In this report, the EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux;Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran;Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.Request For Report Sample @EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingCleveronIntegerSmartbox Ecommerce SolutionsKEBALL OPTIC (Loginpost)By Box HoldingsWinnsen IndustryNeopost GroupENGY CompanyTZShri Yash Fabricators & ConsultancyOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoIndoor TerminalsOutdoor TerminalsOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals for each application, includingGovernment OrganizationRetailersShipping/Logistic CompaniesDownload full Report with TOC @Table of ContentsEMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market Report 20171 Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals1.2 Classification of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals1.2.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Indoor Terminals1.2.4 Outdoor Terminals1.3 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-20221.3.2 Government Organization1.3.3 Retailers1.3.4 Shipping/Logistic Companies1.4 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market by Region1.4.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Middle East Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Africa Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 EMEA Market Size (Value and Volume) of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (2012-2022)1.5.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers2.1.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Market Share of Major Players (2012-2017)2.1.2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Share by Players (2012-2017)2.1.3 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sale Price by Players (2012-2017)2.2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (Volume and Value) by Type/Product Category2.2.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.3 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sale Price by Type (2012-2017)2.3 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (Volume) by Application2.4 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (Volume and Value) by Region2.4.1 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.2 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.3 EMEA Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Price by Region (2012-2017)3 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application3.1 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.2 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Type3.3 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Application3.4 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries3.4.1 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)3.4.2 Europe Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)3.4.3 Germany Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.4 France Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.5 UK Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.6 Russia Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.7 Italy Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.8 Benelux Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application4.1 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.2 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Type4.3 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Application4.4 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries4.4.1 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)4.4.2 Middle East Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.4 Israel Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.5 UAE Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.6 Iran Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals (Volume, Value and Sales Price) by Players, Countries, Type and Application5.1 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.2 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Type5.3 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Market Share by Application5.4 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries5.4.1 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)5.4.2 Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)5.4.3 South Africa Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.4.4 Nigeria Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.4.5 Egypt Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.4.6 Algeria Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)QYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.QYResearchreportsContact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Energy Recovery Devices Market 2017- Energy Recovery Inc , RWL Water , Marsi Water , Dynalon Engineering

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The Energy Recovery Devices Market 2017 examines the performance of the Energy Recovery Devices market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Energy Recovery Devices market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Energy Recovery Devices market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Energy Recovery Devices Market 2017 report includes Energy Recovery Devices industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Energy Recovery Devices Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Energy Recovery Devices Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Energy Recovery Devices Market 2017:1 Energy Recovery Inc2 RWL Water3 Marsi Water4 Dynalon Engineering5 Flowserve Corporation6 Fluid Equipment Development Company (FEDCO)Energy Recovery Devices Market Analysis: By ProductReverse TurbinePelton WheelPressure ExchangerWork ExchangerElectric Motor DriveEnergy Recovery Devices Market Analysis: By ApplicationConstructionOil & GasOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Energy Recovery Devices manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Energy Recovery Devices report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Energy Recovery Devices industry, Energy Recovery Devices industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Energy Recovery Devices Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Energy Recovery Devices research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Energy Recovery Devices market revenue worldwide.Finally, Energy Recovery Devices market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businessesJames JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Pune.Maharashtra,India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Web:Email: inquiry@market.biz
Global Epoxy Adhesives Market 2017- Henkel , Huntsman , 3M , Ashland, Sika , Dow Chemical , Lord Corporation

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The Epoxy Adhesives Market 2017 examines the performance of the Epoxy Adhesives market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Epoxy Adhesives market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Epoxy Adhesives market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Epoxy Adhesives Market 2017 report includes Epoxy Adhesives industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Epoxy Adhesives Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Epoxy Adhesives Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Epoxy Adhesives Market 2017:1 Henkel2 Huntsman3 3M4 Ashland5 Sika6 Dow Chemical7 Lord Corporation8 Illinois Tool Works9 PermabondEpoxy Adhesives Market Analysis: By ProductOne-Component Epoxy AdhesivesTwo-Component Epoxy AdhesivesOthersEpoxy Adhesives Market Analysis: By ApplicationBuilding & ConstructionTransportationAutomotiveOther ApplicationAt the beginning, the report covers the top Epoxy Adhesives manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Epoxy Adhesives report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Epoxy Adhesives industry, Epoxy Adhesives industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Epoxy Adhesives Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Epoxy Adhesives research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Epoxy Adhesives market revenue worldwide.Finally, Epoxy Adhesives market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businessesJames JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Pune.Maharashtra,India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Web:Email: inquiry@market.biz
Global Change and Configuration Management Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022

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This report studies the global Change and Configuration Management market, analyzes and researches the Change and Configuration Management development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeInternational Business Machine CorporationBMC SoftwareHewlett-Packard EnterpriseOracle CorporationCA TechnologiesMicrosoft CorporationAmazon Web ServicesMcCabe SoftwareCodenvyPuppetMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Change and Configuration Management can be split intoSMEs ManagementLarge Scale Enterprises ManagementMarket segment by Application, Change and Configuration Management can be split intoBFSI IndustryIT & Telecommunications IndustryHealthcareRetail IndustryGovernmentManufacturing IndustryOthersRequest a Free Sample Copy of this Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Change and Configuration Management1.1 Change and Configuration Management Market Overview1.1.1 Change and Configuration Management Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Change and Configuration Management Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Change and Configuration Management Market by Type1.3.1 SMEs Management1.3.2 Large Scale Enterprises Management1.4 Change and Configuration Management Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 BFSI Industry1.4.2 IT & Telecommunications Industry1.4.3 Healthcare1.4.4 Retail Industry1.4.5 Government1.4.6 Manufacturing Industry1.4.7 OthersQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Phenylbutazone Market Detailed Analysis and Forecast by 2025

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Global Phenylbutazone Market: SnapshotThe phenylbutazone market has hit a road-block due to its disapproval from the country-wide market in the U.S. However, phenylbutazone, which are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) that are useful in treating pain, fever, menstrual cramps, arthritis, and other inflammations in human body, continue to be used in other parts of the World. Moreover, these drugs are also used by the veterinary department, wherein 23 actively marketed phenylbutazone drugs are FDA approved for usages on horses. These drugs are available in multiple dosage forms, including boluses, oral tablets, pastes, powders, and solutions for intravenous injection. These two factors are expected to help the global phenylbutazone market sustain the demand the forecast period of 2017 to 2025. On the other hand, the availability of newer drugs with considerably reduced adverse effects on the subjects is hindering the growth rate of the market.This report on the global phenylbutazone provides in-depth analysis of all the factors that may favor or obstruct the demand in the near future, and includes profiles of a number of vendors currently operating in the market. The report has been prepared using proven research methodologies and aspires to serve as a dependable business document for targeted audiences such as pharmaceuticals manufacturers, research and academic institutions, hospitals and clinics, contract manufacturers, and contract research organizations. The report also segments the market based on application and product type, as well as studies the opportunities available for the vendors in different regions.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Phenylbutazone Market: OverviewPhenylbutazone is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug meant to provide short-term relief from fever and pain. The drug is currently banned in the U.S. and the U.K. for human use, and therefore is largely meant for animal uses. The ban on phenylbutazone was approved due to its severely debilitating side-effects such as reducing the rate of production of white blood cells and causing aplastic anemia. It was originally used in humans for the treatment of gout and rheumatoid arthritis till 1949 and is now commonly used on horses for the treatment of antipyresis and analgesia.Phenylbutazone can be administered intravenously or orally but is essentially should only be injected into a vein or administered intramuscularly. Edema and tissue damage may occur if the drug is injected repetitively into the same vein. Side-effects also include oral lesions, blood dyscrasia, kidney damage, GI ulcers, and internal hemorrhage. The drug should also not be used in combination with vitamin K antagonists including warfarin due to the amplifying nature of phenylbutazone on the anticoagulant effect of the antagonists.Request TOC of the Report @Global Phenylbutazone Market: Key Trends and Growth ProspectsThe growth in end users in the global phenylbutazone market is expected to occur at an optimistic rate over the coming years, owing to an increase in the consumption of the drug in the growing veterinary medicine industry. In addition, the rising demand for NSAIDs in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America is also expected to boost the demand for phenylbutazone over the coming years. However, the high availability of substitutes and the heavy restrictions imposed on the use of phenylbutazone could hamper the growth of this market. Harpagophytum can replace phenylbutazone for treatment of fever and pain in horses.Global Phenylbutazone Market: Geographical PerspectiveAsia Pacific is expected to be the leading consumer of phenylbutazone in the world, followed by North America and Europe. China and India are the top consumers of phenylbutazone in Asia Pacific due to presence of highly established end users. Phenylbutazone manufacturers from developed economies are also shifting their base to emerging ones due to the greater availability of government subsidies, land, cheap labor, and a more relaxed regulatory framework. Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand are expected to be key consumers of phenylbutazone in the future. North America and Europe are expected to experience a moderate rate of growth in demand. The demand for phenylbutazone is also expected to increase in Latin American nations due to an increasing demand for veterinary drugs, namely in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Phenylbutazone Market: Players Mentioned in the ReportSome of the leaders in the global phenylbutazone market so far, have been Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Hangzhou Hyper Chemicals Limited, Baoji Guokang Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Yitongtai Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Afine Chemicals Limited, Shanghai Win-Win Biochemical Co., Ltd., Shaanxi TOP Pharm Chemical Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Hyper Chemicals Limited, Hangzhou Ruijiang Chemical Co., Ltd., Dalian Launcher Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., Croma Life Science Pvt. Ltd., Swati Chemicals, Suchem Laboratories, Uni-med India, Afton Pharma, and Hefei TNJ Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services 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 researh 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
Phthalocyanine Pigments Market : Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players

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Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: SnapshotPhthalocyanine is an organic pigment and thus, the healthy growth of the global market for organic pigments is providing a significant momentum to the global phthalocyanine pigments market. The flourishing growth of end-user industries such as textiles, packaging, printing inks, and coatings is augmenting the global phthalocyanine pigments market. In addition to this, the recovery of the global economy from the economic downturn which happened in the last decade is providing a push to several industries worldwide, including automotive. With the automotive sector being one of the key consumers of phthalocyanine pigments, the expansion of the industry is positively impacting the growth of the market.On the other hand, the manufacturing of phthalocyanines pigments involves limited profit margins, owing to fierce competition from lower-priced imports. This is impelling manufacturers to shift towards substitutes such as inorganic pigments and high performance pigments, which are known to offer higher profit margins. Moreover, while developing regions are offering fertile grounds for the growth of the market, developed regions are likely to exhibit sluggish growth rates. The production capacities in industrialized countries such as the U.S., Japan, and several countries in Europe are anticipated to register downward trend due to globalization and declining profit margins resulting in plant restructurings and shutdowns.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Nevertheless, constant innovation and technological advancements pertaining to the production processes of phthalocyanine pigments are estimated to open new avenues for players in the market. On the basis of product type, the global phthalocyanine pigments market can be segmented into green and blue.Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: OverviewThe global phthalocyanine pigments market comprises metallic complexes with a diverse array of applications. The five polymorphic crystal types are beta phthalocyanine, epsilon phthalocyanine, alpha phthalocyanine, gamma phthalocyanine, and delta phthalocyanine. Only beta and alpha phthalocyanine pigments have so far been commercialized. Phthalocyanine pigments form coordination complexes with a lot of elements. These complexes are intensely colored and are commonly used as dyes or pigments. However, phthalocyanine pigments consist of smaller primary particles that have a tendency to flocculate, resulting in a loss of overall color strength.Request TOC of the Report @Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: Leading ApplicationsPhthalocyanine pigments have applications in photovoltaics, ink manufacture, and quantum computing. They can also be used in coatings and plastic coloring due to their excellent chemical stability. It is currently a standard pigment in the packaging industry and in the manufacture of printing inks. Phthalocyanine pigments have low solubility rate in organic solvents and many of their compounds are thermally stable. They do not melt but can be sublimed in the presence of inert gases. Phthalocyanine pigments are structurally similar to porphyrins and other macrocyclic pigments. Either pigment types hold four pyrrole-like subunits that are joined together to form a ring with 16 members. Phthalocyanine pigments can also be used for organic solar cell research in photovoltaic industry or even in quantum computing due to the length of time its electrons can exist in a state of quantum superposition.The global phthalocyanine pigments market ultimately depends on its principal end user, the textiles industry, for revenue. The demand can also come from a growing consumer preference for environmental friendly color pigments as well as the capability of phthalocyanine pigments to meet the increasingly stringent government regulations and performance standards. The increasing demand from emerging economies of Asia Pacific is expected to boost consumption of phthalocyanine pigments over the coming years. However, the global phthalocyanine pigments market is currently being stifled by raw material price volatility and high production costs.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: Regional AnalysisAsia Pacific is expected to lead the global phthalocyanine pigments market in terms of growth rate in revenue generation and demand in the coming years, due to a rapidly expanding manufacturing base and a thriving economy. There has been a migration of manufacturing facilitates from the U.S. and Europe to the emerging markets of Asia Pacific due to the stringent environmental regulations in the former regions. China is likely to continue to be an exceptionally fruitful market for phthalocyanine pigments players due to its high consumption rate in the local textile industry. Over the years, China has emerged as the leader in manufactur and consumption of phthalocyanine pigments. India is expected to come second in the Asia Pacific phthalocyanine pigments market due to government concessions to small and medium sized establishment. In addition, the industry has witnessed massive export opportunities because of shutting down of manufacturing facilities in the Europe and U.S. following strict enforcement of environment regulations by the government.Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the key players in this market are Vibfast Pigments Pvt. Ltd., Sinocolor Chemical, BASF, Kiri Industries Ltd., CPS Color AG, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Flint Group, Huntsman Corporation, LANXESS AG, Rockwood Holdings Inc., Unilex Colours & Chemicals Limited, Sudarshan Chemicals, ECKART GmbH, Clariant International Ltd., Jagson Colorchem Limited, Royce Associates, and Atul Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services 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 researh 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
Global Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market 2017- Denso , Continental , Delphi Automotive , Hitachi , Robert Bosch , Hella , Infineon Technologies

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The Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market 2017 examines the performance of the Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market 2017 report includes Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market 2017:1 Denso2 Continental3 Delphi Automotive4 Hitachi5 Robert Bosch6 Hella7 Infineon Technologies8 NGK Spark Plug9 Sensata Technologies HoldingExhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market Analysis: By ProductPortable DevicesFixed DevicesExhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market Analysis: By ApplicationIndustrial AutomationBiomedical & HealthcareAerospace & DefenseOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors industry, Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors market revenue worldwide.Finally, Exhaust Gas Sensing Type Sensors market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businessesJames JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Pune.Maharashtra,India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Web:Email: inquiry@market.biz
Global Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022

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This report studies the global Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services market, analyzes and researches the Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeUnifyVodafone LimitedAltoTelecom Call Center VoIPImecomDigicelAustralian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)NurangoOrange Business ServicesAlcatel-Lucent EnterpriseCisco SystemsMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services can be split intoPublic Network Based Call ControlPremises-Based Call ControlHosted Call ControlMarket segment by Application, Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services can be split intoBFSI IndustryHealthcareRetail IndustryGovernmentManufacturing IndustryIT & Telecommunications IndustryOthersRequest a Free Sample Copy of this Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services1.1 Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services Market Overview1.1.1 Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services Market by Type1.3.1 Public Network Based Call Control1.3.2 Premises-Based Call Control1.3.3 Hosted Call Control1.4 Fixed Business Voice Platforms and Services Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 BFSI Industry1.4.2 Healthcare1.4.3 Retail Industry1.4.4 Government1.4.5 Manufacturing Industry1.4.6 IT & Telecommunications Industry1.4.7 OthersQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Advanced Analytics Market Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2017-2022

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Advanced Analytics Market: SnapshotThe humongous amount of data generated today has made all traditional methods of analytics insufficient and inefficient. Thus, there has been a rise in advanced analytics, which not only has enhanced analytic abilities but also enables organizations to perform data mining, predictive analytics, and is empowered with location intelligence so as to extract valuable information pertaining to that particular region or area and help in making strategies and decision making for the betterment of the business. Advanced analytics can deal with large amounts of both structured and unstructured data and thus, the market for advanced analytics is expected to grow at an outstanding rate during the forecast period.Another factor boosting the demand for advanced analytics is the challenge offered by big data and need for business intelligence. Both small and medium scale companies are making use of latest services and solutions so as to enhance their efficiency and also lower their cost.Cloud models are helping in reducing cost extensively, boosting adoption, and this in turn is giving rise to a heightened demand for advanced analytics. Some of the prominent types of advanced analytics that will witness a growth in the market during the period from 2017 to 2025 are risk analytics, predictive analytics, and Big Data analytics. These three segments have the ability to address vertical specific challenges and thus, in demand. However, incorrect technical specifications are expected to pose a challenge for the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Advanced Analytics Market: OverviewAdvanced analytics offers a comprehensive analysis of different kind of data making use of several quantitative methods. In order to offer current and future trends, advanced analytics make use of different methods such as statistic, predictive and descriptive data mining, optimization, and visualization. These factors are expected to offer potential opportunities for key players operating in the market. Furthermore, with the growing popularity of online shopping and increasing social networking, the demand for advanced analytics is expected to rise substantially in the coming years.The research study offers an in-depth analysis of the global advanced analytics market, providing insights into the latest trends, opportunities, and growth factors. In addition, the limitations and challenges faced by the leading players have been highlighted to offer a clear picture of the global market. A detailed overview of the competitive landscape of the global advanced analytics market has been presented in the scope of the research study.Global Advanced Analytics Market: Drivers and RestraintsA significant rise in the adoption of big data and the increasing need to prevent fraudulent activities are some of the vital factors that are estimated to encourage the growth of the global advanced analytics market in the next few years. In addition, the growing demand for mobile analytics solutions and the rising focus on business intelligence are projected to contribute towards the development of the overall market in the next few years.Request TOC of the Report @On the other hand, concerns related to data security and lack of data integration and connectivity are projected to restrict the growth of the overall market in the near future. Moreover, the lack of expertise, especially in developing economies is likely to curb the growth of the market. Nonetheless, the rise in the adoption of SaaS-based predictive analytics is expected to fuel the growth of the market in the coming years.Global Advanced Analytics Market: Region-wise OutlookAmong the key geographical segments, Europe and North America are expected to lead the global advanced analytics market and account for a key share in the forecast period. As per the research study, these two regions are anticipated to witness substantial growth, thanks to the presence of a large number of financial institutes. In addition, the increasing use of software services and solutions in diverse business activities is one of the key factors that is expected to fuel the growth of the advanced analytics market in Europe and North America.On the other hand, Asia Pacific is projected to witness robust growth in the next few years and register a healthy growth rate. The high growth of this region can be attributed to the developing economy and tremendously expanding banking sector. These factors are expected to offer promising opportunities for key players operating in the advanced analytics market across the globe.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:Some of the prominent players operating in the advanced analytics market across the globe are Statsoft, Knime, Terdata, Pitney Bowes Software, Microsoft, Kxen, Infor, SAS, Oracle, Angoss, Fico, SAP, IBM, and Rapidminer. In order to survive in the competitive scenario of the market, these players are focusing on innovations and high-quality services, which will help them in enhancing their market presence across the globe.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services 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 researh 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
Global Facial Mask Market 2017- Guangzhou Soyawa , Nox-Bellcow , NORSEN , Jiebao , Beihao , Emeline , Hangzhou Xinyue

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The Facial Mask Market 2017 examines the performance of the Facial Mask market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Facial Mask market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Facial Mask market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Facial Mask Market 2017 report includes Facial Mask industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Facial Mask Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Facial Mask Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Facial Mask Market 2017:1 Guangzhou Soyawa2 Nox-Bellcow3 NORSEN4 Jiebao5 Beihao6 Emeline7 Hangzhou Xinyue8 Leai9 Mannay10 Polaroisin11 3M12 Honeywell13 SperianFacial Mask Market Analysis: By ProductAnti AgingHydrating?WhiteningOthersFacial Mask Market Analysis: By ApplicationCombination SkinOil SkinDry SkinNormal SkinAt the beginning, the report covers the top Facial Mask manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Facial Mask report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Facial Mask industry, Facial Mask industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Facial Mask Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Facial Mask research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Facial Mask market revenue worldwide.Finally, Facial Mask market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businessesJames JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor,Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade,Pune.Maharashtra,India 411041Tel: +1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Web:Email: inquiry@market.biz
Musculoskeletal Pains Market Detailed Analysis and Forecast by 2025

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Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: SnapshotMusculoskeletal pain is pain that affects bones, muscles, or the various types of connective tissues that hold the two together, such as tendons and ligaments. This type of pain can occur due to overuse or repetitive use of muscle groups, improper use or accidents such as falls, etc. and can persist for a long time, causing discomfort to the patient. The consistent discomfort caused by musculoskeletal pain has made it a key category of the global healthcare sector in recent years.Improper posture is a key cause of musculoskeletal pain, as consistently sitting/sleeping in irregular positions can cause significant long-term damage to muscles. Thus, the rising prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle, particularly in developed economies, is a key driver for the musculoskeletal pains market. Dynamic developing economies such as India, China, and Brazil have also started witnessing the effects of a large-scale adherence to a sedentary lifestyle, as the corporate sector in these countries is exhibiting a steady rise, aided by the entry of several multinational companies and government support to the development of the IT industry.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The main component of musculoskeletal pain treatment is behavioral rather than pharmaceutical. Thus, the increasing interest of citizens across the world in maintaining a basic level of fitness is likely to be a key factor in reducing the prevalence of musculoskeletal pains in the coming years. Physiotherapy is also likely to be a key component of the global musculoskeletal pains market in the coming years due to its noninvasive nature and reliable efficacy in pain management.Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: OverviewMusculoskeletal pains refers to the acute or chronic pains of soft tissues or organs, which can be caused due to an injury, falls, jerking movements, falls, sprains, fractures, dislocations, and overuse of the organ. For instance, lower back pain is a common work related musculoskeletal pain that is caused due to prolonged immobilization or poor posture. Localized or widespread pain, stiffness of the body, fatigue, lack of sleep, twitching muscles, and burning sensation in muscles are some of the common symptoms of musculoskeletal pains. Depending on the location of pain, musculoskeletal pains are of different kinds including bone pain, muscle pain, tendon and ligament pain, fibromyalgia, joint pain, and tunnel syndromes. Bone pains, which are majorly caused due to injury, is the most common type of musculoskeletal pains, followed by joint pains, which is frequently associated with rheumatoid arthritis.Musculoskeletal pains treatment includes various methods such as physical and occupational therapy, heat or cold treatment, acupuncture, strengthening, and conditioning and stretching exercises. Although there are no medications currently available for the treatment of musculoskeletal pains, some of the medications recommended to relieve the symptoms are: acetaminophen, NSAIDs, opioids, and neurotransmitters. The global market for musculoskeletal pain is projected for a robust CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025. This report is a comprehensive analysis of all the factors that are expected to impact the growth rate and also profiles some of the key players to reveal their market share, product portfolio, and latest developments.Request TOC of the Report @Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: Trends and ProspectsResearch and development activities by several market players to find drugs that can be used to treat musculoskeletal pains is the primary driver of the market. For instance, one of the major players Nordic Bioscience A.s in collaboration with Novaratis AG has developed the drug by the name calcitonin. Currently, the drug is under clinical trial phase three and is predicted to be highly beneficial for the treatment of musculoskeletal pains and thereby boost the market. Hydrocodone bitartrate, bupivacaine transdermal, prednisone, and clibranopadol are some of the other under train drugs. However, side effects such as nausea liver and kidney damage, acid-peptic disorders, and irritation of gastric tract associated with these drugs are restraining the market expansion.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the report segments the global market into the regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world. Currently, North America contributes to the maximum demand due to robust healthcare infrastructure in countries such as the U.S. and Canada. However, Asia Pacific is expected to rise at the strongest CAGR during the forecast period due to the presence of vast population and improving healthcare facilities in several emerging economies such as China, India, and Japan.Apart from Novasratis AG and Nordic Bioscience mentioned above, some of the other major market players in global musculoskeletal pains market are DURECT Corporation, Zogenix, Inc., Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Limited, Chelsea Therapeutics, Inc., TransPharma Medical, Ltd. and Purdue Pharma L.P.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services 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 researh 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
Physician Office Laboratory Market Deep Research Study with Forecast by 2025

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Global Physician Office Laboratory (POL) Market: SnapshotThe global market for physician office laboratory (POL) has been expanding substantially over the last few years. Supported by the technological advancements, the market is likely to remain proliferating over the next few years. POL testing has its base in developed regions as emerging economies still rely on hospital infrastructure for the diagnosis of acute and chronic medical conditions. Developing regions, however, has been demonstrating a significant potential for decentralized testing, thanks to the rising support from nongovernmental organizations and the increasing number of public health programs, intended towards spreading awareness for high-burden diseases such as hepatitis, acquired immuno deficiency syndrome (AIDS), diabetes, and tuberculosis (TB).As of now, the substandard care present at primary care facilities and community health organizations in most of the emerging countries lead a number of patients to hospitals. However, the rise in the disposable income of people in these nations have encouraged leading healthcare providers to invest heavily in western style physician practices, leading to the installation of a large pool of physician office laboratories and clinics, especially in India and China.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Since POL testing is not prevalent globally, as its counterparts (hospital laboratories, commercial or private reference labs, and hospital POCT), its future growth is seemingly uneven. Also active restriction on specified services from physicians or healthcare professionals over the primary care visits in some countries may also reflect negatively on the growth of this market in the near future.Global Physician Office Laboratory (POL) Market: OverviewClinical and hospital laboratories presently account for a massive chunk of the total number of diagnostic, monitoring or screening tests undertaken across the globe. However, a constantly rising number of physicians and physician groups are preferring to undertake part or entire volumes of lab testing in-house as an excellent way of improving patient care and boosting their operative incomes. Such in-house lab practices are called physician office laboratory (POL). The term is diverse and covers physicians practices as small as 2 to 5 physicians to large practitioners with 200 or more physicians that operate labs similar to laboratories in small hospitals.Request TOC of the Report @In-house testing practices facilitate physicians to become self-reliant and obtain results in a much faster manner than possible in outsourced lab tests. POLs also reduce the chances of loss or deterioration of test samples, enhancing the confidence regarding the accuracy of results. Broadly, POL refers to tests performed in: physicians office, conducted at the same time of consultation or with other healthcare professional, wherein results are mostly provided during the medical visit itself, and are used for monitoring, screening or diagnosis purposes.This report on the global physician office laboratory market presents a thorough overview of the present growth dynamics of the market and its key segments. Several insightful projections regarding the growth trajectory of the market over the period between 2017 and 2025 are also included in the report. The report also includes a detailed analysis of factors such as growth drivers, restraints, regulatory scenario, competitive landscape, and trends and opportunities, expected to have a notable influence on the growth prospects of the market over the said period.Global Physician Office Laboratory (POL) Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global POL market is chiefly driven by the vast advancements observed in the field of testing technologies and supporting instrument and equipment in the past few years. The emergence and easy availability of easy to use microelectronic and microfluidic instruments that offer excellent accuracy and control is making POL feasible for smaller offices and is also enabling some physicians to perform tests for other doctors.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@The demand for such in-house laboratories is also significantly rising globally owing to the rising prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases and associated public health issues. However, the cost of meeting compliance requirements for local, state, and federal regulations, especially in developed economies, may hamper the markets growth to some extent.Global Physician Office Laboratory (POL) Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsOn the basis of geography, the global physician office laboratory market is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW). Of these, North America and Europe are presently the leading contributors to the revenue of the global physician office laboratory market. In the North America, the number of POLs increased at a phenomenal rate from nearly 95,000 in 2000 to 111,000 in 2010. The number of POLs has also significantly in Europe over the said period. Across both the regions, the constantly rising number of POL tests approved by the respective healthcare authorities will help drive the POL market in the next few years as well.However, the POL market is expected to witness the most lucrative growth market across emerging economies in Asia Pacific in the next few years. Several factors, including the vast rise in prevalence of infectious diseases, the rising population of elderly, and a significant rise in focus on quality health care are expected to fuel the growth of the Asia Pacific POL market in the next few years.Some of the most influential companies in the global physician office laboratory market are Accriva Diagnostics, Akers Biosciences, Axis-Shield, Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Boule Diagnostics, Alfa Wassermann Diagnostic Technologies, Diazyme Laboratories, Polymer Technology Systems (CHEK Diagnostics), Carolina Liquid Chemistries Corp., 3D Medical Diagnostics, Magellan Diagnostics, Biomerica, Inc., Accumetrics, Vital Diagnostics, and Nanosphere, Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services 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 researh 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
GaN Power Devices Market Facts, Figures and Analytical Insights, 2017 to 2027

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With the growing usage of power devices, Gallium Nitrate (GaN) power devices market is significantly growing in various application such as switch mode power supply, monitor control, hybrid battery control and power factor correction controllers. Gallium nitrate is widely adopted to design power devices. Hence, it helps to improve overall efficiency of power conversion in solar grid, wind grid and smart grids.GaN power devices are used for medium voltage power application which in turn also help to improve power handling capacity and switching. The two major technologies used for the implementation are semiconductor material technology and transistor application technology are used to improve efficiency and reliably of GaN power devices.GaN Power Devices: Drivers and ChallengesThe major driver are significantly growing the market of GaN power devices due to increase in demand for high power transistor application technology and high temperature applications that has led to the increase in usage of GaN industrial devices. These devices are widely used in radio frequency amplifiers, high voltage applications. Due to the ability of gallium nitrate power devices to operate at high frequency, power density, and temperature with improved efficiency and linearity. Since, accelerated improvement in GaN technology and many organizations are coming up with new innovative products which are cost-effective with better design and performance.Request Report Sample@Such innovations has rapidly increased the demand for GaN power devices in various application areas such as information and communication technology and it plays a vital role in GaN power device market in positive manner. The major restraints faced by GaN power devices market are high initial implementation cost.GaN Power Devices: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of technology:Semiconductor materialTransistor application technologySegmentation on the basis of Wafer:Manufacturing processWafer sizeDesign configurationSegmentation on the basis of device:GaN power discrete marketGaN power IC marketSegmentation on the basis of product:GaN opto semiconductorGaN power semiconductorSegmentation on the basis of verticals:ComputersInformation and communication technologyConsumer ElectronicsMedicalAutomotiveRequest For TOC@GaN Power Devices: Regional OverviewPresently, Japan is holding largest market share of GaN power devices by the rise in usage of application and continuous development of semiconductor industry.The market of GaN power devices witnessing tremendous growth in the region of North America, due to large adoption of high speed switching of GaN power devices.GaN Power Devices: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players of GaN power devices are:Fujitsu Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Texas Instruments, EPIGAN NV, NTT Advanced Technology Corporation, RF Micro Devices Incorporated, Cree Incorporated, Aixtron SE, International Quantum Epitaxy plc, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation , AZZURO Semiconductors AGABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Pine Derived Chemicals Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Growth For 2025

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Pine derived chemicals market has shown a rapid growth in recent years, owing to the rapid increasing applications segments such as printing industry, adhesive and sealants industry painting industry food and beverages, cosmetic and others. Some of the major regions such as North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America are the main producer of pine derived chemical due to the availability of pine trees. Pine derived chemicals are majorly used in the construction industry, adhesives industry, and healthcare sector among others. Rising application in adhesives, printing inks, soaps and detergents, plasticizers, resins, surface coatings, fragrance chemicals and the others would ensure a steady growth of pine derived chemicals market during the forecast period.Know More Information About Research Report, Download Brochure@Increasing focus on natural ingredients is a major factor pushing the demand for the market for pine derived chemicals at the global level. Pine derived chemicals are environmental friendly.. There is a need to reduce the use of fossil fuels in order to decrease carbon dioxide emission and carbon footprints. Thus, the demand of naturally derived chemicals is expected to witness a steady growth during the forecast period. However, the limited availability of the pine trees across the globe is one of the key factors hindering the growth of the pine derived chemicals market at present.The influx of new and innovative products coupled with increasing consumer awareness about the natural chemicals derived from pine trees are among the major factors fueling the growth of the market in North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Diversification of product portfolio through research and development activities along with company mergers and acquisitions are certain key strategies being adopted by the major companies to strengthen their foothold in the global pine derived chemicals market. North America held the largest market share of global pine derived chemicals market in 2016. Additionally, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period. India, Japan and China are the major contributors to the growth of the pine derived chemicals market on account of rapid urbanization and strengthening economic conditions in these countries. These countries are expected to lead the market throughout the forecast period.The global pine derived chemicals market is segmented by type, by source, by application and by region. On the basis of different type of pine derived chemicals market is segmented into tall oil rosin, tall oil fatty acid, gum turpentine, sterols, pitch, gum rosin and others. In terms of application the market of pine derived chemicals is segmented by printing inks, paints and coating, adhesive and sealant and others.Browse Report@Based on region, the market of pine derived chemicals is segmented by North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. U.S. is the major market for pine derived chemicals in North America. Further, the growth of the pine derived chemicals market in Europe is majorly contributed by Germany, U.K., France and Italy among others. Asia Pacific is led by India, China and Japan among others. Middle East and Africa is led by U.A.E., and South Africa among others, while Latin America is dominated by Brazil and Argentina among others.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
PLGA Sales Market Size, Trends and Forecast 2022, Business Opportunities & Future Investments 2022

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Market Size Forecasters released a new research report of 134 pages on title Global PLGA Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers key regions that includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and important Manufacturers such as Evonik, PCAS, Corbion, Mitsui ChemicalsPLGA (poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)) is a unique base polymer for controlled release of drugs and medical implant materials. It is both biodegradable and biocompatible, and since both monomers occur naturally it has minimal toxicity. PLGA is naturally amorphous (not crystalline).Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the PLGA in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global PLGA Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers  Evonik, PCAS, Corbion, Mitsui Chemicals, SDSYXS, Jinan Daigang BiomaterialRequest a sample copy of Global PLGA Market Research Report @Global PLGA Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global PLGA Market Segment by Type, covers  PLGA 50:50, PLGA 65:35, PLGA 75:25, PLGA 85:15, OtherThe listed pricing for this Global PLGA Market report starts at $ 3480. Request Discount for Global PLGA Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into  Suture, Fracture Fixation, Oral Implant, Drug Delivery Microsphere, OtherBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global PLGA Market Report @Related Reports: -Global and Chinese PLGA Industry, 2017 Market Research ReportThe 'Global and Chinese PLGA Industry, 2012-2022 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global PLGA industry with a focus on the Chinese market.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Medical Image Analysis Software In Global Market Segmented By Software Type, Imaging Type, Modality, Application, End Users And Geography From 2016 - 2024

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Medical Image Analysis Software In Global Market Segmented By Software Type, Imaging Type, Modality, Application, End Users And Geography From 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Medical imaging is a process and technique for creating visual representations of the anatomical and physiological functions taking place inside the human body. Depending on the technique used the analysis of bones, muscles and organs. Along with the anatomical and physiological functions of the body the study of tumor growth, its movement and other abnormalities can also be detected with the help of medical imaging. The software used in these devices for analyzing and creating an image is of utmost important.The research is a combination of primary and secondary research, conducted for understanding and arriving at trends, used to forecast the expected revenue of the medical image analysis software market in the near future. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts with information collected from in-depth interviews and discussions with a number of key industry experts and opinion leaders. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, investor presentations, analyst presentation and various international and national databases.The report provides estimated market size in terms of US$ Mn for each by software type, imaging type, modality, application, end user, and geography for the period 2014 to 2024, considering the macro and micro environmental factors. The revenue generated from each product was calculated by considering number of products used in the procedures and their market demand as per their use, prevalence rate of disease, number of product launched, annual revenue generated by products of each sub segment, trends in industry, end user trend, and adoption rate across all the geographies.Global Medical Image Analysis Software Market: SegmentationThe global medical image analysis software market is segmented by software type, imaging type, modality, application, end users and geography. By software type the medical image analysis software market is segmented into integrated software and standalone software, by imaging type the medical image analysis software market is segmented into 2D imaging, 3D imaging and 4D imaging. In terms of modality the medical image analysis software market is segmented into CT, MRI, PET, SPECT, Ultrasound, Radiographic imaging and other modalities.By application the medical image analysis software market is segmented into cardiology, orthopedic, oncology, neurology, nephrology, dental, gynecology and others. In terms of end users the medical image analysis software market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, research and academic institutions, diagnostic centers and ambulatory surgical centers. According to geography the medical image analysis software market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The market report comprises an elaborated executive summary, which includes market snapshot that provides information about various segments of the market. It also provides information and data analysis of the market with respect to market segments based on modality, technology, end-user, and geography. The market overview section of the report analyzes market dynamics such as drivers, restraints and opportunities that influences the medical image analysis software market in the current and future scenario.Global Medical Image Analysis Software Market: Competitive AnalysisMarket share analysis among the market players is analyzed to signify the contribution of these players in the market in terms of percentage share. All these factors will help the market players to decide about the business strategies and plans to strengthen their positions in the global market. Based on geography, the market has been analyzed for major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. The study also covers detailed country analysis contributing majorly in the medical image analysis software market.The report also profiles the major players in the market and provides various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. Major companies profiled in the medical image analysis software market are GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Agfa-Gevaert N.V., Hologic Inc., Pie Medical Imaging, Media Cybernetics, Inc., AQUILAB, MIM Software Inc., Merge Healthcare Incorporated., ScienceSoft USA Corp., and others.The medical image analysis software market has been segmented as follows:By Software TypeIntegratedStandaloneBy Imaging Type2D imaging3D imaging4D imagingBy ModalityCTMRIPETSPECTUltrasoundRadiographic imagingOther ModalitiesBy ApplicationCardiologyOrthopedicOncologyNeurologyNephrologyDentalGynecologyOthersBy End UsersHospitalsClinicsResearch and academic institutesDiagnostic centersAmbulatory Surgical CentersBy GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoMake 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 @
Electric Bike Market Report 2017 Global Industry Analysis, Statistics, Market Dynamics, Trends, Opportunities & Forecast to 2022

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Global Electric Bike Industry Report offers market overview, segmentation by types, application, countries, key manufactures, cost analysis, industrial chain, sourcing strategy, downstream buyers, marketing strategy analysis, distributors/traders, factors affecting market, forecast and other important information for key insight.Electric Bike is one kind of traffic tool which uses the battery as the main power energy. The electric bikes usually have treadles; in case of low battery, it can be driven by human. Currently, the battery type is mainly lead-acid batteries, but the lithium ion battery has a tendency to replace lead-acid battery.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Electric Bike in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request a Sample Copy of Global Electric Bike Market Research Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, Global Electric Bike Market report covers Such as AIMA, Yadea, Sunra, Incalcu, Lima, BYVIN, Lvyuan, TAILG, Supaq, Xiaodao Ebike, Bodo, Lvjia, Slane, OPAI, Gamma, Birdie Electric, Zuboo, Mingjia, Giant EV, Qianxi Vehicle, Lvneng, Yamaha, Songi, Aucma EV, Lvju, Accell Group, Palla, Polaris.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, MEA.Market Segment by Type, covers are Lead-acid Battery Electric Bike, Lithium Ion Battery Electric Bike, Other.Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Distribution & Direct-saleEnquire about this report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Electric Bike market.Chapter 1, to describe Electric Bike Market Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Electric Bike, with sales, revenue, and price of Electric Bike, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global Electric Bike Market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Electric Bike, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the Global Electric Bike Market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 12, Electric Bike market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Electric Bike sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.List of Tables and FiguresFigure Electric Bike PictureTable Product Specifications of Electric BikeFigure Global Sales Market Share of Electric Bike by Types in 2015Table Classification of Electric BikeFigure Types of Electric BikeFigure Lead-acid Battery Electric Bike PictureFigure Lithium Ion Battery Electric Bike PictureFigure Electric Bike Sales Market Share by Market Channel in 2015Figure Market Channel Analysis of Electric BikeFigure USA Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Canada Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Mexico Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Germany Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure France Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure UK Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Russia Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Spain Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure China Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Japan Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Korea Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure India Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Brazil Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure South Africa Electric Bike Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)For more information about Global Electric Bike Market Report @Related Reports: -North America Electric Bike Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022"Electric Bike is one kind of traffic tool which uses the battery as the main power energy. The electric bikes usually have treadles; in case of low battery, it can be driven by human. Currently, the battery type is mainly lead-acid batteries, but the lithium ion battery has a tendency to replace lead-acid battery."MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:News:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Global Window Film Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022

Window Film

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Window film is a thin sheet of window coating to deliver a range of high-value benefits, which can be installed on interior glass surfaces or exterior glass surfaces in residential & commercial buildings, automobiles, boats and marine applications. Window film comes in a range of shades from visually clear to darker shades of grey and bronze, the durability and performance of these products are determined by the quality and type of component used. Window film provides many benefits, from energy savings to UV protection.The global sales of window film increased from 137814 K Sq.m in 2012 to 170447 K Sq.m in 2016. The major manufacturers are concentrated in North America, Europe, Asia and China. China is the largest sales area in the world.Feel the form to grain deeper insight of market @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the window film in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Major Players Included in Garage Door Replacement Parts Market:Eastman, 3M, Solar Gard-Saint Gobain, Madico, Johnson, Hanita Coating, Haverkamp, Sekisui S-Lec America, Garware SunControl, Wintech, Erickson International, KDX Optical Material.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers :`North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)`Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)`Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)`South America (Argentina, Brazil)`Middle East and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, covers:`Solar Control Film`Safety / Security Film`Decorative Film`Spectrally Selective FilmMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into`Commercial`Residential`Automotive`OthersBrowse full report with Table of Content and data tables for Garage DoorReplacement Parts Market @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global AC Power Source market.Chapter 1, to describe Window Film Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Window Film, with sales, revenue, and price of Window Film, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Window Film, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Window Film market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Window Film sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Window Film Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Solar Control Film1.2.2 Safety / Security Film1.2.3 Decorative Film1.2.4 Spectrally Selective Film1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Commercial1.3.2 Residential1.3.3 Automotive1.3.4 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)For more help speak to our Expert @About Us:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:John+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.com
Growing Demand For Artificial Intelligence In Global Market - Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Growing Demand For Artificial Intelligence In Global Market - Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.The Artificial Intelligence Market report provides analysis of the global artificial intelligence market for the period 20142024, wherein the years from 2016 to 2024 is the forecast period and 2015 is considered as the base year. The report precisely covers all the major trends and technologies playing a major role in the artificial intelligence markets growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the market growth during this period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the markets growth in terms of revenue (in US$ Bn), across different geographies, which includes Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).The market overview section of the report showcases the markets dynamics and trends such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. Moreover, the report provides the overview of various strategies and the winning imperatives of the key players in the artificial intelligence market and analyzes their behavior in the prevailing market dynamics.The report segments the global artificial intelligence market on the types of artificial intelligence systems into artificial neural network, digital assistance system, embedded system, expert system, and automated robotic system. By application, the market has been classified into deep learning, smart robots, image recognition, digital personal assistant, querying method, language processing, gesture control, video analysis, speech recognition, context aware processing, and cyber security.Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis for the artificial intelligence market and classifies it into various levels, thereby providing valuable insights on macro as well as micro level.The report also provides the competitive landscape for the artificial intelligence market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence, market attractiveness and recent key developments. The complete artificial intelligence market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the artificial intelligence markets growth.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @QlikTech International AB, MicroStrategy Inc., IBM Corporation, Google, Inc., Brighterion Inc., Microsoft Corporation, IntelliResponse Systems Inc., Next IT Corporation, Nuance Communications, and eGain Corporation are some of the major players which have been profiled in this study. Details such as financials, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players has been provided as part of company profiling.Below is the list of acronyms used in the report:SMAC  Social, Mobile, Analytics, and CloudIoT  Internet of ThingsTable of ContentChapter 1 Preface1.1 Research Scope1.2 Market Segmentation1.3 Research MethodologyChapter 2 Executive Summary2.1 Market Snapshot: Global Artificial Intelligence Market, 2015 & 20242.2 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Revenue, 2014 - 2024 (US$ Bn) and CAGR (%)Chapter 3 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis3.1 Key Trends Analysis3.2 Market Dynamics3.2.1 Drivers3.2.2 Restraints3.2.3 Opportunities3.3 Value Chain Analysis3.4 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Analysis, By Types3.4.1 OverviewMake 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 @
SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Global Industry Including Definitions, Classification, Development Trends, Competitive Landscape Analysis, and Key Regions Development Status

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ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on "SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Global Industry Including Definitions, Classification, Development Trends, Competitive Landscape Analysis, and Key Regions Development Status".The Global SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions and classifications. The SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product specification, price, cost, revenue and contact information.With 134 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.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview1.1 Basic Information of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)1.1.1 Definition of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)1.1.2 Classifications of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)1.1.3 Applications of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)1.1.4 Characteristics of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)1.2 Development Overview of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)1.3 Enter Barriers Analysis of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)2 SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) International and China Market Analysis2.1 SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Industry International Market Analysis2.1.1 SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) International Market Development History2.1.2 SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Competitive Landscape Analysis2.1.3 SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) International Main Countries Development Status3 Environment Analysis of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)3.1 International Economy Analysis3.2 China Economy Analysis3.3 Policy Analysis of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)3.4 News Analysis of SaaS-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)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 @
Global Wireless Charging Toilet Market 2022 - Industry Survey, Market Size, Competitive Trends, Outlook and Forecasts

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Wireless Charging uses electromagnetic fields to safely transfer power from a transmitting source to a receiving device for the purposes of charging (or recharging) a battery. And as the name suggests, it does so without the use of a physical connection.Feel the form to grain deeper insight of market @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Wireless Charging in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Major Players Included in Garage Door Replacement Parts Market:`Samsung`WiTricity`Qualcomm`PowerbyProxi`IDT`Semtech`PowermatMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers`North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)`Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)`Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)`South America, Middle East and Africa (Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers`Receiver`TransmitterMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into`Consumer Electronics`Vehicles & Transport`Medical Devices & Equipment`OthersBrowse full report with Table of Content and data tables for Garage Door Replacement Parts Market @There are 14 Chapters to deeply display the global Wireless Charging market.Chapter 1, to describe Wireless Charging Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Wireless Charging, with sales, revenue, and price of Wireless Charging, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Wireless Charging, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 11, Wireless Charging market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 12, 13 and 14 to describe Wireless Charging sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Check for discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Wireless Charging Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Consumer Electronics1.3.2 Vehicles & Transport1.3.3 Medical Devices & Equipment1.3.4 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)For more help speak to our Expert @About Us:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:John+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.com
Global Temperature Data-loggers Research Report- Industry Analysis, Share, Growth and Forecast To 2022

Temperature Data-loggers

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Temperature Data-loggers is also called temperature monitor, is a portable measurement instrument that is capable of autonomously recording temperature over a defined period of time. The digital data can be retrieved, viewed and evaluated after it has been recorded. A data logger is commonly used to monitor shipments in a cold chain and to gather temperature data from diverse field conditions.Feel the form to grain deeper insight of market @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Temperature Data-loggers in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Major Players Included in Garage Door Replacement Parts Market:Rotronic, Nietzsche Enterprise, Tmi Orion, Testo, Signatrol, Elpro-Buchs, Omega, KIMO, In-Situ, Temprecord International, Digitron Italia, Ebro Electronic, Dickson, Delta OHM, Onset, Gemini Data Loggers, Lascar Electronics, MadgeTech.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversStand-alone Data LoggerWeb-based Data LoggerWireless Data LoggerBLE Data LoggerMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoMedical IndustryFood IndustryElectronic IndustryAgricultural IndustryOthersBrowse full report with Table of Content and data tables for Garage Door Replacement Parts Market @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Temperature Data-loggers market.Chapter 1, to describe Temperature Data-loggers Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Temperature Data-loggers, with sales, revenue, and price of Temperature Data-loggers, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Temperature Data-loggers, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 12, Temperature Data-loggers market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Temperature Data-loggers sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for discount @ There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Temperature Data-loggers market.Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Temperature Data-loggers Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Medical Industry1.3.2 Food Industry1.3.3 Electronic Industry1.3.4 Agricultural Industry1.3.5 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.5 Market DynamicsFor more help speak to our Expert @About Us:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:John+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.com
Analysts Forecast the Global Power Rental Services Market to grow at a CAGR of 3.32% during the period 2017-2021

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Power Rental Services Market 2017-2021 " to it's Large Report database.ABSTRACTAbout Power Rental ServicesPower rental services are the additional services which a vendor provides to the client, apart from making a generator and other accessories available for rent. These services enhance the customer satisfaction and reduce the downtime and operational costs incurred due to poor maintenance/planning. The market encompasses services, such as pre-inspection, remote monitoring, fuel management, equipment testing, and contingency planning. Power rental equipment provides essential support to businesses and consumers during power outages. Diesel and gas generators are common forms of this equipment. In addition, power rental generators are being used as base load or as a standby application, depending on the industry needs.Technavios analysts forecast the global power rental services market to grow at a CAGR of 3.32% during the period 2017-2021.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global power rental services market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Power Rental Services Market 2017-2021, 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.Read All Power Market Research Reports @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionMarket outlinePART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisPART 06: Geographical segmentationGlobal power rental services market by geographyPower rental services market in AmericasPower rental services market in EMEAPower rental services market in APACPART 07: Market segmentation by end-usersGlobal power rental services market by end-userGlobal power rental services market in utility sectorGlobal power rental services market in oil and gas sectorGlobal power rental services market in industrial sectorGlobal power rental services market in others sectorPART 08: Decision frameworkPART 09: Drivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's 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. ResearchMoz's 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.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
Global Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Industry 2017, Trends and Forecast Report by Material, Application and Geography

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Industry 2017, Trends and Forecast Report " to it's Large Report database.Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services 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 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services 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.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Market;3.) the North American Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Market;4.) the European Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Table of ContentsPart I Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Industry OverviewChapter One Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Industry Overview1.1 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Definition1.2 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Classification Analysis1.2.1 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Main Classification Share AnalysisRead All IoT Market Research Reports @1.3 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Application Analysis1.3.1 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Product Market Development Overview1.6 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Internet of Things (IoT) Managed Services 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 AnalysisAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's 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. ResearchMoz's 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.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
Canada Hosted PBX Market: Strategic Collaborations Key Strategy Adopted by Players to Gain Competitive Advantage

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The degree of competition is considerably high among the existing vendors in the Canada hosted PBX market. Furthermore, the market exhibits considerable opportunities for the new players to venture in. Considering such high potential for the entry of new players, the hosted PBX market in Canada will witness intensified competition in the near future, prophesized Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new study.Obtain Report Details @The vendors in the market are competing through strategic collaborations and even partnerships. Currently, Allstream, Inc., Telus Communications, Bell Canada, Cisco System, Microsoft Corporation, and Mitel Networks Corporation hold dominance in the Canada hosted PBX market. These companies held nearly 54% of the Canada hosted PBX market in 2016. Besides forging new partnerships, these companies are also working towards expanding their offerings to gain competitive advantage. As these strategies are forecast to reflect positively on any companys overall proceeds, they can considerably influence the markets trajectory as well.According to TMR, the hosted PBX market in Canada will rise at a whopping 18.2% between 2017 and 2025. At this pace, the market will reach US$1.75 bn by the end of 2025, from its valuation of US$398.6 mn in 2016. By application, telecom & IT and BFSI emerged as the two leading segments in the market. Of these, telecom & IT held dominance with a share of just over 20% in the market in 2016. By enterprise size, large enterprises left behind SMEs to emerge as the market lead. By the end of 2017, it is expected to hold over 68.7% of the Canada hosted PBX market based on value.Steps Adopted by Government to Fuel GrowthThe hosted PBX market in Canada is primarily gaining from the countrys progress in deploying wireless services. With the government pulling up its stock to make Canada a leading digital nation by the end of 2017, there could be no dearth of opportunities for the hosted PBX market. said a lead TMR analyst. Considering this target, the government has adopted several initiatives to provide high-quality spectrum to help wireless service providers ensure improved standard of services.Integrating the latest technologies is therefore a key aspect observed by organizations across Canada. Among the latest technologies to have forayed in Canada in the last few years, adoption of IP based services have left a lasting impact. The adoption of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) has therefore gained pace in the country. As the hosted PBX technology works on the basis of VoIP, which enables PBX to connect with smartphones, personal computer, and other technologies, proliferation of VoIP will mean lucrative opportunities for the expansion of the hosted PBX market in Canada.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Besides adopting hosted PBX can also help organizations minimize OPEX. Spurred by these factors, the demand for hosted PBX is poised to soar in Canada through the forecast period.Vulnerability to Cyber-attacks could Hamper TrajectoryOn the downside, security concerns related to cloud-connectivity can negatively affect the overall market. The recent incidents of cyber-attack and data breaches have compelled organizations to opt for technologies that are more secure. As VoIP and other streaming media are more vulnerable to these attacks, smaller companies are discouraged from adopting hosted PBX. While this could act against, the market is projected to gain from the rising demand for VoIP with higher bandwidth. As companies look towards maximizing their bandwidth to be able digitally transmit greater volume of data, the demand for hosted PBX will rise in response.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:
North America Remote Patient Monitoring market to reach $18.68 billion by 2021.

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Research Trades adds a new report package North America Remote Patient Monitoring market - Size, Share, Trends, Forecast, Growth 2022The North America Remote Patient Monitoring market is poised to reach $484 million by 2020 growing at a CAGR of 8.0%. Remote patient monitoring (RPM), also called homecare telehealth, is a category of ambulatory healthcare that permits a patient to use a mobile medical device to accomplish a routine test and guide the test data to a healthcare expert in real-time. RPM technology comprises day-to-day monitoring devices such as glucose meters for patients with diabetes and heart or blood pressure monitors for patients getting cardiac care. Information can be sent to a physician's workplace by using a special telehealth computer system, by using a special software application installed on the patient's Internet-capable computer, smartphone or tablet PC.Get Sample Copy of this report @Currently, the global market is dominated by the North America region followed by the likes of Europe. USA is the largest market in this region. The North America Remote Patient Monitoring market can be segmented on the basis of type of device (Heart monitors, Breath Monitors, Hematology monitors and Multi Parameter monitors), End user (Home healthcare, Clinics, Hospitals and Others), Geography (USA and Canada).Increase in the chronic disease population, increase in the aging population, and demand for home based monitoring devices are all the major factors driving the growth of the patient care monitoring market. The need to contain the average healthcare expenditure is one of the major reason driving the growth of the market.Resistance from the healthcare industry professionals towards the adoption of the patient monitoring system, lack of proper reimbursement policies and stringent regulatory framework are the challenges faced by the Patient monitoring equipment market.View Complete Report @The market contributors involve in mergers and attainments along with new product enhancement in an effort to preserve sustainability. Some key players include Welch Allyn, Bosch, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Roche, Philips Healthcare, Philips, Healthanywhere Inc, Honeywell, American Telecare, Biotronik, and Covidien Plc.Table of Contents:1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. KEY FINDINGS3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY4. MARKET DYNAMICS4.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION4.2 MARKET DRIVERS4.2.1 RISING INCIDENCES OF CHRONIC DISEASES DUE TO LIFESTYLE CHANGES4.2.2 INCREASE IN AGING POPULATION4.2.3 NEED TO CONTAIN HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE4.2.4 DEMAND FOR HOME BASED MONITORING DEVICES4.2.5 EASE OF USE AND PORTABILITY DEVICES TO PROMOTE THE GROWTH4.3 MARKET RESTRAINTS4.3.1 RESISTANCE FROM THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL TOWARDS THE ADOPTION OF PATIENT MONITORING SYSTEMS4.3.2 STRINGENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORK4.3.3 LACK OF PROPER REIMBURSEMENTPurchase a copy of this report, for the single user price of $4255 @About UsResearch Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights. The research encompasses information gathered and examined by subject-matter experts, laying down growth opportunities and developmental strategies for enterprises.Contact Us:Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Pressure Sensitive Labels Market Outlook and Worldwide Forecast to 2021

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The growing transportation and logistics industries are the key drivers of Pressure Sensitive labels market. With the growth of e-commerce industries, there is an increased need for warehousing solution. The need for product authentication, tamper evidence and security features have stimulated the market for pressure sensitive labels. Furthermore the increased application across the sectors such as food & beverages, pharmaceuticals and automotive has fueled the market for Pressure Sensitive labels used in packaging.Make an Enquiry @Key Players Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Avery Dennison Corporation, CCL Industries Inc., Technicote Inc., Lintec Corporation, 3M, NSD International, UPM Raflatac, Inland Label and Marketing Services LLC, NAStar Inc., Reflex Labels Ltd.Study Objectives of Global Pressure Sensitive Labels Market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of various segments and sub-segments of the Global Pressure Sensitive Labels Market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Global Pressure Sensitive Labels 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, APAC, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Compositions, Technology, Application and by Region. To provide strategic profiling of the key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Pressure Sensitive Labels MarketSegmentsGlobal Pressure Sensitive labels market is segmented on the basis of Compositions, Technology, Application and Region. On the basis of compositions it is segmented as top coat, face stock, adhesive, and liner. On the basis of technology it is segmented as water based, solvent based, radiation, hot melt, and others. On the basis of application it is segmented as food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and others. Additionally on the basis of Region, it is segmented as North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.Access Report Details @Regional Analysis of Global Pressure Sensitive Labels MarketThe region is expected to show rapid growth in e-commerce and transportation sectors. The growing organized retails have widened the scope of warehousing solutions which staggers the demand for pressure sensitive labels.The report for Global Pressure Sensitive Labels Market 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 Global Pressure Sensitive Labels Market Research Report - Forecast to 2021 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.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
North America Sourdough Market to Perceive Substantial Growth USD 1,176 million and 3.95% of CAGR by 2022

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North America Sour dough market statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of Sour dough market size by starter culture. The market has been segmented on the basis of starter culture including Type I (Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis), Type II (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and Type III (Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis).Make an Enquiry @North America Sour dough market, by starter culture is estimated to be at USD 1,176 million and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.95% during the period 2016-2022.The sourdough market is driven due to rising demand from consumers demands for bread of superior quality and free of chemical additives. There is high demand for also for nutritional valued sourdough products, which in short has increased the growth of this market in North America. Due to urbanization, people tend to prefer western food over traditional food. There is an increasingly demand for the sourdough pizza, as it is considered healthy alternative when compared to other pizzasThe report analysis the sour dough market and presents efficient data of production for 2011 to 2016, along with forecast till 2022.The report provides a market overview on sour dough and its supply concentration. Additionally, the report provides the market size projections for the coming years.Access Report Details@Research Methodology: Initially, secondary data analysis is done using data sources from internal published reports and internal existing primary records. The secondary data obtained was later validated by primary research with discussions with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) in the sour dough market. The overall primary and secondary data was triangulated to reach the final findings.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from North America Sourdough Market-Trends & Forecast, 2011-2022 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.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market - North America Industry Analysis 2024 | Research Report

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North America Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market: SnapshotThe North America market for hydraulic fluid connectors has been witnessing substantial growth over the last few years, thanks to the steady rise in the regions civil aviation industry. The increasing passenger count for the international and the domestic commute, thanks to the upswing in tourism and business activities, is creating high requirements for new aircraft, which in turn, is influencing the demand for hydraulic fluid connectors in North America. With the U.S. possessing the most powerful air force in the world, the application hydraulic fluid connectors in military aviation is also high in this region.This 58 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market. Browse through 2 data tables and 13 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.Hitherto, the presence of some of the leading aircraft manufacturers in North America, such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Bell Aircraft Corp., has been creating lucrative opportunities for the vendors hydraulic fluid connectors in this region and is anticipated to remain doing so over the forthcoming years. However, the stringent government regulations and standards set by the aviation industry may limit the usage of these connectors in the North America aerospace industry to some extent in the years to come. The market, which was worth US$535.9 mn in 2015, is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.10% between 2016 and 2024 and reach a value of US$987.6 mn by the end of 2024.Demand for Mobile Hydraulics to Remain HighMobile hydraulics and stationary hydraulics are the two main products available in the North America market for hydraulic fluid connectors. Mobile hydraulics, among the two, have emerged as the most valued product in this market and is expected to continue to be in this position over the next few years, thanks to the rise in the demand for new and bigger aircraft, along with the subsequent increase in the ground support vehicles.The mobile hydraulics segment consists of all the equipment, devices, and crafts that are movable, such as aircraft, container carriers, luggage handling vehicles, and tugs. Airport material handling equipment, such as container loaders, and ground support equipment, such as fueling vehicles, de-icing machines, mobile lifts, loaders, and various other movable machines are also included in mobile hydraulics. On the other hand, the stationary hydraulic product segment includes jet-bridge, hangar equipment, and maintenance equipment only.U.S. to Retain Dominance throughout Forecast PeriodThe U.S. and Canada are the prime domestic markets for hydraulic fluid connectors in North America. With more than 85%, the U.S. led the North America market for hydraulic fluid connectors in 2015. Researchers expect the domestic market to retain its position over the forthcoming years, thanks to the strong economic growth, the presence of a robust aviation industry, and the high disposable income of consumers in this country. The crunching airfare prices are attracting a large number of passengers to travel via air for domestic trips, which is also expected to propel the civil aviation industry, thereby stimulating the U.S. hydraulic fluid connectors market in the near future.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Hydraulic Fluid Connectors Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @The North America market for hydraulic fluid connectors is largely consolidated and is dominated by Parker Hannifin Corp. and Eaton Corp. Plc. Other prominent vendors of hydraulic fluid connectors in North America are Kurt Hydraulics, RYCO Hydraulics Pty. Ltd., Manuli Hydraulics, Gates Corp., ALFAGOMMA S.P.A, B&E Manufacturing Co. Inc., Aerocom Specialty Fittings Inc., Atlas Specialty Products, Faber Enterprises, and Titeflex.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:
Pharmaceutical Bottles Global Analysis & Forecast to 2026 Market Research Report

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Spain Pharmaceutical Bottles Market: OverviewThis report provides forecast and analysis of the Spain pharmaceutical bottles market. The study provides historic data of 2016 along with forecast from 2017 to 2024 based on volume (Mn units) and revenue (US$ Mn). It includes drivers, restraints and the ongoing trend for the pharmaceutical bottles market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of opportunities available in the Spain market for pharmaceutical bottles. It includes value chain analysis with list of raw material manufacturers, plastic bottles manufacturers, packaging manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and end users in the value chain.In order to provide the users of this report with comprehensive view of market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players. The competitive dashboard provides detailed comparison of pharmaceutical bottles manufacturers on parameters such as companys revenue, unique selling propositions and key strategic developments.This 95 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Pharmaceutical Bottles market Browse through 7 data tables and 34 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.Spain Pharmaceutical Bottles Market: Research MethodologyThe study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by bottle type, application, material type and end user. Market statistics have been estimated based on average consumption and weighted average pricing of pharmaceutical bottles and the revenue is derived through regional pricing trends. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of the Spain markets. The pharmaceutical plastics bottles market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous pharmaceutical bottles manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors. All key end users have been considered and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents.Regional demand patterns have been considered while estimating the market for various end users of pharmaceutical bottles in Spain. Top-down approach has been used to estimate the Spain pharmaceutical bottles market. Market numbers for the Spain bottle type, application, material type and end user segments have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of regions demand. The market has been forecasted based on constant currency rates.A number of primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include Factiva, World Bank, Packaging Digest, Plastic Manufacturers Association, Society of the Plastics Industry, and Hoovers, and company annual reports and publications.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe report provides detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of key participants operating in the Spain market. Key players in the Spain bottle type, application, material type and end user market include, Gerresheimer AG., Amcor Limited, Alcion Plasticos, Maynard and Harris Plastics Ltd, Industrias Plasticas Puig, and Pont Europe.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Pharmaceutical Bottles market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.The Spain pharmaceutical bottles market is segmented below:By Bottle TypePacker BottlesDropper BottlesEye DroppersEar DroppersNose DroppersLiquid BottlesOthersBy ApplicationE-liquidLiquidDroppersOral CareTopical medicationBy Material TypeHigh-density polyethylene (HDPE)Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)Polypropylene (PP)Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)By End UserPharmaceutical CompaniesCompounding PharmaciesChemical CompaniesHealthcare CentersPharmaceutical Packaging CompaniesRequest for Discount of this report - @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:
Marine Lubricants Market - Industry Analysis 2022 | Research Report

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Turkey Marine Lubricants Market: SnapshotMarine lubricants are vital for any ship, since its internal combustion invariable generated some wasted heat. This accumulation of heat in ships engine can damage its crucial parts, which may fail to operate at high temperatures. Lubricants with high boiling point help dissipate heat, thus prolonging the lifetime of engines. Lubricants also help in smooth operation of ships, despite which the market witnesses risk from conventional fluids used as lubricants used in marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, as marine environment regulations get stringer, the demand for high quality marine lubricants is expected to rise in the coming years.This 71 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Marine Lubricants Market .Browse through 4 data tables and 14 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.Spurred by the aforementioned factors, the global marine lubricants market is expected to rise at a steady 3.48% CAGR in terms of revenue between 2014 and 2022. By volume, the market stood at 84.5 kilo tons in 2013 and is expected to reach 103.8 kilo tons by the end of 2022. If these figures hold true, the global marine lubricants market will exhibit a CAGR of 2.40% during the same time frame.Rising Shipping Activities with Europe to Keep Demand for Marine Lubricants High in TurkeyIn the global marine lubricants market until 2011, Europe with Turkey constituted the second-leading share. However, the shipping industry is gradually shifting toward Asia Pacific and the marine lubricants market is following the suit. Nevertheless, in Turkey the demand for marine lubricants is expected to remain on account of the rise in marine traffic across Turkish straits and the increasing domestic consumption. Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment in Turkey has implemented several regulations to tighten environmental protection and simultaneously ensure that shipping companies adhere to these norms.On account of the increasing traffic in ports across Turkey, the marine authorizes are compelled to focus on implementing stringent regulations to curb emission of polluting substance. In addition, shipping companies voyaging to the country or passing across the Strait of Bosporus are required to follow the regulations enforced by marine protection organizations. These stringent regulations are expected to fuel the demand for high quality marine lubricants in Turkey. Also with the adoption of environmentally accepted lubricants, the demand for clean marine lubricants is rising. These factors are expected to support strong growth exhibited by the global marine lubricants market.Stringent Environmental Laws Fuelling Demand for Bio-based Marine Lubricants in TurkeyIn terms of product, mineral lubricants constituted nearly 83% of the demand reported in the Turkey marine lubricants market in 2013. Mineral lubricants are non-biodegradable, which means accidental spillage can pose threat to the local ecosystem. Also long-term disposal of marine lubricants can have adverse impact on the marine life. This has in turn fuelled the demand for bio-based marine lubricants, which and biodegradable in nature and therefore pose lesser threat to aquatic life and local ecosystem. The shipping industry in the EU is using biobased lubricants for a long time. As Turkish shipping operators look forward to increasing their interaction with Europes shipping channel, they are compelled to conform to their laws, which in turn has fuelled the use of biobased lubricants in the Turkey shipping industry. Spurred by these factors, the marine lubricants market in Turkey will exhibit strong growth during the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Marine Lubricants Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Some of the leading companies operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market are Royal Dutch Shell, Total Lubricants (Lubmarine), Castrol, Chevron, BP Marine, and ExxonMobil. These companies are forging contractual agreements with local Turkish manufacturers to reinforce their distribution channels and widen their customer base.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:
Solar Power Bank Market - Industry Analysis, Size 2023 | Research Report

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Solar Power Bank Market: OverviewSolar energy has evolved as a major alternative source of energy. Solar energy is increasingly being utilized as source of energy for street lighting, automobiles, house appliances and others. In recent times, solar power banks are gaining popularity in the consumer market, with the rise in use of electronic gadgets. Solar power banks serve as an energy storage device, which can be utilized when required to charge any of the USB-charged devices such as cameras, portable speakers, GoPros, MP3 players GPS systems.Browse Market Research Report @Solar power banks require sunlight to charge, making it reliable in circumstances where electrical supply or charger is not available. Most of the solar power banks available today can be charged alternatively via computer using USB. Considering solar as an environmental friendly technology, demand for solar power banks is expected to escalate in the coming years.Solar Power Bank Market: Drivers and RestraintsSolar power banks find wide range of applications such as charging of smartphones, laptop, tablets and other devices. The growth of smartphones, laptops and tablets market has generated the need for external energy storage devices for charging. The escalated use of internet with the availability of 3G and 4G services on smartphones and tablets has increased the consumption of battery at a faster rate, thus, driving the solar power bank market. Further, tourists or trekkers preferring to travel at distant places can rely on the solar power banks over the conventional power banks, as at times of emergencies solar power banks can be charged via sunlight. The rural areas in emerging markets such as Africa, Asia and Latin America pose good opportunities for solar power banks due to constraint of electricity supply in these regions.However, the challenges such as low efficiency at night or cloudy days, may affect the trust of end consumers in the market. Since the launch of solar technology, the availability of sunlight in cloudy areas or at night times has been the major constraint for solar devices.Compatibility with all the device brands is another challenge affecting the market of solar power banks. Moreover, solar power banks also face competition from existing electrically charged power banks. Manufacturers need to focus on overcoming these major challenges to gain competitive advantage over the existing and new manufacturers entering the market in coming years to explore the untapped opportunities in solar power bank market.Solar Power Bank Market: Segmentation and Top PlayersDepending on the application and the capacity of battery, solar power banks are designed and available in market with different capacity range. The solar power bank market is categorized by the capacity range offered by the solar power banks, which include 500 mAh to 3499 mAh, 3500 mAh to 6499 mAh, 6500 mAh to 9499 mAh, 9500 mAh to 12499 mAh, 12500 mAh to 15499 mAh and above 15500 mAh.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Solar Power Bank Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @The key companies operating in solar power bank market include Anker., Advantage Computers (I) Pvt. Ltd., LG Chem Ltd, China BAK Battery, Inc., Mophie Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, OnePlus, Sony Corporation, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., UNU ELECTRONICS INC., Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd, and Shenzhen Topband Co. LtdAbout 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:
Run Of River Power Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share 2023 | Research Report

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A run of river power plant is a small hydro power plant harnessing energy from the river water. This hydropower being renewable in nature, small in size, and dependent upon the natural water flow, seems to be a suitable low-impact alternative to the existing large-scale plants.Browse Market Research Report @A run of river plant produces hydropower from kinetic energy of the natural flow of a river. A small portion of the river is diverted and led to the power house through a channel or penstock. The flowing water rotates the turbine which in turn rotates the generator coupled to it. This plant can produce substantial power provided there is sufficient water flow and its kinetic energy. The kinetic energy of this flowing water can be increased by having a sufficient pitch. Hence a location having such geographical features is suitable for the power plant to operate efficiently.There are many advantages of a run of river power plant. A dam is required only if the available head is not enough to produce the power demanded. Existing dams can also be used to meet the dam requirement. Since dam is not necessary for such power plant, flood risks are reduced. Thus negative impact on the environment is less. Flowing river water is source of energy which is converted to electricity. It is also environment friendly as it produces no pollution or any particulate matter. It is convenient for use by factories, residential areas and all those whose power requirement is not much. The run of river is an intermittent source of power. The power produced from such plant is suitable only to meet the peak power loads and not base load. Thus its operation and maintenance cost becomes high.The market for run of river plants has high prospects of development. In North America run of river projects are expected to perform well due to its high dependency on hydropower in renewable sector. Europe is expected to see gradual development of such market due to its high concern for the environment and less availability the most economically attractive sites. But it is also been seen as an important source of energy security among other energy sources to meet for Europes future energy requirement. So development but on limited levels are expected in the forecasted period. China in Asia Pacific is the largest producer of hydropower in the world. Other major countries expected to contribute to renewables through hydropower are India, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Hence the run of power projects can be beneficial in Asia Pacific too. Brazil is the second largest hydropower producer in the world. Thus the rest of the world provides a high scope of run of river market developmentGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the Run Of River Power Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Market segmentation in run off power projects is dependent upon the water- head availability in the river. A run of river with pondage is the one where low head is available throughout the year. A pondage is a storage facility to store the water and can be utilized during dry seasons when water head is very low. In meeting the peak power demands of consumers this stored water can be used. Another type of such power plant is a run of river without a pondage. Due to enough head availability of the water in the river throughout the year. No storage is required as water availability is enough to produce the required power.Some of the key players in the run off the power market are China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd., Duke Energy, Ontario Power Generation, and Stat Kraft AS.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:
Utility Automation Market - Global Industry Analysis 2023 | Research Report

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The power utilities worldwide are facing the problems of aging infrastructures and transmission losses. These utilities also have the burden of meeting the increasing consumer expectations and regulatory policies of the governments. The complicated transmission systems used in these facilities are not suitable for adapting to sustainable energy and smart grid technology. In some of the developing countries of Asian region and Latin America, the transmission loses are more than 15%. With increasing population and energy demand, the above factors have resulted in decreased efficiency for power utilities. However the governments are advising the utility owners to shift focus on automation to meet the challenges faced by energy sector.Browse Market Research Report @The utility automation includes various technology through which the transmission systems are made capable to meet the emerging market demands. Reliable transmission, prompt customer service, efficient controlling techniques are some of the needs met by utility grid automation. The automation has also facilitated the two way communication, security enhancement and asset management for the customers. The utility grid automations market can be segmented on the basis of the services and technologies. The common type of technologies used are Advanced Metering Infrastructure, Automatic Vehicle Location, Customer and Financial Information System, Demand-side Management Impact, Demand Response, Distribution Automation, Geographic Information Systems, Mobile Work Management, Motor Controls and Automation Outage Management System, Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and Substation Automation.The above technologies cover all the dimensions of utility transmission and distribution network. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) provides real time data to the supplier and user about the power consumption. This data helps in making informed choices for energy saving. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) is used to determine the geographic location of the vehicle similar to GPS. These systems help in maximizing the safety of the employees and supports in time services for the customers. Customer and Financial Information System (CIS & FIS) have eased the workflow in utilities generating improved customer response and accurate billing. The demand response management is used for optimizing the response time and appropriating supply based on demand calculations. The Distribution Automation (DA) is being applied in many utilities to improve the core of power distribution systems. The output in the form of reliable service, reduce customer complaints and outages has increased the efficiency of utilities. The DA is being applied to the urban as well as the rural areas utilities.Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can store and plot information about the electric and other systems of the utilities. This system facilitates planning, electric system modeling, outage management prediction, and inventory system management, among others. Mobile Work Management (MWM) refers to systems optimizing the operations and designing of utility. This includes the management of service orders, construction orders, project designs, audit, inspections, and implementing of the other automated technologies. Motor Automation refers to the centralized centers for motor control and may vary as local control, fully automated and integrated control. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems include the real time data exchange. This data help in supporting the smart grid networks. IP networks are being used for substation automation. This has benefited the data collection and calculation of fault statistics. The data can be used for taking preventive measures for equipment used in utilities.The utility automations market is in its growth stage. The utility automation is being done for partially automated stations or for retrofits. However the grid efficiency, reliable power distribution and optimized customer services provided by the automation will act as major drivers in the coming years. The developing countries are being considered as the most attractive market for utilities automation. These regions have the major demand of power and the least efficient network.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Utility Automation Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @These factors will aid in the demand of automation and penetration will be easier in developing markets. However the huge initial investment may act as a hindrance to the market growth. Additionally there are very few vendors in the market providing integrated services. Thus to achieve substantial growth, the companies should focus on setting benchmarks and integrated solutions for the utilities.Some of the major players providing the utility automation technologies and services are Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., Schneider Electric, S&C Electric Company, NovaTech, LLC, Landis+Gyr, Itron, Infrax Systems, Alstom Sa, ABB, Eaton, Cisco Systems, Inc., General Electric Company and Siemens AG, 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. 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:
Underfloor Heating Market - Global Industry Analysis 2022 | Research Report

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An underfloor heating system is a form of radiant heating that allows heat to pass from a moderately hot element which, in turn, controls the indoor climate. This provides thermal comfort, thereby avoiding the need of radiators. The moderately hot element includes floor, wall, or overheated panel. The underfloor heating system is most preferred heating system owing to the benefits associated such as no or minimal maintenance required, provides thermal comfort, flexible control through single thermostat, and absence of radiators that ensures safety.Browse Market Research Report @Underfloor heating market is segmented on the basis of type, application and geography. On the basis of type, the underfloor heating market is categorized into hydronic systems and electric underfloor heating systems. In hydronic underfloor heating system, heated water is forced from a boiler through a link of tubing underneath the floor. The heat conducted through the surface of the floor by hot water emits radiant energy to the room. An electric underfloor heating system requires electricity for its operation and uses non-corrosive, flexible heating elements and less number of components than hydronic underfloor heating.The global market for electric underfloor heating systems is expected to witness increased demand over the forecast period owing to its low installation cost. These systems can be easily fitted into a single room, in wireless prone area i.e.which do not require digging wall channels. Based on the applications, the underfloor heating market is segmented into commercial (transportation & logistics, hospitality, healthcare, academia and institutional, and retail), industrial, and residential (single-family houses and apartments). Furthermore, based on geography, the underfloor heating market is segmented into five major regions including North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.Increasing awareness about energy efficiency and renewable energy technology has significant impact on future demand for underfloor heating systems. These energy and heating solutions can achieve significant carbon savings, and help to meet renewable energy targets. Growing quality of new building techniques such as insulation and controls, is stimulating the underfloor heating systems market across the globe. The underfloor heating system market is expected to witness increased demand owing to growing usage of these systems in residential sector. The refurbishment activity carried out in developed regions such as the U.S and Germany, is also anticipated to thrust the market growth. The rising demand for high level comfort and flexibility is the key factor driving the market revenue of underfloor heating systems across the globe. However, slow response time of underfloor heating is one of the factors that are limiting the growth of underfloor heating systems.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Underfloor Heating Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Some of the key players in this market include Schneider Electric SE (France), Uponor Corporation (Finland), Danfoss A/S (Denmark), Honeywell International Inc. (U.S), Emerson Electric Co. (U.S.),, Pentair PLC (U.K.), Mitsubishi Electric (Tokyo), and Robert Bosch (Germany), Nexans S.A. (France), 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. 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:
Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) Construction Market - Global Industry Analysis | Research Report

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Ultra mega power projects (UMPP) are large power stations with a capacity of 4,000 MW. UMPP was an initiative planned by Government of India in 2005 to build series of ambitious power stations. The aim of the initiative is to create an additional capacity of minimum 100,000 MW power by 2022. The UMPPs are perceived as an extension of the MPP (Mega Power Projects) projects that the Government of India initiated in the 1990s. The projects are awarded to developers on the basis of competitive bidding. In countries such as Brazil, China, Poland, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, UAE, Canada, Venezuela and the U.S, ultra mega power projects exist with different names and different initiatives. Generally, these UMPPs are coal powered, hydro powered, nuclear powered, wind powered and oil & gas powered.Browse Market Research Report @The global UMPP construction market has been growing substantially since the first ultra mega power project was started in Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in 1971. This power plant has an installed capacity of 5,428 MW and is owned and operated by the Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation Limited.Many other ultra-mega power projects such as the Itaipu hydroelectric dam, Xiluodu hydroelectric dam, and Guri hydroelectric dam have been constructed in various regions of the world. North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America are the major markets for UMPP construction industry.The drivers for UMPP construction market include rising demand for electricity across the globe. The rising population, industrialization and modernization have led to an increase in demand of electricity. UMPPs provide electricity to consumers at much lower rates. As the size of the power plants is very huge, the cost of the electricity is much lower due to the economies of scale. However, initial high capital costs, negative environmental impacts and infeasibility to relocate large number of residents could hamper the growth of UMPP construction market.UMPPs are beneficial for low cost electricity generation and rising demand of electricity could be satisfied with help of UMPPs. Many governments such as Government of India and Government of China among others have provided subsidies,financial assistance, public clearances and approvals, and plug and play model to encourage UMPP construction projects. These positive attributes are likely to help the UMPP construction market to grow during the forecast period.The global UMPP constructionmarket for can be segmented on the basis of technology and geography. Various types of UMPPs are constructed across the globe using different renewable and non-renewable energy sources. UMPPs are constructed using various energy sources such as coal, nuclear energy, oil & gas, wind power and hydro power. Asia Pacific held largest market share of the global UMPP construction market in 2014. China is one of the leader in UMPP construction market followed by India, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. North America, Latin America and Europe including countries such as the U.S, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia and Poland have a large market for UMPP construction. Middle East has also started construction of UMPP in recent years. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE are major players in this region for UMPP construction market.Asia Pacific including countries such as China and India have a huge potential market for UMPP construction in the coming years.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) Construction Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Some of the key players in the global UMPP construction market include China Three Gorges Corporation, Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, CVG Electrificacion Del Caroni CA, Chubu Electric PowerCo. Inc., Itaipu Binacional, LongTan Hydropower Development Co. Ltd., Ontario Power Generation Inc.,PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, Reliance Power Ltd., RusHydro JSC, Saudi Consolidated Electric Company, Taiwan Power Company , Tata Power Co. Ltd, and Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. 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. 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:
Emulsion Polymers 2015 Market  Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies & Forecasts 2023

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Emulsion polymers are produced by polymerization followed by emulsification of monomers such as styrene and butadiene and some co-monomers such as vinyl acetate. Emulsion polymers are widely employed in various end-user industries such as paints & coatings, paper & paperboard, adhesives, and textiles & non-woven. Paints & coatings was the largest end-user segment of the emulsion polymers market in 2014.Furthermore, it is likely to be the fastest growing segment of the global emulsion polymers market from 2015 to 2023. Acrylics held major share of the global emulsion polymers market in 2014. Threat of substitutes is high from bio-based as well as silicone emulsions in the global emulsion polymers market.The report estimates and forecasts the emulsion polymers market on the global, regional, and country level. The study provides forecast from 2015 to 2023 based on volume (Kilo Tons) and revenue (US$ Mn).This 197 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Emulsion Polymers market Browse through 94 data tables and 25 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.The study provides a comprehensive view of the emulsion polymers market by dividing it into product segments such as acrylics, styrene-butadiene latex, vinyl acetate polymers, polyurethane, and others. In terms of end-user, the global emulsion polymers market has been segmented into paints & coatings, paper & paperboard, adhesives, textiles & non-woven, and others. End-user segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends, and the market has been estimated from 2015 to 2023 in terms of volume (Kilo Tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for emulsion polymers in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for product and end-user segments. Key countries such as the U.S., U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Germany, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and ASEAN and GCC countries are included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual products and applications in all the regions and countries.The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis, which provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage of the value chain. The report covers drivers and restraints for the emulsion polymers market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. Additionally, it includes the study of opportunities in the emulsion polymers market at the global level.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to gauge the degree of competition in the emulsion polymers market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein applications have been analyzed based on attractiveness. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive general attractiveness of the market. The report includes price trend analysis for raw materials (butadiene, styrene, n-butyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate monomer) and emulsion polymers from 2014 to 2023.Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents bulk of the research efforts, supplemented by an extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.The report covers a detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Arkema S.A., Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation, BASF SE, Batf Industry Co., Ltd., Celanese Corporation, DIC Corporation, Koninklijke DSM N.V., Trinseo S.A., and Wacker Chemie AG. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Emulsion Polymers market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.This report segments the global emulsion polymers market as follows:Emulsion Polymers Market - Product AnalysisAcrylicsStyrene-butadiene latexVinyl acetate polymersPolyurethaneOthers (Silicone, Hybrid Epoxy, etc.)Emulsion Polymers Market - End-user AnalysisPaints & CoatingsPaper & PaperboardAdhesivesTextiles & Non-wovenOthers (Leather, etc.)Emulsion Polymers Market - Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.Rest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyFranceU.K.ItalySpainRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaASEANRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & Africa (MEA)GCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaRequest for Discount of this report - @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:
Metallic Pigments Global Analysis & Forecast to 2023 Market Research Report

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The report analyzes and forecasts the metallic pigments market on the global and regional level. The study provides historical data of 2014 along with forecast from 2015 to 2023 based on volume (Kilo Tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). The study includes drivers and restraints for the metallic pigments market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The report also analyzes opportunities in the metallic pigments market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources.We have included a detailed analysis of the value chain to provide a comprehensive view of the metallic pigments market. Value chain analysis provides details such as integration in the market, distribution channels, product segments, and end-users. Analysis of Porters Five Forces model has also been included to help understand the competitive landscape of the metallic pigments market. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users in the market are benchmarked based on their market size, compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), general attractiveness, and company market share. We have also incorporated company market share analysis to provide detailed analysis of the market.This 185 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Metallic Pigments market Browse through 92 data tables and 28 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.The study provides a decisive view of the metallic pigments market by segmenting it on the basis of products and end-users. Product and end-user segments have been analyzed based on current and future trends, and the global market has been estimated from 2015 to 2023 in terms of volume (Kilo Tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). Regional segmentation includes current and forecast demand in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. It also includes demand for individual products and end-users in major countries in the respective regions. Country level analysis has been estimated from 2015 to 2023 in terms of volume (Tons) and revenue (US$ Thousands).The report provides detailed competitive outlook that includes profiles of key players operating in the global metallic pigments market. Key players profiled in the report include ALTANA AG, Carl Schlenk AG, Silberline Manufacturing Co. Ltd., AMETEK Inc., Sun Chemical Corporation, Asahi Kasei Corporation, Toyal America, Inc., BASF SE, Umicore N.V., Coprabel , Geotech International B.V., and Metaflake Ltd. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, brand/product portfolio, financial overview, business strategy, and key/recent developments related to the market.Constant currency rates have been considered while forecasting the market. Prices of metallic pigments and product segments vary in each region; hence, a similar volume-to-revenue ratio does not follow for each individual region. The same price for each end-user has been taken into account while estimating and forecasting market revenue on the global basis. Regional average price has been considered while breaking down the market by product segment and end-user in each region. Models and estimates have been used to produce comprehensive data sets when hard data was not available. We have used the bottom-up approach by considering individual product and end-user segments and integrating them to arrive at the global market. Product segment and end-users have been further divided using the top-down approach to derive the consumption of products in the regional market.In order to compile the research report, we conducted in-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key industry participants and opinion leaders. Primary research represented the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by an extensive secondary research. We reviewed key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents for competitive analysis and market understanding. Secondary research also includes a search of recent trade, technical writing, internet sources, and statistical data from government websites, trade associations and agencies. This has proven to be the most reliable, effective, and successful approach for obtaining precise market data, capturing industry participants insights, and recognizing business opportunities.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Metallic Pigments market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.The market has been segmented as below:Metallic Pigments Market - Product Segment AnalysisAluminumZincCopperStainless steelOthers (Including nickel, etc.)Metallic Pigments Market  End-user AnalysisPaints & coatingsPlasticsPersonal carePrinting inksOthers (Including construction materials, etc.)Metallic Pigments Market  Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.Rest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyUKFranceSpainItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaASEANRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaGCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaRequest for Discount of this report - @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:
Asthma Therapeutics Pipeline Analysis, 2017 - Clinical Trials & Results, Patent, Collaboration and Other Developments

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The pipeline for asthma therapeutics is expected to experience a positive trend in the future, the increase is mainly attributable to decreasing air quality. The prevalence of asthma is increasing globally due to the factors including environmental factors, genetic factors, air pollution, less physical activity and smoking. These factors contribute immensely in driving the pipeline analysis for asthma. According to World Health Organization, around 235 million people suffered from asthma, in 2013. Asthma related deaths occurs more commonly in low and lower middle income countries. Asthma is a very common disease and the treatment options available for the same are expensive. It has been also notes that the disease is more prevalent in women as compared to men.Explore Report at:Asthma is a chronic disease that involves inflammation of bronchial tubes. Bronchial tubes allow air to pass through the lungs and when the lungs get inflamed muscles tend to become stiff, resulting in various symptoms that might be experienced by the patient. The inflammation of bronchial tubes affects the air passage which results in the occurrence of symptoms including breath shortening, wheezing, coughing and chest congestion. These symptoms are usually very active during physical activities such as exercising, walking and running. People with family history of asthma have more chances to develop asthma. There is no cure of asthma, but various treatment options can help to improve the quality of life of patient. Along with the common symptoms of asthma, pattern of symptoms occurrence is also important during diagnosis. Patterns usually include during exercise, during particular season and morning or night. Asthma can be diagnosed by analysing the patients family history and certain breathing tests such as spirometry. Asthma cannot be cured but the disease can be dealt with its proper management. . There are certain marketed drugs that are used in the form of inhalation for managing asthma include inhaled corticosteroids, budesonide, mometasone, ciclesonide, flunisolide and beclomethasone.Request for Table of Content at:Some of the companies having a pipeline of asthma therapeutics include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novartis AG, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., GlaxoSmithKline plc, AstraZeneca plc, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Mundipharma Research Limited, Actavis Inc., Sanofi, AbbVie, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Genentech, Inc., Rhizen Pharmaceuticals SA.Browse Other Related Report at: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:KundanManager  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Latin America Biostimulants value market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 13.40 %-Forecast to 2023

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Market ScenarioBiostimulants can be any microorganism or substance applied to plants or soils to regulate and improve the crops physiological processes and bring in nutrient efficiency by enhancing crop vigour, quality and post-harvest shelf life/conservation. Biostimulants supplied to the user, differ in formulations with the intention to foster plant growth and development throughout the crop life cycle beginning from seed germination to plant maturity.Latin America has significant resources of unexploited agricultural land (concentrated in Brazil and Argentina) and it will continue to play a vital role in global food production and exports in the future. The region has been involved in the production and export of diverse range of agricultural commodities ranging from coffee in Brazil. The need to improve agricultural yield will be a pivotal factor to meet domestic food demand and maintain export competitiveness at regional level. All these factors will influence the demand of biostimulants and will lead to surge in sales of biostimulants. Globally the market for biostimulants is estimated to grow at the rate of about 13.40% from 2017 to 2023.Request a Sample Report @Segments Biostimulants market by type has been segmented into natural and synthetic. On the basis of crop type, market is segmented into fruits & vegetables, row crops, turfs & ornaments and others. On basis of application, market is segmented into seed treatment, foliar treatment, soil treatment. On basis of active ingredients, market is segmented into acid based, extracts, and others. On basis of acid based ingredients, market is segmented into humic acid, fulvic acid, amino acid. On basis of extract based ingredients, market is segmented into microbial, plant, seaweed.Key PlayersThe leading market players in the Latin America Biostimulants market primarily are BASF SE (Germany), Sapec Group (Trade Corporation International) (Spain), Arysta Life Science Limited (Japan), Isagro S.P.A (Italy), Valagro S.P.A (Italy), Koppert B.V (The Netherlands), Italpollina (Italy)Browse Report Details @Target Audience Biostimulants manufacturers Raw material suppliers End users Retailers & wholesalers E-commerce companies Traders, importers and exportersKey Findings Natural Biostimulants is projected to dominate the market and will grow at a CAGR of 11.08% Foliar treatment will dominate the market and grow at a CAGR of 10.44% Brazil will continue to dominate the Latin America biostimulant market followed by Argentina during forecast period Acid based dominated the active ingredient market and humic acid dominated acid active ingredient market. Fruits and vegetables will grow at a higher CAGR of 11.14%Regional and Country Analysis of Biostimulants Market Development and Demand Forecast to 2023 MarketAs per the MRFR analysis, the Latin America Biostimulants value market is poised to reach USD 491.24 Million in 2023, to grow at a CAGR of 13.40 % during the forecast period.The reports also cover country level analysis:Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Rest of Latin AmericaAt 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
Global Smart Energy Meter Market to Grow Exponentially in Coming Years! What are the Growth Factors, Revenue, Investment Feasibility and Trends

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Global Smart Energy Meter Market Research Report Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.This report gives an itemized and exhaustive comprehension of Smart Energy Meter market. With exact information covering every key part of the current market, this report offers existing information of driving producers. Comprehension of the economic situation by consistence of exact chronicled information with respect to every last portion for the gauge time frame is said. Driving variables influencing the development of the market in a positive and negative viewpoint is inspected and assessed and anticipated in the report in detail. Quick perspectives and contextual analyses from different industry specialists help make the report more real.Download sample pages of this report:Smart Energy Meter Showcase has been considered as far as all parameters, for example, applications, sorts, items and numerous other. Every single information prompting development or fall of the individual fragments have been clarified. Whole inventory network as for Smart Energy Meter market is contemplated inside and out and is passed on in the most far reaching way imaginable. The reasons there will be an expanding pattern to this market are considered and are expounded. Main thrusts, restrictions and openings are given to help give a superior photo of this market speculation for the conjecture time of 2017 to 2025.Ask For Discount:Considering districts, significant parts of the globe are secured with profundity of research including North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Latin America. The utilization, income, showcase esteem, generation, offer and development rate of Smart Energy Meter market from 2017 to 2025 is been secured. It likewise gives definite understanding into the aggressive scene and the merchants of market with point by point business profiles of the key players. Information about the organizations, particulars of their separate items, different portfolios, obsessive outline, era of income, late improvements and up and coming difficulties about Smart Energy Meter are all around clarified. A total SWOT investigation including development chances of this market is done to help make very much educated market choice.For more inquiry before purchase:The review shows an assessment of the components that are relied upon to repress or support the advance of the worldwide market. The worldwide Smart Energy Meter showcase has been inspected altogether on the premise of key criteria, for example, end client, application, item, innovation, and area. An investigation has been given in the report of the key land fragments and their offer and position in the market. The assessed income and volume development of the worldwide showcase has likewise been offered in the report.Complete Report Available at: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:Research N Reports10916, Gold Point, Dr,Houston, TX,Pin - 77064(Sales Manager),+1-888-631-6977sales@researchnreports.com
Food Container Market Outlook and Global Foresight to 2022

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Global Food Container Market Information by Type (Rigid and Flexible), by Material (Plastic, Paper & paperboard, Metal, Glass and others), by Product (Bags, Pouches, Containers and others), by Application (Fruits & vegetables, Dairy Products, Meat products, Frozen Food, Candy & Confections, and others) and by Region  Forecast to 2022The key drivers contributing to the growth of the food container market are increasing awareness of environmental issues, adoption of new regulatory requirements, health awareness and new packaging material development. The growing requirement for brand differentiation in an increasingly competitive environment is expected to drive the market. The plastic packaging both rigid and flexible has been dominating the market.Plastic packaging has been dominating the market. The food container market has grown over the years. The products are required to be preserved for longer span of time; they are required to be packed using durable, efficient and protective methods. Food& Beverage industry contributes the highest to the overall growth in the food container market. North America contributes largest share to the market. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing region for the food container market, followed by Europe.Get a sample copy @Study Objectives of Food Container Market: To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 6 years of various segments and sub-segments of the Global Food Container Market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyze the Global Food Container 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, APAC, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by type, material, product, application, and regions To provide strategic profiling of the key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Food Container Market.Complete Report Available atNorth America contributes largest share to the market. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing region for the food container market, followed by Europe. The reasons contributing to the growth in this region include increasing disposable income, changing lifestyle, increased popularity of packaged food and increasing aggregate demand for canned food.The key players of global food container market include Bemis Company Incorporated Berry Plastics Corporation Crown Holdings Incorporated Graham Packaging Company Incorporated Graphic Packaging Holding Company Ball Corporation Constar International Incorporated Anchor Glass Container Corporation Alcan Packaging Food Americas Associated Packaging TechnologiesTarget Audience Manufactures Raw Materials Suppliers Aftermarket suppliers Research Institute / Education Institute Potential Investors Key executive (CEO and COO) and strategy growth managerGet a discount atThe report for Global Food Container Market 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.TABLE OF CONTENTS1 Executive Summary2 Scope Of The Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations2.3 Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Primary Research3.4 Forecast Model4 Market Landscape4.1 Five Forces Analysis4.1.1 Threat Of New Entrants4.1.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.1.3 Threat of substitutes4.1.4 Segment rivalry4.2 Value Chain of Global Food Container Market5 Industry Overview of Global Food Container Market5.1 Introduction5.2 Growth Drivers5.3 Impact analysis5.4 Market Challenges5.5 Impact analysis6 Market Trends6.1 Introduction6.2 Growth Trends6.3 Impact analysis7. Global Food Container Market by Region8. Global Food Container Market by Type9. Global Food Container Market by Material10. Global Food Container Market by Product11. Global Food Container Market by Application12. Company Profiles12.1 Bemis Company Incorporated12.1.1 Overview12.1.2 Financials12.1.3 Product Portfolio12.1.4 Business Strategies12.1.5 Recent Development12.2 Berry Plastics Corporation12.2.1 Overview12.2.2 Financials12.2.3 Product Portfolio12.2.4 Business Strategies12.2.5 Recent Development12.3 Crown Holdings Incorporated12.3.1 Overview12.3.2 Financials12.3.3 Product Portfolio12.3.4 Business Strategies12.3.5 Recent Development12.4 Graham Packaging Company Incorporated12.4.1 Overview12.4.2 Financials12.4.3 Product Portfolio12.4.4 Business Strategies12.4.5 Recent Development12.5 Graphic Packaging Holding Company12.5.1 Overview12.5.2 Financials12.5.3 Product Portfolio12.5.4 Business Strategies12.5.5 Recent Development12.6 Ball Corporation12.6.1 Overview12.6.2 Financials12.6.3 Product Portfolio12.6.4 Business Strategies12.6.5 Recent Development12.7 Constar International Incorporated12.7.1 Overview12.7.2 Financials12.7.3 Product Portfolio12.7.4 Business Strategies12.7.5 Recent Development12.8 Anchor Glass Container Corporation12.8.1 Overview12.8.2 Financials12.8.3 Product Portfolio12.8.4 Business Strategies12.8.5 Recent Development12.9 Alcan Packaging Food Americas12.9.1 Overview12.9.2 Financials12.9.3 Product Portfolio12.9.4 Business Strategies12.9.5 Recent Development12.10 Associated Packaging Technologies12.10.1 Overview12.10.2 Financials12.10.3 Product Portfolio12.10.4 Business Strategies12.10.5 Recent Development13 ConclusionAt 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 AnandP: +1 646 845 9312W:
Global WebRTC Market: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast upto 2025

Global WebRTC Market

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Global WebRTC Market: SnapshotThanks to the phenomenal progress in communication technology, the global web real-time communication (webRTC) market is witnessing a substantial rise in its valuation. The application of webRTC has increased remarkably in both telecom and unified communication applications and is expected to continue expanding in the coming years, stimulating the market to grow further. Over the next few years, the demand for WebRTC is expected to surge significantly among end users, owing to its open source nature and the high compatibility with multiple devices, which is likely to reflect positively on the progress of this market in the near future.In 2016, the worldwide market for webRTC was valued at US$10.71 bn. Analysts predict the progress in this market to be paced at a CAGR of 24.30% between 2017 and 2025, and reach US$81.52 bn by the end of 2025.Obtain Report Details @Demand for Voice WebRTC Solutions to Remain StrongVoice, video, and data sharing are the key webRTC solutions provided by market players across the world. The demand for video webRTC solutions is higher than other types of solutions. This segment led the global market with a share of more than 57% in 2016 and is projected to remain so over the forthcoming years, owing to its increasing uptake in a number of telecom and IT based end-use applications. The data sharing segment is also expected to witness substantial growth in the years to come.Browser, mobile, and unified communication are the main platforms on which webRTC solutions can be run. With the significantly high user base of mobile phones, the mobile platform has been leading this market and is anticipated to continue like this over the next few years. Unified communication platform is also anticipated to report a steady rise in the near future.This 173-page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the WebRTC Market. Browse to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market@North America to Maintain DominanceThe global market for webRTC registers its presence across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, North America, and South America. Among these, North America acquired the leading position in 2016 with a share of more than 40%. The high adoption rate of webRTC technology, thanks to its increasing usage in UCaaS and telecom services, has been boosting this regional market considerably. Over the coming years, analysts expect the North America market for webRTC to remain dominant on the grounds of high internet speed and the burgeoning number of mobile subscribers in this region.Among other regional markets for webRTC, Europe also possesses a significant share in the global market due to early adoption of technology. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is likely to present lucrative growth opportunities for market players in the near future, thanks to the significant rise in the telecom and IT sector and the increasing base of internet users. Various Asian countries, such as Japan, China, and India, are anticipated to witness a noticeable rise in the uptake of WebRTC solutions, which is likely to propel the Asia Pacific market for webRTC in the years to come. The Middle East and Africa market is projected to be driven by GCC countries and the Rest of the Middle East of Africa over the next few years.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:
Bluetooth Speaker Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends, and Forecast to 2027

Bluetooth Speaker Market

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Bluetooth speakers make use of audio signals with low power radio waves without making use of audio cables. Technically these speakers are portable audio devices which are used for exchange of data, for which the receiver have to be within defined range of wireless transfer capability of the sender. Bluetooth speaker devices includes devices such as AC-only Bluetooth speakers, DC-only Bluetooth speakers, and AC/DC Bluetooth speakers. These Bluetooth speakers are composed of main speaker unit including loudspeaker with Radio frequency (RF) receiver with Radio Frequency transmitter unit.These transmitters are connected to audio output devices that includes computers, televisions, MP3 players, mobile phones, and others. The receiver is positioned in such a way that the listener can move around without any usage of cables. For Bluetooth speakers amplifiers are used to enhance the signal strength and supply the audio signals to the loudspeakers. The signal frequency used by the Bluetooth speakers is approximately 900 MHz and can travel across the walls and ceilings. Nowadays Bluetooth speakers have wide applications in home theaters wherein the speakers on the rear side operate on Bluetooth signals and the speakers on the front side are sometimes wired or operate on Bluetooth signals. Interestingly Bluetooth signals have reduced the cost of wires and cables that were used for electronic devices and grown to have a larger market demand in the electronic segment.Obtain Report Details @Global Bluetooth Speaker Market  Drivers and RestraintsThe Global Bluetooth Speaker Market is mainly driven by its increase in demand in electronic segments such as home theatres, mobile phones, music systems, computers, laptops and many others. The market is also driven by the fact that increasing in demand for multi-room streaming. Companies are investing in R&D to keep an eye on improvising the battery life of the connecting devices and to improvise on the efficiency from previous versions of the devices. Global Bluetooth Market has wide market opportunity in tapping the economies that are emerging in countries like Africa. Also the new advents on how to improvise the efficiency of the device and proper connectivity could bring in demand for the Global Bluetooth market. Improver disconnectivity amongst the devices and major dropping of the batteries in devices like mobiles and laptops has restrained the Global Bluetooth market.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Bluetooth Speaker Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Global Bluetooth Speaker Market  SegmentationThe Global Bluetooth Speaker Market is segmented based on by aircraft type, by battery type, and by end market, and by sales channel.Global Bluetooth Speaker Market by charging technologyAC OnlyDC OnlyAC/DCWireless ChargingGlobal Bluetooth Speaker Market by ApplicationOfficesRetailEducational InstitutionsLeisureOtherGlobal Bluetooth Speaker Market  Region Wise OutlookThe Global Bluetooth Speaker Market is divided into seven regions namely North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to lead the global Bluetooth speaker market. Europe is on the list of second for this market because of the rapid innovations happening in electronic industry. However, Asia Pacific excluding Japan shows a decent growth over the forecast. China, since its a manufacturing hub of electronics signifies growth for APEJ. Middle East and Africa has a lesser market share in the Global Bluetooth speaker 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:
Global Commercial Drone Market - Industry Forecast to 2025 - Driven by Adoption of Virtual Reality Technology in Drones

Global Commercial Drones Market

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The global commercial drones market is dominated by DJI and Parrot S.A. These companies together account for over 75% of the market, finds Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new study. Among these companies, DJI has emerged as the market leader in terms of revenue as it has an extensive product portfolio ranging from consumer to professional drones. Likewise, Parrot S.A. has gained considerable traction in the last few years. The companies especially focus on developing advanced drones with improved landing capabilities. Aurora Flight, Denel SOC Ltd., Draganfly, and Northrop Grumman Corporation are among other companies with strong foothold in the global commercial drones market.Global Commercial Drones Market: SnapshotThe demand for commercial drones is accelerating thanks to their increasing use in aerial photography, precision agriculture, and surveillance applications. Images and videos captured through drones provide better image quality and resolution, which is a prime reason behind their application across diverse industries. Furthermore, with the recent advancements, 4K video capable smartphones and televisions have come into foray, which has made customers expect for better video and image quality. Taking cue from the prevailing trends, companies such as YUNEEC and DJI have launched commercial drones that offer HD video monitoring and 4K video recording capabilities. Will these trends will create lucrative opportunities for the markets growth, it is also expected to gain from the falling prices of components.According to Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global commercial drones market is forecast to exhibit a CAGR of 13.8% between 2017 and 2025. At this pace. The markets valuation is expected to reach US$8.89 bn by the end of 2025, from US$2.8 bn in 2016.Obtain Report Details @Global Commercial Drones Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global commercial drones market includes the drivers and restraints which are driving or hindering the demand in the global market. Few of the drivers pushing the demand for commercial drones include their adoption by law enforcement agencies due to their enhanced capabilities of transmitting high resolution videos and images. In addition, these drones are also capable of providing real time surveillance data to their base stations.The global rise in criminal activities such as terrorism, drug trafficking and others are driving the demand for commercial drones in surveillance application. These factors are further aiding to the growing demand for commercial drones during the forecast period. However, there are few factors hindering the growth of the market. The use of commercial drones has led to the rising concern for privacy. This in return has led to reforms in government regulation for using commercial drones which is expected to hinder the growth of the market. Moreover, the increasing trend for better video and image resolution capabilities of commercial drones is expected to drive the market in future. Furthermore, the increasing technological innovation has resulted into the development of 4K video capable smartphones and televisions. This is in return is increasing the demand and expectation of consumers for drones with similar abilities.Make an Enquiry @Global Commercial Drones Market: Key SegmentsThe global market for commercial drones has been segmented by types, application and geography. In terms of types the commercial drones can be categorized into single rotor, multi-rotor, fixed winged and hybrid drones among others. By application, the market has been segregated into precision agriculture, aerial photography, surveillance, survey mapping and energy among other applications. In terms of geography, the global market has been segmented into five strategic locations: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America.The commercial drones market is facing intense competition from major players. These players are undergoing frequent mergers and acquisition from major players in order to sustain in the competitive environment. This report also studies the competitive environment of the major players in the form of market share of the key players. The key players have been profiled in terms of their business overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis and strategies adopted by them.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:
Memory Implants Market Research Report: Brand Analysis and Forecast upto 2024

Memory Implants Market

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Global Memory Implants Market: OverviewMemory implants are useful in controlling the voluntary actions of the brain in people who suffer from brain damage due to stroke, Alzheimers, and disruption of neural network. The memory implant market plays a key role in the overall neurological research industry. A number of researchers are working on developing remarkable memory implants that can perform various functions including pain management and controlling of heart beats, and controlling symptoms of Parkinsons disease, sleep apnea, and various neurology diseases. Though, advanced technology in the healthcare industry might have succeeded in bringing down the mortality rate, there is still dearth of treatments and drugs to help eradicate neurological diseases associated with older population.On the basis of technique, the market can be segmented into stereotactic implantation, electrophysiological mapping, and others. The global market for memory implants may be classified on the basis of procedure into microelectrode mapping, non-invasive, macro electrode, system-level, and simulation approach. Based on end users, the market can be divided into clinical research organization, healthcare service providers, and others.The report presents a comprehensive overview of various factors contributing to the expansion of the global memory implants market. It also offers 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.View Report-Global Memory Implants Market: Key TrendsThe reason for the development and commercialization of the global memory implant market is the escalating geriatric population and increasing initiative in terms of neurological clinical trials Moreover, various applications of memory implants in orthopedic implants, breast implants, intraocular lens, dental implants, and cardiovascular implants are significantly adding value to the demand growth of the said market. On the other hand, memory implants could be used for controlling human behavior, thus many researchers are of the opinion that memory-enhancing devices can be misused, thereby limiting the market growth.Based on technique, stereotactic implantation is a minimally-invasive form of intervention, which is used to locate the memory implants inside the body. This technology is mostly used for the treatment of Parkinsons disease. Electrophysiological mapping is widely used to finalize the target selection for memory implants with the help of microelectrode or semi-microelectrode techniques.Global Memory Implants Market: Regional OverviewGeographically, the global memory implants market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. It is estimated that North America will account for a major share in the market due to a large patient pool suffering from Alzheimers. The number of people living with Parkinsons disease is extremely high in European countries, thus the market for memory implants in this region is projected to receive a significant boost by 2025. Asia Pacific is another promising market for memory implants owing to the high geriatric population, especially in Japan.Global Memory Implants Market: Key PlayersThe 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. Some of the players in the global memory implants market are Bausch and Lomb Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories, Alcon Laboratories, Biomet Incorporated, and Boston Scientific Corporation.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Memory Implants Market during 2016- 2024About 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:
Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market Research Report: Industry Analysis, Opportunity Assessment and Forecast upto 2027

Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market

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Cerebral Somatic Oximeter is a device used to monitor or review the delivery of oxygen to the brain and spine in infants, children, and adults during cardiac and vascular surgeries or complex aortic procedures. Cerebral Somatic Oximeter uses Near Infrared Spectroscopy to calculate cerebral, and tissue oxygenation, as light wavelengths within the near-infrared light spectrum, are so strong that can penetrate through the skull bone and capture the presence of cerebral tissue oxygenation, this represents an important development in the detection of splanchnic and renal ischemia and cerebral ischemia. When oxygenation levels change, deoxygenated hemoglobin level, oxygenated hemoglobin level, and tissue oxygenation substances in the brain have the potential to change light absorption, and this light absorption by them can be calculated to display a percentage of cerebral oxygen present in that particular cerebral light source pathway. This real-time, non-invasive NIRS assessment of cerebral and somatic microcirculatory perfusion represents an important new therapeutic frontier. There is an increasing number of cerebral-somatic Oximeter for infants around the world and domestic prototypes for research use because of its ease of use and non-invasive nature. This is expected to reflect positive growth in the Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market.Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global market for Cerebral Somatic Oximeter is primarily driven by the increase in population in developed countries such as the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Increasing incidence of neurological disorders and continuous growth of cancers impact on Public Health are another factor responsible for the growth of Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market. Consequently, the global market for Cerebral Somatic Oximeter will witness an upsurge, expected to fuel the market revenue for Cerebral Somatic Oximeter over the forecast period. However, issues of accuracy and precision while calculating or validating Cerebral Somatic Oximeter are few of the factors that can restrain the growth of the Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market during the forecast period.Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market: SegmentationThe global market for Cerebral Somatic Oximeter is segmented on the basis of modes, end user, and geography:based on the Modes, the Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market is segmented into the following:Two-Channel Cerebral Somatic OximeterFour-Channel Cerebral Somatic Oximeterbased on the End User, the Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market is segmented into the following:HospitalsClinicsAmbulatory Surgical CentersView Report-Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market: OverviewCerebral Somatic Oximeter market is expected to witness significant growth due to the technological improvements and medical advancements of Cerebral Somatic Oximeter. Increase cases of cardiac arrest and continuous growth of cancers impact on Public Health are the major factors that drive the Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market. Ongoing efforts by Cerebral Somatic Oximeter manufacturers to provide solutions with better results is also supposed to create huge market revenue potential in the Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market.Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market: Region-wise OutlookA geographic condition regarding for Cerebral Somatic Oximeter market, it has been segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the most attractive market due to increase in the end use of devices, awareness among people and high prevalence of disease conditions such as Parkinsons disease, chronic pain, epilepsy, Followed by Europe. Increase in standards of health care services, increasing population and increase in mindfulness towards the medications in India and China is relied upon to support the market for Cerebral Somatic Oximeter in general Asia Pacific area.Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market: Key Market ParticipantsMajor players in the tissue processing system market include: CAS Medical Systems, Somanetics Corporation, Medtronic, Nonin Medical Inc., Casmed.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.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Cerebral Somatic Oximeter Market during 2017- 2027About 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:
Bills release multiple artist renderings of new stadium The morning of Oct. 27 was a day Buffalo Bills fans have been patiently waiting for  a reveal of what the new stadium will potentially look like. The team...

County officials, law firm representatives host public hearing on new stadium SEQR Erie County officials, representatives from Phillips Lytle LLP, power players for a new stadium and interested Buffalo Bills fans packed into one of the community rooms of the Brush Mountain...
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SolarWorld said Thursday that it has joined a trade case seeking sanctions on China for allegedly dumping solar products on the U.S. market.

The company, which employs 800 in Hillsboro, warned Monday that it could be facing substantial layoffs after its German parent company filed for insolvency.

SolarWorld says it's the victim of trade abuses by China, which the company says has undermined its competitive position. It says it's seeking tariffs or some other remedy to preserve the business and its jobs in Oregon.

"We think this trade action has great potential to save the manufacturing jobs at SolarWorld in Oregon, and that's why we're pursuing it," said Tim Brightbill, a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm Wiley Rein and trade counsel to SolarWorld.

SolarWorld has joined a trade complaint initiated last month by a rival, Suniva, after that company filed for bankruptcy protection. The complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission seeks 40 cents a watt on imported solar cells and 78 cents a watt on solar modules.

The commission has until Oct. 23 to respond, after which the president could act. Other parts of the domestic solar industry oppose the trade petition, arguing that tariffs would create higher prices and hurt solar installers and others.

"The potential damage to the solar industry as a result of this petition could kill many thousands of American jobs and put a stop to billions of dollars in private investment," Abigail Ross Hopper, chief executive of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said in a written statement Thursday.

SolarWorld says the current petition to the trade commission is the first of its kind since President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on the steel industry in 2002.

Even if U.S. trade officials impose a tariff, though, it's not clear whether action could come in time to preserve jobs in Hillsboro. On Thursday, SolarWorld said it is operating as usual and "intends to continue operating into the future," but indicated some job cuts will be unavoidable.

SolarWorld said it has notified Hillsboro employees that "layoffs will take place and could be of a significant size."

While it probably will take months for the U.S. to reach a decision on SolarWorld's complaint, Brightbill said the company will pursue other avenues for a resolution. For example, he indicated that Chinese trade officials might be open to negotiations over the dispute given the pending trade complaint.

"It's something we have attempted in the past," Brightbill said. "The Chinese government has been resistant."

This article has been updated with comment from SolarWorld's attorney and from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699
Big's Chicken, which began as a series of "Five-Napkin Chicken" events in Laurelhurst Market's parking lot, already looks like the spin-off hit of the summer. The restaurant, found inside the former Big Ass Sandwiches storefront and co-owned by Laurelhurst Market co-owners Ben Dyer, Jason Owens, David Kreifels and chef Ben Bettinger, smokes and grills whole chickens basted in Alabama White Gold barbecue sauce, boneless thighs for sandwiches, smokes and deep fries wings and plates up savory sides such as dirty rice, fried cauliflower and JoJos. The shotgun-shack space is decked out in roadhouse finery, its walls lined with historic beer signs, old license plates and a subscription box for The Oregonian. A brief taplist features both craft beer and $2 pints of Olympia, plus a pair of potent draft cocktails batched up at sister restaurant Reverend's BBQ. Our only complaint? There are only two patio tables out front, and they go quick.

The dish: Get in line (behind us) for this year's sandwich of the summer. Big's signature sandwich is a charred stunner, the blue ribbon champion of backyard barbecues, with boneless, smoked chicken thighs given a masterful char on the grill then placed akimbo on a griddled potato bun with a lightly dressed slaw and sweet pickles. Half a chicken, equally juicy and charred, arrives dressed in scribbles of both White Gold barbecue sauce, a mayo-based sauce from Northern Alabama, and a bright, puckery Fresno chile sauce. For $4 more, you can add crispy crusted, fluffy centered JoJos dusted in a Cajun-y spice and another mound of that spicy, flame-abating slaw to make it a plate. The dirty rice, here fortified with chicken liver mousse, Big's trinity -- their mirepoix of bell pepper, onion and celery -- and dry spice, is almost risotto-like with a touch of spice. Wings, too, are worth a visit for, served crisp and dry-fried in multiples of six. But the most important, and surprisingly transcendent, part of the meal was the buttermilk pie, with its lemon curd-meets-pecan-pie-like filling, a sweet, custardy slice tempered by a tangy sour cream sauce. Heck, just go with friends and order everything.

The takeaway: The Laurelhurst Market team has a hit on their hand with this smoked chicken spin-off of last year's popular "Five Napkin Chicken" events. Don't miss the sandwiches, the dirty rice or the buttermilk pie.

Sample menu: Half bird ($9.95/$13.95 for a meal), six piece smoked/fried chicken wings ($6.95), Big's veggie bowl ($9.95), fried cauliflower ($2.95/$4.95), dirty rice ($2.95/$4.95), desserts, including cookies and pie ($1.95-$4.50)

Drinks: Non-alcoholic sodas ($1.95-$2.95), beer on tap ($2-$5), tap cocktails ($7)

Go: What time is it? How about right now?

Details: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; 5663 N.E. Glisan St.; 503-477-5922; bigschicken.com

-- Samantha Bakall

sbakall@oregonian.com

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By David Ignatius

WASHINGTON -- The Manchester terror attack by an alleged Islamic State "soldier" will accelerate the push by the U.S. and its allies to capture the terror group's strongholds in Mosul and Raqqah. But it should also focus some urgent discussions about a post-ISIS strategy for stabilizing Iraq and Syria.

For all President Trump's bombast about obliterating the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the Raqqah campaign has been delayed for months while U.S. policymakers debated the wisdom of relying on a Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG that Turkey regards as a terrorist group. That group and allied Sunni fighters have been poised less than 10 miles from Raqqah, waiting for a decision.

All the while, the clock has been ticking on terror plots hatched by ISIS and directed from Raqqah. U.S. officials told me a few weeks ago they were aware of at least five ISIS operations directed against targets in Europe. European allies have been urging the U.S. to finish the job in Raqqah as soon as possible.

The horrific Manchester bombing is a reminder of the difficulty of containing the plots hatched in ISIS -- and the cost of waiting to strike the final blows. ISIS is battered and in retreat, and its caliphate is nearly destroyed on the ground. But a virtual caliphate survives in the network that spawned Salman Abedi, the alleged Manchester bomber, and others who seek to avenge the group's slow eradication.

The Raqqah assault should move ahead quickly, now that the Trump administration has rejected Turkish protests and opted to back the YPG as the backbone of a broader coalition known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. These are committed, well-led fighters, as I saw during a visit to a special forces training camp in northern Syria a year ago.

The Trump administration listened patiently to Turkish arguments for an alternative force backed by Ankara. But the Pentagon concluded that this force didn't have any real battlefield presence, and that the real choice was either relying on the Kurdish-led coalition to clear Raqqah or sending in thousands of U.S. troops to do the job.

The White House rightly opted for the first approach several weeks ago. To ease Ankara's worries, the U.S. is offering assurances that the Kurdish military presence will be contained, and that newly recruited Sunni tribal forces will help manage security in Raqqah and nearby Deir el-Zour.

The endgame is near in Mosul, too. Commanders say that only about 6 percent of the city remains to be captured, with 500 to 700 ISIS fighters hunkered down in the old city west of the Tigris River.

Once Raqqah and Mosul are cleared, the challenge will be rebuilding the Sunni areas of Syria and Iraq -- with real governance and security -- so that follow-on extremist groups don't quickly emerge. This idea of preparing for the "day after" ISIS has gotten lip service from U.S. policymakers for three years, but very little serious planning or funding. It should be an urgent priority for the U.S. and its key Sunni partners, such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Intelligence services from several key allies are said to have met in recent weeks with Sunni leaders from Iraq to form a core leadership that can take the initiative. But so far, this effort is said to have produced more internal bickering than clear strategy -- a depressing rewind of failed efforts to build a coherent Sunni opposition in Syria.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo told me and several other journalists in an interview Tuesday that he plans to move the agency to a more aggressive, risk-taking stance. Here's a place to start.

The Kurds are the wild cards in both Iraq and Syria. The Syrian Kurds are already governing the ethnic enclave they call "Rojava." That should be an incentive for Syria's Sunnis to develop similar strong government in their liberated areas. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurds have told U.S. officials they plan to hold a referendum on Kurdish independence soon, perhaps as early as September.

U.S. officials feel a deep gratitude toward Iraqi Kurds, who have been reliable allies since the early 1990s. But the independence referendum is a potential flashpoint, and U.S. officials may try to defer the Kurdish question until well after Iraqi provincial elections scheduled in September.

Iraq and Syria need to be reimagined as looser, better governed, more inclusive confederal states that give minorities room to breathe. The trick for policymakers is to make the post-ISIS transition a pathway toward progress, rather than a continuation of the sectarian catastrophe that has befallen both nations.

David Ignatius' email address is davidignatiuswashpost.com.

(c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group
WASHINGTON -- President Trump's budget demonstrates the costs of accepting lies as a normal currency in politics, broken promises as a customary way of doing business, false claims of being "populist" as the equivalent of the real thing, and sloppiness as what we should expect from government.

Trump's fiscal plan was described as dead before arrival, but approaching it this way is a mistake. Many of the steep cuts in programs for low-income Americans mimic reductions passed before by Republicans in the House of Representatives. There's more life in this document than the easy dismissals would suggest.

Particularly astounding from a president who promised better health care for Americans who can't afford it is the $1.85 trillion reduction over a decade from Medicaid and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. But didn't Trump promise not to cut Medicaid? Never mind, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNBC's John Harwood. That pledge, Mulvaney explained, had been overridden by his promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Right, and my commitment to losing weight was overridden by my insistence on eating anything I want. We demean ourselves if we cynically normalize the reality that every Trump promise is meaningless claptrap aimed at closing a deal -- and that the vows will be forgotten even before the ink on the agreement is dry. Many who did business with Trump learned the hard way not to trust anything he said. His supporters are being forced to earn the same dreary wisdom.

Trump lies so often that journalists tied themselves up in an extended discussion of when it was appropriate to use "lie," and when it was better to deploy such euphemisms as "misstatement" or "fabrication." We should stick to the short and simple word. Allowing Trump any slack only encourages more lying.

Although fibbing with numbers is an old trick, the etiquette of budget discussions leans toward references to "rosy scenarios" and the like. But how can you explain a budget that counts $2 trillion in claimed economic growth twice? It's used once to "pay for" massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and another time to paint Trump's budget as reaching balance in a decade.

This can't just be careless math.

Companies that make comparable errors in their prospectuses for public offerings can face legal action. No wonder former Obama administration economic adviser Seth Hanlon called this plan "the Bernie Madoff Budget."

Another sign of fiscal fraud: the budget's blithe assumption that we will hit 3 percent annual GDP growth over an extended period. That would be nice. But no respectable economic forecaster thinks this is credible. Trump is asking us to bank our country's fiscal future on his signature catchphrase, "Believe me." We should know by now that we can't.

But there are also philosophical lies, and these may be even more offensive. Trump and Mulvaney are selling this budget as good for hardworking taxpayers by leading us to believe that it would really only hurt moochers and layabouts. Thus did Mulvaney claim that a $192 billion reduction in food stamp spending over a decade was directed at "the folks who are on there who don't want to work."

Well, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported, it turns out that in food stamp households with at least one working-age, nondisabled adult, more than 80 percent work in the year before or after receiving benefits, and more than half work while getting them. This is a program aimed primarily at easing the lives of the working poor.

And it is worth noting, as Ron Brownstein did in The Atlantic, that in the five Midwestern states that swung from Barack Obama to Trump, whites without a four-year college degree -- the heart of the Trump constituency -- "constitute most of those receiving assistance" from food stamps and the parts of Social Security that Trump would also slash. If Trump really wants people to go to work, how does he think taking money away from job training and college assistance will ease their path to self-sufficiency?

Martin Wolf, the Financial Times columnist, captured Trump's ideology with precision when he called it "pluto-populism." It involves "policies that benefit plutocrats, justified by populist rhetoric."

Trump's seriousness about the details of governing can be measured by his decision to be abroad when his budget was released. This is a man who sees his job as little more than spectacle, his word as negotiable and all numbers as fungible. The scandal of his presidency extends far beyond the Russia story.

E.J. Dionne's email address is ejdionnewashpost.com. Twitter: EJDionne.

(c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group
For all those who feel that President Trump is being dumped on and that he is the victim of a "witch hunt," take a closer look at the man. Donald Trump was responsible for promoting the birther movement to discredit Barack Obama, going so far as to say Mr. Obama was not eligible to be president of the United States as "he was born in Kenya." There was even a falsified birth certificate making the rounds. Donald Trump did not drop this charade until last year when he made a statement that President Obama was born in the United States. Candidate Trump regularly provided vile rhetoric during the recent presidential campaign. He vilified certain races and religions which, some argue, has led to increased hate crimes in our country. President Trump has tweeted demeaning comments about those he perceives as not being loyal to him and told the Russians that former FBI Director, James Comey is a "nut job." Add to this his tweets often seem disjointed and sometimes contradictory.

If we all "reap what we sow," President Trump will have a bountiful harvest!

Joan Frazer, Southwest Portland
"Whom the gods would destroy, they first tempt to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict."

-- Irving Kristol

By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- The quixotic American pursuit of Middle East peace is a perennial. It invariably fails, yet every administration feels compelled to give it a try. The Trump administration is no different.

It will fail as well. To be sure, no great harm has, as yet, come from President Trump's enthusiasm for what would be "the ultimate deal." It will, however, distract and detract from remarkable progress being made elsewhere in the Middle East.

That progress began with Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, the first of his presidency -- an unmistakable declaration of a radical reorientation of U.S. policy in the region. Message: The appeasement of Iran is over.

Barack Obama's tilt toward Iran in the great Muslim civil war between Shiite Iran and Sunni Arabs led by Saudi Arabia was his reach for Nixon-to-China glory. It ended ignominiously.

The idea that the nuclear deal would make Iran more moderate has proved spectacularly wrong, as demonstrated by its defiant ballistic missile launches, its indispensable support for the genocidal Assad regime in Syria, its backing of the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, its worldwide support for terrorism, its relentless anti-Americanism and commitment to the annihilation of Israel.

These aggressions were supposed to abate. They didn't. On the contrary, the cash payments and the lifting of economic sanctions -- Tehran's reward for the nuclear deal -- have only given its geopolitical thrusts more power and reach.

The reversal has now begun. The first act was Trump's Riyadh address to about 50 Muslim states (the overwhelming majority of them Sunni) signaling a wide Islamic alliance committed to resisting Iran and willing to cast its lot with the American side.

That was objective No.1. The other was to turn the Sunni powers against Sunni terrorism. The Islamic State is Sunni. Al-Qaeda is Sunni. Fifteen of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. And the spread of Saudi-funded madrassas around the world has for decades inculcated a poisonous Wahhabism that has fueled Islamist terrorism.

Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states publicly declaring war on their bastard terrorist child is significant. As is their pledge not to tolerate any semiofficial support or private donations. And their opening during the summit of an anti-terrorism center in Riyadh.

After eight years of U.S. policy hovering between neglect and betrayal, the Sunni Arabs are relieved to have America back. A salutary side effect is the possibility of a detente with Israel.

That would suggest an outside-in approach to Arab-Israeli peace: a rapprochement between the Sunni state and Israel (the outside) would put pressure on the Palestinians to come to terms (the inside). It's a long-shot strategy but it's better than all the others. Unfortunately, Trump muddied the waters a bit in Israel by at times reverting to the opposite strategy -- the inside-out -- by saying that an Israeli-Palestinian deal would "begin a process of peace all throughout the Middle East."

That is well-worn nonsense. Imagine if Israel disappeared tomorrow in an earthquake. Does that end the civil war in Syria? The instability in Iraq? The fighting in Yemen? Does it change anything of consequence amid the intra-Arab chaos? Of course not.

And apart from being delusional, the inside-out strategy is at present impossible. Palestinian leadership is both hopelessly weak and irredeemably rejectionist. Until it is prepared to accept the legitimacy of the Jewish state -- which it has never done in the 100 years since the Balfour Declaration committed Britain to a Jewish homeland in Palestine -- there will be no peace.

It may come one day. But not now. Which is why making the Israel-Palestinian issue central, rather than peripheral, to the epic Sunni-Shiite war shaking the Middle East today is a serious tactical mistake. It subjects any now-possible reconciliation between Israel and the Arab states to a Palestinian veto.

Ironically, the Iranian threat that grew under Obama offers a unique opportunity for U.S.-Arab and even Israeli-Arab cooperation. Over time, such cooperation could gradually acclimate Arab peoples to a nonbelligerent stance toward Israel. Which might in turn help persuade the Palestinians to make some concessions before their fellow Arabs finally tire of the Palestinians' century of rejectionism.

Perhaps that will require a peace process of sorts. No great harm, as long as we remember that any such Israeli-Palestinian talks are for show -- until conditions are one day ripe for peace.

In the meantime, the real action is on the anti-Iranian and anti-terror fronts. Don't let Oslo-like mirages get in the way.

Charles Krauthammer's email address is letterscharleskrauthammer.com.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post Writers Group
Updated at 4:38 p.m.

The Clackmas County Parole & Probation Office in downtown Oregon City was evacuated Thursday and a portion of Main Street closed for hours as authorities investigated "a suspicious device."

Police were called to inspect a car parked at 11th Street and Center Street about 10 a.m., said Sgt. Matthew Paschall, an Oregon City police spokesman. The Metro Explosive Disposal Unit was called in, Paschall said.

He declined to say what the device was, citing an ongoing investigation. But the disposal unit disarmed the device before the roads reopened by 3:30 p.m., he said.

Main Street was closed between 10th and 12th streets. The parole office is located at 1024 Main St.

Several homes and some businesses also were evacuated, Paschall said. The Oregon City Transit Center, Clackamas County Community Corrections and the railroad between Center Street and Main Street were closed for several hours.

"All of a sudden the police vehicles (appeared) and the people cleared out of the corrections building across the street," said Dan Trappe, co-owner of Clackamas Auto Parts, 1009 Main St.

Oregon City police and the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office are now investigating who is associated with the car and why it was parked downtown, Paschall said.

Staff writer Samantha Matsumoto contributed to this report.

-- Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman
Join Dr Dennis Wesselbaum of the Centre for Global Migrations as he examines the driving forces of international migration.

Drawing on a rich dataset from 16 destination and 198 origin countries between 1980 and 2014, the presentation seeks to examine the determinants of international migration, capturing year-to-year variations and long-run effects.

The overarching argument is that climate change is a more important driver than income and political freedom and that a large timeframe is key to understanding the effects of climate change. These key findings suggest implications for national and international immigration policies.

Dr Dennis Wesselbaum teaches in the Department of Economics and is a member of the Centre for Global Migrations.

Date Monday, 29 May 2017 Time 12:00pm - 1:00pm Audience Public,All University Event Type Seminar

Campus Dunedin Location Burns 7 Cost Free event. Contact Name Centre for Global Migrations Contact Email global.migrations@otago.ac.nz Website http://www.otago.ac.nz/global-migrations

Save this event
Dawn Marie McMillan, a social work major at Saginaw Valley State University, has been selected to participate in the Roberts Fellowship Program.

The program provides a select group of outstanding SVSU students with weekly, three-hour seminars on leadership and an international study and travel experience in Asia. Students from a wide range of disciplines develop their potential as future leaders in their fields. Fellows are encouraged to aspire to positions of responsibility and leadership and to achieve the very highest levels of accomplishment and distinction in their subsequent careers.
Throughout the year, I like to cook keeping the current season in mind. So, as it becomes warmer, I often look to sunny destinations for ideas for meals. My travels have taken me to many wonderful places where one can enjoy great meals while sitting under a palm tree, sipping some type of tropical mixed drink. But one place in particular became a favorite of mine years ago and ever since I have been cooking specialties I first ate there for family and friends alike.

Well over 20 years ago, I made my first journey to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Although I have no family connection there, I almost immediately fell in love with the local culture and traditions. I had known many Puerto Ricans before I ever visited the island and always remembered how they spoke of the music, heritage, nature and food in such a fond way. And soon after I arrived there, I began to understand just why the island was indeed such a special place in their hearts and stomachs.

On the first evening in Puerto Rico, a friend who worked for the tourism office there took me out for dinner in Old San Juan. Before moving on to any conversation, our waiter asked if we wanted a tropical drink. My friend suggested the pina colada, since it originated at the very place we were in Old San Juan. I remember seeing a huge machine that produced the drink that is made of cream of coconut, pineapple juice, rum and crushed ice. It looked like a slushy since it was so thick. But it was definitely not a slushy. The taste was out of this world! The pineapple and coconut used to make the drink were so fresh and lets just say that they didnt exactly spare the rum!

Our conversation that evening dealt with the how local history provided such a multicultural backdrop to the islands heritage. At the time of the arrival of the first Spaniards in 1493, the island was inhabited by the Taino people. However, war and diseases brought by the Europeans meant that the population of the indigenous people dwindled as years went by. As the result of a decree by the Spanish Crown in 1815, European settlers from other continental nations such as France came to the island. Slaves were brought in as well. And as a result of the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded Puerto Rico and other colonies it still had to the United States. Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens in 1917 and today the political status of the island is that of commonwealth, or Estado Libre Asociado in Spanish.

So, inhabitants of Puerto Rico have indeed come from many places and each culture contributed many ingredients and cooking methods to the culinary traditions of the island. The original Taino people had cassava, peppers, pineapple, some types of pumpkin and beans. The Spaniards brought with them many new cooking traditions such as cooking stews in a pot. They also brought onions, garlic, chick peas, chickens and cows. The African slaves contributed such foods as okra, pigeon peas, coffee and coconut. And over the years, the U.S. has also introduced foods into the island such as bacon and turkey. This has all led to a vary unique culinary tradition.

The second day I spent in Puerto Rico I ended up on a driving tour that actually lasted much longer than I had expected. My destination was a parador or country inn in the middle of the island. A quick look at the map somehow led me to erroneously believe that it would only take 20 to 30 minutes to drive there from San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. After all, the island is only about 106 miles long and 37 miles from north to south. However due to mountainous terrain and very narrow, winding roads the trip actually lasted two hours. But my stay at the former coffee plantation turned country inn was indeed pleasant.

The evening I was there I enjoyed a delicious meal of chuletas de cerdo fritas or fried pork chops with rice and pigeon peas. After the meal, I slowly sipped on a cup of locally produced coffee on the balcony. As the sun went down, I noticed that I heard more and more little frogs making a very high-pitched sound in the distance. The waiter told me that the sound was from the male coqui frog, a native to the island. There must have been hundreds of them that night. But it was a beautiful sound of nature that I enjoyed as I slowly finished my cup of coffee.

The next day I drove to the southern city of Ponce. Known for its multicolored fire station and Serralles castle, among other things, the city has a wealth of sights for visitors to enjoy. After taking a stroll through Ponce, I joined another Puerto Rican friend for dinner at his aunts house. Even though she claimed that she had not gone to any bother to cook the meal that day, we certainly ended up enjoying a lot of delicious foods that she had prepared from scratch. Before dinner, my friend and I had a drink and enjoyed some appetizers his aunt had made.

I loved the surullitos or fried cornmeal fingers and pan de maiz or cornbread. The fried cornmeal fingers were nice and crispy on the outside and light and fluffy inside. The cornbread was also interesting since is was slightly sweet. Our main dish that evening was arroz con pollo or chicken with rice. I have enjoyed many different versions of this dish in numerous Spanish-speaking countries. This one was prepared using medium grain rice, annatto (a seed that provides a lovely yellowish color), ham, bacon, tomatoes, peas, olives and a variety of herbs. It was delicious and the rice was such a lovely hue of yellow.

That first trip to Puerto Rico ended up providing me with an introduction to the rich heritage of the island. And the recipes I collected during that stay and subsequent trips have become favorites that I have prepared again and again. Over the years, my wife Susanne and I have returned to Puerto Rico and my repertoire of recipes from there has grown. But the foods are fun to make and eat and often make me think of all the wonderful memories my friends from years ago had of their home in the Caribbean. It is always fun to prepare some of those foods and enjoy them on a hot, summer day. Perhaps you, too, will enjoy something new and tropical. May you have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Arroz con pollo - Rice with chicken

1 chicken, cut up into serving pieces

2 cloves of garlic, peel removed and finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup finely chopped ham

2 strips bacon, cut into thin strips from top to bottom

1 bell pepper, seeds removed and finely diced

1 medium onion, peel removed and finely diced

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups medium grain rice

4 1/2 cups hot chicken bouillon

1 package Sazon seasoning with coriander and annatto

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup olives, cut in halves

Place the chicken in a container with a lid and rub the pieces with the chopped garlic, black pepper, oregano, thyme and salt. Place the lid on the container and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour. After an hour, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to sit out for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, saute the ham, bacon, bell pepper and onion in the vegetable oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes in a large pot with a lid. Stir from time to time. Add the chicken pieces and continue to saute over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add the rice and stir once. Then pour in the bouillon, the ingredients of the Sazon seasoning mix, the frozen peas and the olives. Stir once and then cook over medium heat with the lid on the pot about 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice and chicken are thoroughly cooked. Note: The Sazon seasoning packets are available in the Latin American/Hispanic section of most large supermarkets. If you use a rice that is not medium grain the amount of bouillon and cooking time may vary.
The Humane Society of Midland County and Alignment 8 yoga will host Cats on Yoga Mats sessions starting at 6 p.m. June 23 at The Lofts of Ashman Plaza.

This event will give participants the unique experience of having cats roaming around the space while they participate in either a Forrest Yoga or Vinyasa Flow yoga class. All attendees can enjoy the perks of yoga and maybe a few adoptable felines will find a forever home, organizers stated. All of the proceeds will go to the HSOMC.
Central Michigan University interior design student Kassondra Hauck was recently named an honorable mention recipient for the 2017 SOURCE Awards by power management company Eaton for her conceptual lighting design project.

Haucks project, titled The Community Teen Center, offered a sustainable lighting solution to an interior renovation project located in Carson City.

My process was first finding places where light was integral in the space I was designing, said Hauck, who lives in Midland. I was inspired by the rural community that this space was centered around, so a lot of the lighting was used to highlight and enhance those attributes.

Hauck was recognized at LIGHTFAIR International, an architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, on May 8. She was one of seven students nationwide to have their work honored at LIGHTFAIR International in Philadelphia.

The honorable mention award was accompanied by a crystal trophy, $500 and an invitation to attend a class at SOURCE, Eatons lighting education center in Peachtree, Georgia.

I am very grateful to Eaton and the SOURCE awards for the honor they gave me for my design because it validates all my hard work, Hauck said.

Hauck will graduate in December with a major in interior design and a minor in business administration.
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The Midland City Council this week took the first procedural step to handle a request from The Dow Chemical Co., which wants to close a portion of South Saginaw Road that serves as one of the entrances to the city.

Dow on May 18 sent a request to the city to close about one mile of South Saginaw Road between Mark Putnam and Salzburg roads in the southeast part of town. If approved, that portion would be made an internal company road closed to the public.

Dow says it wants to consolidate its Michigan Operations and Dow Corning chemical manufacturing facilities into one, unified site. The closure is essential to the companys future investments in the ($400 million) transformation of Michigan Operations, according to Dow.

Dows request heads to the citys planning commission, which must review and send a recommendation back to the city council. City planners next meet on June 13.

The soonest date for a public hearing would be July 24, after city council receives the recommendation. A four-fifths vote from city council is required for Dows plan to go through.

Property owners on Waldo Avenue have raised concerns of increased traffic levels that would result from the proposed reroute to Waldo and Bay City Road.

In response, Dow said it would offer a voluntary property purchase program to affected residential property owners on Waldo Avenue south of Bay City Road.

There would be 20 properties eligible, a Dow spokesperson told the Daily News.

If a property owner agrees to sell, Dow plans to donate any vacated land to Midland Tomorrow.

Midland Tomorrow is Midland Countys economic development organization, established as a nonprofit in 1963 as the Midland Economic Development Corp. Some of its top investors include Dow and Dow Corning Corp., both listed on Midland Tomorrows website as contributing $5,000 or more in 2017.

Midland Tomorrows board of directors includes presidents and CEOs of local banks and contracting companies, leaders in education, and Dow representatives, including Rich Wells and Doug White. City records show the organization owns vacant lots south of Bay City Road at 205, 209 and 219 Waldo Avenue, which range from 2 to 3 acres each.

The Dow spokesperson did not give details of how the company would determine the amount paid to property owners. City records show assessed value, which is about half the market value, ranges between $20,000 and $38,000 for homes in the area.

Dow invited eligible property owners to attend a special meeting so they could learn about the potential program before it became public, the spokesperson said.

Because the property purchase program is not in effect at this time and will only be offered upon the city approving Dows formal request to vacate the road, it is too early to gauge interest.

Property owners on Waldo north of Bay City Road and those on side streets off Waldo south of Bay City Road will not be offered buyouts.

Dow said it would pay to reconstruct Waldo Avenue to handle traffic changes, install safety measures at all affected roadways, and build new company site entrances and fences at either end of South Saginaw Road  work that, dependent on city approval, the company plans to start in 2018. Dow did not state a total cost.

It is too early to tell, a Dow spokesperson said. Since we have not received approval from the city of Midland to vacate the road at this point, we have only done some initial engineering and design work. If approval is received later this summer, we will finalize engineering plans and related costs at that time.

The planning commission meeting on June 13 wont include a de facto public hearing. City planners will handle Dows proposal to close the road with what Assistant City Manager and Planning Director Brad Kaye said will be a technical review from an objective, rather than subjective, purview.

Lowell McLaughlin, planning commission chair, told members at a Tuesday meeting that he would defer to Gayle Hanna to chair the meeting when planners discuss Dows proposal.

As Ive said, Ive been involved with the project for some time, McLaughlin said. Ill be assisting with the presentation.

Member James Bain said he might also recuse himself from the review due to circumstances related to my prior employment with Dow.

The city opened a survey on E-CityHall, its online public engagement platform, to collect input on Dows plan from residents. The survey is at http://www.midland-mi.org/125/E-CityHall and deadline to respond is 5 p.m. Friday.

For more Daily News coverage go to http://bit.ly/2qF8qzE and for more on Dows proposal, go to http://www.dow.com/michigan/siteconsolidation
Midland Public Schools and the Midland City Education Association announced the 2017 Gerstacker Teacher Proficiency Award recipients at an annual event May 11.

Each year since 1956, teacher proficiency awards have been given to recognize contributions by exemplary Midland Public Schools teachers beyond the ordinary level of professional performance. These awards are made possible through the support of the Carl and Esther Gerstacker Donor-Advised Fund at the Midland Area Community Foundation.

Sarah Pancost

Sarah Pancost is an American Literature and Theory of Knowledge teacher at H.H. Dow High School. She is the International Baccalaureate coordinator for Dow High and a strong proponent of the IB program for Chargers. She has been on staff at Dow High since the 2000-2001 school year. Pancost has taught many English/language arts classes and even government in her time at Dow High. In 2014,Pancost was named Dow Highs Saginaw Valley League Teacher of the Year.

Pancost grew up in Beal City and then went on to Alma College. In that time she studied abroad in Scotland at the University of Aberdeen. While in college, she majored in political science with an emphasis on nonprofits and minored in womens studies and in English. After serving in the AmeriCorps, she went back to Alma College to receive her teaching certificate with an English major.

After joining Dow High, Pancost become immersed in the Charger culture. She has been involved in Youth in Government, served as SADD adviser and has been a member of the Dow High Steering Committee. She has also been the adviser to the Gay Straight Alliance Club.

Students who nominated her explained that her dedication to her career is astounding and inspiring as well as I felt like from the first day, I was learning something not only about literature, but also about how to be a better student. The compliments continued, saying Pancost has tearlessly worked to help us stay optimistic while pursuing a difficult program over the past two years and she teaches in a way that makes the STUDENT responsible. Yet another student added that Pancost is by far the most committed and genuine teacher Ive ever had.

Kolleen Smith

Kolleen Smith is currently a first grade teacher at Chestnut Hill Elementary. She began her teaching career with the Midland Public Schools as a first grade teacher at Longview Elementary in 1987. Smith earned her bachelor of science degree from Central Michigan University with minors in math, biology, and reading in the elementary grades. She earned a master of arts in teaching degree from Saginaw Valley State University in 1992. Smith brings a positive attitude and enthusiasm to create engaging learning experiences for her students.

Smith is caring, dynamic and most importantly, enthusiastic about her work and the success of her students. She goes above and beyond in all she attempts, which brings out the best in her students and helps them achieve.

A parent wrote, Mrs. Smith doesnt just teacher her children, she nurtures them and treats each child as if they are the only child in her room while never missing a beat of what is going on with her roomful of children. Another parent wrote, Mrs. Smith is kind, patient and attentive to our first graders. Another parent stated, She is always eager to start each day and greets all kids with excitement and friendliness, which is what all kids need.

Smith is an outstanding educator who embodies the ideals that the Gerstacker Award honors, a spokesperson said. We are proud to honor Kolleen Smith for her work, her contributions and her dedication to our students and to our profession.

Laura Wolanin

Laura Wolanin is a special education teacher at Carpenter Street School. She is a leader in the Next Steps student study team process and is passionate about the success of all students. She has been with Midland Public Schools and at Carpenter since the Fall of 2013. She started as a resource room teacher and shifted into the Behavior Resource Room shortly afterwards. She was a Midland Public Schools Shining Star Award recipient in November 2016.

Wolanin is a Midland High School graduate, class of 2002. She is continuing her family legacy of teaching for Midland Public Schools; her mother is retired MPS teacher and former Gerstacker recipient Nancy Wolanin. Nancy and Lauras father, Ted Wolanin, often volunteer in her classroom.

In 2007, Laura Wolanin graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in Education from Western Michigan University and holds her Michigan Professional Certificate in cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, elementary education, early childhood and English. In 2013, she completed her masters in reading from Concordia University in Wisconsin

She came to MPS from the Green Bay Area Public Schools where she was an elementary special education teacher for 6 years.

Her colleagues were excited to nominate her. One wrote, Ms. Wolanin supports and promotes the individual strengths of her students. She supports and promotes her colleagues, our school, our families and our district as well. A parent wrote, Ms. Wolanin has gone above and beyond for my child and every other child that is brought into her classroom! To sum up Wolanins impact as a teacher, a colleague wrote, What I like best about her is that she truly and genuinely loves these kids and is ready to go to any extent to help them.

Joel Mikusko

Joel Mikusko has been a Midland Public Schools science teacher for 22 years. Mikusko is currently teaching geoscience to 9th-12th grade high school students at Midland High School. Prior to being hired by MPS in 1995, Mr. Mikusko worked as a science teacher at Molokai High and Intermediate School in Hoolehua, Hawaii, for one year before returning to his home state of Michigan. Mikusko, while completing his degree program at Central Michigan University, also student taught at Jefferson Middle School during the 1993-1994 school year. Mikusko earned a bachelor of science in education from CMU in 1993; his major was geography and his minor was earth science. In 2001, he completed the requirements for a masters degree in middle level education at the Central Michigan University.

As a veteran teacher, Mikusko has had the opportunity to work with students of all ages, ability levels and in multiple MPS buildings. Mikusko has had a huge impact on countless numbers of students during his career. MPS students have been the beneficiaries of his knowledge and expertise, and many have continued their post high school studies in the sciences because of Mikuskos influence. It was said in his nomination letter that, I have witnessed first-hand the dedication, drive, and commitment that he shows his students every day. He is patient, but also clear in his expectations and he pushes his students to do more than they might think they can.

Colleagues who work with Mikusko note that he has continued to grow and challenge himself professionally as a veteran staff member. One example of this is his use of technology as an instructional tool and as an important student resource. Mikusko has earned the honor of being a 2017 Gerstacker Award recipient for the dedication he has shown to his students and for his commitment to excellence as an MPS educator.

Mikusko is an excellent representative for Midland High School and for the school district, a spokesperson said. He is a valuable member of the districts science teaching staff.
The following students were among the nearly 1,000 graduates honored at Michigan Technological Universitys spring commencement on the Houghton campus on April 29.

Coleman:
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Three new officers  all veterans of law enforcement service  were sworn into the ranks of the Midland Police Department on Wednesday afternoon.

Welcomed to the department were Officer James Burchfield II, Officer Jose DeLeon and Officer Christopher Hurst.

The ceremony included a presentation of the new officers badges: 164 for Burchfield, 165 for DeLeon and 166 for Hurst, along with a welcome from Mayor Pro Tem Marty Wazbinski.

It takes a special person to serve on the front lines of a community, Wazbinski said, referencing Midlands designation as a Safe Community last August  the first in the state and the 19th in the nation. That designation is the direct result of our public safety personnel.

He urged the new officers to use the core values of integrity, professionalism and service to community to guide them in their interactions with residents, who see them as symbols of peace and safety.

The Rev. Wally Mayton was on hand to conduct a blessing of the badges, and City Clerk Selina Tisdale swore in each officer. Family members pinned badges to their uniforms before an audience also including officials from the Midland Police, Midland County Sheriffs Office and Michigan State Police.

Your badge establishes you as a protector of the peace and the people, Block said. I want to thank you for your commitment to your chosen profession.

Burchfield began his public safety career with 12 years of service in the U.S. Army. He worked in his hometown of Grand Rapids as a paramedic, and later joined the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky. There, he served as a patrol officer, field training officer and detective.

Midland is his wifes hometown.

DeLeon, who is from Bay City, developed an interest in law enforcement through the Bay City Department of Public Safety Explorer Program when he was a teen. He went on to join the Bay City Police as a reserve officer, then served as a corrections officer for the Saginaw County Sheriffs Office.

After attending the Bay City Police Academy, he joined the sheriffs office road patrol division. He also served as a field training deputy in Saginaw County.

Hurst started his law enforcment career as a reserve officer with the City of Durand and as a campus safety officer at Baker College. The Perry native became a full-time officer with the Durand Police after earning a criminal justice degree. He worked in Durand until accepting his new position.

Also recognized during the ceremony were promotions, including Patrol Lt. Mike Sokol, Detective Lt. Marc Goulette, Detective Sgt. Tonya Laubscher and Patrol Sgt. Josh McMillan.
Julia Tisdale, of Midland, recently received the Michigan Breaking Traditions 2017 Merit Award from the Michigan Department of Education.

The award recognizes students who are overcoming obstacles and stereotypes to achieve success in career and technical education programs. Tisdale is in the building construction technology program at Ferris State University.

The Breaking Traditions Awards recognize high school and college students who have demonstrated success in CTE programs that are nontraditional to their gender, State Superintendent Brian Whiston said. At a time when there is a call from various stakeholders for building a more-responsive, market-driven schools-to-jobs pipeline, it is important to recognize the efforts of these students and the programs that helped them.

Tisdale was among 32 students honored across the state.

These outstanding students are preparing themselves to enter a career that will benefit them individually and benefit Michigan by increasing diversity in our states workforce, Whiston said. By their determination and dedication to pursuing careers in an area nontraditional for their gender, they are role models for peers who may be considering such a career path.
Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

The current members of the presidential cabinet must set a record for the greatest assemblage of unqualified and hostile public servants in our history. Even more disturbing, President Donald Trumps chosen advisers represent a vast emptiness of vision, skill, or knowledge of governmental process, American ideals, or the attitudes of its citizens.

The American people are making their voices heard loudly and clearly. But if our elected officials stand by and watch this dismantling of our government continue, then they are no better than Tories, even Pharisees of a dystopian new world order. Make no mistake, the gerrymandered joke of our political terrain provides no mandate for the kinds of behavior flowing from this White House.

The wise lay up knowledge, but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.

Never before in Americas history has ignorance been so worshipped and knowledge reviled. The cascading waterfall of mind-numbing stupidity emanating from our Presidents Twitter account should shock any thinking person. The lies and delusions provide evidence of a mind that is at best unstable, and at worst sociopathic.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love conquers all offenses.

Clearly, Trump possesses no faith in a loving god or in the basic tenets of any major world religion. His demonization of people is a well-worn tactic of fascists bent on the destruction of perceived enemies with impunity. All one must do is read his own record of admiration for authoritarian dictators with lengthy records of human rights violations, extortion, torture, and murder. Ask yourself this question: Who does Trump love? Certainly, he loves himself. But, do you honestly believe that Donald Trump gives a moments consideration for you and your well being?

In fact, Donald Trump likely possesses no capacity for genuine love of others. But we know he does foment a deep and abiding love of money, of status symbols, and of being adored. Like Caesar, Trump despoils the land and its resources to support a grandiose and hedonistic lifestyle; people outside his social circle are mere tools to be manipulated; and anyone with the courage to stand against him is a parasite worthy only of derision.

Recently, U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, you heard the voices of your constituents. You heard citizens demanding a repair of the Affordable Care Act and not its repeal; you heard calls for transparency in government; you heard residents of our planet fighting for its right to survive human toxicity; you heard advocates of public education, voting rights, and fair treatment of all people, not just the wealthy. You danced adroitly and wielded your slick rhetoric. In the end, however, one must question whether you actually listened to anyone at your so-called listening session.

Sir, you are first and foremost an American citizen elected to represent the interests of the people of this district and the well being of our nation. This does not now, nor has it ever meant unquestioning obedience to a president  particularly when that president shows such a unique and distinctive paucity of leadership, understanding, and compassion. The people of this district want to know that you have the ability and the courage to think outside Donald Trumps misshapen box, to stand for values of decency and love.

You are an advocate of what you call the sanctity of life. Sir, sanctity of life does not end with unborn fetuses. A true believer in the sanctity of life supports the health and well being of every child, regardless of race, religion, social status, or ability, and would never approve a budget that cuts their social safety nets. A believer in the sanctity of life supports the health of women and their right to live lives free of abuse and discrimination. A believer in the sanctity of life cares about all victims of war and unrest, not just those thrust into the media spotlight for one moment. A believer in the sanctity of life truly loves every neighbor as themselves, and acts upon that love.

Who do you love, Mr. Moolenaar?

The Rev. Jeff Liebmann serves as minister to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland. The views expressed are his own and are not intended to represent a formal position of the congregation or its members.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump's revised travel ban "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination," a federal appeals court said Thursday in ruling against the executive order targeting six Muslim-majority countries.

Trump's administration vowed to take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 10-3 vote, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the ban likely violates the Constitution. And it upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican administration from cutting off visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban unveiled in March. Trump's administration had hoped it would avoid the legal problems that the first version from January encountered. A second appeals court, the 9th U.S. Circuit based in San Francisco, is also weighing the revised travel ban after a federal judge in Hawaii blocked it.

The Supreme Court almost certainly would step into the case if asked. The justices almost always have the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.

Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe. If the administration does ask the court to step in, the justices' first vote could signal the court's ultimate decision.

A central question in the case before the 4th Circuit was whether courts should consider Trump's public statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trump's administration argued the court should not look beyond the text of the executive order, which doesn't mention religion. The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration said.

But Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory wrote that the government's "asserted national security interest ... appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the court's ruling blocks Trump's "efforts to strengthen this country's national security."

Trump is not required to admit people from "countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism until he determines that they can be properly vetted" and don't pose a security threat, Sessions said.

The three dissenting judges, all appointed by Republican presidents, said the majority was wrong to look beyond the text of the order. Calling the executive order a "modest action," Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote that Supreme Court precedent required the court to consider the order "on its face." Looked at that way, the executive order "is entirely without constitutional fault," he wrote.

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, said if the Supreme Court follows a partisan divide, the Trump administration may fare better since five of the nine are Republican nominees. Still, he said, it's difficult to make a confident prediction because "Supreme Court justices don't always vote in ideological lockstep."

The first travel ban issued Jan. 27 was aimed at seven countries and triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesn't apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Critics said the changes don't erase the legal problems with the ban.

The case ruled on by the 4th Circuit was originally brought in Maryland by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center on behalf of organizations as well as people who live in the U.S. and fear the executive order will prevent them from being reunited with family members from the banned countries.

"President Trump's Muslim ban violates the Constitution, as this decision strongly reaffirms," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who argued the case. "The Constitution's prohibition on actions disfavoring or condemning any religion is a fundamental protection for all of us, and we can all be glad that the court today rejected the government's request to set that principle aside."
STREATOR  The quick reaction of a neighbor may have saved a life in Streator, fire officials said Thursday.

The Streator Fire Department was called to 409 N. Otter Creek at 11:58 p.m. Wednesday and found heavy fire and smoke coming from the rear of a home.

Firefighters were told a neighbor warned the resident about the fire and the resident and several pets escaped without injury, said fire department spokesman Bryan Park.

Firefighters determined most of the fire was burning in a lean-to storage area attached to the home. Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control in about 15 minutes.

There were no reports of injuries to the resident, pets or first responders, Park said. About 11 firefighters were on the scene for about two hours. Advanced Medical Transport and ComEd also assisted at the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Streator Police Department and the Illinois State Fire Marshals office. A damage estimate was not available early Thursday, but Park described the damage to the exterior of the home and storage area as extensive.

Damage to the interior was minimal with very light smoke and water damage, he added.

The American Red Cross was also on the scene to provide assistance to the resident.
NORMAL  State Sen. Jason Barickman told the McLean County Unit 5 board Wednesday night that one of the reasons the district hasn't gotten all the state money it expects is because the current system favors the Chicago school system.

Weve gone 694 days without a complete budget from the state, said Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel. The state has an obligation to fund schools and we have obligation to provide top-quality education.

Beyond the ongoing budget impasse, the state also needs to reform how it allocates school funding so each district gets its fair share, regardless of geography or local tax base, Barickman said.

"The education community has strong beliefs that the current formula produces inequitable funding and unintended consequences," he said. "There's a sincere effort to fix that."

Before Barickman spoke during the meeting at Normal Community West High School, Unit 5 Business Manager Marty Hickman presented an amended budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year that shows a $5.5 million collective deficit in the transportation and education funds.

The state owes Unit 5 $8.1 million in categorical payments for those two operating funds for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Categorical payments are earmarked for specific functions.

The state is supposed to make four payments each year. Unit 5 received one makeup payment this year for last year's funding obligation, and one payment for this fiscal year's funds.

We have done a good job of controlling the things we can control. If not for the lack of state payments, we wouldnt be in this deficit, said Hickman.

In a letter presented to the board, Hickman said, There comes a time when school districts can stretch no further and I fear we have reached that point. The missing payments will significantly erode our current fund balances which are already too low."

Hickman added that if the state fails to pass a budget for K-12 education and make timely payments, difficult decisions will need to be made.

Barickman said that because of a fixed block grant, Chicago Public Schools receive 30 percent to 40 percent of mandated categorical dollars, which is higher than that system's share of the state's students.

Thats an inappropriate use of state money," he said. "Some legislators want to continue that practice and I want to get rid of it. If we get rid of the block grant, the mandated categoricals (for other Illinois districts) would be fully funded."

Barickman said lawmakers from both parties in Springfield are fighting over ways to secure a fair funding formula that works for all districts.

Board member Mike Trask said "its disheartening" to see important decisions being held up by partisan disagreements.

My daughter is a special needs student who uses those services in the education fund every day. She doesnt know what a Republican or Democrat is. Youre drawing lines in the sand and we need to erase the sand, said Trask.
No one wants to pay higher taxes. But should taxes be spread across a larger base when the object of the taxation benefits a larger population?

That's the question facing the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority (BNAA), which oversees Central Illinois Regional Airport. The authority levies taxes on Bloomington-Normal residents, but is looking to expand its tax base to include all residents of McLean County.

The quick answer from state Sen. Jason Barickman, a Bloomington Republican, is no. Authority leaders had hoped Barickman would push for legislation allowing the airport authority to tax all of McLean County and gain a new revenue stream.

"While the expansion of the taxing district could reduce the per-household tax burden of supporting (Central Illinois Regional Airport), it also would create a new tax on thousands of additional families," Barickman wrote to Carl Olson, CIRA's executive director, on May 4. "I believe this idea still needs more study and discussion. Thus, I do not plan to advance any such legislation."

As previously reported, under its current levy, the owner of a Bloomington-Normal home valued at $150,000 would pay $20 less in property taxes, while the owner of a comparable home elsewhere in the county would pay a new tax of $47.

The measure also would free BNAA to nearly double its tax rate in the future: the authority is currently limited to levying 4 cents per $100 of assessed value, but that cap would increase to 7.5 cents  though officials have specifically said they have no plan to hike the levy.

The idea of broadening the base of taxable property makes sense, to a point. People in Bloomington and Normal would pay less because the burden would be shared. Residents living outside the Twin Cities would pay more, because they now pay nothing.

At heart of the discussion is whether only Bloomington-Normal benefits from CIRA. If so, then the taxes should remain the responsibility of Twin City residents. If not, then they should be shared.

CIRA is not the small airport it used to be. It provides easy, reliable and reasonably priced transportation to Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, and Minneapolis, along with seasonal flights to other locations. It draws passengers (departing and arriving) from throughout Central Illinois, who stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, rent cars and buy gasoline.

There are ways to decide this question without Barickman. The airport authority could put a referendum on a ballot asking voters to decide the question; it could talk to other airport authorities about creating a larger regional airport district.

The issue needs more discussion before the board moves forward.
Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi likely received some ISIS training by traveling to Syria in the months before the attack, according to information gathered in the preliminary investigation, a US official told CNN on Thursday.

The US believes ISIS, through that training, set the stage for the 22-year-old to carry out his deadly attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday night. Other members of Abedi's family are believed to have been radicalized as well, the official said.

The development comes as police raids continued, "specially trained firearms officers" were assigned patrol duty on trains for the first time, and Britain temporarily halted intelligence sharing on the attack with the US after American officials leaked information to the media.

Late Thursday, however, the National Police Chiefs' Council said in a statement that it had resumed intelligence sharing.

The council's assistant commissioner, Mark Rowley, said "fresh assurances" ensure that "we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the 'Five Eyes' intelligence alliance." The US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand share intelligence in one of the world's tightest multilateral arrangements.

US officials released the bomber's name and other details of the investigation into the deadly attack, irking British investigators scrambling to keep details of the probe confidential.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she would raise the leaks with Trump when the pair met at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Arriving at the summit, she told reporters the "special relationship" with the US on intelligence sharing is based on trust.

Trump, in turn, vowed to investigate, according to a White House statement to reporters, saying "leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security."

"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this," he said.

"I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom."

In Washington, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that he shared Trump's "deep concern" about the leaks, which he discussed with UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

"These leaks cannot be tolerated and we will make every effort to put an end to it," Session said. "We have already initiated appropriate steps to address these rampant leaks that undermine our national security."

Addressing leaders ahead of the NATO summit, Trump paid tribute to the victims of the attack, saying it was "a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilization."

He dismissed terrorists as "losers" and urged nations to unite to ensure terrorism is "stopped in its tracks."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make his first official visit to the UK on Friday to meet with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson "in an expression of UK-US solidarity following the terrorist attack in Manchester earlier this week," a Foreign Office statement said. The two men will write condolence messages for the victims.

Armed officers will patrol trains

In the aftermath of the attack and the raising of Britain's threat level to "critical" -- the highest level -- British Transport Police announced that "specially trained firearms officers will be be patrolling on board train services for the first time."

"Armed officers have been regularly patrolling on the London Underground since December, but this will be the first time they will patrol on board train services elsewhere in the country," a BTP statement said.

BTP Chief Constable Paul Crowther said there's no specific threat, but it's part of the national mobilization plan "to deal with the current and ongoing threat.

"It is important to note that we do not have any specific intelligence in relation to train services but are taking this action to ensure we can protect and reassure the public," Crowther said in the BTP statement.

Mayor: We can't afford the risk

Regarding information sharing with the United States, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said that only intelligence sharing relating to the Manchester probe had been suspended, adding that "we quite frankly can't afford to risk it any more."

"It has been compromised by the leaks and we can't afford any more, so we've taken a temporary decision to say let's clear it out and draw a line, let's not have a row that lingers on. Nobody wants that. But equally we have to make our opinions clear so we can get this relationship back to where we all want it to be," Burnham told CNN.

US sources were the first to reveal the identity of the bomber, leading to concern that police efforts to hunt down his associates could be impacted.

On Wednesday, The New York Times posted photos that show what it said could be the detonator, a battery, nuts and screws for shrapnel, and fragments of a backpack used in the attack. The paper, without specifying the source, said British authorities provided access to photos of materials found at the scene.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the publication of leaked intelligence by the New York Times had "caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss."

Former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke told CNN that he didn't "blame the British one bit for turning off the flow of information."

"You do run a risk of some piece of information that could have stopped another attack won't get through. So because of this climate of lack of trust, there are risks to lives, frankly -- to citizens who might be the victims of the next attack," he added.

'Significant' arrests

Monday's attack, which came as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert, took the lives of at least 22 people, including several children. Dozens were wounded in the incident.

Investigators are focused on tracking down associates of Abedi, a British-born national of Libyan descent, saying it is clear they are investigating a network.

Hopkins told reporters eight men had been arrested at addresses in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton. These arrests are "significant," he said, with searches having "revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation."

On Thursday, a large cordon was set up for a time around a location in Wigan, where an arrest was made a day earlier, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

A raid and search have been ongoing due to the discovery of "potentially suspicious items" and evacuations took place as a "matter of precaution."

A woman arrested in a raid in Blackley was released late Wednesday without charge, police said.

Other details emerged about Abedi, including that he had been known to intelligence services, Rudd told the BBC. He had been in Libya for three weeks and returned days before his attack, US military officials told CNN.

Police in Germany confirmed that Abedi had traveled through Dusseldorf Airport on his way to Manchester a few days before the attack. The suspect was in transit only in the security area, Dusseldorf police said.

A Turkish official said Abedi had transited through Istanbul's Ataturk airport "recently" and did not enter Turkey. The official, who did not want to be named due to government protocol, said he could not confirm where Abedi arrived from or was traveling to. He did say, however, that it could not have been Syria because there are no flights to or from Syria from Istanbul.

The official said Turkey had not received any information from foreign intelligence services about Abedi, so he did not raise any red flags.

In Libya, Abedi's brother -- identified as 20-year-old Hashim Ramadan Abu Qassem al-Abedi -- was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of links to ISIS, according to a statement from a Tripoli militia known as the Special Deterrence Force. The militia, aligned with the Libyan government, said that the younger Abedi was allegedly planning a terror attack in Libya when arrested. CNN has not been able to independently verify the details from the militia.

According to a family friend who asked not to be identified, the boys' father had taken his sons to Libya in mid-April and confiscated their passports so they couldn't return to the UK where they'd been in trouble with gangs. Abedi got his passport back after telling his father he was going on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, but returned to England instead.

UK holds moment of silence

Identification of the 22 victims continues. As of Thursday afternoon, 18 people who died in the blast had been named.

The family of 14-year-old Eilidh MacLeod released a statement through the police that spoke of their "devastation."

The grandfather of another teenage victim, Sorrell Leczkowski, said he was "absolutely heartbroken" to confirm that she had died. "Sorrell was only 14, but she was our rock, she kept us all grounded. She was such a clever, talented, creative girl, there was nothing she couldn't do," said Michael Healy.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Children's Hospital, where some of the wounded are being treated. Speaking to the father of an injured girl by her hospital bed, the queen said the attack was "a very wicked thing."

The family of Laura MacIntyre, in critical condition after the blast, released a statement that posted to the Manchester police Twitter account. MacIntyre's friend, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, died during the attack.

"Our daughter Laura is a funny and witty young girl who excels at everything she does," the statement said. "Laura and her friend Eilidh were so looking forward to the concert, but that night has now ended in tragedy where Eilidh has lost her life and Laura is in critical condition. Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh's family since we heard their news."

Manchester hospitals are still treating 75 people in the aftermath of Monday's bombing attack, including 23 in critical care, according to a statement from NHS England.

Professor Bob Pearson, Medical Director of Central Manchester Hospitals Trust said 32 patients remained at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, including five children and five adults in critical care.

"Many of the injuries were horrific and potentially life-changing for the patients involved," he said.

A moment of silence was held Thursday morning as the United Kingdom continued to come to terms with its worst terror attack since the 2005 London bombings.

CNN's Atika Shubert reported from Manchester and Laura Smith-Spark and Ray Sanchez wrote from London and New York. CNN's Natalie Gallon, Carol Jordan, Schams Elwazer, Barbara Starr, Jomana Karadsheh, Nadine Schmidt and Isil Sariyuce contributed to this report.
Have you heard about the new Harvard University study that alleges liberal media bias? It's a big story, especially in media that have a conservative bias.

"About the only people who deny widespread media bias these days are the people who are directly benefiting from it," said the conservative star of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," reacting to the study on the conservative Fox News network. "And that would include progressive activists posing as reporters and the Democratic politicians whose water they carry."

Attaboy, Tucker. Keep tossing out those blanket smears of working journalists and you, too, might become as popular as Bill O'Reilly, whose show you are replacing.

However, regardless of your political orientation, there's nothing special about bashing media. (Which, by the way, is a plural noun, folks. Please stop saying "The media is...." Just stop it.) Everybody hates the media, including those of us who work in them.

That's why I welcome useful research into what we do and how we might do it better. But I don't welcome trolls who, in pursuit of a chance to say, "I told you so," twist research conclusions to back their own partisan position, whatever it may be.

In that light, the new study of media coverage of President Donald Trump's first 100 days by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School is useful for what it really says about media bias: It transcends politics.

Conservatives predictably applauded the study's finding that, of news stories about the new president that could be categorized as positive or negative, 80 percent were classified as negative for their tone.

Among recent presidents, that beats the previous record of 60 percent negative press set by President Bill Clinton's coverage during his first 100 days. That was only slightly ahead of George W. Bush's 57 percent and way ahead of Barack Obama's 41 percent.

But look at what we're talking about. The study doesn't measure partisanship. It measures negativity  in other words, bad news vs. good news.

At least President Trump can't complain that he is being ignored. He dominated media coverage. He was the topic of 41 percent of all news stories in the media that were analyzed. That's three times the amount of coverage received by the previous three presidents.

And most of it was bad news, even as it provided an overflow of material for late night comedians. That's not surprising to anyone who has been paying attention. How do you put a positive spin on a presidency that launches itself with a presidential hissy-fit over the size of his inauguration crowd?

In fact, if anyone should be upset over being shut out by media bias, it is Democrats. Republican voices accounted for 80 percent of what newsmakers said about the Trump presidency, the study found, compared to only 6 percent for Democrats. That's the price of losing control of the White House and both houses of Congress, I guess.

Trump was also the featured speaker in nearly two-thirds of his coverage. That's because he is not only the president but also Donald Trump, a celebrity Twitter troll who became president, a man more savvy about media than about politics or policies. You couldn't make up a better sit-com premise than that.

Plus, his narrative offers the extra spice of knowing that he has the nuclear codes. Fun.

Trump has received maximum coverage for most weeks of his presidency without a single major topic where his coverage, on balance, was more positive than negative, the study said, "setting a new standard for unfavorable press coverage of a president."

But did he deserve it? Considering the ways in which Trump effectively turned his "war" with the media into a major campaign rallying cry, he's turned the media bias charge from a liability into an asset.

Yet if there's anything on which both sides should agree, it is the Harvard study's suggestion that journalists "spend less time peering at the White House" and "more time in places where policy intersects with people's lives." Then we might stand better chance of spotting important stories like the discontent that led to Trump's new job  and may yet determine how long he keeps it.
Omya and Ittihad Paper Mill in Abu Dhabi Sign Cooperation Agreement for The Manufacture of PCC Omya will build and operate a new onsite PCC plant for Ittihad Paper Mill with an initial capacity of 100,000 dry metric tons per year. Start-up is scheduled for the third quarter of 2018. May 24, 2017 - Omya and Ittihad Paper Mill L.L.C in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have signed a cooperation agreement for the manufacture of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC). Ittihad Paper Mill will be producing high-quality printing and writing paper grades for the domestic and export markets. The new onsite PCC plant is scheduled to start production in Q3/2018 with an initial capacity of 100,000 dry metric tons per year. The PCC produced will be based on the Omya Multifill concept to maximize the filler level in the paper sheet. The Omya Multifill concept is an innovative measure to optimize the paper production efficiency while providing higher quality properties such as bulk, opacity, brightness and printability. In addition, the onsite PCC plant helps Ittihad Paper Mill achieve its environmental sustainability targets by fully utilizing the mill's CO2 emissions coupled with locally available limestone as raw materials and providing significant savings on fibers, water and energy. Ittihad Paper Mill LLC is a subsidiary of Ittihad International Investment based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Construction works of the Mill is in phase 1, with a capacity of 320,000 tons/year of reels, folio and cut-size uncoated woodfree sheets, started in Q4/2016, and the project is on track for completion in Q3/2018. Harald Pfaller, CEO for Omya Region Greater South and East said, We are very excited to build and operate this new PCC plant for Ittihad in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The close collaboration between Omya and Ittihad has resulted in this long-term commitment. Omya is a global producer of industrial minerals  mainly fillers and pigments derived from calcium carbonate and dolomite  and a worldwide distributor of specialty chemicals. To learn more, please visit: www.omya.com. SOURCE: Omya
PAMSA's Jane Molony Named President of the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations Jane Molony May 25, 2017 - The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) announced Jane Molony as its new president. Molony, Executive Director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA), will serve in this capacity for the next two years. Across the world, wood, paper and tissue products touch lives every day in ways that often go unnoticed. Without our industries' products, many people would not be able to teach, read or learn; businesses would not be able to ship merchandise, or protect goods; nor would people be able to improve their lives through the basics of personal hygiene. Forest and paper products also have a great environmental and economic story to tell. It is a story that has been proudly told by the ICFPA for 15 years. I am particularly honoured to take charge of this group of leaders, said Molony. Molony was elected at the ICFPA's annual meeting in Berlin, Germany. The meeting was attended by 18 representatives from ICFPA members associations, who discussed future activities, cooperation and sustainability-related issue. Molony succeeds Elizabeth de Carvalhaes, president and CEO of the Brazilian Tree Industry, who served as ICFPA president for the past three years. Carvalhaes commented, It has been a privilege to help the ICFPA continue its legacy of advocacy on important issues of interest of this global industry, and I have put significant efforts in communication. I believe this industry has a remarkable story to tell and we are just scratching the surface when it comes to public awareness and understanding of the sustainable benefits of the global forest products industry. It was a great pleasure and honor to be part of this important forum and network of leaders and Iba will continue to advocate towards the global forest industry and the plantations based industry locally and globally. Molony added, On behalf of the entire ICFPA, I would like to thank Elizabeth for her leadership and guidance. I look forward to continuing to work with her and the other members of the steering committee to ensure a strong global forest products industry. The ICFPA represents more than 30 national and regional forest and paper associations around the world. For more information about the sustainability of the global forest and paper industry, visit icfpa.org. SOURCE: International Council of Forest and Paper Associations
Apple had a deadline for responding to Samsung's mid-March petition for writ of certiorari" (request for Supreme Court review) in the second California Apple v. Samsung case, which had received very significant support from software and Internet companies, non-governmental, reports FOSS Patents.

In its filing Monday, Apple argued that the lower court's ruling was correct and that the case wasn't worth consideration by the Supreme Court because the patent laws themselves weren't in dispute. It also said that even if the issues were in dispute, the case isn't a good one to use for setting new legal precedent.

Specifically, Apple noted in their filing that "Samsung's petition challenges two Federal Circuit decisions, neither of which implicates any broad or disputed question of substantive patent law. The petition should be denied."

You could view Apple's 'Brief in Opposition" in Full here and read some analysis of this filing at FOSS Patents here.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
In response to your recent request for more proof of relationshipandevidence of cohabitation to support my husbands immigration petition, may I offer the following evidence of his presence in our lives and home?

1) There are more sharp things in my house, and the children have been learning how to use them.

2) Im not the only one fielding, What do you call this (plant/animal/bird/bug)? questions.

3) Theres music all the time. All The Time.

All. The. Time. And its beautiful. Guitar, bodhran, pennywhistle, concertina. And a variety of artists and styles, from traditional to blues to punk to rock to chant, and more.

(3b) My 12 year old son has decided his favorite band is The Clash.)

4) Nobody is paying for haircuts anymore.

5) This is what leftovers for dinner looks like! THIS.

Can you imagine the original meals?

This next picture is of a midnight snack. A midnight snack. Something to nosh on while watching Netflix after the kids are in bed. Thats sauteed sausage and peppers and fiddleheads with apple and balsamic vinegar.

Ive retired from cooking. Ive hung up my apron. His apron is cooler looking anyway.

That reminds me. My home now contains an R2D2 apron and a Death Star cutting board. We rocked Fathers Day last year.

6) Im a geek in my own right, but with my husband here, the geekiness quotient has doubled.

Exhibit A: our Doctor Who-themed Christmas. I might have come up with this on my own, but I wouldnt have thought to wake the kids up with loud TARDIS dematerialization noises. Apparently Santa got a lift to our house this past year.

Yes, those are Weeping Angels on our Christmas tree.

7) There are ten times as many tools in this house as there were, and my coffee table doubles as a work bench.

My brother-in-law got a viking shield for Christmas. Theres no way I would have pulled that off if my husband wasnt here. That alone should be sufficient evidence that my husband is really here and really part of my family.

8) Mens shirts in my closet. My husbands desk clutter in our bedroom.

What more proof could you need?

9) This is how the day frequently begins.

Please let me know if this evidence is insufficient, and I will gladly arrange for you to speak with my 5 year old daughter in person or over the phone. Her possessive hero-worship of her Papa is only matched by her Papas heart-melting adoration of her. Im sure shell set you straight in short order so she can get on with the important business of fluffing Papas facial hair, stage-directing his story-telling, and arranging for her dream of a world meat-tasting tour with her Papa as guide.

I hope this will be helpful in your determination of our petition.

Yours,

Kate

As I have mentioned, my husband and I reconciled a year ago after several years apart. He joined the kids and I in Canada, but we are still waiting for him to be approved for permanent residency.

Were just coming off a long weekend up here, and three of the five of us are battling some sort of respiratory virus or flu. Tuesday, I received a request for more supporting documentation to show my and my husbands continuing relationshipand residency. Being a little punch-drunk on cold medicine and lack of sleep, this post resulted.
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IRAN: Newly Reelected Rouhani Abandons Promise to End Six-Year House Arrest of Opposition Leaders

05/25/17

Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran

In his first press conference after being declared the winner of Iran's May 19, 2017 election, President Hassan Rouhani refused to commit to ending the more than six-year extrajudicial house arrests of three opposition leaders, a pledge he made during his first presidential campaign.





Iranian opposition leaders

Under house arrest since February 2011



Asked what he would do to free opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hosseini Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, who have been detained for more than six years for leading the peaceful, mass protests against the disputed result of the 2009 presidential election, Rouhani suggested that a solution depended on cooperation from other branches of state.

"The country is ruled by laws and we should all submit to them," he said on May 22. "The executive, legislative and judicial branches have their own responsibilities. We are moving forward on the basis of the Constitution."

"I am responsible for the rights of every citizen, even Iranians living abroad," added Rouhani. "Wherever I see the rights of Iranians being violated, I will take action within my powers. In cases related to the judiciary, I will respond by direct communication or in joint meetings. The next government plans to implement the Charter on Citizens' Rights. In this respect, the rights of all people are important to me."

Rouhani made no reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose adamant opposition to freeing the three detainees has kept them detained in legal limbo.

At a presidential campaign rally at Sharif University in Tehran on May 13, 2013, Rouhani said he hoped he could free the three within the first year of his presidency: "We can provide conditions such that over the next year, individuals who were imprisoned or put under house arrest for the 2009 events are released."

Amid Rouhani's virtual silence on the issue during his first term, other politicians raised it a number of times, including conservative Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahari, who has repeatedly spoken of the need for a solution.

In an interview on May 8, 2017, Motahari repeated his suggestion that the issue could be resolved through negotiation.

"Some steps have been taken towards resolving the house arrests and we have to listen to the reasoning by the opposing side," he said. "We have to move towards improving the conditions in the country and prevent issues before they turn into a crisis."

Motahari has previously explained that Khamenei is the driving factor behind the continuing house arrests.

"One of the obstacles against their freedom has been the insistence by some officials that if they do not apologize and repent, it will damage the state and the supreme leader," said Motahari. "It isn't wrong to have an opinion about the 2009 incidents different than those of people in power...keeping (Mousavi, Rahnavard and Karroubi) under house arrest for six years is neither compatible with the law nor with religious teachings."

At the May 22 press conference, the newly reelected president was also asked about his policies on protecting the rights of the artistic community, particularly those in the music and film industries.

"One of the outcomes of this year's elections was that everyone was at peace with music," responded Rouhani. "However, we are not too fond of cheap music. Some say that's fine as well, but in any case, I am certain our new government will give more support to the cultural community."

"The situation did improve for music and cinema in our previous four years, but we will make greater efforts in the next four," he added.

Since 2013, when Rouhani was voted into office promising a more open society, numerous state-sanctioned musicians, including the popular musical artists Alireza Ghorbani and Sirvan Khosravi, saw their concerts canceled at the last moment.

Religious conservatives have justified their attacks on musicians by quoting vague statements and decrees by senior religious leaders. Khamenei has himself often warned about the alleged dangers of music, saying it will "lead people away from the path of God."

Rouhani also said his government would adopt proposals based on educational guidelines provided by the UN 2030 Agenda-vehemently opposed by conservatives-that do not violate Islamic principles.

"The ministers of foreign affairs, science and education wrote to the supreme leader explaining to His Excellency at length that the Islamic Republic of Iran has reserved the right to ignore parts of agenda 2030 that do not conform with our culture and national values," said Rouhani.

On the issue of women in the workforce, Rouhani said his government would do more to increase women's employment prospects.

"It's wrong to think that men have a higher status or that they are more capable than women," he said.

At the same time, Rouhani echoed Khamenei's sexist views by claiming certain jobs are more suitable for men than women.

"It's wrong to think that men have a higher status or that they are more capable than women," he said at the same press conference. "Of course men are better at some professions and women are better at others. (God) has given both their own special qualities."

"But women are not lower than men and keeping them inside the house does not make sense from social or legal standpoints," he added.
Delmar Driver found a patriotic way to dress up a tradition at Bluffs Trinity Lutheran Church.

The veteran would wear his military uniform for a unique Memorial Day observance that has taken place in the church cemetery for years.

Driver was 70 when he died on April 1.

But other church members, who are veterans, plan to don military uniforms for an event that includes placing home-grown flowers on the graves of deceased servicemen.

The event, open to the public, begins with a 10:30 a.m. Sunday worship service in the church at 1693 County Road 17, northwest of Fremont.

Each year before the service, women bring flowers theyve grown at home to the church at about 9 a.m., said Drivers wife, Cathy.

Some of us raise flowers, I think, strictly for Memorial Day, she said.

Women begin assembling bouquets for more than 20 graves, supplementing with artificial flowers if needed. Ribbons are tied around the bouquets. Delmar also purchased flags for the individual graves and made a special map.

Following the worship service, members gather the bouquets, an American flag and a church flag and walk in a procession to the adjacent church cemetery. The Rev. Sean Tyler, pastor, says a prayer. Someone reads the names of each deceased veteran, his rank and even perhaps which war he was in, and then a bouquet is placed on his grave.

Some widows, like Alyce Petersen, have placed a bouquet on their husbands grave in past years. Her late husband, Wesley Buster Petersen died in May 2014. He was 91. Wesley Petersen, who was born on a farm during a blizzard northwest of Fremont, served in the U.S. Army toward the end of World War II and was stationed in the Philippine Islands.

He and his wife were married at Bluffs Trinity in November 1946.

Alyce Petersen lives in Schuyler and said she wont be able to attend the event this year, but shes appreciated past Memorial Day observations.

The most special thing was when they took the flags in the church and walked out the door to the cemetery and Delmar Driver wore his uniform. I was very impressed with that, Petersen said.

Cathy Driver remembers the first time Petersen came to the observance and her response:

I just get tears in my eyes when I see Delmar in his uniform, because it reminds me of Buster, when he was young, she said.

Driver, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years, was involved in documenting and tracking satellites.

Formerly of Missouri Valley, Iowa, Driver got the idea for wearing his uniform while attending a church service there years ago.

He said he used to have a minister, who was in the military, and the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend he always preached in his military uniform, Cathy Driver said.

One year, Driver decided to wear his own uniform for the Memorial Day observance at Bluffs Trinity.

He continued to wear his uniform at the observance during the past few years.

Church member Duane Brand recalls Driver wearing his uniform last year and reading the names of deceased veterans while flowers were being put on the graves.

I think youve got a good idea. Maybe we all should put our uniforms on, Brand said. Before I even got the last words out of my mouth, he said, You take care of that.

So Brand put a notice in the church bulletin encouraging servicemen, who wanted to do so, to wear their military attire.

Cathy heard veterans saying: The only thing I can fit into is my hat.

Yet Delmar suggested they visit a couple of surplus stores in Omaha to help replicate the uniform they used to wear. Cathy believes four or five veterans plan to wear a military uniform for Sundays observation.

After church members finish placing bouquets on the graves, they place any leftover flowers at the base of a flag pole in the cemetery and the observation is concluded.

Delmar Driver wont wear his uniform to the service this year, but he will be recognized during the observance.

Cathy Driver is looking forward to this years event.

Its going to be kind of bittersweet, she said, adding, It will be good to see him honored.
Trump's Alignment with Sunni Autocrats Masks Shallow Understanding of Region

05/25/17

By Emile Nakhleh (source: LobeLog)



cartoon by Salman Taheri, Iranian daily Shahrvand



President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia has engendered endless press reporting and analysis. Two key points stand out in the media coverage. First, the trip was mostly show than action. Second, the Saudis played up to Trump's craving for adulation and narcissism. They knew he was a fickle showman and acted accordingly. He of course loved it, and they proved that rich princely Bedouins could capture the world stage, at least for a fleeting moment.

What projects, centers, institutes, and deals Trump announced in Riyadh were either already in the works before he took office or were merely memoranda of understanding, not actual deals involving money on the table. He talked about the "splendor" of Saudi Arabia, bashed Iran, deplored "Islamist extremism," and described the fight against terrorism as a "battle between good and evil."

President Trump touted a Saudi-American partnership "based on shared interests and values" and grounded his envisioned doctrine in what he called "principled realism." Unfortunately, what emerged from the visit was a "partnership" based solely on interests not values. He failed to mention the miserable human rights record of his hosts and their Bahraini and other neighbors. Although he admired Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's shoes, Trump did not chastise the Egyptian dictator for the thousands of political prisoners languishing in Egyptian jails.

Trade Trumps Values

Trump and his Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson believe that values, especially the emphasis on human rights, impede trade and close relations with Middle Eastern and other autocrats. American foreign policy since the 1970s has endeavored to balance American values-good governance, liberty, gender equality, and human rights in general-with its interests. President Jimmy Carter initiated the State Department annual human rights reports, which US embassies were required to submit about the human rights practices of the host countries. Even dictators paid attention to those reports. The Carter administration and successive Republican and Democratic administrations, while adhering to the reporting requirement on human rights, vigorously pursued American interests in commerce, security, arms sales, and counterterrorism.

President Trump on his maiden international trip seems to throw this policy out the window. He was silent about the thousands of Shia political prisoners in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and implicitly gave the Gulf Arab potentates the green light to proceed with their repression and discrimination. In fact, right after he left Saudi Arabia, Bahraini security forces conducted a raid on the home of Ayatollah Isa Qasim, Bahrain's top Shia cleric, in the village of Diraz, killing at least five peaceful protesters and arresting nearly 300. Saudi security forces in the Kingdom's Eastern Province, where most Saudi Shia citizens live, act more like an occupation force. In the weeks before President Trump's visit, Saudi security forces arrested scores of Shia activists in that region. Freedom of expression has been completely muzzled in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Equally severe conditions also prevail in Egypt whose autocratic leader has forged a warm relationship with the American president.

The Shia majorities in Bahrain and in the Eastern Province view the reference to "values" in Trump's speech as a depiction of the values shared by two wealthy, dictatorially inclined families-one runs a private family business, the other a palatial desert monarchy. As Gulf and other Arab populations under authoritarian rule listen to President Trump glorifying the shared values with his newfound Saudi friends, they see their fellow citizens suffer from illegal detentions, torture, and sham trials and convictions.

More importantly, Iran was holding free and open elections, which resulted in an impressive victory for the moderate president Hassan Rouhani. The elected president is committed to rapprochement with the United States and with the West in general. President Trump's speech to the mostly Sunni leaders of Arab and Islamic states assembled in Riyadh-the head of Azerbaijan was reportedly the only Shia leader at the gathering-was almost a call to arms against Iran even though most of the terrorist "evil losers" trace their radical ideology to the Saudi Sunni interpretation of Islam, not to Shia Iran. The Iranian presidential and municipal elections were a stark reminder that Iran is one of the rare Arab Muslim countries that holds frequent and relatively free elections.

Deeper Implications of Taking Sides

President Trump's apparent alignment with Sunni autocrats has thrust him in the middle of the centuries-old Sunni-Shia sectarian divide. This is unwise and in the long-term harmful to American interests and presence in the Muslim world. The president seems clueless about the history of Islam and the different schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam. Nor is he aware of, or perhaps cares about, the fact that the most conservative and intolerant of these schools is the basis of Saudi Islam. How can an American president share "values" with a country that proselytizes a hateful, narrow-minded religious ideology intolerant of Jews and Muslims, disrespectful of women, and scornful of human rights?

By taking sides, President Trump has plunged the United States into the wars of Islam in support of one sect against the other. America remains involved in Iraq although most the population are Shia. By doing so, Trump has undercut America's role as an unbiased broker of possible reconciliation between Iran and its Arab neighbors. Even within Sunni Muslim countries, the president's growing cozy relations with wealthy, corrupt Muslim autocrats-whether in the Levant, the Persian Gulf, or Central Asia-will surely alienate him and America from Arab Sunni publics.

President Trump's Riyadh speech on terrorism and radicalism also reflects his lack of knowledge of the factors that drive terrorism. He is correct in pointing out that the countries of the region must participate in the war against terrorism and deprive the terrorists a safe haven in these countries. Ideology, however, is only one factor. Other equally important factors involve regime policies of repression, corruption, poor economic policies, and lack of job creation.

Selling arms to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or Bahrain, for example, helps produce jobs in America but does not produce jobs for unemployed Saudi, Bahraini, or Egyptian youth. If the president were interested in promoting peace and stability in the region-and at the same time proclaiming American values of hard work and productive citizenship-he should have talked more about entrepreneurship, job creation, innovation, and the freedom to experiment and innovate.

If President Trump is truly committed to countering extremism, he should realize that it cannot be done through the establishment of military alliances or the opening of such media-hyped institutes as the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology or the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, which he touted in his speech.

The president correctly told his audience that millions of young Arab Muslim men and women "seek great futures to build, great national projects to join, and a place for their families to call home." But he neglected to remind his listeners that these expectations begin with dismantling autocratic, corrupt regimes and opening the gates of freedom to their people.

Curiosity, inquiry, and the search for a better future based on dignity, honest work, and the freedom to experiment must begin with lifting the yoke of repression and corruption. The first Arab Human Development Report in 2002 identified three major "deficits"-freedom, women's empowerment, and human capabilities/knowledge-that Arab regimes and governments must address if the region is to realize its potential. A decade and a half later these deficits have largely been unaddressed because regimes focus on their own survival and wealth accumulation with only the slightest concern for their citizens.

President Trump did not dare to look his adoring audience in the eye and explain these inconvenient truths. He needed to be adulated, and they obliged him. He took the easy way out by saying "We are not here to lecture-we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship." The President went to the region as a deal maker and a salesman for American weapon manufacturing. He talked about Islam, terrorism, Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without the benefit of expert advice in any of these areas. After great showmanship in Riyadh, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, he and his family left the region without much to show for or to benefit the people of that war-torn region.

President Trump should have addressed the "deficits" head on by urging his assembled autocrats and potentates to open their societies to freedom, empower their women, and advance inquiry and knowledge. He did not and as such lost a historic opportunity to help reshape the Middle East.

About the author:



Emile Nakhleh is an expert on Middle Eastern society and politics and on political Islam. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Research Professor at the University of New Mexico. He previously served in the Central Intelligence Agency from 1993-2006, first as scholar in residence and chief of the Regional Analysis Unit in the Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis and subsequently as director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program. Until 1993 Nakhleh taught at Mount St. Mary's University, where he was the John L. Morrison Professor of International Studies. Nakhleh's publications include, among others, A Necessary Engagement: Reinventing America's Relations with the Muslim World (2009), Bahrain: Political Development in a Modernizing Society (1976 and 2011), and The Gulf Cooperation Council: Policies, Problems, and Prospects (1986). Nakhleh holds a PhD from American University, an MA from Georgetown University, and a BA from Saint John's University, Minnesota.
U.S. Treasury Eyes More Sanctions On Iran, Reviews Aircraft Sales

05/25/17

Source: RFE/RL

The U.S. Treasury chief told Congress on May 24 that he is looking for ways to increase sanctions on Iran, including by reviewing licenses the Treasury previously granted to Boeing and Airbus to sell aircraft to Iran.







"We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria, and North Korea to protect American lives," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee.



"I can assure you that's a big focus of mine and I discuss it with the president," he said, adding that the Trump administration is convinced that sanctions "really work."



Mnuchin did not elaborate on the department's review of the aircraft sale licenses, which were issued by the Treasury last year under a 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers to lift economic sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities.



His statements followed President Donald Trump's call on Iran to stop funding "terrorists and militias" during a trip this week to the Middle East.



The Boeing aircraft sale was the biggest deal for a U.S. business contemplated in the landmark nuclear accord, while the Airbus sales were also among the largest business deals to come out of the agreement.



IranAir has agreed to buy 200 U.S. and European passenger aircraft worth up to $37 billion at list prices, though such deals typically include big discounts.



They include 80 jets from Boeing and 100 from Airbus. All the aircraft need U.S. licenses because of their reliance on U.S. parts.



Most of Iran's aging fleet of 250 commercial planes were purchased before 1979, and only 162 were operational last year, with the rest grounded because of a lack of spare parts.



Iran has said that halting the aircraft sales would breach the nuclear agreement, though some legal experts say the Treasury has the authority to withdraw the licenses.



For Boeing, losing the IranAir deal could force it to cut back production of its 777 passenger jetliners.



"Boeing continues to follow the lead of the U.S. government with regards to working with Iran's airlines, and any and all contracts with Iran's airlines are contingent upon U.S. government approval," a spokeswoman told Reuters by e-mail.



With reporting by Reuters, Times of Israel, and Press TV



Copyright (c) 2017 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

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JUST WHISTLING A TUNE IN A HURRICANE Mr. Trump's Historic First Foreign Trip - I watched with great disgust President Trump's long delivery at the gathering of Moslem heads of state in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His half-hour-long speech was eloquently worded, obviously not his words, as he lacks the degree of literacy or the command of the language required for that. The content of his speech was rhetorical, hypocritical and transparently shallow and, I might add, disgracefully dishonest. -Kambiz Zarrabi

Arms Deal Stories Omit War Crimes Arms Will Be Used For - The Trump administration wrapped up a weapons deal with the Saudi Arabian government this week that will be worth up to $350 billion over the next ten years. News of the deal came as Trump visited Riyadh and paid fealty to one of the United States' most enduring allies in the Middle East. -Adam Johnson, LobeLog

Trump's Riyadh Speech: Bowing to the Saudi Regime - The bar for Donald Trump's speech in Riyadh had been set so low that it was scraping the sand. How much could be expected from a notorious exploiter of Islamophobia speaking to a gathering of leaders of majority Muslim countries? Getting through the experience without causing major new damage should perhaps be considered a success. Perhaps Trump and his speechwriters were wise not to attempt anything more. -Paul R. Pillar, LobeLog 5/24/17

Trump in the Middle East: From 'America First' to Saudi and Israel first - President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East has turned out as expected: no single act of outreach to the Muslim world could undo his fueling of Islamophobia and no amount of Iranophobia could cover up the irony of Trump and Saudi Arabia uniting against intolerance. -Trita Parsi, Middle East


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The full list of the senior officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) who have been interdicted for allegedly engaging in various acts of misconduct that has caused the state to lose huge sums of revenue, has emerged.



The affected officers15 in all, consist of four females and 11 males who are banned from using their office identity cards as punishment for their alleged nefarious activities capable of compromising the national economy and security are Christine Bantas, Lydia Attipoe, Rose Obeng Manu and Mary Ann Okunnor as the suspended female officers.



Names of the interdicted male officers are: Eric Kwaku Bonney, Aaron Morgan Ahiadro, Jonathan Gyan Anaman, Jacob Hayford, David Yao Adranu, Emmanuel Ekow Parker, Francis Stephenson, Yao Boakye Agyemang, Walter Kumah, Mumuni Abdulai and Joseph Allan.



The affected revenue collectors from Tema and other Sector Commands across the country, with Tema having the majority were banned from all offices under the GRA.



They were said to have purportedly connived with certain companies to evade duties and taxes, causing a huge financial loss to the state.



Acting Commissioner, Support Services Division, Fred Charles Anson who signed the interdiction letters further asked the affected officers to hand over all properties belonging to the Authority to their various sector commanders before leaving the office.



They were barred also from entering GRA offices until investigations are concluded or otherwise directed.



Some of them will be getting two-thirds of their monthly salaries during the interdiction period while others were stripped of their salaries until the cases are disposed off.



An interdiction letter sent to a female culprit who is stationed at Tema and sighted by DAILY GUIDE indicates that she has caused the GRA to incur a total liability of GH17,151,593.72, being revenue loss of GH8,575,796.86 and 100 percent penalty thereof.



The letter which was issued on May 18, 2017 reads further that The Authority has taken a very serious view of your conduct and has decided to interdict you to pave way for a thorough investigation to be carried out into the matter.



Consequently you have been interdicted with effect from May 18, 2017. You are to hand over your duties and all Authoritys property in your custody including your ID to your Sector Commander before leaving the office.



Linda Ofori Kwarfo, Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has suggested to government to reduce human involvement in the clearing of goods in order to address the corruption menace.



She further called on government to ensure more supervision and control at the ports, lauding government for the steps taken so far to address corruption at the ports.



Meanwhile, the GRA has set up a committee to investigate the matter and bring up findings and recommendations for disciplinary action to be taken.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former Minister for Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor has vehemently refuted claims that some helicopters purchased by the erstwhile Mahama administration for Ghana Gas cannot be accounted for.



There have been reports that three helicopters for Ghana Gas Company purchased at a cost of 150 million dollars by the previous government are missing.



The co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr. Steve Manteaw who is also a member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) said sources close to Ghana Gas revealed that indeed the helicopters were bought and that they are being kept somewhere adding and Im not too sure where



He added: so it is early days yet to conclude that they are missing and that for now we just couldnt find them at the project but it does not mean that they are missing. So we just need to find out where they are and in which condition and shape they are in now.



But speaking to Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5FM Wednesday, Dr Kwabena Donkor stated that the claim is a clear demonstration of the substandard nature of the governing NPP government as the helicopters are securely parked in the hangars of the Ghana Airforce at the Air force base in Accra.



Im baffled by this claim, if we put out such baseless statements into the public domain, we inadvertently disagrace the Ghana Armed Forces which is regarded highly in Africa and the rest of the world because the helicopters are safe in their custody. What stops anyone from first contacting the Ghana Air Force before churning out such falsehood.

Source: kasapafmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Management of Ghana Gas has denied reports that four helicopters acquired during the regime of former President John Dramani Mahama had gone missing.



According to a statement issued by the Corporate Communications Department of Ghana Gas, the helicopters are currently stationed at the Ghana Air Force Headquarters at Burma Camp.



The Ghana Gas indicated that the company mandated the Air Force to operate and maintain the helicopters and further stressed that they are "in good working condition and not broken down as erroneously reported."



"Ghana Gas does not have the expertise and hangers to operate and maintain the helicopters. The Ghana Air Force, however, possesses such facilities. Ghana Gas, therefore, mandated the Ghana Air Force to operate and maintain them on its behalf. The helicopters are in good working condition and not broken down as erroneously reported. It is worth noting that there is a helipad at the Atuabo Main Camp."



'No helicopter missing'- Kwabena Donkor



Former Power minister Kwabena Donkor had earlier rubbished reports that some helicopters belonging to the Ghana Gas company have gone missing.



He says the choppers costing $150m are "securely parked in the hangars of the Ghana Airforce at the Air force base in Accra".



It was a leading member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee Dr. Steve Manteaw who went public with the claim that the three choppers could not be traced.



According to him, the management of Ghana Gas at Atuabo in the Western Region expressed surprise about the purchase of the helicopters especially as there is no helipad there.



There were suggestions, they may not have been delivered by the supplier after payment or that they are missing.



The claim was corroborated by the Monitoring and Evaluation minister Dr. Akoto Osei who also claimed the helicopters were over-priced.



Read full statement below:



GHANA GAS RESPONDS TO MISSING HELICOPTERS ALLEGATION



The Management of Ghana Gas wishes to respond to an allegation circulating in the media regarding the whereabouts of the helicopters, procured to provide surveillance services to the oil and gas installations in the Western Region.



The company wishes to make it known to all stakeholders and the public that on Wednesday, 23rd September, 2015, then President, His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama commissioned the four Z-9 EH helicopters at the Air Force Station at Burma Camp.



The helicopters were to ensure adequate security surveillance of the nation's oil and gas enclave in the Western Region.



Four (4) helicopters in total, not seven (7) as reported by some media outlets, were acquired. The said helicopters were procured from China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).



The contract to that effect was signed on 21st December, 2017. The helicopters are currently stationed at the Air Force Headquarters at Burma Camp.



Ghana Gas does not have the expertise and hangers to operate and maintain the helicopters. The Ghana Air Force, however, possesses such facilities. Ghana Gas, therefore, mandated the Ghana Air Force to operate and maintain them on its behalf.



The helicopters are in good working condition and not broken down as erroneously reproted.



It is worth noting that there is a helipad at the Atuabo Main Camp.



ISSUED BY:



The Corporate Communications Department



Ghana Gas







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A former deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations in the erstwhile Mahama government has dared the Foreign Ministry to release names of former government appointees still keeping their diplomatic passports.



Baba Jamal said the disclosure by the Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway it is just to incite Ghanaians against the former ministers.



Ask the minister to name the people, why are you going on a wild goose chase when you have the data of all those having diplomatic passports? he stated in an interview on Adom News Friday.



His comment is in reaction to governments decision to revoke all diplomatic passports still in the hands of former appointees of the John Mahama administration.



Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey says those still holding on to the passports risk being embarrassed if they fail to return them.



She revealed that, those some of the former appointees have brought their passports, majority are still holding on to it.



Madam Botchwey warned the former government appointees will be put on a spot list and prevented from traveling it they dont return their diplomatic passport.



But Baba Jamal could not fathom why the Foreign Affairs Minister is lamenting when she has the records to take action.



You have given a deadline so if someone has flouted it, mention his or her name why do you want to chase them he stated.



Citing himself as an example, the former deputy Employment Minister said he returned his diplomatic passport immediately they left office to prevent any embarrassment



I have returned my own long time even before the deadline so I dont have any problem with anybody he added.



Baba Jamal urged the Foreign Minister to name and shame former government appointees hiding their diplomatic passports.

Source: adomonline









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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Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle is, for those who live outside of the Melbourne municipality and are unaware, a bit of a crank.

Aside from his constant struggle to essentially remove the citys homeless population from the streets by any means necessary, it turns out Doyles opinion on police resources is also a little troubling.

Speaking with Neil Mitchell on 3AW earlier this morning and speaking in response to the horrific terror attack in Manchester earlier this week, Doyle floated the idea that Victorian Police walking the beat in Melbourne streets should maybe, possibly, potentially be permitted to openly carry assault rifles around.

Because, yknow, thatll make any jerks think twice about startin shit.

Doyle raised the issue of arming frontline police with more firepower, asserting that while it was not a look Id particularly enjoy our streets, he nonetheless suggested that its an issue that should be looked at in order to deal with a changing world.

Im not suggesting that we should; Im saying we should ask the question  We have to ask questions and say to our police, do you have all you need in a changing world where the threat is probable?

You ever tried to blow out a candle with a flamethrower, my dude? Its not a proportional response.

The idea of putting higher powered weaponry on police is so beat cops can respond to potential terrorist situations quickly without having to wait for specialist backup. But empowering entry-level police to go full-Rambo on a potentially extremely dangerous situation conjures up an ocean of its own problems.

For what its worth, the usually even-bigger-crank Mitchell was reasonably aghast at the Lord Mayors suggestions.

And when Neil Mitchell wont even back you in, well Might be time for a reassess, is all.

Source: The Age.

Photo: Wayne Taylor/Getty.
As ubiquitous to the Melbourne CBD as a mysteriously still-open Pie Face or that one legend busker who strums a guitar in the extreme wee hours and sings about people who walk past, horse-drawn carriages have long been a fixture on inner-city streets.

But the controversial tourist traps are set to be a thing of the past, thanks to a City of Melbourne council decision that will effectively ban them from setting up shop on Swanston St come June.

The council today announced that they would no longer be issuing permits for horse-drawn vehicles to park and offer rides on Swanston St, with the current permits all set to expire at the end of June this year.

Curiously, the City of Melbourne cited the on-going Metro Tunnel works as the chief reason for ceasing the Swanston St permits. The works are set to see a string of popular late-night fast food outlets (including a McDonalds and a KFC) as well as a series of souvenir shops demolished to make way for the planned entrance to the new CBD South underground rail station. The historic Young & Jackson pub is safe, and will remain untouched and operational throughout construction.

The council asserted that Metro Tunnel works will mean that the movement of trams, bicycles, and pedestrians will be prioritised on Swanston St, and safety risks associated with the construction means that having horses parked on the street is no longer tenable.

A horse-parking bay south of the CBD on St Kilda Road will remain in operation, and horse-drawn carriages remain legal on Victorian roads under the current Victorian Road Rules.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle issued comment via a statement, asserting that safety on Swanston St needed to be prioritised while the tunnel works are on-going.

Swanston Street is now busier than Regent St in London. Its no longer appropriate for the horse drawn vehicles to operate in their current location on Swanston Street. This civic spine should be primarily be used for cyclists, trams and delivery vehicles. The impact of the Metro Tunnel works makes this change necessary now. We need to ensure that Swanston Street is a safe and accessible civic space for all Melbournians and visitors to the city,

The horse-drawn carriages have long attracted criticism from animal activist groups over claims of cruelty, particularly surrounding the state of the facility the horses are kept in overnight.

In October 2015 a horse collapsed in the middle of the city; an incident that was captured on video, sparking outrage.

There are currently five operators with permits to operate horse-drawn carriages on Swanston St, and three other companies currently operating without permits.

Todays decision is the culmination of a community consultation process that began in December last year, and included input from carriage operators, Victoria Police, the RSPCA, local residents, and tourists.

The move isnt necessarily a blanket ban on the practice, but the council has instead strongly hinted that its the end by passing the buck back onto the carriage operators themselves, telling them they will need to determine the impact on their business.

The Metro Tunnel construction work is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Source: City of Melbourne.

Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Getty.
Apparently the br00tal shit stirring of the Real Housewives of Sydneys stars means that Bravo Networks are not interested in airing the latest incarnation of the franchise in the US.

The home of the Real Housewives franchise in the US have previously aired Real Housewives of Melbourne, and it was expected that they would pick up the Sydney season, but nuh, uh uh, Sydney is too extreme.

Its a pretty interesting stance from the network behind some pretty grim Real Housewives moments. Take for instance when on Real Housewives of Orange County, housewife Vicki Gunlaysons boyfriend at the time pretended to have cancer for an entire season, even forging documents to prove the fake news.

Or there was that infamous fight in season one of Beverly Hills, where Alison DuBois showed up to support her friend Camille Grammer (Frasiers ex) and ended up at what the show dubbed a Dinner Party from Hell. Or all the weave pulling and table flipping in Atlanta and New Jersey.

But apparently a bit of throwing, of say napkins, capes, etc, is enough to make Bravo say nooooope to the emerald city.

Foxtels executive director of TV, Brian Walsh weighed in:

A lot of the women in this show were nasty for nastys sake and have no redeeming features.

Ive raised my concerns with the production team [Matchbox Pictures] from this season. I felt the bad language and behaviour throughout the series did go too far.

Apparently he hinted that if a second season goes ahead, there might even need to be an overhaul of the cast. Ouch.

At least weve got some fresh blood ready for Real Housewives of Melbourne later this year. Phew.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Photo: Foxtel
Manchester native Harry Styles totally overhauled his show in Mexico City, choosing to perform a more subdued acoustic set in response to Tuesdays deadly bomb blast at Manchester Arena.

Styles, who was scheduled to perform the hits from his exuberant debut album with a full band, told the crowd that hed attended his first gig at his hometown venue. He also mentioned earlier performances there with One Direction.

That deeply personal connection to the horrific incident lead Styles to say it felt right to come and celebrate with you, but tonight doesnt feel like a night to celebrate.



The former boy band star asked punters to please choose love every single day, before leading them in a moment of silence.

What followed were some wound-back versions of his latest tunes.

A post shared by Lupita Cardena (@lux.c) on May 24, 2017 at 1:34pm PDT

Wherever I go,you bring me home.Sweet creature ? @harrystyles #harrystylesenmexico A post shared by Alondra Camacho (@alondramtzcamacho) on May 24, 2017 at 3:45pm PDT

Sign Of The Times was still a big ol ballad, though.

A post shared by ?? (@fridaycb) on May 24, 2017 at 2:24pm PDT

Earlier, Styles had posted a short message about the tragedy, which took 22 lives and injured scores more.

Im heartbroken over what happened in Manchester tonight.

Sending love to everyone involved. H  Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) May 23, 2017

Styles world tour is still rolling on, with the artist playing to Aussie audiences in November.

Photo: Instagram.
Two American Red Cross blood drives will take place in Fremont next week.

Fremont Family YMCA will host a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday. There also will be a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Nye Legacy.

Donors of all blood types are needed. As a thank you, those who donate Friday through Tuesday will receive a Red Cross-branded visor, while supplies last.

Make an appointment to donate blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting www.redcrossblood.org or calling 800-733-2767. Donors can then also visit www.redcrossblood.org/cedarfair to enter to win one of three grand prize packages for four to Knotts Berry Farm in California or Cedar Point in Ohio.
By Newt Gingrich

The Washington Post's legendary former publisher, Philip Graham, famously described journalism as the business of writing the "first rough draft of history."

This week, as President Donald Trump gave a historic speech in Saudi Arabia before the leaders of more than 50 Muslim-majority nations, journalism's first draft missed the history almost entirely.

While the media focused on the ephemeral questions - whether the president would use campaign rhetoric in a diplomatic setting, or how the trip would affect the Obama legacy - they largely missed the real drama of the moment: a titanic shift in U.S. foreign policy occurring right before their eyes.

Trump stood before an unprecedented gathering of leaders to do something far more significant than utter a single phrase or undermine his predecessor's record. He was there to rally the Muslim world, in his words, "to meet history's great test" - defeating the forces of terrorism and extremism. He did so in a way that no American president ever had before. While extending a hand of friendship to Muslim nations, he also issued them a clear challenge: to take the lead in solving the crisis that has engulfed their region and spread across the planet. "Drive out the terrorists and extremists," he urged them, or consign your peoples to futures of misery and squalor.

To find a comparably dramatic moment in the history of U.S. foreign policy, we have to look all the way back to 1982. That June, 35 years ago next month, President Ronald Reagan stood in the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster in London and called on the West to rally in defense of freedom and against communist aggression.

In that one speech, Reagan predicted the fall of communism and reinvigorated the Western alliance. "We see totalitarian forces in the world who seek subversion and conflict around the globe to further their barbarous assault on the human spirit," Reagan said. "What, then, is our course? Must civilization perish in a hail of fiery atoms? Must freedom wither in a quiet, deadening accommodation with totalitarian evil?"

Reagan declared his speech a turning point in history - and it was. On Sunday, Trump, too, declared that his challenge would be a turning point, one way or another. And he posed to that assembly in Riyadh an equally dramatic choice. It was, he said, "a choice between two futures" - the path of civilization, or the path of evil and death.

"America is prepared to stand with you" in the fight against terrorism, Trump pledged. "But the nations of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them. The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves, for their countries, and for their children."

Never before has an American president tried so clearly to unite the civilized world, including the nations of the Middle East and Africa, against the forces of terrorism. Never before has an American president issued so direct a challenge to those nations to do more in the fight. And never before has an American president so plainly put the ultimate responsibility for eradicating terrorism on the nations of the region. In doing so, Trump's speech implicitly repudiated the approaches of his two immediate predecessors and promised instead what he characterized as a "principled realism," based on a clear-eyed view of America's interests, security and limits.

That this decisive shift in U.S. foreign policy occurred on a foreign trip within the first four months of the administration is all the more impressive. Reagan didn't take his first international trip until well into his second year. And unlike President Barack Obama's early speech to the Muslim world in 2009, Trump backed up his words with action.

The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a $110 billion arms deal, the largest in U.S. history, which will bolster the kingdom's ability to contribute to counterterrorism operations across the region. This will reduce the burden on the U.S. military and send a clear message that this administration takes the threat of Iran seriously. The agreements also included a new commitment to crack down on terrorism financing in the Persian Gulf states, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Saudi investment in the United States.

Journalists and Washington bureaucrats, who are so deeply embedded in the establishment that they can't see out of it, may see Trump's call to action as a distracting sideshow from a status quo they can't imagine changing. And yet this week, it already has.

Foreign leaders and the American people alike can see in this trip the core of a new, reality-based foreign policy.

Newt Gingrich, a Republican from Georgia, was speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He served as vice chair of the Trump transition team and is the author of the book "Understanding Trump," which is scheduled to be released in June. He wrote this piece for The Washington Post, where it first appeared.
This undated photo provided by the Austin Police Department shows Jennifer Lampkin. Lampkin, a 35-year-old Austin, Texas native, has spent over a year in county jail, waiting for treatment in a mental hospital after she was accused of slapping a young girl in a Dollar General store but deemed both mentally ill and intellectually disabled by a judge. She is one of hundreds of Texans jailed rather than placed in a mental hospitals despite being deemed incompetent for trial and in need of psychological treatment. (Austin Police Department via AP)
In this photo taken on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, a Palestinian woman walks past garbage along a section of Israel's separation barrier in Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem. Israel this week is marking the 50th anniversary of its capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, an event it celebrates as the "unification" of the its eternal capital, but the city remains deeply divided in many ways. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The Knights of Columbus will host a pancake breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday in Delaney Hall at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Fremont.

The breakfast will benefit Camp Quality Heartland, a camp for children with cancer and their siblings.

The cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children. The Catholic Daughters will have a bake sale and a raffle will be held at the breakfast. The public is invited.
Nigel Wright, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leaves the courthouse in Ottawa following his sixth day of testimony at the trial of former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy on August 19, 2015. Former prime minister Stephen Harper's one-time chief of staff was never prosecuted for his role in Mike Duffy's Senate expenses fiasco, but now Nigel Wright is getting a belated slap on the wrist from the federal ethics watchdog. In a long-awaited report released Thursday, ethics commissioner Mary Dawson says Wright broke both the Parliament of Canada Act and the Conflict of Interest Act when he personally gave Duffy $90,000 to repay the Senate for questionable living expense claims. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar speaks to journalists prior to the start of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, at their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, May 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
First lady Melania Trump arrives at the San Damaso courtyard ahead of her husband President Donald Trump's private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Melania turned to one of her favorite fashion houses, Dolce & Gabbana, for her audience with the pope and her arrival in Italy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
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New East Jordan trail to be named for Don and EIleen Klein
Oil up Thursday before expected extension of OPEC output cut

LONDON

Petroleumworld 05 25 2017

Oil prices rose on Thursday ahead of an OPEC meeting expected to extend production cuts into 2018 in an attempt to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost three years.

Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 40 cents at $54.36 a barrel by 0730 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was 40 cents higher at $51.76. Both benchmarks have climbed more than 15 percent from May lows on expectations of an extension.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, meet in Vienna on Thursday and are widely expected to agree to extend a cut in oil supplies by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).

OPEC's current deal, agreed at the end of last year, only covers the first half of 2017.

The group will probably extend the cuts for another nine months until March 2018, four OPEC delegates said on Thursday as they gathered in Vienna. One delegate said a 12-month extension was still an option.

James Woods, analyst at Rivkin Securities, said an extended production cut was already "factored into the price of oil", adding that it was unlikely that a deeper cut would be announced at this stage.

"OPEC officials prefer ... to wait and see the impact of an extension in helping rebalance the market prior to taking any more drastic actions," Woods said.

Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said a nine-month extension "would have little impact on our price forecast for 2017, which is for an annual average of $55 a barrel for Brent".

It estimated that a nine-month extension would result in a 950,000 bpd production increase in the United States, undermining OPEC's efforts.

U.S. oil production C-OUT-T-EIA has already risen by more than 10 percent since mid-2016 to over 9.3 million bpd as drillers take advantage of higher prices and the supply gap left by OPEC and its allies.

Should the meeting in Vienna result in a cut extension to cover all of 2018, Wood Mackenzie said the tighter market could push average 2018 Brent prices up to $63 per barrel.

Brent has averaged $53.90 per barrel so far this year.

The OPEC cuts have enabled U.S. drillers to export more, especially to Asia. Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed that more than 200,000 bpd of U.S. crude went to Asia on average in the first four months of the year.






Sinopec starts building nation's largest gas storage site

BEIJING

Petroleumworld 05 25 2017

Sinopec said on Wednesday it has started building China's largest natural gas storage and logistics centre with the capacity to store up to 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas in Henan province in the central part of the country.

The world's second-largest economy is investing in infrastructure from pipelines to storage tanks as Beijing prepares to switch from coal-fired boilers and heating systems across 28 of its smoggiest cities to natural gas or electricity by October.

The storage facility is expected to open in May 2018, Henan's official government newspaper the Puyang Daily reported last week.

The storage facility will be connected to pipelines and supply gas to central China, Beijing and Tianjin.






Brazil's Temer with no clear contender to replace him

BRASILIA

Petroleumworld 05 25 2017

Key members of Brazil's coalition government are struggling to find a consensus candidate to replace President Michel Temer should he be forced from office by a massive corruption probe that has ensnared scores of politicians and business leaders.

Temer, a center-right politician, has refused to resign despite allegations he gave his blessing to a bribery scheme, but many allies say privately he has lost the ability to govern Latin America's largest economy and push pro-business policies through Congress.

Some experts say government-backed measures to liberalize the labor market and raise the pension age have little chance of being passed until a new government is installed after fresh elections.

Temer, who took over from leftist Dilma Rousseff after her 2016 impeachment for breaking budget rules, had been expected to serve through the end of 2018. If he left office early, Congress would appoint a new president to finish the term.

Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles and a former president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, are among the names floated as possible successors. Senator Tasso Jereissati, the interim head of the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), and Rodrigo Maia, the leader of Brazil's lower house of Congress, also have been mentioned.

But most of the politicians with the clout to help stabilize the nation, mired in its worst recession on record, also are under investigation in the "Operation Car Wash" graft probe or have been linked to companies that paid bribes, lawmakers said.

"You need someone that can pacify the country and open a dialogue with all parties. We don't have anyone like that in Congress," said a senior lawmaker with the Democrats, a party that is in Temer's coalition.

The lawmaker, who asked for anonymity to speak freely, said political leaders are far from reaching consensus on who would replace Temer.

A disorganized transition poses the risk of a power vacuum that could harm an economy expected to emerge from recession this year.

The Supreme Court last week approved an investigation into Temer based on testimony in a plea-bargain deal struck with executives at JBS SA, the world's biggest meatpacker. The businessmen admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to nearly 1,900 politicians in recent years.

Financial markets have bet heavily that Temer's government could pass austerity policies seen as needed to curb a fiscal deficit of more than 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The measures are largely unpopular with Brazilians.

"It will be very difficult for these reforms to be approved now," said Carlos Melo, a political scientist with Insper, a Sao Paulo business school. "Only a new government elected in 2018 will have the legitimacy to get these measures on track."

Brazil's stock market fell 9 percent last week after the bribery allegations involving Temer surfaced, its biggest one-day loss since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. Brazil's currency also sank, though it has since pared some losses.

Among the evidence released by the Supreme Court was a secretly recorded conversation between Temer and Joesley Batista, the billionaire owner of JBS, in which Temer appeared to give his blessing to buying the silence of a potential witness in Operation Car Wash.

'SENSATIONAL' OPTION

Meirelles, a favorite of investors who took over the finance ministry last year and headed the central bank under Brazil's leftist former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is seen as a prime contender to replace Temer.

But he was also briefly the chairman of the holding company that controls JBS and had advised the company on the setting up of its banking unit Banco Original.

Meirelles has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has said he did not have a direct role in the JBS decisions.

"Those connections make him a liability," said a leader with the PSDB, the country's third largest party, which is in Temer's coalition. "Meirelles can stay on as finance minister, but there is no chance he will president."

Most coalition lawmakers and congressional aides contacted by Reuters agree that a new caretaker government should keep Meirelles' economic team in place to guarantee the continuity of policy.

A member of the economic team told Reuters that he and most of his colleagues were willing to continue if Meirelles asked them to do so under a new administration.

The PSDB leader, who asked for anonymity because his party has not yet decided to break with Temer, said Cardoso, who led Brazil from 1995 to 2003, could be a "sensational" option.

Cardoso, a founding PSDB member credited with helping to stabilize the economy in the latter half of the 1990s, was also named in the corruption probe. He has denied any wrongdoing and expressed no interest in returning to front-line politics.

The PSDB is also considering Jereissati, its interim president, the official said.

Also under consideration is Maia, the lower house leader who would take over the presidency for a 30-day period in the event of Temer's ouster or resignation. Congress would pick a new president during that time.

A supporter of the government's economic agenda, Maia is also under investigation by authorities for allegedly receiving bribes from Odebrecht, a builder at the heart of the corruption probe. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Nelson Jobim, a former defense and justice minister who previously served on the Supreme court, also has been talked about as a possible successor to Temer.

Jobim, a member of Temer's Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, is a partner and board member of BTG Pactual, an investment bank whose founder was briefly arrested in 2015 in connection with a corruption probe.






OPEC to decide today to extend oil-supply cuts for 9 months

IEA's Neil Atkinson says an OPEC deal in Vienna is almost certain.- Watch enlarge video

VIENNA

Petroleumworld 05 25 2017

OPEC and its allies were close to an agreement to extend their oil-production cuts for another nine months as they seek to prop up prices and revive their economies.

While ministers gathering in Vienna were set to discuss other options -- a shorter deal for six months or curbs lasting for the whole of next year -- consensus was building around an agreement that runs through March 2018. The most influential participants in the deal, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, have publicly backed supply curbs of that duration while Iran said it would go along with whatever the majority agrees.

"I think we almost all agree on nine months, Algeria's Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa said in an interview in Vienna on Wednesday. Nobody is opposed to the plan, but some nations had reservations, he said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 non-members agreed last year to cut output by as much as 1.8 million barrels a day. The supply reductions were initially intended to last six months from January, but the slower-than-expected decline in surplus fuel inventories prompted the group to consider an extension. U.S. crude futures have rebounded by about 13 percent from a five-month low since Saudi Arabia first proposed maintaining the curbs into 2018.

A committee of six OPEC and non-OPEC nations charged with ensuring successful implementation of the cuts is meeting in Vienna on Wednesday to study the merits of a 12-month extension, in addition to the six and nine-month durations already discussed publicly, Kuwait's Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq told reporters in Vienna.

Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Algeria -- also members of the committee -- have said they favor an extension through March 2018. Oman, the sixth country on the panel, is not opposed to nine months but wants more discussion before giving its support, Oil and Gas Ministry Undersecretary Selim Aloufi said in an interview in Vienna Tuesday.

You can follow our TOPLive blog on the OPEC meeting in Vienna on Thursday here.

Kazakhstan may present the biggest complication to talks in the Austrian capital on Thursday. The third-largest non-OPEC participant in the agreement pumped 1.76 million barrels a day in April, overshooting its target of 1.68 million, OPEC estimates show. The country's Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said he will seek to renegotiate the cap on its output before agreeing to an extended deal.

OPEC and its allies will probably agree to prolong their agreement until the end of the first quarter of 2018, Gary Ross, global head of oil at PIRA Energy Group, part of S&P Global Inc., said in an interview in Vienna on Wednesday.

The crude market is now starting to rebalance in earnest, but it will take time and the bulk of stockpile draws will come between June and September, Ross said. OPEC will achieve its stated aim of bringing fuel inventories back in line with the five-year average by the end of this year, said Venezuelan Oil Minister Nelson Martinez.






Mexico's Sierra Oil & Gas and partners drill first mexican private oil well in 80 years



The ENSCO 8503 semisubmersible drilling rig to drill the Zama well, Talos is the operator of the well and owns a 35-percent stake in the venture.

BOONTON, NJ, USA

Petroleumworld 05 25 2017

For the first time in almost 80 years, a private company has sunk a new offshore oil well in Mexican waters -- the latest step in the country's drive to allow foreign competitors back into its energy markets.

A joint venture of London-based Premier Oil Plc , Houston's Talos Energy LLC and Mexico's Sierra Oil & Gas began drilling the well May 21, Premier said in a statement Monday. It's the first offshore exploration well to be launched by anyone other than state-run monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos since the country nationalized its oil industry in 1938.

The Zama-1 well, in the Sureste Basin off the state of Tabasco, holds an estimated 100 million to 500 million barrels of crude, Premier said in the statement. Drilling is expected to take up to 90 days to complete, at a cost to Premier of $16 million. The three companies won rights to the prospect in 2015, in the first round of bidding after Mexico voted to open its ailing oil industry to private investment.

As the first non-Pemex well to be drilled since the opening up of Mexican waters as part of the country's energy reform process, this well will be keenly watched by the industry," Elaine Reynolds, an analyst at London-based Edison Investment Research Ltd., said in a note to clients Tuesday. The structure of the basin suggests the project has a high geological chance of success."

Given the implications for the Mexican market, Zama is one of the most interesting exploration wells to be drilled in the sector this year," said Charlie Sharp, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Ltd., in another note.

Closely held Talos is the operator of the well and owns a 35-percent stake in the venture. Sierra holds 40 percent and Premier, 25 percent, according to Premier's statement.






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.
Despite an initial threat to close a political opponent's website, Comcast Corp. now says it was mistaken and will not take legal action against the pro-internet neutrality group Fight for the Future.

But stay tuned. The dust-up is typical of many fights to come as the rules of the internet are getting rewritten by the Trump administration.

The advocacy group claims on the new website, comcastroturf.com, that potentially hundreds of thousands of "fake" comments flooded the Federal Communications Commission, creating a false impression of broad public support for dismantling Obama-era internet regulations.

"Someone has submitted nearly half a million anti-net neutrality comments to the FCC, many of which appear to be completely fake  using stolen names and addresses," the site says. "This needs to be investigated and stopped now."

It also asks people to put their name into a search engine to see whether they submitted comments to the FCC without their knowledge. "We think it's a big deal," Evan Greer, a Fight for the Future official, said Thursday. "It's clouding the public record."

The comments are a big deal because the backers of current regulations and those who want them wiped away are expected to cite those emails to the FCC as proxies for public opinion.

Comcast initially sent a "cease and desist order" to Fight for the Future through one of its vendors, LookingGlass Cyber Solutions Inc., saying that the comcastroturf site could violate the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, which outlaws the use of website domain names that confuse consumers.

Comcast said on Thursday that it was protecting its reputation and was confused about the purpose of comcastroturf, which was officially registered as a domain name for a website on May 14. Fight for the Future did not post content related to net neutrality on the site until the evening of May 17. Earlier that day, LookingGlass Cyber Solutions sent the cease-and-desist letter.

Comcast and other big telecom companies seek the repeal of the Obama-era internet regulations, or "net neutrality" protections, through the new head of the FCC, Ajit Pai.

One of those net neutrality protections bans Comcast from blocking access to websites.

Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said Thursday: "Comcast supports strong, legally enforceable net neutrality rules and does not and will not block websites or content."

She added that "like most major brand owners, Comcast protects our company and brand names from being used improperly on the internet by third parties. We use an established outside vendor to monitor for websites that use our name and brands without authorization, and the vendor routinely sends out notices to those sites. That is what happened here."

Fitzmaurice said that "after reviewing the site further, we do not plan additional action at this time."
SEPTA's board approved on Thursday the construction of rooftop solar systems on several sprawling maintenance centers in Philadelphia, a 3.1-megawatt project the agency says would be the city's second largest after the Eagles' solar installation at Lincoln Financial Field.

SunVest Solar Inc. will own and install the solar systems. SEPTA will pay no upfront costs but will agree to buy the electricity produced for 20 years under a power-purchase agreement.

Under that agreement, SunVest and its partners will finance, design, install, operate, and maintain the roof-mounted photovoltaic systems. The project team includes Solar States, a Philadelphia-based solar-installation company, and New Energy Equity LLC, an Annapolis, Md., renewable-energy financing firm.

SEPTA said the agreement allows it to fix a portion of its energy cost at a predictable level that initially is below what it pays Peco. The renewable energy also will help the agency meet its sustainability goals.

The systems will be installed on SEPTA bus-maintenance centers at 200 W. Wyoming Ave. and the Callowhill facility at 5801 Vine St., as well as the Regional Rail shop at 342 Roberts Ave. and the Fern Rock subway facility at 1100 W. Nedro Ave.

The four buildings combined have about 637,000 square feet of flat roof, or about 14.6 acres. SEPTA says its project is slightly smaller than the Eagles' solar array at the Linc, which is rated at 3.2 megawatts. SEPTA says its project will increase the city's total installed solar capacity by about 30 percent.

"This solar project, along with other exciting new initiatives such as a new fleet of battery-electric buses to arrive this fall, demonstrates SEPTA's enduring commitment to environmental improvement," said Jeffrey D. Knueppel, the agency's general manager.

SEPTA's project will produce about four million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, about 25 percent of the energy needs of the four maintenance centers. Though it is large for a solar project, in regional energy context it will produce as much electricity as the Limerick Generating Station's nuclear reactors in Montgomery County can put out in less than two hours.

Erik Johanson, SEPTA's director of innovation, said that the transit agency had considered installing solar systems when it began its sustainability program in 2010, but that they were too costly at that time. The price of solar panels has dropped significantly since then, he said, and SEPTA recently put new roofs on the buildings, making a long-term commitment to solar power feasible.

SEPTA announced it was seeking bids for the solar systems in December, a month after its board approved the installation of a controversial 8.8-megawatt natural-gas cogeneration plant in Nicetown that had attracted opposition from climate activists, who objected to the use of fossil fuels for power generation. They had urged SEPTA to use renewable power, instead.

SEPTA officials said the decision to move ahead on solar was not intended as a response to the critics.

"I can understand how the timing might look like that, but this is a totally independent project from the [gas plant]," said Johanson.

SEPTA will pay the solar developers 7.2 cents per kilowatt hour for power, and the contract provides for annual price escalations of 1.9 percent, Johanson said. The annual price escalations are standard under most power-purchase agreements.

Four companies bid on its solar proposal, which initially included two other trolley-maintenance facilities later excluded from bidding because they might undergo major renovations in the next 20 years.

According to SEPTA's presentation to its board, the agency twice asked bidders to submit "best and final offers" after they had made their initial offers. Only SunVest submitted bids that SEPTA said gave the agency a positive net present value. The other bidders were SolarCity, WGL Energy, and Tangent Energy Solutions, a Kennett Square company.

"We're very conservative with our assumptions," said Johanson. "We were trying to come up with a project that we felt pretty confident would equal or beat our Peco price over the period of the contract."

SunVest Solar says it has installed more than 13 MW of solar systems nationwide with more than 600 customers, including a 237-kilowatt array it installed last year on the roof of Millbridge Elementary School in Delran, Burlington County.

"I can tell you that the project is extremely competitive and a fantastic deal for SEPTA," Kirk Kindred, national sales director for SunVest, said in an email. "We all want projects in Pennsylvania to work out and, this will help shape the market (we hope)."
A union bricklayer, photographed at the Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local 1s training center, wears a mask to protect himself from silica dust as he demonstrates the unsafe way to drill into bricks. Read more

Judging by the medical records, lung cancer killed Dennis Pagliotti's father in 1996. He was 59.

But Pagliotti, who leads Local 1 of the Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers union, suspects another culprit for his father's cancer: silicosis, the lung disease common among construction workers, including lifelong bricklayers such as Pagliotti's father, Peter. The disease is caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust, created when drills and saws buzz into bricks, concrete, and mortar.

"That's why this is near and dear to my heart," Pagliotti said. On Wednesday, in the union's banquet hall in Northeast Philadelphia, Pagliotti's union assembled nearly 50 brick and mason contractors to learn about new worker safety regulations involving how silica dust needs to be handled on job sites.

The rules, from the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had been set to go into effect next month. When President Trump came into office, the start date was pushed back to September.

After the two-hour session, the contractors were confused and concerned. "We want our workers to be as safe as possible," said Jan Jeffries, project manager and a co-owner of the Masonry Preservation Group Inc. in Merchantville. The problem is that the regulations set higher standards than all the available and practical health and safety techniques can accomplish, he and fellow owners said.

For example, their work restoring church steeples and high towers often has workers suspended in a harness or in the cabin of a crane. Two typical techniques for eliminating dust  using a vacuum to suck up the dust and applying water to keep the dust down  aren't easily applied in those situations, they said. Their workers always wear respirators, but the respirators alone do not always provide enough protection to meet the new standard.

One speaker at Wednesday's event, James Touey, labor liaison from Philadelphia's OSHA office, tried to reassure the contractors, telling them that OSHA wouldn't hammer them if they showed evidence of good faith to follow the regulations. But Jeffries said he wasn't reassured. "That's a lot of faith on our side."

The disease kills more than 100 people a year, according to the government. In 1999, 185 people died. In 2011, when construction tanked in the post-recession period, the number fell to a low of 88, but rose to 113 as building picked up. With 349 deaths, Pennsylvania led the nation in silicosis fatalities, according to a study that tracked silicosis deaths between 1968 and 2005. Construction workers  and not just bricklayers  are the most likely to get the disease, which is also associated with lung cancer and autoimmune disorders.

Silicosis causes scarring in the lungs, making it harder to breathe. Symptoms can take more than a decade to develop, or can happen quickly, depending on exposure. Lately, there has been an increase in silicosis fatalities among younger workers, leading experts, such as industrial hygienist Pam Susi, who spoke at Wednesday's gathering, to conclude that young workers are being exposed to more hazards on the job.

Touey and Susi explained that under the new regulations, companies should make a good-faith effort to determine whether their workers are likely to fall short of safety standards on the job and have a competent person on site who can make a judgment on whether air monitoring is required. The regulations, they said, cover employees working on an actual covered task. Employees in the vicinity aren't impacted. People who wear respirators are allowed to wear them for only 30 days a year, and have to be medically certified to continue working.

As the two talked, the buzz in the room grew louder. What constitutes a good-faith effort? What defines a competent person? How near or far is "in the vicinity"? Would the employees have to be medically certified each time they switched employers? After all, many union members work for multiple contractors in a year.

"Everything is so vague," complained Mark Cannon, an executive with Giles J. Cannon Inc., a masonry contractor in Collingdale. "That's what bothers me."

Touey promised that he would forward their concerns to the higher-ups in his agency. But, meanwhile, he had a piece of practical advice to help them avoid attracting the attention of OSHA inspectors.

Use vacuums and water to keep the dust down. "If you're blowing dust all over the place, those jobs will be obvious."
Crown Holdings Inc. has sold its 238,000-square-foot Northeast Philadelphia headquarters building for $9 million to Lawrenceville, N.J.-based Simone Realty, with plans to remain on the property on a short-term lease while it looks for a new location outside the city.

Simone Realty Inc. president John Simone said in an interview Thursday that the company formerly known as Crown Cork & Seal has an 18-month lease with renewal options for its space at the One Crown Way building on 40 acres of land near Roosevelt Boulevard and Woodhaven Road.

The publicly listed packaging company is seeking a new headquarters location in the Pennsylvania suburbs or outside the state, real estate services firm CBRE Group, whose brokers negotiated the deal, said in a release on Thursday.

A message left with Crown Cork spokesman Thomas T. Fischer was not immediately returned.

Simone said that redevelopment options were being considered for the building and its surrounding property.

The property's sale closed on April 18, according to records filed with the city.
DRESDEN, Germany The prerehearsal announcements were sobering.

Often, such moments for touring musicians are about housekeeping matters, like taking better care of concert clothes and looking nattier onstage. But on Wednesday at the Kulturpalast here, Curtis Institute of Music's dean of students and faculty, Paul Bryan, was looking ahead to London, where the 112-member Curtis Symphony Orchestra will fly Thursday on the next stop of its nine-city European tour  the orchestra's first multi-city European sojourn since 1999.

"No travel alerts are keeping us from going there," he began, while assuring the musicians that he had been in communication with the State Department as a result of this week's fatal bombing of a concert venue in Manchester.

But with the city on high alert, he had a plethora of just-in-case suggestions. Travel in groups. If you don't have a working cellphone, make sure you're with somebody who does. Don't walk down the street while on your phone. Be alert to your surroundings. And, in what may be more a matter of good manners than security, "don't be the loud party in the back of the restaurant. Keep a low profile."

Best to lay down those laws in the afternoon, when the players are fully alert. After a two-hour-plus bus ride from Berlin, the orchestra had about 45 minutes between arrival and rehearsal, which allowed some of the players to take a quick tour of one of Europe's most ornate cities.

Others stayed behind and practiced, such as associate principal cellist Andres Sanchez, who said, "This is an Ein Heldenleben day." For orchestral musicians, you need say no more. The most demanding piece on the touring program, Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben is the kind of piece that can't lay dormant for even a few days without opening the door to unwanted in-performance consequences.

The hall was truly an unknown factor. The large, boxy, East Germany-era structure in the heart of Dresden, whose original cavernous interior felt more like an airplane hangar than a concert hall, reopened in late April after a full interior renovation, with attractive acoustics and "vineyard seating" resembling the famous Berlin Philharmonie. The orchestra is among the first to play the hall as part of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, where various Curtis groups have been a presence in recent years. The big news, however, is that the famous European conductor Marek Janowski, who reportedly left the Dresden Philharmonic for lack of a good hall, happily returned only days ago. Now, the city has an alternative to the beloved but busy Semperoper opera house.

Osmo Vanska, the conductor of the Curtis tour, seized the occasion for a particularly detailed rehearsal with the musicians. Heldenleben had to get a little nastier. But for Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1, religious imagery came into play for the second consecutive day. "We are at a church," he said, "or whatever you consider your holiest place." Pianist Peter Serkin also worked intensively with the orchestra for quieter, more subtle effects.

Everything paid off at the evening's concert. The warm acoustics accommodated all of the details in the Brahms and were even more flattering to Serkin's encore, the magical opening movement to Bach's Goldberg Variations. The hall also accommodated the Olympian orchestral workout of Ein Heldenleben. Two encores followed: Prokofiev's march from The Love for Three Oranges and one of the fastest-ever versions of Bernstein's Candide overture.

Among the many ovations, one of the strongest went to concertmaster Maria Ioudenitch for her solo in Ein Heldenleben.

After such a workout, plus the two-hour-plus bus ride back to Berlin, you might think the musicians would be a bit weary of touring. Seems not.

At a reception Tuesday night after the orchestra's concert in Berlin, philanthropist and former board chair Nina von Maltzahn (who has made a $55 million gift to the Curtis endowment that aided the current tour) dropped a mini-bombshell: "I hope that in my lifetime I'll see the orchestra touring every year." Her regard for Curtis is deep, partly because she loves the one-on-one attention that the students receive from their teachers. Curtis on Tour is named in her honor  "The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative."

So what about that? In the middle of their long Dresden day, at least two of the musicians  violinists Timothy Chooi and Luosha Fang  caught their breath at the idea.

The benefits to them are numerous: "It's important to learn how to play in other halls," Fang said. Also important is gauging audience reactions, which are expressed differently from one country to another. A slow, steady clap in one city equals a standing ovation in another. Such benefits don't stop after graduation. Both of them are alumni (Chooi graduated this May), called back for pieces such as Ein Heldenleben that require more players than the school presently has.

Chooi said annual tours would also be great for meeting contacts. Already, Curtis is a celebrity name in China  particularly thanks to graduates such as Lang Lang and Yuja Wang. Far East tours by the Curtis orchestra would raise the profile even more.

Then there's the Vanska Question. With the tour going so well, and given his successful engagement three years ago with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, one can't help but speculate that a Curtis faculty position could easily augment his North American commitment to the Minnesota Orchestra. Vanska deflected by laughing. "We'll speak about that later after the tour."

Then he added, "Just kidding!"

David Patrick Stearns is touring this week with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in Europe. On Thursday, the ensemble crosses the channel to London where they're slated to perform Friday at Cadogan Hall. He will rendezvous next week with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra on the Mongolian leg of the Philadelphians' Asian tour.
The Franklin Institutes new exhibition A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature is a fun way to explore math. JOY LEE / Staff Photographer Read more

One week before the opening of Franklin Institute's "A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature," there were already handprints on the walk-through puzzle's glass.

"We just let staff go through it for the first time today," said the institute's Stefanie Santo. "No one made it to the center." They did, however, escape the shiny labyrinth  with a little help from their hands.

The 1,700-square-foot funhouse is the challenging centerpiece of an exhibition about geometric patterns  specifically, spirals, the Golden Ratio, Voronoi patterns, and fractal branching.

"Numbers" occupies the second-floor space in the Mandell Center. The entire exhibition replicates "Numbers in Nature: A Mirror Maze" at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The MSI debuted the math-y permanent installation in October 2014  you could say its name mirrors the one in Philadelphia. Franklin Institute is the first host of the exhibition's traveling sibling.

Inside the Mandell Center, the modular structure really does resemble something you'd find at a carnival. Visitors who choose to enter immediately discover a disorienting path, "a sea of triangles," according to MSI's website, illuminated by 30,000 color-changing LED lights set to ambient, otherworldly music.

The object is to reach the center of the labyrinth, a small room where puzzle-solvers are rewarded with more puzzles, images, and secret "artifacts," according to the Franklin Institute. It's not easy.

The show's content is aimed at middle-school-age visitors, but representatives from the Franklin Institute and MSI said preschoolers through grown-ups would enjoy and learn from the visual, easy-to-digest displays.

Like most exhibitions at the tristate-area's most-visited museum, this one is largely interactive. There are heavy wheels to turn to demonstrate fractal branching, a big blue dot to stand on to measure your body's symmetry, Lucite tiles you arrange to make music that plays forward and backward, and a peephole that reveals against a blue screen your eye's floating blood cells and branching vessels.

Other smaller exhibits include a work of origami by father-son MIT professors Martin and Erik Demaine, ants' intricate tunnels, a pixilation demonstration, and lovely photographs of natural and human-made wonders.

Math is integral to all science, said Jayatri Das, chief bioscientist at the Franklin Institute. "No matter what field of science you're in, math has to be part of your expertise," she said. Math is "embedded" throughout the institute, from Foucault's Pendulum to Your Brain, she said, yet, the institute has no math-specific exhibit.

This lack of math isn't specific to our local science museum. Olivia Castellini, senior exhibit developer at MSI, knew there was a need to give more credit to the last letter in STEM. As MSI developers "talked to other colleagues across the country,," she said, "they all voiced a similar idea: They wanted to represent math in their museums."

The team from MSI soon realized that such an attraction would not be an easy sell.

"Early on in the creative process, I spent a lot of time talking to visitors here at MSI," said Castellini, who helped create the exhibition. "If I told them right off the bat that I was going to talk to them about math, they had no interest in talking to me. They'd say, 'I've got Omnimax tickets,' or, 'I've got to go see the U-505" submarine.

Their "knee-jerk" reaction, she said, was, "'I'm not good at math. I don't like math.'"

"But when we started showing them the picture of a spiral galaxy or a spiral ear, the same pattern you find in nature, that really drew them in. At the end of the conversation, I would tell them we were planning an exhibit about math."

MSI developers knew they'd need to "ease" visitors into their educational displays. But to get them through the doorway required a "big draw," said Castellini.

The solution: the mirror maze. It works because it's fun, she said, but it's also "just a giant pattern that would get into patterns in nature," which, in turn, gets visitors into numbers.

At MSI, most adults exit at the first opportunity, said Castellini. Children, however, embrace the challenge. "They finish at one end and want to try and go do it again," she said. Few guests get to the center. Some get lost. (In case of an urgent need to escape, visitors can shout for help, and lights illuminate the way out.)

"I helped design the path," said Castellini, "and I still get lost in there."

The maze accommodates 150 guests at a time. Most spend 10 to 15 minutes trying to solve it. "We've heard from Chicago that people absolutely use their sense of touch to explore," said Das. MSI staff cleans the glass' maze multiple times a day.

Castellini's advice for getting through it: Be patient. "Go slowly. If you see your reflection getting larger, stop moving."

"A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature," May 27-Sept. 4, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St., $25 (adults), $21 ages 3-11 (includes general admission), 215-448-1200, fi.edu
Tariq Black Thought Trotter of The Roots Courtesy of the artist. Read more

This year, the Roots will be celebrating a decade of their annual Roots Picnic with about 450 students.

Earlier today, Mayor Kenney and Roots' frontman, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter visited South Philadelphia High School to award high performing students with free tickets to the Roots Picnic on June 3.

They gave out a whopping 450 tickets to seniors who made the honor roll, had great attendance or excelled in the arts at South Philly High, Kensington Health Sciences Academy and Murrell Dobbins CTE High School.

This comes after Mayor Kenney launched his Community School Plan in March, with the intention of "removing barriers that keep children from succeeding in school by aligning public and private resources to meet the specific needs of each school community."

The legendary Roots crew, which includes Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) alums Black Thought and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, said this would be the best way to celebrate the milestone.

"We knew we wanted to do something special to give back to the city that helped shape its success," Trotter said of the Picnic in in a statement. "We are inspired by the city's community schools initiative that helps increase resources for Philadelphia students and families so we thought there was no better way to celebrate the picnic's success, then to reward young people with an opportunity to enjoy the terrific lineup we've curated."

That lineup include Pharrell, The Roots, Lil Wayne, Solange, Jeezy, 21 Savage, and Kimbra.

The Roots Picnic will take place at Festival Pier at Penn's Landing, on the Delaware River Waterfront on Saturday, June 3rd, 2017.
A nearly two-hour police standoff with a robbery suspect at a Delaware County CVS store ended peacefully Wednesday night, but not until after the bandit forced two frightened employees into a bathroom at gunpoint.

The gunman, dressed in black, with a hooded sweatshirt and a black ski mask covering his face, entered the store at 295 E. Baltimore Ave. in Media, forced an employee to give him cash from a register, then ordered the two workers to stay inside the bathroom, the Media Borough Police Department said Thursday.

One of the employees was able to call 911, and police rushed to the store at 9:49 p.m., before the robber could get away. He tried to leave through the back and front doors, but was met by officers at both and retreated inside, hiding in an upstairs storage area, police said.

The Central Delco Tactical Response SWAT unit was called to the scene, and negotiations began for the gunman to surrender, police said. During that time, officers who went inside the store found the employees in the bathroom and rescued them.

The robber eventually surrendered to officers without incident, police said. A gun was recovered and the money was returned.

The suspect was identified as Kwesi Hudson, 46, of Wilmington. He was arraigned Thursday morning on charges of robbery, kidnapping, and related offenses. He faces a June 5 preliminary hearing.

The store employees were frightened but not injured, police said.

A corporate spokesman for CVS Health said in a statement: "We are grateful for the fast response of law enforcement and that no one was harmed last night. We are offering counseling services to any store employees as a result of this incident."
No one disputes that thousands of dollars were fleeced between 2007 and 2012 from the Juniata Community Mental Health Clinic, a taxpayer-funded addiction center in a Fairhill neighborhood desperately fighting twin scourges of poverty and drug use.

But the question of just how much was stolen and who was behind the theft has pitted two powerhouse political families in a legal battle that already has brought down an elected official and now threatens to send members of both clans to prison.

A federal jury began wading into the morass Wednesday as the fraud and theft trial of Renee Tartaglione, the clinic's former board president, opened in Philadelphia.

To hear prosecutors tell it, the 61-year-old scion of one of the city's most enduring political dynasties treated the nonprofit as a personal slush fund. She embezzled more than $1 million over five years, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter N. Halpern said, and moved the clinic into buildings she owned so she could charge exorbitant rents.

"She secretly turned the nonprofit clinic into a 'my-profit' clinic," Halpern told jurors in his opening statement. "She used her position of trust to siphon money away from patients and caregivers and into her own pockets."

Tartaglione's lawyers, however, insist that fault lies with the rival Acosta clan  one that counts two former state representatives among its ranks, including former Rep. Leslie Acosta (D., Pa.) who resigned last year after her role in the scandal was exposed by the Inquirer and Daily News.

Acosta is expected to be a chief witness against Tartaglione at trial. But defense lawyer William DeStefano has accused her and her mother of stealing the money themselves while working as clinic employees.

They later bamboozled federal agents, he told the jury, to pin the blame on anyone else they could.

"They have a motive to lie," DeStefano said. "They stole pretty close to a million bucks."

The trial is expected to continue for weeks in a 13th-floor courtroom of the federal courthouse at Sixth and Market Streets, but the allegations at its heart played out in one of the city neighborhoods hardest hit by the heroin epidemic.

The Juniata clinic, just blocks away from the half-mile gorge along Conrail tracks known as "El Campamento," held city contracts to provide mental-health and substance-abuse treatment to the type of addicts who flock to the open-air drug market nearby.

"This is not the Main Line. We're not talking about Bryn Mawr, folks," DeStefano quipped in court Wednesday. "We're talking about a dirt-poor, primarily Hispanic, community that had a need for addiction treatment."

But little mention was made of the case's political underpinnings  impossible to separate from how the investigation has played out since Tartaglione was indicted on 53 counts of conspiracy, theft, fraud, and tax evasion last year.

Tartaglione's husband, Carlos Matos  a Democratic ward leader whom prosecutors have described as a co-conspirator but who has not been charged in the case  was deeply involved last year in the party wrangling to oust and replace Acosta, a chief witness against his wife, from political office after her role in the case became clear last year.

Tartaglione's sister, Christine M. "Tina" Tartaglione, is a state senator who represents much of Northeast Philadelphia.

Their mother, Margaret "Marge" Tartaglione, sat atop the city's election machinery for 36 years as chairwoman of the city commissioners.

Renee Tartaglione worked for her mother in the elections office, but was forced to resign after the Philadelphia Board of Ethics accused her of breaking rules barring politicking by city employees.

The allegation was that she ran the Democratic 19th Ward in Kensington while her husband served a federal prison sentence for bribing three Atlantic City councilmen.

It was during that period that Renee Tartaglione assumed control of the Juniata clinic, which she and Matos founded in 2002.

She was named president of the nonprofit in 2007, while still working as her mother's deputy.

But prosecutors say she stacked the clinic's board and staff with loyalists who would help her turn it into a source of income while her husband served his sentence.

Among them was Sandy Acosta, ex-wife of former State Rep. Ralph Acosta and a former North Philadelphia ward leader in her own right.

Hired to run the clinic, she brought on her daughter, Leslie  whose stint as an elected official was several years in her future  as a contract employee.

Mother and daughter, along with a third employee, have admitted to accepting checks worth thousands of dollars from the clinic for work they did not perform, and both now maintain that they cashed the checks under orders to kick the money back to Tartaglione.

They pleaded guilty last year to money-laundering charges and agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.

But DeStefano balked at their claims Wednesday.

"These three lieutenants, the three amigos, the three dishonest, unfaithful, greedy employees, said, 'Let's do this,'" he said. "When Carlos [went to prison], these three women started embezzling money hand over fist."

Meanwhile, prosecutors allege, Tartaglione was lining her pockets in another scheme.

In 2007, she purchased the building that housed the clinic's headquarters at 2254 N. Third St. and raised the rent to more than five times the $4,800 the clinic had been paying.

She moved the nonprofit to another building she owned at 2637 N. Fifth St. in 2012 and began charging rent as high as $75,000 a month  well in excess of what government assessors calculated as fair market value for a neighborhood of buildings that DeStefano described Wednesday as "bombed-out shells."

But the defense lawyer maintained Wednesday that those rents were justified by the significant amount of their own money that Tartaglione and Matos spent in outfitting their buildings to accommodate the rapidly expanding clinic.

"What landlord goes out and buys a building so the clinic will have a better place to stay?" he asked jurors. "Common sense will tell you that this has to be reflected somewhere in the rent."

The trial is expected to continue Thursday.
When Randi Trent found out in January that she had cervical cancer, she set a goal.

Twenty-four weeks.

That was, at a minimum, how long she needed to carry the child she was pregnant with, a boy she named Jaxon James. She refused the hysterectomy her doctors recommended. She had a tumorectomy and started chemotherapy instead. She put off family members and friends who wanted to plan a baby shower.

"I just wanted to make it to that point before I let anyone get happy or excited," Trent, who works as a receptionist for City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, said. "I just had a few weeks to go, and I lost him."

She felt empty. But she also, with a clarity she hadn't before had, felt the need to one day be a mother.

That is when Trent realized the city's health insurance did not cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing, services she would need to have a biological child after having her uterus removed.

The city had covered those procedures, at up to $20,000 per person, just months earlier. But in January 2017 it dropped the services from the health insurance plan used by about 6,000 city employees, including Trent. Mayor Kenney's office called it a purely financial decision, made to keep premiums level.

But for Councilwoman Helen Gym, it was an unacceptable tradeoff. On Thursday, Gym introduced legislation that would mandate the city's health insurance plans cover IVF and related infertility treatments.

"We cover individuals who are transitioning genders.  We cover erectile dysfunction and a whole bunch of other services that we believe are part of people's full humanity. And IVF has to be part of that package," Gym said. "It's not our uteruses that get to be legislated out or denied coverage."

It's unclear how many municipal health insurance plans around the country cover IVF, a procedure in which an egg is fertilized outside the body. (New York state covers it for all its employees.) But it is clear most Americans do not receive the benefit.

Only 15 states require insurance companies to offer infertility treatment, and of those just eight specifically mandate coverage for IVF, according to Resolve, a national infertility association. New Jersey is one that does, and this month Gov. Christie expanded it to cover single women and lesbians as opposed to only heterosexual couples.

The city covered IVF for the first time in 2016. Fourteen women used the service that year, at a total cost of $280,000 to the city's health insurance, according to the mayor's office. After dropping the procedure in January, the city still covers office visits and testing to diagnose infertility as well as artificial, intra-cervical, and intrauterine insemination.

AFSCME District Council 47, which covers about 4,500 city employees under its health insurance, also covers IVF. A spokesman from District Council 33, which has about 9,000 members, did not return a request for comment.

It's unclear what adding the services back into the city's health plan would do to premiums. The impact would depend on how much of the cost the health insurance fund passed onto its members, the level of coverage, and how many employees use the services.

Jane Slusser, Kenney's chief of staff, said in a statement that removing the coverage was a "difficult decision" and that the city was open to revisiting the decision "as we review future health-care coverage."

For Trent, there was no time to wait for those conversations to happen. Her doctor told her she had a small window during which she could have her eggs removed before she started radiation.

She said she barely thought about the cost.

"This whole process, everything has been so fast," she said. "I don't get enough time to even worry about that."

A friend set up an online fund-raising page, which to date has raised about $3,000 of the $7,000 Trent needs to cover the procedure and medication.

She had her eggs removed two weeks ago and will pay $50 per month to keep them frozen. She hasn't figured out yet how much it would cost if she does decide to have them fertilized in the future.

Her doctor removed two eggs, far below the 10 they were hoping for, but two that nonetheless give her the hope she needed.

"There is still a chance that I can have a baby," said Trent, letting a pain she mostly keeps under the surface when talking about the ordeal spill out. "It's just  it's good to know they're there."

She said that she hopes she will not need more. Even if her ovaries are able to produce eggs when she is done with radiation, Trent said she is not sure if she would be able to afford to have the procedure again.
In this March 6, 2017, file photo, Greg Gianforte, right, receives congratulations from a supporter in Helena, Mont. Montana voters are heading to the polls Thursday, May 25, 2017, to decide a nationally watched congressional election amid uncertainty in Washington over President Donald Trumps agenda and his handling of the countrys affairs. Read more

Have you heard? The guy at the center of the political controversy du jour is from the Philadelphia region. Of course he is!

This time it's Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte, lately of Montana, but originally of Upper Merion, who was just charged with body-slamming a reporter at a campaign event.

Long-suffering local reporters have been assigned "hometown boy or girl makes national news" stories since time immemorial, of course, but I have a working theory based entirely on conjecture and a few hasty Googling sessions that any given political firestorm these days tends to sweep up at least one Philadelphian. (I floated an earlier version of this in my newsletter on the Trump administration's effect on Philadelphia, which I promise does not focus solely on locals who make it onto cable news.)

Consider, if you will, the case of former national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn. During the campaign, Flynn was paid to lobby for Turkey's interests, which included digging up dirt on a Muslim cleric that the Turkish government wants extradited from the U.S. That cleric, Fetullah Gulen, currently lives in relative isolation in the Poconos.

Two weeks into his tenure as national security adviser, Flynn resigned over another foreign connection  the conversations he'd had with Russian officials after the election, about sanctions then-President Obama had imposed on Russia over its meddling in the presidential election. Flynn's replacement? Gen. H.R. McMaster, a son of Roxborough who went to Valley Forge Military Academy.

Meanwhile, FBI director James Comey was leading an investigation into said meddling  until President Trump fired him earlier this month. Comey's dad is  you guessed it  from New Jersey, and promptly went after Trump in the Bergen County Record. And while Trump would later admit he fired Comey over the Russian investigation, the White House first justified the firing with a letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein recommending Comey's dismissal.

Rosenstein is from Lower Moreland. You see where we're going with this?

Under increasing pressure to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the Russia investigation, Rosenstein did so a week after Comey's firing. Enter former FBI director Robert Mueller, a high-society scion of Villanova. Layers upon layers, folks.

Outside the Russian investigation, there's Mark Levin, the Philly-born talk show host whose conspiracy theory that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the election made it into Trump's tweets in March. There's South Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur, whose controversial amendment to the GOP healthcare bill got the bill through the House, catapulted him into the national spotlight, and garnered him a town hall full of enraged constituents when he came home. And we can't forget Hammonton's own Blueberry Princess, Kellyanne Conway.

So. Is there something in the wooder in the greater (emphasis greater  who says the Poconos aren't local?) Philadelphia region that is thrusting our sons and daughters onto the national stage? Are we all just grasping at any handle in these heady, news-glutted times? Am I writing this to tell you to subscribe to my aforementioned newsletter?

It's anyone's guess, really. Call me when we learn Paul Manafort's aunt's cousin's best friend's hairdresser turns out to be from Mayfair.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not reveal meetings with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance to serve as the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement official.

Sessions came under fire earlier this year for not disclosing to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing that, as the senator from Alabama, he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential election when he was also serving as an adviser to the president. In March, Sessions recused himself from investigations related to the 2016 presidential campaign after The Washington Post reported the two meetings.

That same information was omitted from Sessions's security clearance form, which is known as an SF-86, as first reported Wednesday night by CNN.

"As a United States senator, the attorney general met hundreds  if not thousands  of foreign dignitaries and their staff," said Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior. "In filling out the SF-86 form, the Attorney General's staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities."

An FBI spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The security clearance form requires anyone applying for a security clearance to list "any contact" that he or his family had with a foreign government or its representatives over the past seven years.

A Justice official said that in July, a Sessions staffer was helping Sessions fill out the security clearance form because he was being vetted for a possible position in the Trump administration if Trump won the presidency. The staffer asked an FBI employee handling the vetting if he needed to list seven years of contacts that Sessions had with foreign dignitaries and their staff, and he was told no, the Justice official said.

In late November, after the election, the Sessions staffer helped Sessions fill out a new security clearance form, but did not ask the FBI the same question again  and did not list all the contacts.

Another Sessions staffer who went to work at the Justice Department was also told by an FBI investigator that he did not have to list the many meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staffs if it was related to Senate business, the Justice official said.

After Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, Sessions sent out a list of all the ambassadors he met with in 2016. He also amended his Senate testimony and said he spoke briefly with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in July 2016. He said he also spoke with Kislyak in September during a meeting in his Senate office, which included two senior Sessions staffers.

At the March 2 press conference where he announced his recusal, Sessions said he talked to Kislyak about a trip he made to Russia in 1991, terrorism and Ukraine. The attorney general said that it "got to be a little bit of a testy conversation." The ambassador invited him to lunch, Sessions said, but he did not accept.

When Sessions recused himself, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was tasked with overseeing the FBI probe. But last week, after calls from lawmakers for a special counsel, Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller to take over the investigation as special counsel.

Everything is happening so fast  or at least that's how it feels trying to follow politics these days. You've seen the headlines about President Trump and his policies  but what do they mean for Philadelphia? What does that mean for you? We're launching a newsletter to explore just that. Sign up here.
Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump, left, and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool) Read more

After days of impeccable first lady fashion abroad  which included a caped Reem Acra gown in Saudi Arabia and a fitted white Michael Kors suit in Israel  I woke up Wednesday morning to Melania Trump in a long-sleeved Dolce & Gabbana dress and black lace veil  or mantilla  for a visit with Pope Francis.

First daughter Ivanka Trump was dressed nearly identically.

What was that fashion statement all about?

Since biblical times, women of faith  that would be Christian, Jewish and Islamic  wore veils when in the presence of God.

Catholic women religiously covered their heads in church through the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) After that, the rules of the church became more lax.

However, women invited to a private meeting with the pope still are required to wear a modest dress in a dark color, preferably black. Hemlines must fall below the knee; flashy jewelry should be avoided.

The only women who do not have to wear black in the presence of the pontiff are Catholic queens. That means, according to The Vatican Insider, that Queen Letizia of Spain, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and the Grand Duchess of Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, all from Catholic monarchies.

During the Trump's visit to The Vatican, Pope Francis blessed a set of rosaries for Melania Trump. The White House cofirmed on Wednesday that Melania Trump is a practicing Catholic.

When Michelle Obama met Pope Benedict in 2009, she too wore a black skirt suit, though she opted for a black scarf instead of the mantilla.

But when Queen Elizabeth visited Pope Francis back in 2014, she wore a lavender suit and matching hat.
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Grand Combin de Valsorey South Face

26.05.2017 by by Planetmountain

The video by Yannick Boissenot and Davide Capozzi of their recent ski and snowboard descent of the South Face of Grand Combin de Valsorey in Switzerland.





It was nice to return, two years down the line, to this imposing Swiss massif made of three distinct peaks: Grafeniere, Valsorey and Tsesette. In 2015 Julien Herry and I had descended three different lines from Grand Combin de Grafeniere (4314 m), including the East Face with Denis Trento.

Id always planned sooner or later to ski the south face of Gran Combin de Valsorey (4184m), clearly visible from the city of Aosta. This year the face was always packed with snow and so it was just a matter of finding time and some helpful and motivated friends. Yannick was one of these.

Although its not an extremely difficult descent and has been repeated on several occasions, finding the right conditions to ski directly from the summit isnt something that can be taken for granted, so this proved a good opportunity to go and check it out.

Grand Combin is a mountain with a fairly long and tiring approach, both from Italy and Switzerland. We opted to climb it from Switzerland and spend a night at the Cabane de Valsorey winter refuge located at 3037m. From Cabane Valsorey you can admire the entire NE Face of Mont Velan and the Mont Blanc massif in the background.

The ascent from Cabane to the summit of Combin de Valsorey is 1200m high, first up fairly steep slopes to reach Plateau du Couloir before climbing the South Face proper, up 40 - 45 terrain for about 600m. This route is entirely in Swiss territory.

Yannick's ability, not only as a mountaineer and skier but also as a filmmaker, provided us with wonderful images of this beautiful little adventure.
SpiceJet, Indias favourite low-cost carrier, has yet again raised the bar for customer experience by offering - Self Bag Drop (SBD) at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic airport. Through this initiative, the first by a budget airline in Mumbai, SpiceJet aims to provide its customers with a seamless baggage check-in process that saves them from the hassles of standing in long queues at check-in desks.

Customers flying with SpiceJet can now simply check-in their baggage at the self-service kiosks themselves up to 45 minutes prior to the departure time. On the easy-to-use application, developed using a sophisticated, intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI), with just a few clicks, a passenger can print his bag tags along with the baggage receipt. All he needs to do then is attach the baggage tag and drop the bag themselves at the baggage drop belt.

The bag drop counter equipped completely with scanners, scales and sensors to accept all kinds of bags. It will automatically check flight data, baggage weight and size allowances before securely depositing the bag into the baggage handling system. In case of excess baggage, the same will be prompted through the machine and the customer will then need to go to the nearest customer service agent and ask them for assistance.

Ms. Glory Nelson  Sr. Vice President  IT, SpiceJet Ltd. said, Innovation and customer experience has always been at the centre of the scheme of things at SpiceJet. The SBD feature will categorically improve efficiency in handling passenger flow thus providing them with many options available at airport. Service features as these will have a far-reaching impact enabling airlines to serve higher punctuality and increased capacity among others at lower operational costs while offering the end customers with a hassle free travel experience.

The feature radically reduces the time needed for baggage check-in while providing the most convenient on-ground service for passengers by Common Use Baggage Check-in systems. Independent of counter opening hours passengers can simply drop-off their luggage easily by themselves, without having to wait in long queues. Besides faster baggage drop-off and shorter passenger queues, the service is expected to reduce training costs while offering flexibility in staff employment.

Mr. Rajeev Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) said, With the ever increasing load factors, the self-service bag drop solution by SpiceJet will enhance passenger experience, reduce queues and thus save time. This new facility will enable passengers travelling through SpiceJet experience the most innovative state-of-the-art technology and simultaneously increase the operational efficiencies. With Self bag drop, we have achieved yet another milestone for a seamless travel experience to passengers.

The service is currently live at the domestic terminals of Mumbai SpiceJet is equipped to embrace this technology if this is available on other airports.
A Los Angeles County deputy was wounded and a gunman believed to be a gang member died in a shooting during a traffic stop in Compton, CA, authorities said today.

The shooting was reported at 11:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 900 block of North Santa Fe Avenue, said Deputy Trina Schrader of the Sheriffs Information Bureau, reports the Los Angeles Daily News.

Two Compton station deputies pulled over a white sedan with three people inside for traffic violations. One of the deputies opened one of the rear passenger doors, and a passenger on that side armed himself with a handgun, pointed it at one of the deputies, and opened fire, Schrader said.

The deputy returned fire and the gunman then fired on the second deputy, which is when a second deputy-involved shooting occurred, Schrader said.

The gunman and one of the deputies were wounded during the shootout and taken to hospitals, where the suspect was pronounced dead and the deputy was treated for his injuries and released, Schrader said.

The other deputy was not struck by gunfire, according to Schrader, but NBC4 reported the deputy suffered minor injuries in the incident.

The gunmans firearm was recovered at the scene.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders pointed out that if the American Health Care Act does not meet the requirement for the Senate HELP committee to save $1 billion, reconciliation cant be used to pass the bill, and it will require 60 votes to get through the Senate.

Video:

Sanders, Speaking as the ranking member of the Budget Committeeas you know on the reconciliation, the HELP committee is required to save at least $1 billion. It is very possible that the new bill does not meet that basic requirement because of the high-risk pool and stabilization amendments that were added to the bill. It is possible that, that, in fact, that bill may cost the HELP committee some $28 billion rather than save a billion. And if thats the case, reconciliation is not a process they can use.

It may sound like legislative jargon, but this is a big problem for Republicans. The health care bill has to save $1 billion. If it adds to the deficit, as Sen. Sanders suggested that it might, the bill will be effectively dead in the Senate.

There will not be any Democratic votes for The American Health Care Act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is concerned that there might not be 50 Republican votes for health care. Bernie Sanders threw a wrench into the Republican Trumpcare works, and it might be enough to kill the entire bill.
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The case can already be made that Trump obstructed justice when he fired James Comey and when, according to several reports, he tried to persuade people in the intelligence community to tell the media theres no collusion with Russia. As we know, obstruction of justice was the first of several charges leading to Nixons impeachment.

Trump has made his legal situation worse with each move. Finally, he decided to hire a lawyer to represent him personally on all things Russia related.

In typical Trump form, the president hired Joe Liebermans boss and Trumps long-time legal savior, Marc Kasowitz.

As I reported before, Kasowitz has represented Trump on a variety of legal matters over the years. They range from keeping his divorce records sealed to suing writers for saying Trumps net worth was less than Trump felt it was. No kidding. Trump sued Timothy OBrien because OBrien wrote in his book, TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald, that Trump is merely a millionaire. Trump lost that suit because for some mysterious reason, the Court didnt accept Trumps feelings about his net worth as proof that he is in fact a billionaire, maligned by being reduced to a multi-millionaire.

Kasowitz also played image enforcer, writing threatening letters to the New York Times demanding retracts of articles where Trump doesnt come off well. One notable example is an article where some women accused Trump of touching them inappropriately. Given Trumps confession on the Access Hollywood video; this shows, if nothing else, that Mr. Kasowitz has chutzpah.

Kasowitz, was once described by Trumps general counsel as someone who has always been a guy you go to when you have complex, intricate legal problems.

No one questions the fact that who Trump hires as his personal lawyer is his choice. But, the fact that Kasowitz is Joe Liebermans boss should raise eyebrows if Trump nominates Lieberman to head the FBI.

With Kasowitz as Trumps personal attorney, if Lieberman were to be confirmed as FBI Director, his involvement in any Russia related matter would taint the FBIs findings  regardless of where the evidence points. Something that Trump wouldnt mind, despite the harm it would do to America.

This again is a consequence of Trumps own words and actions. After Trump fired Comey, by his own admission, over the Russia thing and Trump tried to pressure members of the Intelligence Community to say there is no collusion most, if not all of America, simply wont believe that Kasowitz and Lieberman would abstain from having private discussions about the case.

This is also optics 101.

At the same time, Trumps decision to retain Mr. Kasowitz to represent him on Russia related matters could be a sign that Lieberman is no longer Trumps first choice to run the FBI.

Choosing someone who has experience and integrity and who isnt Lieberman to run the FBI would be the smart thing to do in these circumstances. As we all know, making smart choices isnt this Presidents forte

.

Image, David Sirota on Twitter
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A new report confirms that Republican political operatives were working with the Russian government to hurt Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

The hacking spree that upended the presidential election wasnt limited to Democratic National Committee memos and Clinton-aide emails posted on websites. The hacker also privately sent Democratic voter-turnout analyses to a Republican political operative in Florida named Aaron Nevins. Learning that hacker Guccifer 2.0 had tapped into a Democratic committee that helps House candidates, Mr. Nevins wrote to the hacker to say: Feel free to send any Florida-based information. Ten days later, Mr. Nevins received 2.5 gigabytes of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee documents, some of which he posted on a blog called HelloFLA.com that he ran using a pseudonym.

The Russia scandal is bigger than Trump, his campaign, and his administration. It is also about the Republican Party and how willing Republican operatives were to turn a blind eye and look the other way in pursuit of winning an election. The Republican Party sold out democracy to Russia, and what they received in return was a win in the 2016 election.

The attention is focused on the White House and Trump, but the reach of the scandal stretches into Republicans in Congress and the whole way down to grassroots political operatives. The voter turnout analysis data was valuable because it gave Republicans the Clinton playbook for turning out voters. They knew which voters Democrats were targeting and could negate those efforts.

The data was also useful for Republican congressional candidates because it could be used to help them shape their advertising and message to appeal to voters that Democrats were targeting.

The reason why the Republican Party wont conduct an independent investigation into Trump is that they all benefitted and potentially colluded with the Russians in the effort.

Beyond Trump, the scandal is about how the Russians turned a political party against the United States of America and democracy.
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Thursday morning the DCCCs Independent Expenditure released a new round of digital ads with audio from Republican Greg Gianfortes violent assault on a Guardian reporter.

Watch here:

The ad packs a powerful punch, courtesy of Gianfortes actual punch:

What happens when you ask Greg Gianforte a question?

GREG GIANFORTE: Im sick and tired of you guys. The last time you came here you did the same thing. Get the hell out of here!

Fox News witness says Gianforte slammed reporter to ground, punched him in the face. Missoulian, 5/24/17

National reporter hospitalized KPAX, 5/24/17

Gianforte charged with election eve assault Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 5/24/17

GREG GIANFORTE

Charged with a crime.

No business being in Congress.

Issue One has kept track of the money invested in Montanas sole congressional district between Republican Greg Gianforte against Democrat Rob Quist. They listed the money in an email sent to PoliticusUSA:

$6.75 million is the total amount that outside groups have spent in the race.

$17 million is the approximate amount that has been pumped into the race between Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist.

$6 million is the amount Democrat Rob Quists campaign says it has raised, mostly from small-dollar donations.

$5 million is the amount national Republicans have invested into the race, through the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Republican National Committee (RNC) and Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC.

$4 million is the approximate amount Republican Greg Gianfortes campaign has raised.

$1.5 million is the amount Republican Greg Gianforte, a multimillionaire, has loaned his campaign.

85 percent is the portion of outside spending that has been negative.

78 percent is the portion of outside spending that has attacked Democrat Rob Quist.

5-to-1 is the ratio of spending by the NRCC on independent expenditures in the race compared to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

3 is the number of GOP organizations that account for about three-fourths of the outside spending in the race.

Seventy-eight percent of the outside spending has attacked Democrat Rob Quist. Thats a lot of negativity to overcome, even for a man who assaults reporters who ask him about a bad CBO report for the GOP health care plan. (Hint: This will happen a lot in the job Gianforte is running for. His reaction to being asked policy questions says not a good fit at the very least.)

Last night, Greg Gianforte disqualified himself from the honor of representing Montanans in congress. Gianforte has been charged with assault  his only option at this point is to accept responsibility and end his campaign. As he continues to lay low and hope people dont see the news, the DCCC will do everything possible to make sure Montanans know the truth, said Meredith Kelly of the DCCC in a statement sent to PoliticusUSA.

Even though Montana is a very red state and even though Trump carried it by 21 points and even though Republicans seem to like it when their candidates assault people, this is not a good event for the Republican Party. There are people who find this kind of criminal behavior unseemly, and they are the people the Republican Party needs to attract.

Sure, this might help Gianforte locally but it also might hurt him. In the bigger picture, though, this isnt helping Republicans, and neither is their justification of Gianfortes violence. The DCCC is simply going to make sure that as many people as possible hear the audio, so they know exactly what the GOP stands for nationally.

This ad isnt just about the special election contest tonight. This ad is about branding the Republican Party for their lack of moral leadership and Trumpian thug behavior.
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French President Emmanuel Macron blew off Donald Trump and greeted Angela Merkel first. This resulted in Trump trying to separate the French presidents arm from his body.

Here is the video of the Macron approach and swerve:

https://youtu.be/x3ODOAAzbBY

Trump had his arms out and thought that he was going to get to greet the French president first, then oh no, rejected.

Another view of Trump trying to show Macron a classic power move straight out of Don Drapers boardroom:

Macron blows off Trump, Trump responds by trying to rip his arm off? This is insane. pic.twitter.com/cPlPg7N72X  Calvin (@calvinstowell) May 25, 2017

For good measure, Trump also lost a handshake battle with Macron:

Premiere rencontre constructive et directe avec le President Trump. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/g2L3MZg5J9  Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 25, 2017

This is seriously getting embarrassing. As pleasant as it is not to have to deal with the stress of Trump in the United States and tweeting, the downside is that he now gets to humiliate the entire country in front of the rest of the world.

The world is literally laughing at Trump, which is why we must remind our friends overseas, that the majority did not vote for the clown who is currently entertaining you on this international tour. The Trump circus is exclusively sponsored by Vladimir Putin.
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The following is an editorial by PoliticusUSA managing editor Sarah Jones.

The Republican justification for assaulting Ben Jacobs included the dog whistle words, liberal reporter for a reason. The reason is that if the reporter was a liberal, it was okay. Not just okay, but justified.

A Republican strategist said Wednesday night that this was the way to go Gianforte cant apologize, its best to blame the liberal reporter as it would help motivate the base to turn out:

Just talked to a GOP strategist who basically endorsed this statement as a political strategy. Can't apologize now. Rally base is only move https://t.co/HeqoFkhqwl  Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) May 25, 2017

Gianfortes statement doesnt fit the recounting of the witnesses, the reporter, or the audio.

I noted early Thursday morning that this fact should be a bigger deal than it is. It should be a bigger deal that Republicans, in this case Montana GOP/Greg Gianforte, use label liberal as an excuse to assault people. This should trouble people. When a group of people are singled out and targeted for violence, it should raise alarm bells. It should be even more alarming that so many conservatives justified the, as described by one of the local Fox News reporters who witnessed it, brutal assault.

Some people get it. Republican strategist Rick Wilson has been trying to rescue his party from the Trump trolls to no avail. He called the assault of Ben Jacobs by GOP candidate Greg Gianforte one of those moments where the cultural collapse of the GOP into the Trump Troll Party is captured.

Heres his thread in which he puts the shoe on the other foot in an attempt to introduce principle and empathy to the Trump followers (all is exactly as he wrote, with the exception of swear words):



1/ This Gianforte assault story is one of those moments where the cultural collapse of the GOP into the Trump Troll Party is captured

2/ First, if youre defending someone assaulting a reporter because duh lubrul media lies allow me put the jackboot on the other foot.

3/ How would you feel if the parents of Seth Rich took out a tire iron and beat the living sh*t out of Sean Hannity for his repulsive lies?

4/ How would you feel if this rule got applied to Trumpbart reporters who are lying, tendentious, sh*tbirds of the highest order?

5/ Is it cool for me to beat that freakish, pasty recluse John Noltes head in because he literally *joked about my daughter being raped* ?

6/ Are you so past the rule of law, and lack so much confidence in your ideas that this is where you take political satisfaction?

7/ Because if this is where you are, youre not a party; youre a mob. If this is where you are, youre not a conservative; youre trash.

8/ the vast majority of people beating their chests and macho ball-walking on this issue have never been in a fight, never landed a punch

9/ But I guarantee you some of them, including the clickseratives, will defend this even obliquely

10/ the problem with political violence is twofold; first, it accelerates. 2nd, the set of acceptable targets widens.

11/ If youre a Republican or conservative defending this, please stop identifying yourself as either

Wilsons concern about the set of acceptable targets widening is exactly where I see this going. What next, are liberal reporters to register so they can be easily identified as people who have no rights?

If this violence is acceptable, and conservatives on my Twitter stream have been justifying it all morning, who next?

Just a small sampling of the incoming:

@PoliticusSarah But violence against Trump suppoorters is okay. He deserved it.  DEPLORABLE CHEF (@ChefmikeSwords) May 25, 2017

That's not an excuse, that's a damned good reason. https://t.co/S2Nhic2Drp  Mr.  (@GlomarResponder) May 25, 2017

Many of them excused this by taunting that it was okay to hit a Nazi, which bizarrely conflates conservatives with Nazis and leaves out condemning the violent assault on a reporter but apparently works for them because it allows them to avoid saying this isnt okay.

And then we have the people who cant resist bringing second amendment rights (hat wave to Donald Trump and his someone might shoot Hillary Clinton if she wins because second amendment rights):

CZ Good thing that MT candidate didn't interpret his 2nd Amendment rights the way that reporter interpreted his 1st Amendment rights.  The Gormogons (@Gormogons) May 25, 2017

What is required here is for elected Republicans to speak up. This is a moment when the leader of the Republican Party, their President, would normally weigh in to gently guide the pack away from mob rule. But they elected Donald Trump, after he was caught on tape bragging about sexually assaulting women and multiple women came forward with stories of Trump harassing them and trying to ruin their careers when they rejected him.

This is the Republican Party, party of law and order, perp edition. They are on the side of the perpetrators, not the law. And their base is not only okay with that, according to their own strategists its good to lie to the base and tell them that the liberal reporter assaulted Gianforte because this will rally them. Do they really require such base motivation to get out to vote? Apparently.

There is a lack of moral leadership in the Republican Party that is deafening. Wilson continues to speak out, as do a handful of others, but none of them are elected.
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The Republican Party is showing its true face after Montana House special election candidate Greg Gianforte assaulted a reporter. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) said it is not appropriate for reporters to attack public officials unless the reporter deserved it.

The Hill reported:

Hunter was asked by reporters in the Capitol what he thought of Greg Gianforte, the GOP candidate for Montanas House seat, allegedly body-slamming a reporter asking a question about the partys healthcare bill the night before. Its not appropriate behavior, Hunter said, before adding, Unless the reporter deserved it.

It doesnt matter what the profession is; people dont deserve to be physically assaulted when doing their jobs. This is a basic principle that every civilized society should agree on. A member of Congress who casts a vote that someone dislikes does not deserve to be punched in the face as soon as they return to their district.

The same standard that Hunter applied to the assault of Ben Jacobs should be applied to members of Congress. Duncan Hunter voted for Trumpcare, but this does not mean that he deserves to be bodyslammed, punched, or otherwise physically assaulted for doing his job.

Donald Trump has transformed the Republican Party into a violent mob that believes that as long as their feel justified, they can do anything that they want to anyone. Greg Gianfontes assault of the member of the media was a symptom of the larger disease reshaping the Republican Party to reflect the behavior of Trump.

Republicans are coming unglued and rejecting the rules that govern basic human behavior.
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During a meeting with the EU in Brussels, Donald Trump threw a tantrum and began complaining about Germany, during which he was quoted as calling the Germans, very very bad.

Der Spiegel reported via English Google translation,

US President Donald Trump complained bitterly about the German trade surplus on his meeting with the EU top in Brussels. The Germans are evil, very evil, said Trump. This was learned by the SPIEGEL from participants in the meeting. Trump said, Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US, and well stop that.

So basically, Trump sat down with the worlds economic leaders, whined about German imports, threw a fit and a called the Germans evil. Here in America, we call that an average Thursday in the Trump presidency. This behavior might be surprising to the rest of the world, but this is what the United States now has to live with for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The worlds only superpower is being run by a man who has to have his television time monitored because cable news gets him too riled up and makes him want to tweet.

Trumps tantrum is the lead in all of the German newspapers because it sounds like this president is aching for a trade war that will destroy the US economy. Donald Trump wants to slap a tariff on the imports of American allies.

If Donald Trump wants German cars no longer sold in the United States, he better be prepared for American products not be sold in Germany.

The Germans arent bad for making cars that Americans want to buy. The only evil in this conversation resides between Trumps ears because the president is apparently trying to destroy free market capitalism.

Update: The White House clarified that Trump said the Germans were very bad, not evil.
Spirit Airlines will begin nonstop service from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD) to Cancun International Airport (CUN) beginning on November 9, 2017. With this new service you can explore nature or kick back at a stunning all-inclusive resort, instead of blowing your budget on airfare.

"We are delighted to deliver this nonstop service to one of the most requested destinations in our network," said Mark Kopczak, Vice President of Network Planning for Spirit Airlines. "These new flights expand our presence in Cancun and bring our first international routes to Baltimore/Washington and Chicago. Our ultra-low fares will give many more friends and families the chance to save on air travel and allow them to spend more money making memories on vacation."

Spirit Airlines currently operates daily service to Cancun from Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale and Houston. The addition of Baltimore/Washington and Chicago brings Spirit's nonstop service to Cancun to six flights daily.

"We welcome the announcement that Spirit Airlines will bring new international flight options and more ultra-low fares for our travelers," said Ricky Smith, Chief Executive Officer for BWI Marshall Airport. "This service boosts the travel value for our passengers, while adding to the growth and success here at BWI Marshall Airport."

"The addition of international flight options is always great news for Chicago and O'Hare travelers because of the economic impact it creates, not to mention the boost in opportunities for business and tourism for our city," said Ginger S. Evans, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation. "I want to thank Spirit Airlines for their commitment to service at our global gateway. More flights from Chicago to this popular destination will bring healthy competition and better options for our customers."

Spirit's new flights to Cancun are available for purchase now. You can check out the crazy low fares and vacation packages available to all of the destinations we fly at www.spirit.com and also sign up to receive alerts on Spirit's email deals and offers. Nonstop flights from Baltimore and Chicago to Cancun are subject to foreign government approval.

Check out the crazy low fares to Cancun at www.spirit.com and start planning your adventure south of the border.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Tropical storm conditions possible. Cloudy and windy with periods of rain. High 74F. Winds ENE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Tropical storm conditions possible. Periods of rain. Low 71F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Ryanair outlined a 5 point plan to grow tourism by lowering airport costs and removing taxes on short haul travel within Europe, addressing the accommodation shortage that drives up prices by lowering costs and building more hotels, improving the marketing of EU destinations to encourage EU citizens to holiday in Europe, developing new regional resorts such as southern Italy and northern Spain, developing more year-round tourism and off-peak seasonal city break travel.

Meanwhile, Ryanairs Malta summer 2017 schedule continues to attract record bookings, with more frequencies to/from European destinations for summer family holidays, lower fares as Ryanair passes on lower fuel costs, and an even better customer experience, as it continues to roll out its Always Getting Better improvements.

Ryanairs Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Jacobs said, As the largest airline in Europe, Ryanair urges EU countries to encourage more Europeans to holiday in Europe. By lowering airport costs and taxes, addressing the accommodation shortage, improving the marketing of EU destinations, promoting new regional resorts and developing a bigger year-round tourist season, European tourism can thrive and capitalise on a golden growth opportunity, at a time when European tourists are looking for alternative destinations given the decline in traffic to Turkish and North African resorts.

Some 130m people will fly with Ryanair across Europe this year and we have seen first-hand the regional tourism growth and job creation that low cost aviation brings, especially for Europes youth. This Ryanair effect has already paid dividends to regions across the EU. As demand for travel grows, aviation can further boost tourism by raising the profile of lesser known destinations. Tourism contributes up to 15% of European GDP each year, and supports over 12% of the jobs within the EU. Taking the right steps could see tourism grow by 10% next year, rather than the predicted 4%, which would create an additional 2m European jobs.

We are pleased to report record bookings on our summer 2017 schedule, and customers can look forward to fares falling even further when they make advance bookings in 2017, so theres never been a better time to book a low fare flight on Ryanair. We urge all customers who wish to book their holidays to do so now on the Ryanair.com website or mobile app, where they can avail of the lowest fares.
ADAMS  To address aging facilities, the Southland School District is asking taxpayers to approve a $24.56 million bond issue that would also involve closing the elementary school in Rose Creek.

On March 20, the Southland School Board approved a resolution calling for a June 6 referendum. Southland's aging high school and middle school need renovations and additions, according to Superintendent Jeff Sampson. The school board commissioned a facility task force  made up of 31 community members  to examine the condition of the schools.

The task force took more than a year to formulate its final recommendation. The proposal includes renovations and additions to the Southland middle school and high school, as well as moving all programming from Southland Elementary School in Rose Creek into the proposed additions in Adams, Sampson said.

How the district got here

The 26,060-square-foot Southland Elementary School was built in 1920 and added onto in 1956 and 1977. The middle and high schools were built in 1917 and have received additions through the years. The most recent, in 1994, put the building at 70,475 square feet.

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The task force looked at two main options: renovate all the buildings to modern standards; or close Southland Elementary in Rose Creek and house those students in the renovated middle and high schools.

The goals are to reduce operating costs, address declining enrollment, and alleviate operational cuts (the district cut $500,000 in 2014.)

What would happen to the Rose Creek building?

Sampson said the district is "in conversations" with the Southern Minnesota Education Consortium (SMEC), which is the Special Education Cooperative that involves six other area school districts.

The organization is in need of space for programming, and the Rose Creek building may be an option.

"The Rose Creek facility would fit their needs," Sampson said. "If SMEC will be able to use the building, then the school board will need to decide what other options are available."

What's included?

The project calls for a new secure main entrance with adjacent administrative areas that'll be relocated to the southwest corner of the existing facility. A new gymnasium will be added to accommodate physical education programs for K-5 and extra curricular activities.

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A southeast classroom wing would be renovated to absorb grades K-5, and additional classrooms would be created by converting the existing office space and kitchen/cafeteria into classrooms.

The northeast classroom wing would be renovated for science, industrial technology and agricultural programs. The existing auditorium could be renovated to improve the stage area, acoustics, lighting and seating, as well as renovations to the music classrooms.

The media center would be repurposed into a kitchen, cafeteria and commons area. The hallways and restrooms would become ADA compliant. Renovations would also include updates to outdated mechanical and electrical systems, additional parking and expanded bus and student drop-off areas.

How much would the district save by closing Rose Creek?

According to the district's website, relocating all K-12 programs to one campus and closing the elementary school would reduce total area by 9,240 square feet. The move would reduce utilities, eliminate the building's associated insurance, and reduce transportation costs. The district could see operation savings of $389,548.

Closing the school would also save the district $4 million in deferred maintenance and improvements the old building would need to be brought up to date.

Time frame?

If voters approve the bond issue, the project design could be finished this winter and construction could begin in spring 2018. Students could move in by fall 2019.

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'Be informed'

Sampson said that taxpayer reaction to the proposal has been mixed. He urged people to become informed before casting their vote. Voter information can be found on the school district's website.

"It is very important for every voter to be informed of factual information prior to making their decision in the voting booth," he said. "Sometimes, information gets twisted as it passes from person to person. I have been encouraging people to look at the information on our website and to contact me if they have any questions."
Rochester's Ethical Practices Board called for its first hearing since it was created nearly a decade ago.

Five new board members unanimously agreed Wednesday to ask for a formal hearing regarding a Feb. 17 ethics complaint filed by Bari Amadio, the executive director of the Greater Rochester Arts and Cultural Trust.

"There's a disadvantage to us since this is our first chance to discuss this," said Linda Gentling, who was appointed to the board last week.

Five of the board's seven members were appointed since the last board meeting, and the remaining two members, Kay Batchelder and Regina Mustafa, have recused themselves from participating in discussion of the complaint.

Amadio's complaint alleges Rochester City Council member Michael Wojcik libeled her and sought to intimidate her while asking for an early copy of a Public Arts Master Plan generated by the Trust with city support.

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The Ethical Practices Board requested an independent investigation in March, which was completed in April.

Questions remain

Wednesday, board members said they would like to hear directly from Amadio and Wojcik.

"My impression is this particular complaint is just a he-said, she-said kind of thing," board member Faye Harris said.

The board asked Rochester City Attorney Terry Adkins to release copies of the investigation to Amadio and Wojcik so they could respond to the findings during a hearing set for 1:15 p.m. June 14 in room 104 of City Hall. They also asked for both to be advised against making the documents public since there would be a potential penalty for doing so.

Board member Lawrence Collins, a retired judge, noted the request for a hearing simply indicates a desire to address questions that stem from the complaint and investigation.

"I believe there is too much here to warrant the other action, which is dismissal at this point," he said.

Among questions raised, Harris said emails submitted by Amadio as evidence fail to make it clear whether Wojcik was aware the city didn't have a contract with the Trust and whether that knowledge would have altered his request.

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Amadio said she welcomes the chance to address questions. "I was pleased that the Ethical Practices Board found that there was sufficient reason to move the matter to a formal hearing," she said.

Wojcik said he's willing to work with the board's process. "I'm going to be respectful of the process and play my part," he said.

Second complaint

The board also asked Adkins to seek an investigation into an April 7 complaint filed by Folwell neighborhood resident Mark Bransford, which claims Wojcik should have recused himself from a Sept. 19 vote on a preliminary development plan for the Alatus apartment project on Second Street Southwest between 14th Avenue and 15th Avenue.

Batchelder and Mustafa again recused themselves from the discussion, so the five new members made the decision in a 3-2 vote.

Collins and Gentling said they'd like more time to study the complaint before committing to an investigation, which could take six to eight weeks.

"I'm concerned about what might turn-out to be unnecessary expenditure of time and services," Collins said. The Amadio investigation cost the city $2,800.

Harris, Kim Keilholtz and Jose Rios, however, supported seeking an independent investigation.

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"I don't know if giving it another month means I'm going to be more educated in what I am reading," Harris said.

Following the meeting, Bransford said he's happy the board opted for an investigation and remains confident that it will provide evidence to support his claim that Wojcik acted inappropriately.
ST. PAUL  An effort in the Senate to remove a funding ban for a high-speed rail line between Rochester and the Twin Cities failed Wednesday.

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, introduced an amendment to get rid of the ban. Tucked within the tax bill is language that prohibits the Metropolitan Council from spending any money on a high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities. Dibble argued it's foolish to put such a prohibition in law, which wouldn't even allow money to be spent to study the idea.

"This is an ill-advised position," Dibble said.

He noted that lawmakers have been supportive of the $6 billion Destination Medical Center initiative, which is expected to create thousands of jobs. He said it's likely many of those employees will live in the Twin Cities, and DMC leaders have said it is critical to improve transit connections between the two cities.

But Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Roger Chamberlain noted that the special session agreement with the governor states the bills cannot be amended. He warned removing the rail funding ban could lead to major problems.

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"If the amendment goes on, you will most likely not have a tax bill," Chamberlain said.

The effort to strip out the language failed 36-25. Voting in favor of getting rid of the funding prohibition was Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester. Lawmakers who supported keeping the ban were Sen. Mike Goggin, R-Red Wing; Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona; and Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin. Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, did not vote.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced last year it was shelving working on a proposed high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities known as "Zip Rail." MnDOT officials cited a lack of funding and political support. The proposal has faced fierce opposition from residents living along U.S. 52. They argue the rail line would require the use of eminent domain and would be a a waste of taxpayer dollars.

The House still needs to approve the final version of the tax bill. It then heads to DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's desk.
We noted earlier today that British authorities shared photographs and other information about the Manchester bombing with American intelligence agenciespresumably the CIA and the FBIand that information was promptly leaked by Democrats at one or more of the agencies to Democrats at the New York Times, which published the photos and other information.

The Sun reports that British officials are irate about the American agencies inability to keep a secret:

Furious Theresa May is to demand answers from Donald Trump after US officials leaked bloody crime scene photos of the Manchester bombing. Fury erupted across Whitehall after details of the probe continued to slip out in Washington DC in defiance of Britains Home Secretary.

***

The images, leaked to the New York Times by US intelligence sources, reveal the device was probably packed in a blue Karrimor rucksack. And they suggest that Abedi may have triggered the blast using a detonator held in his left hand. There are also suggestions that the bomb may have had a remote control. Ministers were described as seething over the graphic disclosure, which could also risk endangering future prosecutions. The PM will ask the US president for an explanation when they meet at the NATO summit in Brussels tomorrow.

This is ironic, of course. Democrats in the intelligence agencies generally leak against the president. If he knew how to stop the leaks, he would do it. But it appears that this time, the British are serious:

Protests were raised at every level of the government, including by National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill to his counterpart HR McMaster. A senior Whitehall source said: These leaks from inside the US system are likely to deeply distress the victims, their families and the wider public. Information has also been leaked which risks compromising the ongoing investigation into this appalling crime. Protests have been lodged at every relevant level between the British authorities and our US counterparts. They are in no doubt about our huge strength of feeling on this issue. It is unacceptable.

I couldnt agree more with this comment by an MP:

Former Ukip MP Douglas Carswell said: There seem to be some seriously third rate, untrustworthy spooks in the US.

There is more at the link, to the same effect. Who knows? Perhaps British anger will finally make it possible to identify, fire, and where appropriate criminally prosecute the leakers at the CIA and, in all likelihood, the FBI.
Holland America Line has received approval to begin sailing to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting with the Dec. 22, 2017, 12-day holiday cruise aboard ms Veendam.

Holland America Line becomes Carnival Corporation's third cruise line to be approved to sail to Cuba following the company's historic inaugural sailings to the island last year.

The addition of Veendam itineraries will help meet the growing demand for premium cruise experiences to Cuba. Nine seven-day itineraries will feature the capital city Havana, and three of these will add another Cuba call at Cienfuegos, known as the model of early 19th century urban planning in Cuba. The 12-day holiday cruise showcases both Cuban ports. Depending on the departure day, cruises include the Cuba ports, as well as a combination of Caribbean ports, including Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; Key West, Florida; and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

For many, travel is about seeking new places to explore and discovering meaningful new cultural opportunities, and Cuba is one of the most sought-after new destinations for many of our guests, said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. We are excited to finally be able to include Cuba in our itineraries, and our guests and travel partners have been anxiously awaiting a premium cruise experience to this relatively undiscovered Caribbean treasure.

As leaders in destination immersion and experiential travel, Holland America Line adds Cuba to its itineraries in order to provide guests with a thoughtful cultural exchange experience. Most itineraries include an extended call at Havana, allowing guests the time to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site and immerse themselves in a wide array of historical and cultural adventures. Additionally, a stop at Cienfuegos presents the opportunity for a special visit to Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Cubas province of Sancti Spiritus.

The series of Cuban cruises will debut with the Dec. 22, 2017, 12-day holiday sailing roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. In addition to the seven-day cruises, an 11-day spring cruise sails March 17, 2018, and also features the Cuban ports of Havana and Cienfuegos, as well as Key West, Cozumel, Montego Bay and Georgetown. The final seven-day Cuba sailing departs on April 18, 2018.

On board, the Cuba experience will be enhanced through the lines Explorations Central, or EXC, program, featuring EXC Guides who will bring the destination to life through presentations and EXC Talks that will enable guests to deepen their understanding of the Caribbeans largest island. Also enriching the Cuba experience for guests are EXC Port Maps created for the Cuban calls, EXC Encounters that will showcase the culture and history of Cuba to guests before they visit the ports, and much more. In addition, educational and cultural EXC Tours are being developed in and near Havana and Cienfuegos with a highlight being Trinidad, one of the best-preserved historic towns in the Caribbean.

Bookings for Holland America Lines cruises to Cuba will open May 26, 2017. Guests booked on Veendams previous deployment will be given a full refund and opportunity to book on another Holland America Line voyage. Fares for Cuba cruises begin at $899 per person, double occupancy. Taxes, fees and port expenses are additional.

The visits to Havana and Cienfuegos comply with regulations of the U.S. Department of Treasury that permit travel operators to transport approved travelers to Cuba to engage in activities as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Foreign Assets Control. All information about special requirements for travel to Cuba is available at hollandamerica.com.

The deployment of the 1,350-guest Veendam to Cuba adds Holland America Line to the historic launch of cruises to the island nation from the U.S. by Carnival Corporation sister brands Fathom and, more recently, Carnival Cruise Line.

For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel professional, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (1-877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com.
No, not as a general matter. But when it comes to Middle East, he may be.

Consider this statement by the Secretary of State:

We solve the Israeli Palestinian peace dilemma, we start solving a lot of the peace throughout the Middle East region.

Weve been railing against this sort of nonsense for almost the entire 15 years (as of this weekend) of Power Lines existence. Tillersons statement is a particularly incoherent version of the view, often expressed by the Obama administration but not confined to it, that the Israeli-Palestinian impasse is the source of the difficulties that plague the wider region. What does it mean to solv[e] a lot of the peace in the Middle East? Are we seeking peace with ISIS?

Two big problems plague the Middle East. The first is jihadist terrorist groups, most notably ISIS. Does Tillerson believe that the creation of a Palestinian state would cause these groups to eschew jihad? I doubt it.

Tillerson may believe that the creation of a Palestinian state would facilitate the building of an Arab coalition to combat ISIS (through a whole lot of war). But this claim is only slightly more plausible than the view that a settlement in Israel would cause ISIS to wither away. As Caroline Glick says: The notion that it is necessary to empower the PLO to win Arab allies when the Arabs are beating a path to Israels door begging for help in defeating Sunni jihadists and Iran is ridiculous.

Arab powers oppose Sunni jihadists, when they do, out of self interest. The jihadists, or some of them, pose an existential threat to their rule and their state. Regardless of whats occurring on the West Bank, Arab rulers prefer not to see their territory absorbed into a caliphate.

The calculus is the same when it comes to the other big problem in the Middle East  Iran. The mullahs seek regional dominance. The Arab states prefer that Iran not dominate the region and undermine their rule from within. Thats why they are beating a path to Israels door notwithstanding the status of Palestinians.

So Tillersons statement is clueless about the Middle East. That doesnt mean, though, that Tillerson is. The Arab states have an interest in pretending to care about the Palestinians. The pretense plays well domestically.

Accordingly, the U.S. also has an interest in pretending to care about a peace agreement, as it tries to firm up a coalition of Arab states to oppose ISIS and Iran. President Trump and his Secretary of State provide cover for Arab leaders by talking about the need for Israel to make concessions in order to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.

Is that whats going on? I dont know. My guess is that Tillerson and the president are doing more than putting on a show. Tillersons statement may be idiotic, but its been the conventional wisdom in Washington for decades, and its the gospel at the State Department. Theres no reason to assume that Tillerson and Trump are immune to such thinking.

Thus, when Tillerson and Trump, following in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, start putting a lot of pressure (Tillersons words) on Israel, we should be concerned. It may be just for show, but more likely it isnt.
Middlebury College announced its punishments this week for the students involved in the protests against Charles Murray  protests that devolved into violence and resulted in injury to a Middlebury professor. Most of the protesters who faced the possibility of discipline were placed on probation. None was expelled or suspended.

The school announced that 67 students have been disciplined. Forty-one students received sanctions from the College administration for participating in the first stage of the disruptive protest in Wilson Hall. The remaining 26 students, who faced more serious consequences for actions in the hall and outside the building, were sanctioned by the Colleges Community Judicial Board, which held group and individual hearings in May.

The sanctions ranged from probation to official College discipline, which places a permanent record in the students file.

Some are characterizing the discipline as just slaps on the wrist. For example, former White House press secretary and Middlebury alum Ari Fleischer tweeted:

Middlebury slaps everybody on the wrist. A letter in the files. No one IDd who engaged in violence. The mob wins.

My take is somewhat different. Some form of probation seems like appropriate punishment for those who prevented Murray from speaking. Assuming no prior offenses, I think suspension would be too harsh. [See my amendment to this statement below].

Those who behaved violently or who threatened violence are a different story. They should be suspended, at a minimum. However, Middlebury claims it was unable to identify the people who engaged in violence. The claim seems plausible, since, as I understand it, these folks wore masks. Its also likely that the worst offenders, or some of them, werent Middlebury students.

We also know, however, that the administration was under pressure from some professors to be lenient. That being the case, and college administrators being college administrators, its possible that Middlebury either feigned ignorance or, more likely, didnt make a strong effort to identify those who engaged in violence.

Without knowing the facts, though, I cant conclude that the discipline meted out was too soft under the circumstances.

My view on disciplining disruptive college protesters may be colored by my experience as one. In 1969, I was part of a group of activists that took over and occupied the administration building at Dartmouth. We were arrested for contempt of court and served 27 days in jail (we got three days off for good behavior).

After our release, we faced Dartmouths discipline process. As I recall, nearly all of us were placed on probation for various lengths of time (I got two trimesters, which was typical). Probation meant things like not being able to study abroad, have a car on campus, or participate in extracurricular activities (in my case, debate). Post-graduate institutions would be informed that we had been placed on probation, though I doubt many cared. (In this era, I doubt that any will care about the Middlebury students probation).

As I recall, only one student was expelled. He had manhandled one of the deans when we took over the building. Last I heard, he was a carpenter (I think).

I couldnt reasonably have complained if Dartmouth had suspended or expelled me, but probation was also within the range of reasonable responses. Its understandable, and maybe even commendable, when a college looks to the lower end of the range of reasonable punishments in deciding how to treat a 20 year-old first-time offender.

Unlike the Middlebury students, though, we spent almost a month in jail. That was more than a slap on the wrist.

Our Dartmouth mob didnt win. Fleischer may be right when he says that the Middlebury mob did.

Lets see if another conservative speaker shows up on campus and, in that event, whether he or she is able to speak without being harassed or disruptive.

AMENDMENT: On reflection, I want to amend the fifth paragraph of this post. I think that suspending the students who prevented Murray from speaking would have been a reasonable punishment, given the seriousness of limiting discourse at a college. However, I think that putting them on probation also falls within the range of reasonable punishment, assuming that the probation carries with it adverse consequences (as mine did at Dartmouth).
In February, we noted the strange case of the three Awan brothers, who got themselves hired as IT professionals, working for a number of Democratic Congressmen at an extraordinarily high rate of pay. They had access to intelligence and homeland security information, among much else, but were fired weeks after the Obama administration left office:

Horatio Alger would be proud  they somehow managed to get themselves paid three times the average rate of IT professionals working in Congress. They displayed admirable thrift  all living in the same house (not their parents). They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, one overcoming bankruptcy (despite being incredibly overpaid) and a felony record to get themselves hired into sensitive Intel positions for prominent Democratic congresspersons. Inquisitive fellows they were, poking around in congressional computer systems without authorization. Did I mention thrifty? Apparently in addition to illicit information acquisition, they saved money by allegedly taking home some odds and ends, office supplies, like pens and notepad and PCs and paperclips and servers and cell phones

***

The investigation supposedly started late last year, yet somehow the alleged  how to put it?  unauthorized accessors of information and undocumented removers of electronics were not cut off until two weeks after Obama left office.

Now the Daily Caller reports that at least some of the Awan family has decamped for Pakistan, where they apparently are treated as VIPs with extraordinary influence in the U.S.: Sources: Democratic Aide Suspected Of Major Security Breach Under Government Protection In Pakistan.

A criminal suspect in an investigation into a major security breach on the House of Representatives computer network has abruptly left the country and gone to Pakistan, where her family has significant assets and VIP-level protection, a relative and others told The Daily Caller News Foundations Investigative Group. Hina Alvi, her husband Imran Awan, and his brothers Abid and Jamal were highly paid shared IT administrators working for multiple House Democrats until their access to congressional IT systems was terminated Feb. 2 as a result of the investigation. Capitol Police confirmed the investigation is ongoing, but no arrests have been reported in the case.

***

Many of the Democrats who employed the Awans are members of the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. (A list of potentially compromised members is listed below.) Their positions gave them access to members emails and confidential files. In addition, Imran was given the password for an iPad used by then-Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat. The five came to the U.S. from Pakistan. Since the investigation became public, the Awans have abruptly moved from longtime homes in Lorton and Springfield, Va.  Multiple people said Hina told them she was headed to Pakistan where the family has significant property.

***

Two other sources close to the family, who requested anonymity because they believe it is a national security issue, also said that Hina has gone to Pakistan.

It seems that there could be a major story here, but the Capitol Police decline to comment and there is no indication that the investigation into the Awans is moving forward. It isnt hard to guess the reasons why that might be.

UPDATE: The Daily Caller, pretty much the only source on this story, has more: Wasserman Schultz Threatened Police Chief For Gathering Evidence On Her IT Staffers Alleged Crimes.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz threatened the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police with consequences for holding equipment that she says belongs to her in order to build a criminal case against a Pakistani staffer suspected of massive cybersecurity breaches involving funneling sensitive congressional data offsite. The Florida lawmaker used her position on the committee that sets the police forces budget to press its chief to relinquish the piece of evidence Thursday, in what could be considered using her authority to attempt to interfere with a criminal investigation. The Capitol Police and outside agencies are pursuing Imran Awan, who has run technology for the Florida lawmaker since 2005 and was banned from the House network in February on suspicion of data breaches and theft.

Video at the link.
The labour unions at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, on Wednesday said that they lack confidence in the recent appointment of transaction advisers for the concession of four airports in the country.

The four airports are the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt airports.

The unions, under the auspices of Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, said that they would do everything legally possible to stop the planned concession of the airports by the federal government.

A statement issued Wednesday also said that the unions had resolved to boycott the stakeholders  meeting scheduled to hold in Lagos on Thursday.

The boycott, the unions said, is to protest the move and to press home their demands.

The unions stated that following their earlier objections about the lack of transparency in the governments plan to concession the airports, the Minister of State for Aviation , Hadi Sirika, admitted a representative of the unions into a committee set up to advise the government on the project.

They added that the committee developed a work plan, which it submitted to the minister, and obtained his approval to implement it.

But the unions maintained that one of the criteria for the appointment of transaction advisers on airport concession is to consult with the committee, which was not done; a major reason for the opposition to the planned concession.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Wednesday said it would invest in the telecommunications and shipping sectors.

A statement released by the Group General Manager , Group Public Affairs Division , NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu, stated that the NNPC already had investments in the health sector, adding that its desire to expand to other sectors was due to the volatility in crude oil prices in the international market.

The corporation also said it desires to seek a fortune in non-core oil industry so as to stay afloat.

The national oil firm, the statement noted, had also established contacts with some Chinese investors to work with it in research and development ventures.

Babatunde Adeniran, the Chief Operating Officer, NNPC Ventures, was quoted as noting that the response from the Chinese prospects had been favourable, adding that apart from the Chinese who were being invited to partner the NNPC in research and development, the corporation had also sent invitations to American investors.

Mr. Adeniran lamented that there had been low investments in research and development in sub  Sahara Africa, necessitating the corporations commitment to key in so as to maximise available opportunities in the sub-sector.

Other non-core oil and gas sectors that were of interest to the NNPC are healthcare, shipping and telecommunications, the statement said.

The NNPC Medical is already talking to top class medical centres across the world for partnership. Billions of dollars go into medical tourism in Nigeria yearly, Mr. Adeniran said.

The NNPC is poised to take advantage of the gaps in health care delivery in Nigeria, he added.

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The Nigerian government would help resolve a labour dispute between Exxon Mobil Corporation and unions in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, a minister has said.

Chris Ngige, Nigerias labour minister, told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday that the government has reached out to the two parties involved, Reuters reports.

The labour unions have protested against the sacking of workers at Exxon and other foreign oil firms, staging several strikes since the start of the year.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Ngige noted that, We have reached out to the management to internally resolve the matter through reconciliation.

If that fails government will fully take over because even my counterpart, the minister of petroleum, had intervened but it failed, he added.

Earlier on Saturday, a Nigerian labour union that had called for the shutdown of all Exxon Mobil in the Niger Delta said it had suspended a strike.

But Mr. Ngige explained Wednesday that the matter had been referred to the industrial arbitration panel.

I have referred the matter to the industrial arbitration panel for reconciliation. If this fails we will take another action, he said.

The minister explained further that he had convened a meeting at which only Exxons representatives and not those of the PENGASSAN labour union had attended.

Industrial unrest by Exxon workers in Nigeria at the end of 2016 disrupted output, delaying loadings by weeks.

The latest industrial action was to protest the sack of 150 workers in December, of which 82 were PENGASSAN members.

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Egypt on Thursday blocked 21 websites, including Qatari news network, Al Jazeera, and Islamist-affiliated platforms, following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Among those blocked since Wednesday evening is the website of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, Ikhwan Online, according to a report in the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

All websites blocked contain material that support terrorism and extremism as well as publish lies, a security source was quoted as saying.

The Arabic edition of the Huffington Post was blocked, although the English-language version was accessible.

The independent Cairo-based Mada Masr was another site blocked.

Since the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt in 2013, Egypts relations with Qatar have worsened as Cairo slams Doha for hosting members of the now-banned group.

Egypts Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates blocked the website of Al Jazeera and other Qatari websites on Wednesday, after controversial comments praising Iran were attributed to the Qatari ruler, Tamim Al-Thani.

Iran is the main regional rival of Saudi Arabia, which hosted an Arab Islamic summit over the weekend.

During the summit, both Saudi King Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Iran for inciting unrest in the

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China said on Thursday that Chinese warships warned a U.S. Navy warship to leave after it sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea.

Speaking at a monthly news briefing in Beijing, Defence Ministry spokesman, Ren Guoqiang, said China had lodged stern representations to the U.S. over the patrol and that such moves were not conducive to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey sailed on a freedom of navigation operation close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.

NAN reports that a U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

This is the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey travelled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.

The so-called freedom of navigation operation, which is sure to anger China, comes as Mr. Trump is seeking Beijings cooperation to rein in ally North Koreas nuclear and missile programmes.

Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a states coastline.

One U.S. official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague.

The court invalidated Chinas claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The U.S. patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijings efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

The U.S. has criticised Chinas construction of the man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

U.S. allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the new administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

In April, top U.S. commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Adm. Harry Harris, said the U.S. would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon, without offering any details.

(Reuters/NAN)

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Greater Manchester Police have stopped sharing information on Mondays suicide attack with the U.S. over leaks to New York Times, the BBC reported on Thursday.

British officials reacted with anger on Wednesday after the New York Times published forensic photographs from the crime scene at Manchester Arena thought to have been leaked by U.S. intelligence.

Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels.

The photographs, which appear to show a detonator, metal nuts and screws and a blue Karrimor backpack that might have contained the bomb, were published a day after the suicide bombers name was leaked to U.S. media against the wishes of police in Manchester.

We are furious. This is completely unacceptable, a British government source said, adding that the matter was being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their U.S. counterparts.

Britains National Counter Terrorism Policing also issued a rare rebuke, saying the leaks undermined the investigation into Monday nights attack in which 22 people were killed.

We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world, a spokesman said.

When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families, he continued.

This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation.

Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, tweeted: Complained to acting US Ambassador about leaks out of U.S. and was assured they would stop. They havent. Arrogant, wrong & disrespectful to GM [Greater Manchester].

Speaking hours before the publication of the photographs Home Secretary Amber Rudd told BBC Radio Four the U.S. leaks were irritating.

Quite frankly, the British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, she said.

So, it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again.

The New York Times also published a graph of the crime scene showing the location of the bodies, most of which were in a circle around the suicide bomber.

It said that the force of the blast had propelled the bombers torso outside of the ring towards the entrance of the arena and that carefully packed, makeshift shrapnel in the bomb had penetrated metal doors.

An initial analysis suggested the bomb had been made with forethought and care, the newspaper said, though the size and type of explosive used was not yet clear.

It did not say where it had obtained the information.

The leak of the images came after the name of the alleged attacker, Salman Abedi, was leaked to the U.S. media on Tuesday before British police had released it publicly.

(dpa/NAN)

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A group has introduced a child bracelet to help Nigerian mothers remember the need to get their children immunized and the appointment schedules for the life saving exercise.

The bracelet, introduced to Nigeria by Alma Sana, a non-governmental organisation, is to be worn on the leg or wrist of infants.

It was launched on Thursday by Glaxosmithkline, a pharmaceutical company and Save the Children at an award ceremony on health Innovation given to Alma Sana at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

The bracelet will assist the public and health workers to know the type of vaccines the child has been given, what jab is next and when the next one is due.

Though new in Nigeria, it has been used by the organisation in countries such as Peru, where like Nigeria, there had also been immunization challenges.

It is made from a silicon band with numbers (for the months) and symbols (for the type of vaccines to be taken within the months) printed on it.

The bracelet printed on it the full 20 jabs schedule that mothers need to follow for the first four years of the childs life.

Each symbol, which represents the vaccine to be given, is punched by the nurse as record of when the dose was given.

Speaking at the ceremony, wife of the Senate President and founder of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Toyin Saraki, said the initiative will help improve immunization monitoring in Nigeria.

Nigeria is among countries with immunization challenges where children are either not immunized or miss some of the immunization doses.

Mrs. Saraki said the bracelet will help educate mothers about the need to get their children immunized and also give them a sense of belonging and say in the wellbeing of their children.

She said most mothers feel left out in their childrens immunization process, as they are not consulted and all the decisions are away from their hands.

We need to work towards adapting a vaccine dependable Nigeria. One of the problems faced with vaccinations is most mothers forget to take their children for immunization and this bracelet is suppose to help tackle that issue since the bracelet will be on the child from first vaccination till the age of one.

This will deal with the problem of timeliness, completion of vaccine doses and that of wider coverage to know the extent immunization has been covered in a locality, she said.

Mrs. Saraki want midwives engaged in the project as they have a lot of influence on mothers. She observed that they can do a lot in the education of mother on immunization because they take care of them during pregnancy till child birth.

They even see the child after birth before the mothers. We have experimented using three midwives on maternal education in our foundation and the result we got has been incredible, she said.

The General Manager of Glaxosmithkline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals in Nigeria, Bhushan Akshikar, said the award to the group was in recognition of its effort in propagating the effectiveness and efficiency of immunization of children to prevent deaths from preventable diseases.

He said his company was glad to partner with the organisation to promote immunization progress in Nigeria.

We are using this bracelet as a pilot study to know how far it will go and we are targeting one million children, he said.

GSK and Save the Children have an innovative strategic shared value partnership that is combining the two organisations global expertise, skills and energy to tackle the ambitious goal of helping to save one million childrens lives.

This bracelet will not rule out the vaccination cards given during vaccinations, but will go hand in hand. The bracelet is meant to serve as a reminder to the parents, he said.

Shola Dele-Olowu, Nigeria Implementing partner of Alma Sana, said the idea of the bracelet was borrowed from countries where it had been used with positive results.

We are introducing this as a pilot study to see the impact it will have on immunization in the country and we are targeting one million children, Ms. Dele-Olowu said.

We are partnering with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency to get the bracelets across to some selected areas which are yet to be determined by the agency.

We need to see how this will work in the primary healthcare centres as this are the major point of call on vaccination in the country.

For now, the bracelet will be given out free and we will use the pilot research to gauge how much people are willing to pay for the bracelets, she said.

She added that the bracelet can also be used to get reliable data on the state of health of children and immunization progress.

She said it can also be used as a nutrition monitoring indies (waist nutrition belt) as the bracelet is expected to be put in the ankle at birth and later fixed into the wrist of the child as the child grows up.

Babatunde Ojei, Deputy Country Director, Save the Children Nigeria, in his remark, called on the government and others involved in child health to engage the youth and their interest in information technology (ICT) to advance medical service delivery in Nigeria.

He said there is a need to key the youths ICT interest and strengthen it as a tool for medical service delivery, as this will go a long way to improve healthcare services in the country.

It will not only go a long way in disseminating information to the public, it will also serve as a means of survival for some youth who will be able to key into it and react with new innovations which can help better the health service delivery in this country as this will make it more attractive to many, he added.

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Radisson Blu is launching Blu Planet for Meetings, making meetings carbon-free at Radisson Blu hotels worldwide by the end of the year. The selected First Climate carbon offsetting projects contribute to fighting global warming and support the UN Sustainable Development goals.

All sustainable companies calculate and report their companys carbon footprint based on their own energy consumption, purchased energy and their supply chain footprint, which includes business travel. For each meeting or event held at a Radisson Blu hotel, the carbon footprint will be calculated and offset through Gold Standard carbon offsetting projects in Guatemala, Malawi and India, linked to water sustainability.

Since the COP21 climate accord, an increasing number of corporations are concerned about fighting climate change and about reducing their carbon footprints, also when they plan meetings, says Inge Huijbrechts, Vice President of Responsible Business for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. We know that face-to-face meetings are crucial to business success. Research has shown they boost profitability. With Blu Planet for Meetings, we help our guests have successful Experience Meetings and help protect our environment by reducing their overall carbon footprint.

Water sustainability is an important commitment from Radisson Blu, and we are delighted to partner with First Climate on dedicated water projects that will have a positive impact on communities as we help provide safe drinking water, says Huijbrechts.

Blu Planet for Meetings unique carbon offsetting, combined with a series of sustainable features, ensures Radisson Blu is as committed as you are to making your meeting green and safe. These characteristics are:

Advanced technology in rooms and meeting rooms, reducing paper use

Brain Food for Meetings  an innovative food offering that keeps the delegates attention span constant

A water-light Super Breakfast

Eco-labelled venues with labels like GreenLeaders, Earthcheck or Green Key

Waste recycling in all hotels

Safehotels Alliance certification at 160+ hotels worldwide

Blu Planet towel reuse program combining the environmental benefits with bringing safe drinking water to communities in need

#BluRoutes  running and cycling routes to connect to your destination

This Works all natural amenities

Were also encouraging meeting planners to make sustainability come alive as part of their meeting, whether its through a city bicycle tour, local tree planting or a zero-carbon picnic in the park. For sustainability minded and environment friendly companies, Radisson Blu should be the brand of choice for all meetings and events, as we jointly create opportunities to promote our shared values, said Huijbrechts.

By offsetting carbon emissions from meetings and events taking place at Radisson Blu Hotels and Resorts, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group demonstrates its commitment to a low carbon economy and makes a valuable contribution to climate change mitigation, says Sascha Lafeld, CEO of First Climate Markets, the service provider that assists Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in carbon emissions management. By choosing to offset carbon emissions using high-quality Gold-Standard projects, Carlson Rezidor also contributes to the generation of multiple co-benefits in the project regions that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
An FCT High Court, Jabi on Thursday rejected the application of Ifeanyi Ubah, the chairman of Capital Oil to secure freedom from the custody of the State Security Service, SSS.

The ruling came after another court in Lagos said Mr. Ubah be released if he is not charged within 48 hours.

Mr. Ubah was arrested by the SSS on May 5, over alleged diversion of petrol kept in his tank farm in Lagos by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The NNPC had claimed that the petrol kept in Mr. Ubahs farm valued at N11 billion, saying it was an attempt by the defendant to cause scarcity of the product in the country.

Justice Yusuf Halilu of FCT High court at the resumed hearing on the matter, granted the order following an ex-parte application brought before him by the Counsel to DSS, G. O. Agbadua.

According to Mr. Halilu, it is necessary to grant SSS application in the interest of justice to allow it carry out more investigations about the whole matter.

He said that the court had no power to disallow the agency from doing its work, stressing that the rule of law must prevail in the interest of justice.

The judge therefore granted the application for another more 14 days to allow the agency carryout more investigations about the matter, which it said was to ascertain the true position of the matter.

Mr. Halilu had earlier dismissed an application by Mr. Ubah praying the court to set aside its earlier order of May 10, which granted leave to DSS to detain the defendant in the agency custody.

Nobody will stop the DSS from doing its work; the court has no power to grant such order by Ubah to release him conditionally or unconditionally.

The DSS must always know that the rule of law thrive in this country, Ubahs order was obtained lawfully but is hereby dismissed, Halilu said.

Earlier, Ifeoma Esom, the Counsel to the defendant had also prayed the court to set aside it order of May 10 granting leave to the SSS to detain Mr. Ubah. (NAN)

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Nigeria stands to continue to benefit from an improved oil revenue as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided on Thursday in Vienna to extend cuts in oil output by nine months to March 2018 to further battle a global glut of crude.

OPEC delegates said the cuts were likely to be shared again by a dozen non-members led by top oil producer Russia, which reduced output in tandem with OPEC from January.

OPECs cuts have helped to push oil back above $50 a barrel this year, giving a fiscal boost to producers, many of whom rely heavily on energy revenues.

Oils earlier price decline, which started in 2014, forced Russia and Saudi Arabia to tighten their belts and led to unrest in some producing countries, including Venezuela and Nigeria.

The price rise this year has spurred growth in the U.S. shale industry, which is not participating in the output deal, thus slowing the markets rebalancing with global crude stocks still near record highs.

Brent crude in early trading fell 1.3 per cent to around $53 per barrel as market bulls were disappointed OPEC would not deepen the cuts or extend them by as long as 12 months.

OPEC oil ministers are, however, continuing their discussions in Vienna after three hours of talks. Non-OPEC producers were scheduled to meet OPEC later in the day.

In December, OPEC agreed its first production cuts in a decade and the first joint cuts with non-OPEC, led by Russia in 15 years.

The two sides decided to remove about 1.8 million barrels per day from the market in the first half of 2017, equal to 2 per cent of global production.

Despite the output cut, OPEC kept exports fairly stable in the first half of 2017 as its members sold oil from stocks.

The move kept global oil stockpiles near record highs, forcing OPEC first to suggest extending cuts by six months, but later proposing to prolong them by nine months and Russia offering an unusually long duration of 12 months.

There have been suggestions (of deeper cuts), many member countries have indicated flexibility but  that wont be necessary, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said before the meeting.

He added that OPEC members Nigeria and Libya would still be excluded from cuts as their output remained curbed by unrest.

Falih also said Saudi oil exports were set to decline steeply from June, thus helping to speed up market rebalancing.

OPEC sources have said the Thursday meeting will highlight a need for long-term cooperation with non-OPEC producers.

Nigeria, Africas largest economy, relies on oil proceeds as its main revenue source.

The nations long-term reliance on oil has caused economic pain in recent years as internal problems meant the country was unable to match its historic production levels.

This proved to be a key factor in the country securing exemption from OPECs landmark 2016 deal to curb a global supply overhang.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, had predicted before the meeting that Nigeria would get an extension.

The indications that I have so far is that there is a willingness to extending that, Mr. Kachikwu said early May.

I expect we (Nigeria) will get OPEC exemption but one year from now will it be renewed? I am not too sure.

Over and above extending, we need to continue to engage; we need to find a way to stabilise international oil price, otherwise everybody will lose out, the minister added.

Similarly, Nigerias Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said, the deal gave the nation an opportunity to plan.

We very much are benefitting from the improved oil price, you know it went as low as $28 a barrel. So the region that it is in at the moment, it gives us the ability to plan, she said in an interview with CNBC.

What we didnt need was volatility, we need much more stability which the OPEC deal has given us, the minister said.

When asked how critical it would be for the oil producing cartel to extend an output reduction deal beyond June, the minister said the general consensus among oil producers was stability around the $60 a barrel mark would be a necessary milestone.

Im confident that all the players involved know that we need stability, Mrs. Adeosun noted.

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The Federal Government has released the result of the just concluded 2017 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Federal Unity schools.

A statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja said the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, gave approval to the National Examination Council (NECO) to release the result to the public.

The results would be available in all the State Ministries of Education nationwide as well as NECO zonal offices.

A total of 80,421 candidates registered for the examination but only 77, 512 candidates sat for the examination.

The minister said the general analysis of the result showed that the highest score was 189 out of 200 scored by two candidates.

The candidates are Emeka-Egbuna Chinecherem and Joyce Onubogu both from Anambra State while the least score was 4 scored by eight candidates.

Mr. Adamu said Queens College, Yaba Lagos was one of the colleges with highest subscription of 5524, while the least subscribed college was FGGC, Monguno Borno State, with only 21 candidates.

According to him, the result can be accessed on-line through http://www.fmeinterview.com or through NECO zonal offices nationwide.

The minister added that the placement exercise was scheduled to take place in July, 2017. (NAN)

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The acting president, Yemi Osinbajo, has warned government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to desist from rejecting corps members posted to them for primary assignment.

Mr. Osinbajo gave the warning during the Swearing-In Ceremony of the 2017 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Batch A Stream I corps members at the Permanent Orientation Camp at Kubwa, Abuja, on Thursday.

The acting president was represented by Amina Abubakar, the Director, Human Resources, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

Mr. Osinbajo said there was already an existing government policy directing MDAs against rejecting corps members.

He said the policy was still in effect, urging parastatals to ensure its full implementation.

The acting president also urged MDAs and private corps employers to assign challenging responsibilities to corps members during their primary assignment.

According to him, by doing so they will be fully incorporated into the process of nation-building and be able to contribute their quota to national development.

He said the federal government was aware of all the challenges facing the scheme.

He said government would continue to encourage cooperation between the federal, state and local governments to ensure smooth and effective execution of the operations relating to the scheme.

The Federal Government is aware of the challenges that face the NYSC and its duty to mitigate these issues including security, deployment management and processes.

As you step into your roles as service members, I commend to you the recently launched programme of the federal government, Change Begins with Me.

This campaign is aimed at restoring national values and upholding all that is right through each and every one of us.

You must all strive to fight the painful erosion of our social values as a result of greed and dishonesty. If change begins with each of you, there can be nothing that will impede the progress of this nation, Mr. Osinbajo said.

Besides, the acting president urged corps members to uphold the ideals of the scheme and remain conscientious in the discharge of their assignments.

Adebola Elegbede, the Chairperson, NYSC FCT Governing Board, said a lot would be required of corps members in their places of primary assignments for the benefit of the people of the territory.

Mrs. Elegbede urged corps members to apply themselves fully to the orientation programme as it would equip them for the task ahead.

I will be coming to the camp from time to time to ensure that your welfare needs are catered to and to see how you are faring in this regard, Mrs. Elegbede said.

Abdulrazak Salawu, the NYSC FCT Coordinator, said in response to emerging threats to the mental and social state of the youths especially in the area of drug abuse, the scheme had set up a counseling centre in the camp.

Mr. Salawu said the centre which was part of the schemes contribution to community development would help youths who may be affected in this regard.

He said that the FCT minister has directed the renovation and upgrading of camp facilities to ensure relative comfort for all camp participants.

The coordinator said the scheme registered 2,702 corps members for the 2017 Batch A stream I orientation course which would last for three weeks.

The Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, who was represented by Justice Peter Affen, administered the oath of allegiance on the corps members. (NAN)

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The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, on Thursday inaugurated the Board of Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF).

Mr. Fayemi said the approval for the reconstitution of the Board by President Muhammadu Buhari was a clear indication of the administrations commitment to fixing the Nigerian Mining sector to become a key contributor to the economy.

The minister said at the inauguration ceremony held at the ministrys conference hall that the inauguration of the board marked an important milestone in the efforts of the present government in repositioning of the Nigerian mining sector.

Mr. Fayemi said as the administration marks two years in office, we are pleased that these successes are being recorded during our stewardship of this sector, and under the direction of Mr. President.

The minister stated that the mandate of the Board in addition to the mandate of the SMDF include the restructuring and operationalisation of the SMDF by designing the appropriate governance structure, organisation, strategies and operations for effective management, to promote the establishment of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) facilitator Fund and work with investors to establish its governance and financial structure.

He said the Board members were carefully drawn from active practitioners in the sector, a representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and a representative of the Bankers Committee.

The competent team of seasoned professionals, Mr. Fayemi said, will inspire confidence and trust from other stakeholders they would be working with. their wealth of experience and networks would be brought to bear on this job towards achieving the desired results.

We are pleased that this administrations strategic focus on the Mining sector is being justified by the very strong sectoral performance that is now being recorded.

The minister noted that efforts of the present administration in repositioning the mining sector had started to yield dividends as evident in the latest report by the National Board of Statistics (NBS) which indicated a positive growth in the sector.

The First Quarter 2017 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) results recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics indicates that, Coal mining; Metal Ores; and Quarrying and other metals; grew strongly by 2.03%, 40.79% and 52.54% respectively., he said, stressing that the strong performance of the Mining Sector has contributed to the steady recovery of the Nigerian economy which the NBS further reports have steadily improved in the last three quarters.

He said: There is however a lot more grounds to cover. In the FGNs recently launched Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (2017-2020), the Minerals and Metals sector was duly recognised as one of those to drive Nigerias recovery.

The document projected to grow sectoral contribution to GDP from N103 billion (2015) to N141 billion in 2020, at an average annual growth rate of 8.54%.

Other targets for the sector include the facilitation of Coal to Power Plants to contribute to our energy mix towards bridging our energy deficits.

The strategy document which is very much in sync with the sectors Roadmap, also aims to produce geological maps of the entire country by 2020 on a scale of 1:100,000; as well as integrate artisanal miners into the formal sector.

In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Board, Uba Saidu Malami, on behalf of the Board members accepted the responsibility with all humility.

He assured that the Board will focus their energy to pursue speedy establishment of the SMDF to achieve Federal government strategy in the sector as enshrined in the economic and growth plan of 2017-2020.

Mr. Malami pledged that the Board will develop a quick strategic working plan with schedules and time line to guide their activities, adding that the Board will be creating, innovating and working closely with the SMDF, the Ministry and all stakeholders to deliver on their mandate.

Other members of the board are Fatima Shinkafi (Secreatary and Head of Secreatariat); Ademola Gbadegesin; Theo Iseghohi; Samuel Ogbu Eze; Uwatt Bassey Uwatt, (Corporate Member representing the Central Bank of Nigeria) and Yinka Mubarak (Corporate Member Representing Bankers Committee).

The SMDF was established by Section 34 of the Nigerian Mining and Minerals Act 2007, to address the fundamental sectoral challenge of Insufficient Funding  a problem that has historically undermined the growth potentials of the sector.

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A Lagos-based lawyer, Femi Falana, on Thursday blasted former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his vice, Atiku Abubakar, over their ownership of private universities.

Speaking at the launch of civic media lab, a joint project of citizen platforms Sahara Reporters and Budgit, Mr. Falana said the pension benefits of Messrs. Obasanjo and Abubakar are not enough to build a primary school, yet they own universities.

Commenting on how leaders appropriate illegal wealth to themselves while in office, Mr. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, questioned where the former leaders got their monies from.

He explained that politicians advocating for restructuring of the nation are the same men who restructured the economy of Nigeria against the common people.

Mr. Falana said, These guys who have restructured the economy of Nigeria. Or you are not aware that these guys restructured the economy of Nigeria to the extent that Nigeria is the only country today where former heads of states openly own universities.

Have you ever heard of that anywhere in the world?, he said, noting that the likes of Obasanjo, Atiku, Babangida and others, own universities, and of course, the man who is now pushing for restructuring, Atiku, has a university as well.

None of these guys worked outside the government. One was a customs officer, the others were soldiers; their pension cannot establish a primary school, not to talk of a university, he argued.

Calling on young Nigerians to use the instrumentality of the new media to change the narrative, Mr. Falana said there is enough frustration on ground already.

For young people, I think there is enough provocation on the part of the ruling class, he said.

Mr. Obasanjo owns Bells University of Technology, Ota, in Ogun state, while Mr. Abubakar is the founder of American University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa state.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has formally accused the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, of registering for permanent voter card twice, in violation of federal electoral law.

The electoral body said Mr. Bello acted illegally to have registered for voters card in Abuja and Kogi, but said it could not take action against the governor because he is constitutionally protected from prosecution while in office.

Mr. Bellos criminal behaviour came to light when photographs showed him being registered for by INEC officials in his office in Lokoja, his state capital. He had earlier been registered in Abuja.

The electoral commission, INEC, made its position on the scandal known on Thursday.

The Governors double registration and doing so outside INECs designated centres are both illegal, INECs national commissioner and chairman voter education committee, Solomon Soyebi, said on Thursday.

The commission denied authorising any staff or citizen to re-register him or any citizen or to do so outside our designated CVR centres.

Mr. Soyebi confirmed Gov. Bello was first registered at Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, on January 30, 2011, but illegally did so again on May 23, during the ongoing continuous voters registration exercise, in his Lokoja, Kogi State, office.

He said the commission is taking disciplinary action against the INEC staff involved, but regretted the governors immunity would help him escape prosecution.

As for the State Governor, Section 308(1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) precludes INEC from prosecuting him while in office, Mr. Soyebi said.

Nevertheless, his second and illegal registration now stands cancelled.

However, INEC wishes to state that it has cancelled his second and illegal registration forthwith because our Electoral Law and the Commissions guidelines make no exception for anyone to register more than once and outside the designated areas, Mr. Soyebi said.

The spokesperson for the governor, Kingsley Fanwo, had said his principal had to register again in Kogi, because nothing had come of efforts to get INEC to transfer his voters card from Abuja to Kogi.

Mr. Soyebi did not address the alleged non-transfer of Mr. Bellos voters card from Abuja to Kogi in his statement.

A group, Kogi For Change, in a statement signed by its chairman, Omeiza Yakubu, said it would take legal action in view of the illegality of Mr. Bellos action.

The impunity that unleashed the governor on the state is at work again and we are not going to take it lightly. As a matter of fact we have decided as a group to take the matter to talk. It is a criminal offence to engage in double registration, the group said.

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The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, on Tuesday warned Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the state police command to shun bribery or leave the state.

According to a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Owoseni stated this during a lecture on Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officers at the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) Hall, Ikeja.

He warned that the era of impunity and corruption among cops was gone, appealing to his subordinates to come for transfer if they would not want to play by the rules in the state.

He said: I am tired of hearing about shooting or killing of innocent persons. No one has the right to take another mans life. It is only God that has the right to take life, the spokesperson for the Lagos Police command, Olarinde Famous-Cole, quoted Mr. Owoseni as saying.

It is your responsibility as a DPO to know those who are collecting bribe under you. If you refuse to stop them, they will stop you from being a DPO.

It is embarrassing to see policemen collecting bribes and chasing yahoo yahoo boys for a DPO. I would not cover any DPO. I will expose you. Just leave Lagos before I get to your station. I cannot share out of your misconduct. I will give your photographs and details to journalists to expose you.

I am shocked to hear that some Area Commanders and DPOs are on the pay rolls of fraudsters. I am investigating. Just pray that I dont get you. Just know that you are causing pains for taxpayers if you are intimidating them and collecting bribe from criminals.

It is a curse to build a house with the money. The building would collapse on your head. Some of you even take people to the bank to collect money. If you train your children with the money, they wont be useful to you.

If those who were in the force before us bastardized it, we would not have the opportunity to be enlisted in the police. I am tired of pleading with police victims because you are doing what you are not supposed to do. Remember, one day, you are going to die and give account to your creator.

Go back to your areas of jurisdiction and warn your men against brutality, indiscriminate use of handcuffs on pregnant women, elders and persons with disability.

Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) should take note. I will not tolerate any act of indiscipline.

Learn a lesson from DPO Ijeshatedo, who shot dead a fashion designer. He is in our custody and we are compiling charges against him. He would soon be arraigned in court.

All DPOs in Ikorodu should use all resources within their disposals to fish out Badoo cult group that has been causing havoc in the community. I am giving you all 48 hours to decongest your cells. Nobody should be detained more than 48 hours. I will conduct checks on the cells.

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President Muhammadu Buharis health has improved significantly, although only his physicians can determine when he will return to Nigeria and to work, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

Oh yes; we thank God, a source in the Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom, told this newspaper when asked if the presidents health had improved substantially.

He is doing very good; he is ok but his doctors will determine (when he will return).

The official, who sees Mr. Buhari regularly, asked not to be named because he had no permission to discuss the presidents condition with journalists.

Mr. Buhari left the country for London on May 7 to continue with his medical treatment.

He had returned to Nigeria on March 10 after spending 51 days in the British capital during attending to his health.

Upon his return, the president said he couldnt recall being so sick since he was a young man, including in the military with its ups and downs.

He also said he could not recall ever having blood transfusion before.

The president also hinted that he would return to the UK for further treatment.

Im feeling much better now. There may, however, be need for further follow up within some weeks, Mr. Buhari had said while addressing the country.

However, as soon as he returned to the UK about two weeks ago, there were rumours that he had passed on.

An SMS announcing his death soon went viral. The text read, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been confirmed dead in London where he was receiving medical attention. The Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom told reporters plans are underway to transport the body of the late President to Abuja where final burial funeral rites will be heldVice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to be sworn in office as the substantive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Government is yet to issue an official statement on the Presidents demise. He was 74 years old.

Our source expressed sadness that some Nigerians could wish the president dead, saying (it is) sad that any human being will wish another dead.

He continued, Its sad but God is all seeing and will always suffice and to Him we submit all our affairs. They have failed and will continue to fail.

On the calls for Mr. Buharis resignation on the ground of poor health , the source said, Well thats their problem because it is God that gives power and takes it when He so wishes and not anybody else.

When asked if the presidents health was now better than he left home, our source who sees Mr. Buhari regularly retorted, Of course, yes.

He said the president is largely stable and is able to regularly and promptly observe his five-time daily prayers.

When told that those calling for Mr. Buharis resignation believed he was too sick to ever govern again, the source said, Thats the view of those arrogating Gods power to themselves and would surely regret it, Insha Allah.

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The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, meets in Vienna today to deliberate on its plan to extend output cut, an agreement reached in 2016. PREMIUM TIMES Oladeinde Olawoyin examines the issues.

As the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and other producers meet in Vienna Thursday (today), market participants expect that the cartel will agree to extend output cuts.

There have been indications in the past weeks that the cartel would extend its 2016 deal, ostensibly ending by the end of June 2017.

Oil producers are moving closer towards agreement on extending deal to limit output, as the cartel battles excess stockpiles and a resurgent U.S. shale industry that have weighed on prices.

Reports said the deal could be run for another three to six months beyond the end of June.

A preliminary agreement to extend the deal had been reached by most, but not all, producers, reports said.

2016 OUTPUT CUT DEAL

Earlier in December 2016, the oil producers group had agreed on an output cut deal that started on January 1, pledging to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017.

Nigeria, Libya and Iran were exempted from the deal, largely due to poor output occasioned by sabotage of oil facilities as well as initial sanctions on Iran by the U.S. and its allies.

The Nigerian oil-rich Niger Delta region had been rocked by agitations by militants who attacked oil installations, sabotaging efforts to raise output. The nation had since recorded increased output, following series of negotiations between government and community leaders in the restive region.

Analysts said consensus was building before OPECs Vienna meeting on Thursday, for extending cuts by nine months, not just six.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that an OPEC panel met last week to discuss the conditionalities, raisinghopes of a nine-month extension deal.

All options are open, Reuters quotes an OPEC source as saying during the meeting, adding that a deeper cut in output was an option depending on estimated growth in supply from non-OPEC producers, mainly U.S. shale oil firms, among other scenarios.

The oil producers also aim to facilitate a deeper cut in output, OPEC sources told Reuters last Friday.

Already, Saudi Arabia and Russia, a non-OPEC state  both worlds top two oil producers  have agreed on the need to prolong the current cuts until March 2018.

But Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih, had said that extended curbs would be on the same terms.

A meeting of the OPEC Economic Commission Board, which does not set policy, preceded Thursdays gathering of OPEC and non-OPEC oil ministers who are to decide whether to extend the oil output deal beyond June 30.

Oil prices have gained support from reduced output but high inventories and rising supply from producers not participating in the accord particularly U.S.  have limited the rally, pressing the case for extending the curbs.

CONCERNS OVER NEW DEAL

But as the cartel meets Thursday, analysts said the market needs more than an extension, raising concerns over compliance among member states and uncertainties in prices.

Despite a supply cut extension being factored-in by the market, oil prices have made only modest progress, says BNP Paribas, an international banking group with presence in 75 countries.

It may take more than an extension to rekindle bullish spirit, it added.

Perhaps more so than in the recent past, the oil market is data dependent, waiting on the tangible signs of declines in visible oil stocks and exports before buying into OPEC pledges.

In turn, OPEC will need to maintain strong compliance to prove effectual in reducing the global oil inventories, the bank was quoted as saying by Reuters.

It stated further that, Should production cuts be enforced by the rest of the OPEC members, it highlights the fact that oil production from OPEC, including Russia, which accounts for roughly 45 percent of global oil production, are in reverse gears.

With higher prices seen in May, it does suggest that the decision for a production cut extension to end-2017 has been priced-in.

Even if oil prices rally after the OPEC meeting (especially if the cartel announces deeper production cuts and/or extending its production period beyond 2017), the rally may be effectively capped around its $55-$60/bbl especially when U.S. oil production comes raging back.

According to Merril Lynch of the Bank of America, If OPEC cuts production even more, it will likely lose additional market share to U.S. shale and prices may not move up much more.

Conversely, if OPEC hikes output, oil prices could collapse to $35/bbl, setting the cartel on an even more difficult fiscal path.

In our view, most OPEC members cannot afford either scenario at this point  we believe that OPEC will stay the course, keeping production on hold over 6 to 9 months and hoping that demand improves.

On its part, Goldman Sachs opined that a nine-month extension would normalize inventories by early 2018.

But we see risks for a renewed surplus later next year if OPEC and Russias production rises to their expanding capacity and shale grows at an unbridled rate, it said.

NIGERIA NEEDS EXTENSION

Nigeria, Africas largest economy, relies on oil proceeds as its main revenue source.

The nations long-term reliance on oil has caused economic pain in recent years as internal problems meant the country was unable to match its historic production levels.

This proved to be a key factor in the West African country securing exemption from OPECs landmark 2016 deal to curb a global supply overhang.

The nation looks forward to an extension of the output cut by members of the oil producers group, Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of petroleum, had said in early May.

The indications that I have so far is that there is a willingness to extending that, Mr. Kachikwu said.

I expect we (Nigeria) will get OPEC exemption but one year from now will it be renewed? I am not too sure.

Over and above extending, we need to continue to engage; we need to find a way to stabilise international oil price, otherwise everybody will lose out, the minister added.

Similarly, Nigerias Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said, the deal gave the nation an opportunity to plan.

We very much are benefitting from the improved oil price, you know it went as low as $28 a barrel. So the region that it is in at the moment, it gives us the ability to plan, she said in an interview with CNBC.

What we didnt need was volatility, we need much more stability which the OPEC deal has given us, the minister said.

When asked how critical it would be for the oil producing cartel to extend an output reduction deal beyond June, the minister said the general consensus among oil producers was stability around the $60 a barrel mark would be a necessary milestone.

Im confident that all the players involved know that we need stability, Mrs. Adeosun noted.

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The South Pacific Tourism Organisation announced that visitor arrivals to the region grew by 3.7 per cent in 2016, when compared to the same period in 2015. In the region, SPTO member countries Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands and Vanuatu all received more tourists when compared to the same period the previous year.

The results are in line with global tourist arrival figures which grew by 3.9 per cent with the Asia Pacific region recording an increased growth of 8.4 per cent for the same period.

Fiji maintained its supremacy as the lead tourism destination in the region with 40 per cent market share, followed by French Polynesia at 9.5 per cent share, PNG at 8.8 per cent, Cook Islands and Samoa each with 7.2 per cent, and Palau at 6.8 per cent share. The remaining 20 per cent was shared among all the other destinations in the region.

Visitors from Australia and New Zealand continued to dominate the arrivals in the region, accounting for 52 per cent of the total visitor arrivals in 2016. Of this, Australia accounted for 31.2 per cent and New Zealand 20.6 per cent. New Zealand is noted as recording the fastest growth by 13. 6 per cent during the year. Leisure tourists dominated the region at 66.2 per cent of the market share.

Visitor arrivals by sea reached an estimated 1,059,152 in 2016 with cruise arrivals accounting for 99.8 per cent. This brings total visitor arrivals (both air and sea) to the region to 3,089,681 in 2016.

For 2017, tourist arrivals to the Pacific ACP and SPTO member countries is forecasted to grow by 4.5 per cent in 2017 based on a positive global outlook and continued growth in tourist arrivals from the regions traditional and emerging source markets.

For global tourism 2017 outlook, The UN World Tourism Organisation Tourism Barometer has projected international tourist arrivals worldwide to grow by 3-4 per cent in 2017. The Asia and the Pacific and the African Regions are projected to grow at 5-6 per cent.

Since the Pacific ACP and SPTO member countries are under the Asia and the Pacific Region, the forecasted growth is expected to have a positive impact on tourism traffic to the region.

On destinations, major drivers of the forecasted growth would come from Fiji, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Source: Pasifik news
Lekol Bakpoh, a health worker at Biara, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, has lived in constant apprehension about the state of his health and those of his family members for several years.

Things, however, took a turn for the worse in March when Bright, his 10-year-old son, woke up abruptly in the middle of the night with a frightening asthma attack.

That night, Bright struggled to fill his lungs with air as he started coughing. His beleaguered windpipe made sharp whistling sounds as he inhaled. The kid held on to his tiny chest in futile attempt to douse the pain that tore through it every time he tried to breathe, his father narrated.

Mr. Bakpoh said he administered some drugs that stabilised his sons breathing and reduced the coughing after about an hour of torture that seemed like eternity. But his apprehension soared after that dreadful experience.

That was four years before the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP, in a report designated his homeland one of the most polluted inhabited areas in the world

Sitting on a coffee table in his living room in April 2017, he told PREMIUM TIMES that he feared he might have to deal with a worse medical emergency sooner than later. He said he recently observed the water they fetched from a nearby borehole tastes bitter.

Water is supposed to be tasteless, right? he asked.

Before this reporter could respond, he told one of his daughters to fetch a cup of water from a container in another room and urged me to confirm for myself.

After reluctantly taking a sip, the water left a clear bitter after-taste in my mouth. The expression on my face must have told him all he needed to hear.

You see, that is the water we drink here. Only God knows what we are drinking, he said.

THE UNEP REPORT

After several years of bloody agitation against multinational oil companies, particularly Shell, over pollution of Ogoniland, the Nigerian government in 2011 invited UNEP to do an assessment of oil pollution in the area and surrounding towns.

The study found high concentration of hydrocarbon and benzene, two carcinogens, in high concentration in outdoor air and drinking water in Ogoniland.

Some contaminated wells in places like Ogale, Eleme Local Government Area, were found to be contaminated by Benzene at over 900 times above the World Health Organisation guideline. Water samples taken from at least seven wells near the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipelines in the town were found to contain Hydrocarbon at least 1000 times above the Nigerian drinking water standard of three micrograms per litre.

The UNEP team examined over 122 kilometres of pipeline, 220 locations and over 5,000 medical records. What it found was shocking. The report stated that in many of the locations, there was contamination of ground water that constituted serious threat to human health and the viability and productivity of the eco-system.

The report stated that the contamination of Ogoniland was so severe that the process of cleaning up the pollution will take up to 30 years. It recommended an initial capital injection of $1 billion to be paid by the Nigerian government and all oil companies to fund the clean-up.

In line with UNEP recommendations, the administration of immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan, established the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project, HYPREP.

With the establishment of this project, it is expected that all stakeholders, especially the impacted communities, will cooperate fully with government and grant unfettered access to all impacted sites to ensure complete success, the petroleum minister at the time, Diezani Alison-Madueke, said.

But after the announcement was made, the project soon fell off the radar as the administration showed no further interest in the report.

HERE COMES BUHARI

Things remained stagnant until August 2015 when the Muhammadu Buhari administration approved actions to fast-track the implementation of the report. Mr. Buhari also announced the donation of $10 million to a newly constituted Board of Trustees of HYPREP for the work on the clean-up to commence.

On June 2, 2016, in an event that rekindled hope across Ogoniland, Mr. Buhari, represented by his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, was at Bodo to flag-off the clean-up.

The methodology for the clean-up will ensure job creation for young people. The agro-allied industries required for processing of agricultural produce will also be put in place, the president said.

But 10 months after the flag-off, not a single drop of oil has been cleaned from Ogoniland.

Contaminated Area! Please Keep Off!

Ogoniland is a minefield of environmental disaster and a public health catastrophe. In Ogale, an aide to Godwin Okpabi, paramount ruler of the Eleme, showed PREMIUM TIMES four contaminated boreholes. In each of the boreholes, immediately the taps were turned on, an obnoxious smell similar to a mixture of used engine oil and bad cooking gas pervaded the air.

The nauseating smell was strongest in the water from a borehole at the residence of a community leader, Dadyson Ngawala. He said he spent over N4,000 weekly to buy the water that his household needs.

Erected beside these boreholes were signboards warning residents that the water was not Fit for Use. Yet in three of the four boreholes, residents still use the water for bathing and washing.

Even the air in Ogale is poisoned. As this reporter sat chatting within the courtyard of his resident, Mr. Okpabi pointed to the bench on which I sat and said: After some time if you draw a line with your finger on that bench, your finger will be covered in soot.

Similar warning signboards were erected besides wells and boreholes in Bomu, Bodo, K-Dere and Goi, all in Gokana Local Government Area. A signboard beside an old jetty in Bodo reads: Polluted Water! Do not Drink, Fish or Swim here.

A handful of youth chatting loudly and eating fried pastries were making brisk business carrying people on their backs from canoes across the muddy remains of what was once a mangrove onto the broad concrete slab of the jetty.

One of them urged me to take off my shoes, roll up my jeans and try my feet in the mud. I declined.

If you enter, oil go full your leg, he said in Pidgin English.

That was when I noticed their legs, gleaming like they all rubbed petroleum jelly to fight off the dryness of harmattan. Only that it wasnt petroleum jelly, and harmattan ended months ago. The sheen on their legs were acquired as they walked through the oil drenched mud to carry people onto the jetty.

The air around Bodo jetty was perhaps without doubt the most polluted in all the areas visited in Ogoni. After about 10 minutes of chatting and trying to befriend the youth, I noticed a burning sensation around my nostrils. The sensation soon spread to my throat and my eyes became painful and watery.

As I prepared to talk to the youth, a slightly fair-complexioned, stocky man in his late 30s arrived at the jetty. By the reverence the other youth paid him, he was probably one of their leaders. He was initially friendly and offered me a seat under a mango tree by the jetty. But after I introduced myself and my mission in the community, his countenance changed and his conviviality disappeared.

I want to talk to someone in authority, he said. Do you know who I am? Go and ask of me in Abuja.

I am sorry, but if they read this in Abuja and see my name, they wont believe I spoke to an ordinary journalist. I want to speak to someone in authority. Someone capable of doing, not a journalist that will use my name to write stories, he said, shaking his head as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the jetty.

After the encounter, other youth declined to talk.

Back in town, Emmanuel Adda-Kobani, a resident, said he rarely sleeps at his house in the town to avoid inhaling the poluted air.

Anytime I sleep in Bodo, if you wake up early morning and put a finger in your nose it will be stained by black soot. Some nights the pressure will come like a person that has Asthma. We are living by Gods grace, he said.

At K-Dere, I met a former President of the Movement of the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, Ledum Mitee, as he was driving to pay a condolence visit to his brother-in-law who lost his wife. He asked me to jump into his SUV and offered to take me on a tour of oil spill sites in the village.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E-0OJOwqFU&w=560&h=315]

One of the sites we visited was an abandoned oil well. More than two decades after oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, was forced to stop exploration of oil in the area, crude oil was still seeping from the surrounding ground and swamp. The oil company had dug pits around the area to collect the oil and stop it from flowing into surrounding farms and stream. But clearly, the companys effort was half-hearted and thus futile. The pits have become puddles brimming with crude oil.

Pointing to surrounding vegetation and creek, Mr. Mitee said: When it rains all these things (crude oil) are washed down to this place and go into the stream. This is a stream some people will drink its water. It flows from all those areas and then goes to Goi. From Goi to the river and that is where the fish comes from. This is one part of it. Like I said, you need a week to do the tour.

And this goes several feet down. All these places you see raffia palms that is how they got burnt. During the dry season, the oil goes up and it cakes. This place will be like it is cemented.

He said before the UNEP report shed light on the extent of the devastation of the area, Shell claimed to have cleaned up the area around the oil well.

What they called clean-up is cover up. If it (oil) flows here they will now hire people to carry sand to pour on it but after a while they cake up. You can perceive the smell. If you stay for a while you become light-headed.

The paramount ruler of Biara, Barisi Kpaama, also complained about Shells shoddy clean-up in his community. He accused the oil giant of digging up sand to cover oil spills.

While reiterating the companys commitment to the implementation of the UNEP report, a spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, Bamidele Odugbesan, said it has carried out remediation of 15 of its sites mentioned in the report.

Those sites have been remediated and certified by government regulators, he said in an email.

Contractors have been re-trained on clean-up and remediation techniques and SPDC has assigned specialist supervisors to a number of project sites to ensure effective oversight and compliance.

Mr. Odugbesan added that the remediation techniques it used were in line with industry best practices.

He also said that SPDC has also provided safe drinking water in some of the impacted communities.

He suggested that some of the spills in the area are due to oil theft and illegal refining of crude.

In addition to the above, SPDC, as operator of the SPDC JV, continues to implement several initiatives to prevent and minimise the impact of crude oil theft and illegal refining in Ogoniland and other parts of the Niger Delta where it operates.

Residents, however, disagree with the oil firm.

Mr. Kpaama, the traditional ruler, said the pollution in his community has resulted in dire environmental and health problems.

We have underground water pollution, we have air pollution, there are certain food or crops that have gone to extinction as a result of the pollution. There is a species of cocoyam that is not available to us again. There is low yield of our farm produce.

Health-wise, there are associated ailments of air pollution that are common in the whole of Ogoniland, especially in Biara. Skin diseases, eye problems are becoming so high and these are ailments associated to air-population, he said.

About two kilometres from K-Dere, lies Goi. Goi is one of the more painful cases of the tragedy of oil spills in Ogoniland. Despite not having an oil installation, the community is so polluted by oil that it is considered uninhabitable for humans. Its landscape is dotted by deserted farms and houses.

Outside a dilapidated farmhouse, which also used to be a bakery, stood an imposing signboard erected by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum.

The sign reads: Prohibition! Contaminated Area. Please Keep Off.

But just after the signboard, a group of children were bathing in the river. As I moved closer to them, I saw thick films of oil pushed to the edge of the water by the ripples created as they swam.

A fisherman was disembarking from his canoe with his catch for the day  small tilapias barely bigger than fingerlings  in a plastic bag.

Look how tiny the fishes are. This is the effect of the pollution. There are no big fishes around and fishermen have to travel further down the river to make a catch. I bet you if you open up these fish you will see oil in them. That is what my people are eating because they have no choice, said Eric Dooh, the owner of a cluster of fish ponds surrounding the river.

In 2012, Mr. Dooh, alongside three other villagers from Goi, dragged Shell to a court in The Hague. They accused the oil major of polluting their farms and waterways in the community.

Shell said the spill was caused by sabotage. The case is still in court.

This is my community,Mr. Dooh told PREMIUM TIMES. I was asked to pull out of this community unless I want to die. They didnt tell me where to go or what will be given to me. No relief materials. I pulled out of this place; all my investments have been polluted. Look at my fish ponds, they are no longer functional.

He explained that the pollution in Goi is particularly ominous due to the topography of the village.

There is no oil installation in Goi but the trans-Niger pipeline that carry crude from the upland to the export terminal at Bonny passes through part of Goi land to Bonny. If you look behind you, this creek goes to Bodo West (oil field), in the east is the Bomu oil field and the height of this side (points toward Bomu) is higher than this area where we are.

The moment there is pollution in Bomu oil field it flows downward into the stream that links Goi and carries the crude into our source of drinking water and into our swarms. When there is pollution in Bodo West, the high tide carries the crude into Goi. Goi is like a basin where all the debris from Bomu Oil field and Bodo West settle, he said.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-uSgbG_7QI&w=560&h=315]

GOVERNMENT DECEIVED US

The overflow of hope expressed across Ogoniland after the flag-off has since disappeared. When I visited the region in April, the prevailing emotions in the region were disappointment and anger.

I witnessed the flag-off. I was there at the launch and since then till today nothing practical, no step taken has been made known to the Ogoni people publicly.

I am saying nothing has been done. We are seeing the flag-off as a deception by the presidency, Mr. Kpaama said.

He warned that tension was simmering underneath in the community and would soon explode if the government does not hasten up with the clean-up.

We are sitting on a keg of gun-powder, he warned.

We are living by the mercy of God and ignorance is killing us. If not we would have demonstrated to the federal government to tell them that you are liars.

People are still drinking the same water. Ordinarily, by the extent of the pollution done to Ogoniland and by the UNEP report, even our crops are contaminated. So, it is an indirect way to send Ogoni to extinction.

Mr. Mitee said the flag-off was merely a hype staged by the administration to score some cheap political points.

You have been here, you have seen for yourself. There was so much hype and it has a fantastic public relations benefit to the government. When I go to certain places people ask me saying congratulations! they have started cleaning your place. You have seen the place, is there anything about Clean-up going on?, he asked rhetorically.

Apart from recommending a clean-up of the polluted Ogoni environment, UNEP recommended some measures to be undertaken urgently prior to the clean-up. These include the provision of alternative drinking water for those whose sources of drinking water have been contaminated by hydrocarbon.

The UNEP report also recommended that everyone who has consumed water from contaminated sources should be requested to undertake a comprehensive medical examination by physicians knowledgeable about the possible adverse health effects of the hydrocarbons detected.

But there was no sign of any of these measures being put in place, except for the erection of signboards warning people to stay off contaminated areas and boreholes.

Despite these signs, in the absence of an alternative, people still fetch water from the boreholes. Kids were seen swimming in contaminated rivers with thick film of oil.

At Kpea, a small oil-producing town outside Bori, in Khana Local Government Area, a huge water plant residents said was built by oil companies about 10 years ago stood imposingly useless in the centre of town.

Ken Nnaa, the legal adviser of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People, who took me on a tour of the town said the only time water flowed from the four rusting taps was on the day the water plant was inaugurated.

A hospital also said to have been built by oil companies was in near ruins. Most of its ceiling have caved in. Bushes have encroached unto its red brick walls and the large space in front of the building has been converted into a farmland.

Mr. Nnaa said the hospital has not treated a patient since it was built.

When they talk about emergency measures, these are the facilities that they should have renovated to provide water for our people and to carry out the medical tests and treatment recommended in the UNEP report, he said.

Most of the health centres in Ogoniland look old, empty and in various states of disrepair. However, the River State government operated hospital in Bodo has recently been renovated. The white paint on the walls of the building looks fresh and its premises seems well-kept. Residents were full of praises for Nyesom Wike, the state governor for renovating the facility.

Mr. Mitee said government should act with the urgency stipulated in the UNEP report and start implementing some of the emergency measures.

If you look at the UNEP report, there are certain measures they said are fundamental; urgent. One of which is that you need to find alternative drinking water for people who are drinking the water that is almost life-threatening. You need to decommission some of those of the oil installations because they were not properly decommissioned when they left, Mr. Mitee said.

You also have people whose livelihood have been distorted. You need to do something about it. To turn the faces of the youth from the illegal refinery as they call it, something sustainable. None of these have been done. People are still drinking the water that is 1000 times contaminated, Mr. Mitee said.

Charles Tenalo, the paramount ruler of nearby Bomu, another village in Gokana, whose mangrove forests have been devastated by oil spill, expressed regrets at the inaction of government. He said as the government drags its feet, the health of members of the community continue to deteriorate, causing deaths.

I am very surprised and I am not feeling fine at all because the more we live in the spill, drinking the polluted water, breathing the polluted air, without any clean-up, when all these things are piled in our system, it was responsible for some of the death we are having. We may not know. I feel bad that it has not been done. We were expecting that by now the clean-up would have started, he said.

Residents said since after the flag-off, they have been kept in the dark as to when the clean-up was to begin or when they will start seeing the emergency measures in their communities.

The government has not said anything to the community after the flag-off; None, said Mr. Tenalo.

They have set up HYPREP but I dont even know them. We have not felt their impact. We have not seen HYPREP. Telling us they are HYPREP or telling us their functions. They are supposed to notify and invite us the chiefs from the core areas where the spill was serious.

Nothing has been done. They have not called us for any meeting saying this is what we are going to do, he added.

Mr. Kpaama reiterated the views of his colleague from neighbouring Bomu. He said members of his community had been left in the dark as when the emergency measures and clean-up would start.

The only meeting I attended in the Palace of the King of Ogoni is the day before the launch. So, I am saying that the entire process is a junk process, he said.

JUST POLITICS

After waiting over 10 months for the Buhari administration to commence the clean-up it announced with fanfare, Ogoni people now say the flag-off was a political charade the government used for public relations.

Several residents PREMIUM TIMES spoke to accused some politicians of the ruling All Progressives Congress of treating the proposed clean-up like a trophy and excluding key grassroots individuals from the process.

The danger is the politicisation of what is going on, Mr. Mitee said. They now project the thing to the local people and if you ask any local person here, they will tell you we are going to get jobs, they will give us money, there will be contracts so they have projected the thing to local people as something different from what I think the whole idea of clean-up is.

Mr. Adda-Kobani argued that if the government was sincere about the clean-up and not out to score political points with the plight of the Ogoni people, work should have preceded the official flag-off.

Another resident, Christian Kpandei, standing a few feet from the commemorative stone of the flag-off in Bodo, was visibly angry, saying the governments promise to clean-up Ogoniland was a mere charade.

The federal government was fooling people of Bodo by telling us they are going to do clean-up and after 10 months nothing has happened. You can see the creeks, you cannot see any clean-up? Only what we hear is clean-up is happening in Bodo. Where is the clean-up? They are just fooling the people of Bodo, he said.

THE DELAY

Two months after the government did next to nothing about the clean-up it had flagged-off with much publicity, President Buhari eventually named a Board of Trustees (BoT) and governing council for HYPREP.

The BoT is chaired by a former Lagos State Commissioner of Finance, Wale Edun, and the governing council is chaired by a former minister of environment and now UN deputy secretary general, Amina Mohammed.

After this announcement, things went to almost complete halt for another four months until December when Marvin Dekhil was appointed the co-ordinator of HYPREP.

In February, Mrs. Mohammed held a ground-breaking ceremony for the launch of an Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre in Bori, Khana Local Government Area. The centre, one of the recommendations of the UNEP report, will employ hundreds of people and is expected to be the hub of the soil treatment efforts, she said.

A visit to the site of the centre in April showed that elephant grass, the height of a commemorative stone erected after the ground-breaking ceremony, was growing on the land. No single brick has been erected on the land since then.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Environment, Roselyn Konya, who is also a member of the governing council of HYPREP, could not hide her frustration at the near stagnation of activities related to the clean-up on a visit to her office in Port Harcourt.

What we discovered is that when there is step forward everything stops and then we wait, she said.

The clean-up itself has not started. Preliminaries, that was what we thought should be completed by now but it is not so. It is rather too slow. The way they came in banging on June 2, 2016 I thought by now we would have gone very far. But it is not so, she continued.

Ms. Konya said the Rivers State government had supported the clean-up effort. For instance, she said, the state government provided the land for the proposed construction of the Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre.

Five years after HYPREP was established, the agency does not have an office of its own. Before travelling to Ogoniland in April, in a brief chat with Mr. Dekhil over the phone, the HYREP coordinator said he could not say much about the clean-up as he had just resumed and was still trying to set up office in Port Harcourt.

A few days later, Mr. Dekhil told me during another telephone chat that he has drawn up a work plan for the clean-up. He said he was about to present the work plan to the governing council in a meeting tentatively scheduled for May.

On May 16, 2017, the BOT eventually met in Port Harcourt. When asked about the decisions reached at the meeting, Mr. Dekhil promised he would have a telephone chat with this reporter the next day. However, he did not respond to subsequent phone calls and an sms reminding him of his promise.

While speaking on the work plan before the BOT meeting, Mr. Dekhil admitted the clean-up had not started, saying the pollution in Ogoniland required a lot of planning and the process should not be rushed.

The work plan is an indication, it is a document that expresses the work we want to do going forward against what you are assuming that we have started. That is why you are going to the community to ask what we have started.

No. we are in the process of getting started. I only got handed over the office couple of weeks back. First thing we have to do is to set up a functional office. A lot of thing are going to depend on us getting a functional office. We will then implement what is in the work plan. If you go to the community I dont think they are going to tell you much, he said.

He said in the months after the flag-off, the government did not just fold its arms doing nothing. He explained that a lot of work like setting up the organs to manage the clean-up was put in place. He argued that it was not correct to say nothing had been done in 10 months when he only resumed office less than a month ago.

We are going to be realistic about our expectations. When you begin to talk about 10 months, 10 months is not the fact. Like I said, we only got to office three weeks ago.

When asked if this reporter could peruse a copy of his work plan, Mr. Dekhil declined. He said the document was still a work-in-progress and not a public document yet as HYPREPs governing council had not approved it.

He also said that soil testing that should precede the clean-up proper is ongoing.

Though PREMIUM TIMES did not see anyone testing the soil in all of the places visited during a visit to Ogoni, some days after this reporter left the area, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Esther Agbarakwe, posted some pictures of people purportedly testing the soil in Ogoniland on her Twitter handle.

While admitting that the process could have moved faster, Mr. Okpabi, who is also a member of the governing council, said government should be praised for implementing the report after it was neglected by the last administration for five years.

I will give it to this government, I believe that they have done well. Taking into consideration that this report we are referring to has been on the table of the federal government since 2011 and near to nothing was done.

Yes, it is slow but positive things are being arranged here, he said.

When asked when he thinks the clean-up will start, Mr. Okpabi said soon.

When pressed for a more exact date, he said as a member of the governing council, his mandate was to provide the plan of HYPREP but he was not involved in the day-to-day management of the agency and that only the co-ordinator could give me the date I sought.

Celestine Akpobari, the national coordinator, Ogoni Solidarity Forum and a member of the presidential team that organised the flag-off, said a team is already on ground assessing the various water plants in Ogoniland with a view to providing clean sources of water. He said before the end of May, some of the emergency measures would be provided.

While reiterating the Nigerian governments commitment to cleaning up Ogoniland, Ibrahim Jibrin, Minister of State for Environment, told PREMIUM TIMES during a telephone chat that the government was taking its time to get everything right and would not be stampeded into doing a shoddy job.

He said a team was already on ground in Ogoniland doing trial tests of the remediation exercise and wondered why people are saying nothing has been done.

Whoever said there is a delay does not understand the technical nature of the operation in the first place.

The Federal government took up the challenge during Obasanjo and got UNEP to do a study which they did and submitted their report in 2011. And in 2012, the federal government then set up HYPREP. Nobody seems to be asking questions of what really happened between 2012 and 2015 when we took over. All this period nothing happened. But nobody is talking about that failure, Mr. Jibrin said.

We in the Federal Ministry of Environment are not in a hurry to fail and the very easy way to fail is not to prepare very well. The only thing we made clear that this is not a project of sharing money to individuals. And I am sure there are those who are interested in that and are not happy because we are not playing that game.

People want us to work for them, they should exercise patience and wait for us to put the proper machinery in place. Once we start, there will be no looking back, he added.

But the ministers call for patience clearly did not resonate with UNEP.

This is one of the biggest environmental catastrophes anywhere in the world, and its essential that we see rapid progress on getting this clean-up underway, the Executive Director of UN Environment, Erik Solheim, said in an email response to questions about the delay in the clean-up exercise.

Similarly, Mr. Mitee said the government did not need the elaborate planning to provide some of the emergency measures. He said this was a life and death matter.

Okay, if you are not talking to us, why cant you provide water? They say this water we are drinking is bad for our health. We cannot swim, we should not even fish, then where are we going to fish? And these are urgent things to be done and years after it is not being done. What you are doing is to put hot water in a container and continue boiling it because after a while, it will burst.

They are setting the stage for serious conflict in this area. I have been involved in the Ogoni thing and I can smell what can cause trouble long ahead. And thats why Im speaking about it now because I see the potential of conflict, especially as we are marching towards another election, he said.

This article is a product of a partnership between PREMIUM TIMES and #Buharimeter to fact-check the announced clean-up of Ogoniland.

#Buharimeter is an initiative of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and the Department for International Department (DFID).

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The Nigerian Senate has passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, the long-awaited legislation that promises broad reforms to the nations oil and gas industry.

The report on the bill, produced by the Senate joint committee on gas, petroleum (downstream) and petroleum (upstream), was presented on Thursday by Donald Alasoadura, APC-Ondo.

After a clause-by-clause consideration, with few amendments, the Senate approved the bill, moving a step closer to making its ambitious contents law.

Amongst other objectives, the petroleum bill seeks to introduce reforms that would engender transparency, while at the same time making the oil and gas sector more business-oriented and profit-drive.

If eventually passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the president, the bill will restructure some organisations like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Department of Petroleum Resources, while setting up new ones like the National Oil Company and the National Petroleum Assets Management Commission, NPAMC.

The NOC, as proposed in the bill, will be an integrated oil and gas company operating as a fully commercial entity and will run like a private company, while the NPAMC will be a single petroleum regulatory commission which will focus mainly on regulating the industry.

The commission will also have responsibility for health and safety regulations in the industry, while collaborating with the Ministry of Environment on environmental issues.

The ministry, currently overseeing the Ogoni cleanup programme, will be represented on the board of the commission

The bill, which has spent years in the National Assembly, is to be sent to the House for concurrence before seeking presidential assent.

I congratulate the 8th Senate with the passage of this landmark bill which has not been passed for many years, the senate president Bukola Saraki, said Thursday.

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The World Bank said on Thursday that nations are failing to invest enough money to prevent the potential global spread of disease that could kill millions of people and cripple economies.

The bank in a report on Thursday said, faced with a pandemic, an unprepared planet could lose billions to trillions of dollars, a significant chunk of the global gross domestic product.

Yet, containing pandemics, diseases that spread globally, compared with epidemics that are localised, would cost about one dollar per person per year in investment, the bank said.

Given the scale of risk to human lives and livelihoods, the investment case for financing preparedness is compelling, said Peter Sands, chairman of the banks Working Group on Financing Preparedness which wrote the report.

We must make it happen, he said.

The bank said recent pandemics include the Zika virus, an infectious disease linked to severe birth defects in babies, and the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

The devastating effects of a pandemic were illustrated as well during the Ebola outbreak that swept West Africa and killed more than 11,000 people between 2013 and 2016.

To determine that most of the world falls short in terms of pandemic preparedness the World Bank assessed countries on a stress test of measures in place.

The Washington-based organisation said of 37 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America put through the test, most were graded with a red or yellow light, meaning progress remains to be made.

With disease outbreaks becoming increasingly frequent, the Bank called on its 189-member countries to step up investments in disease surveillance systems, laboratories and emergency operations centres.

We have to ensure we are prepared, so the next outbreak does not become the next pandemic, said Jim Yong Kim, who is the Banks president, in a statement.

Ebola resurfaced earlier this month in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the eight time, killing four people according to the World Health Organisation.

(Reuters/NAN)

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The founder of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, on Thursday took a swipe at some Nigerian social media influencers on Twitter.

He said they cannot be regarded as progressives committed to the positive transformation of society

Mr. Sowore, spoke at the launch of Civic Media Lab, held in Ikeja, Lagos.

The civic lab is a collaborative effort by Sahara Reporters and Budgit, a civic technology platform.

Mr. Sowore, speaking on his motivation, said he was disappointed in the way Nigerian youth demography was paralysed by the system, rather than leverage on the platform of citizen advocacy.

The Sahara Reporters publisher also described agitation on twitter as mere noise that cannot take Nigeria to the promise land.

Forget about the noise on twitter, it has no depth; it is very shallow, Mr. Sowore said.

I dont think Twitter can take us to promise land, he added.

Similarly, Mr. Sowore took a swipe on folks referred to as social media influencers on Nigerian cyber space, adding that they do not think progressively about how a nation should be built.

Earlier, Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, had launched the centre, describing the effort as commendable.

The event is still ongoing at the time of this report.

Details later.

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Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has announced that the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Saturday, state media said on Thursday.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (Sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Prophet Mohammed according to Islamic belief.

This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

According to numerous biographical accounts compiled in the hadiths, Ramadan lasts 29 to 30 days based on the visual sightings of the crescent moon.

The beginning and end of Islamic months are determined by the sighting of the new moon.

Lebanons top Islamic authority, the mufti, said Ramadan would also begin in the country on Saturday.

A similar statement was made by officials in Iraqs Muslim Sunni minority.

The President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Sultan Saad Abubakar, has asked Muslims in Nigeria to look out for the new moon from Friday, May 26.

During Ramadan, Muslims have to abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to sunset.

Devout Muslims also mark the month by intense worship, performing special nightly prayers and reading Islams holy book, the Koran.

Fasting is one of Islams five pillars, alongside declaration of monotheism, prayer five times a day, alms-giving, and the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

(dpa/NAN)

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The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board on Thursday vowed not to release results of candidates identified in footages of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) to have indulged in unwholesome practices during the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, who spoke as guest on a Channels Television current affairs programme, Sunrise Daily, said his agency had been busy in the past days reviewing recorded footages of the examination across the country, and that a number of candidates had been marked out for sanction.

Mr. Oloyede, a professor of Islamic Studies, was responding to a question by one of the anchors of the programme on why some candidates were yet to receive their results despite promises by JAMB to release outcomes within 24 hours.

The registrar said, Those who have not received (their results) are qualified not to receive for now. In all cases where there were no problems, we released results of the examination within 24 hours.

But those who have not (received their results), they may not be culpable but we are investigating. Where we have reason to doubt anything or where we have report of anything that is not acceptable to us, we have withheld the results.

And we will keep on releasing them as we clear them. For instance, this morning, we released another 15,000 results. But among those who sat in that centre, we have reasons, concrete evidence to say about 300 of them, their results will not be released because we know they were not in the hall where the examination took place.

We are comparing those who sat for the examination, how long they sat in the hall, and how some of them took excuses that they were going to the toilet only to go to what they called VIP

All this we are now able to track. And we want to say that we will not hesitate to sanction anybody no matter how highly placed.

Mr. Oloyede said the CCTV cameras deployed at every Computer Based Test (CBT) centres across the country helped JAMB to detect and arrest unwholesome practices.

He said some centre operators however tried to sabotage his agencys plan to make the examination fraud-free, citing the example of a centre in Kubwa, Abuja, where operators blinded the cameras with sacks to frustrate remote detection of malpractices that happened there.

The JAMB registrar appealed to credible organisations and individuals to come forward to partner JAMB in the establishment of reputable CBT centres across the country.

Crooks are now establishing CBT centres, and meeting our requirements only to misuse the opportunities, he said.

JAMB had on May 16 released the first batch results of the UTME conducted between May 13 and May 20. The Board continued to release the results in batches ever since.

About 1.7 million candidates registered for the 2017 UTME and sat for the examination in 642 centres across the country.

About 1.2 million candidates registered for the examination in 2016.

Watch Video below:

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Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Thursday ordered the release of the chairman of Capital Oil and Gas limited, Ifeanyi Ubah, held by the State Security Services for alleged economic sabotage.

The court directed the SSS and its director general, Lawal Daura, to release Mr. Ubah from detention if no criminal action is instituted against him within 48 hours of his judgement.

An order is hereby made, directing the 4th and 5th respondent being, the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Department of State Security Service (DSS) to within 48 hours of the judgement of the court in this action, initiate or institute a criminal action against the 1st applicant before a court of competent jurisdiction if he has committed any crime against the state, said the judge.

An order is hereby made, directing the, the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Department of State Security Service (DSS) to release the 1st applicant from detention unconditionally if no criminal action is instituted against him within 48 hours of this judgement, said Mr. Idris.

The judge also directed the Attorney General of the Federation to ensure strict and due compliance of the judgement.

The secret police had arrested Mr. Ubah over allegations of economic sabotage and diversion of petroleum products to the tune of N11 billion.

The petroleum products were stored by NNPC Retail in Capital Oils tank farm in Lagos under a throughput agreement but went missing under controversial circumstances.

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The police in Bauchi have confirmed that eight people sustained injuries after planned election of new executives of a students union went violent.

Students at the College of Education, Kangere, were set to elect their leaders before ethno-religious arguments caused the postponement.

Following the postponement, hoodlums and misguided elements in their hundreds from the school and neighbouring community went on rampage and blocked Bauchi-Gombe federal highway harassing innocent citizens, the Bauchi police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed, said.

About 32 suspects involved in the violence have been arrested.

Read Mr. Mohammeds full statement below:

On the 24/5/2017 at about 2 p.m., elections of new executives in to the Students Union Government (SUG) at the College of Education Kangere went awry due to ethno/religious dimension it took which resulted in the postponement of the Exercise in order to avert breakdown of law and order in the School.

Following the postponement, hoodlums and misguided elements in their hundreds from the school and neighbouring community went on rampage and blocked Bauchi- Gombe federal highway harassing innocent citizens.

However, before the arrival of the police to the scene the military had already dispersed the rioters and arrested Thirty two (32) suspects.

Police Patrol Teams have been deployed to the area, normalcy was restored in the school and the road blockage opened to enable free flow of traffic.

Meanwhile, eight persons who sustained various degrees of injuries were rushed to Specialist Hospital Bauchi for treatment and suspects arrested were handed over to the police for discreet investigation after which they would be charged to court for prosecution.

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It was day of overwhelming emotion at the university of Maiduguri campus when students woke up to behold the horror of a new baby dumped in a toilet in one of the female hostels, witnesses said.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt from witnesses, mostly students in Murtala Hall hostel, that they were attracted on Wednesday to the toilet by the piercing cry of the baby.

When they got to the toilet, the baby was found head down in the hole of the squat toilet.

The person that dropped the baby may have wanted to force the baby into the pit because the head of the baby was already blocking the pit, said one of the students who did not want to be named.

If not for the body of the baby, it would have sunk down into the toilet. It was the height of wickedness that I have never seen until now, added the source.

The witness said female students around quickly called the attention of the hostel matron and security operatives to the scene.

When the matron came she picked the baby and there were some injury on the face of the baby as well his nose. It was a baby boy.

No one could be identified immediately as the mother of the baby.

Baby-dumping is not new to the campus, as some few years back a baby was found abandoned in a refuge dump by an unknown mother.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the university, Ahmed Muhammed, told PREMIUM TIMES he would revert.

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About 270 Nigerian refugees who are on forced return from Cameroon, are to be received by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Yola, officials said.

Since the Cameroonian governments backtracking on a tripartite agreement signed early this year which sought to facilitate voluntary return of Nigerian refugees when conditions were conducive, thousands of refugees have left the central African country and arrived parts of Borno State in the past few weeks.

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) had in February midwifed the tripartite accord between Nigeria and Cameroon.

The UNHCR had however in March this year expressed concerns that the forced return of refugees from Cameroon have continued unabated despite the existence of an accord that allows the facilitation of voluntary return of Nigerian refugees when conditions were conducive.

The Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, had last week lamented that the Cameroonian authority has not been honourable in keeping the agreement signed with Nigeria and UNHCR on our people in their country.

NEMA Zonal operational office in Yola said it had already put all the necessary logistics in place to ensure a hitch-free reception of the returnee 270 refugees.

The Public Relations Officer of NEMA, Hafeez Mohammed Bello, said the returnees from the Republic of Cameroon will cross into Nigeria through Sahuda Border, he said, adding that the returnees will be received at Burn Bricks Transit Camp in Mubi south Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

He said those largely being returned include elderly persons, women and children who are adequately screened for security and health reasons.

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With Memorial Day just around the corner, summer is officially here! Acapulco, in the Mexican Pacific coast, is preparing to welcome American travelers in search of sun, sand, and lively nightlife. You can visit the local hotspots and follow in the footsteps of Classic Hollywood Royalty Elizabeth Taylor to todays Pop Stars Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez and many others.

Few places in the world can rival Acapulco, the heart of the Mexican Riviera, when it comes to being celebrity hot spots for fun in the sun, from movie stars of Hollywoods Golden Era to todays favorite pop stars. Heres a guide to a few of Acapulcos star-studded hotspots with celebrity tales to tell, from restaurants and clubs, to beaches and hotels across the Pacific resort.

Acapulco has a particular history with celebrities, since the gilded age of Hollywood to recent years with Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber and many others, says Pedro Haces, president of the Acapulco Destination Marketing Office. Our resort gives a whole new meaning to the phrase stargazing.

Where to Stay

Nestled high on a hillside with a spectacular view of Acapulco Bay and with a stunning beachside pool, it is easy to see why the dreamy pink and white Las Brisas Hotel is a celebrity favorite. John and Jackie Kennedy chose Las Brisas for their Acapulco honeymoon, bringing a sense of Camelot to the beach, with Bill and Hillary Clinton honeymooning here a few decades later. It has also been the choice of Denzel Washington, John Travolta and the father and son duo of Julio and Enrique Iglesias, among many others. Many of these stars have left a souvenir of themselves behind in the form of hand prints set in pink concrete which adorn the lobby. The tradition has been observed by Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Carson, Sophia Loren, Clint Eastwood, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Kevin Costner.

Today, Acapulco is awash in upscale accommodations where you can vacation like a star, such as the legendary Princess Mundo Imperial and Pierre Marques Mundo Imperial. Resort Mundo Imperial hosts celebrities all year round, some of them performing at the Forum Mundo Imperial.

South of the iconic Bay of Acapulco, and featuring Asia-inspired luxury pool-villas, top-notch restaurants, pools and a state of the art spa, the Banyan Tree Cabo Marques is one of the newer hotels that has proven popular with celebrities, attracting the likes of Justin Bieber, Ryan Reynolds, Scarlet Johansson, and even Prince Charles.

Another favorite among stars is Hotel Encanto, a stylish adults-only property in Las Brisas neighborhood. Its minimalist architecture and bold, neon lighting attracts a hip crowd that enjoys trendy rooms, impeccable service and secluded surroundings. Hotel Encantos cool vibe was also the backdrop to some of the scenes in Jennifer Lopezs video for her song Follow the Leader, a collaboration with Wisin & Yandel.

Where to Play

Acapulcos attractions and scenery have also long been among Hollywoods darlings. No film embodies the US movie industrys love affair with Acapulco as much as Elvis Presleys 1963 Fun in Acapulco. Elvis played lifeguard and diver Mike Windgren who triumphs over a rival at the famous 136-foot diving cliff La Quebrada, a few miles from the center of town and a must see for any visitor. Sexy bombshell Lana Turner starred on the same beach in the 1965 mystery Love Has Many Faces.

The dives continue today, with professionals and amateurs alike catapulting themselves over the cliff day and night, a live spectacle in full view of the adjacent Mirador Hotel.

Farther from town, beachgoers seeking seclusion head to Revolcadero Beach, in front of the Princess Hotel. Nearby Playa Diamante, close to the airport, offers even more privacy. From the center of town to the most secluded stretches, many of these beaches were featured as the glamorous backdrops to JLopezs video Follow the Leader.

Some areas offer adventure and tranquility, like Laguna de Tres Palos, just to the southeast of the city. One of Guerrero States best birdwatching areas, heron and other birds frolic among the lily pads and blossoming tropical flowers edges. This enormous lagoon along with other Acapulco sites was where the 1966 Tarzan and the Valley of Gold movie starring Mike Henry movie was filmed.

Coyuca, a beautiful fresh water lagoon north of Acapulco, was the backdrop to the early Tarzan movies  including Johnny Weissmullers 1932 blockbuster -, Rambo II with Sylvester Stallone and The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

If you are looking for excitement, you can dance with the stars at BabyO - for nearly four decades one of the worlds most mythical clubs, a favorite of stars like Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Naomi Campbell and Bono. The enormous Palladium has a young, fun crowd, and some of the most famous DJs in the world, such as Tiesto, Avicii, Steve Aoki and Paul Van Dyk, have entertained late into the night in this club. A fantastic lighting system, Aztec dancers adorned in plumed finery and pyrotechnics ensure a night to remember. The Hannah Sun Club, meanwhile, is where the younger crowd flocks to enjoy good music and a spectacular view over the bay.

Another favorite among thrill seekers is XTASEA, the worlds largest over water zip-line. An experience combining adrenaline, adventure and fun, XTASEA crosses the Bay of Puerto Marques and spans over a mile long reaching 75 mph at an altitude of 328 feet.

Where to Dine

Celebrities tend to enjoy fine gastronomy, and in Acapulco, one of their favorites is Becco al Mare, where they can savor exquisitely prepared dishes and marvel at the view. Tara Reid, Luis Miguel and many others have been spotted here.

Other classic options include Zibu, overlooking the beautiful Bay of Puerto Marques, the award-winning Bellavista at Las Brisas Hotel, Tabachin at Pierre Mundo Imperial, Mizimu at Resort Imperial and Saffron at Banyan Tree Cabo Marques.

La Perla, El Mirador Hotels restaurant overlooking Acapulcos legendary cliffs at La Quebrada, is also a favorite among celebrities. Inside, a wood paneled wall of autographs in white paint commemorates the visits of many from Acapulcos heyday like Bob Hope, Ann Miller and Roy Rogers, to more recent outings by Luis Miguel.
Edo Government on Thursday commenced the demolition of buildings with unapproved plans with the demolition of a shopping complex in Benin worth about N800 million.

According to the government, the complex housing 218 lock-up shops was constructed in contravention of the approval plans issued by the government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalled that Gov. Godwin Obaseki, recently warned that as part of its urban renewal plan, illegal structures and buildings with unapproved government plan would be demolished.

In line with plan, the government relocated all motor parks from the city centre (Ring Road) a forthnight ago.

The government also commenced removal of illegal structures within the precinct of the city centre.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the shopping complex, owned by Osamede Adun, a chieftain of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress is located on Mission road.

Mr. Adun is a popular transporter and politician who was Special Adviser on Protection of Government Property to former Governor Lucky Igbinedion.

Mr. Adun described the action of the governor as executive rascality and victimization.

He alleged that he had all the necessary documents from the government that granted approval for the construction of the shopping mall.

I do not want to engage the government in any fight; I have government approval for the building.

I wonder why the same government will now turn around to demolish the building it granted approval.

I spent over N800 million on the building; all I want is for the right thing to be done, he added.

When contacted, the chief press secretary to the governor, John Mayaki, expressed the commitment of the government to enforce physical and town planning laws in the state.

He said: on the building demolished along mission road which had about 150 shops, the structure for which the owner sought the government approval was at variance with what was erected.

In other words, the structure which was built was in contravention of what was approved.

Before the demolition, notices were served, which have since expired.

As you may be aware, nobody is above the law, neither is anyones interest bigger than that of the public.

No parking space was provided for owners of would be shops at the property; there was no parking space for those who would go there to shop.

(NAN)

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The Nigerian Police on Thursday applauded Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for his commitment to the peace and security of his state.

The police equally scored Enugu state high on initiation of innovative programmes aimed at complementing the efforts of security agencies in combating crimes and securing the lives and property of the citizenry.

The States Commissioner of Police, Dan Mallam Mohammed, made the comments in Enugu during the launch of Neighborhood Endowment Fund and presentation of security equipment procured by the state government to registered Neighborhood Watch groups.

The event was also graced by the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, who was represented by the Garrison Commander, Brig. Gen. L. A. Adegboye; the State Director of State Security Services (SSS), represented by the Deputy Director, S. Alao; the Commander, Nigerian Air Force Base, represented by Squadron Leader, H. E Godos; the Commander, NDLEA, Enugu, Anthony Nkem Ohanyere; the Controller of Prisons, Enugu State Command, Kalu Ukwurie, among other personalities.

The police commissioner said the Neighborhood Watch groups will assist the security agencies in their community policing efforts to ensure the protection of lives and property.

He promised that the police will partner the vigilante groups and the state government to actualize their set objectives.

He advised members of the Neighborhood Watch to be law abiding and submit themselves to the various security agencies at various local governments in order to collaborate with them to win the fight against crime and other security challenges.

Your Excellency, I commend you for these giant strides aimed at maintaining peace and security. As you all know, security of lives and property is the first and most important dividend of democracy.

We are going to give you maximum cooperation to ensure that Enugu remains safe and we are all here to ensure that this administration succeeds.

We should know that indeed Enugu State is in the hands of God, the Police commissioner said.

Also at the event, the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), speaking through its secretary, Joseph Ajujungwa, commended Governor Ugwuanyi for his good works in the state, describing him as a church-friendly governor and a blessing to the church in particular and humanity in general.

You are church-friendly and we cannot thank you enough. There was a time when we used to sleep in church after night vigils because of crime rates.

But today we can sleep with our two eyes closed and during the night vigil nobody can invade us anymore and we hold our night vigils freely and return home safely. The church is thankful to God because of a man like you, the CAN secretary said.

In his address, Governor Ugwuanyi reaffirmed his administrations commitment to the enthronement of peace, safety and security in the state as its cardinal policy objective, adding that the government has continued to make profound investments to maintain strategic partnerships with security agencies and other relevant stakeholders in order to ensure the realization of its goals.

The governor charged all communities in the state to accord the security initiative the seriousness it deserves, urging them to make necessary commitments to ensure that the accruing benefits are felt in their respective jurisdictions.

He said the government donated an initial seed money of N100 million to support the security efforts and activities of the communities in pursuit of its objective to strengthen the States Neighbourhood Association and Watch Groups.

The gains and achievements that we have made in this direction, have earned Enugu State an enviable status as one of the most peaceful, secure and safest states in the country, the governor added.

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Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Texhnology, LAUTECH, poured into Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Wednesday to protest the continued closure of the school and demand for the payment of about nine months salaries owed their lecturers.

The students, who were virtually angry, brandished placards with various inscriptions, sang anti-government songs, accusing the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, and Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State of plunging the school into its current difficulties.

The institution is jointly owned by Osun and Oyo states, but has been plunged into an industrial crisis following poor funding of the institution by both states.

The coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students in the South West, Saheed Afolabi, told journalists during the protest that the attitude of the two governors to the situation had ruined the future of many students.

The governors of the two states must show commitment to education and they must take the issue of LAUTECH seriously, he said.

The university was closed for about nine months in 2016; the workers were begged to resume and they did with assurances that they would be paid but after paying one or two months, the governors stopped paying subventions.

They have not shown in any way that they have the interest of the students at heart and that is not fair. They should let the public know whatever they want to do with the university.

Lawal Mushau, who coordinates LAUTECH students, remarked that the university had lost its glory due to poor funding by the governors of the two states.

According to him, the students came to Osogbo to stage the protest in order to further draw the attention of the governor to the plight of the students of the institution.

Mr. Musbau said lecturers were now doing skeletal services in the university because they had not been paid for eight months.

Even since the ascension of the current government, LAUTECH has not only degraded in value, norms, and standard but has also lost dignity amidst fellow varsities due to political instability and poor funding as caused by the two visitors, Oyo and Osun: Governor Rauf Aregbsola and his counterpart, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, he said.

After nine months of strike action embarked on by the schools unions, due to the non-release of monthly subventions, the two governors are yet to be alive and active to their responsibilities as the founding fathers, after spending three months in the school, the ASUU and the Joint Action Committee of the university are on partial strike.

The situation has stagnated every student in a spots ice 2015 till now especially two years for a semester.

Some of our agitations are the immediate reopening of the school for academic activities; payment of subventions to enable workers to commence work.

The governor ( Aregbesola) should endeavour to pay up to what his Oyo State counterpart paid to avoid misunderstanding in subsequent payment. While the audit is going on, the governor should pay three or six months salary to ensure a quick resumption of academic activities.

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Prominent Lagosians and other Nigerians have lambasted those who refer to Lagos as a No mans land, saying there were settlers before others came.

The event was the Lagos History Lecture, held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Wednesday.

Among those spoke at the event are Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu; former Minister of Works, Femi Okunnu; former Governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba; and Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al-Hikmah University, Hakeem Danmole; among other speakers.

In his address, Mr. Okunnu said those behind the claim that Lagos was a no mans land only exhibit ignorance.

According to him, although non-indigenes contributed immensely to the growth and development of Lagos, the state still belonged to its original settlers and owners.

Commenting further, Mr. Okunnu acknowledged the efforts of non-Lagosians who contributed to the creation of the state, specifically two individuals who served in the Yakubu Gowons government  Philip Asiodu and Alison Ayida.

The former minister had earlier in an interview said that it was an aberration to refer to Lagos as no mans land.

Mr. Akiolu, on his part, said there were settlers in Lagos before others came, adding that it was wrong for anyone to refer to Lagos as a no mans land.

Lagos should not be referred to as no mans land because our forefathers were the founding fathers of the State, he said. And it was after several years that the Europeans came and others.

In his own address, Mr. Osoba noted that the number of councils Lagos has was not enough considering the huge population of the state.

Commenting on the original settlers in Lagos, Mr. Osoba said, We need to understand that there were early settlers in Lagos.

So whenever some people say that Lagos is no mans land, I laugh because I know that there were true land owners in Lagos.

Mr. Danmole, in his lecture, argued that the first settlers in the state were the Aworis, the Eguns and others, noting that the growth Lagos had attained over the years was a product of having been blessed leaders with vision.

On the origin of Lagos, Mr. Danmole said, Written records insist that Olofin, the leader of the Awori at Iddo divided Lagos among his children. Although many versions exist with regards to the number of children of Olofin. These children established various settlements within the Island and beyond.

Governor Ambode, in his address, said the greatness of the state was a product of its ability to be the melting pot for all cultures.

Speaking on the origin of the state, he said, It is important for us at this epochal gathering to refresh our memory about the beginning; the journey of how the Aworis played an important role in the evolution of what we call Lagos today.

The same applies to the evolution of the Eko Royalty with the coming of the Bini from present day Edo State and even the momentous role played by the Tappa in the making of our dear State. Our greatness is in our ability to be the melting pot for all cultures and as at today, there is no tribe in Nigeria that is not represented in Lagos. From the Hausa/Fulani to the Igbo to the Kanuri to the Ibibio, the Nupe, the Berom, the Igala and so on and so forth all have spaces to live and live well in our dear State.

Commenting further, the governor said, Lagos is not just national in outlook. It is international. The Americans are here; the British are here; South Africans are in their thousands; the Chinese are not in short supply; and the Indians even have a community in Lagos.

With all sense of modesty, there is no other State like Lagos in Nigeria. Some may say we owe this to the fact that Lagos used to be a Federal Capital Territory.

But I really do not think so. While that may have contributed to our greatness, we are also a unique people ready to make fellow human-beings from other lands feel home away from home, he said.

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The Federal University of Agriculture, FUNNAB, Abeokuta has appointed Ololade Enikuomehin as acting Vice-Chancellor, following the expiration of the five-year stormy tenure of Olusola Oyewole.

Mr. Oyewole had been suspended from office last month by the Federal Government following his arraignment over alleged misappropriation of N800million at the university, but he brushed aside the directive to see out his tenure.

A statement on Wednesday by the spokesperson of the university, Emi Alawode, announced that the crisis-ridden tenure of the vice chancellor formally came to an end on Wednesday.

An Acting Vice-Chancellor has been appointed for the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, Ms. Alawode said in the statement.

He is Professor Ololade Enikuomehin of the Department of Crop Protection, College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT) of the University.

The Senate of the university had at a special meeting recommended the appointment in accordance with extant laws of the university, she stated, quoting the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mathew Ayoola.

Ms. Alawode added that the Governing Council subsequently approved the recommendation at its 94th meeting, with effect from Wednesdeay May 24.

At the handing over ceremony, the new Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University, Dr. (Barr.) Aboki Zhawa, congratulated the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, for the period he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the University, the statement read.

The university spokesperson said the Pro-Chancellor, who had earlier taken an inspection tour of facilities in the University, thanked Mr. Oyewole for completing some physical projects started by the previous administration, and wished him success in his future endeavours.

Ms. Alawode said Mr. Oyewole, while handing-over, expressed gratitude to the Council members, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, staff and the entire university community for the co-operation and support given to him during his tenure.

The new helmsman, Mr. Enikuomehin, obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the Bendel State University, Ekpoma and proceded to the University of Ibadan for Masters and Doctorate degrees.

The best graduating M.Sc. student of University of Ibadan in 1990, Mr. Enikuomehin is a member of several learned societies, including the Nigerian Society for Plant Protection, Organic Agriculture Project in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria and the American Phytopathogical Society.

He had served FUNAAB in several capacities such as the Chairman, Committee of Deans and Directors; Member, University Governing Council; and Member, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Committee.

Until his appointment, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) of the university.

Mr. Enikuomehins appointment will stem the crisis in the university where the various unions of workers had taken contrasting positions on Mr. Oyewoles ongoing prosecution for alleged corruption.

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"Work is under way in Poland on a new regulation increasing our defence spending to 2.2 percent of GDP by 2020 and to 2.5 percent by 2030", Polish President Andrzej Duda declared after a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

The president said that defence spending by individual NATO members was one of the subjects of the Brussels meeting and added that he had presented Poland's plans in this respect. "During all summit discussions we could hold our head up since Poland is one of the alliance's countries implementing all obligations", the president said. Referring to US President Donald Trump's speech in Brussels regarding defence spending, President Duda stressed that Poland had been meeting its target of 2 percent of GDP. "Work is under way in Poland on a new regulation, a new solution, which was the subject of my yesterday's conversation with deputy PM Mateusz Morawiecki, regarding an increase in our defence spending to 2.2 percent of GDP by 2020 and to 2.5 percent by 2030", President Duda said. "And this is what I declared during today's summit. I said that Poland has such plans and such a strategy", the president added. "It is the year 2022 rather than 2018, so it is clear that the perspective is being moved in time since everybody is aware of the fact that this activity of the North Atlantic Alliance is necessary, that the security situation has been changing", President Duda said. "This security and peace dividend - such is often the description used with regard to the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century - has already been exhausted. What we need today is a different outlook and in fact no one is questioning this. So I do not think - since there was not such an opinion - that we will witness either an end to mutual support or the withdrawal of forces which have come to the Baltic States, Poland and Romania", the president added. "Poland is ready to increase its presence in Iraq", President Andrzej Duda said when asked if Poland had declared to strengthen its commitment to the war against terrorism. Before the general meeting, President Duda talked to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Andrzej Duda at a meeting with Jens Stoltenberg presented Poland's plans to raise the country's defence spending to 2.5 percent GDP by 2030. May be of interest to you President Duda meets with NATOs Stoltenberg ahead of Brussels summit The talks also covered Russia's autumn-planned Zapad manoeuvres, Poland's engagement in the anti-terrorist coalition, the situation in the Middle East and raised NATO presence in Poland's region.

Later President Andrzej Duda held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the NATO meeting. He spoke with President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May, President of the United States Donald Trump, and Franch President Emmanuel Macron.

May be of interest to you This is a new chapter in Polish-French relations Weimar Triangle summit most likely in August

I would like our allies to confirm their willingness to maintain the trend that we set at the previous two NATO summits, President Andrzej Duda said in Brussels before a NATO meeting.

"Today it is the year 2022 rather than 2018 as far as the presence of NATO troops in Poland is concerned", President Andrzej Duda declared after a NATO meeting

"It is the year 2022 rather than 2018, so it is clear that the perspective is being moved in time since everybody is aware of the fact that this activity of the North Atlantic Alliance is necessary, that the security situation has been changing", President Duda said.

"This security and peace dividend - such is often the description used with regard to the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century - has already been exhausted. What we need today is a different outlook and in fact no one is questioning this. So I do not think - since there was not such an opinion - that we will witness either an end to mutual support or the withdrawal of forces which have come to the Baltic States, Poland and Romania", the president added.

In Brussels the president was accompanied by Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz and Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski. (PAP)
Polands President Andrzej Duda on Thursday met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss issues including the continued presence of NATO troops in Poland, chief aide to the Polish president Krzysztof Szczerski said.

The meeting took place in Brussels on Thursday afternoon ahead of a summit of heads of state and government from NATO countries that was scheduled to begin later in the day.

"On the part of NATO, there is a clear assurance" that decisions made by NATO leaders at their Warsaw summit last year "are long-term in nature", the head of President Dudas Cabinet, said after the meeting.

NATOs Warsaw summit in July last year reaffirmed a plan to deploy four multinational battalion-sized battle groups to Poland and the Baltic states to deter an aggressive Russia.

During his talk with Andrzej Duda, Jens Stoltenberg offered assurances that these decisions are "being fulfilled and will be fulfilled", according to Krzysztof Szczerski.

Minister Szczerski also said that the Polish presidents talks with Stoltenberg concerned issues including the agenda of Thursdays meeting of NATO leaders, especially when it comes to "NATOs non-military participation in the fight against the Islamic State".

During the talks, President Duda briefed Stoltenberg on "Polands contribution to the anti-terrorist coalition of countries in the Middle East in terms of training and patrolling", according to minister Szczerski.

Andrzej Duda and Jens Stoltenberg also talked about "the division of commitments regarding military spending", Krzysztof Szczerski said, adding that Duda mentioned the Polish government's plans to increase the countrys defence budget.

"This is not only about money, but it's also about Polands contribution to the division of tasks within NATO", minister Szczerski commented.

He added that Stoltenberg "emphasised Poland's role as a security provider within NATO" as well as the country's "participation in forces in Latvia, Romania and Afghanistan". (PAP)
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Republican Kim Guadagno and Democrat Phil Murphy both lead by double-digit percentages in the primary races to select their parties nominees for governor, according to a Stockton University Poll released Thursday.

Lt. Gov. Guadagno leads Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli 37 percent to 18 percent. Steven Rogers, Joseph Rullo and Hersh Singh all poll at less than 5 percent, with 34 percent undecided or naming a write-in candidate.

The Democratic poll shows Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs financier and ambassador to Germany, receiving triple the support of his closest rival with 34 percent. Former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson had 10 percent, and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, 9 percent. State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, Bill Brennan and Mark Zinna had than 5 percent.

Almost two-thirds of those polled said they would consider voting for an independent candidate for governor.

The Stockton Polling Institute of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy conducted two polls of registered Republican and Democratic voters. One was done before recent primary debates, and one after.

Between the polls, Guadagno solidified her lead, moving from 29 percent to 37 percent. Ciattarelli barely changed from 19 percent to 18 percent. Undecideds declined by 10 points.

Among only respondents who made a candidate choice in the latest poll, Guadagno would lead Ciattarelli 54 percent to 27 percent.

Sharon Schulman, executive director of the Hughes Center, theorized the candidate debates helped reduce the number of undecided voters.

But, she said, gubernatorial candidates face a challenge trying to attract media coverage in the face of major news stories coming out of the Trump administration.

Primary elections are typically low-turnout, so name recognition is important, added Stockton Polling Institute manager John Froonjian.

In both Stockton polls, property taxes is seen as the No. 1 state issue by 22.5 percent, and taxes are second. State pension funding and education also place high in voter concern in both polls.

Also in both polls, three- quarters of respondents say New Jersey is going off on the wrong track, versus less than 20 percent saying it is going in the right direction.
ATLANTIC CITY  Jeff Gural, the Meadowlands Racetrack owner who wants a North Jersey casino, said Thursday the state should wait until casinos open in southern New York before considering casinos in North Jersey again.

Gural, speaking at the East Coast Gaming Congress at Harrahs Resort, suggested the politics for a North Jersey casino would be more favorable for him after casinos open near New York City.

I dont want to see this come on the ballot and lose again, he said. Id rather wait six years and wait until New York is either open or getting ready to open, at which point I think the voters will say, Wait a second. What are these Atlantic City people arguing? That opening a casino in northern New Jersey will hurt their business when there are three casinos opening in southern New York that are going to wipe them out?

Gural was one of five speakers on a panel about the future of gaming in New Jersey. The panel was moderated by The Press of Atlantic Citys casino reporter Nicholas Huba.

After the panel discussion, Gural acknowledged waiting for casinos to open in New York could create more competition for his desired Meadowlands casino.

Were slicing up the same pie, he said. But there are enough people. Dont forget, the toll to go over the bridge is about $16 or something like that.

Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, a supporter of North Jersey casinos, said he learned some lessons after voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot question last November that would have ended Atlantic Citys state gambling monopoly.

The referendum lacked detail, such as the tax rate the new casinos would pay, and it was a mistake to give license preference to current Atlantic City casino owners, said Ca-puto, D-Essex. He added opponents of North Jersey casinos ran an effective campaign, tying the ballot question to the publics distrust of politics.

The fact is the people did not trust the politicians in Trenton, he said.

But Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, disagreed that just a few tweaks to the ballot questions language would ensure its future passage. He noted voters rejected the referendum nearly 80 percent to 20 percent.

The way it was defeated, I dont see it being passed the second time, Mazzeo said. I dont know how you come back from those numbers. Eighty to 20 percent is a pretty significant amount.

The forum featured similar arguments about expanding gambling. Gural and Caputo said North Jersey casinos would generate millions in tax revenue for the state. Mazzeo and Assemblyman Chris Brown said the new casinos would draw gamblers away from Atlantic City, further harming the resorts fragile economy.

A North Jersey casino would simply cannibalize Atlantic City, said Brown, R-Atlantic.

Brown said the state could learn a lesson from Las Vegas, which realized casinos were sprouting up in other states and diversified its economy to create nongaming attractions. But that took time, he said.

It took them over 10 years, but they managed to basically get themselves to about 85 percent nongaming revenue as their engine, 15 to 20 percent is gaming revenue, Brown said. When Atlantic City gets there, we will be in a position where we can survive and compete with other gaming within the state.

The forum touched on other subjects. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa President and COO Tom Ballance said it would be a bad idea to raise the 9.25 percent tax rate Atlantic City casinos pay on their gambling revenue.

The New Jersey casino tax rate, much lower than neighboring states, allows the casino owners to significantly invest in their properties, Ballance said.

You do not see buildings like this one (Harrahs) in Pennsylvania with a 54 percent tax rate, he said.

But Gural said the rate should be higher.Its time taxpayers get a fair shake, he said.
With the implementation this month of state regulations allowing transportation networks such as Uber and Lyft, New Jersey lawmakers have sort of begun to bring order to the unlicensed business chaos they allowed.

Now the 20,000 ride-hailing drivers arent operating illegally. The companies are supposed to ensure that they arent on drugs or alcohol, but since they dont see the drivers in person, its hard to imagine how. Theyre also supposed to ensure that they dont discriminate racially against customers, which a study by three universities last year found was widespread.

The safety of customers will also be uncertain until the state and the companies agree on the level of driver oversight needed. The new law lets the companies come up with their own cheap method of criminal background checks, and if the state attorney general doesnt approve of it, standard fingerprinting checks through the State Police would be required. We hope state officials dont wait for the cases of driver assaults on passengers seen elsewhere before ensuring the same level of protection required of the taxi and limousine industries.

Those longtime ride providers were the first victims of the states poorly thought out gig-economy rules. Their drivers must pay annual fees of about $100, while the competing network drivers pay none. Taxi companies in Atlantic City, for example, needed a medallion costing $200,000 for every four drivers  while Uber and Lyft pay just $25,000 a year to operate throughout the state.

Network drivers are barred from picking up unscheduled fares at the airport or bus station, which makes sense, since their vehicles lack the signage and licensing that would assure customers theyre not being kidnapped. But lawmakers also barred taxis and limo drivers from using a transportation network to connect with fares  which makes no sense, except as a favor to their competitors from lawmakers.

Lawmakers decision that the network drivers are independent contractors instead of employees helps inflate the value of Uber and Lyft into the tens of billions, but we think its a bad deal for the drivers. They get no wage and hour protections that workers take for granted. They tend to think of their share of the fares as income, but after expenses (vehicles are not cheap) they might be making as little as $10 an hour, a sampling of Philadelphia drivers found.

Those expenses could be deducted from their income for tax purposes, but many know nothing about filing as a business. And theyre not paying into Social Security, so thats a blow to gig-economy workers and the nations retirement system that wont be felt for decades.

At least Uber and Lyft report the income to the IRS. A 2008 federal law let gig-economy businesses skip reporting the income of these independent contractors unless it exceeded $20,000 and 200 transactions. Ordinary freelance income, by contrast, is reported once it simply hits $600. Uber reports all income, and Lyft adheres to the normal $600 threshold.

But Airbnb, which allows people to rent rooms illegally, takes advantage of the 2008 law. That has meant no IRS reporting even of $100,000-plus in rental income in the cases where the host had fewer than 200 transactions.

Unreported income too often becomes taxes-unpaid income. An IRS study found taxpayers didnt declare 7 percent of income if it was reported by its source, but skipped reporting 63 percent of income if there was no IRS notification of it.

State lawmakers may finally level one part of the unfair gig economy playing field. On Monday, a bill to treat and tax network room rentals like every other motel and accommodation passed the Assembly. Airbnb says that in New Jersey alone last year, its 6,100 hosts rented rooms to 257,000 people in return for $50 million in income.

Maybe state lawmakers dont mind making a mess of things, figuring it creates new opportunities for them to dispense favors and garner support. Or maybe they just dont have the abilities needed to understand and effectively implement the gig economy.

Either way, people and businesses already are being hurt, and the problems seem sure to grow before lawmakers clean up the mess theyve created.
Spouse DNA use limited

Someone is guilty of a horrific crime. A crime still unsolved after a few years.

When a spouse is murdered, the remaining spouse is always under suspicion, such as it is in this case.

Taking DNA from the remaining spouse will prove nothing unless the murder weapon was found and the DNA of the remaining spouse is found on the weapon. If his or her DNA is found on the murder victim, this is inconclusive because spouses probably touch each other at regular intervals.

Katherine Pfeiffer

Atlantic City

Mays Landing Township would avoid confusion

Events are sometimes referred to as being in Mays Landing instead of Hamilton Township. This avoids confusion with the township of the same name in Mercer County.

Even township residents living outside the county seat, when asked where theyre from, generally reply Mays Landing.

Maybe its time for a movement by the governing body to rename the municipality to Mays Landing Township. The initial expense to change would high. However, there would be no more confusion, as local and national media would refer to us as Mays Landing. No longer to be confused with Hamilton Township in Mercer County.

Ted Hesser

Mays Landing

Wall worth safer families

Regarding the May 16 letter, Wall costly, shameful:

The writer declares that the wall across the boarder with Mexico would be too costly and shameful. I wonder if it affected him personally, in his own family, would it still be too costly and shameful? Would the father of Kate Steinle, the victim of a vicious murder in San Francisco by an illegal alien, and all the other families of victims murdered by illegals think it was shameful?

As far as costly, there is so much waste in the government, the value of a wall to protect citizens from harm cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

Ruth Ternyila

Long Beach Island
PHILADELPHIA, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- VISIT PHILADELPHIA announced yesterday that Greater Philadelphiathat's Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia countieswelcomed 42 million domestic visitors in 2016. This marks the seventh consecutive year for record visitation and a 2.4% increase over 2015. Of those 42 million visitors, 37 million (88%) visited for a leisure purpose. More details appear in VISIT PHILADELPHIA's annual report, downloadable at visitphilly.com/annualreport.

Greater Philadelphiathats Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia countieswelcomed 42 million domestic visitors in 2016. This marks the seventh consecutive year for record visitation and a 2.4% increase over 2015. Of those 42 million visitors, 37 million (88%) visited for a leisure purpose. Credit: Graphic by VISIT PHILADELPHIA

"Since 1997, Philadelphia has become a better destinationwith investments in the region's attractions, art, history, culture and parksall of which have been amplified by consistent marketing," said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of VISIT PHILADELPHIA. "Today, Philadelphia is a place where people want to start a restaurant, open a new hotel, come for an overnight visit and return again and again."

2016 Numbers :

Greater Philadelphia welcomed a record 42 million day and overnight visitors a 2.4% increase over 2015 and a 58% increase since 1997.

welcomed a record a 2.4% increase over 2015 and a 58% increase since 1997. In that time, overnight leisure visitation to the five counties doubleda 101% increasefrom 7.3 million in 1997 to 14.7 million in 2016.

Visitor spending in Greater Philadelphia :

: Generated $11 billion in economic impactor $30 million every day.

in economic impactor every day.

Supported 96,600 jobs.



Generated $634 million in state and local taxes. That's money that then supports priority programs such as schools and sanitation.

Sources: Econsult Solutions, Inc. and Longwoods International

The Leisure Story :

Of the region's 42 million visitors, 37 million (88%) were here for a leisure purpose.

were here for a leisure purpose. Leisure is a major driver of hotel occupancy. Of the 3.2 million hotel room nights occupied in Center City Philadelphia in 2016, 32% were leisure stays .

in 2016, . That's 1 million leisure room nightsup 296% since 1997 when VISIT PHILADELPHIA began marketing the region as a leisure destination.

began marketing the region as a leisure destination. Philly's Saturday hotel occupancy:

Topped 88% for the third year in a row



Busiest night of the week for the 13 th year running

year running

Reached 90% occupancy or higher on 37 Saturdays in 2016

Sources: Econsult Solutions, Inc. and CBRE Hotels

VISIT PHILADELPHIA's annual report and event were supported by generous sponsorships from PNC, Where Philadelphia and KYW Newsradio.

VISIT PHILADELPHIA is our name and our mission. As the region's official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia's image, drive visitation and boost the economy.

On Greater Philadelphia's official visitor website and blog, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip- planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into the Independence Visitor Center for additional information and tickets.

Tweet It: Greater Philadelphia welcomed a record 42 million day and overnight visitors in 2016: http://vstphl.ly/2rUKuYM

SOURCE VISIT PHILADELPHIA

Related Links

http://www.visitphilly.com


WAYNE, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- David L. Hughes, President of AAA North Jersey, calls for North Jersey Motorists to be attentive when buying gasoline especially during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend to be sure they pay the exact price per gallon as advertised on the gas station signage.

"Memorial Day weekend sees a tremendous increase in traffic with many motorists in North Jersey heading to vacation spots in the mountains or Jersey Shore," said Hughes. "And some motorists don't realize that the importance of checking the price on the gas pump to the price on the station signage as they're filling up for their weekend getaway."

Hughes notes that county Weights & Measures officers randomly and routinely conduct inspections of service stations within their jurisdictions to ensure that advertised fuel prices correspond with prices on the fuel dispensers; price-per-gallon indicators are featured prominently on the pumps; and that gas prices are not changed more than once in any 24-hour period.

"Every violation, no matter how slight, defrauds the consumer," said Hughes. "Motorists need to remain vigilant when getting gas and Weights and Measures needs to target unscrupulous fuel merchants."

Hughes suggested that motorists pay attention to the following every time they stop for gas at a service station:

Make sure that the price-per-gallon displayed on top of the gas pump matches the price-per-gallon label within the pump dispenser;

Make sure that the sale amount on the pump reads "zero" before fuel is dispensed into your vehicle;

Check the sale price to ensure that the correct amount of fuel has been pumped into your vehicle before paying for fuel;

In the case of a fill-up, pay the total sale price on the pump, not what the attendant tells you what you owe; and

If paying by credit card, check that the number of gallons, the price per gallon, and the total amount being charged to your receipt matches the numbers on the pump

Hughes urges Weights and Measures officials throughout New Jersey and New York to be aggressive in checking for dishonest behavior at fueling stations.

"We want to send a message to would-be crooks that the motoring public and our advocates at Weights & Measures are keeping an eye out this holiday weekend," said Hughes.

SOURCE AAA North Jersey
Newly launched advertising, social media content and an online video invite people to visit the Fraud Watch Network's webpage, www.aarp.org/TechScams , to learn about the latest scam tactics. A booklet co-published by AARP and Microsoft Corp., " Avoiding Tech Support Scams ," may be downloaded from the site and shared with family and loved ones.

The Tech Support Scam has cost computer users worldwide an estimated $1.5 billion, according to a study by Microsoft. The Federal Trade Commission and federal, state and international partners this month launched "Operation Tech Trap," a major crackdown on tech support scammers.

"Make no mistake about it: these thieves are good at what they do. It's easy to be fooled," said AARP Chief Executive Officer Jo Ann Jenkins in a new blog article. "Everyone is a vulnerable target -- from tweens and teens to boomers and seniors."

While fraudsters execute the Tech Support Scam via telephone or email, they increasingly are utilizing computer pop-up ads. Appearing as if it originated from Apple, Microsoft or another technology company, the frightening pop-up informs a targeted person that a virus or some other security problem has been detected on the victim's computer. Once you call the provided "helpline" number, the scammers may:

Ask you to give them remote access to your computer and then make changes to your settings that could leave your computer vulnerable;

Try to enroll you in a worthless computer maintenance or warranty program;

Ask for credit card information so they can bill you for phony services  or services you could get elsewhere for free;

Trick you into installing malware that could steal sensitive data, like usernames and passwords; and

Direct you to websites and ask you to enter your credit card number and other personal information.

For a list of "dos" and "don'ts" and more information about the Tech Support Scam, visit www.aarp.org/TechScams.

Computer users who are targeted by this fraud scheme are urged to report it to the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network was launched in 2013 as a free resource for people of all ages. The website provides information about fraud and scams, prevention tips from experts, an interactive scam-tracking map, fun educational quizzes, and video presentations featuring Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale. Users may sign up for "Watchdog Alert" emails that deliver breaking scam information, or call a free helpline at 877-908-3360 to speak with volunteers trained in fraud counseling.

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @aarp and our CEO @JoAnn_Jenkins on Twitter.

SOURCE AARP

Related Links

http://www.aarp.org


FULTON, Mo., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Active United States military members and their families will be admitted to the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton, MO free-of-charge this summer, it was announced today by Westminster College President Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande.

The National Churchill Museum, a member of the Blue Star Museum program, is opened from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, and typically charges a fee ranging from $6.50 to $8.50 for children and adults.

"However, we are waiving admission fees for active duty GIs, including members of the National Guard and Reserve units, and their families this summer to salute their service and acknowledge the sacrifices they and their families make to help protect our country," Akande said.

Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of the National Churchill Museum, said the Museum recently became a member of the Blue Star Museum program, a service provided through Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the MetLife Foundation. The National Churchill Museum's participation is made possible by a gift from Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout.

Blue Star Families, which was founded in 2009, provides an array of benefits and services for active duty military members and their families. They include the Blue Star Museum program, which also offers free admission to more than 20 history, fine arts, children's, and science museums, and nature centers across Missouri, and hundreds more nationwide.

For admittance, GIs and their family members are required to present their military IDs, Riley said.

The Blue Star organization also offers a youth-focused Parent Toolkit to help prepare kids for their museum tours.

"The National Churchill Museum is devoted to promoting the life, leadership and legacy of the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill," Riley said. "We believe military men and women, their families and everyone else would enjoy visiting our Museum, where they will learn more about Churchill and come to fully appreciate his commitment to service and true leadership."

The National Churchill Museum is a state-of-the-art museum that combines interactive sight, sound and touch technology to tell Churchill's story before, during and after World War II. It is located in the magnificent Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, a 17th Century Christopher Wren church that had been left in ruins in Central London following the German blitzkrieg during World War II.

The church was disassembled and brought from London stone-by-stone to Fulton, where it was rebuilt in 1969 to commemorate Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in 1946, which started the "Cold War" against what was then known as the Soviet Union.

For information about the National Churchill Museum, go to www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org, or find us on Facebook/Churchill Museum, or on Twitter @ChurchillMuseum.

SOURCE National Churchill Museum
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) issued its 2017 Corporate Accountability Report today, the 11th annual assessment of AEP's stewardship as a public company and a community partner. It is accessible online at www.aepsustainability.com.

The report explores AEP's business strategy, governance, financial performance, corporate culture and social responsibilities in 2016. AEP made a positive economic, environmental and social impact on the communities it serves, while delivering positive financial returns to shareholders.

"Our basic responsibility is keeping the lights on," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer in the report's introduction. "But we strive to go beyond the basics to support strong and vibrant communities, advocate for education and opportunity, help the less fortunate, care for our employees, exceed our customers' expectations and protect the environment."

The report details the progress on the company's strategic plans to become the nation's premier regulated energy company, including its efforts to provide the new energy solutions and technologies customers want and to transform the grid to provide cleaner, safer, more reliable and affordable power to communities. Here are some highlights:

AEP has achieved a 44 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions since 2000.

AEP is making its generation resource mix more diverse with $1.5 billion in investments planned in renewables from 2017 through 2019. The company also is investing $13 billion in its transmission and distribution systems to make the grid smarter, more efficient, more resilient and more responsive to new resources and technologies.

in investments planned in renewables from 2017 through 2019. The company also is investing in its transmission and distribution systems to make the grid smarter, more efficient, more resilient and more responsive to new resources and technologies. AEP is piloting new customer engagement technology that enables round-the-clock monitoring and management of energy usage, including automated dimming of lights and thermostat adjustments during peak hours for participating customers.

An AEP Transmission project in Texas won the 2016 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute, the industry group's highest honor. The project was the longest live-line re-conductoring project in North America  a pair of 120-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission lines that stretch from Corpus Christi to the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

For more details about the company's strategic goals and its progress, the full report is available online at www.aepsustainability.com.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 224,000 miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning approximately 26,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP supplies 3,200 megawatts of renewable energy to customers. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.

SOURCE American Electric Power

Related Links

http://www.aep.com


LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE:APD), a world-leading industrial gases company and leader in oxy-fuel combustion technology and integrated solution for the global glass industry, today announced that it has commenced supply of its integrated oxy-fuel solution to Chengdu Jin Gu Pharmaceutical Packaging Co., Ltd. in Sichuan Province, western China, for the production of pharmaceutical glass containers. By working with another leading glass manufacturer in China, Air Products once again demonstrates how its technology can help the industry reap multiple benefits, including reduced emissions and improved energy efficiency, productivity and glass quality.

Jin Gu is a leader in China's pharmaceutical glass packaging industry, and its manufacturing process involves advanced technologies that include Air Products' cutting-edge offering. Jin Gu's successful oxy-fuel conversion with proven initial results sets an industry benchmark for the pharmaceutical glass market in China. These proven results will also serve as a strong reference for other glass manufacturers in the western region who are looking to address the increasingly stringent environmental regulations through innovative oxy-fuel technology.

China's glass industry is accelerating the shift to more sustainable and healthier development with a key focus on environmental protection as the country has entered its 13th Five-Year-Plan period. In Sichuan province, the provincial government has recently issued the "13th Five-Year Environmental Protection Plan," with the glass industry identified as one of the key focuses for emissions reduction.

"Air Products has enabled a long list of glass customers worldwide to become more productive, energy efficient, and sustainable. We are honored to be selected by Jin Gu to support their conversion from air-fuel to oxy-fuel combustion, and we are pleased to see the encouraging results immediately," said, Brandon Fu, vice president, Asia Strategy, Marketing and Technology at Air Products. "This project also underscores our commitment to supporting the sustainable development of China's glass industry. We will continue to leverage our innovative solutions, vast global experience, and deep local understanding to help more China glass manufacturers improve their environmental performance and overall competitiveness."

Air Products' integrated solution customized for Jin Gu encompasses the company's Cleanfire mini HRiTM oxy-fuel burners, liquid oxygen, technical support on glass formulation improvement, and computational fluid dynamics simulations of the glass melting furnace to ensure smooth conversion under a tight schedule.

"Air Products has a strong reputation within the pharmaceutical and overall glass industry for their leadership and worldwide track record in oxy-fuel technology. We now get to experience this first-hand and are deeply impressed by their leading-edge technology, technical expertise and excellent service. Initial results during the commissioning phase have exceeded our expectations, such as significant nitrogen oxide emissions reduction, energy savings, and product quality improvement. We look forward to our continued cooperation on converting all of our furnaces to full oxy-fuel," said He Yong, deputy general manager at Jin Gu.

In addition to Jin Gu, Air Products also provides its integrated oxy-fuel solution to other types of glass manufacturers, including fiberglass, glass containers for food and drink, and heat resistant glass for home appliances. Oxy-fuel technology is proven to bring multiple benefits such as over 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions, 10-20% in energy savings, about 25% increase in productivity, reduction of capital, and improvement in efficiency and glass quality.

With over 50 years of experience in oxy-fuel technology, Air Products offers an integrated oxy-fuel solution, from gases supply to oxy-fuel burners and technology, customized control systems, technical and design expertise, commissioning service, safety and site training, maintenance contracts, and project management. The company has installed more than 1,500 Cleanfire burners around the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com/glass.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company's core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2016 sales of $7.5 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Approximately 16,000 employees are making Air Products the world's safest and best performing industrial gases company, providing sustainable offerings and excellent service to all customers. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2016.

SOURCE Air Products

Related Links

http://www.airproducts.com


AGOURA HILLS, Calif., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH), a leading provider of high quality single-family rental homes ("the Company"), today posted the revised "Home Price Appreciation Factor" and "Home Price Appreciation Amount" through March 31, 2017, as those terms are defined in the final prospectuses for the Company's 5% Series A, 5% Series B and 5.5% Series C Participating Preferred Shares (NYSE: AMHPRA, AMHPRB and AMHPRC). The computations of these amounts are based on the results of the House Price Index of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, known as the Quarterly Purchase-Only Index, or POI, specifically the non-seasonally adjusted "Purchase-Only Index" for the "100 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas" as of March 31, 2017, which was released May 24, 2017.

Based on the weighting among our top 20 markets established under the terms of our 5% Series A and 5% Series B Participating Preferred Shares, cumulative home price appreciation for the period from June 30, 2013 to March 31, 2017 was 26.59%, resulting in a Home Price Appreciation Factor of 13.29%. The Home Price Appreciation Amount on our 5% Series A and 5% Series B Participating Preferred Shares through March 31, 2017 was $3.323.

Additionally, based on the weighting among our top 20 markets established under the terms of our 5.5% Series C Participating Preferred Shares, cumulative home price appreciation for the period from December 31, 2013 to March 31, 2017 was 23.25%, resulting in a Home Price Appreciation Factor of 11.63%. The Home Price Appreciation Amount on our 5.5% Series C Participating Preferred Shares through March 31, 2017 was $2.907.

The computation of these amounts appears at the end of this press release and has also been posted to the "For Investors" page of the Company's website (www.americanhomes4rent.com). The Company anticipates announcing the next update to these amounts in approximately three months.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of March 31, 2017, we owned 48,336 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements relate to beliefs, expectations or intentions and similar statements concerning matters that are not of historical fact and are generally accompanied by words such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "potential," "plan," "goal" or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Examples of forward-looking statements contained in this press release include the anticipated timing of the next update of the Home Price Appreciation Amount. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company's management considers these expectations to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to conform to actual results or changes in its expectations, unless required by applicable law. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the Company in general, see the "Risk Factors" disclosed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K in the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

American Homes 4 Rent

Investor Relations

Phone: (855) 794-2447

Email: [email protected]

Measurement of Aggregate HPA Amount Per 5% Series A and 5% Series B Participating Preferred Share (1) March 31, 2017





June 30, 2013 March 31, 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area Relative

Weighting

Applied in

Determining

HPA Actual POI

Value (2) Assigned

Baseline

Value Actual

POI

Value POI Value

Relative to

Jun 30, 2013

Baseline Dallas  Plano  Irving, TX 4.754% 194.12 100 264.41 36.21% Fort Worth  Arlington, TX 4.754% 180.86 100 239.65 32.51% Indianapolis, IN 8.880% 164.50 100 188.06 14.32% Greater Chicago Area, IL 7.679% 182.20 100 206.54 13.36% Atlanta, GA 7.545% 174.20 100 227.00 30.31% Nashville, TN 6.390% 230.70 100 309.94 34.35% Houston, TX 6.312% 241.20 100 296.33 22.86% Cincinnati, OH 6.119% 166.30 100 190.58 14.60% Salt Lake City, UT 5.495% 323.90 100 406.47 25.49% Tampa, FL 5.361% 209.60 100 287.56 37.19% Charlotte, NC 5.354% 186.80 100 241.00 29.01% Phoenix, AZ 5.270% 232.50 100 308.82 32.83% Jacksonville, FL 4.776% 211.70 100 277.56 31.11% Las Vegas, NV 4.371% 133.30 100 194.57 45.96% Raleigh, NC 4.040% 197.10 100 245.74 24.68% Columbus, OH 3.167% 178.90 100 210.48 17.65% Orlando, FL 3.036% 180.00 100 246.59 36.99% Tucson, AZ 1.867% 206.70 100 246.77 19.39% Greensboro, NC 1.789% 161.00 100 170.19 5.71% Austin, TX 1.550% 316.10 100 418.85 32.51% San Antonio, TX 1.490% 226.50 100 285.08 25.86%











Cumulative HPA



0.00%

26.59%











HPA Factor (50% Cumulative HPA)



0.00%

13.29%











HPA Amount







$ 3.323

(1) The Actual POI Value and HPA Amount for each quarter since the issuance of the 5% Series A and 5% Series B Participating Preferred Shares are available on the Company's website on the "For Investors" page.

(2) Actual POI Value as of June 30, 2013 represents the value as published in the POI for each market as of October 18, 2013 and will remain constant for purposes of calculating the HPA Amount, notwithstanding any subsequent revisions by the FHFA.

Measurement of Aggregate HPA Amount Per 5.5% Series C Participating Preferred Share March 31, 2017





December 31, 2013 March 31, 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area Relative

Weighting

Applied in

Determining

HPA Actual POI

Value (1) Assigned

Baseline

Value Actual

POI

Value POI Value

Relative to

Jun 30, 2013

Baseline Dallas  Plano  Irving, TX 4.754% 198.79 100 264.41 33.01% Fort Worth  Arlington, TX 4.754% 186.40 100 239.65 28.57% Indianapolis, IN 8.880% 165.40 100 188.06 13.70% Greater Chicago Area, IL 7.679% 185.58 100 206.54 11.29% Atlanta, GA 7.545% 179.66 100 227.00 26.35% Nashville, TN 6.390% 237.75 100 309.94 30.36% Houston, TX 6.312% 251.00 100 296.33 18.06% Cincinnati, OH 6.119% 166.16 100 190.58 14.70% Salt Lake City, UT 5.495% 323.59 100 406.47 25.61% Tampa, FL 5.361% 218.28 100 287.56 31.74% Charlotte, NC 5.354% 193.47 100 241.00 24.57% Phoenix, AZ 5.270% 247.72 100 308.82 24.66% Jacksonville, FL 4.776% 216.03 100 277.56 28.48% Las Vegas, NV 4.371% 149.08 100 194.57 30.51% Raleigh, NC 4.040% 198.65 100 245.74 23.71% Columbus, OH 3.167% 180.44 100 210.48 16.65% Orlando, FL 3.036% 181.11 100 246.59 36.15% Tucson, AZ 1.867% 216.99 100 246.77 13.72% Greensboro, NC 1.789% 157.21 100 170.19 8.26% Austin, TX 1.550% 317.68 100 418.85 31.85% San Antonio, TX 1.490% 227.56 100 285.08 25.28%











Cumulative HPA



0.00%

23.25%











HPA Factor (50% Cumulative HPA)



0.00%

11.63%











HPA Amount







$ 2.907

(1) Actual POI Value as of December 31, 2013 represents the value as published in the POI for each market as of April 1, 2014 and will remain constant for purposes of calculating the HPA Amount, notwithstanding any subsequent revisions by the FHFA.

SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent

Related Links

https://www.americanhomes4rent.com


SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anaplan, a leading platform provider driving a new age of connected planning, today announced strong growth in its supply chain customer base. More than 60 major supply chain customers have signed on since Anaplan entered the market 24 months ago. Today, these companies are using Anaplan supply chain apps to transform their operations with a connected planning strategy.

At the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference this week, Anaplan showcased several new supply chain apps. Customers can now access more than 40 supply chain-specific apps in the Anaplan App Hub. Developed by Anaplan and its partners, the apps help supply chain teams improve margins, increase customer satisfaction, and better align efforts with evolving market opportunities through connected planning.

"Anaplan has enabled us to integrate our end-to-end supply planning process," said RK Del Rosario, Supply Chain Manager at Del Monte. "Anaplan gives us the data framework to link information from SAP and other sources, and it provides a single platform we can use to plan and analyze our supply chain processes."

The value that Anaplan's connected planning approach delivers to supply chain leaders is evidenced by the strong growth in its global customer base. Major supply chain customers now include Del Monte, Circle K, Sonos, and Tata Steel Europe.

"Anaplan helps customers improve the fundamental connections between data, people, and plans, creating a more productive, collaborative environment," said Kaushal Dave, Anaplan's Global Head of Supply Chain Management Solutions. "The insights supply chain executives receive from a connected planning approach drive demand, which is why supply chain is such a fast-growing line of business for Anaplan."

"Anaplan's platform has helped transform our supply chain through greater collaboration and visibility," said Magnus Tagtstrom, Senior Director of Supply Chain Optimization, Global Fuels at Circle K. "As a single integrated solution, it allows us to make better supply chain decisions by connecting with data from other corporate functions."

Anaplan released several new apps at the conference, including a Production, Sales, and Inventory (PSI) app from Japanese partner QUNIE Corporation. Demand-Driven Distribution and Demand Policy apps will also be released from Anaplan development partner Valizant. Additionally, three other new apps are now available in the App Hub: Anaplan's Rough-Cut Capacity Planning with Shelf Life app, along with Solvanni's Demand Supply and Revenue Balance app and Supply Chain Inventory Planning app. For more information on Anaplan's supply chain apps, visit: https://apphub.anaplan.com/applications/business-function/supply-chain.html

Anaplan is a platinum sponsor of the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference, which was held May 23-25 in Phoenix, Arizona. Anaplan showcased its supply chain apps at Booth #208. Sid Powar of Dish Network, an Anaplan supply chain customer, spoke about connected planning for the supply chain at the event.

Find out more about Anaplan at http://www.anaplan.com.

About Anaplan

Anaplan is driving a new age of connected planning. Large and fast-growing organizations use Anaplan's cloud platform in every business function to make better-informed plans and decisions and drive faster, more effective planning processes. Anaplan also provides support, training, and planning transformation advisory services. Anaplan is a privately held company based in San Francisco with 16 offices and over 150 expert partners worldwide. To learn more, visit anaplan.com.

About Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference 2017

Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference 2017 is the world's most important gathering of supply chain leaders. Disruptions large and small confront today's supply chains on a daily basis. At this year's conference, chief supply chain officers and their leadership teams focus how to recognize the impacts of disruptions and create transformational strategies that empower the organization to exceed performance expectations.

Related Links: http://www.anaplan.com

SOURCE Anaplan

Related Links

https://www.anaplan.com


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Arvest Bank has been recognized by Forbes magazine as one of "America's Best Large Employers" for 2017.

The bank ranked 208th out of the 500 businesses nationwide  with 5,000 or more full- or part-time associates  that scored highest in an independent survey of employees regarding satisfaction with their company. Additionally, Arvest is the highest-ranking community bank among all companies in the banking/financial services category and the only Arkansas-based company on the large employer list.

"Our goal at Arvest is to have happy and highly satisfied customers, and that simply can't happen without highly motivated, well-trained and happy associates," Arvest president and CEO Kevin Sabin said. "Ultimately, everything we do is about taking care of our customers and helping them find financial products and services that make their lives better."

The results were determined by a survey conducted by research firm Statista that included almost 30,000 employees from 25 industries. Every employee was asked to anonymously rate their current employer  on a scale of zero to 10  on how likely they would be to recommend their employer to family or friends. That rating was the biggest determining factor in the assessment.

The second-most significant factor in the scoring was based on participants' responses to identify good or bad employers in industries other than their own. Results of these two key elements produced scores for more than 1,800 employers nationwide. The remainder of the survey consisted of 35 other work-related topics.

This is the second year Forbes has compiled its list of America's Best Employers, and the first time Arvest has been included. Assessments for the 2017 lists were conducted during a four-week period last year.

About Arvest Bank

Arvest Bank operates more than 260 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 16 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

SOURCE Arvest Bank

Related Links

http://www.arvest.com


WASHINGTON and SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and LendUp, a socially responsible lender for the emerging middle class, today announced Finance Forward, a multi-city event series that will for the first time bring elected officials, businesses, community advocates and nonprofit leaders together to identify and advance actionable solutions to the growing problem of income volatility in the U.S. The series will kick off in Columbia, SC, on June 1, 2017, and conclude in Oakland, CA later this year, with potential stops in Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico and other states across the country.

Defined by stagnating wages and sharp swings in monthly earnings, income volatility is now a primary driver of financial instability for American workers. In fact, according to the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program:

90% of experts have said that income volatility has increased in the last decade, with 25% saying it has increased "greatly."

56% of experts believe income volatility is a "major problem," with 30% saying it's a "critical problem."

Income volatility results in a number of ripple effects, including an inability to make long-term plans, stress and health issues, negative impacts on child development and reliance on unsafe financial products.

"Tackling a challenge as far-reaching and systemic as income volatility requires us to look beyond abstract analyses to get a fully informed, on-the-ground understanding of how it impacts real people in real American cities," said Joanna Smith-Ramani, Program Director of the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program's Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC). "That's what Finance Forward is all about: engaging a diverse range of leaders, experts and other members of the community to develop new ideas that harness the best insights of the public, private and nonprofit sectors."

"We're thrilled to be working with the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program to explore solutions to one of today's most pressing economic challenges," said Sasha Orloff, LendUp co-founder and CEO. "What makes this issue so problematic is that it isn't isolated to a single industry, geography or socio-economic group. Its effects are felt up and down the income ladder and in every corner of the country. To fully combat income volatility, we'll need a cross-sector movementand we're proud to be making private sector innovation part of the equation."

In selected cities, the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and LendUp will work with local businesses, organizations and elected officials to host each Finance Forward event, to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to income volatility. The first event will be held in collaboration with Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin of Columbia, SC.

On June 1 , there will be an open-to-the-public event from 5:30p.m. to 7:30p.m. at the South Carolina Bar Conference Center. The event will be live tweeted at #FinanceForward.

there will be an open-to-the-public event from at the South Carolina Bar Conference Center. The event will be live tweeted at #FinanceForward. On June 2 , there will be an invite-only roundtable at the University of South Carolina with Mayor Benjamin, Pew Charitable Trusts, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, The Urban Institute, The Cooperative Ministry, the Columbia Office of Community Development and the USC Alumni Center.

"We are honored that the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and LendUp chose to launch this important series right here in Columbia, where our residents, like much of the country, have unfortunately felt the sting of persistent income volatility," said Mayor Benjamin. "I'm confident that through this program, we can play a role in developing solid solutions, both for our residents and for other communities facing similar challenges."

"The financial insecurity that results from income volatility can take a devastating toll on families and their communities, with painful impacts that span everything from credit and health care access to education, housing and public utilities," added Orloff. "I look forward to sharing, listening, learning and taking action as a result of these sessions."

About the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and EPIC

The Financial Security Program (FSP) is dedicated to solving the most critical financial challenges facing America's households, and to shaping policies and financial products that enable all Americans to save, invest, and own. For more information on Aspen FSP, please visit www.aspenfsp.org.

The Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC) is an initiative of the Aspen Institute's Financial Security Program. EPIC is designed to harness the knowledge of a wide cross section of experts working in applied, practitioner, academic, government, and industry settings towards the goal of illuminating and solving critical drivers of financial inequity and insecurity. For more information on Aspen EPIC, please visit http://www.aspenepic.org.

About the Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

About LendUp

LendUp is a socially responsible online lender on a mission to redefine financial services for the emerging middle classthe 56% of Americans shut out of mainstream banking due to poor credit or income volatility. It builds technology, credit products and educational experiences that haven't existed before for this consumer segment, which includes more than 131 million Americans.

SOURCE LendUp

Related Links

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VANCOUVER, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSX Venture: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") has signed an agreement (the "IGV Contract") with the Peru Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") and ProInversion (an agent for the Government of Peru) that allows the Company to recover, at its discretion and on an accelerated basis, the 18% IGV taxes applied to engineering and construction costs associated with future development of the proposed Corani silver-lead-zinc mine in Puno, Peru.

The IGV Contract applies to Corani Initial CapEx costs and covers an approximately three-year development period during which detailed engineering, permitting, construction, commissioning and project ramp-up is expected to occur. The IGV Contract is retroactively applicable to costs incurred as of the application date of November 2016, and allows the Company to request modifications with respect to both expenditure amounts and timelines. Initial CapEx requirements for development and construction of the Corani mine, as outlined in the Company's Final Optimized Feasibility Study for the Corani Project filed on SEDAR on July 20, 2015 (available at www.sedar.com) is estimated to total approximately US $625 million (inclusive of the net impact of the IGV Contract).

Andrew Swarthout, President and CEO of the Company, states "We are very pleased to be working in cooperation with the Peruvian government and we appreciate the confidence shown in Bear Creek and the Corani Project by the Ministries of Finance, the MEM and ProInversion in approving the IGV Contract. The IGV Contract will streamline anticipated cash flow and capital requirements as the Corani operation is developed by allowing the Company to periodically recoup IGV taxes payable on capital expenditures as they are made rather than after construction is completed."

Phase 1 Detailed Engineering at the Corani project (see news release dated November 14, 2016) is advancing well and is on schedule for completion in June 2017. This phase of detailed engineering will provide key documentation for the Construction Permit application, which the Company anticipates submitting during Q3 2017. Concurrently, the Company and its outside advisors are investigating and assembling Corani project financing alternatives so that we are ready to move forward rapidly as the anticipated improvements in metal prices acelerate. Pending receipt of the Construction Permit, solidification of a project financing plan, and favorable commodity and market conditions, the Company's board of directors hopes to consider a construction decision for the Corani project by year-end 2017.

Mr. Swarthout continues, "We are very pleased that the Corani mine sequences and metal recoveries continue to be further optimized during the Phase 1 Detailed Engineering and that commodity prices and market conditions continue to stabilize or even further improve. We believe that 2017 will be a transformational year for Bear Creek."

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Andrew Swarthout

President and CEO

Regulatory Footnotes

Bear Creek's exploration programs are overseen by, and disclosure of a technical or scientific nature has been reviewed and approved by, Andrew Swarthout, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, President and CEO of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Swarthout has read, verified and approves such information disclosed in this release.

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements related to: the financial impact of the IGV Contract on cash flow and capital requirements; terms and conditions of the IGV contract that may be revised; the timing of completion of the Phase I Detailed Engineering; the outcome of Corani project financing efforts; and, the timing of a possible Corani Project construction decision. Certain of these forward-looking statements are contingent upon various assumptions, including that the Phase 1 Detailed Engineering results will provide sufficient information for the Construction Permit application; and upon future events transpiring, including that the Company can obtain all necessary permits and secure project financing for the Corani project. This forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this news release and reflects current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and is based on the Company's or its consultants' beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates used to make such forward-looking statements do not occur and the additional risks described in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation

Related Links

http://www.bearcreekmining.com


BOSTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- BV Investment Partners ("BV"), a middle-market private equity firm focused on the business services and IT services sectors, today announced it has reached an agreement to sell TriCore Solutions, a leading provider of application and infrastructure managed services, to Rackspace, a leading managed cloud services provider headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The sale price was not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close in June.

Based in Norwell, MA and founded in 1999, TriCore is a leader in the management of enterprise applications, focused predominantly on enterprise resource planning, business intelligence and analytics, and data warehousing and integration.

BV, which has a successful history of investing in the IT services sector, invested in TriCore in 2014 in partnership with the existing management team. Since that time, the company has benefited from accelerated growth in its existing core markets, expansion into SAP and other complementary application markets, and growth in Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing managed service offerings. In addition, the firm helped identify and complete several strategic acquisitions during its ownership.

Matt Kinsey, Managing Director of BV, said, "From day one, TriCore was a high quality asset with an exceptional management team, providing an application hosting service early in its demand trajectory. We are pleased to have partnered with Founder and Chairman Bob Forman, CEO Mark Clayman, CFO Art Green, and the entire TriCore team in this investment. The team and company accomplished the growth strategy and objectives we developed in just two and a half years, more than doubling earnings and broadening its addressable market. We are delighted to achieve a successful outcome for our investors through this transaction and excited for the next phase in the company's growth."

Mark Clayman, CEO of TriCore, said, "Working with BV, we have broadened our reach, expanded our solution set and invested in our team, creating a platform that provided us with sustainable advantages over other competitors in the marketplace. Rackspace's acquisition is a strong validation of our company's efforts to build a leading provider of application managed services."

Sean Wilder, Principal of BV, said "We are proud of the accomplishments TriCore has made during our involvement, including the successful integration of three key add-on investments, which expanded the business into SAP and added new database offerings. We believe TriCore is well positioned to continue to capitalize on growth in outsourced application hosting and are confident that the company will continue to thrive as an integral part of Rackspace."

BV recently completed the close for BV Investment Partners Fund IX at its $750 million hard cap, well above its $600 million target. The firm launched Fund IX in mid-January 2017.

Lumerity Capital is a co-investor in TriCore alongside BV. William Blair served as financial advisor to BV.

About TriCore Solutions

TriCore Solutions, the application management experts, provides a full suite of scalable and reliable managed application, cloud and infrastructure hosting, and consulting services to enterprise organizations. With 18 years of experience, the Company delivers its services and the TriCore Trusted Promise to more than 275 mid-market to small enterprise companies to reduce costs, raise service levels, improve customer experience, increase business agility, and accelerate innovation, unlocking the business value from their IT investments. Our partners include industry leaders such as Oracle, SAP, Microsoft, AWS, and HP. TriCore Solutions is headquartered in Norwell, MA, with offices in India and throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.tricoresolutions.com and @tricorenow on Twitter.

About BV Investment Partners

BV Investment Partners is currently investing its ninth private equity fund. The firm is one of the oldest and most experienced sector-focused private equity firms in North America. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested over $2.9 billion in 89 companies, actively targeting investments in the business services and information technology services industries. For more information, please visit www.bvlp.com.

Contact: Chris Tofalli

Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC

914-834-4334

SOURCE BV Investment Partners

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CHICAGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CapGrow Partners LLC, a real estate investment fund that focuses exclusively on partnering with behavioral health providers nationwide, has been recognized as one of the 2017 "Best and Brightest Companies To Work For" in Chicago. Every year, companies throughout Chicago compete to be named one of "Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For." Only companies that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approach can be bestowed this honor. These select companies will be honored by the National Association For Business Resources on Monday, July 17, 2017, at the Chicago Marriott Southwest at Burr Ridge.

"It is a true honor to be recognized as one of Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies," said Founder and CEO of CapGrow Partners, Matt Pettinelli. "Our focus has always been, and will continue to be, to develop a culture that allows our team members to thrive in their respective specialty while continuously developing their craft."

Participating companies are pooled by the size of their company. Employers with 0-100 employees are classified as a Small Business; 101-300 employees are classified as a Medium Business; 301+ employees are classified as a Large Business. All companies, no matter their size, can be a Best and Brightest Company to Work For resulting in Better Business, Richer Lives and Stronger Communities.

An independent research firm evaluates each company's entry based on key measures in various categories. They include Compensation, Benefits and Employee Solutions; Employee Enrichment, Engagement and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment, Selection and Orientation; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity and Inclusion; Work-Life Balance; Community Initiatives; Strategic Company Performance and the Best of the Best Small Business, Medium Business and Large Business.

"Profitability and stability are essential for businesses in today's economic climate. Companies that recognize that their employees are the key to their success achieve staying power. Our 2017 winners create their human resource standards to ensure employee satisfaction and they set standards for every business to aspire toward," said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO of MBPA. "We are proud to honor this year's winners."

Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For is sponsored by Baudville, CORP! Magazine, BASIC, Kelly Services, Comerica Bank, ABC 7 Chicago, NOW Health Group, FONA International Inc., Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company, The Management Association of Illinois, Assurance, Verizon Wireless, and Clark Hill.

About CapGrow Partners

Founded in 2005, CapGrow Partners LLC offers unparalleled experience and resources in providing safe, secure and appropriate housing for individuals in need of support services. Our tailored lease programs are designed to enhance provider operations while at the same time advancing financial objectives. Our committed, responsive and experienced team is different from other organizations in that we come from a background that directly supports our work, and the work of our partners. In fact, there is no other company today that can match the combination of experience and resources we offer. Today we are proud to offer our services to dozens of providers across more than 20 states. CapGrow Partners has also been awarded the Bronze Stevie in Corporate Social Responsibility by the American Business Awards. Learn more about CapGrow Partners at www.capgrowpartners.com or contact Rigo Fernandez at [email protected].

About The Best and Brightest Companies To Work For

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For is a program of the National Association For Business Resources that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices and demonstrate why they are an ideal place for employees to work. This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole. It is presented annually in several markets including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Houston, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and nationally. Nominations are now being accepted. Visit www.101bestandbrightest.com to obtain an application.

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SOURCE CapGrow Partners

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ROCKVILLE, Md., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Bank, N.A. is proud to announce that its Chief executive Officer Ed "Jed" Barry is a 2017 regional finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in the Mid-Atlantic region. This marks the second consecutive year in which Barry has been nominated for this prestigious award.

The awards program, which is celebrating its 31st year, recognizes entrepreneurs who excel in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities and more than 60 countries throughout the world.

"I'm truly honored to have been selected for the second time for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Award," says Barry. "This award puts me in great company among entrepreneurs who have built some of the world's most successful companies."

Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 15, 2017 at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. "Win or lose, I feel privileged to have been selected and look forward to an exciting event among my peers."

For more information on Capital Bank, please contact Ksenia Valentine at 301-468-8848, ext. 1272 or visit CapitalBankMd.com.

About Capital Bank, N.A.

Capital Bank, N.A. is a mid-sized bank focused on serving the diverse needs of business owners in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Capital Bank is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland and is a subsidiary of Capital Bancorp, Inc. and member of the Federal Reserve Bank system. Focusing more on interactions than transactions, Capital Bank has a corporate culture that emphasizes partnering with clients to help create value, sustaining their individual businesses as well as the larger community. Capital Bank offers a range of services, encompassing cash management, commercial lending, consumer credit and residential mortgage/Veterans Administration home loans.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year

Entrepreneur Of The Year, founded by EY, is the world's most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs, chosen from an independent panel of judges including entrepreneurs and prominent leaders from business, finance, and the local community. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in over 145 cities and more than 60 countries.

Media Contact:

Jessica Lasko

[email protected]

2044928684

SOURCE Capital Bank N.A.

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SHANGHAI, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Rapid Finance Limited ("China Rapid Finance" or the "Company") (NYSE: XRF), a leading online consumer lending marketplace in China, today reported its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The Company will hold a conference call at 8 a.m. Eastern Time on May 25, 2017, or 8 p.m. China Time on May 25, 2017. Dial-in details are provided at the end of this release.

First Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights

Total gross billings on transaction and service fees [1] in the first quarter of 2017 increased by 13.1% to US$16.8 million from US$14.8 million in the prior year period.

in the first quarter of 2017 increased by 13.1% to from in the prior year period. Gross billings from consumption loans increased by 336.8% to US$6.7 million in the first quarter of 2017 from US$1.5 million in the prior year period. Gross billings from consumption loans increased to 39.9% of total gross billings on transaction and service fees in the first quarter of 2017 from 10.3% in the prior year period.

increased by 336.8% to in the first quarter of 2017 from in the prior year period. Gross billings from consumption loans increased to 39.9% of total gross billings on transaction and service fees in the first quarter of 2017 from 10.3% in the prior year period. Gross billings from lifestyle loans were US$10.1 million in the first quarter of 2017, as compared with US$13.3 million in the prior year period. Gross billings from lifestyle loans were 60.1% of total gross billings on transaction and service fees in the first quarter of 2017, as compared with 89.7% in the prior year period.

First Quarter 2017 Operating Highlights

Number of new borrowers added in the first quarter of 2017 was approximately 545,000. As of March 31, 2017 , the Company had reached approximately 2.0 million unique borrowers on its marketplace since inception, and the total number of loans facilitated on the Company's platform grew to approximately 15.0 million.

added in the first quarter of 2017 was approximately 545,000. As of , the Company had reached approximately 2.0 million unique borrowers on its marketplace since inception, and the total number of loans facilitated on the Company's platform grew to approximately 15.0 million. Total loan volume facilitated on the Company's marketplace in the first quarter of 2017 increased to US$485.0 million , primarily driven by the rapid expansion of consumption loans, which accounted for US$405.0 million of the total loan volume, while lifestyle loans accounted for US$80.0 million .

in the first quarter of 2017 increased to , primarily driven by the rapid expansion of consumption loans, which accounted for of the total loan volume, while lifestyle loans accounted for . Total number of consumption loans facilitated in the first quarter of 2017 was 4.0 million, while total number of lifestyle loans facilitated was 6,000.

facilitated in the first quarter of 2017 was 4.0 million, while facilitated was 6,000. Repeat borrower rate[2] on the Company's marketplace accounted for 73% of the total borrowers as of March 31, 2017 .

"We are excited to report solid growth for our first quarter of 2017 as well as the success of our initial public offering on the NYSE last month," stated Dr. Zane Wang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Rapid Finance. "In the first quarter of 2017, the number of new borrowers and loans facilitated on our platform continued to grow substantially. Enabled by our proprietary data-driven credit assessment technology, which encompasses our predictive selection technology, credit scoring technology and automated decisioning technology, we continued to lower our borrower acquisition cost and increase our consumption loan borrowers' digital lines of credit on our platform. Moreover, implementation of effective corporate governance and adoption of global best practices in China's nascent consumer credit market has provided us with confidence that we can fully comply with government regulations as they develop. We will continue to offer EMMAs (Emerging Middle-class Mobile Active consumers) affordable access to consumer credit at attractive rates. Looking ahead, in sticking with our 'low and grow' motto, we are committed to generating new customer growth, further expanding data and channel partnerships, leveraging our proprietary data-driven credit assessment technology, and continuing to diversify our lender base to fuel our continued growth, and with it, generate shareholder value going forward."

Mr. Kerry Shen, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, commented, "We are pleased to report that our total gross billings on transaction and service fees increased to US$16.8 million in the first quarter of 2017. In particular, we have seen a 336.8% increase in gross billings from consumption loans to US$6.7 million. We also added more than 540,000 new consumption loan borrowers and facilitated over four million loans in the first quarter. We will continue our strategy of focusing on short-term consumption borrowers who, through our 'low and grow' strategy, make repeat borrowings and generate significant lifetime value. We expect consumption loans to represent a larger percentage of our total loan volume as we go forward. We believe that these new, high quality prescreened borrowers of consumption loans, who we have identified and specifically targeted with our unique algorithms, will contribute to the growth of our business over the long term as they build a borrowing and repayment track record on our marketplace. With approximately 15.0 million cumulative loans and two million cumulative borrowers since inception, we believe we are poised to achieve long-term sustainable growth serving China's 500 million EMMAs' consumer credit needs."

First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

GROSS BILLINGS: Total gross billings on transaction and service fees is defined as transaction and service fees billed to customers, inclusive of related value-added taxes, before deduction of customer acquisition incentives, which are shown as below. In the first quarter of 2017, total gross billings on transaction and service fees increased by 13.1% to US$16.8 million from US$14.8 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the increase in the volume of consumption loans.

Gross billings from consumption loans increased by 336.8% to US$6.7 million from US$1.5 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the increase in consumption loan volume to US$405.0 million in the first quarter of 2017 from US$106.0 million in the prior year period. Gross billings from consumption loans increased to 39.9% of total gross billings on transaction and service fees in the first quarter of 2017 from 10.3% in the prior year period.

from in the prior year period, primarily due to the increase in consumption loan volume to in the first quarter of 2017 from in the prior year period. Gross billings from consumption loans increased to 39.9% of total gross billings on transaction and service fees in the first quarter of 2017 from 10.3% in the prior year period. Gross billings from lifestyle loans were US$10.1 million in the first quarter of 2017, as compared with US$13.3 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the Company's on-going mix shift towards consumption loans. The lifestyle loan volume was US$80.0 million in the first quarter of 2017, as compared with US$104.5 million in the prior year period. The decrease of the lifestyle loan volume was due to our increased focus on consumption loans. Gross billings from lifestyle loans were 60.1% of total gross billings on transaction and service fees in the first quarter of 2017, as compared with 89.7% in the prior year period.

Gross Billings & Customer Acquisition Incentives



For the Three Months

Ended March 31,

2016 For the Three Months

Ended March 31,

2017







US$'000 US$'000 Gross billings on transaction and service fees



-- Lifestyle loans......................................................................................................................... 13,309 10,092 -- Consumption loans.................................................................................................................. 1,532 6,692





Total.......................................................................................................................................... 14,841 16,784





Customer acquisition incentives



-- deducted from consumption loan revenue................................................................................... 1,394 5,317 -- recognized in sales and marketing expenses............................................................................. - 883





Total.......................................................................................................................................... 1,394 6,200

NET REVENUES: Net revenues for the first quarter of 2017 were US$10.5 million, as compared with US$13.1 million in the prior year period, primarily driven by an acceleration in consumption loan growth and offset by US$6.2 million customer acquisition incentives paid to investors in consumption loans to first-time borrowers, of which US$5.3 million was directly deducted from revenue. [3]

OPERATING EXPENSES: Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2017 were US$25.3 million, as compared with US$23.3 million in the prior year period, primarily due to an increase in sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses.

Servicing expenses decreased to US$3.3 million in the first quarter of 2017 from US$4.0 million in the prior year period. Servicing expenses primarily consist of employee expenses associated with the Company's data verification centers, which provide credit assessment and account management services. The decrease in servicing expenses primarily reflected the Company's strategy to increase the number of consumption loan borrowers on its platform and streamline servicing personnel and expenses.

in the first quarter of 2017 from in the prior year period. Servicing expenses primarily consist of employee expenses associated with the Company's data verification centers, which provide credit assessment and account management services. The decrease in servicing expenses primarily reflected the Company's strategy to increase the number of consumption loan borrowers on its platform and streamline servicing personnel and expenses. Sales and marketing expenses were US$10.2 million in the first quarter of 2017, as compared to US$8.4 million in the prior year period. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of salaries and benefits, advertising and marketing promotion expenses, customer acquisition incentive payments in excess of cumulative revenue generated from customers, and other expenses incurred by the Company's sales and marketing personnel. The increase in sales and marketing expenses was primarily due to customer acquisition incentives in excess of gross billings amounting to US$0.8 million and marketing fees to channel partners, both of which were related to the significant growth in consumption loan borrowers on the Company's platform.

in the first quarter of 2017, as compared to in the prior year period. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of salaries and benefits, advertising and marketing promotion expenses, customer acquisition incentive payments in excess of cumulative revenue generated from customers, and other expenses incurred by the Company's sales and marketing personnel. The increase in sales and marketing expenses was primarily due to customer acquisition incentives in excess of gross billings amounting to and marketing fees to channel partners, both of which were related to the significant growth in consumption loan borrowers on the Company's platform. General and administrative expenses were US$11.8 million in the first quarter of 2017, as compared to US$10.9 million in the prior year period. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of salaries and benefits (including share-based compensation) for general management, finance, administrative and research and development personnel, rental professional services fees and other expenses. The increase in general and administrative expenses was partially due to: 1) the expansion of the Company's research and development personnel, reflecting the Company's strong commitment to enhance its technology competency and innovation capabilities; 2) increase in operating costs in relation to the consumption loans, including gateway payment fees, data analysts and scientists, which are in line with the significant growth in consumption loans; and 3) share-based payment in the first quarter of 2017 amounting to US$0.9 million versus nil in the same period last year.

NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS: Net loss attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2017 was US$16.9 million, as compared to US$11.6 million in the prior year period.

NET LOSS: Net loss for the first quarter of 2017 was US$14.9 million, as compared with US$10.2 million in the prior year period.

NET LOSS PER ORDINARY SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS: Net loss per ordinary share attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders for the first quarter of 2017 was $1.01, as compared to US$0.71 in the prior year period.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flows:

As of March 31, 2017, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of US$24.5 million and restricted cash of US$11.3 million. Immediately following the Company's initial public offering and exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option on May 11, 2017, the Company's cash and cash equivalents balance net of initial public offering fees was US$77.4 million.

Net cash used in operating activities was US$12.4 million for the first quarter of 2017, as compared to net cash used in operating activities of US$13.2 million in the prior year period.

Shareholding Information

Immediately following the Company's initial public offering and exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option on May 25, 2017, the Company had a total of 65,087,656 ordinary shares outstanding.[4] One ADS represents one Class A ordinary share.

Financial Outlook

Based on the information available as of the date of this press release, the Company provides the following outlook, which reflects the Company's current and preliminary view and is subject to change.

For the full year ending December 31, 2017, the Company expects to add between 2.5 million to 3.0 million new borrowers, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 350% to 400%. The Company also expects total gross billings on transaction and service fees to be in the range of US$110 million to US$120 million in 2017, as compared with US$67.9 million in the prior year.

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 8:00 am U.S. Eastern Time, or 8:00 pm China Time to discuss its financial results.

Participants may access the call by dialing the following numbers:

International: +1-412-902-4272 United States Toll Free: +1-888-346-8982 China Toll Free: 4001-201203 Hong Kong Toll Free: 800-905945 Conference ID: China Rapid Finance call

The replay will be accessible through June 1, 2017 by dialing the following numbers:

United States: +1-877-344-7529 International: +1-412-317-0088 Replay Access Code: 10107730

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available through the Company's investor relations website at http://chinarapidfinance.investorroom.com.

Statement Regarding Unaudited Condensed Financial Information

The unaudited financial information set forth above is preliminary and subject to potential adjustments. Adjustments to the consolidated financial statements may be identified when audit work has been performed for the Company's year-end audit, which could result in significant differences from this preliminary unaudited condensed financial information.

About China Rapid Finance

China Rapid Finance operates one of China's largest consumer lending marketplaces in terms of total number of loans, having facilitated approximately 15 million loans to approximately 2 million borrowers at significantly lower borrowing costs than many of its competitors. According to the People's Bank of China, as of the end of 2015, there are approximately 500 million individuals with quality employment records but no credit history. The company refers to these individuals, who regularly use mobile devices, as EMMAs (Emerging Middle-class, Mobile Active consumers). China Rapid Finance believes EMMAs constitute one of the largest untapped consumer credit market opportunities in the world. The company acquires quality borrowers through multiple channels, and has been able to establish a leadership position in China's consumer lending industry because the company is able to use its proprietary technology to efficiently identify and select prime and near-prime EMMAs for its platform. Through its "low and grow" strategy, China Rapid Finance initially offers smaller, shorter-term loans to these EMMAs and then uses its proprietary decisioning technology to proactively offer them larger, longer-term loans as they demonstrate positive credit behavior, allowing the company to retain high quality EMMAs with significant lifetime consumer value.

For more information, please visit http://chinarapidfinance.investorroom.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Among other things, quotations from management in this announcement, China Rapid Finance's financial outlook as well as China Rapid Finance's strategic and operational plans contain forward-looking statements. China Rapid Finance may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about China Rapid Finance's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: unexpected difficulties in China Rapid Finance's pursuit of its goals and strategies; the unexpected developments, including slow growth, in the consumer lending market; reduced demand for, and market acceptance of, China Rapid Finance's products and services; difficulties keeping and strengthening relationships with borrowers or investors; difficulties of expanding data and channel partnerships, potentially costly servicing activities; competitions in the consumer lending market; PRC governmental regulations and policies; and general economic and business conditions in the regions where China Rapid Finance provides products and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in China Rapid Finance's reports filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and China Rapid Finance undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Investor Relation Contact:

China Rapid Finance Limited

Sean Zhang

Tel: +1 (646) 308-1635

Email: [email protected]



ICR, Inc.

Xueli Song

Tel: +1 (646) 308-1635

Email: [email protected]

[1] Gross billings on transaction and service fees is defined as transaction and service fees billed to customers, inclusive of related value added taxes, before deduction of customer acquisition incentives. [2] The repeat borrower rate is defined as the total number of borrowers who borrowed more than one loan on the marketplace since the Company's inception divided by the total number of borrowers on the marketplace since the Company's inception. [3] Customer acquisition incentives are one-time fees paid to investors who lend to first-time consumption loan borrowers, and help to attract higher lifetime value prescreened borrowers to the Company's marketplace. [4] Includes outstanding ordinary shares, vested incentive shares and options, and unvested incentive shares and options that vest within 60 days of the date thereof.

CHINA RAPID FINANCE LIMITED UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (US$ in thousands, except share data and per share data, or as otherwise noted)



For the Three Months

Ended March 31,

2016 For the Three Months

Ended March 31,

2017







US$ US$ Revenue:



Transaction and service fees (net of customer acquisition incentive).......................................................................................... 13,447 10,416 Other revenue...................................................................................................................................................................... 403 39

13,850 10,455 Provision for loan losses....................................................................................................................................................... (12) 1 Business related taxes and surcharges................................................................................................................................. (721) (5) Net Revenue............................................................................................................................................................................... 13,117 10,451





Operating expense:



Servicing expenses............................................................................................................................................................. (3,996) (3,314) Sales and marketing expenses............................................................................................................................................ (8,396) (10,216) General and administrative expenses................................................................................................................................... (10,875) (11,751) Total operating expenses........................................................................................................................................................... (23,267) (25,281)





Other expense:



Other expense, net............................................................................................................................................................... (66) (23) Loss before income tax expense.................................................................................................................................................. (10,216) (14,853) Income tax expense.............................................................................................................................................................. - - Net loss........................................................................................................................................................................................ (10,216) (14,853) Accretion on Series A convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption

value................................................................................................................................................................................. (72) (72) Accretion on Series B convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption

value................................................................................................................................................................................. (405) (405) Accretion on Series C convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption

value................................................................................................................................................................................. (902) (1,579) Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders............................................................................................................................... (11,595) (16,909) Net loss.......................................................................................................................................................................................... (10,216) (14,853) Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil tax............................................................................................................... (35) (50) Comprehensive loss...................................................................................................................................................................... (10,251) (14,903) Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing net loss per share



Basic.................................................................................................................................................................................... 16,266,841 16,798,776 Diluted.................................................................................................................................................................................. 16,266,841 16,798,776 Loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders



Basic.................................................................................................................................................................................... (0.71) (1.01) Diluted.................................................................................................................................................................................. (0.71) (1.01)







CHINA RAPID FINANCE LIMITED UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (US$ in thousands, except share data and per share data, or as otherwise noted)





As of December 31,

2016 As of March 31,

2017







US$ US$ Assets



Cash and cash equivalents........................................................................................................................................................................... 18,983 24,524 Restricted cash............................................................................................................................................................................................ 12,685 11,321 Loans receivable, net of allowance for loan losses US$112 thousand and US$111 thousand

as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017, respectively..................................................................................................................... 512 411 Safeguard Program asset........................................................................................................................................................................ 6,546 5,570 Receivables from issuance of Series C redeemable convertible preferred shares - 1,750 Receivables, prepayments and other assets................................................................................................................................................. 14,428 15,529 Property equipment and software, net.......................................................................................................................................................... 5,314 5,040 Total assets....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 58,468 64,145





LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' (DEFICIT)/ EQUITY



Liabilities:



Safeguard Program payable.......................................................................................................................................................................... 19,511 17,248 Accrued liabilities........................................................................................................................................................................................ 22,426 25,270 Income tax payable..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1,893 1,900 Deferred revenue......................................................................................................................................................................................... 630 793 Total liabilities..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44,460 45,211





Commitments and contingencies



Mezzanine equity



Series A preferred shares (US$0.0001par value; 4,912,934 shares issued and outstanding

as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017).......................................................................................................................................... 6,796 6,868 Series B preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value; 14,084,239 shares issued and outstanding

as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017)........................................................................................................................................... 35,132 35,537 Series C preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value; 2,858,394 and 3,447,959 shares issued and

outstanding as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017)......................................................................................................................... 78,290 94,816 Receivable for issuance of Series C preferred shares..................................................................................................................................... (4,000) - Total mezzanine equity..................................................................................................................................................................................... 116,218 137,221





Shareholders' (deficit)/equity



Ordinary shares, US$0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, 16,508,037 and

16,954,453 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017,

respectively............................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 2 Additional paid-in capital............................................................................................................................................................................... - - Accumulated other comprehensive loss......................................................................................................................................................... (913) (963) Accumulated deficit...................................................................................................................................................................................... (101,299) (117,326) Total shareholders' deficit................................................................................................................................................................................... (102,210) (118,287) Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' deficit.............................................................................................................................. 58,468 64,145







SOURCE China Rapid Finance

Related Links

http://chinarapidfinance.investorroom.com


LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cision, a leading media communication technology and analytics company, and Gorkana, the UK's leading media intelligence company, won a combined 10 AMEC awards, including six golds, at the PR measurement body's 2017 awards event. The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (IAMEC) recognized Cision and Gorkana for their excellence in measurement and campaigns for clients including Samsung, Slimming World, the Museum of London, the Stroke Association and more.

AMEC's annual two-day award summit held in Bangkok last week (May 17-18) celebrated international communication effectiveness. The haul of awards made Cision a big winner in an AMEC-reported record year for entries. Cision's gold awards include:

Most impactful client recommendations arising from a measurement study for Samsung

Best use of integrated communication measurement for the Stroke Association

Best use of a measurement framework for Slimming World

Best use of a measurement framework for the Museum of London

Best use of a measurement framework for Mischief and the National Trust

Best campaign in the public and not-for-profit sectors for Mischief and the National Trust

Cision also took home three silver awards for best use of a measurement framework (best practice framework), best measurement of a consumer campaign for Samsung, and best measurement of a consumer campaign for Slimming World, as well as one bronze Plain English award for simplicity in campaign effectiveness measurement and reporting for TD Bank.

"I'm delighted to have worked with Cision on our analysis and measurement program and winning this AMEC award is a fantastic achievement. Cision's team really works as an extension of my communications team and their expertise is invaluable," said Anil Ranchod, deputy director of PR and communications at UK charity the Stroke Association. "The metrics Cision provides allow us to demonstrate we're having the right impact, which is is crucial if we want our donors and supporters to continue to invest in our work. The difference our PR work makes is not just the bottom line  it's also about saving lives. If we don't get it right, we could cost people their lives."

"It's crucial to be able to prove success and ROI in earned media and we are delighted to be acknowledged by AMEC and its jury of judges," said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Cision. "We're extremely proud of the great work that, in partnership with some exceptional clients, we have been producing over the last 12 months, and look forward to continuing to raise the bar on measurement in our industry."

The AMEC Awards is the largest awards scheme of its type for communications measurement and insights, open to media intelligence and insights firms, PR companies, client in-house teams, Government teams and not-for-profit organizations.

About Cision:

Cision is a leading media communication technology and analytics company that enables marketers and communicators to effectively manage their earned media programs in coordination with paid and owned channels to drive business impact. As the creator of the Cision Communications Cloud, the first-of-its-kind earned media cloud-based platform, Cision has combined cutting-edge data, analytics, technology and services into a unified communication ecosystem that brands can use to build consistent, meaningful and enduring relationships with influencers and buyers in order to amplify their marketplace influence. For more information, visit www.cision.com or follow @Cision on Twitter.

Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Cision Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.cision.com


LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascential, the global b2b media company, home to trend authority WGSN and Festival of Creativity Cannes Lions, and China Textile Information Center (CTIC) are set to revolutionise the global colour industry with the launch of Coloro. Coloro is a radical new colour system that unleashes creativity by decoding colour as the human eye sees it.

Following a 100-year-old colour methodology, refined with 20 years of scientific innovation led by CTIC, Coloro uses logical codes and intuitive design to ensure fashion and textile professionals get the precise colour they planned for easily and accurately - first time around.

Coloro is based on a 3D colour model which defines colour based on a distinct 7-digit code representing the point where Hue, Lightness and Chroma intersect. Of the potential 1.6 million colours available in that system, 3,500 have been selected for showcase in the Coloro products, based on global input from trend forecasters at WGSN, color experts at CTIC and creative and fashion industry leaders.

The product - comprising physical and digital tools and a comprehensive consulting programme - provides a new dimension of colour intelligence. The digital tool, Coloro Workspace, launching in June, is set to open a new level of creative potential by changing the digital experience of working with colour forever.

Thorsten Traugott, leader of the Coloro launch at Ascential said: "Coloro simplifies how we identify and create colours, enabling colour to be a truly strategic tool for the creative industry. Harnessing the colour expertise within CTIC, we worked closely with 80 leading influencers in the textile and fashion industry to ensure the product responded to their industry needs. The result is a product that is a true game changer."

Detlev Pross, leader of the Coloro launch at CTIC, added: "There is opportunity to add massive value to the fashion industry by improving colour decisions and making colour communication consistent and accurate. Coloro combines colour science, color technology and consumer research to dramatically change how creative professionals work with colour across industry functions, from creatives to supply chain to strategists, improving workflow at every step.

Hu Song, Vice President of CTIC, said: "CTIC has invested more than 20 years of deep colour analysis, leading to the development of this unrivalled colour coding system that will open a new level of confidence to brands making and implementing the right color decisions. Through our partnership with Ascential, global market leaders across industries will have immediate access to this innovative colour solution."

Duncan Painter, CEO of Ascential commented: "As a company, one of our key priorities is to bring innovation and value to the industries we serve. By listening to the needs of our customers, we identified a gap in the market for a product that would transform the global colour industry. This exciting new product will help us serve our customers even better."

For more information visit Coloro.com

About Ascential plc:

Ascential is a global business-to-business media company that informs and connects the business world in 150 countries through market-leading Exhibitions & Festivals and Information Services.

Ascential powers the prestigious Cannes Lions festival for the branded communications industry, the world's premier payments and financial services congress Money20/20, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, the global fashion trend forecasting service WGSN, environmental risk data business Groundsure, e-commerce analytics provider One Click Retail and MediaLink, the strategic advisory and business services firm.

Ascential's premium products enable focus, growth and value. The company provides customers with world class content and connections empowering their businesses to be the best informed and best connected. www.ascential.com

About WGSN:

WGSN (www.wgsn.com) is the world's leading trend authority for creative thinkers in over 94 countries. Our services cover consumer insights, fashion and lifestyle forecasting, data analytics, crowd-sourced design validation and expert advisory services. We help drive our customers to greater success. Together, we create Tomorrow. WGSN is part of WGSN Limited, comprising of market-leading products including WGSN Fashion, WGSN Instock, WGSN Barometer, WGSN Lifestyle & Interiors, WGSN Styletrial and WGSN Mindset, a custom advisory business. WGSN is an Ascential company. WGSN.com

About CTIC:

CTIC (China Textile Information Center, http://www.ctic.org.cn) is the central national-level research institution in the textile industry in China. CTIC's main products and services are business and technology information and solution; support and promotion of textile product development through the "Fabrics China" project; quality testing and CSR; publishing and consulting services; international academic and technological exchange and cooperation; and the research, development and application of colour and trends.

For more information, images or interview requests, please contact:

Karolina Kustusz

[email protected]

+31 20 794 4734

SOURCE Ascential

Related Links

http://www.ascential.com


PHOENIX, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Grab your leather jacket and pack a bag, because the summer's most unlikely rock tour is taking place 35,000 feet overhead. Honeywell (NYSE: HON) will soon launch its "Power of Connected" world tour to showcase its latest technology, applications and services for aircraft. The set list includes an inside look at how Honeywell is enabling the Connected Aircraft to improve flights for pilots, passengers and flight operators alike. It's a lot more than rock and roll, and we sure like it.

This first-of-its-kind tour kicks off at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday, May 31 50 years after the "Summer of Love" defined a generation in the same city. Honeywell's own Summer of Connected will continue in more than a dozen countries across the globe over several months. While only a few hundred VIPs will have the chance to travel on the Honeywell 757, scores of fans can be a part of the tour anytime at www.HoneywellRocks.com.

"For us, there's nothing more heavy metal than creating a more comfortable flight for passengers, with less turbulence, fewer delays and better high-speed internet," said Kristin Slyker, vice president, Connected Aircraft, Honeywell Aerospace. "We're using data to avoid bad weather and better prepare pilots, and we're striving to get rid of maintenance delays with technology that can predict problems before they happen."

The Power of Connected Tour Experience

In anticipation of the tour, Honeywell has debuted a new livery on its 757 to showcase the capabilities of the Connected Aircraft. Passengers will get VIP passes to experience how Honeywell is combining hardware and software to create the Connected Aircraft.

Here are some of the technologies taking center stage:

Honeywell's GoDirect Flight Preview application giving pilots a highly accurate, three-dimensional preview of the runway and surrounding terrain before they take off.

GoDirect Weather is an information service that gives pilots real-time weather data on the flight path, allowing them to plan the safest, most efficient routes possible. Thunderstorms are super rock and roll, but safety first. A new connected radar function will provide crowdsourced weather information from other airplanes in the sky and share that information through an application, giving an accurate view of the weather around the world.

Honeywell's GoDirect Cabin Connectivity offers a comprehensive suite of satellite communication services and solutions to deliver unparalleled connectivity and functionality. This includes access to more than a dozen GoDirect apps and services, as well as real-time TV, TV on demand, high-speed broadband Internet, Video Conferencing, Email and Voice Over IP.

Honeywell's JetWave system enables passengers to connect to Inmarsat's GX Aviation service, offering seamless global broadband access that provides the same internet speed and reliability they get at home or in the office  it's better than a backstage pass!

GoDirect Fuel Efficiency software collects, monitors and analyzes data to help operators optimize fuel efficiency across a fleet. As a result, pilots have access to the most fuel-efficient flight paths to reduce the amount of fuel they use.

Honeywell's GoDirect Connected Maintenance will help airlines be smarter, more efficient and predictive in the way they maintain their fleets. Airlines now no longer need to reactively fix mechanical systems like auxiliary power units or wheels and brakes. With Honeywell's GoDirect Connected Maintenance, airlines proactively troubleshoot mechanical issues to avoid aircraft downtime. They get the data they need to be more efficient to keep flights on time and passengers happy.

The Power of Connected world tour will travel to cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The first leg culminates with a starring role at the Paris Air Show. The Honeywell 757 will give VIP flights in the following cities:

San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco , May 31

International Airport, , Dallas Love Field , Dallas, June 1

, Dallas, LaGuardia Airport, New York , June 9

, London Stansted Airport, June 16

Paris Air Show, Paris, France , June 1720

The second leg in July will include stops in Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo and several other cities.

"We've been helping airplanes connect since U2 came on the scene, and now we're connecting aircraft in more insightful and powerful ways. We're taking the aerospace industry into the digital age, and most importantly, making flight better," said Slyker.

Supporting Resources

Track Honeywell's Power of Connected world tour at www.HoneywellRocks.com

Read more about Honeywell Aerospace on the Follow The Aero blog

Like Honeywell Aerospace on Facebook

Follow @Honeywell_Aero on Twitter and use the hashtag #HoneywellRocks

Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft, and its turbochargers are used by nearly every automaker and truck manufacturer around the world. The Aerospace business unit develops innovative solutions for more fuel-efficient automobiles and airplanes, more direct and on-time flights, safer flying and runway traffic, along with aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity services, logistics, and more. The business delivers safer, faster, and more efficient and comfortable transportation-related experiences worldwide. For more information, visit www.honeywell.com or follow us at @Honeywell Aero and @Honeywell_Turbo.

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


JACKSON, Mich., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy is being recognized in Michigan and nationally for its commitment to providing job opportunities for military veterans.

Consumers Energy has been named a gold-level Veteran-Friendly Employer by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, one of only seven employers to earn the highest certification the state offers. In a separate, independent ranking, Military Times named the energy provider to its "Best for Vets" list.

"We're proud to be recognized for our ongoing work to provide an inclusive workplace for military veterans and people of all backgrounds," said John Broschak, a U.S. Navy veteran and Consumers Energy's vice president of generation operations. "One quarter of our new employees in the past year are military veterans, and we are a stronger company because of the skills and background they bring to provide service to our Michigan customers."

In both rankings, employers are recognized for efforts to recruit and retain military veterans, plus create a culture that supports their distinct needs. Some examples:

Consumers Energy sponsors a Veterans Advisory Panel that provides resources to veterans who work for the company.

that provides resources to veterans who work for the company. The company makes accommodations for employees to fulfill active and reserve military commitments.

Three company vice presidents are military veterans.

Last year, Consumers Energy also collaborated with the Michigan National Guard and Power for America to create a Natural Gas Boot Camp to train qualified military veterans and provide them with job opportunities.

Consumers Energy also was recognized this month for its success in building a strong workplace culture for all employees. Forbes magazine ranked Consumers Energy as Michigan's best employer based on surveys of nearly 30,000 employees nationally.

"We want to leverage the skills of qualified military veterans as we continue to build a stronger, world class company that delivers hometown service," said Cathy Hendrian, Consumers Energy's senior vice president for energy resources. "We take this recognition to heart and will keep recruiting and creating a great place where veterans can continue their service to serve Michigan communities."

Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com.

Media toolkit

VIDEO: Learn more about Consumers Energy's commitment to veterans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H82AXK-Iy-I

VETERAN-FRIENDLY EMPLOYERS: Learn about employers that the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency has certified as veteran-friendly:

https://www.michiganveterans.com/p/Certified-Veteran-Friendly-Employers

MILITARY TIMES: Best for Vets rankings:

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/best-for-vets-employers-2017

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: Job openings at Consumers Energy:

www.ConsumersEnergy.com/careers

Check out Consumers Energy on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consumersenergymichigan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/consumersenergy

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/consumersenergy

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/consumersenergy

SOURCE Consumers Energy

Related Links

http://www.consumersenergy.com


FALLS CHURCH, Va., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CSRA Inc. (NYSE: CSRA) announced today that its subsidiary, SRA International, Inc., has been awarded a five-year, $266 million contract (including all option years) by the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM). The new contract directs CSRA to provide IT support for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"This contract is a tremendous opportunity for CSRA and we are excited to bring our next-generation technology to the EPA," said Executive Vice President Paul Nedzbala, head of CSRA's Health and Civil Group. "Through the innovation and hard work of our team and legacy operations, CSRA has solidified its reputation for excellence with our federal customers. We look forward to supporting the EPA with cutting-edge technology that is both reliable and secure."

Under this contract, CSRA will provide a full range of services to develop and operate the EPA's infrastructure and application platforms. It will also add value for the EPA's Office of Information Technology Operations (OITO) by combining the support, standardization, and communication of their infrastructure services.

This contract will consolidate work performed under multiple separate task orders. By combining operations into a single task order, CSRA will help the EPA realize efficiency gains and cost savings.

Services will include: data center management, application hosting, application deployment and maintenance, geospatial service support, network security, cybersecurity, cloud computing, Continuity of Operations (COOP) services, Enterprise Identity and Access Management (EIAM) and Active Directory (AD).

About CSRA Inc.

CSRA (NYSE: CSRA) solves our nation's hardest mission problems as a bridge from mission and enterprise IT to Next Gen, from government to technology partners, and from agency to agency. CSRA is tomorrow's thinking, today. For our customers, our partners, and ultimately, all the people our mission touches, CSRA is realizing the promise of technology to change the world through next-generation thinking and meaningful results. CSRA is driving towards achieving sustainable, industry-leading organic growth across federal and state/local markets through customer intimacy, rapid innovation and outcome-based experience. CSRA has over 18,000 employees and is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. To learn more about CSRA, visit www.csra.com. Think Next. Now.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements in this press release and in all future press releases that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements represent CSRA's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, including statements about the total value realized by CSRA under the contract, the actual duration of and services delivered under the contract, the effects of the contract on our business, the operation and management of EPA's infrastructure services, the effectiveness of our services and solutions, and our ability to enhance mission capabilities of our customers. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of CSRA. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements. For a written description of these factors, see the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in CSRA's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any updating information in subsequent SEC filings. CSRA disclaims any intention or obligation to update these forward-looking statements whether as a result of subsequent event or otherwise.

SOURCE CSRA Inc.

Related Links

http://www.csra.com


BOSTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DataRobot, the leader in automated machine learning, today announced it has acquired Nutonian, Inc., a data science software company specializing in time series analytical modeling. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, and the deal is officially closed.

Developed in Cornell's Artificial Intelligence Lab by two of the "World's Most Powerful Data Scientists," Nutonian's A.I.-powered modeling engine, Eureqa, powers predictive and prescriptive analytics at global companies, including Audi, Beck's Hybrids, NASA, and RealPage. Eureqa is renowned for its success in time series analytics and for creating easy-to-interpret predictive models in minutes rather than weeks or months.

The addition of the Nutonian team and technology helps DataRobot accelerate its mission to bring machine learning to the masses by bolstering its capabilities across different types of modeling problems, particularly those involving time series data.

"The acquisition of Nutonian further separates us from our competitors and brings us closer to achieving our mission: to IPO," said Jeremy Achin, CEO and Co-Founder of DataRobot. "The addition of Nutonian's experienced people and patented technology is highly strategic for us during a time of rapid growth. Time series forecasting remains one of the most time intensive, yet valuable aspects of predictive modeling. Today, DataRobot is the biggest and most viable AI-focused company in the market with the fastest and easiest way to develop and deploy time series models to make the most accurate predictions possible."

Over the last five years, DataRobot has built the world's most sophisticated automated machine learning platform with customers across the globe and offices in the US, UK, France, Japan, and Singapore. In March 2017, DataRobot secured $54 million in venture funding, bringing the total raised to more than $120 million to date.

"This move is further evidence of Jeremy's mission to ensure DataRobot is the only data science company in the world that matters," stated Chris Lynch, Chairman of both DataRobot and Nutonian. "The addition of Nutonian's world-class team instantly solidifies DataRobot's industry leadership. And both companies' customers will be ecstatic about the increased capabilities that are now available to them."

About DataRobot

DataRobot offers an automated machine learning platform that empowers users of all skill levels to make better predictions faster. Incorporating a library of hundreds of the most powerful open source machine learning algorithms, the DataRobot platform automates, trains and evaluates predictive models in parallel, delivering more accurate predictions at scale. DataRobot provides the fastest path to data science success for organizations of all sizes. For more information, visit www.datarobot.com.

SOURCE DataRobot

Related Links

http://www.datarobot.com


"We are excited about our further expansion in Arizona and are excited to bring more delicious, smoked-on-site barbecue to the folks in Phoenix," said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We congratulate Tiffany and Chad on another grand opening and look to forward seeing the success of this store and expansion with them."

The opening festivities include:

Thirsty Thursdays: Guests will receive a free Big Yellow Cup with free refills all day.

Philanthropy Fridays: "You Give, We Give"  Guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation, Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card as a thank you for their donation. All uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal.

Giveaway Saturday: Guests register for a chance to win free barbecue for a year.

Kids Eat Free Sundays: Kids eat free with an adult purchase of $10 or more.

The new Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Phoenix is located at 2815 West Peoria Avenue, Suite 101 Phoenix, Arizona 85029. The phone number is 602-603-3377.

To find the location nearest you, click here. Find Dickey's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and home style sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded to nearly 600 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" list and in 2017 again won a top 10 on the list. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times, and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information visit www.dickeys.com.

Media Contact:

Bryce Nayden

[email protected]



SOURCE Dickeys Barbecue Pit
HOUSTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct Energy, one of North America's largest retail providers of electricity, natural gas, and home and business energy-related services, invites former and active duty military personnel and their families to enroll in Direct Energy's electricity and natural gas plans at significant savings as part of a special offer in honor of Memorial Day. Direct Energy is making this offer available for a limited time from Saturday, May 27, through Tuesday, May 30.

Applicants only need to verify their enrollment by inputting information such as their name, military service branch, years served and birthday.

"We want to recognize the hard work and sacrifices made by those who help keep our country safe, and this is just a small token of appreciation," said P.J. Popovic, General Manager U.S. Energy, Direct Energy. "Direct Energy is proud to give back to those who fight or have fought to give us our freedom every day."

This offer will be available in the following states: DE, IL, MA, ME, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI and the District of Columbia.

To learn more about Direct Energy's Military Savings program available year-round, please visit: https://www.directenergy.com/military.

About Direct Energy

Direct Energy is one of North America's largest retail providers of electricity, natural gas, and home and business energy-related services with nearly five million customers. Direct Energy gives customers choice, simplicity, and innovation where energy, data, and technology meet. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE: CNA), one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, Direct Energy operates in 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and 4 provinces in Canada. To learn more about Direct Energy, please visit www.directenergy.com.

SOURCE Direct Energy

Related Links

http://www.directenergy.com


PHILADELPHIA, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals in under-resourced communities around the world to receive access to the latest clinical information

Elsevier, the information analytics company specializing in science and health, will add ClinicalKey to its global research and health resources available through Research4Life starting in June 2017. The expansion of the Research4Life access program with ClinicalKey benefits healthcare professionals in under-resourced, low-and middle-income communities around the globe.

ClinicalKey is Elsevier's premier clinical search engine, providing access to the most current scientific and medical information, and it will help Research4Life meet the 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that health policies and practices globally should be informed by the best research evidence.

"In 2012 the WHO Strategy on Research declared that health policies and practices globally should be informed by the best research evidence - and so we are delighted that ClinicalKey will help us grow the evidence-based medicine materials available for low- and middle-income countries through Hinari and provide an expanded basis for the informed decision-making of practitioners and policymakers," said Kimberly Parker, Hinari Programme Manager. Hinari is part of the Research4Life program managed by the WHO, in partnership with Yale University, and provides access to health and medical research.

As a founding partner of Research4Life, Elsevier contributes more than a quarter of the 77,000 peer-reviewed journals, books and scholarly databases that are available through the program. Access to ClinicalKey adds to an existing collection of research resources offered by Elsevier, including ScienceDirect and Scopus. Elsevier also provides technical, strategic and communications expertise to help advance and promote Research4Life.

Dr. Kristina Krohn, Health Frontiers Field Representative in Laos, said she was gratified to see how the Lao doctors reacted the first time they had access to medical journal articles through Hinari. "The Lao resident doctors devoured everything," said Dr. Krohn. "Hopefully ClinicalKey can help them sort through the medical literature without getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available."

Dr. John Danaher, President of Clinical Solutions at Elsevier, said, "Making ClinicalKey available to doctors and nurses in developing countries through Research4Life will help those medical professionals utilize the latest evidence-based clinical information to achieve the best outcomes for their patients."

Adding ClinicalKey to Research4Life follows Elsevier's recent agreement to provide ClinicalKey to Doctors without Borders and strengthens Elsevier's commitment to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

About Research4Life

Research4Life is a public-private partnership between over 200 international scientific publishers, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), Cornell and Yale Universities and several technology partners. The goal of Research4Life is to reduce the knowledge gap between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries by providing affordable access to critical scientific research. Since 2002, the four programmes - Research for Health (Hinari), Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Research in the Environment (OARE) and Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI) - have provided researchers at some 8000 institutions in more than 100 low- and middle-income countries with free or low-cost online access to 77,000 leading journals and books in the fields of health, agriculture, environment, and applied sciences. www.research4life.org

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global information analytics company that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 35,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com

Media contact

Christopher Capot

Global Communications, Elsevier

+1-917-704-5174

[email protected]



Natalia Rodriguez

Communications, Research4Life

[email protected]



SOURCE Elsevier
NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- It is perhaps not popularly known that the father of the Big Bang Theory was a Catholic priest named Georges Lemaitre, or that an Ohio nun named Sister Ignatia Gavin developed the first hospital treatment center for alcohol and substance abuse, but Catholics have a habit of innovation, except (perhaps ironically) in the field of evangelization, where they often seem downright bashful when compared to your average smoothie enthusiast. One Catholic organization, however, is ready to change that perception. Aleteia, the global Catholic website that launched PopeEmoji during Pope Francis' 2015 visit to the United States, has launched an evangelizing chatbot, and he's got quite the personality.

"All Christians are called to share our faith, but it's not easy for most," said Jesus Colina, Global Editor at Aleteia.org. "Unless you are able to offer something that you know will be welcome, evangelization can quickly become uncomfortable and leave people feeling intruded upon, instead of inspired."

Aleteia's solution to this challenge is an intelligence software agent that recommends articles and stories based on need. Accessing Aleteia.org's 5-years-deep archive of content, the chatbot  nicknamed ePaul after the evangelizing apostle  asks a few questions about the person and situation one is trying to address, and then suggests articles that it thinks will be relevant and helpful.

ePaul, who responds to users with a conversational and understanding voice, lives on Aleteia.org and within Facebook Messenger, and draws from a curated database of shareable content. "He's lively," says Colina, "but he has a serious job: to help people find a way to say 'I am aware, I care, and so does God.'"

Commissioned by Aleteia.org in an effort to support the Roman Catholic Church's World Communications Day Sunday, May 28th, the chat bot was designed to answer Pope Francis' call to communicate hope and trust in our time.

"As far as we know, ePaul is the world's first evangelizing chatbot," said Jason Deal, Aleteia's EVP of Strategy and Marketing. "We hope it is a fun and easy way to share stories of hope, trust, love and faith with loved ones, friends, and acquaintances."

For more information, please visit the ePaul web page (http://aleteia.org/ePaul) or search for AleteiaEN on Facebook.

About Aleteia

Aleteia USA, Inc is a New York-based Christian media company that develops digital media products for Catholics worldwide including Aleteia.org (http://www.aleteia.org), which reaches over 12MM visitors globally per month in seven different languages.

Media Contact: Jason Deal, [email protected]

Related Images

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Related Links

World Communications Day

ePaul

SOURCE Aleteia USA, Inc.

Related Links

https://aleteia.org


PALO ALTO, Calif., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinical experts in stereotactic radiosurgery will discuss new techniques using Varian Medical Systems' (NYSE:VAR) Edge radiosurgery system for the noninvasive, simultaneous treatment of multiple metastases in the brain, spine, head & neck, and lung at the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS) meeting in Montreux, Switzerland, from May 28-June 1, 2017.

As a Gold Sponsor of the 13th biennial ISRS, Varian is featuring an industry-sponsored session on May 28th that includes a hands-on presentation by the Varian Eclipse Product Management Team preceded by a detailed presentation from Glasgow's Beatson West / Scotland Cancer Center on the "Validation of HyperArc High Definition Radiotherapy for Multiple Metastases." The Varian team will demonstrate how the Eclipse software serves as a comprehensive treatment planning system that enables clinicians to create, import, and optimize plans across numerous multiple linear accelerators.

On May 29th, Varian will sponsor a symposium entitled, "Edge Radiosurgery: Accuracy, Efficiency, and Flexibility," featuring speakers from five major radiosurgery centers. The program features two neurosurgeons and two neuro-radiation oncologists from the US and a medical physicist from the UK. Researchers from the Clatterbridge Cancer Center in Clatterbridge, UK, will address the radiological accuracy and precision of Edge, which delivers highly conformal dose distributions to multiple metastases in a single fraction and with one isocenter for quick, efficient, non-invasive treatments.

Oncology professionals will also present innovative approaches to radiosurgery using Varian's Edge radiosurgery system, including RapidArc and HyperArc. Experts from the University of California San Diego and Memorial Sloan Kettering/Cornell University in New York will discuss their work using RapidArc radiotherapy to efficiently and simultaneously deliver doses that closely match the size, shape and location of multiple lesions by using a single focal point and a small number of rotations.

Researchers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, will discuss their work with Varian's high definition radiosurgery technology, HyperArc which uses more beam angles to dramatically compresses dose distribution. The researchers will also share their work using optimized beam shaping for ultra-precise dose delivery from an accelerator equipped with a high-definition multileaf collimator as well as specialized treatment planning for radiosurgery in the brain.

Work on Varian's Velocity clinical intelligence platform for managing extended metastatic disease will be presented by clinical professionals from Emory University, Atlanta. Velocity brings virtually all imaging scans and treatment information together into a consolidated view for faster, more informed, collaborative decisions.

For more information, visit the ISRS 2017 website at http://www.isrsy.org/public/en/news//isrs-congress-2017-in-montreux/art_id/1

About Varian Medical Systems

Varian Medical Systems focuses energy on saving lives and is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating and managing cancer. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Varian employs approximately 6,400 people around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on Twitter.

Press Contact

Mark Plungy

Varian Medical Systems

+1 (650) 424-5630

[email protected]

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems

Related Links

http://www.varian.com


SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxford University Press has just published the seventh book in the Financial Markets and Investment Series, Financial Behavior: Players, Services, Products, and Markets. Elissa Buie, CFP and Dr. Dave Yeske, CFP of Yeske Buie contributed chapter fifteen of the new text entitled "Psychological Aspects of Financial Planning". As a whole, the book offers a different way of looking at financial and emotional well-being and processing beliefs, emotions, and behaviors related to money. Yeske and Buie's chapter, specifically, addresses several dimensions of financial planning including the history and development, strategic components related to Client trust and commitment, knowledge and evidence-based financial planning, and the behavioral dimension of the profession.

Those in the financial services industry agree that the book is an invaluable resource on the topic of behavioral finance. Gregg S. Fisher, CFA, CFP, Founder and Head of Quantitative Research and Portfolio Strategy said of the text, "Financial Behavior provides a fine overview of the latest research and thinking from the evolving field of behavioral finance, with great value for audiences ranging from students and academics to investors and financial professionals." Paul Bennett, PhD, CFP, author of The Money Navigator: The Essential Guide to Living Your Ideal Financial Life echoed these sentiments stating, "Baker, Filbeck and Ricciardi have provided a de facto must-read for anyone who is interested in better understanding human behavior and its resultant impact on financial planning and investing."

The book is now available on Amazon.com.

About Elissa Buie, CFP

Elissa holds an MBA from the University of Maryland and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. She has been practicing financial planning for over three decades and she has been deeply involved in the development of the financial planning profession. Elissa is the CEO of Yeske Buie and a past-chair of the Foundation for Financial Planning. She is also a past-chair of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), a Dean in FPA's Residency Program, and a Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business. Elissa has been named as a top advisor by Worth and Washingtonian magazines and Bloomberg Wealth Manager, and was named to InvestmentNews' Women to Watch list in 2015. In 2013, Elissa was awarded the prestigious P. Kemp Fain, Jr. Award, the Financial Planning profession's equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Business Week, has made appearances on The Today Show, NBC News, and CNBC, and has been published in the Journal of Financial Planning.

About Dave Yeske, CFP

Dave holds a doctorate in finance from Golden Gate University, as well as an M.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of San Francisco. Dave is Managing Director of Yeske Buie, a Dean in the Financial Planning Association's (FPA) Residency Program, and holds an appointment as Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business where he is also the director of the University's financial planning program. He is a past-chair of the Financial Planning Association, and also chaired FPA's PAC, Research Center Team, and Academic Advisory Council. Dave is the Practitioner Editor of the Journal of Financial Planning and has been published in the Journal multiple times. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle, and he has written feature articles for Research Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, and The Journal of Retirement Planning.

Learn more about Elissa and Dave.

Contact:

Lauren Mireles

[email protected]

SOURCE Yeske Buie
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Veterans, members of any branch of the military, and their spouses and partners are invited to attend the "Making $ense of Finance" conference at Fort Indiantown Gap, on Friday, June 9, 2017, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

The conference program is geared specifically towards the financial and investing challenges faced by members of the military and veterans. Those in attendance can choose workshops led by experts in the following areas:

Investment Basics

Budgeting: Build Wealth, Not Debt

Avoiding Financial Scams

Credit Reports and Credit Scores

Blended Retirement System/TSP

"Service members, veterans and their families face many challenges during a military career, and dealing with finances is near the top of the list," said Brig. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania's adjutant general. "We can't do enough to provide education and guidance about fiscal responsibility, so those who serve can build a strong future without financial worry."

The "Making $ense of Finance" conference is free to members of the military, veterans, and their spouses, but registration is required. Free refreshments and parking will be provided. Liberty USO will be awarding raffle prizes to participants. Space is limited. Registration and conference information are available at https://www.secure.dobs.pa.gov/?a=msof.msof&utm_content=bufferc4f81.

We are excited to partner with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the other members of the PA Military Finance Alliance on this conference," said Secretary of Banking and Securities Robin L. Wiessmann. "Public-private partnerships that benefit Pennsylvanians are a cornerstone of Governor Wolf's approach to consumer outreach and service."

"Making $ense of Finance" is made possible through the Pennsylvania Military Finance Alliance, a cooperative effort of the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the PA Department of Banking and Securities, the PA Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania Military OneSource, Better Business Bureau, Liberty USO, Army Community Service, PA National Guard, and Advantage Credit Counseling Services.

For more information about the conference, call 717-783-4721 or email [email protected]. Members of the public with questions or complaints about financial products and services can call 1-800-PA-BANKS (or 1-800-600-0007). To learn more about financial and investing matters, visit PA Investor Education on Facebook and @PAFinancialReg on Twitter.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Ed Novak, Department of Banking and Securities, 717-783-4721

Joan Nissley, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, 717-861-8720

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us


WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following information is being released by Beyond Extreme Energy: Once accustomed to operating in the shadows, controversy around the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and its role in the permitting of harmful and unnecessary fracked gas infrastructure was thrown into the limelight on Thursday morning when five people disrupted the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's confirmation hearing for President Trump's nominations to the Commission, causing delay while speakers tried to proceed. After the hearing was called to order, and introductions occurred, protesters methodically, yet unpredictably, loudly exclaimed "FERC hurts families, Shut FERC down!" and "FERC hurts families, FERC hurt towns" and "The future is watching". One protester said "I am compelled to interrupt this because I have seen the damage of climate change". The protesters were ejected, four arrested and one detained. FERC has been debilitated since January when Commissioner Norman Bay resigned and left the Commission without the quorum of three it needs to issue permits. Protesters also spoke out: "FERC is killing Pennsylvanians."

The disrupters represent a coalition of more than 160 organizations that have pledged to fight Trump's nominations to FERC. Their message is simple: Until Congress investigates the agency's abuses of power and law, the Senate must not approve new FERC Commissioners. Until now, their opposition has come in the form of call-ins, letter-writing campaigns, and lobby days focused on educating the Senators and pressuring Senators to vote against all of Trump's FERC nominees. The coalition has extensive documentation of FERC's abuses of power and law and has presented it to the Senators over the last few months. Thursday's action marked an escalation in the campaign. In addition to delaying a restoration of FERC's quorum for as long as possible, the action was meant to show the increasingly potent political consequences if the Senate allows FERC to continue hurting communities, the environment, and global climate.

"FERC is an arm of the oil and gas industries," said Lee Stewart, an organizer with Beyond Extreme Energy and one of those arrested in the hearing room. "Their rubber-stamping of fracked gas permits disregards the harms such projects inflict on communities, towns, and the climate. Because of the great violence FERC inflicts on the world, it's important to do everything possible to stop or delay them. Until FERC is replaced with an agency dedicated to a just transition off fossil fuels and to an exploitation-free energy system based on localized, renewable energy, business as usual is unacceptable."

Randy Fenstermacher, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said "history will show that the oil crisis of the 1970's led to the evolution of FERC in its current state, and pales in comparison to abrupt global climate change already underway. We need a new organization of the energy sector. To Congress, we say, "Don't nominate, innovate." "FERC is not positioned to transition to renewable, non-exploitative systems of localized energy generation."

EVENT IMAGES:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9au4UKSykxhNnlYd2FRWDlhWXM

EVENT VIDEOS:

https://archive.org/details/201705251035311

https://archive.org/details/201705251043491

https://archive.org/details/201705251036531

Link: http://bit.ly/SenateENR-FERC-Disruption

SOURCE Beyond Extreme Energy
To commemorate a decade of this successful partnership, Fleet Complete and TELUS are celebrating their clients across Canada by organizing Fleet Achievement Awards to recognize distinction in effective fleet management. The official ceremony took place on May 23, 2017, in Toronto and included nominations for Safety, Environment, and Innovation, awarding best practices and dedication in advancing the fleet industry. The nominees were selected from a pool of client submissions, where companies were tasked to outline their milestones in using IoT technology to make an impact and describe the measurement of their success. The applications were carefully examined by the teams of Fleet Complete and TELUS to select the most accomplished candidates.

"Our goal is to provide businesses with a competitive advantage in the current market by offering the best technology and network infrastructure to connect companies with their assets in the field," says Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete. "TELUS has been our partner in innovation in the telematics industry for 10 years and, together, we provide our mutual clients the reliability of a first-class mobile carrier, the most comprehensive solutions portfolio and personalized customer support. Our customers are some of the best in the industry and selecting award recipients was no easy task. It was a nice challenge to have and witnessing our customers taking such bold strides to success in the past decade is the biggest accolade this partnership could ever receive."

For their excellence in fleet management, Fleet Achievement Awards will be given to:

Fleet of the Year Award  Lowe's Canada

Fleet Safety Award  Les Constructions Edguy Inc

Environment Award  Telecon

Pioneer Award  Miller Paving Limited

Fleet Manager of the Year Award  Ledcor Group

Driver of the Year Award  APPS Express

Small Biz Fleet Award  Yummy Catering

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

Related Links

www.fleetcomplete.com


SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to ensure high qualities of life for children in Illinois while promoting fairness in the child support system, State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, Fathers' Rights attorney, Jeffery Leving, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the House Restorative Justice Committee will hold an official hearing on child support laws and nuances. The hearing will take place Thursday, May 25 at 3 p.m. in Room C-1 in the Stratton Building in Springfield, IL.

"I continue to hear from many families about the unfair child support laws in Illinois and they are demanding change," said Ford. "In certain cases in Illinois, a man is deemed responsible for paying child support even though DNA testing shows that he is not the father. Nuances in the law like this must be reviewed for the best interest of the families of our state."

Ford, renowned Fathers' Rights attorney, Jeffery Leving, Illinois Fathers for Equality, the House Restorative Justice Committee and more will discuss details on child support laws in Illinois, as well as processes for changing child support orders, what to do when child support is owed and more.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Ford's constituent service office at 773-378-5902 or [email protected]

WHO: State Rep. La Shawn Ford

Jeffery Leving, The Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd. Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Illinois Fathers for Equality Illinois House Restorative Justice Committee



WHAT: House Restorative Justice Committee Hearing: Child Support/Paternity



WHEN: Thursday, May 25

3:00 p.m.



WHERE: Room C-1 Stratton Building

401 S Spring St.

Springfield, IL

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

773-378-5902

SOURCE The Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd.
JUPITER, Fla., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- G4S Secure Solutions (USA) announced today that Sergeant Douglas Dang of Hawaii has been named the 2016 Security Officer of the Year. Dang will be honored at the company's North America Headquarters in June.

Dang, a 15-year G4S employee, exemplifies the G4S Values of Safety, Security and Service Excellence. He is being recognized for displaying a passion for working safely and taking great care to protect a customer's guest from harm.

While on post at a luxury high-rise hotel, Dang responded to a call reporting that a woman was hanging from a 24th floor balcony in an apparent attempt to commit suicide. When he arrived, Dang engaged the distraught guest in conversation, calming her and encouraging her to rethink her decision. When the guest began to come back over the railing, she lost her grip. Dang quickly moved to pull her to safety, putting his own health at risk. A hotel employee eventually pulled both Dang and the guest to safety.

A few months later, after receiving the help she needed, the woman returned to thank Dang, greeting him with a lei and reading him a poem she had written titled: "For My Hero Doug."

"The actions of Sgt. Douglas Dang display an incredible mix of preparation, compassion and bravery," said Drew Levine, President of G4S Secure Solutions. "G4S is honored to recognize Dang's service to our company and our client. We honor him alongside the thousands of G4S Security Officers who have dedicated themselves to our client's safety and security."

The G4S Security Officer of the Year is an annual award. Dang is one of 35,000 G4S Security Officers that play an essential role in the safety, security and protection of people and property. With more than 25 percent of employees who are former or current military, G4S has been named a Military Friendly Employer and has received recognition including Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's (ESGR) Patriot Award, Pro Patria Award, Above and Beyond Award, and the Seven Seals Award.

About G4S

G4S is the world's leading global, integrated security company specializing in the delivery of security and related services to customers across six continents. The group is active in more than 100 countries, and is the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange with over 585,000 employees and has a secondary stock exchange listing in Copenhagen. For more information on G4S, visit G4S.us.

SOURCE G4S

Related Links

http://www.g4s.us/en-US


For eligible high school students and current CU Denver students who enroll in the Pathways Program, there is a 30% discount on tuition for the six month full-time WDI course. Through this partnership, students who complete the WDI program can earn up to 12 credits (nearly a full semester of academic credit). Upon program completion, they can choose to immediately enter the workforce, enroll in CU Denver part-time or full-time, or begin working while saving for their education and enroll at CU Denver within five years with the credits they earned.

"This partnership will fuel Denver's increasingly tech-driven workforce," said CU Denver Chancellor, Dorothy Horrell, Ph.D. "By combining the skills and expertise of Galvanize with a comprehensive education from Colorado's public urban research university, students have the opportunity to launch into successful careers as software designers, system analysts, leaders in web development and beyond."

"We believe Galvanize and CU Denver both offer critical skill development for the business leaders of tomorrow," said Galvanize CEO Jim Deters. "Today, every company is a tech company, which means they all need and are competing for highly-skilled, workforce ready employees, managers, and future executives. We are thrilled to partner with CU Denver to integrate the Galvanize industry-driven tech curriculum and degree programs at CU Denver's Business School."

Research indicates that current demand equals unprecedented opportunity for Coloradans to find high-paying jobs in tech. In Colorado alone there are approximately 15,000 open job postings in IT, currently comprising approximately 13% of all job postings, with an expected 21% increase in IT jobs over the next decade.

Deters noted, "Through this unique partnership, our organizations are committed to providing Coloradans the skills they need to be competitive in the new, tech-driven economy through world-class training and academics offered in the heart of downtown Denver."

To find out more about the Pathways Program visit the Galvanize website and find out information about the Tuition Assistance for Galvanize programs.

About Galvanize

Galvanize is a 21st Century school for engineers, data scientists and entrepreneurs. On eight campuses across the U.S., the energy, intellect and ambition of Galvanize students, members and alumni are at the heart of a learning community that promotes belonging, and that celebrates courage and growth. Our faculty and flexible blended-learning platform, combining part-time online education and in-person training, provide the most relevant and in-demand technical skills to anyone with the smarts, drive and grit to re-skill, up-skill and define success on their terms. Our members include first-time entrepreneurs, growing startups, and Fortune 1000 companies all looking to level-up. Become a member or enroll in an immersive course by visiting the Galvanize website. Follow us: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

About CU Denver

As Colorado's only public urban research university, CU Denver educates a diverse student body through quality academics, ambitious research and creative work, and civic engagement in the city we call home. We educate more than 14,000 students at CU Denver, our comprehensive campus in downtown Denver. You can choose from more than 100 programs in 8 schools and colleges at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. All students are exposed to the powerful combination of immersive classroom and real-world experiences, while the city benefits from well educated, top talent and a new generation that fuels the future of Denver and our region. Learn more at http://www.ucdenver.edu/.

SOURCE Galvanize

Related Links

http://www.galvanize.com


SUMMIT, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gearhart Law, a New York area-based IP firm specializing in patent, trademark and copyright law, is pleased to announce our support of the Women's Center for Entrepreneurship Corp. (WCEC) fundraiser for education on June 15th at 6 p.m. at The Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge, N.J. Register at Eventbrite.

Unlocking the door to success

The mission of the Women's Center for Entrepreneurship (WCEC) is to empower women to invest in themselves and their communities intellectually, emotionally and financially, via entrepreneurship in the state of New Jersey. They provide the tools necessary for women to successfully own, operate and grow their businesses.

Join us on June 15th to learn how to grow your business, increase your sales, target your ideal client, 'get in the door' and more from our expert sales panel.

You can register at Eventbrite.

The evening consists of the panel discussion, networking, raffle baskets (including high-end prizes such as a designer bracelet, Broadway theater tickets, an iPad Pro, etc.), and food and drinks.

Learn from our panel of experts as they discuss their sales expertise:

"Being on the board of the WCEC has been rewarding in that I can give back to the community through events like this one. I look forward to sharing my story of rising from a sales account rep to VP of Sales, and to giving tips and advice to women entrepreneurs who are starting and growing their businesses, such as: how to deliver a stellar first impression, getting to the decision maker, know your competitors, be humble but confident, and how to ask for the sale."

 Chris Costello, VP of Sales, AT&T

2016 NJBIZ Top 50 Women in Business

2017 LWE Top 25 Women Intrapreneurs

2010 Top 10 Woman in Wireline

WCEC Woman of Influence and Board Member

"Sometimes, small tweaks and changes can make the biggest impact on sales results  but only if you know which small tweaks and changes to make. I am proud to be on the WCEC panel amongst such accomplished sellers. I'm excited to share what our team of Door Openers has found works, as well as what doesn't work, to open more doors, close more sales and just make selling easier."

 Caryn Kopp, Chief Door Opener

2016 Inc. 5000 fastest growing private company

NJ's 50 Fastest Growing Companies

Stevie Award for Sales Outsourcing Provider

SmartCEO Future 50 and Brava Awards

NJ BIZ 50 Best Women in Business Award

Top 25 NJ Leading Women Entrepreneurs

Enterprising Women of the Year

Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year

"Being in the business of helping entrepreneurs means not only advising them on Intellectual Property, it also means, for me, presenting at events such as those the WCEC holds to help people further their businesses. I give presentations worldwide and I'm particularly pleased to be able to join the WCEC panel to share the techniques I've used to grow my client base from 40 to 400 in two years."

 David Postolski, Esq., Patent Attorney, Chief BD Partner at Gearhart Law

2016 Inc. 5000 fastest growing private company

Professor  Parsons School of Design

Professor - Montclair State University

Chair - Professional Issues Division of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property law

Member - CLE Board, Sponsorship Board

Founder - International Action Group

"I have spent nearly 25 years in high tech sales. Starting in the semiconductor industry, working up through board level design, system-level infrastructure, software applications, telcos, and now in data management. Looking in the rear view mirror of my career, there are lots of best sales practices one could and should adopt. But I will share with you the single most impactful and the foundation for my consistent success."

 Kelly Rodocker, Netapp, Client Partner & District Manager

US Army veteran - 2 Armored Division from 1983-1988

Department of the Army green to gold scholarship recipient

"I have always been impressed by the mission of the WCEC, and inspired by its talented and motivated members. So, I am particularly delighted to be part of this panel discussion and share my sales experience. It's a journey of over ten years that started as an unexpected, yet natural, progression of my career, and enabled me to contribute substantially to the growth of C2G Partners and my own personal abilities."

 Annette Giordano, EVP, Head of Business Development

Register at eventbrite

Media contact:

Elizabeth Gearhart

[email protected]

862-703-8368

SOURCE Women's Center for Entrepreneurship Corporation

Related Links

http://www.wcecnj.org


Global Genes is thrilled to announce that the 2017 Keynote Speakers are Simon Wheatcroft , Adventurer, Technologist, and Retinitis Pigmentosa patient, and Christopher P. Austin, MD , Director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH.

More than 90 speakers are expected to participate in the RARE Patient Advocacy Summit, and the agenda will feature presentations that will help attendees navigate the complex world of rare disease. Highlighted sessions include: "Beyond Diagnosis: Working with a Genetic Counselor During Your Rare Journey," "Drug Development Pathway," and "How Digital Health Will Transform Rare Disease Clinical Trials."

The RARE Patient Advocacy Summit is a source of motivation and activation for families whose lives have been affected by rare disease. Annually, corporate stakeholders attend the event and become immersed in rare disease advocacy and gain valuable knowledge on patient and caregiver perspectives.

Global Genes is pleased to welcome Horizon Pharma and PRA Health Sciences as Title Sponsors for the 2017 Rare Patient Advocacy Summit. To date, Summit Sponsors include: Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Retrophin, Illumina, Inc., Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, BIO Biotechnology Innovation Organization, and Akcea Therapeutics.

For more information and to register for the RARE Patient Advocacy Summit visit globalgenes.org. Rare disease patients can apply for a travel stipend to attend. To learn more about Sponsorship opportunities, follow this link.

About Global Genes

Guided by its mission to eliminate the challenges of rare disease, Global Genes is a leading rare disease patient advocacy organization with worldwide reach that serves and promotes the needs of patients and families touched by rare and genetic diseases. Since 2009, under the unifying symbol of HOPE and the Blue Denim Genes Ribbons, Global Genes has been building awareness, developing patient-focused education and advocacy tools, and funding patient care programs and early investigative research. For more information visit www.globalgenes.org. Join the RARE conversation! Follow @GlobalGenes on social media.

About Horizon Pharma

Horizon Pharma plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by identifying, developing, acquiring and commercializing differentiated and accessible medicines that address unmet medical needs. The Company markets 11 medicines through its orphan, rheumatology and primary care business units. Visit the RAREis Instagram page to learn more about Horizon's efforts to elevate the faces and stories of the rare disease community. For more information about Horizon, visit www.horizonpharma.com. Follow @HZNPplc on Twitter or view careers on our LinkedIn page.

About PRA Health Sciences

PRA is one of the world's leading global CROs by revenue, providing outsourced clinical development services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. PRA's global clinical development platform includes more than 70 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and the Middle East and over 13,300 employees worldwide. Since 2000, PRA has performed approximately 3,500 clinical trials worldwide. PRA has participated in the pivotal or supportive trials that led to FDA or international regulatory approval of more than 70 drugs. To learn more about PRA, visit www.prahs.com.

SOURCE Global Genes

Related Links

http://www.globalgenes.org


CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GMH Mortgage Services LLC, a nationally-recognized direct mortgage lender, headquartered in Conshohocken, PA is pleased to announce the recent addition of Tim Sheridan as a new branch manager in Danvers, MA.

"I am beyond thrilled to have Tim join the team as a leader for our North Shore group in Danvers," stated Brian Mahoney, Regional Manager for GMH Mortgage Services in New England. "His reputation as a purchase-focused loan officer for more than twenty years made him a great fit for a leadership role in our New England region, and he will immediately make an impact in this important market."

Mr. Sheridan is a lifelong resident of Marblehead, MA and has over 20 years of residential mortgage lending experience. He has advised hundreds of home buyers through purchases and refinances with a focal point on exceptional and individualized customer service built on a platform of honesty, integrity, and industry expertise. Mr. Sheridan guides his clients to the loan product that best fits the needs of their financial goals for today and tomorrow.

"I respect the integrity with which the company operates," explained Sheridan on his decision to join GMH Mortgage Services. "The family-based culture and commitment to the borrower resonates throughout all members of the sales and operations teams. GMH's lending platform presents a wonderful opportunity for me to assist borrowers quickly and effectively while providing a smooth and rewarding experience from start to finish. I'm proud to join such a customer focused company."

Most recently, GMH Mortgage announced the addition of nineteen sales and operational professionals to their headquarters in Conshohocken, PA.

GMH Mortgage has been awarded a 2017 Top Workplaces honor by Philly.com, recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of "The Best Places to Work" in 2015 and 2016, and one of the "Fifty on Fire  Top 10 Fastest Growing Companies" in the Greater Philadelphia Region.

www.gmhmortgage.com

About GMH Mortgage Services, LLC:

As a part of the dynamic GMH family of companies, GMH Mortgage Services, LLC is dedicated to exceeding our client's expectations with innovative programs, competitive pricing, cutting-edge technology and unsurpassed customer service. Headquartered in Conshohocken, PA, GMH Mortgage is comprised of experienced mortgage professionals that develop long term relationships with our clients and partners by delivering a superior, five-star experience with each and every interaction. GMH Mortgage currently employs over 200 people in more than 30 branches throughout the East Coast.

SOURCE GMH Mortgage Services, LLC

Related Links

http://www.gmhmortgage.com


"The Live Well Foundation is dedicated to helping those in the communities where we live and work," said Bob Moran, interim CEO of GNC. "We are proud to contribute assistance to the local Red Cross, furthering the impactful work that they do every day."

GNC's Live Well Foundation, established in 2004, is committed to providing nutrition education and assistance to the communities in which its employees and customers live and work. Through the charitable efforts of the Foundation, GNC employees, customers and vendors are committed to improving the health of others by funding programs for education, research and access to nutrition.

"The American Red Cross is fortunate to have many generous community partners, like GNC, who enable us to assist individuals who have been impacted by emergency situations such as what occurred last week at Midtown Towers," commented Patricia Waldinger, American Red Cross Western Pennsylvania Region CEO. "We are extremely grateful for their support."

About GNC's Live Well Foundation

GNC's Live Well Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation dedicated to making access to nutrition, supplementation and wellness education available to all, with a focus on women and children throughout the U.S. The Live Well Foundation partners with programs that support these causes. The Foundation also supports relief efforts in response to natural disasters or emergencies.

About the American Red Cross of Southwestern Pennsylvania

The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. All American Red Cross disaster assistance is provided free of charge and is made possible by the voluntary donations of time and money from caring individuals and, in part, by contributions given through the United Way.

About GNC

GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GNC) - Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA - is a leading global specialty health, wellness and performance retailer.

GNC connects customers to their best selves by offering a premium assortment of heath, wellness and performance products, including protein, performance supplements, weight management supplements, vitamins, herbs and greens, wellness supplements, health and beauty, food and drink and other general merchandise. This assortment features proprietary GNC and nationally recognized third-party brands.

GNC's diversified, multi-channel business model generates revenue from product sales through company-owned retail stores, domestic and international franchise activities, third-party contract manufacturing, e-commerce and corporate partnerships. As of March 31, 2017, GNC had approximately 9,000 locations, of which more than 6,800 retail locations are in the United States (including 2,371 Rite Aid franchise store-within-a-store locations) and franchise operations in approximately 50 countries.

Media Contact:

Laura Brophy

Direct: 212-537-5177, Ext 2

Cell: 203-331-7618

[email protected]

SOURCE GNC Holdings, Inc
GULF SHORES, Ala., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Villa Lagoon Tile, based in Gulf Shores, Alabama, has been chosen by Google to represent the successful small businesses in Alabama that utilize the Internet in a powerful way.

Villa Lagoon Tile is a talented team designing, importing, and exporting handcrafted encaustic cement tile. It is an online-only business that relies on web advertising, email and Google's business tools. Google and independent research firm Ipsos MORI analyzed the online strength of local small businesses in cities in all 50 states.

Winning the Google award was a time for celebration at Villa Lagoon Tile

Being chosen for the prestigious award for means many more people will now discover the beauty of colorful cement tile. Additionally, potential businesses will now consider Gulf Shores as Alabama's digital hotspot for Internet-based enterprises. The city with the highest scores in each state was designated a Google "eCity."

Villa Lagoon Tile was launched in 2008 by Lundy Wilder, a website designer/entrepreneur. While building her new home in Gulf Shores, she wanted to incorporate the bold, ornate floor tile designs she'd seen from her travels to Spain, Italy, and Latin America. She contacted tile makers and was delighted to learn that she could create unique tile designs for herself. Wilder realized that there was a niche market of consumers who were also seeking an alternative to standard floor tiles. Combining her web design skills and love for these exceptional cement tiles, Wilder founded Villa Lagoon Tile. She began offering custom cement tiles to residential and commercial customers.

Today, Villa Lagoon Tile stocks 150 different products, some are antique patterns but many are exclusive and have been designed by Wilder and the VLT team. Warehousing over 60,000 square feet of cement tile, VLT has provided tiles for numerous high-profile projects such as Disney-Orlando, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Paris Hotel-Vegas, Hong Kong Jockey Club, and Ralph Lauren-Barbados among many others. International shipments drive 15 percent of their sales as business continues to grow in North and Latin America, Asia, Europe and, most recently, the Middle East.

"There's been an explosion of interest in encaustic cement tiles," Wilder explains. "Architects and designers who love our product and excellent customer service will use our tiles in project after project."

The company has expanded and now has ten employees. They've been able to give back to the Gulf Coast community by routinely donating tiles to Habitat for Humanity. "We are a small town on a big beach," Wilder says. "Small businesses like ours are everything to this community."

Google has presented Villa Lagoon Tile with two all-expense-paid trips for team members to visit the Googleplex, learn, and network with award winners from the other 49 states.

Links & Photos:

Villa Lagoon Tile

https://www.villalagoontile.com/

2016 Villa Lagoon Tile Economic Impact Story

www.google.com/economicimpact

Additional Photos (High-Res) on Google Drive:

http://vlt.la/3n7

Twitter: @villalagoontile

Contact:

Lundy Wilder  founder/designer

[email protected]

Villa Lagoon Tile

901 Commerce Dr. Suite C

Gulf Shores, AL 36542

T 251.968-3375

C 251.978-2876

Related Images

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Related Links

Villa Lagoon Tile Website

Google's Economic Impact Winner

SOURCE Villa Lagoon Tile

Related Links

https://www.villalagoontile.com


MAYNARD, Mass., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaon Interactive, the leading provider of 3D marketing and sales applications for global B2B brands is working with Google (NYSE: GOOGL) and Lenovo (NYSE: LNVGY) to accelerate the advancement of the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) industry. The three companies will showcase their work together at Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, Calif., later this month. Click here to view a video of the 3D AR product models in action.

Already used in production by numerous B2B Fortune 500 companies, the Kaon High Velocity Marketing Platform currently deploys applications to Tango-enabled devices, allowing companies to showcase fully-scaled 3D augmented reality models of their products in their customers' physical space. Tango is Google's technology enabling AR experiences, and Lenovo's Phab 2 Pro is currently the only commercial Tango-enabled Smartphone that enables augmented reality.

Participating companies are currently using these interactive sales and marketing applications at trade shows and at customer meetings to show how products look and behave in the customers' actual medical laboratories, datacenters and manufacturing facilities. With the new AR applications in use today, Google, Lenovo and Kaon will focus on full rollouts to Fortune 500 sales teams.

"AR and VR applications are game-changers for B2B marketers, but we're just scratching the surface," said Kaon Interactive President & CEO, Gavin Finn. "As innovative Tango- and Daydream-enabled devices are brought to market, such as the Phab 2 Pro and the Daydream standalone VR headset from Lenovo, which was just announced at Google I/O, Fortune 500 sales teams will increasingly adopt the technology as competitive marketing and sales differentiators. Google and Lenovo have recognized this potential, and we're excited about partnering to deliver more collaborative offerings."

The trio will showcase its AR and VR experiences at Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, Calif., on May 31  June 2 at booth #237. There, attendees will have the opportunity to experience Kaon's AR and VR applications on the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro via Tango. Additionally, Gavin Finn will participate in a 30-minute all-star panel, hosted on the AWE main stage, on May 31 that is sure to inspire the AR and VR industry audience.

Kaon VR is the most advanced B2B marketing solution available that immerses users in an interactive digital B2B environment, such as a virtual data center or a virtual diagnostics laboratory. Kaon AR is the first B2B Augmented Reality marketing application that integrates interactive 3D Product Models into real-world business environments.

About Kaon Interactive

Kaon Interactive is a B2B software company. Kaon's interactive sales and marketing applications simplify complex product and solution stories in a visually engaging way anywhere, anytime, turning prospects into customers. The company's interactive 3D sales and marketing applications transform product and solution marketing content into visual storytelling experiences to deepen customer engagement, reduce marketing expenses and accelerate the sales cycle. More than 5,000 Kaon Interactive applications are being used worldwide at trade shows, remote sales demonstrations, product launches, executive briefing centers, and websites by leading global product manufacturing companies. For more information about Kaon, visit www.kaon.com.

Media Contact for Kaon Interactive

Deanna Haas

[email protected]

(781) 749-0077

SOURCE Kaon Interactive

Related Links

http://www.kaon.com


JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Goya Foods, America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, announces the nine recipients of Goya's nationwide Culinary Arts and Food Sciences Scholarship awarded to students entering their freshman year of college to obtain their first undergraduate degree in culinary arts and/or food sciences in addition to Goya's annual Employee Scholarship, awarded to the sons and daughters of company employees.

The recipients of the Goya Culinary Arts and Food Sciences Scholarship for the 2017-2018 academic year are Marianna F. Apergis (Connecticut) of Purdue University; Eileen Foerster (New Jersey) of Cornell University; Abigail R. Garcia (Texas) of University of Texas; Kendall W. Green (Miami) of Purdue University; and Delila Torres (New Jersey) of Johnson & Wales. The recipients of the Goya Employee Scholarship are Tiffany A. Cascante (New Jersey) of Montclair State University; Anabelle D. Lopez (Delaware) of American University; Elizabeth C. Rubio Atencio (Texas) of University of Houston; and Rodolfo Ruiz (Texas) of Texas A&M University.

The Goya Culinary Arts and Food Sciences Scholarship and Goya Employee Scholarship were established to honor Goya's commitment to higher education. "Goya has a long-standing history of supporting the community and implementing educational programs to help strengthen the development and growth of our youth and educational systems," says Bob Unanue, President of Goya Foods. "The Goya Scholarship Funds act not only as a symbol of our appreciation to our employees and to our community but helps promote the importance of higher education."

Administered by Scholarship America, Goya's Scholarship Funds are available annually on a competitive basis to students entering a two-year or four-year institution. Those applying for the Culinary Arts and Food Sciences Scholarship must be enrolled as a freshman as a Culinary Arts and/or Food Sciences major. Scholarships are in the amount of $5,000, awarded per academic year and are renewable for up to three additional years, totally $20,000, provided the student remains eligible to receive funding.

For more information about the upcoming 2017-2018 scholarships, please log onto www.goya.com Acceptance of applications will begin on November 16, 2017.

About GOYA: Founded in 1936, Goya Foods, Inc. is America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, and has established itself as the leader in Latin American food and condiments. Goya manufactures, packages, and distributes over 2,500 high-quality food products from Spain, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Central and South America. Goya products have their roots in the culinary traditions of Hispanic communities around the world; the combination of authentic ingredients, robust seasonings and convenient preparation makes Goya products ideal for every taste and every table. For more information on Goya Foods, please visit www.goya.com

About Scholarship America: Scholarship America mobilizes support for students getting into and graduating from college. Since 1958, Scholarship America has distributed $3.1 billion in scholarship assistance to 2 million students, funding both entry-level and multi-year scholarships and emergency financial grants. More information is available at scholarshipamerica.org.

For more information, contact:

Natalie Maniscalco

845.659.6506 / [email protected]

SOURCE Goya Foods

Related Links

https://www.goya.com


BOISE, Idaho, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kno2, the company that optimizes patient document exchange for everyone in healthcare, today announced that healthcare interoperability expert, Erica Neher, has been named senior vice president of partner success after working closely with Kno2's leadership team since last fall.

An industry veteran with nearly 20 years' experience in leading cutting-edge healthcare informatics projects, Ms. Neher will be focused on enabling Kno2's technology partners to maximize the opportunities for information sharing internally and across the full spectrum of the healthcare continuum, including physician practices, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, emergency medical services, physical therapy offices and other providers. Her natural ambition and passion for healthcare will help drive rapid resolution of the end-users' most significant challenges, especially around interoperability and data sharing. Additionally, Ms. Neher's efforts will support broader awareness and adoption of Kno2's platform, which allows partners to securely exchange patient information electronically via cloud fax, Direct messaging or document query within their regular workflows.

Ms. Neher brings an impeccable record of accomplishments around interoperability to her new role. She led one of the first national implementations of Carequality, an initiative of The Sequoia Project that is dedicated to establishing standards for care coordination, and the National Record Locator Service (NRLS), resulting in community-wide physician and vendor adoption of these technologies. Ms. Neher has also accumulated extensive experience working with the eHealth exchange, Direct messaging, health information exchanges (HIEs), population health/value-based care analytics and vendor-specific exchange technologies.

"I first became aware of Kno2 at an industry conference," said Ms. Neher. "I was trying to solve some issues around Direct messaging and they showed me how they could do it quickly, easily and inexpensively. In short order, I became aware that Kno2 was solving one of the industry's greatest challenges  creating patient-centered communications across the entire healthcare landscape  in ways that were simply elegant. After working with them on a few projects, I could see that they understood patient document exchange like no one else. I just knew I had to be a part of what they were doing."

Ms. Neher comes to Kno2 from Neher EMR Support Consulting Services, a successful healthcare consulting company she has owned for the past five years. During this time, she led critical projects for Meaningful Use, medication reconciliation, HIE, process improvement and the adoption of outside records into clinical workflows.

Previously, she served as a manager of inpatient clinical systems at SSM Health of Wisconsin, and was a clinical systems architect at Wisconsin Integrated Information Technology and Telemedicine Systems (WIITTS). She worked as a process improvement project manager at St. Mary's Dean Ventures after first gaining exposure to healthcare delivery during her career at Epic.

Ms. Neher holds a Master of Science in Communication Research & Leadership from Illinois State University, where she also taught public speaking, interpersonal communication and small group communication courses. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from St. Norbert College.

"Erica is the perfect person to take on the role of senior vice president of partner success and we are thrilled to have her join the Kno2 team," said Jon Elwell, CEO of Kno2. "The combination of her deep healthcare industry acumen, her specific hands-on experience with interoperability in all its forms and her incredible communication skills, is exactly what is needed to help our customers and their clients make a seamless transition to value-based care."

About Kno2

Kno2 optimizes patient document exchange for everyone in healthcare. The company's cloud-based platform improves the healthcare experience for providers and their patients by making the sharing of documents easy, affordable and secure. Even healthcare providers with limited resources can participate in the simple, structured exchange of patient documentswithout changing their workflow or technology infrastructure. The Kno2 platform captures and exchanges documents from virtually any source, ranging from a fax machine to an EMR/EHR. The intelligent platform determines the most interoperable format and method of exchange for a document. All of this functionality is available through a simple set of APIs or through Kno2's provider portal. Learn more about how Kno2 adds value to patient document exchange at www.kno2.com.

Media Contact:

Joy DiNaro

Amendola Communications for Kno2

[email protected]

847.809.0406

SOURCE Kno2

Related Links

http://www.kno2.com


MILWAUKEE, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HSA Bank has been honored by WEX Health with a 2016 Partner Excellence Award for outstanding business achievements. HSA Bank received the Excellence Award for Partner of the Year at Partner Conference 2017, the annual WEX Health Partner conference held recently in Hollywood, Florida.

HSA Bank was selected for this award because of its extraordinary results across all Excellence Award categories and its "best all-around performance" in several areas, including: Number of lives impacted by WEX Health products and solutions, employer and participant retention, migration growth, account adoption, and debit card penetration.

As a trusted leader in consumer-directed healthcare (CDH), HSA Bank focuses on the full array of CDH solutions available, including health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) as well as other pre-tax benefits.

"With more than 20 years of experience, the HSA Bank team delivers exceptional account-based health benefit solutions complemented by incredible expertise and outstanding customer service," said Jeff Young, senior vice president and general manager of WEX Health.

HSA Bank inspires more than two million members and more than 35,000 employer groups to own their health by making it easy to access and understand healthcare.

"Partnering with WEX Health gives HSA Bank the right combination of technology, commitment, and experience to deliver a better customer experience, and ultimately, empower individuals to own their health," said Chad Wilkins, executive vice president of Webster Bank, and head of HSA Bank.

The Excellence Awards, established in 2008 based on 2007 results, are presented yearly and recognize WEX Health Partners that have achieved extraordinary notable accomplishments. Award recipients were recognized for reaching significant milestones in 2016 across several areas including growth, evangelism, leadership, innovation, and customer service as well as overall outstanding Partner successes.

The 2016 Partner Excellence Awards were presented in 13 categories: Growth Excellence, Evangelist, Innovator, Market Maker, Sales Excellence, Service Excellence, Solution Visionary, Leadership, New Partner of the Year, Card Partner of the Year, Billing Partner of the Year, Platform Partner of the Year, and Partner of the Year.

To learn more about partnering with HSA Bank, visit http://www.hsabank.com/hsabank/partners/partner-advantage.

About HSA Bank:

HSA Bank is a trusted leader in consumer-directed healthcare (CDH), focusing on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for over two decades and serving as both the bank and administrator. Discover how we can support your benefits strategy with our comprehensive account-based health benefit solutions that include HSAs, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), and Commuter Benefits. With a reputation for outstanding service and thought leadership in the CDH space, we offer one platform and one portal for all of our members. HSA Bank inspires over 2 million members and more than 35,000 employer groups to own their health by making it easy to access, understand, and afford healthcare. HSA Bank has over $5 billion in total assets, and is a division of Webster Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.

Media Contact:

Sarah Barr

(203) 578-2287

[email protected]

SOURCE HSA Bank

Related Links

http://www.hsabank.com


CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IKEA announced today that it is collaborating with Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, to sponsor an in-store program, 'Feeding the Future,' which runs June 1  30, to support local Feeding America member food banks.

Through the 'Feeding the Future' program, IKEA U.S. will donate $1 to local Feeding America food banks for every healthy kids meal purchased in any IKEA U.S. restaurant. Additionally, IKEA customers can add $1 donations* to the Feeding America network at all IKEA store registers at cash lanes, customer restaurants, IKEA Bistros and Swedish Food markets.The five healthy kids meals in the 'Feeding the Future' program include:

Organic penne pasta with organic marinara sauce Grilled chicken with baby carrots, strawberries and string cheese Vegetable Ball with steamed vegetables Chicken Ball with steamed vegetables Swedish meatballs mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables

"Every day, millions of Americans, including children, are struggling with hunger. IKEA U.S. is dedicated to supporting our local communities and customers by supporting our store markets local food banks. Collaborating with the Feeding America network, along with our commitment to healthy eating, benefits many in need," commented Evamay Lawson, IKEA Community Relations Manager.

This year marks the fourth year of the 'Feeding the Future' program. To date the program has helped to secure almost 9 million meals to people who struggle with hunger.

According to Feeding America, more than one out of six US children live in a household with food insecurity, which means they do not always know where they will find their next meal.

At IKEA, children are the most important people in the world, so IKEA looks to support programs that make a difference in the lives of the many children. For this reason, IKEA is partnering again in 2017 with Feeding America to sponsor an annual in-store program  'Feeding the Future'  which supports national local food banks.

This partnership is a great way for IKEA US to reach local communities, support Feeding America's child hunger programs, encourage healthy eating, as well as give our customers the opportunity to make a difference.

Feeding America Network of Food Banks

The process of getting food to people who struggle with hunger in America requires a dynamic infrastructure and sophisticated management. Feeding America secures donations from national food and grocery manufacturers, retailers, shippers, packers and growers  and from government agencies and other organizations. Feeding America then moves donated food and grocery product to member food banks.

The food banks in turn distribute food and grocery items through food pantries and meal programs that serve families, children, seniors and others who struggle with hunger. Last year alone, the Feeding America network distributed more than 4 billion meals to people in need.

The Feeding America nationwide network of 200 food banks also supports programs that improve food security among the people served; educates the public about the issue of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.

*.IKEA guarantees a maximum donation of $50,000 to Feeding America and member food banks from June 1 to June 30, 2017

About IKEA Group

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices. The IKEA Group operates 340 IKEA stores in 28 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

About Feeding America

Feeding America is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 61,000 food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.

SOURCE IKEA US
DETROIT, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Impossible Foods has launched its first sustainability report, a comprehensive analysis of the food technology company's environmental mission, flagship product and growing team.

Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat directly from plants. The company's flagship product, the Impossible Burger, is the world's only burger that looks, handles, smells, cooks and tastes like ground beef from cows -- but is made entirely from plants, with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals.

Impossible Foods' sustainability report can be viewed and downloaded here and on our press page (https://www.impossiblefoods.com/press/). The company launched the report today to coincide with the annual Sustainable Brands conference in Detroit and will update the document to reflect rapidly increasing economies of scale and a growing team.

"We are integrating sustainability into day-to-day operations wherever possible, into every aspect of our long-term strategy, and, of course, our products," said Impossible Foods Founder and CEO Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D. "Our goal is to set a new standard for transparency in the food industry, from our ingredients and methods to our environmental impact -- and we welcome your feedback."

Big taste, small footprint

The Impossible Burger uses about 75% less water, generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases and requires around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows. It's produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors.

The Impossible Burger is served at about 20 restaurants in the United States and is expected to be in more than 1,000 restaurants within a year. Just last week, the Impossible Burger debuted at nine Umami Burger locations in the greater Los Angeles area. For the growing list of restaurants that serve the Impossible Burger, click here.

The Impossible Burger is debuting at more and more fine-dining restaurants and multi-unit chains throughout the United States. The company is ramping up production at its first large-scale manufacturing site, in Oakland, Calif. When fully ramped up, we expect that the Oakland facility will be able to supply over 4 million Impossible Burgers each month.

After Oakland is at full scale, Impossible Foods plans to introduce its plant-based burgers in more US restaurants, as well as in retail outlets and international markets. The company is also developing additional plant-based meat and dairy products.

About Impossible Foods:

Based in Redwood City, California, Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products directly from plants -- with a much smaller environmental footprint than those produced from animals. The privately held company was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., formerly a biochemistry professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Stanford University. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS and Viking Global Investors.

More information:

impossiblefoods.com

www.twitter.com/impossiblefoods

www.facebook.com/impossiblefoods

Sustainability Report:

https://impossiblefoods.app.box.com/v/presskit

SOURCE Impossible Foods

Related Links

http://www.impossiblefoods.com


DUBLIN, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "India Packaged & RTD Tea Market Overview" report to their offering.

According to India Packaged & RTD Tea Market Overview, packaged tea market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10-15% in the forecast period. Indian packaged/branded tea market is segmented into four major segments such as traditional black tea, green tea and herbal/fruit tea and other tea which includes instant tea, organic tea, white tea, oolong tea, etc.

Among all these categories black tea is a dominant category in the Indian tea market, however green tea is also expanding its presence among young Indian consumers due to its several health benefits. Healthy growth is projected for the market in the coming years driven by increasing focus on health and wellness. Regular & Lime/Lemon flavour green tea is most popular among young consumers. Packaged tea has big brands like HUL, Tata Tea, Duncans Tea Limited in its category.

RTD tea market is expected to grow with a significant CAGR during forecast period. Lipton by HUL and Nestea by Nestle are the leading players in the category, whereas lemon and peach are the popular flavours in the ready to drink tea market. The increasing consumer focus on health has led tea manufacturers to promote the benefits of antioxidants and flavonoids in the beverage.



The preference for beverages with detox and de-stress benefits has also led to the emergence of specialist tea outlets. Urban population is more concerned about their lifestyle as compared to the rural population. The lifestyle of urban population is more fast-paced. Fast-paced lifestyle along with an aspiration to stay fit is attracting people to consume ready to drink tea more often.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Global Tea Market Outlook



3. India Tea Market Outlook



4. Company Profiles



Duncans Tea Limited

Gujarat Tea Processors and Packers Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited

Nestle India Private Limited

Tata Global Beverages Limited

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kvj8kq/india_packaged

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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Green River student Melissa Curry is a single mother who has gone from casino dealer to software developer, thanks to her exceptional perseverance, a four-year degree from Green River, and plenty of financial and inspirational support along the way. "From my experience, those around you will notice your hard work and strength, and it's amazing how much help and support people are willing to give when they see you doing your best to help yourself," Ms. Curry said.

Inspirus Credit Union presented the 2017 installment of its Completion Fund grant on Wednesday. "It's our mission to give back to education," said Inspirus Vice President of Marketing Sherry Lotze, "and Green River's exceptional work in helping women, in particular, break barriers in IT is a model for the nation."

One-third of Green River's IT students are women, and the program is looking to increase that number to one-half by 2020. Inspirus's Community Wall in Tukwila features stories of women at Green River overcoming adversity through its IT program. This fall, the school will consolidate its day and evening software programs at its Auburn Center. Learn more about Green River College programs here.

Green River's IT Program is on display at Inspirus Credit Union in Tukwila and is open to the public for viewing.

Inspirus Credit Union  5200 Southcenter Blvd., Seattle, WA 98188

About Inspirus Credit Union

Founded in 1936 by a Seattle math and journalism teacher, Inspirus serves 80,000 members across Washington who share a passion for education. With $1.1 billion in assets, Inspirus operates branches in Seattle, Spokane, and Lynnwood. Its philanthropy model includes education-giveback programs that allow members to direct charitable contributions to schools in their communities. Inspirus employees donate upwards of 1,000 volunteer hours each year in support of education. For more information, visit inspirusCU.org.

SOURCE Inspirus Credit Union

Related Links

https://www.inspiruscu.org


WILMINGTON, Del. and ASHDOD, Israel, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrity Applications, Inc. (OTCQB: IGAP), maker of GlucoTrack, a non-invasive device for measuring glucose levels of people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, today announced the appointment of Michael Hauck to its Board of Directors.

John Graham, CEO and Chairman of Integrity Applications, remarked, "We are honored to welcome Mr. Hauck to Integrity Application's Board of Directors during this exciting stage in our Company's growth. His expansive knowledge of international markets, worldwide distribution and healthcare service solutions, will be invaluable as we expand GlucoTrack's global footprint in the rapidly growing diabetes and glucose monitoring landscape."

Mr. Hauck is currently the Executive Director of The Getz Group, a privately owned pan-Asian trading company focused on healthcare, industrial products, consumer distribution and retailing. He previously held executive and director level positions at various companies including, ERM, Interpharma Investments Ltd, Invida Holdings, Target Worldwide Express, 3i plc, Springboard, and Business Health Group Ltd. Mr. Hauck also served as the CEO of Walsh International for eight years, where he led the company's IPO and eventual sale to IMS Health.

Mr. Hauck commented, "I am delighted to be a part of Integrity Applications, which is changing the way glucose is monitored and diabetes is managed. I am excited about the prospects for the company's innovative non-invasive glucose monitoring technology, GlucoTrack, to transform diabetes management, but especially the potential to expand its offering to provide valuable data and insights to healthcare professionals. I look forward to working with the Integrity Applications team as the company continues its expansion."

About GlucoTrack

GlucoTrack is a truly non-invasive monitoring device that rapidly measures and displays an individual's glucose level in about a minute without finger pricking or any pain.

GlucoTrack features a small sensor that clips to the earlobe and measures the user's glucose level using innovative and patented sensor technology. The measured signals are analyzed using a proprietary algorithm and then a calculated glucose level is displayed on a small handheld device the size of a small mobile phone. The glucose results are stored in the device and used for a projected HbA1c level using a proprietary algorithm. The device also displays the glucose values graphically allowing the user to monitor glucose over a period of time.

GlucoTrack has received CE Mark and KFDA approvals for type 2 diabetes and prediabetics, and is currently in the early stages of commercialization in Europe, South Korea and other geographies.

GlucoTrack is expected to begin clinical trials for United States FDA approval in late 2017. The product is currently experimental in the United States and is limited to investigational use only.

About Integrity Applications, Inc.

Integrity Applications was founded in 2001 and is focused on the design, development and commercialization of non-invasive glucose monitoring technologies for patients with diabetes and prediabetes. The company has developed GlucoTrack, a proprietary non-invasive glucose monitoring device designed to obtain glucose level measurements in about a minute without the pain, incremental cost, difficulty or discomfort of conventional invasive finger stick devices. Integrity Applications Inc. is a Delaware corporation, with headquarters in the United States and an R&D site in Ashdod, Israel. For more information, please visit www.integrity-app.com and www.glucotrack.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "expect", "plan" and "will" are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that certain important factors may affect Integrity Applications' actual results and could cause such results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements that may be made in this news release. Factors that may affect Integrity Applications' results include, but are not limited to, the ability of Integrity Applications to raise additional capital to finance its operations (whether through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic collaborations or otherwise); risks relating to the receipt (and timing) of regulatory approvals (including FDA approval); risks relating to enrollment of patients in, and the conduct of, clinical trials; risks relating to its current and future distribution agreements; risks relating to its ability to hire and retain qualified personnel, including sales and distribution personnel; and the additional risk factors described in Integrity Applications' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2017.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Erich Sandoval / Amy Wheeler

Lazar Partners Ltd.

[email protected] / [email protected]

+1 (917) 497-2867 / +1 (646) 871-8486

INVESTOR CONTACTS

Matthew Ventimiglia

Lazar Partners Ltd.

[email protected]

+1 (212) 599-1265

Sami Sassoun, CFO Integrity Applications

[email protected]

+972 (8) 675-7878 Ext. 400

SOURCE Integrity Applications, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.integrity-app.com


VANCOUVER, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") - (TSX: ITH, NYSE-MKT: THM) announces the results from its 2017 Annual General Meeting of shareholders held in Vancouver, B.C. on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 ("Meeting").

At the Meeting, the Company's shareholders fixed the size of the board at eight and elected the following individuals as directors of the Company, with all receiving a majority of the votes cast, as follows:

Director Votes For Votes Withheld Marcelo Kim - Chair 85,040,156 (99.18%) 702,240 (0.82%) Stephen Lang  Lead Independent Director 85,123,521 (99.28%) 618,876 (0.72%) Anton Drescher 76,704,364 (89.46%) 9,038,033 (10.54%) John Ellis 76,994,869 (89.80%) 8,747,528 (10.20%) Mark Hamilton 84,974,596 (99.10%) 767,801 (0.90%) Thomas Weng 85,117,923 (99.27%) 624,473 (0.73%) Thomas Irwin 85,134,238 (99.29%) 608,158 (0.71%) Victor Flores 85,022,423 (99.16%) 719,973 (0.84%)

The shareholders re-appointed the current auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Accountants, as auditors of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 and authorized the directors to fix their remuneration.

The shareholders approved, on an advisory non-binding basis ("Say on Pay"), the compensation paid to the Company's executive officers (98% majority) and approved both the proposed issuance of common shares to Thomas Irwin (98% majority) and the Company's 2017 Deferred Share Unit Incentive Plan (87% majority).

The detailed proxy voting on all resolutions submitted to the shareholders at the Meeting is contained in the "Report of Voting Results" for the Meeting which will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR and on the Company's website or upon request by contacting the Company's Corporate Secretary at (604) 683-6332.

About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls a 100% interest in the Livengood Gold Project, located along the paved Elliott Highway, 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.

On behalf of

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

(signed) Karl Hanneman

Chief Executive Officer

SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.ithmines.com


"Dr. Weber is an exceptional research scientist whose mastery of medicinal chemistry has impacted millions of lives," said Christopher D. Pappas, President and CEO of Trinseo, and Chair of SCI America. "Her passion to improve the human condition, coupled with her strong leadership skills have had a profound influence on pharmaceutical innovation."

About Ann E. Weber

Ann E. Weber, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President  Drug Discovery at Kallyope Inc., a New York City-based biotechnology company focused on identification of therapeutic opportunities involving the gut-brain axis. In this role she is responsible for translating biology arising from the company's state-of the-art technology platform into drug discovery and development programs. She retired in November 2015 from Merck & Co., where she most recently held the position of Vice President  Lead Optimization Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL), responsible for the discovery of innovative therapeutic agents across disease areas. She joined MRL as a Senior Research Chemist in 1987.

Dr. Weber's research interests include the design and synthesis of ligands for G-protein coupled receptors, ion channels and enzymes. Her work has led to over 40 development candidates, including JANUVIA (sitagliptin), a treatment for patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), JANUMET, a fixed dose combination of sitagliptin and metformin, and MARIZEV (omarigliptin), a once-weekly treatment for T2DM that was approved in Japan in September 2015. An additional drug candidate, vibegron for the treatment of overactive bladder, is in late stage clinical trials.

Dr. Weber is the author or co-author of over 80 publications. She is co-inventor on over 35 issued US patents. Her awards include the Robert M. Scarborough Award for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry (American Chemistry Society (ACS)), the Heroes of Chemistry Award (ACS), the Discoverer's Award (PhRMA), recognizing scientists whose work has been of special benefit to humankind, and a Directors' Award, the highest honor that Merck confers on its employees. She is a 2013 Liberty Science Center Women in STEM Honoree and the recipient of the 2015 Gift of Mentoring Award from the Metro Women Chemists Committee. In 2016 she was named to the Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame (ACS).

Before joining Merck, Dr. Weber obtained her B.S. degree in chemistry summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame. She earned her Ph.D. degree from Harvard University, studying synthetic organic chemistry in the laboratories of Professor David A. Evans.

About the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Perkin Medal

The annual award is recognized as the highest honor given for outstanding work in applied chemistry in the United States. It commemorates the discovery of the first synthetic dye (the so-called Perkin mauve) by Sir William Henry Perkin in 1856. This discovery was a significant step forward in organic chemistry that led to the birth of a major segment of the chemical industry. The SCI Perkin Medal was first awarded to Sir William at a banquet held by the SCI in New York in 1906. Since then, more than 100 such awards have been given to notable scientists.

About the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)

SCI America Group, launched in 1894, is part of the Society of Chemical Industry's international organization. It provides a unique networking forum for chemical industry leaders, industrial scientists and technologists to exchange new business ideas and best practices. It celebrates achievement to promote public awareness of the contributions of industrial chemistry and inspire students to enter technical careers. SCI America events are managed by the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF).

The Perkin Medal award dinner will be the final event of Innovation Day, a full day of research collaboration in the molecular sciences held at CHF on September 12, 2017.

About the Chemical Heritage Foundation

CHF fosters dialogue on science and technology in society. Our staff and fellows study the past in order to understand the present and inform the future. We focus on matter and materials and their effects on our modern world in territory ranging from the physical sciences and industries, through the chemical sciences and engineering, to the life sciences and technologies. We collect, preserve, and exhibit historical artifacts; engage communities of scientists and engineers; and tell the stories of the people behind breakthroughs and innovations.

About Kallyope, Inc.

Kallyope is a new biotechnology company headquartered in New York City. Founded by Richard Axel, Tom Maniatis, and Charles Zuker from Columbia University in November 2015, we are focused on the identification of new therapeutic opportunities involving the gut-brain axis.

Kallyope is creating an industry-leading platform employing cutting edge technologies, including single cell sequencing, bioinformatics, opto- and chemo-genetics, circuit mapping, and neural imaging, for the purpose of identifying and targeting gut-brain circuits involved in health and disease. The Company is well funded, and has assembled an outstanding scientific team with deep expertise in core platform technologies, and a leadership team with a proven track record of success in drug discovery and translation.

The Company is headquartered in the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, a state-of-the-art, collaborative life science campus in the heart of Manhattan, with close proximity to New York City's world-leading clinical and research institutions. For more information, see www.kallyope.com.

SOURCE SCI America

Related Links

http://www.sci-america.org


NEW YORK and LONDON and OSLO, Norway, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Confirmit has been chosen by KeHE Distributors, LLC, a provider of natural and organic, specialty and fresh products throughout North America, to power its Voice of the Customer (VoC) program. KeHE selected the Confirmit Horizons platform to replace an ad-hoc survey tool and enable the company to build a comprehensive and scalable customer experience initiative. Rollout will begin with an online customer relationship survey to help KeHE deliver industry-leading customer experiences across its rapid, environmentally-friendly distribution network.

Brad Helmer, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, KeHE explains: "We are devoted to helping our suppliers and retailers succeed and this means listening to our customers, understanding their needs and taking action to provide exceptional service. By working with Confirmit to support this, we will be able to move beyond simply capturing customer feedback and ensure it is truly actionable."

KeHE Distributors is one of the oldest and most respected food distributors in the industry. The company was founded in 1953 and now operates a state-of-the-art organization of 4,500 employee-owners and a vast 17 distribution center network across the U.S. and Canada. To deliver insight across the company, KeHE will be supported by the full power of the Confirmit Horizons solution, including the Active Dashboards and Action Management modules to enable a full closed-loop feedback process.

Dave King, President of Americas, Confirmit, says: "The full range of capabilities that Confirmit offers, along with the opportunity to work with our CX and research consultants in the future, are key proponents to the flexible approach that KeHE required. We are delighted to welcome KeHE to our growing U.S. client community, and look forward to ensuring our constantly evolving solutions continue to meet their needs in the future."

Helmer concludes: "After a thorough selection process and demonstrations from various providers in the space, it was clear that Confirmit offered the right solution for KeHE. The ability for us to own our own program, while having the VoC expertise to draw upon when we need it was key to our decision and will stand us in good stead as we move forward. We look forward to differentiating our business from our competition with the help of the Confirmit team."

About Confirmit

Confirmit is the world's leading SaaS vendor for multi-channel Voice of the Customer, Voice of the Employee, and Market Research solutions. The company has offices in Oslo (headquarters), Chengdu, Grimstad, London, Moscow, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Vancouver, and Yaroslavl. Confirmit's software is also distributed through partner resellers in Madrid, Milan, Salvador, and Tokyo.

Confirmit powers Global 5000 companies and Market Research agencies worldwide with a wide range of software products for feedback / data collection, panel management, data processing, analysis, and reporting. Customers include Aurora, British Airways, British Standards Institution, Copart, Cross-Tab, Dow Chemical, GfK, GlaxoSmithKline, GMO Research, KeepFactor, Morehead Associates, Nielsen, Research Now, RS Components, QRS, Sony Mobile Communications, and Swisscom. Visit www.confirmit.com for more information.

About KeHE

KeHE Distributors, LLC (KeHE) provides Natural & Organic, Specialty and Fresh products to natural food stores, chain grocery stores, independent grocery stores and other specialty product retailers throughout North America. KeHE is the trusted B Corp Certified and employee-owned company with over 4,000 Careholders in the U.S. and Canada. For more about KeHE, visit KeHE.com.

Media Contact

Emma Walter

Matter Communications

978-518-4820

SOURCE Confirmit

Related Links

http://www.confirmit.com


HOUSTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Construction Inc. is a national construction management and general contracting firm with deep roots in the industrial market. They recently announced the relocation of their Houston-based office to better serve client needs and to be housed where some of the most powerful energy companies reside.

"We have developed many great relationships in the Texas market over the years. The Energy Corridor is full of opportunities, with already over 300 multi-national, national and local companies," said Mark Kelley, Vice President of Kelley Construction. "We want to be 'where energy lives'."

By moving into the energy corridor, the company is now strategically located in an area known for dense oil & gas activity, a market Kelley has been serving for over 30 years.

To find out more about services provided by Kelley Construction, visit www.kelleyconstruction.com

About Kelley Construction Inc:

Since opening its doors in 1978, Kelley Construction, Inc. has remained committed to providing innovative, value-based construction solutions for the growing needs of clients and the markets that they serve. Through the basic principle of building confidence, trust and integrity into every project, Kelley Construction has grown to a multi-divisional, national firm dedicated to construction excellence in the industrial, commercial, food service, and healthcare markets. Connect with Kelley Construction on Facebook, follow @KelleyConstInc on Twitter and @kelleyconstruction on Instagram.

SOURCE Kelley Construction

Related Links

http://www.kelleyconstruction.com


WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kidney Care Partners (KCP) praised the introduction of bipartisan legislation that elevates care, expands access, and promotes research to benefit the more than 636,000 Americans living with kidney failure.

The "Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act" (HR. 2644) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), John Lewis (D-GA), Peter Roskam (R-IL) and aims to improve the public's understanding of, and expand access to, treatment for chronic kidney disease through increased research and innovation, expanded choice options for patients, and improved patient care and quality outcomes.

"The kidney community applauds Representatives Marino, Lewis and Roskam for their leadership in protecting this vulnerable patient population" said Dr. Frank Maddux, chair of Kidney Care Partners. "We look forward to working with lawmakers to ensure that individuals with kidney disease have the resources and care they need to live quality, healthy lives."

Specifically, the legislation would:

Strengthen federal research efforts by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services and Government Accountability Office to issue several reports and recommendations to Congress, among them: how to increase kidney transplantation rates; how palliative care can be utilized to improve the quality of life for individuals with kidney disease; and, how to better understand chronic kidney disease in minority populations.





Improve patient care and quality outcomes by maintaining an economically stable dialysis infrastructure and modernizing quality programs. The bill also creates incentives for health professionals to work in underserved areas and rural communities.





Expand care options for patients by allowing individuals diagnosed with kidney failure to access managed care, ensure Medigap coverage for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), promote access to home dialysis treatments, and allow individuals with kidney failure to retain access to private insurance.

Currently, 31 million Americans either have some form of kidney disease or are at risk of developing kidney failure in the future. And each year, more than 100,000 are diagnosed with ESRD and will eventually require a kidney transplant or dialysis services.

"The Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act provides a clear roadmap for the future of the ESRD program," added Dr. Maddux. "By supporting increased research, expanded patient choice, and improved quality and care outcomes, this legislation will strengthen the care delivery for millions of individuals living with chronic kidney disease and ESRD."

About Kidney Care Partners

KCP is a broad-based coalition of patient advocates, clinicians, care professionals, dialysis providers, researchers and manufacturers working together to improve quality of care for individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and ESRD. KCP's goal is to, individually and collectively, ensure chronic kidney disease patients receive optimal care and be able to live quality lives through readily accessible dialysis care and enhanced therapies.

SOURCE Kidney Care Partners
A McKinley student in attendance shared, "I'm most excited about getting to meet Ed Helms and to see the movie before it even comes out. I want to be Captain Underpants when I grow up!" Providencia Principal Jennifer Culbertson added, "We rallied our entire community to get behind us [for the contest]. This was a great way to end the last week of school!"

The children oozed with excitement upon meeting Helms who, off-screen, plays another kind of superhero role to these children as an Advisory Board Member for Education Through Music-LA and dedicated champion for the cause. A musician himself, Helms takes the time to visit low-income area schools and music classrooms, recently performing banjo at Normandie Elementary in South Central Los Angeles.

Moderated by ETM-LA Executive Director Victoria Lanier, the Q&A provided a lighthearted look into Helms' experience in bringing the beloved superhero to life. Helms drew chuckles from the crowd as he remarked, "I was so excited to get to be Captain Underpantsat the end of the day, it's just a very large guy running around in his underwear and there's nothing better!" Helms further joked, "I connected with [Captain Underpants] on two levels. Number one, he's really dumb. So am I. And number two, he loves to run around in his underwear, and so do I."

The children had numerous questions for Helms including what it was like to collaborate with Kevin Hart. Helms praised Hart, saying, "You know, Kevin Hart is one of the funniest human beings on planet earth. He is a superhero of comedy. What's really interesting is [that when] we record all these voices, most of the time we're separate; so we don't actually hear the other person recording their parts. So the first time I saw the movie was the first time I got to see a lot of the lines that Kevin Hart did (and other guys like Thomas Middleditch) and yeah - I laughed real hard!"

ETM-LA honored Helms with a Shining Star Award at their recent annual gala with help from artists and actors including Moby, Andy Richter, Lisa Loeb, Christina Applegate, Angela Kinsey, Michael Giacchino, and Dustbowl Revival. "The gap in education opportunities in different communities is one of the great social injustices, and Education Through Music-LA plugs right into that in a very smart and critical way," said Helms. "Music has impact. And ETM-LA is a force-multiplier for that impact. [They] put teachers back in the schools, provide a curriculum, [and] provide resources."

Based on the worldwide sensation and bestselling book series by Dav Pilkey and boasting an A-list cast of comedy superstars headed by Kevin Hart and Ed Helms, DreamWorks Animation brings audiences the long-awaited global movie event, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. This raucously subversive comedy for the entire family tells the story of two overly imaginative pranksters named George and Harold, who hypnotize their principal into thinking he's a ridiculously enthusiastic, incredibly dimwitted superhero named Captain Underpants. Directed by David Soren and produced by Mireille Soria, p.g.a. and Mark Swift, p.g.a., Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie features the voice talents of Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Thomas Middleditch, Jordan Peele, and Kristen Schaal.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie opens in theaters nationwide June 2, 2017.

Education Through Music-Los Angeles (www.etmla.org) is an independent non-profit organization with the mission to provide and promote quality music education in disadvantaged schools as part of the core curriculum in order to enhance students' academic achievement and creative and overall development.

Getty Images/WireImage Photos Link: http://www.wireimage.com/search/#events?q=Greg%20Doherty/%5B700052182%5D&ep=1/90/1&s=3

SOURCE Education Through Music-Los Angeles

Related Links

http://etmla.org


Digital services, like chat apps and social platforms, are bringing together communications, information, and commerce in new and unprecedented ways. For future generations, this will be a natural and core aspect of their daily lives. At the same time, more and more of these services are controlled by a diminishing number of companies, resulting in a future of less innovation and less choice. Decentralization provides a sustainable way forward.

"Kik believes that Kin can bring together a broad group of participants to create an open ecosystem of digital services that prioritizes consumer experience and choice," said Ted Livingston, Founder and CEO of Kik. "As a leader in the chat space, we want to bring a fair and sustainable model for digital services to the market and fuel an alternative ecosystem for communications, information, and commerce."

The Kin Cryptocurrency and the Kin Foundation

Through advances in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, Kik plans to create a decentralized ecosystem of digital services through four steps:

Create the Kin cryptocurrency on Ethereum: Envisioned as a general-purpose cryptocurrency for daily use in our digital lives, Kin will be used for all transactions in the Kin ecosystem. Implemented on the public Ethereum blockchain as an ERC20 token, Kin will serve as the basis of interoperability with other digital services in the Kin Ecosystem. Integrate Kin into Kik: Kin will be adopted as the transaction currency inside of the Kik app. With millions of monthly active users, Kik will drive mainstream consumer adoption of Kin, establishing demand and fundamental value for the cryptocurrency. By natively integrating the Kin wallet into the app, it will instantly become one of the most adopted and used cryptocurrencies in the world. Develop the Kin Rewards Engine, an innovative cryptoeconomic structure intended to promote the use of Kin as a common currency: Through the Kin Rewards Engine, Kin will be introduced into circulation as a daily reward, which will be distributed among stakeholders by an algorithm that reflects each community's contribution to the overall ecosystem. This economic structure will create a natural incentive for owners of other digital services to adopt Kin and become partners in the Kin ecosystem. Over time, the Kin Rewards Engine will be implemented as a fully decentralized system based on smart contract technology. Launch the Kin Foundation, envisioned as a non-profit governance body for the Kin Ecosystem: The Kin Foundation's mandate is to grow an open ecosystem of digital services that consumers can easily explore and find value in, while giving developers an open and sustainable platform to develop, enhance and monetize those services. Over time, the Kin Foundation will oversee the transition of the Kin Ecosystem to a fully decentralized model that operates with no assistance from Kik or any other entity. As a first step toward open governance, Kik will open source all of its client and server code, and will support others in building comprehensive digital services with integrated transaction economies.

"We believe cryptocurrency is the next important business model innovation in tech," said Fred Wilson, partner at Union Square Ventures and Kik board member. "Kik will be the first mainstream application to integrate a cryptocurrency. This could be a watershed moment for the blockchain sector."

Livingston will be speaking at the Token Summit in New York City on May 25 to further discuss this announcement.

The token sale will take place later this summer. For more information and updates on Kin and to download the whitepaper, please go to kin.kik.com.

About Kik

Kik Interactive, Inc., connects the world through chat. The company is the maker of Kik, a chat platform popular with U.S. teens where people can chat with friends and connect with chat-based services. Founded in 2009, Kik Interactive, Inc. is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. For more information, please visit kik.com.

SOURCE Kik Interactive, Inc.

Related Links

http://kik.com


The Christian population has fallen from as many as 1.5 million in 2003 to only about 200,000 today, according to the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil. Erbil is home to the largest Christian population still in Iraq and the largest community of displaced Christians in the country (12,000 families). The archdiocese now faces a shortfall of $600,000 a month in food aid.

"As we approach the third anniversary of ISIS' genocide against our community in Iraq, Iraqi Christians face a new threat," explained Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil. "Even as their home towns are liberated, our people often cannot move home because there is not enough money for reconstruction or security. What's worse, at this point we face a serious shortfall in the money needed just to cover the costs of providing food to the displaced Christians in our care. Having to decide between rebuilding homes or feeding the displaced is not a choice," he said. "It is a potential death sentence for our Christian communities."

He added: "As never before in 2,000 years, the future of Christianity in Iraq now hangs in the balance, and whether it survives will depend in great measure on whether or not we are able to provide the essentials that our people need in the short term, and whether or not they receive help with reconstruction and assurances of security in the longer term."

The Knights of Columbus has donated more than $12 million for Christian refugee relief since 2014 in support of communities too often ignored by direct U.N. or U.S. government assistance. The bulk of the funding has aided Christian communities in Iraq with food, clothing, shelter, and education, and has also helped threatened or displaced communities in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. Other religious minority groups targeted by ISIS, including Yazidis, have also been recipients of the Knights' aid.

"A century ago, the American people helped save Christianity in the Middle East after the genocide they endured during and following World War I," said Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus. "Today, it falls to us to act, and to act quickly, if Christianity  and with it, pluralism  are to be saved in the Middle East. The Knights of Columbus is absolutely committed to aiding our brothers and sisters in Iraq and to ensuring that pluralism is not erased there." He added, "We urge all who can to donate to our Christian Refugee Relief Fund as soon as possible.

The Knights of Columbus will match donations received by July 1 up to $1 million, and 100 percent of the money raised will be used to assist with food programs for Christian refugees in Iraq. Donations can be made at www.ChristiansatRisk.org or by calling 1-800-694-5713 and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Knights of Columbus Charities Inc. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Knights set a new all-time record for charitable donations in 2015, with more than $175 million in donations and more than 73.5 million hours of service valued at $1.7 billion.

SOURCE Knights of Columbus
The Knixteen brand is the first-ever line of solution-focused intimates for girls ages 12 and up

TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Knixwear, the leading brand of active intimates reinventing women's underwear, today announces the launch of the first line of leakproof underwear designed specifically for teens. The Knixteen brand and line of products will offer the same performance, technology and protection as its top-selling adult counterpart. The brand features two styles of black leakproof, seamless panties - a boyshort and a bikini cut. Its 'Oh-No' Proof Technology incorporates absorbent, leak-resistant fabric and innovation often only found in high-performance workout gear, with moisture wicking, quick dry and odor killing properties in every product.

In the United States, the average age for a girl's first period is 12 years old, but it can begin anywhere between 8 and 15 years of age. According to research done by Morar Consulting*, 86% of women say leaks are their biggest fear, and 78% of women adapt their lifestyle to avoid period problems, often refraining from doing what they enjoy during their time of the month. Knixteen aims to solve these concerns, offering stylish leakproof panties designed to empower and liberate teens when confronted with the often anxiety-inducing experience of one's period. In an effort to provide guidance and support, the Knixteen site will also act as a resource, breaking down barriers and stigma related to period topics that have been deemed uncomfortable or embarrassing.

"Girls are getting their periods at a younger age now than ever before," says founder and CEO Joanna Griffiths. "This results in added pressure and a loss of adolescence. More than anything, we wanted to create products and a brand that we wished were available when we were teens. We want to empower girls to do whatever they want without worrying about what time of the month it is. We are so proud of the Knixteen brand and its potential to alleviate the anxiety associated with periods and liberate young women."

Launched in 2013, Knixwear began with its leakproof line of panties for women. The proprietary carbon cotton gusset dries 2-3 times faster than regular underwear, with its patented built-in leak-resistant and absorbent panty liner. After a successful crowdfunding campaign enabled the brand to reinvent the women's underwear market, Knixwear expanded its product offering to include seamless panties in a variety of styles, the 8-in-1 Evolution Bra and the Longevity bra.

Born from a culture of listening, Knixwear uncovered a need amongst the underserved youth demographic after seeing the success of its line for women. As such, everything about Knixteen has been developed with input from teen girls themselves. Even the 'Oh-No' Proof Underwear packaging, a reusable pouch, is perfect for use as a period emergency kit, a pencil case or make-up bag. The pouch also comes with instructions that explain how it can be reused as a heating pad.

Additionally, many loyal customers offered feedback indicating that this would be a great product for girls, like their daughters beginning to get their periods. After a year of market research and brand design in partnership with award-winning ad agency Leo Burnett, Knixteen will officially be available online on May 25, in conjunction with Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, 2017.

Knixwear will continue to launch new product lines for women while expanding upon current lines throughout 2017, including additional colors and products for the Knixteen line.

To view the videos, uniquely designed to appeal to both mothers and daughters, click here.

To download high-res product photos, click here.

To download Knixwear lifestyle shots, click here.

About Knixwear:

Knixwear is the leading brand of active intimates that is reinventing women's underwear. Combining high performance fabrics often found in activewear and innovative designs with patented technology, Knixwear allows women to lead active, healthy lives, uninterrupted by blood, sweat and tears. The brand's patented leakproof, moisture-wicking and odor-killing protection keeps women fresh through their longest days and most vigorous workouts.

The Toronto-based brand launched in 2013 with a line of leakproof performance underwear. Founder Joanna Griffiths expanded the brand with the 8-in-1 Evolution bra in 2015, with the most funded fashion Kickstarter project in history. Knixwear's commitment to a culture of listening leads the way for brand growth and product innovation. The size-inclusive product line accommodates women up to size 22, empowering every body to tell its own story.

For more information about Knixwear, please visit: www.knixwear.com

For more information about Knixteen, please visit: www.knixteen.com

SOURCE Knixwear
CHICAGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Label Insight, the market leader for product transparency, continues its support for the Consumer Packaged Goods industry as the Title Partner of The Big Natural. Label Insight's leadership team will participate in several sessions at the event, taking place June 7-9 at The LINQ in Las Vegas. As the Natural Product Association's inaugural event, The Big Natural will offer industry-driven educational sessions and workshops, bringing together industry leaders and innovators to educate, empower and drive the industry forward.

"Label Insight is pleased to be the Title Partner of The Big Natural," said Patrick Moorhead, CMO of Label Insight. "As the natural products industry continues to flourish and brands compete for the natural products consumer, those who provide the transparency consumers seek will be poised for success. As the leader in product transparency, we look forward to sharing effective strategies and best practices with the natural products industry."

Label Insight's participation in The Big Natural extends the company's efforts to promote product transparency by enabling access to complete and accurate product information. As part of that mission, earlier this year Label Insight joined forces with Nielsen to help CPG companies better understand product trends and create better personalization for the wellness consumer.

The strategic alliance with Nielsen produced a new ingredient and label measurement tool, Nielsen Product Insider, for the CPG marketplace. This tool combines ingredient and attribute data from Label Insight and retail measurement sales data from Nielsen to help CPG and retail clients bridge the transparency gap and better understand how ingredients and label claims are performing across the store, a key need for companies attending The Big Natural show.

Label Insight sessions at The Big Natural include:

What's Natural Anyway?

Andrew Mandzy , Director of Strategic Insights, Nielsen and Ronak Sheth , Label Insight, Chief Customer Officer

Fireside Chat: One on One with the Honest Company

Laurel Angelica Myers , Senior Director, Purpose & Impact, The Honest Company and Paul Schaut, CEO, Label Insight

Inside the SmartLabel Journey: Lessons Learned and Recommendations from Challenger Brands

Moderated by Kira Karapetian , VP of Marketing, Label Insight

How Rich Data is Powering Great Experiences for the Natural Products Consumer

Moderated by Patrick Moorhead , CMO, Label Insight

Case Study: Ingredient Storytelling

Moderated by Dagan Xavier, Cofounder, Label Insight

About Label Insight: Label Insight is the market leader for transparency, enabling access to complete and accurate product information for nearly 400,000 products, representing 80% of the top purchased CPG products in the U.S. The company's product transparency engine powers data driven solutions for brands, retailers, researchers, analytics providers, government agencies and consumer applications by capturing and enhancing data contained on the packaging and labeling of food, pet, and personal care products. Label Insight customers use this data to provide greater transparency to consumers; easily participate in industry and government initiatives, such as SmartLabel; create more connected omni-channel experiences; and maximize category growth potential.

SOURCE Label Insight

Related Links

https://www.labelinsight.com


DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) announces the appointment of Karen L. Woods, MD, FASGE, of Houston Methodist Gastroenterology Associates, Houston, Texas to the position of ASGE president.

Dr. Woods assumed her duties in May during Digestive Disease Week in Chicago, Ill., and her term will continue until June 2018. She became a member of ASGE in 1991 and a Fellow in 2006. Dr. Woods has served on the ASGE Governing Board and the Foundation Board, as well as on many ASGE committees, including Postgraduate Education, Budget and Finance, and the Strategic Planning Core Group. Dr. Woods served as a councilor of the ASGE Governing Board from 2007 to 2010, and has since served as Vice President and President-elect.

Currently a practitioner at Houston Methodist, Dr. Woods was formerly in solo private practice for 16 years. Prior to that she served as full-time faculty at Baylor College of Medicine and Director of Therapeutic Endoscopy at Ben Taub Hospital, both in the Houston area. During her 10 years as faculty, she trained many fellows in the art of endoscopy. She received the ASGE Endoscopic Research Award in 1991, and the ASGE Distinguished Service Award in 2015.

She was selected to serve on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Gastrointestinal and Urologic Devices Panel in 1993. Since then, she has served continuously in various capacities for the panel.

Throughout her multiple practices as academician, private practitioner and employed physician, Dr. Woods has maintained a passion for national service, with a focus on bringing the voice of the practicing clinician to the Society.

As ASGE President, she will host the 2017 EndoVators Summit on the topic of "Simulators and the Future of Endoscopic Training," to explore current training models and methods of assessing endoscopic competence, identify the inherent deficiencies in the current model and define skills that would benefit from simulation training for new trainees and practitioners wishing to learn a new skill. Additionally, she will focus on advocacy in areas of practice management and reimbursement that will benefit both patients and providers.

Dr. Woods shares with her fellow GI endoscopists a love of the technology that allows them not only to identify disease but also to use the scope as a tool for treatment and healing. Above all, she is passionate about developing relationships with patients and teaching them about disease management.

She received her medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1983. Her internship and residency were in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. She was Chief Medical Resident at the Houston VA Medical Center and then went on to a Gastroenterology fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. She returned to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston for an Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship and then joined the Baylor faculty.

Her primary clinical areas of interest are general gastroenterology with a focus on EMR (endoscopic mucosal resection) of esophageal and colonic lesions, advanced polypectomy and ablation of Barrett's esophagus.

Dr. Woods has authored or co-authored numerous publications and has been an invited speaker at many local and national conferences. She has been consistently named as a Best Doctor in various national and local publications.

About the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Since its founding in 1941, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has been dedicated to advancing patient care and digestive health by promoting excellence and innovation in gastrointestinal endoscopy. ASGE, with more than 15,000 members worldwide, promotes the highest standards for endoscopic training and practice, fosters endoscopic research, recognizes distinguished contributions to endoscopy, and is the foremost resource for endoscopic education. Visit www.asge.org and www.screen4coloncancer.org for more information and to find a qualified doctor in your area.

About Endoscopy

Endoscopy is performed by specially-trained physicians called endoscopists using the most current technology to diagnose and treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Using flexible, thin tubes called endoscopes, endoscopists can access the human digestive tract without incisions via natural orifices. Endoscopes are designed with high-intensity lighting and fitted with precision devices that allow viewing and treatment of the gastrointestinal system.

SOURCE American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Related Links

http://www.asge.org


"I was proud to fly the first flight of our LM-100J. It performed flawlessly, as is typical of our military C130J new production aircraft," said Wayne Roberts, chief test pilot for the LM-100J Program. "This new model will perform many commercial roles in the decades to come, like humanitarian service following natural disasters and others like nuclear accident response, oil spill containment, and firefighting. This aircraft will also enable remote area development such as mining and oil and gas exploration. This day marks the beginning of a tremendous commercial capability that only the LM-100J can deliver."

This first flight followed the same test flight route over North Georgia and Alabama that is used for all C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The LM-100J will complete initial production flight tests and then begin Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certificate update flight test requirements.

"This first flight is a source of pride for Lockheed Martin and serves as a proof-point to the ongoing versatility of the Super Hercules aircraft," said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions, and Marietta site general manager. "I'm continually impressed by the commitment to quality and relevance that our employees, industry partners and customers have invested into the LM-100J. Like its military counterpart, the LM100J is exceeding all expectations in terms of performance and capabilities."



The LM-100J is the 17th different mission capability developed for the C-130J Super Hercules and it is an updated version of the L-100 cargo aircraft, which Lockheed Martin produced from 1964-1992. Lockheed Martin officials submitted a Program Notification Letter to the FAA on Jan. 21, 2014, for a type design update to this aircraft, a civil-certified variant of the C-130J Super Hercules to be marketed as the LM-100J.

Through select design innovations, the LM-100J will perform as a commercial multi-purpose air freighter capable of rapid and efficient cargo transport. The LM-100J is an ideal airlift solution for delivering bulk and oversize cargo, particularly to austere locations worldwide. Like its military counterpart, the LM-100J will be able to support multiple missions, ranging from firefighting to medevac to VIP transport.



The LM-100J incorporates technological developments and improvements over the existing L100s that result from years of C-130J operational experience, including more than 1.5 million fleetwide flight hours. The result of this experience and advancement translates to an aircraft that will deliver reliable service in a multi-role platform for decades to come.



More information about the LM-100J is available at www.lockheedmartin.com/lm100j

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.



SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

Related Links

http://www.lockheedmartin.com


STAINES-UPON-THAMES, United Kingdom, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, highlights the first patients enrolled in an ongoing company-sponsored study on the use of H.P. Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) following acute multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse. The prospective observational registry will contribute to the understanding of the type of MS patient receiving H.P. Acthar Gel for a relapse and the impact of this treatment. The study will also assess patient reported outcomes from patients who receive H.P. Acthar Gel regarding treatment patterns, MS relapse recovery and safety outcomes. Preliminary demographic data will be presented on Thursday, May 25 at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) in New Orleans, La.

"Despite advances in the management of MS, many patients still experience relapse, and an incomplete recovery from relapse may contribute to continued accrual of disability for diagnosed patients1,2,3," said Tunde Otulana, Chief Medical Officer at Mallinckrodt. "Mallinckrodt is committed to conducting studies in MS relapse patients treated with Acthar to collect valuable information about their treatment patterns, MS relapse recovery and safety outcomes."

H.P. Acthar Gel is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for treatment of acute

exacerbations of MS in adults.

A Prospective Observational Registry of H.P. Acthar Gel for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Relapse is enrolling patients and collecting demographic data to characterize the patient population who receive H.P. Acthar Gel to treat acute MS relapse. The study will describe treatment patterns, MS relapse recovery and safety outcomes. The goal is to enroll 260 patients at up to 60 study sites over 24 months. Patients who have experienced a relapse are clinically evaluated with the MS Impact Scale, version 1 (MSIS-29v1), Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Functional System Score, and Clinical Global Impression of Improvement scale at baseline, two months, and six months following their clinical episode. Patients are also evaluated with health outcomes assessments, including the healthcare resource utilization and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaires.

Preliminary data on 45 patients (enrolled as of October 27, 2016) found:

Patients are female (69%), Caucasian (64%), and on average approximately 50 years old 4 with a baseline of EDSS of 4.4 5 and MSIS-29v1 physical subscale score of 65.4 6 following the index relapse.

with a baseline of EDSS of 4.4 and MSIS-29v1 physical subscale score of 65.4 following the index relapse. At least 71% of patients are receiving a disease-modifying therapy at time of relapse.

Median number of doses of H.P. Acthar Gel received is five (equivalent to one multi-dose vial), with a median dose strength of 80 U.

Three serious adverse events -- MS relapse, urinary tract infection, and asthenia (weakness and energy loss) -- have been reported. These adverse events were judged by the investigators to be unlikely related or not related to H.P. Acthar Gel, and all patients recovered. Thus far, adverse events are consistent with the known adverse event profile for the drug.

Find more information about the observational registry here on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.





The poster is available on the Mallinckrodt website.

ABOUT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)

MS is a neurologic disorder that affects the central nervous system (i.e., the brain and spinal cord).7 Symptoms can include fatigue, balance/coordination issues, numbness or tingling, vision problems, muscle spasms, tremors and emotional changes. More than eight in 10 people with MS will experience a relapse, or flare-up, that brings new or worsening symptoms.8

About H.P. Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection)

H.P. Acthar Gel is an injectable drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of 19 indications. Of these, today the majority of Acthar use is in these indications:

As an orphan monotherapy medication for the treatment of infantile spasms in infants and children under 2 years of age.

Inducing a diuresis or a remission of proteinuria in nephrotic syndrome without uremia of the idiopathic type or that due to lupus erythematosus.

Treatment of acute exacerbations of MS in adults.

Use during an exacerbation or as maintenance therapy in selected cases of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Use during an exacerbation or as maintenance therapy in selected cases of systemic dermatomyositis (polymyositis).

Use as adjunct therapy for short-term administration in select cases of rheumatoid arthritis, to tide patients over an acute episode or exacerbation.

Treatment of symptomatic sarcoidosis.

Treatment of severe acute and chronic allergic and inflammatory processes involving the eye and its adnexa such as: keratitis; iritis, iridocyclitis, diffuse posterior uveitis and choroiditis, optic neuritis, chorioretinitis; anterior segment inflammation.

For more information about Acthar, please visit www.acthar.com. The Full Prescribing Information may be accessed here.

Important Safety Information

Acthar should never be administered intravenously.

Administration of live or live attenuated vaccines is contraindicated in patients receiving immunosuppressive doses of Acthar.

Acthar is contraindicated where congenital infections are suspected in infants.

Acthar is contraindicated in patients with scleroderma, osteoporosis, systemic fungal infections, ocular herpes simplex, recent surgery, history of or the presence of a peptic ulcer, congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, primary adrenocortical insufficiency, adrenocortical hyperfunction or sensitivity to proteins of porcine origins.

The adverse effects of Acthar are related primarily to its steroidogenic effects.

Acthar may increase susceptibility to new infection or reactivation of latent infections.

Suppression of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis may occur following prolonged therapy with the potential for adrenal insufficiency after withdrawal of the medication. Adrenal insufficiency may be minimized by tapering of the dose when discontinuing treatment. During recovery of the adrenal gland, patients should be protected from the stress (e.g., trauma or surgery) by the use of corticosteroids. Monitor patients for effects of HPA suppression after stopping treatment.

Cushing's Syndrome may occur during therapy but generally resolves after therapy is stopped. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms.

Monitor patients for elevation of blood pressure, salt and water retention, and hypokalemia.

Acthar often acts by masking symptoms of other diseases/disorders. Monitor patients carefully during and following discontinuation.

Acthar can cause gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and gastric ulcer with an increased risk for perforation with certain GI disorders. Monitor for signs of bleeding.

Acthar may be associated with central nervous system (CNS) effects ranging from euphoria, insomnia, irritability, mood swings, personality changes, depression, and psychosis. Existing conditions may be aggravated.

Patients with comorbid disease may have that disease worsened. Caution should be used in patients with diabetes and myasthenia gravis.

Prolonged use of Acthar may produce cataracts, glaucoma and secondary ocular infections.

Acthar is immunogenic and prolonged use may increase the risk of hypersensitivity reactions.

There is an enhanced effect in patients with hypothyroidism and those with cirrhosis of liver.

Long-term use may have negative effects on growth and physical development in children. Monitor pediatric patients.

Decrease in bone density may occur. Monitor during long-term therapy.

Pregnancy Class C: Acthar has been shown to have an embryocidal effect and should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Common adverse reactions include fluid retention, alteration in glucose tolerance, elevation in blood pressure, behavioral and mood changes, increased appetite and weight gain.

Specific adverse reactions reported in IS clinical trials in infants and children under 2 years of age included: infection, hypertension, irritability, Cushingoid symptoms, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, pyrexia, weight gain, increased appetite, decreased appetite, nasal congestion, acne, rash, and cardiac hypertrophy. Convulsions were also reported, but these may actually be occurring because some IS patients progress to other forms of seizures and IS sometimes mask other seizures, which become visible once the clinical spasms from IS resolve.

Please see full Prescribing Information here for additional Important Safety Information.

ABOUT MALLINCKRODT

Mallinckrodt is a global business that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. Areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; and analgesics and hemostasis products. The company's core strengths include the acquisition and management of highly regulated raw materials and specialized chemistry, formulation and manufacturing capabilities. The company's Specialty Brands segment includes branded medicines and its Specialty Generics segment includes specialty generic drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and external manufacturing. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com.



Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website.

CONTACTS

Investor Relations

Coleman N. Lannum, CFA

Senior Vice President, Investor Strategy and IRO

314-654-6649

[email protected]

Daniel J. Speciale, CPA

Director, Investor Relations

314-654-3638

[email protected]

Media

Rhonda Sciarra

Senior Communications Manager

908-238-6765

[email protected]

Meredith Fischer

Chief Public Affairs Officer

314-654-3318

[email protected]

1 Confavreux C, Vukusic S, Moreau T, Adeleine P. Relapses and progression of disability in multiple sclerosis. New England Journal of Medicine, 2000, Nov 16;343(20):1430-8. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11078767. Accessed May 23, 2017.

2 Confavreux C, Vukusic S, Adeleine P. Early clinical predictors and progression of irreversible disability in multiple sclerosis: an amnesic process. Brain. 2003 Apr; 126(Pt 4):770-82. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12615637. Accessed May 23, 2017.

3 Hirst C, Ingram G, Pearson O, Pickersgill T, Scolding N, Robertson N. Contribution of relapses to disability in multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neurology. 2008 Feb;255(2):280-7.

4 Data available for 36 patients.

5 Data available for 27 patients, rated on a scale from 0 (normal neurologic exam) to 10 (death due to MS).

6 Data available for 35 patients, scored on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing worst possible score.

7 Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Available at: http://msfocus.org/Symptoms-of-Multiple-Sclerosis.aspx. Accessed April 19, 2017.

8 National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Available at: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/Types-of-MS/Relapsing-remitting-MS. Accessed April 21, 2017.

SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc

Related Links

http://www.mallinckrodt.com


"Donald has had a respected career at Manulife over the course of 36 years, and will leave a lasting legacy on the Company," said Richard DeWolfe, Chairman of the Board. "Under his strong leadership, Manulife has dramatically grown its earnings, expanded its Asia and Wealth and Asset Management businesses, delivered significant shareholder value and rallied around the purpose of helping its 22 million customers achieve their dreams and aspirations."

Mr. DeWolfe continued: "Donald's eight-year tenure as CEO began in the aftermath of the most serious financial crisis in modern history, and at a moment when Manulife faced a number of difficult internal and external challenges. Today, the Company has a strong, global footprint positioned for growth, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management and administration and $4 billion in core earnings in 2016 alone. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Donald for every one of his numerous contributions to our Company."

"Building a strong bench of succession candidates for the future is one of the most significant responsibilities for a CEO, and so I am proud that an individual of Roy's caliber will be taking the leadership of the Company," Mr. Guloien said. "I couldn't be more thankful for the career I've enjoyed at Manulife, and I cherish the great relationships I've built with our Board, employees, customers, investors and other stakeholders around the world. I also look forward to helping Roy transition into the CEO role."

Mr. Gori said: "It's a true honour to be appointed to lead Manulife  a strong, global organization with a tremendous history and quality people. I know our employees are committed fully to delivering an exceptional experience for our customers, and to accelerating our transformation to ensure we build on our momentum, drive strong financial results and create shareholder value."

Mr. DeWolfe added: "Roy is ideally suited to lead Manulife as our Company and our industry both undergo a period of significant change, driven by growing customer expectations, rapid technological advancement and evolving regulatory frameworks. The Board is excited by his passion and energy as the Company opens a new chapter in its history, and we look forward to establishing a strong working relationship with Roy for the benefit of our shareholders."

Manulife also announced that Craig Bromley, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Company's U.S. Division (John Hancock), has left the Company. Michael Doughty, who currently serves as President and General Manager of John Hancock Insurance, has been appointed General Manager of U.S. Division on an interim basis, subject to all necessary approvals. Mr. Doughty and U.S. Division's senior executive team possess extensive experience leading the business, and Manulife expects it will be business as usual during the transition period, without disruption for customers, employees and other stakeholders.

Leadership transition background

Mr. Gori's appointment is subject to immigration approvals. On March 29, Manulife announced that Mr. Gori had been appointed Manulife's President, effective June 5. Mr. Gori currently serves as Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of Manulife's Asia Division. As President, he will be responsible for leadership of Manulife's Canadian, U.S. and Investment operations, in addition to Asia. He will also be responsible for developing and executing Manulife's business strategy. Phil Witherington, currently the Chief Financial Officer of Asia Division, will become its interim CEO, effective June 5. Mr. Witherington has held his current role since 2014, and has been highly instrumental in improving the competitive position and sharpening the customer focus of Manulife's business in Asia.

Mr. Gori joined Manulife from Citi in early 2015, where he served as Head of Consumer Banking, North Asia and Australia, and Regional Head of Retail Banking, Asia Pacific, which included responsibility for Citi's insurance and wealth management businesses.

He has worked and lived in Sydney, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. He has an Economics and Finance degree from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from the University of Technology, Sydney. He is married with three children.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people achieve their dreams and aspirations by putting customers' needs first and providing the right advice and solutions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2016, we had approximately 35,000 employees, 70,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 22 million customers. As of March 31, 2017, we had $1 trillion (US$754 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made almost $26.3 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
ANNAPOLIS, Md., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Stephen A. Tillett, Anne Arundel County NAACP Branch President, political activist, and interfaith clergy leader, released his first book, Stop Falling for the Okeydoke: How the Lie of "Race" Continues to Undermine Our Country [iUniverse; May 25, 2017; 978-1-5320-1-9; $15.99; paperback] for sale at www.iUniverse.com. As a new featured author, he will be at the BookExpo America 2017 from June 1-4, 2017 at the Javits Center in New York City.

Stop Falling For The Okeydoke Book Cover Stephen A. Tillett, Author

Tillett believes we are living in a critical time in our nation's history, a time where people of like interests must come together for their common good, lest we all be overrun by the "Corporate States of America." The liethe okeydoke of "race"has kept people of common concern separated for far too long. Genetically, we are all 99.9% the same. We must begin to act like it.

As Dr. King once said, "We must learn to live together as brothers or (we will) perish together as fools."

Advance Praises

"You hit the nail right on the head!"- Bishop Felton Edwin May (Retired) of the United Methodist Church

"This book is a very personal and powerful examination of the 'lie of race' that has served those in power well throughout our history and right up to the present day. [His book's] approach dispels pervasive myths and untruths and illuminates the history, science and politics of this destructive 'lie'."- Myla Kabat-Zinn (daughter of Dr. Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States)

"I have known Stephen Tillett for many years, and he has been making big moves all his life. And now he is leading the way again with this incredible book! This book is leading edge thinking and it will have a big impact on America and the world!"- Dr. Willie Jolley, Bestselling author of A Setback Is A Setup For A Comeback and Achieving Greatness with An Attitude of Excellence

Stephen A. Tillett is a native Washingtonian, who received a B.A. from the School of Government and Public Administration at The American University; and earned a Masters of Divinity degree at the Howard University School of Divinity. Pastor Tillett was commissioned as a Chaplain in the Air National Guard in December 1996. He concluded his military career in a Special Duty Assignment at Arlington National Cemetery, where he served until his retirement on January 1, 2017. He is the Pastor of Asbury Broadneck UMC in Annapolis, MD, and the President of the Anne Arundel County Branch of the NAACP. He is the father of three children. He, and his wife, Dr. Sherita Gaskins-Tillett, and daughter reside in Maryland.

Follow Via Social Media :

Twitter: @StopFalling4It

Instagram: @StopFalling4It

Facebook.com/StopFalling4It

CONTACT:

Unnia Pettus

Pettus PR, LLC

[email protected]

202.696.2790

SOURCE Stephen A. Tillett
The pitching showcase of K-Global @ Moscow will be held at the Conference Hall B, Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel and Business Centre, Moscow (address: Europe Square 2, 121059 Moscow Russia) on June 5, 2017, with the public program running from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. The event is free and open to the public, but request an RSVP at https://goo.gl/6MGnvM. One on one consulting session for the entry into the Russian and CIS countries market will be held at the Conference Hall A from 10:30am to 5:00pm.

Also, Born2Global will participate in Startup Village 2017 with its member startups, the most large-scale startup conference in Russia and the CIS countries to be held in Moscow on June 6 to 7, 2017.

At Startup Village, member companies of Born2Global, which are continually recognized in the global arena for its growth and potential, will stand alongside with foreign conglomerates and proudly demonstrate its advanced technology. They will be located at booth in the Korea Exhibitor Pavilion.

There will be opportunities for attendees to network and have business partnering meetings. It will give them a chance to learn how to meet the needs of global customers, enhance market profitability and improve compliance adherence.

The segment of K-Global @ Moscow hosted by Born2Global is sponsored and supported by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea.

Born2Global successfully held more than 16 demo days throughout the world, such as Singapore, Japan, China, US, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France. More than 150 startups have participated in the event and had a chance to connect and build strategic relationships.

Founded in September 2013, Born2Global accelerates promising Korean startups to enter the global market and thrive from their early stage of business in numerous ways. Born2Global selects over 100 startups with high potential for entering the global market each year and provides services such as professional consulting in legal, patents, accounting, labor, visas, marketing, business development and PR. Continuously expanding its global channel partners, Born2Global has over 100 partners all around the world.

Born2Global has significantly contributed towards building a strong foundation for successful investment opportunities for startups. Born2Global has brought investment of over US$199.8 million for member companies.

Born2Global's experts have provided 6160 consulting services to 1957 startups, resulting in 479 overseas patent applications, 295 overseas business contracts and alliances with 47 overseas incorporations.

Detailed information on Korean startups participating the pitching showcase of K-Global @ Moscow and Startup Village 2017:

BLH Aqua Technology (www.aqutonix.com)

Marvelous Water Innovation for the Future of Our Next Generation

Specializes water efficiency enhancement technology that can be applied in various industries to ultimately improve overall productivity. Aqutonix is an eco-friendly product that fosters the efficient water absorption of plants by simply enhancing occurring growth processes of crops naturally, all without increasing water use or adding any synthetic substances.

COOLJAMM Company (www.hum-on.com)

Let Your Voice Compose

HumOn is a music app for musically challenging, letting users hum simply into the phone to compose music. The app detects one's humming and converts it into actual musical notation, which can then be used to write music for any real instrument out there.

ROBORUS (www.roborus.co.kr)

Robots Make the Better Life

ROBORUS actively engages with its customers through its quick and fun ordering process using eye contact, audio, interactive touch screen and emotional intelligence. It ties into the store's POS system accepting and processing credit cards. Also, it can be added to robots, e.g., credit card swipe, scanner (QR, bar code) and receipt printer.

Paycock (www.paycock.net)

New Concept of Payment Solution

Paycock makes all payments of the world possible and it replaces original heavy and expensive card payment system as smartphone app. This service is mainly specialized in small business such as delivery, food trucks and all face-to-face transaction systems. By using it, retailers can avoid the high commission from card payments, frequent trouble of POS systems and lack of wireless card.

SAI (www.dramapic.com)

Every Language TV

Dramapic is a real-time open platform where various local TV content, through worldwide crowdsourcing has enabled subtitle creation and mobile sharing. It not only overcomes language barriers but also speeds up content delivery. Every country will have speediest global distribution channel network with Dramapic.

Stratio (www.stratiotechnology.com)

Like Your Eyes, but Better

LinkSquare is a low-cost, handheld, IoT-enabled spectrometer that covers wavelengths of light from the visible to the near infrared. It works with an intuitive smartphone app to quickly and accurately identify medications. Users point LinkSquare at the medication they wish to identify, click the scan button, and get results on their smartphone within seconds.

For more information, visit www.born2global.com, www.facebook.com/born2global or contact Jina Lee, [email protected].

SOURCE K-ICT Born2Global Centre
NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MetTel, a global communications solution provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Telestax, a Restcomm technology company, to deploy a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) environment for use with MetTel's global network.

This new environment will allow developers and clients in MetTel Customer Innovation Labs to easily create communications applications and services that leverage real-time embedded voice, video and messaging to help companies better engage the growing number of customers seeking instant interaction.

A study performed by IPitimi, a popular call center application provider and Restcomm developer, found SMS-enabling their customers' voice-based product improved their sales closure rates from 9 percent to 37 percent. The communication method of choice today is text over voice. The market for the Web Real time Communications Market (WebRTC) is estimated to grow to $4.5 billion by 2020, as projected by MarketsandMarkets.

"MetTel prides itself on quickly delivering solutions to customers' communication problems. In this case we've added the most open, extensible technology platform to give our lab teams more versatility in recommending and writing new real-time apps on the fly," said Ed Fox, VP of Network Services and chief of MetTel Labs. "Our teams collaborate with customers to solve their everyday challenges and help them quickly capitalize on emerging opportunities for productivity, efficiency, innovation and engagement."

Companies focused on introducing simplicity of communication with their clients can benefit from an increase in touch points to connect them directly with their customers. In fact, by making the communications platform programmable, enterprise IT departments can build their own applications for use by their internal clients or their end-customers. They can also API-enable legacy applications to contribute to the communications experience.

For example, a clothing retailer could buy or build an application that allows its customers to virtually try on clothes and chat with a fashion representative for advice within the application and complete the purchase via multiple payment options. In another scenario, an auto parts distributor could build an application that supports multimedia messaging with remote mechanics who are looking for certain parts to more accurately fulfill an order in real-time via the mechanic's cell phone.

The recently established MetTel Customer Innovation Labs will further develop and refine these tools. The resulting cloud-based services and applications will join MetTel's product portfolio under the MetTel Hosted and MetTel Connect product lines. The company's portfolio also includes MetTel Analytics MetTel Consult, MetTel HelpDesk and MetTel Mobility.

Another key benefit for MetTel customers will be the ability to leverage the intellectual capital provided by an open source community of more than 10,000 independent Restcomm developers, including many from global innovation leaders.

A reflection of MetTel's award-winning commitment to customer service, the MetTel Customer Innovation Labs evolved from groups of researchers and developers working to help solve specific customer problems or extend MetTel capabilities at a customer's request. MetTel Innovation Labs span three facilities in New York City, the former Bell Labs site in Holmdel, New Jersey and in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In addition to today's news from MetTel, Telestax announced this week its RestcommONE Marketplace powered by their proven CPaaS enablement platform, RestcommONE. The RestcommONE Platform blends traditional telecommunications with new enterprise applications to create and deliver real-time communications business solutions that scale.

About MetTel

MetTel is a leading global provider of integrated digital communications solutions for enterprise customers. By converging all communications over a proprietary network, MetTel enables enterprise companies to easily deploy and manage technology-driven voice, data, wireless and cloud solutions worldwide. MetTel's comprehensive portfolio of customer solutions boosts enterprise productivity, reduces costs and simplifies operations. Combining customized and managed communication solutions with a powerful platform of cloud-based software, the company's MetTel Portal enables customers to manage their inventory, usage, spend and repairs from one simple, user friendly interface. For more information visit www.mettel.net, follow us on Twitter (@OneMetTel) and on LinkedIn, or call us directly at 877.963.8663. MetTel. Connect Smarter.

SOURCE MetTel

Related Links

http://www.mettel.net


DALLAS, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- While Michael Phelps may not be doing much training on his own right now, the most decorated swimmer of all time announced today that he and his son, Boomer, along with his wife, Nicole, are #Trainingfor2032 together along with babies around the world who enjoy fun and safe water play with Huggies Little Swimmers.

In today's press conference, Phelps discussed the importance of parents and babies engaging in safe water play. In addition to being fun and great exercise, it can also positively impact a baby's development. "Training" will mean something different for all babies  from running through sprinklers in the backyard to a day at the beach. As long are they're safely having fun, they're doing it right!

"Some of the best memories of my life have been in the water  and none more special than the days I spend swimming with Boomer," says Phelps. "I'm not teaching Boomer to master the butterfly just yet, but #Trainingfor2032 includes safe water play that helps build comfort and confidence in the water. I'm partnering with Huggies Little Swimmers because I want to all babies to be the best swimmers they can be."

The funny videos from Huggies Little Swimmers feature the whole Phelps family, with Michael sharing ideas for families to safely play in the water. Phelps encourages parents to "water them daily," and share fun water moments with the hashtag #TrainingFor2032.

"Huggies is excited to be partnering with the Phelps family to offer fun ways for parents to help their babies thrive in the water," says Giusy Buonfantino, president of Kimberly-Clark Baby and Child Care North America. "Huggies Little Swimmers swimpants are designed specifically for the water so they don't swell, and feature easy open sides for an adjustable fit so babies can focus on fun."

The partnership features multiple entertaining videos with Michael, Nicole, and Boomer, along with other activities to engage and inspire parents all year long. Be sure to check out Michael, Boomer, and Nicole Phelps social channels, in addition to Huggies' Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest content and visit www.Huggies.com for more product details.

About the Huggies Brand

Huggies believes deeply in the Power of Hugs. That's why every Huggies diaper and wipe is inspired by parents' hugs. For nearly 40 years, Huggies has been helping parents provide love, care and reassurance to help babies thrive. No Baby Unhugged is Huggies promise to ensure babies get the care they need to thrive  from innovative everyday products, growing hospital hugger programs and specially-designed products for the tiniest of babies, to diapers and wipes donations. Huggies is the fastest growing diaper brand in hospitals and partners with NICU nurses to develop diapers and wipes that meet the specific needs of pre-term infants. For more information on Huggies No Baby Unhugged program visit the "Why Huggies?" page at Huggies.com.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust Kimberly-Clark's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in 80 countries. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the Company's 145-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

About Michael Phelps Foundation

The Michael Phelps Foundation is focused on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthy and active lives, especially for children. Founded in 2008, the Foundation has provided their learn to swim, healthy eating and goal setting curriculum to over 16,000 people around the world by partnering with the Special Olympics and Boys & Girls Club of America. They also support the Level Field Fund  Swimming, because opportunities to pursue excellence in sport should not be limited by an athlete's financial situation. For more information please visit: http://www.michaelphelpsfoundation.org.

[KMB-B]

Contact: Elizabeth Lewis

312-233-1349

[email protected]

Contact: Andrea Hopkins

972-281-1481

[email protected]

SOURCE Huggies Little Swimmers

Related Links

http://www.huggies.com


ADDISON, Texas, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mid America Mortgage, Inc. (Mid America) announced today it has purchased the eNote from North Carolina's first eMortgage transaction. The transaction, which was completed entirely electronically on May 5, was a refinance for a property in Winston-Salem and was executed by Hickory-based North State Bank. Upon completion of the closing, Mid America was able to purchase the resulting eNote within one business day after receiving the final loan package.

In a statement issued on May 9, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall said:

This was our first North Carolina eClosing. It is not our last. We want this to become a regular option for lenders and their customers because of the many advantages eClosing offers versus the slower, traditional paper-based systemWe stand ready to work with all other North Carolina lenders to get them up to speed on this. One thing we all noted during this closing was that even though we tried to make it into a real ceremonyit was still so fast and easy that we had a hard time not being finished in just a few moments.

"Given Mid America's desire to see full eClosings implemented nationwide, we were happy to play a role in this transaction by serving as the investor for this deal," said Mid America Owner and CEO Jeff Bode. "We launched our eCorrespondent division with the specific intent of converting emerging mortgage bankers to eClosings and purchasing their eNotes. Having also implemented eClosings in our retail division, we've seen first-hand how eClosings can reduce errors in the closing process, resulting in lower origination costs and more satisfied borrowers. With origination volume expected to decline this year, now is the time for lenders to get on board with eClosings."

"As Secretary Marshall noted, eNotarization is an essential component in moving not just mortgages, but all legal filings, into the digital age," Bode added. "As such, Mid America has been working closely with the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association to move the Texas Remote Notary bill through the state legislature, and we feel confident that eNotarization will soon become legal in the state of Texas."

About Mid America Mortgage, Inc.

Mid America Mortgage, Inc., Addison, Texas, is a multi-state, full-service mortgage lender serving consumers and mortgage originators through its retail, wholesale and correspondent channels. In operation since 1940, Mid America has thrived by retaining its entrepreneurial spirit and leading the market in innovation, most recently with its adoption of electronic mortgage closings (eClosings) and promissory notes (eNotes). We offer a wide range of residential home loan programs to meet the needs of most home buyers and homeowners, and are also the nation's leading provider of Section 184 home loans for Native Americans. For more information, visit http://www.midamericamortgage.com/about/.

*PHOTO: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/16-0802-jeff-bode-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Mid America Mortgage, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.midamericamortgage.com


LOS ANGELES, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Miracle Mile Advisors, one of California's fastest growing independent investment advisory firms, welcomes its newest addition, Justin Brimmer, as Wealth Planner to its team. Brimmer specializes in working with clients holistically to create customized financial plans that integrate portfolio construction, risk management and legacy planning. Justin's expertise will enhance Miracle Mile's comprehensive wealth planning capabilities.

Prior to joining Miracle Mile Advisors, Justin built his financial advisory practice at Northwestern Mutual, where he specialized in estate and philanthropic planning for his clients concerned with creating and leaving meaningful legacies. Before entering the wealth planning space, Justin served as the finance & commerce policy deputy for the City of Los Angeles, where he played a key role in creating important trade and tax policies.

"We are very excited to welcome Justin to the team. His thoughtful and thorough approach to planning is going to be a great addition to the firm," said Brock Moseley, Managing Partner of Miracle Mile Advisors.

In line with the spirit of Miracle Mile Advisors, Justin plays an active role in his community. He currently serves on the Board of several community organizations including the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, International Have a Heart Surgery Charity, and the Los Angeles County of Fellow Christian Athletes.

"Miracle Mile Advisors has been dedicated to ensuring top quality work for its clients, which has landed the firm national recognition," says Brimmer. "I am excited to be a part of the Miracle Mile team, and am looking forward to working alongside their dedicated and skilled advisors."

With the addition of Brimmer, Miracle Mile will continue its commitment to comprehensive, holistic wealth planning for high net worth individuals and families.

For media inquiries, please contact Brian Hart at 215-429-8569 or [email protected].

About Miracle Mile Advisors: Miracle Mile Advisors is a leader in providing independent investment advice through active indexing to high net worth families and businesses nationwide. As one of the fastest growing independent registered investment advisors in Los Angeles, the firm is committed to providing sophisticated financial plans using portfolios with low cost and tax efficient strategies. To learn more about Miracle Mile Advisors, please visit www.miraclemileadvisors.com.

Antonia Burchman

Miracle Mile Advisors

310-246-1243

[email protected]

Brian Hart

Flackable, LLC

215-429-8569

[email protected]

SOURCE Miracle Mile Advisors

Related Links

http://www.miraclemileadvisors.com


WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting its eleventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for 5:55 p.m. EDT Thursday, June 1. Launch coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency's website at 5:15 p.m., followed by the post-launch news conference at 7:30 p.m.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will liftoff on the company's Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying almost 6,000 pounds of science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of Expedition 52 and 53 crew members. The unpressurized trunk of the spacecraft also will transport solar panels, tools for Earth-observation and equipment to study neutron stars.

About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon will reach its preliminary orbit. It then will deploy its solar arrays and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station. When it arrives to the space station, Expedition 52 Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of NASA will grapple Dragon.

Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, June 4, on NASA TV, with installation coverage set to begin at 11:30 a.m. If the launch does not occur on June 1, the next launch opportunity is 5:07 p.m. Saturday, June 3, with NASA TV coverage starting at 4:30 p.m.

The Dragon spacecraft will remain at the space station until approximately July 2, when it will return to Earth with research and return cargo in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Baja California.

Media at Kennedy will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings May 31 and June 1, as well as view the launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed, but for more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or [email protected].

This will be the 100th launch, and sixth SpaceX launch, from this pad. Previous launches include 11 Apollo flights, the launch of the unmanned Skylab in 1973, 82 shuttle flights and five SpaceX launches.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/spacex-crs-11-briefings-and-events

Learn more about the SpaceX CRS-11 mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


VACAVILLE, Calif., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- National Asset Services (NAS), one of the Nation's leading commercial real estate management companies, successfully increased market value of a senior assisted living property, creating a refinancing option for the property's tenant-in-common (TIC) co-owners.

National Asset Services, one of the Nation's leading commercial real estate management companies, successfully increased market value of a Paramount House Senior Living, creating a refinancing option for the property's tenant-in-common (TIC) co-owners.

Known for their reputation of turning around undermanaged properties, burdened by economic conditions, NAS assumed asset management responsibility of Paramount House Senior Living in 2013. NAS, which was the third asset manager hired by ownership, since acquiring the property in 2007, selected new property management and operations team and directed strategic plans resulting in an increased occupancy to its current level of over 95%.

The increase in market value of the investment created the option to refinance the property rather than selling the asset: an option that would have not been feasible without the increased valuation.

In order to accomplish the refinancing strategy, NAS executives guided TIC owners through an innovative process that consolidated the individual co-owners into one legal entity. Consolidation of ownership was necessary, due to an unwillingness by many capital sources to refinance multi-owner TIC properties. The acquisition of Paramount House in 2007 by the TIC co-owners was part of the wave of highly leveraged acquisitions by tenant-in-common investors in the early to middle 2000's.

Consolidation of ownership allowed the newly formed entity to qualify for a bridge loan, meet an impending loan maturity and remain as investors in the property, while pursuing long term refinancing solutions.

"Paramount House is a good example of the tremendous advantages our management team offers property investors," commented Karen E. Kennedy, President and Founder of National Asset Services. "We understand the complex issues facing TIC property owners. Our close relationships with high quality legal, management and capital resources, placed us in the best possible position to deliver a positive outcome for investors. Although the decision to sell or refinance is strictly a decision for ownership to make, we are delighted to have delivered an outcome that resulted in more options for our clients."

NAS has become an industry specialist in delivering positive results to tenants-in-common (TIC) investors facing difficult decisions with limited options. The company has achieved positive results on behalf of TIC investors at over 50 properties nationwide in the past few years.

Constructed in 2004, Paramount House Senior Living is a 56,749 square-foot, single-story facility situated on five acres consisting of 85 beds in 82 units; 20 units are dedicated to memory care. The property is located in Vacaville, CA, midway between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area in the Solano Valley, just two miles from the NorthBay VacaValley Hospital.

About National Asset Services (NAS)

NAS is a commercial real estate management company that works with over 90 investment groups in properties of a nationwide portfolio valued at over $2 billion. The company manages a wide range of diverse commercial real estate: office, medical office, multifamily, retail, student housing, assisted living and industrial flex properties. The company manages solely owned and multi-owner properties. NAS offers a wide-range of asset management capabilities. They include: real estate strategy analysis; long-range business objectives; monitoring changing market conditions; investor relations; real estate and investor accounting; loan modification and workout solutions; exit and hold strategies; leasing & marketing; tenant retention plans; research studies; site selections; feasibility studies; insurance risk management; capital improvement planning and tracking; property tax appeal services and cost segregation services.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, NAS operates regional offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Austin, Texas.

For more information about NAS, visit www.nasassets.com. For industry news and company updates, follow NAS on Twitter @nascommercial.

Contact:

JW Robison

[email protected]

424.227.6888

SOURCE National Asset Services

Related Links

http://www.nasassets.com


MINNEAPOLIS, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scholarship America, the nation's largest nonprofit, private-sector scholarship and education support organization, celebrated individuals and organizations who have made a significant impact helping students achieve their educational dreams at its third annual Dreams to Success Awards Dinner May 24. The event was held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Rodney O. Martin, chairman and CEO of Voya Financial, the presenting sponsor for the Dreams to Success Awards Dinner, announced the inaugural cohort of Voya Scholars. The new Voya Scholars program combines scholarships for undergraduate students studying business and finance with mentoring, networking, interviewing, resume preparation and internships with Voya Financial employees.

"At Voya, we know that education and financial literacy are vital to a fulfilling life  to and through retirement," said Rodney O. Martin, Jr., chairman and CEO of Voya Financial. "We are proud to partner with Scholarship America, who shares our commitment to educating and empowering young people so that they take control of their future. We are thrilled to join in celebrating the 2017 Dreams to Success award recipients  and to honor the extraordinary individuals and organizations who have contributed to their success."

Martin and award-winning journalist and TV personality Katie Couric served as honorary co-chairs for the Dream to Success dinner. Decorated Army combat veteran, author, CEO of BridgeEdU and soon-to-be chief executive of Robin Hood, Wes Moore, served as master of ceremonies.

Scholarship America recognized three outstanding scholarship programs: the mikeroweWORKS Foundation; Wells Fargo's Veteran Scholarship and Emergency Grant Program and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The mikeroweWORKS Foundation works hard to debunk myths about the skilled trades and help close the skills gap. Through its scholarship programs, including the Work Ethic Scholarship Program, the Foundation provides financial assistance to people getting trained for skilled jobs that are in demand. The Foundation has granted, or facilitated the granting of, more than $4 million in technical and vocational education to trade schools across the country.

Michelle Ahola and Eric Kovacevich, students who've received scholarships through mikeroweWORKS Foundation, presented the award to Mike Rowe. As CEO of the Foundation, Mike Rowe speaks regularly about the country's dysfunctional relationship with work and challenges the persistent belief that a four-year degree is automatically the best path for most people. Ahola studied concrete industry management and Kovacevich is a manufacturing engineering technology student.

Wells Fargo's Veteran Scholarship and Emergency Grant program was recognized for its needs-based scholarships and grants that help veterans and spouses of veterans with disabilities obtain education or training necessary to successfully integrate back into civilian life. Scholarship recipient and veteran Amare Lovely, a student at the University of San Diego, and former scholarship recipient Catherine Gonzalez, who now works at Wells Fargo, presented the award to Jerry Quinn, Wells Fargo's Military & Veteran Programs Manager. Since 2012, Wells Fargo has committed more than $75 million to helping military service members, veterans and their families succeed through career transition, financial education and housing initiatives.

Founded in 1932 to promote the agriculture industry, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has committed more than $430 million to the youth of Texas and presented nearly 17,000 new and renewable scholarships since the first scholarship was awarded in 1957. Currently more than 2,400 students are on Show scholarships, attending more than 80 different Texas colleges and universities. The value of these scholarships is approximately $47 million. Sarah Brubaker, a NASA aerospace engineer and graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, and Rashard Harris, a civil engineering student at Texas A&M University, presented the award to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's Jim Winne. Winne, a native Texan, is the Chairman of the Board-Elect of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Winne was elected a Show director in 2004, and a member of the Show's Executive Committee in 2014.

Martha Kanter, executive director of the College Promise Campaign, and chair of Scholarship America's Dream Awards Committee, announced 2017 Dream Award recipients. The Scholarship America Dream Award is a unique national program intended to spotlight the gap between college access and completion and the need for students to get through their postsecondary educations and complete their degrees. The awards support students who have successfully completed their first year of college, but who need financial help to continue pursuing their degrees.

The 2017 Dream Award recipients are: Umesh Bhandari, University of Texas at Arlington; Mikayla Bridgewater, Missouri University of Science & Technology; Yessenia Cantero Hernandez, Northern Kentucky University; April Lewis, Spelman College; Shun Lin, University of California - Berkeley; Arial Martinez, South Mountain Community College; Jorge Morales, San Francisco State University; Ezekiel Ogden, Northern Arizona University; Tiara Wills, Pratt Institute and Shanell Yenchik, Northern Arizona University.



Additional dinner highlights included recognition of the 15th anniversary of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, which has delivered more than $100 million in scholarships to students affected by the 9/11 attacks and the honoring the legacy of Scholarship America's founder, Dr. Irving A. Fradkin, who passed away in November, 2016.

Dreams to Success Dinner sponsors include:

Presenting Sponsor  Voya Financial

Magna cum Laude Sponsor  Young Foundation

Scholar Sponsors

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates

Kirkland & Ellis, LLP

Michael and Rosemary Ryan

Travelers

Diploma Sponsors

Americans for the Arts

BP America

Barry Griswell/Performance Management Group

Chick-fil-A

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans

Kaplan University

Lumina Foundation

Murthy Law Firm

Raymond James Financial Services

The World Journal

Student Sponsors

BP America

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP

Jane Chwick

Ruth Ann M. Gillis & Michael J. McGuinnis

Herman Miller Cares

ITW

The Principal Financial Group

Hosted Tables

Robert C. Ballard

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

GEICO

Martha Kanter

Doug Mello

J. Stephen & Joan Putnam

Mim Shreck

The Structured Finance Industry Group

Philip J. & Irmy Webster

Wells Fargo

Yale New Haven Health

"We are very grateful to these generous sponsors, as well as to all who hosted tables or made donations," said Robert C. Ballard, president and CEO of Scholarship America. "In the end, it is all about the students. Education changes lives and we are committed to making postsecondary success possible for all students. We are honored these individuals and organizations share and support this vision too. "

Learn more about Scholarship America and see videos and photos from the Dreams to Success Awards Dinner at https://scholarshipamerica.org/dreamstosuccess/.

About Scholarship America

For nearly 60 years, Scholarship America has worked directly with students, parents, colleges, businesses and communities to empower people to fulfill their college dreams. As the nation's largest private education support organization, having distributed over $3.7 billion to more than 2.3 million students, Scholarship America is now working to further engage the private sector to support programs and policies that advance equity in postsecondary education and help students overcome barriers to access, persistence and attainment. More information is available at scholarshipamerica.org or by following @scholamerica.

SOURCE Scholarship America

Related Links

http://www.scholarshipamerica.org


RESTON, Va., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Wildlife Federation's 13th annual Great American Campout features 5,000 new reasons to pledge online to camp anytime and anywhere starting now through the end of October 2017. The Great American Campout is a summer-long celebration of camping as a way to connect with nature and wildlife.

The Great American Campout is free and open to the public of all ages. This initiative encourages camping by anyone, anywhere (park, beach, campground, forest, or backyard), and by any means (RV, tent, under the stars, etc.) throughout the summer and into autumn 2017. Jeff Probst, Executive Producer and host of CBS' Survivor and avid outdoorsman, serves as this year's celebrity spokesperson. The National Wildlife Federation's beloved wildlife ambassador, Ranger Rick, will help young campers join the fun and excitement with family-friendly downloadable camping activities, recipes, and books.

"Camping makes everything better. Camping reduces your blood pressure and calms your nerves. Worried about your kids? Camping helps children focus, expands creativity, and enhances leadership skillsall of which improve academic achievement. Want a stronger relationship? Camping lets you focus on what matters away from the distractions of day-to-day life," explains Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. "Reconnecting with nature inspires us to care for what we love and rekindles the conservation ethic that lives inside each of us. When you can be present in nature and experience a connection  when you look into a tree and see the eyes of a great horned owl staring back at you  it reminds us of our responsibility to take action and protect the things we value most."

Keystone RV Company, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, and RVTrader.com have joined the initiative as new partners for 2017. To encourage families to get outside and camp this summer, everyone who pledges will be entered to win a Bullet Colt RV (valued at $18,000) or a week-long stay at a Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resort (plus a $500 gift card for travel expenses and a $250 Jellystone Park gift card). RV Trader will provide specially-designed content on the Great American Campout website that will include environmentally-friendly RV camping tips.

In an effort to increase native tree populations critical to America's wildlife and the preservation of our great outdoors, if 150,000 people commit to making the Great American Campout pledge, 5,000 regionally-specific native trees will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation's Trees for Wildlife program. The Trees for Wildlife program enlists pre-approved youth groups to make a commitment to plant and maintain the trees to ensure that they will provide food and shelter for wildlife for many years to come.

Connecting kids with nature and outdoor play has shown proven health benefits. A 2016 study from Plymouth University in the UK found that children who camp in the great outdoors at least once a year go on to perform better in school and are healthier and happier according to their parents. The study also revealed that 98% of parents feel camping makes their kids appreciate and connect with nature; 95% of parents feel their kids are happier when camping; and 93% feel that it provides useful self-reliance skills for later in life.

"It is very important to me that my kids have a healthy relationship with nature and that they know how to survive if they were ever stranded," stated Jeff Probst, Host and Executive Producer of CBS' Survivor, as well as wildlife fan and camping expert. "Thanks to my job on Survivor, our family has enjoyed some amazing camping adventures together where we can unplug, reconnect with each other, and enjoy nature. When we're back home we do the same thing. We will be out there this summer and hope you will too."

The National Wildlife Federation's website  www.nwf.org/campout  has a directory of public

Great American Campout events, camping tips, lists of fun activities and recipes, sweepstakes rules and prizing information, and much more. Registration is free.

Campers are encouraged to take selfies of themselves camping ("Campies") and submit them to NWF's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts using the hashtags #campie and #GreatAmericanCampout to share their experiences and create an extended community of participants year after year.

About the National Wildlife Federation.

The mission of the National Wildlife Federation, America's largest wildlife conservation and education no501c3 non-profit organization, is "Uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly-changing world." For over 80 years, the National Wildlife Federation has worked to connect people with nature, to protect wildlife and wild places, to inspire children through Ranger Rick magazine, and to help parents, educators, and youth group leaders find new ways to engage children with the wonders of wildlife. www.NWF.org.

About RVTrader.com

RV Trader is the premier online classifieds site for buying and selling recreational vehicles. With over 160,000 new and pre-owned units for sale by dealers and private sellers across the country, RV Trader attracts millions of active buyers every month who visit the site in search of their next unit. To help sellers capitalize on this targeted audience, RV Trader offers a comprehensive suite of digital marketing solutions to help advertise RVs for sale to active buyers across all devices.

About Keystone RV Company

Being one of the largest manufacturers of towable RVs in North America means Keystone can offer more quality features for your money than any other brand on the market. It also means options are never in short supply  from ultra-lightweight trailers to luxurious fifth wheels. With 1000 locations across the United States and Canada, you are never far from a Keystone dealer. www.KeystoneRV.com.

About Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts

Launched in 1969, the Jellystone Park system is the second largest chain of campgrounds in the United States, boasting 80 campgrounds with more than 17,000 campsites and vacation rentals in 32 states and four Canadian provinces. Its Camp-Resorts are among the best campgrounds in the industry with a quality reputation for being fun, friendly, clean and service-oriented parks. Additionally, each Jellystone Park is themed with Yogi Bear elements providing instant recognition and consumer appeal. It is truly a place "Where You Camp with Friends." Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts are franchised through Leisure Systems, Inc. (LSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Park River Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit www.campjellystone.com.

Visit the National Wildlife Federation Media Center at NWF.org/News.

The National Wildlife Federation is America's largest conservation organization, uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Contact: Ali Finer

[email protected]

(612) 209-4575

SOURCE National Wildlife Federation

Related Links

http://www.nwf.org


"There's no way around the fact that another double-digit increase will decimate family budgets. Today's announcement demonstrates that the American people will continue to suffer the most if there is not stability in the insurance marketplace and meaningful reform," said North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten.

"Despite the obvious shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act, it remains the law of the land. American citizens, employers, insurers, and health care providers must all obey the law  so too should the federal government. By failing to live up to their end of the bargain, politicians in Washington are destabilizing the marketplace which sows fear and confusion among their constituents. I urge them to keep their promise to the American people and honor their commitment under the current law," added Wooten.

North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten will be available for interviews Thursday, May 25, 2017 and Friday, May 26, 2017.

SOURCE North Carolina Farm Bureau
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- National Education Foundation (NEF), the national nonprofit leader in holistic STEM education solutions, awarded its 2017 STEM Leadership Award for $10,000 to Martins Ferry City Schools, OH, on May 19, 2017.

The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Leadership Award celebrates the exemplary implementation of NEF's STEM+ Academy by a school district that motivates its students toward acquiring 21st century STEM skills, both academic and hands-on.

NEF Chairman Dr. Kuttan (third from left) presents the 2017 STEM Leadership Award of $10,000 to Martins Ferry Schools, OH

Martins Ferry students advanced a remarkable one grade level in math and reading in 29 and 27 learning hours respectively. The students also earn college credits.

Martins Ferry's success stands out as a clear example of how to cost-effectively improve student achievement by involving and motivating all the stakeholders  students, teachers, parents, and administrators.

Martins Ferry successfully implemented NEF's STEM+ Academy (STEM, reading, social studies, SAT/ACT, IT, career tech, business and personal/professional development) holistic system solution that includes personalized learning using top-rated online courses, teacher training, a state-of-the-art learning management system, teacher stipends, student awards, parent training and tech support.

NEF's STEM+ Academies have been implemented in school districts across the U.S. by the State University of New York (SUNY), the largest university in the U.S., in partnership with local universities, with students eligible to receive college credits from SUNY, NEF's academy partner, for $60 per credit, with a 90% subsidy.

At the awards ceremony, NEF Chairman Dr. Appu Kuttan stated, "NEF is concerned that the U.S. is ranked 31st in math in global rankings. Our world-class STEM academies, funded by the $100 million NEF-SUNY STEM grants and federal grants, help students in disadvantaged schools across the nation improve their STEM skills, thus enabling them to compete for jobs in the highly competitive 21st-century global economy."

75-year-old NEF Chairman and philanthropist, Dr. Appu Kuttan, was challenged by Martins Ferry students and staff to a fitness contest. Dr. Kuttan won the contest with 30 students and teachers and donated the $1,000 winner's prize to Martins Ferry to start a fitness program for students in 2017-18.

In addition, Dr. Kuttan announced national STEM design contests for K-12 students to start next school year. Contest winners will earn scholarships.

Merit cash awards were also presented to schools in Canton, NY, Steubenville, OH, Lehighton, PA, and Warren County, PA.

In addition to this annual award, NEF provides significant matching grants to disadvantaged school districts/schools nationwide. Martins Ferry's STEM+ Academy was fully funded by the Federal QZAB (www.qzab.org) program and NEF's significant matching grant. NEF's STEM+ Academy, with its attractive motivational rewards, provides a well-rounded educational experience for students of all grade levels.

For additional information about NEF's grant programs for schools, students, jobseekers, teachers, and veterans, please contact the National Education Foundation at 703-823-9999, or visit www.stemgrant.org

About NEF

The National Education Foundation (NEF), winner of the 2016 Global STEM Leadership Award from the prestigious World Economic Forum, is the national non-profit leader in bridging the academic and job skills divides by providing world-class STEM+ (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, English, test prep, digital literacy, career tech, IT, business, management and personal/professional development) education to millions of disadvantaged students and adults. See www.stemgrant.org.

About QZAB

The Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program is a federal program that provides qualified schools with funds for energy programs, STEM, renovations, and technology. See www.qzab.org.

About STEM+ Academy

Through the STEM, QZAB and Adopt-A-School national grant programs, NEF and State University of New York (SUNY) have created the most cost-effective, high-quality holistic STEM+ education solution. There are STEM+ Academies in 20 states and several major cities. NEF's ultimate goal is to provide STEM+ education to students in most disadvantaged school districts in the U.S. by 2020.

Related Images

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Related Links

NEF Academies

National Education Foundation

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWKDHkgrcbA

SOURCE National Education Foundation

Related Links

http://www.cyberlearning.org


It was bedtime in the Flynn household but the kids were wide awake, excited by the arrival of CNN reporters to their colorful, crowded Kentucky home. The entry is crammed with bunk beds on one side and, separated by a bookshelf, a makeshift den with a desk and computer on the other.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America's largest automotive retailer, is celebrating a record-breaking 11 million vehicles sold by thanking its community partners and customers, those who made this momentous occasion possible. In 11 markets from coast to coast, the company is surprising 11 customers by handing them the keys to their vehicles, payment free.

Being a loyal AutoNation customer paid off for Kathyrn Braune and Mike Moran this week when the management team at AutoNation Buick GMC West Sahara and AutoNation Buick GMC Henderson handed each of them the keys to the brand new vehicles they had planned to purchase, payment free.

On Wednesday, May 24th, also in celebration of the company's historic milestone, AutoNation donated a ProMaster Van to the Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation at The Caring Place in Las Vegas. The Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation serves cancer patients living in Southern Nevada who are unable to afford the essentials of daily living while they undergo their treatment. This foundation was established to lessen the financial burden on patients and their families. Through AutoNation's partnership with the Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation, more than $40,000 has been raised for the cause as well as a series of Public Service Announcements discussing the importance of early detection and prevention.

AutoNation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Jackson said, "The extraordinary accomplishment of being the first automotive company to sell 11 million vehicles is an opportunity to show our appreciation to those who work hard every day in the fight against cancer and to our customers who have made this historic moment possible."

About AutoNation, Inc.

AutoNation, America's largest automotive retailer, through its bold leadership, innovation and its comprehensive brand extensions, is transforming the automotive industry. As of March 31, 2017, AutoNation owned and operated 372 new vehicle franchises from coast to coast. AutoNation has sold over 11 million vehicles, the first automotive retailer to reach this milestone. AutoNation's success is driven by a commitment to delivering a peerless experience through customer-focused sales and service processes. Through its Drive Pink initiative, AutoNation is committed to drive out cancer, create awareness and support critical research. AutoNation continues to be a proud supporter of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and other cancer-related charities.

Please visit investors.autonation.com, www.autonation.com, www.autonationdrive.com, www.twitter.com/autonation, www.twitter.com/CEOMikeJackson, www.facebook.com/autonation, and www.facebook.com/CEOMikeJackson, where AutoNation discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations.

SOURCE AutoNation, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.autonation.com


CHICAGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new website, JusticeDivided.com, will increase public awareness of the overrepresentation of minority Chicago youth in the juvenile justice system and provide open source data for research by community members and journalists, eventually leading to changes in practices and policies.

"The purpose of the website is to call attention to the overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system and to provide factual and easy-to-access data from verified public data sources," said Hannah Cushman, Developer at DataMade, a civic technology company based in Chicago. "By using accurate information, the public can have a better understanding of the degree of the problem and learn how to reduce the inequality."

"The site is targeted to inform youth, provide them with tools to become engaged in policy reform efforts and provide resources to help them overcome the collateral consequences of having an arrest record," said Era Laudermilk, Deputy Director of the Illinois Justice Project."

Some visitors will be surprised to learn that black youth make up only 42 percent of Chicago's youth population but account for 79 percent of arrests and 87 percent of imprisonments.

"The website is intended to encourage a public discussion of inequity: for example, while black and white youth have the same rate of marijuana use, blacks are arrested far more often," Laudermilk said. "The website also is a resource to spur discussion of how to develop and implement policies and practices to reduce disproportionate minority contact, as well as information to help kids in trouble stay out of trouble."

Because the data includes neighborhood breakdowns of youth arrests by race, a visitor can find demographic arrest data for every police district and compare districts on a map of the city.

DataMade built the website in partnership with the Adler University, Project NIA and the Illinois Justice Project. Funding was provided by the Polk Bros. Foundation, which partners with local nonprofit organizations that work to reduce the impact of poverty and provide area residents with better access to quality education, preventive health care and basic human services.

"Disproportionate Minority Contact in the juvenile justice system is not unique to Chicago, but it must not be viewed as a problem that is so ingrained that it cannot be eliminated," said Dan Cooper, Executive Director of Adler University's Center for Equitable Cities.

For more information, visit www.ILJP.org.

SOURCE Illinois Justice Project

Related Links

http://www.iljp.org


TEL AVIV, Israel, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The final round of the Sofaer International Case Competition (SICC) 2017 took place last Wednesday,(May 17th), at Tel Aviv University's Coller School of Management. The SICC is an annual international strategic case competition on an Israeli company operating in the global arena. Nine MBA teams from leading international business schools participated in the 13th competition.

The subject of this year's case study which was developed especially for the completion, was Nano Dimension, an innovative Israeli company that engages in Disruptive Materials Printing. The challenge of the competition was to suggest a long term strategy by which the company can grow and enter new markets in order to establish itself as a global leader in its field.

This year, in addition to the team from the Coller School of Management, the participating teams came from: Cambridge Judge Business School (UK), Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), University of Cologne (Germany), Corvinus University of Budapest (Hungary), The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (Hong Kong), Rady School of Management at UC San Diego (USA), Rotman School of Management (Canada), and University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa).

The winning presentation was by the Copenhagen Business School of Denmark who competed in the final round with the Rotman School of Management (Canada) and the Cambridge Judge Business School (UK). The winning team received the Barton M. Biggs Award in the amount of $10,000, given on behalf of the donors - the Sofaer family.

Prof. Moshe Zviran, Dean of the Coller School of Management, emphasized the importance of the competition: "The Sofaer International Case Competition is an important element of international cooperation and it strengthens the connection of the world of entrepreneurship and innovation in Israel with the best business schools in the world. The competition allows for a deeper understanding of the challenges of the global operations of this Israeli company, which stands at the forefront of the technology of 3D printing, and offers groundbreaking solutions which express innovation and entrepreneurship in the company's business management."

Udi Aharoni and Dr. Ravit Meitar, Directors of the Eli Hurvitz Institute of Strategic Management noted that "the competition provides Nano Dimension with creative solutions which are outside of its daily routine. The insights that it receives in the context of the international competition are original and reflect a different approach."

According to Udi Aharoni, who also initiated and managed the competition: "The solutions in the finals offered the company methods of growth, both in the current business model and in a breakthrough model of overlapping areas in which the company has a competitive advantage, in order to reduce dependence on the PCB market. The winning solution suggested entering complementary areas, while offering practical proposals for cooperation with companies from Israel and abroad in the solar energy field."

Amit Dror, CEO of Nano Dimension, concluded that "the competition is an exceptional opportunity for companies. The team that won presented a coherent analysis to reach the main market and an additional market which matches our current strategy. We will make an in-depth examination of the solutions which were brought up in the finals in order to refine the proposals and implement the students' conclusions that are suitable to the company."

For further details about SICC:https://en-coller.tau.ac.il/SICC

Nano Dimension: http://www.nano-di.com/

Contact:

Anat

[email protected]



SOURCE Sofaer International Case Competition (SICC)
DUBLIN, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "North America Naphtha Demand Supply Analysis, By End Use (Gasoline Blending, Reforming, Steam Cracking and Others), Forecast & Opportunities, 2011-2026" report to their offering.

The North American naphtha consumption market is projected to witness slow pace of growth till 2026.

The slow growth in naphtha consumption in North America can be attributed to the United States moving away from naphtha based crackers and replacing feedstock for petrochemicals with shale gas which is much more economical due to its recent shale boom in the country. Still North America is a prominent player in naphtha consumption owing to huge appetite for gasoline which uses naphtha as a blending stock.

Key Target Audience:



Naphtha producers (refiners), Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plants, crude oil suppliers, naphtha traders, shipping companies.

Customers (Petrochemical industry and other customers).

Research organizations and consulting companies

Associations, organizations, forums and alliances related to naphtha trade

Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers



Report Scope:



In this report, the North America naphtha supply demand analysis has been segmented into the following categories:



Naphtha Consumption, By Country:



United States

Canada

Mexico

Others



Naphtha Consumption, By Type:



Light Naphtha

Heavy Naphtha



Naphtha Consumption, By End Use:



Gasoline Blending

Naphtha Reforming

Steam Cracking

Others



Key Topics Covered:



1. Product Overview



2. Research Methodology



3. Analyst View



4. Global Naphtha Market Outlook



5. North America Naphtha Market Outlook

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6h3523/north_america

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


MILWAUKEE, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual, a Fortune 100 financial security company, today announced new senior leadership appointments that advance transformation across the enterprise. These leadership roles signify the company's deep commitment to transform how people plan for, experience and achieve financial security.

"These forward-thinking leaders will play a critical role in transforming our business to provide more people with financial security," said Northwestern Mutual Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John E. Schlifske. "They have distinct strengths and a shared commitment to deliver results and an unmatched client experience."

The following leadership changes that integrate and accelerate the company's strategic initiatives were recently approved by Northwestern Mutual's Board of Trustees:

Bethany Rodenhuis, an executive officer and 22-year veteran of the company, has been appointed senior vice president  transformation, reporting to Schlifske. In her new role, Rodenhuis will spearhead the company's transformation strategies in a unified way, aligning all priorities and plans to deliver value to the company's more than 4.4 million clients. Rodenhuis has served in a variety of cross-functional leadership roles, most recently heading the company's distribution strategy and planning. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University Law School and her Bachelor's degree in economics from Northern Michigan University.

Alexa von Tobel, founder and CEO of LearnVest, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, and executive officer and vice president of digital client and field solutions for Northwestern Mutual, has been named chief digital officer. In this role, von Tobel will help accelerate Northwestern Mutual's digital transformation, delivering state-of-the-art capabilities and tools that will allow the company to deliver an unmatched client and advisor digital experience. She received her Bachelor's degree from Harvard and also attended Harvard Business School.

Aditi Gokhale has been appointed executive officer and chief marketing officer of Northwestern Mutual. She will lead an enterprise-wide comprehensive marketing strategy to strengthen the Northwestern Mutual brand, amplify its digital marketing, and expand the company's engagement with clients and prospects. Gokhale joined the organization nearly a year ago as chief marketing officer of LearnVest. Throughout her career, she has been credited with building brands in today's digital world for global companies such as Shutterstock, American Express, and Nutrisystem. She has a Bachelor's degree and M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lisa Cadotte has been named executive officer and vice president  investment risk & operations (IRO). She joined Northwestern Mutual in 1996 and assumed leadership of IRO in 2016, leading the team's work in safeguarding and enhancing policyowner value by ensuring the appropriate balance of risk and return in the investment portfolio. In addition, she has responsibility for investment operations. Cadotte received a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and M.B.A. from Washington University.

Hamilton Faris has been named executive officer and vice president  data & analytics, and is responsible for accelerating the application of data-driven insights. He joined Northwestern Mutual's New York office in September 2016 to lead global data strategy and insights delivery. His previous roles include head of global data strategy & insights delivery for MetLife, and chief data and analytics officer for MetLife's Americas region, as well as other roles. Faris received his Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University.

Courtney Reynolds has been named executive officer and vice president  communications & corporate affairs, after joining Northwestern Mutual in 2015 as vice president  corporate communications. Her team is responsible for strengthening the company's reputation and shaping and sharing the company's story internally and externally. She has more than two decades of corporate and agency experience spanning multiple industries and companies, such as ITT Corporation. Reynolds holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia as well as an Executive M.B.A. from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Emilia Sherifova has been named executive officer and vice president  architecture & engineering and will lead the development of a five-year technology roadmap and continue to build the company's next generation digital platform. Prior to joining LearnVest as chief technology officer in 2014, Sherifova led technology in a variety of organizations ranging from Wall Street to ad tech. She holds a Master's degree with a concentration in international business and finance from Columbia University and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Bridgeport.

Ainslie Simmonds has been named executive officer and vice president  digital products & design. She leads digital products and design teams and oversees product development for web and mobile, user experience, visual design, and voice of client for both Northwestern Mutual and LearnVest brands. She retains her role as chief operating officer of LearnVest. Prior to LearnVest, she served as the senior vice president of innovation for Maddock Douglas and held roles at several consumer companies. Simmonds received her M.B.A. from Harvard and her undergraduate degree from Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario.

All changes are effective June 1.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping families and businesses achieve financial security for 160 years. Through a distinctive, whole-picture planning approach including both insurance and investments, we empower people to be financially confident so they can live life differently. We combine the expertise of our financial professionals with a personalized digital experience to help our clients navigate their financial lives every day. With $250.4 billion in assets, $28.2 billion in revenues, and more than $1.6 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.4 million people who rely on us for life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, brokerage and advisory services, trust services, and discretionary portfolio management solutions. The company holds more than $100 billion of client assets as a part of its wealth management company and investment services. Northwestern Mutual ranks 100 on the 2016 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2017.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a comprehensive approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, life insurance with long-term care benefits, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


CALVERTON, N.Y., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Miller Environmental Group, Inc. (MEG), headquartered in Calverton, NY is proud to announce the release of a long-awaited book on the life of Jim Miller, founder of Miller Environmental Group, Inc. The book chronicles the life of Jim Miller from his youth as a budding entrepreneur to his days as a young commercial fisherman and beyond. Armed with an eleventh grade education and smart as a whip intellect, Miller became an inventor with patents to prove it, and went on to build numerous successful businesses. Along the way, the book includes hilarious stories of growing up on rural Long Island, a heart wrenching and chilling description of one of the worst charter boat disasters in US history, as well as a good dose of practical wisdom and insightful philosophies.

Commissioning of the book was a gift from Jim's son and MEG owner and CEO Mark and Mark's wife Biricim. The project was kicked off for Mr. Miller's 80th birthday and was two years in the making. "His life story is a true American Dream. The stories recounted in the book conjure up images of characters from Mark Twain and Horacio Alger," said Mark Miller. He added, "If I hadn't been around for many of the stories, it would be hard to imagine one person having such an extraordinary journey."

A book release luncheon was held on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at the North Fork Country Club with family and friends in attendance. The author, Benedict (Ben) Cosgrove, participated in the festivities and received a commemorative photo of the book cover signed by Jim Miller. The book is now available on Amazon by searching for "Nothing Bad Ever Happens  Jim Miller".

MEG is a diversified environmental services company providing its clients industrial cleaning, environmental emergency response, environmental remediation, health and safety training, marine support services, and geothermal drilling coupled with heat pump sales. MEG's corporate headquarters is in Calverton, New York, and the firm has nine offices serving the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US. For more information about MEG's services, visit www.millerenv.com.

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Jim or Mark Miller, please call Janet Martin at 631-369-4900 Ext. 212, or e-mail Janet at [email protected].

Contact Person: George Wallace

Company Name: Miller Environmental Group, Inc.

Telephone Number: (631) 369-4900

Fax Number: (631) 369-4909

Email Address: [email protected]

Web site address: www.millerenv.com

Related Images

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SOURCE Miller Environmental Group, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.millerenv.com


WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an unfortunate setback for press freedom that seems all too typical of the times, U.S. government foot-dragging in the case of Mexican journalist Martin Mendez Pineda has put him in grave danger.

As we have already reported, Mendez sought asylum in the United States after receiving death threats in his home country for reporting he did on government corruption. He followed the letter of U.S. law in doing so, presenting himself at the port of El Paso with an attorney when he entered the country.

Despite this and despite finding that he had "credible fear" of returning to his home country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to parole the 27-year-old reporter pending adjudication of his asylum case.

This left Martin confined for an indeterminate period of time in harrowing conditions, which he describes in this piece, just published in The Washington Post, and you can hear an interview with him here.

Recently, he decided to take his chances on returning to his country.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute worked closely with Reporters Without Borders and the International Committee for Journalists to build a case for Mendez's release. We will continue to do what we can to support the safety of this brave journalist.

The National Press Club is one of the oldest journalism institutions in the U.S.; its Journalism Institute is a non-profit affiliate that provides professional training and advances the cause of press freedom through a Press Freedom Committee and a Press Freedom Fellowship.

Contact: Kathy Kiely, NPC Journalism Institute Press Freedom Fellow [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club
NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OnDeck (NYSE:ONDK), the leader in online lending for small business, announced today that it had extended its current asset-backed revolving credit facility with SunTrust Bank.

As a result of the transaction, OnDeck extended the maturity date of its $100 million credit facility with SunTrust Bank to November 2018 and decreased funding cost by 50 basis points.

"This transaction exemplifies our commitment to our relationship with OnDeck," said Tarun Mehta, Group Head for Financial Institutions Investment Banking, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. "OnDeck is a leading provider of innovative financing solutions to the small business community enabling small businesses to grow, and we are pleased to support the OnDeck team in this important endeavor."

Loans will continue to be made to Receivable Assets of OnDeck, LLC, or RAOD, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OnDeck, to finance RAOD's purchase of small business loans from OnDeck. The revolving pool of small business loans purchased by RAOD serves as collateral under the SunTrust facility. OnDeck is acting as the servicer for those small business loans.

"In the first months of 2017, OnDeck has demonstrated its ability to execute on its financing strategy by extending debt maturities and creating additional funding capacity to pave the way for future loan growth and this transaction is yet another example," said Howard Katzenberg, Chief Financial Officer, OnDeck. "SunTrust, a leading national financial institution, has been, and will now continue to be, our valued partner in support of our mission to empower small businesses to grow into thriving enterprises through OnDeck's lending technology and innovation."

Mr. Katzenberg further noted "We believe that this transaction, along with the recent closing of a Aus$22.5M credit facility to finance small business loans originated by our Australian subsidiary, further exemplifies the strength of OnDeck's capital position and liquidity outlook."

About OnDeck

OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) is the leader in online small business lending. Since 2007, the Company has powered Main Street's growth through advanced lending technology and a constant dedication to customer service. OnDeck's proprietary credit scoring system  the OnDeck Score  leverages advanced analytics, enabling OnDeck to make real-time lending decisions and deliver capital to small businesses in as little as 24 hours. OnDeck offers business owners a complete financing solution, including the online lending industry's widest range of term loans and lines of credit. To date, the Company has deployed over $6 billion to more than 60,000 customers in 700 different industries across the United States, Canada and Australia. OnDeck has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other legal authority. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the extension of debt maturities, the availability of additional funding capacity and OnDeck's liquidity outlook, all of which are dependent upon compliance with the borrowing and other conditions of the amended facility and other debt facilities and market conditions and statements regarding OnDeck's business plans, objectives and expected future loan growth, which are all subject to material uncertainties including credit risks, pricing risks and economic conditions. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by words such as "will," "enables," "expects", "may," "allows," "continues," "believes," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. They are based only on OnDeck's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its business, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Moreover, OnDeck does not assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of forward-looking statements. As such, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, changes in circumstances, known and unknown risks and other factors that are difficult to predict and in many cases outside OnDeck's control.

As a result, you should not rely on any forward-looking statements. OnDeck's expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from OnDeck's expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from OnDeck's forward-looking statements are the risks that OnDeck may not be able to manage its anticipated or actual growth effectively, that its credit models do not adequately identify potential risks, and other risks, including those under the heading "Risk Factors" in OnDeck's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and in other documents that OnDeck files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, from time to time which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. OnDeck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in OnDeck's expectations, except as required by law.

OnDeck, the OnDeck logo and OnDeck Score are trademarks of On Deck Capital, Inc.

SOURCE On Deck Capital, Inc.
The Brewmaster is a unique timepiece made with reclaimed German beer barrels. Imported from Bavaria, the quintessence of brewing culture, the authentic wood is reclaimed using a tempered carbonization process that extracts the utmost individuality from every ale-soaked artifact. Flame tempering brings out the true grain, yielding a distinctive finish to the oak wood dial. The 316L brushed stainless steel casing lends contemporary strength.

"We wanted to salute to the process and skill demonstrated by brew masters," says Paul Buss CEO of Original Grain, "We're very excited to introduce the timepiece to North America for Summer 2017."

The Brewmaster is available in two design models: chronograph and barrel. The sporty chronograph model features a stop watch function, with authentic German barrel wood dial and chrono eyes, in addition to wood trimming throughout the bezel and band links; it is also10 atm water resistant. The barrel, one of Original Grain's top selling design models, features a classic shape and date window with authentic German barrel wood trimming throughout the 4mm bezel inlay and band links.

The Brewmaster retails for $219-$349USD exclusively on OriginalGrain.com. To learn more visit: https://www.originalgrain.com/pages/brewmaster-watch-made-with-craft-wood-beer-barrels

About Original Grain Watch Co.

Original Grain Watch Company is a leader in the specialty watch category. Original Grain seamlessly integrates wood and steel with a focus on quality, craftsmanship, authenticity, style and story. Since 2015, Original Grain has been working with Trees for the Future to foster sustainability and empowerment.

For Media Inquiries:

Andrew Beltran

[email protected]

SOURCE Original Grain Watch Co.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141209/720351 )



Oxygen Forensics is launching its own online portal aimed at providing a higher level of service to customers and users called the Learning Management System (LMS). Oxygen's LMS will host the training course as well as other online materials.

The Oxygen Forensic Expert Certification course introduces advanced methods of smart device collections and data analysis. Students will examine, collect and analyze data from iOS, Android, and Windows devices, and then work to obtain physical images, understand file system formats, storage methods and evidence locations. The course also provides training and instruction on cloud storage and extraction techniques, with participants receiving a start to finish education on the use of Oxygen Forensic Detective.

"Our customers need and want training, but sometimes they cannot afford to take time off from their jobs to travel out of town and take our 3-day course," said Lee Reiber, Oxygen Forensics COO. "Having our premiere Forensic Expert Certification course available via our Learning Management System will enable our customers and users to access this certification class from the comfort of their office or home and they can complete their required work in the timing that works best for them."

As the course evolves, Oxygen will continually add more content and updates to keep up with new product additions that are released every two weeks. Once students successfully pass the certification examination, they can to re-certify every two years within Oxygen's LMS. This re-certification will be on new features as well as existing features, so it is important to stay up to date on the release notes.

The certification examination is included with a purchase of the course, and Oxygen Forensics is offering a $1,000 discount for the online certification course for those that purchase a license for Oxygen Forensic Detective through July 1, 2017. To sign up for the Oxygen Forensic Expert Certification training course, please visit http://training.oxygen-forensic.com/login/index.php. For those that still want to attend the off-site 3-day certification course, those will continue to be offered by Oxygen Forensics.

About Oxygen Forensics, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Oxygen Forensics is the worldwide leading maker of the advanced forensic data examination tools for smartphones and other mobile devices. The company is dedicated to delivering the universal forensic solution covering the widest range of mobile devices running Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Symbian and other operating systems. Law enforcement and government agencies, institutions, corporations and private investigators, help desk personnel and thousands of private consumers rely on Oxygen Forensics products to ensure evidence availability in the event of mobile device data analysis and recovery. For more information about Oxygen Forensics, please visit http://www.oxygen-forensic.com.

SOURCE Oxygen Forensics
MASON CITY | A North Iowa woman was given a suspended five-year prison sentence this week for breaking into a home and driving two vehicles without the owner's consent.

Leah S. Stout, 27, Belmond, and co-defendant Jeremy Noah, 39, Mason City, were arrested in February during an investigation into an alleged stolen vehicle.

On Feb. 11 the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office was called to a report of a stolen vehicle at 5596 Raven Ave., southeast of Rockwell.

The sheriff's office then received a report of a suspicious vehicle at 15341 340th St. in Manly.

2 accused of stealing vehicles in Rockwell, Manly MASON CITY | A Mason City man and a Belmond woman have been arrested during an investigation

At the scene it was discovered that the residence had been burglarized and another vehicle appeared to have been stolen. The Worth County Sheriff's Office located the vehicle at Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood.

Both Stout and Noah were arrested at the casino.

Stout pleaded guilty in April in district court in Mason City to third-degree burglary and two misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. In exchange, the state dismissed a felony charge of ongoing criminal conduct.

She also pleaded guilty in a separate case to one felony count of forgery. In that case, Stout was accused of signing a stolen check on Dec. 12 to pay for merchandise and receive cash back at Hy-Vee West in Mason City.

Stout received a five-year suspended prison sentence on each of the two felony counts. She also received a two-year suspended prison sentences on each of the two operating without owner's consent.

All those sentences are to be served concurrently.

Two $750 fines and two $625 fines were suspended, but Stout was ordered to pay four $125 surcharges.

She was ordered to pay $125 restitution in the forgery case. Restitution in the burglary case will be determined at a later date.

Stout was put on probation for three to five years.

Noah stated through his attorney earlier this month that he plans to plead guilty to one count of third-degree burglary and two counts of operating a vehicle without the owner's consent. In exchange, the state would drop an ongoing criminal conduct charge.

His formal plea hearing is set for June 12.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) today announced that it has received national recognition for another Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) ecosystem in the commonwealth, bringing the total of formally-recognized regional ecosystems to five.

"There are abundant opportunities available for careers in STEM fields, and we know that students interested in these fields deserve access to training programs and cooperatives that can help them develop needed skills and knowledge," Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera said. "These regional ecosystems bring STEM education to communities across the commonwealth, providing students from all areas with the resources and tools they need to pursue an interest in science and technology."

The National STEM Funders Network, which aims to assist states in enhancing equity and quality of STEM learning outcomes by reducing barriers within STEM educational systems is supporting the partnership between the Bucks/Chester/Delaware/Montgomery County intermediate units. Pennsylvania has been recognized as a national leader in STEM education for the collaboration between the state's STEM ecosystems.

STEM learning ecosystems encompass schools, businesses, community settings including after-school and summer programs, science centers and museums, and other environments that together constitute a rich array of learning opportunities. Learning ecosystems harness the unique contributions of these different settings to deliver STEM experiences to all children. Designed pathways enable students to become engaged, knowledgeable, and skilled in the STEM disciplines as they progress through childhood into adolescence and early adulthood.

In addition to the new partnership, existing formally-recognized regional ecosystems include: Philadelphia STEM Ecosystem (STEMcityPHL), Lancaster County STEM Alliance, Schuylkill/Carbon/Luzerne Region Ecosystem, Pittsburgh Area STEM Ecosystem. Additionally, four non-formal ecosystems, also called communities of practice, are operating across the state. Those communities include: ABC CREATE (a STEM partnership forged within Butler, Westmoreland, Alleghany, and Armstrong counties), Beaver County Innovation and Learning Consortium, Southwest Aquaponics Consortium, and a collaboration between BLaST Intermediate Unit 17, Central Intermediate Unit 10, and the Center for Science and the Schools at Penn State University.

Since taking office, Governor Wolf has demonstrated a commitment to STEM education in the commonwealth. The Administration aims to increase enrollment in STEM-specific majors at state-supported postsecondary institutions by 10,000 by 2020. By 2018, there will be approximately 300,000 Pennsylvania jobs that require STEM skills or content knowledge, and over the next ten years, 71 percent of new jobs will require computer science skills.

Under Governor Wolf's leadership, Pennsylvania has made early and important progress in delivering more resources to schools and classrooms, and fostering collaborative, cross-sector dialogue to support STEM education, work-based learning, career pathways, and college access and completion.

For more information about Pennsylvania's education policies and programs, or to read PDE Secretary Rivera's budget testimony, visit the Department of Education's website at www.education.pa.gov or follow PDE on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

MEDIA CONTACT: Casey Smith, 717-783-9802

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education

Related Links

http://www.education.pa.gov


HARRISBURG, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera and the Pennsylvania Department of Education yesterday honored the 2017 graduates of the Migrant Education Program at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg. The group awarded certificates to 150 students who participated in the program and are graduating from Pennsylvania high schools or GED programs.

"The graduates of the Migrant Education Program have earned this honor by working hard throughout their entire lives. The challenges they have faced and the obstacles they have overcome over the years are unlike those that many other students across the commonwealth have experienced," Sec. Rivera said. "These students are prepared to take the next step in life and well-equipped for continued success. They are prepared for productive employment, continued education, and meaningful, active contribution to the commonwealth."

Of the students who completed the high school segment of the program, 280 will be receiving their high school diploma and 2 will receive their General Educational Development (GED) diploma.

The Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program provides educational and social support to the children of migratory workers. Since its inception, the program has served more than 350,000 students from birth to age 22. The program ensures that migrant students:

Receive appropriate educational and support services that address their special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner;

Receive services that help reduce the educational disruptions and other problems that result from repeated moves;

Overcome the challenges of mobility, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, and other factors associated with a migratory life, in order to succeed in school, and to successfully transition to postsecondary education or employment;

Are not penalized by disparities among the States in curriculum, graduation requirements, and State academic content and student academic achievement standards;

Receive full and appropriate opportunities to meet state content and student performance standards that all children are expected to meet; and

Benefit from state and local systemic reform.

The mission of the program is "to ensure that all migrant students achieve challenging academic standards and graduate with a high school diploma (or complete a GED), and upon graduation are prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment." To achieve that mission, PA-MEP provides after-school and summer programs, in-home programs and health and social support services, parental involvement, advocacy and enrichment.

MEDIA CONTACT: Casey Smith, 717-783-9802

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us


Ultra fast, low latency, high bandwidth 60GHz WiGig to power future VR / AR Wireless Headsets

TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Peraso Technologies Inc., a leader in Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) chipsets, will be demonstrating a wireless gaming solution ideal for VR / AR applications, amongst numerous other 802.11ad applications, including 4K wireless display and Wi-Fi networking at Computex 2017. The demonstrations will be driven by Peraso's Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGigTM W110 USB 3.0 adapter and their W120 WiGig phased array chipset, both designed to help drive the WiGig Ecosystem forward with unprecedented speed and functionality.

With the growing demand for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, emphasis is now beginning to shift toward finding a wireless solution that will untether the headset from the PC. WiGig (802.11ad and the upcoming 802.11ay) technology is the immediate solution, providing the bandwidth, power and super low latency needed to make this application viable, on the uncongested 60 GHz band.

In addition to Wireless VR, the need for WiGig is becoming evident in a multitude of applications for both home and enterprise, and consumers will continue to see new products hit the market as the year progresses. Key applications include:

Wi-Fi Networking

Mobile Connectivity

Wireless Display and Docking

Wireless Gaming

5G Fixed Wireless Access

"We're thrilled to be demonstrating such a large range of applications that can only be powered by WiGig technology," said Ron Glibbery, President and CEO of Peraso Technologies. "WiGig will continue to become fundamental in serving consumers as we push the boundaries of technology, especially in exciting new applications such as wireless VR/AR and Wi-Fi Networking."

Peraso is currently in production with WiGig IC solutions addressing both the consumer electronics market, as well as outdoor devices in the 60 GHz wireless infrastructure space, and recently announced their WiGig USB dongle for smartphone applications in February.

Peraso's WiGig chipsets and solutions will be on display at the Grand Hyatt, Computex 2017 - May 30th - 2nd. To arrange a private demonstration, please contact: [email protected]. Peraso will also be presenting at the Digitimes Mobile IoT Technology and Application Forum on May 31st, 2017.

About Peraso Technologies, Inc.

Peraso is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company is focussed on the development of 60 GHz chip sets and solutions compliant with the IEEE 802.11ad specification. 60 GHz has been adopted for interoperability certification by the WiFi Alliance under the WiGig brand, and WiGig has seen strong industry endorsement by tech giants such as Samsung, Qualcomm and Intel. For more information, visit www.perasotech.com

Follow Us: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

SOURCE Peraso Technologies Inc.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150203/727958-b )



Aplidin is PharmaMars second most advanced anticancer drug currently under development for the treatment of multiple myeloma and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. The Company announced in March 2016 that plitidepsin has shown positive results in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial (ADMYRE) for multiple myeloma[i] and in September 2016, PharmaMar presented to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) the submission of the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for this drug in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM)[ii] .

"The partnership with Eczacbas will help in the commercialization in Turkey of plitidepsin, developed to tackle hematologic cancer. We are looking forward to working with one of the leading Health Care companies in this country", said Luis Mora, Managing Director of PharmaMars Oncology Business Unit. "We are firmly committed to advancing in the development of innovative oncology therapies", he added.

Atalay Gumrah, CEO and President of the Eczacbas Group, stated that "the agreement between PharmaMar and Eczacbas Pharmaceuticals Marketing (EIP) offered a major advance for healthcare in Turkey, as Aplidin represented the latest innovation in cancer treatment". Elif Celik, Executive Vice President of the Eczacbas Healthcare Division, noted that "the agreement ensured that multiple myeloma patients in Turkey would have access to the most innovative treatment at the same time as patients in other EU countries". She added that "the two parties hoped to extend the partnership to innovative products in other treatment areas as well".

i. https://www.pharmamar.com/2016/03/31/aplidin-shows-positive-results-in-pivotal-phase-iii-clinical-trial-for-multiple-myeloma/

ii. http://www.pharmamar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/PharmaMar-submits-MAA-to-EMA-for-Aplidin.pdf

CONTACT: Media Relations (+34-638-79-62-15) and Investor Relations (+34-914444500)

SOURCE PharmaMar
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new series of reports on the Australia market for patient monitoring equipment by iData Research (www.idataresearch.com), some hospitals in the region cannot afford high-cost monitoring platforms due to budget constraints. Additionally, reimbursement cuts are resulting in rapid average selling price declines. This lack of reimbursement has resulted in low growth for many of the patient monitoring market segments in Australia.

"In order to mitigate these market declines, the adoption of less-invasive, more accessible, patient-centric monitoring devices are helping alleviate pressure associated with budgetary constraints across the care continuum," explains Kamran Zamanian, CEO at iData Research. "For example, emphasis is being placed on patient comfort and mobility across lower-acuity care settings, wherein gaps in monitoring are further filled with wireless portable solutions."

Despite increasing unit sales, increased competitiveness within the total patient monitoring market has had a negative impact on market growth. The entry of low cost foreign competition has been especially disruptive. However, the long-term prospects remain positive as demand for quality patient monitoring solutions will enable unit sales growth to outpace pricing pressure.

Philips Healthcare is the leading competitor in the Australian patient monitoring market. The company competes in the multi-parameter vital sign monitoring market, wireless telemetry, pulse oximetry and fetal/neonatal monitoring markets. Their IntelliVue and SureSigns product lines range from low to high-acuity and have flexible product designs ranging from extremely compact to portable bedside units.

GE Healthcare is the second leading competitor in the Australian patient monitoring market. GE offers an extensive product line that not only includes a range of low- to high-acuity monitoring devices, but also telemetry devices and networking solutions. Their product lines include the CARESCAPE B series and new B40 patient monitors which can feed into the CARESCAPE central stations and mobile viewers to access patient information. Additional competitors in the Australia patient monitoring market include Drager Medical, Medtronic, Mindray, Nihon Kohden, Natus Medical, Compumedics, Welch Allyn, Spacelabs Healthcare, Nonin and Smiths Medical among others.

For Further Information

More on the patient monitoring device market in Australia can be found in a series of reports published by iData Research entitled the Australia Market Report Suite for Patient Monitoring Equipment. The suite covers reports on the following markets: multi-parameter vital signs monitoring, wireless ambulatory telemetry monitoring, telehealth, electromyogram monitoring, electroencephalogram monitoring, fetal and neonatal monitoring, pulse oximetry and blood pressure monitoring devices.

The iData report series on patient monitoring devices covers the U.S., China, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and 15 countries in Europe including Germany, France, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Italy, Spain, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg), Scandinavia (Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway), Portugal, Austria and Switzerland. Reports provide a comprehensive analysis including units sold, market value, forecasts, as well as detailed competitive market shares and analysis of major players' success strategies in each market and segment. To find out more about patient monitoring device market data, register online or email us at [email protected] for an Australia Market Report Suite for Patient Monitoring Equipment brochure and synopsis.

About iData Research

iData Research (www.idataresearch.com) is an international market consulting research firm, dedicated to providing the best in business intelligence for the medical device industry. Our research empowers our clients by providing them with the necessary tools to achieve their goals and do it right the first time. iData covers research in: Ultrasound, X-Ray Imaging, Diagnostic Imaging, Oncology, Ophthalmics, Vascular Access, Laparoscopy, Urology, Gynecology, Endoscopy, Dental Operatory Equipment, Dental Material, Dental Lasers, Dental Prosthetics, Dental CAD/CAM, Dental Bone Graft Substitutes, Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Electrophysiology, Operating Room Equipment, Surgical Microscopes, Robotics and Surgical Navigation, Spinal Implants and VCF, Spinal MIS, Orthopedic Soft Tissue Repair and Regeneration, Orthopedic Trauma, Large & Small Joints, Anesthesiology, Wound Management, Orthopedics and more.

We have built a reputation and earned our clients' trust based on consistent and uniquely intelligent research that allows our customers to make confident decisions and impact their businesses. A combination of market expertise and over a decade of experience has resulted in a deep understanding of the medical device industry that has inspired innovation and propelled our clients to success.

Contact Info

Marvin Cidamon

Marketing Coordinator

iData Research Inc.

604-266-6933 Ext. 205

[email protected]

SOURCE iData Research

Related Links

http://www.idataresearch.com


VANCOUVER, British Columbia and SAN DIEGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Molecular Designs (PhoenixMD), a privately-held biotechnology company designing precise cancer therapeutics by targeting essential kinases, announced today that it has made a significant research breakthrough in the development of a novel therapy for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) with new preclinical data for its lead asset, PMD-026, an oral small molecule that selectively targets RSK (p90 ribosomal S6 kinase) in TNBC and suppresses tumor growth.

In preclinical studies using the MDA-MB-231 TNBC model, PMD-026 was administered orally over a 28 day time course and demonstrated 70% inhibition of RSK signaling, blocking the growth of TNBC, and importantly, no adverse effects were observed. Within 30 min, PMD-026 was rapidly taken up by tumors whereby it shuts down the central signaling network needed for TNBC to grow. The preclinical model selected is resistant to a wide range of targeted therapies in which tumors do not respond to EGFR or mTOR inhibitors. In addition, a head to head comparison of PMD-026 versus standard of care (doxorubicin) in the same mouse model showed equal inhibition of tumor growth  and most importantly - PMD-026 demonstrated a more favorable safety profile than doxorubicin.

"The need for new targeted therapies to help patients suffering with TNBC is urgent, but unfortunately novel treatments are extremely scarce. We are addressing this unmet medical need through a novel, targeted approach by inhibiting critical kinases, such as RSK, known to be involved in the progression of numerous cancer indications," said Sandra Dunn, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of PhoenixMD. "Our recent favorable preclinical data on PMD-026, coupled with our robust intellectual property estate and leading research collaborations, give us greater confidence in our novel approach to treating cancer. We look forward to building upon these preclinical results and initiating first-in-man studies with PMD-026 in 2018."

"Disruptive therapies require thinking outside the box. PhoenixMD has taken a differentiated approach to developing inhibitors for TNBC by relying on functional screens to guide the selection of the fundamental kinase that drives the disease. In the case of TNBC, RSK appears to be an essential kinase. RSK inhibitors are new to the kinase scene and PMD-026 is headed for a first-in-class designation," said Alan Lewis, Ph.D., Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at PhoenixMD and CEO of Diavacs. "The therapies being developed at PhoenixMD are designed to treat the most difficult cancer indications. They are also promising for strategic combinations with check point inhibitors and/or standard of care therapies. I look forward to working with the established team at PhoenixMD to advance PMD-026 into the clinic."

Dr. Lewis has led biotech companies focused on developing kinase inhibitors including Signal, Celgene, and Ambit. Further, he serves on the Board of numerous companies involved with the development of kinase inhibitors including BioMarin.

About Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) and RSK Kinases

Approximately 170,000 cases of TNBC are diagnosed every year worldwide and it is one of the most difficult breast cancer subtypes to treat due to lack of effective, targeted therapies. TNBC also claims the lives of young women more than any other type of breast cancer due to a lack of understanding around the therapeutic bullseye. It is also a very heterogeneous disease, therefore a common denominator across TNBC types was necessary to identify the bullseye. Through genome-wide screens, RSK was identified as the prime target for TNBC by scientists at PhoenixMD. Currently, there are still no targeted therapies available for TNBC.

There are four types of RSK involved in cancer, known as RSK1-4, and each type has a unique role in the development of the disease. RSK1 is responsible for cancer cell invasion and is an important driver in the spread of cancer. RSK2 controls cancer cell growth, while RSK3 and RSK4 are associated with drug resistance.

RSK1 and RSK2 have been proven critical to the survival of patients with TNBC. Over 90% of primary TNBC express high levels of RSK1 and RSK2. Inhibiting RSK2 eliminates TNBC cells completely, including cancer stem cells, which give rise to cancer recurrence. PhoenixMD, with its novel, targeted approach, is focused on creating patented cancer RSK inhibitors and companion diagnostics for cancer indications - initially in breast cancer - with the potential to treat blood, brain, ovarian, lung, skin, prostate, colon, head and neck cancers.

About PhoenixMD

PhoenixMD is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company designing precise cancer therapeutics and companion diagnostics by targeting kinases, a class of highly druggable enzymes to treat a wide range of oncology indications. PhoenixMD is focused on developing first-in-class inhibitors against ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK), an important drug target for cancer, heart disease, and inflammation. Due to its emerging leadership in kinase inhibition, PhoenixMD has entered into partnerships with well-recognized academic and non-profit institutions such as the National Cancer Institute (NIH), University of Florida, Kyushu University, Mayo Clinic, and University of Hawaii Comprehensive Cancer Center. PhoenixMD is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada with U.S. operations in San Diego, CA. For more information, visit phoenixmd.ca.

Media Contact:

Amy Conrad

Juniper Point

Ph: (858) 366-3243

[email protected]

SOURCE Phoenix Molecular Designs

Related Links

http://phoenixmd.ca/


"It is extremely gratifying when you see organizations like AkzoNobel become proactively involved in improving their communities," says Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman. "While AkzoNobel only recently announced the grant to Leaders of the Future, there are already positive results on the city of Pontiac, through community projects and the scholarships awarded tonight. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the impact these motivated students will have on Pontiac in the years to come."

To be eligible for the scholarship, students have to: be an active member of Leaders of the Future; attend a college or trade school this fall; maintain a GPA of at least 2.5; secure recommendations from a previous teacher and current member of Leaders of the Future; and complete the scholarship application process.

A total of $25,000 in scholarships was awarded to students who are currently attending Oakland University and Pontiac School District's International Technology Academy (ITA). This year's recipients are:

Courtland Sargent , sophomore at Oakland University : Sargent has volunteered time to support a missionary trip to New York and to help adults with special needs. He plans to pursue a career in marketing and public relations

, sophomore at : Sargent has volunteered time to support a missionary trip to and to help adults with special needs. He plans to pursue a career in marketing and public relations Stephanie Kenneh , senior at ITA: Kenneh will attend Michigan State University and hopes to start her own STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Math) themed business after receiving her degree

, senior at ITA: Kenneh will attend and hopes to start her own STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Math) themed business after receiving her degree Jorge Acevedo , senior at IT: During high school, Acevedo served as a mentor for younger students interested in learning robotics, and he wants to use his technical knowledge to pursue a career in mechanical engineering

, senior at IT: During high school, Acevedo served as a mentor for younger students interested in learning robotics, and he wants to use his technical knowledge to pursue a career in mechanical engineering Jose Montoya , senior at ITA: Montoya will attend Oakland Community College before transferring to Oakland University , pursuing an education that will help him to secure a career in cyber security

, senior at ITA: Montoya will attend before transferring to , pursuing an education that will help him to secure a career in cyber security Sahreyah Herring-Jones, senior at ITA: Herring- Jones wants to become an aerospace engineer and will pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Lawrence Tech

wants to become an aerospace engineer and will pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Lawrence Tech Samaj Vassar , senior at ITA: Vassar wants to create machines that will improve the world, and will work toward receiving a degree in mechanical engineering, as well as a minor in communications

Commenting on the scholarships, Michelle Richards, AkzoNobel Site Manager in Pontiac and Leaders of the Future Board Member, says: "AkzoNobel is proud to recognize these students for their academic achievements. With the drive and character they have demonstrated through their involvement with Leaders of the Future, we are confident that the scholarships the students received tonight will help them to achieve their future academic and career goals."

AkzoNobel is a leading paint, coatings and chemicals company with more than 46,000 employees worldwide and operations in 80 countries. In North America, the company employs nearly 5,000 people across 45 sites with regional headquarters in Chicago. At its sites in Pontiac and Troy, Michigan, the company employs more than 300 people supporting customers in the automotive industry.

The Human Cities initiative is AkzoNobel's global commitment to improving, energizing and regenerating urban communities across the world.

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
LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), part of the University of Sheffield and one of the world's leading centres for research into Motor Neurone Disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, today announced that its research into a drug candidate discovered by British artificial intelligence firm BenevolentAI has delivered positive results.

The study, led by Dr. Richard Mead and Dr. Laura Ferraiuolo at SITraN, assessed the efficacy of a drug candidate proposed by BenevolentAI's artificial Intelligence technology for Motor Neuron Disease (MND), also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). SITraN found there are significant and reproducible indications that the drug prevents the death of motor neurones in patient cell models, and delayed the onset of the disease in the gold standard model of ALS.

SITraN are now moving to the next phase of their research, advancing the existing study and assessing the suitability and potential for clinical development. SITraN expect to publish an abstract at the Motor Neurone Disease Association 28th International Symposium in Boston in December 2017.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes muscle weakness, paralysis, and ultimately, respiratory failure. Life expectancy following diagnosis is two to five years. There are currently only two FDA approved drugs available to patients, Riluzole, approved in 1995, and Edaravone, approved only a few weeks ago.

Dr. Richard Mead of SITraN commented: "This is an exciting development in our research for a treatment for ALS. BenevolentAI came to us with some newly identified compounds discovered by their technology - two of which were new to us in the field and, following this research, are now looking very promising. Our plan now is to conduct further detailed testing and continue to quickly progress towards a potential treatment for ALS."

Ken Mulvany, Founder and Chairman of BenevolentAI commented: "We understand from SITraN their research demonstrates that the hypothesis and drug candidate that our technology identified has delayed the onset of cell death in the gold standard model of ALS. We are incredibly encouraged by these findings. We very much look forward to the results of SITraN's further studies and are hopeful for the positive impact that this drug could have for people living with ALS."

SOURCE The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) and BenevolentAI
ProMIS Neurosciences Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Neil Cashman, to present at Prion 2017 International Conference

TSX: PMN

TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, announced that Neil Cashman, MD, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder will present today at PRION 2017, the International Conference Deciphering Neurodegenerative Disorders in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr. Cashman's presentation, entitled Epitope Identification of Toxic Propagating Strains of A Oligomers, describes the use of ProMIS' proprietary discovery engine to identify targets (epitopes) on toxic prion-like forms of Amyloid beta oligomers (AbO), considered a root cause of Alzheimer's disease.

Commenting on the presentation, Dr. Cashman stated, "we have been able to raise antibodies against these epitopes that selectively bind the toxic prion-like forms of Amyloid beta and block their neurotoxicity and propagation. To date, two of these antibodies - PMN310 and PMN350 - each selectively addressing a different target epitope - have been designated as our lead products for development in Alzheimer's disease."

Organizers of the conference anticipate participation of more than 400 academics, strategists, innovators, policy makers and researchers from public and private sector across the international field of Prion research. The 14th annual conference will gather attendees to discuss the latest research being carried out in prion diseases and the broader field of neurodegenerative diseases and to examine the commonalities and differences between these devastating diseases.

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.

ProMIS Neurosciences is a TSX listed biotech company (trading symbol: PMN.TO), headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The mission of ProMIS is to discover and develop precision medicine therapeutics for effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease and ALS.

ProMIS Neurosciences' proprietary target discovery engine is based on the use of two, complementary techniques. The Company applies its thermodynamic, computational discovery platformProMIS and Collective Coordinates  to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique "precision medicine" approach, ProMIS Neurosciences is developing novel antibody therapeutics and specific companion diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS. The company has also developed two proprietary technologies to specifically identify very low levels of misfolded proteins in a biological sample. In addition, ProMIS Neurosciences owns a portfolio of therapeutic and diagnostic patents relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS, and currently has a preclinical monoclonal antibody therapeutic against this target.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release may contain certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information please consult the Company's website at:

www.promisneurosciences.com

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SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.
"We are proud to produce a new category of sustainable omega-3s from algae  Almega PL  at a scale that will give us global impact," said Dr. Rebecca White, VP Operations at Qualitas Health. "This partnership confirms that we are poised to meet demand at a massive scale, and jumpstarts us as we prepare for exciting moves coming up later this year."

All of Qualitas Health's products feature 100% vegan, algae-based ingredients that are specifically designed to deliver highly bioavailable omega-3s in an easy to digest form. Their flagship ingredient Almega PL delivers the omega-3 EPA naturally bound to polar lipids to provide superior digestibility and absorption. EPA is best known for its cardiovascular benefits, though it also has a positive impact on mood, skin and joint health.

"Omega-3 is an essential nutrient that represents an exciting market, currently dominated by fish and krill. Many people don't realize, however, that fish and krill get their omega-3s from algae," said Qualitas Health CEO Miguel Calatayud. "We are thrilled to be partnering with the expert farmers at Green Stream Farms to bring vegan, sustainably produced nutritional products to more people than ever before, and to become the truly green alternative in the omega-3 world."

Added Tom Richard, CEO of Green Stream Farms: "We are proud to partner with Qualitas Health to produce algae on a commercial scale. Our partnership will lead the industry in taking a true farming approach to algae production. We plan to continue to find innovative ways for algae to become a more sustainable product."

Algae is a super crop packed with nutrients like protein, omega-3s and omega-7s, capable of flourishing in arid environments and utilizing readily available inputs like salt water and CO2 to grow. Compared to other staple crops, algae is both faster growing and more nutrient dense: algae produces 300 times more protein per acre than peas. Qualitas Health's new algae farm in Columbus, New Mexico, will expand the company's total acreage to 150 acres in cultivation, roughly equivalent to 45,000 acres of peas in terms of protein yield. Until recently, the nutritional promise of algae remained unrealized, as it proved too expensive to farm in substantial quantities. Qualitas has created a global algae-based products platform to deliver vegan, highly bioavailable nutritional products with full traceability, starting with omega-3 supplements.

The Green Stream Farms partnership will enable Qualitas Health to expand its algae production to meet growing national and international demand for its vegan omega-3 supplements.

About Qualitas Health:

Qualitas Health is a food and nutrition company that is on a mission to revolutionize the way we nourish humanity by unleashing the potential of algae. An industry leader in algae cultivation, Qualitas Health has developed a proprietary platform to launch fully sustainable, vegan, algae-based nutritional products at scale. For more information, visit http://www.qualitas-health.com/.

CONTACT:

Jonathon O'Leary

929-341-0421

SOURCE Qualitas Health

Related Links

http://www.qualitas-health.com


MASON CITY | The city of Marshall, Minnesota, has stopped negotiations with Gatehouse Capital on a proposal to build a hotel and conference center there.

The Marshall project had been touted as one similar to what is being proposed for Mason City and had been approved in concept by the Marshall City Council.

The plan was to build a 101-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel and 800-person conference center and connect it with the Red Baron Arena and Expo, a popular exhibition center.

The Mason City proposal is for a 100-plus-room hotel connected via a skywalk with The Music Man Square where a conference center/banquet hall would be built to accommodate 600 to 700 guests. No franchisee has been named yet.

The Marshall city administrator's office, in a news release, said that after months of discussions, the city could not meet financing requirements.

Gatehouse and the city looked for financing options that would be agreeable to both parties but "after in-depth discussions, the city is unable to approve the project," according to the news release.

It cited three key reasons:

 The cost analysis for the city debt on the project would have had a bigger-than-anticipated impact on the tax rate and taxpayers.

 The type of debt the city would need for the project would not give the needed financial flexibility to ensure taxpayer confidence.

 A provision in law conflicted with the proposed financial structure and the city and Gatehouse weren't able to resolve the conflict.

The Marshall City Council first discussed the proposal in September 2016. It did a market study which indicated another hotel in the city was feasible.

The next step was a detailed financial analysis  and that resulted in the decision to drop the project.

The hotel was to be privately-owned but would have been paid with 70 percent private financing and 30 percent city bonding. Gatehouse would pay the principal and and interest on that bond.

The conference center was to be city-owned and would be paid for through city bonding. Gatehouse would pay the bond's principal and the city would pay the interest.

In Mason City, the City Council has approved a pre-development agreement and negotiations are continuing toward a final plan.

David Rachie, of Gatehouse's Minneapolis office, held a public forum in Mason City Wednesday night and was meeting with architects and other planners Thursday.
BOZEMAN, Mont., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Quiq, leading provider of messaging for customer service software, is proud to announce it has been included in the list of five "Cool Vendors" in the CRM Customer Service and Support report by Gartner, Inc.

Quiq provides a mobile messaging application for customer service organizations that connects agents and customers. Customers can now engage with customer service organizations via SMS/text messaging, Facebook Messenger, Web Chat, and Kik for help with their pre-sales questions and post-sales support.

Every year, the Gartner Customer Service and Support experts evaluate a range of technology vendors. The Cool Vendor report is designed to evaluate pioneering, interesting, and innovative vendors. This year, five cool vendors were identified.

"We consider our inclusion in the Cool Vendor report by Gartner confirmation of our mission to improve the way customers communicate with companies," said Mike Myer, CEO, Quiq. "We believe mobile message-driven communications will replace a significant portion of traditional phone and email interactions, reducing costs while improving customer satisfaction."

Gartner predicts that by 2019, requests for customer support through consumer messaging apps will exceed requests through social media. Quiq is set to help organizations support the mass influx by bringing humanism and empathy into CRM processes. According to Gartner, as customer experience and customer-centricity increasingly become a priority in organizations across the world and across industries, this method will be the new industry standard.

To view the complete Gartner Cool Vendors in CRM Customer Service and Support Note, please visit: https://goquiq.com/gartner-cool-vendor-2017/

To see a demonstration of Quiq Messaging or to request more information, visit https://goquiq.com/ or text us at 646-887-8398.

Gartner, Cool Vendors in CRM Customer Service and Support, 2017, 23 May 2017

About Quiq

Our mission is to improve the way customers communicate with companies. Quiq makes it easy for customers to contact a business via Messaging, the preferred channel already in use with friends and family. With Quiq, customers can now engage customer service via SMS/text messaging, Facebook Messenger, Web Chat, and Kik, for help with their pre-sales questions and post-sales support. Find out more at https://goquiq.com/.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Related Links

https://goquiq.com/gartner-cool-vendor-2017/

SOURCE Quiq
DAYTON, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Richmond Industries, Inc. , a provider of bronze and aluminum castings, today announced the promotion of Jennifer Williams to Vice President. She will continue with her duties of operations manager and will add the responsibilities of guiding the Company's growth.

"Jennifer has been a key part of our success, and I am thrilled to promote her to this important position," said Keith DiGrazio, President of Richmond Industries.

Ms. Williams joined the company in 2011 as an administrative assistant and quickly added responsibilities and rose to the role of operations manager.

Ms. Williams received her degree from Rider University and subsequently worked for her family's business prior to joining Richmond Industries, Inc.

About Richmond Industries, Inc.

Richmond Industries, Inc. is a modern, high production non-ferrous foundry founded in 1959 located in Dayton, New Jersey. Richmond Industries, Inc. can provide both raw and fully machined castings upon request in order to enhance the buying process. For more information, visit www.richmond-industries.com.

SOURCE Richmond Industries

Related Links

http://www.richmond-industries.com


HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. and AUCKLAND, New Zealand, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rocket Lab, an American-New Zealand aerospace company, broke new ground today when its Electron rocket reached space at 16:23 NZST.

Electron lifted-off at 16:20 NZST from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. It was the first orbital-class rocket launched from a private launch site in the world.

"It has been an incredible day and I'm immensely proud of our talented team," said Peter Beck, CEO and founder of Rocket Lab. "We're one of a few companies to ever develop a rocket from scratch and we did it in under four years. We've worked tirelessly to get to this point. We've developed everything in house, built the world's first private orbital launch range, and we've done it with a small team.

"It was a great flight. We had a great first stage burn, stage separation, second stage ignition and fairing separation. We didn't quite reach orbit and we'll be investigating why, however reaching space in our first test puts us in an incredibly strong position to accelerate the commercial phase of our program, deliver our customers to orbit and make space open for business," says Beck.

Over the coming weeks, Rocket Lab's engineers in Los Angeles and Auckland, New Zealand will work through the 25,000 data channels that were collected during the test flight. The results will inform measures taken to optimize the vehicle.

"We have learnt so much through this test launch and will learn even more in the weeks to come. We're committed to making space accessible and this is a phenomenal milestone in that journey. The applications doing this will open up are endless. Known applications include improved weather reporting, Internet from space, natural disaster prediction, up-to-date maritime data as well as search and rescue services," says Beck.

Today's launch was the first of three test flights scheduled for this year. Rocket Lab will target getting to orbit on the second test and look to maximize the payload the rocket can carry.

At full production, Rocket Lab expects to launch more than 50 times a year, and is regulated to launch up to 120 times a year. In comparison, there were 22 launches last year from the United States, and 82 internationally.

Rocket Lab's commercial phase will see Electron fly already-signed customers including NASA, Spire, Planet, Moon Express and Spaceflight.

Footage and imagery of the launch will be made available here:

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/latest/link-to-rocket-lab-imagery-and-video/

Media Contact:

Catherine Moreau Hammond | 027 538 9039 | [email protected]

Chloe Tonkin | 020 414 30668 | [email protected]

Marcus Torrey | +1 (415) 891-4909 | [email protected]

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab's mission is to remove the barriers to commercial space by providing frequent launch opportunities to low Earth orbit. Since its creation in 2006 by Peter Beck, Rocket Lab has delivered a range of complete rocket systems and technologies for fast and affordable payload deployment.

In addition to New Zealand's first orbital launch site located on the Mahia Peninsula, the company has operations in both Auckland and Los Angeles.

Rocket Lab is a private company, with major investors including Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Data Collective, Promus Ventures, Lockheed Martin and K1W1.

About Electron

Electron is an entirely carbon-composite vehicle designed and manufactured in New Zealand that uses Rocket Lab's 3D-printed Rutherford engines for its main propulsion system. The Electron vehicle is designed to carry payloads, such as smaller satellites, to a low orbit. Owing to the modern design and construction of the Electron  rapid and scalable manufacture with high levels of automation is possible.

The Electron launch vehicle will allow constellations of small satellites to provide services like affordable internet from space and live-earth observation for activities such as environmental monitoring, natural disaster prediction, up-to-date maritime data and search and rescue services.

Electron is capable of delivering payloads of up to 150 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit  the target range for this high-growth constellation-satellite market. Electron is the most affordable small satellite launch vehicle. Customers signed to fly on Electron include NASA, Planet, Spire and Moon Express.

About Rutherford engine

Rutherford is a state of the art oxygen and kerosene pump fed engine specifically designed from scratch in New Zealand for Electron, using an entirely new propulsion cycle. Its unique high-performance electric propellant pumps reduce mass and replace hardware with software.

Rutherford is the first engine of its kind to use 3D printing for all primary components. These features are world firsts for a high performance liquid rocket engine with propellants that are fed by electric turbopumps. The production-focused design allows Electron launch vehicles to be built and satellites launched at an unprecedented frequency.

About Launch Complex 1

Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 is located on the tip of the Mahia Peninsula, between Napier and Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The complex is the first orbital launch site in New Zealand, and the first privately operated orbital launch site globally.

The remote location of Launch Complex 1, particularly its low volume of air and marine traffic, is a key factor in enabling unprecedented access to space. The geographic position of the site means it is possible to access a large range of orbital azimuths  satellites launched from Mahia can be delivered to a wide range of inclinations to provide services across many areas around the world.

SOURCE Rocket Lab

Related Links

https://www.rocketlabusa.com


BOSTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Opening a new account at Santander Bank is faster and easier than ever thanks to the Bank's latest customer-focused initiative  'Walk Out Working' (WOW). Now when customers open an account at a Santander branch, they can set up their digital banking tools on site and the Bank's colleagues will make sure their mobile and online accounts are fully activated and accessible so they can 'Walk Out Working.'

"Our 'Walk Out Working' initiative ensures that we're making a great first impression on our customers and empowering them with instant access to their digital accounts on day one," said Michael Cleary, Santander's Head of Consumer and Business Banking. "Expanding our digital platform and enhancing our technology is the key to transforming the customer experience. By delivering a satisfying, transparent and consistent account opening experience, we are fulfilling our promise to make banking at Santander as effortless as possible so customers can bank with us anytime, anywhere."

The 'Walk Out Working' experience guides new customers through the mobile banking activation process so they leave the branch understanding how their accounts work. To ensure the new account opening process is clear, customers receive a detailed summary that outlines the products and services they have opened with Santander, how each one works and what, if any, fees are applicable. They also watch an overdraft election video to get a quick and simple explanation of their overdraft election choices so they can select the option that best fits their financial needs.

Among the other benefits of 'Walk Out Working,' customers can set up and log in to Santander's mobile banking app and immediately access their accounts without having to log in to online banking first. They receive their online and mobile banking password securely via text in the branch and can use the Bank's 'penny checks,' real bank-issued checks worth one cent, to confirm that they can deposit a check using Santander's mobile check deposit feature or ATM.

With more and more customers turning to mobile apps and online tools to do their banking, Santander has launched a digital transformation strategy that continues to offer the latest innovations. In the last year, Santander has:

Redesigned its consumer app , providing new functionality for retail customers, including a fingerprint login option for customers with Touch ID technology on their mobile devices.

, providing new functionality for retail customers, including a fingerprint login option for customers with Touch ID technology on their mobile devices. Created an entirely new self-service, award-winning Business Banking mobile app exclusively for its small business customers.

exclusively for its small business customers. Launched Apple Pay , giving customers a fast, convenient and secure way to make payments at participating merchants using their Apple devices.

, giving customers a fast, convenient and secure way to make payments at participating merchants using their Apple devices. Won a 2016 Model Bank Award from global financial services research firm Celent for its new deposit account opening software in the Digital Banking Transformation category.

Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country's largest retail and commercial banks with more than $83 billion in assets. With its corporate offices in Boston, the Bank's 9,500 employees, 675 branches, 2,100 ATMs and 2.1 million customers are principally located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) - one of the most respected banking groups in the world with more than 125 million customers in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. It is managed by Santander Holdings USA, Inc., Banco Santander's intermediate holding company in the U.S. For more information on Santander Bank, please visit www.santanderbank.com.

Media Contacts:

Ann Davis

617-757-5891

[email protected]

Nancy Orlando

617-757-5765

[email protected]

SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.

Related Links

http://www.santanderbank.com


OTTAWA, Ontario, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SavvyDox, a cloud based SaaS solution delivering secure document distribution and secure document collaboration has been recognized by Silicon Review Magazine as one of the 50 Most Valuable Brands of the Year 2017. The article notes that SavvyDox is the world's most advanced cloud-based document collaboration platform. The full press release can be viewed here.

SavvyDox continues to make progress in the Canadian Federal Government and is now expanding its focus to provincial and local governments in Canada. In the US, SavvyDox has Cygnacom, a Federal Government focused reseller on the East Coast and Provista, a Federal Government focused reseller on the West Coast. Two Factor Authentication will be available by early QIII and is expected to spark significant sales growth in the US Federal Government for Policy Document creation, development of executive communication, and other sensitive and/or high value document reviews.

Expanding beyond Government, SavvyDox is in discussion with four separate legal firms and has just initiated a research project with Carleton University in Ottawa that could open access to all universities across Canada.

Several companies in the contract management market are reviewing the opportunity to add SavvyDox to their offerings as a competitive differentiator and one of SavvyDox' competitors is also in discussion regarding integration. Two legal software companies have seen the benefits of SavvyDox and are in early discussions with SavvyDox as well.

Integrations at the Government of Canada with OpenText, Active Directory, and Entrust have shown that SavvyDox can be readily integrated into Enterprise Wide environments.

SavvyDox customer benefits include measurable productivity improvements, improved security of documents to prevent "leaks", improved document quality due to a parallel review process, and full audit trail capabilities.

SavvyDox differentiators include collaboration capabilities that not only share documents, but manage the process required to modify the content of those documents using a parallel review process that aligns with the benefits of a face to face meeting. As with a face to face meeting, all reviewers can provide their suggested changes and all reviewers can comment on others' suggested changes ensuring that the author sees all proposed changes, not just the last one. Similar to a face to face meeting, only the document owner can change the document contents.

SavvyDox also provides the first viable replacement for Word Track Changes, providing easy to read documents that do not include the multitude of strikeouts and various colors in a standard document being reviewed. SavvyDox also aggregates all suggested changes into a side bar within MS Word that significantly improves the document owner's productivity and for reviewers, SavvyDox highlights which pages have changed in a multi-page document eliminating the need to read the entire document to locate changes.

Many collaboration platforms suffer from hard to find documents in a complex file-folder structure developed by IT to meet the data needs of the business. Unfortunately, end users cannot relate to those complex structures and collaboration suffers. SavvyDox allows document reviewers to file the documents wherever they wish on their device and they will always be sync'd to the master copy of that document on the server while providing online and offline access to the documents.

Despite what you may think, document collaboration can derail your career as noted here.

About SavvyDox

Founded in 2011, SavvyDox is a privately held company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. SavvyDox solves document collaboration issues for enterprises, government and publishers, all within an enterprise grade, private or public cloud based secure infrastructure. For more info, visit: http://www.savvydox.com/

Media contact:

Hans Downer

[email protected]

613-799-3440

SOURCE SavvyDox

Related Links

http://www.savvydox.com


WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced its partnership with Synergy Solutions to launch a free, new comprehensive series of web-based cybersecurity training containing up to 10 modules to educate 7(j) eligible small businesses about cybersecurity and steps they can take to protect their company's assets and intellectual property. While the classes are free, they are first come, first serve and will accommodate no more than 50 participants at a time. To register, visit: https://synergysolutions.talentlms.com/.

"I am impressed by the thoroughness of this cybersecurity training as it provides timely and vital help to all of our SBA small business clients," said Robb Wong, Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development. "Ostensibly, it helps businesses with best-practices to reduce digital threats to a company's data and information which is often central to their business operations."

Synergy Solutions will provide web-based training services to 7(j)-eligible businesses nationwide that are in the developmental and transitional stages of the SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program. The 7(j) program is administered through the SBA's Office of Management and Technical Assistance Program and its mission is to provide high-quality assistance and executive training to eligible small businesses. Through this training, participants will learn how to most effectively secure information through best cybersecurity practices, identify their risk and the types of cyber threats, and learn best practices for guarding against cyber threats.

The following individuals and businesses are automatically eligible to receive 7(j) training:

Small businesses that are owned and controlled by economically and socially disadvantaged individuals;

Small businesses located in areas of high unemployment or low income;

Small businesses owned by low-income individuals; and

Certified 8(a) participants or HUBZone small businesses; or economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses.

Topics covered through this training initiative include but are not limited to:

secure passwords;

malware, privacy;

data breaches;

safe computing;

online scams;

mobile protection;

phishing;

government generated frameworks (NIST); and

cybersecurity pertaining to federal contractors.

The entry level training classes cover basic cybersecurity awareness and current cyber risks to federal contractors and small businesses. The intermediate level training classes include more advanced federal cybersecurity and information assurance requirements and policy compliance and assessment areas. This training initiative also offers an assessment tool for use by all eligible participants that they can use to assess their company's cybersecurity maturity.

About Synergy Solutions, Inc.

Synergy Solutions, Inc. is an SBA-certified 8(a) and economically disadvantaged, woman-owned small business headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee with more than 100 employees and associates who have provided comprehensive, value-added security services and proven cybersecurity solutions to a wide variety of clients and customers since 2003. In addition, the company provides a full spectrum of administrative and professional support services for nuclear facility operations, as well as security, environmental, health and safety services.

About SBA's Office of Management and Technical Assistance

The SBA's Office of Management and Technical Assistance Program is authorized by the Small Business Act to provide high-quality assistance to eligible small businesses. The program's assistance encompasses a wide spectrum of business courses such as accounting, marketing, strategic and operational planning, financial analysis, business development, contract management, compliance and various business related software applications. The courses offered vary and are aligned based upon the needs of the local business community and marketplace. A key goal of the program is to help firms successfully compete for federal, state and local contracting opportunities as a prime contractor or subcontractor. This free training is provided by SBA through its nationwide network of resource partners and vendors. To learn more about the program or to sign up for training, please contact your local SBA district office.

About the Small Business Administration (SBA)

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012, has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect

the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. www.sba.gov

Contact: Tiffani S. Clements (202) 401-0035

Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

Release Number: 17-40

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

Related Links

http://www.sba.gov


MIAMI, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scientists are getting an entirely new perspective of what happens to oil in a spill, thanks to a tool developed by FIU researchers.



Little is known about the chemical make-up of oil and how it acts when it mixes with seawater or sunlight during a spill. But by combining techniques to create one powerful instrument, a team from FIU's Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment can see how the oil behaves at the molecular level.



"The new analytical development will increase the number of molecules that can be examined six-fold, giving scientists a more detailed look into the chemical changes crude oil undergoes in a spill," said Paolo Benigni, Ph.D. candidate in FIU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and lead author of the study. "This work opens the door to answering complex chemical questions about how molecules change in the environment."



The new tool could change how oil spills are cleaned up in the future since officials will have more and better information. According to the researchers, officials would be able to predict toxicity of spilled oil, how far it might travel and how long it would likely stay in the environment.



"By dissecting crude oil composition down to their molecular level, we can better understand how it interacts with the environment, leading to better oil spill remediation strategies and more efficient environmental policies," said chemist Francisco Fernandez-Lima, director of the project.



Traditional analytical technologies have mainly restricted scientists to information related to the mass of crude oils. The new tool combines techniques, allowing scientists to simultaneously examine crude oil molecules by mass, size and shape without the need of lengthy sample preparation and separation steps. One of the techniques  trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS)  was developed by Fernandez-Lima in collaboration with Bruker Daltonics Inc. Fernandez-Lima has been pioneering the use of the coupled technique for a variety of environmental and biomedical applications since 2010.



By combining techniques, the researchers have developed a new analytical tool that can be used for more than just oil spills. Scientists can use it to study other contaminants in diverse water and land environments. With oil accounting for a large percentage of the world's energy consumption, accidents with drilling, production and transportation are always a possibility. Improved remediation techniques are always the goal.



Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, the researchers' findings were recently published in Environmental Science & Technology. Preliminary findings related to this study were published in Analytical Chemistry and Journal of Visualized Experiments.



FIU launched the Center for Aquatic Chemistry and the Environment in 2016 in an effort to better detect contaminants, understand their effects on the environment, predict future contamination and design remediation strategies. Funded by a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology program, the center is part of FIU's Institute of Water and Environment dedicated to addressing global water and environmental issues.

Media Contact:

Evelyn S. Gonzalez

305-348-4493

[email protected]

news.fiu.edu

@FIUNews

SOURCE Florida International University

Related Links

http://fiu.edu


MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Residential Services (ARS), a Memphis, Tenn. based, privately-held national provider of air conditioning, heating and plumbing services, is pleased to announce that seven of its network providers have been named recipients of the 2017 Best of HomeAdvisor Award. This award honors top-notch professionals who provide extraordinary quality, service and value in the home improvement and maintenance industries.

The following seven network providers won the award:

ARS/Rescue Rooter Columbus

ARS/Rescue Rooter Dallas

ARS/Rescue Rooter Indiana

ARS/Rescue Rooter San Diego

Rescue Rooter LA North

Rescue Rooter Orange/Proserv

Yes! Air Conditioning & Plumbing

ARS has been part of HomeAdvisor's network since 2004. "As a part of our mission, ARS is committed to delivering an unparalleled customer experience," says Chris Mellon, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer of ARS. "We are proud of our service providers that received this recognition from their customers."

"Millions of homeowners across the nation trust HomeAdvisor to help them find a dependable, qualified professional for their home improvement projects," said HomeAdvisor's President Craig Smith. "Between outstanding work practices, excellent customer service and overall value, the service providers that receive our "Best of" award consistently demonstrate this sense of quality."

Award recipients were selected based on positive reviews earned in quality of work practices, customer service and value. To qualify, they must have a minimum rating of four based on a scale of one to five, be active members in good standing and have at least three verified reviews submitted within the last six months.

Prior to joining the HomeAdvisor network, all service providers are subject to a comprehensive screening. Upon successfully passing the screening, professionals are given a HomeAdvisor seal of approval to display to their customers.

HomeAdvisor's digital home services marketplace connects millions of homeowners with prescreened home improvement professionals, and provides homeowners with tools and resources for home repair, maintenance and improvement projects. Customers can view average project costs using True Cost Guide, and instantly book appointments online with HomeAdvisor's award-winning app, and through Smart Home devices. For more information about HomeAdvisor, visit HomeAdvisor.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL SERVICES: Based in Memphis, Tenn., privately-owned ARS operates a network of more than 70 locally-managed service centers in 23 states, with approximately 6,500 employees. The ARS network features industry-leading brands including, A.J. Perri, Aksarben ARS, Allgood, Andy's Statewide, ARS, Aspen Air Conditioning, Atlas Trillo, Beutler, Blue Dot, Brothers, Columbus Worthington Air, Comfort Heating & Air, Conway Services, Efficient Attic Systems (EAS), Florida Home Air Conditioning, Green Star Home Services, McCarthy Services, Rescue Rooter/ Proserv, Rescue Rooter, RighTime Home Services, RS Andrews, The Irish Plumber, Unique Services, "Will" Fix It, and Yes! Air Conditioning and Plumbing. United by Exceptional Service, the ARS / Rescue Rooter Network serves both residential and light commercial customers by providing heating, cooling, indoor air quality, plumbing, drain cleaning, sewer line, radiant barrier, insulation and ventilation services. Each location has a knowledgeable team of trained specialists, who have undergone rigorous drug testing and criminal background checks. Providing exceptional service and ensuring the highest standards of quality, ARS has the experience to do any job right  the first time, with all work fully guaranteed.

Press Contacts:

Vimala Ingram: [email protected]

Stephanie Beliles: [email protected]

SOURCE American Residential Services
NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ShareASale, a part of Awin and an advanced Affiliate Marketing Network, has partnered with Payoneer , a leading B2B cross-border payments company, to provide cross-border payments to their 100,000 plus publishers in over 50 countries around the world. This new integration will allow ShareASale to pay their publishers, quickly, cost-effectively, and in their local currency, as well as drive growth into new markets.

ShareASale has been in business for 17 years, and powers over 5,000 affiliate programs. In January 2017, ShareASale joined Awin, a global affiliate network spanning 900 employees and 15 locations around the world. As their network grew and they expanded to new countries, paying publishers across borders became a time-intensive and inefficient process.

At the same time, publishers began reaching out to ShareASale to request that they work with Payoneer. "Paying the commissions that publishers earn from the merchants on the ShareASale Network is our primary and most important job," noted Brian Littleton, CEO of ShareASale. "Whenever we received a request from our publishers across the globe, they were asking for us to provide them the Payoneer payment option."

Payoneer's online cross-border payment platform enables businesses all over the world to pay and get paid globally as easily as they do locally. By integrating with Payoneer, ShareASale can utilize Payoneer's low-cost payment options to seamlessly pay publishers in over 200 countries and territories, in more than 150 currencies, offering the ultimate flexibility for the affiliate marketing industry. For the publishers, they will get the speed and flexibility of Payoneer, enabling them to withdraw their money by the method and in the currency of their choice.

Littleton adds, "Working with Payoneer provides us two key benefits: The first being a fast, easy, and economical way for our global publishers to be paid in the currencies that they wish to be paid in. The second is an increase in publisher sign-up from areas of the world who may have previously found it difficult to promote our primarily US based merchants."

"We're thrilled to be working with ShareASale to improve the way they pay publishers all around the world, and to further expand their ecosystem," added Scott Galit, CEO of Payoneer. "By providing faster, more flexible payment options, Payoneer and ShareASale are enabling publishers from all over the globe to reach new advertisers and new audiences, in order to grow their businesses."

About Payoneer

Payoneer empowers global commerce by connecting businesses, professionals, countries and currencies with its innovative cross-border payments platform. In today's borderless digital world, Payoneer enables millions of businesses and professionals from more than 200 countries to reach new audiences by facilitating seamless, cross-border payments. Additionally, thousands of leading corporations including Airbnb, Amazon, Getty Images, Google and UpWork rely on Payoneer's mass payout services. B2B marketplaces are also using Payoneer to power secure escrow transactions between their buyers and sellers around the world.

With Payoneer's fast, flexible, secure and low-cost solutions, businesses and professionals in both developed and emerging markets can now pay and get paid globally as easily as they do locally. Founded in 2005 and based in New York, Payoneer is venture-backed, profitable and ranked in the top 100 of Inc. 5000's Financial Services companies.

About ShareASale

ShareASale has been in business for 17 years, exclusively as an Affiliate Marketing Network. Our technology receives accolades for speed, efficiency, and accuracy  and our reputation as a fair and honest business is well known within the industry. Our objective is to provide customers with an advanced Affiliate Marketing platform. We strive to deliver the best product in the industry, and support it with superior customer service provided by people that will follow up, call back, and provide real solutions. In January 2017, global affiliate network Awin acquired ShareASale to provide further international opportunities to domestic advertisers and publishers.

SOURCE Payoneer

Related Links

https://www.payoneer.com


CLEAR LAKE | Merle Clarence Larson, 91, of Elk Horn, IA, formerly of Clear Lake, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at the Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn.

Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Friday, May 26, 2017, at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. Fourth St., Clear Lake, with Pastor Will Hunsaker officiating.

Burial will be in Clear Lake Cemetery, with military honors provided by the Clear Lake VFW Post 4868.

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service on Friday.

Family suggests memorial contributions be directed to Judy Johnson.

Merle was born Nov. 25, 1925, in Clear Lake, the youngest child of Andrew P. and Lena (Kittleson) Larson.

Merle attended school in Clear Lake, and worked side-by-side with his dad and older brothers in the family masonry business, Larson Masonry, started in 1908 by his dad.

He was inducted into the Navy during WWII in February 1944 at the age of 18. He served aboard the USS Battleship Iowa in the South Pacific until his honorable discharge in January 1946.

After his service to his country, Merle returned home to Clear Lake and continued working for Larson Masonry, which later became Larson Brothers Masonry. Merle did masonry work until his retirement.

He was united in marriage to Ruth Elnora Zielske on April 28, 1950, in Mason City. They shared 51 years together until her death on May 12, 2001.

During his lifetime Merle enjoyed fishing, dancing, watching westerns and war movies, collecting newspaper articles about the Battleship Iowa, stamp and coin collecting, camping and seeing the sights of the U.S. with Ruth and their family.

In 2009, he moved to Council Bluffs, IA, to live with his daughter, Judy, and son-in-law, Dan. He enjoyed many happy and memorable times with them and their family. Spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren was one of the greatest joys of his life, and he cherished the time he spent with them. He often commented that he was a lucky man to have lived long enough to see great-grandchildren come into his life. In late 2013, Merle moved to the Salem Lutheran Homes in Elk Horn, where the staff and residents became like family to him.

He is survived by his son, David A. Larson, Clear Lake and daughter, Judy (Daniel) Johnson, Council Bluffs; grandchildren, Summer (Jason Westphal) Johnson, Omaha, NE; Tyler (Melanie Ventre) Johnson, Council Bluffs; and Heather (Bruce) Mathre, Council Bluffs; great-grandchildren, Legra Malone, Gillian, Natalie and Camryn Mathre, Abbagail, Emalee and Spencer Johnson; step-great-grandchildren, Sydney and Kylie Westphal and Luis Preiss; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Ruth; sisters, Clara Mix and Florence Peters; brothers, Carl G., Casey (Andrew Jr.), Vern, Alfred and Roy Larson.

Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. Fourth St., Clear Lake. 641-357-2193. ColonialChapels.com.
The rate of smoking in people with schizophrenia is two- to four-fold of the rate seen in the general population. Smoking rates in schizophrenia are also somewhat higher compared to that seen in people with other mental disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder. Furthermore, people with schizophrenia find it difficult to quit and are more likely to relapse than others. Research suggests that the widespread smoking behavior seen in this patient group is in fact a manifestation of a common underlying physiology, and that these patients smoke in an attempt to self-medicate.

Dr. Kumari's presentation discussed the reasons for the elevated smoking rates in people with schizophrenia. emphasizing that theories on this behavior is related to sensory gating (blocking or inhibiting certain stimuli) and cognitive deficits in this disorder that have been viewed as major support for the self-medication hypotheses.

As the Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Kumari represents a significant increase for Sovereign's leadership role in applying novel scientific and technical advances to improve addiction and mental health treatment. Dr. Kumari is an undisputed leader in the psychiatric and neuroscience research fields. She has made significant contributions to the fields of the neuroscience of personality and sex differences, cognitive psychopharmacology, information processing deficits in schizophrenia and their pharmacological normalization, the neurobiology of cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis, and neurobiology of violence in schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder.

Dr. Kumari has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles in reputable psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience and served as the Associate Editor or Editorial Board Member for a number of peer-reviewed journals. She has received numerous national and international awards for her mental health and addiction research, including the prestigious Humboldt Research Award in 2014.

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

https://www.sovhealth.com


COLUMBIA, Mo., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- StorageMart is proud to announce that Lise Nyrop has been appointed Director of Human Resources. Nyrop, a veteran of Human Resources initiatives, will be supporting future growth and success at the company by building a comprehensive HR program and department that will span StorageMart locations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

"Internally we've known that StorageMart is a great place to work for years, and we look forward to the coming months as Lise helps us translate our great environment into meaningful employee development programs that we can communicate with those looking to join our team," said Cris Burnam, President of StorageMart. "Lise's dedication to employee engagement made asking her to come aboard a no-brainer for us."

Lise's experience includes public and private sector work at the University and State of Missouri as well as ABC Laboratories and Missouri Farm Bureau. Some career highlights include developing a first-of-its-kind Academic/Professional internship program creating a credited program for University students to gain real-life experience without sacrificing coursework, a testament to the ways Human Resources is evolving to fit the needs of a new generation.

"I'm looking forward to making StorageMart a destination employer, not only in the self storage industry, but across the board," said Nyrop. Outside of work, Lise enjoys live music, is a theater advocate (with a B.A. in Literature and Theater from The College of William and Mary) and resides in Columbia, MO with her family.

About StorageMart

StorageMart started with a single store in Columbia, Missouri and has grown to be the largest privately-owned, family operated storage company in the world. StorageMart is led by the Burnam family, which has been in the storage industry for three generations. Dedicated to providing easy, clean and friendly service to each and every customer, StorageMart is committed to giving back to the many communities it calls home. In 2016, the company donated more than $142,000.00 to charities, in addition to donating over $350,000 in free rent to local organizations throughout the US and Canada. Learn more at www.storage-mart.com.

Contact: Sarah Little, [email protected]

SOURCE StorageMart

Related Links

http://www.storage-mart.com


$5.7 MILLION OF FREE CASH GENERATED IN THE QUARTER, $12.8 MILLION IN FIRST SIX MONTHS OF OPERATION

(In US Dollars unless otherwise stated)

TORONTO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSX.V:SGI) announced today its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2017. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2017. These documents will be posted on the Company's website at www.superior-gold.com and SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Operational Highlights:

Produced 20,769 ounces of gold

Sold 21,801 ounces of gold at an average realized price of $1,219 per ounce

per ounce Total cash costs1 were $799 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs1 were $920 per ounce

Financial Highlights:

Revenue totaled $26.6 million

Generated cash from operations of $7.4 million

Generated $5.7 million in free cash 2

in free cash Cost of sales was $22.1 million , including $4.9 million of depreciation

, including of depreciation Operating income was $3.7 million

Adjusted net income 1 was $2.1 million or $0.03 per share

was or per share Corporate G&A was less than $40 per ounce sold

per ounce sold Cash and cash equivalents as well as restricted cash totaled $27.8 million at the end of the quarter

Additional Highlights:

Closed initial public offering, including the exercise of the overallotment option, for gross proceeds of $24.9 million

Completed acquisition payments to Northern Star Resources Ltd.

Common shares commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "SGI"

Chris Bradbrook, President and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are pleased to announce our first full quarter of results which include our initial public offering, completed in February 2017, and our second strong operational quarter since the acquisition of the Plutonic Gold Operations in October 2016. We are a business first and are focused on the bottom line. We have now operated the Plutonic Gold Mine for two consecutive quarters and have produced a total of 43,763 ounces of gold, and generated approximately $12.8 million of free cash. The initial AUD$12.5 million cash payment made in October to Northern Star Resources Ltd. has been recouped in less than six months, and we now have unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $25.9 million, providing us with flexibility to execute on our growth plan. I am also pleased that we have been able to keep Corporate G&A at competitive levels. Since commencing production in October 2016, our Corporate G&A has averaged $34 per ounce of gold sold. We look forward to continuing to build on this early momentum with a continued focus on cost control and building shareholder value. All future capital and exploration expenditures will be aimed at supporting the long-term generation of free cash."

Summary of Financial and Operational Results:



Three months

ended March 31 Three months ended

December 31 All amounts in $ millions except where noted 2017 2016 Financial



Revenue 26.6 24.8 Cost of sales 22.1 19.7 Operating income 3.7 4.4 Net income (loss) (3.0) 3.8 Net income (loss) per share ($/share) (0.05) 0.10 Adjusted net income1 2.1 2.9 Adjusted net income ($/share)1 0.03 0.11 Cash from operating activities 7.4 8.5 Weighted number of common shares o/s 64,438,715 25,302,368





Operational



Gold produced (ounces) 20,769 22,994 Gold sold (ounces) 21,801 20,352 Average realized price ($/ounce) 1,219 1,214 Total cash costs ($/ounce)1 799 771 All-in sustaining costs ($/ounce)1 920 869 Total material mined (tonnes) 200,786 214,243 Total material milled (tonnes) 322,405 408,233 Grade Milled (g/t)3 2.5 2.1 Recovery (%) 78 82

Plutonic Gold Mine

The Plutonic Gold Mine exceeded 20,000 ounces of gold produced and sold for the second consecutive quarter since the Company acquired the mine in October 2016. Total cash costs1 and all in sustaining costs1 of $799 per ounce and $920 per ounce respectively, were below the realized gold price of $1,219 for the three-month period ending March 31, 2017. The Company generated net cash from operations after working capital changes of $7.4 million for the three-month period ending March 31, 2017.

Development Activities

The initial development of the haul road for the Hermes project is scheduled to commence in mid-2017 with pre-stripping operations to follow in the latter half of the year. The Hermes deposit is expected to be mined as a conventional open pit contractor operated excavator-truck mining operation with ore being trucked for processing to the Plutonic Gold Mine mill.

Exploration Activities

The Company's ongoing underground diamond drilling program focused on eight zones at its wholly-owned Plutonic Gold Mine: Area 134; Baltic; Caribbean; Caspian; Cortez; Indian; Pacific; and Timor. This work was primarily aimed at resource definition and grade control, with some holes aimed at exploration in areas with little or no previous drilling. Results have been released for 281 holes totaling more than 21,000 metres. Significant intersections were encountered in all zones. Work to date has identified that prior work at the mine had tended to identify the mineralized zones as isolated, unconnected units. As a result of the interpretive work by the Company's geological team, underground exploration has begun to examine the potential link between the various zones. This initial 18 hole program was very successful with more than 35 intersections in excess of 5g Au/t.

Exploration drilling in the Baltic area was aimed at testing the gap between the Baltic and Caribbean Zones. This initial work has identified at least two potential new lodes adjacent to the Caribbean resource zone, in addition to potential extensions of existing lodes. Follow up work will be aimed at defining the mineralization in greater detail.

The drilling in the Pacific Zone targeted an area outside the resource, which was thought to have potential for high grade, sub-vertical structures. The program successfully intersected mineralization in two principal zones. Work is being planned to develop a preliminary block model for both.

Outlook and Strategy

In the near term, the Company is focused on re-establishing the Plutonic Gold Operations as a stable gold producer capable of producing at least 100,000 ounces of gold annually. To achieve this goal, the Company intends to focus on its growth strategy which includes:

Focusing on quality high-grade ounces

Optimizing recoveries

Increasing incremental production from underground and open pit sources

Resource and reserve additions through property wide exploration

Leveraging the excess mill capacity

With the proceeds raised from the completion of the initial public offering, and the cash generated from the Plutonic Gold Mine, the Company has the liquidity available to execute on its near-term growth and exploration strategy.

______________________________________________

(1) This is a Non-IFRS measure. Refer to Non-IFRS measures section of the MD&A for a description of these measures. (2) Free cash is defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures. (3) The grade milled is a combination of underground stoped ore, underground development ore, and low grade surface material.

Qualified Person

Scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Simon Lawson who is a member of the AusIMM and a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. Mr. Lawson is an employee of the Company and serves as the Chief Geologist.

About Superior Gold

Superior Gold is a Canadian based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic Gold Mine, which is a producing underground operation with a central mill, the Hermes open pit development project and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, and statements regarding exploration results and exploration plans.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. See "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 15, 2017 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of these risks.

The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Neither the TSX Venture 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 release.

SOURCE Superior Gold
VANCOUVER, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - TAG Oil Ltd. (the "Company" or "TAG Oil") (TSX: TAO andOTCQX: TAOIF) announces that the Company has completed the distribution of its approximately 2,785,029 Coronado Resources Ltd.'s ("Coronado") common shares (the "Coronado Shares") to its shareholders of record (the "Dividend") at the close of business on May 9, 2017 (the "Record Date"). TAG Oil's shareholders received approximately 0.0326 of a Coronado Share for each common share of TAG Oil held as of the Record Date.

The 2,785,017 Coronado Shares distributed by the Company pursuant to the Dividend represent approximately 49.19% of the total issued and outstanding Coronado Shares as of May 25, 2017. Immediately prior to the Dividend, the Company owned 2,785,029 Coronado Shares, which represented approximately 49.19% of the total issued and outstanding Coronado Shares as of May 25, 2017. Following completion of the Dividend, the Company will own 12 Coronado Shares representing approximately 0.0000021% of all issued and outstanding Coronado Shares (due to fractional Coronado Shares not being distributed, and the number of Coronado Shares that were distributed being rounded down to the nearest whole number of Coronado Shares).

As a result of TAG Oil's distribution of the Coronado Shares, the Company has ceased to be a control person of Coronado and Coronado is no longer a controlled subsidiary of TAG Oil. TAG Oil does not intend to increase its beneficial ownership of Coronado Shares whether in the open market, by privately negotiated agreement or otherwise.

Coronado is a Canadian domiciled publicly traded company that recently disposed of its power generation and mining assets, and the Coronado Shares are listed on the NEX board of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") under the symbol "CRD.H", and on the OTC under the symbol "CRDAF". The NEX board is part of the TMX Group and is a regulated trading platform designed for companies, such as Coronado, that are looking to manage costs while restructuring or searching for new business opportunities. In the event that Coronado is able to secure a new business opportunity, it will be eligible to graduate to the TSX-V, the Toronto Stock Exchange main board, or any other exchange where it may qualify.

Coronado's team have extensive expertise in capital market strategies, business development, legal and regulatory compliance, and with a network of equity investors, provides a strong platform to secure an attractive business opportunity. Coronado is also debt-free and currently has 5,662,340 shares outstanding.

For further information regarding the Dividend, please refer to TAG Oil's press release dated April 28, 2017, or contact Computershare Investor Services Inc. at 1-800-564-6253 (inside North America) or 1-514-982-7555 (Outside North America) or by e-mail to the [email protected].

This press release is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103  The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, which also requires a report to be filed with regulatory authorities in each of the jurisdictions containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters (the "Early Warning Report"). To obtain a copy of the Early Warning Report filed in connection with the Transaction, please see Coronado's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

About TAG Oil

TAG Oil (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a development-stage international oil and gas producer with established high netback production, development and exploration assets, including production infrastructure in New Zealand and Australia. TAG Oil is poised for significant reserve and production growth with several oil and gas fields under development and high-impact exploration in proven oil and gas fairways. TAG Oil is debt-free and currently has 85,282,252 shares outstanding.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of TAG Oil. Such statements can generally, but not always, be identified by words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "forecasts", "schedules", "prepares", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. All estimates and statements that describe the Company's plans relating to the Dividend and Coronado are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially from the information provided in this release, and there is no representation by TAG Oil that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein.

Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements are also set forth in filings that TAG Oil and its independent evaluator have made, including TAG Oil's most recently filed reports in Canada under National Instrument 51-101, which can be found under TAG Oil's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. TAG Oil undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.

SOURCE TAG Oil Ltd.

Related Links

www.tagoil.com


NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TBWA Worldwide today announced the promotion of Chris Garbutt to the role of Global Chief Creative Officer. In his new role, Garbutt will spearhead creative direction and development for the TBWA collective at large, overseeing the creative product across TBWA's roster of global clients that includes adidas, Accenture, Apple, McDonald's, Michelin and Nissan, among others.

Commenting on the promotion, Troy Ruhanen, president and CEO of TBWA Worldwide, said, "To be a great creative leader, you need to have a vision for the type of culture you want to create, you need to inspire belief every day, and you must be forever restless. On all fronts, Chris has delivered. The energy and momentum he has created inside of the company is tremendous. The talent he has attracted and developed is best-in-class. And his relentless drive to make great work for our clients is infectious. I'm thrilled to see him take on this new role."

In his prior role as Global Creative President, Garbutt, 45, implemented a creative vision built upon and executed against the kind of disruptive strategies that are hallmarks of TBWA, while demanding a much higher level of craft. He's built a strong global creative collective of connected but distinct agencies, and has been instrumental in attracting new clients and talent to the company. He has also introduced internal programs that encourage unconventional creative thinking and collaboration on the agency's top brands.

Evidence of the success of his efforts abounds, with the New York agency more than doubling its revenue since he joined. Industry recognition has followed, with TBWA ranked as a top-3 network at the 2017 D&AD awards, a top-5 network at the 2017 One Show, and more than doubling its award tally at both shows year-over-year across a diverse array of brands and geographies.

"I've known Chris since the earliest days of his career, and I am enormously proud to pass the torch to him," said John Hunt, founder of TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris. "He is a world-class talent and an incredible creative leader. His passion for the work, dedication to clients, tenacity and humility are second to none. He is also one of a rare breed who recognizes and demands work that is iconic."

With Garbutt's promotion, Hunt becomes Creative Chairman of TBWA Worldwide, formally passing TBWA's creative leadership to Garbutt. Hunt will continue working with the collective as Creative Chairman from South Africa, aiding Garbutt where the greatest needs exist across the TBWA collective.

"John has been an incredible creative leader for TBWA," continued Ruhanen. "He has brought Disruption to life for more than a decade and proven that the best work can come from anywhere. We are so pleased he will continue on with us as Creative Chairman."

Added Lee Clow, Chairman, TBWA\Media Arts Lab and Global Director of Media Arts, "I am incredibly happy for both John and Chris. Not only are they deserving of this recognition for the work they continue to deliver time and again, but also for the manner in which they have carried themselves throughout their careers. Good people do good."

Garbutt returned to TBWA in 2015 from Ogilvy & Mather East in New York, where he served as Chief Creative Officer. As CCO, his oversight and leadership spanned all agency disciplines, and he is credited with award-winning campaigns for Coca-Cola, IBM and Tiffany & Co. Previously, Garbutt was Chief Creative Officer of the network's Paris office, where he propelled the agency to new creative heights producing global campaigns for Dove, Google, Perrier, Louis Vuitton's 'Journeys' campaign and IBM's 'Smarter Cities.'

In 2014, Garbutt was ranked #1 CCO in the world by Directory's Big Won. Advertising Age also named him one of the most awarded Chief Creative Officers in the world that same year. He has won over 100 Cannes Lions in his career, including three Grand Prix awards, as well as top honors in The One Show, D&AD, Webbys, Clios and Art Directors Club awards.

He previously served as Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Paris, where he produced some of the agency's most celebrated work for Nissan, Absolut, PlayStation, Canderel and Pedigree.

A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Garbutt began his career in Johannesburg as a Creative Director at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, where he spent four years working under the tutelage of Hunt.

"I'm humbled and honored to take on this role at a company I love," said Garbutt. "The last year and a half have been about building our talent within TBWA, and creating a process that brings together our best people around the world to make the best work for our clients. That's what allows us to make our brands part of culture, which is where we thrive and make iconic work."

About TBWA Worldwide

TBWA\Worldwide (www.tbwa.com) is a top-ten ranked global advertising collective that holds Disruption at its core to develop business-changing ideas for brands. TBWA has 11,300 employees across 305 offices in 98 countries and also includes brands such as Auditoire, Digital Arts Network (DAN), eg+ worldwide, The Integer Group, TBWA\Media Arts Lab and TBWA\WorldHealth. TBWA's global clients include adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, McDonald's, Michelin, Nissan, Pernod Ricard, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Airlines, Sotheby's and Vichy. Follow TBWA on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

About Omnicom Group Inc.

Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

SOURCE TBWA Worldwide

Related Links

http://www.tbwa.com


Early this month, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) puts Thailand on the 24 th world's association meeting destination, up from the 27 th of last year. In addition, the rank of Bangkok also jumped from the 16 th to 12 th in the same survey by ICCA.

Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, Acting President of TCEB said the improved ranking reflects the high preference related to Thai competitiveness and professionalism in the world's MICE industry thus bringing in increasing number of such events to Thailand.

An initial survey indicates that during the period from June to December this year, about 360 events are being organized in Thailand, about 75% of them are international scale conferences and trade exhibitions.

"Thailand popularity is on the rise. We see some exceptional large events coming to Thailand such as Thaifex-World of Food Asia that is expected to draw 70,000 audiences to the show in early June. And last month, Thailand was the host of Intermatch at 31,000 audiences and Infinitus at 8,000 audiences," Mr. Chiruit said.

In 2015, the Thai MICE industry generated the total direct revenue of 150 billion baht, responsible for 164,000 jobs with a GDP contribution of 0.77%.

Unlike the free port destination such as Singapore and Hong Kong, Mr. Chiruit said Thailand rising popularity is a result of collaboration among private and government parties involved such as the immigration bureau, the department of customs, the Food and Drug Administration and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, that helps raise Thailand competitiveness.

Off the 360 events planned for the second half of this year, over 60% will take place in Bangkok and the rest will be in Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai.

More venues are being built in major provinces such as Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima. This provides opportunities for organizer and delegate new facilities as well as cultural charms.

Acting President of TCEB said TCEB would strengthen the collaboration and enhance the competitiveness of other major cities to meet international standard.

"A development program will be introduced for cities and provinces like Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen. We hope to provide more venues and more locations. It creates a win-win situation for the organizer, who will get new experience and new service, while the cities get wider exposure pluses increasing income for the local people," Mr. Chiruit.

About TCEB

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) - the government leading edge agency - has been the key to success for a wide range of global & regional business events since 2004. With our key strategic model, Growth Driver; TCEB works as your strategic business partner, delivers creative ideas, and provides solutions from our capable resources for every scale and various customised business events.

TCEB has formed numerous collaborations and networks linked to open up grand new chapters of business opportunities, and to strategically enhance every business success with special care that will spur lasting advancement and achievements. Our goal is to equipping business events industry at national, regional, and global stage for continuous development, long-term growth and sustainable success.

For further information, please contact: Corporate Communications Division

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization)

Ms Arisara Thanuplang Tel: +662 694 6095 Email: [email protected]

Mr Karun Wararatchai Tel: +662 694 6179 Email: [email protected]

Ms Paniyada Mulalin Tel: +662 694 6091 Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
According to Ciera Lopez, Community Relations Specialist, Mister Car Wash's teacher appreciation campaign began April 3 rd when customers were invited to nominate a teacher who inspires others to shine by sharing their story. The response was immediate with more than 1,000 customers sharing stories of inspiration about teachers who are making a difference every day. Submissions represented classrooms in each of the cities served by Mister Car Wash.

"I personally reviewed every nomination and was blown away by the tremendous impact these individuals are having on our communities. Every submission was so heartfelt," said Lopez. "The Teacher Appreciation portion of our Inspiring Futures program reminds us that thousands of teachers go above and beyond every day inspiring others to shine and our panel, which included CEO John Lai, had a tough time selecting this year's ten grand prize recipients," Lopez added. In addition to awarding ten grand prizes, Mister Car Wash sent every nominee a complimentary platinum car wash pass and letter of appreciation.

This is the second consecutive year that Mister Car Wash has recognized outstanding teachers in their communities. "We've donated over $32,000 in grants and wash services as our token of appreciation and hope this campaign will continue to pay it forward by reminding all communities to thank their teachers as another school year comes to an end," said Lopez.

"Recognizing and celebrating exemplary teachers is by far one of the most gratifying things a CEO gets to do," Lai said. "Hopefully every adult can look back on their childhood and point to a teacher who really made a difference in their life. That's why it's truly a privilege to help our customers recognize these community leaders who are playing such significant roles in young people's lives. Not only are they educating our future leaders, they are role models for us all to draw inspiration."

Teachers receiving top honors from Mister Car Wash this year include Mrs. Calvert, a fourth grade DECA teacher at Klenk Elementary School in Houston, Tex.; Miss Hernandez, an eighth grade math teacher at Socorro Middle School in El Paso, Tex.; Miss Barone, a first grade teacher at Sulphur Springs Community K-8 School in Tampa, Fla.; Mrs. McMillan, a fifth grade teacher at Michael Anderson Elementary School in Fairchild, Wash.; Mr. Clanton, a Construction teacher at Lamar County High School in Griffin, Ga.; Mr. Horne, a ninth to tenth grade Bible teacher at Northside Christian School in St. Petersburg, Fla.; Mrs. Barnhart, a ninth grade English teacher at Kipp Houston High School in Houston, Tex.; Mr. McKinney, an eighth grade science teacher at Los Lunas Middle School in Los Lunas, NM; Mrs. Romo, a sixth grade language arts teacher at LW Cross Middle School in Tucson, Ariz.; and Mrs. Woodfin, a third grade teacher at St. John Vianney Catholic School in Gallatin, Tenn.

About Inspiring Futures

At Mister Car Wash we are committed to investing in the communities we serve. As a people first company we provide extensive training and development programs to our employees to set them up for success, this priority has also translated to the causes we support beyond the car wash through our Inspiring Futures program. Inspiring Futures is an investment into our communities' classrooms by awarding grants to local schools and giving generously through our sponsorship, donation, and fundraising programs. In addition, we support our employees who are passionate about improving their knowledge and furthering their education by giving them the tools to shine, providing school supply kits and awarding tuition scholarships annually.

About Mister Car Wash

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, Mister Car Wash operates 229 car washes and 34 express lubes in 21 states. The Mister Car Wash brand is anchored in quality, friendliness and our commitment to creating memorable customer experiences. People are what make us successful and allow us to achieve high operational standards with unparalleled customer service. Through our commitment to excellence, we continue to recruit and retain top talent, develop best-in-class training programs and invest in employee benefits that cultivate a positive company culture. The Mister Car Wash experience is about inspiring potential and giving both our employees and customers the motivation to be their best. To learn more, please visit us in our stores or online at www.mistercarwash.com.

SOURCE Mister Car Wash

Related Links

http://mistercarwash.com


PRINCETON, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At its annual Summit USA in New York City on May 10-11, 2017, the Avoca Quality Consortium (AQC) released a "Regulatory Roadmap" -- a set of practical guidelines, tools, and documents -- to empower its Members to understand the recently rolled out ICH E6 R2 regulations and apply leading-practice solutions.

"Because Avoca began this work five years ago, we were well prepared to support the industry when the new regulatory guidelines were released," says Patricia Leuchten, CEO of the Avoca Group.

Covering clinical trial management and oversight in Europe and the United States, ICH E6 R2 requires that organizations adopt documented quality risk management processes. It calls on drug development professionals to make decisions based on a careful weighting of the likelihood and consequences of various risks.

Avoca's Regulatory Roadmap will help biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations (CROs) adapt to the new regulations more quickly.

Since 2011, AQC Members have collaborated to encourage proactive approaches to risk management, oversight, and quality. Based on Member input, The Avoca Group began developing leading practice documents five years ago in anticipation of regulatory changes that would mandate a more proactive approach to managing quality and mitigating risk.

ICH E6 R2 makes much of what the Consortium envisioned a reality. "Our leading practice documents, which are now mapped to ICH E6 R2, will give AQC Members a 'roadmap' to regulatory changes that will influence how we, as an industry, oversee quality," says Leuchten. "Our work earlier this year was focused on helping our Consortium Members make sense of ICH E6 R2. We linked already available tools, templates, and documents to the new regulations and created 17 new tools to help our Members navigate and implement ICH E6 R2 within their organizations."

Quality is the mission of the AQC. Strict adherence to quality management leads to the successful trials that bring medicines to patients who need them. The AQC's annual Summit gives sponsors and clinical service providers a unique chance to collaboratively address issues of mutual concern in the clinical trial landscape. "As complexity increases, so too does the need for collaboration between all stakeholders in the clinical trial process," says Coleen Glessner, Senior Vice President, Chief Quality Officer, Alexion, and Summit emcee. "The AQC provides a unique environment where industry leaders, from both sponsors and CROs, come together to collectively discuss regulatory changes, create proactive approaches, and leverage what is available to the industry through the AQC."

December 2016 was the fifth anniversary of the Quality Consortium, and 2017 is the second year that, due to Member interest, the AQC will hold a Summit in Europe -- to take place in Dublin June 7-8. Ideas discussed at the Summit are later put into practice through the work of the Consortium. At the Dublin meeting, the AQC Regulatory Roadmap will be discussed and rolled out to a European audience.

The New York Summit's primary sponsor was ICON, the global CRO that has headquarters in Dublin. Also sponsoring the Summit were InVentiv Health, Purdue Pharma, Bioclinica, Longboat, Appian, and MedAvante.

Participating leaders included:

Dimitris K. Agrafiotis, PhD, FRSC, Chief Data Officer, Covance; Paul Gilbert, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MedAvante; Brian Hagen, PhD, Founder and Managing Director, Decision Empowerment Institute; Jeff James, Executive Vice President, Alliance Management, ICON; Andy Lee, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Clinical Trials Operations, Merck; Robert Metcalf, PhD, Vice President, MDU Diabetes and Clinical Transformation, Eli Lilly and Company; Adrian Otte, MB, BCh, FFPM, Vice President Global Development Operations, Amgen; and Roni Zeiger, MD, Co-Founder and CEO, Smart Patients.

"We're grateful to our sponsors and the industry leaders who joined us to provide their insights and lead such thought-provoking and inspiring conversations. The leading practices discussed and debated at the Summit will define Avoca's agenda in coming months," says Leuchten.

While much discussion at the Summit was focused on technical issues, panelists and attendees also raised critical questions about how to continue to build a culture of quality within individual organizations. "The landscape of clinical trials is evolving, and the pace of change is rapid," says Patricia Leuchten, CEO of the Avoca Group. "The Summit is an opportunity for us as an industry to prioritize opportunities and make decisions about how to address the complexities we face for the collective benefit of the industry."

About The Avoca Quality Consortium (AQC) and the Avoca Group

Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Pfizer and led by The Avoca Group, The Avoca Quality Consortium (AQC) brings together 70+ pharma, biotech, and clinical service companies that share a commitment to collaboratively improving the execution and management of outsourced trials. Members have access to a large and growing repository of 250+ leading practice tools, guidelines, and standards that deliver meaningful improvements to the speed, efficiency, and quality of clinical trial execution, as well as the means to track and influence the development of innovative new approaches.

Since its inception in 1999, The Avoca Group has delivered high-quality, actionable research to pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and specialty service providers. A pioneer in clinical outsourcing research and consulting, Avoca has tracked and influenced the progression of the sector, making it the ideal partner for companies seeking to continuously improve the execution of clinical trials.

For more information, visit theavocagroup.com.

SOURCE Avoca Quality Consortium
The International Media Forum, organized as part of the 'Turkey - Discover the Potential' (TDP) publicity campaign, has begun in Antalya with the participation of 142 journalists from 50 countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avc, TIM President Buyukeksi, and Turkish Airlines CEO Ilker Ayc were among the notable guests of the Forum, where they answered questions from international journalists.

The International Media Forum, realized under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkish Exporter's Assembly (TIM), and with the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines, Maxx Royal, IHKIB and Borsa Istanbul, was organized by the Switzerland-based international media group Global Connection Media SA (GC).

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516169/International_Media_Forum_Global_Connection_Media_SA_Image.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516168/International_Media_Forum_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516167/Global_Connection_Logo.jpg )

As part of the Forum - an event bringing together the world's media with the highest level of participation - topics such as Turkey's economy, its tourism and trade potential as well as culture and media in general will be discussed.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avc, who gave a speech at the opening session of the Forum - hosted by Maxx Royal Resort, the popular vacation destination in Antalya-Belek - stressed the need to discover Turkey's tourism potential.

A first for Turkey, the Forum is a platform where Turkey's leading representatives and foreign journalists can meet one on one, through interviews and round-table meetings.

High-level participants

The Forum, which began with the opening address of Global Connection CEO Jacques Pasche, was also attended by the President of the Turkish Exporter's Assembly Mehmet Buyukeksi, President of Borsa Istanbul Himmet Karadag, Turkish Airlines CEO Ilker Ayc, President of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey Arda Ermut, and President of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB) Hikmet Tanrverdi.

All-round promotional campaign

The International Media Forum, organized as part of Global Connection's TDP promotional campaign, following the communication efforts conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, UAE, United Kingdom and USA, became a platform both for the promotion of the Turkish economy and for discussion relating to new approaches in media.

In 2016, GC had organized the Turkey-Russia Media Forum in Antalya, to improve Turkish-Russian relations. This Forum, which was attended by many high-level Russian and Turkish journalists, became the most important civil initiative between the two countries. The Turkey-Russia Media Forum and the International Media Forum will be annual events.

SOURCE Global Connection Media SA
HOUSTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- alliantgroup, a national tax consultancy, has helped over 20,000 companies claim more than $5 billion in incentives such as the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. PMPA is the leading association representing the precision machined products industry. The organization supports legislative and regulatory changes that help to keep the manufacturing industry competitive on the world stage. PMPA also provides training and developmental tools to its member companies in order to attract and retain a highly trained technical workforce. PMPA members are excellent candidates for many tax incentives because precision machining requires highly complex, technical work. As the industry expert on tax incentives, alliantgroup can help PMPA members identify and take full advantage of tax credits and deductions available to them.

Bernie Nagle, Executive Director of PMPA, had this to say, "PMPA's reason for being is to help our member companies adapt and thrive in an increasingly challenging marketplace. The assistance provided by alliantgroup will help our member companies take advantage of complex tax opportunities they might not have otherwise been aware of, which will help them remain competitive. We are delighted to have alliantgroup as a Select Sponsor."

One of the most valuable credits offered to contract manufacturers is the R&D Tax Credit. The R&D Tax Credit is the largest federal credit available to U.S. businesses with over $10 billion claimed annually. Many day-to-day activities of precision job shops qualify for the credit. A wide range of work such as custom tooling, machinery and product design is eligible. Companies that have done technical work, or introduced new or improved processes for operations, may be eligible for this incentive.

"We, like most businesses, were unaware of the R&D credit and its application. However, alliantgroup showed us there have been recent changes over the years that have greatly expanded the number of companies able to claim the credit," said a PMPA member. "alliantgroup's team is like no other as they have set the bar high through their professionalism, efficient process and industry expertise."

Companies that are improving their products or processesin this case, the everyday technical work and experimentation that is done in machine shopstraditionally qualify for the R&D Tax Credit. Precision machining companies engineer products to customer specifications, which makes them great candidates for federal and state R&D credits because the credits were designed to benefit companies that keep technical jobs in the United States.

alliantgroup employs technical experts in the manufacturing industry who understand what activities can qualify for the R&D credit. With former IRS leadership on staff, no other firm has such extensive tax expertise to ensure these incentives are claimed to the fullest extent possible under the tax code.

"We at alliantgroup are honored that PMPA has named us their select sponsor for tax incentives," said Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup's CEO. "We very much look forward to helping its members secure and maximize these powerful incentives."

For more information on alliantgroup and our tax consulting services, please contact Cathryn Peno at (713) 350-5544 or email [email protected]

alliantgroup is a premier tax consultancy with headquarters in Houston, Texas that helps US businesses, CPA firms and industry organizations capitalize on federal and state tax incentives. The government offers these incentives, credits and deductions to help companies create more jobs, stay innovative and compete in the global economy. We are proud to have helped over 20,000 businesses claim more than $5 billion dollars in tax incentives. These savings can be reinvested back into U.S. businesses to spur further job creation and growth. alliantgroup has offices nationwide including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Irvine, Sacramento, Orlando, Indianapolis and Washington D.C. For more information follow alliantgroup on Twitter, Facebook or visit their website.

SOURCE alliantgroup

Related Links

https://www.alliantgroup.com


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SAO PAULO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The renowned and innovative aesthetic technology company, Thermi, an Almirall company, announces regulatory clearance to market and distribute ThermiRF in Brazil. ThermiRF is a temperature-controlled radiofrequency platform used for a wide range of aesthetic applications using the Science of Heat, and the Beauty of Control.

MedSystems, an importer and distributor of medical equipment and technology in Brazil, will be Thermi's newest partner to expand this versatile technology worldwide. MedSystems will be the exclusive distributor of ThermiRF products in this booming cosmetic market. "We are extremely enthusiastic for the opportunity to enter Brazil with Thermi's innovative applications driven by temperature-controlled technology. Through this expansion, we are extending our global reach and expect a high demand from physicians and their patients in such a dynamic and vibrant market. Achieving clearance of new products in Brazil is always a challenging endeavor; this marks another milestone success for us. We look forward to working with the team at MedSystems," says Vladimir Paul-Blanc, President and General Manager of Thermi.

Thermi anticipates strong support from Brazil's leading aesthetic physicians. ThermiRF applications including; ThermiVa, ThermiSmooth Face, ThermiRase and ThermiTight will broaden services to patients seeking non-surgical aesthetic procedures. Physicians in Brazil can now depend on Thermi's continued innovation and support as a new way to keep customers happy.

For more information please visit: http://www.thermi.com/.

About Thermi

The Thermi flagship product is the ThermiRF, Temperature Controlled Radiofrequency Generator System, which is FDA cleared for dermatological and general surgical procedures for electrocoagulation and hemostasis, and to create lesions in nervous tissue. ThermiRF, is an advanced technology using finely controlled thermal energy. It is a multi-use platform which uses proprietary hand pieces designed for specific medical applications and promotes increased patient safety and clinical effectiveness, while providing versatile solutions for physicians serving the aesthetic market. The Thermi250 also employs temperature-controlled radiofrequency using a specially designed thermistor's regulated hand piece, which delivers precise heating to the skin's surface.

For more information, please visit www.thermi.com

About Almirall

Almirall is a global pharmaceutical company with a strong focus in Dermatology and Aesthetics, with the mission of providing valuable medicines and medical devices to you and future generations. Our R&D is focused on Dermatology, with a wide range of programs including key indications. Through our innovative products, agreements and alliances, our work covers the entire drug value chain. Almirall is continually growing as a specialist company in a wide range of skin diseases, in order to cover our customers' unmet needs.

Founded in 1943, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, Almirall is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (ticker: ALM) and it has become a source of value creation for society due to its vision and the commitment of its long-standing major shareholders. In 2016, its revenues totaled 859.3 million euros and, with more than 2.000 employees, it has gradually built up a trusted presence across Europe, as well as in the US.

For more information, please visit www.almirall.com.

Disclaimer

This document includes only summary information and does not intend to be comprehensive. Facts, figures and opinions contained herein, other than historical, are "forward-looking statements". These statements are based on currently available information and on best estimates and assumptions believed to be reasonable by the Company. These statements involve risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from those stated by such forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to review or update any forward-looking statements, targets or estimates contained in this document to reflect any change in the assumptions, events or circumstances on which such forward-looking statements are based unless so required by applicable law.

SOURCE Thermi

Related Links

http://www.thermi.com


NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This June, as thoughts turn to mortarboards and college graduations, public media takes viewers inside a maximum security prison for an intimate profile of a unique college behind bars. The expression, "sent up the river," was originally coined by convicts who were sent up the Hudson River to do their time at the infamous Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, NY. First Degree, available to PBS stations starting June 1 (check local listings), finds hope in this seemingly hopeless place by investigating a unique prison education program that is successfully preventing inmates there from being sent back up the river after their release. Nationwide, over half of released inmates return to prison within five years, but for the past 14 years, less than 1% of the inmates that received a college degree at Sing Sing returned to prison.

First Degree introduces viewers to some unforgettable Sing Sing inmates. We first meet Sean Pica, who was 16 years old when he went to prison in 1986. Sean's high school friend, Cheryl Pierson, told Sean that her father was sexually molesting her, so Sean helped plan and carry out his murder. After receiving a 24-year sentence, Sean thought his life was over until a prison education program called Hudson Link gave Sean an opportunity to earn a Bachelor's Degree. After serving 16 years, Sean was released, but he couldn't stay away from Sing Sing. Unlike most of the paroled prisoners that Sean met at Sing Sing who reoffended and quickly returned to prison, Sean came back to Sing Sing to run their college program. He takes us through his early days in prison as a hopeless 120-pound, 16-year-old inmate to his discovery that college could open up an entirely new world of opportunity and possibility.

Next, viewers meet Jermaine Archer, a former drug dealer who was sentenced to 22 years to life for murder. Jermaine talks about how his prison reputation changed from being a feared gang leader from the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn to being a role model for college students at the prison. We attend Jermaine's college graduation ceremony and watch as he, for the first time in his life, brings tears of joy to his mother's eyes.

Lastly, viewers meet Clarence Maclin, who received his college degree along with Jermaine. Shortly after graduation, we catch up with Clarence, who is on parole and participating in Hudson Link's re-entry program. We watch as the staff and volunteers at Hudson Link help Clarence acquire work-appropriate clothing, write a resume, search for jobs, and train for interviews. Ultimately, Clarence is hired by a nearby residential treatment program to work as a counselor with juvenile offenders. He relishes the opportunity to help the young people he mentors avoid some of the costly mistakes he made as a teenager.

Confirmed airdates for First Degree include:

*New York: Thursday, June 1 at 8:30 p.m. on WLIW21; Sunday, June 18 at 10:30 p.m. on THIRTEEN

*Philadelphia:  Wednesday, June 21 at 11:30pm on WLVT/PBS 39

*Washington, D.C.: Monday, June 19 at 9 am on WHUT

*Phoenix: Monday, June 26 at 11:30 p.m. on KAET

*Cleveland: Saturday, June 10 at 12 p.m. on Fusion WAEO/WNEO

*Sacramento: Monday, June 5 at 4 p.m. on KVIE2

*Baltimore: Monday, June 19 at 10:30 p.m. on MPT2

*Indianapolis: Thursday, June 15 at 10 p.m. on WFYI

*Indianapolis: Sunday, June 11 at 1:30 a.m. on WIPB

*San Diego: Tuesday, June 27 at 11 p.m. on KPBS

*Nashville: Monday, June 26 at midnight on NPT

*San Antonio: Tuesday, June 20 10 10 p.m. on KLRN

*Milwaukee: Wednesday, June 28 11:30 p.m. on WMVS

*Milwaukee: Saturday, June 10 10:30 p.m. WMVT

*Spartanburg: Tuesday, June 27 at 7 a.m. on ETV World

*Austin: Monday, June 5 at 10 p.m. on KLRU

*Jacksonville: Sunday, June 11 at 10:30 p.m. on WJCT MORE!

First Degree has been screened at 13 film festivals and won four top awards. David Rothenberg, the Founder of The Fortune Society said, "'First Degree' is a dramatic and emotional powerhouse...exactly what an independent documentary film should be." And Tony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library, said, "This enlightening film brings much needed awareness to the issues surrounding incarceration, the U.S. justice system, and prison education programs across the country."

To support the film's broadcast is a robust website, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dream-on/first-degree/ , which features shorter video clips for educational use; press materials; a Screening Toolkit; and a Viewer's Guide. The Guide contains background information on mass incarceration, re-entry, recidivism, and criminal justice reform; extensively researched facts and in-depth discussion questions for each of these topics; creative action steps to encourage community participation; and many other helpful resources including books, films, and organizations that work on the issues covered in the film.

First Degree is hosted and narrated by John Fugelsang. The film is produced and directed by Roger Weisberg, whose 32 previous documentaries have won over a 150 awards including Emmy, duPont-Columbia, and Peabody awards, as well as two Academy Award nominations. First Degree builds on Weisberg's extensive body of work and represents the culmination of almost four decades of documenting the struggles, aspirations, and achievements of disadvantaged Americans.

First Degree is a production of Public Policy Productions in association with THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. Producer/Director is Roger Weisberg. Writers are John Fugelsang and Roger Weisberg. Executive-in-Charge for WNET is Stephen Segaller. Post-production Supervisor for WNET is Cara Cosentino-Marino.

Major funding for First Degree is provided by The JPB Foundation. Additional support provided by Arlene and Alan Alda, Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, Lucius & Eva Eastman Fund, Inc., Odyssey Fund, Park Foundation, Silverweed Foundation, and Spunk Fund, Inc.

First Degree is broadcast as part of Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America, WNET's multi-platform public media initiative providing programming on poverty, income equality, and opportunity. Since 2015, the initiative has produced 154 reports, including news segments, documentaries, and radio and digital stories. The stories have been seen by a cumulative 14.7 million viewers on television alone and the Facebook postings have had 3.5 million total impressions.

About WNET

WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 . WNET also operates NJTV , the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature , Great Performances , American Masters , PBS NewsHour Weekend , Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math , Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS , Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus , the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport .

SOURCE WNET

Related Links

http://www.thirteen.org


NORTH CANTON, Ohio, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com), a global leader in bearings and mechanical power transmission products, today announced that it will participate in the KeyBanc Capital Markets 2017 Industrial, Automotive and Transportation Conference in Boston, Mass., on June 1, 2017. Materials shared at the conference will be available online at http://investors.timken.com.

About The Timken Company

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com) engineers, manufactures and markets bearings, gear drives, belts, chain, couplings, and related products, and offers a spectrum of powertrain rebuild and repair services. The leading authority on tapered roller bearings, Timken today applies its deep knowledge of metallurgy, tribology and mechanical power transmission across a variety of bearings and related systems to improve reliability and efficiency of machinery and equipment all around the world. The company's growing product and services portfolio features many strong industrial brands including Timken, Fafnir, Philadelphia Gear, Drives, Lovejoy and Interlube. Known for its quality products and collaborative technical sales model, Timken posted $2.7 billion in sales in 2016. With more than 14,000 employees operating from 28 countries, Timken makes the world more productive and keeps industry in motion.

Media Relations:

234.262.3514

[email protected]

Investor Relations:

Jason Hershiser

234.262.7101

[email protected]

SOURCE The Timken Company

Related Links

http://www.timken.com


LONDON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Touch Medical Media has named Prof. Axel Merseburger as the new Editor-in-Chief of their journal European Oncology & Haematology, a peer reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the publication of topical articles in the oncology field.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/515766/Touch_Medical_Logo.jpg )



Professor Mersburger, who joined the European Oncology & Haematology Editorial Board last year, will become the first Editor-in-Chief of the journal. "It is a great honour and privilege to support European Oncology and Haematology as Editor-in-Chief. The Journal is delivered in two print issues per year (summer & winter), which gives the latest developments in haematology and oncology, as well as ePub ahead of print throughout the year. It is exciting to work with the international, multidisciplinary editorial board providing you the recent developments in their field. The journal will further invest in including up-to-date, high-quality, and original contributions - research papers, as well as reviews, and conference reviews," said Merseburger following his appointment.

Professor Merseburger is Chairman of the Clinic of Urology at University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Lubeck, Germany. He is a member of the European Association of Urology (EAU) Guideline Group for Renal Cancer and Chairman of the EAU Guideline Group for Lasers and Technologies. Professor Merseburger has won multiple awards, stipends and prizes for his molecular and clinical research and has published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His main area of interest is urological oncology. Professor Merseburger's key areas of interest are renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer and transitional cell carcinoma, with special attention given to novel markers and prognostic factors. He is a principal investigator in German Phase II and III trials.

European Oncology & Hameatology was launched in 2007 and specialises in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of oncology.

"It is an honour to name Axel Merseburger as the Editor-in-Chief of European Oncology & Haematology," said Barney Kent, Managing Director of Touch Medical Media. "I know Prof. Merseburger is keen to develop the journal in a number of ways so we are really excited to have him involved at this level and are looking forward to working with him over the coming years."

touchONCOLOGY (a division of Touch Medical Media) publishesEuropean Oncology & Haematology Review, a peer-reviewed, open access, bi-annual journal specialising in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of oncology and haematology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from 'data-rich' primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion on how this information can help physicians in the day to day clinical setting. Practice guidelines, symposium write-ups, case reports, and original research articles are also featured to promote discussion and learning amongst physicians, clinicians, researchers and related healthcare professionals.

www.touchONCOLOGY.com

Touch Medical Media is a trading name of Touch Digital Media Limited, a private limited company registered in England and Wales at The White House Mill Road, Goring, Reading, England, RG8 9DD with registered number 08197142.

For inquires please contact:

Nicola Cartridge - Managing Editor

[email protected]



Leading the Debate on the Advances in Healthcare .

SOURCE touchONCOLOGY
NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Spinal Association will host Jose Hernandez from the Bronx, New York, at its 6th Annual Roll on Capitol Hill, June 11-14 in Washington, D.C., to speak directly with legislators on issues that affect the independence and quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) and other pre-existing conditions.

Hernandez, 36, a peer mentor, disability advocate and power wheelchair user, will be attending Roll on Capitol Hill along with other prominent disability advocates. He will urge his representatives to provide people living with spinal cord injuries and disorders in New York greater access to community integration and complex rehab technology.

Complex rehab technology includes medically necessary mobility equipment that requires extensive evaluation, configuration, fitting, adjustment, or programming, such as wheelchairs.

"Wheelchairs may all fall under a certain category, but there is no one size fits all wheelchair," said Hernandez, who was spinal cord injured at age 15 and earned an Associate's degree in Information Technology from Bronx Community College and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from St. John's University.

"A regular wheelchair that is used in a hospital to transport patients for example is not a good wheelchair for tetraplegics with limited strength, dexterity and balance, which can leave the person with a disability susceptible to pressure ulcers and other serious complications due to improper fitting," explained Hernandez.

Hernandez has used his experiences conquering the hurdles of living with a disability, to mentor others with SCI/D, including those in nursing homes who are trying to reintegrate into their communities.

"After sustaining a spinal cord injury, you're going to have a hard enough time adjusting to your new body and in a lot of cases these individuals are being placed into nursing homes," said Hernandez.

Hernandez has visited nursing homes here in New York City and has seen individuals with spinal cord injury as young as 16 years old institutionalized. Some of these individuals are being institutionalized 10 years or more.

"The saddest part about it is the loss of potential that they will never regain. It's like a prison sentence and your only crime was being or becoming disabled," said Hernandez.

Now working as a Program Specialist with United Spinal Association, Hernandez looks forward to helping more individuals with SCI/D on a national scale.

"There are so many people with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities that don't have a voice. If I can I will share my voice with all of them," he said.

On the state level, Hernandez also dedicates time advocating to improve in-home treatment and care for others living with SCI/D, recently meeting with senators and congressmen to urge higher minimum wage of home care workers in New York. Currently the minimum wage for home care workers is $11 per hour, which is the state minimum.

"Individuals like myself have a hard time finding and retaining qualified home care attendants willing to work for minimum wage when they can go out and work for McDonald's and make more," said Hernandez.

The road to self-advocacy started early on for Hernandez as he sought answers to the new challenges he faced living with tetraplegia and having to use a wheelchair.

"I had a lot of government agencies telling me how I should live my life. Not knowing any better, you go along believing that they have your best interests at hand -- but they don't. That's when I decided to start helping individuals with disabilities with my first-hand knowledge of advocacy," explained Hernandez.

Roll on Capitol Hill has been a life-changing event for Hernandez. Now entering its 6th year, the Roll has become a valuable platform for United Spinal member advocates to lead the charge to protect disability rights.

"I remember my first Roll on Capitol Hill. As I stood outside the reception door, looking inside at all of the people attending -- fighting for what they believe in and representing thousands of individuals with disabilities, I couldn't help but get emotional," recalled Hernandez.

Beyond community integration and complex rehab technology, Hernandez is concerned with the potential impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal.

"The current administration should invest time and energy in repairing or restructuring a system that has been working and getting people healthier, rather than replacing it with something that would be a death sentence for many individuals," said Hernandez.

As Hernandez continues to fight to improve disability rights, he acknowledges his late mother's strength and perseverance as a major influence on his attitude toward his injury.

"She never gave up during her 13-year battle with cancer and illness. It rubbed off on me. No matter how hard my day and no matter how bad I feel, I get up out of my bed and push on with life."

About United Spinal Association

United Spinal is a national 501(c) (3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 by paralyzed veterans and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Americans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), including multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, ALS and post-polio. It played a significant role in writing the Americans with Disabilities Act, and made important contributions to the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Air Carrier Access Act. Membership is free and is open to all individuals with SCI/D. United Spinal was instrumental in getting New York City to create sidewalk curb ramps and accessible public transportation that has been used as a model for many United States cities.

Media contact:

Ahvi Spindell

Spindell Media Relations, LLC

United Spinal Association

(212) 580-4567

[email protected]

Twitter @ahvispin

SOURCE United Spinal Association

Related Links

http://www.unitedspinal.org


LOS ANGELES, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USC Shoah Foundation  The Institute for Visual History and Education has partnered with the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) to integrate all videos from the AGBU WebTalks series  addressing both the Armenian Genocide and Armenian identity  into USC Shoah Foundation's award-winning IWitness educational website.

AGBU WebTalks is an online video series that conveys the insights and passion of engaging, inspiring and dynamic thinkers from around the world speaking on a wide range of Armenian topics. The collaboration is designed to further the study of the Armenian Genocide and identity through professional-development opportunities for educators and new engaging, multimedia resources for students around the world.

The Institute's Armenian Genocide collection was initiated in 2010, when the Armenian Film Foundation and USC Shoah Foundation signed a historic agreement to digitize, index and preserve footage of nearly 400 interviews with survivors and witnesses filmed by the late documentarian J. Michael Hagopian. The agreement paved the way for the preservation and dissemination of the largest collection of such filmed interviews about the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century. Five years later, the collection was integrated into the USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive and the first set of interviews was made available in IWitness to educators and students worldwide.

IWitness provides access to more than 2,000 histories of survivors and witnesses to genocides for guided exploration, bringing human stories of the Institute's Visual History Archive to more than 100,000 secondary school educators and students in 80 countries.

Launched in 2017, the new IWitness Armenia page is dedicated to telling this tragic chapter in Armenian history. Featuring all of the USC Shoah Foundation's educational resources on the Armenian Genocide, educators can not only find video testimonies from the Hagopian collection, but the site has now expanded to include segments from the AGBU WebTalks series. The featured clips cover the topics of forced marches, the Hamidian and Adana massacres, forced conversion, resistance, rescuers/aid, genocide denial and memory, and are supplemented with lessons, teacher guides and other educational resources.

"By bringing the AGBU WebTalks series into IWitness, we are providing students with even more context and understanding about the Armenian Genocide, which far too few people know about," said USC Shoah Foundation Senior Director of Programs and Administration Kori Street. "Our partnership will benefit both of our organizations by allowing us to share our expertise."

AGBU WebTalks speakers include psychologist and genocide scholar Israel Charny; historians Richard Hovannisian, Raymond Kevorkian, and Khatchig Mouradian; human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson; French journalists based in Turkey Laure Marchand and Guillaume Perrier; editor and publisher of translations of Zabel Yessayan's work, Judith Saryan; and others. The short video interviews currently available online are a rich repository of knowledge and provide online access to authoritative and reliable information about Armenian history and culture to meet the demands of our connected and visual world. Additional videos from the growing collection will be added over time.

"Our goal is to increase the exposure of our scholars, thinkers and artists to ensure students and learners of all ages have multiple means of accessing their expertise," said Natalie Gabrelian, Director of Alternative Education at AGBU. "Thanks to the partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation, the Armenian story will now reach mainstream audiences, transcending cultures and ethnicities, thereby being heard by all of humanity."

To learn more about USC Shoah Foundation's IWitness platform, please visit http://iwitness.usc.edu. To learn more about AGBU WebTalks, please visit https://www.agbuwebtalks.org/.

About USC Shoah Foundation

USC Shoah Foundation  The Institute for Visual History and Education is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, a compelling voice for education and action. The Institute's current collection of more than 54,000 eyewitness testimonies contained within its Visual History Archive preserves history as told by the people who lived it, and lived through it. Housed at the University of Southern California, within the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the Institute works with partners around the world to advance scholarship and research, to provide resources and online tools for educators, and to disseminate the testimonies for educational purposes.

Visual History Archive is a registered trademark of USC Shoah Foundation  The Institute for Visual History and Education Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.

Contact: Josh Grossberg 213-740-6065

[email protected]edu

Rob Kuznia 213-740-0965

[email protected]

SOURCE USC Shoah Foundation Institute
SEATTLE, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AAMVA Region IV Conference -- Technology solutions provider Valid USA, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valid S. A. (BM&F Bovespa, Sao Paulo: VLID3), is pleased to announce that with the conversion of 80% of Washington's Licensing Service Offices (LSOs), Valid has now processed close to 250,000 driver licenses and identification cards for the State of Washington Department of Licensing, as it ramps toward full statewide deployment.

The conversion of LSOs began as a series of pilots, beginning in February 2017, and has progressed rapidly and successfully. Michael Fox, Valid USA Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Identity Solutions, attributed the relatively rapid pace of conversion to "the joint team effort between Valid and Washington DOL," whereby the installation and training teams were staffed by teams from both organizations working together to deploy equipment, train the office staff, and perform system conversion for each licensing office. This mixed team effort enabled the expertise of both organizations to be proficiently applied and the ongoing conversions to occur seamlessly.

Washington DOL Director Pat Kohler, referred to the conversion effort as, "a great example of the partnership between government and industry." Kohler described how the installation and training teams had a single vision and unified purpose in accomplishing what could otherwise be an intricate and challenging conversion process. Valid's Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Affonso Seigneur d'Albuquerque, stated, "The climate of collaboration and teamwork between Valid and WA DOL has been the hallmark of this project."

Washington Department of Licensing expects to complete its statewide deployment in early June.

For more information call 855.825.4387 or inquire via email at [email protected].

About Valid USA

Valid USA, Inc. delivers secure solutions for data, payment, identity, and mobile that drive our clients' brand engagement with their customers. Using a client-centric model, Valid works collaboratively with companies to tailor our knowledge, experience and people to meet their unique needs. Valid USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Valid S.A. ("Valid"), a publicly-traded Brazilian company with a market capitalization of more than $1 billion and over 6,000 employees worldwide. Valid has provided business solutions for over 50 years and is expanding operations around the world. Valid is recognized and respected in several countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States.

SOURCE Valid USA

Related Links

http://www.validusa.com


WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture Global LNG, Inc. announces that it has raised additional capital of approximately $81.4 million, in its sixth round of equity investment. The offering was notable for the inclusion of additional high profile, very large institutional investors in the company. The offering, a private Reg. D transaction, brings the company's aggregate funding total to $361 million.

In response to the capital raise, Co-CEOs, Mike Sabel and Bob Pender stated, "This private placement represents the capital markets continued confidence in our ability to execute on our development of 30 million tons of LNG production. By 2021 we expect to launch commercial operations for Calcasieu Pass and deliver the lowest cost LNG from North America to the global market."

The proceeds of this most recent Reg. D transaction will fund Venture Global's development activities for its proposed LNG export facilities in Louisiana.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as co-placement agents in connection with the offering.

About Venture Global LNG

Venture Global LNG plans to be a long-term, low-cost producer of LNG, capitalizing on low-cost natural gas production in the U.S. Venture Global LNG's strategy is reinforced by GE's highly efficient and reliable suite of products. Venture Global is developing LNG export terminals at both Plaquemines and Calcasieu Pass, totaling 30 MTPA of capacity. More can be found at www.venturegloballng.com

SOURCE Venture Global LNG

Related Links

http://www.venturegloballng.com


BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC), the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates, today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with SPO Partners to acquire its aggregates business, Aggregates USA LLC for $900 million in cash. Aggregates USA LLC operates 31 facilities serving high growth markets in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia.

"We are pleased to have reached agreement with SPO Partners for these strategic assets, which enhance our ability to serve high growth markets throughout the southeastern U.S.," said Vulcan's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Hill. "With the addition of these quarries and related assets, Vulcan will be able to capitalize on continuing increases in state highway funding programs in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and on the continued private sector growth across the region. This transaction will provide Vulcan with long-term high quality reserves across the entire portfolio. Aggregates USA operates efficient, high productivity facilities run by strong teams, and we welcome them to our Company."

The acquisition complements and expands Vulcan's service offerings in Georgia with three granite quarries  two of which have rail capabilities extending the Company's reach into important markets  along with 16 rail distribution yards in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. In addition, the acquisition includes 12 limestone quarries in eastern Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Vulcan may divest several quarries in Tennessee to a third party in order to expedite the regulatory approval process.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory provisions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Vulcan expects the transaction to be accretive to the Company's earnings per share in the first year following the close.

SPO Partners is a Mill Valley, California-based investment partnership that employs a long-term, value-oriented and highly concentrated approach to investing in companies in the public and private markets. With over $7 billion in assets under management, SPO invests across a wide range of industries including basic materials, media, telecom, energy, power and real estate.

Vulcan Materials Company, a member of the S&P 500 index with headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, is the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates and a major producer of other construction materials. For additional information about Vulcan, go to www.vulcanmaterials.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable federal securities laws that are based upon our current expectations and assumptions concerning future events, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Statements that are not historical fact, including statements about Vulcan's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from our expectations include, among others, (i) the risk that Vulcan does not receive or satisfy regulatory or other approvals and conditions on a timely basis or approvals are subject to conditions that are not anticipated, (ii) modifications to the terms of the acquisition may be required in order to obtain or satisfy such approvals or conditions, (iii) the risk that the acquisition does not close or that there are changes in the anticipated timing for closing the acquisition, (iv) business disruption during the pendency of or following the acquisition, including diversion of management time, (v) the risk that Vulcan is unsuccessful in implementing its strategy and business plan, (vi) the risk that Vulcan is unable to react to and address key business and regulatory issues, and (vii) other risks, assumptions and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Vulcan's SEC reports, including Vulcan's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. There can be no assurance that the acquisition described above will be consummated. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Vulcan assumes no obligation to update such statements except as required by law.

Investor Contact: Mark Warren (205) 298-3220

Media Contact: David Donaldson (205) 298-3220

SOURCE Vulcan Materials Company

Related Links

http://www.vulcanmaterials.com


RICHMOND, Va., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Walmart has released its 10th annual Global Responsibility Report, highlighting milestones in its global progress toward creating shared value for people, business, and society. The report looks back at the company's progress during fiscal year 2017 in advancing the key areas of opportunity and community. Following are local examples illustrating Walmart's local impact in each of these two areas of the Global Responsibility Report:

Opportunity

Walmart is addressing barriers that can impede career advancement for associates. In FY2017, Walmart completed a $2.7 billion investment in U.S. associates that included increases in training, education and higher wages. Virginia achievements include:

Opening the first Walmart Training Academy in Virginia and training more than 715 Walmart associates through the Academy program to date.

and training more than 715 Walmart associates through the Academy program to date. Awarding a total of more than $21 million in quarterly bonuses to Virginia associates in FY17.

in quarterly bonuses to associates in FY17. Continuing its commitment to hire military veterans for a total of more than 5,000 veterans hired in Virginia since launching the Walmart Veterans Welcome Home Commitment in May 2013 .

In addition to investing in its own associates, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation in 2015 launched the Retail Opportunity Initiative, a five-year, $100 million sector-wide effort aimed at strengthening the transferability of skills of the U.S. retail workforce and developing ways to make it easier for front-line workers to advance their careers. Through the end of FY2017, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation invested more than $59 million and collaborated with leading nonprofits, employers, government agencies and educational institutions such as the The League of Innovation and the Aspen Institute.

Community

In FY2017, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation invested more than $1.4 billion in communities worldwide, including more than $37 million in cash and in-kind contributions to non-profits throughout Virginia.

Local non-profits awarded grants from the Walmart State Giving Program, one of several Foundation giving programs that play an essential role in the Foundation's mission to create opportunities so people can live better, include:

Pathways-VA received $50,000 to support the Pathways to Employment program

to support the Pathways to Employment program Gloucester- Mathews Free Clinic received $25,000 to support the Rural Virginia Senior Smile Program

to support the Rural Virginia Senior Smile Program Feeding America Southwest Virginia received $25,000 to support the Mobile Produce Program

to support the Mobile Produce Program Sheltered Occupational Center of Northern Virginia received $25,000 to support Job Training and Placement for Individuals with Disabilities

As the nation's largest grocer, Walmart is uniquely positioned to support organizations that are on the front lines in the fight against hunger. In addition to donating more than 19 million pounds of food to local Virginia food banks  equivalent to 16 million meals  Walmart and the Walmart Foundation donated more than $50 million toward hunger relief in FY2017, including more than $540,000 for after school and breakfast in the classroom programs in Virginia.

Walmart also engages customers across the country in making an impact on hunger in their local communities. In the U.S., Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations teamed up with customers and participating suppliers to support Feeding America through the "Fight Hunger. Spark Change." campaign, raising more than $17 million in funds in FY2017, including funds for the following Virginia Feeding America affiliate food banks:

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Verona, VA , $131,165

, Feeding America Southwest Virginia, Salem, VA , $119,281

, FeedMore, Richmond, VA , $90,660

, Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, Norfolk, VA , $91,473

and the Eastern Shore, , Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, Fredericksburg, VA , $54,223

, Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, Hampton, VA , $47,840

Walmart associates are deeply engaged in their communities and in FY2017, associates overall volunteered more than 1.2 million hours generating more than $12 million in Walmart donations, including more than 31,000 hours with local non-profits and charitable causes in Virginia, marking another way in which the company supports and impacts the local communities it serves.

2017 Virginia Innovations and Investments

Walmart's most recent earnings report shows continued positive momentum in U.S. sales, customer traffic and customer feedback, which is attributed to many of the innovations and investments the company has been making in store operations and its workforce.

Walmart is planning the following investments in Virginia this year:

Open three new stores/clubs across the state creating approximately 700 new jobs statewide.

Multi-million dollar capital investments in improving existing stores/clubs by remodeling more than 18 locations across the state:

Walmart Supercenter, 501 Wal-Mart Dr, Winchester



Walmart Supercenter, 11400 West Broad Street Rd, Glen Allen



Walmart Supercenter, 12200 Chattanooga Plz, Midlothian



Walmart Supercenter, 3500 S Crater Rd, Petersburg



Walmart Supercenter, 7530 Tidewater Dr, Norfolk



Walmart Supercenter, 1900 Cunningham Dr, Hampton



Walmart Supercenter, 2021 Lynnhaven Pkwy, Virginia Beach



Walmart Supercenter, 550 Old Franklin Turnpike, Rocky Mount



Walmart Supercenter, 975 Hilton Heights Rd, Charlottesville



Walmart Supercenter, 1800 Carl D. Silver Parkway, Fredericksburg



Walmart Supercenter, 1233 N Lee Hwy, Lexington



Walmart Supercenter, 5885 Kingstowne Blvd, Alexandria



Walmart Supercenter, 13059 Fair Lakes Parkway, Fairfax



Walmart Supercenter, 1126 E Lynchburg Salem Turnpike, Bedford



Walmart Supercenter, 6303 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria



Walmart Supercenter, 116 Lucy Ln, Waynesboro



Walmart Supercenter, 5350 Clearbrook Village Ln, Roanoke



Walmart Supercenter, 17041 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Dumfries

"2017 is going to be an exciting year for Walmart in Virginia as we continue to focus on how to better serve our customers through innovation and investments so they can save both time and money," said Bob Davis, Walmart Regional Manager in Virginia. "We've had a sharp focus on making our store experience second to none and our customers are telling us that our plan is working. Our team is energized and we're looking forward to exceeding our customer's expectations for what a great Walmart shopping experience can be like."

Walmart's 2017 investment plans build on Walmart's growth last year in Virginia. 2016 Highlights included:

Opened 5 new stores creating more than 850 new jobs

Remodeled 9 stores across the state

Opened the first Training Academy in Virginia in Dulles Launched Online Grocery Pickup Service currently serving 23 markets

Launched Walmart Pay statewide

About Walmart in Virginia

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better  anytime and anywhere  in retail stores, online and through their mobile devices In Virginia we serve customers at 152 retail units and online through Walmart Grocery Pickup, Walmart.com and Jet.com We are proud to employ over 44,000 associates in Virginia. Walmart supports local businesses, spending $621 million with Virginia suppliers in FYE17, which supported more than 33,000 supplier jobs. Learn more at the Walmart Today blog, and our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram channels.

Media Contact:

Ashley Messier

[email protected]

804-771-5303

SOURCE Walmart

Related Links

https://www.walmart.com


MASON CITY | The conference center is a key component in the development project planned for Mason City, a Gatehouse Capital official said Wednesday.

David Rachie of Gatehouse's Minneapolis office was in Mason City to hold a public forum on Gatehouse's proposal to build a hotel in the south parking lot of Southbridge Mall, put a conference center/banquet hall in The Music Man Square and connect the two with a skywalk.

"The conference center is important in any project like this because it will hold 600 to 700 people. The hotel holds 100. The rest of the people stay in the other hotels. Everyone benefits," he said.

Rachie as well as Mark Kroemer and Austin Pehl of the Mason City firm of WWA Architecture and Planning heard comments and answered questions from an audience of about 30.

Rachie said he thought it was important to hire local architects because of their familiarity with the community and their accessibility.

"This is not our vision; it's your vision," Pehl told the attendees,

Rachie said no franchisee had yet been picked for the hotel but said there would be no problem selecting one.

Many in the audience had questions about any changes to The Music Man Square. Elizabeth Allison, executive director, said there had been financial challenges since The Music Man Square opened in 2002 and they remain today. She said she was confident the proposed changes would create "a much more substantial revenue stream and even if they didn't, we are in no danger of closing."

The museum will be moved and other changes will be made to accommodate the conference center/banquet hall but Allison said she will insist that adequate space be made for music classes and rehearsals such as are now taking place in the Exploritorium. "That room is the heart of what we do here," she said.

Asked how she responds to people who say nobody cares about Meredith Willson, she said, "A lot of people don't care about Abraham Lincoln."

There's plenty of interest in Willson, she said. "We get calls from all over the country from people asking for items that can be used by high schools that are doing `The Music Man'."
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, Mass., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A student who is passionate about cleaning up St. Albans Bay, Vermont, and restoring it to a place of beauty will get a head start on her dreamwith an all expense paid scholarship to the nation's number-one college for sustainability-based education, Green Mountain College. The First in Sustainability Scholarship Award was the brain child of Warner Communications, a world-class boutique public relations and communications firm, and its client, Green Mountain College (GMC). The essay-based scholarship rewards a student who wants to pursue an education devoted to ensuring social, economic and/or environmental sustainability.

"When we started working with Green Mountain College last fall, we knew that we needed something that would inspire and get the attention of students, parents, guidance counselors and the media to better understand the fantastic opportunity that the college offers," said Carin Warner, president and founder of Warner Communications. "Working with Karen Martinsen Fleming, the college's Chief Marketing Officer, we created the scholarship contest to bring to light the inspiring and practical education that GMC provides to students, especially those who want to dedicate their lives to changing the world for the better."

Jessica Casey, of St. Albans, Vermont, is the 2017 recipient of the First in Sustainability Scholarship Award from GMC. Her essay on phosphorous contamination of the bay, which is part of Lake Champlain  its impact on people, animals and marine life, and how she will use a GMC education to develop solutions  has earned her the award, which covers her tuition, room/board and fees for all four years of study.

"Warner Communications was inspired by Green Mountain College's dedication to providing a personal and purposeful education, that prepares our graduates to 'do well by doing good,'" said Karen Martinsen Fleming. "This scholarship is a terrific way to further catalyze prospective students to tackle the sustainability challenges of our time. We couldn't be happier about Jessica being our inaugural winner! She is exactly the kind of young leader the world needs: informed and enthused about creating a more sustainable world."

As she noted in her essay, Jessica grew up witnessing the decay of the bay and how "phosphorous contamination is causing chaos in Lake Champlain." She mourns the loss of the Bay as a "center of family activities," noting that "dogs have died because of the dangerous algae blooms in these waters." Her mission: to bring back this spot as a place of beauty and recreation.

"The Renewable Energy and Ecological Design program at Green Mountain College can help me develop the understanding and methods I need to repair the damage already inflicted," she added. "I want to learn all I can, and Green Mountain College is the ideal next step for me. Moreover, my overnight visit to the school conveyed such a sense of community that I'm even more excited to attend this fall," she added.

Know a rising high school senior involved in sustainability? Consider this: any high school senior applying for admission to Green Mountain College's class of 2022 is eligible for this scholarship award. Applicants are required to submit an additional essay, describing what change they would like to make for a better and more sustainable world. More details will be available this fall at www.greenmtn.edu!

About Warner Communications

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About Green Mountain College  First in Sustainability

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CULVER CITY, Calif., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As U.S.-Russia tensions mount, The Wende Museum of the Cold War offers Art  Past  Present, a new discussion series about how art and history shape our world. "In an era with so much polarization and so few facts, we offer a space for informed conversations," said Chief Curator Joes Segal.

Art  Past  Present allows community members to talk with renowned artists whose work deals with history. Artist Ken Gonzales-Day and contemporary-art curator Brenda G. Williams will speak on Tuesday, June 6, at 6 p.m.

Shadowlands (2017), courtesy of Ken Gonzales-Day and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles Gallery.

Since the series launched in March, Art  Past  Present has featured artists Farrah Karapetian, Chris Wyrick, Katya Tylevich, and Bill Ferehawk, who is working on a video installation about the Malta Conference, the symbolic end of the Cold War.

"Public forums for discussion are essential, and we have an important role to play as an institution that can offer accurate historical perspective. Art and history illuminate and help us understand the realities confronting us," curator Segal said.

"The conversations at Art  Past  Present have been electric," said Justinian Jampol, the museum's founder and executive director.

The Wende Museum holds an unparalleled collection of artifacts and personal histories from Cold War-era Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and has advanced scholarship about the period since 2002.

This fall, the Wende will move to a new home at the iconic former National Guard Armory Building at 10808 Culver Blvd. The expansive Armory campus will make the previously under-the-radar institution a community resource for knowledge and culture. The Wende will open at the Armory in November with a gala celebration, an exhibition on Cold War Spaces, and a community open house.

Art  Past  Present is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

The Wende Museum is currently located at 5741 Buckingham Parkway in Culver City, California. The Museum is open to the public every Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Admission is free. For more information, call 310-216-1600 or go to www.wendemuseum.org.

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MASON CITY | Led by a knight mascot, the 49 members of Newman Catholic's Class of 2017 were greeted with cheers, high-fives and congratulatory signs as they walked through the school Thursday morning.

Dressed in their red and white caps and gowns, seniors started their walk-through in the preschool and day care, concluding in the high school prior to an awards ceremony. Students, teachers, staff and parents lined their route through school hallways.

Seniors Mackenzie White and Jase Curley have attended Newman Catholic Schools since kindergarten  and both are more than ready to wrap up their time in high school.

"I'm excited and scared for college," said White, 17, of Manly. "I'm excited to start something new."

She plans to attend Kirkwood College and the University of Iowa to receive her bachelor of science in nursing.

"I'm ready to be done," said Curley, 18, of Mason City. "I'm ready for college."

He will attend North Iowa Area Community College and Bemidji State University, where he will study biology.

The seniors will graduate at 1 p.m. Sunday at the high school.
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Itanagar, May 22 : The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to provide zero interest crop loan to marginal farmers of the state to enable them easy access to formal credit through banking channels, an official said on Monday.

According to a Finance Department notification of May 7, 2017, the government has decided to launch "Chief Minister's Krishi Rinn Yojana", under which it would provide interest subvention of 4 per cent on crop loan/Kisan Credit Card (KCC) limit up to Rs 3 lakh sanctioned by all banks to all farmers of the state during the current financial year.

This interest subvention will be over and above the subvention given by the central government to banks and the farmers as per policy issued by the Reserve Bank of India and NABARD.

"The farmers would also get interest relief at the rate of 3 per cent per annum if they promptly repay their short-term production credit (crop Loan) within one year of disbursement of such loan. In effect, farmers who take loan up to Rs 3 lakh and make timely repayments will get access to zero interest credit facility," the official said.

The NABARD will act as channel partner for reimbursement to banks against interest subvention amount claims.

A certificate of area and crop being cultivated issued by circle officer will be accepted as valid documents by banks for issuance of Kisan Credit Card to the farmers, the notification said.

Benefit under the scheme will be extended to farmers availing KCC/crop production loan from commercial banks, APRB and APSCAB Ltd at the same terms and conditions prescribed by the RBI/ NABARD.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has set a target of 7,500 farmers to be covered under the Chief Minister's Krishi Rinn Yojana in this financial year.

The district-wise or bank-wise target will be circulated separately to all District Collectors and concerned banks. This target will be reviewed later and any bank which fails to meet the stipulated target would be reported to the RBI and Department of Financial Services, he said.

Moreover, the circle officers will function as Financial Extension Officers of the state government and also help the banks in timely recovery of crop loans.
New Delhi, May 22 : Aiming to boost the party's outreach in rural areas, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is to hold direct dialogue with farmers in outer Delhi villages from May 25 on the new land-pooling policy.

"The AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal will hold a direct dialogue with the farmers of Najafgarh and Matiala areas on May 25 on land-pooling policy (LPP)," Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) Delhi convenor Gopal Rai said.

He said that similar CM's dialogue with farmers will also be held in other regions, including Narela, Burari, Kirari, Bawana and Badli.

"In his interaction with the farmers, Kejriwal will mainly talk about the benefits of land-pooling policy. The CM will also address the problems of farmers," Rai said.

Rai said that such dialogues would help the party strengthen its base in rural areas of the city.

"After June 15, a convention of party workers will be organised in each assembly constituency and the Chief Minister will take part in every convention to strengthen the party's booth level approach," he added.

Meanwhile, the residents of 89 villages, which have been declared as urban areas under the Delhi government's land-pooling policy, met Kejriwal and lauded the government for the move.

A delegation of villagers led by Harichand Gahlot, president National Kisan Sanjha Manch, met Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia and praised the new policy which they said would boost development of rural areas in the capital.
New Delhi, May 23 : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit later this month for the biannual inter-governmental consultancies (IGC), Germany on Tuesday made a strong pitch for resuming negotiations for an EU-India free trade agreement (FTA) and reaffirmed its support for New Delhi's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Germany is among the countries with which India has terminated bilateral investment protection treaties (BITs) following a new BIT model New Delhi released in December 2015.

Following the expiry of the India-Germany BIT in March this year, German Ambassador Martin Ney told the media here that while existing investments from India in Germany or vice-versa will be protected for the next 15 years under the old set of rules, all new investments will not have any protection until a new treaty is signed.

Stating that European Union (EU) member-states have passed on the responsibility of investment protection negotiations to the EU, Ney said that the European Commission and the Indian government should "sit down as soon as possible" to negotiate a free trade agreement.

Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will head the fourth round of IGC on May 29-30 in Berlin. Germany is the only country with which India has the IGC arrangement which started in 2011.

"In the last inter-governmental consultations (in 2015), Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merkel spoke out strongly in favour of resuming FTA negotiations between the EU and India," Ney said.

He laid stress on the necessity of the FTA, and said the EU was India's largest trading partner.

"If you want to shape globalisation, you do it by writing it into treaties," the German Ambassador said, adding that there were strategic reasons for this too.

He cited the One Belt One Road (OBOR) summit hosted by China earlier this month as another reason for an FTA between India and the EU.

"India has not participated in the OBOR summit. The European countries have participated but have not signed up to the trade declaration of OBOR," Ney said.

Describing the OBOR as a China-centred trade enhancement system, Ney said: "If both the EU and India have certain hesitations about it, it should give us extra incentive to sit down and resume negotiations on a free trade agreement."

Giving a larger picture of the upcoming talks in Berlin, the ambassador said both India and Germany believed in the tenets of democracy and a rules-based international order.

He said both countries cooperate closely in terms of G20 coordination, UN Security Council reforms, freedom of navigation including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, the fight against terrorism and stability in Afghanistan.

"Germany supports India's membership in different export control regimes, including the NSG," he said.

The German envoy pointed out that the two countries have over 25 working groups, including in areas like climate change, energy, infrastructure and tourism.

He said that like in the last IGC in 2015, there will be "series of substantial MoUs (memorandums of understanding) and joint declarations of intent" after the talks in Berlin.

One of the most important areas in which these agreements are likely to be signed, according to Ney, is business.

"The Indo-German Chamber of Commerce is the biggest German bilateral chamber outside Germany. It has more than 7,000 German and Indian member companies," he said, adding that over 1,800 German companies were doing business in India.

Since 2010, he said German companies have invested almost Rs 53,000 crore in India, including Rs 8,121 crore in last year alone.

"India is interested in German technology and knowhow and we are interested in sharing this," he said.

According to the envoy, start-up ventures will be another area that will come under discussion with both countries having "great ecosystems" for this.

Other sectors which he mentioned might come up for discussion include vocational education and training, pollution control in the face of rapid urbanisation, renewable energy, agriculture, defence production and cultural cooperation.

In terms development cooperation, he said India was Germany's largest development partner with Berlin giving around Rs 7,000 crore in development aid each year.
Kolkata, May 23 : Seething with anger, journalists protested across West Bengal on Tuesday against police "brutalities" on them while covering the march to secretariat programme of the Left parties.

Journalists brought out silent rallies, organised tool down protests and submitted deputations in Kolkata and the districts in protest against "police barbarism" and in solidarity with their injured colleagues who faced the wrath of the security forces in their line of duty.

While police have claimed only three media persons were injured, journalists on field duty on Monday have out the figure at over 20. Some of the journalists had to be taken to hospital after the "savage police attack".

In Kolkata, a large number of journalists and electronic media camerapersons participated in a silent rally from Rabindrasadan in south Kolkata to the city police headquarters Lalbazar in the central part of the metropolis.

The rallyists, many of them women, tied black clothes on their faces and carried aloft posters reading "We want justice" and "Stop attacks on journalists".

Representatives of journalists also submitted a deputation to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi seeking his intervention to stop such assaults.

Rallies were also taken out by journalists in South 24 Parganas and West Midnapore districts, while media persons in Birbhum district submitted deputation to the district authorities.

A number of journalist associations across the state have empathised with their wounded colleagues.

The injured journalists have pointed fingers at Deputy Commissioner, STF Murli Dhar Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Aparajita Rai and Assistant Commissioner Pradip Dam.

Meanwhile, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee on Tuesday expressed regret for the way journalists were beaten up by police.

"We express regret over the way journalists have been beaten up while covering a news story," Chatterjee said in the state assembly.
Vatican City, May 24 : US President Donald Trump met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday during the first face-to-face meeting of the two leaders, who symbolise starkly different views of the world.

Trump arrived for a short private audience at the Apostolic Palace along with his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The US President was greeted warmly by Francis before they sat down for the private meeting at which only a translator was present.

Trump could be heard saying it was "an honour" to be there during the meeting. At one point, the Pope jokingly asked Melania, "what she fed her husband", the Guardian reported.

The seemingly genial meeting offered no hint of the rocky start to the pair's relationship last year, when the Argentinian pontiff questioned then-candidate Trump's Christian credentials, the report said.

US Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster were among Trump's delegation to the Vatican.

After Trump's private meeting with the Pope, Melania and others were invited to join the pair in the papal library.

Melania and Ivanka wore black dresses and veils, traditional Vatican attire for women, considered respectful, though not mandatory.

After arrival, Trump was greeted by Georg GAnswein, a German archbishop and prefect of the papal household. Details of the traditional gifts exchanged by Trump and Francis have not yet been revealed, the report said.

For Trump, who landed in Rome after stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel, the audience in the Vatican caps a tour of the ancestral homes of three of the world's great monotheistic religions.

Trump and the Pope have diametrically opposite views on issues as varied as immigration, climate change and arms sales.

Trump will later meet Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. He will then fly to Brussels for a NATO summit.

Later, Ivanka is expected to visit Sant'Egidio, a Rome charity centre devoted to migrants. Melania will visit the Bambino Gesu children's hospital.

At an earlier news conference, the Pope said he wouldn't judge Trump before their meeting or seek to convert him on political issues. Instead, he'd look for areas of agreement.

The US President vowed to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace, as he ended the Middle East leg of his tour on Tuesday.

Trump had begun his foreign trip with a two-day stop in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, urging Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation. He will fly to Brussels later in the day for a NATO summit, and will wrap up his tour on Friday after the G7 summit on the Italian island of Sicily.
Mangalore, May 24 : Star Indian surfers including Ishita Malviya and Dharini Selvakumar will be seen riding the waves for the top slot in their respective categories during the second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, which gets underway at Sasihithlu beach here from Friday.

Besides Malviya and Selvakumar, the other big Indian names in the premier competition include Sinchana Gowda, Aneesha Nayak, Manikandan and Sekar Pitchai along with Tanvi Jagadish.

The Indian surfers are expected to face stiff competition in their respective categories from their Australian, US and French counterparts in the three-day event.

Tanvi is a top-ranked Stand Up Paddler and will be the surfer to look out for at the event. She had recently achieved major international glory by emerging third in the Stand Up Paddling event at the West Marine Carolina Cup in the US.

Tanvi has been the national champion in the SUP surfing and SUP racing since 2014, and the 17-year-old Mangalore girl has been making waves on international shores as well.

Ishita Malaviya is India's first professional female surfer, who began surfing in 2007 after meeting a German exchange student.

She currently runs a surf club named the Shaka Surf Club as well as a camp called Camp Namaloha in Karnataka.

The 23 year-old Manikandan has achieved quite a lot in the sport of surfing. Coming from a small fishermen family in Tamil Nadu, he took up surfing about 10 years ago.

Murthy Megavan is India's top male surfer while Dharani Selvakumar, a computer science engineering graduate, turned his hobby into a profession.

The 23-year-old Dharini was the national champion at the Indian Open of Surfing in 2016.

Though the competition will see a few international surfers like Maldivian surfer Ismail Miguel in the open category, it will be interesting to see how the Indian surfers will raise the standard of the competition.
Paris, May 24 : French President Emmanuel Macron will ask parliament to extend the state of emergency, in place since the 2015 attacks by Islamic State (IS) group, till November, the media reported on Wednesday.

The new President said in a statement that he will ask lawmakers to prolong the measure from July 15, its current expiration date, until November 1, Xinhua news agency reported.

It would be the sixth extension of the state of emergency, which gives police exceptional powers.

It comes after the Monday night suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, northern England, that left 22 persons dead.

The decision was made in a security meeting on Wednesday in which top officials "studied the implications of this new terrorist attack on measures of protection to ensure the security of our compatriots".

The statement from the Elysee presidential palace once again noted "the bonds that unite France and the UK in the fight against terrorism".

The Islamic State militant group, responsible for terror attacks in France in the past two years, was behind the deadly Manchester attack that also left 59 persons injured.

Macron asked his government to prepare draft legislation to reinforce security measures permanently beyond the state of emergency.

He also decided to create a coordination centre for services engaged in the fight against terrorism at a defence council meeting on June 7.

France has been on high alert ahead of the two-round parliamentary election on June 11 and 18.
Kolkata, May 24 : A day after journalists protested against "police barbarism" on their fraternity members during a political event here, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said a section of the media should not politicise the matter.

"I will not answer the question," Banerjee said when asked if action will be taken against police officers who beat up journalists covering the 'March to Nabanna' (state Secretariat), organised by 11 Left-aligned peasant organisations on Monday.

Referring to a Bengali daily, a visibly annoyed Trinamool Congress supremo said here: "First ask your people (journalists) to behave properly. Tell them not to do politics."

While police claimed only three media persons were injured, journalists present at the Monday event put the figure at over 20. Some journalists were taken to hospital after the incident.

A large number of city journalists and electronic media camerapersons on Tuesday participated in a silent protest march from Rabindrasadan in south Kolkata to the city police headquarters Lalbazar in central part of the metropolis.

They also submitted a memorandum to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to seek his intervention in stopping such assaults.
Patna, May 24 : Though at least seven patients have died at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) during their strike since Tuesday night, junior doctors have now threatened to extend it indefinitely if their demands are not met, officials said on Wednesday.

Protesting junior doctors have been abstaining from work for 24 hours, seeking action against police officials who cane-charged them a few days back and left some of them injured.

The PMCH is the largest medical and healthcare centre in Bihar that attracts patients mainly from rural areas of the state.

Junior doctors of the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) have also joined the protest to express solidarity with their PMCH counterparts. They have reportedly stayed away from work since Wednesday morning.

"Seven critical patients died due to lack of treatment following the strike by PMCH junior doctors on Wednesday morning, which has badly hit emergency and Out Patient Department (OPD) services," an official of the hospital said.

However, PMCH Superintendent Lakhinder Prasad said: "We have no record of death due to the ongoing strike by junior doctors but I am told that some deaths have occurred."

Prasad said that in view of the strike, senior doctors have been deployed in the emergency ward to take care of the patients. "Senior doctors are treating the patients in emergency."

Another PMCH official, Dr Abhijeet Kumar, said that nearly 50 additional senior doctors have been asked to join duty in the emergency ward.

Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, on being asked by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to intervene, held an emergency meeting with officials of his department and told them to ease the situation at the earliest.

Over 500 striking doctors have left hundreds of patients unattended since early Wednesday morning, despite a large number of them being referral cases by local doctors from across the state requiring urgent attention.

"There is a panic-like situation among the kin of patients, particularly of those whose wards are lying in serious condition in the emergency ward and the ones operated upon in different wards, as junior doctors are not attending on them," a PMCH official said.

Junior doctors are adamant they would not resume work unless action is taken against the police officials who lathicharged them during a counselling session for the post-graduate admission last Monday.

Unruly behaviour during the counselling session had prompted the action, the police said.

The striking doctors have also demanded withdrawal of FIRs filed against innocent medical students.

Meanwhile, hundreds of patients, mostly poor, who arrived at the hospital from across the state, were worried as no medical facilities were being provided to them.

"We are the real victims of the strike, because there is no doctor to attend on our patients," said Mahesh Kushwaha of Vaishali district, who came here two days ago for his wife's treatment.

In the absence of treatment, most patients have been forced to shift to private nursing homes.

Satender Yadav, a parent worried over his son's health, said: "There is no doctor to attend on the patients."

"Those who can't afford treatment outside have been left in the lurch," an official said.

"Medical services brokers have become active and are taking advantage of the situation," a patient's relative at the PMCH said. "They are luring the families of critical patients to shift to private hospitals, clinics and nursing homes."
London, May 24 : Three more men were arrested in the city on Wednesday as British authorities continued to conduct "extensive" searches while investigating the "network" behind the attack carried out by British-born Salman Abedi.

"It is very clear that it is a network we are investigating," Manchester police said.

Abedi killed 22 persons and injured 64 when he blew himself up outside an Ariana Grande concert. He was born in Manchester to parents of Libyan descent and had ties to Al Qaeda, BBC reported.

Interior minister Amber Rudd told the press earlier in the day that it was likely that Abedi was not working alone and that he was up to a point known to British secret services.

Abedi's 23-year-old brother was arrested on Tuesday in a raid. Reports said that Abedi returned from a visit to Libya just days before carrying out the Manchester attack and may have travelled to terrorist strongholds in Syria.

The country's terror threat level was raised to its highest "critical" level, meaning more attacks may be imminent. Under the order, armed military personnel replaced police guarding "key sites". Nearly 1,000 soldiers were deployed on Britain's streets to support police.

Abedi had a sister and two brothers. Abedi's mother and father were now believed to be back in Libya. His family lived at more than one address in the city, including a property at Elsmore Road in the Fallowfield area that was raided by police.

Abedi was identified by a bank card found in his pocket at the scene of the explosion.

The 22-year-old was known to security services as an associate of IS recruiter Raphael Hostey, also from Manchester, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.

Amid ongoing investigations and raids, the Palace of Westminster was closed to the public following police advice, and will not re-open until further notice, a statement on its website said.

The Changing the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace was cancelled to allow for the redeployment of police officers, the Ministry of Defence said.

German chancellor Angela Merkel signed a book of condolence for the victims of the Manchester attack at the British Embassy in Berlin.

A Polish couple from York was among 12 victims identified and the injured in the attack were being treated at eight Greater Manchester hospitals. Of those, 20 were in a critical condition.

The Manchester attack came two months after the Westminster attack.
Mumbai, May 24 : With a gory note etched in blood saying "M Tired of her, Catch and Hang me", the body of Dipali, the wife of Inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore of Khar Police Station who probed the sensational Sheena Bora murder case was found at their home here on Wednesday, police said.

Their 20-year old son, Siddhanth is missing since Tuesday night and is now the prime suspect in the case which has sent ripples of shockwaves in the Mumbai police force.

According to officials, Dipali, 41, was found lying in a pool of blood by her husband at their Santacruz home when he returned home on early on Wednesday after night duty.

"Around 3.30 am, when Ganore returned home from work, he tried to open the door but failed, and his wife' phone was unreachable. Somehow he managed to open the door and saw Dipali lying there in a pool of blood," Senior Inspector Mahadev Wavale of Vakola Police Station told media persons.

Police have recovered the murder weapon, a kitchen knife, from the premises and the "note" written in blood, but the son was not present at home.

Ganore immediately informed the police control which sent a team and now Vakola police are making attempts to trace Siddhanth whose phone is switched off.

They are also scanning the CCTV footage of the building to establish his movements.

Dipali's last rites will be performed in Nashik after the autopsy and other formalities are completed, said an official.

Ganore was a member of the crack team headed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria which probed the sensational Sheena Bora murder before it was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In August 2015, the team had arrested the victim's mother Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and ex-driver Shyamwar Rai - who later turned approver and was pardoned - followed by the arrest of former media tycoon Peter Mukerjea in November 2015.
Vatican City, May 24 : Pope Francis held a private meeting with US President Donald Trump at the Vatican on Wednesday, which covered international affairs, interfaith dialogue, healthcare and assistance to immigrants, the Vatican said in a statement.

The two leaders had an "exchange of views" on several unspecified international issues, and spoke of the need to continue good bilateral relations, the statement said.

They shared a commitment to "life, and freedom of worship and conscience" and expressed hope that they can collaborate "in service to the people in the fields of healthcare, education and assistance to migrants".

The "cordial discussions" included the need for political negotiation to resolve conflicts and build peace in the world, interreligious dialogue, especially in the Middle East, and the protection of Christian communities, the Vatican stated.

Pope Francis, one of Trump's most high-profile critics, did not smile as he greeted a beaming Trump outside the study. Trump, seeming subdued, said "it is a great honour" before heading into the potentially awkward audience.

Trump, who arrived at the Vatican with a convoy of at least 50 cars amid a security lockdown, was accompanied to the audience by his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, wearing black dresses and veils, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

After their meeting, the leaders exchanged gifts. Trump gave the Pope a boxed set of writings by civil rights leader Martin Luther King, while Francis gifted Trump a signed copy of a message he delivered for World Peace Day, along with some of his writings about the need to protect the environment. "Well, I'll be reading them," Trump told him.

Following their private meeting, Trump expressed gratitude.

"Thank you," he said, shaking hands with the pontiff. "Thank you. I won't forget what you said."

Trump later called the meeting "great" and "fantastic".

"He is something," Trump said of the Pope. "We're liking Italy very, very much."

Later, moments before taking off for Brussels for NATO Summit, Trump tweeted: "Honour of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world."

Trump also met the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and its Secretary for relations with states, Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis and Trump, who have expressed radically different views on climate change, migration, capitalism and relations with Islam, had a public spat last year during the US presidential campaign, when Francis called Trump's plan to build a wall along the border with Mexico "unchristian".

Trump retorted that it was "disgraceful" of the Pope to doubt his religious faith.

Pope Francis said last week he would be "sincere" with Trump but did not want to judge him before listening to him in person.

Trump was also due to tour the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica with Melania, a Catholic during his Vatican visit. Melania was then slated to visit the Vatican-owned Bambin Gesu pediatric hospital, while Ivanka and her husband took part in a roundtable on human trafficking at the Community of St Egidio Catholic charity.

The US President was later scheduled to meet Italy's head of state Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni before flying to Brussels to attend a NATO summit there on Thursday.

Trump will then return to Italy to attend the G7 summit in Taormina on the island of Sicily on Friday, the last leg of his first overseas trip as US president.

The four-nation tour, aimed at uniting Muslim, Jewish and Catholic leaders in the fight against Islamist terrorism, has included stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Ankara, May 25 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO allies should show more solidarity in the global counter-terror fight.

"Terrorism is not the problem of a single country, but a problem of entire world. Global problems can only be solved through global cooperation," Erdogan addressed a press conference here on Wednesday before his departure to Brussels for the NATO summit.

Erdogan noted that terrorism is the biggest threaten to both national and international security, and the recent terror attacks in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Paris and Manchester showed the terrorism has become a global problem, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also complained that some countries "are still making distinctions between terror groups," distinguishing "my terrorist, your terrorist".

"Solidarity is the only antidote for terror," Erdogan said. "Instant sharing intelligence is obligatory and NATO should be more active and give more support to allied countries."

Turkish government and Western countries have different opinions on the identification of some terrorism organization.

For instance, Turkey accuses Gulen movement group of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt. However, the German government on May 11 accepted asylum application of some former military personnel affiliated with the Gulen Movement, and the US has refused to extradite preacher Fethullah Gulen from Pennsylvania back to Turkey until now.

Turkey also regards the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), deemed a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and the European Union. But Washington sees the YPG distinct from the PKK and as a valuable partner in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.
Paris, May 25 : French anti-terrorism units arrested two women in northern France on alledged suspicions of planning terrorist plot, local media reported.

The two women in their 20s, who were "ready to take action", were arrested earlier on Wednesday in northern cities of Lille and Haubourdin, state-run France 3 Hauts-de-France television reported.

The two suspects have been on police radar a week ago after they used social media to have frequent contacts with Syria, the report said, citing a source close to the investigation.

The two women who reportedly gloated over Manchester bombing that killed 22 people, were placed into custody, according to the report.

Paris prosecutor's office has opened a terrorism probe on charges of criminal terrorist association, Xinhua news agency reported.

After a defence council held earlier on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said seeking to prolong emergency security rules for three months more until November 1 as part of the government's plan to tackle terrorism forces operating on French soil.

Macron also decided to create a coordination center for services engaged in the fight against terrorism at a defence council on June 7.

"The terrorist threat carried by Islamic State remains at a very high level in France," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned after the security meeting at the Elysee Palace.

"The threat is based on the IS incitement of its affiliates living in each country to commit isolated actions and on the infiltration into France or Europe of operational individuals to form terrorist cells," he told reporters.
Washington, May 25 : Senate Democrats have urged US President Donald Trump to remain a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. The White House has said that the President is yet to make up his mind.

During a press conference on Wednesday, the White House said Trump was still deciding even as 40 Senate Democrats signed and sent a letter to him to not back out of the international climate change pact.

This was in anticipation of the Group of Seven (G7) conference in Sicily this week, which would be Trump's first appearance at an international summit, CBSNews reported.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that the Trump administration was "leaning towards withdrawing the US from the pact.

The group of Senate Democrats also said that the US participation in the climate pact was key to American competition and leadership on the international stage, especially with regard to China.

"Imagine that: Donald Trump, who campaigned repeatedly that China was eating our lunch and taking our jobs, is willing to cede both economic and moral ground to China," Schumer added.

The climate agreement was signed in 2016, during Barack Obama's presidency at the COP21 conference in Paris, where nations committed to slowing the effects of climate change through cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier in May, Trump delayed a meeting on the Paris Climate Agreement, citing "scheduling conflicts" for the postponement.

The White House has said the President will announce the US' position on the agreement after the G7 conference, the CBSNews report said.

If the Trump administration were to pull out of the pact, the US would join just two other nations --Syria and Nicaragua -- that have not signed the agreement.

Critics of the Paris Climate Agreement argue that the promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent was too steep of a promise and may jeopardize the US economy.

These critics argue that the US should either back out of the agreement or go to the Senate for a vote. If the agreement did reach the Republican-controlled Senate for ratification, it would likely fail, the CBSNews report said.
Washington, May 25 : A US Navy destroyer has sailed close to a disputed South China Sea island controlled by China for the first time after President Donald Trump took office, an official said.

The USS Dewey sailed within 20 km of Mischief Reef (a man-made Chinese island), in the Spratly Island chain, on Wednesday, in a "freedom of navigation operation," according to a US official.

While he didn't confirm details of this particular operation, Pentagon Spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis told CNN: "We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea."

"We operate in accordance with international law. We fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," he added.

China has previously described such operations as a serious breach of law and an intentional provocation.

The Pentagon said such operations were "not about any one country, or any one body of water", the CNN reported.

The US regularly undertook freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea under former US President Barack Obama.

However, there were suggestions that the Trump administration was putting them off to avoid antagonising China.

China claims ownership of the vast majority of the South China Sea, including the Paracel and Spratly island chains, a claim disputed by numerous other countries including the Philippines and Vietnam.

Earlier in 2017, the US military had requested permission to perform a freedom of navigation operation but it was turned down by the Pentagon, as part of an effort to ease US-China relations, a US defence official told CNN.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 25 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said he will take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of kidnapped Kerala Catholic priest Tom Uzhunnallil, who is at an undisclosed location in Yemen.

Vijayan was replying in the Kerala Assembly to a motion moved by former State Finance Minister K.M. Mani, who accused the state government of doing nothing to bring back the kidnapped priest.

An angry Mani said: "The state government has a responsibility in the matter. There is no use in just writing letters to the union government. The need of the hour is action from the Centre.

"The hapless priest himself was seen in a video footage saying that he is being kept as a hostage because he is an Indian. We request you (Chief Minister) to please take up the issue on a one-on-one basis with the Prime Minister," said Mani.

Senior legislator (Independent) P.C. George, backing the issue, said the only way out for his release is to pay the ransom that his abductors are demanding.

Vijayan told the House that he has written three letters to the Centre. "I will now personally take up the issue with the Prime Minister at the earliest," said Vijayan.

In March 2016 militants barged into a care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Yemen's Aden and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of whom was from India.

After the shooting, the militants abducted Uzhunnallil. Since then, besides a few videos, there has been no news of his whereabouts.

Indian officials have said the priest has been in the custody of the Islamic State terrorist group in Yemen, but despite efforts at various levels he is yet to be released.

Uzhunnallil's ancestral home in Ramapuram in Kottayam district is presently closed as two of his brothers live abroad, while another lives in Gujarat.
Islamabad, May 25 : Pakistan on Thursday condemned the Indian Army chief's Commendation Card to an officer involved in tying up a Kashmiri man to a jeep as human shield.

"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told media during the weekly briefing.

The Commendation Card for Major Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was given for his "sustained efforts" in counter-insurgency operations, the Indian Army had said.

Zakaria said that it was not the first time that the Indian forces have displayed such "cowardice and inhumanity".

Accusing the Indian forces of being involved in acts of "grave violence against civilians", Zakaria also urged the international community, particularly the UN, to take cognizance of the act.

A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-poll held amid violence, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, tied to an Indian Army jeep's bonnet in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, to ward off stone pelters. The Jammu and Kashmir police have filed a case against Gogoi, which is still on.
Berlin, May 25 : A group of German lawmakers have called off a visit to Turkey due to the pressure exerted by Turkish authorities, Bundestag's Vice President Claudia Roth has said.

The delegation of four parliamentarians, headed by Roth, intended to visit Turkey this week to hold talks with Turkish officials, but cancelled the visit on Wednesday after Ankara refused the delegation's request of meeting with Turkish officials and access to the parliament building, Xinhua news agency quoted Roth as saying here.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) we were informed that it was currently not considered opportune for Turkey's highest level to hold political talks with the German parliamentary side in Turkey," Roth said, describing the situation as "political provocation".

The cancellation adds to a list of issues since last week that has increased the diplomatic tensions between the two NATO members.

Last Monday, Turkey refused the visit by another group of German lawmakers to Turkey's Incirlik air base, where over 200 German troops were stationed as part of the military coalition against the Islamic State group.

The visit, scheduled also this week, was "considered inappropriate for the time being", a Turkish diplomatic source told Xinhua.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week said that she was considering a relocation of the German Army currently based in Incirlik, adding that Jordan, one of Turkey's neighbouring countries, could be an alternative.

Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Defence Minister, was "impressed" after paying a visit to Jordan's Azraq airbase, although a final decision was yet to be taken on the transfer of the German air force deployment.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Germany was free to remove their troops from Turkey and the withdrawal would not be a problem to Ankara.

"We have not received official notice by Germany that it is going to transfer troops from the Incirlik base to Jordan," said Erdogan before leaving for Brussels to attend the NATO summit.

"But if they do so, it will not be a problem to us. If they leave, we will say 'happy journey' to them."

Meanwhile, Germany and Turkey are negotiating over this mounting diplomatic chaos to work out a resolution, German ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann said on Tuesday.

Merkel and Erdogan have both confirmed presence at the NATO summit, where the German Chancellor intends to meet her Turkish counterpart.

Relations have worsened between Germany and Turkey since last year, when Germany granted asylum petitions to those who allegedly participated in the failed coup attempt in Turkey last July, and the German parliament agreed to define the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as "genocide".

The Incirlik airbase is one of NATO's crucial military bases in the Middle East.

The NATO aircraft, used in air strikes against the IS, are deployed at the base.

According to the agreement between Berlin and Ankara, German jets and hundreds of personnel will be stationed at the base until the end of 2017.
New Delhi, May 25 : India on Thursday sought from Pakistan consular access to Sheikh Nabi, a Mumbai resident arrested in Islamabad for not possessing travel documents, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday.

"We have contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the matter of Sheikh Nabi and sought facts of the case. We have also sought consular access and are awaiting their response," said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay.

Nabi was arrested on May 19 and booked under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Kolkata, May 25 : A large number of BJP workers and policemen were injured and a police vehicle was torched as BJP workers, protesting against the law and order situation in the state and alleged fake cases lodged against party workers, clashed with security personnel here on Thursday.

The affected parts of central Kolkata resembled a war zone, with security forces using water canons, batons and lobbing teargas shells on the activists, who also hurled bricks during their protest march.

BJP national General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, party's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh, Rajya Sabha MP Rupa Ganguly and former Kolkata Deputy Mayor Meena Devi Purohit were among those arrested after party workers led by them broke barricades in their bid to march to the city police headquarters in Lalbazar.

Actress-turned-politician Ganguly fell ill after scuffling and jostling with the police personnel who faced a torrid time reining in the rampaging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers.

Another actress-turned-political activist Locket Chatterjee had to be taken to the Kolkata Medical College for treatment after her arrest.

A police vehicle was torched and another government vehicle damaged on B.B. Ganguly Street close to Lalbazar. A number of police personnel also sustained injuries from the stone-missiles hurled at them.

The situation got heated up after the BJP activists assembled close to the Tea Board of India office on Brabourne Road and allegedly hurled a bomb which injured a policeman. However, the party's national Secretary Rahul Sinha denied it.

"Police are trying to mislead everybody by claiming that bombs were hurled, while actually it was only the sound of teargas shells lobbed by the police," said an injured Sinha, who was also arrested.

In a bid to keep the situation under control and disperse the mob, police resorted to baton charge and used water cannons on the BJP workers at Bentinck Street and Phears Lane.

Near Bentinck Street, a number of BJP activists lay wounded after a round of baton charge. A couple of women activists were seen resting beside the police guard rail with head injuries.

After being driven away by the police and Rapid Action Force personnel from Central Avenue, some BJP activists took shelter inside the Central Metro Station and pelted stones from there. They were detained later.

Shouting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Jai Sri Ram' and 'Vande Mataram', the BJP supporters assembled in large numbers at three points -- Dharmatala Y Channel in central Kolkata, Howrah station and College Square in the northern part of the city, where rallies began around 1 p.m.

Ghosh, who led a large procession from Howrah, was arrested from Brabourne Road.

However, even before the march formally started, around 20 BJP workers surprised police personnel by suddenly arriving in a private bus near Lalbazar that was turned into a fortress since morning. They were immediately taken into custody. Later in the day, the BJP supporters made more attempts to storm the police headquarters and reached its vicinity, only to be arrested.

BJP state Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had lost control of the state administration and claimed that the government was actually being run by police.

"Banerjee has no control over law and order. Some senior police and IAS officers are running this government and Mamata is sitting at the helm without any power," Majumdar said.

Barricades, guard rails and iron scaffolding were set up and around 2,000 heavily armed personnel, including combat forces, Rapid Action Force and commandos, deployed to check any untoward incident. Drones kept a tab on the movement of protestors.

Thursday's protest came only three days after the Left peasant unions' 'March to Nabanna' (state secretariat) that left nearly 200 people -- protesters and police -- injured.
New Delhi, May 25 : Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday ruled out any talks with the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, at least for now.

"In this current atmosphere of violence, we will not hold talks with separatists who are instigating violence. Not for now," he told TimesNow news channel.

Jaitley said the government will definitely talk to the people of Kashmir and would like to address their grievances.

Asked if this included Hurriyat, he said, "I am not saying that."

Jaitley also said the NDA government would neither compromise with separatists nor with terrorists.

"As per as my views are concerned or of the government we will not compromise with the separatists. We will not compromise with terrorists. But as far as the average people of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned we want them to be on our side because they are also suffering from terrorism and violence," Jaitley said.

"They must realise that their day-to-day life is disrupted by these kinds of elements," he said.

Jaitley also defended Indian Army's Major Leetul Gogoi, who was involved in tying up a Kashmiri man to an army jeep in Budgam as a shield against stone pelters. Gogoi has been awarded the Army Chief's Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter insurgency operations.

"To deal with a situation of this kind (stone pelting), subsequent political or media reactions can't determine the military strategy. That has to be decided by the officer on the spot. If we are going to cripple our military officers in deciding as to what kind of strategy they must adopt at a given moment then I think we are playing with national security," Jaitley said.

A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-polls held amid violent incidents, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, being tied to the bonnet of an army jeep in Badgam of Jammu and Kashmir to ward off stone pelters.

The video went viral on social media and created an uproar. An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the security forces.

On April 15, the Army constituted a court of inquiry in the incident, and its final report is pending.

Defending Gogoi, Jaitley said the officer had the responsibility to save the lives of Election Commission officials and Indo-Tibetan Border Police officials as well as the crowd that had gathered.

"Now this officer uses his common sense at that stage and he manages to escape. How should a military officer deal with a situation of this kind? It was his duty to rescue the Election Commission officials and the ITBP," Jaitley said.

"Should he have fired at the crowd? Was that a preferred option? Should he have created a stampede? Was that a preferred option? He used his discretion in the larger national interest in order to defuse the situation without causing any loss of life and property," he said.

"I don't think the officer really can be faulted for that. The other options would have been far worse," he added.
Kota (Rajasthan), May 25 : The Rajasthan government signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth over Rs 955 crore at the Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) here on Thursday.

The 21 MoUs, signed in the presence of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, are expected to provide direct employment to 9,488 people and indirect employment to 17,850 people, according to the state government.

After the signing of the MoUs, Raje said implementation on the ground of the proposed projects was more important than the value.

Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said that out of the 38 MoUs signed at Jaipur GRAM in November last year, 25 were already being implemented and many were already showing results.

Raje said while the government expected around 30,000 farmers to visit the GRAM meet over the three days, the footfall had already exceeded expectations on its second day.

"This shows that our farmers want to embrace the modern technology. Our biggest takeaway from this meet is the enthusiastic participation of the farmers," she said.

The Chief Minister added that while people thought of Rajasthan as a desert region and that farmers had little scope to thrive here, "there are different climate zones here".

"The intention is to utilise all these zones to their full potential," she said.

The proposed projects include those for agro-processing industries, agri-cluster including cold chain, and animal husbandry.

These would be set up at various locations in the state, including Udaipur, Kota, Bundi, Bikaner, Baran, Jaipur, Sikar, Banswara and Dholpur.

The three-day GRAM meet, being jointly organised by the Rajasthan government and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), concludes on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi, May 25 : Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE's Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, met on Thursday to discuss ways of strengthening national security and stability.

Both leaders in the meeting highlighted the important role of the nation's youth in development, growth and nation-building. They also discussed ways to make citizens and the community happier in various spheres using all capabilities.

The leaders also emphasised on the importance of supporting and incentivising the youth and provide opportunities to encourage their innovation and creativity.

Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan were among those who attended the meeting.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 25 : Rajya Sabha MP and Congress working committee member A K Antony has once again broached the possibility of a coalition of the Congress, Left and other like-minded secular parties to counter the communal politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking to Manorama News channel on Thursday, the Congress veteran lamented that the CPI(M) Kerala unit was the stumbling block for a broader national-level alliance between the Congress and the Left parties to take on the BJP at the centre.

Insinuating that the CPI(M) central leadership is inclined to forge a tie-up with the Congress party at the national level, Antony told the channel that the CPI(M) Kerala unit would have to eventually toe the line of their central leadership and accede to an alliance with the Congress.

Now that the CPI(M) Bengal leadership had weakened, the Kerala unit leaders were calling the shots at the centre and they were proving to be the sole obstacle to a Congress-Left alliance, he said.

To buttress his point that it was possible for two parties to join hands at the national level against a common rival even as differences persist at the state-level, Antony cited the co-operation between the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M).

Antony also told the news channel that the opposition parties at the centre would field a common candidate for the presidential election.

However, CPI(M) Kerala unit secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan termed Antonys call for a Congress-Left alliance as a daydream of the latter.

Coming down on the Congress party, Kodiyeri said that it was the ten-year governance of the Congress-led UPA alliance at the centre that paved the way for the BJP to storm to power on its own.

Forging an alliance with the Congress that helped BJP to ascend to power at the centre would prove counter-productive to the CPI(M), he said.

Stating that Congress was not a trustworthy ally to take on the BJP, the CPI(M) leader pointed to the recent trend of a steady stream of senior Congress leaders switching over to the BJP.

Kodiyeri, however, pledged the partys support should the opposition parties field a common candidate in the presidential election against the BJPs candidate.
Guwahati, May 25 : Mountainous terrain and thick forest cover were posing a challenge to several teams, including airborne, searching for the Indian Air Force's missing Sukhoi-30 fighter jet on Thursday, two days after it disappeared with two pilots close to the China border.

The Indian Air Force said the weather was "marginally better" on Thursday, and a C-130 aircraft with electro-optical payload and ALH helicopters of IAF are being utilised for the search mission.

However, the terrain and thick forest cover are posing a challenge in the search operations.

"Today the weather was marginally better as a result more air effort could be put in. However, the terrain and thick foliage of the search area is a challenge to the ongoing operations," IAF said in a statement.

"Apart from the aerial assets, more personnel were added to the existing four ground parties of IAF personnel, nine parties of the Indian Army and two parties of the State Administration which are already deployed to search the area," the statement said.

There has been no breakthrough so far.

The Su-30 jet with two pilots on board took off from the IAF Tezpur air base, located about 172 km from the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh around 9.30 a.m. on a routine training mission on May 23.

It lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station around 11.10 a.m. near Arunachal Pradesh's Doulasang area, an area adjoining China, 60 km north of Tezpur.

Tezpur is one of the three IAF air bases in the country that host the Sukhois.

Last year, a Sukhoi-30MKI crashed near Nagaon town of Assam during a routine sortie. While the two pilots ejected safely, some locals suffered splinter injuries in the crash.
New Delhi, May 25 : Trade, Investment, civil nuclear cooperation, and defence cooperation are among a range of issues on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda when he goes on a six-day four-nation tour next week, senior officials here said on Thursday.

He will visit Germany for the biannual Inter-Governmental consultations, Spain in what will be an Indian Prime Minister's first visit in nearly 30 years, Russia for the annual bilateral summit, and France where he will have his first meeting with newly elected President Emmanuel Macron.

Modi will leave for Germany on May 29 where he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will head the fourth biannual Inter-Governmental consultations the following day in Berlin.

Addressing the media here, Randhir Jaiswal, Joint Secretary (Europe West) in the External Affairs Ministry, said that India and Germany shared a strategic partnership that went back to 2000 and the two countries also enjoyed "very strong" economic relations.

"Several MoUs (memorandums of understading) are expected to be signed, which will broaden the scope and canvas of the bilateral relations that we have with Germany," Jaiswal said.

"It (Germany) is the largest trade partner for India in the European Union. It is also one of the leading sources of foreign direct investment into India."

There are more than 1,600 German companies doing business in India besides 600 joint ventures.

Jaiswal said that following the IGC on May 30, Modi will participate in an Indo-German business summit.

"German economic profile, support, excellence, expertise match with our development priorities, be it Make in India, Skill India, Clean India, Digital India, Smart cities and so on and so forth," he said.

He said cooperation in the area of skill development forms an important cornerstone of India's engagement with Germany.

"We have initiated cooperation on the skills side and we want to take it further. We look forward to deepening this particular aspect of bilateral cooperation during the bilateral visit."

Development cooperation, science and technology partnership, and education will be other areas in the talks between the two sides.

On global cooperation, Jaiswal said India and Germany work together on a number of issues, including the fight against terrorism and expansion of the UN Security Council.

After a meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Modi will leave for Spain on May 30 in what will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to that country since the visit of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988.

On May 31, the Prime Minister will hold a bilateral summit with Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy.

Modi will also call on Spanish King Felipe VI and interact with a select group of Spanish CEOs who are keen to invest and xpand their businesses in India. There are around 200 Spanish companies operating in India.

Stating that economic partnership formed an important pillar of the bilateral relationship, Jaiswal said: "You might know about Spain's reputation in the fields of renewable energy, high speed rail, infrastructure, tunneling, technology solutions including civil aviation air space management, and waste water management."

He said India looked forward to engaging Spain in its national priority programmes.

"We will also be discussing global issues of common concern," he said. "Cooperation in counter-terrorism will be an element of that agenda."

From Spain, Modi will travel to Russia on May 31 and hold the 18th annual bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 1 in St. Petersburg.

The following day, the Prime Minister will for the first time attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a business event.

G.V. Srinivas, Joint Secretary (Eurasia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said Modi's participation in SPIEF signals that there will be emphasis on trade and investment during the Russian leg of the tour.

Stating that while India-Russia cooperation in the areas of defence, nuclear and space was "very, very ahead", Srinivas said that bilateral trade has, however, come down for a variety of reasons from $10 billion to around $7 billion now.

Though the target of Russian investments in India of $30 billion by 2025 has almost been reached, he said, "In the trade area we need to do a lot. A couple of ideas are on the table that need to be pursued."

Science and technology cooperation and people-to-people contacts are also areas that will come for discussion during Modi-Putin meeting, according to Srinivas.

From Russia, Modi will fly to Paris on June 2 evening and hold a bilateral meeting with French President Macron the next day.

Stating that France was a leading strategic partner of India, Jaiswal said that the two countries have very strong cooperation in the areas of space, civil nuclear, defence, and economy.

He also said that during the France, Germany and Spain legs of the tour, the ongoing discussions between the European Union and India on a free trade agreement would also figure prominently.
New Delhi, May 25 : A 62-year-old woman was on Thursday killed by her son, an operator with MTNL, after a fight over a trivial issue in west Delhi, police said.

The incident came to light at around 10.30 a.m when the accused, identified as Rajiv Sharma, 42, informed the police about the crime.

"When the police teams reached Sharma's residence in Raj Nagar Part-II, they found his mother, Premlata Sharma lying dead in a pool of blood. We have recovered the knife which was used by Sharma for stabbing his mother," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Surender Kumar told IANS.

Sharma is married and works as an operator with MTNL, Kumar said.

"On interrogation, Sharma said he would have altercations with his mother over petty issues often. He in frustration killed her over an altercation on a minor issue. He also said his mother believed in black magic which she practiced some times. He had objected to that several times," Kumar added.

Police arrested Sharma from his residence.
New Delhi, May 25 : In a scathing attack, the Congress on Thursday said the Modi government's three years in office were full of "distractions, propaganda, falsification of facts, intolerance, and betrayal" and demanded a White Paper on the economy.

The Congress said it will launch a nationwide campaign to inform people on how the union government will spend Rs 1,500 crore to mislead them about its performance through false publicity.

"It is a struggling and gasping economy. Firstly, on the Gross Domestic Product numbers, they changed the old methodology and thus there is a difference of two per cent. There is no economic growth. It is a flat growth," Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma told media while dwelling on "the failure of three years of BJP government at the Centre".

"We demand, and we challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley -- as they celebrate the looting of the treasury to build a personality cult around one man -- to publish tomorrow (Friday) GDP numbers for the last 10 years, both as per the old and the new methodologies."

Sharma said it will help reveal the truth and show what the government is saying is false.

Taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party on its 2014 poll promise of generating two crore jobs every year if it came to power at the Centre, the Congress leader said the government should also make public the names, addresses and vocations of Indians who have been provided jobs in the three years of the National Democratic Alliance government.

Sharma said the government was embarking on a propaganda and publicity blitz -- a hallmark of the Modi government.

"Three years of this government is also marked by insults to political opponents, insulting all predecessors, questioning the wisdom of intellectuals, false claims, and betrayal," the Congress leader said.

He said there are also serious concerns on the internal security of the country.

"Our security is under grave threat. Modi's Pakistan policy has been a diplomatic disaster and we have asked him to have a clear roadmap on Pakistan. But there is no roadmap," said Sharma.

"When our Prime Minister goes to other countries, or when a Prime Minister of another country comes here, he is given a Guard of Honour. But when Modi went to Lahore in December 2015, the chiefs of Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force did not offer him a Guard of Honour," Sharma said.

"He became the first Indian Prime Minister not to be given a Guard of Honour. But he is unapologetic since he is carried away by the propaganda of his party, his government and the ministers, most of whom are rubber stamps and have nothing much to do," the Congress leader added.

Sharma said there is a fall of at least 8 percentage points in national investment rate. "How can an economy grow? Despite tall claims on financial inclusion and Jan-Dhan Yojana, savings rate has fallen by 2 percentage points in three years," he said.

He said bank credit off-take is also in the negative. "It has continuously been declining. It has fallen by 7 percentage points. Gross capital formation has gone down for the first time below zero and it was minus 3 per cent last year."

The Congress leader said: "Manufacturing of numbers and falsification of facts is not going to work anymore. Truth cannot be altered; it will triumph."
New Delhi, May 25 : Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will arrive here on Friday on a three-day state visit to India, it was announced on Thursday.

"This will be his (Jugnauth's) first visit abroad since he assumed office in January this year," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in his weekly media briefing here.

On Saturday, Jugnauth will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari and hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will also call on the visiting dignitary, who is a person of Indian origin.

He will also address a business event organised by industry lobbies CII, Ficci and Assocham on Friday.

"India and Mauritius have indelible linkages of history, ethnicity, culture and language which have shaped the unique between the two countries over the years," Baglay said.

He said that the diverse and multi-faceted bilateral ties gained significant momentum following Modi's "momentous visit" to Mauritius in March 2015.

"Prime Minister Jugnauth's forthcoming visit to India is a part of our continuous engagement with the government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects the special ties between our two countries," the spokesperson said.

During his visit, Jugnauth will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Collendavelloo, and the cabinet and finance secretaries.
New Delhi, May 25 : Asking the media to practise "good journalism", President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that the Press will be failing in its duty if does not ask questions to those in power.

Delivering the second Ramnath Goenka Lecture here, the President said the media should not take the path of least resistance, as it allows the dominant viewpoint to prevail on an issue.

He talked about the challenges and opportunities provided by social media and its impact on the traditional media.

Mukherjee said the media is considered the fourth pillar of democracy, as it seeks to hold the three other pillars -- executive, legislature and judiciary -- accountable and shapes public opinion.

He said that media has the responsibility of ensuring accountability and credibility of information it puts out, and asking questions to those in power is fundamental to democracy.

"Press will be failing in its duty if it does not pose questions to powers that be," he said.

Mukherjee, whose term ends in about two months, said that social media has enabled the powerless to come out of their "imposed silence" but also resulted in cacophony with so many people speaking out.

He said "good journalism" sifts and interprets the data and separates facts from what is described as "fake news".

"It ensures accuracy so that public can be better informed," he said, adding that facts must never be sacrificed.

The President said India's civilisation has always celebrated plurality.
Mumbai, May 25 : The Rajasthan Police on Thursday detained Siddhant D. Ganore, the prime suspect in the killing of his mother Dipali, the wife of a Mumbai policeman who was one of the Sheena Bora murder investigators, at their Santacruz home on Wednesday, an official said here.

"We had a tip-off that the boy had left for Jaipur and we sent a police team to apprehend him. In Jaipur, we learnt that he had left for Jodhpur, some 340 km away, and was staying in Hotel Dhoom there," said a Mumbai Police spokesperson.

Accordingly, the Mumbai team sent pictures of the suspect and requested Jodhpur police to detain him till they reached there.

The Jodhpur police swooped on the hotel early on Thursday and took Siddhant into custody where he has reportedly confessed to killing his mother, but Mumbai Police declined any comment.

According to his preliminary statement to Jodhpur police, Siddhant was irritated by frequent quarrels between his parents and apparently got enraged after his mother refused to give him some pocket money.

A sum of Rs 200,000 was also reported missing from the house after Siddhant disappeared from the scene of crime.

According to the autopsy report, Dipali, 41, was killed between 8-9 p.m on Tuesday night and her body discovered around 3.30 a.m on Wednesday by her husband, Inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore of Khar police station, when he returned home.

Beside the body, a gory note was etched in her blood saying "Tired of her. Catch and Hang me" and a smiley was drawn below it.

Siddhant, 20, went missing since Tuesday night and his phone was also switched off, but police managed to track him down to Jodhpur.

He is likely to be placed under arrest there and later brought to Mumbai on a transit remand to face charges.

Police have already recovered the murder weapon, a kitchen knife, from their Santacruz flat.

After the autopsy, Dipali's body has been taken to Nashik for the last rites on Thursday, an official said.

Ganore was a member of the crack team headed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria which probed the sensational Sheena Bora murder before it was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In August 2015, the team had arrested the victim's mother Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and former driver Shyamwar Rai -- who later turned an approver and was pardoned by a court -- followed by the arrest of former media tycoon Peter Mukerjea in November 2015.
New Delhi, May 25 : South Delhi's notorious gangster Ravi Gangwal, involved in over a dozen cases of murder, attempt to murder, and assault, has been arrested with his two accomplices, the city police said on Thursday.

A pistol made in Turkey, eight cartridges and two knives were seized from Gangwal's possession, the police said.

Gangwal, 30, Sunny, 32, and Nakul, 31, were arrested late Wednesday night when they were sitting in an SUV near Iskcon temple in south Delhi.

"During night patrol, the police came across a Scorpio SUV parked near the Iskcon temple. When police asked its occupants to come out, they tried to speed away. Police chased and intercepted them in Garhi village," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said.

He said Gangwal brandished a pistol and threatened to open fire on the police but was overpowered along with his accomplices.

The police officer said Gangwal was waiting for the release of Deepak Pandit of a rival gang from Tihar jail to ensure his dominance in south Delhi's Ambedkar Nagar area.

Gangwal was currently out on bail in the case of murder of Banno in 2014 over her property in Devli area.
New Delhi, May 25 : The Congress on Thursday questioned the release of a video of the Indian Army action against Pakistan military posts across the Line of Control, saying that the party "does not want the truth to be lost in the release of videos by both sides".

It, however, clarified that the party never questioned the authenticity of the Indian Army action across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress demanded a coherent policy on the Kashmir issue and a policy on strengthening national security.

"Has India released films/videos in the past on the Army action? Secondly, the fact is that there is an escalation in attacks from across the border and we are losing more soldiers," Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said.

"The truth must come out why we have lost 538 soldiers. The truth must come out how come there have been beheadings (of Indian soldiers). Truth must come out on the failures of the Narendra Modi government," he added.

"Now when questions are being asked, this government must reveal its plan as to how it proposes to address the grave challenge. The Army will continue to do its duty to defend India and its territorial integrity... the Army belongs to the people of India. So, we are proud of that," he added.

Sharma questioned what the government is doing? "Does this government have a concerted, strategic policy? That is why questions will be asked."

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take leaders of the opposition in confidence on various issues.

"Nobody knows the details of what was discussed when the Prime Minister went to Raiwind in Pakistan. We do not know.

"It is for Modi to address this issue because it is not the Army but National Security Adviser Ajit Doval who talked to Janjua (Pakistan NSA Nasser Khan Janjua).

"It is based on this understanding that the Prime Minister went to Lahore. Those are the questions which we are raising. If there was an understanding reached, assurances were given, why are we (India) in this situation today?" Sharma asked.

There has to be a coherent policy on the Kashmir issue, a policy that can ensure stability and return of peace in the Valley, and also a policy to strengthen India's security, the Congress leader said.
New Delhi, May 25 : The central government on Thursday said the Indian automobile sector is projected to contribute 12 per cent to the country's GDP (gross domestic product) over the next decade.

This was stated by Girish Shankar, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, at the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) 'International Automotive Supply Chain Conclave 2017'.

According to Shankar, under the "Automotive Mission Plan 2016-2026", it is projected that India will become the third largest automobile manufacturers with the sector contributing 12 per cent of the GDP and creating 65 million direct and indirect jobs in the country.

He pointed out that the automobile market has "rebounded strongly after a short blip" seen in sales in the immediate aftermath of the demonetisation drive which commenced in November 2016.
Kolkata, May 25 : The BJP on Thursday complained to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi against "police excesses" during their protest march here and sought his intervention to ensure release of arrested party activists.

"We have given a detailed report to the Governor. We have appealed to him that around 180 of our leaders and activists are in lock-up at the city police headquarters Lalbazar. Charges under non-bailable sections have been slapped against some of them," said state BJP spokesman Samik Bhattacharya, who led a delegation of party leaders to the Raj Bhavan.

He said the arrested leaders had said they won't leave the lock-up unless everyone was given bail. "We requested the Governor to interevene."

The Bharatiya Janata Party delegation accused police of "ferocious" and "aggressive' attitude and denying treatment to BJP leaders Locket Chatterjee and Rahul Sinha.

Bhattacharya said: "We told the Governor that Chatterjee took ill after a tear-gas shell burst close to her. She was taken to Kolkata Medical College where she had breathing problems and was administered oxygen.

"At that moment, police official went there and said they will arrest Locket Chatterjee. Before anybody could understand anything, she was driven away in a car."

He said that Rahul Sinha was injured and rushed to a hospital. "Doctors were preparing for an x-ray when police called him out and arrested him," Bhattacharya said.

"We urged the Governor to intervene in the matter despite his constitutional limitations. He has promised to do whatever he can," he added.
New Delhi, May 25 : The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday approved Tata Group firms' acquisition of 21.63 per cent stake of NTT Docomo in Tata Teleservices.

In a tweet, the CCI said: "@CCI_India approves Tata companies' acquisition of 21.63 per cent shareholding in Tata Teleservices from NTT Docomo."

Earlier this month, Tata Sons had said that it 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 April 28, 2017, approved the consent terms between Tata Sons and Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo, which were laid down by the LCIA award.

On April 28, 2017, the Delhi High Court had 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. In April 2014, NTT Docomo had decided to sell its entire 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.
Bengaluru, May 25 : A man was arrested after about 10 kg of narcotic drug valued at Rs 2 crore in the international market was seized from him at the city airport, an official said on Thursday.

"The contraband was found in 35 schoolbags of Mujibur Rahman, who tried to smuggle it to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia onboard a Malaysian Airlines aircraft," Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sunil Kumar Sinha said in a statement here.

The airport police arrested Rahman, who flew into Bengaluru from Chennai on Wednesday night. He was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

"We intercepted the bags after Rahman checked them in with the airline," Sinha said.

He said the accused confessed during preliminary questioning that he had been smuggling such narcotics to other countries, including Malaysia and Sri Lanka, for a hefty commission.

Ephedrine is a precursor chemical used to make lethal psychotropic substances such as methamphetamine, which are banned under the NDPS Act.

Ephedrine, due to therapeutic uses in pharmaceutical industry, has been declared as a controlled substance under the NDPS Act.

Illicit trafficking/smuggling of ephedrine attracts up to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine.
Kolkata, May 25 : Angry over Speaker Biman Banerjee disallowing a no-confidence motion against the Trinamool Congress government in the West Bengal assembly, opposition Congress and Left Front on Thursday said they will boycott the remaining session.

The session will conclude on May 29.

The Congress and the LF also decided to hold a mock house session before the assembly gate.

Describing the Speaker's ruling as "unprecedented", Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan said the state government lacked the guts to face reasoned arguments of the opposition.

"It is for this reason that we have taken the decision to boycott the rest of the session," he said.

The Speaker said that six months had not passed since the earlier no-confidence motion moved against the government, and that the present session was short and there was no time to accommodate it.
Rome, May 26 : Italy's President Sergio Mattarella said terrorism poses a threat to the world that requires a "unanimous" response and Europe and Africa must cooperate to fight the scourge.

Addressing the annual Africa Day at Italy's Foreign Ministry here on Thursday, Mattarella stated: "Ethnic and religious extremism have become such a widespread challenges that they require truly unanimous responses."

"Cooperation between Africa and Italy is an essential commitment," added Mattarella, a view shared by Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano.

The greatest challenges of our times, from security to refugees and economic migrants "begin in Africa", Alfano told Africa Day 2107.

But the influx migrants to Italy in recent years did not represent a security risk, Alfano stressed.

"Our country has managed to stay safe while showing solidarity," he said.

African officials and diplomats including African Union President Mohamed Cherif Diallo and the ambassador of the Republic of the Congo, Mamadou Kamara Dekamo, were also due to address the event.
Bengaluru, May 26 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged the state-run banks and cooperatives to grant fresh loans to farmers, reeling under the impact of severe drought across the state.

"There is an urgent need to financially assist the farmers to mitigate their hardship, as 139 local bodies (sub-districts) during the 2016 kharif season and 160 local bodies for the rabi season were declared drought-hit across the state," said the Chief Minister at the State-Level Bankers' Committee meet here on Thursday.

Projecting the annual credit plan for this fiscal (2017-18) at Rs 1,60,020 crore, the Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, regretted that the targets set for a similar plan in the last two fiscals 2015-16 and 2016-17 were not achieved under the education and housing loan portfolios.

"I found the disbursement under the housing loan portfolio declined to Rs 5,916 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 9,061 crore in 2015-16," noted Siddaramaiah.

The disbursement under the education loan also declined to Rs 1,639 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 2,248 crore in 2015-16.

"Banks have achieved only 80 per cent of the target set for crop credit disbursement for 2016-17,'' recalled Siddaramah on the occasion.
Palermo, May 26 : Ahead of the G7 summit in Sicily on Friday, the UN children's organisation urged leaders of the world's wealthiest nations to address the ongoing crisis in the Mediterranean, where growing numbers of children are perishing -- more than 200 this year.

"The tragedy of children dying in the Mediterranean is a wake-up call to leaders meeting in Sicily," said UNICEF's deputy executive director Justin Forsyth. "These extremely vulnerable children need action now."

According to the latest estimates from UNICEF, at least 200 children have died while crossing from North Africa to Italy so far this year, a rate of more than one child per day.

At least 36,000 people rescued in the Mediterranean since January have been taken to Sicily, one of the main entry-points for refugees and migrants reaching Europe by sea.

This year's G7 is taking place in the Sicilian coastal resort of Taormina, and the Italian G7 presidency has made migration a priority for this year's talks.

"Sicily stands as a symbol of hope for uprooted children seeking a better life, but it is also the endpoint of an extremely dangerous journey that has claimed the lives of many children along the way," Forsyth said.

His remarks came a day after many young children and toddlers were among 34 people who drowned off the Libyan coast when a wooden boat laden with over 500 migrants listed, sending around 200 into the sea.

Over 50,000 refugees and migrants reached Italy by sea this year through May 23, a 44 per cent surge over the same period of 2016, according to the UN.
New Delhi : Damascus (IANS/AKI) A total of 11 persons from Syria's Deir Ezzor province died in air strikes believe to have been carried out by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group, a British war-monitor said.

The victims were from two families and are believed to have been killed by coalition warplanes that took off from neighbouring Iraq, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Thursday.

Those killed in the air raids included a man and his wife and three of their sons and their daughter, an elderly woman, another woman and her child and her mother, SOHR said.

Several other people were critically injured and others were missing under the rubble of buildings destroyed in the bombings, meaning the death toll was expected to rise, according to the watchdog.

The monitoring group relies for its information on a network of activists and doctors inside Syria.

A US-led coalition air strike killed at least 16 civilians including women and children the northern Syrian village of al-Baruda, the anti-IS group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported on Wednesday.
Cagliari, May 26 : A boat with 282 migrants on board docked in the Sardinian port city of Cagliari after they were saved in the Mediterranean.

The migrant landings on Thursday came after a 651 people arrived in Cagliari on Sunday aboard a Spanish navy ship after they were rescued in the Mediterranean.

Ahead of the G7 summit in Sicily, the UN children's organisation urged leaders of the world's wealthiest nations meeting on Friday and Saturday to address the ongoing crisis in the Mediterranean, where over 50,000 people have made the crossing to Italy this year and more than 1,250 have perished -- including 200 children.
Washington, May 26 : A US federal appellate court upheld an injunction issued by a lower court blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order barring issuance of visas to residents of six Muslim-majority countries.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Virginia, voted 10-3 on Thursday to uphold a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland who declared in March that the President's revised travel order amounted to unconstitutional religious discrimination, NBC news reported.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," said Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory.

The Justice Department urged the court to lift the ban on enforcement. It said the executive order had a legitimate national security purpose, allowing the government to assess the reliability of background information on visa applicants from six countries associated with terrorism.

But that argument, the court said, "is belied by evidence in the record that President Trump issued the first executive order without consulting with the relevant security agencies."

Among the alterations made in the revised order were the removal of Iraq from the list of targeted nations and an exemption for lawful permanent residents and travelers who obtained US visas ahead of the January 27 announcement.

The revised order also did not indefinitely bar Syrian refugees from entering the US.

In Thursday's decision, the appellate court explicitly referred to Trump's advocacy of a Muslim ban during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"The evidence in the record, viewed from the standpoint of the reasonable observer, creates a compelling case that (the executive order's) primary purpose is religious," the 4th Circuit said.

"Then-candidate Trump's campaign statements reveal that on numerous occasions, he expressed anti-Muslim sentiment, as well as his intent, if elected, to ban Muslims from the United States," it added.

Trump's March 6 executive order sought to ban people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days and to bar all refugees for 120 days.
Brussels, May 26 : US First Lady Melania Trump, who is accompanying her husband Donals on his first international tour, visited a children's hospital in the Belgian capital.

Melania visited the Queen Fabiola University Hospital in Brussels on Thursday, where she spoke with its young patients, made paper flowers with them and handed out White House puzzles and children's books with personal dedications inside, Efe news reported.

Melania attended her parallel agenda while her husband, President Trump, and other allied heads of State and government met for a NATO summit.

After this visit, Melania is set to join other wives and consorts of the allied leaders on a guided visit to the Magritte Museum and then on to a luxury leather shop.

The First Ladies group will be hosted by AmAlie Derbaudrenghien, the partner of Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, and Ingrid Schulerud, the Norwegian ambassador to Belgium and wife of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

In the evening, Melania will attend a state banquet hosted by Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Laeken Palace, famous for its impressive royal greenhouses, which in spring are in full bloom.

Shortly thereafter, Trump and his entourage will abandon Brussels on Air Force One and fly back to Italy, where he is set to attend the G7 summit in the Sicilian town of Taormina on May 26 and 27.
Pepper Gang Talks with Google New York Our dedicated Google Support Team provides an extra level of assistance by offering our agency more access, knowledge and information to help continue our agency growth and the growth of our clients.

In August of 2016, digital marketing agency Pepper Gang earned the highest level of Google recognition, the Premier Partner status. It is an accreditation that recognizes the skill and proficiency of a company specializing in digital advertising. Since then Pepper Gang has worked to grow their business as well as expand their use of Google AdWords to exceed those set expectations. Google recognized their growth and rewarded them by upgrading Pepper Gang's level of support.

The factors considered in qualifying for the Premier title include: the number of accounts managed by the Partner, client retention and the growth rate of those accounts. This status has only been given to a select few companies worldwide and the Premier program allows the partners to be recognized for their specializations. Of those awarded with the Premier Partner status, an even smaller group of companies are accredited with Pinnacle level support.

"Top tier support means a higher level of support for our clients," said Stefanie Daneau, Founder of Pepper Gang. "Our dedicated Google Support Team provides an extra level of assistance by offering our agency more access, knowledge and information to help continue our agency growth and the growth of our clients."

With this new status, Pepper Gang will be given more personalized support from higher level staff in an effort to grow their businesses further. This means access to three agency support liaisons on the Pinnacle Support Team who have advanced knowledge of Google products. In addition, Pepper Gang will receive instant connection from these dedicated members who will provide advice as well as high-speed trouble shooting.

Pepper Gangs core expertise lies in an analytics driven and strategy focused approach to understand and uncover knowledge of consumer behavior. With this new level of support, they are looking forward to integrating even more Google products into their campaigns for maximum efficiency and results.

With a knack for creativity and intelligence, Pepper Gang develops successful advertising campaigns. Pepper Gang is an award-winning firm, and has a clientele of leading businesses from several industry areas.

For more information on the accreditation of the company, please visit the Pepper Gang Partner Profile: https://www.google.com/partners/?hl=en-US#a_profile;idtf=7178897849;

About Pepper Gang

Pepper Gang is the Boston-based digital marketing agency committed to the growth and success of their clients' business. The company was born out of a desire to tell each brands story in a way that compels like-minded consumers to align with the brand. Meet the Pepper Gang team and read their story at https://www.peppergang.com.
Lilacs at Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Explore the 11 lighthouses located across the peninsula at the 24th annual Door County Lighthouse Festival, June 9-11.

School is out and families are ready to pack their bags for a summer vacation. Travel to Wisconsins beautiful Door County Peninsula, a scenic outdoor playground bursting with activities that will put a smile on everyones face. Visitors can plan their vacation today at DoorCounty.com or by calling the Door County Visitor Bureau toll free at 800-527-3529.

June Special Events



Hear original music at venues throughout Sturgeon Bay during the 13th annual Steel Bridge Songfest, June 8-11.

Explore the 11 lighthouses located across the peninsula at the 24th annual Door County Lighthouse Festival, June 9-11.

Celebrate Scandinavian tradition at Ephraims Fyr Ball Festival, June 17. Large bonfires in the evening symbolize the burning of the winter witch and the arrival of summer.

Take part in the 51st annual Olde Ellison Bay Days, June 23-25.

Enjoy sampling wines that represent the eight wineries on the Door County Wine Trail at the Door County Wine Fest, June 24 in Egg Harbor.

State and County Park Activities

Door County offers 5 state parks and 19 county parks across the 70-mile-long peninsula. Each park offers a variety of recreational opportunities and scenic beauty.

Take part in Wisconsins DNR free fishing weekend, June 3-4.

Celebrate National Trails Day and enjoy a hike at Whitefish Dunes State Park, June 4.

Enjoy a performance under the stars at Northern Sky Theater inside Peninsula State Park. Their summer season runs June 14- August 26.

Make a sandcastle on the 1,600 feet of sand beach at Frank E. Murphy County Park.

On Going Summer Activities



Enjoy free concerts in the park 5 nights a week. Starting June 12, concerts held in various locations across the peninsula.

Meet farm animals face to face at The Farm or Plum Loco Animal Farm.

Grab the popcorn and enjoy a double feature at the Skyway Drive-In Movie Theatre, open since 1950.

Buy local at weekly farmers markets, held in six communities across the peninsula.

Catch a Door County sunset while cruising with one of the various scenic boat tours.

Explore Door Countys history at the Heritage Village at Big Creek or the Door County Historical Museum.

Taste locally caught whitefish and watch the fiery boil over at an iconic Door County fish boil. Visit DoorCounty.com for a listing of restaurants featuring fish boils.

Stay Connected at DoorCounty.com

About Door County

Door County is a bucolic peninsula that juts out into Lake Michigan in Wisconsins northeast corner. Named one of the Top 10 Vacation Destinations in North America by Money magazine, Door County features 300 miles of shoreline, 11 lighthouses, 5 state parks and 19 county parks. It is known for its natural beauty, artistic offerings and year-round outdoor recreation opportunities.
Casa De Angelina, Ms. Indian Dress Casa De Angelina believes that every woman should be able to dress in a way that reflects her personality, sense of style and inner beauty.

IM Boston is excited to welcome Casa De Angelina to their Marketplace. A company with both local and international roots, Casa De Angelina is truly an elegant fashion house.

Originally from the Cape Verde Islands, Angelina Monteiro has found her home in Boston. Angelina started her company in 2011 and has since created a place for herself in the New England fashion scene. Casa De Angelina is comprised of contemporary and elegant designs that are tailored to the tastes of the modern woman. These dresses are truly statement pieces that will make an impression at any occasion.

"Casa De Angelina believes that every woman should be able to dress in a way that reflects her personality, sense of style and inner beauty. We create designs that allow women to express who they are and to feel confident and beautiful for all of life's occasions, says designer and founder Angelina Monteiro. Combining unique colors and textures, and drawing inspiration from every corner of the world, we aim to offer truly exceptional pieces that will have you feeling special and standing out from the crowd. Our brand is intended to fit women's lifestyle, one piece at a time, making it possible to create a glamorous wardrobe with the future in mind."

Not only does Angelina create incredible fashion, she also actively participates in the Boston charity scene. She has created collections for several charities in order to drive fund raising, in addition to putting a special focus on the "Our Children Our Future" organization. This particular charity sends school supplies and economic assistance to needy children in the Cape Verde Islands. IM Boston is proud to welcome a company that is passionate about giving back and making a difference.

Angelina has been a staple in the Boston fashion scene for quite some time. Starting in the fall of 2013 she has shown two collections each year at various venues across New England. This past December she was nominated for Boston's best evening fashion designer at the Boston Fashion Awards due to her captivating designs. The IM Boston Marketplace strives to include New England's best clothing and accessories companies that encompass the various cultures and personalities that make up the region. Casa De Angelina excels at this, making it the perfect fit for the Marketplace.

Stefanie Daneau, co-founder of IM Boston, describes the Marketplace as a combination of unique, high-end pieces from many local designers that are uplifting and have a vision. We felt that Casa De Angelinas glam dress line was the perfect addition to our growing list of amazing products offered on our site.

IM Boston is proud to add them to their Marketplace and encourages you to visit the Casa De Angelina Shop on the IM Boston Marketplace. For their full fashion line, visit their website.

IM Boston is a Boston centric online magazine highlighting and sharing stories of people around the city. It was born from the idea that everyone has a voice that should be heard. IM Boston strives to bring the community together by discovering inspiring stories, participating in charity programs, hosting networking events, and more. To learn more about the magazine and how to participate, please visit the IM Boston Marketplace.
AIGs support for our food provision programs provides assistance as we bring our services to even more New Yorkers through our new satellite pantry in the South Bronx, stated Stephen Grimaldi, Executive Director of NYCP.

In addition to financial support, AIGs employees have provided over 1,000 hours of service to the agency over the past five years. In addition to serving dinner in the Hot Meals program, AIG volunteers help pack and distribute grocery packages to families in NYCPs Choice Pantry. The partnership between AIG and NYCP is based in long-term volunteerism and on-site volunteer participation. Representatives of AIG also provided support for and attended the Fill The Bag benefit. AIGs support for our food provision programs provides assistance as we bring our services to even more New Yorkers through our new satellite pantry in the South Bronx, stated Stephen Grimaldi, Executive Director of NYCP.

Thanks to the funding from AIG, NYCP will continue to be able to provide comprehensive services including food provision, access to benefits, and healthy living and nutrition education to increasing numbers of Pantry members and visitors.

AIG employees volunteer thousands of hours to nonprofits in the communities where they work, live, and serve their customers. At the corporate level, AIG global charitable giving program reflects three broad social themes: safety, security, and disaster preparedness and relief. To learn more about AIGs Corporate Citizenship, visit: aig.com/citizenship.

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New York Common Pantry is dedicated to reducing hunger throughout New York City while promoting dignity and self-sufficiency. Its the largest community-based food pantry in New York State. Programs including Choice Pantry, Help 365, Project Dignity, Live Healthy! and Hot Meals provide food and access to New Yorkers in need, last year including residents of 183 zip codes.

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. Founded in 1919, today AIG member companies provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement products, and other financial services to customers in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. These diverse offerings include products and services that help businesses and individuals protect their assets, manage risks and provide for retirement security. AIGs core businesses include Commercial Insurance and Consumer Insurance, as well as Other Operations. Commercial Insurance comprises two modules  Liability and Financial Lines, and Property and Special Risks. Consumer Insurance comprises four modules  Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Life Insurance and Personal Insurance. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Additional information about AIG can be found at http://www.aig.com and http://www.aig.com/strategyupdate | YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/aig | Twitter: @AIGinsurance | LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aig. These references with additional information about AIG have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.aig.com. All products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.

Contact: Neill Bogan

Senior Director of Development and Communications, New York Common Pantry

(p) 917-720-9707

(e) nbogan(at)nycommonpantry.org

(w) http://www.nycommonpantry.org
Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited As Bob Marley is to Jamaicans or Fela Kuti is to Nigerians, Thomas Mapfumo is to Zimbabweans.

The 25th Annual Summer Series of live music, dinners, cocktails, picnics, dancing, Kid Zone, and fun for all continues on Saturday July 15th with the beloved Lion of Zimbabwe: Thomas Mapfumo and his band The Blacks Unlimited. Thomas Mapfumo has been at the cutting edge of the political struggle in his native Zimbabwe, Africa for over 20 years, even as he's become a major figure on the world music scene.

From the bloody years of the countrys liberation war in the 70s, right through the present economic and political crises, Mapfumo has used his revolutionary, spiritually charged music to decry injustice and highlight the historical and cultural issues that underlie the news headlines. He and the Blacks Unlimited play Chimurenga music, (or music for the struggle of the people), a unique African music genre whose beats are traditional and timeless. They are delivered through an electric fusion of melodious lyrics accompanied by sounds of the African thumb piano (mbira) and the guitar.

The theme for the music advances various issues in society that include peace, love, civil rights, equality and justice, reggae sound and Afro-beats. Mapfumo is a musical visionary and a fearless social critic and certainly one of the greatest African bandleaders of the past century.

The evening will kick off with a pre-concert African dance class on the turf geared for all ages.

The Summer Nights series has been created to celebrate diversity, find commonalities, and bring generations together through live music. There will be five evenings of community building through the arts.

Tonights concert offers dinner for sale from a local favorite: Toast Novato Restaurant, offering cultural flavored dinner for the evening, a childrens hands-on project provided by The OHanlon Center for the Arts, festival shopping from Good Will Industries Georgi & Willow, and additional pre-concert African dance class geared for all ages.

The 2017 Summer Nights full series:

7/8~Americana: The Brothers Comatose

7/15~African: Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited

7/22~Latin Big Band: Pacific Mambo Orchestra

7/29~Afro-Cuban: Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca

8/5~Celebrate the Summer of Love: Melvin Seals & JGB

Youth in Arts teen a cappella group 'Til Dawn opens with songs from the era.

WHAT: African, Zimbabwe, Reggae beats of freedom with Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited, performing outdoors.

WHO: All are invited. No membership or affiliation required. Kids 17 and under free.

TICKETS: From $25. Kids 17 and under free. VIP, Reserved tables & General Admission choices

WHEN: Sat. July 15, @ 7pm. Doors: 6:15 Gen Ad/ 6:00 VIP

WHERE: The Osher Marin JCC, 200 N San Pedro Rd, San Rafael, 1/2 mile E off 101

PARKING: Ample FREE parking.

TICKETS: Available at http://www.marinjcc.org/arts

The Kanbar Center for the Performing Arts is the Performing Arts Department within the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, California. All are welcome, no membership is ever required to attend. The Center is a long-standing Marin non-profit, centrally located in Marin County and just 1/2 mile east off Hwy 101.
The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation today announced a $17,000 grant to the Maryland State Dental Association Foundation (MSDA Foundation).

The MSDA Foundation is using the Delta Dental grant to purchase a box truck to transport dental equipment around the state, making it less expensive to provide free dental care via its Mission of Mercy clinics. By purchasing a box truck instead of renting trailers, the MSDA foundation will save time and money that can be directed to its patients.

Since its inception in 2011, the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation has awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to Maryland dental clinics serving underrepresented communities. The National Association of Dental Plans estimates that only 79% of Maryland residents have dental benefits, leaving more than 1 million people vulnerable to oral health problems. The MSDA Foundations Mission of Mercy events help lower that number.

Delta Dental and the Maryland State Dental Association Foundation have a shared goal of improving the oral health of Maryland residents, said Ken Yale, DDS, chief clinical officer for Delta Dental. Were thrilled we could fill the financial gap for the foundation to purchase a box truck to help thousands of underserved people in Maryland communities.

I have had the opportunity to participate in all 13 of the Maryland Dental Missions of Mercy. The Maryland State Dental Association Foundation is a wonderful volunteer organization which provides a great service to the underserved people of Maryland. I personally have found treating these patients to be a very rewarding experience, said Leon Katz, DDS, MSDA Foundation board member and Mission of Mercy volunteer.

For more information about the MSDA Foundation, visit msda.com/.

About the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation provides approximately $4 million in annual grants to nonprofit community clinics and health care programs, striving to improve oral health for underserved children and adults through treatment and education. It is the philanthropic branch of Delta Dental of Pennsylvania and its affiliates, which together provide dental benefits to nearly 35 million people in 15 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The affiliated companies, which include Delta Dental of California, Delta Dental of New York, Inc., and Delta Dental Insurance Company, are part of the Delta Dental Plans Association, whose member companies collectively cover 74 million people nationwide.

About Maryland State Dental Association Foundation

Led by a team of dentists and community members, the Maryland State Dental Association Foundation is dedicated to improving lives through improving oral health. The MSDA Foundation has provided organizational guidance, equipment, infrastructure and over $200,000 in support to Mission of Mercy clinics through monetary and in-kind donations. Through these clinics, the MSDA Foundation has helped provide over $10,000,000 in donated dental care to more than 8,000 patients. MSDA Foundation also supports charitable outreach through education, data collection, and scholarships to dental students who have a promising future in philanthropy.

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Stage Completions Inc. (Stage or the Company), the leading innovator in single-point entry fracturing technology, announced today that the company has set a new operational record in the Eagle Ford Basin of South Texas with the deployment and fracture stimulation of 117 stages in a single well.

The new record comes from operations for a single well in the Eagle Ford Basin of South Texas, a key shale play in the United States. The operations launched on April 24, 2017, fracturing 117 intervals with the Bowhead Technology in a record time of 160 hours and successfully stimulated with 11.6 million lbs (5,800 ton) of sand, 361,000 bbl (57,394 m3) of fluid, maximum sand concentration of 4.7 ppg (563 kg/m3) and 42 bbl/min (5 m3/min) average rate, breaking its record number of stages in a single well without requiring Coiled Tubing or Wireline.

An advanced acoustic and pressure monitoring system installed on the wellhead was employed to confirm the successful launch and consistent sleeve engagement of the collet at every stage, not only adding validation to the shifting signature observed on the surface treating pressure, but also capturing the pressure increases as the collet traveled through each installed sleeve until landing at the target depth. This unique feature provided the operator with the ability to accomplish a live stage count, monitoring and locating the collet in the wellbore as part of the launching and shifting process throughout the execution of the fracturing operation.

Our proprietary technology was built from the ground up to raise industry standards in single-point entry fracturing, said Sean Campbell, president and CEO of Stage Completions. By fracturing 117 stages in 160 hours, we're changing the expectations of well production for our operators by overcoming the limitations found in conventional completions methods. The completion of this well represents the largest single-point entry fracturing treatment ever conducted in a horizontal well utilizing the Stage System.

The Stage Completions Bowhead II system, launched in May 2016, runs a dissolvable ball on a collet that activates cementable sliding sleeves. It features a constant ID throughout the wellbore, allowing for longer laterals, tighter spacing, higher pump rates and higher sand concentrations. The latest generation of the Stage System, the Bowhead XS, has been engineered for extreme services using an enhanced 8620 carburized material and tungsten reinforced valve profile introducing an erosion resistant trim. The Bowhead technology provides single-point entry fracturing capability to operators, increasing expected ultimate recovery ("EUR") and providing continuous operations with deployment under pressure capability.

Stage Completions has secured commercial orders of 1,881 Bowhead II valves for the month of May, from industry-leading companies in the Montney, Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Bakken, SCOOP / STACK and Permian shale plays. Stage has also experienced market penetration internationally through orders from large state-owned oil companies in the Middle East and China.

Stage Completions technology is seeing rapid global adoption in a variety of downhole conditions, while existing single-point entry is still finding its place in the market. Traditional single-point entry fracturing systems have limitations that fail to meet design-change demands all in a single system. Current market demand calls for unlimited stages, individual frac isolation, extended reach capability, the application of open hole or cased hole, constant ID, and the exclusion of wirelines and coiled tubing. Stage Completions addresses these requirements at lower execution risks. The companys innovative technology optimizes every fracture treatment to maximize flowback recovery without intervention. The technology redefines completions without the limitations of conventional single-point entry, driving significant renewed interest globally and across diverse markets and geographical regions.

Stage Completions Inc. is a highly innovative completion technology company with a focus on multistage completions in North America and international marketplaces. The company is headquartered in Calgary, AB.

To learn more about Stage Completions Inc., visit http://www.stagecompletions.com.

About Stage Completions Inc.

Stage Completions Inc. is driving the oil and gas completions industry forward with its disruptive technology for downhole single-point entry. The companys proprietary technology utilizes single-point entry fracturing to increase well productivity and reduce well cost. Founded in 2014, Stage Completions Inc. has quickly challenged the industry standards with record breaking completions times. Today, the company is rapidly expanding worldwide with operations in some of the top well regions including Eagle Ford, Permian, Bakken, STACK, SCOOP and Montney. For more information about Stage Completions Inc., please visit http://www.stagecompletions.com.
Strategies Group, Inc., a leading software consulting firm in the construction industry, recently implemented a conversion to Spectrum Construction Software for Southeastern Site Development. Based in Newnan, GA, Southeastern Site Development is a heavy civil and infrastructure company. They provide road building, site development, excavation and construction contracting services throughout GA.

Southeastern Site Development selected Dexter + Chaneys Spectrum Construction Software based upon the ease of use and advanced technology. Spectrum is the first complete construction accounting and operations management software system delivered in a true browser-based cloud environment that runs on any mobile device.

As the Spectrum representative in the Southeast, Strategies Group assisted Southeastern Site Development with the conversion to the new software solution. Pat Chappell, Regional Manager, and the Strategies Group implementation team worked closely with the company throughout the transition process.

We enjoyed assisting Southeastern Site Development in updating their construction accounting software, said Randy Collins, President of Strategies Group. Our mission is to help clients find, implement and optimize construction software solutions that allow them to grow and prosper, and we are pleased they selected Spectrum to take their business to the next level.

About Strategies Group:

Strategies Group is a leading provider of construction ERP software and has helped more than 2,000 construction companies implement new solutions. Founded in 1992, Strategies Group is based in the metro Atlanta area with offices in Pensacola, FL and Charleston, SC. Strategies Group represents Spectrum Construction Software in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Strategies Group has been the recipient of numerous industry software awards and has been chosen as a top 100 Value Added Reseller by Accounting Technology Today magazine for three consecutive years. For more information about Strategies Group please visit: http://www.strategiesgroup.com.
Taskworld Time tracking is particularly helpful for organizations working with consultants and freelancers.

Taskworld today announces the launch of its most requested feature by teams all around the world - Time Tracking. Users can now track time spent on tasks, tasklists and projects inside Taskworld.

Agility, velocity and analytics are essential for businesses looking to scale their success. Its in that spirit that Taskworld offers its newest tool," said Fred Mouawad, CEO of Taskworld. "Time tracking allows enterprises the precision to maximize resources, stay under budget, ahead of deadlines and make better decisions on multi-departmental projects, as well as staffing. This feature is also particularly helpful for organizations working with consultants and freelancers.

ABOUT TIME TRACKING

1. Time Spent by Task - Time tracking by task allows team members to begin recording, start a task, and stop time tracking when they have completed the task. The feature also allows team members to manually input time spent rather than record if a task is done over several days.

2. Tracking Time by Tasklist - Once team members have recorded or entered time spent on particular tasks, managers can quickly view the number of tasks and total time spent at the top of the tasklists.

3. Time Tracking for Entire Projects - A time log is automatically kept inside of a project, and members and managers can see total time spent by team members and number of tasks.

BENEFITS OF TIME TRACKING



Saves time and resources

Makes it easier for managers to work with freelancers or consultants

Access to automatically consolidated log of time spent on work

The ability to accurately anticipate project deadlines

Insight into elements of peak productivity which can then be replicated

Helps managers with performance feedback and staff management

Learn more about time tracking on Taskworld's blog.

Taskworld Enterprise pricing starts at $8 per month for a single person after a 15-day free trial. Downloading the mobile app is free. The platform is available in English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Standard Chinese, Bahasa and Thai. For more information about Taskworld, visit http://www.taskworld.com or follow the company on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Environmental Specialties, Inc. (ESI), the largest contracted installer of geosynthetic materials in the United States, is pleased to welcome David Nolting to its team as Corporate Health and Safety Manager.

We created this new position because it continues to demonstrate our deep commitment to lead with safety in every aspect of our business, stated ESI President Mark Dillon. David has an extensive background in the power industry and as a Certified Utility Safety Administrator will certainly enhance our already strong, industry-leading safety record.

In this role, Nolting will ensure that ESIs safety program continues to set the bar for the rest of the industry. With Nolting as a dedicated safety resource, ESI will continue to put safety first throughout all phases of every project  from bid review through installation to completion.

Nolting has held various safety positions throughout the last 28 years with extensive experience in the power, pipeline and construction markets. He graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor of Criminal Justice and a Master of Science and Psychology.

About Environmental Services, Inc.

Environmental Specialties International, Inc. (ESI) is the largest contracted installer of geosynthetic materials in the United States. The company has installed nearly 2 Billion square feet of geosynthetics, involving more than 2,000 projects in all 50 states. ESI provides geosynthetic material supply and installation services to the municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, power, petrochemical, mining, water, aqua/agriculture and other related industries. The company also fabricates, installs, and provides design support for High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pipe systems for the transportation of water, leachate and gas. For more information visit http://www.esiliners.com
Exhibitus announced today that the companys client, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, Inc. (Toshiba), has received a platinum Hermes Creative Award for its interactive engagement at the 2017 National Retail Federation (NRF) exhibition in January.

Toshibas theme for this years NRF event was The Path to Brilliant Commerce. The company understands that retail consumers are looking for a seamless customer experience. Its The booths interactive design ensured that attendees left the event with an appreciation for how Toshiba enables retailers to deliver enriched shopping experiences, gather actionable insights and provide a frictionless checkout through deep retail expertise and a broad portfolio of services and solutions.

To demonstrate the value of Toshibas solutions, Exhibitus graphically displayed details of two different shopping journeys on individual 10x20 raw wood walls using conductive ink technology. The conductive ink that was screen-printed on the wood was also wired to a special board, creating a live circuitry that triggered both sound and visual reaction to touch. Click here for a link to a video demonstration of this engagement: https://vimeo.com/210620156

Our Creative Producer, Jeff Smith, and his team did a masterful job bringing these stories to life, said Brad Falberg, president of Exhibitus. Through close, step-by-step collaboration with Toshibas event team, we were able to design an interaction that not only drew attendees into the exhibit, but also provided Toshiba staff the opportunity to delve deeper into any aspect of the journey with their guests. We congratulate Toshiba for leading this project to such success.

Our exhibit at this year's Big Show was designed to allow visitors an opportunity to explore a variety of engaging shopping experiences powered by Toshiba retail technologies, said Bill Melo, Chief Marketing Executive, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. Exhibitus helped us to tell the Brilliant Commerce story in a very entertaining way.

Exhibitus is also excited to announce that the company and its advertising agency, Von.Lea Agency (http://www.vonlea.com) won a Platinum Hermes Award in the category of Advertising Campaign for its eight-month long Go campaign in Exhibitor Magazine.

Exhibitus

Headquartered in Atlanta with offices in Chicago, New York and Raleigh, Exhibitus also features global service capabilities to support clients abroad. Exhibitus clients include Abbott, AGCO, Alcoa, Cox Business, Ferguson, Kawneer, Lexus, Mimaki, MBX Systems, Toshiba, ViaSat, Verizon, and Wells Fargo.
We are truly honored to be selected as one of the top 5 woman-owned businesses. None of our success would be possible without our incredible team!

CATMEDIA recently received the distinct honor and privilege of being ranked in the top 5 of the Women Presidents Organizations (WPO) 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies at the 10th Annual Award Ceremony, held in Orlando, FL.

Each year, in partnership with American Express, WPO recognizes the 50 fastest growing, privately held, women-owned businesses from a diverse mix of industries around the world. Companies on this years list were ranked according to their annual sales revenue and include industry leaders in technology, retail, and consulting. CATMEDIA is thrilled to be within the ranks of such a profitable group of businesses, which achieved a combined $7.2 billion in revenue and employed a total of 46,000 people in 2016. For a complete list this years honorees, click here.

We are delighted to recognize these trailblazing women for their success, said Susan Sobbott, President of Global Commercial Payments for American Express. We hope these awardees and the stories of their business success will inspire others to create and lead prosperous businesses.

CATMEDIA CEO and Founder Catherine Downey graciously expressed her sincere appreciation for this extraordinary accomplishment in saying, We are truly honored to be selected as one of the top 5 woman-owned businesses. None of our success would be possible without our incredible team!

The WPO is a nonprofit membership organization that strives to promote the advancement of women entrepreneurs in all industries. The organization prides itself on its mission to accelerate business growth, enhance competitiveness, and promote economic security through collaborative peer-learning groups.

About CATMEDIA:

CATMEDIA is an award-winning Inc. 500 company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1997, the company specializes in advertising, creative services, media production, program management, training, and human resource management. As a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), CATMEDIA provides world-class customer service and innovative solutions to government and commercial clients. Current CATMEDIA clients include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Stay Connected with CATMEDIA:

For more information on CATMEDIA and its services, please visit http://www.CATMEDIA.com

Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CATMEDIASTUDIO/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CATMEDIATweet
We are honored to receive this recognition from one of the spirits industries most prestigious, independent awards competitions, said Ricky Febres, Shaw-Ross National Brand Manager.

With scores ranging from 94 to 97, four of the Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky collection came up big at 2017 Ultimate Spirits Challenge (USC). The nearly two century-old Glengoyne Scottish Distillery produces some of the worlds leading, premium malt whiskies.

With a nearly perfect score of 97, Glengoyne's 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky took top honors with a Chairmans Trophy, USCs highest award of excellence. Glengoyne's 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, with a score of 95, earned a Finalist and Great Value Award. Finalists Awards went to Glengoyne's 18 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Glengoyne's Cask Strength Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, which scored 94.

Now in its seventh year, The Ultimate Spirits Challenge (UBC) provides expert evaluation of wines and spirits for producers, importers and marketers through its two innovative annual competitions: Ultimate Spirits Challenge and Ultimate Wine Challenge. All products are rated on a 100-point scale by some of the spirits industrys most renowned judges, including buyers, journalists, educators and bar owners.

The Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky range is imported and distributed by Shaw-Ross International Importers, LLC - one of the nation's leading importers representing major suppliers from around the world.

We are honored to receive this recognition from one of the spirits industry's most prestigious, independent awards competitions, said Ricky Febres, Shaw-Ross National Brand Manager. Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskys impeccable taste is, among many other factors, the result of a slower distilling process than anyone else in Scotland.

About Glengoyne Distillery

Glengoyne Distillery is a whisky distillery which has been continuously in operation since its founding year in 1833 at Dumgoyne, north of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated at the foot of Dumgoyne Hill and with the mountains of Loch Lomond in the distance, Glengoyne is widely considered one of Scotlands most beautiful distilleries. Crucially unlike many malt whisky distilleries today, Glengoyne does not use peat smoke to dry its barley, instead using warm air. Ever uncompromising in its pursuit of excellence, Glengoyne uniquely runs its stills slower than any other distillery in order to create the sweet, complex flavors for which the brand is known. The Glengoyne Highland Single Malt range is matured in the finest sherry and bourbon oak casks from within its traditional dunnage warehouses.

About Shaw-Ross International Importers, LLC

Founded in 1968 as a wine and spirit importer representing a handful of brands, Shaw-Ross has grown into one of the nation's leading importers representing leading

suppliers from around the world. Shaw-Ross continues to evolve its portfolio to keep

ahead of the ever-changing wine and spirits. For additional information go to:http://www.shawross.com

EDITORS NOTE: Imagery and sample requests can be made through Peter Nasca at the above address.
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C) is pleased to announce the publication of "New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation," released today by the American Bar Association (ABA). This new book is a comprehensive guide to the substantial revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) occasioned by enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act on June 22, 2016, to produce new TSCA, amending and replacing old TSCA as of that date. B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor Charles M. Auer are editors and co-authors, with contributions from B&Cs outstanding TSCA practice group, including Timothy D. Backstrom, Lisa R. Burchi, Lisa M. Campbell, Sheryl L. Dolan, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Margaret R. Graham, Oscar Hernandez, Ph.D., Carla N. Hutton, and Kathleen M. Roberts.

Readers of "New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation" will gain an appreciation of the fundamental shifts in the requirements and approach to chemical management under new TSCA, and will benefit from thorough analysis of a number of the provisions, including those relating to definitions, testing, review and regulation of new and existing chemicals, information reporting, confidential business information (CBI), preemption, fees, and others. A 15-page Executive Summary of the book is available on the ABA website.

Reflecting on the book, Ms. Bergeson stated: New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation reflects the expert counsel and advice of seasoned scientific and regulatory professionals and, of course, the essential views of former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulators and scientists, each of whom knows intimately the law, policy, and science of TSCA. Collectively, there is no stronger, more experienced TSCA team in the country to assist the regulated community tackle the challenges posed and seize the opportunities presented by the new law."

"New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation" is available for purchase via the ABA online bookstore. https://shop.americanbar.org/eBus/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?productId=269414320&term=TSCA
"America's First Federal Credit Union has selected AnyHour Solutions to extend our existing call center support for our members," commented Travis Vanlandingham - Director of Payment Services for AFFCU.

AnyHour Solutions, a provider of comprehensive call/contact center outsourcing services for credit unions since 1994, announces that Americas First Federal Credit Union of Birmingham, AL ($1.5B assets, 150,000 members) has recently signed an agreement to use the companys services.

Americas First Federal Credit Union (AFFCU) will be utilizing a full suite of AnyHour 24/7/365 call center outsourcing services to supplement their existing internal call center with overflow support during the workday and after hours call support as well.

AnyHour Solutions is providing their AnyHour MSR service  comprehensive member service support  via usage of their integrated call center software solution provided by Bedford, NH-based KIVA Group, Inc.  a leading multi-channel sales and service CRM/CEM software vendor. KIVAs solution will provide a real-time interface to AFFCUs core processing system (Fiserv Spectrum) enabled by Fiservs PathWays data integration utility.

Americas First Federal Credit Union has selected AnyHour Solutions to extend our existing call center support for our members, commented Travis Vanlandingham  Director of Payment Services for AFFCU. Their breadth of experience with credit union members along with their state-of-the-art technology and streamlined integration process provided the level of confidence that we needed to turn to a third party solution. This added service will provide a much needed benefit to our members.

Americas First Federal Credit Union and AnyHour understand that the way it handles member problems and requests is a crucial factor in building and maintaining meaningful member relationships, said Michael Baker - president and founder of KIVA Group, Inc. Our Respect software is enabling AnyHour, on behalf of the credit union, to resolve member issues much faster, better utilize technology and resources, and deliver a more satisfying member experience  all of which help the credit unions bottom line.

About Americas First Federal Credit Union

Americas First Federal Credit Union (http://www.amfirst.org) has a strong history in the state of Alabama. It was originally founded in 1936 at U.S. Steels Ensley Works in Birmingham to provide financial services to under-served individuals. Americas First has since grown to a full-service, one-stop financial institution with more than $1 billion dollars in assets. Americas First is a full-service credit union with a 5-star superior rating from BauerFinancial, a nationally recognized rating agency for banks and credit unions. With more than 135,000 members, Americas First is one of the strongest credit unions in the nation and is always committed to providing cost-effective financial services.

About KIVA Group

KIVA Group Inc. is a global provider of unified customer interaction and experience management software. RespectTM , the companys technology platform and suite of applications, is enabling credit unions and banks worldwide to connect the member/customer, product and services information they need to create a more satisfying experience with each interaction. These call center, teller, branch, internet, IVR, marketing and sales software products can be implemented as point solutions or as part of a strategic CRM initiative to completely unify the enterprise. For more information, contact the company at 603-641-5482 or visit http://www.kivagroup.com.

About AnyHour Solutions

AnyHour Solutions (http://www.anyhoursolutions.com) is a highly flexible provider of comprehensive, 24/7/365 call/contact center outsourcing services for credit unions via our AnyHour MSR and AnyHour Loan-By-Phone services. Our purpose is to help our credit union partners to enhance service to their members, increase loan volume, and reduce operating expenses. AnyHour Solutions has been providing contact center services to credit unions for over 23 years, longer than any other company. Highlighted by the industrys most experienced staff of agents, our contact center goal is to provide Service They Will Remember. For additional information contact Steven Holmes, SVP Strategic Development, at 888.622.8696, sholmes(at)anyhoursolutions(dot)com.
Jacqueline M. Arnolds new book, The Military Family: A Casualty of War No More! ($16.99, paperback, 9781498409902; $8.99, E-book, 9781498409919) shares with readers that war rages on the battle field as well as the home front. 1 in 7 military families end in divorce post 9-11 deployments. The Military Family, also a Christian Authors Award Winner, provides insight into the problem the military family experiences, such as hardships, stress and unresolved rage and provides tools and ideas for every American to engage in the fight for freedom and the support of military families so that when soldiers return home from duty, their marriages are still intact and their families healthy and strong. The solution is offered in transparent insight that leads to awareness and includes a patriotic program focusing on volunteerism and patriotism, The Spirit of America Days. The Military Family is a true story of one familys pain and sacrifice, an insightful look at the life of benefits, but at great cost. The author encourages every American to join the fight for freedom and to take ownership of the ongoing military campaigns by getting involved on the home front and showing love, compassion and support. Whether active duty, retired, military spouse or family member, military families need extra support to endure the call to service. You will want to sign up for duty to make a difference to our Armed Forces and their families.

Arnold writes, The book conveys a true story of hardships faced by the military family, ours is just one example of what families sometimes endure. My true story contains a problem and a solution to the hardships of military service and the epidemic of divorce it has in the past and continues to present. I share our story to provide a vehicle for Americans to get involved. The Spirit of America Days provides tools and resources that will inform, enlighten and strengthen military families of both past and present service.

Jacqueline M. Arnold is a former military spouse of 23 years and a mother of five. She is also a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient and a former Mrs. Virginia International and Top Ten Mrs. International. As a Champion of Patriotism, she endorses The Spirit of America Days, an annual observance of patriotism Memorial Day through Fourth of July, focusing on family, faith, flag and community through volunteerism and patriotism and endorsed by several U.S. Congressional representatives.

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. Retailers may order The Military Family: A Casualty of War No More! through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors. The book is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.
The Revenue Generator Award highlights our commitment to the channel and to our partners,

GreenLink Networks, provider of Business VoIP Services from Cloud Phone Systems to SIP Trunking Services (offered exclusively through a network of authorized channel partners throughout the U.S.), was recognized as Best Revenue Generator at the Columbus, Ohio 2017 ASCII Group IT SMB Success Summit.

The ASCII Group is a membership-based community of independent MSPs, VARs and Solution Providers. The awards are voted on by the attending solution providers, and honor the industry sponsors in multiple Best of Show categories.

It is exciting to see the ASCII IT Community recognize our commitment to creating financially beneficial MSP partnerships, said Jhovanny Rodriguez, Vice-President and Co-founder of GreenLink Networks, it is the philosophy we built GreenLink around.

As MSP co-founders Mayron Herrera and Jhovanny Rodriguez struggled to find a VoIP vendor that prioritized flexibility, reliability and commitment to their customers and partners. These core beliefs are reflected in GreenLink Networks products and services, and in their award recognized partner program which includes: the commitment to their partners with high commission for the life of the account; bonuses every 25 extensions sold; and 100% FREE services to the partners entire organization.

The Revenue Generator Award highlights our commitment to the channel and to our partners, said Mayron Herrera, CEO and Co-Founder, GreenLink Networks.

GreenLink Networks services and products include:



Cloud Phone System and SIP Trunking solutions

Month-to-month or with a term agreement options

Equipment flexibility providing customers the ability to purchase, rent and use their own IP phone equipment

Established multiple datacenters with full redundancy within each datacenter location, ensuring 99.999% reliability

Prioritized customer and partner support

To learn more about GreenLink Networks, please visit http://www.greenlinknetworks.com.

About GreenLink Networks

Founded by Managed IT Service providers Mayron Herrera and Jhovanny Rodriguez, GreenLink Networks is a Channel Only provider of Business VoIP Services with a generous partner program. The portfolio of VoIP services includes Cloud Business Phone Service, SIP trunking and SIP to PRI/Analog services. GreenLink Networks is compatible with multiple handset brands, offers flexible procurement options including purchase, rentals or use of existing IP enabled phones. For more information visit http://www.GreenLinknetworks.com.

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Media Contact:

Jhovanny Rodriguez

GreenLink Networks

Jrodriguez(at)GreenLinknetworks(dot)com

888-972-8802 x113
Trinity Consultants, Inc., an international environmental consulting firm that specializes in industrial air quality issues, has named Adam Erenstein as manager of its Albuquerque, New Mexico office. A former Air Inspector with the Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD) in Arizona, Mr. Erenstein joined Trinitys Albuquerque office in 2010 where he has worked extensively with industries that have strong presence in New Mexico including oil and natural gas, power generation, food products, and mining operations. He assists companies with environmental challenges including regulatory applicability analyses, air dispersion modeling, and air quality permitting support. He also teaches training courses to environmental professionals on air quality regulations and permitting requirements in New Mexico.

Regional Director Robert Liles commented on the appointment, We are very pleased with the contributions that Adam has made since joining Trinity. His commitment to excellent customer service, high quality deliverables, and business development over the past several years has earned him a strong following of clients and an excellent reputation in the marketplace.

Founded in 1974 in Dallas, Texas, Trinity operates in 50 locations in North America, the U.K., China, and the Middle East. Trinity supports industrial facilities with regulatory environmental compliance, specializing in air quality issues. In addition to environmental consulting, Trinity has divisions that provide environmental modeling software (BREEZE), technology solutions for EHS information management (T3), professional EHS training, EHS staffing services (Trispyrian Resources), and industrial hygiene and toxicology support to the life sciences industries (SafeBridge Consultants).
The Litchfield Inn is an outstanding hotel offering exceptional accommodations and a service experience second to none, said Ron Pohl, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Best Western Hotels & Resorts.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts announced the debut of its latest upscale hotel The Litchfield Inn, BW Premier Collection, in Litchfield, Connecticut. The landmark property is a welcomed addition to the BW Premier Collection brand, as it offers guests the deluxe amenities and superior service that the brand is known for. The hotels unique character and historic roots also bring guests a one-of-a-kind experience that is sure to make for a truly memorable stay.

This boutique hotel, located in the enchanting and scenic hills of Litchfield, recently completed a million-dollar renovation with enhancements that bring modern amenities and polished touches to the property, while still preserving the Inns history and charm. The Inns lobby is a crowning example of colonial architecture. The gorgeous nine-foot chandelier and ornate spiral staircase are just two of the highlights guests are sure to marvel over.

The Litchfield Inn is an outstanding hotel offering exceptional accommodations and a service experience second to none, said Ron Pohl, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Best Western Hotels & Resorts. We welcome this hotel to the BW Premier Collection brand, and we invite guests to experience the luxury, charm, and elegance the Inn has to offer.

Whether travelers are just passing through or making Litchfield their destination, The Litchfield Inn, BW Premier Collection is a wonderful place to call their your temporary home. The hotel offers 16 standard guest rooms, two deluxe rooms, two junior deluxe rooms, and 12 themed suites, including a presidential suite, bridal suite, wine cellar suite, log cabin room and jacuzzi suite. Each of the themed suites is uniquely designed to enhance the guest experience with complimentary breakfast and amenities including flat screen televisions, microwaves, refrigerators, mini bars, I pod-I pad docking station radios, bath robes, spa products, and even an on-call massage therapist to help guests relax and unwind.

The hotel is also close to a variety of attractions for travelers wanting to explore the area, as it is a short distance to local wineries, nature trails for walking or hiking, the Litchfield Distillery, and many popular restaurants.

We are proud to be joining a brand that is such an icon in the hotel industry, said Syed Bokhari, owner of The Litchfield Inn, BW Premier Collection. I know guests will enjoy the enhancements we have made and the unmatched customer service our upscale, boutique hotel affords.

Reservations at The Litchfield Inn, BW Premier Collection, may be booked by calling the hotel directly at 860-567-4503 or by calling Best Westerns 24-hour, toll-free reservations number (800) WESTERN. Reservations are also available from Best Westerns website at BestWestern.com.

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About Best Western Hotels & Resorts:

Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of 4,200* hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Best Western offers seven hotel brands to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier, Executive Residency by Best Western, Vib, BW Premier Collection and GLo. Now celebrating more than 70 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and award-winning online and mobile booking capabilities. Best Western continues to set industry records regarding awards and accolades, including nearly sixty percent of the brands North American hotels earning a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award in 2016, Business Travel News ranking Best Western Plus and Best Western in the top three upper-mid-price and mid-price hotel brands for three years in a row, and Best Western receiving five consecutive Dynatrace Best of the Web gold awards for best hotel website. Best Western has also won eight AAA/CAA Lodging Partner of the Year awards, recognizing the brands commitment to providing exceptional service and great value to AAAs 56 million members in the U.S. and Canada. Nearly 30 million travelers are members of the brands award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western hotel worldwide. Best Westerns partnerships with AAA/CAA and Harley-Davidson provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Through its partnership with Google Street View, Best Western is the first major company of its size and scale to launch a virtual reality experience for customers, setting a new industry standard and reinventing how guests view hotels.


Network Funding, LP, a residential mortgage lender has been joined by the LAltrella Group at 80 Huntington Street, Shelton, CT 06484 as Network Fundings first onsite office in Connecticut.

"We are excited to have now have an onsite presence in Connecticut," said Network Funding Executive Vice President Brett Snortland. The team joining Network Funding is a family-based operation that has been serving that market for decades and shares our core values of finding the best mortgage program available to fit homebuyers needs.

We knew that we could do better work by joining Network Funding, said Ann LAltrella. Network Funding has provided us with the back-end support systems we needed to focus more on our clients, including more technology, processing and compliance support.

Homebuyers can learn more about the new branch and its offerings at http://branch91208.nflp.com or by calling 203-712-1177. Loan officers interested in joining the team should visit join.nflp.com to learn more about new opportunities in Connecticut and across the nation.

About Network Funding

Network Funding, LP, NMLS #2297, is a private, residential, mortgage-lending company that operates branches across the country. Since it was founded in 1998, Network Funding has financed more than 108,000 homes at more than $18 billion, making the American Dream a reality for its customers. Network Fundings key standards are based on integrity, reliability and simplicity, and it aims to empower its customers through educating and equipping them for the home-buying process. Network Funding is nationally ranked as a Top 50 Mortgage Companies to Work For, 2016 by Mortgage Executive Magazine, a Top Mortgage Lender by Scotsman Guide and a Top Workplaces by the Houston Chronicle.

Visit http://www.nflp.com to learn more about Network Funding. Visit join.nflp.com to learn more about career opportunities. Visit give.nflp.com to learn about The Giving Network, the charitable arm of Network Funding.
This is a fantastic opportunity and a really great honor to be joining the Forbes Council. We have been working hard in Canada for over 10 years now providing guidance and best practices in the area of content marketing.

Marie Wiese, President of Marketing CoPilot and author of You Cant Be Everywhere, has been accepted into the Forbes Agency Council, an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies.

Marie joins other Forbes Agency Council members, who are hand-selected, to become part of a curated network of successful peers and get access to a variety of exclusive benefits and resources, including the opportunity to submit thought leadership articles and short tips on industry-related topics for publishing on Forbes.com.

Forbes Councils combines an innovative, high-touch approach to community management perfected by the team behind Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) with the extensive resources and global reach of Forbes. As a result, Forbes Council members get access to the people, benefits and expertise they need to grow their businesses  and a dedicated member concierge who acts as an extension of their own team, providing personalized one-on-one support.

This is a fantastic opportunity and a really great honor to be joining the Forbes Council, said Marie Wiese, President and Founder of Marketing CoPilot Inc. "We cant wait to contribute to the community, learn from others and especially share our work in the area of B2B content marketing. We have been working hard in Canada for over 10 years now providing guidance and best practices in the area of content marketing. Having the opportunity to be part of a global network of marketing practitioners will really help move our business forward.

Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, says, We are honored to welcome Marie Wiese into the community. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to curate successful professionals from every industry, creating a vetted, social capital-driven network that helps every member make an even greater impact on the business world.

About Marie Wiese

Marie Wiese has helped hundreds of companies turn their websites into lead generation and sales machines. Marie helps educate CEOs and business owners on digital marketing using tools developed as part of the Marketing CoPilot methodology; she works as an Executive in Residence at the Innovation Factory, has contributed to national publication on digital marketing, is an Adjunct Professor of Mentis Academy and volunteer mentor with Futurpreneur Canada. She shares her knowledge extensively on her blog and in her latest book, You Can't Be Everywhere.

About Forbes Councils

Forbes partnered with the founders of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to launch Forbes Councils, invitation-only communities for world-class business professionals in a variety of industries. Members, who are hand-selected by each Councils community team, receive personalized introductions to each other based on their specific needs and gain access to a wide range of business benefits and services, including best-in-class concierge teams, personalized connections, peer-to-peer learning, a business services marketplace, and the opportunity to share thought leadership content on Forbes.com. For more information about Forbes Agency Council, visit forbesagencycouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.
Maison Joseph Drouhin, the acclaimed family-owned and operated wine estate with properties in Burgundy and Oregon, announced today that it has promoted John A. Caruso to President of Dreyfus, Ashby & Co, a leading importer of premium and family-owned wines. Pointing to successful sales and a growing portfolio during his tenure as Vice President over the past decade, John will expand his responsibilities at the helm of the prestigious national importer.

Over the last decade John Caruso has established himself as a quintessential component in the growth and development of Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., said Laurent Drouhin, Brand Ambassador and North American Sales Director of Maison Joseph Drouhin. John truly understands the goals and vision of our operation in the USA and we couldnt be more pleased to bring him on as President.

With a background in finance, including international exchange, John Caruso has held key sales and marketing positions in the beverage alcohol industry since 1995, as well as a number of executive management positions, including President of The House of Burgundy, the prestigious New York wholesaler. From 2005-2007 John joined the management team of the highly regarded Lauber Imports, a division of Southern Wine & Spirits. Caruso joined Dreyfus, Ashby in 2007 as the Vice President of Marketing and Administration.

I am excited and honored to take this role. The Drouhins are one of the most iconic families in all of the wine industry, said John. I look forward to continuing to work alongside the talented people at Dreyfus Ashby and with the wonderful family brands we represent, he added.

John Caruso graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelors Degree in economics and religious studies. He and his wife Luba helped found the 501(c)3, Children of Chernobyl Relief Foundation, to deliver medical and humanitarian aid to the young victims of the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Ukraine. Originally from Rumson, New Jersey, Caruso continues to live there with his wife and their three children Chase, Trevor, and Kate.

About Maison Joseph Drouhin

Maison Joseph Drouhin owns 70 hectares (174 acres) of vineyards in Burgundy. The vineyards are principally Grand and Premier Cru appellations of the Cote dOr and Chablis. The family-owned and run firm was founded in 1880 and produces nearly 90 different appellations, all of them from Burgundy. Since 1987, the family also owns 225 acres in Dundee Hills, known as Domaine Drouhin Oregon, and 225 acres in Eola-Amity Hills, known as Roserock, since December 2013.

About Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.

Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., a national importer representing a global portfolio of fine wine, spirits and sake, was founded in London, England more than 70 years ago by Swiss-born Michel Dreyfus. In 1945, he moved the company to New York City where it is headquartered today. From the beginning, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. devoted itself to dealing in superior wines from renowned family-owned vineyards and estates. In 1985, Burgundys premier wine family, Joseph Drouhin, purchased Dreyfus, Ashby, which markets its products in all 50 states with a team of experienced sales specialists located across the country. Besides the fine burgundies of Maison Joseph Drouhin and their properties in Oregon, Domaine Drouhin and Roserock, Dreyfus, Ashbys portfolio also includes: Champagne Drappier, Chateau Petrus, J.P. Moueix Bordeaux; Chateau Trotanoy, and Belair-Monange; Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue; Chateau de Campuget; Ulysses, Napa; Dusted Valley, Walla Walla, Tedeschi from Valpolicella, spirits from G.E. Massenez, and other wines from Bordeaux, Alsace, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and India. For more information: http://www.dreyfusashby.com.

For more information please contact:

Dana Bruneau / Creative Feed / dana(at)creativefeed(dot)net
The Manhattan skyline at dusk is just one of the spectacular sites to photograph at Liberty State Park. Photo credit: Lucas Nooter Parkinsons is a terrible disease that my grandmother, who founded our company, suffered from in her later years. It is important for us to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for this disease," said Unique Photo President, Alexander Sweetwood.

Grab your cameras and set out to make history on June 11 as Unique Photo celebrates its 70th anniversary with a photowalk at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

To celebrate in grand style, the family-owned and operated retail camera store invites photographers of all skill levels to help set a world record for the largest single photowalk event as they explore this location that USA Today named among the 20 stunning state parks across the USA.

Set on 1,212 acres and bordered by water on three sides, Liberty State Park provides waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty as well as Empty Sky, New Jerseys official 9/11 Memorial; Liberation, a 15-foot bronze Holocaust memorial; and the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey. The walk is set during the golden hour when the sun reflects off Manhattan. Maps will be provided, and a Unique Photo instructor will lead a tour at 6 p.m. Participants are encouraged to share their photographs on social media, using the hashtag

#njphotowalk.

A wide variety of entertainers will be on hand to photograph and create a party atmosphere, while top manufacturers  such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony and Sigma  will be present to answer questions and loan lenses. Guests can enjoy also a celebratory cake commemorating the companys landmark anniversary.

Unique Photo will provide bus transportation from its Fairfield location to the park on a first-come, first-serve basis.

As photographers explore, make friends and share pictures, they will also be supporting a good cause: Unique Photo will donate half of the registration proceeds to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research to aid in the foundations efforts toward clinical testing and improving the research of symptoms and their treatment.

The mission is a personal one for the Sweetwood family. Parkinsons is a terrible, degenerative disease that my grandmother, who founded our company, suffered from in her later years. Growing up, I saw first-hand just how debilitating it can be. It left one of the hardest-working people I have ever known incapacitated, says Alexander Sweetwood, president. It is important for us to raise awareness and funds to help researchers find a cure for this disease that afflicts so many people.

Unique Photo was founded when Bernard and Harriet Sweetwood opened a small photographic supply outlet in Brooklyn, New York, in 1947. They went on to open more than 20 retail outlets in department stores across New Jersey before launching their first independent retail location in New Jersey  Hoboken Camera Center  in 1954. Since then, Unique Photo has grown to become New Jerseys largest retail camera store and center for photography education, with two locations: Its flagship store in Fairfield and its recently opened location in Hoboken, across from the PATH station.

To learn more or to register for the photowalk, visit: https://www.uniquephoto.com/photowalk

WHAT:

Unique Photo 70th Anniversary NJ Photowalk

WHEN:

Sunday, June 11, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Rain or Shine

WHERE:

Liberty State Park, 1 Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305

THE EVENT:

Photo enthusiasts from beginners to professionals join together in a photowalk at the picturesque Liberty State Park from twilight to sundown to celebrate Unique Photos 70th anniversary and attempt to set a world record for the largest single photowalk event.

REGISTRATION:

$10 Pre-registration

$15 Day of registration from 5 p.m.  5:45 p.m. (Cash or check only)

INFORMATION:

https://www.uniquephoto.com/photowalk

ABOUT UNIQUE PHOTO:

Unique Photo is New Jersey's largest camera and video superstore offering the latest in photographic products and imaging technology. Its 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Fairfield, N.J. features a spacious photography retail store, multi-media learning center, professional photo lab, meeting space, gourmet coffee bar and WiFi lounge. Unique Photo recently expanded to Hoboken with a second store providing a full line of services for its customers. Additionally, Unique Photo is the top destination for photography education in New Jersey, hosting more than 1,000 amateur and professional photographers monthly for its classes. Unique University instructors include world famous photographers, industry guest lecturers and Unique Photos professional staff. For more information, visit http://www.uniquephoto.com or call 973-377-2007.
The Georgia Manufacturing Alliance Highlights Major Manufacturers Across the State

The Georgia Manufacturing Alliance has an action packed plant tour schedule for June that includes high tech facilities across the state. With 5 regional chapters in Gwinnett, Northeast, Northwest, Central, and Coastal Georgia, this month will include tours in each area including:

Peening Technologies Plant Tour (Morning) - June 7 - Austell

Attendees will see the latest technology in shot peening, abrasive blasting and surface enhancement services to the aerospace, automotive, power generation, medical, oil and gas exploration industries. Learn the little-known process that is critical to thousands of parts that interact with things you use in everyday life.

KIA Motors Plant Tour (Morning & Afternoon Tour) - June 13 - West Point

Due to high demand this tour is open to Georgia Manufacturing Alliance Members Only

Located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia, this facility has produced more than 2 million vehicles since they began mass production in November 2009. Tour attendees will see the Kia Sorento and Kia Optima produced from rolled metal all the way to the finished product using high tech stamping, weld shop robotics, and assembly processes. They produce a vehicle every 57 seconds utilizing three full shifts operating at the plant 24 hours a day/five days per week.

KRAIBURG Plant Tour (Morning Tour)- June 15 - Buford

KRAIBURG TPE is a global manufacturer of themoplastic elastomers and is a pioneer in TPE compounds used in the automotive, industrial, consumer, and strictly regulated medical sectors. Their production lines are processed by injection molding or extrusion and provide numerous processing and product design advantages to manufacturers.

Beaulieu Carpets Plant Tour (Afternoon Tour) - June 15 - Adairsville

As the third largest carpet manufacturer in the U.S., Beaulieu USA produces a carpet tile with a high post-consumer recycled content which includes PET bottles and recycled glass. This plant manufactures and ships Nexterra and other brands of modular carpet tile which is used in commercial, hospitality, senior living, and residential markets.

Daniel Defense Plant Tour (Afternoon Tour)- June 23 - Black Creek

Daniel Defense manufactures a variety of items related to firearms including its own custom variants of the AR-15 rifle, advanced rail systems, custom upper receivers, and advanced barrels. Established in 2001, they have grown to be one of the largest competitors in the AR-15 firearms market and supply the US Special Operations Command and the UK's Ministry of Defense.

About the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance: The Georgia Manufacturing Alliance (GMA) is a membership-based industry organization founded in 2008 to support Georgias manufacturing community. GMA provides monthly plant tours, educational sessions, tradeshows, and unique networking opportunities designed to help make profitable business connections for its members. The Georgia Manufacturing Directory, Georgia Manufacturing Summit, Georgia Manufacturing Calendar, and Georgia Manufacturing Job Board are additional resources produced by GMA. To learn more about the organization, membership, and upcoming events, please call 770-338-0051 or visit their website http://www.GeorgiaManufacturingAlliance.com.
White Box Social Intelligence, a TDn2K company, has launched the Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot, revealing insights on consumer feedback and guest satisfaction on over 193,000 units and 620 brands in the restaurant industry. View the latest edition: Value Reigns in the Eyes of Restaurant Consumers here.

We are excited to bring a new perspective on consumer feedback, 100 percent fueled by online, unsolicited guest comments and sentiment, said Wally Doolin, Chairman and Co-Founder of TDn2K. In addition, the ability to highlight the correlations between online reputation and workforce and financial performance is incredibly exciting, Doolin continued.

This monthly Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot highlights top performing brands based on sentiment for: food, service and intent to return; top and bottom performing designated market areas (DMAs) are also identified for those attributes as well as for value, beverages and ambiance. In addition, positive sentiment year-over-year trends are identified as well as best and worst performing U.S. regions. Finally, the snapshot connects the dots on performance by unveiling correlations between online guest satisfaction and workforce and operational performance.

"The combination of White Box Social Intelligence benchmarks with Black Box Intelligence sales outcomes is a game-changer for restaurants, and we are so excited to share this snapshot of performance with the industry," said Kathleen Buehler, Executive Director for White Box Social Intelligence.

Brands of note in the April edition of the Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot include: Carvel, Flemings, Freebirds World Burrito, Legal Sea Foods, Papa Murphys, Qdoba Mexican Eats, Raising Canes, Seasons 52, SweetFrog, Wawa and Wienerschnitzel.

Click here to view the most recent Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot: Value Reigns in the Eyes of Restaurant Consumers.

Methodology Used for the Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot

The algorithm determining ranking brands is based on sentiment determined by White Box Social Intelligence. To be included in this monthly snapshot ranking, brands must have a total of at least 250 mentions for the month. Restaurant brands must have a minimum number of units to be eligible as well (quick service: 150, fast casual: 20, family dining: 45, casual dining: 20, upscale casual: 10, fine dining: 10). For DMA rankings, only the largest 25 are considered.

About White Box Social Intelligence

White Box Social Intelligence, a TDn2K company, is the first online customer feedback tool made exclusively for restaurants. Track your brands online sentiment utilizing key attributes such as food, service, value, intent to return etc. White Box Social Intelligence is tracking over 620 brands to benchmark customer satisfaction and is the only online tool that integrates with operational performance data to validate the impact on financial performance.

About TDn2K

TDn2K (Transforming Data into Knowledge) is the parent company of People Report, Black Box Intelligence and White Box Social Intelligence. People Report provides service-sector human capital and workforce analytics for its members on a monthly basis. Black Box Intelligence provides weekly financial and market level data for the restaurant industry. White Box Social Intelligence delivers consumer insights and reveals online brand health. TDn2K membership represents 38,000 restaurant units, 2.3 million employees, and $67 billion in sales. They are also the producers of leading restaurant industry events including the Global Best Practices Conference held annually each January in Dallas, Texas.
Gilbane has been successfully serving the local community for many years, said Ted Cava area manager for Gilbane Building Company.

Gilbane Building Company, the number one contractor for K-12 education in the country (Building Design & Construction 2016), was awarded preconstruction and construction services on multiple projects for local school districts in South Florida. Broward County Public Schools awarded Gilbane both the Northeast High School and Stranahan High School projects. The School District of Palm Beach County also awarded Gilbane Construction Management at-Risk services for continuing contracts under $2 million, as well as the renovations at Spanish River High School.

As one of Floridas premier educational facilities builders, Gilbane brings vast and in-depth experience in the K-12 marketplace. Gilbane will work with the districts throughout the various construction phases to maintain active campuses with minimal or no disruption.

Northeast High, located in Oakland Park, was built in 1963 with various expansions and renovations completed over the entire life of the facility. The improvement project will bring the currently occupied facilities up to date with building codes and standards and to meet the trends in education. The 280,786-square-foot campus currently encompasses 29 buildings and 3 portables. Gilbane will begin with the single point of entry upgrades with the balance of renovations to include:



Enhanced safety/security upgrades

Improvements to the Fire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm System

STEM LAB improvements

HVAC and electrical upgrades

Roof and loggia replacements

Similarly, Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale was built back in 1951 with various expansions and renovations completed over the entire life of the facility. This major renovation project will bring the facilities up to date with building codes and standards and to meet the trends in education.

Renovations Include:



STEM lab improvements

Roof and loggia replacements

HVAC improvement

Safety/security upgrade

Electrical Improvements

Replace Fire Alarm System

Media Center Improvements

With The School District of Palm Beach Countys (SDPBC) long-term mission to upgrade educational facilities underway, they have begun the process of awarding contracts for modernizations and upgrades. Gilbane was awarded the (CSIR) Modifications for Spanish River High School to address the Comprehensive Safety Inspection Report. The project scope consists of interior plumbing and electrical upgrades including the installation of a new ISIMET system at several locations, to installation of new doors and painting. As part of Gilbanes commitment to local workforce, they have engaged MWBE sub-contractors to ensure the Districts goal of 15 percent African American participation is met. The school district has also awarded Gilbane Construction Management at-Risk services for Continuing Contracts on projects not to exceed $2 million. Gilbane will provide preconstruction and construction activities.

Gilbane has been successfully serving the local community for many years, said Ted Cava area manager for Gilbane Building Company. Our team is committed to working to make sure that every detail of these projects meet the expectations and level of quality expected by the School Districts.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services  from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build, close-out and facility management services  for clients across various markets. Founded in 1873 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 50 office locations around the world. For more information, visit http://www.gilbaneco.com. http://www.gilbaneco.com/build-with-us/news-room/press-kit/
Each year, millions of dollars intended to help needy and deserving college students pay for school are diverted due to improper payments.

Today at 10:00 am ET Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), will testify in a joint hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Affairs, on "Improper Payments in the Federal Government: Student Aid."

Each year, millions of dollars intended to help needy and deserving college students pay for school are diverted due to improper payments. The programs susceptible to significant improper payments, as identified by the Department of Education (ED), are the Pell Grant Programa grant program targeted to the poorest of Americas studentsand the Direct Loan Program, which is by far the largest source of federal student aid in the United States. In this mornings hearing, Draeger will answer questions and share testimony about how institutions and federal agencies can partner to further decrease improper payments without also creating barriers for the very student student aid programs have been designed to help. In his prepared testimony, Draeger explains that improper payments, whether they result from intentional fraud or unintentional errors, threaten vital student aid programs that needy students rely upon to fund their education.

Institutions are very motivated to stamp out improper payments and wholeheartedly accept increases in administrative requirements to that end, when they are proven effective, states Draeger in his prepared testimony. The problem today is that institutions are sometimes required to implement new rules to reduce improper payments without reliable data that shows these new rules will actually get at the cause of improper payments.

NASFAA offers the following observations for Congress as lawmakers move to eliminate improper payments in the federal student financial aid system:

1. Fraud prevention should not come at the cost of an increase in errors. NASFAA member institutions have reported that the loss of the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) has resulted in more required verification of FAFSA data, a cumbersome and manual process for students and schools. The DRT is a critical key to mitigating error in self-reported FAFSA information, which is identified by ED as a root cause of improper payments, and should be restored and expanded.

2. Take steps to ensure minimizing improper payments dont create barriers to access. ED should rigorously consult with schools and other stakeholders to ensure that efforts to eliminate improper payments do not prevent or delay access to funds for the very students the programs were created to serve. We saw this unfortunate scenario play out last year when the FSA ID was implemented in an effort to crack down on fraud, but ended up creating roadblocks for legitimate access to federal student aid as well.

3. Simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The underlying formula used to determine financial need for Title IV funds must be simplified before the form itself can be simplified, but it is clear that a simpler application form could reduce error as well as lower barriers. NASFAA has proposed a simplification scheme based on income tax filing characteristics.

4. Commit more resources to investigating fraud. When institutions report instances of fraud discovered on their own campuses to EDs Office of the Inspector General, they find the reports are often not pursued. We understand that limited resources necessitate the prioritizing of larger fraud rings over individual cases of fraud. However, institutions often dedicate significant resources documenting suspected fraud and those reports rarely get investigated.

All parties involved in the administration of the federal student aid programs agree that the incidence of improper payments, whether arising from fraud or error, should be reduced to the greatest extent possible. Reliable data regarding the nature, types, and root causes of improper payments is essential to achieving that goal, and existing data is inadequate, according to Draegers testimony.

A live webcast of the hearing will be made available. For additional questions about NASFAAs testimony, or to schedule an interview, please email NASFAA Director of Communications Erin Powers at news(at)nasfaa(dot)org.

About NASFAA

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents nearly 20,000 financial aid professionals at more than 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every ten undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, DC, NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators. For more information, visit http://www.nasfaa.org.
Infolinx

Today, Infolinx, a leading provider of enterprise records management software, announced the implementation of Infolinx WEB by Grand Prairie Independent School District in Texas. Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the award-winning Grand Prairie Independent School District has more than 29,000 students and includes 42 schools, ranging from early education to high school.

Grand Prairie Independent School District (GPISD) has a multitude of records to manage, made more challenging when students move from campus to campus, or even out of the school district. School districts are required to adhere to strict local and state record retention policies, a task that can be automated using software tools.

The application for GPISD features advanced retention supporting an unlimited number of time or event-based retention schedule record series defined by configurable meta-data fields.

Looking to upgrade from their legacy records management system, GPISD turned to Infolinx to provide a more advanced and contemporary feature set that guaranteed consistent and efficient access to important records. With Infolinx, GPISD can track physical records at both the file and the box levels, offering greater visibility and scope to records from over 100 departments.

Faced with the challenge of using a legacy software product, customer service and product support were key factors in their decision to upgrade to Infolinx.

The latest features of Infolinx WEB 3.5 include digital content management, expanded integrations with leading enterprise content management and off-site storage providers, multiple language support, extended search capabilities, and configurable email notifications to streamline in-app communication between users.

About Infolinx

Infolinx is a leading provider of records management software solutions for physical records management and digital content management. Its solutions enable organizations to efficiently access and manage critical records and information from a single, browser-based application.

Available on-premises or in the cloud, Infolinx software solutions are implemented across a variety of industries, including financial services, pharmaceutical, healthcare, legal, and local, state, and federal governments. To learn more, visit http://www.infolinx.com.
KWizCom Corporation, a leading developer of SharePoint Forms & Mobile Solution, as well as multiple other turn-key SharePoint add-ons and apps for Office 365, announced they are a Platinum Sponsor of the SharePoint Fest Denver taking place at the Colorado Convention Center on May 30  June 1, 2017.

SharePoint Fest Denver is one of the premier SharePoint and Office 365 conferences in North America that consists of one day of pre-conference workshops, two days of general sessions, and one day of post-conference workshops. Over 70 sessions will be offered across multiple tracks, and there will also be a networking reception held at the end of the first day of the conference.

In addition to exhibiting, KWizCom will be participating in a speaking session, which will be led by MVP Shai Petel, the Director of Research & Development at KWizCom. In his session entitled Who Said You Have to Be a Power-User to Create Dynamic Forms in SharePoint/O365? Shai will demonstrate how non-technical business users can effortlessly create flexible forms by using KWizCom Forms, which is a 100% SharePoint-native forms solution for SharePoint on-premises and Office 365.

Conference attendees are invited to visit KWizCom booth #35 where they will be able to familiarize themselves with the powerful SharePoint add-ons and apps for Office 365 the company offers while playing a fun trivia game called Forms Superhero. The winners of each game will receive gift cards, and all the other participants will get prizes as well.

About KWizCom

Since 2005, KWizCom has provided innovative solutions and services to make SharePoint even better for over 7,000 companies worldwide. KWizCom is a leading provider of SharePoint Forms, Mobile, Wiki solutions, and over 60 other add-ons for SharePoint on-premises and apps for Office 365. KWizCom software is available to federal, state and local government agencies through GSA schedule.

KWizCom is a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner is headquartered in Toronto, Canada to find out more about the company visit http://www.kwizcom.com.

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Radiation and Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma The combination of immunotherapy and radiation therapy may...enhance antitumor response.

Doctors in Pennsylvania have released their report on the potential therapeutic value of combining immunotherapy drugs with radiotherapy in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Their study is the subject of a new article at Surviving Mesothelioma. Click here to read it now.

The University of Pennsylvania analysis looked at studies that combined immunotherapy drugs like Keytruda (pembrolizumab), avelumab, and nivolumab with radiation treatments to positively impact mesothelioma survival.

The combination of immunotherapy and radiation therapy may allow for complimentary immunologic effects that can enhance antitumor response, writes Dr. Evan W. Alley of the Hematology and Oncology Division at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

The article in Translational Lung Cancer Research recommends that more clinical trials be conducted on the combined effects of these two immunomodulatory therapies in the treatment of mesothelioma.

If it can be shown that these two therapies can enhance one anothers effectiveness and boost mesothelioma survival, it could open up a new set of treatment options for patients who currently have few viable choices, says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor for Surviving Mesothelioma.

To read more about the synergistic effects of immunotherapy drugs and radiation on mesothelioma tumors, see Immunotherapy and Radiation: A Powerful Mesothelioma Combo, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.

Alley, EW, et al, Immunotherapy and radiation therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma, April 2017, Translational Lung Cancer Research, pp. 212-219, http://tlcr.amegroups.com/article/view/13139/10997#B39

For more than a decade, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.
StraighterLine, the fastest-growing provider of alternative academic credit, has partnered with Tennessee State University to offer students a convenient and affordable online option to earn credit towards their college degree.

Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University (TSU) is a comprehensive, urban, land-grant institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is dedicated to helping students develop the skills needed for the real world. Through the schools partnership with StraighterLine, TSU now offers students even more flexible options to earn a bachelors degree and prepare for the knowledge-based jobs of tomorrow.

Of the new partnership, StraighterLine founder and CEO Burck Smith says, By partnering with StraighterLine, Tennessee State University is helping students achieve their professional, academic and career goals. Tennessee State Universitys commitment to excellence, professional preparedness, and college affordability is well-aligned with StraighterLine's mission of providing high-quality online college courses at an affordable price."

Tennessee State University is excited to partner with StraighterLine to expand our online options for students who want to take advantage of convenient self-paced courses. With StraighterLine, our students are able to fulfill prerequisites and general education requirements, build skills and accelerate their path to graduation, said Dr. Evelyn Nettles, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at TSU.

All StraighterLine credit-bearing courses are approved by ACE Credit (American Council on Education), and the U.S. Department of Education selected StraighterLine as an EQUIP partnera strong reflection of their evaluation of StraighterLine curriculum.

Students can now use the course-to-course equivalency guide between Tennessee State University and StraighterLine to determine exactly which StraighterLine courses are guaranteed to transfer into the Tennessee State University degree programs.

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashvilles only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 25 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

About StraighterLine

StraighterLine is an innovative higher education model that provides high quality online general education courses that colleges recognize for credit. StraighterLines low-cost online courses are offered to students for a $99-a-month subscription.

StraighterLine is among a select few online course providers to be invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Educations EQUIP (Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships) Program, which allows students to access federal financial aid for the chosen programs.

StraighterLine has developed a network of over 100 leading adult-serving colleges and universities that guarantee acceptance of StraighterLine courses. Having been evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Educations College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT), StraighterLine courses will also be considered by more than 2,000 other colleges and universities for transfer to their degree programs upon request. Visit http://www.straighterline.com for more information.
I am so proud Sara Davis Buechner has chosen Yamaha pianos to be her partner along the way and I congratulate her on this wonderful milestone. - Director of Yamaha Artist Services, Bonnie Barrett

In celebration of her 30th year as a Yamaha Artist, internationally renowned concert pianist Sara Davis Buechner will perform at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on June 1, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. The recital is being presented as the closing event of the Key Pianists Series, founded by Terry Eder.

Performing on a Yamaha CFX concert grand piano, Ms. Buechner will present a Japanese-themed recital, including Yukiko Nishimuras Ten Etudes, Kouji Takus Variations on a Theme of Poulenc and Yoshinao Nakadas Piano Sonata. She will also perform Jacques Iberts Histoires for piano, to choreography by renowned mime dancer and mask maker Yayoi Hirano.

Praised as a musician of intelligence, integrity and all-encompassing technical prowess (The New York Times), Ms. Buechner has been lauded for her thoughtful artistry in the full service of music (The Washington Post). Her recent Koch International CD of piano music by Rudolf Friml was hailed as a revelation by The New York Times.

The longtime relationship between Yamaha and Ms. Buechner is the fruitful synergy of a widely revered piano pedagogue and internationally-renowned virtuoso with the worlds largest musical instrument manufacturer. This collaboration has included explorations with the latest cutting-edge technologies and recordings made capable by the Yamaha Diskalvier reproducing piano, critically acclaimed performances on Yamaha concert grands on stages all over the world, and most recently the selection of Yamaha pianos for Ms. Buechners teaching studio at Temple University.

My mother bought a Yamaha G-3 Piano for our home in Baltimore in 1969, when I was just nine years old. At the time, very few Americans even realized that Yamaha made pianos. But my mother, my piano teacher Reynaldo Reyes, and I daresay myself too!  we all knew quality when we saw and heard it. That Yamaha accompanied my own growth from Bach Inventions to the Rachmaninoff First Concerto, which I played in the finals of the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. I was the first pianist ever to play Yamaha in that competition  and now just look at how many grand prizewinners all over the world choose Yamaha as the instrument to convey their most important musical messages.

Added Ms. Buechner, I often say to my own students: you may look at the keyboard of the Yamaha CFX and see black and white, but when you grasp those keys, you will hear and paint colors of every kaleidoscopic possibility.

Ms. Buechner burst onto the classical music scene in the mid-1980s, collecting prizes at the worlds premiere piano competitions, such as Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Leeds, Salzburg, Sydney and Vienna, as well as the 1984 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition.

With an unprecedented repertoire comprising more than 100 piano concertos  one of the largest of any concert pianist today  she has appeared as a soloist with many of the worlds prominent orchestras: New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Montreal, Tokyo and Qingdao; as well as the Japan Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Moscow Radio Symphony, among others. As a recitalist, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center; as well as venues across Asia.

Sara Davis Buechner has given premieres of important new music and film scores by such composers as Larry Bell, Dorothy Chang, Stephen Chatman and Pierre Charvet. A frequent collaborator with choreographers and performance artists, Ms. Buechner has toured extensively as a pianist with the Mark Morris Dance Group.

In 2016, Ms. Buechner joined the prestigious piano faculty of Temple University in Philadelphia. She is a former faculty member of New York University and the University of British Columbia. An adjudicator at several international competitions, Ms. Buechner has presented lectures and masterclasses worldwide, notably at the Royal Academy in London, The Juilliard School in New York City and the Shanghai Conservatory, among numerous others. Learn more at http://www.saradavisbuechner.com.

Sara Davis Buechner is the consummate Yamaha Artist, says Director of Yamaha Artist Services Bonnie Barrett. As a prolific concert and recording artist, she inspires music lovers with her thrilling performances, sheer virtuosity and innate musicality. As a devoted teacher, she inspires students with her commitment to artistic excellence and service to the music imparted with her own unique wit and wisdom. Her journey as a musician and as a human being, with her unwavering grace, humor, courage and resilience, inspires all of us. I am so proud Sara Davis Buechner has chosen Yamaha pianos to be her partner along the way and I congratulate her on this wonderful milestone.

About Yamaha Artist Services New York, Inc.

Established in 1987 in New York City, Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (YASI) provides a wide range of professional services exclusively for performing artists, concert venues, performing arts organizations and educational institutions, representing an unparalleled commitment to the music industry and an invaluable resource for musicians, presenters and educators worldwide.

Since 2005, Yamaha Artist Services New York has been located in the heart of midtown Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 54th Street, in an historical landmarked 1925 building which originally served as Aeolian Hall, the headquarters of the Aeolian Piano Company. Designed by Warren & Wetmore, the architects of other notable buildings in New York City (Grand Central Terminal, the former Steinway Hall on 57th St.,) the building later became the headquarters for Elizabeth Arden. Occupying over 4,000 square feet, the Yamaha Artist Services Piano Salon features an elegant performance venue seating up to 90 and houses a large selection of concert-ready Premium Pianos of various sizes, including the acclaimed Yamaha CF series (CFX, CF6, CF4,), Bosendorfer, and Disklavier instruments, as well as the innovative AvantGrand hybrid and TransAcoustic pianos. Led by Yamahas Chief Concert Technician, Yamaha Artist Services also provides outstanding technical support for concert venues and artists throughout the United States.

The Piano Salon is a state-of-the art, acoustically and technically adaptable environment. It features a wide-screen projection system with custom NEXO stereo sound, remote control cameras and a Newtek Tricaster system for video capture and live broadcast, and a 128 channel Dante-equipped Nuage recording and mixing console for professional audio recording and post production. The Piano Salon also features Yamaha's Active Field Control system (AFC), which uses sound processing technology to optimize room acoustics to suit the desired size of a performance, and can recreate authentic acoustic simulations of other performing arts venues.

It is a versatile space hosting instrument selections for artists, concert venues and educational institutions; rehearsals, recitals, auditions, masterclasses, press receptions, lectures and film screenings. The Piano Salon has been at the forefront of showcasing Yamahas groundbreaking RemoteLive and Remote Lesson technologies, a groundbreaking and innovative way of delivering a live performance or pedagogical experience by linking two or more Disklavier pianos together, anywhere in the world, in perfect synchronization with video streaming.

Yamaha Artist Services New York works in close collaboration with other Yamaha Artist Service centers throughout the world, including those located in Japan, China, Russia and Europe, ensuring the seamless and unwavering support of Yamaha Artists internationally, wherever they are performing.

Contact:

Peter Giles/Giles Communications

(914) 798-7120 (pgiles(at)giles(dot)com)
Lawmakers across the nation have been holding town hall meetings in recent weeks as the Republican majority in Congress works to implement the agenda that it promised to America.

The initial effort has focused on dismantling the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which has raised concerns for millions of people who either purchase their health insurance through an exchange or were able to get health care through the expanded Medicaid program.

The decision to repeal and replace Obamacare has riveted the nation, hardly a surprise since affordable and accessible health care is a life-and-death issue. Lawmakers who held town hall meetings have provided a valuable service to their constituents by listening and responding to those concerns and then hopefully taking that information back to Washington as part of an effort to produce legislation that will benefit the people back home.

So far, however, South Dakota residents have had at best limited opportunities to share their views on health care reform with their lawmakers. When asked this week by the Journal editorial board if any town hall meetings will be held while the legislation is being crafted, the offices of Rep. Kristi Noem, Sen. John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds said none are scheduled at this time.

Noem's chief of staff said she held a town hall meeting earlier this year in Watertown, which is near her hometown of Castlewood in northeastern South Dakota, and "holds regular telephone town halls." He also said she did not have time for a town hall meeting last week while the House was in recess. Yet, Noem, who is running for governor in the 2018 election, was in Sioux Falls on Thursday getting a tour of the Minnehaha County Jail and talked about cracking down on crime in South Dakota. She also was in Rapid City on Saturday to give the commencement address for Western Dakota Tech at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

A Thune staffer said that he held a town hall meeting in Aberdeen "a few weeks ago and an open forum in Madison."

Sen. Rounds' office said he has held many "coffee and conversation" events this year and that more than 30 health care organizations met with him in his office to discuss health care reform. He also has held a conference call with other health care stakeholders.

We, however, would like our lawmakers to hold town hall meetings focused exclusively on health care for the less prominent stakeholders  the citizens who don't have the time or resources to fly to Washington, D.C., or want more than a cup of coffee with the senator.

While we have heard plenty about what they believe are the problems with Obamacare, we have heard little about their vision for health care reform beyond removing mandates and allowing people to shop across state lines for insurance.

We need to know how the Republican plan will reduce insurance rates without reducing health care costs. Where do they stand on pre-existing conditions? Do they support caps on coverage? What happens when an uninsured adult gets injured in an accident or is diagnosed with cancer? Who decides that person's fate  the federal government, the states or the insurance companies?

Our lawmakers need to listen to constituents' concerns and tell us specifically what kind of health care they support. Now is the time for them to listen to us and answer our questions.

This editorial appeared in the May 15 edition of the Rapid City (South Dakota) Journal, another Lee Enterprises publication.
Wyder's Pear

Wyder's Cider is excited to announce the release of their new packaging. The redesign is an artistic upgrade from the original and longstanding branding. The new Wyders look brings forward the lifestyle of the brand while maintaining the clear communication of the refreshing use of such eclectic cider fruits including prickly pears, pineapples, and raspberries.

We feel this packaging better communicates the brand personality of Wyders and our appreciation for exploration, says Brand Manager Megan Skinner. We sought to portray the landscape that bears the fruit we innovate with and craft into our cider.

The rebrand follows the successful launch of Wyders new Prickly Pineapple cider back in the summer of 2016. An exotic duet of pineapple juice and the juice from prickly pear cacti fruit, the newest addition became the fourth fruit forward cider in the portfolio, joining Pear, Raspberry, and Tequila-aged Reposado.

Wyders is currently available in 40 states and is making efforts to expand into other regions. The launch of their new packaging will be supported by new POS, on and off-premise samplings, and a digital sweepstakes.

For additional information, samples, or hi-res imagery, contact Megan Skinner at mskinner(at)vtciderco.com or (207)233-1359.

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Wyders Cider has specialized in eclectic fruit-forward ciders for more than two decades. Using untraditional cider fruit varieties enables Wyders to create unique refreshing ciders for when you are ready to unplug. Its a pretty hyper-connected world out there, Wyders wants to be a part of you finding the good in life. We hope you enjoy and bring us along!

About Vermont Cider Co.

Vermont Cider Co. introduced the U.S. to the craft cider category 25 years ago. Dedicated exclusively to cider making, they are the proud producers of their namesake brand, the original American hard cider, Woodchuck, the northeast premium hard cider brand, Vermont Cider Co., the circus of ciders, Gumption, the west coast native, Wyders Cider, and importers of Magners Irish Cider and Blackthorn. With an unparalleled focus on quality and innovation, Vermont Cider Co. leads the category in releasing the most premium liquid and pioneering new ciders made from the finest ingredients. Under the watchful eyes of two award winning cider makers, Vermont Cider Co. produces and distributes from Middlebury, VT, blending together the passion of their consumers, their creativity, and their heritage within the green mountains.

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Follow in the footsteps of Ruth Sim Shalom conversion students meet online monthly for gathering and "Ask the Rabbi" sessions.

On May 30th, several Sim Shalom Jews by Choice will celebrate Shavuot as the "newest" members of the tribe. Their conversion takes on special meaning for the Shavuot holiday which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mt Sinai and rebirth. Drawn to Judaism for a variety of reasons the new faithful worked with Sim Shalom virtual Synagogue online conversion to fulfill their spiritual quest. Like Ruth, the Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot, they too chose to become a Jew, albeit their journey was simplified with cutting edge technology over the internet.

These Sim Shalom students did not know each other before meeting online through the monthly video conference gatherings or "Ask the Rabbi" sessions. They hail from different corners of the United States and Europe. Their independent study included immersion in Jewish prayer, holidays, rituals, and celebratory ceremony before an online Bet Din, all guided virtually by Sim Shalom's Founder Rabbi Steven Blane.

The required Mikvah or ritual immersion is one step of the process that cannot be done through cyber space. Conversion students are asked to visit synagogues of varying denominations in order to explore Jewish worship to its fullest and reflect on how they see themselves as future Jews. Sim Shalom's program does not require circumcision.

About Sim Shalom

Sim Shalom is an interactive online Jewish Universalist synagogue which is liberal in thought and traditional in liturgy. Created in 2009 by Rabbi Steven Blane on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Sim Shalom offers a means of connecting the unconnected. Rabbi Blane leads accessible and short Shabbat services every Friday night using a virtual interface and additionally Sim Shalom provides online education programs, Jazz concerts, conversion and life-cycle ceremonies along with weeknight services at 7:00PM EST led by Rabbis and students of this online community.

Rabbi Blane is also the founder and director of the Jewish Spiritual Leader's Institute, http://www.jsli.net, the online professional rabbinical program.

Sim Shalom, a non profit 501  (3) tax-exempt organization, nurtures a Jewish connection through its mission of innovative services, creative education and dynamic outreach to the global community. For more information visit http://www.simshalom.com or call 201-338-0165.
Hemingways Wyoming, an intimate writers retreat Aug. 11-13, 2017, will offer a unique opportunity to experience the authors Wyoming history and helpful writing techniques. Ive spent years introducing writers to Hemingways favorite Paris spots  but he also has a rich history in my native state of Wyoming, says retreat director Darla Worden.

Ernest Hemingway first came to Wyoming in 1928 to stay at Spear-O-Wigwam dude ranch in the Bighorn Mountains where he could fish and finish "A Farewell to Arms." This summer, the dude ranch will be the setting of the Wyoming weekend writing retreat Hemingways Wyoming, Aug. 11  13, 2017, announced Left Bank Writers Retreat founder and director Darla Worden, who is producing the writers' weekend. The retreat begins and ends in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Ive spent years introducing writers to Hemingways favorite Paris spots each June with the Left Bank Writers Retreat, says Worden, but he also has a rich history in my native state of Wyoming. This smaller-scale retreat offers writers who might not have the time or budget for a trip to France to work firsthand with Hemingways writing techniques while experiencing some fascinating and less well-known aspects of his past.

Worden, a fourth-generation Wyoming native from Sheridan, began Left Bank Writers Retreat in Paris seven years ago to share Hemingways Paris with writers. Its thrilling to bring writers to my hometown to tour Hemingway haunts here, she says.

The price for the three-day weekend retreat is $449 per person and includes transportation to and from Sheridan to Spear-O-Wigwam, accommodations in rustic cabins, all meals on Friday and Saturday, breakfast on Sunday, canoes, morning writing exercises and workshops and evening readings. Writers are responsible for their transportation to Sheridan (air service from Denver available on Denver Air Connection http://www.denverairconnection.com/). The retreat is intended for all levels of writers interested in the genres of fiction, memoir and poetry. Group is limited to 8 participants.

Wordens book Finding Hemingway: One womans Wyoming-to-Paris search for Papa will be published next year. Her article about the famous authors visits to the state, Hemingways Wyoming: A Cockeyed Wonderful Country, appeared in Big Sky Journal magazine. Following in Hemingways Wyoming footsteps doing research for the article and book gave rise to the idea for the weekend retreat. Many of even the most avid Ernest Hemingway fans arent familiar with his deep connection to Wyoming, says Worden. And its inspiring to write at the historic Spear-O-Wigwam dude ranch where he actually wrote and fished.

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will debut a new documentary about Hemingway in 2019, and in 2018, Wyoming will host a statewide celebration honoring the 90th anniversary of Hemingways first fateful trip to the state.

About Left Bank Writers Retreat's "Hemingway's Wyoming" weekend:

A sample itinerary for the August Hemingways Wyoming weekend and option to reserve space with a $200 deposit is available on the Left Bank Writers Retreat website. Founded and hosted by Worden, the Left Bank Writers Retreat is named for the now-famous writers who lived on Pariss Left Bank during the 1920s, writing and congregating in the citys cafes and bars to share ideas. The six-day small-group writing workshop and literary tourism experience, held in Paris, France, each June, focuses on the writing techniques and literary landmarks of Hemingway and his cohort of expatriate friends. For more information, visit http://www.leftbankwritersworkshop.com.

Darla Worden is editor of Mountain Living magazine and a writer who lives in Denver, Colo. Worden has written widely for magazines and authored several books.

Contact: Amy Stark, Word PR + Marketing, amy(at)wordprmarketing(dot)com, 307.734.5335
Were excited to welcome White Buffalo Owners Stan and Aimee Socha and Jeremy and Jessica Buxton to the Crimson Cup community. Training entrepreneurs to run their own independent coffee houses is a big part of our success.

Columbus, Ohio Coffee Roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea recently welcomed White Buffalo Coffee Bar & Drive Thru to the group of independent coffee shops, cafes and bakeries it supports in 29 states. Located in a restored vintage Champlin Oil service station at 1200 Falcon Road near the center of Altus, Oklahoma, the new independent coffee shop opened in February.

Were excited to welcome White Buffalo Owners Stan and Aimee Socha and Jeremy and Jessica Buxton to the Crimson Cup community, said Greg Ubert, founder and president. Training entrepreneurs to run their own independent coffee houses is a big part of our success as a coffee roaster and coffee franchise alternative.

The new shop is a joint venture by the two couples, who came to Altus after the husbands were assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base several years ago. After getting to know Altus, they decided they wanted to make an impact in town.

We see tremendous potential in Altus and want to do more than serve out the term of our assignments and leave, said Stan Socha. We want to offer a true craft coffee experience to our friends and neighbors.

Jeremy Buxton agreed, adding, Our kids are in school in town, and we want to make a difference in the community. Our goal was to create a captivating gathering space that would bring the community together over the highest quality coffee.

They purchased a Champlin Oil service station in the center of town that had been vacant for years, then hired Hans and Torrey Butzer of Butzer Architects and Urbanism, Oklahoma City, to help with the renovation. Known for creating the Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City Skydance Bridge and several coffee shops, Hans Butzer is the 2016 American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award recipient for advancing the caliber of public building in Oklahoma City.

White Buffalo serves a full menu of hot, iced and frozen espresso drinks  including mochas, lattes and cappuccinos  as well as iced coffee and tea, cold-brewed coffee, hot chocolate, fruit smoothies and other custom drinks. They also offer Crimson Cups nitrogen-infused Nitro cold brew on tap and a variety of nonalcoholic coffee cocktails. Cookies, pastries and other sweet treats round out the menu.

Inside, groupings of comfortable chairs and tables invite customers to gather and enjoy their coffee or settle in for work or study. The shop offers free Wi-Fi to keep mobile workers, students and business leaders connected. White Buffalo also has a drive-thru for coffee-lovers on the go.

While researching how to open a coffee shop, the couples learned about Crimson Cup through a family member, who referred them to the roasters longtime customer Jerry Bevel of Cpl. Rays Coffee in Texas.

After talking to Bevel, they decided that Crimson Cup was the right roasting and training partner to launch their new venture. They learned how to run a successful coffee shop through the companys 7 Steps to Success coffee franchise alternative. Based on Uberts book, Seven Steps to Success in the Specialty Coffee Industry, the program provides everything new business owners need to open and operate a successful coffee house.

As a coffee roaster and coffee shop franchise alternative, Crimson Cup believes that our company only succeeds when our customers do, Ubert said. As a result, we support coffee shop owners at every step  from scouting a great location and writing a coffee shop business plan to choosing equipment, hiring staff and providing comprehensive training and marketing support.

He added that, unlike coffee shop franchises, Crimson Cup does not charge franchise fees or royalties or lock customers into long-term contracts. We earn our customers business every day through the quality of our coffee and coffee house supplies, comprehensive training, marketing materials and ongoing consultation, he said.

Through this program, Crimson Cup has helped hundreds of independent coffee shops develop into thriving businesses over the past 26 years. It currently supports shops in 29 states, Guam and internationally in Bangladesh.

Our 7 Steps program offers all the support of a franchise, but without franchise fees, royalties or business restrictions, Ubert said. Our consultants guide new coffee shop owners in development of a coffee shop business plan and assist with site evaluation, on-site training, marketing materials, menu ideas and much more.

White Buffalo Coffee Bar has been embraced by the Altus community. After one of the biggest openings in Crimson Cup history, White Buffalo continues to serve steady crowds day in and day out. The shop is one of several businesses the couples operate through SOBUX Investments LLC. They have purchased properties abutting the coffee bar and plan to continue development, turning the corner of Falcon and Park streets into Buffalo Crossing.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Since 1991, Crimson Cup has roasted sustainably sourced specialty and craft coffee in small batches, which it sells directly to consumers and as wholesale coffee beans. The company also teaches entrepreneurs to run successful coffee houses through its coffee franchise alternative program, which includes a coffee shop business plan. Crimson Cup coffee is available through a community of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 29 states, Guam and Bangladesh, as well as the companys own Crimson Cup Coffee Houses. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com.
Theres no competition between companies when it comes to compliance and ethics.

Ethispheres Business Ethics Leadership Alliance is comprised of leading global companies committed to collaborating across the global community. Our new Centers of Excellence include multi-modality insights, tools, examples, policies, podcasts and more to help all companies mitigate risk and improve their performance. These Centers of Excellence come directly from member company requests and member companies stepping in with their expertise. The Business Ethics Leadership Alliance expects to have up to a dozen contributing company centers by the end of 2017 available for the entire global BELA community of companies.

Embodying the spirit of the BELA community and the impetus for the Centers of Excellence, David Howard, Microsofts Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Litigation, Competition Law, commented, Theres no competition between companies when it comes to compliance and ethics.

Under the direction of Kevin McCormack, Vice President of Global Thought Leadership and Programs at Ethisphere, the new BELA Centers of Excellence will enable the sharing of content that will standardize ethical measurement, help companies improve their governance and ethics programs and, most importantly, create sustainable long-term value.

The initial launch includes five centers that contain practical insights around challenging subjects for ethics and compliance professionals with multiple modalities of information that are intended for immediate download and use. Companies within the BELA communities that exemplify best practices will be integral partners in developing the content for the program, including:



Wyndham  Policy Best Practices

Boeing  Structure of an Effective Global Trade Program

Microsoft  Positioning Compliance as a Business Advantage

Realogy  Manager Resources

Teradata and SABIC  Building an Ethical Culture

Studies show that consumers and stakeholders not only want to do business with ethical companies, they demand it. In fact, among Millennials and Generation Z, many wont even consider conducting commerce with a company that does not illustrate acceptable values, McCormack said. Now, more than ever, the time is right for these types of discussions which will take place within the new BELA Centers of Excellence. We believe this is a ground-breaking innovation in the field of corporate compliance and ethics.

The BELA community has grown to the point where we have enough leaders with global experience to add credibility and support to the type of content pieces that are going to make a profound impact on ethics and compliance programs, said Erica Salmon Byrne, Executive Vice President and Executive Director of BELA. Im thrilled that Kevin  who in his role with Ethisphere has built strong relationships with many BELA companies over the years  will be taking the lead on bringing these pan-industry best practices to light.

In the coming weeks, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance will be hosting member-driven local roundtables in cities around the globe including Minneapolis, New York City, Seattle, Boston and Frankfurt to provide a platform for candid exchanges aimed at helping executive leaders and their companies openly address strategic challenges and collaborate together around actionable solutions. For more, visit: http://bela.ethisphere.com/upcoming-events/.

Ethisphere and the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance will also host its fifth annual Latin America Ethics Summit in Miami on Thursday, June 15. To connect with company leaders and be part of the conversation, registration is still open for the Latin America Ethics Summit with full details here: https://latinamericaethicssummit.com/.

For more information on Ethispheres BELA community, visit: http://ethisphere.com/what-we-do/bela.

About Ethisphere

The Ethisphere Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its Worlds Most Ethical Companies recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside Certification and Compliance Leader Verification. More information about Ethisphere can be found at http://ethisphere.com.

###

Media Contact

Aarti Maharaj

Director of Communications

646-480-9715

aarti.maharaj(at)ethisphere(dot)com
At 9:59 a.m. Nepal local time on Monday, May 22, thirty-one-year-old Denver native Chris Bombardier (https://adventuresofahemophiliac.com) became the first person with hemophilia to summit Mount Everest, the worlds highest peak. Bombardiers condition means that throughout the most challenging mental and physical experience of [his] life, he was required to pack perishable medical supplies and give himself intravenous infusions of an essential protein that helps clots the blood, lacking in those with hemophilia.

By summiting Mount Everest, Bombardier has now reached six of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents  a quest he began in 2011. This accomplishment can be claimed by only a few hundred other people worldwide, and is a bold contradiction to many perceptions and stereotypes about what it means to live with hemophilia.

Bombardier emphasizes that these achievements have only been possible because he has had access to essential care for hemophilia throughout his life. Yet this is not the case for as many as 75 percent of people born with the disorder, many of whom do not live to reach adulthood. This inequality has touched Bombardier deeply. It has become his mission to address it, and to challenge any boundaries, large or small, imposed by the disorder. On reaching the Everest summit, Bombardier noted, By standing here I hope to show what we should be striving for. Not that everyone should climb mountains but that everyone should be able to shoot for their dreams.

Bombardier lives his mission not only through his summits, but through his work with empowering organizations such as GutMonkey (http://www.gutmonkey.com/), an outdoor experiential education company with close ties to the hemophilia community. Together with his local organization, the Colorado Chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation (http://www.cohemo.org), Bombardier co-founded the outdoor hiking program, Backpacks & Bleeders, to encourage his local bleeding disorder community to get active outdoors. Tied directly to his Mount Everest quest, Bombardier has also been raising money for the Nepalese hemophilia community through Save One Life (http://www.saveonelife.net) a non-profit that helps improve the quality of life for people with bleeding disorders in developing countries.

Bombardiers epic Everest summit is being documented in the forthcoming film, Bombardier Blood (https://www.bombardierblood.com).
It's about engaging and enabling all rural, urban, and ancillary caregivers to deliver better health outcomes... Past News Releases RSS

South Country Health Alliance (SCHA) announced it has successfully designed, developed, and implemented the first county population health solution that delivers electronic notification services to the full community. The new capability is part of SCHAs Health Information Exchange, called DiamondView, which helps caregivers better manage care transitions throughout the entire cycle of care given to its members. DiamondView incorporates the countys claims information with facility admissions, discharges, and transfers, as well as other community information, critical to delivering wellness to the county, with the insights to provide deeper care pathways for its members.

The integration of this information, across the hospitals, clinics, county public health and social services, and other ancillary organizations in Kanabec County, makes it the first of its kind in the state of Minnesota. The new capabilities in DiamondView Alerts adds to the already operational solutions offered by SCHA: DiamondView Messaging, delivering direct secure messaging on any device, and DiamondView Analytics, delivering population health analytics.

Transitions of care alerts are critical for a variety of providers, not just the physicians and hospital, said SCHA CEO Leota Lind. Typically, other care providers, such as public health nurses or long-term care facilities, do not get notifications about patients in a timely fashion. Our new Health Information Exchange, DiamondView, changes that.

Sandy Zutz-Wiczek, COO of FirstLight Health System, states, FirstLights goal is to improve patient care, and this transformative technology connects us with our community partners including St. Clares Living Community of Mora, Kanabec County Public Health, and other ancillary facilities, truly making the patients care, health, and safety a priority.

Kanabec County, along with FirstLight Health System, St. Clare Living Community, and other community partners have had a long history of working together to coordinate care for residents, said Kathy Burski of Kanabec County Community Health. DiamondView will allow partners to provide greater coordination of care in a much more efficient manner. We are excited to be a part of this cutting-edge process and look forward to the improved patient/client outcomes that will result as the Health Information Exchange is rolled out

in the community.

SCHAs CIO, John Whitington, added: Our key partners in making DiamondView a reality were Medicity as the application vendor and Timmaron Group for the integration and rollout. Both Timmaron Groups know-how and national experience, coupled with Medicitys deep expertise in interoperability, made this electronic notification service a true innovation for our health plan.

Community care is a passion and focus for our team. It's about engaging and enabling all rural, urban, and ancillary caregivers to deliver better health outcomes and deliver that care more efficiently, said Barbara Stinnett, Timmaron Group CEO. We are proud to be partners with South Country and Medicity to make this innovation a reality here in Minnesota.

"We are excited about the launch of Medicity Notify with South Country and Timmaron Group in Kanabec County, said Patrice R. Wolfe, CEO of Medicity. With event-based notifications, organizations can deliver essential information to the right hands at the right time to support care coordination and patient outcomes.

South Country Health Alliance is rolling out these capabilities across their 11 counties and welcomes collaboration from communities here in Minnesota.

About SCHA

South Country Health Alliance, based in Owatonna, Minnesota, is a county-based purchasing health plan owned by 11 Minnesota counties  Brown, Dodge, Goodhue, Kanabec, Morrison, Sibley, Steele, Todd, Wabasha, Wadena, and Waseca  in a joint effort to support accessible, quality healthcare through partnerships with community services and local healthcare providers for Minnesota Health Care Program enrollees. SCHA began enrolling members in November 2001 and now covers more than 40,000 adults and children. The health plan offers comprehensive coverage and emphasizes preventive and routine care to meet the healthcare needs of Minnesota Health Care Program enrollees in its service area. For more information about SCHA, call 1-866-567-7242 or visit http://www.mnscha.org.

About Timmaron Group

Timmaron Group is a global healthcare and technology organization, consisting of operators from all aspects of the healthcare and technology markets. It is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with its healthcare business rooted in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It provides healthcare intelligence around the industrys financial, business, and operational models, to aid the selection and implementation of various technologies into communities. Its clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies, and their investors. Timmaron Group brings a sensible and experienced view, provides innovative yet pragmatic solutions, and works with clients as a team member from strategy formation through execution to results. Learn more at http://www.timmarongroup.com.

About Medicity

Medicity, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a recognized expert in building large clinically connected communities. With nearly 20 years of experience in aggregating, readying, and distributing data for population health, it has created a collaborative network that processes more than six billion clinical transactions each year. Its innovative solutions provide a powerful data foundation to enable unique population health goals. Medicitys intelligent integration of clinical information across the care community leads to enhanced clinical and business workflows, improved decision-making, more engaged providers and patients, and better managed populations. Medicity is an independent subsidiary of Aetna. For more information, visit http://www.medicity.com.
The webinar is free of cost and will feature Jody Daniels, Workplace Mindfulness Project Manager at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion.

New England College of Business (NECB) announced today that it is hosting a webinar entitled, Living WELL, Working WISE Webinar  Mindfulness, What is it and What Can it Bring to the Workplace?

The webinar is free of cost and will feature Jody Daniels, Workplace Mindfulness Project Manager at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion.

With more than two decades of experience in human resources and six years of experience as a mindfulness practitioner, Daniels regularly provides top-notch mindfulness training programs and workshops for businesses and community organizations.

Daniels will begin by introducing participants to the concept of mindfulness and walking them through the foundations of the practice. She will then delve into the specifics of mindfulness in the workplace, and detail the different ways in which organizations can incorporate mindfulness training into their culture.

Daniels will also discuss the positive effects mindfulness can have on employees, and, as a result, their employers. There are several common myths about mindfulness, which, one by one, she will debunk. Finally, participants will be led through the process of getting started practicing mindfulness.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, June 28 at 11 a.m. EST. The Webinar ID is 507-566-227. RSVP for this online event here.

About New England College of Business

Founded in 1909, New England College of Business (NECB) is a leading higher education institution offering quality education and online degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Serving students across the United States, NECB is an online college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. For information on NECB, visit https://www.necb.edu/, follow NECB on Twitter or connect with the school on Facebook.

About the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC)

Founded in 2014, CMC is a vibrant center integrating evidence-based mindfulness and compassion practice to foster an inclusive, caring and multi-cultural community that allows individuals to thrive. CMC is located within Cambridge Health Alliance and is affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. CMCs mission is to integrate evidence-based mindfulness and compassion through five main channels: scientific research, patient care, workplace well-being, programming for the local community, and professional training and education.

About Jody Daniels

Jody is the Workplace Mindfulness Project Manager and an instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at Cambridge Health Alliance. She is also an adjunct professor in the graduate healthcare management program at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Formerly a senior V.P. with over 20 years experience in human resources with a mid-size healthcare organization, Jody also has over eight years clinical experience as a psychiatric social worker at various academic medical centers. She has trained at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at UMass Medical School in Worcester, MA and has been a mindfulness practitioner for the past six years.
We are excited about the growth of our Appleton office. The addition of a highly-experienced advisor like Nick, represents a solid addition to our talented team of advisors.

Ziegler, a privately held full-service brokerage firm, today announced today it has hired Nick Corrente as a vice president and financial advisor in its Appleton, WI branch office.

Corrente brings nearly 20 years of wealth management experience to Ziegler, having previously served as a private client advisor for J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in Appleton. Robert Moats, Senior Managing Director and Head of Ziegler Wealth Management stated, We are excited about the growth of our Appleton office. The addition of a highly-experienced advisor like Nick, represents a solid addition to our talented team of advisors.

Corrente commented, My goal is to empower my clients to live life to its fullest. I am committed to client-focused service, while using Zieglers comprehensive resources to provide the objective advice each client deserves. Corrente continued, What sets Ziegler apart from other firms is its offering of full-service investments as well as its own proprietary underwritten bond issues, all while providing a responsive, personal approach. This combination helps me differentiate myself in the marketplace.

Ziegler is actively executing on its growth strategy and is looking to add advisors in its Appleton office. We are the best of both the independent and wirehouse worlds, stated Moats. Like a wirehouse, we have a full support structure so advisors can focus on their clients and business. Yet, we have a culture to develop your business like an independent firm. Here at Ziegler, our advisors determine the right approach and focus for their businesses.

Corrente holds Series 7, 6, 65, 63, 53, 4, and 24 securities licenses. As a resident of Neenah, Wisconsin, he is an active member and volunteer at Trinity Lutheran Church & School in Menasha, Wisconsin where two of his three children attend school. He Corrente also volunteers with the Neenah High School Powerlifting Team where his daughter is a member. Zieglers Appleton office is located at 2801 East Enterprise Avenue, Suite 101 in Appleton. The general office phone number is 920-749-5023 and toll-free number is 800-545-1498.

For more information about careers at Ziegler, please visit us at http://www.ziegler.com/makeachange/.

For more information about Ziegler, please visit us at http://www.Ziegler.com.

About Ziegler:

Ziegler is a privately held investment bank, capital markets, wealth management and proprietary investments firm, celebrating its 115th anniversary this year. Ziegler is ranked No. 1 in the country in healthcare/senior living underwriters by issuance and No. 4 by par amount (Thomson Reuters, 2016), and is ranked in the top 20 municipal underwriters in the country by volume (Bloomberg, 2016). Specializing in the healthcare, senior living, education and religion sectors, as well as general municipal and structured finance enables Ziegler to generate a positive impact on the communities it serves. Headquartered in Chicago with regional and branch offices throughout the United States, Ziegler provides its clients with capital raising, strategic advisory services, equity and fixed income sales & trading, wealth management and research. To learn more, visit http://www.ziegler.com.

Certain comments in this news release represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This clients experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, nor is it indicative of future performance or success. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, in particular, the overall financial health of the securities industry, the strength of the healthcare sector of the U.S. economy and the municipal securities marketplace, the ability of the Company to underwrite and distribute securities, the market value of mutual fund portfolios and separate account portfolios advised by the Company, the volume of sales by its retail brokers, the outcome of pending litigation, and the ability to attract and retain qualified employees.

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No Italian wedding or celebration would be complete without the rhythmic song and dance of the tarantella. It is the most popular of all the Italian songs and it is even considered by many as the song of Italy. The song is both lively and graceful and the dance is one of light and quick steps mixed with passionate gestures. Its origin dates back to the Middles Ages.

Likewise, no Italian meal or celebration would be complete without the authentic Italian cuisine, superior culinary skills and fresh ingredients of the Tarantella Ristorante. It is the largest Italian restaurant in Clark, New Jersey and it is even considered by many as the only Italian restaurant to go to when in Clark. The restaurant is both lively and inviting and the menu offers a complete line of southern Italian cuisine. It has been family owned and operated since inception, which dates back fifteen years. Tarantellas is a place where every customer is treated as a guest in the owners home.

Since its beginning, this well-known restaurant, bar and pizzeria, located at 1199 Raritan Road in Clark, New Jersey had been owned and operated by the Constantin family. On May 15, 2017 the Constantins ownership tarantella ended when the restaurant was sold, as reported by Richard R. Santore of Bielat Santore & Company, Allenhurst, New Jersey the broker for the sale. Proprietor Stanley Constantin decided it was time to retire and to sell Tarantellas after nearly 50 years in the business. His dancing days are over; or are they just beginning?

The new owner, a seasoned restauranteur, will continue to operate Tarantellas as a family-orientated, family-priced and family quality restaurant. Tarantellas menu is extensive, serving some of the finest southern Italian meat, chicken and seafood dishes in the area, in addition to a complete array of pastas, a variety of sandwiches, wraps and salads and a celebrated line of pizza for both on premise and take-out consumption.

With seating for up to 250, including a spacious bar, Tarantellas also offers a full complement of in-house and off-premise catering packages. New ownership plans on making minor cosmetic changes to the restaurant over the next 4-6 months in order to upgrade the facility and provide a pleasurable appearance.

The restaurant is open seven days a week for lunch, dinner and private affairs. So for your next celebration, instead of the Waltz, Tango, or Electric Slide, take a stab at dancing the Tarantella; 1199 Raritan Road, Clark, New Jersey!
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Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Oklahoma has sent a letter to the attorneys general of four states regarding the marketplace conduct and complaint history of a major car rental company based in Tulsa.

In the past three years, over 830 complaints have been filed with BBB against the company; all were handled by the BBB Serving Eastern Oklahoma as the designated Corporate Customer Service location for the company. A review of these complaints and allegations indicated a pattern of complaints in three major areas: Sales Practices, Billing and Collection, and Contracts (see attached letter for details). More than ten percent of the complaints were from consumers in two states, California and Florida.

BBB has attempted to address the pattern of complaints with [the company] on several occasions over the past three years, notes Amie Mitchell, president and CEO of BBB Tulsa. The most recent attempt was on March 29, 2017, in a letter sent by certified mail. The business failed to respond. Because consumers are still coming to us with the same complaints, week after week, we felt we had no choice but to turn this matter over to law enforcement.

For the complete press release: go.bbb.org/2rUhGjP

For the letter to the attorneys general: go.bbb.org/2qZJwuK

For BBB tips on renting a car: go.bbb.org/rentalcar

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2016, people turned to BBB more than 167 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as home to its national and international programs on dispute resolution, advertising review, and industry self-regulation. BBB Serving Eastern Oklahoma is headquartered in Tulsa and provides services to businesses and consumers in 23 counties, including more than 2,800 BBB Accredited Businesses.

MEDIA CONTACTS: For more information, journalists should contact Katherine Hutt in New York (212-705-0131 or khutt(at)council.bbb(dot)org) or Shannon Spainhour in Oklahoma (918-295-2409 or sspainhour(at)tulsabbb(dot)org)
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLPs Carolyn McNiven spoke at the American Bar Associations (ABA) 27th Annual National Institute on Health Care Fraud (NIHCF) in Fort Lauderdale on May 17. She participated in the Introduction to Fraud and Compliance for Industry Groups panel, addressing the basic fraud, abuse and compliance issues associated with providers (hospitals and physicians).

The NIHCF provided an educational experience for health care attorneys, regulators, compliance professionals, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys and qui tam relators counsel. Drawing participants from each of these groups, panelists provided unique perspectives that advanced discussion of current legal and ethical issues in the health care fraud practice. More information about the event and the full agenda can be seen here.

McNiven, a shareholder in the firms San Francisco office, focuses on government enforcement issues, whether the matter is criminal, civil or both. Her understanding of government decision-making is grounded in her many years of experience as a federal criminal prosecutor in Chicago where she served as that offices criminal healthcare fraud coordinator, established its HEAT Strike Force, and handled numerous high-profile public corruption and corporate fraud matters. An experienced trial and appellate attorney, McNiven is particularly skilled at negotiating with enforcement authorities before charging decisions are made to optimize outcomes for her clients. She also counsels companies faced with sensitive legal and practical problems relating to suspected criminal activities by employees, including cybercrime, and anti-corruption matters.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GTLaw) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One firm worldwide, GTLaw has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the second largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2016, and among the Top 20 on the 2016 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
(DENVER)  The American Water Works Association announced today that Olympic champion Amy Van Dyken and a panel of water industry leaders will speak at the associations Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE17), to be held June 11-14 in Philadelphia.

Three noteworthy leaders in the water industry will be part of a panel discussion at ACE17s Opening General Session at 8:30 a.m. on Mon., June 12 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The panel will feature:



Carla Reid  General Manager & Chief Executive Officer at Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Sue F. McCormick  Chief Executive Office at Great Lakes Water Authority

William G. Stowe  Chief Executive Officer and General Manager at Des Moines Water Works

The event will be sponsored by HomeServe, a leading provider of home repair service plans.

Additionally, Amy Van Dyken will speak during ACE17s Water Industry Luncheon at 12 p.m. on Tues., June 13 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Van Dyken is a six-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, four of which she won at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2014, a severe all-terrain vehicle accident left her partially paralyzed. She will speak about her experience as a world-class athlete and the obstacles she has overcome throughout her career. The event will be sponsored by CDM Smith and Stantec.

Visit ACE17s webpage to view the conference program and to register. Standard registration rates end on May 31.

Media note: Accredited members of the media may attend ACE17 at no charge. However, they are required to register with AWWA Public Affairs by May 31. For media registration, please visit the AWWA Press Room or contact Deirdre Mueller at dmueller(at)awwa.org or at 303-347-6140.

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Established in 1881, the American Water Works Association is the largest nonprofit, scientific and educational association dedicated to managing and treating water, the worlds most important resource. With approximately 50,000 members, AWWA provides solutions to improve public health, protect the environment, strengthen the economy and enhance our quality of life.
St. Petersburg College (SPC) President Bill Law and multiple SPC students gathered on Tuesday, May 23 to speak about the impacts of budget cuts imposed by the Florida state Legislature.

The Legislatures 2017-18 budget includes a $25 million reduction in funding for the Florida College Systems 28 community colleges, which includes a budget reduction of $1.8 million in funding for SPC.

Reduced funding may result in fewer class offerings and a decrease in the scope of student support measures like tutoring and integrated career and academic advising. Both could cause a delay in students finishing their degrees. The move comes at a time when community college enrollment in Florida has dropped due to an improved economy, which has already caused a decrease in tuition revenue.

Delaying that graduation makes life very difficult for everyone. When we are in the middle of a recession, enrollment peaks. When people cant find jobs, they come back to college. Law said. When money is coming back to the state, its hard for us to understand why the state wouldnt find a way to put a few dollars in the Florida College System and keep us whole - keep us moving forward and let us do the good work we do to serve Pinellas County.

Law and students urged Florida Gov. Rick Scott to veto the budget cut.

Governor Rick Scott should veto the budget items affecting community colleges and send it back to the Legislature to have $25 million in cuts for community colleges restored for the school year of 2017-18, said Tracy Pham, 16, Vice President of the Student Government Association on the colleges Seminole Campus.

Students said they see an inequality in the funding provided to state universities. As the Legislature cut $25 million from community colleges, it is investing an additional $232 million into state universities in 2017-18.

All students cannot afford the cost of universities, said student Nathyn Montagano, 29. St. Petersburg Colleges tuition is roughly half that of state universities in Florida.

To ask us to put ourselves into six figures worth of debt before we even enter the workforce, I mean, thats quite the burden youre asking us to put on ourselves, said Montagano, who serves as Parliamentarian of the Student Government Association on the Gibbs Campus.

SPC has worked diligently to increase student success rates through additional tutoring and integrated career and academic advising to ensure that students gain skills they need to find gainful employment.

At St. Petersburg College, weve made major commitments to supporting our students in our learning support centers, where students can get tutoring and help outside of classes for virtually any subject that they study in, Law said. And our data clearly shows that students who are engaged in out-of-class support are more likely to be successful. Any reduction in funding that threatens those support systems is detrimental to students.

SPC, which serves thousands of military veterans each year, is nationally recognized for its veterans services. Brandon Smith, 31, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and President of the Student Veterans Association, said he worries that the decreased funding may force the college to scale back its work with veterans who are eager to return to the workforce.

We are a community college. We come out here and transition from the military and go to school and get a job in the community. Cutting funds is bad for business...If its bad for business, its bad for veterans, Smith said. From your EMS workers to policemen to trade jobs like plumbers, mechanics and anything else you need, you get them from a community college. And you want to cut that? I dont think thats a good idea at all.

Fatma Hedeia, 55, President of the Student Government Association on SPCs Clearwater Campus, said she feared a decrease in class offerings, which will negatively impact SPCs large population of part-time college students who require access to flexible scheduling options in order to juggle additional demands at work and home. She implored Gov. Scott to send the budget back to the Legislature to restore the funding.

Cutting the budget is really going to hurt a lot of us. Not just the high school kids coming to school, but the people who are older and trying to go back to school, Hedeia said. Governor Scott, youve got to veto this bill, send it back and make them redo it.

This is a press release from St. Petersburg College. For more information, contact Rita Farlow, Assistant Director, Marketing and Strategic Communications, at farlow.rita@spcollege.edu or 727-302-6526, or Marilyn Shaw, Public Relations Specialist, at shaw.marilyn(at)spcollege.edu or 727-341-4712.

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SC Media First Look If you are an SAP shop (with others to follow shortly), you cannot afford to be without the tool, at least if you want your ERP system to be secure.

Onapsis, the global experts in SAP and Oracle application cybersecurity and compliance, today announced its flagship product, the Onapsis Security Platform, has received a First Look review in SC Medias April 2017 Edition, an honor bestowed upon new and innovative information security solutions. The bottom line, according to the rigorous SC Media Labs: If you are an SAP shop (with others to follow shortly), you cannot afford to be without the tool, at least if you want your ERP system to be secure.

In the review, SC Medias technology editor Peter Stephenson reports that Onapsis addressed a market gap that needed to be filled. With today's attackers, going as did (allegedly) bank robber Willy Sutton, where the money is, the systems that hold that money need as never before to be protected. Onapsis drove a stake in the ground and became the go-to company for SAP security that goes well beyond segmentation of duties.

Receiving this evaluation from SC Media Labs team - recognized as the most objective, thorough and best in the industry - continues to validate Onapsis commitment to providing the industry with the best solutions for securing their most critical assets. As Peter mentioned, we are filling a truly critical gap that some organizations arent even aware of and has been a dangerous blind spot. SAP cybersecurity is becoming a board room initiative and requires a fully aligned organizational effort between security, IT and audit to ensure that these systems are completely protected, said Mariano Nunez, CEO and co-Founder, Onapsis. We thank SC Media for helping to educate and advance the industry with innovative technologies and approaches.

Recognized as a purpose-built system that addresses the unique security issues of ERP systems, particularly SAP, the Onapsis Security Platform (OSP) is the first SAP cybersecurity solution that automates vulnerability detection, threat response, and audit and compliance tasks for SAP systems. Version 1.8 of the Onapsis Security Platform includes integrations with several SIEM platforms, SAP Secure Network Communication (SNC) support, and custom module creation abilities. Through continuous monitoring, the Onapsis Security Platform delivers a near real-time preventative, detective and corrective approach for securing SAP systems and applications whether deployed on-premise, or in a private, public or hybrid cloud environment.

This First Look review follows on the selection of the Onapsis Security Platform as a 2016 Innovator by SC Media for Innovation in Security Infrastructure, awarded to products showing sustained innovation and performance and having contributed materially to the growth of the industry.

To read the full article, please visit: https://www.scmagazine.com/onapsis-security-platform-osp/article/647996/

About Onapsis

Onapsis cybersecurity solutions automate the monitoring and protection of your SAP applications, keeping them compliant and safe from insider and outsider threats. As the proven market leader, global enterprises trust Onapsis to protect the essential information and processes that run their businesses.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, Onapsis serves over 200 customers including many of the Global 2000. Onapsis solutions are also the de-facto standard for leading consulting and audit firms such as Accenture, Deloitte, E&Y, IBM, KPMG and PwC.

Onapsis solutions include the Onapsis Security Platform, which is the most widely-used SAP-certified cyber-security solution in the market. Unlike generic security products, Onapsis context-aware solutions deliver both preventative vulnerability and compliance controls, as well as real-time detection and incident response capabilities to reduce risks affecting critical business processes and data. Through open interfaces, the platform can be integrated with leading SIEM, GRC and network security products, seamlessly incorporating enterprise applications into existing vulnerability, risk and incident response management programs.

These solutions are powered by the Onapsis Research Labs which continuously provide leading intelligence on security threats affecting SAP and Oracle enterprise applications. Experts of the Onapsis Research Labs were the first to lecture on SAP cyber-attacks and have uncovered and helped fix hundreds of security vulnerabilities to-date affecting SAP Business Suite, SAP HANA, SAP Cloud and SAP Mobile applications, as well as Oracle JD Edwards and Oracle E-Business Suite platforms.

Onapsis has been issued U.S. Patent No. 9,009,837 entitled Automated Security Assessment of Business-Critical Systems and Applications, which describes certain algorithms and capabilities behind the technology powering the Onapsis Security Platform and Onapsis X1 software platforms. This patented technology is recognized industry wide and has gained Onapsis the recognition as a 2015 SINET 16 Innovator.

For more information, please visit http://www.onapsis.com, or connect with us on Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Onapsis and Onapsis Research Labs are registered trademarks of Onapsis, Inc. All other company or product names may be the registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Patrick L. Anderson has joined the firms Washington, D.C. office as a Lobbyist.

Im excited for this opportunity to join Dickinson Wright and join my colleague Teddy Eynon as we continue to build the firms national government relations practice in D.C., said Patrick Anderson. Dickinson Wright has always had a strong stable of government relations, municipal law and public finance lawyers and I look forward to working with them to address our clients government relations and public policy concerns here in Washington.

Mr. Anderson has more than a decade of experience supporting the needs of governmental entities, manufacturers, technology startups, and trade associations in the development of comprehensive models for achieving regulatory and legislative goals, and assisting clients in effectively responding to policy and political concerns. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Anderson drafted a multi-year government relations strategy adopted by a Fortune 500 Company and analyzed political risk of investments for several hedge funds and private equity groups.

During his career on Capitol Hill, Mr. Anderson worked for a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, during which time he also served as co-director of the Congressional Border Caucus and played a significant role in establishing the Congressional Hispanic Conference and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute. He also previously worked for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs during the development of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Mr. Anderson received his B.A. in economics from Saint Josephs University.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 450 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas and 16 industry groups. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has seventeen offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and ten other domestic offices in Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville and Music Row, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canadian office is located in Toronto.

Dickinson Wright offers our clients a distinctive combination of superb client service, exceptional quality, value for fees, industry expertise and business acumen. As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, Dickinson Wright has built state-of-the-art, independently-verified risk management controls and security processes for our commercial transactions. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited for their expertise and experience by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.
Robert M. Bernstein, MD and Michael B. Wolfeld, MD of Bernstein Medical  Center for Hair Restoration have introduced ARTAS 9x, a major upgrade of the ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant System. Bernstein Medical became the first practice to perform surgery using the ARTAS Robotic System 9x. A corresponding article describing the latest modifications to the ARTAS robot was published in the industry journal Hair Transplant Forum International. The ARTAS 9x system enables faster and more precise robotic hair transplant procedures.

Some of the benefits of the updated ARTAS system include greater range-of-motion of the robotic arm, newly designed needles for more accurate harvesting, improved optical system, simplified site making, smaller donor wounds, automatic scar detection, and a greater overall speed.

The latest improvements extend the already substantial capabilities of the ARTAS Robot with improved accuracy, quicker donor healing, and a faster overall procedure. ~ Dr. Michael B. Wolfeld

The article, published in the May/June issue of Hair Transplant Forum International, describes technical modifications to the robot and their benefits. The article is titled, Whats New in Robotic Hair Transplantation.

The ARTAS Robot is a physician-assisted suite of hardware and software components, developed by Restoration Robotics, Inc., which automates key aspects of a surgical hair restoration procedure. Using its three-dimensional optical system, the ARTAS System guides its robotic arm and surgical tools with microscopic precision. By automating follicular unit graft harvesting and recipient site creation, the robot minimizes human error in Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplants and allows for the maximum preservation of hair follicles in the transplant.

About Bernstein Medical  Center for Hair Restoration

Bernstein Medical  Center for Hair Restoration, founded by Dr. Bernstein in 2005, is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of hair loss in men and women using the most advanced technologies. In 2011 it became one of the first worldwide to use the image-guided, computer-driven technology of the ARTAS Robotic System in clinical practice. Bernstein Medical is a beta-testing site for the study of new product features and enhancements in the robot. The state-of--the-art facility is located in midtown Manhattan, New York City where Dr. Robert M. Bernstein and Dr. Michael B. Wolfeld treat patients from around the globe. The board-certified physicians and highly trained clinical staff at Bernstein Medical take pride in providing the highest level of care for hair loss patients.
San Diego Business Journal has recognized John Klinedinst as a 2017 Most Admired CEO Finalist This honor is a true reflection of Johns leadership, business acumen, and entrepreneurial spirit.

John D. Klinedinst, Founder and CEO of Klinedinst PC, has been named a finalist for the 2017 Most Admired CEOs by the San Diego Business Journal. This marks the sixth time in the Awards 10-year history that Mr. Klinedinst has been chosen as a finalist.

For the past decade, the Most Admired CEO Award has recognized San Diego leaders for their outstanding professional achievements and their contributions to the community. Finalists are selected for their determination and insight, as well as their track record for success. Most Admired CEOs are also recognized for their ability to inspire and take the lead in driving not only their businesses, but also the local economy.

Founded by Mr. Klinedinst in 1983, the law firm has seen incredible year-over-year growth. Most recently in 2015, Mr. Klinedinst and the firms shareholders launched the firms newest office in Seattle, Washington. With its first expansion outside of California, the firm has expanded to serve businesses from five offices across the Western United States.

This honor is a true reflection of Johns leadership, business acumen, and entrepreneurial spirit, noted Art Moreau, Shareholder and Chief Operating Officer. Not only is he an incredible attorney, but a savvy businessperson. His leadership in the business of law affirms this recognition.

Every year, the San Diego Business Journal conducts an extensive survey of San Diego firms to identify outstanding and highly-revered Chief Executive Officers. After collecting nominations for Most Admired CEOs, the San Diego Business Journal evaluates all submissions and then publishes its list of finalists for the award. Mr. Klinedinst was recognized as a Most Admired CEO finalist in the category for a Privately-Held Company.

Finalists will be honored at the Awards Program and Reception on June 15, 2017 at the Hilton San Diego.

Klinedinst congratulates Mr. Klinedinst on this special honor. To learn more about the San Diego Business Journal Most Admired CEO awards reception, please visit:

http://app.greenrope.com/events/2017ceo

And to learn more about Mr. Klinedinst, please visit:

http://johnklinedinst.com

About Klinedinst

Klinedinst has become the go-to firm for clients across California, across the West, and across the globe. Our litigators, trial attorneys, and transactional lawyers guide clients through every problem, finding solutions at every turn. The firm serves clients from offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Ana, and Seattle. Whether representing businesses in court, helping negotiate transactions, or handling matters in state, federal, or appellate courts, Klinedinst attorneys help get the job done.
EC-Council has been the worlds leading information security certification body since the launch of their flagship program, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) This was an important event for New Mexico. It was timely, informative and necessary.

The New Mexico Technology Councils Smart Cities event, hosted by information security leader EC-Council, focused on building Smart Cities in New Mexico and included a panel of IT experts and stakeholders from around the state, moderated by veteran Albuquerque journalist Gene Grant. The sold-out event also featured a panel of speakers voicing concerns and ideas for New Mexicos tech community. The panelists represented a range of perspectives and included Larry Worstell, Former Acting City of Santa Fe and ITT Director and Infrastructure Services Manager; Peter Ambs, CIO, City of Albuquerque; and Bruce Oakeley, Deputy CIO, NMDOT. Eric Lopez, EC-Councils VP, said, EC-Council is proud to host the Smart Cities conference and impressed by the leadership and innovation shown by the New Mexico Tech Council.

Gene Grant, the Building Cities of the Future  Insights from our Community CIOs panel moderator, said, I can't express enough how perfect this event was for me not only as a moderator of the panel but as an attendee. This was an important event for New Mexico. It was timely, informative and necessary.

After the panel presentation, there were four breakout sessions all throughout the EC-Council building presented by speakers from CheckPoint, the City of Las Vegas, AT&T, Deloitte, and the New Mexico Department of Information Security, among others. The breakout sessions focused on information security, sensor technology, IoT, how smart cities can enhance public safety, and other topics. A particularly resonate topic was presented by Michael Sherwood, Director of Technology and Innovation for the City of Las Vegas. Sherwood spoke on the importance of innovation in achieving smart city status and how that model has serviced Las Vegas financially.

The closing presentation was delivered by Denise Lee, Senior Manager, Deloitte Advisory. Lees talk, entitled Deloittes 360 Smart City Framework: From Vision to Reality, the true value of attaining smart city status. Lee stressed that, The result is an urban center that not only leverages technology to improve its own operations, but connects with citizens, business, and non-profits in new ways.

About EC-Council

EC-Council has been the worlds leading information security certification body since the launch of their flagship program, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), which created the ethical hacking industry in 2002. Since the launch of CEH, EC-Council has added industry-leading programs to their portfolio to cover all aspects of information security including EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO), among others. EC-Council Foundation, the non-profit branch of EC-Council, created Global CyberLympics, the worlds first global hacking competition. EC-Council Foundation also hosts a suite of conferences across the US and around the world including Hacker Halted, Global CISO Forum, TakeDownCon, and CISO Summit.

For more information about EC-Council, please see http://www.eccouncil.org.

About New Mexico Technology Council

The New Mexico Technology Council (NMTC) is a member-driven association of businesses, organizations and tech professionals working together to promote the growth and success of New Mexicos technology business sectors. We believe our technology community is the catalyst for inspiration and leadership that transforms our state into a world-center for business innovation, creative thinking, community involvement and educational support.
The Villarreal Team In order to get invited, all you have to do is buy or sell a house with The Villarreal Team or refer us to someone who does. So far we have 22 on our list for next years party. Past News Releases RSS RE/MAX Integrity Opens New Office...

The Villarreal Team Helping...

Ruben and Nancy Villarreal, owners of RE/MAX Integrity, recently hosted their first client appreciation party. More than 120 people, all past clients and referrals, attended the event at Alicias Mexican Grille in Spring, TX.

Our first annual client appreciation party was quite a success, and we will continue to host one annually, said Ruben. Added Nancy, In order to get invited, all you have to do is buy or sell a house with The Villarreal Team or refer us to someone who does. So far we have 22 on our list for next years party.

In addition to Ruben and Nancy, The Villarreal Team consists of Ray Humphrey, Beth Perque, Andree Ward, Robin Webster, Ashley Silvey and Dawnya Simmons. Together, this prolific team has earned numerous awards and recognitions, including being named one of Americas most productive sales teams as a part of REAL Trends Americas Best Real Estate Agents, ranking both for transaction sides and volume closed for the State of Texas.

For twelve consecutive years, The Villarreal Team has been ranked in the Top 20 teams in the City of Houston by the Houston Business Journal for both transactions closed and volume closed. Furthermore, Ruben and Nancy have been named Broker/Owners of the Year, are listed in Whos Who in Real Estate and are RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement and RE/MAX Hall of Fame recipients.

If you are looking for a team with an outstanding marketing plan to sell your home and one that provides excellent communication and immediate follow-up, leaving no question unanswered, then Ruben and Nancy are the team for you, said client Jack P. Our home was sold in less than one week.

About Ruben and Nancy Villarreal, The Villarreal Team

Ruben and Nancy Villarreal are the founders of one of Houstons most award-winning RE/MAX teams. The Villarreal Team is synonymous with customer service, market knowledge, innovative marketing, constant attention to details and genuine care for its clients. They specialize in North/Northwest Houston, The Woodlands, Spring, Klein as well as Montgomery County. For more information, please call (713) 557-7095, or visit http://www.rubenandnancy.com.

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.
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A cookie is a small text file that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.Website use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google") to help analyse the use of this website. For this purpose, Google Analytics uses"cookies", which are text files placed on your computer.The information generated by the cookies about your use of this website - standard internet log information (including your IP address) and visitor behaviour information in an anonymous form - will be transmitted to and stored by Google including on servers in the United States. Google will anonymize the information sent by removing the last octet of your IP address prior to its storage.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website and compiling reports on website activity.We not use, and not allow any third party to use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to this site. Google may transfer the information collected by Google Analytics to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google`s behalf.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.You may refuse the use of Google Analytics cookies by downloading and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics.Cookies are also used to record if you have agreed (or not) to our use of cookies on this site, so that you are not asked the question every time you visit the site.You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed.Most browsers allow you to:If you chose to delete cookies, you should be aware that any preferences will be lost. Also, if you block cookies completely many websites (including ours) will not work properly and webcasts will not work at all. For these reasons, we do not recommend turning cookies off when using our webcasting services.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Wine enthusiasts across the state are gearing up for this years Vintage Indiana Food & Wine Festival, hosted by the Purdue University Wine Grape Team. The 18th annual celebration of Indiana wineries will be held June 3 from noon to 6 p.m. at Military Park, 601 W. New York Ave., Indianapolis.

Visitors will have a chance to sample more than 200 award-winning wines from Indiana producers. There will also be food, live music and artisan booths, with chefs and winemakers demonstrating their crafts.

Katie Barnett, marketing extension specialist for Purdues Wine Grape Team, said Indiana is a major wine-producing state, with Hoosier vintners selling more than a million gallons annually.

Winemaking is an integral player in Indianas rich agricultural heritage, a legacy that dates all the way back to 1802 - decades before there was an Indiana, Barnett said. Today, nearly 100 wineries can be found throughout our state. All are family-owned and operated, with multiple generations working side-by-side to grow their grapes and craft the wines they sell.

The festival provides visitors with a unique opportunity to sample products from several of these wineries all in one place.

Thats the beauty of Vintage Indiana, there is something for everyone at any age, Barnett said. From sampling wines to sampling food to shopping artisan booths to exploring the tourism side, everyone is sure to have a good time.

This event is open to anyone age 21 and older. The first 10,000 guests will receive an etched wine glass. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the gate, and $50 for early admission. Designated drivers can purchase tickets for $10.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the festival website at http://www.vintageindiana.com/.

Writer: Morgan Sussman, 765-494-8415, msussman@purdue.edu

Source: Katie Barnett, 765-496-3842, vino@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415;

Shari Finnell, Manager/Media Relations and Public Information, sfinnell@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
Jason Michael Mower, 43, of Davenport, has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for receipt of child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel.

After his release from prison, Mr. Mower also must serve eight years of supervised release.

A nationwide FBI investigation begun in 2015 into an online child pornography website showed Mr. Mower was a member and had viewed more than 60 images of child pornography, according to a U.S. Attorney's office release. A forensic evaluation of electronic devices seized from Mr. Mower's residence revealed he also accessed other child pornography websites and downloaded images and videos from October 2013 to February 2015, according to the release.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative.
SPRINGFIELD -- Local Republican state senators aren't pleased with a Senate budget plan passed Tuesday that includes a $5.4 billion tax hike.

Senate Democrats added spending to a budget plan to lure more Democratic support before voting to income tax hike without a single Republican "aye." With a week remaining before the General Assembly's scheduled May 31 adjournment, Senate Democrats said they could wait no longer to approve a plan and give the House of Representatives time to weigh in.

Approving a budget after Wednesday will require a three-fifths majority.

Local state senators Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island, and Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria, blasted the plan.

They're going to tell you that this will address the crisis facing our state, but that's not true," said Sen. Anderson. "Senate Democrats gave up on bipartisan, good-faith negotiations toward a balanced budget that includes reforms to put Illinois in a better position moving forward, and instead pushed through a piece of legislation that aims to permanently raise your income tax rate to 4.95 percent.

We cannot keep asking taxpayers to foot the bill for bad decisions made by reckless, irresponsible career politicians who refuse to change the way they do business, he said. I voted against this legislation and urge my colleagues in the House to do the same.

Sen. Weaver called the bill "extremely disappointing."

"The other side just passed an absolutely massive tax hike, adding completely new taxes, while refusing to support workers' compensation reform or substantive property tax relief for struggling homeowners," he said. "This will only serve to increase the exodus of jobs from our state.

Illinois has been without a budget since Summer 2015 -- the longest any state has gone without an annual spending plan in modern history. The current fiscal year is set to end June 30 with a deficit pushing $6 billion.

As of Tuesday, the state was behind on paying $14.4 billion in bills.

The Senate-approved plan would increase Illinois' personal income tax rate from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent. It also includes a $37.3 billion spending plan, the same amount Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed in February.

The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said the state's mountain of bills could grow by 70 percent next year with no action.

"Please explain to me what the income tax will be with $24 billion in backlog," Sen. Hutchinson said. "Junk-bond status. No capital bill. No roads. No infrastructure. No school repairs. No nothing.

"If you're waiting for a better deal with the tax payments, somebody better start telling the truth."

Republicans are pressing for a trade-off under which they would support the income tax increase in return for Democrats supporting Gov. Rauner's call for freezing local property taxes and reducing costs in the workers' compensation program.
ROCK ISLAND -- A pair of Quad-Cities restaurant veterans are looking to bring a buffet to Rock Island by opening Spago's in the former Goombazz Big City Eatzz.

In Italian, spago means "string" -- such as a string of cheese off a pizza or a strand of spaghetti, said business partners Dave Walz and Jeff McCabe, respectively. They hope their new restaurant at 2704 18th Ave., Rock Island, -- the former home to Godfather's Pizza and, later, Goombazz -- will be open by the end of July or the first part of August.

Mr. McCabe said his lengthy restaurant resume includes starting the Davenport Chick-fil-A. Mr. Walz was the general manager of Ryan's Steakhouse in Moline which suddenly closed in March 2016. He said he plans to rehire as many of his former staff as he can and operate Spago's as a buffet, similar to what he directed at Ryan's.

Spago's will feature a four-sided, 12-by-5-feet salad bar as well as buffet lines for pizza and hot food items, Mr. Walz said. He's eager to get started.

"I've been unemployed for a year now," he said. "It will be great to get back to work."

He added it will feel great to rehire members of his old Ryan's crew. He plans to hire 20 to 30 people to operate the restaurant once the renovations are completed.

The interior of the former Goombazz has been entirely gutted, Mr. Walz said.

Conditions were terrible when the partners first looked at the building, Mr. McCabe said, but Ald. Ivory Deacon Clark, Ward 1, convinced them to open up shop in Rock Island.

The renovation has included installing a totally new plumbing system, Mr. McCabe said. Remaining projects include installing a drop ceiling and floor tiles, Mr. Walz said. The projects are keeping handyman Scott Lund, of Milnes Construction, hopping; later work will include removing a tall sign in the parking lot identifying the restaurant as Goombazz.

The men said cooperation from Rock Island city staff, Realtors, contractors, electricians and plumbers helped convinced them to open.

Goombazz Big City Eatzz opened in fall 2011, moving to the 18th Street location the following year. In 2013, it was selected for a $10,000 redo by Chef Robert Irvine of the Food Network's "Restaurant: Impossible TV series and was featured in a Dec. 18, 2013, episode.

It closed the next year, with employees receiving no warning before a sign was placed on the restaurant's doors.

A similar scenario occurred at Ryan's Steakhouse where employees received phone calls telling them not to come to work, and signs appeared on restaurant doors stating the business was closed.
Today is Thursday, May 25, the 145th day of 2017. There are 220 days left in the year.

1867 -- 150 years ago: Orders for service by the Rock Island Ice. So., can be left at O.B. Huggins City Scales, and superior ice will be supplied when the wagon comes around.

1892 -- 125 years ago: County treasurer Campbell appointed J.N. Huntoon as deputy collector of personal taxes.

1917 -- 100 years ago: Island City and East End Parks were renamed Douglas and Lincoln Parks respectively.

1942 -- 75 years ago: New Yorks mayor, Florella LaGuardia, spoke to area residents on a special I Am an American Day program on WHBF-MBS.

1967 -- 50 years ago: The Sells & Gray Three-Ring wild animal circus will present two performances in Rock Island on Wednesday, June 7. The performances, under sponsorship of the Rock Island County Civitan Club, will be in Sunset Park

1992 -- 25 years ago: If you like dogs and you like people, you really should catch the Doggie Dash. Even if you dont walk or run in the race, the spectacle of more than 700 dogs of all shapes and sizes sharing a fun day with their people is worth the trip to Credit Island Park in Davenport. Homeless and neglected animals reap the real benefits from the effort, since money raised in the Doggie Dash goes to care for animals at the Human Society of Scott County.
In state after state, proposals that would create or toughen laws intended to keep kids from getting ahold of unsecured guns have stalled  caught up in a debate over whether they are effective prevention measures or just government overreach.

Child access prevention laws allow prosecutors to bring charges against adults who fail to safely store their loaded guns, especially when they are obtained by minors and used to harm.

Public health experts say the laws could significantly reduce unintentional shootings that kill and injure hundreds of children every year, particularly if they allow for felonies against violators and are paired with educational campaigns to raise awareness.

But legislative efforts in dozens of states have run into opposition from lawmakers aligned with the National Rifle Association. Critics say the laws trample on the rights of gun owners who should be able to store their firearms however they want, and unfairly single out guns. Swimming pools and prescription drugs also can cause accidental deaths of children, they say.

Even in states that have such laws, they are rarely used when unsecured guns contribute to the death of a child. An AP-USA TODAY Network analysis found the laws were invoked in 14 out of 152 deaths of children under age 12 over the last three years. Five of those came in Texas, where the offense is a misdemeanor, although grand juries later declined to issue indictments in two of them.

Some gun-control advocates are undeterred. More needs to be done to protect children who live in and visit millions of homes with loaded, unsecured guns every year, they say.

In Tennessee, MaKaylas law  named for an 8-year-old killed by a neighbor who got hold of his fathers gun  would have made it a felony for gun owners to store weapons in a way that allowed children access to them.

Sponsors were outraged that the 11-year-old who shot MaKayla Dyer will be jailed until he is an adult while his father remains free. The boy was convicted of murder for killing the girl after she refused to let him play with her puppy.

They argued that the states high rate of shootings involving children needed to be addressed. Gun-rights activists claimed the measure would allow government to tell law-abiding adults how to store their guns, and a Republican-controlled committee voted 7-2 against it.

Sponsors addressed that criticism and returned this year with a simpler version allowing adults to be charged with reckless endangerment if children obtain their guns and use them to kill or injure. But in March, the proposed MaKaylas law met a similar fate. It was rejected 6-3 in committee.

This time, lawmakers argued the bill wasnt necessary because prosecutors could bring charges under existing laws, such as reckless homicide.

They beat us again, said Beth Joslin Roth, director of the Safe Tennessee Project, which backed the measure. But well keep fighting for it. These shootings keep happening.

Tennessee has one of the highest rates of accidental shootings involving minors of any state, according to a separate AP-USA TODAY Network investigation last year. During a 2-year period starting in January 2014, 17 minors in the state under age 18 were killed in accidental shootings and 35 were injured.

Roths experience is in line with what other gun-control advocates have faced in states across the country.

From 2012 through 2016, efforts to create laws in 11 states that dont have them  and to strengthen laws in 20 others that do  have failed. Not one became law. Few of the plans received public hearings, and those that did were often vocally opposed by gun-rights activists.

So far, 27 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some form of a child access prevention law, although their provisions vary widely. Most carry only misdemeanor penalties, and some are written very narrowly so that they may not apply even when children die. Others are intended to keep guns away from kids who might commit a crime.

Just how effective they are remains an open question.

A study published in 2000 by researcher Daniel Webster of Johns Hopkins University found that Floridas law appears to have significantly reduced unintentional firearms deaths to children by up to 51 percent after it went into effect in 1989. The law included felony charges and was accompanied by an awareness campaign.

If you leave a loaded gun accessible to small children, the consequence of that is often very minimal, said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a leading gun-control group. But the data does show in states like Florida where you have a strong law, they work.

Yet there was no evidence that laws in 14 other states had any impact, in part because most didnt make violations felonies. Another study published in 2015 found that child access prevention laws have no significant effects on unintentional firearm deaths but that states with them do have lower youth suicide rates.

Some researchers believe that just having them on the books  if the potential consequences are stiff and publicized can prompt adults to be more responsible when storing their guns.

Rather than rely on child access laws, prosecutors sometimes charged adults with child abuse and homicide. But in dozens of cases reviewed by the news organizations, no charges were filed, with some prosecutors saying that no law applied.

There are no child-access prevention laws in Kansas requiring gun owners to secure their firearms in a specific way, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett wrote to AP, explaining his decision against filing charges in the death of a year-old Wichita boy shot by his toddler brother with an adults handgun.

Bennett said homicide charges didnt fit  there was no indication the owner knew the way he stored his loaded gun in a bedroom drawer would potentially result in the childs death.

Lobbyists for the NRA and other groups argued in Kansas and elsewhere that such laws were unnecessary because charges and civil lawsuits could be brought under different statutes.

Then-Kansas State Rifle Association president Patricka Stoneking told lawmakers in 2015 that knives, hammers, forks, scissors and other household items could be considered dangerous weapons under legislation proposed at the time. She questioned whether adults would be required to lock their kitchen cabinets and tool chests, and said there had been no cause for concern with unsecured guns.

Gun owners in Kansas are not just leaving guns laying around for their kids to play with, she said. The bill died quickly.

The groups also succeeded in blocking a bill in Oregon two years ago, a victory in a state controlled by Democrats.

NRA lobbyist Daniel Reid testified against the 2015 bill, which would have punished adults with up to one year in prison if children accessed their unlocked guns. He said it would do little to make children safer and instead would impede an individuals right to self-defense. Oregons reckless endangerment statute, he argued, could be used to prosecute an irresponsible gun owner.

Given the fact that current law already exists, the National Rifle Association is opposed to the notion of sending a message to firearm owners by singling out firearms in state law as particularly evil objects, he said.

The bill died in committee.
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!
On May 23 Inland Railway held talks with the municipalities that own the company, and received a mandate to negotiate an agreement with Macquirie.

Inland Railway is seeking SKr 1bn ($US 120m) in contributions from pension funds and institutional investors to realise its plans, which the company says will improve rail freight access to Swedens interior and enable the reintroduction of regular passenger services with modern rolling stock.

Freight traffic on the route reached 62 million gross tonne-km in 2016, with timber and processed wood products the primary traffic. In addition to freight trains the line is also used by tourist services.

In March a DMU built by TZV Gredelj, Croatia, visited the Ostersund - Mora section of the line to promote the reintroduction of regular regional passenger services.
Railroads and their customers must not leave fate in the hands of a misinformed public.

Long before the concept of fake news became a thing, the rail industry suffered routinely at the hands of mainstream media, whose members believe that bulk commodities and passengers get transported in boxcars, and that most of North Americas rail network still operates on literally the same track structure that was spiked into place a century or more ago. The truth about railroading becomes even harder to find when reporters attempt to cover a story combining elements of tragedy, technology or public awareness.

On Oct. 10, 1995, Amtraks westbound Sunset Limited derailed on the curved approach to a bridge in remote desert country 65 miles southwest of Phoenix, Ariz., injuring nearly 100 onboard, and killing an Amtrak sleeping car attendant. The incident occurred on a lightly traveled segment of Southern Pacific alternate main line that is now owned by Union Pacific and no longer in through service. Investigators discovered that bolts and joint bars had been removed from a section of track prior to the trains arrival, an act of sabotage that remains unsolved to this day.

FBI and railroad officials said a jumper wire had been placed between the disconnected rails to maintain continuity in the Automatic Block Signal circuit, thus giving the engineer a clear signal toward the broken track. The fact that SPs line between Phoenix and Wellton, Ariz., was mostly governed by ABS semaphore signals dating back to the 1920s was apparently beyond the comprehension of some mainstream news outlets, which reported that a computerized signal system had been tampered with.

CNN committed one of the less egregious errors in describing the accident scene. It referred to the plate girder bridge on concrete piers as a wooden trestle.

The most sensationalized comments were made about the derailed train itself. Only four cars had significantly left the roadbed, one of which rolled onto its side adjacent to the track, and two of which slid off the 30-foot-high bridge, landing on a flat, sandy stream bed. That didnt stop the Los Angeles Times from publishing its outrageous description of Amtraks twelve-car Sunset Limited plummeting into a rock-strewn gorge.

These were trivial failings in journalism, with probably no more consequence than leaving ordinary citizens misinformed, as they often are, about a rail-related news event. Other times, however, the misrepresentation of facts or publication of outright falsehoods has influenced public opinion and government action that can be detrimental to the rail industry, its customers and the economy as a whole.

Today, one of the biggest examples of rail commerce and jobs growth being negatively impacted by misinformation lies in the Pacific Northwest, where multiple proposals for new unit train terminals to handle coal and oil have been delayed or cancelled completely. On first impression, the stated goals of the special interest groups who oppose such terminals appear admirable: protection of the environment, and safety for communities located along rail lines that would carry that traffic. But in order to sway the general public and elected officials into agreement for their cause, some groups have released grossly exaggerated information through social and mainstream media, with no fact-checking performed by those outlets.

Worst-case scenarios have been virtually spoon-fed to Northwest and national media, with the assumption being that if all of the proposed coal and crude terminals were built, there would be an enormous, corresponding increase in the number of unit trains carrying those commodities into the region. In 2012, the Western Organization of Resource Councils released a 60-page report titled Heavy Traffic Ahead. Buried within its extensive examination of route options, capacity issues and rail operations between the Powder River Basin coal mines and Northwest port sites, the report made a number of bold forecasts such as this: The projected movement of 75 million tons per year by 2017 to 170 million tons per year by 2022 will equate to the movements of 27.86 to 63.15 loaded and empty coal trains per day.

That prediction of more than 20 additional trains per day by 2017 has not happened, nor could it. BNSF currently does not have the capacity to accept such a spike in coal traffic without canceling a number of other train types that already travel its Northwest network. The same goes for Union Pacific. The preferred gateway for PRB coal to reach the Northwest is through Spokane, Wash., which already faces periods of acute congestion handling the 65 or more trains of various types each day (BNSF and UP combined) that now run there. To suggest that these railroads would somehow build enough new capacity over the next five years to support as many as 60 additional trains by 2022 defies both physical and fiscal reality, even if those new Northwest terminals were up and running and ready to receive trains.

Equally exaggerated claims have been made about crude oil unit-train traffic growth. In its 2014 Marine and Rail Oil Transportation Study (published in March 2015), the Washington State Department of Ecology assumed that all proposed export or offloading terminals for crude would be constructed (on top of the half dozen terminals already operating in the Northwest), and then went on to predict that crude-by-rail traffic will more than double to eight loaded trains per day by 2020 and reach  about 113 trains weekly or 16.6 trains daily by 2035.

These overblown forecasts and others like them have been repeated verbatim in news stories, letters to the editor, paid advertising and statements by persons either in or campaigning for public office. In a story published Feb. 24, 2014, the Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane said, Environmentalists issued a report estimating that fossil fuels could bring 82 trains a day through Spokane and Sandpoint [Idaho] a decade from now. The newspaper provided no backup for that figure from state or regional transportation officials, but it did say, BNSF Railway officials said those estimates are unsubstantiated.

The media have rarely given railroads their fair share of time and space to refute the anti-coal/crude movement and present actual, official traffic forecasts to the public. BNSF Executive Chairman (and then CEO) Matt Rose took his companys case directly to several Northwest media hubs in August 2012. In an interview with The Columbian of Vancouver, Wash., Rose disputed the claims of 60 or more additional coal trains per day, saying, I promise you, thats nowhere in the realm of seriousness. Its not realistic. The figures for potential coal train growth that Rose presented, under the more plausible scenario of just one, possibly two, of the proposed export terminals ever getting built, were in the range of eight to ten trains (half loads, half empties) per day. That corresponds with what Montana Rail Link (MRL) Director of Sales and Marketing Jim Lewis expressed to the media in November 2012. Lewis pointed out that any increase in Northwest coal traffic would only involve four to five loaded trains per day, with the other four to five being empties.

Five years later, MRL and BNSF continue to jointly move just two to four loaded coal trains per day into the Northwest, most for export through a Canadian terminal, and some for consumption at power plants in western Washington and northeast Oregon. (UP provides the final link in delivery to the Oregon plant.) Both Northwest power plants are scheduled to close within the next few years, and none of the proposed coal export terminals has gained final approval. But railroads in the region still face interference from anti-coal/crude activists (including track blockades), and the media continues citing the same inflated claims for how much that traffic may soon grow.

The plight of coaland media coverage of ittook on a more national and political tone during recent election cycles. Those who blame President Obama for launching a War on Coal point to his 2008 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, in which the then-senator from the coal-bearing state of Illinois said, So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; its just that it will bankrupt them because theyre going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas thats being emitted. The entirety of that Obama interview reads not so much as an outright shot against coal but more like an honest assessment of the economic viabilities of various forms of energy production. In fact, it has since become standard for most in the mainstream media to say that it was simply the lower cost and increasing abundance of natural gas that took a huge bite out of coal.

But actions speak louder than words, whether the public hears of it or not. A study released in 2013 by the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University found that only 9% of [then] current coal capacity is challenged by low natural gas prices, and that 56% of coal capacity would in fact be challenged by the stricter emission regulations. Such regulations began to surface in 2011 with the EPAs Mercury and Air Toxics Standards ruling, in 2013 with President Obamas memorandum on Power Sector Carbon Pollution Standards, and in 2015 with Obamas Clean Power Plan, all of which would augment the long-established (and frequently amended) Clean Air Act. Those stricter rules introduced (but not fully implemented) during the Obama Administration are under consideration for scale-back by President Trump.

In February 2017, a Today in Energy report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration outlined the current impact of economics and regulations on coal. The EIA said, Without the Clean Power Plan, there is less incentive to switch from carbon-intensive coal to less-carbon-intensive natural gas or carbon-free fuels such as wind and solar. In the scenario where the Clean Power Plan is not implemented, coal again becomes the leading source of electricity generation by 2019 and retains that position through 2032.

Another recent and more widely-seen admission that economics alone are not to blame for coals hardships came during a 60 Minutes interview of media mogul and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg that aired on April 23, 2017. During discussion of Bloombergs philanthropic efforts, reporter Steve Kroft said that Bloomberg had donated a hundred million dollars to assist the Sierra Club and its lawyers in shutting down more than 250 coal-fired plants. (Various reports indicate that Bloomberg personally donated $50 million to the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal campaign in 2011, then another $30 million in 2015. Tens of millions more came from additional sources.) Bloomberg spoke to 60 Minutes in apocalyptic terms about the health risks associated with coal, while expressing sympathy for coal workers themselves. But he insisted, Technology cost the miners their jobs, not the Sierra Club.

However, the Sierra Clubs own statements to Railway Age, and coverage of its Beyond Coal campaign in other media, tell a far different story. An extensive May 2015 report in Politico, which should be a must-read for anyone in the rail or utility industries who cares to know what theyre actually up against, said, The real war on coal is not primarily an Obama war, or even a Washington war. Its a guerilla war. The front lines are not at the Environmental Protection Agency or the Supreme Court. If you want to see how the fossil fuel that once powered most of the country is being battered by enemy forces, you have to watch state and local hearings where the utility commissions and other obscure governing bodies debate individual coal plants. You probably wont find much drama. Youll definitely find lawyers from the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal campaign, the boots on the ground in the war on coal.

That report went on to describe Beyond Coal as the most extensive, expensive and effective campaign in the Clubs 123-year history, and maybe the history of the environmental movement. A key angle of the Sierra Clubs anti-coal effort is economics. As Politico put it, the group usually wins by arguing that ditching coal will save ratepayers money. This plays into the more widely stated perception that costs alone have hampered coal, until that view is sharpened to recognize the tremendous financial and social support that Beyond Coal has received from Bloomberg and others.

The Sierra Club itself takes much credit for the shutdown of numerous coal-fired power plants across the U.S., and the blockage of proposed coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest. In June 2016, the Climate Policy Director for the Sierra Club told Railway Age, Its certainly the case that a massive, ambitious American grassroots movement to move beyond coal is winning one campaign after another. But the group is targeting more than just coal. The Sierra Club also launched Beyond Natural Gas and Beyond Oil campaigns, which have since merged into the Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. The Sierra Club said, While the carbon content of coal is higher than natural gas, substantial climate pollution can be associated with leaks of natural gas during production and transportation, and in some cases that pollution can even be larger than coal burning.

So, while some in the media continue reporting that natural gas has edged out coal because of decisions in the marketplace, theyre failing to tell the public that natural gas itself is in the crosshairs of the same organizationwell-funded and highly organizedwho lobbied to cripple coal. The failing-to-tell part is whats at the core of misinformation. When Trump aid Kellyanne Conway famously coined the phrase alternative facts, she was dealing with subject matter where she herself was on questionable ground. But it was equally wrong for NBC news anchor Chuck Todd to retort, Alternative facts are not facts. Theyre falsehoods. Thats not true in instances where those facts can be proven, and where they happen to present truth in a manner that runs counter to a news organizations or activist groups narrative.

The glass can be half full as well as half empty, two completely opposite yet truthful assessments of the same thing. One view just happens to be more positive than the other. Case in point: coverage of CNs first-quarter 2017 results. The headline at Railway Age: CN: Off to a Strong Start. The headline at Bloomberg News: CN is Struggling to Remain North Americas Most-Efficient Railroad. The RA story cited substantial increases in CNs income, revenues, carloadings, and capital spending, while also noting CNs operating ratio of 59.4% reflected a slight increase of only half a point. Bloomberg, on the other hand, emphasized concern about the OR, as well as a one-day single-digit decline in stock price, while later showing that CN stock gained by double digits (13%) across the entire quarter. Leave it to the rail trade journal, and not the mainstream news outlet, to recognize the upside in those CN numbers.

If the prospects for things like energy export terminals, high-speed rail lines, expanded freight capacity or long-distance passenger service fail or succeed based on sound scientific and environmental findings, on economic viability, or on whatever legal say is held by citizens or authorities, there may be no grounds for challenging the outcome. But its not acceptable when such decisions are based on half-truths or exaggerations that have been distributed through a highly influential system whose top members are not immune from being questioned (and occasionally toppled) for their loose grasp of the facts. (Dan Rather, Brian Williams, where are you?)

Railroads and their customers cant afford to let misinformation prevail in the court of public opinion. False claims left un-refuted will eventually become lodged as fact in the minds of those who hold the power to approve commerce, or deny it.
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The re-election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's president does not come as a great surprise. And it does not herald a new beginning in Iranian politics and foreign policy. But it does indicate a continuing evolution in Iran's society and perhaps one day its political culture.

Iran may have an authoritarian and at times rigid political system, but its people have consistently demonstrated a desire for change and progress. They have done so through the best means available to them: voting in tightly controlled and largely undemocratic local and national elections. But it would be unfair to describe those elections as completely fake or for show. The majority of Iranians take them seriously because the president does matter in Iran, no matter how curtailed his powers may be. And the person occupying the position can make a lot of difference in people's daily lives, for better or worse.

The Trump administration has demonstrated a renewed policy of pressure against Iran. But in doing so, it risks losing the ability to leverage the greatest potential source of change in Iran: millions of Iranians who have shown a desire for a better country at peace with the world. A U.S. policy of mere pressure and threats will not change Iran or its policies. Only Iranians can achieve change that can benefit America, but they will not do so under duress or intimidation.

Rouhani faced an uphill battle for re-election. He rescued Iran from its state of crisis by negotiating the nuclear agreement, but the economy has not improved greatly and most Iranians still struggle in their daily lives. Rouhani's supporters feared that public apathy could result in lower voter turnout, thus boosting Rouhani's chief rival, the arch-conservative Ebrahim Raisi. Relatively unknown among the public, Raisi nevertheless belongs in the top echelon of Iran's elite. He has held senior positions in the judiciary and has been linked to the mass execution of Iranian political prisoners. He is also rumored to be a potential successor to Iran's aging Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Most Iranians do not remember or care about the struggles that animated the Iranian revolution.

While many Iranians may not love Rouhani, they fear Raisi. The ideological cleric represents a post-revolutionary Iran that has largely dissipated from the popular imagination. Most Iranians do not remember or care about the struggles that animated the Iranian revolution, namely American support for the Shah and resistance against global arrogance. Rather, Iran's youthful and well-educated population wants greater opportunities to work, socialize, and worship more freely. Raisi reminded them of a dark and troubling time; while Rouhani has not delivered on most of his promises, he at least presents hope for a somewhat better future. This may explain the high election turn out of 70 percent and Rouhani's overwhelming win with 57 percent of the vote.

And it appears to be this limited hope that is sustaining Iranians through their numerous trials and tribulations. They have survived revolution, war, and repression, yet they still attempt to make change happen, even if it is at the margins. The 2009 mass protests and the subsequent government crackdown appear to have stifled but not extinguished a desire for progress. Iranians know that their regime cannot be violently overthrown or pressured into submission. So they have pushed the boundaries little by little, hoping for a break. They know that Rouhani's re-election will not bring a dramatic transformation, but they also know that the election of Raisi might have threatened their hopes and ambitions.

Khamenei's passing will present an opportunity for Rouhani to shape the succession and perhaps even become the new supreme leader. He will face great challenges by Iran's forces of reaction and he is unlikely to be a great force for democracy, but for most Iranians it is better to have Rouhani at the helm than a Khamenei or Raisi.

Any U.S. attempt to influence Iran must take the realities within Iran into consideration. Isolating and pressuring Iran will not alone lead to Iranian policies benefiting the United States. And Washington's total alignment with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states at the expense of Iran is more likely to make the average Iranian support his or her country's efforts against those states. Iranians may resent the Islamic Republic, yet they have even less love for the Saudi monarchy.

A U.S. policy of pressure will isolate Iran's people without compelling their government to change. Iran's regime may appear as radical and reactionary, but its society is vital and resilient.

Washington stands at a crossroads: embrace change in Iran or embolden the forces of reaction.

Alireza Nader is a senior international policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

This commentary originally appeared on Fortune on May 25, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
AMES | Rebekah Sletten, of Osage, majoring in Agricultural Business, successfully completed Spring 2017 as a member of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Ambassadors at Iowa State University. This highly selective group of students plays a pivotal role in the recruitment activities of the college.

Members of this group, open to all students in the college, are required to log at least 20 hours of volunteering each semester and maintain attendance and participation requirements. Ambassadors serve actively on one of seven committees, each tasked with specific duties related to the purposes of recruitment and engagement within the college.

Sletten served as the committee chair of the High School Visits Committee, which is tasked with creating an interactive presentation for high school students. The presentation is used by Ambassadors during these visits to assist in promoting CALS and sharing their personal experiences. This semester, Ambassadors met with approximately 2200 high school students between fall and spring semesters.

Through Governing the Ambassadors is a leadership team who is made up of committee chairs, a representative from each committee, and elected officers which includes a chairperson, vice-chair, and secretary. The CALS Ambassadors are advised by Beth Foreman, Student Services, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Moscow court refuses to recover $4 bln from billionaire Potanin in favor of his ex-wife

MOSCOW, May 25 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  Moscows Presnensky District Court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit lodged by Natalia Potanina demanding to collect 215 billion rubles (about $4 billion at the current exchange rate) from her ex-husband, billionaire Vladimir Potanin, her lawyer told RAPSI.

The case was heard behind closed doors.

Potanina has asked the court to divide the property acquired during their marriage by recovering financial compensation for shares of KM Invest company.

The businessman was granted a divorce from his wife in February 2014.

In July 2015, the Presnensky court issued a ruling in a case on dividing the assets of the former spouses. According to a source familiar with the lawsuit, the court ruled that Vladimir Potanin keep a 406.9 square meter luxury apartment on Skatertny Pereulok (central Moscow) and a church, St. Blessed Tamara in the village of Anosino, in the Moscow Region.

Natalya Potanina received 380 million rubles ($6.8 million) in compensation for her share in the apartment as well as three plots of land in the Moscow Region.

In the fall of 2015, the court dismissed Potaninas claim for ownership of 50 percent of her ex-husbands stake in Norilsk Nickel and half of Interros International, which holds their other assets. She has appealed the ruling, only for the Moscow District Court to uphold it on January 22, 2016.

In May 2017, Potanina filed another lawsuit seeking to recover 849.2 billion rubles (about $15 billion) from her ex-husband. The Presnensky District Court of Moscow will conduct pre-trial preparations for the claim on June 14.
Russian Supreme Court to review Briullov painting smuggling case

MOSCOW, May 25 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  The Presidium of Russias Supreme Court will review the case of collector Alexander Pevzner, formerly charged with smuggling the painting by prominent artist Karl Briullov entitled Christ in the Sepulcher', the courts website reads on Thursday.

In March, the Constitutional Court ruled that the painting seized from Pevzner may be returned to him only after he is acquitted. The court ruled to review all rulings in the case and to offer a choice to the collector: either he agrees to cancellation of criminal case and loses rights to the painting or keeps the case ongoing, looking forward to the sentence, whatever it may be.

In 2003, Pevzner brought the painting he owned into Russia via the customs station in Vyborg in the Leningrad Region. Even though it was a cultural property, Pevzner did not declare the masterpiece, according to investigators. The collector was charged with smuggling.

In November 2013, the Vyborg City Court in the Leningrad Region dropped charges against the German citizen as the statute of limitations had expired. However, the court ruled to confiscate the painting from Pevzner and ordered its transfer to the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

In 2014, the Leningrad Regional Court overturned the lower courts ruling in part and returned the piece of art to its owner. In 2015, the decision was upheld.

In April 2016, the Supreme Court of Russia reversed the Leningrad Regional Courts ruling and ordered the forfeiture of the painting under the Article 81 of the Criminal Procedure Code which envisages that crime instruments belonging to the accused must be confiscated, transferred to the relevant institutions or destroyed.

Pevzner in his complaint filed with the Constitutional Court challenged the Criminal Procedure Codes provisions allowing to forfeit objects of art if they are declared material evidence.
Ex-head of Russian theater company denies involvement in large-scale embezzlement

MOSCOW, May 25 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  Former head of the Seventh Studio stage company Yury Itin has denied involvement in embezzlement of 200 million rubles (about $3.5 million) allocated for promotion of art, RAPSI reported from the Presnensky District Court of Moscow on Thursday.

Itin denied guilt, an investigator said during the hearing. It was also noted that ex-chief accountant of the Seventh Studio Nina Maslyayeva had testified against Itin.

The Investigative Committee launched a large-scale fraud case earlier this week.

On May 23, police raided the Gogol Center, a popular contemporary theater in Moscow, as part of investigation into the case. Searches have also been conducted in premises of the theaters artistic director, Kirill Serebrennikov. Later, he was questioned as a witness in the case.

According to investigators, from 2011 to 2014, unidentified persons from management of the Seventh Studio, a stage company created by Serebrennikov on the basis of his acting and directing course in the Moscow Art Theatre School, embezzled budget funds allocated by the government for development and popularization of art in Russia.
BRNO, Czech Republic, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, today announced it will start developing Pingdom products in its Brno R&D facility. SolarWinds is currently in the process of hiring a new Pingdom team in Brno, which will initially consist of seven developers.



The Pingdom software is a key component of the SolarWinds Monitoring Cloud portfolio. SolarWinds goal is to make websites faster and more reliable by creating easy-to-use tools and services for website owners, regardless of who they are and the size of their website. With Pingdoms website monitoring, youll be the first to know when a website is down or a transaction is slow or broken. It can also help deliver a higher quality web experience using data from real user monitoring service. These powerful functions focus on detail, design, and precision functionality.

Pingdom is a great way to help companies with web management, as it makes it easy to monitor uptime and performance of your website or web application, said Tomas Kucera, vice president, business operations, SolarWinds. Pingdom is more than just a standard package; we can provide customized solutions based on the specific needs of our customers for functionality, volume, and premium support.

In a recent study by Pingdom, 50,000 of the worlds largest websites (according to the Alexa Traffic Rank) were tested to understand the most optimal load time. Web metrics data was collected during the same time period to minimize temporary fluctuations and maximize comparability. For each website, a Pingdom Page Speed Check was used every 30 minutes for a two-week period (December 19  January 1) to collect data, including how fast it loaded, how many requests it used, and how big the homepage was.

According to the results, the average page size of the top 100 websites is 3.45 MB. The smallest website was the Financial Times at 0.543 MB, followed by la Repubblica 1.2 MB, and Zeit Online 1.23 MB. Interestingly, of the top three websites in terms of size, only the Financial Times made it to the top five for load time, and just 42 of the 100 websites were smaller than the 2.48 MB benchmark. Mlada Fronta Dnes with a homepage size of 1.26 MB ranked in the top ten based on the average size of the homepage.

SolarWinds is currently in the process of hiring for a new Pingdom team in Brno, and is looking for developers with in-depth knowledge of Python, Go, Distributed Systems, MySQL, MongoDB, Linux, PHP, JavaScript, JSON, Node.js, React, as well as experience with technologies such as Redis Cache, RabbitMQ, Docker, Amazon Web Services.

Pingdom software is used by some of the most well-known brands in the world and we are excited to start a new Pingdom developers team here in Brno. We are looking for ambitious developers to join our team and help develop products that significantly impact the Internet every day, said Kucera.

Interested developers and engineers can apply at http://solarwinds.jobs/cze/jobs/.

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.
The United States Navy is in a dire situation when it comes to the readiness of its aircraft, ships and submarines.

The blame for the situation can be laid directly at the feet of the U.S. Congress, which has failed time and again to pass a budget. Moreover, even when the Congress does manage to come to some sort of consensus, too often funding comes in the form a continuing resolution that does not provide the services with the flexibility to allocate money where it is needed. Thats compounded by the 2011 Budget Control Act, which adds to the funding disruptions.

The Obama Administrations fiscal year 2017 budget has helped to stem the worst of the Navys readiness declines, but more is needed for the fleet to recover from this debacle.

More needs to be done, Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Defense (SAC-D) on May 24. The challenges are sufficiently deep that it will take both predictable and sufficient funding and some time to fully recover.

Richardson noted that large portions of the Navys aircraft fleet are grounded and there are ships and submarines that cannot sail because they have not been maintained. One of the key problemsespecially for naval aviationis spare parts. We have not funded spare parts at the required levels, Richardson said.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)during his questionsdecried the readiness declines in the Navy and Marines Corps, particularly the dire condition of naval aviation. Both Richardson and Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, confirmed that large portion of the Navy and Marine Corps strike fighter fleets are not currently flyable due to the lack of spare parts and backlogs at maintenance depotsamong other problems. Indeed, more than half of the Department of the Navys aircraft are not currently flyable.

While Neller said that readiness rates for the Marine Corps strike fighters have improved slightly, the services active duty aviators have not seen any real improvements. Indeed, in some cases, the situation seems to be getting worse. Forward progress is at a glacial pace. We are at the mercy of Congressional funding, one veteran Marine Corps fighter pilot told me. Substantial improvements take time after the funding kicks in, part supply gets spun up and manpower is increased.

The fact is that there is very little that Congress or the services can do to address the problem except to increase the procurement rate of new aircraft. However, the new Trump budget proposal either maintains Obama-era aircraft procurement rates or even slightly slows down jet purchases. Realistically, we are just stretching until we get more F-35s, the Marine Corps aviator said.

If the Department of the Navy is to eventually recover from this readiness disaster, the Trump Administration will have to ramp up both maintenance and procurement budgets. There is no other realistic choice.
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Hamilton, Bermuda, May 25, 2017

For the interest it may have, below is a press release from Nordic American Offshore Ltd. that was announced today.

------------------

Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NYSE:NAO) - the Executive Chairman and his family increase its holding in NAO.

Hamilton, Bermuda, May 25, 2017

A company owned by the NAO Executive Chairman, Herbjorn Hansson and his son, Alexander, yesterday, May 24, 2017, bought 150,000 shares in NAO at an average price of $1.12 per share.

Over the last two weeks, as from Tuesday May 9, the Hansson family has acquired 2,631,007 NAO shares in aggregate at an average price of $1.15 per share. In addition to the holdings of the past, following yesterday's transaction, the Hansson family holds shares equivalent to 8.0% of NAO.

Relevant filing will be undertaken

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.



The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the PSV market, as a result of changes in the general market conditions of the oil and natural gas industry which influence charter hire rates and vessel values, demand in platform supply vessels, our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities as well as potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, the availability of financing and refinancing, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hire and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:

Herbjrn Hansson, Executive Chairman

Nordic American Offshore Ltd.

Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 90 14 62 91

Web-site: www.nao.bm
When the Muslim Personal Law Board promises 'advisories' and nikahnamas to the Supreme Court, one has to remember not only its recent campaign against any change in Muslim personal law, but also its past record of inaction on the question of triple talaq, says Jyoti Punwani.

IMAGE: Syed Mohammad Wali Rahmani, general secretary, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, with Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, left, and others at a press conference in New Delhi. Photograph: Subhav Shukla/PTI Photo

Suddenly, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which has been conducting a full-fledged campaign in support of triple talaq, the practice whereby a Muslim man can instantly and unilaterally divorce his wife, even without her knowledge, is flush with suggestions on curbing it.

Over the last few days, the board has made one promise after the other to the Supreme Court about the measures it proposes to take to do away with this 'undesirable' practice which, it insists, is part of Islam.

These promises include issuing advisories to qazis to dissuade would-be grooms against it, and to suggest to the couple that they incorporate a clause in the nikahnama that will make it impossible for the husband to pronounce unilateral instant divorce.

The board even said it would socially boycott those who pronounce it.

Why should we believe these promises?

For, they belie the board's frenzied campaign over the last eight months aimed at gathering support for triple talaq.

Alarmed by the Bharatiya Janata Party's enthusiasm for a Uniform Civil Code, the board has included triple talaq in its campaign to 'save the Shariat' -- the range of personal laws that govern Muslims in India from State interference.

It has been holding rallies across the country and conducted a signature campaign specially among Muslim women that says they want no change at all in their personal laws.

The board's promises to the Supreme Court also contradict the affidavit filed by it before the same court on the question of triple talaq last year.

The affidavit was filed in response to petitions by Muslim women asking for a ban on triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala (the practice by which a divorced woman must marry and consummate her marriage to another man and then be divorced by him, before being able to re-marry her first husband).

The Supreme Court concluded its hearings on the issue last week.

In its affidavit, the AIMPLB lists reasons in support of triple talaq. One of them is the ease with which this practice enables men to 'get rid of' (the exact words used) their wives.

Denied this facility, says the affidavit, husbands could kill their wives in the dead of night with no one any the wiser.

As if this was not enough to reveal the board's attitude towards women and the institution of marriage, the affidavit also describes women as too emotional and hence incapable of taking reasoned decisions about divorce. Therefore, only men can exercise this right unilaterally.

Why then is the board now promising to curb a practice it has vociferously supported?

Obviously, it is nervous about unilateral instant triple talaq being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Had it been genuinely concerned about the plight of wives thrown out of their homes with a single pronouncement of three words, it would have incorporated these latest suggestions in its original affidavit.

None of these suggestions are new. The debate on triple talaq has come up periodically in the last three decades, and always, the board has taken the same stand on it -- that a social reform campaign is the only answer.

The debate began with the Shah Bano judgment.

In 1985, an elderly Muslim divorcee from Indore was awarded her right to a monthly maintenance for life from her husband, as guaranteed to all deserted and divorced women under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Some remarks in the judgment angered the ulema (the clergy), who mounted a nation-wide street-level campaign to get the judgment revoked as 'unIslamic.'

When Shah Bano's house was stoned, the courageous woman finally gave in and declared she was repudiating the judgment because she didn't want riots.

The board then succeeded in getting then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to enact a new law -- the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Divorce Act, 1986. Its aim was to exclude Muslim divorcees from the purview of Section 125 of the CrPC.

Under the new law, a Muslim divorcee was only entitled to a lump sum payment from her husband within three months of divorce. After that, the woman's parents and relatives had to support her.

If they could not, Wakf Boards, which managed the community's collective property, were to look after her. The board promised that no Muslim divorcee would remain destitute.

Though no statistical survey was carried out, within a year of this new law being passed, Muslim lawyers told this reporter that the number of instant divorces had increased.

Earlier, Muslim husbands would just desert their wives. Now, the moment a deserted Muslim woman filed for maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC, the husband pronounced talaq thrice, gave her a lump sum, and washed his hands of her.

The lawyers perturbed by the increase in such instant divorces were neither feminists nor backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. They were members of mainstream Muslim society who supported the new law.

Yet, they felt having got the new law passed, it was the board's responsibility to use its authority to discourage the practice of triple talaq.

That was the beginning of many such attempts to persuade the board on this issue.

In 1993, the Ahle Hadees sect issued a fatwa that even a triple pronouncement of talaq should be treated as one pronouncement, to enable the couple to reunite. Muslim intellectuals across the country asked the board to accept this as the norm. The board refused.

Every time a judgment came invalidating triple talaq, the board only dug its heels in further.

But as Muslim women became more assertive about their rights, they devised their own solutions to triple talaq and polygamy, in the form of nikahnamas or marriage contracts, an accepted feature in Muslim marriages.

Groups of Muslim women and men, including lawyers, qazis, academics and activists, worked on nikahnamas which would stipulate that the husband would not unilaterally divorce his wife, and prescribe punishments in the form of substantial fines or attachment of his property if he did.

These proposed nikahnamas also gave the woman the right to divorce her husband. One such nikahnama, drafted by a group in Mumbai in 1994, was approved of by the Aligarh Fiqh Academy (comprising Islamic jurists).

However, the question arose: Who would implement this nikahnama?

Everyone turned to the AIMPLB as the one authority that could. But the board rejected the nikahnamas drawn up by Muslim groups.

If erring husbands had to be punished, who would hand down the punishment, it asked. Not the State, as that would mean State interference in Muslim Personal Law.

The board also felt that giving the wife an equal right to divorce was unacceptable and would pave the way for the breakdown of marriages, since women were ruled by emotion, not reason, and would use this right indiscriminately.

Finally, it said, it would not be easy to talk about things like triple talaq and punishments for the husband on the joyous occasion of marriage. Education on these issues would be better.

Interestingly, its qualms on this front seem to have now disappeared!

Finally, in 2005, under pressure from women, the board issued its own model nikahnama. This advised husbands not to resort to triple talaq, but prescribed no punishment for it. But after issuing this nikahnama, the board did nothing to publicise it.

So when the board now promises 'advisories' and nikahnamas, one has to remember not only its recent campaign against any change in personal law, but also its past record of inaction on the question of triple talaq.

Its second promise -- to impose a social boycott -- is also so much hot air.

Social boycott can only be imposed successfully within a close-knit community with a central authority.

It has worked effectively among the Dawoodi Bohras, who look up to the Syedna as their spiritual head.

The Syedna controls every aspect of their lives, and anyone who defies him, faces the prospect of being cut off not only from the community but also from their immediate family.

Many Dawoodi Bohras have had to live deprived of their wives and children, only for having disobeyed the Syedna.

The late Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer, who led the reformist movement among Dawoodi Bohras, was the most famous victim of this social boycott.

Social boycott is also practised among small close-knit caste groups, specially in villages. Anyone who goes against community norms is made to atone or made an outcaste by the caste panchayat.

Shias in India do not practise triple talaq. Even among Sunnis, followers of the Ahle Hadees do not accept it. The remaining Sunnis are a vast disparate group divided into sects, with no one supreme leader.

Some have their own spiritual heads whose commands they follow, others don't. The board certainly has no authority to impose a social boycott on anyone.

Secondly, social boycott is in itself undemocratic. Social disapproval of a practice is one thing, but social boycott deprives an individual of her/his fundamental rights.

The board has had 30 years to induce social disapproval of the practice of triple talaq. It hasn't even tried to do so.

Can it be taken seriously when it talks of imposing a social boycott?

The question really is: Why is the board so scared of triple talaq being declared unconstitutional that it is making promises that go against its grain?

As the board itself admits, triple talaq is the most undesirable form of talaq. If it is banned, Islam definitely won't be harmed.

Who stands to lose if Muslim men lose their right to divorce their wives in a trice? And who gains?

The answers to these questions tell you all that you need to know about the Muslim Personal Law Board.
The Ahmedabad crime branch sleuths have arrested a man who was wanted since nine years in connection with the Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case from Kozhikode in Kerala, a senior official said on Thursday.

Shoaib Pottanikal, 49, was arrested by a team of Ahmedabad Crime Branch sleuths, the Kerala Police and intelligence officials from Kozhikode soon after he landed at the airport there on Wednesday, Joint Commissioner of Police J K Bhatt told reporters.

"Shoaib, one of the 18 absconding accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, was arrested from Kozhikode airport after he landed there from abroad. He had escaped overseas after the blasts, following which a Red Corner notice was also issued against him," Bhatt told reporters.

He said Shoaib knew Sainuddin and Sarfuddin, who were arrested for allegedly providing electronic chips used in making bombs for the 2008 blasts, and helped the operatives of Indian Mujahideen and banned outfit SIMI get in touch with them with the intention to make bombs.

Yasin Bhatkal, one of the main accused in the case, had also told the crime branch sleuths about Shoaib's role after he was brought in Ahmedabad on a transfer warrant from Tihar jail on March 31 this year, Bhatt said.

Shoaib hails from Malappuram in Kerala where his father has a rice mill. He comes from a well-to-do family, the JCP said.

However, the police official did not disclose where Shoaib had escaped and from where he was coming to India when he was arrested, saying it could not be revealed due to the ongoing investigation.

"Since last six to eight months we had stepped up the lookout for the absconding accused, including Shoaib. The local police and intelligence officials were also keeping a tab on Shoaib's close friends and relatives.

"Upon learning that he was expected to come to his hometown and land at Kozhikode airport, a team of crime branch officials went there and with the help of local police, we arrested him," Bhatt said.

So far, 79 accused have been arrested in the case and a chargesheet has been filed against them.

With Shoaib's arrest, the number of people being held has gone up to 80.

The Ahmedabad crime branch had recently brought Bhatkal, one of the main operatives of Indian Mujahideen, for questioning in connection with the 2008 serial blasts case.

Bhatkal is presently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency.

Eighteen blasts had rocked the city on July 26, 2008 in which 56 people were killed and over 150 injured.

The crime branch sleuths produced Shoaib before a metropolitan magistrate court in Ahmedabad, which remanded him in police custody for nine days.

The crime branch had sought his remand for 30 days, saying he was involved in a serious terrorist attack and was arrested for helping members of terror outfits like Indian Mujahideen and SIMI to procure electronic chips used to make bombs that killed 56 persons.

Now that he has been arrested, the investigating officers need to interrogate him on how he served as a link between the manufacturers of the chips and the main accused in the case and other aspects of investigation like where he stayed when was abroad, it said.

Shoaib's lawyer said there was no need for his remand as most of the accused have been arrested and a charge sheet filed in the case.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she discussed development and not politics at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the nations capital.

The Trinamool Congress chiefs meeting with Modi came amid efforts by opposition leaders to choose a consensus candidate for the coming presidential polls. The ruling National Democratic Alliance is yet to announce its presidential candidate.

This was not a political meeting, (but an) absolutely development oriented meeting. I have taken up several issues with the prime minister, Banerjee told reporters, describing it as a customary meeting between the state government and the Centre.

Banerjee, who was a bitter critic of Modis demonetisation drive, said she discussed a range of issues related to soil erosion caused by the Ganga in West Bengal and restructuring of the states debt.

Issues such as the Farakka barrage, the heavy export duty imposed by Bangladesh on mangoes from West Bengal and the construction of a dam over the Atrai River by Bangladesh were also discussed.

She also demanded a restructuring of the central governments loan to the state, which has been reeling under financial problems.

I have to pay Rs 40,000 crore. How do we work in such a scenario, she said outside South Block, where the prime ministers office is situated, after the meeting.

Banerjee also demanded that India take up with Bangladesh the issues of heavy export duty on West Bengal mangoes and the Atrai dam construction, which had led to a water shortage in the states West Midnapore district.

Image: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee coming out after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office in South Block in New Delhi on Thursday. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Jupiter Asset Management Ltd (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/ offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Elis SA (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held /dealing undertaken: :

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 24th May 2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" Yes

Berendsen Plc





2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



EUR 10.00 Ordinary



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 1,458,793 1.04 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 1,458,793 1.04

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: None Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: None

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit EUR 10.00 Ordinary Purchase 1,667 EUR 19.816

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit None

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit None

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit None





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) None





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"







None

(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 25th May 2017 Contact name: Nabeel Ashraf Telephone number: 0203 817 1407

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
Speculation is rife that Bihars ruling Janata Dal-United is likely to support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliances choice for the upcoming Presidential poll. This ties in with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumars refusal to attend the meeting of non-BJP parties called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on May 26. The meeting will discuss the presidential polls and the way ahead for the opposition to tackle the BJP.



Nitish Kumar has reportedly turned down Sonia Gandhis invitation saying he is busy, which naturally has the BJP camp in Patna rejoicing.



It is evident Nitish Kumar will take a different stand on the presidential polls. When he was with the BJP-led NDA, he had supported the UPAs candidate. Now, he is with the the UPA, but he has signalled that he will not support them, but us, senior BJP leader Vinod Narain Jha told Rediff.com in Patna.



Look, Nitish Kumar supported the surgical strike and the demonetization drive, unlike his allies  the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. He will not take Sonia Gandhis meeting seriously, Jha added.

The BJP leader added that Nitish Kumar, who is also JD-U president, had also unwittingly exposed the differences among the nonBJP parties led by the Congress even before it had taken concrete shape. Anti-BJP sentiment will not work any longer. They are a divided house even before they united, he said.



However, JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said nothing should be read into Nitish Kumars decision not to attend the Sonia Gandhi meeting.

Nitish Kumar has a prior engagement as Bihar chief minister and in his place, the partys senior-most leader, Sharad Yadav, will attend the meeting as his representative. Where is the problem? Jha, however, said that Sharad Yadav was a mere showpiece, who has been sidelined by Nitish Kumar and hardly holds any clout in the party.



Neeraj said Nitish Kumar was one of the first leaders who publicly favoured a maha gathbandhan, like Bihar, at the national level of non BJP parties, ahead of the 2019 general elections. He recalled that Nitish Kumar has already advocated a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee. Nitish Kumar has personally met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi recently and discussed his stand on the presidential polls, the JD-U spokesperson added.

Interestingly, Nitishs ally, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, will attend the meeting hosted by Sonia Gandhi and has announced that he will not support a second term for Pranab Mukherjee.



A section of the local Hindi media has been projecting a bonhomie between Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite their disparate political goals. They also point out that Nitish Kumar was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for nearly 17 years. He was a Cabinet minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government in 2005 and had formed the government in Bihar along with the BJP. It was only in 2013, the JD-U parted ways with the BJP after it named Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

Image: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav at the Swabhiman Rally in 2015. Photograph: PTI Photo.


Britain fell silent on Thursday as a minutes silence was held across the country to remember the 22 victims of Mondays concert bombing.

The silence, which fell at 11 am, also marked the nations solidarity with the 119 who were injured in the blast at the Manchester Arena following a concert, as well as others affected by the atrocity.

Crowds gathered at well-known sites in the UK, including Londons Parliament and Trafalgar Square.

Here are some touching glimpses

Britain fell silent on Thursday as a minute's silence was held to remember the 22 victims of Monday's Manchester bombing. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Many people in the crowd wiped away tears during the moving minute's silence, which was followed by applause. There were several shouts and chants of 'we love Manchester' before a lone woman in the crowd began singing Oasis hit 'Don't look back in anger.' Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

People gathered all over Britain -- Manchester Square, at Parliament Square and even at Trafalgar Square where many gathered to pay respects to the victims. Photograph: Neil P Mockford/Getty Images

Women wept as they collected to pay tribute to the young lives that were lost when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Following the minute's silence dozens of balloons were released over the Manchester Area, where 22 people were killed. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Flowers were laid down by dignitaries at Manchester. "I'd like you to also think about those that still lie in our hospitals, some very critically injured. Think of them and their families," said Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

It was heartbreaking as people bowed down their heads while maintaining the minute's silence. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Armed police patrol the city centre ahead of a national minute's silence in remembrance of all those who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

The Queen visited young survivors during a visit to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The monarch, 91, spent time speaking to Millie Robson, 15, Evie Mills, 14, and Amy Barlow, 12, who were among the the 14 children rushed to the hospital in the aftermath of Monday night's atrocity. Speaking to Evie, a schoolgirl from Harrogate, Yorkshire, on the hospital ward, the Queen said: 'It's dreadful. Very wicked. To target that sort of thing.' Photograph: Peter Byrne/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Queen speaks to Millie Robson, 15, and her mother Marie, from Co Durham, during a visit to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. Millie, who was wearing an Ariana Grande concert t-shirt, beamed as she spoke to the monarch. Photograph: Peter Byrne/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Queen thanked some of the paramedics and staff at Royal Manchester's Children's Hospital who worked tirelessly to help the youngsters injured in Monday's attack. Five remain in critical care at the hospital
The week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy has come to a close.

The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 (SIMBEX-17) that concluded on Wednesday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapore's F-15SG fighter jets, Singapore's ministry of defence said in a statement.

Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and at a sea phase in the South China Sea.

This year's exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.

The RSN deployed two frigates (RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme) and a missile corvette (RSS Victory), while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates (INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik), a corvette (INS Kamorta), an oiler (INS Jyoti), and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircrafts and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.

During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings, the defence ministry statement said.

The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions, it said.

Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years -- from a serial-based exercise to today's mission- based exercise -- incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," the commanding officer of RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel Albert Khoo said.

Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses.

INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta joined in the RSN's Golden Jubilee celebrations, participating in both the inaugural Singapore International Maritime Review at RSS Singapura  Changi Naval Base on May 15 and the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference Asia from May 16 to 18.

Both navies are also exploring new and enhanced areas of cooperation in the maritime domain, the statement said.

Photographs: Indian Navy
A United States federal appeals court upheld a ruling blocking President Donald Trumps travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries.

A majority of judges on the appeals court, in a 10-3 decision, said they were unconvinced the travel order had more to do with national security concerns than a Muslim ban.

The ban was announced in March, but never got off the ground because federal courts blocked it just hours before it was set to go into effect. It would have banned people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days.

Trump first tried to implement the travel ban by signing an executive order on January 27. That order was in effect for seven days before it was blocked by a federal judge in Seattle, a ruling upheld by the 9th Circuit.

Rather than appeal to the Supreme Court, Trump revoked his first travel ban and issued a revised version on March 6. That order was blocked by federal judges in Hawaii hours before it went into effect, and another judge in Maryland blocked the order as well. The Justice Department appealed both rulings.

Now that the Trump administration has lost in the 4th circuit, the Justice Department could appeal to the Supreme Court. The high court, now at full strength with the addition of Trumps nominee, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, has divided in the past on immigration issues. Those 4-4 ties, which were commonplace following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, could tilt in Trumps favour with Gorsuch on the bench.

Image: Immigration activists rally against the Trump administration's new ban against travelers from six Muslim-majority nations. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters
Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, called Pakistan a well of death while narrating her ordeal on her return on Thursday.

IMAGE: Sushma Swaraj consoles Uzma after she arrived in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Describing Uzma Ahmad as Indias daughter, Swaraj welcomed her to India.

I am sorry for all that you have gone through, she tweeted.

Seated with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad J P Singh, and other senior ministry officials, an emotional Uzma said, Its easy to enter Pakistan but nearly impossible to leave that place.

Pakistan is a maut ka kuan (well of death). Ive seen women who go there after arranged marriages. Theyre miserable and living in terrible condition. There are two, three, even four wives in every house, she said.

Uzma said she wanted to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally thank him for the governments efforts to facilitate her return.

She said Buner, the area where Tahir, the Pakistani man who married her at gunpoint, took her after giving her sleeping pills, was like a Taliban-controlled region.

Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, called Pakistan a well of death while narrating her ordeal on her return on Thursday.

Uzma said had she stayed there for a few more days she would have been dead. She broke down several times while recalling the horror in front of the national media.

She profusely thanked Swaraj, Indian mission officials and other staffers for making her comfortable and ensuring her return.

IMAGE: Uzma touches the ground after she enters the Indian territory via the Attari-Wagah border. Photograph: ANI

Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She was allowed by the Islamabad high court on Wednesday to return to India following a plea she filed with the court requesting its directive after her husband Tahir Ali took her immigration papers.

Accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel, she crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar.

She touched the ground after she entered the Indian territory.

Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia - a blood disorder characterised by abnormal haemoglobin production.

Tahir had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet his wife. A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the pleas and after hearing their arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.

She has said she was forced to marry Tahir at gunpoint. The two reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love.

Uzma reached Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Tahir on May 3.

Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian high commission.

According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the high court and she can return to pursue the case.

IMAGE: Uzma kisses her daughter after her arrival in New Delhi from Pakistan where she was forced to marry a man at gunpoint. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Swaraj thanks Pak establishment for Uzmas return

Amid continued tensions with Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj profusely thanked the Pakistani establishment and judiciary for facilitating Indian citizen Uzma Ahmeds return.

She said though there is tension between the two neighbours, the Pakistan foreign office and the home ministry played a key role in her return.

Swaraj had words of praise for Uzmas counsel Barrister Shahnawaz and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of the Islamabad high court.

She said while the counsel treated Uzma as his child, the judge dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations as some people wanted him to.

I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she crossed the Wagah border, Swaraj told reporters.
Diplomats agree that amid stormy relations with China and Pakistan, Modi has posted impressive foreign policy successes, notes Aditi Phadnis.

When veteran diplomat Hardeep Puri retired from the Indian Foreign Service as Indias Permanent Representative at the United Nations, he confessed candidly that domestic politics had come in the way of India claiming its place in the world.

In New York, there were moments when I wished we had a stronger government in New Delhi. One of my regrets has been that we worked so hard and after 17 years we got into the Security Council (as a non-permanent member), but the government in New Delhi was completely preoccupied with domestic issues, he said in an interview to Business Standard then.

To push issues like the expansion of the Security Council or India's permanent membership in the Security Council, it would have been nice if we had had a stronger government in Delhi. But at the time, all that the government was preoccupied with was the 2G spectrum scam and how to manage alliance partners, he said.

That changed in 2014, when Narendra Modi came to power. In a conversation with reporters months after he was appointed as the PM, Modi readily agreed that with a single-party majority, it was much easier to function internationally -- India was taken more seriously.

Three years later, this is the theme that has recurred, with diplomats citing instances of the ways Modis strength at home has made India more effective in putting its point across, whether in relation to Bangladesh (a country with which Indias relations have seen a 360-degree improvement, especially vis-a-vis Indias North-East); or the United States (providing unambiguous comfort on liability in the civil nuclear liability law by leveraging the National Democratic Alliance majority in the Lok Sabha to amend the law).

According to Harsh V Pant, distinguished fellow and head of the Observer Research Foundations Strategic Studies programme: Three factors appear to have had a significant influence (on Indo-US relations under Modi as PM). A conviction that Indias developmental priorities cannot be met without substantive cooperation with the US; the strong political authority Modi enjoys within his own party and in the Indian Parliament; and the structural changes in Indias security environment brought about by an aggressive China and its growing strategic convergence with Pakistan.

In this context, many found Modis initial wooing of the Indian diaspora puzzling. Why the diaspora, when with a parliamentary majority, Modi could effect domestic reform that would have the world look at India with envy?

One of the men who led the outreach, Vijay Chauthaiwale, who heads Overseas Friends of BJP, explained: They (the Indian diaspora) can tell them (investors) about the good changes taking place in India and remove the image of India as an inefficient place to visit and invest in, he told the Washington Post.

Sreeram Chaulia, professor and dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs, O P Jindal Global University, who has written a book on Modis foreign policy, says, The diaspora diplomacy of the Modi doctrine has added to Indias international influence. It is a force multiplier that makes Indias presence in far-flung parts of the world more coherent, organised and visible at the grassroots level. The benefits of people-to-people and public relations with the Indian diaspora, which has been stirred into action by Modi, are central to the Indian prime ministers larger strategic objective of turning India into a leading power on the world stage.

However, T P Sreenivasan, former IFS officer who has dealt with Indian communities in the US, Fiji, Kenya, and Europe, strikes a note of sober caution.

The Indian diaspora is more prosperous than before and its involvement in Indias development is increasing. Indians overseas are conscious of their opportunities in India. At the same time, new fears about scaled-up return of Indians or their involvement in global terrorism are raising their heads. Firefighting is not enough. We should have a comprehensive plan involving both the Centre and states to invest remittances intelligently and to find alternative ways of livelihood for those who return.

The global economic environment is echoing that concern. Remittances from workers abroad are falling alarmingly.

In 2015, according to the World Bank data, Indians working abroad sent home about $69 billion, down 1.5 per cent from $70 billion in the previous year. This is likely to come down further.

A 2016 World Bank report says: This year the South Asia region would see a decline of 2.3 per cent in remittances to the region due mainly to the impact of declining oil prices and labor market nationalization policies on remittances from GCC countries.

Little wonder then that at Bengaluru, which hosted the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January this year, Modi made a direct linkage between foreign policy and diaspora investment, telling NRIs real patriotism would be to send more and more money back home: FDI has two definitions -- foreign direct investment and first develop India, he said.

But a domestic political majority-driven foreign policy has had its downside.

For countries which have investible sovereign wealth funds, India is a promising investment destination. But concerns have surfaced, which cannot be wished away.

An Indian investment advisor attached to a prominent UAE-based sovereign fund told Business Standard that controversies like lynching because of mere suspicion of storing beef and rhetoric that seems to have Islamophobia at its heart, make it harder to persuade these countries to commit funds to India.

For the ruling families in the Gulf, it is confusing. Till yesterday, India and Indians were our friends -- have things really changed so much? they ask us, he said. We try and explain. It is not always easy.

Despite these problems, diplomats agree that Modi has posted impressive foreign policy successes.

In the neighbourhood, despite initial missteps, relations with Nepal have reached an equilibrium under Pushpa Kamal Dahals prime ministership, senior diplomats say. When K P Oli was prime minister, the damage was so much that during President Pranab Mukherjees recent visit, #PranabDaSaySorry was trending on social media, notes former ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood.

However, creative interventions by the Modi administration have managed to turn the situation around. The same applies to relations with Sri Lanka, which seemed to be in a deep strategic embrace with China in the not so distant past.

Geethanjali Natraj, professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration, points out in a commentary that talk of upgrading the India-Sri Lanka free trade agreement to include a new trade pact called the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement, which is expected to be signed by the end of 2017, will enhance trade in services, investments, and technology cooperation with Indias five fastest-growing southern states -- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Given these states proximity to Sri Lanka, the ETCA would leverage Sri Lankas unique geo-strategic location, which is at the crossroads of major shipping routes. The ETCA would also increase regional integration and could make Sri Lanka the geo-economic centre of South Asia.

With Pakistan, Modis gamble is yet to show results -- and the disturbance in Kashmir is not making his task of managing relations with that country any easier. However, the most dramatic change has come about in relations with Bangladesh.

India and Bangladesh are on a path of cooperation that will be hard to reverse, says Veena Sikri, former Indian ambassador to Dhaka, referring to recent agreements to cooperate in developing energy, sharing river waters, and building a railway line.

In dealings with the US, the PM has shrugged off the past palaver over the denial of the visa and has used a term that defines new relations between the two countries.

He has tossed away the hesitations of history. Stronger US ties are among Modis top achievements since taking office, says Lalit Mansingh, former Indian ambassador to the US.

However, with internal political volatility of a kind not seen before in the US, the jury is still out on how Modi will handle the US for the remainder of his tenure.

Diplomats are divided on Indias relations with China during the three years of Modi. While protagonists of the motherhood and apple pie approach suggest stirring up sleeping dogs is not a good idea, those who are more radical feel it is Indias time and China should know this.

A peaceful, democratic and stable China is in the interest of India and the two countries should nurture their peace process as incidents like the land encroachments along the Line of Control disturb the friendly atmosphere in the region, says former Indian ambassador to Beijing, Ashok Kantha.

But journalist Prem Shankar Jha disagrees. For three years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been indulging in acts of bravado in foreign policy that he believes, or wants the people of India to believe, are acts of bravery. The most recent is his boycott of the One Belt One Road forum meeting in Beijing, Jha writes (New Delhis official reason for not attending is that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through Gilgit, which has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and attending the meeting would have risked conceding sovereignty). This is poppycock, says Jha.

He adds that the boycott is tantamount to India cutting off its nose to spite its face.

Modi clearly does not agree.
IRVINE, Calif., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With ten years in real estate and three years building and leading a first-of-its-kind real estate technology firm, Roy Dekel, CEO of SetSchedule, is being recognized once again for his influence and leadership in the industry, this time as one of the winners of the prestigious CEO World Awards. Mr. Dekel was named The Leader in the CEOs of the Year category for his exemplary work at the helm of SetSchedule, a tech-based marketing firm that connects real estate agents with homeowners, buyers and investors who are looking to buy and sell properties.



The coveted annual CEO World Awards program encompasses the worlds best in leadership, innovation, organizational performance, new products and services, CEO case studies, corporate social responsibility, and milestones from every major industry in the world.

Mr. Dekels role as the leader of SetSchedule is only the latest feat in a career rich with capable management and success. With more than 10 years of real estate experience, Roy has served in a number of capacities including investor, financial advisor, Director of Business Development, and CEO. In the fickle climate of real estate, Roy Dekel has been able to remain a resilient player, garnering business success not only for himself, but each company he has been involved with. Under Mr. Dekels direction, SetSchedule has grown from an idea to a successful emerging tech company with thousands of subscribers from 26 states since it was founded in 2014, demonstrating the importance of persistence and commitment when it comes to realizing your business goals.

An idea is an idea, and the vast majority of people have ideas. What makes us - leaders - different is that were willing and passionate about taking an idea and driving it towards an end result, said Mr. Dekel. Sometimes you hit the ground instead of the sky, but true entrepreneurs and leaders dont stop driving those ideas until you get to the sky.

The CEO World Awards were created to honor and generate industry wide recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of CEOs worldwide in every area. Organizations from all over the world are eligible to submit nominations including public and private, for-profit and non-profit, largest to smallest and new start-ups.

Winners will be honored in San Francisco on Monday, June 26, 2017 during the annual SVUS Red Carpet Awards Ceremony Dinner.

About SetSchedule

Headquartered in Irvine, CA, SetSchedule is a first of its kind" technology based marketing firm that connects Realtors with Homeowners, Buyers and Investors who are looking to buy and sell properties. The exclusive membership based model provides verified appointments, marketing tools, and elite invite-only networking events for its members. By blending new technologies, and thought processes with proven success methods SetSchedule had incurred record producing results unseen in the industry. Learn more at setschedule.com. To learn more about Roy Dekels and SetSchedules foundation work www.roydekel.org

About the CEO World Awards

CEO World Awards are an annual industry and peers recognition program honoring CEOs and Companies of all types and sizes in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin-America. The Annual CEO World Awards is part of the SVUS Awards recognition program from Silicon Valley in the United States of America which also includes other programs such as Consumer World Awards, Customer Sales and Service World Awards, Golden Bridge Awards, Globee Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards, Info Security PGs Global Excellence Awards, Network Products Guides IT World Awards, Pillar World Awards, PR World Awards, and Women World Awards. Learn more about The CEO World Awards at www.ceoworldawards.com
SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The annual 2017 REAL Trends 500 broker rankings across the nation have just been released. Zephyr Real Estate has once again placed high on the list at No. 84 nationwide on rankings by sales volume. With a sales volume of $2,213,899,123, Zephyr maintains its position ahead of its competitors.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d56c60f0-62f5-4549-abb4-5caa13181f31

With over $2.2 billion in sales, Zephyr also retains its position at No. 84 in the prestigious Billionaires Club. In addition, Zephyr holds its position at No. 6 in the Top 50 Firms  Average Price with a $1,175,730 average.

Other notable Zephyr rankings include No. 492 in the Top 500 brokerages by total closed transaction sides with 1,883; No. 117 in the Largest Independents; and, No. 78 in the Top Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Affiliates.

REAL Trends has been the trusted source for news, analysis and information about the residential real estate industry since 1987. It is a privately-held publishing, communications and consulting company based in Castle Pines, CO. Residential real estate leaders look to REAL Trends for timely and trusted information and analysis.

For the third year in a row the nations largest brokerage firms gained market share, said Steve Murray, President of REAL Trends. Clearly, Americas largest brokerage firms have figured out how to grow their share in all kinds of markets.

Zephyr maintains its position as Number One in San Franciscos market share, outdistancing all of the larger brokerages. Zephyr agents are among the top producers in the Bay Area and beyond.

Placing highly in the Top 500 across the country is particularly satisfying, commented Randall Kostick, Zephyrs President and CEO. We are an independent firm competing with nationwide brokerages, and were doing very well, thanks to our innovative agents, resourceful staff and loyal clients.

About Zephyr Real Estate

Founded in 1978, Zephyr Real Estate is San Francisco's largest independent real estate firm with nearly $2.3 billion in gross sales and a current roster of more than 300 full-time agents. Zephyrs highly-visited website has earned two web design awards, including the prestigious Interactive Media Award. Zephyr Real Estate is a member of the international relocation network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World; the luxury real estate network, Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate; global luxury affiliate, Mayfair International; and local luxury marketing association, the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco. Zephyr has six offices in San Francisco, a Marin County office in Greenbrae, a San Mateo County business center in Burlingame, and two brokerage affiliates in Sonoma County, all strategically positioned to serve a large customer base throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.ZephyrRE.com.
CLEARWATER, Fla., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Saturday, May 20th, the non-profit organization Second Chance Life Skills (SCLS) held a banquet at the Fort Harrison, the Church of Scientologys international religious retreat. Nearly 250 guests supported the organization while enjoying a 5-star quality night in celebration of 17 years of service to the community.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b6f2d3d6-0ebd-4544-81e9-efafc39c3e70

Second Chance Life Skills mission is to provide life skills to under-privileged youth through entrepreneurship and keeping up with technology.

Mr. Dylan Pires, the Community Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology in Clearwater opened the event, welcoming guests to the Fort Harrison.

The Church of Scientology has hosted hundreds of community events - our doors are wide open for non-profits and charities.

Mr. William Vaughn, a founder of the organization, was the MC for the event. Mr. Vaughn told a bit of SCLSs background. When they first started, their boardroom was a table in Dennys Restaurant. Today, the non-profit is close to acquiring a large facility of their own; a home for a dozen programs for veterans and youth.

The keynote speaker was Mr. Pernell Mitchell, a former Leesburg Police Officer. He spoke about the importance of giving back to the community: John F. Kennedy said, Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. Well lets make it a little more personal: Ask not what your community can do for you ask what you can do for your community.

Mr. Al Graham, the President of SCLS, gave an update on their current projects in St. Petersburg, including a home renovation program for veterans. Mr. Graham presented certificates and plaques to his supporters and Board Members.

The event closed with a song from Dove-award winning performer, Creed Warner, followed by a concert with the Church of Scientologys in-house band.

For more information on holding events for non-profit organizations at the Fort Harrison, please contact Dylan at (727) 467-6860 or dylanpires@churchofscientology.net.

About the Fort Harrison:

Since its construction in 1927, the Fort Harrison has been the home for many community events and charitable functions. The Fort Harrison's current owner, the Church of Scientology, has hosted over 500 community events there since a top-to-bottom restoration in 2009. The Scientology religion was founded by humanitarian and philosopher, L. Ron Hubbard, and incorporated in 1954. To learn more, visit www.scientology.org.
Novi, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/25/2017 --A leading Michigan roofing company who provide their services to commercial and residential customers in Northville, Walled Lake, Wixom, West Bloomfield, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, and South Lyon explain how tile roofs could be a good choice when looking for a new roof installation.



Twelve Oaks Roofing who has become one of the most recommended Michigan roofing companies has explained that a tile roof not only provides a property with a very distinct, and unique look but can also help homeowners to save money. A tile roof which comes in a variety of lightweight versions can last for more than 50, 60 and 70 years. That means, once a tile roof has been installed it could last the lifetime of the property owner which provides a huge saving. But that is not the only benefit of having a tile roof installed.



A tile roof is not just ideal for those looking for a new roof to be installed that will look stylish and save them money; a tile roof also provides many safety benefits. The durable roof can withstand extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, rain, snow, and ice storms. As well as withstanding whatever the weather has to offer, the tile roof which is available in different colors, finishes, and styles is 100% fireproof.



A spokesman for Twelve Oaks Roofing said: "Tile roofing not only helps homeowners to save money and provides a roof that will withstand extreme weather conditions, but this style of roof will also add value to a property."



Twelve Oaks Roofing not only repair and provide a new roof installation service, but they also offer a free inspection service that can help homeowners avoid costly repair bills. The free roof inspection service has been credited for increasing the longevity of a roof by identifying small problems before they become a major issue.



To learn more about the benefits of a tile roof, please visit http://twelveoaksroofing.com/tile-roofing/ or to learn about the wide range of services available, please visit http://twelveoaksroofing.com



About Twelve Oaks Roofing

The expert roofing professionals have been performing commercial and residential roofing repairs, maintenance, and installations for more than 30 years.



Contact details:

45170 Wilshire Ct, Novi, MI 48377

248-525-6950
From 2-7 to sectional champs, Monrovia has one question: 'Why not us?'

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Cincinnati, Ohio, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Cincinnati released on May 25 a combined sources sought notice and solicitation in which it outlined plans to acquire the Stryker Acute Care Bed System.

The Cincinnati VAMC intends to award a contract to a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that responds to the solicitation with an offer that is most advantageous to the government, according to the notice. The associated NAICS code is 423450 and small business size standard is 200 employees.

The contractor who receives the contract must deliver and install the Stryker Acute Care Bed System at the VAMC in Chillicothe, OH within 45 days of receiving the contract.



Responses are due by no later than May 31, 2017. For more information, contact Contract Specialist Chris Blazejewski at Christopher.blazejewski@va.gov.

The contractor who receives this contract also must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and Certifications.

US Federal Contractor Registration, the worlds largest third-party government registration firm, completes the required Registrations on behalf of its clients. It also makes available information about opportunities like this, as well as training on how to locate, research, and respond to opportunities.

We also make available for our clients and for contracting officers our proprietary Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS). Our Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS) gives you in one place instant bid notifications, bid proposal prospecting, and information about government procurement officers. We make this search tool available to clients, as part of our commitment to helping each and every USFCR client succeed and thrive as a government contractor.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday repeated his warning that opposition victories in local elections next month and parliamentary polls in 2018 would bring war to the country, saying his ruling Cambodian People's Party could lose patience and "burn down your homes."



Hun Sen, who has ruled the Southeast Asian country since 1985, used a three-hour speech to some 4,000 Christians in Phnom Penh, to drive home a threat that he has made several times in the run up to the June 4 commune elections.



"War will happen if the CPP loses control," he said in a speech at Koh Pich Convention Center in the capital.



Hun Sen warned the opposition party not to dare trying to wage war, saying that all his sons are soldiers.



All of Hun Sens sons are soldiers, and one of them even graduated from West Point. So dont agitate for war!" he said.



He noted that Prince Norodom Ranariddh, a former prime minister whose royalist party Hun Sen destroyed in a violent coup in the 1990s, was "also dispirited" in defeat.



"Words can cause war if the CPP loses patience and goes to your homes and burns down your homes," Hun Sen added.



The main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which has said its electoral success would benefit all Cambodians, declined to take Hun Sen's bait, noting he had issued such threats before.



Whatever he wants to say, let him say it alone. I just wish to call on our citizens to retain their spirit and take part in the election, said CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann.



Hun Sen's latest war threat came 10 days after his defense minister, Tea Banh, warned that the army will smash the teeth of anyone protesting a win by the ruling party in the June 4 elections.



If you lose the elections and contest the results by taking to the streets to protest, we will smash your teeth, the defense minister said. Im warning you in strong terms that we wont allow such protests again.



Although Cambodia's 2015 election law forbids officials and civil servants from making threats on lives or property, a spokesman for the National Election Committee said it will not look into Hun Sen's threats unless a complaint is filed by a political party.



Without a complaint, the NEC will not take any action. The important thing is harmony among the Khmers at this time. said NEC spokesman Hang Puthea.



Observers say the CNRPone of 12 political parties competing for 1,646 commune council seatscould give the CPP a run for its money in the June polls, foreshadowing a possible CNRP win in national elections scheduled for 2018.



Reported by Vuthy Tha, Sonorng Khe and Maly Leng for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Authorities in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin have forcibly demolished a number of buildings in a village populated by minority Hui Muslims, amid a vocal protest campaign over alleged corruption surrounding years of property deals by ruling Chinese Communist Party officials in their neighborhood.



Demolition gangs moved into Tianmu village, a community of around 20,000 Hui Muslims on Wednesday, knocking down a local market, while local police ripped down protest banners from the area, eyewitnesses told RFA.



"They have been forcibly knocking things down [since yesterday]," a Tianmu resident surnamed Zhao said. "There are 200, 300 urban management officials who have come to aid the forced demolitions and to suppress [protests]."



"A lot of buildings along the main street and the market have been demolished now, and we have no way of resisting them," she said. "There are too many of them."



A second local resident who gave only the surname Bi said clashes had broken out between local residents and the urban management police, or chengguan.



"There was some fighting, I'll tell you," Bi said. "The government couldn't finish pulling down the market in a single day, but it will be razed to the ground by tomorrow."



A Tianmu resident surnamed Cheng said the authorities had claimed that the undercover market building was an illegal structure.



"This was a mornings-only market, not a permanent market, and it had been operating for about seven or eight years," Cheng said. "The government didn't pay much attention before, but now they are hosting the National Games [here in Tianjin]."



"Preparatory work is under way, and so the government came and knocked down the market."



Corruption allegations



Residents of Tianmu have been petitioning for years over allegations of corruption on the village committee.



The protests center around a campaign by local people for the recall of Communist Party village secretary Mu Xiangyou amid allegations of graft linked to land disputes that have dragged on for more than 30 years.



Local residents have detailed a litany of violent, forced evictions and demolitions of their homes, opaque accounting practices, and the loss of huge tracts of collectively owned village land.



But while Mu Xiangyou has taken a back seat in village politics, he remains a delegate to China's parliament, the National People's Congress.



Tianmu is one of China's most prominent Muslim communities, and its residents say they have suffered enough amid a massive urban real estate boom in recent decades.



But the village has seen no elections that might give residents a chance of removing officials they don't support.



Residents had hoped to bring Mu Xiangyou to justice on the back of a nationwide anti-corruption campaign launched by President Xi Jinping after taking power in November 2012, but to no avail.



Tianmu residents have filed petitions to central government in Beijing over the loss of some 3,000 mu (494 acres) of farmland to Mu Xiangyou's property deals, leaving them with just 100 mu (16 acres).



Some 7,000-8,000 mu (1153-1318 acres) of land zoned for residential use has also passed out of local residents' hands, they said.



Tianmu campaigners estimate that Mu has made four billion yuan (U.S. $581.2 million) personally out of land and property sales to developers over the past three decades.



The requisitioning of land and forced evictions linked to lucrative property deals by cash-strapped local governments trigger thousands of mass protests and petitions across China every year. Many result in violent suppression and the detention of the main organizers.



Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.




Tin Myo Win, chairman of the Myanmar government's Peace Commission, briefs reporters at the 21st Century Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw, May 25, 2017.

Representatives from Myanmars peace negotiating team on Thursday met with a delegation of seven ethnic armed groups from the northeast that did not attend the second day of the government's key peace talks, the chairman of the administration's Peace Commission said.

The allied ethnic armed groups led by Bao Yuri, vice chairman of the United Wa State Army (UWSA)the largest ethnic militia in Myanmardid not comment to the media on what the parties discussed at the closed-door session in the capital Naypyidaw on the sidelines of the 21st Century Panglong Conference.

The other members of the delegation are the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA-N), Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA), and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

The ethnic militias said they would only meet with the government for peace talks as a coalition under a body called the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC).

The FPNCC agreed on specific propositions concerning political negotiations during an April 19 meeting in Pangkham, eastern Myanmar's Shan state, and subsequently submitted them to the government.

The Peace Commissions chief negotiator Tin Myo Win told the online journal The Irrawaddy that the meeting was a social event to build mutual trust between ethnic armed organizations and the government.

Representatives from the seven ethnic militias, which have not signed a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) with the government, headed to Naypyidaw on Tuesday, even though they were invited to attend the summit not as full delegates, but as special guests.

The delegation attended the opening of the second session of the summit, also known as the Union Peace Conference, and a dinner hosted by Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday.

Friday meeting

On Friday, the seven allied ethnic armed groups will meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, who also serves as state counselor and foreign minister.

She will meet the groups separately, with the KIA, UWSA, SSPP, and NDAA invited to one meeting, and the TNLA, AA, and MNDAA to another, government spokesman Zaw Htay told members of the media on Thursday.

Myanmar military officials, government ministers, lawmakers, members of the international community, and ethnic rebel groups that have signed the NCA discussed politics, the economy, social and land issues, the environment, and security matters on the second day of the conference.

General Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), the countrys oldest ethnic militia, called for a more inclusive peace process in a speech to peace conference delegates on Thursday, The Irrawaddy reported.

Though the KNU is a signatory to the NCA, Mutu Say Poe reproached the government for inviting to the conference only those ethnic militias that had signed the peace pact.

We cannot solve the problems covering the whole nation only with those who signed the NCA, he said. I want to stress that there are still other national ethnic armed groups who are stakeholders in building up a future federal nation.

Sai Htin Kyaw, a representative from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), talks to the media at the 21st Century Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw, May 25, 2017. Credit: RFA Disagreement over phrase

Meanwhile, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), a major political party in Shan state, rejected a non-break-away policy from the union in political talks at the conference on Thursday.

In a statement, the party said that the policy is different from that of the Panglong Agreement of February 1947 when Shan, Kachin, and Chin ethnic minority leaders signed a pact with national hero General Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi, to grant the groups ethnic autonomy within an independent Myanmar. The country had been a British colony.

Such a point could break the unity of ethnic people, the SNLD said.

We already have our three main national causes, said Sai Htin Kyaw, the SNLDs representative at the peace conference, in a reference to the popular military slogan about preventing the disintegration of the union, reinforcing national solidarity, and ensuring the perpetuation of sovereignty.

This is already enough, so the non-break-away from the union policy is not the one we need to discuss, he said.

Colonel Zaw Min Tun from the office of Myanmars military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing suggested using the phrase living together in the union policy instead of non-break-away from the union policy.

We have been talking about how to use other words if the phrase non-break-away from the union policy is too harsh, he said. We will soon have a similar phrase that is not as harsh as this one.

Salai Lian Mhone Sar Khaung of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) said the body had discussed other options.

We have been discussing different topics, nationally, ethnically, and regionally at the national-level peace talks so that we can have different voices, feelings, views, and perspectives from all people, he said. There are no peace talks on earth like the ones we are holding now.

Headed by Aung San Suu Kyi and composed of armed ethnic groups that signed the NCA, political party representatives, and government representatives, the UPDJC is overseeing the drafting process of the framework for political dialogue.

Zaw Htay, director-general of the State Counselors Office, said the parties are still working on basic policies, but will have more detailed ideas later in their discussions.

The Panglong Conference is the key initiative of the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government, which has been in power for just over a year, to end decades of ethnic separatist civil wars across wide swathes of the country of 54 million people.

Myanmar's peace process has been hindered by ongoing clashes between the armed forces and ethnic militias primarily in northern Shan state and neighboring Kachin state, which border China.

The first session of the peace conference was held in late August and early September 2016.

Reported by Win Naung Toe for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
A district court in Myanmars commercial capital Yangon charged six members of a family of tailors on Thursday with enslaving and abusing two teenage girls who worked for them as maids in a case that has prompted widespread public outrage at the girls treatment.



Ma San Kay Khaing, 17, and Ma Tha Zin, 16, endured five years of brutal physical abuse by the owners of the Ava tailor shop for whom they worked in Yangons Kyauktada township, later accusing the shops owner and family members of stabbing them with scissors and knives and burning them with an iron, according to local media reports.



Held for the last eight months in Yangons Insein Prison, Tin Thuzar, Tin Min Latt, Su Mon Latt, and Yarzar Tun have now been charged in Yangons West District Court under Myanmars anti-trafficking and child protection laws and for assault under the countrys penal code.



Ko Ko Latt and Thiri Latt were also charged under the anti-trafficking law and child law but were not accused of assault, their lawyer told reporters after todays court hearing.



We, the lawyers for the accused, would like to say that the charges against Thiri Latt and Ko Ko Latt should be dropped because they didnt abuse the maids personally, though they didnt prevent other family members from abusing them, he said.



We will consult with our clients and then file an appeal with the Yangon divisional court, he said.



The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for June 8, and some witnesses who have already appeared in earlier hearings will be called again to testify, he said.



Todays charges follow the sentencing last week in Myanmar of the owner of a food catering service to a seven-year prison term for scalding and beating a teenage girl who worked as a waitress for the caterer and as a helper in the womans home.



Aye Aye Soe, who worked as a contractor providing food to Mawlawmyine University in Mon states capital city, was convicted of causing grievous hurt in the case in which she was charged with torturing a 14-year-old girl whom she had accused of stealing oranges.



Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Des Moines, IA, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Personal injury law firm Hupy and Abraham, S.C., P.C. is proud to announce the hiring of two new attorneys, John Podmeyer and Benjamin Lynch.

Podmeyer received his law degree from Drake University Law School, and served clerkships at previous law firms, along with the Drake Legal Clinic before joining Hupy and Abraham as a law clerk in 2015. Podmeyer received a number of awards while in school, including the Cali Award, which is equal to the American Jurisprudence Award.

Before joining Hupy and Abraham, Lynch served as an associate attorney at a general practice firm in the Des Moines metro area. Lynch graduated from Drake University Law School with honors and received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Northern Iowa in criminology and philosophy.

Both Podmeyer and Lynch are members of the American Bar Association, the Iowa State Bar Association and the Iowa Association for Justice.

In the past several months, the firms offices have seen significant growth. This is a great time to be a part of Hupy and Abraham, S.C., P.C., Managing Partner Attorney Jason Abraham states. Our impeccable service and exceptional results have led to significant growth. The addition of these attorneys allows us to continue to exceed and collect every dollar our clients deserve.

Hupy and Abraham, S.C., P.C.

Founded in 1969 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, personal injury law firm Hupy and Abraham, S.C., P.C. has a proven record of success with large settlements in serious cases, collecting over a billion dollars for more than 70,000 satisfied clients. The firm has a long-established reputation of providing sound legal representation to accident victims, securing fair compensation for its clients and giving back to the community.

With 11 offices located in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, the law firm handles personal injury cases including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death, pharmaceutical and medical device class actions and nursing home neglect and abuse cases.

The firms 26 experienced attorneys are committed to going above and beyond the call of duty for their clients by tirelessly representing them to the best of their ability while being involved in the local community  from raising funds for local charities to participating in safety and accident prevention initiatives. In the past three years, the firm has donated more than $500,000 to more than 250 worthwhile causes.

Hupy and Abraham, S.C., P.C. has received top ratings from a number of national professional organizations for many years and was voted Best Personal Injury Lawyers in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 and voted Best Personal Injury Law Firm in 2016, 2014, 2013 and 2012 in another popular poll, and named Best Law Firm in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinels Top Choice Award in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the firm was named a Webby Award Honoree in the Best Law Website Category and was honored at the Legal Marketing Associations Your Honor Awards for Best Website: Reboot.

###

Attachments:

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/813d815a-1a69-4b3b-acd0-7147f393b878
Authorities in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region are confiscating all Qurans published more than five years ago due to extremist content, according to local officials, amid an ongoing campaign against illegal religious items owned by mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghur residents.



Village chiefs from Barin township, in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefectures Peyziwat (Jiashi) county, recently told RFAs Uyghur Service that hundreds of the Islamic holy books printed before 2012 had been seized since authorities issued an order recalling them on Jan. 15.



The Qurans were appropriated as part of the Three Illegals and One Item campaign underway in Xinjiang that bans illegal publicity materials, religious activities, and religious teaching, as well as items deemed by authorities to be tools of terrorismincluding knives, flammable objects, remote-controlled toys, and objects sporting symbols related to Islam, they said.



Emet Imin, the party secretary of Barins No. 1 village, told RFA that authorities had confiscated 500 books in the recent campaign sweep of households beginning in January, most of which were Qurans published before 2012.



They can keep Qurans that were published after August 2012, according to an order from the top, but they are not allowed to keep any other versions, Imin said.



Other versions should be recalled entirely, even if they were published by the government.



Imin said that according to the order he received from his superiors, there were problems in the earlier version of the Quran related to some signs of extremism.



Therefore, we issued a notice on Jan. 15 urging residents to hand over older Qurans and warning them they would bear the consequences if banned versions were found in their homes, he said.



As a result, most of them brought their Qurans to us. We gathered all [the books] at the village office and [earlier this month] we took them to the office of United Front Work Department, he added, referring to a Communist Party agency responsible for handling relations with Chinas non-party elite.



Only materials signed off on by official religious organizations endorsed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party are considered legal to own and use for worship in China, and Imin did not explain how a state-sanctioned version of the Quran might have been deemed extremist by authorities.



Imam Rishit, the party secretary of Barins No. 2 village, said that while the recall was only issued for Qurans published prior to 2012, residents of his village turned in every version of the Quran they owned, most likely to [do whatever they can to] stay out of trouble.



We collected 382 of them and they will be taken to the township government, he said.



The type of work we are doing right now is meant to discourage residents from reading older versions of the Quran by warning them that they will be contaminated by extremist ideas. Therefore, the Uyghurs have been bringing their Qurans to useven the ones they inherited from their grandparents.



Rishit said authorities in his village had also confiscated plates and decorative items with the inscriptions Muhammed and Allah on them during the sweep of homes since January.



Anti-Islamic policies



Overseas Uyghurs slammed the Quran ban as merely another bid by Chinese authorities to exert more control over the Xinjiang region by linking their ethnic groups cultural traditions to terrorism and promoting more government-friendly versions.



The real objective of the Chinese government is to alienate Uyghur people from the true belief of Islam, said Turghunjan Alawudin, Religious Commission chairman of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) exile group.



China is attempting to justify its wholesale repression of the Uyghur people by distorting the teachings of the Holy Quran, Hadith [the sayings of the Prophet Muhammed] and Islamic theology passed down to us by our forefathers.



Alawudin said that Beijing is working to ensure that the accepted version of the Quran legitimizes its repressive policies in Xinjiang and teaches the Uyghur people to submit.



In Islam, we must follow Allah and the teachings of Muhammed, but the Chinese government is distorting the Quran by adding passages about submission to authorities so that Uyghurs will acquiesce to its illegitimate and dictatorial rule over our homeland, he said.



Chinas goal is to use the new translated Quran to confuse the minds of believers and to serve its own political purposes.



Alawudin denounced any version of the Quran that had been translated from the original Arabic into the Uyghur language by atheists or communists, saying only learned Islamic scholars and true believers are worthy of translating the holy book.



WUC spokesperson Dilxat Raxit echoed Alawudins concerns over what constitutes a legitimate version of the Quran.



Only independent Islamic researchers and highly-trained religious scholarsnot the atheistic Chinese governmentshould have the authority to pronounce which version of the Quran is correct, he said.



Instead of changing the Quranthe Holy Book of all MuslimsChina should change its anti-Islamic policies against the Uyghur people disguised as anti-extremism.



China regularly conducts strike hard campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material.



While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009.



Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma and Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
In 2015, nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C. were slain during a Bible study by Dylann Roof, a white supremacist. Photographs later emerged of the killer carrying a Confederate flag.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Ala., sought to catalog Confederate place names and other symbols in public places, both in the South and across the nation.

The organization said its far from comprehensive study identified a total of 1,503, including 223 publicly supported spaces in Virginia dedicated to the Confederacy.

The organization says the total of 1,503 does not include approximately 2,570 Civil War battlefields, markers, plaques, cemeteries and similar symbols that, for the most part, merely reflect historical events.

Here's the Virginia spaces:

Abingdon, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Alexandria, Robert E. Lee RECenter, Building.

Alexandria, Appomatox Confederate Statue, Monument.

Alexandria, Beauregard Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Bragg Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Braxton Place, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Breckinridge Place, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Calhoun Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Chambliss Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Dearing Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Donelson Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Early Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Floyd Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, French Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Frost Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Gordon Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Hardee Place, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Hume Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Imboden Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Iverson Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Jackson Place, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Janneys Lane, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Jordan Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Jubal Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Lee Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Longstreet Lane, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Maury Lane, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Pegram Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Quantrell Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Reynolds Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Rosser Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Van Dorn Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Alexandria, Wheeler Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Amelia, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Amherst, Amherst County Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Appomattox, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Bedford, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Berryville, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Blackstone, Jeb Stuart Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Bland, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Bland, Jeb Stuart Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Boones Mill, Jubal Early Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Bowling Green, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Boydton, Monument to Confederate Soldiers of Mecklenburg, Monument/Courthouse.

Bristol, Confederate Soldier Monument, Monument.

Bristol, Stonewall Jackson Elementary School, School.

Bristol, Washington-Lee Elementary School, School.

Bristow, Robert E. Lee Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Buckingham, Confederate Soldiers of Buckingham County, Monument.

Centreville, General Lee Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Charlotte, Charlotte County Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Charlottesville, Lee Oak (Tree), Monument.

Charlottesville, Robert Edward Lee Sculpture, Monument.

Charlottesville, Stonewall Jackson Statue, Monument.

Charlottesville, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Charlottesville, Lee Park, Park.

Chatham, Confederate Dead Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Chesterfield, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Clear Brook, Stonewall Elementary School, School.

Courtland, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Culpeper, General A.P. Hill, Road/Street/Highway.

Culpeper, General Jackson Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Culpeper, General Jeb Stuart Lane, Road/Street/Highway.

Culpeper, General Lee Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Culpeper, General Longstreet Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Culpeper, General Winder Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Damascus, Jeb Stuart Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Dinwiddie, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Eastville, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Emporia, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Falls Church, J.E.B. Stuart Park, Park.

Falls Church, J.E.B. Stuart High School, School.

Farmville, Virginia Defenders of State Sovereignty Confederate Soldier, Monument.

Fincastle, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Floyd, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Fort A.P. Hill, Fort A.P. Hill, Military Base.

Fort Lee, Fort Lee, Military Base.

Fort Pickett, Fort Pickett, Military Base.

Foster, Robert E. Lee Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Franklin, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Fredericksburg, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Fredericksburg, The Heights at Smith Run, Monument.

Fredericksburg, Thomas R.R. Cobb Monument and Marker, Monument.

Fredericksburg, Lee Hill Community Center, Park.

Fredericksburg, Lee Hill Elementary School, School.

Front Royal, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Gate City, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Glen Allen, J.E.B. Stuart Memorial, Monument.

Gloucester, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Halifax, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Hampton, Jefferson Davis Middle School, School.

Hanover, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Heathsville, Civil War Memorial, Northumberland County, Monument/Courthouse.

Hillsville, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Hopewell, Confederate Memorial, Monument.

Hopewell, Robert E. Lee Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Jonesville, Lee High School, School.

King William, To Our Soldiers of the Confederacy, Monument/Courthouse.

Lancaster, Lancaster County Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Lawrenceville, Brunswick County Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Lebanon, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Leesburg, Confederate Soldier Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Lexington, Francis H. Smith Confederate Monument, Monument.

Lexington, Stonewall Jackson Monument and Arch, Monument.

Louisa, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Lovingston, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Lunenburg, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Luray, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Luray, Page County Confederate Monument, Monument.

Lynchburg, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Lynchburg, Jubal Early Monument, Monument.

Lynchburg, Early Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Manassas, Stonewall Jackson Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department, Fire Station.

Manassas, Lee Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Manassas, Stonewall Jackson High School, School.

Manassas, Stonewall Middle School, School.

Marion, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Martinsville, Jeb Stuart Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Martinsville, Jefferson Davis Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Mathews, Our Confederate Soldier, Monument/Courthouse.

Mechanicsville, Wilcoxs Alabama Brigade, Monument.

Mechanicsville, Lee Davis High School, School.

Mechanicsville, Stonewall Jackson Middle School, School.

Middleburg, John Mosby Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Monterey, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Montross, Westmoreland County Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Natural Bridge Station, Jeb Stuart Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Natural Bridge Station, Robert E. Lee Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

New Castle, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

New Kent, Confederate Monument, Monument.

New Market, This Rustic Pile, Monument.

New Market, Confederate Street, Road/Street/Highway.

New Market, Lee Street, Road/Street/Highway.

New Market, Stonewall Street, Road/Street/Highway.

New Market, Stuart Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Newport News, Confederate Soldier Monument, Monument.

Newport News, Lee Hall Elementary School, School.

Nickelsville, Nickelsville Spartan Band, Monument.

Norfolk, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Nottoway, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Palmyra, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Parksley, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Pearisburg, Confederate Medal of Honor Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Petersburg, Hagoods Brigade, Monument.

Petersburg, Old Men and Boys Monument, Monument.

Petersburg, To the Memory of A.P. Hill, Monument.

Petersburg, Confederate Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Petersburg, Robert E. Lee Elementary School, School.

Petersburg, J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School, School.

Petersburg/Suffolk, General Mahone Boulevard/Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Portsmouth, Confederate Monument, Monument.

Powhatan, Powhatan Troop Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Powhatan, Robert E. Lee Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Pulaski, In Memory of the Confederate Soldiers of Pulaski County, 1861-1865, Monument.

Purcellville, Jeb Stuart Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Quicksburg, Stonewall Jackson High School, School.

Reams, North Carolina Monument, Monument.

Rhoadesville, Jeb Stuart Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Richmond, Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge, Bridge.

Richmond, Robert E. Lee Commemorative License Plate, Commemorative License Plate.

Richmond, Sons of Confederate Veterans Commemorative License Plate, Commemorative License Plate.

Richmond, Lee-Jackson Day, (State observed).

Richmond, Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Monument.

Richmond, J.E.B. Stuart Monument, Monument.

Richmond, Jefferson Davis Monument, Monument.

Richmond, Jefferson Davis Statue, Monument.

Richmond, Matthew Fontaine Maury Monument, Monument.

Richmond, Robert E. Lee Monument, Monument.

Richmond, Stonewall Jackson Monument, Monument.

Richmond, Williams Carter Wickham Monument, Monument.

Richmond, Confederate Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Richmond, J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School, School.

Roanoke, Stonewall Jackson Middle School, School.

Rocky Mount, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Sandston, Carter Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Confederate Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Early Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Garland Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, J.B. Finley Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Jackson Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Kemper Court, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Pickett Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Sandston, Wilson Way, Road/Street/Highway.

Southampton County, General William Mahone Memorial Bridge, Bridge.

Spotsylvania, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Spotsylvania, Robert E. Lee Elementary School, School.

Springfield, Lee High School, School.

Staunton, Beauregard Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Staunton, J.E.B. Stuart Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Staunton, Stonewall Jackson Boulevard, Road/Street/Highway.

Staunton, Robert E. Lee High School, School.

Stephenson, Memorial to Lieutenant Colonel Richard Snowden Andrews and Men of 1st Maryland Battery, CSA, Monument.

Stuart, City of Stuart, Municipality.

Stuart, Stuart Elementary School, School.

Surry, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Sussex, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Tappahannock, Essex County Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Tazewell, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Verona, Confederate Street, Road/Street/Highway.

Virginia Beach, Princess Anne County Confederate Heroes, Monument.

Virginia Beach, General Beauregard Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Virginia Beach, General Hill Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Virginia Beach, General Jackson Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Virginia Beach, General Lee Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Virginia Beach, General Longstreet Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Virginia Beach, Hood Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Warm Springs, Confederate Memorial, Monument/Courthouse.

Washington, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Waynesboro, Davis Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Waynesboro, Pickett Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Waynesboro, Robert E. Lee Avenue, Road/Street/Highway.

Williamsburg, Williamsburg Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Winchester, Confederate Soldiers Monument, Monument.

Winchester, Jubal Early Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Windsor, Confederate Monument, Monument/Courthouse.

Wise, City of Wise, Municipality.

Woodford, Jeff Davis Drive, Road/Street/Highway.

Woodford, Stonewall Jackson Road, Road/Street/Highway.

Multiple Locations, Jefferson Davis Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Multiple Locations, Jubal Early Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Multiple Locations, Lee Highway, Road/Street/Highway.

Multiple Locations, Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Road/Street/Highway.
Secretary of Finance Richard D. Ric Brown sought to reassure legislators Thursday that state revenues will not fall short despite a rough April.

State revenues ended April about $130 million ahead of the forecast for the fiscal year that will end June 30, but that was about $185 million less than had been projected at the end of March.

We took a punch in April, Brown told the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol. We staggered a bit but we didnt fall. Were still ahead of forecast.

The biggest problem was a drop of more than 17 percent in April in income taxes not withheld from payroll but made in estimated payments.

The state received about 40,000 fewer checks in April than the previous year and the checks were 9 percent smaller, but Brown said the state narrowed the gap this month to about 10,000 fewer checks.

Theres some weakness in estimated and final payments, he said.

The states revenue performance this fiscal year also will shape the two-year budget that Gov. Terry McAuliffe will present in December for legislators to act on next winter with a new governor in office.

The process will be shadowed by a negative outlook issued last month by Standard & Poors, which upheld Virginias AAA bond rating but expressed concern about the states diminished cash reserves.

If you dont get it out of surplus (this year), where do you get it? he asked.

The national bond rating agency is especially concerned about uncertainty over the federal budget and its disproportionate effect on Virginia, Brown said.

They want to see liquidity to help mitigate those risks, he said.

Virginias revenue stabilization fund, tapped twice to address a shortfall in this biennium, will stand at $281.5 million at the end of the next fiscal year.

That represents just 1.39 percent of certified state revenues, Brown said, while ideally it should stand between 5 and 10 percent.

However, the governor and legislature also established a cash reserve this year that will take at least half of whatever surplus is left on July 1 and more than $30 million in additional revenues expected to be collected through a tax amnesty program in the fall.

The reserve will help address S&Ps concerns, Brown said in an interview.

If youve got all this uncertainty, liquidity is king to them, he said. Cash is all.

Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, one of three candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor in a June 13 primary, struck a political note by taking aim at rival Ed Gillespies campaign pledge to cut state income taxes.

What would be the impact if someone were to cut income taxes at this time? Wagner asked, without naming Gillespie.

Brown replied, Theyre going to be concerned about the bottom line, not strategies.
Guiding Light holds the record for the longest-running U.S. soap opera, but thats only because Virginia elections belong in their own special category. Think of George Allens macaca moment in the 2006 Senate race. Or Jim Millers 1994 attempt to shame Ollie North for having received mental-health care  which led to the admission that, come to think of it, he had too. Two years ago, then-Del. Joe Morrissey won a special election for his House seat  from jail.

This year is shaping up like a ratings-booster for Sweeps Week.

Republicans will hold a primary on June 13, and one of the GOP candidates for governor (Corey Stewart) seems to think hes running for president of the Confederacy.

Four days before then, a judge in Stafford County Circuit Court will hear a motion filed by one of the candidates for lieutenant governor, Jill Vogel. The motion asks the court to stifle subpoenas filed by one of Vogels opponents, Bryce Reeves. Reeves accuses Vogel of being behind an email accusing him of having an affair. Digital forensics trace the email back to Vogels home Internet address and her husbands cell phone. She says they were hacked. As The Washington Post notes, its a two-way soap opera.

What is it with GOP candidates for lieutenant governor? For years ago, Republicans nominated E. W. Jackson, a bishop who thought he had a bright future in politics after winning 5 percent of the vote in the previous years U.S. Senate primary. Jackson actually did win the nomination for lieutenant governor, though  in a 10-hour, four-ballot fight at the party caucus. But he lost the general election badly, owing to his propensity for outrageous statements  such as the suggestion that it is the principle of sin, rebellion against God and His truth, which has brought about birth defects and other destructive natural occurrences.

Democrats are struggling with their own drama this year. Party officials have called on Tom Brock, a candidate for the House of Delegates, to drop out of the race. Theyre none too thrilled with the sexist comments and racist jokes he has posted to social media.

Brock apologized for the sexist comments. But he has tried to claim the racist jokes were taken out of context. He says he was merely reciting, for the purpose of recollection, jokes he previously had told his son never to make. Which is totally believable!  if you also believe the Nixon henchmen who broke into the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate building were just trying to make sure nothing was out of place.
A Salem-like hunt

for Russians

Editor, Times-Dispatch

Democrats are pushing for an investigation of Russian interference in the presidential campaign. So what could the Russians have done? Disclosed that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party had a plan to derail socialist Bernie Sanders? Maybe. Convinced the majority of voters in 37 states to vote for Donald Trump? Maybe. Convinced 58 percent of voters over 45 to vote for Trump? Maybe.

Did the Russians keep 35 percent of registered Democrats from voting? Maybe. Or maybe the Russians kept Hillary Clinton from campaigning in the Democratic-leaning states of Wisconsin and Michigan. Did those Russians authorize liberal-leaning movie stars to turn off blue-collar workers by doing her campaigning in Pennsylvania?

We are going to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to find out just what those Russians did to help Trump win. It kind of reminds me of Salem.

Rick Court.
A storm moving across Richmond is bringing gusty 40 mph winds and small hail, but it's staying below severe levels and will move out of the city shortly after 4:00 p.m.

As of 3:45 p.m., storms were lined up right along Interstate 95 from Fredericksburg to Richmond to Emporia, moving northeast at 35 mph.

There is an area of lighter rain behind the storms that will move through Richmond between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m.

So far there haven't been reports of severe hail or wind damage in Central Virginia.

The storms may continue to strengthen and pose a threat for quarter-sized hail or damaging gusts in one or two parts of eastern Virginia over the next few hours. Any severe weather impacts would be very isolated and very brief, not widespread or prolonged.

Another shower or storm could move through before 8 p.m., but it will be hit-or-miss. Dry weather is likely overnight as a low pressure system responsible for the storms moves farther into the Northeast U.S.
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On June 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Roanoke Countys Explore Park will host the first of three Artisan Saturdays in 2017. This event is free and fun for all ages. Located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, at milepost 115, the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center and Gift Shop will have local artisans on hand to demonstrate a number of uniquely different crafts and skills.

The third annual Artisan Saturday will include artisan Jack Ferguson of Appalachian Flutes and Dulcimers, who will be demonstrating the reproduction of musical instruments used by early Appalachian settlers. The Blue Ridge Potters Guild will be on hand to help guests create one of a kind pottery. Additional artisans will provide demonstrations on water-color and plein-air painting, jewelry making and woodworking. Come out and meet local authors, Carolyn Tyree Feagans and Joseph Turner. New to the event this year will be an exciting and educational experience for guests, Sadler Shells, Scales and Tails Reptile Show (11 a.m. and 2 p.m.) presented by Woody Sadler. Childrens Headband and Bracelet Bandana making along with dream catcher crafting will round off a day that will provide creative and educational fun for the entire family! Chef Ace, with Lettes Eat foodie truck will be available for guests to purchase tasty creations for lunch.

Additional Artisan Saturdays are scheduled for Aug. 12 and Nov. 4. Each Saturday may be a bit different; the day may also include different book signings, live music performers, line dance instruction and informative presentations. Artisans from Southwest Virginia whose work reflects both creativity and quality craftsmanship will be available for questions during the demonstrations. To complement the demonstrations, their original pieces of work will be for sale.

Make a whole day of it and take advantage of Explore Parks hiking and biking trails and view the historical buildings at the park. Bring the fishing gear and fishing license to spend an hour or two on the Roanoke River or visit the museum located in the Visitor Center. Explore Parks Visitor Center Gift Shop is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gift shop is always home to a variety of local artisan wares that are available for sale along with Explore Park memorabilia, T-shirts and fun items for the children. For more information on Artisan Saturdays please call (540) 427.1800 or visit us on the web at www.RoanokeCountyParks.com.
A Pulaski County mans social media post landed him in jail last week, Virginia State Police reported Wednesday.

James A. Burton Jr., 26, of Dublin, was charged with a felony count of making a written threat to kill or harm someone, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller wrote in an email. The alleged threat was tied to Burtons fathers May 14 death in a shootout with police in Pulaski, Geller wrote. The younger Burton was charged two days later.

He is being held without bond at the New River Valley Regional Jail. Investigation into both the online post and the May 14 shooting death of James A. Burton Sr. continues, Geller wrote.

The Southwest Times newspaper in Pulaski reported that after his father died, Burton had posted on Facebook a threat to harm town police officers and sheriffs deputies.

The elder Burton died after exchanging shots with Pulaski County sheriffs deputies who with town police had responded to a domestic violence report, according to statements last week from the state and town police. The police agencies said that after officers surrounded a house in Pulaski, Burton had emerged onto the porch and fired, then retreated as deputies fired back. An hours-long standoff ensued and there was at least one gunshot from inside the house, police said.

Eventually, state police reported, a robot was sent into the house and found the elder Burton dead.
Tuesdays column about Roanoke County resident Randy Palmieri and his skyrocketing auto insurance bill ended with some obvious advice: Everyone should shop around for the best deal.

Cathy Cook of Salem endorses that notion wholeheartedly. In recent years, shes switched auto insurance carriers twice because she felt gouged.

I, too, have a clean driving record and have been dealing with a similar experience. I grew up thinking you find a company you like that treats you well and stay with them all your life, Cook told me in an email. It doesnt work that way anymore. There are no rewards for loyalty. It is worth the effort to get quotes and switch if you find a better deal.

But considering there are hundreds of companies selling car insurance in Virginia, you could spend an ungodly amount of time seeking and comparing quotes. Is there any way to do that more efficiently?

A Clifton Forge native and Virginia Tech grad says the answer is yes.

His name is Andrew Rose. He earned a 1997 undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. Rose first worked in the oil industry and then banking before moving into insurance  he founded Elephant Auto Insurance. Now hes working on getting consumers good deals for intangible services. Those are things you buy that you cant touch  like auto insurance.

Five years ago, Rose founded Compare.com in Richmond. The company started with two employees and now has 100. Its owned by Admiral, the British conglomerate that also owns Elephant.

Since its launch in January 2012, Compare.com has delivered 20 million quotes to drivers in 49 states. (The company doesnt do business in Alaska.) If my experience is any indication, Compare might save you a boatload of money.

I learned about Compare from spokeswoman Sara Woznicki. She contacted me Tuesday after reading about Palmieri and the 105 percent increase Elephant socked him with after years of claims- and infraction-free driving.

If you can imagine Kayak.com for car insurance, thats us, Woznicki told me. Kayak is a one-stop online portal for travel services. Among other things, itll help you compare prices for airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals and cruise packages. It can save you time and money.

Compare.com features about 100 different car insurance brands; of those, about 60 are currently doing business in Virginia. Some might be familiar, such as Liberty Mutual, Elephant, General and MetLife.

Others, Ive never heard of before: Mercury Insurance, Workmens Insurance, Legacy and Good2Go. Some big names such as Geico, Nationwide, Allstate and State Farm arent on Compare.com.

Anyway, the portal is easy to use and theres no charge for quotes. So I decided to give it a test drive.

You type in a bunch of personal information such as ZIP code; names, addresses and birthdays of the drivers to be insured; the makes, models and years of vehicles; the number of miles driven annually; email address; and some general information about prior claims and infractions, etc. You also choose the level of insurance you want.

We have three cars, all older, and three drivers on our policy: Donna; our son Zach, 18; and me. I plugged in all our information and chose the exact same coverage I currently have. Here are the quotes I got back:

Old Dominion Insurance Company: $617 for six months

SafeCo: $1,543 for 12 months

Elephant Auto Insurance: $1,574 for 12 months

Amica: $4,111 for 12 months

Next, I called Nationwide, which has been my carrier for about 10 years. Truth is, I havent been paying close attention to those premiums. All I know is, they went up a lot when we added Zach to our policy two years ago, and we buy it on six-month terms.

How much am I paying you over six months? I asked the Nationwide rep.

$1,406, he replied.

Holy smoke, I thought. Thats more than twice the price quoted by Old Dominion. And its almost double what I would pay if I went with SafeCo or Elephant.

The bottom line is, it appears I could save $1,578 over the course of a year. Thats roughly the cost of two round-trip airfares from Roanoke to Belize.

Not everyone will realize the same savings. But if they dont, at least they can take comfort in knowing theyre already getting a pretty good auto-insurance rate.

Wednesday morning I spoke with Rose, who fondly recalled his years in the mountains. Though he was born in Clifton Forge, he grew up in Greenbrier County, W.Va. He lived in Blacksburg from 1993 to 1997.

Roanoke was the big city for me, Rose said.

It didnt take him long after college to realize he didnt want to be an engineer. Launching Elephant Auto Insurance introduced him to Confused.com, which is also owned by Admiral. Its the British equivalent of Compare.com and has been around for 10 years. Admiral backed the American version, too.

Rose said there are dozens of factors that go into any one insurance companys rating formula. Those include a companys claims experience in a particular area as well as the age of the insured and the number, type and age of the vehicles, among many other more esoteric factors. Those formulas all vary depending on the company.

At the same time, Rose said, insurance is the only product well ever buy that we hope well never use. Partly for that reason, customers dont often think about insurance. People get comfortable.

And like me, they dont always notice rates creeping up, Rose added.

Why did Randy Palmieris Elephant premiums skyrocket so suddenly? I asked Rose.

He said Palmieri probably had the random bad luck to hit multiple factors driving rate increases in Elephants unique formula. Thats almost like the opposite of winning the lottery.

Because all insurance companies formulas are different, websites such as Compare.com can be handy for consumers. It partners with more than half the nations top 25 insurers and is adding more all the time, Rose said.

Insurers pay Compare a small fee for consumer click-throughs and another larger fee when customers purchase policies, Woznicki said. The quotes it presents are real rather than teasers and the company doesnt sell users personal information to third parties.

Compare already offers homeowners insurance in some states, Rose said. It eventually plans to expand into life and health insurance, credit cards and television and wireless phone plans.

We aim to become the Amazon.com of intangible services, Woznicki told me.

Well see about that.

All I know is, Im looking forward to banking nearly $1,600 in savings.


This could be you

All of my first and second dates in New York City have gone exactly like this: meet date, drink across from or next to or in general vicinity of date at the most convenient (to me) bar, leave, lose hope in finding another human to enjoy the next week or forever with. In my headand hearthowever, all I want is the kind of date that Hollywood has manipulated me into believing can exist. One with unplanned and seemingly imperfect but actually perfect moments, casual and witty banter... pretty much any scene between Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw in Love Story. (Even the death one!) I am certain that people are having these idyllic date moments all around me, all of the time.

The below list is what I believe would be the perfect second datewhere you're a little familiar with the person alreadyas has been dictated to me through years of watching rom-coms. The key, you'll see, is not overcomplicating and overplanning it.



The Atrium at the Frick. (Photo by Jen Carlson/Gothamist)

A Museum: Most museums in the city offer a First Friday, but the best one is First Friday At The Frick. The first Friday of every month the Frick hosts a free evening, where you can roam around and view the current exhibit and permanent works. The bonus, however, is that the Frick has a gorgeous atrium, where you can grab a bench, listen to the live classical music, enjoy some light snacks (note: there's no alcohol), and do some drawing (the museum provides stools and sketching materials!). There are also talks throughout the night that you could hop in and out of. If things go well, maybe head over to nearby Central Park after! Tip: Get there early (around 5 p.m.) to avoid too long a line.

The Frick is located at 1 E 70th St (at 5th Ave) on the UES



Greenacre Park. (Photo by Scott Heins/Gothamist)

A Pocket Park: The city has some wonderful pocket parks, and if you're looking for a quiet oasis to get to know your date, head over to one of those, even to just start off the evening. Pictured above is Greenacre Park, one of the loveliest places in all of Midtown to be sure, where you can even grab some ice cream or just take your first selfie together [eye roll emoji] in front of the waterfall. Here's a list of some our favorite pocket parks  find one near you, and check the hours before you go.

Pocket parks are located all over the goddamn place, you just need to know where to look



Jane's Carousel. (Photo by Jake Dobkin/Gothamist)

A Carousel: The city has some lovely carousels, both new and historic, and they're perfect for a casual date. In Battery Park you'll find the mesmerizing LED-lit SeaGlass Carousel (which stays open until 10 p.m. and only costs $5). There's also the circa 1922 Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park (open until 7 p.m., and costs 2 bucks). The bonus with that one is you can watch the sunset over the skyline afterwards.

You'll find carousels in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island  here's a fairly comprehensive list.

A Quiet Bar: Not every bar worksdepending on the hours and location, you could find yourself amidst 100 bros donning RompHims. Gothamist's Ben Yakas informs me that a good lowkey second date spot can always be found at a local bar, dive or fancy, and his favorite is Angel's Share "on a Monday or Tuesday night, when they are less busy. The best cocktails I've had, romantic dimly-lit setting, and many of the cocktails are named after jazz songs/artists." If you sit at the bar, you can watch them create their impeccable cocktail masterpieces before you imbibe.

Angel's Share is located at 8 Stuyvesant St, near 3rd Ave

The Ferry: Former Mayor Michael "Regular Guy" Bloomberg once claimed that the Staten Island Ferry was the most romantic place in the city, or at least it's a good date spot. You can brown bag some booze, sit back, and take in the skyline from the bright orange vessel. (They also sell beer on board.) It's the city's own Tunnel of Love, albeit open-air. And comedian Todd Barry agreeshe told us, "The Staten Island Ferry is a great idea for a date, as long as that ferry is headed to STATEN ISLANDS HOTTEST SMALL PLATES RESTAURANT!" Literally no one knows romance like Bloomberg and Barry, so take their words for it.

The SI Ferry, which is free, runs between the Whitehall Street terminal in Lower Manhattan and the St. George ferry terminal on Staten Island. It's free.

N.B.: Most of the above can be taken to the next level with a little special surprise: a flower, a flask, a little token calling back to something you learned about the person on your first date. Be creative, but also be casual... this is only the second date, after all.
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The food lineup at Rockaway Beach this summer looks to be the strongest in years, with the return of all our most important favorites and a few key new additions that put the whole thing over the top. Here's our guide to your 2017 Rockaway Beach eatsread our thorough guide to NYC beaches here. Someday this rain's gonna end.



Rockaway Brewing, where Andrew Field will open his third Rockaway restaurant (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)

UNNAMED ANDREW FIELD PROJECT First, the biggest news is that Andrew Field of Tacoway Beach is opening a second, wholly different operation out here in a shipping container in the front lot of Rockaway Brewing Company. Field is quick to point out that this as-yet-unnamed project (the only signage so far says "Food" and "Drink") is NOT Tacos 3.0. He wouldn't reveal the menu just yet, except to say that it will open with four or five dishes and, from what I saw in the back, involve a deep fryer somehow.

Field's goal here is not to build an empire ("I have no interest in being king" he said) but rather to give some of his Tacoway Beach line cooks and crewmostly local kids who have been with him for years nowan opportunity to learn something new and spread their wings. The space at Brewing Co., which itself just opened last June, also appealed to Field as a way to help build a community by adding some good food to the mix.

Meanwhile, Tacoway Beach is back once again, feeding the masses in the newly spiffed-up patio at Rockaway Beach Surf Club, located at 302 Beach 87th Street. Every summer for nine years now, these tacos are the first thing I eat on my first trip to the beachI get one Fish with guac, and one Chorizoand every year they taste even better than what I've been dreaming about all winter. In fact the chorizo version, newly chunky, may be the best it's ever been. To keep up that level of quality and commitment for such a long time, at such a hugely popular spot, is a remarkable accomplishment.

Rockaway Brewing is located at 415 Beach 72nd Street, and Field's food stand will be open in time for Memorial Day weekend.



Sticky Bun (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)

ROCKAWAY BEACH BAKERY Just down the street from Tacoway is the brand new Rockaway Beach Bakery, a cheery storefront featuring an array of excellent creations by Tracy Obolsky. Rightly famous from her various pop-ups for her croissantsget the regular, or the special (Salted Honey in my case, which was superb), or whatever sandwich she's offeringbut the Sticky Buns are also incredible. Cold brew La Columbe is on tap, classic rock is on the system. This will be a fun summer project, to eat my way through Obolsky's entire menu, starting with a slice of that pie.

87-10 Rockaway Beach Boulevard



(King David Tacos)

KING DAVID TACOS This Austin-inspired breakfast taco spot has been catering-only for the past year but now founder Liz Solomon Dwyer is ready to bring her egg-stuffed tortillas to the boardwalk, partnering with Rippers for a two-week stint at the burger joint. From 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on June 1st - 4th and again June 9th - 11th, stop by the Beach 86th Street stand for three different types of breakfast tacos: the BPEC (bacon, egg, potato and cheese), the Queen Bean (refried beans, potato, egg and cheese), and Or'izo (chorizo, potato, egg and cheese).

Dwyer says they'll be offering a KDT Queso Shooters ($2), too, which is enough to cover two tacos in the molten cheese dip.

For now, it's just the two weekends, but Dwyer says they're definitely open to sticking around longer or coming back. Since Dwyer's pop-up wasn't operational on Rockaway's opening day, we can't personally vouch for them, but read more about the tacos here and judge for yourself.

King David Tacos will operate out of Rippers at Beach 86th Street



Rippers (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)

Once you get to the boardwalk, the food scene is popping. The aforementioned Rippers returns once again to their sprawling spot at Beach 86th Street, and you should expect the usual rock-n-roll attitude, plenty of partying, one of the city's best burgers, and the only soft serve by the beach.

Over at Beach 106th, the hyper-healthy, crazy-delicious Brothers is back for another season (the menu features a rice bowl, a salad, Kimchi Grilled Cheese, and an Almond Butter and Jelly Toast that I promise will blow you away) once again joining the good folks from Caracas Arepa Bar.



(Scott Lynch/Gothamist)

The jam-packed Beach 97th concessions is almost all familiar faces this summerBolivian Llama Party, Low Tide Bar, Breezy's BBQ, Uma's, La Fruteria, among otherswith one particularly exciting exception...



Super Burrito (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)

SUPER BURRITO Serving Mission-style beauties (the meat, rice, pinto beans, jack cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and avocado are all laid inside a flour tortilla), this friendly stand is a labor of love and homesickness from Californians Eugene Cleghorn and Sam Neely. I had the Al Pastor and it was excellent, though I have to wonder if New Yorkers are going to miss the hot sauce. There's also a Quesadilla here, a Chile Relleno, and Chilaquiles for breakfast.

Beach 97th Street; superburrito97.com



(Scott Lynch/Gothamist)

The restaurant row of Beach 96th survived the winter intact as well, anchored by the great Beach Bistro 96 with a slightly expanded menu of Brazilian delights: there are more tapiocas, more amazing sweet snacks (the Pacoca is phenomenal), and a Sunday-only special that sounds like a must: chef Carlos Varella's Bobo de Camarao, with shrimp, yucca, and coconut. La Newyorkina sells their perfect paletas next door again, and it looks like Venezuelan street-food favorite Santa Salsa will be returning to the block as well.

Beach Bistro 96 is located at 95-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard; La Newyorkina is located at Beach 96 and Rockaway Beach Boulevard; Santa Salsa is located at 95-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard

The beaches themselves looked wide and inviting this past weekend (and not just because they were empty), and the massive, post-Sandy boardwalk reconstruction project has been completed, with all 5.5 miles running from Beach 19th to Beach 126th Streets now open to the public.
EXTRA armed officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary are being brought in to support firearms officers in the region.

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) said it had called upon the resource in line with national procedure under Operation Temperer, which provides additional protective security.

The move is part of an operation to address safety and provide reassurance to the public and comes in response to the UK terror threat level being raised to critical, where it presently remains.

Asst Chief Con David Hartley, strategic commander for SYP over the bank holiday weekend, said: Armed colleagues from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) are working alongside our officers at key sites across South Yorkshire, to provide an additional presence and help keep our communities safe.

Contrary to reports made by some media outlets yesterday, the military are backfilling at high security sites across the UK, in order to free up armed officers, including those who have been deployed to South Yorkshire.

Our colleagues from the CNC are trained to the same high standards as armed officers at South Yorkshire Police and wear a very similar uniform to our own, making it unlikely that the public will be able to differentiate between SYP staff and the additional support.

A dedicated, specialised SYP operational team has been running 24 hours per day since critical status was declared on Tuesday evening, ensuring armed and unarmed officers are visible in crowded places and planning for future events.

The response from the public on the streets and through social media has been largely very positive.

Your messages of support have been shared with our officers and we thank you for your support. Its very uplifting.

If you see anything suspicious report it to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline in confidence on 0800 789321.

In an emergency, always dial 999.
The wife of a Brooklyn Uber driver is suing the company after the couple allegedly discovered that UberX is systematically overcharging riders.

The class-action lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. The suit alleges that since 2016, when Uber implemented upfront pricing for UberX, showing riders their fare in advance, the rideshare giant has been charging riders one fare, basing drivers' pay on a lower fare, and pocketing the difference. The named plaintiff, Jacqueline Gayed, discovered the alleged fraud by comparing notes with her husband, an Uber driver named Mohammed, according to the suit. Over the course of repeat tests, the two reported consistently finding fare discrepancies between their respective accounts. The differences were in the neighborhood of $1-$4 for each trip.

The suit notes that other drivers have spotted the same issue, and cites an analysis of a month of one driver's UberX data by the blog The Rideshare Guy. The blog's data showed that Uber overcharged riders by $162.56 over the course of 82 UberX rides that month, an average of $1.98 per ride.

Uber made the alleged grift harder to detect byat the time it implemented upfront faresceasing UberX drivers' ability to contact riders directly post-ride, and delaying the fare details from appearing on the drivers' end, according to the suit.

The filing estimates that, if half the 250,000 trips made per day in New York City using e-hail apps are UberX rides, and passengers are being overcharged $1.98 per trip, the company is stealing $247,500 per day in New York alone. The Uber platform allegedly justifies the fare differential internally by charging passengers up front based on roundabout routes, and basing drivers' fares on more direct routes.



Images purportedly showing Jacqueline Gayed's fare as a passenger, left, and the fare recorded in her driver husband's account for the same ride. (Catherine E. Anderson)

The accusations are the latest in a long line of charges against the e-hail company. Just this week, the company agreed to pay New York drivers back $900 each on average for millions of dollars of wages withheld from tens of thousands of drivers since 2014. The company said that an accounting error led it to base its share of fares from a formula that included state taxes, as opposed to pretax fares, in violation of its contract.

Separately, the New York Times reports that the company may be deducting state taxes from drivers' portion of fares instead of charging them to passengers, as is required by New York law. The paper wrote that the practice may have cost drivers hundreds of millions of dollars. Uber is lobbying the state legislature to roll back the state taxes on livery cabs.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is also under fire for his personal behavior, and for an allegedly sexist office environment extending throughout the top levels of the company.

A video released in February shows Kalanick arguing with an Uber driver over Kalanick's decision to slash fares. Kalanick closed the discussion by whining, "Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!"

Also in February, a former Uber engineer shared her story of being propositioned by her manager. When she complained to human resources, the department and upper management allegedly protected the manager because he "was a high performer."

The following month, Kalanick's ex-girlfriend, professional violinist Gabi Holzwarth, told The Information that in 2014 she accompanied Kalanick and five Uber employees to an escort bar in Seoul. When another female employee complained to HR about the incident, executives allegedly tried to shut her up.

Uber didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
The book of condolence

A BOOK of condolence at Rotherham Minster for the victims of the Manchester terrorist attack has been signed by 103 people so far, according to Canon David Bliss.

The church set aside its Jesus Chapel as a place for prayer and reflection for people wishing to remember those killed and injured in the atrocity.

Canon Bliss said that young people have signed the book and children were queuing with their parents.

He said: Because we had the book of condolence at the vigil on Wednesday the people were queuing up to sign it.

I think it has given people an opportuinity to try and put into words the feelings they have had.

There were lots of people wanting to sign.

Mr Bliss said the book will remain at the Minster for a few weeks before it is sent to Manchester.
Rockwell Diamonds said its three subsidiaries  Rockwell Resources, HC van Wyk Diamonds and Saxendrift Mine  were successfully placed under business rescue by a court in Kimberley, South Africa as opposed to liquidation.

The immediate effect, it said, was that all legal proceedings against the subsidiaries were stayed, and the liquidation process was suspended.

Rockwell said the orders placing its subsidiaries in business rescue supported the companys contention that there was a reasonable prospect of rescuing the subsidiaries and restoring them to long-term profitability.

Joint business rescue practitioners Peter van den Steen and Trevor Murgatroyd of Metis Strategic Advisors were appointed to oversee the affairs of the subsidiaries, work alongside dual-listed Rockwells management to right the businesses of the subsidiaries, and prepare a business rescue plan aimed at ensuring a return to commercial operations.

The strategy remains the completion of the ramp-up of Wouterspan Mine to full production and to assess and where feasible implement measures to further increase production, said Rockwell.

A strategic review of all assets and opportunities will be conducted to assess possibilities of realizing short term value which may assist in expediting the repayment of creditors, and to ensure the businesses have sufficient capital to return to normal commercial operations where required.

Rockwell would now pursue criminal and civil claims against C-Rock Mining Limited (CML) and certain individuals involved in the business of CML.

CML had claimed that it was owed monies relating to disputed invoices, reimbursement for tax penalties and other construction costs owed to it.

Rockwells three subsidiaries disputed the claims.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Zimbabwes finance ministry said it will take control of diamonds produced in Marange and Chimanimani having recently capitalised the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to the tune of $80 million through the central bank.

ZCDC was established last year through a merger of Marange Resources, Gye Nyame, Diamond Mining Corporation, and Kusena.

There are two minerals which remain a disappointment, diamond and coal. We have capitalized the ZCDC to the tune of $80 million and there is a new arrangement with ZCDC that since we are now capitalizing it, automatically the diamonds belong to the fiscus, The Herald quoted finance minister Patrick Chinamasa as saying.

So every output will come to the fiscus through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and we think that this will improve transparency and to ensure that we get maximum realization of the proceeds of the diamonds.

Mining companies that previously operated in the area were told that their licences had expired and government was not willing to renew them.

Rather they were asked to form part of ZCDC, but Mbada Diamonds and the Chineses OFECC, which controlled Anjin and Jinan, refused.

They took the government to court.

However, mines minister Walter Chidhakwa told Rough & Polished last February that they had reached an out of court settlement with the Chinese.

The High Court also recently barred ZCDC from looting diamond ore which belongs to Mbada Diamonds.

Mbada had 150 000 tonnes of diamond ore stockpiles that were ready for processing, according to the Zimbabwe Independent.

Zimbabwe recently said that it paid $5.4 million to Russian led miner DTZ-OZGEO to take over its diamond claims in Chimanimani.

State media claimed that ZCDC was currently producing 200 000 carats per month.

ZCDC produced about 900,000 carats last year from peak figures of 12 million carats annually.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Tiffany & Co. reported its financial results for first quarter ended April 30, 2016. Worldwide net sales were lower than the prior year and reflected declines in all regions except Japan, which management attributes to a continuation of in spending by both local customers and foreign tourists. Net earnings were also lower than the prior year resulting from a decline in the operating margin. However, net earnings were generally in line with management's previously announced expectation for the first quarter.

Worldwide net sales declined 7% to $891 million and comparable store sales declined 9%. On a constant-exchange-rate basis that excludes the effect of translating foreign-currency-denominated sales into U.S. dollars, worldwide net sales declined 7%, and comparable store sales declined 9%.

Net earnings of $87 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $105 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, in the prior year.

Frederic Cumenal, Chief Executive Officer, said, "As expected, this was a difficult quarter in terms of both sales and earnings growth. We faced numerous challenges, including continued pressure from foreign tourist spending in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, particularly in Hong Kong. However, we are continuing to take actions that are intended to strengthen sales growth with local customers in the U.S. and around the world. From a strategic perspective, we believe that our initiatives will enhance our ability to provide our customers with extraordinary products and experiences and ultimately contribute to improved financial results. We remain focused on generating sustainable long-term sales and earnings growth."

Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels




Twin Eagle Sand

Twin Eagle Sand Logistics, LLC (Twin Eagle), a subsidiary of Twin Eagle Resource Management, LLC, outlined plans to expand the Permian Rail Park near Big Springs, Texas.

Twin Eagle said the expansion of the Union Pacific-served park is to meet the strong demand of the Midland Basin. Phase 1 of the unit train capable rail park was completed in February of 2016 and comprised 33,000 feet of track for rail-to-truck frac sand trans-loading services. Phase 2 of the park includes 15,000 tons of flat storage, 7,800 feet of additional rail track and a 50-percent expansion of the transload road. Phase 3 will include the development of the rail parks 150-acre Lot 2 parcel. The new development of Lot 2 will feature 30,000 tons of rail-accessible vertical silo storage. Phase 3 of the park will break ground next month and will be completed by the first quarter of 2018.

The Permian Basin is the strongest frac sand demand center in the country employing almost 50% of the active rigs in the United States, said Griff Jones, Twin Eagles CEO. The first quarter of 2017 has been an exciting time of growth for the Permian Rail Park and our terminal network, we envision the park growing to eventually include a thousand or more rail car spots with greater than 100,000 tons of storage.
The Metra Board of Directors approved a trio of contracts May 24 that will see inward-facing cameras installed on its system, renovations made to its Hazel Crest Station and work performed on several bridges.

Metra says it was taking steps to install inward-facing cameras ahead of pending federal rules. The $11-million contract will replace the camera system on Metras trains with an upgraded system that includes inward-facing cameras in the locomotives, cabcars and Highliner cars to record the actions of engineers.

Congress in 2015 ordered the Department of Transportation to draft rules within two years to require passenger railroads to install inward-facing and outward-facing cameras in all locomotives and other operating compartments. Metra says those rules are expected from the Federal Railroad Administration by the end of 2017.

At Metra, safety is our highest priority, and we are pleased to be moving forward with this safety feature before the requirement takes effect, said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. These cameras will give us another tool to ensure we are operating as safely as possible.

Additionally, the board approved three contracts worth $48.2 million to replace or repair several bridges along the Union Pacific North Line on the North Side of Chicago and build the new inbound half of the Ravenswood Station.

These projects represent a major investment in the infrastructure along the UP North Line, which is essential to maintaining safe, reliable service, said Orseno. Together, these improvements will have a lasting impact that our customers will benefit from for many years to come.

The board approved a $17.2-million contract with Judlau Contracting Inc. of Lisle to replace the bridges that carry the inbound UP North Line tracks over 11 streets from Grace to Balmoral. The bridges are more than 100 years old and can no longer be economically repaired and maintained. Construction of bridges for the outbound tracks over the same 11 streets was completed in 2015. The new bridges will last for more than 100 years.

Kenny Construction Company of Northbrook was awarded a $15.5-million contract to rehabilitate the bridges that carry the UP North Line over Webster Avenue and the North Branch of the Chicago River just north of Webster (known as the Deering Bridge).

Finally, IHC Construction Companies of Elgin was awarded a $15.5-million contract to build the new inbound half of the Ravenswood Station, the busiest station on the line outside of downtown. The work will mirror that of the outbound half of the new station, which was completed in 2015.

The station will have longer, covered platforms, warming shelters, new lighting, ramps, stairs, new landscaping and a vendor space. Once the work is complete, the station will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Customers will continue to use the temporary inbound platform until the new station and bridge project are complete.

Work on all three projects is expected to begin in July. The work on the Deering and Roscoe bridges will take about a year, while the work on the other bridges and Ravenswood Station will take about 30 months. Construction could result in minor delays to off-peak trains.

The commuter agencys board also approved a $3-million contract to the Bowa Group Inc. of Chicago to renovate the Hazel Crest Station on the Metra Electric Line. The work includes construction of a new street-level depot complete with vendor space and restrooms, as well as the replacement of the stations stairways. The project will also include the addition of an elevator on the north end of the station, which will make the station fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The bridge contracts and Hazel Crest Station work are part of Metras 2017 construction program, which includes approximately $216 million in infrastructure improvements to 29 stations, 21 bridges and 29 road crossings and the replacement of 57,000 railroad ties to ensure safe and reliable service and maintain a state of good repair systemwide.
Port of Seattle

A planned grade separation that will improve traffic flow and safety received funding from the Port of Seattle Commission on May 23.

The commission approved $595,000 toward the $25-million project that will construct an overpass along south 228th Street over the Union Pacific tracks. The port says the project improves regional connections between thousands of businesses, employers and 40 million square feet of warehouse and industrial space.

The Port of Seattle recognizes the need to keep freight, and all other traffic, moving throughout our region, said Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. Grade separations like these are critical to remove traffic bottle necks, especially areas in the Kent Valley that handle the second largest freight and cargo volumes on the West Coast.

The success of both the Port of Seattle and the Kent Valleys robust manufacturing, warehouse and distribution activity depends upon safe, reliable, timely connections to the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and increasingly to Sea-Tac Airport, said Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke. Kents S. 228th Street has been designated as a key freight route, attracting Port customers who value timely access. The elimination of the choke point at the Union Pacific Railroad crossing will help ensure our regions future as a premier manufacturing and distribution center of world-wide importance.
Editors Pick

Facebook parent Meta Platforms decided to lay off more than 11,000 employees, representing about 13 percent of its global workforce, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. The reductions are across both Family of Apps and Reality Labs segments. In a message to Meta employees, Zuckerberg said the company intends to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending...

The Wendy's reported on Wednesday that profit for the third quarter increased 23 percent from last year, driven by higher operating profit and double-digit revenue growth. Adjusted earnings per share topped analysts' estimates by a penny, while quarterly revenues missed their estimates. The company also maintained its adjusted earnings guidance for the full-year 2022.

Tesla Inc. founder and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has sold at least $3.95 billion worth of his stake in the electric vehicle maker after completing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc., U.S. regulatory filings showed. In pre-market activity on Nasdaq, Tesla shares were gaining around 1.5 percent to trade at $194.22.
Today's Daily Dose brings you news about Aerie Pharma's positive efficacy results from phase III study of its glaucoma drug candidate Roclatan; Alnylam's public offering and FDA panel's support for approval of Puma's breast cancer drug Neratinib.

Read on

Shares of Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AERI) climbed more than 27% in extended trading on Wednesday, following positive phase III top line efficacy results of Roclatan, the Company's drug candidate for glaucoma.

Roclatan is a fixed dose combination of Aerie's most advanced drug candidate Rhopressa, and Latanopros, a widely prescribed prostaglandin analog for glaucoma.

In the 90-day phase III trial, dubbed Mercury 2, Roclatan dosed once daily achieved the primary efficacy endpoint of demonstrating statistical superiority over both Latanoprost and Rhopressa at the primary endpoint range of baseline IOPs from above 20 to below 36 mmHg for each of the nine measured time points.

The top line efficacy results demonstrated in Mercury 2 are consistent with Mercury 1, the first phase III registration trial of Roclatan. According to the Company, Roclatan has the potential to become the most efficacious IOP-lowering therapy to enter the market, if approved.

AERI closed Wednesday's trading at $40.50, down 0.74%. In after-hours, the stock was up 27.53% to $51.65.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY) has offered to sell 5 million shares of its common stock to the public at a price of $71.87 per share.

The gross proceeds to Alnylam from the offering are expected to be roughly $359.4 million. The offering is expected to close on or about May 30, 2017.

Alnylam has granted the underwriter of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of its common stock solely to cover over-allotments.

The Company expects to initiate a pivotal phase III program of Fitusiran in severe haemophilia A and B, dubbed ATLAS, this year. Top-line data from a phase III study of Patisiran in patients with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy, dubbed APOLLO, are expected to be reported in mid-2017.

ALNY closed Wednesday's trading at $69.97, down 6.54%.

GW Pharmaceuticals plc's (GWPH) results from a Phase 3 study of Epidiolex in children with Dravet syndrome have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

According to the study results, over the 14-week treatment period, patients taking Epidiolex had a significantly greater median reduction in convulsive seizures (39 percent) compared to placebo (13 percent).

Sixty-two percent of patients treated with Epidiolex were rated as improved in overall condition on the CGIC compared to 34 percent of the placebo group. Additionally, more patients became seizure-free on Epidiolex than placebo (5 percent vs. 0 percent) and total monthly seizure count was significantly reduced with Epidiolex, reveals the Journal.

The NDA for Epidiolex in the indication of Dravet syndrome is expected to be submitted in mid-2017.

GWPH closed Wednesday's trading at $106.31, down 1.38%. In after hours, the stock was up 4.41% to $111.00.

Shares of Puma Biotechnology Inc. (PBYI) rose over 29% on Wednesday, following the FDA panel's support for approval of the Company's breast cancer drug Neratinib.

The FDA panel voted 12 - 4 to recommend approval of Neratinib for the extended adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early stage breast cancer. The FDA usually follows the recommendations of its advisory panels, although it is not required to do so.

The U.S. regulatory agency's decision is expected to be announced in the third quarter of 2017.

PBYI closed Wednesday's trading at $74.95, up 29.67%.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT.L) reported Thursday that its first-half statutory profit before tax plunged to 40.9 million pounds from 171.5 million pounds last year.

Adjusted profit before tax was 105 million pounds, compared to 129 million pounds a year ago. Last year's adjusted profit before tax on a pro forma basis was 115 million pounds.

On an after tax basis, attributable profit surged to 549.5 million pounds from 181.7 million pounds last year. The results reflected a 519.3 million pounds profit from discontinued operations.

Revenue from continuing operations increased to 794.3 million pounds from 755.9 million pounds a year ago.

The company said its first half performance has been broadly in line with expectations, other than at dmg information, which has experienced lower revenue growth and sales bookings than previously anticipated.

Looking ahead, for fiscal 2017, the company now expects the underlying revenue growth rate at dmg information to be in the low-single digits, and at dmg events to be in the mid-single digits. However, dmg events' full-year revenue is still expected to be in line with market expectations.

The company previously expected dmg information's underlying revenue growth rate at mid-single digits.

Further, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 6.9 pence per Ordinary and 'A' Ordinary Non-Voting share, higher than 6.7 pence last year.

In London, the shares were trading at 715.25 pence, down 4.89 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) reported Thursday lower profit in its first quarter on the absence of last year's CRT settlement proceeds. However, earnings per share topped market estimates significantly with higher comparable sales. Looking ahead, for the second quarter, the company projects higher comparable sales, and also lifted fiscal 2018 forecast for higher growth.

In pre-market activity on the NYSE, Best Buy shares were gaining 11.86 percent to $56.40.

For the first quarter, net earnings declined to $188 million from $229 million a year ago. Earnings per share were $0.60, compared to $0.70 a year ago.

The company's weak net profit was entirely driven by the large CRT settlement proceeds received last year which did not recur in the latest quarter. Excluding this, the prior year's adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $0.43.

On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.40 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Operating margin declined to 3.5 percent from 4.4 percent last year. The prior year's adjusted margin was 2.8 percent.

The quarterly revenues, from Enterprise, increased to $8.53 billion from last year's $8.44 billion. Analysts expected revenues of $8.28 billion.

Enterprise comparable sales increased 1.6 percent, compared to a 0.1 percent drop last year, driven by growth in both the Domestic and International segments.

The company recorded significant growth in the online channel - with Domestic online comparable sales increasing 22.5 percent.

Domestic revenue of $7.9 billion increased 1.1 percent driven by comparable sales growth of 1.4 percent.

International revenue increased 0.3 percent driven primarily by comparable sales growth of 4 percent due to growth in both Canada and Mexico.

Looking ahead, for the second quarter, Best Buy projects adjusted earnings per share of $0.57 to $0.62 and Enterprise revenue in the range of $8.6 billion to $8.7 billion.

Analysts expect second-quarter earnings of $0.59 per share and revenues of $8.48 billion.

Enterprise comparable sales would grow in the range of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent with domestic comps growth of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent and International comps change in the range of flat to 3 percent.

Further, the company updated its outlook for fiscal 2018, which is a 53-week year.

The company now expects Enterprise revenue growth of approximately 2.5 percent, while on a 52-week basis, Enterprise revenue growth would be approximately 1 percent.

The company previously expected 53-week Enterprise revenue growth of approximately 1.5 percent, while 52-week revenue was expected to be approximately flat.

Further, Enterprise adjusted operating income growth rate is now expected in the range of 3.5 percent to 8.5 percent, and 52-week adjusted operating income growth rate in the range of 1.5 percent to 5.5 percent. The revision reflects the recast of last year's operating income.

Earlier, the company was expecting 53-week operating income growth rate in the low single digits and 52-week operating income to be flat.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
A highly anticipated estimate from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the House Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare would decrease the budget deficit but increase the number of people who are uninsured.

The CBO score said the bill known as the American Health Care Act would reduce the deficit by $119 billion over the next ten years, $32 billion less than estimated under the original version of the legislation.

However, the review also found that the bill would increase the number of people who are uninsured by 23 million in 2026 relative to current law.

An estimated 51 million people under age 65 would be uninsured in 2026, compared with 28 million who would lack insurance that year under Obamacare.

The CBO also found that the House Republican bill would tend to increase insurance premiums relative to current law by an average of about 20 percent in 2018 and 5 percent in 2019.

Premiums are expected to decrease starting in 2020, although the CBO noted the drop would vary depending on any waivers granted to states and on how those waivers were implemented.

Average premiums in states that do not request waivers would be about 4 percent lower than under the current law by 2026, affecting about half the population.

About a third of the population resides in states that would make moderate changes to market regulations, leading to 20 percent lower premiums.

Meanwhile, the CBO said about one-sixth of the population resides in states that would obtain waivers involving both essential health benefits and community rating, resulting in instability in the non-group market.

While average premiums would be lower, the CBO said premiums would vary significantly according to health status and predicted less healthy people would face extremely high premiums.

"Over time, it would become more difficult for less healthy people (including people with preexisting medical conditions) in those states to purchase insurance because their premiums would continue to increase rapidly," the CBO said.

Despite the estimated increase in the number of uninsured, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., highlighted the CBO's predictions that the bill would reduce the deficit and lower premiums.

"Under Obamacare, premiums have more than doubled, and choices have dwindled to the point that many families have no options at all," Ryan said.

He added, "We are on a rescue mission to bring down the cost of coverage and make sure families have access to affordable care."

On the other hand, Democrats offered harsh criticism of the bill, with Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., describing the legislation as an "abomination."

"From bungled start and through every horrifying twist and turn, this is one of the most egregious and damaging proposals ever to emerge from either house of the Congress," Leahy said.

"It breaks every promise the President has made about what he would do in repealing and replacing the ACA," he added. "It is a massive tax cut for the rich, disguised as a health plan."

The House narrowly approved the legislation earlier this month, although Senate Republicans have indicated they plan to take their time and craft their own healthcare bill.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed his call for other members of NATO to live up to commitments on defense spending.

Speaking to the leaders of NATO member nations, Trump said 23 of the 28 countries that make up the alliance are not meeting the target of spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States," Trump said. "And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years. Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined."

He added, "If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense and for the financing of additional NATO reserves."

Trump argued that spending 2 percent of GDP on defense is the bare minimum to confront today's very real and very vicious threats, especially from terrorism.

The president pointed out that he was speaking from the beautiful new NATO headquarters but noted that he had never asked what the facility cost.

Trump said his call for increased defense spending by the member nations comes as NATO must focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and on NATO's eastern and southern borders.

"These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the Alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations," Trump said.

Trump said the deadly attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, demonstrates the depths of evil the world faces with terrorism.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Turnout for general election less than expected for Saline County

Ballots are still being counted as of Wednesday, but it seems the turnout for the 2022 general election was lower than expected by the county clerk.
The residents of the Home of the Aged at Mapuifagalele were the happy recipients of a $2,000 donation from the Bank of the South Pacific and Taumeasina Island Resort yesterday.

The money was jointly presented by the B.S.P. Samoas Country Head, Taituuga Maryanne Lameko-Vaai and the General Manger of Taumeasina Island Resort, Nathan Bucknall.

Mapufagaleles representatives, Sr. Maureen Mokaya and Sister Lucy, accepted the money.

Mr. Bucknall said Taumeasina is very proud to work with B.S.P to help the Home and he couldnt think of people more deserving of the help.

We will be also having lunch with the new sisters coming next month here at Taumeasina who help in the general care of the elderly fathers and mothers.

Sister Maureen Mokaya thanked B.S.P. and Taumeasina, acknowledging their generous donation.

Thank you so much to both companies for having the heart of helping to develop our own people, she said.

Its a really good spirit we have here in Samoa and Im proud to stay here. We are grateful with the help and thank you so much.
Seven students of the Samoa Bible College celebrated sweet success on Sunday in Tafuna American Samoa.

One of them was Palagikaisa Albert Tuialii Motootua from Laulii.

He was the President of the Student Body and was awarded with a Diploma in Theological Studies.

The 28-year-old is the son of Tuialii and Falogoifo Faaliliu Motootua.

The graduation ceremony was witnessed by his parents, siblings and families and members of this home church at Laulii Assemblies of God here in Upolu.

Albert is humbled with his achievement and he gives back all the glory and praise to God for all he had done for him for the 3 tough years of his studies away from his family.
The Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Fio Purcell, is in Fiji this week.

He is leading a delegation from Samoa, which includes the Associate Minister of Public Enterprises, Tuifaasisina Misa Lisati Leleisiuao, at the International Labour Organisations (I.L.O.) Ministerial High Level Social Dialogue on Future of Works (FoW) Summit in Suva Fiji.

When the Minister addressed the meeting, he encouraged the close collaboration of the Pacific Work countries to share their experiences and information about what suits country conditions for decent work for all.

He also relayed Samoas commitment to achieve its targets under its Decent Work Country Programme 2017-2020. The M.o.U will be signed in Apia on 30th May.

The Minister also acknowledged the continuous assistance of I.L.O. to Samoa.

The High Level Tripartite Dialogue on F.O.W. in the Pacific began with a session review the ongoing changes in the world of work in the Pacific.

This was followed by two sessions focusing on Youth Employment and Climate Change, which are the most critical issues of future of work in the Pacific Island Countries.

To better link the result of the discussions to the global development agenda, as well as the Bali Declaration adopted at the 16th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting of the I.L.O. in 2016, the final session will elaborate on the relationship between Decent Work and S.D.Gs.

The forum also referred to SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway as the I.L.O in the Pacific has been contributing, in particular, to the first priority area of Sustainable inclusive and equitable economic growth with decent work for all, and social development, through its Technical Cooperation Programmes.

Promotion of social dialogue, international labour standards and gender equality are cross-cutting topics in all sessions. There was also a discussion on follow up action of Bali Declaration, which is one of the guiding documents for policy direction in the Pacific as well as the four global themes from the Director Generals 2015 Report on Future of Work Centenary Initiative which are: 1) Work and Society, 2) Decent Jobs for all, 3) the Organisation of work and Production, and 4) the Governance of work.

There are 11 Pacific Island member states of the I.L.O, along with the key stakeholders from the Pacific development community participating. They will propose recommendations on the future of work in the Pacific Island Countries. About 10 Regional Organizations and U.N. Agencies are invited, as well as 10 I.L.O staff from the HQ, ROAP and CO Suva.
A bright future awaits people with a plan.

To be able to plan though, one needs the right opportunities.

When it comes to jobs, Samoa is not the best place to be.

Konelio Togia, aged 46 of Falefa and Afega, knows this.

The only poverty that exists in Samoa is the lack of opportunities for the people to earn a living, he told the Village Voice.

There are not enough opportunities available in Samoa for our people.

I dont know about your view but to me Samoa may have all the resources for living but the opportunities to work are limited.

Nowadays, we mostly depend on money for most of the things we do in life. Like cultural activities and faalavelave, church contributions, sending our children to school and others.

We may have a plantation to depend on for food but in terms of money we need to work to earn money.

Konelio said some employment opportunities have gone to foreigners.

To prove what Im saying, if you look around Apia and most of the shops, the Samoan hires the Chinese and many other business people from overseas to do the work.

Instead of hiring our own people who have the same knowledge they prefer the foreigners. This is what I mean about the lack of opportunities.

Konelio said the government and businesses owners should consider these issues.

Whats work without hiring our own people? They deserve opportunities because we are the same.

We were born in Samoa and we also know how things are done in our Samoan ways. If you think we have no knowledge, then youre wrong.

Weve lived here and anything done or developed here we do know what to do and not to do.

Konelio said the lack of working opportunities impact on families.

I love life here in Samoa and there is no other place like my home here.

But then its really hard when we know people from outside our country are hired to do the work while we are trying to fit into our own country.

Its really hard to hear over and over again that O Samoa e alofa when nothing is done really to stop it.

He said its the same case within his family.

Knowing there is lack of opportunities in Samoa I send my eldest son overseas to have a life and help us out. He was looking for a job but couldnt find one so I ended up sending him overseas. He now works in Australia.

Our son is also the one trying to fix our house because we moved here not long ago.

Dont get me wrong, I am not saying that people in Samoa are living in poverty. No! There is no poverty in Samoa but the lack of opportunities for people to earn money.
The path to leadership is through service.

The notion is something Palemene Asasenifili from Salelesi and Eva strongly believes in.

The 50-year-old caught up with the Village Voice while he was doing his usual chores around the house.

I dont have a wife or a job but I do have a duty to my family and my elderly mother at home, he said.

I truly believe the path to leadership is through service and its exactly what Im doing now.

But its easier said than done.

Serving is not an easy task and it never will be. Being a servant is serving everyone with love, patience and most importantly honesty.

Palemene adores Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi. He said he idolizes his service to Samoa.

As you may all know Tuilaepa is someone at the highest level of leadership who is also always serving the people he leads.

He leads by serving and what comes after serving? Of course he is the Prime Minister of Samoa. I know he serves with love and honesty and that is the reason why he became successful.

Palemene added that despite the challenges, he is always grateful.

I do all sorts of chores at home, he said.

I dont ever depend on anyone for help. My family survives from the fruits of our plantation.

The important thing to me is to serve my family with what I have on my own two hands.

Palemene challenged Samoa to serve like the Prime Minister.

You can only be a leader if there are people willing to follow you, he said.

To do that you have to lead by example. Your clients will loyally follow and stick with you once they trust that you are leading them to a place they want to be.

We should be asking ourselves, Is it correct that that service is the way to leadership? How can we be leaders, if we dont serve?
There are way too many domestic obligations for Samoan people nowadays.

Speaking to the Village Voice yesterday, Malaga Sio from Lelea, Luatuanuu shared his thoughts about some of the challenges of today.

Money has become a common issue to talk about ever since the cost of living became expensive, he said.

It didnt change the Samoan way where we always have to contribute to faalavelave, church obligations and village obligations.

It didnt reduce the number of things or obligations that requires money payment.

We know an obligation always comes with contributions of money and a person needs to have a job to be able to afford anything in his or her life and thats another common issue.

This situation has put a lot of pressure on so many people in Samoa, thats what Ive noticed especially for the younger generation who still believe in the Samoan way called tausi-aiga.

Why? Because not only do they get stressed from thinking too much about where to find the money, but also because trying to find jobs is not easy.

The 63 year old was on his way to a family meeting for a faalavelave when Village Voice spotted him.

The problem now is that we have to so many things on our minds and we dont know how to take care of it.

When these things come up, they put us in a place where we stress day and night trying to figure out where to get money from.

Its not easy and I think its never going to be.

But I know my reason to still deal with it is probably the same reason the others are dealing with it; we are Samoans and this is the life we have no matter how much we wish it will change.
Think a minute Whats your problem? You know that not all problems are bad? In fact, having problems sometimes means youre making progress.

A big hardware business moved into the same building with another, small hardware store. The big hardware competitor posted signs all over the building that read: Grand Opening.

So not to be beat, the owner of the small hardware business posted a big sign over his store that read: Main Entrance.

Its successful people who know that their biggest obstacles often become their biggest opportunities.

As one smart man said: The same big stone thats an obstacle to a weak person is a steppingstone to success for a stronger person.

The difference is in their attitude and response.

Remember, you are not the only person with problems.

Even the lion has to fight off flies! So Dont be afraid to face the music just because you dont like the tune.

Many years ago, American farmers carried their potatoes in wagons to the market.

As their wagons bounced along on the rough, bumpy roads, the big potatoes were always the ones that ended up on top.

And its usually the same with people. Its the people with bigger hearts of faith and perseverance who end up on top, after getting over their lifes bumps and problems.

Theres a saying: What doesnt kill you makes you stronger.

Yes, problems may detour you and take you off course for a little while, but only you can choose to stop moving ahead.

Sometimes we think that our temporary problems are permanent.

But if you stay patient and positive, then the end of your problem will become the beginning of your new season of success. So why not ask Jesus Christ to take charge of your heart every day.

Its only with Him on your side, and His peace and power in your life, that you can turn every problem into progress.

Just Think a Minute
Passengers have told of their frantic fight for survival after a bus with more than 30 people on board veered off the road, crashing in the sea at Leauvaa.

Numerous passengers were hospitalised. Fortunately there were no casualties.

Police Spokesperson, Sua LeMamea Tiumalu, told the Samoa Observer no one has been arrested yet as investigations are continuing. Fire fighters, Emergency Medical Services, Red Cross and Police Officers were called to Leauvaa yesterday to help.

Even the bus driver has been admitted at the hospital. He suffered some injuries, said Sua.

The Spokesperson was unaware how many passengers were on the bus.

The bus was transporting residents of Satapuala and from other villages to Apia. The bus was overloaded, said Sonya Airbase, who was on the bus when it crashed.

I feared for my life, she wept. She was one of the three passengers who were at the scene when the Samoa Observer arrived.

Trying to contain her emotions, the 18-year-old University student was on her way to school. She said when the bus kept swerving, she knew something would happen.

Moments before the bus crashed, she thought that was it.... she was going to die.

Thats what I felt, I prayed repeatedly, to our heavenly father to save everyone, not just me.

When the bus crashed and I was sitting on the right side which went up into the air, we all fell to the left.

We piled up on one another and the view was overwhelming.

Seeing everyone piling up is like what I saw in the movies. But never in my life, I anticipated this would happen to me.... at this age. Im still too young to die.

There were passengers sitting on one another.

Pressing her chest with her fingers and trying not to cry, Ms. Airbase told of how they struggled to get out of the bus.

The side of the bus driver went directly down to the sea level.

The young woman said that they had to climb over through to the right side and we had to jump from about seven feet high.

Those who are severely injured were unable to climb and they were told to stay put.

Four college students suffered broken legs and broken arms, most of them had lacerations on their heads.... I am still feeling joint pain on my knees, but Im ok.

She told the Samoa Observer that bystanders assisted and took injured passengers for treatment, aside from those taken in the Emergency vehicles.

Ms Airbase was accompanied by a female Pesega College students whose younger sister was taken to the hospital.

This student was still trying to come to terms with what had happened.

I dont think I will ever come to school on a bus. This was scary and while Im alright.... my younger sister who is only 11 years old suffered a broken leg.
While upstarts and long-standing companies alike work to expedite grocery delivery in metros all over the U.S., e-commerce leader Amazon is trying something different: super-speedy grocery pickup.

The new concept, called AmazonFresh Pickup, is opening today at two Seattle locations after a soft launch earlier this year. The physical locations, open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, marry online and offline shopping as consumers can order their supermarket staples through a smartphone app and then pick them up without exiting their vehicles. At the drive-up shop, Amazon associates load bags on arrival.

The Fresh pickup perk is a freebie for Amazon Prime members, which marks an important deviation away from the standard AmazonFresh program.

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AmazonFresh grocery delivery, available in San Diego since 2014, costs an additional $180 per year (or $14.99 per month), for same- and next-day deliveries. The costlier service is sticking around, as Fresh subscribers will get to pick up their perishables in as a little as 15 minutes. Standard Prime members, however, will need to select from available two-hour pickup windows.

Still, by offering a Fresh-like convenience without the pricey subscription fee, Amazon can perhaps coax more people to try its grocery offering, and ultimately ward off competition from the likes of grocery delivery app Instacart, Postmates and neighborhood supermarkets that offer online ordering and delivery for a fee.

Should Amazon follow its brick-and-mortar launch strategy for Amazon Books  first Seattle, then San Diego  then locals can expect to be granted pickup access as well. Some evidence suggests the company is heading in that direction.

Amazons corporate arm first landed in San Diego last year with the establishment of a small Solana Beach office (dubbed an A2Z Development Center). And, based on a number of past and present job listings, software engineers are specifically being recruited to work on AmazonFresh as a formative member of a new team in a business that is fundamentally changing the way customers shop on Amazon.

Through a spokesperson, Amazon declined to comment on its plans for additional AmazonFresh Pickup locations.

Business

jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin
Qualcomm is asking a federal judge to order four companies that build Apples iPhones and iPads to resume paying cellular patent royalties while the two tech giants wage legal war over the value of intellectual property.

The San Diego firm filed a preliminary injunction motion Wednesday in San Diego federal court as part of a breach of contract lawsuit against Apples contract manufacturers.

Qualcomm argues that it is unfair that it isnt getting paid for use of its patents during the dispute, while iPhones and iPads continue to incorporate its cellular intellectual property at no charge.

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We are asking the court to even the playing field, said Donald Rosenberg, Qualcomms general counsel. Lets all act on the status quo while the case is being litigated.

Winning a preliminary injunction would take some pressure off Qualcomm in its battle with Apple, which could last years.

Apple is the worlds most profitable smartphone maker. It could account for as much as one third of Qualcomms patent royalty revenue, according to analysts.

Last month, Qualcomm slashed its current quarter profit forecast by 40 percent and cut its revenue outlook by roughly $500 million after Apple blocked iPhone and iPad makers from paying royalties.

The legal dispute is complicated and involves not only Apple, but also anti-monopoly regulators in the United States and South Korea, which have brought antitrust cases against Qualcomm.

Qualcomm holds thousands of patents on technology that links smartphones to cellular networks  including many that were included in wireless standards enacted so smartphones from different manufacturers work not only on AT&Ts network, but also on Sprints and Verizons.

The company collects royalties on its patent portfolio based on the price of smartphones. Apple sued Qualcomm in January  laying out a case that it abuses its market power to force smartphone makers to pay too much for use of its 3G/4G patents.

Apple argues that, by collecting royalties based on the price of the smartphone rather than the cellular chip inside, Qualcomm gets paid for inventions that it has nothing to do with.

Qualcomm counters that its royalty rates have been negotiated through hundreds of agreements spanning two decades, and its patent licensing business model allowed Apple to enter the smartphone market with little or no investment in core cellular technology.

The war heated up in April when Apple  which refunds iPhone/iPad contract manufacturers for patent royalties paid to Qualcomm  cut off the reimbursements.

Qualcomm counter-sued Apple, and last week it filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the four contract manufacturers in San Diego federal court.

We just think this is a case that is really uniquely strong for a preliminary injunction due to the facts here, including that a third party is interfering with these contracts, Rosenberg said.

Qualcomm sued iPhone/iPad assemblers Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., known as Foxconn; Pegatron Corp.; Wistron Corp.; and Compal Electronics  all based in Taiwan but with manufacturing operations in China and elsewhere.

All have long-standing patent license agreements with Qualcomm and continue to pay patent royalties to Qualcomm on smartphones and tablets that they make for other companies besides Apple.

A hearing on Qualcomms preliminary injunction motion has been scheduled for June 26, although it could be pushed back, Rosenberg said.

We seek an order that the manufacturers comply with their obligations to pay for the intellectual property they continue to use for the benefit of Apple, he said. We are confident that our contracts will be found valid and enforceable, but in the interim it is only fair and equitable that our licensees pay for the property they are using.

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mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973
The Chevrolet Bolt is a very well-done small car that happens to be battery-powered. While there are around 14 electric vehicles on sale today, the Bolt outdistances most of the competition with its official driving range of 238 miles. But owners have been achieving 250-280 to a max of 300 miles, which is difficult to achieve, said Bolt spokesman Fred Ligouri.

The power-packed car is enjoyable to drive, the ride is firm but not clunky (as in some EVs) and I had to monitor my speed to keep it below 70-80 mph, if I wanted to save the battery. On some trips, I didnt care and cruised the interstate with the fast pack. The cabin is well soundproofed, and the 17-inch Michelin Energy Saver tires have low rolling noise and actually have good grip in aggressive cornering. The electric steering and brake force seemed no different from any internal-combustion car.

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The front-wheel drive and five-seat Bolt is sold in LT and Premier trim levels with starting prices, before federal or state tax incentives, of $37,495 and $41,780, including the $875 freight charge from Lake Orion, Mich. Todays Premier tester was $43,905, which included a six-speaker Bose audio upgrade, advanced safety technologies and the DC fast-charging connection.

With the federal tax credit of $7,500 and Californias $2,500 EV rebate,

the testers price came out to $31,780. And most owners will want the Level 2, 240-volt home charger, which can be rolled into the purchase price for $699, not including installation; the dealer can help source a licensed electrician for the installation.

Id want the home charger because its no fun jostling for space at the EVGo at shopping centers.

The Level 2 charging cost is about $10 for a 30-minute charge.

The Level 1 cord that comes with the car is good for about 4 miles of range per hour of charging in the 110-volt household outlet. It would require about 60 hours for a full charge, but I plugged in with a half- to three-quarter charge and it was topped off overnight.

The Level 2, 240-volt charger is good for 25 miles of range per hour with a full recharge in about nine hours.

A Level 3, the 440-480-volt fast charge station, can add 90 miles of range in 30 minutes.

The Bolt is no lightweight at 3,580 pounds, which is 663 pounds more than the compact-class Chevy Cruze hatchback. But the Bolt is nimble to maneuver and has a compact turning circle of 35.4 feet, which is 3.3 feet tighter than the Cruze.

Once you figure out your cruising range to work and home or wherever, the range anxiety goes away. You know much juice it takes to get there and back and the driver can relax. With the one speed, direct-drive transmission Chevy cites 0-60 mph acceleration in 6.5 seconds and theres even a Sport mode, which I used sparingly to be more aggressive in holding my line in heavy traffic. There also is a low mode to double down on regenerative energy when slowing or braking.

The 60 kWh battery is made up of 288 lithium ion cells in five sections of 10 modules forming 96 cell groups with three cells per group. The flat battery pack spans the entire floor, from the front foot well to back of the rear seat.

The cabin is roomy and airy with a tall 39.7 inches headroom that will accommodate a 6-foot-4 driver  and with legroom for the passenger in the second row.

The front seat area has some refreshing innovations to rethink how space is used. There is an open floor console with useful storage, charging USBs and a sliding center armrest. Door panels have the usual bottle holders and stash space.

The big touch screen, with a 360-degree back-up camera, is clearly viewed in all light conditions  no glare. And there are knobs for audio volume and temperature control with buttons for fan and climate control.

The tall dashboard looks imposing but it is no compromise to cornering sightlines and there are easy views over the shoulder.

The back seat benefits from the flat floor for generous footroom and long legroom of 36.5 inches. There are two charging USBs and door storage. The cargo area has a shelf-style load floor with basement storage where the charging cable is stored. There is cargo space of 16.9 cubic feet behind the back seat, which expands for hauling when the 60/40 seatback is folded. The opening is about 38 inches wide by 27 inches tall with about 5 feet of length.

Critics will consider the Bolt pricey for a small car, but it is quite well equipped and maintenance costs will be minimal. As long as the federal and state credits hold out, the Bolt will reach a wider swath of buyers in the EV ecosystem.

By 2020, industry analysts expect most makers will be able to offer a broad selection of cars, trucks and crossover EVs. General Motors wisely resisted dipping the Bolt in greenwash for the appearance of conservation. Instead, it built a functional small car that will have appeal to all ages and incomes.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier

Body style : 5-seat, compact hatchback

: 5-seat, compact hatchback Battery system: 60 kWh lithium-ion

60 kWh lithium-ion Electric drive : 200-hp, permanent magnetic drive motor; 266 lb.-ft. torque

: 200-hp, permanent magnetic drive motor; 266 lb.-ft. torque Transmission : 1-speed direct drive

: 1-speed direct drive Range : 238 miles; 128/110/119 MPGe

: 238 miles; 128/110/119 MPGe Charging times: household plug 4 miles per hour; 240-volt 9 hours for full charge; DC fast charge 90 miles in 30 minutes

SPECIFICATIONS

Fuel tank : NA gal.

: NA gal. Cargo space : 16.9 ft.

: 16.9 ft. Front head/leg/shoulder room : 39.7/41.6/54.6 in.

: 39.7/41.6/54.6 in. Rear head/leg/shoulder room : 37.9/36.5/52.8 in.

: 37.9/36.5/52.8 in. Length/wheelbase : 164/102.4 in.

: 164/102.4 in. Curb weight : 3,580 lbs.

: 3,580 lbs. Turning circle: 35.4 ft.

FEATURES

Standard equipment includes : smartkey entry and push-button start, surround view camera, automatic air conditioning, leather-trimmed upholstery, 6-way adjustable front seats, heated seats front and rear, 120-volt charging cord, 17-inch Michelin Energy Saver puncture-sealing all-season tires, heated side mirrors with turn signals, LED running lights, HID projector headlights, MyLInk infotainment system with 10-inch touchscreen,

: smartkey entry and push-button start, surround view camera, automatic air conditioning, leather-trimmed upholstery, 6-way adjustable front seats, heated seats front and rear, 120-volt charging cord, 17-inch Michelin Energy Saver puncture-sealing all-season tires, heated side mirrors with turn signals, LED running lights, HID projector headlights, MyLInk infotainment system with 10-inch touchscreen, Safety features include: 10 air bags, blind-zone warning with lane-change alert, rear cross-traffic alert, 4-wheel regenerative disc brakes (11-inch vented rotors front, 10-inch solid rear)

PRICING
Oceansides harbor dredging project is likely to stretch past Memorial Day so the city can mine extra sand to beef up its beaches, officials said this week.

The additional sand would mean more of of the citys shoreline  which in some places has dwindled to narrow stretches of cobblestone  could return to a healthier, wider state. But it also means dredging equipment would remain on the shoreline while the busy summer tourist season gets underway.

The dredging work began in April and, by Wednesday, contractor Manson Construction Co. of Seattle had pulled more than 230,000 cubic yards of sand from near the harbors entrance and used it to replenish beaches from there to just south of the Oceanside pier. The project could extend another block or two by Friday.

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Theyve done a great job of restoring this beach, said Oceanside resident Ray Adams, who was watching the progress from a spot on the pier Wednesday morning.

Each spring, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pays to dredge the Oceanside harbor entrance to keep it open and deep enough for safe navigation. Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base also uses the entrance for access to its own harbor just north of Oceanside.

Last year the Corps hired a different contractor, which led to a late start, numerous problems, and less sand. This year the contract went back to Manson, which has larger equipment and had done the work successfully for years.

However, bad weather and equipment problems halted Mansons dredging for almost two weeks at the end of April and early May.

Officials had promised the work would be finished by Friday for the Memorial Day weekend, the first of the summers three big holidays, but now they are trying to get permission to continue next week so that more sand can be deposited on the shore.

We are in discussions with the city and the permitting agencies, said Greg Fuderer, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Fuderer said the base contract calls for dredging a total of 280,000 cubic yards of sand at a cost of $3.7 million. However, the city has offered to pay $600,000 for an additional 80,000 cubic yards of sand. Also, the Corps of Engineers and the Navy have agreed to pay an additional $625,000 to dredge 70,000 more cubic yards.

The additional sand would mean a total of 150,000 cubic yards of sand on top of the 280,000 cubic yards of the base contract, Fuderer said, but it will take more time for the additional dredging.

On a good day the dredge can pull 15,000 to 20,000 cubic yards of sand from the harbor entrance, he said. Work continues 24 hours a day, and only stops to re-position the dredging barge or for periodic maintenance and occasional safety drills.

Money is available, Fuderer said Wednesday. The city would like more material (sand), and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate in the near future. It just makes good economic and environmental sense for us to continue to do the dredging.

A large part of the expense of dredging is the installation and removal of the pipeline and all the other equipment involved, he said.

Sand dumped on city beaches helps stave off erosion and keep them wide for recreation, tourists and surfers.

Its important to our city because of tourism, Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood said earlier this month. People dont like to come down here and find theres rocks on the beach.

Because of the annual work, the beaches nearest the harbor are some of the widest in San Diego County. The further south along the citys coast, the narrower the beaches become.

Two long-time Oceanside residents and frequent surfers standing at the corner of The Strand and First Street Wednesday morning said Manson was doing a good job.

This is the first time theyve come under the pier in four or five years, said Jack Robinson.

Its good for the surf, said Rick Riavic. It fills in the sand bars and makes it better.

To them the downside is that more sand brings more tourists, they said. They liked it better when there was less competition for the waves.

I moved here from Orange County to get away from the crowds, Robinson said. Now its all coming here. Its evolution, it just happens.
Tan and Marya Chuong love Vietnamese food but they dont always love how its made and sold in the United States.

For Tan, who was born in Vietnam, the ingredients used at local Vietnamese restaurants arent always healthful, and the decor can be cluttered and tacky. And for American-born Marya, who was introduced to the cuisine by her husband 17 years ago, Vietnamese restaurants and their long, often hard-to-decipher menus can be intimidating.

So in March, the Tierrasanta couple opened Cay Bistro, a quick-service restaurant in San Marcos that simplifies, localizes and modernizes traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

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The 20-seat restaurant on Nordahl Road sells just a handful of dishes that can be customized, Chipotle-style, with a choice of protein and toppings. The decor is ultra-modern with clean lines; recipes include California ingredients like jalapeno peppers, avocado slices and fresh, local herbs; and first-timers can easily follow the restaurants step-by-step ordering instructions and Vietnamese food 101 tutorials online.

A mango smoothie with boba, a plate of shrimp spring rolls and a chicken noodle salad bowl at Cay Bistro in San Marcos Wednesday. (Bill Wechter / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Cay Bistro is the second restaurant for the Chuongs, who got into the food business six years ago when they purchased the San Marcos Deli. Before that, they were working in very different fields.

Tan, 40, immigrated with his Chinese/Vietnamese family to San Diego in 1979 when he was 3 years old. In college, he earned a degree in biochemistry and worked in the scientific field for many years.

Marya, 37, has a degree in economics and business management and has worked in the data management, sales and website development.

In 2011, they decided to start their own business, and buying an existing delicatessen seemed an easy way to begin.

We didnt have any prior background in food but it was something we could do together, Marya said.

Because of their corporate backgrounds, the Chuongs tried to avoid the pitfalls that often occur in a mom-and-pop business. They set up work procedures, staff training, consistent food preparation techniques and expanded the catering operation.

The deli flourished, and a few years ago they decided to open a second location. But when they visited shopping centers around San Marcos, they realized that most of them already had a sandwich shop.

The market was saturated, so we went back to the drawing board and started looking for a concept that could be our niche. Thats when we looked at Vietnamese food, she said.

Everything at Cay Bistro was developed by the Chuongs, from the recipes to the logos and website to the restaurants interior design. Their goal was to deliver the vibrant flavors of Vietnamese cuisine in a fresh, modern and approachable way.

Sometimes when you go into these restaurants, you cant read the menu, theres a lot of items and the service can be abrupt, she said. We wanted to create something more inviting and friendly for people whove never experienced Vietnamese food.

They settled on just a handful of traditional dishes: banh mi sandwiches, pho noodle soups, noodle bowls, rice plates and egg and spring rolls. The all-English menu offers meat options that include char-grilled steak, glazed pork belly, honey-glazed tofu, caramelized shrimp and more. Prices range from $7 to $8.50.

All items are made fresh, with no additives or MSG, which gave Tan such bad headaches that he gave up visiting Vietnamese restaurants several years ago. The name Cay (pronounced like pie) is a Vietnamese root word for herbs and plants and also means spicy or flavorful.

The restaurant also serve Asian drinks like Thai iced tea with boba, Vietnamese iced coffee and coconut milk served with a straw in a fresh young coconut.

Since opening in mid-March, Cay Bistro has been a hit with the over-60 crowd in the seniors apartment complex across the street. The top-selling dish so far has been rice noodle bowl, a cold mixed green salad topped with rice vermicelli noodles, crushed peanuts and a housemade Vietnamese vinaigrette dressing.

The Chuongs said theyre working on procedures to ensure consistency, and once they feel confident in their business model, they hope to open several more Cay Bistros around San Diego.

We think weve really hit a chord with our customers, she said. Its simple food, its healthy and its approachable.

Cay Bistro  Fresh Vietnamese Cuisine

Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Where: Nordahl Marketplace, Suite 118, 740 Nordahl Road, San Marcos.

Phone: (760) 205-1559

Online: caybistro.com

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Encinitas may grant a 50-year lease to San Diegos Habitat for Humanity, allowing it to build and then sell two low-cost homes on city-owned land along Leucadia Boulevard.

Such an arrangement where the homes are sold to needy families, but the land underneath remains owned by the city is an uncommon notion for us, Habitat President and CEO Lori Holt Pfeiler told the Encinitas City Council Wednesday night.

In fact, she added, it would be a first for the nearly 30-year-old, San Diego-based nonprofit, though the arrangement has been tried by Habitat organizations in other parts of the nation when a property owner like the city of Encinitas doesnt want to give up title to the land.

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Were an unusual city, Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear responded.

After debating the proposal, the council voted 4-1, with Councilman Mark Muir opposed, to enter into negotiations with the Habitat organization. Any lease that may result from those negotiations would need to go back to the council at a later point for approval.

Muir stressed that he has long known Holt Pfeiler --- a former mayor of Escondido --- and respects the Habitat organization, but said that he could not support the city contributing the land for the project. City surveys have found that residents want more open space, and this property could be used as a tiny pocket park or traded for other land that could be preserved as open space, he said.

Blakespear said the property was a small remnant of land thats not accomplishing much and would be the perfect place to put two little homes on.

Habitat is proposing to build its two homes on the northeast corner of Urania Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard. The land, which totals roughly two-fifths of an acre, is now vacant, but for 17 years the city leased it to a plant-growing business known as Specimen House, a city staff report indicates. The grower, who owned greenhouses on land next door, had an office, a loading ramp and a parking lot on the city-owned land.

Last fall, Specimen House terminated its lease with the city after selling its greenhouse land to the housing developer Shea Homes. The development company is proposing to build 13 homes, including one that will be set aside for a low-income family, on the greenhouse area. Habitat for Humanity is involved with that project, and approached the city about using its land for a second project, Holt Pfeiler said.

The two homes proposed for the city-owned land would be sold to people making 50 to 80 percent of the areas median income, she said. A family of four would need to make no more than $68,000 to $72,000 a year to qualify, and the family would likely pay $225,000 to $250,000 for one of the homes, she said.

Family members also would be required to contribute 500 hours of sweat equity to help build their future homes, and they would be required to make monthly mortgage payments on the homes once they are built, she added. The homes would be deed-restricted, meaning that they would revert back to the Habitat organization if their future owners failed to meet their end of the bargain, or if they decided to move out.

Council members had many questions, including whether the two homes could have each have their own accessory unit --- small mother-in-law addition that could be rented out. Holt Pfeiler said Habitat hadnt yet tried that in San Diego County, but said it might be an option with this project.

Councilwoman Tasha Boerner Horvath said having such units would be important to her because would help the city meet the states low-income housing requirements.

Council members also said they wanted first priority for the homes to go to low-income people who both worked and lived in Encinitas.

Henry is a freelance writer in Encinitas
Bridget Sabin, San Dieguito Academy registrar, was recently named one of Californias 2017 Classified School Employees of the Year by state Superintendent Tom Torlakson.

The annual program honors outstanding classified school employees from six categories, including Office and Technical Support, the category in which Sabin was honored. This years recipients were chosen from more than 100 nominations statewide.

Sabin will be honored Thursday at a luncheon in Sacramento.

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Most North County school districts have named teachers of the year and classified employees of the year, though not all nominees go on to compete at the state level. The state will name the 2018 teachers of the year in September from nominees submitted through these regional and district selections.

The other North San Diego County school district Teachers of the Year and Classified Employees of the Year, respectively, are:

Bonsall Unified School District: Joey Stark, fifth grade, Bonsall West Elementary; Shirley Hilliard, payroll technician, district office.

Carlsbad Unified School District: James Fieberg, physics/biology, Sage Creek High School; Terri Leon, production assistant for CHSTV, Carlsbad High School.

Del Mar Union School District: Michelle Turnbull, fifth grade, Sage Canyon School; Leslie Palac, assistant manager, After School Program.

Encinitas Union School District: Jessica Conn, fourth/fifth grade, Ocean Knoll Elementary; Angie Sterling, program facilitator, Capri Elementary. Also, Beth Hilton, EUSD controller, Classified Administrator of the Year; and Adriana Chavarin, Paul Ecke Central principal, Certificated Administrator of the Year.

Escondido Union School District: Dave Peterson from Juniper for elementary; Lana Albertson from Bear Valley for middle school; Bulmaro Vigil, custodian crew leader.

Escondido Union High School District: Ron Peet, math, San Pasqual High School; Guadalupe Sanchez, student attendance technician, Orange Glen High School.

Fallbrook Union Elementary School District: Chris Burrows, English language arts, Potter Junior High; Josue Corona, custodian, William H. Frazier School.

Oceanside Unified School District: Debbie Dahlquist, fifth-grade, Ivey Ranch Elementary, and Ron Martino, sixth-grade, Jefferson Middle School; Anna McAfee, health technician, King Middle School, and Cynthia Jessup, school community advisor II, Ocean Shores High School.

Poway Unified School District: Mark Lantsberger, computer science, Del Norte High School; Susan Michelena, social studies, Rancho Bernardo High School; and Keith Opstad, art, Westview High School; Bridgette Padilla, administrative assistant, Sunset Hills Elementary School; Linda Farmer, budget analyst, Finance Department.

Ramona Unified School District: Ashli Krainock, transitional kindergarten/kindergarten, Mount Woodson Elementary; Caylor Nuth, special education para-educator/CTE Construction Trades Assistant, Montecito High School.

San Diego County Office of Education: Stephanie Cruz, 37ECB, Momentum Learning; Christy Chapman, audiological technician, East County Special Education Local Plan Area.

San Dieguito Union High School District: Susan Bouchard, special education grades 9-12, Torrey Pines High School; Bridget Sabin, registrar, San Dieguito Academy.

San Marcos Unified School District: Melissa Cuevas, third grade, Knob Hill Elementary; Michael Carey, Transportation Department

San Pasqual Union School District: Michelle McGill, eighth-grade language arts; Ginny Robinson, Human Resources/Purchasing Clerk

Solana Beach School District: Lisa Campbell, fifth- and sixth-grade Global Education, Skyline School; Susanna Romero-Reiss, guidance technician, Solana Highlands School.

Valley Center-Pauma: Maysa Bitar, second grade, Valley Center Primary School; Pat Nuno, Child Nutrition Program.

Vista Unified School District: Mindy Ayers, resource teacher, Monte Vista Elementary, Susan Moynihan, mathematics, Madison Middle School, Craig Gastauer, resource teacher and XQ Internal Director, Vista High School; Rosy Simmonds, office manager, Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, Judi Luna, supervisor, Child Nutrition Services, Doris Shapiro, nurse, Vista High School, Heather Golly, assistant principal, Rancho Buena Vista High School.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com
Battle for East Village?

Frankly, it looked suspicious. Less than a week before Anheuser-Busch InBevs 10 Barrel opened its brewpub in East Village, another A-B InBev property threw a party in the same San Diego neighborhood.

While 10 Barrels invasion outraged some in San Diegos craft community  This is war! one brewer remarked on Facebook  Elysians head brewer insisted he came in peace.

The beer is exceptional in San Diego, said Josh Waldman, who was hired by Elysians legendary founder, Dick Cantwell, five years ago. To be here and to be able to sell beer in San Diego is a privilege.

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The Elysian bash last Thursday night in the Quartyard, 1102 Market St., drew more than 100 people, many dressed in 10 Barrel merchandise. Yet Waldman said Elysian doesnt plan to open its own 10 Barrel-like outpost in San Diego.

I dont want to replace Brewery X, he said. I want to be next to Brewery X.

Anheuser-Busch InBev bought Elysian in January 2015. Cantwell resigned three months later, but Elysians sales boomed, boosted by the new owners robust distribution network. (Among the new territories it invaded, capturing tap handles and shelf space: San Diego.)

Today, Waldman said, the original Seattle brewery is operating at capacity, making about 100,000 barrels a year. Last weeks trip included a visit to the Budweiser plant in Fairfield in Northern California. There, Waldman consulted with the brewers who will make Elysians most popular beer, Space Dust IPA, in that huge facility.

Thats not without ongoing challenges, Waldman said. Its different when you are smaller.

Quartyard postscript

The site of that Elysian party, Quartyard, is a dirt lot with a stage and several metal shipping containers, one of which operates as a beer bar.

Those taps were dispensing Elysians Space Dust  but also products of AleSmith, Benchmark,Council, Karl Strauss, Societe and other local breweries.

For one night and in one location, industrial and independent beers co-existed. Live and let brew?

EuroDiego

With Condor Airlines now flying nonstop between San Diego and Frankfurt, its time to check up on our other link to Germany.

Inside a reclaimed 1901 gasworks, Stone World Bistro & Gardens opened in Berlin last September.

Hows it going?

Within the last two weeks we had our biggest Wednesday ever and our biggest Sunday ever, said Stone co-founder Greg Koch. We are continuing to set records.

Such as? Now Stone is the most widely sold and distributed Berlin-brewed beer in the world, Koch said.

Then he laughed  unlike Munich, Berlin has never been a major brewery center. Koch acknowledged that the average Berliner-in-the-street probably has never heard of Stone. That record-setting Wednesday? It resembled an average Wednesday at Stones Liberty Station outlet.

We are building a reputation, Koch said. It just takes time.

Kings of Beer

As the weather warms, I thirst for light-bodied beers that retain craft beer character. Ballast Points description of its Bonito Blonde Ale (4.5 percent alcohol by volume)  An Approachable Beer, With Some Substance  sounds ideal. Unfortunately, it doesnt taste that way.

Straw-colored with an eggshell white head, Bonito has a wispy body and toasted Wonder Bread flavors gently nipped by herbal hops. Dry and inoffensive, Bonito doesnt put up much of a fight nor does it dive to any great depths. I had to wonder: Is that all there is?

Youd never ask that question of Scaldis Peche Mel (8.5 percent), which remains the King. This Belgian amber ale with fresh peach juice overflows with just-plucked fruit flavors, prosecco-like carbonation and tantalizing complexity. This is a beer of more, more, more here, but never too much.

Beer, there and everywhere

Some day soon  tomorrow?  every business will have its own craft beer. Two of the latest:

1. Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina this weekend taps Rooftop IPA. This seasonal ale will be poured at the hotels Marina Kitchen, 333 W. Harbor Drive, and nowhere else.

While brewed by Mother Earth at its Vista brewery, the beer uses organic honey harvested from the hotels hives.

2. Carnival Vista, a Miami-based cruise ship that prowls the Caribbean, boasts a brewmaster (Colin Presby, formerly with Pennsylvanias Golden Avalanche Brewing); its own brewpub (RedFrog Pub & Brewery); and signature beer (Miami Guava Wheat).

The first brewery aboard a cruise ship home ported in North America, RedFrog now offers three other beers: ThirstyFrog Port Hoppin IPA; ThirstyFrog Caribbean Wheat; and FriskyFrog Java Stout.

Did you know

At HomeBrew Con 17, June 15-17 in Minneapolis, Miguel Loza will grace the Homebrew Worldwide panel. Name sounds familiar? Loza owns La Casa del Lupulo, a homebrew shop in Ensenada.

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Twitter: @peterroweut

peter.rowe@sduniontribune.com
As San Diego arts and culture groups press their fight against cuts to city funding, federal support for the arts has come under fresh threat.

In his latest budget proposal, released this week, President Trump is once again proposing the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, which provides matching funds for cultural and educational projects and institutions around the country.

The axing of the NEA was first proposed in March, but it subsequently seemed that an outpouring of support for the agency might give it a shot at a reprieve. In fact, Congress voted earlier this month to slightly increase NEA funding for the remainder of the current fiscal year.

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But Trumps revised budget again proposes eliminating not only the NEA (which has an annual budget of $148 million) but the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund such outlets as San Diegos KPBS.

The budget, which still faces major hurdles before it goes into effect in October, would phase out the agencies over the next two fiscal years.

NEA money is actually a relatively small part of the funding pot for San Diego organizations, although it serves as an important catalyst for support from other sources. In the 2016 fiscal year, 21 groups around the county received a total of $423,000 in NEA money.

By comparison, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is proposing a budget of $12.8 million for the city Commission for Arts and Culture, which would be a 15 percent reduction from the current budget of $15.1 million.

The proposed NEA shutdown is once again meeting resistance around the country. Kate Shindle, president of Actors Equity  the national union for actors and stage managers  said the agency provides critical seed funding that helps productions get off the ground in small and regional theaters.

Shindle added: The NEA supports middle-class arts jobs in every congressional district in the country. The last thing we need to do is slash a program that creates and sustains jobs in small and regional theaters all over America.

Twitter: @jimhebert

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com
The seventh-month odyssey of a blue-green flotilla that saw combat in Yemen and Syria and conducted training exercises across a large swath of the globe demonstrates the enduring importance of the Navy-Marine Corps team overseas, commanders of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit said Wednesday.

Departing San Diego on Oct. 14, the 11th MEU and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group supported a Jan. 29 raid in Yemen in which a Navy SEAL  Chief Petty Officer William Ryan Owens  was killed. They also brought artillery and infantry troops to Kuwait for later duty, providing firepower to Kurdish partners besieging Raqqa, the Syrian city that doubles as the capital for the terrorist Islamic State.

The howitzers manned by the Marines conducted more than 400 fire-support missions in Syria, firing more than 4,500 shells at ISIS targets, according to the 11th MEU.

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It was the right Marine air-ground task force to provide supportability, mobility and lethality, 11th MEU spokesman Maj. Craig Thomas said during a news conference Wednesday at Camp Pendleton. The Marines supported local Syrians who are fighting to rid ISIS from their country.

Citing the classified nature of the Yemen operations, Thomas said he couldnt comment on that raid.

His report card for the MEU comes during a series of debates not only about Americas policies toward Yemen and Syria but also grumbling concerns about the future of Marine expeditionary units. Experts continue to fret about how Marine battalions will conduct their amphibious missions in an age of super-fast and precise, long-range anti-ship-air missiles, plus Pentagon budget woes that appear to prioritize submarines and destroyers over amphibious assault ships like the Makin Island.

That flagship vessel returned to San Diego on May 15. It and the fellow amphibious assault ships Somerset and Comstock combined to carry more than 4,500 sailors and Marines, spending three months in the Pacific Ocean and four months in the waters off the Middle East and Africa.

Beyond the combat operations in Syria, the group held exercises in Hawaii, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Djibouti, Oman and the Persian Gulf. Marines also stood ready to evacuate the embassy in the South Sudanese capital of Juba during hostilities there  the sort of mission that makes an amphibious ready group and Marine expeditionary unit the 9-1-1 organization from the sea, 11th MEU commander Col. Clay Tipton said.

Retired Marine Col. Mark Cancian  a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.  echoed Tiptons perspective that the MEU remains a lasting example of flexible armed response from the sea.

What makes a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force so valuable is the ability of the Marines to mix and match capabilities, Cancian said. Thats what theyre doing and thats what they should be doing.

And thats particularly important for Syria because how the Marines were used dovetails with President Donald Trumps foreign policy goals  defeat the Islamic State without putting too many boots on the ground, he added.

The thing that the Marine Corps can provide thats really needed is fire power for allies like the Kurds or Iraqis  artillery, mortars, aircraft, Cancian said. So far, Trumps policy has been adamant about not using infantry, except in a limited role to protect artillery and other units that are on the ground to add firepower for allies.

If the mission in Syria grows, Cancian could envision Marine and Navy logistical heft toting more supplies to Kurdish militias or the Free Syrian Army, perhaps even occupying an airfield and using it as a forward operating base. The Corps also could deploy more artillery observers and so called Joint Terminal Attack Controllers who call in airstrikes, but Cancian doubts the White House would land a large number of boots on the ground.

The tough question on Syria is the same as the one in Iraq: What happens next, after ISIS is defeated?  Thats a huge fork in the road for the Trump administration, but its still months away, he predicted.

Potential rivals at sea such as Russia, China and Iran increasingly field anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles that can be fired from hundreds of miles away. Large amphibs, their hovercraft and lumbering armored troop carriers that take hours to wade ashore and unload would be punished by precision missiles, experts contend.

The Makin Island is one of the worlds largest amphibs. But its also considered a transitional vessel, with similar but superior high-tech Big Deck Amphibs like the San Diego-based America poised to share space in the piers.

The America and up to 10 of its planned sister warships will feature bigger fuel tanks and storage capacity along with hardened decks to support the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, the next-generation aircraft that takes off and lands vertically. In other navies, those ships would be considered aircraft carriers  a point that has sparked questions about whether the Navy favors that capability over its traditional mission of putting Marines ashore.

The answer, to me, is that we had better prepare to fight for command of the sea, said James Holmes, a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College and a former Navy surface warfare officer who is widely considered one of the worlds top experts on maritime battle. As the greats of sea power tell us, you have to be able to win command of the sea if you want to use the sea to do things like conduct amphibious landings.

So we need to be ready to do these things, but chances are there will be delays while we fight our way into the theater, reduce shore-based missile batteries and on and on. Sea power is no longer just about navies, he added.

Holmes believes the Marines might fret about the future of the amphibious fleet because ongoing studies have called for converting some assault ships into light aircraft carriers and replacing them with other vessels when theyre retired, but the Navy must strike the right balance.

As far as priorities, certainly the types of ships we need to defeat our enemies and take command of the sea must take precedence, he said, adding that its a lot easier to improvise a fleet of amphibious transports than it would to improvise destroyers or nuclear-powered attack submarines.

In a major war, like a potential Pacific-wide bout with China, the traditional mission of the amphibs likely wouldnt end.

Holmes said Marines could be called to seize islands, much as they did in World War II. Cancian added that the Corps also might return to traditional missions like coastal artillery batteries, working alongside the Army and other services to to defend anti-ship missile batteries on the islands and shoals peppering the Pacific Ocean.

That concept is still a work in progress.

The bottom line is that theres no answer about the ultimate future of the ships and the marine expeditionary units, but we do know that in peacetime theyre very useful, Cancian said. Youre seeing in the Middle East just how useful they are.

Military Videos  On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France  at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal

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Each year, veterans groups, nonprofit organizations, agencies and others across San Diego County hold parades, concerts and ceremonies to mark Memorial Day. Here is a sampling of those events:

Coronado

*Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422 will host a remembrance and tribute starting at 10 a.m. Monday at Star Park, near Star Park Circle and Flora Avenue. Speaker will be Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, commander of Naval Surface Forces. Refreshments will be served afterward at VFW Post 2422, 557 Orange Ave. (619) 865-4809 or mturner003@san.rr.com.

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Del Mar

*St. Peters Episcopal Church will hold its annual community Memorial Day service at 11 a.m. Monday at 335 14th St. Traditional service of hymns and prayer, followed by memorial roll call of deceased members of the armed services. Service will conclude with playing of Taps. To include the name of a deceased military member for remembrance and prayer during the service, email fmunoz@stpetersdelmar.net by Friday. www.stpetersdelmar.net.

Encinitas

*Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Monday at San Dieguito American Legion Post 416, 210 W. F St. Musicians from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station will perform. Food will be served following the ceremony. Parking will be at Moonlight Beach. www.CaLegionPost416.org or (760) 908-3550.

Escondido

*Ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at Oak Hill Memorial Park, 2640 Glenridge Road. Speaker will be retired Marine Staff Sgt. Chris Murphy. Presentation of wreaths, posting of colors and Pledge of Allegiance by Boy Scout troops 649, 659, 669 and Girl Scout Troop 4026. National Anthem will be sung by Bob Schulken, Taps by 2nd U.S. Calvary Regimental Brass Band and rifle salute by Frontier Army of the West. Barbecue with lawn games will follow at American Legion Post 149, 230 E. Park Ave. (760) 745-1159.

*Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Kit Carson Park amphitheater, 3333 Bear Valley Parkway. Will feature San Pasqual, Escondido and Orange Glen high school bands playing popular and patriotic music. escondido.org.

Julian

*Memorial observance from 11 a.m. to noon Monday at Julian Pioneer Cemetery, A Street at Farmer Road. A potluck will follow at American Legion Post 468, 2503 Washington St. (760) 765-0126.

Lakeside

*Observance ceremony will start at 11 a.m. Monday at VFW Post 5867, 12650 Lindo Lane. Lunch will be served afterward. (619) 443-0556.

National City

*Remembrance ceremony from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday at La Vista Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3191 Orange St. lavistamemorialpark.com or (619) 787-9560.

Oceanside

*The Veterans Association of North County will hold a remembrance starting at 10 a.m. Monday in its resource center, 1617 Mission Ave. Refreshments will be served. vancnorthcounty.org or (760) 722-1277.

*The Mission San Luis Rey parish will hold a special Mass at 8 a.m. Monday in the Serra Center, followed by a Franciscan blessing in the cemetery, 4050 Mission Ave. All are welcomed. (760) 757-3250.

Rancho Bernardo

*Remembrance program at Webb Park, off of Bernardo Center Drive, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday with patriotic musical prelude. Master of ceremonies will be retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Cattolico. Invocation, moment of silence and benediction by Maj. Dave Korinek. Pledge of Allegiance led by retired Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas Herbka. Presentation of colors, Taps and flag ceremony. National anthem by Rancho Bernardo High School Madrigals. Bring your own chair. www.RBVMA.org.

San Diego

*Downtown San Diego: Remembrance ceremony will start at 9 a.m. Saturday on the USS Midway Museum, 910 N. Harbor Drive. Program will include live music, guest speakers, a flyover, a memorial wreath presentation and a moment of silence for fallen service members. Admission is free for this ceremony. (619) 544-9600.

*Miramar: Memorial service will start at 1 p.m. Sunday at Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Drive. Active-duty military, veterans, family members and the general public are invited to attend the free event. The featured speaker will be Brig. Gen. Russell Muncy, commander of the 452nd Air Mobility Wing at March Air Reserve Base. Parking will be available on the Avenue of Flags and on cemetery streets. miramarcemetery.org or (858) 658-7360.

*Liberty Station: EOD Warrior Foundation will hold a 5K run-walk Monday to benefit the EOD Warrior Foundation, which helps the families of service members who specialize in explosives ordnance. 7 a.m. for registration and packet pick-up at Liberty Stations NTC Park in Point Loma, although people can register in advance. For registration costs and other details, go to www.eodwarriorfoundation.org.

*Downtown San Diego: On Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the nonprofit group San Diego Veterans for Peace will host a display in front of the USS Midway Museum with names of the more than 300 U.S. service members killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. 910 N. Harbor Drive. (858) 735-8468

*Fort Rosecrans: Sunrise ceremony at 5:30 a.m. Monday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive in Point Loma. Volunteers hosted by the San Diego chapter of the Truman National Security Project will place at least 30,000 roses on the cemeterys graves. Public is welcomed to participate or to make donations at bit.ly/roseceremonydonate.

*Fort Rosecrans: Ceremony starting at 10 a.m. Monday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive in Point Loma. Keynote speaker will be Vice Adm. Nora Tyson, commander of the Navys Third Fleet. With Marine band and color guard. Parking will be off-site, and free shuttle service will be provided into the cemetery. (619) 553-2084.

*Ceremony at 2 p.m. Monday at Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial, with special honors for Gold Star families  households that have a fallen service member  this year. Keynote speaker will be Capt. Howard Warner III, commanding officer of Point Loma Naval Base. Music by Marine Band San Diego and flyover by San Diego Performance Team Aircraft. Early arrivals are recommended. 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive (at Via Capri) in La Jolla. Old Town Trolley will provide free shuttle service to and from the ceremony from the parking lots at Mt. Soledad Presbyterian Church, 6551 Soledad Mountain Road, and the French American School, 6550 Soledad Mountain Road. (619) 787-6633.

*Balboa Park: The following events will take place at the San Diego Veterans Museum and Memorial Center at Balboa Park, 2115 Park Blvd.: candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Saturday, reading of names on the museums monument throughout Sunday, memorial service at 8 a.m. Monday and concert with the West Wind Brass group playing patriotic and jazz tunes. veteranmuseum.org or (619) 239-2300.

*Robert McElroy, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, will lead Mass at 11 a.m. at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum, 4470 Hilltop Drive. There will be a special blessing given in the veterans section of the cemetery. (619) 264-3127.

San Marcos

*VFW Post 3795 will host a ceremony with patriotic music, color guard and speakers at 10 a.m. Monday at San Marcos Cemetery, 1021 Mulberry Drive. Barbecue lunch will be served afterward at the VFW post, 212 Mission Road. (760) 744-3795.

Solana Beach

*Commemorative ceremony with release of doves, 11 a.m. to noon Monday in the Veterans Honor Courtyard La Colonia Community Center, 715 Valley Avenue. Camp Pendleton Young Marines will serve as honor guard. Speakers will include Marine Capt. Joshua Ching. Santa Fe Christian School Band will perform patriotic songs. The Veterans Memorial wall honoring Solana Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars can be viewed. Light refreshments will be served. (858) 720-2453.

Valley Center

*Valley Center Stampede Rodeo & Memorial Festival will take place Friday and Saturday, with a Memorial Wall honoring fallen service members at the Valley Center Community Center, 28246 Lilac Road.The rodeo will honor military service members and first responders who gave their lives in the line of duty. Rodeo will open at 5 p.m. Friday, while the Memorial Festival will begin at 11 a.m. Friday. A parade will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lilac Road and Valley Center Road. General admission to the rodeo is $15, with children 5 and under free. Parking is $5. Admission to the Memorial Festival is free. vcstampede.com .

Vista

*Ceremony with speakers, patriotic music and tribute will take place at 10 a.m. Monday at the Vista Civic Center, 200 Civic Center Drive. Potluck reception with music is scheduled for afterward at American Legion Post 365, 1234 S. Santa Fe Ave. legionpost365.org or (760) 726-0472.
A Navy destroyer based in San Diego is sailing near Chinas manmade islands in the South China Sea, in the first show of force of this kind during the Trump administration.

Chinas Defense Ministry told reporters that it had sought an explanation from U.S. officials over the incident, which Beijing said involved the guided-missile destroyer Dewey, according to Associated Press.

The ship is near Mischief Reef, one of a chain of artificial islands China has built to assert its claims over the strategic waterway.

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Welcome to The Intel, a blog examining the hot military news of the day

The Deweys Facebook page shows photographs of operations in the South China Sea posted Monday.

The destroyer and its 300-person crew left San Diego as part of a two-ship deployment group on March 31.

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the U.S. destroyer had trespassed near islands over which China has indisputable sovereignty, the Associated Press reported.

We urge the U.S. to correct this mistake and stop taking further actions so as to avoid hurting peace and security in the region and long-term cooperation between the two countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

A pair of Chinese navy frigates had warned off the American ship after it entered the area, a Chinese defense spokesman told reporters, the AP said.

In the past, the United States has said it has the right to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in what it considers international waters.

The Navy conducted similar operations under former President Barack Obama, but had not done so since Trump took office and began talking up the prospect of warming ties with Beijing and cooperating over issues like North Korea.

Military Videos  On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France  at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

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Chapman University has awarded an honorary degree to the mother of a quadriplegic student after she attended every class with him and took his notes while he pursued his masters degree in business administration.

Judy OConnor, a retired elementary school teacher, pushed her son, Marty, in his wheelchair for him to receive his degree during commencement Saturday in Orange.

Then a choked-up graduation announcer said the schools faculty, administrators and board of trustees had decided to give her an MBA. The idea for the surprise honorary degree came from her son.

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A stunned but composed Judy OConner blew a kiss to the crowd giving her a standing ovation.

Im a geek. I love being in school, she said before the ceremony. Im not going to lie. Ive enjoyed every minute of it.

Marty OConnor received an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and was working as a salesman for a packaging industry company in 2012 when he fell down a flight of stairs and was paralyzed.

After I got hurt, I didnt know which end was up. I didnt really have a direction, Marty OConnor said in a story on the schools website. I needed that mental challenge and wanted to add some professional value to myself.

His mother was living in Florida but moved to Southern California to help her son earn his MBA.

He uses an iPad, laptop, voice-recognition software and a special mouth stylus to communicate but could not take notes or write the answers to tests. So his mother did.

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California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White has appointed Sally Roush the new interim president of San Diego State, marking the first time that women outnumber men as campus presidents in the nations largest public university system.

Once Roush takes office in July, 12 of Cal States 23 presidents will be women. She will replace Elliot Hirshman, who announced earlier this year that he would be leaving to lead Stevenson University in Maryland. Roush  who worked at San Diego State in various positions for three decades  will lead the campus until the Board of Trustees names a permanent president next summer.

Trustees on Wednesday, after some debate, agreed to give Hirshmans $428,645 salary  the highest of any Cal State president  to Roush.

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In 2011, Cal State took heat for approving Hirshmans compensation  $100,000 more than his predecessor made  as it also raised tuition by 12%. The following year, Cal State adopted a policy that froze compensation paid with state funds while allowing a 10% increase paid with private donations. In November 2015, to quell criticism and controversy, the trustees voted to eliminate the use of private funds to supplement salaries.

Officials have long argued that restricting compensation makes it hard to attract the most qualified candidates.

As interim president, Roush has the tough job of keeping up Hirshmans momentum, officials said. During his tenure, San Diego State raised its profile as a major public research university and moved up 37 spots in U.S. News & World Reports college ranking. It made the top 10 for students studying abroad and for ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, officials said, and produced 85 Fulbright scholars in the last decade.

Hirshman also raised about $800 million for scholarships and created a new strategic plan for the university.

Roush retired in 2014 after 31 years at San Diego State  including 19 as a senior vice president. Her name came up when White started looking for someone with the skills and experiences that faculty, students and staff said they wanted in their interim leader.

Familiarity with the campus and the CSU, interest in fulfilling the last year of their strategic plan, the ability to provide good leadership for some of the big decisions going on around San Diego State University, White said. Sally Roush came up on the top of each one of those checklists.

Trustees on Wednesday unanimously supported the appointment, but some questioned giving her Hirshmans salary  which is much higher than those at the other 22 campuses and not far below the chancellors $439,361.

This comes at a time when every meeting were focused on the lack of money, and the level of state support continues to go down, said trustee Douglas Faigin, who brought up the boards recent approval of a controversial tuition increase. I think its the wrong message for our students, who some are having to deal with homelessness, food insecurity. The difference of these salaries are not going to significantly affect that, but its the sense of how we respect our students.

Other trustees argued that the salary, while high for Cal State, is comparable to what other universities across the nation now pay.

White said it wouldnt make sense to pay an interim president less, because some would say the job is actually harder when you have to parachute in and are expected to keep the momentum of a very successful president like Hirshman.

Although more than 57% of students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities are women, they account for only about a quarter of college presidents, according to the American Council on Education.

Roush is the sixth female campus leader Cal State has named within two years. Ellen N. Junn was selected last May to lead Cal State Stanislaus. Gayle E. Hutchinson and Erika D. Beck were named in March 2016 to lead Chico State and Cal State Channel Islands respectively, and Mary A. Papazian and Judy K. Sakaki were selected in January 2016 to head the San Jose and Sonoma campuses.

Cal State previously had come under criticism for a gender imbalance in top leadership. White said that after he became chancellor in 2012, retirements gave him the opportunity to start to change that.

The search committee for the next San Diego State president, led by trustee Adam Day, will meet for the first time this week. The committee will be hosting an open forum on campus in the fall to hear from faculty, students and staff.

rosanna.xia@latimes.com

Follow @RosannaXia for more education news
Army and Marine Corps veteran Joel Montes can remember the clicking sound his shoes made as he ascended the front stairs of a house to tell the parents inside that their son wasnt coming back from Afghanistan.

Navy veteran Richard Castro recalls tripping over a compatriots severed leg while rushing to tend to the man after he was felled by a landmine in Vietnam.

Army veteran Al Harvard can recite the joke some of his fellow servicemen made him tell through a mouthful of cigarettes while hanging from a rafter: Charles Dickens goes into a bar and orders a martini, and the bartender says, Olive or twist? 

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Seven Southern California military veterans came together this week to share their memories and experiences in front of an audience of about 150 people during the Voices  Veterans Storytelling Project outside the Heroes Hall veterans museum in Costa Mesa.

The project was meant to give veterans a creative outlet to talk about their time in the service and how their experiences have shaped them.

Over six weeks, the participants met to learn more about one another. In many cases, they said, those gatherings were the first time they felt comfortable sharing some of their experiences.

Its liberating and absolutely essential for all of us to tell our own story, said Army veteran Bruce Olav Solheim.

America does not go to war; individual Americans go to war, he said. Our veteran voices need to be heard.

Navy veteran Donald Pageler was aboard the U.S. spy ship Liberty when it was mistakenly attacked by the Israeli military in 1967.

For years, he said, he was sworn to secrecy about the experience.

He has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and dangerously high blood pressure. The latter, he said, was greatly relieved when he was finally able to summon the strength to talk about the ordeal.

Recovery is a process, not an event, and that process cant take place if your experiences are hidden, Pageler said. When I denied my lifes experiences, I had no identity. You dont get over your military experience, but you can learn to live with it.

Though some fond memories of military life do stand out, Tuesday nights speakers said they still bear physical, emotional and psychological burdens of their service.

War isnt just devastation on the frontlines; it destroys us at home too, Montes said. Like a virus creeping into our bodies unannounced, it dismantles families, extinguishes hope and handicaps dreams.

Air Force veteran Frank Barry said he was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer in 2011, an affliction he blames on his exposure to Agent Orange, the defoliant used during the Vietnam War.

Its far worse to see children afflicted with maladies we suspect come from our exposure  to think that we are the cause of their hurt and pain, he said. Those invisible wounds of war are now visible.

To Castro, Vietnam evokes memories of gunfire, sweltering heat and the smell of burnt bodies.

My soul carries so many memories of those months, and not one day goes by without thinking about the insanity and the misery of that war, he said.

Harvard said he doesnt talk about his combat experiences in Vietnam  he still struggles with the traumatic memories. Yet he said he valued participating in the storytelling project and hearing the stories of the other servicemen.

I was particularly enchanted by the inflections and the passions that surfaced as the weeks went by, he said.

Because of the continuing struggle dealing with the horrors of war and the challenges of adapting to civilian life, its vital for people to continue supporting veterans after their service has ended, said Eric Kuyper of Costa Mesa, an Army veteran.

Now, the mission of the people of the United States is to help the veterans in whatever individual way each one needs, he said. For some, its as simple as a cup of coffee or a pat on the back. But whatever a veteran needs, find that problem and fill it.

Money writes for Times Community News.

luke.money@latimes.com
Stanley Kruml, 74, admits he did something very stupid Friday evening, but he didnt realize how foolish until several patrol cars pulled up.

The self-described gentleman cowboy, who lives in Fallbrook, was shopping in a Vista Dollar Tree store when law officers walked in and said they needed to talk to him, pronto. They escorted him outside in handcuffs.

Seems someone had reported a crazy cowboy waving a gun in the parking lot.

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Kruml said he quickly led the sheriffs deputies to his pick-up truck and showed them a dummy Colt 45 mahogany-handled pistol that was part of his costume. He explained he was just horsin around and had grabbed his make-believe gun to wave good-bye cowboy-style to a departing friend.

In these touchy times, Kruml has nothing but praise for the way he was treated by deputies. They could have made my life miserable for what I stupidly did. I wasnt thinking, said the former Nebraskan, who now trains horses with behavioral problems. Instead, officers listened and checked out his story.

It wasnt the first time Kruml attests to doing something extremely foolish.

He made national news in 1980 when he appeared on the now defunct daredevil reality TV series Thats Incredible.

Kruml left an unforgettable impression on viewers when he attempted to run through a burning, 150-foot tunnel made of burlap-covered chicken wire.

He wore a flame-retardant suit, but his gloves caught on fire, burning his hands so badly he spent two years in rehab. Krumls grim experience was one of the catastrophic stunts that led to the show being called sadistic.

Hidden figure: Penasquitos Lutheran Church showed Hidden Figures at its free film night Friday highlighting the vital role played in our early space program by a team of female African-American mathematicians. Among viewers was a senior citizen who showed up seemingly out of nowhere, said church volunteer Dan Greenblat.

As it turns out, the gentle, diminutive African-American woman was involved in the U.S. Department of Defenses equivalent to the NASA program in the 1960s. After being identified as a math prodigy, Greenblat said, she was assigned to sensitive U.S. security calculations on an IBM 360 mainframe computer.

Instead of space modules, however, she was programming defense weapons aboard Navy ships. When introduced after the film, the shy surprise visitor was welcomed with loud applause.

Tequila surfboard: As San Diego restaurants and nightclubs celebrate margarita month with creative tequila libations, I caught up with local surfboard shaper Gary Linden.

I recently visited the headquarters of Jose Cuervo in Tequila, Mexico, where blue agave is harvested and processed to make tequila. The tour guide mentioned a San Diego County surfer who had made a surfboard out of agave plants.

Its not new to substitute agave stalks for balsa wood or foam at a surfboards core, but Lindens mission was to make a 100 percent agave surfboard.

He bound together the dried flower stalks that some people refer to as century plants. Rather than using fiberglass, he covered the shaped and sanded core with paper created from the pulp of the plant. Agave juice glued the paper in place.

There was only one problem with the surfboard, Linden told me after taking it on a trial run behind his Oceanside factory. The first time I surfed on it, it dissolved. I barely got in one wave.

Linden, 67, who has been making surfboards for nearly 50 years, still is experimenting to find a part of the plant he can use as shellac to seal the paper pulp coating. He hopes distilling residue will serve that purpose.

Fascinated with the many uses of agave, which he calls an incredible plamt, Linden went on to fashion an agave guitar.

The Jose Cuervo Foundation was intrigued. Working with Fender guitars, it recently asked Linden to help master guitar builder, Paul Waller, craft one of Fenders signature Stratocaster guitars out of agave.

On April 26, the Cuervo x Fender Agave Stratoscaster was introduced to the world. At a New York City launch party, rock band Young the Giant played several songs using the agave guitar (sadly, The Champs tune, Tequila, was not one of them).

Theres no shortage of secondary uses the Mexican tequila maker has found for the versatile plant: a surfboard, guitar, clothing, lotions, soap and paper. Plus, it recently teamed up with Ford Motor Co. to produce recycled agave car parts.

As for agave surfboards, Linden admits they will never become the rage because they are too expensive, but he says the rich, multi-hued agave wood makes them extremely popular as display art.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: @dianebellSD

Facebook: dianebell.news
In terms of personal style, you couldnt design two presidents more dissimilar than Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.

Tricky Dick feared people didnt like him, which made him awkward, remote, privately disdainful of everyone but his inner circle. The Donald evidently believes everyone loves him, which makes him appear brashly omnipotent.

And yet, sitting in La Jollas Living Room restaurant having coffee with Alexander Butterfield, a tall, straight-backed 91-year-old in a preppy crew-neck sweater, Im struck by the excruciating moral quandaries that unprincipled commanders in chief can pose to the men and women who serve at the presidents pleasure.

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Butterfield, youll remember, is one of the clean-cut presidents men who served in the Nixon White House.

 Alexander Butterfield describes inner conflict about revealing secret tapes

His 1973 televised testimony, revealing that the Oval Office was rigged with voice-activated tape recorders, blew the doors off the Watergate hearings and led inexorably to Nixons resignation.

Butterfields 50 months in the White House are rigorously chronicled in Bob Woodwards The Last of the Presidents Men, published in 2015.

In 1969, Butterfield was a 40-something Air Force colonel, a decorated pilot, the son of a conservative Navy officer who ran a tight family ship, insisting that you always told the truth.

Drawn to what Woodward delights in calling the smoke, Butterfield, a college friend of Nixons chief of staff Bob Haldeman, was drawn to the White House where he became a deputy assistant to the president, his office just a few steps from the Oval Office.

The moral compromising started almost immediately, Butterfield told me.

Early on he witnessed Nixon cheating on his IRS taxes, a harbinger of criminal things to come.

Over time, hed come to realize that skulduggery was systemic in the White House.

For example, Butterfield was aware that the FBI had been illegally ordered to wiretap at home more than 20 reporters as well as ex-journalist staffers like William Safire in an effort to stop leaks that were driving a paranoid Nixon crazy.

War had been declared against the press (remember the nabobs of negativity?) and illegal means justified the end of silencing the enemy or, in todays Trumpian parlance, the evil purveyors of fake news.

For Butterfield, the existential moment of truth came in 1972 when Rose Kennedy called Nixon and begged Secret Service detail to protect Teddy, who was out on the campaign trail.

Ive already lost two sons, Mrs. Kennedy told the Republican president.

This was the sort of emotional plea from Americas supreme matriarch that Nixon could never deny. But Haldeman had an idea.

Ted Kennedys reputation as a drinker and a womanizer was near Olympian. Why not draft a retired Secret Service agent then working in the White House to go back to active service and have him assigned to Kennedys detail?

It was a two-fer. Nixon could honor the request of Rose Kennedy and get the goods on her son, leverage that might prove valuable. A gracious gesture would not go to waste.

It fell to Butterfield, the liaison with the Secret Service, to put the plan into action.

Can you do that, Alex? the president asked.

Yes, sir, Butterfield said.

I cant believe I was such a patsy, Butterfield would tell me 45 years later. I surprised myself.

He realizes now he should have played for time for reflection. Why didnt he say, Mr. President, lets think about this?

In most presidencies, thats the chief of staffs most important job, to talk his boss down from the edge, but in this White House, it was Haldemans idea, one that Nixon endorsed.

Yes, sir.

But, and this was the saving grace that probably spared him from prison, Butterfield said to himself that he needed to climb out of what hes called the cesspool.

It took awhile, but Butterfield accepted a job running the Federal Aviation Administration, a position he filled for four months before he was called to testify and answered a direct question with the truth, throwing a thunderbolt into history.

And yet, despite the ruin of the Nixon presidency, when Butterfield talks about his star-crossed Nixon years his eyes light up as he recalls with photographic precision what he calls the glitter of the White House. Intoxicating. Unforgettable.

If the first four months of the Trump administration are a preview of whats to come, its going to be a rough, if glittery, ride for all the new presidents men and women.

The leaks are turning into a flood. Trumps firing of FBI Director James Comey over the Russia investigation bears an uncomfortable parallel to Nixons firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, an obvious obstruction of justice.

To be sure, the last three presidencies before Trump have been dogged by shrill threats of impeachment, in Bill Clintons case successfully. No president is pure.

But it seems obvious to many, including Butterfield, that Trump is sliding down a slippery slope toward possible impeachment.

Butterfield, who describes himself now as a liberal who voted for Hillary Clinton, doesnt think it will come to that. He predicts that, like Nixon, when the articles of impeachment are being drawn up, Trump will quit and blame everyone except, of course, himself.

Rod Lurie, a top-tier Hollywood director whose credits include The Contender, a smart White House movie starring Jeff Bridges and Joan Allen, is working on a script based on Woodwards book.

Lurie has visited Butterfield in his La Jolla Shores home twice, staying all day, milking Butterfield of his recollections.

He calls eight or 10 times a week, Butterfield said.

Jon Hamm, the Mad Men star, has been talked about to play Butterfield.

How weird would it be if the film were to come out during Trumps last tempestuous days?

If hes to survive in office, and God knows we should hope he deserves to survive, Trump is going to need men and women of character to save him from his worst instincts.

Tragically, Nixon didnt have enough of them. Trump, an unruly, unprincipled leader, must find them and hold them close.

Call it the Butterfield test.

The new presidents men and women had better conduct themselves as if theyre being taped for posterity when they swallow and say,

Yes, sir.

logan.jenkins@sduniontribune.com
Six people face felony charges stemming from an illegal hash oil manufacturing and distribution operation in San Diego, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The defendants are accused of conspiring to use flammable, volatile and toxic chemicals to extract the hash oil  which comes from marijuana  and then sell it out of state. They are also accused of trying to hide their activities from city inspectors.

One of the defendants, James Sean Slatic, 58, is accused of raking in more than $3.2 million in profits in 2015 as CEO of two organizations, Pacific Heights Partners and MedWest, from illegal hash oil sales, according to the District Attorneys Office.

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The charges, filed Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court, include manufacturing a controlled substance, conspiracy to obstruct justice, exporting more than four grams of concentrated cannabis, possession of illegal proceeds and money laundering.

The charges are the result of a yearlong investigation conducted by the District Attorneys Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, city of San Diego and San Diego Police Department.

According to the complaint, attorney Jessica McElfresh worked with Slatic to make sure all evidence of hash oil was removed from a site on Engineer Road in Kearny Mesa before a scheduled inspection of the building by city authorities.

The inspection took place on April 28, 2015.

Prosecutors contend that McElfresh, 35, told a city investigator that MedWest did not operate at that location, and led inspectors to believe the business was a just packaging and paper company and there was no marijuana on site.

According to the complaint, McElfresh sent an email to Slatic in December 2015 about the April inspection, telling him that the inspectors were clearly suspicious.

Im convinced they walked away knowing it wasnt a dispensary in the typical sense  but it probably seemed like something other than just paper, the email continued. We did a really, really good job giving them plausible deniability  and it was clear to them it wasnt a dispensary. But, I think they suspected it was something else more than paper.

Investigators served search warrants today at McElfreshs home and office.

The other defendants are Matthew Allan Carmichael, 44, who is identified in the complaint as director of research and development for MedWest, and employees Kensuke Hanaoka, 31, Patric McDonald, 43, and Daniel Forrest Gregg, 49.

They are expected to be arraigned June 15.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
The latest eatery to debut in East Village is serving something more than the pizzas, salads and sandwiches on the menu.

Im so excited, said Margaret, 58, who soon will be starting a training program at Alpha Pizzeria. Its like turning over a new leaf. Its scary, but its like, when you come from the bottom, youve got to go up.

Margaret, who declined to give her last name, lives upstairs from the pizzeria in Alpha Square, a permanent supportive-housing complex at 550 14th St.

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Run by Alpha Project, which operates 14 programs in seven cities from Chula Vista to Oakland, Alpha Square opened in January 2016 and has 201 residential units to help homeless people get off the street and on a path of self-sufficiency and healthy lifestyles.

Alpha Project CEO Bob McElroy said he had been thinking of starting a pizzeria on the property since Alpha Square opened because zoning requirements in the area require commercial outlets on the ground floor, and the building had room for two.

Rather than just renting the space to any business, McElroy said he wanted to put them to good use by opening something that would help Alpha Project clients while also fitting in with the up-and-coming neighborhood.

In a few weeks, Margaret will join the first class of six to eight students who will will learn kitchen and restaurant skills and earn a Food Handlers Card, which show a restaurants employees have been trained.

Looking ahead, Margaret said she hopes to soon have a full-time job working in a restaurant, a significant change from her past career as a medical assistant.

I just got burned out, she said of the work she did for 35 years. Usually in a doctors office, you can only go so far. I quit, but I didnt have anything lined up, and I didnt realize it would be that difficult to find something.

Unable to find another job or an affordable place to live, Margaret moved in with a friend and spend a few months at PATH San Diegos Connections Housing downtown before moving into Alpha Square last August.

They said I could get my life back and find work, she said. I want to just start rebuilding again toward everything I had. Im starting over.

The first six weeks of the class will include four hours in a classroom and two hours learning hands-on skills in the Alpha Square kitchen. The last two weeks will have students interning in the pizzeria or another restaurant for more real-life experience.

Diners at Alpha Pizzeria likely will have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. Aside from some photos of McElroy and Alpha Project clients on the walls, the restaurant looks very much like a traditional pizzeria.

Next to the entrance of Alpha Square, which McElroy boasts looks more like a W Hotel than a shelter, customers on Wednesday sat inside or on the outdoor patio to enjoy pasta salad, chicken Parmesan sandwiches and slices of mushroom pesto pizza, one of the specialties created by chef Alex Carballo.

The idea is youll leave and go, Wow, that was worth every penny, said Carballo, owner of Fresco Pizzeria Locale in Carmel Valley and Moto Deli in Leucadia.

Carballo was brought in to create the menu and build the staff of 14 at the pizzeria. The process involved many taste-testings to find just the type of crust and pizzas people in the neighborhood will appreciate, he said.

We wanted to make something for everyone, so the idea of the menu is that whatever is on it has to be the best we can make it, he said.

Pizza slices start at $2.50 for cheese, while an 18-inch pie will set you back $15.95 before toppings are added.

Carballo, who sits on the board of two nonprofits, said helping launch Alpha Pizzeria was an easy decision.

This industry is a passion job, he said. I dont have a ton of money, but I have some good talents that I can put to good use. When this project came about, it was a no-brainer for me to come in.

Besides providing a training program for Alpha Square residents and other Alpha Project clients, the pizzeria will have other benefits.

Since its opening, the kitchen at Alpha Square has been rented out to caterers who needed a place to prepare food. Once the pizzeria starts making enough money, McElroy said, the caterers will move out and the kitchen will be used to make three meals a day for Alpha Square residents, which include 76 veterans.

Next up, McElroy said a salon will open in the second retail spot at Alpha Square by the end of the year. LIke the pizzeria, the salon will include a training program, this time teaching hair and make-up skills to Alpha Project clients.

The Alpha Project also is planning to open a 54-unit housing complex for veterans at 38th Street and El Cajon Boulevard this year, McElroy said.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
An unauthorized immigrant charged with DUI and hit and run in a crash that seriously injured a 6-year-old San Ysidro boy was deported or allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico 17 times over the past 14 years without facing criminal charges, according to Department of Homeland Security immigration records released Wednesday.

The timeline of Constantino Banda Acostas run-ins with immigration and border authorities, beginning in 2002 and ending with the May 6 crash, suggest a person who is highly motivated to be in the U.S., at times crossing within days of being removed to Mexico. Records show Banda, 38, has repeatedly tried to enter the U.S. illegally with counterfeit documents, by crossing the border fence and at least once in the trunk of a car.

He was last deported in January by Border Patrol agents patrolling Tecate, and it is unknown when and how he entered the U.S. to be arrested near the scene of the crash that put Lennox Lake in the hospital for 18 days. Lennox was released from Rady Childrens Hospital on Tuesday and is recovering at home in delicate condition with deep skull fractures and also battling infections, rash and fever, his aunt said.

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Bandas records show that three of the deportations occurred after he was arrested on state charges, including domestic violence and DUI, and was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from local jails.

It wasnt until his arrest after the crash that he was charged criminally with violating federal immigration law.

Border Patrol Agent Terry Shigg, president of the San Diego chapter of the National Border Patrol Council, said criminal prosecutions and the threat of prison sentences arent being used enough to deter repeat offenders like Banda. That is expected to change under President Donald Trumps administration, which has promised more prosecutions as part of its crackdown on illegal immigration.

Its one of those things you get so used to that it becomes the norm, to know that multiple times throughout my career Ive returned the same group of people (to Mexico) multiple times on the same day, Shigg said. Its frustrating. Its almost as if theres a loophole, a fault in the system and no one wants to fix it. Recidivists come through and theres laws on the books to stop them.  After about the 10th time, a flag should go up that in about three months this guy is going to be back, because thats what happened in the past.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in San Diego has historically prosecuted unauthorized immigrants with serious criminal backgrounds who have crossed multiple times or under aggravated circumstances. Banda possibly didnt appear a major threat because he had misdemeanor convictions, not felonies, and because his deportation record was spread out over several years, said San Diego immigration attorney Andrew Nietor, who is not involved in the case.

It is unknown if law enforcement referred any of Bandas cases to prosecutors.

Its unclear where the decision was made, Nietor said. It could have been the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice, he said. The caseload, resources and priorities of both agencies could have played a role, the lawyer added.

People who arent prosecuted criminally  as in Bandas case  are handled through administrative immigration court or returned to Mexico under various methods.

One of those options is an expedited removal order issued by law enforcement authorities, often after catching someone attempting to enter illegally. The immigrant is returned quickly to Mexico without seeing an immigration judge. Such orders can be reinstated if the person is found illegally in the country again.

A civil immigration judge issues formal removal orders after a determination has been made on an immigrants legal status.

Unauthorized immigrants are also sometimes allowed to voluntarily return to their home country quickly by signing a waiver. Or, if immigrants are at a port of entry trying to get in, they might be allowed to withdraw the request for admission and just turn around.

Using Homeland Security immigration records and San Diego County Superior Court records, a timeline of Bandas encounters with law enforcement emerges:

 Nov. 12, 2002: Deported to Mexico at the Tecate Port of Entry based on an expedited removal order issued after he attempted to illegally enter the U.S. by presenting a counterfeit alien registration card.

 Feb. 9, 2003: Deported to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry based on an expedited removal order after Banda attempted to illegally enter the U.S. using counterfeit documents.

 Jan. 8, 2004: Deported to Mexico at the Calexico Port of Entry based on an expedited removal order issued after Banda attempted to illegally enter the U.S. by presenting a counterfeit alien registration card.

 July 19, 2004: Deported to Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry based on the reinstatement of a prior removal order following his arrest by the Border Patrol, which encountered him in the mountains west of Tecate.

 Dec. 29, 2004: Deported to Mexico via a port of entry in Nogales, Ariz., based on an expedited removal order issued after Banda attempted to illegally enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry concealed in the trunk of a vehicle.

 Feb. 26, 2006: Arrested on a DUI charge and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to five years probation, a $1,925 fine and allowed to participate in a first-conviction program.

 April 8, 2007: Deported to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry based on an expedited removal order issued after Banda attempted to illegally enter the U.S. by falsely telling authorities he was a U.S. citizen. Banda also presented a Washington state identification card bearing his name.

 Aug. 24, 2007: Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery two days after the offense and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. It appears he didnt serve that sentence. Banda was transferred to ICE custody by the Chula Vista Police Department based on an immigration detainer, then deported at the San Ysidro Port of Entry following the reinstatement of a prior removal order.

 March 12, 2008: Deported to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry following the reinstatement of a prior removal order. Banda was transferred to ICE custody based on an immigration detainer lodged with Chula Vista police.

 Feb. 16, 2009: Voluntarily returned to Mexico by Border Patrol agents.

 June 23, 2009: Voluntarily returned to Mexico by Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Ariz.

 Jan. 12, 2011: Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, three years probation and a $1,400 fine.

 Jan. 18, 2011: Deported to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry following the reinstatement of a prior removal order by ICE after Banda was transferred from the George Bailey Detention Facility to ICE custody.

 Jan. 22, 2011: Returned to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after being allowed to withdraw his application for admission when he attempted to enter the U.S. using an entry document belonging to someone else.

 Feb. 9, 2011: Returned to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry being allowed to withdraw his application for admission.

 March 4, 2011: Deported to Mexico via the San Ysidro Port of Entry based on an expedited removal order issued after Banda attempted to illegally enter the U.S. by presenting a counterfeit Mexican passport.

 March 27, 2011: Voluntarily returned to Mexico via Harlingen, Texas. Banda was arrested by Border Patrol agents after he illegally entered the U.S. on foot near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

 Jan. 13, 2012: Charged with driving with a suspended license with a prior DUI. He was sentenced to three years probation and $660 fine.

 Jan. 10, 2017: Deported to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry based on the reinstatement of a prior removal order. Banda was picked up by ICE officers in the San Diego Central Jail.

 Jan. 17, 2017: Deported to Mexico via San Luis, Ariz., based on an expedited removal order Border Patrol issued. Agents patrolling the border near Tecate apprehended Banda.

In Bandas most recent involvement with law enforcement, Border Patrol agents found him on May 6 about a mile from the wreckage of the Lake familys Honda Accord. Authorities say Banda sped through a stop sign in San Ysidro and broadsided the car, as the family was returning from Disneyland.

The driver of the damaged pickup kept going. Agents found the truck and arrested Banda and an unnamed passenger.

Bandas public defender said in court last week that she intends to show Banda was not the driver and requested immigration authorities not deport the passenger pending further investigation.

Nietor, the immigration attorney, said while he has heard of unauthorized immigrants with extremely long immigration records, Bandas case shouldnt be used as a typical example.

I think this is the sort of case the Trump administration tries to politicize and tries to portray as typical, but its not typical. One of the reasons this case is noteworthy is because of the extreme circumstances, Nietor said. Every study shows that the non-citizen population, including the undocumented, is more law abiding than the U.S. citizen population.

For Lennoxs family, the immigration debate is far from their thoughts.

I cant afford to be angry and/or dwell on why or how this could have happened, Lennoxs mother, Ingrid Lake, said in a text to the Union-Tribune. What is happening and what do I need to do? has been the only question thats mattered since the second we were hit by that truck, she said.

She said the family is grateful for the support it has received. Thousands of people are pulling for Lennox to get well, and the love and support weve received makes it almost impossible for me to think about anything other than how appreciative I feel and relieved that Lennox is still here with us.

Staff writers Pauline Repard and Dana Littlefield contributed to this report.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
A two-month investigation into a U.S. military airstrike in Iraq that caused some of the worst civilian casualties in decades found that the attack inadvertently set off explosives that gutted a sprawling apartment block and killed at least 105 civilians  far fewer than survivors and other witnesses have claimed.

Residents have insisted that several hundred people died. Iraqi civil defense forces initially put the figure at 278 but scaled that back to 142 on Thursday, after the U.S. report was released.

The deadly March 17 incident in Jadidah, a densely populated neighborhood in the war-torn Iraqi city of Mosul, garnered worldwide attention after photos of smoldering rubble mixed with lifeless bodies rippled across social media.

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The Pentagon said military investigators, led by Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler, twice visited the site of the airstrike, spoke to witnesses and pored through more than 700 videos taken from coalition warplanes over a 10-day period before, during and after the airstrike.

According to the Pentagon account released Thursday, a U.S. military warplane dropped a 500-pound GPS-guided bomb on two Islamic State fighters firing on Iraqi forces from the roof of a building in Jadidah. The investigation said the GBU-38 bomb should have killed the pair and maintained the structural integrity of the two-story building, which was constructed of reinforced concrete and had 30-inch walls at points.

Instead, a massive explosion ripped through the neighborhood, reducing the apartment block to flaming wreckage, twisted rebar and a tomb for innocent civilians.

The investigation said 101 bodies were found in a main building, and four others were killed in a nearby building.

The Pentagon released an executive summary of the investigation, called a 15-6. The full report, which likely includes hundreds of documents, is classified.

Isler told reporters at the Pentagon via teleconference from Randolph Air Force Base in Texas that the massive blast was caused by explosives planted by Islamic State.

No one saw ISIS move explosives into that area, he said, using an acronym for the terrorist group. However, there were multiple opportunities for that to happen, so we did not rule that out.

Investigators came to the conclusion that the militants planted the explosives, he said, because the chemical residue left behind was different from those found within the GBU-38. They said the size of the blast suggested there was four times as much explosive material as contained in the U.S. bomb. A GBU-38 has a 192-pound warhead.

The secondary explosion caused a rapid failure of the structure, Isler said.

The civilians were found in the basement, sheltering from the battle raging outside, Isler said, while the explosives were put on the second floor. Isler said Islamic State intentionally lured the airstrike knowing civilians were in the building and knowing the planted explosives likely would bring the structure down.

The airstrike was delivered by a U.S. aircraft after Iraqi forces, taking fire from the two snipers, called it in. Iraqi counterterrorism service members were watching the building for two days and saw no sign of civilians inside, Isler said.

U.S. reconnaissance aircraft were overhead watching the facility but also did not see the civilians, Isler said. However, the spy planes could not watch the building in the two days preceding the strike because of bad weather, he added.

The coalition takes responsibility for the strike, Isler said.

Mosul resident Khalid Zakhi, who survived the attack but whose wife and son were killed, said he was encouraged by the report.

For the coalition and America to hold themselves responsible for the airstrike is a good sign, and we would like for them to look after those who lost their loved ones, said Zakhi, 51, a Mosul University worker. He asked that the coalition help those whose homes were damaged by rebuilding  so they will be able to return to their homes.

He said that most families left homeless by the blast are faring poorly because they have nothing to live on.

Mohamed Danoon Jasim, whose relatives also were killed, said the acknowledgment by the U.S. is not going to change anything on the ground and will not give us anything.

Imagine you lost more than 20 members of your family, and the murderer comes to you and says, I am sorry. That is not acceptable, he said. If they compensate families, it will be better.

The coalition does not usually compensate civilians for accidental strikes, with the exception of occasional sympathy payments.

Amnesty International issued a statement saying it welcomed the U.S. report, but questioned whether any lessons were learned and what steps were taken to ensure such horrors do not occur again.

We are in no position at this stage to confirm or deny the results of the U.S. investigation, said Samah Hadid, the groups Middle East deputy director of campaigns. But as long as the conflict in Iraq is still raging, we call on Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces to desist from using explosive weapons with wide area effects, including artillery and mortars in crowded residential areas and to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties.

As a result of the airstrike, U.S. investigators recommended in the report that the Pentagon intensify the way it investigates whether its daily bombing runs over Iraq and Syria are inadvertently killing civilians.

The report also advocated that the two-person team investigating civilian casualties for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State extremists be expanded and that teams of investigators begin visiting the sites where residents say civilians have been injured and killed by airstrikes.

Under the existing system, the coalition investigates civilian casualties based on reports from its staff, the news media, social media and local and international monitoring groups. Investigators are not required to visit the scene of strikes, speak with victims or other witnesses.

The U.S. military says 352 civilians have been killed in airstrikes by the coalition since the air war against Islamic State was launched in August 2014  still far fewer than independent monitor Airwars estimate of 3,294.

A Times reporter visited the site of the strike a week afterward, as well as earlier this month, and saw multiple damaged buildings with bodies in or near them where residents said civilians had died. During the visit this month, distant booms sounded regularly, warplanes buzzed overhead and mortar shells were still landing nearby.

Jadidah residents provided The Times with the names of at least 100 relatives killed in the March 17 strike whose bodies they buried. The dead ranged in age from 65 to a 1-month-old. Residents said that the death toll was much higher than 100, and that 137 people died in one house.

Residents provided photographs showing how they buried about half of the dead  whom they estimated in the hundreds  at two local cemeteries, and the remaining bodies in gardens and other informal graves because Islamic State militants did not allow survivors to leave the area for days after the airstrike.

Mohammed Fadhil stood outside his house this month and pointed to the graves of three relatives killed in the strike whom he buried: his wife, a cousin and the cousins wife. He also provided photos showing relatives lowering the dead, zipped inside blue plastic body bags, into the makeshift graves.

Fadhil, 38, said clashes in the area after the strike prevented residents from reaching local cemeteries. He said 60 homes were destroyed in the March 17 strike, and hundreds were killed, with some bodies even now still beneath the rubble.

Iraqi officials conducted their own investigation and announced their conclusions last month, saying that 61 civilians were killed  but not by an airstrike, rather by explosives planted in the walls of the buildings by Islamic State militants.

The Iraqi investigation said explosives and a detonator were found at the scene, and it concluded that Iraqi forces also had located civilians in two nearby homes laced with explosives.

On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Mahmoud, the manager of Iraqi civil defense in Mosul, said 142 civilians died in the strike. He said the total previously provided to The Times  278 civilians killed  referred to the total number of civilians killed by airstrikes and artillery in all of west Mosul since the offensive began. Independent monitors have put the figure much higher.

Mahmoud said 85 of those killed in the March 17 strike died in the large house where residents said 137 were killed. He said 105 died in the area surrounding that house.

Although Islamic States use of human shields always figured into the investigation, the U.S. military said there is no way of knowing whether militants had trapped civilians inside the building.

Civilian deaths have risen steadily in recent weeks amid a torrent of airstrikes and pounding house-to-house combat ravaging Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, as the bloody campaign against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria reaches its third year.

Times staff writer Hennigan reported from Washington and Hennessy-Fiske from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Special correspondent Wael Resol in Suleimaniya, Iraq, contributed to this report.
San Diegos arts community continues to lobby against proposed city budget cuts, despite Mayor Kevin Faulconer agreeing last week to shrink the cuts hes proposing in half.

Leaders of the community say the mayors revised cut of $2.3 million will have a multiplier effect because much of the money they receive helps secure matching grants and donations.

When the city cuts the arts budget by even $1, the result is potentially losing an additional $2 in matching grant funding from private sources, said Alan Ziter, chair of the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition.

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RELATED: Mayors new budget restores some cuts, but no immediate help for police

The coalition said in a news release that Faulconers proposed 15 percent cut  from $15.1 million during the current fiscal year to $12.8 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1  significantly threatens the $210 million that arts contributes annually to the local economy.

We are strongly advocating a flat $15.1 million budget for the Commission for Arts and Culture to keep existing programs intact and maintain jobs, said Peter Comiskey, executive director of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership.

Arts program provide an estimated 7,000 local jobs, according to the coalition.

In addition to museums and arts programs throughout the city, the cuts threaten popular regional programs, including San Diego Jazz Fest, Point Loma Summer Concerts, the San Diego International Film Festival and the Rolando Street Fair, the coalitions release said.

Faulconer proposed a $4.7 million cut when he unveiled his initial budget last month, which would have lowered annual funding to $10.4 million. He reduced the proposed cut to $2.3 million when he unveiled a revised budget last week.

RELATED: Arts groups slam proposed 31 percent budget cut

The mayor has blamed the reduction in arts spending and other cuts on a spike in the citys annual pension payment, which created an $80 million projected deficit before the cuts.

Critics note that the city is far from fulfilling a 2012 commitment to ramp up arts spending to the same percentage the arts received before years of steady cuts began after 2002.

The program, called Penny for the Arts, requires arts spending to be equivalent to 9.52 percent of city revenue from hotel taxes, which are formally known as transient-occupancy taxes.

Faulconers proposed cuts would reverse steady progress the city has made toward that goal, which has included increases in arts funding in five consecutive budget years.

The new proposal, while not as draconian as the original one, will only honor half that pledge, Comiskey said.

The City Council is scheduled to adopt a final budget June 5.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
A day after a Montana Republican running for the House was accused of assaulting a news reporter and cited for assault, Rep. Duncan Hunter said the candidate was in the wrong unless the reporter had it coming.

Its not appropriate behavior. Unless the reporter deserved it, Hunter, R-Alpine, told the Associated Press on Thursday.

Hunters chief of staff later said that the congressman didnt know too much about the incident, and takes no position on the reporter or the candidate. He hadnt read beyond the headline when he was questioned by the AP.

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He didnt even care to read anything more, Hunters chief of staff, Joe Kasper, said in an email. Theres so much more important stuff going on in the world, who even cares. Its dumb that youre even writing about this.

Kasper did not answer questions about under what circumstances a reporter would deserve to be assaulted.

On Wednesday, Greg Gianforte, a San Diego-born Republican running in a special election for Montanas one House seat, was charged with misdemeanor assault. Ben Jacobs, a reporter with British news outlet The Guardian, said the candidate body slammed him and broke his glasses after he asked him about health care in a room off a campaign event.

Gianfortes campaign said Jacobs shoved a recording device in front of the candidate, was being aggressive and began asking badgering questions. But multiple witness accounts  including one from a Fox News crew  and an audio recording of the altercation gave accounts that disagreed with the politicians.

Hunters statement puts him in conflict with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said that assault is wrong in all circumstances.

There is no time when a physical altercations should occur with the press and just between human beings. So that is wrong and it just should not have happened, Ryan said.

If convicted Gianforte could be fined as much as $500 or be imprisoned for as long as 6 months.

Early voting had already begun in Montana and polls opened on Thursday to determine who will represent the entire state in the House of Representatives after Ryan Zinke left office to serve as secretary of the interior.

Gianforte is running against Democrat Rob Quist.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
San Diego is launching a new effort to clean up nine specific areas of the city struggling with excessive litter and illegal dumping.

The one-year pilot project will target Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Logan Heights, San Ysidro, City Heights, Paradise Valley and three combination zones: Mission Beach/Pacific Beach, Webster/Mount Hope in southeastern San Diego and the South Bay area near the international border.

Weve identified nine hot spots for illegal littering and dumping, said Angela Colton, waste reduction deputy director in the citys Environmental Services Department.

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Mayor Kevin Faulconer included $800,000 for the program in revisions he unveiled last week to his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Because the new program is a one-year experiment, the city plans to rely on workers supplied by the Urban Corps of San Diego instead of hiring new employees.

Many of those people work for the Urban Corps to fulfill community service requirements of plea bargains.

They will be going to each of these nine areas throughout the week and picking up any illegal littering or dumping and identifying any graffiti and reporting that over to the Streets Division, Colton said.

While the workers wont be eradicating graffiti, they will help accelerate city efforts to do so by reporting it more quickly than when the city relies on private citizens.

Under the new program, which will supplement work already conducted by city crews and people on probation, each of the areas will be visited by crews cleaning up litter and dump sites at least four days a week.

Point Loma and Logan Heights will be the only two areas getting crews five days a week.

The nine areas chosen are among many the city has focused on in recent years. The city also responds to complaints by phone, email or through an app launched last year.

The Get it Done app has been a huge help in letting us know about issues, Colton said.

That includes graffiti, an area where city officials report they have made significant progress tackling a large backlog of incidents.

According to the mayors proposed budget, it took the city an average of 12 days to paint over graffiti scrawls in fiscal 2016, but only an average of six days so far in fiscal 2017, which ends June 30.

The city estimates it will process 6,000 graffiti complaints resulting in 400,000 square feet of covering efforts in fiscal 2017, compared to 5,000 notifications resulting in 360,000 square feet in fiscal 2016.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
The Sheriffs Department is hoping to complete the bidding process for body-worn cameras in the next several months, bringing deputies one step closer to being outfitted with the technology.

There have been 14 deputy-involved shootings, eight of which were fatal, since the department started looking into body cameras two years ago. The last three have occurred in the span of two weeks.

The Union-Tribune asked for an update on the departments plans to get the cameras after deputies shot and killed a man following a wild Dukes of Hazzard chase May 10 in Barona.

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Sheriffs Department spokesman Ryan Keim said since they are still in the bidding process, he couldnt say whether the department had settled on a model. He did say they have established a body-worn camera unit to help manage and deploy the cameras.

If all goes well, he said, deputies could be wearing them before the end of the year.

The Sheriffs Department first started looking into the technology in 2015. It evaluated three models during a 90-day trial period about a year later, but none met the departments specific needs, especially when it came to video storage.

The department is committed to deploying body-worn cameras and optimistic the (bidding) process will be completed in the next few months, Keim said.

Seven other agencies in San Diego County have outfitted their officers with cameras, including in Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, El Cajon, Escondido, National City and San Diego.

The technology is considered an effective way to bolster public trust and transparency amid increased scrutiny over police practices  especially use of force.

In the Barona shooting, investigators said a 39-year-old Santa Barbara man was driving toward two deputies when two other deputies shot at him. Five days later, on May 15, deputies killed a man after he stabbed a restaurant manager in the head in Solana Beach and later charged at a deputy with a knife. And Wednesday, deputies fired on a machete-wielding man who advanced on deputies in Valley Center, a homicide lieutenant said.

Its unclear if any of the incidents were caught on camera.

Although debate continues over when and how body-camera footage is released, county police officials crafted a policy in 2016 that governs the release of body-worn camera footage captured during officer and deputy-involved shootings.

When the policy was passed, Assistant Sheriff Mike Barnett said, We really believe that this will create the requisite transparency to foster public confidence in law enforcement.

With context, footage from body-worn cameras can be a powerful tool in helping the public understand officer-involved shootings  and the public has come to expect it.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
Firefighters extinguished a rubbish fire in a storm sewer in Lakeside Wednesday then spent hours searching for any transients trapped in the culverts, but none were found, a fire official said.

They did, however, rescue four kittens.

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Crews were sent to check on reports of smoke north of state Route 67 near Riverford Road and found a mattress and personal belongings on fire in a 1,500-foot-long sewer near Riverside Drive about 4 p.m., said Lakeside Fire Protection District Capt. Scott Culkin.

He said the items belong to transients known to live in the sewer and that firefighters were told people may have been trapped in some of the concrete culverts that make up the sewer.

San Diego and Chula Vista confined-space rescue teams went into three tunnels from each end using ropes. The search was completed about 8 p.m. and no one in need of help was found.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Two weeks after she was ordered to return $100,000 seized from a medical marijuana entrepreneur and his family, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis filed a sweeping criminal complaint against the business owner, four employees and his lawyer.

Dumanis filed charges Wednesday against James Slatic, who owned Med-West Distribution in Kearny Mesa until drug agents raided the business in January 2016 and confiscated the inventory, equipment, records and $324,000 in cash.

The 15-page felony complaint also names two Med-West executives, two other employees and attorney Jessica McElfresh, who is accused of conspiring to hide evidence of illegal activities during an inspection of the business in 2015.

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The complaint alleges that the defendants illegally manufactured a concentrated form of marijuana known as hash oil and distributed it across the country. They are alleged to have sold the unlawful products for more than $3.2 million.

In a prepared statement, Dumanis said the case was extremely complicated. She said it took investigators more than 16 months to examine the evidence and determine whether the business was in violation of state medical-marijuana laws.

We wanted to be thorough and make sure we got it right, she said.

Slatic, who successfully challenged the seizure of his personal and family assets, said Wednesday that he first learned of the criminal charges when contacted by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Amazing that after 16 months and right after we get our familys money back, the district attorney brings these charges in complete opposition to the California state law legalizing this conduct and industry, he said in an email. I cant help but think this is vindictive prosecution.

Dumanis spokesman Steven Walker did not respond to follow-up questions about Slatics assertion that he was singled out for challenging the civil forfeiture.

The charges come just weeks before Dumanis vacates the District Attorneys Office. She announced last month that she was resigning in midterm, effective July 7.

The raid of the Med-West offices in January 2016 made national news, in part because city officials, police and other inspectors had repeatedly visited the business with no criminal charges resulting for months.

According to the complaint, Slatic and other defendants were illegally manufacturing the concentrated hash oil, which is not permitted under state medical-marijuana laws.

The object of the conspiracy was to use flammable, volatile and toxic chemicals to extract THC from marijuana, to purify concentrated marijuana, to sell concentrated cannabis for a profit and to hide such activity from city inspectors, it states.

Days after the raid, agents also froze personal assets of just over $100,000 owned by Slatic, his wife and two daughters. With help from the nonprofit law firm Institute for Justice in Washington D.C., Slatic prevailed in a civil case challenging the forfeiture and earlier this month.

A separate civil asset forfeiture case challenging the seizure of the $324,000 in cash found at Med-West Distribution in 2016 is still pending.

McElfresh is accused of removing evidence from the business ahead of a scheduled inspection and intentionally misleading city inspectors during a visit to the company in 2015.

On or about April 27, 2015, Jessica McElfresh, acting as an attorney for Med-West, visited 8210 Engineer Road to ensure all evidence of the manufacturing and possession of concentrated cannabis was removed before the scheduled inspection of April 28, 2015, the complaint states.

McElfresh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The allegations also say the San Diego attorney emailed Slatic after the inspection to alert him that the inspectors were suspicious of what they found at the facility, which also handled paper and packaging materials.

Im convinced they walked away knowing it wasnt a dispensary in the typical sensebut it probably seemed like something other than just paper, McElfresh continued, We did a really, really good job giving them plausible deniability  and it was clear to them it wasnt a dispensary. But, I think they suspected it was something else more than paper.

The District Attorneys Office said it executed search warrants at McElfreshs home and office Wednesday.

Before it closed as a result of the January 2016 raid, Med-West Distribution was selling vape cartridges, topical creams and other cannabis-related products to dispensaries across the region.

At a November hearing over the $100,000 seized from Slatic and his family, an expert hired by the family testified that the process the company used to create the products did not violate state drug-manufacturing laws. The District Attorneys Office contested that assertion.

The defendants were not arrested Wednesday. According to the District Attorneys Office, they will be notified of the charges by mail, with an arraignment in court set for June 15.

Previously

Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
A man dressed as clown who was holding what appeared to be a bloody machete as he stood on the side of a road scared drivers in Northern California on Wednesday.

And he was not the only joker police had to deal with this week. See below.

Startled drivers who saw the strange sight in the town of Aromas reported that the man was holding his thumb up as if to hitch a ride while holding the knife in the other, according to KSBW8 News.

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Deputies with the Monterey County Sheriffs Office quickly confronted the costumed character, who sported red and white clown makeup and a blue colorful jump suit, with guns drawn.

Authorities said the machete was real but the blood turned out to be cotton soaked in red dye.

It can be fun to dress up as a clown, right? However, if you do please dont stand in the side of Highway 101 at San Juan Rd holding a machete, wrote a sheriffs official on Facebook.

What was he doing? asked one person.

Wish we knew, came the response. Right now, as far as we know, he was standing there looking at traffic.

The man was identified as a 61-year-old Larry Tovey, a resident of Gilroy. He was questioned but not charged after it was determined that he had not committed a crime.

He didnt actually threaten anybody, Sheriffs Cmdr. John Thornburg told the news station. He just had a sick sense of humor.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Florida police were dealing with another clown who has a face that only a mother could love. Or maybe not.

This joker was said to be waving a gun at cars in Miami before he was arrested by Miami-Dade police on Tuesday. Lawrence Sullivan, 29, who described himself as a tattoo model, was charged with carrying a concealed firearm.

Sullivan had the word Joker and a Batman symbol tattooed across his forehead, a cross and a teardrop under his eyes and stitches coming from both sides of his mouth. He was sporting green hair.

He was later released on $5,000 bond. According to the Florida Sun Sentinel, his family members said Sullivan was a goodhearted person and an entertainer who is not out to hurt anyone.

619-293-1710

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

twitter.com/Debbi_Baker
Every year, California keeps thousands of people in jail before they get their day in court  all because they cannot afford to post bail and buy their freedom.

By emphasizing individual wealth instead of fairness and safety, money bail has created a two-tiered system of justice in California, one for the rich and one for everyone else. The results have been devastating, particularly for low-income communities of color. It is time we create a justice system that truly promotes everyones safety and well-being.

Related: Ending Californias bail program would be disastrous

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In theory, when someone is arrested, money bail is set to give that person the option of being released while their case moves forward. Money bail is intended to serve as a sort of security deposit. The idea is that paying a court money will serve as an incentive for people to return to court to get their money back. If they are unable to afford the full bail amount, bail bonds companies are supposed to serve as a more affordable option. In practice, there are no viable options for a majority of Californians.

People who cannot afford to pay must endure detention or go into insurmountable debt. Many people stay in jail for weeks, months and sometimes years while their cases move forward, or plead guilty to a crime they may not have committed just so they can be released and get back to their lives, jobs and families. Over 60 percent of people in California jails are awaiting trial or sentencing, costing California taxpayers $5 million a day.

Some people, desperate to get out, turn to the for-profit bail industry and pay a 10 percent fee based on their total bail amount  a fee they do not get back even if their case is dismissed or they are found innocent. For example, in San Joaquin County over the span of five months last year, almost 200 people paid for-profit bail bonds companies to be freed from jail even though no case was ever filed and the charges were dropped.

In short, wealthy people who can afford to post bail get all their money back if they return to court or their case is dismissed, while people already struggling to make ends meet have to pay the for-profit bail industry for their freedom.

This isnt how our justice system should work.

In California, the median bail amount is $50,000, five times more than the national median amount of $10,000. Even just a few days in jail can jeopardize someones safety and well-being, and cost someone their car, job, housing or even child custody.

Because black and Latino people are more likely than white people to be stuck in jail while their case moves forward, money bail fuels already-egregious racial disparities in the justice system. In fact, research shows that jailing people while their case moves forward puts them at higher risk of being convicted, taking a plea deal and receiving harsher sentences.

Research also shows that black people are assigned 35 percent higher bail amounts than white people accused of similar offenses. Latinos are assigned 19 percent higher bail amounts than white people accused of similar offenses.

California has an obligation to adopt proven alternatives to promote the economic security, well-being and safety of our communities. The California Money Bail Reform Act, SB 10 and AB 42, put forward by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Assemblymen Rob Bonta, D-Oakland would reduce the number of people locked up because they are unable to buy their freedom, and shifts away from a system where your freedom depends on your bank account to one with case-by-case determinations. The legislation would also prioritize practices that help ensure people make their court appearances until their case is resolved.

Together, these reforms build upon common-sense solutions adopted in other localities that have significantly reduced their use of commercial bail, such as Kentucky, New Jersey and in Santa Clara, California. Kentucky, for example, releases about 70 percent of people awaiting the resolution of their cases; 90 percent of them make all their future court appearances and 92 percent stay arrest-free while they wait for their cases to go forward. In contrast, in California under our current system, the rate at which people return to court after release is lower than in the rest of the country.

Our communities are safer and healthier when they are whole. California lawmakers should approve this legislation and help create a justice system that works for everyone.

Dooley-Sammuli is the criminal justice and drug policy director with the American Civil Liberties Union of California. She is based in San Diego.
State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Assemblymen Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, introduced Senate Bill 10 and Assembly Bill 42, which would end Californias bail system, thus automatically releasing hundreds of thousands of defendants into our streets. To add insult to injury, the legislation provides no incentive for them to appear in court and be held accountable for their actions.

Every year, there are 1.1 million adults arrested in California. There are approximately 300,000 defendants that are bailed out with a 97 percent success rate that they will appear in court; Californias bail industry ensures that the defendants and victims have their day in court.

Related: Bail system emphasizes wealth, not fairness or safety

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While it is easy to say that, Too many people find themselves in jail because they cannot afford to bail out, the facts prove otherwise.

Bail conditions are rarely set for anyone in this state with a prior clean criminal record. In 2012, the ACLU noted that 88 percent of those in the Los Angeles County jail, pending a pretrial, could not post bail due to nonfinancial holds.

The vast majority of people who go to court are either released on their own recognizance or are released under certain conditions, such as an ankle bracelet or travel restrictions. In cases that involve domestic violence or harassment, the defendant may be ordered to stay away and have no contact with the victim. In certain instances, when the crime is so serious or the defendant is currently on parole for a previous crime, they are rightfully held in jail.

What happens to the vast majority of people who are released without using our bail system? Unfortunately, we currently have 1.7 million unserved warrants in California, of which 265,000 are felony warrants. USA Today ran a special report, Fugitives Next Door, and found that in many cases, California county officials were no longer pressing or extraditing some of the worst offenders in the state because the costs were too high to follow through with those actions, given their budgets.

USA Today stated, In Orange County, south of Los Angeles, police reclassified 11,860 felony warrants as not extraditable, including three in cases listed as homicides, according to FBI records. Police in Los Angeles County gave up on extraditing 3,971 fugitives. And in neighboring Riverside County, FBI records show police stopped pursuing 3,934 fugitives, including three men the district attorney still ranks among the countys most-wanted fugitives.

One of those men, Javier Padilla, was charged with molesting a relative more than 100 times, starting when she was 7 years old. At officers request, the girl called Padilla to ask whether he was embarrassed for touching her when she was so young. As police listened in, he responded by apologizing and said he was sorry for everything, one of the officers wrote in a court filing.

Earlier this month, the Alliance of California Judges (ACJ), representing more than 500 active and retired judges from across California, sent a letter to Legislature members Bonta and Hertzberg expressing strong opposition to their legislation.

In the letter, the ACJ stated, Those arrested for selling drugs, committing identity theft, vandalizing homes and businesses, stealing huge sums of money, or burglarizing dozens of businesses would all presumptively be granted pretrial release  without having to appear before a judge, post bail or submit to any conditions upon release. These bills also inexplicably exclude residential burglary from the list of crimes for which arrestees are not to be considered for release without judicial authorization.

As a former state legislator and a retired judge, I have worked throughout my career to ensure for the protection of the public and the protection of the victims by conducting serious reviews and evaluations of facts. These reviews and evaluations included factors such as criminal history, the potential danger to the victims or victims family, any previous occurrence of fleeing and the seriousness of the charge(s).

Ending Californias bail system will be a tremendous danger to public safety.

Some Californians seem more worried about appeasing criminals than keeping their own communities and families safe. Social justice has now become so fashionable that protecting criminals supersedes protecting the victims of crime. Let us stop the relentless deterioration of our society and hold criminals accountable for their actions.

Senate Bill 10 and Assembly Bill 42 need to be defeated in order to maintain public safety.

Stirling, a former San Diego City Council member, served four terms as assemblyman for the 77th District. He was elected to the State Senate followed by an appointment by Gov. Deukmejian to the bench as a judge. Stirling presided over thousands of cases, both civil and criminal.

Some Californians seem more worried about appeasing criminals than keeping their own communities and families safe.

Stirling, a former San Diego City Council member, served four terms as assemblyman for the 77th District. He was elected to the State Senate followed by an appointment by Gov. Deukmejian to the bench as a judge. Stirling presided over thousands of cases, both civil and criminal.
I spent Sept. 16, Mexican Independence Day, with a former president of Mexico  and tried to figure out which U.S. president he reminded me of.

Vicente Fox is as effective a communicator as Bill Clinton, except he speaks both English and Spanish. Fox has the emotional intelligence and people skills of George W. Bush, without the swagger and sharp tongue. And, after making history  by dethroning a rival political party that had a 71-year grip on the presidency  he fell short of expectations, just like Barack Obama.

Americans in both parties know the feeling of loving their country but disliking a particular president.

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Last week, at a special event in this West Texas city of just over 120,000 where crude is king and W is their favorite son, I experienced the opposite.

As a Mexican-American, I like Fox personally. But sometimes his country, my grandfathers homeland, gets on my nerves.

As I sat down to interview the former president of Mexico and his wife, Marta Sahagun de Fox, in front of about 1,200 people as part of the Davidson Distinguished Lecture Series at Midland College, I realized my assignment would be tricky.

If the conversation was going to be just about Fox, I could afford to be largely complimentary. Hes a straight talker, a savvy marketer and a skilled politician. Theres a lot to admire, not the least of which that he opened up Mexico to a more vibrant form of democracy.

But if the dialogue was going to be about Mexico and its relationship to the United States, Fox would face some tough questions from me.

Its impossible not to like Fox, and for U.S. audiences  to whom he speaks often these days  it doesnt hurt that his ancestry is part American. In 1895, about 20 years before my grandfather went north from Chihuahua and crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, Foxs grandfather Joseph left Ohio and migrated south to Guanajuato. One patriarch found his American Dream in the United States, the other found it in Mexico.

The interview lasted about 45 minutes, and it was no fiesta for Fox. At several points, he said exasperatedly: This is why they say youre very provocative.

Here is what made Fox uncomfortable.

 My question about whether he understood the anger that many Mexican-Americans in the United States feel toward Mother Mexico for mistreating our immigrant parents and grandparents and sending them north, and why that made us reluctant to now embrace the country. He doesnt understand.

 My insistence that Mexico was divided by class, color, geography and politics and always has been, with Mexicans warring against each other and taking advantage and preying on one another. He disagreed.

 My question about why  if, as Fox wrote in his book, Revolution of Hope, Mexico did in fact help the United States seal the border after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001  it couldnt do that every day, and help the U.S. stop illegal immigration from Mexico. He chuckled nervously and shook his head, insisting that Mexico cant stop its people from leaving.

 My recollection that he dillydallied after 9/11 and did not come soon enough to Americas aid, waiting as long as three weeks before offering assistance while polls showed that as much as 62 percent of the Mexican population wanted his administration to stay neutral in the war between the United States and al-Qaeda. He claimed that he did try to reach President Bush right away, and eventually got through, but he dodged the question about the delay in offering help.

Fox made mistakes. All chief executives do. But he also got a few things right, including his admirable attempts to reach out to Mexican migrants in the U.S. that the motherland had previously ignored.

Much has happened since Fox left office in 2006, including a drug war launched by President Felipe Calderon that resulted in the death of more than 50,000 Mexicans, and energy reforms pushed by President Enrique Pena Nieto that will allow foreign investment in Mexicos petroleum industry for the first time since the 1930s.

Its a new day south of the border, and its hard to imagine the dawn of it without Foxs political ascendance 14 years ago. Thats a legacy to be proud of.
House Republicans were so eager to pass a repeal of the Affordable Care Act  the 2010 law known as Obamacare  that they rushed through the American Health Care Act on May 4 without subjecting it to the normal scrutiny of the Congressional Budget Office. That itself was laughable given how much Republicans had properly criticized congressional Democrats for rushing through their health care overhaul without having a full grasp on its effects.

Now the CBO report is out, and it makes more laughable President Trumps and House Speaker Paul Ryans depiction of the American Health Care Act as something which would, as Ryan said, give every American access to quality, affordable health care. Instead, the CBO forecasts that if the bill is enacted, the number of Americans with health insurance would decline by 23 million by 2026, while saving the federal government $119 billion over the same time span. This is a cold-hearted budget cut masquerading as health reform.

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The good news is the Senate seems unlikely to follow the Houses lead. The bad news is Obamacare is in deep trouble in some states and a third of all counties  and that congressional Republicans and the president show no interest in trying to fix the programs flaws, starting with the incentives it gives healthy people not to buy coverage. When it comes to health care in America, the prognosis is bleak.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Trump budget bodes ill for nations future

President Donald Trumps first budget can be summed up like this: Big gifts for the rich, big cuts for the poor and small cuts or nothing for the middle class.

We are moving toward being slave labor in a Republican aristocracy headed by a corporate fascist. The more that money gets concentrated at the top, the more power they acquire over you and the more of a slave you become.

Because the lack of investment capital is not the problem, spending is, there is going to be an economic downturn that will make the Bush recession seem like a minor market correction. Pay off your bills and get ready because you will get no help from the current administration.

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Tony Kopec

San Marcos

The presidents budget proposal will have deep cuts for Medicaid and other programs that will affect the lower income folks.

Since he was in Israel discussing many things with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I wonder if budget cuts to U.S. aid to Israel is in their discussions?

Israel has continually been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II.

Where should the budget cuts be?

Lyle Predmore

San Diego

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It was a night before an election like no other.

After a physical altercation between Montana GOP congressional candidate Greg Gianforte and a reporter with The Guardian, in which the reporter said he was body slammed and other reporters said Gianforte grabbed the reporter by the neck with both hands, the fallout was swift.

Three newspaper editorial board endorsements Gianforte had touted just that morning on Twitter were withdrawn, with varying degrees of disgust.

The incident occurred in an office behind a half-closed door at Gianforte for Congress headquarters in Bozeman, Montana on Wednesday after the candidate was asked a question about the American Health Care Act by Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. Fox News reporters were also there and said Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.

The news broke when he sent out this tweet.

Audio from the incident quickly followed.

An aide for Gianforte offered another version of events.

Now, Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault, and editorial boards across the state have made the rare decision to withdraw endorsements of him, hours after he tweeted his appreciation to them. Heres what he and they said on Wednesday.

The Missoulian in Missoula, Montana

The Missoulian was the first to do so.

The Republican candidate for Congress not only lost the endorsement of this newspaper Wednesday night ... he should lose the confidence of all Montanans, the editorial board wrote.

The explanation:

Three weeks ago, the Missoulian endorsed Gianforte because we took him at his word that he would set aside his personal beliefs, listen to Montanans and be their voice in the House (of Representatives).

Gianforte violated that pledge when he attacked a reporter for doing his job Wednesday night.

There is no doubt that Gianforte committed an act of terrible judgment that, if it doesnt land him in jail, also shouldnt land him in the U.S. House of Representatives. He showed Wednesday night that he lacks the experience, brains and abilities to effectively represent Montana in any elected office.

He does not represent Montana values and he should not represent us in Congress.

Read the full editorial here.

The Billings Gazette in Billings, Montana

The Billings Gazette was next with a more emotional withdrawal.

We're at a loss for words, the editorial board wrote. And as people who wrangle words on a minute-by-minute basis, that doesn't happen often.

The explanation:

Although we're greatly troubled by this action against a member of the media who was just doing his job, to make this an issue of media intrusion or even a passionate defense of the role of a free press during an election would be to miss the point.

If what was heard on tape and described by eye-witnesses is accurate, the incident in Bozeman is nothing short of assault. We wouldn't condone it if it happened on the street. We wouldn't condone it if it happened in a home or even a late-night bar fight. And we couldn't accept it from a man who is running to become Montana's lone Congressional representative.

Read the full editorial here.

The Independent Record in Helena, Montana

The Independent Record defended the reporter and admonished the candidate.

Democracy cannot exist without a free press, and both concepts are under attack by Republican U.S. House Candidate Greg Gianforte," the newspaper's editorial board wrote. We cannot condone that kind of violence.

The explanation:

We are also sick and tired  of Gianfortes incessant attacks on the free press. In the past, he has encouraged his supporters to boycott certain newspapers, singled out a reporter in a room to point out that he was outnumbered, and even made a joke out of the notion of choking a news writer, and these are not things we can continue to brush off.

We take our endorsements seriously and retracting an endorsement even more seriously, but we cannot in good faith continue to support this candidate.

San Diego Union-Tribune editorial and opinion director Matthew T. Hall says this is a rare occurrance.

There was plenty of support for the decisions on Twitter.

Yet others continued supporting Gianforte.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
Iris Price exemplifies that well-known phrase, Youre never too old to learn something new.

At age 77, the Ramona resident is working on her doctorate in Pharmacognosy, also known as botanical medicine.

She earned her bachelors degree in natural health just over 10 years ago, and followed that up with a masters degree in herbology.

Its been that way always  I just always liked learning, said the 20-year Ramona resident.

Originally from Massachusetts, Price said she studied Latin in junior high school and loved it, noting that it helps her figure out the Spanish language.

After high school she attended a secretarial school in Boston, and about 50 years ago moved to the San Diego area.

Price was always interested in art so when her children were old enough for her to go back to school she chose a major in Fine and Applied Art, and earned her associates degree from San Diego Mesa College in 1991.

But, she desired to learn more.

She signed up for an online course with the New York School of Interior Design, earning a certificate in interior design.

I was looking for things I could do home study. It fit with art. I love interior design, too, said Price.

She followed that up with a certificate in feng shui from the Feng Shui Institute of America, and has provided consultations for friends.

Then came a certificate in landscape design from the Professional Career Development Institute, School of Landscape Design.

Each certificate took two years, she said.

I like keeping my brain active and thats a big thing for me, said Price.

Her older son then suggested that instead of continuing to earn certificates, she should get a degree. Price said she couldnt find what she wanted in art so the thing I liked next was health.

Price enrolled in a home study course through Clayton College of Natural Health with natural health as her major.

It was also a really good challenge, she said of the four years she worked toward her bachelors degree. And I graduated with high honors.

She was going to continue at Clayton College but it closed so she chose Kingdom College of Natural Health for her masters in herbology.

Price grows herbs to use for cooking and medicinal purposes, and said she is big on homeopathic remedies. That includes using a substance as a cure that is similar to what caused the ailment, such as using bee venom for a bee sting, she explained. She also noted that homeopathy is not one size fits all, and considers the whole person.

Through Kingdom College she is working on her doctorate in botanical medicine and said she is two-thirds finished with her thesis and hopes to be finished before the beginning of next year.

When she finishes her doctorate, Price said she wont be able to diagnose or prescribe, but will be able to educate and inform.

Botanical medicine, Price explained, is working with natural substances as opposed to chemicals. Such practices as chiropractic, osteopathic, massage, acupuncture, and acupressure can be used to treat pain without any chemicals and can be used together, she said.

Prices life hasnt only been about academics. Among her jobs, she worked for the City of San Diego and as a fitness instructor. She also likes being physically and socially active, and enjoys the camaraderie of Ramona Librarys adult coloring club, which also gives her an opportunity to dabble with art.

After she earns her Ph.D, Price said she will probably write a book.
Memorial Day services will be held Monday morning in both Rancho Bernardo and Poway.

The Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial in Webb Park will be the setting for a ceremony starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday. The Poway ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in Dearborn Memorial Park on Tierra Bonita Road.

The RB event will begin with a patriotic musical prelude featuring pre-recorded music. It will be followed by more music performed by the Rancho Bernardo High School Madrigals under the direction of Lisa Friedrichs at 10:45 a.m. The Madrigals will also sing the national anthem later in the ceremony.

Attendees are advised to bring lawn or beach chairs since seating will not be provided. The memorial is located behind Pearl Chinese Cuisine restaurant, 11666 Avena Place. However, attendees are asked not to park in the restaurants parking lot. For directions and suggested parking lots, go to RBVMA.org and click on the Google map link.

The commemorative part of the event will start at 11 a.m. with a welcome by retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Cattolico, who will serve as master of ceremonies.

Others participating will include retired Major David Korinek, a California National Guard chaplain, who will give the invocation, read the In Memorial and give the benediction; the Westview High school NJROTC Color Guard, which will present and retire the colors; and members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7766 and the Gen. J.P. Holland Chapter of the Military Order of World Wars, who will post the service, POW/MIA, MOWW and VFW flags. Conducting the flag ceremony will be retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Thomas OLeary.

The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas Herbka, while the wreath will be presented by Air Force veteran Mervin Adams, the Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial Associations 2017 Volunteer of the Year. Also helping with the event will Boy Scouts in Troop 685.

This years keynote speaker will be Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Paul H. Lebidine, former commanding general of the 4th Marine Division. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1984 and was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program two years later. He served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and later joined the Marine Corps Reserve.

In 2003, he was mobilized to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with additional service in Iraq during deployments through 2008. He was also deployed to Afghanistan multiple times, including when he had command of the 4th Marine Division in 2015.

In Poway, wreaths honoring all veterans buried at the cemetery will be placed by representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its auxiliary, the American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America and by the FRA and its auxiliary.

The featured speaker will be Navy Capt. Jordy Harrison, flotilla commander of the littoral combat ships in San Diego. A 1992 graduate of the Naval Academy, Harrison has completed six deployments to the Southern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Omen and the Arabian Gulf.

The names of all Branch 70 members who have died in the past year will be read and commemorated during a two bell ceremony. The will also be a rifle salute and the playing of Taps.

Boy Scouts will be placing American flags on gravestones starting at 9:30 a.m.

In conjunction with Memorial Day, members of the Major Abraham J. Baum VFW Post 7766 will distribute the Buddy Poppy outside of Vons and Albertsons in Rancho Bernardo and Ralphs in 4S Ranch from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The poppies will also be available after this weekends masses at San Rafael Catholic Church in Rancho Bernardo.

While the poppies are free, the RB veterans will accept free-will donations to support their programs and philanthropic efforts. In the past these have included volunteering at and providing financial support to the annual Stand Down in Balboa Park, which helps homeless veterans; the local Veterans Affairs hospital; providing assistance to veterans and active duty military in emergency situations; and sponsoring Junior ROTC units at Westview and Orange Glen high schools.
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Memorial Day has always had a problem.

Originally called Decoration Day, it started after the Civil War as a day set aside for Americans to place floral tributes on the graves of soldiers who had died serving their country. May was chosen because it was the month when many flowers were in bloom.

Decoration Day was always observed on May 30, which often fell on a weekday. Many had to take time out of their work schedules to visit a cemetery and pay tribute to Americas heroes.

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But in 1968, with the name officially changed to Memorial Day, it was moved to the last Monday in May. It became one of five national holidays that, for the sake of convenience, was tacked onto a weekend.

Had Memorial Day been set in another, cooler month or had it not created a three-day weekend, its purpose might be better remembered. But it occurs just as Americans are ready to start celebrating summer. It is the return of the outdoor season and is strongly associated with picnics and barbecues. For the young, its meaning can get lost in the euphoria of the end of school.

The concern that the true purpose of Memorial Day has been lost is not a new one. Americans have been complaining for over a century that the day barely honors the fallen.

In 1872, Eliza Connor, a regular contributor to the Post who wrote under the pseudonym Zig, observed that Americans were using Decoration Day like a second Fourth of July. Though the Civil War was just a few years in the past, the purpose of the day was already being obscured by parades, brass bands, fireworks, and, worst of all, politics.

Decoration Day Zigs Letters

June 29, 1872 Decoration Day, May 30,  ought to be a day sacred to all the holy, gentle feelings of mortal nature, sacred to sweet memories and sweeter hopes. A day when strife, malice, envy, and all evil are banished utterly from our hearts, when, for one day, good should fill mens breasts wholly. I think that is what those who are gone would wish. But I fear there isnt very much reverence for the sacred, gentle emotions in us Americans. There isnt in us very much reverence for anything, I think, or else we should never turn a day set apart for visiting the graves of our dead friends into a Fourth of July. There is that which is absolutely shocking about the way Decoration Day is coming to be observed. I dont know how it is elsewhere, but here among us such an infernal hullabaloo was kept up all day that you couldnt hear your own ears. [Zig wrote from Indianapolis, Indiana.] At break of day the demonish din began. With the very first peep of light, aye, before it, we were affrighted from our slumbers by a thundering shot-gun cannonade right under our very windows. We bolted out of bed as if we ourselves had been shot, wondering in our scared bewilderment, if a New York mob wasnt coming, or indeed whether Old Nick himself wasnt after us. The shot-gun cannonading increased as the morning wore on, every minute being nearer, clearer, deadlier than before. What on earth could it mean? And it was not for two full hours that I remembered, with a blush for my fellow countrymen, that it was the thirtieth of May  a day sacred to the memory of the blessed dead. Later on in the day, they had processions of policemen, secret societies, and brass bands of music, and processions of citizens in carriages, and ladies and citizens on foot, and the Mayor and Council, and wagon loads of young ones, and that sort of thing, for all the world like a Fourth of July. I dont particularly remember to have heard any popping of torpedoes or explosions of shooting crackers, but I havent a doubt that next year they will go off lively, and I dare say fireworks will be added in the evening, and they will have special Decoration Day plays at the theatre, with dead soldiers in the show. It will be very nice, and just like the progressive spirit of Young America. But the most sacrilegious feature, the most abominably disgusting feature about Decoration Day is that the office-seekers have turned it into a day for electioneering and the firing-off of their accursed political popgunnery. Some despicable ward politician and there never was a ward politician who wasnt despicable  invariably gets hoist of the occasion, and spouts his small buncombe at folks till they are sick. It is simply outrageous. The man who played cards on his grandmothers coffin was guilty of no greater desecration. I wonder how the dead soldiers like it. Every year thousands and thousands of dollars are spent on Decoration Day. It is a day for pomp and vanity and show. Foolish people vie with each other in the number and variety of costly flowers which they purchase, much the same as horse-fanciers seek to out-do each other in the matter of fast trotters. There has been money enough spent in this foolish rivalry to feed, clothe, and educate every destitute soldiers orphan in the land. And if departed souls ever can behold the scenes of this life again, I know that many and many a brave man who laid down his life for his country, looks sorrowfully upon the roses which garland his grave on Decoration Day. Because his fellow countrymen and women cover his senseless clay with flowers, and leave the children whom he loved to become outcasts and street Arabs. It is really pitiful to remember how much some of the soldiers children have lost. And if the money which is thrown away every year on useless pomp and show, were spent to educate the orphan children, to train them to noble, virtuous lives, then our beloved soldiers graves would be decked with immortal flowers, and Decoration Day would be crowned with garlands which would grow greener with each succeeding year. Again, I think that is what those who are gone would wish. ZIG.

On this Memorial Day, some Americans will forget to honor the men and women who died in the countrys service. Others will remember but be unable to decorate a military grave. They can still honor the fallen by keeping a sense of gratitude for what the price our soldiers paid to protect our priceless legacy: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Featured image: Decoration Day, 1917. (Library of Congress)
Yaounde, Cameroon -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- FruitsMaid has announced to seek public support on Indiegogo for their amazing project of setting up a manufacturing plant for 100% organic fruit juice. It is a project from Cameroon, a country in Central Africa and the creators felt the need of providing natural and healthy juices to the massive population of the country that is deprived of healthy and nutritional food.



With an amazing and comprehensive plan of action, FruitsMaid aims to produce natural and healthy juice from fruits such as pineapple, ginger, carrots, beetroot, guavas, mandarins, grapefruits, oranges, papayas, lemons and coconuts, etc. The company aims to set up everything from manufacturing to distribution and sales mechanism.



The juices manufactured by FruitsMaid will have countless health benefits and they will mainly play a significant role in fighting obesity and diabetes. These juices will be prepared naturally without adding any sugar or other additives, making them entirely organic and natural. Due to the excessive use of carbonated sodas and other harmful drinks, there are several health conditions dramatically arising in the area and these juices will counter those illnesses at an affordable price.



The Indiegogo campaign is located on the web at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fruitsmaid-the-housewife-of-fruits and it offers everyone to find out more about this comprehensive project while making donations starting from $5. Moreover, people can also join this project as partners and they can literally take the benefits of the fruitful outcome of this project while remaining updated with the progress made by the team at all times.



About FruitsMaid

FruitsMaid is a healthy project from Cameroon in Central Africa and it aims to set up a complete manufacturing and distribution plant of healthy fruit juice. The region is rich and naturally blessed with a variety of delicious fruits and the creators of this project aim at getting the juices of these fruits for everyone. In order to do that, they have now launched an Indiegogo campaign and everyone is welcome to support FruitsMaid.



Contact:

Contact Person: Jerome maxime Akono Nkoa Olinga

Company: FruitsMaid

Address: MIMBOMAN MAETUR, YAOUNDE, CENTRE - CM

Phone: +237 695353896 / +237 671140873

Email: akono.nkoa.o@fruitsmaid.com

Website: www.fruitsmaid.com
Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- Latest industry research report on The Future of the Czech Republic Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022, published by Strategic Defence Intelligence, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.



In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following -



- The Czech Republic defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the Czech Republic defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the country's expenditure and modernization patterns



- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country



Request a Brochure of This Report, here: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/future-of-the-czech-republic-defense-industry-market-127909#RequestSample



- Porter's Five Force analysis of the Czech Republic defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry



- Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the country's imports and exports over the last five years



- Market opportunities: details of the top five defense investment opportunities over the next 10 years



- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the Czech Republic defense industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysis



Scope



- The Czech Republic's defense budget values US$2.15 billion in 2017, and registered a CAGR of 0.76% during the historic period. The urgent need to modernize the country's defense arsenal, especially in the wake of the current European migration crisis and Russia military aggression in Ukraine has woken the concerned authorities to the possibility of an armed conflict in Europe. Coupled with the country's participation in peacekeeping operations and counter terrorism, this has driven the Czech Republic defense expenditure during the historic period.



To Know More, Ask Our Expert @ http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/future-of-the-czech-republic-defense-industry-market-127909#InquiryForBuying



- The capital expenditure allocation, which declined at an average of -5.2% during the historic period, is expected to increase significantly by an average of 12.4% during the forecast period. Key opportunities for equipment suppliers are expected in sectors such as military radar, transport aircraft, infantry vehicles, and military helicopters.



- The MoD expected to invets in ammunition, weaponry, and equipment including new types of armament, new multi-role helicopters, infantry fighting vehicles, and air defense systems



Reasons to buy



- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the Czech Republic defense industry market trends for the coming five years



- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period



- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector



- A deep qualitative analysis of the Czech Republic defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contracts



About Market research Store

Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.



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Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- Latest industry research report on The Future of the Moroccan Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022, published by Strategic Defence Intelligence, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.



Key Findings



- Morocco's defense expenditure decreased from US$3.8 billion in 2013 to US$3.4 billion in 2017, at a CAGR of -2.80%. The decline in defense spending is primarily attributed to the drop-in exchange rates of Moroccan Dirham's (MAD) with respect to US dollars. The country consistently imports advanced arms and ammunitions such as fighter and training aircraft, ships, missiles, tanks, and frigates to strengthen its armed forces; a trend expected to continue over the forecast period. The defense budget is expected to increase from US$3.5 billion in 2018 to US$3.9 billion by 2022, reflecting a CAGR of 2.80%. Morocco's future procurement plan includes warplanes, helicopters, submarines, radar systems, and naval vessels.



Request a Brochure of This Report, here: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/future-of-the-moroccan-defense-industry-market-attractiveness-108811#RequestSample



- On a cumulative basis, the country is expected to invest US$18.6 billion for defense purposes, of which US$5.7 billion is earmarked for capital expenditure to fund defense procurements. The government's well-defined military modernization plans to counter influence of Algeria are expected to corner significant part of investment.



- The MoD is expected to invest in fighters and Diesel Electric Submarine, Military-IT and Networking and Anti-Tank Missiles over the coming years.



Synopsis



This report offers detailed analysis of the Moroccan defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.



In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:



- The Moroccan defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the Moroccan defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the country's expenditure and modernization patterns



- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country



- Porter's Five Force analysis of the Moroccan defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry



To Know More, Ask Our Expert @ http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/future-of-the-moroccan-defense-industry-market-attractiveness-108811#InquiryForBuying



Reasons To Buy



- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the Moroccan defense industry market trends for the coming five years



- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period



- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector



- A deep qualitative analysis of the Moroccan defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contracts



About Market research Store

Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.



Contact Us:

Joel John

3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,

Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, USA

USA Tel: +1-386-310-3803

GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714

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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- At present, Irelands' automotive retailing industry is acquiring a lot of business opportunities due to the enterprising innovations among top brands. Looking into this market development, a new study has been added to the huge online repository of Market Research Hub (MRH), with the title of ''Ireland Automotive Retailing - April 2017''. The study aims to offer a conclusive analysis of the market drivers, consumers and the developments among players in Ireland to offer significant market insights till 2022.



Request Free Sample Report : http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1068580



Currently, due to the rising need among people for cutting-edge technologies in cars, the developments and demands within this huge sector have changed rapidly. The report begins with the explicit overview of the industry where it presents the classifications and evaluates the critical issues within this market. It also explains about the executive summary of this industry through the introspection of the different issues faced in this sector. Furthermore, the main data concerning the market, market size and segmentation, as well as the market drivers are well analyzed in this section. Such significant factors related to the business of selling cars enable the investors to acquire new customers.



Another key facet of this report is the overview of the active players within Ireland. The study delves into the competitive strategies of key players while also considering key facts and recent developments. The top companies that created maximum profits are also analyzed namely, Agnew Group, BMW Ireland, Ford Ireland, Mercedes-Benz Ireland, Nissan Ireland, Peugeot Ireland, Renault Ireland, Volkswagen Ireland, Audi Ireland. The section also covers important data regarding these key companies and brands, such as Peugeot releasing self-driving concept vehicle named -Instinct, Renault introducing several electric cars and chargers in Sicily. This imperative information helps in identifying the dominant strategies among players to revise business modules accurately.



Browse Full Report with TOC - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/automotive-retailing-ireland-april-2017-report.html



In the conclusion of the report, it also describes on the vital innovation in this market such as auto manufacturers infotainment systems, Apple and Android occupying the void and Ford partnering with Amazon to bring Alexa. Furthermore, useful data about Designworks (BMW) collaborating with Shell to improve Hydrogen cars and the introduction of autonomous driving technology are also available. In this study, the readers can analyze the consumer in terms of aspects such as high car ownership and top methods of funding. The report portrays a decisive analysis of the present automotive retailing market scenario that can help to increase the number of sales.



About Market Research Hub

Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRH's expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.



MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.



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Anacortes, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- RealEstateInAnacortes.com, a trusted and experienced source for quality Oak Harbor real estate services announces record demand by active-duty military for single-family homes in the Oak Harbor area of Washington. Oak Harbor is just a few miles to the south of the Naval Air Station at Whidbey Island. Many active-duty military relocating to the area or being based in Whidbey Island often find it is more cost-effective to purchase a single-family home then it is to rent. This is perhaps why there's been such an increase in demand for single-family homes in Oak Harbor and other surrounding communities.



Oak Harbor and its neighboring city of Anacortes are known for high quality public schools and easy access to the Washington State ferry system as well as convenient drive times to both Vancouver Canada and Seattle Washington. In addition, Oak Harbor with its rural setting features homes that have beautiful waterfront views and homes that have large sized lots. Some buyers are choosing to purchase acreage and build their own home rather than buying a pre-existing structure. Either way, the demand only continues to increase throughout the Oak Harbor area real estate market.



Whidbey Island Naval Air Station traces its history back to the 1940s and has had a wide variety of military presence over the years. It is considered to be a very desirable military base because of its beautiful natural setting and easy access to many of the amenities that major cities have to offer. This recent announcement with regard to record demand by active-duty military for single-family homes in the Oak Harbor area of Washington is one more clear indicator that Washington state continues to see steady growth across all sectors of the current real estate market.



About RealEstateInAnacortes.com

RealEstateInAnacortes.com is an intuitive and easy to use website offering professional realtor services in Anacortes, WA. Nicole provides assistance to both buyers and sellers of real property throughout Anacortes and the surrounding communities. Nicole brings years of experience to the table in working with a full range of real estate deals in both the residential and commercial arenas. She offers clients dedicated and detailed services that include helping clients stage a home for sale as well as negotiating the best possible deal for buyers wishing to make an offer on a home in Anacortes. Nicole has a respected reputation for always staying in close contact with her clients. This can make a big difference when trying to close a real estate deal in Anacortes WA.



Contact: Nicole Haun

Email: Nicolemhaun@gmail.com

Location: Anacortes, WA

Web Address: http://www.realestateinanacortes.com/

Twitter: @HomesAnacortes
Petaling Jaya, Selangor -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- Rentokil Initial celebrates its 50th anniversary in Malaysia, as the industry leader for pest control and hygiene services. Here is a brief history on its founding in this multicultural country:



1903 - The origins of Initial brand traced back to 1903, when Mr A P Bigelow introduced towel rental service to the business establishments of London



1925 - Rentokil was founded by Harold Maxwell Lefroy in London



1967 - Rentokil began Pest Control operations in Malaysia



1982 - Sanitact Healthcare was introduced



1987 - Acquired Thomas Cowan and Co (M) Sdn Bhd



1991 - Washroom Hygiene business was established with the global acquisition of Calmic Hygiene services



1997 - Renamed to Rentokil Initial (M) Sdn Bhd



2001 to 2016 - Major acquisition of companies related to pest control and hygiene services, including CWS and Abadi Hygiene Services.



Today Rentokil Initial Malaysia has more than 1,200 employees who share the same objective in delivering quality services to more than 35,500 businesses and homes throughout the country by doing the Right Things in the Right Way.



Leading the market with innovations



Continuous introduction of new innovations reflects the company's ongoing commitment to deliver innovative solutions for pest control and hygiene services in today's urban world.



Rapid globalisation has led to many challenges from increasing pressure from pest and infectious diseases, hence the rise of international standards in food safety and hygiene regulatory changes. Rentokil Initial and BRC Global Standards have formed a strategic partnership to enable food safety risks mitigation through creation and adoption of new technology, solutions, industry best practice and standards.



With more emphasis on touchless designs, aesthetics and multisensory experience even in the washroom, Initial has Signature colour range and Premium Scenting solutions that are specifically designed to address these business needs. Besides the No-Touch technology which includes auto hand soap dispensers, hand sanitisers and feminine hygiene units (sanitary bins), Initial is also looking into new advanced sensing system in washrooms, designed to raise hand hygiene compliance.



Pest control is also not short of innovations like drones and sensing technology. Additionally, as part of the company's initiative to go green whilst improving customer experiences, they have launched applications including ServiceTrak, myInitial and myRentokil to improve service transparency and maximise efficiency.



Protecting People, Enhancing Lives



As a service organisation, they believe that it is their people with shared values, mission and vision who make the company what it is today. Rentokil Initial live by their mission - Protecting People from the dangers of pest-borne disease, the risks of poor hygiene or from injury in the workplace and Enhancing Lives with services that protect the health and wellbeing of people, and the reputation of their customers.



'Everyone Goes Home Safe' - number one responsibility



Rentokil Initial also strongly emphasise on the importance of good management of safety, health and environment in the business to deliver operational excellence and outstanding customer service.



They ensure their employees have the training and tools to enable them to do their job safely, while meeting environmental commitment; adopting best practice in all work procedures by understanding and evaluating all health and safety risks as well as environment impact.



"Rentokil Initial Malaysia is gratified to be an internationally recognised brand that is part of a global network. For 50 years as a dynamic organisation, we inculcate strong company values that shape the way we work, namely Service, Relationships, and Teamwork. We believe in working together, not just amongst ourselves, but also with our customers as a long-term partner whom they can trust to take care of their pest control and hygiene needs." Said Ms. Carol Lam, the Managing Director of Rentokil Initial Malaysia.



About Rentokil Initial Malaysia

At Rentokil Initial Malaysia, there are 2 brands that are focused on providing the best services with nationwide coverage, fast response and expert technical knowledge: Rentokil Pest Control and Initial Hygiene.



Visit http://www.rentokil-initial.com.my to find out how services by Rentokil Initial Malaysia can add value to different business sectors.



For media enquiries, please email louise.leong@rentokil-initial.com.

1300 885 911

15th Floor, Menara Yayasan Selangor No. 18A, Jalan Persiaran Barat 46000

Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Bangalore, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- General Report Contents

- Market Analyses include: Unit Sales, ASPs, Market Value & Growth Trends

- Market Drivers & Limiters for each chapter segment

- Competitive Analysis for each chapter segment

- Section on recent mergers & acquisitions



The total market for EMG monitoring includes both EMG monitoring devices and EMG consumables. This report considers the electro-diagnostic market which includes evoked potential studies (EP), nerve conduction studies (NCS), needle EMG and associated consumables.



EMG monitors accounted for the majority of the electromyogram monitoring market. In the consumables market, concentric needles account for most of the total market segment. Over the forecast period, consumables will represent a growing proportion of the total market due to a high demand for EMG procedures in the growing elderly demographic. The monitor market will remain flat, having reached saturation and operating on a replacement basis. Slight growth is expected in the total market as consumable sales increase and prices stabilize across segments. New electro-diagnostic EMG device purchases will be modest, driven primarily by replacement sales and alternate care sites are expected to show little demand moving forward. However, sales of consumables are expected to continue to rise and cause the market to grow towards the end of the forecast period. Despite competitive price cutting by vendors, growth within the market is still expected due to the established install base and increasing procedural volumes.



Electromyography (EMG) devices measure the electrical activity in muscles and the functionality of the nervous system to find the cause of muscle malfunctions. Disorders causing nerve impairment can affect muscle function, due to improper firing of electrical pulses. Some examples of nervous system complications include: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), carpal tunnel syndrome and myasthenia gravis (MG). EMG monitoring and diagnostic capabilities are limited to nerve and muscle function and are not able to diagnose brain or spinal cord diseases.



Spanning over 204 pages "South Korea Market Report for Electromyogram Monitoring and Diagnostics 2017 - MedCore" report covers Executive Summary, South Korea Market For Patient Monitoring Equipment Overview, Competitive Analysis, Market Trends, Market Developments, Research Methodology, Product Assessment, Electromyogram Monitoring And Diagnostic Market, Appendix. The report covered companies are - Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Medtronic, Omron Healthcare, Mindray, Nihon Kohden, Welch Allyn, Draeger Medical, Natus Medical, Mediana, Masimo, Boston Scientific, A&D Medical



For more information Visit at: http://www.drugpipeline.net/idata-research/south-korea-market-report-electromyogram-monitoring-and-diagnostics-2017-medcore



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Topeka, KS -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/25/2017 -- Stephen Hopkins was from Hampshire, England. He married his first wife, Mary, and resided in the parish of Hursley, Hampshire. They had three (3) children: Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles; all baptized there. It has long been claimed that the Hopkins family was from Wortley, Gloucester, but this was disproven in 1998 with the discovery of his true origins in Hursley.



http://mayflowerhistory.com/hopkins-stephen/



Stephen Hopkins went with the ship Sea Venture on a voyage to Jamestown, Virginia in 1609 as a minister's clerk, but the ship wrecked in the "Isle of Devils" (Bermuda). Stranded on an island for ten months, the passengers and crew survived on turtles, birds, and wild pigs. Six months into the castaway, Stephen Hopkins and several others organized a mutiny against the current governor. The mutiny was discovered and Stephen was sentenced to death. However, he pleaded with sorrow and tears. "So penitent he was, and made so much moan, alleging the ruin of his wife and children in this his trespass, as it wrought in the hearts of all the better sorts of the company." He managed to get his sentence commuted. Eventually the castaways built a small ship and sailed themselves to Jamestown. How long Stephen remained in Jamestown is not known. However, while he was gone, his wife Mary died. She was buried in Hursley on 9 May 1613, and left behind a probate estate which mentions her children Elizabeth, Constance and Giles.



Stephen was back in England by 1617, when he married Elizabeth Fisher, but apparently had every intention of bringing his family back to Virginia. Their first child, Damaris, was born about 1618. In 1620, Stephen Hopkins brought his wife and children Constance, Giles, and Damaris on the Mayflower (child Elizabeth apparently had died). Stephen was a fairly active member of the Pilgrim group shortly after arrival, perhaps a result of his being one of the few individuals who had been to Virginia previously. He was a part of all the early exploring missions, and was used as an "expert" on Native Americans for the first few contacts. While out exploring, Stephen recognized and identified an Indian deer trap. And when Samoset walked into Plymouth and welcomed the English, he was housed in Stephen Hopkins' house for the night. Stephen was also sent on several of the ambassadorial missions to meet with the various Indian groups in the region.



Stephen was an assistant to the governor through 1636, and volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637 but was never called to serve. By the late 1630s, however, Stephen began to occasionally run afoul of the Plymouth authorities, as he apparently opened up a shop and served alcohol. In 1636 he got into a fight with John Tisdale and seriously wounded him. In 1637, he was fined for allowing drinking and shuffleboard playing on Sunday. Early the next year he was fined for allowing people to drink excessively in his house: guest William Reynolds was fined, but the others were acquitted. In 1638 he was twice fined for selling beer at twice the actual value, and in 1639 he was fined for selling a looking glass for twice what it would cost if bought in the Bay Colony. Also in 1638, Stephen Hopkins' maidservant got pregnant from Arthur Peach, who was subsequently executed for murdering an Indian. The Plymouth Court ruled he was financially responsible for her and her child for the next two years (the amount remaining on her term of service). Stephen, in contempt of court, threw Dorothy out of his household and refused to provide for her, so the court committed him to custody. John Holmes stepped in and purchased Dorothy's remaining two years of service from him: agreeing to support her and child.



Stephen died in 1644, and made out a will, asking to be buried near his wife, and naming his surviving children.



BAPTISM: 30 April 1581 at Upper Clatford, Hampshire, England, son of John and Elizabeth (Williams) Hopkins.

FIRST MARRIAGE: Mary, possibly the daughter of Robert and Joan (Machell) Kent of Hursley, co. Hampshire, prior to 1604.

SECOND MARRIAGE: Elizabeth Fisher on 19 February 1617/8 at St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel, co. Middlesex, England.

CHILDREN (by Mary): Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles.

CHILDREN (by Elizabeth): Damaris, Oceanus, Caleb, Deborah, Damaris, Ruth, and Elizabeth.

DNA HAPLOGROUP: R1b-M269



Contact Adam Green!

c: 801-809-7766

e: g3president@comcast.net



Topeka Kansas General Society of Mayflower Descendant, Adam Paul Green (Ancestor Stephen Hopkins / Gen.No. 86,723) Introduces New Geneology Resource Website for Local Enthusiasts http://www.xocohealth.goodchocolateblog.com/



Women of Early Plymouth: Governor William Bradford reported that the Pilgrims were worried that the "weak bodies of women" would not be able to withstand the rigors of a trans-Atlantic voyage and the construction of a colony. Prior to the Mayflower, very few English women had made the voyage across the ocean.



Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke colony arrived in Virginia in 1587, and amongst those 120 colonists there were 17 women: a baby girl, Virginia Dare, was born after arrival. When re-supply ships came from England, they could not relocate the people. The colony had mysteriously disappeared, and was never seen again. The Jamestown Colony was founded in 1607, but relatively few women had yet made the voyage and taken up residence there.



The Pilgrim husband, as head of the household, had an important and difficult decision to make. Building a colony would be hard on a woman's "weaker body." It might be safer and healthier to leave her behind, and have her come later once the houses were built, and the general safety and successfulness of the colony were better established. But that could be several years. Could he live several years without his wife? How strong was his wife anyway, could she really handle it? Was it right to put your wife's life in danger in this manner?



As the Mayflower left England for America, there were 18 adult women on-board. Three of them, Elizabeth Hopkins, Susanna White, and Mary Allerton, were actually in their last trimester of a pregnancy. All the adult women on the Mayflower were married; there were no single women--although there were a few teenage girls nearing marriageable age.



While no women would die during the Mayflower's voyage, life after arrival proved extremely difficult. In fact, 78% of the women would die the first winter, a far higher percentage than for men or children. Dorothy Bradford was the first woman to die, and the only woman who died in the month of December. While many of the men, including her husband, were out exploring on Cape Cod, she accidentally fell off the Mayflower into the bitter cold waters of Provincetown Harbor. Most of the women's death dates were not recorded, but we do know that Rose Standish died on January 29, Mary Allerton died on February 25, and Elizabeth Winslow died on March 24. Most of the women died in February and March.



The extremely high mortality rate among women is probably explainable by the fact the men were out in the fresh air, felling trees, building structures and drinking fresh New England water; while the women were confined to the damp, filthy and crowded quarters offered by the Mayflower, where disease would have spread much more quickly. The two-month voyage was long enough; the women, however, remained living on the ship for an additional four months while the men built storehouses and living quarters on shore. Many of the sick were no doubt cared for on-board the ship by the women, increasing their exposure to colds and pneumonias. William Mullins died on February 21, apparently on-board the Mayflower since his will was witnessed by the ship's captain and ship's surgeon. His wife Alice and son Joseph had not yet died, but it wasn't too long before they did, orphaning their teenage daughter Priscilla in the New World.



Only five women survived the first winter. One of the five survivors, Mrs. Katherine Carver, died in May of a "broken heart," her husband John having died of sunstroke a month earlier. Weak bodies or not, by the time of the famous "Thanksgiving," there were only four women left to care for the Colony's fifty surviving men and children. The four women were Eleanor Billington, Elizabeth Hopkins, Mary Brewster, and Susanna (White) Winslow.



http://mayflowerhistory.com/women



The Mayflower was hired in London, and sailed from London to Southampton in July 1620 to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage--much of which was purchased at Southampton. The Pilgrims were mostly still living in the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. They hired a ship called the Speedwell to take them from Delfshaven, the Netherlands, to Southampton, England, to meet up with the Mayflower. The two ships planned to sail together to Northern Virginia. The Speedwell departed Delfthaven on July 22, and arrived at Southampton, where they found the Mayflower waiting for them. The Speedwell had been leaking on her voyage from the Netherlands to England, though, so they spent the next week patching her up.



On August 5, the two ships finally set sail for America. But the Speedwell began leaking again, so they pulled into the town of Dartmouth for repairs, arriving there about August 12. The Speedwell was patched up again, and the two ships again set sail for America about August 21. After the two ships had sailed about 300 miles out to sea, the Speedwell again began to leak. Frustrated with the enormous amount of time lost, and their inability to fix the Speedwell so that it could be sea-worthy, they returned to Plymouth, England, and made the decision to leave the Speedwell behind. The Mayflower would go to America alone. The cargo on the Speedwell was transferred over to the Mayflower; some of the passengers were so tired and disappointed with all the problems that they quit and went home. Others crammed themselves onto the already very crowded Mayflower.



Finally, on September 6, the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, and headed for America. By the time the Pilgrims had left England, they had already been living onboard the ships for nearly a month and a half. The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on 9 November 1620. The first half of the voyage went fairly smoothly, the only major problem was sea-sickness. But by October, they began encountering a number of Atlantic storms that made the voyage treacherous. Several times, the wind was so strong they had to just drift where the weather took them; it was not safe to use the ship's sails. The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia, which at the time included the region as far north as the Hudson River in the modern State of New York. The Hudson River, in fact, was their originally intended destination. They had received good reports on this region while in the Netherlands. All things considered, the Mayflower was almost right on target, missing the Hudson River by just a few degrees.



As the Mayflower approached land, the crew spotted Cape Cod just as the sun rose on November 9. The Pilgrims decided to head south, to the mouth of the Hudson River in New York, where they intended to make their plantation. However, as the Mayflower headed south, it encountered some very rough seas, and nearly shipwrecked. The Pilgrims then decided, rather than risk another attempt to go south they would just stay and explore Cape Cod. They turned back north, rounded the tip, and anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims would spend the next month and a half exploring Cape Cod, trying to decide where they would build their plantation. On December 25, 1620, they had finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings.



Adam Paul Green was born to a multi-talented beauty queen Mother and a Father who, in addition to being a US Army Spy and a Counter-Intelligence Special Agent, was also a highly accomplished entrepreneur. Adam was taught at a young age that, in both life and business, loyalty is a requirement for success. He's had the honor of working directly with his father in several of the family businesses. In fact, this is where he learned crucial entrepreneurial skills and honed his talents with international business strategies and venture capitalism. http://www.AdamPaulGreen.com , http://www.ImAdamGreen.com



Adam earned his Bachelors of Science Degree in International Business and Marketing from the University of Utah. He was hand-picked by the President of the University's renowned School of Business to compete with dozens of other ambitious nationwide-graduates for the opportunity to secure a lucrative job within a prestigious Fortune 100 company. http://www.Twitter.com/AdamPaulGreen



Adam's hard work and creativity helped him land this job of a lifetime. He obtained incredible business experience there and spent years innovating, improving processes and setting sales records. Although this dream job in Traditional Corporate America was a fun challenge for him, and something he truly enjoyed mastering, Adam's natural entrepreneurial spirit kept nudging him to do something more significant with his time and talents. http://www.MyChocolatePod.com , http://www.Facebook.com/AdamPaulGreen



Since 2001, Adam has been involved in the Health and Wellness Industry as a successful Entrepreneur, Broker, Product Developer and Manufacturer of Cosmeceutical products. During his career, he has worked with some of the most recognizable Fortune 500 businesses along with many top international Network Marketing companies. Adam has consistently proven his unique ability to help his clients achieve their goals through creative Distribution-Channel Placement, innovative Product Development and custom Manufacturing. Adam currently owns three profitable businesses.



Admittedly, Adam was not initially a fan of Network Marketing. He did not understand the business model because it was new to him. However, once he learned that the REAL focus of Direct Sales is to help average people get a taste of entrepreneurialism --- with minimal risk and at a low cost --- Adam was absolutely convinced of the potential with Multi-Level Marketing.



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About MayflowerHistory.com

MayflowerHistory.com, the Internet's most complete and accurate website dealing with the Mayflower passengers and the history of the Pilgrims and early Plymouth Colony. The website was first created back in 1994 (when the web was still mostly text!) as a simple, but complete, passenger list of the Mayflower. It has grown over the past twenty years as the author, historian Caleb Johnson, has researched and compiled material.



http://mayflowerhistory.com
[NAIROBI] Countries in Africa and South Asia should embrace inexpensive decentralised renewable energy (DRE) technologies for clean, sustainable and affordable power for all, says a report.

Most national governments are far from solving energy poverty, according to the report released last month (4 April) by Power for All  a global network that advocates for renewable energy.



Extending power to all, especially at a rapid pace to reach people in rural areas, cannot be done only through national centralised electricity grids, the report adds.

DRE systems offer an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the transition to modern energy services, especially in remote areas. Rabia Ferroukhi, International Renewable Energy Agency

An additional power generation is, therefore, needed to achieve universal access to all people and must come from DRE or off-grid renewable solutions.



Rebekah Shirley, research director at Power for All, tells SciDev.Net that DRE technologies such as microgrids and efficient cook stoves are key to solving energy poverty and ensuring that rural dwellers  who are also the most vulnerable to climate change  can access modern electricity solutions.



When innovative technologies are implemented in Africa, they will provide energy and aid food preservation activities such as drying, cooling and cooking, Shirley explains, adding that DRE technologies could support the social, economic, environmental and sustainable development of communities through improved livelihoods, well-being and quality of life.



But Shirley calls for empowerment of women in energy decisions to boost generating renewable energy, particularly those related to energy access, household consumption and micro-enterprises, where women are primary actors.



The report cites Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Tanzania as leading the world in adoption of solar energy technology systems including use of solar energy for powering homes.



Rabia Ferroukhi, head of policy unit at International Renewable Energy Agency, United Arab Emirates, says DRE systems generate and distribute energy services independently of any centralised system.



DRE systems offer an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the transition to modern energy services, especially in remote areas, by substituting centralised systems while also offering significant co-benefits such as improved health, positive impacts on income growth, distributive equity and climate change mitigation, Ferroukhi explains.

Ferroukhi adds that African and South Asian governments and private sectors should invest in these technologies and form a DRE task force that will act as a powerful collaboration tool to bridge the goals of a rural electrification agency and the interests of the renewable energy association to accelerate universal energy access.Charles Sebukeera, UN Environment Programme's Science Division regional coordinator for Africa, tells SciDev.Net that at the current level of funding (US$9 billion per year), it is not possible to achieve universal access to energy in Africa.Investments of up to US$40 billion per year are to achieve this, and building capacity for innovative technologies in Africa is also required for the provision of clean energy to people, says Sebukeera.This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
A new discovery of 7.2 million-year-old pre-human remains found in Bulgaria and Greece has changed the history that was being thought until now. It reveals that Europe was the birthplace of mankind, and it is not Africa, as it was known till date. It has also been revealed that before several hundreds of thousands of years ago, humans split off from the great apes.

According to The Telegraph, scientists have discovered two fossils of an ape-like creature, which can be considered as pre-human remains because it has human-like teeth. The fossil hominid has been named as Graecopithecus freybergi by the scientists. The lower jaw has been found in Greece and an upper premolar has been found in Bulgaria.

The discovery of these pre-human remains proves and sheds light on the statement that the ancestors of human beings started to evolve 200,000 years ago before the African hominid. Therefore, Europe is the real birthplace for the species of human beings.

These pre-human findings have changed the entire human history till date. Utilizing computer tomography, scientists could picture the inner structures of the fossils and demonstrate that the underlying foundations of premolars are broadly intertwined.

Phys.org reported that the study on pre-human remains also proves that there was a common ancestor for both chimpanzees and humans. The common ancestor is the 'missing link', but the split of the human lineage occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean. Around then environmental change had transformed Eastern Europe into an open savannah which constrained chimps to discover new sustenance sources, starting a move towards bipedalism, the analysts accept.

The research on the pre-human remains was headed by Professor Madelaine Bohme from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tubingen and Professor Nikolai Spassov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The research study has been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
On Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution, he mentioned that humans first evolved in Africa. Now, recent research claims that human first evolves in Europe and not in Africa.

On Charles Darwin's theory, Africa is where the closest relatives of primates like gorillas and chimpanzees live, that's why he believed that human had first evolved in Africa. Now, the belief that chimpanzees are the closest relative of human asks for further explanation, Phys.org reported.

According to History, lately, two fossils were found in Bulgaria and in Greece which brings forward a new conclusion on the issue of where the first human had evolved. The fossils of a jawbone and teeth which are believed to have lived 7.2 million years ago were found out as a hominin and not an ape. Hominin is said to be the real human ancestor, so, if this will be found out to be true, the current theory of human evolution of Charles Darwin could be changed.

Besides, the discovery would contradict the theory that human had first evolved in Africa and would suggest Europe as the spot. Meanwhile, the theory of evolution said that human had split from apes seven million years ago. And in about two million years, the early humans or hominins are said to have lived in Africa before they have migrated to Asia and Europe.

Consequently, scientists from the University of Tubingen, Germany, and the University of Toronto, Canada believes that the story goes the other way around. They said that the first human had evolved in Europe and not in Africa 200,000 years earlier that what had been believed. Besides, the scientists strongly believe that the discovery of the two fossils in Bulgaria and Greece could be their proof.

The lower jaw or mandible fossil of the said first human evolution was found in Greece in the year 1944. While the upper premolar tooth was found in 2009 in Bulgaria. Both fossils are said to belong from an ape-like creature from the Mediterranean. If this is true, then history would be changed claiming that the first human had evolved in Europe and not in Africa that was previously believed.
Microsoft recently announced its new Surface Pro device last May 23, 2017 on Shanghai. Some people prefer to call it as the Surface Pro 5 because it is the successor of the fourth model. But reports claim that the device is simply a Surface Pro, because Microsoft abandoned the number this time. The device also comes with other product that bears the Surface brand.

According to CNBC, the new Microsoft Surface Pro is like a tablet that approximately doubles a laptop's price if consumers purchase it with the Microsoft's keyboard accessory. The new Surface Pro is probably the most versatile device ever made by Microsoft, which is why it is very appealing to consumers.

The Microsoft Surface Pro also comes with longer battery life and faster processors. The company is hoping that its new features and improvements will help it rival newer laptop-tablet hybrids from Samsung, Apple and others. The new Microsoft Surface Pro also has a touchscreen display and a support for stylus pen input.

As noted by Tech Crunch, Microsoft is making a huge comeback for the Surface line after it had lost its way for what seemed like decades. The new Microsoft Surface Pro price starts at $799 without a keyboard or stylus pen. The device runs on a special version of Windows 10 called Windows 10 S. Its new operating system will also help the device to run smoother and faster.

The Microsoft Surface Pro has ports like USB 3, micro SD, 3.5 mm headset and a Surface connector. The device weighs 770 grams, it is just a few grams heavier compared to its predecessor. The device has a battery life of 13.5 hours. The Surface Pro is powered by the latest Intel's Kaby Lake processor. Its stylus pen can also sense when users tilt it like the Apple Pencil and has 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity.
Scientists have discovered an extra layer of tectonic plates in the Earths mantle. The newly detected tectonic plates have been found in East Asia and could help in explaining mysterious earthquakes between Fiji and Australia.

A new imaging technique, which uses earthquake data to help scientists visualize the inner structure of the Earth, was used to discover multiple tectonic plates that were subducted 50 to 60 million years ago into the mantle. Incidentally, the Earth's mantle is a 3,000 km (1,864 miles) layer of solid rock that moves like a really thick liquid under the crust. The crust moves along when the mantle moves and that is what causes tectonic plates to shift around.

According to Science Alert, a huge slab of ancient Earth has been imaged under Tonga that is expected to travel almost as fast as the tectonic plates at the surface. Tonga is a tiny island in the Pacific beneath which a majority of the worlds deep earthquakes occur.

"Basically, 90 percent of Earth's deep seismicity (more than 500 km deep) occurs at the Tonga area where we have found our long, flat slab," geologist Jonny Wu of the University of Houston told The Guardian.

The discovery of the tectonic plates could answer many important geological questions, such as what has been causing the Vityaz earthquakes -- the violent, deep earthquakes that have been traced to the mantle between Fiji and Australia. According to the research team, plates sliding in the mantle can lead to deeper earthquakes similar to the process when plates' sliding in the crust causes regular earthquakes.

It should be noted that the research is only preliminary at this point and has not been peer-reviewed. However, according to the scientists, the discovery shows that Earth is hiding a whole lot -- quite a bit of which lurks beneath the surface.
Lost City of Z

Myrna Loy

(PG-13)

Grade: B+

Great movie directors love to take boat rides up jungle rivers.

Werner Herzog sent Klaus Kinski up the Amazon River in Aguirre, the Wrath of God.

Francis Ford Coppola sent Martin Sheen up the Nung River (aka Mekong River) in Vietnam in Apocalypse Now.

Undoubtedly inspired by both tragic boat trips, director James Gray sends Charlie Hunnam up the Amazon river in Bolivia and Brazil to search for a lost city full of gold -- perhaps the legendary golden city of El Dorado.

We know this cant end well, but its fascinating to see where the tributaries will go before arrows fly and soldiers sink.

In fairness, our hero, Percy Fawcett, survives aboard his raft, although not all his crew were so lucky, suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

But, in the end, Fawcett vanishes into the Amazon jungle.

Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867-1925) was an English soldier who rose to fame through his search for hidden Indian kingdoms in South America. He never returned from his final such mission, leading to historical headlines such as The Lost City of Z and the mysterious disappearance of Percy Fawcett.

The film Lost City of Z seems a relatively faithful adaptation of his life, ending with some poetic conjecture on what might have happened on his last trip into the jungle.

The film is structured like a spiral, with each of multiple expeditions traveling a similar route, but circling deeper each time. The script surmises that on his final trip, with his son as his partner, Fawcetts good fortune runs out as an Indian leader asks that Fawcetts soul be prepared for its next journey.

If Lost City were only a jungle adventure, wed be bored in 30 minutes. In fact, that first half hour is slow and even dull.

But Fawcetts quest then becomes more spiritual than military. He befriends Indians in Bolivia and Brazil and gains their trust. He believes the Lost City will prove what hes always believed -- that these tribes have created a civilization as advanced as mighty England. Fawcett resents slavery and bigotry, and his mission is a moral crusade on behalf of the Indians of South America.

Fact check: Biographers say that Fawcett was not quite as progressive as the script suggests. He did defend the Indians and urge non-violence, but he also believed that any golden city was likely traceable to European influence.

Fawcetts obsession wears on his family and his wife Nina. His wife becomes weary when Fawcetts trips turn from duty to obsession. His children are growing up without a father and she is sleeping alone.

His spiritual quest and the sacrifice of his family lift Lost City from an adventure to a complex portrait of man who is both noble and tragic. His partners on the first trips decline the final one, sensibly choosing family over the search for gold.

Lost City is not on the level of Aguirre or Apocalypse, but it is a thoughtful character portrait set in the lush jungles of South America. The final ominous scenes are simultaneously breathtaking and heartbreaking.

Fawcett sent letters home to his wife to quell her fears. His last letter came just days before he vanished.

We hope to get through this region in a few days, he wrote. You need have no fear of any failure.

He failed.

His wife searched for him for the rest of her life, always holding hope her husband and son would return. He was never found, nor was the Lost City of Z.

For those thirsting for an adventure, El Dorado still awaits.

Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight,

In sunshine and in shadow,

Had journeyed long,

Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

Edgar Allan Poe
Bob Marshall Trails Day event

This year, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation will hold a National Trails Day event in partnership with the USFS to complete a variety of trails and trailhead-related tasks including drainage work, clearing and gravel hauling.

On Saturday, June 3, volunteers will contribute to our country's wilderness heritage by working on popular trails in The Bob. This year, the group is focusing on popular trails departing from the Indian Meadows trailhead located near Lincoln. After a day of work, volunteers will be treated to a tailgate barbecue at the Indian Meadows Cabin from 4-6 p.m. Registration is required.

For more information about National Trails Day, to learn how to donate, or how to volunteer, contact Jessica Evans at trails@bmwf.org or 406-387-3822.

Does my boat need to be inspected?

Confused about whether or not you need to get your watercraft inspected for aquatic invasive species? Dont worry, this year in Montana the answer is simpler than you might think.

Are you bringing your boat into Montana from out of state? You need to be inspected prior to launching.

Are you crossing the Continental Divide into the Columbia River Basin? You need to be inspected prior to launching.

Are you encountering an open inspection station? If you have a watercraft with you, you must stop and get inspected.

These rules are not just good ideas, theyre the law. But to make sure your inspection is quick and easy, remember to Clean, Drain, and Dry.

Dont forget your AIS prevention pass

A new program initiated by the 2017 Montana Legislature and recently signed into law by Gov. Steve Bullock is helping fund the fight against aquatic invasive species in Montana.

The Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Pass was approved as part of Senate Bill 363 and is required for all anglers. The cost is $2 for residents and $15 for nonresidents.

The AIS Prevention Pass will be available at all Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks license providers and online beginning May 19. Anglers who have already purchased licenses will need to go online or to a license provider and purchase the new pass.

The 2017 Legislature provided additional funding for FWPs aquatic invasive species program after the discovery last fall of aquatic invasive mussel larvae in water samples from Tiber Reservoir. A sample from Canyon Ferry Reservoir also turned up suspect for the mussel larvae.

To be very clear: The new AIS prevention pass will be required for all anglers, including those who have purchased a license prior to May 19.

Also, because it is a separate program and not a fee increase, the pass can be purchased by non-anglers as well who would want to help contribute to Montanas fight against aquatic invasive species.

Ranger Talks at Buffalo Jump State Park

Montana State Parks will offer Ranger Talks at the Jump at First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park every Sunday at 1 p.m. from May 29 through Sept. 3.

Join use to hear an interpretive ranger talk at the top of the jump. Learn how the First Peoples drove the bison over the edge as you take in views of the surrounding mountains and buttes. These free interpretive talks meet at the Upper Visitor Area and last about 30 minutes. Presentations are weather dependent and may be cancelled in case of rain.

First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park is located 10 miles south of Great Falls on I-15, take Ulm exit, then 3.5 miles North-west on paved county road.

For more information, call the park visitor center at 406-866-2217 or visit the park on Facebook or visit stateparks.mt.gov/first-peoples-buffalo-jump/.

Learn to Fish Program at Montana Wild

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is offering a new program on June 5 and June 26 that will help you learn basic fishing techniques, fish identification, regulations, and proper handling of fish. The short program begins at 6:30 p.m. and following the program, everyone will be supplied with all the equipment to spend the evening fishing at Spring Meadow Lake in Helena.

Pre-registration is required and no fishing license is required for program participants. To pre-register call 444-9944 or stop by Montana WILD.

Comment sought on open field dog training

A new Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks administrative rule to help clarify an existing statute related to training hunting dogs in the open field around wild game birds is open for public comment.

Montana law prohibits the training of hunting dogs within one mile of nesting birds, wildlife management areas or game preserve without a permit. However, no permitting process is in place and the statute is relatively vague. The proposed rule provides some definition to the existing statute by defining bird nesting areas, open fields and where people can apply for a permit.

The new rule is in response to the recent instances of large-scale dog trainers coming to Montana to train bird hunting dogs on wild birds, often on public land. These trainers are often working with dozens of dogs, follow on horses and are in the field at a time that is problematic for gamebirds -- when hen birds are raising their broods.

The proposed rule provides clarity for the agency in regard to enforcement of the current statute.

Comment on the proposed rule must be submitted by June 9. A copy of the rule and a place to submit comments can be found online at fwp.mt.gov, under news and public notices. Written comments can be submitted attention Mike Lee, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701.

Mule Days event coming to Whitehall

The 33rd annual Montana Mule Days is June 9-11 at the rodeo grounds in Whitehall. Mule Days is Montanas only mule and donkey show.

Events include riding, driving, youth and adult classes. The weekend includes big hitches, log pulls, chariot racing and more. Doors open at 8 a.m. Admission is $5 per day or you can purchase a three-day pass for $10. More than 130 classes will be offered over the three days.

There will be a variety of vendors available and a saddle, especially made for a mule will be raffled.

For more information or for entry forms go to montanamuledays.com.

Master Naturalist course open for registration

Taught by local natural resource experts, this is a five-day intensive course that runs June 19-24. Master Naturalist training consists of 40 hours of instruction including outdoor investigations and Montana Wild classroom time. We'll cover a wide range of topics and give you basic skills and in-depth knowledge to be a Helena Master Naturalist.

Cost is $140 (40 OPI credits are available). If you want the Montana Master Naturalist certification an additional $100 goes to the Montana Naturalist History Center. Register by calling Kurt Cunningham at 444-9939

This course is led by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and several partners. For more information including an agenda go to the Montana Discovery Foundations website at: www.montanadiscoveryfoundation.org/programs/helena-master-naturalist/.
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Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has made a visit to Scunthorpe tonight (Thursday, May 25) ahead of the General Election.

Mr Prescott was in the town to attend a social evening organised by Labour Party supporters at Cafe Indiependent, on the High Street.

The event had been planned for several weeks and went ahead as election campaigning resumed locally, having been suspended following the terrorist attack in Manchester on Monday (May 22).

Proceeds from a collection and a raffle at the event will go towards a fund set up in memory of the victims of the attack, which left 22 people dead.

And Mr Prescott, who was the Labour MP for Hull East from 1970 to 2010, said as campaigning ahead of the election resumed, the tragedy would remain in his thoughts.

Speaking to the Scunthorpe Telegraph, he said: It has been a terrible week and everybody is concerned about when we can get into campaigning but things have happened now, we go back to doing the campaigning and we are not going to let them stop elections.

To have accepted that means you are telling the terrorists that when any election comes along, you can't stop the democratic process.

Our thoughts are constantly with the terrible tragedy in Manchester and it can't go from our minds.

It is probably the most traumatic kind of thing and I have been involved in some of them as government, like when we had 7/7 and the Omagh bombing, and they are terrible."

Looking ahead to the election, Mr Prescott said he thought Labour had a very good case" to win the vote in the Scunthorpe constituency.

He said: We have been here before and I have been here on many occasions.

We are coming here to win, we never come to lose.

We have got a very good case to win and we started some weeks ago."

Speaking about the manifestos unveiled nationally by Labour and the Conservative Party, Mr Prescott said: We have now got two manifestos  one is blue and the other is red.

One is about the future of the communities and all of us and the other is leopards changing spots."

Mr Prescott said after travelling around on his battle bus, nicknamed The Prescott Express, he thought the atmosphere was changing and belief among Labour supporters was growing.

Nic Dakin, Labour's candidate for the Scunthorpe constituency, has held the seat since 2010.

And Mr Prescott said he thought it was important for Scunthorpe to have a Labour MP.

He said: The Government talked a great deal about an industrial strategy but they did very little to deal with steel and left it out on its own.

An industrial strategy is something Nic Dakin and I have been talking about for the Humber.

The Humber is growing, with companies like Siemens and more.

We have got to make sure the powers coming back from Europe come back to the English regions, not to central Government.

It is not only the steel industry, it is the energy industry.

This hasn't been developed as it could have been but its time has now come."

Mr Dakin said: It has been a truly dreadful week and what has happened in Manchester was awful and for everybody across the country, including locally here, our thoughts and prayers are with the families directly affected and communities affected, particularly in the great city of Manchester.

People from far and wide were affected and to target a teenagers' concert is just pure evil really.

The response of the emergency services and the health workers and everybody who responded to the emergency was, as always, fabulous and we can't praise them highly enough for their determination to do their best in challenging circumstances."

On returning to campaigning, Mr Dakin said: We have gone back to campaigning today, in line with the national agreement.

When you have something so awful happen, it does take away the momentum of normal political argument and debate, which was in full swing prior to this."

Labour currently holds a majority of 3,134 in the Scunthorpe constituency.

Mr Prescott followed Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and Shadow Housing Minster John Healey in visiting the town.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party have made the seat one of its targets in the north and both Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond have visited the area in recent weeks.

The Conservative candidate for the Scunthorpe constituency is Holly Mumby-Croft, while the Liberal Democrats have nominated Ryk Downes to contest the seat and Andrew Talliss will be standing for the UK Independence Party.
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It isn't the first time and it is unlikely to be the last time: Primark has got its customers in a frenzy again thanks to a low-priced item in its make-up range.

The retailer took to Instagram to launch its new 'Bronze' collection, which includes make-up, nail varnish, highlighters and body powder.

But the product that's really got people talking is the new eyeshadow and highlighter palettes.

Some social media users are even comparing the budget beauty items to those stocked by leading beauty brands, such as Urban Decay's NAKED palettes, the Liverpool Echo reports.

The good news for Primark fans, however, is that their version is priced at just 4.

After the store enjoyed huge success with the likes of its gingham dresses, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the 'Bronze' collection flying off the shelves equally as quickly at the Scunthorpe store.
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The UK's terror threat level is at "critical" following the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Areana.

A total of 22 people died in the attack and up to 64 people were injured when suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated an improvised explosive device.

In the wake of the attack, armed police have been patrolling streets in towns and cities around the country, including in Scunthorpe, and almost 1,000 military personnel have been deployed to key sites such as Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street.

The Prime Minister has warned more attacks could be imminent. Theresa May was chairing a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall on Thursday morning. A nationwide minute's silence, in memory of the victims, was being observed at 11am.

Operation Temperer has been launched, with up to 5,000 soldiers available to be deployed to streets around the country.

(Image: PA)

What the threat levels mean

According to the security service MI5, threat levels are designed to "give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack". Britain was last at "critical" in June 2007, but the threat had been judged "severe" - the second highest level - since August 2014.

LOW means an attack is unlikely.

MODERATE means an attack is possible, but not likely

SUBSTANTIAL means an attack is a strong possibility

SEVERE means an attack is highly likely

CRITICAL means an attack is expected imminently

How the threat levels are decided

The threat level from international terrorism is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) and takes into account a range of circumstances. These include:

Available intelligence;

Terrorist capability;

Terrorist intentions;

Timescale - how close an attack might be to fruition.

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How you should respond

MI5 says threat levels to not "require specific responses from the public". However, the MI5 website recommends the following:

Vigilance is vital regardless of the current national threat level. It is especially important given the current national threat.

Be aware of the national threat levels. It explains the content for the various security measures (for example airport security or bag searches) which we may encounter in our daily lives.

If you have information about possible terrorist activity, call the Anti-Terrorist hotline on 0800 789321.

The Anti-Terrorist hotline is for tip-offs and confidential information. For warnings about possible bombs or other urgent threats, please call 999.

What is Operation Temperer?

Operation Temperer was drawn up in 2015 with the military tasked to provide 5,000 troops at a time of national emergency in a variety of roles.

It was partially activated in March 2016 in the wake of the attack on Brussels, but Theresa May has become the first Prime Minister to deploy Operation Temperer in full.

Armed troops will guard key locations such as Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, the Palace of Westminster and embassies.

Soldiers could also be deployed to support police at major events such as the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday or the Champions League final in Cardiff on June 3.

So far it has been announced 984 military personnel will be deployed, with up to 3,800 available.
Ken Tooles recent commentary on NorthWestern Energy executive salaries and in particular the compensation of CEO Bob Rowe has given me an enormous sinking-of-heart. Ken has been a Public Service Commission regulator and legislator, and knows how the system of investor-owned utilities works. More important, he knows Bob Rowe. I feel certain he knows, as I do, that there is not a more visionary, informed, and gracious leader in the state of Montana. Kens editorial is a grim reminder to what depths our civic conversation has sunk.

I retired this past month as a member of NorthWesterns Board of Directors. This was an astonishing chapter for an old Montana Democratic representative. Since my election by the shareholders, I have witnessed the revival of NorthWestern Energy. It has been astonishing, including (to my greatest pride) the acquisition of our hydro generation system, along with lots of other renewable generation and sustainable pilot projects, to the point that the electricity delivered to your home and businesses is nearly 60 percent renewable. Also important to me is that in this same period we have seen NorthWestern receive very honorable national recognition  for corporate transparency, trustworthiness, and customer satisfaction, just to mention a few.

The credit for these achievements belongs with NorthWesterns employees and executives, led by Bob Rowe. Bob came to Montana many years ago as a lawyer for legal services with VISTA, representing low-income people on utility matters.

For just a few specifics, if you want to wade into the weeds: (1) NorthWesterns proxy statement has voluntarily published a CEO-to-employee salary ratio for a number of years, even though it is not required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) because of Bob and the boards support of transparency. The CEO-to-employee pay ratio at NorthWestern is 22-to-1, a far cry from the 204-to-1 average ratio Ken cites; (2) much of Bobs compensation is based on performance and not base salary  that is to say, it is contingent on the performance of NorthWestern and not a guarantee; (3) Bobs stock-based compensation is paid by shareholders, not customers; (4) shareholders vote annually  more often than what is required by the SEC -- on all executive salaries, and those votes have been highly supportive; (5) to lure an outstanding CEO to NorthWestern, the board has to offer a competitive salary, and the board worries about retention because Bobs base pay is at the low end compared to peer utilities; (6) an outstanding CEO has to understand new technology, new policy, new trends, new customer needs, new risks, new workplace needs, and new cyber challenges, just to mention a few news. Bob is a perfect fit.

NorthWestern Energy is an extraordinary company with billions of dollars of infrastructure and hundreds of good-hearted employees dedicated to serve Montana, charging rates well below the national average. Our modern infrastructure, critical to Montanas comfort and progress, doesnt even have deferred maintenance, unlike most of our government-run infrastructure which is perilously close to serious problems.

I look to the day when we start working together in good faith for the well-being of our Montana communities and our future. This mean-spirited quarreling is getting us nowhere. The challenges of our future are extraordinarily serious. I am ever more certain that our survival is dependent on better trust, partnership and cooperation. Honestly, Ken  you, Bob and I have known each other for so many years. Please, lets start moving forward together.

Dorothy Bradley lives near Clyde Park and served as a NorthWestern Energy board member before stepping down in late April.
The result was the company slumped to a MYR2.34m for Q1 loss from a slim MYR534,000 profit in the previous corresponding period.

PDZ said in a stock market announcement that its ocean liner business was affected by the arrest of two vessels earlier this year and this resulted in holding costs while the vessels remain under arrest, which also contributed to the loss.

In addition, PDZ also racked up higher operating expenses due to professional fees and legal costs, it explained. PDZ did not provide segmental results.

"Nevertheless, the company continues to receive support from existing and new customers for its logistics solutions services, all of which bodes well for the group, on the back of improving shipping industry prospects," PDZ said.

The group said it would expand into more profitable under-served regional routes, boost vessel maintenance for increased operational efficiency, purchase containers and more vessels and invest in other complementary businesses or assets.

Looking ahead PDZ said: "The shipping industry is expected to improve in the coming years with manufacturing across Asia's three largest economies of China, Japan and India having gained momentum, not forgetting the growth in Europe and US, albeit with some policy changes in the industry."
Following its agm in Taipei the Asian Shipowners Association (ASA) said that one area of concern is practical on board compliance with the work and rest hour provisions of MLC 2006 and STCW.

The ASA is given to understand that some ships may not be maintaining correct records of work/rest hours, and urges all members to ensure that records are maintained correctly, the association said.

In addition, the ASA requests its members to support the master if instances are reported when the requirements are difficult to comply with.

Chairman of the ASA Seafarers Committee, Fu Xiangyang, also highlighted the issue of fatigue and that compliance with the STCW and MLC 2006 were an important step in this regard.

In an apparent reference the growth in onboard internet and the use of social media by seafarers in their free time, ASA added: It is also important to impress on seafarers that rest is essential, and that other distractions should be kept to a minimum during rest periods so as to combat fatigue.
The merger was completed in Hamburg on Wednesday some 10 months after the business combination agreement (BCA) was signed between the two container lines. The merger was originally slated for completion on 31 March 2017 but ran it complexities in terms of documentation pushing the deadline back to 31 May.

The merged company will be the worlds fifth largest container line with 230 vessels with a total capacity of 1.6m teu.

With the merger Qatar Investment Authority and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia have become key shareholders in Hapag-Lloyd with 14.4% and 10.1% stakes respectively.

With the merger Hapag-Lloyd will be adding a fifth region to its global structure with a regional headquarters in the Middle East.

We now not only have a very strong market position in Latin America and the Atlantic, but also in the Middle East, where we will become one of the leading carriers. Our priority now is a smooth and fast integration of UASC and Hapag-Lloyd, said Rolf Habben Jansen ceo of Hapag-Lloyd.

The company plans to start integrating 118 Hapag-Lloyd services with the 45 services of UASC in eight weeks time through to the end of the third quarter.

Hapag-Lloyd aims to achieve annual synergies of $435m from the merger.

Hapag-Lloyd has long-term and extensive know-how when it comes to acquisitions. By merging with the Canadian shipping company CP Ships in 2005 and, more recently, with CSAV in 2014, we have demonstrated that we are able to combine businesses and integrate them quickly, efficiently and profitably, said Habben Jansen. We are optimistic that we will be able to complete the integration of UASC by the end of this year.
Our family wants to thank Dr. Donald Skillman and pharmacist Brian Heeney from the St. Peters Medical Group for their generous advice and support recently in dealing with a health crisis our son Clay is undergoing. Clay was in the Panamanian jungle when he was bitten by an insect and infected with a dangerous parasite called Leishmaniasis. We reached out to infectious disease specialist Dr. Donald Skillman, whom has studied this illness extensively. Dr. Skillman recommended a drug that is produced in Canada which is much more effective and far less toxic than the one Clay was receiving in Panama. However, the drug is extremely expensive and St. Peters pharmacist Brian Heeney found that Clays insurance would not cover the cost of the drug, so he personally contacted the pharmaceutical company and they donated the drug to Clay. He is now in Helena and has begun treatment. There are no words to adequately express our gratitude to these two compassionate and knowledgeable health professionals who went well above and beyond the normal call of duty to administer such excellent care, and to Profounda Pharmaceuticals for their inestimable help in treating Clays disease.
Neighbors join together to clean up Eastern. Photo courtesy Erin Byrnes.

Photo courtesy Erin Byrnes.

The houses and businesses in Dearborn's Eastborn neighborhood reflect the diversity of its people. Stately brick homes neighbor modest vinyl-sided ones on lots considered small by today's standards. The houses--mostly built in the 1940s and 1950s, though it's clear where older houses have been demolished for the construction of bigger, modern homes--are full of all sorts of families, white, black, Middle Eastern, and more.It's a demographic that's always changing, says Michael Bewick, Executive Director of the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority. He points out a Mexican family opening a restaurant on Michigan Avenue, also Eastborn residents.Bewick's office is located on the southern border of the Eastborn neighborhood, a collection of homes, businesses, schools, and places of worship bound by Ford Road to the north, Oakman Boulevard to the east, Michigan Avenue to the south, and Greenfield Road to the west.For Bewick, Eastborn is a reflection of Dearborn as a whole."A lot of the neighborhoods in the city are very similar in the fact that the majority of the neighbors get along with each other and they're always looking out for each other," he says.In that regard, Eastborn is no different. That was on full display this past Saturday, May 20, for Eastborn Neighborhood Cleanup Day. An estimated 80 volunteers gathered to pick-up litter and trash in a neighborhood-wide beautification campaign. Residents, Fordson High School and Woodworth Middle School students, members of the Dearborn Police and Fire departments, and business owners in the EDDDA all gathered to pick up their neighborhood.The Cleanup Day was first organized in 2014 by Erin Byrnes, who grew up in Dearborn and is still heavily involved in the community. After attending Eastborn Neighborhood Association meetings, Byrnes listened to and learned from Eastborn residents. The Cleanup grew out of those conversations.This year's Cleanup Day started from its original central meet-up point, Argyle-Williamson Park, but also grew to include City Hall Park. Byrnes grew up playing in Argyle-Williamson, and is thankful for the opportunity to return and make a meaningful and positive impact there. In addition to the cleanup, volunteers planted flowers and perennials."Eastborn is home. This means the world to me," says Byrnes. "It's been phenomenal in terms of the energy and wonderful sense of community we've experienced. It's our hope that the cleanup builds on that."Just as how neighboring residents are working together, so, too, are the businesses. And there are a lot of businesses in Eastborn. The neighborhood is bounded by Ford Road and Michigan Avenue, a state trunkline highway and United States highway, respectively. Both highways are main thoroughfares for the region, and not just the city of Dearborn. That means a lot of traffic, which also means a lot of businesses.Many of those have been around for decades, including M&M Cafe, Green Brain Comics , and Stormy Records . Others are representative of the Middle Eastern influence on the neighborhood, many of which have been around for decades themselves. There are hookah lounges and markets, and plenty of restaurants, like La Shish and Manaeesh Cafe And Cheesecake Gallery. There are also national landmarks, including the Arab American National Museum.Regardless of the type, business in Eastborn is good. Bewick says that for the district his EDDDA represents, East Downtown Dearborn boasts a commercial vacancy rate in the low teens. And Eastborn makes up a big part of that success. Those neighboring businesses are working together. Bewick cites an example last fall where Joe's Top Dog Restaurant & Bar and designer clothing store Al Wissam banded together to throw an outdoor fashion show."We're a well-kept secret that we're trying to tell everybody about," says Bewick.In what's billed as one of the state's oldest and biggest, Dearborn's Memorial Day Parade kicks off in Eastborn this Memorial Day, Monday, May 29 at 10 a.m. It starts at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Maple Street and travels west down Michigan.Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith
If theres one word to summarize whats going on in Ferndale right now, its development. From new bars and eateries to new apartments, lofts, condos, and even a food truck court, it's all happening, and fast, at 9 Mile and Woodward.

A major development underway is the $14.9 million Ferndale Haus mixed-use project, which will include 90 apartments. But smaller projects and new businesses are contributing to the exciting vibe.

Earlier this year, Ferndale updated its 2008 master plan to a new 2017 version, citing more than 100 action items across six areas of growth opportunities: land use, housing and neighborhoods, economic vitality, recreation and open spaces, transportation and mobility, and city services, facilities, and infrastructure. The city sought feedback from residents by way of Kara Sokol.town halls and online information gathering.

The council members are all community members, says Kara Sokol, the city's director of community engagement. Theyre not dictating, but reflecting what they hear in their own neighborhoods.

And now, it's time to put that plan into action.

A strong recovery

Like so many other communities in southeastern Michigan, Ferndale wasnt immune to the effects of the recession during the 2000s. With an all-time high of 31,000 residents in 1960, Ferndales population dropped dramatically during the recession; as of 2014, the citys population was 20,102 residents, according to the master plan.

However, the city has seen a 1 percent residential growth since that time, and forecasts predict that by 2040 the city will see an overall increase in population of more than 5 percent. And designations from NBC News and the Human Rights Campaign citing Ferndale as an inclusive, friendly city to all are just a few of the reminders of why the city continues to attract new residents.

People here value the diversity in residents, the council, and the businesses, says Community & Economic Development Director Jordan Twardy.

But with growth comes challenges. And maintaining Ferndale's unique personality is one of them.

Its hard to really define our unique character, but we dont want the citys growth to alter it, says Mayor Dave Coulter. We dont want to be a different Ferndale, just a better version of our current self. We want our new projects to complement the city.

Housing new, old, and creative

Mayor Dave Coulter.Adding new housing that speaks to a variety of life stages is one of the aspects of Ferndales land use development evolution. Beyond Ferndalehaus, the former St. James School on Woodward Avenue is set to become a major housing development for seniors in the near future. On top of that, the city recently approved its very first shipping container home lot at 8 Mile and Pinecrest.

Folks are doing some very creative things when it comes to housing, says Twardy.

With all the new housing growth Ferndale is embracing, there are those who are dedicated to preserve the historic character and charm that makes Ferndale so desirable. The Ferndale Historical Museum, operated by the Ferndale Historical Society, offers historical home plaques, designed in the shape of the Ferndale shield, for purchase. According to Ferndale Historical Society Recording Secretary Jan Froggatt, more than 200 homes in Ferndale proudly display the plaques.

Ferndale has a charm that newer developments dont have, she says.

The museum also offers an archive of housing history for the city, a unique characteristic that many other local communities dont offer. Curious homeowners may stop by the museum, often described as a gem many people didnt know was there, to research the histories of their homes or aspects of Ferndale life from generations gone by.

'Embracing weirdness' in business

When it comes to business development, the Hilton corridor in Ferndale is one of the destinations for new opportunities, like Axle Brewings Livernois Tap & Brewery taproom, coming this spring.

Ferndale business owner and resident Sandy Levine, of The Oakland Art Novelty Company, chose to open his craft cocktail establishment in the citys downtown because of its openness to all, including business owners.

Ferndale has always been progressive and six years ago, believe it or not, our concept was very, very foreign to almost all of metro Detroit. A bar with no TVs, no well spirits, lots of unknown ingredients, and no vodka specialty drinks was unheard of, he says. We were very concerned about opening in an area where people would be open to a new kind of bar and not just write us off as weird. Ferndale has always kind of embraced weirdness in the best way.

Adding businesses to Ferndales robust nightlife offering, such as newer destinations Otus Supply and Voyager, means bringing Jordan Twardy.more visitors and their vehicles to the city. And with more people means more needs for parking, an ongoing challenge the city is addressing.

Ferndale is currently investigating a mixed-use parking lot possibility at West Troy and Allen streets, a measure that is in the research stages now and will be revisited later this spring. A possible aid to Ferndales parking constraints could be the proposed Fab Cab trolley service, offering rides in northwest Detroit, Ferndale, and Royal Oak.

Don't forget parks and industry

While many think of downtown when they think of Ferndale, the city's land use is diverse, and industrial development continues to be an important factor for growth. According to Mayor Coulter, the citys industrial vacancy rate has dropped from 25 percent to just 5 percent.

The downtown gets a lot of attention, and rightly so, but as mayor I pay just as much attention to other aspects in the city, like the industrial sector, Mayor Coulter says. Theres just as much interest in the industrial avenues as there are in other business areas.

Another large component of Ferndales master plan is addressing the citys parks and open spaces. WIth 14 parks located across the city, 73% of Ferndale residents can access a public park within a 5-minute walking distance.

Some people see Ferndale for its fun components, but others appreciate it for its neighborhoods, says Sokol. With so many parks and active neighborhoods, theres a real sense of ownership.

For Mayor Coulter, one of the projects hes most excited about is the updating of Ferndales park infrastructure, a project so big its addressed by its own newly-created plan.

Were totally revamping and updating our local parks. During the recession we saw that the parks were underutilized and some run down. Local parks are so important to the quality of our neighborhoods, Mayor Coulter says. Theyre an important place where people gather and meet one another. We made it a priority to spruce them up and add amenities.

The citys Parks and Recreation plan assesses all 14 of Ferndales parks, sets goals for creating further park stewardship in the future, and how facilities will be updated and ultimately maintained. Its the citys commitment to further establishing a strong sense of community that generates resident pride.

Ferndale is the most literal and best example of a true community, says Levine. "I live five blocks from The Oakland, and love not only that I can walk to work, but that many of our guests can walk there from their homes as well. When I get coffee at The Red Hook every morning, I always see friends and neighbors, and typically when my kids are home after school they're outside playing with our neighbors' kids. We have multiple block parties in the summer and everyone seems to know each other and have one another's back.

But matter how many big projects are on the horizon for the city, a sense of pride in community and business is what makes Ferndale stand out, according to Twardy.

Our residents identify themselves as Ferndale and thats what Ferndale is all about, he says. Coulter concurs,

I moved to Ferndale before the downtown was redeveloped, but there was something that attracted me to the city, just something special, says Coulter. Ferndale values inclusion. Ferndale is progressive. Were welcoming to all people. We value that and its part of our essence of who we are.

Lish Dorset is a freelance writer and crafter based in metro Detroit. Follow her online at @LishDorset.
BOZEMAN  Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was cited Wednesday night for misdemeanor assault after allegedly body-slamming a reporter who asked him a question about his stance on proposed health care legislation.

"Following multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriffs Office it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault," the sheriff's office said in a statement released at about 10:30 p.m.

The incident occurred just hours before Thursday's special election to fill Montana's lone U.S. House seat, left vacant when President Donald Trump appointed Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary. Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks also are running.

Earlier Wednesday evening, a Washington, D.C.-based reporter called Bozeman police to accuse Greg Gianforte of assaulting him during an interview at a Wednesday evening barbecue for campaign volunteers.

Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses, Ben Jacobs tweeted at 6:06 p.m.

A Fox News reporter, Alicia Acuna, wrote that "Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. ... (The news crew) watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of, 'I'm sick and tired of this!'"

Those accounts differed sharply from a statement later issued by Gianforte's campaign.

Two reporters from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle soon started tweeting updates and photos as police and medics spoke to both Gianforte and Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian, a British newspaper with a large U.S. following.

Jacobs was treated at Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital, and released, according to Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin. In a telephone interview with MSNBC, Jacobs said an X-ray was planned for his elbow.

The sheriff's office said Jacobs' injuries "did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault."

Shortly after 7 p.m., the Guardian posted a 45-second audio recording of the incident, which began when he tried to ask Gianforte about a Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday on the cost of the health care proposal passed in the House of Representatives.

Jacobs: The CBO score, because you know you were waiting to make your decision about health care until you saw the CBO and it just came out.

Gianforte: Well talk about that later.

Jacobs: Yeah but theres not going to be time. Im just curious about how youd react right now.

Gianforte: Speak with (Campaign Spokesman) Shane (Scanlon), please.

At this point, conversation stops as both Jacobs and Gianforte apparently tumble to the ground, although it remains unclear how that happened.

In an interview on MSNBC, Jacobs said: He grabs my recorder, my phone  and yeah, throws me down, my glasses break.

Gianforte spokesman Scanlon, who was not in the room at that point, according to multiple reports, described the events differently in an emailed statement: Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.

What was said next was clear in the Guardian audio.

Gianforte, now yelling, is the first to speak: Im sick and tired of you guys, the last guy who came in here, you did the same thing! Get the hell out of here! You with the Guardian?

Jacobs: Yeah, you just broke my glasses.

Gianforte: The last guy did the same damn thing.

Jacobs: You just body slammed me and broke my glasses."

Gianforte: Get the hell out of here.

Jacobs: Youd like me to get the hell out of here, Id also like to call the police. Can I get your guys names? He just body slammed me.

An unidentified person, possibly Scanlon, says, Youve got to leave.

Guardian U.S. editor Lee Glendinning said in a statement that "The Guardian is deeply appalled by how our reporter, Ben Jacobs, was treated in the course of doing his job as a journalist while reporting on the Montana special election. We are committed to holding power to account and we stand by Ben and our team of reporters for the questions they ask and the reporting that is produced."

Within an hour of Jacobs initial tweet, the incident climbed to the top of trending stories on Facebook and Twitter, fueled by thousands of comments by journalists and political observers who had been closely watching the special election to fill a U.S. House seat vacated after Ryan Zinke was appointed Interior Secretary. It also was a leading story on numerous cable talk shows and news broadcasts Wednesday evening.

Scanlon did not respond to a call or text messages requesting an interview, but issued the following statement:

"Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face, he wrote. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."

Alexis Levinson, a reporter for Buzzfeed News, told MSNBC that she had given a statement to the sheriffs office. In tweets and on air, she said she saw Jacobs go into a room where Gianforte was.

I heard the crash and saw his feet fly, she told MSNBC. She later told CNN that right before the incident, Scanlon had made some comments to Jacobs about not being happy with a previous Guardian story about Gianforte. They are taking press they dont like very personally.

Jacobs told MSNBC that I had been pressing the campaign for a few days to grab Gianforte one-on-one. And they told me they had decided in the past they werent. I figured they were standing around there I would get his response to the CBO score. He had talked about holding off his opinion on health care until after the release of the CBO score.

Gianforte is scheduled to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court between now and June 7, 2017, the sheriff's office said.

***

It is not the first time Gianforte has displayed a short temper with members of the media or voiced a distrust of journalists.

During the Republicans first campaign for public office last year, Gianforte met with the Missoulian editorial board as well as its city editor Gwen Florio and reporter Jayme Fraser. Under persistent questioning for more details about his position on refugee vetting and resettlement, Gianforte raised his voice, threw his phone down and repeatedly pounded the table.

Im not playing this game with you, he said. Ive been very clear. Montanans' safety is at risk and I will protect it and my opponent will not.

Read a full transcript of that meeting here.

At an April campaign stop in Hamilton, Gianforte celebrated his 56th birthday and met with members of the Advancing Conservatism Society, a local constitutional Christian group. Ravalli Republic Reporter and Associate Editor Perry Backus wrote about the event including, as a later editorial described it, the speech given by a local high school student, about the prayers and birthday cake.

Toward the end of Gianfortes talk, a man in the audience said to Gianforte, Our biggest enemy is the news media and asked, How can we rein in the news media? The man then turned to Backus, who was sitting next to him, and raised his hands as if he would like to wring his neck.

Gianforte smiled, pointed at the reporter and said this: We have someone right here. It seems like there is more of us than there is of him. I dont have a simple solution for you. I will say that doing town hall meetings and getting out and visiting with people is very important.

At a Billings Gazette editorial board a week later, he offered an apology for his comments about the press and said he fully supports the First Amendment, describing his remarks as a joke.

On Tuesday, the Guardian shared a video on Facebook of a different reporter trying to ask Gianforte about his support for Donald Trump. It might be the exchange that Gianforte referenced when yelling at Jacobs on Wednesday that The last guy did the same damn thing.

In that video, Paul Lewis approaches Greg twice to ask him questions. The first time, Gianforte says, Were here to visit with our folks here. As he starts to walk away, Lewis says, Sure, thats great. You stand for Congress you get questions from journalists. Gianforte said he will talk to them next week. Thats what the guy told you.

Lewis said, Were not here for next week, as Gianforte leaves. Apparently later at the same event, Lewis approached Gianforte to ask about the national question, just about Mr. Trump, very, very quickly.

Gianforte nodded and stepped forward to talk. Lewis asked why Gianforte had distanced himself from Trump during his gubernatorial campaign but then embraced him and campaigned with his son.

Nothings changed, Gianforte said. When I was running for governor. Thats a state race, now Im running for a federal position and Ive always said that I was gonna vote for Donald Trump and now Im in a position I get to work with him.

Lewis, talking over the end of Gianfortes comments, said, Reluctantly. You said reluctantly, I think. Gianforte walked away as Lewis spoke. The reporter stood alone for a moment then turned to the camera and said, Short and sharp.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was quick to seize on the reports, calling for Gianforte to leave the race.

Greg Gianforte must immediately withdraw his candidacy after his alleged violent assault of an innocent journalist, National Press Secretary Tyler Law wrote in a statement. Further, Speaker (Paul) Ryan and the National Republican Campaign Committee should not waste another minute before publicly denouncing their candidate and apologizing for the millions of dollars they spent on his behalf.

The Chronicle reported that the event for volunteers continued at the campaign headquarters without Gianforte. His Democrat opponent appeared at a similar event for supporters in Missoula later that evening.

Rob Quist declined to comment on the incident when he briefly dropped by an event at Draught Works Brewery.

"I'm just here to thank my supporters," he said as reporters and television crews from national news outlets crowded around him in the bar.

One reporter continued to shout questions to Quist, asking if he thought Gianforte's alleged actions were appropriate, but the candidate walked past him to shake hands with a campaign volunteer.

"Tomorrow is going to be a big day," Quist said.
Press Release

May 24, 2017 Sponsorship speech for the Committee Report regarding

Committee Report 77/Senate Bill 909, An Act Increasing the Penalties for Other Illegal Gambling Activities, Amending Certain Provisions of PD 1602 and for Other Purposes

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson

May 24, 2017 Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I have the honor to report on the floor Senate Bill 909, authored by Hon. Sherwin Gatchalian and co-authored by the Hon. Joel Villanueva, entitled An Act Increasing the Penalties for Other Illegal Gambling Activities, amending for the Purpose RA 9287 entitled An Act Increasing the Penalties for Illegal Numbers Games, amending certain provisions of PD 1602 and for Other Purposes as embodied in Committee Report 77. Mr. President, let me tell you a true story. In early 1992, a young police superintendent fresh from his 28-month stint as commander of the Cebu PC Metrodiscom in Central Visayas, having been absorbed into the newly constituted Philippine National Police by virtue of RA 6975 enacted in 1991, received his marching order from Camp Crame to report as the new provincial director of the Laguna Provincial Police Office in the Southern Tagalog region. On the eve of his assumption of command, he heard loud knocks at the door of his house at around 10 o'clock in the evening. It was his elder brother, who was then a bank branch manager somewhere in Paranaque City of the now defunct Interbank. He said he was told by one of his bank's valued clients that his younger brother was to assume command in Laguna province. With much excitement, he lost no time in saying "Tol, may kausap akong kliyente namin sa bangko. Nalaman niya na ikaw ang ma-assign na bagong hepe ng pulis sa Laguna. May offer siyang P1.2M kada buwan. Wala kang dapat gawin, basta huwag mo lamang pakikialaman ang operation ng jueteng sa probinsya." He went further by suggesting that he was told to open a numbered account in his branch. A monthly deposit of P1.2 million would be credited without fail. Nobody would know, he assured. Just like that. Look the other way, life would be easy and comfortable for the police superintendent probably for a long, long time, enjoying the benefit of what could be his lifetime savings. In the story, the younger brother firmly declined the offer, but not without admonishing his kuya for his naivete and not realizing what he just said to his younger sibling. A month later, the P1.2M offer would become P1.8M after the new police director went hammer and tongs raiding and running after the jueteng operations with such tenacity nobody could imagine. I am sure Mr. President, even as I speak and as you listen, there are many PNP officers, superintendents or even those of higher ranks who are going through what that police provincial director in my story had experienced. Maybe some likewise resisted the temptation. Others have probably caved in and accepted such lucrative offer. For the latter, the huge amount of money in exchange for so little or no effort is indeed tempting. It is also risky yet addicting once it pays out. For once some people in authority and position of power have taste the underground perks, they will always look for more. And there lies the risk of danger. Mr. President, may matandang kasabihan, 'Nabasa na rin lang, naligo na nang tuluyan.' Human experience would tell us how petty corruption morphs into something big, then bigger and bigger, until a person mostly clothed with official authority doesn't know anymore how and when to stop. Worse, from monthly takes courtesy of gambling operators, he shifts to a much bigger protection money from smugglers, drug lords, and the like. And before anybody realizes it, the whole country is faced with serious national security and economic problems. Mr. President, from my previous statement, allow me to highlight the words tempting, risky and addicting. These words form part of the formula for corruption. Moreover, these exact words also fit perfectly to another menace in our society: illegal gambling. Both corruption and illegal gambling are prejudicial to society and destructive of good governance as they feed on man's greed and craving for earthly possessions. At present, illegal gambling has remained a multibillion-peso underground industry, with patrons coming from all walks of life, cutting across sectors and social status. This is attributable to the fact that it comes in so many forms to cater to one's preference and budget. Mr. President, in 2004, during my first term as senator of the Republic, I authored RA 9287, that increased the penalties for illegal numbers games. 13 years later, please allow me to recognize the fact that the same needs to be updated. It is my privilege and honor, as chairman of your Committee on Games and Amusement, to be standing here to present amendments to a law I originally authored when I was a neophyte senator. Moreover, allow me to say the timing is no less than perfect, considering it will complement our Chief Executive's directive to intensify our government's fight against illegal gambling. May the same be as relentless and uncompromising in the war against illegal drugs in dealing with large-scale operators and their protectors in government and in law enforcement. Mr. President, Senate Bill 909, courtesy of our colleague Sen. Gatchalian, adopts the same scale of penalties provided for under RA 9287. Under the proposed amendment, the said penalties shall now be made applicable to other illegal gambling activities namely: 1. Cockfighting or tupada

2. Jai-alai or horse racing

3. Cara y cruz or pompyang

4. 7-11 and any game using dice

5. Blackjack, Lucky 9, pusoy or Russian poker, monte, baccarat, sakla, wahaw, panggingue and other card games

6. Mahjongg, domino and other games using plastic tiles and the like

7. Slot machines, roulette, pinball, fruit game and other mechanical contraptions and devices

8. Dog racing, boat racing, car racing and other forms of races

9. Game fixing, point shaving and other machinations in individual or team efforts contests

10. Banking or percentage game, or any other game or scheme and its derivatives whether upon chance or skill, wherein wagers consisting of money, articles of value Mr. President, these illegal gambling activities are already long defined as criminal acts in our statutes. These days, we rely on navigational applications such as Waze to avoid traffic congestions. Kung saan-saang kalye tayo padadaanin ni Waze, only to find out na mababara ka sa napakasikip na kalye ng Metro Manila. Hindi na nakakagulat na may makita kang kabaong sa tabi ng daan, ng mga taong nagsusugal sa ilalim ng toldang may pangalan pa ni Kagawad. Pag pinabalik ka ni Waze matapos ang isang buwan, aba, naroon pa ang kabaong sa tabi ng daan, naroon pa rin ang tolda at pangalan ni kagawad, sampu ng mga tanong nagsusugal. The practice of gambling in wakes has sadly formed part of the Filipino culture. As sociologists would say, illegal gambling is used as means to keep mourners around and provide financial assistance to the family of the dead. Sakla for example is just another lucrative scheme for illegal gambling operators by taking advantage of the loss of a family member. 60-40 ang hatian. 60 percent sa operator at ang 40 percent sa naulilang pamilya. Kabahagi sa 60 percent si police scalawag, barangay chairman o kagawad, at minsan umaabot pa sa City Hall. Illegal gambling is vulnerable to police harassment, which ultimately translates to corruption. Mr. President, the social problems created by illegal gambling such as addiction, domestic violence, indebtedness and other forms of crimes resulting thereto outweigh its supposed alluring benefits. Illegal gambling must be penalized heavily. As stated in an article I read, "Gambling is an addictive behavior. Make no mistake about it. It has all the properties of a psychoactive substance. It changes the neurochemistry of the brain. In other words, the excitement of the possibility of winning a huge sum of money with minimal investment has a narcotic-like effect on the brain that calls for greater and greater risks in the hope of the big win." The ultimate goal of this proposed measure is to put behind bars for a significant number of years not only the operators but also those in positions of power colluding with them, who knowingly operate with the desire to keep patrons addicted and in some cases indebted without regard to its implications to the Filipino family. Change has indeed come, Mr. President, though some changes resulted in divisiveness. I hope you agree that we should have a common stand in the fight against illegal gambling in the Philippines. It must end here. By the way, Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the bank manager in my short story at the opening of this sponsorship speech is my brother. The young police provincial director at the time was a police superintendent who would rise from the ranks to become chief of the Philippine National Police and later senator of the Republic. His name, Panfilo M. Lacson, your chairman, Committee on Games and Amusement of the 17th Congress. Thank you, Mr. President.
Press Release

May 25, 2017 On Sen. Lacson's committee report

Dispatch from Crame No. 92 5 / 23 / 17 It is unfortunate that the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs chaired by Sen. Lacson has held that SPO3 Arturo Lascanas's second testimony was not credible, inspite of the fact that it corroborates the previous allegations of Edgar Matobato. Some of my colleagues previously scoffed at Matobato and his story for allegedly being incredible and wanting in corroboration. Now that another conscience-stricken DDS insider, in the person of Lascanas, has joined Matobato in doing a most perilous act of publicly confessing their participation in a criminal enterprise called DDS, again, my colleagues, with due respect to them, have feigned disbelief. The committee report attempted to discredit the testimony of Lascanas by presenting evidence of negative official records and applying the presumption of regularity of official acts. However, it is not the correct way to approach it as there is nothing official in the operations of the Davao Death Squad. It is precisely because the DDS operated outside the bounds of justice system that their activities are considered criminal. Their targets were simply identified by Duterte under the pretense of administering justice and they executed them without even looking into their boss's allegations. Anyone who has watched the Senate examination of Matobato and Lascanas, after he recanted, will readily see that the President's allies in the Senate are bent on discrediting them even before they fully presented their case. They presented Matobato and Lascanas with an impossible task of convincing a panel committed to misunderstanding them simply because they are accusing the President. Mahirap ho talagang gisingin ang mga taong nagtutulug-tulugan lamang.
Press Release

May 25, 2017 Drilon to ex-Justice Mendoza: Constitution and Bill of Rights remain supreme under martial law Even under martial law or despite suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, warrantless arrests cannot be done, said Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, former justice secretary. Drilon issued the statement as he disputed claims made by former Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza that the government could not be accused of violating the Bill of Rights during martial law. "I hope that Justice Mendoza was just misquoted. I remind him that the Constitution and the rule of law should continue to reign supreme," Drilon stressed. "The Bill of Rights cannot be set aside even under martial law or even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. There are rights that are considered inviolable under the present Constitution. Those rights should be respected at all times," Drilon said. "Warrantless arrest cannot be made even with the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus," Drilon emphasized. Warrantless arrest can only be valid when made under circumstances mentioned in Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, such as when a person is caught in the act of committing a crime, according to Drilon. He said "this is recognized in the guidelines issued by the Department of National Defense on the declaration of martial law in Mindanao." "A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus," Drilon said citing the 1987 Constitution. Drilon said that under a normal situation, the court, by virtue of the writ of habeas corpus, could order a police authority to justify the arrest of a person and order his or her release. In the case of Aberca v. Ver (1988), however, Drilon said the Supreme Court ruled that "the suspension of the privilege of the writ does not render valid an otherwise illegal arrest or detention." Citing from the decision, Drilon said: "what is suspended is merely the right of the individual to seek release from detention through the writ of habeas corpus as a speedy means of obtaining his liberty." Drilon further explained that the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus only applies to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion. Even in cases of rebellion, Drilon said that the persons to be arrested must be charged within three days. "The very reason for this is to prevent a situation similar to what happened in the Marcos years when hundreds of persons were detained and confined indefinitely, without any criminal charge filed against them," he concluded.
Press Release

May 25, 2017 CHIZ SEEKS PASSAGE OF AMENDMENTS TO ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAW COVERING CASINOS Sen. Chiz Escudero has urged the Senate to pass the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) before the deadline given by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). According to Escudero, Senate Bill No. 1468 is a mere component of the committee report he previously sponsored. The bill, which was approved on second reading, seeks to put more teeth into the existing AMLA by including the casino industry under the coverage of the law. In its plenary meeting last September, APG decided to give the Philippines until June 2017 to pass the required legislation, said Escudero, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies. The inclusion of casinos in the AMLA coverage is one of the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism watchdog, to avoid the potential blacklisting of the Philippines. "Failure to enact the required legislation within the given time frame would put the Philippines under monitoring of the International Review Group of the FATF, which could eventually result in the possible blacklisting of the Philippines," the veteran lawmaker said. Moreover, Escudero said the blacklist tag would put the country under stringent international financial scrutiny, which might increase the cost of bank transactions abroad. Unfortunately, this would highly affect the remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Last year, the country "barely escaped" the FATF blacklist after hackers stole $81 million from the account of Bangladesh Bank in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and was then diverted to four fake bank accounts in the Philippines. "The heist therefore highlighted a vulnerable aspect in our anti-money laundering efforts and underlined the FATF's conditions with regard to casinos," Escudero said in his sponsorship speech. In 2012, the Philippines made progress after it upgraded from FATF's dark gray list to its gray list. However, in 2013, even after the enactment of Republic Act No. 10365--which further strengthened the anti-money laundering drive and removed the Philippines from the FATF's list of vulnerable jurisdictions--casinos were still not put under the scrutiny of the law. Under the proposed measure, Escudero said casinos, with respect to their casino cash transactions related to their gaming operations, shall be considered as "covered persons." A single casino cash transaction involving an amount in excess of P5 million or its equivalent in any other currency will be considered as a "covered transaction."
Press Release

May 25, 2017 Transcript of Interview with Sen. Cynthia Villar

The Source of CNN hosted by Pinky Webb

(Martial law, passport 10-year extension, Work from home) Pinky: What is your stand on the President's declaration of martial law? Villar: I will support the President. Its just that we're asking the office to give us an update on what's happening in Mindanao because he knows better than you. Because he has all the intelligence report, he has the man in the field. So on Monday we're asking the Office of the President to give us a briefing on what's happening in Mindanao. Pinky: Is this your call to invite some of the President's members of the cabinet such as Gen. Ano, Villar: Whoever the President will send to us on Monday. We will have a caucus and we will hear the report. Pinky: Who are the most important men you think should be able to brief the Senators on the situation in Mindanao? Villar: Maybe the AFP head, but I think he will be in Mindanao to oversee the operation. So maybe, I don't know, they will send a representative who is very knowledgeable about the report. Pinky: It's just really important for you senator, to be able to find out what's happening on the ground. Villar: Of course, because we are supporting martial law, so we should know what's happening there that will warrant martial law. Pinky: Does the President need Congress approval for the declaration of martial law? Villar: No. He can declare it but we can revoke it. Actually I don't think there's some move to revoke it, they want to know what's happening. Pinky: Senator, the President described and lay down the reasons for him declaring, martial law. Sec. Abella calls it rebellion I believe, for the reasons for martial law in Mindanao. Do you think what's happening in Marawi City or even in some parts of the Southern Philippines, tantamount to rebellion? Villar: They are bringing up their flags. So, they are using another flag, not the flag of the Philippines. What do you think is that? They are saying that they are in control of a certain place which is not allowed in our constitution. Pinky: I guess I wanted to bring that up because Atty. Christian Monsod who drafted the 1987 constitution clearly defined what a rebellion was based on the law. And basically a practical description for it is some group probably taking up arms and there is the threat of the commander in chief not being able to perform his functions. He says that, because the military men are saying the situation is under control. Villar: Of course they will say that because they don't want the people to panic. But they know the reason. So I think there's a reason and we don't know about it. Pinky: So it's clear to you what happened in Marawi is rebellion? Villar: Considering that there was bombing in Davao City, which is attributed to the Maute Gang also. There was something in Bohol. And there was something in other places in Mindanao. I think the President is afraid that this will go over Mindanao. So it's better to nip it before it becomes too much. Pinky: Nip it in the bud. The President, you already mentioned that he wants to nip it in the bud. Now he's talking about a possible declaration of martial law in the Visayas and even Senator, in Luzon. Let's listen to what exactly the President's said. This happened again yesterday upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from his trip from Russia. (Showing video of President Duterte arrival in NAIA) Villar: I think if he thinks, they said that the one which happened in the US embassy is, ang kanilang thinking is Maute din yun, yung try to bomb the US embassy. But I think he will limit it in Mindanao. Pinky: Is that something, it's that a cause for concern for you what the President said, he might declare it in Visayas, and he might declare it inLuzon. Villar: I think he's saying that so that these people will think twice about doing something. Pinky: Okay. So, very clear. You support the President. And I guess in a way it's taken with a grain of salt with situation.. Villar: In the Senate it's like that, the majority of the senators supports him. Pinky: So the President won't have a problem with that. Of course the senator's telling us that on Monday, you need to be able to call some of the key officials to give you an update on what's happening on the ground. Pinky: Sen. Cynthia Villar has other bills. Two of them quite talked about, they've been passed in 3rd and final reading. The extended passport from 5 to 10 years. Except for those, just to be clear, under 18 years old? Villar: Yes, and below. Pinky: Is it 18 and below? Villar: No. Under 18. Pinky: Under 18 years old. They still have 5 years. This passed in the third and final reading in the house? Villar: Yes. Pinky: And in the senate? Villar: Yes, in the senate. And we had a bicam and it's going to the President for signature. Pinky: Is the bicam finished? Villar: Yes. Because we have to, after doing the bicam you go back to the floor and have it approved on the floor. Pinky: It's been approved? Villar: Yes. Pinky: Were there points, the different points from the House and the senate that needed some sort of compromise? Villar: No. It's a very simple bill. It's just extending the validity of passport to 10 years. Very very simple. And then those below 18, we'll have to do it within 5 years because of the change in the faces, so they want to update the picture. If you're young, there is a possibility that you change your looks. Pinky: And senator, it also very good for all of us, because you don't have to go through the hassle of having to renew your passport. Villar. Yes. And it is a practice in most countries in the world so it's not something different. Pinky: And it also is very beneficial to our OFWs? Villar. Of course. Because they are the majority who are getting passports. And it's very difficult for them to do so, every so often. Remember, the 5 year validity it's not really 5 years, you have to get 4  years before, because if it's only 6 months, they don't allow you to use it anymore. Pinky: What happens to those like, I'll use myself as an example, My passport is still valid, (once the President signs this) Can I get a passport in the next couple of months? Villar: No. Use it first. Because if everyone is going to do that, then we will have a problem with a lot of application. We're doing this because the DFA is having a hard time handling it. There is a 30% growth now of people getting passport every year. And they don't want to be hassled with too many because you will see stories that they are in the pavement waiting for their appointment and so fort. We want to remove this. Pinky: And sometimes, even outside malls. Villar: Yes. Pinky: So atleast that will help a lot of people and even DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano because he visited the passport center alongMacapagal Avenue and he wants that expedited as well. Villar: We're doing this because we're making life simple for people. Like there is a move also in Congress to extend the validity of driver's license so there will be from 3 years to 5 to 10 years. They haven't decided yet if it's 5 or 10 but there'a move also. Pinky: So that will just be up for, will just going to wait the signature of President Duterte on this. Villar: Yes. Pinky: Also you have the work from home bill? Villar: Yes. Telecommuting. Pinky: Can you tell us more about this, Senator? Villar: It is a labor law. It's just that Department of Labor wants that the privileges of the employees in a normal workplace will be the same as those working at home. That's the essence of the law. Pinky: So, if those regular employees have SSS, Philhealth, those working from home should also have? Villar; Yes. Same privileges.
BOZEMAN  The latest on the assault case against Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for a Montana congressional seat in a Thursday special election. (all times local):

10:55 p.m.: Newly elected Republican congressman Greg Gianforte apologized to the reporter he's charged with assaulting.

After being declared the winner in the U.S. House race in Montana, Gianforte told supporters Thursday night that he should not have treated Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs the way he did.

Gianforte told the crowd: "I should not have responded the way I did and for that I am sorry."

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday after witnesses said he grabbed Jacobs and slammed him to the ground.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks.

10:30 p.m.: Republican Greg Gianforte has won the special election for Montana's sole U.S. House seat a day after being charged with assaulting a reporter.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist on Thursday to replace Ryan Zinke, who is now President Donald Trump's interior secretary.

Gianforte was elected despite being charged with misdemeanor assault on Wednesday after witnesses said he grabbed a reporter for the Guardian newspaper and slammed him to the ground.

The multimillionaire technology entrepreneur is an enthusiastic Trump backer, and his victory was seen as an endorsement of Trump.

Gianforte's campaign was boosted by rallies featuring Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr. plus millions of dollars in ads by Republican groups.

5:15 p.m.: A county attorney in Montana says he will review the case involving a Republican congressional candidate accused of shoving a reporter to the ground on the eve of a special election.

Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert said Thursday he will set aside celebrity and hype and look at the facts surrounding Greg Gianforte's altercation with Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian.

Lambert, who was elected as a Republican, says he knows Gianforte but not well. He sometimes encounters Gianforte at church, social events and GOP functions.

Sheriff's officials have cited Gianforte for misdemeanor assault in the Wednesday altercation.

Lambert, who has not donated money to Gianforte's campaign, says he will review the sheriff's decision to pursue a misdemeanor and not a felony.

4:15 p.m.: The sheriff who cited a Montana congressional candidate for misdemeanor assault has apologized for not disclosing that he contributed $250 to the Republican's campaign.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Thursday that he should have revealed the donation at a previous news conference held after witnesses said candidate Greg Gianforte had grabbed a reporter by the neck on Wednesday and threw him to the ground at Gianforte's campaign headquarters.

Gootkin said the contribution had nothing to do with his duties as sheriff.

Gootkin said Gianforte left his campaign headquarters while deputies were investigating the case, and investigators later heard from Gianforte's attorney that they would need to contact him before speaking with Gianforte again.

3:45 p.m.: In a first from an official Republican group, the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee issued a statement affirming Gianforte, though it failed to address the candidate's current controversy.

"The Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee stands with Greg Gianforte and based upon the comments weve received from inside Yellowstone County and across the state, so do Montanans. The YCRCC (Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee) firmly believes that Greg Gianfortes strong track record as a successful job creator and generous servant will shine in Congress. We look forward to his ideas and how we can help him make Montana great again."

3:40 p.m.: The sheriff who cited a Montana congressional candidate for shoving a reporter to the ground says the Republican was charged with misdemeanor assault because there was no serious bodily injury.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Thursday that under Montana law, assaults that don't result in serious injuries or involve a weapon are considered misdemeanors. Assaults that cause serious physical injuries or involve weapons are treated as felonies.

Gootkin said he never considered pursuing a felony charge against Greg Gianforte based on evidence collected after the Wednesday incident.

The reporter, Ben Jacobs, didn't have any visible injuries when he spoke to "Good Morning America" on Thursday but said he was taking "a lot of Advil" for pain.

He said he trusted that investigators had made the right decision on how to handle the case.

1:18p.m.: The Montana congressional candidate accused of assaulting a reporter hasn't been seen or heard from Thursday as voters go to the polls.

Repeated phone calls to Greg Gianforte's cellphone went unreturned Thursday. Twice it appeared someone picked up then immediately hung up.

His home in Bozeman is set back on property along the Gallatin River and isn't very visible from the road. Its gate was half-opened, with a sign thanking people for not trespassing.

People at Gianforte's campaign headquarters referred all questions to spokesman Shane Scanlon, who was not there. No one answered the door at Scanlon's home.

Gianforte has backed out of at least one planned television appearance. MSNBC's "MTP Daily" says he canceled on the show.

12:00 p.m.: ACLU of Montana Executive Director Caitlin Borgmann released a statement that said in part:

The ACLU of Montana condemns in the strongest terms yesterdays apparent assault on reporter Ben Jacobs for doing his job on behalf of the public.Without a free press, government at all levels  from presidents to police officers  would rarely be held accountable to the people."

11:32 a.m.: Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a democrat, released a statement shortly before noon on Thursday.

"This is in the hands of law enforcement. But part of the job representing the people of Montana is answering basic questions on important topics, topics such as how a dangerous healthcare plan could impact the very people you are trying to represent. It's part of the job," he said in a release to The Gazette.

In addition to Republican figureheads like Paul Ryan, others in the party have weighed in on Gianforte. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse tweeted, "A big part of a public servant's job is teaching civics. If the First Amendment means anything, it means you can't body-slam a journalist."

Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis tweeted a statement from South Carolina Sen. Mark Sanford, who spoke more generally about the political climate: "There is total weirdness out there," he said.

11:03 a.m.: Democrat Montana Gov. Steve Bullock issued a statement condemning Gianforte's actions.

It is unsettling on many levels that Greg Gianforte physically assaulted a journalist and then lied, refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Yesterdays events serve as another wake up call to all Montanans and Americans that we must restore civility in politics and governing, and demand more from people who hold the publics trust, said Governor Steve Bullock. One thing is clear: no matter what happens today, the actions of Gianforte do not reflect the values of Montana or its people.

10:19 a.m.:

10:09 a.m.:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the GOP House candidate in Montana charged with assaulting a reporter is "a wannabe Trump."

"That's his model, Donald Trump," Pelosi said of Greg Gianforte, the wealthy Republican running in Thursday's special election for Montana's sole House seat.

House Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for the Republican candidate in Montana's special House election to apologize after allegedly attacking a reporter and getting charged with assault.

Ryan says "that's wrong and should not happen."

But Ryan wouldn't say if Greg Gianforte should be barred from joining the House GOP conference if he wins Thursday's election. Instead Ryan said, "I'm gonna let the people of Montana decide who they want as their representative."

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Congressman Steve Stivers, also weighed in Thursday. Stivers said: "From what I know of Greg Gianforte, this was totally out of character, but we all make mistakes."

9:45 a.m.: U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana republican and close friend of Gianforte's, issued this statement Thursday morning:

"I have confidence in local law enforcement. I do know Greg Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault and will leave the questions and answers to local law enforcement. I do not condone violence in any way."

A Daines spokeswoman declined requests for further comment. The Montana Republican Party has also failed to respond to requests from The Gazette on the morning of an election day that has many wondering how much the alleged assault will affect the returns.

Montana's secretary of state's office says 37 percent of registered voters had returned absentee ballots as of Wednesday.

Montana has just over 699,000 registered voters.

Mark Wicks, the Libertarian candidate in the race, issued a statement that reads in part:

"While details are still not entirely clear about what happened between Greg Gianforte and the Guardian reporter, it is clear that Greg Gianforte lost his temper when he shouldnt have. Most days in Washington D.C. wont go as planned and obstacles will arise daily."

8:40 a.m.: GOP lawmakers emerging from a closed-door caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday said they didn't know the facts about Republican Greg Gianforte being charged with misdemeanor assault.

A reporter from the Guardian accused the tech millionaire of slamming him to the ground and breaking his glasses in an altercation at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman on Wednesday afternoon. The reporter had tried to ask Gianforte a question about the latest budget analysis of the GOP health care bill.

A few lawmakers did comment.

Asked if assaulting a reporter is appropriate behavior, California Rep. Duncan Hunter said, "Of course not. It's not appropriate behavior. Unless the reporter deserved it."

Indiana Rep. Luke Messer said he wasn't sure whether the incident would hurt or help Gianforte in Thursday's special election for the open House seat.

___

7:50 a.m.: The polls are open in a race for Montana's only congressional seat just hours after the front-running candidate was charged with beating up a reporter.

Republican Greg Gianforte has not appeared in public since he was charged with misdemeanor assault late Wednesday. A reporter from the Guardian accused the tech millionaire of slamming him to the ground and breaking his glasses in an altercation Wednesday afternoon at Gianforte's campaign headquarters in Bozeman.

Gianforte's camp issued a statement hours before the charge was filed disputing reporter Ben Jacobs' account. But an audio recording Jacobs made and a Fox News crew that witnessed the altercation back up Jacobs' version.

Three of Montana's biggest newspapers pulled their endorsements of Gianforte but did not endorse his opponents.

Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was doing his job and asking a question.

___

5 a.m.: The Guardian reporter who authorities say was assaulted by a Montana Republican candidate for a U.S. House seat says he never touched the politician before he was thrown to the ground.

Ben Jacobs told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was doing his job and asking a question of candidate Greg Gianforte as part of covering Thursday's special election.

Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. He's accused of grabbing Jacobs by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. Gianforte's campaign blamed Jacobs, saying the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed Gianforte.

Jacobs said Thursday of Gianforte's account that "the only thing that is factually correct ... is my name and place of employment."

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist are seeking to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join Trump's Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department.

___

12:30 a.m.: Thursday's special election for Montana's sole congressional seat got a last-minute twist when the Republican candidate, Greg Gianforte, was charged with misdemeanor assault.

Greg Gianforte was cited for grabbing a reporter by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. The reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, was asking Gianforte about the Republican health care bill. Three Fox News employees witnessed the attack, which was also captured on an audio recording.

Gianforte's campaign blamed Jacobs for the incident.

Many voters cast their ballot early so it'll be hard to know the impact of the charge on the election results. Authorities said Jacobs' injuries weren't severe enough for a felony assault charge.
Megan Wilsons Summer of Love began 15 summers ago, at 6 a.m on a Thursday, when she made 800 huge paper flowers and arranged them in front of the Hibernia Bank at Jones and Market streets.

Those flowers disappeared in a day, but theyre blooming again on a pair of garage doors in the Haight-Ashbury, as the vanguard of seven murals to be scattered across the city.

It is going to be an explosion of flowers everywhere, says Wilson, who has 13 floral patterns in her repertoire and infinite color combinations.

The public art in all its locations and iterations is called Flower Interruption. It is part of a citywide cultural push to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. Wilson has always painted in the same retro pop art style, which is suddenly timely again, with her designs reminding many viewers  at least those old enough  of the technicolor sets on Laugh-In and The Dating Game as well as metal lunch boxes from the 1960s.

This month, the flowers will be painted on a 33-foot wall outside the Asian Art Museum to announce the opening June 23 of Flower Power, an exhibit of floral paintings and sculpture from the museums permanent collection. From the exterior wall, Wilsons flowers will spill onto the sidewalk and blow through the front door, leading visitors into the galleries.

I love the whimsy and color, says program manager Allison Wyckoff, who snatched one of the flowers from the Hibernia Bank installation and still keeps it in her office at the Asian Art Museum. When I first saw them, they were such a shock of light and life in an otherwise dreary neighborhood.

That must have been the intention of a poster designer a half century ago who superimposed yellow daisies over the street sign marking the 600 block of Ashbury and the 1500 block of Haight. That poster, by an unidentified artist, became a mythical visual in 1967. Now its descendant is four blocks away on the facade of the condo complex where Wilson lives with her fiance, Christopher Statton, who used to run the Roxie Theater.

Its a very easy commute, she says. Its also a garage in Haight-Ashbury, which is a very appropriate place for a mural about the Summer of Love.

Wilson is from Billings, Mont., and traces her flower fixation to a blue flower painted on the wall of her bedroom by her mother. It was complemented by a floral bedspread, and though she left that particular bedroom at age 4, the image stuck with her when she arrived in San Francisco as a graduate student in fine art.

Her first home was a shared Nob Hill flat in which she painted a huge blue flower on her bedroom wall to evoke the one her mother had painted. In 2000, Wilson went public when she painted 250 wooden signs, each with a flower and the word Home. She carried these signs around the Mission District and handed them out to anyone who was facing eviction during the dot-com boom.

People would put them in their windows as a form of solidarity, she says. Or if they were homeless, theyd put the sign in their shopping cart.

She wisely saved one for herself, which she put in her own window when she got evicted in 2008 via the Ellis Act, a law that allows landlords to clear all tenants from a building, often when seeking to convert it into condos. The five years she had spent turning the place into an art installation did not save her.

Those Home signs are relevant in this new round of evictions, and she is reissuing them, for $100 each, to benefit homeless outreach and advocacy organizations. So far she has donated $10,000.

Flower Interruption has hit the streets of Tokyo and Indonesia. By the time the San Francisco phase is finished, Wilson will have put flowers in the unisex bathroom at the Little Roxie, along Clarion Alley, in the window display of Artists Television Access on Valencia Street and at a location yet to be determined in North Beach.

For me, painting flowers is very meditative, says Wilson, who expects to hit the 10,000-flower mark during this years celebration of the Summer of Love. I never get tired of it.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art

Flower Power: June 23-Oct. 1. Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., S.F. www.asianart.org

To see video of Megan Wilson painting: http://bit.ly/meganwilson

Learn more about the Summer of Love at www.sfchronicle.com/summer-of-love.

To purchase The Chronicles commemorative Summer of Love magazine, go to https://sfchronicle.myshopify.com.
ANDY MANIS/AP

A former Raiders running back was sentenced Wednesday to five years in state prison after pleading no contest to felonies including burglary and identity theft.

Michael Antwon Bennett, 38, was sentenced for charges related to a 2015 incident in which he fraudulently took out $225,000 worth of loans in the name of his girlfriends parents, according to the Sonoma County district attorneys office.
A man who was found suffering from a gunshot wound in the Marina District of San Francisco on Saturday died Tuesday after being taken off life support, officials said.

Police identified the man as 32-year-old Kelly G. Freeman.

Officers called to do a wellness check found Freeman lying unresponsive in a doorway on the 100 block of Alhambra Street about 2 p.m. Saturday, according to police.

He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where it was discovered that he had been shot, and he succumbed to his injuries three days later, police said.

No arrests have been made, said Officer Robert Rueca, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.

Anyone with information on the homicide can call the SFPDs 24-hour tip line at (415)-575-4444.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
A Santa Rosa man has been arrested on illegal firearms possession charges for the second time this month, police said Wednesday.

The recent legal problems of 20-year-old Pablo Barajas-Curiel began May 5 when he was pulled over for a vehicle code violation by police who were providing security near a Cinco de Mayo festival in Santa Rosa.

Police found drug paraphernalia and a semi-automatic gun with an attachable flashlight and laser when they searched the car, they said.

The gun was reported stolen 11 years ago, according to the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office.

Barajas-Curiel was booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility on firearms and theft-related charges, but was released on bail the following day, police said.

Detectives continued their investigation and on May 17, 12 days after his first arrest, Barajas-Curiel was detained by police as detectives searched his home on the 2800 block of Pearblossom Drive.

They found another semi-automatic weapon, two illegal high-capacity magazines, ammunition for guns of different calibers, cash, drug paraphernalia, and a quarter pound of cocaine, they said. The guns serial number had been scratched out or removed so it could not be traced, according to police.

Barajas-Curiel was again arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility on a variety of weapons and drug charges, as well as one charge of committing a felony while out on bail, police said.

He is being held at North County Detention Facility, and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, according to county records. His bail is set at $560,000.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
Marilyn Nieves/Getty Image

A San Francisco man was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday, four months after a jury found him guilty of stealing the identities of men hed met in prison and using them to commit tax fraud, prosecutors said.

From June 2010 to January 2012, 52-year-old Howard Webber, who was incarcerated at facilities including San Quentin State Prison, the Santa Clara County Jail and the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility in Wisconsin. promised fellow inmates he could help them take advantage of tax loopholes and government programs as a ruse to get their social security numbers, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.
San Francisco police could face a key logistical problem if they ever had to respond to a terrorist incident in a Muni or BART tunnel  their radio channels dont work in some spots.

Police Chief Bill Scott, who started on the top-cop job in January after spending most of his career with the Los Angeles Police Department, said Wednesday that SFPD officers have to switch over to Muni or BART radio systems when they go into the tunnels.

There are dead spots throughout this city and region. We try to identify them and do what we can to fix them when we can, Scott said.

The chief talked about the tunnel gap after an editorial board meeting at KPIX at which he discussed issues that police face in an age of terrorist attacks, such as the suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert Monday in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people.

David Stevenson, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department, said radio gaps have long been a problem in the hilly city. He said that the city has budgeted $78 million for new radios and towers.

When police go into the tunnels, they are patched into and use the Muni and BART system, Stevenson said. It could be challenging, but it generally seems to work.

Francis Zamora, spokesman for the Department of Emergency Management, said the tunnel relays have been installed and are being tested. We should have them online by the end of the year, he said.

Martin Halloran, president of the Police Officers Association, said the issue of radio dead spots came up when the chief met with the unions board of directors last week.

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.

Some of the members brought up the problems that they were having with the departments new radios, Halloran said. Its something that the city is working on.

Scott told us, Communication is key, and in terms of cell reception in certain parts of the city, that is something we constantly need to work on.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
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San Franciscans take pride in drinking pristine water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which they treasure as among the purest in the nation.

So a recent move by the Public Utilities Commission to introduce groundwater gradually into the citys drinking supply prompted anxiety and suspicion.

How will this affect my granddaughter? I feel like shes the guinea pig, said Ingrid Eggers, a Mission District resident who spoke at a Wednesday hearing before the Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.

Eggers was among dozens of residents who had concerns about nitrates, pesticide runoff, sewage, artificial-turf particulate and traces of pharmaceutical drugs possibly contaminating the blended water, which will go to about 60 percent of San Francisco residents, mostly on the west side.

City water officials began pumping the new mix in March from wells that draw from an aquifer about 400 feet below ground. They plan to add more groundwater over the next four years, but it will allow for more than 15 percent of the mixture.

Steven Ritchie, who heads the water project for the PUC, said it was planned years ago to deal with growing demand in San Francisco and create an emergency supply in case of an earthquake.

He pointed out at the meeting that such mixing is not a new idea  residents in Daly City, San Bruno and South San Francisco have been drinking groundwater from San Franciscos west-side basin for 30 years.

But Supervisors Jeff Sheehy, Sandra Lee Fewer and Ahsha Safai all had concerns. Safai he said recently stopped drinking tap water for three weeks because it smelled like a river.

Supervisor Norman Yee, who called the hearing, asked the PUC to perform new quality tests and return with a new analysis.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who chairs the committee, suggested the PUC might be a victim of its own successful marketing.

We have been told for years that we have the most pristine water in the world, she said. Its really incumbent on you to do a level of outreach and an education campaign so that we the public can feel that this new blended water is safe to us.

 Rachel Swan

More about water: The future is looking bleak for the ship-repair business at Pier 70.

Puglia Engineering, which took over the shipyard there in January, has informed the Port of San Francisco that it will close the dry dock Sunday, the conclusion of a 90-day operating agreement the company struck with the port in February.

The closure is the result of a legal dispute between Puglia and longtime operator BAE Systems.

In February, Puglia, a ship-repair business based in Washington state, filed a lawsuit alleging that BAE had misled it into thinking that the two dry docks at Pier 70  one that services cruise ships and one that handles smaller vessels  were well-maintained and could be put to immediate use.

Instead, Puglia said, it discovered the smaller of the two dry docks, known as Eureka, had deteriorated to an extent that it would cost $9 million to make operational. In addition, Puglias lawsuit claims that another $12 million in dredging is needed just to be able to ensure vessels can get into the dry docks.

BAE Systems counters that Puglia knew the condition of the dry dock when it took it over. Puglia paid $1 to take over BAEs lease with the port, while assuming $36 million in pension liabilities.

The port said it regrets the effect the legal dispute ... has had on shipyard workers.

The port believes that there is a viable future for the shipyard and it remains committed to continuing this important maritime activity and protecting local union jobs at the San Francisco Shipyard, the port stated.

Port staff members, working on a request for proposals for a new shipyard operator, expect several groups to respond.

 J.K. Dineen

Additional punishment: The penalties faced by embattled San Francisco landlord Anne Kihagi just got steeper.

In a 163-page final ruling issued Wednesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Angela Bradstreet ruled in the citys favor in every count of its lawsuit against Kihagi, voiding all of the landlords pending evictions and awarding $2.7 million in penalties. Thats $400,000 more than the judge had awarded in a preliminary ruling this month.

I am grateful that the court recognized the severity of the situation and issued a tough and enforceable injunction, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. Ms. Kihagi is a ruthless landlord who violated court orders at will and lied repeatedly. With this ruling, we can finally put a stop to her egregious behavior.

Bradstreet also ordered the defendants, who included several of Kahagis family members, to pay the citys investigative costs and attorneys fees, which are expected to run into the millions.

The citys lawsuit charged Kahagi with using a wide array of illegal tactics  fraud, threats, intimidation and harassment  to oust rent-controlled tenants paying below-market-rate rents. The landlord allegedly forced out tenants by interrupting gas, electric and water service; spying on them with video cameras; entering units without advance notice; and failing to cash rent checks, only to later claim the rent was not paid.

The court found that the buildings were, collectively, noncompliant with state and municipal law for at least 4,470 days.

 J.K. Dineen

Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com, jkdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @rachelswan, @sfjkdineen
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

A bill that would allow cities to extend the hours bars can serve alcohol is one step closer to the governors desk.

The bill, which state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced in February, advanced from the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday and is now headed for a vote on the Senate floor next week.
The penalties faced by embattled San Francisco landlord Anne Kihagi just got steeper.

In a 163-page final ruling issued Wednesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Angela Bradstreet ruled in the citys favor in every count of its lawsuit against Kihagi, voiding all of the landlords pending evictions and awarding $2.7 million in penalties. Thats $400,000 more than the judge had awarded in a preliminary ruling earlier this month.

I am grateful that the court recognized the severity of the situation and issued a tough and enforceable injunction, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. Ms. Kihagi is a ruthless landlord who violated court orders at will and lied repeatedly. With this ruling we can finally put a stop to her egregious behavior.

Bradstreet also ordered the defendants, which included several of Kahagis family members, to pay the citys investigative costs and attorneys fees, which are expected to run into the millions.

The citys lawsuit charged Kahagi will using a wide array of illegal tactics  fraud, threats, intimidation and harassment  to oust rent-controlled tenants paying below- market-rate rents. The landlord allegedly forced out tenants by interrupting gas, electric and water service; spying on them with video cameras; entering units without advance notice; and failing to cash rent checks, only to later claim the rent was never paid.

The court found that the buildings were, collectively, noncompliant with state and municipal law for at least 4,470 days.

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.

 J.K. Dineen

Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, kdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider @sfjkdineen
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Beth Maglio, a high school teacher in Mount Horeb, Wis., showed her class Jennifer Siebel Newsoms documentary Miss Representation, and wound up on administrative leave as a result. Maglio screened the movie, about depictions of women in the media, as part of a class discussion on gender inequality. A Friday, May 19, letter to parents from school district Superintendent Steve Salerno noted that while we absolutely support and can appreciate the importance of shining a light on this sensitive topic, we must investigate the method by which the lesson has allegedly been taught.

Lawyer Lester Pines, who was helping Maglio sort out the situation, said that someone whod complained had provided the school district with screenshots of the trailer from the documentary. Of course, when you look at photographs of the images, some of those photographs are in fact disturbing. The video is intended, he said, to inform viewers that the images are in fact disturbing. The subject, he said, is the kind of thing that is 100 percent appropriate to be discussing with a class of 17- and 18-year-olds.

Siebel Newsom issued a statement that said she was shocked and incredulous, noting that Maglio deserves our respect and support. The Wisconsin State Journal noted that the images were from prime-time TV and other sources broadcast to teens regularly.

But regulations mandated that Child Protective Services be notified, the police were called, and by that Friday, Maglio had been told to leave her post. Before school started on Monday, May 22, students were protesting to support her. Of course once this complaint was received by Child Protective Services and the DAs office, said Pines, both of them said, in effect, Are you kidding?

As of Tuesday, May 23, Maglio was back at work. Shes not considering legal action; Pines was handling calls like mine, just protecting her right now, he said.

Shipping crates hung with artists murals became the walls of the dinner tent Tuesday, May 23, at the California College of the Arts gala honoring IDEO founder David Kelley. Innovator Kelleys huge impact on technology and learning, said CCA President Stephen Beal, includes such achievements as designing Apples first mouse. He teaches at Stanfords d.school, and in keeping with the purpose of the evening, to raise money for scholarships, much of the onstage conversation (with Exploratorium director Chris Flink) was about lighting the first fire of imagination, seeing the birth of creative confidence.

Kelley said his main professional joy is to see the student flip into being a creative person. ... My job is to empower other people, to build a stage and watch them perform on it.

The tent looked great (thanks, Stanlee Gatti) the meal was delicious (thanks, McCalls). Donations to the David Kelley Scholarship Fund (at least $350,000 according to the screen) were way above the target $100,000.

But my takeaway conversation of the night was with fashion and costume-designer Ashley Eva Brock, who graduated in 2012 and was standing  with her dog  near a display of her textiles and images from a video on which shed worked. The program, which I read later, noted that shed received a Surface magazine Emerging Talent Award in 2012.

Im doing fine, she said of her career, motioning to the images on the wall behind her. I paid to do this project. But I have no regrets. Im playing the long game. Earning a living? Im a massage therapist, she said. And today I did some photo styling for Restoration Hardware. Brock was matter-of-fact, and cheerful. This is what it is to be an artist. Im a multifaceted hustler. She had already, to use the honorees word, flipped, and her confidence in performing on that stage was the embodiment of Kelleys description.

If at first you dont succeed ... Civic leader Mark Buell, graduation speaker at the University of San Francisco on Saturday, May 20, revealed that before attending USF, hed attended Grant Elementary and Lowell High schools. He had not attended graduation ceremonies for any of them.

A learning disability put him in a Grant Elementary classroom taking graduation qualification tests during rites there; a summer job aboard a passenger ship to Asia meant that hed left town a week before the Lowell graduation. And he was drafted into the Army six weeks before his college graduation ceremonies.

His speech included special thanks to the evening-school dean who had allowed him  because of his disability  to waive the language requirement in lieu of young Buell taking 12 units of theology. After for that, he said, muchas gracias.

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik

Public Eavesdropping

Theyre not selfies. Theyre us-ies, with more than one or two people.
According to the SF-Marin Food Bank, 23 percent of San Francisco residents struggle with hunger.

The number is a striking amount, and much higher than the citys homeless population, which the city said was 6,686 in 2015 (though others estimate it to be much higher), making it less than 1 percent of the population.

Food insecurity is an often-misunderstood topic that has been thrust into the national conversation, given the White Houses federal budget proposal that aims to cut the food stamp program by $193 billion over 10 years, a reduction of 25 percent. In the Bay Area, staffers at San Franciscos Human Services Agency recently said that immigrants fear of deportation is keeping eligible San Franciscans from signing up for food stamps.

Yet the hunger statistic is supported by data from several sources. Clear definitions do exist, generated by numbers surrounding the poverty line and a citys cost of living.

Hunger is the general term related to not having enough food, said Teri Olle, director of policy and advocacy for SF-Marin Food Bank, a 30-year-old nonprofit that provides free produce and other groceries to 225,000 people in San Francisco annually.

Food banks and governments talk a lot about ending hunger, which incidentally is the goal of the city of San Francisco by 2020, yet they use the broader term food insecurity more frequently.

Food insecurity incorporates the physical sensation of hunger, but theres more to it than that.

What are the circumstances in which someone does not have enough resources to obtain enough nutritious food for themselves and their family? said Olle, who also co-chairs the city of San Franciscos Food Security Task Force.

For example, an average of 50 families from Bryant Elementary in San Francisco, where 78 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price school lunch, line up each week for a food pantry hosted by the SF-Marin Food Bank. On Tuesday during the last food pantry of the school year, Carmen Aguilar picked up a bag of free eggs, bread, milk, oranges, apples, onions and cereal. According to Aguilar, who works at a nearby taqueria and has three school-age sons at home, summer is very difficult without the pantry, she said in Spanish through an interpreter.

When asked if her family experiences hunger, Aguilar said no. With food stamps its enough, she said. I find a way to get food.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

So in Aguilars case, it may not be about true hunger pangs. But her family certainly qualifies as food insecure, which also means worrying that youre not going to have enough money to buy food. There are other potential outcomes of food insecurity, including eating less healthy food, skipping meals and binging when you do have food as a response to scarcity, said Olle  and those habits can last a lifetime.

The reason Olle and others advocate for food stamps or the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is that it provides a consistent source of food to prevent some of those problems and uncertainties.

SNAP recipients are at least 20 percent less likely than eligible non-participants to be food insecure, said Craig Gundersen of the University of Illinois, citing a study on the impact of SNAP in the current American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

When evaluating food insecurity, cities and nonprofits look at the number of people living below the poverty line as well as the cost of living.

On both scores, San Franciscans have it the worst in the Bay Area. In the 2015 census, San Francisco County had the highest rate of poverty in the Bay Area, with 12 percent living below the poverty line (which was then $24,250 for a family of four) and 23 percent living below 200 percent of the poverty line ($48,500).

The latter income level is the cutoff for eligibility for public federal benefits like food stamps and free school lunch, a threshold that does not vary by region. A family paying $500 to rent in Kansas City, Mo., has the same income eligibility as a family in San Francisco, the most expensive rental market in the country where the median price for a one-bedroom rental is $3,590.

Of course, the problem is not limited to San Francisco. The Alameda County Food Bank said that one in five residents use its services. In Marin, 19 percent of residents face food insecurity, according to the SF-Marin Food Bank.

But does going to the food bank or qualifying for public nutrition benefits mean that you struggle with hunger?

Again, it comes down to a definition.

After housing, child care, transportation and health care expenses in San Francisco, food security advocates say there isnt enough left for 23 percent of San Franciscans to buy nutritious food on a regular basis. According to the Self-Sufficiency Standard calculator from Insight Center for Community Economic Development, a national legal and consulting organization, a family of four in San Francisco needed an income of $61,822 to cover basic costs in 2014  which is $13,332 more than 23 percent of San Franciscans earned. That includes at least $1,033 per month for food, whereas food stamp benefits top out at $649.

What do all those numbers add up to? Hunger.

Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan

Hunger by the numbers

1 in 4 San Francisco residents are food insecure.

1 in 5 Marin residents are food insecure.

1 in 5 Alameda County residents go to the food bank.

12 percent of San Franciscans live below the poverty line (which was $24,250 for a family of four in 2015).

23 percent of San Franciscans live below 200 percent of the poverty line ($48,500) and qualify for nutrition benefits.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, SF-Marin Food Bank, Alameda County Food Bank
"As a mom, rising health care costs are a big concern. My family lost our insurance and doctor because of the Affordable Care Act. But now, we have hope."- California resident Elizabeth Jacinto, in an ad sponsored by the American Action Network

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In a $2 million ad campaign to support the House GOP health plan, the right-leaning American Action Network (AAN) features a California woman named Elizabeth Jacinto who says she suffered under Obamacare and expresses enthusiasm for the American Health Care Act. The ACHA only narrowly passed the House and was greeted lukewarmly by the Senate, so a key part of the effort appears to assist 21 GOP lawmakers who cast a tough vote to support the proposal.

We've exposed false claims about the proposed law by both Democrats and Republicans. Let's take a tour through Jacinto's rhetoric.

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"The American Health Care Act will fix our broken health care system."

In her introduction, Jacinto mentions that her family lost her insurance and her doctor. She has provided more detail in an earlier ANN ad, but essentially she was kicked off her plan with Covered California, the state health-care exchange, for no reason. Apparently, this happened to an unknown number of people because of a software glitch.

We can understand why this is a frustrating experience, but it seems strange to blame the problems with the state exchange on the federal law. The AAN defends the reference on the grounds that this problem was a result of the system created by the Affordable Care Act. But the AHCA does not eliminate the exchanges so it wouldn't really fix what Jacinto considered broken.

Notably, Jacinto does not complain about high costs under Obamacare, so presumably her rates were acceptable, or she and her family qualify for tax credits. (Jacinto, a registered Republican, could not be reached for comment, and AAN declined to address the issue.)

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"More competition and choices, resulting in lower costs and better coverage."

As backup for more competition and more choices, ANN cited an analysis by its think-tank affiliate, the American Action Forum, that the establishment of a Patient and State Stability Fund will inspire states to set up efforts to encourage insurance companies to "provide consumers with an array of options." So it's more of a hope than a reality at this point.

As for lower costs, the ANN cited the Congressional Budget Office report that "by 2026, average premiums for single policyholders in the nongroup market would be roughly 10 percent lower than under current law." As we have noted before, that does not mean costs will decrease, only that they will increase more slowly than under the ACA. Costs will especially increase for older Americans.

(The American Action Forum, which is headed by former CBO director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, has made an interesting case that CBO is using an old, flawed baseline (March 2016) and that a newer 2017 baseline would indicate less impact on the number of people without insurance and on health-care premiums. But we need to rely on the baseline used by CBO.)

Moreover, the health-care plans in the ACA and the AHCA are not necessarily comparable. The AHCA would repeal a requirement that plans in the individual and small-group markets have an actuarial value - the percentage of total costs for covered benefits paid by the plan - in one of four tiers: about 60 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent or 90 percent. So, in theory, a health insurer could offer plans that cover less than 60 percent of total costs, which would bring down premiums but also increase deductibles and other cost-sharing payments.

---

"Families get tax credits to make insurance cheaper."

Under Obamacare, families up to a certain income level receive generous tax subsidies. Advance payments of tax credits help shield many participants in the exchanges from sharp premium increases because the law establishes the share of income that households are expected to pay.

But the subsidies phase out as income increases. Research by Avalere, a health-care consulting firm, shows that participation in the exchanges declines dramatically as incomes increase. More than three-quarters of eligible individuals with income at 100 to 150 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) are enrolled in exchange plans, but just 41 percent of those with income between 151-200 percent FPL. Only 2 percent of those making over 400 percent of FPL participate.

The Republican bill would expand the universe of people who would qualify for tax credits but also make the credits less generous for many people.

So, according to CBO, a 64-year-old with annual income of $26,500 (175 percent of FPL) who now expects $13,600 in subsidies from ACA (to help pay for a $15,300 premium) would only get $4,900 from ACHA (and the premium would be $19,400). But people making above 450 of FPL would get subsidies that they now do not qualify for under ACA. The ad thus glosses over the fact that some people would end up as real losers under the law.

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"And people with preexisting conditions are protected."

"Protected" is an odd word choice here. As we have noted, people with preexisting conditions would not be denied coverage. But if they have a gap in coverage, they still could face higher, unaffordable premiums for a year. (Much would depend on what individual states do.) So this is misleading language.

---

The ultimate shape of the Republican replacement for Obamacare is still uncertain, if it even emerges from the Senate. But this ad glosses over many details to paint a rather rosy picture of reality. Jacinto - and readers - should be aware that rising health costs are unlikely to be halted under the law as currently drafted.

Two Pinocchios

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http://wapo.st/2rxMXeS
The walking wounded are all around us, on the streets of San Francisco, Berkeley, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz. They talk to themselves, to their long-suffering pets they drag along with them, to the gods above who clearly arent listening. Whos crazier  the mentally ill howling at the demons in their heads, or the rest of us, who simply walk on by and pretend not to see?

The torment that afflicts these men and women is generally contained within. Only when it bursts menacingly into the open do we seem to intervene, with security guards escorting the madly bellowing from restaurants and stores back to the streets. In the most alarming cases, the police are called  forced into the dual roles of public safety protectors and psychiatric social workers. The consequences are sometimes tragic. People with mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed by police in the United States, according to a report prepared last year for San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon.

When mentally ill people are arrested, their prospects are usually bleak  even in the compassionate City of St. Francis, where the number of critical care beds at San Francisco General Hospital and other frontline mental health facilities has been slashed in recent years. All too often the walking wounded end up behind bars, the last place on Earth they should be. It would be difficult to design an environment more counter-therapeutic than a modern American jail or prison, Gascon has stated.

According to a recent report by the Stanford Law School Justice Advocacy Project, the number of prisoners in California with mental illness is on the rise, including those with severe psychiatric symptoms, whose number has increased by more than 60 percent since 2012. This growing mental health crisis comes even as reforms relieve prison overcrowding and alleviate other conditions behind bars. But these benefits, according to the report, are not being shared by mentally ill prisoners, who receive longer sentences and are often denied eligibility for early release granted to other inmates.

Research shows that community based psychiatric treatment is frequently more effective and significantly less expensive than in-prison treatment at preventing crime and reducing incarceration rates for people with mental illness, the report concludes. And yet even liberal Bay Area counties are still emphasizing incarceration over treatment, according to the report: Among Californias 10 largest counties, Alameda County sends the largest percentage of inmates with mental illness to state prison (42 percent) and Orange County sends the smallest (24 percent). ... Even counties with robust behavioral health courts and diversion programs, like San Francisco, send a higher percentage of mentally ill defendants to prison compared to the state average.

The current murder trial of three Santa Clara County correctional officers in the brutal beating death of a mentally ill inmate has spotlighted the nightmarish conditions for those who are warehoused in prisons where psychiatric care is limited or nonexistent. According to a recent Chronicle news report, the inmate  31-year-old Michael Tyree, died naked, covered in feces and vomit in his cell on the sixth floor of the jail in San Jose. The court had ordered that Tyree be released to a mental health clinic in San Jose two weeks before his death, but beds at the facility were full.

Gascons office and his usual nemesis, Public Defender Jeff Adachi, have cooperated on programs aimed at treating rather than punishing mentally ill lawbreakers. San Franciscos Behavioral Health Court assigns caseworkers to defendants, who are offered an array of treatment opportunities, said Adachi. The results have been pretty outstanding, even for those charged with serious crimes, like robbery and assault.

The problem, as Adachi acknowledged, is that model diversionary programs like this have very limited resources, and there is often a long waiting period for defendants.

Last year, amid the debate over tearing down the dilapidated Hall of Justice, Gascon proposed an ambitious alternative to a new county jail. Instead of a jail, the district attorney and a team of mental health experts argued, San Francisco should build a Behavioral Health Justice Center, where the mentally ill who fall into the legal system could receive proper care. But the project stalled when it ran into opposition from conservatives worried about the costs of operating a high-quality mental health facility in the age of deinstitutionalization and from liberals who balk at any treatment program that has locked doors.

As a result, people with mental illness continue pouring into jail in San Francisco  and throughout California, where they make up a growing percentage of the prison population. And reform-minded prosecutors like Gascon are faced with limited options.

I know for certain what happens to mentally ill people behind bars, the district attorney told me. They tend to decompose. They become threats to themselves, to guards and to other prisoners. And yet if a person who is not in their right mind lashes out and stabs someone with a pair of scissors, theres little I can do besides incarcerate them.

Im wrestling with a case like this right now, a mentally ill man who threatened to cut a womans throat  it came very close to assault. He wont get the help he needs in prison, and yet if I released him, the victim would be horrified, and rightly so. If we had better mental health services, we couldve intervened sooner and maybe the man wouldve been living a perfectly normal life. But thats not where its headed now.

Thats the world I navigate. Society has washed its hands of the mentally ill on our streets and has told the police and prosecutors, You handle it.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Talbot appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email dtalbot@sfchronicle.com
European leaders hoped President Donald Trump would explicitly endorse NATO's bedrock collective defense clause during his visit to Brussels on Thursday, after he spent the presidential campaign suggesting it was hollow. He didn't.

In a speech at the opening of NATO's new headquarters, Trump slammed U.S. allies for not spending enough on defense before an uncomfortable-looking audience of fellow heads of state, and in between sparked awkward run-ins with other leaders that underscored strained U.S.-European relations since Trump took office.

He berated allies for "chronic underpayments" on defense spending in the face of aggressions from terrorism to "This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States," Trump said in a speech. "And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years," he said yet again. (Of course, as Trump has had explained to him countless times, countries don't pay any dues to NATO, as they do to organizations like the U.N., so it's unclear what he is talking about.)

Currently, only five of NATO's 28 members - the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Estonia, and Greece - meet the alliance's benchmark of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense. It's been a thorn in the side of U.S.-NATO relations for decades, but Trump brought new urgency to the debate after questioning the value of the alliance and openly praising NATO's arch geopolitical foe, Russia, during his presidential campaign.

"We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness, and the size of forces," he said.

In another crucial signal, Trump refused to reaffirm the value of NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause, the linchpin of NATO's unity and deterrence since the alliance's foundation in 1949. That says that all NATO members will come to the aid of any member that is attacked. Trump made those remarks in front of a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when for the only time in history NATO invoked Article 5 to help defend Trump's hometown.

While Trump addressed the threat of terrorism, he refused to go hard on Russia to allay allies' fears, in another swing-and-miss.

Experts and former U.S. officials, stunned at the omissions, slammed Trump.

"Trumps behavior at this NATO meeting in Brussels is a definitive win for Putin," said Jorge Benitez, a NATO expert at the Atlantic Council who was at the NATO confab. "It just increases a lot of the doubts and fears and concerns our allies have had," he told Foreign Policy.

"Every US President since Truman has pledged support for Article 5-that US will defend Europe. Not so Trump today at #NATO. Major mistake," former U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns wrote on Twitter.

Trump said he was "very direct" with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg and other leaders about ponying up more on defense spending.

His refusal to explicitly endorse the principle may rattle U.S. allies who were already nervous that Washington won't come to their defense in the event of an attack. Baltic countries, in particular, are worried about massing Russian military forces that could overwhelm them, and were hoping for the typical, ironclad U.S. commitment, but left disappointed.

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.

Optics-wise, things didn't fare much better, with passive aggressiveness out in full force. French President Emmanuel Macron went out of his way to leave Trump hanging for a handshake as he greeted the phalanx of NATO member leaders.

In another cringe-worthy moment, Trump shoved Montenegrin leader Dusko Markovic out of his way to clamber to the front of the pack to preen for a photo-op.

Background: Montenegro poured its heart and soul into gaining NATO membership, much to the Kremlin's displeasure, and it's expected to gain official membership next month. Trump himself greenlighted its accession.

After the speech and some tense run-ins with his peers, Trump and the other NATO leaders gathered for a photo op on stage, while leaders mingled and chatted with one another. No NATO leaders were seen approaching Trump to speak with him on his way out.
When Ms. Z handed out the results of our eighth-grade algebra exam, I was so proud of myself. I had the highest score in the school. As was routine, everyone was supposed to bring the test home to show to their parents and have it signed.

But I wasnt living with my parents. I was in foster care.

When I showed the test to my foster mother after school, her reaction was anything but routine. She wouldnt sign my test. She didnt even look at it.

It probably wasnt her intention, but I got the message loud and clear: No one was proud of me.

According to an influential report by WestEd and the Stuart Foundation, California foster youth face an invisible achievement gap, scoring lower on statewide standardized tests and graduating at rates lower than their peers.

Whether parental figures are related to the child or not, an adults involvement in a childs schooling plays an important role in their academic achievement.

You may be surprised to learn that many foster parents are afraid to engage in their foster childs education. A caregiver may not officially hold a childs educational rights so social workers and school districts often arent sure what information can and cannot be shared with them. Foster parents can lose their state license  and the foster children in their care could be taken from them  if they do anything they arent supposed to do, so many foster parents err on the side of caution.

But foster parents shouldnt be afraid of accessing educational information about the children in their care. Senate Bill 233, now before the California Senate, helps clarify how foster parents who dont necessarily hold educational rights can and should access their foster childs educational records. Put forward by California State Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, SB233 also requires foster parent training to include information about foster youth educational rights and the importance of the caregivers role in education.

If we care about changing the educational trajectories of youth in the foster care system, then passing SB233 would be a crucial step in the right direction.

I became the foster parent of my youngest brother, who has autism, when social services couldnt find a home for him, and then again when my husband and I took in a teenager. Both times, there was confusion about what I could and couldnt do or know.

School districts either assumed I was an educational rights holder, and allowed me to do more than was appropriate, or assumed caregivers were barred from accessing educational records and shared too little or nothing.

I didnt have the training I needed either to understand what I could access or how I could be most effective. SB233 fixes the confusion. Foster parents can and should be accessing educational records, and this law helps let social workers, local education agencies and most important, foster parents themselves, know they have the right to access these records.

Now, more than a decade after exiting foster care in Contra Costa County, Ive graduated from college and law school, and I train foster parents about the importance of being involved in the education and aware of the educational rights of the children in their care.

The foster parents I work with have said time and time again: They need more information to help their foster children and youth. Its about time they get what they need.

Lily Eagle Dorman Colby is an attorney at the National Center for Youth Law and an alumna of the foster care system.
The proliferation of upscale apartments that will double the population of Dogpatch and Potrero Hill over the next two years will soon be joined by a different residential wave: student housing.

On Potrero Hill, the California College of the Arts has started construction on a housing complex at 75 Arkansas St., a 65,000-square-foot building that will house 228 students. The $32 million project, which broke ground Monday, is the first phase in CCAs plan to create 750 new beds for students on or near its campus by 2025.

Meanwhile, this month the UC Board of Regents approved a $227 million, two-building housing development for UCSF at 566-590 Minnesota St. and 600 Minnesota St. That project, about a half-mile from the CCA building on the Dogpatch side of Interstate 280, will include 595 housing units  a mix of studios and two-bedrooms.

Taken together, the two projects will inject about 1,500 school-affiliated residents into the rapidly growing neighborhoods. That population will include a mix of future doctors, nurses, researchers, painters, filmmakers, poets, architects and museum curators.

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San Francisco has 30 institutions of higher learning with about 80,000 full-time students, but fewer than 15 percent live in student housing, according to a study by the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, which found that the schools have a combined 9,000 beds  about 60,000 short of the real demand.

UCSF alone has a 1,400-unit shortfall, according to Christine Gasparac, community relations manager for UCSF. In addition to the Minnesota Street projects, the university is working on a joint housing venture with UC Hastings College of the Law near the Civic Center.

Were making progress, Gasparac said. Building more housing has been a priority for UCSF as far as attracting the best students.

Students unable to find housing through their school are forced to compete in an already overcrowded marketplace, said Rob Poole of the Housing Action Coalition, which works to shape city housing policy.

Youre going to go on Craigslist. Youre going to compete with families. You are going to compete with working professionals, Poole said. You are going to find as many roommates as you can and pile up in a lovely Victorian that is still rent-controlled.

As an incentive to make student housing more feasible, the Board of Supervisors passed legislation in 2012 exempting institutions of higher learning from affordable housing requirements. Since then, in addition to UCSF and CCA, schools that have made commitments to build student housing include the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Hastings, the Academy of Art University and San Francisco State.

The Arkansas Street building is being developed for CCA by Simon Blattner, who ran Rittenhouse Paper Co. on the property until 2001, when he sold it. Blattner, who has been on the CCA board of trustees since 1994, will lease the dorm to CCA at well below market rate with an option to buy.

This is all about the students, Blattner said. With housing prices in San Francisco continuing to rise and student housing in short supply, we need to find creative ways to alleviate this problem.

The 24,000-square-foot lot is about two blocks from CCAs campus, which is clustered along Eighth and 15th streets on the northern edge of Potrero Hill. While CCA has long had a presence in both Oakland and San Francisco, it has hired Studio Gang Architects to come up with a plan to consolidate both campuses at Potrero Hill by 2021. This consolidation will include a new housing complex and 100,000 square feet of academic space for the 2.4-acre empty lot behind CCAs main building at 1111 Eighth St.

But institutional incursions into Dogpatch and Potrero Hill are not without controversy. Dogpatch residents have criticized UCSF for gobbling up land outside of its Mission Bay campus. In addition to the Minnesota Street properties, the university has plans to develop a mental health facility at 2130 Third St. It also bought the Cal Steam building at 777 Mariposa, but has not announced a plan for it.

Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle

J.R. Eppler, president of the Potrero Boosters neighborhood group, said he supports the CCA project but wishes UCSF would do more to mitigate the impact of its development on transportation, open space and traffic.

We already have significant bottlenecks, Eppler said. There are still parts of the neighborhood where we dont have sidewalks. Its hard to walk around when youre in the middle of the street in the flow of traffic.

The influx of student housing is following a building boom that will more than triple the population of the two neighborhoods over the next five years. About 750 units of housing will be added in Dogpatch this year, with developments coming online at 650 Indiana St., 800 Indiana St. and 1201 Tennessee St. Those will be added to 1,200 new units nearby at 855 Brannan, 1010 Potrero and 1 Henry Adams.

Eppler said UCSF should invest to improve the streets and sidewalks in Dogpatch and help fund regional transportation goals like a Mission Bay ferry terminal. He argued that UCSF should limit growth to Mission Bay.

They have a campus, he said. They should be able to accommodate their needs without eating into the tax base of the city.

UCSF said it is meeting neighborhood needs by committing to a 4,500-square-foot corner store. In addition, UCSF will invest $10.5 million in the neighborhood, including $4.2 million for the renovation of the old Potrero Police Station at 2300 Third St. and $5 million for improvements to Esprit Park.

Dogpatch resident Jared Doumani called the CCA project the right place for the right project. But he criticized UCSF for the design of its projects and for not including the 10,000-square-foot grocery store neighbors wanted.

It seems like they are really value-engineering this thing, he said. There is so much animosity about them coming in here, and then they slap together a cheap-looking building. They can afford to do better.

But Dogpatch artist Topher Delaney, who has worked in the neighborhood for 25 years, said the community should embrace both the UCSF and CCA housing.

Student housing is affordable housing  that is what has been lost in translation here, she said. The projects that have been rolled out around here, one after another around here, have been market rate. UCSF is different. Its not a business. Its people devoting their lives to research, to finding a cure or taking care of us. I think we should we take care of them.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @sfjkdineen
Once again, California is on the cutting edge of a leading political trend: the arrival of the anticharismatic politician.

Boring, my friends, is now beautiful.

And California has two of the most anticharismatic stars: Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and state Treasurer John Chiang, a candidate for governor in 2018. Both are embracing their nerdiness, because its a fortuitous time in America to be a wonk.

Like most things happening in politics these days, we have President Trump to thank.

Perhaps only a politician like Donald Trump, a blustery, Twitter-shaming purveyor of alternative facts, could make a star out of Schiff. Schiff is so unassuming that he said he was totally shocked when he was named most likely to succeed in his class at Monte Vista High School in Danville.

I didnt think anybody knew my name, he said. They do now.

Its difficult to turn on CNN or any political news show without coming across Schiff, the go-to guy when it comes to the Democratic viewpoint on the Trump campaigns possible association with Russians during last years election.

After his 16 mostly obscure years in Congress, America is having a Schiff moment. As he was about to begin his keynote speech to the California Democratic Party convention last weekend, someone yelled, We love you!

Im trying to think if my wife ever came to one of those speeches, Schiff said dryly when we chatted in Sacramento for The Chronicles new Its All Political podcast.

Thats pretty typical of Schiffs humor, doled out in the same prosecutorial monotone with which he grills people appearing before the Intel Committee. His lifelong equilibrium helps to explain why the person who is most surprised by the sudden public embrace of Adam Schiff is ... Adam Schiff.

I find the somewhat instant notoriety very baffling because I certainly dont feel that Im doing anything any differently than Ive ever done, Schiff said. The only thing that I can conclude is that when people used to tell me in the past, Oh, youre so thoughtful, youre so rational, I really appreciate how you explain this and that, I would always say, make the same jest: Plainly, I have no future in this business.

That future is now because Schiff has become what former President Barack Obama once called Bill Clinton: the secretary of explaining stuff.

Schiffs political Stairway to Heaven is the 17-minute, 49-second explanation he delivered at a March Intelligence Committee meeting where he clearly explained the who, what, when and why Americans should care about potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential campaign.

That ability to concisely break down complex topics without being a hysterical partisan has endeared him to cable TV news programs, where hes showing up more often than commercials for drugs to stop opioid-induced constipation.

But this is not his natural mode, as Schiff said during his lovefest keynote address at the convention: I find myself in a role to which I am not accustomed, to which I did not aspire, but which is now required of all of us who are unwilling to stand idly by and watch the undoing of all we cherish, and that is the role of ... resistance.

Im not a flame thrower. That's not my style. I did not go to Congress to just lob grenades at the other side, he said. Im so desperately concerned about what this president is doing that I feel I need to act out and speak out in a way that I never have before.

Schiff said hes never been one to think much about his next move, describing himself as a bit of procrastinator. Yet he told me that he would consider running for the U.S. Senate should Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein not seek re-election  after he gave a long explanation for why she should run. So maybe this is just the beginning of his moment.

And then theres Chiang, who holds the distinction of having held three elective positions  state treasurer, controller and member of the Board of Equalization  that make voters ask, Who?

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

The hottest positions! Chiang corrected me me during our Its All Political chat. It was a different Chiang than I expected. Before I could even ask a question, he started busting on the vest I was wearing. No, no, I think its hot, he said. Were going to solve all the problems from the 1970s here.

Perhaps the governors race will allow Chiangs self-deprecating personality to surface in ways it couldnt during his day jobs.

Yet he has a profound seriousness that is rooted in his childhood. He was the eldest of four children raised by Taiwanese immigrants in suburban Chicago, one of only a handful of Asian Americans in the neighborhood. Vandals spray painted gook and other epithets on the family home. Chiang was his siblings protector, getting suspended from middle school for beating up a kid who was bullying his brother.

Chiang prides himself on being independent. In 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to reduce the pay of 200,000 state workers to minimum wage after the Legislature didnt pass a budget on time. Chiang refused to comply  How were they going to subsist in the recession on minimum wage?  and eventually prevailed.

In 2011, as controller, Chiang withheld lawmakers pay after they didnt pass a balanced budget by a June deadline. He felt blowback for months afterward from fellow Democrats who would ask him to remove his endorsement from legislation because he was toxic.

Since the Democrats in the governors race largely agree on the issues, the campaign is likely to turn on whose style voters prefer. Chiang knows his play is to emphasize his steady competence as long as his two biggest challengers are outsize personality, former big city mayors  Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom of San Francisco and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.

Chiang has a path to victory, especially if he advances to the general election in a top-two race against a Democrat. Then he could peel off GOP voters attracted to his fiscal know-how. By then, even Republicans might be ready for a politician who embraces being boring.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
A roundup of upcoming events:

Saturday

Immigration discussion: The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity will host a discussion on immigration, followed by postcard writing to support social justice. The event is from 10 a.m. to noon at the Northern Police Station Community Room, 1125 Fillmore St. in San Francisco. For information: info@owlsf.org.

Russia conversation: A public forum on the confrontation between Russia and the U.S., from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. in Berkeley. For information: (415) 282-1908 or www.upwa.info.

Thursday

Elizabeth Warren event: A conversation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St. in San Francisco. The discussion is part of an all-day event organized around opposition to President Trump. Tickets cost $100 and can be purchased at www.joyouspersistence.com.

June 2

Gun violence: For National Gun Violence Awareness Day, activists are asking people to wear orange to stand against gun violence. For more information: https://wearorange.org/.

June 3

Gun violence march: A march across the Golden Gate Bridge to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day and to stand against gun violence. Participants are asked to wear orange. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Golden Gate Bridge plaza. For information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1324576680972179.

LGBT rally: As part of Sonoma County Pride weekend, a rally to support LGBT rights, womens rights, immigration rights and other causes. The rally is from 1 to 4 p.m. at Guerneville Lodge, 15905 River Road in Guerneville. For information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1420477121307743/.

Anti-Trump marches: Marchers are demanding an independent investigation into Trumps Russia connections in a March for Truth. In San Jose, the march will begin at 11 a.m. at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St. For information: http://www.indivisibleeastsanjose.org/march-for-truth/. In San Francisco, a march will begin at 2 p.m. at Justin Herman Plaza. For information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1978572495762727/.
Chana Bloch, a major figure in American letters through her poetry, translations of Hebrew and Yiddish, and scholarship in English literature at Mills College, has died after a four-year battle with an aggressive sarcoma  which she wrote and spoke about with searing honesty through her final days.

Ms. Bloch passed away May 19 at her home in North Berkeley, according to her son, Benjamin Bloch, a San Jose psychologist. She was 77.

As a poet, she published for 35 years, and her sixth and final collection, The Moon Is Almost Full, is due out in September.

The book unflinchingly plumbs the uncertainties and complexities of Ms. Blochs own terminal illness with wit, insight and tenderness. She gave an advance reading, titled Dying for Dummies, last year at the Berkeley City Club for members of Ashby Village, an organization of aging people living independently, and drew a standing ovation.

She was always so open to feedback and changes and welcomed criticism of every word choice in both her poetry and in our translation, said Chana Kronfeld, a UC Berkeley professor who collaborated with Bloch on two books. There was just something about her that fostered an open circulation of ideas.

Ms. Blochs awards include the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation (with Kronfeld), two prestigious Pushcart Prizes and an award from the Poetry Society of America.

At Mills, where Ms. Bloch was a professor in the department of English, she taught courses in literature and poetry from 1973 to 2005. She was a co-founder and director of the creative writing department.

Chana embodied the bridge between literary studies and creative writing through her own distinguished scholarship and poetry, said Cynthia Scheinberg, a professor of English and associate provost at Mills.

Her scholarly field was English Renaissance Poetry, and she was known for her poetry-writing workshops. She was always accessible and supportive to any student interested in poetry, even those who were not enrolled in her classes.

She even talked to me once about my own writing, says Scheinberg, and I never thought of myself as a poet.

Even after her retirement in 2005, she often returned to Mills to give guest lectures and poetry readings, always well attended. In 2008, Ms. Bloch collaborated on a groundbreaking translation of the ancient Hebrew poem Song of Songs.

She returned many times to discuss this translation in the Bible as Literature class taught by Scheinberg at Mills. Hearing her talk about a biblical translation from a feminist point of view was a transformative experience for the students, said Scheinberg.

That was the title on one of her collections, published in 1992, along with The Secrets of the Tribe (1980) and Swimming in the Rain: New and Selected Poems, 1980-2015.

Memento Mori, a poem from her forthcoming collection, was published by the New Yorker and addressed her health.

God blessed you with curly hair, my mother used to say and dressed me like Shirley Temple. On my bare scalp, Australia: a birthmark that hid in the thicket of my hair. Unblessed in a downburst, I lost my leafy summer, my lovely, my crest, my crown. I sleep in a flannel nightcap. My wig sleeps in a closet, comb and brush in a drawer. I wake to a still life  a clock that marks the hour before it strikes. No skull on my desk. Just a face in the mirror, unrecognizable.

Peter Sussman, a writer and friend who helped arrange the Ashby Village reading, is overseeing a documentary of that reading  and Ms. Blochs frank discussion during it, of her cancer fight  to be released in conjunction with the books publication.

For many years before her final illness, she had been fascinated by how people overcame disability, death and other life challenges, Sussman said. Just listen to this one poem, Covenant, that was published years before she knew she had cancer:

What we are given is too hot to touch. Live coal, glowing from the altar. I take it in the tongs of language so it wont burn. It does burn. I reach for it anyway. But slowly. Slowly.

She was a brave writer, a realistic writer, who believed in the power of language to express the apparently inexpressible, Sussman said.

Two months ago, excited at having just sent her book to a printer and optimistic about her medical progress, Ms. Bloch told The Chronicle she felt writing so openly about the specter of death was not a choice. It was necessary, she said  not just for herself, but for others who could learn from her reflection.

I thought thats the only way I could do it, Ms. Bloch said. I have to be open about cancer. I have to write about it. I have to face it with my words.

Florence Faerstein was born March 15, 1940, in New York, the daughter of poor Ukrainian immigrants who arrived speaking only Yiddish. She got her bachelors degree at Cornell University and masters degree at Brandeis University before coming to California in 1967 to pursue her doctorate in English at UC Berkeley.

Along the way, she legally changed her first name to Chana (pronounced Hana) and in 1969 she married Ariel Bloch, a professor of Near Eastern studies and linguistics at UC Berkeley.

They bought a Tudor-style home where she was to live the rest of her life while raising two sons, Benjamin and Jonathan.

She was vibrant and caring, and intellectually curious, said Benjamin, noting that the big family tradition was attending the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival (now Cal Shakes), just a few blocks from home. They never missed a summer play.

In 1994, she divorced Bloch. In 2003, she married David Sutter, a construction project manager.

After retiring from the Mills faculty, she continued to work on her poetry and translations and kept busy and active even after she became ill.

A memorial service is pending. Survivors include husband, Sutter of Berkeley; sons Benjamin of San Jose and Jonathan of Oakland; brother Saul Faerstein of Los Angeles; and two grandchildren.

Donations in her name may be made to Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in Oakland.

Sam Whiting and Kevin Fagan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com, kfagan@sfchronicle.com
When are the people of Illinois going to wake up and put the blame on the state of our state where it belongs? It does not reside with Governor Rauner. It goes back well before his term in office. It goes back before former Gov. Quinn and even before Blagovich. It goes back before even before Gov. James Thompson who did everything in his power to move the state capitol to Chicago.

It comes from the power brokers in Chicago who have run our state and run it into the ground to satisfy their own greed and hunger for power. Until the Chicago mob is broken up and taken out of power Illinois will continue to decline.

No governor will be able to help fix this state until term limits are instituted that will break the power of the Chicago mob. I like some of what our current governor is trying to do but the Chicago Democrats will not allow anything to reach his desk that will break the hold they have on Illinois. We have to make cuts in some programs and stop raising taxes. I hate to see some of these cuts myself but there is no sane alternative. We are being driven to poverty by our high taxes and we are losing too many companies because they can go to other states and pay much less.

Give up the partisan way of doing things and let's use some common sense to get the State of Illinois back on track.

Steve Shaw, Warrensburg
At most companies, if you think youve witnessed sexual harassment, sexism, bigotry or racism, theres one way to get it addressed: going to human resources. At Google, theres another way to air your grievance: submitting your complaint to an employee-run message board.

The list that comes out of those messages, called Yes, at Google, is a grassroots effort to collect anonymous submissions at Google and parent Alphabet and communicate them across the Mountain View company, according to five employees who receive the list. It tracks allegations of unwelcome behavior at work in an attempt to make the company more inclusive, said the employees, who did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak about internal company matters. Since starting in October, more than 15,000 employees  20 percent of the workforce  have subscribed, according to two of those people.

Management is aware of the list. We work really hard to promote and preserve a culture of respect and inclusion, a Google representative said. Our employees have numerous ways to raise issues  both negative and positive  with us, including through grassroots transparency efforts like this one. We take concerns seriously and take appropriate measures to address them.

The list is run by workers from different areas of the company, according to a person familiar with it, though its not clear who runs the list and whether the submissions are vetted.

Usually the people in the complaints are not named, though one submission described an instance when, during a large company meeting in late April, Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt allegedly interrupted Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat when she had a question addressed to her, which the post categorized as a gender-related complaint. A person who attended the meeting said Schmidt answered the question to make a joke. Messages sometimes include job titles and other details.

Google, along with other tech companies, is facing growing pressure from diversity advocates and the media to change the gender and racial makeup of its workforce, which is largely white and Asian men. But inside company walls, employees are also speaking up about what they see as unfair treatment. The weekly email  whose title is meant to suggest that yes, these things happen at Google, even if you dont see them  is one way employees are pushing for awareness and change.

Google management doesnt control or influence the content, though the lists organizers sometimes ask teams or particular employees to respond to an item before publication. Executives have touted the list internally as a way that Google is trying to make its workplace welcome to all kinds of employees.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a widely read blog post detailing alleged sexual harassment and other mistreatment at Uber (in response to Fowlers allegations, Uber is conducting an internal investigation into its workplace culture). After her post, a group of Google vice presidents sent staff an email that listed resources that might help prevent similar things happening at Google. Yes, at Google was included as a resource.

A dispatch from early May listed dozens of alleged incidents. One person reported a manager to HR for allegedly joking about raping one of his direct reports, the email said. He was promoted.

Another allegation: A colleague started a meeting off by making a joke that called a woman in the adjacent meeting room some random bitch.

In another, a writer alleges that a new employee was invited by an engineer to get drinks with colleagues off campus. It was her second week of work. Upon arriving, discovered there was no group, the email said. Subsequently informed by the engineer that she was expected to sleep with everyone because thats the culture here. The message was accompanied by a note that urged anyone who knows of the identity of the people involved or the time and place it occurred to share it with the company, so we can look into this matter and address it appropriately.

A list like Yes, at Google introduces business risks, said Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School. If a submission were proven libelous, that could be a legal complication for the company. And having a fifth of a companys workforce reading a weekly collection of complaints could amplify discontent among employees, he said.

In 2014, Google became one of the first high-profile tech companies to release employee diversity figures. The companys proportions have not improved much in three years  81 percent of its technical staff is male, as of last year, and less than 6 percent are races other than Asian or white. Google runs implicit bias training designed to address some of the subtle forms of prejudice that persist inside workplaces.

Google is under investigation by the Department of Labor for alleged systemic pay discrimination against its female employees. Google denied the allegations and said that its yearly analysis of pay across men and women found no gender pay gap.

The newsletter is less than 8 months old but has picked up subscribers and interest in the past few months as other companies have faced more public allegations of sexual harassment. Google also faced criticism in February when Uber said it asked for the resignation of Amit Singhal, a senior executive, after learning that he was the subject of a sexual harassment claim when he worked at Google. Singhal denied the allegation.

Not all the complaints in the mailing list include allegations of misconduct such as sexual harassment. Other entries allege workplace comments that might not be obviously offensive to everyone but made some workers uncomfortable, said the current employees.

One submission cites a comment someone wrote in an internal referral that a job candidate is definite (sic) one of the smartest girls Ive met. Another: Co-worker to me: You know why the schools in Pleasanton are so good, right? Because of all the Chinese people. One employee said that the hairdressers who work at the Google campus sometimes say, Ive never encountered hair like yours before, which the employee said comes across as code for Im not trained to cut the hair of people of your race.

The mailing list also includes actions or changes that employees found praiseworthy. The updated drinks menu at weekly all-hands meetings include more nonalcoholic beverages, and the mens restrooms in the San Francisco offices have menstruation products to accommodate transgender men who have periods. When some employees outside the U.S. found a YouTube data tools name offensive, it was quickly changed.

Cappelli, the management professor, said that despite the risks that such a list poses, a collection of complaints from workers is valuable for management  especially about sensitive topics that employees may be reluctant to talk about. Keeping an eye on a list similar to Googles could be a pretty smart thing for an employer to do, he said. You can find out stuff thats going on without having to do surveys. Employees dont necessarily trust hotlines, and they certainly dont always trust going to their supervisor with problems.

Ellen Huet and Mark Bergen are Bloomberg writers. Email: ehuet4@bloomberg.net, mbergen10@bloomberg.net
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When hes not working for a private client, Lyft driver Ulandsey Peterson wakes up at 7 a.m. to vacuum his black BMW 740i and take it to the car wash.

His payments on the BMW, which he bought in November, are $3,000 a month. Its worth it, he says, because of the higher tips he gets. Between tips and fares, he makes up to $300 a day.

Petersons latest maneuver to boost his earnings: signing up for Lyft Lux, a new service that the San Francisco ride-hailing company began offering Thursday.

The 46-year-old is one of several new drivers Lyft has signed up for its new service.

Peterson is already prepared. His usual routine involves traversing West Los Angeles, driving music executives and other businesspeople around the city. Peterson scents the leather interior with eucalyptus and rosemary oil. Bags of jelly beans, mints and caramels, along with bottles of Evian, are stuffed in the passenger door pockets.

I polish this once a week and try to do a full detail once a month, said Peterson, who dresses in a button-down shirt and tie. His rating on Lyft: an almost perfect 4.95 stars. Im in a high-line car and I want to give my passengers the highest level of comfort I can give them.

Lux service is starting out in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.

For Lyft, which began as an egalitarian service using peoples everyday cars and encouraging passengers to sit in the front and greet their drivers with a fist bump, serving the high end of the market has been a challenge. Uber, by contrast, started out as a black-car booking app and worked its way down with UberX and UberPool.

This will be Lyfts third attempt to challenge Uber for fancier rides, and it must woo both drivers and passengers. In 2014, it attempted to position Lyft Plus as a high-end option. The service flopped with passengers, who werent interested in a luxury Lyft, and drivers, who complained that they purchased expensive SUVs to earn the promised higher fares, only to have Lyft cut the price by 25 percent.

Whats changed since then: More people are aware of Lyft as an alternative to Uber, as opposed to the early adopters who embraced its proletarian image.

Last year, Lyft introduced Lyft Premier, touting it as a way for passengers to order high-end cars. Lyft said Lux will have stricter requirements. Cars must be specific BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Audi models and have black exteriors.

We learned from our community that there was a desire for more ride types, including a black-car experience, said Lyft operations manager David Fairbank.

Lyft hasnt disclosed pricing for passengers, but said drivers can earn three to five times more than on regular rides. It also said it would waive its commission on Lux rides until July 16.

Another draw for Bay Area drivers: Uber is not currently accepting new drivers into its UberBlack or UberSUV programs, which have higher fares, according to its website.

Christian Perea, a San Francisco Lyft driver who helps run the Rideshare Guy blog and podcast, noted that while driving for UberBlack means getting a transportation charter party permit, which costs $1,000 or more, as well as commercial insurance that costs hundreds of dollars a month, Lux does not have those requirements. That could draw more drivers, he said.

Reyda Van, an enterprise consultant for Privco, a research firm that tracks private companies, said Lyft needs to distinguish itself from Uber with riders. Partnerships with American Express and Capital One have helped cement business travelers loyalty, he said.

Those who use the service are already ingrained and have the incentive to do so with Uber, he said. You can only go so far with offering a specific type of car.

Peterson agreed that Lyfts previous efforts didnt win him passengers.

I didnt have much luck with Premier because the brand awareness just wasnt there, he said.

Though he gets more money and clients driving for Uber, he said he really wants Lyft to break through. Lyft made him feel more appreciated: The company even sent him an electronic card on his birthday.

Theyre the underdogs here, he said. I think things could change with Lux.

Nicholas Cheng is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ncheng@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @nichocheng
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Memorial Day Events

Memorial Day Bolinas Museum Benefit Lawn Party 4-6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 28. $75-$125. Big Mesa Farmstead, 280 Mesa Road, Bolinas. (415) 868-8809. www.bolinasmuseum.org

Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade Mill Valleys annual parade has a new route starting on Throckmorton and proceeding around downtown due to construction on Miller Avenue. 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 29. www.facebook.com/events/ 220152175140142

Mountain View Cemetery Memorial Day Commemoration A service followed by complimentary refreshments and docent tours. 10 a.m. Monday, May 29. 5000 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. (510) 652-2588. www.mountainviewcemetery.org

Presidio Memorial Day Commemoration Grand March followed by formal ceremony, 21-gun salute, history walks and community picnic with live music, childrens activities and more. 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 29. Presidio Officers Club, The Presidio, S.F. www.presidio.gov/events/memorial-day-commemoration

USS Hornet Memorial Day Ceremony Memorial ceremony on Hangar Deck followed by wreath toss as well as activities, ship tours, meet veterans and more. 11 a.m. Monday, May 29. Normal admission rates apply. Pier 3, 707 W. Hornet Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-8448. https://www.uss-hornet.org

22nd Annual Sh!t Kickin Memorial Day Barbecue Smelly Kelley & Friends, 77 El Deora, The Evangenitals, and Angelica Rockne, live music. 3:30 p.m. Monday, May 29. $10. El Rio, 3158 Mission St., S.F. www.elriosf.com

Walnut Creek Memorial Day Ceremony Live music, dramatic readings and speakers with keynote by Capt. Casey, J. Brown, U.S. Army. 10 a.m. Monday, May 29. Gazebo at Civic Park, North Broadway and Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. www.walnut-creek.org

Bridgewatch Memorial Day The Bridgewatch Angels are seeking compassionate volunteers to engage in suicide prevention. 2-6 p.m. Monday, May 29. Free; registration recommended. Golden Gate Bridge, S.F. http://bit.ly/2r9r45s

Other Events

After Dark The Exploratoriums weekly adults-only after-hours event features a presentation on the nature of sound by Ron Hipschman, explainer demos and more. 6-10 p.m. Thursday, May 25 $10-$15. The Exploratorium, Pier 15, S.F. (415) 528-4444. www.exploratorium.edu

NightLife Spotlight The Academys weekly adults-only after-hours event features a presentation by former naval special operations sniper turned antipoaching mercenary Damian Mander. 6-10 p.m. Thursday, May 25. $10-$12. Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr., Golden Gate Park, S.F. (415) 379-8000. www.cal academy.org/nightlife

San Francisco International Arts Festival 11 days featuring 100 performances of dance, theater, music and more by 65 ensembles and individual artists from the U.S. and 15 visiting countries. Thursday, May 25 through June 4. See website for schedule. Most performances $12.50-$35. Fort Mason Center campus, S.F. (415) 399-9554. www.sfiaf.org

The Spirit of Sound A sound healing performance and workshop with Clare Hedin. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 26. $20 suggested donation. Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St., S.F. (415) 749-6300. www.gracecathedral.org

Asian Culinary Workshop The Oakland Asian Cultural Center celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a Lao cuisine cooking class. Noon-3 p.m. Friday, May 26. $25. 388 Ninth St., Oakland. http://oacc.cc

Eastlake Music Festival Live music, DJs and more. 1 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Free. Lake Merritt Amphitheatre, Oakland. http://eastlakemusicfestival.org

39th Annual Carnaval San Francisco El Corazon de San Pancho/The Heart of S.F. Latin American culture celebration with global cuisine, international music, dance arts & crafts, activities. Festival runs 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, May 27-28; parade 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 28. Free. Mission District, Harrison St. between 16th and 24th streets, S.F. (415) 206-0577. www.carnavalsanfrancisco.org

FanimeCon 2017 A four-day convergence of fans of anime and Japanese culture. Friday-Monday, May 26-29. See website for schedule. Various locations in San Jose. www.fanime.com

Fremont Burger & Brew Fest Burgers and bites from local restaurants and food trucks, craft beer tastings, live music, arts and crafts vendors, gourmet marketplace, business marketplace, burger competition and more. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Free. Liberty Street between Capitol and Walnut, downtown Fremont. (510) 795-2244. www.burgerandbrewfest.com

San Jose Taco Festival of Innovation Live performances, shopping, activities and over 25 taco trucks. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 27. $10 adult admission. History Park, 1650 Senter Rd., San Jose. www.mvblfeast. com/tacofestival

Sausage Fest Block Party Sausage-inspired dishes from area restaurants and food vendors, craft beer, live music and more. Noon-6 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Free. Webster Palm Plaza, Webster and Embarcadero, Oakland. http://jacklondonsquare.com

Muir Beach Volunteer Firemen's Barbecue Food, activities, live music, raffle prizes, childrens activities and more. Noon-5 p.m. Sunday, May 28. Free; $20 per vehicle parking. Santos Meadows, Frank Valley Road, Muir Beach. (415) 381-8793. www.muirbeachfire.com

San Ramon Art & Wind Festival Arts and Crafts vendors, specialty food and drink, kite flying, wind activities, kids Zone and more. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday-Monday, May 28-29. Free. San Ramon Central Park, 12501 Alcosta Blvd., San Ramon. www.sanramon.ca.gov/Parks/events/windfest

The Swingin' Blue Stars of the USS Hornet A USO Variety Show Revue featuring Tielle Baker, HouseBlend, swing dancers Chris & Gwen, and the Fabulous Fazio Five. 2 p.m. Sunday, May 28. $17-$27. Firehouse Arts Center, 4444 Railroad Ave., Pleasanton. (925) 931-4848. www.firehousearts.org

Thingyan Myanmar New Year Water Festival A clebration of Myanmar culture with Burmese dance performances, food, traditional ceremonies, exhibits, activities and more. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, May 28. Free. Charles F. Kennedy Park, 1333 Decoto Road, Union City. http://bit.ly/2rateyX

Treasure Island Flea An open air flea market with diverse offerings from local makers, artists and collectors as well as live music, activies and a food truck court. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, May 27-28. $3. California Ave. and Ave. N, Treasure Island, S.F. www.treasureislandflea.com

Common Grounds Intersection for the Arts presents a free multi-week celebration of the arts spanning dance, music, theater, poetry and performance art. Through June 6. Free. Various locations in the vicinity of 901 Mission St., S.F. www.theintersection.org/commongrounds
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A Portland, Ore. burrito shop shuttered a week after being featured in an article, amid accusations of cultural appropriation.

Kali Wilgus and Liz "LC" Connelly took an impromptu road trip to Puerto Nuevo, Mexico last December and became smitten with the tortillas.

"They are handmade flour tortillas that are stretchy and a little buttery, and best of all, unlimited," Connelly told the Willamette Week. The two women were "so enamored with the tortillas, they tried to uncover the recipe," says the article.

Upon return to their hometown of Portland, the women decided to open a burrito pop-up, which the Week featured in an article titled, "Kooks Serves Pop-Up Breakfast Burritos With Handmade Tortillas Out of a Food Cart on Cesar Chavez."

Less than 10 days after the story ran, Kooks is closed, and its presence has been completely scrubbed from social media.

What went wrong for the two tortilla lovers? A maelstrom of cultural appropriation accusations after their quotes surfaced.

In the article, Connelly describes her and Wilgus' efforts to "uncover the recipe" of the handmade tortillas: "I picked the brains of every tortilla lady there in the worst broken Spanish ever, and they showed me a little of what they did," she said.

"They told us the basic ingredients, and we saw them moving and stretching the dough similar to how pizza makers do before rolling it out with rolling pins.

"They wouldn't tell us too much about technique, but we were peeking into the windows of every kitchen, totally fascinated by how easy they made it look."

Many took to social media and the comment section of the article to express their outrage.

One commenter  of hundreds  claims the women "boldly and pretty f---ing unapologetically stole the basis of these women's livelihoods" so that "other white ppl don't have to be inconvenienced of dealing with a pesky brown middle woman getting in their way."

"They are clearly exploiting centuries of tradition and survival," wrote another.

News site Mic later picked up the story and brought it national attention with a story called, "These white cooks bragged about stealing recipes from Mexico to start a Portland business."

The Portland Mercury later ran its own coverage of the story. The blog post begins: "Portland has an appropriation problem," before going on to claim that Connelly and Wilgus "preyed upon" locals in order to "appropriate the secrets of their livelihood."

"These two white women went to Mexico, ate tacos, and then decided they would just take what the locals clearly didn't want to give them," it continues.

The story then calls the closure of Kooks Burritos a "victory" in a city that is 76.1 percent caucasian, according to the 2015 U.S. census.

Since news of the pop-up's closure broke, some have come to the pair's defense.

"The restaurant industry would not exist if they could only serve ideas they came up with themselves," says a recent comment on the Week story.

"If learning how to make a food from another culture and selling it is now considered cultural appropriation, then why not take this issue up with the successful Portland businesses that have been doing this at a much larger scale for years, and stop harassing these two women struggling to start a small business,' says another.

Later in the week a Google Doc surfaced with a list of "(Alternatives To) White-Owned Appropriative Restaurants in Portland."

"This is NOT about cooking at home or historical influences on cuisines; it's about profit, ownership, and wealth in a white supremacist culture," says the introduction to the document.

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
DECATUR  The Decatur area continues to lose nonfarm jobs, though it goes hand in hand with a continued drop in unemployment.

The jobless rate in the Decatur metropolitan area was 4.9 percent in April, down from 6.3 percent last April, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security data released Thursday. The rate was 5.7 percent in March.

Decatur continues to have the fifth-highest unemployment rates in the state. Rockford is 6.9 percent, Danville is 5.8 percent, Peoria is 5.1 percent and Kankakee is 5 percent.

The unemployment rate in Decatur was at 5.5 percent in April and 6.8 percent in April 2016. But Decatur could not break away from the statewide trend in losing more nonfarm jobs.

The region area has 51,500 nonfarm jobs as of April, down 600 from last year. There were payroll increases in the number of jobs in professional and business services, with 200 more jobs, and in educational and health services and health care and social services, both with 100 more jobs.

A loss of 100 jobs occurred in retail trade, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and utilities, wholesale trade, and information, while 400 jobs were lost in leisure & hospitality.

The retail sector in the region, like many across the U.S., has been especially hit hard. Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth, for example, has lost Children's Place, MC Sports, rue21 and other stores.

Declining unemployment rates relative to a year ago arent good news when they reflect declining labor force rather than growing employment, said IDES Director Jeff Mays.

Aside from Decatur, eight other metropolitan areas saw a decrease in nonfarm jobs. The April unemployment rate was also down in areas surrounding Decatur:

Christian County was 4.8 percent, down from 5.8 percent a year ago;

DeWitt County was 4.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent;

Logan County was 4.1 percent, down from 4.9 percent;

Moultrie County was 3.6 percent, down from 4.4 percent;

Piatt County was 3.6 percent, down from 4.6 percent;

Shelby County was 4 percent, down from 5.3 percent.

The statewide unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, down from 5.8 percent a year ago, but still above the national average of 4.1 percent.

The unemployment rate identifies those who are out of work and looking for work, and is not tied to collecting unemployment insurance benefits.

Nationally, the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday said the four-week average for weekly unemployment aid fell 5,750 to 235,250, the the lowest level since April 14, 1973.
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If youre heading to Napa for BottleRock, it wont be hard to find a great bite and refreshing drinks to wash it all down with. But here are our best bets: five restaurants, five wineries and five breweries that you should not miss, at the three-day event or outside the festival grounds.

Food

Bouchon Bakery: Thomas Kellers bakery has evolved into a mini-chain of sorts, with five outposts nationwide. But the Yountville location remains one of Napa Valleys best breakfast stops (especially if you cant make it to Model Bakery). The cookies, many inspired by classic American favorites like Oreos or Nutter Butters, are perennial favorites.

6528 Washington St., Yountville. www.thomaskeller.com

Oenotri: Pound for pound, Oenotri has remained one of the best restaurants in downtown Napa since opening. The Italian spot specializes in pizza and pasta and sources vegetables from its local farm.

1425 First St., Napa. www.oenotri.com

La Toque: Despite the bevy of big names, the only Michelin-starred restaurant to be represented on the BottleRock food lineup is La Toque, Ken Franks upscale French spot  and truffle specialist  in the Westin Verasa Napa. (Note that the Meadowood representative is the events team, not the restaurant.)

1314 McKinstry St., Napa. www.latoque.com

Miminashi: The best new restaurant to open in downtown Napa in the last year is Miminashi, Curtis di Fedes stylish Japanese-inspired izakaya.

821 Coombs St., Napa. www.miminashi.com

Morimoto Napa: Masaharu Morimoto, the Iron Chef whose eponymous restaurant is right across the river from the festival grounds, has become a fixture at BottleRock. Last year, his menchi katsu burger ($16)  a panko-breaded, deep-fried hamburger patty  was one of the best things our intrepid on-site food reporters tasted at the festival.

Esther Mobley/The Chronicle

610 Main St., Napa. www.morimotonapa.com

 Paolo Lucchesi

Wine

Etude: Known for its generous, refined Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, Etude also makes tasty Pinot Blanc, rose and Cabernet. If you want to taste the full portfolio, stop off at the tasting room in nearby Carneros.

1250 Cuttings Wharf Rd., Napa. www.etudewines.com

Chappellet: Chappellets ageworthy Cabernet and refreshing Chenin Blanc would taste good anywhere, but its hard to beat the sensation of tasting them at the winery, high up on St. Helenas Pritchard Hill overlooking Lake Hennessy.

1581 Sage Canyon Rd., St. Helena. www.chappellet.com

Chandon: Though they wont be the only option for Napa Valley bubbles at BottleRock  look also for Schramsberg  Chandons winery, should you choose to visit while youre in the area for the fest, is just a short drive up-valley in Yountville. My moneys on their Etoile Rose.

1 California Dr., Yountville. www.chandon.com

Silver Oak: The Cabernet houses iconic dairy barn looks more impressive in person than on the wine label. Enjoy their plush, polished Napa Cabs at BottleRock, or visit the winery for lunch by their wood-fired pizza oven.

915 Oakville Crossroad, Oakville. www.silveroak.com

Starmont: If you enjoy the Merryvale wines, try its sister winery, Starmont, which specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Carneros near downtown Napa.

1451 Stanly Ln., Napa. www.starmontwinery.com

 Esther Mobley

Beer

Fieldwork: Berkeleys fast-growing craft brewery opened a taproom in Napas Oxbow Public Market last year. With a roster of beers that changes weekly, you may never get the same brew twice. Their eclectic, ultra-hazy IPAs are always a good bet.

610 First St., Napa. www.fieldworkbrewing.com/napa

Napa Palisades: You can catch this local brewpubs Gold Rush-inspired beers at BottleRock, or stroll over to the bar on Main Street.

1000 Main St., No. 100, Napa. www.napapalisadesbeer.com

Napa Smith: A fixture on Highway 29 since 2008, Napa Smith Brewery moved last year to a new taproom in Vallejo, which is still an easy way station on the way into or out of Napa.

101 Yolano Dr., Vallejo. www.napasmithbrewery.com

Tannery Bend Beerworks: Oenotri owners Tyler Rodde and Lauren Duncan opened this tiny-production brewery last year. Their on-site taproom, near downtown overlooking the Napa River, showcases their saisons, IPAs and more.

101 S. Coombs St., Suite X, Napa. http://tannerybendbeerworks.com

Mare Island: Traveling north via ferry? Stop in the Vallejo Ferry Building to check out Mare Islands taproom. The brewery is still working on restoring the historic coal shed that will eventually house its brewhouse and taproom on Mare Island, a one-time naval shipyard.

289 Mare Island Way, Vallejo. www.mareislandbrewingco.com

 Esther Mobley
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Starting this weekend, 280 Safeway grocery stores in Northern California, Nevada and Hawaii will offer a new type of burger in their meat sections. Shelved next to the ground chuck, ground turkey, and the lean ground beef will be patties that have no meat at all.

A Los Angeles company named Beyond Meat, whose plant-based versions of chicken and beef have been sold in the freezer cases of natural-foods stores such as Whole Food for half a decade, announced the new deal with Safeway yesterday.

Beyond Meat launched its premium Beyond Burger, a meaty-tasting product that cooks similarly to ground beef, last summer. Like Beyond Meat's other products, the burger is primarily made from yellow-pea protein larded with chips of coconut fat, and its "flesh" is tinted pink with beet juice.

Similar to competitor Impossible Foods, based in Redwood City, Beyond Meat has attracted investment from tech titans such as Bill Gates and Twitter cofounder Biz Stone because of its mission to use cutting-edge food science to reproduce the flavor and texture of real meat.

[For more coverage of meat alternatives, see The Chronicle's "What Is Meat?" Special Report.]

Founder Ethan Brown has been pitching grocery stores on the idea of selling his products next to animal meats for years now and, not surprisingly, sees the Safeway deal as a major win. "We're trying to create a protein case where plant and animal protein are sold side by side and let the consumer decide," he said. "The key is for us to be part of that decision where it's likely to happen, not the penalty box with the other meat alternatives."

A Boulder, Colo., Whole Foods store was the first to take Brown up on the idea, and it sold out repeatedly in its first few weeks in the meat case. More than 350 Whole Foods stores now carry the Beyond Burger in the meat section -- though none in the Bay Area.

Brown has made no secret of his desire to move beyond vegetarian circles into the mass market. Former McDonald's CEO Don Thompson is on Beyond Meat's board, and Tyson Foods is an investor. Brown says he's in talks with fast-food chains to sell the Beyond Burger, and that its facilities in Missouri and Texas are able to scale up production to supply the projected demand from Safeway customers.

Meanwhile, Impossible Foods, whose Impossible Burger is currently available in a handful of high-end restaurants in California and New York as well as "better burger" chains Bareburger and Umami Burger, is completing construction on an East Oakland plant capable of producing 1 million pounds of its plant-based meat per month. The plant is set to open in the early summer.

Safeway will sell Beyond Burger packages containing two quarter-pound patties for $5.99 starting the week of May 29. Find the full list of Safeway locations carrying the burger on the Beyond Meat website.

Jonathan Kauffman is a staff writer at The Chronicle. Email: jkauffman@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @jonkauffman.

Previous coverage of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods:

"Impossible Burger debut: A non-meat patty for carnivores"

"Veggie burger that bleeds set to take on U.S. market"

San Francisco Chronicle feature package: "What is meat?"
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Gott's Roadside is opening three new Bay Area locations in the second half of 2017, pushing its Bay Area total to seven. New outposts are headed to Walnut Creek and Greenbrae this fall, and the San Francisco International Airport, which will open in early July.

Gott's president Clay Walker told Scoop his restaurants' sales have been strong over the last few yearsm, and the expansion, though coming with the quick volley of openings, has been in the works for a a while.

And he even though he couldn't comment on what other chains are seeing, he said he has noticed diners seem to be in search of respite from tumultuous times.

"Viewing the world through the lens of one brand, I think the polarized political climate has certainly pushed people toward more comfort food or at least environments where people feel comfortable eating," Walker said.

Gott's last opened a restaurant in Palo Alto back in 2013.

The new trio of shops fit the burger outfit's pattern of opening in recognizable places that also have what Walker calls "captive audiences." Gott's in Walnut Creek is going to be close to Broadway Plaza, a popular shopping center. The SFO location will be in the international terminal.

Walker said the SFO space will be a litmus test of sorts for how exactly the Gott's brand can grow in the right environment.

"We kind of fantasize about Los Angeles or Southern California as a future market largely because of population and climate," he said. "For a growing brand, SFO is yet another operating opportunity for us."

For Walker and the Gott's crew, to feel confident during a slew of quick succession openings says as much about the strength of their brand as it does about the restaurant industry's current climate for local chains.

"We're in the happy business. Our job is to make customers happy," said Walker. "People want that and they want consistency these days. We can give that to them."

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email phillips@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
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WASHINGTON  President Trumps revised travel ban speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination, a federal appeals court said Thursday in ruling against the ban that targets six Muslim-majority countries.

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

This was the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban, which Trumps administration had hoped would avoid the legal problems that the first version encountered.

In all, 10 of the 13 judges who heard the case voted against the Trump administration.

Although the decision was another sweeping defeat for the president and his lawyers, it clears the way to them to take the issue to the Supreme Court, where a conservative majority gives them a better chance of prevailing. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Justice Department will appeal the block on the travel ban to the high court.

Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe.

A central question in the case before the Fourth Circuit was whether courts should consider Trumps past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country as evidence that the policy was primarily motivated by the religion.

Trumps administration argued the countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration said.

The governments asserted national security interest ... appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country, wrote the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L. Gregory.

Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute, Gregory wrote.

The first travel ban in January triggered chaos and protests across the country as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours.

Trump tweaked the order after the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to reinstate the ban.

The new version made it clear the 90-day ban covering those six countries doesnt apply to those who already have valid visas. It got rid of language that would give priority to religious minorities and removed Iraq from the list of banned countries.

Jessica Gresko is an Associated Press writer.
1 Freddie Gray case: Five of the six Baltimore police officers charged in the in-custody death of a young black man face disciplinary action. Three officers  Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Caesar Goodson  face firing, while two others  Officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller  face a five-day suspension. Officer William Porter does not face any disciplinary action. The officers were criminally charged in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray. Three were acquitted. The cases for the remaining officers were dropped. Grays death prompted civil unrest and massive departmental reform after a review revealed long-standing patterns of discriminatory policing.

2 Manning lawsuit: A lawsuit brought by Pvt. Chelsea Manning over the conditions of her confinement has been dismissed. Manning, the Army soldier who was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison for giving classified materials to WikiLeaks, was released May 17 from lockup at Kansas Fort Leavenworth after President Barack Obama commuted her sentence before leaving office. One of her attorneys, Chase Strangio, wrote on Twitter that the case was dismissed because she is free. Manning sued in federal court in 2014, asking a judge to order the Defense Department to provide hormone therapy and other treatment for her gender identity condition.
WASHINGTON  Subpoenas for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn piled up Wednesday as the House Intelligence Committee pressured Flynn to cooperate with its investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The prospect of new congressional subpoenas came one day after the committees Senate counterpart served its own subpoenas to Flynns businesses. The FBI also informed a House committee that it would not be complying with a Wednesday deadline to turn over memos written by former FBI Director James Comey detailing his discussions with President Trump. One memo reportedly shows Trump pressuring Comey to shut down the bureaus investigation into Flynns Russia ties.

Meanwhile, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page said he will testify next month before the House Intelligence Committee. And the New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence services obtained information during the 2016 presidential election that showed senior Russian officials discussing how to influence Trump through his campaign advisers.

Citing three current and former American officials, the Times said U.S. intelligence officials collected information last summer showing Russians zeroed in on Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, a former head of U.S. military intelligence who was a key Trump campaign adviser. The Russian officials thought Manafort and Flynn could be used to influence Trumps views on Russia.

The Times said some of the officials bragged about ties to Flynn. Others thought they could use Manaforts association with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who led a pro-Russian political party, to their advantage, the Times reported.

A day earlier, former CIA Director John Brennan told a House committee that he had seen intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and Americans involved in the Trump campaign  a cause for concern in case the Russians could get the Americans to cooperate.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the House Intelligence Committees top Democrat, told reporters that Flynn declined to turn over records to the committee, and he said it will be following up with subpoenas. Schiff said the subpoenas will likely go out this week. He did not elaborate on what materials the committee was seeking.

Deb Riechmann and Chad Day are Associated Press writers.
Across history, campaigns seeking independence for California have sprung up.

After the the election of President Donald Trump, the idea gained momentum and attention with new organizers and left-leaning voters frustrated by the country's conservative direction.

Most experts would agree it's a quixotic notion and that there's almost zero chance of succeeding because it would require an amendment to the constitution.

Yet, still over on Reddit, the Calexit Megathread remains lively with intelligent discussion, heated debates, belligerent remarks and aggressive finger-pointing. Some might say, the commenters are wasting their time on something that has no chance of ever happening, while others might argue their discussions are simply a form of venting.

To give you a taste of what's unfolding (if you don't have a spare hour to read the entire thread), we pulled a few excerpts, beginning with comments from people against secession.

It's a funny idea, but no more than that. It will also do much more harm to California in the long run even assuming a peaceful calexit. With cali gone dems in the rest of America will have to adjust their policies, and that almost certainly means trying to get the WWC back by bringing back coal through subsidies and deregulating environmental protections for factories. It is probably already too late to halt catastrophic global warming with Trump being president, but we might at least be able to mitigate it a bit with what disproportionally small representation we have in this country. leperphilliac Lol it's not gonna happen. Some people get really delusional after spending so much time online. PineappleBoss Calexit is a complete waste of everybody's time. I current live in Los Angeles County and everyone thinks this is a complete joke. It will never happen. It's not allowed under the constitution. If it made it on the ballot it would need 55% of the vote to pass and I don't see that happening. If you want to compare it to Brexit, Brexit passed 51.89%-48.11%. Also voter participation would need to be at least 50% for a result to be counted, the last several governor races in this state have had about 30-40%. RJNA123 We should be showing the rest of the nation to be more like us, not trying to leave the country. CisternaChyli

And here are a few examples of comments from those in favor of California independence:
DECATUR  The family of a bass guitarist from Decatur who plays in Ariana Grande's band said he was onstage at her concert in England when a terrorist suicide bomber detonated his explosives, killing 22 victims and wounding dozens more.

Eric Ingram called his Decatur family within hours of the explosion, the call arriving about 5:30 p.m. Central Time Monday, to say he was safe and unharmed. He told me something had happened over there and (at the time) he really wasn't sure what it was at first, said his mother, Linda Ingram, 57.

As the full horror of what had happened at the Manchester concert venue sunk in, she said her 34-year-old son told her he felt very upset about it, very upset. She added: Most of the victims, they were just kids.

Many of the victims, who included an 8-year-old girl, have yet to be named, with desperate relatives still appealing for help in finding those missing.

British police said Wednesday that six men and one woman were under arrest in connection with the deadly bomb attack. Libyan authorities said the brother and father of the suspected suicide bomber, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, had also been arrested.

Grande, who took to Twitter after the attack to say that she was "broken" and "i don't have words," suspended her Dangerous Woman world tour and canceled several European shows Wednesday.

Eric Ingram, who could not be reached on Wednesday, grew up in Decatur but lives in Los Angeles now, his mother said. Taught to play guitar when he was 9 by his father, Tommy, he also mastered drums and played in various Decatur churches including the Main Street Church of the Living God.

He learned to play by ear and then he went to Millikin University and took a class to learn how to read music, said his mother. My husband had always told me my baby was going to be famous one day.

Ingram played in various bands and, at the urging of a musician friend, moved to Los Angeles where his talents soon got noticed by top performers putting together musical talent for tours. He played with Lil Wayne for five or six years on tour with him, said Linda Ingram. He's played R&B and gospel, all kinds of music. We went to see him in St. Louis when he was playing with Mary Mary.

But she said in all of her talented son's globetrotting, he's never come face-to-face with the bloody terror seen in the Manchester attack. We just pray for him now, we just pray for him all the time, she said. We never expected anything like this tragedy to happen but Eric will keep on playing because that is what he loves to do.

Eric Ingram went to Eisenhower High School with the Rev. Courtney Carson, now a member of the Decatur School Board, and the two friends grew up together. Carson said he has been praying steadily, too, since he heard about what happened, and how close his friend came to tragedy.

Man, I went directly into prayer, not just for Eric but for everybody involved in that terrible situation, said Carson. And even though Eric is all right, the state of shock and trauma and the worry of it all for his family can produce a level of trauma within itself.

Carson says he has always watched his friend's extraordinary career with interest, and marveled at how his talent has transformed him. It's so cool to see what he is doing now because he was always so quiet and seemed to be so shy back when we were young, recalled Carson.

Now he's out there on stage playing his guitar with Lil Wayne and all the big name individuals he plays for. I mean, man, it's like 'Wow; Decatur produces some phenomenal people.
TOWANDA  Illinoisans are frustrated with nearly two years without a state budget, and that frustration was represented Wednesday by 15 people with strong voices and sore feet.

Participants in a 200-mile march from Chicago to Springfield  advocating what marchers call a "people and planet first budget"  stopped for lunch in Towanda on its way to a 7 p.m. Wednesday "listening session" at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1613 E. Emerson St., Bloomington.

"People in Illinois are desperate for a budget," said Anna Sekiguchi, 18, of Normal, who is participating in the entire event as its youngest marcher.

"We are a manifestation of the tension that everyone is feeling in Illinois," Sekiguchi said at a Route 66 roadside park in Towanda.

"We're getting a lot of honks and, this morning, people gave us money to support us," Tosha Maaks, 40, of Stanford said as the marchers neared Towanda. One Route 66 driver honked and another waved as she spoke.

"People know what we're doing," said Maaks, who joined the marchers in Lexington and will be with them until they reach Funks Grove on Thursday.

Maaks, wearing a green NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) shirt, said "This is important to us because mental health is one of the things affected by this budget crisis."

"We won't sit back and take this anymore," Maaks said. "We need a balanced budget that works for the people of Illinois."

Sponsored by Fair Economy Illinois, which includes organizations such as Illinois Peoples Action, marchers are advocating changes that they say would raise $23.5 billion by closing corporate tax loopholes ($2.5 billion), passing a financial transactions tax on trading of futures and commodities in Chicago ($12 billion) and enacting a graduated income tax ($9 billion), meaning rich people would pay a higher percentage of their income for taxes than poor people.

According to Kristi Sanford, spokeswoman with Fair Economy Illinois, those changes would balance the budget, with money left over.

Because of tax breaks, two-thirds of Illinois corporations pay no income tax to the state, Sanford claimed.

A progressive (graduated) income tax is used for federal income taxes, noted Sekiguchi, who just completed her freshman year at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

"Millionaires and billionaires need to pay their fair share and not the same (percentage) as an elderly person on Social Security," said Sekiguchi, a 2016 Normal Community West High School graduate, wearing a "March to Springfield for a People and Planet First Budget" shirt.

Sekiguchi is marching because lack of state support is threatening schools, universities and human services agencies.

"Education and mental health care are important to me," said Sekiguchi, who has generalized anxiety.

Also marching all 200 miles is Samantha Nichols, 24, a seminarian from Chicago who was a chaplaincy intern at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal last summer.

"I am sick and tired of living in a state without a budget, where elected officials on both sides capitulate to major corporations rather than tax the rich and pass a budget for Illinois," Nichols said.

The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed a budget  with all Democratic votes and no Republican votes  that calls for a 5 percent cut to nearly all state programs, increasing the personal income tax from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, increasing the corporate income tax from 5.25 percent to 7 percent, eliminating three corporate tax loopholes and implementing a sales tax on some services.

The budget goes to the House.

But Nichols said, "The answer is not cuts and tax increases but making the rich pay their fair share."

"This is Day 10," Nichols said of the march. "My feet hurt but it's hard not to be in good spirits because I'm around great people."
DECATUR  Amid relatively low gas prices and an economy with some good signs, AAA says more people will travel this weekend than in any previous Memorial Day period in the past 12 years.

The auto clubs prediction for the holiday weekend, the traditional start of the summer travel season, is on track with other organizations projections of record-high airline travel this summer.

AAA says 39.3 million people across the country are expected to go more than 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend, which the organization defines as running from Thursday through Monday.

Thats an increase of about 2.7 percent over last year, with the vast majority of travelers  88 percent  driving.

Lower unemployment and gas prices have been credited for the rise in travel plans. As of Thursday, the average price for regular gas in Illinois was $2.44 per gallon, according to an AAA survey.

Thats only one cent higher than a year ago, but far below the peak of more than $4.31 reached on May 5, 2011.

The national average Thursday was $2.37, up from last years $2.30, but far below the all-time high of $4.11 reached in July 2008.

Most construction work zones on Illinois highways will be inactive from 3 p.m. Friday until midnight Tuesday morning, but some lane closures will remain in place, said the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The auto club says travel is predicted to jump this weekend even though some key costs of trips have gone up.

For example, AAA says its average three-diamond rated hotel has a price tag of $215 a night, or 18 percent more than last year.

The auto club said car rental rates will average $66 a day, or 7 percent above the 2016 figure. But car rental bookings are running 19 percent higher than in last years Memorial Day period, AAA said.

AAA said average air fares this weekend are expected to be 9 percent higher than in 2016, with $181 the average round-trip ticket.

Still, Airlines for America, the trade industry group for major domestic airlines, cited low air fares as one reason for its projected all-time high of 234.1 million passengers traveling worldwide on American carriers for June, July and August.

Also predicting an all-time high for summer travel is airfarewatchdog.com. That website says it surveyed more than 1,300 travelers and that almost 85 percent expect to take at least one trip, a 12 percent increase over 2016.

The website adds that online search demand related to summer travel is up almost 50 percent from a year ago.

Joani Zachry, travel consultant for Franklin Travel in Decatur, believes the economy has given a boost to the travel industry.

People are traveling and traveling further out, she said.

The worries of terrorists and diseases have altered travel only slightly. Zachry has seen travelers continue to visit popular overseas destinations, such as Paris, Ireland and Italy.

They are still doing all of those trips, she said. But they take precautionary measures.

Travelers booking through Timi's Tours in Moweaqua have requested trips to areas they view as safe.

Guests go to Australia and other countries not hit by the violence, said Timi Kaufman, owner. It makes a difference.

Both travel agents find many travelers still prefer popular sites in the United States. Domestic travel includes Florida's Disney World, California, Myrtle Beach S.C., Alaska and Las Vegas, Nev.

They are always busy, Zachry said.

Many of Kaufman's clients are senior citizens seeking easy travel to popular destinations. Her bus is often seen at St. Louis and Chicago theaters and other nearby tourist destinations.
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A person of interest in the mysterious case of a missing 46-year-old San Francisco man is believed to have fled the country right as he was set to speak to investigators about the disappearance, police said.

Bob Tang, 48, was scheduled to be interviewed by detectives Tuesday about the disappearance of Piseth Chhay, an Uber driver who was last seen May 14, said Officer Grace Gatpandan, a San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks fired an assistant professor Wednesday, nearly two years after the university upheld a students complaint that he sexually harassed her by talking about strip clubs and drugs, touching her inappropriately, and seeking her out in the campus offices.

Blake Wentworth had been on involuntary leave from the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies since June 8  after the university said it had upheld the complaints of four students in all  and pending the outcome of the disciplinary process, according to a university statement. He received his salary during the leave, The Chronicle has learned. The leave began seven months after the campus upheld at least one of the sexual harassment claims, in October 2015.

The Chronicle broke the story in March 2016 when Wentworths colleagues spoke out about how long it was taking for the campus to investigate sexual harassment claims filed against him in April and May 2015.

Wentworth made news in September 2016 when he sued three of his accusers in Alameda County Superior Court in two separate defamation suits. He also sued the UC regents that month, claiming harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

The previous spring, in April 2016, two graduate student instructors filed a complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing claiming that Wentworth created a hostile work environment for them at UC Berkeley and that the university did little to stop it. The students had complained through the campus Title IX process about Wentworth, and one of their complaints had been upheld in 2015, they said.

On Wednesday, the graduate student who filed that complaint said she was relieved that the university had at last fired Wentworth.

Its been a really challenging two years, said Kat Gutierrez, 29, a doctoral candidate in the South and Southeast Asian Studies Department, who said she was 26 when the professor harassed her and ignored her demands that he stop.

As much as its a celebration  which it is  I dont know if enough attention has been placed on the incredible student organizing thats kept pressure on the university to hold accountable professors who still have pending cases, Gutierrez said.

She was referring to the recent cases of architecture Professor Nezar AlSayyad and philosophy Professor John Searle where the university has found that professors have harassed students but still employ them.

In the chancellors statement about Wentworth, Dirks said the firing and involuntary leave are part of the Universitys continuing effort to eradicate sexual misconduct from our campus. The harassment of students by faculty represents an unacceptable breach of the teacher-student relationship and carries the potential for enormous harm.

Wentworths attorney, Michael Hoffman, said in a statement that Wentworth denies the false assertions, which are a pretext to discriminate and retaliate against him. The statement went on to say that Wentworths pending lawsuit against the regents will show that UC has conducted a campaign to ruin his career.

,

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
Aghasi Tadevosyan

Cultural Anthropologist

The generation that lived in Armenia during the 1970s well remembers the repatriates, who were commonly called akhpars. These akhpars were the people who upset the general bland uniformity of a neighborhood. It was the way they dressed, their interests and way of life. Many will also remember that their number started to gradually diminish from the mid-1970s onward.

The neighborhood in which I live, was once inhabited by repatriates. During a conversation with a longtime resident, I found out that of the eleven families that had repatriated after 1946 and lived in his immediate vicinity, eight had left Soviet Armenia during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily to France and the United States.

According to many of the interviews conducted with repatriates, they started to have suspicions and concerns from the very first; when entering the Soviet Union. People realized that they had wound up in a place absolutely at odds with their imagined homeland.

Better life promising campaign, Beirut, 1946

The principal problem was the dominant system in Armenia. We are not only referring to official, but also non-official, practices. All the repatriates were from capitalist countries and had no clue about Soviet socialism. The huge system of punishment, the arbitrary conduct of officials, incarceration, administrative roadblocks, was new to them. Their nonfamiliarity of the country they were moving to, their lack of information, can be considered the most glaring aspect of the repatriation movement and the prime factor of its failure.

Welcoming repatriates in Yerevan railway station, 1946

Months after setting foot in the homeland, many tried to escape. The shock of the first few days is probably the reason that many of the newcomers were never able to integrate into Soviet Armenian reality despite living in Armenia for decades.

They remained isolated, never leaving the confines of their four walls. They had no comfort zones other than being with their repatriate friends and relatives.

Family of repatriates, first photograph in Yerevan

They could never describe that (Soviet) reality as being real for them. Their real world remained outside the borders of the Soviet Union  in those countries where they came from or in those countries they were told about by relatives.

In this respect, the repatriates can be equated with the Indian actor in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest who didnt accept the reality of the psych ward and didnt try to change it. Thus, he was able to retain his mental edge and, finally, to escape. Jack Nicholson, the films other protagonist, lost his grip on reality. Accepting the psych wards inner world as reality, he began to fight to change it and, in the end, became one of the institutions despondent residents.

Sewing shop in Yerevan, 1950s

The ranks of the repatriates included many artisans. There were also mid-level and upper level entrepreneurs. They believed that they would move to the homeland and continue the work there. They believed this because the agents/propagandists sent from the Soviet Union to the Armenian communities in the Middle East mentioned nothing about the difficulties awaiting them in Soviet Armenia.

Social problems and perception complications

A review of the data culled from interviews with repatriates shows that from the start their main problem was getting a grasp, an understanding, of their new surroundings, and of adjusting to the shock of it all.

PEPO ISHLEMEJIAN

Repatriated from France in 1947 / Lives in Paris

My father was a director of a factory here. It was a factory that sewed bags. He worked on the up and up. Once some guys came to his office and said, Dont work like this. Cut one meter and give us the other. Well give you your share. He said he wouldnt and left that job.

They didnt understand where they had landed and what they were supposed to do in their new land. From day one, the repatriates faced the problem of housing and food. The repatriation organizers and propagandists had told them they would receive apartments and work upon arriving in Armenia. On the contrary, upon arrival they were faced with the most basic of challenges  daily survival.

In addition, the nature of the system gradually became clear. It was crude, authoritarian, and totally indifferent towards the dignity and fate of the individual. The system was full of violence, fear and barriers.

The difficulties of engaging in business

The barriers erected by the Soviet state regarding engaging in business, creating something on an individual level, of earning money, were the biggest obstacles when it came to the integration of the repatriates.

As noted, many of the repatriates were artisans and craftspeople  tailors, shoemakers, jewelers, furniture-makers. At first, they expected government assistance in starting their businesses in the homeland, not only allowing them to support their families but also spurring economic development in the country.

LOUSIK GHOURJIAN

Repatriated from Syria, 1947 / Lives in Yerevan

The repatriates brought great riches to Armenia. Some brought shoe factories, some brought printing presses. For example, the Bulgarian-Armenian Kaprielian brothers founded the Hairenik shoe atelier. They brought Dobel machines to Armenia. I worked there from 1953-1954. All of them were then deported and became common laborers.

There were also mid-size and large entrepreneurs amongst the repatriates who, never being informed that private business was not permitted in Soviet Armenia, spent huge amounts and overcame great obstacles to have their production plants, expensive equipment and all, moved to Armenia.

Arriving in the port of Batumi, they realized that they were not only to be deprived of the right to manage their production resources, but that they could also be charged with violating Soviet law by fostering capitalist economic norms and either thrown in jail or exiled.

The repatriates didnt understand the logic at play. Instead of encouraging and assisting them, the state was filing charges against them as enemies of the Soviet system and threatening them with imprisonment.

The unwritten laws of the Soviet regime and the inexperience of dealing with the nomenklatura

The man from the finbazhin (financial division) was a mystical Soviet official who monitored the activities of those engaged in home-based and other small businesses. We encounter references to him in almost all interviews with repatriates.

Those working out of their homes, for instance craftspeople, would place a family member outside the door to stand guard lest the finbazhin man showed up. This way, the alert would be sounded and all traces of the work going on inside would be cleared away. Once the inspection was passed, for the umpteenth time, work would recommence. Even if caught red-handed, the repatriates had already learnt how to deal with Soviet mid-level bureaucrats. They would grease their palms and the inspections would temporarily stop. The repatriates thus adjusted to their new situation without understanding how operating a business could be deemed a chargeable offense.

ANI AMSEYAN

Repatriated from Egypt, 1947 / Lives in Glendale, California

She was good at handicrafts and started to take all the fabric in the house, cut it up, and then refashion and sew it. Later, she started to sew blouses and other things. The work was so good that she started to get orders. Of course, she worked in secret and in fear of the tax authorities. We lived in that constant fear.

While it cant be said that native residents were in better shape, but being born and raised in the Soviet system they accepted all this as the norm. Repatriates, however, protested, and while they didnt express themselves publicly, that resentment remained with them.

It can be said that the impossibility of conducting business was the principal factor preventing repatriates from integrating. Today, the influx of Syrian-Armenians to Armenia and the relative ease with which they integrate into a new environment, is mainly because they can engage in private business.

Many local Armenians prefer to patronize Syrian-Armenian restaurants, car repair shops, stores and tradespeople, viewing them as honest and well-run. The private sector is making it possible for locals and newcomers (Syrian-Armenians) to get to know one another.

The absence of such a possibility in the Soviet Union greatly inhibited the integration of the repatriates. In many cases, it made staying in Soviet Armenia impossible.

This article is prepared within the framework of Two Lives: The Cold War and the Emigration of Armenians project financed by National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
BOZEMAN, Mont.  The Republican candidate for Montanas sole congressional seat was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday night after witnesses told police Greg Gianforte grabbed a reporter by the neck and slammed him to the ground the night before polls close in the nationally watched election.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin made the announcement late Wednesday in a statement posted to the county web site. Gianforte would face a maximum $500 fine or 6 months in jail if convicted. The statement added that the reporters injuries did not meet the legal definition of a felony.

Gianforte was in a private office preparing for an interview with Fox News when Jacobs came in without permission, campaign spokesman Shane Scanlon said.

The Fox News crew watched in astonishment as, after Jacobs pressed him on the GOP health care bill, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him, Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna wrote in an article. She added that Gianforte then began to punch Jacobs.

In an audio recording posted by the Guardian, the reporter asks the congressional candidate about the GOPs health care bill, which was just evaluated hours earlier by the Congressional Budget Office.

Well talk to you about that later, Gianforte says on the recording, referring Jacobs to a spokesman.

When Jacobs says that there wont be time, Gianforte says Just-- and there is a crashing sound. Gianforte yells, The last guy who came here did the same thing, and a shaken-sounded Jacobs tells the candidate he just body-slammed him.

Get the hell out of here, Gianforte says.

Gianforte has until June 7 to appear in court on the charge.

Federal records show that the sheriff donated $250 to Gianfortes congressional campaign in March. In his statement, Gootkin confirmed the donation but said, This contribution has nothing to do with our investigation, which is now complete.

The incident is a last-minute curveball in Thursdays race, which was partly seen as a referendum on Donald Trumps presidency. The majority of voters were expected to have already cast ballots through early voting, and it was unclear how much of an effect it may have. Two of the states largest newspapers, the Billings Gazette and the Missoulian, quickly rescinded their endorsements of Gianforte, the New York Times reported.

Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist, who declined to comment, are seeking to fill the seat in the U.S. House left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join Trumps Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department.

Bobby Caina Calvan is an Associated Press writer.
Summer will soon arrive, and our cows will be feeling the heat.

According to Nigel Cook, MRCVS, cows are becoming impacted by heat stress at lower and lower temperatures. That, coupled with larger facilities and more opportunities for wind shadows (areas where airflow is blocked), creates an environment where a cow is at higher risk for heat stress.

Cook, a professor with the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, spoke at the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW) Business Conference held in Madison, Wis. He explained that every time a cow lies down, it accumulates body heat, at a rate of about one degree per hour. When the cow stands up, its body temperature lowers. Therefore, cows cool when they stand and warm when they lie down.

Of all the things I talk about (in regard to dairy facilities)  including surface cushion, stall design, and time budgets  nothing has as big of an impact as heat stress, said Cook. He referred to a study conducted on Wisconsin farms, where THI (Temperature Humidity Index) and lying time were tracked. THI rose from 67 to 79 over the period of six days. Lying time, which started at 10 hours per day, fell to six hours per day over that short time period.

Heat is a killer for our cows, Cook said. Losing four hours of rest per day within a few days is punishing.

To deal with the rate of heat accumulation while a cow is lying down and to facilitate the transfer of heat out of the barn, Cook gave these three recommendations:

Maximize fast moving air in the resting space.



Provide sufficient air changes per hour to remove heat and moisture from the barn.



Design a system that works as well in the summer as it does in the winter.
Its the most important meal a calf will ever receive, but is it as nutritious as it should be? With no immunity to fight off illness, colostrum is essential within the first few hours of life. However, not all colostrum is created equal. Using testing methods, such as a colostrometer or a refractometer, gives producers the ability to determine the quality of the colostrum by measuring the concentration of immunoglobulins (IgG) present.

According to Penn State University, more than 50 mg/mL of IgGs should be present for colostrum to test ideal, compared to the less than 20 mg/mL IgGs for colostrum to fail. The middle-range colostrum testing between 20 and 50 mg/mL IgGs, however, is where colostrum supplementation could prove to be a beneficial practice for your colostrum management system.

Colostrum supplementation gives producers the ability to boost the power of their colostrum by providing additional IgGs and fat, which can be metabolized quickly for energy. Doing so may help to fight off pneumonia, scours, and other health issues. The avoidance of these diseases means treatment costs that can take a toll on ones wallet can be dodged.

Though there is an upfront cost associated with colostrum supplementation, the benefits can have long-term effects in overall health and future milk production. When looking for a colostrum supplement, one should search for a powdered colostrum with at least 100 g of IgG and 90 g of fat to ensure a calf receiving subpar colostrum is meeting all of its nutritional needs. Just a few tablespoons of supplement can vastly improve the results of this critical meal.

With replacement heifers being the most expensive animals in the herd, it is crucial that they get off to a healthy start from the beginning in order to be profitable. Though ideal colostrum may not need the additional boost, calves fed middle-range colostrum could benefit from the value of added immunity.

Taylor Leach grew up on her familys dairy farm in Linwood, Kansas. Leach graduated with an associates degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College and now attends Oklahoma State University, majoring in animal science and agriculture communications. On campus, she is a member of the dairy club and also works on the university's dairy farm. Leach was the 2016 Hoards Dairyman summer editorial intern.
Ford Motor Company's (NYSE: F) management shuffle continues. The Blue Oval announced a slew of new appointments on Thursday, filling out the executive ranks under new CEO Jim Hackett. Significantly, Ford's well-regarded product chief, Raj Nair, will take over its high-profile North America operation.

Ford also clarified and emphasized the three priorities that the company will pursue under Hackett.

Who's doing what at Ford now

In Ford's new global markets unit, reporting to Jim Farley:

Raj Nair, already a Ford executive vice president, becomes president of the North America region. Nair was previously Ford's global product development chief and its chief technology officer. He replaces Joe Hinrichs, who was named president of global operations on Monday.

Peter Fleet becomes group vice president and president of Ford's Asia-Pacific region and chairman and CEO of Ford China. Fleet had previously led the region's marketing, sales, and service effort. He replaces Dave Schoch, who is retiring after 40 years with Ford.

Steven Armstrong becomes group vice president and president of Ford's Europe and Middle East and Africa regional units. Armstrong was previously Ford Europe's chief operating officer. He replaces Farley.

Ford's South America region will continue to be led by Lyle Watters, who was appointed vice president of South America last year.

In addition:

Hau Thai-Tang becomes executive vice president of product development and purchasing. A longtime standout in Ford's product development ranks, Thai-Tang had been leading its purchasing organization. He retains that role while also replacing Nair as Ford's global product development chief. He will report to Hinrichs.

Sherif Marakby has been appointed to a newly created position as vice president of autonomous vehicles and electrification. He had previously led several Ford efforts to develop hybrid and plug-in vehicles, before leaving Ford last year to join Uber Technologies.

Ken Washington, vice president of Ford's research and advanced engineering department, retains that role and also becomes Ford's chief technology officer, succeeding Nair.

What it means for Ford shareholders

It means that some of Ford's best and brightest senior executives are getting new and expanded roles -- and that they're apparently planning to stick around under the new CEO.

The appointment of Nair to run North America is a key one. Nair is an exceptionally talented executive and engineer who had spent the majority of his career in Ford's product development operation, rising to run it in 2012. Running North America will be a change for him, but it's an appointment that suggests that Nair is being groomed for an even more senior role in the future. It's a good one.

Thai-Tang is a natural fit to succeed Nair as Ford's product chief. Known as a "car guy" who led several high-performance projects earlier in his career, Thai-Tang led Ford's global product engineering under Nair before taking charge of global purchasing in 2013. He's another well-regarded executive

Marakby is a bit less senior, but his return to Ford in a new role is an important sign. He has an extensive background in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles. He was at Ford in a series of roles from 1990 until last year -- when he left to become Uber's vice president of global vehicle programs. His decision to return to Ford, and his newly created title, signals that Ford will step up its electrification and self-driving efforts under Hackett.

About those three priorities

Ford's announcement also made clear the three priorities that will be emphasized under Hackett. In Ford's words:

Sharpening operational execution across the global business while decisively addressing underperforming parts of the business;

Modernizing Ford's business, using new tools and techniques to unleash innovation, speed decision making, improve efficiency and more;

Transforming to meet future challenges and ensuring the company has the right culture, talent, strategic processes, and nimbleness to succeed as society's needs and consumer behavior changes over time.

What's next for Ford and its new leadership

I expect that once Hackett is up to speed in his new role, he'll hold some sort of event to brief analysts and journalists on his priorities and plan for Ford. I'll be surprised if that doesn't happen before Ford's second-quarter earnings report in July.

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Is there money to be made by going meatless? Substitutes for meat, dairy and eggs have been around for decades, as demonstrated by the success of Seattle-based Field Roast Grain Meat Co., but new technologies may well give what's now known as "clean meat" a boost.

"I don't know of any companies that are true innovators in this space that are flailing," said Chris Kerr, investment manager at New Crop Capital, a D.C.-based venture capital firm that specializes in the food frontier.

Kerr was among the experts speaking at a survey of the marketplace for clean meat  that is, meat products that are essentially grown from cells in a vat rather than animals in a feedlot  as well as for plant-based proteins like Field Roast. Monday's presentation was organized by the University of Washington's CoMotion Labs in collaboration with the Good Food Institute, a clean-meat advocacy group.

MORE FROM GEEKWIRE:

Clean meat made a splash in 2013 when Dutch researcher Mark Post served up a hamburger built from lab-grown stem cells, at a cost of $330,000 for the burger.

Since then, a number of startups have been working to bring that cost down. Post formed a company called Mosa Meat to commercialize the technology. Other cultured-meat ventures include Memphis Meats in the U.S. and SuperMeat in Israel.

Meanwhile, other ventures are working to make plant-based proteins more palatable for fans of meat, dairy and egg products. Hampton Creek Foods, for example, offers mayonnaise, salad dressings, cookies and cookie dough that should pass muster with the strictest vegans. Other entrants  including Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, New Wave Foods and Miyoko's Kitchen  are working on newfangled plant-based versions of burgers, seafood, cheese and butter.

One of the motivations for marketing (and eating) meat substitutes is to make a dent in the billions of animals and sea creatures that are killed every year to fuel humanity's appetite.

Another is a realization that livestock agriculture will be too inefficient to feed the estimated 9.7 billion people who will be living on Earth by 2050. By one measure, it takes 40 calories of energy to produce each calorie of food output from beef.

"We actually see our food system as being kind of a disaster," Kerr said.

Then there's the profit angle: The next frontier for clean meat and plant-based protein is to produce products that are trendier and more affordable. That's what it'll take to expand the market from those who are committed to a meatless lifestyle or sustainable agriculture to the price-conscious mass market.

"What I don't think has been made is a super-cheap nugget that can displace chicken," said Josh Balk, a co-founder of Hampton Creek who is now vice president for farm animal protection at the Humane Society of the United States. "If someone would create that, I guarantee that is going to be a coup for this business."

Washington state could be well-placed to play a role in the faux meat industry: Eastern Washington ranks among the nation's biggest producers of pulse crops  dry peas, lentils and chickpeas  which happen to be the readiest sources for plant-based meat substitutes.

"Right now, peas are a pretty hot item," Kerr said.

Kerr said Western Washington's ports could provide the channels for sending those frontier foods out to the rest of the world. "I think it'd be great," he said.

But David Lee, president and founder of Field Roast, said that over the past 20 years, he's learned a lesson that newer entrants would do well to emulate.

"Our fundamental innovation is, we set out not to imitate animal meat," Lee said. Instead, the company focused on a process that takes natural ingredients and transforms them into meat substitutes that can stand on their own  for example, smoked apple sage, Field Roast's top-selling sausage.

"People want to know where their food comes from," Lee said. "If you bite into a Boca Burger, where's your field of reference?"

Clean meat has yet to face a true market test. So is the food frontier poised for a bloodless revolution?

"There are two answers to that question," Lee told GeekWire. "On the one hand, there's opportunity. But on the other hand, there's a lot of established companies, there's only so much room on the shelf, and when you're the first, second or third out in the market, that's a good position to be in.

"We're lucky to have been in that position. ... But I think it's more difficult now for companies coming up. There's a lot of pressure on the shelf right now."

This article originally appeared on GeekWire.
MANCHESTER, England  The alleged culprit in a deadly concert bombing was driven by what he saw as unjust treatment of Arabs in Britain, a relative said Thursday, confirming he made a final phone call in which he pleaded: Forgive me.

Salman Abedi was particularly upset by the killing last year of a Muslim friend whose death he believed went unnoticed by infidels in Britain, said the relative, speaking on condition of anonymity over concerns for her own security.

Why was there no outrage for the killing of an Arab and a Muslim in such a cruel way? she asked. Rage was the main reason, for the blast that killed 22 at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday, she said, speaking by telephone from Libya.

The new insight into Abedis motivation came as Britons faced stepped-up security, authorities pushed forward with raids and the investigation extended across Europe into Libya, where most of the suspected bombers family lived.

The number of arrests in Britain ticked up to eight as British Transport Police said armed officers would begin patrols on some trains because of an increased threat of terrorism. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said, without elaborating, that searches of suspects homes brought very important clues in the probe of the bombing. But leaks from the investigation were creating a trans-Atlantic diplomatic mess.

Manchester police halted their sharing of investigative information with the U.S. through most of Thursday until receiving fresh assurance there would be an end to leaks to the media.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who spoke about the matter with President Trump at a NATO summit in Brussels, said the countries partnership on defense and security was built on trust. But part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently, she said.

Trump pledged to get to the bottom of the leaks, calling them deeply troubling and asking the Justice Department and other agencies to launch a complete review of this matter.

British officials were particularly angry over photos published by the New York Times showing remnants of a blue backpack which may have held the explosive. But it wasnt clear U.S. officials were the source of the images, which the Times defended as neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims and consistent with basic reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes.

In Manchesters St. Anns Square, where a sea of floral tributes grew by the hour, a crowd sang the hometown band Oasis song Dont Look Back in Anger. Queen Elizabeth II visited victims of the attack at Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital, telling 14-year-old Evie Mills and her parents: Its dreadful. Very wicked, to target that sort of thing.

Jill Lawless, Paisley Dodds, Maggie Michael and Gregory Katz are Associated Press writers.
MANCHESTER, England  Security forces rounded up more suspects Wednesday in the deadly Manchester concert blast and soldiers fanned out across the country to national landmarks as an on-edge Britain tried to thwart the possibility of additional attacks.

Officials scoured the background of the British-born ethnic Libyan identified as the bomber, saying he was likely part of a wider terrorist network. Additional arrests were made both in Britain and in Libya in the bombing that killed 22 people and wounded scores more.

Among those taken into custody in Libya were the suspected bombers father and his younger brother, the latter of whom confessed to knowing all the details of the attack plot, Libyan antiterror authorities said.

I think its very clear this is a network we are investigating, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins of the Manchester Police said as authorities raided British properties thought to be connected to Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old suspected bomber who grew up in Manchester and died in the attack.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Abedi likely did not act alone in the strike at the close of an Ariana Grande concert Monday night and that he had been known to security forces up to a point. Meanwhile, officials probed possible travel by the alleged bomber, looking for clues to new threats.

Government officials said nearly 1,000 soldiers were deployed to Buckingham Palace, Parliament and other high-profile sites across the country. Britains terror threat level was raised to critical  the highest level  on Tuesday over concern another attack could be imminent.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Abedi was believed to have traveled to Syria and had proven links to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack. British officials, however, have not commented on whether Abedi had links to Islamic State or other extremist groups.

British authorities were probing whether Abedi had ties to other cells across Europe and North Africa, according to two officials familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.

They said one thread of the inquiry involved pursuing whether Abedi was part of a larger terror cell that included Mohamed Abrini, otherwise known as the man in the hat, with connections to the Brussels and Paris attacks. Abrini visited Manchester in 2015.

It looks like were not dealing with a lone wolf situation. Theres a network  a cell of ISIS-inspired terrorists, said U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Seven additional arrests were made in Britain on Wednesday as the sprawling investigation extended to Libya, where Abedis father and 18-year-old brother were detained in Tripoli. The father, Ramadan Abedi, denied his son had links to militants in an interview before he was taken into custody, saying, We dont believe in killing innocents.

The elder Abedi was allegedly a member of the al Qaeda-backed Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s, according to a former Libyan security official, Abdel-Basit Haroun.

The Libyan antiterror force that arrested the men said that the brother, Hashim Abedi, 18, confessed that he and his brother were linked to the Islamic State and that he was aware of the arena bombing plan.

A second brother, Ismail Abedi, 23, was taken into custody in Manchester a day earlier.

Jill Lawless, Maggie Michael and Gregory Katz are Associated Press writers.
MARAWI, Philippines  Philippine troops backed by armored vehicles and rocket-firing helicopters fought Friday to regain control of a city that has been under attack by gunmen linked to the Islamic State group since a raid earlier this week failed to capture one of Asias most-wanted militants.

Rebels have torn through the streets of Marawi since Tuesday night, torching buildings, taking a priest and his worshipers hostage and sealing off much of the city. The violence forced thousands to flee and raised fears of growing extremism in the country.

At least 44 people have died in the fighting, including 31 militants and 11 soldiers, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether civilians were among the dead.

In a sign of the confusion over events inside the city, a local police chief told The Associated Press on Friday that he was alive and well  two days after President Rodrigo Duterte told the media he had been beheaded by militants.

Police Chief Romeo Enriquez said there may have been confusion because his predecessor in Malabang, a town near Marawi, was killed in the fighting on Tuesday, although he was not beheaded.

As authorities worked to clear the city, residents spoke of their terror.

At night we can hear the gunfire, said Mohammad Usman, who watched from his home just outside Marawi as thousands of residents streamed out of the city. Im just praying that the bullets will not find their way to my house and hit us. I hope that the bombs will not land nearby and harm us.

Duterte imposed 60 days of martial law Tuesday on the island of Mindanao, which encompasses the southern third of the nation and is home to 22 million people. Marawi has a population of around 200,000.

Duterte warned he may expand martial law nationwide, an unnerving development for many in the Philippines who lived through the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and used it to maintain his grip on power for more than a decade.

The man at the center of the Marawi violence is Isnilon Hapilon, an Arabic-speaking Islamic preacher known for his expertise in commando assaults. He is at the nexus of several militant groups that are trying to merge into a more powerful force.

Hapilon, who is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2014. He also heads an alliance that includes at least 10 smaller militant groups, including the Maute, which have a heavy presence in Marawi and were instrumental in fighting off government forces in this weeks battles.

All these groups are inspired by the Islamic State, but so far there is no sign of significant, material ties.

We have not seen any concrete evidence of material support from IS, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said Thursday. But he added that the smaller groups are working to really get that recognition and funds, of course.

Washington has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Hapilons capture, but he has proved elusive. The Philippines launched an air strike that wounded him in January, but he got away.

Jim Gomez and Teresa Cerojano are Associated Press writers.
In a raucous but relatively brief final meeting Wednesday, the city commission tasked with setting the next mayor's salary decided on $110,000 for a year's worth of full-time work. The pay will take effect when the next mayor is sworn in on March 12, 2018.

The commission opted to bump the number above a proposed $100,000 salary, but its final decision was still well below the circulated range of $145,000 to $175,000.

"We knew that that was a higher range, and we wanted the public to react to it. I think we thought it genuinely reflected surrounding jurisdictions, took into account the other city employee and county data as we were instructed," Commissioner Bill Smith told SFR after the meeting. "And we listened and we adjusted course."

There was plenty for the seven volunteer commissioners to hear. A crowd of about 30 people was largely and vociferously against higher pay for the next mayor.

Several waved black signs with "NO!" printed on them.

"I'm totally ashamed of you," said Roger Rael, who earlier in the day asked the state Supreme Court for an emergency injunction to prevent the commission's decision from taking effect. The court hasn't addressed the matter.

Rael and others frequently called out to commissioners as they debated.

"This is completely unconscionable," Jim Williamson told commissioners. "Our assets need to be used to build roads and parks.  Unless you're well-connected, you're out of luck. It shouldn't be that way."

Michael Gallegos, who retired from the human resources bureau at the state's General Services Department, told commissioners they'd cherry-picked cities in neighboring states that paid their mayors higher salaries.

"Those are high outliers that you have up there," Gallegos said, noting afterward that the mayors of Boulder, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; and San Antonio, Texas, make less than Santa Fe's next mayor will.

"We ask that you not pay a mayor of a city of 70,000 people more than the governor of an entire state," activist Loveless Johnson III told commissioners.

He got his wish.

Santa Fe's next mayor will make exactly as much New Mexico's governor, though minus a taxpayer-funded place to live on the swanky north side of town.

Voters approved both the concept of a full-time mayor and a structure for determining the mayor's salary in a 2014 amendment to the city charter. The ballot language said the mayor would make $74,000 until and unless an independent salary commission decided otherwise.

Commissioner Stephen Hochberg criticized the ballot language.

"I do think that it was poorly worded and that people could in good conscience say they didn't understand," Hochberg said during debate.

Others were less diplomatic.

"This commission was handed a steaming plate of dog crap by the city council," said Fred Flatt, whose wife Linda Wilder Flatt sat on the salary commission. He was one of just a handful in the audience who praised the commission's work.

"This is representative government at work. It's fine. It's what it's about," said Commissioner Smith, who runs the Santa Fe Community Foundation.

Paul Hultin, a local consultant who advocated for the change to a full-time mayor, chaired the commission and said Wednesday's meeting was "by far" the most contentious. He defended the commission's actions as well as its methodology in arriving at a number: "We were given a job to do by the ordinance. We followed that and we were given some discretion and we listened to the other board members, which resulted in a compromised and I think a good result for the city."

The commission will return in a year to reexamine its decision. While the group was powerless to change the structure of city government, several commissioners worried openly at multiple meetings about the recent creation of a deputy city manager position that stands to pay more than $132,000 next year. Both Smith and Linda Wilder Flatt criticized the city's pay scale as top heavy.

With benefits such as a pension and health insurance added in, the next mayor's $110,000 salary will cost the city $154,000.

Santa Fe Reporter
All the Fests

It's Memorial Day Weekend, y'all. Summer is upon us, and most importantly, this weekend is a time to remember those who have sacrificed their lives in military service. Take a moment to remember those that have died while serving and those that serve every day.



A few statistics for you: The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans says that 11 percent of the homeless population are veterans. They number around 40,000. The highest number of them are Vietnam-era vets, but the numbers of younger homeless is rising. Around 1.4 million other vets are considered at risk for homelessness. The NCHV is a wealth of information on the issue and is a good place to start if you want to find out more.

Let's FORK!

The New Mexico Cocktail & Culture Festival is here! Bars and restaurants in Santa Fe and Albuquerque participate in events and by featuring a signature cocktail that goes head-to-head with the signatures from other restaurants to win "Cocktail of the Year." Winners are announced and presented with a trophy at the Craft Collective and Awards on June 4. HERE is a list of the participating establishments.



As part of the festival there are a bunch of events happening as well.



Thursday, June 1

 6:30-9:30 pm: Cocktails & Culture Festival Pairing Dinner at Coyote Cafe (132 W Water St., 983-1615)



Friday, June 2

 1-2:15 pm: "The Hustle: From Behind Bars to Dream Gig" seminar with Eric ET Tecosky at Skylight (139 W San Francisco St., 982-0775)

 6-9 pm: Margarita Trail Taco Wars! presented by Tourism Santa Fe, El Tesoro, Patron and Sauza tequilas at the Santa Fe Convention Center (201 W Marcy St., 955-6200)



Saturday, June 3

 8:30-noon: Fundraising bike ride supporting bartenders with breast cancer led by Tony Abou Ganim. Starts and ends at Skylight (139 W San Francisco St.)

 2 and 3:15 pm: Hendrick's Gin Academy with brand ambassador Mattias Horseman, two 45-minute sessions starting at Skylight (139 W San Francisco St., 982-0775)

 5:15-7 pm: Dale DeGroff's VIP cocktail reception and show "On The Town" (monologue, music and mixology!) at the Scottish Rite Temple (463 Paseo de Peralta, 982-4414)

 7-10 pm: Chef & Shaker Challenge featuring 12 of our area's most-loved chefs at the Scottish Rite Temple (463 Paseo de Peralta, 982-4414)



Sunday, June 4

 Noon-1:15 pm: Whiskeys of the World seminar with Bobby G Gleason at Skylight (139 W San Francisco St., 982-0775)

 2-5 pm: Craft Collective tasting and Cocktail Week Bar Awards at Skylight (139 W San Francisco St., 982-0775)

Unless you live under a rock, chances are you ate at the Santa Fe Baking Company at least once. When it closed its doors last year many were distraught. Rightfully. The place had a little bit of everything on their ludicrously large menu and you could hang out in the expansive space for hours reading or working on your laptop.



Well, it's back.



The New Baking Company (504 W Cordova Road) is the labor of love of former Baking Co. employee Filiberto Rodriguez and his wife Norma. With the help of Norma's aunt and uncle, Maria and Mark Fehey, Baking Company 2.0 will open in June in the same location with most of the same menu and staff. Read the New Mexican's story about it here. We wish them great luck in the endeavor.

A reminder for that the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival is this Friday-Sunday May 26-28 at the Santa Fe Convention Center (201 W Marcy St.). SFR has partnered with the festival to bring a food truck event to life on that Sunday. From 11 am-2 pm you can get your eat on in the Lincoln Plaza parking lot across from the Convention Center.



Trucks participating include: Dr. Field Goods, Served Santa Fe, Senor Rabbits, SantaFamous Street Eats, Taqueria Gracias Madre, Jambo Cafe, Bonsai Asian Tacos, The S'more Pit and more!

A busy week in Santa Fe! Pick your poison.

See you next week,

Michael



What news do you want to see in this newsletter? We want to hear from you! Let us know! Email thefork@sfreporter.com

Santa Fe Reporter
Welcome to Shakesville, a progressive feminist blog about politics, culture, social justice, cute things, and all that is in between. Please note that the commenting policy and the Feminism 101 section, conveniently linked at the top of the page, are required reading before commenting.
AWF Madison Group, the country's biggest contract labour firm, has recovered from last year's dip in earnings with a 13 percent increase in annual profit in an increasingly tight labour market.

Net profit rose to $5.9 million, or 18 cents per share, in the 12 months ended March 31, from $5.2 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue climbed 20 percent to $256.4 million, roughly the same pace of increase in employment costs to $229.2 million.

AWF had set "modest goals" for the year after restructuring costs a year earlier led to a fall in 2016 earnings. First-half profit rose at a 15 percent pace and the contract firm had signalled it expected the tight labour market to drive double-digit annual growth.

The lift in profit came after "of a year of consolidation of new leadership, continued investment in new technology and dealing with residual matters referred to in last year's reports," chairman Ross Keenan said. "Whilst strong performance was delivered in most areas, the significant lift in outstanding debtor balance at year end put increased pressure on the organisation and accordingly, a further lift in bad debt provisions has been deemed appropriate."

The company booked a $443,000 impairment charge, saying it wrote off the cost of replacing legacy technology in full in the current year, and has completed the first phase of moving to an integrated CRM (customer relationship management) and payroll software. It expects that will reduce costs by removing duplication.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent in the March quarter and the participation rate was at a record 70.6 percent as firms continue to create enough jobs to cater to a swelling population, even as some sectors such as construction find it increasingly hard to find staff.

AWF chief executive Simon Bennett said he was "very satisfied" with where the company was positioned and its plan to capitalise on "significant opportunities" in the coming year.

The board declared a final dividend of 8.2 cents per share, fully imputed, payable on July 4 to shareholders on the register as at June 27, taking the annual payment to 16.2 cents, up from 15.2 cents a year earlier.

The shares last traded at $2.93 and have gained 13 percent so far this year.

Separately, AWF said Janine Mountford, who was to have taken over as chief financial officer next month, has resigned, and it is now looking for a new replacement CFO.

(BusinessDesk)

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NZME and Fairfax New Zealand have hired the Queens Counsel whose Court of Appeal arguments helped secure the Commerce Commission's authorisation of competition-killing merger in the wool-scouring sector which the commission then used to justify rejecting the media merger.

The media companies have hired Queens Counsel David Goddard to appeal the commission's rejection of their planned merger, hoping his pedigree in the Cavalier wool-scouring authorisation will win the backing of the courts.

The media companies will today file papers in the High Court claiming the regulator was wrong in fact and in law in rejecting their planned merger on the grounds that the estimated financial benefit creating larger, merged entity to combat global competitors for advertising revenue, such as Google and Facebook, wasn't enough to outweigh the detriments of reduced media 'plurality', meaning the range of voices and views in New Zealand news reporting.

An appeal was required by May 30 on the May 3 commission decision.

David Goddard QC has joined Russel McVeagh in representing the media companies in their application, having successfully seen off opposition to the Commerce Commission's authorisation to create a national wool scouring monopoly. The media groups cited the long-running case extensively in their application to the regulator, which also drew on the ruling in its decision to reject the merger.

The media companies claim the regulator erred in law by concluding there were separate markets in online domestic news services, Sunday newspapers and community newspapers, and that there would be a substantial lessening of competition in those markets. They also claim the regulator failed to compare the deal against a likely counterfactual and didn't give enough weight to their submission, and were wrong to expect that a paywall would likely be introduced post-merger and in its quantification of detriments from the deal.

NZME and Fairfax NZ say the commission wasn't allowed to take plurality into account in rejecting their application, and that even if it could, it gave the issue too much weight.

The firms are also appealing on the grounds that the decision was procedurally unfair by granting anonymity to many submissions opposing the application and breached natural justice by not telling NZME and Fairfax in a timely manner how it would assess the deal against a likely counterfactual.

The regulator rejected the application earlier this month, saying "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" and that it didn't "regard promises to maintain current levels as a sufficient safeguard on future editorial decisions".

The commission had already rejected the merger in a draft determination in December, prompting Fairfax and NZME to work overtime to try to convince the regulator it had got it wrong in their draft determination to reject the deal over fears their aggregated soft power wasn't worth the economic efficiencies from laying off staff, cutting duplication, and pooling their resources in a more targeted fashion.

(BusinessDesk)

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The government has put mental health at the centre of its $321 million social investment programme, which it touts as spending large up front to reduce the long-term costs of problems ailing society.

Social Investment Minister Amy Adams set aside $100 million of that funding over four years to trial early interventions tackling the root of mental health issues, marking the biggest spend for the initiative championed by Prime Minister Bill English as a means of getting the most out of the public sector.

Its one of our most complex social issues and it is having big impacts across the employment, housing, health and justice sectors, Adams said in a statement. Mental health issues can lead to much poorer outcomes for these people and their families.

Thats part of a broader boost in mental health spending which is often accused of being under-funded and is shaping up as a key battleground in this years election.

All up, the government spending $224 million over four years, including an extra $100 million for district health boards health and addiction services, $4.1 million for the Ministry of Social Development to trial integrated employment and mental health services, $11.6 million for Corrections to manage prisoners at risk of self-harm, and $8 million to extend the Rangatahi Suicide Prevention Fund.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said Cabinet will be considering a new mental health and additional strategy soon which will include the new approach.

Social investment  which uses an actuarial approach to determine the long-term liability of various social problems to then target spending to reduce that cost  is a central piece in the governments goal to achieve more from a smaller public service and Finance Minister Steven Joyce today tasked the Productivity Commission to investigate measuring and improving the core public service.

English announced the social investment spend at a pre-budget lunch to a Business New Zealand audience, name-checking three of the 14 initiatives seen as benefiting from the actuarial approach.

After mental health, the biggest ticket items on the agenda include $34.7 million to support children with behavioural issues, $32.9 million targeting burglary prevention, and $28.1 million to extend the Family Start home visiting programme.

A new Social Investment Agency is being set up to support the approach, and has been allocated $25.8 million over four years to provide the tools, analysis and advice to implement the initiatives, and a further $12 million in two-year operating funding and $4.8 million of capital spending to set up a new data exchange platform to allow for safe and secure information sharing.

The new data exchange means using information and technology to better understand the people who need public services, and what works, and then adjusting services accordingly, Adams said. What is learnt through this process informs the next set of investment decisions.

Statistics New Zealand is an important cog in the investment approach, which draws on its depth of information. Some $4.5 million has been allocated over three years to let the department look at new ways of obtaining and providing census information without the cost of a full five-year census.

Census information is incredibly valuable to New Zealand, Simpson said. It helps determine how billions of dollars of government funding is spent in the community.

Census 2018 has been allocated $111.1 million

(BusinessDesk)





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As we head toward the Memorial Day holiday, many of the companies listed on the stock market will take a breather, too... at least as far as dividend raises are concerned. With the approach of summer, we're moving away from the latest earnings season, and there were relatively few payout hikes last week.

That doesn't mean the scene was idle, though. A clutch of companies declared higher distributions, including the following three notables.

Southwest Airlines

One of the more popular air carrier stocks on the market, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), is propelling its quarterly dividend 25% higher, to almost $0.13 per share. Additionally, the company's board authorized a new, $2.0 billion stock repurchase program, which replaces an expired initiative at the same amount.

At first, these moves might seem counterintuitive. On the face of it, Southwest's first quarter wasn't anything to jump in the air about, with revenue edging up only 1%, against costs that rose by nearly 9%. On the bottom line, adjusted net profit dove by 35%. Neither adjusted earnings ($372 million, or $0.61 per share) nor revenue (nearly $4.9 billion) hit the average analyst estimate.

Yet there was plenty to be cheered about in those results, not least of which was the company's high net margin -- no easy feat in an industry with persistently high costs. Another positive was that Southwest notched a new all-time high for first-quarter operating profit, at over $1.6 billion. That's almost triple what the company shelled out for dividends and share buybacks during the period. This bodes very well for the future of its payout.

Southwest's new dividend is to be dispensed on June 28 to stockholders of record as of June 7. At the most recent closing share price, it would yield 0.8%. That's well under the current 1.9% average yield of dividend-paying stocks on the S&P 500.

The carrier did not give an end date for its new share buyback program.

Northrop Grumman

Veteran aerospace and defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), as per its once-a-year habit, has raised its quarterly dividend -- by 11% to $0.90 per share. The company didn't hesitate to mention that this represents the 14th straight year it has improved its payout.

In contrast to fellow airborne stock Southwest Airlines, Northrop Grumman blew the market away with its first-quarter results. There was very little not to like: Sales were a sturdy 5% higher on a year-over-year basis, while net profit grew a very encouraging 15%. Both line items ($6.3 billion and $640 million, respectively) thrashed analyst estimates.

The world needs the kind of products made by Northrop Grumman and its peers; witness the recent series of arms deals signed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states with the U.S. that will amount to roughly $350 billion. The immediate future looks quite good for the defense industry.

One slightly worrying development for Northrop Grumman in that otherwise stellar first quarter is operating cash flow -- high consumption plunged that line item into the red, to the tune of $439 million. The company should right that aircraft, though; it's sticking with its projections of a $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion surplus for this fiscal year. This should be sufficient to cover the company's dividend, and a shareholder-pleasing level of share buybacks.

Northrop Grumman will pay its next dividend on June 21 to investors of record as of June 5. It yields a theoretical 1.4% on the current share price.

KeyCorp

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), one of the numerous regional banking groups doing its thing in smaller markets, is bumping its quarterly dividend $0.01 (or 12%) higher to just under $0.10 per share.

KeyCorp is a bulkier entity than it used to be thanks to the company's acquisition of fellow regional First Niagara, in a $4 billion deal that was consummated last July. This helped KeyCorp increase its total revenue by 44%, net interest income by 52%, and per-share adjusted net income by 33%. The latter, by the way, topped analyst estimates -- the third quarter in a row the bank has achieved this feat.

KeyCorp has done a fine job expanding from its core Rust Belt operations. The First Niagara deal in particular gives it a presence in complementary Northeast markets, particularly upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Due to synergies, it should also save money -- KeyCorp is on pace to cut annual expenses by around $450 million, up from an initial estimate of $400 million.

Which, of course, potentially means a significant bulge in the company's coffers. Last year, the bank managed to grow its free cash flow by almost 70% to $1.4 billion, and with the bulked-up operations and lower expenses, there's probably more where that came from. Last year's pile easily covered both dividend payouts and share buybacks, and I can't imagine that dynamic will change anytime soon.

KeyCorp's upcoming distribution is to be paid on June 15 to shareholders of record as of May 30. At the company's most recent closing stock price, it would yield 2.1%.

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NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday "took note" of the Defence Ministry's proposed Strategic Partnership model for encouraging indigenous manufacturing in the field of defence, and the government would like to implement it "as fast as we can", Union Minister Arun Jaitley said.

Jaitley, who holds both the Finance and Defence portfolios, briefing journalists after a meet of the Union Cabinet said there has been an opinion for a long time that domestic manufacturing in defence should be pushed.

"Cabinet took note of this proposal which deals with encouraging Make in India in relation to defence manufacturing," Jaitley said.

"It took note because it becomes a part of the procedure of Defence Procurement Policy. It is an important issue, so reporting to the Cabinet was necessary," he said.

Explaining the model, the Minister said: "Since there will be a need for technology transfer at a large scale, the strategic partner will be an Indian firm and the Original Equipment Manufacturer will be a global company with which there will be a tie-up... As per the capacity and price bid, in every sector, strategic partners will be selected."

The Minister said the government would like to implement it "as fast as we can" and the model will "coexist" with the Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs).

"Under the policy, the capacity of Defence PSUs will also be taken into account, how much work they can do, and capacity building in private sector in the field of defence in the country should start," he said.

Jaitley said capacity building in private sector was necessary as India is spending majorly on defence equipment import, and this cost was only to rise in future.

"Defence is a sector where equipment in large numbers are bought from abroad and seeing the size of the Indian economy, there was this opinion that manufacturing should start within the country."

"...Defence preparedness itself necessitates that you procure and manufacture domestically. These are sectors in which I anticipate in years to come government spending to also increase...," the Minister said.

As per the latest report of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India is the world's largest arms importing country, accounting for 13 per cent of global arms imports between 2012 to 2016.

Jaitley also said that assurance that the government will be the buyer is needed for capacity building of private sector.

"...You must bear in mind that this is one sector where domestically government is the only buyer. It is only when they acquire large capacities and build up large experience that they get an international order booking. Substantially, it is the government which is the buyer," he said.

"The reasonable expectation of government doing business with a particular party incentivises setting up of a manufacturing facility. You don't set up a manufacturing facility if you do not have a hope of getting an order. And that is the rationale behind the strategic partnership model."

The Minister said that it is not necessary that the tie up with a global company is only through the FDI route and it can also be just technology transfer.

"In round one we opened up FDI, it is not necessary that in every tie-up must be FDI based, it can be technology based also," he added.

The Defence Ministry finalised the Strategic Partnership model at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on May 20.

The policy envisages the establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with qualified Indian industry majors, wherein the Indian industry partners would tie up with global original equipment manufacturers, to seek technology transfer and manufacturing know-how to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains in defence manufacturing.

Jaitley said four sectors have been finalised for the model at present - fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles and main battle tanks.

"These platforms will be manufactured in India, and a model for bidding has been formulated under which in every field, for every platform, one private sector will be chosen," Jaitley said.

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NEW DELHI: Google on Wednesday announced that it has shortlisted six Indian startups for the fourth class of Google Accelerator Programme that will kick-off from July 17 at the Google Developers Launchpad Space in San Francisco.

With this batch, a total of 26 Indian startups have so far joined the launchpad accelerator programme from India.

"These startups were shortlisted from hundreds which applied this year, based on their unique value proposition and use of latest technologies like machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to build high-impact solutions," Paul Ravindranath G., Programme Manager, Google India, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The programme will include two weeks of all-expense-paid mentorship bootcamp.

This batch of startups will gain from Google's new curriculum that will help the startups to dig deeper into machine learning and AI and help them leverage Google's latest technologies to scale their apps.

In the six-month programme, these startups will undergo intensive mentoring from 20-plus teams across Google and mentors from top technology companies in the Silicon Valley.

Additionally, they will receive equity-free support and credits for Google products. After returning from San Francisco, these startups will work closely with Google in India.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Crazy Taco & Tequila Bar reopened Thursday for lunch and dinner after a kitchen meltdown -- literally. Around 5:15 p.m. Friday, May 19, owner Adam Lener said that the deep-fryer's heat sensor malfunctioned.

"We had a flash-fire in the kitchen. The fire suppression went off and the rest is history."

Specifically, as the oil overheated, Lener said, its viscosity broke down. That's when the liquid hit its flash point.

"We use corn oil. If we used canola or soy bean oil, it would have flashed earlier," Lener said.

"I have never seen a deep fryer catch on fire. I've never seen oil catch fire! It was hot enough to melt the deep fryer. But it didn't catch fire on the wall, it didn't explode."

In the meantime, on Monday, May 22, a customer craving Crazy Taco's brand of Mexican fare left a one-star review on Yelp.

"I called on a Monday to make a 100 dollar order," wrote Yelper Alice U. of Brooklyn. " After calling 5 times, no one picked up. Why wouldn't you pick up a customer's call, unless you are closed even though your website certainly says that you're not."

Well, Alice, responded Lener that same day with a brief introduction and apology:

"I'm Adam the owner of the restaurant. I'm sorry to hear that you are upset, but in all fairness we are closed on Mondays. I don't think it's fair for you to rate my restaurant a one-star for being closed. I base my businesses success on guest satisfaction and your review on here just isn't fair. We are closed till Thursday this week because I had a fire in the kitchen on Friday. Of course, if we were in the restaurant someone would answer the phone. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I'm waiting on the Ansel system company to reinstall the fire suppression tank so I could reopen. I hope you could understand that's why your calls weren't taken. Thanks."

Alice U. did not respond to Lener by deadline.

Going forward to regular restaurant matters, Lener says, "I'm going to make changes for September for this menu -- tacos will be different, I'm adding chimichangas."

Brunch will go on as usual from noon until 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Additionally, Lener's other restaurant, Portobello Cafe in Great Kills -- 4221 Hylan Blvd., 718-356-2233 -- celebrated its 21st year in business. This was Adam's first project as a freshly graduated chef from Culinary Instittue of America, Hyde Park.

Crazy Taco stand will be set up at Fleet Week at Flagship Brewing Co. on Sunday, May 30 with free food for the military. The outfit also will also make an appearance at Uncorked Festival June 3 at Historic Richmond Town, where they typically bring hundreds of gallons of margaritas for the sampling, as well as enough food to feed about 2,000 guests.

On June 10, the restaurant will appear at the Taco and Craft Brew Festival.

Crazy Taco is located at 238 Morningstar Rd., 718-720-8226, CrazyTacoSI.com.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two Staten Island men were busted in connection with a prescription drug trafficking ring that sold more than $25,000 in opioid painkillers on Staten Island and Brooklyn, officials announced Thursday.

Raymond Raimondi, 64, of Elm Park, Jeffrey Tesoro, 50, of Westerleigh, and four other people were arrested and indicted for conspiracy and criminal sale of a controlled substance for allegedly scheming to obtain the painkillers from pharmacies and selling them on the black market, according to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor's office.

The ring operated from August 2016 to October 2016.

"With so many lives already lost to addiction, law enforcement must remain vigilant in our fight against the opioid crisis on Staten Island and across the city," said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. "Investigations like this are vital to putting drug dealers behind bars and keeping them off our streets."

Raimondi, the alleged ringleader, is also accused of selling oxycodone pills to an undercover NYPD officer 15 times, said authorities. Raimondi sold 1,900 pills for $25,000 cash during the transactions with the officer, prosecutors allege.

Authorities claim the sales occurred near a Brooklyn high school and in the parking lot at the Home Depot on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor, officials said. Prosecutors said Tesoro was with Raimondi during one of the sales in October 2016.

The two, along with co-defendants Vincent Maniscalco, Paul Consentino, Robert Florio and Louisa Valentin, allegedly worked together to fill prescriptions of painkillers at pharmacies on Staten Island and Brooklyn.

During the three months, the defendants filled prescriptions for over 2,800 oxycodone pills, authorities allege.

Raimondi, officials said, collected the pills from the group and sold them to customers on Staten Island and Brooklyn. Maniscalco allegedly sold oxycodone to customers in Brooklyn.

Authorities said the group used cellphones and coded language to discuss obtaining and filling the prescriptions and selling the pills.

Raimondi and Maniscalco, according to a law enforcement source, are known Gambino associates.

Earlier this year, Maniscalco was busted in another prescription drug scheme that involved Staten Island brothers Michael and Joseph Calabria.

That case is still pending in federal court for the three defendants.

In this case, the wiretap investigation was conducted by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, the Richmond County District Attorney's Office and the New York City Police Department's (NYPD) Criminal Enterprise Investigations Division.

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Manhattan Supreme Court.

"These six defendants are facing conspiracy charges and lengthy prison sentences for allegedly trafficking potentially-deadly opioid painkillers," said NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill. "While we've modified our approach to this epidemic in order to save lives, those who peddle oxycodone and other deadly drugs should know that we're seeking them day and night - with precision."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Over 100 concerned Staten Island residents and elected officials turned out Wednesday night to encourage New York City to #SaveGoodhuePark.

This comes after funding for an 11-acre parcel to complete the third leg of a decade-long sale of Goodhue property was omitted from the city's executive budget earlier this year.

The Parks Department has been working since 2006 to acquire the Goodhue property from the Children's Aid Society (CAS) in order to create a new public park -- Goodhue Park.

"Even though this is the final phase of a plan that's been in the works for over 10 years, for protecting a total of 38 acres of parkland forever, this last key part, to this point, isn't funded," said CAS Chief Operational Officer Dan Lehman.

Borough President James Oddo has been a strong advocate for the city's purchase of the Goodhue land and was on hand to show his support and share an offer he recently made to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"I said to the mayor that I will use $6 million of a pool I'm privileged to allocate if you provide the rest," said Oddo.

"I will make the commitment to put your tax dollars to this, to make sure that we buy this property, to make sure we preserve this land and to make sure we build this community center," Oddo continued.

Councilwoman Debi Rose was also in attendance to voice her support for preserving the Goodhue parkland.

"This site is a fabric of the West Brighton community," said Rose. "Goodhue has a lot of significance for me and my family, as it does for all of you in West Brighton."

The money from this sale would be used as the cornerstone of the development of a new Goodhue Center on the four remaining acres of land on the Lafayette Avenue side.

This would allow the Goodhue Center to expand services to include early childhood programming, teen programming and mental health services.

If New York City does not complete the purchase of this land, CAS will be forced to consider selling the land to private developers.

The Goodhue Center is asking Staten Islanders to support this cause by posting photos and stories to social media using the hashtag: #SaveGoodhuePark.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Here's a recap of what some area lawmakers have been up to recently.

DISABILITY AWARENESS

Assemblyman Michael Cusick recently joined students to celebrate Disability Awareness Day in Albany to bring attention to the issues facing New Yorkers living with various disabilities and to celebrate their accomplishments.

"Today is meant to bring special recognition to the challenges that those with disabilities bravely face every day," said Cusick (D-Mid-Island).

The students, who attend various Staten Island elementary schools, competed against their peers to create posters to educate others about the challenges those with disabilities face every day. The poster contest, for kids in Kindergarten to fifth grade, has been sponsored by Cusick's office for the past several years.

"I am proud to say we received many promising messages from the winners this year that truly exemplify the understanding and compassion expected of the future leaders of our state," Cusick said.

Awards for first, second, and third place were distributed to the students as part of a ceremony in the state Capitol building on Monday.

The following students were recognized this week:

First grade: Lauren Urbanec of PS 54 (first place); Mia O'Donnell of Notre Dame Academy (second place)

Second grade: Evia Lika of Notre Dame Academy (first place); Anna Mugge of PS 54 (second place)

Third grade: Emmanuel Nicanor of PS 54 (first place); Ava Palermo of PS 54 (second place); Lillian Martinez of PS 54 (third place)

Fourth grade: Aarelyn Eustaquio of PS 54 (first place)

Fifth grade: Coral Virginia of PS 56 (first place); Daniella Ciaburri of PS 54 (second place); Thomas Squires of PS 54 (third place)

The following students were not able to attend the Albany ceremony:

Kindergarten: Fatima Marcial of St. Christopher's School (first place); Marissa Cera of St. Christopher's School (second place); Samuel Vardanian of St. Christopher's School (third place)

First grade: Marin Caldarella of Notre Dame Academy (third place)

Second grade: Sophia Hiler of Notre Dame Academy (third place)

Fourth grade: Paciencia Tharindi Gunawardhane of PS 54 (second place); Hernan Cortes of PS 54 (third place)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Legislation that would allow medical marijuana to be used for dysmenorrhea, or painful menstrual cramps, cleared the Assembly Health Committee this week.

"Women are suffering in silence, each and every month confronting debilitating menstrual pain without access to one of the most safe and effective treatments: cannabis," said Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), who is working on the legislation with actress Whoopi Goldberg.

Effective since 2014, New York's Compassionate Care Act, authored by Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), allows those with certain severe ailments to get prescriptions for medical marijuana, in pill or oil form.

Dysmenorrhea is not currently one of the state-approved conditions for a medical marijuana prescription.

"Women have used cannabis for menstrual pain for as long as time, and this pain is real for a lot of us. I'm glad to see states like New York starting to get serious about this and when it gets to Gov. Cuomo's desk we hope he recognizes and champions this conversation, and allows these decisions to be made between patients and their doctor by signing this very important bill Assemblywoman Rosenthal sponsored," said Goldberg, a longtime medical marijuana advocate.

Dysmenorrhea, or menstrual cramps, is the most common menstrual disorder, with more than half of all women of reproductive age reporting some level of monthly discomfort.

The bill will now head to the Assembly floor for a vote.

HONORING A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR

Rep. Dan Donovan co-sponsored legislation to commission a bust of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel in the U.S. Capitol.

"Few others in history have led lives of such tragedy, significance, and import as Elie Wiesel," said Donovan (R-Staten Island/ Brooklyn). "He's a testament to the enduring character of the human spirit. His bust in the U.S. Capitol will honor his life and legacy and help others engage - and, hopefully, continue - his causes."

Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. At age 15, he was imprisoned at the Auschwitz concentration camp and later transferred to Buchenwald. His father, mother, and sister died, though Wiesel was freed when American troops liberated the camp. Wiesel spent the rest of his life writing books, advocating for human rights, and teaching.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Clifton man, who had been charged in a shooting incident last year, will spend four years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to gun and drug charges in separate cases.

Linc Omaro, also known as Linc Boyd, pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree criminal weapon possession stemming from a Dec. 12 arrest.

Omaro, 26, was busted for carrying a loaded .40-caliber gun at about 3:05 p.m. outside 376 Jersey St.

Omaro also pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He admitted to possessing heroin with the intent to sell on Sept. 20, 2015.

After his arrest in December, Omaro was accused, along with a co-defendant, Joendy Gomez, 22, of Port Richmond, of shooting a victim in New Brighton at 10:03 a.m. on Dec. 8.

Authorities said the man was shot in the arms and legs during a dispute in the back of a grocery store at 506 Richmond Terrace.

The victim was transported to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, in stable condition.

Omaro and Gomez were charged with attempted murder, assault and other crimes.

Gomez was also accused in an unrelated episode of shooting a rapper reportedly affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan on Dec. 10 in Port Richmond.

His cases are pending.

Outside court, Anthony Katchen, Omaro's lawyer, said Omaro didn't shoot anyone.

"By his plea, my client accepted responsibility for what he actually was guilty of. As the plea makes clear, he was not involved in a shooting or the attempted murder that he was initially charged with," Katchen said.

Omaro will be sentenced June 7 to four years in prison and 30 months' post-release supervision for his gun conviction.

He'll receive a concurrent sentence of two years behind bars and two years' post-release supervision for the drug conviction.
As she wraps up her fourth school year in Madison, Hanks spoke with the Cap Times about her commitment to public education and ensuring that Madisons youngest students have the mirrors and windows to reflect on themselves and see possibilities in the world around them.
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German professional triathlete Julia Viellehner died yesterday in a hospital in Italy after she was hit by a truck during a training ride on a mountainous road a week earlier. But this is sadly not the first devastating news for this active family.

Viellehner raced her first IRONMAN event in Austria in 2014 and recorded a very fine 9:20:52. But at the end of the year her father Johann and brother Raphael disappeared while climbing Mt. Cook in New Zealand and are presumed dead. Both were very experienced climbers and they had teamed up with Australian climber Michael Bishop to face the challenging Mt. Cook ascent. They were last seen early on December 28th and were supposed to be only gone for a day. But when later that day no one had heard from them folks started to get worried. The next day a search plane was sent out but had to eventually stop due to inclement weather. Initially there was hope that the three climbers had found shelter in a cave and were waiting out the storm. But soon it was clear that these 3 climbers would never return.



Julia Viellehner and her mother Irmgard Viellehner were interviewed by local and regional news in early 2015 and while they both were saddened by the loss they also appreciated that father and son died doing what they loved.



"Subconsciously we have always had lived with the idea that maybe one day they might stay on a mountain," said Julia Viellehner back then to the Alt-Neuottinger Anzeiger newspaper. Her mom Irmgard added "I think they would prefer to be on Mt. Cook instead of on the cemetery in Winhoring."



This however was also not the first time that tragedy had visited the Viellehners. In 1980, the younger brother of the father also perished while climbing. He and a local friend disappeared while ascending Mont Blanc.



After the death of her brother and father Julia Viellehner pushed harder in triathlon and won several events including the 2016 Challenge Regensburg.



Last week Viellehner rode with her boyfriend and another athlete in the Apennine Mountains of Italy when a truck who passed them veered into them and ran her over. Viellehner was seriously injured and transported to the Ospedale Maurizio Bufalini hospital in Cesena. Moto GP superstar Nicky Hayden was also transported to that hospital after his collision with a car in that region. Both athletes sadly died this week and they will be terribly missed.
Business Insider: 8 arrested in Manchester attack as a 'significant' connection emerges between bomber and ISIS recruiter.

"This morning (Thursday 25 May 2017) we have been carrying out searches at an address in the Withington area and a man has been arrested.

"These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage.

"Another man has also been arrested in the Manchester area this morning in connection with the investigation, bringing the total number of men in custody to eight.

"A woman who was arrested in Blackley on Wednesday evening has since been released without charge."
Five centuries ago Christians were burning and torturing each other but on Sunday they will pray together as friends and commemorate the historic event which split their faith.

In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on a door, protesting the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences  a remission of punishment for sins.

Pastor Rev Gabor Szabo at St Paul's Lutheran Church, where an ecumenical service will be held on Sunday to commemorate 500 years since the Reformation. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The symbolic defiance instigated a great schism between Catholic and Protestant beliefs.

An ecumenical service at St Peter's Lutheran Church will officially begin several months of commemorative events.
History teachers take note, the Museum of Australian Democracy is trying a new way of engaging with kids: a chatbot.

The museum is marking the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum by allowing people to learn about it through simply chatting with it on Facebook Messenger, emojis included.

The Museum of Australian Democracy has launched a chatbot for Facebook Messenger to help mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum.

The bot relies on you sticking to pre-prepared questions, and struggles slightly when you try to take it off script by typing your own.

"So what made the 1967 referendum different? Let's zoom back to the 60s and have a look," the chatbot said.
It's more than an hour and a half away from Canberra in an isolated part of the Namadgi National Park.

Yet somehow vandals have trashed the heritage-listed Orroral Homestead, after parks authorities and volunteers spent more than a decade restoring it.

Historic Namadgi homestead Orroral has been vandalised after it was restored by volunteers over a decade.

ACT Parks and Conservation regional manager Brett McNamara said while the 29 smashed window panels will cost hundreds of dollars to fix, it would also cause "pain and anxiety" to the volunteers who spent thousands of hours rebuilding the homestead.

"It was very much a deliberate act. In the 30 years I've been with the parks services it's the first time that I can recall any direct vandalism at Orroral Homestead," Mr McNamara said.
Forget about Dustin Martin, Nat Fyfe and Josh Kelly because Essendon forward Joe Daniher is the hottest out-of-contract property in the AFL at the moment, according to former Melbourne champion Garry Lyon.

The emerging superstar has given the footy world an exciting glimpse of what's to come in the last five rounds with three best-on-ground performances.

Unsurprisingly, those three performances inspired the Bombers to victories against Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast. He scored back-to-back bags of five goals against the Cats and Eagles, something he had not previously achieved in his 79-game career.

The 23-year-old's freakish ability and unique skill set for a 200cm tall player have left onlookers amazed recently, and even drawn comparisons to Sydney champion Lance Franklin.
Presenting the tax as a sign of the poor relationship between banks and the broader community, Mr Gonski said ANZ would push for amendments to limit the potential for future increases in the levy, a key fear of the banking industry.

Mr Gonski, also a key advisor to the Coalition government on education, broke his public silence on the tax on Thursday, but avoided the blunt attacks of other senior bankers.

ANZ Bank chairman David Gonski is urging the government to enshrine in law its commitment not to raise the rate of the bank tax, in a concession lenders cannot stop the levy from going ahead.

The intervention from one of the country's most senior businessmen came as the banks' lobby group made a plea for more public scrutiny of the levy through a Senate inquiry, after a rushed period of industry consultation.

"Clearly we are disappointed at the introduction of this new tax. However, given the support it has in parliament, we accept that it will pass into law," David Gonski said. Credit:AAP

In a letter to ANZ shareholders, Mr Gonski said the bank was disappointed by the new tax, which he saw as further evidence of the breakdown between banks and the community.

He said the bank would lobby the government to ensure the levy was "fair and efficient," and it would push for the tax rate to be fixed in the legislation, so that it could not be raised without the agreement of the parliament. As currently planned, the tax will be an 0.06 per cent charge on bank borrowings, excluding most retail deposits. Analysts predict the government may raise the rate of the tax in the future.

"Clearly we are disappointed at the introduction of this new tax. However, given the support it has in parliament, we accept that it will pass into law," Mr Gonski said.
Ansell has finally parted ways with its condoms division for the princely sum of $US600 million after the boss, Magnus Nicolin, decided condoms are not a good fit with the rest of its business.

"Clearly the target audience is different," he told Fairfax Media last year after announcing the future of the sexual wellness business was under review.

Its rubber gloves and protective clothing goods are sold to responsible, sober adults in big organisations  head nurses, administrators. Condoms are sold to horny teenagers at the local 7-Eleven. You get the picture.
On a small island off the southern coast of Singapore, a French energy company is experimenting with what it hopes will be the future of renewable power storage.

Engie is helping build a small, self-contained power grid on Semakau Island to demonstrate the usefulness of hydrogen gas in converting intermittent power from solar panels and wind turbines into stored fuel that can generate electricity days or even months later, when the need is higher.

Plummeting costs for solar and wind are helping renewable energy steal an ever-greater slice of the power generation pie from fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
The Republican congressional candidate who allegedly body slammed a reporter instead of answering his questions would be "very welcome" in Congress, a Wisconsin congressman said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, also told a Washington Post reporter that Greg Gianforte, who is seeking to represent Montana in Congress and on Wednesday was charged with misdemeanor assault, seemed "like a good guy."

When asked whether Gianforte should face consequences if he did indeed assault Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, after Jacobs pressed Gianforte to answer questions about the Congressional Budget Office's report on the American Health Care Act, Grothman did not directly answer the question.

"We need somebody who's going to come up here and help drain the swamp," Grothman said. "And if you're for draining the swamp, you're on our team, and if you are somebody who thinks government isn't big enough and wants open borders, you're part of the destruction of America."
Queensland's five wealthiest people are worth a combined $8.29 billion, according to the 2017 Financial Review Rich List.

Bianca Rinehart tops the list, worth $2.74 billion, thanks to her 23 per cent stake in Hancock Prospecting. Ms Rinehart is also the second-richest woman in Australia, falling behind her estranged mother Gina Rinehart, who is worth $10.41 billion.

Bianca Rinehart, pictured in Sydney in 2015, is Queensland's richest person. Credit:Ben Rushton

Despite Queensland's mining history, Ms Rinehart is the only rich-lister in Queensland's top five whose wealth has come from the resources sector.

The personal fortunes of John Van Lieshout, Bob Ell, Con Makris and Reg Rowe, come from a base of property.
I've always based my business and my life in Melbourne. I have had homes and offices in Sydney and around Australia and New Zealand, but there was something about Melbourne that grew on me from the moment I arrived in the city with one set of clothes, $10 in my pocket and a job in advertising.

Don't get me wrong, I love Sydney and many other places around the country, but in my book you can only have one true home  and it's Melbourne and Victoria for me.

Victoria's economy now has the fastest growth rate in the country at 3.3 per cent, which is significantly above the national average of 2.7 per cent. Take out Victoria and the rest of the country's jobs grew a miserable 0.6 per cent to March. Victoria created 60 per cent of all the new jobs.
If Malcolm Turnbull reflected more on his ambitions to improve the structure and functioning of Australian cities he might stop acting as if he could solve the problems himself. He might instead get out of the way. Or, more precisely, he might take the federal government out of the way.

It is possible to be leery of the federal government's insistence on involving itself in a host of areas from a perspective other than juvenile libertarianism.

The state government has its own transport agenda Credit:Fiona Morris

Governments necessarily play a role in massaging, co-ordinating and underpinning services and economies; no advanced society has yet existed without the state webbed through its fibre, like a linen-cotton blend. Tony Abbott may have maintained a fantasy of an anti-socialist urban form stripped of mass transport for the benefit of "kings in their own cars." But Abbott's notion was always that, a fantasy.

Who will build the car parks for the kings to rest their cars? The closest Australian proximate to Abbott's vision is Canberra, an artificial city animated by government salaries generous enough to delude many who receive them into believing they know what they are talking about.
This week's terror attack in Manchester highlights the need for Australia to absorb the lessons that have emerged from the coronial inquest into the December 2014 Lindt Cafe siege.

Both are examples of how troubled individuals, motivated by hateful ideologies, can shatter lives and leave whole communities scarred and traumatised.

In both instances although the perpetrators were already "on the radar" with the authorities insufficient action was taken to prevent the attacks from taking place.

This has played to the very human desire to have someone to blame when tragedy strikes.
Monis' obsession with ASIO and sending letters to the families of fallen Australian soldiers should not have been dismissed as nuisance behaviours  they were clearly warning signs of fixative behaviour.

His Facebook rantings that sparked 18 calls to the hotline should have been correctly assessed as leakage behaviour by people with the expertise, knowledge and understanding of radicalisation. The coroner stated that, "while Monis' public Facebook page did contain confronting and provocative content, there was nothing indicative of a desire or intent to undertake an act of politically-motivated violence nor suggestive of a capability to do so". Taken out of context that may be so, but coupled with his fixation, self-identification, violent history and a pattern of behaviour in the weeks leading up to the siege, I would argue they provide a clear indicator of the seriousness of the threat he posed.

Perhaps the most damning evidence of the impending threat posed by Monis is the letter he sent to Attorney-General George Brandis, asking about the legality of Monis engaging with ISIS leadership.

Responding to questions in Senate estimates in 2015, Senator Brandis said of the letter that it did not "apparently contain any endorsement or indication of favourability towards Islamic State". The letter was treated as benign despite Monis writing, "I would like to send a letter to Caliph Ibrahim, the leader of the Islamic State, in which making some comments and asking some questions [sic]". It should have been treated with the gravity it deserved, and would have if the right people, with the right expertise had been called in.

There is a serious and urgent need to develop our capacity for early intervention in Australia. This is abundantly evident when we look at the plethora of missed opportunities to intervene before Monis had the chance to carry out his violence. Opportunities that should have and could have been detected given the right knowledge, understanding, experience and expertise.
Roger Franklin, the online editor of conservative journal Quadrant, put his usually esoteric publication firmly in the spotlight earlier this week when he posted about a discussion of terrorism on the ABC TV program Q&A.

Writing as news unfolded of the Manchester bombing, he opined that, "had there been a shred of justice", the bomb would have "detonated in an Ultimo TV studio"  referring to the ABC studio in Sydney where Q&A is produced on Monday evenings.

ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie. Credit:Andrew Meares

He subsequently said his intention had been to make a rhetorical point and amended his original post, but he still copped it from all sides: the ABC's managing director, Michelle Guthrie, said the piece was vicious and offensive, and represented a new low in Australian public debate.

Federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield described the comments as "sick and unhinged".
Financial members of Pauline Hanson's One Nation have been told the annual general meeting for the national and Queensland divisions of the party will be held in August. "An attendance fee will be required to cover some of the costs of the meeting, but this will be kept as low as possible to ensure as many members as possible are able to attend," the online notice of meeting says.

The Eventbrite ticket site for the One Nation gathering says "at the AGM venue we will have a shop open for any members who wish to purchase some merchandise, at the moment we have T-Shirts, Caps, Books, Badges, Plane Shaped Stress Balls and more!!"

Pauline Hanson says James Ashby's money-raising idea was knocked on the head. Credit:Andrew Meares

Senator Hanson should buy a dozen stress balls: she'll need all the distressing she can get to survive the next few months during which there is every chance One Nation could vanish as we know it.

As the saying suggests, the One Nation leader can't choose her family but she sure can choose her friends. And she should choose a lot more carefully if she wants One Nation to survive.
As former Howard-era defence minister Robert Hill said at the seminar: "I'm still trying to work out what winning the war in Iraq is now ... As soon as we actually defeat ISIS  which will happen  you'll be back into the sectarian divide and the internal fight."

Is there a "winning strategy" or, as some have argued, is it simply impossible to defeat an ideology? In this regard, Barrie is right to turn to history, but perhaps 1945 would be a more useful precedent. The end of the World War II saw the ideological regimes of Germany and Japan comprehensively defeated, with both countries not only nurtured back into the international global order as democratic nations but also as economic powerhouses. How did this happen?

First, the end state of the allied strategy was clear and concise. It was not, as some might presume, the unconditional surrender of the axis powers. Rather, it was setting the conditions so that these nations would not descend into expansionist dictatorships again. The ways were twofold: the complete military defeat of both countries, followed by rebuilding their institutions and economies. The means were whatever it took. Allied nations mobilised their entire economies to win the war, and then invested unprecedented amounts of capital into Germany and Japan to win the peace. It is almost the exact opposite of the US-led strategy in Iraq.

Barrie might be right to suggest that future conflicts lie in wait for Australia. But we are not "sleepwalking" into war. We already did that more than a decade ago and we are still fighting devoid of a comprehensive strategy.

If we are to be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead in our region, we must ensure that we don't just win the war, but win the peace in Iraq, too. That will require playing a leading role in bringing the international community together to match the ends, way and means to achieve a stable, peaceful, democratic nation state of Iraq. Otherwise we will find ourselves sleepwalking through war in Iraq for yet another decade.
The state Legislatures budget-writing committee voted on Thursday to require some Wisconsin residents using food stamps and receiving public health care to be tested for drug use and to meet work requirements in exchange for benefits.

The Joint Finance Committee, the states budget-writing panel, voted 12-4 to approve Walkers plan that would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to make drug tests mandatory for Medicaid recipients and would impose tests on adult food stamp recipients without dependent children seeking coverage through the states BadgerCare program.

Some parents with children over the age of 6 who are enrolled in the states FoodShare program, which administers federally funded food stamps in Wisconsin, also would be required to work or look for employment for at least 80 hours per month under another measure proposed by Walker that the panel approved Thursday. The work requirement currently only applies to FoodShare recipients without children.

The panel scaled back the governors proposal by applying the work requirement to parents using food stamps in certain regions of the state between April 2019 and June 2020 and not allowing the requirements to be applied statewide until an evaluation indicates it should be.

Republicans on the panel approved the measures over Democrats objection to its effect on some of the states poorest residents.

It is one thing to deny food stamps or W-2 benefits to poor people  to deny health care is another thing altogether, said Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh.

Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, R-Clinton, said the proposals are a balanced approach to improving the workforce in Wisconsin and welcomed federal block grants to allow state lawmakers to make decisions about how welfare services are provided.

Were not releasing the funding until we know were going to get what we expect and what we expect is a better workforce for Wisconsin, Loudenbeck said about requiring an evaluation of requiring parents on FoodShare to work.

All the proposals require federal approval, which the Walker administration is requesting. The administration also is asking federal officials to charge monthly BadgerCare premiums to childless adults and charge more to people engaging in risky health behaviors.

The GOP lawmakers plan also calls for the budget panel to sign off on the Medicaid changes, should they be approved by federal officials, before they take effect. Under the plans, people seeking benefits would have to undergo screening, with potential drug tests contingent on their responses.

Walker has proposed expanding drug-test and work requirements for a range of public programs. He and other supporters say the requirements prepare benefit recipients to enter the workforce.

Critics of the moves, which include Democrats and some advocacy groups, have said the drug tests, in particular, are meant to shame public-benefit recipients but wont deter drug use.

The panel also supported Walkers plan to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes and personal care providers. Both would receive 2 percent reimbursement hikes in each of the next two years under Walkers plan.

Personal care services are provided to people with disabilities and chronic health conditions to assist with tasks such as eating and meal preparation, dressing, light housework and shopping.

During Thursdays Medicaid debate, Democrats on the budget panel highlighted what advocates describe as uncertainty with federal health care funding created by President Donald Trumps proposal for the next federal budget. Programs such as BadgerCare, EBD Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, are funded with both state and federal dollars.

Also Thursday, Walker said splitting transportation funding from the larger state budget, as some Republican lawmakers have suggested, could delay work on critical highway projects.

Walker spoke publicly Thursday at an event in Neenah, near the site of a project to expand Highway 10/Highway 441.

The only way we have troubles with major projects like this  is if we dont have a transportation budget by July 1, Walker told reporters Thursday.

The 10/441 project is one of four major highway expansions that Walker has proposed to fund in his transportation budget proposal, keeping their construction on track for the next two years. Others include an expansion of Interstate 39/90 from the Madison Beltline to the Illinois state line, of Verona Road from Raymond Road to McKee Road and of Highway 15 in Outagamie County.

For months, the transportation debate has centered on whether to increase gas taxes or vehicle fees to ease the states growing backlog of road and bridge projects. Walker opposes the move, and proposed a budget that would hold the line on taxes and fees and increase funding for local roads while slashing funds for freeway projects in southeast Wisconsin.

The plan also relies on $500 million in borrowing. Thats a key point of contention between Walker and some legislative Republicans wary of putting more on the states credit card.

Legislative Democrats and some Republicans say tax and fee increases should be considered for the transportation budget.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke insisted that Assembly Republicans arent halting progress on the transportation budget.
Humans consider standing on one leg something best done in a yoga class. Flamingos, on the other hand, consider it the most comfortable sleeping position.

And they never seem to fall.

We only need one leg: a group of flamingos at a zoo in Germany. Credit:AP

The reason for it remains obscure. Some scientists hypothesised it might have to do with regulating body temperature. Others wondered if it reduced muscle fatigue.

Atlanta scientists Young-Hui Chang, a neuromachinist at Georgia Tech University, and Lena Ting, a biomedical engineer at Emory University, set out to find a definitive reason.
Forty per cent of private schools  more than previously thought  would be worse off under the Turnbull government's education funding changes, according to the sector's peak body.

The private school sector says the fact more than 400 of its schools would lose out shows the Catholic sector is wrong to suggest it has been singled out for harsh treatment by the government.

The Catholic sector has reacted furiously to the funding changes, claiming it will have to increase fees massively at many schools to make up for the shortfall.
There's something about the presence of Australian Human Rights Commission President Gillian Triggs that prompts politicians to embarrass themselves.

And so it was at her final appearance in the role at Senate estimates on Thursday, as the committee on legal and constitutional matters descended into a farce of dummy-spitting, name-calling and outright abuse.

Attorney-General George Brandis was left shaking his head at the witness table while senators excused themselves to bicker about whether committee chair Ian Macdonald - Triggs' nemesis over years of combative hearings - could kick out his Labor and Greens colleagues.
Donald Trump might have berated Malcolm Turnbull on the phone, but he never branded Australia's military alliance with America "obsolete".

Not so NATO. Trump is in Brussels, about to cut a ribbon to officially open a new headquarters building for the trans-Atlantic alliance, but it wasn't so long ago he threatened to cut the alliance off altogether.

He had fumed too many Europeans allies are in the red on military spending, leaving America to pick up the tab.
Images of the Trump family's visit to the Vatican have become the latest meme-trigger to cause a comedy storm on Twitter, which is perfectly understandable: With Donald grinning like a jack-o'-lantern, Melania and Ivanka channelling a couple of glammed-up widows (or witches, depending on your preferred pop culture reference) in black lace and veils, and a dead-eyed Pope Francis hovering awkwardly to the side, they could easily be mistaken for the cast of the next season of American Horror Story.

Among the cathartic joke-tweeting, a common question is being raised about exactly what should be read from the Trump women's attire. Mere days after attracting widespread praise for apparently "rebelling" in Saudi Arabia by going bareheaded, there's been some confusion as to why the women lauded in The Washington Post for "showing the world what feminine power looks like" would meet the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in such funereal garb, complete with head-coverings. What happened to these two beacons of feminism?

The short answer is that Melania and Ivanka Trump are not beacons of feminism. But you probably already had an inkling of that.
Guess has up to 50 per cent off. Zeno, Cashmere. design. Youthful fashion brands Honey & Beau, Pink Ruby and Romance have teamed up for a warehouse sale this week, with their prices started at $5. Prints, embellishments and functional wardrobe pieces will be available from past season's summer and winter stock, as well as one-offs and samples. All stock must go. Unit 1, 26 Kent Rd, Mascot. Thursday 25 10am-6pm, Friday 26 10am-6pm, Saturday 27 10am-6pm, Sunday 28 10am-4pm.

As mentioned in last week's columns, statement earrings are making a big comeback this year, and if you want to add some quirk to your outfits, the Sydney queen of bling Kristy Dickinson is holding a Haus of Dizzy pop-up store in Chippendale for the next two weeks. Think kaleidoscopic eye-popping earrings, necklace, bracelets and pins in the shape of glittery dinosaurs, hearts, stars and girl boss messages to turn heads in any room. The pop-up will also feature a personalisation activation, with customers able to purchase jewellery with their names of a custom message on them. The Old Clare Hotel, 1 Kensington Street, Chippendale. 10am-6pm daily till Tuesday June 6. Haus of Dizzy will add statement colours to your style. Renowned for its expertly-curated selection of luxury ready-to-wear and accessories, Sydney fashion mecca Parlour X has up to 50 per cent off across several of their housed brands including Isabel Marant, Acne Studios, Celine, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Vetements, Sacai, MSGM and Loewe. If you can't make it to the Paddington store, don't fret - you can shop the sale through their online store. The Church, 261 Oxford Street Paddington. Till stocks last.

J.W. Anderson is one of the designers featured in the Parlour X sale. There are plenty of sales happening online this week, with Yevu who design and source their clothes from Ghana stocking their last season prints at up to 50 per cent off. Style Tread also has up to 50 per cent off selected flats, boots and heels; and Lover, known for lacy romantic pieces and sharp tailored separates, has up to 50 per cent off selected stock online. Glue is also having a end-of-season footwear sale from Sunday, with up to 50 per cent off Nike, Adidas, Converse, Reebok, Vans and more. Just Opened Ethical-focused online brand Saaki has found a physical residency in Paddington for the next few weeks. With curated collections that are traditionally hand woven on the looms or embroidered, the brand sources natural fibres including Australian merino wool, cottons, linens and silk to fit in with its nomadic lifestyle vision. With over a dozen clothing and accessory designers on board, think free-flowing silhouettes, woven details and breezy fabrics, with a mixture of earthy and bright hues that will inspire travelling vibes. As well as stocking their signature styles, the brand will be offering customers an opportunity to order customised silk bomber jackets with their own vintage embroidery and hand stitched labels. Each limited edition piece takes you on a journey to a different part of the world, so it's definitely worth attending the pop-up as a brand to watch.
The banks have some of the best-performing super funds of all, at least for their employees.

That is a stark contrast to the super funds they run for their customers, which are among the poorer performers.

Analysis of 10 years' worth of performance data confirms many industry funds outperform their 'retail' rivals. Credit:Karl Hilzinger

Analysis of 10 years' worth of performance data by Industry Super Australia, the umbrella group representing industry funds, confirms many industry funds outperform their "retail" rivals  the funds run by the banks and insurers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict.

Sex crimes detectives are poised to make a decision about whether or not charges will be laid against Cardinal George Pell.

Cardinal George Pell Credit:Alessandra Tarantino

Victoria's police chief on Thursday said a decision about charging the senior Catholic figure was "not too far off".

"The decision is imminent on that," Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
NSW's private schools may soon be able to build classrooms, childcare centres, gymnasiums and lecture theatres as high as 22 metres on their grounds under a fast-track development process, which critics say lacks transparency and accountability.

The proposal is part of a suite of reforms announced by the NSW Government in a bid to encourage the private sector to absorb some of the demand on the overcrowded public school system, which is expected to accommodate a further 170,000 students over the next 15 years.

Private schools may be able to build classrooms,gymnasiums and lecture theatres as high as 22 metres on their grounds. Credit:Michele Mossop

Announcing the reforms in February, Education Minister Rob Stokes said the policy package would streamline the planning approval process and "make it easier to deliver well-designed, high-quality schools where they are required".

At least 15 councils across Sydney have raised objections to the reforms. Their criticism centres on key measures that will allow private schools to build millions of dollars worth of new buildings either without development approval from councils, or through a fast-track pathway of "complying development".
Police have returned to a national park in Sydney's south in the search for the body of missing man Matthew Leveson.

For the third time in six months, detectives this week descended on a small area of bushland in the sprawling Royal National Park in the hope of finding any trace of Mr Leveson.

Officers returned to the site near Waterfall on Monday to make sure they had not missed anything in the fruitless searches in November and January.

Mr Leveson, then 20, was last seen leaving ARQ nightclub in Darlinghurst with his then-boyfriend Michael Atkins in September 2007.
The federal government knocked back a request from NSW Coroner Michael Barnes for more information about Defence capabilities which could be deployed during a domestic terrorist attack, the Lindt siege report reveals.

Mr Barnes says the Commonwealth "resisted the provision of further information", meaning he could not determine if the "traditional roles of domestic police forces and the ADF [Australian Defence Force] in Australia ought to be reconsidered" .

The Commonwealth rejected Mr Barnes' request on the grounds that ADF personnel were only present at the December 2014 siege in a liaison role, that policing was not comparable to potential actions by the ADF, and that providing the information could "expose ADF methodologies."

He makes no explicit criticism of the Commonwealth's position, but says the refusal to share more information meant the inquest could not "comprehensively examine the ADF issues".
A 12-year-old boy who alleged stabbed a 10-year-old child over a pair of shoes in an inner-city apartment block had already been charged with assaulting his school teacher, a court has heard.

The youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, allegedly stabbed the younger boy in the torso at a Waterloo unit block about 12.15pm last Saturday.

Police at the scene of the incident in Waterloo. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Police allege the youth was trying to steal a pair of Nikes when he stabbed the boy with a knife, causing a 2.5-centimetre laceration.

The boy was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick but was released later that night.
Bus passengers in Sydney's inner west may be able to summon smaller vehicles to pick them up on demand, according to Andrew Constance's vision for a franchised bus operation in the area.

But the bus union has rubbished the idea, saying on-demand buses are a fanciful notion for the inner city.

The M52 currently runs from Parramatta to the city. Credit:Peter Rae

In the two years since Mr Constance assumed the Transport Minister's job from Gladys Berejiklian, he has been an enthusiast for using technological change to overhaul transport services.

The minister legalised the use of ride-sharing services such as UberX in 2015. And now that he has embarked on his first major industrial relations battle in the job  a face-off with inner west bus drivers that has already triggered a day's strike  he is keen to open up public transport to new ways of doing things.
The trial of alleged drug trafficker Ivan Tesic has heard utes were fitted with hidden compartments to conceal drugs and money during transport and could only be opened by activating secret switches.

Tesic, 44, pleaded not guilty to one count of trafficking and one count of possessing methylamphetamine on Thursday, the first day of his Brisbane Supreme Court trial.

It's alleged he unlawfully trafficked the illicit substance between March 2011 and March 2014 in areas including the Gold Coast, and also unlawfully possessed more than 200 grams of it at the Isle of Capri on March 20, 2014.

In his opening address, crown prosecutor Mark Whitbread told the jury police executed a search warrant at Tesic's Surfers Paradise property in March 2014 and seized two utes.

With the help of sniffer dogs, police later discovered the vehicles had hollowed-out airbag compartments containing a combination of cash, pills, cocaine and soft drink bottles partially filled with methylamphetamine oil.
People convicted of serious assault of emergency services workers would face a mandatory minimum sentence of seven days behind bars under an Liberal National Party government.

The election commitment for the LNP would apply to people found guilty of assaulting police, ambulance officers and firefighters.

Tim Nicholls will announce the policy at a Queensland Police Union conference.

It would take some power away from the judiciary to set a non-custodial sentence and mean convicted offenders would spend at least seven days in jail.

Currently, there is no minimum mandatory sentence for the offence and the serious assault category applies to police officers but not specifically paramedics or firefighters.
An artist's impression of NASA's Juno spacecraft making one of its close passes over Jupiter. Credit:NASA "These studies are really exciting," she said. "There is just so much detail. It's going to take us a while to really unpack all the information." Dr Tucker said: "It's absurd  this amount of information comes from just one pass of the Juno spacecraft around Jupiter on August 27." The north and south poles of Jupiter as photographed by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The chaotic swirls are cyclones of ammonia gas, some more than 1000 kilometres across. Credit:NASA Astronomers working on NASA's Juno mission on Friday published two papers. One study, led by Scott Bolton, looks at Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere; the other, led by John Connerney, looks at the gas giant's magnetosphere and polar aurorae.

Together they show we still have much to learn about Jupiter. Planetary weather Dr Chudczer said that it had been thought that the dynamic layer of Jupiter's atmosphere was relatively shallow, given how quickly the gas of the interior would experience high pressures. "However, the weather of Jupiter runs deeper than expected  down to more than 400 kilometres, where pressures are greater than 300 Earth atmospheres and temperatures are about 900 Kelvin [627 degrees]," she said. Within this layer are dynamic swirls of largely ammonia gas and some water vapour. This leads to great bands of variable heat at the surface, with cooler areas being more opaque.

"Zonal weather patterns breakdown towards the poles where we find random vertices and cyclones of ammonia," she said. This is in distinction from Saturn, which we recently saw had a structured, hexagonal shape at its north polar region. "The polar dynamics and structures of the atmospheres of these two planets are fundamentally different," said Dr Bolton in his paper. In its initial pass over the poles, upon which these papers are based, Juno recorded ammonia cyclones up to 1400 kilometres across, which is 10 per cent the width of Earth.

Jupiter's core and gravity If you wanted to get the measured strength of the magnetic and gravitational fields that Juno has detected, it tells us some new things about the core of the largest planet in the solar system. "This suggests that Jupiter's core is half the radius of the entire planet," Dr Tucker said based on his reading of the papers. "That's really big." Dr Bolton's paper states: "A possible interpretation for the Juno data ... requires a core that is dispersed out to perhaps as much as 0.5 planetary radius." Dr Chudczer said that rather than a single dense core of heavier elements such as iron and nickel, there might be unevenly distributed clumps of such elements within a core of very dense metallic hydrogen, with a fuzzy boundary out to electronically neutral molecular hydrogen.

Magnetic field and auroras This composite of Hubble Space Telescope images shows auroras at Jupiter's north pole. Credit:NASA Dr Chudczer said these results show the processes driving the auroras at Jupiter's poles are completely different to Earth. "On Earth, the solar winds interacting with our atmosphere and magnetic field produce intermittent auroras," she said. "On Jupiter the magnetosphere is interacting with charged particles all the time. Some of these particles  ionic sulphur and oxygen  are most likely coming from volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon, Io," Dr Chudczer said.

Electrons streaming out from inside the planet are also causing the auroras, the paper said. Dr Tucker said: "Jupiter essentially drives its own aurora ... like, what? "We knew it had aurora but the fact that there are reactions that we cannot see on Earth, alongside huge radiation, magnetic fields and these cyclones at the poles shows that everything is weird." Dr Chudczer said she was surprised that the emerging model of the magnetosphere is more haphazard. "We expected more parallel currents and we haven't seen that in these papers," she said. "We'll need to change our models of the magnetic fields."

Dr Bolton's paper found "the maximum magnetic field observed ... was 7.766 Gauss", more than 10 times the size of Earth's maximum surface magnetic field, which is 0.66 Gauss at the South Pole. Exploring other worlds Dr Tucker said in some senses we have to think of Jupiter and its moons as its own system. "And I like to apply what this tells us about other planetary systems," he said. Dr Tucker has lately been focusing exoplanets. "We have been finding lots of large Jupiter and Neptune type planets around other stars," he said.
The Country Fire Authority has slammed as "highly irresponsible" a Liberal Party telephone campaign that claims Premier Daniel Andrews' overhaul of fire services will put families at risk.

The automated phone calls went out to more than 10 outer urban electorates where volunteer firefighters are active and prompted a flood of complaints to the CFA.

"CFA is deeply concerned that these calls may erode confidence in public safety and unfairly cause alarm across the community," CFA chief executive Frances Diver said.

Ms Diver said the claims were unfounded and would be investigated.

The Liberal Party phone campaign angered the government, which ramped up its own rhetoric on Thursday in Parliament, passing a censure motion against Shadow Emergency Services Minister Brad Battin, below, for his insensitive and incorrect comments about Black Saturday that were exposed by Fairfax.
Colin Harper has been locked out of his dream job because a collapsed training company failed to give him his qualification.

The single parent is one of thousands of students left in limbo after the collapse of training company Australian Careers Institute earlier this year.

Mr Harper finished his 10-month Certificate IV in Ageing Support at Sage Institute in February, just weeks before that training college went into voluntary administration.

But the Rosebud aged care provider that promised him a job now cannot employ him because his student records wrongly indicate that he has only completed a single subject: first aid.
Police have charged three men with bashing a Carey Park resident at his home on May 10 in an alleged home burglary.

Police claim about 6.25pm a man approached the 23-year-old victim's house and knocked on the door.

Police used CCTV footage during the investigation. Credit:Bunbury Mail

"The victim answered and after a short conversation the two men engaged in a physical altercation on the porch," WA Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said.

"During this time, two other men have run up to the porch and attacked the victim with machetes while demanding cash and property.
Bangkok: A Syrian man has arrived in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in a fillip to the Turnbull Government's troubled $55 million agreement to resettle refugees held in Nauru.

Australian authorities secretly transferred the man weeks ago, bringing to just seven the number of refugees on Nauru who have agreed to make the journey to one of Asia's poorest nations.

Only three remain in Cambodia.

Tan Sovichea, head of the Cambodian Interior Ministry's Refugee Department, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying the man was one of two refugees who agreed early this year to leave Australia's offshore detention centre in Nauru. He said the second unidentified man changed his mind.
Brasilia: Protesters demanding the resignation of Brazilian President Michel Temer staged running battles with police and set fire to a ministry building in Brasilia on Wednesday, prompting the scandal-hit leader to order the army onto the streets.

Police unleashed volleys of tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to halt tens of thousands of protesters as they marched towards Congress to call for Temer's ouster and an end to his austerity program.

A demonstrator clashes with a police officer during an anti-government protest in Brasilia on Wednesday. Credit:AP

Masked protesters fired powerful fireworks at police, set ablaze furniture in the Agriculture Ministry, and sprayed anti-Temer graffiti on government buildings.

It was the most violent protest in Brasilia since anti-government demonstrations in 2013 and fuelled a political crisis sparked by allegations Temer condoned paying off a potential witness in a massive corruption probe.
An "inseparable" teen couple, a man about to embark on a two-month holiday and an off-duty police officer are among the latest victims of the Manchester bombing to be named.

Police believe they know the identities of all 22 victims of Monday night's blast and have informed their families, but only a handful of the names have been released publicly.

The victims include parents and friends waiting in the foyer for elated concertgoers to exit, family members at the concert with their young children, and those who had left the venue early - ranging in age from eight years old to 51.

When an improvised explosive device detonated at 10.30pm, many were killed and others were left with profound, life-changing injuries. A total of 59 people were taken to eight hospitals around Manchester, where some remain in intensive care.
Bangkok: Militants allied to Islamic State have rampaged through a southern Philippine town, beheading a local police chief and kidnapping a priest and 10 parishioners, as more firefights broke out and buildings were set ablaze on Thursday.

Violence that erupted on Tuesday in Marawi, 830 kilometres south of Manila, has left at least 21 dead, 13 of them militants, and dozens wounded.

The militants have threatened to kill Father Chito Suganog and other hostages who were saying prayers when fighters stormed into St Mary's Cathedral in the town and took them as human shields.

Majul Gandamra, the town's mayor, told journalists that militants were still holed up in some buildings, surrounded by soldiers.
Get The Best Melbourne Home Security Systems CCTV Cameras & Alarm Monitoring Services

Secure Technologies P/L, a security company based in Melbourne, Australia, announced a full range of updated home security solutions including alarm systems, surveillance cameras and CCTV systems, fire protection, security bars and many others. The company offers state-of-the-art security technology in response to the latest rise in property crime throughout the state of Victoria.

More information can be found at https://securetechnologies.com.au.

Home security systems are crucial in certain areas facing significant property crime risks. The state of Victoria has seen a 25% rise in robberies during the first months of 2017, making many homeowners look for home security solutions.

While the police have assured the citizens of their continuous efforts to protect Victorian homes using all the necessary resources, homeowners can also opt for a home security system to add an extra level of protection to their property.

Secure Technologies P/L is a professional Melbourne security company which has recently updated its services in response to the latest technology developments. The company offers state-of-the-art alarm systems, CCTV and surveillance cameras, fire protection, security bars and various other solutions.

The company provides CCTV system installation services for home and business owners looking for state-of-the-art property surveillance solutions. Secure Technologies P/L works closely with each client to determine the type and number of cameras needed, the most appropriate placement of each camera and various other system parameters.

Alarm systems are also crucial for home safety, as they not only reduce intervention times but also deter property criminals from targeting a protected property. The Melbourne home security company offers professional alarm installation and monitoring services using state-of-the-art alarms and centralized monitoring platforms.

Secure Technologies P/L also provides fire protection systems, storm shutters and security bars, to help Melbourne residents protect their properties against both natural and crime-related threats.

Interested parties can find more information by visiting the above-mentioned website.Feel free to also watch the company video
Nyotron Wins Gold in 2017 IT World Award for Endpoint Security

Posted by Publisher Networking

SANTA CLARA, CA  (Marketwired)  05/24/17  Nyotron, the creator of Threat-Agnostic Defense, today announced that Network Products Guide, the industrys leading technology research and advisory guide, has named Nyotron as a gold winner in the 12th Annual IT World Awards in the category of endpoint security. Network Products Guide sponsors the worlds premier information technology awards, honoring achievements across all aspects of the information technology industry. Winners around the world will be honored in San Francisco on Monday, June 26, 2017, during the 2017 SVUS Red Carpet Awards ceremony dinner.

Nyotrons award-winning endpoint security platform PARANOID is distinguished in the market for its acclaimed Threat-Agnostic Defense, which features behavioral pattern mapping (BPM) technology. The platform leverages an agent/server architecture to understand what normal computer behavior looks like and what to do when suspicious behavior tries to access or damage data on an endpoint. This architecture gives PARANOID the ability to stop any attack, regardless of the type of threat or the methodology used to infiltrate the network. Using this Threat-Agnostic Defense approach, PARANOID can detect and block unknown threats that other technologies do not have the ability to stop.

Its an honor to be named an endpoint security gold winner by the esteemed industry publication IT World, said Nir Gaist, CEO of Nyotron. Enterprises are continually bombarded with unknown threats, yet despite their heavy investment in security solutions, attackers are still able to bypass next-generation defenses and steal valuable data. This gold recognition from IT World strongly validates our Threat-Agnostic approach, which has made waves in the industry for its ability to stop all threats, regardless of attack type, location or technique, including all ransomware and unknown and undiscovered malware variants.

The coveted IT World Awards are an annual achievements and recognition program in which a broad spectrum of industry voices participates. The awards encompass the best of IT in organizational performance, products and services, hot technologies, executives and management teams, successful deployments, product management and engineering, customer satisfaction and public relations.

Nyotron is a privately held cyber-security company that has developed a disruptive Threat-Agnostic Defense technology to cope with the biggest challenge of todays digital era  the unknown threat. PARANOID is designed to prevent targeted and advanced national-level cyber-attacks on high-profile enterprises, and it does so without any previous knowledge about the threat or its methodologies. Based on a unique last-line-of-defense approach, the companys technology is designed to protect enterprise data and critical assets by mitigating threats that were able to outsmart all security layers. Nyotrons customer base includes all major industries, such as transportation, government, banking, healthcare and the public sector. The companys headquarters are in Santa Clara, California, and R&D is in Israel. To learn more, visit .

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Media Contacts:

Rick Popko

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408-780-0752
Cohesity Customers Can Now Use Microsoft Azure Cloud to Efficiently Scale Out Secondary Storage

SANTA CLARA, CA  (Marketwired)  05/25/17  Cohesity, a pioneer of , today announced that customers can now seamlessly scale out secondary storage workloads from Cohesity on-premises deployments to Microsoft Azure. This functionality makes it easy for businesses to take advantage of the scalability, convenience and cost-effectiveness of the Azure cloud platform for data protection, disaster recovery and test/dev workloads. The new public availability of Cohesity DataPlatform Cloud Edition (CE) in the demonstrates the complete portability of Cohesitys distributed, scale-out platform.

.@Cohesity Customers Can Now Use Microsoft Azure to Efficiently Scale Out Secondary Storage:

Enterprises are increasingly using the benefits of cloud infrastructure for secondary storage use cases that traditionally ran on-premises. However, companies have struggled to easily transfer data between on-premises infrastructure and the cloud and to provide a transparent and continuous bridge across these infrastructures. Cohesity uniquely provides a hyperconverged, web-scale platform that seamlessly spans multi-cloud and on-premises infrastructures to support all secondary storage workloads, from backups to application test/dev to data analytics.

DataPlatform CE empowers users to replicate on-premises Cohesity deployments to cloud deployments that run natively in the customers Azure account and offers the following benefits:

Running Cohesity DataPlatform as a virtual appliance on Azure

Transferring data from on-premises Cohesity clusters to the Azure cloud platform

Using Azure cloud infrastructure for test/dev and disaster recovery workflows

The collaboration benefits Azure customers with easy access to a powerful enterprise platform for secondary storage, extending the benefits of Azure compute and storage to new users and use cases. Cohesity and Microsoft worked in close technical collaboration to deliver end-to-end scalability, security and performance for joint customers.

The availability of Cohesity software in the Microsoft Azure marketplace gives our customers an easy way to now provision and use flexible and cost-effective cloud services to complement their on-premises infrastructure, said Patrick Rogers, head of marketing and product at Cohesity. This is a concrete example of how we are actually delivering on our leadership vision for software-defined scale-out storage infrastructures that span from the edge to the center of the cloud. Were thrilled to be collaborating with Azure on this hybrid cloud initiative that has unprecedented demand amongst our enterprise customer base.

Cohesity provides a simple and seamless way for both large and small enterprises to incorporate Microsoft Azure within their global IT infrastructure, said Microsoft Corp General Manager of Azure Storage Tad Brockway. Cohesitys software-defined storage makes it easy to build truly hybrid IT environments which benefit from the reliability, scale and reach of Azure Storage.

Multiple clients are already benefiting from the newly available capabilities to replicate data from on-premises Cohesity clusters to Azure and run new workloads in the cloud.

Denham Capital manages a multi-billion dollar portfolio in energy and mining resources companies. With Cohesity Cloud Edition we can easily and transparently move our virtual machine backups into the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. This provides an on-ramp for us to utilize Azure cloud services to run our applications as our business grows and evolves, said Denham Capital IT Manager Peter Ostashen.

IT at the renowned Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania supports a large number of administrators, faculty and students. Cohesity Cloud Edition gives us the ability to easily and efficiently replicate our on-premises data to Microsoft Azure. It elegantly accomplishes our dual objectives of implementing both a disaster recovery solution, and provisioning low-cost test/dev instances in the cloud, with a single offering, said Marlon Wenceslao, senior systems manager at the Annenberg School, University of Pennsylvania.

To learn more about Cohesity DataPlatform CE for Azure, please visit on the Azure Marketplace website.

Cohesity makes your data work for you by consolidating secondary storage silos onto a hyperconverged, web-scale data platform that spans both private and public clouds. Enterprise customers begin by radically streamlining their backup and data protection, then converge file and object services, test/dev instances and analytic functions to provide a global data store. Cohesity counts many Global 1000 companies among its rapidly growing customer base. CRN named Cohesity a Top 25 Disrupter and one of the 10 Coolest Hyperconverged Products of 2016. For more information, visit and follow on Twitter.

BOCA Communications for Cohesity
More than 160 area youth will be featured in the production, across two casts.
Noie: One more time around college basketball for ND's Nate Laszewski

Nate Laszewski is one of five super seniors in Notre Dame's rotation this college basketball season
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 72F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.
Riding low in the summer sky is the constellation Sagittarius, looking like a teapot and containing some of the finest deep sky objects. <a href=http://www.space.com/spacewatch/cosmic-teapot-milky-way-skywatching-100707.html>Full Story</a>.

Occupying 867 square degrees, Sagittarius is the largest constellation in the Southern Hemisphere and the 15th largest constellation overall. The constellation has many bright stars and is very visible with the naked eye.

As is the case with all of the Zodiac constellations, Sagittarius was recorded in the 2nd century by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it is Latin for archer.

Locating Sagittarius

Sagittarius is at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the galaxy is at its densest point as it makes its way through Sagittarius.

In addition to Capricornus and Scorpius, the constellation borders Aquila, Scutum, Serpens Cauda, Ophiuchus, Corona Australis, Telescopium, Indus and Microscopium.

Right ascension: 19.11 hours

Declination: -25.8 degrees.

Visible: between 55 degrees and -90 degree

Best viewed: August around 9 p.m.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recently captured a detailed view of the brightest stars in the constellation.

Notable stars and objects

The constellation's brightest stars  Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Phi, Lambda, Gamma-2, Sigma and Tau Sagittarii  form a star pattern, or asterism, called the Teapot. Delta, Epsilon and Lambda Sagittarii come together to form the archer's bow.

While typical naming conventions have the alpha star as the brightest star in a constellation, German celestial cartographer Johann Bayer did not follow his own rule. Instead, he named the brightest star Epsilon Sagittarii (Kaus Media, or middle bow). The 36th brightest star in the sky, Epsilon Sagittarii is 145 light-years distant and 375 times brighter than the sun, though slightly smaller. According to astronomer David Darling, Epsilon Sagittarii has traditionally been classified as a cool B-star, but more recent observations have classified it as a hot-end class A as a bright giant.

"In any event," Darling says on his website, "the star is much brighter than its main sequence counterparts and is clearly in a more advanced state."

Forming the top of the Teapot, Lambda Sagittarii (Kaus Borealis, or northern bow) is 77 light-years from the sun and is the fifth-brightest star (though Lambda is the eleventh letter in the Greek alphabet). An orange giant, the star is 11 times brighter than the sun and lies about 77 light-years away.

"With a mass about 2.3 times solar, Kaus Borealis is a prime example of what astronomers call a 'clump star,' one that, though dying, is currently quite stable," Jim Kaler, astronomer and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, said on his website.

Delta Sagittarii (Kaus Media, or middlebow) is a double star about 350 light-years from the sun. The giant star has three dim companions that may or may not be connected to the primary. In 2016, a working group organized by the International Astronomical Union approved the name Kaus Media for the star.

At the tip of the arrowhead lies a pair of double stars that share the Gamma Sagittarii designation. Instead of a single star, W Sagittarii (Gamma-1) is made up of three components, with the primary star a pulsing yellow supergiant six times as massive as the sun. W Sagittarii lies approximately 95 light-years from Earth. An orange giant, 10 Sagittarii (Gamma-2) lies more than 400 light-years from Earth. The IAU's working group approved the name Alnasi for the star.

With a magnitude of 2.1, Sigma Sagittarii this is the second brightest star in Sagittarius.

Making up the armpit, Zeta Sagittarii, also known as Ascella, is the third brightest star in the constellation. It is a double star about 90 light-years distant.

Sagittarius is home to the bright blue hypergiant Pistol Star, one of the brightest stars discovered in the Milky Way. While it is bright, it is barely visible to the naked eye due to a great deal of interstellar dust that surrounds it. It is part of a dense region full of massive young stars known as Quintuplet Cluster near the center of the galaxy, roughly 25,000 light-years from the sun.

When NASA's Hubble Space Telescope examined the star in 1997, it was thought to be the most luminous star ever known. Later observations scaled down its brightness somewhat. Still, the star may hold records on its formation size.

"At the time of its formation about 2 million years ago, the Pistol Star may have been one of the most massive stars in the Milky Way," Christophe Martayan wrote in his research on the star.

Sagittarius lies in a region of the sky that points to the center of the Milky Way. Within the constellation lies a bright radio source known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced "Sagittarius A-star" and abbreviated Sgr A*), a supermassive black hole in the heart of the galaxy. While astronomers cannot observe a black hole directly, they can observe how it affects the stars around it.

"The Galactic Center harbors the closest supermassive black hole known," said Stefan Gillessen in a press release. "Hence, it is the best place to study black holes in detail."

That region of space also contains several nebulae, including the Lagoon Nebula (M8 or NGC 6523), a large interstellar cloud about 50 by 110 light-years in dimension. The Omega Nebula (M17 or NGC 6618) and the Trifid Nebula (M20 or NGC 6514) are star nurseries birthing dozens of new stars.

The Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy was the first globular cluster ever discovered outside the Milky Way. [Related: Hubble Photographs Dozens of Colliding Galaxies]

This still from a computer animation shows a simulation of a giant space cloud falling into Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy, in mid-2013. Image added on July 2, 2012. (Image credit: European Research Media Center)

Myth of Sagittarius

In astrology, which is not a science, Sagittarius is the ninth sign in the Zodiac and represents those born between Nov. 22 and Dec. 21.

The Greeks identify Sagittarius as a centaur, horse-human hybrid with the body of a man atop the four legs of a horse. The creature is aiming an arrow toward its neighbor Scorpio. The lore has Sagittarius the Archer shooting Scorpio the Scorpion, which had been sent to kill Orion the Hunter.

Sagittarius is sometimes confused with another centaur, Chiron of the Centaurus constellation.

The Babylonians associated Sagittarius with the god Pabilsag, who had two heads (one human, one panther), wings and was sometimes called "the wild bull with multicolored legs."

Additional reporting by Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor.
June's full moon , known as the Strawberry Moon, will come the same day the moon reaches the closest point in its orbit around the Earth, called perigee, creating a " supermoon " on June 14 at 7:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in New York (1152 UTC) according to the U.S. Naval Observatory (opens in new tab).

For observers on the east coast of North and South America, the moon will be below the horizon when it is officially full, as the moon sets at 5:09 a.m. in New York, 6:21 a.m. in Miami, and 6:32 a.m. in Rio de Janeiro (all times are local).

The moon reaches perigee at 7:23 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on June 14 according to the sky-watching site In-the-sky.org (opens in new tab). At perigee, the moon appears about 10 percent larger than average  a "supermoon." On average the angular diameter of the moon is about 31 arcminutes  a bit more than half of one degree. One degree is about the size of a pinky finger held at arm's length, and an arcminute is 1/60th of that. The "supermoon" is about 33.5 arcminutes. Even though the name sounds like it should be really large, it takes a very observant skywatcher to tell the difference.

Related: What is today's moon? Moon phases 2022

Top telescope pick! (Image credit: Celestron) Looking for a telescope to see the supermoon? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 (opens in new tab) as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide.

The moon appears larger because its orbit is an ellipse rather than a perfect circle. At perigee, the moon will be 222,098 miles or 357,432 kilometers from Earth , per heavens-above.com (opens in new tab) calculations. The average distance between the moon and Earth is 240,000 miles or 384,400 kilometers, and it can be as large as 252,500 miles (405,000 kilometers).

The full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun , and as a result, we see the entire face of the moon illuminated. Occasionally the moon's orbit carries it within the shadow of the Earth, producing an eclipse, as happened on May 15-16.

The full moon, during the Northern Hemisphere summer, tends to be lower in the sky than at other times of the year. The moon roughly tracks the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth's orbit projected on the sky. If one imagines the sky as a huge sphere, with Earth's latitude and longitude lines projected on it, the ecliptic makes a circle that's tilted with respect to the celestial equator.

The ecliptic also marks the path of the sun against the background stars . In summer the sun is on the ecliptic high above the celestial equator, so the day starts early and ends late. The moon is on the opposite side  so it's well below the celestial equator. Thus the moon rises late in the evening and sets early in the morning.

Related: How to photograph the moon using a camera: techniques, kit, and settings

In the Southern Hemisphere, the situation is reversed. Since winter there starts in June, the sun is low in the sky and the moon is higher up. So if you are watching the full moon in Melbourne (which occurs at 9:51 p.m. local time on June 14), you will see it rise that evening at 4:40 p.m. and set the next morning (June 15) at 8:18 a.m. local time. It will be 78 degrees above the horizon when it reaches its highest point, known as crossing the meridian, right above the northern horizon, at 12:26 a.m. on June 15. In New York City, the moon rises at 9:15 p.m. and crosses the meridian at 1:43 a.m. on June 15, only 22 degrees above the southern horizon.

One effect is that in the summer months (June through September in the Northern Hemisphere, and December through March in the Southern Hemisphere) full moons tend to look larger and more photogenic; being closer to the horizon the moon's light has to pass through more air, making it tint orange or red, and there are objects one can see in the same frame (trees and buildings, for example) that give it scale.

On June 14, the full moon will arrive on the same day the moon is at perigee, the point in its orbit closest to Earth. (Image credit: Starry Night)

(opens in new tab)

Visible Planets

Saturn is the first of the naked eye planets to rise; in New York City it comes up at about midnight local time on the night of June 14-15 in New York. In the constellation Capricornus, by sunrise, it is 34 degrees high in the south. In Melbourne, the planet rises earlier in the evening, at 9:54 p.m. on June 14 , and by sunrise, on June 15 the planet is some 45 degrees high in the northeast.

Two days after the full moon on June 16 at 5:21 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Mercury will be at its greatest western elongation, or the furthest it gets west of the sun in the sky. That makes the planet a " morning star " which rises at about 4:15 a.m. on June 16 in New York City. The sun rises soon afterward at 5:24 a.m., and by about 4:50 a.m., when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon and in many cities, the streetlights start to turn off, the planet will be a mere 6 degrees high. Catching Mercury will require an unobstructed eastern horizon and clear weather.

Observers in southern latitudes will have an easier time. From Melbourne, on June 16 Mercury rises at 5:39 a.m. , and the sun doesn't rise until 7:34 a.m. local time. At 7:00 a.m. Mercury will be 14 degrees high in the northeast, a much easier target.

Venus , meanwhile, will also be a morning star. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be above and to the right of Mercury, in the constellation Aries . For New York City, the planet rises at 3:39 a.m. and reaches an altitude of about 20 degrees by sunrise on June 14. Venus is bright enough that it stays visible even as the sky turns visibly light; a good exercise is to check how close to sunrise (which is at 5:24 a.m. on both June 14 and 15) one can still see the planet. As with Mercury, from Southern Hemisphere locations it will be higher in the sky; on June 14 the planet rises in Melbourne at 4:49 a.m. and a half-hour before sunrise is 22 degrees high.

Mars rises in New York at 2:04 a.m. local time on June 15, when the full moon will still be high in the sky. The Red Planet is in the constellation Pisces, the Fishes. As the Fishes are a faint group of stars, Mars will stand out, especially as the full moon tends to wash out fainter stars. By sunrise Mars is 31 degrees high in the southeast. In Melbourne Mars rises at a similar local time  1:59 a.m.  but the angle the ecliptic makes with the horizon will be steeper; so by 7:00 a.m. Mars is 47 degrees in altitude above the northeastern horizon.

Jupiter rises in New York at 1:38 a.m. local time on June 15; by 3 a.m. it will be some 15 degrees high in the southeast, in the constellation Pisces. Jupiter will be above and to the right of Mars. Southern Hemisphere observers will see the planets "reversed" with Jupiter above and to the left of Mars. In Melbourne Jupiter rises at 1:13 a.m. on June 15 and by 3 a.m. it is about 20 degrees high in the northeast.

Mars, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn as viewed from New York on June 14, 2022 in Starry Night Pro 7. (Image credit: Starry Night Pro 7)

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Constellations

The Summer Triangle is on full view by 10 p.m. in the evenings in mid-northern latitudes; Vega , the brightest star in Lyra, will be 45 degrees high in the East and below it will be Deneb and Altair with Deneb on the left, making a rough right-angle triangle with the hypotenuse connecting Altair and Deneb, pointing south.

Scorpio, meanwhile, is above the horizon in the southeast and above Scorpio is Ophiuchus, the legendary healer. Ophiuchus is a relatively faint constellation, but looking up from Scorpio in a dark-sky location, one can see the four stars that make a rectangle marking the body and the stars to each side that mark the constellations Serpens Cauda and Serpens Caput, the head and tail of the snake Ophiuchus, as a healer, is holding. With a full moon, it is more challenging to see as the moon is so bright it can wash out fainter stars. Above Ophiuchus is Hercules, with its "keystone" asterism, four medium-bright stars. Look to Hercules' right and one encounters Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, a distinct semicircle of stars with Alphecca, the brightest of them, marking the middle of it.

The Big Dipper is high in the northwest, facing downward, and one can follow the handle to Arcturus , which is in the high southwestern sky. If one keeps going one reaches Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, which is headed to the southwestern horizon.

From the mid-southern latitudes the moon will, by 10 p.m., appear quite high in the sky; about 50 degrees up from the latitudes of Cape Town or Melbourne. The moon will be in Sagittarius and just below Scorpius (which appears "upside-down" with the Scorpion's claws facing north). Looking to the right (southwards) of Scorpius one will see Centaurus, which will be near the zenith. Centaurus contains Alpha Centauri , Earth's nearest stellar neighbor. Just to the right of Alpha Centauri is the Southern Cross, the midline of which points to the South Celestial Pole. Further right and towards the horizon (west) is Carina and Vela, the Keel and the Sail of the legendary ship Argo which Jason sailed. Rising from the west is a winding line of stars making up the Hydra, which extends upwards between Vela and Virgo. Adjacent to the Hydra on the right is Crater, the Cup (the Hydra looks almost as though it is carrying the cup).

Summer triangle and meteors observed from Grunstadt, Germany (Image credit: davidhajnal via Getty Images)

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How the Strawberry Moon got its name

The full moon of June is often called a Strawberry Moon, from the berries that appear in North America around that time of year (though modern varieties are available at other times as well). According to the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, the Ojibwe treated the Strawberry Moon (Ode'miin Giizis) as a time for annual feasts, welcoming friends and family, and letting go of judgement.

By contrast the Cree called it Opiniyawiwipisim, the Egg Laying Moon, as it was when birds and waterfowl started laying eggs. In the traditional Chinese lunar calendar , June 24 will fall during the fifth lunar month, called Sweet Sedge Month, or Puyue.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the Maori described the lunar month of Hongonui, which occurs from June to July: "Man is now extremely cold and kindles fires," according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand .

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo or video that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact editor in chief Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com .

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Artist's illustration of the Europa Clipper, a NASA spacecraft that will study Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa during dozens of flybys.

Congress will have to loosen the purse strings if it still wants NASA to launch a flyby mission to Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa by 2022, agency officials said.

The White House's 2018 federal budget request allocates $425 million for development work on NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which will assess the habitability of the icy moon's subsurface ocean during dozens of flybys.

The budget proposal, which was released yesterday (May 23), envisions giving the mission a total of $1.63 billion from 2018 through 2022. But according to NASA budget documents, Europa Clipper would need about $2.48 billion over that span to be ready for launch in 2022, a target date set by Congress in 2015. [Photos: Europa, Mysterious Icy Moon of Jupiter]

"We do not have the budget to launch it in 2022, especially due to flat budgets in the out years," NASA acting chief financial officer Andrew Hunter said yesterday during a teleconference with reporters. (The 2018 proposal sets NASA's annual budget at a flat $19.1 billion from 2018 through 2022.)

If Congress does indeed pass this notional budget into law, the Europa Clipper will likely get off the ground in the mid to late 2020s, NASA officials wrote in the agency's 734-page 2018 budget-estimate document.

But Congress may well tweak the White House's budget proposal considerably. The Europa mission has some prominent advocates on Capitol Hill  in particular, John Culberson, R-Texas, chairman of the House's Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee on Appropriations, which is responsible for funding NASA.

Culberson has repeatedly stated his enthusiasm for Europa exploration, saying he thinks life may exist in the moon's ocean. And the subcommittee he chairs has a record of giving NASA more money than the White House requests for Europa-mission development.

In late 2015, Congress directed NASA to add a lander component to the Europa Clipper mission. The space agency has concluded that such a lander would launch separately from Clipper and hunt for signs of life on and just beneath the moon's icy surface after touching down.

NASA got money this year to continue developing the lander, and just last week, the agency told scientists to get ready for a Europa lander science-instrument competition. But the lander remains a concept at the moment, not an approved mission, and its prospects are uncertain: The Trump administration's 2018 budget request allocates no funding for the project.

"We are somewhat challenged with the expectations that Congress has on the timing of these two missions," Hunter said, referring to Europa Clipper and the putative lander. "However, we are moving out year to year on the expectation to try to meet that."

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Huge cyclones rage near Jupiter's mysterious poles, and the giant planet's powerful auroras are fundamentally different from Earth's northern and southern lights.

Those are just two of the discoveries made by NASA's Juno spacecraft during its first few close passes over Jupiter's poles, mission scientists report in two studies published online today (May 25) in the journal Science.

"What we've learned so far is Earth-shattering. Or should I say, Jupiter-shattering," Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said in a statement. [Photos: NASA's Juno Mission to Jupiter]

"Discoveries about its core, composition, magnetosphere, and poles are as stunning as the photographs the mission is generating," added Bolton, the lead author of one of the new Science studies and a co-author of the other.

The south pole of Jupiter is seen from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometers) in this enhanced color mosaic of images from NASA's JunoCam. Cyclones up to 600 miles wide (1,000 km) are visible. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Betsy Asher Hall/Gervasio Robles SCOTT BOLTON - 3)

Lifting the veil on Jupiter

The $1.1 billion Juno mission launched in August 2011 and arrived in orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Since then, the solar-powered spacecraft has been using eight instruments to study the gas giant's composition, interior structure, and gravitational and magnetic fields. It will continue to do this work, barring some sort of malfunction, through at least February 2018, the end of Juno's primary mission.

The mission's name is a nod to the Roman goddess Juno, who was able to look through the clouds to see her frequently misbehaving husband Jupiter, the king of the gods, who was hiding within. Likewise, the Juno probe is peering beneath Jupiter's thick clouds to learn about the planet's formation and evolution  information that could shed light on the history of our solar system as a whole, NASA officials have said.

Juno makes most of the measurements relevant to this goal during its close flybys, which occur once every 53.5 days and bring the probe within about 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) of Jupiter's poles. (The original mission blueprint called for Juno to maneuver to a less elliptical orbit and make these flybys every 14 days, but an issue with two helium valves in the spacecraft's propulsion system nixed that plan.)

GIF showing infrared emission from Jupiter, as observed by NASA's Juno spacecraft. (Image credit: S.J. Bolton et al., Science (2017))

Juno has now made five of these data-collecting "perijove passes." The first came on Aug. 27, 2016, and the most recent occurred just last week, on May 19. The two new Science papers report results just from the first few flybys, as well as some measurements Juno made as it neared Jupiter in June 2016.

Before Juno, no spacecraft had ever gotten close-up looks at Jupiter's poles. These mysterious regions are beautiful and bizarre, the Bolton-led study reports.

"When you look over the poles, all of those zones and belts are gone," Bolton said in a Science podcast that was also released today, referring to the striped cloud patterns prevalent at Jupiter's lower latitudes. "You see this bluish hue to it, and there's tons of these cyclone and anticyclonic storms spinning around the poles. It almost looks like meteor craters, but, of course, it's all atmosphere. It's all gas." [Photos: Jupiter, the Solar System's Largest Planet]

It's unclear what, exactly, drives these polar cyclones, some of which are up to 870 miles (1,400 km) wide, or if they're stable over long periods, Bolton said.

"Over the course of the mission, we'll be able to watch the poles and see how they evolve," he said in the podcast. "Maybe these cyclones are always there, but maybe they just come and go."

Juno also has been mapping out the concentration of water and ammonia deep within Jupiter's atmosphere. Data gathered during the first few passes has revealed that ammonia abundances vary quite a bit from place to place  a discovery that surprised the mission team.

"Most scientists have felt that, as soon as you go down a little bit into Jupiter, everything would be well-mixed, and we're finding that that's just not true at all," Bolton said. "There's structure down deep, but it doesn't seem to match the zones and belts. And so we're still trying to figure it out."

Juno's measurements during the first few close passes also show that Jupiter's magnetic field is nearly two times stronger than scientists had predicted. And the probe's gravity data suggest that "there's a lot of strange, deep motions that possibly are going on inside of Jupiter," Bolton said.

"What Juno's results are showing us is that our ideas of giant planets maybe are a little bit oversimplified," he added. "They're more complex than we thought; the motions that are going on inside are more complicated. It's possible that they formed differently than [suggested by] our simple ideas."

The southern lights of Jupiter, auroras at the planet's south pole, glow in this animation of false-color images from NASA's Juno spacecraft. The red hues suggest emissions from deeper in Jupiter's atmosphere, while green and white indicate higher regions. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWRI)

Otherworldly auroras

Earth's auroras result when the solar wind  charged particles streaming from the sun  slam into the planet's atmosphere, generating a glow. (Earth's magnetic field funnels these particles toward the poles, which explains the phenomenon's other name: the northern and southern lights.)

Scientists already knew that the solar wind is a major driver of Jovian auroras, and that the planet's rotation is involved as well. But Juno has given researchers a chance to study the phenomenon in unprecedented detail; no other spacecraft had ever flown close to the planet's auroral regions before, Bolton said.

The second newly published Science study, which was led by John Connerney of the Space Research Corporation and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, details what the Juno team learned about the auroras and Jupiter's magnetosphere from the initial perijove passes. Once again, there were some surprises.

For example, the particles associated with Jupiter's auroras seem to be different than the ones responsible for Earth's most stunning light shows, study team members said.

"We can see that it doesn't work exactly like we expected, or as the Earth does," Bolton said. "We havent been able to see particles necessarily going up and down in both directions like we would've expected to cause the aurora. So there's definitely some strange phenomena that we still need to comb through and understand better."

Further close flybys should allow the Juno team to investigate such questions, he added.

"We're at the beginning of the mission, so these first results are sort of telling us some of our models and ideas are wrong and need to be corrected," Bolton said. "And we have some ideas of which way to go, but it really takes some more data to really test whatever theories we put together and see if we're right."

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
The debut flight of Rocket Lab's miniature satellite launcher wasn't perfect, but the company is confident enough to proceed with plans for a second test launch this summer, founder and CEO Peter Beck said today (May 25).

Speaking to reporters less than 12 hours after the first Electron rocket bolted off its seaside launchpad in New Zealand, Beck said the booster's first and second stages separated as planned, but the upper stage, which doubled as a test payload, failed to reach its desired orbit about 310 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth.

A preliminary analysis shows that the upper stage ended up at roughly half that altitude, Beck said. [Watch: Rocket Lab's Electron Arrives at Launch Site]

Rocket Lab's first Electron booster launches into space from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand on May 25, 2017. The rocket's upper stage failed to reach its intended orbit, company representatives said. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

"This is why we have test flights. It's all about gathering the data, finding out what works and what doesn't work," he said.

Thursday's flight from the tip of New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula provided more than enough information to move ahead with a second test launch sometime this summer, Beck added.

"We've got over 20,000 channels of data to go through  We'll learn what we need to learn and move on with the next one," Beck said.

Rocket Lab plans to launch three test flights before it begins commercial launch services later this year.

Electron's launch today at 4:20 p.m. local time (12:20 a.m. EDT/0420 GMT) also marked New Zealand's entry into an exclusive group of countries that can launch spacecraft into orbit. In addition to the United States and Russia, which put their first satellites into orbit 60 years ago, the other countries with orbital launch capabilities are France, Japan, China, India, Israel, Iran and North Korea.

"If anybody is ever contemplating building a launch range, I'd advise against it," Beck quipped. "It certainly is a lot more involved than even we, four years ago, thought [it] would be."

Rocket Lab decided to build its own spaceport so it can fly as often as it wants, without having to share range resources with other users.

Ultimately, Rocket Lab is aiming for weekly flights of Electron, a two-stage, carbon-composite rocket designed to deliver payloads weighing up to about 330 lbs. (150 kilograms) into orbits some 310 miles above Earth.

The booster is powered by 3D-printed Rutherford engines that burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene.

Rocket Lab's customers include NASA and the privately owned companies Planet, Spire, Spaceflight and Moon Express, the latter of which is hoping for a ride before the end of the year so it can compete in the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize.

Irene Klotz can be reached on Twitter at @free_space. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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Cities and towns across southwestern Connecticut will mark Memorial Day this year with parades and ceremonies honoring those who gave their lives serving our country.

Many local parades will be held on the holiday, Monday, May 29, while others are scheduled for the day or week before.
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STAMFORD  The agency in charge of the Old Town Hall is looking for new tenants after the Board of Finance rejected this week a proposal to lease the historic downtown building to Stamford Public Schools Adult Learning Center.

The Old Town Hall Redevelopment Agency, which manages the building for the city, and the Board of Education had been discussing the proposed lease since last fall  about the same time the agency announced it would evict its main tenant, the Stamford Innovation Center, citing years of unpaid rent.

The startup incubator is moving out of the Old Town Hall at the end of this month, leaving the Atlantic Street building without a main tenant.

During a somewhat contentious meeting on Monday, the finance panel voted 3-3 to approve the lease, but a majority was needed to pass it.

Critics say moving some 300 to 400 students to Old Town Hall would end up costing the school board more money because of the need to reconfigure the building to accommodate classrooms. They also pointed out that the Holy Name of Jesus Church, where most of the adult education programs are held, has a large and free parking lot and just underwent renovations.

The Adult Learning Center runs out of the Holy Name school building at 325 Washington Blvd., but some of the night classes take place at Cloonan Middle School. The total annual cost of running the programs at the two locations is about $220,000, according to the district.

The proposed lease for the Old Town Hall called for $207,000 in annual rent, with utilities included.

The districts lease agreement with Holy Name expires next month. The Planning Board approved a one-year renewal this month in case the agreement with OTHRA did not pan out, but it was not clear Thursday if the school board and the church were negotiating a renewal.

The Adult Learning Center offers classes in English as a Second Language, citizenship, General Educational Development and other programs.

noliveira@stamfordadvocate.com
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STAMFORD  Linda Kuzlik alternated between playfully bouncing her 9-month-old granddaughter and 8-month-old grandson one morning this week at her Hubbard Heights home.

Its been a chaotic  but welcoming scene  as the 66-year-old grandmothers family has grown since adopting five Hungarian orphans two decades ago.

The family has faced staggering challenges over the years. The childrens biological mother abandoned them and their father mistreated them, Kuzlik said. A few years after adopting Ron Jr., 10, Ilona, 9, Anna, 8, Melinda, 6, and Kristina, 5, Kuzlik began raising the children on her own when her marriage failed.

As the family celebrates the 20th anniversary of the adoption next week, they face a new challenge: Ilona Kuzlik, now 29, has been diagnosed with stage-five kidney failure.

Through all the ups and downs, Loni is completely loyal to me, said Linda Kuzlik, who has seven grandchildren. She can argue with me and say things she doesnt mean, but if anyone says anything to or about me, she jumps down their throat.

Family and friends have established a GoFundMe page to raise $10,000 for Ilona Kuzlik, who needs an emergency kidney transplant to survive and has been receiving dialysis three days a week at Stamford Hospital. She also needs child care for her 3-month-old daughter, Ciara, and 2-year-old son Preston, who is non-verbal and autistic.

She needs some help getting situated here in Stamford for her dialysis and being close to her doctor and for some help with Prestons schooling, Linda Kuzlik said.

Ilona Kuzlik, her fiance, Simon Harris, and her children have been staying several nights a week at her mothers house so she can receive treatment.

Its been a full house for Linda Kuzlik. Two of her other daughters  Kristina Kuzlik, 25, and 28-year-old Anna Malki  and their four children have also been living there. Kristina Kuzlik has a 9-month-old daughter, Bella Linda, and Malki, whose fiance, Carlos Gonzalez, is also living in the house, has three children, Aaliyah, 10, Gianna, 4, and 8-month-old Carmello.

It has been difficult sometimes to handle Ilonas illness with having so many small children in the house, Linda Kuzlik said.

Johnna Lavery Paradis, a Stamford family advocate, has helped coordinate home care  including speech and physical therapy  for Preston.

Ilona Kuzlik learned of her kidney condition last month when she went to Stamford Hospital because she wasnt feeling well. She left the hospital against the doctors advice and needed emergency surgery two days later to install dialysis ports on her neck and chest.

It all happened so fast, Ilona Kuzlik said. Its very serious, my condition. Two weeks ago, I was working and running around. To not be able to take care of my kids, is very hard.

Miracle children

The familys story began when Linda Kuzlik and her ex-husband were looking to adopt a single child during the mid-1990s. Kuzlik, who had a son from a previous marriage, had major surgery in 1983 that prevented her from having more children of her own.

The couples parish priest, Rev. Sherman Gray, of Holy Name of Jesus Church, directed them to a Westport attorney who specialized in adopting children from eastern Europe, Kuzlik said. The couple intended to adopt Kristina, then 3, and Melinda, 4, before they visited Petersvasara, Hungary in September 1996.

When they arrived in Hungary to complete the adoption, they realized the two girls had three older siblings. Before living in the orphanage, the boy, Ron, who was 8, routinely stole food for his siblings and Ilona cooked food she scavenged from garbage cans to feed the family, Kuzlik said.

There was no way I was going to split them up. It was just a matter of convincing my husband to do it, Kuzlik said.

The only thing they had left was each other. He said it would take a miracle to pull it off. I thought, well if it will take a miracle, well just have to have enough miracles.

Despite financial concerns, the couple adopted all of the children and organized getting necessities like beds, clothing and other items from businesses, Kuzlik said. The North Stamford Exchange Club added a fourth bedroom, bathroom and laundry room to the house, Kuzlik said.

People would always be calling to drop off something and we were very appreciative for all that was done, Kuzlik said.

The children adapted quickly and learned English while attending Stamfords public schools. But Kuzlik was left to raise the children on her own after getting a divorce in 2002.

Ive been on my own with the kids since 2002 and I went through their teens, and smoking, and everything with them, Kuzlik said. The divorce was traumatic for them having been abandoned by their parents and then losing an adoptive parent.

The children have appreciated how much their adoptive mother has done for them over the years.

I want to thank my mom for all the sacrifices she made for us to bring us to a country where your decisions can determine your success, Ron Kuzlik Jr. said. She basically gave up her life. If not for her, we wouldnt be here.

There isnt enough money or enough thank yous for what she did, Kristina Kuzlik said.

Ilona Kuzlik said the family has stuck together over the years.

Twenty years is a long time  its a lifetime, Ilona Kuzlik said. Every single one of us has had to deal with obstacles and travails to staying together. We dont have a big fancy house or fancy carsbut we all come back here every Sunday. We always find our way back here.

For more information about helping Ilona Kuzlik, email life4loni@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/life4loni, Twitter.com/life4loni, www.GoFundMe.com/life4loni
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Its been a showcase for Republican A-listers: Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio and Newt Gingrich among them.

But the Connecticut GOPs marquee fundraising banquet  named for the late Bush family patriarch, Prescott Bush, and traditionally held in May in Stamford  is still without a headliner. Its put the event and its $250,000 fundraising haul on hold.

Publicly, party leaders have cited scheduling conflicts between would-be speakers and local hotel venues, which they say have been booked solid because of a recent fire at the Italian Center in Stamford.

Behind closed doors, however, there is growing frustration at not being able to get on the same page with the Trump administration on the availability of Cabinet members for the event, based on interviews with half a dozen Republicans familiar with the matter. Some grumbled that only second-tier emissaries of the White House have been made available.

It seems that the White House bureaucracy is a little cumbersome, said Mike Garrett, Bridgeports GOP boss and a Republican State Central Committee member. Youve got check with the person, their team, their schedule, and the schedule doesnt work out. Thats the problem. The person will be first-tier. If that means moving the date back, so be it.

A request for comment was left for the White House.

The GOPs wish list of headliners for the dinner is said by party insiders to include Ryan Zinke, Trumps Interior Secretary and a former congressman who was a Navy SEAL. The party has also put out feelers to a cast of GOP governors, targeting those from blue states such as Massachusetts (Charlie Baker) and Maryland (Larry Hogan), as well as the swing state of Florida (Rick Scott).

State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano downplayed the delay and said the party is aiming for June.

Its the first few months of a new administration, but were working on it, Romano said. Our White House political guys have been working their tail off to try accommodate everything. Everyone is in such high demand.

Robert Hall, a longtime Republican State Central Committee member from Newtown, said its been frustrating.

I really dont know why we just cant say, So and so is available on Wednesday the 24th of May, (or) June 21st, why we just dont go with it? Hall said. I think were at fault for not having the Bush dinner. Whoever we get at this point is probably not going to be a draw as much as we would like. If you want to get a crowd, you get someone like Ann Coulter or Newt Gingrich.

Chris Healy, the state GOP boss from 2007 to 2011, empathized with Romano and said planning the dinner is a heavy lift.

Its always a challenge, Healy said. Itll get worked out. Theres a lot of enthusiasm. I think (Gov.) Dan Malloy continues to be the great unifier for us of Republicans in our morning of calisthenics.

Edward Dadakis, a state Central Committee members from Greenwich, said rushing the event would be a mistake.

I think we should have a top-notch speaker and have the dinner when it works to achieve that goal, Dadakis said.

Bridgeports John Slater, who is also on state Central and is running for vice chairman of the state party, echoed that.

Lets make sure its the biggest night of the year for Connecticut Republicans, Slater said. If moving it down the calendar a little bit is the difference between success and failure, I would always go for success.

nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
W ith versatility ever-growing within the beauty industry, nails are just one of the many ways we are able to constantly reinvent ourselves.

Whether you're a Shellac-devotee, a fan of acrylics or a DIY polisher, many of us spend hours mulling over shades, shapes and lengths.

But not all women are quite so experimental.

Recognisable for her uniform aesthetic - think pearls, a rigid had and a bold-hued dress - Queen Elizabeth is seemingly equally strict on her choice of manicure.

Queen Elizabeth II: Style File - In pictures 1 /62 Queen Elizabeth II: Style File - In pictures Queen Elizabeth II: Life in Looks Queen Elizabeth II at Epsom Downs Racecourse for the Oaks Stakes, Surrey, 8th June 1962 Getty Images March 1954 Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Government House, Melbourne, during her tour of Australia Getty Images April 5, 1955 Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill bows low to Queen Elizabeth II as he welcomes her and the Duke of Edinburgh to 10 Downing Street for dinner PA June 1963 Queen Elizabeth II leaving the Royal enclosure at Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire Getty Images July 10, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh watch the Olympic torch leave Windsor Castle Getty Images 1929 Queen Elizabeth as a child Glasshouse Images/Rex 1947 Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten announce their engagement Everett Collection/Rex November 20, 1947 Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their wedding day Everett Collection/Rex November 20, 1952 Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret leaving the Coliseum Theatre after seeing a musical show, as part of the celebrations of the fifth anniversary of the queens wedding AFP via Getty Images June 2, 1953 Queen Elizabeth accompanied by Prince Philip waves to the crowd after being crowned solemnly at Westminter Abbey AFP/Getty Images April 1956 Queen Elizabeth II at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, for the Badminton Horse Trials Getty Images April 9, 1957 Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh greet French dancers Lyane Dayde and Michel Renault at the Opera Garnier in Paris during a state visit in France AFP via Getty Images October 15, 1957 Queen Elizabeth II arrives to attend a private dinner given by Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker at Government House in Ottawa, Canada INTERNATIONAL NEWS PHOTOS (INP)/ 1960 Queen Elizabeth at Epsom Downs Racecourse for the Oaks Stakes, Surrey Getty Images 16th May 1960 Queen Elizabeth II attending the Royal Variety Show at the Victoria Palace Theatre Getty Images February 23, 1962 The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II arrive at Windsor's Theatre Royal for a performance of G. B. Shaw's 'You Never Can Tell' AFP/Getty Images April 21, 1968 The Royal Family in the grounds of Frogmore House, Windsor PA 15 October, 1969 Queen Elizabeth II arrives at King's Cross railway station AFP via Getty Images October 28, 1977 Queen Elizabeth II on a walkabout during a visit to Liberia, Antigua PA 1980 Queen Elizabeth II with some of her corgis walking the Cross Country course during the second day of the Windsor Horse Trials PA December 21 , 1984 Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Prince Harry and the Prince and Princess of Wales after the christening ceremony of Prince Harry PA March , 1986 Queen Elizabeth II is pictured in March , 1986 in Adelaide AFP via Getty Images October 17, 1989 Britains Queen Elizabeth II smiling during her visit in Kuala Lumpur POOL/AFP via Getty Images June 11, 1992 Portrait taken in the city hall of Blois shows the Queen during her third official visit in France AFP/Getty Images March 20, 1995 South African President Nelson Mandela greets Queen Elizabeth II of Britain upon her official arrival at Cape Town AFP/Getty Images November 24, 1998 Queen Elizabeth leaves the House of Lords following her speech at the Opening of Parliament ceremony AFP/Getty Images March 2, 2002 Elizabeth arrives to host the golden jubilee banquet for delegates of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting AFP/Getty Images November 19, 2004 Queen Elizabeth peers around a door to check the limousine awaiting for French President Jacques Chirac as they depart Windsor Castle AFP/Getty Images October 26, 2010 Queen Elizabeth II arrives to greet the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani to her Windsor residence November 24, 2010 Queen Elizabeth II arrives at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi Getty Images May 19, 2011 Queen Elizabeth is pictured during a visit to the Irish National Stud in Kildare AFP/Getty Images March 7, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II attends a service for the Order of the British Empire at St Paul's Cathedral Getty Images September 6, 2014 Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales watch the action during the Braemar Highland Game Getty Images September 9, 2015 Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she arrives at Tweedbank Station, Scotland, after becoming the longest reigning monarch in British history Getty Images June 11, 2016 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh watch a fly past during the Trooping the Colour Getty Images February 20, 2018 Queen Elizabeth II sits next to Anna Wintour as they view Richard Quinn's runway show Getty Images April 19, 2018 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales in the Blue Drawing Room at The Queens Dinner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetin Getty Images June 17, 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Letizia of Spain leave the Order of the Garter Service Getty Images November 20, 2019 Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal institute of International Affairs, Chatham House Getty Images June 28, 2021 Queen Elizabeth II inspects an Honour Guard at the Palace Of Holyrood House during the Ceremony of The Keys in Edinburgh Getty Images August 9, 2021 Queen Elizabeth II during an inspection of the Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the gates at Balmoral Getty Images October 1, 2021 Queen Elizabeth II at the Balmoral Estate Cricket Pavilion Getty Images December 23, 2021 Queen Elizabeth II records her annual Christmas broadcast Getty Images March 23, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II arrives to view a display of artefacts from British craftwork company, Halcyon Days Getty Images March 29, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Westminster Abbey for the Service of Thanksgiving for the Duke of Edinburgh Getty Images May 13, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex attend The Royal Windsor Horse Show Getty Images October 7, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex attend the launch of The Queen's Baton Relay for Birmingham Getty Images for Commonwealth Ga

Sticking to not only one brand but also to just a single shade, Her Royal Majesty's nail polish of choice is Essie's popular 'Ballet Slippers'.

According to the brand's website, in 1989 Queen Elizabeth's hairdresser sent Essie a letter requesting a bottle of the polish as it is "the only colour Her Majesty would wear".

A popular neutral shade, Essie describes the Queen's choice as a "classic pale pink polish is graced with a subtle, sheer finish."

Speaking of its[popularity, Essie told ES: "We're incredibly proud that the Queen and Kate Middleton have enjoyed our products over the years."

"At Essie we strive to create beautiful, professional colours that appeal to every woman for every occasion."

"Ballet Slippers is by far one of our most popular shades, and its great to see it has a loyal following amongst all."

And at just 7.99 a bottle, it's one of our personal favourites too.
T he Serious Fraud Offices arrests at Petrofac come as the white-collar crime-fighting force battles for its very survival.

In one of the bizarrely petty elements of the Conservative manifesto, Theresa May pledges to roll the SFO into the polices organised-crime unit, the National Crime Agency.

The manifesto gives no indication of whether that will involve more or less money going into tackling corporate crime. But given the penny-pinching theme, its safe to assume the latter.

So, put yourself in the position of a budget-constrained NCA boss under constant pressure for sexy results from the Home Office and the media.

You have a choice between funding either a complex global paper chase into whether foreigners at companies few have heard of bribed other foreigners for foreign oil contracts, or a straightforward surveillance job on a murderous Essex drugs cartel. I know which Id choose.

In other words, you have to question whether the Unaoil and Petrofac probe would have happened in a merged, super-NCA.

Its crucial such cases are properly investigated. If, as is alleged, London-listed Petrofac won contracts through bribes, that will mean other, honest companies lost out. This matters.

The Bribery Act, and its US equivalent, has had a huge impact on companies behaviour in poor, corruptible parts of the world. It has made business fairer, reduced corruption and seen western cash build schools and hospitals, rather than be creamed off by bent bureaucrats.

In so doing, it has enhanced our countrys reputation abroad just as we seek new trade partners.

The threat of thorough investigation by the Serious Fraud Office is a crucial part of the anti-bribery equation.

We abolish it at our peril.

Sour taste at M&S

While the City focused on Marks & Spencers fashion numbers this week, giving new boss Steve Rowe an optimistic thumbs-up, supermarket rivals have pounced on a sign of weakness in his strongest inheritance from Marc Bolland  food.

There, in the small print on page 363 of yesterdays figures, hidden behind a filing cabinet guarded by a three-headed dog, was the small mention of a fall in margins because of higher-than-anticipated waste. Translated, that means M&S had to chuck more unsold food away.

M&S told the Evening Standard this was a blip but rival grocers say it means shoppers are shunning its higher prices.

The price war in food is hitting upmarket Waitrose hard. Is it now coming for M&S?
T he Unaoil scandal which has engulfed Londons listed oil-services firms deepened today as Petrofac suspended one of its executives and was accused of not co-operating with investigators.

The FTSE 250 firm said it had suspended chief operating officer Marwan Chedid, who was arrested with chief executive Ayman Asfari and questioned under caution by the Serious Fraud Office as part of its investigation into Unaoil, a Monaco-based firm which allegedly paid bribes to secure contracts for its clients.

Both Asfari and Chedid were released without charge, but the company revealed today it had suspended Chedid, who then resigned from the board.

Petrofac insisted his suspension did not in any way seek to pre-judge the outcome of the SFOs investigation.

Petrofac also revealed that the SFO does not consider the company to have co-operated with it.

It comes after it emerged that rival oil-services firms Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler  which are merging to form a 5 billion business  had also been dragged into the Unaoil scandal.

Amec said it was co-operating with the probes into Unaoil, and Wood said it was carrying out its own investigation into its past dealings with Unaoil. The Aberdeen-based firm said any violations could have a material adverse effect on the combined group.

In an effort to be seen to be co-operating with the SFO, Petrofac said it had created a committee of the board to deal with the fraud investigation and had engaged a senior external specialist to oversee the committees actions.

Chairman Rijnhard van Tets said: These decisions signal the boards determination to co-operate fully with the SFO.

However, findings from Petrofacs own investigation into Unaoil were rejected by the SFO. Petrofac shares tanked 20% today to 489.4p, their lowest since 2009.
T he UKs biggest quoted water company, United Utilities, today said it will invest an extra 100 million to cope with climate change and a growing population.

The company said it would spend the extra money on resilience projects that would benefit customers over the next three years, as weather patterns become more extreme.

United said it has been able to build the investment war chest after stepping up its cash generation.

The company looks set to outperform its regulatory targets by some margin.

The increase in spending will take the total investment in the water companys infrastructure to 3.6 billion from 2015 to 2020.

The group, which covers the Lake District as well as Manchester and Liverpool, also raises its dividend by 1%, even though revenues dipped by 26 million to 1.7 billion.

Underlying profits climbed by 3% to 622 million.

Shares in United Utilities dipped slightly, down less than 1% to 1051p, having gained 8% in the past three months.

There was no reference to the Labour partys manifesto commitment to renationalise the water sector if it wins the general election next month.
W e are only as safe as the intelligence we receive on those who wish us harm. As more becomes known of Salman Abedis travels in the days leading up to his suicide bombing in Manchester  it seemed he travelled to Dusseldorf in Germany just a week ago  the clearer it becomes that international co-operation is vital in cracking this terror network. This can only take place if there is mutual trust that information shared in secret is kept secret. That is the basis on which the British intelligence services have worked so closely over so many years with their American counterparts, and other allies around the world. This paper has no doubt that many British lives have been saved as a result.

That is why it is so disappointing that the information gathered by the Manchester police about this weeks bombing, and shared with the US agencies, has found its way on to the front pages of American papers. They have published extraordinary photos of parts of the bomb, including the detonator  thereby potentially revealing what we know about the methods of the bomb-maker. These could be vital clues to tracking down any other accomplices. Revealing this information could compromise that task.

Those primarily responsible for this breach of security are the US intelligence agencies. This paper does not subscribe to conspiracy theories about the CIA and FBI. They have helped Britain fight terrorists for decades. But it is disgraceful that details of the Manchester bombing have been deliberately leaked. It is disturbing to hear our police are considering withholding new information from our American friends, making the investigation harder. Theresa May is right to ask Donald Trump today, when they meet in Brussels, to act  but given the Presidents own problems with leaks from US intelligence agencies, its not clear he will be listened to. It is the agencies themselves which can act to stop the leaks and restore trust.

The media also has responsibilities. Getting the balance right between the publics right to know and the polices duty to keep them safe is a difficult one. Freedom of the press is fundamental, but the media does not act in a vacuum. We have duties as well as rights. This paper, like others, knew almost immediately the name of the Manchester suicide bomber but heeded the police request not to publish it for 36 hours while they tracked down his potential accomplices. The US media ignored the request, published his name and it became instantly known around the world. Now they are publishing leaked intelligence about the on-going hunt for the network behind the murders. We do not know whether, as a result, we have lost opportunities to break that network and save lives. We need secret intelligence in the fight against terrorism  and the intelligent know we have to keep it secret.

Getting back to normal

It was understandable that it wasnt business as usual in London yesterday. As troops were deployed on the streets in response to the terror alert, Parliament was closed to the public, election campaigning was on hold, Chelsea FC cancelled Sundays victory parade and the guard didnt change at Buckingham Palace  an event that requires police to manage a large crowd in a big space.

In the immediate aftermath of the atrocity this was a natural response. Yet it is also right that we should return to business as usual as quickly as possible  with the heightened security the situation requires. So Parliament should be reopened, the Changing of the Guard should take place this week as usual, and election campaigning should resume. Normality is good for morale and a signal that terrorists cannot bring a great city to a standstill. We can be vigilant without abandoning our normal way of life.
L ondoners saw armed troops on the streets of our capital yesterday for the first time in the living memory of most of us. We last saw our armed forces pressed into a public security role during the 2012 Olympics, and while this was a great success they were unarmed, limited to around the venues, and strictly short-lived. British citizens have no wish to see our society militarised and we see our armed forces as being essential for our security from threats emanating from abroad, not at home.

But when we feel sufficiently frightened or outraged, then we must consider temporary additional measures to keep us safe. London is a resilient place: the atrocities of the London bombings in 2005 were quickly toughed out by a vibrant city of eight million people and there was then no need for armed military help on the streets. This time it is different.

It is a good thing that it is not normal in the UK to have our armed forces deployed among us like this in a policing role and it is rightly an uncomfortable feeling. We all want to know that it has been done only as a last resort and only because it is essential, not a knee-jerk response to catch the public eye during an election.

It seems clear that it is essential: following Monday nights terrorist attack in Manchester there is very probably a committed terrorist bomb-maker and a determined supporting cast on the loose in the UK. We must assume until it is sufficiently proven to the contrary that more than one bomb has been made and there are more potential suicide bombers at large.

The police, intelligence and security services are working flat out to get on top of the problem. We should not be surprised that this has happened and be cautious about inferring a failure of intelligence until the picture is clearer  no one can ask for 100 per cent security against determined terrorists and there have been plenty of warnings over the years that something could slip through the net given the scale and complexity of the challenge. We can be confident that the British capabilities that exist to find these terrorists are as good as anywhere in the world. But it still may take time to find the terrorists, and while that is going on we should see reassurance in the military presence rather than fear. We might also assume that our special forces are there to play their part if it gets really difficult.

Army arrives at Westminster as London landmarks put on lockdown

We need to recognise what we are asking our police, intelligence and security forces to do now. Starting from the horrors inflicted at the Manchester Arena they will have to piece together how a bomb and a suicide bomber made it that far, avoiding all the layers of policing and intelligence designed to catch just this. It will call on all the forensic science and intelligence expertise built up over decades at home and abroad  including in campaigns such as Iraq.

Specialist investigative capabilities are at work. We might be lucky and get a rapid breakthrough but we must also be prepared for this to take time. So we now do need the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor and the armed forces to come together in one highly effective team.

Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror 1 /24 Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror Troops today entered the Palace of Westminster in unprecedented scenes Alex Lentati Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster Alex Lentati Almost 1,000 troops were deployed today to guard London's landmarks Alex Lentati The arrival of troops was watched by armed police Alex Lentati A solider stands guard with an armed Scotland Yard officer outside Buckingham Palace PA The troops were stationed outside Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and other key sites PA Troops were deployed as the UK's terror threat level was raised to "critical" PA Armed troops were also positioned at embassies PA Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster today Alex Lentati A female soldier is seen brandishing her service weapon before going on duty in the capital Alex Lentati Soldiers were seen disembarking coaches in Westminster Alex Lentati Soldiers arrive by bus and head toward a building next to New Scotland Yard AFP/Getty Images Soldiers walk in Downing Street i Reuters Soldiers talk with police on Downing Street Reuters Troops were on patrol near No10 today Reuters A soldier walks past 10 Downing Street as part of the army presence in London after the terrorist attack in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst, General Officer Commanding London District (right) meet soldiers and police officers on deployment in the Palace of Westminster PA Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst spoke to troops and police on patrol PA

Policing is very different in style and content to military work, and in London the police will lead. The new Commissioner knows this very well, having led the combined effort during the Olympics. Constables are learning how to make the best use of their new military colleagues, and young soldiers are learning that their hard-edged military instincts and training will have to be recalibrated to this new role in some ways. And lets hear nothing about politics around any of this: this is about our essential security in extreme circumstances and not a moment for electioneering .

The military operation now under way, Operation Temperer, has been planned and rehearsed for some time. We should recognise that this was prudent, be pleased that the complex arrangements were ready on the shelf, and we should certainly demand that it is done well and only for the minimum time necessary.

Policing is very different in style and content to military work, and in London the police will lead

The soldiers are in unfamiliar territory and learning to work alongside the police in stressful circumstances. They will welcome some forbearance and appreciate signs of public support. Being ready to use lethal force as the last resort on the streets or at a railway station requires considerable courage, training and judgment. The role of the military in London is to support the police, not replace or supplant them.

There are, of course, some military specialist capabilities that can be added to a police-led operation, such as intelligence staff, helicopters, dogs and logistic capability. We should be ready to see this in action if the current problem escalates, but it doesnt seem to be either necessary or asked for yet.

It has taken courage on the part of the Government to decide to take this step. It may take even greater courage to decide to stop, as complete certainty that the threat has abated is unlikely to appear. But we dont want to end up like France, with soldiers on our streets for months  unless we really are in deep and enduring trouble. We should expect Operation Temperer to be stood down as soon as the threat is no longer at critical, to let our armed forces get on with protecting us from threats abroad and policing in the UK to be restored to the civilian model our society values and expects.

General Sir Richard Barrons is a former Commander, Joint Forces Command, and is now a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute
" Whatever it takes. Those were the words running through my head as the news filtered through about the terrorist attack in Manchester: we should do whatever is required to ensure no more innocent people are murdered.

Fighting extremism obviously requires a multi-faceted approach but with more than a dozen deadly attacks in Western Europe since 2015, its clear that a recurring problem is the way terrorists are using digital tools to plan and co-ordinate, and evade the police.

As the former head of GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, has written: Terrorists have always found ways of hiding their operations. But today, mobile technology and smartphones have increased the options available exponentially.

You only have to look at recent atrocities to see that this is the case. To take two examples, terrorists used WhatsApp to plot the November 2015 Paris attacks, while the perpetrator of the recent Stockholm attack was in contact with extremists using social messaging apps.

Terrorists are using these digital tools because in 2014, Apple, Google and companies such as WhatsApp started deploying sophisticated encryption techniques that prevent anyone including intelligence agencies  from monitoring online conversations.

This has been a boon for terrorists  but if were to take action, its important to understand why tech companies started encrypting their systems in this way.

According to former US director of National Intelligence James Clapper, it all began when the US government abused public trust by unlawfully collecting massive amounts of data on millions of people, without proper scrutiny or debate.

When Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers revealed what had been going on, technology companies introduced encryption to reassure customers that their privacy would be safeguarded. As Clapper says: As a result of Snowdens revelations, the onset of commercial encryption accelerated by seven years.

However understandable this move by the technology companies was  and however justified by government misdeeds  its led to a state of affairs where the police might suspect someone is set to carry out a terrorist attack but cant find out what theyre messaging to their extremist network.

This is unacceptable. In the words of Home Secretary Amber Rudd: We need a situation where we can have our security services get into the terrorists communications. There should be no place for terrorists to hide.

In the wake of yet another attack, and with the threat of more to come, I doubt there are many of the public who disagree. That doesnt mean fixing things will be easy. The technology industry is wary that clunking government measures will make online communications less secure, and concerned that co-operating with surveillance orders will be hugely unpopular with customers.

But we cannot stand by while people are murdered. Whats needed is not a clampdown on encryption  after all, its essential for financial transactions and the modern economy.

That being said, action is clearly required. Although politicians can be clueless when it comes to technology, the Home Office has developed sensible proposals that require a judge to give permission before real-time communications can be monitored  ensuring that suspected terrorists can be stopped before its too late, while also protecting against the mass surveillance that the public is worried about.

This is the right direction of travel, and if were going to come up with solutions, the technology community cant stand on the sidelines  it must come together with government to save lives.

Techies cannot afford to be on the wrong side of this argument, or theyll find themselves on the wrong side of history.

Celebrating a true legend and gentleman

Farewell to Sir Roger Moore, who died this week. Like so many others, I grew up watching him play James Bond  and will forever associate him with bank holiday TV, safari suits and brilliant one-liners.

(Sir Roger himself was just as witty as his 007 character  when he was cast, he was asked what special quality hed bring to the films. He replied: White teeth.)

But there was another side to the great man  as a tireless campaigner for childrens rights. He was introduced to Unicef in 1991 and went on countless global charitable missions. On issues from Aids to landmines and child labour, he made a real difference. In the words of Unicefs executive director: The world has lost one of its great champions for children.

Sir Roger would no doubt raise a trademark eyebrow at such lofty praise. To borrow my favourite of his quips (from The Spy Who Loved Me), hed probably say he was just keeping the British end up.
M illions of people have observed a minute's silence in remembrance of the 22 people killed in the Manchester concert suicide bombing.

The silence also marked the nation's solidarity with those who were injured in the blast as well as others affected by the atrocity.

The largest gathering was in St Ann's Square, where thousand stood around the floral tributes that have been laid since the tragedy on Monday.

Crowds then broke out into applause at the end of the solemn 60 second ceremony.

Minute's silence for Manchester bomb victims 1 /21 Minute's silence for Manchester bomb victims Mourners in St Ann's Square, Manchester Owen Humphreys/PA Wire St Ann's Square Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images St Ann's Square AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Owen Humphreys/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham lays flowers after a minute's silence in St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire The Queen visits the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to meet victims of the terror attack Peter Byrne/PA Wire Soldiers and police outside Buckingham Palace Alex Lentati Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins firefighters at Islington Fire Station, north London Yui Mok/PA Wire Australian cricketers at The Oval Reuters / John Sibley Silence in Westminster for the Manchester bombing. Jeremy Selwyn

Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham, then lay flowers.

In London, mourners paused to remember the victims outside Westminster - scene of its own terrorist atrocity in March - and soldiers and police outside Buckingham Palace were also seen to observe the silence.

Mourners in Westminster / Jeremy Selwyn

Hundreds of people gathered outside Greater Manchester Police headquarters for the minute of silence, with crowds pouring out of nearby buildings to join the officers.

Other police forces across the country joined in the act of remembrance, with a show of solidarity also taking place at Scotland Yard.

Court proceedings were paused at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Judges, jurors, lawyers and defendants in the dock all stood in silence as a mark respect.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins asked those gathered to spend a minute "reflecting" on the events of Monday night.

"Particularly remembering the families of those 22 victims who perished in that terrorist atrocity that we saw here in our great city.

"I'd like you to also think about those that still lie in our hospitals, some very critically injured. Think of them and their families," he said.

He also asked people to reflect on the "great work" of all the emergency services in responding to the attack, hailing their "true professionalism".

Devastated: Mourners in St Ann's Square / PA

He thanked everyone for attending and "showing the community strength that exists" in the area, adding that it sends a message to victims' families that "we are standing here with them".

The silence at GMP HQ began and ended with a whistle, with the crowds applauding before they walked back to their offices.

Outside the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where medics fought through the night to save victims, staff stood together for a moment's silence before breaking into spontaneous applause.

Manchester crowd sing Oasis song after minute's silence

Inside, doctors and nurses paused their duties and stood on balconies overlooking the main reception.

Flags will remain at half-mast on government buildings until Thursday evening, said a statement released jointly by 10 Downing Street, the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people, including children, and injured 59 when he attacked crowds leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday evening.

Police officers stationed at suicide bomber Abedi's last known address paused their duties to observe the minute's silence.

Uniformed officers guarding the cordon still in place in Elsmore Road, Fallowfield, removed their caps and helmets at 11am and stood facing away from the property.

Their colleagues in forensic examination suits came out of the semi-detached property to join them in the sweltering sunshine.

Staff in all government buildings were expected to observe the silence.
A lex Farquharson is a man on a mission. As the director of Tate Britain he is determined that Brexit will not turn his museum into a parochial backwater. Instead, he argues, it has created an environment in which the exploration of issues of belonging and identity are all the more pressing. It certainly wont make Tate Britain any less international.

In terms of exhibitions and displays this campaign will be a subtle one, as his announcement this morning of Tate Britains 2018 programme reveals. One of the main shows will be about figurative art in London since the mid-20th century; another is a blockbuster on the Pre-Raphaelite painter Burne-Jones. Neither seems the most obvious way to promote an image of internationalism. But this broader story, he explains later, is in the details.

When we meet to discuss the new programme Farquharson is buzzing with enthusiasm. This is his first newspaper interview since he started the job 18 months ago but he has already made his mark. The David Hockney retrospective has been a huge success, with opening hours extended to midnight this weekend.

The Queer British Art show in the lower galleries has divided critics but Farquharson is pleased with the positive response it has had from the LGBT community and uses the pairing to illustrate his approach to exhibition planning. One has a duty to lead people from the familiar to the unfamiliar, he says. The breadth and newness of the programme is as important as the presentation of household names.

Farquharson, 47, knows a thing or two about newness. In his previous job he was director of Nottingham Contemporary, where he oversaw the completion of one of Britains largest spaces for contemporary art, which he ran for eight years. Before that he worked as a freelance curator and writer.

He is not an art historian by training and came to curating via a degree in English and fine art at Exeter and an MA in arts criticism at City University. As a regular contributor to Frieze magazine he is firmly established in its orbit and in the East End art scene which it did so much to cultivate.

For 10 years he has owned a flat in Bethnal Green (he spent weekends in London during his years at Nottingham Contemporary) and has observed first-hand how the capitals art scene has changed. I remember a time when you could see what was going on in contemporary art in London in a day or two. Now it would take all week.

With his easygoing charm, Farquharson stands in contrast to Tate Britains previous director, Penelope Curtis, a scholarly but less touchy-feely boss. While Curtiss displays were crisp and chronological, Farquharson is keen to explore the messy business of how every aspect of British life manifests itself in art, gayness currently being the most obvious example.

As well as Queer British Art and the Hockney exhibition, the main display in the Duveen galleries is by Cerith Wyn Evans, a veteran of the Eighties gay club scene. The outside of the building is floodlit in pink and this years Pride festival will be launched at the gallery next month. There will even be a Tate float in the parade. The message of inclusion couldnt be more positive but just in case anybody is wondering, Farquharson says Tate Britains coming-out celebration is not a directorial self-portrait.

Indeed, his desire to explore other less mainstream movements in British art is also evident in his commitment to show more work by black and minority ethnic artists. You can see this interest in the rooms where displays from the collection have recently been rehung.

As well as work by younger black artists such as Chris Ofili and Steve McQueen, there is a 1982 painting by Denzil Forrester, a Caribbean artist who moved to England in 1967. That Eighties generation made work that in a very direct way tackled the experience of race, says Farquharson. The issues are different now but to write them into the story is important.

Plans are now being made to rehang the entire collection in a thematic way. So there could be big themes, like London as an urban space in the 18th century or Britain in the post-war age of anxiety. We want to look at how social factors caused art to take the forms it did. Labels, reduced to a bare minimum during Curtiss reign, will once again offer interpretation of the works. If one frames art that way its an invitation to an audience to understand the work without prior knowledge of art historical categories, says Farquharson.

Other changes under the director include the rebooting of the Turner Prize, which for the first time this year was also open to artists aged over 50. The change, he says, is reflected in the fact that its the most diverse Turner Prize ever, with shortlisted artists including Hurvin Anderson, 52, a painter of Jamaican descent, and Lubaina Himid, 62, born in Tanzania.

Farquharson concedes that his tireless campaign for art to be accessible and inclusive is partly a reaction to his privileged childhood in Buckinghamshire, where he went to boarding school at Stowe. I was always aware of how extraordinary that experience was and how unrepresentative it was, he says, but I guess the inspiration it gave me was as much reacting against it as embracing what it offered.

Farquharson has a busy year ahead. Next week Maria Balshaw starts as the new overall director of Tate, replacing Nicholas Serota who leaves after 29 years in the job. Farquharson knows Balshaw from their interactions as regional museum directors and says hes excited to be working with her.

Then, in September, Tate Britain will stage a retrospective by sculptor Rachel Whiteread. Further ahead, he is excited about a solo show by the 2008 Turner Prize-winner Mark Leckey, which will be programmed in 2019 against a major William Blake exhibition.

Finally we return to the question of Tate Britains role in the age of Brexit. The important thing, says Farquharson, is to show how culture in Britain has always been open to exchange. In displays from the collection this means highlighting the impact of emigre artists (we cover 500 years of British art here, and the first 200 years is largely by artists from the continent) and showing the impact of British artists abroad.

Several of the shows in the programme illustrate how this can be done in exhibitions. In November, Impressionists in London will examine the work of French artists who sought refuge here during the Franco-Prussian war. The paintings show things that are familiar to us  smog, the Thames  but seen through the foreign eyes of people trying to make a home here, says Farquharson. The show will include a room devoted to six paintings of the Houses of Parliament by Claude Monet. The approach continues in the 2018 programme, with the Burne-Jones exhibition highlighting the huge influence he had on European symbolism.

Arts picks of the week: 22nd-28th May 1 /8 Arts picks of the week: 22nd-28th May Twelfth Night All eyes will be on the Globe this week to see what Emma Rice does for her big show in her last season as Artistic Director. She has already said that her influences for the show include the Falklands war to Netflix drama The Crown - The Love Boat meets Margaret Thatcher in her own words. Le Gateau Chocolat stars as Feste.



May 18 - August 5, Shakespeares Globe; shakespearesglobe.com Woyzeck Look, its John Boyega! The Star Wars actor is appearing in a new version of Georg Buchners Woyzeck, adapted by no less than Cursed Child playwright Jack Thorne. It moves the action to 1980s Berlin, where one soldier is trying to escape poverty to build a better life for his child.



Until June 24, Old Vic; oldvictheatre.com Hokusai: Beyond The Great Wave Heres your chance to see this iconic masterpiece up close, alongside Hokusais other works. Explore the work of the man widely regarded as one of Japans most famous artists in detail over an artistic journey of more than 30 years.



May 25 - August 13, British Museum; britishmuseum.org Vixen Want a different opera experience? Silent Opera reimagine Janaceks classic opera Cunning Little Vixen at The Vaults. Audiences listen to the show through headphones and follow the cast through tunnels as the story of a runaway girl comes to life in a 360 degree experience.



May 26 - June 10, Coliseum; eno.org Wayne Thiebaud Wayne Thiebaud makes sweet art - literally. He is known for his pastel-y still lifes of cakes and sweets, which look good enough to eat, and you can see his work at White Cubes Masons Yard gallery space.



May 24 - July 2, White Cube; whitecube.com On The Town Strictly finalist Danny Mac quick-steps it over to Regents Park for some summertime theatre larks with Open Air Theatres production of On The Town. The theatre promises their biggest dance musical ever, directed and choreographed by Olivier award winner Drew McOnie.



Until July 1, Open Air Theatre; openairtheatre.com Joyce Penasto and Jorinde Voigt at Lisson Gallery There are two brand new exhibitions to check out at Lisson Gallery this week. At their Bell Street gallery is Jorinde Voigts Both Sides Now, fusing music and art. At Lisson Street is Joyce Pensato, making familiar characters seem weird and eerie.



Both until June 24; lissongallery.com Courtesy Lisson Gallery Substance and Shadow: Alberto Giacometti Sculptures and Their Photographs A new exhibition at Gagosian is the perfect companion to Tate Moderns current retrospective about sculptor Alberto Giacometti. It showcases Peter Lindberghs photography of the sculptures, so you can see all of the intricate details up close.



Until July 22, Gagosian; gagosian.com

Maybe the best showcase to make the point about the ongoing relationship between British art and the wider world will be All Too Human, a show devoted to figurative painting in Britain since the mid-20th century. The focus will be on a group known as the School of London artists, including Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach. As Farquharson points out, both artists came from Germany to escape persecution and what we now think of as their quintessentially British views are informed by their experience of diaspora.

In addition to these well known names, the show will feature work by FN Souza, an Indian artist who moved to London in 1949. Paula Rego, born in Portugal in 1935, will also be included. The show will come up to date with work by four women artists, including Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a painter of Ghanaian descent.

As Farquharson points out, all these artists can be seen as part of a distinctively British movement, but the key to the future, he says, is to keep this category of Britishness elastic.

Are you a budding artist? Enter the Evening Standard Contemporary Art Prize in association with Hiscox and you could win 10,000. Visit standard.co.uk/artprize
L egendary dance festival Creamfields are celebrating two decades of raving by bringing sister event Creamfields Steel Yard to London for a second year.

This weekend, Victoria Park plays host to, on Saturday May 27, Eric Prydz, Adam Beyer, Kolsch, Christoph, Weska and Sasha, while on Sunday, the stage boasts Axwell /\ Ingrosso, Don Diablo, Martin Solveig and Third Party. Therell also be a DJ set from Faithless.

Gates open at 1pm on both days, and party-goers can expect to find themselves in metal rave tent, dubbed the Steel Yard, which puts the audience inside the inside the light show itself. On Saturday, things wrap up around 11pm and slightly earlier on Sunday, at 10.30pm.

Though 15,000 tickets for the one day event have already sold, there are still some available. You can buy them here and here.

Organisers say there are no cloakrooms or lockers, so dress lightly  though remember that food and drinks stalls will not be covered. Beware that bars are cash only, though there will be a cash point on site.

Victoria Park, in Tower Hamlets, is closest to Bethnal Green and Mile End underground stops and Cambridge Heath overground. Plan your route at journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk. Avoid driving as the site has no spaces to park.

For more information, visit creamfields.com
E lif Batuman is a writer whose byline creates a flutter of anticipation even when the subject is unpromising. Especially when the subject is unpromising.

If a dominant mode of her generation is knowing introspection, she writes with a bewildered outrospection that delights in the bathetic and the absurd. She can make the experience of judging a Hungarian boys legs contest into precisely the sort of thing you want to read.

Her first book, The Possessed (2011), was a sort of literature-infused memoir based on her time at Stanford University, and it gained an audience beyond those who like reading about Uzbek grammar and Anna Kareninas dog.

Her New Yorker reports from Istanbul are similarly treasurable. So do not be deterred by the fact her first novel is a directionless Harvard campus romance. Selin Karadag is an 18-year-old Turkish-American virgin who doesnt drink and doesnt go to parties. If my mother told me not to do something, I didnt do it. Everyones mother told them not to do things, but I was the only one who listened.

The action moves forwards in diary-like vignettes. During Russian classes, Selin falls for Ivan, a Hungarian maths student who writes prose poems about stars and hell. Their relationship develops over a series of tortured emails.

The medium is new  its 1995  and it unnerves her the way each message contains the trail of messages that have been sent before. It was like the story of your relations with others, the story of the intersection of your life with other lives, was constantly being recorded and updated.

Finally she travels to Hungary in a vague attempt to be close to Ivan, but keeps finding her life being thwarted by life. Hungary felt increasingly like reading War and Peace: new characters came up every five minutes, with their unusual names and distinctive locutions, and you had to pay attention to them for a time, even though you might never see them for the whole rest of the book.

In 2006 Batuman wrote a spirited defence of the long and pointless novel in New Yorks n+1 magazine. A short story says, I looked for x, and didnt find it. A novel says, I looked for x, and found a, b, c, g, q, r, and w.

The Idiot meanders not only by way of a, d, f, j, y and z, but various Cyrillic and Turkic characters too, and finally winds up back at a with our heroine having learned almost nothing. But its a pleasure to inhabit her consciousness.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

The central comedy comes from the fact that for all her command of language, Selin is never able to speak her mind. Its a novel about being young and stupid thats both wise and clever  and its a treat.

From 11, Amazon, Buy it now
' What a set of tits youve got there! exclaims Jonathan Saunders in his distinctive Glaswegian accent. Were in a photo studio next to the Diane von Furstenberg flagship store in New Yorks Meatpacking District. Saunders, the Scottish-born Central Saint Martins-trained designer who moved to the Big Apple to become DVFs chief creative officer last May, is going through the rail of his samples from the brands debut SUN collection  a mix-and-match beach-to-city capsule collection. He has spotted the stylist unpacking a selection of silicone gel bikini top inserts (chicken fillets) of varying sizes. It is indeed quite a set.

Saunders, 39, looks fit and healthy in black T-shirt, grey jeans and his customary Reebok Classics. He says he needs a holiday (after we meet, he and his long-term partner Justin Padgett, a high-level fashion PR, are jetting off to Tulum in Mexico for the weekend  as you do) but is bubbling with cheeky energy. Later, as we sit at a quirky 1970s stainless steel table with six pop-colour leather chairs in his office, he exclaims, Bet you cant guess who designed this  Ringo Starr!

It has been quite a year for Saunders. The appointment at DVF  which has 148 stores globally and $500m in estimated annual revenue according to The Business of Fashion  came about following a meeting with the 70-year-old grand dame of the wrap dress at her suite at Claridges. She said she was making some big changes, she was going to focus on philanthropy and she wanted to almost hand the reins over to someone that she respects, explains Saunders. Have you ever met Diane? Shes very seductive. She has an incredible use of words and language. Its quite poetic in a way when she speaks.

One can see the sense in Von Furstenbergs thinking. Like her, Saunders is known for his use of statement colour and print. Plus, the call came at the right time. Saunders wasnt in a great place; he admits to being depressed. Six months earlier, in December 2015, he surprised the fashion industry by shuttering his eponymous label after 12 years in business, citing personal reasons. What happened? Oof, he says, and winces.

Credit: Van Sarki

I havent talked about this  and I dont know if I can talk about this. OK then, whats it like to have to shut down your own label?

When you have your own brand, you can never imagine doing anything else. This beast that basically was the most important thing in my life, it caused relationships to fail, its ruined friendships, its done so many things  you cant imagine not having it in your life. And so when the change happened, there were definitely moments when I felt really depressed. He takes a second. A criticism of your brand is a direct criticism of you as an individual. And especially when its an independent brand, I would say it is even more so.

Left, model Symone Challenger wears DVF cardigan, 273; bikini top, 68; skinny pants, 248 (dvf.com).Top right, model Agata Danilove wears DVF shirt, 248; bikini bottom, 83; bag, 304 (dvf.com). Credit: Van Sarki

So the notion of walking away from that or not having that in your life any more is hard, really hard. But it doesnt mean that its a failure, it doesnt mean that Ive bottled out of something. It just happened. Also its a really good thing to be able to stop, because when youve been doing the same thing for 12 years, the cycle of it, the pressure of it, makes it difficult to see things at a distance and therefore make good judgment calls, maybe. I dont know. I was just desperate for a moment to be able to take stock.

Alongside Roksanda Ilincic, Christopher Kane and the late Richard Nicoll, Saunders was one of a talented cluster of MA graduates from Central Saint Martins, all under the tutelage of the legendary Louise Wilson, who collectively revitalised London Fashion Week in the mid-2000s. Theres such camaraderie between us, says Saunders. We never get competitive with each other, weve tried to support each other.

Growing up in working-class Glasgow, there is an element of Billy Elliot about Saunders move to become a womenswear designer in London. At Saint Martins, I was surrounded by people who were so cool, I felt very out of place and unworthy, he says. His strict Jehovahs Witness parents reportedly wanted him to be a carpenter. The first person that I studied with and worked with was Richard Nicoll, and he was like the coolest guy anybody couldve possibly met. He knew everybody that was anybody, and he taught me so much about fashion, so Ill always be indebted to him for his education of me. Nicoll died of a heart attack last October, aged just 39. Hes forever in our hearts, says Saunders, his eyes welling.

Within 48 hours of showing his final MA collection, Saunders was commissioned to design prints for Alexander McQueen who sensed in him a kindred spirit. Even though he was incredibly intelligent, he wasnt highbrow in any way, recalls Saunders. His vocabulary was very simplistic in terms of how he expressed himself, and I understood that you can be involved in [high fashion] without going to private school.

In 2003, he launched his eponymous fashion label and showed his debut collection at London Fashion Week for AW03. He and his contemporaries all arrived on the fashion scene at a particularly tough time and had to cope with fast-accelerating output of multiple collections and punishing commercial demands that saw each of them having to freelance and consult for other brands in order to financially support their own. The skills he picked up have helped him adapt to life at DVF, You become a very pragmatic, hands-on person, he says. And that has meant that Ive survived through a very transient industry, and its meant that Ive been able to come into a company and not feel threatened or overwhelmed. He had just 45 staff at his own label  now he has so many people reporting to him he doesnt know the exact number, but its a couple of hundred.

Saunders has certainly wasted no time getting stuck in. His first three collections have had his signature imprint while remaining on-brand and have been very well received critically and commercially. Its approachable, affordable yet still aspirational. Hes not done away with the iconic wrap dress by any means (which is such a pillar of the business that wrapdress is the company wi-fi password), but he has built upon it. Plus weve changed the branding, the store fronts, the structure of the collections, the product range is expanding. Hence the introduction of the SUN collection. I feel very proud about what the team and myself have achieved. And yet for all the change, its been done sensitively, in keeping with the DVF spirit.

Von Furstenberg has not retired. She still owns the company. And she lives at least some of the time on the floor above Saunders office, so she looms over him literally as well as figuratively. But as anyone could see from their affectionate body language at this months Met Gala (for which he dressed seven women, including Von Furstenberg and his friend Alexa Chung), theyre clearly very close. Nevertheless, they must have established some clear parameters. A Glaswegian and a naturalised New Yorker, they are both straight-talkers. I know the importance of me being able to have autonomy when it comes to creative decisions, he says. She has said very openly and I have said very openly that I am in charge of the brand and the direction for the brand because she trusts that I will be respectful to the ethos and the values that she put in place when she founded it.

Saunders is about to clock up a year with the company  supermodel Karlie Kloss is hosting a celebration dinner in his honour. He turns 40 later in the year. He and his partner and their dog Amber live in a characterful ivy-covered townhouse in the West Village with views of the Hudson from the rooftop. Sure, he misses his friends back in London and Sunday roasts with the papers in his local pub, the De Beauvoir Arms. But what a difference a year makes. Yeah its so, so different from what I would have ever expected, he says. I always loved New York but I never imagined living here. And I seem to have embraced it. I mean, you just have to get excited about what you do every day. And I think knowing that things can change makes you a little more relaxed about things, maybe. Understanding how important your relationships are, and how lucky I am.
L ondon's insatiable thirst for prosecco has inspired one of Spains top cava producers to start its own version of the Italian sparkling wine.

Proseccos phenomenal recent rise means UK sales are higher than for champagne. Now Catalan giant Freixenet aims to take advantage by selling its own brand.

Liza Madrigal, its UK marketing director, said it was a bold move but the right move. British people like prosecco because its easy to drink, accessible, a social glue as everyone enjoys it. Britain has been the driver of the prosecco boom. Its a huge market. London is at the heart of that boom.

Prosecco can only be produced from vineyards in nine provinces of north-east Italy, and Freixenets version uses Glera grapes from a vineyard in the Veneto region.

Demand for prosecco has been so strong that Italian vineyards will increase growing area by 3,000 hectares, or about 15 per cent, over the next three years.

Just over 106 million was spent on cava in supermarkets in 2016, a drop of 6.5 per cent from the year before, while prosecco jumped by nearly a third to 346 million according to Kantar Worldpanel.

Turnover at Freixenets UK subsidiary fell nearly three per cent in 2015/16, with the company citing prosecco being a tough competitor. To develop its prosecco, Freixenet consulted 300 British drinkers, carrying out taste tests against leading rivals.

Ms Madrigal said: Cava is very dry, much like champagne, whereas prosecco is fruitier, more aromatic, sweeter. Its easier to drink. Prosecco makes an ordinary occasion feel special when you get together with your friends.

Best Prosecco - in pictures 1 /13 Best Prosecco - in pictures Scroll to see the results of our Prosecco taste test... Shutterstock Valdobbiadene Prosecco Spumante Superiore DOCG Aldi has been upping the ante with low-priced luxury for the past year and this impressive bubbly is a fine example. Housed in a stylish bottle, it tastes just as a superior DOCG prosecco should and serves well with panettone. On the palate, dark autumn fruits mingle with delicate floral notes. Its finish was fresh, crisp and refined. Top marks all round. 7.99, Aldi, Buy it now Bortolotti Prosecco Extra Dry This fragrant blend offers hints of summer fruits and has a fresh, lingering finish. While classified as extra dry, it has a noticeable sweetness that makes it a good choice for pairing with puddings. Its a little pricey at just over twenty pounds, but if youre looking to impress some picky guests then this one should do the trick. 22, Harrods, Buy it now Sainsburys Taste the Difference Conegliano Prosecco 2015 This is a soft sparkler that goes down nice and easy, balancing tangy citrus with gentle apricot flavours. Its not too dry and has a very subtle sweetness, so its ideal for those who find most Prosecco too sugary. Great as an Aperitif and best served chilled. 8, Sainsburys, Buy it now Marks and Spencer Conte Priuli ORO Prosecco 2015 The perfect party Prosecco. Not only is it beautifully balanced with flavours of green apple, but its extravagant gold packaging earns it some major presentation points. It has just the right amount of fizz and a velvety texture with plenty of lasting froth. Pair with nibbles and canapes. 15, Marks and Spencer, Buy it now Tesco Finest Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG A generously fruity blend with aromas of apple, white peach and pear. Its pretty firm on the palate, but was a tad too citrusy for some. The finish is long, dry and slightly bitter. Best for pairing with cheeses like Gorgonzola. 10, Tesco, Buy it now Waitrose NV Glera Italian Prosecco Heres one to bring along to the next dinner party in your calendar. Light and refreshing, it boasts both floral and fruity flavours and has notes of sweet almond on the finish. Its balance of acidity and sweetness makes it great for drinking throughout the evening. 7.99, Waitrose, Buy it now Asda Extra Special Prosecco Straight from the vineyards of North-East Italy, this wine offers crisp apple flavours with subtle mineral notes. It had a noticeable lack of fizz and was mildly sweet. Easy to drink, but nothing mind-blowing. Asda recommends blending with peach juice to create a classic Bellini. 7.50, Asda, Buy it now Allini Proseeco Treviso Frizzante A pretty average Prosecco for day-to-day drinking. With light pear notes, this ones more suited to those looking for something soft on flavour for cocktail mixing. Its bright and creamy, but much drier than our other contestants. 2.69, Lidl, Buy it now Ombra Di Pantera Prosecco Superiore Brut Millesimato DOCG Fermented over 60 days, this new brand is the Porsche of proseccos. The fruity boquet is fresh and dry but without the bitterness commonly found, it has a robust sparkle that wont fizzle out as soon as its poured. A great bottle to enjoy leisurely, it goes down extremely easily some might say too much so. 25, Ombra Di Pantera, Buy it now

Freixenets Christmas adverts in Spain are a tradition, featuring stars such as Penelope Cruz, Shakira, Liza Minnelli and Pierce Brosnan. It runs more than two dozen vineyards in Europe, Australia and North America.

Richard Bampfield, a master of wine, said there was a gap in the market that could be plugged by a premium brand.

He said: I think there is an opportunity for a brand to make a statement in the prosecco market. The sparkling wine category is growing so this makes sense for Freixenet. Sales of cava might be down but its cyclical.
A fter Monday nights atrocity in Manchester 23-year-old pop star Ariana Grande took to Facebook and Twitter to share a message. Broken, she wrote. From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I dont have words.

It was a sincere sentiment. but it was also intended to create a space for others to grieve. At the time of writing there are 42,600 comments attached to the Facebook post: people have used Grandes post to offer messages of support and condolence both to the pop star and to the families and friends of the victims.

The grieving process has changed, says Steve Bartlett, co-founder of Manchester digital marketing agency Social Chain, who has built a business by understanding youth engagement. This new social grieving process takes place online. You have millions of people, all over the world, grieving in one online room.

This digital aftermath followed a pattern similar to that that manifested after the attacks in Paris, Nice and Westminster  each of which sent digital ripples around the world. While the roads around the Manchester Arena came to a standstill online traffic spiked, progressing from initial confusion to panic, then condolence via the hashtag #PrayForManchester and offers of practical support such as #RoomsforManchester, as residents of the city advertised offers of shelter for those stranded in the city centre.

Every terrorist attack Ive ever looked at has had a pray for hashtag, and it seems as if a digital show of support for the victims is really important. Its like a digital candlelit signal, says Carl Miller, research director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at think-tank Demos.

Cynics might deride this rudimentary empathic response as virtue signalling, but in fact it is an effective means of ad hoc grief counselling. Finding people who have shared traumatic experiences means were more likely to find individuals who can understand our perspective, especially those who have been really personally affected, says Nathalie Nahai, a web psychologist and author of Web Psychology and the Science of Online Persuasion.

Generation Z, that sharp shorthand for the post-millennial generation, feels like a particularly uncaring catch-all for so many individual teenage fans both at the concert and affected by it, but it does denote a set of characteristics. I feel like me and my snowflake generation are just better at talking about grief than people older than us, says a 19-year-old Manchester student. OK, its online, but at least were using a medium that lets our friends know that were here for them. And yes, that follows through to the real world. Its like a gateway to opening up.

Manchester Arena explosion aftermath - In pictures 1 /46 Manchester Arena explosion aftermath - In pictures Stephanie Brodie and mother Lisa Brodie who were inside the foyer when the explosion happened Jeremy Selwyn Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Police close to the Manchester Arena the morning after a terrorist attack at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande left 22 dead PA Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media in Downing Street Stefan Rousseau/PA A police officer moves a floral tribute close to the Manchester Arena PA A man embraces a woman and a teenager as he collects them from the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at the Manchester Arena Getty Images Police forensic officers investigate the scene of an explosion at Victoria Station Getty Images People affected by the deadly terror attack at Manchester Arena look out from a hotel window in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Police stand guard at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by Ariana Grande in Manchester AFP/Getty Images A flag flies at half-mast from the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Images Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PA Police forensic investigators walk along a bridge linking Victoria Station with the Manchester Arena where a suspected terrorist attack at the end of a concert Ariana Grande PA Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester Ben Birchall/PA The scene at Manchester Royal Infirmary as the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack rose to 22 with 59 injured PA Armed police patrol inside Victoria Station adjacent to Manchester Arena Getty Images A flag flies at half-mast from the Treasury Office in London AFP/Getty Images Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester PA Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins speaks to the media in Manchester where he said that the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack has risen to 22 with 59 injured PA Susan Walton and her daughter Katie who attended the pop concert by US star Ariana Grande pose in Mancheste AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images A police officer escorts people near to Manchester Arena Getty Images Police stand guard at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by Ariana Grande in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester PA A man embraces a woman and a teenager as he collects them from the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at the Manchester Arena Getty Images People leave Victoria Station adjacent to Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the attack in Manchester Reuters A Union Flag flies above Victoria Railway Station, close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images An ambulance arrives as police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, near the Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images Home Secretary Amber Rudd arrives for a COBRA meeting in Downing Street Getty Images British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon arrives for COBRA meeting at the Cabinet Office on Whitehall Getty Images Flags fly at half mast above Downing Street, London, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester PA

For all the burdens that social media load on to teenagers, from low self-esteem to eating disorders, it does have some merits.

Still, its a double-edged tool: it is also the medium through which many terrorists have been radicalised and recruited, and a hotbed of deliberate disinformation.

As confusion swirled in the small hours of Tuesday morning Twitter and Facebook users shared fake pictures of supposedly missing friends, while bogus reports of other terrorist attacks circulated  including news of a gunman outside Oldham hospital which was picked up unwittingly by several tabloid websites.

Theres always been an online subculture of trolling and delighting in trying to get people to believe wrong stuff, says Miller. Terrorists groups and even state actors can be behind this  Miller points to a 2014 rumour bomb set off by Russian trolls on Twitter, in which they successfully spread hoax reports of an Ebola outbreak at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the USA. In warzones such as Syria inaccurate information spread on social media can be the difference between life and death.

Tributes paid to victims of Manchester terror attack

Most often, though, the trolls are regulation keyboard jockeys. Theres something called the online inhibition effect, whereby if there is only a computer connecting two human beings they do treat each other differently than they would offline, becoming more disinhibited, says Miller. A computer removes a lot of the visual cues that the person youre talking to is a human being, and thats one of the socio-cognitive reasons why trolling happens. Its a psychological rush to enact a measure of mischief, at a remove from comprehending the real-world consequences. Its the digital equivalent of shouting fire in a crowded theatre, says Miller.

This vacuum of visual cues is one of the reasons psychologists think emojis, selfie sharing, and digital avatars are now so prevalent online that theyre a surrogate for face-to-face interaction. Theyre also breaking down barriers.

Brits find it difficult to verbally communicate, concludes Nahai. Now people are used to using social platforms and emojis theres a lot more focus on being able to express emotion without verbally communicating it. Thats something that provides a different mechanism which could bypass the stiff upper lip.

Follow Samuel Fishwick on Twitter: @fish_o_wick
T oday Britain fell silent to mourn the victims of Monday nights attack. I heart Manchester placards now bedeck a city in suffering, yet never more united.

We have been here before. The 7/7 bombings, Jo Coxs murder and the Westminster attack are etched in our collective memories  but for some these events were more personal. Here three people whose lives were affected by recent atrocities share their message for Manchester.

Travis Frain was crossing Westminster Bridge on March 22 when he was hit by Khalid Masoods car and flung over the bonnet. The 19-year-old student suffered a fractured arm, a fractured leg and two broken fingers.

PA

This week has been difficult for me  a lot of unwanted memories flooding back to the surface, just as I thought I may have begun to get a little closure. I never imagined we would be hit by another attack so soon, and that it would be even closer to home for me (I live a 40-minute drive from Manchester). The thought that children so young are experiencing the horrendous ordeal I endured has deeply saddened and shaken me.

After Westminster, I drew my initial strength from the country as a whole. The outpouring of support from hundreds of people I dont know has been both surprising and overwhelming. Ive received messages on Twitter, email and Facebook. It has been a source of strength to feel that you have so many people rooting for your recovery. My friends and family have been great too. After all the media attention has died down, it can begin to feel rather lonely. My injuries will persist for some time yet.

It can be hard to come to terms with what has happened but I do agree with the narrative that we shouldnt be cowed. I always tell friends that if we change our way of life, they [the terrorists] will have achieved exactly what they wanted. The best way to fight terrorism after the event is to ensure that their efforts were in vain.

Manchester attack: Mother's emotional appeal at vigil

Support has been great and numerous. However, there has been little organisation to it, and the service provided since I have returned home has not been of the same standard it was while I was in hospital in London though perhaps that is to be expected.

Prince Charless visit [to Kings College hospital, where Frain was treated] was fantastic. You see the royal family on TV, but it is heartwarming for them to show such compassion. I also met Prince William, Harry and Kate at a private reception after the Westminster Service of Hope.

To everyone, I would say: stay strong and keep doing what youre doing. We face tremendous pain and heartache at the hands of these barbarians but they will never, ever win.

When I went back to Westminster Bridge I felt numb. My mouth dried up. It brought a little closure to see that life had continued for many but it also put into perspective that others were still in hospital.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

Sajda Mughal was 22 and travelling on the Piccadilly line when suicide bomber Jermaine Lindsay blew up the train between Kings Cross and Russell Square. Now 34, she is the only known Muslim survivor of 7/7, and gave up her career in recruitment to tackle extremism, working for the JAN Trust.

Daniel Hambury/Stella Pics

Survivors on Monday night said they heard the loudest bang they had ever heard  people were running, terrified, screaming. Thats exactly like 7/7. The train shook. People were banging on the doors, trying to escape. Later that evening I found out it was a bomb. That shocked me. Then it came out that it was a Muslim bomber  and that shocked me even more, being a Muslim myself. That is not what my religion encourages in any way.

"July 7, 2005, had been a normal morning except I was running late. Probably about 10 seconds out of Kings Cross, there was a massive explosion. My mind went blank. I was frozen. All the lights went out, so all you had were the faint emergency lights. Black smoke started filling the carriage, seeping through the vent system. I panicked, thinking: The next Tube leaving Kings Cross is going to hit us and well all burn to death. But in this desperate situation people were assisting each other  they got water, sat people down.

After the police evacuated us I went to a McDonalds to calm my nerves. Everyone was staring. I went to the toilet and realised I was covered in black ash. I couldnt reach anyone on my phone, so I walked home. My mother thought Id been killed. She was hysterical by the time I got through to her. The psychological trauma on families is enormous.

Manchester attacker's mosque: This cowardice has "no place in our religion"

It was also a lot for me to deal with mentally. I believed I was going to die down there. I have to get on the Piccadilly line now when I have meetings in the City and it brings it all back to me. I replay the event and talk to myself, saying Dont let this be it. I still have flashbacks too. Ill hear the screams, see the blood.

That day left me with many unanswered questions. But I also felt Id been given a second chance, and I wanted to do something to combat these problems. I thought what better place to start than with my community, the Muslim community, and what better place to start than with mothers and families?

For the past decade Ive worked with mothers on our Web Guardians programme which helps the Muslim community to prevent extremism and online radicalisation. Weve had mothers who have stopped their kids joining extremist groups, we even had a mother travel to Turkey to bring her son back. Its tough and intensive  but it has to be done.

7/7 bombings memorial in Hyde Park

I need support for my work to continue. We have struggled recently with funding being withdrawn, and this year we are having to seek funding again. When youre tackling an issue such as extremism, you need sustainability  it cant be lets do this for six months. Weve had 7/7, July 21, Lee Rigby, plots that have been foiled  and now Manchester. It always continues.

Ill never forget 7/7. Ive moved on with my life  Ive got married, Ive had kids  but I still remember it as though it is yesterday.

Brendan Cox was married to Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen who was murdered last June, aged 41. They have two children. Coxs killer was Thomas Mair, a man with connections to far-Right groups.

PA

The last 11 months have been unrelentingly s*** but the public response to Jos death has had a big impact. The kids realise that she stood for something. They are very proud of her, proud that people know who she was and what she believed in. They see her as the best Mum in the world and thats a source of strength for them.

I am very proud of her too. When she was dying her last words to the people with her were to get away and protect themselves  I was proud of her long before that, but that make me really proud too.

Manchester Arena attack: What we know so far

I actually started work looking at extremism and the growth of far-Right populism about a year before Jo was killed  what was driving its rise, and what might be done about it. Jo and I talked about it long before it came into our lives but it wasnt a topic I ever imagined experiencing so personally.

After she died I really thought about how to continue Jos legacy. The question was how do I respond to the hatred that killed her? What I am working on now is the Great Get Together [on the weekend of June 16- 18, a year on from her death]. Jos killing was intended to divide communities, so I can think of no better riposte to that than events that bring people together.

The response has been amazing. There are 100,800 events happening across the country  everything from street parties to barbecues, from tiny things with 10 people to the Olympic Park with 10,000, and lots of inter-faith events. There are some lovely examples, such as a north London synagogue putting on Iftar [the evening meal to break the fast during Ramadan] for local Muslims.

Jo went into politics because she believed in building closer communities  Spen was where she was from, the only place she wanted to stand. There are a lot of people currently trying to tear communities apart  we were worried about that long before she was killed. What I want her legacy to be is to rebuild that sense of community  I think thats the best response to extremism. If we build stronger communities, we make it harder for extremists  whether they are Right-wing or Islamist  to spread their ideas.

Follow Rosamund Urwin on Twitter: @RosamundUrwin
S ecurity services were told repeatedly about the threat posed by the Manchester suicide bomber but failed to act, according to reports.

Terrorist Salman Abedis friends called the Governments anti-terrorism hotline after he told them that being a suicide bomber was okay, the Telegraph reported.

Abedi killed 22 people and left dozens seriously injured after detonating an improvised explosive device after an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday.

And counter terrorism agencies are facing questions after sources suggested that, over the last five years, Abedi was flagged to the authorities on at least five separate occasions over his extremist views.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

Speaking to the Telegraph, Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, revealed Abedi was reported to authorities two years ago because of fears "he was involved in extremism and terrorism.

He said: People in the community expressed concerns about the way this man was behaving and reported it in the right way using the right channels.

Bomber: Salman Abedi

They did not hear anything since.

Meanwhile Akram Ramadan, 49, said Abedi had been banned from Didsbury Mosque for angrily confronting an Imam about an anti-extremism sermon.

Manchester attacker's mosque: This cowardice has "no place in our religion"

Mr Ramadan said he understood he had been placed on a watch list after the mosque reported him to authorities for his extremist views.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said that the terrorist was known up to a point by intelligence services, but has refused to comment further.

It has also emerged that authorities were aware that Abedis father, Ramadan Abedi, was linked to the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which is banned in Britain.

On Wednesday Ramadan Abedi was arrested by militia in the Libyan capital Tripoli with another son, Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was "aware of all the details" of the attack.

A spokesman for the Libyan authorities told BBC2's Newsnight: "When we arrested and we asked him, he told us, 'I have ideology with my brother'.

Hashim told us, 'I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester'."

Ramadan Abedi had earlier claimed Salman was innocent, saying: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."
A street is in lockdown after a bomb disposal unit was called in to a house raided by police investigating the Manchester terror attack.

Police said "suspicious items" were found at the address in Wigan on Thursday and that neighbours had been evacuated.

Officers have been searching the property after a man was tackled to the floor and arrested carrying a suspicious package on Wednesday.

Witnesses posted photos on Twitter showing a bomb disposal van in the road on Thursday and at least one street sealed off with a police cordon while a helicopter circled above.

A helicopter circled above the cordoned-off area in Wigan Lane, near Wigan Royal Infirmary, while emergency vehicles filled the road.

A bomb disposal unit van arrived in Wigan Lane, near to the junction of Springfield Street, at about 7.15pm.

It drove off shortly after 9.05pm and about five minutes later residents in Springfield Street, Bellingham Avenue and Haigh Avenue were told they were now free to return to their homes.

A police cordon, which stretched 100 metres from Springfield Street to the Bellingham Hotel, near to Wigan Infirmary, was expected to be lifted on Thursday night.

Tom Piper, who lives on Springfield Street, said "The police apparently turned up at 1.30am in the morning with guns and stormed the place. But I never heard it.

"Then they've been there all day, mainly just one or two police sat outside. Then about four or five-ish it looked like forensic people were there and then all of a sudden, about half-six, we all got told to evacuate."

Another witness said they had seen a bomb disposal squad unloading what appeared to be a specialist remote device to assist their search.

Jogging pants, T-shirts and underwear were seen hanging on a clothes washing line in the front yard of the address being guarded.

A GMP spokesman said: "We made an arrest in Wigan yesterday in connection with the investigation into the incident at Manchester Arena.

"Following this arrest, a house in Wigan was raided this morning and is currently being searched.

"Potentially suspicious items were found at the address and a large cordon has been put in place as EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) make an assessment.

"We have a number of officers on the ground and are evacuating people as a matter of precaution as public safety is paramount to our investigation.

"We are working with the local authority to accommodate those who have been evacuated."

Police also set up a roadblock near the Cherry Gardens pub further back on Wigan Lane, with those wishing to access Wigan Infirmary urged to use the entrance near to the Cherry Garden roundabout.

A crowd of about 100 people were at the Bellingham Hotel side of the cordon waiting to be allowed to return to their homes.

The public were warned to stay away from the area, while Wigan Infirmary issued a plea for people to try to avoid its A&E department while the incident was ongoing.

Eight people have been arrested in the UK by police investigating Monday night's suicide bombing, in which Salman Abedi killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert.

The 22-year-old's father and brother have also been arrested in Tripoli by Libyan authorities.
A manhunt has been launched after a young woman was sexually assaulted on a crowded bus in west London.

The 22-year-old victim was attacked after she boarded a number 607 bus in Lees Road in Hayes.

She felt the suspect stroke the top of her leg for several seconds before she was able to move away.

The suspect then went on to touch her bottom for several more seconds, police said.

Manhunt: Police are trying to trace this man in connection to a sexual assault on a west London bus / Met Police

After the assault, which happened at around 8.20am on January 17, the suspect got off the bus, which was heading towards Uxbridge Town Centre, in York Road.

The man wanted by police is described as of Arabian or North African appearance, in his 30s and around 5ft 8ins, with short and dark hair.

A Met Police spokesman said: He was described as wearing a light blue fleece.

Detectives from the Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC) are investigating.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone who recognises the man in the CCTV, any witnesses to the offences, or anyone with any information is urged to contact Detective Constable Patrick Allen on 07768 178539, or police via 101 or by tweeting @MetCC. To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org
A ppeal judges have ruled that doctors can withdraw life-support treatment from sick baby Charlie Gard.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates want their nine-month-old son Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, to undergo a therapy trial in the United States.

But specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where Charlie is being cared for, said the therapy is experimental and will not help. They argued that life-support treatment should stop.

In the High Court last month, Mr Justice Francis concluded that life-support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed die with dignity

Treatment: Charlie Gard and his parents / PA

Charlie's parents, who are in their 30s and come from Bedfont, west London, had asked three Court of Appeal judges to overturn Mr Justice Francis's decision.

But Lord Justice McFarlane, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Sales, who analysed evidence at a Court of Appeal hearing in London on Tuesday, have upheld the ruling.

Mr Justice Francis had concluded that a move to a palliative care regime would be in Charlie's best interests.

Charlie Gard's parents on This Morning

He said he had made the decision with the "heaviest of hearts" but with "complete conviction" for Charlie's best interests.

Richard Gordon QC, who led Charlie's parents' legal team, told appeal judges that the case raised "very serious legal issues".

"They wish to exhaust all possible options," Mr Gordon said in a written outline of Charlie's parents' case.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates, the parents of nine-month-old Charlie Gard / PA

"They don't want to look back and think 'what if?'. This court should not stand in the way of their only remaining hope."

Mr Gordon suggested that Charlie might be being unlawfully detained and denied his right to liberty.

He said judges should not interfere with parents' exercise of parental rights and added: "What is really at stake in this case is the State, on a massive scale, intruding in your right to private and family life."

Lawyers, who represented Charlie's parents for free, said Mr Justice Francis had not given enough weight to Charlie's human right to life.

They said there was no risk that the proposed therapy in the US would cause Charlie "significant harm".

Mr Gard shook his head as appeal judges announced their decision. Charlie's parents then left court to hold discussions with lawyers.
D rinking five cups of coffee a day could reduce your chances of liver cancer by half, scientists have revealed.

Experts from Southampton and Edinburgh universities have suggested that people who drink more coffee are less likely to develop hepatocellular cancer (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer.

And even decaffeinated coffee can have a protective effect, they found.

Scientists examined data from 26 studies involving more than 2.25 million participants, publishing their findings in the British Medical Journal.

Study: Scientists think that even decaffeinated coffee could protect you from cancer / Shutterstock / milosljubicic

Compared with people who drank no coffee, those who drank one cup had a 20 per cent lower risk of developing HCC.

Those who consumed two cups had a 35 per cent reduced risk and for those who drank five cups, the risk was halved.

They even noted a protective effect for decaf, but added that this was "smaller and less certain than for caffeinated coffee".

The authors wrote: "It may be important for developing coffee as a lifestyle intervention in CLD (chronic liver disease), as decaffeinated coffee might be more acceptable to those who do not drink coffee or who limit their coffee consumption because of caffeine-related symptoms."

Lead author Dr Oliver Kennedy, of the University of Southampton, said: "Coffee is widely believed to possess a range of health benefits, and these latest findings suggest it could have a significant effect on liver cancer risk.

"We're not suggesting that everyone should start drinking five cups of coffee a day though.

There needs to be more investigation into the potential harms of high coffee-caffeine intake, and there is evidence it should be avoided in certain groups such as pregnant women.

"Nevertheless, our findings are an important development given the increasing evidence of HCC globally and its poor prognosis."
F irefighters are tackling a huge blaze which has ripped through a building site in King's Cross.

Emergency Services rushed to the scene of the fire near Caledonian Road as dramatic pictures posted on social media showed black plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

The fire could be seen for miles around as more than 20 people called the emergency services at about midday on Thursday.

Nearby offices were reportedly evacuated and people were advised to stay clear of the area.

Emma Yeomans said: "Building site fire on Caledonian Road, Kings Cross. Nearby offices evacuated."

Another Twitter user added: "Billowing black smoke from building site on Caledonian road, kings cross. Sirens approaching. Suspect the area will be closed off soon!"

Monty MonCrieff said: "Fire in #KingsCross on #CaledonianRoad near work just now. Looks to be at the new @PhysicsNews building."

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters battled the fire on Balfe Street.

A spokeswoman for the London Fire Brigade said: Part of a south facing wall at the building site was damaged by fire. One person self evacuated from the cab of a 30 metre crane.

"Fire crews from Islington, Kentish Town, Holloway, Paddington and Lambeth fire stations are at the scene.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
T emperatures in London could hit 30C by the end of the week as the scorching spring weather continues.

The mercury is expected to peak on Friday, when the capital will be hotter than Barcelona, Nice and Lisbon.

However by Saturday temperatures will begin to fall and thunderstorms could move in over the Bank Holiday weekend, according to the Met Office.

Forecaster Emma Sharples told the Standard: It will be hot and sunny for the next two days, a little bit of patchy cloud around but nothing to any great extent.

Were looking today at about 27 to 28C in London. This could reach 30C tomorrow.

It will be a muggy night on Friday into Saturday, which will start warm and bright, as well as turning a little cloudy over the morning and the possibility of short, sharp showers but a good chance of it staying dry.

The temperatures are looking to be in the mid to high 20s.

Ms Shaples said that by Sunday the skies will become cloudy and heavy downpours, with the possibility of thunder, are expected.

She said: There will be a fresher feeling when we get into Sunday, temperatures in the mid-20s.

It will turn more cloudy and over the course of the day there will be the threat of thundery showers and heavy downpours.

On Monday temperatures will be in the low 20s, there will be a lot of cloud around and rain on and off throughout the day.
C ounter-terrorism police have arrested a second man after stopping a terror suspect from boarding a flight to Turkey at Stansted Airport.

A 64-year-old man was held at a business address in north London on Thursday on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism.

His arrest is linked to a 37-year-old man, held at the airport on Tuesday, who police believe was planning to travel to Syria.

Both men, who have not been identified, are being held at a south London police station under the Terrorism Act.

Their arrests not connected to the Manchester Arena suicide bombing, Scotland Yard said.

A warrant to detain the 37-year-old man for further questioning was granted on Thursday.

Officers involved in the investigation have also searched a house in north London.
P aul Nuttall said Ukip wants to cut out the cancer of radical Islam from society as he launched the partys manifesto less than three days after the Manchester attack.

The Ukip leader made social integration the key theme as he accused cowardly politicians of failing to acknowledge a "key problem".

Speaking at a press conference in Westminster, he began by paying tribute to the Manchester victims before saying it was not enough to light candles and show support on social media.

Instead he called for a far more muscular approach, including seizing the passports of any Britons who leave to fight for the so-called Islamic State in Syria.

Paul Nuttall pledged more police, soldiers, prison officers and border guards in his manifesto speech / PA

Ukip's flagship policy document also pledges to fund 20,000 extra troops and police officers, as well as 7,000 extra prison officers.

"I believe that anyone who leaves this country to fight for Islamic State should forfeit their passport, their citizenship, and never be allowed to return," Mr Nuttall said.

"The fact that this Islamist terrorist targeted a concert which was primarily attended by children and teenagers simply proves that there is no depth to which these evil and warped individuals will not stoop.

"When I was elected leader of Ukip six months ago, I was clear right away that the threat posed to our people by Islamic fundamentalism was one of the major issues I and indeed all politicians would face in the coming years.

"I also identified the need to take a far more muscular approach to social integration and against segregation as a key policy area."

Paul Nuttall arrives to launch his party's General Election manifesto at One Great George Street in central London / PA

Mr Nuttall said more police, soldiers, prison officers and border guards were "essential", with Ukip also pledging to recruit 4,000 more border officers.

He added: "It is not the British way to turn a blind eye to evil in our midst. It is not good enough to light candles and proclaim that extremists will not beat us. Action is required on multiple fronts.

"I am proud Ukip is setting out its patriotic agenda for defending our country and our way of life."

Party leader Mr Nuttall said there was "no magical formula" to addressing Islamic fundamentalism, adding: "But be in no doubt, the problem will not be solved if politicians are too cowardly to confront or even identify where the problem lies.

"Moreover, without the political will to take difficult decisions, challenge communities and most importantly secure our borders, things are only going to get worse."

Mr Nuttall also said he made no apologies for calling radical Islam "a cancer in our society".

"I will repeat it - it is a cancer that needs to be cut out," he added.

Jeremy Corbyn: Ukip's immigration policy is unrealistic and ridiculous

Mr Nuttall went on to attack Theresa May's record as home secretary, saying: "The Prime Minister has, during her time in high office, presided over cuts to our police service and reductions in our Armed Forces too.

"She has put pressure on the police to lower the numbers of stops and searches they carry out.

"And no progress whatever was made reducing the level of immigration in order to give social cohesion a chance to advance.

"This, despite Mrs May's pledge to bring net migration down to the tens of thousands."

The Ukip leader added that the emergency services' response to Monday's terror attack in Manchester showed it was time to invest in them.

Other key policies in the Ukip manifesto include an extra 11 billion a year for the NHS and social care by the end of the next parliament, funded by cuts in foreign aid.

They also include a pledge not to raise taxes, scrap VAT on takeaways and abolish the House of Lords.

The manifesto also backs a previous pledge to ban the wearing of burqas.
B ritish Transport Police have launched armed patrols on trains across the country in the wake of the Manchester bombing as part of radically increased security measures.

As Britain remained on high alert for terror attacks, for the first time in the history of the force it placed specialist firearms officers on trains nationwide on Thursday afternoon.

BTP said passengers can expect to see a firearms presence on their trains whilst the country is at a critical threat level.

Armed officers have been regularly patrolling on the London Underground since December, but this will be the first time they will patrol on board train services elsewhere in the country.

An armed British Transport Police officer / Yui Mok/PA Wire

Manchester Victoria station, which is attached to Manchester Arena where the blast happened, was closed to allow a forensic search of the area and has not yet reopened.

Chief Constable Paul Crowther of BTP said: Since the devastating events in Manchester on Monday evening, our force has radically increased the presence of our officers nationwide.

He added: This is part of our national mobilisation plan to deal with the current and ongoing threat.

"It is important to note that we do not have any specific intelligence in relation to train services but are taking this action to ensure we can protect and reassure the public.

Salman Abedi movements in the days ahead of the Manchester attack

Since the UK Government enacted Operation Temperer  the government plan to put thousands of armed troops in the streets  additional firearms officers from the Ministry of Defence Police have been deployed to BTP, and they will remain at stations in London.

Armed officers patrolling at Euston / Yui Mok/PA Wire

Chief Constable Crowther added: I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone to stay calm, be vigilant, and if you spot anything at all which gives you cause for concern, let us know.

He said nothing should be considered too trivial and all suspicious behaviour should be reported

The anti-terrorism hotline can be contacted on 0800 789 321 or BTP on 0800 40 50 40.
P olice and an army bomb disposal squad were called to a street in Manchester after staff at a college raised a security alert.

Greater Manchester Police said troops responded to a suspicious package in Hulme as people were warned to avoid the area.

Armed police closed off roads and a helicopter circled overhead. A bomb disposal unit arrived shortly afterwards as police shouted at pedestrians to "take cover" and clear the area.

Witnesses reported police approaching what was believed to be a suspicious vehicle.

Three roads - Mancunian Way, Linby Street and Jackson Crescent - were shut at around 11am on Thursday. Castlefield Campus school is in Jackson Crescent.

At just after 11.30am, Greater Manchester Police said the incident - which was a report of a suspicious package - had been deemed safe. The police cordon was lifted.

The force did not say whether the incident was linked to the investigation into Monday's massacre.

Today's security alert comes just days after the Manchester bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert which left 22 dead and more than 100 injured.

A student from another college to the south of the scene where the army unit was sent posted a picture on Twitter showing a plume of smoke although it was not immediately clear whether the smoke was coming from the area where the alert was.

It comes as Prime Minister Theresa May said the threat level will remain at critical following the latest meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee.

Speaking inside Number 10 after the meeting, she said: "I have just chaired a meeting of Cobra where I was updated on the extraordinary response of the police and emergency services to Monday's horrific attack.

"The police have confirmed that eight suspects remain in custody and that progress is being made in the case but the threat level, as assessed by the independent joint terrorism analysis centre, will remain at critical and the public should remain vigilant."

This story is being updated.
W ith three members of Salman Abedis immediate family now under arrest in Manchester and Tripoli, accused variously of IS affiliation and planning further bomb attacks, the clans long and deep roots in jihadi violence in Europe, Africa, Iraq and Syria are now becoming plain.

The surprise is that Britain and allied counter-terror agencies didnt pick this up, or at least didnt seem to take the Abedi clan as a serious threat.

The question is whether this has been a failure of intelligence gathering and surveillance, or of evaluation and analysis  or a combination of both.

In Manchester the extreme views of Salman were flagged up by two youth workers five years ago, He was heard to praise suicide bombers  a habit he continued when briefly at Salford University.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the authorities  meaning MI5 and the Home Office  had been aware of Salman up to a point. In other words he was not regarded as a threat  a person of no particular significance in security jargon.

Given what has emerged in Tripoli and Dusseldorf this seems almost astonishing. German intelligence has traced him to radical Dusseldorf cells where Tunisian Anis Amri was set on the path to murdering 11 in the Berlin Christmas market attack last year.

German intelligence reports that Salman flew to Germany a number of times from Manchester, and may have received final preparation there for the attack on the concert. He flew from Germany just four days before.

The Germans also believe he may have gone from their country to Syria where he received weapons and explosives training. Yet he appeared on no German terrorist watch list.

Yesterday his younger brother Hashem, 20, and his father Ramadan, 57, were detained by the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), the most powerful militia supporting the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli. Rada spokesman Ahmed Bin Salem said Hashem was involved with IS and was thought to be involved in a terror campaign in Tripoli. Hashem is said to have been in close touch with Salman and to have discussed the attack on the Manchester Arena with him.

Ramadans story makes the claim that he and his clan were of no special significance particularly implausible. In the Eighties he is said to have joined the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (he denied being part of it yesterday) which opposed Colonel Gaddafi.

The group grew up alongside al Qaeda and produced fighters for Afghanistan, who would have been trained with Bin Ladens men.

So why was the Abedi clan and its network in south Manchester overlooked? They spawned one of the most effective terrorist bombmakers of recent times.
The singer reportedly got the new inking backstage at the One Love benefit concert
K iller Salman Abedi associated with street gangs, saw himself as a big man and could burst into violent rages in his teenage years, friends said today.

They described a youth who would drink alcohol, smoke cannabis and get into fights  but who had changed in recent years after becoming a more devout Muslim and after several trips to Libya, where his family moved to.

One friend said Abedi often socialised with people linked to gangs near his Fallowfield home, in south Manchester.

He said: I used to see him around the streets. When I was friends with him he was a cheeky lad who had a lot of confidence and liked all the normal things. More recently, you wouldnt see him with the same people and he was going on a lot more about religion.

Another friend, on Withington Road, said: A few years back he was known for wanting to be a bit of a big man and would get into fights over the smallest things, like if someone just looked at him funny.

Police in Fallowfield, south Manchester / AFP/Getty Images

"He liked a night out and to drink and would become violent over the smallest thing. He had another side to him. He would lash out.

Friends, who said Abedi was nicknamed Dumbo at school for his big ears, said he went off the rails after his father moved back to Tripoli in 2011, reportedly to join rebels fighting Gaddafi.

Armed police prepare to raid a house in Fallowfield, Manchester, following Mondays bombing

Abedi went to Burnage Academy for Boys before attending Stretford Grammar school.

He is said to have passed nine GCSEs before going to Trafford College and enrolling on a business management course at the University of Salford in 2014.

He dropped out after two years. One student on the course recalled: He was a bit of a recluse.

At college, he reportedly punched a girl in the head. An ex-classmate said: He said something rude about what the girl was wearing. The girl slapped him.

"He punched her really hard in the side of the head. The headteacher sent him home. Apparently he told the head he had anger-management issues.
A n extra 1,000 armed officers will patrol streets across the UK in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.

Mark Rowley, head of national Counter Terrorism Policing, made the announcement on Wednesday, just days after suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people as fans left an Ariana Grande gig.

The plans came as part of a nationwide anti-terrorism operation aimed at thwarting further attacks as the UKs terror threat was raised to critical on Tuesday, meaning another incident could be imminent.

Some 3,800 military personnel could also be mobilised to support police within 12 to 96 hours of an atrocity taking place.

Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror 1 /24 Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror Troops today entered the Palace of Westminster in unprecedented scenes Alex Lentati Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster Alex Lentati Almost 1,000 troops were deployed today to guard London's landmarks Alex Lentati The arrival of troops was watched by armed police Alex Lentati A solider stands guard with an armed Scotland Yard officer outside Buckingham Palace PA The troops were stationed outside Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and other key sites PA Troops were deployed as the UK's terror threat level was raised to "critical" PA Armed troops were also positioned at embassies PA Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster today Alex Lentati A female soldier is seen brandishing her service weapon before going on duty in the capital Alex Lentati Soldiers were seen disembarking coaches in Westminster Alex Lentati Soldiers arrive by bus and head toward a building next to New Scotland Yard AFP/Getty Images Soldiers walk in Downing Street i Reuters Soldiers talk with police on Downing Street Reuters Troops were on patrol near No10 today Reuters A soldier walks past 10 Downing Street as part of the army presence in London after the terrorist attack in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst, General Officer Commanding London District (right) meet soldiers and police officers on deployment in the Palace of Westminster PA Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst spoke to troops and police on patrol PA

Troops were placed outside Londons iconic landmarks, including Westminster, in the days after the worst attack to hit the UK since the 7/7 bombings in the capital.

The Assistant Commissioner added that the increased threat level could see enhanced security checks at ports, airports and railway stations.

He said: The public expects us to do everything we can to prevent further attacks and to protect them from harm. They will see increased police patrols in the coming days, while there will be more armed officers at key locations, transport hubs and crowded places to deter terrorists and reassure the public.

Army arrives at Westminster as London landmarks put on lockdown

We are grateful to the military who have enabled us to put even more police on the streets to protect the public at this time.

Seven people, six men and a woman, have been arrested in connection with the attack as armed police raided addresses in Fallowfields, Nuneaton, Blackley and Wigan as police revealed they were investigating a "terror network" operating in the UK.

The bombers father and brother have also been detained by counter-terrorism forces in Libya.

Police have urged the public to report anything suspicious by calling 0800 789 321, or 999 in an emergency.
A n amazing, beautiful 19-year-old girl and her mothers gorgeous partner are the last two people to have been confirmed dead in the Manchester arena bombing.

Courtney Boyle and Philip Tron, 32, both from Gateshead, Newcastle, have been missing since suicide bomber Salman Abedi blew himself up as crowds left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday.

Devastated family and friends confirmed the pair were the last of 22 victims to be identified following the atrocity.

Courtney, who studied as Leeds Beckett University, was described by her mother Deborah Hutchinson as stunning and amazing.

'Amazing girl': Courtney Boyle was killed in the attack / Facebook

She added that Mr Tron made her world a happy place.

Ms Hutchinson said in a statement: My stunning amazing beautiful daughter. You were my rock, you made me so proud with all you had achieved and my gorgeous crazy Philip, you made my world a happy place and now you are both my angels flying high in the sky.

Courtneys dad told the Newcastle Chronicle: I am going to miss my baby girl Courtney Boyle for the rest of my life.

'Energetic soul': Philip Tron died in the blast / Facebook

I will never forget you and I will love you forever. Grandad Bob misses you loads also.

A statement from Mr Trons family read: Firstly, we would like to thank the emergency services, police, nurses, support staff, family and friends and the people of Manchester for their continued help and support which they have given us throughout this harrowing time.

Our most amazing son, partner, brother, father, uncle, nephew and cousin, Philip Tron, sadly passed away on the 22nd May 2017.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

Philip was such a fun loving, energetic soul, he would light up the darkest room and lift your spirits with his infectious laugh, witty sense of humour and his beautiful smile.

Eilidh MacLeod

Eilidh MacLeod, 14, / PA

Vivacious 14-year-old Eilidh MacLeod was also killed in the blast after enjoying the concert with friend Laura Macintyre, 15, as part of a birthday treat.

The pair had travelled from the Outer Hebrides to see the US superstar perform.

Her distraught parents said in the statement: Our family is devastated and words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh.

Friends: Eilidh MacLeod (right) attended the concert with Laura Macintyre

Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band.

As a family we would like to express our thanks and gratitude for the support and kind messages we have received at this difficult time.

The teenagers father rushed from the island of Barra to Manchester to join his wife in a desperate hunt for the girls.

Laura was found in hospital almost 20 hours later with severe injuries.

Elaine McIver

Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer / Greater Manchester Police

Off-duty police officer Elaine McIver was another of Abedis victims.

The 43-year-old, believed to have served with Cheshire police, would not people to be frightened by fear tactics, her family said on Thursday.

A statement read: Elaine was a much-loved daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague, the best we could ever have wished for.

Tributes paid to victims of Manchester terror attack

She was everyone's friend, thoughtful beyond belief, with an effervescent and outgoing personality.

"Elaine just loved life, and had a major love of music. Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics; instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.

"Although we will all miss her beyond belief, we absolutely know she will live in our hearts forever."

Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry

'Together forever': Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, from South Shields

An inseparable teen couple who wanted to be together forever were also today named as confirmed victims of the terror attack.

Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, from South Shields, were beautiful inside and out, their families said.

In a statement they said: They lived to go to new places together and explore different cities. They were perfect in every way for each other and were meant to be.

Chloe always described herself as ditzy who Liam adored and would do anything for, including dealing with Chloes demands for chocolate.

They wanted to be together forever and now they are.

Olivia Campbell

'Funny girl': Olivia Campbell

Aspiring singer Olivia Campbell, 15, from Bury, was confirmed dead after her mother Charlotte made an emotional appeal through the worlds media to find her daughter.

The young musician, who had appeared on Britains Got Talent, was described as funny and beautiful by her mum.

She wrote on Facebook: RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far to soon go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.

Olivias best friend Adam Lawler, 15, suffered life-changing injuries in the blast.

Saffie-Rose Roussos

Youngest victim: Saffie Rose Roussos, 8

Eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos was the youngest person killed in the attack.

On Thursday, forklift truck driver Paul Reid told the Sun how he cradled the injured youngster in his arms as she cried for her mum.

Saffie Rose Roussos, 8, died in the attack

He said: She was a dying little girl and she just wanted her mum. It was devastating.

Saffie had attended the concert with her mother Lisa and sister Ashlee.

Family friend Salman Patel said Lisa is currently in a coma in hospital and has no idea her daughter is dead.

He told reporters: Saffies sadly passed away and her mother, we understand, isnt aware. I am praying for the family, it is totally heartbreaking.

Sorell Leczkowski

Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leckowski / Facebook

Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, from Leeds, died after attending the gig with her mother Samantha and grandmother.

Devastated friends and family took to social media to pay tribute to the Sorrell, who was described as a "delightful member of the school community" by her headteacher.

Elaine Silson, the head of Allerton High School said: "Sorrell was a delightful member of the school community. She enjoyed her studies, had a lovely group of friends and was a real asset to Allerton High School.

Nell Jones

Fourteen-year-old Nell Jones,from Cheshire, was also killed in the attack.

The teenager was described as bright and popular by staff at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive and Sixth Form.

Headteacher Denis Oliver said: "We are all devastated by the loss and as a school community we must now come to terms with what has happened.

"Nell was a very bright and popular student."

Georgina Callander

Georgina pictured with Ariana Grande two years ago / Instagram

Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was the first victim of the attack to be named.

The kind and loving teenager, from Lancashire, was pictured in 2015 with her idol and tweeted Grande the day before her death to say SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU TOMORROW.

Michelle Kiss

Michelle Kiss died in the attack / PA

The mother of a schoolgirl photographed being comforted by a police officer outside the arena in one of the defining images of the atrocity.

Desperate friends and family had appealed to find Michelle Kiss, 45, from Lancashire in the days following the blast.

Her young daughter, who was pictured being swaddled in a coat by a first responders in the aftermath of the blast, was said to be recovering at home.

Wendy Fawell

Wendy Fawell died while picking up a friend's daughter / Collect

A Leeds mum who went to Manchester Arena with her daughter and friends was confirmed late on Wednesday night to have been killed.

Wendy Fawell, 50, is thought to have been near the venue's exit when the bomb exploded. She had watched Ariana Grande with her daughter Charlotte.

Her close friend Debbie McDowell wrote on Facebook: "I am heartbroken beyond belief. I have lost my best friend and confident.

A beautiful, lady who I will have treasured memories of. Nite god bless sweetheart. Love you to the moon and back."

Jane Tweddle

Mother-of-three Jane Tweddle

Mother-of-three Jane Tweddle was killed as she waited to pick up a friends daughter from the venue.

The 51-year-old school receptionist, from Blackpool, was due to jet off on holiday with daughters Harriet, 24, Lily, 22, and Isabelle, 20, next week.

Megan Hurley

Schoolgirl Megan Hurley, 15, from Liverpool was killed in the blast just a week before her 16th birthday.

Megans brother Brad,20 , was seriously injured in the attack, the pairs family said.

In a post on Facebook, Megan's aunt Maxine Benson, 53, said: 'My poor sister and Mike are destroyed beyond words... it doesn't seem fair for two kids to go to a concert and only one returns how in God's name could this happen to such a lovely family... heartbroken xx.'

Martyn Hett

Victim: Martyn has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack

Coronation Street superfan Martyn Hett, 29, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time his family said as they confirmed his death.

The 29-year-old PR manager from Stockport was days away from setting off on a trip to the US when he was killed.

A family statement, issued by Greater Manchester Police, read: "Martyn was the icon of all our lives. His infectious laugh and his niche sense of humour will stay with us forever.

"He lived for every moment of every day and fitted an entire lifetime of memories into his 29 years.

Angelika and Marcin Klis

Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack

Polish nationals Angelika and Marcin Klis, were confirmed among the dead.

The pair were waiting to collect their daughters from the gig when Abedi struck.

Daughter Alex Klis, a student at York University, posted a heartbreaking image on Facebook in a bid to trace them before news of their deaths emerged.

She wrote: "Anyone who is in any safe place or hospital in Manchester, if anyone comes across my parents please please let me know as they've been missing ever since the attack, this is a picture taken tonight so this is exactly what they were wearing."

Lisa Lees and Alison Howe

Lisa Lees, left and Alison Howe, right were killed in the foyer while waiting for their daughters / Facebook

Friends Lisa Lees, 43, and Alison Howe, 45, both from Royton in Oldham, in were killed while waiting to collect their 15-year-old daughters Darcie Howe and India Lees from the foyer of 21,000 capacity venue.

Jordan Howe wrote on Facebook: They took a caring beautiful mum and step mother away from us all. Love you loads.

While Ms Lees brother Lee Hunter said: For those who dont know Lisa is gone but never ever forgotten I love you Lisa Ill miss you so much.

Kelly Brewster

Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast

Office worker Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece Holly Booth from the blast.

The family of the 36-year-old, from Sheffield, saved the life of the youngster who suffered two broken legs, her family said.

John Atkinson

John Atkinson, 28, from Bury, was killed as he left the concert

Tributes have also been paid to 26-year-old John Atkinson from Bury, whose death was announced by friends on Facebook.

An online fundraising page, set up to gather donations for Mr Atkinsons family, received more than 1,000 in less than an hour after being established.

Police confirmed Abedi, 22, was behind the attack on Tuesday.

Eight people have been arrested over the blast in the UK while the bombers father Ramadan Abedi and brother Hashem Abedi have been detained by anti-terror forces in Libya.
A rmed police carried out a controlled explosion as they raided a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester following Monday's deadly suicide bomb attack.

Locals reported hearing a "loud bang" in the area south of the city centre at around 1.45am on Thursday.

Eight men are in custody following a series of raids across Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following the attack by bomber Salman Abedi that claimed 22 lives at an Ariana Grande concert.

A woman who was arrested in the Blackley area of Manchester on Wednesday has been released without charge.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed another search of an address had taken place, although there were no reports of any further arrests.

The force said in a statement: "This morning (Thursday 25 May 2017) we have been carrying out searches at an address in the Moss Side area during which a controlled explosion took place.

"These searches are connected to Monday's attack on the Manchester Arena, but this is a fast, ongoing investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage."

A street in Wigan was locked down as police arrested a bombing suspect / PA

The explosion was heard in the neighbouring areas of Rusholme and Fallowfield, with concerned locals taking to social media.

One wrote: "Does anyone know if the loud bang heard at 1:45amish this morning in/near Moss Side and Rusholme was an un/controlled explosion?"

It comes after seven other men were arrested as counter-terrorism police swooped on the suicide bomber's suspected "network".

The relatives of bomber Salman Abedi were detained in Libya.

Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror 1 /24 Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror Troops today entered the Palace of Westminster in unprecedented scenes Alex Lentati Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster Alex Lentati Almost 1,000 troops were deployed today to guard London's landmarks Alex Lentati The arrival of troops was watched by armed police Alex Lentati A solider stands guard with an armed Scotland Yard officer outside Buckingham Palace PA The troops were stationed outside Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and other key sites PA Troops were deployed as the UK's terror threat level was raised to "critical" PA Armed troops were also positioned at embassies PA Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster today Alex Lentati A female soldier is seen brandishing her service weapon before going on duty in the capital Alex Lentati Soldiers were seen disembarking coaches in Westminster Alex Lentati Soldiers arrive by bus and head toward a building next to New Scotland Yard AFP/Getty Images Soldiers walk in Downing Street i Reuters Soldiers talk with police on Downing Street Reuters Troops were on patrol near No10 today Reuters A soldier walks past 10 Downing Street as part of the army presence in London after the terrorist attack in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst, General Officer Commanding London District (right) meet soldiers and police officers on deployment in the Palace of Westminster PA Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst spoke to troops and police on patrol PA

Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli with his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was "aware of all the details" of the attack.

A 23-year-old man - named in reports as Abedi's older brother Ismail - was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Tuesday.

Ramadan Abedi had earlier claimed his son Salman was innocent, saying: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."

Manchester attacker's mosque: This cowardice has "no place in our religion"

A national minute's silence will be held at 11am on Thursday in remembrance of all those who lost their lives in the suicide bombing.

The silence will also mark the nation's solidarity with those who were injured in the blast as well as others affected by the atrocity.

Flags will remain at half-mast on government buildings until the evening of May 25, said a statement released jointly by 10 Downing Street, the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

It is understood that the silence will be followed by the resumption of local campaigning by most political parties, with the General Election contest restarting in full on Friday.
M illions of people have observed a minute's silence in remembrance of the 22 people killed in the Manchester concert suicide bombing.

The silence also marked the nation's solidarity with those who were injured in the blast as well as others affected by the atrocity.

The largest gathering was in St Ann's Square, where thousand stood around the floral tributes that have been laid since the tragedy on Monday.

Crowds then broke out into applause at the end of the solemn 60 second ceremony.

Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham, then lay flowers.

In London, mourners paused to remember the victims outside Westminster - scene of its own terrorist atrocity in March - and soldiers and police outside Buckingham Palace were also seen to observe the silence.

Mourners in Westminster / Jeremy Selwyn

Hundreds of people gathered outside Greater Manchester Police headquarters for the minute of silence, with crowds pouring out of nearby buildings to join the officers.

Other police forces across the country joined in the act of remembrance, with a show of solidarity also taking place at Scotland Yard.

Court proceedings were paused at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Judges, jurors, lawyers and defendants in the dock all stood in silence as a mark respect.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins asked those gathered to spend a minute "reflecting" on the events of Monday night.

"Particularly remembering the families of those 22 victims who perished in that terrorist atrocity that we saw here in our great city.

"I'd like you to also think about those that still lie in our hospitals, some very critically injured. Think of them and their families," he said.

Minute's silence for Manchester bomb victims 1 /21 Minute's silence for Manchester bomb victims Mourners in St Ann's Square, Manchester Owen Humphreys/PA Wire St Ann's Square Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images St Ann's Square AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Owen Humphreys/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham lays flowers after a minute's silence in St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire St Ann's Square Ben Birchall/PA Wire The Queen visits the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to meet victims of the terror attack Peter Byrne/PA Wire Soldiers and police outside Buckingham Palace Alex Lentati Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins firefighters at Islington Fire Station, north London Yui Mok/PA Wire Australian cricketers at The Oval Reuters / John Sibley Silence in Westminster for the Manchester bombing. Jeremy Selwyn

He also asked people to reflect on the "great work" of all the emergency services in responding to the attack, hailing their "true professionalism".

He thanked everyone for attending and "showing the community strength that exists" in the area, adding that it sends a message to victims' families that "we are standing here with them".

The silence at GMP HQ began and ended with a whistle, with the crowds applauding before they walked back to their offices.

Outside the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where medics fought through the night to save victims, staff stood together for a moment's silence before breaking into spontaneous applause.

Inside, doctors and nurses paused their duties and stood on balconies overlooking the main reception.

Devastated: Mourners in St Ann's Square / PA

Flags will remain at half-mast on government buildings until Thursday evening, said a statement released jointly by 10 Downing Street, the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people, including children, and injured 59 when he attacked crowds leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday evening.

Officials had said there would be no national event planned for the silence but that individuals and organisations across the country could decide for themselves how to mark the moment.

Emotional crowd at Manchester vigil roused by Tony Walsh's stirring poem

Staff in all government buildings were expected to observe the silence.
T he New York Times has defended the publication of leaked photographs appearing to show the bomb used in the Manchester terror attack and said the decision was responsible.

The publication of the images which seemingly showed parts of bomber Salman Abedi's torn rucksack and a detonator, suspected to have been sent to the American newspaper by US police officials, led to a spat between the country and British authorities.

After receiving widespread criticism, the newspaper said the pictures were "neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes."

Greater Manchester Police temporarily severed information sharing ties with their American counterparts after the pictures were shared.

The images appear to the remains of the attacker's rucksack (Via New York Times) / Via: New York Times

In furious response counter-terror chiefs said the publication undermined their investigation.

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In statement, The New York Times said: "The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes.

"We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories. Our coverage of Monday's horrific attack has been both comprehensive and responsible."

The pictures were reportedly leaked to the newspaper by US officials (Via New York Times) / Via: New York Times

It proved a headache for British security circles, and came hours after the Government issued a warning to US officials not to leak details of the terror investigation.

The suicide blast killed 22 people at a packed Ariana Grande gig at Manchester arena on Monday night.

Following the attack on, Theresa May on Tuesday night announced the UKs terror threat has been raised to critical, meaning another attack may be imminent.

Since then, military personal have been deployed to key areas across the UK to provide support to armed officers.
A Scottish teenager injured in the Manchester terror attack is fighting for her life in hospital.

The family of 15-year-old Laura MacIntyre, from the Outer Hebrides, today said she was strong-willed and a fighter as they confirmed she was in a critical condition.

Laura was leaving an Ariana Grande gig at the Manchester Arena with friend Eilidh MacLeod, 14, when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a nail bomb on Monday.

Eliidh was among 22 people killed in the attack which injured more than 100 others.

Eilidh MacLeod, 14, / PA

In a statement, released by Greater Manchester Police, the family said: "Our daughter Laura is a funny and witty young girl who excels at everything she does.

"Laura and her friend Eilidh were so looking forward to the concert, but that night has now ended in a tragedy where Eilidh has lost her life and Laura is in a critical condition.

"Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh's family since we heard their news."

The family thanked everyone, including the emergency services, for their support, adding: "We know that Laura is in the best possible place and is receiving the best care that she can.

"Laura is strong-willed and a fighter, and while she continues this battle we ask that all media respect our privacy at this extremely difficult time."

The Queen visits Manchester victims 1 /6 The Queen visits Manchester victims Queen Elizabeth II speaks to Millie Robson, 15, who survived the attack in Manchester PA Queen Elizabeth II arrives to see victims and medical workers PA The Queen personally thanked members of staff who treated victims PA Escorted by Kathy Cowell (right) Chairman of the Central Manchester University Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II meets hospital workers PA The Queen shakes hands with staff at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital PA

Eilidh and Laura were pupils at Castlebay Community School and their head teacher said the incident has left everyone in shock.

Annag Maclean said: "Our school and island community are in shock, feeling numb and struggling to come to terms with it.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Eilidh and Laura, their family and friends as they struggle to cope."

A fundraising page set up for the families of the two girls has received nearly 30,000 in donations.

Police confirmed 22-year-old Abedi was behind the atrocity.

Eight people have been arrested in connection with the attack in the UK.

The bombers father Ramadan Abedi and brother Hashim Abedi have been detained by anti-terror officers in Libya.
T heresa May is set to confront Donald Trump over the completely unacceptable leaking of intelligence on the Manchester bomb attack to the US press.

Whitehall officials are said to be furious after details and pictures connected to the probe continued to appear in the American media against the Home Secretarys instructions.

It also emerged today that police are to stop sharing information with US authorities.

UK Government ministers hit out at their US counterparts on Wednesday evening after the New York Times published crime scene photographs showing bloodstained fragments of Salman Abedi's bomb.

The graphic pictures appeared a day after the bomber's name was briefed to the US media against the wishes of Greater Manchester Police, hours after Home Secretary Amber Rudd revealed she had told US authorities not to leak material about the atrocity.

Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror 1 /24 Army on patrol in London in wake of Manchester terror Troops today entered the Palace of Westminster in unprecedented scenes Alex Lentati Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster Alex Lentati Almost 1,000 troops were deployed today to guard London's landmarks Alex Lentati The arrival of troops was watched by armed police Alex Lentati A solider stands guard with an armed Scotland Yard officer outside Buckingham Palace PA The troops were stationed outside Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and other key sites PA Troops were deployed as the UK's terror threat level was raised to "critical" PA Armed troops were also positioned at embassies PA Soldiers entering the Palace of Westminster today Alex Lentati A female soldier is seen brandishing her service weapon before going on duty in the capital Alex Lentati Soldiers were seen disembarking coaches in Westminster Alex Lentati Soldiers arrive by bus and head toward a building next to New Scotland Yard AFP/Getty Images Soldiers walk in Downing Street i Reuters Soldiers talk with police on Downing Street Reuters Troops were on patrol near No10 today Reuters A soldier walks past 10 Downing Street as part of the army presence in London after the terrorist attack in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst, General Officer Commanding London District (right) meet soldiers and police officers on deployment in the Palace of Westminster PA Cressida Dick and Major General Ben Bathhurst spoke to troops and police on patrol PA

In a statement released by the National Police Chiefs' Council, a spokesman for National Counter Terrorism Policing said: "We greatly value the important relationships we have with our trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world.

"These relationships enable us to collaborate and share privileged and sensitive information that allows us to defeat terrorism and protect the public at home and abroad.

"When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.

"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation."

The disclosure is regarded as "completely unacceptable" by Britain, because of the distress it may cause families of those killed or injured and because of the risk it could complicate investigations.

Manchester attack: Theresa May raises terror threat rating to 'critical'

The row - which goes to the heart of the close intelligence-sharing relationship between the transatlantic allies - provides an awkward backdrop to the Prime Minister's meeting with President Trump at the Nato summit in Brussels.

A Whitehall source said: "We are furious. This is completely unacceptable.

"These images leaked from inside the US system will be distressing for victims, their families and the wider public.

"The issue is being raised at every relevant level by the British authorities with their US counterparts."

Donald Trump condemned the Manchester bomber as an 'evil loser' / Reuters

The new pictures show torn scraps from a blue rucksack as well as screws and nuts used as shrapnel and a metal item which the newspaper suggests could have been part of the bomb's detonator.

The NYT described them as "law enforcement images" but did not make clear how they had been obtained.

The nature of the photographs - one of which includes a ruler placed alongside the detonator - left no doubt that they were taken as part of the forensic investigation of the scene, and were not snapshots taken by members of the public.

The paper also published a map showing the location of the victims of the bombing, positioned in a circle around the site of the explosion in the arena foyer, as well as what is thought to be Abedi's torso some distance away.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Tributes in lights 1 /13 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Tributes in lights Wembley Stadium lit up after the Manchester concert bomb attack PA A man stands in front of a fountain illuminated with the colours of the Union Jack flag in Zagreb AFP/Getty Images A "We Love Manchester" sign on the Mancunian Way in Manchester, after the Manchester concert bomb attack PA Penshaw Monument in Sunderland illuminated in the colours of Union flag after the Manchester concert bomb attac PA A moment of silence is held for the attacks in Manchester before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers in Boston, Massachusetts Getty Images the Burj Khalifa in Dubai lit up with the union flag in tribute to the victims of the Manchester attack NYCs Empire State Building goes dark in remembrance of the Manchester Attack victims People sit in front of the famous water fountain"Le Jet d'Eau" illuminated in the colors of the British flag to pay tribute to the victims of a suicide attack EPA The downtown Dallas skyline is lit up with a British Union flag to pay tribute to the victims of the Manchester bombing James Breeden / MEGA Belfast City Hall illuminated in the colours of Union flag after the Manchester concert bomb attack PA

Speaking on Wednesday morning, before the publication of the photos, the Home Secretary said she did not believe the Americans had compromised the investigation with the early release of information including the numbers of casualties, the name of the bomber and suspicions he was not acting alone.

But she added: "Quite frankly, the British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again."

Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham said that a decision had been taken early in the investigation to be cautious about putting information into the public domain.

He tweeted: "Complained to acting US Ambassador about leaks out of US and was assured they would stop. They haven't. Arrogant, wrong and disrespectful to GM (Greater Manchester)."

Congressman Adam Schiff, a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, said: "If we gave up information that has interfered in any way with their investigation because it tipped off people in Britain - perhaps associates of this person that we identified as the bomber - then that's a real problem and they have every right to be furious."

Britain's intelligence links with the US are among the closest in the world, and information is routinely shared by security and intelligence agencies as part of the special relationship between the transatlantic allies.
M anchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people in revenge for US air strikes on Syria, his sister believes.

Jomana Abedi said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: I think he saw children - Muslim children - dying everywhere, and wanted revenge.

She added: He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge.

Whether he got that is between him and God.

Ms Abedi's comments sparked outrage, with some saying the US's involvement in Syria could not be compared to the targeting of innocent children at a pop concert.

Salman Abedi, 22, has been identified as the man behind the suicide bombing in Manchester

The US military launched an airstrike on an airbase close to the city of Homs in early April, in an operation President Donald Trump said was in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

59 Tomahawk missiles rained on the al-Shayran airbase, which US security services said had been a storage point for chemical weapons.

Six Syrian soldiers were killed in the strike, while Syrian officials claimed that nine civilians including four children had also lost their lives.

But the idea of Monday's massacre as a revenge attack for events in Syria sparked outcry. Mark Session, 52, from Manchester told the Mirror: There is no justification for the taking of child's lives.

Tributes paid to victims of Manchester terror attack

Any kid losing their life is heartbreaking, but to my knowledge, no children in the allied air strikes has been targeted purposely unlike in Manchester.

He added: It is sick to justify the arena bombing in such a way. It is abhorrent in fact.

Mr Abedis familial links to terror have come under the spotlight since Monday nights attack.

A Libyan security official reported that Mr Abedi's father Ramadan had been arrested in Tripoli and was linked to an al-Qaeda-backed fighter group back in the 1990s.

Younger brother Hashim had also been detained in Tripoli, according to officials.
A vivacious and full of fun teenager and an off-duty policewoman were today confirmed as the latest victims of the Manchester bombing.

Eilidh MacLeod, 14, had travelled to the Ariana Grande concert from the Outer Hebrides with her friend Laura Macintyre, 15, as part of a birthday treat.

In a statement, her parents said: Our family is devastated and words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh.

Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band.

As a family we would like to express our thanks and gratitude for the support and kind messages we have received at this difficult time.

Saffie Rose Roussos, 8, has been confirmed dead after the attack

Her father, Roddy, had rushed to Manchester to search for the teenagers after the attack, while her mother was already in the city after travelling with them from their home on the island of Barra.

Laura was found in hospital nearly 20 hours after the atrocity, suffering severe injuries.

Elaine McIver, understood to have been a detective constable with Cheshire Police, was also killed in the bombing, her family confirmed.

She is understood to have been at the arena with her husband Paul, who was also left with injuries following the blast.

The family said: Elaine was a much loved daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague, the best we could ever have wished for.

She was everyones friend, thoughtful beyond belief with an effervescent and outgoing personality.

She would have been devastated by the injuries sustained by her partner Paul, and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Elaine just loved life, and had a major love of music. Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics, instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.

Olivia Campbell, 15, also died in the explosion

Although we will all miss her beyond belief, we absolutely know she will live in our hearts forever.

Nineteen of the 22 victims of Salman Abedis suicide attack have so far been named.

They include eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, from Leyland, Lancashire, who died after becoming separated from her mother Lisa and sister Ashlee.

Forklift truck driver Paul Reid told how he cradled the dying child in his arms as she cried out for her mother.

Weeping, Mr Reid, 43, said he tried to comfort and reassure the fatally injured girl as she lay among the horrific mass of bodies strewn across the foyer floor.

He told The Sun: She was a dying little girl and she just wanted her mum. It was devastating.

Martyn Hett's family paid tribute to the 29-year-old following his death in the bomb attack. / PA

I wanted to keep her talking and asked her if she had enjoyed the concert but then I realised she was having difficulty breathing.

She said, Wheres my mum? I said to her, I dont know but we are going to find her in a minute. Dont worry. We are going to sort it out. You are going to be all right.

She said, Whats happened? What could I say to her? I just tried to reassure her, then one of the paramedics came.

She kept drifting into unconsciousness. I cannot bear to think about it. Then she started shivering and told me she felt cold. I took my coat off and put it over her.

Family friend Salman Patel said Saffies mother is currently in a coma in hospital and has no idea her daughter is dead.

He said: Saffies sadly passed away and her mother, we understand, isnt aware. I am praying for the family, it is totally heartbreaking.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

I am praying the mum pulls through and copes with the tragedy of finding out when she does about her daughter.

An inseparable teen couple who wanted to be together forever were also today named as confirmed victims of the terror attack.

Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, from South Shields, were beautiful inside and out, their families said.

In a statement they said: They lived to go to new places together and explore different cities. They were perfect in every way for each other and were meant to be.

Chloe always described herself as ditzy who Liam adored and would do anything for, including dealing with Chloes demands for chocolate.

They wanted to be together forever and now they are.

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Mr Currys death comes a little more than two months after his father Andrew died from cancer.

Another teenage girl who died had dreamed of being an architect, her grandfather said.

Michael Healey said 14-year-old Sorrell Leczkowski, from Leeds, was our rock as he paid tribute to the clever, talented, creative girl.

He said his wife Pauline remains in intensive care and Sorrells mother Samantha is recovering from surgery as she tries to make sense of the devastating loss of her daughter.

Mr Healey said: I am absolutely heartbroken to confirm that my granddaughter was killed in the terror attack that claimed so many innocent lives.

Sorrell was only 14, but she was our rock, she kept us all grounded. She was such a clever, talented, creative girl, there was nothing she couldnt do.

Terror: Nell Jones, 14 died in the atrocity

She was going to be an architect and wanted to go to Columbia University in New York to study so that she could build hotels with slides coming out of the rooms and so that she could build her mum a house.

My wife is currently in intensive care, and Samantha is recovering from surgery as she tries to make sense of the devastating loss of her daughter.

School worker Wendy Fawell, 50, was killed as she waited in the arenas foyer to collect her teenage daughter as Abedi, 22, struck.

Ms Fawell, from Otley, had been standing near the exit with her friend Caroline Osborne at the time of the blast. Ms Osborne is said to be recovering from her injuries in hospital.

Michelle Kiss, 45, from Clitheroe, whose 12-year-old daughter Millie was photographed being tenderly comforted by a policewoman following the explosion, also died.

Pop superstar Mariah Carey paid tribute to fan Martyn Hett who was among those killed.

The singer posted a photo of the 29-year-old PR manager from Stockport wearing a fan T-shirt to her Instagram account, saying: Devastated to learn that one of the victims in Manchester was part of the #Lambily. RIP Martyn Hett.

We will cherish your memory forever. His family and all the families affected are in my thoughts and prayers. MC
P olice hunting the suspected Manchester bombmaker today dramatically stopped sharing secret information with US law enforcement agencies after damaging leaks.

In a humiliating rebuff for the CIA and FBI, police chiefs in Britain cut the flow of information across the Atlantic after detailed photographs of the scene of carnage at the Manchester Arena were published in the New York Times.

US intelligence was also accused of risking British lives by prematurely publishing the name of the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, 22, which raised fears it could have prompted his associates to go into hiding or bring forward plans for other atrocities.

Theresa May, MI5 and MI6 chiefs and senior Whitehall officials were said to be furious at the leaks.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

The Prime Minister was set to raise the matter with Donald Trump at a Nato meeting in Brussels today.

However, it is not the first time that the US authorities have played fast and loose with confidential British information.

They are also accused of:

Risking the life of a British double agent, who had infiltrated al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, by revealing details in 2012 about a second and more sophisticated underpants bomb plot.

Leaking information about printer cartridges bomb plots to bring down cargo jets which were foiled after a tip-off from Saudi Arabian security forces, with one of the devices found in a plane at East Midlands Airport in 2010.

Giving out details of how bombs were made that were used in the July 7 2005 London terror attacks in which 52 people were killed.

Lord Blair, who was Metropolitan Police Commissioner at the time, described the Manchester leaks, which included pictures of shrapnel from the bomb, as a very grievous breach, adding: It remains me exactly of what happened after 7/7.

Asked about Mrs Mays reaction, a Whitehall source said: Furious. That was the reaction across Whitehall.

Security sources said: Counter-terrorism policing has temporarily ceased sharing information with US law enforcement partners relating to the Manchester investigation only.

Two more arrests as anti-terror police hunt Manchester bomber's 'network'

This is until such time we have assurances that no further unauthorised disclosures will occur.

Lord Blunkett, who as Home Secretary put armed forces on the streets in 2003 to foil a terror plot to down a plane, warned that the leaking would undermine trust between the intelligence agencies.

Security experts stressed the leaking of Abedis name could have cost lives and the pictures of his bomb remains could help other terrorists to build devices.

Former army officer Tom Tugendhat, seeking re-election as Tory MP for Tonbridge and Malling, said: Leaking the name could undermine the investigation by warning conspirators to hide or bring forward any plans they may have had.

It is deeply unhelpful and could endanger others.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Tributes in lights 1 /13 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Tributes in lights Wembley Stadium lit up after the Manchester concert bomb attack PA A man stands in front of a fountain illuminated with the colours of the Union Jack flag in Zagreb AFP/Getty Images A "We Love Manchester" sign on the Mancunian Way in Manchester, after the Manchester concert bomb attack PA Penshaw Monument in Sunderland illuminated in the colours of Union flag after the Manchester concert bomb attac PA A moment of silence is held for the attacks in Manchester before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers in Boston, Massachusetts Getty Images the Burj Khalifa in Dubai lit up with the union flag in tribute to the victims of the Manchester attack NYCs Empire State Building goes dark in remembrance of the Manchester Attack victims People sit in front of the famous water fountain"Le Jet d'Eau" illuminated in the colors of the British flag to pay tribute to the victims of a suicide attack EPA The downtown Dallas skyline is lit up with a British Union flag to pay tribute to the victims of the Manchester bombing James Breeden / MEGA Belfast City Hall illuminated in the colours of Union flag after the Manchester concert bomb attack PA

The row escalated as a minute silence was held at 11am across Britain for the 22 victims of the Manchester terror attack, as more were named including Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from Barra in the Outer Hebrides.

She was at the concert with friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, who was seriously injured and remains in hospital.

Two more men were arrested by police in Greater Manchester overnight, bringing the number in UK custody to eight.

A woman detained in the Blackley area of Manchester last night was later released without charge.

As the search for the suspected bombmaker continued at pace today, MI5 and police faced claims that they were repeatedly warned about Abedi, including allegedly by a member of his family.

Mrs May also faced calls to strengthen restrictions on terror suspects which were watered down when she was Home Secretary, under pressure from the Liberal Democrats and some Tory MPs.

Just seven people in the UK are currently subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, known as TPIMs, despite more than 2000 people on the security services radar.

However, they are seen as less stringent than control orders which they replaced on 2012.

Lord Blair said: The TPIM regime is a much weaker system than the control orders they replaced. Im sure we are going to have to look at them again.

Meanwhile, counter terror police were investigating reports that Abedi was in the German city of Dusseldorf, a hotbed of radical Islamism, four days before the attack.
A mum's life was saved by her mobile phone which shielded her from shrapnel blasted at her head in the Manchester terror attack.

Lisa Bridgett, 45, lost a finger after being struck by a steel nut in the explosion that killed 22 people at Ariana Grandes concert on Monday night.

The nut ricocheted off her phone and through her cheek before becoming lodged in her nose.

Mrs Bridgett had been holding the phone to her head as she spoke to a friend when the blast went off. The device is believed to have deflected the nut and saved her.

Lisa Bridgett was speaking on her phone when the bomb detonated / Wales News Service

Her husband Steve said: The fact she was on her phone at the time as probably saved her life.

The hit her phone which has more than likely not only diverted it, but also slowed it down considerably.

Pictures showed the iPhone bloodied and badly damaged by the impact of the nut.

Mrs Bridgett, who lives in Gwynedd, Wales, lost the middle finger of her left hand as the shrapnel hit her.

She also suffered a fractured ankle, a large bullet-style wound in thigh, and cuts and bruises.

Lisa Bridgett's bloodied shoe after the explosion that seriously injured her / Wales News Service

She was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary for treatment before being transferred to Wythenshawe Hospital.

Her husband wrote on Facebook: Lisa is in a positive mood and feels very lucky to be alive, witnessing first hand what could have been.

She has suffered multiple injuries including losing the middle finger from her left hand, which was caused by a steel nut that hit her finger then into her phone and eventually coming to rest in her nose.

Her nose is fine as the nut entered through her cheek, so just a scar to deal with!

The phone was badly damaged by the nut / Wales News Service

She'll have a pot on for a few weeks and pins in her ankle so a bloody pain in the arse at airport security.

But at the end of the day she will make a full recovery although I don't think the finger will grow back!

Mrs Bridgett, originally from Poynton in Cheshire, plans to meet a Manchester Arena steward to thank him after he helped her to safety as she was injured.

Mr Bridgett said: All of us want to thank the police for their incredible work after the incident and all the staff at both the MRI and Wythenshawe for all the work they have done and are doing and in particular Peter (the steward) at the MEN for helping Lisa outside and getting her to safety.

Twenty people remained in a critical condition in hospital on Wednesday after the suicide bomber Salman Abedi blew himself up in the foyer of Manchester Arena.
S uicide bomber Salman Abedi phoned his mother to beg for forgiveness hours before killing 22 people at Manchester Arena, according to investigators.

The 22-year-old "wanted revenge" for Western military strikes in the Middle East, according to Libyan authorities interrogating his family in Tripoli.

Abedi was known to the security services as a former "subject of interest" to the MI5 and his risk to the public remained "subject to review" before he carried out Monday's deadly attack, it emerged today.

Hours before blowing himself up he had phoned his mother and said "forgive me", according to a Libyan anti-terror official.

Libyan investigators believe Abedi acted alone when perpetrating the outrage, Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem added.

Chilling CCTV images appear to show Salman Abedi days before the Manchester bombing / Sky News

His father Ramadan and teenage brother Hashim were arrested on Wednesday.

Abedi's mother, Samia Tabbal, was said to have told them her son left the North African country bound for the UK four days before detonating his device at Manchester Arena.

Mr Bin Salem said of the final phone call: "He was giving farewell."

Hashim, 18, allegedly claimed his older brother learnt to build bombs from the internet, hoping to "seek victory for the Islamic State", Mr Bin Salem added.

But while Libyan authorities believe Abedi acted alone, British investigators remained focused on smashing a potential terror ring which may have assisted him.

Salman Abedi, far right, pictured as a schoolboy on a beach in Libya with friends

Police hunting the "network" behind his attack said they had made "significant" arrests and seized "very important" items in raids linked to the investigation. Eight people have been arrested in UK police raids since Monday.

After chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, Theresa May said the terror threat level will remain at critical - meaning another attack is expected imminently.

In an indication of the level of counter-terrorism activity, a senior Whitehall source revealed that 18 plots had been foiled since 2013 in Britain, including five in just nine weeks since the Westminster attack in March this year.

It is understood the scale of the threat being dealt with by counter-terror agencies is "unprecedented" and intelligence officers faced "difficult professional judgments" about where to focus their investigations.

Troops have been deployed to protect key sites after Britain's terror threat was raised to critical / AFP/Getty Images

The source said: "MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest (SOIs) at any one time.

"Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

"Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider reopening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgments based on partial information."

Abedi targeted music fans at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night, killing 22 people, including seven children, and injuring dozens in the worst terrorist incident to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

As a huge inquiry into the atrocity continued:

Eight people remained in custody in connection with the investigation.

Officers carried out searches at properties in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation."

The fallout continued in the extraordinary row sparked by the appearance of sensitive information from the probe in American media, with US President Donald Trump vowing to get to the bottom of "deeply troubling" alleged leaks.

The Queen visited some of the youngsters injured in the blast at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and condemned the "very wicked" attack.

NHS England said 23 people remained in critical care across eight hospitals. They include five children at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

The nation fell silent at 11am to mark the tragedy.

British Transport Police announced that specialist firearms officers were to patrol on board trains nationwide for the first time.

NHS England warned health organisations to "ensure care is in place should it be needed" as Britain remained on high alert in the run-up to the bank holiday weekend.

Investigations into Abedi's path to violent extremism were continuing apace.

The British-born son of Libyan parents, he had been banned from a mosque in Manchester after criticising an imam for "talking bollocks" during a sermon critical of the Isis terror group.

There have also been claims that authorities had been warned about concerns he was developing radical views.

Salman Abedi "wanted revenge" on the West, his sister said

The 22-year-old's father Ramadan and brother Hashim have been detained in Libya and another brother, Ismail, was arrested in Manchester on Tuesday.

The killer's sister, Jomana Abedi, told the Wall Street Journal her brother may have been reacting to US-led strikes in the Middle East.

"I think he saw children - Muslim children - dying everywhere, and wanted revenge," she said.

"He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God."

Police raided a flat in Manchester city centre believed to have been used by Abedi / AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, apparent leaks of material relating to the investigation, including evidence photographs from the scene of the attack - were said to have caused "distress and upset" to victims' families.

Defending its decision to publish the pictures, the New York Times said: "The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes."

The Prime Minister said she would raise the leaks with Mr Trump in the margins of a Nato summit in Brussels, stressing that the "special relationship" was based on trust.

President Trump vowed to investigate, calling the leaks "deeply troubling".
T he off-duty police officer killed in the Manchester terror attack was named today as her family said she would not want people to be "frightened by fear tactics."

Elaine McIver, 43, was killed in the blast on Tuesday night. Her husband is fighting for life in hospital and her two children were injured.

In a statement, her family said "she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics".

The statement read: "Elaine was a much-loved daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague, the best we could ever have wished for.

Manchester attack: Mother's emotional appeal at vigil

"She was everyone's friend, thoughtful beyond belief, with an effervescent and outgoing personality.

"She would have been devastated by the injuries sustained by her partner Paul, and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Manchester Arena explosion 1 /18 Manchester Arena explosion PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA

"Elaine just loved life, and had a major love of music. Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics; instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.

"Although we will all miss her beyond belief, we absolutely know she will live in our hearts forever."

Fellow police officers from around the country have been posting tributes to Ms McIver since news of her death broke.

One tribute said: "Thank you for your service PC Elaine McIver, thoughts are with family and @cheshirepolice colleagues, so heartbreaking #Manchester."

And the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales wrote: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of DC Elaine McIver and her colleagues at @CheshirePolice: We are thinking of you all."

Cheshire Chief Constable Simon Byrne said Ms McIver was a detective constable who joined the force 20 years ago, becoming a regular officer in September 1998.

He said: "Elaine worked in Ellesmere Port, Warrington and in the economic crime unit at headquarters in Winsford before moving to the regional organised crime unit, Titan, in 2013.

"Friends who knew her well have described her as big-hearted, bubbly and a positive person.

"We are supporting her family at this very difficult time, and will be providing support for friends and colleagues from the constabulary as we come to terms with the loss of an officer in such tragic and heart-rending circumstances. We will not let evil win."

Cheshire police and crime commissioner David Keane said: "Our thoughts are with Elaine's family, friends and colleagues. I know this is an extremely difficult time and that great sadness has been felt across the constabulary and the wider community - from colleagues and friends in Cheshire to her current team at Titan.

"We will be doing everything we can to support Elaine's family and our officers and staff. It is at moments like this that we must remain unified and strong."

Teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 are the latest confirmed victims of the attack in Manchester / PA

The announcement of her death comes after teenage couple Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 were named among victims.

Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14 was also confirmed to have been killed in the attack today.

A total of 22 people were killed - and a further 120 injured - after the suicide bomb attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
T he Queen met victims of the Manchester bombing in a poignant visit to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital today.

Her Majesty called the massacre "wicked" as she met children injured in the blast as well as emergency staff who worked throughout the night in the aftermath of terror attack.

Twelve children under the age of 16 - among the 64 casualties - were taken to the hospital by ambulance following the terror attack.

The same hospital was visited by Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday afternoon.

Twenty-two people were killed and 59 wounded in the attack carried out by the mass murderer Salman Abedi.

The Queen personally gave her thanks to the heroic hospital staff who worked tirelessly to keep the children alive in the hours after the tragedy.

The monarch, 91, spent time at the bedside of Millie Robson, 15, from Co Durham, who was wounded in the attack. Her mother, Marie, and dad, David were at her bedside.

The Queen met staff at the hospital. / PA

The Queen asked Millie, who suffered injuries to her legs, if she had enjoyed the concert before the attack, prompting the teenager to reveal she had won two VIP passes and met the global superstar backstage.

The royal described the atrocity as "very alarming" and wished Millie a speedy recovery.

"It's not something you expect at all," the Queen said to father David, who was waiting at the exit of the arena for Millie when the bomb exploded.

She also spent time with Evie Mills, 14, from Harrogate, and her mother, Karen and father Craig.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

The Queen told victim Evie and her parents: "It's dreadful. Very wicked. To target that sort of thing."

Millie Robson, 15, was wearing an Ariana Grande t-shirt as she met and shared words with the royal visitor.

The Queen also met Amy Barlow, 12, from Helmshore, Lancashire.

The Queen visits Manchester victims 1 /6 The Queen visits Manchester victims Queen Elizabeth II speaks to Millie Robson, 15, who survived the attack in Manchester PA Queen Elizabeth II arrives to see victims and medical workers PA The Queen personally thanked members of staff who treated victims PA Escorted by Kathy Cowell (right) Chairman of the Central Manchester University Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II meets hospital workers PA The Queen shakes hands with staff at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital PA

She was joined by mum Cathy - who said she had not left the hospital since the pair were caught up in the attack - and dad Grant.

The group discussed the incredible community response to the atrocity before the Queen departed.

Earlier, the Queen described her shock at the targeting of young victims as she met several groups of clinicians, doctors, nurses and porters - all of whom had contributed to the emergency effort.

"The awful thing was that everyone was so young. The age of them," she told one member of staff.

She learnt about the role each had played on the night - including how many had come in from home to offer their help - and commended them for "coming together".

The royal visitor was met by the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Warren Smith as she arrived.

Her visit came shortly after staff gathered outside the hospital for a minute's silence, when they remembered those who had lost their lives, before bursting into spontaneous applause.

Children as young as eight were among those killed when Salman Abedi, 22, detonated an improvised explosive device minutes after pop star Ariana Grande finished performing at Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Her visit came shortly after people up and down the UK held a moving silence to remember the victims.

Millions of people have observed a minute's silence marking the nation's solidarity with those who were killed and injured in the blast as well as others affected by the atrocity.

The largest gathering was in St Ann's Square in Manchester, where thousand stood around the floral tributes that have been laid since the tragedy on Monday.
T he suicide bomb used by Salman Abedi is thought to have been built using hydrogen peroxide and could have been made on his kitchen table, it was revealed today.

Security sources say it police and intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that Abedi had help in building the bomb but could have made it himself.

Police are hunting for bomb making material which is still believed to be outstanding from the attack.

Counter terror detectives are believed to be close to identifying where the suicide device used in the Manchester Arena attack was constructed but there are still fears that associates of the bomber may be on the loose.

The remains of the rucksack / Via: New York Times

It came amid reports that the army bomb disposal experts were racing to a college in the Trafford area today in response to an incident.

Police and the security agencies still believe that he had help in constructing his device, but sources say they have not ruled out the possibility that he did much of the work himself.

Detectives investigating the attack carried out two further arrests last night and police are engaged in carrying out searches of 10 addresses.

Bomber: Salman Abedi

The development came amid reports that Abedi travelled to Germany in the days immediately before the Manchester attack.

The killer was in Dusseldorf just four days before he detonated a nail bomb in the Manchester Arena killing 22 people and injuring dozens more, it was claimed today, as further details emerged of possible links to a wider European terror network.

As the hunt for Abedis associates continued, one report quoted German security sources saying the fanatic flew to and from the city directly from Manchester.

The German city is in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia where Anis Amri, 24, worshipped at Jihadist mosques shortly before he ploughed a stolen lorry into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market killing 11 people.

Officials are examining if Abedi had accomplices in Germany or received any explosives training or had been radicalised by radical preachers there.

The development will raise further questions for the security services as to how the 22-year-old bomber was allowed to slip through the net and travel with ease around Europe without apparently being on a terror watchlist.

Earlier it emerged that a Muslim community worker revealed how worried members of the public reported Abedi to a police anti-terrorism hotline because of his extreme and violent views.

The community worker told the BBC that two people who knew Abedi at college made separate calls to the police after becoming worried that he was supporting terrorism and had expressed the view that being a suicide bomber was OK.

In another development a senior US congressman says the explosives used in the Manchester Arena were the same as those used in the Islamic State extremists attacks on Paris in November 2015 and Brussels in March 2016.

One theory is that Abedi was part of a larger circle of fanatics that included Mohamed Abrini, known as the man in the hat, who had links to the Brussels and Paris attacks. Abrini visited Manchester in 2015.

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Detectives are believed to be investigating possible links between Abedi and al-Qaeda bombmaker Abd al-Basset Azzouz, who lived on the same street as the bomber in Manchester around the year 2000.

Azzouz was a leading member of a tight-knit community of Libyan refugees who settled in south Manchester and was later identified by the US as one of the worlds most dangerous terrorists.

He fled Britain and was later said to be running an al-Qaeda network in eastern Libya.

The details about the Manchester-born bombers radicalisation and warnings about his extremism raise questions about why he was not more closely monitored.

Texas Republican Mike McCaul, chairman of the House homeland security committee, told AP that all three attacks used the explosive TATP.

The Manchester bomb was a classic explosive device used by terrorists, he adding that it suggested a level of sophistication that might indicate its maker had foreign training

In Manchester police said they had made two further arrests overnight bringing the number of people held in connection with the bombing to eight.

Police believe they have identified a core number of Abides associates in the city but have not ruled out finding further leads as the inquiry continues.

One of the men was detained following searches of an address in the Withington area of the city, while another was arrested in a part of Greater Manchester that was not disclosed.

A series of raids were executed across Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton in Warwickshire yesterday, while relatives of Abedi were detained in Libya.

In the early hours today, counter-terror police carried out a controlled explosion at a property in the Moss Side area of Manchester, although no arrests were reported by police.

Armed police wearing balaclavas blasted open the front door of the terraced house in an early-morning raid linked to the bombing.

Neighbours said they were frightened to death and terrified as the controlled explosion took place at an address in Lindum Street at about 1.50am.

Lorna Reilly, 26, described being woken up by a massive bang.

She said: The house shook. I ran to my front bedroom window and armed police were stood outside and one shouted back from the window.

I didnt see anything after that. I went into my back bedroom and stayed there. It was terrifying.

A woman arrested in the Blackley area of Manchester yesterday has been released without charge.

Abedis father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli with his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was aware of all the details of the attack.

His older brother Ismail, 23, was detained in south Manchester, on Tuesday.

Ramadan Abedi had earlier claimed Salman was innocent, saying: We dont believe in killing innocents. This is not us.

In another development it was claimed Abedi phoned his nuclear scientist mother in Libya minutes before his murderous attack.

A spokesman for Libyan authorities said one of Abedis final acts was to ring his mother. The official also said his brother Hashim had told officials: I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester.
A n appeal court has ruled against Donald Trumps travel ban which targets six Muslim majority countries.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the Republican's administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit is the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban.

"Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation," the chief judge of the circuit, Roger L Gregory wrote.

President Trump will likely appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Courts are likely to consider President Trump's past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country.

Mr Trump's administration argued that the court should not look beyond the executive order, which does not mention religion.

The countries were not chosen because they are predominantly Muslim but because they present terrorism risks, the administration says.

Some of the 13 judges on the appeals court that heard arguments earlier this month look set to dismiss the administration's argument.
E mmanuel Macron had a hard time letting go of Donald Trump when they shook hands during their first face-to-face meeting on Thursday.

The French president, in a dark suit and blue tie, gripped Donald's right hand so firmly that their knuckles turned white.

Images have emerged from the photo session at the US ambassador's residence in Brussels which show Trump finally giving up, his fingers loosened while Macron is still holding on tightly.

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post said: Trump tried twice to release and Macron held on tight It was quite a handshake, two alphas.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron / AP

Meanwhile Twitter users were quick to declare Macron, who at 39 is Frances youngest leader, the victor.

The awkward exchange came after Donald Trump appeared to refuse to shake German Chancellor Angela Merkels hand during an awkward joint appearance at the White House in March.

After their meeting, Trump and Macron had veal filet and Belgian chocolate mousse for lunch.
A riana Grande and her manager Scooter Braun have told fans they will not let evil win in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.

Grande and Braun sent their love to those who lost family members after a suicide bomber killed 22 people and left dozens injured at Grandes Manchester Arena concert on Monday night.

They praised the courage and bravery of Mancunians who offered to help those injured or stranded following the devastating attack.

In a statement on Instagram, Braun wrote: The last 48 hours have been beyond devastating. As a father I cannot express my sorrow and my rage at this cowardice act. These were children. They were attacked because of our way of life. Our love of freedom and each other. There are no words that will comfort.

There is nothing that can be said to make 22 return to their families today. I am so so sorry for their loss. I am so sorry to all those affected.

Thank you to people of Manchester who have come together to help save lives and give shelter. Your courage and bravery is our hope. As I stated last night let's please all hold the victims, their families, and all those affected in our hearts and prayers.

From myself and my friend @arianagrande ...We are with you Manchester. We will not let evil win! Never!

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

Grande, who was unhurt, previously told fans that she had been left broken.

She has since cancelled her Dangerous Woman tour dates, including two at London's O2 Arena, to pay proper respects to those lost.

Braun had previously issued a statement in the aftermath of the attack, saying: Our hearts are broken. Words cannot express our sorrow for the victims and families harmed in this senseless attack.

We mourn the lives of children and loved ones taken by this cowardly act. We are thankful for the selfless service tonight of Manchester's first responders who rushed towards danger to help save lives.

We ask all of you to hold the victims, their families and all those affected in your hearts and prayers.
A riana Grande has topped the iTunes chart with her single One Last Time after fans launched a campaign to get the track to Number one in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.

Grande, 23, was performing at Manchester arena when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated an explosive, killing 22 people and injuring dozens, on Monday night.

Fans have been downloading the song in tribute to the victims of the devastating attack.

People are also sharing clips of Grande singing the poignant song during the concert.

The single, from her album My Everything, looks set to re-enter the Top 40 on this weeks Official Singles Chart after climbing from outside the Top 200 overnight to Number 35.

The track originally peaked at Number 24 on its release in back in June 2015.

Grande has cancelled a string of dates on the European leg of her Dangerous Woman tour in order to pay her proper respects to those lost.

Tributes paid to victims of Manchester terror attack

The pop superstar, who tweeted that she had been left broken by the attack, had been due to perform at London's O2 arena on Thursday and Friday.

Grande also released a joint statement with her manager Scooter Braun, telling fans they will never let evil win.

Tom Hardy launched a JustGiving page to raise some funds as a gesture of goodwill and love for The British Red Cross because the families and children will need support.

The Taboo actor described the attack as an inconceivable atrocity and urged fans to help in some small way towards repairing some if any of the damage done.

Titled Tom Hardy's Manchester Emergency Fund, the page has raised 18,000  surpassing its 15,000 target.
T om Hardy has launched a fundraising page to support the victims of the Manchester terror attack.

Hardy, 39, set up the JustGiving page to raise some funds as a gesture of goodwill and love for The British Red Cross because the families and children will need support.

Twenty two people were killed and dozens were left injured after suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated an explosive in the foyer of Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

The father-of-two described the attack as an inconceivable atrocity and urged fans to help in some small way towards repairing some if any of the damage done.

'Atrocity': Tom Hardy is urging fans to donate to The British Red Cross

Titled Tom Hardy's Manchester Emergency Fund, the page has raised 18,000  surpassing its 15,000 target.

On the page, the Taboo actor explained: What happened last night at the AG concert in Manchester was a tragedy; families and children attacked and murdered; in a place where they should be safe and enjoying a concert.

Manchester attack: Mother's emotional appeal at vigil

It is an inconceivable atrocity. There is no bringing back those who have been lost, pointlessly, in such a cowardly and brutal fashion. I am truly saddened by what I have witnessed and there is no doubt that Terrorism is an evil thing.

I hope between us we can raise some funds as a gesture of goodwill and love to help in some small way towards repairing some if any of the damage done in the wake of last nights events.

There will be much to do and for many the beginning of a new life without those that they love and also a new life damaged irrevocably by the actions of a crime which has no reason, no heartfelt purpose but was simply a cruel cowardly and barbaric, meaningless act of violence. A road to recovery unimaginable.

He finished: Terrorism is abhorrent, the killing of innocent families and children unacceptable. And it is with those, the innocent victims and the witnesses of this atrocity that my heartfelt concern and deepest sympathy lies. Please help however you can. Thank you .
N oel Fielding has denied that he found it difficult to bond with Paul Hollywood on the set of The Great British Bake Off.

A representative for the comedian has rubbished reports that the pair had little in common when they kicked off filming for the series debut on Channel 4.

Noel has confided in pals that he and Paul werent instantly on the same page, a source told The Sun.

Theyre chalk and cheese. Noel is offbeat, whereas Paul can be gruff and by-the- book. When they met, Noel realised how little they have in common.

Candice Brown: BBC'S Final Great British Bake Off Winner 1 /16 Candice Brown: BBC'S Final Great British Bake Off Winner Jane Beedle (right), Andrew Smyth and Candice Brown, who has been crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions/BBC Mary Berry with Candice Brown, who was crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off Love Productions/BBC Paul Hollywood hugging Candice Brown, who has been crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off Love Productions/BBC Candice Brown won the Great British Bake Off Love Productions/BBC Mary Berry shaking hands with Candice Brown, who has been crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday October 26, 2016. The PE teacher, 31, took the title ahead of rivals Jane Beedle and Andrew Smyth and said it was the biggest moment of her life so far Love Productions/BBC Mary Berry with Candice Brown, who was crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off Love Productions/BBC Candice Brown, who has been crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off Love Productions/BBC Candice is embraced by her proud boyfriend Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions/BBC Candice in action during her Showstopper Tom Graham/Love Productions/BBC Candice decorating and piping Love Productions/BBC Candice in action during her Showstopper Joseph Cavaciuti/Love Productions/BBC Candice in action during her technical challenge Tom Graham/Love Productions/BBC

The source claimed that Hollywood had initially tried to find a connection through his love of cars.

Paul is a total petrolhead, so to break the ice, he asked Noel if he likes cars. Noel told him he doesnt drive, they said.

There were a few tumbleweed moments like that. There was never any tension but it wasnt the love-in Paul had with Mel and Sue and Mary Berry.

Great British Bake Off line-up stirs up fans

However, representatives for comedian Noel have now denied the rumours.

After the BBC lost a bidding war over the hit baking show, it was announced that it would be moving to Channel 4.

But with Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins and Berry all quitting over the channel change, a new judge and two new hosts were needed.

Fielding will present the show with QIs Sandi Toksvig and Leith will join Hollywood as a judge.

The new series of the Great British Bake Off will air on Channel 4 later this year.
On May 15, Governor Ricketts used his line item veto to pare down the States biennial budget. This step was necessary due to decreasing revenues coming into the States General Fund. State revenues have been down 11.4 percent overall for the year. Last week the State Legislature upheld each of the Governors line item vetoes. Because I believe even more cuts may be coming later this year, I voted to uphold each of the Governors line item vetoes.

After analyzing the Governors cuts to the budget, though, I became concerned about the impact that these cuts might have on our nursing homes and other critical programs for those who are most in need. So, I investigated the matter for myself. After talking with the Governor, I have since been assured that his budgetary cuts wont have any adverse effects on our nursing homes. The Governors cuts were made to a block appropriation (a lump sum) for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Consequently, DHHS will not be reducing funding for our nursing homes; instead, areas have been identified where these cuts may be applied on peripheral programs without any debilitating effects on our nursing homes.

The Governor also cut $11.8 million in Medicaid spending for each of the next two fiscal years. This amounts to a 1.40 percent reduction in Medicaid spending. However, this will not mean that providers will receive across-the-board rate reductions. Again, the cuts were made to a block appropriation for Medicaid spending in the biennial budget. So, when Calder Lynch, the Medicaid Director, testified before the Health & Human Services Committee on May 18, he assured the committee members that Heritage Health would continue to fund all of their programs and services.

The situation is similar for the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Governor Ricketts vetoes amount to a 2.12 percent reduction for each of the next two fiscal years for the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DD). DD received the largest decrease, so it has been charged with the responsibility of managing their programs within their appropriated funds while minimizing adverse effects to critical services and without limiting access to programs for eligible individuals and families. They are now looking for ways to cut spending without eliminating these programs or services.

The Division of Behavioral Health will get a 1.62% reduction for each of the next two fiscal years. Again, this should not be misconstrued as across-the-board reductions. The Division of Behavioral Health will make cuts in non-core programs, such as training, special projects, initiatives, and administrative costs. Critical services will remain intact and will continue to be funded.

Finally, the Division of Children and Family Services will receive a 0.38 percent reduction for each of the next two fiscal years. This will not result in across-the-board rate reductions. Instead, Children and Family Services (CFS) will manage their appropriated funds in ways which minimize adverse effects to their programs and services. For instance, CFS plans to change how it administers drug testing contracts in order to garner enough savings to survive the Governors line item veto.

As you can see, while the Governor made several necessary cuts to our States biennial budget by exercising his power of the line item veto, none of these cuts will have any adverse effects on essential programs and services for those who need them. Instead, each of the departments named above are finding ways to cut spending without eliminating essential programs or compromising the quality of their services. I believe this will be good for Nebraska. In the end our State Government will be run with a higher degree of efficiency.
Sundays Gering High School graduation was a first for me.

It was the first time I attended the GHS graduation without a camera around my neck, a camera bag over my shoulder and a reporters notebook in my hand.

Instead of covering this years graduation for the newspaper I was there for my niece, Jaylee Stamans, graduation.

As an added bonus, I was able to watch a number of former writers who worked for me at the Gering Courier, Brianna Eckerberg, Keltie Imus and Jim Eastman graduate. Then there was Rebecca Svoboda who works for my wife at The Daily Grind Coffeehouse.

Though it seemed strange cheering as their names were announced instead of taking pictures of them, it was exciting. I found myself smiling from ear to ear and wiping away tears. The tears were of pride and joy.

Unfortunately, a day later I was wiping tears away again, but these were from sadness and anger. I found myself heartbroken as reports came in about a bomb exploding at the close of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

Twenty-two people killed, over 50 injured. Many of the dead and injured were no older than my niece and her fellow graduates. Some, were even younger.

One of the youngest was 8-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos. Another is 15-year-old Olivia Campbell.

A 14-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 17-year old-are still among the missing.

I had to make sure I had my sister. I grabbed hold of her and pulled hard, teenager Abigail Walker told the BBC. Everyone was running and crying. It was absolutely terrifying.

It is a far cry from the cheering and joy of Sundays graduation. A far cry from anything Ariana Grande, her fans at the concert and their loved ones at home ever imagined.

A suicide bomber, described rightfully by President Trump as an evil loser, inflicted the horror.

The radical Islamic group ISIS has taken credit for the attack.

How anyone could see such a cowardly attack on innocent young people as anything but barbaric is unthinkable. Such evil losers have no place among civilized human beings.

This is not the first cowardly attack by these evil losers and will probably not be their last.

England is now on high alert, unsure if another evil loser is preparing another cowardly sucker punch.

How will England respond? That is uncertain at this time, but if and when our friends do respond, America must stand in unity and support.

I think of Jim, Keltie, Brianna, Rebecca and Jaylee. We need to do everything possible to pass on to them an America that is strong, free and willing and able to stand tall against the evil losers of this world.

I cant imagine what it would have been like if instead of a concert in Manchester an evil loser had picked a graduation in western Nebraska.

I look back on my first graduation as an onlooker. I think of Jim, Keltie, Brianna, Rebecca, Jaylee and all their fellow graduates. Young men and women I am so very proud of. But I must also look back at my not first terrorist attack as an onlooker. I think of Saffie Rose, Olivia and 20 others who were killed not by a soldier, martyr, or warrior but instead by a worthless evil loser.
My buddy Eric Fowler called last week. Hes a writer/photographer who used to work here a couple of decades ago. These days he works in Lincoln for Nebraskaland magazine.

We try to get together once or twice a season to do some fishing, usually in the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, which is roughly halfway between here and there in the middle of the Sandhills. Eric literally wrote the book on fishing the Sandhills (youll find his guide among the publications on the Nebraska Game and Parks web site). He said he was thinking about heading that way and wondered if I could make the trip. I told him Id look into it.

The next day, Editor Brad Staman asked if Id be willing to take an assignment on short notice: When Sen. Deb Fishers not in Washington D.C., she lives on a ranch near Valentine; she and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue were going to be meeting there with some ranchers.

Fate favors fishermen, I guess. I told him Id go.

I called Eric back and he booked us a cabin at Big Alkali Lake, where theres a vintage fish camp right out of your grandpas old Field and Stream magazines. The cabins arent much more than wooden tents. The word ramshackle comes to mind: waferboard ceiling (probably wooden slats until they were ready to cave in), no insulation, bed, stove, sink, refrigerator and an outhouse out back. Perfect.

The mission called for me to drive over and find Fischers ranch based on some sketchy backroad directions. A bunch of pickups were already parked when I found the end of her long muddy driveway. A few grim dudes sat outside in black SUVs. Im pretty sure they didnt expect anybody to show up pulling a boat. But after doing my journalist thing at the press conference, Id be free to fish for the rest of the weekend.

Or so I thought. Two days of steady rain had turned into three, with a heavy dose of wet snow on Saturday. On the bright side, the ranch was only a few miles from the campground. Eric pulled in a little while after I got there, arriving from the south over a slippery coat of slush.

At least our cabin was dry. The one next door had a puddle in front that was seeping into the doorway. We sat around moping awhile after it became clear that the storm wasnt ready to let up and took off for a steak joint in Valentine. It didnt quit raining until just before sundown.

The next morning we tried Pelican Lake. The refuge has a menu of interesting lakes where youre allowed to fish, a few of them several miles long, and a bunch more that are off limits. Eric planned to dive in a couple of the fishing lakes. (He drives around with a kayak on his roof, a pair of leaky waders and a pile of camera gear. He once cut a hole through the winter ice at some lake and jumped in, just so he could write about how it feels.) He got scuba training and has the whole rubber diving suit and tanks so he can kick around shooting underwater photos. We put the dive off until the afternoon, when we hoped it might warm up.

We discovered that three days of rain, snow and cold nights had dropped the temperature at Pelican Lake by 16 degrees over three days. The fish must have been stunned. We explored one side of the lake and came back up the other and caught only one small pike.

The rules are pretty strict on the refuge. You can use an electric trolling moter, but no outboards. You cant camp overnight, and you have to be off the refuge by sunset. You cant use live minnows. Some lakes have length restrictions for certain fish. Big Alkali is a state wildlife management area and isnt part of the refuge. Its a handy place to pitch a tent or rent a cabin, and you can recharge a trolling motor battery without running back to town. Until last weekend Id only camped there, because the lake is usually turbid and not very inviting. With a lot of time left in the day, we decided to take a longer look at it. Theres no limit on motors, and no unusual limits on fish or bait. We figured we had nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Eric called a friend who told us its a actually great lake for crappies and good for a few other fish. He directed us to a creek that pours out enough clear water to push back the milky stuff, leaving an band of tea-colored Sandhills habitat close to shore. We spent the rest of the day casting until distant lightning persuaded us to head back to camp, but caught only a few pike. I had a big one bite through a 25-pound fluorocarbon leader. Eric caught a thick-bodied 35-incher that weighed more than 10 pounds.

After I took a few hero shots we put it on a stringer and were planning on eating it, but it was so strong that it wrenched open the clip and escaped. Its just as well. We had a couple of steaks, a stack of firewood and comfortable lawn chairs waiting back in camp.
An 80-year-old Statesville man was hospitalized Wednesday night after a man broke into his Buffalo Shoals Road home, dragged him out of bed and robbed and shot him, according to a Statesville Police Department press release.

During the incident, the victim fired a shot of his own before the suspect took off, according to the release.

Police say Marcus Dshawn Brown, 40, of Statesville is responsible for the crime.

The victim is being treated at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, according to reports. He is expected to recover.

About 11 p.m., a man wearing a black mask forced his way into the victims back door, dragged him out of bed and demanded money, the release said.

In response, the victim reached for a nearby gun and fired a shot.

Brown then pistol-whipped the victim several times and shot the man before making off with his weapon and cash, according to the release.

Brown then went to a home in the 600 block of Newbern Avenue and had someone drive him to Carolinas Medical Center in Concord for treatment of a gunshot wound, police said.

After learning of Browns arrival at the hospital, investigators went to the Newbern Avenue residence and found evidence that linked him to the home invasion, the release said.

Police plan to charge Brown with first-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, common law robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and larceny of a firearm.
Good-grief books can be distracting.

Shopping to do, dishes to wash, food to cook  but another world calls softly to you as you go about your day.

The worlds and stories between the lines whisper at us to join them.

The knowledge and thoughts of generations past, their wisdom journaled for our inquisitive eyes, sits waiting.

You open your phone reader in the doctors office, but you are called back before you finish the page.

You reach for a book at home, and then the phone rings.

All you want is a question answered, a question you have not even thought to ask yet.

All you want is to share a thought with someone who lived 300 years ago, and know you had their same thought only last week.

All you want is to read that last book your favorite author wrote.

Sometimes a few hours and a quiet spot is all you need.

Sometimes life calls you away.

The answer is in a book somewhere, in my own blessed library. Still in my coat I revisit my book piles, trying not to be sidetracked nor lured into another dimension. I pretend not to notice After-Dinner Declarations by Nicanor Parra or Audens Letters from Iceland . I momentarily open Jim Carrolls The Petting Zoo, essential to anyone in search of concrete delirium, then immediately close it. Sorry, I tell them all, I cant revisit you now, its time to reel myself in.

Patti Smith, M Train
The Babes-Bolyai University (UBB) will bestow on His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales, the Doctor Honoris Causa title, within a solemn ceremony that is to take place on 29 May. "On his first visit to Cluj, the heir of the British Royal Crown will be bestowed the honorific title within an exclusive ceremony, where a limited number of journalists are to be allowed," representatives of the UBB announced.

The ceremony will take place in the Aula Magna of the main building of the UBB, located on 1st M. Kogalniceanu Street. Prince Charles was in Romania at the end of March, when he paid a three-day visit, during which he attended no less than 12 official meetings and events.

On the first day of His Royal Highness' visit, the Prince laid a wreath of poppies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Carol Park and he was decorated by President Klaus Iohannis with the Grand Cross of the Star of Romania. On Thursday, 30 March, the Prince of Wales paid a visit to the "Dimitrie Gusti" Village Museum and the FARA Foundation. In the same day, Prince Charles was welcomed by prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu and Patriarch Daniel. In the evening, His Royal Highness went to the Elisabeta Palace and was celebrated within a reception held at the Athene Palace Hilton.

On 31 March, the last day spent in Romania, Prince Charles took a walk in the Capital's Old Centre where he admired the Stavropoleos Church and attended a performance at the National Theatre of Bucharest (TNB). At the end of the visit, the high dignitary guest went to the Hospice Casa Sperantei (Hospice House of Hope), where he attended a ceremony on the occasion of the 25 year anniversary of Hospice Casa Sperantei activity. His Royal Highness ended his official visit to Romanian at the School in Viezuresti village (Dambovita county).

On 31 May 2014, His Royal Highness received the Doctor Honoris Causa title from the University of Bucharest, the ceremony took place at the Aula Magna of the Law Faculty Palace. Prince Charles showed a special interest in Romania. Since 1997, he has visited Romania numerous times and got involved in preserving the Romanian cultural heritage. In 2006 he purchased in Viscri village (Brasov county) an estate which was owned by a family of Saxons, an old house built in 1758. Currently he has several estates in Romania.

Agerpres...
ST. LOUIS  A St. Louis man pleaded guilty to a federal "Stolen Valor" charge and admitted reaping about $4,300 by pretending to be a decorated, and wounded, veteran.

Mark B. Chartrand, 46, pretended to be a decorated veteran who had been wounded and had been awarded a Purple Heart, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Albus said during a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.

While on a trip to California while using another name, Chartrand showed his Purple Heart to his Airbnb hosts, and in consideration of that, they allowed him to stay even though his bill was delinquent, Albus said. They also loaned him money for car repairs, he said.

In all, received about $4,300 from his hosts before returning home, Albus said.

Chartrand pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $100,000. He will also have to pay restitution. He still faces bad check charges in St. Louis and Jefferson County, court records show.

In 2012, Chartrand was placed on probation for five years on a charge of impersonating a federal agent. He borrowed money from a "paramour," and pretended to be a "clandestine counter-terrorism operative" working overseas to delay repayment, his plea says.
UPDATED at 11:30 a.m. with death of woman, search for pickup truck.

ST. LOUIS  An Ameren subcontractor hired to fix a streetlight is the key witness to a bizarre crime in the Baden neighborhood Thursday morning.

The utility worker watched as the homeowner who called about the broken light was shot in the head and critically wounded in an alley.

Then, after the worker went to call for help, police arrived in the alley to find the injured homeowner -- and a second victim: a woman fatally shot in the head just 20 yards or so from where the homeowner fell.

The connection between the homeowner and the dead woman was still being sorted out by detectives. Her name has not been released. The homeowner, a man in his 50s, was in critical and unstable condition at a hospital.

Police officers are searching for the gunman and a mid-90s blue pickup truck he fled in. The truck has a camper shell. Police did not have information on the truck's make or model.

The utility worker wasn't hurt. After he saw the first shooting, he scrambled to his truck in the 1100 block of Canaan Avenue and drove off. He then parked a block or two away, in a spot he considered safe so he could make a phone call. He had the homeowner's cell phone number from the work order form, so he tried calling the homeowner. But suddenly, he looked up to see the suspect standing outside his vehicle.

The suspect demanded the utility worker's phone so he couldn't call 911. The suspect then drove away with the worker's phone. The utility worker returned to the scene about two hours later, to walk the alley with detectives to describe what he had seen.

The shooting happened at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Lt. John Green, commander of the St. Louis Police Department's homicide division, gave this account:

The utility worker, an electrician, showed up at a home on Canaan after a homeowner complained about a burned-out street light in the alley. The worker talked to the resident and they stood in the alley looking at the light that needed repairs.

Another man, who was a stranger to the utility worker, walked up to the resident and began talking to the resident. The two men shook hands and talked as if they knew each other

The suspect pulled a gun and fired a shot at the light that was out.

"You didn't need to do that," the utility worker told the shooter. He told the gunman that he was preparing to fix it anyway.

With that, the suspect shot the homeowner in the head, and the worker ran to his truck to escape, Green said.

The worker never saw the woman, and police have found no witnesses to the attack on her, Green said.

Neighbors said the male victim, nicknamed "Doc," was known in the block to cut people's grass and hold weekend parties to keep neighborhood children entertained. His home on Canaan, with a small blue plastic pool in the side yard, is about three houses from the vacant lot where he was shot.

Crime in the Baden neighborhood is up nearly 25 percent in the last six months from the same period a year earlier.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps proposed 2018 budget includes almost $382 million to acquire land and begin construction of a new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency complex in north St. Louis.

The beginning of that NGA project, and a proposal to build a new hospital and blood-processing center at Fort Leonard Wood in the Ozarks, would make Missouri the top state for new military construction in the fiscal year that begins in October if Trumps budget priorities are accepted.

On top of a proposed $1.4 billion for 14 new FA/18 Super Hornet fighter jets and $874 million for 34,529 JDAM GPS-guided bombs, all built by Boeing in and around St. Louis, the region would reap a large taxpayer defense-spending benefit from Trumps initial budgetary attempt to fulfill his promise to rebuild the military.

Final budget numbers are a long way from set in stone, and members of Congress have indicated they are likely to make major changes, especially to significant cuts that Trump wants to make in domestic spending.

The presidents budget as we all know is a recommendation, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as he was flanked by other members of the Senate GOP leadership, including Roy Blunt of Missouri. We will be taking into account what the president has recommended, but it will not be determinative in every respect.

Blunt said he was encouraged by Trumps proposal on the NGA construction, and said it would be one of my top priorities as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The new NGA facility in St. Louis was approved under the administration of President Barack Obama. There is bipartisan agreement among Missouri members of Congress from the region that it needs to go forward as part of the nations defense in a world of escalating intelligence and terrorist threats. The total cost of the new facility, which will host 3,000 NGA employees in an urban setting, has been estimated to be about $1.75 billion.

Members of the Illinois congressional delegation, who wanted the new NGA facility to be built near Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, have previously said they would consider fighting appropriations for the St. Louis site.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, Ill., maintains that the St. Clair County site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County is the superior location for NGA-West from a public safety, mission synergy and taxpayer cost perspective, Bost spokesman George OConnor said. He is continuing to monitor developments and will keep asking the tough questions as the budget and appropriations process unfolds.

Trump is proposing $811,000 for land acquisition and $381 million to begin construction in fiscal year 2018 for the NGA site. Its part of an overall request of about $11.2 billion for new military site construction and military housing around the globe, some of which goes to locations that are classified, according to briefings by Pentagon officials this week.

Of that, about $653 million would be spent in Missouri, trumping other states, such as California and Maryland, that have gotten large shares of military construction spending in recent budgets.

For instance, in a budget blueprint provided by the Pentagon, the Department of Defense was slated to spend about $7.7 million for construction in Missouri in the current fiscal year, but more than $436 million in Maryland and $585 million in California. Trumps 2018 budget would push Missouri to the top of the list.

Military construction spending in Illinois is expected to be about $76 million this year, according to the department, but the Trump budget does not ask for any new dollars for 2018.

Trumps military construction request also asks for $10 million for a new communications center at the Rosecrans Memorial Airport near St. Joseph, Mo., which is home to the 139th Airlift Wing, the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, and the Missouri Air National Guard.

It requests $250 million for the first phase of a new hospital at Fort Leonard Wood, and just under $12 million for a blood-processing center replacement on the base, which is about 130 miles west of St. Louis.
I arrived at the party thinking of it as a sort of crystal ball  a look 21 years into my future by visiting with folks celebrating their 70th high school reunion.

But I quickly abandoned that line of thought after finding myself seated among five women. They were delightful and robust, and seemed as sharp as the day they accepted their diplomas. But all of them were, uh, widows.

So Ill concentrate on their lives, not whatever is left of mine. In fairness, three men in good shape were at another table: two of them graduates, one a grads older husband. Add his wife and a woman who arrived late and it totals nine members of the East St. Louis Senior High School midterm Class of 1947. They are aware of only a few other living classmates.

A still-crisp program from the 8 p.m. Jan. 22, 1947, ceremony lists 60 graduating boys and 61 girls, by Louise McDaniels count. She hosted last weeks gathering at her home in Belleville. Attendees were 88 years old, give or take a year or two.

Their usual annual lunch spot, Fischers Restaurant, a Metro East landmark a few miles away and about their age, closed earlier this year.

The group did lots of reminiscing about people and places long gone in a city that later fell on very hard times.

Their old high school, at 900 Ohio Avenue, was replaced close to 60 years ago and eventually torn down. Several blocks away, the Shriners Ainad Temple, whose auditorium accommodated the graduation ceremony, remains.

Members of the class all are white, as blacks were then directed to Lincoln High School. Neighborhoods were similarly segregated at the time. And although one of the worst race riots in U.S. history had occurred in East St. Louis years before any of them was born, these folks remember childhoods free of racial tension  or most any other kind.

It was, in their telling, an idyllic upbringing in an era known to most people now only through sappy old black-and-white movies.

Consider a time before TV or air conditioning, when boredom and summer heat drove families outdoors, where they interacted with their neighbors. Windows were open. Laundry on clotheslines flapped in the breeze. Milk was delivered by horse-drawn wagon.

It was a time when you were seldom out of sight of someone you knew, an era when anyone could feel safe walking to school or stores, day or night.

They were fortunate to be too young to remember the full brunt of the Great Depression, which started about the time they were born, and too young to see combat in World War II, which ended a year and a half before graduation. They do vividly recall wartime hardships, such as the rationing of meat, gasoline and tires.

McDaniel said about 80 young men who had gone to war before finishing high school returned and received equivalency certificates at about the time she graduated. By then, the East St. Louis population was peaking, at more than 82,000. Its about a third of that now.

Among the grads I met, the women as well as the men took jobs. Most stayed in town initially, enjoying abundant work. As my father used to say, and my husband too, If you dont have a job here, you dont want one, Shirley Applegett Cuff told me. The local economy was so prosperous that apartments were relatively scarce, and houses were priced beyond the reach of most newlyweds.

At various times, and for various reasons, they scattered, but not far. Cuff eventually moved to Collinsville and retired in Glen Carbon. Helen Willard Conley, Helen Korba Thompson, Jean Rintoul Barschak and Charles Rutledge went to Belleville; June Benefiel Hartman to Caseyville; Connie Olsson Thomas to Waterloo; and Art Smith to Fairview Heights.

McDaniel, who lived with her husband in a house on 53rd Street, said they stayed in East St. Louis until mounting pressures of urban decay and falling property values drove them up the bluffs to Belleville in 1976. Now widowed, she remains in the lovely home they bought.

Her old house is still there, too. McDaniel slipped down for a look and returned with strong advice to her friends. It was awful. Dont go back.

Most told me they havent been there in a long time and dont plan to return.

Rutledge, who owned a construction company, said it was a lesson he learned many years ago. His company built a house in the city in 1955. As the communitys fortunes slid, he returned about 15 years later for a look. There was a tree growing through it, he said with a sigh.

For these people, East St. Louis 2017 is sad, but irrelevant. Their version of the city is forever locked in its early 20th-century glory, and they wouldnt have wanted to grow up anywhere else. We have a lot of good memories, Cuff explained. God took good care of us.
The Civil War is a tragic and unavoidable part of American history. The Confederacy lost, and the union was preserved. The Unions monumental victory was one that absolutely deserves commemoration in public places because the Union was fighting for a right and good cause.

Though the courage and dedication of Confederate fighters was admirable, their cause was not. It deserves to be taught, researched and analyzed as history  inside museums and libraries where the context of the Civil War and the Confederacys role in fighting to preserve slavery can be examined and dissected.

Americans do not need plaques and monuments that hold Confederate leaders out as heroes. They were on the losing side of history for a reason: The so-called Lost Cause was shameful. Their fight to split apart our nation failed because the rebels stood for values that right-thinking Americans abhor. By leading men to their deaths in defense of the supposed right of one human to own and enslave another, commanders did nothing to deserve places of honor.

Across the South, local governments and universities are rethinking the monuments that leaders decades ago erected to honor fallen Confederate fighters and commanders. The city of New Orleans has generated much controversy by dismantling four monuments erected to Confederate leaders that had adorned parks and squares, some for a century or more. South Carolinas Legislature voted to stop flying the Confederate battle flag from the statehouse grounds after the 2015 massacre of black churchgoers by a self-avowed white supremacist.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, echoing her predecessor, took a proper stand regarding relocation of the Confederate Memorial in Forest Park. Is this an urgent priority for a city immersed in crime, blight and budget problems? Hardly.

Whenever it happens, critics will protest, insisting that its an attempt to erase history. No, it is an effort to put Confederate history in its proper place, inside a museum.

Decisions to erect such monuments were made in a different era, when survivors of the Civil War still walked the streets and memories of major battles were still fresh on peoples minds. Debate about the war still raged. Not everyone was convinced that the right side won the war. Erecting such monuments helped keep the peace.

Confederate soldiers fought valiantly. But fighting valiantly for an abhorrent cause does not confer hero status on them. Slavery was wrong. Those who went to war to defend slave owners rights were dead wrong.

It took decades to name streets and schools, install busts and erect monuments commemorating the Confederates. Itll probably take decades more to reverse that process  and lots of money. Gravesite tombstones commemorate those who fell in battle, regardless of the side they were on. Monuments should be reserved for those who fought and sacrificed for honorable causes.
There was a police presence outside the Royal Shakespeare Theratre this afternoon in Stratford as flags flew at half mast across the district. Photos: Mark Williamson

Police have arrested a Warwickshire man in connection with Monday's terrorist attack in Manchester which left 22 people dead.

The man was arrested in Nuneaton yesterday (Wednesday).

Assistant chief constable Martin Evans from Warwickshire Police said: "I know many people in our communities will be very concerned about the raised terror level threat and the recent arrest in Nuneaton, our colleagues from Greater Manchester Police are leading on this investigation.

"We will continue to have increased high visibility police patrols across Warwickshire to provide community reassurance.

"I continue to urge the public to be vigilant, to remain alert but not alarmed and to report any suspicious activity to the police by calling the confidential anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789321. In an emergency always dial 999."

An atmosphere of heightened security has swept over Warwickshire in response to Mondays terrorist attack.

A number of organisations across Stratford-upon-Avon have also paid their respects to the victims of Mondays attack over the past two days.

St Gregorys Church, Stratford Town Hall, Warwickshire Police headquarters and Morrisons are all flying their flags at half-mast.

On Tuesday the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) requested that the bollards on Henley Street be raised, while both SBT and the RSC offered reassurance that they have security measures in place to deal with any major incident.

Chief constable Martin Evans at Warwickshire Police added: Following the tragic events in Manchester on Monday evening, the Prime Minister has increased the UK threat level to critical.

"Operation Temperer, the deployment of military personnel alongside and in support of police firearms officers, has also been authorised.

"This will enable armed officers from certain guarding duties to release officers across the UK to support the wider national response. This is part of an agreed and well-rehearsed national plan and where they are deployed, military personnel will remain under the command and control of the police service.

"Along with our partners we continue to do everything we can to help protect our communities. As you would expect, we are reviewing our activities, including those in crowded places and for pre-planned events and whilst at this time there is no intelligence to suggest a specific threat in Warwickshire we are continuing to provide a visible policing presence to offer reassurance to our communities.

"We have an established plan in place if it is necessary to manage the deployment of military personnel in Warwickshire and our security measures and activities are under constant review to reflect where the threats exist and the level of threat we are facing in the county.

"Acts of terrorism and hate crimes are committed by a small minority of people and are not representative of the public. This is a time for us all to work closely together and unite against those who seek, through violence and extremism, to intimidate or cause fear.

"There is also easy-to-remember national guidance of 'Run, Hide, Tell' - run to a place of safety, hide in a secure place, when it's safe to do so, tell police by calling 999."

For further information about reporting suspicious behaviour visit https://act.campaign.gov.uk/
Armed police were present at the RSC Theatre in Stratford last night as increased security measures were put in place across the country in response to Mondays terrorist attack in Manchester.

Catherine Mallyon, RSC Executive Director, said: Exceptional security measures are now in place throughout the country and these include an increased police presence, who may be armed, at key sites.

Last night (Thursday 25 May) we received confirmation that this includes our Stratford theatres.

Armed police were present as people exited the theatres last night, and in future the police will decide when this will happen. We remain in regular contact with the Police and Counter Terrorism services and follow all advice from the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO).

We have long had in place a thorough and ongoing staff training programme and, as readers of the Herald will know, this includes joint exercises with the emergency services.

This week, for example, we have refresher training on our Major Incident Plan, sessions that have been in the diary for quite some while.

In a tweet reassuring the public today Stratford Police Safer Neighbourhood Team said: Our priority is to protect our communities, so dont be alarmed if you see more officers out and about. Come and say hello."
Pakistan and China have inked agreements and MoUs to make Gwadar an international smart port city. The signing ceremony was held in Ministry of Commerce, the Peoples Republic of China and was witnessed by the Minister for Planning, Development & Reform Ahsan Iqbal and Balochistan CM Sanaullah Zahri.

Gwadar being gateway way to CPEC is highly valuable for Pakistan, and the government is using it as a bait to attract foreign investors.

Minister of planning and development Ahsan Iqbal said while talking on the occasion, Gwadar, a jewel of Pakistan, is being built at par with port cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. As the gateway to CPEC, it has already started attracting the interest of investors, however, Gwadar would become an international smart port city soon.

Ahsan Iqbal further asserted that Gwadar Eastbay Expressway project has also been initiated in the city. The expressway would be an 18.981 km long 4-lane expressway. He said, It would integrate Gwadar Port with the Makran Coastal Highway as well as with the free zone and future container terminal.

Due to Gwadar turning into an international port the economic activity in the country is rising, private investors from China, Turkey are investing in Pakistan. Turkish companies investments in Pakistan currently stand at $900 million with Chinese companies even further in numbers.

Minister said that we are not only targeting investors but also tourists. The government is trying to make Gwadar a tourism hub like Singapore, and for this purpose, the government is enhancing the infrastructure of the city.

Moreover, GDP of Pakistan is expected to rise to 5.2 percent, that would mark the highest GDP growth of the country in last nine years.

Feature image source: PortStrategy
According to Pemra, the first show cause notice was issued to ARY News for airing special transmission on Dawn Leaks report on May 10. In the said programme, Arshad Sharif drew a comparison between withdrawal of a tweet by the ISPR and the 1971 tragedy, said a press release. Drawing such a comparison is highly objectionable, derogatory and amounts of lowering the morale of Pakistan Army, it added.

A second notice was issued to the channel for casting aspersions against Pakistan Army in its programme The Reporters on May 16 by Arif Hameed Bhatti. The regulator said the programme was aired in violation of a warning it issued to TV channels on May 12, directing them not to air unverified or baseless news against the armed forces or spread hatred and uncertainty.

Directing the channels management to file replies to both the notices by June 1, the authority has asked its chief executive officer to appear in person for the personal hearing on the said date. In case of non-compliance, ex-parte proceedings shall be initiated against the TV channel, it said.
Todd Talks

By Todd Muller

Budget 2017 is delivering for Bay of Plenty exporters and the local economy that they contribute to by taking bold steps to improve access into rapidly emerging Middle Eastern Markets.

Traditionally when we think of large export markets that are ready to trade our mind immediately jumps to Asia. For the past decade our trade success has been largely defined by a very strong relationship with China, however, if we continue to be ambitious for our economy we always need to be looking for the next big thing.

I have just returned from the Middle East this week where I was hosted by the Qatari government in my capacity as chairperson of Parliaments Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee. If there is one thing I have taken away from the trip it is the scope of potential growth for New Zealand trade is huge.

The Gulf Cooperation Council members of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have an approximate combined population of 55 million. They are oil-rich and ready to trade with the world.

Budget 2017 will commit $53.3 million over the next four years to design, construct, operate and promote a New Zealand Pavilion that will allow Kiwi businesses to highlight their innovative products and services and open doors to new export markets at the World Expo, being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020. Yes, this is a substantial investment for the government to make, but to offer some context this equates to roughly 0.5 per cent of New Zealands current exports to the Gulf States.

Outside of the Gulf States there is also huge potential for trade with other Middle Eastern countries such as Iran for industries like sheep, beef and, crucially for the Bay of Plenty, kiwifruit. Iran, like the Bay, has well-established kiwifruit orchards and supply chains. They operate in a counter seasonal supply window to New Zealand which presents an opportunity for us to supply this enormous fruit- consuming market of 80 million people during their off-season.

As Europe and the United States look inward, New Zealand must look outward for new opportunities to grow our economy and pushing forward with a NZ-GCC Free Trade Agreement is a great place to start.





Todd with the Ambassador of the State of Qatar, HE Mr Nasser bin Hamad Mubarak Al Khalifa at the 17th Doha Forum recently held in Qatar.
Tauranga City Council is seeking Expressions of Interest for a long-term development partner to deliver its Heart of the City objectives.

The Heart of the City is a key strategic programme which involves TCC working in partnership with the private sector to create a vibrant, safe and successful city centre.

The immediate focus of the EOI is the development of a civic administration building, open civic space and a city centre hotel and conference centre. Council also wants to explore other medium-term aspirations within the programme, like a new central library, museum and performance venue.

City Transformation general manager Jaine Lovell-Gadd says it is likely there will be strong interest from throughout New Zealand for the project.

Our discussions with market experts suggest that the civic administration building project is likely to attract strong local and national interest due to the strength of the lease covenant  that is the reliability and duration of Tauranga City Councils lease requirements.

Our procurement approach of seeking a long-term development partner will offer value for money for the community, greater leverage across the civic precinct, and the potential to catalyse investments in cultural and/or commercial assets such as a library, museum and hotel.

City Transformation committee chair Larry Baldock says the museum, central library and performance venue projects require community consultation, funding and approval before they can proceed further.

However, these opportunities could potentially occur at the same time as the new Council building or within an agreed masterplan framework.

As part of the Civic Space Options Project, which began following the discovery of toxic mould in Councils Willow Street buildings in November 2014, council developed a masterplan framework for the city centre.

This plan includes a new civic administration building with surrounding open space, hotel and conference centre, museum, central library and performance venue.

In September 2016, TCC allocated $27.5 million to work with the private sector to deliver a new civic administration building with surrounding open space for council to lease on the Willow Street site, including the Durham Street site, and $800,000 for detailed business cases for a new library and museum and indicative business case for a performance venue.

Council will continue to own the land at 91 Willow Street, if this is selected as the development site.

AN INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE CITY

Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless says Tauranga has a shared aspiration to be an internationally competitive city  a city where people want to live, work and invest.

He believes a vibrant city centre is at the heart of achieving this, and the Heart of the City programme is leading this exciting journey.

We are seeking a long-term development partner who shares our objective of working in partnership to create a vibrant, safe and successful city centre.

Greg says this opportunity comes at a time when Taurangas economic growth is racing ahead of the national average.

Residential building consents have nearly doubled during the past year, and there is significant amounts of private and public development and infrastructure investment in the city centre and across the city as a whole, he adds.

Council is committed to investment in the city centre  were investing in our city centre streetscape, waterfront and open spaces, including the new waterfront tidal stairs, and a new multi-storey parking building and access in the city centre.

The possibilities this opportunity offers to our people and our city are immense.

The Expressions of Interest form is available on the Government Electronic Tenders Service website at www.gets.govt.nz and closes 2pm on Wednesday, June 21.
This years budget will invest $1.24 billion of new operating funding over four years and $785.6 million of capital funding in law and order initiatives, including an additional 1125 police staff.

A further $37.2 million is also being invested in funding to reduce the harm caused by family violence.

This funding underpins the governments focus on preventing crime, reducing reoffending and better supporting victims, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

It includes $145.8 million of operating funding over four years and $20.2 million in 2016/17 to enable Justice and Courts to provide an enhanced level of service to deliver better outcomes for our growing population.

Corrections Minister Louise Upston says to support Corrections deliver its core services and reduce reoffending, Budget 2017 will set aside $255.9 million of operating funding over four years and $763.3 million in capital funding for more prison capacity.

While were focused on reducing offending, we also want to ensure we have enough prison beds to keep the worst offenders off our streets, says Louise.

Well also upgrade infrastructure to enhance the safety of staff, prisoners, and the public.

Other initiatives include:

$32.9 million over the next four years for burglary prevention.

$13.9 million over the next four years to reduce reoffending, targeted at high risk young offenders.

$40.2 million over the next four years and $2.1 million capital for investment in anti-money laundering initiatives.

$11.9 million over the next two years for additional security personnel across New Zealands court system.

$5.5 million over the next two years to continue the Iwi/Community Panels pilot.

$51.6 million over the next four years to better manage offenders serving sentences and orders in the community, and to support the judiciary and Parole Board to make informed risk-based sentencing and parole decisions.

$30.2 million over the next four years to improve the way prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide are managed in prison, and to increase access to industry, treatment and learning interventions.

$1.4 million of operating funding over the next four years and $840,000 capital to provide the Serious Fraud Office with an integrated case and evidence management system to enable better analysis and management of complex evidence and data.

Amy says $22.4 million will also extend the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) pilots for another two years.

More than 28,000 people have been supported through the ISR pilots in Christchurch and Waikato. The pilots are helping to improve the safety of family violence victims and stop family violence escalating by ensuring agencies and NGOs identify risks and intervene earlier.

Extending the pilots for a further two years will enable us to support thousands more families. We will also get a better picture of the nature of family violence in New Zealand so we can make more informed decisions about how to reduce the harm it causes.

Budget 2017 also invests an additional $4 million over two years for the continuation of the E Tu Whanau Community Action Fund, and an extra $1.8 million in 2017/18 to extend the community-based Gang Action Plan pilots.

The E Tu Whanau programme shows the role Maori leadership and community-led approaches have in preventing family violence. The programme is helping hard-to-reach whanau to reduce violence and improve wellbeing, says Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

This programme complements the Governments Gang Action Plan, which aims to break intergenerational gang life and reduce the social harm caused to whanau. We know that a high proportion of gang members partners are at higher risk of family violence and sexual violence, and that their children experience multiple incidents of abuse or neglect.

The government is focused on reducing family violence and these initiatives are part of the wider work being led by the Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller welcomes the additional funding.

I have been really concerned over the recent spate of aggravated robberies here in the Bay, so Im really pleased that the budget has not only delivered 69 new frontline police officers for the Bay of Plenty, but that we will also be spending $46.9 million over the next four years specifically targeted at reducing burglary and youth offending, he says.

"Reducing family violence is also an issue that I am particularly passionate about. Violence, particularly targeting women and children, is completely unacceptable in our community. This investment sends a clear message that we are determined to make a real difference here."
New Zealand has finally entered the space age with the world-first successful launch of an orbital rocket from a private pad, but it didnt quite reach orbit.

US-New Zealand aerospace company Rocket Lab announced on Thursday afternoon it had successfully launched its Electron rocket from the remote Mahia Peninsula, between Napier and Gisborne on day four of a 10-day launch window.

"Made it to space. Team delighted. More to follow!" the company, run by Invercargill-born chief executive and founder Peter Beck, announced on Twitter about 4.30pm.

The rocket reached space but it did not reach orbit and while they maintain the flight puts them in good stead they will now investigate what went wrong.

The launch makes New Zealand just the 11th country to launch an orbital rocket, but the first from a private facility.

Minister for Economic Development Simon Bridges has congratulated the team at Rocket Lab on the successful launch of their first test rocket on the Mahia Peninsula.

The successful launch is a major milestone in the development of New Zealands space industry, says the Tauranga MP.

Its the first visible sign of a space industry in New Zealand and is an achievement Rocket Lab, and all New Zealanders can be proud of.

New Zealand is now one of 11 countries currently able to launch satellites into space from their own territory and the first to launch from a fully private orbital launch range. The potential benefits for our economy are very significant. These include opportunities to grow in areas related to the space industry such as research, materials development and testing, and to attract other space related companies to set up in New Zealand, and even space tourism.

The Government is supportive of any industry that grows our economy through high-tech, innovative highly skilled activities.

A range of government agencies, led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, is also ensuring launch activities are safe and secure.

We hope the launch will encourage others to come to New Zealand and enjoy the same attractive features that Rocket Lab is taking advantage of, including good access to orbits, clear skies, a skilled workforce and an innovation friendly environment.
Media companies Fairfax New Zealand and NZME are appealing the recent Commerce Commission decision blocking a bid to merge their businesses.



The companies announced the decision this morning saying the commission had made errors with facts and law.

The Commerce Commission declined the merger between the two media copmpanies on May 3.

In a decision released earlier this month, 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 followed a year of lobbying and speculation concerning some of the countrys largest media brands, including Stuff and the NZ Herald.

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The Magpie International Art Gallery in Marbella is hosting a new exhibition of works by French surrealist artist, Gabrielle Ange.

The Journey of the Soul, an exhibition of paintings in oil on canvas, is a collection of colourful works that focuses on the healing power of intuitive painting.

Information When:Until 28 June. Where:Magpie Art Gallery, Calle Virgen del Pilar 7, Marbella. Tickets:Free entry.

The artist believes that intuitive painting allows one to reconnect with ones creativity, freeing the expression of the soul and awakening the artistic sensibility.

There are 14 paintings in the exhibition and the use of colour is most prominent in all of these dazzling abstract works.

Gabrielle has lived and worked in several countries while developing her unique style and she founded her own school of intuitive and healing painting.

Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world and she has sold works to private collectors in France, Spain, Britain, America, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany.

The exhibition, which is free, opens today (Friday) at 7pm and will continue until Wednesday 28 June.

The Magpie International Gallery, situated in Calle Virgen del Pilar, is an intimate exhibition space in Marbella dedicated to promoting art and fine photography.